CHAP. VI.] FIND SOME BUSHME^r. 177 



a straight cut from A to C : he has no map of the 

 country in his mind, but an infinit}^ of local details. 

 He recollects every stump or stone, and the more 

 puerile the object the more strongly does he seem to 

 recollect it. Thus, if you say ; " I intend to sleep by 

 the side of the great hill where the river-bed runs close 

 under its foot," he would never recognise the place by 

 the description, but if you said, " under the tree, a 

 little way on the other side of the place where the 

 black and white ox lowed when the red ox was in front 

 of him, and Koniati dropped his assegai," &c. &c. 

 every savage in the party would understand the exact 

 locality. The Damaras pick out their way step by step ; 

 they never dream of taking a course and keeping to it. 

 All their observations are directed to spoors, sticks and 

 stones, and they perpetually look down on the ground 

 and not round about them. 



We had, as usual, been such early risers, that plenty 

 of daylight remained, which we occupied in watching 

 the baboons and climbing about their hills. We had 

 made so zigzag a journey that I mapped out tliis 

 mountainous region very satisfactoril}-. Towards 

 evening I saw Andersson walking like a chief, with a 

 long string of Bushmen at his heels ; they had come 

 together on the hill-side, and he brought them to the 

 camp. We lavished favours of tobacco and such like 

 things upon them, showed them their faces in a looking 

 glass that I always carried with me, chiefly for that 

 purpose, and finally succeeded in persuading some of 

 the party to guide me to the next place — Otchikoto. 

 One Bushman was to remain all night as a hostage; 



I 3 



