LUXURIANT VEGETATION 



in and out amongst the branches, tall grass and 

 shrubs in astonishing profusion, formed an almost 

 theatrical picture to which the finishing touches were 

 added by a thick white mist that rose from the 

 ground, blurring the outlines and adding mystery 

 to the scene. As the sun grew hotter, a perfect 

 swarm of small flies collected around us, maddening 

 the camels and driving my men and myself almost 

 crazy. There was not a breath of air, and, to make 

 matters worse, huge storm-clouds were quietly 

 gathering, rendering the air oppressive beyond de- 

 scription. At last, close on 8 a.m., we reached a 

 small Somali boma, and about a quarter of a mile 

 beyond I camped near a little rain-pool. The camels 

 did not arrive for another hour, having had trouble 

 with the loads in the bush. The storm threatened 

 all the morning, but did not break till 2 o'clock, when 

 rain came down with truly tropical violence. In three- 

 quarters of an hour we actually filled eight tanks 

 (ninety-six gallons) and two buckets with rain-water. 

 It cleared up completely by three o'clock, and the sun 

 came out, making the atmosphere, already stifling, 

 perfectly indescribable. But, on the whole, the rain 

 was really a blessing, as the water was clear and sweet, 

 a delightful change from the usual kind found in the 

 bush, which is either full of mud or tastes strongly 

 of the animals which have been watering there. 



When the storm was over, I went out in search 

 of game, as I had been told that there were oryx and 

 topi in this district, but I saw no traces of them, and 

 came back in disgust about dark, very much exhausted. 

 We broke camp at half-past three the following 

 morning, marching northwards, but at the very start 

 there was an unfortunate accident, my servant, Juma, 



73 



