14 



AT NYEMPS 



and had straight pointed horns from two to two and a half 

 inches long. It had exceptionally large ears with a strip of 

 black and white hair at the edge. The soft tufa-like rock of the 

 plateau terraces was riddled w^itli caves hollowed out by whole 

 colonies of hyenas as dwellings for themselves, each animal 

 having a separate dwelling with an opening to serve as entrance.' 

 We reached Nyemps on December 8. It 

 rained nearly every day from the 7th to the 

 11th, of which we were rather glad, as after 

 being so much in the highlands we found the 

 temperature here very trying, and had also been 

 so overwhelmed with dust, in spite of watering 

 the camp twice every day, that some of the 

 men were suffering from inflammation of the 

 eyes. The rain would at least lay this dust for 

 a time, and we employed the next few days in 

 constructing as fire-proof a tent as possible in 

 which to store our goods, and in holding shauri 

 with the natives in the hope of getting some 

 Ki'sj information about the district on the north. 



^ Everything was, however, very vague, and we 



could not even ascertain whether there was or 

 was not more than one lake there. One thing 

 only seemed clear, namely, that Samburu was 

 the name of a province, not of a lake onl}^, and 

 this was rather a surprise to us, as on all maps of the district 

 issued during the last thirty years, a lake of that name appears, 

 though it varies in size and situation. There seemed no doubt 

 that we should have to pass through a very sparsely inhabited 

 land, so that it would be necessary to take large quantities of 

 provisions with us. We therefore awaited Maktubu's return 

 and report with considerable anxiety. 



We generally went for a little walk in the neighbourhood 



HORNS OF THE 

 BEISA ANTELOPE 



