224 THROUGH TURKANA AND SUK 



liad used, never dreaming that it could all have come about by 

 natural means. He was, however, so confident in us now that 

 he did not think it necessary to warn us against the Turkana. 



So much the more calmly did we climb the pathless and 

 almost barren slopes the next morning, passing here and 

 there gneiss rocks, rising up in the deep water-channels, the 

 main material of the mountain being still, however, of volcanic 

 origin. Great blocks of rock encumbered the path, and we 

 had either to shove them aside or to roll them down into the 

 depths below. The ascent was terribly arduous, especially for 

 the donkeys, and one of them, unfortunately the one on which 

 we had fastened our ape, fell and slipped backwards. We 

 felt sure that both were lost, and a cry of dismay ran along the 

 ranks at the sight of the danger of our beloved Hamis, but, 

 wonderful to relate, steed and rider both escaped. 



After three hours' climb we reached the broad plateau- 

 like summit of the range, at a height of about 3,077 feet above 

 the sea-level and 1,740 feet above the lake, which, now that we 

 were leaving it, reassumed its former beauty, looking like a 

 dark, slightly-rippled mirror, set in a picturesque framework of 

 mountain scenery. 



The ridge which we were now crossing was tolerably level 

 and ran in a westerly direction, sending out on the south a 

 number of little ravine-like valleys, whilst on the north it rose 

 again into a rugged mountain mass. Apparently the district 

 was entirely uninhabited, so that we were the more surprised 

 when after about an hour's tramp a dark form suddenly rose 

 up before us and approached us in a hesitating and doubtful 

 manner. It turned out to be a young fellow from Mount 

 Nyiro, with whom Lembasso happened to be acquainted, who 

 had left his native district when a mere boy to join the 

 Turkana, becoming quite one of them. He was now on his 

 way back to pay a short visit to his own people on Mount 



