well stocked considering their 150 miles’ distance from a railway, and apparently far too numerous for the inhabitants’ requirements. Many of them had sprung into being during the German-Hottentot-Herrero War, when Upington had flourished exceedingly on the enormous amount of transport passing through it on the way to the German border. Since those palmy days things had slumped, most of the store-keepers apparently living on each other and all uniting in praying for a new war. They had great hopes when Ferreira broke across the border in his German-inspired, abortive raid, but unfortunately for them it ended in smoke. [Illustration: A FLOWER OF THE DESERT, SOUTHERN KALAHARI. Flowering succulent, about 3 feet high.] [Illustration: THE CAMEL POST AT ZWARTMODDER, GORDONIA.] The proximity to the German border was rendered noticeable in Upington principally on account of the prevalence of German money there. Practically no English silver was to be seen, and except at the post office the cheap, trashy-looking mark passed for and purchased the equivalent amount of a shilling’s-worth. I have already alluded to the fertility of the silt on the banks of the Orange River, but scarcely believed the statements of some of the inhabitants until, later, I saw with my own eyes the marvellous crops that it is capable of producing. Oranges, especially the variety known as the “Washington Navel,” grow to a profusion, perfection, and abundance truly wonderful, as do peaches, grapes, and in fact almost every variety of fruit; though both soil and climate seem to favour the various varieties of citrus most of all.