374 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA chap, xxxii 



ground thoroughly, not a sign of her was to be found, 

 after the track ceased at the edge of the chff. A crowd 

 of villagers, who were sitting gorging themselves with 

 raw and half-cooked meat, offered no other help than 

 advising me to return to camp. On the way back, a 

 cuberow showed, but I missed it, which was vexing, for 

 it proved the only one I saw in Simien. Much heavy 

 rain fell in the evening and at night, so that next 

 morning the peaks were thick in snow, which reached 

 almost to our camp. I decided to search the slopes of 

 Ras Detjem, the camp being moved down some way 

 to meet me on my return, while Ali was to have a last 

 look for the missing ibex. It was a cloudy, cold day, 

 with sleet-squalls every now and then ; and, beyond a 

 few old tracks, all we saw was a big troop of baboons. 

 In the evening, round a roaring fire, Ali told me of his 

 unsuccessful search, and the Shum protested both his 

 anxiety to help me, and his absolute ignorance of any 

 other ibex-ground, assertions which I knew to be equally 

 false. The following morning, I sent off the messenger 

 from the Balambaras and one of my men to interview 

 the villagers all round, and offer a reward for any in- 

 formation about other herds of wala, while I went back 

 to the old ground ; but the clouds were so dense that we 

 only got occasional glimpses of it from above, and, 

 except a family party of three klipspringers and a solitary 

 monkey, saw nothing. 



Sunday, \st July. — As yesterday's messengers had 

 returned with no news, and there apparently was nothing 

 left on Buiheat but one small buck — being, moreover, 

 unable to discover any other ground, and the Takazze 



