Proceeding north-eastward at starting they soon came to the little river Umbellan, which, flowing past the dense bush of the district, ultimately joins the Umvolosi. At this time of the year it is about twenty feet deep, and murmurs along a channel of from twenty to thirty feet wide, now and then forming deep basins, which were found to be full of fish. Soon after midnight the junction of the Black Umvolosi was reached, and the first night's camp was made near a fine tamarind-tree, which was noted as a landmark in case of a return that way. At this season there was a rather heavy dew towards daybreak, but the nights were calm, and, in comparison with the day, considerably colder than would be expected. Just as the party was ready and preparing to start, after an early meal in the morning, some natives came from a neighbouring kraal with the information that on the previous night one of their best oxen, having strayed outside the cattle enclosure, had been seized and carried off by a lion. It had already been stated by John Dunn that the district through which they had to pass had been for some years infested with lions, and lately the casualties had been so frequent that the inhabitants were commencing to migrate. The Umvolosi at its junction with the Umbellan is about the same size as the latter river, and at this point makes a most remarkable bend from south-east to north-east, but its general direction for some distance in this district is due north, the stream flowing between banks twenty or thirty feet in height, with an average width of full forty feet and a depth of only three feet. The velocity of the current, however, was 120 feet a minute. Leaving Amansekranze, they marched about nine miles towards the north-west, having on their left the Black Umvolosi, and on their right the huge terraces and wood-crowned ravines of the Lebombo mountains. The woods came down to the river as it flowed between its rocky banks; and farther north-west some wide meadow-like flats were crossed, containing water basins almost as large as lakes. Several kinds of antelope of the larger sort, waterbucks, and hartebeests appeared, and as the troopers managed to wound and ride down several, their nightly bivouac in the forest was solaced by a feast of excellent venison. Between the Umvolosi and the Lebombo range the previous uniformity of the rocks began to be broken by projections of gneiss and by scattered hills. About twelve miles from the junction of the rivers at Amansekranze a remarkable illustration of this formation was passed, where huge blocks of stone rose in mounds from which colossal obelisks could be cut. These elevated places alternated with extensive flats as level as a table-top. In keeping with this weird and fantastic scenery and eccentric native architecture is the peculiarity of the conies or rock rabbits that have their dwelling among the crevices of the gneiss. Soon after the sun went down, and just