392 THE GREAT THIRST LAND. 



and the Kaffir drank and washed and paddled in it for 

 upwards of an hour. 



To appreciate water thoroughly one has to go through 

 an ordeal like the foregoing. Such an experience of the 

 Great Thirst Land, although lasting only a few days, 

 will take years from a man's life. 



Beside this pool of water I found a young Boer out- 

 spanned. My woe-begone appearance, my exhausted 

 cattle, and last, though not least, my coverless wagon, 

 brought him to me full of feelings of sympathy. But 

 he, poor fellow, had lately suffered some buffeting ; pos- 

 sibly it made him more able to appreciate trouble endured 

 by others. To some men it might appear a trifle what 

 he had to complain of; to those who know the people 

 of the northern portion of the Transvaal who live by 

 elephant-hunting quite the reverse. 



He was en route to his favourite shooting-ground, 

 doubtless expecting to return in six months or a year 

 with ivory and ostrich -feathers enough to start him in 

 life, when yesterday in broad daylight the lions had 

 pulled down and killed his saulted horse. Without it, it 

 was useless to go forward, and if he returned he had not 

 the means of purchasing another. His trip was ruined, 

 and indefinitely he would have to wait till circumstances 

 would enable him to replace this valuable accessory to 

 his means of a subsistence. 



Possibly he had made up his mind that this was to 

 be his last expedition, and perhaps some fair-haired Boer 

 damsel was even now counting the days when her affianced 

 husband would return with wealth sufficient to stock a 

 farm and make her his bride. 



Yes, the poor fellow stalwart and manly as he was 

 could scarcely hide the tears that unbidden rose to his 



