A RARE BIRD, bed of khoj's. Our road lay through a very beautiful, rocky pass, where it was difficult to believe we were in Africa ; and led through a narrow gorge, barely wide enough for two camels to pass, with towering rocks on either side, the resort of the dog-faced baboon.

We passed several large burial-grounds, — large, at least, to be found in such wilds, — and two sheiks' tombs, which in the distance, placed as they were on prominent rocks above the path, presented quite the appearance of castles or fortresses.

These Arab cemeteries are usually surrounded by a circular wall of stones, the top covered with small white pebbles, for the purpose of scaring away the wild beasts ; and even the tombs are generally covered with these pebbles, which give them a decidedly neat appearance. We lunched under an overhanging rock in the pass, where perfect shade could be enjoyed at any time of the day. It was at the junction of a narrow gorge with the main one ; and here the rains had washed down quantities of debris, such as leaves, grass, and twigs, which, in course of time, had become fossilized in a very curious manner ; the rock under which we sat being formed of these materials.

We shot no game on this day's journey; but saw several sachars, the kind of mountain-goat my brother had shot on Tchad Amba. We added to our collection of birds, if not to our larder, however, by obtaining a fine secretary-bird. Two or three times during our travels, we came across this singular bird, but had not been able to obtain a specimen. The Arabs call it the "Devil's horseman," from the extraordinary swiftness with which it runs. This bird lives almost entirely on reptiles, which it kills. Towards evening, heavy clouds gathered, and, the atmosphere appearing to be laden with moisture, we expected rain ; but it fortunately kept off.