386 Mr. E. Lort Phillips on a 



the carcass, aud it was evident that they were rejoicing 

 over our misfortune. For them "the best" had already 

 arrived, for us a few days' anxious watching proved that our 

 fears were groundless. Next morning the trees and rocks 

 were covered with various kinds of Vultures, while many 

 more circled round the remains of the hysenas' feast, a grand 

 sight for those among us who had never before seen these 

 great birds at home. Load up and off again was the order 

 of the day, as there was not a particle of shade in this place, 

 nor were butterflies plentiful, in spite of its high-sounding 

 title. 



We were now within a short march of the Sheikh Pass, 

 where a splendidly-engineered road leads to the upper ledges 

 of the Goolis and to the vast elevated plateau called the Howd. 

 A short march brought us to the first low spurs of the 

 Goolis that run out into the Gooban or Maritime Plain ; 

 once within these tlie whole scene changes, and the traveller 

 finds that he has exchanged the stunted mimosas of the 

 burning Gooban for trees of considerable size, among which 

 the candelabra-like euphorbias are most conspicuous ; birds 

 are seen and heard in all directions, while large new butterflies 

 of the family Papilionidw appear for the first time. We 

 followed the course of a merry little brook for some three miles 

 and pitched our camp on some rising ground by a huge 

 fig-tree, as we heard that the old camping-ground at Hammar 

 was now occupied by a stone guard-house for the protection 

 of the pass. As we were anxious to get up into the cool air, 

 we resumed our march again next day, and soon passed the 

 new guard-house, which looked very comfortable. The ground 

 about it had been enclosed, and an irrigation-trench had been 

 cut above it to bring water from the stream for the use of 

 the garden which was being laid out. 



Our camels ascended the pass easily, as the road, good as 

 it was in 1895, had been much improved since. On reaching 

 the summit we turned to the left, towards the little white 

 Marabout or Sheikh from which the pass takes its name. 

 Beyond the tomb are some gigantic euphorbia-trees, close 

 to which we pitched our tents on a piece of ground as smooth 



