My own departure was somewhat delayed by Makumba’s absence from the town; without his assistance I could not procure the bearers which, after crossing the river, I should require to convey the articles that I had collected in Sesheke, and the ivory which I had received from Blockley as payment for my bullocks.
The passage across the river gave me no small amount of anxiety, as independently of my uncertainty about getting bearers, I was much concerned at finding a leak in the ferry-boat as large as my fist, which threatened to do material injury to a good deal of my property. Fortunately, however, on reaching the Leshumo valley I again met Captains M’Leod and Fairly, the English officers, who most considerately, during the time of their visit to Sepopo, allowed me the use of their waggon to take me to Panda ma Tenka. I waited a little while until the team could be fetched, and started off on the night of the 3rd of September. As I went along I noticed that the burning of the grass in the district had caused a diminution in the number of tsetse fly, although the herbage was already beginning to sprout afresh.
When on the following day we reached the Gashuma Flat, we found plenty of game still lurking in places where the grass had not been burned. With the waggon were two horses that the English officers had left in charge of a servant, who seemed to me unpardonably careless. Notwithstanding my warnings, he would persist in riding on considerably ahead. Approaching the baobab I told Pit and the driver to keep a sharp look-out; I had a kind of presentiment that the horses might invite an attack from the lion that was notoriously haunting the spot. We had gone but a very short distance farther, when the driver called out that he could see Captain M’Leod’s servant up in a tree and only one horse beside him; another moment and his keen eye detected a lion retreating to the bushes on our right; I was sitting on the box, and almost immediately afterwards caught sight of the other horse lying disembowelled on the ground, the few small wounds in the neck revealing too clearly how the poor brute had met its end.
The servant’s tale was simple enough. About 300 yards from the tree he had been attacked by the lion and thrown, whereupon the lion, taking no notice of him, began the pursuit of his horse; the horse-cloth had entangled itself in the horse’s legs, and the creature was quickly overtaken and killed. The servant had betaken himself to the first mapani-tree, where we found him. The other horse was grazing quietly close at hand.
We all went some way in pursuit of the lion, but without success.
CHAPTER VIII.
TRIP TO THE VICTORIA FALLS.
Return to Panda ma Tenka—Theunissen’s desertion—Departure for the falls—Orbeki-gazelles—Animal and vegetable life in the fresh-water pools—Difficult travelling—First sight of the falls—Our skerms—Characteristics of the falls—Their size and splendour—Islands in the river-bed—Columns of vapour—Roar of the water—The Zambesi below the falls—The formation of the rocks—Rencontre with baboons—A lion-hunt—The Manansas—Their history and character—Their manners and customs—Disposal of the dead—Ornaments and costume—The Albert country—Back again.
On my arrival at Panda ma Tenka, I found Westbeech’s enclosure in a state of great animation; several waggons were there, hosts of servants were hurrying about in every direction, and certainly not less than twenty dogs were yelping and running amongst them. Most unfortunately for me the rain during my absence had made its way through the roof of my waggon, and had done so much damage to the leather cases inside that nearly all the dried insects, plants, and seeds that they contained were spoiled. Some of the traders that I had seen here before were seriously ill with fever, and a servant of Khame’s, who had been hired by Africa, the hunter of whom I have already spoken, had been killed by an elephant, a misadventure for which, on his return to Shoshong, Africa found himself obliged to pay a fine of 50l. to the Bamangwato king.
Westbeech and Bauren intended, after their visit to the Victoria Falls, to stay three months at Sesheke; Blockley contemplated at the same time doing some business with the Makalaka princes to the east of the falls, Bradshaw being left meanwhile in charge at Panda ma Tenka to purchase any ivory he could from the Madenassanas and Masarwas. Theunissen at this time had quite enough to occupy him in preparing medicines for the patients laid down with intermittent fever, while I, after having been busy all day in completing my preparations for the Zambesi expedition, spent the hours far into the night in answering my letters and continuing my diary.
It was on the 10th that Westbeech and Francis came back; they each brought about 50 lbs. of ivory, which Sepopo had sent as presents to their wives. On their way they had killed thirty crocodiles and five hippopotamuses. One of the latter had attacked them.