being unable to bear any burden, was driven listlessly
along behind the caravan.
On the 29th we had reached a point where the country
through which the Guaso Nyiro flowed was parklike
in appearance; groves of tall dhum palms were seen
extending 500 yards from the river bank, and here and
there were groups of magnificent acacias. The1'going
became delightfully smooth and easy. We seemed to
have reached the end of the lava flow from the Jombeni
range. In the branches of these trees innumerable
birds had their nests. Some of these birds have sweet
voices, the notes of one or two sounding purely liquid
to the ear. In shaded places, flowers like our morning-
glories peeped up from the soil, mostly of a pale purple
with red centres. Small herds of zebra and antelope
wandered about, or fed placidly beneath the trees. The
soil appeared to be extraordinarily rich, and with irrigation
this portion of the country should yield large
crops of rice and millet. On this day I shot a beautiful
lesser koodoo, the only one we saw upon this journey.
On the following day’s march we came to a point
where the river made a sharp bend to the north. It
flowed eight miles in that direction, and then abruptly
turned to the east upon reaching the foot of a high
plateau. Motjo told us that this plateau was called
Marisi Alugwa Zombo; and from its top we expected
to see Lake Lorian.
We cut across the plain to the eastern end of the
plateau, and reached it about half an hour before sunset.
Near camp I shot a fine female oryx beisa and two
pallah. I also killed a fine female antelope, of what I
considered a previously unknown species. We took a