236 THROUGH UNKNOWN AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 
promised. Dodson told me the chief of the Amara was 
very angry with me because I had refused to join him in 
making a raid upon his neighbors. The natives could not 
understand my reason for refusing to help them in this 
manner, since I should be able at the same time to get 
much loot myself. On May 15 I sent twenty men to the 
Amara to ask that they send the guides and food they had 
promised. 
The river curves through a narrow gorge about twenty 
miles to the west, and the chances of my following the 
stream did not seem favorable; but I determined upon 
making the attempt, at any rate, as I thought at the time 
that the Galana emptied into Lake Rudolf. My messen- 
gers returned from the Amara in the afternoon and re- 
ported that it was impossible to get guides, as the natives 
vowed they knew nothing whatever of the way along the 
river; but the chief promised to come himself and bring 
food early the next morning. We waited all the next day, 
but not a native put in an appearance. I was much dlis- 
appointed, as I had hoped to get a good supply of food 
here; but I did not care to force the old chief to do what 
he did not wish, especially as he had entertained me fora 
night so hospitably, and had provided porters for me to 
Lake Abaya. The loads were arranged, and everything 
made ready for marching; but just as we were about to 
leave in the morning, the chief appeared with about thirty 
Amara porters bearing bags of durrha meal on their 
backs. 
The natives could not understand why I wished to hurry 
so. They said they had been leisurely preparing the food, 
as they did not believe a few days’ delay would make 
any difference to us. We had been promised the food a 
week before, but I could not be angry with the old chief, as 
time is no object to natives. The Amara threw up their 
