CHAPTER VI 
The natives fear us—Capture of an old Mashubia—River overflowing its banks— 
Honey bird leads boys to python—Native dance—Shoot puku buck— 
Underground hive of peculiar bees—White buffalo—Blue wildebeest hunt 
—Hunter’s delicacies—Swamps’ tsetse fly—Scenery of Chobe—Game abun¬ 
dant—Narrow escape from fire—Blotchy appearance of natives accounted 
for by fire—Braying skins. 
The inhabitants along the river banks showed the greatest 
alarm at our approach and fled incontinently in their canoes to 
the islands in the reeds where it was impossible to follow them, 
even if we had possessed a boat, owing to the passages in the 
tangled masses of floating reeds being securely hidden after they 
had passed, by the leaves falling back into position, and thus 
obscuring the line of flight. We were very anxious to open up 
negotiations with these Mashubia, as they are called, for the 
purpose of trading corn, and obtaining canoes to transport our 
goods up the river in, so as to give our somewhat heavily laden 
bearers an occasional rest. But to all our blandishments and 
shouts they only answered that they took us for the much 
dreaded Matabele, and that they knew the terrible animals that 
accompanied us (our donkeys) would tear them to pieces as soon 
as they came near us. Determined, however, to make friends 
with them if possible, Jan and I, starting early one morning far 
ahead of the column, came upon an ancient Mashubia man 
mending his canoe on the river bank. The old chap was pro¬ 
bably somewhat deaf, for, with his back to us and engrossed in 
his work, he was quite unaware of our presence. Laying down 
his gun, old Jan gently stalked up to him, quietly lifted him 
in his arms, and carried him about a hundred yards inland 
where he set him down. The horrified terror of the old man 
was markedly expressed in his countenance. He showed, 
