136 EXCURSIONS FROM NJEMPS part ii 



and to determine the character of the basin. (The topography 

 of the lake is described in the Geographical Journal, vol. iv. 

 1894, pp. 31 1-3 I 3.) 



Baringo and Njemps both lie on the floor of the Rift 

 Valley, the walls of which closely resemble in their structure 

 those of the region around Naivasha. Here, however, there 

 were no Masai to hinder exploration, so I could hope to work 

 out the geological structure of the country more conveniently 

 and thoroughly. The study of the eastern wall I intended to 

 postpone until the return march, and I was determined to 

 make the most of the present opportunity of studying the 

 western plateau, in order to obtain materials for a geological 

 section right across the valley. The eastern wall is in places 

 a single face of rock, over 2000 feet in height, the foot of 

 which is 7 miles from Njemps. The western wall, formed 

 here by the great fault-scarp of Kamasia, is 14 miles from the 

 village, and a series of foot-hills intervenes between the two. 

 From the descriptions of Thomson, I expected to find that 

 while these foot-hills were composed of volcanic rocks, the 

 plateau was a great island of the old rocks (gneisses) rising up 

 through the lavas and forming the backbone of the Kamasian 

 ridge. 



We left our camp at Njemps on the 28th May and crossed 

 the plain towards the base of the foot-hills. Our progress, 

 however, was soon stopped by a messenger who recalled me to 

 the village ; there I was detained till it was too late to do 

 more than reach and cross the river Tigirish, before approaching 

 nightfall arrested us. We had no guide, as, probably owing to 

 the instigation of the Arabs, none of the natives would go with 

 us. One of my men said he knew the way by which Omari 

 had gone, and I trusted him to guide us ; he misled us, no 

 doubt wilfully. We got into very bad country, a district inter- 

 sected by deep ravines. We had to cut our way through dense 

 acacia scrub from one ridge to another. We trudged for 

 miles over sandy river-beds, through gorges so sinuous that no 

 breeze could work its way along them to refresh us, and with 

 walls as bare and black as if designed expressly for a sun-trap. 

 The men were frightened ; alarm begot anger, and they dawdled 

 as much as they dared. Illness made me irritable, and irrita- 

 bility made me energetic ; so at last I threatened to flog them, 



