2o8 MATABELE LAND. 
till the king had given leave for them to proceed, 
and he stopped me when I first came myself, as 
I dare say I told you at the time. This is done, 
however, at a different kraal now — the first one 
passed by any waggons going from here to Gubule- 
weyo, about forty miles north-east of Tati. In the 
meantime I remained on the Ramaqueban, my ally 
riding over to Tati once or twice. 
"Whilst I was here a trader of the name of 
Horn passed, and had to wait when he was a few 
miles on the road to ask leave to proceed, as all 
waggons from Natal are now stopped for fear of the 
disease, and Horn had to explain who he was and 
where he came from. Horn, I think, is the man 
who opened the Zambesi trade, but is at present 
trading with the Matabele. A lion killed one of his 
oxen on the Inkwesi one night whilst he was waiting 
here, and a dozen of them took fright and ran away. 
I assisted in looking for them, and followed up the 
spoor next day till late in the afternoon, and must 
have been close to the oxen, but there was a Scotch 
mist, and it was a wretched evening, so, leaving 
three Kafirs to follow and sleep on the spoor, I 
returned to the waggons. Next day the Kafirs 
returned without the oxen, and thus much time was 
lost. The day after this Horn's partner followed 
the spoor to the water, but from the water followed 
up, by mistake, some fresh buffalo spoor, and slept 
on it, to come the following morning on to a herd of 
buffalo, which rather astonished him. At last Stoffel 
set off with him, about four or five days after the 
