254 THEOUGH TURKANA AND SUK 



countermand his orders. 'Don't send your men out,' he urged. 

 ' I know, and the Turkana know, that you have a perfect right 

 to take oxen wherever you may find them. No one will help 

 the people of Dsyrr if you attack them. But consider, you 

 are in a waterless land, and if you make war I can guide you 

 no further, for I shall certainly be killed at the outset. Let me 

 first take you to the Trrawell, 3^ou will be there in two days, 

 and then you will only have to follow the river to get to the 

 land of the Suk. Before I leave yon on the Trrawell I will 

 show you oxen and camels, and myself advise you to take 

 them.' When we said we would only punish the thief and not 

 the innocent natives, he replied that it need not come to that, 

 for he was quite sure our oxen would be brought back. Out 

 of consideration for Lemagori, who had served us so well. 

 Count Teleki recalled his orders, and at two o'clock the same 

 afternoon we started for Laminatjan's village, which we 

 reached after a couple of hours' march along the base of a 

 steep hill on the eastern frontier of the Turkana district of 

 Ngamatak. 



Soon after our arrival the Leibon appeared, bringing fresh 

 milk, and offering to help us by every means in his power. As 

 it was too late to begin trading, he tried to persuade us to 

 remain over the next day, but the Count decided to push on 

 with the main caravan, only leaving behind Qualla, Jumbe 

 Kimemeta, and sixty men. Qualla was to buy what cattle he 

 could, and follow us with it. Our route led us in a westerly 

 direction, across a less level district, dotted with numerous 

 scattered hills and ridges. The soil was sandy, and, like the 

 mountains, almost barren. We passed the dried-up beds of 

 several streams fringed with fine trees. The neighbourhood 

 seemed to be pretty thickly populated, but the people took 

 next to no notice of us. After four hours' march, we came to 

 a group of villages near to which we thought of camping, but 



