Page:Seven Years in South Africa v2.djvu/488

 Leaving the Tati station on the 10th, we made our way through wooded hills till we came again to the sandy Shasha, which receives the Tati and many other tributaries of a similar character. Close to where we halted, at the mouth of a dried-up spruit, there was a small deep pool in the river-bed, containing crocodiles.

In the course of the next two days we crossed as many as fourteen spruits that were affluents of the Shasha, Matliutse, and Seribe rivers, our road all along being very bad, and obstructed with rocks.

One whole day we halted on the Matliutse, which now, instead of the Tati, forms part of the boundary between the Matabele and Bamangwato territories. Here there was an interesting double row of hills, some being conical, and some perfectly hexagonal in shape.

The heat now became extremely oppressive, and after crossing the Kutse-Khani and Lothlakane rivers, we halted by the bank of a third, named the Gokwe, where our animals were encouraged to drink freely on account of the dearth of water which we were led to expect during our next stage. After passing a hilly country we came on the following afternoon to the Serule, and caught sight of the chain of the Choppo mountains running south to south-west, their highest points being at the two extremities of the ridge.

On the 16th we entered the valley of the Palachwe, crossing the bed of the Lotsane the same day. It is my belief that these two rivers unite at the foot of the Choppo heights, and continue their course below the northern declivity. The Lotsane ford was one of the most troublesome on the whole way from