CHAPTER VI 



THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT THIRST 



Most people are aware that the Kalahari is 

 commonly called " The Great Thirst Land." 

 But in the midst of the comforts and blessings 

 of civilisation there must be few indeed who 

 fully realise the true meaning of this term, or 

 the perils of a country which, although close up 

 to our border, and part of which comes under 

 the jurisdiction of the Union, is less known than 

 the forests of Aruwimi or the mountains of the 

 moon. It is not, however, of the heart of the 

 Kalahari that I wish now to speak, but merely 

 of that southern portion which overflows into 

 the district of Gordonia. This particular spot 

 is the most arid portion of the whole desert, 

 since northwards the rainfall slowly increases 

 until you gain the green rushes of Lake Ngami. 

 Travel anywhere you like throughout the vast 

 territory of Gordonia, and you will always hear 

 the same heart-rending tale. Every summer 

 some death from thirst — every winter the 

 sudden sinking of some poor woman crying for 

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