i893. THE WILDS OF SOUTH-EAST AFRICA. 387 



roads through Mashunaland were being discussed with Mr. Cecil 

 Rhodes at Kimberley, in eleven days after the interview. Returning 

 to Palapye he formed a camp on the Macloutsie River, and examined 

 the whole district for a strategic position, which resulted in the 

 building of Fort Tuli in the middle of the year 1890. Towards the 

 end of June the pioneer expedition to Mashunaland set out for Tuli, 

 and a road was opened up through Victoria and Charter to Mount 

 Hampden, and on September 11 the expedition, despite the hostility 

 of Lo Bengula, was brought to an end by hoisting the British 

 flag at Fort Salisbury. Concluding treaties with the chiefs of 

 the southern and eastern districts occupied Selous three months, 

 and on his return to Salisbury he plotted out a five-inch to the 

 mile map of Mashunaland, which, completed in 1892, is now in 

 the hands of the Royal Geographical Society. In January, 1891, 

 we find the traveller signing a treaty of alliance and concession 

 between Motoko, a chief of north-east Mashunaland, and the Com- 

 pany, and afterwards passing south to the Umtali camp, in order 

 to cut roads from thence to the Lower Revui, and from the 

 Odzi River to Salisbury. By the beginning of July, Selous had 

 the entire road from Umtali to Salisbury " in good order for heavy 

 waggons, all the bogs being corduroyed and the streams bridged." 

 Journeying alone to Tuli to see if the waggons coming up country 

 were in a position to bring sufficient stores for Fort Salisbury, Selous 

 returned to Mashunaland, and was employed by the Company in 

 laying out and making roads until May, 1892, when, there being no 

 more work for him to do, he terminated his engagement, spent two 

 or three months shooting and collecting specimens, and finally made 

 his way to Beira, on the coast, and returned to England on 

 17 December, 1892. After a brief rest in this country, Mr. Selous 

 returned to Mashunaland, on the news arriving of the trouble with 

 Lo Bengula, and it is a matter of supreme satisfaction to know that 

 so experienced and courageous a man is guarding our interests and 

 native subjects in the wilds of Africa. 



From the above somewhat lengthy account of the traveller's 

 wanderings, the reader w r ill have gathered that this book is one of 

 peculiar interest, quite apart from the remarkable adventures with 

 which it is crowded. Page after page teems with stirring exploits 

 with lions, elephants, hyaenas, and other animals, besides the risks 

 undergone in dealing with the treacherous Matabili and other tribes. 

 Mashunaland and Matabililand no longer convey a mere geographical 

 expression, but are living countries, and the descriptions of their 

 inhabitants, whether man or beast, related as they are by one who 

 has crossed and re-crossed the country in every direction, are of 

 surpassing interest. 



The book is well got up, the illustrations are interesting, and the 

 map of the country is of considerable value, though it suffers from the 

 fact that the spelling of the names does not agree in all cases with 



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