Chap. IY. NCHOKOTSA — SALT-PANS. 77 



attempts to visit liim, lie despatched three detachments of his 

 nien with thirteen brown cows to Lechulatebe, thirteen white 

 cows to Sekomi, and thirteen black cows to Sechele, with a 

 request to each to assist the white men to reach him. Their 

 policy, however, was to keep him out of view, and act as his 

 agents in purchasing with Ins ivory the goods he wanted. This 

 is thoroughly African ; and that continent being without friths 

 and arms of the sea, the tribes in the centre have always been 

 debarred from European intercourse, by its universal prevalence 

 among all the people around the coasts. 



Before setting out on our third journey to Sebituane, it was 

 necessary to visit Kurunian ; and Sechele, eager, for the sake of 

 the commission thereon, to get the ivory of that chief into his 

 own hands, allowed all the messengers to leave before our return. 

 Sekomi, however, was more than usually gracious, and even 

 finished us with a guide, but no one knew the path beyond 

 Nehokotsa, which we intended to follow. When we reached that 

 point, we found that the main spring of the gun of another of his 

 men, who was well acquainted with the Bushmen, through whose 

 country we should pass, had opportunely broken. I never under- 

 took to mend a gun with greater zest than this ; for, under a 

 promise of his guidance, we went to the north instead of westward. 

 All the other guides were most liberally rewarded by Mr. 

 Oswell. 



We passed quickly over a hard country, which is perfectly flat. 

 A little soil lying on calcareous tufa, over a tract of several 

 hundreds of miles, supports a vegetation of fine sweet short grass, 

 and mopane and baobab trees. On several parts of this we found 

 large salt-pans, one of which, Ntwetwe, is fifteen miles broad, and 

 one hundred long. The latitude might have been taken on its 

 horizon as well as upon the sea. 



Although these curious spots seem perfectly level, all those in 

 this direction have a gentle slope to the north-east : thither the 

 rain-water, which sometimes covers them, gently gravitates. 

 This, it may be recollected, is the direction of the Zouga. The 

 salt dissolved in the water has by this means all been transferred 

 to one pan in that direction, named Chuantsa ; on it we see a 

 cake of salt and lime an inch and a half thick. All the others 

 have an efflorescence of lime and one of the nitrates only, and 



