16 MATABELE LAND. 



Oates and his brother from Bamangwato, give some 

 further details of the journey up to this point, and 

 of the future plans and arrangements of the party. 

 W. E. Oates writes as follows on July 30th : — 



"We got here yesterday afternoon all right, 

 though for the last four days there has been scarcely 

 any water on the road. When we left the Crocodile 

 River (on the 25 th) we filled our water-casks, and 

 the next night got to some brackish water, which the 

 oxen drank. We trekked all the following day and 

 half through the night, when we reached some water- 

 pits made by the Kaffirs, from which the water had 

 to be ladled out in buckets for the oxen. We had 

 then about 25 miles to go without water to get here, 

 which took us two days, all through heavy sand, 

 through which the oxen go about two miles an hour. 

 This is a wretched place ; an immense number of 

 Kaffir huts, and a few stores belonging to white men. 

 The name of the place is Shoshong, and the king, 

 Sekhomi, lives here. He is a hideous old creature, 

 and this morning came down to our waggons, to beg 

 coffee and sugar. He had about a dozen dirty old 

 wretches with him, who carried jackals' tails, and 

 attend him whenever he goes in state. He jumped 

 up on Frank's waggon, and refused to depart until 

 he had had some coffee given him, which Frank 

 gave him to get rid of him. I offered him a bright 

 green scarf I had, but after examining it carefully he 

 returned it to me. . . . 



"This is a most uninteresting country — all 

 thorns and sand. The whole way from Pretoria 



