THE MIRAGE. f 53 



at the same instant, I felt a little chagrined that he had, 

 unintentionally, got the first glance. We had no idea 

 that the long-looked-for lake was still more than three 

 hundred miles distant. One reason of our mistake was, 

 that the river Zouga was often spoken of by the same 

 name as the lake, viz. Noka ea Batletli (" river of the 

 Batletli "). 



The mirage on these salinas was marvellous. It is 

 never, I believe, seen in perfection, except over such 

 saline incrustations. Here not a particle of imagination 

 was necessary for realizing the exact picture of large 

 collections of water ; the waves danced along above, 

 and the shadows of the trees were vividly reflected beneath 

 the surface in such an admirable manner, that the loose 

 cattle, whose thirst had not been slaked sufficiently by 

 the very brackish water of Nchokotsa, with the horses, 

 dogs, and even the Hottentots, ran off towards the deceit- 

 ful pools. A herd of zebras in the mirage looked so 

 exactly like elephants, that Oswell began to saddle a horse 

 in order to hunt them ; but a sort of break in the haze 

 dispelled the illusion. Looking to the west and north- 

 west from Nchokotsa, we could see columns of black 

 smoke, exactly like those from a steam-engine, rising 

 to the clouds, and were assured that these arose from the 

 burning reeds of the Noka ea Batletli. 



On the 4th of July we went forward on horseback 

 towards what we supposed to be the lake, and again and 

 again did we seem to see it ; but at last we came to the 

 veritable water of the Zouga, and found it to be a river 

 running to the N.E. A village of Bakurutse lay on the 

 opposite bank ; these live among Batletli, a tribe having 

 a click in their language, and who were found by Sebituane 

 to possess large herds of the great horned cattle. They 

 seem allied to the Hottentot family. Mr. Oswell, in trying 

 to cross the river, got his horse bogged in the swampy 

 bank. Two Bakwains and I managed to get over by 

 wading beside a fishing-weir. The people were friendly, 

 and informed us that this water came out of the Ngami. 

 This news gladdened all our hearts, for we now felt certain 

 of reaching our goal. We might, they said, be a moon 

 on the way ; but we had the river Zouga at our feet, and 

 by following it we should at last reach the broad water. 



Next day, when we were quite disposed to be friendly 

 with every one, two of the Bamangwato, who had been 



