# Lake Ngami/Chapter 34

CHAPTER XXXIV.
At an early period of the present century rumors had reached Europeans of a vast lake in the interior of South Africa, but for a very long time its existence continued to be involved in mystery, and travelers and hunters were ​unavailingly expending their resources and energies to solve the grand problem.
The cause of all these failures was chiefly to be found in the desert and inhospitable regions which lie between the explorers and the supposed lake, commonly known as the Kalahari desert. Toward the close of 1849, however, and when the hope of our being able to overcome this apparently insurmountable barrier was almost extinguished, the great object was accomplished by the persevering exertions of Messrs. Oswell, Livingstone, and Murray, and the existence was made known of a fine fresh-water lake in the centre of South Africa.
This important and highly interesting discovery at once opened a new and extensive field for the inquiries of the geographer and the naturalist, and gave a fresh impulse to the enterprising and speculating spirit of the colonists of Southern Africa. The lake was described as a magnificent sheet of water, abounding in fish and hippopotami, and the country around as well stocked with elephants and other large game, while the vegetation was said to be on the most luxuriant scale. The discovery excited very considerable interest.
The Lake goes with the natives by different names—all of which are more or less appropriate—such as Inghàbé (the giraffe); Noka ea Botlètle (lake of the Botletle); Noka ea Mokoròn (lake of boats); and Ngami, or The Waters. As the last designation is the one by which the Lake is best known to Europeans, I will retain it throughout the remainder of this narrative.
As before said, on taking a nearer survey of the Lake, I experienced some disappointment as to its attractions. It is, however, indisputably a fine sheet of water, but in size is somewhat overrated, the estimation of its length alone being at one time considered no less than one hundred miles, and the width about fifteen or sixteen. The misconception may ​thus, perhaps, be accounted for. In the first instance, no person, to the best of my belief, has ever yet been quite round it; secondly, the shores—with the exception of the south and west sides—are low and sandy, and in hazy weather can not easily be distinguished; and, lastly, I am inclined to think that the discoverers mistook its length for its breadth, for, according to Cooly, "The travelers beheld with delight the fine river, and the Lake extending out of sight to the north and west." Again, my friend Mr. Frederick Green, who visited the Lake shortly after its discovery, thus states, in his manuscript journal, the impression he experienced on first viewing it.
"The day after reaching the town of Batoani, we took a ride to view the Lake. From the southern side, we could trace the opposite shore some ten or twelve miles, but beyond that distance, and to the westward, we could not, even with the aid of a telescope, discern any sign of land—only a blue horizon of water. In a subsequent journey, however, and when traveling along its southern shores, I found that the opposite strand could always be seen. When first viewing it, we were not, as we then thought, looking across, but lengthwise."
The whole circumference is probably about sixty or seventy geographical miles; its average breadth is seven miles, and not exceeding nine at its widest parts. Its shape, moreover, is narrow in the middle and bulging out at the two ends; and I may add, that the first reports received many years ago from the natives about the Lake, and which concurred in representing it of the shape of a pair of spectacles, are correct.
The northern shore of Ngami is low and sandy, without a tree or bush, or any other kind of vegetation within half a mile, and more commonly a mile. Beyond this distance (almost all round the lake) the country is very thickly wooded with various sorts of acacia indigenous to Southern Africa, the Damara "parent tree," a few species of wild fruit-trees, ​and here and there an occasional baobob, which raises its enormous head high above the highest giant of the forest. The southern coast of the Lake is considerably elevated, and the water is so closely fringed by extensive belts of reeds and rushes that it is only accessible in a few places, or where the native cattle have broken through these natural defenses. The west shore of the Lake is also somewhat raised, though the water is very shallow; but it deepens considerably toward its eastern extremity.
The Ngami must have undergone very considerable changes at different periods. The natives have frequently pointed out to me places, now covered with vegetation, where they used to spear the hippopotamus. Again, there are unmistakable proofs of its having been at one time of smaller dimensions than at present, for submerged stumps of trees are constantly met with. This is not, I believe, to be attributed to the upheaving or to the sinking of the land, but that, in all probability, the Lake was originally of its present size, or nearly so, when a sudden and unusually large flood poured into it from the interior, which, on account of the flatness of the country, could not be drained off as quickly as it flowed in, but caused the water to rise above its usual height, which, remaining in that state some time, soon destroyed the vegetation.
Before the Lake was known, and when only rumors had reached us of its existence, the natives spoke of its waters as retiring daily to "feed." But I am rather inclined to think they pointed to a singular phenomenon that I observed when navigating its broad waters, which I then attributed to the wind, though, on consideration, I suspect it was more likely to have arisen from the effects of the moon's attraction.
When navigating the Lake, we were in the habit of landing every night to bivouac, always taking the precaution to unload the most important articles of our baggage. The canoes were then pushed in shore as far as the shallowness ​of the water would permit, and left to themselves, perhaps, as far as two hundred yards from terra firma. On remonstrating with the boatmen for not better securing our little flotilla, they replied that any further precautions were unnecessary, inasmuch as the water (which had already begun to ebb) would shortly recede and leave the canoes dry on the beach. I felt skeptical, but, nevertheless, allowed them to have their own way. In the course of the night it fell calm (a fresh breeze had been blowing during the day), and next morning we found that what the boatmen had predicted was fulfilled; the canoes were as far from the water as, on the preceding evening, they had been from the shore.
From the time that the wind fell the water began slowly to return, and about nine o'clock in the morning it was at its usual height, and the canoes floated once more without any effort on our side.
The Lake is fed by the Teoge at its northwest extremity. The river never, perhaps, much exceeds forty yards; but it is deep, and, when at its greatest height, contains a large volume of water. Its annual overflow takes place in June, July, and August, and sometimes even later. The source of the Teoge is as yet unknown, but is supposed to be very distant. It may probably have its rise on the same high table-land as the Quanza, and other streams of importance. The main course of the Teoge is northwest, but it is so serpentine that, in thirteen days when I ascended it, traveling on an average five miles per day, and reckoning two and a quarter miles to the hour, I only made about one degree of latitude due north of the Lake. As far as I proceeded, however, it was navigable with smaller craft; for only in three places that I can remember did I find less than five feet of water, and, generally speaking, the depth was considerable. It must be recollected, however, that it was then at its greatest height.
Though that portion of the Teoge ascended by me is narrow, I am told that, on approaching its source, it widens ​considerably (one of the many curious points in African geography); and the country on both sides is often inundated to a very great extent, frequently having the appearance of an endless lake, thickly overgrown with reeds and rushes, and dotted with islets covered with beautiful trees and shrubs.
At its eastern extremity the Ngami finds an outlet (the only one) in the fine and stately Zouga. This river, near to Batoana-town, where it escapes from the Lake, is about two hundred yards wide, and, from its gentle flow, appears at rest, the motion of the stream being imperceptible to the eye. Indeed, it is asserted by some—and should it be found correct, it certainly would be a most extraordinary fact—that the waters of the Zouga are, at one time of the year, forced back into the Lake by a branch of the Teoge, which river thus not only feeds the Lake at its northwest extremity, as has been already stated, but at the east as well. From the very imperfect development of the water-courses in these parts, I do not think this impossible.
The Zouga continues to run in an easterly direction from the Lake for nearly a month's journey, or a distance of about three hundred miles, taking all the windings into account, when it is lost in an immense marsh or sand-flat, called, by some. Great Reed Vley. It is a perfect sea of reeds (with occasional openings), and affords a favorite resort to innumerable herds of buffaloes.
About twenty miles before the Zouga ceases to flow it expands into a lake from two to four miles broad, and about twelve or fifteen in extent. During the dry season this river presents "a series of pools with dry spaces between."
The vegetation all along its course is varied and ​luxuriant, and in some places the scenery is quite charming, the banks of the river being often, to the very water's edge, covered with majestic trees of beautiful and dense foliage. The baobob is particularly conspicuous, attaining, not unfrequently, round its stem, a girth of from sixty to seventy-five feet. "The banks," says Mr. Livingstone, in a letter to a friend, "are beautiful beyond any we had ever seen, except, perhaps, some parts of the Clyde.***The higher we ascended the river the broader it became, until we often saw more than one hundred yards of clear deep water between the broad belt of reed which grows in the shallower parts.***One remarkable feature in this river is its periodical rise and fall. It has risen nearly three feet since our arrival; and this is the dry season. That the rise is not caused by rains is evident from the water being so pure. Its purity and softness increased as we ascended toward its junction with the Tamanakle, from which, although connected with the lake, it derives its present increased supply. The people could give no reason for the rise of the water further than that a chief, who lives in a part of the country to the north, called Mazzekiva, kills a man annually and throws his body into the stream, after which the water begins to flow."
Before closing my remarks on the rivers of the Lake, I must beg to draw the attention of the reader to a circumstance which may prove of the most vital interest to the civilization and commerce of these regions. It is as follows:
About two days west of the Teoge, two rivers are reported to exist. The one is a small branch of the Teoge, and is supposed, after meandering through a desert for a couple of days, to lose itself in a marsh. The second (and to which I particularly desire to draw notice) is of larger dimensions, though, near to its source, only periodical. In its course, however, it is fed by fountains—not an uncommon thing in Africa—and it soon increases to a constantly running stream. In due time it becomes a mighty river, flowing slowly through ​the country of several black nations, and ultimately discharging itself into the sea. This is the statement of a party of Griquas who traveled in this direction in search of elephants. I should, perhaps, have hesitated to give credit to their account had it not, on more than one occasion, been corroborated. While on our visit to the Ovambo, we inquired, as mentioned, if they were not aware of any permanently running river in their neighborhood, to which they immediately and unhesitatingly replied in the affirmative. "The Cunenè," they said, "was only four or five days' foot-journey distant from them," but added "that it was not to be compared with a river called Mukuru-Mukovanja, that comes out of Ovatjona-land (clearly the Bechuana country), of which the Cunenè is only a branch." This valuable and interesting information was confirmed by the Hill-Damaras.
Again, when Mr. Galton and myself, distant only some eight or ten days' journey from the Lake, were obliged to retrace our steps on account of excessive drought, we were informed by the Bushmen of the existence of a large river to the north, coming from Bechuana-land, and running westward. They further added that another small river comes from the same direction, but is soon lost in the sand, or terminates in a marsh. Now, excepting that the latter is a branch of the Teoge (instead of having its source in the Lake, in common with the large river, as they asserted), their account may be said to have been substantiated.
From these statements, the existence of a river, in all probability of great magnitude, and perhaps navigable to its very source, or nearly so, is so far authenticated that I have had no hesitation in laying it down on my map. Assuming that the Teoge and the Mukuru-Mukovanja run parallel, though in contrary directions, at the distance from each other of two or three days' journey, as I was informed by the Griquas above mentioned, there exists an almost uninterrupted navigation of several hundred miles, affording a ​comparatively easy transport to the sea-coast of the produce of a rich and fertile interior.
A great variety of animals are found in the Lake regions, more especially in the vicinity of the rivers, such as elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, giraffes, koodoos, pallahs, &c., as also two new species of antelopes, the nakong and the leché, both of which are well represented on the following plate.
The leché bears some resemblance to the pallah, but is altogether a larger animal. In size, indeed, it almost equals the water-buck (aigocerus ellipsiprymnus), and the horns are very similar to those of the male of that beast. The general color of the skin is a pale brown; chest, belly, and orbits, white; and front of legs dark brown. The fur (which in the young animal is long, soft, and often curly) of the adult is short and "adpressed." The upper part of the nape and withers are provided with a small whorl of hair. The tip of the tail (slender at the base) is adorned with a tuft of black hair.
The leché is a species of water-buck; for, though not actually living in water, he is never found any distance from it. When pursued, the leche unhesitatingly plunges into the water, however deep. Great numbers are annually destroyed by the Bayeye, who convert their hides into a kind of rug for sleeping on, carosses, and other articles of wearing apparel.
NAKONG AND LECHÉ.
​possessed, and which would, in some degree, have enabled me to supply this deficiency, were left behind in Africa. Through the kindness of Colonel Steele, an opportunity has been afforded me of inspecting one or two heads of the nakong, as also a caross (brought from the Lake Ngami by Mr. Oswell) made out of pieces of the skins of this animal. But they are all so imperfect that to attempt any thing like a scientific description would be ineffectual; the more so, perhaps, as I only once had an opportunity of viewing a pair of nakongs, and that was at a distance. Suffice it, therefore, to say, that the general color of the animal is a subdued brown, darkest on the back, and on the front of head and legs. Beneath it is of a lighter hue—almost ash-colored. On each side of the rump, as also on the inside of the legs, if I remember rightly, there is a whitish line or patch. The hair of the skin, which is much used by the natives for carosses, is long and coarse. The horns are black, very like those of the koodoo, and, in the adult animal, would appear to attain to an equal, if not larger size. Before they are much developed there is ​scarcely any indication of spiral turns, and they are then not unlike the horns of goats.
The nakong is a water-buck. By means of its peculiarly long hoofs (which are black), not unfrequently attaining a length of six to seven inches, it is able to traverse with facility the reedy bogs and quagmires with which the lake country abounds—localities only fit for the feathery tribe. When at the Ngami I offered very tempting rewards to the natives if they would bring me this animal either dead or alive; but they protested that, though they frequently kill the nakong by pitfalls and spears, it was not then possible to gratify my wishes, as, at that season, the beast dwelt almost entirely in muddy and watery localities, where any attempt to follow it would be certain destruction to a man.
Hippopotami abound on the northern side of the Ngami, and more especially toward its northwest extremity, or to the right of where the Teoge River enters the lake.
Otters are not uncommon in the rivers and the Lake. They appear to be of the same species as with us, but present great variety of color. The fur is good, and much sought after.
If the quadrupeds of the Lake Fauna are numerous and varied, the aves class is no less rich and abundant. In our first journey through Damara-land I had made such a complete collection of its birds and insects that I almost despaired of obtaining any thing new and interesting; but here I found at once an unexplored and almost unlimited field for the naturalist. Unfortunately, I was not in a state to be able to benefit, to any extent, by its abundance and variety, which I regret exceedingly.
The aquatic birds were particularly numerous and varied. A friend who visited the Lake assured me that here and on the Zouga he had, at one time and another, killed specimens of no less than nineteen species of ducks and geese. One of the latter varieties is not larger than a common teal, but clothed in the most brilliant plumage. The herons and ​water-hens vie with the duck tribe in numbers and gaudiness of plumage. During a hurried journey up the Teoge, I procured, in a short time, herons of upward of ten distinct species, besides several different kinds of storks, cranes, &c.
The Lake and its rivers swarm with crocodiles. During the cold time of the year they resort to deep water, where they remain in a state of comparative inactivity; but on the approach of the hot season they again come forward, and may be seen lying in great numbers along the banks, basking in the noonday sun, and looking exactly like so many logs of wood. I have often surprised them in this position; and, if not too close, they have invariably feigned to be asleep. The instant, however, that I have raised my gun, or even merely pointed toward them, they have plunged into the deep like a shot.
They are said occasionally to attain a gigantic size, but no authenticated instance has come to my knowledge of any specimen being killed which measured above fifteen or sixteen feet, though I have heard it asserted that they sometimes reach double that length.
The crocodile chiefly lives on quadrupeds, which he lies in wait for, and destroys when coming to drink; but he is said never to devour his prey before the flesh has arrived at a state of putrefaction.
When in its native element, the power of this animal must be enormous; for if the testimony of the inhabitants is to be relied on, he not unfrequently succeeds in destroying the buffalo, which they say he accomplishes by seizing the beast by the muzzle and dragging him into deep water, where he suffocates him. This being done, he hauls his victim back to the shore, and, pushing the carcass above water-mark, watches over it until it has become nicely tainted, when he commences his feast.
From the moist and swampy nature of the ground about the Lake and the rivers, snakes, as may well be supposed, are ​numerous; but, though they at times attain a gigantic size, they appear very harmless, being often destroyed by the natives, who devour them with great relish. I never myself saw a specimen exceeding seven or eight feet in length, but procured skins measuring fully three times that size. The Bushmen assured me that they not unfrequently surprise these monsters when asleep and gorged, and that on such occasions it was not unusual to dispatch them with a blow on the head from the knob-kierie. These snakes feed chiefly on birds and smaller quadrupeds.
The finny tribe was also pretty numerous; but my stay at the Lake was of too short a duration to collect much information on this head. I saw and tasted many different kinds, some of which were most excellent eating, and had a rich and agreeable flavor. The only ones, however, which I remember had any likeness to northern fishes were a sort of perch, and one or two barbel kinds.
* ↑ Many are of opinion that this river continues to flow subterraneously, and that it ultimately finds an outlet into the sea on the east coast. It is by no means uncommon in African geography—and we have in England an instance of it in the Mole—to find a river suddenly disappearing and as unexpectedly reappearing at some little distance.
* ↑ Dr. Livingstone informs us that on the first discovery of the Zouga, its banks literally swarmed with wild animals, and that in the course of three years no less than nine hundred elephants were killed. However, from the persecution to which the game is constantly exposed, and the introduction of fire-arms, the number of animals has rapidly decreased, and what remain are wild and wary.
* ↑ Dr. Gray, of the British Museum, to whom I submitted an imperfect skin and a sketch of the head of the nakong, is unable to determine its exact nature, but seems inclined to consider it identical with the tragelaphus eurycerus—the broad-horned antelope—of which specimens of horns and heads have been brought from the Bight of Biafra, on the west coast of Africa. In the "Proceedings of the Zoological Society," No. 250, p. 47, the following details appear: "Head, pale brown. Broad band before the eyes, and two large spots on cheeks; chin and front of upper lip white. Horns elongate, thick, scarcely bent forward at the tip. Throat with long black hairs." Again, from a head in Mr. Warwick's collection: "The horns are very similar to those of t. angasii but the head is considerably larger, nearly as large as that of the koodoo, and the horns are thicker and larger; they are twenty-seven inches long in a straight line from base to tip, and nine inches in circumference at the base. The hair of the head is also paler and more uniformly colored, and with very large white spots on the cheek, much larger than those of the koodoo or of t. angasii. The throat has a distinct mane of blackish rigid hairs. The muffle is very like that of t. angasii, and larger than that of the koodoo. The skull is imperfect; it has no appearance of any suborbital pit or slit."