XII.] BEE -NESTING. 155 



moving wall of water, and some time before the storm reached January, 

 us the sound resembled the roar of a cataract. I'^H. 



Fortunately, the tents were quickly pitched, and the stores 

 were kept fairly dry. I fully appreciated Murphy's water- 

 proof coat ; but the men were drenched, and most of them 

 adopted the costume of Adam in the early days of the Garden 

 of Eden. 



When the rain ceased, some of the men took a bees' -nest, 

 which had been discovered in a tree overhanging the camp. I 

 watched their proceedings with interest, for it seemed marvel- 

 ous that the naked fellows up in the tree should be able to 

 hack away at the hole where the nest was, watli infuriated bees 

 swarming around them. Yet they only stopped occasionally to 

 brush them away from their faces, or to pull out a sting. The 

 fellows' skins must have been somewhat like that of the honey- 

 guide, impervious to the sting of the bee ; but, after all their la- 

 bor, no honey was forthcoming, dead and rotten combs only be- 

 ing found. 



On resuming our march, we passed through an oj^en forest 

 of tine trees, with little or no undergrowth, where I succeeded 

 in rolling over a large antelope. We then came to a precipi- 

 tous ravine, with numerous streams gushing down its rocky 

 sides, sometimes hidden by bushes, and at others forming min- 

 iature water-falls. 



We rounded the southern end of this dip, and reached the 

 river Mtambo, flowing at the bottom of a rocky valley. It was 

 two or three feet deep, with many cascades, the bed l)eing so full 

 of rocks that we found an easy path of stepping-stones across it, 

 the only difficulty being the work of getting the donkeys over. 



The next day's attempt at a journey ''was a failure. After a 

 couple of hours on the move, some buffalo were seen, and down 

 went every load immediately, some men running away, and oth- 

 ers going in pursuit of the beasts. The runaways sooil recov- 

 ered their lost nerve, and returned ; but as the hunters did not 

 put in an appearance, there was no option but to camp. I Avas 

 crippled by a painful wound in my leg, caused, I think, by the 

 bite of a centipede, and was quite unable to do any shooting. 



The sporting-men found their way back during the evening, 

 excepting a few who remained in charge of a rhinoceros and an 



11 



