136 Men, Mines, and Animals in South Africa. 



it commenced to rain, and rained in showers for 

 about an hour. Thunder was heard in the direc- 

 tion of the TransvaaL Rain is a A'eiy unusual 

 occurrence in these parts at this time of the year. 



Tae.sdaj/, Jane SOtli. — Arrived at sunrise at 

 Macloutsie, and camped on the other side of the 

 River Matkputta. Macloutsie consists of a police 

 camp, telegraph station, two good stores, and a 

 fort. It is now the headquarters of the Bechuana- 

 land Police. There arc at present about 100 men 

 stationed here. iVbout two months ago the 

 telegraph wire was prolonged here from Pelapswe, 

 and since then on to Tuli Fort. The horse sickness 

 is very bad here, and I was informed that about 80 

 per cent, of the horses died last year. The river 

 is small, but the water is very good. Giles, Edgell, 

 Mackay, and I rode in and called at the store, 

 where we bought a set of cricket matei'ials. It 

 seemed odd to find such thino;s for sale in the 

 midst of an African wilderness. In the evenino^ 

 we dined at the ofhcers' mess. After dinner the 

 liand, which consisted of a violin, a flute, and a 

 guitar, played, and we passed a very pleasant 

 evening. Such a charming, cheery lot of fellows, 

 and most hospitable too. The officers all ]We in 

 thatched huts, and the mess hut is the same sort, 

 but on a larger scale, of course. 



Wednesday, July l.s-f. — Trekked to the further 

 side of the Macloutsie Ri\'er, about five miles. At 

 present the river is a small stream of good, clear, 

 running water, and about eighty yards in breadth 

 at the crossing. The descent and ascent are fairly 



