semi-circular in form, and are made of stakes six feet long driven firmly into the ground, after which branches are twisted in amongst them; along the outer side a line of fires is lighted, and the servants are made to sit up in turn and keep them from going out. In our case we had four skerms, one enclosing a couple of huts for the married folks, another for the four bachelors, a third for the half-castes, whose dignity would not allow them to lie down with Zulus and Makalakas, who consequently required a fourth for themselves.
The spot upon which we had fixed for our encampment was almost in the centre of the real Zambesi valley, between the river and a sandy wooded elevation of the ground, the slope of a high plateau and mountain-system that runs more or less parallel to the stream from the mouth of the Chobe. Along the river-side was a thicket of saro-palms, and between these and the rising ground lay the valley proper, overgrown with long grass, bushes, and trees, amidst which majestic fan-palms and huge baobabs rose predominant.
In spite of the suffering which I continued to endure from the state of my feet, I look upon the three days which I spent in the vicinity of the falls as the most satisfying and enjoyable part of my sojourn in South Africa. To my mind the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi are one of the most imposing phenomena of the world. At many cataracts, particularly at Niagara, our wonder is excited by the stupendous volume of the plunging water; at others, by the altitude of the perpendicular rocks over which the torrent is precipitated; but here our amazement is aroused by the
