14 
THE NEW AFRICA 
does, the conditions of human life must be insupportable. We 
were obliged to roll up and secrete every piece of raw hide 
composing our yoke gear, and also the thong whips, for to these 
starving beasts everything that they can chew is palatable and 
good, as we found to our cost the first night we camped there. 
They simply cleaned us out, necessitating the purchase of a 
.complete set of new gear. Our bitterest loss, however, was a 
large loaf of bro wn bread, kindly presented to the expedition 
by one of the traders, this last act resulting in a declaration of 
war against the yellow-skinned, pariah-like night marauders, 
who, however, never recognised defeat. 
Mr. Colliard, of the Swiss Missionary Society, and family 
were at Shoshong on their way to establish a missionary station 
in the Barotzi valley, under the protection of Le Bossi, the 
king, who had given his assent to the enterprise on a previous 
visit Colliard had paid him. From what we heard subse¬ 
quently, it appears that most of the members of the mission 
died of fever, and the station is now abandoned. 
One evening, when returning from a chat with the Colliards 
to our camp on the outskirts of the village, we experienced a 
terrible fright by seeing a large conical flame burst up about the 
locality of our camp, that could only have one solution, ‘ Our 
tent must be on fire ’—and all the instruments, guns, etc., were 
packed inside of it. As we hurried towards the spot, however, 
we were much relieved to find that the fire emanated from a 
limekiln which we had not observed before, some three hundred 
yards to the left of our camp, and which had been set alight 
that evening by one of the traders, who intended to use the lime 
for a building calculated to keep the white ants out. 
Khama, to whom we applied for permission to travel through 
his country and for guides to show us the way to the Zambesi 
at the Victoria falls, accorded us no answer for several days, 
and thinking, perhaps, that he required a present, I approached 
him on the subject. His answer was kindly, but negative : ‘If 
I accept a present with one hand/ he said, ‘ the white man will 
expect me to give double with the other. I accept no presents 
