The men were delighted with this acquisition. I now had fourteen
porters, the three gunbearers, the cook, and the two boys. They
surrounded each tiny fire with switches full of roasting meat; they cut
off great hunks for a stew; they made quantities of biltong, or jerky.
Next day I left Kongoni and one porter at the old camp, loaded my men
with what they could carry, and started out. We marched a little over
two hours; then found ourselves beneath a lone mimosa tree about a
quarter-mile from the edge of the bench. At this point the stream drops
into a little canon preparatory to its plunge; and the plateau rises
ever so gently in tremendous cliffs. I immediately dispatched the
porters back for another load. A fine sing-sing lured me across the
river. I did not get the sing-sing, but had a good fight with two lions,
as narrated elsewhere.[A]
In this spot we camped a number of days; did a heap of hard climbing and
spying; killed another lion out of a band of eight;[25] thoroughly
determined that we had come at the wrong time for kudu, and decided on
another move.
This time our journey lasted five hours, so that our relaying consumed
three days. We broke back through the ramparts, by means of another
pass we had discovered when looking for kudu, to the Third Bench again.
Here we camped in the valley of Lengeetoto.
This valley is one of the most beautiful and secluded in this part of
Africa.
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