Iv GOVERNMENT EXPLORATIONS 93 
by some Italian travellers. Possibly they confounded Bur Dab 
and Bur Dab, the former meaning “rocky hill,” and the latter 
“hill of fire.” The caves inside afford a retreat for robbers, who 
are said never to leave the mountain. 
On going down to camp I found that E—— and his followers 
had been kept on the alert throughout the night by men 
prowling round. They were visible in the moonlight, but 
E would allow no firing, as they made off whenever he 
went to see who they were. On our return to Berbera we 
heard that fifty robbers had reconnoitred our Arregéd camp, 
and had made off westward for Kirrit, thinking we had come 
to Bur Dab to look for them. Having been severely handled 
in their attack on Colonel Paget’s party, they did not care to 
come into collision with Europeans again. Further native 
information was given us regarding this attack, it being re- 
ported that the robbers had lost three killed and ten wounded. 
As we did not visit Colonel Paget’s camp, we could hear no 
reliable account of what happened. 
Marching through the Habr Toljaala country, we reached 
the eastern continuation of Gdlis Range and descended by 
the Huguf Pass. Near Huguf we divided our caravan into two 
parts ; I marched to Berbera vza Karam, while E ascended 
Wagar Mountain, two days’ march to the west of Huguf, to 
take observations. He marched over steep rolling ground, 
gradually ascending, and then through a narrow gorge to Sisal, 
at the back of Wagar. Sisai is a grassy hollow between the 
two principal peaks of Wagar, which are called by different 
names, the peak to the east being Bakawa, and the one to the 
west, and highest, Tawdwur (nearly seven thousand feet). 
Everywhere the hills are clothed with thick vegetation, and the 
grass is succulent and green, and many fat cattle of the 
Mahomed Esa were seen. The trees are chiefly mountain cedar 
and hassédan, a kind of euphorbia, affording a dense shade. 
The party ascended Tawdwur from Sisai by a good path, 
passing through heavy timber of cedar and hassdédan, the soil 
everywhere being hidden by the rich vegetation. About half- 
way up the party reached a long glade of green grass two feet 
high, which wetted them to the knees as they walked through. 
At the side of this glade the cedar-trees were straight, and 
starting with a girth of from ten to fifteen feet, rose to a height 
of ninety to one hundred feet, the hassédan trees attaining a 
height of about seventy feet. Opening out from this glade in 
