266 THROUGH TURKANA AND SUK 



thrashed with a stick. The thrashed grain is finally packed in 

 baskets some six feet in diameter, made of plaited branches, 

 and hnng up in trees at a height of from about thirty-six to 

 forty-six feet from the ground. 



On July 6 we were off again, taking with us two days' 

 rations of dhurra, and accompanied by thirty men belonging to 

 the trading caravan, who, having no goods for barter, could 

 not go on to Ngamatak. The rest of their party were nearly as 

 poor, but they had a little tobacco with them. Of course, as 

 we had more articles of barter than we wanted, these traders 

 would have liked to do some business with us, but bearing in 

 mind the mischief they had done us here, and in spite of the 

 absurd prices they offered — 300 dollars, for instance, for seventy- 

 seven pounds of iron wire — the Count would not let them have 

 anything. Another trick they played us was to persuade 

 Sokoni to go with them to Ngamatak, although we should 

 sorely need his services in Suk, he being the only one of our 

 party who knew anything about that district. 



We now left Ngaboto ^ behind us, marching in a southerly 

 direction along the right bank of the Trrawell, or, to be more 

 accurate, stumbling along animal tracks till we got back to the 

 river, here a good forty paces broad. As we wanted to reach 

 the base of the steep slopes of the Suk range of mountains, 

 however, we decided to cross the river, and camped on the 

 other side in a very stuffy wood on its bank. 



We had been told that the natives living by the Trrawell 

 were very skilful in catching ostriches and elephants, and had 

 had our doubts about it, but here we came upon a convincing 

 proof of the report in the form of an elephant trap set across a 

 narrow path. This trap consisted of a very strong strip of raw 



^ I cannot refrain froixi adding that where the account of a later English traveller 

 in these parts differs from mine, as given above, that account is not founded on 

 truth. 



