262 TKOUBLE OF TAKING OBSERVATIONS, [chap. ix. 



lations to witliin eleven hours of Elephant Fountain, 

 and, indeed, with a slight gap, to Elephant Fountain 

 itself; but here it seemed that they must cease, so I 

 took a great number of lunars, to fix as accui-ately as 

 I could the position of the place. I had done the same 

 at Okamabuti, which was the northern limit, or near to 

 it, of my network of triangles ; that of Walfisch Bay was 

 given by Captain Owen's survey, and I had taken many 

 sets at Barmen, as a check vL])on the whole. These were 

 all observed with a large sextant, for which I had con- 

 trived a stand; but in travelling on ox-back I was obliged 

 to leave this behind, as being much too cumbrous to 

 carry, and packed a small but excellent circle among 

 plenty of stockings, &c., in a fishing-basket, which I 

 made a man strap on his back. With this circle I had 

 already taken sets for longitude at Ondonga, and I 

 proposed now doing the same at the most eastern 

 point I should arrive at, filling up the intermediate 

 places by a careful dead reckoning, checked by lati- 

 tudes. I had so few subjects of interest in the journey, 

 that taking sets of observations, which would be a 

 great nmsance to a person under any other circum- 

 stances, was to me a source of occupation and a great 

 pleasure, and I slaved at it. It requii-es some care 

 to "pit" one observation against another, so as to 

 ehminate the error of a doubtful instrument. 



The packing and uni^acking is troublesome, and an 

 instrument cannot be left for a moment unguarded, or 

 the goats will butt at it, the sheep and dogs run over it, 

 or the oxen brush against it; and it is cold work, 

 having to leave the fire, that its glare may be avoided, 



