TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
mission from the chiefs, to whom I had de- 
spatched messengers, whose return I intended 
awaiting at Gowde Bofe. 
He objected to our going there, and expressed 
a wish that we should accompany him to his 
own town, which lay about twenty-five miles in 
the opposite direction to that we wished to pur- 
sue. On our refusal he went off to the village, 
and, having directed that none of the inhabitants 
should dare to supply us with a drop of water, 
stationed several small parties at short distances 
round our camp, to enforce the strictest com- 
pliance with this order, and to watch our move- 
ments. 
A tornado with heavy rain, which would at 
any other time or under any other circumstances 
have been an unpleasant visitor, was now the 
thing most to be wished for, as it would have 
served the double office of supplying us with 
water, and of driving from their posts those par- 
ties, who, not supposing we would (or rather 
knowing we never did) travel during the rain, 
would still have abandoned their posts, and have 
gone to the village, in which case (having pre- 
pared every thing to enable us to move in a mo- 
ment), we would have loaded the animals, and 
taken the direct road to Baquelle, which we com- 
puted to be distant about forty miles. Judge then 
our disappointment when a tornado, which bore 
