THE GREAT THIRST LAND. IOI 



Luck and three native " boys." Fortunately his 

 waggon was, although roomy, very light it having 

 been built to my order and design in the Cape 

 and fourteen oxen in fine condition took it easily 



through the heaviest sand. D also took one 



horse, and a shower or two having lately fallen, 

 he started in great spirits, and we agreed to meet 

 on the Botletle at a kraal called Sibitan, where, 

 while waiting for me, he would have any amount 

 of hunting, as he was now quite strong, thanks 

 to the effects of the desert air. 



For my part, being a poor man, I did not feel 

 justified in risking the loss of my nags, two waggon 

 horses, draught cattle, and outfit, and so jogged 

 along on the well-marked hunting track, eventually 

 reaching the Botletle without loss, but not without 

 a severe struggle, occasioned by the distances 

 between the waters and heavy sand. All along 

 the course of the river towards Sibitan elephants 

 were very numerous, and as no other hunters had 

 yet come up, they were unusually easy of approach 

 although the jungle was in places 'extremely 

 difficult for a horseman to get through. 



Having at length reached the rendezvous, and 

 en route loaded my waggons with ivory, I waited 



