208 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



found by following an elephant foot-path, the rascally 

 Bechuanas swearing that we should not find water till 

 sundown next day. On the inarch we started an os- 

 trich from her nest, in which we found sixteen large 

 serviceable eggs. The country through which we'pass- 

 ed was very soft and sandy, the forest often so dense as 

 to compel us to halt and use our axes. 



On the 13th we reached a strong succession of fount- 

 ains, formJng a running stream of pure water. Here 

 the country became extremely beautiful ; a very wide 

 and finely- wooded valley stretched away into the bosom 

 of the mountains, ending in a bold ravine. This district 

 I discovered to be the abode of a considerable tribe call- 

 ed "Moroking." Their cultivated corn-lands stretched 

 away on every side of the fountain. Here I outspan- 

 ned, and presently the chief and all his people came to 

 me, highly pleased that I had visited them. These 

 men were dependents of Sicomy, and, for some reason 

 which I could not comprehend, had been instructed by 

 the Bamangwato natives not to give me any informa- 

 tion regarding the elephants or the waters in advance. 

 At night we were visited by a terrible and long-pro- 

 tracted thunder-storm, and much rain fell, rendering 

 the country very unfit for trekking. 



The next morning I shot a large wild goose, a splen- 

 did bird, its general color dark glossy green, with white 

 patches on its sides and beneath its wings. While 

 seeking for wild fowl along the edge of the stream, I 

 almost trod upon the tail of a fearful " cobra," which 

 instantly reared its head on high and spread its neck 

 out like the Indian cobra. Before it could strike, how- 

 ever, I sprang to one side, and escaped its deadly fangs ; 

 Ruyter and I then slow him with sticks and stones. 

 The chief of the " Moroking," and all his people, both 



