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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,