Nov.. 1893- THE WILDS OF SOUTH-EAST AFRICA. 385 



a hippopotamus, concerning which he was innocent, and for which 

 he had to pay ;^6o, he set out for the Transvaal. 



Setting forth again in March, 1884, in company with W. M. Kerr, 

 Selous decided not to hunt in Lo Bengula's country after the sorry 

 treatment received at the king's hands, but to turn west after 

 reaching Bulawayo, and spend his time in the northern parts of 

 Khama's territory. Towards the end of June Mababi flat, N. of 

 Lake Ngami, was reached, but as there was not much to be had in 

 the way of game, the party returned to Horn's Vley, where elands, 

 giraffes, and gemsbucks were to be found in abundance. Selous 

 briefly describes a storm, which he saw at this place, during which 

 the rain came down so heavily that, although the soil was a deep 

 loose sand, the lightning showed a sheet of v/ater, for the sand could 

 not absorb the rain as fast as it fell. Resuming the eastward journey, 

 the travellers followed the old waggon-spoor to Tati, and thence 

 went back to Bulawayo. Having obtained permission from Lo 

 Bengula, at the price of ^60 (a salted-horse), for the right to hunt 

 in- Mashunaland, Selous decided to do so, especially as he had 

 several commissions to execute for European museums in skins and 

 skeletons of antelopes of a species more abundant in Mashunaland 

 than elsewhere. He accordingly crossed the river Gwelo and passed 

 through the country to Umfili and the Machabi Hills, where he fell 

 in with a mighty herd of nearly 200 elephants, of which he and his 

 man Laer killed six. Spending the best part of eighteen months 

 in this district, during which time the camp was moved to the 

 Manyami River, and excursions made in all directions, Selous was 

 fortunate enough to secure five fine specimens of Lichtenstein's 

 hartebeest, of which one pair are now preserved in the Natural 

 History Museum, and a second pair are in Cape Town. In 

 December, 1885, a return was made to Matabililand, and from thence 

 a quick run home to England, only to return to Mashunaland early 

 in 1887. It is interesting to read that the track which Mr. Selous' 

 six waggons made in 1887, when passmg over the ground on which 

 Fort Salisbury now stands, was still visible in the softer soil near 

 Fort Charter in 1890. 



In April, 1888, Selous started from the Transvaal for the 

 Zambesi, having received through Westbeech, the trader, an invita- 

 tion from a missionary friend, who had once travelled with him, to 

 visit Garanganzi country, near Lake Bangweolo. To a man of 

 Selous' temperament, such an idea was delightful, particularly as it 

 meant a journey through new country, and the probability of abun- 

 dance of elephants, and hastily fitting out an expedition he set forth 

 for Wankie, as the most favourable place to cross the Zambesi. 

 Journeying north, the little party reached Minenga in the Mashuku- 

 lumbwi country, and it was here that Selous met with one of his most 

 stirring adventures — a night attack on his camp, which dispersed all 

 his men, and left him alone in Africa with nothing save what he stood 



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