EN ROUTE 21 



for help at the same time. His cries roused the 

 camp, and the soldiers rushing out frightened the 

 lion sufficiently to make him drop his prey and 

 disappear. But the following night this same 

 bold customer stalked to camp again, only to be 

 shot when about to seize one of the horses. The 

 trooper whom the lion had seized was badly hurt, 

 but eventually recovered in the hospital at 

 Windhuk. The skull was plainly that of a 

 very old lion, all the big teeth being worn down 

 to almost blunt stumps. In this case it must 

 have been old age and hunger that made him so 

 daring. 



In Windhuk the habit of closing all shops and 

 suspending all business from 12 to 3 is remarkable. 

 It may perhaps be a sensible and comfortable 

 arrangement, especially as the weather is decidedly 

 hot in the summer months ; but to an Australian 

 this establishment of the siesta is somewhat 

 startling. 



From Windhuk another four days in the train 

 through the changing country brought us to 

 Grootfontein, the terminus of the Northern Rail- 

 way. Here, while the grasses, though very dry 

 and bleached, still looked sweet and good for 

 cattle, there was absolutely no surface water to 

 be seen. This northern country of German South- 

 West — and indeed the whole colony — seemed 

 essentially a pastoral rather than a farming 

 country ; the total rainfall might be sufficiently 

 heavy if it were spread evenly over the year, but, 



