THE END OF THE TRAIL 137 



prisoners on the 700-mile journey before us was 

 not a very onerous one. They were simply allowed 

 to keep together with their own camp and camels, 

 and told to travel along a few miles either ahead 

 or behind our party. Without arms, they were 

 quite helpless, and could neither run away nor 

 attempt any tricks. All we had to do was to set 

 a watch on our own camp at night. Game was 

 plentiful enough along the river, and we easily 

 kept the camp in meat on the way back. 



It was on this journey that, early one morning, 

 we saw a most interesting and exciting coursing 

 match : a leopard pursuing some young reedbuck. 

 I was surprised that the leopard could continue 

 the chase for so long : it must have been for at 

 least several hundred yards. When we lost sight 

 of the hunt he was still close up to the last buck, 

 hoping, each bound, to seize it with his front 

 claws. We also saw the biggest eland I have yet 

 seen : a huge bull with a small herd of cows with 

 him. Unfortunately, just as Lewis, who was 

 ahead, stalking him, was about to fire, one of 

 those ill-natured sassaby, M whose eyes are stronger 

 than what looking-glasses are," gave the alarm 

 and frightened the eland away. 



It took us some ten days to work back to the 

 Bush-rangers' Rest, and there Johnson left the 

 party, West having previously returned home 

 from the Okavango before the last chase had 

 started. After a day's spell to fix things up, 

 we started again on the road for Livingstone 



