2 MY MOTIVES FOR THE JOURNEY. [chap. i. 



power by urging the same traveller to risk his comfort, 

 his health, and his life, over and over again, and to 

 cling with pertinacity to a country which after all seems 

 to afford little else but hazard and hardships, ivory 

 and fever. 



The motive which j)rincipally induced me to under- 

 take this journey was the love of adventure. I 

 am extremely fond of shooting, and that was an 

 additional object; and lastly such immense regions of 

 Africa lie utterly unknown, that I could not but feel 

 that there was every probability of much being dis- 

 covered there, which, besides being new, would also 

 be useful and interesting. A large field lay open to 

 any explorer who might wish to attempt the enterprise, 

 and I chose to undertake the task. 



The discovery that was made of Lake Ngami, in 

 South Africa, gave a dii-ection to my plans; and in 

 the beginning of 1850 I fixed on the Cape as the 

 point at which to enter Africa. 



Many South African travellers and sportsmen were 

 then in London ; so that I received every information 

 about the Bechuana country up to 300 or 400 miles 

 north of the Orange Eiver, which has been most 

 successfully shot over by several of our countrymen ; 

 and through the very kind interest which several 

 influential members of the Geographical Society took 

 in my proceedings, I was readily enabled to start, 

 perfectly au fait as to what was known and what 

 was wanted to be known in South Africa. 



I now began my preparations in good earnest. 

 Mr. Andersson, a Swedish gentleman and a naturalist, 



