of Southern Africa. 421 



tor the first day's journey to the Northward, we began our 

 dangerous journey without any other guide than our trusty 

 compass, having seen nothing of Towan, and scarcely any ot 

 his people, as they were busily preparing for their own depar- 

 ture up the river. We had scarcely got across the Mallopo, 

 when Manghela, our guide, fortunately made his appearance, 

 as we had refused paying him until he brought us to the 

 Bawanketzie country, according to agreement; although 

 Towan had given him positive orders not to accompany us. 

 Our route lay through a thick forest of camel-thorn trees, (I 

 believe Mimosa Litakunensis of Burchell,) which extends a 

 great distance on each side of the Mallopo river, and renders 

 travelling with wagons extremely difficult and precarious. 

 In the course of this day's ride, we observed a vast number 

 of traces of elephants, cameleopards, elands, rhinoceroses, &c, 

 but saw none of those huge animals themselves. We called 

 this forest Hospital (not Hospitable) Wood, on account of 

 Mr. Biddulph, myself, and one of our Hottentots becoming so 

 suddenly sick in it. Although our complaints were all differ- 

 ent, yet we were charitable enough to attribute them all to 

 one cause ; namely, the infamous water of Towan's disgusting 

 pool, which we had all been obliged to partake of, as our 

 people had made free with the water which we kept for our 

 own use; nor could we be offended with them for it, as our 

 dogs would scarcely drink the filthy stuff, although the 

 weather was very warm. We intended travelling the greatest 

 part of the night, so as to reach the spring betimes the next 

 day; but our sickness increasing, we were reluctantly obliged 

 to halt for the night at nine o'clock, having travelled since 

 nine in the morning, except two hours which we allowed our 

 cattle to graze in the afternoon. 



As we had frequently before observed that Munghela, in 

 guiding us through the deserts, had pertinaciously adhered to 

 his native plan of following one of the numerous rhinoceros 

 paths which every where intersect this level country, even 

 when the forest did not offer sufficient impediments to justify 

 such a deviation from our proper course, as those tracks are 

 sure to cause; we therefore frequently steered by compass, 

 when the country would admit of it, to the great annoyance 

 of oar guide, whose province it thus invaded. AstheBichu- 

 anas never travel after sun-set, it was with difficulty that we 

 got Munghela to accompany us in our nocturnal travels, as 

 he had a natural antipathy to lions, which animals are gene- 

 rally abroad at night ; but as they seldom or never inhabit 

 woody countries, (although, mistakenly, called the king of the 

 forest,) we did not consider his^frightful recitals, of sufficient 

 importance to stay the prosecution of our journies by night, 

 aa our cattle always pulled much better then than in the day- 



