The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume XVI, No. 6 [‎343r] (38/232)

AN EXPEDITION BETWEEN LAKE RUDOLF AND THE NILE.
611
for a distance of five miles. I frequently eaw the male members of the
tribe, and tried to get them to approach the caravan, but in vain, and
occasionally I met a few old women who had remained in their villages
while the caravan passed them, and once a dozen hunters came into
camp to sell ivory. I bought a few ornaments and a beautifully tanned
goat-skin apron from the women, which were very like the things in
use among the Turkana. Except for the goat-skin apron worn by the
women, the Mushas contented themselves with the same cleanly naked
ness that was the fashion from the Boran to the Egyptians. The taller
mountain ranges of this country are of volcanic origin, and in many
cases their slopes are covered with abominable brecchiated rock, princi
pally granite, while most of the flat-topped hills are composed of
argillacious sandstone and shale. The surface of the valleys, which
are for the most part covered with bush and forest, is composed of the
richest alluvial soil underlaid with clay. To the south of our line of
march the broad, yellow, grassy plains were considerably below 1700 feet
from the sea-levol. In a large valley at the outskirts of this country
we remained a week to rest the camels, where a shower or two of rain
had freshened up the foliage of the mimosa bushes. A day or two
before we left, the natives living in the vicinity began to come to camp,
finding that we did'not disturb them; and if we had remained longer,
no doubt we should have been on intimate terms with the whole tribe.
They did not care to sell me any sheep, however, and for this and
various other reasons connected with my outfit of men and camels, I
thought it best to push on. While here we had the last of the
autumn showers.
Since the changing climatic conditions of East Africa is now a
subject of much importance, I must not omit to mention some of my
meteorological observations. It is well known that the “ karif, or
fierce winds, that sweep the Somali coast in the summer months are
a part of the northern trade winds. Now, these northerly winds
persisted until we had got well beyond Bake Budolf, and with them
came a little rain. It was the autumn rains that are expected in
Somaliland in September which first struck us in a sudden burst after
we had left the l)awa river on October 13. These rains followed
us all the way to our camp of January 13. They were very scanty,
but it was curious that they should progress so from east to west.
Half a dozen slight showers were all that any particular section of
country received. The reason that Somaliland and the lowlands to the
south of Abyssinia are so dry must be found in the drying effects of
the Abyssinian highlands on the northern trade winds, the lofty
mountain ranges condensing all the moisture in the air, and allowing
only a pitiful drop or so to work south. All the rivers and lakes which
came under my observation were half dried up—surely because there
was a scanty rainfall this year in the Abyssinian highlands. The