1 1 o SFOR T IN ABYSSINIA. 



handkerchiefs. We rode a good way down the river, 

 and the farther we went the fewer the Httle pools of 

 water became : at last there was no water to be seen, 

 the sand had gradually absorbed it ; and we should 

 have to dig four or five feet in order to get water here, 

 so it would be of very little use to go down into the 

 jungle by this route. H. and I amused ourselves 

 by setting fire to the jungle, in hopes of starting 

 some animal, but we saw nothing and so turned our 

 mules' heads towards home. It is interesting in 

 this country to see, while jungle is burning ; this it 

 is always doing during the dry weather — the number 

 of birds — insect-catchers — hovering over the flames 

 and catching any flies, beetles, or butterflies, that 

 happen to be driven out of the grass and bushes by 

 the smoke and heat. 



ya7L 28. — To-day we started at 8.30 for Adiaboo. 

 We went up the bed of the Zareena for a short way 

 and then turned off sharp to the right ; this will be 

 better understood by my readers when I say that, 

 after turning to the right, we began travelling very 

 nearly due west. The road was merely a jungle 

 path, and the bushes were in some places very thick, 

 which scratched our knees as we pushed through 

 them. Sometimes we rode up the dry bed of a 

 watercourse, at other times we struck right into the 

 thorny forest of mimosa bushes. At last we came to 



