2 FROM LADO TO DUFILE.

give for the summit of Mount Rejdf a height of about 1770 feet, which is certainly far from corresponding with Baker’s

4186 feet. Jam quite sure of the accuracy of my observa- tions, as also of my calculations (this is the third ascent I have made), and cannot, therefore, account for so great a dis- crepancy either through a mistake in reckoning or through any carelessness on my part.

From a negro chief here who was known to me, I received several beautiful living hyraxes and an “Um Dikdik” (Neo- tragus Hemprichianus), also alive.

The journey from Rejaf to Bedén, our next station, was only a short one. It occupied four hours on foot, but five by water, on account of the numerous sandbanks and windings of the river. On both the river-banks, which consist of gently rising, undulating, sandy ground, coarse-grained gneiss, often very like coal blocks, and pieces of yellowish mica are seen here and there. Where the upper crust has been washed away by heavy rainfall, light red clay containing iron is exposed to view. A few tall tamarinds and beautiful detaria laden with golden fruit are scattered about, while at intervals a kigelia | swings upon long tendrils its grotesque fruit, the pulp of which

is used for dressing wounds. Nearer to Bedén the groups of rock become more numerous, the vegetation richer, and well- wooded islands (Seba Jezair) adorn the river, into which rocky promontories jut. Many rocks lie just beneath the surface of the water, their presence being marked by small eddies, and rendering the navigation difficult. At last, after passing through

a narrow defile, where the water, obstructed by rocky barriers, rushes headlong forward, our boat reached the shore of the island of Bedén, once the headquarters of the chief of the same name mentioned by Baker. The small island, situated in the midst of raging rapids, forms a healthy residence for its

little garrison, which lives on the best of terms with the surrounding negro tribes, and is of great importance in secur- ing the safety of the transport up the river. All goods coming from the north are disembarked here, and are carried by means of a wire-rope ferry, established by the thoughtful care of Gordon Pasha, to the west bank of the river, where there is

a “portage” for about a quarter of an hour to a point above