siderably, and was only from sixteen to seventeen miles wide. To the south-east of Choro Island, which also is probably volcanic, are two other small rocky islands—mere snags they appeared to us at a distance of seven or eight miles. We had a long day on October 5, and throughout the march saw very little of the lake. Until the last two miles the country had been fairly open, but the going was very heavy on account of the sand. We then, however, plunged into a dense tract of bush and palms in our endeavours to get back to the lake for water, but were confronted with swamp, and had to camp. Surrounded on all sides by tall rank grass and many palms, it was a pretty poisonous spot, and we seemed to be on the site of some old fields intersected by tiny irrigation channels, up which, during the evening, the waters of the lake unexpectedly put in an appearance, blown up, I suppose, by the wind. A short march of five and a half miles next day in a south-westerly direction brought us to the Turkwel river-bed, after we had penetrated a thick belt of tall table-topped acacias. We were not a little surprised to find that here it was from half a mile to 1,000 yards in width, though quite dry. We crossed to the opposite bank, and finding water procurable on digging, near the surface, camped in a pleasant glade of tall acacias.

A large number of Turkana visited us, bringing in goats and sheep for sale, and a little flour made out of the fruit of the 'mkono' (that's the Swahili name; I don't know its scientific) palm. The general consensus of opinion amongst the Swahilis was that eating this red flour resulted in sudden death, accompanied by violent tumbo,' or pains in the stomach, so we tried it not. Good grazing was again abundant after the meagre fare the animals had been able to pick up along the lake shores, so we made our weekly halt at this camp on the Turkwel next day. Bright followed the river-bed down to ascertain where it exactly entered

the lake, but found that after a short distance it became reduced in width to about fifty yards, and subsequently entirely disappeared into a sandy stretch of country about half a mile across, which was perfectly dry and arid, and showed no appearance of water ever having flowed over it, for no banks or water-courses were visible. Beyond this stretch of sand the lake shores were reached and found to consist of a broad belt of swamp. When it is considered how great a volume of water is brought down towards Lake Rudolf both by the Weiwei and Turkwel rivers, which join a few miles north of Ngaboto, it is all the more remarkable to learn that this important river gets gradually absorbed by the sandy soil through which its course runs, until it at length entirely disappears before the lake is reached.

CHAPTER XIV

BACK TO THE BASE AT SAVE

ON October 8 we started off again, and for the next few days proceeded generally in a westerly direction along the Turkwel, the bed of which we followed the first two days, as the banks are clothed in a thick growth of tall trees and bush. There was no water flowing, but we had little difficulty in obtaining sufficient for our requirements by digging in the sand, although the watering of the animals was always a lengthy business. Many of the native wells we came across were four to five feet in depth, and our transport animals in consequence had to be watered out of buckets. At this time we still possessed about 130 donkeys, 6 camels, 130 goats and sheep, and perhaps 50 cattle, including our milch cows and calves, so it may be imagined many hours were spent daily in this work. It was pleasant to obtain fresh water again after a long course of the Rudolf waters, which had begun to pall on one somewhat, as it possessed no thirstassuaging properties, and in the great heat of this season of the year one was constantly perspiring and in need of liquid refreshment.

At the termination of our march on the 9th we caught sight of Songot Peak, a landmark of the point where we had previously left the Turkwel when embarking on our desert march, and its familiar form evoked an outburst of cheering from our porters. At our camp of October 10 we were only some five and a half miles from our former camp of August 25, and when we were about to march to that point were not

a little surprised to find that the dry river-bed of the previous evening had, during the night, been converted into a fine running stream thirty to forty yards wide and knee-deep. We soon reached our former camp at the bend of the river, but were disappointed to learn that this neighbourhood had been deserted during our absence by the natives, who had moved further south, up the Turkwel, to take advantage of the grazing, which had here given out. The only case of desertion amongst our column took place on this day, when one of the porters who was carrying a box of provisions disappeared with it-apparently when we were traversing a thick belt of bush. I must record the fact, however, that nothing could have exceeded the loyal behaviour of the porters and men during this trying period. In spite of having little more than sufficient to keep them strong enough to perform their arduous duties of carrying loads in a heat-at this time-that few parts of Africa exceed, neither I nor any of my officers once heard grumbling regarding the short rations to which they were of necessity restricted. Nyanga certainly would occasionally, in a humorous way, point out that really the ears of an ox were not a particularly profuse ration of meat for him. His share of the animal was the head, from which he had to supply meat to his young son, an old Masai woman, and her little daughter, seven or eight years old. The result was so he said

that he himself had to dine off the two ears! He was a wag in his way was our old Suk guide.

We were now on familiar ground again, and knew that ten marches more should bring us to the Ngaboto post. The small stock of grain brought from Lumian had been so judiciously served out to the men by Bright that he was able to say, barring any unforeseen losses or accidents on the road, what still remained should just suffice to enable the column to reach Ngaboto. Everything now depended, therefore, on meeting Tracy with fresh supplies at that place.

Had he been able to perform his difficult mission singlehanded in the time at his disposal, and left Save, as instructed, on or about October 10, he should reach Ngaboto not later than the 22nd, by which date we, too, hoped to be once more at the old boma. On the other hand, had he encountered insuperable difficulties regarding the purchase of transport animals at Karamojo, and been delayed in consequence, we should not find him at Ngaboto, and would still have a further journey of twelve days to our base at Save. We calculated that on arrival at Ngaboto our grain would be exhausted, and that we should only have some eighteen oxen left, which would nothing like suffice the column for the remainder of the journey. I was extremely anxious, therefore, to purchase some 250 goats and sheep from the Turkana, as, with this addition to our livestock, I felt that it would then be possible, even if Tracy failed us, to struggle through with the column to Save. We were disappointed, therefore, to find that the Kagwalas Turkana had migrated elsewhere. We continued along the Turkwel on October 12, but instead of proceeding as we had done on August 24 to the point where we had first made the acquaintance of the Ngamatak people on fording the Turkwel, Nyanga took us to another ford, and after crossing we at once became involved most hopelessly midst dense forest growth, and had to recross the river a second time. Again we got hung up in forest abounding with fresh tracks of elephants, and here I secured a fine specimen of a puff adder, the skin of which now sometimes adorns the waists of my two sisters, in the form of belts. We struggled along, and eventually got clear, and then, wading through the river a third time, came upon a large Swahili trading caravan, which had just arrived from Marich on its way north to Dabossa, under the leadership of an Arab, Ali bin Sali by

name.

The Swahilis that afternoon brought round the chief of