86 THE OVAMPO. [chap. m. 



name of the lake was Omanbonde. Its direction was 

 somewhere between north and east. This was just 

 what I wanted — a point to aim at, something to 

 search for and explore. It seemed so very absurd to 

 bring a quantity of men and oxen, and charge the 

 scarcely penetrable halds thorns which hemmed us in 

 on every side, without something definite to go after. 

 The name was pretty ; the idea of a lake in this dusty 

 sim-dried land was most refreshing, and, according to 

 my temperament, I became immediately sanguine and 

 determined to visit it. 



A nation called the Ovampo were said to live in 

 that direction, a very interesting agricultural people, 

 who, according to Damara ideas, were most higlily 

 civilised. I wished much to go to them ; they were the 

 only people worth visiting that I could hear of ; but I 

 could find out very Httle regarding them. These 

 savages were as ignorant of the country two days' 

 journey off as an English labourer usually is. My 

 friend, who told me of Omanbonde, told me also that I 

 could get to the Ovampo by way of that lake, and he 

 told me much more. He mentioned most particularly 

 a remarkable nation, who were deficient in joints both 

 at the elbow and knees. They were therefore unable 

 to lift anything to their mouths by themselves ; but 

 when they dined, they did so iii pairs, each man feeding 

 his vis-d-vis. 



We had, after a long drought, a most terrific thimder- 

 storm : the lightning flashed so continuously that I 

 could read a newspaper by its light without stopping, 

 my eye taking in enough words by one flash to enable 



