1 8 MATABELE LAND. 



is being found. From here I may go on to Mosili- 

 katze's Town, the residence of the king of the 

 Matabele in the north-east, and thence be able to 

 get on to the Zambesi and Victoria Falls, though I 

 hardly hope it now on account of the lateness of 

 the season. 



" The country we have passed through so far 

 may be divided into two distinct regions — the high 

 veldt and the bush veldt. The former I described 

 in my last letter. At Pretoria we entered the second, 

 and are still in it. The former is high land covered 

 with grass, and with scarcely a bush on it. The 

 country since then has been covered with bush, and 

 contains many fine rivers. The Crocodile (or Lim- 

 popo) is a really beautiful river, its banks covered 

 with fine trees. The ' bush,' as it is called, consists 

 for the most part of smallish trees, most of which are 

 thorny, with park-like glades here and there. In 

 other places there is a great deal of thorny bush, 

 through which you can hardly force your way. The 

 great want here is water, the smaller streams being 

 now dry, and in travelling it is often necessary to go 

 many miles before reaching water. Still, the road 

 is so well known that one can calculate almost to a 

 certainty where and when to get water, and make a 

 push when necessary, taking one's time both before 

 and after it. Water for our own use can be carried 

 easily in our casks, and it is for the animals we have 

 to travel quickly on such occasions. Meat is rather 

 scarce, but we generally manage to get enough, and, 

 with bread and porridge, coffee and sugar, make out 



