CHAPTER XVII 



INCIDENTS OF A JOURNEY THROUGH THE 

 NORTHERN KALAHARI 



Southern Rhodesia — Country farther west still a primeval wilderness 

 — Seldom traversed by white men — Scarcity of water — 

 Remarkable rain-storm — Porcupine flooded out — Every hollow 

 filled with water — All game in good condition — Many varieties 

 encountered — Large herd of elephants — Four large bulls — Wari- 

 ness of elephants — Lions roaring near camp — Search for them on 

 the following morning — Large male seen and chased into thick 

 bush — Successful encounter with a second male. 



Southern Rhodesia, in which vast territory is 

 comprised Matabeleland, Mashunaland, Manicaland, 

 and part of Gazaland, is now a well-known country- 

 traversed by railways and supporting a considerable 

 white population, the bulk of which, however, is 

 confined to the mining districts and to the towns 

 of Bulawayo, Salisbury, Umtali, and Gwelo. But 

 between the western frontier of Southern Rhodesia 

 and the swamps of the Okavango river there 

 stretches a broad expanse of primeval wilderness 

 which the recent development of European activity 

 in all parts of Africa has left entirely untouched. 



The reason for this is not far to seek, since the 

 whole of this country is, in the first place, entirely 

 without hills or indeed stone of any kind, and there- 

 fore cannot contain gold ; and in the second, entirely 

 without rivers, and therefore as a rule a sun-scorched 

 waste, almost destitute of surface water, except 

 during the rainy season. 



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