CHAP. V ON TO THE PLAINS 65 



subsided, but it had left me very weak, and for the last two 

 miles I had to be held on the donkey. We camped on a hill- 

 top amid some flat slabs of carboniferous sandstone, beside 

 some pools of water. From these the place derives its name 

 of " Maji Chumvi " or " Salt-water " ; they are usually brackish, 

 though after the heavy rain of the last few days they then 

 tasted quite fresh. Next morning the weather was finer, and 

 camp was struck by daybreak. Edmonds then had to return ; 

 he gave me on parting a good deal of somewhat startling 

 medical advice, which I simply noted as not to be used, but 

 which I fear he practised on himself. He then jumped on to 

 the donkey and rode off, shouting back to me the promise of a 

 hearty welcome on my return. The welcome was never given : 

 the next news I had of my poor friend was of his death. 



This day's march took us well out on to the Taro Plains ; 

 these are part of the barren plateau that, throughout Equatorial 

 Africa, separates the edge of the coastal slope from the foot of 

 the volcanic mountains of the interior. Before us lay a vast 

 expanse of uninteresting-looking country, rising slowly to the 

 west. It was covered by a dense scrub of flat-topped, umbrella- 

 shaped acacia trees ; the turf of the coast zone was replaced 

 by tufts of dry grass ; huge aristolochias, spiny sansevieras, and 

 aloes formed the most striking features in the undergrowth. 

 The only things that broke the monotony were the massive 

 trunks and knobbed branches of huge baobabs that rose through 

 the scrub, and rugged peaks of gneiss that towered above the 

 plain on the western horizon. The country did not promise 

 much of interest to the naturalist, and even if it had done so I 

 was not well enough to collect. The fever had left me, and 

 my temperature had even fallen two degrees below normal ; 

 but I was terribly weak. This was not surprising, as for three 

 days I had taken only a little arrowroot. I stepped out as 

 vigorously as possible for the first two hours, and then suddenly 

 collapsed. The caravan had gone far ahead, and I had to 

 follow it ; I could, however, only drag on for a few hundred 

 yards at a time, and then He down to rest. It was the most 

 dismal experience throughout the expedition. At last I could 

 go no farther until Omari sent on to the camp, had a kettle of 

 tea made and brought back to me. It was in this district that 

 many of Thomson's men broke down for want of water ; he, 



F 



