he was to return without fail within three months.
This period, should he make the slightest effort, we
felt confident would be amply sufficient; and he assured
us that, should he meet with no mishap, we
should find him at Daitcho upon our return from the
Rendile.
Upon our return to Daitcho from the Embe, we
were so fortunate as to find in one of the villages a
Wanderobbo, who had just returned from the desert.
He expressed a willingness to accompany us, and added
that he knew the country well; and though he was
ignorant of the whereabouts of the Rendile, he could
take us to some of his own people, who would gladly
lead us to that tribe. He said that he had been*
forced to leave the desert, owing to the famine prevalent
among his people;. and his emaciated body served
to confirm his statement.
As we were about to venture upon an enterprise
the outcome of which was clouded with uncertainty,
I left with George a letter of instructions, which he was
to follow in case anything happened to us. Should
we not return to Daitcho by January i, 1894, he was
instructed to return to the coast; for in such case we
should probably have met with such a mishap that
longer stay on his part would be useless. With our
cattle, sheep, and goats, together with the food carried
by the donkeys, we were equipped with food for seventy
five days; and as the country to the north was
reported to be well supplied with game, we felt that
we had sufficient for nearly five months.
During the afternoon of June 5, Lieutenant von
Hohnel and I, accompanied by sixty-five men, bade farewell
to Daitcho, and turned our faces to the north.
Our hearts beat high with hope. We felt convinced
that should fortune favour us in the slightest degree,
we should not only accomplish geographical discovery,
but return to Daitcho well supplied with beasts of
burden; which, together with the supplies we had ordered
Hamidi to bring from the coast, would enable
us to start out equipped for eighteen months’ further
exploration; and this, after a stay of already more than
one year in the interior.