this had often happened, so much so, that by
the time the expedition reached the Limpopo, nearly a fourth of the men
were either weaponless, or else were armed only with light assegais.

After crossing the Limpopo, the expedition trended slightly to the
westward, towards the hilly country where, according to the Balala,
many of the cattle of the Makalakas were to be found. On the afternoon
of the second day after crossing, troops of cattle and afterwards
scattered villages were sighted. The alarm had evidently been given,
for it could soon be seen that the cattle were being hurriedly driven
off, and when the first village was reached, it was found to be
deserted, However, by probing with their spears in the dung of the
cattle kraal, the men easily found the flat stones covering the mouths
of the underground corn-pits, and in these a fair supply of millet was
found. So the men lit fires and cooked the grain. It was dark before
they had finished eating, and then they built up the fires, piling on
heavy logs which were lying near. Certain faint, twinkling lights were
visible on a hillside very far off, and in the direction in which they
had seen the cattle being driven in the afternoon, and towards these
Kondwana led his men silently, and at a swinging trot.

About an hour before dawn the vanguard suddenly stopped, and the rest
of the force formed up slowly in wings, as had been directed. The
barking of dogs was heard some distance ahead. The Zulus were now in a
comparatively open Country. A grassy expanse between two shallow,
forest-filled valleys sloped up gently in front. Kondwana sent scouts
ahead. These soon returned with the report that they had found a
number of armed men sleeping around some huts close to a kraal which
was filled with cattle. The dogs barked incessantly, out as much on
account of the Makalaka strangers at the kraal as the Zulus. As a
matter of fact, after the alarm was given late in the afternoon, as
many of the Makalakas as could be communicated with had assembled here.
Scouts had reported in the evening that the strangers were looting the
corn from the pits, and only a couple of hours before Kondwana called a
halt in the darkness, the fires that the Zulus had lighted were still
to be seen burning brightly. Moreover, Kondwana had been very careful
in preventing the huts being burnt, lest the Makalakas should infer
that his force was moving on. By abstaining from burning the huts he
completely