XIX NO WATER AHEAD 407 



for the horses. Besides this, my small rifle being out 

 of order, I carried a heavy lo-bore rifle, which is not 

 at all the gun for ostrich-shooting. Miller, though 

 he had an excellent rifle, and is a rattling good shot, 

 was very badly mounted. 



On May 25, soon after sunrise, we reached the 

 pan of Cum-Kerees, which is a permanent spring 

 that never dries up, having passed the dry pan 

 of Kama-Kama about mid -day the previous day. 

 Cum-Kerees is only a few miles from Sode-Garra, a 

 permanent water on the hunting-road to the Mababe. 



May 26 th. — Rode out and shot three eland cows, 

 all of which were slightly striped. On the following 

 day we remained at Cum-Kerees and got in all the 

 eland meat. 



May i^th. — Inspanned at daybreak, and trekking 

 about eight miles eastwards, reached the fountain of 

 Sode-Garra, where we again rejoined the main hunting- 

 road to the Mababe. Though it is three weeks since 

 we left this road at the first Makalaka kraal on the 

 Botletlie, it is only five days' journey to that place 

 by the direct route across the great salt-pan. 



The Bushmen at this place all declared that the 

 country between here and the Mababe river was 

 impassable, as no rain having fdlen the previous 

 summer, there was not a drop of water along the 

 road. Never having known the untutored savage 

 to tell the truth, however, before, I thought these 

 Bushmen were lying, wishing to frighten me out of 

 prosecuting my journey. Ai-eetsee-upee also said 

 that he had never heard of the large pans between 

 Sode-Garra and the Mababe being dry at this season 

 of the year ; so, as no one likes to be thwarted in 

 any enterprise upon which he may once have entered, 

 I resolved to risk it, and trek on, but at the same 



