Heat alone does not produce blackness of skin, but heat with moisture seems to insure the deepest hue.
One of these Bushmen, named Shobo, consented to be our guide over the waste between these springs and the country of Sebituane.

Shobo gave us no hope of water in less than a month.

Providentially, however, we came sooner than we expected to some supplies of rain-water in a chain of pools.

It is impossible to convey an idea of the dreary scene on which we entered after leaving this spot: the only vegetation was a low scrub in deep sand; not a bird or insect enlivened the landscape.

It was, without exception, the most uninviting prospect I ever beheld; and, to make matters worse, our guide Shobo wandered on the second day.