A DELIGHTFUL CHANGE. 49 
nature it was for us! The light, beautiful green of the 
foliage, and the balmy and moist atmosphere, reminded 
me forcibly of spring-time in my own country, only the 
variety of the flora and fauna was distinctly African. 
Giant sycamores, pine-trees, and euphorbias spread out 
their limbs over veritable flower-beds. 
Fuchsias, sweet-peas, and countless other plants seemed 
to be trying to crush each other out. Gayly plumaged 
birds sang away lustily, or flitted hither or thither, seeking 
to devour some passing butterfly. All about were fresh 
elephant-tracks, as well as spoor of a few leopards and 
lions. 
We had not seen much game since leaving the Shebeli, 
excepting zebra grevii and oryx in small herds, and 
Waller’s gazelle. 
As much, however, as we had longed for rain before 
this, we were now to have too much of it; for during 
the next two months scarcely a day passed that we did 
not have a shower of some kind. The next march 
brought us in sight of two striking mountain groups 
about fifty miles to the west. One of these was called 
Daro by the natives, while the other I have named the 
Gillett Mountains, in honor of my friend. Little did I 
think that we should not get out of sight of these moun- 
tains for over two months. The country became more 
Open, and every now and then we passed some little 
brook flowing south into the Darde. 
We began to hear much of Sheikh Husein, and at 
a village where we camped on September 15, called 
Darrar, we met some of the inhabitants of this place. 
They told us they were going to hold a religious festival 
at Sheikh Husein in a short time, and that we should cer- 
tainly be there. These people were Mohammedans, as I 
shall explain later. On our next march we passed many 
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