ir fortunes, and full of hope and ambition. One of them said
he was going up country on a hunting expedition, not for the sport only,
but for the money that could be made by the sale of hides, ivory, horns,
and other products of the chase. He was quite well informed concerning
the business on which he was bent, and told me that it was the custom
for two or more men, generally not above four, to buy wagons, oxen,
horses, and provisions in one of the towns on the coast or in the
interior, and then strike out into the wild country for an absence of
anywhere from three to six or seven months. Their provisions consisted
of flour, sugar, tea, pepper, salt, and a few other things. For meat
they relied upon what they killed; and he added that a great deal of
meat was needed, as there were from twenty-five to fifty natives
attached to a hunting party and all of them had ferocious appetites.

"They shot anything that came in their way, elephants, buffaloes,
elands, gemsbok, and I don't know what else. It was a hard life and not
without risk, but it was healthy and full of good sport. He told us so
much about his business that Ned and I heartily wished to go with him
and have a share in the experience and fun.

"Another young man was going out as a mining engineer and expected to
find employment in some of the newly opened gold mines in the
Johannesburg district. Another was to become the manager of a large farm
forty or fifty miles from Cape Town, which was owned by his uncle.
Another young man was going out with no particular object in view, and
said he was ready for anything that turned up.

"Then there were Afrikanders who had been on a visit to England for
business, or pleasure, or both combined. One had been there for the
express purpose of finding a bride; he found her, and she was with him
as a passenger on the steamer. She and two others were the only lady
passengers on the ship; men greatly predominated among the passengers,
and we were told that such was always the case on board one of these
steamers. One of the passengers was a resident of Durban, the port of
Natal, and he gave us a cordial invitation to visit his place. 'You will
find Durban a very interesting spot,' said he, 'and the only bad thing
about it is getting ashore. There is a nasty sea breaking there most of
the time, and it is tedious work getting from a ship into a small boat
and then getting safe to land. You must come prepared to be soused with
salt