moving about four miles down the valley of the Limpopo, where the country seemed to promise me some desirable acquisitions. On the 14th, I secured the skins of two cercopithecus, one sciurus, two guinea fowl, and two francolins. An ape that I shot was disfigured and no doubt painfully distressed by two great swellings like abscesses. It was impossible to go a hundred yards along the bank of the river without seeing a crocodile lift its head above the water, to submerge it again just as quickly.
When we quitted the river-side, we proceeded to cross the wooded heights, sandy on one side, rocky on the other, that would bring us to the valley of the Sirorume. On our way, Niger enjoyed the excitement of chasing two spotted hyænas that crossed the path, but he did not succeed in overtaking either of them. By the middle of the day we reached the pond which I have already mentioned as lying on the top of these heights, and soon afterwards found ourselves descending towards the river. The name of Puff-adder valley, which I had given the place, seemed still as appropriate as ever, for we killed two of these snakes that were lying rolled up together just where we passed along. Following a Masarwa track that I remembered in search of water, I came upon a pool some ten feet deep; fastening my cap to my gun-strap, I was about to dip my extemporized bucket below the surface, when I caught sight of something glittering half in and half out of the water, which proved to be another puff-adder trying in vain to escape from a hole.
To judge from the tracks, I should be inclined to say that leopards are almost as abundant as snakes, the thorn-bushes and the crevices in the rocks
