I Also
Had A Sack Of Corn For The Animals, A Necessary Precaution, As At This
Season There Was Not A Blade Of Grass; All In The Vicinity Of The Route
Having Been Burnt.
We started on the 30th March, at 7.30 A.M., and opened from the valley
of Ellyria upon a perfectly flat country interspersed with trees.
After
an hour's march we halted at a small stream of bad water. We had kisras
and honey for breakfast; but, for several days not having tasted meat, I
took the rifle for a stroll through the forest in search of game. After
an hour's ramble I returned without having fired a shot. I had come upon
fresh tracks of Tetel (hartebeest) and guinea-fowl, but they had
evidently come down to the stream to drink, and had wandered back into
the interior. If game was scarce, fruit was plentiful - both Richarn
and I were loaded with a species of yellow plum as large as an egg;
these grew in prodigious numbers upon fine forest trees, beneath which
the ground was yellow with the quantities that had fallen from the
boughs; these were remarkably sweet, and yet acid, with much juice, and
a very delicious flavour.
At 11:25 we again started for a long march, our course being east. The
ground was most favourable for the animals, being perfectly flat and
free from ravines. We accordingly stepped along at a brisk pace, and the
intense heat of the sun throughout the hottest hours of the day made the
journey fatiguing for all but the camels.
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