On leaving Wúshek, we directed our course by the spur of the mountain- chain to the south south-west, crossing several hollows, one of which presented a very luxuriant cotton-ground carefully fenced in by the _euphorbiacea_ here called mágará, which I have described on a former occasion. The country in general consisted of a broken sandy level clothed with tall reeds. Leaving then a small village of the name of Gédiyó in a recess of the mountains, we entered an undulating plain, the prairie of Nógo, open towards the west, but bounded on the east by an amphitheatre of low hills, and densely clothed with herbage and broom, to which succeeded underwood of small mimosas, and further on, when we approached the hills on the other side of the plain, large clusters of “abísga,” or _Capparis sodata_. Only here and there traces of cultivation were to be seen. The sun was very powerful; and as we marched during the hottest hours of the day, I felt very unwell, and was obliged to sit down for a while. After having traversed the plain, we again had the mountain-chain on our left; and in a recess or amphitheatre which is formed by the eminences, we obtained a sight of Gábatá, the old residence of the Múniyóma, but at present exhibiting nothing but a heap of unsightly ruins, encompassed towards the road side by a wall built of different kinds of stone, but at present entirely in decay, while in the very angle of the recess at the foot of the mountains a stone dwelling is seen, where it was the custom, in olden times, for every ruler of the country, upon his accession to the throne, to remain in retirement for seven days. It had been my intention to visit this spot; but the present governor had urgently requested me to abstain from such a profane undertaking, the place being (as he said) haunted by spirits: and my sudden indisposition prevented me from accomplishing my design. The natives say that there are caves leading from the stone dwelling into the rock. Our left being bordered by the mountain-slope, which is beautifully varied, and having on our right a fine grove of magnificent trees and cultivated fields, we reached, at three o’clock in the afternoon, the well situated in a recess of the mountains, but had great difficulty in choosing a spot tolerably free from ants. Here I felt so weak that I did not care either about the ruins of Gábatá or anything else except the most profound repose. [Sidenote: Tuesday, December 21st.]