We continued our journey the same day. A few miles down the river I met an ivory-trader from the Matabele country, who had instructions from the Matabele king to convey the intelligence to the English governor in Kimberley that a white traveller had been killed amongst the Mashonas, on the eastern boundary of his domain.
I had throughout the day noticed such a diversity of birds, reptiles, insects, plants, and minerals, that I was further disposed to try my luck at fishing, and taking my tackle, I lost no time in dropping my line into the river. I succeeded in hooking three large sheatfish, the smallest of which weighed over six pounds, but they were too heavy for me to drag to land; two of them broke my line, and the other shpped back into the stream. I had almost contrived to get a fourth safely ashore, when my foot slipped, and overbalancing myself, I fell head foremost down the bank; happily a “wait-a-bit” bush prevented my tumbling into the river.
Guinea-fowl I observed in abundance everywhere along the Marico, in parts where the bushes were thick; but I noticed that they never left their roosting-places until the heavy morning dew was dry. The speed at which they ran was quite incredible.
Proceeding on our way we came up with several Bechuana families belonging to the Makhosi tribe, who had been living on Sechele’s territory, near the ruins of Kolobeng; but they had been so much harassed by Sechele that they were now migrating, and about to settle at the foot of the Dwars Mountains. Sechele had been preparing an armed attack upon both the Makhosi and the Bakhatlas, but the
