52 LODGES IN THE WILDERNESS 



a sjambok for use when his servants disobeyed 

 him. .Westward of Gamoep, Andries as a rule 

 did what I told him to, but in the desert he was 

 an autocrat, and a severe one. I believe that in 

 Bushmanland he would have sjamboked me had 

 there been no other way of enforcing his will. 



Andries distrusted my desert craft, making 

 no allowance for that " sense of direction ' l 

 which strenuous wanderings of early years in 

 waste places had developed in me. However, 

 hunting in the desert was undoubtedly fraught 

 with danger. Under certain atmospheric con- 

 ditions, if one had suddenly to put forth exer- 

 tion sufficient to induce perspiration, the pores 

 refused to close, and moisture was drawn out 

 of the system at such a rate that to drink 

 presently or die was the alternative. 



The Bushmanland desert has taken a heavy 

 toll of thirst-victims. Close to Agenhuis I was 

 shewn a little bush under which a strong young 

 fellow — the son of a man I knew well, — laid 

 himself down and perished miserably within a 

 mile of his camp. The people at Agenhuis 

 saw him coming on, walking slowly. He 

 turned out of the track and sank under a bush ; 

 those who watched him thought he had paused 

 to take a rest. Wondering why he delayed so 

 long, his friends strolled over to where he lay. 



