The Conquest of the Desert 



Blaauwbosch — so called from a tree which is 

 widely distributed over this desert country. It 

 grows on the summit of the hottest sand-dunes. 

 Here I took a photograph of a curious granite 

 rock, which we named " The Little Sphinx." 

 Then we returned to the Cape cart to enjoy a 

 savoury desert stew for which the captain is 

 justly renowned to the uttermost parts of the 

 Kalahari. 



Starting once more, we passed Grond News, 

 and noted a well-marked and verdant aar. 1 

 At 2.45 p.m. we outspanned for half-an-hour to 

 give the mules a bite of bush and a mouthful of 

 grass. It was a pleasure to see them all rolling 

 so gratefully in the sand. A prosperous farmer 

 (Dirk Coetzee) owns this property, and we were 

 gladdened by the sight of two orange-trees 

 planted beside the house. What a marvellous 

 transformation tree-planting would effect in 

 this desolate region ! An hour later we reached 

 Koegoe Koep, which contains the best water in 

 the district. The meaning of this word is the 

 " Place of the Big Trees." Here we found a dry 

 tributary running into the still drier Molopo. 

 It seems strange that no word has been invented 

 to define a dry river. It was here that we had 

 1 Vein of underground water. 

 28 



