THE SURVEY CONTINUED 103 



evidence. The one under which my tent was pitched had 

 a girth of 57 ft., but this was nothing compared with some 

 which I saw later in the Barburr country. It was now 

 getting on towards the middle of the rainy season and for 

 about a month from now we had an almost daily downpour, 

 though the rain here is never so bad as nearer the coast. 



On July 12, to my great pleasure, Alexander caught me 

 up. He had quite recovered from his indisposition and we 

 marched on to Barh after crossing the River Saban Gidda, 

 about 700 ft. broad and 4 ft. deep, and two days later we 

 crossed the River Kamal, 200 ft. broad and 4 ft. deep, and a 

 mile further on the River Zungar, 600 ft. broad and 3 ft. 

 deep ; aU with the swift currents usual at this time of the 

 year. In all probabihty these three rivers join and form 

 the Kaddera, which flows into the Benue. Further on we 

 reached Mount Zungaru, for which we had been making 

 ever since we left Ampang. Here we parted again, as the 

 food question had become very serious. While I climbed 

 the mountain with a few carriers, Alexander went off to the 

 east,"to a place named Dass, where he heard that food could 

 be got. Thence he turned south to a hiU called Shell, and 

 on the 18th arrived at the foot of Mount Zungaru with 

 aU the food which he had been able to get together. 



Meantime the few carriers who had stayed with me, had 

 had great difiiculty in getting to the top of the mountain. 

 Finally, however they managed it, climbing with their loads 

 up ravines so precipitous that I could hardly scale them on 

 hands and knees. Half way up, indeed, they came to a 

 dead stop, and some of them even began to descend again, 

 while the others tried hard to keep me from going on by 



