CHAP, v.] DOUBTS ABOUT OUR ROUTE. 167 



hither in search of food. We saw a very large heron, 

 or crane, an immense creatm-e, and Andersson shot 

 him. The guides sauntered about two miles behind 

 the waggons, and the Damaras were become very slack 

 and careless : one of them, Kahoni, was impertinent, 

 and refused to answer me, or to do what he was told, 

 so I had him down on the ground very quickly ; but 

 this time I did not whip liim, because he became 

 penitent and communicative. 



We came to a halt at a vley, where the water-course 

 led northerly, and the thickest of thorn-bushes penned 

 us in elsewhere. The guides wanted us to go due 

 south, and strike upon the Omaramba river-bed. It 

 was on the upjjer part of this river-bed that Omagun- 

 de's son lay ; but the point where we now should strike 

 it would be far out of his reach. This Omoramba ran 

 into or out of Omanbonde, — I had never been able to 

 make out which — and there never was a want of well- 

 water along it. We held a council on our plans ; but 

 the thorns were so thick to the southward, and the 

 distance we had to go so uncertain, — it might be one 

 day, it might be five, — that I abandoned the idea of 

 attempting it. I thought the water-course we were on 

 must be a tributary of the Omoramba, and determined 

 to follow it, especially as its direction was straight 

 towards our point. We were losing sight of all land- 

 marks ; nothing was to be seen but a wide undulating 

 plain, black with dense thorn-bushes ; to the west was 

 Ja Kabaca, and by its side commenced the long range 

 of Omuvereoom, high and escarped at first, but fining 

 down by slow degrees towards the level of the plain. 



