122 



THROUGH JUNGLE AND DESERT chap. 



worsted. The Rendile, however, at least once a year, 

 sent trading parties to the Jombeni range. These 

 always consisted of aged men and women ; for, had 

 young men been sent, they would have met with a hos- 

 tile reception from the mountain people. He also said 

 that the articles taken for barter by the Rendile con- 

 sisted of goats, sheep, and the partly tanned skins of 

 these animals. Motio's wanderings along the Guaso 

 Nyiro had taken him but little farther than the point 

 we had by that time reached. He assured us, however, 

 that after one long day's march to the eastward we 

 should reach a high plateau, and said he had been told 

 by his fellow-tribesmen that from the top of this plateau 

 the vast expanse of Lake Lorian could be seen. With 

 all this information at our disposal, the hopes of both 

 Lieutenant von Hohnel and myself rose to a high pitch, 

 and we felt that we were about to make a great geograph- 

 ical discovery. 



As we advanced, the going seemed to become worse 

 and worse. The surface of the soil was almost paved 

 with sharp, jagged lava blocks, and our feet were fast 

 becoming swollen and painful from continued march- 

 ing over such material. The desert on our side of the 

 river gleamed to such a degree that the eyes suffered in 

 consequence ; and the only redeeming feature to be 

 found in the landscape was the narrow strip of verdure, 

 from which sprang palm trees and acacias, stretching 

 along and following the river. 



The course of the Guaso Nyiro is ever-changing, and 

 the character of the soil through which it flows pre- 

 sents a great variety. At times the stream forces its 

 way between impeding rocks, while at others it winds 



