ing of almost every conceivable tint of
red, ranging from palest pink to a very deep, rich crimson, with great
bunches of snow-white blossom; while at the opposite end of the scale,
as it were, there occurred examples in which the trunks and branches
were swollen, knotted, and twisted into the most extraordinary and
uncouth shapes, while the foliage consisted of long, flat, ribbon-like
streamers of a dirty brownish-grey hue, coated with an exudation the
odour of which was offensive beyond the power of words to express.
Fortunately for us, these last were comparatively rare, and we soon
learned to give them plenty of room and to pass them to windward, where
possible.

And here, too, we saw the first of several new and strange forms of
animal life. As Piet and I were, as usual, riding forward some distance
ahead of the wagon, we suddenly came upon a small herd of seven
curious-looking animals, which we at first mistook for young giraffes;
but as they stood gazing at us curiously, thus permitting us to approach
within less than a hundred yards of them, we observed that while the
creatures bore a certain general resemblance to giraffes, there were
differences, the most important of which was that of size. For these
creatures stood, at the shoulders, only about as high as an eland; the
neck, although abnormally long, was not proportionately as long as that
of a giraffe; the head was hornless, and of quite different shape from a
giraffe's head; and, lastly, their colour was a deep, rich, ruddy brown
on the head, shading gradually away along the body and legs until, about
the fetlock, it became quite a pale buff. I shot one of them, and have
the skin to this day, which has been a source of great interest and also
a bit of a puzzle to several naturalists who have seen it, and who all
declare it to have belonged to an animal of which they had no knowledge
whatever. The flesh of the creature proved to be very tender and juicy,
and my "boys" ate of it freely; but after trying a mouthful I decided
that I did not care for it, the meat having a very strong and peculiar
musky flavour which I found much the reverse of appetising.

And then, as an appropriate wind-up to a day that had been rich in
surprises, while we were looking about for a suitable spot at which to
outspan for the night, we came upon the first of the Bandokolo people,
or rather, she--for it was a woman--came upon us. We were, at the
moment, riding through a shal