442 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



drought continued we were prisoners, for the long 

 stretch of waterless desert that lay between the 

 Mababe river and Sode-Garra was now utterly 

 impassable, as the weather was intensely hot, both 

 day and night. 



By the end of the month, being tired of shooting 

 the zebras, blue wildebeests, and tsessebe antelopes, 

 which, owing to the drought, had assembled in large 

 herds from an enormous area of country to drink in 

 the Mababe river, and hundreds of which might be 

 seen at any moment from the waggons, I determined 

 to make another journey on foot, in search of 

 elephants, to the Chobe. 



Accordingly, on the 26th, I started, taking only 

 five Kafirs with me. I was in rather a weak state 

 of health, and had two or three slight attacks of 

 fever during my trip. The weather was most 

 intensely hot both day and night, and very sultry 

 and oppressive, as it always is just before the rains 

 fall. This time I went as far as Mai-ini's town 

 again, but finding no traces of elephants, and as the 

 rain was threatening, I then retraced my steps. In 

 the evenings it was quite a sight to see the herds of 

 eame comina; down to drink. In cooler weather 

 these animals would most ot them have waited tor 

 the protecting cover of the night before venturing 

 down to the river, but the intense heat made them 

 forget their usual caution. Every evening, from 

 about five o'clock till dusk, I was seldom out of 

 sight of game of some kind — buflaloes, impalas, 

 koodoos, lechwes, reedbucks, blue wildebeests, 

 tsessebes, anci wild pigs, being the commonest 

 varieties ; whilst sable and roan antelopes, zebras, 

 and an occasional giraffe or eland, were also to be 

 seen. The day before I reached Mai-ini's the 



