On March 2d, leaving the waggons by the river, the party started for a few days’ hunting in the bush, taking with them a couple of pack-oxen. After following the river for some distance nearly south, they entered some very pretty country, characteristic of the best South African scenery--rugged kopjes and thick bush, the kopjes rising round on every side, and stretching far into the distance. Here, crossing the river, they encamped their first night, advancing the following morning in an easterly direction several miles. In the course of this afternoon (March 3d), some trees of unusual size were noticed by some of the party whilst riding in pursuit of eland. “The first which arrested my attention,” writes Frank Oates, who was one of this number, “was so striking that I let the others go on following the spoor, and reined in my horse. The tree was perfectly gigantic in girth, thickening as it got higher, though of no great height. It was swollen and bloated in a most extraordinary manner, and is of the same kind as the ‘Indunas’ tree’--a baobab. Though still flourishing, it is a mere shell, and, looking in at a hole in the side, I saw that it was open to the sky at the top. Inside was a good-sized chamber, strewed with minute bones of rats or some small mammalia. No doubt generations of owls have long had their abode here; one flew out on our approach. We saw another tree afterwards, probably as large, but I did not ride up to it.” After this the same general direction was again pursued till evening, when temporary huts were constructed for the night, which, however, unfortunately proved a wholly ineffectual shelter from the heavy rain which fell early the following morning, thoroughly saturating everything inside. The day itself was fine and hot, but was again succeeded by heavy rain at night, which induced the party on March 5th to retrace their steps to the waggons, recrossing the Semokwe in their march, which was now swollen with the recent heavy rains. One of the Bushmen was carried off his legs in crossing the river, but, seizing hold of another of the party, regained his footing, and reached the opposite bank in safety. The big rifle he was carrying escaped with a severe wetting. After this the party moved slowly back towards the Tati, halting a short time on the banks of the Sakasusi, and elsewhere upon the way; and reaching the settlement on March 17th. The game met with during their absence had been much the same as that Frank Oates had found in his former journeyings further to the north, and included--besides buffalo, quagga, pallah, and sassaybi, all of which were obtained early in the hunt--giraffe, rhinoceros, wildebeest, and koodoo.