PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION,
T HE first edition of this Iittle book was issued thirty-six years ago under the title of "Tropical South Africa." It was soon out of sale, even second-',:and copies being rarely procurable though often asi;cd for. A new interest has now arisen in the lands of which it treats, owing to recent political events, which included the establishment of a German protectorate over a large portion of them, and the possession of Walfisch Bay by Great Britain.
'I_ he present edition bears a more explicit title than its predecessor, but in other respects its contents are reprinted almost without alteration. On first thoughts I was inclined to recast and to expand it, for I had a great deal more to say than was printed there, but further reflection showed that if I did so, whatever merit there might be in its freshness, would be lost. So the final conclusion was, to leave it alone. I have, however, added something of interest and of service to the reader; namely, an appendix and an index. The appendix consists of short extracts from various sources that will suffice to give an outline of the subsequent history of the peoples and individuals spoken of in the book, and the index will partly do away with the previous trouble of finding out particular remarks, that was due to the arrangement of the book in the form of a narrative. The map, also, is much more than a reprint of my own, reduced in size. It is based on the present state of our knowledge not only of Damara and Ovampo lands, but-of the adjacent districts as well. The reader must recollect when he refers to it, that none of that knowledge was in existence at the time when the journey was made, except as regards Lake 'Ngami, which Livingstone had then recently discovered, journeying in company with Mr. Murray and Mr. Oswcll from the south,
FRANCIS GALTON,
42, RUTLA ND GATE, LONDON,
May, 1889.
