SAND-WELLS IN THE DESERT. 365 



rcptiles ; and, in some places, the wallowing of elephants and 

 rhinoceroses had converted it into a substance not unlike a 

 mass of well-kneaded dough, heaving with insect life, and 

 tinted and variegated by the stains of larger animals. Yet 

 we drank, or rather gulped it with avidity ! 



We encountered also a vast number of " sand- wells," vary- 

 ing from one to three fathoms in depth, with an average di- 

 ameter at the top of twenty feet. The construction of these 

 pits indicated great perseverance and skill, and had evidently 

 been formed by a pastoral people possessed of large herds of 

 cattle. No European would have ever dreamed of looking 

 for water in such localities, since it usually lay ten feet below 

 the surface of the ground, which gave no indication whatever 

 of its presence. Not having been used or kept in repair for 

 many a long year, several were partially filled with sand, 

 but the greater portions were still in tolerable order. They 

 contained no standing water, but plenty of moisture ; and, 

 by inserting a reed — the plan adopted by the Bushmen when 

 the liquid will not flow — enough to quench a person's thirst 

 was generally obtained. Elephants had been at work in 

 many, but were clearly disappointed. 



About sunset we came to a large vley where a troop of 

 elephants had evidently only a short time previously been 

 enjoying themselves. This circumstance put my men on the 

 qui vive ; and my Griqua interpreter, who was one of the 

 most chicken-hearted of beings, took good care to magnify 

 the danger of encountering these animals at night. He de- 

 clared that it was absolutely necessary to come to a halt; 

 but this did not suit my purpose at all. I assured my men 

 that elephants, if left unmolested, were very timid and civil 

 beasts, and that, no doubt, if we met them and only gave 

 them room to pass, they would in all probability treat us 

 with equal courtesy. This having in some degree quieted 

 their apprehensions, we proceeded till about nine o'clock, 

 when we unloaded the tired oxen and camped for the night. 



