282 ♦ EEMAKKS ON MY ROUTE. [chap. ix. 



covered with trees, but by no means so thicldy as to 

 impede the progress of a waggon. 



In fact, if a person wanted to go from Walfisch 

 Bay to the lake, he would have an excellent waggon 

 road after he had left Eikhams (Jonker's place), one 

 day behind him. He should follow the Quieep River 

 as far as it goes eastwards, and then make a straight 

 course for Kurri-koop, taking the chance of vley water 

 by the road ; from Kurri-koop, through Elephant's 

 Fountain to 'Twas, all is excellent ; thence he should 

 follow the foot of the ridge and not the top of it, as 

 we had done, sending the oxen to water up the gorges. 

 In the twenty-one hours' journey to 'Tounobis, three 

 or four large vleys are passed, in which water would 

 lie for many months. From there onwards I should 

 have no fear whatever in the rainy season, even if the 

 Bushmen refused to guide me, because the character 

 of the country is adapted for holding water ; but from 

 Damara-land to the Ovampo no person could think 

 of travelling without guides, unless there was a recent 

 track to follow. If he once strayed from the path 

 he would be hopelessly involved in the thorn thicket. 



I fancy that the Bushmen spoke truth about the 

 want of water ahead, as the droves of animals who 

 had congregated in the neighbom-hood of 'Tounobis 

 continued drinking every night, the repeated firing 

 being insufficient to drive them away ; it seemed as 

 though they had no other neighbouring watering-place 

 to go to. 



As the Bushmen learnt to understand our Hottentot 

 a little better, we had some long talks about the 



