, during the very dry seasons which succeed our winter and
precede our rains, a hot wind blows over the Desert from north to south.
It feels somewhat as if it came from an oven, and seldom blows longer at
a time than three days. It resembles in its effects the harmattan of the
north of Africa, and at the time the missionaries first settled in the
country, thirty-five years ago, it came loaded with fine reddish-colored
sand. Though no longer accompanied by sand, it is so devoid of moisture
as to cause the wood of the best seasoned English boxes and furniture to
shrink, so that every wooden article not made in the country is warped.
The verls of ramrods made in England are loosened, and on returning to
Europe fasten again. This wind is in such an electric state that a bunch
of ostrich feathers held a few seconds against it becomes as strongly
charged as if attached to a powerful electrical machine, and clasps the
advancing hand with a sharp crackling sound.

When this hot wind is blowing, and even at other times, the peculiarly
strong electrical state of the atmosphere causes the movement of a
native in his kaross to produce therein a stream of small sparks. The
first time I noticed this appearance was while a chief was traveling
with me in my wagon. Seeing part of the fur of his mantle, which was
exposed to slight friction by the movement of the wagon, assume quite
a luminous appearance, I rubbed it smartly with the hand, and found it
readily gave out bright sparks, accompanied with distinct cracks. "Don't
you see this?" said I. "The white men did not show us this," he replied;
"we had it long before white men came into the country, we and our
forefathers of old." Unfortunately, I never inquired the name which they
gave to this appearance, but I have no doubt there is one for it in the
language. Otto von Guerrike is said, by Baron Humboldt, to have been the
first that ever observed this effect in Europe, but the phenomenon had
been familiar to the Bechuanas for ages. Nothing came of that, however,
for they viewed the sight as if with the eyes of an ox. The human mind
has remained here as stagnant to the present day, in reference to the
physical operations of the universe, as it once did in England. No
science has been developed, and few questions are ever discussed except
those which have an intimate connection with the wants of the stomach.

Very large flocks of swifts ('Cypselus apus') were observed flying over
the pla