120 THE CHOBE. Chap. VIII 



the Chobe, till we came to the point of departure of the 

 branch Sanshureh. Then we turned and went in the oppo- 

 site direction. Still we could see nothing from the highest 

 trees except one vast expanse of reed. After a hard day's 

 work we came to a deserted Bayeiye hut on an anthill. Not 

 a bit of fuel could be got for a firo, except the grass and sticks 

 of the dwelling itself. I dreaded the " tampans" so common 

 in all old huts ; but as we were tormented outside by thou- 

 sands of mosquitoes, and the cold dew began to fall, we were 

 fain to crawl beneath its shelter. 



We were close to the reeds, and listened to the strange 

 sounds which issued from them. By day I had seen water- 

 snakes putting up their heads and swimming about. There 

 were great numbers of otters (Lutra ihunguis, F. Cuvier), 

 which have made a multitude of little spoors, as they go in 

 search of the fishes, among the tall grass of these flooded prairies. 

 Curious birds jerked and wriggled among the reedy mass, 

 and we heard human-like voices and unearthly sounds, with 

 splash and guggle, as if rare fun were going on in these uncouth 

 haunts. Once a sound greeted our ears like that of an advanc- 

 ing canoe. Thinking it to be the Makololo, we got up, listened, 

 and shouted ; receiving no reply, we discharged a gun several 

 times without effect, for the noise continued for an hour. 

 After a damp cold night we early in the morning recom- 

 menced our work of exploring. Some of the anthills here are 

 thirty feet high, and of a base so broad that trees grow on 

 them ; while the lands annually flooded bear nothing but 

 grass. Where the water remains long no forest will survive. 

 From one of the great mounds we discovered an inlet to the 

 Chobe ; and we forthwith launched in our pontoon upon a deep 

 river, which at this point was from eighty to one hundred 

 yards wide. A hippopotamus came up at one side and went off 

 with a desperate plunge. We had passed over him. The wave 

 he made caused the pontoon to glide quickly away from him. 



We paddled on from midday till sunset. There was 

 nothing but a wall of reed on each bank, and we saw every 

 prospect of spending a supperless night in our float, till, jusi 

 as the short twilight of these parts was commencing, we 

 perceived on the north bank the village of Moremi, one of the 

 Makololo, whose acquaintance I had made on our former visit. 



