142 THE OMATAKO MOUNTAINS ZEBRA-FLESH. 



landscape than when these tivo "Teneriflfes" first broke upon 



my view. 



" Then felt I like some watcher of the skies, 

 "When a new planet swims into his ken." 



We must have been fifty or sixty miles from these conical 

 mountains, yet there they were as distinct as if we had stood 

 at their base. The immense distance at which objects can 

 be seen in these regions, in a clear atmosphere, is truly mar- 

 velous. 



With the exception of a single kraal of impoverished Da- 

 maras, we found no inhabitants. On leaving Schmelen's 

 Hope, we had been led to suppose that we should meet with 

 several werfts of wealthy natives, from whom we might ob- 

 tain, in barter, an unlimited number of cattle. We foolish- 

 ly enough trusted to this chance, and started with only one 

 day's provision. G-ame, it is true, we found very abundant ; 

 but the animals were very wild, and I was pressed for time, 

 and could not give chase to them. One evening I fired at 

 a zebra, but, not distinguishing the peculiar sound of the 

 ball when striking the animal (a power of ear acquired by 

 much practice), I supposed I had missed it, and, therefore, 

 did not follow its tracks. On passing, however, nearly by 

 the same place next evening, we found that the animal had 

 been killed, and, excepting the head and part of the neck, was 

 devoured by vultures. The conical ball I used on the occa- 

 sion was found loose in the inside of the skeleton. Notwith- 

 standing the defiled state of what was left of the carcass, we 

 hailed it as a perfect god-send. For the two previous days 

 we had been living on zebra-flesh in a state of decay, which 

 our Damaras had accidentally picked up. Indeed, our guides 

 had absconded from want of food. 



One evening, when very much fatigued from the day's 

 march, and sufiering cruelly from thirst, our native servants, 

 by way of consolation, entertained us with the following in- 

 teresting account of their countrymen. 



