WE SCARE THE NATIVES 
105 
com with on his return journey, we bade him farewell, and left 
him standing under a large tree, with his private hoys ruefully 
looking after us as we hurried on to to get the bearers away from 
the bad influence of Jan’s example. They came along willingly 
enough; but from this very willingness, we divined that before 
long, at the next camping ground perhaps, there would be a 
general return of the bearers, over which we would have no 
control. Therefore we gathered our bodyguards more closely 
together, and with laughter and joke kept them in good humour, 
telling how they should yet laugh at Gaula and his men when 
they returned with the many presents we would give them. 
We made nine miles, crossing a three-foot deep creek on the 
way, before evening, passing many herds of game, and camped 
on the river banks, supping on a koodoo doe I killed. 
Franz, who had accompanied Selous on his voyage of explora¬ 
tion up the Chobe river, asserted that where we had left Jan 
Veyers was the spot also where Selous had turned back. We 
failed however to identify the spot from Selous’s works, as there 
is no mention made of the crossing between the two streams 
Okavango and Chobe. It is probable, however, that if Selous 
reached as far as the chief Moheni on the Chobe, Moheni 
may have later moved his camp or village some distance up 
stream, where we found him, and that then Selous’s journey did 
not extend across the connecting stream. 
Next morning, to our surprise, we found the boys still willing 
to go on, their object being to leave us at Moheni’s, a little 
ahead, as we found out afterwards. We had hardly made three 
miles when we came upon many natives flying pell mell from 
the mainland into the reeds, and here the boys put their loads 
down and demanded the slips of paper that represented their 
payment. Anxious first to establish good fellowship with the 
inhabitants and make an impression of strength by our numbers, 
we kept the boys waiting till the following day. But the in¬ 
habitants, scared out of all reason by our appearance, would not 
approach nearer than some 300 yards off; and then, well hidden 
by the reeds, held a most excited palaver with our boys, pouring 
