A FORCED MARCH 



193 



meaning thus to return to our old route by a short cut. 

 On this march the Count came upon a group of crocodiles, 

 which rushed headlong for the water at his approach, not, 

 however, before one of them had been shot dead. He also 

 surprised a lion and a leopard, but they both got off before 

 he could fire. We halted for the night in the ravine-like 

 mountain channel of a brook, and found to our surprise that 

 the subsoil consisted of metamorphic rock, so that only the 

 upper stratum was of volcanic origin. Layers of gneiss, run- 

 ning from north to south, with an easterly inclination of from 

 about seventy to eighty degrees, were of frequent occurrence 

 in this ravine. The formation of the lake appears to have 

 been the result of subsidence. 



As we marched further, we made the disagreeable discovery 

 that it had not rained in the mountains during the last few 

 days, and we must expect to suffer from want of water, which, 

 in fact, we very soon did. 



We obtained a little water by digging the next day, but no 

 more after that, so we were compelled to do the whole of the 

 march from Lake Stefanie to Eeshiat in four days. The last 

 stage was no less than twenty-five miles, which we achieved, 

 with only a short break at mid-day, between daybreak and 

 sunset. The men, however, managed it pluckily without any 

 lagging behind. The thought that we were on our way home 

 cheered them all up wonderfully. 



It was very fortunate for us that we happened to arrive at 

 Eeshiat in the rainy season, for at any other time it would have 

 been simply impossible for us to reach Lake Stefanie, and of 

 course even if we had got there we could not have remained, 

 as its water was not fit to drink. 



We found the camp just as we had left it. The Oromaj 

 came to see us, in spite of the lateness of the hour, just as he 

 had done before, bringing us fresh milk, and spying carefully 



VOL. II. 



