donkey had given out. During that day and night
we lost five of these beasts.
Just before sunrise we reached a dry and sandy
river-bed. My men threw their loads to the ground,
and one and all began to dig with their hands.
Soon shouts of joy were heard, for at a depth of
three feet water was found. This place our guide
called Lokoli. It is distant, in a straight line, twentyfive
miles from the camp we had left; but by the
winding road we were forced to follow we must have
traversed nearly ten more. A t this point we rested
one day.
We questioned our guide closely as to the whereabouts
of the Wanderobbo he had promised. He
then said that he was not sure of finding them, but
hoped to. He added that if they were not at Seran,
which we should reach in two days, there would be
nothing to do but return. The closest questioning
ended in the same response: “ Seran.” “ If we got
to Seran, and there were no Wanderobbo there, we
must come back. From Seran on there is no water;
all is desert.”
“ Did he know just where Seran was ? ”
“ Mayolo.” (A Masai word meaning, I don’t know.)
“ Did he know any other road in this direction
which was likely to lead either to the Wanderobbo
or the Rendile ? ”
“ Mayolo.”
From his frequent reiteration of this word we
dubbed him “ Mayolo.”
Leaving Lokoli, six hours’ sharp marching brought
us to a small water-hole called Lendovie. Our oguide
was not certain there was water in it until he
reached it. While on the march, he would stop
every half-hour, and run off first to one side and
then the other, examining every little hollow for signs
of water. Where we found a water-hole, we camped.
Near Lendovie I shot five wart hogs. None of
my men, with the exception of two of the Soudanese,
would eat the flesh of these animals; but the two
Wanderobbo (Mayolo and the one we took from
Daitcho) quarrelled fiercely for what they considered
choice bits of the flesh, and loaded themselves with
nearly forty pounds of it.
The following day we reached Seran. Seran is a
perfect oasis in that arid desert. It consists of about
two acres of land covered with graceful dhum palms,
in the centre of which there is a large spring of cool,
clear, and delicious water. A few hundred yards
away from this group of palms is another, where a
smaller spring is to be found. Under these trees the
turf is soft and green. We felt that we had reached
a veritable Paradise. From Lolokwi to Seran the
country is nearly as thorough a desert as Sahara.
Without a guide a heavily laden caravan would soon
perish from thirst in this dreary waste. A t Seran we
found game in plenty, and during the afternoon of
the day of our arrival I killed a female rhinoceros
and two giraffes. The flesh of these animals we cut
into strips, and dried in the sun.
There were no signs of Wanderobbo at Seran, and
our guide again urged us to turn back, insisting that
he knew no more of the country lying beyond. We
asked him what had become of the Wanderobbo he