THE LION. 
231 
heard, and a train, consisting of two or three 
immense wagons drawn by long teams of 
oxen, a small herd of cattle, and perhaps 
two or three horsemen, come slowly into 
sight round the corner of a projecting rock. 
It is the caravan of some enterprising 
man who is taking out goods to trade with 
the natives for ivory, gems and skins, in¬ 
tending at the same time to lay down the 
course of rivers and determine the latitude 
and longitude of mountains, rivers and lakes. 
A fitting place selected, the camp is soon 
made. * There are no tents to be pitched; 
for the white men will sleep in their wagons, 
and the natives who accompany them care 
nothing for shelter. Great fires are made, 
the cattle and horses unyoked, watered and 
carefully secured: a springbok or eland has 
been shot in the course of the afternoon, 
and there is fresh meat enough to satisfy 
the appetites even of the Hottentots, whose 
stomachs, according to their own proverb, 
have no bottoms. The naturalist of the 
party is on the alert, feasting his eyes upon 
the sight of so many beautiful and novel 
forms, at the same time not omitting to 
examine carefully the ground and the trunks 
