FAT GAME IN WATERLESS DESERTS. 319 



of constructing reservoirs for the water which falls in 

 ample abundance during the rainy season. And 

 moreover experience shows that the constant pre- 

 sence of large herds of cattle upon the ground, and 

 the ceaseless tread of their myriad hoofs, brings 

 about a sure, though gradual change in the land, by 

 causing the soil to become firm and hard, whilst fresh 

 growths of valuable grasses follow the footsteps of the 

 invading herds. * These are remarkable facts, strongly 

 confirmed by the curious circumstance that many of the 

 game animals inhabiting " the thirsts, " or waterless 

 districts, of the Kalahari, are generally found to be 

 fat, and in excellent condition, when shot. Mr. A. H. 

 Bryden, in an article in Longman's Magazine, makes 

 special mention of this fact, and states that " All the 

 game of this region thrive even to fatness: elands, 

 gemsboks, giraifes, the duiker and tiny steinbok, all 

 flourish. A giraffe shot in a quite waterless country 

 was fat, and elands shot in the very heart of the 

 'thirst-lands,' were all in magnificent condition, quite 

 equal to well-fed cattle, which in bulk and appearance 

 they somewhat resemble, true antelopes though they 

 are." f These facts are confirmed by the observations 

 of many old hunters and travellers. 



There are certain game animals, such as those just 

 mentioned, which can subsist for long periods upon 

 herbage only, provided it is juicy and succulent, or 

 even upon dry grass, if dew falls in reasonable abun- 

 dance. Now it is remarkable that it is exactly in these 



* See The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888, 

 compiled from State documents by Ernest Favenac, Sydney, 1889, 

 pp. 40 and 41. 



y Through the Kalahari Desert to the Botletli River, ft'Gamiland, 

 by A. H. Bryden, in Longman's Magazine for Sept. 1891. 



