claims its'coveted fruit, which claim suggests forcibly that
the pre-emption law exists* among these sons of the forest.
Large flocks of grey-winged francolins were seen on the
line of march; they were running in the dense underwood
with extraordinary swiftness, and did not attempt to take
wing until the pursuer was almost upon them. Their
clamorous notes were constantly heard, when close b y ; but
the dense cover shielded them from sight, their invisibleness
being aided by their speckled grey colour, which matched
admirably with the sun-bleached vegetation. Physical
torments prevented me from following them up.
Eight weary months had now elapsed since I left the
Cape of Good Hope on my northward journey. My condition
was miserable; certainly worse than anything I had
ever experienced of human ills. The stock of trading
articles was completely exhausted, and now I was parting
with empty cartridge-cases in exchange, for meal. Hardly
any game could be found. Even when I did see some
impala, zebra, and koodoo, I was quite unable to hunt on
account of the wretched condition of my feet.
Otherwise, fortunately, I was perfectly well; but my
pedal extremities were blisb©Te<3. and swollen to a degree
that defies description. As long as the march continued,
healing was out of the question, and stopping meant
starvation. The only shoes I had worn for a long time
were those—warranted own make—of zebra skins, and they
were always full of sand.
Some new mode of travelling was imperative. The
carriers’ loads were light, so I increased them on ten of the
men, by distributing the loads of the four strongest, whom
I determined should carry me on their shoulders.
Sensible though it seemed, the change led to a mishap,
which was much worse for me. The men were carrying me1
about two hundred yards each, and while going through
this rather circus-like performance, we happened to alight
upon some guinea-fowl. My bearer dropped me, like a
hot potato, on a very stony piece of ground, and in the
effort to save my feet, I gave a severe twist to my left ankle.
By a piece of wonderful luck, under the circumstances, I
shot one guinea fowl—a godsend, I thought; for I was
beginning to yearn for something stronger than turtle dove,
and porridge without either salt or sugar.
Fickle fortune again! On examination I found that the
bird was a piner, and unfit for food., I t seemed as though
the spirits of unpropitious fate were hovering around m e ;
but not being particularly prone to superstition, I laughed
at the bad fortune, and limped along, buoyed up by the
reflection that we were nearing the river, that soon we
would see the town of Tette, where I would be able to get
a new force of men, and a fresh supply of articles for barter,
besides the rest which my flagging frame required before
setting out across the big river on the long journey to the
lake regions. The men now declared that I was too heavy
to carry, so there was nothing for it but to painfully
persevere in pedestrian effort.
I have omitted to mention a number.'of sandy river beds
which we passed. . There was nothing especially noteworthy
about them, and their courses are shown on the accompanying'map.
Shidim is the name given by the Portuguese to the
country through which we have been passing since leaving
Chibinga.
On reaching the Nyansanga river we found a small but
fresh stream of water, into which the boys plunged, to bathe,
during the very hottest hour of the day. The Mufa river
was crossed and recrossed.
d 2