there lay a weary stretch of desert country, Lieutenant
von Hohnel set out early on the following morning
in search of water, with all the men, with the exception
of my two tent-boys, who remained with me to
guard the camp. Late that night they returned, having
watered all the animals, and filled the goat-skin
bags and camp kettles. It was by mere chance, however,
that Lieutenant von Hohnel found water. For
hours they searched in every nook and cranny. At
length, late in the afternoon, they came upon a well-
beaten rhinoceros path, which they followed until they
arrived at what had once been a pool of water, but was
then empty. The soil at the bottom was not yet dried;
so by working with sharp sticks and the bayonets of
the porters, a little well was soon dug, into which at
the slowest possible rate water trickled. There proved
to be just sufficient in this hollow to satisfy the immediate
wants of the caravan. Had we failed in finding
water that day, we should have been forced to retrace
our steps to the headwaters of the Mackenzie, fill our
water-skins there, and set out afresh.
On the ioth of June-we reached Ngombe crater, and
there camped. Our Wanderobbo guide said that the
water in the crater was at all times drinkable. This we
doubted, as we had tasted it on our former visit; nevertheless,
the men were sent down to verify or discredit
his statement. They returned with water strongly impregnated
with sulphate of magnesium, yet drinkable.
This water was not taken from the main hole in the
centre of the crater, but from a small and well-concealed
spring which rose in a fissure between two rocks
on the side.
June 11 was my twenty-sixth birthday; it was spent
upon the bleak side of the crater. With the exception
of the caravan, there was no sign of life in view.
Even in the rainy season this portion of the desert is
never covered with grass. Small, stunted, and almost
lifeless mimosa raised their twisted forms here and there
on the plain. Of game there was none; and were it
not for the well-beaten path which leads from the crater
to the Jombeni range, one might imagine one’s self
thousands of miles away from life in any form. However,
I accepted as my birthday present the fact that
the water in the crater proved drinkable. Disagreeable
though its flavour, my men seemed really to enjoy it.
It was months since many of them had tasted salt, so
that they welcomed its taste as a delicacy, and feasted
the entire day upon what was left of the rhinoceros
meat. From the Ngombe crater our route to the
Guaso Nyiro lay more to the southward than the one
made use of upon our Lorian journey. Our Wanderobbo
guide told us that he would lead us in two
days to a place where we could ford the Guaso Nyiro
River. To find such a place was an absolute necessity,
for we knew the stream would be much swollen
by the recent rains, and altogether impassable in most
places.
The next day we marched twelve miles across the
desert lying between the Jombeni range and the river.
What was our surprise to find in the centre of the
desert a large bubbling spring, shaded by acacia trees.
There we pitched our camp. About eight miles to
the southward rose Mount Chabba; and due east, just
above the level of the desert, we could discern the tops