2 6o LABORE TO FATIKO. 



Scattered granite blocks mark the ascent along which our 

 road led up to the ridge of the hills. Open wood and high 

 grass, with bushes of all sorts, Zizyphus, Balanites, and abun- 

 dant Randia, covered the ground and shut out nearly all view ; 

 now and then we saw for a moment the peaks of Jebel Foki 

 and the broad back of Atikki. 



The road wound at random through the rank grass, in which 

 bamboo but seldom appeared. After crossing Khor Tipalanga, 

 a distant view was obtained of a chain of hills, the general 

 direction of which was about parallel to the road, but slight 

 deflections occurred where small streams flowed through gullies 

 to the river. Several small Madi enclosures formed the village 

 of 05, which stood on a ridge above Khor Merve, in the midst 

 of pulse and hibiscus plants. Large quantities of a cucumber 

 called by the Madi urdzu lay in front of the huts, and a 

 high termite hill in the centre of the village afforded a view 

 over the country, and enabled me to take compass bearings. 

 The rise from Lahore to this place is very considerable ; the 

 aneroid here read 27.87 in., while at Lahore the reading was 

 28.02 in. A short march brought us to Khor Kilive, the 

 largest stream in this region ; it is probably never dry, for 

 prolific vegetation grows beside it, and crops abound in the 

 neighbourhood. We reached the zeriba of Keren, our night 

 quarters, after a march of exactly two hours and fifty-two 

 minutes. 



The night before our arrival a leopard had made its way into 

 the little village and killed a man, consequently we had the oppor- 

 tunity of witnessing a funeral. A circular hole, about three 

 feet in diameter and five feet deep, was dug in front of one of 

 the huts, and the corpse, clothed in a skin, was placed in it in 

 a squatting position, with arms and legs drawn up. Then earth 

 was shovelled in and stamped firmly down, and the grave was 

 covered over with stone slabs. The bereaved wives, who were 

 now inherited by the son of the deceased, wept in an orthodox 

 manner during the ceremony, and when it was over everybody 

 went about his business. I was told of a curious belief exist- 

 ing in a village not far from here, whose inhabitants are said 

 to have the power of turning themselves at night into leopards 

 and of killing and devouring men. I remember hearing of a 



