and such immeasurable possibilities—to the wisdom, foresight, and strength of purpose of Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the present Premier of the Cape Colony, is, I think, fully recognised in this country. The knowledge that many years of travel as a hunter and collector of natural history specimens had given me of the topographical features of the country, enabled me to play my part in the actual occupation of Mashunaland, and that I may yet live to see that far-off country, endeared to me by so many stirring reminiscences, grow and increase in prosperity until it has become a rich and prosperous portion of the British Empire, is my most earnest desire.
Some chapters of this book have already appeared in print in the shape of articles to the Field newspaper, and I have to thank the editor of that publication for his kindness in allowing me to reprint them here. My best thanks are also due to Messrs. Armour, Lodge, Whymper, and Wolf, for the care and trouble they have bestowed on the drawings depicting hunting scenes and phases of native life, with which the book is illustrated. The representations of hunting scenes and other incidents of adventure were all drawn from my own oral descriptions, and much care has been bestowed upon them. I am indebted to the kindness of the President and Council of the Royal Geographical Society for the map at the end of the book, which I hope will enable my readers to follow my routes; and also for some of the plates representing scenes on the Zambesi and in Mashunaland, which were originally produced by the Society to illustrate a paper written by myself, entitled "Twenty Years in Zambesi," which appeared in the
