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Had I known beforehand that it was totally uninhabited I certainly should not have ventured into it. We were still going due east, but in consequence of the lack of water-holes, my heroic guide thought it advisable to strike a little more north.
Only a few Mexican sheep-herders lived there, up at the east end where less-rugged land allowed pasture for their flocks. A little rain falls during the winter months, and soon disappears from the porous cañon-beds. Water-holes were rare and springs rarer.
Whenever the location of water-holes permitted, the safari made long jumps. The two messengers sent out with a scrawled letter to Doctor McCloud whom they knew as Bwana Marefu were of course far ahead. With any luck Kingozi hoped to meet the surgeon not far from the mountains where dwelt the sultani of the ivory stockade. Thus the march went through a fortnight.
Well for her and for Betty that Ida Bellethorne had a good pedigree; had come of a long line of forebears that had been taught to jump hedges, fences, water-holes and bogs. None of them had ever made such a perilous leap as this! The mare landed in softening snow, for the scathing flames were melting the drifts on either side.
Now all his energies were bent toward finding the way that led to the camp by the water-holes, but sense of locality seemed to have left him, and the ghostly company which hung so persistently on his flanks gave no indication of direction, but merely followed as before they had fled.
"Of the buffalo with the split horn, of which Zikali told you. What else?" Now, I fear I used strong language about the buffalo with the split horn, a beast in which I declared I had no belief whatsoever, either with or without its accessories of dried river-beds and water-holes. "If all this old woman's talk has made you afraid, however," I added, "you can stop at the kraal with Mameena."
I changed my westerly course a little more to the northward, and again crossed a succession of plains, separated by hollows. These hollows were covered with thickets of small trees, principally raspberry-jam trees; and contained many dry water-holes, either in regular chains or scattered.
As no water-holes were near us, we caught the water that ran from our blankets; and, as we were unable to rekindle our fire, which had been extinguished by the rain, we stretched our blankets over some sticks to form a tent, and notwithstanding our wet and hungry condition, our heads sank wearily on the saddles our usual bush pillow and we slept soundly till morning dawned.
At about a mile and a-half from the camp, a large creek, apparently from the southward, joined the river, and water was found in a scrub creek four miles from the camp, also in wells made by the natives in the bed of the river; and, at about eight miles from the camp, we came upon some fine water-holes along the scrub.
Sandstone rock cropped out on several spots, and pieces of broken quartz were strewed over the ground. All the water-holes along the low ridges and within the bed of the river, were full of water; and the district seemed to be one of those which, from their peculiar conformation of surface, are more frequently favoured by thunder-storms.
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