204 THE RIVER CUNENE. 



CHAPTER XYII. 



The Eiver Cunene. — The Travelers are Prisoners at large. — Kingly 

 Revenge. — Kingly Liberality. — Depart from Ondonga. — Sufferings 

 and Consequences resulting from Cold. — Return to Okamabuti. — 

 Damara Women murdered by Bushmen. — Preparations for Jour- 

 ney. — Obtain Guides. — Depart from Tjopopa'sWerft. — Game abun- 

 dant. — Author and three Lions stalk Antelopes in Company. — Ex- 

 traordinary Visitation. — The Rhinoceros's Guardian Angel. — The 

 Textor Erythrorhynchus. — The Amadina Squamifrons; singular 

 Construction of its Nest. — Return to Barmen. 



Many years previously to our visit to the Ovambo, a- 

 French frigate discovered the embouchure of a magnificent 

 river known as Cunene, between the seventeenth and eight- 

 eenth degrees of south latitude. Other vessels were sent out 

 to explore it, and to ascertain its course, &c., but, strange to 

 say, they searched for it in vain !* 



The discoverers could not, however, have been mistaken ; 

 and as we now a23proached the latitudes in question, we 

 made inquiries, and soon found that only four days' travel 

 north of Ondonga there existed a river of great size, which 

 we doubted not was identical with Cunene ; and farther in- 

 quiry fully corroborated this supposition. A runaway slave 

 from Benguela, who was Uving at the time among the Ovam- 

 bo, informed us that in its upper course (or rather another 

 branch) this river is called Mukuru Mukovanja, but that in 

 its lower course it is designated Cunene. Moreover, that, 

 though of very considerable size, and containing a large vol- 

 ume of water, it does not always find its way directly into 

 the sea. He declared the cause of this to be the formation 



* Captain Messum, master of a merchant vessel, subsequently in- 

 formed me that he has seen it. 



