174 THE SANSHUREH. Chap. VIII. 



these became ; their bottoms contained great numbers of deep 

 holes, made by elephants wading in them; in these the oxen 

 floundered desperately, so that our waggon-pole broke, compelling 

 us to work up to the breast in water for three hours and a half; 

 yet I suffered no harm. 



We at last came to the Sanshureh, which presented an im- 

 passable barrier, so we drew up under a magnificent baobab-tree 

 (lat. 18° 4' 27" S., long. 24° 6' 20" E.), and resolved to explore 

 the river for a ford. The great quantity of water we had passed 

 tlrrough was part of the annual inundation of the Chobe ; and 

 this, which appeared a large deep river, filled in many parts 

 with reeds, and having hippopotami in it, is only one of the 

 branches by which it sends its superabundant water to the south- 

 east. From the hill N'gwa a ridge of higher land runs to the 

 north-east, and bounds its course in that direction. We, being 

 ignorant of tliis, were in the valley, and the only gap in the 

 whole country destitute of tsetse. In company with the Bushmen 

 I explored all the banks of the Sanshureh to the west, till we 

 came into tsetse on that side. We waded a long way among the 

 reeds in water breast deep, but always found a broad deep space 

 free from vegetation, and unfordable. A peculiar kind of lichen, 

 which grows on the surface of the soil, becomes detached and 

 floats on the water, giving out a very disagreeable odour, like 

 sulphuretted hydrogen, in some of these stagnant waters. 



We made so many attempts to get over the Sanshureh, both 

 to the west and east of the waggon, in the hope of reaching some 

 of the Makololo on the Chobe, that my Bushmen friends became 

 quite tired of the work. By means of presents I got them to 

 remain some days ; but at last they slipped away by night, and 

 I was fain to take one of the strongest of my still weak com- 

 panions and cross the river in a pontoon, the gift of Captains 

 Codrmgton and Webb. We each carried some provisions and a 

 blanket, and penetrated about twenty miles to the westward, in 

 the hope of striking the Chobe. It was much nearer to us in a 

 northerly direction, but this we did not then know. The plain, 

 over which we splashed the whole of the first day, was covered 

 with water ankle deep, and thick grass which reached above the 

 knees. In the evening we came to an immense walT of reeds, 

 six or eight feet high, without any opening admitting of a passage. 



