and I was extremely puzzled to account for the
presence of the pure white and rose-coloured limestone
that we had found only in one place—Geera.
»As we were now among the hills and mountains,
the country was extremely beautiful ; at the farthest
point of that day’s excursion we were close to the
high range from which, in the rainy season, innumerable
torrents pour into the Settite ; some of these
gorges were ornamented with the dark foliage of
large tamarind trees, while upon rocks that did not
appear to offer any sustenance, the unsightly yet
mighty baobab* grasped with its gnarled roots the
blocks of granite, and formed a peculiar object in
the wild and rugged scenery.
Through this romantic wilderness, the Settite
flowed in . a clear and beautiful stream, sometimes
contracted between cliffs to a width of a hundred
yards, at others stretching to three times that distance.
The hippopotami were in great numbers;
many were lying beneath the shady trees upon the
banks, and splashed into the water as we appeared ;
others were basking in large herds upon the shallows
; while the young calves, supported upon the
backs of their mothers, sailed about upon their animated
rafts in perfect security. The Basé had been
here recently, as we discovered their footprints upon
the sand, and we arrived at some tobacco plantations
that they had formed upon the . sandbanks of
The largest Baobah (Adansonia digitata) that I have measured,
was fifty-one feet and one inch in circumference.
the river. The aggageers expressed their determination
to sabre them should we happen to meet,
and were much displeased at my immediately placing
a veto upon their bloody intentions, with a reservation
for necessity in self-defence.
The Basé were far too wide awake, and, although
seen once during the day by my people, they disappeared
like monkeys ; their spies had doubtless
reported our movements ever since we had entered
their country, and, fearing the firearms, they had
retreated to their fastnesses among the mountains.
During the day’s march we had seen a large
quantity of game, but I had not wished to shoot
until on our return towards the camp. We were
about four miles from home, when a nellut (A.
Strepsiceros) bounded away from a ravine. I was
riding Tétel, whom I had taught to stand fire, in
which he was remarkably steady. I made a quick
shot with the little Fletcher from the saddle, but,
as the nellut ran straight before me, the bullet
struck the haunch ; away went ,the aggageers after
the wounded animal, like greyhounds, and in a few
hundred yards the sword finished the hunt.
The nellut is the handsomest of all the large
antelopes ; the male is about thirteen hands high,
and carries a pair of beautiful spiral horns, upwards
of three feet in length ; the colour of the hide is
a dark mouse-grey, ornamented with white stripes
down the flanks, and a white line along the back
from the shoulder to the tail. The female is with