Visit to Somnliland. 389 



feeling of the dreadful possibility of another attack on the 

 zareeba^ though how the man had been got out of it it was 

 impossible to tell by the feeble light of a match. However, 

 when the welcome morning light appeared, a small opening 

 was seen close to the ground, through which the wretched 

 man had been drawn. The lion must have found this small 

 aperture, and, reaching in his forearm, have dealt the sleeper 

 nearest to him a swift, heavy blow, killing him instantly. 

 He had then withdrawn the body so noiselessly that the other 

 two inmates of the zareeba were not disturbed, and had he 

 not commenced to devour his victim at once, the man's 

 disappearance might not have been noticed for some hours. 



We did not intend to remain at Sogsoda for more than 

 three days, but the Fates were against us, as George, 

 Aylmer's servant, caught an attack of fever which made us 

 anxious, for quinine seemed unable to reduce his temperature, 

 •which continued very high. Luckily his master returned 

 unexpectedly, and the next day the fever yielded to his 

 superior medical skill. 



Aylmer's expedition to Burao had not been a success so 

 far as lions were concerned. Lions certainly had been there, 

 but they had shifted their quarters by the time he arrived. 

 Wagga Mountain, the goal of our expedition, was only some 

 fifteen miles distant; yet, now that we were so near, it seemed 

 that our hopes of camping on its summit were to meet with 

 disappointment. Egga, our head man, who had been confident 

 before, now suddenly found the project bristling with 

 difficulties, the most alarming of which was that if there 

 were a path, which he doubted, our camels would never get 

 up with their loads. He also assured us that Captain Swayne, 

 the only Englishman who had ever visited the mountain, had 

 done so from where we camped and had returned the same 

 day, a statement which we found hard to believe. However, 

 for the present there was no idea of moving camp, owing to 

 George's illness, so Bland and I started one morning at 

 daybreak on a voyage of discovery, taking with us the two 

 riding-camels and two men. Having crossed a barren bit of 

 country resembling downs, where we saw and secured several 



