208 
ARRIVE AT OREO, 
[chap. viii. 
were chosen for security. At length the great ascent 
was to he made, and for two hours we toiled up a steep 
zig-zag pass. The air was most invigorating; beautiful 
wild flowers, some of which were highly scented, orna¬ 
mented the route, and innumerable wild grape-vines 
hung in festoons from tree to tree. We were now in 
an elevated country on the range of mountains dividing 
the lower lands of Latooka from the highlands of 
Obbo. We arrived at the summit of the pass about 
2,500 feet above the Latooka valley. In addition to 
the wild flowers were numerous fruits, all good ;—espe¬ 
cially a variety of custard apple, and a full-flavoured 
yellow plum. The grapes were in most promising 
bunches, but unripe. The scenery was very fine ; to 
the east and south-east, masses of high mountains, 
while to the west and south were vast tracts of park¬ 
like country of intense green. In this elevated region 
the season was much farther advanced than in Latooka; 
—this was the mountain range upon which I had 
formerly observed that the storms had concentrated; 
here the rainy season had been in full play for months, 
while in Latooka everything was parched. The grass 
on the west side of the pass was full six feet high. 
Although the ascent had occupied about two hours, 
the descent on the west side was a mere trifle, and was 
effected in about fifteen minutes—we were on an ele¬ 
vated plateau that formed the watershed between the 
east and west. 
After a march of about twelve miles from the top 
of the pass, we arrived at the chief village of Obbo. 
The rain fell in torrents, and, soaked to the skin, we 
crawled into a dirty hut. This village was forty 
miles S.W. of Tarrangolle, my head-quarters in 
Latooka. 
The natives of Obbo are entirely different to the 
Latookas, both in language and appearance. They 
are not quite naked, except when going to war, on 
which occasion they are painted in stripes of red and 
yellow; but their usual covering is the skin of an 
