xviii HEADWATERS OF THE MOGUER 1S7 



tongue of land between the river Wenza, Kowart or 

 Moguer, as different natives called it, and its tributary the 

 Gora Goba, which drains the Entotto range. Both of 

 these run in deep, rocky valleys, with sheer cliffs on 

 either side. That day camp was pitched close to the 

 edge of a deep precipice above the Moguer, just below 

 the point where its five head-waters meet. It was a 

 grand bit of scenery — the rolling grass-plain, dotted 

 about with trees, abruptly bounded by the bare rugged 

 cliffs ; while, far down in the valley, the glistening 

 threads of water, with great trees and clumps of bamboo 

 along their banks, showed indistincdy through the haze, 

 till one w^ondered if it was reality or mirage. 



On 4th March, while the mules were being loaded, I 

 went to the edge of the cliffs, watching the light of the 

 rising sun as it caught ridge after ridge of the spurs 

 below me. Suddenly I saw a head bob up close to me, 

 and, moving a little, I beheld a troop of monkeys work- 

 ing along a ledge of rock. The king of the troop was a 

 splendid old fellow, with a mane and coat of hair which 

 swept the ground. Although I wanted a specimen, it 

 was useless to shoot, as to secure the body would have 

 taken hours. The mules were now ready, and we began 

 the descent of a series of rough zigzags, to negotiate 

 which took three-quarters of an hour, the going being 

 very bad in some places, though fortunately the path 

 was dry. A long, easy slope and another zigzag 

 brought us in an hour and a half to the shade of a 

 great tree close to the Gora Goba. The difference of 

 temperature between the breezy plain above and this 

 shut-in rocky valley had to be felt to be believed ; the 



