Ill UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT 41 



As in three days the Viljoens were going in 

 hunting on foot in the " fly "- infested country to 

 the north-east of their encampment, SadHer and I 

 employed our time in casting hardened bullets, and 

 making all other requisite preparations ; but, the 

 day before starting, I cut my foot in a way that 

 made walking impossible ; my friends of course could 

 not wait for me, and my feelings of chagrin and 

 disappointment may be imagined. However, there 

 was nothins for it but to make the best of a bad 

 job. Old Viljoen kindly offered to send some Kafirs 

 to the waggons in ten days, by which time he 

 thought my foot would be well again, who would guide 

 me to the hunting encampment ; and asked me in 

 the meantime to take a span of his oxen, and one of 

 his boys as guide, and go to the Mashuna towns of 

 Musigagufa and Indaima to buy some Kafir corn 

 and rice. This I engaged to do, saying that after 

 having bought some corn, I would leave the waggon 

 to follow, and ride back myself, in order to reach 

 Gwenia without fail by the tenth day. 



The following morning the Viljoens and Sadlier 

 started on foot for the " fly " country, whilst I, with 

 a heavy heart, inspanned, and followed the waggon 

 track leadino; to the north-east. In the afternoon 

 we reached a little river called Jomani,^ where we 

 found an encampment of Griqua and Hottentot 

 hunters. They had a lot of ivory, and I did a little 

 trade with them. 



The following night, whilst outspanned near the 

 river Se-whoi-whoi, we were troubled by lions ; I 

 had drawn the waggon against a large clump of 

 bushes, and made a semicircular fence enclosing the 



^ The "tsetse" fly has now come up to the Jomani, so that luinters 

 of late years have had to travel by another road more to the south. 



