THE ZAMBESI REGION. 
311 
accompany him to the river side. There I found three 
of the royal canoes waiting for me ; but as they barely 
sufficed to carry my baggage, I had to ask for a fourth, 
my servants for the present having to follow on foot. 
It was about noon when we quitted Sesheke. We 
proceeded at good speed past a number of islands, 
creeks, and lagoons, at which I should have been glad 
to linger, and could only regret that the approach of 
the unhealthy season made it necessary to hurry for¬ 
wards, and quite prevented me from drawing up either 
a proper map or detailed plan of the river-bed. The 
shore, sandy and sloping, w T as covered with a layer of 
turf and clay about a foot deep ; and during the first 
part of our voyage I noticed several plants that I should 
very much have liked to stay and gather ; but I could 
not venture to stop, as I was anxious to overtake the 
queens, who had started some hours earlier. 
Towards evening we arrived at a place which required 
very careful navigation ; some trunks of trees that had 
been washed down by the stream had become imbedded 
in the ground, and formed dangerous impediments in 
the line of traffic ; we succeeded, however, in passing 
them with safety, and just about sunset reached the 
spot where the royal ladies had landed. It w T as a bare 
sandy place on the bank, enclosed on two sides by 
sedge, and sheltered from the wind by tall bushes. 
The serving-maids had already lighted several fires, and 
had commenced their cooking, and a number of boats 
had been despatched to fetch reeds to build the huts for 
the night’s accommodation. 
In the course of the day’s progress I had noticed a 
great many water-birds and swamp-birds, as well as 
starlings, finches, and kingfishers, all along the river. 
Had I followed my own inclinations I should have 
stayed close to the spot where the queens had landed; 
but my boatmen recommended a place a few miles 
further on. Not suspecting any artifice on their part, I 
acceded to the proposal, though it turned out that their 
only motive was to separate me from the royal flotilla, 
that I might not have the protection of the queens if 
