ANIMAI, rjFK OF THE ZAMBESI. 535 



ordinary-sized tree, standing on end, measured 22 inches 

 in diameter : there were 1 2 laminae to the inch. These 

 are easily counted, because there is usually a scale of pure 

 silica between each, which has not been so much affected 

 by the weather as the rest of the ring itself : the edges of 

 the rings thus stand out plainly. Mr. Quekett, having 

 kindly examined some specimens, finds that it is " silicified 

 coniferous wood of the Araucarian type ; and the nearest 

 allied wood that he knows of is that found, also in a 

 fossil state, in New South Wales." The numbers of large 

 game were quite astonishing. I never saw elephants so 

 tame as those near the Chiponga ; they stood close to our 

 path without being the least afraid. This is different 

 from their conduct where they have been accustomed to 

 guns, for there they take alarm at the distance of a mile 

 and begin to run if a shot is fired even at a longer distance. 

 My men killed another here, and rewarded the villagers 

 of the Chiponga for their liberality in meal, by loading 

 them with flesh. We spent a night at a baobab, which 

 was hollow and would hold twenty men inside. It had 

 been used as a lcdging-house by the Babisa. 



As we approached nearer the Zambesi, the country 

 became covered with broad-leaved bushes, pretty thickly 

 planted, and we had several times to shout to elephants 

 to get out of our way. At an open space, a herd of 

 buffaloes came trotting up to look at our oxen, and it was 

 only by shooting one that I made them retreat. The 

 meat is very much like that of an ox, and this one was 

 very fine. The only danger we actually encountered was 

 from a female elephant, with three young ones of different 

 sizes. Charging through the centre of our extended line, 

 and causing the men to throw down their burdens in a 

 great hurry, she received a spear for her temerity. I 

 never saw an elephant with more than one calf before. 

 We knew that we were near our Zambesi again, even before 

 the great river burst upon our sight, by the numbers of 

 water-fowl we met. I killed four geese with two shots, 

 and, had I followed the wishes of my men, could have 

 secured a meal of water-fowl for the whole party. I 

 never saw a river with so much animal life around and in 

 it, and, as the Barotse say, " Its fish and fowl are always 

 fat." When our eyes were gladdened by a view of its 

 goodly broad waters, we found it very much larger than 

 it is even above the falls. One might try to make his 



