which prevents any monotony. Now the road winds for several miles
through woods and some small trees; again, these are left behind, and
the traveller emerges on plains of yellow waving grass (so high as to
hide both horse and rider), resembling from afar an English
barleyfield, and broken up by clumps of symmetrically arranged trees.
In these clumps the tropical euphorbia sends up its long and graceful
shoots, reminding one of Gargantuan candelabra, and the huge "baobab,"
of unwieldy bulk, seems to stand as the sentinel stretching out its bare
arms to protect those who shelter beneath. These trees are the great
feature of the country, owing to the enormous size they attain, and to
the fact that, being the slowest-growing trees known, their ages can
only be reckoned by thousands of years. Except these kings of the
forest, the trees indigenous to the land are somewhat dwarfed, but cacti
of all kinds flourish, clinging to and hanging from the branches of the
mahogany and of the "m'pani" trees, looking now and then for all the
world like long green snakes. The "m'hoba-hoba" bush, with its enormous
leaves, much loved by the elephant, forms patches of vivid green summer
and winter. This shrub is supposed to have been introduced by the
Phoenicians, when these wonderful people were occupied with their
mineral workings in this land, the remains of which are to be seen in
many places. In the grass itself, and round the edge of these groups so
artistically assorted by the hand of Nature, lies slyly hidden the
"wait-a-bit" bush,[49] according to the literal translation from the
Dutch, whose thorny entanglements no one can gauge unless fairly
caught.

During July and August, which is mid-winter, the grass plains are set on
fire, in parts purposely, but sometimes accidentally. They are usually
left intact near the road, for transport oxen find plenty of pasture in
the coarse high grass which no other animal will touch; but the seeker
after game will burn miles and miles of this grass when it is
sufficiently dry at the roots. It has acted as a sheltering mantle for
its four-footed population for many months, and now the "hunters' moon"
is fairly risen and the buck must beware. Therefore, if one leaves the
road for two or three miles to the right or left, vast black plains are
discovered, on which only about a fortnight after burning a very vivid
green, and, it is said, a very sweet, grass springs up, which game of
all sorts greatly l