A MONOTONOUS MARCH 



must have fallen a short time before, for the ground 

 was slippery with mud ; the sun poured down, the 

 wind had dropped and the heat became terribly 

 oppressive. Moreover, I was now approaching the 

 river again and had entered a patch of dense bush, 

 which not only rendered progress slow and exhausting, 

 but deprived the scene of its previous interest, leaving 

 it monotonous and wearisome beyond expression. 

 Hour followed hour without any incident to enliven 

 the march ; I ate a hurried lunch of bread and meat, 

 which I had in my saddle-bags, without stopping to 

 rest, and I began to despair of ever reaching my 

 destination, when suddenly I emerged from the bush 

 into a little plain, which lay in a bend of the river, 

 and beyond the tall fringe of dom palms the dark 

 mass of Marti Plateau loomed impressive and close 

 at hand. 



My tent was soon pitched, and while everything 

 was being put in order I walked down to the river. 

 As I crossed the plain I noticed some old buffalo 

 spoor, and a small herd of waterbuck feeding on its 

 farther edge, but I had plenty of meat, so I did not 

 disturb them. As soon as I entered the grove of 

 palms I found a steep bank in front of me, down 

 which I climbed. After the brilliant sunlight outside, 

 it seemed quite dark and deliciously cool within, but 

 as my eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, I was 

 struck with the beauty of the scene. The tall smooth 

 trunks of the dom palms rose in serried ranks, crowned 

 with tufts of feathery branches which grew in such 

 profusion that they enclosed the undergrowth below 

 in perpetual shade. Near the river bank a few 

 mimosas and some small shrubs filled in the spaces 

 between the palms, and through their delicate foliage 



238 



