CHAPTER XIV 



THE DISCOVERY OF GULOLA SWAMP 



Mohammed Ali paid me another visit on the morning 

 after our last interview. In addition to the presents 

 he had already given me, he brought more milk, 

 and on this occasion a sheep also. It is, of course, 

 customary to give, in return, trade goods that some- 

 what exceed in value the presents received ; these 

 gifts become sometimes rather embarrassing if one's 

 stock of trade goods is limited. In this case, however, 

 I was rather pleased than otherwise, as my men were 

 delighted with the milk, and mutton was a pleasant 

 change from the tough, stringy meat of the wild 

 animals I had shot. 



He did not, however, bring me very encouraging- 

 news. Nobody in his village knew the country 

 between Gulola and Lorian, and the best, therefore, 

 that he could do was to provide me with two men 

 who would take me as far as Jeldez, a well-known 

 water-hole on the old Galla trail that led between 

 Afmadu and the Lorian to the south of the Lak 

 Dera. I was most disappointed, as, from what Abdi 

 Aden led me to believe, I had been counting on 

 Mohammed Ali to provide me with guides, and I 

 did not at all relish the thought of leading my men 

 through an unknown country with no idea of the 

 number or position of the water-holes. Existing 

 maps were useless, the country hereabouts being only 



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