Page:Seven Years in South Africa v2.djvu/254

 kaffir-corn beer, and beans for sale. I afterwards met one of them again at Sesheke; he was a subchieftain, and a relation of Mochuri’s. Sepopo, supposing that I had never seen a Batoka before, introduced him to me; I recognized the man at once, but he took care not to show that he knew me, as he was conscious of having bought guns of us in direct contravention of the king’s commands, an offence for which he was liable to the sentence of death.

Whilst I was engaged in completing my cartographical survey of the falls, I came across several herds of grazing pallahs. The Cape servants succeeded in shooting one of the graceful creatures, which are the most common of all the antelopes of the Zambesi.

On the evening before our departure we had an adventure with a lion, which terminated in a way that was somewhat amusing. I had returned from an expedition to the falls, and was followed by Walsh, who was coming back from one of his bird-hunts; he came in rather excited, declaring that in crossing a meadow on his way towards the river, he had seen a lion. The spot which he described was only about three-quarters of a mile away, and it did not require a very long consultation before we resolved forthwith to commence a lion-hunt. I confess I was not a little concerned when I heard that the ladies proposed to accompany us; but my objections were soon overruled, Mrs. Francis urging that she had already seen several lions killed, and Mrs. Westbeech, the bride of a few months, insisting that her husband should not go without her.

The greater part of the Zambesi valley is thickly wooded, but as I have described, there are occa-