frey pressed the old man into our service and made him cut bushes for
a shade; it seemed to me that an axe was not just the best thing for a
man who would probably sooner have used it against us than not, so he was
deposed from his office as woodcutter. As soon as the well was ready for
baling I walked off to see if anything of interest could be found, or if
another camp was anywhere near. The instant the old Jew saw me sling a
rifle over my shoulder he ran like a hare, yelling as he went. He was
answered by similar calls not far off. As he ran he picked up his spears
from a bush, and I could see the marks of the weapons of the rest of the
tribe, which had been planted just over the rise of sand. They evidently
knew all about a rifle, yet we were still over a hundred miles in a
bee-line from Hall's Creek. I saw their fleeing figures scattering in all
directions, and followed up some tracks for some distance without finding
anything of interest.

I noticed a considerable change in the country to the East, over which
there spread a forest of desert oak, and near the sandhills thickets of
ti-tree. The well seems to be at the head of an ill-defined watercourse,
which, lower down, runs between an avenue of bloodwoods. Close to the
well are several large ant-heaps, and from the sandhill above it little
can be seen; but north of the well one mile distant is a high ridge of
sand, from which is visible a prominent square hill, bearing 334 degrees
distant eighteen miles; this stands at the Eastern end of a tableland,
and
is named Mount Bannerman, after my sister-in-law. The well had an
abundant supply, though a little hard to get at, as it was enclosed by
two rocks very close together, necessitating a most cramped position when
baling with a saucepan on the end of a stick.

By daylight we had watered all the camels and were glad to rest under the
shade we had made with boughs. Our rest lasted three days to allow
Prempeh, who was very poorly, to recover. The flies, as usual, worried us
unmercifully, but I was so thankful to regain once more my sense of
hearing that I rather enjoyed their buzzing. I had for some weeks been so
deaf that unless I had my attention fixed on something, I could not hear
at all. I must have been a great bore to my companions very often, for
frequently they talked for a long time to me, only to find that I had not
heard a word!

We were greatly entertained by two small boys, the sole representatives
of