“Being rather tired, we returned to the waggon after watering the oxen, without driving them away from the river first, which I know now we ought to have done on account of lions, but I have never yet thought it necessary to take such precautions except at night, when we tie them up and light fires. Soon after reaching the waggon I heard the loud cries of an ox in distress, and exclaiming to Hendrik that I thought a lion must be the cause, locked up my medicine chest, from which I was taking medicine for Hendrik, and seized my gun. Hendrik followed me, and we both ran to the river. As we peered over the bank, there we saw the ox, the largest and fattest in my span, lying in the grass at the bottom of the bank with a lion tearing him. He was only a few yards below me, and before I could distinguish the lion properly as it lay upon his prostrate form, the brute leapt off the ox and retreated across the river. I fired as he ran, and hit him hard, for he rolled over, and I ought to have given him the second barrel at once, but thinking him mortally wounded, I hesitated a moment, and in the next he had disappeared in the dry reeds. I did not like to follow him at once, and Hendrik would not accompany me, but tried to dissuade me from following him at all. However, in about half-an-hour I went in search of the brute, but never found it, and do not know what became of it.[12] “I have yet been brought very little into contact with wild beasts, and have had few stirring incidents, but I have been pretty fully employed one way or another, and continue to persevere in my journey. I found on reaching here that it was too late to go to the Victoria Falls without risk of sickness, in which case I had long before decided to travel in a north-easterly direction to Mosilikatze’s country, the country of the Matabele, over whom Lobengula, son of Mosilikatze, now reigns. I am told I shall see some very beautiful scenery on my way there, and I am now interested in pursuing my journey as far as I can. From here to the King’s Town they call six days, but it will probably take me more. “Here I have met two very nice fellows. One of them, Nelson, a Swede, is managing the mine of the Tati Gold Company. It is on a very small scale, and there are, I think, only seven white men here altogether. Brown, the other I refer to, has also some office connected with the mine, and keeps a store. They are both extremely kind, and willing to do anything to help one, and I expect to find more friends at the King’s Town--especially Mr. Thomson, the missionary, for whom I have a letter from Mr. Mackenzie, and another from Mr. Hepburn. I likewise carry the mail.