SICK LIST 
53 
We were now in Ogaden, having just passed out of 
Abriordi Garodi and the red sand district. I determined 
to go west to the hills, as there did not appear to be any 
good game in this country. 
We marched from five next morning until ten, when we 
pitched for the mid-day rest near a large and old tree 
covered with spear-cuts, which I was told denoted the 
number of camels possessed by each passing caravan, though 
why they should want to give their enemies so much 
information gratis I could not understand. 
On restarting, I saw no game but gerenook. Shortly 
after I killed a snake. We were now en route for Bolarli, 
the river Faf, Sassabanah, and the Boorgha country, where 
elephant and rhinoceros were reported in numbers. On 
the march I discovered that one of the men was missing, 
and was told that he had a sore leg, and could not keep 
up with the caravan. I sent a pony and two armed men 
back to find and fetch him. About 4.30 he arrived — a 
man with a sore leg riding upon a pony with a sore back. 
The list now in hospital and utterly useless for work com- 
prised two ponies with sore backs, two camels with ditto 
(one of which I had to lance, having first thrown him with 
great difficulty), one man with a sore leg, and one donkey 
dead-lame. 
About four that afternoon we came to the edge of a deep 
gorge, or nullah, with steep rocky sides, along which we 
had to march until we came to a pass. This gorge, which 
was thickly covered with trees for miles, had a dried-up 
river-bed running through it. In the afternoon a cool 
strong breeze began to blow, rendering marching less 
trying. Ea route we saw some koodoo and numbers of 
gerenook, which try one’s patience so in thick bush. The 
ground became more open, and the country generally 
appeared to be altering. At night there was a thunder- 
storm, with a lot of rain. 
Early next morning we were overtaken by two horsemen 
from Owari, who informed us that one of their ponies had 
