or three yards of striped cloth which I had promised to
John for his “ leetle wife.”
The men came forward in a body, and, patting their
bellies, which certainly did look rather baggy, declared—
“We are hungry; give us cloth, and we will buy some
meal.” What was to be done ? Before anything, it was
necessary that the individual who ruled the town during
the absence of Sakanii should be unearthed.
By a bit of good fortune a man turned up who could talk
well with Karemba. He offered his services to show where
game was to be found. I was determined not to rest or
wander until I had cleared up the situation; so I made
use of the man by persuading him to procure a messenger
who would convey to Sakanii the intelligence that I was
in the town. The people of the town would not do anything
for me until they received orders from the king.
The letter I sent to Sakanii was written in the best Portuguese
at my command, and the man who took it said that
he might be back in five days. The town of the king was
on the Zambesi, and was called Chigurindi-.
With the first streak of dawn John and myself were up
and away in search of the much-longed-for meat. We
moved out in different directions. Game was found to be
very shy; but by noon we had both returned, I having
bagged a very fat bush-pig and a fine specimen of the wart-
hog with good tusks; while John had shot two Koodoo
bulls (Strepsiceros Kudu), although he was able to secure
only one of them. I had seen a big herd of eland, but
could not get within range, as they had seen me. The
spoor of white rhinoceros was discerned; but these animals
are remarkably scarce in this neighbourhood. Black
rhinoceros are more plentiful.
Having been informed that the mother of Sakanii lived
in a big round hut, enclosed by a thatch fence of high
grass, and as it was hinted that she was the supreme
dictator during the absence of her son, I sent her a large
supply of meat, an act of courtesy and diplomacy which
brought forth in return two baskets of tomatoes and one
large basket of meal. The exchange was ■' a considerable
help to us.
The night which we had spent in the hut had been
almost unbearable, to us who had been so long accustomed
to the fanning of the freshest winds during the time of rest.
Confinement was suffocating; but John remarked that we
had better sleep inside, as the house had been given us.
From whence its horrible effluvium arose I could not conceive
; but apparently the dwelling (save the mark!) had
not been used for years. Throughout the dismal night the
swarming rats squealed and fought. The ends of two
candles were still to the fore, so we lit them, and so long as
they burned we had a little rest.
On the second night, however, I was determined to try a
change, so I cleared the rubbish from beneath a neighbouring
tree, and enveloping myself in a blanket lay down with
much satisfaction. Mental congratulations, however, were
soon disturbed by some of the townspeople who came and
intimated that we should go into the hut, to avoid the
ferocity of a wolf which came to the town at night, and
was very dangerous owing to the freedom of its habits in
the way of carrying off bites from the face, such as the
nose, chin, and so forth.
In spite of this warning we remained outside ; although
the protestations of the people were very impressive. I
felt, however, that it was better to take our chances in the
open air than spend another miserable night in our filthy
den overrun with vermin, which seemed to be its natural
u 2