LOFTY MOUNTAINS. 359 



being an almost independent district, his promise was only to 

 be taken as an empty compliment ; and although the big drums 

 began at midnight to call the porters together, it was very 

 late indeed before we were able to resume our march. 



After passing between homesteads and extensive durrah-fields, 

 which had just been sown with this year's second crop, we soon 

 reached the savannah, and marched on rapidly over a red clayey 

 soil. Many elephants frequent this grassy region, and enjoy 

 eating the Balanites and Zizyphus, which are now laden with 

 fruit. A chain of mountains, called by the natives Rego, lay 

 before us ; in the centre there was a deep depression, to which 

 we made our way, and which proved to be a defile thickly over- 

 grown with bamboos ; it led us to a narrow pass between the 

 mountains of Lurja and Boron, which was rendered almost 

 impassable by thickets of luxuriant vegetation. While we 

 climbed with great difficulty through it, I buried the hope of 

 ever using this road for camels. The aneroid read here O.35 

 inch lower than it did in Mogedo, showing that the rise had 

 been considerable, although it was not very noticeable during 

 the march. The district we had passed through must be com- 

 pletely without water in the winter, for even now, although the 

 rainy season has not yet come to an end, we had difficulty in 

 finding drinking-water. During the rains, however, a great 

 quantity of water must flow from here to the river, for the 

 ravines through which the watercourses wend their way, as 

 well as the long, deep channels carved out by the erosive 

 action of the water, are covered with white, coarse-grained sand 

 and sharp quartz rubble. 



Near to one of these, we entered the district of Fajehi proper, 

 inhabited by various divisions of the Bari tribe. They are 

 ruled over by independent chiefs, and only distinguished by a 

 special dialect from the other Bari. On account of the very 

 damp soil, a more vigorous growth of vegetation has sprung 

 up here, and a small wood of Cassalpinias and Kigelias, 

 heavily laden with fruit, formed a pleasing, peaceful picture. 

 Along the whole route we only saw two very small doleb 

 palms. We camped for the night by the pools of Lodafe, 

 where the porters were rewarded for their exertions by a cow. 

 It was quickly killed and cut up, and, with plenty of meal, 



