MR. ANDERSSON ON THE OKATANG0.*
Tax interior of Africa is a perverse region : travellers there always find something they did not expect, and miss or fail to find what they do expect. The present book of travels is no exception to the rale. Mr. Andersson went in search of a westward flowing river (the Cunene, in its lower course called the Nourse) of which he had con- stantly heard, and found a great eastward flowing river (the Oka- vango) of which he had never heard. In fact, the Cunene appears to bear to the lake Ngarni, in Southern Africa, just the same relation which the Niger or Kowara bears to Lake Tsad, in Northern Africa, and perhaps the Okavango which troubles Mr. Andersson so much by its eastward course towards Lake Ngami, may turn out to be (like the Benue branch of the Kowara) only a deceptive stream which really gets round to the westward after all, in spite of its great show of eastward tendencies. It is clear that if it empties itself into Lake Ngami instead of turning ultimately towards the Atlantic, or if it joins the Zambesi, barbaric fame has done it a great injustice in not spread- ing its reputation sooner to the ears of travellers in these regions. Should it prove to join the Zambesi, which seems, however, very im- probable, water communication between the east coast and the in- terior would be established up to a point very near to the west coast. This, however, is a point for future "development" In the mean time this is a spirited and stirring book of adventure. Mr. Andersson, after having recruited himself by a visit to Europe from the fatigues of his former expeditions, found himself, towards the end of 1856, again in South Africa. As ardent as ever after new discoveries, he determined to penetrate to the Cunene river, and explore the country in that neighbourhood. His purpose was not again to reach Lake Ngami, which lay nearly west by north of his point of departure—Walwich Bay on the Atlantic—but to strike off in a north-west direction, so as to reach some point on the upper course of the Cunene—the river which, under the name of the Nourse, empties itself into the Atlantic in latitude 16 deg. south. Of the upper course of this stream nothing is known, and much has been rumoured. Had Mr. Andersson succeeded in reaching it, his purpose appears to have been to have descended its course to the Portuguese settlement on the Atlantic, and extended his knowledge of the Portuguese colonies in these regions. However, as he did not suc- ceed in doing this, lie simply came back again whence he went.
Mr. Andersson began by making a false start. Against advice he would attempt the shortest route, through an unexplored country, called Western Damara Land. From this he was driven back by the want of water. The sufferings of the party from drought were fearful, and are described in this volume with a terrible minuteness. The unhappy dogs, after being for many days without water, were in a more terrible condition than even the human members of the party. Mr. Andersson thus describes them :
"At break of day we halted for a few minutes to breathe and to change oxen, then continued to journey on. I despatched all the loose cattle ahead, giving the men orders to return with a fresh team as soon as they had drunk, fed, and rested a little. We arrived at the vley a little before midnight on the 24th of May, but on attempting to kraal the trek-oxen, notwithstanding their fatigue, the thirsty brutes leaped over the stout and tall thorn-fences as if they bad been so many rushes, and with a wild roar set off at full speed for Okaoa fountain, which they reached the following day, having then been more than one hundred andfifty hours without a tingle drop of water I" . . . " The poor dogs were by this time in a fearful state. What was once a clear perspicuous eye, now appeared like a more lustrous speck under a shaggy brow. jibed flowed at times from their nostrils ; and it was with difficulty they dragged along their worn and emaciated carcases. Sometimes they tried to give vent to their great sufferings in dismal howls, half stifled in the utterance. Some of the men were nearly as much affected. Poor Mortar was more than once speechless from thirst, and it was quite pitiful to see him, like a man despairing of life, chew old coffee-tobacco, and withered tea-leaves. For my own part, I am thankful to • The 01-arango River : a Narrative of Travel, Exploration, and Adventure. By Charles John Andersson, Author of "Lake Ngami." With numeror illustrations- Hurst and Blacken, ray I suffered on this trying occasion, in a bodily sense at least, less perhaps than the rest of my party."
A horse which wandered from this expedition and was lost was seven days without water, and was yet restored to life when it was found, after water had been at last discovered. Having regained the banks of the Ornarurn and left his waggon, which by this time was nearly a wreck, to be repaired, Mr. Andersson proceeded up the Omarnru. to Omuramba Ua' Matako, whence, having been rejoined by his servants and waggon, he started hoping for a more successful quest of the Cunene.
Mr. Andersson having determined after consulting the map that the most direct route to the Cunene would be to go straight from Omanbonde to Okamabuti, Mr. Galton's most easterly point, by keep- ing to the westward of which he hoped to explore new ground, here joined a Damara caravan which was journeying across the Ot]'iro- kaku was forbidden to enter Ondonga by the Xing Chipanga, as well as the whites, Chipanga entertaining an opinion that a white man could cause his death by looking at him. By this time the rains had fallen in considerable quantities, but so great is the absorption and evaporation at this time of year that pools of from forty to fifty feet long and several feet deep would dry up in the course of a week. After waiting for the rest of the party, he sent to Otjimbingue to begin operations. He starts from Omanbonde, on the 5th of January, for Ovapangari, endeavouring to find a river course mentioned by his friend Mr. Green, supposed by him to be a branch . of the Cunene. On the 16th, they crossed a dry, narrow, but deep river-bed, running due north and south, which turned out to be the branch they were in search of, but which they passed without know- ing it. The roads here were comparatively good, and the scenery pretty, and the travellers seem to have progressed satisfactorily with the exception of one or two trifling hindrances, such as being nearly poisoned by wild beans, and breaking the axle-tree of the waggon six times in about a hundred and fifty miles. The beans, curiously enough., that were so injurious to the men were extremely wholesome for the cattle, who eat them, both leaves and fruit, greedily. Despairing of finding this river branch, and not knowing they had passed it, Mr. Andersson now turned due north, the course pointed out by the Bushmen as the directest one to the river. The bush became so dense and harassing that Mr. Andersson determined to leave the waggon for a time and explore the country, and, if possible, discover the river. He set out with a few of the most light-footed and enduring of his native attendants, and about sunset came upon a small werft, or village, of Bushmen, and succeeded in capturing a couple of guides with some difficulty. Late in the afternoon of the same day they came on another werft, the chief of which, a fine intelligent young fellow, offered to guide them to the river, which, by smart travelling, he told them might be reached in a day and a half. The next morn- ing they were stirring early, and about noon reached the first real periodical water-course they had met with for more than a hundred and fifty miles. But this was only the prelude to the great discovery which was—. not the object of Mr. Andersson's search, but its only important re- sult—the discovery of the Okavango river instead of the Cunene ;
"After this little delay we again proceeded, but had not gone far before I per- ceived on the far-away horizon a distinct dark blue line. • Ah ha!' I exclaimed to myself, ' in the valley of which that line evidently forms the border, there is surely something more than a mere periodical water-course.' A few minutes afterwards, catching a glimpse of an immense sheet of water in the distance, my anticipation was realized to its utmost. A cry of joy and satisfaction escaped me at this glorious sight. Twenty minutes more brought us to the banks of a truly noble river, at this point at least 200 yards wide. This was then, in all probability, the Mukuru Mnkovanja of the Ovambo, which these people had given us to understand flowed westward. Taking it for granted that their state- ment was in this respect correct, I had stood some time by the water before I be- came aware of my mistake. By heavens !' I suddenly exclaimed, ' the water flows towards the heart of the continent, instead of emptying itself into the Atlantic For a moment I felt amazed at the discovery. East!' I continued to soliloquize; ' why, what stream con this then be, in this latitude and longi- tude? Tioughe? No; that channel alone is much too insignificant to form the outlet for such a mighty flow of water. Well, then, it mast be one of the chief branches of that magnificent river, the Chobe.' This was my first impression, which was to some extent corroborated by the natives, who describe this river, called by the Ovaquangari Okavango,' as forking off in two directions in the neighbourhood of Libebe, one branch forming the said Tioughe, the other find- ing its way to the Chobe. But, on more mature consideration, I strongly question the correctness both of my own impression and of the account of the nativee.
It is true Dr. Livingstone, in one of his early maps, lays down a river as coming from Libebe's towards!Sekeletu's town; and I myself, when at Lake 'Ngami, heard of a water communication existing between these two places. But as the Tioughe is known to send out a branch towards Chobe considerably below Li- bebe, i.e. south of it, called Dzo, it is just possible that this is the stream alluded to by the natives. Furthermore the country, for a great distance about Libebe, is known to abound in immense marshes; it is probable, therefore, that the Okavango, though of such huge dimensions, is more or less swallowed up in these extensive swamps, leaving merely sufficient water for the formation of the Tioughe and its inundations. Unquestionably Dr. Livingstone, if he succeeds in revisiting Sekeletu's town, will be able to settle this question."
We must not omit to give some specimen of some of Mr. An- dersson's more terrible experiences. It is curious that he seems to have had a nervous horror of such lions as preferred human flesh to that of animals, though he did not object to the ordinary carnivorous lion, which would devour any animal it could get hold of first. Mr. Andersson admits that the lion man-eater which feels a preference for men was an object of almost fanciful dread with him. Let him de- scribe his feelings in his own terms, as they are a rather curious psy- chological phenomenon in a mighty hunter who faces. all the most fierce creatures of the forest without quailing : " I have no particular dread of lions, nor am I, generally speaking, a particu- larly nervous man; but I do fear and dread such a monster as a man-eater. Set me face to face with an enemy, be he white or black, beast or man, in the broad light of day, and I will take some odds against him. But a skulking, sneaking,
poaching night prowler, whose cat-like motions and approach no ear can detect— whose muscular strength exceeds that of the strongest ruminating animal—who will pass through your cattle and leave them untouched in order to feast on human flesh—is, I think, a creature which may reasonably inspire terror. There is something hideous in the thought of lying down nightly in expectation of such
a visitor I had been sixteen hours in the saddle, felt rather tired, and finding my steeds in the sarno humour as myself, I dismounted. Having tied the beasts to a small tree, and gathered some grass for them, I threw myself at length on the ground, making neither fire nor bed. I was soon dozing away, my mind busy among old familiar hunting scenes, when suddenly I fancied I saw as. grim old lion, his mane tattered, and clogged with human gore, stand before me. I tried to close my eyes against the horrid vision, but in vain: there seemed a secret power of fascination in the brute's dreadful stare. Hit eyes glistened, his month watered, whilst his every motion seemed to say—' Ay, I am a veritable man.eater ; I love the flesh of your species above that of all other animals.' My anguish became at last intense. My heart seemed to grow so big with terror that I thought it would burst. After several fruitless efforts, I finally tore my- self out of this frightful trance, and, springing to my feet, looked around in amazed bewilderment. Where was I? Had I been dreaming? or was it a reality ?' At that moment a sound struck my ear which at once restored use to
the full possession of my faculties. Surely that growl was a lion's,' I muttered to myself; and my suspicion was instantly corroborated by a fresh roar, leaving no doubt as to whence it came. I tried then to distinguish the form of the brute, and I did so, I believe. I felt agitated, and waked the boy, and hurriedly placing the saddles on the backs of the horses, I rode off. But, though thus in some degree relieved, I did not feel quite at ease until the day broke, when my nervous- ness was at once gone."
This, though a very " subjective" adventure, is, perhaps, as painful an experience as any Mr. Andersson had. Of hunting adventures, none is more exciting than the rhinoceros hunt, which cost him the life of one of his party. It is thus related ;—the rhinoceros had been wounded on the previous night :
" A short walk brought us to the spot where I had left the rhinoceroses em the preceding night. Pools of blood marked the progress of the one whose right fore-leg was evidently smashed. Knowing the great ferocity of the black rhino- ceros when wounded, I repeatedly warned my attendants to be on their guard. I had done so for the last time, and we had just emerged from some low brushwood, purposing to enter a small thorn brake, when, lo I the monster lying on his side, to all appearances quite dead. On making this discovery, Kozengo turned smiling to us, and ejaculated Jacocca'—dead. ' Well,' I rejoined, but take care, for there was another rhinoceros in company with him last night.'
" I had taken a step or two forward, and was in some measure hidden from the animal by a small tree, when suddenly I observed my attendants wheel about and retreat precipitately. Not seeing the cause of their sudden flight (though of course sraspecting it) I stood my ground, when all at once I caught sight of the brute protruding his ugly head within a few paces of my person. As he was coming right at me, I deemed it, under the circumstances, imprudent to fire, and quickly took to my heels. He followed at his hest pace, which was really very rapid, considering his crippled condition. In my hurried flight my wide- awake blew off my head, and fell right in the path of the pursuing beast, who pulled up abruptly at the sight of it. Swift as thought I turned on my heels and fired, but fairly, I believed, missed, for the monster at once dashed forward again, snorting violently.- After running a short distance he again halted, but kept looking about him in a very restless manner. I then crept cautiously up to within about 100 yards of him, and just as for a moment he exposed his broadside full towards me, I fired. He dropped dead to the shot. " Having ascertained that his life was quite extinct, I hallooed for my runaway men, but receiving no answer concluded they had returned to camp. Quieted by this thought, I was gazing at the prostrate animal, when all at once my atten- tion was drawn to a confused noise hard by, as of a number of human beings dis- cussing some exciting event; and in a few moments I saw several natives, headed by Chookoroo and ' Paadmaker'—the last of whom I had sent on the spoor of the wounded elephant—emerge from the bushes. The lad was crying bitterly, whilst Paadmaker had his hands tightly clasped to his sides, just like a man seized with sudden pain. My first impression was that the man had been hurt by the ele- phant; but alas! his grief arose from a far more serious cause. A dreadful suspicion then took possession of me, and I hastily exclaimed, Where's Kozengo?' Dead, sir !' was the solemn and startling reply. Dead ?' I repeated, impos- sible! how ? why, the rhinoceros has never been out of my sight. Besides,' ad- dressing myself, ' I have heard no scream, no groan, nor any other cry of die.. tress." Oh, yes!' sobbed poor Chookoroo, Kozengo is dead ; he is killed by the rhinoceros.' Show me the man and the spot,' I said, as I mechanically turned to follow the men. We had not far to go. Within a stone's throw I found the un- fortunate man lying under a bush, stiff and motionless ! His forehead was split in two, apparently by a single thrust of the horn of the infuriated animal, and part of the dislocated brains was mingled with the dust. His face, which was slightly turned upwards, wore the same calm, placid, though somewhat heavy expression as in life. For a moment or so I could could scarcely realize the terrible event, and involuntarily addressing the corpse, I muttered—' Are you really dead, Ko- zengo? Why did you not run further off; you had plenty of time to save your- self. "
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