326 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



December 27///. — Rain again from early dawn till 

 about ten a.m. Being pretty well starved out, we 

 were now obliged to push on to the next town, which 

 we reached shortly before sundown, travelling all the 

 day through fine forest country intersected by open 

 glades, in most of which was a running stream of 

 water. Found tsetse fly abundant in these forests. 

 In the afternoon Owen shot a konze cow. On 

 reaching the town (the largest we had yet seen), the 

 Enduna shammed to be ill, and would not see us, nor 

 would any of his people sell us anything or carry a 

 message to him ; so at last I went to him myself, and 

 managed to get a hut from him to put our traps in 

 during the night. I presented him with a fathom of 

 calico, telling him at the same time we were hungry ; 

 but all I got for it was about two pint beakers full of 

 Kafir corn. Neither he nor his people could be pre- 

 vailed upon to sell us anything more. These Kafirs 

 evidently looked upon us with a jealous eye, and, not 

 daring to resort to positive violence, put all negative 

 obstacles in our way to prevent our farther progress 

 into the country. There is nothing about this people 

 to admire. They are not a fine-looking race, and 

 very dirty and slovenly in their habits. Their huts 

 are a disgrace to even the lowest savages who have 

 permanent dwelling-places. Here there was any 

 quantity of wood and grass, and yet their huts were 

 one and all most wretchedly small, and, being only 

 half-thatched, and seemingly never repaired, leaked 

 like sieves. They were also infested with rats, and a 

 species of bug similar to the tampan of South Africa, 

 but much larger and more venomous, its bite raising 

 large lumps, which often turn to festering sores. 

 Owen suffered very much from them, and nearly all 

 my Kafirs swelled very much about the feet and 



