2 50 M ATA B RLE LAND. 
" December -y^oth. — Cloudy; a shower in the after- 
noon. Walked ten miles to-day, crossing at least 
two sandbelts, the last of which was stony, and 
with a very thin stratum of soil on it ; the trees few 
and sparsely scattered. Some dry stony spruits 
here, and a fine view of the opposite sandbelt. Slept 
at a spruit in the hollow beneath us, where we had 
stopped to make tea in the afternoon, but where 
it looked so threatening we had pitched the tent. 
However, the rain was trifling. Some of Tibakai's 
Bushmen were seen and talked to. Whilst the boys 
were making the huts, they pointed out the cloud on 
the horizon to the northward from Metse-a-tunya. It 
keeps rising in a white puff, and passing away in little 
fleecy clouds. The others heard the Falls ; I am 
not sure I did. 
''December ^ist. — Rather cloudy; heavy rain 
about sundown. Fine night. Went, roughly, say 
three miles further north across turf, to the river 
where I thought Tibakai was encamped, but found we 
were too much to the left, so after crossing the river 
kept down it about three-quarters of a mile to his camp. 
John was in front, hurrying on with one of his boys, 
but when he came near the huts, stopped and hid 
behind a bush, from which he was peering when we 
joined him. Here he wanted to stay and send for Tiba- 
kai to talk, our object being to get two Bushmen from 
him to go with us to the Zambesi, for corn. I ordered 
him and the boys to march on to the huts, and not 
stop at a distance now that they knew we were there. 
John was in a great funk, but found, with Tibakai, a 
