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former very indignant at the distance I had travelled, not with¬ 
out some reason, for it was a long march. At four o’clock a.m. 
the last of the bearers came up, and then, giving each one a 
drink out of the cask, and imbibing our share also, I emptied 
the remainder into a small kettle we had, and marched on, 
taking the cask with me, intending, if any one knocked up on 
the journey, to send it back filled from the water ahead. At 
nine o’clock, to my surprise, I found the sand-belt dwindling 
away, and came face to face with the reeds of the Taugche, 
a branch of the Cubango river. Thus, in twelve hours’ actual 
walking, I had crossed the sand-belt alleged to be a two 
days’ hard march. Of course, there was no necessity to send 
or carry water back, so I quietly walked on a little distance 
to a Batowaana village near by, where there were enormous 
herds of cattle grazing in the neigbourhood, just freed from 
the kraal in which they had rested overnight. 
Tschukoorroo was camped here, and received me laughingly, 
asking where the others were. He called upon the women of 
the village to bring me milk, and some boiled corn, an order 
they amiably complied with, and jokingly asked if I was a 
Matabele. Later in the day Hammar and Franz came up, and at 
mid-day all the boys arrived, whereupon, to recompense them for 
the forced march, I bought an ox for five pounds of powder, our 
last bag, and we held a small feast, of course dividing the meat 
with Tschukoorroo, and presenting a shoulder to the owner of 
the kraal, to comply with the recognised custom amongst natives. 
The women inundated us with milk in exchange for a few coloured 
cotton handkerchiefs still in our possession; and when we refused 
to barter any more, they simply filled our calabashes, and told 
us to drink, as we must be hungry, while they had plenty. Such 
charming behaviour quieted any mild misgivings we had with 
regard to our captivity, and so far it appeared like a huge joke 
to us. The women spoke freely of the Matabele who had treated 
their children so cruelly last year, and we sympathised with 
them so sincerely that all feeling of distrust vanished amongst 
them. For a handkerchief we bought a little earthy mixture 
