HILL VILLAGES. 217 



green, and in the short grass just shooting up, quantities of 

 various Liliaceas are in blossom, among which a fine white 

 Crinum attracts attention by its sweet scent. A multitude of 

 small hhors intersect the hilly country, and granite and mica 

 crop out on the surface. A sort of open defile is formed by a 

 continuous line of isolated hills on one side, and the range of 

 Jebel Kajumbo on the other. We passed through this over 

 a very good road, and in the midst of a lovely wood of lofty 

 trees, until a sudden turn led us into a narrow valley lying 

 between Jebel Kajumbo and Jebel Tollogo ; this was the 

 dreaded Liria pass of Tollogo. We halted under a sycamore, 

 but before we could sit down to rest, the men provided by 

 Befo in the morning ran away, leaving us with only our few 

 Latiika porters. Large numbers of houses were visible on Jebel 

 Tollogo, all standing on small terraces levelled for the purpose, 

 many of them high up on the mountain-side, and hedged round 

 with strong fences of thorns and bamboos. The foot of the 

 mountain and the valley were very diligently cultivated. Large 

 numbers of men were industriously grubbing up the soil 

 with long shovels and preparing it for seed, while the women 

 and girls were collecting the uprooted grass into heaps, to be 

 subsequently burnt in order to extract salt from the ashes. 

 An attempt to procure porters here for the short distance to 

 Eugang's village was of no avail, for no one would leave his 

 work. We had, therefore, to distribute some of the loads of 

 flour, &c, among the remaining porters, and then we com- 

 menced the passage of the narrow defile, for in some parts 

 it well deserved this name. 



The valley is at most half a mile wide, and rises but slightly ; 

 the small Khor Modira, which flows through it, receives from 

 all sides the tribute of numerous rain-drains. The mountains 

 are in some parts richly wooded, but elsewhere they are quite 

 bare, and exhibit the grey granite with white and red stripes 

 of which they are composed. Numerous villages are situated 

 on them, so completely matching in colour the dark rocks and 

 woods ' that they are only discovered with difficulty. Their 

 strong zeribas indicate great caution, which is no doubt neces- 

 sitated by the continual feuds and raids among the small 

 independent Bari tribes. I purposely use the word " Bari," 



