VII 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



287 



was not certain there was water in it until he 

 reached it. While on the march, he would stop 

 every half-hour, and run off first to one side and 

 then the other, examining every little hollow for signs 

 of water. Where we found a water-hole, we camped. 



Near Lendovie I shot five wart hogs. None of 

 my men, with the exception of two of the Soudanese, 

 would eat the flesh of these animals ; but the two 

 Wanderobbo (Mayolo and the one we took from 

 Daitcho) quarrelled fiercely for what they considered 

 choice bits of the flesh, and loaded themselves with 

 nearly forty pounds of it. 



The following day we reached Seran. Seran is a 

 perfect oasis in that arid desert. It consists of about 

 two acres of land covered with graceful dhum palms, 

 in the centre of which there is a large spring of cool, 

 clear, and delicious water. A few hundred yards 

 away from this group of palms is another, where a 

 smaller spring is to be found. Under these trees the 

 turf is soft and green. We felt that we had reached 

 a veritable Paradise. From Lolokwi to Seran the 

 country is nearly as thorough a desert as Sahara. 

 Without a guide a heavily laden caravan would soon ' 

 perish from thirst in this dreary waste. At Seran we 

 found game in plenty, and during the afternoon of 

 the day of our arrival I killed a female rhinoceros 

 and two giraffes. The flesh of these animals we cut 

 into strips, and dried in the sun. 



There were no signs of Wanderobbo at Seran, and 

 our guide again urged us to turn back, insisting that 

 he knew no more of the country lying beyond. We 

 asked him what had become of the Wanderobbo he 



