WE FIND WATER JUST IN TIME. 349 
and torment of the next twenty-four hours again. We 
started out long before daylight on the last day of August, 
and pushed on all day almost maddened by thirst. Dodson 
and I had one cup of water apiece in our flasks; but this 
seemed like nothing to quench the fire that was consum- 
ing us. The sun’s rays, reflected by the glaring rocks, 
beat down on us more pitilessly than ever. Many of the 
men hid themselves, expecting to die. I was obliged to 
shoot six oxen and three donkeys. Sending boys to search 
for water in the deep fissure that splits Mt. Kulol in 
two, we made our way toward the mouth of the opening, 
almost without any hope for another day on earth; but 
just at sunset we heard the Somali song descriptive of 
victory, coming from almost the centre of the fissure. Our 
hearts gave a bound of joy, and every soul among us gave 
a wild cry of delight and rushed for the water. Dodson 
and I ran as fast as we could, holding the boys in check 
to prevent them from fighting in case there was a scarcity 
of the precious fluid; but fortunately the water was in 
large pools. As soon as the first boys had quenched their 
thirst, I sent them back with water for their comrades who 
had fallen down exhausted on the march. 
All night long we worked hard driving up the animals 
through the narrow opening in the mountain, and hunting 
the men that were lost. One of these, named Awad 
Aden, was not found until early the next morning. By 
the greatest piece of good fortune, however, before the sun 
had risen much above the horizon all my boys were in 
camp, and not much the worse for their hard experience. 
We rested by the water for three days to allow the ani- 
mals to recuperate; and meanwhile my boys succeeded in 
finding some Burkeneji, or Masai, who were living on top of 
the mountain. One of them, a very old man, said he had 
lately come from the Rendile, a tribe who were now living 
