4.32 A NATURALIST'S WANDERINGS 



pebbles and sand, through which instead of one hirge rivei 

 numerous small independent streamlets, some of them pure 

 and sparkling, but most of them of a blue inky hue, were 

 meandering tlieir course. A few of these slaty stones were 

 of red or yellowish colour ; I myself observed no granite, 

 but my boy brought me a porphyritic nodule. Our way lay 

 down the river-bed, the only good road wo had yet traversed, 

 between banks, from 100 to loO feet in height of perfectly 

 horizontal stratified pebbles, laid down in the bed of some 

 former lake or estuary through which the river, by the slow 

 elevation of the land is now cutting its way. Tall casuarinas, 

 loaded with staghorn-ferns, grew at the bases of the?e pebbly 

 cliffs and dotted the dry portions of the river-bed- 



When we had reached a point 2000 feet above the sea, we 

 left the river, turning to the right up the long steep slope of 



idoik Mountain, on whose top at 3400 feet we unhorsed 

 to lunch close to the barricaded dwelling: of a sub-chief of the 

 Motael kingdom in which we still were. Notwithstanding 

 the threats of the official of their own kingdom in attendance 

 on me, we could not succeed in purchasing anything of an 

 eatable kind except some Indian corn for the men, and had to 

 be content with the meagre provisions I had myself brought. 

 Just as we were about to resume our march rain commenced to 

 fall in torrents, compelling us to demand shelter, which was 

 ungraciously conceded to us, as on the previous night below 

 the eaves of a most wretched hovel. 



From our elevated position the whole country within the 

 sweep of the eye wiis of a most singular conformation, being 

 entirely composed of knife-edges, peaks, and precipitous slopes 

 of deep valleys. It surprised me to observe that it was the 

 most inaccessible peaks and isolated crags that were crowned 

 by dwellings, hidden from sight generally among groves of 

 trees. It was easy to see that I was travelling in a lawless 

 land where every man's hand uas against his neighbour, and 

 where therefore every man was constantly and restlessly on the 

 outlook. 



On the following morning (April 2), after I had taken a 

 series of bearings to all the prominent peaks, we continued 

 our journey south-eastward, descending 450 feet to the Vekele 

 stream, only to wend our way up again 550 feet to the crest of 



