124 ALONG LAKE RUDOLF 



one at a time allowed to come up to receive the precious 

 fluid. This went on till the mornino^, and the whole nio;ht was 

 occupied by some of the men in hunting up the scattered 

 porters, animals, and loads. As ever at critical times, Maktubu 

 proved himself equal to the emergency, and went back three or 

 four times during the night to the dried-up brook as if hunger, 

 thirst, and fatigue were quite unknown to him. Inexorably he 

 insisted on every man who had come without his load return- 

 ing to fetch it as soon as he had had some water, and he suc- 

 ceeded before daybreak in getting pretty well all the men, 

 animals, and loads together in the ravine. We ourselves 

 got a bit and a sup about midnight, and in consequence did 

 not suffer much from fatigue. 



Monday^ March 19. — We had quite lost sight of the lake 

 during yesterday's march, but it was onh^ a few hours' 

 distance off. A few men were still missing, and several 

 loads lying in the dried-up bed of the brook, but it would 

 never do to linger long in the ravine, as there was not nearly 

 enough water here for the men, and we had not been able to 

 give the animals any at all, so we decided to send Maktubu 

 and Qualla back with the donkeys to fetch the loads and hunt 

 up the stragglers, whilst we ourselves pressed on. 



We started at about seven o'clock in the direction of the lake, 

 keejDing the flat northern ridge of Mount Longendoti on our 

 left, whilst before us stretched a slightly undulating district 

 sloping down to the lake and gradually changing into a 

 perfectly flat plain. On our right were the highlands, extend- 

 ing far away in a northerly direction, whilst beyond was the 

 sharply defined edge of a low plateau. After a march of three 

 and a half hours we were back on the beach. From a distance 

 Lake Eudolf and the scenery surrounding it presented a very 

 picturesque appearance, the fresh green foliage of tree and 

 bush suoforestino- meadows and woods ; but the delusion did not 



