The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 



trees amongst the limbs ; most of those I saw 

 were oblong in shape and pointed at one end. 

 I did not notice any bees entering or leaving any 

 of these hives, although I looked carefully at 

 many of them through my glasses. Honey is 

 supposed by some white men I met in this 

 region to be responsible for fever. I had fever 

 many times, but I can honestly say I did not 

 attribute the illness to this cause. I ate so 

 much of it during that trip that had there been 

 any truth in the idea I should for certain have 

 had chronic malaria. 



Before I left Umtali for the low country, I 

 bought a she -donkey as bait for lions. This 

 beast had a foal at foot, which I had no use for, 

 leaving it behind. It was, I understood, weaned, 

 and could do without its dam. I took this donkey 

 with me, but had the greatest difficulty to per- 

 suade her to go at all. We came to a small 

 stream over which three logs had been placed 

 to take the place of a foot bridge, and my boys 

 pushed and half carried the donkey on to this 

 crazy structure. When they were all in the 

 centre of it, the logs rolled apart, and into the 

 stream went boys, donkey, and what remained 

 of the bridge. The water was deep, my boys 

 swam to the bank, which was very steep. I then 

 told off another seven or eight to go down and 

 help get the donkey out. This was a proceeding 

 that was too ludicrous, for several had hold of 



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