60 TJOBIS FOUNTAIN SINGULAR OMELET. 



As there was no water where we had " outspanned," we 

 were obliged toward evening to continue our journey ; and 

 when we arrived at " Tjobis Fountain," situated in the bed 

 of the Tjobis River, it was ah^eady dark. 



Here we were at once visited by several Hill-Damaras, of 

 whom more hereafter. On finding that a giraffe had been 

 killed and that they were at liberty to take what flesh we 

 had left, their joy knew no bounds, and some of them actu- 

 ally returned that same night to the carcass. These men 

 kindly brought us some sweet gum, a kind of coarse stir- 

 about made from the seeds of a species of grass, and a few 

 ostrich eggs. 



Our cook soon made us an excellent omelet from one of 

 the last, and that by a very simple process. A hole is made 

 at one end of the egg, through which is introduced some 

 salt, pepper, &c. The egg is then well shaken, so as thor- 

 oughly to mix the white, the yolk, and the several ingre- 

 dients mentioned. It is then placed in the hot ashes, where 

 it is baked to perfection. An egg thus prepared, although 

 supposed to contain as much as twenty -four of the common 

 fowl egg, is not considered too much for a single hungry in- 

 dividual ! 



We remained nearly two days at "Tjobis Fountain,'* 

 which gave our animals time to recover a little from their 

 late exhaustion ; but as it was reported to be another favor- 

 ite resort of lions, and recollecting that we had lately been 

 taught a severe lesson, we took the precaution — as may well 

 be imagined — to secure the horse and the mules during the 

 night. Many zebras came off in the dark to drink, but al- 

 ways absented themselves during the day, and the heat was 

 too intense and harassing for pursuing them at a distance. 



The soil continued sandy as before, but the vegetation 

 had, notwithstanding, vastly improved ; for, instead of naked 

 and desolate plains, the ground was now covered with a pro- 

 fusion of thin grass, dwarfish shrubs, isolated aloes, and one 



