176 Wander iiigs in Eastern Africa. 
delivered himself most decidedly in the imperative 
mood. Again and again it insisted upon being fol- 
lowed, as though unwilling to brook the least delay. 
The only attention he received, however, was a rough 
Ogh ! " Ogh ! " from the Gallas. 
All rested, we made another start. In ten 
minutes we came upon a beautifully green and 
pathless lawn, where our attention was arrested by 
large numbers of the animal called " Torpe " by 
the Wasuahili, and ''Korke" by the Gallas. Pre- 
sently a man came running towards us, crying 
out, Water, water ! " Yes, we wanted water ; but 
where .'^ There! there!" cried he, pointing to the 
south-west corner of the lawn ; the Gallas are all 
there." We found them cosily ensconced within a 
shady thicket, as though they intended to stay the 
day. Tliey even proposed this, but we shook our 
heads. * To stay an hour or two, however, to get 
a little food was necessary. The great attraction 
in this place was the excellent water we obtained. 
Beyond there was none for many miles. The source 
whence we obtained it is so curious that it deserves 
a passing remark. Those who have read books of 
African travels will have heard of that giant of 
African vegetation, the baobab. Its bulk is something 
prodigious : sixty, seventy, eighty feet in circum- 
ference is quite common. I have seen one myself 
ninety feet. Some speak of having seen them even 
a hundred feet in girth. When hollowed out they 
have formed houses ; and, indeed, all manner of ro- 
mantic things are told about this tree. The baobab, 
like all other things, is liable to decay. It is curious, 
however, that the decay of this tree often commences 
