What Led To The Discovery of the Source Of The Nile John Hanning Speke

Contents.
Journal of Adventures in Somali Land.

Chapter I.

Introduction to the Journal.--Projects and hobbies--Life in
India--Lord Clyde and Sir James Outram--The position and physical
geography of the Somali country--The Nogal country, and historical
sketches--Costume and Customs.

Chapter II.

The voyage--An Akil--The Somali shore--Sultan (Gerad) Mahamed
Ali--Hidden treasure--The Warsingali--A royal reception--Somali
appetites--Difficulties and impediments--Sultan tries my Abban or
protector.

Chapter III.

Yafir Pass--Rhut Tug (River)--The ruins at Kin's city--Abban
apprehends future consequences--Hyenas--The Dulbahantas--Camel
drivers' tricks--Briny water--Antelope-shoooting--Elephant-hunting
--Ostrich-hunting--Gazelles--Jealousy and suspicions of the
people--Rapid decline of property.

Chapter IV.

Meditations among the tombs--A fracas--The return march--The
north-east monsoon--Relief from persecution--Interesting animals--Gori
again--Shooting a woman--Arrival at Aden--Fresh
projects--Arrangements.

Chapter V.

Aden--Departure--Kurrum--A conclave of sages--Arrangement of the
expedition--The south-west monsoon--Medical practice--The camp
besieged--Wounded and captive--A triumphal procession--Flight Return
to Aden and to England--Fresh projects there.

 

 

Journal of a Cruise on the Tanganyika Lake.

 

Chapter I.

The Royal Geographical Society--The strange lake on the map--Set
off--Arrive at Zanzibar--A preliminary excursion--A sail along the
coast--The Pangani river--A jemadar's trick--Journey to
Fuga--Adventures--Return to Zanzibar--Scenes there--Objects of the
expedition--Recruiting for followers--The Cafila Bashi--The
start--Fevers--Discussions about the Mountains of the Moon and the
Victoria N'yanza--The Tanganyika.

Chapter II.

Canoes--The crews--The biography of Bombay--The
voyage--Crocodiles--The lake scenery--Kivira island--Black beetles--An
adventure with one of them--Kasengé island--African slavery.

Chapter III

Leave Tanganyika--Determine to visit the Ukéréwé lake, alias Victoria
N'yanza--Confusion about rivers running in and out--Idea that it is
the source of the Nile--Arrangements for the journey--Difficulties--The
march--Nature of the country--Formalities at the meeting of
caravans--A pagazi strike--A sultana--Incidents--Pillars of granite.

Chapter IV

First sight of the Victoria N'yanza--Its physical geography--Speculations
on its being the source of the Nile--Sport on the lake--Sultans
Machunda and Mahaya--Missionary accounts of the geography--Arab
accounts--Regrets at inability to complete the discovery--The march
resumed--History of the Watuta--Hippopotamus-hunting--Adventures--Kahama.

Chapter V

General character of the country traversed--The huts--The
geology--Productions--Land of promise--Advice to missionaries--Leave
Ulekampuri--Return of the expedition--Register of temperature.

 

 

Journal of Adventures in Somali Land.

 

Chapter I. Introduction to the Journal.

Projects and Hobbies--life in India--lord Clyde and Sir James
Outram--the Position and Physical Geography of the Somali Country--the
Nogal Country, and Historical Sketches--Costume and Customs.

 

It was in the year 1849, at the expiration of the Punjaub campaign,
under Lord Gough, where I had been actively engaged as a subaltern
officer in the (so-called) fighting brigade of General Sir Colin
Campbell's division of the army, adding my mite to the four successive
victorious actions--Ramnugger, Sadoolapore, Chillianwallah, and
Guzerat--that I first conceived the idea of exploring Central
Equatorial Africa. My plan was made with a view to strike the Nile at
its head, and then to sail down that river to Egypt. It was conceived,
however, not for geographical interest, so much as for a view I had in
my mind of collecting the fauna of those regions, to complete and
fully develop a museum in my father's house, a nucleus of which I had
already formed from the rich menageries of India, the Himalaya
Mountains, and Tibet. My idea in selecting the new field for my future
researches was, that I should find within it various orders and
species of animals hitherto unknown. Although Major Cornwallis Harris,
Ruppell, and others had by this time well-nigh exhausted, by their
assiduous investigations, all discoveries in animal life, both in the
northern and southern extremities of Africa, in the lowlands of
Kaffraria in the south, and the highlands of Ethiopia in the north, no
one as yet had penetrated to the centre in the low latitudes near the
equator; and by latitudinal differences I thought I should obtain new
descriptions and varieties of animals. Further, I imagined the
Mountains of the Moon were a vast range, stretching across Africa from
east to west, which in all probability would harbour wild goats and
sheep, as the Himalaya range does. There, too, I thought I should find
the Nile rising in snow, as does the Ganges in the Himalayas.

The time I proposed to myself for carrying this scheme into operation
was my furlough--a lease of three years' leave of absence, which I
should become entitled to at the expiration of ten years' service in
India; but I would not leave the reader to infer that I intended
devoting the whole of my furlough to this one pursuit alone. Two of
the three years were to be occupied in collecting animals, and
descending by the valley of the Nile to Egypt and England, whilst the
third year was to be spent in indulgent recreations at home after my
labours should be over.

I had now served five years in the Indian army, and five years were
left to serve ere I should become entitled to take my furlough. During
this time I had to consider two important questions: How I should be
able, out of my very limited pay as a subaltern officer, to meet the
heavy expenditure which such a vast undertaking would necessarily
involve? and how, before leaving India, I might best employ any local
leave I could obtain, in completing my already commenced collections
of the fauna of that country and its adjacent hill-ranges?[1]

Previous experience had taught me that, in the prosecution of my chief
hobby, I would also solve the problem of the most economical mode of
living. In the backwoods and jungles no ceremony or etiquette provokes
unnecessary expenditure; whilst the fewer men and material I took with
me on my sporting excursions the better sport I always got, and the
freer and more independent I was to carry on the chase. I need now
only say I acted on this conviction, and I think, I may add, I managed
it successfully; for there are now but few animals to be found in
either India, Tibet, or the Himalaya Mountains, specimens of which
have not fallen victims to my gun. Of this the paternal hall is an
existing testimony. Every year after the war I obtained leave of
absence, and every year I marched across the Himalayas, and penetrated
into some unknown portions of Tibet, shooting, collecting, and mapping
the country wherever I went. My mess-mates wondered how it was I
succeeded in getting so much leave; but the reason was simply this,
and I tell it that others may profit by it:--The Commander-in-Chief,
Sir William Gomm, observing to what good account I always turned my
leave, instead of idling my time away, or running into debt, took
great pleasure in encouraging my hobby; and his Staff were even heard
to say it would be a pity if I did not get leave, as so much good
resulted from it.

The 3d September 1854 completed my tenth year's servitude in India,
and on the succeeding day, the 4th, I embarked on board one of the P.
and O. Company's steamers at Calcutta, and left the Indian shore for
Aden; but previously to my departure I purchased various cheap
articles of barter, all as tempting and seductive as I could find, for
the simple-minded negroes of Africa. These consisted principally of
cheap guns, revolving pistols, swords, cheap cutlery of all sorts,
beads, cotton stuffs of a variety of kinds, and sewing material, &c.
&c. &c., to the amount of £390 sterling. Arrived at Aden, my first
step was to visit Colonel Outram, the political resident, to open my
views to him with regard to penetrating Africa, and to solicit his
assistance to my doing so, by granting introductory letters to the
native chiefs on the coast, and in any other manner that he could. But
to my utter astonishment and discomfiture, with the frank and
characteristic ardour which has marked him through life, he at once
said he would not only withhold his influence, but would prohibit my
going there at all, as the countries opposite to Aden were so
extremely dangerous for any foreigners to travel in, that he
considered it his duty as a Christian to prevent, as far as he was
able, anybody from hazarding his life there. This opposition,
fortunately, only lasted for a time. After repeated supplications on
my part, the generous kind nature of the Colonel overcame him, and he
thought of a pretext by which, should anything serious happen to me,
there would not remain any onus on his conscience.

The Bombay Government at that time had been induced to order an
expedition to be organised for the purpose of investigating the Somali
country--a large tract of land lying due south of Aden, and separated
only from the Arabian coast by the Gulf of Aden--and had appointed
three officers, Lieutenant Burton to command, and Lieutenants Stroyan
and Herne to assist in its conduct. To this project Colonel Outram had
ever been adverse, and he had remonstrated with the Government about
it, declaring, as his opinion, the scheme to be quite unfeasible. The
Somali, he said, were the most savage of all African savages, and were
of such a wild and inhospitable nature that no stranger could possibly
live amongst them. The Government, however, relying on the ability of
one who made the pilgrimage of Mecca, were bent at least on giving the
Lieutenant a chance of showing what he could do in this even darker
land, and he was then occupied in Aden maturing his plans of
procedure.[2]

This, then, was the opportunity the Colonel took advantage of,
advising me to ask Lieutenant Burton to incorporate me in his
expedition, at the same time saying that, if it was found to be
agreeable to Lieutenant Burton, he would back my application to the
Indian Government, obtain a cancel of my furlough, and get me put on
service-duty as a member of the expedition.

Nothing could have suited me better, as it brought me on service
again, and so saved my furlough leave for a future exploration.
Lieutenant Burton consented, and I was at once installed in the
expedition. My travelling, mapping,[3] and collecting propensities, it
was thought would be of service to the ends of the expedition; and by
my being incorporated in it, there would be no chance of my running
counter to it, by travelling on its line of march, and possibly giving
rise to disturbances with the natives.

Before proceeding further in the narrative of events as they occurred,
it may be as well, perhaps, to anticipate a little, and give a general
impression of the geography, ethnology, history, and other
characteristics of the country under investigation--the Somali
land--and the way in which it was intended that those investigations
should be carried out. As will appear by the following pages, my
experiences were mostly confined to the north central parts, in the
highlands of the Warsingali and Dulbahanta tribes. The rest of my
information is derived from conversations with the natives, or what I
have read in some very interesting pages in vol. xix. of the
'Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society,' written by
Lieutenant Cruttenden.

The Somali country is an elbow of land lying between the equator and
the 11th degree of north latitude, which, from its peculiar form,
might well be designated the Eastern Horn of Africa. The land is high
in the north, and has a general declination, as may be seen by the
river system, to the south and eastward, but with less easting as we
come westward.

It is separated from the main body of Africa by the river Jub, a large
and fertilising stream, which, rising in the mountains of southern
Abyssinia, passes between the territories of the Gallas on the west
and the Somali on the east, and debouches in the Indian Ocean at the
northern extremity of the Zanzibar coast. According to Lieutenant
Cruttenden's map, there are only two other rivers besides this of any
consequence in the land,--the Webbe (river) Shebéli, or Haines river,
which is of considerable importance, having a large flow of water,
trending down a cultivable district of rich red soil, and another less
important to the eastward of these two, called very unfortunately by
him the Wadi[4] Nogal. The proper specific name for this river has
never, to my knowledge, been given; but the Jid Ali Tug is one of its
head branches. It rises in some small hills close overhanging the
north coast, and runs south-easterly into the Indian Ocean, dividing
two large territories, called Ugahden, or Haud, on the west, and Nogal
on the east, mouthing at Ras Ul Khylé. Ugahden is said to be a flat
grassy country, of red soil, almost stoneless, and having water
everywhere near the surface. It is considered by the pastoral Somali a
famous place for keeping cattle, of which by report they possess a
great abundance, such as camels, ponies, cows, and Dumba sheep--a
fat-tailed animal, like the Persian breed. Game also abounds in this
country, of which the gazelles and antelopes, I was assured, roamed
about in vast herds like sheep.

The Nogal country is the opposite of this, containing nothing of any
material value in it. The rock-formation is all lime, very pure and
white like marble, which consequently makes the soil white, and, being
very stony, it is almost barren. The Somali keep cattle here, but with
much apparent difficulty, being, from the scarcity of springs and want
of water, obliged to march about, following the last falls of rain, to
obtain fresh herbage for their cattle. My first and greater journey
gave me an insight into this portion of the interior of the country
south of Bunder Gori. It was very interesting, though not profitable,
from its never having been visited by any Europeans before. I observed
here two distinct leading features in its physical geography. The
first is a narrow hill-range, about 180 miles long and 20 or more
broad, which is occupied by two large tribes--the Warsingali on the
east, and a branch of the Habr Gerhajis on the west. It is situated at
an average distance of from 200 yards to three or four miles from the
sea-shore, separated from it by a sandy flat or maritime plain, and,
like the line of coast, extends from east to west. Immediately due
south of Bunder Gori, the sea-face, or northern slopes of this range,
are very steep and irregular, being trenched down by deep ravines,
which, during the rainy season, shed their water across the maritime
plain into the Gulf of Aden.

The lower folds on this side of the range are composed of brown rocks
and earth, having little or no vegetation upon them, and are just as
uninviting in appearance as the light-brown hills which fringe the
coast of Arabia, as seen by voyagers on the Red Sea. Further up the
hill, in the central folds of the range, this great sterility changes
for a warm rich clothing of bush-jungle and a little grass. Gum-trees,
myrrh, and some varieties of the frankincense are found in great
profusion, as well as a variety of the aloe plant, from which the
Somali manufacture good strong cordage. The upper part of the range is
very steep and precipitous, and on this face is well clad with trees
and bush-jungle. The southern side of the range is exactly the
opposite, in all its characteristics, of the northern. Instead of
having a steep drop of from 6000 to 7000 feet, it falls by gentle
slopes to successive terraces, like a giant staircase, to scarcely
half that depth, where it rests at the head of the high plateau land
of Nogal, and is almost barren. Nogal, as I have said before, is also
very barren, only producing trees, such as the hardy acacia and
jujube, in sheltered places, in the valleys or watercourses which
drain that land to the south-east. I had no means of determining it,
but should judge this second great geographical feature, the plateau
of Nogal, by the directions its streams lie in, to have a gradual
decreasing declination, like all the rest of the interior, from the
north, where it averages an altitude of from 3000 to 4000 feet, down
to the level of the sea on south and by east.

According to traditional histories furnished me by the natives who
accompanied me on the journeys I undertook, it appears that the
present Somali are of rather recent origin, not more than four and a
half centuries old. About the year 1413, an Arab chieftain,
Darud-bin-Ismail, who had been disputing with an elder brother for
certain territorial rights at Mecca, was overpowered and driven from
the Mussulman Holy Land, and marched southwards, accompanied by a
large number of faithful followers,--amongst whom was an Asyri damsel,
of gentle blood and interesting beauty, whom he subsequently
married,--to Makallah, on the southern shores of Arabia. Once arrived
there, this band of vanquished fugitives hired vessels, and, crossing
the Gulf of Aden, came to Bunder Gori. Here they were hospitably
received by the then governing people, who, for the most part, were
Christians--probably Gallas and Abyssinians--who, judging from the few
archaeological remains they subsequently left behind them, must have
lived in a far more advanced state of civilisation than the present
Somali enjoy. Those Christian people were governed by one man, Sultan
Kin, who had a deputy called Wurrah, renowned alike for his ferocity
of character and his ability to govern.

For some years Darud and his Arab followers led a quiet, peaceable
life, gaining the confidence of his host, and inspiring Kin's subjects
with reverence for their superior talents. In process of time, by
intermarriage and proselytising, these Mussulmans increased in number,
and gained such strength, that they began to covet, and finally
determined to take the country from the race that had preceded them.
This project, by various intrigues and machinations, was easily
effected; and Kin, with all his Christians, was driven back to his
native highlands in Ethiopia.[5] Darud now was paramount in all this
land, and reigned until he died, when an only son by his Asyri wife
succeeded to him. This man's name was Kabl Ullah, who had a son called
Harti. On succeeding his father, Harti had three sons, called
respectively, in order of birth, Warsingali, Dulbahanta, and
Mijjertaine. Amongst these three he divided his kingdom, which to this
day retains the names. The Mijjertaine dispersed over the eastern
portions of the land, the Warsingali held the central, and the
Dulbahantas the western territories.[6]

Subsequently to this period, an Arab called Ishak came across from
Southern Arabia and established himself forcibly at Méit, and founded
the three different nations who now occupy all the coast-line from Ras
Galwéni on the eastward to Zeyleh on the extreme west of the Somali
country. Ishak, it appears, had three wives, who gave in issue three
sons, and among these three men was divided the whole country which he
subdued.

Forming themselves into tribes, the senior or Habr Gerhajis, by
constant feuds and other causes, are much distributed about the
country, but mostly occupy the hilly grounds to the southward of the
coast-line; whilst the Habr Owel, or second in order of birth, possess
all the coast of Berbera between Zeyleh and Kurrum; and the third, or
Habr Teljala, hold all the rest thence eastwards to Héis.

The Somali have been chiefly known to us since the time of our taking
occupation of Aden, whither many of them resort with their wives and
families to carry on trade, or do the more menial services of
porterage and donkey-driving. They are at once easily recognised by
the overland traveller by their singular appearance and boisterous
manner, as well as by their cheating and lying propensities, for which
they are peculiarly notorious; indeed, success in fraud is more
agreeable to them than any other mode of gaining a livelihood, and the
narration of such acts is their greatest delight in conversation. They
excel as donkey-boys even the Egyptians. As may be concluded from
their history, they are a mixed Ham-Shemitic race, but differing
considerably from both in their general appearance, though retaining
certain characteristics of both these breeds. They are a tall, slender
people, light and agile as deer; slightly darker than, though much the
colour of Arabs, with thin lip, and noses rather Grecian when compared
with those of blacks, but with woolly heads like the true negroes.
Their natures are so boisterous and warlike, that at Aden it has been
found necessary to disarm them. When they first arrived there, it was
not an unusual sight to see the men of different tribes, on the
hillsides that form the face of the "crater," fighting battles-royal
with their spears and shields; and even to this day, they, without
their arms, sometimes have hot contests, by pelting one another with
sticks and stones. There is scarcely a man of them who does not show
some scars of wounds received in these turmoils, some apparently so
deep that it is marvellous how they ever recovered from them.

Their costume is very simple. The men, who despise trousers, wear a
single sheet of long-cloth, eight cubits long, thrown over the
shoulder, much after the fashion of the Scotsman's plaid. Some shave
their head, leaving it bare; others wear the mane of a lion as a wig,
which is supposed by them to give the character of ferocity and
courage to the wearer, while those who affect the dandy allow their
hair to grow, and jauntily place some sticks in it resembling the
Chinaman's joss-sticks, which, when arranging their toilette, they use
as a comb, and all carry as weapons of defence a spear and shield, a
shillelagh, and a long two-edged knife. The women clothe more
extensively, though not much so. Fastening a cloth tightly round the
body immediately under their arms, they allow it to fall evenly down
to the ground, and effectually cover their legs. The married ones
encase their hair in a piece of blue cloth, gathering it up at the
back of the head in the fashion of English women of the present day;
this is a sign of wedlock. The virgins wear theirs loose, plaited in
small plaits of three, which, being parted in the centre, allows the
hair to fall evenly down all round the head like a well-arranged mop.
On approaching these fairs, they seductively give their heads a cant
backwards, with a half side-jerk, which parts the locks in front, and
discloses a pretty little smiling face, with teeth as white as pearls,
and lips as red as rubies. Pretty as they are when young, this beauty
fades at once after bearing children, and all their fair proportions
go with it. After that marked peculiarity of female negroes, they
swell about the waist, and have that large development behind, which,
in polite language, is called steatopyga. Although they are
Mussulmans, none wear the yashmac. Beads are not so much in request
here as in other parts of Africa, though some do wear necklaces of
them, with large rings of amber. This description, however, applies to
the Somali in his own land. When he comes over to Aden he takes shame
at his nakedness, dons the Arab's gown and trousers, and becomes the
merchant complete.[7]

In consequence of the poorness of their land, almost all the Somali
are wandering pastorals, which of itself is enough to account for
their turbulent natures. The system of government they maintain is
purely patriarchal, and is succeeded to by order of birth generally in
a regular and orderly manner, attributable, it would appear, to the
reverence they feel for preserving their purity of blood. The head of
each clan is called Gerad or Sultan, who would be powerless in himself
were he not supported by the united influence of all the royal family.
When any disturbances or great disputes arise, the sultan is
consulted, who collects his elders in parliament to debate the matter
over, and, through them, ascertain the people's feelings. Petty
disputes are settled by the elders without any further reference. In
most cases war arises from blood-feuds, when a member of one clan
kills the subject of another, and will not pay the recognised
valuation of the party injured, or allow himself to be given up to the
vengeance of the family who has sustained the loss. In such cases as
these, whole tribes voluntarily march out to revenge the deed by
forcibly taking as many cattle from the aggressor as the market
valuation may amount to.

Thus a war, once contracted, does not subside for years, as by
repeated deaths among the contending parties the balance of
blood-money never can be settled. Moreover, the inflicted punishment
seldom falls on the party immediately concerned; added to which, in
wars of tribes, everybody helps himself to his enemy's cattle in the
best way he can, and men formerly poor now suddenly become rich, which
gives a zest to the extension of the contest nothing else could
produce. Indeed, the poorer orders of Somali are only too glad to have
a good pretext for a fight, as a means of bettering their condition,
by adding a few more head of cattle to their stock. Were this not the
case, there would be no fighting whatever, as the sultan would be
powerless to raise an army against the inclination of the people. War
only ceases when both sides become exhausted, and withdraw as by
mutual consent. The great object in these encounters is to steal away
as many cattle as possible without risk of person, and such feats are
boasted of with rapture by those returning home with any prize. In the
administration of justice they consult the Mosaic law, as given in the
Koran, taking life for life, and kind for kind.

The northern Somali have no permanent villages in the interior of the
country, as the ground is not cultivated; but they scatter about,
constantly moving with their flocks and herds to any place within
their limited districts where water is to be found, and erect
temporary huts of sticks, covered with grass mats; or, when
favourable, they throw up loose stone walls like the dykes in
Scotland. But on the sea-coast, wherever there are harbours for
shipping, they build permanent villages on a very primitive scale.
These are composed of square mat walls, supported by sticks, and all
huddled together, and partitioned off for the accommodation of the
various families, near which there are usually one or more square
box-shaped stone buildings, the property of the chief of the place,
which are designated forts, though there is nothing in their artless
construction to deserve this name. They are all composed of blocks of
coralline, cemented together with mortar extracted from the same
material.

Like nearly all places within the tropics, beyond the equatorial rainy
zone, this country is visited by regular monsoons, or seasons in which
the winds prevail constantly in one direction; consequently vessels
can only come into the harbours of the northern coast when the sun is
in the south, or during five months of the year, from the 15th
November to the 15th April, to trade with the people; and then the
Somali bring the products of their country, such as sheep, cows, ghee,
mats made by the women from certain grasses and the Daum palm, ostrich
feathers, and hides, and settle on the coast to exchange them in
barter with the outer merchants, such as Arabs and men from Cutch, who
bring thither cloths, dates, rice, beads, and iron for that purpose.

Of all the trading places on the coast, the most important is Berbera;
it is, in fact, the great emporium of Somali land, and we must call
the reader's particular attention to it, since it forms the chief
point of interest in these pages. It is on the same meridian as Aden,
and only divided from it by the gulf of that name. Although it is of
such great importance, it is only inhabited during the five months of
the favourable monsoon, when great caravans come up from the rich
provinces which lie to its south and south-west, the principal ones
being those from Ugahden and Harar.

Having now given a general sketch of the country, we shall enter upon
the objects of the expedition. It was obvious, by the lay of the land,
that the richest and most interesting part of the country must be that
which lies between the Jub and Webbe Shebéli rivers, and it was the
most accessible to inspection, as large and powerful caravans,
travelling southwards through Ugahden, much frequent it. Seeing this,
Lieutenant Burton conceived the idea of waiting until the breaking up
of the Berbera fair, when the caravans disperse to their homes, to
travel by the ordinary caravan route, through the Ugahden country to
the Webbe Shebéli, and on to Gananah, and then to proceed further by
any favourable opportunity to the Zanzibar coast.

It was now, however, early October, and fully five months must elapse
ere we could finally enter on our march. In the mean time, Lieutenant
Burton, desirous of becoming acquainted as far as possible with the
habits of the people we were destined to travel amongst, as well as
the nature of the country and the modes of travelling in this _terra
incognita_, determined on making an experimental tour to Harar, a
place which had never been entered by any European, and was said to be
inaccessible to them. Harar, as I have said before, sends caravans
annually to the Berbera fair, and therefore comes within the influence
of British power. Taking advantage of this, Lieutenant Burton ordered
Herne to go to Berbera whilst he was on this expedition, to keep up a
diversion in his favour, arming him with instructions, that in case he
was detained in Harar by the Amir of that place, Herne might detain
their caravan as a ransom for the release of his party.

Further, to obtain more accurate knowledge concerning the march of the
Ugahden caravans, to gain an insight into the market transactions of
Berbera, and to collect cattle for our final march, it was deemed
advisable he should go there. Stroyan, as soon as he could manage it,
was also to go to Berbera to assist him. Thus everybody had a duty to
perform during this interregnum but myself.

Dreading the monotony of a station life, I now volunteered to travel
in any direction my commandant might think proper to direct, and to
any length of time he might consider it advisable for me to be away.
This proposition had its effect, as affording an extra opportunity of
obtaining the knowledge desired, and instructions were drawn up for my
guidance. I was to proceed to Bunder Gori, on the Warsingali frontier,
to penetrate the country southwards as far as possible, passing over
the maritime hill-range, and, turning thence westwards, was to inspect
the Wadi Nogal, and march direct on Berbera, to meet Stroyan and
Herne, at a date not later than the 15th January 1855. Whilst
travelling I was to remark upon the watershed of the country, plot the
route I travelled, keep _copious_ notes on everything I saw, and
collect specimens of natural history in all its branches, as well as
observe and register all meteorological phenomena, and buy camels and
ponies for the great future expedition.

Funds for the expenses of this undertaking were not available at that
time from the public purse, as the Indian Government had stipulated
that the whole sum they would advance for this great expedition should
not exceed £1000, and, for security's sake, had decided on paying it
by instalments of £250 at a time. I therefore, desirous to render as
much assistance as lay within my power to further the cause I had
embarked upon, volunteered to advance the necessary sum from my own
private resources, trusting to Lieutenant Burton's promises in the
future for being repaid.

This project settled, I at once set to work, and commenced laying in
such stores as were necessary for an outfit, whilst Lieutenant Burton,
who had been long resident in Aden, engaged two men to assist me on
the journey. The first was a man named Sumunter, who ranked highly in
his country, who was to be my _Abban_ or protector. The duty of
abbanship is of the greatest importance, for it rests entirely on the
Abban's honesty whether his client can succeed in doing anything in
the country he takes him through. Arabs, when travelling under their
protection, have to ask his permission for anything they may wish to
do, and cannot even make a march, or purchase anything, without his
sanction being first obtained. The Abban introduces the person under
his protection to the chief of his clan, is answerable for all
outrages committed on the way, and is the recognised go-between in all
questions of dispute or barter, and in every other fashion. The second
man was also a Warsingali,[8] by name Ahmed, who knew a slight
smattering of Hindustani, and acted as interpreter between us. I then
engaged two other men, a Hindustani butler named Imam, and a Seedi
called Farhan. This latter man was a perfect Hercules in stature, with
huge arms and limbs, knit together with largely developed ropy-looking
muscles. He had a large head, with small eyes, flabby squat nose, and
prominent muzzle filled with sharp-pointed teeth, as if in imitation
of a crocodile. Farhan told me that when very young he was kidnapped
on the Zanzibar coast by the captain of a small Arab vessel. This
captain one day seeing him engaged with many other little children
playing on the sandy seashore, offered him a handful of fine
fruity-looking dates, which proved so tempting to his juvenile taste
that he could not resist the proffered bait, and he made a grab at
them. The captain's powerful fingers then fell like a mighty trap on
his little closed hand, and he was hurried off to the vessel, where he
was employed in the capacity of "powder-monkey." In this position he
remained serving until full grown, when, finding an opportunity, he
ran away from his master, and has ever since lived the life of a
"free-man."

As a soldier, he had been tried in warfare, and was proved valorous
and cunning in the art, and promised to be a very efficient guard for
me. The next thing of most importance to be considered was the dress I
should wear. I first consulted the Colonel (Outram), who said he was
averse to our going in disguise, thinking that lowering ourselves in
this manner would operate against me in the estimation of the natives.
But this did not suit Lieutenant Burton's plans, who, not wishing to
be conspicuous whilst travelling to Harar, determined on going there
disguised as an Arab merchant, and thought it better we should appear
as his disciples, in accordance with which Herne had already purchased
his dress, and now I bought mine. It was anything but pleasant to the
feel. I had a huge hot turban, a long close-fitting gown, baggy loose
drawers, drawn in at the ankles, sandals on my naked feet, and a silk
girdle decorated with pistol and dirk. As an outfit for this especial
journey, I bought at Aden £120 worth of miscellaneous articles,
consisting chiefly of English and American sheeting, some coarse
fabrics of indigo-dyed Indian manufacture, several sacks of dates and
rice, and a large quantity of salt, with a few coloured stuffs of
greater value than the other cloths, to give away as presents to the
native chiefs. As defensible and other useful implements for the
scientific portion of the expedition, I took rifles, guns, muskets,
pistols, sabres, ammunition in great quantity, large commodious
camel-boxes for carrying specimens of natural history, one sextant and
artificial horizon, three boiling-point and common atmospheric
thermometers, and one primitive kind of camera obscure, which I had
made at Aden under the ingenious supervision of Herne.

 

 

Chapter II.

The Voyage--An Akil--The Somali Shore--Sultan (Gerad) Mahamed
Ali--Hidden Treasure--The Warsingali--A Royal Reception--Somali
Appetites--Difficulties and Impediments--Sultan Tries My Abban or
Protector.

 

On the 18th October 1854, having got all my preparations completed, I
embarked in an Arab vessel, attired in my Oriental costume, with my
retinue and kit complete, and set sail that same evening at 6 P.M.

The voyage, owing to light and varying breezes, was very slow and
tedious. Instead of performing the whole voyage in three days, the
ordinary time, it took us nine. According to the method of Arab
navigation, instead of going from port to port direct, we first
tracked eastward along the Arabian shore three successive days,
setting sail at sunrise, and anchoring regularly at sundown. By this
time we were supposed to be opposite Bunder Héis, on the Somali coast,
and the Nahkoda (captain) thought it time for crossing over the Gulf.
We therefore put out to sea at sunrise on the morning of the 21st, and
arrived the same evening, by mistake, assisted with a stiffish
easterly breeze, at a small place called Rakodah, which, by report,
contained a small fort, three mat huts, and many burnt ones, a little
to the westward of Bunder Héis. My Abban accounted for the destruction
of this place by saying it had been occupied surreptitiously for a
long period by a people called Rheer Dud, who sprang from a man called
Sambur-bin-Ishak; but about four years ago, the Musa Abokr--a
sub-tribe of the Habr Teljala, who were the former and rightful owners
of the place--suddenly returned, took the usurpers by surprise, and
drove them off by setting fire to the village. The next day, by hard
work, tacking up the wind, which still continued easterly, we
succeeded in reaching Bunder Héis, which, like the last place, was
occupied by the Musa Abokr. There were four small craft lying here,
waiting for cargoes, under lee of a spur of low hills which
constituted the harbour; in which, fortunately, there was very good
fishing to be obtained. We were detained here by adverse and light
winds two days, during which time I went on shore and paid my respects
to the Akil (chief) of the place, who lived in a small box-shaped
stone fort, on the west flank of the village of Héis, which was very
small, composed, as usual, of square mat huts, all built together, and
occupied only by a few women, who made mats, collected gums, and
stored the produce of the interior, as sheep, cows, and ghee, which
their men constantly brought down to them, for shipping off to
Arabia.[9] The Akil's reception was very warm and polite. He offered
me everything at his disposal, and gave as an honorary present a Dumba
sheep and a bowl of sour camel's milk, which I thought at the time the
most delicious thing I ever drank. It is sharp and rough, like
labourers' cider, and, drunk in the heat of the day, is most
refreshing. When first taken, and until the stomach becomes accustomed
to it, it operates like medicine, and I on this occasion was fairly
taken in. The fish we caught were not very good, but comical in
appearance, and of a great variety of the most beautiful prismatic
colours, changing in tint as different lights and shades struck upon
them.

We left Héis on the 25th, with very light and unfavourable winds, and
tracked along shore to the eastward, making very little way. The
weather continuing the same, on the 26th I forced the Nahkoda, much
against his will, on at night, as during the darker hours the winds
were much stronger, and by this means we arrived at our destination,
Bunder Gori on the Warsingali frontier, at sundown on the 27th of
October. I had now seen the Somali shore, and must confess I was much
disappointed. All that was visible, besides the village mentioned, was
a sandy tract of ground, the maritime plain, which extended in breadth
from the sea-shore to some brown-looking hills in the background, from
a few hundred yards to one or two miles distant; and hills and
plains--for I could, by my close approximation to them, only see the
brown folds of the hills near the base--were alike almost destitute of
any vegetation; whilst not one animal or any other living creature
could be seen.

28th October.--The Abban would not allow anybody to go on shore until
certain parties came off to welcome us and invite us to land, such
being the etiquette of the country when any big-wigs arrive. After the
sun rose we were duly honoured by the arrival of many half-naked
dignitaries, who tenderly inquired after the state of our health, the
prosperity or otherwise of our voyage, the purpose of our coming
there, and a variety of other such interesting matters. Then again
they were questioned by our people as to the state of the country,
whether in peace or war; how and where the Sultan Gerad Mahamed Ali
was residing; if rain had lately fallen, and where; if the cattle were
well in milk;--to which it was responded that everything was in the
most promising order; the cattle were flourishing in the hills, where
rain had lately fallen, about twenty miles distant from that place;
and the sultan, with all the royal family,[10] were there, revelling
on milk, under the shade of favouring trees, or reposedly basking in
the warm morning sun--the height of Somali bliss. The order was now
given to go ashore, and we all moved off to a fort which the Abban
said was his own property, in Goriat (little Bunder Gori), three miles
to the westward of Bunder Gori. There were two of these little forts
near, and a small collection of mat huts, like those already
described, and of the same material as all Somali forts and huts. The
kit was now brought across and placed within the fort I occupied, all
except the salt, which afterwards proved a bone of contention between
me and the Abban, and the sultan was at once sent for. No one could
move a yard inland, or purchase anything, without his sanction being
first obtained.

Although Gerad Mahamed Ali was living only twenty miles distant from
Goriat, it was not until repeated messages had been sent to him, and
eleven days had elapsed, that he answered the summons by his presence.
In the meanwhile, having nothing better to do during this tedious
interval, as no people would bring cattle or anything for sale, I took
walks about the plain, shooting, and killed a new variety of gazelle,
called Déra[11] by the Somali, and Salt's antelopes, here called
Sagaro, which fortunately were very abundant, though rather wild;
catching fish, drawing with the camera, bathing in the sea,
luxuriating on milk, dates, and rice, or talking and gossiping with
the natives.

On one occasion my interpreter came to me with a mysterious air, and
whispered in my ear that he knew of some hidden treasures of vast
amount, which had been buried not far off, under rocky ground, in such
a way that nobody had been able to dig them up, and he wished that I,
being an Englishman, and consequently knowing secret arts, as well as
_hikmat_ (scientific dodges), would direct how to search for these
treasures. By inquiring farther into the matter, it appeared that an
old man, a miser, who had been hoarding all his life, was suddenly
taken ill about forty years ago, and feared he would die. Seeing this,
his relatives assembled round him to ask his blessing; and the old
man, then fearing all his worldly exertions would end to no good
purpose, asked them to draw near that he might tell them where his
riches were hidden; but even then he would not disclose the secret,
until he was in the last dying gasp, when he said, "Go to a pathway
lying between two trees, and stretch out a walking-stick to the full
length of your arm, and the place where the end of your wand touches
is that in which my treasures are hidden." The wretched man then gave
up the ghost, and his family commenced the search; but though they
toiled hard for many days and weeks, turning up the stones in every
direction, they never succeeded in finding the treasure, and had now
given up the search in despair. The fact was, they omitted to ask
their parent on which side of the path it was concealed, and hence
their discomfiture. At my request the said family came to me,
corroborated the statements of the interpreter, and begged imploringly
I would direct them how to search for the money; saying at the same
time they would work again, if I thought it of any use; and, moreover,
they would give me half if the search proved successful. I lent them
some English pick-axes, and went to see the place, which certainly
showed traces of very severe exertions; but the strong nature of the
soil was too much for them, even when armed with tools, unless they
were fortunate enough to hit upon the exact spot, which they did not,
and therefore toiled in vain again.

The Warsingali complained to me sadly of their decline in power since
the English had interfered in their fights with the Habr Teljala,
which took place near Aden about seven years ago, and had deprived
them of their vessels for creating a disturbance, which interfered
with the ordinary routine of traffic. They said that on that occasion
they had not only beaten the Habr Teljala, but had seized one of their
vessels; and that prior to this rupture they had enjoyed paramount
superiority over all the tribes of the Somali; but now that they were
forbidden to transport soldiers or make reprisals on the sea, every
tribe was on an equality with them.

They further spoke of the decline of their tribe's morals since the
time when the English took possession of Aden and brought in
civilisation with them. This they in most part attributed to our weak
manner in prosecuting crime, by requiring too accurate evidence before
inflicting punishment; saying that many a dishonest person escaped the
vengeance of law from the simple fact of there being no eyewitnesses
to his crime, although there existed such strong presumptive evidence
as to render the accusation proved. When speaking against our laws,
and about their insufficiency to carry out all governmental points
with a strong and spirited hand, they never forget to laud their own
sultan's despotic powers and equity in justice.

Of course no mortal man was like their Gerad Mahamed Ali. In leading
them to war he was like the English French,[12] and in settling
disputes he required no writing office, but, sitting on the woolsack,
he listened to the narration of prosecution and defence with his head
buried in his hands, and never uttering a word until the trial was
over, when he gave his final decision in one word only, ay or nay,
without comment of any sort. In confirmation of their statements, they
gave the description of a recent trial, when a boy was accused of
having attempted to steal some rice from a granary; the lad had put
his hand through a chink in the door of it, and had succeeded in
getting one finger, up to the second joint, in the grain; this, during
the trial, he frankly acknowledged having done, and the sultan
appointed that much of his finger exactly to be cut off, and no
more--punishing the deed exactly according to its deserts. This, to
Somali notions, seemed a punctiliousness in strict equity of judicial
administration which nothing could excel, and they bragged of it
accordingly.

Becoming dreadfully impatient at so much loss of precious time whilst
waiting here, unable to prepare in any way for the journey, I sent
repeated messages to the sultan, demanding his immediate attendance;
but it was not until the 6th of November that I heard definitely of
his approach, and then it was that he was coming down the hill.

On the 7th he came with a host of Akils to Bunder Gori, and put up in
a Nahkoda's hut. This indignity he was obliged to submit to, as he had
not cautioned the merchants who occupied his forts of his intended
approach, and now no one would turn out for him. Finding him so near
me, I longed to walk over to him and settle matters personally at
once; but dignity forbade it; and as he had come with such cautious
trepidation, I feared any over-hastiness might frighten him away
again. He seemed to observe the same punctiliousness towards me, so I
split the difference by sending an embassy by my Abban, assisted by
other powerful Akils, early the following morning, when they held
durbar, and my intentions of travelling were fully discussed in open
court. For a long time the elders on the sultan's side were highly
adverse to my seeing their country, considering no good could possibly
arise from it, and much harm might follow; I might covet their
country, and eventually take it from them, whereas they could gain
nothing. Hearing this, the Abban waxed very wroth, and indignantly
retorted he would never allow such a slur to be cast upon _his
honour_, or the office which he held. He argued he had come there as
my adviser and Abban; his parentage was of such high order, his
patriotism could not be doubted. Had he not fought battles by their
side, of which his scars bore living testimony? and now they wished to
stigmatise him as a traitor to his country! The sultan must decide it.
How could jungle-folk like them know anything of the English and their
intentions?

The sultan listened silently during this discourse, which, though
written in a few lines, took many hours of hot debating, by their
turning and turning every little particular over and over again; and
finally decided it in his usual curt and conclusive manner, by saying,
"The Warsingali were on the most friendly and amicable relations with
the English; and as he was desirous of maintaining it, he would give
me leave to travel anywhere I liked within his dominions, and to see
and examine anything I chose. But out of fear for the consequences, as
the English would hold him answerable should any disasters befall me,
he could not sanction my crossing over his frontier in any direction,
and more especially into the Dulbahanta country, where wars were
raging, and the country so unsafe that even Warsingali dare not
venture there." This announcement was brought back in high exultation
by Sumunter, who thought his success complete, and at the same time
announced to me the sultan's intention of honouring me with a visit in
the evening, which was duly done.

He came a little before sunset, with his bare head shaven, a dirty
coloured tobe thrown over his shoulders, and hanging loosely down to
his sandaled feet.[13] He looked for all the world like a patriarch of
the olden times, and passed me, marching in martial order in the
centre of a double line of men sloping their spears in bristling array
over their shoulders, all keeping step in slow marching order, a scene
evidently got up in imitation of our soldiers. Not a word was spoken,
and the deepest solemnity prevailed. On his arrival in front of the
fort, I drew up my men, and fired a salute to give him welcome. This
was done in right good earnest, by every man cramming his gun with
powder, to excel his neighbour in a loud report, to show the
superiority of his weapon; for such is the black man's notions of
excellence in a fowling-piece. The march concluded, the sultan with
his followers all huddled together and squatted on the ground outside
the second fort, deeply agitated, and not knowing what to do, as they
evidently dreaded what might follow. To dissipate their fears, I
approached his royalty, salaamed, and tried to beguile the time by
engaging them in conversation.

Finding that this had rather the opposite effect, I then retired, and
soon found them all intently wrapped up in prayer, prostrating and
rising by turns, with uplifted hands, and muttering for hours together
without cessation. I then ordered a regal repast to be served them of
rice swimming in ghee, and dates _ad libitum_. This, notwithstanding
their alarm, was despatched with the most marvellous rapacity, to such
an alarming extent, that I required to know how many men were engaged
in eating it. The Abban replied that there were only a few: he would
not allow many to come over here out of a spirit of economy, knowing I
had not much property to spare, though all the rest had wished to
come, and were greatly disappointed. But these men, as is usual
amongst Somali, had prepared themselves for a feast by several days'
previous fasting, and each man would, if I allowed it, swallow at one
meal as much as a sheep's skin could contain. As a gun is known by the
loudness of its report, and ability to stand a large discharge of
powder, to be of good quality, so is a man's power gauged by his
capacity of devouring food; it is considered a feat of superiority to
surpass another in eating.

I have seen a Somali myself, when half-starved by long fasting, and
his stomach drawn in, sit down to a large skinful of milk, and drink
away without drawing breath until it was quite empty, and it was easy
to observe his stomach swelling out in exact proportion as the skin of
liquor decreased. They are perfect dogs in this fashion. I may here
add, that although the Abban in this speech seemed to show so much
consideration for my property, by several recent tricks of his I
entertained much suspicion of his honesty; and this little address,
though uttered plausibly, was too common and transparent a trick in
the East to beguile me. All Orientals have a proverbial habit of
saving their master's property to leave greater pickings for
themselves, and such I considered was Sumunter's dodge now.

8th November.--This morning the sultan, having now recovered, came to
return my salaam of the previous evening, when I opened to him the
purport of my expedition in minute detail: how I wished to visit the
Southern Dulbahantas, cross and inspect the Wadi Nogal, and thence
proceed west to meet my friends, Stroyan and Herne, at Berbera. He
listened very attentively and politely, but at the conclusion repeated
the words I had already heard; adding that the Dulbahantas had
intestine wars; they had been fighting many years, and were now in hot
strife, dividing the government of their country. Not many days since
a report had arrived that the southern portion of them, who occupied
the countries about one hundred miles due south of Bunder Héis, had
had a fight with the northern ones, who were living on the same
meridian, immediately to their northward, and had succeeded in
capturing 2000 horses, 400 camels, a great number of sheep and goats,
and had wounded one man severely: it was therefore impossible I could
go from the northern division to the southern, for I should be treated
as an enemy; and that was the only line on which water could be found
during this, the dry season. Had I come here during the monsoon, I
might have travelled directly in a diagonal line, from the south of
the mountain-range to the rear of this place, into their, the
southerners', country, who were the older branch, and were now
governed by the hereditary and rightful chief, Gerad Mahamed Ali, who
was on the most friendly terms with the Warsingali, and who, being an
old chief, and well respected by his adherent subjects, might have
granted me a hospitable reception.

On the other hand, the northern Dulbahantas, who were also friendly
with the Warsingali, were under no control: the Gerad, by name Mahamed
Ali also, was recently installed in government, and was consequently
very little respected. He (the Warsingali chief) could not, therefore,
give his sanction to my going amongst them, by which my life would be
endangered, and he, for permitting it, would be held responsible by
the English. No arguments of mine would alter the decision of the
inflexible chief; I therefore changed the subject by asking him to
assist me in procuring camels, by which I might go into the interior,
and feel my way thereafter. This he readily agreed to, and begged
permission to return to Bunder Gori to give the necessary orders to
his subjects. His escort then demanded a cloth apiece from me, to be
given them for their trouble in coming over here; arguing that, had I
not required the sultan's attendance, they would not have had to
come;--a plausible, but truly Somali notion of justice; they knew
their proper master would give them nothing for coming to support his
dignity, but thought I might be softer.

10th.--The sultan, not able to do business hurriedly with his rabble
subjects, did not appear again until this morning, and then, instead
of proceeding at once to work, hinted he should like to have the
presents I had brought from Aden for him, as the best method of
showing our feelings to one another. This was not so easily concluded.
I portioned out the things that were intended for him, and wished he
would take them at once away and clear the room, thinking, in my
inexperience of savages, I had only to give, and it would be received
with a hearty Bism-illah; but I was soon undeceived: the things were
taken with a grunt of discontentment; all looked over one by one. If a
cloth was soiled, it must be changed; and then the measurements began
by cubits = 18 inches, or from the point of the elbow to the tip of
the middle finger, just as Noah must have done when he built the ark.
But as all forearms are not of equal length, much delay was occasioned
by the sultan trying the length of his forearm against everybody's in
the room, and then by measuring every cloth by turn, and remeasuring
them again for fear of mistake; then they were divided into lots, to
be disposed of to his wives, and children and Akils and servants, and,
of course, found insufficient to meet everybody's expectations, and I
must give more.

Tedious hours passed in this way; as a final petition, the sultan said
I must give him for himself a gun and my silk turban, as I had given
up wearing anything on my head, and did not require it: these were,
after a certain amount of haggling, surrendered, on condition that the
sultan would exert himself a little more energetically on my account.
The way he handled the musket was very amusing: he had never had one
in his hands before, and could not get it to sit against his shoulder;
and when his people placed it for him, he persisted in always cocking
the wrong eye, which tickled Farhan's fancy so much, that he burst
into loud roars of laughter. Nevertheless, the sultan took things
quietly, and would not allow himself to be discomposed, but coolly
said the gun would be of no use unless I gave him some powder to feed
it with. This last straw broke the camel's back; all things must have
an end, and I promised I would give him some after he procured enough
camels for my wants, but not before. This settled the matter, and he
walked off, with all the things I had given him, as sulkily as if he
had been injured.

Camels were then brought for sale, and purchasing commenced. When the
sultan was present, he had to determine if the prices asked by the
sellers were reasonable or not, and took for his office as mediator a
tithe on all purchases; but in his absence, Akils were appointed to
officiate on the same conditions. This system of robbing, I was
assured, was the custom of the country, and if I wanted to buy at all
I must abide by it. Cloth was at a great discount on the coast, for
the men there had, by their dealings with Aden, become accustomed to
handle dollars, and were in consequence inspired with that superior
innate love for the precious metal over all other materials, with
which all men, and especially those newly acquainted with it, become
unaccountably possessed. No one would believe that my boxes could be
made for any other purpose than for locking up money; and I was
obliged to leave them open to inspection before they would sell
anything for cloth.[14]

The sultan now lived at Bunder Gori, and seldom showed himself,
promising to come to me every day, without the least intention of
doing so; and only at last, after three days' absence, when I
threatened to invade his dwelling, did he appear, bringing several
camels with him: of these I purchased some good ones, and sent the
rest away: this was the 15th November. He then returned home again,
and promised faithfully he would bring on the morrow a sufficient
number of camels to carry all my kit.

16th.--For the first time the sultan kept his promise by returning,
but the animals he brought were weak and useless, and I could plainly
see I was being trifled with, and detained here for the mere purpose
of being robbed in an indirect manner, so that no accusation could be
laid against any one. Nothing, I may say, in all my experiences, vexes
the mind so much as feeling one's self injured in a way that cannot be
prevented or avenged. Some might take such matters quietly, but I
confess I could not. Indeed, I stormed and expostulated with the
sultan until he agreed to assist me in a move. I had now eleven
camels, and wanted some five more, but thought it better not to wait;
for as long as I remained in a comfortable dwelling, I knew my men
would not exert themselves. That day, then, packing up what I most
required, I started for Bunder Gori, and unloaded, after a three
miles' march, at an old well in rear of the village, selecting as a
camping-ground the least comfortable place I could find, and not
allowing the tent to be pitched, though the sun-heat was 112 degrees,
and the sand was blowing in perfect clouds. Some days previous to my
leaving Goriat, Sumunter induced me to give him twenty rupees to hire
donkeys for conveying the heavier things over the hills, and
repeatedly assured me he had got them, but they never came; and now I
asked him to return the money, as I had brought it with me as a
reserve fund, to provide against any possible difficulty, and not to
be parted with for any ordinary purpose. This commenced a series of
rows between Sumunter and myself: he had made away with the money, and
could not produce it. The salt also was never forthcoming.

17th.--I could not succeed in making up my complement of camels. The
sultan said he and his men must be fed before they could do work, and
sat upon the date-bags so resolutely I was fain to open them that some
business might be done. After feasting they all dispersed, under
pretence of bringing other camels, and I went into the town to inspect
the place. There were five small forts, occupied by merchants, of whom
one was a Hindi from Cutch, and a large collection of mat huts, mostly
occupied by women. Instead of finding a harbour (Bunder), as the name
of the village implied, the shore was a gradual shelving open
roadstead, in which two buggaloes were lying at anchor, waiting for
cargoes, and four small sailing-boats were preparing, with harpoon and
tackle, to go porpoise-hunting for oil.

18th.--Having made everybody as uncomfortable as I could wish, sitting
in the sandy open plain, all the men were equally desirous with myself
for a move on the journey; but still I was five camels short, and saw
no hopes of getting them. The plan then settled was to move southwards
half-way up the hill, leaving the few things still in the fort as they
were, until I arrived at the camping-place, and could send the animals
I was taking with me back to fetch them. Having now desired the
sultan, Sumunter, and Farhan to return to Goriat, and leave the rear
property in safe custody with the fort-keeper, I commenced the march
across the maritime plain with Ahmed, Imam, a number of Somali
camel-tenders armed with spear and bow, and the sultan's youngest son,
Abdullah, to direct the way until his father and the other two should
arrive, which they promised they would do by the evening. The track
first led us across the maritime plain, here about two miles broad,
and composed of sand overlying limestone, with boulders in the dry
shallow watercourses, and with no vegetable life save a few scrub
acacias and certain salsola. This traversed, we next wound along a
deep ravine called Tug (river) Tura,[15] lying between the lower spurs
of the mountain-range, and commenced a slight ascent up its cracked,
uneven passage, until we reached a halting-place called Iskodubuk. The
distance we had made was only about five miles from Bunder Gori, but
the camels were so fatigued by travelling over boulders, that we were
obliged to unload and stop there for the day. The sultan and Abban now
overtook us to say that the rear things were in safe custody in the
fort; and, leaving instructions with the young Prince Abdullah about
the road we should follow on the morrow, returned _nolens volens_ back
to Bunder Gori, saying, as they went away, we might expect them at the
next camping-ground as soon even as we could get there with the
camels. A little after sunset, some interesting rock-pigeons--very
similar to the Indian painted bird, which I found there frequenting
ground much of the same nature--lit at some pools in the bed of the
ravine, and enabled me to shoot and stuff several of them.

19th.--We got under way in the early morning, and commenced ascending
the same ravine, when a messenger from the sultan arrived, and desired
we would stop until he came. We had scarcely accomplished two miles,
and the morning was yet young and cool, and I strove with every effort
in my power to induce the men to go a little further forward, but
without the slightest effect; they were as obstinate as mules, and
just as unruly. This was a fair specimen of Somali travelling; any
pretext to save the trouble of moving is accounted too precious to be
lost. The ground here was a little more wooded; tall slender trees,
with thick green foliage, grew in the bed of the ravine, in which
there were some occasional pools of stagnant rain-water, and the brown
rocky hill-sides were decorated with budding bush acacias, which
afforded a good repast for the weary camels, whose journey over the
boulders must have been very fatiguing to them.

20th.--As the sultan did not arrive, and the young prince would not
allow my men to load, I ordered the interpreter and Imam to remain
where they were, whilst I returned to Bunder Gori to see what was the
matter, and on no account were they to issue any food until I came
back again. As soon as I had gone two or three miles, I found the
young prince and all the camel-men hastening after me, and entreating
me to return; they said the sultan was on his way, and would arrive in
camp in the evening. I complied, conditionally that they bound
themselves to march in the morning whether he came or not. Once again
in camp, I had my food prepared, and sat savagely watching the effect
its odour had upon my starving men, who, fearing they would get none,
formed in a body, and came petitioning me to forgive them, as they
consented to do my bidding for ever after. They were then fed.

21st.--After loading in the morning, with a great deal of beating and
thumping, all the camels, save two or three weakly ones, were whipped
up a winding steep ridge, one of the buttresses of the mountain, to a
camping-ground, six miles farther on, called Adhai. Here we were at
the station originally assigned for the first day's march, and, for
the first and last time during the whole journey, I pitched the tent.
The higher we ascended the hill the more abundant became the wooding,
and green grass for the first time was visible amongst the stones.
This freshness was attributed to a recent fall of rain. Altitude, by
boiling thermometer, 4577 feet.

22d.--I sent all the freshest camels off to Goriat for the remaining
property, with orders that everybody should return on the following
day. At this height the temperature of the air was very delightful,
the range at noon being only 79°. I spent the whole day
specimen-hunting, and found the rocks were full of fossil shells. I
killed a new snake or variety of _Psammophis sibilans_, and shot an
interesting little antelope, _Oreotragus saltatrix_, the
"klip-springer" of the Cape Colonist, as well as hyraxes and various
small birds, which we duly preserved. My collections in this country
were sent by Lieutenant Burton to the Asiatic Society's Museum,
Calcutta, and have been described in their journals by Mr E. Blyth,
the Curator.

23d and 24th.--Passed without anybody appearing, and I was becoming
much alarmed at repeated stories I heard of the Abban's dishonesty. It
then transpired that Sumunter was heavily in debt, and one of his
principal creditors was at Bunder Gori detaining him there. A pony had
been hired for my riding, and on this animal I wished to send Imam
back, to find out the truth of everything, and to return to me the
following day; but the wicked young prince, Abdullah, got wind of my
intention, and had the pony driven away, so that the unfortunate Imam
had to walk.

25th.--Still nobody came. I now despatched the interpreter on the same
mission, and was left alone with the young prince and two or three
camel-drivers. After a little while had elapsed, a number of savage
hungry-looking men came up the hill and settled themselves in my
encampment, squatting on the date-bags and clamouring for food. The
prince and camel-drivers joined them, and became so importunate, I was
obliged to rebuke them with angry demonstration. No sooner did they
see me vexed than they began hovering tauntingly around me, jeering
and vociferating in savage delight at the impunity they enjoyed in
irritating me when all alone and helpless. However, I stood by the
date and rice bags with my gun, and prevented anybody coming near me.
The prince and camel-men now seeing me determined, and no farther
discomposed by their manoeuvres, came supplicating for their daily
rations. I gave it them at once, but could not satisfy them; they must
have some more for all their brothers (meaning the _blackguards_ who
had just arrived), or they would strike work. This stirred my blood; I
took back what I had given, and resolutely declined to be passively
cajoled out of anything, let happen what may. They saw I was
determined not to submit to them; and suddenly, as if the same thought
struck every one of them at the same instant, they dashed down the
hill, flying over the bushes and stones in their way, with yells and
shouts, and, seizing a goat from a neighbouring flock, killed and
quartered it without a moment's hesitation. At this juncture, just as
the robbed shepherd came crying to me for the price of his goat, Imam
arrived from Goriat, and tried to reason with him that it was no
business of mine, and I could not be expected to pay it. The injured
man then swore he would have justice done him at the sultan's hands,
and all yelled again for dates and rice. As they could not get it, the
young prince, ever full of boyish tricks, now seized up a mussack
(water-skin), and said I should have no more water until I complied
with their demands. The others, following his example, picked up as
many more as they could find, and left but one mussack remaining. This
one I immediately captured, and requested Imam to fill from a spring
farther down the hill; but the men, thus far outdone, rather than
allow it, said they would kill him if he dared attempt to go now. As
Imam showed alarm at their wild threats, I took the water-skin myself
and walked off to fill it, upon which the savages threw themselves out
in line, flourishing their spears and bows, and declared they would
kill me if I persisted in going. On I went, however, and had just
passed through their line, when the sultan's eldest son, Mohamed Aul,
fortunately arrived, and rebuked them, together with his brother, for
allowing me to be ill-treated. Finding Mohamed Aul very reasonable and
obliging, I begged him to send Abdullah away as a nuisance, for I
could never permit him to eat any more salt of mine.

Imam now disclosed to me the results of his investigations at Goriat
and Bunder Gori. The Abban, as I had heard before, was detained there
by a creditor to whom he had contracted debts in Aden, and now, in
part liquidation of them, he had given away all my salt, the twenty
rupees he took for hiring donkeys, several pieces of cloth, and he had
changed my good rice for bad; and, knowing Farhan to be cognisant of
all his villanies, had tried by bribes to induce him to desert. The
sultan now arrived, and excused his long absence, saying that he had
lost the time in fruitless endeavours to induce Sumunter to come with
him. He said he had been remonstrating with Sumunter, and thought him
very culpable in not obeying me. Hoping the sultan was in earnest in
what he said, I now told him of all I had seen and heard about
Sumunter, and begged he would assist me in sending him back to Aden,
for no reliance could possibly be placed on a man who had proved
himself so dishonest and unprincipled as he was. The interpreter also
thought this would be a good plan, and advised my employing the
sultan's brother Hasan as abban or protector in his stead. However,
the sultan said he could not undo what the English had done in Aden,
but said if I wished he would send for Sumunter and rebuke him in my
presence. I replied that I thought he could not get Sumunter to leave
Bunder Gori, or he should have done so ere this. This touched his
pride, and he raised his body indignantly, and said, "If I command, he
must obey." "Then, for goodness' sake," said I, "order him with
all--all my things at once, and lose no more time."

The following day they all arrived, and Sumunter with them, riding on
a pony. I felt much incensed as the Abban came cringing up to me, and
proclaimed him in presence of the sultan and all my men a traitor and
robber, mentioning all his villanies in detail, and begging he would
leave my camp at once, for I could not travel with him. He appeared
very humble, and denied flatly all the accusations I brought against
him. Upon this I begged the sultan, flattering him with his great
renown for administering justice, that he would do me justice as his
guest. He said he was willing to do anything for me if I would direct
the way in which I wished him to proceed; he did not understand the
English law, and I must submit to Somali methods. This was agreed to,
and we all assembled in my tent, and arranged the court as follows:--I
sat at the gable end of the tent with Imam, Ahmed, and Farhan, with
Sumunter facing us. The sultan mounted on the bales of cloth, and all
his retainers and princes, and my camel-drivers, sat in a group on the
ground at his feet.

In opening the proceedings of the prosecution, I first said to
Sumunter--

_P. Speke_.--"Where is the salt which you confess came with us to
Goriat, and which you have told me daily you would give; but as yet,
though everything, you say, is in the camp, it has not arrived?"

_D. Sumunter_.--"I did not bring it because it was so heavy, and
thought you would not want it."

_P._--"Then why did you not land it at Goriat, and give it me there,
or why did you even buy it at all at Aden if it was of no use?"

_D._--"Because the Nahkoda took it to Bunder Gori."

After a few more questions and answers, and the subject was exhausted,
the sultan (judge), who had been sitting in silence with his head
buried in his hands, now gave a grunt and motioned us to continue.

_P._--"Where are the bales of cloth which by my account and Imam's are
missing?"

_D._--"I did not take them; somebody else must have."

_P._--" They were in your charge, and you are answerable for them;
besides which, Farhan here knows you gave them away."

_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued.

_P._--"Where are the twenty rupees I gave you for hiring donkeys, and
which I particularly ordered should not be expended for any other
purpose?"

Sumunter, putting his hand fixedly in his breast, said, "I've got
them; they are all right. I will give them to you presently."

_Speke_.--"No! give them to me now; I want them this instant."

Sumunter, confused, and fumbling at his pocket, much to the delight of
all the court, who burst with laughter, said, "No! I've left them at
home in Bunder Gori, and will give them by-and-by."

_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued.

_P._--"Why did you change my good rice for bad?" (opening and showing
the contents of the nearest sack).

_D._--"I thought it would not signify: bad rice is good enough for the
camel-drivers, and I have left enough good for your consumption. An
old friend asked me for it, and I did it to oblige him."

_Judge_.--"Ahem!" and the prosecution continued.

_P._--"Why did you attempt to bribe Farhan to leave my service, and
say nothing to me about it?"

_D._--"Farhan is a bad man; and I was afraid he would steal your
things."

_Judge_.--"Ahem!"

Thus ended the prosecution and defence. The sultan raised his head,
and in answer to my appeal as to what judgment he would give, calmly
said, he could see no harm in what had been done--Sumunter was my
Abban, and, in virtue of the ship he commanded, was at liberty to do
whatever he pleased either with or to my property. Words, in fact,
equivalent to saying I had come into a land of robbers, and therefore
must submit to being robbed; and this I plainly told him. Further, I
even threatened the sultan with a pretended determination to return to
Aden, where I said the matter would be settled at our police court
without bias or favour. I then desired the interpreter to look out for
any vessel that would give me a passage to Aden, as it was obvious to
me Sumunter had more power in the land than the sultan. This took them
all by surprise, abashed the old sultan and his family--for they were
proud of their strength--and induced them to say I need not fear
anything on that score;--was the sultan of the Warsingali, indeed, not
the greatest chief in the land, and, moreover, a great ally of the
English? This, of course, was only a feint on my part to bring them to
a proper sense of their duty towards me; for I had brought letters of
recommendation from the Government at Aden to their chief, and knew
they would rather do anything than let me go back in a huff.

29th.--I had been now nine days waiting here, and had taken many walks
about the hill-sides, investigating the place, and making sundry
collections. The most interesting amongst these was a small lizard, a
new species, afterwards named by Mr E. Blyth, the Curator of the
Asiatic Society, _Tiloqua Burtoni_, after my commandant. The Somali
brought a leopard into camp, which they said they had destroyed in a
cave by beating it to death with sticks and stones. They have a mortal
antipathy to these animals, as they sometimes kill defenceless men,
and are very destructive to their flocks. Besides the little antelope
described, I only saw the Saltiana antelope, and the tracks of two
other species which were said to be very scarce. Rhinoceroses were
formerly very abundant here, but have been nearly all killed down with
spear and bow (they do not use firearms) by the Somali hunters, in
consequence of the great demand for their skins for making shields.
Amongst the bush and trees there were several gum-producing ones, of
which the frankincense, I think, ranked first. These gums are usually
plucked by the women and transported to Aden. The barks of various
other trees are also very useful; for instance, they strip down the
bark of the acacia in long slips, and chew it until only fibres
remain, which, when twisted in the hand, make strong cordage. The
acacia bark also makes a good tan for preserving leather; but of far
greater account than this is the bark of a squat stunted tree, like
the "elephant's foot," called by the Somali mohur, which has a smooth
skin, with knotty-looking warts upon it like a huge turnip, reddish
inside, with a yellowish-green exterior. It has a highly aromatic
flavour, and is a powerful astringent. When making mussacks, the
Somali pull a sheep or goat out of his skin; tie its legs and tail,
where incisions had been made, to make it a waterproof bag, and then
fill it with bits of this bark, chopped up and mixed with water. They
then suspend it in a tree to dry, and afterwards render it soft and
pliable by a severe course of manipulation. The taste of the bark is
considered very wholesome, and a corrective to bad and fetid water.
Besides possessing this quality, the mohur is useful as a
poultice-when mashed and mixed with water; and the Somali always have
recourse to it when badly wounded.

During my peregrinations at this place, I often dropped bits of paper
about the jungle, little suspecting what would become of them; and, to
my surprise, one day the interpreter came to me in some alarm, to say
that several Dulbahantas had arrived at Bunder Gori, and were sharply
canvassing amongst themselves the probable objects of my visit. I
could not be travelling without a purpose, at so much expense; and
they thought these bits of paper, which they had carefully picked up,
conclusive evidence I was marking out some spots for future purposes.
They abused the Warsingali for being such fools as to let me travel in
their country, and said I should never cross over to them. This little
incident of dropping paper, though fully explained to them, was ever
afterwards brought up in accusation against me, and proved very
perplexing.

30th.--Camp Habal Ishawalé. Altitude 5052 feet.--We were now all
together, and I thought ready to march; but the men had first to be
paid their hire in advance--a monthly stipend of five tobes each. When
that was settled, many other men, and amongst them the sultan's second
brother Hassan, coveting my clothes, wished to be engaged. Some
tedious hours were wasted on this subject. The sultan, at the
instigation of these advocates for service, would have it, if I wished
to travel according to the custom of the country, I must take more men
with me as a guard. I, on the other hand, neither wanted them nor
could afford to pay them, as I had been so extensively plundered--but
wished to exchange Sumunter for his brother, and promised high rewards
if he would take me through the journey. To put an end to the
discussion, I struck my tent, never to be pitched again, and waited
patiently until the camels came. It was not until near sundown that
the camels were ready and the march commenced. The sultan then ordered
Hassan and the naughty boy Abdullah, against my wish, to accompany me
on the journey; and we set off, leaving two or three loads behind to
be brought up on the morrow. The march was a short one, made to
relieve the one beyond; for the spring of water we were now drinking
from was the last on this side the range. It led us up a gradual but
tortuous ascent, very thickly clad with strong bushes, to a kraal or
ring-fence of prickly acacias, which was evidently made to protect the
Somali's sheep from lions, leopards, hyenas, and freebooters suddenly
pouncing on them.

We remained here three days, sending the things I had brought in
relays across the mountain, and fetching up the rear ones. The sultan
could not lose the opportunity afforded by my detention to come again
and beg for presents, and I gave him a razor to shave his head with
and make a clean Mussulman of him. On finding he could get nothing
further from me gratis, he demanded that a cloth should be paid to the
man whom my camel-drivers had robbed of the goat at Adhai, and, before
retiring, wished me urgently to take a letter for him to Aden,
petitioning the English to allow him to form an expedition by sea, and
take retribution on the Musa Abokr at Héis, who had recently killed
one of his subjects.

 

 

Chapter III.

Yafir Pass--Rhut Tug--The Ruins at Kin's City--Abban Apprehends Future
Consequences--Hyenas--The Dulbahantas--Camel Drivers' Tricks--Briny
Water--Antelope-shooting--Elephant-hunting--Ostrich-hunting
--Gazelles--Jealousy and Suspicions of the People--Troubles from Forty
Thieves--Rapid Decline of Property.

 

4th December 1854.--At dawn of day the last of the camels was loaded,
and we set out to clamber up to the top of the mountain-range and
descend on the other side to the first watering-place in the interior
of the country. It was a double march, and a very stiff one for the
camels. Directly in our front lay an easy, flattish ground, with
moderate undulations, densely wooded with such trees as I had already
seen; but beyond it, about three miles from camp, the face of the
mountain-top, towering to a great height, stood frowning over us like
a huge bluff wall, which at first sight it appeared quite impossible
any camel could surmount. At 9 A.M. we reached this steep, and
commenced the stiffest and last ascent up a winding, narrow goat-path,
having sharp turns at the extremity of every zigzag, and with huge
projecting stones, which seemed to bid defiance to the passage of the
camels' bodies. Indeed, it was very marvellous, with their long
spindle-shanks and great splay feet, and the awkward boxes on their
backs striking constantly against every little projection in the hill,
that they did not tumble headlong over the pathway; for many times, at
the corners, they fell upon their chests, with their hind-legs
dangling over the side, and were only pulled into the path again by
the combined exertions of all the men. Like Tibet ponies, when they
felt their bodies slipping helplessly over the precipices--down which,
had they fallen, they would have met instantaneous and certain
death--they invariably seized hold of anything and everything with
their teeth to save their equilibrium. The ascent was at length
completed after an infinity of trouble, and our view from the top of
the mountain repaid me fully for everything of the past. It was a
glorious place! In one glance round I had a complete survey of all the
country I was now destined to travel over, and what I had already gone
over.

The pass was called Yafir, and, by the boiling thermometer, showed an
altitude of 6704 feet. It was almost the highest point on this range.
From a cedar tree I cooked my breakfast under, on facing to the north
I saw at once the vast waters of the Gulf, all smooth and glassy as a
mill-pond, the village of Bunder Gori, and the two buggaloes lying in
its anchorage-ground, like little dots of nut-shells, immediately
below the steep face of the mountain. So deep and perpendicular was
it, that it had almost the effect of looking down a vast precipice.
But how different was the view on turning to the south! Instead of
this enormous grandeur--a deep rugged hill, green and fresh in
verdure, with the sea like a large lake below--it was tame in the
extreme; the land dropped gently to scarcely more than half its depth,
with barely a tree visible on its surface; and at the foot of the
hill, stretched out as far as the eye could reach, was a howling,
blank-looking desert, all hot and arid, and very wretched to look
upon. It was the more disappointing, as the Somali had pictured this
to me as a land of promise, literally flowing with milk and honey,
where, they said, I should see boundless prairies of grass, large
roomy trees, beautiful valleys with deep brooks running down them, and
cattle, wild animals, and bees in abundance. Perhaps this was true to
them, who had seen nothing finer in creation; who thought ponies fine
horses, a few weeds grass, and a puny little brook a fine large
stream. At noon we reloaded, and proceeded to join the camels and men
sent forward on the previous day. The track first led us a mile or two
across the hill-top, where I remarked several heaps of stones piled
up, much after the fashion of those monuments the Tibet Tartars erect
in commemoration of their Lahma saints. These, the Somali said, were
left here by their predecessors, and, they thought, were Christian
tombs. Once over the brow of the hill, we descended the slopes on the
south, which fell gently in terraces, and travelled until dark, when
we reached a deep nullah, here called Mukur, in which we found our
vanguard safely encamped in a strong ring-fence of thorn bushes.

The distance accomplished was seventeen miles; the altitude 3660 feet.
The two following days (5th and 6th) we halted to rest the cattle,
whilst I went shooting and collecting. There were a great number of
gazelles and antelopes, some bustard, many florikan and partridges, as
well as other very interesting birds and reptiles. These were mostly
found in ravines at the foot of the hills, or amongst acacia and
jujube trees, with patches of heather in places. We now held
_durbar_,[16] to consult on the plan of proceeding. It was obviously
impossible to march across the plateau directly upon the southern
Dulbahantas, as there was not a blade of grass to be seen nor any
water on the way beyond the first ten miles from the foot of the
hills. To go to Berbera, then, I must perforce pass through the
territories of the northern Dulbahantas; and this was fixed upon. But
hearing of some "ancient Christian ruins" (left by Sultan Kin) only a
day's march to the south-eastward, I resolved to see them first, and
on the 7th made a move five miles in that direction to a kraal, called
Karrah, where we found a deep pool of stagnant water.

8th.--My kit was now so much diminished that we all marched together
down a broad shallow valley south-eastward, in which meandered a
nullah, called Rhut Tug, the first wadi I came upon in Nogal. The
distance accomplished was eight miles when we put up in the Kraal of
Rhut; for, as I have said before, there were no villages or permanent
habitations in the interior of the Nogal country. All the little
wooding there is, is found in depressions like this, near the base of
hill-ranges, where water is moderately near the surface, and the trees
are sheltered from the winds that blow over the higher grounds of the
general plateau. Rhut is the most favoured spot in the Warsingali
dominions, and had been loudly lauded by my followers; but all I could
find were a few trees larger than the ordinary acacias, a symptom of
grass having grown there in more favoured times when rain had fallen,
a few puddles of water in the bed of the nullah, and one flock of
sheep to keep the place alive. Gazelles were numerous, and many small
birds in gaudy plumage flitted about the trees, amongst which the most
beautiful was the _Lamprotornis superba_, a kind of Maina, called by
the Somali Lhimber-load (the cowbird), because it follows after cows
to feed.

9th.--Halt. Kin's City, or rather the ruins of it, I was told, lay to
the northward of my camp, in the direction of the hills, at a distance
of about two miles; so I proceeded at once to see it, hoping by this
means I should be able to advance westward on the following day. After
an hour's walk I came upon those remains of which I had heard so much
at first on landing in the country, as indicative of the great
advancement in architectural art of Kin's Christian legion over the
present Somali inhabitants; but I was as much disappointed in this
matter as in all others of Somali fabrication. There were five objects
of attraction here:--1. The ruins of a (said to be) Christian church;
2. The site and remains of a village; 3. A hole in the ground,
denoting a lime-kiln; 4. A cemetery; and, 5. The ground-lines of a
fort. This certainly showed a degree of advancement beyond what the
Somali now enjoy, inasmuch as they have no buildings in the interior,
though that does not say much for the ancients. The plan of the church
is an oblong square, 48 by 27 feet, its length lying N.E. and S.W.,
whilst its breadth was directed N.W. and S.E., which latter may be
considered its front and rear. In the centre of the N.W. wall there
was a niche, which evidently, if built by Christians, was intended to
point to Jerusalem; and this might have been conclusive evidence of
its having been a Christian house of worship, and consequently of
great antiquity, did it not unfortunately point likewise in the
direction of Mecca, to which place all Mohammedans turn when saying
their prayers. Again, I entertained some suspicion that the walls,
which were in some parts ten feet high, had not sufficient decay to
warrant their being four and a half or more centuries old. But one
thing was remarkable at this present time--there were no springs or
any water nearer than my camping place, which could not have been the
case when this place was occupied; but it denoted a certain amount of
antiquity, without any doubt. The walls of the church were composed of
limestone rocks, cemented together with a very pure white lime.

The entrance fronted the niche, and was led up to by a street of round
pebbles, protected on each side by semicircular loosely-thrown-up
stone walls. There was nothing left of the village but its foundation
outlines, which at once showed simplicity of construction, as well as
economy of labour in building. It lay about 50 yards to the east of
the church. One straight wall ran down the centre, from which, as
supports, ran out a number of lateral chambers lying at right angles
to it.

To the northward of the church was the cemetery, in which, strange to
say, if the Somali believe their own story, they even at the present
time bury their dead, and erect crosses at the head of the tombs, in
the same manner as we Christians do. The kiln was an artless hole in
the ground, in which there was a large collection of cinders, and
other debris not worth mentioning. Lastly, the fort, or rather remains
of what the Somali said had been one, was situated on an eminence
overlooking the village, and about 70 yards to the S.W. of the church.
Now, having completed my investigations of the ruins, I returned to
camp, where I was met by the Abban, looking as sulky as a bear with a
sore head, and frowning diabolically. He had been brooding over my
late censures, and reflecting on the consequences his bad conduct
would finally have upon him, if he could not obtain a pardon from me.
And should he not be able to elicit it by fair means, he thought at
any rate he would extract it by foul, then and there, without
condition or any clause whatever. This was preposterous. I frankly
told him exactly what I thought of him, saying I could not forget what
had happened; that he had abused the trust reposed in him by the
English, and I was bound in duty to report the whole matter in every
detail to the Government; but should he discontinue his evil ways, and
take me safely to my journey's end, I would promise him a full pardon
as soon as I arrived at Berbera. This would not answer his
purpose--bygones must be bygones without any condition whatever, and
he went to his bed as wrathful as he rose.

10th.--I rose early and ordered the men to load, but not a soul would
stir. The Abban had ordered otherwise, and they all preferred to
stick, like brother villains, to him. And then began a battle-royal;
as obstinately as I insisted, so obstinately did he persist; then, to
show his superior authority, and thinking to touch me on a tender
point, forbade my shooting any more. This was too much for my now
heated blood to stand, so I immediately killed a partridge running on
the ground before his face. Seeing this, he wheeled about, prepared
his pony, and, mounting it, with his arms agitated and ready for
action, said to the people standing by that he would kill me if I
dared shoot again. I was all this while standing prepared to shoot,
without understanding a word of what was said, when the interpreter
rushed towards me pale and trembling, and implored me not to shoot,
but to arrange matters quietly. He would not tell me, however, what
had occasioned the great anxiety his excited manner showed. I of
course was ready at any time to do anything I could to help me on the
journey, and again stated the terms on which I would grant the man a
pardon. At this juncture, Hassan, the sultan's brother, who had been
absent a few days, came and interceded between us. I told him
everything that had happened, how the Abban had even superseded the
sultan's order, by forbidding me to do what I wished in his country,
and again begged him to be my Abban in Sumunter's stead. This he said
he could not do, but gave Sumunter a wigging, and desired me to go and
shoot anywhere I liked. Thus ended this valuable day.

11th.--Last night I shot a female spotted crocuta hyena (here called
Durwa) in the act of robbing. These tiresome brutes prowl about at
night, and pick up anything they can find. Their approach is always
indicated by a whining sound, which had prepared me on this occasion.
She was caught in the act of stealing away some leather thongs. The
specimen was a fine one, but until dissected I could not, from the
hermaphrodital form of these animals, determine which sex it was that
I had killed. We now prepared for the march westward, when Hassan said
he would go back to near the Mijjertaine frontier, where rain had
lately fallen, and all the Warsingalis had migrated with their cattle,
to fetch some ponies, which he would bring to me in a few days, even
before I could arrive at the Dulbahanta frontier, and begged a gun at
parting as Judge's fee for his settlement of the Abban question, and
as an earnest that he would bring the five ponies which I wanted. We
then got under way, and travelled westward, bidding Rhut Tug adieu,
but every one was stiff and formal. Sumunter had not confessed
contrition, and I had not committed myself to saying that I would hush
the matter up, assuring him that in duty as a public officer I could
not, that I was bound to report every circumstance, though privately I
promised a pardon as before. After travelling a little way, we emerged
from the low land of the valley, and ascended a higher track to the
normal level of the plateau, which, as I have said before, was all
bleak and barren, with scarcely a tree growing on it, and very stony.
Here I saw a large troop of ostriches and numberless gazelles stalking
away out of the line of the caravan's march. My men were all highly
anxious I should shoot them, but I would not, to try what effect it
would have on the Abban, saying, sport was of secondary importance to
me, and I now only wished to finish the journey quickly.

By his detentions I had lost so much time, I despaired of reaching
Berbera agreeably with my instructions, and, moreover, he had not
begged my pardon, from which I doubted his intention to serve me
faithfully. This caused a halt. Sumunter and all the men alike said,
"Of what good is your coming here, if you do not enjoy yourself? We
all came on this journey to reap advantages from serving you, and now
if you don't shoot, what may we expect?" I said, Prove to me that I
shall not be thwarted again, and I will shoot or do anything to create
good-will. Then appointing three men as Sumunter's advisers to hold
him in restraint in case any wrong-headedness on his part should get
the mastery of him, I begged they would proceed. This proved
successful for the time. Sumunter wrote me a letter, stating his
intention of abject servitude, and ratified it by presenting his spear
and shield, through the hands of the interpreter, for me to return to
him as an acknowledgment that I would henceforth forgive him; and we
again proceeded on the journey.

After travelling ten miles without seeing a single habitation or human
being of any sort, we arrived at a nullah, in which there were several
pools of bitter spring-water, and some Egyptian geese swimming on
them. This place was called Barham. On the right or northern side of
the line of our march was the hill-range, about ten miles distant, at
the foot of which, in the beds of small ravines, grew some belts of
the jujube-tree and hardy acacias; but to the south the land was all
sterile, and stretched away in a succession of little flat plains,
circumscribed by bosses or hillocks of pure white limestone rock,
which appeared standing unaffected by the weathering which had worn
down the plains that were lying between them. Again these little
enclosed plains sank in gentle gradation to their centres, where
nullahs, like the one I was encamped upon, drained the land and refuse
debris to the south and eastward, possibly to join eventually the Rhut
Tug.

12th.--At 9 A.M. we were again in motion on our westward course,
rising by a gentle incline to about half-way between Rhut Tug and a
second Wadi Nogal farther on, called Yubbé Tug. Here, at the
water-parting between these two large watercourses, was the tomb of
the great founder of these mighty nations, Darud bin Ismail, and an
excavated tumulus. There were also several bitter springs in the
neighbourhood, with stone enclosures and numerous flocks of sheep
tended by Somali. On passing the tomb I scarcely remarked it, so
insignificant did it appear, whilst the Somali paid no homage to it
whatever. But the tumulus excited more attention, and I was requested
to examine it. Six years ago, the interpreter said, a Somali who
wished to bury his wife in it, broke through its exterior, and found a
hollow compartment propped up by beams of timber, at the bottom of
which, buried in the ground, were several earthenware pots, some
leaden coins, a ring of gold such as the Indian Mussulman women wear
in their noses, and various other miscellaneous property.

I was very much struck with the sleekness of the sheep, considering
there appeared nothing for them to live upon; but I was shown amongst
the stony ground here and there a little green pulpy-looking weed, an
ice plant called Buskàlé, succulent, and by repute highly nutritious.
It was on this they fed and throve. These Dumba sheep--the fat-tailed
breed--appear to thrive on much less food, and can abstain longer from
eating, than any others. This is probably occasioned by the
nourishment they derive from the fat of their tails, which acts as a
reservoir, regularly supplying, as it necessarily would do, any sudden
or excessive drainage from any other part of their systems.

After crossing over this high land we began descending to the
westward, and at the completion of the twelfth mile dropped into a
nullah tributary to the Yubbé Tug, made a kraal for protection against
hyenas close to a pool of water, and spent the night. This plain was
called Libbahdilé (the haunt of lions).[17]

13th.--The air was so cold, the men could not bestir themselves until
after sunrise, when, to my great surprise and delight, without one
angry word or attempted impediment from the Abban, we were on the move
at 8 A.M. I now fondly hoped the Abban had really turned over a new
leaf, but was soon undeceived, and also disappointed. He was married
to a Dulbahanta woman, and this wife, for he had two others, with her
family, was residing in that country. I was therefore, unawares to
myself, travelling directly on his home. Hence these three consecutive
marches. Gradually we descended into a broad valley, down the centre
of which meandered the Yubbé Tug, or the second Wadi Nogal of my
acquaintance. This formed a natural boundary-line, separating the
Warsingali from the northern Dulbahanta frontiers. Where we first came
upon the nullah it was deep and broad, with such steep perpendicular
sides that camels could not cross it. We therefore turned suddenly
northward, and followed up its left bank till we turned its head,
which begins abruptly, and marched five miles to the Yubbé Kraals. Had
this valley been blessed with a moderate quantity of rain, there is no
doubt it would have been available for agricultural purposes; and as
it was, there were more trees growing in the hollow here than in any
other place I had seen, and several flocks and herds were congregated
in it. Whilst travelling to-day the interpreter narrated the
circumstances of a fight which the Warsingali had with the Dulbahantas
about ten years ago in this valley, in which it appeared the
Dulbahantas were the aggressing party, having sent a foraging-party
over their frontier to lift some cattle. The Warsingali, seeing this,
mustered their forces and repelled the enemy; but would not follow
them up, preferring rather to tease them into submission than to
engender a bloody contest. This they effected by exposing all their
flocks and herds to the view of the Dulbahantas on the bank of the
impassable nullah, whilst they guarded its head and protected their
flank by stationing a strong party of warriors there. The Dulbahantas,
tantalised at this tempting yet aggravating sight, for they had not
strength enough to cope with the Warsingali in full force, waited
covetously gazing across the nullah for some time, and then retired in
such great disgust, they have never attempted to steal again.

When once ensconced in the new camp, the Abban came to me with an air
of high importance, to announce that we were now on the Dulbahanta
frontier, and that, if I wished to see their land, I must allow him to
precede me, and pave the way, taking the young prince Abdullah with
him to magnify the purport of his mission, as the Dulbahantas were a
terrible and savage nation, governed, not like the Warsingalis, by an
old and revered chief, but by a young sultan whom nobody listened to.
Moreover, the Dulbahantas had sent word to say they had heard of my
marking the Warsingali country out with paper, and would not admit me
on any consideration. Besides which, it was a custom in the country
that strangers should ask permission to enter through the medium of an
abban, and as I had acted on that custom in the Warsingali country, so
also must I do it here.

I was kept at this station eight days, sometimes hearing ominous
announcements of the terrible Dulbahantas, sent to frighten me by the
Abban, and sometimes amusing myself in other and various ways. The
Dulbahantas could not conceive my motive for wishing to travel in
their land; no peddling Arab, even, had ever ventured there, so why
should I desire to go? Fortunately I had a good deal of employment
with my gun; for, besides gazelles, antelopes, a lynx, florikans, and
partridges, I shot many very beautiful little honey-birds, as well as
other small birds. Of these former the most beautiful was the
_Nectarinia Habessinica_. It has an exceedingly gaudy plumage, that
glistens in metallic lustre as the rays of light strike upon its
various-coloured feathers. This is the more remarkable on a warm
sunshiny day, when the tiny bird, like a busy humble-bee, bowing the
sle