A DIFFICULT ASCENT BEFORE. US. 281 
reached Lake Rudolf; but still I was more than satisfied 
with the work I had accomplished up to this time. 
We had forty miles yet to go, and there were many 
obstacles before us in that forty miles. The boys I had 
sent out returned with the news that the only paths up the 
mountain were difficult even for men to climb. The 
attempt had to be made, however, so we started at once 
making a path for ourselves. The whole of the next 
day was spent at this work, and by evening the path 
had been nearly completed. We had some excitement 
in camp caused by the same party of warriors that had 
come to fight us on our arrival. These savages were 
afraid to attack us, but they were always in the bushes 
not far from camp, watching their opportunity to play 
some tricks. They tried to catch a young boy who 
was watching cattle, and whom they thought was alone, 
but the lad ran back to where some of my Somalis were 
sitting near at hand. My men fired over the heads of 
the natives, frightening them away, and then sent for 
me and asked me to give them permission to fire on 
any armed native they saw, as their positions were be- 
coming too dangerous. I at once ran down to where the 
cattle were, with the intention of shooting any warrior 
I saw, but only a lot of unarmed savages were to be 
seen. 
Suspecting that they had concealed their weapons in 
the bushes, we started on a search, and succeeded in find- 
ing about fifty bows, and quivers full of arrows. There 
must have been several hundred warriors continually near 
our camp. Dodson discovered natives stalking him, with 
evil intentions, no doubt, several times. When my boys 
returned from working on the road, they brought with 
them two natives of the Amar tribe, whom they had met on 
the top of the mountain, and who appeared very friendly. 
