264 THE GEEAT THIRST LAND 



retreat in the same cautious manner. Then the larger 

 animals would follow, the timid and weak first, the 

 stronger varieties later on. 



For the greater safety of our cattle we took advan- 

 tage of the kraals ; but with the exception of a lion 

 howling across the river, and a few hyaenas and jackals 

 around our bivouac, we were untroubled with night 

 marauders. Such was the wind-up of the day on which 

 we picnicked on the Limpopo. 



Here there is a great alteration in the appearance of 

 the velt, for the reason that the terrible thorn scrub is 

 giving place to the mapaney bush, a strange yet far 

 from unattractive member of the vegetable kingdom. 



I will attempt to describe it, for the farther we 

 proceed north it becomes more abundant, till ultimately 

 it altogether assumes the place of the ivory-needle thorn. 

 Its leaf is thick and fleshy, with the stem, arteries, 

 and veins deeply marked; the shape resembles the 

 wings of a butterfly, or, rather, two hearts joined, which, 

 when the sun becomes extremely hot, close together 

 upwards, thus affording very little shelter from its rays. 

 The height it grows to is usually about three feet, 

 although under favourable circumstances where the 

 soil is moist and shelter from larger trees found I have 

 noted it attain an altitude of six feet. As the stems 

 are thin, pliant, and very brittle, there is no difficulty 

 in galloping through it, and as it is without thorns no 

 injury occurs to your horse from doing so. The smaller 

 antelopes are very partial to this cover, so much so that 

 if you approach cautiously up wind to a clump of it 

 you are certain to get a chance to bowl over a stein- 

 buck or diker. Cattle and horses will not eat it ; this is 

 to be regretted, for if in its foliage they found satis- 



