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INTRODUCTION.

Most authors, either in preface or introduction, apo- logize for what is to follow; and no doubt, where they have had to make many calls upon the indulgence of the public, something of this sort is necessary. But, as this is my first infliction of the kind, I hardly think an apology is required. In fact, were I put to it, I doubt if I could discover any adequate excuse for my presumption. So I shall leave the reader to find all the fault, instead of doing it for him, under the guise of an apologia.

A statement, however, of the reasons which prompted me to undertake the journey of which this book is a record, and an introduction to my travelling com- panions, are the reader’s due; so I shall now proceed to accomplish that task.

A year or so ago I brought under the notice of the public a party of Earthmen from the Kalahari. These people were accompanied by an old half-breed hunter, Kert by name, who, having acquired a smattering of their language, which bears a strong resemblance to that of the Bushmen, acted as interpreter.

Kert’s account of the grass-covered plains and