38 THE NARAS QUADRUPEDS SCARCE. 



It is in such instances, more especially, that the mind be- 

 comes powerfully impressed with the wise provisions of na- 

 ture, and the great goodness of the Almighty, who even 

 from the desert raises good and wholesome sustenance for 

 man and all his creatures. 



"By his bounteous hand, 

 God covers earth with food for man and beast, 

 Insect and bird ; yea, the poor creeping worm 

 Partakes the Creator's bounty." 



In this barren and poverty-stricken country, food is so 

 scarce that, without the naras, the land would be all but un- 

 inhabitable. The naras serves, moreover, a double purpose ; 

 for, besides its usefulness as food, it fixes with wonderful te- 

 nacity, by means of extensive ramifications, the constantly 

 shifting sands ; it is, indeed, to those parts what the sand- 

 reed {cimmopMla arundinacia) is to the sandy shores and 

 downs of England. 



The naras only grows in the bed of the Kuisip River, in 

 the neighborhood of the sea. A few plants are to be met 

 with at the mouth of the Orange River, as also, according 

 to Captain Messum, in a few localities between the Swakop 

 and the Nourse River. 



The general aspect of the country about Sand Fountain is 

 very dreary and desolate. The soil is entirely composed of 

 sand. The vegetation, moreover, is stunted in the extreme, 

 consisting chiefly of the above-mentioned creeper, a species 

 of tamarisk tree (or rather bush), and a few dew-plants. 

 Consequently, the animal world, as might be expected, did 

 not present any great variety. Nevertheless, being an en- 

 thusiastic sportsman, and devoted to the study of natural his- 

 tory, I made frequent short excursions into the neighborhood, 

 on which occasions my spoils consisted for the most part of 

 some exquisitely beautiful lizards, a few long-legged beetles, 

 and some pretty species of field-mice. Once in a time, more- 

 over, I viewed a solitary gazelle in the distance. 



