DECIDE TO LEAVE THE CHOBE 155 
the west, it would be nothing unusual to connect the known 
points by dotted lines, from information as to the river’s course 
given by the natives; and then to cross over the desert to 
the Okovanga from here. By following this less-known river 
to its sources, we hoped to gain information of more interest 
and value than by simply continuing along the Chobe. To 
carry out this idea we intended to follow the Liana to its water¬ 
shed and then make our way as best we could to Debabe, the 
king of the Okovanga. 
Westbeech had advised us to make for Debabes in case 
of difficulty, and assured us of a good reception at the hands 
of this king, who bore a wide-spread reputation for friendliness 
amongst the natives, although he knew of no white men who 
had actually visited him. 
While the skerm was being built, our boys, seeing from the 
preparations in progress that we suspected the natives, began 
to clean up their spears, and generally put on an air of 
cheerful compliance with our arrangements that gave us great 
satisfaction. They also felt things were not right, but so far 
realised that we only had a mob of red men to deal with, 
whom a few well-directed shots would soon bring to an 
understanding of their position. At dusk the ever constant 
whippoorwill or goatsucker, caprimulgus capensis, called out 
his plaintive eight-syllabled note, while flitting with noiseless 
wing about our camp in chase of moths. To this bird is 
attached the stigma of theft by sucking the milk from goats 
at night, even amongst the natives of the interior; a fact leading 
one almost to believe the fable circulating against this bird’s 
honourable character amongst the people of the Cape, but as 
far as I know never actually proved. The excessively wide 
opening beak, capable of accommodating a goat’s teat, is perhaps 
the only recorded evidence that supports the groundless charge 
against the honesty of this maligned bird. 
Hammar and I discussed a wild weird shriek we heard when 
near the river at dusk, not unlike a horse neighing in the 
distance; but could never attribute it to any known cause. 
