What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile
by John Hanning Speke · English · Gutenberg #8417 · 590,612 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile
Author: John Hanning Speke
Release date: July 1, 2005 [eBook #8417]
Most recently updated: December 26, 2020
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8417
Credits: This text results from the merging of two simultaneous submissions at Project Gutenberg; the first, from images generously made available by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at http://gallica.bnf.fr, and processed by David Kline, Carlo Traverso, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team; the second, scanned by JC Byers(www.wollamshram.ca/1001) and proofread by Maryann Short
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHAT LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE ***
This text results from the merging of two simultaneous submissions at
Project Gutenberg; the first, from images generously made available by
the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at
http://gallica.bnf.fr, and processed by David Kline, Carlo Traverso,
Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team; the
second, scanned by JC Byers(www.wollamshram.ca/1001) and proofread by
Maryann Short.
What Led To The Discovery
of the
Source Of The Nile
by
John Hanning Speke
Captain H.M. Indian Army
Author of 'Journal of the Discovery of the
Source of the Nile'
William Blackwood and Sons
Edinburgh and London
MDCCCLXIV
To
The Memory of
Lieutenant-General Sir Jas. Outram, Bart.
G.C.B.
Who First Gave Me A Start In Africa,
This History
Is Respectfully Inscribed.
Advertisement.
In offering this short connected history of my first two explorations
in Africa, I must state that I have been urged to do so by friends
desirous of knowing what led to the discovery of the source of the
Nile. The greater part of it was originally published in 'Blackwood's
Magazine;' but that lacked the connection which I have now given to
the conclusion of my independent journey to and from the Victoria
N'yanza, which is the great source or reservoir of the Nile. The
manner in which I traced the Nile down from the Victoria N'yanza to
Egypt is explained in my 'Journal of the Discovery of the Source of
the Nile.'
J. H. 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
slender plant with its weight, inserts his sharp curved bill into the
flower-bells to drink their honey-dew, keeping its wings the whole
time in such rapid motion as to be scarcely distinguishable.
Without animal flesh I do not know what I should have done here. The
water was so nitrous I could not drink it. To quench my thirst, I
threw it in gulps down my throat; and rice, when boiled in it,
resembled salts and senna. After returning from sport one day, the
interpreter brought up one of the camel-drivers, to be punished for
having stolen some deer flesh when sent to clean it. He was a Midgar,
or low-caste fellow, who does not object to indulge in cannibalism
when hard pressed by hunger. I would not decide the case myself, but
handed him over, much against his wish, to the _tender_ mercies of the
interpreter and two other men whom the sultan, at parting, appointed
judges on any sudden occasion. It was everybody's interest to make him
guilty, and therefore he was condemned to find two sheep, to be killed
and eaten in the camp. Another case of theft, much more vexatious than
this, occurred when I first arrived here, and turned off some spare
camel-drivers, who took away all the packing-ropes with them, and I
have been obliged to employ the remaining men ever since in chewing
acacia bark into fibres to make new ones.
I was now becoming so much alarmed at the Abban's delay and tricks,
that I wrote a letter to Lieutenant Playfair, Assistant Political
Resident at Aden, complaining of what he had done, saying I felt very
uncertain of being able to reach Berbera by the time appointed, and
requesting him to send a letter of remonstrance to the sultan. This I
forwarded by a man called Abdie, _viâ_ Bunder Gori. Prudence would
have suggested my returning with the letter, for I had now received
intelligence that the Abban was in his home, and after experience
gained by the tragedies on the coast, I could have expected no good
from him. But as long as life and time lasted, I was resolved to go
ahead.
It was very remarkable to see the great length of time animals in this
country can exist, even under hard work, without drinking water. In an
ordinary way, the Somali water camels only twice a-month, donkeys four
times, sheep every fourth day, and ponies only once in two days, and
even object to doing it oftener, when the water is plentiful, lest the
animals should lose their hardihood. I do not think antelopes could
possibly get at water for several months together, as every drop of
water in the country is guarded by the Somali. We were now in "the
land of honey," and the Somali nomads constantly came to me to borrow
my English pickaxe for digging it out of the ground; for the bees of
this country, instead of settling in the boughs of trees, as they do
in England, work holes in the ground like wasps, or take advantage
more generally of chinks or fissures in the rocks to build their combs
and deposit their wax. It was a great treat to get a little of this
sweet nutriment, to counteract the salts which prevail in all the
spring waters of the interior. When out shooting specimens, I often
saw the Somali chasing down the Salt's antelopes on foot.
I killed many of them myself right and left, when running like hares,
with common shot, much to the astonishment of the Somali, for they are
too small a mark for their bow-and-arrow shooting. The little
creatures cannot stand travelling in the mid-day sun, and usually lie
about under favouring trees which line the watercourses. Knowing this
weakness, the cunning Somali hunter watches him down from feeding to
his favourite haunts, and, after the sun shines strong enough, quietly
disturbs him; then, as he trots away to search for another shady bush,
they follow gently after to prevent his resting. In the course of an
hour or so, the terrified animal, utterly exhausted, rushes from bush
to bush, throwing itself down under each in succession, until at
length it gets captured.
Somali, from their roving habits of life, are as keen and cunning
sportsmen as any in the world. They told me of many dodges they
adopted for killing elephants, ostriches, and gazelles, which they do
as follows:--If an elephant is ever seen upon the plains, a large body
of men assemble on foot, armed with spears, bows, and sharp
double-edged knives, with one man mounted on a white horse, to act as
teaser. This man commences by riding in front of the animal, to
irritate and absorb his entire attention by riding in repeated circles
just in front of him. When the huge beast shows signs of distress by
fruitlessly charging on his nimble adversary, the footmen rush in upon
him from behind, and hamstring him with their knives, and then with
great facility soon despatch him with their arrows and spears.
Ostriches, again, are killed in two ways; the more simple one is by
finding out what places they usually resort to in search of food, and
then throwing down some tempting herb of strong poisonous properties,
which they eagerly eat and die from. The other method adopted in
catching them is not so easy, but is managed with great effect. The
ostrich is, as is generally known, a remarkably shy bird, and is so
blind at night it cannot feed. Again, the Somali pony, though
wonderfully hardy and enduring, is not swift; therefore, to
accommodate existing power to knowledge of these various weaknesses,
the Somali provides himself with a pony, and provisions for two or
three days, and begins his hunt by showing himself at such a
considerable distance from the birds he has formed his design upon,
that they quietly stalk off, and he, at the same rate, follows after,
but never draws near enough to scare them out of sight of him. At
night, the birds stop in consequence of the darkness, but cannot feed.
He, on the other hand, dismounts to rest and feed with his pony, and
resumes the chase the following day. After the second or third day,
when he and the pony are as fresh as ever, the ostriches, from
constant fasting, become so weak, he is able to ride in amongst them,
and knock down one by one as many as may be in the flock. The flesh is
eaten, and the feathers are taken to the sea-coast for transportation
to the Aden market. I once saw a donkey-load of feathers carried to
market that had been taken in this way.
There are two methods, also, of killing gazelles; the more usual one
is effected by two men walking into a bushy ground to search for them,
and when discovered, walking in such large circles around them as will
not scare them; gradually they draw their circles in, until a favoured
bush, down wind, is found, which the herd is most likely, when once
moved, to pass by, and behind this one of the men stops, with his bow
and arrows, whilst the second one, without ever stopping to create
alarm, continues drawing in the circles of circumvention until he
induces the gazelles to walk up to the bush his friend is concealed
in, when one or more may be easily shot. The other plan for killing
them is extremely artful, and is done on horseback, and therefore on
the open plain. Fleet animals, like antelopes and gazelles, always
endeavour to head across their pursuers, no matter in which direction
they go. The Somali, therefore, taking advantage of this habit, when
they wish to catch them on ponies, which are not half so swift as the
gazelles in fair open chase, economise their strength by directing
their animals' heads towards the leading gazelle, and thus inducing
the herd, as they continue heading on, to describe double the
circumference of ground their ponies have to traverse. In process of
time, the gazelles, by their extra exertions, begin to flag and drop,
and the hunters rush in upon them, and cut them up in detail.
20th.--To-day the young prince, Abdullah, returned to say the
Dulbahantas had been conferred with, and had shown the strongest
objections to my seeing their country, enumerating at the same time
all their reasonings, such as I had already heard; but added, as a
great concession on their part, as a particular favour they wished to
show to my Abban, that I might be permitted to advance a little way to
the next valley; but then only on condition that I would surrender to
them the whole of my remaining property.
I now heard more particulars of the Dulbahantas' fights, and the
manner in which they first originated. For full thirteen years they
had been disputing amongst themselves, and many cabals had sprung out
of it. Whilst these intrigues were gaining ground, a minor chief,
named Ali Haram, with a powerful support in connections, about five
years ago determined on alienating himself from the yoke of the
government, which was headed by an old Gerad, called Mahamed Ali, the
rightful and hereditary chief. Since then the original kingdom has
been divided into two portions, called the Northern and Southern
Dulbahantas; but although the northerners declare themselves
independent, the chief of the south still fights for his lawful
rights, and at this present time had driven the northerners, with all
their cattle and stock, to Jid Ali Tug, the next valley beyond this,
which I was now desirous of visiting. Ali Haram was an old man, and
consequently incapacitated from taking an active part in these
tumultuous filibusterings; he had therefore, since his first accession
to power, deputed a son called Mahamed Ali Gerad to act as Regent in
his stead, and this was the man of whom the Warsingali spoke to me at
Bunder Gori so disparagingly.
21st.--I was now preparing to start again westward, when an order came
from the Abban to my men, that no property should accompany me,
excepting what little I felt disposed to part with in presents to the
Dulbahantas; as an Akil, by name Husayn Hadji, the senior man present
at Jid Ali, had decided, as a final measure, on seizing everything I
brought with me immediately I set foot in Jid Ali. Though I had had
experience enough of the Abban's tricks to see that this was merely a
farce, though a very useless and inconvenient one, I permitted the
arrangement rather than make a row and retard my progress, and set out
with the young prince, Hamed, Farhan, and two camels and drivers,
leaving Imam and the other nine camels, with their drivers, behind, to
follow as soon as I should send back.
At the western extremity of the valley we came upon a small mound of
earth, all white and glistening, covered with nitre in an efflorescent
form, which shone so conspicuously in the sun, it could be seen at
many miles' distance; from the base of it a clear spring of water
trickled, so disagreeable in taste that no one, save Somali, could
possibly drink it. Now, emerging from the low land, we again left the
trees behind us, and rose by a well-beaten foot-track to the primary
level of the country, where stone and bare ground prevailed. Each of
these elevations and depressions was a mere reflection of the other,
only varying more or less according to their size; and as my line was
directed due west, I always had the mountain-range at even distance on
the north, whilst every feature on the south remained the same. It was
monotonous in the extreme. At the fifth mile we came upon some springs
of bitter water, sunk in deep cavities in the earth, from which we
filled our water-skins, and travelled on till night; when, dark
overtaking us, we slipped into a hollow in the ground, called Ali,
cooked a little rice with the water we had brought, and slept it out
till morning. Distance, thirteen miles.
22d.--As soon as the morning was well aired with the sun, and the
black men had recovered from the torpor which the cold seemed to
produce on them as it does on lizards and snakes, I struck out for Jid
Ali, hoping to surprise the Abban, and thereby counteract, if
possible, his various machinations. But this was not to be done. At
the thirteenth mile, as we were descending in full view of Jid Ali, at
a place called Birhamir, I was met by the Akil Husayn Hadji himself,
who, instead of showing any disposition to hinder my approach, was
very affable and kind in manner. He politely begged me to remain where
I was and rest the day, and on the morrow he would take me to the Tug
(river) below. He had never felt indisposed towards me; but one Galed
Ali, an Akil superior to himself, was averse to my proceeding further.
Unfortunately for the Somali, their lies are very transparent, and
they were too fond of uttering falsehoods ever to be trusted. I
neither believed in the existence of Galed Ali, nor in his own kind
intentions towards me, and therefore begged him to prove it by
allowing me to pass. This began a long discussion. The wars were
raging. The Dulbahantas would not let me see their country, as they
could not see why an Englishman should wish to travel where even
beggars were afraid to go; and then followed a hundred other excuses,
all of which I rejected as freely as he advanced them.
Then at length, Somali fashion, the true meaning of his unwelcome
visit transpired. He then said--"Well, if you have no fear of
anything, and will join us in our fight, to represent your nation's
disposition in our favour, I will give you as many horses as you may
wish to have, and a free passage to Berbera, as soon as it is
concluded." This was certainly a tempting offer, as I told him; but I
said, Although, as far as I was individually concerned, there was
nothing which would please me better, still, being a servant of the
Government, I could not represent anything they had not sanctioned;
and, moreover, I was bound to be at Berbera by a certain date, which I
could not if I went southwards with them. They argued, There would be
no delay in finishing the battles, if I merely showed myself as a
representative of the English, for the enemy would retire before a
shot was fired, concluding that the opinion of the world was against
them. They all declared the war had lasted so long, and had been so
harassing, they wished ardently to put an end to it. I told them, in
my opinion, it was all their own fault; that they ought never to have
commenced the war, for the chief they now recognised was a mere
usurper--a traitor, in fact, who ought to be punished.
The Abban's mother, Mrs Awado, of whom I knew nothing until now, and
who was living at Birhamir, in a hut close by, then hastened towards
us, joined our party, and interrupted the conversation by clapping her
hands and beating her knees, exclaiming, in wild dismay and terrifying
words, "Oh! why have you come to this land, where there are no laws,
or any respect for life? You don't know what these people are you've
come amongst! Come with me now to my place; rest the night, and
refresh yourself: tomorrow morning your Abban will come and conduct
you safely on your way." This was a climax to the day's journey; the
men smelt grub in an instant, and hurried off with the old lady to
some empty stone enclosures (sheepfolds), and at once unburdened and
"lay-to" for the night. As before, I had many conferences about the
THE WADI NOGAL, which Lieutenant Burton had desired me to investigate,
but could obtain no satisfactory information. They said there were
many wadis in Nogal, but the largest one was in the Mijjertaine
country, where its waters were deep and large, with extensive forest
around it, frequented by numerous herds of elephants. Those in advance
of my line of march, on the road to Berbera, were all mere nullahs,
like Yubbé Tug, or Jid Ali Tug, and were not used for agricultural
purposes. However, in the southern Dulbahanta country, south by west
of this, at a distance of five or six marches, there was a nullah,
with many springs in it, which united in certain places, and became a
running stream. This I now, from subsequent inquiries and inspection
of Lieut. Cruttenden's map,[18] suspect is the watercourse set down in
my instructions as the Wadi Nogal. This watercourse, I was assured,
bounded the Nogal or white stony country on the west, and divided it
from the Haud or red stoneless country, which is occupied in most part
by the southern Dulbahantas, who have "the finest grazing-grounds in
the world, and possess incalculable numbers of camels and horses
(meaning ponies), and cows, sheep, and goats; whilst the game which
roamed about there covered the ground like flocks of sheep." Of these
the largest were giraffes, rhinoceroses, and lions, elephants being
confined to the Mijjertaine country, the Koolies hills to the south of
Berbera, and the Webbé Shebéli, or Haines River.[19]
23d.--Early in the morning, accompanied by Husayn Ali, who opposed me
no longer, we commenced our descent to the valley of Jid Ali, an
expansive flat several miles in breadth, fuller and better wooded in
the north than any place I had yet seen, but tapering away to the
south and eastwards, until it became lost to sight in the barren
plateau. After marching a mile or so, we found the Abban hastening to
meet us, in high dudgeon with my men for having advanced contrary to
his mandates, before he had time to arrive and smooth the way; for now
the great impressive spell, his influence, which I was to understand
could alone save me from the terrors of the unruly Dulbahantas, was
proved to me of secondary importance, and he, consequently,
insignificant. This occasioned a little delay; but at last, the Abban
becoming reconciled to this defeat of his projected plans, we were
permitted to resume the march, and, soon arriving in the bed of the
valley, encamped near the watercourse of Jid Ali Tug, on the meridian
of Mai. The water in the nullah extended upwards of half a mile, when
it became absorbed in the thirsty soil. It consisted of a chain of
pools, connected by little runners, the produce of some bitter
springs, and made the country green in consequence. Attracted by my
dates and rice--for I had brought no other property save my
specimen-boxes and ammunition--many of the Dulbahantas forgot their
occupations in war, and flocked around my camp all day and night,
bothering my servants incessantly whilst cooking, and begging presents
from me every moment. I remained here three days, trying to negotiate
with the head men for permission to advance, but obtained no practical
result. They insisted, for even coming thus far, that I should give
them as many cloths and material as I had given to the Warsingali, for
they would take no less. When told all my worldly goods did not admit
of such a payment, they quietly said, I had come there against their
will; they did not believe me; and if I did not open my boxes to their
inspection, they would smash them up and help themselves. This was an
everyday occurrence, which became only insignificant, as it was
repeated without being carried into execution. Most of the time the
Abban was away, stopping at his home, and no business could be done. I
therefore took short excursions about the valley shooting, and
inspecting the various habitations.
Animals were more abundant, in consequence of the greater extent of
water; and I shot gazelles, little saltiana antelopes, hares, Egyptian
geese, rock-pigeons, ducks and teal, and snipe and partridge, besides
a choice collection of small birds. In one place I found a small stone
hut, occupied by an old man who had once been on a pilgrimage to
Mecca, and had seen the art of cultivating ground. He was now turning
his experience to account by growing jowari (a species of millet), and
effected it with some success; for he had two small enclosures, which
he irrigated by cuts from the nullah, that produced grain, which grew
from eight to nine feet high. He was loud in praise of the advantages
which he derived from his farm, saying it saved his flocks, and
assisted him in the means of food when his ewes were pregnant, or
giving lamb. I patronised this farmer, and offered to lend him some
tools for digging with, when he said he did not want that so much as
some hints about sowing, and wished I would send a man to instruct
him. Farhan, who was with me, delighted at the prospect of showing his
skill in any manner--for he styled himself professor of all things--at
once took the hint, and bargained to do a day's work, and furnish him
with some wrinkles for his future guidance, for the payment of a goat,
which was readily agreed to.
The people here were highly superstitious, and, like all ignorant
races, very punctilious in their ceremonies of worship. As _true_
Mussulmans, they were constant in their time of prayer, and abused my
interpreter for never saying his. When I made him cut the deer's
throats a little lower down the throat than their canons permit, to
save the specimen, they spat on the ground to show their contempt, and
abused him heartily. If I threw date-stones in the fire (the seed of
paradisiacal food), they looked upon it as a sacrilege. They were also
very suspicious. If I walked up and down the same place to stretch my
legs, they formed councils of war on my motives, considering I must
have some secret designs upon their country, or I would not do it, as
no man in his senses could be guilty of working his legs
unnecessarily.
Considering all the northerners were said to have been driven up here
by the war, I was much surprised to see so few habitations or flocks
in the valley; all there were consisted in a few kraals scattered over
the plain, which were constantly moved as soon as each plot of ground
in turn was eaten up by the cattle. In changing ground, these nomads
pack up everything on their camels, mat and stick, hut and all, and
placing the wife, with perhaps a baby also, on a donkey, march to any
unoccupied watering-place they can find. Their food is very limited,
except in the rainy season, when milk prevails: in consequence of
this, it being now the dry season, my servants accounted for their
increasing appetite for my dates. Some of the poorer men are said to
pass their whole lives without tasting any flesh or grain, but to live
entirely on sour milk, wild honey, or gums, as they may chance to come
across them, and they are almost naked; but notwithstanding this,
disease is scarcely known, and excepting in a few cases of endemic
ophthalmia, which appears to attack the country periodically, at
intervals of two or three years, I never heard of any. The climate was
very delightful at this season, and the nights so cold I had to wrap
myself well up in flannels. But perhaps that which best illustrates
the healthiness of the country and pleasantness of its atmosphere, is
the fact that I, although I had no bedstead, but always slept on the
ground, never pitched my tent a single day in the interior, and
neither wore a hat or shoe throughout the journey, save on one or two
occasions, when, severely stabbed with thorns, I put on a sandal. I
never knew a moment's illness.
25th.--This evening, Husayn Hadji, who I now found out was
brother-in-law to Sumunter, approached me as I came in from shooting,
and said, "We are surprised to see you return alive; did you not meet
some armed men when you were shooting?" I replied, "No, not one."
"Then," said he, "there are many men come here, who from the first
have forbid your coming into this country; they are under no control,
but, in open defiance of the Gerad, do and act just as they like:
indeed, every head man is a Gerad here, and those who are strongest
carry the day." This was the prelude to another farce; presently the
men came of whom Husayn Hadji spoke, and, surrounding my camp,
boisterously demanded to know what I was doing in their country
against their orders. A violent altercation then ensued. They must
have all my property given up at once, or they would take it by force;
and remained trying to bully me into compliance, until I said I would
sooner die than give them anything. Seeing me determined, they then
walked off, saying I had not one night left to live, for they would
return and kill me after dark. The place was now getting too hot to be
pleasant, for the fact was, we were so near the watering-place, that
my camp offered a convenient and tempting lounge for all the idle
blackguards of the country to assemble at.
26th.--I sent orders back for the rear traps to come on as quick as
possible, and at the suggestion of my servants, who were just as tired
as myself of these incessant provocations, changed camp to a place
three miles farther up the valley, much more remote from water, but
nearer to the Abban's home, by which I hoped I should be able to get
at him easier; for the aggravating wretch, whenever I sent messages to
recall him, invariably returned plausible excuses, showing the
necessity of his having stopped away, and as repeatedly said he would
not fail in coming immediately; but at the same time, as the sequence
showed, never intending to do so.
It would be useless, as well as painful, to narrate in detail all the
daily and hourly incidents which occurred in the next few days whilst
I was detained here by the artful and dishonest machinations of this
vile-conditioned man, from whom I could never get one true word, and
whose absence, although I was striving to induce his coming to me,
really seemed a relief. A wicked feeling was almost coming over me,
which made me shudder again when I reflected more calmly on what my
mind was now dilating. He seemed to me only as an animal in satanical
disguise; to have shot him would have given me great relief, for I
fairly despaired of ever producing any good effect upon his mind.
Again I tried the old scheme of forcing him to leave me, and even
begged an Akil of the Dulbahantas, offering him large rewards, to be
my guide to Berbera. This, as might be imagined, provoked a severe
row. The man I was endeavouring to seduce to favour me was one of the
gang of forty thieves, and as birds of a feather all Dulbahantas
flocked together to assist the victim of my displeasure; for Sumunter
was, by his intermarriage with these northerners, naturalised amongst
them. However, I had my wicked will, by relating, in presence of all
his now rapidly congregating friends (a row always brings a crowd),
the whole of his misdemeanours since he first came with me to this
country, and threatened him with the lasting displeasure of our
Government, and ruin to his trade at Aden, if he still persisted in
his tricks. This brought matters home much closer than anybody liked
to hear, and set all parties cogitating on what course had best be
followed. I now retired to cool myself by shooting, and on returning
again was met by the Abban, interpreter, and many Dulbahanta Akils,
who, now trying the conciliating dodge, came to report the good news
that a victory had been gained by the northerners, and the southerners
were in full retreat to their provinces, by which the road to Berbera
would be open to my proceeding onwards. Moreover, the rear traps had
arrived at Abi, by which accident everything seemed to harmonise. This
sounded very cheering for the moment, but I soon was damped again.
I wanted to move at once, and lose no time in taking full benefit of
the opportunity thus offered; but this, like every other proposal that
I made, was immediately checked by a cruel device, as unforeseen as it
was objectionable. Hassan had not come with the ponies he went after
from Rhut Tug; I must therefore, before advancing, send back to the
farther frontier of the Warsingali to purchase, by bills on Aden, five
ponies at thirty dollars a-head, to be afterwards given away in
presents to chiefs on the road for allowing me to pass through their
territories, and this, at a minimum calculation, would occupy a
fortnight's time, and even then I should have to go single-handed,
without a servant, instrument, or article of any bulk with me. Of
course this, as the Abban knew, I never would consent to. On no
account would I suffer my being separated from my men and property
when the time for my return to Berbera was so close at hand; and,
moreover, without the instruments the journey would be of no avail.
Row succeeded row when I pushed matters closely; the Abban sometimes
affected repentance, but more often became defiant, and forbade
anybody's assisting me without his entire consent. Such, in fact, were
the effects of these angry ebullitions of temper on the minds of my
people, that the young Prince Abdullah, fearing to be witness to them
any more, took his leave and departed home.
31st.--At length the rear traps arrived, but one camel, having been
taken ill on the march this morning whilst coming from Abi, was
slaughtered to "_save_" his flesh, and devoured by my hungry men. As
soon as everything had arrived, and the men were made aware of my
intention to push forward, they requested their discharge, affecting
fear to enter on a strange land, but in reality seeing I had no cloths
left to pay them, as afterwards transpired. This deficiency I visited
on the Abban, who, in trying to excuse himself for inefficiency in his
protectorship, meekly said he had been grieved to see the very rapid
decline of my property, but he could not help it, as I had so many
thieves in my employment!!! Mrs Awado now came over from Birhamir,
bringing a sheep and some ghee as a present for me; but I refused
taking anything from the relative of the Abban, and this appeared to
grieve her much. She said she had heard of all my disputes with
Sumunter, her son, and had remonstrated with him about them; he was a
proud man, and easily led away by vanity. She could see his being at
variance with me would not end to his advantage on his return to Aden,
and tried coaxing him to journey with me; but at the same time told me
he would have to be well upon his guard, as in former years he had
married clandestinely with a damsel of the Rheer Hamaturwa, a
sub-tribe of the Habr Gerhajis, who occupy the hill-range overlooking
Bunder Héis; and her loss to those people would be avenged at once, if
he ever came within their power. The Rheer Hamaturwa had heard of my
intention to journey westwards, and would be in readiness to descend
upon and intercept our march, kill Sumunter, and destroy the whole of
us; indeed, they had sent messages to that effect.
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.
3d January 1855.--During these three days I visited a ruined musjid
and a cemetery, which, though much resembling the one at Rhut in every
respect, was said to be of more recent origin, and built by
Mohammedans. On my walking amongst the tombs, and inspecting the
crosses[20] at their heads, the interpreter rebuked me for
sacrilegious motives, and desired me to come away, lest the
Dulbahantas should find it out, and be angry with me. Besides this, I
daily tried to draw Sumunter, like a badger, from his hut, which was
four miles distant from my tent, but without effect. He and his wife,
two dwarf sisters (little bits of things, who, the interpreter said,
were too small to be of any use), and some children, all lived
together in a small beehive hut, so low that they had to crawl in on
all-fours, and so small that it was marvellous how they could turn
round in it. At length to-day he arrived in a sullen angry mood, and
said, haughtily, he was displeased at my trying to force him into
compliance, as if I had the power to make him move unless he chose. It
was impossible to keep one's temper under such constant provocation;
so I abused him vehemently, and warned him off the camp, again
repeating he had abused his commission, as well as the Government
authorities who engaged him,--and entreated he would "get away," and
let me take my chance of proceeding how I could, for his presence
simply made my position one of purgatory. He laughed in scorn, wishing
to know if I thought I could do anything without him,--and said he had
only to turn his back an instant, and the Dulbahantas were ready to
devour me. I still persisted; and then he said, "If you say go once
more, I take you at your word; and see you to the consequences."
My resolution was fixed; for I plainly saw I could not by any
possibility be worse off. He now tried frightening me by assembling
the Dulbahantas to confirm his words, making them say they only
permitted my residence there out of the love they bore to their
brother Sumunter, and that they certainly would kill me if he once
left the place. They did not fear guns. The English could not reach
them; besides, their fathers had driven Christians from these lands;
and if an army was to attack them, they would assemble so many
cavalry, and ride in such rapidity around them, that their gunners
could not take aim in consequence of the clouds of dust which this
feat would occasion. In addition to this, they thought the English
only efficacious behind walls; else, why did they not take revenge
upon the Arabs at Lahej, two years ago, for the murder of an officer?
They had often heard of the English threatening and preparing to do
it, but somehow they never carried their intention into execution. I
treated these vain bombastic words with the contempt which they
deserved,--but said, I only wanted Sumunter to take me on, or
otherwise to leave me to my fate. They then tried weakening my party
by bribing Farhan to side with them and leave; but the noble-hearted
Seedi disclosed their treachery, and gallantly said he would share
misfortunes with me, and fight, if necessary, to the last extremity.
Imam, tame-hearted Indian, got in a dreadful fright, and implored I
would compromise the matter; for by this time all the camels had been
driven away; and the Warsingali moved off with Sumunter, saying I
brought the rupture by my obstinacy on my own head, and that as soon
as they were out of sight, the Dulbahantas would walk in and kill us
all in a heap. I then loaded all the guns, and, giving one to each of
the servants, sat on the boxes waiting to see the up-shot. I was
clearly outmanoeuvred--unable to move or get anything--but still was,
to use their own expression, "obstinate." After proceeding a certain
distance, the retiring band, with Sumunter at their head, sitting
fully equipped with spear and shield on his war-steed, came to a halt,
and invited the interpreter to meet them, presuming, they said, there
might be some mistake, and therefore they wished to open negotiations
afresh. Sumunter then gave me back my own words, saying, "If the Sahib
would only say he wished me to take him to Berbera, I will give some
small presents to the Akils of the Dulbahantas as a passport for him,
and proceed at once;" for they were only endeavouring to feel my
disposition towards them, and did not intend desertion, if I was not
irredeemably incensed against them. They then came back, and work
began afresh, by the distribution of presents, which, as is usual when
no man can bear to see the smallest trifle slip from his grasp to be
given to another, was a matter of no small difficulty in adjusting. If
the Dulbahantas did not succeed in skinning me of all my effects, they
naturally thought the next tribe would; and a whole day was consumed
in wrangling and disputing how much they should get. This ended by my
giving one musket, thirteen tobes, and my reserve silk turban; and now
I was at liberty to quit Jid Ali.
11th.--At 10 A.M. we were loaded, and commenced the journey westward;
whilst the Abban said he would bid his friends adieu at home, and
bring five horses with him to Biyn Hablé, where he would meet us on
the following day. The track led us across a flat alluvial plain,
still in the valley, which was well covered with a thick growth of
acacias, and dry short grass, nipped short by cattle. After walking
five miles, we arrived at our destination, not far from a well, and
made a ring-fence of prickly boughs.
Here for the last time I boiled the thermometer, to ascertain the
altitude of the plateau along my line of march, and found its average
height was 3913 feet: the minimum, at Rhut Tug, being 3077 feet--and
the maximum, at Yubbé Tug, 4498 feet.
The following day two Dulbahantas paid us a visit, and demanded to
know by whose authority we had come upon their grounds; we were
trespassers, and must pay our footing. The ground was theirs, and they
recognised no authority over them. What I had given at the last place
was no concern of theirs, but I must give them also a quantity of
cloth equivalent to it. This being refused as a preposterous
imposition, they turned hastily away, and, tossing their heads, said,
I might soon expect to see them again in larger numbers, when they
would help themselves. Moreover, for my satisfaction, they could
assure me that a number of men, who had learned which road I was bent
on travelling, were fast gathering on ahead, to oppose my advance. In
the evening the Abban arrived, bringing only two ponies with him.
17th.--It would be needless to recount all the varied incidents of the
next five days which were wasted here, by the thousand and one stories
which the Abban produced to fritter away my time near his home, and
swindle me out of my property. The time had now arrived when by
appointment I should have been at Berbera; and as I was not then aware
at what time the fair usually broke up, I felt much afraid of being
too late to join my companions. Sometimes Sumunter raised my hopes by
saying he would certainly proceed on a certain date; and when that day
arrived, the journey was deferred again, but not without severe rows,
so exactly like the past ones as to be unworthy of description. One
day we were ready, and I was to pass through any people that might
fall in the way by giving large credits on Aden under his security,
when the tide was turned again in another moment by the arrival of
some accomplices, who dropped in like unexpected evils, to say the
southern Dulbahantas had gained a great victory, slaughtering men and
cattle, and the road to Berbera would be thronged with people, so that
advance would be impossible for the present. This was a settler to my
westward march; and now I thought of escaping from this land of
robbers by turning northwards, and marching over the hills to Bunder
Héis, where I could either ship off, or march along the coast to
Berbera.
Negotiations were then set on foot with the Rheer Hamaturwa, and
several of their Akils came at my bidding, but were as implacable
about obliging a stranger as any of their neighbours. The whole
distance was not three days' travel; still they said I should not see
their country, and acknowledged themselves a lawless band, who would
take everything from me if I ventured there: adding, if the Warsingali
and Dulbahantas, who were stronger than themselves, would only
withdraw from me one day, they would come down at once, and demolish
my whole camp. They then demanded cloths for the trouble I had given
them, but, not receiving any, retired in huge disgust.
18th.--In final despair I faced about, and marched north-easterly, by
a new route, to reach Bunder Gori again, to ship for Aden, as there
only could I be certain of finding a vessel to convey me over the
Gulf. After six miles' march across the head of the valley, we arrived
at Mirhiddo Kraal, on elevated ground, and found a large party
assembled there. Some of them were the Rheer Hamaturwa, with whom I
tried again for permission to cross their hills, but this time by the
gap at the head of the valley in front of Bunder Jedid. This they were
ready to permit, and give security of passage to my people, if I gave
them all my remaining cloths; but they thought I should not find a
vessel there, which settled the question. I had no time to lose, and,
moreover, should save my cloths by continuing on the line I was
travelling. For though I should have to cross the hills where they
were occupied by the Habr Gerhajis, in the new way my track would pass
so near to the Warsingali frontier, that that tribe would not have
strength enough to demand anything from me, and passport fees are only
given in such places to the extent to which they can be enforced.
The other people I met here were some Dulbahantas arming for the
fight. They said they were 4000 strong in cavalry, and were
slaughtering sheep wholesale for provision on the road. Each man
carried a junk of flesh, a skin of water, and a little hay, and was
then ready for a long campaign, for they were not soft like the
English (their general boast), who must have their daily food; they
were hardy enough to work without eating ten days in succession, if
the emergency required it. Here a second camel was on the point of
dying, when his flesh was saved from becoming carrion by a knife being
passed across his throat.
21st.--The Abban slipped away on the 19th, when I was out
specimen-hunting, and would not come again till to-day, and then even
returned to give his wife a last salute, permitting me to advance to a
watercourse called Hanfallal, whilst he would join me on the following
day. This day we accomplished ten miles, and made a kraal about four
miles north of our old line of march.
22d.--As the Abban did not keep his promise, and none of us knew the
road, I now tried to prevail on his mother Awado, who was tending her
flocks close by, to be my guide, which she readily consented to do, as
she was anxious herself to go to Bunder Gori. The water found here was
in a circular cleft of limestone, sixty feet below the surface, which
was so small, only one person at a time could descend to it; and the
supply was so limited, I was obliged to keep my men down there all
night, to be the first for drawing in the morning. Gazelles were very
abundant, and in the evening we were visited by a very singular-looking
canine animal, which unfortunately I could not get a shot at. It was a
little less in size than the Crocuta hyena, but inclined rather more,
in its general shape, to a wolf than a hyena. The body was a pure
black, like the black Tibet wolf, but the tail was tipped with white.
I am not aware that this animal has ever been described.
23d.--At the usual starting-hour the Abban arrived, with two ponies
belonging to his brother-in-law, Husayn Ali, but which he tried to
pass off as his own, being ever very anxious to make me believe he was
a large stock proprietor, to magnify his importance. But,
unfortunately for him, the interpreter, who was as treacherous a man
as any of the breed, although he often confounded me by his innate
deceit, also peached at times upon his brother Sumunter. The Abban, on
seeing his mother equipped and ready on her donkey to go with me,
scolded her heartily for presuming to undertake the journey without
his leave, and sent her home faster than she came. We now commenced
the march, and travelled five miles diagonally across some low spurs
of hills, and encamped in the evening in a broad, deep, dry nullah, at
a place called Dalmallé. We brought water with us, and fortunate it
was so, for none could be found anywhere near the camp.
24th.--We started early in the morning, ascending the hill-range by a
steep winding footpath up one of its ridges, which, in respect to its
barrenness and soil, resembled the descent I had from Yafir. After
completing eleven miles' march, the caravan crested the hill opposite
Ras[21] Galwéni, travelled a short way on the flat of the summit, and
encamped in the evening amongst some thick jungle on its north or
seaward side, at a kraal called Gobamiré.
Immediately on arriving, as we commenced to unload the camels, a
number of men who were occupying that district--the Urus Sagé section
of the Habr Gerhajis tribe--seized the camels by their heads, and
demanded their customary fees, at the same time boisterously
gesticulating that they would help themselves if their request was not
complied with. Farhan enjoyed the row in the boisterous characteristic
manner of a Seedi--began dancing frantically the negro war-dance,
cocking his gun, and pointing it at everybody by turns; whilst
Sumunter and the other Warsingali began thumping them with their
clubs, and swearing a fearful vengeance would be wrought upon them by
their tribe, who were living within an hour or two's call, should they
not desist. The fact was, my men knew their power here, and, guided
only by animal passions, enjoyed showing it. The poor discomfited Urus
Sagé now slunk off like defeated dogs, or schoolboys returning from a
fight, just wishing to know if they were only to be considered in the
light of women, who could not maintain their own right, and, snarling
and snapping, threatened they would return again in stronger force
before the morning.
We then unloaded, and lay-to for the night. Immediately on reaching
the top of this range, a most interesting and novel sight was
presented to our view. We stepped in one instant from constant
sunshine into constant clouds, and saw what accounted for the dense
verdure of the north, as well as the extreme barrenness of the south
side of the hills. For two months we had not seen the vestige of a
cloud, or felt a drop of rain, and now we were at once launched into
the middle of the "Dairti" or north-east monsoon, which had been
pouring for some time previously against the north face of the
mountain, and was arrested there by it. It reminded me at once of that
marked phenomenon with which all travellers in the Himalaya Mountains,
who spend their "hot-weather" season at Chini, on the banks of the
Sutlege river, to escape rain, must be acquainted, when the clouds of
the great Indian monsoon envelop all the mountain-range for months
together on the weather or south-west side, and hang suspended on the
top of a high hill in sight of that place, but never pass over,
looking as if the mountain was too high to be surmounted by them, when
trying to reach the dry plateaux of Tibet. The clouds were rolling in
thick successive volumes at our feet, and obscured the view below us.
25th.--We were detained until noon in consequence of the Abban's
ponies, which had gone astray, and until then could not be found. In
the meanwhile the Urus Sagé came again, and tried to prevent us
loading, on the same plea as yesterday, but without effect; but when
we were starting, a compromise was effected on condition they would
escort us down the hill and guide the way. The road was steep and very
slippery, so that the camels could hardly get along, and this was
further increased by the thick strong green jungle-bushes, as well as
rocks and other difficulties incidental to mountain travelling with
such large and ungainly animals as laden camels. At the fourth mile we
found a large roomy cave under a rock, and put up for the night. Sheep
had been kept here, and the place was so full of fleas that the ground
was literally browned with them. I never saw such an astonishing
quantity congregated in one place; but we soon disposed of them by
burning certain boughs, which the Somali justly said was a specific
remedy against them.
26th and 27th.--During these two days we descended by a tortuous
winding footpath under no mean difficulties, and finally arrived,
after twelve miles' marching, at a place called Hundurgal, situated in
the hollow of a watercourse which divides the Warsingali from the Habr
Gerhajis frontiers, and transmits its waters to the Gulf at Ras
Galwéni. During the journey the Somali pointed out some of their
richest gum-trees, of which the finest in order is a species of
frankincense, called by them Falafala, or Luban Maiti. The gum of this
tree is especially valued by the Somali women for fumigating purposes,
which they apply to their bodies by sitting over it, when ignited, in
the same manner as Cashmeres sit over their little charcoal-pots to
keep themselves warm when resting on their travels. They enshroud
themselves in a large wrapper, place a pot with the burning gum
between their legs, and allow the perfume to rise to every portion of
their body simultaneously. We gave our guides five cloths for escort,
and sent them away.
I was informed by my men that under lee of Ras Galwéni there is a
better harbour than any on the whole coast-line, having deep water
close in to the shore, but, being neutral ground, the Warsingali will
not allow anybody to occupy it. They do not allow the Habr Gerhajis to
do so, as they would monopolise the trade; and they will not take it
themselves, as their sultan sagely remarks it would draw all their
force to one side of their possessions, and thus leave the other
exposed to attack from the Mijjertaines. Now the Dulbahantas are
obliged to come to Bunder Gori if they want to traffic with outer
nations, but were the Habr Gerhajis at Galwéni, this custom would be
drawn from them.
28th.--The inexpressible delight I felt at snuffing the fresh sea-air,
and being comparatively free from the tyranny of my persecutor
Sumunter, was truly indescribable; and I felt so impatient to end this
useless journey, and join my friends for the larger and more promising
one, I could hardly restrain my spirits. I stepped out before the
caravan was ready, and began the journey alone, when presently a rapid
fire, the discharge of a six-barrel revolver, attracted my attention.
This was done by the Abban, who said that whilst travelling there his
life was in jeopardy from the Habr Gerhajis, in consequence of an old
feud he had contracted with them, on account of which they had
forbidden this road to him. He thought to frighten them by the report
of firearms, but it seemed to have the opposite effect, for many men
at once gathered around the caravan, and for the time prevented its
onward course. As usual, they wanted me not only to pay for travelling
in their country, but to liquidate their claim on the Abban, as I had
brought him there, and only out of consideration for the respect they
felt towards me, they permitted his passage in safety.
They might as well have tried to skin a flint as obtain anything from
me, and I told them so, for Sumunter had fleeced me of all my effects.
This parley concluded, we travelled on without any further
molestation, and, crossing over the foot of some low spurs, arrived at
noon in a broad watercourse on the maritime plain to eat some
breakfast.
Here I shot and stuffed a very interesting rat, with a bushy tail,
very much resembling the little gilléri squirrel of the Indian plains,
but plumper in face and body, like a recently born rabbit. I had seen
many of them in rocks about the hill's side, but until now had not
secured a good specimen.[22] Again at this place I saw those large
black canine animals with white-tipped tail, but could not get a shot:
there were three hunting together, like jungle dogs in India. After
refreshing ourselves we resumed the march, and travelled along the
sandy shore eastward to a halting-place called Farjeh, completing a
march of twelve miles.
29th.--This day we completed our journey by marching into Gori, when I
again took occupation of the old fort. An answer from the Government
at Aden to my appeal against the sultan and Abban had now arrived, and
affected Sumunter severely. He was ready to sink into the earth, and
said to me, "Oh, why did you not whip me when I was in fault? I could
have borne that well, but writing to the English at Aden is more than
I can bear. What will be the consequences now if I return to Aden?" I
said I could not answer for it, as it was now beyond my control, and
if he went over there he must take his chance; but I strongly advised
his not going at all. "Indeed," I said, "I wish you would depart from
me at once. From the first, I told you I was obliged, by order, to
write accurate accounts of everything as it happened, and the English,
as you have often said yourself, are remarkable for not telling lies."
The sultan, into whose hands the letter first went, would not show
himself, but remained in the distant jungles, although I sent
repeatedly for him to converse concerning Sumunter.
The buggalow in which I came from Aden was now anchored in Bunder
Gori. It had made a voyage somewhere in the meanwhile, but the captain
had been afraid to go to Aden in consequence of the salt question, in
which Sumunter had made him confederate, fearing lest I might have
since written to the authorities there about it. However, I now wanted
to hire it again, and made sundry overtures to the captain, who at
first showed a disposition to treat, hoping thereby I should forgive
him; but he was finally hindered from doing so by the insidious
machinations of Sumunter, who doubtless was afraid by this means of
collecting at Aden more witnesses against himself. Sumunter now saw
his position clearly, and must have felt equally with myself it was a
great pity the letter of reproof from the Brigadier of Aden[23] did
not arrive sooner, and keep him on a course of rectitude, for he was
obliged to return to Aden and take his chance, as there he had not
only a wife and family, but it was the headquarters of all his
mercantile transactions. During this time, whilst I was in the old
fort, an odd accident occurred to an Akil's wife. She was playing with
my interpreter, who, for a frolic, snatched up one of my six-barrelled
revolver pistols and gave her chase. Suddenly she darted into the room
I was sitting in, bounced on a bench and poked her tail in my man's
face. He, not knowing the pistol was loaded, pulled at the trigger,
and discharged the contents of two barrels at once into her fleshy
projection. In an instant their fun came to an end, and great
consternation ensued. She thought she must die from it, and bolted off
home to give up the ghost. Her husband now came and clamoured for
revenge--her value was so-and-so, and my man must pay it. The
interpreter, hearing this, came crying to me, and wished to know if I
thought she would die; for should she do so, he, by the laws of the
land, would have to pay her price. I said I could not tell without
seeing her wounds, but, under any circumstances, the bullets ought to
be extracted. This appeared to them still more alarming than ever.
They did not wish me to inspect the wounds, and the woman herself was
very bashful. However, the Sahib was the only surgeon present, and
votes gave me the practice. It was certainly very amusing to witness
the struggle between virtue and necessity, and the operation was so
far satisfactory that I succeeded in extracting one of the balls. The
other ball, however, was so deeply imbedded I could not find a probe
that would reach it. Fortunately it was not fired in a dangerous
direction, and the ball being small, I thought it would not occasion
her any serious inconvenience. In short, I set their minds easy on
that score, though it did not keep their tongues quiet from
importunate begging. I was now dreadfully impatient to get away, but
day by day I had to suffer disappointment. I was assured by Sumunter
he was doing everything in his power to facilitate it, and as often
told by the interpreter, when he had gone away, that he was doing
nothing of the sort, but, on the contrary, had sent to the interior to
get three ponies, which would make five with what he had, the
complement required by Lieutenant Burton, to make a present to him on
arrival, as a bribe to overlook his faults. I besought he would desist
from this hopeless speculation, as time was now more precious than any
other matter. Still he persisted, and in a fortnight's time the
animals arrived, and then, without further trouble, we chartered a
vessel for thirty-five dollars, twelve times the fare I paid for
coming over, with the whole vessel to myself; and embarked with eight
camels and five ponies on the 15th February 1855. After five days'
sailing we anchored in Aden harbour, and no sooner did the "let go the
anchor" sound, than, Somali fashion, overjoyed at my release from
three and a half months' persecution, I took a header into the sea,
and hastily swam ashore to hurry off and meet old friends.
After the first greetings were over, and I had delivered for report
all my sketch-notes[24] of the journey, as well as maps and
collections, which latter were sent to the public museum in Calcutta,
a discussion took place as to the disposal of the Abban, who, I now
found out, was not singular in the way of treating his clients, for
Herne had been writing over complaints constantly about his man. I was
averse to punishing him, from the simple fact of having brought him
over; but my commandant thought otherwise, and that he had better be
punished, if for no other reason than to set a good moral example to
the others.[25]
Against my inclination I was appointed to be Sumunter's prosecutor,
and with my servants as witnesses, a verdict of guilty was speedily
effected against him in the Aden Police Court. He was then sentenced
to two months' imprisonment, and to pay the sum of 200 rupees, or,
failing to do that within the given time, he would be further
subjected to imprisonment, with hard labour, for six months more, and
was to be banished with his family for ever after the present
punishment should cease.
I now advised Lieutenant Burton, after my late defeat in travelling,
that it would be highly essential to the success of the great
expedition that we should be escorted by some Somali picked from the
Aden police force, as by this means alone should we have men on whom
we could depend. He also was aware of this fact, from having been
successfully taken himself into Harar by one of that corps; but,
unfortunately for us, there were none to spare.
Though the Somali are rare blackguards in most respects, there are
some traits in their character which have always won me to them. They
love freedom and liberty, and enjoy a jolly row, added to which they
are always in good spirits. In my humble opinion, they would make
first-rate guerilla soldiers for Aden, if armed and trained to shoot
with good rifles, and not restrained to wearing any particular
clothes, or confined to steady-marching drills. They have a national
antipathy to the Arabs, their elder brothers, and would glory in
having scrimmages with them.
This was the climax of my first proceedings with Africa.
Stroyan and Herne were now both employed at Berbera or in its
vicinity. The former had been making slight excursions inland,
shooting, and had killed three elephants; whilst the latter was
purchasing baggage-cattle for the expedition transport. After enjoying
a short repose in civilised life, I again felt restless, and proposed
a move to proceed thither in order to assist Herne in completing the
desired complement of animals. This at once met the views of our
commandant, who, doubting whether Berbera could supply a sufficient
number of beasts of burden of itself, asked me to cross over the Gulf
and see what I could do at Kurrum, to keep in communication with
Herne, and as soon as I had got enough, to march with them along the
sea-shore to Berbera.
Nothing could have suited me better. I saw before me, by this measure,
active employment until the breaking-up of the Berbera fair.
A kind friend (Lieutenant Dansey of the Bombay army, late Assistant
Political Agent of Aden, who knew the characters of all the Somali
well) offered to procure me a man as guide and interpreter who had
formerly performed, during the time of his appointment, some political
service in the Somali country, with great credit both to his mission
and himself. In consequence of this he was nicknamed El Balyuz, or the
Ambassador.
Balyuz was a clever Hindostani scholar, and, as I ultimately found,
possessed such honesty of purpose and straightforwardness of
character, as rendered him a perfect _rara avis_ amongst all Somali.
He was of the Mijjertaine tribe. Travelling in his company, after my
experiences with Sumunter and Ahmed, was verily a luxury. I parted
with him at the termination of the expedition with pure feelings of
affection.
Lieutenant Burton now conceived the idea of suppressing the system of
Abbanship, thinking that, as the Somali had access to Aden without any
impost, Englishmen ought to enjoy a corresponding freedom to travel in
Somali Land. This perhaps was scarcely the right time to dictate a
policy which would be distasteful as well as injurious (in a monetary
sense) to the people among whom we were about to travel, and with whom
it was highly essential to our interest to be on the most friendly
terms.[26]
I now applied to the Government for some Somali policemen, but
unfortunately there were then too few hands present to carry on the
duties of the office, and I could not have them. I therefore engaged,
by the orders of Lieutenant Burton, a dozen men of various races
(Egyptians, Nubians, Arabs, and Seedis), to form an escort, and armed
them with my sabres and muskets. They were all raw recruits, and
unaccustomed to warfare. Still we could get no others. With a little
practice they learned to shoot at a mark with tolerable accuracy.
Seven of these men, together with the eight camels I brought across
from Bunder Gori, were despatched direct to Berbera, whilst the
remaining five, and some ponies I purchased in Aden, remained with me.
I then took a bag of dollars for purchasing camels; some dates and
rice for the consumption of the party; and with the Balyuz and the old
servants, Imam the butler and Farhan the gamekeeper, all was ready for
my second adventure on the 20th March 1855.
Chapter V.
Aden--Departure--Kurrum--A Conclave of Sages--Arangement 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--Projects.
21st March 1855.--Having engaged a buggalow and stowed away all the
traps, I embarked in the evening, weighed anchor, and set sail. Even
before we could sail out of the harbour, the first row commenced. The
Nakhoda (captain), as is often the case in these primitive countries,
kept no regular sailors, but trusted to finding men desirous of going
to their country, who would work his vessel for him--all Somali being
by nature sailors.
The men he had now on board were of the Habr Gerhajis and Habr Teljala
tribes, who occupy the coast-line near Kurrum, and had waited the
opportunity of obtaining a passage over there in company with me. They
were all dreadfully uproarious, and would not by any persuasion on my
part keep quiet. On inquiring from the Balyuz the cause of their
violent discussions, he informed me they were drawing lots to see who
should be my Abban, and those of the seven foreign servants I had with
me. The bare idea of eight Abbans was too ridiculous, and their
persistency made it beyond a joke. I instantly ordered the sails to be
hauled down, and had my instructions from Lieutenant Burton about
Abbans proclaimed to the whole crew: that the Balyuz was my Ras
Cafila, and the other foreigners my protectors. The Somali were
evidently determined not to be done. If I had been allowed to have but
one Abban with me, this could not have occurred. As it was, I said if
they determined on wrangling any more, I should 'bout ship and settle
the difference with them in a less ceremonious manner in the harbour.
This effectually stopped their tongues, and we again proceeded on the
journey. After two entire days' sailing across the Gulf with variable
and gentle breezes, we arrived at our destination, Kurrum, in safety,
on the third evening, the 24th March, and at once sent some Government
letters to the Akils, ordering their attendance, and to proclaim
publicly the nature of my business, in order that camels might be
brought for sale. I found all the people extremely obliging; they
tried to make my residence as comfortable as they could; showed me
great deference because I was an Englishman, and brought their camels
readily, though, of course, as might be expected, they were canny in
their mode of dealing, trying to dispose of their worst animals first,
and asking prices much above the market tariff. For poor animals they
asked from four to five and a half dollars, which, though not a third
of the price I paid in the Warsingali country, was full price for the
finest animals at Berbera. Berbera during the fair time is undoubtedly
the cheapest place to purchase camels in of all the coast-line, and
the farther you leave it the more expensive animals become, increasing
in price at the same ratio as the extent of distance. Whilst halting
here I heard of the existence of the Victoria N'yanza. The Somali
described its dimensions as equal in extent to the Gulf of Aden, and
further alluded to its being navigated by white men. None of the men
present had been there to see it, though it was currently known as a
positive fact amongst them. I did not believe the story in the light
they expressed it, supposing they confounded an inland sea with the
Western or Atlantic Ocean. Colonel Rigby, H.B.M. Consul at Zanzibar,
tells me he also heard of this lake when he was travelling in this
country some years previously. It is strange this story was never
published earlier. The white navigators alluded to are evidently the
expeditionists who were sent by Mehemet Ali, Viceroy of Egypt, up the
White Nile as far as Gondokoro, about twelve or fourteen years ago,
and the Nile and lake have been confounded as one water in the
transmission of the intelligence, though both were seen.
The minds of the Kurrum people seemed greatly discomposed about
various rumours which they heard. One was that the English intended to
suppress the slave-trade, and they wished me to tell them if such was
not a fact--saying it would be unjust for us to do so, as slaving was
an acknowledged right given them in the Koran, and handed down by
their Russool Mahamed.
The other bugbear which alarmed them was a report that the English
intended either to take possession of Berbera, or that they would give
it to Shermarky--a native chief and ally of ours who lives at Zeylah.
In short, these numerous fears arose from Herne's long residence at
Berbera. It looked suspicious seeing him take notes there of
everything, and they naturally put the worst interpretation on all his
actions. What could be the use of his watching the trade, if our
Government did not want to take the country?--of watching the
slave-trade, if it did not mean stopping it? And then the suppression
of Abbanships was the crowning of all.
The village of Kurrum consisted of a single fort and a large
collection of mat huts, all grouped together, situated close to the
shore. The maritime plain consisted of sandy-brown soil, very
uninteresting, with scarcely any vegetation growing on it, and was
here only about half a mile broad. The hills in the background were
very insignificant, not half so high as any I had seen, and were dull
and brown, like those one sees when travelling down the Red Sea. The
people say that in their recesses and ravines acacias and other
gum-trees grow as they do elsewhere. Gum only exudes in the dry hot
season; and the confined air in the ravines is described as being so
hot that people can hardly stay there, and many of the gum-pickers who
do, become deaf in consequence of it.
The water which the villagers used was so brackish as to be hardly
drinkable. I lived here five days, enjoying sour camel's milk,
gossiping with the natives, and roaming about the place. The
difference between the life I was now living, attributable principally
to the sagacity and good-heartedness of the Balyuz, was a charming
contrast to my wretched existence when with the Warsingali. I bought
twenty-five camels, at an average rate of five and a half dollars
a-head, and then stopped purchasing, as I heard by letter from Herne
he had then got nearly sufficient for our requirements--that camels
were very plentiful at Berbera, and he was buying them at a cheaper
rate than I could.
On the 29th March, at 4 P.M., I broke ground with all my camels and
ponies, and commenced the march on Berbera. At sundown, after
travelling three miles along the sea-shore, we encamped in a
water-course called Goldéra. The water we found here, in a little well
in its bed, was deliciously sweet--so pleasant after the brackish
Kurrum wells. No one who had not been deprived for a long time of the
pure element, can conceive the greed with which a man first plunges
his head into clear sweet water. It is the natural fluid for man, and
for no other beverage does abstinence produce so keen an appetite.
The following morning, a little after daybreak, the caravan was ready,
and we soon got under way. Travelling with tedious slowness,
aggravated by the dreary monotony of the road and the sandy plain,
constantly crossing dry, shallow watercourses, lined on both sides by
fringes of stunted acacias or other salsolacious plants, we at last
arrived at a hot spring of sweet water, called Golamiro, and rested
here for several hours during the great heat of the mid-day sun. When
the day became cooler we resumed the march, and travelled until after
dark to a grazing-ground one mile short of Ain Tarad, and there spent
the night. The farther we travelled westwards, the broader became the
maritime plain, and the richer its clothing of shrubs and grass.
Besides the ordinary acacias, which were finer and more numerous,
there were many patches of the bastard cypress and tall rank grasses
growing on sandy hillocks, in the same way as they do in India. The
Somali exultingly pointed this out as a paradise, replete with every
necessary for life's enjoyment, and begged to know if the English had
any country pastures like it, where camels and sheep can roam about
the whole year round without exhausting it.
31st.--To-day we made a short march, passing through Ain Tarad, and
encamping on a grazing-ground one mile to its westward. The village,
as usual, was close to the shore, for the convenience of shipping. It
is not half the size of Kurrum, but boasts of a fort of recent
construction, with six rusty pieces of cannon lying on the sand in
front of it. An Akil, named Abdie, being chief of the place, is the
lordly proprietor of these instruments of defence.
On first entering the place he advanced to receive me, and politely
said, "Had you not dropped so suddenly in upon me this morning, it was
my intention to have welcomed you with a royal salute, for the honour
you have done, as the representative of the English, in paying me this
visit." This speech, though showing what his feelings were towards me,
was obviously a matter of simple palaver; for, in the first place, the
guns could not have possibly been fired without occasioning their
total destruction; and it was doubtful if he possessed any powder.
Whilst sitting in his village, and drinking a bowl of sour curd--the
first thing always offered to a visitor--I observed a group of old men
sitting, in hot discussion on some knotty point, under the lee of the
fort, and desired the Balyuz to ascertain the purport of the arguments
under debate, as by their gesticulations I could plainly see it had
some connection with my coming here.
After joining them and listening some time, he returned to say they
were discussing the possibility of our expedition ever reaching the
Webbé (River) Shebéli; to go as far as Ugahden, they thought, was out
of the question. Hearing this, I went up to them, and asked what
reasons they had for thinking so. They replied openly that the Somali
would stop us before we got half-way. The Balyuz then interposed,
saying, "But the British are strong, and can do anything, they like."
Hearing this, they laughingly replied, "If the Somali came down to
fight, and then ran away back into the fastnesses of their hills, what
would the English do then, who cannot live a day without drinking beer
and eating meat? whereas the Somali can do very well without anything,
seldom requiring even water, and not more than one morsel of meat, for
a whole week together." I concluded the argument by saying, "Without
any exertion on our parts, we could cripple you at once; we have the
seaboard in our hands, and at any moment could stop your trade, so
that neither grain nor clothing would ever be supplied you; besides,
if we wished, we could take quiet occupation of your hills and
watering-places, and then what would become of you?" The sages mildly
shook their heads, and said the English were indeed Shaitans (devils),
and that they had never looked at their position in that light before.
I then repaired to the camp, and found the cattle, as usual, gone out
to graze, under charge of their drivers and two soldiers. In the
evening, when the animals were brought home to be picketed, one pony
and one camel were found wanting.
I sent men immediately to track the missing ones down, when it was
discovered by footprints that some savages had singled them out from
the herd, had driven them gently into a deep ravine, and when there
out of sight had hurried them off to the hills lying beyond the plain.
This open plunder on the coast, where British authority seemed to
prevail, was monstrous. I summoned Abdie, as chief of the place, told
him the whole story, and demanded that he should produce the missing
animals immediately, as it was impossible for him not to be cognisant
of the transaction. He said he did not then know who had stolen them,
but I might rest satisfied he would find out by the morning, and they
should be returned intact. He assured me he was lord of all he
surveyed, and his power was infinite within the limits of his clan.
The same night he brought back the pony, and said he would produce the
camel in the morning. I believed he had played this trick himself to
show the effect of his power, and so did the Balyuz; but he said he
had been obliged to pay ten dollars to the thief before he would give
it up. I now demanded he would produce the thief for trial, suspecting
that thief to be himself, but he said he could not. This reply made
the Balyuz knowingly cock his eye. The next day, as the camel did not
come by noon, I wrote a letter to Aden reporting the circumstance, and
begging some retribution would be taken from the Akil, as it was
obvious to any man who knows these savages, that Abdie could not have
been ignorant of one single feature in the whole of these
transactions. Though the loss was small, I did not think it of little
importance, as it remained a precedent, if overlooked, for the
committal of greater deeds; and the place, being a port, was open to
the exaction by blockade of any fines--which, without doubt, is the
true way to make Somali feel.
During that day and the succeeding one we travelled along the coast to
Siyareh, a small dilapidated fort,[27] standing alone without any
other habitation, as if only intended for a traveller's lodge. Near it
was an old well, said to be of antique construction, sunk by the
former occupants of the land. As we increased our distance westwards,
the maritime plain also enlarged, and was bounded to the southwards by
small irregularly-disposed hills, all brown and dreary-looking as
before. To judge from the quantity of vegetation, it would appear that
water is nearer the surface here than elsewhere, though there was none
of any importance to be seen. These few marches, slight as they were,
served to prove the stamina of the soldiers, and showed the Seedis to
have twice the heart and bottom of the Egyptians, who succumbed at
once to the influences of the sun and fatigue of marching.
3d April.--The caravan broke ground at 2 A.M., and, after travelling
over much the same ground as yesterday, nearly the whole day long
without passing a single habitation, arrived in the evening at
Berbera. Here I was warmly met by my companions, Herne and Stroyan,
and began again a social life of great enjoyment. Berbera was in the
plenitude of its prosperity. Its market was full of life and bustle,
and the harbour was full of native Oriental craft. Our camp was
pitched on a little rise in the land, facing the east and overlooking
the fair. Our tents, three in number, were formed in line--Stroyan's
on the right, Herne's in the centre, and mine on the left flank
nearest the sea, and each about a dozen yards apart. Herne had
procured his fair share of animals, and we mustered from forty to
fifty camels and six or seven ponies and mules, including those I
brought. These at night-time were all tethered in front of our tents,
and guarded by a sentry. During the day they were always sent out to
graze under an escort of soldiers, with Somali archers to look after
them. The boxes, pack-saddles, and grain were placed between the
central tent and mine, whilst the dates and more precious cloths I
kept underneath my tent. Including ourselves, servants, guards, and
camel-tenders, we mustered in all about forty souls; amongst these
were the two Abbans of Herne and Stroyan, who, now matters had gone so
far, could not prudently be dispensed with; but my man, the Balyuz,
was considered chief, or Ras Cafila.
During the four days succeeding my arrival I inspected the fair and
shipping. The marketplace was supposed to contain upwards of 60,000
people,[28] Banyans from Cutch and Aden, Arab merchants and Somali,
who had been gradually flocking in from about the 15th November; and
as they arrived they erected mat huts as booths for carrying on their
bartering trade. According to Herne's investigations, the Somali took
coarse cloths, such as American and English sheeting, black and
indigo-dyed stuffs, and cotton nets (worn by married women generally
to encase their hair), small bars of iron and steel, as well as zinc
and lead, beads of various sorts, and dates and rice. In exchange for
these, they exported slaves, cattle, gums of all sorts, ghee, ivory,
ostrich-feathers, and rhinoceros-horns.
7th.--At sunrise this morning a very interesting scene took place in
the arrival of the great annual Harar caravan,--a large body, composed
of an aggregate of numerous small caravans, which all march together
that their combined strength may give mutual support. Down the whole
breadth of the plain, like a busy stream of ants, they came in single
file, one camel's nose tied to his leader's tail. Immediately on their
flanks were Somali, armed with spear and bow, the men who tended them
and looked after the loading. Outside them again were occasional
detachments of men riding ponies, all armed, and guarding the caravan
from sudden surprise or attack. In this caravan alone there were about
three thousand people, as many head of cattle, and 500 or more slaves,
all driven chained together for sale in the market. A little later the
same morning a second excitement enlivened our little camp in the
approach of a man-of-war, which came sailing up the coast in full
sail, looking like a giant swan in contrast to the little ducks of
native shipping. It was the Hon. East India Company's schooner Mahi,
commanded by Lieutenant King, conveying our Captain, Lieutenant
Burton, and the complement of the expedition. Arrived in the harbour,
we saluted them with our small-arms, and went on board to pay respects
and exchange congratulations. King then gave us a hospitable
entertainment, and we all repaired on shore.
The same evening a thundering salute from the Mahi was fired, to
assure the Somali we were travelling under the auspices of the British
Government, and King departed with his vessel.
Lieutenant Burton now took occupation of the centre tent with Herne,
and the party was complete.
We were then severally appointed to our respective duties, Lieutenant
Burton commanding; Stroyan chief surveyor; Herne, photographer,
geologist, and assistant-surveyor; whilst I was to be a
Jack-of-all-trades, assisting everybody, looking after the interests
of the men, portioning out their rations, setting the guards, and
collecting specimens of natural history in all its branches. The
central tent was fixed as a place of rendezvous for all to flock to in
case of any sudden alarm. Here I appended my guns and sword, whilst my
revolver-pistol and dirk were placed within my belt by day, or under
my pillow by night. I made the whole guard sleep with their arms in
rear of the camp, where it was most likely any attack might be
expected. As so many men were necessarily brought on duty by watching
the cattle grazing in the day-time, I only posted two sentries by
night to watch the camp--one with the guard in the rear, the other
over the cattle in front; whilst we Englishmen and the Balyuz
occasionally patrolled the camp to see that the sentries were on the
alert.
9th.--On this day the Gugi, or south-west Somali monsoon, in
opposition to the Dairti, or north-east monsoon, commenced in the
hills behind our camp, and warned us that we should soon have to start
southwards. The fair had already begun to break. Caravan after caravan
streamed out of the town, wending their way across the plain like
strings of ants emerging from a hole, and, like the busy habits of
those little insects, kept the whole maritime plain alive in motion.
At this time we were daily expecting a vessel from Aden, which would
bring us some letters and instruments that were on their way out from
England, and saw the great Ugahden caravan preparing to leave, but
were undecided what to do--whether to go with them without our things
from England, or wait and rely upon our strength in travelling alone.
The latter alternative was unfortunately decided upon, and we saw our
wonted protector depart upon its journey.
15th.--Saw the shore and harbour, alike both destitute of any living
thing, save a few diseased and dying cattle, and one poor forlorn
girl, in whom the smallpox had begun to show its symptoms, and who was
now mercilessly left by her parents, with only two or three days'
provisions, to die like a dog on the inhospitable plain. Having
suffered from that disease myself, and not fearing contagion, I went
to her and administered some medicine, which she took without any
hesitation; and I hoped to cure her, for she was really, barring the
blackness, a very pretty creature, but the disease was beyond my skill
to relieve. I then took her to a room in the tomb of an Arab sheikh,
gave her some rice-water, and bade her keep out of the sun, but it was
no use. She took fright at the idea of living with the dead, and
wandered into the desert no one knows whither, and was seen no more.
So completely was Berbera cleared out now, that even the matting and
sticks which formed the booths, with two or three exceptions, were
packed on the camels and carried away. We were now alone, and nobody
came near us; our two Abbans had begged and obtained permission to go
with their families to their homes in the hills close by, in company
with the retiring caravans, leaving their sons for the time being, as
substitutes, until we marched past their abodes.
In this isolated position we felt no alarm for our safety, as long at
least as we remained upon the sea-shore, deeming the Somali would
never be so imprudent as to attack us in such a vital place to them as
Berbera, where their whole interests of life were centred, and where,
by the simple process of blockading, we could so easily take
retribution in any way we liked.
So confident were we in this assumption, that we did not take the
precaution of standing sentry ourselves at night, thinking it more
prudent to nurse our strength whilst here, to be better able to hold
out when it would become necessary after our leaving the sea-shore.
Though Somali are cunning as foxes, they are not wise.
On the 18th April, by a providential coincidence, a small Arab vessel
came into the deserted harbour to see if anything still remained of
the fair. In her there were several men and four women, Somali,
desirous of going to their homes. Finding we were the only people
left, and not daring to travel in that country alone, they petitioned
us to take them with us. It was hard to refuse these poor creatures;
but fearing our supply of dates and rice would not hold out with so
many additional mouths to eat it, we reluctantly refused the men. The
four women, however, on their engaging to do the minor offices of the
camp, to bring water, and lead the camels, were permitted to remain
with us. That evening we invited the captain and his crew to dine in
the camp; and it was fortunate that we did so, as the sequel will
show. Shortly after sundown, as we were all sitting in our usual way,
on an extempore divan in front of the tents, drinking coffee, telling
stories, and enjoying the cool sea evening breezes, a challenge was
heard by the sentinel placed on the rear right of the camp, followed
by a sudden and rapid discharge of musketry, which took us by
surprise. I had previously given strict orders that no ammunition was
to be wasted in firing to frighten, or giving false alarms; therefore,
hearing this, I instantly ran to the spot to see what was the matter,
and found three men walking quietly into camp, leading ponies by their
reins, whilst the guard, to intimidate them, were firing bullets in
the air immediately over their heads. My anger knew no bounds. All
hopes of security seemed annihilated by such direct disobedience to
all order, and persistence in such a false principle as trying to
frighten, which all black men, by a sort of natural instinct,
invariably endeavour to do. I then assembled the men, and in presence
of the intruders again proclaimed through the Balyuz my intention to
punish with severity any person who might create a false alarm or fire
a bullet vacantly in the air; directing that, in case of any
opposition to a challenge, they should fire into, and not over, their
object.
I then sent the Balyuz and the three newly-arrived men round to the
front of the camp, where Lieutenant Burton and the other two officers
were sitting, to be interrogated as to the purpose of their visit. We
all at first naturally suspected them of being spies sent to inspect
our dispositions and resources; but after a long palaver with
Lieutenant Burton, he concluded that their coming there was
accidental, and not designed. True to their nature as Easterns, who
from constant practice can forge lies with far greater facility to
themselves than they can speak simple truths, bringing in with the
readiest aptitude the application of immediate circumstances to
harmonise appropriately in the development of their tale, these men at
once made use of the circumstance of the arrival of the vessel that
evening, saying they merely came down to ascertain if the ship was not
full of building material, as it was currently reported amongst their
clan, the Habr Owel, that their old enemy, Shermarkey, the chief of
Zeylah, was lying with other vessels in the port of Siyareh, waiting
an opportunity to land at Berbera and take occupation of the place by
building forts, as he had done on previous occasions. This story
seemed the more probable from the fact that everybody knew Shermarkey
wished to have the place, and that he would at any time have taken it,
had it lain within his power to do so.
The more to impose on our credulity, they further asked, with an air
of indignation, "How could you suspect us of any treacherous
intentions towards you, when you know us to be men of the same tribe
as your Abbans?" The palaver over, these wolves in sheep's clothing
were allowed to sup on dates with our men, and depart at their
pleasure.
At the usual hour we all turned in to sleep, and silence reigned
throughout the camp. A little after midnight, probably at one or two
A.M., there suddenly arose a furious noise, as though the world were
coming to end: there was a terrible rush and hurry, then came sticks
and stones, flying as thick as hail, followed by a rapid discharge of
firearms, and my tent shook as if it would come down. I bounced out of
bed, with pistol and dirk in hand, and ran across to the central tent
to know what was the matter, and if we were to have any shooting.
Lieutenant Burton, who was occupied in trying to load his revolver,
replied there was:[29] "Be sharp, and arm to defend the camp." This I
immediately did, stepping out in front of his tent; but though I saw
many dusky forms before me, it was too dark to discern whether they
were friend or foe.
Whilst standing, in hesitation how to act, stones kept whizzing over
and around me, and I received a blow with one in the inside of my
knee, which nearly knocked my leg from under me; it came from the
left, where I had not been looking. I then ran under lee of the fly of
the tent to take a better survey, and, by stooping low, could perceive
the heads of some men peeping like monkeys over the boxes. Lieutenant
Burton now said, "Don't step back, or they will think we are
retiring." Chagrined by this rebuke at my management in fighting, and
imagining by the remark I was expected to defend the camp, I stepped
boldly to the front, and fired at close quarters into the first man
before me. He was stooping to get a sight of my figure in relief
against the sky; he fell back at the discharge, and I saw no more of
him. Proceeding on, I saw some more men also stooping; I fired into
the foremost, and he likewise fell back, but I do not know that I hit
him. I then fired into a third man at close quarters, who also
receded, possibly uninjured, though I cannot say. I was now close to
the brink of the rising-ground, entirely surrounded by men, when I
placed the muzzle of the Dean & Adams against the breast of the
largest man before me, and pulled the trigger, but pulled in vain; the
cylinder would not rotate; I imagine a cap had got jammed by the
trigger-guard. In a fit of desperation, I was raising the revolver to
hit the man in the face with it, when I suddenly found my legs
powerless to support me, and I was falling, grasping for support, and
gasping for breath, I did not then know why, though afterwards I
discovered it was caused by the shock of a heavy blow on the lungs.
In another instant I was on the ground with a dozen Somali on the top
of me. The man I had endeavoured to shoot wrenched the pistol out of
my hand, and the way the scoundrel handled me sent a creeping shudder
all over me. I felt as if my hair stood on end; and, not knowing who
my opponents were, I feared that they belonged to a tribe called Eesa,
who are notorious, not only for their ferocity in fighting, but for
the unmanly mutilations they delight in. Indescribable was my relief
when I found that my most dreadful fears were without foundation. The
men were in reality feeling whether, after an Arab fashion, I was
carrying a dagger between my legs, to rip up a foe after his victim
was supposed to be powerless. Finding me naked, all but a few rags,
they tied my hands behind my back, and began spea
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