are of a most primitive kind, consisting of earthen pots
for cooking, gourds* for boiling water, mortars for grinding
corn, and spoons, made of a kalabash cut in two,
for ladling liquids. The native costume is composed of a
kaross round the middle, with a few ornaments of
beads and some copper and tin bracelets, and earrings
of the ordinary sort. I bought a few articles, and
found that the most useful things for barter were red
beads and knives. The next day (6th October), after
a trek of four hours, we arrived at the Chuani river,
where we found another temporary village of native huts.
These were occupied by native hunters. Here we ate
some giraffe meat, which we found stringy but of a
very delicate flavour, and almost black in colour. The
water of the river is salt, and the natives collect the salt
in the form of very transparent crystals. I entrusted
some letters, asking for help, to some Ba-mangwato
who happened to be there; but I did so with little
hope that they would arrive in time to be of any
service, seeing that the men had no intention of starting
for a month, and thus my letters could not get to
Palapshwe till late in November.
For two long terrible days we crossed enormous plains
in a perfectly torrid heat. These plains run along one
of the Ma-Karikari salt lakes, and must have been part
of the bed of the lake. No vegetation grows on the sand,
which is impregnated with salt, so that the reflection of
the sun makes the heat intolerable. I was so exhausted
I could hardly stand on my feet. We had scarcely any
water left, and were literally dying of thirst. The second
day (October 9th) we made a start at seven in the
morning, and after going two hours, crossing the dry
beds of three rivers, we arrived at a well of detestable
water. Three-quarters of an hour later we halted, certain
* It seems at first sight absurd to think of boiling water in a kalabash,
but I have often seen it done. The only precaution to be taken to avoid
burning the gourd is to keep it far enough away from the fire.
52
that we were in the neighbourhood of water but not
knowing where it was: At last, after a search of two
hours, whilst following a path at right angles to the road,
we found a pool of 150 feet by 15 feet, and about 3 feet
deep. . The water was excellent, and it was a rare piece
of good fortune to have found it, for the morning before
I had only had a pint, and since then none at all.
On the following day (October 10th), after a march
of sixteen miles across enormous plains, not quite so arid
as the ones we had crossed before, we arrived at the river
Nata. The waters were very salt, and undrinkable; but
on the left of the road, about 150 feet from the river, we
found three small wells. Some Bushmen, who were looking
after Khama’s cattle, brought us milk, and we had
plenty of fish and birds—the latter abounding in enormous
quantities on the Nata. That night we started again, and
went for three hours, keeping for at least half the time
along the bank of the river. The country was terribly
flat, and we were besieged by clouds of gnats. We
camped in an old kraal, but were kept awake all night by
the stings of the gnats and the bites of the vermin. A
few hours’ march in the morning brought us to the Nata
drift, and there I decided to have a rest under some
beautiful trees.
On the 1 2th October we started again in the evening.
For the last few days, and especially during the nights,
we had suffered the most varied tortures, being positively
devoured by the insects: ants—black, red, and white, big
and small—spiders, beetles, mosquitoes, and flies of all
sizes and colours.
Taking stock at this time, I found that I had only
twelve boxes of sardines and five tins of beef left. Luckily
I had 100 lbs. of flour and 20 lbs. of coffee. We started
at 8 o’clock in the evening, and trekked till half-past two in
the morning, having found water after a march of two hours.
We were then crossing some enormous plains, called the
Mokoruani Flats, or “ Palm Plains” ; as a fact, those
53