INHABITED REGIONS AGAIN 1089 
I had barely time to fling myself out of the saddle, alight- 
ing flat on my back on the ground, whilst the horse rolled 
two or three times over down the steep slope before he 
was able to stop himself Dorcheh hurried down after 
him, and helped him up. If he had not managed to stop 
himself just as he did, he would almost certainly have gone 
over the precipice, which was only a yard or two from him ; 
and if I had not thrown myself out of the saddle, I should 
perhaps have borne him company. After that I prudently 
walked and led my horse. 
The path gradually wound down to the bottom of the 
defile. There we rejoined the caravan, and made our 
way zigzag backwards and forwards over the stream, 
between the countless fragments of rock which littered 
its channel. It then began to blow from the north, 
bringing a furious storm of snow, which beat directly 
in our faces, and prevented us from seeing the country 
we were approaching. There were still some awkward 
passages to traverse before we reached the expansion of 
the valley called Koko-bureh, where there was a plentiful 
supply of grass on both banks of the river. We had not 
been down to so low a level for two months ; but it was 
very pleasant to think that we were daily descending to 
lower and more genial climes. That day we travelled 
seventeen miles. 
