74 
SOLDIERING AND SPORT IN MASHONALAND. 
fatal, provided he is given a complete rest, whilst he is suffering from 
them. For this reason “ salted” horses and mules are in great demand, 
and a salted horse will often fetch from sixty to a hundred and fifty 
pounds, whilst, if unsalted, the value of the same horse would nob he 
more than twenty or thirty. The difficulty then presents itself to the 
purchaser of distinguishing between a salted, and an unsalted animal, 
and as there is no way of ascertaining this by examination, a system of 
guarrantees is adopted, the seller signing an agreement (which the 
purchaser retains), to return the purchase money, in the event of the 
animal dying of horse sickness within a fixed period. This system 
leads to endless disputes, and is for obvious reasons unsatisfactory, but 
under the circumstances it appears to be the only method which can be 
adopted. 
The high plateau of Mashonaland which is reached by the road from 
the south, some 200 miles from Tuli, differs in many respects from 
the low bush country just described. It is open grazing country, 
with only here and there patches of bush, and altogether much more 
healthy, it is not so pleasant to travel in as the bush veldt, owing to the 
scarcity of fuel (the dry dung of the cattle having frequently to bo 
used in lieu of wood), and the difficulty of finding shade from the rays 
of the sun, or shelter from the cold winds, which constantly sweep 
these large open plains. It is, however, much safer for a body of 
troops, or convoy of wagons marching through this country, which is 
easily scoured in all directions by patrols, and affords few opportunities 
of concealment for hostile bodies of natives, wishing to surprise a 
column on the march. 
The Mashona tribes which inhabit this plateau resemble in almost 
every particular the Makalakas described above, but they are as a rule 
more prosperous, having larger herds of cattle, which are almost in¬ 
variably sleek and fat, bearing witness to the richness of the pasture, 
and the value of the country for grazing purposes. These tribes are 
also subject to periodical raids by their enemies the Matabele, and have 
no paramount chief under whom they can combine for defence. Indeed 
neither the Mashonas nor their neighbours the Makalakas, seem to 
have any stomach for fighting’, and in the event of its being necessary 
to punish any of them for theft or other misconduct, the despatch of a 
small party of ten men to the village concerned being usually sufficient 
to overawe them; and as a rule they desert their abode, as soon as they 
get wind of the approach of such a party, taking their cattle with them, 
but leaving their huts and stores of grain for the commander of the 
patrol to burn, or dispose of as he thinks fit. This high veldt, although 
not nearly so unhealthy for men or horses as the bush veldt, is still by 
no means free from either the fever or the horse sickness, the latter 
disease, however, prevailing only during the wet season, from December 
to about May, in contradistinction to the bush veldt, where it attacks 
the animals in all seasons. 
For purposes of defence, and for the preservation of law and order in 
Mashonaland, a semi-military force of some 600 mounted police organ¬ 
ised in six troops, was originally raised by the Chartered Company, and 
this force armed with Martini-Henry rifles, and provided with a few 
