As not a single head of game had been shot by one of our party for some days, the arrival of a goat, which Bradshaw sent us from Panda ma Tenka, was a very agreeable surprise. Another night’s journey took us beyond the tsetse district, and after putting up the heavy waggons beside one of the Panda ma Tenka affluents, we proceeded in advance to the settlement itself. It was sad to see how fever had reduced both Bradshaw and my former servant Pit to the merest skeletons.
Soon after our arrival Westbeech made me the unwelcome communication that the tsetse-fly had committed such havoc amongst his bullocks that he was absolutely unable to fulfil the contract he had made when he purchased my team. He could not take my waggon to the south, and had no alternative but to ask me to transfer my packages to one of those in which he was conveying his own ivory. The removal of my property occupied me some time on the 27th.
We here met an ivory-dealer who had just come from Shoshong. He told us that Khame was still using all his influence to check the importation of brandy, and with regard to myself he observed that the people of Shoshong would be much surprised to see me back again, as they had been quite sure that I should never return to the south.
After clearing out my waggon, I spent the rest of the day in trying to make good any deficiencies in my collections. I bought 1300 beetles from Bradshaw, for which I gave him 20l., and paid him in ivory for forty bird-skins besides; Walsh also for some of my ivory let me have sixty-three more bird-skins.
On the following afternoon we left the valley. Westbeech showed me every possible consideration on the way to Shoshong, but naturally I could not feel anything like the same independence as when travelling in my own waggon; there were many places in which we only halted a few hours where I should have been glad to stay on indefinitely, and I saw enough of the West Matabele country to satisfy me that an explorer might find things of interest in it to occupy him for a year at least.
During our passage along the valley our dogs started two vlakvarks. White men seized their guns, black men followed with their assegais, and a hot chase lasted for twenty minutes before the creatures were brought down. Although it has more formidable tusks than any other of its species, in comparison with the European wild boar, the vlakvark is a feeble, spiritless creature; its skin is extremely thin, and nothing gives it so remarkable an appearance as its conspicuous white whiskers.
I did not get much sleep on the first night after the transfer of my boxes; they had been so shaken about in their day’s journey that I could not lie down to rest until I had properly rearranged them. Next morning while passing over the last of the grassy glades that are so frequent between the Zambesi district and the sandy pool plateau, I observed that herds of ostriches had been along the game-tracks. Had I been independent I should certainly have stayed a day or two and made a deliberate investigation of some of the habits of these birds by following up their traces into the woods; but here, as along the rest of the way, although I took every available opportunity of seeing what I could, and devoted much of the night to recording what I had seen by day, I was constantly deploring the rapid pace at which we had to travel.
Before reaching Henry’s Pan on the 3rd of February, I noticed that a herd of at least twenty giraffes had preceded us on our road. As we approached the Tamasetze pools we were met by a horseman whom we recognized as a trader named Webster, who had formerly been an associate of Anderson, an ivory-dealer that I have already mentioned. Anderson had now gone back, and Webster, as he informed us, was here in the neighbourhood of Tamasetze hunting ostriches, being encamped almost close by with two others, one of whom, named Mayer, I had met at one of the Klamaklenyana springs whilst travelling northwards; the other I will simply designate as Z. This Z., who professed that he had once been a trader, had now come into this district under rather peculiar circumstances. The Zoological Society of London had written out to Cape Town for a young white rhinoceros, for which they offered the sum of 500l., and attracted by the liberal bidding, Z. had resolved to try his chance of securing the prize.
His first proceeding was to provide himself with a supply of barter goods which he reckoned he could dispose of at a profit of some 500 per cent., including a very considerable proportion of “fire-water,” for which he felt certain the demand would be great. He was quite aware that the likeliest place in which to obtain a rhinoceros such as he wanted was in the Mashona country; but he had been guilty of some offence in Matabele-land, so that he was afraid to apply to the king for permission to re-enter his dominions. Accordingly he betook himself to Shoshong, but as it came to Khame’s knowledge that he was bringing brandy for sale, he was forthwith ordered to return to the south. However, he was unwilling to be diverted from his purpose, and went to Khame and gave him a distinct promise that he would carry back all the spirit and dispose of it to the Damara emigrants on the Limpopo. Khame, not apprehending the ruse that was to be played, expressed himself satisfied. Z. started off towards the Limpopo, but was back again so quickly that his return awakened some suspicion; however, by pointing to his empty waggons, and declaring that he had found a readier sale than he anticipated, he succeeded in making the king believe that it was all fair. The truth was he had only concealed his casks in the woods.
Receiving the king’s permission to proceed, Z. now started on his venture. He lost no time in picking up his contraband goods, and made his way north-west through West Matabele and Makalaka-land towards the sandy pool plateau, giving out to the Zulus that he was Captain Y., and that he was anxious to obtain permission to visit the Victoria Falls. He sent messengers to Lo Bengula, the Zulu king at Gubuluwayo, to that effect, but spending several months afterwards on the pool plateau, he lost the four horses he had brought with him; however he succeeded in disposing of all his goods except four kegs of spirits of wine.