172 THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
be in store for all of us?” Fortunately, however, we had 
risen two thousand feet from the Dawa valley, the tempera- 
ture being correspondingly lower, and the air more re- 
freshing, so that my sick boys were feeling much better. 
The next morning we started in the dark again, hoping 
soon to reach the pond; but we were forced to push the 
caravan ahead rapidly, as there was such an uncertainty of 
our finding this water. Three hours passed, and we were 
told that the pond lay just over the hill that rose ahead of 
us; an hour more and we had climbed the hill, and then 
the water was just as far away! We marched six hours 
fast, the guides always telling me that the water was just 
beyond the next hill. Finally we did come to the pond, 
but, alas, there was only mud at the bottom! Our posi- 
tion had certainly become serious, but we had to keep 
straight on. 
I was marching ahead with my gun-bearers, when, to 
my relief, I saw six natives drawing water from some holes. 
My boys could not help shouting for joy, frightening the 
poor natives out of their wits. There were four men 
and two women at the wells, with their camels; and when 
the women saw us, instead of running away, they rushed 
frantically up to us, and with tears and sobs threw their 
arms around myself and the boys, and implored us not to 
take away their fivecamels. Their fears were soon quieted, 
however, sufficiently for them to give me some information 
about the wells. They had exhausted all the water in the 
holes, but they said if we dug we might find enough for a 
drink all around for the men; so I pitched camp, and soon 
had a gang of men working hard with pickaxes and 
shovels, spears and hands, with the result that we collected, 
in all, eight buckets of water, — just enough for my eighty 
boys, but not a drop for the mules, donkeys, or camels. 
The next morning we were obliged to march again. The 
