132 WAR: A SCOUTS' PATROL 



me, and warned the old chap that if any of his 

 natives assisted these Germans with food or in 

 any other way, I would have " his head for it." 

 But the Germans, retreating like this into the 

 bush, seemed to have earned the contempt of the 

 natives generally, old Yangana saying, " We can 

 all see now that the Germans are frightened of the 

 English/' The old chief, however, though I dis- 

 couraged it, also spoke most contemptuously of 

 the Portuguese, who really must have appeared in 

 a rather invidious light to the natives. Hunted 

 out of all their little forts, leaving four of them 

 without even firing a shot, they had never since 

 put in an appearance on the river, and had 

 apparently left a few Englishmen to do all the 

 work. Johnson and West caught our friend the 

 bogus officer about three days down the river and 

 returned with their prisoner. As we thought, 

 he turned out to be a Dutch rebel, another of 

 Maritz's men, who now went under the assumed 

 name of W.-Z. 



Then, before the scouts could join up on a little 

 raid for the camels and horses of the main German 

 party, we heard of the arrival of a Major Gordon, 

 D.S.O., who had come, with two orderlies, direct 

 from Sesheke on a special mission for the capture 

 of Maritz. Johnson and West went off with their 

 prisoner to meet the Major at Bush-rangers' 

 Rest, picking up Lewis on the way. Rensberg 

 and I, who were camped near Yangana, went 

 straight up the Okavango towards Sambiu, where 



