CHAP. II.] SEND FOR HANS. 57 



missionary station Otjimbingue, in which a man of the 

 name of Hans Larsen was now encamped (lie who had 

 been to Erongo), of whom I had heard very much, and 

 whom I had been most strongly urged by Mr. Bam to 

 engage in my service, if I could do so, as he was 

 excellently qualified to take charge of my expedition. 

 My own waggon-men were very thoughtless and 

 careless in their duty, and wanted strict overseering. 

 Hans had been in the service of two cattle-dealers, 

 who successively had ruined themselves hj their specu- 

 lations. He had received paj^ment of his wages partly 

 in goods and partly in cattle, and was now living about 

 the country an mdependent man, shooting, enjoying 

 the possession of his cattle, and doing odd jobs for the 

 missionaries. He intended to drive his stock down to 

 Cape Town as soon as the rains had set in, and to 

 make what money he could by them. Hans had 

 originally been a sailor, but begged to leave a ship 

 that he had become disgusted with, and was allowed to 

 do so at Walfisch Bay, where he entered into the 

 service of the traders I mentioned above. Having 

 been seven years living about the Swakop, he had had 

 very many adventures there ; and as it appeared 

 subsequently, had utterly shot off all the game in it. 

 As it was very doubtful if the mules could struggle on 

 much further, we determined, if they came to a stand- 

 still, to send on for Hans. 



The first day's journey from Tsobis was got through 

 pretty well, but on the second the mules and cart 

 came to a dead lock, in a broad sandy tributary of the 

 Swakop, that we had to cross. "We rode on to 



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