■ INTERIOR OF AFRICA. 239 
sibly get him over for some months to come. This was an 
obstruction of a very serious nature ; but as I had no money 
to maintain myself even for a few days, I resolved to push on, 
and if I could not convey my horse across the river, to abandon 
him, and swim over myself. In thoughts of this nature I passed 
the night, and in the morning consulted with my landlord, 
how I should surmount the present difficulty. He inform- 
ed me that one road still remained, which was indeed very 
rocky, and scarcely passable for horses ; but that if I had a proper 
guide over the hills to a town called Sibidooloo, he had no 
doubt, but with patience and caution, I might travel forwards 
through Handing. I immediately applied to the Dooty, and 
was informed that a Jilli kea (singing man) was about to 
depart for Sibidooloo, and would shew me the road over the 
hills. With this man, who undertook to be my conductor, I 
travelled up a rocky glen about two miles, when we came to a 
small village; and here my musical fellow-traveller found out 
that he had brought me the wrong road. He told me that the 
horse-road lay on the other side of the hill, and throwing his 
drum upon his back, mounted up the rocks, where indeed no 
horse could follow him, leaving me to admire his agility, and 
trace out a road for myself. As I fdund it impossible to pro- 
ceed, I rode back to the level ground, and directing my course 
to the eastward, came about noon to another glen, and disco- 
vered a path on which I observed the marks of horses' feet : 
following this path, I came in a short time to some shepherds' 
huts, where I was informed that I was in the right road, but 
that I could not possibly reach Sibidooloo before night. Soon 
