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diff --git a/77803-0.txt b/77803-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b6a2111 --- /dev/null +++ b/77803-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17339 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77803 *** + + + + + MATABELE LAND + + AND + + THE VICTORIA FALLS + + [Illustration: Frank Oates.] + + + + + MATABELE LAND + + AND + + THE VICTORIA FALLS + + A NATURALIST’S WANDERINGS IN THE INTERIOR + OF SOUTH AFRICA + + _FROM THE LETTERS & JOURNALS OF THE LATE_ + + FRANK OATES, F.R.G.S. + + EDITED BY C. G. OATES, B.A. + + [Illustration] + + LONDON + C. KEGAN PAUL & CO., 1 PATERNOSTER SQUARE + 1881 + + + + + _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_. + + + + + PREFACE. + + +In offering to the public the following pages, I feel, as editor, that +I owe a few words of apology and explanation to the reader by way of +preface--apology for the imperfections of the volume; explanation how +such imperfections have arisen. The traveller whose journey to the +Zambesi is here recounted died of fever a few days after he had left +that river on his way homewards, and the book has been compiled from +his note-books, and letters home. The latter were written with no +view of publication; the former were intended only for the writer’s +own subsequent use and as suggestive guides to memory. It is always a +question in such a case how far the surviving friends of the deceased +writer or traveller do well in publishing the unfinished labour of his +pen. What his own wish would have been cannot be known, or even guessed +at, unless specially expressed; and the reflection forcibly presents +itself to the mind that perhaps a certain injustice may be done to the +memory of the dead by publishing, in a form which may fairly challenge +the criticism of the general reader, a few hasty jottings by the +wayside, written under circumstances the least favourable to literary +composition, and a limited number of letters home, meant merely for +the perusal of the writer’s nearest and most indulgent friends. On +the other hand, however, it must be borne in mind that, much as must +inevitably be lost in editing pages such as these for want of the +inspiring touch which the writer himself could alone have finally +given them, there will probably be a directness and freshness of the +expressions which a traveller makes use of on the spot, hampered as +he then is by no oppressive consciousness that he is addressing that +imaginary “public”--consisting after all but of a number of individuals +like himself, all with the same human heart and interests,--which might +be wanting in his more matured work. + +Guided, then, by the latter consideration, and by the reflection that +every day the number of our countrymen is increasing who look to South +Africa with a growing interest--whether as a land for colonization, +exploration, or scientific research,--I venture to add another to the +long list of already published books upon that country, hoping that the +reader may find therein matter of some general interest, and that, if +not, he will look leniently on the error of judgment which has led me, +together with those who have here shared my responsibility, to offer +for his perusal pages prepared at first mainly for private friends, but +which it was afterwards thought might possibly prove of interest to a +somewhat wider circle. + +Further, with reference to the length of time which has elapsed between +the date of the writer’s death and the publication of this volume, +I can only claim in extenuation of this circumstance the fact that +a considerable period necessarily intervened before the traveller’s +journals and papers reached this country, that they required on their +arrival much care in their disposal, and that the whole of the natural +history collections had to be gone through systematically before being +finally placed in competent hands for arrangement and classification. +The delay, then, has enabled me to include in the volume the papers in +the appendix on the latter subject, contributed by such able hands, +which I believe will add interest to the whole; and that not only in +the case of scientific readers, but of all those who would realize in +a measure what it is which makes up the life and experiences of the +naturalist traveller in his wanderings in distant lands. I may add, +moreover, that the general state and condition of the country of which +these pages treat would appear, from the accounts of those who have +recently visited it, to remain substantially the same, or only changed +in points of minor interest. The abandonment, however, of the Tati +Gold-mine and the establishment of Kama in the Bamangwato sovereignty +perhaps demand attention. + +In editing this work it has been my object to preserve, wherever +possible, the writer’s narrative in exactly his own words; and this +plan has been steadily adhered to throughout, those passages only being +omitted which appeared little likely to interest the general reader, or +in which--as several times occurred--old ground was re-traversed. In +such cases the intervening periods have been bridged over by a short +narrative of my own, intended merely to connect the story and weld the +whole together. The maps, it may be added, are all of them the result +of the traveller’s own special observations, recorded as he went along. + +Of the illustrations in the body of the work, I may remark that they +are all from original drawings taken on the spot, or from the objects +they purport to represent. Some are from sketches by the late Frank +Oates; the remainder--and these the larger number--from those of his +brother, W. E. Oates, who accompanied him during a portion of his +journey. It may therefore perhaps be fairly claimed for them that, +whatever their artistic merits, these drawings are--what alone they +claim to be--faithful representations of the scenes and objects they +depict. In the “List of Illustrations” it will be found to which of the +two brothers each drawing may be respectively attributed. + +And now there only remains to me the pleasing duty of returning my +warmest thanks to the many friends who have helped me with my task. To +those gentlemen who have contributed the valuable papers which form +the appendix to this volume, my thanks are especially due; I refer to +Professors Rolleston, Westwood, and Oliver, Dr. Albert Günther, Mr. R. +Bowdler Sharpe, and Mr. J. G. Baker. And in this connexion I have also +to thank Captain G. E. Shelley, who named the majority of the birds in +my late brother’s collection before they passed into the hands of Mr. +Sharpe, to be permanently deposited in the British Museum. From all of +these, and especially from Mr. Sharpe, I have received, besides, much +friendly help and advice with reference to the general arrangements of +the volume, as I have proceeded with my labours; as well, also, as from +Mr. H. W. Bates, the able Assistant Secretary of the Royal Geographical +Society, to whose kindness I am deeply indebted for many valuable +suggestions and much practical assistance. The four beautiful plates +which accompany Professor Westwood’s paper have been drawn by his own +hand to illustrate his descriptions of new or remarkable insects. + +Of those gentlemen, moreover, who have contributed their professional +assistance, I must also in common gratitude add a word. Mr. Francis +Holl has bestowed much pains on the production of a portrait of my late +brother, from a photograph by Gowland of York, which I believe to be +very successful; Mr. Kaufmann’s chromo-lithographs are the result of +much careful effort on his part to catch the spirit and preserve the +effect of the original water-colour drawings from which they have been +taken; the lithographs in the appendix, drawn respectively by Messrs. +J. G. Keulemans, R. Mintern, W. H. Fitch, and (as already mentioned) +Professor Westwood, have been accurately rendered by the skilful +hands of Messrs. M. and N. Hanhart, and Messrs. Mintern Brothers; +and the wood-engravings have been skilfully and conscientiously +executed by Messrs. G. Pearson, J. D. Cooper, and E. Evans, all of +them with a faithful determination to do the fullest justice to their +respective subjects, and I believe with admirable result. The birds +and animals have been placed on wood chiefly by Mr. Smit, and some by +Mr. Davenport; whilst Mr. Charles Whymper has contributed two original +drawings of the author’s dogs and the designs upon the cover. Mr. +Edward Weller also and his son have spared no pains to make the maps +which accompany the volume as perfect and complete as possible; to +whom, as well as to all the others named, my grateful thanks are due, +and most heartily do I acknowledge what I owe them. + +To enumerate more fully the names of those who have further assisted +me, either professionally or as private friends, I must now forbear +from undertaking; suffice it to say there are many, especially of the +latter class, without whose assistance and encouragement I should +probably never have succeeded in bringing my labours to a close. Let +me thank them now for the generous help and sympathy so ungrudgingly +given, and which, alas, it is so impossible for me to recompense. + +It may be proper to add, before concluding--what I have failed +elsewhere to mention--that a considerable number of specimens in my +brother’s collection were destroyed at Shoshong in his lifetime by the +unroofing, during a gale, of the hut where they were stored, and that +some of the spirit jars of reptiles and beetles were afterwards left +behind when the collections were conveyed to England; circumstances +which led in all probability to the loss of many valuable specimens. + +There are not many who will need to be reminded that to “inspan” and +“outspan,” words of frequent occurrence in the traveller’s journal, +mean, in South African parlance, to “yoke” and “unyoke,” and that +“spoor” means “footprints” or “track.” All other words of Dutch or +native origin introduced into the text are explained, I believe, where +they occur. The accent in the word “Matabele” falls, it may be added, +on the third of its four syllables. + +My task is ended--in many respects a very mournful, yet a very pleasing +one; and if there be found but a few readers who derive either pleasure +or profit from a perusal of these pages, I shall feel amply rewarded +for my trouble. + + C. G. O. + + _May 1881._ + + + + + MEMOIR. + + “To be able to give one’s name to a bird, or a flower, + may seem to many but a poor ambition; and yet, materially + considered, it is quite as likely to be perpetuated as to + give it to a street or town, and is much more likely to + define the tastes and individuality of the giver.”--_Bret + Harte._ + + +The saying has seldom been truer of any one than of the writer of the +succeeding pages, that “the child is father of the man.” His love of +nature generally, and of natural history in all its branches, was one +of Frank Oates’s earliest instincts; and to the study of our English +wild-birds--their ways and haunts, their comings and their goings--he +was especially devoted from boyhood. The pages of Waterton and Buffon, +treating of wider fields of study, supplied his imagination at that +period with richer food; and the plates of Audubon’s Birds, when access +could be had to them, were turned by him with feelings little short +of reverence. From his earliest days he had resolved to visit those +distant, and, to him, still mysterious lands, where the page of nature +was yet to the white man in great part an unread book; and those who, +after his death in the full prime of manhood, witnessed the arrival at +his English home of his large collections of natural history specimens, +brought from the interior of South Africa by the devoted service of a +friend, realized strangely how the boy’s ambition had been fulfilled +in after life, and felt that, though cut off in the very perfection of +his powers, the purpose of his being had not wholly failed. Those even +who knew him best were surprised indeed, when these evidences of his +work abroad arrived, to see how much he had accomplished in the brief +period--a little short of two years--of his absence. As, one after +another, the packing-cases were opened, each in its turn afforded to +the looker-on some fresh illustration of the untiring determination of +the deceased traveller to make the very utmost of his opportunities +whilst abroad. The voice that could alone have told the story of those +collections, the hand that had brought them thus together, were silent +and still in a far distant grave; but an utterance--the more pathetic +because it was inaudible--seemed to go forth, unbidden, from those +speechless records of devoted work and enterprise, and tell the secret +tale of a life in earnest sympathy with nature curtailed,--the hand, as +it were, yet warm from its labours. + +There, on the one hand, lay the opened cases of rare and brilliant +bird-skins, each specimen with its separate label, in the collector’s +writing, carefully recording its habitat, and other particulars useful +to the student, accompanied in many instances by examples of nests +and eggs. There, on the other hand, were lesser boxes, filled with +varied specimens of insects, some from those very Victoria Falls +of the Zambesi, the rich and almost untried harvest-ground of the +naturalist, whose attractions had lured the wanderer to his untimely +grave. And there, again, were those large wide-necked bottles, familiar +to the collector, containing, some of them, strange-looking beetles, +others still stranger reptiles; there the packets of botanical drying +paper, each sheet enveloping its floral treasure. Turning again to +other cases, were found in numbers the singular implements of savage +warfare, or industry, and with them many of those rude yet tasteful +attempts at ornamentation suggested by native fancy; evidences--the +whole of them--of that untutored skill and delicate refinement of +workmanship which characterize many of the finer races of unlettered +savages. Whilst further, the mighty tusks of the huge African elephant, +the skins of the lion, the leopard, and the cheetah,--for it was +these beasts of prey that the traveller had especially loved to +hunt,--besides those of many an African antelope, with horns and heads +of equal grace and beauty, told silently of stirring adventures in the +bush. Lastly, but yet not least, were those scientific instruments he +had used in taking observations of his journey with so much faithful +perseverance; the note-books; the letters of friends (some of these +unopened, containing those trifling items of home news, so sweet to +the far-off traveller, which his eyes had never seen, for they had +arrived after his decease); the pencilled outlines of the country’s +scenery; the water-colour drawings of those fatal Falls; how much did +not these records breathe to the silent bystander, how much suggest of +what had been, and still more what _might have been_! Poor fellow! +not there himself to speak to us, those records of an earnest life, +those cared-for and well-worn letters which he _had_ received and +treasured, how far more eloquent they were to us than any words could +have been! They told us all, more than all, than any words which he +could, or at least would, have spoken--so lightly did he ever treat his +own achievements--and seemed to leave the world and ourselves poorer +and yet richer by his death! + +But the subject has led me, in my capacity of editor of these pages, +beyond the proper limits of my duties, and I must crave the indulgence +of the reader for this long digression. My object is merely to relate, +as briefly as I can, such simple facts of Frank Oates’s earlier life +as may serve to illustrate the scope and bearing of the ensuing pages, +and bring to view the motives which led him to enter on his life of +travel. What I have said, indeed, may perhaps, it is true, help to +show--what I was anxious early to point out--how very catholic were the +interests of the deceased, how great the hold each separate department +of the world’s life, and history, and daily growth, had laid upon him. +Devoted to the study of natural history, as I have already pointed out, +and especially to that of birds--the pursuit of which might be called +his ruling passion--yet never did he close his eyes to all those varied +interests of other kinds, which were constantly opening round him in +his life of foreign travel. “He was not” indeed, as has lately been +said of the young French naturalist Jacquemont, who, like Frank Oates +himself, died early and in harness,--“He was not at all one of those +specialists who shut themselves up in a narrow speciality, and become +blind and deaf to the great interests of human life.”[1] Rather may it +be said of him, that his interests were perhaps too wide, and that he +overtaxed his strength and powers in following the promptings of his +nature. Speaking indeed in homely phraseology, whilst out in Africa, he +admitted himself that he had “too many irons in the fire,” and some of +the difficulties and vexations which beset him upon his journey must +be attributed to the delays which were occasioned by his desire of +embracing every opportunity which presented itself, not only of adding +a new specimen to his collection, but also of noting any fresh fact +with regard to the country and its inhabitants which came before his +notice. For, in addition to his natural history pursuits, he was, as +above intimated, engaged on this journey in taking observations of the +country which he passed through, and laying down his route, and also, +wherever possible, in seeking intercourse with the natives, and gaining +knowledge of their character. + +This same tendency of his--to attempt too much--had once before also +served him in evil stead when at the University in earlier life. +Born on the 6th of April 1840, a son of the late Mr. Edward Oates, +of Meanwoodside, near Leeds--himself a lover of nature, and a man of +literary tastes--Frank Oates entered at Christ Church, Oxford, at the +close of 1860. And here his love of nature and her teachings soon +displayed itself by his choice of reading for a class in the Natural +Science Schools. His work, however, in this direction did not keep him +from study in many other departments of knowledge; and, besides his +studies, all out-door pursuits had each their respective fascination +for him. Of these, riding held with him, as it had always done, the +foremost place; and when the time of year or incidental circumstances +kept him from an occasional gallop with the hounds, he would have a +long day’s ride into the country instead, drinking in, the while, deep +draughts of enjoyment from the scenes he passed through. One such ride, +still showing him faithful to his love of birds, he describes himself +in a letter to one of his brothers on May Day, 1864, as follows:-- + +“I had a jolly ride,” he writes, “to Wychwood Forest a few days ago, +with S---- of Wadham. We both enjoyed it, as we both entered into the +loveliness of the scene. Unfortunately the day was cold, and few birds +were seen, though we did hear the nightingale once, and the cuckoo +once or twice. We were riding about the forest in the dark, with some +prospect of being lost, and did not get back to Oxford till eleven +o’clock, having ridden about thirty-six miles.” + +The exhilaration of these long rides was almost a necessity to him, +counteracting, as they did in a measure, the strain of mental work. +He also loved bathing, swimming, and sailing, the first two of which +Oxford supplied him with in liberal measure, whilst even the last-named +he found occasional opportunity of indulging his taste for on the Isis. +Then there were cricket and rowing, to both of which he gave a share +of his attention, with rifle-shooting at the butts, and fencing at the +gymnasium. + +This is a tolerable list of occupations, in addition to which +Oxford had also its social attractions for him; for, besides the +undergraduates of his own standing whom he knew, he was further +privileged with the acquaintance of a few such men as the present Dean +of Westminster--then Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History in the +University--the present distinguished Master of Balliol, the late Sir +Benjamin Brodie, and Professor Henry Smith; whilst the nature of his +studies brought him into frequent pleasant intercourse with Professor +Rolleston and others at the museum. The second year of his residence +he sustained a loss, which he long felt, in the death of his young +tutor, Mr. G. R. Luke, Senior Student of Christ Church, to whom he had +formed no slight attachment. Of this event, rendered doubly sad by the +circumstances under which it occurred, he wrote to a friend the day +afterwards (March 4, 1862) as follows:-- + +“Oxford,” he says, “has just lost one of its brightest lights, and I +a valuable friend, whom, I fear, I did not sufficiently appreciate in +his lifetime--poor Luke! It would be too much to say that there was not +so good, but I can confidently assert that I do not think there was a +better, man in Oxford. He was such a genuine, worthy, and conscientious +fellow as is rarely met with; and his kindness was equalled by his +noble spirit--his modesty by his high learning and abilities. And +this valuable life, difficult as it is to realize it, has been cut +short;--Luke was drowned in the river yesterday, having gone alone, +quite contrary to his custom, in a whiff. It seems that he was near +half an hour in the water, and dead when taken out. This sad accident, +coming so suddenly, must throw a damp over the feelings of many; and if +there is any gratitude amongst men, there must have been many a sigh +for him last night. I heard the news before six o’clock, and it had +reached Christ Church some time before, the accident having happened +about four. You may imagine my horror when, on entering my rooms to put +on my cap and gown for hall, I was met by my scout, and asked if I had +heard that Mr. Luke was drowned. In an hour or two I should have been +reading with him.” + +And now enough may have perhaps been said to give some insight into +Frank Oates’s life at Oxford, and with one more quotation from his +letters, this period of his history shall be closed. His first year +at college an attack upon his chest in early spring had prevented his +residence during the summer term at the University, and led to his +spending as much of the succeeding winter as the Oxford terms admitted +of in Italy, where he gathered many pleasant reminiscences. The +following spring, too, he was late in coming up, owing to a return of +his ailment during the Easter vacation, when he was again a prisoner +to his room at home. Writing on April 23d (1862), during this period +of confinement, he says, “I see the tree-tops tipped with green, and +hear the thrush’s voice, telling me of old times, and asking me why +I keep house, and I’ve no doubt spring is here. So I want to be out +again, and to greet her as an old friend.” And presently he was out +again, revelling in the spring sunshine with his friends, the birds. +But this is not the intended quotation. Sufficiently recovered from +this illness for the journey back to Oxford, he returned there on May +9th to find the place “shaded with its great green trees, and with +its gray old walls looking almost joyous.” It was not, however, till +two evenings later that he “came in for the full benefit of the May +aspect of things,” as he describes it, when he took a long ramble +into the country to Wytham, and first saw the rich pastoral country +which surrounds Oxford in its summer dress. His account of this walk, +written (again to the same friend) on May 12th, tells forcibly of his +appreciation of all country sights and sounds. + +“... Your letter arrived yesterday morning,” he says, “and of course my +evening was at once laid out for me, and now I come to what I ought to +have begun with--my ramble of last night. You perhaps thought, as it +grew dusk, that I was still lingering about the scene you describe; +and so I was. It was with really joyous feelings that I set out at six +o’clock, and trudged along the Sevenbridge Road. It was Sunday evening, +and the road was crowded with Oxford folks and the militia. The floods +which surrounded the road seemed an object of interest to them, but +I pushed on, bestowing a hurried glance now and then at the tufted +willows, and islands, and shores of long grass, which dotted over and +surrounded the lake-like fields, with the dappled sky reflected on +their watery surface. Botley reached, I inquired the way to Wytham. A +shady green lane was pointed out to me, and I was soon away in thought, +all alone in that quiet place; and so on I strolled, through the +fields, past the wood, through the village, and, as night closed in, +back again. If I were a word-painter I might describe my walk; but not +being one, should any attempt of mine thereat be intelligible to you, +it will only be because you know what I would describe, and can realize +my feelings. + +“There had been some little rain, and it was still rather dull and +damp when I set out; but I should have gone if it had been worse, and +really the evening ended almost brightly. I enjoyed the freshness +of everything, and the wild-birds seemed to enjoy it; they did not +appreciate it as I did, but they enjoyed it more. The notes of many +a songster rang out from the thick cover of the wood on my left, and +amongst the well-known notes some strange music was mixed, now and then +becoming louder and more distinct. These must have been the wonderful +soft strains of the nightingale. The woodpeckers were laughing wildly, +and the rooks returning to the tops of the elms, and talking as is +their wont; the youngsters responding eagerly, and seeming as if they +were chattering and being fed at the same time. The cows were placidly +grouped about the hedges, or wandering leisurely to and fro, favouring +the passerby with a whiff of their scented breath. On the other side, +flooded fields were rich in the most luxuriant vegetation; whilst +continually, and, as it grew later, more continually, the cuckoos +answered one another from many a deep shade. I was glad to think that +you would be thinking me there, and hoped you would not fancy that I +should give up the excursion.” + +Nor, passing now from reminiscences of his Oxford life, was his love of +the country and its associations, here sufficiently evinced, confined +to one particular sort of scenery; and the wild moorlands of his native +county attracted him as strongly as the quiet and peaceful beauties of +Oxfordshire, or even more so. During the Easter vacation of 1864 he +had been on a short walking tour into the Yorkshire dales with one of +his brothers and some other friends. + +“There is always a sense of freedom,” he writes from near Leeds soon +afterwards, “in getting away to the moors and mountains which surround +us, and lie so near that they seem to invite Leeds men to visit them. +For though the river at Kirkstall is sadly changed from the stream +that leaves Malham Tarn, and the mountain air has lost somewhat of +its freshness when it sweeps over this place, the sight and sound of +railways are a constant reminder that a few minutes’ consignment to +the train, and the payment of a few shillings, are sufficient charm +to place one in the world of nature. May those moors and valleys +long continue desolate, if desolation may be understood to mean no +presence but that of the spirit of nature. I care not what that spirit +may be, but I feel a breathing life and an unsurpassable harmony, +where man has not utterly defiled the face of the country. What I +long for,” he concludes, “is a fishing tour in the neighbourhood of +Kilnsey or Wensleydale. I must be incorrigibly idle, and born to hate +anything that even looks like work; and yet I want to be active, to do +something, to find a field for my energies, such as they are.” + +In the last passage the writer did himself some injustice, and what he +seems to have taken for “incorrigible idleness,” was in reality nothing +else than the demand of nature within him for some real rest and +relaxation from his Oxford studies. His scrupulous conscientiousness, +moreover, was already beginning to cause him much anxiety with regard +to his future life, as the time for his leaving Oxford was approaching. +That warning voice of nature, however, unhappily was not attended +to. He would have entered the Schools for his final examination the +succeeding autumn, or at latest the following spring; but in the latter +part of the summer of this year (1864), under the strain of overwork, +his health broke completely down, and for a period of some years he was +obliged to live in a state of enforced, and to him scarcely endurable, +inactivity. A great portion of this time he spent in the retired +parts of Wales, and the English Lake District, and some part of it in +Ireland. On one occasion, during this period, writing to one of his +brothers on his experiences of overwork, he says:-- + +“Let me advise you earnestly not to try _to do too many things_. +I killed the goose with a vengeance, and got no golden egg. I was +expecting in a few weeks [when taken ill] a degree with honours, and +a good start in life, and ... had to leave Oxford without even an +ordinary degree, which I knew more than enough to have taken the +Easter before, if it would have satisfied me. I should have been +surprised to have been told that season, when I was riding H----’s +little cob in Rotten Row, in the glory of summer and all the hope of +youth, that before the leaves had all left the trees that very horse +would have been H----’s death, and that I should be a hundred times +worse than dead.”[2] + +Throughout the whole of this weary time, however, he never +relinquished--so indomitable was his spirit--the hope of a better time +approaching. Once at Liverpool, indeed, for a short stay in 1869, he +writes upon this subject, “I like to be where I can be amused and see +life without having to take part in it, though I would fifty times +rather be at work at something. I wonder,” he adds, “whether I ever +shall be again.” And he _was_ at work again, not quite two years +later, once more restored to health, and busily preparing for a trip +across the Atlantic, which had been recommended to him for the thorough +re-establishment of his health, and which accorded happily with the +early fancies of his boyhood. It was by this time almost too late for +him, even had he now wished it, to have thought seriously of adopting +one of the recognized professions. A few years earlier he had thought +both of the army and the bar; but with the love of adventure and +research so strong within him, it is scarcely probable, had he adopted +either, that he would have endured their trammels long. Once, too, it +had seemed not unlikely that his strong love of painting, which held +with his passion for natural history divided sway over his earlier +years, might have proved the more powerful impulse of the two, and led +him ultimately to the definite pursuit of art. In choosing against +it, however, he probably selected well, as the somewhat sedentary +life thereby involved would not so well have harmonized with his +constitutional need for physical activity. + +On this expedition to America he was absent about a year, +a considerable portion of the time being spent in Central +America--chiefly in Guatemala,--and a part of it in California, camping +out amongst the Rocky Mountains. Unlooked for circumstances brought his +journey to a speedier close than he had intended; but if unaccompanied +by other results, he was at least successful in forming a collection of +birds and insects of some interest and value, and contracted several +valuable friendships. “His manliness and irreproachable conduct +and kindliness,” wrote Sir Henry Scholfield, the British Consul at +Guatemala, after his decease, “gained for him, during his short stay +here, a friend in every one he met.” And wherever else in the country +he made any sort of stay, he appeared to have been scarcely less +fortunate in this respect. + +Soon after his return from America in 1872 he began to make +arrangements for a more extended journey--the one of which this +volume treats, and on which he started in March 1873. His plan on +this occasion was to reach the Zambesi from Natal, and if possible +visit some of the unexplored country to the north of that river. In +the latter hope he was destined to disappointment, and the number of +obstacles he met with in realizing the former serve to illustrate +some of the ordinary difficulties which may be encountered in African +travel. Of the results, however, such as they were, of this journey, +in which he lost his life, the reader must be left to form his own +judgment from the perusal of the ensuing pages. He had at least +acquired much of that needful experience of rough travel and adventure, +without which little can be accomplished in the way of exploration or +research. It is almost certain that, had he lived, his next journey +would have been of a more ambitious kind, remarkable as he was for that +love of enterprise which characterizes the true explorer; of this he +spoke merely as a “little trip.” His experiences, moreover, in this +two years’ travel, must still further have convinced him, if in a +different manner, of those evil effects of attempting too many things, +which his Oxford career had previously warned him of. The diversity +of his pursuits led him into many delays, each one of which no doubt +contributed its share, together with the obstructiveness of native +tribes, to that long detention on his journey which finally threw his +visit to the Zambesi into the unhealthy season of the year. It must be +granted, however, at the same time, that his love of adventure led him +into places where the field for inquiry was especially inviting, and +offered exceptional advantages; and also that his devotion to natural +history beguiled throughout his journey what might otherwise have +proved many a weary march. It is more than probable--so fully had the +need of this now been brought home to him--that on another journey, +had he been spared to make one, he would have concentrated his chief +energies upon fewer objects. What these might have been must remain, +indeed, matter of conjecture; but whatever else he had abandoned, the +pursuit of ornithology would certainly have held a place second only to +that of exploration. + +In character and temperament Frank Oates was admirably fitted for +his work. “I like anything,” he once wrote when at Oxford, “that +seems difficult of attainment,”--the very zest of the pursuit proving +in such cases its own reward to him. So too, in disposition; he +had just the one which recommends itself to strangers. “There was +something singularly winning about him,” wrote a friend, upon his +death; “that peculiar combination of courage and gentleness, which is +one of the finest traits of character.” It was, in fact, this very +association of a genial nature with a remarkable openness and candour +of disposition, that won for him friends, especially amongst his own +countrymen, wherever his lot was cast, and so smoothed his way over +many difficulties. And if, as would sometimes happen, he fell amongst +unfriendly natives, he preserved himself on such occasions by a seeming +show of condescension, and a coolness under danger which commanded +their respect. A faithful and accurate observer, but little was lost +that came before his notice; and if at the time of his death--in +February 1875--he had not realized all that he had hoped from his +expedition, he may at least be said to have justified the choice that +he had made, and had contributed a measure of faithful labour to the +causes of progress and research. + +On hearing of his death, the Dean of Christ Church, who had always +particularly regretted the illness which in earlier life had +prematurely closed his University career, wrote of the untimely +termination of his later efforts in a spirit of no less concern. “His +name,” wrote the Dean at this time, “must be added to the list of those +devoted and enterprising Englishmen, who ‘scorn delights and live +laborious days,’ who by their frank love of truth and justice have +made our name respected from one hemisphere to the other. I retain a +dear memory of him,” he concludes, “and grieve to think that so much +manly spirit has so soon been quenched.” + +This manly love of truth here noticed, his zeal in action, and energy +for work, had marked Frank Oates conspicuously from a boy. Life was for +him no lounge, merely to be dreamed through, but an active, burning +reality, from which the fruit that the hour yielded was to be plucked +and harvested. From his earliest days, when he watched at springtide +the coming of the swallow, or lurked in autumn by the hedgerow, to note +the flocks of redwings as they passed--from the time when those authors +whom he loved had given him his first glimpses into that distant realm +of nature where his imagination loved to wander, and he hoped one day +to follow them--till the arrival of the period when that desire was +at length destined to be realized, and he had threaded the forests of +tropical America, and roamed through the thorny wastes of Southern +Africa, was he ever adding something to his knowledge of nature, +something to his love of science, or something to his appreciation of +the beautiful. With him, indeed, were no half measures. His interest +once fairly roused in any subject, he gave to it the strength of his +whole soul; a purpose once formed rarely failed in its fulfilment; +and such was the elasticity of his temperament that he would turn from +one subject to another, each as a mere refreshment from the last. To +this was added, in no common measure, a certain freshness and buoyancy +of the spirit, which enabled him in a moment to throw off the spell +which bound him, and join on occasion in the frolic of the hour. A +peculiar brightness characterized his being, and rendered the common +incidents of life attractive to him; and should any be found who regard +as incongruous the lightness of spirit which occasionally manifests +itself even in the ensuing pages, in connexion with more serious +subjects, such ones may read with interest the following extract from +the writings of the late Charles Kingsley, with reference to this +very tendency, as manifested in another posthumous author, whose book +was edited by a friend. “With a reverence for the dead,” he says, +“which will at once be understood and honoured, he [the editor] has +refrained, perhaps here and there too scrupulously, from altering a +single word of the documents as he found them, respecting even certain +scraps of Cambridge and Winchester slang, which may possibly offend +that class of readers who fancy that the sign of magnanimity is to +take everything _au grand sérieux_, and that the world’s work +must needs be done upon stilts; but which will be, perhaps, to the +more thoughtful reader only additional notes of power, of that true +English ‘Lebensglückseligkeit,’ as the German calls it, which makes +a jest of danger and an amusement of toil. Jean Paul makes somewhere +the startling assertion that no man really believes his religious +creed unless he can afford to jest about it. Without going so far as +that, I will say boldly,” adds the writer, “that no man feels himself +master of his work unless he can afford to jest about it; and that +a frolicsome habit of mind is rather a token of deep, genial, and +superabundant vitality, than of a shallow and narrow nature, which can +only be earnest and attentive by conscious and serious efforts.”[3] +There were few circles of society where Frank Oates was not welcome; +and once received in any of them, a place was ever after reserved for +him in their midst. Whatever raciness or originality of character was +to be met with where his lot for the time was cast, he failed not to +find it out; and he eagerly availed himself of every opportunity which +enabled him to see life in its less conventional aspects. A certain +chivalry endeared him to the weak, his fearlessness attached to him +the strong, and no act of kindness was ever lost upon or forgotten by +him. He wandered far afield; but at home or abroad it ever was the same +with him, and he had friends, go where he would: for the intellect, in +his case, never overruled the affections; and perhaps it has fallen to +the lot of few, dying at his comparatively early age, to leave so many +sorrowing hearts behind them. + +And now, but one word further. The late Charles Kingsley--again to +quote his writings, still in the same connexion as before, with +reference, that is, to his friend, Charles Mansfield, traveller, +ornithologist, and devotee of science, the posthumous writer above +referred to--has said some touching words, which the editor of these +pages, too partial, it may be, in his estimate of the deceased, would +fain transcribe, and apply to the subject of the present memoir. “He +was one of those rare spirits,” writes Charles Kingsley,[4] “to whom +this life and this world have been, as far as human minds can judge, +little beyond a schoolhouse for some nobler life and world to come. Cut +off at the very climacteric of his years, just as he was beginning to +give the world evidence of his faculties, and just as he had acquired +the power of using them in an orderly and practical method, he has left +little behind but the _disjecta membra philosophi_.... Never have +I met a human being to whom as clearly as to him the thing which seemed +right was a thing to be done forthwith, at all hazards, and at any +sacrifice.... He had gathered round him [ere he died], friends, both +men and women, who looked on him with a love such as might be inspired +by some being from a higher world.... Oh, fairest of souls!” concludes +the writer, “Happy those who knew thee in this life! Happier those who +will know thee in the life to come!” + + C. G. O. + + [Illustration: + + “Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended, + For faithful in death, his mute favourite attended.” + --SCOTT. + + _See page 265._] + + + + + CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + Departure from England--St. Helena--Cape Town--Arrival at + Durban--Pietermaritzburg--Start up country--Pretoria; its + climate and vegetation--The High Veldt--Dutch Boers--The + Crocodile River--Bamangwato Page 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + The journey resumed--Halt on the Seruli--Bushmen on the + Gokwe--The Shashe--The Tati Settlement--Adventure with a + lion--W. E. Oates returns to the coast; particulars of his + journey 23 + + CHAPTER III. + + Frank Oates proceeds to the King’s Town--Crosses the + Ramaqueban--Dutch hunters on the Impakwe--The Inkwesi; + picturesque scenery--John Lee’s farm--Manyami’s Kraal--The + Shashani--Fine country--Kumala River 42 + + CHAPTER IV. + + Arrival at Gubuleweyo--Interview with the King--Start + for the Zambesi--Hope Fountain--Inyati--Difficulty + of obtaining bearers--The Zambesi abandoned--Hunting + expedition on the Umvungu and Gwailo Rivers--Experiences of + a half-caste--Birds’ nests--The indunas’ tree--Hunting--A + lunar eclipse--Return to Gubuleweyo--Wild fruit 58 + + CHAPTER V. + + Stay at Gubuleweyo--New Year’s Day--The Great Dance--Cattle + slaughtered--Departure of the King; the royal procession--A + dispute referred to him--Lobengula’s court 92 + + CHAPTER VI. + + Return to Tati--Changed aspect of the country--Constant + delays--The Mashonas--At Manyami’s again--John + Lee’s--Letter home--The Inkwesi--Wild fruit--A hornbill’s + nest--The Impakwe and Ramaqueban Rivers--Graves of + Englishmen--White ants--Bushman remains--The Tati reached 116 + + CHAPTER VII. + + Hunting trip on the Semokwe--A native musician--Gigantic + baobabs--Return to Tati--Journey to Shoshong--The + Bamangwato and Matabele nations--Fighting amongst + the natives--Start back for Tati--Misadventures and + delays--Fresh arrangements 139 + + CHAPTER VIII. + + Again at Tati--Fresh causes of delay--Lions on the + Motloutsi--Threatened by natives--Forthcoming prospects 161 + + CHAPTER IX. + + Fresh start for the Zambesi--The Ramaqueban again--A + lion shot--Singular building--Wild fruit--First Kraal of + the Makalakas--Stopped by the induna--Return to Tati--To + Gubuleweyo and back--Fresh leave obtained--Altered + arrangements for the journey 172 + + CHAPTER X. + + Third start for the Zambesi--Again stopped by + natives--Fresh leave from the King--The journey + resumed--Frank Oates’s companion obliged to leave him--He + goes forward alone--Breakdown of his waggon--Annoyances + from the natives--Help from Tati--Return there--Letters + home--Future plans 192 + + CHAPTER XI. + + Final start from Tati--Bushman remains--A + game-drive--Wild dogs--The Makalakas again--The Matengwe + River--English hunters met with--The Nata River--The + Pantamatenka--Christmas Day--Start on foot for the + Zambesi--The goal at last 229 + + CHAPTER XII. + + Main features of the Falls--The return commenced--Frank + Oates attacked by fever--Course of the illness; improvement + and relapse--His death--Dr. Bradshaw takes his effects to + Bamangwato--His favourite dog--Arrival of W. Oates and Mr. + Gilchrist in Natal--Conclusion 253 + + + APPENDIX. + + I. ETHNOLOGY, by George Rolleston, M.D., F.R.S., Linacre + Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University + of Oxford 273 + + II. ORNITHOLOGY, by R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S., + Senior Assistant, Zoological Department, British + Museum 294 + + III. HERPETOLOGY, by Albert Gunther, M.A., Ph.D., M.D., + F.R.S. 329 + + IV. ENTOMOLOGY, by J. O. Westwood, M.A., F.L.S., etc., Hope + Professor of Zoology, in the University of Oxford 331 + + V. BOTANY, by D. Oliver, F.R.S., F.L.S., Professor of + Botany in University College, London 366 + + VI. LIST OF MAKALAKA WORDS AND PHRASES, from one of Mr. F. + Oates’s Note-Books, 1874–5 370 + + INDEX 371 + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PORTRAIT OF MR. FRANK OATES _Frontispiece_ + + CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS. + + HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL. From a water-colour drawing by + W. E. Oates _To face page 8_ + + TATI SETTLEMENT. From a water-colour drawing by W. E. + Oates _To face page 30_ + + HUNTERS’ CAMP, SEMOKWE RIVER. From a water-colour + drawing by W. E. Oates _To face page 143_ + + SHOSHONG, BAMANGWATO. From a water-colour drawing + by W. E. Oates _To face page 155_ + + DRY BED OF THE INKWESI RIVER. From a water-colour + drawing by W. E. Oates _To face page 208_ + + VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBESI (WESTERN EXTREMITY). From + a water-colour drawing by Frank Oates _To face page 258_ + + WOODCUTS. + + HEAD OF PALLAH. Drawn by Charles Whymper _Title-page_ + + PAGE + + “FAITHFUL IN DEATH.” Drawn by Charles Whymper xxxvi + + PRETORIA, TRANSVAAL. From a water-colour drawing by + W. E. Oates 7 + + BOER’S FARM, HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL. From a drawing + by W. E. Oates 9 + + GAME ON THE HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL. From a drawing + by W. E. Oates _To face page 12_ + + LIMPOPO OR CROCODILE RIVER. From a water-colour drawing + by W. E. Oates 19 + + SNUFF-BOXES MADE FROM GOURDS. From a drawing by + W. E. Oates 22 + + DOUBLE-BANDED SAND-GROUSE (_Pterocles bicinctus_). From + a drawing by W. E. Oates 27 + + BOERS’ FARMS, CROCODILE RIVER. From a water-colour + drawing by W. E. Oates 38 + + SOUTH AFRICAN WART HOG (_Phacochærus æthiopicus_). + From a drawing by W. E. Oates 41 + + MANYAMI. From a sketch by Frank Oates 52 + + MANYAMI’S ATTENDANT. From a sketch by Frank Oates 52 + + FEATHER HEAD-DRESS. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 56 + + HEAD-DRESS OF ZEBRA SKIN AND FEATHERS. From a drawing + by W. E. Oates 57 + + BIRDS’ NESTS. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 77 + + THE FIRST ELEPHANT. From a sketch by Frank Oates 84 + + KNOB-BILLED GOOSE (_Sarkidiornis melanonotus_). From a + drawing by W. E. Oates 91 + + DANCING-STICK, BOW AND ARROWS, AND KNOB-KERRIES. + From a drawing by W. E. Oates 95 + + OX-HIDE SHIELD. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 100 + + ASSEGAI-HEADS AND BATTLE-AXE. From a drawing by W. E. + Oates 102 + + MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 115 + + NATIVE HUNTING-KNIVES. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 120 + + AFRICAN GREY HORNBILL (_Tockus nasutus_). From a drawing + by W. E. Oates 132 + + YELLOW-BILLED HORNBILL (_Tockus flavirostris_). From a + drawing by W. E. Oates 133 + + GIGANTIC ANT-HILL. From a water-colour drawing by W. + E. Oates 135 + + WOODEN VESSEL. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 138 + + SALT PAN, BAMANGWATO. From a water-colour drawing by + W. E. Oates 147 + + CHURCH AND MISSION STATION, SHOSHONG, BAMANGWATO. + From a water-colour drawing by W. E. Oates 149 + + “ROCK” AND “RAIL.” Drawn by Charles Whymper 160 + + WATTLED STARLING (_Dilophus carunculatus_). From a drawing + by W. E. Oates 171 + + NATIVE BUILDING, SHASHE RIVER. From a water-colour drawing + by Frank Oates 176 + + KLIPSPRINGER (_Oreotragus saltatrix_). From a sketch by + Frank Oates 195 + + VERREAUX’S WHYDAH BIRD (_Vidua Verreauxi_), AND THE + SHAFT-TAILED WHYDAH BIRD (_Vidua regia_). From + a drawing by W. E. Oates _To face page 220_ + + BLUE WILDEBEEST (_Catoblepas taurina_). From a drawing by + W. E. Oates 228 + + CAMP IN THE VELDT. From a water-colour drawing by Frank + Oates 230 + + AFRICAN DWARF GOOSE (_Nettapus auritus_). From a drawing + by W. E. Oates 243 + + WOODEN PILLOW. From a drawing by W. E. Oates 252 + + VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBESI (THE OUTLET). From a water-colour + drawing by Frank Oates 256 + + “RAIL.” From a Photograph 271 + + COLOURED PLATES. + + PLATE. + + (APPENDIX.) + + A. SAXICOLA SHELLEYI. Drawn by J. G. Keulemans _To face page_ 328 + + B. BRADYORNIS OATESII. Drawn by J. G. Keulemans „ 328 + + C. CORONELLA TRITÆNIA. Drawn by R. Mintern „ 330 + + D. DRYIOPHIS OATESII. Drawn by R. Mintern „ 330 + + E-H. NEW AND REMARKABLE INSECTS. From drawings + by Professor Westwood „ 364 + + J. ANTHERICUM OATESII. From drawings by W. H. Fitch „ 368 + + K. ADIANTUM OATESII. From drawings by W. H. Fitch „ 368 + + MAPS. + + ROUTE FROM SHOSHONG TO TATI _To face page_ 23 + + ROUTE FROM TATI TO THE UMGWANYA RIVER „ 43 + + ROUTE FROM TATI TO THE VICTORIA FALLS „ 173 + + GENERAL MAP OF SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA _At end._ + + + + + CHAPTER I. + + Departure from England--St. Helena--Cape Town--Arrival at + Durban--Pietermaritzburg--Start up country--Pretoria; its + Climate and Vegetation--The High Veldt--Dutch Boers--The + Crocodile River--Bamangwato. + + +On the 5th of March 1873, Frank Oates and his brother, W. E. Oates, +sailed from Southampton for Natal on board the Union Company’s +steamship “African.” It was the intention of the former, as already +explained in the introduction to this volume, to make a journey to the +Zambesi, and, if possible, push on thence to some of the unexplored +country northwards. His brother contemplated a shorter trip in the same +direction, which was to occupy about a year. + +The only land sighted, after leaving England and passing the Needles, +were the islands of Porto Santo, Madeira, and Teneriffe, and one of the +Canaries, besides Cape Verd on the African coast, until on March 25th +the vessel reached St. Helena, where she touched and remained a few +hours. The fruit in the island at this time (including figs, bananas, +and very fine peaches) was in perfection, whilst scarlet geraniums, +fuchsias, and petunias--all growing wild--were in full bloom. Head +winds, after leaving St. Helena, considerably delayed the vessel’s +progress, and Cape Town was only reached on the 3d of April. Here +passengers for Natal were transferred from the “African” to a coasting +steamer, the “Zulu,” which sailed five days later, and reached Durban +on the 19th of the month. The view here across the bay was pretty +enough, with ships lying at anchor inside and out, and the lighthouse, +a marked feature on the green headland opposite. The brothers left +Durban for Pietermaritzburg to prepare for their expedition into the +interior soon after landing, the journey, in a six-horse waggon, +occupying about twelve hours. The country passed through was for the +most part hilly, with very little timber. Here and there some fields +of Indian corn (“mealies”) were seen, and also some pretty bits of +mountain scenery with abrupt crags, but the land is chiefly pasture, +and the general aspect of the country not unlike that of the American +prairie. A number of ox-waggons were met and passed upon the road. Near +Maritzburg a few trees were seen; the approach is pretty, and the place +has an English air about it. + +At Maritzburg the brothers remained about three weeks, making +preparations for their journey northwards. Their plan was to go by the +usual trade route through the Transvaal, and then on to Shoshong, the +town of Sekomi, chief of the Bamangwato, from here either taking the +direct route towards the Zambesi by the Tati River, or making a circuit +in a north-westerly direction by way of Lake Ngami. They accordingly +each purchased a waggon and the requisite number of oxen for the +journey, and engaged some native attendants. Before leaving Maritzburg, +W. E. Oates wrote home as follows:-- + + _May 14th, 1873._ + +... “We only stayed a few days in Durban, and came on here, as this is +a much better place for getting an outfit for the interior. It is 54 +miles from Durban, and not a particularly interesting place. There are +hills all round, without much vegetation, and covered with long coarse +grass. It is much cooler than it is at Durban, as it is 2000 feet above +the level of the sea. It is winter now, and rather cool at night, +but still very hot during the day. We arrived here three weeks ago +to-morrow, and to-morrow we intend making a start up country. We have +each got a waggon and fourteen oxen, besides five ponies between us, +and three Kafirs to each waggon. We are going with a man called Gray, +who is going up to Lake Ngami to trade. He is quite a young fellow, and +has only been out here four years. He knows the country through which +we are going, and says it is extremely healthy, and the native tribes +all friendly. He has taken five waggons, and left on the 11th instant, +but as his waggons are heavily laden, we expect to overtake him in a +week.[5] + +“Buckley and Gilchrist started with their waggon yesterday, but Frank +is not ready, he has so many things to get.[6] + +“We have got some blankets, beads, knives, etc., as there is no good +taking money, and everything you want you must pay for in that way. +The waggons are very comfortable and hold a great deal, including a +mattress which lies on the top of the boxes. We are taking coffee, +sugar, tea, flour, oatmeal, pickles, some brandy, and several other +things for our own use. The Kafirs are supposed to get nothing but +meal, which they boil in a large pot and eat with the help of pieces +of stick. They occasionally get a little coffee also.... There is +very little here in the way of fruit and vegetables. The only fruit +now is oranges, though there are peaches and apricots in the season. +Altogether, there seems very little pains taken to cultivate the land, +as the niggers are too lazy to work, and white labour is expensive.” + +On May 15th the waggons of the two brothers started, with W. E. Oates’s +servant, Thomas Bell, who had accompanied him from England, and made +their first halt about four miles from Maritzburg. + +Frank Oates, still at Maritzburg, writes thence the following day, May +16th:-- + +“Our waggons left yesterday, and we went with them on horseback, +Willie remaining to sleep with them, and I returning here for the +night. W. has ridden in here this morning, and we shall both go on +again to the waggons, which travel very slowly. I think we have been +fortunate in getting good oxen for them. We have also a young horse, a +very pretty bay, which had only begun to be broken a fortnight when we +got him, but which is four years old, and likely to turn out very well. +We have also another bay horse, which W. rides. These two are about 14½ +hands high. We have three smallish ponies--one a very pretty brown one, +and two little rough black ones. Of course we are taking dogs also. We +bought four pointers, and have likewise had a rough dog given us, and +another promised, and shall try to pick up as many as we can as we go +along, for they are invaluable to have about the camp.... We go with +Gray as far as Bamangwato, and shall then either go on with him to Lake +Ngami, or visit the Victoria Falls direct, or we may go first to the +Lake, and make little explorations to the north and north-west, and +in the May following go on to the Victoria Falls, and thence return +here.... Gray is on excellent terms with the King Lecheletebe, a good +native, who would assist us in every way in his power. If we go to the +Falls we pass through the country of Lobengula, the son of Mosilikatze, +whose name you will see in maps. Lobengula is reported to be a ‘decent +chap’ by a friend of ours, a doctor here, from Dewsbury, whose +Christian name is Oates. We go by Mooi River, Colenso, Ladysmith, +Newcastle, Pretoria, Crocodile River, and Bamangwato.... This country +is not to be compared with America. The most of it about here is hilly, +the hills in places becoming mountains, and all covered with coarse +dry grass, and scarcely a stick of timber. There is nothing to compare +with the lovely tropical scenery of Central America, or the magnificent +mountains, prairies, lakes, and rivers of the United States. I never +expect to admire any country so much as I do the western world. Perhaps +one reason that the North American Indians were for savages a superior +race was their fine scenery.” + +Again, from the Umgeni River, a few miles upon the journey, he writes, +May 17th:-- + +“We are now fairly on our way. Last night was my first night in the +waggon, and W.’s second. We are 13 miles on our way. Our waggons are +most comfortable. We have a wooden framework in each waggon, surmounted +by a substantial mattress and lots of blankets. We have tin wash-hand +basins, cups, and plates, and fare luxuriously. Bell is now cooking +some chops. I am reminded of some very pleasant days in the wilds of +America.” + + [Illustration: PRETORIA, TRANSVAAL.] + +Ladysmith was reached on the 24th of May and Newcastle on the 31st, a +halt of two or three days being made at each place. On the 23d of June +the party arrived at Pretoria, and Frank Oates writes from that place, +June 27th:-- + +“We have now been ‘trekking’ (_i.e._ travelling in waggons) for +six weeks from yesterday. We have, however, gone slowly, and have +been delayed once or twice. We stayed a few days at Ladysmith and +Newcastle, two towns, as they are called here (we should call them +small villages); we then got into the Transvaal Republic, and had a +very bad tract of country to cross, the high veldt. This country is +very high, about 5000 feet above the sea, and as it was dead of winter +when we crossed it the cold at night was rather severe. One of the +coldest nights I think we had, was that of the 8th of June, when the +thermometer showed 8 degrees of frost Fahrenheit. This may not seem +very much, but the days being hot you feel the cold a good deal, and +are glad of a good lot of blankets. In this respect I had taken care +that we should be all right. The morning after the night I speak of +my hand was numb with the cold, and I dropped and smashed my only +thermometer.[7] My aneroid barometer, which tells me the height above +the sea really very accurately as far as I can judge, is still all +right, but my sextant suffered so much on board the ‘Zulu’ that I have +some difficulty, being a novice, in making use of it. + +“In crossing the high veldt the cattle suffer not only from the cold +nights but the poverty of the grass, which will get worse and worse +till the rainy season, which will be about September.[8] The disease +called ‘red water,’ which is so bad on the coast, and which has caused +so many oxen to die and the price to rise so much, does not seem to +extend beyond Natal. Out of twenty-eight oxen we lost only three, which +is considered a very small percentage. A few of our oxen got into low +condition, and we have got seven new ones coming along the road. We +shall try to leave the poor ones at some farm, or exchange them for fat +ones. + + [Illustration: HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL.] + + [Illustration: BOER’S FARM, HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL.] + +“We arrived here (at Pretoria) on the morning of the 23d of June. It is +very different from what it was in crossing the Drakensberg. There is +scarcely ever ice here, and now (the coldest season) the temperature +is perfection--neither hot during the day nor cold at night. There are +orange-trees with fruit on them in the gardens, and high hedges of +monthly roses in flower; there are also a few large trees (blue gums), +something like poplars in mode of growth, but with dark foliage. These +are planted here, for the country does not seem to bear much timber +naturally. There is plenty of scrub on the slopes of the high land as +you descend, and I believe there is a large extent of bush country +round here, and when we get into the regular bush, plenty of timber, I +imagine, such as it is; but this part of Africa is no timber country. +On the high veldt there is nothing but parched grass, in many places +burnt for a whole day’s trek, as fires are of everyday occurrence. On +one occasion we had £5 to pay a man in front of whose house our men had +set fire to the veldt whilst lighting our camp fire. The farms are +few and far between in that desolate region; they grow Indian corn and +a few peaches, and have a few cattle and sheep. The Boers are rather +good sort of people, and though trying to get every penny they can in a +bargain, honest, I should say, on the whole, and hospitable. I cannot +speak any Dutch yet, so communication is limited, having to be carried +on through an interpreter. + +“Here in Pretoria are a great many English. The English keep stores; +the Dutch Boers stick to farming. The latter come in with their +waggons of grain, wood, and other produce, which is sold by auction +at 8 A.M. in the market-place. ‘Mealies’ (unground Indian +corn) fetch fifteen shillings a muid, which is about 200 lbs. This +the Englishmen buy, get ground for two-and-sixpence a muid, and ask +twenty-two and sixpence, or even twenty-five shillings for, and +make a good thing of the numbers of people passing through here to +the Marabastadt and Leydenburg gold-fields. The latter fields were +newly discovered and much talked about when we were at Durban and +Pietermaritzburg, but do not seem as good as the Marabastadt. No one +thinks much of the Tati or Baines’s gold-fields in Mosilikatze’s +country. + +“I fear the English who are here are a bad lot, with few exceptions. +One man who cheated me I asked if he had a conscience. He replied that +no one here had them. + +“Though here and there you see a garden with a few trees in it, and, +as I mentioned, orange-trees and rose-bushes, do not imagine a scene +of the least beauty. The town itself, the seat of the government, does +not contain a single good building. It is like some little frontier +town in America. There is not even a book-shop in it. The country +immediately around is flat and devoid of trees, though in the distance +are some ranges of hills. The day we reached Pretoria, the mail, a +fortnightly one, arrived from Pietermaritzburg with a paper containing +English news, very bare items though, up to May 15th. It seems dreadful +that we were nearly six weeks in coming here, and the mail came in six +days. The mail brings passengers also, but they are allowed hardly any +baggage. It goes out again to-day to Pietermaritzburg, so I am writing +this letter by the light of my lantern as I recline in my waggon. I +think it is now about 6 A.M., but the sun does not rise till +after 7. + +“Gray, the trader, left us at Newcastle, and had left here before we +arrived for Bamangwato, _en route_ for Lake Ngami, where our +programme was to accompany him.[9] We are not certain whether we shall +follow him or alter our plans. I will write again, letting you know +what we have decided. If I leave a second letter here, it will go to +Pietermaritzburg a fortnight hence, so you will get it in England soon +after you get this.” + +Four days later W. E. Oates writes, also from Pretoria, “We have +now been here a week, and are going to start off again to-day for +Bamangwato. Buckley and his friend Gilchrist came up on Saturday, and +we have decided to keep together. Gray, the trader we talked about, +left here for Bamangwato about a fortnight since.... I fear we are now +too late to get to the Victoria Falls, as the country is not healthy +after September. We have been rather more than six weeks in getting +from Maritzburg here, and a more wretched country can hardly be +conceived--not a tree to be seen, and half the country burnt black, as, +if the grass is set on fire, it burns for weeks. The days are intensely +hot (not a drop of rain since we left Maritzburg); the nights very +cold, with sharp frosts. Countless herds of antelopes are to be seen +every day; wildebeest (gnu), blesbok, springbok, and many others called +by Dutch names. There are also hyænas, jackals, crows, and vultures. + + [Illustration: GAME ON THE HIGH VELDT, TRANSVAAL.] + +“The Dutch Boers have farms at intervals. They seem miserably poor; no +milk, eggs, meat. I don’t know how they live. It is much warmer here, +and after to-morrow we get into what is called the bush veldt, where +there are lots of trees, and then it begins to get hot. The country +we have passed over is from 4000 to 6000 feet above the level of the +sea, and on the high veldt there is scarcely any water; the road in +many places very bad and strewn with the bones and skeletons of oxen, +wildebeest, and other animals, which have been picked clean by the +vultures. How people can pass their lives in such dreary solitudes +it is difficult to conceive.... We, however, are very comfortable and +well. We have large supplies with us, more than necessary, I think; but +we can sell at Bamangwato what we do not want for nearly double what +we gave for it at Maritzburg. This is the last place where there is a +regular mail, though traders go from Bamangwato, and will take letters. +The waggons make snug dwelling-houses. The mattress goes at the top of +the things, and you have the canvas all round. You get in at the front, +and let a canvas curtain down. There are canvas pockets at the sides, +where you put what you want handy. + +“We have been exceedingly lucky with our oxen, as many people have lost +nearly all they had from the epidemic which is raging in Natal. One +man lost his whole span of eighteen. We have only lost three; partly, +I think, because we haven’t hurried them. They have got poor, owing to +the wretched grass on the high flats. They say, however, they fatten +immediately they get into the bush veldt. + +“Pretoria is a miserable little place, though the capital of the +Transvaal. The store-keepers are English, or Africanders (as the native +whites are called).... The niggers are idle and insolent. It is said +the only way to treat them is to thrash them well, and though we have +never resorted to this, I have often felt inclined to do so. We have +five with us--three Hottentots and two Kafirs. The Kafirs who are total +savages are much better to get on with.... It seems odd that I have +such a little to tell you about after so long an absence, but one day +here is almost exactly like another, and the country hitherto the same +day by day.” + +The travellers left Pretoria for Bamangwato on the 30th of June, and +after three days’ trekking to the north-west, crossed the Crocodile +River, keeping for some time afterwards at no great distance from +its banks. “On leaving the waggon, to shoot,” writes Frank Oates +on the 5th of July, “I rode up to the river, which is far the most +beautiful thing I have yet seen in South Africa. Trees of various +kinds--some resembling willows and oaks, the former in leaf, the latter +bare--fringed the river’s banks, which are steep. Long grass and bush +grew in the country round, and where we outspanned at breakfast there +was some very fine grass, tall and drooping, with a tassel. Here too,” +he concludes, “we got amongst plenty of birds, and to-day is the first +that I have felt the country cease to be disappointing.” + +The following day the road again continued in close proximity to the +river. The country was level and covered with trees like those in a +fine park, none of them, however, very large. The Hex and Eland’s +Rivers, tributaries to the Crocodile, were crossed near together the +day after, and on the 12th a halt of twenty-four hours was made at +Holfontein, a good watering-place upon the road, where many birds +were met with, including parrots, doves, and hoopoes. Two days later +the Crocodile, which had now for some time been lost sight of, again +came in view--a grand stream--and a fine blue distant mountain range +stretched to the right and right rear. A halt of two or three days was +made by the river’s bank, to give the oxen time to rest. Here buffalo, +blue wildebeest, springbok, and other game was found, including wild +pigs and pallah; and a little further north eland was met with, and +many of the lesser antelopes. About this time the dews, which had +hitherto been heavy, ceased altogether; possibly, in part, owing to the +change of locality. The road now for some time again continued near the +left bank of the Crocodile, until the 24th, when, soon after crossing +the Notuani, another of its tributaries, the course of the river was +finally abandoned, and on the 27th the blue tops of the Bamangwato +“kopjes” (low hills) came in sight. The place itself was reached two +days later. + +Here a short halt was again made for a few days, to engage fresh Kafirs +and prepare for the continuation of the journey northwards. Owing to +the want of water in the country between here and Lake Ngami, the part +of the proposed expedition which included a visit to the lake had to +be abandoned, Frank Oates resolving to proceed, if possible, direct to +the Zambesi, the rest of the party accompanying him north as far as +the Tati river in search of sport, to return thence by the same route +as they had come. Mr. Gray, the trader, had arrived at Bamangwato a +few days earlier, and decided to wait there till the rains should come +before proceeding on his journey to the lake. The following extracts +from letters, sent home about this time by Frank Oates and his brother +from Bamangwato, give some further details of the journey up to this +point, and of the future plans and arrangements of the party. W. E. +Oates writes as follows on July 30th:-- + +“We got here yesterday afternoon all right, though for the last four +days there has been scarcely any water on the road. When we left the +Crocodile River (on the 25th) we filled our water-casks, and the next +night got to some brackish water, which the oxen drank. We trekked all +the following day and half through the night, when we reached some +water-pits made by the Kafirs, from which the water had to be ladled +out in buckets for the oxen. We had then about 25 miles to go without +water to get here, which took us two days, all through heavy sand, +through which the oxen go about two miles an hour. This is a wretched +place; an immense number of Kafir huts, and a few stores belonging to +white men. The name of the place is Shoshong, and the king, Sekomi, +lives here. He is a hideous old nigger, and this morning came down to +our waggons, to beg coffee and sugar. He had about a dozen dirty old +wretches with him, who carried jackals’ tails, and attend him whenever +he goes in state. He jumped up on Frank’s waggon, and refused to depart +until he had had some coffee given him, which Frank gave him to get rid +of him. I offered him a bright green scarf I had, but after examining +it carefully he returned it to me.... + +“This is a most uninteresting country--all thorns and sand. The whole +way from Pretoria here it is thick bush, composed mostly of stunted +thorn trees, whose thorns are white and about four inches long. We +stayed four days on the Crocodile River, as our oxen wanted rest. The +lions were roaring round the waggons at night, in hopes of getting at +the oxen. We have the latter carefully tied up to the waggons at night, +and two or three immense fires lighted, to keep them off. + +“It is impossible, we find, to get to Lake Ngami now, as there +are a hundred miles to go through heavy sand without water to get +there. Frank still thinks of going to the Victoria Falls, through +Mosilikatze’s country, by way of the Tati River, and I intend to go as +far as the Tati.... Every morning here lots of women go out to collect +locusts, which swarm a short distance off, and are the only food the +natives get now, as their crop of corn has failed, and they are half +starving. They have a few little goats, but there is hardly any grass, +and only one very small stream of water about two miles off.” + +Frank Oates also writes the same day as follows:-- + +“You have, I hope, got our letters written from Pretoria, the capital +of the Transvaal. Since then we have not come more than 250 miles, +if as much, and have been about a month in doing it. Buckley and +Gilchrist have accompanied us, making, with our waggons, three waggons +in all, and I think we shall probably go on together for some time at +any rate. The present idea is for us all to go together to the Tati, +a river marked in the recent maps, where gold is being found. From +here I may go on to Mosilikatze’s Town, the residence of the King of +the Matabele, in the north-east, and thence be able to get on to the +Zambesi and Victoria Falls, though I hardly hope it now, on account of +the lateness of the season. + +“The country we have passed through so far may be divided into two +distinct regions--the high veldt and the bush veldt. The former I +described in my last letter. At Pretoria we entered the second, and +are still in it. The former is high land, covered with grass, and +with scarcely a bush on it. The country since then has been covered +with bush, and contains many fine rivers. The Crocodile (or Limpopo) +is a really beautiful river, its banks covered with fine trees. The +‘bush,’ as it is called, consists for the most part of smallish trees, +most of which are thorny, with park-like glades here and there. In +other places there is a great deal of thorny bush, through which you +can hardly force your way. The great want here is water, the smaller +streams being now dry, and in travelling it is often necessary to go +many miles before reaching water. Still, the road is so well known that +one can calculate almost to a certainty where and when to get water, +and make a push when necessary, taking one’s time both before and after +it. Water for our own use can be carried easily in our casks, and it is +for the animals we have to travel quickly on such occasions. Meat is +rather scarce, but we generally manage to get enough, and, with bread +and porridge, coffee and sugar, make out very well. We shall be glad +to get away from here, as it is difficult to get anything in the shape +of food except what we have with us, and what Gray gives us. There +has been a scarcity of corn this year, and the people are very hard +pressed, living principally on locusts, which are brought in every day +in immense sacks carried on people’s heads. We buy water of the women, +which has to be brought some distance. + + [Illustration: LIMPOPO OR CROCODILE RIVER.] + +“This is a large town of Kafir huts. The people are of the Basuto +branch. The king, Sekomi, visited me this morning, and seating himself +on the front-box of my waggon, commenced a conversation, which one +of our drivers interpreted, the end of which was that he wanted some +coffee and sugar. I gave him five pounds of gunpowder, worth fifteen +shillings. He accepted it, and then returned it, asking for coffee +instead. I then gave him two or three pounds of coffee, worth perhaps +five shillings, which afforded him great satisfaction, and after +thanking me he walked off in a stately manner, followed by his train, +his right-hand man carrying the coffee in his robe of skin. During the +interview the latter produced a huge sort of bodkin from a sheath, and +extracted a thorn from Sekomi’s finger with the utmost gravity. There +are a good many white men living here to trade, and also a missionary, +on whom I intend to call. + +“I cannot more fully describe the country at present, or our journey. +It has not the charm for me that the western world has, but I think +further north there must be far more attractive scenery than anything +we have yet encountered. The days are hot, though there is often a +refreshing breeze. The thermometer is about 82° in the shade during +the hottest part of the day, and one hot day in the sun it rose to +100°. The nights are cold, and we have yet had no insect pests, but +our animals are infested by ticks.... It is very annoying never to be +able to get letters from home. Mr. Hathorn, of the Standard Bank at +Pietermaritzburg, has promised to forward all letters sent to his care +for us, and to assist us in every way he can. We found him most kind +and obliging in every way in Pietermaritzburg.” + +On August 4th, the writer, still at Bamangwato, adds:--“Willie, +Buckley, and Gilchrist have gone on. They started yesterday, and I +intend to start to-morrow, and shall overtake them. I believe the +prospects of the journey are very satisfactory. I have had a long talk +to-day with Mr. Mackenzie, one of the missionaries here. He is a very +nice fellow, and knows all the country well, and has written out for +me a long list of the various watering-places on the road to the Tati +and on to Mosilikatze’s. He is the author of a book called _Ten Years +North of the Orange River_, and is now instructing some natives +for missionary work--some six or eight, I think, living in a sort of +college. The other missionary is a Mr. Hepburn, who gave a little +service in his house yesterday. I am certain they will both do anything +they can to help us.” + +Three years later, one of these missionaries, the Rev. John Mackenzie, +left Shoshong for Kuruman, where suitable buildings had been erected by +the London Missionary Society for the embryo theological institution +he was at the time of the events now narrated conducting at the +former place. His loss must have been felt by many, both travellers +and others, to whom he was ever ready to lend a helping hand. On the +present occasion, Frank Oates felt strongly sensible of what he owed +him for his friendly aid and counsel, and some time later, after +the traveller’s decease in 1875, it was again this gentleman’s good +services and sympathetic words that first softened the sorrow of his +friends at home when they received the unexpected intelligence of his +death in the interior. + + [Illustration: SNUFF-BOXES MADE FROM GOURDS.] + + [Illustration: Map of M^R. F. OATES’S ROUTE from SHOSHONG to + TATI + + Drawn from his own observations + + _London: C. Kegan Paul & Co._] + + + + + CHAPTER II. + + The journey resumed--Halt on the Seruli--Bushmen on the + Gokwe--The Shashe--The Tati settlement--Adventure with a + lion--W. E. Oates returns to the coast; particulars of his + journey. + + +Frank Oates left Bamangwato on the 7th of August, and the following +day joined his brother, who had been waiting for him a little way out +of the town. In the evening the Makalapsi River was reached, where +were a number of Dutchmen just returned from hunting on the Motloutsi, +to the north of the Limpopo. They had got a number of rhinoceros, +but no elephant. Continuing their journey the following morning, and +subsequently crossing the Touani and Lotsani Rivers, the brothers +reached the Palatswe River on the 12th. “The scenery here,” writes +Frank Oates, “is very pretty. A row of low kopjes on the right, with +large stones piled on one another, forms a natural terrace to the +eastward, from which you look over a sea of green bush, with a few +kopjes standing out from the midst.” Here goat’s milk was brought in a +large tortoise-shell from a kraal somewhere near, and exchanged for a +small piece of tobacco. Most of the natives carried guns, and game was +scarce and wild. + +Starting again the ensuing evening, and continuing their journey during +the following day, they arrived early on the morning of the 15th at +the Seruli River, where a water-pit, sunk in the dry sandy bed of the +river, was found for watering the oxen. Here were a party of natives, +living in the bush, hunting. They were said to be Bushmen. One of +their number, who came to the waggon the following day, looked very +striking--a leopard-skin thrown gracefully over his well-formed person, +and a necklace of large lavender beads round his neck. Four days were +spent by the brothers at the Seruli, whence they proceeded on their +journey on the evening of the 19th, making a halt about midnight. From +this point Frank Oates’s Journal takes up the story for the next few +days--till their arrival at the Shashe on the 24th--as follows:-- + +“_August 20th._--Have coffee, and hear the monotonous call of +the night-hawk, as we rest and let the cattle feed. W. called my +attention yesterday, at close of day, to another (a clucking) note, +which he says proceeds from the hornbill. We have been living, whilst +at the Seruli, on ostrich eggs. Fried with a little meal is the best +way we have had them, or made into a pudding with maizena. They are +strong, unless nicely cooked. Started again at 2.30 A.M., +and trekked for three hours. Horned moon and bright morning star in +the east; horizon dark against the sky, already glowing with the pale +orange of approaching morning, fading into the dark violet of the upper +firmament. Notes of birds are heard. What a loss not to be able to +appreciate beautiful things, as must be the case with our men, and how +much less they affect me even than they used to do, when I seemed to +find the world more full of hope and high ends to be attained than it +looks now. + +“Inspanned again about 8, and crossed the dry bed of a large stream, +which continued to keep near the road on the right. It was full of +sand, with plenty of bush and trees about it. Francolins abundant, +also hornbills, and many other birds in numbers, so I think there +must be water somewhere in it, or very near. Reached the Gokwe about +noon, having gone nine miles. The trek was a slow one, and part of it +being when the sun was getting high, the oxen were tired. Found good +francolin shooting where we passed the last spur of the range along +the river, and where we outspanned; sand-grouse coming to drink in +the evening at the latter place. There was fresh giraffe spoor where +we crossed the ‘spruit’[10] by the kopjes, and further on fresh lion +spoor.... The people at the Gokwe are a sort of outcast race under the +Basutos, called Bushmen. Men, women, and children came to the waggon. +They have fine pack-oxen. They live in the bush, Hendrik says, having +a sort of temporary abode near the bed of the river to the left of the +road. They were ornamented with beads, and had on necklaces of blue +cut ones and skins. They always ask for tobacco, making signs that +they want snuff. They are hunting here. They brought ostrich eggs, +exchanging them for a cheap knife, mirror, or handkerchief. I had great +difficulty in buying an ostrich feather for about three or four pounds +of lead. They wanted a whole bar, and on no other terms would bring +more feathers. + +“_August 21st._--Calm day, after a very windy night.... Started at +7.15 P.M., and went about seven miles, crossing two spruits, +and outspanned for the night about 11. + +“_August 22d._--Cool morning. Trekked from 6.30 to 10 A.M., the +road twisting a good deal; say seven miles.... Stopped to rest, and +inspanned again about 4 P.M., the road now winding through stony crags, +and numbers of kopjes appearing to our right, to our left, and in +front. Going a fair pace. Crossed the dry bed of the Seribi, apparently +a very large river. Deep descent, sand very heavy, banks of river +picturesquely wooded. We had seen lots of fresh lion spoor on the road +before crossing the Seribi, and on this side I see more. Delicious +fragrance from a sort of sallow-like blossom. Later, approaching the +Motloutsi, we saw large numbers of sand-grouse flying both towards us +and the opposite way--to and from the water. Finished trekking about +7, but did not outspan till much later, as when we entered the broad +bed of the Motloutsi we stuck in the deep sand, and made many fruitless +efforts to get out before outspanning. There was a little pool of water +at which the oxen drank, and which the grouse resorted to. The sand +around it was covered with feathers of birds. + +“Sunset scene very lovely. In the foreground, brown bushes. Two little +violet kopjes appear against the sky, behind one of which the sun has +set. A lovely rose hue, deepest around the position of the sun, is +on the horizon; this fades into violet, and this again into a pale +greenish blue. Some very small, clearly defined, deep violet clouds, +edged with gold, stand out from the sky. + + [Illustration: DOUBLE-BANDED SAND-GROUSE.--_Pterocles + bicinctus._] + +“_August 23d._--Before daybreak the little sand-grouse were +flying round, and a few settled to drink. I did not disturb them. The +Motloutsi is a large river, with a very sandy bed, and here and there +large rocks, and a twisting course. Hendrik says all these sandy rivers +become dry or nearly so in winter. Both yellow and cream-coloured +acacia blossoms very beautiful and sweet. Pleasant breeze where W.’s +waggon is outspanned, mine being hot in the river-bed. Some people +came here, but had neither eggs nor feathers for sale. As usual they +carry muskets. It is a wonder they find anything to shoot, as they +seem to be spread all over the country. At the Gokwe we were told that +the Bamangwato hunters were hunting about in that district, but could +get nothing. At this time of year the people seem to come out to hunt +from all the kraals, leaving only those unfit for that work at home. +A giraffe was killed near here by some Bushmen, who gave us meat in +exchange for tobacco. When out this morning I saw some kind of melon, +which at first looked like ostrich-eggs, growing by the river-bed--the +kind, I think, which the oxen eat in times of drought. + +“_August 24th._--Trekked for three hours, then rested, and +started again at 11 A.M.... Reached the Shashe about two, +and outspanned. We had come extremely slow; sun hot, sand heavy, road +bad, bullocks tired. Ground broken and stony, and falling towards +the Shashe. Many crags crop up around, and in front of us are some +kopjes--Hendrik says where the Tati is. The Shashe is a very broad +river, all deep sand, with water in one place where it has been dug +for, both for cattle and people. We enlarge the hole (hard work under +the heat of the sun), and let the cattle drink.... There is an old +Bushman here, destitute and alone. He says the Mungwato men took his +gun. The other side of the river, he says, is under Lobengula, this +under Sekomi, and Hendrik says the Makalakas are not independent, +all here belonging to the Matabele and Mungwato sovereignties. These +Bushmen are, I suppose, the original inhabitants. Hendrik says they are +slaves to the others. They certainly are outcasts. This man does not +beg, takes what is given him, and lies naked with his head on a stone +by the fire at night. He has no blanket.... Watched the Bushman make +his fire with two sticks. He took off his sandals, placed a stick on +one of them, and holding it firm with his foot, twisted the other stick +rapidly between both hands, working it in a little hollow of the first +stick, till black dust began to form. This soon turned red-hot, and +there was fire like that in a pipe.” + +Continuing their journey on the 26th, the brothers reached the Tati +the same evening, where a small English settlement of a few huts has +collected round the gold mines, which are being worked by Sir John +Swinburne. “There is nothing remarkable in the scenery here,” writes +Frank Oates soon after their arrival; “a few kopjes only, with low +scrub and trees. Everything is very much dried up. The river is broad, +with deep sand in its bed. Yesterday Nelson[11] gave me a live fish, +four or five inches long, something like a perch. He says they live in +the sand now. Water is got by digging in the river’s bed.... The veldt +where we are outspanned,” he concludes, “is quite ploughed up with the +spoor of elephants which used to come here five years ago, and have +been found quite near here since.” + +At this point Frank Oates and his brother remained a few days before +separating, and on the 29th the former wrote home the following letter, +giving some account of his future plans, and adding some particulars to +his experiences above related:-- + +“... When we left Bamangwato,” he writes, “whence I last wrote, Buckley +and Gilchrist went on with W. I followed two or three days later, +having been busy seeing people and making arrangements. I soon picked +W. up, who was waiting for me, the others having gone on in advance--of +course, as we thought, to Tati. We, however, met a trader with a note +from Buckley saying they had turned off at the Seruli River.... We have +been here now two or three days, and to-night Buckley and Gilchrist +arrived, having abandoned their new route. + +“The road we have come crosses a number of sandy river-beds. +These rivers are large streams in summer, but are now dry, except +occasionally there is a little pool in some, or water may be sometimes +obtained by digging. This tract of country through which we have come +is called by the Dutch the ‘thirst land,’ and is now at its worst. On +our return it will no doubt be easy enough to cross, but now it is hard +work, especially for the oxen. We trek about three hours at a time, +doing perhaps seven or eight miles in a trek. Generally two treks are +enough in the twenty-four hours, one in the morning and one in the +evening, but in going through the ‘thirst’ we have to push on and trek +as much by night as possible. + + [Illustration: TATI SETTLEMENT.] + +“I was in advance of W. when I reached the Shashe, and, as it happened, +had then only one man, Hendrik, my black servant, with me; for my +driver and his boy had decamped, though they afterwards returned--as +of course they were likely to do--the same evening. They will not have +their wages paid till they return to Maritzburg, and then not unless +they have behaved properly, and they would have had a miserable time +if they had actually deserted me. Hendrik can drive, and knowing, as +I did, the hold I had on the others and the folly of giving way, I +let them go, telling them the sooner they left me the better, and the +result of this treatment proved satisfactory. The difference originated +in the driver asking me for tobacco when I told him to inspan, and +refusing to comply till I had supplied him, which of course I would +not do, as I treat them quite liberally enough, and indeed too well. +Hendrik was a little poorly at the time, but behaved very well, and we +reached the Shashe, where we dug for water. + +“Being rather tired, we returned to the waggon after watering the oxen, +without driving them away from the river first, which I know now we +ought to have done on account of lions, but I have never yet thought it +necessary to take such precautions except at night, when we tie them +up and light fires. Soon after reaching the waggon I heard the loud +cries of an ox in distress, and exclaiming to Hendrik that I thought +a lion must be the cause, locked up my medicine chest, from which I +was taking medicine for Hendrik, and seized my gun. Hendrik followed +me, and we both ran to the river. As we peered over the bank, there +we saw the ox, the largest and fattest in my span, lying in the grass +at the bottom of the bank with a lion tearing him. He was only a few +yards below me, and before I could distinguish the lion properly as it +lay upon his prostrate form, the brute leapt off the ox and retreated +across the river. I fired as he ran, and hit him hard, for he rolled +over, and I ought to have given him the second barrel at once, but +thinking him mortally wounded, I hesitated a moment, and in the next +he had disappeared in the dry reeds. I did not like to follow him at +once, and Hendrik would not accompany me, but tried to dissuade me from +following him at all. However, in about half-an-hour I went in search +of the brute, but never found it, and do not know what became of it.[12] + +“I have yet been brought very little into contact with wild beasts, and +have had few stirring incidents, but I have been pretty fully employed +one way or another, and continue to persevere in my journey. I found on +reaching here that it was too late to go to the Victoria Falls without +risk of sickness, in which case I had long before decided to travel +in a north-easterly direction to Mosilikatze’s country, the country of +the Matabele, over whom Lobengula, son of Mosilikatze, now reigns. I am +told I shall see some very beautiful scenery on my way there, and I am +now interested in pursuing my journey as far as I can. From here to the +King’s Town they call six days, but it will probably take me more. + +“Here I have met two very nice fellows. One of them, Nelson, a Swede, +is managing the mine of the Tati Gold Company. It is on a very small +scale, and there are, I think, only seven white men here altogether. +Brown, the other I refer to, has also some office connected with the +mine, and keeps a store. They are both extremely kind, and willing +to do anything to help one, and I expect to find more friends at the +King’s Town--especially Mr. Thomson, the missionary, for whom I have +a letter from Mr. Mackenzie, and another from Mr. Hepburn. I likewise +carry the mail. + +“A flower is almost an unheard-of thing at present, everything +being dried up; but the thorny shrubs (mimosas), with their yellow +sweet-scented blossoms, are an exception, and a sign of approaching +spring. The shrubs they grow on are covered with long sharp thorns, +and there are no leaves on them, but blossoms are appearing. There is +another kind with hooked thorns and whitish sallow-scented blossoms, +which attain the size of a good-sized English fruit-tree. The thorns +which defend nearly every tree here are a great impediment in +travelling through the bush. + +“The nights are now cool, though not so sharp as they were a while ago. +The thermometer seldom falls much below 50°. It is coolest just before +sunrise. At mid-day and in the afternoon it gets considerably above 80° +in the shade, in fact I should set the point reached at nearer 90°. As +I sit writing in my tent, I hear the engine working--an odd sound up in +these remote regions.” + +Three days later, September 2d, W. E. Oates supplements this letter:-- + +“I am just adding a line to the above, to leave it before I go. Frank +left the day before yesterday, to go to the King’s Town. The king +(Lobengula) is the great nigger chief here, and behaves very well to +all white men. I am staying with Buckley and Gilchrist, and we are now +going to the Shashani River, about five days’ journey. I think Frank +will be all right. He has a Cape Colony black man with him, who knows +this country well, and speaks excellent English.[13] He was up here +with Sir John Swinburne, who owns the gold-mine, so I am not afraid for +Frank if he takes care of himself.... + +“The country here is regularly burnt up now, and will continue so till +the rains fall in November. The river is nothing but a dry bed of sand, +with a little pool of water in it about three miles off--the only +water near for miles. You may imagine the luxury of a bath, under such +circumstances, out of the question. There are two men here who have +been very kind, one sending us milk twice a day--and, I can assure you, +milk is exceedingly scarce. The country is most uninteresting; nothing +to see but thick bush, composed chiefly of low thorn-trees with immense +spikes, which hold you fast if you get amongst them. + +“The only pleasant part of the day is from sunrise (about half-past +six) to half-past eight. After that, the less you do the better until 5 +P.M., when it is moderately cool again. At half-past six it is +dark. The flies are a perfect plague all day, and get into everything. +Towards the end of October there are some heavy thunder showers, and +then summer begins, but the regular rains don’t fall until November. +There are great numbers of hyænas and jackals, which prowl about the +waggons all night. Last night one of Buckley’s oxen was ill, and the +hyænas knowing it attacked him, and this morning we found they had +actually eaten part of him alive. Of course the poor brute had to be +shot. Unfortunately the hyæna escaped, though fired at by Buckley’s +driver. The people are very glad when anybody shoots these animals, +as they are constantly killing goats, and sometimes oxen. They are, +however, so wary, that it is difficult to get them. + +“Mr. Nelson, the manager of the mine, lent us some newspapers up to the +24th of May, the latest news we have seen from England. He also sent +me a small bottle of beer, worth about five shillings here. Nelson is +getting the king, Lobengula, some furniture from England, as he told +the latter that a king ought not to sit on the ground. Lobengula’s +country extends from here to the Zambesi, and he is an absolute despot, +having the lives of all his people in his own hands. They say if one of +the Matabele is found stealing from a white man he has him executed.” + +Soon after writing the above, W. E. Oates left Tati in company with +Messrs. Gilchrist and Buckley, to hunt on the Semokwe River, where +they had very good sport. Returning thence in due time to the coast, +they took the same route as that by which they had travelled north, +the change of season, however, from winter to summer producing, +as they returned, a remarkable change in the entire aspect of the +country. By the end of October they were back at Bamangwato, and +reached Pietermaritzburg on the 2d of January. A few extracts from W. +E. Oates’s letters, written as they proceeded, may here be read with +interest. He writes first from Bamangwato on November 3d as follows:-- + +“I arrived here with Buckley and Gilchrist about a week since, and +shall probably make a start for Pretoria to-night. The spring has now +commenced, and the grass is beginning to grow. There have been heavy +thunderstorms, and the lightning is wonderful, never ceasing for a +moment during the storms. The heat also is very great.... There has +just been a row here. The old chief’s eldest son has left the place, +and nearly the whole of Mungwato went with him. The chief himself, +Sekomi, is still here, and often comes down to the waggons begging. He +got quite drunk the other night, and tumbled under my waggon. We had to +see him home. He thinks his son means to kill him. He himself killed +two or three of his own brothers when he came to be chief, but his two +eldest sons are both Christians, and Mackenzie thinks Sekomi is in +no danger from them.... There are some nice flowers of the lily sort +sprung up since the rain began, but very few flowers of other kinds +yet. The rains, however, have only just commenced, and we shall have +all the summer heat going down.” + +Again, from Pretoria, he writes on December 5th:-- + +“I got here on the 2d instant, and great was my delight on +receiving letters from home--the first I have had since leaving +Pietermaritzburg.... It seems quite strange to be in a civilized place +again. It is very pretty here now, just the height of summer. We are +indulging in fruit and vegetables, eggs and milk, to all of which we +have long been strangers. The peaches are hardly ripe yet, but apricots +are to be bought for a shilling a hundred.... In coming from Mungwato +we had to stop a week at the Meriko, as the river was very high with +the rains and we couldn’t cross. I had some thoughts of taking my +waggon in pieces, and floating the things across on rafts, but the +water kept subsiding, and at last we got over, the water only just +taking the oxen off their feet. In dry weather there is hardly any +water, but after the rains the river gets tremendously swollen, and +there are very steep banks. Whilst waiting there Dawnay[14] came up +with two waggons. He has been out two years, and been to the Victoria +Falls. He says it would be worth walking from Durban to see them. He +showed me some little sketches he had made, but said it was almost +impossible to draw on account of the flies. The tsetse-fly, which kills +everything except men, wild beasts, and donkeys, swarms there, and +bites so furiously that your hands and face are puffed up in no time. +He describes the scenery on the Zambesi as lovely. + + [Illustration: BOERS’ FARMS, CROCODILE RIVER.] + +“The country is much prettier now than it was when we went up. The +grass has sprung up and is quite green, and all the trees are in +leaf. The Transvaal, from the Crocodile River here, is beautiful. All +along the banks of the river are farms, belonging to the Dutch Boers, +surrounded with orange and peach trees. At most of these you can now +get milk, butter, and eggs. We have had heavy thunderstorms, which, +seen at night, are most gorgeous; lightning all round, all colours, and +darting in all directions at the same moment. It is just like a display +of fireworks. It is much cooler now than we have lately had it, the +thermometer seldom being above 90° in the shade, and the last few days +there has been a nice breeze. + +“My Kafir driver, who came up with me from Maritzburg, ran away +when we were staying at the Meriko, and Bell and I had to drive the +waggon down here. Fortunately they are very good oxen, so there has +been no difficulty, and I have managed to get another driver here. +Bullock-driving is quite a business in itself, and a very difficult +thing in the bush with refractory beasts. This fellow, Solomon, stole +a horse which we had found straying. It belonged to the old chief at +Mungwato, and when I was going to hand the horse over to a Dutchman, +whom Sekomi had authorised to take charge of the horse if he found him, +Solomon went to the waggon where he was tied up, jumped on him, and +galloped away. He will probably be caught, as the horse is well known. + +“A ‘salted,’ or seasoned, horse is worth a great deal, as there is a +sickness in the bush which is generally fatal to horses which are not +‘salted.’ It commences when the rains begin to fall. I much regretted +losing my little horse. I was told, when I got him, he was salted, but +he died after a few hours’ illness. There is no cure known for it. He +was looking beautiful; his coat shone like satin, and he was getting +quite fat with the young grass and some corn which I got for him at +Mungwato. The oxen are thriving tremendously, and, since the grass has +grown, from wretched skeletons they have become regular Tichbornes. + +“I shall write to you again from Maritzburg, if there is a ship sailing +before I go, for I expect I shall have to stay a fortnight or three +weeks there, to sell the waggon, oxen, etc.... I mean to trek to-night +when the moon gets up. We get into the high veldt now, where there is +no bush. My waggon looks very seedy, the cover torn in many places by +mimosa bushes, and the paint worn off. It is infested with beetles, and +occasionally a lizard or scorpion is detected. Ants, too, occasionally +pay me visits, to which I greatly object, as they bite uncommonly hard +in this country. At night, if you are outspanned near water and have +a lanthorn in the waggon, the candle is put out by numberless little +beetles which creep in; and the frogs literally yell all night long. It +is very pretty to see the fire-flies.” + +On January 2d, as already stated, W. E. Oates reached +Pietermaritzburg, where he found the heat very intense. Three weeks +later he sailed from Durban, accompanied by Mr. Gilchrist, and landed +in England early in the following March. + + [Illustration: SOUTH AFRICAN WART + HOG.--_Phacochærus æthiopicus._] + + + + + CHAPTER III. + + Frank Oates proceeds to the King’s Town--Crosses the + Ramaqueban--Dutch hunters on the Impakwe--The Inkwesi; + picturesque scenery--John Lee’s farm--Manyami’s kraal--The + Shashani--Fine country--Kumala River. + + +Returning now to follow Frank Oates’s journey to the King’s Town, +Gubuleweyo, we find the greater portion of his route described at some +length in his Journal. Leaving the Tati, as has been mentioned, on +the 31st of August, and advancing slowly, he crossed the Ramaqueban, +Impakwe, and Inkwesi Rivers, and reached John Lee’s farm on September +6th. This John Lee is a noted Dutchman, who farms a large tract of +country under the king. From here proceeding after a night’s rest +on his journey, he was detained four days at Manyami’s kraal, a few +miles further on, till leave had been obtained for him from the king +to complete the distance, Gubuleweyo being reached by the middle of +September. The Journal of this period is as follows:-- + + [Illustration: Map of M^R. F. OATES’S ROUTE from TATI to the + UMGWANYA RIVER Drawn from his own observations + + London: C. Kegan Paul & Co.] + +“_August 31st._--... Left Tati in the evening. About midnight, +whilst trekking, Hendrik calls me, saying that the bullocks which are +being driven can’t be got on, but keep going into the bush. ‘Donker’ +and ‘Wildeman,’ too (the little red wild ox), are getting tired. +This is miserable work, and I wish I had brought more bullocks from +Mungwato, as I could so well have done, and a far lighter waggon. It +is a mild, pleasant, breezy night, and as we outspan, and ‘Rail’ and +‘Rock’ come up in their couples, I am reminded of our first trekking on +the high veldt, when we were together in force, starting with a good +equipment and high hopes. This is an open space where we outspan, with +long grass. + +“_September 1st._--Mild, cloudy morning.... I had been much +discouraged by the oxen being so tired last night, and this morning +was pleased to find ourselves arrive at the Ramaqueban River at least +an hour sooner than I had hoped. Petersen’s waggon was on the opposite +side.[15] However, we stuck in the drift. Poor ‘Weiman,’ with his blind +eye, was in front, and proved awkward, and little ‘Vinal’ lay down. +Petersen, however, sent his driver and two good oxen, and we came out +easily and had breakfast. Here some Dutchmen squatted last season to +hunt, and took the fever--men, women, and children. Petersen says about +half-a-dozen of them died. He thinks it was in January. The trees along +the river’s bed show a faint budding of green, as I have now seen for +some time. The girl who came with us to Tati was travelling on with +Petersen, and her brother had come on with us last night to join her. +The cool breeze to-day was very pleasant. Petersen’s boys had dug for +water. Petersen went on, as he usually makes one short trek during the +day. I followed in the evening, and shortly after midnight crossed the +drift of the Impakwe and outspanned. There seems plenty of water in +the river. Barking of dogs; encampment of Dutch hunters. Petersen had +turned in. Part of this trek was through a somewhat sandy country, but +on the whole we are on a much firmer road than we were before reaching +Tati. Pitched into marmalade; it is wonderful how much one enjoys +such things here, where the coffee is without milk, the bread without +butter, and the meat dry as chips. + +“_September 2d._--Pleasant breeze. Petersen called me. I find I +am likely to have great luck. Here lives the Dutchman whose family +suffered so much from fever on the Ramaqueban. He has built a straw +hut, cool, roomy, and snug, with a higher entrance than the Kafir huts, +but shaped like them. His wife and family are with him, his eldest +married daughter, and members of the next generation. He has cattle +and goats, does his own blacksmith’s work, and hunts. They go as soon +as the unhealthy season begins to John Lee’s. They intend, in four +years I think, to return to their farm on the Meriko. Petersen acted +as interpreter, and it is arranged that I wait for the Dutchman, who +intends going to-morrow in my direction to get wood and hunt. He will +lend me some oxen. I believe it is nothing but the brackish water, +especially the Seruli water, that has made such a mess of my oxen. The +Dutchman says there is plenty of game along the road.... Noticed when +out in the afternoon, and we crossed the river-bed, how easily the +water rose, when one of the boys scooped out a hole with his hands; +very different from the dry river-beds the other side Tati. + +“_September 3d._--Morning felt very chilly. Breakfast on +‘biltong’[16] and butter; the fresh butter excellent. We branded +and left ‘Rondeberg,’ ‘Engeland,’ and ‘Vinal.’ The Boer put twelve +of his bullocks into my waggon, eight of mine in his, and ‘Donker,’ +‘Wildeman,’ and ‘Spot’ were driven.... Trekked about twelve miles, from +the Impakewe to the Inkwesi River, and outspanned about 6 P.M. + +“_September 4th._--Cup of coffee, and went out about 8 A.M., I and the +old man riding, his son walking ahead, and two of their men (Makalakas) +accompanying us.... I do not admire the Matabele particularly. They +are independent-looking and well made, but I do not like their +countenances. The day following there were a great many about the +waggons, attracted by the flesh. They eat like dogs, greedily. Beyond +this river, which the Dutchman calls Makobi’s, there was a tribe +of Mungwato people massacred some thirty or forty years ago by the +Matabele; Makobi, the chief, being amongst the slain. They were +killed--men, women, and children--to obtain possession of their land. A +few only escaped. + +“The scenery about our camp is picturesque. The kopjes rise abruptly, +and the river has steep craggy banks. There is an approach here to +American scenery. What a wonderful difference is made in one’s feelings +by the constant impression caused by fine scenery! South Africa is +sadly dull and monotonous, and I believe the influence is a bad one, +and the loss of scenery has a depressing effect on the spirits; one’s +imagination is never called into play.... I still admire the scenery, +as we ride along home amongst the kopjes by the river. Here and there +the large fleshy-leaved shrub,[17] standing boldly out amongst the bare +crags, is very striking. There is something here which might remind one +a little of Central America, but somehow the charm is wanting. + +“_September 5th._--... Inspanned at 7 P.M., and crossed the river. +Stony and deep descent and ascent, with very deep sand; very hard +work. I feel deeply indebted to the Dutchmen, who not only helped us +through it--the young fellow driving, and the old one helping--but, +having lent us four oxen for the journey, sent for some more, to help +us through this drift, after which they say all is right. Lovely moon +as we trekked, but after all it is South Africa, and one cannot feel +poetical. Picturesque kopjes on either side the road; the scenery, +however, not so striking as it was almost beginning to be at Makobi’s. +Outspanned at 10.30 P.M., having gone about six miles. Excellent supper +on wildebeest steak, fried. + +“_September 6th._--Dark cloudy morning, with a little rain. Started +at 7 A.M., and trekked six miles. The country where we stopped had +been much burnt, and looked very desolate, with bare ground and bare +trees, but there was a fine cool wind and a cloudy sky. I could fancy +it a sea breeze. They say at the king’s place you get the sea breeze. +Started again at 12.30 P.M. Here one enters on a bit of really fine +rugged country. Out of the level, scantily covered with dry brown grass +and with a thick growth of leafless trees (small for the most part), +rise huge boulders, so piled on one another, with here and there a huge +stone so nicely balanced on the top, that one wonders how they ever got +there. We are in a populous country, strings of people carrying things +on the road. Outspanned at 2.30 P.M. Here the Dutchman, Smith, had +been located, as there is a straw house, and water, the road crossing +a spruit. Here, too, is John Lee’s first kraal. People come round the +waggon to beg meat. One is a warrior, handsomely adorned with black +ostrich feathers and white ox-tails. Went on again at 5 P.M., the +ground rising a little. Then as we descend a range of kopjes appears +in front. In about an hour a pretty white farm is seen to the right, +towards which the road winds, and the wild view makes the farm seem to +welcome one. + +“Lee came to meet me, and asked me in. He is a fat, red-faced man; his +wife very young. His house had an air of comfort, and some luxury about +it, owing to some handsome leopard karosses on couch and chairs. There +was a picture, too, by Baines, of Lee shooting three elephants. The +horse here represented, which I think cost him £100, was the making +of him, he tells me. Lee was a Transvaal Boer, but speaks English. He +was about five years hunting. I had supper with him, and a long chat +afterwards. Garland, he says, lost seven unsalted horses, and had to +send for two salted ones. A good salted horse costs £100. Lee described +how his old favourite used to snuff when game was near, and when it +was elephant his manner was unmistakable. He has tried donkeys in the +tsetse-fly country, but the fly has always killed them. He says all +horses, with scarcely an exception, must have the sickness, but he has +known an exception. This, however, does not apply to stock bred of +salted parents, which often live and never have the sickness. This is +better, as the sickness breaks a horse down. + +“Lee has just sold twelve red oxen--Africanders, with white faces--for +£100, unwillingly. His other oxen are all in the hunting veldt. He +has, however, let me have Smith’s as far as Manyami’s, with a boy +to bring them back. I think he calls it ten miles to Manyami’s, and +from his (Lee’s) house to the King’s fifty odd miles. He says he saw +some eland to-day, but game is not plentiful just here. However, it +is worse along the road to the King’s, as kraals abound. Lee does not +wish to have kraals near him, and the king does not permit any to be +made in his neighbourhood. Most of the hunters, he says, make a great +deal of money, but spend their money as fast as they get it, saying, +‘There is more ivory where this came from.’ Lee himself was careful. +His place, he says, is very healthy, and it has got so good a name +that in unhealthy times people stay about here, and it has been like +a town, so that he opened a store. He is trying peaches, apricots, +and pomegranates. Potatoes grow well here, and he is seldom without +vegetables. He is trying several wild fruits. He has always water in +the spruit close by, and waters by hand. He showed me a small wild +grape. + +“Lee tells me that a lion may often be stopped by throwing your hat at +him, when you may have time to shoot. He says an elephant gun should +never be longer than 27 inches (25 is better), nor weigh over 9 lbs. +He shoots 8 drams of powder, and an 8 to the lb. ball. The recoil is +avoided by the barrel being strong, and nearly as thick at muzzle as at +breech. His clothing in hunting is as light as possible; veldt schoen, +and he says not even a shirt if he could help it. He carries needles +and thread in his hat. + +“For trading with the Matabele he recommends white, blue, and, I think, +red beads. Selampore is much liked, or strips of coloured calico. +Beads, he says, seem going out, and printed calico being preferred. +The Matabele country, he says, was formerly under a queen. There were, +I think, other queens before. An old man has told him the traditions, +which he possesses. A famine caused the people to break up; then +Kafirs came and conquered the country. Mosilikatze came next, and +conquered these first Kafirs. Makobi’s were Mungwato people, but the +old inhabitants of the Matabele country were a distinct race with a +distinct language. The Bushmen have nothing to do with either. They +seem an altogether different race, speaking a different language, and +seem, Lee says, to be scattered all over the country of South Africa, a +race apart from the regular inhabitants, and having no connexion with +them. + +“Lee has a young sable antelope, which goes with the cattle, about a +year old. It is a rich deep chestnut colour. Lee says they get darker +every year, till they become black. He once had a young elephant for +some days; perhaps nine months old. He describes it as having been a +most sensible and amusing pet. When first taken he made it put its +trunk under his arm, and after smelling him, it was satisfied and +became friendly. It always first smelt at strangers before making +friends, and if once repulsed would not be friendly afterwards. It +would climb in at the back of the waggon, and out at the front by the +wheels, and was accompanying the waggon when it died from diarrhœa, +caused by improper food. It would pick up a pin or a needle, placing it +first with its foot at the right angle for its trunk to grasp, and then +hold it up and examine it with wonderful sagacity. It was excessively +mischievous, and would upset everything. It could not bear to be left +alone for a moment, and would cry like a child in such a case. The +company even of a little child would content it. + +“_September 7th._--Breakfast with Lee; dinner also. One of his boys +caught some barbel and a curious-looking fish in the river. Talked +with Lee, and afterwards saw his garden. Inspanned about 8 P.M., and +soon crossed a river with sand and reeds, and a good deal of water +in its bed. It was a fine moonlight night, the road winding through +picturesque kopjes. Went about six miles, and then halted for the night. + +“_September 8th._--Started at 7 A.M., and went four miles through flat +land, with but few trees, and hemmed in by craggy, bush-covered kopjes. +Came in sight of cultivated land and natives, and reached Manyami’s +kraal at 9 A.M. The country here is really pretty, and presents a +pleasing variety to the eye. The ground is open mostly, and covered +with long yellow grass; here and there groups of trees, some of a very +fair size, some bare, some brown, and a few green or in blossom. Large +stones crop up from the ground, and everywhere rugged kopjes rise round +us. + + [Illustration: MANYAMI.] + + [Illustration: MANYAMI’S ATTENDANT.] + +“Soon after our arrival Manyami came, attended by another old fellow, +each in a shabby old hat, and vying with each other in squalor and +dirt. He refused firmly to send to the king till to-morrow, saying +the king had not sent for _me_, but I had come of my own accord, +and must not be in a hurry; the oxen could feed and rest. I gave him +a bar of lead. Two messengers were to be sent, and I wrote a note to +Fairbairn for oxen, and the boy was directed to bring them back.[18] +Manyami insisted on their being paid beforehand, and intimated that +they might not carry out their message properly unless I paid them. I +was angry at their exorbitance, one demanding two coils of wire; to the +other I gave half a bar of lead. The old fellow hung about begging. +Women brought mealies and Kafir corn. Milk and beer were also brought, +and I told them to bring Kafir corn meal next day, which they did, +but were very fanciful in their demands, one wanting beads, another +must have brass wire, another a handkerchief, and so on. I find they +don’t care for mirrors; look at themselves, and are highly amused, but +refuse them as payment. Common knives are likewise refused, but gun +caps taken eagerly. They like printed calico better than white, which +they affect to despise. The outcry was for long strips of coloured +stuff, and they preferred the quarter of two handkerchiefs (i.e. half +a handkerchief in quantity), cut lengthwise, to one whole one. Stayed +about waggon all day. Pitched tent, and got things out. + +“_September 9th._--The night had been very mild. Old Manyami came +bothering early. In the course of the day he kept on coming, and I gave +him twenty gun caps. Wonder of wonders, he afterwards presented me with +a pumpkin, and I felt less hostile to the old creature. He is really a +miserable-looking, ugly, and filthy creature. Stayed about waggon again +to-day. + +“_September 10th._--Early breakfast, and then out with the Kafirs +to shoot. One carried my ten-bore, one led the dogs, which I am taking +out to help to hunt. Went in a north-easterly direction, through very +fine picturesque kopjes, with blue distant ranges; the grass long +and yellow, and the trees grouped prettily; some kopjes with craggy +tops, and partially covered with evergreens, others showing more of +their stony formation. A good many trees are covered with bunches of +cream-coloured blossoms something like ‘May,’ but have no leaves. They +remind me a little of ‘snow-balls.’ Here and there we see a tree whose +leaves are brown or scarlet with decay. In places where the grass has +been burnt, fresh green blades are springing. There are numbers of +little burns here with moist oozy banks, and in many places with water +in them, that I suppose find their way to the Shashani. We had to go +through a burning patch of country. The flames appeared orange-red, and +presented a rather formidable phalanx, writhing in the wind, and with +wreaths of dun-coloured smoke rising from them, which indeed filled +the air with lighter clouds of the same colour, here and there the +wreaths appearing bluish, whilst a dusky haze hung over the horizon. +As the flames devoured the yellow grass, they left a blackened track +behind. The trees, however, seem to escape; some in blossom, some in +autumnal tints, but the greater portion leafless.... One of the boys +who came to the waggon had a charm of bone suspended from his breast. +It consisted of four pieces of bone, carved and strung together. By +them he professes to foretell what luck will befall a hunter or any +one else. They are unstrung and shaken in the hand, and then thrown +on the ground. The person going to hunt must spit on the ground, and +as he throws he must say, ‘My gun! may I shoot something.’ The bones, +as they are hung, appear about the size and shape of a swallow-tail +butterfly. I like the Matabele better than I did. They are good-natured +and jovial, and seem to understand a joke. There were great firings and +noises at the kraal in the evening, in honour, it appears, of a man +returned from the diamond-fields. + +“_September 11th._--Fair, pleasant, windy day. Eight oxen and a note +from Fairbairn, who says I have missed a dance at Gubuleweyo. The king +says I am to come and make haste. A letter from Gubuleweyo to forward +to the Tati excites more exorbitant demands for payment. Two boys must +take it, and each have a pannikin of powder. Manyami said he must see +the powder before he would send the boys. Great noises at the kraal +again to-night. + +“_September 12th._--Manyami brought a small elephant tusk for sale, +weighing a little over a pound, and asked five coils of wire for it. I +offered him two, which he accepted. He is an extremely ugly little old +man, and simply filthy. Packed the waggon and started at 11 A.M., the +road winding amongst kopjes. We crossed several spruits, and stopped at +the Shashani River about 1 P.M. Beans and guinea-fowl for dinner. Dick +went back to look for screw-jack, and we lost a trek in consequence. + +“_September 13th._--Inspanned at 3 A.M.; most villainous jolting. +Really fine country here; kopjes on every side, rising into fine crags, +with huge stones strewed on the ground. In the distance more ranges of +kopjes are to be seen, becoming blue against the horizon; and though +the kopjes themselves are too stony to give growth to many trees, trees +intervene. One could make a picture here. Country a good deal burnt in +places, and fresh grass springing up green. Later in the day, after a +long rest, we went through ordinary flat bush veldt, and then through +an open undulating country, covered with yellow grass; a few trees +and detached kopjes in the distance. Passed several kraals, and went +through mealie stubble-fields, fenced from the waggon-track by branches +rudely stuck in the ground. A crowd of Kafirs, making a fearful noise, +appeared, and accompanied the waggon to where we were going to outspan, +so we went on a little further past the kraal. There was a perfect +Babel. A few men came after us when we had halted--swarthy fellows, +with splendid teeth. One had a fine leopard-skin he was anxious to +sell; others a wooden dish, beans, Kafir corn, tobacco, and beer. The +men’s head-dresses were various and becoming. One man we passed had +on a skull-cap of spotted tiger-cat skin, with feathers sticking out +behind like eagles’ or pauws’. Others wore round masses of feathers +(one was of guinea-fowls’) nearly as big as their heads, and one had a +jackal’s tail sticking straight up over his forehead. They were not at +all an unpleasant-looking or unfriendly set, though noisy and forward. + + [Illustration: FEATHER HEAD-DRESS.] + +“_September 14th._--Fine bright morning; clear sky. Two hours’ trekking +brought us to Kumala River, now dry, which we crossed, outspanning +a mile or two further on. The country here is open, park-like, and +undulating, extending away in a nearly level plain to the right. After +we had stopped, a number of impudent Kafirs crowded round the waggon. +One made a fearful row, at last coming to entreaties, saying we had set +the veldt on fire. + + [Illustration: HEAD-DRESS OF ZEBRA-SKIN AND FEATHERS.] + +“Starting again at 4 P.M., we next went over rising ground, the country +getting very clear of timber, and at half-past six stopped at a small +spruit with water in it, having crossed two previously. A long, dry, +treeless plain here stretched before us, with kopjes rising into ranges +against the horizon. It seems the spruit we are now outspanned at is +the head-waters of a river flowing into the Limpopo, and where we were +outspanned this morning is the head-waters of Kumala River, which flows +into the Zambesi.” + +The day afterwards a short trek of about three miles brought the +traveller to the King’s Town, as related in the ensuing chapter. + + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + Arrival at Gubuleweyo--Interview with the King--Start + for the Zambesi--Hope Fountain--Inyati--Difficulty of + obtaining bearers--The Zambesi abandoned--Hunting expedition + on the Umvungu and Gwailo Rivers--Experiences of a + half-caste--Birds’ nests--The indunas’ tree--Hunting--A lunar + eclipse--Return to Gubuleweyo--Wild fruit. + + +The account of Frank Oates’s present stay at Gubuleweyo, and his first +impressions of the town and its inhabitants, taken from his Journal, +is somewhat scanty. This was one of those more striking episodes in +the journey, which needed no written record to impress their details +upon his mind, and the narrative of which in this, as in other similar +instances, is consequently the most wanting, where the reader would +naturally expect and desire to find it the fullest. The account, such +as it is, of his arrival at the town, and the first two days spent +there, is taken as follows from his Journal:-- + +“_September 15th._--Another trek of about an hour and a half brought +us, about 9 A.M., to Gubuleweyo. There is not much timber as the +kraal is approached. The scene is picturesque but desolate, the road +winding and steep. Some of the peculiar-looking trees[19] are here of +great size. Strings of women were carrying vessels of water on their +heads as we arrived. It was bitterly cold, and there was both wind and +rain. Fairbairn and a number of others were standing about the kraal. +Petersen was there, and introduced me. They asked me in, and I drew up +my waggon to Fairbairn’s ‘scherm,’[20] and had breakfast with them. +Fairbairn and Petersen took me to the king, whom I called on out of +compliment, telling him that I had not yet unpacked my waggon--a hint +that I should have a present for him. He was very gracious, and placed +meat and plates before me, and inquired what sport I had had coming up, +noticing the dilapidated state of my dress. I was going out of the hut +legs first, when he pulled me back and made me go head first. He sent +me to look at his new house, of which he is very proud. It is being +built of brick by an Englishman. + +“In the afternoon Fairbairn and I rode over to see Mr. Thomson, the +missionary. He will act as interpreter if I wish, but does not think +it necessary. As we returned at sundown, we met a party of natives. +They were Umtegan’s troop, returning from an ‘impey,’ or raid, with +cattle taken from the Mashonas, a tribe not altogether subject to the +king, though a part of them are. Umtegan was in European clothes, and +on horseback. They stopped to go through the exercise of certain rites +before entering the town. They had only a few hundred bullocks with +them. Lately some thousands were brought in by an impey of a similar +kind. At supper I had a young lion to pet; it belongs to the king, +and roams about amongst the traders. There is a waggon at Fairbairn’s +made at Beverley, in Yorkshire, which was brought out here in separate +pieces, and fitted together afterwards. Fairbairn says it is a capital +one. The poor man who brought it from England died before landing. + +“_September 16th._--Took the king my present--a central fire shot gun +with ammunition. As I approached, with men carrying it, he took me by +the hand and led me to a waggon, and sat on the ‘dissel-boom.’[21] We +all sat on the ground. He was much pleased with the gun, and thanked +me. The men with me would ask for beer, and he sent us to his sister +for it. She was lying on a rug at her hut door, and I was introduced.” + +It was now ascertained from those here who knew most about the matter, +that it was not even yet considered too late to reach the Zambesi +that season, by taking a more direct route from this place, to be +accomplished for the most part on foot, instead of proceeding along the +usual trade route by way of Tati, which is available for waggons, but +a good deal further round from the King’s Town. On hearing this, Frank +Oates at once determined to try and reach the river by the shorter road +that season, and the remainder of the time he spent on this occasion +at Gubuleweyo was chiefly occupied in obtaining information for the +expedition, and making the necessary arrangements for it. The early +part of the journey could be accomplished with the waggon and oxen; +after that it would be necessary to go on foot. + +On the evening of the 24th of September he accordingly started with +his waggon, remaining the night with Mr. Thomson, the missionary, at +Hope Fountain, a short distance from the kraal. The night was very +close,--the first which had been so,--and on the following evening, +after they had trekked some miles from Mr. Thomson’s in the direction +of Inyati to the north-east, there was heavy rain and wind, accompanied +by thunder and lightning. This rain, the first there had yet been, +was said to be earlier than usual in its commencement by about two +months. The other conditions, however, of the projected journey to the +Zambesi, all of them, still appeared favourable. It was the traveller’s +long-cherished desire at least to reach the Zambesi, and see the Falls, +if he found it inexpedient on the present occasion to cross the river +and penetrate into the less known territory to the northward. But there +were difficulties, not only of climate, but from the obstructiveness +of native character, to be encountered, and endless was the opposition +which he met with from the latter cause. Four distinct attempts did he +make at various times from this date to reach the river, and in each +of the first three was he destined to disappointment. His present +effort, made in September, was the first of these; his fourth and +last attempt was made at the end of the succeeding year, nor was it +till the last day of 1874 that he actually beheld the white spray of +the great cataract breaking through the trees upon the river’s bank. +That effort truly was rewarded with success, yet a success how dearly +purchased--with his life! + +Before leaving Hope Fountain, to resume the journey, he wrote home the +following letter to his mother:-- + + “MR. THOMSON’S, NEAR GUBULEWEYO, + “_September 25th, 1873_. + +“You will, no doubt, have more recent news from Willie than from me. +I left him with Buckley and Gilchrist at the Tati, meditating a short +journey in the neighbourhood before leaving, and came on myself to the +King’s Town, Gubuleweyo, the site, or somewhere near the site, of the +place marked in the maps as Mosilikatze’s Town. Mosilikatze was the +father of the present king, and conquered this country. The name of the +nation is the Matabele, which is always shown in the maps. The former +inhabitants of the country were divided into various nations, but it +is all called the Matabele country now from the name of its powerful +owners. The country reaches to the Zambesi, and produces a great deal +of ivory and ostrich feathers. There are a good many white men at +Gubuleweyo, trading. Mr. Fairbairn, a young Scotchman, is my agent +there. + +“I cannot give you a detailed account of my stay of nine days at the +King’s Town. It is really to a stranger a most curious place. The king, +Lobengula, lives in royal state. He is absolute monarch, and feared +and obeyed far and wide. The people inhabiting the country we have +passed through in coming here are altogether of an inferior race. At +Bamangwato there is a king, but he is thought nothing of. I called on +‘Bengula, accompanied by Fairbairn, the day I arrived here, and found +him the picture of a savage king, just as one might have imagined, and +coming quite up to the standard. The day I first saw him he was nearly +naked, and lying on a skin inside his hut, to enter which you have +to crawl in on your hands and knees through a little aperture in the +front; in fact it is like a beehive entrance. He took me by the hand, +and placed meat before me, and asked a few questions about my journey. +I told him I should come again next day. Of course I had to make him a +present, and I knew he would expect it next day, after which I should +ask his leave and assistance to go through his country to the Victoria +Falls if possible. I gave him a gun and ammunition, which pleased him +very much, and he has done everything he could for me. It appeared +that I was still in time to reach the Falls by going on foot, after +leaving my waggon at the place marked on the map as Inyati. The king +said it was possible to get to the Falls in ten days, and I suppose at +my rate of travelling it ought to be; done in a fortnight or three +weeks at most, and the king says I have still two months of favourable +weather, but so anxious is he that no white man should come to grief in +his country, that he has been urging on me all possible haste from the +moment the subject was first mentioned. He has given me two excellent +men as guides; these two, having the king’s authority, will carry all +before them. + +“I left Gubuleweyo last night, and came on as far as here, the house of +Mr. Thomson the missionary, for my first trek. Mr. Thomson has kindly +interested himself in me, and done all he could to assist me. He has +a nice wife and children, and this morning I have had the luxury of a +civilized breakfast, including tablecloth, bread and butter and eggs, +and milk to one’s coffee--things that I don’t often see now. I am now +availing myself of one of his rooms to write to you in. + +“One of the men appointed by the king to guide me--himself a man +of high character and good family, as Mr. Thomson tells me--left +Gubuleweyo with me, and this morning hurried on to get bearers for me +at the kraals ahead. I shall want from twenty to thirty, and as it will +take some time to collect them, and my oxen want rest, I shall follow +slowly, making a three or four days’ journey of what is usually done in +two days. At Inyati, where I am to leave my waggon, are two white men +trading. These are the last outposts of civilization, but up to that +point there is regular communication all the way--that is to say, all +the way my waggon takes me. If I find that I am delayed and cannot +reach the Falls as quickly as I had hoped, I shall very likely turn +back without accomplishing my object, as I am desirous not to run any +foolish risks, and have been at great pains in collecting all possible +information. + +“The men who carry my things will be most of them of the conquered +population, and the two guides appointed by the king (one of whom, +as I have mentioned, left me this morning to go on in advance, the +other being now at Inyati) are able to do what they like. No one dare +oppose the king, and the Matabele men he gives me renders any fear of +desertion or disobedience superfluous. Besides, these two men know that +they must carry out the king’s orders to the letter. I have also got +an interpreter, a man who speaks English and Kafir perfectly, my own +servant Hendrik, and my driver and his boy.[22] I shall take my tent if +possible, plenty of ground sheets and bedding, meal, tins of biscuits, +and coffee. For meat we have to rely on the guns carried by the party, +but there seems not the slightest fear of scarcity, in fact the bearers +are expected to live entirely on meat, having guns and ammunition +allowed them for the purpose. No beast of burden or dog can accompany +us, as it is the tsetse-fly country. + +“Had it been earlier in the season I should have gone from the Tati, +by which route you can take your waggon to within a few miles of the +Falls, but as I should have had to see the king first, to get his +permission, by the time I could have returned to the Tati it would +have been too late. I have not a map before me now, but suppose it +may be 200 miles or thereabouts from Inyati, my starting-point, to +the Victoria Falls. I shall hurry on to the Zambesi, so as to leave +the river as soon as possible. I can then take my time in returning, +as when I leave the river the worst is over, and I soon get into a +healthy country again, but, as of course every one knows, the Zambesi +at certain seasons of the year is unhealthy. All this I have carefully +studied, and have been guided by what I consider reliable evidence. +I shall be further guided by circumstances that may occur, and shall +exercise my judgment as to how far I carry out my original project.” + +Leaving Hope Fountain after writing the above, on the 25th of +September, the traveller went a short distance that night, and +continued his journey early on the following morning. Here the Journal +for the next two days resumes the story:-- + +“_September 26th._--Cool, cloudy morning; the wind in our faces. +Started about 7.30 A.M., and went six miles. The country we passed +through was bush veldt; trees small, and in most places thinly +scattered; grass very dry. One of the boys was running wildly about +to keep himself warm--a hint for me to give him a shirt. The wind was +high, and where we outspanned the boys made a fire in the hollow bed +of a spruit. Starting again at 1 P.M., the country assumed rather a +fresh aspect, with a green verdure like that of a young corn-field, +where the grass had been burnt. The trees here were not close, and some +were a good size, with young foliage of a vivid green. Passing next +between two kopjes, we descended into a fine, bushy, undulating tract, +misty-looking in the distance under a lowering sky. Outspanned at 3.40 +P.M. at the Cokhé River, and had tea. Here they told me there was a +kraal close by, presided over by ‘Bengula’s brother, Bolinlila; and as +some of the oxen were tired, I sent over to see if I could leave them +here. The reply being favourable, and a present requested, I sent the +oxen--five in number--with a small strip of coloured calico. + +“The boy sent me by the king, who was running about so vigorously this +morning, now showed me a small scratch on his heel, and asked to be +doctored. I put on some glycerine, but believe it was a ruse, as he +afterwards got on the sacks at the back of the waggon, and rode instead +of walking. The other man who was sent me by the king is the thinnest +mortal I think I ever saw, his legs literally like those of spiders. +It was dreadfully cold, and I gave all the poor wretches some hot tea. +Towards evening we advanced again four miles further. It was like a +cold trek on the high veldt--front sail drawn down, candle lighted, +myself in the blankets. Outspanned at 7.40 P.M. Windy and +rainy night. + +“_September 27th._--Dark windy morning; Scotch mist. Hendrik woke me +soon after six, to say they were inspanned. We made two treks--about +twelve miles in all--and stopped about 3 P.M. at the Bembesi River, +where some boys herding cattle brought us sour milk curdled for +sale, which was very good. During the morning we passed some very +striking-looking trees, leafless, but covered with large clusters +of bright scarlet flowers on straight, brittle, thorny stalks. At a +distance they looked like naked trees covered with scarlet berries, +such as one sees in winter at home. Before night we went on four miles +further, and stopped one trek they say from our destination.” + +At ten o’clock the following morning the Inquinquesi, a larger river +than the Bembesi, with plenty of water in it and a sandy bed, was +crossed, and a halt made upon its banks. Here was Inchlangin, the +kraal where the traders were, Inyati itself being a short way off. +Thither a messenger was at once despatched to ascertain what success +the king’s man, who had gone on in advance, had had in obtaining +bearers. Soon afterwards this man presented himself at the waggon, +saying that the boys required for the journey would be forthcoming the +following morning. When the day arrived, however, they were not brought +in sufficient numbers to be of any service, and the start had to be +postponed a day or two longer, pending the results of further efforts. +The following is the day’s entry in the Journal:-- + +“_September 29th._--Fine warm day; heavy rain in the evening. The +king’s man came again; this time accompanied by the induna of the kraal +(I suppose only the acting induna, as the real one is the man I met +at the King’s). He brought with him two other chief men, given me as +well as himself by the king, and to all three I gave some limbo. The +induna said he would rather have a shirt, and I told him I would give +it him when he had got me the boys. He only brought three to-day. Two +volunteers, whom I told to wait, also presented themselves from another +distant kraal. + +“After this, as no more could be done, I went out shooting with +Mandy (one of the traders here) in the afternoon, and got some +birds. We had a pleasant walk, and saw the wild cotton growing. We +also saw a beautiful tree with delicate green leaves and wreaths of +violet-coloured laburnum-like blossoms; also a very sweetly-scented +flower, white and star-shaped, growing in small clusters upon a tree +of some size. Mandy says there are crocodiles here, but the king does +not allow them to be killed, as it is thought that any one possessing +the body can work spells. It is death to a native to kill one. A white +man on one occasion shot one here eighteen feet long, which had been +destroying calves and goats, and the king sent to have it buried, and +had men to watch the place. + +“It seems that lately, during a ceremony previous to the king’s +marriage (circumcision), it was thought inauspicious for any guns to be +fired in the neighbourhood. They say a Kafir who fired one somewhere +in the veldt at the time was impaled for it.” + +The greater part of the following day (September 30th) was spent in +packing and arranging things for the walk to the Falls, and it was +not till the day after this that the induna reappeared, now stating +that he could not get bearers. The natives, it is likely enough, were +afraid of fever on the Zambesi at this season, and did not want to +go, but it afterwards appeared that the induna of the kraal and the +headman sent by the king had made no proper efforts to obtain the staff +required for the journey. The upshot of the matter was that the Zambesi +had to be abandoned, and the traveller obtained instead permission +from the king to go for a few weeks’ hunting into the country to the +north-east, where good sport was likely to be had. Before starting on +this expedition he wrote home from Inyati, on October 5th, as follows:-- + +“You will not be much surprised to hear that I have had to give up the +Zambesi. I got here just in time to do it, if the carriers had been +forthcoming, but the people in authority threw so many difficulties in +my way, that I had to send back to the king, and so much valuable time +has been lost that I have given up the expedition. I am, however, going +a little way into the country with my waggon, and shall probably be a +month or two before I am back again here. + +“There are three Englishmen living here, trading. Two of them, in whose +house I am now writing, are very obliging to me. This is a mission +station, but there is no missionary here now. It is the last post of +white men in this part of the world. When you reach the Zambesi you +come to the outposts of the Portuguese traders from the east coast, but +between these points are no Europeans settled. The rain is beginning, +though the regular rains have not set in yet. It is after the first +heavy rains that fever begins to annoy people on the Zambesi, but +I believe, generally, even then only slightly, but after the next +downfall--when there is much rain and the rain is beginning to dry up, +about January, February, and March--the really bad season sets in. +However, I am now avoiding even the former risk, and where I am going +I shall be so near here all the time that I can return almost when I +choose. I don’t exactly know where I am going, but it will be somewhere +in a north or north-easterly direction from here. + +“I hear that Cruickshank, my agent at Bamangwato, is now at the King’s +Town, but I am three days’ journey from there, and he will shortly +be returning to Bamangwato. Fairbairn, his agent at the King’s Town, +will, however, in all probability, be there when I return, and here I +am in good hands too, so that I have friends all along the road, and +letters always come and go as surely, if more slowly, than where there +is a regular post, for waggons are constantly coming and going, and +everybody helps everybody else in this part of the world. I have been +pressed into the service as postman myself before now. Only delays +must be expected, and are often very vexatious.” + +On the 7th of October Frank Oates started on his projected expedition +in the north-east, on which he was absent from Inyati in all about +seven weeks. The district traversed during his absence was that watered +by the Gwailo and Umvungu Rivers, the furthest point reached being the +Umgwanya. The circumstances of the first few days of these wanderings +may be recounted in his own words as follows, taken from his Journal:-- + +“_October 7th._--Sultry, oppressive day; very cloudy. Packed waggon, +and left Inyati about 4 P.M. We passed through bush country, with +fine open level spaces, which would be excellent riding ground; some +fine old baobab trees in the distance exactly like oaks, with gnarled +crooked arms. These trees have dark green foliage, and here and there +stand almost isolated. Close; a very disagreeable smell frequent, +Hendrik says of black ants. Now and then sweet perfumes from flowering +shrubs.... As it got dark we outspanned about 7 P.M., having water for +our own use in our casks. A large group of men round the fire. We had +come perhaps nine miles. + +“_October 8th._--Mild, cloudy, breezy morning. Crossed the dry beds +of two small rivers (branches of the Lelongwe), with a kraal placed +between them; the ground level so far. Men bring ostrich eggs; women +bring Indian and Kafir corn and beans. Bought the upper mandible of +an eagle from the neck of a man, hanging by a thin leather strap. +Hendrik says these eagles kill goats. Also bought ostrich feathers +and eggs, milk and corn. We had outspanned. Presently resuming the +journey, we crossed the third arm of the Lelongwe, and then the reedy +bed of a spruit, where we dug in the sand, and found plenty of nice +mineral-tasted water, which the men and dogs drank. Reached the site +of an old kraal, Intembin, about noon. Hendrik calls these people +‘Maholies.’ They are far easier to deal with than the Matabele, take +what you give them and are satisfied. They asked for red, but took +blue, beads, and were delighted with red with white stripe. Stopped +to rest at 1.15, and made another trek before night, finally stopping +about 6 P.M. near a rather large river, with heavy sand in its bed. + +“_October 9th._--Overcast, delicious day. Started at 7 A.M., and about +9 crossed the Tchangani--the largest river we have yet seen since +leaving Inyati--and outspanned, continuing the journey in the afternoon +for about three hours. This last trek was a very pleasant one, over +falling ground. As we outspanned (about 4 P.M.), John told me that a +‘honey’s (bees’) nest’ had been found by Hendrik. The boys went off, +and it was found in the hollow trunk of a large tree, into which the +bees went by a hole in the side of the tree. They put fire into the +hole, having kindled a small one close to the tree, and then with an +axe cut open the trunk. The bees seemed on the whole pretty quiet, and +I don’t think their sting can be bad, as the men seemed tolerably +indifferent. The cells, when taken out, proved full of grubs.... One of +the boys was carrying two squirrels killed by a dog; another had found +roots. I tried the latter, and found them slightly bitter and at the +same time sweet. They are chewed and the juice swallowed. The only leaf +visible is contained in a small green shoot, apparently just coming +out of the ground, but the roots are very large and long. Another boy +brought a pretty duiker, which he had killed with an assegai. + +“_October 10th._--We seem on a sort of plateau, with lower ground in +front. Beyond is high land, blue in the distance. Starting a little +before 7 A.M., we reached the Umvungu about 9, a big reedy river with +water in its bed. When we arrived one of the boys was calling out, and +we found he had shot a sable antelope. Many flowers are now springing +up in the veldt, and the tints of the trees are very lovely, reminding +one of an English spring, or, in some respects, of autumn; different +shades of green and yellow. In the course of the afternoon we entered +very thick bush, the thickest I have yet met with in South Africa, +and more like English wood in general appearance than what we have +hitherto seen, the trees budding with delicate tints of fresh green, +brown, and yellow. Soon after entering the bush fresh elephant spoor +was announced--the first I have yet heard of--and a few minutes later +we came on a broken tree lying across the road, and more fresh elephant +spoor. Emerged from the thick bush about 5.20 P.M., and soon afterwards +outspanned at a spruit.” + +The following day (October 11) the party reached the Gwailo River, +which was crossed without difficulty. A half-caste Cape man, who was +hunting here, named Nelson, rode up and gave a very bad report. He had +shot fourteen elephants in two months, and a few ostriches. He said the +Mashonas, hunting the elephants with their assegais, and shouting, had +driven them away. His plan now was to go to Damaraland, _viâ_ Lake +Ngami, where he had been before and found elephants abundant. + +Resuming his journey in the afternoon, Frank Oates now struck across +the veldt to the south-east, and crossed the Umgwanya River the +following morning, proceeding afterwards a few miles up its banks. At +this point he had intended to encamp for a few days; but hearing from +two natives who came to the waggon that there were still elephants in +the thick bush which had been passed through the day before, he felt +tempted to return there; and on the 13th, recrossing the Umgwanya and +Gwailo Rivers, in a more direct line than he had taken coming, went +back in the direction of the Umvungu. “A boa-constrictor,” he here +writes, “six feet six inches long, and as thick as my wrist, lay its +length upon the ground, and was skilfully transfixed by one of my boys’ +assegais, and pinned to the ground. The lads were evidently afraid of +his bite, but the men say that it is harmless.... The Mashonas use +these snakes as an article of food.” + +Next day the spruit which they had outspanned at on the 10th, near +the thick elephant bush they were making for, was reached, and here, +a short way off the waggon-track, under some remarkably picturesque +kopjes, the landscape all budding with the green of spring, a camp was +formed, where the party remained about a fortnight hunting. The boys +made themselves some snug huts of branches and dry grass to sleep in. +Here the Journal again takes up the story:-- + +“_October 14th._--... Nelson came up to the waggon when we were +outspanned. He had not left, but had stopped about near the place where +we had outspanned when we first came through the thick bush. He had +come on a herd of many (he says forty) elephants, driven six out of +the herd, and shot four, but lost two of them--one a large bull. He +had killed two bulls. This occurred the day before yesterday. I walked +away with him in the evening towards his waggon. We found some nests +of amadavats--the little pink ones, I fancy. Some were in course of +construction, some finished; all hanging like fruit from a tree. One +I took contained two eggs, white speckled with red. Macloule[23] gave +me this evening two goatsucker’s eggs he had found, partly sat on. The +nest is very slight, and placed on the ground.[24] + + [Illustration: BIRDS’ NESTS.] + +“_October 15th._--Soon after 7 A.M. started with boys to hunt.... +Maqueban found the carcass of an elephant killed a few days ago. The +two teeth--one broken, but as heavy as the other--weighed together 20 +lbs., as I found afterwards. The boys rushed to the carcass, and were +soon at work dismembering it. It may be one of Nelson’s, but my boys +think it died before Sunday (the day Nelson killed his). A great many +kites flew sweeping round. It was a regular scene, such as one sees in +pictures, the Kafirs at work cutting off trunk and feet and strips of +flesh. It was a cow elephant, and vultures and other creatures had got +the end of the trunk and what they could without breaking the skin. +Fires were lighted and meat cooked and devoured, whilst large pieces +were put aside for removal. When the filth was extracted from one of +the tusks, ‘Sassaybi’[25] threw back his head and held it up first to +one then to the other nostril. This is supposed to be a good thing for +any one troubled with nose-bleeding on hot days. Sassaybi likewise +scraped some stuff like cobbler’s wax from where the tusk is inserted +in the skin. He said it was to be used as a charm.... As we travel +through the bush Indian file, returning to the waggon, Echle (the chief +hunter I have with me), meeting a small tortoise, picks it up, spits on +it, and puts it to his forehead. He says this is lucky when you want +to get elephants, and he says, however large the tortoise is, this is +done. He is then allowed to walk off. + +“_October 16th._--Shots heard near the waggon early, and Nelson +arrives, having shot a fine bull eland quite near to my waggon. He says +he was looking for elephant spoor when he found the eland, and drove +him seven miles. He is a mighty brute, bigger than an average bullock. +The hide is very thick. We had breakfast on eland steak fried in fat, +and enjoyed it very much. Nelson says, when in Damaraland, he got a +young elephant, but it died from neglect coming through seventy miles +of the ‘thirst land.’ He says they are easy to keep, and so are young +ostriches. The latter can be driven with the bullocks. He says there +are plenty of crocodiles in the river beyond the Gwailo. + +“Nelson showed me, when we were out together in the veldt the day +before yesterday, some remains of Mashona huts destroyed by the +Matabele. He says they are to be found all over the veldt, and bones +amongst many of them. Some of the Mashonas are subject to the Matabele. +Those that refuse allegiance are mercilessly hunted down. They are all +formed of independent little tribes, and when war is made against one +the others don’t assist them. Therefore they fall an easy prey. The +impeys sent out against them for their cattle are what I heard of at +Gubuleweyo. Nelson says lately in an impey a kraal was taken, the young +men killed (they throw away their scanty dress and run and are killed +‘like springbok’), and the old men and women burnt to death. The young +women and children were made slaves of, and the cattle taken. Nelson’s +Matabele boys wanted him lately to drive off some cattle, saying the +king might give him fifty of them, but he refused. The cattle and all +the animals are kept in the same place as the Mashonas themselves live +in (the same house, Nelson calls it). They are thus easily surrounded +by the Matabele. The Matabele despise those who own allegiance to their +chief, and call them slaves. One of the latter in Nelson’s employ blew +his face off with some gunpowder, doing something for his master on one +occasion. ‘Never mind,’ said Nelson’s Matabele, ‘it is nothing, he is a +dog’ (the usual epithet). The man’s father came to Nelson and asked to +be paid, and was quite satisfied with a few coils of brass wire. Once, +when Nelson killed a rhinoceros, a number of Mashona came for the meat +and began fighting. They would cry, ‘This is mine,’ ‘This is mine,’ and +two were killed. Nelson went away, feeling, he says, quite frightened +at the scene. An assegai was thrust into one man’s heart by another who +was quarrelling with him before Nelson’s eyes. + +“In Damaraland, he says, the Bushmen are much better to get on with +than the Matabele are here. They work for you like slaves for a little +meat. They are under independent petty chiefs, and bring magnificent +ostrich feathers for a small strip of limbo or other very trifling +payment. From what Nelson says, it must be a capital place for the +hunter, ivory being large, white, and plentiful, and easily got, and +the natives most willing to assist. + +“_October 17th._--Sleepless night; dogs barking at hyænas. I was kept +to the waggon yesterday with a sore heel, and to-day did not go far. +Nelson came to the waggon in the afternoon. He tells me that, on the +opposite side of the road, about ten miles away, is a ‘fountain,’[26] +with one or two waters intervening, and plenty of game. He does not +know whether the king allows any one to go into this veldt; but it is a +good country for a waggon to travel in.... I went out with him a little +in the evening. He says he has seen two elephants’ tusks from near +the Zambesi of 70 lbs. each--the largest he ever saw. He has seen an +elephant with four tusks, and a Boer he speaks of shot one with eight; +one of 70 lbs., the others of about 2 lbs. each. + +“When Nelson was a young boy, his father, he tells me, trading near +Sechele’s, being at feud with the missionary there, who had surrounded +his waggon with forty Kafirs, and incited them to seize his goods, he +determined to blow them up; but, in applying the light to the inside +of the waggon, where was a lot of gunpowder, he was not quite quick +enough, and was himself blown up with the missionary (a German) and the +Kafirs. Nelson himself lay many hours on the ground insensible, much +scorched. He had been standing close to the front wheel; his father was +on the front-box. Nelson must have escaped thus lightly almost by a +miracle. When he came to himself, he saw the wreck, his father and the +Kafirs lying dead, and was pursued and fired at by Kafirs. The bullets +passed close to him, and the Kafirs pursued, but could not catch him. +He has still scars on his legs, made in passing through the thorns, and +one on his face, caused by the explosion. He spent three days wandering +in the veldt without food, but, it being the rainy season, he had +water, and on the fourth day he came to a waggon. + +“There was a scene to-day when Nelson’s two boys, who claim the ivory +we got the other day, came to the waggon. Nelson told me not to give +it to them, but did not want them to know he had given me this hint. +The ivory, it seems, would not be his anyhow, as the king’s man who +is with him hunts on his own account and would claim it. My boys were +resolute to keep it, and we let them fight it out by themselves, which +they did very noisily, finally saying it should be referred to the +king. It seems to me that, picked up in the veldt, it belongs to the +finder, unless the shooter has followed it up himself. This Nelson +says his men did not attempt--though he advised it--saying it would be +useless.” + +From this time till the 27th of the month, the party remained in the +same camp, making frequent excursions thence in search of game, first +in one direction, then in another. Here they met with more quagga and +sable antelope than any other game, but there were also eland, koodoo, +and sassaybi, besides some of the lesser antelopes and wild pigs in +abundance. “Near the spruit on which we stand,” writes Frank Oates at +this point, “is the most really picturesque bit of craggy and sylvan +scenery I have yet seen. Our present camp indeed is far the best in +that respect we have ever yet had. It is now spring, moreover; the +first rains have fallen, and refreshed nature is beginning to resume +her long-lost garb of green.” + +The following quotation from the Journal of the 18th gives a pleasant +glimpse into one of their longer rambles from this camp:--“Started +about 7.30 A.M., and walked nearly three hours, first through +the thin, then through the thick, bush, striking a path during the +walk which we followed to the south-west, and which brought us out +under a huge spreading baobab, the largest tree I have yet seen since +leaving Pietermaritzburg. They call it the ‘Indunas’ tree,’ for here +the indunas from the neighbouring kraals are wont to sit and drink +beer when anything particular is on hand. The huge trunk is blackened +all round with fire, but the tree seems uninjured, and spreads its +huge canopy from a framework of crooked boughs, like a gigantic oak. +Stretching my arms round the tree at the height at which I stand from +the ground, it took me four times, all but about a foot, to encircle +it--say about twenty-three feet for its girth here, but below this it +is much more, as it increases towards the roots. Other trees of the +same kind stand about, but they are less. A splendid view, such as +recalls Wharfedale to the mind, here suddenly bursts in sight. The +Umvungu River flows in the valley; at our backs is the thick bush, +through which we have come; but before us stretches the green vista of +woods far away, till it becomes blue in the distance. We waited here +about two hours, and returned as we had come.” + +In this way the whole surrounding district was gradually traversed. +The weather during the stay at the present camp was already beginning +to be wet, and there was no improvement in this respect, but the +reverse, from that date. On the 27th, moving their position, they +again encamped a few miles further to the westward, where they remained +till the middle of November, hunting the district, and at times leaving +the waggon for some days together. Elephant and giraffe were met with +on this occasion, the rest of the game being mostly the same as that +found near the previous encampment. The chief trophy of the chase here +obtained was a fine bull elephant, its tusks weighing together 108 lbs. + + [Illustration: THE FIRST ELEPHANT.] + +An eclipse of the moon occurring during this period, an opportunity was +afforded of observing the effect of this phenomenon on the minds of +some of the party. “Soon after sunset,” writes Frank Oates on November +3d, “the moon rising, I think, a little before, I noticed the upper +part of the moon, indeed all but a small crescent nearest the horizon, +covered with a dingy, smoky shadow. It was an eclipse. I asked John +what it was. He said, ‘Smoke.’ The moment it was shown to Macloule he +uttered a cry of conjuration, as it were, and rushing out with a brand, +threw it in the direction of the moon. His explanation is that we shall +hear something; all the hunters out in the veldt will now return home +to hear the news. People are looking at it in Gubuleweyo, England, +everywhere. It is a custom, it seems, at all the kraals, when an +eclipse is seen, for the people to rush out and throw brands, shouting +at the same time. When I suggested a shadow on the moon, he dismissed +the suggestion summarily, and when asked to explain the appearance by +any other cause, said the moon was changing colour. As the eclipse +progressed, I pointed out to him that the shadow kept rising, and more +and more of the moon becoming visible, but he only said, ‘It looks bad +now.’ I looked through the telescope, as it was nearly over, to note +the exact time of the shadow passing away. Echle took a hasty glance +through it, and turned away quickly, saying he did not like to see it.” + +By the middle of November, when they left their second camp, so much +rain was already falling that hunting became difficult, and a return +to Gubuleweyo was decided on. Starting back, therefore, on the return +journey on November 16th, they reached Inyati, travelling slowly, on +the 23d. Here Frank Oates was detained about a week, having much +trouble and annoyance in paying off the boys he had engaged there for +the hunt early in October, and it was the 2d of December before he once +more found himself at Hope Fountain, near Gubuleweyo, the residence of +Mr. Thomson, whence he wrote home the following letter:-- + + “Rev. J. B. THOMSON’s, + HOPE FOUNTAIN, MATABELE LAND, + “_December 4th, 1873_. + + “I find there is a good opportunity of writing a line home, + as a trader is going with a waggon straight to Hope Town, and + starts to-morrow. He has only been a fortnight coming here from + Bamangwato, so he travels pretty quickly. You will, no doubt, + before you get this, have received the last letter I sent you, + in which I think I told you that my visit to the Victoria Falls + had been abandoned. I was within 150 to 200 miles of them, and + had made every preparation for the journey, having got the + king’s leave to proceed, escorted by one of his chief men, and + was already packing the things for the bearers to carry (twenty + was the number I required, though I should have been content + with fifteen), when all at once the unforeseen difficulty of + getting a sufficient number of them presented itself. The king + had told me there would be no difficulty, but I was then fifty + miles from him, having taken my waggon to be left at Inyati, + whence I was starting on my walk to the Falls. I see now + clearly enough that I was deceived by the man who was given to + assist me, or by the headman of Inyati, who had made no attempt + to get the men for me, but lulled me with fair promises, whilst + in reality doing all he could to prevent my obtaining them. The + fact was my guide did not wish me to go to the Zambesi; partly, + no doubt, because they would have had to hurry more than might + have been agreeable, but principally from fear of the fever, of + which they have a great dread. The king, however, knew what he + was doing when he assured me that for two months to come there + was no danger whatever, and this was far more time than enough + to accomplish my much-desired object. + + “I have now spent two months in the neighbourhood of Inyati, + sometimes leaving the waggon for days, and sleeping in the + veldt. This was always satisfactorily managed even on a pouring + wet night, as the Kafirs in a few minutes build you a hut of + branches, perfectly water-tight, with a bed of dry grass upon + which to place your bedding. Two Englishmen, tourists, have + visited the Falls this season, and I hear that one of them said + they were so fine he would rather walk barefoot from Durban + to see them than leave them unseen. (Mrs. Thomson, finding me + writing in the dark, has just sent Mr. T. to me with a candle, + which I hope will improve the style of my letter, for I fear it + wants it.) The old guide, who was given me by the king, and + whom I suspect of doing me out of the Zambesi, was very anxious + for me to go to the king to-day, as he has to deliver me back + to him in person, and never lets me go out of his sight for a + moment if he can help it. This opportunity of writing home, + however, is keeping me this evening. + + “My old man is the cousin of the king and nephew of Mosilikatze, + and the king sent him with me as a special mark of favour. If + any harm had befallen me he would have been held responsible, + and with most fearful zeal did he fulfil his office. He would + never let me sleep without a hut, or do anything he deemed + imprudent or unhealthy, carrying his care of me to such a pitch + that it was often a very great bore. I am told that if I go away + again into the veldt either now or years hence, I shall have to + go with this same man, Macloule, or, should he not be living, + with one of his sons. I would have forgiven him everything if he + had taken me to the Victoria Falls. + + * * * * * + + “A puppy has been added to my establishment. It was one of a + family born in the veldt, on the banks of the Gwailo River, + and, with its brothers and sisters, carried over its master’s + shoulders in a small bark cage when we were on the move. I had + several narrow escapes of being bitten by the mamma, who hated + me, though I always did my utmost for the comfort of the family. + + “I have still two of my original four dogs with me, one of + which is a great favourite of mine, and one pony. The time + is approaching when horses that have not yet had it, get the + horse-sickness, which it is a great chance they get over. A good + ‘salted’ horse, or rather pony (that is one that has had the + sickness and recovered from it), is worth £50 to £100, instead + of £20. The king has been telling people to ask me to sell him + my pony, and he also wants a gun of mine, for which he has put + aside two huge tusks of ivory, double its value. He has been + inquiring very much for me, and is anxious to see me back. Tea + is nearly ready, so I will now say good-bye. I am anxiously + looking forward to getting letters in two or three months at + latest. My letters are all to be forwarded to me and await me at + Bamangwato.” + +The day after writing this letter Frank Oates took his waggon on to +Gubuleweyo, and once more drew it up in front of Mr. Fairbairn’s +scherm. The recent rains had wonderfully freshened the country +since the outward journey, and the last trek, made through a green +meadow-like district, recalled to the traveller’s mind the aspect of +the country round Oxford in early summer. + +The vegetation had of late been frequently remarkable for its beauty, +and a number of flowering shrubs, many of them sweetly scented, had +been observed from time to time. Flowers of other kinds were also +becoming plentiful, and many varieties of wild fruit were met with. + +Some of the latter Frank Oates describes at the Umvungu in his +Journal:--“There is a kind of fruit growing in trees here,” he says, +“which the boys get very eagerly. It is really excellent. It is about +the size of a large walnut, with a hard case cleft in four, inside +which are glutinous woody fibre and seeds. The seeds are thrown away, +and the fibre chewed. The latter contains a large quantity of sweet +glutinous matter, the part rejected looking just like wood. There is +also another excellent fruit,” he continues, “not uncommon, which grows +on a small tree, and is larger than a very fine orange. In shape it +is spherical, and the outer case, which is hard, is easily broken, +and the contents laid bare. The pulp that surrounds the seeds is the +part eaten. This is brown in colour, and deliciously acid in flavour, +reminding one a little of roasted apple. The pulp of one of these +fruits forms quite a refreshing little repast. I believe they are +common near Pretoria,--so John tells me,--and no doubt are found all +over the veldt. The boys always make a great rush to get them. When +quite mature the outer rind is yellow, and they seem to fall to the +ground as soon as they are thoroughly ripe.” + +The description of the first of these fruits corresponds closely, it +may be remarked, with that of a fruit named “manéko,” which was met +with by Livingstone near the Zambesi, in the centre of the continent. +The last-named is of frequent occurrence in Zululand, where it is +called “inhlala” (famine), from its value to the natives in times of +scarcity. + +Besides these, other fruits were also met with in the district, +including a sort of wild grape, acceptable enough on hot days, but +somewhat deficient in juiciness and flavour. + +No great amount of game was seen upon the journey. + + [Illustration: KNOB-BILLED GOOSE.--_Sarkidiornis + melanonotus._] + + + + + CHAPTER V. + + Stay at Gubuleweyo--New Year’s Day--The Great Dance--Cattle + slaughtered--Departure of the king; the royal procession--A + dispute referred to him--Lobengula’s court. + + +Frank Oates remained at Gubuleweyo or in its immediate neighbourhood +some time--from December 5th 1873 to January 26th 1874. This was +considerably longer than he had originally intended, but he was partly +detained by the weather, which, besides being close and oppressive, was +for a long time very wet and unfavourable for travelling, and partly +that he might see the Great Dance, which took place in the early part +of January. After this some trouble with his servants still further +delayed him, as the case of one of them had to be taken before the +king. He was able, however, meantime to make some additions to his +collections of birds and other objects of natural history, though owing +to the state of the weather he attempted little hunting; indeed, near +the kraal, large game was invariably scarce and wild. + +The incidents of the first part of his stay--until the end of +December--were apparently of little interest. After that came the +preparations for the Great Dance, which took place on the 8th of +January. The following day dancing was again continued, though with +much less ceremony, and the 10th was the day appointed for a state +slaughtering of cattle--one of the annual customs gone through at +this season. This over, the king took his departure next day for a +neighbouring abode of royalty. Commencing with the new year, the +entries in the traveller’s Journal, with some particulars of the above +events, stand as follows:-- + +“_January 1st, 1874._--Intensely hot, as yesterday was, and as they +say it will be till the rain falls. Sent bullocks to fetch wood for +making a scherm, having engaged John Jacobs and two Kafirs by the day. +Rode over to Thomson’s to dinner (two and a half miles) and lost myself +amongst the kopjes. The fine hot day and the luxuriantly green country +and rapidly-growing Indian corn make it seem more like June than New +Year’s Day to me. Petersen, Fairbairn, and Mandy went to Thomson’s in +cart, and we sat down to a most excellent dinner--roast and boiled +mutton, potatoes, cabbages, and turnips, plum-pudding, and mince-pies. +Such dinners as this and my Christmas dinner at Petersen’s are worthy +of notice, considering how few and far between they are. Pleasant +evening just before and after sunset; moon nearly full. + +“_January 2d._--Fine hot day; heat, however, by no means so oppressive +as it has been for the last day or two, on account of a pleasant +breeze. Unpacked the front-box of my waggon. King called, and asked +for his bottle of brandy and some large shot. He afterwards sent a boy +for the brandy, whom I accompanied back to the king’s, and having given +the brandy and shot, offered him six muskets I had been hoping all this +time to sell him, and without any trouble got four fine elephants’ +teeth for them, about 150 lbs. of ivory altogether. + + [Illustration: DANCING-STICK, BOW AND ARROWS, AND + KNOB-KERRIES.] + +“_January 3d._--Moonlight night--full moon, I think. Looked out early; +the moon was still gorgeously bright, and surrounded by a halo of +light in a violet sky, studded here and there also with a star. In +the east was the deep red of approaching sunrise. Morning at first +slightly overcast and tolerably cool, but the day soon became very hot, +though tempered somewhat by the wind. Decided to have a new sail made +for the waggon. Myers working at the old framework, patching it up. +Having things out of the waggon, and also out of the tent (as I was +rearranging the latter), I stayed about a good deal, not trusting John. +A lot of cheeky ‘majachas’ (warriors) about. Whilst one of them was +selling me honey, a lot came in, and I saw one abstract a knob-kerry +of rhinoceros horn from under the waggon, and throw it out of the +scherm.[27] He then ran away, seeing himself detected, but did not +go far, and afterwards came and stayed outside the scherm, asking for +a ‘tonso’ (present). However, this must have been mere bravado, as he +was too much on his guard to give me a chance of thrashing him, and +when I removed a bush for him to come in, only came in a foot or two, +and bolted when at length I approached him. I bought guinea-fowls’ +eggs, some tobacco, and a dancing-stick. The second of the two sheep +bought for a cotton blanket and a shirt was killed this morning. It is +wonderful what a lump of fat the tail is. A miserable little famished +boy, who, they say, was picked up in the veldt and belongs to the +king, came into the scherm on being invited, and had food. He speaks +by nodding his head. He is a pitiable object, and coughs.... Wind rose +high at night. Mutton and guinea-fowls’ eggs for supper. There are +plenty of ‘majachas’ here now. They are everlastingly dancing. This +seems to be their whole drill. + +“_January 4th._--Cool cloudy morning; a little drizzling rain. There +are caterpillars here of many very pretty varieties. Old well-known +forms both of caterpillars and moths are reproduced in this country, +with a change. The king sent me a caterpillar lately--green, with green +moss-like horny tufts; a flesh-coloured stripe on each side; on the +back a row of snow-white spots, circled with rich blue, and white spots +also along the sides. A long string of people came this morning from +Inchlangin for the dance. Macloule called on me soon after his arrival; +and again in the evening, when he asked me for a blanket, saying he had +lost a child through going with me, and had missed the time for burying +it. I sent him away till to-morrow. The day has been cloudy and cool, +but fair and delightful. + +“_January 5th._--Hot day, and though there was a good deal of wind +I felt the heat. Gave Macloule a cotton blanket. Myers and Hendrik +working at my waggon sail. Took Hans, and went to king’s. Dance +going on, consisting of the men of two large kraals, forming a +circle, ‘marking time,’ and waving sticks, whilst the king, with +rhinoceros-horn knob-kerry, acted as bandmaster. There was also +singing. Nina[28] requested me to stand up and join, which I did. Every +now and then a man rushes out into the space in the middle, shaking +his shield and brandishing his assegai, enacts his fighting, and shows +how many he has killed, whilst loud shouts are raised on all sides. +The usual dress consists of a head-dress of black feathers, and a +bunch of monkeys’ tails round the loins, with white frills of ox-tails +on the arms, and (in the case of veterans I suppose) a long solitary +feather to top all, and a piece of fur round the head. The king had on +a broad-brimmed black felt hat, a huge bunch of monkeys’ skins round +his middle, and carried an Elcho sword bayonet (my present) and a +rhinoceros-horn knob-kerry. When the dancing and singing was over, the +men defiled past the king in companies, singing a monotonous but not +unmusical chorus, which they accompanied by rapping their shields with +their sticks, producing a dull heavy sound. Strings of girls bore huge +calabashes of beer, under the weight of which some of them staggered, +to the kraal. For the most part they were magnificent specimens of +shapely young Kafir women. A tall handsome girl, who has been sometimes +begging at my waggon, was a looker-on, and presented a fine picture +of a well-developed savage woman. She seemed fully aware of her own +striking appearance. A lot of old Mosilikatze’s wives sat watching. + +“There is a good deal of wind to-night, and the moon is obscured by +dark gathering clouds. To-night, after I left the king, I was standing +beside a group of Kafirs cutting up the carcasses of two oxen just +killed, when the king’s dogs made a set at me. Afterwards the boys came +to my waggon asking a tonso for calling them off. I suspect they set +them on on purpose. + +“_January 6th._--Intensely hot, and though there are clouds, the rain +still keeps off. Sent John with Wankee to cut a tree for a dissel-boom, +and he says the axe was taken from him on the pretext that they must +not cut wood now, and that the axe would be returned.... I asked if I +could go shooting, and they say no, not till the dance is over. + +“_January 7th._--Sky overcast, but the heat is still intense. Crowds of +people about, as yesterday; difficult to keep the scherm clear. Dancing +going on at the kraal. Heat insufferable. The tent was a furnace, but +at sundown there was a little thunder, and it was pleasant and cool. A +beautiful mild-looking rose-tinted sunset. + +“_January 8th._--Day of the Great Dance. Very heavy rain fell at +sunrise. As rain fell, girls bathing in rain-holes. Things in tent got +very wet, and it was late before I could come out and begin to dry +them. The heat soon became great, but the sun kept being more or less +obscured by clouds. I learnt it was the day of the Great Dance, and +hurried the drying and locking up of my things, so as to be ready to +go and see it. Some majachas came out, and had a row, and bruised one +another near my waggon. + +“As soon as I had finished packing I joined the Thomsons, whose waggon +had drawn up in front of Myers’s store, where the dancing was to be. +Meantime, Thomson says, they had been going through ceremonies at the +kraal, where dancing was still going on, but very shortly they expected +the king and people out. However, Thomson and I went to the kraal to +see, and were well repaid. In the midst of a large circle formed by +warriors, four wives of the king, dressed all alike, and modestly +covered, were dancing, or rather slowly pacing. Each had a checked +print over her shoulders, and a black skirt reaching low down. With +them was a future wife, partially clad in gaily-coloured calicos, but +without skirt. The wives, Thomson says, are very nice women. As I went +with him through the crowd, I could not help seeing what respect is +shown him, and how all make way for him. + + [Illustration: OX-HIDE SHIELD.] + +“Suddenly the royal sister appeared, and presented a most singular, not +to say magnificent, appearance. It was something like the appearance +of the _prima donna_ at the opera, or the leading spirit in some +gorgeous pantomime. She is very stout, and tremendously _en bon +point_, and her skin is of a coppery hue. She wore no dress, and +the only covering above her waist was a number of gilded chains, some +encircling her, some pendent. Round her arms were massive brazen +bracelets. A blue and white freemason’s apron appeared in front, and +looked strangely anomalous there, though really not unbecoming. From +her waist also there hung down behind a number of brilliantly-coloured +woollen neck-wraps, red being the predominant colour. Under the apron +was a sort of short black skirt, covering the thighs, made of wrought +ox-hide. Her legs and feet were bare, but round her ankles were the +circlets of bells, worn by the women to make a noise when they dance. +Her head-dress was decidedly pretty--a small bouquet of artificial +flowers in front, and amongst the hair, standing in all directions, +feathers of bee-eaters’ tails. A small circular ornament, fashioned out +of red clay, was on the back of her head. She put herself in posture +for the dance, but did not move very much or energetically whilst +keeping time; she suffered too much from adiposity. She held one of the +large oval black and white ox-hide shields, surmounted by a jackal’s +tail, such as are carried by the warriors. The wives held long slender +wands upright in their hands. The men, when they dance, usually carry a +carved stick, with which motions are made, whilst it is generally held +upright. The girls carry very pretty brooms, which they likewise raise +and move about to time; but the girls’ dances were yet to come. + + [Illustration: ASSEGAI-HEADS AND BATTLE-AXE.] + +“The dress of the soldiers is very striking, and suggestive of savage +warfare. Over the shoulders, and continued into a sort of hood, which +either surmounts the back of the head, or hangs loose behind the neck, +is a large fabric of jet-black ostrich feathers. Around the forehead +is a circlet of tawny fur, and a single long steel-coloured crane’s +feather rises above, giving a most artistic finish to the picture. +Around the loins are a collection of monkey and cat skins, dangling +in long strips, together with a number of tails, some of the latter +nearly large enough for those of leopards, which hang in thick bunches +nearly to the ground. Around each arm is a graceful, wavy tuft of white +ox-tail hair, and sometimes the same around the legs. Very little +limbo is worn, unless a strip or two--usually of blue selampore or +white calico, well worn and defaced--around the waist. The shield and +assegais complete the picture.[29] If all were uniform in appearance +the effect would be much heightened; but unfortunately the dress is +not _de rigueur_. Some omit the fur round the forehead; some both +fur and feather; and some of those in command have even shabby shirts +or hats on, contrasting badly with the fine warrior costume of the +majority. The only military evolution gone through is marching past in +kraals, or what we should call companies, the men singing, dancing, +and making some most unearthly and awe-inspiring noises the while. One +sound is produced gutturally, and resembles the low growl of a wild +animal. Another is made by striking the shields--a sound resembling +distant thunder. Then they have a way of whistling, not unlike the +cat-calls of a London theatre. During their dances a warrior rushes +out into the middle of the circle from time to time, and goes through +the pantomime of his late exploits, brandishing spear and shield, and +rushing wildly about. He denotes, by repeated thrusts, the number of +people he has slain, whilst the surrounding warriors shout loudly. + +“Standing about are many pretty girls in most fantastic head-dresses, +worn only on special occasions, and highly prized. Predominant is +the pink bead, appropriated by the royal family. A small group of +waggon-drivers, either those who have come up here with white men, +or who belong to the doctor’s party, whose waggons accompany the +king in all his movements, are dressed to the height of fashion--as +near as they can manage it--in European dress, for which the stores +of the place have been ransacked, and high prices paid, no matter at +what sacrifice. One has a chimney-pot. These fellows are usually the +greatest scamps in the country--idle, vain, insolent, and vicious. The +king is dressed much like his warriors, and looks himself. He is a +fine-looking man, and has an agreeable expression and a ready smile. He +is one of the darkest-complexioned people I have seen belonging to this +nation. + +“Now Thomson tells me we must make haste and return to the waggon, +as the soldiers are beginning to march out, and they are all going +outside, accompanied by the king and his court. We return, and the +troops march out and take up position in a huge, dense circle outside +the kraal. There may be three, four, or even five thousand of them, and +perhaps ten thousand people in all.”[30] + +“_January 9th._--Hot day; short heavy shower in the afternoon. Dancing +at the kraal--second day (or was Wednesday also a day? If so, this is +the third). Different parties dancing; majachas and girls separately, +though in some cases girls are introduced into the majachas’ dance. +King had waggon taken out by Kafirs. Selous[31] looked at my guns. +Rain came on, and he sat in my tent. He tells me how he was once lost +between Bamangwato and Tati for four days. He had had a cup of coffee, +and gone out hunting. That night he slept in the veldt; it was July, +and the nights were very cold. He had only a shirt and trousers on, and +had no matches. He used his last three cartridges in trying to make a +fire. The second and third days he still wandered. I think it was the +end of the second day that he lost his horse. The evening of the fourth +day he came to Palatswe water, and got milk of a Kafir. He walked +back next day to his waggon at Tchagani pool--he thinks about twenty +miles. It was on the evening of the third day he reached a hill, by +moonlight, whence he saw other hills he knew. Started before daybreak, +and that night got the milk. He thinks he could have gone another day +without food or water. He had nothing whatever, between the coffee, +at starting, and the milk. He carried his gun, perspired profusely, +and suffered much from cold at nights. He experienced a difficulty in +swallowing. + +“A letter from Mandy, at Inyati, to-day, states that he saw a crocodile +there the other day, which got hold of his dog, and pursued himself in +his bathing hole. It was ten or twelve feet long, he says. + +“Dancing in little parties going on all day; the girls very lively in +their dance. Bought a goat for about three quarters of a pound of beads. + +“_January 10th._--Very cloudy day, inclined to rain. Went up to kraal, +where slaughtering was going on. I had heard nothing of it, but the +number of bullocks slaughtered this year must have been next to nothing +compared with former years. I saw a dozen or twenty down, or being +assegaied. The bullocks are driven together, one out of the number +being intended for slaughter. The opportunity is watched for to hurl +the assegai, which sometimes remains in the ox, who runs some distance +before he falls, bleeding at the nostrils, and soon dies. They are +stabbed in the region of the heart and lungs. The first thrust is often +not successful, as it is not easy to hit the victim in the right place +when he is in a state of excitement. I went to see the king, who was +looking very sulky. There is no dancing to-day. It appears the king is +very angry at the fighting of yesterday. + +“_January 11th._--Heavy rain very early; a little bright sunshine +about breakfast-time, when I partially dried the things that had got +wet in the tent, causing me considerable discomfort. It soon came on to +rain again, however, and rained more or less during the day. I was to +have taken my things out of Myers’s store and packed the waggon, but +the rain prevented me. In the morning I heard the king was inspanning +to go to some neighbouring abode of royalty, and hurried to take him +his horse. After handing it over to him, and being told to give it in +charge of Petersen, I asked him if he would buy a saddle and bridle, to +which he replied, these were always supposed to go with the horse, the +saddle being part of its back. However, I hope he won’t insist on this +any more, and, indeed, I may go away without seeing him again, unless I +do so voluntarily. Piet, who interpreted for me, told me that the king +is very angry about the disturbance, and will probably kill a number +of the people, and for this they think he is going away in such a +hurry. There were twelve black, or nearly black, bullocks in the royal +waggon, and, when it started, the throne was carried--as it always has +to be done--on a boy’s head. It is a straight-backed, substantial, and +extremely plain, green chair, with red daubs on it. Over the back and +seat is stretched a piece of lion-skin. The dogs rushed off with the +waggon, the second waggon started, in the back of which I could see +a lot of meat and two young lambs or kids trying to keep their pins +amongst the miscellaneous cargo inside; the majachas started, and the +royal procession was on its way. Busy a good deal in Myers’s store. +Unpacked and packed boxes there, and watched the rain. Terrible soaking +wet evening and night. I managed, however, to keep dry in bed.” + +From this time for some days the weather continued so persistently +and miserably wet, that it seemed out of all question to think of +commencing the return journey to Tati, which the traveller was now +preparing to undertake. The heat, at the same time, was also so intense +that any exertion was laborious, and even the occupation of writing +was a task. About the 18th, however, there was some improvement, and +two days after this he was ready for a start, when the dispute with +one of his servants above referred to necessitated his seeking a fresh +interview with Lobengula, whom he followed to his present quarters, but +a few miles off, on the evening of the 20th. This dispute arose from +Frank Oates’s dismissal of the Kafir driver Dick, who had come up with +him from Natal; the latter maintaining his right to retain the services +of the young lad Jacob, whom he had originally brought with him for +engagement in Pietermaritzburg, and who still accompanied the party. +The two appeared to bear no relationship to each other, and Frank +Oates would have been glad to keep Jacob in his service, but the latter +seemed afraid to come, and it was agreed to refer the question to the +king. The Journal of this time continues:-- + +“_January 20th._--Fine, bright, windy morning; a few clouds in the +sky. Finished what was left to be done to the waggon, and was going to +trek early when Jacob came and claimed his wages, and I decided to go +away to the king’s to-night, and thence start on my journey. A Kafir +woman has also claimed Jacob as her son. Though Jacob asked for his +wages and said he did not wish to leave Dick, he half admitted directly +that it was only his fear of Dick that made him say so, and that he +really wished to go with me. After the waggon was loaded, I waited +some time for Jacob’s return, he having gone with his would-be mother +to the king. He did not come back, and I inspanned for the king’s. +After about ten minutes’ delay in getting off--unruly bullocks and bad +trek-gear--started fairly about half-past five, and in about an hour +and forty minutes got to where the king is, meeting Jacob with the +woman going to Gubuleweyo. Jacob turned back with me. The king has said +the woman is not to claim him. It seems she gave Jacob some locusts and +milk when he was hungry, for he and Dick have fared badly of late. She +then professed to see a likeness in him to her lost child, taken in the +war, and he did not deny it, and afterwards she insisted on keeping +him. Jacob still says he wants to go with me, but is afraid of Dick, +and also wishes for his wages, as Dick urges him to get them, though +he knows Dick will appropriate them. He will let it be arranged before +the king, he says. The sun set as I trekked, and the peculiar aloe-like +trees of this country had a fine effect against the glowing sky. I +should say this trek is four and a half or five miles pretty direct. +The last two days have been fine drying days, but still there are some +very soft places in the road. Supped with Fairbairn on some excellent +beef, and had a long chat with him. Cool, starlight night, with heavy +dew. + +“_January 22d._--Fine hot day, but with slight clouds, and at night a +heavy shower. Fairbairn had a row in trading with the king, who had +chaffed him a good deal last night. A large quantity of ivory had come +in (Fairbairn was here by the king’s express desire, to trade), and a +small tooth had been put down before him. He had made his offer for +it, which did not satisfy the king. Fairbairn said, ‘It is a small +tooth.’ ‘Did you ever shoot as large a one?’ asked the king. This is +considered a poser. Then a hot argument ensued between Fairbairn and +the king, through John, the king maintaining that Fairbairn would show +unequivocal signs of fear at the sight of an elephant. Fairbairn said +white men were not afraid of them; whereupon the king cited, H----, a +big man, who had not even shot a little calf; W----, ‘Where are the +elephants _he_ shot?’ Many white men had said the same as Fairbairn, +and where were the elephants they had killed? Then Fairbairn referred +to Selous, a small man; he had not been afraid, he said. ‘Would he tell +if he had shown signs of fear, or were you there to see?’ asked the +king. Then the king told Fairbairn that he was getting rich and did +not want his trade. Fairbairn got angry, and the result was that this +morning he had a row. The king sent some large decayed teeth, which +Fairbairn bought, and then some other teeth, which he could not buy, +and which were sent to Gubuleweyo and sold; but in the meantime the +king had offered Fairbairn two small teeth for a double-barrelled gun, +less than cost price, and Fairbairn had left the king in disgust. + +“Went to the king’s kraal with John, and greeted the king, who was +lying in his waggon, but as, after greeting us in return, he took no +further notice of us and remained lying, I went away and had a nap in +my waggon. Fairbairn afterwards had tiffin with me, and then we went +together to the king, but he was still in his waggon--if not asleep, +lying invisible; put out, I think, about Fairbairn. We waited long +outside the kraal, and at length, near sundown, an induna came in +white man’s clothing, and with a shield, wearing feathers on his head +hanging under his hat, and accompanied by warriors. He, to call the +king, began shouting out compliments in a loud voice, amongst which +the words ‘Mosilikatze’ and ‘Incose’ (king), were frequently repeated, +and a request made that the king would treat him kindly. This referred +to beer and beef, which of course he would get. At last he finished, +and went away unnoticed by the king, who, however, soon came out, and +Fairbairn, John, and I, went to him, Dick and Jacob following. It was +so late that we did little. + +“Had supper on Australian meat in Fairbairn’s waggon. Rain came on, and +I heard showers during the night. When we left the king, he chaffed +John, and said he looked weak, as if he was hungry. Last night John had +asked for meat, and he said he had no beef and his sheep were poor. +He seems really not to be killing oxen at present. Fairbairn has told +Nina that we are eating tinned fish. Fish is held in utter abomination +by these people, and Nina said her brother ought not to let us eat it. +Fairbairn says they used, when they wanted meat, to rig up a dummy +fishing-rod, and march off with it, taking care to pass in sight of the +king, and the moment he suspected fishing, he would send them a large +piece of meat. + +“One sees all shades of colour in these people. The Makalakas are much +darker as a rule than the Matabele, who are usually coppery red or +sometimes yellow. The king, however, is black, and, I believe, about +as black as any of his race, and far more so than most. He deserves +his epithet of ‘black king.’ The dogs are a great source of fear at +present. They are constantly attacking people, and lately half, if not +altogether, killed an induna. Fairbairn says the king showed him his +own trousers torn the other day, as proof that even their master was +not exempt. + +“_January 23d._--Wretched rainy and gusty morning. Nina in Fairbairn’s +waggon, as she was also a good deal yesterday. She is very fond of him, +as of other white men; and is said to wish to marry a certain white +trader here, who has left for a time--hoping, I believe, that she may +be married when he returns. She can’t marry till the king takes his +wife from whom the future king is to be born. His present wives have +nothing to do with it. + +“John Lee’s waggon arrived to-day, to my great pleasure. I had just +returned from visiting the king, whom John and I had found standing at +the entrance of his kraal in a Mackintosh coat. Dick and Jacob joined +us, and the case of Jacob was discussed, Dick also urging the hardship +of his own dismissal, in which the king seems partly to agree, and says +it would be better not to leave him in _his_ country, but where +we can try the case with our own laws. At length the king went to his +hut, saying this case would take a long time, and it was not a day to +discuss it. Certainly the weather was against a law-suit being carried +on in the open air. In the evening I went again to the king. Lee was +sitting on the front-box of his waggon, and went over my case with him, +and thus I got a decision quickly. The king said his decision had been +that I was to take Dick _and_ Jacob, but I had refused to do this, +so now I must pay the wages of the boy, as he considered Jacob, having +been brought by Dick, was under his protection. I sent for them, and +paid the money to the king, who promised to keep it for Jacob as far as +he could, though he said if they left the country he must then give it +up. Supper again with Fairbairn. + +“_January 24th._--More promising morning, though cloudy and showery. +Fairbairn, Lee, and I, to the king. Fairbairn does a good trade with +him after the row. Nina and her friends were eating a large dish of +excellent vegetable marrows. The smoke got into my eyes, and Banyai +kindly motioned me across the hut. John Lee killed a lung-sick heifer +of the king’s, and opened her chest with a saw, taking out the liquid +which accumulates in the cavity of the lungs during the sickness. With +this I helped him to drench some young cattle of the king’s. Each has +about a small beakerful. Lee says he never lost one that he drenched in +this way. + +“_January 25th._--Lovely morning. Rose and dressed leisurely. The heat +soon became intense, and of that moist character that seems to make +it far worse to bear. Felt quite prostrated by it. The wife of Lee’s +boy, who tried to leave him, and is now undergoing punishment after +being tried before the king, came crying to my waggon. Lee drove her +away. It appears that the boy had to pay Lee £6, which the girl owed +the latter, before he could have her, both being in Lee’s service, as +well as the father-in-law, mother, and sister of the boy. The boy told +Lee he had paid the money to the king. This was a lie, so Lee demanded +the money of the king in the presence of the boy. Thus the offence was +shown to be against the king, and Lee told the king it was for him +to punish it. The two indunas present seized the boy, and he was half +throttled, and much knocked about. They would have killed him there and +then, had it been Lee’s wish. The king said, ‘Is he to be thrown out?’ +which means put to death. Lee, however, said he should be satisfied +by the boy being tied up, which was done.... Went with Lee to the +king’s afterwards. More drenching was going on. I saw the boy tied up; +he could neither sit nor stand, but squatted on the ground, his arms +nearly on the full stretch, fastened on either side to one of the poles +that support the large wooden structures on which meat is piled. When +the sun set Lee was told, if he did not give the word to have the boy +taken away, he would rot where he was. The king and the indunas then +chaffed the poor wretch, as, Lee having consented, he was cut down. He +was told that he had been kicking Mosilikatze’s bones. + +“The scene, with the king sitting on his front-box, would make a +picture: the setting sun; the dark green trees beyond the kraal, and +the green walls of the newly-erected kraal; the yellow beehive-like +huts; the yellowish trodden grass in the space; the herds of goats +and sheep, with lambs and kids, and pack of dogs, crowding round the +king’s waggon; the group of natives, some all but naked, some adorned +with feathers, some with a single article of European dress, as a hat, +crouching on their haunches, forming the court of the black king; tusks +of ivory lying about. To complete the picture, a white trader or two +should be introduced, not above crouching before his sable majesty, who +sits there in his broad-brimmed black felt hat, pipe in mouth (a small +briar-root, worth perhaps 2d. at home), cotton shirt not over clean, +unbraced baggy trousers, and large clumsy shoes, a benignant smile +generally on his black face.” + +The day after this the king took his departure for another place, John +Lee left for Mr. Thomson’s, and Frank Oates started back to Tati. + + [Illustration: MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.] + + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + Return to Tati--Changed aspect of the country--Constant + delays--The Mashonas--At Manyami’s again--John Lee’s--Letter + home--The Inkwesi--Wild fruit--A hornbill’s nest--The + Impakwe and Ramaqueban Rivers--Graves of Englishmen--White + ants--Bushman remains--The Tati reached. + + +Frank Oates’s plan on leaving Gubuleweyo was to return slowly, by way +of Tati, to Bamangwato, there to prepare himself with a fresh outfit of +goods and other necessaries for a renewed attempt to reach the Zambesi +early in the year; unless on his arrival there he should find letters +which required his return to England. As it was yet too soon to think +of making at once for the Zambesi, he took his time upon the road to +Tati, not arriving there till near the end of February. He stopped to +hunt some time upon the Ramaqueban, and, the whole journey, progress +was inevitably slow, owing to the heavy state of the country from the +recent rains. The waggon was constantly sticking, and delays were +endless. The route taken was the same as that by which he had come to +Gubuleweyo, but the country was now rendered so much more attractive +with the advancing season, that some extracts may be given from the +Journal. + +Leaving the neighbourhood of Gubuleweyo, as already mentioned, on +January 26th, he reached Kumala River the following day, and on the +28th again pushed forward towards the Shashani, where he arrived after +many stoppages two days later, John Lee’s farm being reached early on +the morning of the 1st of February. For three days before his arrival +at John Lee’s, the Journal reads as follows, the first extract finding +him at a point in the road still a few miles from the Shashani, where +his waggon had sunk deep the night before, necessitating a halt:-- + +“_January 29th._--During the night some rain fell; the morning was +cloudy, but fine. Got the waggon clear with some difficulty, and +started about noon, but it stuck again after going a few yards, the +dissel-boom breaking, which was shortened and used again, causing a +long delay.... At length we started fairly about 5.40 P.M. The sun was +getting low, and, as we went through some really beautiful scenery, +he set, and the sunset scene was a lovely one. I can now fancy that +South Africa may have much fine scenery, and I wish I could see the +Zambesi. In the foreground was undulating and broken ground, covered +with long grass, showing in some places a silvery white colour, in +others a yellow, and in others a green one. Beyond, the deep green of +the trees--not uniform in height and growth, but reminding one in their +graceful diversity of hedgerow trees or those of copses at home--rose +distinct against the deep violet kopjes on the horizon and the sunset +sky. The upper part of the sky was blue, with large lilac clouds; +lower down, the blue was streaked with pale yellow, and this again, as +it approached the kopjes, became golden streaked with lilac. We trekked +on well through the changing light, for it never became dark, and, ere +the sunset hues had faded from the sky, the moon was shedding a clear +light over the romantic scene. Fireflies were flitting, and I felt the +morning trek, when we entered Pretoria, come back forcibly to my mind. +That was then to me a wonderful change, from high veldt to bush veldt, +and the time of seeing it--in the weird light of early morning--added +to the charm. The road now, as then, was very rough and steep, over +stones, up hill and down; and at about 8 P.M. we crossed a steep-banked +river. The water was deep, and the bank on which we landed was so +steep, that the oxen, the moment before they scrambled up, were up to +their breasts in water, but we did it in gallant style. + +“On we went, and at last were rising a hill, through what in Rocky +Mountain phraseology would be called a ‘park.’ The word is an +appropriate one, and I know no other that would describe this lovely +spot, reminding me of similar scenes in the Rocky Mountains. The ground +was open and park-like, with a fine sward and a few isolated trees, +whilst all around--forming a complete amphitheatre--rose rugged kopjes +in the distance. The moon shed a bright light on the whole. Suddenly, +smash went the dissel-boom, away went the oxen with it, down went John +most ludicrously on to the ground from the front-board, and the waggon +came to a standstill. The great awkward tree, stuck in by Wankee[32] +and John when we first came to grief, had at last become useless, and +now we set about making ourselves comfortable for the night, intending +to cut a fresh dissel-boom in the morning. It was about 8.20 when this +ludicrous breakdown happened, and it is long since I have so thoroughly +enjoyed a laugh as I did then at John’s expense. I was not sorry that +we were stopping here, and, as I drank in the scene with delight, +those parks in the mountains of the Far West were present to my mind, +and I felt happy, scarcely knowing why. The part of the country we +have passed through is called the ‘neck.’ To-night I heard the strange +melancholy baying of wild dogs--an animal I have never seen. + +“_January 30th._--My pleasure in the place where we are outspanned +was put an end to this morning by a crowd of noisy forward Matabele +from a kraal a little distance off amongst the kopjes on our right. My +men had sent early, and beer and large quantities of milk were brought. +There were a few slaves here too, quite different in appearance and +bearing from their conquerors. They are quiet and humble in demeanour, +and profusely ornamented, where they can afford it, with brass wire +in rings round the wrists, of what I have been told is Portuguese or +native workmanship, though I think it may be brought up by our own +traders. Blue cut beads, too, and skins are much worn. These original +inhabitants, Mashonas I think, are far more in keeping with the scene, +to my mind, than their supplanters.[33] + + [Illustration: NATIVE HUNTING-KNIVES.] + +“Wankee cut a dissel-boom, and we inspanned about 2.15 P.M. +First we went up hill, and then began to descend through a tolerably +open grass country, with trees about as far apart as one sees them in +an orchard. The country we passed through is extremely pretty--grass +long, trees graceful and varied, broken crags, with kopjes all round. +Through it we descended to the Shashani, which is in a valley, and we +must have crossed it say about 3 P.M. We then soon crossed +a spruit, and after this in a heavy part of the road, where the ruts +had been worn into deep holes, we stuck. This would be about 3.40 +P.M. We made vain efforts to get out, let the oxen feed a +little, and again tried, and tried in vain. The front oxen, and indeed +all the oxen, were very stupid, but I blame the driver, and, though it +was a fine moonlight night, he would try no more till next morning. + +“_January 31st._--Fine hot day. Stupidity again in Wankee. He first +tried to pull the waggon back and then forward, and finally raised it +and put stones under it, as ought to have been done last night, for it +was taken out at once when this was tried. Two girls from the kraal +we passed yesterday came to the waggon _en route_ for Manyami’s. They +were overtaken by us on the road afterwards, and went some distance +in the waggon, and again came to the waggon at Manyami’s. Two little +looking-glasses delighted them beyond measure, and each little gift +caused an exclamation of delight and gratitude, ‘O Bossa!’ They were +perfectly unsophisticated; one I thought pretty. They sang, evidently +studying the most fascinating smiles whilst looking into the mirrors. +After we moved I had the oxen unyoked to feed for a short time, and +we started fairly at noon. The country was again extremely pretty and +well wooded, the road winding like a labyrinth amongst the picturesque +kopjes. We crossed several spruits, some of them awkward ones, and at +one had a good deal of trouble, but it had a good bottom, and we pulled +through. We reached Manyami’s and outspanned on high ground under an +abruptly-rising kopje about 3 P.M. + +“Here old Manyami came to see me, and presented me with a small pot of +beer, begging a ‘limbo’ for his wife. I gave him a cup of coffee in +return, and about the value of the beer in limbo, as I am not disposed +to be over generous. I bought some calabash pumpkins, which I found +afterwards were like excellent vegetable marrows when boiled; also a +water-melon, the second I have bought within the last day or two. They +are in excellent condition now, and very refreshing. I also bought some +sour milk, which my boys like. + +“Vincent came up on his way to Mungwato with a waggon and sixteen oxen, +returning from Gubuleweyo, where he had been with a load. His waggon +went on, and he remained behind to help me. I find him an excellent +driver and a very energetic fellow, and I believe he would be very glad +to go with me, as he is tired of trading under Hogg. However, he must +go on now. + +“The sun was getting low as we inspanned. We soon came to a very bad +place--a huge pit in fact--where the road had been, to avoid which we +had to go through a very soft piece of ground, into which the waggon +sank deep, and I thought it was a case of a regular stick, but Vincent +got me out of this well, and showed his great superiority as a driver. +We got over some bad places after this, but at length got into a heavy +rut, the wheels on the off side of the waggon being deep in it, whilst +those on the other side were high on firm ground. It looked like a +serious case, and the sun set on our efforts. The dissel-boom was +pulled out twice, but at length so firmly locked with chains, and the +wheels raised so effectually with stones placed under them, that, +when Vincent left his work, which he had been going at like the fine +energetic fellow he is, and we sat down for a moment to drink a cup +of coffee, the waggon looked like getting off. This it did without +difficulty, and we started again about 10 P.M. We had one more +stick afterwards in a deep rut, but Vincent levelled the ground in a +few minutes, and we were off again, and finally crossed Mangwe drift +without a mishap. This was the greatest feat of all. The river was full +of water, the men were nearly up to their armpits (one crossed clinging +to ‘Blackberg’s’ tail), but we went through it without any delay or +trouble, and I was indeed thankful that our dissel-boom was chained. +After this we trekked a short distance along a good road to John Lee’s. +Here were Dawson’s two waggons sent up by Cruickshank, and Vincent’s +waggon sent by Hogg. Skinner’s waggon was some little way off. Skinner +and Dawson were waiting for the river to go down. We outspanned about +1.30 A.M., and had supper.” + +At this point Frank Oates remained a few days, hoping for some +improvement in the weather. Soon after his arrival he wrote home as +follows:-- + + “MR. JOHN LEE’S, MANGWE, + “MATABELE COUNTRY. + + “_February 1st, 1874._ + + “I take the opportunity of a waggon going to Bamangwato, to send + a few lines to let you know how I am getting on. I wrote last + to you from Mr. Thomson’s at Hope Fountain. Since then I have + been detained at Gubuleweyo, the King’s Town, first by bad + weather, and then, as the time of the grand dance of the year + was approaching, I waited to see it. The people come from all + the neighbouring kraals, and dance and feast for two or three + days. It is the feast of the first-fruits of the season, and + Mr. Thomson advised me to stay for it. After this, fearful rain + again delayed me, and then I had some trouble with my men, and + dismissed two, and had to have the case of a third tried before + the king. At last, last Monday, I got under weigh once more, + with a new waterproof tent on my waggon. The journey here is + about three days under ordinary circumstances, but it took me + six, in the present heavy state of the country and badness of + the river drifts. I had many sticks in the mud and breakages + of my dissel-boom. Last night I arrived here, and to-day is + Sunday. The man to whom I am going to give this letter drove my + waggon for the last eleven miles. He overtook me on the road, + and let his own empty waggon go on. We were about six hours in + accomplishing the distance, including delays, but, thanks to his + timely help, I pulled through. The last river we had to cross, + the Mangwe, was so swollen that the water was up to the men’s + chests, and looked as if it was coming into the waggon. The + men who were not in the waggon had to catch hold of the oxen’s + tails, or struggle through the stream as well as they could. It + would have been very unpleasant, especially with bad helpless + drivers, to have broken my dissel-boom in the middle of the + river, and I felt very glad when safely landed on the bank. + + “From here I intend travelling leisurely to Mungwato, where I + hope to find letters. When I get there I shall decide whether or + not to make another attempt on the Victoria Falls. By leaving + Mungwato about April, I should have the fine season before me, + and could probably reach the Falls and return to Mungwato in + the space of three months. The worst of this country, however, + is that movements here are so slow and dependent on the caprice + of natives, and one is too much cut off from the world. Yet I + believe the Zambesi would repay one for much sacrifice of time + and patience. It is impossible, I am now convinced, to get on + with Kafirs and Hottentots without severity. Kindness is thrown + away upon them, and makes them worse than they are. I believe I + shall have to give the latter method up altogether, and resort + to castigation, which is an alternative I don’t like. They are, + almost to a man, dishonest, lazy, and impudent. + + “The scenery about here _is_ pretty I admit, especially at this + time of year. Some of my moonlight treks between the King’s and + this place were very delightful, and wakened a little enthusiasm + and thoughts of former days, such as the usual dull uniformity + of South African scenery fails to elicit. The ground is broken + up into rugged crags, piled one upon another in such a manner + that you can’t help wondering how the mischief they ever got + there. The veldt is covered with long grass, like English mowing + grass. The trees are, for the most part, like English woodland + trees, but less in size; in some places forming a thick bush, in + others scattered over the greensward like English park timber. + Occasionally a remarkable tree occurs of unfamiliar aspect, but + this is quite the exception. The kopjes are numerous; some, + merely small piles of huge stones, with trees springing from + the interstices; others, hills of respectable size, built up of + crags, and sometimes shutting in the horizon on every side. Here + and there a stream runs through its deep stony bed in a deep + valley, and then comes the tug of war, and the moonlight scenery + is forgotten, whilst one’s lungs are exerted in yelling to the + oxen, calling each by his uncouth name. + + “My dogs always ride with me in my bed. One of them is a most + faithful friend and agreeable companion to me. I should miss + them very much. I had to sell my pony to the king, to keep in + his good books, but was sorry to do it, although he may die now + any time of horse-sickness. If he lives he is a valuable animal, + and henceforth ‘salted.’ Birds are few here, and, for the most + part, not striking in appearance. The same applies to flowers. + + “Old John Lee’s voice is droning away about some oxen, and the + family circle surrounds me, as I write this letter. Lee wants + to borrow my waggon for two months to send for some meal, and + to do his best to make me comfortable here in the meantime, but + I have made a mental vow not to let myself be talked into the + arrangement.... I shall be very glad to hear recent news of how + all are at home. + + “_P.S._--... I am adding this P.S. in the waggon, but I miss + John Lee’s drone, which I find helps me to write. He discoursed + on locusts to-night. As he says, Kafirs eat them, horses, + sheep, and all sorts of game eat them, lions eat them, wolves + eat them, birds eat them--they _must_ be very nice; only white + men and vultures don’t eat them. I believe but for locusts an + immense number of people would have died of famine last year at + Mungwato.” + +It was the 6th of February when Frank Oates left John Lee’s, and +the 9th when he reached the Inkwesi River. The country round Lee’s +farm is of a somewhat striking character, and, though much healthier +than most of the surrounding district, is not wholly free from the +annoyances elsewhere occasioned by the summer rains. “The scenery +here,” writes Frank Oates, “with the swollen current of the river and +huge magnificent boulders, is as fine in its way as any one would wish +to see. The gardens, however, which have suffered terribly from the +drought, are now suffering equally from the wet. They require both +irrigation for the dry, and drainage for the rainy, season.” The way in +which Lee lived with his family round him, and the sort of relationship +existing between them, afforded an odd example of a Dutchman’s life in +the interior. “It reminds one,” says the traveller, “of feudal times: +old Lee, the lord; his brother, a wretched serf; his father-in-law, not +much better; and all his poor relations living about in little huts +round his big house.” + +Amongst the waggons stationed at John Lee’s during Frank Oates’s stay +there was that of Smith, the Dutchman, whom he had formerly met on +his way up country, near the Impakwe River. Smith was now starting on +a hunting trip towards the Tati, and the two again agreed to travel +together. Before leaving Frank Oates engaged John Lee’s brother, Karl, +to accompany him as driver to Bamangwato. + +The country was still heavy, though somewhat improved by the last few +days of comparatively dry weather. A few miles before reaching the +Inkwesi, the road lay through bush veldt and corn-fields, with kopjes +interspersed at intervals. “The corn-fields are close to the road,” +writes Frank Oates, “and a large fence renders the road so narrow that +it is a difficult matter to drive a waggon. Some of my loose oxen +crossed a corn-field, and of course a row was made. The Hottentot, +Klaas, from Lee’s, had to give a coat, and some lead and powder, +because when he stuck his oxen trampled the corn whilst in the yoke, +the road being altogether hemmed in by the corn-fields. Karl says he +will get the extortionate payment refunded when John Lee knows. This is +the second crop of Indian corn, the former one having been destroyed by +locusts. We passed the Hottentot during this trek; he had had to kill +one of his best oxen, his driver having broken the ox’s leg by throwing +a stone. Here we come,” continues the writer, “to the last kraal, and +outspan, about two miles from the Inkwesi, amongst the kopjes. There +is a fine sugar-loaf-shaped kopje, craggy and tree-covered to the top, +and very steep. I wish I had time to try the ascent; there must be +a glorious view from it. The colours on the stones from lichens are +most beautiful, yellow predominating. The Kafirs were most impudent +and troublesome. The headman, a young fellow in European clothes, is +a good-looking and well-behaved fellow. He sat on my front-box; our +object is to get boys from him. There were five men killed by the king, +at Lee’s, Karl says, for refusing to come to live here; they said it +was only fit for monkeys. Near here was old Makobi’s kraal, where all +were massacred for deceiving the king, after owning allegiance to him. +A large quantity of milk was brought to us for sale. Heavy showers +came on, but the night was fine, clear, and starlight. Where we passed +Klaas an elephant had passed during the night. They followed his spoor, +but lost it. Smith shot a cow-elephant near here a year or two ago, +and they say a surly toothless bull-elephant lives about here now. The +kopje looked very pretty at night when all was quiet, and its dark +sugar-loaf form loomed up close to us against the starry sky.” + +Next day (February 9th), on reaching the Inkwesi, Frank Oates chanced +to be alone, Smith having gone on in advance, in company with the +Hottentot above referred to. “After Karl had been to the kraal +about boys,” writes the traveller that day, “we inspanned at 10.30 +A.M., and trekked about an hour, when we came to the drift of +the Inkwesi. The induna rode on my front-box. Some of the road was +rough; scenery pretty. Had to chop down part of a tree against which we +were running. We found Smith had crossed, and I sent in boys to try the +depth, and, though it was deep, I resolved to push forward, for fear of +rain and a swollen current. In some places it was over a man’s middle. +We stuck in the river; had many attempts to get out, but without +success. Two small oxen got half drowned, and we outspanned them and +inspanned two large ones. The boy who was leading the front oxen let go +the strap he held them by, and we had a great deal of trouble. At last +we off-loaded a large part of our cargo, sending it over on the boys’ +backs. I worked hard; so did Karl. I then undressed and left the waggon +before they tried to get it on again. Old Smith now came up to us, in +the unadorned garb of nature, and mounted the front-box. (He thrashed +a young nigger for laughing at his appearance.) They got the waggon +out this time, but some of the oxen had to swim. Very little water got +inside, and we loaded up again, and at sundown inspanned to go a few +yards to where Smith and Klaas were already encamped. At night we all +had supper together, Smith contributing some excellent ‘stamped corn.’ +This is a capital dish. The corn is first crushed, then boiled, and, +when this is over, salt and butter or fat stirred up with it. It is +something like stiff rice-pudding.” + +Advancing together the following morning, the three stopped for a +day or two’s hunting a few miles further on, beyond the river. Here +buffalo and blue wildebeest were met with, and the spoor of ostriches +was seen. From a fine rocky plateau in the neighbourhood a good survey +of the surrounding district was obtained. “Looking to the south-west,” +writes the traveller, “we saw the distant conical range of the Tati +hills, between which and ourselves lay a fine green bush-covered plain, +through which flow the Impakwe and Ramaqueban Rivers. This plain +extends far to the west and north, but to the north-east is again +broken by kopjes in the direction of the Mangwe, whilst the fine craggy +hills of the Inkwesi rise nearer in the same direction.” Some delicious +fruits, not unlike greengages, known by the natives as “marula,” were +picked up about here on the march. Between the skin and the large +stone in the centre of each was a sweet liquid with scarcely any pulp. +“We also found,” adds the writer, “a number of berries, of which we +ate a good lot. These grow on low bushes, which have a sweet-scented +yellow flower, with a smell like that of sallow bloom. The fruit is +reddish-brown, about the size of a haw; dry, sweet, and containing a +stone. It is called ‘Kafir plum.’” + +Here too a hornbill’s nest was found. “The boys,” says Frank Oates, +“brought me a young hornbill, and I was taken to the nest. A hollow +tree, with a hole in it, high up, was where the bird had come from. +They poked out and pulled the wing-feathers off the old hen when I was +not looking. I kept both birds. Karl says the old hen never leaves +the young, the cock feeding them all, and that she gets quite bare of +feathers. The number of young is two. The natives, he says, are very +fond of them to eat, roasted.” + + [Illustration: AFRICAN GREY HORNBILL.--_Tockus + nasutus._] + +The party next moved forward (February 12th) to the Impakwe, a further +distance of about six miles. “Here,” writes the traveller, “is some +distinct stone-work forming a circular wall, inside which are remains +of bricks coated with a substance as if smelting had been done here. +No mortar has been used, and the work is rough and I should say of no +great antiquity, the stones being small and loose and easily displaced, +so that I think they would not stand any great length of time. They are +cut in an oblong form and properly placed for building. Karl says it +was made for smelting copper, and used by the people whom Mosilikatze +found here. That it is any older I should much doubt. “Shot here,” he +concludes, “a beautiful sun-bird, whose beauty awoke my slumbering love +of ornithology.” Birds had been scarce of late, but became much more +plentiful at the Ramaqueban, which was reached the following morning. + + [Illustration: YELLOW-BILLED HORNBILL.--_Tockus + flavirostris._] + +Encamping on this river, they still remained a few days longer in the +neighbourhood before finally separating, usually taking from here +different directions during the day in search of game, and meeting +again at night. The game in the district, however, for the most part +proved scarce and wild, a circumstance afterwards accounted for by +the fact that other parties had been and still were hunting the +neighbourhood at the same time. There was, nevertheless, abundant +evidence of its being a good game country; and, as it was, giraffe, +koodoo, waterbuck, and sable antelope were met with, besides wild pig, +quagga, and sassaybi. The spoor of elephant and rhinoceros was also +seen, none of it, however, very recent. + +The Ramaqueban--at this season a fine broad stream, with long grass +and a large undergrowth of rank weeds upon its banks--was crossed in +many of their rambles, and near it on one occasion were seen the graves +of two Englishmen. “Started at nine,” writes Frank Oates on February +16th, “crossed the Ramaqueban, and passed the graves of two Englishmen, +who died here, one of fever, one killed by an elephant. The latter had +come from England to shoot, and was killed by the tusks of the first +elephant he saw. The fever is very bad on this river; the vegetation is +extremely rank, and the water lies very deep over much of the veldt. +The graves,” he concludes, “had been surrounded by stakes to keep off +the wolves, but the river, overflowing its banks, had nearly washed +them away; still the heaps of stones covering the bodies and a few +stakes remain.” + +The same evening, wandering far into the bush, Frank Oates slept +out with some of his boys who had accompanied him. “We stopped at 5 +P.M.,” he says, “and huts were made. It was a hot night, and +the big fires made it worse. The white ants too kept tumbling over me +all night, and knocking down leaves from the roof.[34] We were perhaps +sixteen miles from the waggon.” + +Still, however, though in a less tried district, there seemed but +little game, and what was seen was wild. Returning to the camp next +day, “I stopped in the afternoon,” he writes, “when the boys found a +nest of small bees, full of delicious honey, on which and coffee I +dined sumptuously.” + + [Illustration: GIGANTIC ANT-HILL.] + +And now discouraged by the wildness and scarcity of the game, the +Dutchman soon after--about the 20th--took his departure, returning +to John Lee’s, the Hottentot having left two days previously for the +Shashe River, whither he had been summoned to join another Dutch +hunter, Piet Jacobs, in search of elephant. + +A little before the latter’s departure Frank Oates had chanced to hear +from him that, at a spot not far from their encampment, some miles up +the river, a number of Bushmen had been murdered the previous year, +and he resolved, if possible, to visit the place, that he might obtain +some of their remains. In this search his informant had undertaken +to accompany him, and had even sent to Tati for a reliable guide to +the spot, when suddenly, at the last moment, he changed his mind, and +excused himself from going upon the plea of illness. The circumstances +of his defection and some other incidents of the day are thus related +in the traveller’s Journal:-- + +“_February 18th._--Fine day; the first day without rain for an age. +Last night Klaas (the Hottentot) told me he was going on to Tati +to-day, being too unwell to accompany me in my excursion in quest of +the bones, but would leave me his two Bushmen--the one he had sent for +from Tati, who knew the place, and the one he has had with him here. +The former was out hunting, when his fourteen companions--men, women, +and children--were killed at their hunting kraal by the Matabele. He +found them all dead on his return. It seems that they were a party of +Mungwato Bushmen, and some of them had taken meat belonging to some +Bushmen from Manyami’s. The latter complained to the king, who said the +Mungwato Bushmen were to be killed. This was last winter. This morning +Klaas went away, leaving the two boys. I now found he was _going away +to hunt_. Jacobs had sent for him to hunt for elephants, said to be on +the Shashe. Presently the two Bushmen took their guns and skins and +walked off. I immediately felt the strongest suspicion, and called +Lee’s attention to them. He questioned them, and they told him they +were going to hunt. I felt very uneasy, and wanted him to stop them, +but he seemed to think it was all right. However, they did not return +at night. We think Klaas had arranged all this.... One of Smith’s boys, +a Matabele, was one of the party who killed the Bushmen, but he says he +thinks he could not find the place, the leaves being now on the trees. +He could find it, he says, going from his own kraal, but not from here. +He evidently, however, does not want, or care, to go. It is somewhere, +a day or a day and a half’s walk off, up the Ramaqueban.” + +The two Bushmen, as Frank Oates had anticipated, failing after this +to reappear, the search for the remains had now for the present to +be abandoned, but later in the year, as will presently be seen, he +succeeded in obtaining possession of them. + +The Bushmen of this country--such was Karl Lee’s account of +them--appear to be scattered over the whole district north of Mungwato, +keeping principally near the waggon-road, to get hunting jobs and bits +of meat. They are without chiefs, and have no fixed place of abode, and +no crops, building themselves rough temporary huts when they want to +stop anywhere for a time. They are capable of carrying immense loads, +and sometimes help the Matabele with their corn, receiving a little +of the grain in payment when they return into the veldt. They have no +guns, only assegais and dogs, and many of them have wounds of buffalo +upon their persons. They snare buck, and occasionally get big game with +their assegais. + +Still lingering a day or two longer on the Ramaqueban after the +departure of his companions, Frank Oates completed the journey to the +Tati on the 23d, whence he did not start for Bamangwato till the 4th of +April. + + [Illustration: WOODEN VESSEL.] + + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + Hunting trip on the Semokwe--A native musician--Gigantic + baobabs--Return to Tati--Journey to Shoshong--The Bamangwato + and Matabele nations--Fighting amongst the natives--Start + back for Tati--Misadventures and delays--Fresh arrangements. + + +On reaching Tati, Frank Oates found that a hunting party was just about +to start thence for the Semokwe, and being asked to join them, he +arranged to do so before going on to Bamangwato. The following is an +extract from his Journal of this date (February 23d), after his arrival +at the settlement:-- + +“Tati,” he writes, “presented on our arrival a very pretty and lively +appearance. I like it better than any place I know of, to stand at. +Here are no crowds of rude people to come round the waggon. All is +green, and numerous little well-built houses dot the ground; of course +I mean well-built for the interior of South Africa, but it is rough +work enough nevertheless. There are the three waggons of the Gardens, +two English brothers hunting in the country, and the waggon of Mr. +Thomson, on his way with his wife and children to a missionary meeting +at Kuruman. There is Nelson’s waggon, who is going away for a time, +and possibly will visit England. He leaves to-morrow according to his +present plan, with Mr. Thomson, they carrying the mail. Then there is +Klaas’s waggon, and Jacobs’s waggon; the latter[35] living here with +his wife and daughters until the regular hunting season. He makes +occasional short excursions from here, and is now about to set off for +the Semokwe for a three weeks’ hunt after elephant. A troop of they say +at least 200 elephant came close to Tati lately, but, probably hearing +the engine, turned. One account sets them down at a still larger +number. In the letter I found awaiting me here from Willie, written +when he came out of the hunting veldt, he tells me he has been to the +Semokwe, where he has had good sport. Seventeen elephants, he tells me, +had just been killed on that river; this would be by Fejeune. Captain +Garden and his brother are accompanying Jacobs on his projected hunt, +and I am going to join them too. Klaas and Henry Wall are also going, +and a lot of Bushmen. Jacobs shot a fine lion close to Tati lately; +brought him to bay with dogs early in the morning, and shot him from +horseback. They trapped another; the third, a lioness, escaped. They +had been taking Jacobs’s bullocks.... A lot of people came up to my +waggon when we outspanned, and Mr. Thomson invited me to supper. In the +evening we all met at Brown’s. Brown has given me a piece of bread. I +enjoy it without butter or anything else with it; it is a wonderful +treat.” + +The following day the large party here alluded to started on their +hunt. Before leaving, Frank Oates wrote to his brother William, now in +England, as follows:-- + + “TATI, _February 24th, 1874_. + +“It is quite a pleasure to get a letter from you--I mean the one you +left for me here. I shall get no more now for five or six weeks, when +I expect to be in Mungwato. I am sorry that wretched old croaker, +Palmer,[36] put you in a funk about me. He says it would be a good +thing for people travelling to have ‘portable coffins.’ I am thankful +to say my health is excellent. I did not, as doubtless you know by +this time, get to the Zambesi. I believe the king was at the bottom of +it (not of the Zambesi; but excuse grammar). I took my waggon fifty +miles on the way, as far as Inyati, and then put all out for fifteen +carriers to take. It was a fortnight’s walk through ‘the fly’ to the +Falls. After waiting nearly a week, it transpired that no boys were +forthcoming as promised. Partly, I think, they were afraid of fever, +and partly of the natives, with whom they are at war; partly also they +wanted to get back in time to cultivate their gardens. However, I +believe I could have got them myself easily, had I not trusted to the +man given me by the king. + +“I then sent back to Lobengula, asking him for hunting veldt. I had +given him your shot gun, and his sister some furniture print of +gorgeous pattern. He gave me a fine veldt between the Gwailo and +Umvungu Rivers, where I was six weeks. I then returned to the royal +residence, and asked the king to let me go back to the same place. He +was very crusty, and asked if I wanted to die. I told him I would take +my chance, for I did not think there was the least danger _then_. +It is when the rains cease and the rank vegetation rots beneath the sun +that it is so bad, and that is not till March in most parts, I believe, +though earlier on the Zambesi. However, he said, if I wanted to die, +why could I not die somewhere else, and not in his country, and made so +many difficulties I had to give it up. I then had so many delays--bad +weather, and one thing or another--that I waited till the big dance was +over, which is quite a thing to see when one is here. + +“After this I had difficulties with my men, and had to part with +Hendrik, Dick, and Jacob, all of whom you will remember. About +Dick’s dismissal I had to wait a week or more, as the case had to +be tried before the king, and Jacob was finally handed over to the +tender mercies of Dick. Hendrik I dismissed for refusing to cut some +bushes, to make a fence round my waggon to keep the niggers out. This +he considered ‘slavish work,’ and preferred dismissal to demeaning +himself. Then the king would insist on buying my little horse, still +well when I left in January, and got the saddle and bridle for nothing. + + [Illustration: HUNTERS’ CAMP ON THE SEMOKWE RIVER.] + +“Since then I have been coming slowly from the King’s. I have been +hunting, and have Lee’s brother to drive for me now, and take me to +Mungwato. Here I have fallen in with Captain Garden and his brother, +and am joining them and some others for about three weeks’ hunting +in the veldt. I am spinning out the time, so that if I find all +things favourable on reaching Mungwato, I can start in April or May +for the Zambesi.... I have seen Vincent, the driver, who is death on +Solomon.[37] He said he wanted to kill him, but did not like to do it +without your leave, which he asked, but you said it would be rather +inconvenient to you just then to have him put out of the way.” + +On the 24th, as already stated, the hunters left the Tati, and crossing +the Ramaqueban and Inkwesi Rivers, struck thence eastwards, and crossed +the Sakasusi or Dry River on the 26th, a crowd of Bushmen, with their +wives and children, accompanying the waggons. The following day they +reached the Semokwe, a fine river surrounded by a sea of green bush +stretching in all directions, and here they formed their camp.[38] “In +the evening,” writes Frank Oates in his Journal after their arrival at +this point, “a boy, who comes from the Zambesi, and knows the Falls, +which he calls ‘Metse-a-tunya’ (water-sounding), came and sang, playing +on the string of a bow to which a gourd was attached. He sang the ‘Song +of the Elephants Feeding,’ now and then pausing and imitating the +looking round for danger, then recommencing the feeding, or imitating +the running of the elephants. The words were very distinct, with no +clicking. The following occurred over and over again, the song sounding +very monotonous, but not at all harsh or unpleasant:-- + + “‘Wānga marank, + Swot ma ben a marank, + Wātem ba marank, + Obeza marank, + Wāmba marank.’ + +One of the boys from Mungwato, whose language this man knows a little, +explains that he speaks of the game feeding by the river--‘all the +game.’ The minstrel was delighted with some tobacco. He is a fine, +well-made, powerful-looking, and nice-featured young fellow, with a +pleasant childish expression.” + +Next day a large troop of buffalo was encountered near the river, out +of which were obtained a cow and three-year-old bull, which supplied +the camp with meat. “Went after supper,” writes Frank Oates that +evening, “to see the Bushmen and their wives dance. They do this when +full of meat, making a great noise. The women stand in line, shuffling +their feet and clapping their hands, whilst the men come and perform +antics in front of them--one now and then stepping out from the ranks +and approaching near to the women with dancing and gestures. Now and +then one excited will rush away half mad into the veldt, and return +again when tired. They must work very hard in this dancing.” + +On March 2d, leaving the waggons by the river, the party started for a +few days’ hunting in the bush, taking with them a couple of pack-oxen. +After following the river for some distance nearly south, they entered +some very pretty country, characteristic of the best South African +scenery--rugged kopjes and thick bush, the kopjes rising round on every +side, and stretching far into the distance. Here, crossing the river, +they encamped their first night, advancing the following morning in +an easterly direction several miles. In the course of this afternoon +(March 3d), some trees of unusual size were noticed by some of the +party whilst riding in pursuit of eland. “The first which arrested my +attention,” writes Frank Oates, who was one of this number, “was so +striking that I let the others go on following the spoor, and reined in +my horse. The tree was perfectly gigantic in girth, thickening as it +got higher, though of no great height. It was swollen and bloated in +a most extraordinary manner, and is of the same kind as the ‘Indunas’ +tree’--a baobab. Though still flourishing, it is a mere shell, and, +looking in at a hole in the side, I saw that it was open to the sky at +the top. Inside was a good-sized chamber, strewed with minute bones of +rats or some small mammalia. No doubt generations of owls have long had +their abode here; one flew out on our approach. We saw another tree +afterwards, probably as large, but I did not ride up to it.” + +After this the same general direction was again pursued till evening, +when temporary huts were constructed for the night, which, however, +unfortunately proved a wholly ineffectual shelter from the heavy +rain which fell early the following morning, thoroughly saturating +everything inside. The day itself was fine and hot, but was again +succeeded by heavy rain at night, which induced the party on March 5th +to retrace their steps to the waggons, recrossing the Semokwe in their +march, which was now swollen with the recent heavy rains. One of the +Bushmen was carried off his legs in crossing the river, but, seizing +hold of another of the party, regained his footing, and reached the +opposite bank in safety. The big rifle he was carrying escaped with +a severe wetting. After this the party moved slowly back towards the +Tati, halting a short time on the banks of the Sakasusi, and elsewhere +upon the way; and reaching the settlement on March 17th. The game +met with during their absence had been much the same as that Frank +Oates had found in his former journeyings further to the north, and +included--besides buffalo, quagga, pallah, and sassaybi, all of which +were obtained early in the hunt--giraffe, rhinoceros, wildebeest, and +koodoo. + +Still remaining at Tati a few days after their return there, Frank +Oates, as already mentioned, started thence for Bamangwato on April +4th, accompanied by a hunter and two traders, also on their way south. +By the middle of March the weather seemed to have become quite settled, +and the days were almost universally fine and hot, with only an +occasional slight shower or a little drizzling rain. This absence of +wet had greatly changed the aspect of the country, and that in a short +time, for, the day after leaving Tati for Bamangwato and crossing the +Shashe River, the veldt presented to the travellers a dry, parched +appearance, very different from anything which had now for a long time +been witnessed. The grass was yellow, and many of the trees already +bare. A week’s trekking brought the party to Bamangwato, which was +reached on April 11th, after an uneventful journey.[39] + + [Illustration: SALT PAN, BAMANGWATO.] + +Here Frank Oates found letters awaiting him--the first he had received +from England since leaving Pietermaritzburg nearly twelve months +before--and, all seeming favourable, at once determined on prosecuting +his journey to the Zambesi. There appeared now every reason to +anticipate a prosperous and successful expedition, and he began at +once to make his preparations for it, laying in fresh supplies at the +stores, and otherwise completing his equipment. + +Very little worthy of note occurred during the time he was detained at +Bamangwato. One evening, however, a great noise and shouting at the +kraal, kept up till late, announced the return from the veldt of a +number of boys who had been out for circumcision. The following day, +according to custom, the same boys went forth again, and Frank Oates +saw them starting. “Party, say of two hundred boys, went out,” he +writes, “into the veldt. They are those who returned yesterday from +circumcision, and I am told will have to go to the veldt every day for +a week and look after the king’s cattle. They presented a striking and +uniform appearance. Each had a knob-kerry and a wand, and round the +middle a bit of skin. All these and their entire bodies were rubbed +with red ochre, their heads shaved except the crown, on which the hair +was quite short, crisp, and bead-like. All the crown and the part +around it was brilliantly metallic, of a dark steel blue, produced by +some preparation of a kind of lead got here.” + + [Illustration: CHURCH AND MISSION STATION, SHOSHONG, + BAMANGWATO.] + +The evening after this occurrence (April 24th), the traveller’s +preparations were completed, and a fresh start made up country, but +before proceeding further with the narrative, it will be proper here +to give quotations from some of the letters written during his present +stay at Bamangwato. Five days after his arrival he writes to one of his +brothers:-- + + “BAMANGWATO, _April 16th, 1874_. + +“At last I have your and the Mater’s letters, dated September 22d, +and containing the first news I have had from home since I left +Pietermaritzburg. When I arrived here and found no letters I did not +know what to think. Mr. Mackenzie, the missionary, and his assistant, +Mr. Hepburn, were both absent, having gone--as well as Mr. Thomson, the +Matabele missionary--to a meeting at Kuruman. I had asked Mackenzie to +keep letters for me at his own house, and requested Hathorn to forward +all letters to him from Maritzburg; so when I arrived here and found +none I could not make it out. To-day, however, a note arrived, the +monthly mail coming in. This note was from Hepburn, telling me that a +letter and newspapers were at his house for me, and directing me to +apply to a converted native, who is studying for the church, and who, +with others like him, forms a college adjoining the missionary houses. +I was not long in going up, and found the things as he had said, +amongst his books.... + +“I left Tati for this place on the 4th of April, and reached here in a +week. I had to come here for supplies. It is about 150 miles; but the +journey is no trifle. I generally trekked during the night, and slept +comfortably, the ground being soft sand for the most part, and the +waggon going slowly and without jolts. We usually made two treks of +perhaps three hours each, say from 3 to 6, and from 8 to 11 P.M., and +set off again about 2 A.M. and trekked till sunrise, which was about 6 +A.M., making a trek of about four hours. Call our rate of travelling +two miles an hour in heavy ground, this gives about twenty miles a day, +roughly, and this is good trekking, and could not be kept up for long. +Now, however, there is still plenty of grass and water, though winter +is setting in and the rains nearly over. Two waggons accompanied me, +with two traders and a hunter in them. The latter is quite a young +fellow, who left England three years ago. He was educated at Rugby. One +of the two traders was Fairbairn, who supplied me with goods at the +town of the Matabele king; and the other, a man named Dawson. + +“On my birthday I thought of you all, and old times--and had a good +wash.[40]... I hope not to be more than a week or so here in all, +before returning to Tati, _en route_ for the Falls. Selous, the +hunting youth above mentioned, set off to-day. His partner, George +Wood, a Yorkshireman, is waiting for him at Tati. They are both +professional ivory hunters, and have a good deal of roughing it to do. +Selous was once lost for four days and three nights in the veldt. The +morning of the first day, when he left the waggons, he had nothing but +a cup of coffee, and had neither a drop of water nor a morsel of food +of any description till the evening of the fourth day, when he found +his way back, and got some milk of a native. He thinks he could have +held out another day. + +“The brothers Garden are going to the Zambesi also, the same way. There +is another way of reaching the Falls from here, shorter than the Tati +road, but at certain seasons deficient in water. It is to the left of +the Tati road. I should have preferred it, but wanted to leave some +things at Tati, and was not sure of finding water, going by it. It +appears, however, it would have been all right, had I decided on that +route. They tell me here two English tourists, one of them called +Bond, have just left here, trekking slowly to the Falls. This year and +last the Falls have been in great request apparently, as Garland and +Dawnay visited them last year, and now the Gardens, Bond, and myself, +are all bound there, this. Selous too is very anxious to see them, and +will probably manage it. We are still in lots of time, in fact the +great fear now is of going there too soon, but I shall go slowly, and +remain where it is healthy till it is the same at the Zambesi. + +“The boys, as one’s Kafir satellites are called, whatever their age, +are far more liable to fever of course than their ‘bosses.’ Lying +out naked, or with only a skin or blanket and a fire, to keep the +cold away at the unhealthy season, is not likely to prevent an attack +of fever. Three or four of my boys have had it. I have given them +quinine, and there is only one of them ill now. This is a little +fellow I call ‘Quilp.’ He is perhaps eighteen, and a perfect dwarf. +The race he belongs to, the Bushmen of this country, are usually tall. +These Bushmen are a curious race, who probably had their homes in +the veldt long before the Mungwato and Matabele people came here and +conquered it, and before the races they conquered came. The Mungwato +people are an utterly different nation from the Matabele. The latter +have two other nations, the Makalaka and Mashona, living in bondage +under them, who are far more ingenious and versed in the arts than +their conquerors, having mined and worked in metals and woven stuffs +for ages. They are not all conquered yet; but the Matabele king is +constantly sending out parties of warriors, who steal their cattle, +kill the old people, and carry the children into slavery. The little +slaves grow up in the families of the Matabele, and when they are old +enough to marry, become free and are incorporated into the nation, in +which way Lobengula increases his people and his power. The slaves call +those of their conquerors to whom they are allotted, their ‘fathers,’ +and they have to work for them, though more like adopted children than +anything else. Many of the conquered people, however, are not made part +of the nation, but suffered to live on with a Matabele headman placed +over them. It is usually slave boys that one gets as servants. They +have to look after the cattle and make themselves generally useful, +carrying one’s arms, blankets, or anything else required, when one goes +for a day or two into the veldt. I have now six boys, all young, which +I always prefer, besides my driver, a stupid creature, who requires +constant blowing up and the use of unpleasantly strong remarks.[41] +When these fail altogether, I shall have to try the argument of +knocking him down, which may be slightly beneficial. This is supposed +to attach a boy to you. The worst of it is none of my boys are much +afraid of me. + +“I think I shall be very well supplied for my coming trip. I shall +have meal, coffee, and brandy, which I have got here. Sugar is not to +be had at present, but may possibly turn up before I leave. However, +that doesn’t matter much. Coffee is of the first importance, then comes +tobacco. To be without these two is a thing I have never yet come to. +Meal too is a nice thing to have, though not indispensable, as you can +buy Kafir corn, which, when cooked, keeps you going. Brandy, likewise, +I am very glad to have got. + +“There are, besides the parties I have enumerated, a lot of Boer +hunters going to the Zambesi, with their wives and families. Those +who go by Tati will leave it about the middle of May, I think, and I +suppose the Falls can be reached and seen, and you can be returning in +August if you wish to leave so soon. I look forward to the time when I +shall be _en route_ for home. When I came here and got Willie’s +letter, and saw the place where our waggons had stood together, I +could not help feeling a sort of yearning for home, and to-day when +I got your and the Mater’s letters, it seemed as if it would be so +jolly to be with you all again soon, but then I comfort myself with +thinking that it will only make a few months’ difference, going to the +Zambesi, and I did not like the idea of leaving the country without +accomplishing my object. I hope all will continue to go on well at +home. + + [Illustration: SHOSHONG, BAMANGWATO.] + +“There has been some fighting going on here of late amongst the +natives. It took place just before I arrived. You may be aware that +Kama left here, and old Sekomi, his father, remained behind with +Kamani, Kama’s younger brother. Kama, however, it is supposed, will +return and rout Kamani. Sekomi is looked upon as nobody. Kamani is a +gentlemanly well-dressed darkie enough, and the other day he and his +men gave Matchin a warm reception. Matchin is his uncle, or something +of the sort, and once for a short time supplanted Sekomi. He thought +the dispute of the brothers a favourable opportunity for retaking +Mungwato, but failed. His people had to climb the steep mountain which +flanks the town, turning to fire as they fled, whilst Kamani’s men shot +at them from the plain. A great deal of ammunition was expended, but +comparatively few natives slain. There were a dozen or so lying about +on the slope of the mountain when I arrived, but the hyænas and crows +had had a ‘high old time,’ and little was left of them but the skulls. +A lot of huts were destroyed during the fight; and one of the traders +here seized the opportunity to burn down the empty huts all round the +store where he lives, and it certainly improves his view.[42] + +“It seems next to impossible to convert the natives here to +Christianity, though a good many of them profess it. The worst of it is +that when they get so far converted as to wear ‘continuations,’ they +become incorrigible thieves and drunkards. I always infinitely prefer +the raw unconverted heathen for my own use, and every one else that +I know does the same. I like extremely the three missionaries that I +know, and believe them to be most excellent conscientious men. They +believe the chief result of their labours is yet to come, and I hope +they may be right.” + +By the 24th of April, as already mentioned, all was ready for a +start, and, leaving Bamangwato after sundown, a trek of two hours was +accomplished that night. The following morning a like distance had been +traversed, when the waggon was suddenly brought to a stand by one of +the wheels giving way. It was fortunate, as it happened, they had not +got further from the reach of help, and the broken wheel was at once +taken back to Bamangwato. It was a tedious business, however, getting +it repaired,--so slow are people’s movements in this country,--but at +last it was ready, and, some fresh oxen being purchased to strengthen +the span, the journey was resumed early on the morning of May 5th. +Before starting a couple of waggons arrived from Lake Ngami with two +traders, both looking dreadfully ill from the effects of fever; indeed +they seemed to have had a very narrow escape. They had buried one man, +and reported the death of another at the Lake,--Henry Gray, the trader +who, the year before, had accompanied Frank and William Oates a good +part of the way up country when they first left Pietermaritzburg. + +Before resuming his journey Frank Oates wrote home a few lines to his +brother William, as follows:-- + + “BAMANGWATO, _May 4th, 1874_. + +“I wrote to Charley a few days ago, telling him I was just setting off +for the Zambesi. As bad luck would have it, one of my hind wheels came +to grief in jolting over that vile piece of road you must remember, +about ten miles from here, and there I was, laid on my back. However, I +put the wheel on a sledge of branches, and brought it with six oxen to +be mended here, and once again am off. I am going to ride to the waggon +to-night by moonlight, and hope to be at the Makalapsi River before the +sun is very high.... + +“We have reckoned up about thirty waggons going Zambesi way this year; +some are hunters, some traders, and some tourists. I expect most of +them will stand at the same place, beyond Daka, and one must walk from +there to the Falls. I suppose twelve white men at least will be at +the Falls this year, so I shall not be alone, and one will be in the +way of help in case of emergency arising, which is not likely. I am +sparing no pains to get a good outfit. I have now twenty-six oxen, and +am determined to be as well provided in every way as possible for the +journey.” + +After writing the above Frank Oates rode out, as he intended, to his +waggon, and by 3 A.M. on the 5th of May was once more upon +the road. Again all went favourably for something like three hours +after starting, and a further distance of five or six miles had been +accomplished when, to the traveller’s unspeakable vexation, a fresh +catastrophe of a like kind occurred, this time the tire of the same +wheel breaking, and necessitating another halt. He now rode back into +Bamangwato to see what could be done, the upshot of which was that he +there bought two new waggons, and yet more oxen, so as to divide his +load and lessen the risk of future accidents of this vexatious kind. He +also secured the services of a Dutchman named Van Roozen, and his son, +the former of whom would act as driver to one of the waggons, and make +himself generally useful. + +Whilst still completing these arrangements he added a short +supplementary letter to the last, from which the following are +extracts:-- + + “_May 9th, 1874._ + +“Since writing the letter of May 4th, which will reach you at the same +time this does, I have broken down again. After finishing my letter +to you I rode out to the waggon, inspanned, and trekked. I had gone +perhaps five or six miles, when the wheel came to grief again, the tire +breaking, and I had to return here. It has ended in my buying two new +waggons, and selling the old one.... The great difference in my plans, +however, is, that I have found a Dutchman and his little boy, who have +agreed to accompany me. The former wanted to go hunting with some one, +and I engaged him to go with me as driver and general overseer, but +have stipulated that he shall only hunt when and where I think fit, as, +for instance, when I leave the waggon standing to visit the Zambesi. +Of course if he gets any ivory or feathers he gives me half, as is +always done in these cases, and there may be enough to pay his wages +as driver. His boy is a handy little fellow, and can take charge of a +waggon.” + +It was the 13th of May, when again, for the third time, Frank Oates +started north, but the further tracing of his fortunes must be left +to the succeeding chapter. Before, however, concluding the present +period of his wanderings, the following brief extract may be given from +another of his letters, written about this time, with reference to his +dogs. He says:-- + +“I have the nicest dog now I ever had. He is a pointer, and a most +sensible creature. Dogs are indispensable here, if only to guard the +waggon. My pointers are both well; I had four originally, but sold two +here when I went further into the interior. One poor thing is dead, +and the other far from flourishing. It was August when I left them, +having a difficulty in feeding so many dogs; and now when I return in +April, poor ‘Flirt’ knows me, and won’t let me out of her sight for +a moment. She had only known me three months, but had formed a very +strong attachment to me. She follows me like my shadow. They accuse +her of stealing soap, and say she has a _penchant_ for departed +negroes. The fact is she is not overfed. I wish that I had kept her. I +have besides two puppies. One is five, the other three months old, and +I have had them from their tenderest infancy.” + +The pointer referred to at the commencement of this paragraph was the +traveller’s favourite, “Rail,” the attached and devoted companion of +all his wanderings, his friend in solitude, and faithful to him even +after death. + + [Illustration: “ROCK” AND “RAIL.”] + + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + Again at Tati--Fresh causes of delay--Lions on the + Motloutsi--Threatened by natives--Forthcoming prospects. + + +By the 21st of May Frank Oates was again back at Tati from Bamangwato, +this time completing the journey without further mishap. Little worthy +of note occurred upon the road. The weather was now settled; the rains +had ceased, and the days were usually bright and fine. The general +aspect of the country was bare and brown, though, where water was met +with, there was still for the most part a corresponding freshness in +the landscape, as was the case at “Tchakani Vlei,” a beautiful pond, +surrounded by wood and covered with water-lilies, which was reached the +second day of the journey. Again at the Palatswe River, further on, +was water and abundance of fresh grass, the latter supplying excellent +pasture for the oxen. But some days forced marches were required, to +get from one watering-place to another, these in the winter season +being few in number. + +This scarcity of water sufficiently accounted for the general absence +of game upon the route, only a few small antelope occasionally showing +themselves the whole time. In crossing the Motloutsi two lions were +observed quite close to the waggons, and Frank Oates gave them chase, +but, as related below in a letter referring to the events of this +period, was thrown off the scent by the wiles of the Dutchman, Van +Roozen, who sought to avoid an encounter. The signs of animal life were +rather more numerous on the Shashe River, where some fine water-holes +were found in the sand, into one of which a crocodile had recently +crawled, leaving the track of his tail behind him at the water’s edge. +Here pallah and other game spoor was abundant, and three or four large +monkeys were observed crossing the river-bed. Birds too were numerous, +including herons, kingfishers, and bustards. In the course of the +journey one or two curious snakes were met with, one of which was of a +fine silvery hue upon the back, and salmon-coloured beneath. Another, +quite black, and of a very deadly kind, evinced a remarkable facility +for swelling out its head to an enormous size when alarmed or angry. +This snake had a habit, it was said, of hanging down from the trees +like one of their branches and attacking such creatures as might pass +beneath. + +On approaching Tati the traveller was struck with the fine autumnal +tints of the trees, and observed ahead of him the picturesque range of +hills towards the Ramaqueban. At Tati itself the grass was parched and +yellow, and everything had already assumed its autumnal or winter garb. +Here he was met on his arrival by Mr. Fairbairn from Gubuleweyo, from +whom he learnt with pleasure that the king had sent leave for him to +go to the Zambesi, a fresh permission having been required. The other +travellers for the Zambesi, mentioned above in one of Frank Oates’s +letters, had most of them already started northwards, but for one +reason or another he was himself yet detained some days longer at the +settlement. + +The only incident of much novelty which occurred during this time was +an angry scene with some Kafirs at the mine, arising out of a second +attempt he had made, when last at Tati, to get possession of the +Bushman remains he had failed to secure when hunting on the Ramaqueban +in February. The story of his encounter with these men and other +circumstances of the time are related by him at some length in the +following letter home:-- + + “TATI, _May 29th, 1874_. + +“I have been here just a week to-day en route for the Zambesi. I have +been delayed, in the first instance, by the illness of Brown, who is +managing Sir John Swinburne’s mine here in the absence of Nelson, who +has gone to the colony; and since, by having something done to my +waggon wheels. I have been able to be of a little use to Brown, and +did not like to leave him as he was, but he is now better. It does not +much matter losing a few days, as I always thought the 1st of June +would be early enough to leave here, in order to reach the Zambesi as +soon as the healthy season there has fairly set in. I may now wait two +or three days longer, as there seems a possibility of my getting my +waggon wheels shortened. I shall be glad if I can get this done, as +wood in this country shrinks so much that the tire often becomes loose, +and then a blacksmith is wanted to shorten the tire unless the wheel is +wedged. + +“I am fortunate in having secured the services of the Dutchman and +his little boy, whose engagement I informed you of in my letter from +Bamangwato. These people are very useful to have about a waggon. There +are a thousand shifts, which any one who understands the subject can +have recourse to. A Kafir is scarcely ever the slightest good, even if +he has been working about waggons all his life. I have now, moreover, +far more comfort in the waggon I appropriate to my own use, as it is no +longer crammed to overflowing, half my cargo being stowed away in my +second waggon, which the Boer occupies. My oxen too are, on the whole, +in a very satisfactory state, and I have all the necessary stores. I +don’t suppose I need be more than a month in reaching the place where +my waggons must stand, and then it is two or three days on foot to the +Victoria Falls; but of course I shall go slower than this, and may not +be back here till November, or even later. I feel now as if all was +going well. + +“I was eight days in coming here from the place where I last broke +down, and had few incidents on the road. Van Roozen, the Dutchman, +however, got a fright one morning from a couple of lions, and showed +himself to be rather a coward. We were entering the dry bed of the +Motloutsi River about two hours before sunrise, and I was asleep in the +waggon. It appears that Van Roozen had gone across the river in front +of the waggons to ascertain the nature of the opposite bank, which he +had just climbed when the roar of a lion resounded in his ears, and he +asserts that he was chased by a couple of them, and ‘ran like a horse.’ +The latter part of his statement, no doubt, is perfectly correct, and +also it was true that there had been two lions within a yard or two of +him at one time, as we saw by the spoor at sunrise. I found the remains +of a pallah they had killed in the bed of the river, and the spoor +of the lions going away into the bush, and set off to follow it with +the dogs and the Dutchman. The latter was in a great fright. I should +have thought nothing of it if he had candidly admitted as much, but +he thought to put me off by making believe to follow the spoor, and +then conveniently losing it. The Kafirs too are most terribly afraid +of lions, and will always lose the spoor; indeed it is almost useless +to attempt to follow it with them, but I had thought better things of +a Dutchman calling himself a ‘hunter.’ The fact is, for one man to go +alone, or only accompanied by Kafirs, may be dangerous, but for two +white men with double-barrelled rifles the danger is very slight; as, +in the remote contingency of an attack, one could help the other, but +really Dutchmen are only a degree better than Kafirs. Still they are +wonderfully useful about a waggon, and my having this one with me takes +a great deal of bother off my hands, and may save me no end of trouble +and delay. My grand mistake was not taking a good man with me from +Natal in the first instance at £8 or £10 a month. + +“I have had a row with some rascally Kafirs here in this wise. Last +year a party of unfortunate Bushmen--men, women, and children--were +killed by a party of Matabele. The Bushmen were supposed to have +been hunting where they had no right, or committing some other +offence--probably an imaginary one. Hearing of this, I thought if I +could find the place I could take a sack and fill it with bones, and +I instituted inquiries accordingly as to the locality, offering a +blanket to any Kafir who would take me to the spot. A Dutchman, who +lives here, when he is not away with his wife and daughters in his +waggon on a hunting expedition, offered to act as my guide, and it was +settled that I should give him £5 for doing so. He, however, changed +his mind about going, but told me he had got one of the Matabele who +killed the Bushmen to go with me in his stead. This fellow was working +here at the mine, but when he was brought to me he also refused to +go, evidently thinking I had some ulterior object in wanting to go to +the place--perhaps to get him punished. These people, too, are very +superstitious about going to places where others have been killed. + +“This occurred when I was last here, but on my return I was waited +on by another coloured gentleman, who said he too had helped to kill +the Bushmen (and a ferocious beast he looked)--What business was +it of _mine_ to visit the bones? All this, of course, arose +from the Dutchman having made it known that I wanted the bones. The +ferocious-looking Kafir further went on to say that he should complain +of my conduct to the king, the only way to avoid which catastrophe +being to give him something out of my waggon, to bribe his silence. +Moreover, he hinted that if I did not comply, he should not stick at +helping himself, and went through a pantomime with his knob-kerry (a +stick with a round knob at one end, with which Kafirs knock their +enemies on the head), illustrating what he would do to _me_. All +this was bounce, though no doubt he would have liked to do it had he +dared, and he thought to frighten me. My pusillanimous Dutchman at +once begged me to give the fellow something. This I stoutly refused, +not only as a disgraceful proceeding on my part, but as an act of bad +policy. I knew better than to show him I was afraid of him, and I knew +the king was not likely to go against me, even if the worst came to +the worst. There were two other Kafirs with this one, also from the +mine, to back him up. Finding the Dutchman disposed to be friendly with +them, the spokesman asked him for a cigar, seeing us smoking, and the +Dutchman wanted me to comply, as a preliminary to talking the matter +over. All I said, however, to the Kafir was a word or two of his own +language, meaning ‘Go away, you scoundrel.’ + +“It was Sunday, and at this moment a white man who works at the +mine came up, and I told him the case. He knew the Kafirs, and at +once ordered them off, giving one of them a good slap on the side of +the head, which upset him. Then they all jumped to their feet and +brandished their knob-kerries. I threw off my coat, and my ally and +I stood ready and waited for the first blow to be struck, whilst Van +Roozen stood afar off. This attitude decided the Kafirs not to risk a +fight, and they said they would go with me to Brown and talk the matter +over. We went accordingly, and Brown told them if they wanted to do +so to take the case before the king, and they soon subsided and slunk +away. I might have had the greatest possible annoyance if it had not +been for the plucky conduct of Dobie from the mine. + +“Fairbairn’s waggon was stopped when he came here by some Matabele, +and he gave them some goods, but vowed he would complain to the king +and get them into trouble. I suppose these three Kafirs thought they +too could get something. The king, I believe, would kill them if he +knew. There are, of course, no prisons; and when any of his subjects go +too far they get put to death, and thrown out to the hyænas. He is an +excellent friend to the white men here, and his people live in fear and +trembling of their lives. Since I was at the royal residence, I am told +he has killed some dozen of the leading men of the country for making +suggestions to him. ‘I must show them,’ said he, ‘who is king,’--and he +showed them. + +“Winter has now fairly set in; it is extremely cold at night, and not +hot even during the day--at least not hot for Africa. The rivers are +dry and the bush withered, and all is yellow and autumnal looking, and +will remain so till the rains fall in October, and the fresh vegetation +springs up. Then the trees will soon be all green, and many of them +blossoming, and there will be many wild flowers. Now things are bleak +and barren looking enough. + +“Before I leave here I shall write a few lines more.... I hope every +one is well, and shall live in hope, for what else can I do? I can’t +expect to get any more letters till my return from the Zambesi. It may +be some little time before you hear from me again, as I don’t know +that any waggons will return till November, though there are no end +of them gone to the Zambesi. Should any precede me back I can send a +letter by them. If, however, you don’t hear, you must take for granted +all is going well with me. Humanly speaking, there seems no reason for +uneasiness.” + +On the 8th of June, his waggon at last ready, Frank Oates added a +few lines to this letter, announcing his intended departure on the +following day, and on the 9th he started for the Zambesi. There seemed +now no reasonable probability of anything occurring to interfere with +the successful issue of his journey, yet in reality, as things turned +out, this was only the first of three separate attempts he made to +reach the Zambesi from this point the present season. By the shorter +route now to be adopted--for he was not going by Gubuleweyo--he would +proceed pretty direct northwards, passing through the country of the +Makalakas, who are subject to the Matabele, and hold the key to the +Zambesi country by this approach. Before crossing the boundaries of +these people, it is necessary for travellers to have first obtained +permission from the king to proceed, and such a permission Frank Oates +distinctly had; yet, in spite of all remonstrances on his part, the +Makalakas refused to let him pass, thinking, perhaps, to reap some +profit from his discomfiture, or, it may be, that Lobengula would in +reality be no worse pleased if he were stopped. Indeed the traveller +did not himself entirely exonerate the king from blame, but suspected +at one time he was playing a double game--on the one hand giving +him leave to proceed to the Zambesi, whilst on the other purposely +neglecting to send the needful instructions to his subjects to let him +pass. The king was anxious to encourage a certain number of traders in +his country, but may have looked with suspicion on one whose objects +were less intelligible to him. + +At all events, be this as it may, it is perfectly certain that these +Makalakas threw every possible obstacle in the way of his advance--and +not once only, but each time he reached their boundaries--whilst +several traders, going and coming, were permitted to proceed upon their +journey, and the final fatal issue of his expedition to the Zambesi +was practically the result of the behaviour of these people. It is +true that other circumstances, irrespective of their proceedings, +combined to hinder and delay him, again throwing his journey into the +unhealthy season of the year; but these alone would not have been of +the same vital consequence, and the period of his misfortunes dates +from the time when the Makalakas--the king’s permission already plainly +granted--first turned him back, as related in the succeeding chapter, +and forced him to seek a fresh interview with Lobengula. In such a +country, with but a brief healthy season, delays like this were little +short of fatal. + + [Illustration: WATTLED STARLING.--_Dilophus + carunculatus._] + +But it is time to follow him in the first of these ill-starred +journeys. + + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + Fresh start for the Zambesi--The Ramaqueban again--A + lion shot--Singular building--Wild fruit--First kraal of + the Makalakas--Stopped by the induna--Return to Tati--To + Gubuleweyo and back--Fresh leave obtained--Altered + arrangements for the journey. + + +On first leaving the Tati, on June 9th, the old ground, as though he +had been making for Gubuleweyo, was retraced as far as the Ramaqueban +River, where, on June 10th, the traveller halted a short time to +hunt. Giraffe, quagga, and blue wildebeest were now abundant in this +district, and ostriches were also met with. Van Roozen too, the day +before they left, succeeded in shooting a lion which had threatened to +attack his horse--a great feat for this intrepid sportsman. An account +of this adventure, along with some other matter, is given in the +traveller’s Journal of this date, as follows:-- + + [Illustration: Map of M^R F. OATES’S ROUTE from TATI to the + VICTORIA FALLS Drawn from his own observations] + +“_June 12th._--Mild, cloudy day, after a very mild night.... Just +before sundown Van Roozen returned from hunting, having shot a lion. It +seems he had been following a sable antelope bull, and was about two +or three miles from the waggon, down the Ramaqueban, when a lion +approached his horse quite close. He yelled, and turned his horse. +The lion retreated, but soon stopped and seemed inclined to renew +the attack. He dismounted and shot the lion at, he says, about 30 +yards. He then saw another lion creeping towards him--both ‘mannetjes’ +(males)--and he (Van Roozen) made off. After his return he and I rode +back together to the dead lion, which we found, and proceeded to skin. +He was a yellow-maned one; Van Roozen says the black-maned one is +quite distinct. In this the mane was short, the teeth very large and +discoloured, but perfect, and the lion apparently in his prime, though +he must have been hungry, as he was in poor condition. Van Roozen was +alone when it happened, and he probably wanted to get the horse. + +“Van Roozen tells me of an Englishman, named Brown, who was killed by +a lion on the Crocodile River. One day this man and his son had found +and taken three cubs, and the old lion came up to them. The son wanted +to fire, but the father forbade him, and threw one cub down, which +the old one took away, and they took the others to the waggon. The +day following the old man took his gun, and said he was going after +ostriches. He had one young Kafir boy with him. It seems he had gone +to the place where the lions were, and had met the old one, which he +fired at, but did not kill upon the spot--though I believe it was +found dead afterwards. It had torn the flesh off one of his arms and +both his legs, but he had taken his gun, gone to a hole where buffalo +wallow, used his pannikin to wash his hands and face, and gone on to +the waggon-road (the son followed the blood spoor). He had put his gun +in a tree, and hung up his powder-flask, and gone on the road a hundred +yards when he had dropped and died.” + +The day after Van Roozen’s encounter with the lion, Frank Oates, whilst +out hunting, again visited the carcass, and, kindling a fire, cooked +some of the meat. On this the boys who were with him, and both his +pointers, had a feast, and he tasted some of it himself, which he found +to be coarse in the grain, and not unlike quagga meat. + +Resuming his journey to the Zambesi later the same afternoon, he now +broke fresh ground, keeping for a day or two in a northerly direction +close to the Ramaqueban, a really magnificent river when viewed from +the ground above, its broad sandy bed stretching far away into the +distance through the veldt. The dry beds of a number of spruits, +all rising quite near the river, and suddenly becoming large before +falling into it, were crossed as he proceeded. It is no wonder that +South African rivers, thus fed by so many tributaries along their +entire course, fill with such amazing rapidity directly the rains fall, +and swell into large streams almost at their source. Next turning +towards the north-west, he presently struck across back towards the +Tati River, and joined the more direct road from the settlement to +the Zambesi, which here for some distance kept up the river’s bank, +the country now assuming that broken rugged appearance--here with +rough craggy kopjes, there with small open park-like glades--which +makes at irregular intervals so pleasing a change in this otherwise +little-varying landscape, and compensates, where it occurs, for much +that is uninteresting. + +The Tati, itself one of those rivers which become large so near their +source, was again itself shortly left behind, the waggons trekking +forward in a direction nearly north. On June 17th, a few miles further +on, another river was crossed, and the following entry made in the +traveller’s Journal:-- + +“_June 17th._--Fine morning, after a mild starry night; warm day. +Inspanned at 6.20 A.M. I rode across the veldt to the right; grass +very wet. Saw a small buck and three sassaybi, but they got my scent. +Going in a direction generally north, I struck a deep sandy river, +with plenty of water-holes in it, and banks steep and rocky in places; +crossed it, and kept down it till I found the waggons, which had +crossed it and outspanned perhaps a mile and a half further down. Just +before reaching the waggons (8.20 A.M.), I came to a most singular +building, built on a little isolated kopje in the midst of the level +tree-studded veldt, but with other kopjes near. There has been an +excellently-built wall running round the sides of the kopje, and a +regular entrance into it. The boys say it was built in old times by +the ancestors of the present race of Makalakas, and was the king’s +residence. No white man, they say, helped to build it. It is not seen +from the waggon-road. + + [Illustration: NATIVE BUILDING, SHASHE RIVER.] + +“The river, which we outspanned at, and which (as before stated) +contains plenty of water, flows away towards the south-west, as shown +by the bent reeds in its now dry sandy bed.[43] + +“Started again at 1.20 P.M. and went about eight miles; first through +‘mopani veldt,’ with fine fruit-trees in it, and a little before +outspanning passed through a range of low kopjes. This ‘mopani’ is +usually very heavy land, so called from the mopani trees (not unlike +alders) which grow upon it. Of the fruit-trees referred to, one was my +old glutinous friend of the Gwailo hunting veldt--plentiful, but not +yet ripe. It is very woody, but when chewed exudes a fine glutinous +gum. Another has a small fruit like a little rosy-cheeked apple, +containing seeds, and something of the crab nature, but not at all +acid. Another, which I should say was also of the apple kind, and like +the last in taste and texture, was as large as a plum and of the same +colour, and grew on a thick low bushy large-leaved tree. + +“In the evening, where we were outspanned, I found a large colony of +birds established in three large nests (half-built, I think) in the +branch of a tall tree. This is the noisy familiar bird I first met with +at Tati.”[44] + +Proceeding forward on the following morning, still through the +veldt of large mopani trees, and passing amongst numerous fine +rocky kopjes--rising up on every side in bold craggy heaps from the +level veldt, tree-covered like the latter wherever trees could find +root--Frank Oates next crossed two or three small spruits, now dry, of +which the largest was about five yards wide. At this there was a delay +of about half an hour, caused by one of the waggons sticking in its +sandy bed, and when he had crossed it he outspanned upon its bank. And +here, as he rested--the Tati now well behind him, and his imagination +full of hope in the future and interest in the present--it is likely +enough he may have congratulated himself on the successful progress +of his journey, but scarcely probable he should have reflected on the +possibility that here, not many hundred yards from this very spot, he +might but a few months hence, when returning from the Falls, find his +last lonely resting-place; yet so he did. + +Again, after a brief rest, renewing the journey about mid-day, he still +advanced a short distance further in the same direction before coming +to another halt; and here the Journal once more takes up the story:-- + +“_June 18th._--... Inspanned again about noon, and crossed another +spruit with a sharp turn in it. Soon saw corn-fields, then the bright +green of tobacco-fields and a kraal,[45] and outspanned at 1 P.M. I was +pleased with the appearance of this little kraal, surrounded by its +green fields of tobacco, and emerging suddenly to view from amidst the +mopani trees; but I little thought of the disappointment in store for +me here. Though we had trekked so short a time, and made our previous +trek so short as to be scarcely worth mentioning, I almost decided to +outspan here before I found that it was absolutely necessary I must. +The people told us that there was a message from the king, which the +induna would convey to me, but he was away at another kraal and must +be sent for. Sent a boy with the oxen to water, which is some distance +off, employing a man from the kraal as guide. Meantime I made it known +that I wanted goats and corn, and ere long was hard at work dispensing +beads, handkerchiefs, and snuff-boxes. The main run was on the large +lavender beads, next came the small lavender ones, and a few wanted +blue cut ones. Mealies were brought in large quantities, but sold +principally in small basketfuls. There was plenty of Kafir corn too, +but not so much as of the Indian corn. Tobacco also was brought, and +the sweet kind of beans that are like nuts’ kernels. + +“The women crowded round to sell. They were many of them recently +smeared on their heads with something black like pitch, babies and +all. Many of the girls have the hair matted thickly together in lumps. +One hanging over the forehead, the end of the lock having brass rings +fastened to it, droops down to the nose, and one to each ear. The hair +is all drawn out in matted locks. A profusion of brass rings are worn +on the arms, and heavy bead necklaces round the neck. Many of them +are pretty. There are distinctly perceptible the dark and the light +skinned; some nearly black, some copper-coloured. The men are much +given to wearing carved charms and other ornaments and curiosities. +A lion’s claw or a vulture’s beak are favourites amongst the latter +division. They wear skins--karosses with the hair worn inside. John +says there are both Masahras (Bushmen) and Makalakas here. I was +surprised to hear from him that there are many Bushmen living in kraals +and not wandering in the bush, as I had an idea they were exclusively +a gipsy race, but it appears by no means so universally. The induna is +an old Makalaka, who does not talk the Matabele language, but as it was +not till the day after our arrival that I saw him, I will leave him for +the present. + +“Presently an individual arrived in white men’s clothes, who spoke a +little Dutch. Without ceremony he jumped up on my waggon-box, and I +concluded he was the induna from his free and easy style. I begged him +to excuse me, as I was very busy buying corn, after he had asked John +a question or two, as, ‘Was I going to the Zambesi?’ I never thought I +was to be stopped, and went on buying corn, and he seemed glad to let +me do so, till at last he came to his final interview--for much of the +time he had been with Van Roozen. He then told me that the king had +sent to stop all waggons from coming on, on account of the sickness, +but the induna himself would be here the following morning. My feelings +this evening were ones of intense disappointment, but still I hoped +something from my interview with the induna the next day. + +“_June 19th._--Very cloudy day, after a mild night; inclined to rain. +The induna and a large crowd here early. I took down the substance +of the induna’s words. They were thoroughly confirmatory of my worst +fears. He said though they here would not stop me by main force, the +kraals ahead would do so. _They_ spoke as my friends. If I persisted +in going on, they would send to inform the king, who would despatch a +party of Matabele to seize my waggons and take possession of my goods. +I thought it best to take down the substance of what the induna said to +me, in order to report it to the king. Umganulo, an induna, he stated, +brought the following news from the king four days ago, and went back +immediately:--All white men going to the Zambesi to be stopped, and +their boys killed if they attempt going on with them; waggons to be +taken to the king if orders are disobeyed. The king too has stopped +people going by all other roads to the Zambesi, and messengers also +passed here the day before yesterday, going on to the Zambesi, to tell +all white men who are already there not to return till the rains fall, +as they may bring sickness. The king has also said that no one may go +across the veldt to him from here, but all must go by way of Tati. + +“_June 21st_.--Rather cloudy, but fine. Got up about 5 A.M.... Girls +here very early with corn; also some goats brought for sale, of which I +bought two for a cotton blanket, also a little more corn, some leather +bags, and a calabash. A tall lad, formerly a driver for Palmer, and a +most free and easy individual, having relapsed into the national dress, +offered his services to me as a hunter, if I should return this way. +I ask John his character. John says he once took a knob-kerry to Mr. +Palmer, when the latter wanted to thrash him. But he was not to blame +for that, says John; a notion of John’s which I had to let him see did +not meet my approval. + +“Some of the girls who came to-day were very profusely ornamented with +beads. The thickly-matted hair, plastered together with black wax-like +cement, is disposed of (as I noted before) in three principal locks; +one falling over the forehead to between the eyes, and one in front of +each ear, surmounted with brass rings. The ears are pierced with small +rings. Round the neck hang massive chains of beads, tastefully arranged +and blended. A leather kaross, or dressed skin, is worn as a robe, and +this is hung with long strings of beads. Long strings of beads too hang +round the hips, and in front are long strips of leather. Round the +waist are numerous brass rings and bead rings also. The girls are by no +means shy. + +“To-day poor Mozanga told me of some trouble he was in, and I thought +he complained of a beating, but it seemed he had heard of the death of +the induna of the kraal where I engaged him, a young man, who they say +died in the Zambesi hunting veldt. He must have gone there at a very +unhealthy time. Mozanga wept bitterly; he is a very kind-hearted boy. + +“I went with Umfanimboozi to shoot some birds, whilst the oxen, which +had got loose, were being fetched, and went through some tobacco +‘gardens.’ The pink blossoms and green leaves are very pretty....” + +This same afternoon (June 21st) the traveller reluctantly commenced +his journey back to Tati, resolved to revisit the king, and ascertain +from his own lips the real truth of the induna’s statement. The fine +clear nights, during a part of which he now made a point of trekking, +were brilliant as he returned with glittering stars and constellations, +the Southern Cross at this time conspicuous amongst the latter a +little after sunset. Four days after starting he was back at the Tati +settlement, and on the 30th of June started on horseback to the King’s +Town, with eight boys to take his baggage. + +On reaching the King’s, Lobengula tried to laugh the matter off, and +this time, as an assurance of good faith, appointed one of his own +people, a son of the headman, Manyami, to see him safe through the +country of the Makalakas. Frank Oates was again back at Tati on the +15th of July, and here, before starting once more for the Zambesi, he +made some fresh plans and arrangements for the journey. What these +arrangements were may best be learned from the ensuing letter, written +at this time from Tati, and containing, besides, some particulars of +his recent journey to Gubuleweyo. This letter is as follows:-- + + “TATI, _July 21st, 1874_. + +“I am, you see, at Tati once more.... I left here for the Zambesi +on the 9th of June, and on the 18th--travelling very slowly, as I +had lots of time before me--reached the first Makalaka kraal on the +Zambesi road. Here I was stopped, being told that the king had sent a +special order to turn all waggons back which might come that way. They +also said that all waggons coming from the Zambesi were to be turned +back, and not allowed to leave till the rains fell, which begin about +October. It was in vain I pleaded that I had special leave from the +king. They said their orders were peremptory--all waggons to be turned +back, and if the people with them refused to obey, the waggons were to +be seized, and all the boys who persisted in accompanying them killed. +This of course frightened my Kafirs, and all I could do was to turn +back, and go to the king in person. + +“On the 25th of June I was once more at Tati, and decided to ride to +the King’s Town, but a fresh difficulty arose in getting boys to go +with me, as my own boys say the white men are the cause of all this +trouble, for they bring the sickness, and they are afraid the king will +kill them for accompanying white men. At last, however, this difficulty +was surmounted, and I set off on the 30th of June with my two horses, +and eight boys carrying my baggage. Gordon, a Mungwato trader, +arrived at Tati _en route_ for the King’s whilst I was making my +preparations, but says there were no letters there for me when he left. +He could not go on even to the King’s without special leave, as the +king has heard of ‘red-water,’ the Natal cattle disease, and is in a +great fright about it. Indeed, if it got amongst his cattle, his nation +would suffer terribly. It seems, too, from recent reports, that it is +contagious, though we never used to think so. + +“Dorehill’s waggon and the waggons of another trader had been stopped +on their way to the King’s Town at the Inkwesi River, where the first +Matabele kraal is, and were there when I came up.[46] I got on very +well up to the time of my reaching these waggons, and stayed a couple +of days at them with Dorehill, who was awaiting further news from the +King’s. On leaving the waggons I met the messenger he had sent to the +king returning with a message from the latter to Dorehill that he was +to ride on and see him. I went on, but had great difficulty in keeping +my boys from turning back. However, I explained to them that if they +kept with me there was no likelihood of their being hurt, as no white +man’s servants ever were interfered with, whereas, if they turned back, +they might be killed. They would of course have liked me to turn back +with them; but seeing I was determined to go on, they thought it was +their best chance to remain in my company. I of course knew there was +not much fear of anything being done to them as long as they were with +me, as the king holds everything belonging to white men sacred, and his +people dare not commit any violence on Kafirs protected by a white man. +The fact is my boys were principally Makalakas, who are slaves to the +Matabele, and whose lives are considered worthless. + +“One night I was very angry with them, for I had been riding on in +advance, and kept on riding after sundown, as the country for miles +round was on fire, and I wanted to get past the fire before we encamped +for the night. I lay down with my head on a log, to await their +arrival, and fell asleep. By and by I woke up, and found it was colder +than agreeable, and at once guessed that they had stopped behind. +I had to ride back a good way before I came to their fire, when I +pitched into them. They had been afraid to come on after sundown, as +the Matabele don’t allow their subjects to travel by night, though of +course a white man can do what he likes. + +“The next day Dorehill overtook me. He had set off the day after me, +but without food or blankets, and was very glad to share mine. The +following day we rode on to Gubuleweyo, the King’s Town. The king +seemed surprised to see me, but did not speak to me the first day I +saw him, except to greet me, and send me to his sister to drink beer. +The next day, when I told him what had occurred, he seemed rather +amused than otherwise, and told me the Makalakas had been trying to +frighten me, and that he had never sent them any order to stop waggons. +I believe, however, he is the one to blame, and had probably neglected +to send word to the Makalakas to let me pass. I had written to him from +Tati for leave to go to the Zambesi, and he had given it, but could +never have sent word about me to the Makalakas, who are his subjects, +and very much given to stopping waggons that have not a special permit +from him. He now gave me a Matabele boy, at my request, to accompany +me. + +“The little horse I sold him for £23 when last at his town had got over +the sickness, as I fully expected he would, and was ‘salted,’ and must +be now worth from £80 to £100. I should never have parted with him, had +not Mr. Thomson advised me to do so, in order to ensure his goodwill +in case I wanted to go to the Zambesi. It seems, however, that he did +not do for me what he might have done, and it has been suggested to +me that this was because I refused to sell him my gun also! I think I +told you that I gave him a gun when first I saw him, but he wanted very +much another I had, offering me £60 or £70 worth of ivory for it, but I +persisted in refusing to let him have it, and then it was he asked for +the horse, and would not let the subject drop till he got the animal, +and got him at his own price. I am afraid he is very little better than +the generality of Kafirs, and certainly I have experienced anything +but generous treatment at his hands--indeed scarcely fair play. Yet +there is no doubt that he is very much afraid of anything befalling +white men in his country, either from sickness or any other cause; and +now, when he told me to go to the Zambesi, he added, ‘Unless I was +afraid of the sickness.’ This idea of sickness, and the new fear of a +contagious cattle disease, brought by white men, are causing a good +deal of trouble. Dorehill, however, got leave to take his waggon on, +and intends to go to the Zambesi when he leaves the King’s. I rode back +with Dorehill as far as his waggon, and there I met Mr. Thomson and +his wife once more, returning to the Matabele after being absent at a +missionary meeting at Kuruman.[47] + +“On reaching Tati I had some more trouble, which has ended in my +making fresh arrangements altogether. John, my Kafir driver, refused +point-blank to go with me to the Zambesi, and though I could have +compelled him to do so, I thought it best to be rid of such an +unwilling servant. Brown’s waggons are starting for Potchefstroom +to-morrow, and by them this letter is to be taken, which I hope will +reach you by the end of September. John’s only chance of leaving +is to get away with these waggons, and of course if I say the word +Brown will not let him go near them, and he cannot possibly go alone. +However, I told John I should not stop him, because I did not think him +worth keeping, and he will leave with the waggons to-morrow. Then the +Dutchman in two instances had acted very badly whilst I was travelling +with him, and when I was obliged to return to Tati I secretly intended +to get rid of him, though I did not tell him so. + +“It was the 15th of July when I got back here from the King’s, and the +very same day a trader arrived from the Zambesi, coming to get a fresh +stock of goods. He had had to drive his own waggon, having lost his +driver and other boys through being at the Zambesi in the unhealthy +season. Indeed, he went there at what is supposed to be an extremely +unhealthy time. I think it was February when he left here, and April +and May are, I believe, the very worst months on the Zambesi. I left, +as I have told you, early in June, intending to be back again before +the end of the year, which every one says is the proper thing to do. +Both Garland and Dawnay succeeded in seeing the Falls last year by +doing so, and this year there are others who have probably seen them by +this time. Now it is not too late to go there this season still, though +the time one can spend there is shortened by not leaving earlier, for +it takes about a month to reach the place where the waggons stand, +and allowing another month for visiting the Falls, and a month for +returning here, there is no doubt the Falls could be comfortably +visited during a three months’ absence from Tati, and there would be +nothing remarkable in doing it all in two months with good oxen and +good servants. So I can still go there, and be back again as soon as I +ever intended to be. + +“I am now coming to my new arrangement, which I think is in many +respects a very promising one, for a final attempt to reach the Falls. +The trader I speak of (‘Stoffel Kennedy,’ or some such name), has +actually been at the Falls. He was there with Garland last year, and +knows the country well. He knows where the poison-plant is, and where +the tsetse-fly. He knows the people of the country, and all its ins +and outs. He is I think partly of Dutch or German origin, but is to all +intents and purposes an Englishman, and is very much liked. He offered +to postpone his own trading trip, and turn back at once with me to the +Zambesi, guaranteeing to take me to the Falls if I would make it worth +his while. He would then, he said, take me there and bring me back, +not going as my servant, but undertaking the whole management of the +expedition for me. Now I knew I should have one waggon and span of oxen +to sell when I came from the Zambesi, and he was willing to take these +now at a fair price, deducting the sum which he wanted as a reward for +his services. I was a little time before I could make up my mind, but +it seemed such a chance for me as I might not soon have again. As for +the Dutchman, I had even gone so far at one time as to vow that, rather +than set off again with him, I would give up the trip; and though I +modified this resolve afterwards, yet I knew he was not so likely to +get me to the Falls as this man who knows all the difficulties. Then +I thought, after all the time I have spent in order to get to the +Zambesi, and being still bent on going there, the best thing would be +to embrace this opportunity. I should not even have had the Kafir, +John, in the other case, but only the Dutchman and his son, who cannot +speak the language, and with the former of whom I had had a most +unpleasant row more than once. + +“It ended in my entrusting my fortunes to the new man. Brown, I may +add, thinks I have done well, and I have every confidence in his +judgment. He is a man of whom I have the very highest opinion, and, +indeed, the more I know of him, the more I like and admire him. +Personally, I have experienced the greatest kindness from him at all +times, and know how to appreciate it. + +“Stoffel is going to take his own waggon and the ten oxen he bought of +me, leaving the new waggon here.... Brown has just refused £110 for +a little ‘horse’--of course you know ‘horse’ means ‘pony’ every time +I use it--which he bought for £80. A good horse is worth anything to +one here, and I cannot wonder at the price given for ‘salted’ horses. +Suppose, for instance, I had had to go to the King’s on foot, and got +foot-sore, where should I have been? The question is one not easily +answered; but I suppose at any rate I should not have got on as well as +I did. The absurdity is, that for a small insignificant-looking pony +you have to pay the same price as for a good English hunter. A day or +two ago we had some races here. We could only muster four horses, but +by varying the riders and riding disputed races over again, we managed +to get five races, in all of which I rode, and got the reputation of +being a good jockey, as out of the five I rode in I won four.” + +Favourable as the above arrangements seemed for a renewed attempt to +reach the Falls, the traveller’s hopes, as will soon be seen, were +again doomed to disappointment; and this in a most unlooked-for manner. + + + + + CHAPTER X. + + Third start for the Zambesi--Again stopped by natives--Fresh + leave from the king--The journey resumed--Frank Oates’s + companion obliged to leave him--He goes forward + alone--Breakdown of his waggon--Annoyances from the + natives--Help from Tati--Return there--Letters home--Future + plans. + + +Leaving Tati on the evening of the 25th of July, on his third attempt +to reach the Zambesi, Frank Oates halted for the night a few miles +beyond the settlement, completing the distance to the Ramaqueban the +following morning. Here, whilst waiting a couple of days in search +of game and for other purposes, he was again unexpectedly stopped by +natives, professedly armed with authority from Lobengula to stop all +waggons from advancing northwards. The story of this encounter, with +its immediate consequences, is thus related in the Journal:-- + +“_July 27th_.--Fine and oppressively hot, after a cold night. The +days are now very hot, though the nights continue cold and frosty. I +was going to ride over to the Inkwesi to-day, with a letter from Brown +to Greit, and to see if Greit could let me have one of his drivers. +However, before I set off, a Matabele came down the Zambesi road, +bearing a shield, and accompanied by a Makalaka bearing another. A +second Makalaka appeared later, but the moment the Matabele arrived, +he came up to the waggons, and began interrogating us. On hearing that +we were going to the Zambesi, he began to leap and dance about like +a madman, brandishing a battle-axe. I thought it a case of temporary +insanity, brought on by smoking ‘dacha,’[48] but it appeared from his +statement he had been sent from the king to the Makalakas, with a fresh +order to stop waggons, and was now going on to Tati, to tell white men +there the same tale. + +“I had difficulty in keeping the dogs from attacking him, and once +he brought his battle-axe within a few inches of Stoffel’s skull. +He became quiet, however, when Makabo (Manyami’s son)[49] told him +the facts of the case, and said I could go on, but my boys, who were +subjects of the king, would be killed, and if I went on I had better +pay them off here. I therefore decided on sending to the king,--first, +to ask for further security for my boys, second, for leave to take +Stoffel with me; and decided to send off Manyami’s son, with two +others, with a letter to the king and another to Thomson. + +“At night there was a tremendous conflagration raging close to us. It +was a splendid sight, but made me a little nervous. However, it was +principally on the other side of the road, and died before it came +quite close. The effect of the burning trees and long line of fire was +very fine. One tree in particular, showing all its twigs red-hot or in +flame, reminded me of some part of a display of fireworks.” + +The following morning Makabo was duly despatched with two +boys--Umfanimboozi and Umfan--to the King’s, and Frank Oates remained +hunting on the Ramaqueban, till their return a few days afterwards, +with a favourable answer to his message. On the 10th of August he was +once more moving northwards the same way as he had gone before, halting +again on the 11th for a couple of days’ hunting higher up the river, +at a point where game seemed more than usually abundant. This was the +place where the road branches off from the Ramaqueban across the veldt +again towards the Tati. + +“I now feel,” he writes at this point, on August 13th, “to be realizing +almost for the first time some of my old visions of South African +sport. To-day, soon after starting, I ascended a kopje near the +waggons, and saw a large herd of quagga. Counting roughly, I made out +a hundred. It was a beautiful sight. All around was the sea of bush, +with here and there bare patches, and here and there kopjes--some of +the latter far distant. The winding spruits, too, lay as in a map. The +quaggas were quietly moving on, or standing and playing, or brushing +away the flies. It was a scene such as I used to fancy must be common, +and which probably was so when the accounts I have read were written, +and may occur often still in more remote districts.” + +The day previous the traveller had shot koodoo, hartebeest, and pallah, +and seen an immense herd of quagga and blue wildebeest, numbering not +far from a hundred of each sort. Amongst the lesser antelopes, the +graceful klipspringer, found only in the hills, was met with in this +district. + + [Illustration: KLIPSPRINGER.--_Oreotragus saltatrix._ + + (Height about 20 inches.)] + +Resuming his journey to the north-west on the 15th, and travelling +through mopani veldt, he again struck the Tati River in the afternoon +at the same point where the pleasing character of the scenery had been +first observed by him when he was here two months before. A spring or +“fountain” of fresh water welled up at the foot of a picturesque kopje, +and a mile or two up the river was abundance of water in the river-bed. + +“The river here,” writes the traveller at the latter point, “flows to +the south through a deep sandy bed, kopjes hemming it in on either +side. The scenery is remarkably pretty for South Africa, and the long +reach of river flowing away to the southward is an object to attract +the eye. The water actually runs in the bed here, though there is far +more sand than water, and big stones than either. Stoffel says there +used to be plenty of elephants here. This was the place where they +passed through the kopjes on their way south, and last year he and +Garland saw fresh spoor here. Out with rifle down river; pretty little +grassy parks amongst the kopjes, and on the kopjes themselves very +thick bush. The river where we have struck it--the ‘poort’ as Stoffel +calls it--would be a pretty subject for a sketch.” + +Again pushing forward the following and two next succeeding days, still +by the same route already traversed, Frank Oates once more reached--on +August 18th--the first kraal of the Makalakas, the former scene of so +much trouble and vexation to him. A few days previously it had chanced +that Stoffel had slightly hurt his finger, and here, as it began to +give him pain, they waited a week before proceeding further from all +reach of help, to see what course the injury would take. Supplies of +corn had here to be obtained, and the interval of waiting was occupied, +partly in striking bargains with the natives, and partly in rearranging +the contents of the waggons, to receive the grain; neither of them +the most agreeable of occupations, as the following extract from the +Journal shows:-- + +“_August 20th._--Windy day; rather cloudy. The wind rose very much +towards night.... I am now lying in my waggon, glad to rest, wearied +out principally with worry, and the dissatisfaction of finding time +so miserably wasted as to-day has been; packing, unpacking, stooping, +watching lest things are stolen, and having one’s patience tried in +buying of the natives, putting up with their disagreeable presence and +impudence, to say nothing of the annoyances one is subjected to by +one’s own servants. I had to knock the disgusting servant of Makabo +off the dissel-boom before he would go. He was bothering me for a +snuff-box, and would not go away for civil speaking. I am not patient +or industrious enough for waggon life. To-day has been one of nothing +but unpleasantness to me.” + +At length, on the 23d, it became evident that Stoffel must return and +seek advice from Mr. Thomson, the missionary, who had some skill in +surgery. This change of plan involved a corresponding change in all the +arrangements of the journey, and such of Frank Oates’s goods as had +hitherto been carried in the trader’s waggon had now to be taken in his +own, already sufficiently loaded when they left the settlement. On the +24th Stoffel took his departure southwards, and two days later Frank +Oates went on alone towards the Zambesi. It was a lovely moonlight +night when he resumed the journey, the waggon running heavy through +thick mopani veldt. The prospect of success in his present enterprise +now seemed nearing its fulfilment, yet in reality he was but on the +eve of a fresh misfortune. “We passed a kraal,” he writes in his +Journal, “on the left side of the road, perhaps two miles from where +we started, and had gone perhaps one mile more, when, in crossing a +small ‘sloot,’[50] one of the wheels gave way and came down, broken to +pieces. So much,” he concludes, “for the new waggon, and for my hopes +and expectations!” + +The day after this catastrophe, which appeared in its results fatal to +all hope of his reaching the Zambesi that season, late as it had now +become, he arranged to send his driver--a Kafir named Klaas, whom he +had engaged from a Mr. Horn upon the Ramaqueban--and three boys, with +the broken wheel to Tati, and also with a note to Mr. Brown, asking for +assistance. The annoyances he suffered, during their absence of about +a fortnight, from the natives of the neighbouring kraals are described +at length in some of his letters, largely quoted from below. It is +therefore sufficient here to say that he was wilfully subjected by them +to every possible inconvenience, was in constant peril of being robbed, +and at one time even appeared to be in some danger of his life. The +whole of this time he could not leave his waggon, lest he should return +to find it plundered, and even his own boys were not all to be depended +on. + +At last, on the 8th of September, the needful help arrived, and he was +released from his state of bondage. He had just had a most threatening +visit from a noisy crowd of natives, when the messengers he had sent +returned from Tati with all that he had asked for. After relating +in his Journal the incidents of this unpleasant interview, he thus +concludes the story:-- + +“They left me,” he says, “the noisy crew; and still, though I felt +relieved, a gloom hovered over my feelings, and I lay down to rest. It +was then with delight indeed that Maclinwon’s announcement, ‘incolo’ +(waggon), broke on my ears, and that, rushing out, I beheld Klaas +driving a waggon to my scherm. True enough, Brown had managed to +procure an old waggon to help me out, sending me also a wheel of the +Scotch cart and four oxen, to ensure my having sufficient. There was +a long letter from him, and four newspapers sent for me from England, +with news of letters from home awaiting me at Tati.” + +This was indeed a welcome release to the traveller from his present +troubles; but, with such information as he now possessed regarding the +period and duration of the healthy season for visiting the Zambesi, he +felt that by this time it was too late for him to attempt to reach the +river, and that, for the present at all events, he must abandon the +idea of getting there. + +On the 10th of September, therefore, he once more unwillingly started +back on the return journey to Tati, where he arrived on the 18th, +to find, with delight, a large packet of letters awaiting him from +England. After the harass and annoyance of his recent experiences, he +was glad to rest here for a while, and was comfortably quartered the +chief part of his stay in the house usually occupied by Piet Jacobs, +the Dutchman, who was now absent in the hunting veldt. This house was +cool and airy, with a thatched roof extending far on every side, so as +to form a verandah. + +The following entries in his Journal, soon after his arrival, relating +mostly to natural history subjects, may here be read with interest. He +writes:-- + +“_September 20th._--Rather windy, but pleasant day, after a cold night. +I liked my new quarters.... To-night, as last night, sat at Brown’s +talking. We discuss some questions in natural history.... + +“Wild dogs have been discussed. Dobie has seen them in packs, he says, +variegated in colour, with white patches here and there, differently +placed in different animals. Brown has seen them, and says they are +like what he imagines a European wolf to be--and I think he has a good +idea what the latter is like. Johnson says that, when coming here, +he saw a hare run against the waggon wheel when they were outspanned +at the Shashe, and kill herself; and by the light of the fire he saw +distinctly, standing twenty or thirty yards off, a wild dog. He says +it was a good deal like a European wolf--an animal he knows--with a +fine coat and bushy tail, upright ears, I think, and a long nose. Brown +says they often run pallah into the station here, when the natives, +hearing the cry of the pallah, rush out from the different white +men’s establishments to assegai it, and the dogs are usually found to +have torn at the place where such creatures generally commence their +attacks, and even dragged out a portion of the entrails. They must hunt +the pallah, he says, for hours with dogged perseverance and fairly +weary him out. I know myself what a fleet creature the pallah is, and +have no doubt for miles he would far outstrip a pack of dogs. + +“Brown says a fine dog in a wild state once hung about here for some +time, stealing meat at night, and playing with the tame dogs. He was +very cunning, and was off at the slightest indication of danger. If he +was heard outside the house and the least noise made inside, he was +off. Many shots were fired at him, and he escaped for a long time, but +at length was shot when on one of his visits. He lived in the veldt, +and always rushed into the bush, just like a hyæna, which he resembled +closely in his habits. This was no doubt some white man’s dog that had +run wild and acquired the habits of a wild animal to a certain extent. + +“_September 23d._--Pleasant breeze. Did not do much, or feel up +to much. Another chat at Brown’s in the evening. Brown tells me that +once four young guinea-fowls were brought him, which became extremely +tame. One only, a hen, survived. She became wonderfully tame, and would +follow the Tati people about. When a Tati waggon was sent out for +wood, or for any other purpose, she would go and return with it, not +following strange waggons. She would follow Nelson when he rode to the +‘Blue Jacket,’[51] wait for him, and return home with him. Latterly +she got into the habit of going with the oxen when they went into the +veldt, would start with them, remain all day, and return at night with +them, marching in front. She would even join wild guinea-fowl, if she +came across them in the veldt, and would leave them as soon as she +found she was getting too far from the waggon or person she was with at +the time. She is supposed to have been killed at last by a nigger by +mistake. Brown had had her eight or ten months.” + +With these extracts the present period of the traveller’s wanderings, +so far as his Journal is concerned, may be allowed to terminate. The +weather, which had up to this time continued cool at night, began +towards the end of September to be intensely hot and oppressive, though +still liable to considerable variation; so much so indeed that one day +about the middle of October the extreme cold brought the swallows into +the houses for shelter and protection. + +The Zambesi now abandoned, Frank Oates, on the 8th of October, sent +two boys with a message to the king, asking for leave to hunt a few +weeks on the Shashani, which was readily accorded him; but he did +not start immediately--his waggon required some repairs, and he was +not feeling well. Whilst thus waiting a while longer, to recruit his +health and complete his preparations, two gentlemen--Messrs. Bond and +Robertson--arrived on their return from the Zambesi, having gone there +early in the year. They had shot elephants near the river, and the +former had made some pretty sketches of the Falls. Other parties also +now came in from the Zambesi. + +At length, on the 3d of November, Frank Oates once more set off into +the veldt--not to the Shashani, however, as he had intended, but again +in a northerly direction, for reasons shortly to be stated. Before +starting on this occasion, he wrote home some letters of considerable +length, reviewing his experiences of the past three months, since the +date of his last departure from Tati on the 25th of July, which may +here be given almost as they stand, entire. The first of these, written +to his mother, is as follows:-- + + “TATI, _October 1st, 1874_. + +“When you see the above date, you will perhaps think that I have +returned from the Zambesi; but the fates seem to have conspired against +my reaching that river. After last writing home I left here on the +25th of July in company with Stoffel, the trader I told you of, and +with every prospect of a most successful trip. The series of mishaps +which led to my final (for this season at any rate) return here on +the 18th of September, I will presently relate. I say, ‘this season +at any rate,’ but I think I shall now give up the Zambesi altogether, +consoling myself with the adage--‘Tis not in mortals to _command_ +success.’ I read somewhere of some one replying to this--‘But they can +_deserve_ it;’ and a third party, who I think showed his wisdom, +suggested, as an amendment, that they could ‘_do without_ it.’ +Now, I think, to a certain extent, I deserved it for my persistent +efforts to attain it, and may hope to march out with the honours of +war, and ‘do without it.’ + +“I can scarcely express the pleasure it gave me to receive, on +returning here, a large packet of letters bearing dates from the +4th of August 1873, to the 25th of April 1874; some to Willie and +some to myself, and some which Willie had written to me on his way +home. I suppose he had read, and sent on for my perusal, those of +the letters which are addressed to him. The letters seem to form a +connected series, and I doubt whether any have failed to reach me. +After hastily looking over a few of them I proceeded to arrange them +according to date, and then to read them through in order. I scarcely +hoped that there would be no bad news.... Skelton’s death must be a +terrible blow to his family, who, when I saw them last, were looking +forward to a visit from him. It seems only the other day he was at +Oxford distinguishing himself in the athletic sports, in which he was +generally a successful competitor. I believe every one liked him, and +that he was worthy of their high opinion.[52] + +“To-day waggons have arrived from Bamangwato, and, to my great joy, +another letter was fished up for me from the bag. Hathorn writes from +Maritzburg on the 4th of August, enclosing a letter from Willie, dated +June 2d, and a line from Charley, dated June 4th. It is very delightful +to be brought in contact with you all once more after so long an +interruption to communication. I don’t believe anything can make one +appreciate home and friends like a long absence from them. Indeed, +things we think nothing of at home are often dwelt upon in memory when +one is in the midst of the wilderness. The packet of letters, which +I have referred to as awaiting me when I came here, arrived at Tati +before the end of August, and the latest written of them bears date +April 25th; so that, in both instances, about four months have elapsed +between the time the letters were posted in England and that of their +delivery here. It is the fact of one’s moving about that makes the +communication with home so desultory.[53] + +“To-day the rains may be said to have begun, but there will probably +not be much rain for some time yet. However, this morning was dark and +gloomy enough, though there are now signs of an improvement in the +weather. I have been here a fortnight, and am waiting till certain +necessary repairs are made in my waggon, my idea being to spend a few +weeks in this neighbourhood before finally leaving for Maritzburg.... +In the meantime I mean to give you a little account of my doings +since my last letter to you, encouraged by Charley’s assurance that +my descriptions of the country and the account of my wanderings are +read with some little interest, though I fear I can only thank the +friendliness of my critics for anything interesting being found in +them. As, however, I receive the flattering assurance that they do +afford a little amusement I will proceed without further apology. A +mail is leaving here very shortly, as traders are now here on their +way to Mungwato, and will take letters. By the way, I am writing with +some of the desiccated ink I brought with me. I had a grand brew of +it yesterday, and it is an undoubted success. My table is formed by a +packing-case, and my chair is a box of gunpowder--but I am not smoking. +I am inhabiting a deserted house made by one of the former gold-diggers +here, and appropriated by a Dutch family, who, however, are from home. +The paterfamilias has gone to hunt for ivory in the Zambesi direction, +and taken his ‘vrouw,’ family, and furniture with him in his waggon.” + +The narrative, here broken off, was again resumed, some days later:-- + + “_October 20th._ + +“I again take up my pen to continue the letter I began on the 1st of +this month, and which I hoped would have been a long way south of +Bamangwato by this time. The delay has been occasioned by the drought, +rendering the journey full of risk for the oxen. I promised you a short +_résumé_ of my doings and sufferings since I last wrote to you. +By sufferings, I don’t of course mean bodily ones, but what I have +suffered from rascally Kafirs, and which are only entitled to be called +annoyances. + +“After last writing to you, I left here on the 25th of July in company +with the trader I told you of. Some delay ensued when we were one day +from here, occasioned by reports of the road being stopped by the king. +I had with me the man given me by his Majesty to see me safely through +the Makalakas on my way to the Zambesi, and a precious rascal he was. +Some people came up to the waggons with great demonstrations, one of +them rushing about and flourishing a battle-axe. I adopted my usual +course, in such cases, of lighting a pipe and sitting on the front-box +of my waggon, watching the performance, varying my tactics by turning +my back on him. He professed to have authority from the king to stop +all waggons going to the Zambesi, and lugged in poor old Mosilikatze’s +name, as is usual in grand orations, and made my boys shake in their +shoes, metaphorically speaking, by informing them that the order was +that any of the king’s subjects accompanying white men to the Zambesi +were to be killed. + +“The son of Manyami, the man given me expressly to shut up this sort +of bounce, suggested that this might be some new order from the +king. I therefore lost no time in sending him off with a letter to +headquarters, requesting full instructions, as Manyami’s son had not +seen the king at all about the affair, but I had simply taken him, as +the king told me, from his father’s kraal on my way from Gubuleweyo to +Tati. Old Manyami is the man who used to stop all waggons coming into +the country till the king had given leave for them to proceed, and he +stopped me when I first came myself, as I dare say I told you at the +time. This is done, however, at a different kraal now--the first one +passed by any waggons going from here to Gubuleweyo, about forty miles +north-east of Tati. In the meantime I remained on the Ramaqueban, my +ally riding over to Tati once or twice. + +“Whilst I was here a trader of the name of Horn passed, and had to wait +when he was a few miles on the road to ask leave to proceed, as all +waggons from Natal are now stopped for fear of the disease, and Horn +had to explain who he was and where he came from. Horn, I think, is the +man who opened the Zambesi trade, but is at present trading with the +Matabele. A lion killed one of his oxen on the Inkwesi one night whilst +he was waiting here, and a dozen of them took fright and ran away. I +assisted in looking for them, and followed up the spoor next day till +late in the afternoon, and must have been close to the oxen, but there +was a Scotch mist, and it was a wretched evening, so, leaving three +Kafirs to follow and sleep on the spoor, I returned to the waggons. +Next day the Kafirs returned without the oxen, and thus much time was +lost. The day after this Horn’s partner followed the spoor to the +water, but from the water followed up, by mistake, some fresh buffalo +spoor, and slept on it, to come the following morning on to a herd of +buffalo, which rather astonished him. At last Stoffel set off with +him, about four or five days after the oxen had strayed, and they +succeeded in recovering them. + + [Illustration: DRY BED OF THE INKWESI RIVER.] + +“Whilst Stoffel was away the dogs began to bark late one night, and a +man appeared at the fire in a miserable plight. He was a rebellious +induna, or headman, whom the king had ordered to be killed. There are +a certain number of indunas, who have certain districts given them +to rule over under the king, and if they presume too much on their +authority they are put to death without much trial. Some of them would +be insufferable in their conduct to white men if the king did not keep +them in order. This particular man, I believe, the king had given fair +warning to, and told him to take a horse and fly the country, but +instead of taking one he took two, and he was brought before the king, +who thought it best to make an end of the matter. They took him outside +the town, and hacked him with their axes, leaving him for dead. What +must have been intended for the _coup de grâce_ was a cut in the +back of the head, which had chipped a large piece out of the skull, and +must have been meant to cut the spinal cord where it joins the brain. +It had, however, been made a little higher than this, but had left +such a wound as I should have thought no one could have survived. It +is wonderful, however, how hard Kafirs are. When I held the lanthorn +to investigate the wound I started back in amazement to see a hole at +the base of the skull, perhaps two inches long and an inch and a half +wide, and I will not venture to say how deep, but the depth too must +have been an affair of inches. Of course this hole penetrated into the +substance of the brain, and probably for some distance. I dare say a +mouse could have sat in it. + +“His voice was weak, but he evidently enjoyed his supper and the +warmth of the fire. My boys said he was a ‘wolf’--the term applied to +outlaws--and that he ought to be killed or driven away. He told me that +it was five days since he had been set upon; and that, after he had +been left for dead, he got up and ran away on coming to himself. He +wanted to go under my protection to the Zambesi, an honour, however, +which I declined, but I gave him a blanket and some things to buy food +with, and told him he must go next morning, and advised him to make +for Mungwato. He asked for a pipe, and for a drink of brandy, which +reminded me of Old King Cole; and if he had been given to amusing +himself by listening to the violin, I have no doubt he would have asked +for a tune, as he seemed disposed to take things very philosophically. +I poured some arnica and water into the hole, and when he lifted up his +head a perfect stream of it ran down his back. He said if he was not +killed he should see me at Mungwato when I returned. I believe he did +reach Mungwato alive, but I don’t know whether he remained there.[54] + +“A perfectly favourable communication having been received from the +king, I was all ready to continue my journey towards the Zambesi, +which I fondly hoped to see in a few weeks. On the 10th of August I +was again _en route_, and on the 18th I reached the first Makalaka +kraal, travelling slowly. This was the same point I reached before, +when I started with the Boer and his boy. Here we decided to stay, to +lay in our store of corn,--enough to keep our Kafirs when game could +not be got, our dogs, and, above all, our horses. At the place where +the waggons stand where they are left by people going to the Zambesi, +the journey having to be completed on foot, no corn is to be bought, +nor any on the road, as there are no corn-growing people between these +Makalakas and the Zambesi. Therefore enough must be taken at this point +to last till one is amongst the Makalakas again on one’s way back. + +“Here my companion was laid up with a bad finger. He had run the head +of a needle into it whilst sewing, and not feeling much at the time +had taken very little notice of it till it began to give him pain, and +then he suffered terribly. The end of the finger appeared dead, and I +was so much afraid of mortification setting in that I advised him to +lose no time in trying to reach Thomson, the missionary, in order that +he might have the first joint of the finger amputated if necessary. I +should have gone back with him, but he begged me not to do so, assuring +me that I should be of no use to him, which indeed seemed likely to be +the case. I therefore determined to push on. + +“Unfortunately my waggon was quite sufficiently loaded at starting, +as I had never contemplated having to travel with only one waggon, in +which case I should have left everything I could spare at Tati. As it +was, I not only had to add to my own load the things belonging to me +which were in Stoffel’s waggon, but to take besides a large supply of +corn and meal, which we had arranged at starting should be taken in +his waggon also. The result was, that my waggon was overloaded; and I +had not gone more than two or three miles when one of the hind wheels +broke, and the weight coming down on it, it was flattened under the +waggon, with every spoke smashed. I felt instinctively that it was a +hopeless case; and, as I stood looking at it, came to the conclusion +that my Zambesi trip was at an end. Now that the season was so late, +I was sure no help could arrive in time for me to proceed to the +Zambesi, and therefore I saw the best thing was to take the mishap +philosophically. It was one of the waggons I had bought in Bamangwato, +the wood of which proved rotten. My only wish after this was to get +back to Tati as quickly as possible. + +“The man that the king had given me to see me safe through the +Makalakas now refused to stay any longer, though I did not tell him I +should not attempt to proceed. I therefore paid him as the king had +directed me, giving him more, in fact, than the latter had said. He +was extremely insolent, and demanded double what I gave him. However, +I knew he must submit, as the king had sent him with me, and he dared +not go against his orders. He left me in dudgeon, and I was glad to be +rid of him. I had a very slight attack of fever at the time, and his +noise and insolence were very annoying. + +“After this I sent off my driver with a span of oxen, to take the +broken wheel on a sledge of boughs to Tati, and wrote to Brown asking +him to send me a waggon, if possible, to bring me out, and a spare +wheel also for my own waggon; or, if not, to get the wheel I sent him +mended for me. The oxen that I still had left had to go many miles for +water every day. The mare and the goats had nothing but filthy water +to drink from holes dug in the ground. For my own use I got water +from the pits, where the people dig for it, for I was in the midst of +the Makalakas. I myself was a prisoner in my own kraal, for I dared +not leave the waggon. I had with me three of my Matabele slave-boys +and one Bushman. We got on pretty well for a few days, but soon the +people began to drive my boys from the water, which they claimed the +right to, having made the pits. This was the water for my own use, +and it appeared also that the water at which their own goats drank +was denied to mine, and they and my mare driven away from it. I sent +for the induna, an old Makalaka, with whom I had hitherto refused to +speak in consequence of his having stopped me the first time I tried +to go through. I gave him a present of ammunition on condition of his +allowing my boys to get water; and, after promising to see that all +was right, he asked for more presents, which I refused, and the boys +were driven away just as much as they had been before. All I could do +was to buy water for my own use of the women, who brought it every +morning, and to hope that the animals managed to get a little now and +then. I had also had a disagreement with the people about some goats +which I had bought for a gun. The day after I bought them the gun had +been brought back and the goats demanded, which I refused to give up, +threatening to shoot any one who touched them. However, as soon as they +went out to feed, the goats were seized, as I fully expected they would +be, but the gun had been left. After this I refused to trade any more, +and drove all the people away except those who brought water. + +“Now, whether it was Manyami’s son, or whether it was the Makalakas, or +whether it was a mere chance, a party of Matabele heard that my waggon +was broken, and determined to make capital out of my misfortunes. It +was the 7th of September. The weather was extremely sultry, and I lay +nearly all my time in the waggon, reading. This evening, however, a +heavy shower of rain, with thunder and lightning, cooled the air--the +first rain of the season. I had been a short walk, keeping near the +waggon, and looking for a pheasant or partridge. Immediately after my +return I was disgusted beyond measure to see a party of Matabele, some +twenty in number, filing past with shields and assegais, and sitting +down in front of the waggon, after which the oration began. However, +the sun set and the rain descended very opportunely, and they left, +saying they would return in the morning. They told my boys that I +must pay for the road to the Zambesi, and that if I did not do so they +would break into my waggon and help themselves. My boys, having seen no +disposition on my part to give way, were in a great fright, and said if +I did not give the Matabele what they wanted they would run away and +leave me. In my situation this would have been worse than anything, so +I resolved to conciliate my persecutors, and next day gave them what +they wanted, amounting in value to a mere trifle, £5 perhaps, and not +a quarter of what I had made up my mind to give them rather than have +a row. I should have felt much more humiliated had I first refused and +finally had to give way, but it was bad enough as it was. I afterwards +informed the king of the whole affair, and perhaps a number of similar +complaints may at last bring punishment on the offenders, who are +known. I believe it was my firm demeanour of the night before that +stood me in such good stead next day, as, when I voluntarily conversed +with them, and asked them what they wanted, they thought it best to be +civil, and said I must bring out something and they would see if it +was enough. After some consultation they accepted what I gave for the +induna of their kraal, and then asked for presents for themselves. I +therefore added something; and when they saw I had given all I meant +they went away, leaving me much relieved in mind. + +“Soon afterwards, to my great joy, I heard the boys say that a waggon +was coming; and, sure enough, my driver appeared, bringing a waggon +borrowed for me by Brown, and an extra wheel for my own waggon. Brown +sent me a note informing me that he had letters for me from home, and +sending me an instalment of four papers, two others remaining for me in +his hands with the letters. I divided my load between the two waggons, +and breathed again freely when I was fairly past the Makalaka kraals +on my way back. I felt like a prisoner who had regained his freedom. +Before reaching Tati, however, I had another little adventure, which I +must yet add to this already overgrown letter. + +“I had one day left the waggon on horseback with a number of my Kafirs +to shoot, as we were rather hard up for food, and had been galloping +after some eland. It was late in the afternoon, and when I pulled up I +saw nothing of my boys, and turned the horse’s head in the direction I +had come from, expecting to meet them. However, they had lagged, and +I began to think I might not be going quite in the right direction. +The mare strengthened this fancy, and kept working round, and wanted, +I thought, to take a short cut to the waggon. I trusted implicitly +to her, and let her have her head, thinking I would leave the Kafirs +to go back by themselves. She, however, went in the same direction I +had been galloping in just before, which puzzled me. Still she kept +on in a straight, undeviating course, as I could see by the sun, and +I thought if it were wrong I could easily return as I had come, when +I had let her go on her own way long enough. So I gave her a fair +chance and on she went. The sun set, and she still kept on as before, +the stars now showing me the direction. I began to suspect something +wrong, but decided to see what she really would do, as I knew I must +sleep in the veldt. At last we came to a broad river without water in +it, and, without pausing to look for any, she crossed it, and kept on +as before. I thought it must be the Ramaqueban, which is near where I +started from, and therefore, after going on some time longer, I turned +her and went back to the river, hoping to find water by scraping a hole +in the sand, in which I failed. I then tied the mare to a tree, and, +making a big fire, had a good night. Next day I was moving at sunrise, +and kept down the river, still thinking it the Ramaqueban, when, to my +surprise, I suddenly came on the drift where the waggon-road crosses +it, and found it to be the Impakwe, the next river that you cross +beyond the Ramaqueban in going to the King’s. It was now nine or ten +o’clock in the morning, and getting very hot. My waggon was thirty +miles away, and the mare and myself tired and hungry. I let her feed +and drink, for there was plenty of good water. By the time I had gone +ten miles towards the waggon she wanted another rest, being much too +small for my weight. I therefore gave her a good rest on reaching the +Ramaqueban, and it was late in the afternoon when I started off again. +By good fortune I met some Boers returning from hunting in the Zambesi +direction, and came in for some meat which a Kafir was cooking in the +ashes. I never enjoyed anything more. I got back to the waggon late +that night, and soon afterwards reached Tati, where I have been ever +since. Incidents are rather scarce, and I have therefore made the most +of the foregoing insignificant ones. + +“I have now a new driver, my old one having refused to go with me after +my first repulse by the Makalakas. My present man is a huge creature, +civil enough, but too fond of brandy. He one evening made a raid when +I was absent, and broke open some of my boxes, not leaving a single +bottle of brandy in my possession, but how many bottles I had I have no +idea. He shared the spoils with his friends, and they were at it all +night. Next day I cross-examined him closely, and got a confession out +of him. I then fined him £5, and reduced his wages from £4 a month to +£3. He got off cheap, as it is common in such cases to tie the offender +up and whip him. The whole race of waggon-drivers, with scarcely an +exception, are worthless wretches--dissipated, lazy, impudent, and +dishonest. It really seems that civilization has no other effect upon +Kafirs than to make them worse than they naturally are. + +“I must now wind up this terrible letter. I know it is far too long, +but it is too late now to obviate that defect.” + +Another of Frank Oates’s letters, written home to one of his brothers +about this time, adds yet some further particulars of his late +experiences. He says:-- + + “TATI, _October 16th, 1874_. + +“The mail is in, and with it a letter from you, appreciated as usual, +which I need not say is not a little. It is dated July 3d. I am sorry +you seem to doubt my getting your letters. In my letter to the Mater +I mention the hoard of letters, containing a complete and connected +history of home affairs, which met my delighted eyes when I returned +here from my third attempt to reach the Zambesi, of which I have given +her an account. The road between here and Bamangwato is all but closed +from the drought now, as it is the end of the dry season. The waggons +that brought this mail in were delayed, and suffered considerably. +Several of the oxen died, and one waggon is still in the veldt at the +Gokwe River, where there is a little water, and which is the half-way +house between Mungwato and here. In distance it is more than half way, +but it is always a stopping-place, on either side of which stretches a +parched-up country. On the first day of this month I began a letter to +the Mater, expecting it would be taken on in a day or two. However, the +waggons that were to take it did not set off, preferring to wait for +rain, so the letter has been lying unfinished. Now, however, another +arrives from you, and sets me off into the writing vein. Moreover, I +am expecting very shortly to start into the veldt for a month or two, +which means two months, of course, before I fairly set off home. I +have in the meantime been collecting birds here, and reflecting on the +vanity of human ambition. It may surprise you that I don’t hurry home, +now that the Zambesi affair is over. It is certainly not that I don’t +long to see all the familiar faces once more, and feast my eyes with +English scenery....[55] + +“The weather is now fairly broken, and it has begun to rain again this +evening, with gusts of wind, which flutter my papers from time to time. +It has been dreadfully hot the last few days. After the heavy rain +at the beginning of the month we have been having a spell of really +warm weather, the thermometer often reaching several degrees above 100 +in the shade. I have been busy having my waggon patched up and made +weather-tight. It was finished to-day, and to-day the old Boer returned +to his happy home and found me in possession. I said I would pack up +at once, to enable him to establish himself in his house this evening, +but I found I could not be ready, so he and his family are encamped +outside, inhabiting their waggons. However, I held out hopes to him of +vacating the place to-morrow, which seemed to satisfy him. In fact the +Boers are just as much at home at their waggons as in a house. They +have little primitive camp-stools, on which they sit round the fire, +and the women go about their household duties, and the children play +about, and they seem quite at home. Of course when it rains they sit +in the waggons like rats in holes--as I have already done myself, and +shall now begin to do again. You have no idea how much a home a waggon +becomes. I have my books and all my _et ceteras_ within reach; +and, though it is a little cramping, the pleasure of stretching the +limbs when you do get out repays you to a certain extent. + + [Illustration: VERREAUX’S WHYDAH BIRD.--_Vidua + Verreauxi._ + + SHAFT-TAILED WHYDAH BIRD.--_Vidua regia._] + +“I expect in a day or two a reply from the king, giving me permission +to hunt in his veldt. I only wish to go a short distance from here, to +the Ramaqueban, and Shashani, and thereabouts--a tract of country that +I know pretty well, and for which I have a real affection, so often +have I roamed through its wilds. Rivers that I know well I look upon as +friends. I wish, indeed, I could be set down now where I was last year, +when I was sent by the king into his favourite veldt on failing to +reach the Zambesi, but it is too far, and I should have to traverse the +thickly-populated part of the country to reach it. The loathing with +which I regard this people is in itself sufficient to deter me. The +king himself is well enough, and rules the Kafirs with a rod of iron, +but the Kafirs, as a nation, I abominate, and not without good reason. +The amount of pride you must pocket when sojourning amongst these +scantily-dressed gentlemen is something not to be forgotten. I don’t +know whether their condescensions or aggressions are the more difficult +to bear with patience. Without patience it is hopeless to think of +getting on at all. A long string of them filed past my abode lately, +and making for Brown’s store requested to be fed. This of course +Brown complied with, as the land here is only held on sufferance, and +these Matabele were supposed to be out on particular business--to +murder a lot of poor Bushmen, as we were told afterwards. The latter +are constantly being killed, and their life is one long struggle for +existence. A gun is almost useless to them, as the brutal conquerors of +the country are pretty sure to bag it, and ten to one knock the owner +of it on the head into the bargain. + +“The Bushmen are the real wild men of the country, living in temporary +huts, and subsisting entirely on what the veldt produces. They are +wonderful runners, and possess certain mysterious instincts, raising +them in that respect nearly to the level of some of the noblest +animals. The Matabele, on the other hand, think themselves the lords +of creation, and speak of the slaves (Makalakas) as ‘dogs;’ and the +Bushmen are only looked upon as game. I have one remarkably small +creature of the Bushman race with me, who is working for a gun. He +always takes to his heels and hides when he sees any Matabele, unless +he is with his master and at the waggon. A kraal of these people was +lately driven from the Shashe, and is now encamped close to the +settlement here. I rode through their camp the other day, and felt +that I was amongst the true children of the forest, resembling more +the North American Indians than the usual Kafir races of this country. +Their huts are made of poles, converging together at the top, these +laid over with branches, and finally rudely thatched with long grass. I +should say there were between fifty and a hundred of them in the camp.” + +To this letter, here cut short, he adds the following, four days +later:-- + + “_October 20th._ + +“Last night my two Kafirs, whom I had sent to the king, to ask leave +for me to hunt a little on the Shashani, returned with a favourable +answer. I gave the king a shot gun on first entering his country, much +to his satisfaction, and I believe it is now his favourite gun out of +the armoury he possesses. I had two cases of 200 cartridges each, and +gave him one with the gun, and shall now leave the other, together with +the rest of his present, with Brown, to be forwarded to him when a +waggon goes up. It is everything here to have the king on one’s side, +as without it one would have a miserable chance of getting on. Even +the king does not care to have too many white men in his country, but +likes a few, to enable him to trade. He has a great objection to the +Boers, who come only to hunt for skins, thus wasting all the meat, but +he knows with me it is a different case, and he does not care where +I go, as long as I keep him in good humour by giving him presents. +He never objects to people who are in the country hunting for meat. +However, he is down on you if he sees any ostrich egg-shells lying on +the breakfast-table, and asks how you can expect to get feathers if you +eat the eggs. He is also very sensible in his denunciation of killing +cow and young elephants, the ivory of which is scarcely worth taking. +The Boers, wherever they go, shoot everything, big or little, on the +principle that all’s fish that comes to the net. + +“We have just had a heavy shower, and there was one last night; in fact +the rainy season is setting in. Rain is very much wanted, and all the +livestock requires fresh grass.” + +Amongst the letters, twice alluded to above, which Frank Oates had +found awaiting him at Tati, was one from his brother William, who was +just about to start at the time he wrote (in the June previous) on +a three months’ yachting trip to Spitzbergen; after his return from +which he contemplated again coming out to Natal, early in the following +year, there to rejoin his brother on his way back from the Zambesi, +and accompany him--if he cared to go--on a short hunting expedition in +Zululand, or, going north as far as Zanzibar, strike inland with him +thence instead. To this proposal Frank Oates replied as follows:-- + + “TATI, _October 27th, 1874_. + +“I have been delighted to get your letters, and to find there is a +chance of our uniting our forces once more. When you wrote of coming +out to me I was both pleased and sorry--sorry, because I thought it +would be best for me to return home when I reached the coast, and +yet, if you had actually met me there, I could not have resisted the +temptation of setting off again with you. + +“I have often wished I had you with me, and remember, when I got to +Mungwato last April, to outfit, as I drove up to Gray’s store, I +thought if I could have a wish it would be to see your waggon coming in +from the opposite direction. I did not even know that you were yourself +thinking the same thing about the same time. The same idea occurred +to me the last time my waggon broke down on the Zambesi road, and I +was left to the mercy of the natives of that part of the country. I +thought, if your waggon suddenly appeared, how I could turn the tables +on my persecutors, and how we could go on together to the Zambesi. Of +course, I felt certain such a thing would not occur, but somehow it got +into my head.... + +“You will be glad to hear that I endorse your theory that trying to +trade, when on a sporting tour or exploring, is an utter failure, +and that, had we brought up light waggons, we should have been +wiser--knowing all I know now. I have been allied with Dutch Boers +since parting from you, and the more I see _of_ them, the more +I see _through_ them. I have still some of my old Maritzburg +bullocks left, a rare good sort, but from time to time upon the journey +have bought and broken young ones. I have now a good span of fourteen +and a couple of supernumeraries, and have likewise bought a heifer, to +give me milk. She is of the peculiar small breed, less than Alderneys, +bred by the Mashonas. My dogs are invaluable to me. ‘Rail’ and ‘Rock’ +require the greatest care, and get it. + +“I shall wonder how you get on amongst the Spitzbergen game. If as +successful as you must have been here, you can claim to count amongst +the Nimrods. I don’t know what to say to your letter of June 2d. Of +course, if you should come out as you propose, it will be very pleasant +to meet, and we might spend a month or two together in the Zulu country +before I leave Africa, or, returning _viâ_ Zanzibar, spend a month +or two there, as you suggest. I should not care to be very much longer +than this, and if, after all, you should not come now, we must do +something else again together in the course of time.” + +The whole of these letters, above quoted from, were despatched to +England about the end of October. To one of them a postscript was +added on the 28th, to the effect that the trader, Stoffel Kennedy, +whose finger, it appears, had had to be amputated on returning from +the veldt, had just arrived at Tati, and that he and Dorehill, the +young trader of that name, already mentioned in these pages, were +intending to start immediately with two waggons for the Zambesi, and +wanted Frank Oates to accompany them. “I hardly think, however, that +I shall do so,” he writes, “as the season is so far advanced. I am +principally afraid for my boys, who are far more likely to suffer than +a white man is, who has a snug dry bed to lie on, and other comforts; +and I distrust my old waggon, which has played me false once already.” +On further discussing the subject with Stoffel and his companion, he +found, moreover, that he had somewhat misunderstood their plan, which +was only to be travelling towards the Zambesi now, and wait about upon +the road till April or May, when they would go forward to the river. +It was too late, they considered, to attempt to reach the Zambesi the +present season. Though strongly tempted on some accounts to fall in +with their proposal and accompany them, upon reflection he decided not +to do so. It was the result, however, of what had passed with them upon +the subject that led him to abandon, as intimated above, his projected +trip to the Shashani, and accompany the trading party instead, as far +upon the road towards the Zambesi as they meant to travel before coming +to a stand. This would give him an opportunity of seeing an entirely +fresh part of the country beyond the Makalakas, and he could return +when it suited him. It is probable, too, that he still--if hardly +acknowledging it to himself--may have entertained an ill-defined hope +that by travelling in the direction of the Zambesi he might even yet, +through some unlooked-for turn of circumstances, find himself enabled +to reach that river before the commencement of another year. That hope, +assuming its existence, was one destined to be realized, little likely +as it appeared to be so at the time he left the settlement. It was the +3d of November when the united party started on their journey, and for +the fourth time Frank Oates turned his face towards the Zambesi. + + [Illustration: BLUE WILDEBEEST.--_Catoblepas taurina._] + + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + Final start from Tati--Bushman remains--A game-drive--Wild + dogs--The Makalakas again--The Matengwe River--English + hunters met with--The Nata River--The Pantamatenka--Christmas + Day--Start on foot for the Zambesi--The goal at last. + + +The country first passed through on leaving Tati was now fresh and +green, with abundance of water along the road. Their first evening the +party halted at “Mopani Pan,” a small pond full of reeds and surrounded +by tall mopani trees, a few miles from Tati. This pond is a favourite +halting-place for travellers between the Tati and Ramaqueban Rivers, +but soon becomes dry in the winter season. Here the party remained four +days, hunting; troops of quagga, blue wildebeest, and waterbuck being +met with. The veldt about here, though stony and for the most part very +bare of vegetation, produced some fine white lilies, now in bloom. + + [Illustration: CAMP IN THE VELDT.] + +Advancing again, on November 7th, to the Ramaqueban, they proceeded +slowly up that river, and halted again for a short time four days +afterwards, at the point where Frank Oates had stopped to hunt when +here the previous August,--the point at which the road for the Zambesi +turns off from the Ramaqueban again towards the Tati. Here the latter +had now a hut of branches made by the boys for himself to lie in, as +the heat in the waggon was insufferable. This was some relief from +the usual state of things experienced about this time. “The flies,” +he writes one day at this encampment, “are perfectly maddening. One +wakes early, when it is comparatively cool, looking forward without +much pleasure to the coming day of heat and discomfort--no comfortable +spot to retire to from the heat, and every place dirty and crowded. +How different,” he concludes, “from the luxuries experienced in some +hot countries!” Here, on one occasion, his boys brought him some fine +barbel, taken in the river, which proved delicious eating when rolled +in meal and fried in fat and oil. + +On the 13th, whilst still at the same point, Frank Oates’s old ally, +Van Roozen, arrived with Piet Jacobs, the Dutchman, from the direction +of the Makalakas, the former of whom tried, it appears, to dissuade +his late employer from attempting the Zambesi at the present season, a +notion he was evidently by this time seriously entertaining. + +Both these Dutchmen, as it chanced, were acquainted with the spot near +the Ramaqueban River where the Bushmen, whose remains Frank Oates had +already made more than one fruitless endeavour to obtain, had been +massacred the year before. Still anxious, if possible, to secure some +of them, and finding he was now within easy access of the spot, he +entered into an arrangement with Jacobs to conduct him there; but +again, as on former occasions, when the time arrived for setting off, +his guide was not forthcoming. Jacobs, however, before leaving, had +fortunately on this occasion found a substitute in the person of Van +Roozen, through whose guidance the traveller was at last successful in +his search, as thus related in his Journal:-- + +“_November 15th._--Cloudy day. Old Piet left, having deputed Van +Roozen to take me to the bones, but wanting to go shares in the profit. +He left a boy with a sack; but Van Roozen seemed so lukewarm, I let +him send away the boy, and was nearly letting him go too, but Dorehill +joined us, and at last we made a plan, persuading Van Roozen to take +us to the place, whilst the waggons trekked to the big branch of the +Tati, where Stoffel was to outspan. Van Roozen seemed a bit nervous; +and, indeed, was rather perplexed to find the place, which, however, +at last he did. It was a pretty spot. Some large trees, laden with +yellow blossoms, growing in rich masses like laburnums, but in spikes, +scented the air. Behind these rose a pretty rugged kopje, and in front +of them were the old huts of the unfortunate Bushmen, and the screens +from the sun which they erect. Heaps of ashes and game bones, broken +pots, and other remains lay around, amongst which the skulls of the +Bushmen appeared conspicuously. We found three here, and three more lay +in the grass at some little distance. We offsaddled and collected some +bones, which I tied up, in order to carry on my saddle in front of me, +and we again set off, but the sky was clouded over, and we were not +sure of our road. However, we came out all right in the waggon-road. +Van Roozen deposited his charge, and we rode forward to the waggons. +Van Roozen shot a quagga just before we crossed the big spruit, and +we soon arrived at the big branch of the Tati, where the waggons were +outspanned, Van Roozen having decided to pass the night there with +us.”[56] + +The following morning, early, Van Roozen took his departure, trekking +south, whilst the rest of the party crossed over to the Tati, where, +outspanning at the “poort” (the pretty spot already noticed in the +preceding chapter), they again stopped for two or three days to hunt, +at which point the Journal thus continues:-- + +“_November 17th._--Heavy shower early; pleasant cloudy day. Out +with two boys, shooting.... During the ride I saw a big game-drive, +made by the Makalakas, consisting of a long broad alley, the sides +composed of large tree branches, forming a strong hedge. At the end +were three pits side by side, walled round with stakes. On the top were +placed light stakes, and long grass was laid over all. My boys say the +Makalakas kill lots of quagga and other game in these traps. + +“_November 18th._--Cloudy morning; hot afternoon. Out to the +right, amongst the kopjes; game very scarce.... Rested, whilst out, +under a large tree, with leaves something the shape and appearance of +a poplar; the trunk smooth, thick, and of crooked growth. The fruit of +this tree is small and green, and, when fresh dropped, useless; but the +ground was strewn with last year’s fruit, which contains, under a very +hard shell, some kernel, not unlike walnut, but softer, and very nice, +the only difficulty being the getting at it. Two goats of mine, which I +had bought of Piet Jacobs, and had since been lost, turned up to-day, +having been absent since Sunday afternoon (the 15th). They had come on +alone, one having given birth to two kids.” + +The travellers on the 20th again moved slowly forward, and reached the +first kraal of the Makalakas (Wankee’s) on the 22d, where they laid in +a fresh supply of corn, the natives this time making but a very feeble +show of attempting to stop their progress. The day before this Stoffel +had fallen in with a large pack of wild dogs, a circumstance thus +narrated in Frank Oates’s Journal:-- + +“_November 21st._--Cloudy morning, after a cold night; cool day.... +Stoffel rode when we trekked, and shot a quagga. He describes a pack +of wild dogs he saw. Two pallah rushed past him pursued by dogs, which +stopped when they saw him, and began to bark. They were all black, +spotted with white, with thick bushy tails, and dog-like but upright +ears. They were the size of his dog ‘Bob,’ larger than a pointer +considerably--_i.e._ the males; the females, he says, were less. They +kept running and then stopping at near range, but he did not get any. +He says he has seen a pack once beyond the King’s, and once one at +Gasuma, near the Zambesi, like these. A pack he once saw in the Free +State were of a different colour (reddish or gray). That he saw to-day +contained about fifty.” + +Leaving the kraal again upon the 24th, the Journal once more +continues:-- + +“_November 24th._--Hot, with a breeze. Started at 9.30 A.M., and +trekked till noon. Passed the kraal just beyond which my waggon broke +before at a small spruit. We ride through mopani veldt, and soon come +to another kraal. Pass lots of cultivated land, and then more kraals. +The latter are small, and generally placed under a kopje, on which +often grows one of the few striking and picturesque trees of the +country. We crossed two other spruits during the trek, larger than the +first mentioned, but not large. + +“A rabbit got up close to the waggon directly after we outspanned, and +the dogs set off. Dorehill lost one of his, and I lost ‘Rock.’ Our +boys found the spoor, and as it turned out the dogs had been stolen by +Makalakas. Stoffel, Dorehill, and I, with Jacob, rode with our guns +and a lot of boys to two or three kraals, threatening them all with +punishment, unless the dogs were given up. At night they were brought +back by one of Stoffel’s and one of Dorehill’s boys, who had been to a +kraal and demanded them. We decided to inspan and ride with the moon. +Trekked through trees, thickly placed (mopani mostly), crossed several +spruits, and outspanned at the Matengwe River; say three hours. + +“_November 25th._--Cloudy; heavy rain at night. Here we met a party +of Griquas, who have been in Stoffel’s employ before as hunters, and +they are now willing to turn back their waggon and return with him. +They tell sad tales of the Zambesi fever, of which many of them have +died. They say it is comparatively healthy at Tamasancha, and they +are willing to stand there till April or May, and then go on to the +Zambesi. The old man tells me that a man gets a pain in his head and +lies down, and next morning, if he is alive, he is ‘salted.’ Stoffel +busy making arrangements with these people. Trekked through beautiful +green veldt, road winding amongst a great number of kopjes; mopani, +and other trees. Several large and rather bad spruits crossed. We kept +coming near the Matengwe during this trek, and part of the time the +road keeps along its bank. It is an extremely pretty river, and has +a fine running stream in its sandy bed. I saw a plant quite new to +me, with fine fan-shaped drooping leaves. Some pretty white lilies, +delicately striped with lilac, grew close to the river’s bank. I +enjoyed the scene very much. Few kraals. Where we outspanned, I had a +bathe in the river. People came to sell things. + +“_November 26th._--Cloudy day, but hot; shower at night. Went +through mopani veldt, till we came to a big tree, where we stopped. +My mare, who I noticed refused her corn, lay down, and on looking at +her we found her panting, and that there was a running at her nose. +When made to get up, she soon lay down again. Stoffel says it is +horse-sickness. I ordered her to be driven slowly on behind us when we +trekked. Went past Menon’s kraal. Menon and some of his people came +out. He was very civil, and appointed to come to us ahead, which he +did, when we each gave him a present. + +“_November 27th._--Cloudy, threatening morning; a few drops of +rain. Rain, thunder, and lightning in the evening. Started before +daylight, and made a short trek through very heavy mopani to the drift +of the Matengwe, where we outspanned. Some yellow matter was running +from the mare’s mouth and nose, but small in quantity. She pants and +coughs, but still eats a little. Stoffel, Dorehill, and Jacob rode +to shoot, and Jacob shot a giraffe. I went on again a short distance +with the waggons, through heavy mopani veldt, finally stopping on a +‘sandbelt’[57] near a pan of water. Went out on foot in the evening, +and saw some pallah, steinbok, and quagga, but they were too wild for +me to get a shot. + +“_November 28th._--Cloudy morning. Heavy shower came on immediately +after my return from an unsuccessful hunt on ‘Bob.’... Busy buying +corn. The water lay deep all round my waggon. The mare lying down, +every now and then getting up, but breathing very heavily, and, when +last I saw her, making a ‘roaring’ sound. Nothing was running from her +nose, but I found inside it a little bright yellow and black matter. I +don’t know that she ate anything to-day. She lay most of the time with +her nose on the dirty ground. The skin of her back is all peeling off. + +“_November 29th._--Slightly cloudy day; very pleasant. Mare dead; froth +like white sea foam on her nostrils, and inside clear yellow liquid, a +lot of which had run out. She was not perfectly cold when I saw her. +All of them say it is horse-sickness. Dorehill afterwards opened her, +and one of his boys found a great number of large fat grubs in her +stomach, holding on to the inside. They seemed to have eaten the lining +away, and indeed in places to have eaten through the walls of the +stomach itself. This might account for the state of her back, and the +fact of her slavering when she ate her corn, but I don’t think they can +have been the proximate cause of death.... Out shooting to-day, but the +game here is very wild. + +“_November 30th._--Cloudy morning; close, hot afternoon.... On +returning from the veldt in the evening, found every one who had been +left at the waggons nearly drunk; the Griquas rushing about with loaded +guns and fighting. Inspanned, to restore order, and went about four +miles.” + +The following morning, some five miles further again brought the party +to the Matengwe River, where a halt was made. At this point two English +hunters, whom Frank Oates had met before during his wanderings--Messrs. +Wood and Selous--came up on their way to Tati from the Zambesi. It was +the result of this meeting which apparently determined Frank Oates’s +future plans; for, almost from the first day he left the Tati, the +idea seems to have been present to his mind that he might yet make the +Zambesi the present season, without waiting for the cessation of the +rains. His own inclination was strongly in favour of this attempt, as +saving him from the dilemma, otherwise presented, of either leaving +the country with the river unvisited, or remaining there another +season for the purpose; and the opinion and experience of the two +hunters mentioned above, coincided, as it happened, with his own wish +and inclination. They both believed, and perhaps rightly, that the +present was a safer time for the Zambesi than the month of April, +when the rains would only just be over and the moisture not all dried +up. Indeed Stoffel, who adhered to his present plan and waited to go +on till April, himself took the fever when he reached the river, and +died from its effects. The fact is that neither one plan nor the other +was a good one, and between the two it was but a choice of evils. So +anxious, however, was Frank Oates to reach the river that season, +that, gladly catching at the moderate degree of encouragement he now +chanced to receive from these two gentlemen, he resolved forthwith +to push forward there at once, without intending, however, to make a +lengthened stay, or do more on this occasion than merely see the Falls, +and obtain a few specimens of natural history. And thus resolved, he +again resumed his journey on December 3d, and with no serious delay or +hindrance succeeded in reaching the Zambesi. Before starting, however, +he wrote home the following short letter, which Messrs. Wood and Selous +undertook to convey as far as Tati:-- + + “MATENGWE RIVER, _December 2d, 1874_. + +“Again I report progress. I am past the obnoxious Makalakas, and am +actually going to start for a hurried run to the Victoria Falls. I left +Tati with the people I told you of, who were going on to a place about +three days ahead of here on the Zambesi road, intending to wait there +till April and then go on to the Zambesi. I intended to accompany them +and turn back, as I did not wish to wait for another season, and did +not think it advisable to make a hurried run to the Zambesi and back +again now. Indeed, you would infer from my letters that it was not my +intention to do so. However, things have so turned out that I think I +am choosing the best course in going on now. + +“In the first place, I have here met waggons coming from the Zambesi, +those of Wood and Selous, two Englishmen, who hunt and know the country +well. They both advise me to go on at once. They say they would rather +go on now than stand all the time, and then go on in April. In fact +it seems that April is too early; and all agree that it is infinitely +better to go now that the rains are falling than it is to go too soon +after they have ceased to fall. They say the risk of fever is not so +great as long as the rains fall, and the really bad time is when they +have ceased to fall. The traders, however, must wait, in order to avoid +the really bad time, as they could not go there and trade and come back +again; whereas in my case I have only to spend a fortnight in getting +to the standing-place where the waggons are left, and say ten days or a +fortnight in going from there to the Falls and back (it _can_ be +walked in three days, I am told, easily), whilst another fortnight will +bring me back in the waggons. So you may say six weeks will do it all, +and it would not only be possible to be back in Tati before the end of +January, but this would allow a lot of extra time. It is only three +weeks from Tati to Daka, the standing-place, and I am now a week’s +journey on the way. + +“A man who knows the Falls and this road well has undertaken to conduct +me to the Falls and back.[58] He is a coloured individual certainly, +but appears a very intelligent and capable fellow. He has been hunting +for Wood and Selous, and it is thought he will prove very efficient. +He has insisted on large relays of medicine and food, and I have been +able to get nearly everything I wanted here. There were in fact eight +waggons in all here yesterday. The trader, who lost his finger when +coming on with me before, with his two waggons, and a partner of his +with one waggon, went on last night. Another trader is turning back now +with Wood and Selous, who are going back; and another waggon, belonging +to a party of Griquas, has gone on with the traders. + +“I expect to be back in Bamangwato in February, _en route_ +for home.... I can scarcely fancy myself returning so soon from a +successful visit to the Falls, having so often failed; but I think you +will agree with me that I was not wrong in determining to make another +attempt, as things turned out, and acting, as I am, on what I consider +to be very competent advice. It is now the beginning of the rainy +season, but very little rain has yet fallen; only a few heavy showers, +with intervals of very hot weather between them.” + +The day after writing this letter--on the 3d of December--Frank Oates +started off again, as above mentioned, towards the Zambesi, and soon +came up with Stoffel, who had left upon the 1st, in company with +another trader who had joined him on the Matengwe. Dorehill had +turned back with Wood and Selous. From this point to Tamasancha, a +watering-place on the road to the Zambesi, where Stoffel and his +companion intended standing till April, the road lay chiefly through +heavy sand, and was traversed in about a week. Soon after starting, the +Matengwe River, which had now been kept near for some time, was left +flowing towards the westward, and shortly afterwards the Nata River was +crossed. From here to the Daka, a small river not far from the Zambesi, +water can only be obtained along the road at the various “pans,” or +small ponds, which occur at intervals throughout this portion of the +country, no other rivers intervening. + +At Tamasancha, which was reached on December 10th, Frank Oates, after +a short rest, parted from his companions, proceeding forward on the +14th alone towards the Zambesi. The country, from this point, is only +varied from sand and thick bush by the occasional occurrence of these +“pans” or “vleis,” the favourite haunts of wading-birds and wildfowl. +Soon after leaving Tamasancha one was passed (Flamakinyani) closely +encircled by large trees, and a little later was another (Geruah), +about the size of a duck-pond and extremely pretty, surrounded with the +greenest of grass, whilst all around it extended the barren and sandy +veldt. About here giraffe and other game was met with, including sable +antelope, eland, and wild pig. Fresh elephant spoor was seen north of +Tamasetsie, but the time now allowed of no delays for hunting. The +“poison-plant,” growing low, and bearing a yellow plum-like fruit, was +gathered on one occasion near the waggon-track. + + [Illustration: AFRICAN DWARF GOOSE.--_Nettapus auritus._ + + (Length about 11 inches.)] + +The Daka River was reached upon the 21st, and the day after, some miles +further on, two other small streams were reached and crossed, and then +a third into which apparently the first two flowed. This last was a +small river called the Pantamatenka, just beyond which is the place +where waggons stand for travellers going to the Zambesi. These streams, +it was evident, must all be very small, except during the rains. They +were small indeed even now, though overflowing their banks and running +quickly. Almost immediately after crossing the last-named, Frank +Oates’s waggon stuck in a very soft muddy place, but Mr. Blockley, who +was in charge of the trading-station here, came with a span of oxen +to help him out, and the following morning his waggon was taken up to +where the store was built, on a little stony kopje above the watery +flats. Mr. Blockley was here in the capacity of agent for another +trader, then absent--Mr. Westbeach--and with him was a Dr. Bradshaw, +who had been some time in the country. On the succeeding day, December +24th, the waggons of two other traders, Messrs. Trescott and Wilmore, +arrived from the Zambesi, the former of whom had lately been ill with +fever, and was still very deaf and weak, and scarcely able to eat +anything. He described their recent sufferings from fatigue, hunger, +sickness, and the impossibility of keeping dry, as something truly +wretched. + +Christmas Day was celebrated at the store by the cooking and eating +of a large plum-pudding worthy of the occasion, and the day following +Frank Oates busied himself with preparing for his walk to the Falls. +This he intended to accomplish in company with Dr. Bradshaw, who had +been there before, and volunteered to go with him. The 27th was the day +fixed for the start, and before leaving he wrote home in high spirits +the following letter to his mother, which Messrs. Trescott and Wilmore +were to take with them when they returned to Tati. It was the last he +wrote:-- + + “PANTAMATENKA, _December 27th, 1874_. + +“I am just about to set off, to walk to the Victoria Falls, which are +only three days from here. This place is somewhere about fifteen miles +to the north-westward of Daka, a place you will probably see in any +recent map. Neither place is a town of any sort, but each is merely a +river flowing to the Zambesi. At both rivers waggons stand, as they are +both out of ‘the fly.’ The place where I now am is quite civilized, as +it is a trading-station, and the man in charge here has a snug little +house, well thatched, to keep out the rain. He has lived here three +years, and is in the employ of Westbeach, who is at present at the +residence of Sepopo, the Zambesi chief, some distance up the river. His +man, Blockley, undertakes the charge of my effects whilst I proceed to +the Falls. + +“You will be delighted to hear that there is a _doctor_ here, +who is going to accompany me in my walk, and is a great stickler +for comforts. He was, I think, doctor on a steamer, and at last got +to the Diamond Fields, and thence came here with Westbeach, and has +been here now two years. He spends a good portion of his time in +collecting beetles, and is apparently very good-natured. He never +loses an opportunity of telling you that a thing is very unwholesome, +the next thing being its rapid disappearance into his own interior. +There was a grand plum-pudding made here on Christmas Day. Besides +Blockley and the doctor there are two traders, who arrived here after +I did, on their way from the Zambesi. One has been ill and the doctor +prohibited him plum-pudding, so there were four of us in all. We ate +nothing but pudding on Christmas Day and the day following, with +scarcely an exception. The men had another pudding. My man turns out +to have been originally a cook, and when he likes can cook well. The +doctor was found to be five pounds heavier after dinner than before it +on Christmas Day. He strongly urged upon all of us the desirability +of moderation, but no one seemed to pay much attention to him, and he +certainly did not practise what he preached. He has been to the Falls +before, and in the rainy season too, so he knows what he is undertaking +in going with me. I expect he will make very slow marches, but so much +the better. I am going to take with me the identical tent I had with +me in America, and which proved so effectual a shelter from the snows +of the Rocky Mountains. There was a grand idea in the doctor’s mind of +taking a lot of cold plum-pudding with us on our walk, but the last +morsel disappeared last night. However, we shall not be badly off for +supplies. + +“From Tamasancha, where I last wrote to you,[59] and where the +traders were waiting till April, I was nine days in getting here. The +waggon-road all the way goes through thick bush and heavy sand. There +are no rivers, but abundance of pools in the rainy season. We have +not had very much rain, but of course enough to fill the pools, and +enough to make the road, where it goes through turf, as it does before +reaching this place, extremely heavy. My waggon stuck the night of +my arrival, but Blockley brought his oxen and helped me out; which, +however, he failed to accomplish that night, though succeeding the +morning following. He then brought my waggon up here on to the top of a +little hill where his house is, close to which it is now drawn up. + +“This must be a comparatively healthy spot, even in the most unhealthy +time, as it overlooks the flat wet country around it, and the water +will run from it. There appeared to me to be much more watery land, and +more pools of water, about Daka than here. It is where so much land +lies under water that, about the end of the rainy season, the fever +is so bad. People may get it almost any time, but February, March, +and April seem to be the worst months. I think Baines is said to have +stated that he would rather be on the Zambesi in January, the height of +the rainy season, than in May, a lovely month, but when the moisture is +perhaps not all dried up. When it is dried up, it is then all right. +Another thing seems to be, that people moving about are better off than +those who have to remain stationary in one place. + +“One of my goats was reported to have been killed by a leopard on +Christmas Eve. We all went with our guns, and I took my dogs. We +found the unfortunate goat lying dead, a live companion standing over +it; and, also standing over it, and facing the live goat, an animal +I thought was a dog. They told me it was the leopard, but I would +not fire, still thinking it a dog. At last, however, I saw what it +was, and we shot it. Two others ran away, and my dogs killed both of +them gallantly, and in next to no time. They were cheetahs, a sort of +leopard, very lanky, and a good deal like greyhounds in appearance. +They were very thin, and probably very hungry when they killed the +goat; but the other goat must have kept them from eating it, as it had +been killed a considerable time when we got to it. + +“I must now get up and make ready to start. I am writing in the tent, +having had a cup of coffee as usual, but not got up yet. I intended +to have written this letter last night, and, having failed to do so, +thought it best to make sure of its being written before I began +anything else. + +“I hope you are all spending a pleasant Christmas and New Year’s time +at home, or wherever you are; and wish every one a very happy New Year.” + +Starting upon their journey late that evening, the Journal resumes the +narrative:-- + +“_December 27th._--Fine hot day, with a north-easterly breeze. +Wrote letter home early, and made final preparations for the walk. +As my own boys had all requested to accompany me, wishing to see +‘Metse-a-tunya,’ I took all (eight in number) except the Bushman, whom, +with two Makalakas engaged for me at Pantamatenka by the doctor, I +left with Klaas. The doctor had also got me another Makalaka, whom he +handed over to me, as well as allowing me to pack one of his own three +boys; so I had the benefit of ten, the doctor had two, and John had +three boys. We were a party, in all, of two white men, one colonial +boy (John Mackenna), and fifteen Kafirs, and left the Pantamatenka a +little before sundown; walked three miles up the river, and, crossing +it, encamped for the night. During the walk I saw a fine tall palm--the +first tall one I have seen. The leaves were fan-like and the tree +extremely graceful. + +“_December 28th._--Beautiful day. Had coffee, and started soon +after sunrise. Kept up the river, say five miles, then recrossed and +left it, and went ten miles more, crossing a ‘sandbelt,’ I with two +boys finding water in an open grassy space, or ‘lichter.’ The others +missed the water, and I rejoined them in the long sandbelt, which +extended beyond where we halted. Then went three miles more, passing +some water, of which we were very glad, and at last reached a fine +lichter, with a stream in it, running away to the east, into the +Pantamatenka. On our left was a ridge, some two or three miles off, +with palm on it, which the doctor says he passed on his right, when +he went to the Falls last. Rose to opposite side of lichter, to high +ground, and camped. + +“_December 29th._--Fine morning, but rather cloudy; a few drops of +rain in the afternoon. Had coffee, and again started early. Immediately +after starting crossed another stream, also running, they say, into the +Pantamatenka. Giraffe and quagga spoor seen. We only went six miles +to-day, as one of the boys had to be sent back for an axe, and we +waited for him. Maclinwon, who had gone on alone, presently returned, +having shot two rhinoceros, and we all went to the place and camped +there. + +“_December 30th._--Cloudy; a shower in the afternoon. Walked ten +miles to-day, crossing at least two sandbelts, the last of which was +stony, and with a very thin stratum of soil on it; the trees few and +sparsely scattered. Some dry stony spruits here, and a fine view of the +opposite sandbelt. Slept at a spruit in the hollow beneath us, where +we had stopped to make tea in the afternoon, but where it looked so +threatening we had pitched the tent. However, the rain was trifling. +Some of Tibakai’s Bushmen were seen and talked to. Whilst the boys +were making the huts, they pointed out the cloud on the horizon to the +northward from Metse-a-tunya. It keeps rising in a white puff, and +passing away in little fleecy clouds. The others heard the Falls; I am +not sure I did. + +“_December 31st._--Rather cloudy; heavy rain about sundown. Fine +night. Went, roughly, say three miles further north across turf, to +the river where I thought Tibakai was encamped, but found we were +too much to the left, so after crossing the river kept down it about +three-quarters of a mile to his camp. John was in front, hurrying on +with one of his boys, but when he came near the huts, stopped and hid +behind a bush, from which he was peering when we joined him. Here he +wanted to stay and send for Tibakai to talk, our object being to get +two Bushmen from him to go with us to the Zambesi, for corn. I ordered +him and the boys to march on to the huts, and not stop at a distance +now that they knew we were there. John was in a great funk, but found, +with Tibakai, a hunter whom he knew. I left the boys and traps under +a tree amongst the huts, and went with the doctor and John to have an +interview with Tibakai. He is a Mungwato headman, with one or two of +his own people, but all the rest are Bushmen, hunting for him, and +staying with him with their families. Tibakai said we could not go +to the Falls--he was captain here. Hearing, however, we did not come +to hunt, he said we might go but must make our scherm here, and stay +till to-morrow, when we might visit the Falls and return. He then +conceded that we might have two Bushmen, whom he would give us to-night +when they returned from hunting, but said we _must_ sleep here +to-night. I said we must go, and he could do as he pleased about the +Bushmen. After this he again said we must stay to-night. This I flatly +refused to do, and had already told him we should shoot elephants if we +saw them. John wanted me to stay, and refused to come away. I ordered +the boys to start, they having already told me they were willing, and +again for the third time called John. We then started, all but him, +and there was a great stir in the place; caps snapping, and one fellow +running out with his gun. We moved on, I on the flank ready to fire; +but it was not necessary. John remained behind, but, seeing us get +away, joined us, and, when I upbraided him, said he was only waiting to +see what they would do.” + +And now a walk of some twelve or fifteen miles brought them to the +goal. The latter part--five miles or so--of this was over rolling +ground, and here, as they advanced, they soon began to see more +clearly the distant clouds of vapour from the Falls, and hear them more +distinctly. The trees, before thinly scattered, were now fine and close +together, and for a time obscured the view. Then shortly, through an +opening in their midst, the columns of spray again were visible, now +quite near, and the party pressed quickly on. The sun was about to set, +and clouds were gathering, as if for an approaching storm. Stopping to +shelter from a heavy shower just above the river, the first sight of +Metse-a-tunya was here caught through the trees, and a halt was ordered +for the night. + + [Illustration: WOODEN PILLOW.] + +Thus, the last day of 1874, the sun set on the fulfilment--after many +hindrances--of the traveller’s great desire! + + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + Main features of the Falls--The return commenced--Frank + Oates attacked by fever--Course of the illness; improvement + and relapse--His death--Dr. Bradshaw takes his effects to + Bamangwato--His favourite dog--Arrival of W. Oates and Mr. + Gilchrist in Natal--Conclusion. + + +It is to be regretted that, from the time of his reaching the Zambesi +till the date of his death five weeks afterwards, the entries in +Frank Oates’s Journal are of the scantiest description. Indeed, the +whole time that he was actually at the Falls he made no entries in it +whatever. This may have been partly owing to the depressing condition +of the atmosphere near the river at that time, which would make any +exertion--even that of writing--burthensome; and partly from his +relying on his memory for a faithful recollection of a scene at once +so novel and so impressive. “After breakfast,” he writes on New Year’s +Day, 1875, “I visited the Falls--a day never to be forgotten.” This is +the sole entry in his Journal till the 14th of the month, when he was +again back at the Pantamatenka. + +And what gives especial cause for regret at the absence of any further +entries in his Journal of this period is the fact that all the accounts +of the Falls yet published have been given by those who visited the +river in the dry season of the year. Of this number Edward Mohr may +have suffered least from this disadvantage, for he was there in June +1870. Baines and Chapman were there together during parts of the months +of July and August 1862; Livingstone was there, his first visit, in +November 1855, his second in August 1860; and Baldwin, at the time of +Livingstone’s second visit. On both occasions when Livingstone was at +the Falls, the river, he remarks, was very low; and Chapman mentions +that, when he and Baines were there, the water had recently fallen as +much as seven feet. It remained for Frank Oates to visit the river at +its fullest; at the very height, in fact, of the rainy season; but, +unhappily, we are left without any results of his experience, except +in the shape of a few pencil and two water-colour drawings he made +upon the spot. The two latter have been selected for representation in +this volume--one of them coloured, the other in the form of a woodcut. +Before offering any explanation regarding these, it may be well to +recall to the memory of the reader the main features of the Falls, as +described by previous writers. + +The river for some distance--at least two miles--above the Falls is of +great width, and, flowing between hills some three or four hundred feet +in height, presents to the eye a smooth open surface, dotted over by +a number of picturesque, tree-covered islands. Where the Falls occur +the river is upwards of a mile in width, and the Falls extend the whole +of this distance, their line broken at intervals by dark projecting +buttresses of rock, forming, some of them, small islands with trees +upon their tops; whilst others, of much less size, present merely a +bare and jagged surface. The Falls are occasioned by what appears to +have been a rift in the original bed of the river--a rending asunder +of the rock in the river-bed, over the edge of which the whole waters +of the Zambesi are poured down into a deep, narrow gorge below, its +width varying from something like eighty to a hundred yards. The water +escapes from this deep abyss, where it boils and foams tumultuously +after its descent, by a still narrower channel of from twenty to thirty +yards in width, and apparently about the same depth as the fissure into +which the water falls, the waters of the river being thus suddenly +compressed into this narrow limit immediately after flowing through a +bed upwards of a mile in breadth just above the Falls. The river after +this proceeds by a zigzag course from east to west for about five +miles, through a continuation of this narrow cutting, before it finally +flows away in a more direct line eastwards. This outlet, Livingstone +informs us,[60] is about 1170 yards from the western and 600 from the +eastern end of the abyss, the river at the Falls flowing nearly due +north and south, whilst the fissure which receives the water lies +nearly east and west. At this point the rushing waters from either side +unite after they have fallen. “The stream ...,” writes Chapman, in +his account of the Falls, referring to this portion of the river,[61] +“which here slackens its speed before the entrance, steals slowly +round, at the solemn pace of a funeral procession, before it escapes +from its confinement between the massive columns of rock.” The water +here is of “that sombre green,” says Baines in his description,[62] +“which indicates great depth; the moderate rapid formed in the narrow +turn below the entrance rolling in that smooth, glassy swell, almost +destitute of foam, which seems so gentle and proves so overpowering +when one tries to stem it.” + + [Illustration: VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBESI (THE OUTLET).] + +It is the view from this point--“one of the prettiest and most +comprehensive” that can be obtained of the Falls, says Chapman--that +is represented in the preceding woodcut; in the foreground are seen the +gliding waters flowing through the escape-channel, the spray of the +falling cataract rising up beyond; whilst on the horizon, above that +section of the Falls which is visible from here, extends the distant +outline of one of the river’s banks. “This point,” writes Baines, “is +the only spot, with the exception of the west end in calm weather, that +is free enough from spray to allow the use of water-colours.” + +And this brings us to our second illustration of the Falls, the +coloured one, which is taken from the other point here mentioned--the +west end of the cataract. In this picture is represented the first +portion of the Falls, at the western extremity of the abyss, where +the flow of the water over the edge is more broken than it is in many +places further on (in at least one of which it continues, says Chapman, +with “very little interruption” for a distance of a quarter of a mile +or more), and apparently before the water in the bottom of the channel +has commenced that tumultuous course which it afterwards pursues as +it gathers volume further eastward. In the foreground and on the high +land to the right is seen some of that brilliant tropical vegetation, +the absence of which, except the evergreen part of it, was so regretted +by Chapman at the time of his visit. “We see the scenery,” he wrote in +July 1862, “at a great disadvantage just now, as this is the time of +the ‘sere and yellow leaf.’” In January, when Frank Oates was there, +the vegetation of course was at its best. The trees on the right in +this picture, though looking little larger than bushes when viewed from +this side, rise in reality--again to quote the authority of Chapman, +who penetrated their shade--to a majestic height of from eighty to +ninety feet, and constitute a dense forest, always moistened by the +spray from the Falls. + +The remaining most characteristic feature of the Falls represented +in this drawing is that of the double rainbow spanning the abyss. +The marvellous colouring of these rainbows, which are frequently +visible here, has struck all who have beheld them; their “tints,” says +Baines, “more beautiful than in England’s clouded climate one can +ever dream of.” Whenever the sun falls upon the clouds of spray these +rainbows are always present, sometimes two, sometimes three in number, +and the brilliancy of their colouring can scarcely be exaggerated. +“Rainbows,” writes Chapman in his description of the Falls, the first +day he saw them, “so bright, so vivid, are never seen in the skies. +The lower one in particular [on this occasion], probably from the +contrast with the black-looking rocks below, was _too_ vivid, +nay, almost blinding, to look upon, defying imitation by the most +skilful artist and all the colours at his command, yet imparting its +heavenly tints to every object over which it successively passed.” +So marked a characteristic of the spot are these rainbows that it +appears, according to Livingstone, the early native name of the Falls +was “Chongwe,” signifying the Rainbow, or the Place of the Rainbow; a +name, however, which has since given place to others. Frank Oates’s +boys spoke of the Falls as Metse-a-tunya, a compound word, signifying +“water-sounding;” whilst the name which Livingstone received for +them, as used by the Makalolo at the time of both his visits, was +not dissimilar, viz., Mosi-oa-tunya, or “smoke-sounding,” from the +smoke-like appearance of the columns of spray which rise above the +cataract. + + [Illustration: VICTORIA FALLS, ZAMBESI. + + (WESTERN EXTREMITY.)] + +With regard to the other general features of the Falls not referred to +above but little remains to be added. Their actual height, as estimated +by Livingstone, is about 360 feet from the top of the precipice to +the surface of the water in the abyss; the columns of spray, which +are driven upwards by the rush of air from the channel as the water +descends into this narrow space, ascending to a height variously +estimated by those who have seen them--and no doubt varying with +the state of the atmosphere and the volume of water in the river at +different times--at from six to eight hundred feet, or something over. +It is these vapour clouds which, visible at a distance of upwards of +twenty miles, as distinctly observed by Livingstone, mark the position +of the Falls long before the traveller approaches them. Frank Oates, +as seen in the preceding chapter, distinguished them at a distance of +about eighteen miles, and his followers heard the roaring of the water +at that distance, though he was not sure of doing so himself. Chapman, +after he had left the Falls, heard them, he relates, “at a distance of +fifteen miles on an elevated region in the south.” + +Comparing the Falls with those of Niagara, Livingstone points out +that they are twice the height of the latter; whilst, “in the amount +of water, Niagara,” he says, “probably excels, though not during the +months when the Zambesi is in flood.” It is unfortunate that no general +view of the Falls, except a bird’s-eye one from the high ground some +miles distant, can be obtained, owing to the vegetation on the south +side of the fissure and the dense clouds of spray rising from the +chasm. “But for this,” says Chapman, “the Victoria Falls, presenting +one unobstructed view, would not alone have been the most magnificent, +but the most stupendous, sight of the kind on the face of the globe.” + + * * * * * + +And now, resuming our story, the remaining incidents are soon related, +the material for its completion being somewhat scanty. From the +time of his arrival at the Falls till the date of his return to the +Pantamatenka, Frank Oates made, as has been stated, no entries in his +Journal. Again at the Pantamatenka, however, on the 13th, he made a +few brief notes, remaining there till the 19th of the month, when +Mr. Westbeach, now back from the Zambesi, also started southwards, +accompanied by Dr. Bradshaw. Two of Frank Oates’s native servants were +already by this time ill with fever, taken, no doubt, on the Zambesi, +but the rest of the party so far continued well. + +On the 25th, however, at the “pan” called Geruah, the beauty of which +had struck him on his journey north, Frank Oates himself complained to +his companions--for his own waggon and that of Mr. Westbeach were never +far apart as they advanced--of slight headache, the usual precursor +and accompaniment of African fever. In a couple of days, however, he +was better again, so that he even went out hunting. But this apparent +improvement unhappily proved delusive, and it soon became evident that +he was suffering from an attack of fever. And now he continued for some +days, with slight fluctuations, better and worse till the 29th, when +his condition became alarming. Throughout his entire journey up country +from the Makalakas as far as the Pantamatenka he had been engaged in +taking careful observations of the country, and noting the various +watering-places along the road, and this he continued to do on his way +back, to check his former notes. His regular Journal had been again +discontinued on the 22d, but he still made some brief jottings of the +route until the 31st of the month, when, such was his condition, even +these had also to be abandoned, and he continued very ill till the +morning of the 5th of February, when there was a decided change in him +for the better. + +During the whole of this time Dr. Bradshaw had remained with or near +him, and Mr. Westbeach had kindly lent him the services of one of +his own boys, who could speak a little English. There was now every +reason, so far as the traveller was himself concerned--and had been +ever since he first showed signs of illness--for the party to make all +speed upon their journey south. Once at Tati he would be in a place +of comparative civilization, affording greater comfort for an invalid, +and in a far better climate. Travelling is also usually found to be +beneficial in most stages of this fever. They were, therefore, all now +pushing forward to the Tati with the least possible delay. + +On the morning of the 5th of February, as just stated, Frank +Oates’s condition was much more favourable, and there may still +presumably have been hope of his recovery, when, unfortunately, a +point being reached during the day where some of his boys had to be +paid off and discharged, the annoyance and excitement contingent on +this circumstance--for at such times the boys always manage to be +troublesome--brought on a relapse, and towards the afternoon of that +day he again got worse. The party, as it chanced, were then in a +part of the country where there was no water for the oxen, and were +travelling with all haste to reach a place where they could get some; +yet so alarming were Frank Oates’s symptoms, that towards evening Dr. +Bradshaw, who was with his waggon, was obliged to order a halt. This +occurred at a certain point in the journey, a little north of the same +Makalaka kraal at which the traveller had already experienced so much +trouble. He was now much exhausted, and Dr. Bradshaw got him to take +some soup and a little brandy, and then left him for a few minutes to +go to the other waggon. He had not been gone, however, many minutes, +when Mr. Westbeach’s English-speaking boy, who had been left in charge, +hurried after him, begging him to return at once, as a sudden change +appeared to be taking place. This Dr. Bradshaw did--but only in time to +find his companion sinking. Frank Oates tried to speak, but in so low a +whisper that the other unhappily failed to catch his meaning, and a few +minutes afterwards--about a quarter of an hour before sunset--the brave +spirit sank peacefully to rest. + +At this point in the journey it so happened that the ground was very +hard and stony, and, even had it been otherwise, there was no spade +or other implement at either of the waggons with which a grave could +have been made; so, hearing that Piet Jacobs, the Dutchman, was near at +hand, having been at a neighbouring kraal that morning buying corn, Dr. +Bradshaw sent to him for assistance. Several others of the party were +by this time ill with fever, and the man who took this message--John +Mackenna--was so reduced that he was scarcely able to sit the horse he +rode upon. + +Jacobs, in reply, sent back word for the others to come on further, +where the ground was less stony, and that he would meantime find +a place suitable for the grave. With this suggestion Dr. Bradshaw +willingly complied, and, travelling in the night, met Jacobs early the +following morning about an hour’s journey at the other side of the +kraal. Here the Dutchman, who was familiar with the country, had by +this time found a spot well suited for the purpose. This was a disused +game-trap, some eight feet in depth, at no great distance from the +waggon-road so often traversed by the deceased, and placed by the side +of a small stream or river flowing south. And here, in the deep repose +of this silent spot, the traveller’s remains were laid in their last +resting-place. His was a burial which well became in its simplicity a +true lover, like himself, of Nature and her wilds. + +This ended, it now devolved on Dr. Bradshaw to convey the waggon +and effects of the deceased to Bamangwato, where he left them in +charge of the Rev. John Mackenzie, himself returning soon afterwards +to the Zambesi district. His attentions to the deceased during +the last days of his illness must have materially added to the +latter’s comfort, whose friends have reason to be thankful that he +chanced thus accidentally to have been thrown into the company of +a fellow-countryman at the close of his two years’ wanderings. His +interesting collections, moreover, of natural history, a part of which +he now had with him, might readily have been dispersed, and his goods +plundered, had his death occurred amongst unfriendly natives, with no +one at hand to be responsible for their custody; whilst, as it was, +all these, with his waggon and outfit, and personal effects, were +faithfully delivered by Dr. Bradshaw into the charge of Mr. Mackenzie +at Bamangwato, there to await instructions from his relatives in +England.[63] + +One incident of Dr. Bradshaw’s journey should not be here omitted. It +appears that many miles after they had left the grave, one of Frank +Oates’s pointers--his favourite “Rail”--was found to be missing, +and boys were sent back in search of him. These men sought long and +wandered far in vain, till at length in their pursuit they got back +even to the grave, and there, patiently watching, they found the +devoted creature laid. A little longer, and he must inevitably have +fallen a prey to lions or other wild beasts, but now he was taken +down with his companion to Bamangwato, whence they were subsequently +conveyed to England. And thus it happened that, whilst Frank Oates’s +friends at home were rejoicing at the speedy prospect of his return, +and wholly unsuspicious of the truth, this faithful dog was watching, +the sole mourner, by his grave.[64] + +The very day of Frank Oates’s death his brother William--returned from +his yachting trip to Spitzbergen--sailed from England for South Africa, +to join him, accompanied by Mr. Gilchrist, the gentleman already +mentioned in these pages, whom the brothers had met when they first +reached Durban two years previously, and had afterwards travelled with +in the interior, William Oates having returned with him to England. +The day these two sailed from England--about an hour before the vessel +left--letters were brought to them on board from Frank Oates, which +had only just reached the country, giving a full account of all his +plans, and of his wanderings up to the end of the October previous. +The two friends reached Durban on the 15th of March, and at once +commenced preparations for proceeding up country to meet the returning +traveller. Mr. Selous, who had met Frank Oates at Tamasancha, as +mentioned in the previous chapter, had now come down from the interior, +and reported having seen him early in December, then on his way to the +Zambesi and in perfect health. There was indeed just at this time, as +it happened, a report at Pietermaritzburg that the traveller had died +of fever in the interior, but--as subsequently proved by a comparison +of dates--this report had certainly no foundation in the actual fact, +and was found on enquiry at the time to be unsupported by any reliable +evidence. The preparations already in progress for a speedy start +into the interior, to meet him on his way back, were therefore still +proceeded with, and waggons, oxen, and all the necessary outfit got +ready for the purpose. + +Another week and William Oates and his friend would have started on +their way northwards, when--on the 1st of April, a fortnight only after +their arrival--authentic intelligence reached them of Frank Oates’s +death in the interior. The object of proceeding on the journey was now +therefore completely changed, and, to enable William Oates to return at +once to England and there offer to his bereaved mother such comfort +as he might be able, his friend Mr. Gilchrist, in no common spirit +of self-sacrifice, himself insisted on taking the sad journey alone +into the interior--to bring down thence and convey to England all +the deceased’s effects; to hear such particulars as he could of his +death, for the satisfaction of his friends at home; and if possible--a +service attended with especial difficulties--to visit the grave, and +place over it, to mark the spot, a stone prepared for this purpose in +Pietermaritzburg. + +Gratefully availing himself of this generous offer, William Oates +sailed for England on April 22d, having first seen Mr. Gilchrist +leave Pietermaritzburg with two waggons, on his way up country; a +sort of departure very different from that which either of them had +anticipated. The journey undertaken by Mr. Gilchrist--under any +circumstances a laborious and trying one enough--was rendered doubly +so by the sad object with which he started; nor did he return till +every purpose of the journey had been fulfilled. For not only did he +bring safely to the coast--and subsequently to England--the large +collections of natural history specimens and curiosities, and the notes +and journals of his travels which Frank Oates had made, as well as his +two pointers, “Rail” and “Rock,” but, in spite of the obstacles opposed +to his progress at the Tati, he even proceeded to the spot where the +traveller’s remains had been laid, and on his way back succeeded in +obtaining an interview on the Ramaqueban River with Dr. Bradshaw, from +whom he learnt the few additional particulars of his death which +could be supplied, and which have been embodied in the preceding +narrative.[65] + +For this twofold purpose--of reaching the grave and seeing Dr. +Bradshaw--Mr. Gilchrist, on reaching Bamangwato, had gone on thence +with both his waggons as far as the Tati settlement, where he arrived +on the 18th of July. There he found the same difficulty of proceeding +further which Frank Oates himself had often previously encountered, a +great fear still prevailing amongst the natives of “red water”--the +Natal cattle disease--being brought into their country, and Lobengula +having recently sent strict orders to the kraals on the outskirts of +his territory to keep all waggons from Natal from attempting to cross +their boundaries. Fortunately, however, it happened that the Dutchman, +Piet Jacobs, was now at Tati, who had not only selected the spot for +the late traveller’s grave, but was also intimately acquainted with +the whole of the surrounding district, and who had, besides, a general +permission from the king to enter his country when, and as often as, +he pleased; for keeping, as he did, his oxen standing at Tati, when +he was not out with them in the veldt himself, there was little fear +of his introducing the dreaded disease into the country. With him +therefore, as guide, Mr. Gilchrist was speedily enabled to make a start +northwards; and, on the afternoon of the fifth day from the date of +their leaving Tati, came to the point in the waggon-road where they +had to leave it, in order to go down to the river’s side to reach the +grave. Mr. Gilchrist found it placed about six hundred yards to the +left of the road, in a situation of much natural beauty, surrounded +by low picturesque hills, and with trees of varied growth and foliage +scattered at intervals over the grassy sward. The grave itself, over +which a number of large stones had been placed when it was first made, +was found quite undisturbed, and amongst these Mr. Gilchrist now +inserted at its foot the small white stone, neatly cut, which he had +brought from Pietermaritzburg for the purpose, bearing this simple +inscription--“Frank Oates, F.R.G.S., of Meanwoodside, Leeds, England; +died 5th February 1875, aged 34 years.” Then, the task of friendship +faithfully performed, he returned without delay to England. + +Nor had this journey, painful in its objects and associations, +been entirely free, on Mr. Gilchrist’s part, from privations and +anxieties of a graver kind. Water upon the road had many times been +scarce (on one occasion he was without any for his oxen--twenty-nine +in number--for as much as seventy hours); the season was one of +exceptional heat and drought, and the time occupied on the journey was +unavoidably considerable. + +And here, before concluding, it may be mentioned that at Tati, +Bamangwato, or wherever he met those who had become acquainted with +Frank Oates in this country, Mr. Gilchrist found but one opinion +expressed concerning him. Many were the kindnesses treasured in +men’s minds and now related, which he had rendered to those he had +encountered in his travels; whilst, on the other hand, he had himself +apparently been no less fortunate in the kindly services he had +received from others. Friends had arisen where he least expected +them, beyond the pale of European civilization, from each of whom he +parted in turn with a consciousness of mutual regret. Such was the +way in which he drew all hearts towards him; and after his death, the +good offices of those who loved or esteemed him in his lifetime were +generously placed at the service of his family. Conspicuous amongst +this number stood the Rev. John Mackenzie, of Bamangwato, and Mr. F. +A. Hathorn, of the Standard Bank, Pietermaritzburg, the former of whom +undertook the duties of executor for the arrangement of his affairs in +the interior, whilst a like responsibility was accepted by the latter +for the settlement of matters in Natal. Nor was it only what these +two gentlemen did, but even more the manner of their doing it, which +placed the traveller’s relatives under a lasting sense of obligation to +them, and served not a little to soothe the first bitterness of their +affliction. + +And now this brief history of the efforts and too early extinction of a +devoted life, otherwise it may be conjectured destined to have rendered +no mean service in the extension of scientific knowledge and research, +may be concluded with a few words, written soon after his death by +Mr. Mackenzie to one of his brothers with reference to the position of +his grave. “Lonely the spot, no doubt,” he writes, “is, in a certain +sense; but, in another, your brother’s grave is surrounded by all the +activities of the great Creator and Father of all. Flowers will blossom +around it, though not planted by mortal hand; birds will sing over it, +and never weary in repeating the sweet notes which Nature has taught +them. I have not been there myself, but I have no doubt the naturalist +would not think your brother’s grave a lonely spot; whilst to the +Christian such a spot is the quiet resting-place to which the body sank +when the spirit was called away by God the Father.” + + [Illustration: “RAIL.”] + + + + + APPENDIX. + + I. + + ETHNOLOGY. + + By GEORGE ROLLESTON, M.D., F.R.S. + + Linacre Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the + University of Oxford. + + +The following human bones--viz. four skulls, six lower jaws, four +cervical vertebræ, one large and one small sized scapula, two small +sized and fragmentary humeri, a fragment of a very slight but adult +ulna, four cervical vertebræ, and five more or less fragmentary +ribs--have been put into my hands by Mr. C. G. Oates, with information +to the effect that they had belonged probably to a Bushman horde +massacred somewhere between the Tati and Ramaqueban rivers, in S. lat. +20° 54′, and long. 27° 42′. With these human bones came some bones of +_Equus_ (_caballus_ or _zebra?_); also of one large ruminant (_Bos +taurus_ or _Bos caffer_), and one smaller; and part of the skull of an +ostrich (_Struthio camelus_); and, later, the feet-bones of an elephant +(_Elephas africanus_). All these bones had been collected by my former +pupil, Mr. Frank Oates, of Christ Church, Oxford. The four skulls had +not their lower jaws assigned to them; but to three of them jaws were +assignable, which in all probability had really belonged to them, being +very exactly coadaptable, to say nothing of their having been sent in +company with them and with certain cervical vertebræ. These six lower +jaws are by far the most important bones as regards the question of the +nationality of the entire “find.” If, indeed, these half dozen lower +jaws had been brought to me with no other accompaniments and with no +other information than that they had been all brought from one spot in +Africa, I think I should have been justified in saying that they had +belonged to no other known African race than the Khoi-Khoin, or its +Central African representative, the Akka. For they all six alike show +the following distinctive and eminently significant peculiarities--viz. +lowness of coronoid process, smallness of absolute size, and all but +complete obsolescence of chin. Upon this I have already commented +in _British Barrows_, pp. 706, note 1, 707, 716, _ibique citata_, +comparing these lower jaws with the jaws of certain other confessedly +“priscan” races, which differ from them in little but in being larger +in size. It is, or should be, a commonplace among craniographers that, +whilst the lower jaw is a more important bone for their purposes than +any other single bone of the skeleton, and even than the pelvis itself, +it is often more distinctive, if not more valuable, than at least the +entire _calvaria_. Certainly this is the case with African skulls; +for though it is possible enough, as was long ago pointed out by +Professor Owen (see _Osteological Catalogue, Royal College of Surgeons +of England_, 5385, p. 838, 1853, and for a contradictory statement +Retzius, _Ethnol. Schriften_, 1864, p. 149), and as has recently been +reaffirmed by Dr. Hamy in Paris, to find brachycephalic skulls among +those of undoubted Negro races, and though, as I can aver from my +knowledge of the collections in the Oxford University Museum, it is +by no means always possible to distinguish either such brachycephalic +Negro skulls, or certain other Negro skulls of the dolichocephalic type +more usual amongst such skulls, from Bushman skulls of the respective +proportions, both of which are represented in this latter series, it +is within my knowledge always possible to do this if the skulls under +comparison are in possession of the lower jaws belonging to them. +The Negro’s lower jaw may or may not have the poorly-developed chin +so constant in the lower jaws of the Bushman, and but rarely seen in +the lower jaws of higher races; it may or may not have its anterior +teeth sloping forwards in correlation with a prognathic upper jaw; it +may or may not, I apprehend, though I have not met with such cases, +be as a whole as small and feeble as the jaws of the Bushman have, +with my knowledge, invariably been; but it never has shown, so far +as I know, the low coronoid process, the shallow signoid notch, and +the wide ramus so very commonly, or indeed all but invariably, found +amongst not only the Bushman but the Eskimo race. The existence of +this peculiarity not only in these two races so widely separated in +space, though so nearly on a level in certain linguistic as well +as certain other points of degradation, but also in so many of the +lower jaws of the earliest representatives of our species, gives it +a great morphological importance; and this morphological importance +is not a little enhanced when we consider a second fact, drawn from +a wholly alien line of contemplation, that, namely, which shows us +that teleological adaptation to special needs, or necessities rather, +as to dealing with food, has nothing to do with it. The fact of six +lower jaws all alike exhibiting this striking peculiarity, which may +be shortly described by saying that it resembles the conformation +seen in the Gibbon, whilst the larger anthropoid apes show the +coronoid developed into a prominence which comes much more nearly +into resemblance with that usual in our own species, is to my mind +very strong evidence to the effect that we have here six Bushman jaws +before us. In all of these lower jaws we find the angle roughened and +projecting outwards in correspondence with the insertion of fibres of +the masseter, and thereby giving a greater width to the lower portion +of the face; whilst, internally, the surface below the inferior dental +foramen is remarkably concave, owing in some cases to a general though +slight inversion of the lower portion of the ramus, and in others to a +thinning of the bone in the region between the alveolar process, in +the region of the last molar, and the angle thickened at once by the +insertions of the masseter and of the pterygoid. Of the four skulls +one only fails to find a lower jaw which will in any way admit of +coadaptation to it, and this skull being exaggeratedly dolichocephalous +as well as of much larger size and proportions than the other three, +may very well be supposed to have belonged to one of the attacking and +not to one of the attacked tribe; for I apprehend that in massacres, +at least of Bushmen, the killing is not usually all on one side. The +“reports,” indeed, both of their enemies and of their friends, assure +us that a Bushman at bay is a foe by no means to be despised, and that, +though little, he is fierce. And I can say for those three crania that +their _tout ensemble_, as compared with that of Abantu skulls placed +alongside of them, impresses me with the same kind of feeling which, +after detailed measurements, I have felt in comparing the crania of +Lapps with those of races such as the Finns living close to them. They +appear to me, in fact, to indicate that their owners were of a smaller +race than the owners of the skulls beside them, though the Bushman is +not always a mere dwarf, as is sometimes stated. The feebleness of the +two humeri, and even more notably of the fragment of ulna, and the +small size of the cervical vertebræ, and of one of the two scapulæ +accompanying these bones, tells in the same direction, but does not +prove feebleness of mind. + +For purposes of comparison with these three presumably Bushman crania, +I have had three other crania at hand from the University Museum, of +the genuineness of which there can be little doubt. One of these was +presented to the University Museum by the late and much-lamented Dr. +W. H. J. Bleek, to whose labours[66] in elucidating the language and +rescuing the folklore of the Bushman tribe from perishing we owe so +much. This skull, which was brought to England by Mr. Alfred Hughes of +St. Asaph, bears a label, “Eland’s Bun, nr. Schintpriten,[67] Bushman’s +skull,” and was handed over to me by that gentleman at the desire of +Dr. Bleek. A second skull came into my hands through the kindness of +W. G. Marshall, Esq. of Colney Hatch, having been entrusted to him by +George Dunsterville, Esq., of Port Elizabeth, Algoa Bay, S. Africa, +who was for some years surgeon to the hospital at Port Elizabeth. +This skull, which, like the preceding, belonged to an exceedingly old +man, carries the following labels:--“From the Transvaal, S. African +Republic;” “Of an original Bosjesman, a tribe of small Hottentots, now +nearly extinct; over age; height, 4 ft. 4 in.” The evidence for the +authenticity of the third Bushman cranium which was in the University +Museum previously to the arrival of Mr. Oates’s consignment, is even +more irrefragable. This cranium was procured for the University through +the kindness of H. N. Moseley, Esq., F.R.S., from Mr. Fairclough of +Cape Town, and with the cranium came a knife, a poison-pot, a quiver, +a poisoned arrow, and an ivory wrist-protector which had belonged to +the owner of the skull. This skull belonged to a man past the middle +period of life, and is remarkable for its absolute height, no less +than 5·⅖ in.; which, however, falls short of its absolute width, which +is no less than 5·6 in., by which inferiority the tapeinocephalic or +platycephalic character which Mr. Busk (_Journal Ethn. Soc._, London, +Jan. 1871) insisted upon as existing in Bushman crania, is preserved in +it as well as in the two other crania just specified. + +Retzius, in a paper first published in Swedish in 1856, subsequently +in German in Müller’s _Archiv._ for 1858, and fully republished in the +posthumously issued (1864) _Ethnologische Schriften_, p. 149, after +saying that he had before him only a single skull of a Hottentot, +and the figures which Blumenbach and Sandifort had published of +Hottentot and Bushman crania, declares himself unable to detect any +essential difference between such skulls and those of true Negroes. His +great authority, therefore, should not be quoted to the disfavour of +craniological evidence in this or any other similar question, inasmuch +as he only speaks, and avowedly, from very scanty materials. + +If we begin our comparison of these two sets of crania by a reference +to the great distinction pointed out by Retzius himself, of +brachycephalic from dolichocephalic crania, we have in the first place +to demur to the statement, “In Afrika, fehlt, so viel man bisher weiss, +jede Spur brachycephalischer Bevölkerung.” Against it have to be set +in the first place Professor Owen’s words in the old _Osteological +Catalogue_ 1853, p. 838, 5385, already referred to, and in the second, +Professor Flower’s measurements (as recorded in the new _Catalogue of +the Specimens illustrating the Osteology and Dentition of Vertebrated +Animals_, pt. i. 1879, p. 232, 1238), of the “articulated skeleton of +a Negress, born in the United States of North America, and about 16 +years of age,” who was said, presumably by the donor, Professor L. J. +Sanford of Yale College, “to have presented all the external characters +indicating purity of race,” the cephalic or latitudinal index of the +crania belonging to this skeleton being no less than ·811. But though +this be so, there is no doubt, firstly, that the immense majority of +Negro, and of Caffre and Abantu crania are dolichocephalic, and some +such, for example as the Mozambique skull, casts of which were given +by the late J. South, Esq., F.R.S., to many museums, exaggeratedly so; +and secondly that the cephalic index of the Bushman is considerably +higher on the average than that of the Negro. One of my six Bushman +crania (that named No. 1, Mr. F. Oates, 788e), has a cephalic index +of ·81, being equal to that of the Negro girl just mentioned in the +College of Surgeons’ Museum; and though one of the six has but ·70 for +its cephalic index, still the average of the six is as much as ·75, +and Professor Flower’s six give us an average of ·768 as against one +of ·731 for the circumambient “Zulus and Kaffirs,” and against one of +·736 for “African Negroes of various tribes.” + +The altitudinal index is as significant as, if not more significant +than, the latitudinal; and the tapeinocephalic or platycephalic +character of the Bushman as compared with the two other assemblages +of Africans just mentioned, is expressed by the figures ·716, as +against altitudinal indices for them of ·741 and ·735 respectively. The +average of the altitudinal indices of my six Bushman crania is ·72, the +height exceeding the breadth in two cases only, and in each of them by +one-tenth of an inch only. + +As important a question to ask about a skull as either of the two +relating to the two indices just mentioned, is, to my thinking, the +question, does the cranium when resting, in the absence of its lower +jaw, with the grinding surfaces of its teeth on a flat surface, touch +that surface posteriorly with its occipital condyles, or with its +inferior occipital squamæ? Accordingly as the former or the latter +portions of the occipital bone give support posteriorly to a skull +so placed, is the cranial curvature lesser or greater, and with it +the antero-posterior arc described by the brain it contains. Tried by +this test, first suggested by Prof. Ecker (_Archiv. für Anthrop._, +iv. 1870, p. 288), the six Bushman crania in the museum whence I +write, have four of their number resting on the occipital squamæ, as +opposed to two which show the lesser curvature. I incline to think +that this is a higher average than West Coast Negro crania would show, +but Abantu skulls are very frequently so well developed as to have a +considerable interval left between their occipital condyles and a flat +surface, touching anteriorly the grinding surface of their teeth, and +posteriorly their _conceptacula cerebelli_. + +Another important point given us in that most instructive of _normæ_, +the _norma lateralis_, is that of the junction or non-junction of +the squamous to the frontal. This question is easily answered, as in +no single one of my six Bushman crania does the squamous approximate +itself at all more closely to the frontal than it would do in an equal +number of European crania. Indeed, in all but one of these crania +the alisphenoid is wide from before backwards, as though to furnish +adequate lodgment for the temporo-sphenoidal lobe of the cerebrum, +which, we know, alike from Gratiolet (_Mémoire sur les Plis Cérébraux_, +p. 97), and Professor John Marshall (_Phil. Trans._, MDCCCLXIV, p. +510), to take a large development in the Bushman race.[68] + +I have in the next place to draw attention to a striking qualitative +or morphological peculiarity observable in no less than three out of +my six Bushman crania; this being the presence either of a perfect, +or of a rudimentary division of the malar bone into two distinct +parts. The skull presented by Dr. Bleek presents us with a perfect +rectangular suture, bilaterally symmetrical, as is usually the case +with this suture both when it is and when it is, as here, not, +rudimentary. In the two skulls, 788_e_ and 788_g_, collected +by Mr. Frank Oates, the suture is rudimentary, being represented in +each skull by a bilaterally symmetrical fissure running horizontally +forwards from the zygomatico-malar articulation.[69] When I add to +these observations the fact that similar sutures have not within +my knowledge and research been observed in other African crania of +any of the varieties living on that continent, it will be seen that +the presence of them in these skulls goes a considerable way, when +coupled with other considerations, towards making it pretty certain +that they were of Bushman nationality. Further investigation of the +distribution and non-distribution of this most significant suture +amongst the several typical races of men, lends some additional force +to this argument, and is besides not a little suggestive as to other +views. In the Oxford University collection of crania I have not found +any traces of it amongst 47 Australian, nor amongst our five Tasmanian +crania, nor amongst our Stone age crania, a series well represented +here. The only other race of indisputably pristine and very pristine +habits, in which I have observed it to exist, is the Eskimo, and out of +a large number of such skulls I have only noted it once, in the form +of bilaterally symmetrical fissure. The other skulls which this museum +contains possessing this suture either well or rudimentarily developed, +are six in number. Four are presumably either of the Malay or of the +Chinese race, as two were collected by Captain Elmhirst of the 9th +Regiment, from the sea-shore of an island in the Chinese Seas, out of +a great quantity which were lying about unburied, and were supposed to +have belonged to Chinese pirates, and were finally presented to the +University museum by the Rev. H. Hansell, Fellow of Magdalen College; +as a third was the skull of a female Moro, collected in the mountains +of Sulu, and presented by Captain Chimmo, R.N.; whilst the fourth was +purchased from Mr. Cutter, the dealer in Natural History specimens, +as being a Borneo pirate. The other two are from Ceylon, one being a +Tamil from Central Ceylon, presented by Mr. B. F. Hartshorne, who was +himself for a considerable time resident in the island, and has written +upon its ethnology; the other being a “Malabar.” As the absence of +this suture from the Zulu and Negro series gives additional importance +to its presence in the Bushman, so its absence, which I have noted in +a considerable number of Præaryan skulls, such as those of the Coles +and Moosahurs, procured for me by William Duthoit, Esq., D.C.L., gives +additional importance to its presence in “Malabars,” “Tamils,” Malays, +and Chinese. Of course further research may discover this suture in +other races of mankind; as the matter stands at present I am tempted +to think that there is possibly some significance in its having been +noticed in the Eskimo, the Bushman, in certain races of the Eastern +Archipelago, and in Tamil skulls, as well as in the fact of its having +been found to be absent in certain other skulls also of ancient races, +such as the Kolarian and the Australian.[70] + +The main sutures I think have perhaps something peculiar about them, +this consisting in their being made of denticulations which are complex +but shallow, contrasting thus with the complex but deep denticulations +of well developed European, and the coarse but shallow ones of +Australian, crania. + +The verticality of the forehead observable in so many Bushman, and, +indeed, in so many other African crania, is correlated with the +comparative feebleness, and consequent lightness, of their lower jaws, +which renders it unnecessary[71] that the brain and brain case should +be rotated backwards to counterbalance the facial skeleton and to +maintain the visual axis in a horizontal or semihorizontal plane. + +I have appended to this paper the measurements given by Professor +Flower, in his recently issued (1879) _Catalogue_, of the six +Bushman crania in the College of Surgeons’ Museum, pp. 246, 247, and +also the same measurements, as taken by myself, of the six Bushman +crania in the Oxford University Museum. The very close correspondence +of the two sets of measurements will strike any one who will compare +the columns which give the averages of the two sets. The fact may be +expressed in technical language by saying that both lists coincide +pretty nearly in showing that, as Professor Flower has phrased it +at p. 255, _l.c._, the Bushman cranium is “mesaticephalic,” +“orthognathous” (or, at least, mesognathous, my average being 98, +which is “mesognathous,” as against Professor Flower’s 97·8, which is +just below the limits of mesognathy), “platyrrhine,” “microseme,” and +“microcephalic.” + +By a comparison of my measurements, not with those of Professor +Flower, but with my own records of the history of each skull, an +even more surprising and more important fact, in the way, however, +not of coincidence but of the reverse, is brought to light. The most +aberrant of the six in the matter of measurements is the very skull +about the authenticity of which there is the most perfect certainty. +This is the skull presented by Mr. Fairclough, with which were sent +the articles specified above, as the characteristic of the Bushman +race. But the skull itself is, in almost every important particular, +different from the five other crania here measured with it. Its +circumference and cubical capacity, its length, breadth, and height, +and their indices, its orbital and nasal indices, are all alike +aberrant from the average. It certainly would not have entered into +the head of any craniographer to refer this skull to the Bushman +variety of our species, unless he had been informed of the character +of its accompaniments. A morphological point which might have served +to indicate the character of its owner--I mean the feebleness of the +nasal spine, a shortcoming more or less evident in all, or nearly all, +Bushman crania--does not help us here; for we observe in this skull +that the line of symphysis of the two halves of the upper jaw rises +here anteriorly, as it does sometimes in European jaws, into a raised +double ridge, which, though it slopes gradually into the plane of the +alveolar border, and does not rise into a sharply-defined angular +spine, and so far falls short of the typical “anterior nasal spine,” is +yet a very different thing from the very feebly-developed bifid process +of ordinary Bushmen, and many other African and other savage jaws. + +The question arises, how are we to interpret these facts? We may +explain them by saying that the elasticity and plasticity of the +type is such as to admit of the escape of an exceedingly aberrant +individual, and its homogeneity and plasticity, nevertheless, also +such as to allow of its walls joining again, and restoring the perfect +circumscription which is implied in our speaking of the race as +possessing well-defined limits. Or lovers of logical consistency, who +may not be extensively acquainted with the width over which variability +may extend itself, may prefer to suggest that some kind of error may +attach or have been attached to the identification of this particular +cranium. It is possible, I suppose, that a runaway Caffre, or even an +outcast white man, may have betaken himself to some horde of Bushmen, +and identified himself with their manners and customs, and adopted +their dress and equipment. Such voluntary degradations are known +to have taken place, with the consequence of the refugee becoming +not merely “half a savage,” but rather, as shown by the place and +precedence given to him, “a savage and a half;” or, finally, the owner +of this skull may really have been a cross between a white man and a +female of the Bushman stock. To this last explanation I myself incline. + +As regards the condition of the teeth, the skull presented by Mr. +Fairclough, though referred by me to a man in the middle period of +life, has only some seven or eight teeth, comparatively little worn, +left _in situ;_ the rest have been lost, and traces of two or three +large alveolar abscesses, and great absorption elsewhere of the +alveolar processes are very evident. Alveolar abscesses have similarly +left their traces in the skull presented by Dr. Bleek, in which, +however, the teeth have been very much worn down, though only one or +two have been lost during life. The skull presented by Mr. Dunsterville +had lost all its teeth, save the two central incisors, during life, and +the alveolar processes have suffered a very large amount of absorption +in this senile skull. + +Of the entire series, as the figures giving the length of the +circumference and the cubic capacity show most plainly, we can +predicate smallness; the average of the latter measurement being but +1285 as against 1485 cub. cent. obtained by Professor Flower for the +cubage of seven Caffres and Zulus, and, indeed, as against 1330 from +his measurement of his available Bushman crania. + +With this small capacity is combined, which is by no means always +the case in crania of races low in the scale of human life, a +short basi-cranial axis, with an average length of no more than 93 +millimetres. + +In none of these six skulls is the patency of the frontal suture, +which corresponds very usually to a wide receptacle for the frontal +lobes of the brain, observable. On the other hand, the zygomata do +not come into view, when the skull is held out so as to present its +norma verticalis at arm’s length to one eye of the observer, with the +invariability which might have been expected. In two only of these +six skulls are both zygomata seen at the same time when the skull is +held in this position; in three the zygoma of the left side only is +seen; and in one neither zygoma comes into view. But these skulls, +as is often the case in skulls of flesh-eating savage races, are of +considerable density, and a greater thickness of walls as well as a +greater development of the contents of a skull may prevent it from +being phœnozygous. One other condition indeed, that of considerable +development of the malar arch, which produces phœnozygy, is present in +Bushmen, as in the skulls of other races exposed to the sun and glare, +and other irritants of the eyes; but its working is countervailed +by that of thickness of the cranial walls. All the Bushman skulls +examined by Dr. Fritsch were broad in the sphenoparietal diameter (see +his _Die Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika’s_, 1872, p. 413). With two +exceptions, those constituted by the skull procured by Mr. Fairclough +and that presented by Dr. Bleek, the supraciliary ridges and glabellæ +are comparatively feebly developed. + +The parietal tubera, or the spots on the external surface of the +cranium corresponding to them, are placed far back in all these +crania, and what I have elsewhere spoken of at some length[72] as the +antero-posterior index, is consequently high. The same remark, however, +may be made of Zulu and other Abantu crania. + +It has often been stated that the ears in Bushmen are huge, misshapen, +and outstanding. According, however, to trustworthy accounts of +Professors Marshall and Flower, and Dr. Murie and Professor Wyman +_(Proc. Boston Nat. History Soc._, ix. 1862, p. 56), the small +size of the lobule appears to be the only constant character of this +organ which is distinctive. (See Fritsch, _l.c._, p. 410.) Much +that has been written on the peculiarity known as “steatopyga” in our +own species might have been spared if what the great naturalist Pallas +had written on the similar development called by the same name in one +of the most widely spread varieties of the sheep, had been studied in +the wonderful eleventh Fascicle of his _Spicilegia Zoologia_, +from p. 63 to p. 69. I will quote only a few of the sentences of +Pallas’s account, p. 64:--“In his quidem generalioribus, præsertim +deformatione caudæ et auribus pendulis greges omnes conveniunt quas +Nomades diversarum gentium Asiæ possident. Sed varias a temperie +cœli, pascuis, aliisque causis vel cultura apud varias hasce gentes +mutationes passæ sunt et ad Russos translatæ patiuntur. In Tatariæ +Magnæ desertis occidentalibus, a Volga usque ad Irtin et Altaicum +jugum, pascua maximam partem sunt aridissima, abundant vernalibus +plantis acribus et liliaceis; postea æstate in elatis locis quæ maxime +lanigerum pecus amat præter siccissima gramina, stipas similiaque, +nil nisi artemisias amaras aromaticas, camphorosmam et salsolas succo +et salibus abundantes servant. Ubique simul abundant lacunæ natroso, +culinari, glauberianoque sale efflorescentes, et aquæ in desertis +iisdem raræ plerumque iisdem salibus fœtæ sunt. Quæ quidem omnia ovium +corpulentiæ maxime convenire pastores Europæi quoque norunt. Accedit +vitæ genus et cultura.”... + +Page 67.--“Sequitur ex istis deforme istud pulvinar sive uropygia +quod in locum caudæ apud hanc varietatem ovium successit maximeque +constantem ejus characterem prœbet superfluæ generatione pinguedinis +ortum debere atque in campis salsuginosis Tatariæ occidentalioris +primam patriam habuisse. In genere videmus certas corporis partes, +illas puto præsertim, in quibus lentior sanguinis circulus obtinet, +collectioni pinguedinis in textu cellulose maxime favere.” + +Page 68.--“Orta ilia semel circa caudam collectio pinguedinis, veluti +genialis morbus per generationes sensim adauctus fuit.” + +As regards the distinctiveness of steatopyga, or, in other words, as +regards the reason which by polygenist writers it was supposed to +furnish for considering the Hottentot and Bushman races as specifically +distinct from other human beings, there is no need to refer to the +analogy which the steatopygous sheep suggests. For as Hartmann (_Die +Nigritier_, p. 489, 1876) states, it is found also among Berber and +Negro tribes, such as the Maqwa the Denqa, and the Bonqo, and, it may +be added, that it may be seen figured in the English translation of +Schweinfurth’s _Heart of Africa_, by Ellen E. Frewer, vol. ii. p. +121. + +As against the ethnological significance of the hypertrophy of the +nymphæ, which constitutes the “viel besprochene Hottentotten-Schurze,” +the case is still stronger. For not only may this peculiarity be found +amongst other African races, such as the Berber, Egyptian, and Negro +(according to Hartmann, _l.c._ p. 489), and the Abantu and Sudan +natives (according to Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen_, pp. 282, 283), +where its presence might be reasonably explained by reference to +peculiarities of diet or climate, but it may, according to Hartmann, be +paralleled by observation carried on in the very different surroundings +of North Europe. The words of the last-named authority, whose intimate +acquaintance at once with Africa and Prussia will not be questioned, +are to the following effect: “Die viel besprochene Hottentotten-Schurze +ist für Jemanden welcher fleissig die geburtshülfliche Station oder +den Secirsaal einer grösseren Universität, z. B. Berlin besucht, auch +Berber, Aegypter, und Nigritierfrauen ganz nackt gesehen hat, kein +auszeichnendes Rassenmerkmal mehr.”[73] + +The old view which ascribed a Mongolian origin to the Khoi-Khoin races +is now pretty generally given up. A more important subject would, if I +had space, be furnished me for discussion in the recent discoveries in +Central Africa,[74] which appears to point to the existence of kinship +between the pigmy Akka and Obongo tribes and the Bushman. + +The main points which appeared to former writers to indicate Mongolian +affinities are the yellow as opposed to the black colour of the skin, +the prominence of the cheek bones, and the supposed obliquity of the +opening of the eyelids. This last peculiarity, as Fritsch (_Die +Eingeborenen Süd-Afrika’s_, p. 286) has shown, is due simply to the +disagreeable necessity of keeping the eyelids constantly half-closed, +owing to the glare and, as others have pointed out, the sandflies, to +which these homeless savages are self-exposed. The Swiss Professor, +Schiess-Gemuscus, of Basle, has similarly explained the causation of +snow-blindness (see _Archiv. für Ophthalmologie_, xxv. 3, p. 173), +by reference to the blepharospasmus and conjunctivitis, produced by +the dryness and the glare of the upland snowfield; and I apprehend +that the osseous structures underlying the organs protecting the eye +may be reasonably supposed to undergo some modification in correlation +with the increased demand for work, which “blepharospasmus” expresses +as being thrown upon the muscular structures which they support. Thus +the prominent malar arch and the forwardly projecting outer segments +of the orbit, as seen alike in the Mongolian of the treeless steppe, +in the Eskimo of the snow-desert, and the Bushman of the sun-burnt +South African uplands, may receive a physiological as opposed to a +morphological explanation. But, when we come further to consider the +structure and composition of the various segments of the orbital ring +in these races, we find combined with this physiologically explicable +similarity a very considerable morphological difference. This is +constituted by the conformation of the nasals, which in the Bushman +form invariably an all but level plane between the nasal processes of +the maxillaries, and contribute, being narrow, but a small factor to +the interocular space, which, when the soft parts are _in situ_, +appears disproportionately wide as compared with the same area in other +races. In Mongols, Eskimos, and Australians the nasals very ordinarily +form a more or less elevated arch, and they are not by any means so +narrow as they are almost always in the Bushman race. In this latter +these bones not rarely lose not only their characteristic arch-shape +but also their individuality, and anchylose with each other mesially. +It is, however, right to add that nasals of the Bushman type are not +rarely, though by no means invariably, to be found in Negro and Caffre +crania. + +As regards the yellow hue of the skin, the likeness to the Mongolian +races proper is perhaps less disputable, but with the skin we are +bound to consider the hair, the peculiarities of which, as seen in the +Bushman, are as different from those seen in the Mongolian variety of +mankind as it is possible for two varieties of human hair from the same +area to be. “The thinnest and flattest hair is that of the Bosjesmans, +Papuans, and Negroes; the most cylindrical being that of Polynesians, +Malays, Siamese, Japanese, and Americans. Europeans are between the +two.” Such are the microscopic characters of the hair in the several +great divisions of our species, according to Topinard (“Anthropology;” +translated in _Library of Contemporary Science_ by Dr. Bartley), +and it is needless to contrast the spirally contorted and tufted dark +hair of the Hottentot or Bushman with the coarse wire-drawn straight +black hair of the Mongolian or Eskimo. It is curious, however, if +indeed not otherwise significant, that the Central African “Bushmen,” +if so we may call them, of Ashango, occasionally bury their dead in a +temporarily diverted stream-course, much as was done in the case of +Attila, and, according to Mr. Wood, _l.c._, “in various parts of +the world from the earliest known time.” + +The Bushman race, as is well known, have strong proclivities in the +direction of musical performances. The same, however, may be said of +other priscan races as well as of them and the Mongolian and Kalmuck +tribes,[75] and we cannot therefore lay any weight upon this point of +similarity. + +The custom, however explained, which the Khoi-Khoin races have of +cutting off one or more joints of the little and ring fingers might, +but with no great amount of probability, be taken to point to the +existence of an affinity to races as far dislocated in space as the +inhabitants of certain islands in Oceania, both Papuan and Malay. The +Papuans, according to Sir John Lubbock (_Prehistoric Times_, 1869, +p. 445), cut off the end both of the little toe and the little finger +as a sign of mourning. The Friendly Islanders (Cook’s _Voyages_, +vol. i. 222; Williams’s _Missionary Enterprise_, 547, 548) cut +off one or two joints of their little fingers, and the inhabitants of +Tracy Island, which was colonized from Samoa, do the like, according +to the Rev. S. J. Whitwell (Petermann’s _Mittheilungen_ for +1871, p. 203). One form of the solemnization of matrimony amongst the +Australians consists in the biting off by a woman of a bit of the +little finger of the left hand. I do not know that the fact, deposed +to by F. Müller in his contribution to the _Memoirs on the Voyage of +the Novara_, p. 6, to the effect that Caffre women, when a child +is sick, or when they themselves become widows, have a piece of their +little fingers cut off, need be taken as indicating anything more than +the exceeding contagiousness of bad and foolish customs, of which the +old anthropologist and zoologist Zimmermann (_cit._ “Address to +Biological Section of British Association Meeting at Liverpool,” see +_Report_ for year 1871) spoke so caustically. Several instances +of such adoption and borrowing, on the part of the Abantu tribes, from +the conquered and persecuted Khoi-Khoin, might be adduced, and might be +paralleled, at some distance, by the fact embodied in the two lines of +Horace-- + + “Græcia captu ferum victorem cepit, et artes + Intulit agresti Latio.” + + MEASUREMENTS OF SIX BUSHMAN CRANIA, AS GIVEN BY PROFESSOR + FLOWER, F.R.S., IN CATALOGUE OF SPECIMENS ILLUSTRATING + OSTEOLOGY AND DENTITION, ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF + ENGLAND, 1879, p. 246. + +Part 1 of Table. + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + | NAME OF SKULL. | C. | L.| B.|BI.| H.|HI.|BN.|BA.|AI.| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1300--O.C. 5357}| | | | | | | | | | + |Adult Male. }| 500 |175|134|766|128|731| 91|...|...| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1301. }| | | | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 486 |171|134|784|124|725| 91| 90|989| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1302. }| | | | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 477 |170|130|765|125|735| 90| 87|967| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1303. }| | | | | | | | | | + |Male Bushman, }| | | | | | | | | | + |aged. }| 522 |185|140|757|134|724|103|...|...| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1304. }| | | | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 503 |180|137|761|125|694| 92| 90|978| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |1305 ... | 480 |171|132|772|119|696|...|...|...| + | |[19·2]| | | | | | | | | + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + |Averages... ... | 494 |175|134|767|125|717| 93| 89|978| + +----------------+------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ + +Part 2 of Table. + + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + | NAME OF SKULL. |NH.|NW.|NI.|OW.|OH.|OI.| CA.| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1300--O.C. 5357}| | | | | | | | + |Adult Male. }| 46| 29|630| 38| 29|763|1260| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1301. }| | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 44| 24|545| 37| 32|865|1250| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1302. }| | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 44| 27|604| 38| 31|816|1170| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1303. }| | | | | | | | + |Male Bushman, }| | | | | | | | + |aged. }| 48| 29|604| 40| 30|750|1400| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1304. }| | | | | | | | + |Young Female. }| 43| 25|581| 34| 30|882|1360| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |1305 ... |...|...|...|...|...|...|1075| + | | | | | | | | | + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + |Averages... ... | 45| 26|594| 37| 25|815|1252| + +----------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ + + MEASUREMENTS OF SIX BUSHMAN CRANIA IN OXFORD UNIVERSITY MUSEUM. + +Part 1 of Table. + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | NAME OF SKULL. | C. | L. | B. | BI. | H. | HI. | BN. | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | 788 _d._ }| | | | | | | | + |Mr. F. Oates, No. 1, }| 18·8| 6·5| 5·3| ·81| 4·9| ·75| 3·6| + |Male, c^{a. } 25 æt. }|(475)|(165)|(135)| |(125)| | (93)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + | 788 _e._ }| | | | | | | | + |Mr. F. Oates, No. 2, }| 19·2| 6·9| 4·9| ·70| 5·05| ·71| 3·9| + |Male, middle life }|(485)|(175)|(124)| |(128)| | (94)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |788 _f._ Mr. F. Gates, }| | | | | | | | + |No. 3. Probably }| 18·6| 6·5| 5· | ·73| 5·1| ·78| 3·95| + |female. 25–30 æt. }|(475)|(165)|(125)| |(130)| |(100)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |788 _a._ Dr. Bleek’s }| | | | | | | | + |gift. Aged }| 18·9| 6·6| 5·2| ·77| 4·7| ·70| 3·4| + |Male. }|(480)|(169)|(131)| |(120)| | (86)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |788 _b._ Mr. Dunster-}| | | | | | | | + |villa’s gift. Aged }| 19·4| 6·8| 5·2| ·75| 4·2| ·65| 3·85| + |Male. }|(490)|(173)|(131)| |(113)| | (98)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |788 _c._ Mr. Fair- }| | | | | | | | + |dough’s gift. Male, }| 20·3| 7·1| 5·6| ·78| 5·4| ·76| 3·5| + |middle age. }|(515)|(180)|(142)| |(137)| | (89)| + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + |Averages | 486 | 171 | 131 | ·75| 125| ·72| 93 | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ + +Part 2 of Table. + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + | NAME OF SKULL. | BA. | AI. | NH. | NW. | NI. | OW. | OH. | OI. | CA. | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + | 788 _d._ }| | | | | | | | | | + |Mr. F. Oates, No. 1, }| 3·6| 100 | 1·6| 1· | ·62 | 1·7 | 1·3 | 76 |1142·5| + |Male, c^{a. } 25 æt. }| (93)| | (41)| (25)| |(43) | (33)| | | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + | 788 _e._ }| | | | | | | | | | + |Mr. F. Oates, No. 2, }| 3·8| 97 | 1·8 | 1·5 | ·60 | 1·5 | 1·5 | 100 |1179·8| + |Male, middle life }| (96)| |(46) | (38)| |(38) |(38) | | | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |788 _f._ Mr. F. Gates,}| | | | | | | | | | + |No. 3. Probably }| 3·9| 100| 1·6| 1· | ·62 | 1·45| 1·2 | 82 |1142·5| + |female. 25–30 æt. }| (99)| | (41) (25)| | (37)| (30)| | | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |788 _a._ Dr. Bleek’s }| | | | | | | | | | + |gift. 788 a. Aged }| 3·3| 97| 1·6| 1·0| ·62| 1·5| 1·3| 80 |1106·0| + |Male. }| (83)| | (40)| (24)| | (36)| (33)| | | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |788 _b._ Mr. Dunster-}| | | | | | | | | | + |villa’s gift. Aged }| 3·6| 93 | 1·55| 1·1| ·70| 1·7| 1·25| ·73|1179·8| + |Male. }| (91)| | (39) (28)| | (43)| (32)| | | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |788 _c._ Mr. Fair }| | | | | | | | | | + |dough’s gift. Male, }| 3·6| 102| 1·9| 1·0| ·52| 1·5| 1·4| 91 |1419·5| + |middle age. }| (91)| | (48)| (25)| | (38)| (36)| | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + |Averages | 92 | 98 | 42 | 27 | ·61 | 39 | 33 | 83 | 1285 | + +----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+ + + + + + II. + + ORNITHOLOGY. + + By R. BOWDLER SHARPE, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Etc. + + Senior Assistant, Zoological Department, British Museum. + + (PLATES A, B.) + + +The Collection of Birds made by the late Mr. Frank Oates was formed by +that gentleman with the greatest care, and it is seldom that it falls +to the lot of the naturalist to examine a series of birds in which the +particulars of capture are so carefully noted on each specimen as in +the present instance. For this reason alone, therefore, the collection +is of great importance; but, besides this, it represents without doubt +a very fair idea of the avifauna of the parts of the Transvaal and +Matabele countries through which Mr. Oates travelled. Of the birds of +the former province Mr. Ayres has published several accounts in recent +volumes of the “Ibis,” and in the same journal for 1874, Mr. T. E. +Buckley gave a list of the birds met with by him on his journey through +the Matabele country, where he travelled for some part of the time with +Mr. Oates: but as Mr. Buckley did not get beyond Tati, it has been left +for Mr. Oates to give us the first account of the birds which are to +be met with between that place and the Zambesi. His untimely death was +a great loss to science, for, after his long journey to that river, +he had at last reached a _terra fere incognita_ to the ornithologist, +where there is little doubt that further researches would have crowned +his efforts with the discovery of many new and important facts. The +avifauna of the Zambesi region is almost unknown, Dr. Kirk being the +only naturalist who has written upon the birds, and the species which +he has recorded are sufficiently interesting to arouse our interest in +the further exploration of the locality. As far as one can judge from +the materials at present existing in museums, the birds of the Zambesi +region would appear to have their nearest affinities in those of +South-western Africa, that is, the provinces of Benguela, Mossamedes, +and the Ovampo country to the north of Damara Land. Thus it is that +_Accipiter ovampensis_ of Gurney, discovered in Ovampo Land, is now +known from the Zambesi (_Mus. Brit._), and, on the other hand, the +Zambesi Kestrel (_Cerchneis Dickinsoni_) occurs also in South-western +Africa. Instances of this kind might be multiplied to a greater extent, +but an exact comparison cannot be made until the two regions have been +more thoroughly explored. The Victoria Falls, up to the present time, +constituted the only locality whence the peculiar Babbling-Thrush +(_Pinarornis plumosus_) and Shelley’s Wheatear (_Saxicola Shelleyi_) +have yet been found, but one of these has now been discovered by Mr. +Oates in the Matabele country. Future research may increase the known +range of the other Zambesi birds in a southerly direction, and it seems +unlikely that the Zambesi region possesses a peculiar bird-fauna. + +On its arrival in England Mr. Oates’s collection was placed in the +hands of my friend Captain G. E. Shelley for determination, and the +species were in nearly every case identified by him. My task has +therefore been a very light one. All the field-notes in the following +pages are taken from Mr. Oates’s labels, and I am responsible only +for the remarks placed between brackets “[].” A reference is given +to my new edition of Layard’s _Birds of South Africa_ as far as +published, to the first edition of that work, to my _Catalogue of +African Birds_, and to standard works, such as Finsch and Hartlaub’s +_Vögel Ost-Afrika’s_, Gurney’s edition of Andersson’s _Birds of +Damara Land_, etc. + + The following LIST of LOCALITIES, alluded to in the ensuing + pages, where specimens were obtained by Mr. Oates, will enable + the reader, by a reference to the general map in this volume, to + determine the position of each locality indicated:-- + + Lat. Long. + Bamangwato 23.1 S. 26.45 E. + Bisschop’s Farm, Transvaal 26.7 S. 29.12 E. + Blauw Krans River, Natal 28.55 S. 29.48 E. + Branslow’s Farm, Transvaal 26.4 S. 29.9 E. + Crocodile River 25.34 S. 28.28 E. + Daka River 18.45 S. 25.57 E. + Dry River (Sakasusi) 21.9 S. 28.10 E. + Durban 29.51 S. 31.0 E. + Eland’s River 25.19 S. 28.3 E. + First Makalaka kraal on Zambesi road, + (Wankee’s Kraal) 20.33 S. 27.26 E. + Geruah 19.19 S. 26.30 E. + Gokwe River 22.8 S. 27.36 E. + Gubuleweyo 20.23 S. 28.50 E. + Gwailo River 19.14 S. 29.49 E. + Hendrik’s Vlei 18.57 S. 26.26 E. + Hex River 25.20 S. 28.4 E. + High Veldt, Transvaal 26.35 S. 29.40 E. + Holfontein 24.26 S. 27.46 E. + Hope Fountain 20.22 S. 28.51 E. + Impakwe River 21.4 S. 27.54 E. + Inchlangin 19.42 S. 29.14 E. + Inkwesi River 20.55 S. 28.0 E. + Inquinquesi River 19.42 S. 29.13 E. + Inyati 19.41 S. 29.15 E. + John Scott’s Farm, Transvaal 26.11 S. 29.23 E. + Kaar Kloof Heights, Pietermaritzburg 29.19 S. 30.2 E. + Ladysmith 28.37 S. 29.38 E. + Lion Camp, Crocodile River 24.18 S. 27.48 E. + Makalapsi River 22.58 S. 26.54 E. + Matengwe River 20.24 S. 27.28 E. + Meriko River 24.10 S. 27.30 E. + Metli River 22.55 S. 26.56 E. + Mopani Pan 21.18 S. 27.50 E. + Motloutsi River 21.52 S. 27.41 E. + Nata River 19.53 S. 27.4 E. + Newcastle 27.47 S. 29.50 E. + Palatswe River 22.38 S. 27.16 E. + Pantamatenka River 18.39 S. 25.41 E. + Pietermaritzburg 29.34 S. 30.24 E. + Pilandsberg 25.12 S. 27.35 E. + Pinetown 29.50 S. 30.50 E. + Pretoria 25.42 S. 28.50 E. + Ramaqueban River 21.11 S. 27.52 E. + Retief’s Drift, Vaal River 26.50 S. 29.58 E. + Sand Spruit, Transvaal 27.11 S. 30.18 E. + Second Makalaka kraal on Zambesi road + 20.31 S. 27.26 E. + Semokwe River 21.7 S. 28.17 E. + Seruli River 22.32 S. 27.29 E. + Shashe River 21.34 S. 27.44 E. + Sibanani 19.45 S. 26.58 E. + Sunday’s River, Transvaal 28.21 S. 29.49 E. + Tamasancha 19.32 S. 26.40 E. + Tamasetsie 19.10 S. 26.28 E. + Tati 21.28 S. 27.45 E. + Tchakani Vlei 22.48 S. 27.5 E. + Tibakai’s Pan 18.52 S. 26.18 E. + Touani River 22.52 S. 26.59 E. + Umvungu River 19.21 S. 29.41 E. + Victoria Falls, Zambesi 17.57 S. 25.48 E. + Witfontein 24.28 S. 27.46 E. + + + Order ACCIPITRES. + + Sub-order FALCONES. + + Family VULTURIDÆ. + + 1. OTOGYPS AURICULARIS (Daud.): Sharpe, ed. Layard’s_Birds of + South Africa_, p. 4. Eared Vulture. + +_a_. Shot at dead elephant, near Umvungu River, about the middle +of November 1873. Iris dark hazel; bill pale horn-colour, bluish grey +at base; head and neck livid and red (scabby); legs and feet pale +bluish grey; claws black. + + 2. NEOPHRON PILEATUS (Burch.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 7. Hooded + Vulture. + +_a_. Ramaqueban River, August 6, 1874. Iris dark; bill neutral +tint; head and neck pale dirty blue, tinged with pink on the cheeks; +legs pale dirty blue; claws black. A female, I am nearly sure. + + 3. CIRCUS RANIVORUS (Daud.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 14. South + African Marsh-Harrier. + +_a_. ♂ Near Pretoria, June 22, 1873. Iris bright chrome; legs pale +yellow. Ball of hair in stomach; mouse or rat skin in crop. + + 4. MELIERAX CANORUS (Rislach): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 17. Chanting + Goshawk. + +_a._ ♂ Bush veldt, between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. +Iris bright raw sienna; base of beak orange (?); legs red. Crop and +stomach very full, containing large ants, rat, lizard, etc. + + 5. MELIERAX GABAR (Daud.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 19. Red-faced + Goshawk. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Lion Camp, Crocodile River, July 1873. + +_b._ (juv.) Second Makalaka kraal on Zambesi road, September 3, +1874. Iris deep orange, approaching burnt sienna; bill black, orange +all round the nostril and base; skin round eye pale blue; legs fine +reddish, clouded and spotted with dusky black; claws black. + + 6. ASTUR POLYZONOIDES (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 22. + Many-banded Goshawk. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) First Makalaka kraal on Zambesi road, August 22, +1874. Iris rich deep orange; bill black, pale bluish at base; skin +round base yellow (pale); skin round eye pale bluish, inclining to +yellow; claws black. Lizard in stomach. + +_b._ ♂ Hendrik’s Vlei, December 18, 1874. Iris crimson; bill +black, becoming pale blue just under nostril; cere and gape and skin +round eye yellow; legs orange-yellow; claws black. In stomach large +insects and lizard (?). + +[This pretty little Goshawk is rare in South Africa, but appears to +increase in numbers towards the Zambesi, whence I have recently seen a +series collected by Dr. Bradshaw.] + + 7. BUTEO JACKAL (Daud.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 26. Jackal Buzzard. + +_a._ ♂ Newcastle, June 4, 1873. Iris pale golden hazel. + + 8. MILVUS ÆGYPTIUS (G.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 49. Yellow-billed + Kite. + +_a._ ♂ (testes well developed.) Ramaqueban River, September 17, +1874. Iris bright hazel; bill golden yellow, inclining to horn-colour +on upper and lower mandibles, but bright at the base and nostrils; legs +golden yellow, somewhat dusky; claws black. Lizards in stomach; very +fat. + +_b._ ♂ Tati, October 1874. + + 9. ELANUS CÆRULEUS (Desf.); Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 52. + Black-shouldered Kite. + +_a._ ♂ (?) (imm.) Hex River, July 1873. Iris bright raw sienna. +Mouse or rat in stomach. + +_b._ (adult.) Not labelled. + + 10. FALCO MINOR, Bp.: Sharpe, _t. c._, p. 57. South African + Peregrine Falcon. + +_a._ (adult.) Not labelled. + + 11. FALCO BIARMICUS (Temm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 58, pl. ii. + South African Lanner. + +_a._ ♂ Newcastle, June 3, 1873. Iris very dark. Remains of mouse +or rat, and a great many grasshoppers’ heads, in the stomach. + + 12. CERCHNEIS RUPICOLA (Daud.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 62. South + African Kestrel. + +_a._ ♂ Newcastle, June 3, 1873. Iris very dark. + +_b._ ♀ Newcastle, June 3, 1873. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 13. CERCHNEIS TINNUNCULOIDES (Temm.) _Cerchneis naumanni_, + Sharpe, _t. c._, p. 64. Lesser Kestrel. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Holfontein, November 25, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + + 14. CERCHNEIS AMURENSIS (Radde): Sharpe, _t. + c._ p. 66. Eastern Red-footed Kestrel. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Between Sibanani and Tamasancha, December 9, 1874. +Iris hazel; skin round eye yellow; skin at base of bill orange; bill +dark greyish blue, pale yellow at base, the yellow colour predominating +over the blue on the lower mandible; legs and feet orange; claws pale +dusky orange. In stomach flying ants, which it was catching in the air, +amongst many other birds, when shot. The male, I think, is less, and +more distinctly marked. + +[Dr. Kirk was the first to discover this Kestrel in the Zambesi region, +and there were specimens in Dr. Bradshaw’s collection.] + + + Sub-order STRIGES. + + Family BUBONIDÆ. + + 15. BUBO LACTEUS (Temm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 71. Verreaux’s + Eagle Owl. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Inkwesi River, August 5, 1874. Iris dark (? dark +blue), but much sunk in when I got it; bill very pale blue; claws dusky +black. + + 16. BUBO MACULOSUS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 73. Spotted + Eagle Owl. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 17. SCOPS LEUCOTIS (Temm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 74. White-faced + Scops Owl. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Near Umvungu River, November 3, 1873. Native name, +“Secova.” Iris deep orange. Ova size of mustard seed. Remains of small +rat in stomach. Sitting on nest, made, I think, in an old one, as there +were many similar ones, as of a colony of birds, in the trees about. +Three well-grown young ones in nest, very fierce, as was the old one. + + 18. GLAUCIDIUM PERLATUM (Vieill.): Sharpe, _Cat. B._ ii. p. + 209. _Carine perlata_, Sharpe, ed. Layard, p. 77. African + Pearl-spotted Owlet. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, August 29, 1873. Iris chrome yellow. + +_b._ ♂ Tati, October 10, 1874. Iris bright yellow; bill whitish. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 19. ASIO CAPENSIS (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 78. African + Short-eared Owl. + +_a._ Pietermaritzburg, about the beginning of May 1873. Iris dark +brown. + +_b._ ♂ Marsh near Newcastle, June 1, 1873. Iris deep orange. I +saw several of these Owls whilst snipe-shooting. Another shot was much +softer in plumage, like a young bird. + + + Family STRIGIDÆ. + + 20. STRIX CAPENSIS, (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 81. South + African Grass-owl. + +_a._ Sand Spruit, Transvaal, June 8, 1873. Iris very dark. + + 21. STRIX FLAMMEA, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 82. Barn Owl. + +_a._ ♀ (old bird probably). Tati, September 18, 1874. Iris very +dark hazel; bill pale flesh-colour. + +_b._ ♀ (?. Tati, September 18, 1874. Very fat. Iris very dark +hazel; bill pale flesh-colour; feet whitish; claws black. + +_c._ ♂ (?) (undeveloped). Tati, October 3, 1874. Remains of rat in +stomach. + + + Order PICARIÆ. + + Family CAPRIMULGIDÆ. + + 22. CAPRIMULGUS EUROPÆUS, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 83. European + Nightjar. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 23. CAPRIMULGUS RUFIGENIS, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 85. + Rusous-cheeked Nightjar. + +_a._ ♀ Semokwe River, September 24, 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Semokwe River, October 1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ ♀ Tati, March 21, 1874. + +_d_. ♀ Tati, October 1, 1874. Iris hazel; legs pale brown. + +_e_. ♀ Tati, October 1874. + + 24. CAPRIMULGUS MOSSAMBICUS, Peters: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 88. + Mozambique Nightjar. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, March 21, 1874. Iris dark hazel. Stomach very full of +beetles, moths, and other insects. + +_b._ Not labelled. + + 25. COSMETORNIS VEXILLARIUS (Gould): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 89. + Standard-winged Nightjar. + +_a._ ♂ (juv.) Victoria Falls, Zambesi, January 2, 1875. Iris dark +hazel; upper mandible and tip of lower one dusky, the base of the +latter flesh-colour; legs dirty flesh-colour. Large winged ants and +large beetle in stomach. + + + Family CYPSELIDÆ. + + 26. CYPSELUS APUS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 90. Common Swift. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Between Sibanani and Tamasancha, December 9, 1874. +Iris hazel; bill black; legs and feet dirty flesh-colour, dusky towards +the tips and on the claws. Flying ants in stomach. + + + Family MEROPIDÆ. + + 27. MEROPS APIASTER, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 96. European + Bee-eater. + +_a._ ♂ Crocodile River, November 15, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_b._ ♀ (juv.) Inchlangin, about the beginning of December 1873. +Iris pale crimson. + +_c_. ♀ (?) Hendrik’s Vlei, December 18, 1874. Iris crimson; bill +black; legs brown; claws whitish. + + 28. MEROPS SUPERCILIOSUS, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 97. + Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Hendrik’s Vlei, December 18, 1874. Iris crimson; bill +black; legs brown; claws whitish. In stomach large flying insects (? +dragon-flies). + + 29. MEROPS NUBICOIDES, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 99, pl. iv. + fig. 2. Carmine-throated Bee-eater. + +_a._ Daka River, January 20, 1875. Iris dark hazel; bill black; +legs neutral tint, marked with greyish white; claws dusky. Beetles, +etc., in stomach. + +_b._ ♂ Geruah, January 24, 1875. Iris dark hazel; bill black; +feet, legs, and claws, dark neutral tint; legs and feet covered with +whitish scales. Beetles, wasps, etc., in stomach. + + 30. MEROPS BULLOCKOIDES, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 99, pl. iv. + fig. 1. White-fronted Bee-eater. + +_a._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Crocodile River, November 9, 1873. Iris hazel. + + 31. MEROPS PUSILLUS, P. L. S. Müll.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 100. + Little Bee-eater. + +_a._ Tati, March 24, 1874. Iris crimson; bill, legs, and claws +black. Stomach not at all muscular, containing remains of insects like +beetles. + +_b._ Tati, March 24, 1874. Soft parts as above. Stomach contained +winged insects. + +_c_. Tati, March 24, 1874. + +_d_. ♂ (?) Tati, March 26, 1874. Iris crimson. Stomach contained +remains of insects--winged, I think. + + 32. DICROCERCUS HIRUNDINACEUS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 101. + Swallow-tailed Bee-eater. + +_a._ ♂ Near the Pantamatenka River, January 12, 1875. Iris +crimson; bill black; legs dark neutral tint; claws black. Flying +insects in stomach. + + + Family CORACIIDÆ. + + 33. CORACIAS GARRULA, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 102. European + Roller. + +_a._ ♀ (adult.) Tati, March 26, 1874. Extremely fat. Iris hazel, +darker round pupil, then light. + +_b._ Tati, March 28, 1874. Sex undeterminable, the bird being +apparently young. Very fat, as was the hen bird skinned before. Stomach +full of huge grasshoppers. + + 34. CORACIAS NÆVIA, Daud.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 103. White-naped + Roller. + +_a._ ♀ (I believe.) First Makalaka kraal on Zambesi road, August +24, 1874. Iris pale hazel (a dark ring round the pupil?); legs dull +orange, inclining to olive; bill and claws black. Grasshoppers or +locusts in stomach. + +_b._ ♂ Second Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, September 9, 1874. +Iris hazel, dark round pupil, then pale; legs pale greenish orange. +Stomach contained remains of beetles. + + 35. CORACIAS CAUDATA, Vieill.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 104. + Lilac-breasted Roller. + +_a._ ♂ Holfontein, November 25, 1873. Iris light hazel. + +_b._ ♂ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 18, 1874. Iris +deep hazel round the pupil, outside this very pale; legs olive; claws +and bill black. Stomach very large, but not muscular, containing a +snake about a foot long, and remains of grasshoppers. Head very large +for size of bird. + +_c._ ♂ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 24, 1874. Iris +hazel; bill and claws black; legs pale dirty orange with an olive +tinge. Lizard and grasshoppers or locusts in stomach. + +_d._ ♀ Between the Pantamatenka River and Zambesi, January 11, +1875. Iris hazel; bill black; legs pale greenish orange; claws black. +In stomach centipedes (?). + +_e._ ♀ Geruah, January 24, 1875. Iris hazel; bill black; legs +yellowish blue; claws blue. Soft ants in stomach. + +_f._ Not labelled. + + 36. EURYSTOMUS AFER (Lath.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 106. Cinnamon + Roller. + +_a._ ♂ Near Umvungu River, November 3, 1873. Native name +“Tchegala.” Iris hazel, not dark; bill bright yellow. Stomach muscular, +containing remains of beetles. + + + Family ALCEDINIDÆ. + + 37. CORYTHORNIS CYANOSTIGMA (Rüpp.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 108. + Malachite-crested Kingfisher. + +_a._ Sibanani, December 11, 1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs +vermilion. + + 38. CERYLE RUDIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 110. Pied Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♂ Meriko River, November 17, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_b._ ♂ High Veldt, Transvaal, December 7, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + + 39. CERYLE MAXIMA (Pall.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 111. Great African + Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♀ Matengwe River, December 2, 1874. Iris hazel; bill dark +slate-colour; legs slate-colour. + + 40. HALCYON SEMICÆRULEA (Forsk.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 114. + African White-headed Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♀ (?) Geruah, December 15, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill +orange-red, black at tip and base; legs and feet dark purplish-brown, +orange at back of legs and on soles. + + 41. HALCYON ALBIVENTRIS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 115. Brown + hooded Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Crocodile River, July 1873. Beetles and grasshoppers in +stomach. + + 42. HALCYON CHELICUTENSIS (Stanl.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 117. + Striped Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♂ Crocodile River, July 1873. Stomach contained grasshoppers. + +_b._ ♀ Crocodile River, July 1873. Beetles and grasshoppers in +stomach. + + 43. HALCYON CYANOLEUCA (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 120. Angola + Kingfisher. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 15, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Nata River, December 5, 1874. Makalaka name “Gogoda.” Iris +hazel; upper mandible deep carnation, black at tip and gape; under +mandible black; legs black. Stomach empty, but for a few remains of +insects. This species has a twittering cry; they say it stays in the +mopani. + +_c_. ♂ Nata River, December 6, 1874. Iris hazel; upper mandible +deep carnation, black at tip and gape; lower mandible and legs black. + +_d_. ♂ Nata River, December 6, 1874. Iris hazel. + + + Family BUCEROTIDÆ. + + 44. TOCKUS FLAVIROSTRIS (Rüpp.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 130. + Yellow-billed Hornbill. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ _c._ ♀ Near Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris very pale +ochre. Flying ants in stomach. + +_d._ ♀ (juv.) Motloutsi River, August 24, 1873. Iris ochreous. + + 45. TOCKUS NASUTUS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 133. African Grey + Hornbill. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + + Family UPUPIDÆ. + + 46. UPUPA AFRICANA, Bechst.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 134. South + African Hoopoe. + +_a._ ♀ Between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. Iris hazel (?). +In stomach, a tick and seeds. + + 47. IRRISOR ERYTHRORHYNCHUS (Lath.) Red-billed Wood-Hoopoe. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 1873. Iris hazel. + +_c_. ♀ (?) Tati, June 26, 1874. Shot out of three by Cornelis, +who saw them hopping about oddly on the road. Iris dark hazel; bill +and legs bright orange-red; claws black. Stomach containing large +chrysalides and a grasshopper. + +_d_. ♀ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 30, 1874. +Iris dark hazel; bill and legs vermilion, the latter less bright and +inclining to orange; claws black. Stomach small and not muscular, +containing remains of small insects and large grubs. This bird has a +peculiar chattering note, often repeated. There were three or four of +them when this was shot, climbing about on tree trunks like Creepers. + + 48. RHINOPOMASTES CYANOMELAS (Vieill.) Scimitar-billed + Wood-Hoopoe. + +_a._ ♂ Near Metli River, August 10, 1873. Iris hazel. Stomach large, +containing flying ants and large insects. + +_b._ ♂ Seruli River, October 18, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ ♂ Palatswe River, October 20, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, October 1874. + +_e._ Not labelled. + + + Family MUSOPHAGIDÆ. + + 49. SCHIZŒRHIS CONCOLOR, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 144. Grey + Plantain-eater. + +_a._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris deep grey. + +_b._ ♂ Transvaal, December 1873. Iris hazel. + + + Family COLIIDÆ. + + 50. COLIUS STRIATUS, Lath.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 12. South + African Coly. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 51. COLIUS ERYTHROMELON, Vieill.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 12. + Quiriva Coly. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Makalapsi River, August 8, 1873. Iris dark; bill black; +base and skin round eyes madder; claws madder. + + + Family CUCULIDÆ. + + 52. CUCULUS CLAMOSUS, Cuv.: Sharpe, ed. Layard, p. 150. Black + Cuckoo. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 9, 1873. Iris light hazel. + + 53. CUCULUS CUPREUS, Boddaert. _Chrysococcyx cupreus_, Sharpe, + _t. c._ p. 153. Golden Cuckoo. + +_a._ ♂ Crocodile River, November 8, 1873. Iris scarlet. + +_b._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 9, 1873. Iris light brown. + + 54. COCCYSTES CAFER (Licht.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 158. Le + Vaillant’s Cuckoo. + +_a._ Crocodile River, November 14, 1873. Iris light hazel. + +_b._ ♀ (?) Tati, October 17, 1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs black. + + 55. CENTROPUS SENEGALENSIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 162. + Lark-heeled Cuckoo. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, August 28, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_b._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, September 4, 1873. + + 56. CENTROPUS SUPERCILIOSUS (H. and E.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 163. + White-eyebrowed Lark-heeled Cuckoo. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris crimson. + + + Family INDICATORIDÆ. + + 57. INDICATOR SPARMANNI (Steph.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 166. + White-eared Honey-guide. + +_a._ ♀ Holfontein, July 1873. Iris light brownish hazel. + +_b, c._ Not labelled. + + + Family CAPITONIDÆ. + + 58. POGONORHYNCHUS LEUCOMELAS (Bodd.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 173. + Pied Barbet. + +_a._ ♀ Pretoria, July 24, 1873. Iris very dark. Stomach large, thin, +and full of fruit; a good deal of flesh about the head. + +_b._ ♀ Pretoria, July 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_c._ Tati, October 6, 1874. Bill and legs black. + + 59. TRACHYPHONUS CAFER (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 178. Le + Vaillant’s Barbet. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris red. + +_b._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 15, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_c._ ♂ Crocodile River, November 30, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_d._ Not labelled. + + + Family PICIDÆ. + + 60. CAMPETHERA BENNETTI, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 181. + Bennett’s Woodpecker. + +_a._ Second Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, September 7, 1874. Iris +lake; bill blackish slate-colour; legs and claws slate-colour, inclined +to olive. + + 61. CAMPETHERA ABINGTONI, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 182. + Golden-tailed Woodpecker. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 62. CAMPETHERA SMITHII, Malh.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 184. Smith’s + Woodpecker. + +_a._ Tati, October 6, 1874. Bill dusky slate-colour; legs pale +whitish olive. + +_b, c._ Not labelled. + + 63. DENDROPICUS NAMAQUUS (Licht.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 188. + Bearded Woodpecker. + +_a._ ♂ Motloutsi River, August 23, 1873. Iris crimson lake. + +_b._ ♀ Ramaqueban River, July 30, 1874. Iris lake; bill slate-colour; +legs dark greenish slate-colour; claws dark. Stomach containing large +caterpillars. + +_c._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, August 2, 1874. Iris lake; bill slate-colour; +legs dark greenish slate-colour; claws black. Stomach containing large +caterpillars. + + 64. DENDROPICUS CARDINALIS (Gm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 190. + Cardinal Woodpecker. + +_a._ ♂ Between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. Iris deep +crimson. + +_b._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, September 4, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_c._ ♀ Tati, October 7, 1874. Iris red (?); bill and legs dark +slate-colour (?). + + 65. IYNX PECTORALIS (Vigors): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 191. + Red-breasted Wryneck. + +_a._ Blauw Krans River, Natal, May 22, 1873. Iris red-brown; legs +pale greenish grey. + + + Family PSITTACIDÆ. + + 66. PSITTACUS ROBUSTUS, Gm.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 194. Le + Vaillant’s Parrot. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 67. PSITTACUS MEYERI (Rüpp.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 195. Meyer’s + Parrot. + +_a._ Witfontein, July 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Holfontein, July 1873. Iris very light hazel. (Another ♂ +shot, brighter in plumage, had the iris hazel round pupil, then burnt +sienna.) + +_c._ ♀ Second Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, September 4, 1874. +Iris hazel round pupil, then orange; bill blackish slate-colour; legs +and claws dusky black. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, October 7, 1874. Bill and legs dark slate-colour. + +_e._ ♀ Tati, October 9, 1874. Bill and legs dark slate-colour. +Seeds in stomach. + + + Order PASSERIFORMES. + + + Family TURDIDÆ. + + 68. TURDUS LITSITSIRUPA, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 198, South + African Thrush. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Pair of thrushes shot together near Eland’s River, July +1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ ♀ (Ovary very rudimentary). Tati, March 19, 1874. Iris dark hazel; +upper mandible dusky black, under one orange; legs flesh-colour. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, October 1874. + + 69. MYRMECOCICHLA FORMICIVORA (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 231. + Southern Ant-eating Wheatear. + +_a_, _b._ ♂ Near Newcastle, May 30, 1873. Iris hazel. Stomach very +muscular, containing seeds and beetles. Found perching on ant-hills, +from which it rises with a hovering flight, something like a Skylark. + + 70. SAXICOLA GALTONI (Strickl. and Sclater): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. + 234. Familiar Chat. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Ladysmith, May 25, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Inyati, October 2, 1873. Iris rich hazel-brown. Native name +“Envachli.” + + 71. SAXICOLA PILEATA (Gm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 238. Capped + Wheatear. + +_a._ Pietermaritzburg, about the beginning of May 1873. + +_b._ ♂, _c._ ♀ John Scott’s Farm, Transvaal, June 19, 1873. Iris dark +hazel. + + 72. SAXICOLA SHELLEYI: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 246. Shelley’s + Wheatear. (Plate A.) + +_a._ Ramaqueban River, a few miles above the drift, on the way +to Gubuleweyo, June 24, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill, legs, and claws +black. Gravel and beetles in stomach. This bird seems to have a habit +of climbing about in trees. + +_b._ (♀ probably, on account of the very bare breast.) Near +Sibanani, December 8, 1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs black. + +[This fine species was hitherto known from a pair of birds only, which +were purchased a few years back from a dealer by the British Museum, +and were stated to have come from the Victoria Falls. Mr. Oates has now +established the Zambesi region to be the habitat of the species, and +has also procured it 300 miles off the place whence the first specimens +were obtained. The occurrence of Shelley’s Wheatear so far south as the +Ramaqueban River is very interesting, as we may now expect that it will +be found still farther to the southwards.] + + 73. SAXICOLA LEUCOMELÆNA, Burchell: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 247. + Burchell’s Wheatear. + +_a._ Desolate part of High Veldt; found on walls round corn and +peach fields, June 15, 1873. Iris hazel. Beetles in stomach. + + 74. MONTICOLA EXPLORATOR (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 220. + Sentinel Rock-Thrush. + +_a._ Kaar Kloof Heights, near Pietermaritzburg, May 19, 1873. Iris +hazel. + + + Family TIMELIIDÆ. + + + Sub-family PYCNONOTINÆ. + + 75. PHYLLOSTROPHUS CAPENSIS, Sw.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 203. Cape + Bristle-necked Thrush. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 76. PYCNONOTUS LAYARDI Gurney: _Ibis_, 1879, p. 390. Layard’s + Bulbul. + +_a._ Durban, April 23, 1873. Iris bright hazel. + +_b._ ♀ (probably.) Between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. +Iris hazel. Fruit and seeds in stomach. + + 77. PYCNONOTUS NIGRICANS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. + 23. Le Vaillant’s Bulbul. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile, July 1873. Iris deep crimson; skin round eye +orange. Large seeds in stomach. + + + Sub-family TIMELIINÆ. + + 78. CRATEROPUS BICOLOR, Jard.: Sharpe, ed. Layard, p. 210. Pied + Babbling Thrush. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, October 2, 1874. Iris bright orange; bill and legs +black. + +_b._ ♀ Tati, October 7, 1874. Iris bright orange; bill and legs +black. + +_c._ ♂ (?) Tati, October 1874. + + 79. CRATEROPUS JARDINII, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 212. + Jardine’s Babbling Thrush. + +_a._ ♀ Inkwesi River, October 8, 1873. Iris orange, with crimson +rim. + +_b._ ♀ Meriko River, November 18, 1873. Iris orange, with crimson +rim. + +_c._ ♀ Tati, October 3, 1874. Iris orange, with outer ring of +crimson. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, October 9, 1874. Iris orange, surrounded by crimson ring; +bill black; legs dark slate-colour. Stomach muscular, containing +insects. + + 80. COSSYPHA NATALENSIS (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 223. Natal + Chat-Thrush. + +_a._ Durban, April 23, 1873. Iris bright hazel (?). + + 81. AEDON LEUCOPHRYS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 252. + White-eyebrowed Warbler. + +_a._ ♂ Transvaal, November 1873. Iris hazel. + + 82. CISTICOLA CURVIROSTRIS (Sund.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 263. + Brown Fantail Warbler. + +_a._ Tibakai’s Pan, January 21, 1875. Iris pale red-brown; upper +mandible of bill dusky, lower one bluish white; legs flesh-colour; +claws dusky. + + 83. CISTICOLA TINNIENS (Licht.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 265. Le + Vaillant’s Fantail Warbler. + +_a._ Marsh near Newcastle, June 1, 1873. Common in marsh. + + 84. CISTICOLA CHINIANA (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 268. Larger + Grey-backed Fantail Warbler. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Tati, March 23, 1874. Native name, “Ynete.” Iris pale +hazel-brown; upper mandible dusky, under one and legs flesh-colour. + +_b._ ♀ (slightly developed). Tati, March 23, 1874. Iris (I think) +tawny red; upper mandible dusky black, under one dusky orange; legs +yellowish flesh-colour; thighs very fleshy--these, as well as the +belly, very bare of feathers. Stomach containing grubs and other +insects. + +_c._ ♂ (well developed). Tati, March 24, 1874. Iris pale +red-brown; upper mandible dusky black, under one dusky orange; legs +yellowish flesh-colour; thighs very fleshy. Stomach somewhat muscular, +containing remains of insects. + +_d._ Between Sibanani and Tamasancha, December 9, 1874. Iris pale +reddish brown; upper mandible dusky, under one dirty flesh-colour; legs +brownish flesh-colour. + + 85. CISTICOLA ABERRANS (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 271. Smith’s + Fantail Warbler. + +_a._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris lake. + + 86. CISTICOLA CURSITANS (Frankl.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 275. + Common Fantail Warbler. + +_a._ Near Newcastle (?) about the end of May 1873. Iris very pale. +Stomach of this and the reed species contained remains of beetles. + + 87. BRADYPTERUS GRACILIROSTRIS, Sund.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 287. + White-breasted Reed-Warbler. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 88. SYLVIETTA RUFESCENS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 303. + Short-tailed Bush-Warbler. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Tati, October 13, 1874. Iris pale burnt sienna; bill +dusky, dirty flesh-colour at base (?); legs pale red-brown. Stomach +rather muscular, containing large grubs. + + + Family NECTARINIIDÆ. + + 89. NECTARINIA FAMOSA (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 306. Malachite + Sun-bird. + +_a._ Natal, 1873. + + 90. CINNYRIS GUTTURALIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 311. + Scarlet-chested Sun-bird. + +_a._ Semokwe River, September 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Impakwe River, February 12, 1874. Native name, “Bola-la-maholi.” +Iris dark hazel. Stomach very thin, containing remains of good-sized +insects, some spiders amongst them. Shot creeping amongst tall-stalked +flowers. + +_c._ (Sex doubtful.) Tati, March 21, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill, +legs, and claws black. Stomach not at all muscular, containing remains +of soft insects. + +_d._ Not labelled. + + 91. CINNYRIS AFER (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 313. Greater + Double-collared Sun-bird. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris dark +hazel. Stomach very small, not muscular, apparently containing insects; +no gravel. + + 92. CINNYRIS MARIQUENSIS (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 319. + Southern Bifasciated Sun-bird. + +_a._ Makalapsi River, August 7, 1873. Iris dark brown. + +_b._ Inkwesi River, October 1873. + +_c, d, e, f._ Not labelled. + + + Family PARIDÆ. + + 93. PARUS AFER, Gm.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 329. South African + Titmouse. + +_a._ ♂ Inyati, September 27, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Semokwe River, October 1873. Iris burnt sienna. + + 94. PARUS NIGER, Vieill.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 331. Southern + Black-and-white Titmouse. + +_a._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, September 4, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♀ (?) Ramaqueban River, June 12, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill, +legs, and claws black. Stomach containing sand and insects. + +_c._ ♂ (?) Tati, October 13, 1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs black. + + + Family MUSCICAPIDÆ. + + 95. PRATINCOLA TORQUATA (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 250. South + African Stone-chat. + +_a._ ♂ Durban, April 23, 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Pietermaritzburg, May 2, 1873. + +_c._ ♀ Near Newcastle, May 31, 1873. Iris very dark hazel. + +_d._ ♂ (well developed). Tati, October 15, 1874. Iris hazel. + +_e._ ♀ Tati, October 15, 1874. Iris hazel. + +_f._ ♀ (?) (young bird in pen). Tati, October 15, 1874. Iris +hazel. Don’t remember to have seen this species here before. Is it just +arrived, or merely passing as a bird of passage from the south? + + 96. PARISOMA SUBCÆRULEUM (Gm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 332. + Red-crested Fly-catcher. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Ladysmith, May 25, 1873. Iris pale grey, nearly white. + +_b._ ♀ (?) Tati, September 24, 1874. Iris very pale straw-colour; bill +and legs black. + +_c._ ♂ Tati, October 3, 1874. Iris pale straw-colour. Singing a +short sweet note, and moving about amongst the bushes after the manner +of a Willow-wren, looking for insects. + + 97. BATIS MOLITOR (Hahn and Küst.): Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iv. p. + 137. Eastern Yellow-eyed Fly-catcher. + +_a._ ♂ Dry River, October 1873. Iris golden yellow. + +_b._ Mopani Pan, near Ramaqueban River, June 25, 1874. Iris bright +yellow; legs and claws black. + +_c._ ♀ Tati, October 16, 1874. Iris yellow; bill and legs +black. Stomach muscular, containing remains of large insects like +grasshoppers; also green shoots (?). + +_d._ Not labelled. + + 98. TERPSIPHONE PERSPICILLATA (Sw.): Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iv. p. + 357. South African Paradise Fly-catcher. + +_a._ ♂ (highly developed). Tati, October 4, 1874. Bill dark +cobalt. Insects in stomach. + + + Family HIRUNDINIDÆ. + + 99. HIRUNDO PUELLA, Temm.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 47. + Smaller Striped-breasted Swallow. + +_a._ Tati, October 4, 1874. Iris hazel. Sex indistinguishable, +but Thomson had similar specimens, which were females and +well-developed males. A similar one shot by me was a male, and well +developed. + +_b._ Tati, October 5, 1874. Iris hazel. + + 100. HIRUNDO CUCULLATA, Bodd.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 46. + Large Striped-breasted Swallow. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, October 4, 1874. Iris hazel. + + 101. HIRUNDO RUSTICA, L.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 45. Common + Swallow. + +_a, b, c._ ♂ Tati, October 17, 1874. Cold, wet day, after very hot +weather. These birds came into the houses and were easily caught. The +other species seem to have gone away; these have been here about a week. + + 102. HIRUNDO SEMIRUFA, Sund.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 45. + Red-breasted Swallow. + +_a._ Inchlangin, about the beginning of December 1873. Iris dark hazel. +Many small beetles in stomach. Another I shot was either a young one or +in moult. + +_b._ ♀ Tati, October 4, 1874. Iris hazel. + + + Family LANIIDÆ. + + 103. DRYOSCOPUS BOULBOUL (Lath.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 48. + South African Puff-backed Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel. + + 104. DRYOSCOPUS CUBLA (Lath.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 48. + Pied Puff-backed Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, August 28, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_b, c._ Not labelled. + + 105. LANIARIUS BAKBAKIRI (Vieill): Layard’s _B. S. Afr._, p. + 161. Bakbakiri Bush-Shrike. + +_a, b._ ♂ Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris dark grey. +Remains of beetles and seeds in stomach. + +_c._ ♂ Ladysmith, May 25, 1873. Iris dark grey. + + 106. LANIARIUS SULPHUREIPECTUS (Less.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._ + p. 49. Yellow-breasted Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ ♂ Motloutsi River, October 15, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + + 107. LANIARIUS ATROCOCCINEUS (Burch.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, + p. 49. Crimson-breasted Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris, outside violet, inside +crimson. + +_b, c._ ♂ Near Eland’s River, July 1873. Iris, outside violet, +inside crimson. Insects, beetles, and grasshoppers in stomach. + +_d._ Makalapsi River, August 8, 1873. Iris violet and crimson. + +_e._ ♂ Tati, September 2, 1873. Iris neutral tint. + +_f._ ♂ Tati, October 2, 1874. Iris slate-colour; bill and legs black. +Insects (principally beetles) in stomach. + +_g._ ♂ Tati, October 21, 1874. Iris slate-colour; bill and legs black. + + 108. LANIARIUS SENEGALUS (L.): Red-winged Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ Second Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, September 3, 1874. Iris +hazel; bill black, base of upper and a good deal of base of under +mandible bright slate-colour; legs pale slate-colour; claws rather +darker. + +_b._ ♀ Pantamatenka River, January 18, 1875. Iris dark hazel; bill +black; legs pale slaty blue; claws dusky. + + 109. LANIARIUS TRIVIRGATUS (Smith): Gurney in Anderss. _B. Dam. + Ld._, p. 151. Three-streaked Bush-Shrike. + +_a._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♀ Near Metli River, August 10, 1873. Iris dusky hazel. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 110. LANIUS MINOR, Gm.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 51. Lesser + Grey Shrike. + +_a, b._ ♂ Tati River, where Makalaka road leaves it, going north, +November 19, 1874. Iris hazel; bill lilac, tinged on top of upper and +end of lower mandible with black; legs dark brown. Beetles in stomach. + + 111. LANIUS COLLARIS, Gm.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 51. + Collared Shrike. + +_a._ ♂ Durban, April 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♀ Pietermaritzburg, May 2, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_c._ ♀ (?) Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris dark hazel. +Stomach full of remains of beetles; no gravel. + + 112. LANIUS COLLURIO, L.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 50. + Red-backed Shrike. + +_a._ ♀ Meriko River, November 18, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♂ (slightly developed). Tati, March 21, 1874. Iris dark +hazel; bill deep violet, pale at base; legs black. + +_c._ ♀ (?) Tati, March 21, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill dusky +lilac; legs and claws black. + +_d._ ♂ (?) Sibanani, December 11, 1874. Iris hazel; bill dark +slate-colour, violet at base; legs blackish slate-colour. + +_e, f._ Not labelled. + + 113. UROLESTES MELANOLEUCUS (Jard.): Gurney in Anderss. _B. Dam. + Ld._, p. 130. Black-and-white Long-tailed Shrike. + +_a, b._ ♂ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel (?). Large ants +in stomach. + +_c._ ♀ [brown variety]. Near Hex River, July 1873. Iris ochreous +hazel. Shot by Bell, who says the note is different from that of the +black one, which is plentiful. This is the only brown one seen. He says +it whistles. Large gnats and other insects in stomach. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, October 13, 1873. Iris dark brown. + +_e._ Tati, March 25, 1874. Iris dark hazel. Stomach slightly muscular, +full of remains of large insects. + +_f._ ♂ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 20, 1874. Iris +hazel; bill, legs, and claws black. Ants in stomach. + + + Family PRIONOPIDÆ. + + 114. EUROCEPHALUS ANGUITIMENS, Smith: Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iii. p. + 279. Smith’s Wood-Shrike. + +_a._ ♂, b. ♀ Tati, March 23, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill and legs +black. Stomach muscular, containing a number of large hard seeds and +one or two beetles. + + 115. PRIONOPS TALACOMA, Smith: Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iii. p. 321. + South African Helmet-Shrike. + +_a._ ♂ Near Metli River, August 10, 1873. Iris gamboge; skin round +eye dentated, orange-yellow; legs pale vermilion. + +_b._ ♀ Holfontein, November 25, 1873. Iris chrome yellow. + +_c._ ♂ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, June 21, 1874. Iris +chrome yellow; skin round eye bright orange; legs and feet orange-red; +claws dusky black. Stomach pretty fleshy, and containing remains of +grasshoppers and beetles. + +_d, e._ ♂ (?) First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, June 21, 1874. +Iris chrome yellow; skin round eye light bright orange; legs and feet +orange-red; claws dusky black. + + 116. BRADYORNIS OATESII, sp. n. Oates’s Wood-Shrike. (Plate B.) + +_a._ ♂ (adult.) First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 20, +1874. Iris dark hazel. Stomach full of ants. + +_b._ (juv.) Geruah, January 25, 1875. Iris hazel; bill and legs +black. + +_c._ (adult.) Not labelled. + +[Similis _B. pallido_ sed cineraceus; gulâ conspicue albâ: pectore +et corporis lateribus pallide cinerascentibus: subcaudalibus albis. + +_Adult male._--General colour above ashy; the head slightly +browner, with indistinct brown shaft-streaks; least and median +wing-coverts like the back; the median and greater coverts brown, +edged with ashy brown, a little reddish on some of the outer greater +coverts; quills brown, externally ashy or fulvous brown, the primaries +and some of the innermost secondaries edged with pale whity brown; +tail-feathers ashy brown, the feathers edged with paler brown; lores +and a small patch above and below the eye dull white; in front of the +eye a dusky spot; ear-coverts brown, slightly washed with fawn-colour, +and contrasting with the ashy grey head; cheeks ashy grey, like the +sides of the neck; entire throat white, strongly defined; remainder of +under surface pale ashy brown; whitish on the lower abdomen, vent, and +under tail-coverts; under wing-coverts and axillaries pale ashy like +the breast, the lower coverts slightly tinged with fawn-colour; quills +dusky brown below, pale ashy fulvous along the inner web. Total length +7·5 inches, culmen 0·55, wing 3·85, tail 3·1, tarsus 0·85. + +After a careful comparison of specimens I have come to the conclusion +that the present bird is new to science. At first I thought it would +be _B. murinus_, Finsch and Hartl., but the ear-coverts in that +species are described as being like the sides of the neck and crop, +whereas here the ear-coverts are in strong contrast; the under wing +coverts also are not fawn-colour in Mr. Oates’s specimens. Having +compared it with all the other species of _Bradyornis_ represented +in the British Museum, I modify the “Key to the species,” given in my +_Catalogue of Birds_, vol. iii., p. 308, as follows:-- + +_a._ Upper surface ashy or clear brown, not black. + +_a′._ Above light reddish brown, uniform; throat white, like the rest +of the under surface; under wing-coverts white.--_mariquensis._ + +_b′._ Above ashy; throat white, contrasting with the ashy under +surface; under wing-coverts like the breast.--_Oatesii._ + +_c′._ Above light brown, uniform; throat white, contrasting with +the fawn-buff breast; under wing-coverts fawn-colour.--_pallidus_, +_modestus_, etc. etc. + +The fawn-coloured under wing-coverts of _B. pallidus_, the +ashy brown throat and chest of _B. chocolatinus_, the reddish +brown upper surface, and entirely white under surface of _B. +mariquensis_, successively prevent _B. Oatesii_ from being +considered synonymous. A bird, determined as _B. murinus_, F. and +H., from the Congo (Sharpe and Bouv., _Bull. Soc. Zool. France_, +1877), would appear to be the same as _B. Oatesii_, but is in worn +plumage.] + + + Family DICRURIDÆ. + + 117. BUCHANGA ASSIMILIS (Bechst.): Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iii. p. + 247. African Drongo. + +_a._ ♀ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris crimson. Beetles and +grasshoppers in stomach. + +_b._ ♀ Tati, October 11, 1873. Iris crimson. + +_c._ Ramaqueban River, August 2, 1874. Iris deep red; bill, legs, +and claws black. + + + Family ORIOLIDÆ. + + 118. ORIOLUS GALBULA, L.: Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iii. p. 191. Golden + Oriole. + +_a._ ♀ Meriko River, November 16, 1873. Iris crimson. + + + Family CORVIDÆ. + + 119. CORVUS SCAPULATUS, Daud.: Sharpe, _Cat. B._, iii. p. 22. + White-backed Crow. + +_a._ Ladysmith, May 27, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ Seruli River, October 17, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + + + Family STURNIDÆ. + + 120. BUPHAGA AFRICANA, L.: Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 57. + African Beef-eater. + +_a, b._ ♀ Semokwe River, September 1873. Iris orange. + + 121. DILOPHUS CARUNCULATUS (Gm.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 56. + Wattled Starling. + +_a._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, September 4, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Second Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, September 1, 1874. Iris +hazel; bare skin about the eye yellowish; bill dirty flesh-colour, base +and tip dusky; legs, feet, and claws dusky brown. Stomach not very +muscular, containing beetles and sand. + +_c._ ♂ (fully developed). Tati River, where Makalaka road leaves +it, going north, November 18, 1874. Iris hazel; bill white, tinged with +lilac; legs dark brownish flesh-colour; bare skin of head deep black +in front, bright yellow behind; round the eyes a small bluish patch. +Stomach muscular, containing beetles and grasshoppers. + + 122. AMYDRUS BICOLOR (Gm.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 55. Brown + Starling. + +_a._ Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris pale grey with +orange rim. Contents of stomach miscellaneous. + + 123. AMYDRUS MORIO (Daud.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 54. Cape + Starling. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 124. PHOLIDAUGES VERREAUXI, Bocage: Sharpe, t. c. p. 54. + Verreaux’s Glossy Thrush. + +_a._ ♂ Near Umvungu River, October 31, 1873. Iris hazel round pupil, +and bright yellow round the hazel. Stomach containing remains of +insects, and a number of large white berries, and sticky yellow matter +with the berries; the latter said to be used for bird-lime, the berries +said to grow on trees. + +_b._ ♂ (?) Near Umvungu River, November 12, 1873. Iris deep olive +round pupil, and round the olive a bright yellow ring. Stomach not +muscular, containing a few remains of small insects, but principally a +quantity of vegetable matter like fine grass. + + 125. LAMPROTORNIS AUSTRALIS, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 56. + Smith’s Glossy Thrush. + +_a._ ♂ Crocodile River, December 1, 1873. Iris hazel. + + 126. LAMPROTORNIS MEVESI, Wahlb.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 56. Meves’s + Glossy Thrush. + +_a._ ♂ Nata River, December 5, 1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs black. +Stomach containing ants. + + 127. LAMPROCOLIUS PHŒNICOPTERUS (Sw.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 55. + Red-shouldered Glossy Thrush. + +_a._ Blauw Krans River, Natal, May 22, 1873. Iris bright orange. + +_b._ ♂ Tati, October 11, 1873. Iris orange. + +_c._ ♀ Crocodile River, November 8, 1873. Iris orange. + +_d._ ♂ Meriko River, November 18, 1873. Iris orange. + + + Family MOTACILLIDÆ. + + 128. MOTACILLA AGUIMP, Temm.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 73. African + Pied Wagtail. + +_a._ Durban, April 23, 1873. + +_b._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel. Insects in stomach. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 129. MOTACILLA CAPENSIS, L.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 73. Cape Wagtail. + +_a._ Durban, April 23, 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Pietermaritzburg, April 30, 1873. + +_c._ Inyati, October 3, 1873. Iris dark hazel. Native name “Umvemve.” + + 130. ANTHUS PYRRHONOTUS, Vieill.: Gurney in Anderss. _B. Dam. + Ld._, p. 113. Cinnamon-backed Pipit. + +_a._ Kaar Kloof Heights, near Pietermaritzburg, May 19, 1873. Iris +hazel. + +_b._ Not labelled. + + 131. ANTHUS CAFFER, Sund.: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 72. South African + Pipit. + +_a._ Pietermaritzburg, about the beginning of May 1873. + + 132. MACRONYX CAPENSIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 73. Cape + Long-claw. + +_a, b._ ♀ (?) Between Ladysmith and Newcastle, about the end of May +1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ ♂ Pretoria, December 7, 1873. Iris hazel. + + + Family ALAUDIDÆ. + + 133. CERTHILAUDA SEMITORQUATA, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 71. + Grey-collared Lark. + +_a._ ♂ Transvaal, December 18, 1873. Iris hazel. + + 134. MIRAFRA AFRICANA (Smith): Sharpe, _P. Z. S._, 1874, p. 642. + South-African Lark. + +_a._ ♂ Tibakai’s Pan, December 19, 1874. Iris pale reddish hazel; bill +dirty flesh-colour; top of upper mandible dusky; legs flesh-colour. +Insects and seeds in stomach. + + 135. MIRAFRA SABOTA (Smith): Sharpe, _P. Z. S._, 1874, p. 645. + Sabota Lark. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, October 25, 1874. Iris bright light brown; upper mandible +dusky, under one dirty flesh-colour; legs pale brown. Stomach muscular, +containing large hard seeds. + +_b._ Not labelled. + + 136. TEPHROCORYS CINEREA (Gm.): Sharpe, _P. Z. S._, 1874, p. + 633. South African Rufous-capped Lark. + +_a._ ♂ Pietermaritzburg, May 2, 1873. + + + Family PLOCEIDÆ. + + 137. SYCOBROTUS BICOLOR (Vieill.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. + 60. Natal Black-and-yellow Weaver-bird. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 138. TEXTOR ERYTHRORHYNCHUS, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 58. + Red-billed Black Weaver-bird. + +_a._ Tati, March 25, 1874. Iris dark greyish hazel; bill and legs dusky +orange. Stomach very muscular, containing seeds and insects. Noisy tame +bird. Shot in company with the black Long-tails (_Chera_); had been +moulting, as feathers were loose. + +_b._ ♀ Tati, October 25, 1874. Iris dark; bill dusky orange; legs +dusky, with an orange tinge. + +_c._ ♀ Near first Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, June 17, 1874. Iris +dark hazel; bill and legs dusky orange. Stomach containing many seeds, +and a few insect remains and gravel. Three nests in a high tree full of +these birds. + +_d._ ♂ Tati, September 30, 1874. Iris hazel; bill coral-red; legs +salmon-colour; claws dusky. Shot by Thomson out of a flock of similar +birds, and a black-winged white species. + + 139. HYPHANTORNIS CAPENSIS (Gm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 59. Cape + Yellow Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♂ Transvaal, December 16, 1873. Iris straw-colour. + + 140. HYPHANTORNIS OLIVACEUS (Hahn): Gray, _Handl. B._, ii. p. + 41, No. 6575. Olive-and-yellow Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♀ Transvaal, December 16, 1873. Iris raw sienna. + + 141. HYPHANTORNIS OCULARIS (Smith). Smith’s Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Pinetown, near Durban, April 1873. Iris buff; bill +black; legs grey. + +_c._ ♂ Pietermaritzburg, April 30, 1873. Iris light hazel or +golden. + + 142. HYPHANTORNIS MARIQUENSIS (Smith): Layard, _B. S. Afr._, p. + 182. Mariqua Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♂ Seruli River, October 18, 1873. Iris bronze. + + 143. HYPHANTORNIS NIGRIFRONS, Cab.: Layard, _t. c._ p. 180. + Black-fronted Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♀ Inyati, October 3, 1873. Iris pale reddish hazel; bill and +legs pinkish; upper mandible tinged with dusky. This bird, and another +shot the same time, were in moult. The other one is much duller; not +so yellow on head, rump, and tail; throat and breast tinged with pale +yellow; belly white. + +_b._ ♂ Ishokwani, near Semokwe River, October 14, 1873. Iris yellowish +white. + +_c._ ♂ Tati, October 21, 1874. Iris straw-colour; lower mandible +flesh-colour, upper one dusky; legs slate-colour. Insects in stomach. + + 144. SPOROPIPES SQUAMIFRONS (Smith): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. + 61. Scutellated Finch. + +_a._ ♀ Semokwe River, September 30, 1873. Iris burnt sienna. + + 145. VIDUA VERREAUXI, Cass.: Finsch and Hartl., _Vög. Ost-afr._, + p. 426. Verreaux’s Widow-bird. + +_a._ ♂ (very fully developed). Tati, March 30, 1874. Iris dark +hazel. Stomach containing seeds, a little grit, and remains of a beetle. + + 146. VIDUA REGIA (L.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 63. + Shaft-tailed Widow-bird. + +_a, b, c, d._ ♂ Tati, March 20, 21, 22, 24, 1874. Iris dark hazel; +bill, legs, and claws, coral-red. Small seeds in stomach. + + 147. VIDUA PRINCIPALIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 63. Common + Widow-bird. + +_a._ ♂ Transvaal, December 1, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Hope Fountain, near Gubuleweyo; shot in Mr. Thomson’s +garden, about the beginning of December 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_c._ ♀ (?) Tati, March 31, 1874. Iris dark; bill and legs +coral-red. I think this may be an immature male. In one or two examined +afterwards, undoubted females, the bill was pale and the legs more +dusky. + +_d._ Not labelled. + + 148. CHERA PROGNE (Bodd.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 63. Great + Widow-bird. + +_a._ ♀ Pietermaritzburg, April 30, 1873. + +_b, c._ John Scott’s Farm, Transvaal, June 19, 1873. Iris hazel. + +_d, e._ ♂ Transvaal, December 18, 1873. + +_f, g, h, i._ Not labelled. + + 149. PENTHETRIA ALBINOTATA (Cass.): Finsch and Hartl., _Vög. + Ost-afr._, p. 420. White-spotted Widow-bird. + +_a._ ♂ (undeveloped). Tamasetsie, December 16, 1874. Iris hazel; bill +bluish; legs black. + +_b._ ♂ Between the Pantamatenka River and Zambesi, January 11, 1875. +Iris hazel; bill pale bluish violet; legs black. Seeds in stomach. + + 150. PENTHETRIA ARDENS (Bodd.): Sharpe, _Cat. Afr. B._, p. 63. + Orange-throated Widow-bird. + +_a._ Natal, 1873. + + 151. EUPLECTES CAPENSIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 62. Cape + Black-and-yellow Widow-bird. + +_a._ Kaar Kloof Heights, near Pietermaritzburg, May 19, 1873. Iris +hazel. + +_b._ Inyati, September 29, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_c._ Semokwe River, October 1873. Iris hazel. + +_d._ Hope Fountain, near Gubuleweyo, about the beginning of +December 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_e._ Not labelled. + + 152. EUPLECTES ORYX (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 62. Red Bishop-bird. + +_a, b._ ♂ Transvaal, 1873. + +_c._ Hope Fountain, near Gubuleweyo, about the beginning of December +1873. Iris dark hazel. + + + Family FRINGILLIDÆ. + + 153. AMADINA ERYTHROCEPHALA (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 65. + Red-headed Wax-bill. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, October 1874. Iris pale hazel; skin round eye red; bill +dusky blue; legs dirty flesh-colour. + + 154. PYTELIA MELBA (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 66. Southern + Red-faced Finch. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, September 1, 1873. Iris burnt sienna. + +_b._ ♂ Tati, September 1873. + +_c._ ♂ (?) d. Tati, October 28, 1874. Iris scarlet; bill coral-red; +legs pale brown. + + 155. ESTRELDA ASTRILD (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 65. Wax-bill + Finch. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ Tati, October 9, 1874. Iris hazel (?); bill vermilion; +legs and claws black. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 156. ESTRELDA ERYTHRONOTA (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 64. + Black-cheeked Finch. + +_a._ ♀, _b._ Tati, October 3, 1874. Iris deep crimson; bill dark +slate-colour. + + 157. ESTRELDA GRANATINA (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 65. Grenadier + Wax-bill. + +_a._ Semokwe River, September 1873. + +_b._ ♂ Tati, September 30, 1874. Iris red; bill and skin round eye +scarlet-lake; legs dark brown. + + 158. ESTRELDA CYANOGASTRA (Daud.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 65. + Southern Bengali Finch. + +_a._ ♂ Tati, March 21, 1874. Iris claret-colour; bill violet, lilac at +base; legs pale flesh-colour. Small seeds in stomach. + +_b._ Tati, October 3, 1874. Iris claret-colour. + +_c._ ♂ Tati, October 21, 1874. Iris claret-colour; bill violet; legs +pale brown (?). + +_d._ ♀ Tati, October 1874. + + 159. LAGONOSTICTA MINIMA (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 66. + Amadavat Finch. + +_a._ ♂ (?) Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris very pale hazel. + +_b._ Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris lake. + + 160. ORTYGOSPIZA POLYZONA (Temm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 66. Little + Barred-breasted Finch. + +_a._ Desolate country near Newcastle, June 5, 1873. Iris +pheasant-colour. Two shot out of a flock. + + 161. PASSER MOTITENSIS, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 69. Greater + South African Sparrow. + +_a._ ♀ Palatswe River, August 13, 1873. Iris dark greyish hazel. +Stomach very muscular, containing grit; seeds in throat. + +_b._ ♀ (probably). Tati, September 24, 1874. Iris palish hazel; bill +black; legs brown; claws darker. + +_c._ ♂ Tati, October 19, 1873. Iris brown. + +_d._ Tati, October 6, 1874. Bill black; legs brown. + + 162. PASSER DIFFUSUS, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 69. Southern + Grey-headed Sparrow. + +_a._ Crocodile River; in cultivated fields, July 1873. Iris greenish +hazel. + + 163. PLOCEPASSER MAHALI, Smith: Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 61. + White-browed Weaver-bird. + +_a._ ♂ Palatswe River, August 13, 1873. Iris dark burnt sienna. +Stomach muscular, containing remains of insects. Song not unlike that +of a Chaffinch, but much shorter and quieter. I think I have seen these +birds since the Lion Camp on the Crocodile River. They go in small +parties. + +_b._ Not labelled. + + 164. POLIOSPIZA GULARIS (Smith): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 68. + Striped-headed Grosbeak. + +_a._ Between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. Iris pale +claret-tinted hazel. + + 165. CRITHAGRA CHRYSOPYGA (Sw.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 67. + Golden-rumped Grosbeak. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, October 9, 1874. Iris hazel; bill dirty violet or +flesh-colour; legs brown. + + 166. CRITHAGRA ANGOLENSIS (Gm.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 67. Angola + Grosbeak. + +_a._ ♂ (?) First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 20, 1874. +Iris hazel. Shot out of flock. + + 167. FRINGILLARIA FLAVIVENTRIS (Vieill.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 70. + Golden-breasted Bunting. + +_a._ ♂ Between the Gokwe and Seruli Rivers, October 17, 1873. Iris +hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Semokwe River, October 1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ (young bird). Inchlangin, beginning of December 1873. Iris +hazel. + +_d._ First Makalaka kraal, Zambesi road, August 19, 1874. Iris +dark hazel. Another I examined like this in plumage was a male. I have +seen them much duller in colour, and the black stripes on the head +replaced by brown. + +_e._ ♂ Tati, October 10, 1874. Iris hazel; bill flesh-colour; legs +pale brown. + + 168. FRINGILLARIA CAPENSIS (L.): Sharpe, _t. c._ p. 70. Cape + Bunting. + +_a._ ♂ Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris dark hazel. +Seeds and fly in stomach. + + + Order COLUMBÆ. + + 169. TURTUR CAPICOLA, Sund.: Finsch and Hartl., _Vög. Ost-afr._, + p. 548. Cape Turtle Dove. + +_a._ ♂ Mossel Bay, Cape Colony, April 11, 1873. Iris dark hazel. +Seeds in stomach. + +_b._ ♂ Pietermaritzburg, beginning of May 1873. Iris slate-colour +(?); legs flesh-colour. + +_c._ ♀ (?) Between Pretoria and Bamangwato. Iris hazel. + + 170. CHALCOPELIA AFRA (L.): Finsch and Hartl., _t. c._ p. 554. + Emerald-spotted Dove. + +_a._ Blauw Krans River, Natal, May 22, 1873. Iris chestnut. + + 171. ŒNA CAPENSIS (L.): Finsch and Hartl., _t. c._ p. 557. + Long-tailed African Dove. + +_a._ ♀ Between Pretoria and Bamangwato, July 1873. Iris dark hazel. + +_b._ ♂ Near Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris hazel. + +_c._ ♂ Tati, September 29, 1874. Iris and bill orange; legs lake. +Small black seeds in stomach. + + + Order GALLINÆ. + + + Family PTEROCLIDÆ. + + 172. PTEROCLES GUTTURALIS, Smith: Layard, _B. S. Afr._, p. 279. + Yellow-throated Sand-Grouse. + +_a, b._ ♂, _c._ ♀ Shashe River, where Zambesi road crosses +it, north of Tati; coming to the water night and morning, August 17, +1874. Iris hazel; bill and legs dark bluish grey; claws dusky black. A +small species of bean and gravel in stomach, which is very muscular. + + 173. PTEROCLES BICINCTUS, Temm.: Layard, _t. c._ p. 278. + Double-banded Sand-Grouse. + +_a._ ♂ Makalapsi River, August 6, 1873. Iris hazel; skin round eye +yellow; bill very dark; corners of mouth and base of lower mandible +yellow; legs and feet dusky yellow; claws dark dusky brownish lake. + +_b._ ♂ Makalapsi River, August 8, 1873. Iris hazel; skin round eye +bright yellow; upper mandible deep lake, under one orange; legs and +feet dull yellow; claws dusky lake. Crop very full of small pebbles; a +few seeds in it. + +_c._ ♂, _d._ ♀ Motloutsi River, August 1873. Iris hazel. + + + Family PERDICIDÆ. + + 174. TURNIX LEPURANA, Smith: Layard, _t. c._ p. 275. Kurrichaine + Hemipode. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 175. FRANCOLINUS AFER, Temm.: Layard, _t. c._ p. 270. + Grey-winged Francolin. + +_a, b._ ♂ Retief’s Drift, Vaal River, June 11, 1873. Iris hazel. + + 176. FRANCOLINUS NATALENSIS, Smith: Layard, _t. c._ p. 273. + Natal Francolin. + +_a._ ♀ Makalapsi River, August 7, 1873. Iris hazel; bill dusky; +tip and lower mandible pale orange; legs, feet, and claws palish orange. + + 177. FRANCOLINUS PILEATUS, Smith: Layard, _t. c._ p. 272. + Pileated Francolin. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Lion Camp, Crocodile River, July 1873. Iris +hazel; legs red. + +_c._ ♂ Gokwe River, October 16, 1873. Iris dark hazel. + + 178. COTURNIX DACTYLISONANS, Temm.: Layard, _t. c._ p. 274. + Common Quail. + +_a._ ♂ High Veldt, Transvaal, December 1873. Iris hazel. + + 179. COTURNIX DELEGORGUEI, Delegorgue: _C. histrionica_, Hartl.: + Layard, _t. c._ p. 275. Harlequin Quail. + +_a._ Gubuleweyo, December 26, 1873. Native name “Seguatha.” Iris +rich brown; bill black; legs pale flesh-colour. Does not lie well to a +dog, but runs rapidly, and at last rises. + +_b._ ♂, _c._ ♀ Gubuleweyo, January 3, 1874. Iris rich brown; +bill black; legs and feet salmon-colour. + + + Order GRALLÆ. + + + Family RALLIDÆ. + + 180. PARRA CAPENSIS, Smith: Gurney in Anderss. _B. Dam. Ld._, p. + 330. Lesser African Jacana. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 181. PORPHYRIS ALLENI, Thoms.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 327. Allen’s + Blue Water-hen. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 182. FULICA CRISTATA (Gm.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 327. + Rufous-knobbed Coot. + +_a._ Transvaal, 1873. + + 183. GALLINULA ANGULATA, Sund.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 321. South + African Moor-hen. + +_a._ ♂ Dry River; killed by the boys with sticks, February 27, +1874. Iris crimson; a narrow circle of tawny yellow within the iris, +near the outside; bill crimson and yellow; legs greenish yellow. +Vegetable matter in stomach. + +_b._ ♀ Tibakai’s Vlei, December 19, 1874. Iris pale crimson; bill +yellow, scarlet stripe on top of upper mandible, under one tipped with +scarlet; legs pale yellowish brown; thighs pale yellow, tinged with +brown. Gravel and vegetable matter in stomach. + + 184. ORTYGOMETRA EGREGIA (Peters): Finsch and Hartl., _Vög. + Ost-Afr._, p. 778. Peters’s Crake. + +_a._ Gubuleweyo; shot in marsh by spruit, December 26, 1873. Iris +crimson-lake; skin round iris vermilion; lower part of base of upper +mandible and whole of base of lower mandible magenta, of a lilac tinge; +upper part of upper mandible dark slate-colour, lower part of it near +tip lighter slate-colour, tip of lower mandible whitish; legs dusky +flesh-colour. + + 185. CREX PRATENSIS, Bechstein. _Ortygometra crex_ (Gm.): + Layard, _B. S. Afr._, p. 338. Corn-crake. + +_a._ ♂ (testes slightly developed). Tati; shot in long grass, +March 22, 1874. Iris red-brown; skin round eye brick-red; bill violet; +legs pale flesh-colour. Stomach muscular, containing stones and remains +of large insects. + + + Family SCOLOPACIDÆ. + + 186. Philomachus pugnax (L.): Gurney in Anderss. B. Dam. Ld., p. + 304. Ruff. + +_a._ ♀ Mopani Pan, near Ramaqueban River, November 4, 1874. Iris +hazel; bill dusky black, brownish at base; legs dirty orange; claws +black. + + 187. ACTITIS HYPOLEUCUS (L.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 303. Common + Sandpiper. + +_a._ ♀ Inyati, October 2, 1873. Iris dark hazel; bill dusky, base +of lower mandible pale neutral tint; legs pale violet; feet and claws +dusky. + +_b._ ♀ Sibanani, December 7, 1874. Iris hazel; legs pale dirty +slate-colour; base of lower mandible slate-colour; rest of bill dusky +black. + + 188. TOTANUS CANESCENS (Gm.): Sharpe and Dresser, _B. Eur._, pl. + xlii. Greenshanks. + +_a._ ♂ Inquinquesi River, September 29, 1873. Native name +“Tabi-tabi.” Iris dark hazel; legs dull olive. + + 189. TOTANUS GLAREOLA (L.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 302. Wood + Sandpiper. + +_a._ Inyati, September 28, 1873. Iris dark hazel; legs dull olive +green. + + + Family GLAREOLIDÆ. + + 190. GLAREOLA MELANOPTERA (Nordm.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 264. + Black-winged Pratincole. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ ♀ Branslow’s Farm, Transvaal, December 8, 1873. +Iris dark hazel. + + + Family CHARADRIIDÆ. + + 191. HOPLOPTERUS SPECIOSUS (Licht.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 267. + Blacksmith Plover. + +_a._ ♀ Branslow’s Farm, Transvaal, December 8, 1873. Iris dark +crimson. + +_b._ ♀ Shashe River, October 16, 1874. Iris crimson; bill and legs +black. Beetles in stomach. + +_c._ Not labelled. + + 192. CHETTUSIA CORONATA (Gm.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 268. Wreathed + Plover. + +_a._ ♀ Bisschop’s Farm, Transvaal, June 20, 1873. Iris bright +yellow, with hazel ring round pupil. Stomach containing beetles and +grasshoppers. + +_b._ ♂ (testes very rudimentary). Tati, March 26, 1874. Iris hazel +round pupil, then yellow; bill magenta, tip black; legs and skin round +eye magenta; claws black. + + 193. ÆGIALITIS ATRICOLLARIS (Vieill.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 274. + Treble-collared Plover. + +_a._ Durban, April 23, 1873. + + + Family OTIDIDÆ. + + 194. OTIS KORI, Burchell. _Eupodotis cristata_, Layard, _t. c._ + p. 283. Kori Bustard. + +_a._ (Sex doubtful; perhaps a young hen.) Near Palatswe River, +May 16, 1874. Iris hazel, dark round the pupil, but becoming very pale +towards the outside; upper mandible black; under one greenish white, +tipped with black; legs and feet pale greenish white; claws dusky. + + 195. EUPODOTIS CÆRULESCENS (Vieill.): Layard, _t. c._ p. 285. + Blue Bustard. + +_a._ ♂ Near Sunday’s River, May 28, 1873. Iris hazel. + + 196. ŒDICNEMUS CAPENSIS, Licht.: Gurney in Anderss. _B. Dam. + Ld._, p. 266. Spotted Thick-knee. + +_a._ Near Pilandsberg, Transvaal, July 1873. Iris golden yellow; +eye large. + +_b._ Not labelled. + + + Family ARDEIDÆ. + + 197. ARDEA MELANOCEPHALA, Vig. and Childr.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. + 284. Black-throated Heron. + +_a._ ♂ Marsh near Pretoria, June 21, 1873. Iris yellow. + + 198. ARDEA PURPUREA, L.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 286. Purple Heron. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 199. HERODIAS INTERMEDIA (Wagl.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 289. + Short-billed Egret. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 200. BUTORIDES ATRICAPILLUS (Afzel): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 292. + Black-headed Dwarf Heron. + +_a, b._ Not labelled. + + 201. BUTORIDES STURMII (Wagl.), _Ardeiralla Sturmii_ (Wagl.): + Gurney, _t. c._ p. 291. Sturm’s Heron. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 202. BUTORIDES RUFIVENTRIS (Sund.), _Ardea rufiventris_ (Sund.): + Ayres, _Ibis_, 1871, pl. ix. Red-bellied Heron. + +_a._ ♂ Hendrik’s Vlei, December 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill black; +legs slate-colour. + + 203. BUBULCUS IBIS (Hasselq.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 288. + Buff-backed Heron. + +_a._ ♀ Tati, September 26, 1874. Iris bright yellow, inclining to +orange; skin round eye chrome yellow; bill yellow; legs orange-yellow, +somewhat dusky; claws blackish. Lizards, grasshoppers, and beetles in +stomach. This bird not so fat as some shot at Bamangwato in May. + + + Family CICONIIDÆ. + + 204. CICONIA ALBA (L.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 280. White Stork. + +_a._ ♂ Ramaqueban River, where the Zambesi road leaves it, +going north, November 15, 1874. Iris dark hazel; bill and legs +orange-vermilion; skin about eye the same, but with a dark patch on it +near the eye, and also near the under mandible. + + 205. SPHENORHYNCHUS ABDIMII (Licht.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 280. + White-bellied Stork. + +_a._ ♂ Sibanani, December 11, 1874. Iris white, inclining to +greenish ochreous; bill olive, tipped with vermilion; a flesh-coloured +knob at the base. + + 206. SCOPUS UMBRETTA (Gm.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 294. Tufted Umbre. + +_a._ ♂ Makalapsi River, August 7, 1873. Iris dark; bill, legs, and +claws black. Frogs in stomach. + + + Order NATATORES. + + + Family ANATIDÆ. + + 207. SARKIDIORNIS MELANONOTUS (Penn.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 335. + Knob-billed Goose. + +_a._ ♀ Mopani Pan, near Ramaqueban River, March 16, 1874. Iris +dark hazel; bill and legs black. Shot in a tree. The dogs caught a +young one in the pan, where I suppose this Goose had its brood. + + 208. NETTAPUS AURITUS (Bodd.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 336. African + Dwarf Goose. + +_a._ ♂, _b._ [♀]. Not labelled. + + 209. ANAS XANTHORHYNCHA, Forst.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 342. + Yellow-billed Duck. + +_a._ ♀ Near Pretoria, June 18, 1873. Iris bright brown. Grit and +vegetable matter in stomach. + + 210. PÆCILONETTA ERYTHRORHYNCHA (Smith): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 339. + Red-billed Teal. + +_a._ ♀ Mopani Pan, near Ramaqueban River, March 16, 1874. Iris +dark hazel; bill (I think) brown on top, dull orange on sides; legs +black. Caught by dog. They say this is the common small duck here. + +_b._ ♂ Mopani Pan, near Ramaqueban River, November 5, 1874. Iris +bright brown; bill pink with a lilac tinge, a dark lilac stroke on +the top; legs slate-colour, inclining to lilac. Out of four shot, I +think three were males and one a female, but the plumage differed very +little. The boy found a curious swelling in the windpipe of two, which +he says were males. He said the female had not got it. + + + Family PELECANIDÆ. + + 211. GRACULUS AFRICANUS (Gm.): Gurney, _t. c._ p. 370. + Long-tailed Cormorant. + +_a._ Not labelled. + + 212. PLOTUS LEVAILLANTII, Licht.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 367. Le + Vaillant’s Darter. + +_a._ Meriko River, November 1873. + + + Family PODICIPIDÆ. + + 213. PODICEPS MINOR, L.: Gurney, _t. c._ p. 347. Little Grebe. + +_a._ Tchakani Vlei, May 15, 1874. Iris yellowish hazel, or rather +deep raw sienna or amber; upper mandible dusky black; base and lower +mandible orange; legs and feet black. + +_b._ ♀ Tamasancha, December 10, 1874. Bill black, tipped with +white, and spotted at base with white; legs black, fringed on webs with +white. Beetles in stomach. + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.A. + + J.G.Keulemans lith. Hanhart imp. + + SAXICOLA SHELLEYI.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.B. + + J.G.Keulemans lith. Hanhart imp. + + BRADYORNIS OATESII.] + + + + + III. + + HERPETOLOGY. + + BY ALBERT GÜNTHER, M.A., Ph.D., M.D., F.R.S. + + (PLATES C, D.) + + _DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF SNAKES FROM SOUTH-EASTERN + AFRICA._ + + + Family COLUBRIDÆ. + + CORONELLA TRITÆNIA, sp. n. (Plate C.) + +Vertical shield elongate, twice as long as broad, longer than the two +frontals together, or than the occipital which is rounded behind. +Rostral shield extending on the upper surface of the head; loreal +square; anteocular large, extending to the upper surface of the head, +but not reaching the vertical; two post-oculars. Eight upper labials, +the fourth and fifth entering the orbit, the last small. Two large +anterior temporals which are in contact with both post-oculars; the +outer temporals scale-like. Scales in seventeen rows, with a single +apical groove. Ventrals 168; anal bifid; sub-caudals 61. Posterior +maxillary tooth grooved. Ground colour light olive, with three well +defined brown longitudinal bands; the median one commences behind the +occipital and is lost in the middle of the tail; it occupies the median +series of scales, and has a fine yellow line running along its middle; +the lateral band commences underneath the canthus rostralis, and is +continued to the end of the tail; it occupies the third and fourth +outer series of scales and the adjoining halves of the neighbouring +series; it has narrow black edges; the outermost series of scales is +white like the abdomen, but with a faint brownish line. Lower parts +pure white. + +Total length 19 inches; the cleft of the mouth measuring six lines, and +the tail 3½ inches. + + + Family DRYIOPHIDÆ. + + DRYIOPHIS OATESII, sp. n. (Plate D.) + +Allied to _Dryiophis Kirtlandii_, but the rostral shield is not +reverted to the upper surface of the head; the præocular reaches to +the upper surface only, remaining far distant from the vertical. Two +post-oculars: temporals 1 + 2 + 2, the anterior being the smallest, and +in contact with the upper post-ocular. + +Head with very peculiar colouration; the upper surface is ornamented +by a pink T-shaped figure, the horizontal bar stretching from eye +to eye, and the vertical part occupying the middle of the occipital +shields. This figure is finely mottled with black. An irregular, +oblique, blackish line from the eye to the penultimate upper labial, +the pink temporal scales margined with black. Body coloured as in _D. +Kirtlandii_. + +Total length 47 inches; the tail measuring 19 inches; length of the +cleft of the mouth 14 lines. + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.C. + + R.Mintern lith. Mintern Bros. imp. + + CORONELLA TRITÆNIA.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.D. + + R. Mintern lith. Mintern Bros. imp. + + DRYIOPHIS OATESII.] + + + + + IV. + + ENTOMOLOGY. + + By J. O. WESTWOOD, M.A., F.L.S., Etc. + + Hope Professor of Zoology in the University of Oxford. + + (PLATES E-H.) + + +The Collection of Insects formed by Mr. F. Oates, now in the +Entomological Museum of the University of Oxford, although not of +considerable extent, fortunately comprises examples of many of the very +peculiar groups and genera characteristic of the greater part of the +African continent. + +The geographical distribution of animals has, during the last few +years, attracted so much attention among naturalists, that a few +preliminary observations on the subject will not be considered out of +place. + +M. Lacordaire, in the chapter on the geographical distribution of +insects, in his “_Introduction à l’Entomologie_,” divided the +African continent into numerous regions, as follows:--1. Upper Egypt, +Nubia, and Abyssinia; 2. The country south of the Atlas Range, as far +as the Great Desert, and including Morocco; 3. Senegambia; 4. The coast +of Guinea; 5. Congo; 6. The Cape of Good Hope; 7. Madagascar; 8. The +islands of Mauritius and Bourbon. + +In the still more recent works of Mr. Wallace on the geographical +distribution of animals, we find that (with the exception of the +whole of North Africa--including the northern half of Egypt and of +Arabia--which are united with the Mediterranean sub-region and regarded +as a portion of the primary Polar Arctic region) the remainder of +Africa, south of the tropic of Cancer, is constituted into a primary +region, to which the name of “Ethiopian” has been applied, and in which +the zoological productions are of a remarkably homogeneous character. +Of this Ethiopian region the portion which extends on the western side +of the continent, between the rivers Gambia and Congo, and consequently +embracing Guinea and the Gold Coast, and reaching as far as 25° East +long., is of a distinct character, being occupied by dense forests. +To this sub-region the name of “West African” has been applied. +Another sub-region, the “South African,” is formed of that part of the +continent south of the tropic of Capricorn, but extending northwards +along the east coast as far as Mozambique. + +The remainder of Africa, from the tropic of Cancer to the river Gambia +on the west coast, and including Senegambia, Timbuctoo, South Egypt, +Abyssinia, the eastern half of Africa (including the great lakes, +and Zanzibar), and reaching from Mozambique on the east to Angola, +Benguela, and Damara Land on the west coast, is considered as forming +a third sub-region, to which the inappropriate name of “East Africa” +has been applied. It is in the south-eastern portion of this third +sub-region that the collection of insects formed by Mr. F. Oates was +obtained. + +The surface of all this sub-region is described by Mr. A. R. Wallace +as “generally open, covered with a vegetation of high grasses or +thorny shrubs, with scattered trees and isolated patches of forest +in favourable situations. The only parts where continuous forests +occur are on the eastern and western slopes of the great Abyssinian +plateau, and on the Mozambique coast from Zanzibar to Sofala. The whole +of this great district has one general zoological character. Many +species range from Senegal to Abyssinia; others from Abyssinia to the +Zambesi; and a few, as _Mungos fasciatus_ and _Phacochærus æthiopicus_ +(to which great numbers of species of insects may be added), range +over the entire sub-region.” Various species of quadrupeds and birds +are mentioned, which are found in Gambia, Abyssinia, and South-east +Africa, but not in the West African sub-region; and yet Mr. Wallace +adds, “Although this sub-region is so extensive and so generally +uniform in physical features, it is by far the least peculiar part +of Africa. It possesses, of course, all those wide-spread Ethiopian +types which inhabit every part of the region; but it has hardly any +special features of its own. The few genera which are peculiar to it +have generally a limited range, and for the most part belong either to +the isolated mountain-plateau of Abyssinia, which is almost as much +Polar-Arctic as Ethiopian, or to the woody districts of Mozambique, +where the fauna has more of a West or South African character.” Surely +these circumstances, if correctly stated, together with the fact +connected with the existence of the Great Sahara desert, extending +many hundred miles wide across Africa, lead to the conclusion that the +division of Africa south of the tropic of Cancer into three principal +areas is unnatural, and that, with the exception of the necessary +consequence of greater life-action within the tropics, there is so much +uniformity in the animal productions of Africa as to render it (with +our present knowledge at least) undesirable to cut up the continent +into these sub-regions. + + + Order LEPIDOPTERA. + +The Lepidopterous insects (butterflies and moths) especially attracted +much of the attention of Mr. Oates; and of the day-flying species +(Rhopalocera) he collected seventy-three different kinds, of which +nineteen appear to be previously undescribed. As they form the most +important part of his collection, I have given a complete catalogue of +them in the following pages. These insects abound in certain districts, +and in Mr. Trimen’s work on South African butterflies, as many as 226 +different species are recorded. + +Species of the families Danaidæ, Satyridæ, Acræidæ, Nymphalidæ, +Lycænidæ, Pieridæ, Papilionidæ, and Hesperiidæ occur in each of the +three divisions into which Mr. Wallace has divided the continent south +of the Great Desert; but of the families Elymniidæ, Libytheidæ, and +Nemeobiidæ no species have been found in the South African sub-region, +which, however, possesses seven genera peculiar to itself,--two +belonging to the Satyridæ, one to the Acræidæ, three to the Lycænidæ, +and one to the Hesperiidæ. The beautiful species of Zeritis are also +peculiar to this sub-region; one additional species only inhabiting +West Africa. + +Of the Danaidæ (including the greater part of the Heliconian +butterflies), species occur in each of the four Ethiopian sub-regions. +Of the Satyridæ, which also occur in all the four sub-regions, +Gnophodes, Leptoneura, and a few other small genera are exclusively +African. Of the Elymniidæ, which are peculiar to the Malayan and +Moluccan districts, one species also occurs in Ashanti. The Morphidæ, +Brassolidæ, and typical Heliconiidæ do not occur in Africa; the +Acræidæ, on the contrary, have their metropolis in this continent, +which produces more than two-thirds of all the known species. Of the +Nymphalidæ, which is the largest and most universally distributed +family of butterflies, species occur in all the sub-regions of Africa. +There are fourteen genera of these butterflies exclusively African, +including Lachnoptera, Amphidema, Catuna, Euryphene, Romaleosoma, +Aterica, and Harma. Libythea (constituting the family Libytheidæ) is +widely distributed, and occurs in Western Africa and Madagascar, but +not in Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. Such is also the case +with the family Nemeobiidæ. No representative of the family Erycinidæ +(proper) occurs in the old world or Australia. The Lycænidæ, on the +other hand, are found in all the sub-regions of the globe, the genera +Pentila, Liptena, D’Urbania, Axiocerces, Capys, Phytala, Epitola, +Hewitsonia, and Deloneura, being peculiar to Africa. Of the family +Pieridæ, Teracolus and Pseudopontia are the only genera exclusively +African; but the species of other genera are very numerous, especially +in the group of white butterflies with orange tips to their fore wings. +The family Papilionidæ are very widely distributed over all the warmer +regions of the globe; and although no peculiar genus belonging to the +family is found in Africa, there are several very interesting groups of +species, such as _Pap. Nireus_ and its allies, with black wings +spotted or banded with green. The Merope group, with its cream-coloured +males, spotted with black and furnished with tails, is remarkable for +having tailless females in South Africa, so much unlike their partners +as to have been described as several distinct species; whereas in +Madagascar the females of this group can scarcely be distinguished +either in form or colours from the males. Lastly, of the Hesperiidæ, +distributed all over the globe, thirteen of the genera contain species +which are natives of Africa, three of them being peculiar to that +region--namely Abantis, from Mozambique, Ceratrichia, Butler, from +Western Africa, and Caprona, Wallengren, from Southern Africa. + + + _LEPIDOPTERA RHOPALOCERA._ + + Family PAPILIONIDÆ. + + Genus PAPILIO, Auct. + + 1. (1) PAPILIO DEMOLEUS, _Linnæus_. + + _Papilio Demodocus_, Esper. + +Ranges from Western Tropical Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. + + +Genus CALLIDRYAS, Boisduval; E. Doubleday, Gen. D. Lep. p. 66. + + _Catopsilia_, W. F. Kirby, Syn. Cat. p. 481.[76] + + 2. (1) CALLIDRYAS SWAINSONII, Westw. + + _Colias Pyrene_, Swainson, Zool. Ill. vol. i. pl. 51. (Not of + Linnæus, which is an Indian species, belonging to the genus + _Thestias_, Boisduval.) + + _Callidryas Pyrene_, Butler, Lep. Exot. pl. 16, f. 8–10. + + _Callidryas Florella_, Boisduval; Trimen, Rhopal. Afr. Austr. p. + 68; but not of Fabricius nor Donovan, Nat. Repos. III. pl. 90. + +Many individuals of this species were taken at the Motloutsi River, +varying in having the black spot of the disc of the fore wings, and +the orange spots on the under side of the hind wings. A specimen from +Guinea, received by Mr. Hope from Mr. Westermann of Copenhagen as the +_Florella_, Fabr., is identical with the South African specimens +of Swainson’s species. The type specimen described by Fabricius, +drawn by Jones (Icones, v. 2, Dan. Cand. pl. 5, f. 3, 4), copied by +Donovan, is from Sierra Leone, and was, and still is, in the Banksian +Collection. _C. Swainsonii_ is very widely dispersed. + + 3. (2) CALLIDRYAS RHADIA, Boisduval; Trimen, p. 69. + + _Callidryas Castalia_, E. Doubleday, Gen. D. Lep. p. 68 (not of + Fabricius). + +Two specimens captured at Tati. The Rev. H. Rowley sent it from the +Zambesi to the Oxford Museum. + + + Genus TERACOLUS, Swainson. + + 4. (1) TERACOLUS SUBFASCIATUS, Swainson, Zool. Ill. 2 ser. Ins. + pl. 115[77]; Boisduval; Trimen. + + _Ptychopteryx Bohemanni_, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 18. + +Originally described from the Burchell Collection now at Oxford. Six +specimens from Tati. The species appears to be very rare, as Mr. Trimen +had not seen an individual. The female has the extremity of the fore +wings brilliant orange-red, instead of pale orange-yellow, as figured +by Swainson. + + 5. (2) TERACOLUS AGOYE, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 15; Trimen, + p. 325. + + _Anthocharis Eosphorus_, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1863, p. 523. + +One specimen. Locality not noted. + + + Genus PIERIS, Auct. + + 6. (1) PIERIS MESENTINA, Cramer, pl. 270, f. A, B; Godart; + Boisduval; Trimen, p. 35. + + _Papilio Aurota_, Fabricius, Ent. Syst. III. i. 197. + +Many specimens taken at Bamangwato, the Motloutsi River, Tati, +Gubuleweyo, Inyati (November 30, 1873), the Gwailo River, and at or +near the Victoria Falls. + + 7. (2) PIERIS SEVERINA, Cramer, pl. 338, f. G, H; Godart; + Boisduval; Trimen, p. 32. + +Two specimens, of unrecorded locality. + + + Genus IDMAIS, Boisduval. + + 8. (1) IDMAIS ERIS, Klug, Symbol. Phys. t. 6, f. 15, 16; + Boisduval; Reiche in Ferret and Galinier, Voy. Abyss. pl. 31, f. + 1–3; Trimen, p. 59. + + Var. _Idmais Fatma_, Felder, Reise Novara, pl. 25, f. 3. + +Tati; and the Ramaqueban River, July 29, 1874. + + 9. (2) IDMAIS VESTA? Reiche in Ferret and Galinier’s Voy. + Abyss. pl. 31, f. 7, 8. (Not of Trimen, p. 62, which = _Idmais + Chrysonome_, E. Doubleday, Gen. D. Lep. pl. 7, fig. 5; nor of + Klug nor Boisduval = _Idmais Hewitsoni_, Kirby, Syn. Cat. p. + 498.) + +The specimens collected by Mr. Oates have the base of all the wings on +the upper side broadly white, the remainder ochreous buff, with a large +dark brown spot at the extremity of the discoidal cell of the fore +wings, a dark brown, very irregular bisinuated fascia running across +the fore wings beyond the middle, and extending across the middle of +the hind wings, nearly reaching the anal angle; the outer margin of +the fore wings is dark brown, with two rows of ochreous buff spots, +the outer ones small; the outer margin of the hind wings is brown, +inwardly dentated, with a marginal row of ochre spots. Beneath, the +fore wings are bright orange-yellow at the base, yellow in the middle, +with the apex and the entire hind wings brownish ochre, the markings +of the fore wings ill defined, and with three obscure bands across the +hind wings. In the female the ground colour of the upper surface of +the wings is uniformly pale yellowish buff. The fascia across the hind +wings separates this species from _Chrysonome_ Dbd., _Vesta_ +of Trimen. M. Reiche’s figure apparently represents a larger and more +suffused insect, the under side especially being more variegated, and +the ground colour of the hind wings bright yellow. + + + Genus TACHYRIS, Wallengren. + + 10. (1) TACHYRIS AGATHINA, Cramer, pl. 237, f. D, E; Godart; + Boisduval; Trimen, p. 28; Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. t. + 21, f. 11, 12. + + _Pieris Thysa_, Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. t. 21, f. + 7–10. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + + Genus CALLOSUNE, E. Doubleday, Gen. D. Lep. p. 57. + + 11. (1) CALLOSUNE EUPOMPE, Klug, Symb. Phys. t. 6, f. 11–14; + Boisduval; Trimen, p. 45. + + _Papilio Evippe_, Cramer, pl. 91, f. D, E. (nec Linn.). + + _Pontia Acaste_, Klug, Symb. Phys. pl. 7, f. 16, 17. + + _Pieris Polycaste_, Boisduval. + + _Anthopsyche Theopompe_, Felder, Reise Novara, ii. p. 183. no. + 175. + +Motloutsi River, August 1873. + + 12. (2) CALLOSUNE DANAË, Fabricius; Donovan, Ins. India, t. 26, + f. 2; Boisduval; E. Doubleday, Gen. D. Lep. pl. 7, f. 2; Trimen, + p. 44. + + _Papilio Eborea_, Cramer, pl. 352, f. C-F. + +This handsome species inhabits Natal, Damara Land, Ceylon, Bengal, +Madras. Male, Inyati (November 30, 1873); females, near the Gwailo +River (October 19, 1873), and Impakwe River (February 12, 1874). + + 13. (3) CALLOSUNE EVIPPE, Linnæus; Clerck, Icones, pl. 40, f. 5; + Cramer, pl. 91, f. F, G; Godart; Boisduval; Lucas, Exot. Lep. + pl. 37, f. 1. + +Tati; and between Inyati and Gubuleweyo, December 1, 1873. + + 14. (4) CALLOSUNE OMPHALE, Godart; Boisduval; Trimen, p. 50. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + 15. (5) CALLOSUNE ANTIGONE, Boisduval, Sp. Gén. p. 572; Trimen, + p. 52. + +Both sexes, Ramaqueban River, February 14, 1874; also females at the +Gwailo River in October. These females have no orange on the upper side +of the fore wings. + + 16. (6) CALLOSUNE CASTA, Gerstaecker in Decken’s Reisen in + Ost-Afrika, pl. 15, f. 1, 1 a. + +Taken at Tati. + + 17. (7) CALLOSUNE KEISKAMMA, Trimen, p. 56, pl. 2, f. 3, 4. + + Var. _Anthopsyche Topha_, Wallengren, Wien. ent. Mon. iv. p. 34. + +Ramaqueban River, July 28, 1874. Kirby cites Klug’s _Pontia +Evarne_, Symb. Phys. t. 6, f. 1–4, as identical with this species, +but the rounded fore wings of the male, with the black exterior margin, +and the submarginal row of black spots on the hind wings, at once +separate these two insects. See the observations of Mr. Weale on this +subject (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1877, p. 273). + + 18. (8) CALLOSUNE INORNATA, Westw. + +Alis supra albis, basi nigro parum pulverosis, anticis macula +trigona distincta apicali aurantia: alis anticis infra albis +apice albido-lutescenti, intus magis brunnea; alis posticis +lutescenti-albidis, linea recta longitudinali media paullo obscuriori. +Expans. alar. antic. lin. 19. + +The locality of this very simply coloured species is not recorded. + + 19. (9) CALLOSUNE IONE, Godart; Boisduval; Lucas, Exot. Lep. t. + 37, f. 4; Reiche in Ferr. and Gal. Voy. Abyss. t. 30, f. 1–8; + Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. t. 21, f. 1–6; Trimen, p. 43. + + _Anthopsyche speciosa_, Wallengren, p. 16. + + _Anthocharis Erone_, Angas, Kafirs Ill. pl. 30, f. 3. + +Two males, taken at Tati. + +The species of this genus, in which the males have the extremity of +the fore wings marked with a brilliant blue or pale purple patch, are +so closely allied together as to suggest the possibility of their +being geographical sub-species; they appear indeed to be constant in +their characteristic markings, and the females are even more distinct +than the males, which they are generally so unlike that their sexual +relations might readily be suspected. + +In the male specimens of _C. Ione_, captured by Mr. Oates at Tati, +the fore wings have the faintest trace of a very minute black discoidal +dot, a brilliant silky purple subapical patch, the apex itself black, +and the inner edge margined with black, which is slightly scalloped. +The hind wings are pure white, with delicate black veins, without +any discoidal spot. On the under side the fore wings have the minute +discoidal dot, and the apical patch is replaced by pale greyish buff, +with a slightly defined darker inner margin; the veins of the hind +wings are not black, the basal half of the costa is orange, with a +short brownish transverse dash, near the middle of the costa, extending +only to the first branch of the subcostal vein; the remainder of the +wing white. One of the specimens taken by Mr. Oates at Tati is very +small (1⅔ inch in the expanse of the fore wings), with the black veins +excessively slender. + + 20. (10) CALLOSUNE REGINA, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1863, p. + 520. (Plate E, figs. 9, 10.) + +The males have the veins of the fore wings, beyond the middle, very +slender and black, and with a very minute discoidal dot. The female of +this species, here for the first time represented (Pl. E, figs. 9, 10), +has the wings on the upper side white, with the veins concolorous; a +large black round spot at the extremity of the discoidal cell, and a +large purple-red subapical spot, down the middle of which is a richer +shade of purple, edged internally with blackish brown, the apex and +apical margin being of the latter colour; the base of the wings is +slightly powdered with grayish scales, and there are two minute dusky +dots towards the inner angle of the fore wings. On the under side +the purple patch of the fore wings is replaced by dirty pale buff, +having an oblique row of five pale black spots, and the hind wings are +slightly fleshy buff coloured, finely freckled all over with pale brown +irrorations, with a discoidal spot, and a curved row of oblong spots +beyond the middle of the wing, of pale brown; the costal margin is +slightly fulvous at its base. The expansion of the fore wings is 2⁵⁄₁₂ +inches. Taken at Tati. + +A male, in the Hopeian collection, from the Zambesi, has the hind wings +marked along the outer margin with black dots at the extremity of the +longitudinal veins. + + 21. (11) CALLOSUNE THEOGONE, Boisduval; Trimen, p. 51. + +One specimen. Locality not recorded. + + 22. (12) CALLOSUNE BUXTONI. (Plate E, figs. 7, 8.) + + _Callosune Buxtoni_, Butler, MS. in British Museum. + +The female (or rather the reputed female) of this species here figured +differs from the male in having a large orange patch at the extremity +of the fore wings, which are white with a slight yellowish tinge; a +minute discoidal black dot and a curved row of brown spots within the +orange mark, those towards the costa being most indistinct; the inner +margin of the orange mark is also brownish, as is the apex itself and +the apical margin, the brownish margin terminating near the hinder +angle in a brownish spot; the hind wings are uniformly white, with the +extremity of the veins towards the outer angle more or less dusky. On +the under side the orange spot of the fore wings wants both the inner +and apical dark edging, and bears a curved row of brown spots; the hind +wings are very pale fleshy buff, and very delicately freckled, with +a bar of darker brown extending from the middle of the costa to the +median vein, where it is curved backwards; there is also a brown dot +on a small whitish spot near the extremity of the discoidal cell. The +female varies from 1¾ to 2¼ inches in the expansion of the fore wings. +Taken at Tati. + + 23. (13) CALLOSUNE EVENINA, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 12; + Trimen, p. 322, and in Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, t. 6, f. 11. + +One specimen (locality not noted), with the black markings on the upper +surface of the wings much less diffused than in the figure given by +Mr. Trimen; possibly a male. Another specimen in Burchell’s African +collection, in the Hopeian Museum, has the large dark spot on the fore +wings extending over the discoidal cell, but the hind wings are almost +unspotted. + + 24. (14) CALLOSUNE EIONE, Boisduval, p. 578. + +One broken specimen, without locality, is very closely allied to the +insects noticed above, as _C. Antigone_. + + 25. (15) CALLOSUNE PSEUDETRIDA, Westw. + +Alis supra pallide flavescentibus, apice fusco cum serie subapicali +macularum 6 aurantiacarum, puncto minuto nigro discoidali, nubilaque +parva fusca ante angulum posticum; alis posticis serie marginali +macularum conoidearum fuscis (versus angulum analem interdum obsoletis) +nubila parva pone medium costæ, fasciaque valde abbreviata pone medium +disci versus angulum externum, pallide fuscis: alis anticis infra +pallide flavescentibus, apice alisque posticis luteo-albidis; anticis +striga obsoleta et obliqua fuscescenti versus apicem, posticis punctis +duobus fuscescentibus pone medium disci versus angulum externum. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1, lin 5. + +Affinis _C. Deuræ_, Klug, et præsertim _C. Etridæ_ (Indiæ orientalis +incolæ). + +Habitat prope Tati. + +_Obs._ The orange subapical spots in the male are dilated into a +broader yellow fascia in the female. + + 26. (16) CALLOSUNE WALLENGRENII. (Plate E, figs. 3, 4.) + + _Callosune Wallengrenii_, Butler, MS. in British Museum. + +Alis supra albis; anticarum apice late aurantiaco; puncto discoidali, +striga angulata guttarum fuscarum pone medium apiceque fusco, intus ad +venas angulatim producto; alis posticis pone medium fascia abbreviata +e maculis fuscis formata, margineque postico fusco-maculato. Expans. +alar. antic. unc. 1⁵⁄₁₂. + +Habitat ad ripas Touani fluv.; mense Augusto capta. + +The wings on the upper side are white, with a slight yellow tinge, the +apical half being of a fine orange-red colour; the base is suffused +with brown scales; a round black dot is placed at the extremity of the +discoidal cell, in front of which the costa is dusky; half way between +the cell and the apex is an oblique row of four brown spots, succeeded +by a larger one, extending more towards the base of the wing, which is +followed by a double spot towards the middle of the hind margin; the +apical margin is brown, which colour extends upwards along the veins, +forming a row of brown teeth, the largest of which is at the end of the +first branch of the median vein; the hind wings are powdered with brown +scales at the base; beyond the middle of the wing is a curved row of +brown spots, extending from the costa to the middle, and with a row of +brown spots along the outer margin. On the under side the fore wings +are suffused with orange, preceding the row of subapical spots, the +apical portion being buff, which is also the colour of the hind wings, +which have a white spot in the centre surrounded by a brown ring, and +followed by a curved row of pale brown spots, rather more dilated and +somewhat ocellated in the middle of the row; the apical margin of all +the wings is destitute of the brown markings of the upper side. + + 27. (17) CALLOSUNE RAMAQUEBANA, Westw. (Plate E, figs. 5, 6.) + +Parvus alis supra albis, albo-ciliatis anticis plaga maxima fusca +marginis postici, puncto nigro discoidali, apiceque late fusco, +serie macularum fulvarum inclusa; alis posticis basi fuscis, margine +postico late fusco, serie macularum albarum plus minusve confluentium, +præsertim versus angulum analem, inclusa: alis subtus flavido-tinctis, +posticis puncto minuto discoidali nigro, flavo supra tincto. Fœm. supra +absque colore fulvo. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1⅓. + +Habitat prope Ramaqueban fluv.; mense Februario capta. + +This pretty little species appears to be undescribed. It is nearly +allied to _C. Etrida_ and _Eione_, but differs in its characteristic +markings. On the upper side the wings of the male are white, with a +very slight yellowish tinge; the anterior have a large brown patch +occupying the greater portion of the posterior margin, and extending +over the greater part of the discoidal cell, at the extremity of which +is a small round black spot; the extremity of the wing is very broadly +brown, the dark colour commencing on the costal margin in front of +the discoidal spot, and extending nearly to the posterior angle of +the wing, where it is much narrowed, especially in the spaces between +the anal vein and the first and second branches of the median vein, +extending considerably more forward between the second and third +branches of the latter, so as nearly to unite with the truncated +extremity of the large brown patch; the brown apex of the wing bears a +row of five fulvous oval spots, the hind one of which is ill defined +and less strongly coloured: the hind wings are brown at the base, and +beyond the middle they are marked with a curved irregular brown bar, +which is partially connected with the brown spotted hind margin of the +wing, having a row of white spots between them, which become larger and +more or less confluent, especially towards the anal angle. On the under +side the fore wings are tinged with yellow, especially towards the +tips, the large brown markings of the upper side being nearly obsolete: +the hind wings are also yellowish, with a faint dusky fascia beyond the +middle, with a black discoidal spot surmounted with yellow scales; the +costa at the base is bright yellow, and the fringe of all the wings +is white. The female is slightly larger, with the brown markings more +suffused, the orange spots of the fore wings obsolete, and replaced +by brown, and the white submarginal spots of the hind wings almost +obliterated and replaced with brown. + + + Genus TERIAS, Swainson. + +_Eurema_, Kirby, Syn. Cat. (haud recte). + + 28. (1) TERIAS RAHEL, Fabricius; Godart; Boisduval; Trimen, p. + 76. + +Ramaqueban River, February; near the Victoria Falls in January; and +near the Dry River, beginning of March. + + 29. (2) TERIAS ZOË, Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. pl. 23, + f. 10; female. + +Mas. Alis supra minus saturate atomosis, posticis limbo nigro omnino +carentibus et unicoloribus. + +Near the Ramaqueban River, in February. + + 30. (3) TERIAS SERULI, Westw. + +Alis supra pallide flavis, anticis apice macula trigona fusca intus +parum curvata integra, ante angulum posticum desinente; angulo extremo +apicali pallescenti; alis posticis immaculatis: alis anticis subtus +flavis, costa, apice, alisque posticis carneo-lutescentibus, omnibus +immaculatis. Expans. alar. antic. fere 1½ unc. + +Habitat ad ripas Seruli fluv.; mense Augusto capta. + + + Family ACRÆIDÆ. + + + Genus ACRÆA, Fabricius. + + 31. (1) ACRÆA ATERGATIS, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 1, 2.) + +Alis supra rufo-aurantiis, nigro-maculatis, anticis apice nigro et +sub apicem nigro-lineatis margine apicali omnium nigro. Expansio alar. +antic. unc. 2¹⁄₁₂. + +Habitat prope “Victoria Falls;” mense Januario capta. + +The upper side of the wings is of a rich orange-red colour, the base +of all the wings slightly powdered with black atoms; a black spot +is placed in the middle of the cell of the fore wings, followed by +a smaller transverse one at the extremity of the cell; at a little +distance beyond the cell is a short black, rather oblique fascia, +formed of five more or less confluent spots, the innermost being +incurved and placed between the 2d and 3d branches of the median +vein; this last spot is succeeded by two other spots, the three being +parallel with the apical margin of the wing; there is also a minute +round dot towards the base of the wing behind the basal part of the +median vein, and two small dots near the inner angle; the veins are +black in the apical part of the wing, with the interstices between +the veins marked with thin black lines, the margin itself as well as +the apex of the wing being also black; the hind wings are marked with +twelve round black spots; the six outer ones arranged in a very waved +line; the margin is also black. On the under side the fore wings are +of a more rosy tint, except towards the apex, where they are more +orange; the spots of the upper side are here reproduced: the hind wings +on this side are more variegated; the black spots are more numerous, +being about 18 in number, several close to the base of the wing being +visible, which are not seen on the upper side; the spots are placed on +pale greyish buff spaces, which gives them an ocellated appearance; +and the outer margin of the wing is pale greyish buff with a very thin +black marginal line, preceded by very thin black lunules, the veins +rather thickened and black along the margin, the spaces between the +veins being rosy red in the part of the wing between the terminal row +of spots and the lunules. Antennæ black; palpi fulvous, with the last +joint black; body black, spotted with white and rose-colour; legs +fulvous, tarsi black; abdomen, above black with thin yellowish edges to +the segments, each of which has two fulvous spots, beneath fulvous with +two rows of black specks. + +Another specimen, which I cannot distinguish specifically from the +preceding, was also taken at the Victoria Falls in January 1875, and +has the upper surface of the wings rather brighter orange-red, with +two minute additional black dots within the discoidal cell, at about +half its length from the base, and with the abdomen orange-fulvous, the +three basal segments on the upper side being alone black, varied with +orange. The apical margin of the fore wings in this specimen is not so +rounded as in the other with the spotted abdomen, which is evidently a +female, the probability being that the male has the wings rather less +rounded and the abdomen not spotted. + + 32. (2) ACRÆA ATOLMIS, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 3, 4.) + +Alis supra aurantiacis basi nigricantibus, maculis nigris minutis +notatis, anticarum apice venis nigris margineque tenuissimo nigro +maculaque postica prope angulum posticum posita. Expans. alar. antic. +unc. 1¹¹⁄₁₂. + +Habitat prope “Victoria Falls;” mense Januario capta. + +This species is smaller than the preceding, with the various black +markings very small, the interspaces of the apical portion of the +fore wings not striolated with black, and the posterior spot of the +fore wings placed just between the preceding spot and the hind angle +of the wing. The upper surface of the wings is uniformly orange, with +the basal half rather redder, the base itself being suffused with +black scales; within the discoidal cell is a small kidney-shaped black +spot, followed by a narrow oblique one at the extremity of the cell; +behind this (between the 1st and 2d branches of the median vein) is +another spot, and between the latter and the posterior angle of the +wing is a third, the three forming nearly a straight row; beyond the +discoidal cell is a short oblique row of small black dots, between +which and the apical margin of the wing the veins are black: the hind +wings have a small black dot within the discoidal cell, and a curved +row of six small black dots across the wing close to the extremity of +the cell; the hind margin is very slenderly black, and the veins also +have their apical portions black. The wings beneath are of an uniform +rosy buff-colour, with the black spots more numerous and distinct than +above, the hind wings having about 18 small but distinct ones, those at +the base and near the anal margin not visible above; the apical margin +of all the wings is very slenderly black, the hind wings having no +trace of the lunular markings of the preceding and following species. +Body black, sides of thorax with yellowish buff spots; abdomen buff, +with the basal segments dusky above. + + _Note_.--In the engraving the apical margin of the fore wings is + represented rather too much rounded. + + 33. (3) ACRÆA AXINA, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 5, 6.) + +Alis supra luteo-fulvis, nigro-maculatis, posticis magis aurantiacis; +anticarum apice, lineolisque abbreviatis apicalibus (inter venas) +nigricantibus; alis posticis maculis minoribus, exterioribus lineam +irregularem multo pone medium alæ formantibus, margine externo nigro. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1⅚. + +Habitat prope Tati et Gwailo fluv.; mense Octobre capta. + +This small species has the upper side of the fore wings rather dirty +luteo-fulvous, that of the hind wings being brighter coloured. The +extremity of the fore wings and the narrow apical margin are black, and +the interspaces between the veins near the apex of the wings are marked +with slender abbreviated black lines, leaving a narrow paler space +beyond the fascia; the five spots between the base and the middle of +the wings are strongly marked, and the abbreviated oblique black fascia +beyond the cell is more continuous: the hind wings have the black spots +also well marked, the outer ones forming an irregular row considerably +beyond the middle of the wing, the central spot especially being not +far from the black marginal border. On the under side the fore wings +are slightly rosy, the apical portion being more buff with the spaces +between the veins orange; the black spots on this side are not so +strongly marked as above: the hind wings are more pale buff, with the +spaces between the veins strongly marked with rose-colour, the black +spots resting on pale spaces, giving them an ocellated appearance; the +very narrow black outer margin of these wings is preceded by a series +of small black arches, including a row of pale yellow spots. The palpi, +head, and sides of the body are coloured as in the preceding species; +the abdomen in one of our specimens is broken off, but in the other it +is pale buff, with the upper side of the basal segments black, with two +pale dots, indicating (as well as the shape of the fore wings) this +individual (represented in our figures) to be of the male sex. + + _Note_.--The orange and rosy tints described above are almost + obliterated in one of the two specimens, most probably from + longer exposure in the winged state. + + 34. (4) ACRÆA ACONTIAS, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 7, 8.) + +Alis supra obscure fusco-rufis, nigro-maculatis, maculis 4 in medio +alarum anticarum, fascia abbreviata maculari, margine apicali late +venisque apicalibus nigris; alis posticis basi maculisque submediis +lineam irregularem formantibus, margineque postico cum venis nigris. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1⅚. + +Habitat prope “Victoria Falls;” mense Januario capta. + +The dull brownish red colouring of the upper side of the wings +distinguishes this species. The fore wings are marked near the base, +behind the middle of the cell, with a small black dot, followed by four +rather large spots of the same colour, placed so as to form an oblique +triangle; beyond the cell is the ordinary abbreviated fascia, formed +of four black spots, which is succeeded by a narrow paler buff space, +the apex being traversed by black veins, the extremity of the anterior +margin and the whole of the apical margin being also black: the hind +wings have a suffused black spot near the base, the middle of the wing +being crossed by zigzag rows of small but nearly uniform black spots; +the outer margin is black, as are the veins beyond the middle of the +wing. On the under side the fore wings are more rosy coloured from the +base to the abbreviated fascia, beyond which they are paler buff, with +orange stripes between the veins: the hind wings have the black dots +smaller but more numerous than on the upper side, there being about +20 on each wing, the ground colour of which is buff, with the spaces +between the veins in the basal portion rosy, but beyond the cell they +are marked with longitudinal orange stripes between the veins; the +outer margin is very narrowly black, preceded by a very narrow black +line parallel with the margin. The body is black, much spotted at the +sides below the wings with buff and rosy; the abdomen is orange, marked +above with black fasciæ, forming more or less incomplete lateral +circular spots; the ventral surface yellow, with two rows of black +spots. The apical margin of the fore wings is but slightly convex, but +the spotting of the abdomen indicates the specimen to be a female. + + 35. (5) ACRÆA AGLAONICE, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 9, 10.) + +Alis supra rufo-puniceis, anticis apicem versus magis aurantiacis, +macula fenestrata bipartita subapicali notatis, nigro-maculatis, venis +apicalibus nigris; posticis maculis minutis margineque latiori apicali +nigris. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2¹⁄₁₂. + +Habitat prope Tati. + +This species has the upper surface of the wings more richly +coloured than any of the others captured by Mr. Oates, being of an +orange-carmine colour, especially in the hind wings. The fore wings +are marked half-way between the end of the discoidal cell and the tip +of the wings with a square vitreous spot, through which runs a veinlet +dividing it into two parts; the base of the wings, especially in the +hind parts, is irrorated with black scales; the discoidal cell has a +rather large oval black spot beyond its middle, followed by a smaller +lunate one at the extremity of the cell; beyond which is an oblique +row of five conjoined black dots; another round black spot is placed +towards the base of the wing behind the median vein, and two other +circular ones behind the extremity of the cell placed transversely; the +veins at the extremity of the wings are slenderly black: the hind wings +are marked with about 10 minute black dots (varying, however, in size), +and the hind margin of the wing is rather broadly edged with black. On +the under side the fore wings are rosy coloured, with the spots of the +upper side, including the vitreous spot, reproduced: the hind wings are +greyish buff, with the spaces between the veins varied with rosy at the +base and along the anal margin, and with rich orange between the middle +of the wing and the row of submarginal black lunules, which latter rest +upon a narrow yellowish buff margin; the spots on this side, about 17 +in number, are distinct, appearing partially ocellated. Body black, +with rosy spots behind the eyes and on the sides of the chest, which is +also spotted with pale buff; palpi orange, terminal joint black; legs +orange, tarsi black; abdomen broken off. + +The unique specimen of this species collected by Mr. Oates has the +abdomen mutilated, but the structure of the fore legs and the shape of +the fore wings prove that it is a male individual. + + 36. (6) ACRÆA ACRONYCTA, Westw. (Plate F, figs. 11, 12.) + +Alis supra luteo-aurantiacis; anticis triente basali fusco; macula ad +apicem cellulæ, pone medium alæ fascia abbreviata maculari, maculisque +duabus posticis (margine postico parallelis) nigris; alis posticis +magis albidis, ante medium nigro-maculatis, margineque postico latiori +nigro: subtus maculis magis distinctis margineque albido-maculato. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1¾. + +Habitat ----? + +The upper surface of the wings (especially the hind pair) of this +species is whitish orange, the base being strongly suffused with dark +brown scales hiding the spots in that part; one of these, near the +extremity of the discoidal cell, is visible, and the cell itself is +closed by a semicircular spot, followed at a short distance by an +oblique abbreviated black fascia formed of conjoined spots, of which +the hinder one is smallest and most distinct; two other spots appear on +the disc of the wing behind the extremity of the cell, and are placed +nearly parallel with the apical margin, which is very narrowly black +and slightly concave: the hind wings have a somewhat more suffused +whitish hue than the anterior; they are brown at the base, and are +marked before the middle with an irregular series of black dots, +followed by two minute ones beyond the middle; the posterior margin is +widely black. On the under side the fore wings have five black spots +in the middle, followed by the abbreviated macular fascia: the hind +wings are more tinged with rose-colour than the anterior ones, and are +marked with about twelve black dots of different sizes; the posterior +margin is pale yellowish white, surmounted by a row of black arches, +resting upon a very narrow black edging. The head and body are black, +spotted with pale buff, the sides of the thorax beneath the wings with +a reddish spot; the abdomen is nearly white, the basal segments on the +upper side black, with a pair of round white dots. + + 37. (7) ACRÆA AMPHIMALLA, Westw. (Plate E, figs. 1, 2.) + +Alis supra fulvo vel puniceo luteis nigro-guttatis, anticarum apice +late nigro triangulariter terminata, posticarum margine apicali e +lunulis nigris, maculis concoloribus inclusis, notato. Expans. alar. +antic. unc. 1¾–2¹⁄₁₂. + +(An _Acræa Caldarene_ alicujus?) + +Habitat prope Tati, et marg. fluv. Motloutsi; mense Maio capta. + +This very distinct species has the wings on the upper side of a buff +colour, varying from dull orange to reddish; the black spots are of +small size, and the fore wings have the apex broadly and triangularly +black, whilst the hind wings have the slender apical outer black margin +preceded by a series of slender depressed black arches enclosing +spots of the ground colour of the wing; the ordinary black spot in +the middle of the discoidal cell is sometimes preceded by a smaller, +more or less slightly marked, dot, behind which is another small one; +the cell is partially closed by a small oblique black spot, followed +at some distance by a row of four small spots placed obliquely, and +there are two other small spots between the middle of the wing and +the posterior angle, the outer one being occasionally duplicated; in +the hind wings the black spots, about twelve in number, are of nearly +uniform small size. On the under side the black apex of the upper side +is replaced by the ground colour of the rest of the wing, the spaces +between the veins being more strongly marked with orange stripes: the +hind wings are buff-coloured, with the spaces between the veins in the +basal portion marked with red, having the black dots (about twenty in +number) surrounded with buff, whilst in the apical half of the wing +the intervening spaces are more orange; the black arcade preceding the +slender outer black edging is marked more distinctly than on the upper +side. The head and body are spotted as in the preceding species. + + 38. (8) ACRÆA NATALICA, Boisduval in Delegorgue’s Voy. Afr. + Austr. ii. p. 590; Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. pl. 23, + figs. 12, 13. + + _Acræa Bellua_, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 22. + + _Acræa Hypatia_, var. B, Trimen, p. 98. + +A series of small specimens, measuring only 2 inches in expanse of the +fore wings, were taken at Tati. A large specimen (2¾ inches expanse) +was taken near the Dry River in the beginning of March, and one (2½ +inches expanse) was taken near the Motloutsi River in August. + + 39. (9) ACRÆA ANEMOSA, Hewitson, Ex. Butt. t. 3, Acr. 3, f. 14, + 15. + +Near the Umvungu River, end of October; and near the Victoria Falls in +January. + + 40. (10) ACRÆA NEOBULE, E. Doubleday and Hewitson, Gen. D. Lep. + pl. 19, f. 3; Reiche in Ferr. and Gal. Voy. Abyss. pl. 33, f. 3, + 4. + + An var. _Acræa Mahela_, Boisduval, Faune Madag. pl. 6, f. 1? + +Ramaqueban River, February 14, 1874. + + 41. (11) ACRÆA RAHIRA, Boisduval, Faune Madag. pl. 5, f. 4, 5; + Trimen, p. 103. + +Taken on the Zambesi road, end of November. + + 42. (12) ACRÆA DIRCÆA, Westw. + +Alis supra fulvis, puniceo interdum tinctis; anticarum apice late +nigris maculisque 9 parvis nigris, 4 in lineam obliquam pone medium +positis; alis posticis maculis circiter 14 parvis nigris discoidalibus, +margine tenui nigro fulvo-maculato: alis subtus pallidioribus, apice +anticarum lutescenti, fulvo-strigoso; maculis nigris parum majoribus +præsertim in alis posticis, interstitiis rubro-maculatis. Expans. alar. +antic. unc. 2. + +_Acr. Oncææ_ affinis sed apice lato nigro alarum anticarum optime +distincta. + +Numerous specimens taken at Tati and the Motloutsi River in May. + + + Family NYMPHALIDÆ. + + + Genus CHARAXES, Ochsenheimer. + + 43. (1) CHARAXES PELIAS, Cramer, pl. 3, f. C, D; Godart; Trimen, + p. 175; Butler, Lep. Exot. pl. 10, f. 5. + +Near the Seruli River, August 19, 1873; and near the Victoria Falls in +January. + + + Genus CYNTHIA, Fabricius. + + 44. (1) CYNTHIA CARDUI, Linnæus. + +Taken at the Indunas’ Tree, near the Umvungu River, end of November. + + + Genus JUNONIA, Hübner. + + 45. (1) JUNONIA CLELIA, Cramer, pl. 21, f. E, F; Trimen, p. 128. + +Bamangwato, Ramaqueban River, Gubuleweyo, and near Tati. + + 46. (2) JUNONIA ŒNONE, Linnæus: Cramer, pl. 35, f. A, C; Trimen, + p. 125. + +Tati, Ramaqueban River, and about the Matengwe River. + + 47. (3) JUNONIA ORITHYA, Linnæus: Cramer, pl. 19, f. C, D, pl. + 32, f. E, F, and pl. 290, f. A, B. Common in India, etc. + +This species, not included in Trimen’s work, was taken near the +Victoria Falls in the month of January. The Hopeian collection also has +it from Sierra Leone. + + 48. (4) JUNONIA OCTAVIA, Cramer, pl. 135, f. B, C; Trimen, p. + 130. + +Near the Victoria Falls in January. + + 49. (5) JUNONIA NATALICA, Felder, Wien. ent. Mon. iv. p. 106. + + _Junonia Hecate_, Trimen, p. 140. + +Near the Victoria Falls in January. + + 50. (6) JUNONIA CLOANTHA, Cramer, pl. 338, f. A, B; Trimen, p. + 137. + +Near the Dry River, middle of March. + + + Genus DIADEMA, Boisduval. + + 51. (1) DIADEMA MISIPPUS, Linnæus. + + Fœm. var. _Papilio Inaria_, Cramer, pl. 214, f. A, B. + +Near the Victoria Falls; also from Sierra Leone, the Zambesi, and +Mauritius, in the Hopeian collection. + + + Genus ATERICA, Boisduval. + + 52. (1) ATERICA MELEAGRIS, Cramer, pl. 66, f. A, B; Drury, Ill. + Exot. Ent. vol. iii. pl. 17, f. 3, 4; Trimen, p. 157. + +Indunas’ Tree, near the Umvungu River, in November. + + + Genus DANAIS, Latreille. + + 53. (1) DANAIS CHRYSIPPUS, Linnæus; Cramer, pl. 118, f. B, C. + +Indunas’ Tree, near the Umvungu River; and near Gubuleweyo in December. + + + Genus HYPANIS, Boisduval. + + 54. (1) HYPANIS ILITHYIA, Drury, Ill. Exot. Ent. vol. ii. pl. + 17, f. 1, 2; Cramer, pl. 214, f. C, D; Trimen, p. 214. + +Tati, Ramaqueban River, Inkwesi River (March 1874), Dry River; and +Indunas’ Tree, near the Umvungu River. + + + Family SATYRIDÆ. + + + Genus CYLLO, Boisduval. + + 55. (1) CYLLO LEDA, Linnæus et auct. + +An extremely variable species. The specimen from the Nata River +(beginning of December 1874) has an obscure fulvous subapical patch +bearing two black spots in the fore wings; beneath, pale brown, with +dark brown fasciæ, and scarcely any trace of ocelli on the hind wings. +Specimens from Ashanti are pale brown beneath, strongly freckled all +over with brown, and with large ocelli on the hind wings. + + + Genus EREBIA, Dalman. + + 56. (1) EREBIA NARYCIA, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 32; Trimen, + p. 198. + +Ramaqueban River, middle of March. + + + Genus YPTHIMA, Hübner. + + 57. (1) YPTHIMA NAREDA, Kollar in Hügel’s Kaschmir, vol. iv. pl. + 2, p. 451; Hewitson, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1865, pl. 17, f. 6, 7. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + + Genus MYCALESIS, Hübner. + + 58. (1) MYCALESIS VICTORINA, Westw. + +Sordide fusca, alis anticis pone medium nonnihil pallidioribus; ocellis +duobus nigris ochreo anguste cinctis, singulo punctum album includente +subapicali multo minori; posticis concoloribus lineis duabus tenuibus +submarginalibus pallidioribus serieque ocellorum ut in anticis: alis +subtus pallidioribus magis lutescentibus, fascia angusta recta communi +pone medium, anticis 2-posticis 7-ocellatis, ocellis valde inæqualibus, +in posticis lineis pallidis valde sinuatis inclusis. Expans. alar. +antic. unc. 1¾. + +Affinis _M. Eusiro_, Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. pl. 25, f. 3–6. + +Near the Victoria Falls. + + + Family LYCÆNIDÆ. + + + Genus AMBLYPODIA, Horsfield. + + 59. (1) AMBLYPODIA NATALENSIS, D. W. and H., Gen. D. Lep. pl. + 75, f. 4; Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. p. 399; Trimen, p. + 227. + + _Spindasis Masilikazi_, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 45. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + 60. (2) AMBLYPODIA? LEROMA, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 42; + Trimen, p. 231. + +Near Tati. + + + Genus ZERITIS, Boisduval. + + 61. (1) ZERITIS PERION, Cramer, pl. 379, f. B, C.; Trimen, p. + 267; Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. pl. 26, f. 1–3. + +Gubuleweyo, beginning of December. + + 62. (2) ZERITIS AMANGA, Westw. + +Fœm. Alis supra læte rufo-aurantiacis; anticis macula magna basali +nigra, costa pone medium margineque apicali nigris; alis posticis, +rufo-aurantiacis basi nigricantibus: alis subtus purpureo-rufis, +anticarum costa ad basim guttisque duabus parvis prope basim tertia +parum majori submedia, alteraque subapicali, argenteis; posticis guttis +perpaucis argenteis vix notatis. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1⅓. + +Near the Gwailo River. The red basal half of the costa of the fore +wings, the outwardly angulated apical margin, the shorter hind wings, +with both the anal and outer margin emarginate near the tails, and the +splendid silvery base of the costa of the fore wings beneath, separate +this insect from _Z. Perion_. + +Mas. (Zambesi, Rowley. In Mus. Hopeiano Oxoniæ). Alis anticis supra +fuscis, costa ad basim maculaque late trigona versus angulum externum +marginis postici rufis; alis posticis rufis, basi venisque versus +angulum externum nigricantibus: alis infra castaneo-rufis, costa +anticarum basi, guttisque tribus argenteis ut in fœmina, squamis +perpaucis argenteis in lineas transversas dispositis; alis posticis +strigis tribus undulatis gracilibus obscurioribus guttisque nonnullis +argenteis prope caudam. Margo externus alarum anticarum in medio +angulatus, inter medium et angulum posticum emarginatus. + + + Genus POLYOMMATUS, Latreille. + + 63. (1) POLYOMMATUS TELICANUS, Hübner, Eur. Schm. Pap. f. 371–2, + 553–4; Godart; Boisduval; Trimen, p. 238. + +Tati, the Gwailo River, and near the Victoria Falls. + + 64. (2) POLYOMMATUS OTACILIA, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1868, p. + 90. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + 65. (3) POLYOMMATUS SYBARIS, Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. + pl. 26, f. 6–8; Trimen, p. 242. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + + Genus LYCÆNA, Fabricius. + + 66. (1) LYCÆNA PARSIMON, Fabricius; Godart; Boisduval. + + _Papilio Celæus_, Cramer, pl. 379, f. K, K; Trimen, p. 247. + + _Lycæna Asteris_, Godart; Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 40. + + Var. _Lycæna Methymna_, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. 1862, p. 280. + +Male, Ramaqueban River, in February; female, Bamangwato, Tati. + + 67. (2) LYCÆNA JESOUS, Guérin in Lefebvre’s Voy. Abyss. pl. 11, + f. 3, 4; Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 39; Trimen, p. 350. + +Near the Gwailo River, October 12, 1873. + + 68. (3) LYCÆNA ASOPUS, Hopffer in Peters’s Reise Mossamb. pl. + 26, f. 13–15; Trimen, p. 249. + + 69. (4) LYCÆNA LOCHIAS? MSS.? + +Alis supra fuscis purpureo parum squamosis, posticis maculis duabus +inequalibus nigris pallidius cinctis, submarginalibus, ciliis albis: +alis subtus pallide fuscis albidoque alternatim fasciatis; posticis +macula nigra intus aurantiaco, extus argenteo, notata, alteraque simili +sed multo minori ad angulum analem, cauda nulla. Expans. alar. antic. +lin. 10. + +Locality not indicated. + + + Genus CHRYSOPHANUS, Hübner. + + 70. (1) CHRYSOPHANUS LARA, Linnæus; Fabricius; Trimen, p. 260. + + _Papilio Jolaus_, Cramer, pl. 270, fig. F, G. + + _Papilio Gorgias_, Stoll, pl. 33, f. 5, 5d. + + + Family HESPERIIDÆ. + + + Genus ISMENE, Swainson. + + 71. (1) ISMENE PISISTRATUS, Fabricius; Jones, Icones, vol. vi. + pl. 26, f. 1 (Typus in Mus. Britann.) + + _Note._--The black mark extending from near the anal margin on + the under side of the hind wings, was more divided than usual in + Drury’s specimen, figured by Jones, so as to have led Fabricius + to describe the hind wings as four-spotted. + + _Rhopalocampta Valmaran_, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 48. + +Var. Fascia alba latitudine æquali absque maculis nigris. + + _Papilio Forestan_, Cramer, pl. 391, f. E, F; Godart; Boisduval; + Trimen, p. 318. + +Holfontein, July 13, 1873. + + + Genus LEUCOCHITONEA, Wallengren. + + 72. (1) LEUCOCHITONEA LEVUBU, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 52; + Trimen, p. 306. + +Near the Dry River, beginning of March. + + + Genus CAPRONA, Wallengren. + + 73. (1) CAPRONA PILLAANA, Wallengren, Lep. Caffr. p. 51; Trimen, + p. 308. + +Near Tati or Gwailo. + + + Genus PAMPHILA, Fabricius. + + 74. (1) PAMPHILA RANOHA, Westw. + +Alis supra nigrofuscis, costa prope basim fulvo-irrorata, fascia fulva +e basi marginis interni per medium alæ extensa, sensim dilatata et ante +apicem alæ desinente, maculam ovalem inter cellulam et apicem nigram +gerente, ciliis fulvis; alis posticis fascia lata irregulari pone +medium fulva: alis subtus fulvis, anticis linea prope basim, macula +discoidali ovata strigaque subapicali ad angulum analem sensim dilatata +nigrofuscis; alis posticis fulvis nigro-guttatis, guttis novem in +lineas duas margine postico parallelas dispositis. Expans. alar. antic. +unc. 1⅙. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + 75. (2) PAMPHILA HARONA, Westw. + +Magnitudo _P. Lineæ_, Linnæus. Alis supra fulvis, anticarum costa +(ad basim valde angusta) margineque apicali nigris; macula basali +marginis interni, striga recta in cellula discoidali et macula conica +ad apicem cellulæ nigris; alis posticis fulvis costa late nigra, +ultra medium ad angulum externum angusta: alis infra fulvis, posticis +pallidioribus; anticis macula magna baseos costam non attingente, +altera parva transversa ad apicem cellulæ, tertiaque parva conica +marginis apicalis versus angulum internum; alis posticis immaculatis; +striola longitudinali magis brunnea, margine anali parallela. Expans. +alar. antic. unc. 1⅙. + +Near the Victoria Falls, in January. + + + _LEPIDOPTERA HETEROCERA._ + +Moths of various sizes and hawk-moths appear to be very numerous +in Southern Africa. A large number of species of the former were +collected by Mr. Oates, chiefly of small size, the majority of which, +unfortunately, were ill preserved. + + + Family SPHINGIDÆ. + +The SPHINGIDÆ are not especially remarkable. The death’s-head +moth, _Acherontia Atropos_, occurs throughout South Africa, and +was found between Gubuleweyo and the Gwailo River. _Chœrocampa +capensis_, with its bright pink under wings, extends from the Cape +to Natal and Zulu Land. A new species, closely allied to this last +insect, was captured by Mr. Oates, which may be thus described:-- + +CHŒROCAMPA VIRGO, Westw. (Plate E, fig. 11.) + +Alba albido vix tincta, alis posticis plaga fere basali ovali punicea; +omnibus subtus omnino concoloribus. Expans. alar. antic. fere unc. 3. + +Habitat prope Gubuleweyo vel Gwailo fluv. + +The Genus _Nephele_, Hübner (_Zonilia_, Boisduval), contains several +South African species, _e.g._ _Sphinx Peneus_, Cramer; _fumosa_, +Boisduval; _comma_, Gerstaecker; _viridescens_, Walker, and the +beautiful _argentifera_, Walker. Several species of the silver-striped +hawk-moths occur in South Africa, as _Chœrocampa Charis_, Boisduval; +_Schenkii_, Moschler; _Thyelia_, Linn. (_Eson_, Cramer), etc. +The lovely _Smerinthus Dumolinii_, Boisduval, is from Natal. The +clear-winged _Sesia Hylas_, Linnæus, was captured at Gubuleweyo. +And lastly, it may be mentioned that the Rev. H. Rowley sent the +_Macroglossa hirundo_, Gerstaecker in Decken’s Reisen in Ost-Afrika, +pl. 15, fig. 7, from the Zambesi. + +It may also be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance in entomological +geography that the grand _Urania_ (_Chrysiridia_) _Rhipheus_, supposed +until quite recently to be confined to Madagascar, and to be the only +old world representative of the splendid new world _Uraniæ_, has been +found on the east coast of Africa, near Zanzibar. Gerstaecker has +figured the continental individual as a distinct species, but specimens +which I have examined appear not to differ specifically from the +Madagascar ones. + + + Family ZYGÆNIDÆ. + +In this family a beautiful species of _Zygæna_, closely allied to the +very striking _Z. ochroptera_, Felder, was taken at Tati, which may be +thus characterised:-- + +ZYGÆNA TRICOLORATA, Westw. + +Chalybea, humeris alisque anticis aurantiacis, harum margine apicali +nigro; alis posticis sanguineis limbo nigro ante angulum analem +desinente. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1, lin. 5. + +Obs. _Z. ochroptera_, Felder, differt colore alarum limboque nigro +multo angustiori. + +Another species from Gubuleweyo is allied to Felder’s _Euctenia +Zygænoides_ (pl. 82, f. 21), but has the sanguineous portion of the +hind wings divided by a transverse black band. On the under side the +white spots at the base and middle of the fore wings are sanguineous. + +The beautiful South African species, _Z. caffra_, Linn., _ampla_, +Walker, _concinna_, Walker (Delagoa Bay), and especially _Z. negamica_, +from Damara Land and Lake Nyassa, require careful examination as to +their generic position. Several species of _Procris_ and _Syntomis_ +were also taken by Mr. Oates. + + + Family AGARISTIDÆ. + +This family is represented in Mr. Oates’s collection by a beautiful +undescribed species of _Eusemia_, allied to _E. Euphemia_, Cramer, pl. +345, fig. A, _E. longipennis_, Walker, Butler, Exot. Lep. Brit. Mus. +pl. 5, fig. 5; _E. pallida_, Butler, l. c. fig. 3; and _E. contigua_, +Butler, l. c. pl. 4, f. 8:-- + +EUSEMIA ADULATRIX, Westw. (Plate G, fig. 1, and Plate H, figs. 3, 3_a_, +3_b_.) + +Alis anticis nigris, maculis duabus parvis subbasalibus, fascia obliqua +integra submedia, alteraque magna late ovali inter medium et apicem, +interstitiis argenteo-irroratis; striga minuta marginis interni pone +medium punctoque rotundato intus angulum posticum flavo-albidis; alis +posticis sanguineis, limbo nigro; abdomine luteo, nigro-annulato. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2¼. + +Habitat prope Tati et Gwailo fluv. + +I take this opportunity of describing several other African allied +species of this beautiful genus:-- + +EUSEMIA NIVEOSPARSA, Westw. + +Corpore tenui, abdomine nigro, fulvo-annulato; alis anticis nigris +maculis 7 parvis niveis,--1ma. parva in medio cellulæ; 2da. obliqua +cellulam terminante; 3tia. ovali inter cellulam et apicem alæ; 4ta. +elongata ante medium marginis interni; 5ta. pone maculam 2am; 6ta. +bipartita inter 3am et 7am prope angulum posticum; alis posticis +sanguineis, limbo nigro. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 3. + +Habitat in Montibus Cameroons, Afr. occid. In Mus. Hopeiano. + +EUSEMIA ÆMULATRIX, Westw. + +Mediocriter angusta, alis anticis angustis, nigris, +albido-maculatis,--macula parva rotunda in medio cellulæ; 2da. majori +ad apicem cellulæ; 3tia. fasciæformi in partes quinque venis nigris +divisa, angusta et in medio extus angulata; 4ta. elongata e basi ad +medium marginis interni extensa; 5ta. irregulari-ovata pone 2am.; 6ta. +minuta intus angulum posticum; alis posticis sanguineis, limbo nigro; +abdomine fulvo, ano nigro-barbato. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2⅓. + +Habitat ----? In Mus. Hopeiano. + +EUSEMIA PARDALINA, Walker, Trans. N. Hist. Soc. Glasgow, vol. i. (1873). + +The type of this species, from Congo, is in the Hopeian collection, +together with a second individual brought from Angola by Monteiro. It +differs from _E. Euphemia_ in its smaller size, and in having +the ground colour of the hind wings rich orange fulvous instead of +sanguineous. + +EUSEMIA MERETRIX, Westw. + +Alis anticis nigris, maculis 5 fulvis,--1ma. obliqua subbasali +marginem anticum et posticum non attingenti; 2da. ovali ad apicem +cellulæ; 3tia. duplo majori oblongo-ovali et obliqua inter cellulam et +apicem alæ; 4ta. fere rotundata pone 2am; 5ta. parva angulo postico +proxima; costa basi albo-guttata, margine postico immaculato; alis +posticis rufis, limbo nigro. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2¾. + +Habitat in Africa merid. (D. Buxton). In Mus. Hopeiano. + +EUSEMIA NUGATRIX, Westw. + +Alis anticis nigris, costa ad basim biguttata, maculis 6 +luteo-albidis,--1ma. subtrigona ante medium cellulæ; 2da. subquadrata +parum obliqua ante apicem cellulæ; 3tia. magna subovali obliqua inter +medium et apicem alæ, intus vena 3tia mediana in dentem nigrum incisa; +4ta. oblonga marginis postici, medium marginis fere attingente; 5ta. +pone 2am; 6ta. fere ad angulum posticum alæ; interstitiis argenteo +parum squamosis; alis posticis rufo-aurantiacis, limbo simplici nigro. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2⅔–3¼. + +Habitat apud promontorium, “Cape Palmas,” Afr. occid. (Savage). In Mus. +Hopeiano. + +EUSEMIA GLOSSATRIX, Westw. + +Alis supra nigris, purpureo-nitidis, præsertim in alis posticis; +anticis fascia media parum curvata tripartita straminea, alteraque +inter medium et apicem alæ e punctis 4 albis formata, interstitiis +squamis argenteis perpaucis ornatis; alis posticis margine postico +albo, intus dentato; abdomine supra nigro, subtus fulvo; collare et +pedibus subtus fulvis. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2¼. + +Habitat in Afric. orient-merid. In Mus. Hopeiano. + + + Family SATURNIIDÆ. + +This splendid family is well represented in Africa, particularly in +the south-eastern portion, where a number of beautiful species have +been found, especially in Natal. A monograph of these insects, so far +as then known, was published by myself in the “Proceedings of the +Zoological Society,” in 1849 (with four coloured plates containing +thirty-three species), of which half were previously undescribed. Of +these, perhaps the most striking is the long-tailed species _Actias +mimosæ_, with pale green wings, which lives upon the Mimosa, on the +banks of the river Tugela, the boundary of the kingdom of Amazulu, +between Delagoa Bay and Natal, the cocoons of which are used by the +natives for tobacco boxes. Another fine species is _Saturnia Alcinoë_, +Cramer, pl. 322, fig. A, (= _S. Caffraria_, Stoll, pl. 31, f. 2, _S. +caffra_, Boisduval in Delegorgue’s Voy. Afr. Austr. ii. p. 601). A +specimen of this species, measuring seven inches in the expansion of +the fore wings, was taken by Mr. Oates, but the precise locality was +not recorded. Another species, which appears to be undescribed, was +also taken by Mr. Oates, which may be thus characterized:-- + +SATURNIA CERVINA, Westw. + +Tota roseo-cervina, alis anticis spatio minuto transverso squamis +destituta ad apicem cellulæ, striolaque paullo obscuriori paullo +curvata et vix distincta inter cellulam et marginem posticum; alis +posticis macula parva trigona ad apicem cellulæ; abdomine magis fulvo; +alis anticis apice subrotundatis. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 4⅔. + +Habitat prope Tati. + +A beautiful species, nearly allied to the European emperor moth, was +taken by Mr. Oates, which appears to be undescribed, although it +has been named by Mr. Butler, in manuscript, in the British Museum +collection:-- + +SATURNIA FLAVIDA. + +_S. Apolloniæ_, Cramer, pl. 250, fig. A, persimilis; differt colore +fusco-griseo alarum flavido-tincto, fascia fusca pone ocellum, absque +maculis duabus nigricantibus subapicalibus, colore fusco subapicali +omnium alarum intus flavido latius marginato. Expans. alar. antic. unc. +3⅓. + +Habitat prope Gubuleweyo. + +I take this opportunity of describing two additional species of +_Saturnia_, closely allied to _S. flavida_, in the Hopeian +collection, together with a remarkable species collected by Mr. +Buxton:-- + +SATURNIA TERPSICHORINA, Westw. + +_S. Apolloniæ_ similis at multo minor et pallidior, ocello alarum +anticarum ovali, fascia tenui extus connexa, hac prope apicem alæ +absque maculis duabus nigris; alis posticis basi albis absque fascia +indistincta subbasali, ocello ovali extus cum fascia tenui fusca +conjuncta, fascia 2da submarginali ut in _S. Apollonia_; thoracis +dorso macula livido-fusca; incisuris abdominis livido-marginatis. +Expans. alar. antic. unc. 2¾. + +Habitat in Africa merid.-orient. In Mus. Hopeiano. + +SATURNIA DYOPS, Maassen and Weymer, Beitr., fig. 21. + +This species is also closely allied to _S. Apollonia_, but +wants the ocellus in the hind wings. Maassen obtained it from Natal. +Specimens from South Eastern Africa, and from Angola (Monteiro), are in +the Hopeian collection at Oxford. + +SATURNIA HYPERBIUS, Westw. + +Alis anticis ferruginosis, puncto minimo vitreo ad apicem cellulæ; +striga recta obliqua pone medium alæ cinerea, area pone strigam +magis aurantiaca, margine apicali plumbeo-tincto, ciliis rufis; alis +posticis fulvis ocello mediocri medio cinereo (medio albido) circulo +nigro; striga angusta cinerea inter ocellum et marginem posticum +plumbescentem, ciliis rufis: alis subtus saturatioribus, venis flavis, +anticis macula rotunda nigra, medio vitrea; cellula in posticis fere +obliterata, strigaque pone medium angustiori et minus distincta; +corpore rufo, abdomine magis fulvo. Expans. alar. antic. fere unc. 5. + +Habitat in Africa merid. (D. Buxton.) In Mus. Hopeiano. + + + Family BOMBYCIDÆ. + +The family BOMBYCIDÆ appears to be rich in species of the sub-family +LIMACODIDES, the caterpillars of which are clothed with short erect +bristles, which are capable of inflicting poisonous wounds; their +cocoons are very solid and egg-shaped. Notwithstanding their defensive +appendages they are subject to the attacks of parasites, and in the +“Transactions of the Entomological Society,” 1876, pl. 10, I have given +the history of a curious dipterous insect, _Systropus crudelis_, which +destroys individuals of one of the species of this group. Mr. Oates +obtained a number of species, the majority of which are, however, in +a very mutilated condition. Of one, which is a very showy insect and +appears to be undescribed, I give the description below:-- + +LIMACODES ARGENTIFERA, Westw. + +Læte pallido-viridis, alis anticis basi macula media fasciaque +subapicali valde curvata e guttis argenteis, singulis guttis annulo +brunneo cinctis, fascia externa e medio marginis postici versus apicem +extensa at guttis sensim decrescentibus; alis posticis abdomineque +fulvis. Expans. alar. antic. unc. 1¼. + +_Pantoctæniæ Gemmanti_, Felder, Reise Novara, pl. 82, fig. 16, +proxima. + +Habitat prope Gubuleweyo. + +A large species of this family, _Jana Mariana_, was collected by Mr. +Oates at Tati, and is figured in Plate G, fig. 6. The type specimen +is in the British Museum from Congo. It belongs to the modern Genus +_Jana_, of Boisduval, but was described by the late Adam White under +the name of _Bombyx Mariana_ (Ann. Nat. Hist. xii. 264). It is +fawn-coloured, the fore wings with four slender oblique undulating +brown bands. In the hind wings the bands are rather broader and more +distinct, and there is a large purplish black spot at the base of the +latter. The fore wings measure from 4 inches to 4⅔ inches in expanse. + +The species of the remaining Lepidopterous families captured by Mr. +Oates did not comprise any remarkable new species, and were for the +most part in a much broken condition, rendering their determination +very difficult. + + + Order COLEOPTERA. + + + Family _Cicindelidæ_. + +Of the carnivorous ground beetles five genera of CICINDELIDÆ +_Manticora_, _Platychile_, and _Dromica_, with _Ophryodera_ and +_Bostrichophorus_, are peculiar to the central and eastern sub-regions +of Africa. Of the first-named genera, Mr. Oates collected specimens of +the gigantic _Manticora latipennis_, Waterhouse, together with a fine +new species of _Dromica_ characterized below:-- + +DROMICA (MYRMECOPTERA) OATESII, Westw. (Plate G, fig. 5, and Plate H, +figs. 1, 1_a_, 1_b_.) + +Nigra, capite rugose striolato, labro lævi, in medio fulvo; pronoto +subopaco transverse striolato, linea media dorsali albo-hirta, elytris +obovalibus granulatis, singulis 5-costatis, costis longe ante apicem +desinentibus; costa suturæ proxima e tuberculis oblongis formata; costa +2da ad basim straminea, nigro-punctata; margine externo inter medium +et apicem linea gracili albida notato; antennis pone articulum 4tum +dilatatis, compressis, articulis sensim ad apicem decrescentibus. Fœm. +Long. corp. unc. 1, lat. med. elytr. lin. 3½. + + + Family CARABIDÆ. + +Of this family there are 17 peculiarly South African Genera, including +_Crepidogaster_, _Hystrichopus_, _Arsinoë_, and _Piezia_. The genera +_Eunostus_, _Glyphodactyla_, and _Megalonychus_, occur in Madagascar as +well as in South Africa. The greater portion of the gigantic species +of _Anthia_ are African, and of these a number were collected by +Mr. Oates, including _A. maxillosa_, Fabricius, _Mellyi_, De Breme, +_cinctipennis_, Dupont, _guttata_, Melly, MS. in Brit. Mus., and an +apparently undescribed species. Of the allied Genus _Cypholoba_, +specimens were captured of _C. alveolata_, De Breme, and 7-_guttata_, +Fabricius. Of _Polyhirma_ two species, _P. macilenta_, Olivier, and +_amabilis_, Boheman (?), and two species of _Graphipterus_, _G. +cordiger_, Dejean, and _Westwoodii_, De Breme (?). _Drypta jucunda_ and +_Orthogonius caffer_, complete the list of CARABIDÆ. + + + Family SCARABÆIDÆ. + +Of the sacred beetles, SCARABÆIDÆ, eminently characteristic of Africa, +and especially of the southern region, specimens of the gigantic +_Pachylomera femoralis_, Kirby, and a _Heliocantharus_, the largest +species of the genus, were taken by Mr. Oates, together with _H. +transversus_, Laporte (_operosus_, Dejean), and _H. intricatus_. +_Circellium Bacchus_, _Chalconotus cupreus_ (varietas minor et +brevior); three charming species of _Gymnopleurus_, _G. Olivierii_, +_fulgidus_, and _speciosus_; _Sisyphus_, one small species; _Copris_, +eight species, including _C. Jachus_, _Œdipus_, _Nemestrinus_, and +_cœlatus_; six small obscure species of _Onthophagus_; _Onitis inuus_ +and _ciliatus_:--the preceding, of all of which specimens were taken, +together with several small obscure species of _Aphodius_, all being +coprophagous in their habits, sufficiently testify to the existence of +numbers of large mammalia in the regions where they occur. + + + Family MELOLONTHIDÆ. + +Of this family a number of small obscure-coloured species were also +collected, with two species of _Trox_; but of the very characteristic +genera _Anisonyx_, _Peritrichia_, _Lepitrix_, _Pachycnema_, _Dichelus_, +_Monochelus_, and _Gymnoloma_, all very numerous in species, and +peculiar to South Africa, no specimens were captured by Mr. Oates. + + + Family DYNASTIDÆ. + +_Oryctes Boas_, Fabricius, and a small _Syrichthus_, allied to _S. +gagates_, were the only DYNASTIDÆ captured; the former in large numbers. + + + Family CETONIIDÆ. + +Of the family of the Rose Chafers (CETONIIDÆ), containing about 1000 +described species, twelve genera are peculiar to Western Africa, +fourteen to South Africa, and twenty-one to Madagascar. Of the gigantic +species of Goliath beetles, _Goliathus albo-signatus_, Boheman +(_Kirkii_, G. R. Gray), inhabits the Zambesi country. _Ceratorhina +splendens_, Bertoloni (_Petersiana_, Klug), one of the loveliest and +most remarkable of beetles, inhabits the Tati district and Mozambique, +but none of these singular insects were found by Mr. Oates. Six species +of CETONIIDÆ were taken by Mr. Oates, including _Pachnoda obsoleta_, +Schaum; _Spilophorus plagosus_; _Phoxomela umbrosa_, Gory and +Perchéron; and _Oxythyrea discicollis_, Reiche, and _hæmorrhoidalis_, +Fabricius. + + + Family LUCANIDÆ. + +Of this family there are ten genera in South Africa, seven of which +are peculiar, and two of these are confined to the Island of Bourbon; +two genera are peculiar to Western tropical Africa and three to South +Africa; whilst the otherwise widely-ranging genera _Lucanus_ and +_Dorcus_ are absent from Africa. No species of this family was taken by +Mr. Oates. + + + Family BUPRESTIDÆ. + +This family is very extensive, containing at least 2700 species, many +of which are splendidly coloured insects, of gigantic size, amongst +which is a group essentially African, remarkable for the numerous +pencils of short erect hairs dotted over their whole upper surface +(Genus _Julodis_, Eschscholtz). The species of _Steraspis_ and +_Sternocera_ are also of large size and great brilliancy. Twenty-seven +genera of these insects occur in South Africa, of which six are +peculiar, but Mr. Oates only collected four small and obscure species. +The singular Genus _Polybothris_, with widely dilated elytra, is +peculiar to Madagascar, no species of the genus having been found on +the African continent. + + + Family ELATERIDÆ. + +This family is also of great extent, consisting of not fewer than +2700 described species, many of which are exclusively natives +of South-Eastern Africa and Madagascar, the finest group being +_Tetralobus_, and its immediate allies, having flabellate antennæ, +which are almost restricted to Africa, a few only occurring in +New Holland. Of this group Mr. Oates collected a very interesting +species, which I have figured in Plate G, fig. 4, and which appears +to be identical with _Tetralobus bifoveolatus_ of Boheman (although +apparently differing in certain points). + + + Family PAUSSIDÆ. + +Africa possesses a number of species of this singular family, found in +Natal by Herr Guienzius in ants’ nests. Mr. Oates, however, collected +only one species, _Pleuropterus alternans_, Westw., Thesaurus Ent. +p. 74, pl. 16, f. 2. + + + Family HISTERIDÆ. + +These insects, which are generally found in excrement, appear to be +numerous in individuals, although only about eight species were taken, +one of large size. + + + Family SILPHIDÆ. + +Of the carrion beetles one alone, _Silpha_ (_micans_, Fabricius), was +captured. + + + Family BOSTRICHIDÆ. + +Of the numerous family of wood-boring beetles, five species were found +in considerable numbers, including _Apate_ (_monacha_ and _cornutus_, +Fabricius). + + + Family TENEBRIONIDÆ. + +This extensive family, belonging to the HETEROMEROUS SECTION of the +Order, in its widest extent, as catalogued by Gemminger and Von Harold, +comprises more than 4500 described species, many of the largest and +finest of which are peculiarly African, such as _Chiroscelis_ and +its allies (of which I published an illustrated monograph in the +“Transactions of the Zoological Society,” vol. iii. 1849), and the +gigantic species of _Moluris_, such as _M. Bertolonii_, Guérin, from +Mozambique; _M. Rowleiana_, Westw., from the Zambesi; _M. gravida,_ +Damara Land; and _M. Procrustes_, Delagoa Bay, illustrated in my +paper in “Trans. Ent. Soc.” 1875, pl. 6. Many of these insects, which +are especially natives of large sandy districts, were captured by +Mr. Oates, including _Moluris Perretii_, _M. gibbosa_, _M. albipes_, +etc., _Dichtha inflata_, Gerstaecker, _Anomalipus lineatus_ and +_intermedius_, _Hypomeles rugosus_, Fabricius, etc. Numerous smaller +species of MELASOMATOUS HETEROMERA, and HELOPIDÆ, were also taken, as +well as ten species of MYLABRIDÆ. + + + Family HELOPIDÆ. + +Amongst the HELOPIDÆ, apparently allied to _Centronipus_ and +_Stenochia_, is an insect captured by Mr. Oates, which must be referred +to a new Genus, + + + Genus DEROSPHÆRIUS, Westw. + +Corpus oblongum, subcylindricum; capite parvo, conico, ante oculos +utrinque rotundato-elevato, antennis longitudine dimidii corporis, +articulis æqualibus, externis paullo brevioribus at non crassioribus; +mandibulis capitis longitudine æqualibus curvatis, supra prope basim +cornu erecto, apice inciso, armatis; labro subrotundato, antice +emarginato; palpis maxillaribus elongatis, articulo ultimo vix +securiformi; mentum transversum antice angustatum; palpis labialibus +parvis, subcylindricis; prothorax rotundatus, subglobosus; pedes satis +graciles; tarsis heteromeris, simplicibus, unguibus simplicibus. + +DEROSPHÆRIUS ANTHRACINUS, Westw. (Plate G, fig. 3, and Plate H, figs. +2, 2_a_, 2_b_, 2_c_.) + +Niger nitidus, capite inter antennas biimpresso, pronoto subtiliter +punctatissimo; elytris punctato-striatis. Long. corp. fere lin. 6. + + + Family CURCULIONIDÆ. + +Of the still more extensive family of the Weevils (Genus _Curculio_, +Linnæus), of which, including the SCOLYTIDÆ, BRENTHIDÆ, and ANTHRIBIDÆ, +not fewer than 1200 species have been described, large numbers are +peculiarly African, especially the great Genera _Brachycerus_, +_Episus_, _Microcerus_, _Platycopes_, _Sciobius_, and many others, +the species of most of which are distinguished by their dull colours +and sluggish movements, fitting them for their existence in wide arid +sandy districts, where they emulate the _Pimeliæ_ and _Molurides_. Of +this great tribe only nine species were captured, including numbers of +individuals of the gigantic _Brachycerus apterus_, remarkable for the +red spots on its black body, _B. congestus_, etc. + + + Family CERAMBYCIDÆ. + +Of the great family of Longicorn beetles (_Cerambyx_, Linnæus), +consisting of not less than 8000 already described species, there are +in South Africa 262 genera, of which no less than 67 are peculiar, +namely 5 of PRIONIDÆ, 25 of CERAMBYCIDÆ, and 37 of LAMIIDÆ. The +most conspicuous of these genera are _Sternotomis_, _Zographus_, +_Alphitopola_, _Tragocephalus_, _Phryneta_, _Ceroplesis_. The giant +_Prionides_ are evidently very rare, but the remarkable genera may +be mentioned, _Cacoscelis_, _Cantharoctenus_, and _Cantharoplatys_, +Westw. (Thes. Ent.). Of this great group only 23 species were +collected by Mr. Oates, including _Ceroplesis hottentotta_, _C. +cruentata_, and two other species, _Phrissoma giganteum_, _Callichroma +latipes_, _Hamaticherus sericeus_ and _denticornis_, and _Amphidesmus +analis_, Olivier. + + + Family CHRYSOMELIDÆ. + +The Phytophagous or plant-eating beetles (_Chrysomela_, Linn.), as +may be inferred from their habits, are exceedingly numerous, both in +species and individuals, in all parts of the world, more than 10,200 +species having been described. Some few groups are especially African, +such as _Pæcilomorpha_, Hope, belonging to the _Megalopides_, numerous +species of _Sagra_, _Antipa_, _Melitonoma_, _Acolastus_, _Eurytus_, +_Pausiris_, _Pallena_, _Cyno_, _Macrocoma_, etc. Only twenty-three +species of these insects were taken by Mr. Oates, including _Sagra +festiva_, Gerst., _Diamphidia femoralis_, Gerst., _Clythra tettensis_, +and various species of _Eumolpus_, _Cassida_, _Hispa_, _Colaspis_, etc. + +The other orders of insects received but little attention, and but few +are contained in Mr. Oates’s collection. + + + Order ORTHOPTERA. + +In this order several large and beautiful species of locusts were +taken, including _Acridium leprosum_ and _scabrosum_, and _Petasia +cruentata_, _Pamphagus haploscelis_, and the curious wingless +grasshopper, _Eugaster loricatus_ of Gerstaecker. Two or three +different kinds of Crickets and four species of BLATTIDÆ were also +taken. + + + Order NEUROPTERA. + +In this order a large species of _Myrmeleon_, marked like _M. +Libelluloides_, and the lovely _Palpares citrinus_, were collected. + + + Order HYMENOPTERA. + +In this order two large species of sand wasps with steel blue wings +were taken. + + + Order HEMIPTERA. + +Of HEMIPTERA twelve species of CIMICIDÆ were taken. + + + Order DIPTERA. + +In this order various species injurious to cattle and horses, including +six species of TABANIDÆ, one being the beautiful _Tabanus africanus_ +of Gray (Griff. Anim. Kingd. Ins. pl. 114, fig. 5), were taken; also +two species of _Hippobosca_, and various specimens of the terrible +TSETSE (_Glossina morsitans_, Westw., Proc. Zool. Soc., 10th December +1850), of which I have thought it would be desirable to give a fresh +figure (Plate G, fig. 2). The figure which I gave of this insect, +accompanying my original description, was afterwards copied upon the +titlepage of Dr. Livingstone’s Travels (without acknowledgment), and in +my memoir I ventured to suggest not only that the Tsetse was identical +with the Zimb of Bruce, but also possibly with the Tsaltsalya; and +further, that “the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers +of Egypt,” described by the prophet Isaiah (ch. vii. 18, 19), and +considered as the cause of one of the plagues of Egypt, may also have +been no other than the Tsetse. Two notes recently published on this +insect, with suggestions of remedying or preventing its attacks, may be +added:-- + +Lewis Hornor, in the “Times,” 25th February 1879, writes, “Having +hunted in the African fly country and seen many horses and oxen die of +the bite, against which no external application is, I firmly believe, +any safeguard, I venture to call attention to the precautions adopted +by the Boer elephant hunters in the interior. The Tsetse inhabits +narrow and clearly defined strips of country, familiar to all natives, +and readily evident to strangers. On approaching one of these ‘fly +belts’ (so called) a halt is made, and inspanning again at sundown the +Boer treks through at night in safety. I only remember one case of +mishap, when, in crossing a belt near the confluence of the Chobé and +Zambesi, two or three oxen out of nearly forty were bitten, and that, +if my memory serves me, on a bright moonlight night.” + +The African traveller Hildebrandt recommends strongly, in the +“Korrespondenzblatt der afrik. Gesellschaft,” the use of petroleum +for those travelling in the tropics, as a protection against insects. +Occasional applications to the face and hands ensured entire freedom +from mosquitoes, and the same method sufficed to preserve horses and +cattle against the deadly attacks of the Dondorobo gadfly, which so +often cripples the movements of the explorer. Petroleum likewise +protected the Natural History Collections of the traveller from ants, +moths, etc. + +[The description of Plates E-H is given on p. 365.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.E. + + [symbol]. del. Mintern Bros. lith.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.F. + + [symbol]. del. Mintern Bros. lith.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.G. + + [symbol]. del. Mintern Bros. lith.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.H. + + [symbol]. del. Mintern Bros. lith.] + + + + + DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PLATES. + + + PLATE E. + + Fig. 1, 2. _Acræa amphimalla_. + + „ 3, 4. _Callosune Wallengrenii_. + + „ 5, 6. _Callosune ramaquebana_. + + „ 7, 8. _Callosune Buxtoni_, female. + + „ 9, 10. _Callosune regina_, female. + + „ 11. _Chœrocampa virgo_. + + PLATE F. + + Fig. 1, 2. _Acræa Atergatis_. + + „ 3, 4. _Acræa Atolmis_. + + „ 5, 6. _Acræa Axina_. + + „ 7, 8. _Acræa Acontias_. + + „ 9, 10. _Acræa Aglaonice_. + + „ 11, 12. _Acræa Acronycta_. + + PLATE G. + + Fig. 1. _Eusemia adulatrix_. + + „ 2. _Glossina morsitans_. + + „ 3. _Derosphærius anthracinus_. + + „ 4. _Tetralobus bifoveolatus_. + + „ 5. _Dromica Oatesii_. + + „ 6. _Jana Mariana_. + + PLATE H. + + Fig. 1. Upper lip and mandibles of _Dromica Oatesii_; 1a, maxilla + of do.; 1_b_, lower lip and palpi of do. + + Fig. 2. Upper lip of _Derosphærius anthracinus_; 2_a_, mandible; 2_b_, + maxilla; 2_c_, lower lip of do. + + Fig. 3. Head, antenna and spiral tongue of _Eusemia adulatrix_; + 3_a_, chief veins of the fore wing of do.; 3_b_, extremity of + the body of the male of do., seen sideways. + + Fig. 4. Head of _Jana Mariana_; 4_a_, do., seen sideways; 4_b_, chief + veins of the fore wings of do. + + Fig. 5. Head of the Tsetse, seen sideways, with the parts of the + sucker separated from each other; 5_a_, antenna; 5_b_, pad + of the feet of do. + + + + + V. + + BOTANY.[78] + + By D. OLIVER, F.R.S., F.L.S., Professor of Botany in + University College, London. + + (PLATES J, K.) + + + Order RANUNCULACEÆ. + +* RANUNCULUS PINNATUS, Poir. + + + Order POLYGALACEÆ. + +* POLYGALA VIRGATA, Thunb. + + + Order TILIACEÆ. + +TRIUMFETTA WELWITSCHII, Masters. + + + Order MALPIGHIACEÆ. + +ACRIDOCARPUS PRURIENS, A. Juss. + + + Order ZYGOPHYLLACEÆ. + +* ZYGOPHYLLUM DREGEANUM, Presl? + + + Order AMPELIDEÆ. + +VITIS, sp. + + + Order LEGUMINOSÆ. + +* SUTHERLANDIA FRUTESCENS, R. Br. + + ERYTHRINA, sp. + + ERIOSEMA, sp. + + BAUHINIA FASSOGLENSIS, Kotschy. + + CASSIA TETTENSIS, Bolle? + +* ACACIA, sp. + + + Order ROSACEÆ. + +* CLIFFORTIA LINEARIFOLIA, E. and Z.? + + + Order SAXIFRAGACEÆ. + +VAHLIA CAPENSIS, Berg. + + + Order COMBRETACEÆ. + +COMBRETUM, sp. + +COMBRETUM ZEYHERI, Sond.? + + + Order TURNERACEÆ. + +WORMSKIOLDIA LONGEPEDUNCULATA, Masters. + + + Order UMBELLIFERÆ. + +PEUCEDANUM CAPENSE, Dietr.? + + + Order RUBIACEÆ. + +FADOGIA ZEYHERI, Sond.? + + + Order COMPOSITÆ. + +* GEIGERIA ZEYHERI, Harv. + +* ARTEMISIA AFRA, Jacq. + +* DENEKIA CAPENSIS, D. C. + + NIDORELLA AURICULATA, D. C. + +* GERBERA NATALENSIS, Schultz Bip. + + + Order CAMPANULACEÆ. + + WAHLENBERGIA BANKSIANA, A. D. C. + + LOBELIA DECIPIENS, Sond.? + + + Order ERICACEÆ. + +* ERICA, near COCCINEA, Berg. + + + Order OLEACEÆ. + + JASMINUM, sp. + + + Order APOCYNACEÆ. + + CARISSA, near TOMENTOSA, A. Rich. + + + Order CONVOLVULACEÆ. + + EVOLVULUS ALSINOIDES, Linn., var. + + + Order BORAGINACEÆ. + + TRICHODESMA PHYSALOIDES, A. D. C. + + + Order SOLANACEÆ. + + SOLANUM SUBEXARMATUM, Dunal? + + + Order GENTIANACEÆ. + + CHIRONIA, sp. + + + Order SCROPHULARIACEÆ. + + LYPERIA BURKEANA, Benth. + +* LIMOSELLA TENUIFOLIA, Nutt. + +* DICLIS REPTANS, Benth. + + + Order ACANTHACEÆ. + +* HYPOESTES FORSKAHLII, R. Br.? + +* HYPOESTES VERTICILLARIS, R. Br.? + + + Order SELAGINACEÆ. + +* HEBENSTREITIA, near DENTATA, Thunb. + + + Order VERBENACEÆ. + + LIPPIA ASPERIFOLIA, Rich. + + LANTANA or LIPPIA, sp. + + + Order LABIATÆ. + +* LEONOTIS LEONURUS, R. Br. + + OCYMUM, or ORTHOSIPHON, sp. + + + Order AMARANTHACEÆ. + + ACHYRANTHES ASPERA, L.? + + + Order EUPHORBIACEÆ. + + EUPHORBIA, sp. + + + Order ORCHIDACEÆ. + + LISSOCHILUS, 2 sp. + + + Order IRIDACEÆ. + + GLADIOLUS BREVIFOLIUS, Jacq. + + GLADIOLUS, near QUARTINIANUS, A. Rich. + + + Order AMARYLLIDACEÆ. + + HÆMANTHUS, near MULTIFLORUS, Martyn. + + + Order HYPOXIDACEÆ. + + HYPOXIS VILLOSA, L. + + + Order LILIACEÆ. + + ANTHERICUM (TRACHYANDRA) OATESII, Baker in Trimen’s _Journal of + Botany_, 1878, p. 324. (Plate J.) + +Rootstock not seen complete; outer tunics produced as a membrane round +its neck. Produced leaves 5–6, contemporary with the flowers, terete +above the sheathing base, ½ foot long, ½ line in diameter, clothed +with fine soft deflexed white hairs as long as the diameter of the +leaf. Scape as long as the leaves, pilose in the lower part glabrous +upwards. Raceme lax, simple, ½ a foot long, 1–1¼ inch in diameter; +bracts minute, deltoid; pedicels erecto-patent, the lower ones ½–¾ inch +long. Perianth white, fugacious; segments ¼ inch long, lanceolate, with +a distinct 1-nerved or obscurely 3-nerved brown keel. Stamens falling +a little short of the perianth-segments; filaments muricate; anthers +oblong, very minute. Style declinate, just overtopping the anthers. + +Near the Abyssinian _A. Saltii_, and Cape _A. pubescens_. + + ALOE, sp. + + ASPARAGUS, sp. + +* ANDROCYMBIUM MELANTHIOIDES, Willd. + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.J. + + W. H. Fitch del. Mintern Bros. imp. + + ANTHERICUM OATESII.] + + [Illustration: + + App.Pl.K. + + W. H. Fitch del. Mintern Bros. imp. + + ADIANTUM OATESII.] + + + Order GRAMINEÆ. + +* PANICUM (TRICHOLÆNA) ROSEUM (Nees.) + +* ANDROPOGON, sp. + +* ANDROPOGON (CYMBOPOGON) HIRTUS, L. + + + Order FILICES. + +* PELLÆA CONSOBRINA, Hook. + + ADIANTUM ÆTHIOPICUM, L. + + ADIANTUM OATESII, Baker. (Plate K.) + +Stipe slender, brown, glabrous. Lamina pedate, with 6–7 pinnate +divisions, the largest 6–8 inches long, 1¼–1½ inch broad; end segment +cuneate, ½–1 inch broad; side segments dimidiate, shortly petioled, +all, except the lowest, rather ascending, imbricating over the rachis +at the inner anterior corner, the largest ¾–⅞ inch broad, ½ inch long, +straight and truncate on the lower and inner borders, cut into deep +rounded lobes on the upper and outer borders; lower segments gradually +dwindling down in size; rachis quite glabrous and scale-less, bright +brown; texture thin, membranous; both surfaces bright green and +glabrous. Sori not seen. Veins close, fine, distinct, flabellate, free. + +Closely allied to the American and Asiatic _A. pedatum_, Linn., from +which it differs by the fewer divisions of the frond, the outer ones +not falcately curved, and its shortly-petioled ultimate segments, which +are fewer, broader, and imbricated over the rachis. + + ADIANTUM LUNULATUM, Burm. + + CHEILANTHES FARINOSA, Kaulf. + + NEPHRODIUM MOLLE, Desv. + + NEPHRODIUM (LASTREA), sp. + + NEPHROLEPIS EXALTATA, Schott. + + NEPHROLEPIS CORDIFOLIA, Presl. + + MOHRIA CAFFRORUM, Desv. + + + VI. + + LIST OF MAKALAKA WORDS AND PHRASES, + + From one of Mr. F. OATES’S Note-Books, 1874–5. + + +Y-sloga, _axe_. + +Sewon[:c]ha, fold, _enclosure_. + +Inslogo, _head_. + +Lusa, _herd_. + +Mutwalla, _package_. + +Le-[:c]hebe, _pan_ (_of water_). + +Bushlune, _powder_. + +Mouti, _tree_, _medicine_. + +A-acho, _our_. + +A-aka, _his_. + +Hlula, _to go by_. + +T̈heula, _to be lame_. + +Pesa, _to leave off_. + +Amanga, _to lie_. + +Ponsa, _to shoot_. + +Hclanza, _to be sick_; also, _to wash_. + +T̈hkinga, _to spy out_. + +Londalosa, _to take care of_. + +Incolo-ga Stoffel, _Stoffel’s waggon_. + +Gagwasasan, _early this morning_. + +Ea gahte, _a long time ago_. + +Eo vouta, _it’s cooking_. + +Ya chesa, _it is hot_. + +Ngeswēle, _I heard_. + +Ongeswanga, _I have not heard_. + +Oeswēle? _did you hear_? + +Gangbonanga, _I have not seen_. + +Angetanga, _I don’t like_. + +Una manga, _you lie_. + +Gane na manga, _I don’t lie_. + +Gang aze, _I don’t know_. + +Asea aze, _we don’t know_. + +Gneponsele, _I shot_. + +Ngeza gon shia, _I’ll hit you_. + +Wale shia lipe? _where is he_? + +Bangape ba fana? _where are the boys_? + +Y gu bane? _whom does it belong to_? + +E haubele nane? _when did it go_? + +Koulape? _where are you lame_? + +Mouti moone? _what tree is that_? + +Hamba tata zinto zato, _go get our things_. + +Ouguchen gesa inglella eang Gubuleweyo, _show me the road to +Gubuleweyo_. + + + + + INDEX. + + + Abantu Skulls, 276, 278, 279, 286 + + Abantu tribes, adoption of customs by, from the Khoi-Khoin races, + 291 + + _Acacia_, sp., 366 + + _Acherontia Atropos_, 353 + + _Achyranthes aspera_, 368 + + _Acræa Acontias_, 345 + _Acronycta_, 346 + _Aglaonice_, 246 + _amphimalla_, 347 + _Anemosa_, 348 + _Atergatis_, 342 + _Atolmis_, 343 + _Axina_, 344 + _Bellua_, 348 + _Caldarene_, 347 + _Dircæa_, 348 + _Hypatia_, 348 + _natalica_, 348 + _Neobule_, 348 + _Rahira_, 348 + + _Acræidæ_, 342 + + _Acridium leprosum_, 363 + _scabrosum_, 363 + + _Acridocarpus pruriens_, 366 + + _Actitis hypoleucus_, 325 + + _Adiantum æthiopicum_, 369 + _lunulatum_, 369 + _Oatesii_, 369 + + _Aëdon leucophrys_, 309 + + _Ægialitis atricollaris_, 326 + + _Ægithalus_, or Penduline Titmouse, nest of, 76, _note_ + + _Agaristidæ_, 355 + + _Alaudidæ_, 317 + + _Alcedinidæ_, 303 + + _Aloe_, sp., 369 + + Amadavats, nests of, 76 + + _Amadina erythrocephala_, 320 + + _Amblypodia natalensis_, 351 + _Leroma_, 351 + + _Amphidesmus analis_, 363 + + _Amydrus bicolor_, 316 + _morio_, 316 + + _Anas xanthorhyncha_, 327 + + _Anatidæ_, 327 + + _Androcymbium melanthioides_, 369 + + _Andropogon_, sp., 369 + (_Cymbopogon_) _hirtus_, 369 + + _Anomalipus intermedius_, 361 + _lineatus_, 361 + + _Anthericum_ (_Trachyandra_) _Oatesii_, 368 + + _Anthia cinctipennis_, 359 + _guttata_, 359 + _maxillosa_, 359 + _Mellyi_, 359 + + _Anthocharis Eosphorus_, 336 + _Erone_, 338 + + _Anthopsyche speciosa_, 338 + _Theopompe_, 337 + + _Anthus caffer_, 317 + _pyrrhonotus_, 317 + + Ant-eating Wheatear, Southern, 307 + + Ants, 40, 72. _See also_ White ants. + + _Apate cornutus_, 361 + _monacha_, 361 + + Apricots, 4, 37, 49 + + _Ardea melanocephala_, 326 + _purpurea_, 326 + _rufiventris_, 327 + + _Ardeidæ_, 326 + + _Ardeiralla Sturmii_, 326 + + _Artemisia afra_, 367 + + _Asio capensis_, 300 + + _Asparagus_, sp., 369 + + Assegais, different varieties of, 101, _note_ + + _Astur polyzonoides_, 298 + + _Aterica Meleagris_, 349 + + Australian skulls, 281 + + Ayres, Mr. Thomas, reference to, 294 + + + Babbling Thrush, Jardine’s, 309 + Pied, 308 + + Baines, Thomas, reference to, 247, 254, 256–8 + + Baker, Mr. J. G., F.R.S., descriptions of two new species of plants + obtained by Mr. Oates, by, 368 + + Bamangwato, 15–22, 36, 147–159 + fighting at, 155 + (or Mungwato), the usual name for Shoshong, 11, _note_ + + Baobab trees, 72, 83, 145 + + Barbel, 51, 230 + + Barbet, Le Vaillant’s, 306 + Pied, 305 + + _Batis molitor_, 311 + + _Bauhinia fassoglensis_, 366 + + Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked, 301 + Carmine-throated, 301 + European, 301 + Little, 301 + Swallow-tailed, 302 + White-fronted, 301 + + Bees’ nests, 73, 135 + + Beef-eater, African, 316 + + Beetles, annoyance from, 40 + + Bell, Thomas, 4 + + Bembesi River, 68 + + Bengali Finch, Southern, 321 + + Biltong, meat dried in the sun, 45 + + Birds’ nests collected by Mr. Oates, 76 + + Bishop-bird, Red, 320 + + Bleek, Dr. W. H. J., researches of, 276 + + Blockley, Mr., 244, 245, 247 + + Blue gum trees, 8 + + Blumenbach, J. F., reference to, 277 + + Boa-constrictor, 75 + + Boer hunters, 154, 217 + their indiscriminate slaughter of game, 223 + + Boers and their waggons, 220 + character of, 10, 225 + farms of, in the Transvaal, 9, 10, 12, 39 + their apparent poverty, 12 + + Bolinlila, Lobengula’s brother, 67 + + _Bombycidæ_, 358 + + _Bombyx Mariana_, 358 + + Bond, Mr., 203 + + _Bostrichidæ_, 361 + + Botany, by Professor Oliver, F.R.S., F.L.S., 366–369 + + _Brachycerus apterus_, 362 + _congestus_, 362 + + Bradshaw, Dr., joins Mr. Oates, 244–251 + with him at his death, 260–264 + + _Bradyornis Oatesii_, 314 + + _Bradypterus gracilirostris_, 310 + + Brass wire, 119, 120, _note_ + + Bristle-necked Thrush, Cape, 308 + + Broca, P., reference to, 280, _note_ + + Brown, Mr., 173 + + Brown, Mr. A., of Tati, 33, 35, 140, 163, 168, 188, 190, 198, 199, + 200–202, 213, 216, 222 + + _Bubo lacteus_, 299 + _maculosus_, 299 + + _Bubonidæ_, 299 + + _Bubulcus ibis_, 327 + + _Bucerotidæ_, 304 + + _Buchanga assimilis_, 315 + + Buckley, Mr. T. E., 3–36, 294 + + Building, singular native, 175 + + Bulbul, Layard’s, 308 + Le Vaillant’s, 308 + + Bullocks, State slaughter of, 105 + + Bunting, Cape, 322 + Golden-breasted, 322 + + _Buphaga africana_, 316 + + _Buprestidæ_, 360 + + Bushman crania, 273 _et seq._ + measurements of, 292, 293 + race, Mongolian origin ascribed to, 288–290 + indications of kinship with the Akka and Obongo tribes, 288 + remains, failure to obtain, 136, 166 + finally obtained, 231 + + Bushmen, 24, 25, 28, 50, 80, 137, 144, 152, 180 + looked upon as game by the Matabele, 222 + mysterious instincts of, 222 + + Bush-shrike, Bakbakiri, 312 + Crimson-breasted, 312 + Pied Puff-backed, 312 + Red-winged, 313 + Short-tailed, 310 + South African Puff-backed, 312 + Three-streaked, 313 + Yellow-breasted, 312 + + Bush-warbler, Short-tailed, 310 + + Busk, Mr. G., reference to, 277 + + Bustard, Blue, 326 + Kori, 326 + + _Buteo jackal_, 298 + + _Butorides atricapillus_, 326 + _rufiventris_, 327 + _Sturmii_, 326 + + Butterflies, distribution of, in Africa, 333–335 + + Buzzard, Jackal, 298 + + + Caffre skulls, 278, 285. _See also_ Kafir + + Calabash pumpkins, 112 + + _Callichroma latipes_, 363 + + _Callidryas Castalia_, 336 + _Florella_, 335 + _Pyrene_, 335 + _Rhadia_, 336 + _Swainsonii_, 335 + + _Callosune Antigone_, 338 + _Buxtoni_, 340 + _Casta_, 338 + _Danaë_, 337 + _Eione_, 340 + _Eupompe_, 337 + _Evenina_, 340 + _Evippe_, 338 + _inornata_, 338 + _Ione_, 338 + _Keiskamma_, 338 + _Omphale_, 338 + _pseudetrida_, 340 + _Ramaquebana_, 341 + _regina_, 339 + _Theogone_, 339 + _Wallengrenii_, 341 + + _Campethera Abingtoni_, 306 + _Bennetti_, 306 + _Smithii_, 306 + + _Capitonidæ_, 305 + + _Caprimulgidæ_, 300 + + _Caprimulgus europæus_, 300 + _mossambicus_, 300 + _rufigenis_, 300 + + _Caprona Pillaana_, 353 + + _Carabidæ_, 359 + + _Carissa_, sp., 367 + + Carrion beetles, 361 + + _Cassia tettensis_, 366 + + Caterpillars, 96 + + Cattle disease, heavy losses from, in Natal, 8, 13 + + Cattle, Mashona breed of, 226 + + _Centropus senegalensis_, 305 + _superciliosus_, 305 + + _Cerambycidæ_, 362 + + _Cerchneis amurensis_, 299 + _naumanni_, 299 + _rupicola_, 299 + _tinnunculoides_, 299 + + _Ceroplesis cruentata_, 363 + _hottentotta_, 363 + + _Certhilauda semitorquata_, 317 + + _Ceryle maxima_, 303 + + _Ceryle rudis_, 303 + + _Cetoniidæ_, 360 + + Ceylon, skulls from, 281 + + _Chalconotus cupreus_, 359 + + _Chalcopelia afra_, 322 + + Chapman, Jas., reference to, 254–260 + + _Charadriidæ_, 325 + + _Charaxes Pelias_, 349 + + Charm, a hunter’s, 54 + + Chat, Familiar, 307 + + Chat-thrush, Natal, 309 + + Cheetahs, goat killed by, 247 + + _Cheilanthes farinosa_, 369 + + _Chera progne_, 220, _note_; 319 + + _Chettusia coronata_, 325 + + Chinese, skulls of, 281 + + _Chironia_, sp., 367 + + _Chœrocampa capensis_, 354 + _virgo_, 354 + + Christmas Day at the Pantamatenka, 244–246 + + _Chrysococcyx cupreus_, 305 + + _Chrysomelidæ_, 363 + + _Chrysophanus Lara_, 352 + + _Cicindelidæ_, 358 + + _Ciconia alba_, 327 + + _Ciconiidæ_, 327 + + _Cinnyris afer_, 310 + _gutturalis_, 310 + _mariquensis_, 310 + + _Circellium Bacchus_, 359 + + _Circus ranivorus_, 297 + + _Cisticola aberrans_, 309 + _chiniana_, 309 + _cursitans_, 310 + _curvirostris_, 309 + _tinniens_, 309 + + Cleland, Prof. J., reference to, 283, _note_ + + _Cliffortia linearifolia_, 366 + + _Clythra tettensis_, 363 + + _Coccystes cafer_, 305 + + Cokhé River, 67 + + _Colias Pyrene_, 335 + + _Coliidæ_, 305 + + _Colius erythromelon_, 305 + _striatus_, 305 + + _Colubridæ_, 329 + + _Columbæ_, 322 + + Coly, Quiriva, 305 + South African, 305 + + _Combretum_, sp., 367 + _Zeyheri_, 367 + + Cook, Captain, reference to, 291 + + Coot, Rufous-knobbed, 324 + + _Copris cœlatus_, 359 + _Jachus_, 359 + _Nemestrinus_, 359 + _Œdipus_, 359 + + _Coracias caudata_, 302 + _garrula_, 302 + _nævia_, 302 + + _Coraciidæ_, 302 + + Cormorant, Long-tailed, 328 + + Corn-crake, 324 + + _Coronella tritænia_, 329 + + _Corvus scapulatus_, 316 + + _Corythornis cyanostigma_, 303 + + _Cosmetornis vexillarius_, 301 + + _Cossypha natalensis_, 309 + + Cotton, wild, 69 + + _Coturnix dactylisonans_, 324 + _Delegorguei_, 324 + _histrionica_, 324 + + Crake, Peters’s, 324 + + _Crateropus bicolor_, 308 + _Jardinii_, 309 + + _Crex pratensis_, 324 + + Crickets, 363 + + _Crithagra angolensis_, 322 + _chrysopyga_, 322 + + Crocodile River, 14–18, 57 + farms on the, 39 + + Crocodiles, 69, 79, 105, 162 + + Crow, White-backed, 316 + + _Cuculidæ_, 305 + + _Cuculus clamosus_, 305 + _cupreus_, 305 + + Cuckoo, Black, 305 + Golden, 305 + Lark-heeled, 305 + Le Vaillant’s, 305 + White-eyebrowed Lark-heeled, 305 + + _Curculionidæ_, 362 + + _Cyllo Leda_, 350 + + _Cynthia Cardui_, 349 + + _Cypholoba alveolata_, 359 + _7-guttata_, 359 + + _Cypselidæ_, 301 + + _Cypselus apus_, 301 + + + Dacha, hemp used for smoking, 193 + + Daka River, 240, 242, 243, 245, 247 + + Damaraland, elephants in, 75, 80 + + _Danais Chrysippus_, 350 + + Dance, the Great, 98–104 + preparations for, 96–98 + + Darter, Le Vaillant’s, 328 + + Dawnay, the Hon. G. C., 38 + + _Dendropicus cardinalis_, 306 + _namaquus_, 306 + + _Denekia capensis_, 367 + + _Derosphærius anthracinus_, 362 + + _Diadema Misippus_, 349 + + _Diamphidia femoralis_, 363 + + _Dichtha inflata_, 361 + + Dick (Kafir driver), 31, 107–113, 142 + + _Diclis reptans_, 368 + + _Dicrocercus hirundinaceus_, 302 + + _Dicruridæ_, 315 + + _Dilophus carunculatus_, 316 + + Dobie, Mr., 168, 176, _note_ + + Dog, tame, run wild, story of, 201 + + Dogs, Lobengula’s, 107, 114 + ferocity of, 98, 111 + + Dorehill, Mr., 184–187, 226–242 + + Dove, Cape Turtle, 322 + Emerald-spotted, 322 + Long-tailed African, 322 + + _Dromica Oatesii_, 359 + + Drongo, African, 315 + + _Dryiophidæ_, 329 + + _Dryiophis Oatesii_, 329, 330 + + _Dryoscopus boulboul_, 312 + _cubla_, 312 + + _Drypta jucunda_, 359 + + Du Chaillu, M. Paul B., reference to, 288, _note_ + + Duck, Yellow-billed, 327 + + Dwarf Goose, African, 327 + + Dwarf Heron, Black-headed, 326 + + _Dynastidæ_, 360 + + + Eagle Owl, Spotted, 299 + Verreaux’s, 299 + + Echle, native hunter, 78, 85 + + Ecker, Professor A., reference to, 279 + + Egret, Short-billed, 326 + + Eland’s River, 14 + + _Elanus cæruleus_, 298 + + _Elateridæ_, 361 + + Elephant guns, Lee’s views upon, 49 + + Elephants, 30, 50, 75, 76, 77, 84, 129, 140, 196, 203 + large tusks of, 81 + + Entomology, by Professor J. O. Westwood, M.A., F.L.S., etc., 330 + _et seq._ + + _Erebia Narycia_, 350 + + _Erica_, sp., 367 + + _Eriosema_, sp., 366 + + _Erythrina_, sp., 366 + + Eskimo skulls, 275, 281 + + _Estrelda astrild_, 320 + _cyanogastra_, 321 + _erythronota_, 320 + _granatina_, 321 + + Ethnology, by Professor Rolleston, M.D., F.R.S., 274 _et seq._ + + _Eugaster loricatus_, 363 + + _Euphorbia_, sp., 368 + + Euphorbias, 46, _note_; 58, _note_ + + _Euplectes capensis_, 330 + _oryx_, 320 + + _Eupodotis cærulescens_, 326 + _cristata_, 326 + + _Eurocephalus anguitimens_, 314 + + _Eurystomus afer_, 302 + + _Eusemia adulatrix_, 355 + _æmulatrix_, 355 + _glossatrix_, 356 + _meretrix_, 355 + _niveosparsa_, 355 + _nugatrix_, 356 + _pardalina_, 355 + + _Evolvulus alsinoides_, 367 + + + _Fadogia Zeyheri_, 367 + + Fairbairn, Mr. J., 52, 59, 62, 93, 109–113, 150, 162, 168 + + _Falco biarmicus_, 298 + _minor_, 299 + + Fantail Warbler, Brown, 309 + Common, 310 + Larger Grey-backed, 309 + Le Vaillant’s, 309 + Smith’s, 309 + + Finch, Amadavat, 321 + Black-cheeked, 320 + Little Barred-breasted, 321 + Scutellated, 319 + Wax-bill, 320 + + Fires in the veldt, 54, 193 + + Fish held in abomination, 111 + in the sand at Tati, 29 + + Flamakinyani, 342 + + Flies, annoyance from, 35, 38, 230 + + Flirt, one of Mr. Oates’s pointers, 159 + + Flower, Professor, measurements of Bushman crania by, 292 + reference to, 278, 283, 285, 286 + + Fly-catcher, Eastern Yellow-eyed, 311 + Red-crested, 311 + South African Paradise, 311 + + Francolin, Grey-winged, 323 + Natal, 323 + Pileated, 323 + + _Francolinus afer_, 323 + _natalensis_, 323 + _pileatus_, 333 + + _Fringillaria capensis_, 322 + _flaviventris_, 322 + + _Fringillidæ_, 320 + + Fritsch, Dr. Gustav, reference to, 286, 288, 289 + + Frogs, noise from, at night, 40 + + _Fulica cristata_, 324 + + + _Gallinula angulata_, 324 + + Game-drive, Makalaka, 233 + + Garden, Captain and Mr., 140 + + _Geigeria Zeyheri_, 367 + + _Gerbera natalensis_, 367 + + Geruah, 242, 260 + + Gilchrist, Mr., journey to Tati and return to England, 3–41 + second journey to South Africa, 265–270 + visits Mr. Oates’s grave, 269 + brings his effects to England, 267 + + _Gladiolus_, sp., 368 + _brevifolius_, 368 + + _Glareola melanoptera_, 325 + + _Glareolidæ_, 325 + + _Glaucidium perlatum_, 300 + + _Glossina morsitans_, 363 + + Glossy Thrush, Meves’s, 317 + Red-shouldered, 317 + Smith’s, 316 + Verreaux’s, 316 + + Goatsucker, nest of, 76 + + Gokwe River, 25, 28, 219 + + Goose, Knob-billed, 327 + + Goshawk, Chanting, 298 + Many-banded, 298 + Red-faced, 298 + + _Graculus africanus_, 328 + + Grapes, wild, 49, 91 + + _Graphipterus cordiger_, 359 + _Westwoodii_, 359 + + Grass-owl, South African, 300 + + Grasshoppers, 363 + + Gratiolet, M. P., reference to, 280 + + Gray, Mr. Henry, 3–19 + death of, at Lake Ngami, 157 + + Grebe, Little, 328 + + Greenshanks, 325 + + Griquas, party of, 235 + + Grosbeak, Angola, 322 + Golden-rumped, 322 + Striped-headed, 322 + + Ground beetles, carnivorous, 358 + + Gruber, Prof. W., reference to, 280, _note_ + + Gubuleweyo, 58–62, 89, 92–108, 183–188 + + Guinea-fowl, tame, story of, 201 + + Günther, Albert, M.A., Ph.D., M.D., F.R.S., descriptions of two new + species of snakes obtained by Mr. Oates, by, 329 + + Gwailo River, 72, 75 + + _Gymnopleurus fulgidus_, 359 + _Olivierii_, 359 + _speciosus_, 309 + + + _Hæmanthus_, sp., 368 + + _Halcyon albiventris_, 303 + _chelicutensis_, 303 + _cyanoleuca_, 303 + _semicærulea_, 303 + + _Hamaticherus denticornis_, 363 + _sericeus_, 363 + + Hamy, Dr. E. T., reference to, 274 + + Hartmann, Dr. R., quoted, 288 + reference to, 287 + + Hathorn, Mr. F. A., 20, 149, 204 + undertakes the duties of executor after Mr. Oates’s death, 270 + + Hawk-moth, Death’s-head, 353 + + Hawk-moths, Silver-striped, 354 + + Head-dresses, native, variety of, 56 + + _Hebenstreitia_, sp., 368 + + Helmet-shrike, South African, 314 + + _Helopidæ_, 362 + + _Heliocantharus intricatus_, 359 + _operosus_, 359 + _transversus_, 359 + + Hemipode, Kurrichaine, 323 + + Hendrik, native servant, 31, 34, 142 + + Hepburn, Mr., 21, 149 + + Heron, Black-headed Dwarf, 326 + Black-throated, 326 + Buff-backed, 327 + Purple, 326 + Red-bellied, 327 + Sturm’s, 326 + + _Herodius intermedia_, 326 + + Herpetology, by Albert Günther, M.A., Ph.D., M.D., F.R.S., 329 + + _Hesperiidæ_, 352 + + Hex River, 14 + + High Veldt, the, 7–9, 12, 40 + + _Hirundinidæ_, 311 + + _Hirundo cucullata_, 312 + _puella_, 311 + + _Hirundo rustica_, 312 + _semirufa_, 312 + + _Histeridæ_, 361 + + Holfontein, 14 + + Honey-guide, White-eared, 305 + + Hoopoe, South African, 304 + + Hope Fountain, 61, 62, 66, 86 + + _Hoplopterus speciosus_, 325 + + Horn, Mr., 208 + + Hornbill, African Grey, 304 + nest of a, 131 + note of the, 24 + Yellow-billed, 304 + + Horse-sickness, 40, 48, 236–238 + + Horses, “salted,” value of, 40, 48, 89, 187, 191 + + Hottentot skulls, 277, 280, _note_ + + “Hottentotten-Schurze,” the, not confined to African races, 288 + + Hyænas, ox attacked by, 35 + + _Hypanis Ilithyia_, 350 + + _Hyphantornis capensis_, 318 + _mariquensis_, 319 + _nigrifrons_, 319 + _ocularis_, 318 + _olivaceus_, 318 + + _Hypoestes Forskahlii_, 368 + _verticillaris_, 368 + + _Hypomeles rugosus_, 362 + + _Hypoxis villosa_, 368 + + + _Idmais Eris_, 337 + _Vesta_, 337 + + Impakwe River, 44, 45, 131, 132, 217 + + Inchlangin, 68 + + _Indicator Sparmanni_, 305 + + _Indicatoridæ_, 305 + + Induna, a rebellious, 209 + + Indunas’ Tree, the, 83 + + Inhlala, wild fruit, 90 + + Inkwesi River, 45, 129–131, 143, 185, 208 + + Inquinquesi River, 68 + + Intembin, 73 + + Inyati, 64, 68, 70, 72, 85 + + _Irrisor erythrorhynchus_, 304 + + _Ismene Pisistratus_, 352 + + _Iynx pectoralis_, 306 + + + Jacana, Lesser African, 324 + + Jacob, 107–113, 142 + + Jacobs, Piet, 136, 140, 231, 263–268 + his house at Tati, 200 + + _Jana Mariana_, 358 + + _Jasminum_, sp., 367 + + John, native interpreter, 65, 118, 153, 181, 188 + + _Junonia Clelia_, 349 + _Cloantha_, 349 + _Hecate_, 349 + _natalica_, 349 + _Octavia_, 349 + _Œnone_, 349 + _Orithya_, 349 + + + Kafir Plum, 131 + + Kafirs, Mr. Oates threatened by, 166 + various traits of, 13, 125, 156, 164, 165, 218, 221 + + Kalmuck music, 290, _note_ + + Kama, 155 + + Kamani, 155 + + Kennedy, Stoffel, 188–197, 207–211, 226–242 + + Kestrel, Eastern Red-footed, 299 + Lesser, 299 + South African, 299 + + Khoi-Khoin race, Mongolian origin ascribed to, 288 + possible argument for their affinity with Papuans and Malays, 291 + + Kingfisher, African White-headed, 303 + Angola, 303 + Brown-hooded, 303 + Great African, 303 + Malachite-crested, 303 + Pied, 303 + Striped, 303 + + Kirk, Dr., reference to, 295 + + Kite, Black-shouldered, 298 + Yellow-billed, 298 + + Klaas, Hottentot hunter, 128–137 + + Klaas, waggon-driver, 198, 199, 218 + + Klipspringers, 195 + + Knob-kerries, 94, _note_ + + Kumala River, 97, 117 + + + Lacordaire, M. J. Theod., reference to, 331 + + _Lagonosticta minima_, 321 + + _Lamprocolius phœnicopterus_, 316 + + _Lamprotornis australis_, 316 + _Mevesi_, 316 + + _Laniarius atrococcineus_, 312 + _bakbakiri_, 312 + _senegalus_, 313 + _sulphureipectus_, 312 + _trivirgatus_, 313 + + _Laniidæ_, 312 + + _Lanius collaris_, 313 + _collurio_, 313 + _minor_, 313 + + Lanner, South African, 299 + + _Lantana_ (or _Lippia_), sp., 368 + + Lark, Grey-collared, 317 + Sabota, 318 + South African, 317 + South African Rufous-capped, 318 + + Lark-heeled Cuckoo, 305 + White-eyebrowed, 305 + + Laurillard, C. L., quoted, 282, _note_ + + Lee, John, 42, 47–51, 112–115, 126, 127 + his farm, 47–49, 127 + fine scenery near, 125 + + Lee, Karl, 128, 137, 153, _note_ + + Lelongwe River, 72, 73 + + _Leonotis Leonurus_, 368 + + _Leucochitonea Levebu_, 353 + + Leydenburg gold-fields, 10 + + _Limacodes argentifera_, 358 + + _Limosella tenuifolia_, 368 + + Lions, 17, 31, 60, 140, 164, 172, 208 + flesh of, 174 + + _Lippia asperifolia_, 368 + + _Lissochilus_, sp., 368 + + Livingstone, Dr., reference to, 254–260 + + _Lobelia decipiens_, 367 + + Lobengula, 59–65, 94–115, 141, 183–187 + despotic power of, 36, 63 + equivocal conduct of, 170, 186 + his dress and appearance, 103, 111, 115 + his objection to Boer hunters, 223 + his sister, 60, 99 + his wives, 99, 112 + punishment of his subjects, 69, 113, 129, 168 + + Locusts, 363 + value of, as food, 17, 19, 127 + + Long-claw, Cape, 317 + + Longicorn beetles, 362 + + Lotsani River, 23 + + Lubbock, Sir John, reference to, 291 + + _Lycæna Asopus_, 352 + _Asteris_, 352 + _Jesous_, 352 + _Lochias_, 352 + _Parsimon_, 352 + + _Lycænidæ_, 351 + + _Lyperia Burkeana_, 368 + + + Mackenna, John, 241, 248–251, 263 + + Mackenzie, Rev. John, 21, 37, 149, 264 + extract from a letter of, 271 + undertakes the duties of executor after Mr. Oates’s death, 270 + + Macloule, Mosilikatze’s nephew, 76, 85, 88, 96 + + _Macronyx capensis_, 317 + + Maholies, natives near the Lelongwe, 73 + + Makabo, Matabele guide, 183, 186, 193, 194, 207, 212 + + Makalaka words and phrases, list of, 370 + + Makalakas, the, 178–182, 196–199, 211–216 + their state of subjection, 152, 185, 222 + obstructive conduct of, 170, 180 + + Makobi, Bamangwato chief, 45 + + Makobi’s kraal, 129 + + Malabars, skulls of, 281 + + Malays, skulls of, 281 + + Mandy, Mr., of Inchlangin, 69, 93, 105 + + Manéko, wild fruit, 90 + + Mangwe River, 123 + + _Manticora latipennis_, 359 + + Manyami, 51–53, 55, 121, 207 + + Marabastadt gold-fields, the, 10 + + Marsh-harrier, South African, 297 + + Marshall, Professor John, reference to, 280 + + Marula, wild fruit, 131 + + Mashonas, their dress and demeanour, 119 + their gradual absorption by the Matabele, 152 + Matabele raids against, 59, 79 + + Matabele, the, 45, 49, 54, 79, 111 + best articles for trade with, 45, 53 + kingdom, extent and products of, 36, 62 + their ruthless treatment of Bushmen, 222 + the Mashonas and Makalakas in bondage under them, 79, 152 + warriors, Mr. Oates threatened by, 192, 214 + + Matchin, Bamangwato attacked by, 155 + + Matengwe River, 235, 236, 238, 242 + + _Melierax canorus_, 298 + _gabar_, 298 + + _Melolonthidæ_, 360 + + Menon, Makalaka headman, 235 + + Meriko River, 37 + + _Meropidæ_, 301 + + _Merops apiaster_, 301 + _bullockoides_, 301 + _nubicoides_, 301 + _pusillus_, 301 + _superciliosus_, 301 + + Metse-a-tunya, 143, 248, 250, 259. + _See also_ Victoria Falls. + + Mimosas, 33 + + _Milvus ægyptius_, 298 + + _Mirafra africana_, 317 + _sabota_, 318 + + Mohr, Edward, reference to, 254 + + _Mohrib caffrorum_, 369 + + _Moluris albipes_, 361 + _gibbosa_, 361 + _Perretii_, 361 + + _Monticola explorator_, 308 + + Moon, eclipse of, 84 + + Moor-hen, South African, 324 + + Mopani Pan, 229 + veldt, 176 + + Mosilikatze, 49, 62 + his wives, at the Great Dance, 98 + + _Motacilla aguimp_, 317 + _capensis_, 317 + + _Motacillidæ_, 317 + + Motloutsi River, 26–28, 162 + + Mozanga, native servant, grief of, 182 + + Müller, F., reference to, 291 + + Murie, Dr. James, reference to, 286, 288, _note_ + + _Muscicapidæ_, 311 + + Musician, native, at the Semokwe, 143 + + _Musophagidæ_, 304 + + _Mycalesis Victorina_, 350 + + _Myrmecocichla formicivora_, 307 + + _Myrmeleon Libelluloides_, 363 + + + Nata River, 242 + + _Nectarina famosa_, 310 + + _Nectariniidæ_, 310 + + Negro skulls, 274, 275, 278, 279, 281 + + Nelson, Mr., experiences of, 75–82 + + Nelson, Mr., of Tati, 29, 33, 35, 139 + + _Neophron pileatus_, 297 + + _Nephrodium molle_, 369 + (_Lastrea_), sp., 369 + + _Nephrolepis cordifolia_, 369 + _exaltata_, 369 + + _Nettapus auritus_, 327 + + New Year’s Day at Hope Fountain, 93 + + Newcastle, 6, 7 + + Ngami, Lake, fever at, 157 + + _Nidorella auriculata_, 367 + + Night-hawk, call of the, 24 + + Nightjar, European, 300 + Mozambique, 300 + Rufous-cheeked, 300 + Standard-winged, 301 + + Nina, sister of Lobengula, 97, 111–113 + + Nose-bleeding, native cure for, 78 + + Notuani River, 15 + + _Nymphalidæ_, 349 + + + Oates, Mr. F., arrival at the Tati settlement, 29 + journeys towards the Zambesi, 42–138, 169–191, 192–226 + arrival at the Victoria Falls, 252 + attacked by fever, 261 + his death, 263 + + Oates, Mr. W. E., accompanies his brother to the Tati, and returns + to England, 1–41 + second journey to South Africa, 265–267 + + _Ocymum_ (or _Orthosiphon_), sp., 368 + + _Œdicnemus capensis_, 326 + + _Œna capensis_, 322 + + Oliver, Professor, F.R.S., F.Z.S., on the plants collected by Mr. + Oates, 366–369 + + _Onitis ciliatus_, 359 + _inuus_, 359 + + Oranges, 4, 8, 39, 49 + + Oriole, Golden, 315 + + _Oriolidæ_, 315 + + _Oriolus galbula_, 315 + + Ornithology, by Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.L.S., F.Z.S., etc., 294 + _et seq_. + + _Orthogonius caffer_, 359 + + _Ortygometra crex_, 324 + _egregia_, 324 + + _Ortygospiza polyzona_, 321 + + _Oryctes Boas_, 360 + + _Os_ (_Malare_) _bipartitum_, literature of, 282, _note_ + + Ostrich eggs, best mode of cooking, 24 + + Ostriches, young, 79 + + _Otididæ_, 326 + + _Otis kori_, 326 + + _Otogyps auricularis_, 297 + + Owen, Professor R., reference to, 274, 278 + + Owl, African Short-eared, 300 + + Owl, Barn, 300 + Spotted Eagle, 299 + Verreaux’s Eagle, 299 + White-faced Scops, 299 + + Owlet, African Pearl-spotted, 300 + + _Oxythyrea discicollis_, 360 + _hæmorrhoidalis_, 360 + + + _Pachnoda obsoleta_, 360 + + _Pachylomera femoralis_, 359 + + Palatswe River, 23, 161 + + Pallas, P. S., quoted, 286, 290, _note_ + + _Palpares citrinus_, 363 + + _Pamphagus haploscelis_, 363 + + _Pamphila Harona_, 333 + _Ranoha_, 353 + + _Panicum_ (_Tricholæna_) _roseum_, 369 + + Pantamatenka, the, 243, 245, 249, 260 + + _Papilio Aurota_, 336 + _Celæus_, 352 + _Demodocus_, 335 + _Demoleus_, 335 + _Eborea_, 337 + _Evippe_, 337 + _Gorgias_, 352 + _Jolaus_, 352 + + _Papilionidæ_, 335 + + _Paridæ_, 310 + + _Parisoma subcæruleum_, 311 + + _Parra capensis_, 324 + + Parrot, Le Vaillant’s, 306 + Meyer’s, 307 + + _Parus afer_, 310 + _niger_, 311 + + _Passer diffusus_, 321 + _motitensis_, 321 + + _Paussidæ_, 361 + + Peaches, 4, 10, 39, 49 + + _Pelecanidæ_, 328 + + _Pellæa consobrina_, 369 + + Petersen, Mr., 43, 44, 59, 93 + + _Penthetria albinotata_, 319 + _ardens_, 320 + + _Perdicidæ_, 323 + + Peregrine Falcon, South African, 298 + + _Petasia cruentata_, 363 + + Petroleum, useful against insects, 364 + + _Peucedanum capense_, 367 + + _Philomachus pugnax_, 325 + + _Pholidauges Verreauxi_, 316 + + _Phoxomela umbrosa_, 360 + + _Phrissoma giganteum_, 363 + + _Phyllostrophus capensis_, 308 + + Phytophagus (or plant-eating) beetles, 363 + + _Picidæ_, 306 + + _Pieris Mesentina_, 336 + _Polycaste_, 337 + _Severina_, 336 + _Thysa_, 337 + + Pietermaritzburg, 2–6, 41 + + Pipit, Cinnamon-backed, 317 + South African, 317 + + Plantain-eater, Grey, 304 + + _Pleuropterus alternans_, 361 + + _Ploceidæ_, 318 + + _Plocepasser mahali_, 321 + + _Plotus Levaillantii_, 328 + + Plover, Blacksmith, 325 + Treble-collared, 326 + Wreathed, 325 + + _Podiceps minor_, 328 + + _Podicipidæ_, 328 + + _Pæcilonetta erythrorhyncha_, 328 + + _Pogonorhynchus leucomelas_, 305 + + Poison-plant, 243 + + _Poliospiza gularis_, 322 + + _Polygala virgata_, 366 + + _Polyhirma amabilis_, 359 + _macilenta_, 359 + + _Polyommatus Otacilia_, 351 + _Sybaris_, 352 + _Telicanus_, 351 + + Pomegranates, 49 + + _Pontia Acaste_, 337 + _Evarne_, 338 + + “Poort,” the, Tati River, 196, 233 + + _Porphyris Alleni_, 324 + + Potatoes, 49 + + Præaryan skulls, 281 + + _Pratincola torquata_, 311 + + Pratincole, Black-winged, 325 + + Pretoria, 6–14, 37 + + _Prionopidæ_, 314 + + _Prionops talacoma_, 314 + + _Psittacidæ_, 306 + + _Psittacus Meyeri_, 306 + _robustus_, 307 + + _Pterocles bicinctus_, 323 + _gutturalis_, 323 + + _Pteroclidæ_, 323 + + _Ptychopteryx Bohemani_, 336 + + _Pycnonotinæ_, 308 + + _Pycnonotus Layardi_, 308 + _nigricans_, 308 + + _Pytelia melba_, 320 + + + Quagga, large herd of, 194 + + Quail, Common, 324 + Harlequin, 324 + + “Quilp,” Bushman servant, 152 + + + Rail, Mr. Oates’s favourite pointer, 43, 89, 159, 160, 226, 267, + 268, _note_ + return of, to the grave, after his master’s death, 265 + + Rains, commencement of the, 37, 61, 71, 205, 220, 224, 241 + + _Rallidæ_, 324 + + Ramaqueban River, 43, 131, 133–138, 143, 172–174, 192–195, 208–211, + 217, 229–231 + graves of Englishmen at the, 134 + + _Ranunculus pinnatus_, 366 + + Red-faced Finch, Southern, 320 + + Reed-warbler, White-breasted, 310 + + Retzius, Professor A., reference to, 274, 277, 278 + + _Rhinopomastes cyanomelas_, 304 + + _Rhopalocampta Valmaran_, 352 + + Rock, one of Mr. Oates’s pointers, 43, 89, 226, 235, 267, 268, + _note_ + + Rock-thrush, Sentinel, 308 + + Roller, Cinnamon, 302 + European, 302 + Lilac-breasted, 302 + White-naped, 302 + + Rolleston, Professor, M.D., F.R.S., on Bushman and other bones + obtained by Mr. Oates, 274–293 + + Rose chafers, 360 + + Roses, monthly, 8 + + Ruff, 325 + + + Sable antelope, young, 50 + + _Sagra festiva_, 363 + + Sakasusi, or Dry River, 143, 146 + + Salt lakes, in winter, 147, _note_ + + Sand-grouse, Double-banded, 323 + Yellow-throated, 323 + + Sand wasps, 363 + + Sandifort, E., reference to, 277 + + Sandpiper, Common, 325 + Wood, 325 + + _Sarkidiornis melanonotus_, 327 + + _Saturnia Alcinoë_, 356 + _caffra_, 356 + _Caffraria_, 356 + _cervina_, 357 + _Dyops_, 357 + _flavida_, 357 + _Hyperbius_, 357 + _Terpsichorina_, 357 + + _Saturniidæ_, 356 + + _Satyridæ_, 350 + + _Saxicola Galtoni_, 307 + _leucomelæna_, 308 + _pileata_, 307 + _Shelleyi_, 295, 307 + + _Scarabæidæ_, 359 + + Schiess-Gemuscus, Professor, reference to, 289 + + _Schizœrhris concolor_, 304 + + Schlocker, H., reference to, 280, _note_ + + Schweinfurth, Dr. Georg, reference to, 288, and _note_ + + _Scolopacidæ_, 325 + + _Scops leucotis_, 299 + + Scops Owl, White-faced, 299 + + _Scopus umbretta_, 327 + + Sekomi, 16, 19, 37, 39, 155 + + Selous, Mr. F. C., 104, 151, 238–242, 266 + + Semokwe River, 36, 140, 143–146 + + Seribi River, 26 + + Seruli River, 24 + + _Sesia Hylas_, 354 + + Sharpe, Mr. R. Bowdler, F.L.S., F.Z.S., etc., on the birds + collected by Mr. Oates, 294 _et seq._ + + Shashani River, 54, 55, 117, 120 + fine scenery near the, 117–119 + + Shashe River, 28, 31, 147, 162 + course of the, 176, _note_ + + Short-eared Owl, African, 300 + + Shoshong, 16. _See also_ Bamangwato. + + Shrike, Black-and-white Long-tailed, 313 + Collared, 313 + Lesser Grey, 313 + Red-backed, 313 + + _Silpha micans_, 361 + + _Silphidæ_, 361 + + Skelton, Mr. H., the late, 204 + + Smelting furnace, native, 132 + + Smith, Mr. W., Dutch hunter, 44–47, 128–136 + + Snakes, 162 + + _Solanum subexarmatum_, 367 + + Solomon, native waggon-driver, 39, 143 + + Sparrow, Greater South African, 321 + Southern Grey-headed, 321 + + _Sphingidæ_, 333 + + _Sphenorhynchus Abdimii_, 327 + + _Spilophorus plagosus_, 360 + + _Spindacis Massilicatzi_, 351 + + _Sporopipes squamifrons_, 319 + + “Stamped” corn, 130 + + Starling, Brown, 316 + Cape, 316 + Wattled, 316 + + Stone Age crania, 281 + + Stone-chat, South African, 311 + + Stork, White, 327 + White-bellied, 327 + + _Strigidæ_, 300 + + _Strix capensis_, 300 + _flammea_, 300 + + _Sturnidæ_, 316 + + Sun-bird, Greater Double-collared, 310 + Malachite, 310 + Scarlet-chested, 310 + Southern Bifasciated, 310 + + Sunsets, fine, 27, 117 + + _Sutherlandia frutescens_, 366 + + Swallow, Common, 312 + Large Striped-breasted, 312 + Red-breasted, 312 + Smaller Striped-breasted, 311 + + Swinburne, Sir John, 29, 34 + + Swift, Common, 301 + + _Sycrobrotus bicolor_, 318 + + _Sylvietta rufescens_, 310 + + + _Tabanidæ_, 363 + + _Tabanus Africanus_, 363 + + _Tachyris Agathina_, 337 + + Tamasancha, 235, 242, 246 + + Tamasetsie, 242 + + Tamils, skulls of, 281 + + Tasmanian skulls, 281 + + Tati gold-fields, 10 + River, 174, 175, 195, 196, 233 + settlement, 29–36, 139–141, 146, 161–169, 183–192, 199–268 + + Tchakani Vlei, 161 + + Tchangani River, 73 + + Teal, Red-billed, 328 + + _Tenebrionidæ_, 36 + + _Tephrocorys cinerea_, 318 + + _Teracolus Agoye_, 336 + _subfasciatus_, 336 + + _Terias Rahel_, 342 + _Seruli_, 342 + _Zoë_, 342 + + _Terpsiphone perspicillata_, 311 + + _Tetralobus bifoveolatus_, 361 + + _Textor erythrorhynchus_, 318 + nests of, 117 + + Thick-knee, Spotted, 326 + + “Thirst Land,” the, 30 + + Thomson, Rev. J. B., 59, 61, 64, 86, 93, 99, 139, 140, 149, 187, + 188, _note_, 197 + + Thorns, annoyance from, in travelling, 33, 35 + + Thrush, Cape Bristle-necked, 308 + South African, 307 + + Tibakai, Bamangwato headman, 250 + + _Timeliidæ_, 308 + + _Timeliinæ_, 308 + + Titmouse, South African, 310 + Southern Black-and-white, 311 + + Tobacco-gardens, 178, 182 + + _Tockus flavirostris_, 304 + _nasutus_, 304 + + Topinard, Dr. P., reference to, 290 + + Tortoises, superstition regarding, 78 + + _Totanus canescens_, 325 + _glareola_, 325 + + Touani River, 23 + + _Trachyphonus cafer_, 306 + + Transvaal, the, 6–15, 37–39 + + Trees, flowering, 53, 68, 69 + + Trescott, Mr., 244 + + _Trichodesma physaloides_, 367 + + Trimen, Mr. Roland, reference to, 333 + + _Triumfetta Welwitschii_, 366 + + Tsetse-fly, the, 38, 48, 363–365 + precautions against, 364 + + _Turdidæ_, 307 + + _Turdus litsitsirupa_, 307 + + _Turnix lepurana_, 323 + + Turtle-dove, Cape, 322 + + _Turtur capicola_, 322 + + + Umbre, Tufted, 327 + + Umgeni River, 6 + + Umgwanya River, 72, 75 + + Umtegan, Matabele headman, 59 + + Umvungu River, 72, 74, 83, 141 + + _Upupa africana_, 304 + + _Upupidæ_, 304 + + _Urolestes melanoleucus_, 313 + + + _Vahlia Capensis_, 367 + + Van Roozen, 158, 159, 164–168, 172–174, 188, 231, 232 + + Victoria Falls, approach to, 250–252 + description of, 254–260 + + _Vidua principalis_, 319 + _regia_, 319 + _Verreauxi_, 319 + + Vincent, Mr., 122–124, 143 + + _Vitis_, sp., 366 + + Vulture, Eared, 297 + Hooded, 297 + + _Vulturidæ_, 297 + + + Waggon-drivers, 103, 218 + + Wagtail, African Pied, 317 + Cape, 317 + + _Wahlenbergia Banksiana_, 367 + + Waitz, Th., reference to, 288, _note_ + + Wallace, Mr. A. R., reference to, 331 + + Wankee, native waggon-driver, 98, 119–121 + + Wankee’s kraal, 178, 196, 234 + + Warbler, Brown Fantail, 309 + Common Fantail, 310 + Larger Grey-backed Fantail, 309 + Le Vaillant’s Fantail, 309 + Smith’s Fantail, 309 + White-eyebrowed, 309 + + Water, scarcity of, 16, 18, 34, 151, _note_, 219 + + Water-hen, Allen’s Blue, 324 + + Wax-bill, Grenadier, 321 + Red-headed, 320 + + Weaver-bird, Black-fronted, 319 + Cape Yellow, 318 + Mariqua, 319 + Natal Black-and-yellow, 318 + Olive-and-yellow, 318 + Red-billed Black, 318 + nest of, 177 + Smith’s, 318 + White-browed, 321 + + Weevils, 362 + + Westbeach, Mr., 244, 245, 260, 261 + + Westwood, Professor J. O., M.A., F.L.S., etc., on the insects + collected by Mr. Oates, 330 _et seq._ + + Wheatear, Burchell’s, 308 + Capped, 307 + Shelley’s, 295, 307 + Southern Ant-eating, 307 + + White ants, 134 + + Whitwell, Rev. J. S., reference to, 291 + + Whydah-finches, 220, _note_ + + Widow-bird, Cape Black-and-yellow, 320 + Common, 319 + Great, 319 + Orange-throated, 320 + Shaft-tailed, 319 + Verreaux’s, 319 + White-spotted, 319 + + Wild dogs, 119, 200, 234 + fruit, 49, 89–91, 177, 233 + pigs, 15, 82, 134, 242 + + Williams, Rev. J., reference to, 291 + + Williamson, Dr., reference to, 280, _note_ + + Wood, Mr. George, 151, 238–242 + + Wood, Rev. J. G., reference to, 288, _note_, 290 + + Wood-boring beetles, 361 + + Wood-hoopoe, Red-billed, 304 + Scimitar-billed, 304 + + Woodpecker, Bearded, 306 + Bennett’s, 306 + Cardinal, 306 + Golden-tailed, 306 + + Woodpecker, Smith’s, 306 + + Wood-shrike, Oates’s, 314 + Smith’s, 314 + + _Wormskioldia longepedunculata_, 367 + + Wryneck, Red-breasted, 306 + + Wyman, Prof. Jeffries, reference to, 286 + + + _Ypthima Nareda_, 350 + + + Zambesi, the, fever at, 188, 235, 239, 244, 260 + worst months for, 189, 238–240, 247 + + _Zeritis Amanga_, 351 + _Perion_, 351 + + Zimmermann, reference to, 291 + + _Zygæna tricolorata_, 354 + + _Zygænidæ_, 354 + + _Zygophyllum Dregeanum_, 366 + + Zulu skulls, 278, 281, 285, 286 + + + THE END. + + [Illustration: MAP OF SOUTH EASTERN AFRICA showing the + COUNTRY TRAVERSED BY M^R. F. OATES 1873–5 + + London, C. Kegan Paul & Co. Edw^d Weller] + + + + + _1 Paternoster Square, + London._ + + _A LIST OF + C. KEGAN PAUL & CO.’S + PUBLICATIONS._ + + +_ADAMS (F. O.) 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Bound in cloth, 38_s._ 6_d._ + + CONTENTS. + + Vol. I.--=EARLY POEMS= and =ENGLISH IDYLLS.= 6_s._ + + II.--=LOCKSLEY HALL, LUCRETIUS=, and other Poems. 6_s._ + + III.--=THE IDYLLS OF THE KING=, complete, 7_s._ 6_d._ + + IV.--=THE PRINCESS= and =MAUD=. 6_s._ + + V.--=ENOCH ARDEN= and =IN MEMORIAM=. 6_s._ + + VI.--=QUEEN MARY= and =HAROLD=. 7_s._ + +_This Edition can also be had bound in half-morocco, Roxburgh, price +1s. 6d. per vol. extra._ + + + _THE CABINET EDITION_, + IN TWELVE VOLUMES. Price 2_s._ 6_d._ each. + + CONTENTS. + + Vol. I.--=EARLY POEMS.= Illustrated with a Photographic Portrait + of Mr. Tennyson. + + II.--=ENGLISH IDYLLS=, and other =POEMS=. Containing an + Engraving of Mr. Tennyson’s Residence at Aldworth. + + III.--=LOCKSLEY HALL=, and other =POEMS=. With an Engraved + Picture of Farringford. + + IV.--=LUCRETIUS=, and other =POEMS=. Containing an Engraving + of a Scene in the Garden at Swainston. + + V.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING=. With an Autotype of the Bust of Mr. + Tennyson by T. Woolner, R.A. + + VI.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= Illustrated with an Engraved + Portrait of ‘Elaine,’ from a Photographic Study by + Julia M. Cameron. + + VII.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= Containing an Engraving of ‘Arthur,’ + from a Photographic Study by Julia M. Cameron. + + VIII.--=THE PRINCESS.= With an Engraved Frontispiece. + + IX.--=MAUD= and =ENOCH ARDEN=. With a Picture of ‘Maud,’ taken + from a Photographic Study by Julia M. Cameron. + + X.--=IN MEMORIAM.= With a Steel Engraving of Arthur H. Hallam, + engraved from a picture in possession of the Author, by + J. C. Armytage. + + XI.--=QUEEN MARY=: a Drama. With Frontispiece by Walter Crane. + + XII.--=HAROLD=: a Drama. With Frontispiece by Walter Crane. + +⁂_These Volumes may be had separately, or the Edition complete, in a +handsome ornamental case, price 32s._ + + + _THE MINIATURE EDITION_, + IN THIRTEEN VOLUMES. + + CONTENTS. + + Vol. I.--=POEMS.= + + II.--=POEMS.= + + III.--=POEMS.= + + IV.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= + + V.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= + + VI.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= + + VII.--=IDYLLS OF THE KING.= + + VIII.--=IN MEMORIAM.= + + IX.--=PRINCESS.= + + X.--=MAUD.= + + XI.--=ENOCH ARDEN.= + + XII.--=QUEEN MARY.= + + XIII.--=HAROLD.= + +Bound in imitation vellum, ornamented in gilt and gilt edges, in case, +price 42_s._ + + This Edition can also be had in plain binding and case, price 36_s._ + + _Spottiswoode & Co., Printers, New-street Square, London._ + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Mr. P. G. Hamerton, _Lives of Modern Frenchmen_, p. 95. + +[2] His friend here referred to was killed by a fall from his horse +late that autumn. + +[3] _Fraser’s Magazine_, November 1856. + +[4] _Paraguay, Brazil, and the Plate._ By C. B. Mansfield, M.A. +With a Sketch of the Author’s Life by the Rev. C. Kingsley, pp. xi.-xvi. + +[5] Mr. Gray died of fever at the above Lake a few months afterwards. + +[6] Mr. T. E. Buckley, the gentleman here alluded to, had come out from +England in the same ship as Frank Oates and his brother, on a shooting +expedition, and had been joined at Maritzburg by Mr. Gilchrist, of +Ospisdale, Sutherlandshire, who had already been out upwards of two +years, travelling and hunting in South Africa. These gentlemen both +accompanied the brothers as far north as the Tati River, whence Frank +Oates went on alone towards the Zambesi. + +[7] This instrument was afterwards kindly replaced by Mr. Lys of +Pretoria. + +[8] The accompanying illustration of the high veldt is from a sketch +taken early in December, when the grass has grown after the summer +rains, the country then presenting a very different appearance from its +dried and parched aspect in winter. + +[9] Strictly speaking, Bamangwato is the name applied to the district +north of the Transvaal inhabited by that branch of the Basuto race, +and Shoshong the name of the king’s town or residence; but the latter +also is more frequently spoken of, in common parlance, as Bamangwato or +Mungwato. + +[10] Small stream. + +[11] Mr. Nelson of the mine. + +[12] The body of the dead lion was found soon afterwards by some +natives--for the shot had proved fatal--and the skin taken by them to +the Tati settlement. The ox had sustained so severe an injury that he +had to be shot the following morning. + +[13] This refers to Hendrik, the man of that name above alluded to. + +[14] The Hon. G. C. Dawnay, on his way home from the Zambesi. + +[15] Mr. Petersen was a trader whom Frank Oates had met at Tati. + +[16] Meat dried in the sun. + +[17] Doubtless a species of Euphorbia, many varieties of which ar met +with in South Africa. + +[18] Mr. Fairbairn was agent at the King’s Town for a Mr. Cruickshank, +with whom Frank Oates had had business dealings at Bamangwato. + +[19] Probably the Euphorbia above referred to (_vide_ p. 46), +which frequently attains the size of a small tree. + +[20] The term applied to the small fold or enclosure made round a hut +or waggon, for shelter and protection, by means of branches rudely +placed in the ground. + +[21] _i.e._ The pole of the waggon. + +[22] The interpreter here spoken of was a native from Graham’s Town, +who remained with Frank Oates till July the following year. + +[23] The guide. + +[24] Frank Oates collected, during his wanderings, a considerable +variety of birds’ eggs and nests, some of the latter very remarkable in +their construction. Two of these are represented in the accompanying +woodcut, the first of which--probably that of an Ægithalus or Penduline +Titmouse--is of the consistency and texture of fine blanket, and nearly +white in colour. It appears to be made from white cotton, or some +similar vegetable substance. The second is ingeniously composed of the +finer portions of reeds, in the manner of close basket-work, and is +found in great numbers along the banks of rivers, and in marshy places, +affixed to the rushes. + +[25] One of the boys. + +[26] Spring. + +[27] These knob-kerries, which answer the purpose of a life-preserver, +are made of various kinds of wood or of rhinoceros horn, and carved +according to the fancy of the maker. They are sometimes adorned with +beads (see one of those in the woodcut), but the more ordinary form is +that of a short stick with a single rounded knob at the end, to give +it weight. The natives can throw them a great distance with marvellous +accuracy, being often able to bring down a bird on the wing with one of +them. + +[28] A sister of the king’s. + +[29] The woodcut on the succeeding page illustrates a variety of +different assegais. The heads of these weapons are wrought by the +natives themselves, and fastened to the shafts by strips of raw hide, +which shrink in the drying, and become as hard as a band of iron. The +length of the shaft is usually from three to four feet. + +[30] Here the day’s entry ends abruptly, with only a few brief notes +intended for the writer’s future guidance, and unavailable for +another’s use. + +[31] This gentleman, Mr. F. C. Selous, had already been out some time +hunting in South Africa, and was subsequently again met with by Frank +Oates near the Victoria Falls. + +[32] A native temporarily engaged at Gubuleweyo. + +[33] Brass wire is considerably used by the natives of South Africa for +purposes of ornamentation. Above are represented two hunting-knives, +the upper one of which has the sheath and handle (which are of wood) +handsomely adorned with fine twisted brass wire. The sheath of the +lower knife is of raw hide strongly sewn together. + +[34] “These ‘white ants’ (Termites),” writes W. Oates, “are the curse +of all African settlers and travellers, devouring everything except +iron or tin, whilst in time even houses succumb to their ravages. They +form, however, an article of food in many places amongst the natives, +by whom they are much esteemed on account of their slightly acid +flavour. The enormous structures they erect are frequently carried up +the trunk of a high tree, or may sometimes be seen standing alone at +a height of 18 feet, as in the accompanying sketch, which was taken +between Tati and Shoshong. The Dutch Boers and others make use of these +ant-hills for cooking purposes, hollowing out the lower portion of the +heap, and filling the hollow thus formed with wood, which is lighted, +and, when consumed, renders the receptacle an admirable oven, retaining +its heat for a great length of time.” + +[35] Piet Jacobs, the Dutch hunter, referred to in the previous Chapter. + +[36] A trader of that name at Tati. + +[37] The latter was W. Oates’s Kafir driver, who, it may be remembered, +had turned out a consummate rascal. + +[38] In the coloured illustration opposite, taken on this river by W. +Oates, when there the previous year, the dry sandy bed of the Semokwe +is distinguished towards the horizon, with tall rushes upon its bank. +The large trees, still in leaf, to the left hand of the picture, are +mimosas, near one of which, still further to the left, is seen a large +ant-hill, used as an oven, in the manner described above (_vide_ +p. 135). + +[39] The accompanying woodcut, from a drawing taken a little south +of Shoshong (Bamangwato), represents one of the salt lakes of this +district as seen in winter. The water in these lakes is then all dried +up, and their beds, composed of salt and sand, present a dazzling white +appearance. + +[40] A rare luxury at the present time, only to be indulged in on great +or special occasions, owing to the increasing scarcity of water with +the cessation of the rains. “I am miserable,” he writes one day about +this time, “for want of water to wash myself in, ever so superficially.” + +[41] This refers to John, the man whom Frank Oates had engaged as +interpreter at Gubuleweyo some months before, and whom he had since +retained in the capacity of general servant. He had recently acted as +driver in the place of Karl Lee, who had returned from Tati to his +brother’s farm, instead of coming forward, as intended, to Bamangwato. + +[42] The coloured drawing opposite illustrates the position of the +town of Shoshong (Bamangwato). In front stretches a dry sandy plain, +the native huts collected under the shelter of the mountains, which +afford an easy refuge in times of warfare. The huts and stores of a few +English traders, built of wood or clay, are seen grouped together at +one extremity of the town--to the left hand. The only water in the dry +season, as mentioned in a previous chapter, is got from a small stream +up the gorge behind the town, some distance off, whence it is taken +to the town in small vessels upon people’s heads. In this gorge stand +the church and mission station of the London Missionary Society, from +which are seen a short way off the beehive-like huts of Shoshong on the +plain; see the woodcut at page 149. + +[43] This river, represented in most of the recent maps as taking +its rise but a few miles from here, and flowing away directly to the +westward towards the salt lakes, is in reality--so the traveller +afterwards learnt from at least three distinct witnesses--a part of the +Shashe River, the same river which is crossed on the Bamangwato and +Tati road, a few miles before reaching Tati, coming north. One of these +witnesses, Mr. Dobie of the mine, had, moreover, struck the river, he +said, about thirty miles northward of the drift on which the waggons +were now outspanned, and had found it a big river even there, where, +according to the maps, it is not even in existence. The slate formation +in which the gold is found runs, it seems, to a narrow point as far as +this river-drift, and there ceases altogether. + +[44] The Red-billed Black Weaver-bird, _Textor erythrorhynchus_. + +[45] This kraal, the first outpost of the Makalakas, is described as +“Wankee’s” in the traveller’s later Journals, and is so marked upon the +map. + +[46] Mr. Dorehill had been met by Frank Oates previously at Bamangwato, +and subsequently accompanied him part of the way on his final journey +to the Zambesi. + +[47] This was the last occasion on which Frank Oates encountered +Mr. Thomson, who, some time after the events here narrated--in +1877--returned to England, to convey thence, under the auspices of the +London Missionary Society, a party of missionaries to Lake Tanganyika. +He accomplished the journey successfully, but unhappily was attacked +by sunstroke soon after his arrival, and died from its effects in +September 1878. + +[48] A kind of hemp, much used for smoking by the natives. + +[49] The man appointed by the king. + +[50] _i.e._, stream or ditch. + +[51] A mine near Tati. + +[52] This refers to the late Mr. Henry Skelton, formerly of Wadham +College, Oxford, who died in Borneo, in the service of the late Rajah +Brooke, soon after his appointment as Resident of Saráwak. + +[53] The time occupied in the transmission of letters has, since the +above was written, been much curtailed, owing to the establishment, +through missionary enterprise, of direct postal communication between +Bamangwato and the Cape. + +[54] In June the following year, this man was seen by Mr. +Gilchrist--whose journey into the interior is related in the concluding +chapter of this narrative--living near Rustenberg, in the Transvaal, +apparently in perfect health. + +[55] The woodcut opposite illustrates two of the whydah-finches, which +the traveller collected during his present stay at Tati. The general +colour of the upper bird is black, with a collar of ruddy brown, fading +into buff beneath; that of the lower one black and pale yellow, the +bill and legs coral-red. In the winter season these birds lose their +long tail feathers, and their plumage becomes a mottled brown; a great +contrast to their striking summer dress. There are many varieties of +these finches, one species of which (_Chera progne_), a native of +the Transvaal, suffers serious inconvenience from these adornments in +a high wind. The long tail feathers are much used by the natives for +ornaments and head-dresses. + +[56] The skulls and other remains here obtained were brought to +England, with the rest of the traveller’s collections, after his +decease, and form the subject of the interesting paper kindly +contributed to the Appendix of this volume by Professor Rolleston, for +whom they were collected. + +[57] An arid ridge or zone of sand, of frequent occurrence in this +district, extending sometimes a distance of many miles. + +[58] This was a native from the Cape, named John Mackenna, who, as well +as Klaas the driver, remained with Frank Oates till his death. + +[59] This letter was not received in England. + +[60] _Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi_, p. 254. + +[61] _Travels in the Interior of South Africa_, vol. ii., p. 130. + +[62] _Explorations in South-West Africa_, p. 499. + +[63] Dr. Bradshaw, since the above was written, has been down from +the interior to the Cape, with considerable collections of birds and +insects formed during his travels. Some of the former of these have +reached the British Museum, and are alluded to by Mr. Sharpe in the +Appendix to this volume. + +[64] Mr. Gilchrist, whose subsequent journey into the interior is +related below, and who brought the particulars of this and other +incidents connected with the narrative to England, understood the dog +to have gone back to his master’s grave the whole way from the Tati +settlement--a distance of nearly eighty miles. + +[65] By a singular coincidence, Frank Oates’s devoted favourite, +“Rail”--for four years after reaching England the valued companion of +his late master’s relatives--died on the 5th of February 1880, the +fifth anniversary of his master’s death, followed but three weeks later +by his companion, “Rock.” + +[66] See his two Reports concerning his Researches into the Bushman +Language and Customs and Folklore, presented to both Houses of +Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope, by command of his Excellency the +Governor, 1873 and 1875, and _Journal Anthrop. Inst._ 1871. + +[67] Perhaps intended for Eland’s Been, near Schietfontein, in the +District of Carnarvon, Cape Colony.--Ed. + +[68] For the relation of the alisphenoid, squamous, and frontal, +see Broca, _Instructions Craniologiques_, pp. 26, 27, 1875; +and Gruber, _Ueber die Verbindung der Schläfenbeinschuppe mit +dem Stirnbein. Mém. de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. +Pétersbourg_, tom. xxi. No. 5, 1874. Hermann Schlocker, _Ueber die +Anomalieen des Pterion;_ Inaugural Dissertation Zum. Univ. Dorpat. +1879. + +It is right, however, to add that the skull of the Bushwoman whose +brain Professor Marshall has described, _l.c._, had the squamous +of the left side joined to the frontal, and that with obliteration +of the suture; and that though Dr. Williamson has not recorded the +presence of this junction in any of the three Bushman crania described +by him in his _Catalogue of the Army Medical Museum_, 1867, he +has noted it in two out of the seven skulls of the closely affined +Hottentot race. + +[69] Similarly rudimentary sutures are observable in several of the +Bushman crania in the Royal College of Surgeons of London. + +[70] It may be well here to give the literature of “Os (Malare) +bipartitum.” + +1779. E. Sandifort, _Observat. Anat. Path._, Lib. iii. 113; Tab. +viii. fig. 7. + +1837. _Leçons d’Anatomie Comparée_, par Georges Cuvier et M. +Duméril. Seconde édition, par F. G. Cuvier et Laurillard. Tome ii. +1837, p. 381. + +1844. Breschet, _Ann. Sciences Nat., 3 ser., Zoologie._ Tome i. p. +30. + +1852. Schultz in _Bemerkungen über den Bau der normalen Menschen +Schädel_, p. 57, Tab. ii. + +1867. Canestrini, _Annuario della Soc. del Naturalisti in Modena_, +1867, p. 83. _Gazzetta della Cliniche_, Torino, 1871. G. +Delorenzie’s _Tre nuove case d’anomalia dell’ osso Malare_, +Torino, 1872. E. Marselli, _Sopra una rara anomalia dell’ osso +Malare_, Modena, 1872. + +1873. Gruber, _Monographie des zweigetheilten Jochbeines bei Menschen +und Säugethieren_, _Archiv. Anat. und Physiologie_, p. 337. + +1874. Gruber, _Ann. Sci. Nat., 3 ser., Zoologie_, Tome i. p. 30. + +1878. _Human Osteology_, Holden and Doran, p. 99. + +Laurillard’s words from Cuvier’s _Anatomie Compareé_, vol. ii. pp. +381, 2, are specially worthy of being quoted, as they were published so +long ago as 1837. They are as follows:-- + +“Au bord inférieur du jugal nous avons trouvé sur deux sujets un os +particulier, alongé et aplati, étendu tout le long du bord inférieur +du jugal, et d’articulant en avant avec l’extremité très saillante +de l’apophyse malaire du maxillaire et en arrière avec l’apophyse +zygomatique du temporal, laquelle se trouve ainsi présenter deux +sutures, l’une verticale avec le jugal proprement dit, l’autre +horizontale avec ce second jugal et faisant un angle presque droit avec +la précédente. Dans les sujets ou nous l’avons rencontré, la forme de +ce nouvel os, des connexions avec les os voisins, sa proportion avec +l’os malaire proprement dit, étaient les mêmes et comme nous l’avons +trouvé, ainsi que nous le dirons plus loin, dans certaines espèces de +singes une subdivision parfaitement semblable, nous sommes portés à la +considérer autrement que comme une disposition purement accidentelle.” + +[71] See Cleland, _Phil. Trans._ 1870, p. 163. + +[72] _British Barrows_, pp. 563 and 677. + +[73] Many references to the older literature treating of the two +peculiarities mentioned will be found in Waltz’s _Anthropologie_, +Th. i. pp. 120–122, 1859. An important note regarding the latter of +the two is given by a man of science residing at the Cape of Good Hope +in Professor Flower and Dr. Murie’s “Account of the Dissection of a +Bushwoman,” _Journal of Anatomy and Physiology_, No. II. May 1867, +p. 208. + +[74] For this see Hartmann, _Die Nigritier_, 1876, p. 492, who +cites Schweinfurth, _Heart of Africa_, Eng. tran., vol. ii. chap. +xvi., Du Chaillu, and the Rev. J. G. Wood, _Natural History of +Man_. Africa, p. 538, 1868. + +[75] The point of similarity is not, I apprehend, in the character of +the music so much as in the fact that the compared peoples admire it +such as it is. Of the Kalmuck music Pallas writes (and, as the work +is little accessible, I quote) as follows, _Sammlungen Historischer +Nachrichten über die Mongolischen Völkerschaften_, i. p. 152--“Die +Melodie der Kalmücken, besonders ihre zärtliche und verliebte Musik, +hat solche langgezerte klagliche Töne und solche Dissonanzen, dass +sie ein gutgewohntes Ohr mit noch fast mehr Widerwillen als alte +Französische Musik, anhört!” + +[76] Mr. W. F. Kirby has injudiciously sunk Boisduval’s generic name +for this group, containing 33 species, and adopted in its stead one of +Hübner’s four sub-generic names (into which he had divided them), which +only comprised four of the species. + +[77] The name of this species is accidentally omitted in the classified +index of the second series of Swainson’s “Illustrations;” and Mr. +Trimen complains that the plate is not in the copy of the work in the +Public Library at Cape Town, having been probably omitted by the binder +from not appearing in the classified index. + +[78] The plants collected by Mr. Oates in South-East Africa have been +named at Kew under the direction of Professor Oliver; the two novelties +having been described by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S. Those plants which are +distinguished by an asterisk * were obtained between Pietermaritzburg +and the Crocodile River; the rest all in Matabele Land.--Ed. + + +Transcriber’s Notes: + +1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been +corrected silently. + +2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have +been retained as in the original. + +3. Superscripts are represented using the caret character, e.g. D^r. or +X^{xx}. + +4. Italics are shown as _xxx_. + +5. Bold print is shown as =xxx=. + + + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77803 *** |