46 THE BONDS OF AFRICA 



fair progress. In the afternoon we reached an 

 eminence — a Lilliputian plateau, in fact — and a 

 wonderful view stretched out before us. It was 

 truly magnificent. Away to the north the hills 

 of Mount Darwin cut the horizon like the teeth 

 of an immense saw. Between us and them lay 

 the country of the M'Bushla, a tribe of murderous 

 thieves and liars. Southwards, hill after hill, 

 valley after valley rolled away through the 

 beautiful Inyanga country to Umtali and the 

 Portuguese frontier. Behind us lay the giant 

 kopje at M'Rewas. Ahead the granite mass of 

 M'Tokos, which, according to native superstition, 

 was hurled from Umtali, loomed up immense and 

 impressive. 



We slept that night in an " umsasa " or 

 " scherm," and the next morning marched into 

 M'Tokos. Molo, the best of the three donkeys, 

 had a sore back, and we had to distribute her 

 load between Clo Clo and the three natives and 

 ourselves, so that it was a weary little caravan 

 that eventually came to a halt in front of Massey's 

 store. 



M'Tokos is a British South African Police Post 

 situated in the heart of a great, granite-boulder- 

 strewn country. It is high, wild land in the 

 centre of that stretch of Eastern Mashonaland, 

 peopled by the M'Tokos, a minor tribe or off- 

 shoot of the great M'Swina race. The M'Tokos 

 took no part in the Rebellion, and, as some sort 

 of a reward, certain of their chiefs are entitled 

 to carry fire-arms. At Massey's store we met 

 B., who at one time held an important official 

 position in the Transvaal Government service. 

 B. died, poor fellow, in the Rhodesian byways a 

 few months ago. He was of one of the most 

 noble and famous families of England, and he 



