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II. Explorations in South Africa, with Route from Walfisch Bay to Lake Ngami, and Ascent of the Tiogé River. By CHARLES J. ANDERSSON, Esq.

Read, Nov. 27, 1854.

ON my return to Walfisch Bay in company with Mr. Galton, towards the close of 1851, I took the liberty to address a letter to the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, representing to him my intention of proceeding on an exploring expedition from Walfisch Bay, offering, at the same time, to make inquiry upon any geographical or other point that the Society might think worthy of their notice. I had the pleasure of receiving a very kind letter from Dr. Shaw, assuring me that the Society would be glad of any information, however small, that would tend to clear up anything relating to the as yet, imperfectly known geography of the African continent. With this assurance, therefore, I venture to lay before the Society the result of a journey to Lake Ngami, and an overland trip through Great Namaqua-land to the Cape of Good Hope. But as I laboured under peculiarly difficult and embarrassing circumstances throughout the whole of this undertaking, there is much that I must beg the Society to view with indulgence. First of all, I have to apologise for the very imperfect language used in this narrative, as I can only boast of being half Englishman.* Secondly, my means were very inadequate for such an enterprise as the one in question, and I have had to struggle hard to enable me to accomplish it. Thirdly, the servants that I engaged for the journey, proved a most worthless set; there was not one that I could trust with any matter of importance, and consequently I was more or less dependent on myself. Indeed, from the procuring and preparing of my food, to the observations of the heavenly bodies, it was all my work, for when I did not actually cook the food, I was at least obliged to see that it was done. Again, when about half-way to the Lake, a mutiny arose among the men, and they insisted upon returning, and it was only by a good deal of inconvenience and difficulty that I succeeded in dissuading them from following their inclination; bad as they were, I could not well do without them. Fourthly, the country through which a great part of my road lay, was, at the time, in a most deplorable state, fighting, robbery, and murder being of common occurrence. addition to which, the Namaquas viewed with jealousy and distrust every attempt that was made to open a communication with Lake Ngami through their territory, having been told by the Griquas, that such a thing would be highly injurious to their (the Namaqua)

* Mr. Andersson was born in Sweden.-ED. ·

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interest, inasmuch as the English would, in such a case, be sure to take possession, not of the Lake district alone, but also of their lands. Fifthly, at the outset of my journey I was but indifferently acquainted with the use of instruments, and much time for practice could i be spared during my many and various occupations. Moreover (before getting half-way to the Lake) I had the misfortune to break my chronometer, and my last watch within a day or two of Lake Ngami; the consequence was, that I was unable to obtain a single longitude by observation. By applying myself, however, to the most careful dead reckoning, I succeeded in fixing the most important places with a very fair approximation to truth; at least I am led to believe as much, as by comparing my observations with those of Mr. Galton, wherever it could be done, I found that they never differed more than a very few miles. Adding to this, the usual difficulties that a traveller has to encounter in newly-discovered countries, and it will easily be conceived that the task I had imposed on myself, was not easy to accomplish.

In his address to the Society, Mr. Galton has stated that the object of my remaining in Africa was for the purpose of collecting specimens of natural history. Originally something of this kind was perhaps my intention, although never entirely; but I soon found that a journey of any description, in these parts of the world, would necessarily involve me in very considerable expense; and not being a person of independent means, I did not think there was sufficient reason for me to make the expedition on that ground alone. By uniting geographical researches with those of natural history, however, I thought the result-should the expedition prove successful-would not be without its good both to myself and to the world at large. Having once come to such a conclusion, I acted accordingly.

When parting from Mr. Galton, at Walfisch Bay, it was my full intention to have started at once for the interior, to follow up, if possible, what he had so ably begun; but at the time I was disappointed. To accomplish my object it was necessary that I should be provided with articles of exchange, &c. ; but as these were not to be had at Walfisch Bay, I had no alternative but to repair to Cape Town, which was the nearest market. Mr. Galton had sailed, and as no more vessels were expected, I determined (to save time) to take the overland route. At the time I had a few indifferent instruments about me, and with these I was in hopes of being able to lay down my route, at least roughly, but again I was disappointed. Being confined to my bed in a small grass hut, erected for the occasion, it suddenly caught fire one evening, and, with the exception of a few trifling articles, such as a good pocket-compass and a pocket-sextant for measuring

angular distances, that were saved, I barely escaped with life. To these instruments I was able, through the kindness of one of the missionaries, to add a watch. Thus I should still have been able to do something, but it appeared as if I was doomed to nothing but misfortunes, for no sooner had I recovered from my wounds than I was attacked by a malignant fever, which brought me to the verge of the grave. I suffered much on this occasion, being, as I was, in an inhospitable country, without a friend, without proper food, and, what was worse, without medicines. Before I had recovered, I was in sight of the Cape of Good Hope colony, and was thus, through unforeseen circumstances, obliged to pass uselessly over a country, several hundreds of miles in extent and almost unknown to Europeans, experiencing nothing but sufferings and disappointments.

At last I reached Cape Town, where I lost no time in making preparations for a fresh start, but I had considerable difficulty in obtaining the necessary instruments. Everything was, however, happily arranged, and I set sail for Walfisch Bay, where I arrived in safety in the beginning of 1853; but some months elapsed before I was able to prosecute my journey.

As my road for some distance lay nearly over the same ground as that travelled by Mr. Galton, it would perhaps only be repetition, were I to enter into details of those parts; I think it will be sufficient to take up the narrative where Mr. Galton left off, or at Otchombinde (Tunobis), our farthest easterly point. Knowing approximately the position of the Lake, I was anxious to take as straight a course as was possible; but the bushmen assured me that if I insisted upon doing so, it would lead to certain destruction of myself, men, and cattle, as the country, through which I intended to pass, was entirely destitute of water. They strongly urged me to proceed in a southerly direction for two or three days' journey, and then to turn northward. Although I did not put entire confidence in what they said, I had no alternative, but to act according to their advice. Proceeding alternately on the banks and in the dry bed of the Otchombindè river, the first day's march (June 14, 1853) took me through a partly sandy and partly hard road, and the next day, about noon, brought me to a small well, where the rains being only just over, I got sufficient water for my cattle. At this place I found some waggon tracks, which I have since learnt came from the S., and were made by a party of Griquas and English, who succeeded in crossing the Kalahari desert direct from Kuruman (the same rainy season as I passed through to the Lake), partly in search of elephants and partly with the view of bartering with the natives. Some of them found their way with great difficulty to the Lake, whilst others reached Great

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Namaqua-land, on horseback; one of the latter served me afterwards as Bichuana interpreter.

Leaving the Otchombinde river to my right, I then took a more northerly direction, and a short half-day's travel brought me to a set of wells in limestone, which, from their dilapidated state, had apparently not been in use for a considerable number of years. However, by cleaning and digging we succeeded in obtaining, from one of these pits, a very fair quantity of good water. Next day's march (a very long one) brought me to Ghánze, a fountain in limestone. It used to be a favourite drinking place for the rhino'ceros and elephant. The former of these animals are now all shot or driven away, but the latter still continue to resort to it. Ghánze, it seems, has long been known to the Bichuanas and to the Griquas. A party of the latter, I am told, reached it many years ago in a dreadfully exhausted state, having previously been obliged to abandon their waggons; even Europeans had visited it. An English traveller, Moyle, crossed the Kalahari, and arrived at Ghánze, the year before I did, that is in 1852, on a trading and hunting expedition; thence he was guided by bushmen to Great Namaqualand, whence he retraced his steps home. In 1853 he crossed thr desert a second time, but less fortunate, for when within foue days of the Otchombindè fountain, he lost all his oxen, and also all the horses, but two. Those of his servants, moreover, who did not die from hunger or thirst, became frightened at their desperate condition, and fled towards Namaqua-land, leaving Moyle and his companion completely destitute. With the two remaining horses they made their way, after great sufferings, to the Otchombindè fountain. Here, to add to their misfortunes, they were ill-used and partly deprived of their goods by a party of Namaquas and Griquas; although I am inclined to think that the latter circumstance arose entirely from their own mismanagement. In this dreadful plight I met them (when on my road back from Lake Ngami), and was fortunate enough to be able to assist them. Since then no news have been received as to their whereabout or doings. Ghánze is the permanent residence of a number of bushmen, who, on my first arrival, showed considerable reluctance to communicate with us; but by supplying them freely with meat and tobacco, they soon became very friendly.

From Ghanze (with the exception of a little drinking-water once for ourselves, and that was of the most horrible quality) we got no water for two entire nights and days, and the cattle were in a very exhausted state, when we fortunately reached a small fountain. Two hours' farther travelling brought us to Kobis, a splendid watering place; a sort of vley-fountain situated in limestone. The water is abundant and of excellent quality, and the grass in

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great quantity. Before the Kubabis Hottentots attacked and plundered a Bichuana cattle-post, it used to be regularly resorted to by the latter with their cattle. Even the Damaras are said to have extended their wanderings to this point. is now solely occupied by bushmen, who were here more numerous than in any one place that I have seen either in Namaqua or Damara-land. In a physical respect, moreover, they are far superior to their southern dwarfish brethren. Many of them have really fine features, and figures without a blemish. Although exceedingly well behaved towards myself, they nevertheless, on more than one occasion, exhibited a fierce spirit and violent temper. I have seen their chief exchange arrows with another bushman captain in defence of my property, while his people, on more than one occasion, have threatened to stab my men without the slightest provocation, simply because they were not allowed to carry away the best part of such wild animals as I might have chanced to kill. I found them very honest, for during my whole stay at Kobis (and that was a considerable time) I never missed a single article ; and when I ultimately departed for the Lake, I had occasion to leave a good deal of property with the chief, and, to the best of my knowledge, I did not lose as much as a pennyworth. By judicious and kind treatment, I find that a bushman-degraded as he isis not entirely deprived of a proper sense of gratitude; for instance, before I left Kobis, the bushmen, in a body, presented me with a fine assegai, "as a token," as they expressed themselves, "of their gratitude for the kind treatment that they had experienced at my hands during my stay there."

At Kobis I found an extraordinary number of wild beasts congregating nightly, chiefly rhinoceros and elephant, no doubt on account of the almost total absence of water in the neighbourhood. My stay at Kobis was prolonged far beyond my own wish, through an unforeseen accident, having, in an encounter with a mortally wounded black rhinoceros, received severe wounds and bruises. For some time I was unable to move without assistance, and fearing that a considerable period might elapse before I should be sufficiently restored to proceed on my journey, and the distance to the Lake not being great, I knew but too well that the chief would soon hear of my arrival, and, therefore, to prevent any misunderstanding, I determined upon sending some of my men to the chief of Lake Ngami, to inform him of my motive and my intention to visit him, accompanied by a few trifling presents. After a week's absence the men returned (having met with a favourable reception), with a request that I should hasten my departure; and as soon as I had recovered sufficiently to be able to mount my ox (the substitute for a horse in that part), I was but too happy to comply with his wish. My first day's march from Kobis, July

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