ON A VISIT TO ROCHlMA. 273 



A storm during the night had beaten down the long grass 

 stalks and quite concealed the path. We had therefore to fight 

 our way through damp bogs, enormous grasses, and thickets 

 of bamboo, no pleasant combination. We breathed freely 

 again at last, when, after more than three hours' struggle, we 

 reached the stony ridge along which lies the village of Latjiet, 

 amidst picturesque rocks. After crossing a range of hills, the 

 highest of which was the cone-shaped Nyone, we left the dis- 

 trict of Labongo and soon arrived at Khor Bagger. Its rapid 

 torrent was confined by banks, some ten feet high, on which 

 flood-marks six feet above the present level were plainly visible ; 

 the water reached up to our waists and roared over numerous 

 boulders. At the ford, the bed of the khor, which elsewhere 

 is fifty to sixty feet broad, widens out considerably, and is 

 divided by boulders into deep channels. The force of the cur- 

 rent presses upon the southern bank, along which loam-pillars, 

 about eight feet in diameter and overgrown with rushes, rise 

 above the level of the river. These are fragments of that part 

 of the bank which has been torn away by its current. Unlike 

 all the streams we had hitherto passed, which were of a muddy 

 yellow colour, the water in Khor Bagger was very clear and 

 good. Its source is said to lie in Lire in, a district of the 

 Lango country. 



After a short rest on the southern bank, the march was 

 continued. Jebel Goma stood as a landmark before us. The 

 real dip of the country begins at the ridge on which the village 

 of Layima stands ; the ranges of high hills which we had suc- 

 cessively passed during the previous days lay behind us, shut- 

 ting out the horizon like a wall. A boiling-point observation 

 (207. 1 ° Fahr., temp. 84° C.) confirmed the fact that we were 

 descending. In the open forest covering the slope, we heard 

 the call of numerous francolins at daybreak, and a very singular 

 cry seemed to announce the presence of Ptilopachys vmtralis. 

 The Colobus guereza, which are very common from here to the 

 south and towards Abyssinia, were combing their white 

 coats upon the tall trees. On reaching the village of Biayo, 

 Rochama s residence, we found that he had thoughtfully had 

 good huts erected for us ; but the old gentleman was very 

 indignant when he heard that I intended to cross Khor Asua 



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