ourselves, though much fatigued, we took the precaution to provide security from all skulking night-prowlers. By a roaring fire, and over a hearty supper, we forgot the miseries of the day; and, in the firm anticipation of success, cheerfully resigned our weary limbs to sleep. At an early hour the next morning, we were on the move. The air being cool, we proceeded briskly. About noon some Bushmen were observed digging roots; but they only allowed us to approach within shouting distance. We managed, however, to hold some little conversation with them, and learnt that water was not far off. They warned us to proceed with caution, as the whole river-bed in advance was undermined with pit-falls. And true enough, for, before being aware of it, we found ourselves entrapped in a maze of yawning chasms, down some of which, bipeds and quadrupeds went together in the most amicable confusion. However, being partially prepared for the event, and travelling at a slow pace, we escaped with a few bruises. To prevent a recurrence of the mischief, a man or two proceeded in advance, and unmasked the remainder. They were constructed on the same principle as the one into which I had a short time previously been so unceremoniously precipitated. At two o'clock p.m., we came to a halt by a well of clear, good water. Within gun-shot of this place was a 'saltlick,' much frequented by wild animals, such as rhinoceroses, giraffes, gemsboks, koodoos, elands, gnoos, &c.; but I preferred to devote the ensuing night to rest and astronomical observations, rather than lying in ambush for game. At an after period I had some good sport in this locality; as also some spirited chases after elands, which, as well as the animals themselves, are admirably represented on the accompanying plate. But space prevents me from entering into details. 382 CHANGE COURSE. LOSS OF FLAGS. The Otjiombindè, without materially taking us out of our direct route, had thus far befriended us; but if I wished to reach the Lake, it was now out of the question any longer to follow this river, as hence it pursued too southerly a course. According to the advice of the Bushmen, therefore, we now left it to the right, and struck out in a northerly direction through an intensely dense' Wacht-een-bigtje' (thorn-jungle). After a few hours' travel, 'we packed-off' to the eastward of some dilapidated limestone pits; but though they contained water, from the depth of the cavities, and the difficulty of access to them, it occupied the men several hours to supply the wants of our small herd of cattle. The next stage -a short one-we slept without water. In the course of the following day's march we had traversed dense brakes which annoyed us excessively, for the thorns, not only tore our flesh and clothes, but subtracted several articles of value from the pack-saddles. Amongst other losses, I had to bewail that of two magnificent flagsthe British and the Swedish-which had been expressly made for, and presented to, me by my kind friend, Mr. Letterstedt, the Swedish Consul-General at the Cape, and which I hoped to have unfurled on the shores of the far-famed Ngami. All my efforts to recover these valued standards proved fruitless, some hyænas having probably swallowed the Anglo-Saxon Lion and the Swedish Cross. At dusk, after having been ten hours in the saddle, we reached a famous place called Ghanzé, where we pitched our camp. CHAPTER XXX. GHANZÉ-SPOTTED HYÆNA THE RHINOCEROS-WHERE FOUND-SEVERAL SENSES DISPOSITION AFFECTION -FLESH-HORNS-THE CHASE-MR. OSWELL'S ADVENTURES WITH GHANZÉ, according to the interpretation of my Griqua, signifies very large, and yet very small. and yet very small. Absurd as this explanation may appear, there is, nevertheless, some aptness in it. The 'very large' means that, from the moisture of the ground, there is an indication of much water, whilst the real quantity is trifling. Ghanzé is a peculiar and drearylooking place, consisting of an extensive hollow, with innumerable small stones scattered over its surface, and on one side fenced by a natural limestone wall, three to five feet in height. The whole is hemmed in with thorn-coppices, intersected by numerous foot-paths, the work of those huge creatures, the elephant and the rhinoceros, who have probably wandered here for ages in undisputed sway. Here 384 THE SPOTTED HYÆNA. and there an iron' tree, the mythological progenitor of the Damaras, stands majestically forth, shooting its wide-spreading branches high into space. Ghanzé, it would appear, has been long known to the Bechuanas and the Griquas. A party of the latter, I was told, reached it many years previously to my arrival in a despairing state, having been obliged to abandon their waggons in the Kalahari. The body of men from whom I obtained my interpreter had also visited it. It had even been frequented by Europeans. An English traveller, Moyle, crossed the desert in safety, and arrived at Ghanzé in 1852, on a trading and hunting expedition. From this place he was guided by Bushmen to Great Namaqua-land, whence he retraced his steps home. The year after this, he again crossed the desert, though under unfavourable circumstances— having, with the exception of two horses, lost all his beasts of burden; as also his servants, some of whom died from want. Almost the first animal I saw at this place was a gigantic 'tiger-wolf,' or spotted hyena, which, to my surprise, instead of seeking safety in flight, remained stationary, grinning in the most ghastly manner. Having approached within twenty paces, I perceived, to my horror, that his fore paws, and the skin and flesh of his front legs had been gnawed away, and that he could scarcely move from the spot. To shorten the sufferings of the poor beast, I seized my opportunity and knocked him on the head with a stone; and, catching him by the tail drove my hunting knife deep into his side. But I had to repeat the operation more than once before I could put an end to his existence. I am at a loss how to account for his mangled condition. It certainly could not have been from age, for his teeth were good. Could it be possible that from want of food he had become too weak for further exertions, and that, as a last resource, he had attacked his SEVERAL RHINOCEROSES SHOT. 385 own body? Or was he an example of that extraordinary species of cruelty said to be practised by the lion on the hyæna, when the latter has the insolence to interfere with the monarch's prey ? 1 Fortune once again favoured us; for, in the course of the few days we remained at Ghanzé, several rhinoceroses were shot, affording an abundance of provision. These animals were very numerous, but rather shy. One night I counted twenty defiling past me, though beyond reach. The cause of so unusual a number being seen together was as follows:In the early part of the night, one or two were approaching the water, but, having winded me, they kept walking restlessly round the place, grunting and snorting most viciously. This had the effect of putting those who arrived later on their guard, and they soon joined company. Of all the South African animals, not the least curious, perhaps, is the rhinoceros. He inhabits a large portion of the African continent-such localities, at least, as are suitable to his habits. Formerly, as before mentioned, he was common even in the immediate vicinity of Cape-Town; but, owing to constant persecution, is now rarely met farther to the southward (I speak of the west coast) than about the twenty-third degree of latitude. In the interior, however, the tribe is still very numerous. "On one occasion," says Captain Harris, in a private letter," whilst walking from the waggons, to bring the head of a koodoo that I had killed about a mile off, I encountered twenty-two rhinoceroses, and had to shoot four of them to clear the way." The rhinoceros is, moreover, an inhabitant of Bengal, Siam, China, and other countries of Asia; as also of Java, It is asserted by more than one experienced hunter, that when the hyena proves troublesome, the lion has been known to bite off all its feet, and, thus mutilated, leave the poor animal to its fate! C C |