The following day, Saturday, September IO, I started off
on what turned out to be a very long and hard march.
Having , long wished to examine the country on the other
side, of the lake, I now resolved to take this ppportunity of
doing so, as it was now necessary to know this part of the
country. ,■ - > - ■- ■ .
Toyo Wabakulo, the Giryama chief, who had stayed to wish
me good-bye, declared it wo.uld take me two days to go round
the lake, and asked me to fire a gun to let him know where I
would camp that night,, and that wherever it might be, he
would send me supplies. Mr. Hooper, however, assured me that
at the most it would only take five hours | that Mr. Burt had
once been compelled to travel round that way owing to the
other road being flooded. I quote from my diary the following
notes of my journey-—
L Started punctually at 7 a.m, from camp.
“ W e s t e r n s id e OF L a k e .— A t first open glades and
b l a c k soil— then forest— black loamy soil— track which is
much overgrown, frequently winding round the bays of lake
— flat shores flooded in rains— well adapted for Egyptian
cotton.
“ S o u t h e r n S id e .— Open forest with red soil— a . good
deal of iron in soil— southern side more hilly— then skirting
slope of Sekoki Hill till 10.30 a.m., when emerged on open
rocky land (iron). From here obtained a lovely view over
the: whole lake lying below. Then tramped for an hour
through, thick forest, but no large trees. Soil red-^a great
deal of ‘ n’konge,’ but mostly small. Further on soil more
chocolate and loamy, with larger trees.” _ \ ,
I -was- stilf-following- the slope-of Sekoki-Hill, eventually
arriving at the-ford at the bottom of the hill, where I joined
Weaver’s road. Here I halted to rest and get water, and allow
my porters to come up. 1 had a pailful of honey, which Toyo
Wabakulo had given me. I passed it on to my porters, who
regaled themselves with it, though I warned them how thirsty
it would make them! We continued along the new road, which
I w a s sprry td notice was getting overgrown ; it was intensely
hot. We gat to my old camp at Me id shaihba at 4 p.m. Here
I got some green coco-nuts, and drank the contents of about