570 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April io, 1909. 
ing her bear down on me, her lights rising 
and growing further apart without changing 
their relative positions an inch. Loud and 
ominous sounded the ice smashing under her 
stem, the rush of water from her sides and the 
noise of her swells in the ice fields became dis¬ 
tinctly audible. I could hear the droning of 
her engines and see the light from her cabin 
windows reflected in the snow. I hastily drew 
off my mitten, took out my knife and opened 
it, laying it by my knee. Over me loomed the 
big boat. She certainly was not going to 
change her course, for I could, it seemed, al¬ 
most touch her. Quickly I cut the rope to my 
log and scuttled to one side like a crippled 
duck. 
In an Instant with a jarring, muffled crash 
the steamer struck the log. It sent a shiver 
through her from end to end. Her bow light 
showed the burst of spray as the log yielded. 
In the light that shone over the water from 
A fter a short holiday at the coast and 
a breath of sea air—and how I enjoyed 
these after months of nothing but sun 
and veldt—I returned to Rhodesia, and as I 
wanted two or three tsebee, a species of harte- 
beeste, only found south of the Zambesi, I made 
for Salisbury, and getting together a small out¬ 
fit, started out for a short trip. There is still 
plenty of game in Southern Rhodesia and it took 
me only two weeks to secure what I wanted and 
then I started northward for Buluwayo and 
Livingston. This time I determined to travel up 
the Zambesi in canoes, at any rate for a con¬ 
siderable distance, as the trip would be novel 
as well as most interesting. 
On my arrival at Livingston I got together 
what I needed and then started with three 
native canoes fairly well loaded. These canoes 
are dugouts and do not appear very safe, and 
an upset in the Zambesi, which is infested with 
crocodiles, is not a thing to be desired. Poles 
as well as paddles are used, and it is astonishing 
what rapids they are able to negotiate with ap¬ 
parent ease. When we came to rapids I pre¬ 
ferred to be landed to join the canoes again at 
the upper end. The Zambesi here is from one- 
half to three-quarters of a mile broad, a magnifi¬ 
cent stretch of water. We constantly saw hip¬ 
pos, but as I did not want them they were left 
in peace. When we reached camp I usually did 
a little trolling for tiger fish, which are good 
game fish and give as much fun as a salmon 
and in their rushes much resemble one. A pretty 
strong line is needed and gimp traces, as their 
teeth are most formidable. 
The curse of the whole trip was mosquitoes. 
I had not been out long before I regretted 
traveling in this way. Mosquito curtains are 
always a necessity, but they are quite inade- 
the stern windows I was able to recover my 
prize. It was dear to me now, for our friend¬ 
ship had been cemented by exposure and toil. 
The tide was just beginning to turn as I came 
into our cove. I made my log fast and wearily 
climbed the hill. My wife met me at the door. 
“Fm past worrying now; I’m just plain mad! 
Look at the clock! In ten minutes more I 
was going to alarm the neighborhood to look 
for you!” she exclaimed in high feeling. 
“But just see this fat, young canvasback 
and-” 
The log was worth it. If ever you come this 
way I can prove it by showing you the bed¬ 
stead and picture frames I have made from it 
and the pile of boards, delicately penciled with 
streaks of an inimitable dark copper green that 
harmonizes wonderfully with the rich, wavy 
brown. In my desk drawer is a copper rivet 
that the steamer Poughkeepsie left embedded 
deep in my log. 
quate for a Zambesi mosquito. These are simply 
awful, and in a few days I was forced to give 
up the water trip, and reaching a village paid 
off the canoe men, employed porters and pro¬ 
ceeded on foot. Horses or mules would have 
been useless, as we passed through several tsetse 
belts, and if you make up your mind to make 
short marches and to take it slowly, foot travel 
is not so hard. 
My direction was about northeast and my pur¬ 
pose was to get to the elephant country, where 
report had it there were large herds. But it was 
a long way distant. Elephants are great travel¬ 
ers, but generally haunt the same localities un¬ 
less frightened away by constant shooting. When 
they hear the report of a gun they learn also 
that it means danger and are generally very 
savage, especially the cows. There is a small 
herd which roams not very far' from civilization 
in British East Africa which has been very, much 
shot at and has become most dangerous and 
will charge immediately on hearing the sound 
of a rifle shot. It behooves one, therefore, to 
be careful in hunting them. 
As we went on there was plenty of game of 
all kinds to keep us supplied with meat. We 
came across plenty of lion spoor, but did not 
follow it and I determined to save no heads that 
were not exceptionally fine, and thus to keep 
the loads as light as possible. I shot several 
pookoo when near the river, but hartebeeste, 
wildebeeste and zebra were always in evidence 
when required and also a fair quantity of sable 
and roan antelope. 
Wild dogs are fairly numerous in this part 
of Africa. These brutes go in packs, sometimes 
as many as thirty or forty. When in numbers 
they have been known to attack human beings. 
They have never interfered with me, but I have 
had them pass by within thirty yards when run¬ 
ning a buck and take no notice, but in this case 
I do not think they saw me. A buck has no 
earthly chance against these animals, as when 
hunting game they have a perfect system, and 
if in a large pack they do not all chase at once, 
but take turns and can therefore in a very short 
time run down and pull down anything. I am 
told that they have been known to kill buffalo 
and a lion is afraid of them. They vary in 
color, some being yellowish and others a grayish 
dark brown; their ears prick and their jaws are 
large and strong. Some twenty years ago an 
animal was killed at Henry’s Lake, Idaho, which 
nobody could name. It was the size of a fair¬ 
sized dog, almost black in color, high at the 
shoulders, and tapering away at the quarters 
like a hyena, and its jaws and teeth were strong. 
The specimen was mounted by a taxidermist 
living there. The African wild dogs very much 
resemble this beast, which doubtless was a wolf 
cross of some kind. He had killed a calf the 
previous night and was shot in the corral on 
the night following, the sportsman also killing 
by mistake a fine milch cow at the same time. 
African wild dogs are not in any way connected 
with the domestic variety; they are a distinct 
species and I think are found practically all 
over Central Africa. 
We had some very rough, hilly country to 
traverse. Natives were not numerous and vil¬ 
lages scarce, but still we had no difficulty in 
trading for what we required. They appeared 
to have good crops of mealies and Kaffir corn 
and plenty of sheep and goats, though few cattle. 
At a village we came to they told us that about 
a week before a lion had come into the village 
during the night, torn off the roof of a hut, and 
in spite of everything they could do, had carried 
off a woman. I told them that if they would 
trade me a bullock I would tie him up as a bait 
and do my best to rid the village of this lion. 
They readily agreed to this, adding that they 
were all badly frightened and did not dare stay 
out after dark or go alone. 
Leading from the village to the gardens or 
cornfields was a path which crossed a shallow 
•Stream fairly well shaded with small trees. It 
was near here that I tied the bullock, but as 
there was no moon, it was useless to sit up for 
the lion. My only chance was that if he killed 
the bullock he was sure to return and in all 
probability would not go far away, and the 
natives promised to keep a sharp lookout and 
to report to me should he be seen. On the fol¬ 
lowing morning they found the carcass half de¬ 
voured and though on account of the tramping 
around and the trodden grass, it was hard to 
tell certainly, there appeared to be but one lion 
and that a big one. The spoor led in the direc¬ 
tion of the gardens, but it was useless to attempt 
to follow it, and I returned to camp to wait for 
news. 
About 3 o’clock a native came in saying that 
a boy had seen the lion crossing from one patch 
of corn to another smaller one, evidently on his 
way back to the kill, to which I had expressly 
given orders that nobody was to go. Hurry¬ 
ing off, I took up a position from which I could 
plainly see the kill, and anything approaching it. 
There was about twenty yards clear space be¬ 
tween the patch of corn and the river bank on 
which was the remains of the kill, and when I 
got in sight of it I saw only numbers of birds 
An Afrikander’s Journal 
By JOHN A. M. LETHBRIDGE 
VI.—Driven from the Zambesi by Mosquitoes— 
Back to the Elephant Country 
