CHAP, v.] CLIMB OMUVEREOOM.— A SNAKE. 151 



deep, in which a herd of wild animals, say fifty zebras, 

 have been splashing and rolling themselves aU night, 

 and which they have left in every respect like the 

 water pumped out of a farm-yard; and where wild 

 animals are wanting, the oxen, in spite of every 

 precaution, will do the same. 



The two mountains between which we were now 

 encamped, Omuvereoom and Ja Kabaca, were said to 

 be great strongholds of Bushmen and Ghou Damup, 

 so Hans, Andersson, and I, made an expedition up 

 the first of these, to see if we could catch any, and 

 persuade or compel them to guide us. The fii'st name 

 means " a door," or " a pass ;" the second is derived 

 from a proper name. 



Since leaving Kahikene we had not seen a single 

 person beyond our own party. We rode our oxen to 

 the foot of Omuvereoom, which was about an hour and 

 a half off, and leaving them with our Damaras, went 

 up a hiU, in some parts the most rugged that I ever 

 cKmbed. We first steered for a green patch, in which 

 the telescopes had shown us water : there we found 

 deserted huts, but nothing else, neither could we see 

 any recent tracks ; but at one place, hearing what we 

 thought was a haUoo, Hans and I scampered up hill 

 after it. I was utterly blown, and had just mounted 

 up on a kind of natural step, when, while I was 

 balancing myself, I found that I had put my foot on 

 the tail of a great dark-green snake, who was up in an 

 instant, with his head as high as my chest, and con- 

 fronting me. I had, though used up with my run, just 

 sense and quickness enough left to leap over the side 



