Kopas to Mlembo River 



The chief returned in the evening with the news 

 that as a large hunting- or fishing-party was starting 

 off next morning eastward along the river, he was 

 unable to furnish us with a local guide, but produced 

 in his place a native belonging to the south, who 

 was said to be travelling homewards in our direction. 



We were early under way, starting about the 

 same time as the hunters, but as they stuck to the 

 river our paths soon diverged. After travelling for 

 two hours or more through a dried-up looking 

 country without seeing a sign of game I began to 

 be very hungry, wanted my breakfast, and said so. 



A was disinclined to stop, for as we were 



gradually descending, he hoped that water would 

 soon be found, but after questioning the guide, who 

 assured him there was no water ahead, he consented 

 to halt. As was customary, the loads kept coming in 

 while we were eating, and, possibly because we had 

 stopped rather earlier than usual, were all collected 

 before breakfast was over. John arrived, and as it 

 appeared likely from what the guide had said that 

 some distance had still to be covered before water 

 could be expected, he was told to go on ahead with 

 his porters so as to avoid unnecessary delay. They 

 had not been gone ten minutes, and we w^ere just 

 getting into our machillas, when a messenger came 

 running back to say that there was water and game 



just ahead. A rushed off, and within a mile of 



where we had been breakfasting found a beautiful 

 water-hole with nice young green grass all around 

 it — the only one we struck at any distance from a 

 village during the whole of our journey from Mpika 



191 



