ABUNDANCE OF I«ARGE GAME. ^33 



ranges are generally very precipitous, and there are 

 rivulets between, which are not perennial. Many of the 

 hills have been raised by granite, exactly like that of the 

 Kalomo. Dykes of this granite, may be seen thrusting 

 up immense masses of mica schist and quartz or sandstone 

 schist, and making the strata fold over them on each side, 

 as clothes hung upon a line. The uppermost stratum is 

 always dolomite, or bright white quartz. Semalembue 

 intended that we should go a little to the north-east, and 

 pass through the people called Babimpe, and we saw 

 some of that people, who invited us to come that way on 

 account of its being smoother ; but feeling anxious to get 

 back to the Zambesi again, we decided to cross the hills 

 towards its confluence with the Kafue. The distance, 

 which in a straight line is but small, occupied three days. 

 The precipitous nature of the sides of this mass of hills, 

 knocked up the oxen and forced us to slaughter two, one 

 of which, a very large one and ornamented with upwards 

 of thirty pieces of its own skin detached and hanging down, 

 Sekeletu had wished us to take to the white people as a 

 specimen of his cattle. We saw many elephants among 

 the hills, and my men ran off and killed three. When we 

 came to the top of the outer range of the hills, we had a 

 glorious view. At a short distance below us we saw the 

 Kafue, wending away over a forest-clad plain to the 

 confluence, and on the other side of the Zambesi beyond 

 that, lay a long range of dark hills. A line of fleecy clouds 

 appeared lying along the course of that river at their base. 

 The plain below us, at the left of the Kafue, had more 

 large game on it than anywhere else I had seen in Africa. 

 Hundreds of buffaloes and zebras grazed on the open 

 spaces, and there stood lordly elephants feeding majes- 

 tically, nothing moving apparently but the proboscis. 

 I wished that I had been able to take a photograph of a 

 scene, so seldom beheld, and which is destined, as guns 

 increase, to pass away from earth. When we descended 

 we found all the animals remarkably tame. The elephants 

 stood beneath the trees, fanning themselves with their 

 large ears, as if they did not see us at 200 or 300 yards 

 distance. The number of animals was quite astonishing, 

 and made me think, that here I could realize an image of 

 that time, when Megatheria fed undisturbed in the 

 primeval forests. We saw great numbers of red-coloured 

 pigs (Potamochoems), standing gazing at us in wonder. 



