, the broader
and deeper these became; their bottoms contained great numbers of deep
holes, made by elephants wading in them; in these the oxen floundered
desperately, so that our wagon-pole broke, compelling us to work up to
the breast in water for three hours and a half; yet I suffered no harm.

We at last came to the Sanshureh, which presented an impassable barrier,
so we drew up under a magnificent baobab-tree, (lat. 18d 4' 27" S.,
long. 24d 6' 20" E.), and resolved to explore the river for a ford. The
great quantity of water we had passed through was part of the annual
inundation of the Chobe; and this, which appeared a large, deep river,
filled in many parts with reeds, and having hippopotami in it, is only
one of the branches by which it sends its superabundant water to the
southeast. From the hill N'gwa a ridge of higher land runs to the
northeast, and bounds its course in that direction. We, being ignorant
of this, were in the valley, and the only gap in the whole country
destitute of tsetse. In company with the Bushmen I explored all the
banks of the Sanshureh to the west till we came into tsetse on that
side. We waded a long way among the reeds in water breast deep, but
always found a broad, deep space free from vegetation and unfordable. A
peculiar kind of lichen, which grows on the surface of the soil, becomes
detached and floats on the water, giving out a very disagreeable odor,
like sulphureted hydrogen, in some of these stagnant waters.

We made so many attempts to get over the Sanshureh, both to the west and
east of the wagon, in the hope of reaching some of the Makololo on the
Chobe, that my Bushmen friends became quite tired of the work. By means
of presents I got them to remain some days; but at last they slipped
away by night, and I was fain to take one of the strongest of my still
weak companions and cross the river in a pontoon, the gift of Captains
Codrington and Webb. We each carried some provisions and a blanket, and
penetrated about twenty miles to the westward, in the hope of striking
the Chobe. It was much nearer to us in a northerly direction, but this
we did not then know. The plain, over which we splashed the whole of
the first day, was covered with water ankle deep, and thick grass which
reached above the knees. In the evening we came to an immense wall
of reeds, six or eight feet high, without any opening admitting of a
passage. When we tried to enter, the water always became so deep th