CHAPTER VI 



Cape Town Beira Fontesvilla The Begamiti flats Wilde- 

 beest Lions Zebras Death of Jack Novel Hyaena trap. 



Then hey for boot and horse, lad, 



And round the world away ; 

 Young blood must have its course, lad, 



And every dog his day. ADAM LIKDSAY GORDON. 



I LEFT St. Helena, in one of the Union 

 Castle liners, for the Cape, and on arrival 

 at Cape Town was offered quarters on the 

 St. George by Admiral Bedford, where I remained 

 for a few happy days. I had, however, to push 

 on to Durban and Delagoa Bay on my way to 

 Beira, where I was already overdue. 



I was not prepossessed by the appearance of 

 Beira as it was in my time. It consisted of a 

 few houses, an hotel or two, and several stores 

 and warehouses built on a sand-spit. A more 

 depressing or unhealthy place it would be hard 

 to discover. 



In 1905 the railway was not built from Fontes- 

 villa to Beira, and the journey had to be made 

 in a small steamer, up the Pungwe River, a trip 

 taking some seven hours. 



I obtained my licence to shoot big game, and 

 paid the tax on my rifles, which consisted of a 



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