BACK AT WANDI. 389 



the yellow-backed widow-bird climbed about the grass ; as 

 then, Khor Torre rushed by — but the master of the house, who 

 had taken such a pride in these gardens, and who had hospitably 

 kept an open house for every needy one, was sleeping beneath 

 the sod. 



After a day's rest here for the sake of the porters, the 

 march was again resumed. On my former Makraka journey, 

 in August 1880, we had hardly found water enough to drink 

 along this road ; now, however, in November, in consequence 

 of very heavy summer rain, all the pools were full, and most of 

 our time was occupied in wading through mud and water. 

 From the durrah-fields we heard the cry of the boys stationed 

 there to frighten off the elephants competing with that of 

 hundreds of frogs which croaked by the side of the road. The 

 bridge which spanned Khor Bandama, a tributary of the Torre, 

 had been destroyed by the high water, which we had therefore 

 to ford by a ledge of rock which stretched across its bed. The 

 steppe commences just behind the Bari villages near this khor. 

 It is composed of grey loamy soil, overgrown with high grass 

 and a few trees, and crossed by many khors ; it would probably 

 be worth cultivating. We next reached the stony rubble 

 which is scattered over the ground near the station, and 

 then, after passing several watercourses near which bananas 

 were cultivated, we entered the station of Wandi, the oldest 

 village in the province of Makraka. At this place my route 

 joined that which I had previously laid down, and this year's 

 excursion came to an end. 



