294 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



Thus it has been left an unexplored wilderness 

 which has seldom been traversed by white men, 

 except on certain well-known routes, such as the old 

 waggon trails from Tati to Pandamatenka and 

 from Bamangwato to the Mababi river, and even 

 on these I have travelled in dry seasons seventy 

 and a hundred and twenty miles respectively with- 

 out water. 



Occasionally, however, when exceptionally heavy 

 rains have fallen during the past wet season, this 

 desert land becomes a very pleasant country to travel 

 in. Such a year was 1884. Towards the end of 

 May of that year, a full six weeks after the usual 

 close of the wet season, the most extraordinary 

 rain-storm I have ever experienced swept over the 

 desert to the west of Matabeleland. I was at that 

 time travelling slowly westwards by bullock waggon, 

 following no track, but making my way across 

 country under the guidance of Masarwa Bushmen 

 from one pool of water to another. 



One afternoon dense masses of black clouds 

 gathered in the west, and presently spread over the 

 whole sky. There was neither thunder nor lightning, 

 but towards evening a strong wind sprang up, and 

 soon afterwards a steady rain began to fall, at first 

 light, but ever increasing in intensity, until soon 

 after dark it was coming down in such a way that I 

 thought it impossible that it could last long. But 

 all through that night and until midday the following 

 day, the heavy rain never ceased to fall. During 

 the afternoon, however, the sky again grew lighter 

 and the rain gradually ceased. By midnight the 

 stars were shining from a cloudless sky. 



Early the following morning I rode out to see 

 the effect of this unprecedented downpour, and 

 found the face of the country completely changed. 

 On the sand ridges no difference was apparent, as 

 the thirsty soil had easily absorbed all the rain that 



