Sharing this knowledge and love of the wilds is a little known tribe called Vadoma (singular - Mudoma) found in the Urungwe and Sipolilo districts. They prefer to stay in the rugged fastness of the Zambesi escarpment living off the land and fleeing at the sight of any intruder. The present government is trying its best to assimilate them into civilised society by providing schools and clinics but they have yet to be convinced that they are to their advantage. Some of the Vadoma have a most unusual deformity of the feet and from this comes the tale of a "two-toed tribe". There is no truth in this as only a few (usually related) individuals suffer from this genetic inheritance, which has deprived them of the middle three toes leaving a foot looking more like that of an ostrich than that of a human. The deformity does not handicap them in any way, and it is said that it assists them in climbing trees.
When I was in Kariba in May 1961 the disappearance was reported from a farm south of Miami of Elesi, aged ten, the daugter of the foreman. Despite extensive search by police and others, she was not found. A wandering Mudoma worker named Soloman disappeared at the same time.
The matter was then forgotten, until on 17th January 1962 a messenger from the Native Commissioner Sipolilo arrived in Karoi with the child and this strange story emerged:
"My name is Elesi. My mother died in May 1961 and my father left me to care for the small baby. I used to go to the farm house each day to collect milk for the baby. One day I came back and found all my clothing missing. No one knew where it had gone, and we could not find it anywhere.
"Since my mother died, I used to do the cooking for my father and Solomon, a Mudoma who used to eat for us. The day after my clothes has disappeared at lunchtime, when we were in the hut together, I went into the bush to relieve nature. I was surprised to see Solomon there, coming from another direction. He must have run round to intercept me.
"He then produced a knife and said that if I made any noise he would kill me. Then he told me to walk in front of him. After a little while, we came to where he had hidden my clothing in the bush. He told me to pick it up and walk. We walked all that day and all that night and only the next morning at dawn did we rest for a little while. We then gathered roots (manyenya) and cooked them. Some we ate, the rest we carried with us.
"After eating we walked all that day, but slept that night. Late the third day, we arrived at a place near the Mukanga River in Sipolilo District. All the time, we had walked through the bush, not following any paths.
"There was a small hill rising out of thick jesse bush, with a little stream and against a small cave at the base of the hill, Solomon erected a shelter of branches. There he and I lived for nine months. During that time I did not see another human being. I could not run away as I would have been lost at once, and I was frightened of the wild animals. Solomon made me his wife although I am only ten years old. I used to cook for him during the day and share his one blanket at night.
"Every day he used to take two spears and go hunting. He had no traps, snares, dogs or arrows. He used to stalk animals and spear them. During that time I lived with him, he killed four bushbucks, two duikers, one warthog and one antbear. When he had killed, he used to take some of the meat to the nearest kraal and barter it for meal. When there was no meat, we lived on roots and honey. He used to eat caterpillars, but I did not eat them. I was made to stay at home when he went hunting but he used to take me out collecting roots.
"One day when we were digging for roots, a tuskless elephant approached us. Solomon shouted at it to scare it, but it charged. We both ran away but I tripped and fell. I turned around and saw the elephant looming over me. It stopped, looked at me, and then walked away. Mwari (God) was looking after me that day.
"Another day we saw a rhinoceros in the bush. We crept away silently and it did not see us. On four occasions I saw lions drinking at the stream near our shelter. Once I saw a leopard. I just used to hide myself until they had gone. Once, Solomon was away all night. The lions roared close by and I was very frightened.
"I learned to make a fire by rubbing a hard stick between my palms into a soft one. I cooked in a metal saucepan that Solomon had brought with him. He used to beat me sometimes when I asked him when he would take me back to my father. He was also very angry when I said I did not like to be left alone when he went hunting.
"One day he found the remains of a kudu that had recently been killed by a leopard. He wanted to take the meat to the kraal to trade for meal, and as there was so much, he told me to help him. So I went with him. He had told me not to talk to anyone, otherwise he would kill me. But at the kraal one man spoke to me and said he recognised me, as he had once worked on the same farm as my father. I at once asked him for protection, and told him my story. Solomon was arrested by the kraal-head and bound with rope, and we were taken to Chief Chisunga.
"The chief sent us into Sipolilo with two of his messengers. They had handcuffed Solomon. On the way he pleaded with them to release him, and gave his word that he would not escape. They released him, and he travelled free the whole day with us.
"That night, they did not secure him , and the next morning he was gone. I was taken to Sipolilo and then sent home.
"Solomon is older than my father. He has a wife in Chisunga's area but never went to visit her when I was a prisoner."