388 WATER DISCOVERED A GLORIOUS NIGHT. 



safety of the cattle, which began to show symptoms of dis- 

 tress. Mounting my horse, and guided by two active Bush- 

 men, I rode briskly in the direction of the Lake, giving or- 

 ders to my men to continue their exertions during the remain- 

 der of the day ; but, should they not succeed in obtaining a 

 sufficiency of drink for the cattle by the next morning, they 

 were to follow on my tracks. 



I had ridden long. The sun had already sunk below the 

 tree-tops, and yet no water. The Bushmen, however, gave 

 me to understand by signs that it was not far off, and the 

 number of wild-beast-tracks gave weight to their assertion. 

 At last the noisy chattering of Guinea-fowls, the cooing of 

 doves, and the screams of paroquets broke on my ear, and 

 indicated a more favorable vicinity. Putting spurs to my 

 liorse, I struck into a large " game-path," and just as the sun 

 was sinking below the horizon I came alongside a large sheet 

 of clear water. I felt truly thankful, and only wanted my 

 own people and cattle to complete my happiness. This place, 

 according to my interpreter, was called Abeghan. 



At dark I tied up my horse some little distance from the 

 water, cut him an ample supply of grass with my hunting- 

 knife, and, having struck a light for the Bushmen, and given 

 them, as a reward for their services, the piece of flesh we 

 carried with us, I shouldered my rifle, and proceeded to the 

 fountain with a view of procuring something for the larder. 

 It was a glorious night. The sky was dark, but studded 

 with innumerable twinkling stars reflected in the watery 

 mirror below. For some fifty paces the locality was tol- 

 erably free from bushes, and on one side the prospect ex- 

 tended nearly a quarter of a mile through an avenue lined 

 on either side with noble Damara " parent trees." Else- 

 where the darkness was impenetrable. Silence, like that 

 of the sepulchre, reigned in this remote solitude, relieved 

 at long intervals by the hyasna and the jackal lapping the 

 water, and the distant grunting of the rhinoceros. The 



