information, allowed the Zulu to take him in a retrograde and southerly direction, until he met another Zulu messenger, who said he had heard nothing of the king along the road he came. Major Barrow therefore retraced his steps to the camp of the main body on the Black Umvolosi, and sent Lord Gifford and Captain Maurice on with eight men to get some cattle from a kraal and obtain what information he could. The first destination of this party was a kraal with cattle and mealies, and this was said to be about seven miles from where they were then halted. On reaching the said kraal on Saturday afternoon they surprised some Zulu boys, and partly by threats and partly by persuasion induced them to come on to another kraal, seven miles off. These boys, after some pressing, confessed that on the previous day (Friday), the king had endeavoured to double back towards the south, and had slept within a mile of where they had bivouacked, and had actually passed the kraal where they then were. This intelligence confirmed the story that had previously been told by the king's attendant, and the information was at once sent back to Major Barrow. On Saturday night they slept in the kraal they had reached in the afternoon, having during the day visited a number of smaller kraals and villages, in which they captured many assegais and other weapons. They thus had made a circuit and were now heading almost due south, and though they had now been four clear days in the saddle, had managed their three days' supply of rations so well that they had still a reserve to fall back upon. This feat of commissariat skill was accomplished by obtaining wherever they could such simple supplies as the kraals afforded--sour milk, Indian corn cakes made of mealies, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and now and then a little Kaffir beer, which after a time, and when the taste is acquired, is not such very bad stuff. Sunday, the 17th, was a most eventful day. Lord Gifford paraded his men, and they started, as usual, just before sunrise, their destination being an important military kraal, which they had every reason to believe the king must have visited. The gallant leader had on the previous evening induced two Zulu boys to accompany his men as guides, for the shortest way was through the forest and across country, where it was impossible to find the smallest trace of a trek. When they set out, the whole of the wood was veiled in mist, and the ground was yet reeking with the early dew. But as the light came on they were rewarded by seeing an immense variety of forest shrubs. Especially beautiful was the _Encephalartos_, which grew in abundance; most noticeable too was a cabbage-shaped _Euphorbia_, as well as a large variety of conspicuous shrubs, many of them covered with such fine blossoms as to give the wilderness the aspect of an artificial park.