172 CHAPUPA'S HISTORY. [chap. vi. 



many timber trees, j-et we searched for hours before we 

 could find two that were fit for our purpose — straight, 

 not too large, and not worm-eaten. These were cut 

 down at once and brought to the camp. The next day 

 found us busily engaged in strengthening the encamp- 

 ment and making it comfortable. The space between 

 the waggons was awned over, the stumps of bushes 

 rooted out of the ground, the fore part of the broken 

 waggon prized up, the wheels &c. taken away, and 

 stones built under it, and some very active days were 

 thus spent. 



Chapupa passed most of the time with us ; he had 

 been much indebted to Nangoro for assistance in some 

 Damara squabbles and fightings, and was tolerably 

 intelligent and friendly. It seemed that the Ovampo 

 carry on a cattle trade with the Damaras at this point. 

 Two Ovampo caravans, each consisting of from twenty 

 to thirty men on foot, come here wdth beads, shells, 

 assegais, wood-choppers, and such like things, which 

 they exchange for cattle. They obtain the beads and 

 some of the assegais from the half-caste Portuguese 

 traders who frequent their northern frontier. Some 

 years back the then principal Damara chief received 

 the Ovampo with great civility, and allowed them, 

 as usual, to travel about and barter as they liked ; but 

 when they had sold everything and brought a fine 

 drove of cattle together, the chief attacked and robbed 

 them. Chapupa was at that time a second-rate captain, 

 and having been himself robbed he sent to Nangoro 

 for help, which was given ; then- men joined together, 

 killed the obnoxious chief, and then divided his cattle 



