500 
DISCOVERY FORESTALLED. 
Chap. XXY. 
come over in canoes, and receive the goods sent by Moffat to 
‘‘Nake,” the Makololo rephed, ‘^Go along with you, we know 
better than that; how could he tell Moffat to send his things 
here, he having gone away to the north?” The Matebele 
answered, Here are the goods; we place them now before you, 
and if you leave them to perish, the guilt will be yours.” Wlien 
they had departed, the Makololo thought better of it, and, after 
much divination, went over with fear and trembling, and carried 
the packages carefully to an island in the middle of the stream; 
then, building a hut over them to protect them from the weather, 
they left them; and there I found they had remained from 
September, 1854, till September, 1855, in perfect safety. Here, 
as I had often experienced before, I found the news was very 
old, and had lost much of its interest by keeping, but there 
were some good eatables from Mrs. Moffat. Amongst other 
things, I discovered that my Mend, Sh Eoderick Murcliison, 
wliile in his study in London, had arrived at the same conclusion 
respecting the form of the African continent as I had lately come 
to, on the spot (see note p. 475); and that, from the attentive 
study of the geological map of Mr. Bain and other materials, 
some of which were furnished by the discoveries of Mr. Oswell 
and myself, he had not only clearly enunciated the peculiar 
configuration as an hypothesis in his discom’se before the 
Geograpliical Society in 1852, but had even the assurance to 
send me out a copy for my mformation! There was not much 
use in nursing my chagrin at being thus fairly cut out,” by the 
man who had foretold the existence of the Austrahan gold before 
its discovery, for here it was, in black and wliite. In his easy- 
chair he had forestalled me by three years, though I had been 
working hard tlu’ough jungle, marsh, and fever, and, siuce the 
light dawned on my mind at Dilolo, had been cherislimg the 
pleasiug delusion that I should be the first to suggest the idea, 
that the interior of Africa was a watery plateau of less elevation 
than flankiug hilly ranges. 
Having waited a few days at Sesheke till the horses which we 
had left at Lmyanti should arrive, we proceeded to that town, 
and found the waggon and everythmg we had left in November, 
1853, perfectly safe. A grand meeting of all the people was 
called to receive our report, and the articles which had been sent 
