Chap. XXIV. 
FIRST VIEW OF DALA r . 
95 
We accordingly pressed on with our varied little 
caravan, consisting of a very lean black horse, covered 
with coarse wool-like hair, worth four dollars, or 
perhaps less ; a mare, scarcely worth more in its 
present condition ; a camel, my faithful Bii-Sefi, 
evidently the most respectable four-footed member of 
the troop, carrying a very awkward load, representing 
my whole travelling household, with writing-table and 
bedding-boards ; a sumpter-ox, heavily laden ; then the 
four human bipeds to match, viz. one half-barbarized 
European, one half- civilized Goberawi Tunisian mu- 
latto, a young lean Tebu lad, and my stout, sturdy, 
and grave overseer from Tagelel. As we then entered 
some fields of sesamum, or u nome " (quite a new 
sight for me in this country, but which was soon 
to become of very common occurrence), Gajere de- 
scried in the distance between the trees the top of the 
hill Dala, and we all strained our eyes to get a first 
glimpse of this hill, which is the real landmark of 
Kan 6. 
The country hereabouts exhibited a new feature, 
some of the fields being enclosed with a bush which 
I had not seen before, and which was called by my in- 
telligent guide "fidde serewukka." In Miiniyo, where 
I afterwards saw it used for the same purpose, it is 
called " magara." It is a kind of broom, growing to 
the height of ten or twelve feet, and has a milky 
juice, which is slightly poisonous, but by some people 
is employed as a cure for wounds caused by thorns. 
A little while afterwards we saw the first single date- 
