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Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Saturday, 24 May 1902
Saturday May 24th. Left Ghomboro at 4.40 a.m. with Pfannl [Heinrich Pfannl] and Wesseley [Victor Wessely]. Reached first mud nala at 6.0. Near wall fifty feet high or more and very steep, but dry. Far wall fifteen feet high and nearly vertical, consisting of black mud in which stones (some fairly big) were lodged. I detached Pfannl and Wesseley to let the coolies down the steepest part by a rope. I myself cut a path with a big axe. 300 to 400 cubic feet of mud and stones were dislodged in this process. The coolies could have passed by going fifty yards down the nala, but would certainly have been killed had an avalanche fallen. As it was there were three or four yards in the bed of the nala which were unavoidable; but a coolie would have had plenty of time to escape, as Pfannl could see from above if any was imminent. As it happened none did fall. The mud-line was fifteen feet high. Bulk of coolies safely over at 6.40. I then heard there was another bad place, and started rapidly with Dr Jacot-Guillarmod [Jules Jacot Guillarmod] to help if necessary. We took, perhaps, half an hour to reach this. It was a wide, soft, deep bed of mud, stationary or nearly so. Men were hard at work throwing in stones for a causeway. This I heard later they had been doing for ten days. A way of just sufficient stability was thus made, and all was easy. From here we reached Pakora in an hour or less.
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