lion skins, remained as a memento
of the night. For two days the party halted on this spot, and each
night the one or other watched the pool, with varying success, but not
seeing any more elephants, and only hearing the lions in the distance.

Still travelling northwards, they pushed on through a fertile country,
which gradually became more and more of forest. Elephants were often
seen, but it was useless to encumber their march by carrying the tusks,
and Wyzinski's sole purpose seemed to be the finding of the supposed
ruins. Giraffe, buffalo, antelope of all kinds, quaggas, and zebra,
were plentiful, while an occasional lion was seen. The hippopotami and
rhinoceros were often met with on the river banks.

The natives, who appeared from time to time, yet bore the stamp of the
Zulu race, but were not friendly, though guilty of no overt act of
enmity. They were men of good stature, well formed, and clean limbed;
their woolly hair often surmounted with plumes of ostrich feathers.
They were well armed. Vast forests of what appeared to be magnificent
cedars, impeded their way. The natives, both men and women, were nearly
naked, the latter particularly showing great fear of the white men, so
much so as to leave their huts on the approach of the party, carrying
with them their children. In some of the huts slabs of stone were seen,
evidently having been fashioned by hand, and used in the construction of
some building, but no information could be gathered. Gold was known,
and its value appreciated among these tribes. The men, fully armed,
would venture into the camp, bringing with them quills filled with gold,
sealed at both ends, and offering them for sale, evidently fancying the
white men traders, and asking for calico and beads in return. The young
elephant actually followed the party for three days, and on the fourth
was found dead close to camp, evidently from its inability to supply
itself with the food its mother alone could give. The hippopotami were
numerous on the rivers, and unlike those more to the south, they showed
little fear of man. Shaped like a huge pig, the head massive, and the
eyes placed very high in the forehead, these ponderous animals, whose
carcass of a brownish-red looks like a great barrel, have thick hanging
lips, and such short stumpy legs, that the belly nearly touches the
ground. All day long they might be seen feeding on the sweet grasses;
and on the approach of strangers would sli