THE STORY OF VAN ZYL 
347 
returned to the lake, Van Zyl was dead and his house burnt 
down, with all the belongings and furniture in it. How he met 
his death, or who was the executioner, never transpired. To our 
inquiries as to the causes, Moremi said, ‘ He is dead! that is 
enough ! and don’t ask any one again about it, or myself and 
the chiefs will be angry! ’ 
This Van Zyl was the father of the other unfortunate Van 
Zyl who was killed by Indala’s command. He had only been a 
short time in the country, and was in no way a participator in 
his father’s misdeeds. 
The lake offered no attractions to explore it, as all the 
information we could gather went to show that it was encircled 
by an impenetrable belt of reeds which made an approach to 
the open water in the centre an impossibility. 
To the south of the lake, about fifteen miles distant in the 
Queebe hills, I have since heard that gold is supposed to have 
been discovered in quartz veins. 
