54 THE BONDS OF AFRICA 



he was, whether scribe or chef or bottle-washer, 

 I know not, but he had a most remarkable fund 

 of tales and experiences to draw on, and knew 

 Africa from the Nile to the Zambesi. He told 

 us many interesting tales of elephant hunting and 

 ivory trading, and he was particularly informa- 

 tive on the subject of illicit " elephants' teeth," 

 and the ways and means of transporting them 

 from Africa to Asia. 



At length one morning we reached Shangara, 

 on the banks of the Ruenya, the largest river 

 that we had as yet seen. Bush fires had been 

 burning all over the country-side, and at times 

 we had literally to pull the donkeys through the 

 edges of the belts of flame. The air had been 

 hot and oppressive, and so it was with a feeling 

 of relief and joy that we at last sighted the noble 

 waterway of the Ruenya, which, in the rains, is 

 a strong surging torrent four hundred yards from 

 bank to bank. But when we reached Shangara 

 it was in the dry season, and the waters were 

 divided by a broad spit of clean white sand. 

 Forests of reeds and rushes garbed the banks, 

 and altogether the scene was one of refreshing 

 beauty, such a thing as our eyes had not gazed 

 on for many a weary day. Shangara once 

 boasted of a fort and a commandant, but the 

 natives destroyed the stronghold, and militant 

 Portugal is now to be found at Musanga, on the 

 Rhodesian border, at no great distance from the 

 Kaiser Wilhelm goldfield. But the wooden 

 skeleton of the old citadel still looks across the 

 river with a mock defiance. Here we made our 

 camp. One or two Banyan traders had estab- 

 lished themselves at Shangara, and we managed 

 to purchase a little sugar and tea from them. 

 They did a brisk trade with the natives of this 



