32 PEACE: LION HUNTING 



soon as possible and get beyond the low-lying 

 flats on the opposite side, for if once the wet 

 season set in, it might mean being detained for 

 months. A Portuguese lieutenant was in charge 

 of the fort, and, with the assistance of his coloured 

 soldiers and a big iron boat, we managed to 

 cross our wagon and belongings without much 

 trouble. 



With the stock we had more difficulty, as the 

 currents ran strongly against our side, and it took 

 us three tries to swim the cattle across. The 

 donkeys were more stupid and stubborn than 

 ever, and had to be dragged across, one at a time, 

 behind the canoes. Old Billy I swam across as 

 before, the mules following him like dogs ; in fact, 

 it was only by my kicking their noses that they 

 were discouraged from trying to climb on top 

 of the old fellow in the water, so determined 

 were they not to let him get too far away from 

 them. 



At Diriko I let my Ovambo boys go home, and 

 engaged some Hereros. These Hereros impressed 

 me very favourably — in fact, I consider them 

 quite the finest of all the native races I have seen 

 in South Africa ; big, tall, bony men they 

 appeared to be : not so handsomely made perhaps 

 as some of the East Africans — Zulus or Swazis, 

 for instance — but grim and determined-looking 

 customers ; and grim and determined they had 

 previously proved themselves against the Germans. 

 Though very dark in colour, there seems a dis- 



