as it appeared to Mr. Decle in February, 1892. “ Imagine
a huge plain, extending for miles, with only two or three
trees rising above a short, miserable-looking grass, all over
which were strewn human bones, the remnants of Lo Ben s
victims. In the distance rose a flat-topped hill, Thaba
Induna—the Hill of the Induna—so named because a
number of induna (generals) were once put to death
there. On the left was a rise, on the top of which could
be seen the tips of a stockade, Lobengula’s kraal. In the
middle of the plain were three groups of miserable tumble-
down native huts, half a dozen of which stood together
surrounded by a reed fence. These were the habitations
of the only three European settlers in the place.
At Hope Fountain Mission, 12 miles from Bulawayo, he
receives such hospitality from a missionary that amply
makes amends for any unkindness shown to him by other
reverend gentlemen. During a whole month he enjoys
the delights of a Christian home, and is nursed until health
and strength are recovered.
In his remarks upon the Matabele, he exhibits his
aptitude for observation and study of the natives, and is
always felicitous in his description of their character.
In the latter part of April, 1892, he leaves Hope
Fountain and endeavours to discover a better watered
route to the Victoria Falls; but after varying ^ difficulties
he returns a third time to Palapshwe in Khama’s territory,
intending to go back to Cape Town. However, meeting
a party of officers at that place, he becomes animated
with a desire to visit the Zimbabwe ruins, and in July
he starts for Mashonaland. The first sign of the coming
civilization he meets is a frontier bar, at which an English,
profligate who has run through ¿100,000 deals out drinks
at the small wage of ¿20 per mensem. The patrons of
the bar are of all classes, from the British peer to the
Yankee cowboy. Among the Company’s police he is
astonished to find brilliant conversationalists, men who
have been intimate with the best club society in London,
naval and military officers, who appear to be sufficiently
happy with ¿9 a month, and rejoice in their outdoor
life.
After his visit to the ancient ruins Mr. Decle returns to
Fort Victoria, disposes of his waggons and cattle, and
travels by mail cart to Fort Salisbury. His chapter on
Mashonaland is remarkable for its good sense, its happy
forecasts, and its appreciation of the agricultural value
of the soil. The tone is excellent, and shows unmistakable
evidence of ripening judgment. He has not only the
kndck of getting at valuable facts, but he has a retentive
memory, and charmingly relates what he hears. Such
faults as may be here and there in the book professional
critics may be left to deal with, and therefore I confine
myself to pointing out the undeniable merits of book
and author. I think, however, some of the strictures on
the Congo Free State might have been omitted, at least
until he had visited it.
In October Mr. Decle begins what we may call the
second stage of his journey, that which takes him across
the Zambezi through Nyasaland to Ujiji on Lake Tan-
ganika. Among the numerous incidents of travel at the
outset of this stage are his meeting with a man called
Sagamuga, who has strong inclinations to murder him, a
visit to the great caves of Sinoia, his experiences with
a real Portuguese, who has a white skin but a black
heart, whose glib welcome ends in curses loud and deep,
his travels with a Governor and a doctor, and the pitiful
condition in which the three pass a night.
The historical chapters on the Portuguese of the
Zambezi and British occupation in Nyasaland are most
entertaining, because Mr. Decle is always so frank,
genuine, and faultlessly simple in his diction. He is
never ambiguous or dull, and every sentence, despite
the fact that he writes in a language foreign to him,
runs smooth, as though he were to the manner born.
At Zomba he meets with Sir H. H. Johnston, the
b xvii