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EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
TRAVEL
SIR -RICHARD F. BURTON'S
FIRST FOOTSTEPS IN EAST
AFRICA. WITH INTRODUCTION
BY HENRY W. NEV1NSON
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BIOGRAPHY
REFERENCE
ROMANCE
IN TWO STYLES OF BINDING, CLOTH,
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LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK: E. P, DUTTON & CO.
FIRST 5
FOOTSTEPS
IN EAST
AFRICA BY
RICHARDS
F BURTON
LONDON'PUBUSHED
ANDINNEWYORK
INTRODUCTION
' " I, -4 f f\ "- r ; (-. - ,, , , 5 , t
To most of us, life without adventure would appear
intolerable, more stagnant than a marsh, and more
monotonous than the desert. In marsh or desert
there is often the chance of risk, the hope of dis-
covery, and nearly always the grandeur of solitude.
But without adventure the finest opportunities of
risk, discovery, and even solitude could not be ours,
and life would be reduced to a dead level of safety,
knowledge, and society. I am using the word " ad-
venture " in the special sense which it has come to
bear the exploration of unknown lands and savage
or unknown peoples. There are other kinds of ad-
venture campaigns, battles, lonely explorations of
thought, and dangerous discoveries of unknown
truth or beauty. Almost any act of devotion in
which life or reputation or possessions are risked for
some greater object than gain or self-advancement
might be called an adventure. But the word
generally summons up to our mind a picture of the
world's explorers, and, perhaps, it is significant that
the great periods of exploration have coincided with
the most remarkable discoveries of truth and beauty,
and that the brief lifetimes which we mark by such
names as Herodotus, Caesar, Columbus, Drake, and
Livingstone are also conspicuous in the world's
history as ages of particular power in wisdom, art,
invention, and scientific thought. It seems as
though the discovery of strange lands and tongues
and customs was in itself sufficient to shake man's
easy self-complacency, to disturb the power of
habit which always seeks to enchain him, and to
urge us into unvisited regions beyond the established
frontiers of knowledge or belief.
viii Introduction
If this is true, one of the greatest dangers to
which civilisation has ever been exposed lies close
before us now. The age of exploration is dead.
Except for a few scarcely inhabited plateaus in
Central Asia, and a few hummocks of indistinguish-
able ice around the poles, the general surface of the
earth has now been accurately surveyed, its languages
interpreted, its customs catalogued and compared.
The final period of " adventure/' as we have under-
stood the word, has drawn to a close ; it can never
be revived, and our children will have either to live
rather tediously upon its records or to change their
nature. In its last and greatest stage it continued
through four centuries say from the voyages of
Columbus to the journeys of Stanley, and each
century was celebrated by discoveries that fill us
with an envy never now to be satisfied. The
Americas, Asia, the Pacific, and Australia all come
in their turn, bringing astonishment to mankind,
and the joy of true adventure to their explorers.
Last century gave us Africa as the last field of ex-
ploration, and with it the fitting men of the explorer
breed. Mungo Park, Mofat, Livingstone, Grant,
Speke, Samuel Baker, Cameron, Stanley those are
the names that come at once to every one's mind
when Africa is mentioned. And among them is
Richard Burton's.
Undoubtedly Burton came of the explorer breed.
He could not rest from travel. Remote, unsophis-
ticated, or undiscovered countries were always
beckoning to him, and he never resisted their call.
He made his own opportunities, or took them as
they came, almost at haphazard. His discovery of
Tanganyika, the greatest of the Central African lakes,
would alone associate his name permanently with
the history of African exploration. Yet he was so
different in temperament and interest from the other
great explorers, that it is hard to classify him among
them. He had none of Livingstone's missionary
zeal, and none of Stanley's desire for commercial
development. I doubt if he ever travelled with a
Introduction ix
purpose tllat could be called scientific. His ob-
servations were not chiefly, if at all, concerned with
the survey, mapping, and measurement of the land.
Still less did he explore with the object of extending
civilisation. Except for some suggestions for the
suppression of export slavery, he made no attempt
to change or influence the beliefs, ideas, or customs
of the peoples among whom he passed. He travelled
without purpose either of religion, reformation,
science, or commerce, and if he had any purpose at
all, it was only to see first, to see, and afterwards
to narrate. So far from aiming at moral change or
the exploitation of industrial resources, he was among
the first to regard European civilisation with con-
tempt, and to foresee the present degradation or
enslavement of natives under the greedy pressure of
European trade. Of all travellers he was among
the very earliest to regard savage and half-civilised
life, not with ridicule or horror, but with a sympathetic
endeavour to understand, if not to approve, and his
understanding was never dulled by that conscious
superiority that strikes many English travellers
blind.
To him the mere risks and difficulties of adventure
were almost incitement enough, but in all his ad-
ventures he at least assumed a further purpose to
see and to narrate. Next to sight, narration was the
necessity of his being. Indeed, he hardly separated
the two. He narrated everything he saw ; he kept
immense diaries : he wrote vast reports ; his books
run to over seventy published volumes, and a good
many remained unpublished ; to say nothing of
papers and articles in magazines and the collections
of learned societies. Though too diffuse and too
easily satisfied for the highest scholarship, he was
possessed by an omnivorous intellectual hunger, and
was driven by the compulsion that urges a literary
nature to express itself. The fashion of calling all
explorers and adventurous people Elizabethan has
been overdone, but Burton might be more fairly
called Elizabethan than most, for with his love of
A 2
x Introduction
adventure there was mingled a delight in language,
and an inexhaustible curiosity for observing unusual
forms of life and literature. He had a touch of the
poet's imagination and love of phrase, together with
more than a touch of the scholar's love of knowledge
and his pleasure in various tongues. But for the
restless blood of adventure, he might possibly have
been an imaginative writer; he would almost cer-
tainly have been a professional monument of eru-
dition. But louder than poetry, louder even than
outlandish learning, the call of adventure summoned
him. He refused to specialise ; he refused to divorce
knowledge from reality, or to take life at second
hand from whole libraries of other people's ex-
perience. He lived what he knew ; he worked from
sight and hearing rather than from printed record ;
he combined the love of danger with the love of
letters, and so displayed to the world something of
a knightly spirit that is usually attributed to the
Elizabethan age or to almost any age rather than
our own.
His life and his works were the man. There was
no reserve in his nature, no shade of mystery, no
talent cultivated as a dangerous secret. In all his
books he proclaimed himself and his fortunes with
rather exaggerated emphasis. His wandering educa-
tion seemed to foretell his life. Though there was
no Irish in his descent (for he came of Westmorland
stock), his father had been bora in Ireland, and
imbibed an indifference to fortune. He had been in
the 36th Foot, and though Richard himself was born
near Elstree (1821), the family was dragged about
Europe without any permanent home. At twenty
Richard was sent to Oxford, but soon contrived to
get himself sent down in order to join the Indian
Army. In 1842 he was commissioned to a Bombay
regiment under the East India Company, and he
served pretty steadily for seven years, partly in
Baroda, but chiefly in Sind, where he came under
the influence of Sir Charles Napier, at that time
Governor. During these years he acquired his
Introduction xi
intimate knowledge of Mohammedan life, and also
studied Arabic, Persian, and four or five Indian
languages. As his habit was throughout life, he
chronicled his experiences in a series of books on Sind,
on a bayonet exercise he invented, and on falconry.
In 1853, after he had been two or three years at
home or in France on long furlough, the great chance
of his life came to him, and he took it with a char-
acteristic mixture of courage and practical readiness.
He was granted a year's extra leave for an attempt
to visit the Mohammedan holy shrines of pilgrimage
at Medinah and Meccah. Disguised first as a Persian
merchant, then as a Dervish, and finally as a Pathan
doctoi, he spent some time in Egypt studying his
parts, and then proceeded from Suez on a pilgrim
ship to Yamba, the port of Medinah. From there he
passed inland, and, in spite of frequent attacks
from Bedouins upon the caravan, he came safely
through to Medinah and so to Meccah, where he
entered the shrine, or Ka'abah, itself, and kissed the
holy black stone, which he declared to be an aerolite.
Having left England (already disguised) in April, he
emerged in September from Jeddah, the port of
Meccah, and so accomplished a pilgrimage that
probably will now always remain unrivalled for
peril. After his death it was asserted by one or
two writers in the papers that his disguise was de-
tected, but he was allowed to proceed as a devout
English Mohammedan. The statement was almost
certainly untrue, but the discovery of his disguise
would rather have increased his danger than
diminished it. His narrative of this exploit, by
which he is best known and will probably be longest
remembered, was published, originally in three
volumes, under the title A Personal Narrative of
a Pilgrimage to El~Medinah and Meccah, in 1855.
Owing to the human and religious interest of the
subject, it is, on the whole, his best and most per-
manently valuable book.
But the adventure undertaken in the following
year, and recorded in the present volume, was, in
xii Introduction
reality, almost as daring, though it has remained Jess
famous. As Burton tells us in his Preface, the
original scheme was a general exploration of Somali-
land, under the auspices of the Government at
Bombay; but when the authorities took fright at
the responsibilities involved, he determined to carry
out part of the programme himself by exploring the
unvisited city of Harar, some no miles inland, south
of the coast town of Zayla. Starting from Aden
disguised as an Arab merchant, he reached Zayla at
the end of October 1854, and stayed there nearly a
month preparing his journey. He was accompanied
by two Arabs from the Aden Police whom he could
trust, and by a rogue Mullah. After leaving Zayla
their progress was very slow, for it took them five
weeks to cover the straight caravan route that leads
to Harar. When within sight of the city, Burton
was driven through fear of betrayal to drop his
disguise, and boldly announced himself a European,
sending forward a letter as from the British Governor
of Aden. His confidence was justified. He was
admitted to an audience with the Sultan or Amir, and
remained ten days in the city, studying the special
dialect of its rather wretched population, and watching
the course of their commerce in slaves, ivory, coffee,
cottons, bread, honey, gums, and all the usual products
of East African regions. Then, striking east instead
of north, he rode for Berberah, and in about three
weeks was back in Aden (February 9, 1855). Un-
fortunately, about two months later, he returned to
Berberah with three companions from the Indian
Services, in hopes of following put the original design
of wider exploration. But their camp was attacked,
Burton was badly wounded in the face, Stroyan of
the Indian Navy was killed, and Speke of the
46th Bengal Native Infantry was very severely
wounded.
Speke recovered (I had almost said unhappily) and
was associated with Burton in his next conspicuous
adventure. For, after volunteering for the Crimea
(where, however, he saw no service) Burton was en-
Introduction xiii
trusted with the first expedition that regularly under-
took to discover the sources of the Nile, and Speke
was his second in command. Two and a half years
(October 1856 to May 1859) were spent on the enter-
prise, but the march from Zanzibar, which resulted
in the discovery of Lake Tanganyika, only occupied
from June 1857 t February 1858. In spite of the
fame of Burton's pilgrimage to Meccah, I should
myself place his discovery of Tanganyika as his most
remarkable service, and I should select his first sight
of the lake as the finest and happiest moment of
his existence. He was then thirty-seven ; he had
accomplished three conspicuous enterprises ; he was
still free from the sense of public neglect ; and he was
not yet married to the remarkable woman whose
influence on his nature was, on the whole, unfortu-
nate.
The beginning of the decline soon came. Owing
to sickness, Burton made the mistake of detaching
Speke to explore a reported lake north-east of
Tanganyika, and Speke was thus the first to obtain
a glimpse of Victoria Nyanza. When they both
reached Aden together, Burton was obliged to remain
there in hospital, while Speke hastened to England
and announced that he alone had discovered the real
source of the Nile. As it happened, he was right,
for Tanganyika contributes nothing to the Nile, nor,
indeed, to any other large river. But it was a bitter
thing for Burton to find on his return that Speke had
captured all the credit, while he himself was carefully
excluded from the new expedition which ultimately
explored the lakes under Speke and Grant. The
quarrel had a tragic ending in 1864, when Speke
challenged Burton to appear on the same platform
with him at a meeting of the British Association in
Bath. Burton, of course, accepted the challenge,
and the day for a public controversy was fixed.
But when the hour came, and Burton was waiting
for his opponent, it was found that Speke, after
hurriedly leaving the meeting where he had seen
Burton the day before, had been killed by a gun
xiv Introduction
accident. Suspicions of suicide were natural, but
never confirmed.
In 1860, before Speke and Grant had started on
their great expedition, Burton published his account
of his own discoveries in The Lake Regions of
Equatorial Africa. But the quarrel with Speke,
and the slight put upon him by the Geographical
.Society or the Government in excluding him from
"the later enterprise, marked the beginning of a de-
cline in his outlook and career. After a brief visit
to Salt Lake City (which also produced a book) he
married Isabel Arundell, whose influence only
heightened the natural dangers of his character. She
was a woman of gallant and energetic nature, but
painfully sentimental and ecstatic in mind, much
given to vehement protestation, entirely deficient in
sense of proportion, and only too easily adopting
and encouraging the pose of injured greatness.
Worse than all, she attempted to imbue him with
vague doctrines of mystical Christianity entirely at
variance with his natural aspect of things, and with
his marriage in 1861, at the age of forty, the most
valuable and characteristic part of his life may be
said to have ended.
It is true that his wanderings continued. As some
sort of consolation for their studied neglect, the
Government appointed him Consul at Fernando Po,
with jurisdiction over the most unhealthy part of
the world, and he was thus able to see the Cameroons,
Abeokuta, Benin, and Dahomey, while they were still
at the height of savagery. Seven volumes told the
tale. He was then transferred, also for four years,
to Santos in Brazil (three volumes). Then to
Damascus (two volumes), but from there he was
hastily recalled for various reasons, but chiefly, it
appears, owing to his wife's attempts to spread her
idea of Catholicism among the Mohammedan popu-
lation. Finally, in 1872, he was sent as Consul to
Trieste, and retained that position till his death,
though he travelled far and wide through the Medi-
terranean, to India, and even to the Gold Coast again.
Introduction xv
These travels yielded several more volumes, and
he began with characteristic zeal a vast History of
the Sword, which no one would buy.
But far his most important enterprise during
this period was his literal translation of the Arabian
Nights, in sixteen volumes (1885 to 1888). It was
privately printed, at a high price, but was so eagerly
subscribed for, that during the last few years of his
life Burton was raised above poverty. On this work
his claim both for scholarship and style must rest,
but it was the indecency of the translation and the
notes rather than the scholarship or style that sold
the volumes. As he says of the Arabian Nights
in the First Footsteps, here re-published : " Though
the most familiar book in English, next to the
Bible, it is one of the least known, the reason being
that about one-fifth is entirely unfit for translation,
and the most sanguine Orientalist would not dare
to render literally more than three-fourths of the
remainder."
Well, Burton dared what the most sanguine
Orientalist had not dared before, and, owing to the
general delight in indecency among mankind, the
book brought him a success that his adventures and
vdiscoveries could not give. After his death (in
1890) his widow issued an expurgated edition, and
destroyed a manuscript translation of an Arabian
treatise called The Scented Garden, dealing with
similar subjects to the passages which she removed
from the Arabian Nights. For this she was much
blamed, perhaps unjustly ; but it was a stroke of
irony that in her will she forbade the publication
of any more of her husband's works or manuscripts
without the sanction of the National Vigilance
Committee. Even that degree of irony was, how-
ever, surpassed by the vast and unrestrained bio-
graphy in which she passionately endeavoured to
serve Burton's memory and vindicate his fame,
while in reality she succeeded only in doing his
reputation much disservice.
Irony can hardly be absent from the career of a
xvi Introduction
man who does not fit his age. In the Victorian era
of social and political reform, extended commerce,
industrial virtues, and scrupulous discussions on
morality and religious belief, there was no place for
a man like Burton. No opportunity was left him,
except that the world still held undiscovered regions.
He clung to that opportunity with manly persistence ;
but having no sympathy with the other general
interests of his country and his time, he readily
fell under suspicion, and suspicion passed into appre-
hension and neglect. He soon came to be regarded
as " a dangerous man," and that is a reputation
which paralyses all public endeavour. By a natural
perversity he allowed the reputation to react on his
better nature, and took some pleasure in representing
himself as far more dangerous than he really was
The pose was encouraged by his outward appearance
gaunt, swarthy, and savage, with frowning brows
and fiery eyes and he thoroughly enjoyed his evil
as well as his good repute. Yet the charges brought
against him of sensuality, cruelty, and recklessness
in taking human life did not touch the real dangers
or weaknesses of his character. From his friends,
especially from the late Dr. George Bird, who was his
doctor, and from Miss Alice Bird, who still distinctly
remembers a friendship extending over more than
thirty years from them, and from Swinburne's
poems and references to him, I have gathered no
impression at all of grossness, and none of cruelty.
Impatient he was, and quick-blooded, violent in
expression, and driven more and more to regret
his fate as his title to fame receded into forgetfulness
and his wife's unhappy influence grew. But he re-
tained a genuine kindliness of heart, a sympathy
with all suffering, and a power of laughter that is
never found combined with cruelty or self-conceit.
The best of his repartees that I know was told me by
Dr. Bird, and is, in reality, a brief and sufficient
defence. It had reference to the report that on the
way to Meccah Burton had killed an Arab who had
penetrated his disguise. At Burton's wedding break-
Introduction, xvil
fast, Dr. Bird, knowing the report to be untrue,
asked in joke : " How do you feel, Burton, when you
have killed a man ? " and received the quiet answer,
" Oh, all right, doctor. How do you ? "
If one were obliged to criticise such a man at all,
one would find his weakness rather in a want of
central purpose in his life That was what separated
him from his friend General Gordon, who in many
respects resembled him rather closely. In spite of
all "his activities, he was more of a spectator than an
actor on the scene. He plunged into adventures for
the sake of adventure, and travelled for the sake of
travel, and the absence of higher purpose, the want
of a guiding idea, allowed him to wander into that
diffuseness of thought and expression which is his
worst fault, whether as explorer or man of letters.
Just for want of purpose, of devotion, he failed in
proportion ; one thing appeared to him about as
important as another. He saw everything clearly,
but everything on the flat. It is a deficiency very
frequent among travellers, and almost invariable in
those who move over the earth for the mere sake of
moving and seeing. That was, I believe, the true
explanation of such weakness or error as we may
find in Burton. But there is no need to insist upon
it or to spend ingenuity in the criticism of so fine and
vital a nature a man so fearless in body and mind,
so serviceable in supplying life with its redeeming
romance, and so powerful in delivering us from the
enchaining tyranny of commonplace.
HENRY W. NEVINSON.
June 1910.
CHIEF WORKS : Contributions to the Journal of the
Asiatic Society ', 1849. "Scind, or the Unhappy Valley,"
"Sindh, and the Races that Inhabit the Valley of the Indus/'
"Goa, and the Blue Mountains/' 1851. "Falconry in the
Valley of the Indus/' 1852. " A Complete System of Bayonet
Exercise," 1853. "Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to
El-Medinah and Meccah," 1855-56, with Introduction by
S. Lane Poole, 1898 (Bohn), 1906 (York Library). "First
Footsteps in East Africa," 1856. "The Lake Regions of
Equatorial Africa," 1860. "The City of the Saints," 1861.
"Wanderings in West Africa," 1863. "Abeokuta and the
Cameroons," 1863. "A Mission to Gelele, King of
Dahome," 1864, 1893. "Wit and Wisdom from West
Africa: a Collection of 2859 Proverbs, &c,/' 1865. "Ex-
plorations of the Highlands of Brazil," 1869. "Letters
from the Battlefields of Paraguay," 1870. " Unexplored
Syria" (in collaboration with C. F, Tyrwhitt Drake), 1872.
"Zanzibar," 1872. "Inner Life of Syria," 1875. "Ultima
Thule, or a Summer in Iceland," 1875. "Gorilla Land,
or the Cataracts of the Congo," 1875. " Etruscan
Bologna," 1876. "Sind Revisited," 1877. "The Gold
Mines of Midian," 1878. " The Land of Midian Revisited,"
1879. "Translation of Camoens' 'Lusiad/ with Life and
Commentary," 1880, 1881. "The Kasidah" (poem), 1880,
1894, 1900. "Lord Beaconsfield, a Sketch/' 1882 (?). "To
the Gold Coast for Gold,"i883. " Book of the Sword" (vol. i.),
1884. " The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night" (10
vols.), 1885-86; "Supplemental Nights "(5 vols.), 1887-88.
Reissued by his wife for "household reading," 1886-88.
POSTHUMOUS PUBLICATIONS : Translation of Basile's
" Pentamerone," 1893. Verse rendering of" Catullus," 1894.
"The Jew, the Gipsy, and El Islam," 1897. "Wanderings
in Three Continents," edited by W. H. Wilkins, 1901.
There were further contributions to the Journal of the
Asiatic Society ', 1871. A translation of Gerber's " Province
of Minas Geraes," 1875, and an edition of "The Captivity of
Hans Stade among the Wild Tribes of Eastern Brazil"
(Hakluyt Soc.),i874. Translation of" The Lands of Cazembe.
Lacerda's Journey to Cazembe in 1798," 1873.
WORKS : Memorial Edition (vols. i.-vii.), 1873, 1894.
LIFE : "A Sketch of the Career of R. F. Burton/' by
A. B. Richards, A. Wilson, and St. Clair Baddeley, 1886. By
his wife Isabel, Lady Burton, 1893; 2nd edition by W. H.
Wilkins, 1898. "True Life of Capt Sir R. F. Burton," by
his niece, G. M. Stisted, 1896. F. Hitchman, " R. F. Burton,
his Early Private and Public Life, with an Account of his
Travels and Explorations," 1897. T. Wright, 1906. W. P,
Dodge, "The Real Sir R. Burton," 1907.
xviii
To
*fhe Honourable James Grant Lumsden
Mtmler of Council^ 6v. 6*<r., Bombay
I have ventured) my dear Lumsden^ to address you in,
and inscribe to you, these pages. Within your hospit-
able walls my project of African travel was matured^
in the fond hope of submitting, on return, to your
friendly criticism the record of adventures in which you
took so warm an interest. Dis aliter visum ! Still I
would prove that my thoughts are with you, and thus
request you to accept withyour wonted bonhommie this
feeble token of a sincere good will.
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION ix
PREFACE I
CHAP.
I. DEPARTURE FROM ADEN * . . , -19
II. LIFE IN ZAYLA 35
III. EXCURSIONS NEAR ZAYLA ..... 59
IV. THE SOMAL, THEIR ORIGIN AND PECULIARITIES 80
V. FROM ZAYLA TO THE HILLS .... 98
VI. FROM THE ZAYLA HILLS TO THE MARAR PRAIRIE 132
VII. FROM THE MARAR PRAIRIE TO HARAR . .171
VIII. TEN DAYS AT HARAR ..... 200
IX. A RIDE TO BERBERAH 242
X. BERBERAH AND ITS ENVIRONS . 268
POSTSCRIPT ......... 288
APPENDIX I. ...*.... 297
APPENDIX II 337
APPENDIX III ...... . 345
PREFACE
AVERSE to writing, as well as to reading, diffuse
Prolegomena, the author finds himself compelled to
relate, at some length, the circumstances which led
to the subject of these pages.
In May 1849, the late Vice-Admiral Sir Charles
Malcolm, formerly Superintendent of the Indian
Navy, in conjunction with Mr. William John Hamilton,
then President of the Royal Geographical Society of
Great Britain, solicited the permission of the Court
of Directors of the Honourable East India Company
to ascertain the productive resources of the unknown
Somali country in East Africa. 1 The answer re-
turned was to the following effect :
"If a fit and proper person volunteer to travel
in the Somali country, he goes as a private traveller,
the Government giving no more protection to him
than they would to an individual totally unconnected
with the service. They will allow the officer who
obtains permission to go, during his absence on the
expedition, to retain all the pay and allowances he
may be enjoying when leave was granted ; they will
supply him with all the instruments required, afford
him a passage going and returning, and pay the actual
expenses of the journey."
The project lay dormant until March 1850, when
Sir Charles Malcolm and Captain Smyth, President
of the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain,
1 It occupies the whole of the Eastern Horn, extending from
the north of Bab el Mandeb to several degrees south of Cape
Guardafui. In the former direction it is bounded by the Dankali
and the Ittoo Gallas ; in the latter by the Sawahil or Negrotic
regions ; the Red Sea is its eastern limit, and westward it stretches
to within a few miles of Harar.
A
2 First Footsteps in East Africa
waited upon the chairman of the Court of Directors
of the Honourable East India Company. He in-
formed them that if they would draw up a statement
of what was required, and specify how it could be
carried into effect, the document should be forwarded
to the Governor-General of India, with a recom-
mendation that, should no objection arise, either
from expense or other causes, a fit person should
be permitted to explore the Somali country.
Sir Charles Malcolm then of ered the charge of the
expedition to Dr. Carter of Bombay, an officer
favourably known to the Indian world by his ser-
vices on board the Palinurus brig whilst employed
upon the maritime survey of Eastern Arabia. Dr.
Carter at once acceded to the terms proposed by
those from whom the project emanated ; but his
Principal object being to compare the geology and
ptany of the Somali country with the results of
his Arabian travels, he volunteered to traverse only
that part of Eastern Africa which lies north of a
line drawn from Berberah to Ras Hafun in fact,
the maritime mountains of the SomaL His health
not permitting him to be left on shore, he required
a cruiser to convey him from place to place, and to
preserve his store of presents and provisions. By
this means he hoped to land at the most interesting
points, and to penetrate here and there from sixty
to eighty miles inland across the region which he
undertook to explore.
On the I7th of August 1850, Sir Charles Malcolm
wrote to Dr. Carter in these terms : " I have com-
municated with the President of the Royal Geo-
graphical Society and others: the feeling is, that
though much valuable information could no doubt
be gained by skirting the coast (as you propose), both
in geology and botany, yet that it does not fulfil the
primary and great object of the London Geographical
Society, which was, and still is, to have the interior
explored/' The Vice- Admiral, however, proceeded
to say that, under the circumstances of the case,
Dr. Carter's plans were approved of, and asked him
Preface 3
to confer immediately with Commodore Lushington,
then Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Navy.
In May 1851 Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Malcolm
died: geographers and travellers lost in him an
influential and an energetic friend. During the ten
years of his superintendence over the Indian Navy
that service rose, despite the incubus of profound
peace, to the highest distinction. He freely per-
mitted the officers under his command to undertake
the task of geographical discovery, retaining their
rank, pay, and batta, whilst the. actual expenses of
their journeys were defrayed by contingent bills.
All papers and reports submitted to the local govern-
ment were favourably received, and the successful
traveller looked forward to distinction and advance-
ment.
During the decade which elapsed between 1828 and
1838, " officers of the Indian Navy journeyed, as
the phrase is, with their lives in their hands, through
the wildest districts of the East. Of these we name
the late Commander J. A. Young, Lieutenants
Wellsted, Wyburd, Wood, and Christopher, retired
Commander Ormsby, the present Capt. H. B. Lynch,
C.B., Commanders Felix Jones and W. C Barker,
Lieutenants Crattenden and Whitelock. Their re-
searches extended from the banks of the Bosphorus
to the shores of India. Of the vast, the immeasurable
value of such services," to quote the words of the
Quarterly Review (No. cxxix. Dec. 1839), "which
able officers thus employed are in the meantime
rendering to science, to commerce, to their country,
and to the whole civilised world, we need say nothing
nothing we could say would be too much."
" In five years the admirable maps of that coral-
bound gulf the Red Sea were complete : the terrors
of the navigation had given place to the confidence
inspired by excellent surveys. In 1829 the Thetis,
of ten guns, under Commander Robert Moresby,
convoyed the first coal-ship up the Red Sea, of the
coasts of which this skilful and enterprising seaman
made a cursory survey, from which emanated the
4 First Footsteps in East Africa
subsequent trigonometrical operations which form our
present maps. Two ships were employed, the Benares
and Palinurus, the former under Commander Elwon,
the latter under Commander Moresby, It remained,
however, for the latter officer to complete the work.
Some idea may be formed of the perils these officers
and men went through, when we state the Benares
was forty-two times aground.
" Robert Moresby, the genius of the Red Sea,
conducted also the survey of the Maldive Islands
and groups known as the Chagos Archipelago. He
narrowly escaped being a victim to the deleterious
climate of his station, and only left it when no longer
capable of working. A host of young and ardent
officers Christopher, Young, Powell, Campbell,
Jones, Barker, and others ably seconded him ;
death was busy amongst them for months, and so
paralysed by disease were the living, that the anchors
could scarcely be raised for a retreat to the coast
of India. Renovated by a three months' stay,
occasionally in port, where they were strengthened
by additional numbers, the undaunted remnants
from time to time returned to their task ; and in
1837 gave to the world a knowledge of those singular
groups which heretofore though within 150 miles
of our coasts had been a mystery hidden within
the dangers that environed them. The beautiful
maps of the Red Sea, drafted by the late Commodore
Carless, 1 then a lieutenant, will ever remain permanent
monuments of Indian naval science, and the daring
of its officers and men. Those of the Maldive and
Chagos groups, executed by Commander (then Acting-
1 In A.D. 1838, Lieut. Carless surveyed the seaboard of the
Somali country, from Ras Hafun to Burnt Island; unfortunately
his labours were allowed by Sir Charles Malcolm's successor to
lie five years in the obscurity of MS. Meanwhile the steam frigate
Memnon, Capt. Powell commanding, was lost at Ras Assayr;
a Norie's chart, an antiquated document, with an error of from
fifteen to twenty miles, being the only map of reference on board.
Thus the Indian Government, by the dilatoriness and prejudices
of its Superintendent of Marine, sustained an unjustifiable loss of
at least 50,000.
Preface 5
Lieutenant) Felix Jones, were, we hear, of such a
high order that they were deemed worthy of special
inspection by the Queen.
" While these enlightening operations were in pro-
gress, there were others of this profession, no less
distinguished, employed on similar discoveries. The
coast of Mekran, westward from Scinde, was little
known, but it soon found a place in the hydrographical
offices in India, under Captain (then Lieutenant)
Stafford Haines and his staff, who were engaged on
it. The journey to the Oxus, made by Lieut. Wood,
Sir A. Burnes's companion in his Lahore and Afghan
missions, is a page of history which may not be
opened to us again in our own times ; while in
Lieut. Carless's drafts of the channels of the Indus
we trace those designs that the sword of Sir Charles
Napier only was destined to reveal.
" The ten years prior to that of 1839 were those
of fitful repose, such as generally precedes some great
outbreak. The repose afforded ample leisure for
research, and the shores of the Island of Socotra,
with the south coast of Arabia, were carefully de-
lineated. Besides the excellent maps of these regions,
we are indebted to the survey for that unique work
on Oman, by the late Lieut. Wellsted of this service,
and for valuable notices from the pen of Lieut.
Cruttenden. 1
" Besides the works we have enumerated, there
were others of the same nature, but on a smaller
scale, in operation at the same period around our
own coasts. The Gulf of Cambay, and the dangerous
sands known as the Molucca Banks, were explored
and faithfully mapped by Captain Richard Ethersey,
assisted by Lieutenant (now Commander) Fell.
Bombay Harbour was delineated again on a grand
scale by Capt. R. Cogan, assisted by Lieut. Peters,
now both dead ; and the ink of the Maldive charts
had scarcely dried, when the labours of those
1 In A.D. 1836-38, Lieut. Cruttenden published descriptions
of travel, which will be alluded to in a subsequent part of this
preface.
6 First Footsteps in East Africa
employed were demanded of the Indian Government
by Her Majesty's authorities at Ceylon, to undertake
trigonometrical surveys of that island, and the
dangerous and shallow gulfs on either side of the
neck of sand connecting it with India. Thejr were
the present Captains F. F. Powell and Richard
Ethersey, in the schooner Royal Tiger and Shannon,
assisted by Lieut, (now Commander) Felix Jones,
and the late Lieut. Wilmot Christopher, who fell in
action before Mooltan. The first of these officers had
charge of one of the tenders under Lieut. Powell, and
the latter another under Lieut. Ethersey. The maps
of the Pamban Pass and the Straits of Manaar were
by the hand of Lieut. Felix Jones, who was the
draftsman also on this survey: they speak for
themselves/' x
In 1838 Sir Charles Malcolm was succeeded by
Sir Robert Oliver, an " old officer of the old school "
a strict disciplinarian, a faithful and honest ser-
vant of Government, but a violent, limited, and
prejudiced man. He wanted " sailors," individuals
conversant with ropes and rigging, and steeped in
knowledge of shot and shakings ; he loved the "rule
of thumb," he hated "literary razors," and he
viewed science with the profoundest contempt.
About twenty surveys were ordered to be discon-
tinued as an inauguratory measure, causing the loss
of many thousand pounds, independent of such
contingencies as the Memnon.* Batta was with-
held from the few officers who obtained leave, and
the life of weary labour on board ship was systemati-
cally made monotonous and uncomfortable in local
phrase, it was described as "many stripes and no
1 This "hasty sketch of the scientific labours of the Indian
navy " is extracted from an able anonymous pamphlet, un-
promisingly headed, "Grievances and Present Condition of our
Indian Officers."
2 In A.D. 1848, the late Mr. Joseph Hume called in the House
of Commons for a return of all Indian surveys carried on during
the ten previous years. The result proved that no less than a
score had been suddenly "broken up," by order of Sir Robert
Oliver.
Preface 7
stars." Few measures were omitted to heighten the
shock of contrast. No notice was taken of papers
forwarded to Government, and the man who at-
tempted to distinguish himself by higher views than
quarter-deck duties, found himself marked out for
the angry Commodore's red-hot displeasure. No
place was allowed for charts and plans : valuable
original surveys, of which no duplicates existed, lay
tossed amongst the brick and mortar with which the
Marine Office was being rebuilt. No instruments
were provided for ships ; even a barometer was not
supplied in one case, although duly indented for
during five years. Whilst Sir Charles Malcolm ruled
the Bombay dockyards, the British name rose high
in the Indian, African, and Arabian seas. Each
vessel had its presents guns, pistols, and powder,
Abbas, crimson cloth and shawls, watches, telescopes,
and similar articles with a suitable stock of which
every officer visiting the interior on leave was sup-
plied. An order from Sir Robert Oliver withdrew
presents as well as instruments ; with them disap-
peared the just idea of our faith and greatness as
a nation entertained by the maritime races, who
formerly looked forward to the arrival of our cruisers.
Thus the Indian navy was crushed by neglect and
routine into a mere transport service, remarkable for
little beyond constant quarrels between sea-lieuten-
ants and land-lieutenants, sailor-officers and soldier-
officers, their " passengers/' And thus resulted that
dearth of enterprise alluded to ex cathedrd by a late
President of the Royal Geographical Society of Great
Britain which now characterises Western India,
erst so celebrated for ardour in adventure.
To return to the subject of East African discovery.
Commodore Lushington and Dr. Carter met in order
to concert some measures for forwarding the plans
of a Somali expedition. It was resolved to associate
three persons, Drs. Carter and Stocks and an officer
of the Indian navy ; a vessel was also warned for
service on the coast of Africa. This took place in the
beginning of 1851 ; presently Commodore Lushington
8 First Footsteps in East Africa
resigned his command, and the project fell to the
ground.
The author of these pages, after his return from
El Hajaz to Bombay, conceived the idea of reviving
the Somali expedition : he proposed to start in the
spring of 1854, and, accompanied by two officers,
to penetrate vid Harar and Gananah to Zanzibar.
His plans were favourably received by the Right
Hon. Lord Elphinstone, the enlightened governor of
the colony, and by the local authorities, amongst
whom the name of James Grant Lumsden, then
Member of Council, will ever suggest the liveliest
feelings of gratitude and affection. But it being
judged necessary to refer once more for permission
to the Court of Directors, an official letter, bearing
date the 28th April 1854, was forwarded from Bom-
bay with a warm recommendation. Lieut. Herne, of
the 1st Bombay European Regiment of Fusiliers,
an officer skilful in surveying, photography, and
mechanics, together with the writer, obtained leave,
pending the reference, and a free pasage to Aden in
Arabia. On the 23rd August a favourable reply was
despatched by the Court of Directors.
Meanwhile the most painful of events had modified
the original plan. The third member of the ex-
pedition, Assistant-Surgeon J. Ellerton Stocks, whose
brilliant attainments as a botanist, whose long and
enterprising journeys, and whose eminently practical
bent of mind had twice recommended him for the
honours and trials of African exploration, died
suddenly in the prime of life. Deeply did his friends
lament him for many reasons ; a universal favourite,
he left in the social circle a void never to be filled
up, and they mourned the more that Fate had not
granted him the time, as it had given him the wiU
and the power, to trace a deeper and more enduring
mark upon the iron tablets of Fame.
No longer hoping to carry out his first project,
the writer determined to make the geography and
commerce of the Somali country his principal objects.
He therefore applied to the Bombay Government for
Preface 9
the assistance of Lieut. William Stroyan, I.N., an
officer distinguished by his surveys on the coast of
Western India, in Sindh, and on the Pan jab rivers.
It was not without difficulty that such valuable
services were spared for the deadly purpose of pene-
trating into Eastern Africa. All obstacles, however,
were removed by their ceaseless and energetic eff orts
who had fostered the author's plans, and early in
the autumn of 1854 Lieut. Stroyan received leave
to join the expedition. At the same time Lieut.
J. H. Speke, of the 46th Regiment Bengal N.I.,
who had spent many years collecting the fauna of
Thibet and the Himalayan mountains, volunteered
to share the hardships of African exploration.
In October 1854 the writer and his companions
received at Aden in Arabia the sanction of the Court
of Directors. It was his intention to march in a
body, using Berberah as a base of operations, west-
wards to Harar, and thence in a south-easterly
direction towards Zanzibar.
But the voice of society at Aden was loud against
the expedition. The rough manners, the fierce looks,
and the insolent threats of the Somal the effects
of our too peaceful rule had prepossessed the timid
colony at the " Eye of Yemen " with an idea of
extreme danger. The Anglo-Saxon spirit suffers, it
has been observed, from confinement within any but
wooden walls, and the European degenerates rapidly,
as do his bull-dogs, his game-cocks, and other pug-
nacious animals, in the hot, enervating, and unhealthy
climates of the East. The writer and his comrades
were represented to be men deliberately going to
their death, and the Somal at Aden were not slow in
imitating the example of their rulers. The savages
had heard of the costly Shoa Mission, its 300 camels
and 50 mules, and they longed for another rehearsal
of the drama ; according to them, a vast outlay was
absolutely necessary : every village must be feasted,
every chief propitiated with magnificent presents,
and dollars must be dealt out by handfuls. The
Political Resident refused to countenance the scheme
io First Footsteps in East Africa
proposed, and his objection necessitated a further
change of plans.
Accordingly Lieut. Herne was directed to proceed,
after the opening of the annual fair-season, to
Berberah, where no danger was apprehended. It
was judged that the residence of this officer upon
the coast would produce a friendly feeling on the
part of the Somal, and, as indeed afterwards proved
to be the case, would facilitate the writer's egress
from Harar, by terrifying the ruler for the fate of
his caravans. 1 Lieut. Herne, who on the ist of
January 1855 was joined by Lieut. Stroyan, resided
on the African coast from November to April ; he
inquired into the commerce, the caravan lines^ and
the state of the slave trade, visited the maritime
mountains, sketched all the places of interest, and
made a variety of meteorological and other observa-
tions as a prelude to extensive research.
Lieut. Speke was directed to land at Bunder
Guray, a small harbour in the " Arz el Annan," or
" Land of Safety," as the windward Somal style
their country. His aim was to trace the celebrated
Wady Nogal, noting its watershed and other pecu-
liarities, to purchase horses and camels for the future
use of the expedition, and to collect specimens of
the reddish earth which, according to the older
African travellers, denotes the presence of gold dust. 2
Lieut. Speke started on the 23rd October 1854, an <l
returned, after about three months, to Aden. He
had failed, through the rapacity and treachery of
his guide, to reach the Wady Nogal. But he had
penetrated beyond the maritime chain of hills,
and his journal (condensed in the Appendix) proves
that he had collected some novel and important
information.
Meanwhile the author, assuming the disguise of
1 This plan was successfully adopted by Messrs. Antoine and
Arnauld d'Abbadie, when travelling in dangerous parts of Abyssinia
and the adjacent countries.
2 In A.D. 1660 Vermuyden found gold at Gambia, always on
naked and barren hills, embedded in a reddish earth.
Preface 1 1
an Arab merchant, prepared to visit the forbidden
city of Harar. He left Aden on the zgth of October
1854, arrived at the capital of the ancient Hadiyah
empire on the 3rd January 1855, and on the gth of
the ensuing February returned in safety to Arabia,
with the view of purchasing stores and provisions for
a second and a longer journey. 1 What unforeseen
circumstance cut short the career of the proposed
expedition, the Postscript of the present volume
will show.
The following pages contain the writer's diary,
kept during his march to and from Harar. It must
be borne hi mind that the region traversed on this
occasion was previously known only by the vague
reports of native travellers. All the Abyssinian dis-
coverers had traversed the Dankali and other northern
tribes ; the land of the Somal was still a terra incognita.
Harar, moreover, had never been visited, and few
are the cities of the world which in the present age,
when men hurry about the earth, have not opened
their gates to European adventure. The ancient
metropolis of a once mighty race, the only permanent
settlement in Eastern Africa, the reported seat of
Moslem learning a walled city of stone houses,
possessing its independent chief, its peculiar popula-
tion, its unknown language, and its own coinage the
emporium of the coffee-trade, the headquarters of
slavery, the birthplace of the Kat plant, 2 and the
great manufactory of cotton-cloths, amply, it ap-
peared, deserved the trouble of exploration. That
the writer was successful in his attempt, the following
1 The writer has not unfrequently been blamed by the critics
of Indian papers for venturing into such dangerous lands with an
outfit nearly ^1500 in value. In the Somali, as in other countries
of Eastern Africa, travellers must carry not only the means of
purchasing passage, but also the very necessaries of life. Money
being unknown, such bulky articles as cotton-cloth, tobacco, and
beads are necessary to provide meat and milk, and he who would
eat bread must load his camels with grain. The Somal, of course,
exaggerate the cost of travelling; every chief, however, may
demand a small present, and every pauper, as will be seen in
the following pages, expects to be fed.
8 It is described at length in Chap. Ill,
12 First Footsteps in East Africa
pages will prove. Unfortunately it was found im-
posible to use any instruments except a pocket
compass, a watch, and a portable thermometer more
remarkable for convenience than correctness. But
the way was thus paved for scientific observation.
Shortly after the author's departure from Harar, the
Amir or chief wrote to the Acting Political Resident
at Aden, earnestly begging to be supplied with a
" Frank physician," and offering protection to any
European who might be persuaded to visit his
dominions.
The Appendix contains the following papers con-
nected with the movements of the expedition in the
winter of 1854.
1. The diary and observations made by Lieut.
Speke, when attempting to reach the Wady NogaL
2. Meteorological observations in the cold season
of 1854-55 by Lieuts. Herne, Stroyan, and the
Author.
3. The conclusion is a condensed account of an
attempt to reach Harar from Ankpbar. 1 On the
I4th October 1841 Major Sir William Cornwallis
Harris (then Captain in the Bombay Engineers),
chief of the mission sent from India to the King of
Shoa, advised Lieut. W. Barker, I.N., whose services
were imperatively required by Sir Robert Oliver, to
return from Abyssinia via Harar, " over a road
hitherto untrodden by Europeans." As His Majesty
Sahalah Selassie had offered friendly letters to the
Moslem Amir, Capt. Harris had "no doubt of the
success of the enterprise." Although the adven-
turous explorer was prevented by the idle fears of
the Bedouin Somal and the rapacity of his guides
from visiting the city, his pages, as a narrative of
travel, will amply reward perusal. They have been
introduced into this volume mainly with the view
of putting the reader in possession of all that has
hitherto been written and not published upon the
1 The author hoped to insert Lieut. Heine's journal, kept at
Berberah, and the different places of note in its vicinity; as yet,
however, the paper has not been received
Preface 13
subject of Harar. 1 For the same reason the author
has not hesitated to enrich his pages with observations
drawn from Lieutenants Cruttenden and Rigby. The
former printed in the Transactions of the Bombay
Geographical Society two excellent papers : one
headed a " Report on the Mijjertheyn Tribe of
Somallies inhabiting the district forming the North-
East Point of Africa " ; secondly, a " Memoir on the
Western or Edoor Tribes inhabiting the Somali coast
of North-East Africa ; with the Southern Branches
of the family of Darood, resident on the banks of
the Webbe Shebayli, commonly called the River
Webbe." Lieut. C. P. Rigby, i6th Regiment Bombay
N.I., published, also in the Transactions of the
Geographical Society of Bombay, an " Outline of the
Somali Language, with Vocabulary," which supplied
a great lacuna in the dialects of Eastern Africa.
A perusal of the following pages will convince the
reader that the extensive country of the Somal is by
no means destitute of capabilities. Though partially
desert, and thinly populated, it possesses valuable
articles of traffic, and its harbours export the produce
of the Gurague, Abyssinian, Galla, and other inland
races. The natives of the country are essentially com-
mercial ; they have lapsed into barbarism by reason
of their political condition the rude equality of the
Hottentots but they appear to contain material for
1 Harar has frequently been described by hearsay ; the following
are the principal authorities :
Rochet (Second Voyage Dans le Pays des Adels* &c. Paris,
1846), p. 263.
Sir W. Cornwallis Harris (Highlands of Ethiopia, vol. i.
ch. 43 et passim}.
Cruttenden (Transactions of the Bombay Geological Society ',
A.D. 1848).
Barker (Report of the probable Position of Harar. Vol. xii.
Royal Geographical Society).
M 'Queen (Geographical Memoirs of Abyssinia, prefixed to
Journals of Rev. Messrs. Isenberg and Kxapf).
Christopher (Journal whilst commanding the H.C's brig
Tigris > on the East Coast of Africa).
Of these, by far the most correct account is that of Lieut.
Cruttenden.
14 First Footsteps in East Africa
a moral regeneration. As subjects they offer a
favourable contrast to their kindred, the Arabs of El
Yemen, a race untameable as the wolf, and which,
subjugated in turn by Abyssinian, Persian, Egyptian,
and Turk, has ever preserved an indomitable spirit
of freedom, and eventually succeeded in shaking off
the yoke of foreign dominion. For half a generation
we have been masters of Aden, filling Southern
Arabia with our calicos and rupees what is the
present state of affairs there ? We are dared by the
Bedouins to come forth from behind our stone walls
and fight like men in the plain British froUgte are
slaughtered within the range of our guns our allies'
villages have been burned in sight of Aden our
deserters are welcomed and our fugitive felons pro-
tected our supplies are cut off, and the garrison is
reduced to extreme distress, at the word of a half-
naked bandit the miscreant Bhagi who murdered
Capt. Mylne in cold blood still roams the hills un-
punishedgross insults are the sole acknowledgments
of our peaceful overtures the British flag has been
fired upon without return, our cruisers being ordered
to act only on the defensive and our forbearance to
attack is universally asserted and believed to arise
from mere cowardice. Such is, and such will be, the
character of the Arab !
The Sublime Porte still preserves her possessions
in the Tahamah, and the regions conterminous to
Yemen, by the stringent measures with whch Moham-
med Ali of Egypt opened the robber-haunted Suez
road. Whenever a Turk or a traveller is murdered,
a few squadrons of Irregular Cavalry are ordered
out ; they are not too nice upon the subject of re-
taliation, and rarely refuse to burn a village or two,
or to lay waste the crops near the scene of outrage,
A civilised people, like ourselves, objects to such
measures for many reasons, of which none is more
feeble than the fear of perpetuating a blood feud
with the Arabs. Our present relations with them
are a " very pretty quarrel," and, moreover, one which
time must strengthen, cannot efface. By a just,
Preface 15
wholesome, and unsparing severity we may inspire
the Bedouin with fear instead of contempt : the
veriest visionary would deride the attempt to animate
him with a higher sentiment.
" Peace/' observes a modern sage, " is the dream
of the wise, war is the history of man." To indulge
in such dreams is but questionable wisdom. It was
not a " peace policy " which gave the Portuguese a
seaboard extending from Cape Non to Macao. By
no peace policy the Osmanlis of a past age pushed
their victorious arms from the deserts of Tartary to
Aden, to Delhi, to Algiers, and to the gates of Vienna.
It was no peace policy which made the Russians
seat themselves upon the shores of the Black, the
Baltic, and the Caspian seas : gaming, in the space
of 150 years, and, despite war, retaining, a territory
greater than England and France united. No peace
policy enabled the French to absorb region after
region in Northern Africa, till the Mediterranean
appears doomed to sink into a Gallic lake. The
English of a former generation were celebrated for
gaining ground in both hemispheres ; their broad
lands were not won by a peace policy, which, however,
in this our day, has on two distinct occasions well-
nigh lost for them the " gem of the British Empire "
India. The philanthropist and the political eco-
nomist may fondly hope, by outcry against " terri-
torial aggrandisement/' by advocating a compact
frontier, by abandoning colonies, and by cultivating
" equilibrium," to retain our rank amongst the great
nations of the world. Never ! The facts of history
prove nothing more conclusively than this : a race
either progresses or retrogrades, either increases or
diminishes ; the children of Time, like their sire,
cannot stand still.
The occupation of the port of Berberah has been
advised for many reasons.
In the first place, Berberah is the true key of the
Red Sea, the centre of East African traffic, and the
only safe place for shipping upon the western Eryth-
raean shore, from Suez to Guardafut Backed by
1 6 First Footsteps in East Africa
lands capable of cultivation, and by hiHs covered
with pine and other valuable trees, enjoying a com-
paratively temperate climate, with a regular although
thin monsoon, this harbour has been coveted by
many a foreign conqueror. Circumstances have
thrown it, as it were, into our arms, and if we refuse
the chance, another and a rival nation will not be so
Secondly, we are bound to protect the lives of
British subjects upon the coast. In A.D. 1825 the
crew of the Mary Ann brig was treacherously mur-
dered by the Somal. The consequence of a summary
and exemplary punishment l was that in August 1843,
when the H.E.LC/s war steamer Memnon was
stranded at Ras Assayr, near Cape Guardafui, no
outrage was attempted by the barbarians, upon
whose barren shores our seamen remained for months
labouring at the wreck. In A.D. 1855 the Somal,
having forgotten the old lesson, renewed their
practices of pillaging and murdering strangers. It is
then evident that this people cannot be trusted
without supervision, and equally certain that vessels
1 InA.D. 1825, the Government of Bombay received intelligence
that a brig from the Mauritius had been seized, plundered, and
broken up near Berberah, and that part of her crew had been
barbarously murdered by the Somali. The ElpUnstone sloop
of war (Capt. Greer commanding) was sent to blockade the coast ;
when her guns opened fire, the people fled with their wives and
children, and the spot where a horseman was killed by a cannon-
ball is still shown on the plain near the town. Through the
intervention of El Hajj Sharmarkay, the survivors were recovered ;
the Somal bound themselves to abstain from future attacks upon
English vessels, and also to refund by annual instalments the full
amount of plundered property. For the purpose of enforcing the
latter stipulation it was resolved that a vessel of war should remain
upon the coast until the whole was liquidated. When attempts
at evasion occurred, the traffic was stopped by sending all craft
outside the guardship, and forbidding intercourse with the shore.
The CooU (Capt. Pepper commanding), the Patinurus, and
the Tigris^ in turn with the MlpMnstone^ maintained the block-
ade through the trading seasons till 1833. About ;6oop were
recovered, and the people were strongly impressed with the
fact that we had both the will and the means to keep their
plundering propensities within bounds*
Preface i
are ever liable to be cast ashore in this part of tl
Red Sea. But a year ago the French steam corvett
Le Caiman, was lost within sight of Zayla ; tl
Bedouin Somal, principally Eesa, assembled a fanat
host, which was, however, dispersed before blood ha
been drawn by the exertion of the governor and h
guards. It remains for us, therefore, to provic
against such contingencies. Were one of the Penii
sular and Oriental Company's vessels cast by an
accident upon this inhospitable shore, in the preset]
state of affairs the lives of the passengers, and th
cargo, would be placed in imminent peril.
In advocating the establishment of an armed pos
at Berberah no stress is laid upon the subject c
slavery. To cut off that traffic the possession of th
great export harbour is by no means necessary
Whenever a British cruiser shall receive positive an<
bona fide orders to search native craft, and to sell a:
prizes all that have slaves on board, the trade wil
receive a death-blow.
Certain measures have been taken during the lasi
annual fair to punish the outrage perpetrated by the
Somal at Berberah in A.D. 1855. The writer on his
return to Aden proposed that the several clans im-
plicated in the offence should at once be expelled
from British dominions. This preliminary was carried
out by the Acting Political Resident at Aden. More-
over, it was judged advisable to blockade the Somali
coast, from Siyaro to Zayla, not concluded until, in
the first place, Lieut. Stroyan's murderer, and the
ruffian who attempted to spear Lieut. Speke in cold
blood, should be given up * ; and secondly, that due
compensation for all losses should be made by the
plunderers. The former condition was approved by
the Right Honourable the Governor-General of India,
who, however, objected, it is said, to the money-
1 The writer advised that these men should be hung upon the
spot where the outrage was committed, that the bodies should
be burned and the ashes cast into the sea, lest by any means
the murderers might become martyrs. This precaution should
invariably be adopted when Moslems assassinate Infidels.
B
1 8 First Footsteps in East Africa
demand. 1 At present the H.E.LC.'s cruisers MaM
and Elphinstone are blockading the harbour of
Berberah; the Somal have offered 15,000 dollars'
indemnity, and they pretend, as usual, that the
murderer has been slain by his tribe.
To conclude. The writer has had the satisfaction
of receiving from his comrades assurances that they
are willing to accompany him once more in task of
African exploration. The plans of the Frank are now
publicly known to the Somali. Should the loss of
life, however valuable, be an obstacle to prosecuting
them, he must fall in the esteem of the races around him.
On the contrary, should he, after duly chastising the
offenders, carry out the original plan, he will command
the respect of the people, and wipe put the memory of
a temporary reverse. At no distant period the
project will, it is hoped, be revived. Nothing is
required but permission to renew the attempt an
indulgence which will not be refused by a Govern-
ment raised by energy, enterprise, and perseverance
from the ranks of merchant society to national
wealth and imperial grandeur.
1 The reason of the objection is not apparent. A savage people
is imperfectly punished by a few deaths : the fine is the only true
way to produce a lasting impression upon their heads and hearts.
Moreover, it is the custom of India and the East generally, and
is in reality the only safeguard of a traveller's property.
14 ST, JAMES'S SQUARE,
loth February 1856.
FIRST FOOTSTEPS IN
EAST AFRICA
CHAPTER I
DEPARTURE FROM ADEN
I DOUBT not there are many who ignore the fact that
in Eastern Africa, scarcely three hundred miles distant
from Aden, there is a counterpart of ill-famed Tim-
buctoo in the Far West. The more adventurous
Abyssinian travellers, Salt and Stuart, Krapf and
Isenberg, Barker and Rochet not to mention divers
Roman Catholic missioners attempted Harar, but
attempted it in vain. The bigoted ruler and bar-
barous people threatened death to the Infidel who
ventured within their walls ; some negro Merlin
having, it is said, read Decline and Fall in the first
footsteps of the Frank. 1 Of all foreigners the English
were, of course, the most hated and dreaded ; at
Harar slavery still holds its headquarters, and the
old Dragon well knows what to expect from the hand
of St. George. Thus the various travellers who
appeared in beaver and black coats became per-
suaded that the city was inaccessible, and Europeans
ceased to trouble themselves about Harar.
It is, therefore, a point of honour with me, dear L.,
1 "A tradition exists," says Lieut. Cruttenden, "amongst the
people of Harar, that the prosperity of their city depends upon
the exclusion of all travellers not of the Moslem faith, and all
Christians are specially interdicted." These freaks of interdiction
are common to African rulers, who on occasions of war, famine,
or pestilence, struck with some superstitious fear, close their
gates to strangers.
20 First Footsteps in East Africa
to utilise my title of Haji by entering the city, visit-
ing the ruler, and returning in safety, after breaking
the guardian spell.
The most auspicious day in the Moslem year for
beginning a journey is, doubtless, the 6th of the
month Safar, 1 on which, quoth the Prophet, El Islam
emerged from obscurity. Yet even at Aden we could
not avail ourselves of this lucky time : our delays and
difficulties were a fit prelude for a journey amongst
those " Blameless Ethiopians," with whom no less a
personage than august Jove can dine and depart. 2
On Sunday, the zgth October 1854, our manifold
impediments were pronounced complete. Friend S.
threw the slipper of blessing at my back, and about
4 P.M., embarking from Maala Bunder, we shook out
our "muslin," and sailed down the fiery harbour.
Passing the guard-boat, we delivered our permit ;
before venturing into the open sea we repeated the
Fatihah-prayer in honour of the Shaykh Majid, in-
ventor of the mariner's compass, 3 and evening saw
1 The 6th of Safar in 1854 corresponds with our 28th October. The
Hadis is **d\ ^ ^yJ <^f*> f^ ^ AU ^j>- 1 jt
** when, the 6th of Safar went forth, my faith from the cloud came
forth. 3 '
2 The Abyssinian law of detaining guestsPedro Covilhao,
the first Portuguese envoy (A.D. 1499), lived and died a prisoner
there appears to have been the Christian modification of the
old Ethiopic rite of sacrificing strangers.
3 It would be wonderful if Orientals omitted to romance about
the origin of such an invention as the Dayrah or compass. Shaykh
Majid is said to have been a Syrian saint, to whom Allah gave
the power of looking upon earth, as though it were a ball in his
hand. Most Moslems agree in assigning this originate the Dayrah,
and the Fatihah in honour of the holy man is still repeated by
the pious mariner.
Easterns do not "box the compass" after our fashion: with
them each point has its own name, generally derived from some
prominent star on the horizon. Of these I subjoin a list as in
use amongst the Somal, hoping that it may be useful to Oriental
students. The names in hyphens are those given in a paper on
the nautical instrument of the Arabs by Jas. Prinseps (Joiirnal
of the. As. Soc.f December 1836). The learned secretary appears
not to hare heard the legend of Shaykh Majid, for he alludes
Departure from Aden 21
us dancing on the bright clear tide, whose " magic
waves/ 7 however, murmured after another fashion
the siren song which charmed the senses of the old
Arabian voyagers. 1
Suddenly every trace of civilisation fell from my
companions as if it had been a garment. At Aden,
shaven and beturbaned, Arab fashion, now they
threw off all dress save the loin cloth, and appeared
in their dark morocco. Mohammed filled his mouth
with a mixture of coarse Surat tobacco and ashes
the latter article intended, like the Anglo-Indian
soldier's chili in his arrack, to "make it bite." Guled
to the "Majidi Kitab," or Oriental Ephemeris, without any ex-
planation.
North . Jah,
N. by E. Farjad,
N.N.E. Naash,
N.E.byE. Nakah,
N.E. . Ayyuk,
N.E. by E. Waki,
E.N.E. . Sumak,
E. by N. . Surayya, IjJ
The south is called El Kutb
East . . Matla, Uo
E. by S. . Jauza, \j}^-
E.S.E. . Tir, *jJ
S.KbyE. Iklil,
S.E. . . Akrab,
S.E. by S. Ilimarayn,
S.S.E. . Suhayl,
S. by E. . Suntubar,
for tUU J
and the West El
Maghib
The western points are named like the
eastern. North-east, for instance, is Ayyuk el Matlai j north-
west, Ayyuk el MaghibL Finally, the Dayrah Jahi is when the
magnetic needle points due north. The Dayrah Farjadi (more
common in these regions) is when the bar is fixed under Farjad,
to allow for variation, which at Berberah is about 4 50' west.
1 The curious reader will find, in the Herodotus of the Arabs,
El Masudi's * c Meadows of gold and mines of gems," a strange
tale of the blind billows and the singing waves of Berberah and
Jofuni (Cape Guardafui, the classical Aromata).
22 First Footsteps in East Africa
uncovered his head, a member which in Africa is
certainly made to go bare, and buttered himself with
an unguent redolent of sheep's tail ; and Ismail, the
rais or captain of our " foyst," l the Sahalah, applied
himself to pufEng his nicotiana out of a goat's shank-
bone. Our crew, consisting of seventy-one men and
boys, prepared, as evening fell, a mess of Jowari
grain 2 and grease, the recipe of which I spare you,
and it was despatched in a style that would have
done credit to Kafirs as regards gobbling, bolting,
smearing lips, licking fingers, and using ankles as
napkins. Then with a light easterly breeze and the
ominous cliffs of Little Aden still in sight, we spread
our mats on deck and prepared to sleep under the
moon. 3
My companions, however, felt, without perhaps
comprehending, the joviality arising from a return
to Nature. Every man was forthwith nicknamed,
and pitiless was the raillery upon the venerable sub-
jects of long and short, fat and thin. One sang a
war-song, another a love-song, a third some song of
the sea, whilst the fourth, an Eesa youth, with the
villainous expression of face common to his tribe,
gave us a rain measure, such as men chaunt during
wet weather. All these effusions were naive and
amusing : none, however, could bear English transla-
tion without an amount of omission which would
change their nature. Each effort of minstrelsy was
accompanied by roars of laughter, and led to much
manual pleasantry. All swore they had never spent,
intellectually speaking, a more charming soiree, and
pitied me for being unable to enter thoroughly into
the spirit of the dialogue. Truly it is not only the
polished European, as was said of a certain travelling
notability, that lapses with facility into pristine
barbarism.
1 **Foyst" and "buss" are the names applied by old tra-
vellers to the half-decked vessels of these seas.
2 Holcus Sorghum, the common grain of Africa and Arabia :
the Somali call it Hirad ; the people of Yemen, Taam.
s The Somal being a people of less nervous temperament than
the Arabs and Indians, do not fear the moonlight.
Departure from Aden 23
I will now introduce you to my companions. The
managing man is one Mohammed Mahmud, 1 generally
called El Hammal or the porter : he is a Havildar
or sergeant in the Aden police, and was entertained
for me by Lieut. Dansey, an officer who unfortunately
was not " confirmed " in a political appointment at
Aden. The Hammal is a bull-necked, round-headed
fellow of lymphatic temperament, with a lamp-black
skin, regular features, and a pulpy figure two rarities
amongst his countrymen, who compare him to a
Banyan. An orphan in early youth, and becoming,
to use his own phrase, sick of milk, he ran away
from his tribe, the Habr Gerhajis, and engaged
himself as a coal-trimmer with the slaves on board
an Indian war-steamer. After rising in rank to the
command of the crew, he became servant and inter-
preter to travellers, visited distant lands Egypt and
Calcutta and finally settled as a Feringhee police-
man. He cannot read or write, but he has all the
knowledge to be acquired by fifteen or twenty years'
hard " knocking about " : he can make a long speech,
and, although he never prays, a longer prayer ; he
is an excellent mimic, and delights his auditors by
imitations and descriptions of Indian ceremony,
Egyptian dancing, Arab vehemence, Persian abuse,
European vivacity, and Turkish insolence. With
prodigious inventiveness, and a habit of perpetual
intrigue, acquired in his travels, he might be called
a " knowing " man, but for the truly Somali weakness
of showing in his countenance all that passes through
his mind. This people can hide nothing : the blank
eye, the contracting brow, the opening nostril and
the tremulous lip, betray, despite themselves, their
innermost thoughts.
The second servant whom I bring before you is
Guled, another policeman at Aden. He is a youth of
good family, belonging to the Ismail Arrah, the royal
dan of the great Habr Gerhajis tribe. His father
1 The first name is that of the individual, as the Christian name
with us, the second is that of the father ; in the Somali country,
as in India, they are not connected by the Arab " bia " son of,
24 First Footsteps in East Africa
was a man of property, and his brethren near Ber-
berah are wealthy Bedouins : yet he ran away from
his native country when seven or eight years old,
and became a servant in the house of a butter mer-
chant at Mocha. Thence he went to Aden, where
he began with private service, and ended his career
in the police. He is one of those long, live skeletons,
common amongst the Somal: his shoulders are
parallel with his ears, his ribs are straight as a
mummy's, his face has not an ounce of flesh upon it,
and his features suggest the idea of some lank bird :
we call him Long Guled, to which he replies with
the Yemen saying, "Length is Honour, even in
Wood." He is brave enough, because he rushes
into danger without reflection ; his great defects are
weakness of body and nervousness of temperament,
leading in times of peril to the trembling of hands,
the dropping of caps, and the mismanagement of
bullets : besides which, he cannot bear hunger, thirst,
or cold.
The third is one Abdy Abokr, also of the Habr
Gerhajis, a personage whom, from his smattering of
learning and his prodigious rascality, we call the Mulla
" End of Time/' 1 He is a man about forty, very
old-looking for his age, with small, deep-set, cunning
eyes, placed close together ; a hook nose, a thin beard,
a bulging brow, scattered teeth, 2 and a short, scant
figure, remarkable only for length of back. His gait
is stealthy, like a cat's, and he has a villainous grin.
This worthy never prays, and can neither read nor
write ; but he knows a chapter or two of the Koran,
recites audibly a long Ratib or task, morning and
evening, 3 whence, together with his store of hashed
1 Abdy is an abbreviation of Abdullah ; Abokr, a corruption
of Abubekr. The " End of Time " alludes to the prophesied
corruption of the Moslem priesthood in the last epoch of the
world.
2 This peculiarity is not uncommon amongst the Somal; it is
considered by them a sign of warm temperament.
3 The Moslem should first recite the Farz prayers, or those
ordered in the Koran ; secondly, the Sunnat or practice of the
Prophet ; and thirdly, the Nafilah or Supererogatory. The Ratib
Departure from Aden 25
Hadis (tradition), he derives the title of Widad or
hedge-priest. His tongue, primed with the satirical
sayings of Abn Zayd el Helali and Hurnayd ibn
Mansur, 1 is the terror of men upon whom repartee
imposes. His father was a wealthy shipowner in his
day ; but, cursed with Abdy and another son, the
old man has lost all his property, his children have
deserted him, and he now depends entirely upon the
charity of the Zayla chief. The "End of Time"
has squandered considerable sums in travelling far
and wide from Harar to Cutch; he has managed
everywhere to perpetrate some peculiar villainy. He
is a pleasant companion, and piques himself upon
that power of quotation which in the East makes a
polite man. If we be disposed to hurry, he insinuates
that " Patience is of Heaven, Haste of Hell." When
roughly addressed, he remarks
*' There are cures for the hurts of lead and steel,
But the wounds of the tongue they never heal ! "
If a grain of rice adhere to our beards, he says
smilingly, " The gazelle is in the garden ; " to which
we reply, " We will hunt her with the five." 2 Despite
these merits, I hesitated to engage him, till assured
by the governor of Zayla that he was to be looked
upon as a son, and, moreover, that he would bear
with him one of those state secrets to an influential
chief which in this country are never committed to
paper. I found him an admirable buffoon, skilful
in filling pipes and smoking them ; au reste, an in-
dividual of " many words and little work," infinite
intrigue, cowardice, cupidity, and endowed with a
truly evil tongue.
The morning sun rose hot upon us, showing
or self-imposed task is the last of all ; our Mulla placed it first,
because he could chaunt it upon his mule within hearing of the
people.
1 Two modern poets and wits well known in Yemen.
2 That is to say, "we will remove it with the five fingers."
These are euphuisms to avoid speaking broadly and openly of
that venerable feature, the beard.
26 First Footsteps in East Africa
Mayyum and Zubah, the giant staples of the " Gate
under the Pleiades/' * Shortly afterwards we came
in sight of the Barr el Ajam (barbarian land), as the
Somal call their country 2 a low, glaring flat of yellow
sand, desert and heat-reeking, tenanted by the Eesa,
and a meet habitat for savages. Such to us, at least,
appeared the land of Adel. 8 At midday we descried
the Ras el Bir Headland of the Well the promon-
tory which terminates the bold Tajurrah range, under
which lie the sleeping waters of the Maiden's Sea. 4
During the day we rigged out an awning, and sat
in the shade smoking and chatting merrily, for the
weather was not much hotter than on English summer
seas. Some of the crew tried praying ; but prostra-
tions are not easily made on board ship, and El
Islam, as Umar shrewdly suspected, was not made
for a seafaring race. At length the big red sun sank
slowly behind the curtain of sky-blue rock, where
lies the not yet " combusted J> village of Tajurrah. 5
1 Bab el Mandeb is called as above by Humayd from its as-
tronomical position. Jebel Mayyum is in Africa, Jebel Zubah
or Muayyin, celebrated as the last resting-place of a great saint,
Shaykh Said, is in Arabia.
2 Ajam properly means all nations not Arab. In Egypt and
Central Asia it is now confined to Persians. On the west of
the Red Sea, it is invariably used to denote the Somali country :
thence Bruce draws the Greek and Latin name of the coast,
Azamia, and De Sacy derives the word "Ajan," which in our
maps is applied to the inner regions of the Eastern Horn. So
in Africa, El Sham, which properly means Damascus and Syria,
is applied to El Hejaz.
3 Adel, according to M. Krapf, derived its name from the Ad
All, a tribe of the Afar or Danakil nation, erroneously used by
Arab synecdoche for the whole race. Mr. Johnston (Travels
in Southern Abyssinia, ch. i.) more correctly derives it from
Adule, a city which, as proved by the monument which bears
its name, existed in the days of Ptolemy Euergetes (B.C. 247-
222), had its own dynasty, and boasted of a conqueror who over-
came the Troglodytes, Sabseans, Homerites, &c., and pushed
his conquests as far as the frontier of Egypt. Mr. Johnston,
however, incorrectly translates Barr el Ajam *' land of fire," and
seems to confound Avalites and Adulis.
4 Bahr el Banatin, the Bay of Tajurrah.
* A certain German missionary, well known in this part of
the world, exasperated by the seizure of a few dollars and a
claim to the droit <Faufaiiu t advised the authorities of Aden to
Departure from Aden 27
We lay down to rest with the light of day, and had
the satisfaction of closing our eyes upon a fair though
captious breeze.
On the morning of the 3ist October we entered
the Zayla Creek, which gives so much trouble to
native craft. We passed, on the right, the low Island
of Masha, belonging to the " City of the Slave Mer-
chant " Tajurrah and on the left two similar
patches of seagirt sand, called Abyat and Saad el
Din. These places supply Zayla, in the Kharif or
hot season, 1 with thousands of gulls' eggs a great
luxury. At noon we sighted our destination. Zayla
is the normal African port a strip of sulphur-
yellow sand, with a deep blue dome above, and a
foreground of the darkest indigo. The buildings,
raised by refraction, rose high, and apparently from
the bosom of the deep. After hearing the worst
accounts of it, I was pleasantly disappointed by the
spectacle of whitewashed houses and minarets, peer-
ing above a long, low line of brown wall, flanked
with round towers.
As we slowly threaded the intricate coral reefs of
the port, a bark came scudding up to us ; it tacked,
and the crew proceeded to give news in roaring tones.
Friendship between the Amir of Harar and the
governor of Zayla had been broken ; the road through
the Eesa Somal had been closed by the murder of
Masud, a favourite slave and adopted son of Shar-
markay ; all strangers had been expelled the city
for some misconduct by the Harar chief ; moreover,
smallpox was raging there with such violence that
the Galla peasantry would allow neither ingress nor
egress. 2 I had the pleasure of reflecting for some
threaten the "combustion" of Tajurrah. The measure would
have been equally unjust and unwise. A traveller, even a lay-
man, is bound to put up peaceably with such trifles ; and to
threaten "combustion" without being prepared to carry out the
threat is the readiest way to secure contempt.
1 The Kharif in most parts of the Oriental world corresponds
with our autumn. In Eastern Africa it invariably signifies the
hot season preceding the monsoon rains.
2 The circumstances of Masud's murder were truly African.
The slave caravans from Abyssinia to Tajurrah were usually
28 First Footsteps in East Africa
time, dear L., upon the amount of responsibility
incurred by using the phrase " I will " ; and the
only consolation that suggested itself was the stale
assurance that
"Things at the worst most surely mend."
No craft larger than a canoe can ride near Zayla.
After bumping once or twice against the coral reefs,
it was considered advisable for our good ship the
Sahalah to cast anchor. My companions caused me
to dress, put me with my pipe and other necessaries
into a cock-boat, and, wading through the water,
shoved it to shore. Lastly, at Bab el Sahil, the
Seaward or Northern Gate, they proceeded to array
themselves in the bravery of clean Tobes and long
daggers strapped round the waist; each man also
slung his targe to his left arm, and in his right hand
grasped lance and javelin. At the gate we were
received by a tall black spearsman with a " Ho there !
to the governor " ; and a crowd of idlers gathered
to inspect the strangers. Marshalled by the warder,
we traversed the dusty roads streets they could not
be called of the old Arab town, ran the gauntlet of
a gaping mob, and finally entering a mat door, found
ourselves in the presence of the governor.
I had met Sharmarkay at Aden, where he received
from the authorities strong injunctions concerning
my personal safety: the character of a Moslem
escorted by the Rer Guleni, a clan of the great Eesa tribe, and
they monopolised the profits of the road. Summoned to share
their gains with their kinsmen generally, they refused, upon which
the other clans rose about August 1854, and cut off the road.
A large caravan was travelling down in two bodies, each of nearly
300 slaves ; the Eesa attacked the first division, carried off the
wives and female slaves, whom they sold for ten dollars a head,
and savagely mutilated upwards of 100 wretched boys. This
event caused the Tajurrah line to be permanently closed. The
Rer Guleni, in wrath, at once murdered Masud, a peaceful traveller,
because Inna Handun, his Abban or protector, was of the party
who had attacked ^their prote^s : they came upon him suddenly
as he was purchasing some article, and stabbed him in the back
before he could defend himself.
Departure from Aden 29
merchant, however, requiring us to appear strangers,
an introduction by our master of ceremonies, the
Hammal, followed my entrance. Sharmarkay was
living in an apartment by no means splendid, pre-
ferring an Arish or kind of cow-house as the Anglo-
Indian Nabobs do the bungalow
" with mat half hung,
The walls of plaster and the floors of ****,
to all his substantial double-storied houses. The
ground was wet and comfortless ; a part of the reed
walls was lined with cots bearing mattresses and silk-
covered pillows, a cross between a divan and a couch :
the only ornaments were a few weapons, and a
necklace of gaudy beads suspended near the door.
I was placed upon the principal seat ; on the right
were the governor and the Hammal, whilst the lowest
portion of the room was occupied by Mohammed
Sharmarkay, the son and heir. The rest of the com-
pany squatted upon chairs, or rather stools, of
peculiar construction. Nothing could be duller than
this assemblee : pipes and coffee are here unknown ;
and there is nothing in the East to act substitute for
them. 1
The governor of Zayla, El Hajj Sharmarkay bin
Ali Salih, is rather a remarkable man. He is six-
teenth, according to his own account, in descent from
Ishak el Hazrami, 2 the saintly founder of the great
1 In Zayla there is not a single coffee-house. The settled
Somal care little for the Arab beverage, and the Bedouins' reasons
for avoiding it are not bad. *' If we drink coffee once," they say,
" we shall want it again, and then where are we to get it ? *' The
Abyssinian Christians, probably to distinguish themselves from
Moslems, object to coffee as well as to tobacco. The Gallas, on
the other hand, eat it : the powdered bean is mixed with butter,
and on forays a lump about the size of a billiard-ball is preferred
to a substantial meal.
2 The following genealogical table was given to me by
Mohammed Sharmarkay:
1. Ishak (ibn Ahmed ibn Abdillah).
2. Gerhajis (his eldest son).
3. Said (the eldest son ; Daud being the second).
4. Arrah (also the eldest ; Hi, ".*. Ali, being the second).
30 First Footsteps in East Africa
Gerhajis and Awal tribes. His enemies derive him
from a less illustrious stock; and the fairness of
his complexion favours the report that his -grand-
father Salih was an Abyssinian slave. Originally the
Nacoda or captain of a native craft, he has raised
himself, chiefly by British influence, to the chieftain-
ship of his tribe. 1 As early as May 1825 he received
from Captain Bagnold, then our resident at Mocha,
a testimonial and a reward for a severe sword wound
in the left arm, received whilst defending the lives
of English seamen. 2 He afterwards went to Bombay,
where he was treated with consideration ; and about
fifteen years ago he succeeded the Sayyid Mohammed
el Barr as governor of Zayla and its dependencies,
under the Ottoman Pasha in Western Arabia.
The Hajj Sharmarkay in his youth was a man of
valour : he could not read or write ; but he carried
in battle four spears, 3 and his sword-cut was recog-
5. Musa (the third son : the eldest was Ismail ; then, in suc-
cession, Ishak, Misa, Mikahil, Gambah, Dandan, &c.).
6. Ibrahim.
7. Fikih (M. Fakih). 12. AH.
8. Adan (i.e. Adam). 13. Awaz.
9. Mohammed. 14. Salih.
10. Hamid. 15. AH.
11. Jibril (Le. Jibrail). 1 6. Sharmarkay.
The last is a peculiarly Somali name, meaning " one who sees no
harm " Shar-ma-arkay.
1 Not the hereditary chieftainship of the Habr Gerhajis, which
belongs to a particular clan.
2 The following is a copy of the document :
" This Testimonial,
together with an Honorary Dress, is presented by the British
Resident at Mocha to Nagoda Shurmakey Ally Sumaulley, in
token of esteem and regard for his humane and gallant conduct
at the Port of Burburra, on the coast of Africa, April 10, 1825,
in saving the lives of Captain William Lingard, chief officer of
the Brig Mary Anne t when that vessel was attacked and plun-
dered by the natives. The said Nagoda is therefore strongly
recommended to the notice and good offices of Europeans in
general, but particularly so to all English gentlemen visiting
these seas."
3 Two spears being the usual number; the difficulty of three
or four would mainly consist in their management during action.
Departure from Aden 31
nisable. He is now a man about sixty years old, at
least six feet two inches in stature, large-limbed, and
raw-boned : his leanness is hidden by long wide robes.
He shaves his head and upper lip Shafei-fashion, and
his beard is represented by a ragged tuft of red-
stained hair on each side of his chin. A visit to
Aden and a doctor cost him one eye, and the other
is now white with age. His dress is that of an Arab,
and he always carries with him a broad-bladed,
silver-hilted sword. Despite his years, he is a strong,
active, and energetic man, ever looking to the (( main
chance." With one foot in the grave, he meditates
nothing but the conquest of Harar and Berberah,
which, making him master of the seaboard, would
soon extend his power as in days of old even to
Abyssinia, 1 To hear his projects, you would fancy
them the offspring of a brain in the prime of youth :
in order to carry them out he would even assist in
suppressing the profitable slave-trade. 2
After half-an-hour's visit I was led by the Hajj
1 In July, 1855, the Hajj Sharmarkay was deposed by the
Turkish Pasha of Hodaydah, ostensibly for failing to keep some
road open, or, according to others, for assisting to plunder a
caravan belonging to the Dankali tribe. It was reported that
he had been made a prisoner, and the Political Resident at Aden
saw the propriety of politely asking the Turkish authorities to
** be easy " upon the old man. In consequence of this repre-
sentation, he was afterwards allowed, on paying a fine of 3000
dollars, to retire to Aden.
1 deeply regret that the Hajj should have lost his government.
He has ever clung to the English party, even in sore temptation.
A few years ago, the late M. Rochet (soi-disant d'Hericourt),
French agent at Jeddah, paying treble its value, bought from
Mohammed Sharmarkay, in the absence of the Hajj, a large stone
house, in order to secure a footing at Zayla. The old man broke
otf the bargain on his return, knowing how easily an Agency
becomes a Fort, and preferring a considerable loss to the presence
of dangerous friends.
2 During my residence at Zayla few slaves were imported,
owing to the main road having been closed. In former years
the market was abundantly stocked ; the numbers annually
shipped to Mocha, Hodaydah, Jeddah, and Berberah, varied from
600 to 1000. The Hajj received as duty one gold "Kirsh/* of
about three-fourths of a dollar, per head.
32 First Footsteps in East Africa
through the streets of Zayla, 1 to one of Ms substantial
houses of coralline and mud plastered over with
glaring whitewash. The ground floor is a kind of
warehouse full of bales and boxes, scales and buyers.
A flight of steep steps leads into a long room with
shutters to exclude the light, floored with tamped
1 Zayla, called Audal or Auzal by the Soraal, is a town about
the size of Suez, built for 3000 or 4000 inhabitants, and con-
taining a dozen large whitewashed stone houses, and upwards
of 200 Arish or thatched huts, each surrounded by a fence of
wattle and matting. The situation is a low and level spit of sand,
which high tides make almost an island. There is no harbour:
a vessel of 250 tons cannot approach within a mile of the landing-
place; the open roadstead is exposed to the terrible north wind,
and when gales blow from the west and south, it is almost un-
approachable. Every ebb leaves a sandy flat, extending half a
mile seaward from the town ; the reefy anchorage is difficult of
entrance after sunset, and the coralline bottom renders wading
painful.
The shape of this once celebrated town is a tolerably regular
parallelogram, of which the long sides run frorn east to west.
The walls, without guns or embrasures, are built, like the houses,
of coralline rubble and mud, in places dilapidated. There are
five gates. The Bab el Sahil and the Bab el Jadd (a new postern)
open upon the sea from the northern wall. At the Ashurbara, in
the southern part of the enceinte, the Bedouins encamp, and above
it the governor holds his Durbar. The Bab Abd el Kadir^ derives
its name from a saint buried outside and eastward of the city, and
the Bab el Saghir is pierced in the western wall.
The public edifices are six mosques, including the Jami, or
cathedral, for Friday prayer: these buildings have queer little
crenelles on whitewashed walls, and a kind of elevated summer-
house to represent the minaret. Near one of them are remains
of a circular Turkish Munar, manifestly of modern construction,
There is no Mahkamah or Kazi's court : that dignitary transacts
business at his own house, and the Festival prayers are recited
near the Saint's Tomb outside the eastern gate. The north-east
angle of the town is occupied by a large graveyard with the usual
deleterious consequences.
The climate of Zayla is cooler than that of Aden, and, the site
being open all around, it is not so unhealthy. Much spare room
is enclosed by the town walls ; evaporation and Nature's scavengers
act succedanea for sewerage.
Zayla commands the adjacent harbour of Tajurrah, and is by
position the northern port of Aussa (the ancient capital of Adel)
of Harar, and of southern Abyssinia : the feuds of the rulers have,
however, transferred the main trade to Berberah. It sends caravans
northwards to the Dankali, and south-westwards, through ^the
Eesa and Gudabirsi tribes as far as Efat and Gurague. It is visited
Departure from Aden 33
earth, full of " evening flyers/' l and destitute of
furniture. Parallel to it are three smaller apart-
ments ; and above is a terraced roof, where they
by Cafilas from Abyssinia, and the different races of Bedouins,
extending from the hills to the seaboard. The exports are valuable
slaves, ivory, hides, honey, antelope horns, clarified butter, and
gums : the coast abounds in sponge, coral, and small pearls, which
Arab divers collect in the fair season. In the harbour I found
about twenty native craft, large and small : of these, ten belonged
to the governor. They trade with Berberah, Arabia, and Western
India, and are navigated by " Rajput" or Hindu pilots.
Provisions at Zayla are cheap; a family of six persons live
well for about ^"30. per annum. The general food is mutton : a
large sheep costs one dollar, a small one half the price ; camels'
meat, beef, and in winter kid, abound. Fish is rare, and fowls
are not commonly eaten. Holcus, when dear, sells^ at forty
pounds per dollar, at seventy pounds when cheap. It is usually
levigated with slab and roller, and made into sour cakes. Some,
however, prefer the Arab form "balilah," boiled and mixed
with ghee. Wheat and rice are imported : the price varies from
forty to sixty pounds the Riyal or dollar. Of the former grain
the people make a sweet cake called Sabaya, resembling the
Fatirah of Egypt : a favourite dish also is"harisah" flesh, rice
flour, and boiled wheat, all finely pounded and mixed together.
Milk is not procurable during the hot weather ; after rain every
house is full of it ; the Bedouins bring it in skins and sell it for
a nominal sum.
Besides a large floating population, Zayla contains about 1500
souls. They are comparatively a fine race of people, and suffer
from little but fever and an occasional ophthalmia. Their greatest
hardship is the want of the pure element: the Hissi, or well, is
about four miles distant from the town, and all the pits within
the walls supply brackish or bitter water, fit only for external use.
This is probably the reason why vegetables are unknown, and
why a horse, a mule, or even a dog, is not to be found in the
place.
1 " Fid-mer," or the evening flyer, is the Somali name for a bat.
These little animals are not disturbed in houses, because they
keep off flies and mosquitoes, the plagues of the Somali country.
Flies abound in the very jungles wherever cows have been, and
settle in swarms upon the traveller. Before the monsoon their
bite is painful, especially that of the small green species ; and
there is a red variety called " Diksi as," whose venom, according
to the people, causes them to vomit. The latter abounds in Gulays
and the hill ranges of the Berberah country: it is innocuous
during the cold season. The mosquito bites bring on, according
to the same authority, deadly fevers: the superstition probably
arises from the fact that mosquitoes and fevers become formidable
about the same time.
C
34 First Footsteps in East Africa
who fear not the dew and the land-breeze sleep. 1 I
found a room duly prepared ; the ground was spread
with mats, and cushions against the walls denoted
the Divan : for me was placed a Kursi or cot, covered
with fine Persian rugs and gaudy silk and satin
pillows. The Hajj installed us with ceremony, and
insisted, despite my remonstrances, upon occupying
the floor whilst I sat on the raised seat. After usher-
ing in supper, he considerately remarked that tra-
velling is fatiguing, and left us to sleep.
The well-known sounds of El Islam returned from
memory. Again the melodious chant of the Muezzin
no evening bell can compare with it for solemnity
and beauty and in the neighbouring mosque, the
loudly intoned Amin and Allaho Akbar far superior
to any organ rang in my ear. The evening gun of
camp was represented by the Nakkarah, or kettle-
drum, sounded about 7 P.M. at the southern gate ;
and at ten a second drumming warned the pater-
familias that it was time for home, and thieves,
and lovers that it was the hour for bastinado.
Nightfall was ushered in by the song, the dance, and
the marriage festival here no permission is required
for " native music in the lines " and muffled figures
flitted mysteriously through the dark alleys.
After a peep through the open window, I fell
asleep, feeling once more at home.
1 Such a building at Zayla would cost at most 500 dollars.
At Aden, 2000 rupees, or nearly double the sum, would be paid
for a matted shed, which excludes neither sun, nor wind, nor
rain.
CHAPTER II
LIFE IN ZAYLA
I WILL not weary yon, dear L., with descriptions
of twenty-six quiet, similar, uninteresting days days
of sleep, and pipes, and coffee spent at Zayla, whilst
a route was traced out, guides were propitiated, camels
were bought, mules sent for, and all the wearisome
greliminaries of African travel were gone through,
ut a journee in the Somali country may be a novelty
to you : its events shall be succinctly depicted.
With earliest dawn we arise, thankful to escape
from mosquitoes and close air. We repair to the
terrace where devotions are supposed to be performed,
and busy ourselves in watching our neighbours. Two
in particular engage my attention : sisters by different
mothers. The daughter of an Indian woman is a
young person of fast propensities her chocolate-
coloured skin, long hair, and parrot-like profile 1 are
much admired by the elegants of Zayla ; and she
coquettes by combing, dancing, singing, and slapping
the slave-girls, whenever an adorer may be looking.
We sober-minded men, seeing her, quote the well-
known lines
1 * Without justice a king is a cloud without rain ;
Without goodness a sage is a field without fruit ;
Without manners a youth is a bridleless horse ;
Without lore an old man is a waterless wady ;
Without modesty woman is bread without salt."
The other is a matron of Abyssinian descent, as
her skin, scarcely darker than a gipsy's, her long and
1 This style of profile highly oval, with the chin and brow
receding is very conspicuous in Eastern Africa, where the face,
slightly prognathous, projects below the nose.
35
36 First Footsteps in East Africa
bright blue Met, and her gaudily fringed dress
denote. She tattoos her face : l a livid line extends
from her front hair to the tip of her nose ; between
her eyebrows is an ornament resembling a fleur-de-
lis, and various beauty-spots adorn the corners of
her mouth and the fiats of her countenance. She
passes her day superintending the slave-girls and
weaving mats, 2 the worsted work of this part of the
world. We soon made acquaintance, as far as an
exchange of salams. I regret, however, to say that
there was some scandal about my charming neigh-
bour ; and that more than once she was detected
making signals to distant persons with her hands. 3
At 6 A.M. we descend to breakfast, which usually
consists of sour grain cakes and roast mutton at
this hour a fine trial of health and cleanly living. A
napkin is passed under my chin, as if I were a small
child, and a sound scolding is administered when
appetite appears deficient. Visitors are always asked
to join us : we squat on the uncarpeted floor, round
a circular stool, eat hard, and never stop to drink.
The appetite of Africa astonishes us ; we dispose of
six ounces here for every one in Arabia probably
the effect of sweet water, after the briny produce of
the " Eye of Yemen." We conclude this early break-
fast with coffee and pipes, and generally return, after
it, to the work of sleep.
Then, provided with some sanctified Arabic book,
I prepare for the reception of visitors. They come
in by dozens no man having apparently any business
to occupy him doff their slippers at the door, enter
1 Gall-nuts form the base of the tattooing dye. It is worked in
with a needle, when it becomes permanent : applied with a pen, it
requires to be renewed about once a fortnight.
a Mats are the staple manufacture in Eastern, as in many parts
of Western, Africa. The material is sometimes Daum or other
palm : there are, however, many plants in more common use ;
they are made of every variety in shape and colour, and are dyed
red, black, and yellow madder from Tajurrah and alum being
the matter principally used.
3 When woman addresses woman she always uses her
voice.
Life in Zayla 37
wrapped up in their Tobes or togas, 1 and deposit
their spears, point-upwards, in the corner ; those who
have swords the mark of respectability in Eastern
Africa place them at their feet. They shake the
full hand (I was reproved for offering the fingers
only) ; and when politely disposed, the inferior wraps
his fist in the hem of his garment. They have
nothing corresponding with the European idea of
manners : they degrade all ceremony by the epithet
Shughl el banat, or " girls' work," and pique them-
selves upon downrightness of manner a favourite
mask, by the by, for savage cunning to assume.
But they are equally free from affectation, shyness,
and vulgarity ; and, after all, no manners are pre-
ferable to bad manners.
Sometimes we are visited at this hour by Mohammed
Sharmarkay, eldest son of the old governor. He is
in age about thirty, a fine tall figure, slender but
well knit, beardless and of light complexion, with
large eyes, and a length of neck which a lady might
covet. His only detracting feature is a slight pro-
jection of the oral region, that unmistakable proof
of African blood. His movements have the grace of
strength and suppleness : he is a good jumper, runs
1 The Tobe, or Abyssinian "Quarry," is the general garment
of Africa from Zayla to Bornou. In the Somali country it is a
cotton sheet eight cubits long, and two breadths sewn together.
An article of various uses, like the Highland plaid, it is worn in
many ways : sometimes the right arm is bared ; in cold weather
the whole person is muffled up, and in summer it is allowed to
fall below the waist. Generally it is passed behind the back, rests
upon the left shoulder, is carried forward over the breast, surrounds
the body, and ends hanging on the left shoulder, where it displays
a gaudy silk fringe of red and yellow. This is the man's Tobe.
The woman's dress is of similar material, but differently worn : the
edges are knotted generally over the right, sometimes over the
left shoulder ; it is girdled round the waist, below which hangs a
lappet, which in cold weather can be brought like a hood over the
head. Though highly becoming, and picturesque as the Roman
toga, the Somali Tobe is by no means the most decorous of dresses :
women in the towns often prefer the Arab costume a short-sleeved
robe extending to the knee, and a Futah or loin-cloth underneath.
As regards the word Tobe, it signifies, in Arabic, a garment
generally: the Somal call it "Maro," and the half Tobe a
" Shukkah."
38 First Footsteps in East Africa
well, throws the spear admirably, and is a tolerable
shot. Having received a liberal education at Mocha,
he is held a learned man by his fellow-countrymen.
Like his father he despises presents, looking higher ;
with some trouble I persuaded him to accept a
common map of Asia, and a revolver. His chief
interest was concentrated in books : he borrowed my
Abu Kasim to copy, 1 and was never tired of talking
about the religious sciences : he had weakened his
eyes by hard reading, and a couple of blisters were
sufficient to win his gratitude. Mohammed is now
the eldest son ; 2 he appears determined to keep up
the family name, having already married ten wives :
the issue, however, two infant sons, were murdered
by the Eesa Bedouins. Whenever he meets his
father in the morning he kisses his hand, and receives
a salute upon the forehead. He aspires to the
government of Zayla, and looks forward more reason-
ably "than the Hajj to the day when the possession
of Berberah will pour gold into his coffers. He
shows none of his father's " softness " : he advocates
the bastinado, and, to keep his people at a distance,
he has married an Arab wife, who allows no adult to
enter the doors. The Somal, Spaniardrlike, remark,
"He is one of ourselves, though a little richer ; "
but when times change and luck returns, they are
not unlikely to find themselves mistaken.
Amongst other visitors, we have the Amir el Bahr,
or Port Captain, and the Nakib el Askar (Commandant
de place), Mohammed Umax el Hamumi. This is one
of those Hazramaut adventurers so common in all
the countries bordering upon Arabia : they are the
Swiss of the East, a people equally brave and hardy,
frugal and faithful, as long as pay is regular. Feared
by the soft Indians and Africans for their hardness
1 Abu Kasim of Gaza, a well-known commentator upon Abu
Shujaa of Isfahan, who wrote a text- book of the Shafei school.
2 The Hajj had seven sons, three of whom died in infancy. Ali
and Mahmud, the latter a fine young man, fell victims to small-
pox : Mohammed is now the eldest, and the youngest is a child
called Ahmed, left for education at Mocha. The Hajj has also
two daughters, married to Bedouin Somal.
Life in Zayla 39
and determination, the common proverb concerning
them is, " If you meet a viper and a Hazrami, spare
the viper." Natives of a poor and rugged region,
they wander far and wide, preferring every country
to their own ; and it is generally said that the sun
rises not upon a land that does not contain a man
from Hazramaut. 1 This commander of an army of
forty men 2 often read out to us from the Kitab el
Anwar (the Book of Lights) the tale of Abu Jahl,
that Judas of El Islam made ridiculous. Sometimes
comes the Sayyid Mohammed el Barr, a stout person-
age, formerly governor of Zayla, and still ^ highly
respected by the people on account of his pure
pedigree. With him is the Fakih Adan, a savan of
ignoble origin. 3 When they appear the conversation
1 It is related that a Hazrami, flying from his fellow-countrymen,
reached a town upon the confines of China. He was about to
take refuge in a mosque, but entering, he stumbled over the
threshold. "Ya Amud el Din" "O Pillar of the. Faith!"
exclaimed a voice from the darkness, calling upon the patron
saint of Hazramaut to save a Moslem from falling. " May the
Pillar of the Faith break thy head," exclaimed the unpatriotic
traveller, at once rising to resume his vain peregrinations.
2 Mercenaries from Mocha, Hazramaut, and Bir Hamid near
Aden : they are armed with matchlock, sword, and dagger; and
each receives from the governor a monthly stipend of two dollars
and a half.
8 The system of caste which prevails in El Yemen, though not
in the northern parts of Arabia, is general throughout the Somali
country. The principal families of outcasts are the following :
The Yebir correspond with the Dushan of Southern Arabia : the
males are usually jesters to the chiefs, and both sexes take certain
parts at festivals, marriages, and circumcisions* The number is
said 10 be small, amounting to about 100 families in the northern
Somali country.
The Tomal or Handad, the blacksmiths, originally of Aydur
race, have become vile by intermarriage with serviles. They must
now wed maidens of their own class, and live apart from the
community: their magical practices are feared by the people
the connection of wits and witchcraft is obvious and all private
quarrels are traced to them. It has been observed that the black-
smith has ever been looked upon with awe by barbarians on the
same principle that made Vulcan a deity. In Abyssinia all
artisans are Budah, sorcerers, especially the blacksmith, and he
is a social outcast as among the Somal ; even in El Hejaz, a land,
unlike Yemen, opposed to distinctions amongst Moslems, the
4O First Footsteps in East Africa
becomes intensely intellectual : sometimes we dispute
religion, sometimes politics, at others history and
other humanities. Yet it is not easy to talk history
with a people who confound Miriam and Mary, or
politics to those whose only idea of a king is a robber
on a large scale, or religion to men who measure
excellence by forbidden meats, or geography to those
who represent the earth in this guise. Yet, though
few of our ideas are in common, there are many words ;
the verbosity of these anti-Laconic Oriental dialects l
Khalawiyah, who work in metal, are considered vile. Throughout
the rest of El Islam the blacksmith is respected as treading in the
path of David, the father of the craft.
The word " Tomal," opposed to Somal, is indigenous. " Han-
dad" is palpably a corruption of the Arabic "Haddad," iron-
worker.
The Midgan, "one-hand/* corresponds with the JChadim of
Yemen: he is called Kami or "archer" by the Arabs. There
are three distinct tribes of this people, who are numerous in the
Somali country: the best genealogists cannot trace their origin,
though some are silly enough to derive them, like the Akhdam,
from Shimr. All, however, agree in expelling the Midgan from
the gentle blood of Somaliland, and his position has been com-
pared to that of Freedman amongst the Romans. These people
take service under the different chiefs, who sometimes entertain
great numbers to aid in forays and frays ; they do not, however,
confine themselves to one craft. Many Midgans employ themselves
in hunting and agriculture. Instead of spear and shield, they carry-
bows and a quiver full of diminutive arrows, barbed and poisoned
with the Waba a weapon used from Faizoghli to the Cape of
Good Hope. Like the Veddah of Ceylon, the Midgan is a poor
shot, and scarcely strong enough to draw his stiff bow. He is
accused of maliciousness ; and the twanging of his string will put
to flight a whole village. The poison is greatly feared : it causes,
say the people, the hair and nails to drop off, and kills a man in
half-an-hour. The only treatment known is instant excision of
the part ; and this is done the more frequently, because here, as
in other parts of Africa, such stigmates are deemed ornamental.
In appearance the Midgan is dark and somewhat stunted ; he
is known to the people by peculiarities of countenance and accent.
1 The reason why Europeans fail to explain their thoughts to
Orientals generally is that they transfer the Laconism of Western
to Eastern tongues. We for instance say, "Fetch the book I gave
you last night." This in Hindostani, to choose a well-known
tongue, must be smothered with words thus: "What book was
by me given to you yesterday by night, that book bringing to me,
come 1 "
Life in Zayla 41
renders at least half the subject intelligible to the most
opposite thinkers. When the society is wholly Somal,
I write Arabic, copy some useful book, or extract from
it, as Bentley advised, what is fit to quote. When
Arabs are present, I usually read out a tale from
The Thousand and One Nights, that wonderful work,
so often translated, so much turned over, and so little
understood at home. The most familiar of books in
England, next to the Bible, it is one of the least known,
The mountain Kaf
the reason being that about one-fifth is utterly unfit
for translation ; and the most sanguine Orientalist
would not dare to render literally more than three-
quarters of the remainder. Consequently, the reader
loses the contrast the very essence of the book
between its brilliancy and clulness, its moral putre-
faction, and such pearls as
" Cast the seed of good works on the least fit soil.
Good is never wasted, however it may be laid out.'
And in a page or two after such divine sentiment,
the ladies of Bagdad sit in the porter's lap, and in-
dulge in a facetiousness which would have killed
Pietro Aretino before his time.
42 First Footsteps in East Africa
Often I am visited by the Topchi-Bashi, or master
of the ordnance half-a-dozen honeycombed guns
a wild fellow, Bashi Buzuk in the Hejaz and com-
mandant of artillery at Zayla. He shaves my head
on Fridays, and on other days tells me wild stories
about his service in the Holy Land ; how Kurdi
Usman slew his son-in-law, Ibn Rumi, and how
Turkcheh Bilmez would have murdered Mohammed
AH in his bed. 1 Sometimes the room is filled with
Arabs, Sayyids, merchants, and others settled in the
place : I saw nothing amongst them to justify the
oft-quoted saw, " Koraysh pride and Zayla's boast-
fulness." More generally the assembly is one of the
Somal, who talk in their own tongue, laugh, yell,
stretch their legs, and lie like cattle upon the floor,
smoking the common Hukkah, which stands in the
centre, industriously cleaning stheir teeth with sticks,
and eating snuff like Swedes. Meanwhile I occupy
the Kursi or couch, sometimes muttering from a book
to excite respect, or reading aloud for general infor-
mation, or telling fortunes by palmistry, or drawing
out a horoscope.
It argues " peculiarity," I own, to enjoy such a
life. In the first place, there is no woman's society :
El Islam seems purposely to have loosened the ties
between the sexes in order to strengthen the bonds
which connect man and man. 2 Secondly, your house
is by no means your castle. You must open your
doors to your friend at all hours ; if when inside it
suit him to sing, sing he will ; and until you learn
solitude in a crowd, or the art of concentration, you
are apt to become ennuye and irritable. You must
abandon your prejudices, and for a time cast off
all European prepossessions in favour of Indian
1 I have alluded to these subjects in a previous work upon the
subject of Meccah and El Medinah.
2 This is one of the stock complaints against the Moslem
schemes Yet is it not practically the case with ourselves? In
European society, the best are generally those who prefer the
companionship of their own sex; the "ladies' man' and the
woman who avoids women are rarely choice specimens.
Life in Zayla 43
politeness, Persian polish, Arab courtesy, or Turkish
dignity.
" They are as free as Nature e'er made man ; "
and he who objects to having his head shaved in
public, to seeing his friends combing their locks in
his sitting-room, to having his property unceremoni-
ously handled, or to being addressed familiarly by
a perfect stranger, had better avoid Somaliland.
You will doubtless, dear L., convict me, by my own
sentiments, of being an " amateur barbarian." You
must, however, remember that I visited Africa fresh
from Aden, with its dull routine of meaningless
parades and tiresome courts-martial, where society
is broken by ridiculous distinctions of staff-men
and regimental-men, Madras-men and Bombay-men,
" European " officers and " black " officers ; where
literature is confined to acquiring the art of explaining
yourself in the jargons of half -naked savages ; where
the business of life is comprised in ignoble official
squabbles, dislikes, disapprobations, and " references
to superior authority ; " where social intercourse is
crushed by " gup," gossip, and the scandal of small
colonial circles ; where pleasant predicament for
those who really love women's society ! it is scarcely
possible to address fair dame, preserving at the same
time her reputation and your own, and if seen with
her twice, all " camp " will swear it is an " affair " ;
where, briefly, the march of mind is at a dead halt,
and the march of matter is in double quick time to
the hospital or sick-quarters. Then the fatal struggle
for Name, and the painful necessity of doing the most
with the smallest materials for a reputation ! In
Europe there are a thousand grades of celebrity,
from statesmanship to taxidermy ; all, therefore, co-
exist without rivalry. Whereas, in these small
colonies, there is but one fame, and as that leads
directly to rupees and rank, no man willingly accords
it to his neighbour. And, finally, such semi-civilised
life abounds in a weary ceremoniousness. It is highly
improper to smoke outside your bungalow. You shall
44 First Footsteps in East Africa
pay your visits at 11 A.M., when the glass stands at
120. You shall be generally shunned if you omit
your waistcoat, no matter what the weather be. And
if you venture to object to these Median laws as
I am now doing you elicit a chorus of disapproval,
and acquire some evil name.
About ii A.M., when the fresh water arrives from
the Hissi or wells, the Haj j sends us dinner : mutton
stews, of exceeding greasiness, boiled rice, maize
cakes, sometimes fish, and generally curds or milk.
We all sit round a primitive form of the Round
Table, and I doubt that King Arthur's knights ever
proved doughtier trenchermen than do my com-
panions. We then rise to pipes and coffee, after
which, excluding visitors, my attendants apply them-
selves to a siesta, I to my journal and studies.
At 2 P.M. there is a loud clamour at the door :
if it be not opened in time, we are asked if we have
a Nazarene inside. Enters a crowd of visitors,
anxious to pass the afternoon. We proceed with
a copy of the forenoon till the sun declines, when
it is time to escape the flies, to repair to the terrace
for fresh air, or to dress for a walk. Generally
our direction is through the town eastwards, to a
plain of dilapidated graves and salt sand, peopled only
by land-crabs. At the extremity near the sea is a
little mosque of wattle-work : we sit there under the
shade, and play a rude form of draughts, called
Shantarah, or at Shahh, a modification of the former. 1
1 The Shantarah board is thus made, with twenty-five points
technically called houses. The players have twelve counters a
piece, and each places two at a time upon any of the unoccu-
pied angles, till all except the centre are filled up. The player
who did not begin the game must now move a man ; his object
is to inclose one of his adversary's between two of his own, in
Life in Zayla 4;
More often, eschewing these effeminacies, we shool
at a mark, throw the javelin, leap, or engage in some
gymnastic exercise. The favourite Somali weapons are
the spear, dagger, and war-club ; the bow and poisoned
arrows are peculiar to the servile class, who know
" the dreadful art
To taint with deadly drugs the barbed dart ; "
and the people despise, at the same time that they
fear firearms, declaring them to be cowardly weapons l
with which the poltroon can slay the bravest.
which case he removes it t and is entitled to continue moving
till he can no longer take. It is a game of some skill, and per-
petual practice enables the Somal to play it as the Persians do
backgammon, with great art and little reflection. The game is
called Kurkabod when, as in our draughts, the piece passing
over one of the adversary's takes it.
Shahh is another favourite game. The board is made thus, and
the pieces as at Shantarah are twelve in number. The object L
to place three men in line as the German Miihle and the Afghan
"Kitar " when any one of the adversary's pieces may be removed.
Children usually prefer the game called indifferently Togantog
and Saddikiya. A double line of five or six holes is made in
the ground, four counters are placed in each, and when in the
course of play four men meet in the same hole, one of the
adversary's is removed. It resembles the Bornou game, played
with beans and holes in the sand. Citizens and the more
civilised are fond of "Bakkis," which, as its name denotes, is a
corruption of the well-known Indian Pachisi. None but the
travelled know chess, and the Damal (draughts) and Tavola
(backgammon) of the Turks.
1 The same objection against "villainous saltpetre" was made
by ourselves in times of old: the French knights called gun-
powder the Grave of Honour. This is natural enough, the
bravest weapon being generally the shortest that which places a
man hand to hand with his opponent. Some of the Kafir tribes
have discontinued throwing the Assegai, and enter battle wielding
it as a pike. Usually, also, the shorter the weapon is, the more
fatal are the conflicts in which it is employed. The old French
"Briquet," the Afghan "Charay," and the Goorka "Kukkri,"
exemplify this fact in the history of arms.
46 First Footsteps in East Africa
The Somali spear is a form of the Cape Assegai.
A long, thin, pliant and knotty shaft of the Dibi,
Dibtab, and Makari trees is dried, polished, and
greased with rancid butter : it is generally of a dull
yellow colour, and sometimes bound, as in Arabia,
with brass wire for ornament. Care is applied to
make the rod straight, or the missile flies crooked .'
it is garnished with an iron button at the head, and
a long thin tapering head of coarse bad iron, 1 made
at Berberah and other places by the Tomal. The
length of the shaft may be four feet eight inches ;
the blade varies from twenty to twenty-six inches,
and the whole weapon is about seven feet long.
Some polish the entire spear-head, others only its
socket or ferule ; commonly, however, it is all
blackened by heating it to redness, and rubbing it
with cow's horn. In the towns, one of these weapons
is carried ; on a journey and in battle two, as
amongst the Tibboos a small javelin for throwing
and a large spear reserved for the thrust. Some
warriors, especially amongst the Eesa, prefer a coarse
heavy lance, which never leaves the hand. The
Somali spear is held in various ways : generally the
thumb and forefinger grasp the third nearest to the
head, and the shaft resting upon the palm is made
to quiver. In action, the javelin is rarely thrown at
a greater distance than six or seven feet, and the
heavier weapon is used for " jobbing." Stripped to
his waist, the thrower runs forward with all the
action of a Kafir, whilst the attacked bounds about
and crouches to receive it upon the round targe,
which it cannot pierce. He then returns the com-
pliment, at the same time endeavouring to break the
weapon thrown at him by jumping and stamping
upon it. The harmless missiles being exhausted, both
combatants draw their daggers, grapple with the left
hand, and with the right dig hard and swift at each
other's necks and shoulders. When matters come to
this point, the duel is soon decided, and the victor,
1 In the latter point it differs from the Assegai, which is worked
by the Kafirs to the finest temper,
Life in Zayla 47
howling his slogan, pushes away from his front the
dying enemy, and rushes off to find another opponent.
A puerile weapon during the day, when a steady man
can easily avoid it, the spear is terrible in night
attacks or in the " bush/' whence it can be hurled
unseen. For practice, we plant a pair of slippers
upright in the ground, at the distance of twelve
yards, and a skilful spearman hits the mark once in
every three throws.
The Somali dagger is an iron blade about eighteen
inches long by two in breadth, pointed and sharp
at both edges. The handle is of buffalo or other
horn, with a double scoop to fit the grasp ; and at
the hilt is a conical ornament of zinc. It is worn
strapped round the waist by a thong sewed to the
sheath, and long enough to encircle the body twice :
the point is to the right, and the handle projects on
the left. When in town, the Somal wear their
daggers under the Tobe : in battle, the strap is girt
over the cloth to prevent the latter being lost. They
always stab from above : this is as it should be, a
thrust with a short weapon " underhand " may be
stopped, if the adversary have strength enough to
hold the stabber's forearm. The thrust is parried with
the shield, and a wound is rarely mortal except in the
back : from the great length of the blade, the least
movement of the man attacked causes it to fall upon
the shoulder-blade.
The " Budd," or Somali club, resembles the Kafir
" Tonga." It is a knobstick about a cubit long,
made of some hard wood : the head is rounded on
the inside, and the outside is cut to an edge. In
quarrels, it is considered a harmless weapon, and is
often thrown at the opponent and wielded viciously
enough where the spear point would carefully be
directed at the buckler. The Gashan or shield is
a round targe about eighteen inches in diameter j
some of the Bedouins make it much larger. Rhino-
ceros* skin being rare, the usual material is common
bull's hide, or, preferably, that of the Oryx, called
by the Arabs Waal, and by the Somal, Baid, These
48 First Footsteps in East Africa
shields are prettily cut, and are always protected
when new with a covering of canvas. The boss in
the centre easily turns a spear, and the strongest
throw has very little effect even upon the thinnest
portion. When not used, the Gashan is slung up^on
the left forearm : during battle, the handle, which
is in the middle, is grasped by the left hand, and held
out at a distance from the body.
We are sometimes joined in our exercises by the
Arab mercenaries, who are far more skilful than the
SomaL The latter are unacquainted with the sword,
and cannot defend themselves against it with the
targe ; they know little of dagger practice, and were
beaten at their own weapon, the javelin, by the
children of Bir Hamid. Though unable to jump for
the honour of the turban, I soon acquired the reputa-
tion of being the strongest man in Zayla : this is
perhaps the easiest way of winning respect from a
barbarous people, who honour body, and degrade
mind to mere cunning.
When tired of exercise we proceed round the walls
to the Ashurbara or Southern Gate. Here boys play
at " hockey " with sticks and stones energetically as
in England: they are fine manly specimens of the
race, but noisy and impudent, like all young savages.
At two years of age they hold out the right hand for
sweetmeats, and if refused become insolent. The
citizens amuse themselves with the ball, 1 at which
they play roughly as Scotch linkers : they are divided
into two parties, bachelors and married men ; acci-
dents often occur, and no player wears any but the
scantiest clothing, otherwise he would retire from
the conflict in rags. The victors sing and dance
about the town for hours, brandishing their spears,
shouting their slogans, boasting of ideal victories
the Abyssinian Donfatu, or war-vaunt and ad-
vancing in death-triumph with frantic gestures : a
1 It is called by the Arabs Kubabah, by the Somal Goasa.
Johnston (Travels in Southern Abyssinia,, chap. viii.)has described
the game; he errs, however, in supposing it peculiar to the
Dankali tribes.
Life in Zayla 49
battle won would be celebrated with less circumstance
in Europe. This is the effect of no occupation the
primum mobile of the Indian prince's kite-flying and
all the puerilities of the pompous East.
We usually find an encampment of Bedouins
outside the gate Their tents are worse than any
gipsy's, low, smoky, and of the rudest construction.
These people are a spectacle of savageness. Their
huge heads of shock hair, dyed red and dripping with
butter, are garnished with a Firin, or long three-
pronged comb, a stick, which acts as scratcher when
the owner does not wish to grease his fingers, and
sometimes with the ominous ostrich feather, showing
that the wearer has " killed his man " : a soiled and
ragged cotton cloth covers their shoulders, and a
similar article is wrapped round their loins. 1 All
wear coarse sandals, and appear in the bravery of
targe, spear, and dagger. Some of the women would
be pretty did they not resemble the men in their
scowling, Satanic expression of countenance : they are
decidedly en deshabille, but a black skin always
appears a garb. The cantonment is surrounded by
asses, camels, and a troop of naked Flibertigibbets,
who dance and jump in astonishment whenever they
see me : " The white man ! the white man ! " they
shriek ; " run away, run away, or we shall be
eaten ! " 2 On one occasion, however, my amour
firopre was decidedly flattered by the attentions of
a small black girl, apparently four or five years old,
who followed me through the streets ejaculating, " Wa
Wanaksan ! " " O fine ! " The Bedouins, despite
their fierce scowls, appear good-natured ; the women
flock out of the huts to stare and laugh, the men to
look and wonder. I happened once to remark, " Lo,
we come forth to look at them and they look at us ;
we gaze at their complexion and they gaze at ours ! "
1 This is in fact the pilgrim dress of El Islam ; its wide diffusion
to the eastward, as well as west of the Red Sea, proves its
antiquity as a popular dress.
2 I often regretted having neglected the precaution of a bottle
of walnut juice a white colour is decidedly too conspicuous in
this part of the East.
D
50 First Footsteps in East Africa
A Bedouin who understood Arabic translated this
speech to the others, and it excited great merriment.
In the mining counties of civilised England, where
the "genial brickbat" is thrown at the passing
stranger, or in enlightened Scotland, where hair a
few inches too long or a pair of mustachios justifies
" mobbing," it would have been impossible for me to
have mingled as I did with these wild people.
We must return before sunset, when the gates are
locked and the keys are carried to the Hajj, a vain
precaution, when a donkey could clear half-a-dozen
places in the town wall The call to evening prayer
sounds as we enter : none of my companions pray, 1
but all when asked reply in the phrase which an
Englishman hates, " Inshallah Bukra " "if Allah
please, to-morrow ! " and they have the decency
not to appear in public at the hours of devotion.
The Somal, like most Africans, are of a somewhat
irreverent turn of mind. 2 When reproached with
1 The strict rule of the Moslem faith is this: if a man neglect
to pray, lie is solemnly warned to repent. Should he simply refuse,
without, however, disbelieving in prayer, he is to be put to death,
and receive Moslem burial ; in the other contingency, he is not
bathed, prayed for, or interred in holy ground. This severe order,
however, lies in general abeyance.
2 "Tuarick grandiloquence," says Richardson (vol. I p. 207),
** savours of blasphemy, e.g. the lands, rocks, and mountains of
Ghat do not belong to God but to the Azghar." Equally
irreverent are the Kafirs of the Cape. They have proved them-
selves good men in wit as well as war ; yet, like the old
Greenlanders and some of the Burmese tribes, they are apparently
unable to believe in the existence of the Supreme. A favourite
question to the missionaries was this, "Is your God white or
black? 1 * If the European, startled by the question, hesitated for
a moment, they would leave him with open signs of disgust at
having been made the victims of a hoax.
The assertion generally passes current that the idea of an
Omnipotent Being is familiar to all people, even the most bar-
barous. My limited experience argues the contrary. Savages
begin with fetishism and demon- worship, they proceed to physiolatry
(the religion of the Vedas) and Sabseism : the deity is the last
and highest pinnacle of the spiritual temple, not placed there
except by a comparatively civilised race of high development,
which leads them to study and speculate upon cosmical and
psychical themes. This progression is admirably wrought out in
Professor Max Miiller's Rig Veda Sanhita.
Life in Zayla 51
gambling, and asked why they persist in the forbidden
pleasure, they simply answer, " Because we like/'
One night, encamped amongst the Eesa, I was dis-
turbed by a female voice indulging in the loudest
lamentations : an elderly lady, it appears, was suffer-
ing from toothache, and the refrain of her groans
was, " O Allah, may thy teeth ache like mine ! O
Allah, may thy gums be sore as mine are ! " A
well-known and characteristic tale is told of the
Gerad Hirsi, now chief of the Berteri tribe. Once
meeting a party of unarmed pilgrims, he asked them
why they had left their weapons at home : they
replied in the usual phrase, " Nahnu mutawakknin "
" we are trusters (in Allah)/' That evening, having
feasted them hospitably, the chief returned hurriedly
to the hut, declaring that his soothsayer ordered
him at once to sacrifice a pilgrim, and begging the
horror-struck auditors to choose the victim. They
cast lots and gave over one of their number : the
Gerad placed him in another hut, dyed his dagger
with sheep's blood, and returned to say that he must
have a second life. The" unhappy pilgrims rose
en masse, and fled so wildly that the chief, with all
the cavalry of the desert, found difficulty in recover-
ing them. He dismissed them with liberal presents,
and not a few jibes about their trustfulness. The
wilder Bedouins will inquire where Allah is to be
found : when asked the object of the question, they
reply, " If the Eesa could but catch him they would
spear him upon the spot who but he lays waste
their homes and kills their cattle and wives ? "
Yet, conjoined to this truly savage incapability of
conceiving the idea of a Supreme Being, they believe
in the most ridiculous exaggerations : many will not
affront a common pilgrim, for fear of being killed by
a glance or a word.
Our supper, also provided by the hospitable Hajj,
is the counterpart of the midday dinner. After it
we repair to the roof, to enjoy the prospect of the
far Tajurrah hills and the white moonbeams sleeping
upon the nearer sea. The evening star hangs like a
52 First Footsteps in East Africa
diamond upon the still horizon : around the moon a
pink zone of light mist, shading oft into turquoise
blue, and a delicate green like chrysopraz, invests
the heavens with a peculiar charm. The scene is
truly suggestive: behind us, purpling in the night
air and silvered by the radiance from above, lie the
wolds and mountains tenanted by the fiercest of
savages ; their shadowy mysterious forms exciting
vague alarms in the traveller's breast. Sweet as
the harp of David, the night-breeze and the music
of the water come up from the sea ; but the ripple
and the rustling sound alternate with the hyena's
laugh, the jackal's cry, and the wild dog's lengthened
howl.
Or, the weather becoming cold, we remain below,
and Mohammed Umar returns to read out more
" Book of Lights," or some pathetic ode. I will
quote in free translation the following production of
the celebrated poet Abd el Rahman el Burai, as a
perfect specimen of melancholy Arab imagery :
"No exile is the banished to the latter end of earth,
The exile is the banished to the coffin and the tomb !
" He hath claims on the dwellers in the places of their birth
Who wandereth the world, for he lacketh him a home.
" Then, blamer, blame me not, were my heart within thy breast,
The sigh would take the place of thy laughter and thy scorn.
" Let me weep for the sin that debars my soul of rest,
The tear may yet avail all in vain I may not mourn ! l
* * Woe ! woe to thee, Flesh ! with a purer spirit now
The death-day were a hope, and the judgment-hour a joy !
" One morn I woke in pain, with a pallor on my brow,
As though the dreaded Angel were descending to destroy :
" They brought to me a leech, saying, 'Heal him lest he die I '
On that day, by Allah, were his drugs a poor deceit I
1 The Moslem corpse is partly sentient in the tomb, reminding
the reader of Tennyson :
" I thought the dead had peace, but it is not so ;
To have no peace in the grave, is that not sad ? "
Life in Zayla 53
" They stripped me and bathed me, and closed the glazing eye,
And dispersed unto prayers, and to haggle for my sheet.
"The prayers without a bow 1 they prayed over me that day,
Brought nigh to me the bier, and disposed me within.
* ' Four bare upon their shoulders this tenement of clay,
Friend and kinsmen in procession bore the dust of friend and kin.
"They threw upon me mould of the tomb and went their way
A guest, 'twould seem, had flitted from the dwellings of the
tribe !
" My gold and my treasures each a share they bore away,
Without thanks, without praise, with a jest and with a jibe.
" My gold and my treasures each his share they bore away,
On me they left the weight I with me they left the sin !
" That night within the grave without hoard or child I lay,
No spouse, no friend were there, no comrade and no kin.
" The wife of my youth, soon another husband found
A stranger sat at home on the hearthstone of my sire.
** My son became a slave, though not purchased nor bound,
The hireling of a stranger, who begrudged him his hire.
*' Such, alas, is human life I such the horror of his death !
Man grows like a grass, like a god he sees no end.
" Be wise, then, ere too late, brother ! praise with every breath
The hand that can chastise, the arm that can defend :
"And bless thou the Prophet, the averter of our ills,
While the lightniner flasheth bright o'er the ocean and the
hills."
At this hour my companions become imaginative
and superstitious. One Salimayn, a black slave from
the Sawahil, 2 now secretary to the Hajj, reads our
fortunes in the rosary. The " fal," 3 as it is called,
1 The prayers for the dead have no Rukaat or bow as in other
orisons.
2 The general Moslem name for the African coast from the
Somali seaboard southwards to the Mozambique, inhabited by
negrotic races.
3 The Moslem rosary consists of ninty-nine beads divided into
sets of thirty-three each by some peculiar sign, as a bit of red
54 First Footsteps in East Africa
acts a prominent part in Somali life. Some men are
celebrated for accuracy of prediction ; and in times
of danger, when the human mind is ever open to the
" fooleries of faith/' perpetual reference is made to
their art. The worldly wise Salimayn, I ^ observed,
never sent away a questioner with an ill-omened
reply, but he also regularly insisted upon the efficacy
of sacrifice and almsgiving, which, as they would
assuredly be neglected, afforded him an excuse in
case of accident. Then we had a recital of the tales
common to Africa, and perhaps to all the world.
In modern France, as in ancient Italy, " versipelies "
become wolves and hide themselves in the woods :
in Persia they change themselves into bears, and in
Bornou and Shoa assume the shapes of lions, hyenas,
and leopards. 1 The origin of this metamorphic super-
stition is easily traceable, like man's fetishism or
demonology, to his fears : a Bedouin, for instance,
becomes dreadful by the reputation of, sorcery : bears
and hyenas are equally terrible ; and the two objects
of horror are easily connected. Curious to say,
individuals having this power were pointed out to
me, and people pretended to discover it in^ their
countenances : at Zayla I was shown a Bedouin, by
name Farih Badaun, who notably became a hyena
at times, for the purpose of tasting human blood. 2
About forty years ago three brothers, Kayna, Far-
coral. The consulter, beginning at a chance place, counts up to
the mark : if the number of beads be odd, he sets
down a single dot, if even, two. This is^ done Q O
four times, when a figure is produced as in the
margin. Of these there are sixteen, each having u
its peculiar name and properties. The art is merely Q
Geomancy in its rudest shape ; a mode of vaticina-
tion which, from its wide diffusion, must be of O Q
high antiquity. The Arabs call it El Raml, and
ascribe its present form to the Imam Jaafar el Sadik; amongst
them it is a ponderous study, connected as usual with astrology.
Napoleon's Book of Fate is a specimen of the old Eastern super-
stition presented to Europe in a modern and simple form.
1 In this country, as in Western and Southern Africa, the
leopard, not the wolf, is the shepherd's scourge.
2 Popular superstition in Abyssinia attributes the same power
to the Felashas or Jews.
Life in Zayla 55
dayna, and Sollan, were killed on Gulays near
Berberah for the crime of metamorphosis. The
charge is usually substantiated either by the bestial
tail remaining appended to a part of the human
shape which the owner has forgotten to rub against
the magic tree, or by some peculiar wound which
the beast received and the man retained. Kindred
to this superstition is the belief that many of the
Bedouins have learned the languages of birds and
beasts. Another widely diffused fancy is that of the
Aksar, 1 which in this pastoral land becomes a kind
of wood : wonderful tales are told of battered milk-
pails which, by means of some peg accidentally cut in
the jungle, have been found full of silver, or have
acquired the qualities of cornucopias It is supposed
that a red heifer always breaks her fast upon the
wonderful plant, consequently much time and trouble
have been expended by the Somal in watching the
morning proceedings of red heifers. At other times
we hear fearful tales of old women who, like the
Jigar Khwar of Persia, feed upon man's liver : they
are fond of destroying young children ; even adults
are not ashamed of defending themselves with talis-
mans. In this country the crone is called Bidaa or
Kumayyo, words signifying a witch : the worst is
she that destroys her own progeny. No wound is
visible in this vampire's victim : generally he names
his witch, and his friends beat her to death unless
she heal him : many are thus martyred ; and in
Somaliland scant notice is taken of such a peccadillo
as murdering an old woman. The sex indeed has
by no means a good name : here, as elsewhere, those
who degrade it are the first to abuse it for degrada-
tion. At Zayla almost all quarrels are connected
with women ; the old bewitch in one way, the young
in another, and both are equally maligned. " Wit
in a woman," exclaims one man, " is a habit of
running away in a dromedary." " Allah," declares
another, " made woman of a crooked bone ; he who
would straighten her, breaketh her." Perhaps, how-
1 Our Elixir, a corruption of the Arabic El Iksir.
56 First Footsteps in East Africa
ever, by these generalisms of abuse the sex gains :
they prevent personal and individual details ; and no
society of French gentlemen avoids mentioning in
public the name of a woman more scrupulously than
do the misogynist Moslems.
After a conversazione of two hours my visitors
depart, and we lose no time for we must rise at
cockcrow in spreading our mats round the common
room. You would admire the Somali pillow, 1 a
dwarf pedestal of carved wood, with a curve upon
which the greasy poll and its elaborate frisure repose.
Like the Abyssinian article, it resembles the head-
rest of ancient Egypt in all points, except that it
is not worked with Typhons and other horrors to
drive away dreadful dreams. Sometimes the sound
of the kettledrum, the song, and the clapping of
hands summon us at a later hour than usual to a
dance. The performance is complicated, and, as
usual with the trivialities easily learned in early
youth, it is uncommonly difficult to a stranger.
Each dance has its own song and measure, and,
contrary to the custom of El Islam, the sexes perform
together. They begin by clapping the hands and
stamping where they stand ; to this succeed ad-
vancing, retiring, wheeling about, jumping about, and
the other peculiarities of the Jim Crow school. The
principal measures are those of Ugadayn and Batar ;
these again are divided and subdivided ; I fancy
that the description of Dileho, Jibwhayn, and Hobala
would be as entertaining and instructive to you,
dear L., as Polka, Gavotte, and Mazurka would be
to a Somali.
On Friday our Sunday a drunken crier goes
about the town, threatening the bastinado to all who
neglect their five prayers. At half-past eleven a
kettledrum sounds a summons to the Jami or Cathe-
dral. It is an old barn rudely plastered with white-
wash; posts or columns of artless masonry support
the low roof, and the smallness of the windows,
1 In the Somali tongue its name is Barki : they make a stool of
similar shape, and call it Barjimo.
Life in Zayla 57
or rather air-holes, renders its dreary length un-
pleasantly hot. There is no pulpit ; the only
ornament is a rude representation of the Meccan
Mosque, nailed like a pothouse print to the wall ; and
the sole articles of furniture are ragged mats and old
boxes, containing tattered chapters of the Koran in
greasy bindings. I enter with a servant carrying a
prayer carpet, encounter the stare of 300 pair of
eyes, belonging to parallel rows of squatters, recite
the customary two-bow prayer in honour of the
mosque, placing sword and rosary before me, and
then, taking up a Koran, read the Cow Chapter (No.
18) loud and twangingly At the Zohr or midday
hour the Muezzin inside the mosque, standing before
the Khatib or preacher, repeats the call to prayer,
which the congregation, sitting upon their shins and
feet, intone after him. This ended, all present stand
up, and recite every man for himself a two-bow
prayer of Sunnat or Example, concluding with the
blessing on the Prophet and the Salam over each
shoulder to all brother Believers. The Khatib then
ascends his hole in the wall, which serves for pulpit,
and thence addresses us with " The peace be upon
you, and the mercy of Allah, and his benediction ; "
to which we respond through the Muezzin, " And
upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy ! " After
sundry other religious formulas and their replies, con-
cluding with a second call to prayer, our preacher
rises, and in the voice with which Sir Hudibras
was wont
" To blaspheme custard through the nose,'*
preaches El Waaz, 1 or the advice-sermon. He sits
idown for a few minutes, and then, rising again, recites
El Naat, or the Praise of the Prophet and his Com-
panions. These are the two heads into which the
Moslem discourse is divided ; unfortunately, however,
there is no application. Our preacher, who is also
1 Specimens of these discourses have been given by Mr. Lane,
Mod. Egypt, chap. iii. It is useless to offer others, as all bear
the closest resemblance.
58 First Footsteps in East Africa
Kazi or Judge, makes several blunders in his Arabic,
and he reads his sermons, a thing never done in El
Islam, except by the modid docti. The discourse
over, our clerk, who is, if possible, worse than the
curate, repeats the form of call termed El Ikamah ;
then entering the Mihrab or niche, he recites the
two-bow Friday litany, with, and in front of, the
congregation. I remarked no peculiarity in the style
of praying, except that all followed the practice oi
the Shafeis in El Yemen raising the hands for a
moment, instead of letting them depend along the
thighs, between the Rukaat or bow and the Sujdah
or prostration. This public prayer concluded, many
people leave the mosque; a few remain for more
prolonged devotions.
There is a queer kind of family likeness between
this scene and that of a village church in some
quiet nook of rural England. Old Sharmarkay, the
squire, attended by his son, takes his place close to
the pulpit ; and although the Honoratiores have no
padded and cushioned pews, they comport themselves
very much as jf they had* Recognitions of the most
distant description are allowed before the service
commences: looking around is strictly forbidden
during prayers ; but all do not regard the prohibition,
especially when a new moustache enters. Leaving
the church, men shake hands, stand for a moment
to exchange friendly gossip, or address a few words
to the preacher, and then walk home to dinner.
There are many salient points of difference. No
bonnets appear in public : the squire, after prayers,
gives alms to the poor, and departs escorted by two
dozen matchlock-men, who perseveringly fire their
shotted guns.
CHAPTER III
EXCURSIONS NEAR ZAYLA
WE determined on the gth of November to visit the
island of Saad el Din, the larger of the two patches
of ground which lie about two miles north of the
town. Reaching our destination, after an hour's
lively sail, we passed through a thick belt of under-
wood tenanted by swarms of midges, with a damp
chill air crying fever, and a fetor of decayed vegeta-
tion smellmg death. To this succeeded a barren
flat of silt and sand, white with salt and ragged with
salsolaceous stubble, reeking with heat, and covered
with old vegetation. Here, says local tradition, was
the ancient site of Zayla, 1 built by Arabs from
Yemen. The legend runs that when Saad el Din
was besieged and slain by David, King of Ethiopia,
the weUs dried up and the island sank. Something
doubtless occurred which rendered a removal ad-
visable : the sons of the Moslem hero fled to Ahmed
bin El Ashraf, Prince of Senaa, offering their allegi-
ance if he would build fortifications for them and aid
them against the Christians of Abyssinia. The
consequence was a walled circuit upon the present
site of Zayla : of its old locality almost may be said
" perire ruinae."
During my stay with Sharmarkay I made many
inquiries about historical works, and the Kazi,
Mohammed Khatib, a Harar man of the Hawiyah
1 Bruce describes Zayla as " a small island, on the very coast
of Adel." To reconcile discrepancy, he adopts the usual clumsy
expedient of supposing two cities of the same name, one situated
seven degrees south of the other. Salt corrects the error, but
does not seem to have heard of old Zayla's insular position.
59
60 First Footsteps in East Africa
tribe, was at last persuaded to send his Daftar, or
office papers, for my inspection. They formed a kind
of parish register of births, deaths, marriages, divorces,
and manumissions. From them it appeared that in
A.H. 1081 (A.D. 1670-71) the Shanabila Sayyids were
Kazis of Zayla and retained the office for 138 years.
It passed two generations ago into the hands of
Mohammed Musa, a Hawiyah, and the present Kazi
is his nephew.
The origin of Zayla, or, as it is locally called,
"Audal," is lost in the fogs of Phoenician fable.
The Avalites * of the Periplus and Pliny, it was in
earliest ages dependent upon the kingdom of Axum. 2
About the seventh century, when the Southern Arabs
penetrated into the heart of Abyssinia, 3 it became
the great factory of the eastern coast, and rose to
its height of splendour. Taki el Din Makrizi 4 in-
cludes under the name of Zayla a territory of forty-
three days' march by forty, and divides it into seven
great provinces, speaking about fifty languages, and
ruled by Amirs, subject to the Hati (Hatze) of
Abyssinia.
In the fourteenth century it became celebrated by
its wars with the kings of Abyssinia : sustaining
1 The inhabitants were termed Avalitse, and the Bay "Sinus
Avaliticus." Some modern travellers have confounded it with
Adule or Adulis, the port of Axum, founded by fugitive Egyp-
tian slaves. The latter, however, lies further north: D'Anville
places it at Arkiko, Salt at Zula (or Azule), near the head of
Annesley Bay.
2 The Arabs were probably the earliest colonists of this coast.
Even the Sawahil people retain a tradition that their forefathers
originated in the south of Arabia.
8 To the present day the district of Gozi is peopled by Moham-
medans called Arablet, ** whose progenitors," according to Harris,
" are said by tradition to have been left there prior to the reign of
Nagasi, first King of Shoa. Hossain, Wahabit, and Abdool
Kurreem, generals probably detached from the victorious army
of Graan (Mohammed Gragne), are represented to have come
from Mecca, and to have taken possession of the country the
legend assigning to the first of these warriors as his capital the
populous village of Medina, which is conspicuous on a cone among
the mountains, shortly after entering the valley of Robi."
* Historia Regum Mamiticorum in Abyssinia^ Lugd. Bat. 1790.
Excursions near Zayla 61
severe defeats the Moslems retired upon their harbour,
which, after an obstinate defence, fell into the hands
of the Christians. The land was laid waste, the
mosques were converted into churches, and the
Abyssinians returned to their mountains laden with
booty. About A.D. 1400 Saad el Din, the heroic
Since of Zayla, was besieged in his city by the
atze David the Second : slain by a spear-thrust, he
left his people powerless in the hands of their enemies,
tin his sons, Sabr el Din, All, Mansur, and Jemal el
Din retrieved the cause of El Islam.
Ibn Batuta, a voyager of the fourteenth century,
thus describes the place : " I then went from Aden
by sea, and after four days came to the city of Zayla.
This is a settlement of the Berbers, 1 a people of
Sudan, of the Shafia sect. Their country is a desert
of two months' extent ; the first part is termed
Zayla, the last Makdashu. The greatest number of
the inhabitants, however, are of the Rafizah sect. 2
Their food is mostly camels* flesh and fish. 3 The
stench of the country is extreme, as is also its filth,
from the stink of the fish and the blood of camels
which are slaughtered in its streets."
About A.D. 1500 the Turks conquered Yemen, and
the lawless Janissaries, " who lived upon the very
bowels of commerce/' 4 drove the peaceable Arab
merchants to the opposite shore. The trade of India,
flying from the same enemy, took refuge in Adel,
amongst its partners. 5 The Turks of Arabia, though
1 The affinity between the Somal and the Berbers of Northern
Africa, and their descent from Canaan, son of Ham, has been
learnedly advanced and refuted by several Moslem authors.
The theory appears to have arisen from a mistake; JBerberah,
the great emporium of the Somali country, being confounded
with the Berbers of Nubia.
2 Probably Zaidi from Yemen. At present the people of Zayla
are all orthodox Sunnites.
8 Fish, as will be seen in these pages, is no longer a favourite
article of diet.
4 Bruce, book 3.
5 Hence the origin of the trade between Africa and Cutch,
which continues uninterrupted to the present time. Adel, Arabia,
and India, as Bruce remarks, were three partners in one trade,
62 First Footsteps in East Africa
they were blind to the cause, were sensible of the
great influx of wealth into the opposite kingdoms.
They took possession, therefore, of Zayla, which they
made a den of thieves, established there what they
called a custom-house, 1 and, by means of that post
and galleys cruising in the narrow straits of Bab el
Mandeb, they laid the Indian trade to Adel under
heavy contributions that might indemnify them for
the great desertion their violence and injustice had
occasioned in Arabia.
This step threatened the very existence both of
Adel and Abyssinia ; and considering the vigorous
government of the one, and the weak politics and
prejudices of the other, it is more than probable that
the Turks would have subdued both, had they not
in India, their chief object, met the Portuguese,
strongly established.
Bartema, travelling in A.D. 1503, treats in his
I5th chapter of " Zeila in ^Ethiopia and the great
fruitlessness thereof, and of certain strange beasts
seen there."
" In this city is great frequentation of merchan-
dise, as in a most famous mart. There is marvellous
abundance of gold and iron, and an innumerable
number of black slaves sold for small prices ; these
are taken in war by the Mahomedans out of Ethiopia,
of the kingdom of Presbyter Johannes, or Preciosus
Johannes, which some also call the king of Jacobins
or Abyssins, being a Christian ; and are carried away
from thence into Persia, Arabia Felix, Babylonia of
who mutually exported their produce to Europe, Asia, and Africa,
at that time the whole known world.
1 The Turks, under a show of protecting commerce, established
these posts in their different ports. But they soon made it appear
that the end proposed was only to ascertain who were the subjects
from whom they could levy the most enormous extortions.
Jeddah, Zebid, and Mocha, the places of consequence nearest to
Abyssinia on the Arabian coast, Suakin, a seaport town on the
very barriers of Abyssinia, in the immediate way of their caravan
to Cairo on the African side, were each under the command of
a Turkish Pasha and garrisoned by Turkish troops sent thither
from Constantinople by the emperors Selim and Sulayman.
Excursions near Zayla 63
Nilus or Alcair, and Meccah. In this city justice and
good laws are observed. 1 .... It hath an innumer-
able multitude of merchants ; the walls are greatly
decayed, and the haven rude and despicable. The
King or Sultan of the city is a Mahomedan, and
entertaineth in wages a great multitude of footmen
and horsemen. They are greatly given to war, and
wear only one loose single vesture : they are of dark
ash colour, inclining to black."
In July 1516 Zayla was taken, and the town
burned by a Portuguese armament, under Lopez
Suarez Alberguiera. When the Turks were com-
pelled to retire from Southern Arabia, it became
subject to the Prince of Senaa, who gave it in per-
petuity to the family of a Senaani merchant.
The kingdom of Yemen falling into decay, Zayla
passed under the authority of the Sherif of Mocha,
who, though receiving no part of the revenue, had
yet the power of displacing the Governor. By him
it was farmed out to the Hajj Sharmarkay, who
paid annually to Sayyid Mohammed el Barr, at
Mocha, the sum of 750 crowns, and reserved all that
he could collect above that sum for himself. In
A.D. 1848 Zayla was taken from the family El Barr,
and farmed out to Sharmarkay by the Turkish
Governor of Mocha and Hodaydah.
1 Bartema's account of Its productions is as follows : " The
soil beareth wheat and hath abundance of flesh and divers other
commodious things. It hath also oil, not of olives, but of some
other thing I know not what. There is also plenty of honey
and wax ; there are likewise certain sheep having their tails of
the weight of sixteen pounds, and exceeding fat ; the head and
neck are black, and all the rest white. There are also sheep
altogether white, and having tails of a cubit long, and hanging
down like a great cluster of grapes, and have also great laps of
skin hanging down from their throats, as have bulls and oxen,
hanging down almost to the ground. There are also certain
kind with horns like unto harts' horns ; these are wild, and when
they be taken are given to the Sultan of that city as a kingly
present. I saw there also certain kind having only one horn
in the midst of the forehead, as hath the unicom, and about a
span of length, but the horn bendeth backward: they are of
bright shining red colour. But they that have harts' horns are
inclining to black colour. Living is there good and cheap,"
64 First Footsteps in East Africa
The extant remains at Saad el Din are principally
those of water-courses, rude lines of coralline, stretch-
ing across the plain towards wells, now lost, 1 and
diminutive tanks, made apparently to collect rain
water. One of these latter is a work of some art
a long sunken vault, with a pointed arch projecting
a few feet above the surface of the ground ; outside it
is of rough stone, the interior is carefully coated with
fine lime, and from the roof long stalactites depend.
Near it is a cemetery: the graves are, for the most
part, provided with large slabs of close black basalt,
planted in the ground edgeways, and in the shape
of a small oblong. The material was most probably
brought from the mountains near Tajurrah : at another
part of the island I found it in the shape of a gigantic
mill-stone, half imbedded in the loose sand. Near
the cemetery we observed a mound of rough stones
surrounding an upright pole ; this is the tomb of
Shaykh Saad el Din, formerly the hero, now the
favourite patron saint of Zayla still popularly vene-
rated, as was proved by the remains of votive
banquets, broken bones, dried garbage, and stones
blackened by the fire.
After wandering through the island, which con-
tained not a human being save a party of Somal
boatmen cutting firewood for Aden, and having
massacred a number of large fishing hawks and small
sea-birds, to astonish the natives, our companions,
we returned to the landing-place. Here an awning
had been spread ; the goat destined for our dinner
I have long since conquered all dislike, dear L., to
seeing dinner perambulating had been boiled and
disposed in hunches upon small mountains of rice,
and jars of sweet water stood in the air to cool!
After feeding, regardless of Quartana and her weird
sisterhood, we all lay down for siesta in the light
sea-breeze. Our slumbers were heavy, as the Zayla
1 The people have a tradition that a well of sweet water exists
unseen in some part of the island. When Saad el Din was
besieged in Zayla by the Hatze David, the host of El Islam
suffered severely for the want of the fresh element.
Excursions near Zayla 65
people say is ever the case at Saad el Din, and the
sun had declined low ere we awoke. The tide was
out, and we waded a quarter of a mile to the boat,
amongst giant crabs who showed grisly claws, sharp
coralline, and sea-weed so thick as to become almost
a mat. You must believe me when I tell you that
in the shallower parts the sun was painfully hot,
even to my well tried feet. We picked up a few
specimens of fine sponge, and coral, white and red,
which, if collected, might be valuable to Zayla, and,
our picnic concluded, we returned home.
On the I4th November we left the town to meet
a caravan of the Danakil, 1 and to visit the tomb of
the great saint Abu Zarbay. The former approached
in a straggling line of asses, and about fifty camels
laden with cows' hides, ivories, and one Abyssinian
slave-girl. The men were wild as ourang-outangs,
and the women fit only to flog cattle : their animals
were small, meagre-looking, and loosely made ; the
asses of the Bedouins, however, are far superior to
those of Zayla, and the camels are, comparatively
speaking, well bred. 2 In a few minutes the beasts
1 The singular is Dankali, the plural Danakil: both words
are Arabic, the vernacular name being "Afar" or "Afer," the
Somali "Afar nimun." The word is pronounced like the Latin
"Afer," an African.
2 Occasionally at Zayla where all animals are expensive
Dankali camels may be bought: though small, they resist hard-
ship and fatigue better than the other kinds, A fair price would
be about ten dollars. The Somal divide their animals into two
kinds, Gel Ad and Ayyun. The former is of white colour, loose
and weak, but valuable, I was told by Lieut. Speke, in districts
where little water is found: the Ayyun is darker and stronger;
its price averages about a quarter more than the Gel Ad.
To the Arabian traveller nothing can be more annoying than
these Somali camels. They must be fed four hours during the
day, otherwise they cannot march. They die from change of food
or sudden removal to another country. Their backs are ever
being galled, and, with all precautions, a month's march lays
them up for three times that period. They are never used for
riding, except in cases of sickness or accidents.
The Somali ass is, generally speaking, a miserable animal.
Lieut. Speke, however, reports that on the windward coast it is
not to be despised. At Harar I found a tolerable breed, superior
E
66 First Footsteps in East Africa
were unloaded, the Gurgis or wigwams pitched, and
all was prepared for repose. A caravan so extensive
being an unusual event small parties carrying only
grain come in once or twice a week the citizens
abandoned even their favourite game of ball, with
an eye to speculation. We stood at " Government
House," over the Ashurbara Gate, to see the Bedouins,
and we quizzed (as Town men might denounce a tie
or scoff at a boot) the huge round shields and the
uncouth spears of these provincials. Presently they
entered the streets, where we witnessed their frantic
dance in presence of the Hajj and other authorities.
This is the wild men's way of expressing their satis-
faction that Fate has enabled them to convey the
caravan through all the dangers of the desert.
The Shaykh Ibrahim Abu Zarbay 1 lies under a
whitewashed dome close to the Ashurbara Gate of
Zayla : an inscription cut in wood over the doorway
informs us that the building dates from A.H. 1155 =
A.D. 1741-2. It is now dilapidated, the lintel is
falling in, the walls are decaying, and the cupola,
which is rudely built, with primitive gradients each
step supported, as in Cashmere and other parts of
India, by wooden beams threatens the heads of the
pious. The building is divided into two compart-
ments, forming a Mosque and a Mazar or place of
pious visitation: in the latter are five tombs, the
two largest covered with common chintz stuff of
glaring colours. Ibrahim was one of the forty-four
Hazrami saints who landed at Berberah, sat in
solemn conclave upon Auliya Kumbo or Holy Hill,
and thence dispersed far and wide for the purpose of
propagandism. He travelled to Harar about A.D, 1430,2
in appearance but inferior in size to the thoroughbred little animals
at Aden. They are never ridden; their principal duty is that
of carrying water-skins to and from the walls.
1 He is generally called Abu Zerbin, more rarely Abu Zar-
bayn, and Abu Zarbay. I have preferred the latter orthography
upon the authority of the Shaykh Jami, most learned of the
Somal.
2 In the same year (A.D. 1429-30) the Shaykh el Shazili, buried;
under a dome at Mocha, introduced coffee into Arabia,
Excursions near Zayla 67
converted many to El Islam, and left there an
honoured memory. His name is immortalised in
El Yemen by the introduction of El Kat 1
1 The following is an extract from the Pharmaceutical Journal,
vol. xii. No. v., Nov. I, 1852. Notes upon the drugs observed
at Aden, Arabia, by James Vaughan, Esq., M.R.C.S.E., Assist.
Surg., B.A., Civil and Port, Surg., Aden, Arabia,
"Kit dJ><J, the name of a drug which is brought into Aden
from the interior, and largely used, especially by the Arabs, as
a pleasurable excitant. It is generally imported in small camel-
loads, consisting of a number of parcels, each containing about
forty slender twigs with the leaves attached, and carefully wrapped
so as to prevent as much as possible exposure to the atmosphere.
The leaves form the edible part, and these, when chewed, are
said to produce great hilarity of spirits, and an agreeable state
of wakefulness. Some estimate may be formed of the strong
predilection which the Arabs have for this drug from the quantity
used in Aden alone, which averages about 280 camel-loads
annually. The market price is one and a quarter rupees per
parcel, and the exclusive privilege of selling it is farmed by the
government for 1500 rupees per year. Forskal found the plant
growing on the mountains of Yemen, and has enumerated it as
a new genus in the class Pentandria, under the name of Catha.
He notices two species, and distinguishes them as Catha edulis
and Catha spinosa. According to his account it is cultivated on
the same ground as coffee, and is planted from cuttings. Besides
the effects above stated, the Arabs, he tells us, believe the land
where it grows to be secure from the inroads of plague ; and that
a twig of the Kit carried in the bosom is a certain safeguard
against infection. The learned botanist observes, with respect to
these supposed virtues, 'Gustus foliorum tamen virtutem tantam
indicare non videtur.' Like coffee, Kat, from its acknowledged
stimulating effects, has been a fertile theme for the exercise of
Mahomedan casuistry, and names of renown are ranged on both
sides of the question, whether the use of Kat does or does not
contravene the injunction of the Koran, Thou shalt not drink wine
or anything intoxicating. The succeeding notes, borrowed chiefly
from De Sacy's researches, may be deemed worthy of insertion
here.
"Sheikh Abdool Kader Ansari Jezeri, a learned Mahomedan
author, in his treatise on the use of coffee, quotes the following
from the writings of Fakr ood Deen Mekki : * It is said that
tie first who introduced coffee was the illustrious saint Aboo
Abdallah Mahomed Dhabhani ibn Said; but we have learned
by the testimony of many persons that the use of coffee in
Yemen, its origin, and first introduction into that country are
due to the learned Ali Shadeli ibn Omar, one of the disciples of
the learned doctor Nasr ood Deen, who is regarded as one of
68 First Footsteps in East Africa
Tired of the town, I persuaded the Hajj to send
me with an escort to the Hissi or well. At day-
break I set out with four Arab matchlock-men,
the chiefs among the order Shadeli, and whose worth attests the
high degree of spirituality to which they had attained. Previous
to that time they made coffee of the vegetable substance called
Cafta, which is the same as the leaf known under the name of
Ka"t, and not of Boon (the coffee berry) nor any preparation of
Boon. The use of this beverage extended in course of time as
far as Aden, but in the days of Mahomed Dhabhani the vegetable
substance from which it was prepared disappeared from Aden.
Then it was that the Skeik advised those who had become his
disciples to try the drink made from the Boon, which was found
to produce the same effect as the Ka"t, inducing sleeplessness, and
that it was attended with less expense and trouble. The use
of coffee has been kept up from that time to the present.'
"D'Herbelot states that the beverage called Calmat al Catiat
or Caftah, was prohibited in Yemen in consequence of its effects
upon the brain. On the other hand a synod of learned Mussul-
mans is said to have decreed that as beverages of Kat and Cafta
do not impair the health or impede the observance of religious
duties, but only increase hilarity and good-humour, it was lawful
to use them, as also the drink made from the boon or coffee berry.
I am not aware that Kat is used in Aden in any other way than
for mastication. From what I have heard, however, I believe
that a decoction resembling tea is made from the leaf by the
Arabs in the interior; and one who is well acquainted with our
familiar beverage assures me that the effects are not unlike those
produced by strong green tea, with this advantage in favour of
Kat, that the excitement is always of a pleasing and agreeable
kind. 1
* "Mr. Vaughan has transmitted two specimens called Tubbare
Kit and Muktaree Ka"t, from the districts in which they are produced;
the latter fetches the lower price. Catha edulis Forsk,, Nat. Ord.*
Celastracese, is figured in Dr. Lindley's Vegetable Kingdom, p. 588
(London, 1846). But there is a still more complete representation
of the plant under the name of Catha Forskalii Richard, in a work
published under the auspices of the French government, entitled,
Voyage en Abyssinie execute: pendant les anntes 1839-43, parune
commission sdentifique composte de MM. Thtophile Lefebvre, Lieut,
du Vaisseau, A. Petit et Martin-Dillon, docteurs mtdecins t
naturalistes du Museum, Vignaud dessinateur. The botanical
portion of this work, by M. Achille Richard, is regarded either
as a distinct publication under the title of Tentamen Flora
Abyssinic, or as a part of the Voyage en Abyssinie. M. Richard
enters into some of the particulars relative to the synonyms of
the plant, from which it appears that Vahl referred Forskal's
genus Catha to the Linnxan genus Celastrus, changing the name
Excursions near Zayla 69
and taking a direction nearly due west, waded and
walked over an alluvial plain flooded by every high
tide. On our way we passed lines of donkeys and
camels carrying water-skins from the town ; they
were under guard like ourselves, and the sturdy
dames that drove them indulged in many a loud
joke at our expense. After walking about four miles
we arrived at what is called the Takhushshah the
sandy bed of a torrent nearly a mile broad, 1 covered
with a thin coat of caked mud: in the centre
is a line of pits from three to four feet deep, with
turbid water at the bottom. Around them were
several frame-works of four upright sticks connected
by horizontal bars, and on these were stretched
goats'-skins, forming the cattle-trough of the Somali
country. About the wells stood troops of camels,
whose Eesa proprietors scowled fiercely at us, and
stalked over the plain with their long, heavy spears :
for protection against these people, the citizens have
erected a kind of round tower, with a ladder for a
staircase. Near it are some large tamarisks and the
wild henna of the Somali country, which supplies a
sweet-smelling flower, but is valueless as a dye. A
thick hedge of thorn-trees surrounds the only culti-
vated ground near Zayla : as Ibn Said declared in
old times, " the people have no gardens, and know
of Catha edulis to Celastrus edulis. Hochstetter applied the name
of Celastrus edulis to an Abyssinian species (Celastrus obscurus
Richard], which he imagined identical with ForskaPs Catha edulis,
while of the real Catha edulis Forsk. he formed a new genus and
species, under the name of Trigonotheca serrata Hocks., Nat. Ord.
Hippocrateacese. I quote the following references from the
Tentamen Flora Abyssinica, vol. i. p. 134 : ' Catha Forskalii
Nob. Catha No. 4 Forsk. loc. cit. (Flor. &gypt. Arab., p. 63).
Trigonotheca serrata Socks, in pi. Schimp. Abyss, sect, ii.,
No. 649. Celastrus edulis Vakl, Eel. I, 21.' Although in the
Flora J&gyptiaco-Ardbica of Forskal no specific name is applied
to the Catha at p. 63, it is enumerated as Catha edulis at p. 107.
The reference to Celastrus edulis is not contained in the Ecloga
Americanos of Vahl, but in the author's Symbola Botanic
(Hanuise, 1790, fol.), pars i. p. 21 (Daniel Hanbury signed)."
1 This is probably the " River of Zayla," alluded to by Ibn
Said and others. Like all similar features in the low country,
it is a mere surface drain.
70 First Footsteps in East Africa
nothing of fruits." ,The variety and the luxuriance
of growth, however, prove that industry is the sole
desideratum. I remarked the castor-plant no one
knows its name or nature 1 the Rayhan or Basil,
the Kadi, a species of aloe, whose strongly scented
flowers the Arabs of Yemen are fond of wearing in
their turbans. 3 Of vegetables, there were cucumbers,
egg-plants, and the edible hibiscus; the only fruit
was a small kind of water-melon.
After enjoying a walk through the garden and a
bath at the well, I started, gun in hand, towards
the jungly plain that stretches towards the sea. It
abounds in hares, and in a large description of spur-
fowl ; 8 the beautiful little sand antelope, scarcely
bigger than an English rabbit, 4 bounded over the
bushes, its thin legs being scarcely perceptible during
the spring. I was afraid to fire with ball, the place
being full of Bedouins' huts, herds, and dogs, and
the vicinity of man made the animals too wild for
small shot. In revenge, I did considerable havoc
amongst the spur-fowl, who proved equally good for
sport and the pot, besides blocking over a number
of old crows, whose gall the Arab soldiers wanted
1 In the upper country I found a large variety growing wild
in the Fiumaras. The Bedouins named it Buamado, but ignored
its virtues.
3 This ornament is called Mushgur.
3 A large brown bird with black legs, not unlike the domestic
fowl The Arabs call it Dijajat el Barr (the wild hen) : the Somal
"digarin," a word also applied to the Guinea fowl, which it
resembles in its short strong flight and habit of running. Owing
to the Bedouin prejudice against eating birds, It is found in large
coveys all over the country.
* It has been described by Salt and others. The Somal call
it Sagaro, the Arabs Ghezalah: it is found throughout the land
generally in pairs, and is fond of ravines under the hills, beds of
torrents, and patches of desert vegetation. It is easily killed by
a single pellet of shot striking the neck. The Somal catch it by
a loop of strong twine hung round a gap in a circuit of thorn
hedge, or they run it down on foot, an operation requiring half
a day on account of its fleetness, which enables it to escape the
jackal and wild dog. When caught it utters piercing cries. Some
Bedouins do not eat the flesh: generally, however, it is con-
sidered a delicacy, and the skulls and hones of these little animals
lie strewed around the kraals.
Excursions near Zayla 71
for collyrium. 1 Beyond us lay Warabalay or Hyenas'
hill : 2 we did not visit it, as all its tenants had been
driven away by the migration of the Nomads.
Returning, we breakfasted in the garden, and rain
coming on, we walked out to enjoy the Oriental
luxury of a wetting. All Iskandar, an old Arab
mercenary, afforded us infinite amusement ; a little
opium made him half crazy, when his sarcastic
pleasantries never ceased. We then brought out the
guns, and being joined by the other escort, proceeded
to a trial of skill The Arabs planted a bone about
200 paces from us a long distance for a people
who seldom fire beyond fifty yards ; moreover, the
wind blew the flash strongly in their faces. Some
shot two or three dozen times wide of the mark and
1 The Somal hold the destruction of the "Tuka" next in
religious merit to that of the snake. They have a tradition
that the crow, originally white, became black for his sins. When
the Prophet and Abubekr were concealed in the cave, the pigeon
hid there from their pursuers: the crow, on the contrary, sat
screaming "ghar! gharl" (the cave! the cave!), upon which
Mohammed ordered him into eternal mourning, and ever to
repeat the traitorous words.
There are several species of crows in this part of Africa.
Besides the large-beaked bird of the Harar Hills, I found the
common European variety, with, however, the breast feathers
white tipped in small white semicircles as far as the abdomen.
The little "king-crow" of India is common: its bright red eye
and purplish plume render it a conspicuous object as it perches
upon the tall camel's back or clings to waving plants.
2 The Waraba or Durwa is, according to Mr. Blyth, the dis-
tinguished naturalist, now Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum
at Calcutta, the Canis pictus seu venaticus (Lycaon pictus or
Wilde Honde of the Cape Boers). It seems to be the Chien
Sauvage or Cynhyene (Cynhysena venatica) of the French traveller
M. Delegorgue, who in his Voyage dans FAfrigue Australe>
minutely and diffusely describes it. Mr. Gordon Cumming supposes
it to form the connecting link between the wolf and the hyena.
This animal swarms throughout the Somali country, prowls about
the camps all night, dogs travellers, and devours everything he
can find, at times pulling down children and camels, and when
violently pressed by hunger, men. The Somal declare the Waraba
to be a hermaphrodite ; so the ancients supposed the hyena to be
of both sexes ; an error arising from the peculiar appearance of
an orifice situated near two glands which secrete an unctuous
fluid.
72 First Footsteps in East Africa
were derided accordingly : one man hit the bone ;
he at once stopped practice, as the wise in such
matters will do, and shook hands with all the party.
He afterwards showed that his success on this occasion
had been accidental ; but he was a staunch old sports-
man, remarkable, as the Arab Bedouins generally are,
for his skill and perseverance in stalking. Having no
rifle, I remained a spectator. My revolvers excited
abundant attention, though none would be persuaded
to touch them. The largest, which fitted with a
stock became an excellent carbine, was at once
named Abu Sittah (the Father of Six) and the Shaytan
or Devil : the pocket pistol became the Malunah or
Accursed, and the distance to which it carried ball
made every man wonder. The Arabs had antiquated
matchlocks, mostly worn away to paper thinness at
the mouth : as usual they fired with the right elbow
raised to the level of the ear, and the left hand
grasping the barrel, where with us the breech
would be. Hassan Turki had one of those fine old
Shishkhanah rifles formerly made at Damascus and
Senaa : it carried a two-ounce ball with perfect
correctness, but was so badly mounted in its block-
butt, shaped like a Dutch cheese, that it always
required a rest.
On our return home we met a party of Eesa girls,
who derided my colour and doubted the fact of my
being a Moslem. The Arabs declared me to be a
Shaykh of Shaykhs, and translated to the prettiest
of the party an impromptu proposal of marriage.
She showed but little coyness, and stated her price
to be an Audulli or necklace, 1 a couple of Tobes
1 Men wear for ornament round the neck a bright red leather
thong, upon which are strung in front two square bits of true
or imitation amber or honey stone ; this " Mekkawi," however,
is seldom seen amongst the Bedouins. The Audulli or woman's
necklace is a more elaborate affair of amber, glass beads, generally
coloured, and coral : every matron who can afford it possesses
at least one of these ornaments. Both sexes carry round the
necks or hang above the right elbow a talisman against danger
and disease, either in a silver box or more generally sewn up in
a small case of red morocco. The Bedouins are fond of attaching
a tooth-stick to the neck thong.
Excursions near Zayla 73
she asked one too many a few handfuls of beads, 1
and a small present for her papa. She promised,
naively enough, to call next day and inspect the
goods : the publicity of the town did not deter her,
but the shamefacediiess of my two companions pre-
vented our meeting again. Arrived at Zayla after
a sunny walk, the Arab escort loaded their guns,
formed a line for me to pass along, fired a salute,
and entered to coffee and sweatmeats.
On the 24th of November I had an opportunity
of seeing what a timid people are these Somal of
the towns, who, as has been well remarked, are, like
the settled Arabs, the worst specimens of their race.
Three Eesa Bedouins appeared before the southern
gate, slaughtered a cow, buried its head, and sent
for permission to visit one of their number who had
been imprisoned by the Hajj for the murder of his
son Masud. The place was at once thrown into
confusion, the gates were locked, and the walls
manned with Arab matchlock-men : my three fol-
lowers armed themselves, and I was summoned to
the fray. Some declared that the Bedouins were
" doing " 2 the town ; others that they were the van
of a giant host coming to ravish, sack, and slay:
it turned out that these Bedouins had preceded
their comrades, who were bringing in, as the price
of blood, 3 an Abyssinian slave, seven camels, seven
1 Beads are useful in the Somali country as presents, and to
pay for trifling purchases : like tobacco they serve for small
change. The kind preferred by women and children is the
"binnur," large and small white porcelain: the others are the red,
white, green, and spotted twisted beads, round and oblong. Before
entering a district the traveller should ascertain what may be the
special variety. Some kind are greedily sought for in one place,
and in another rejected with disdain.
2 The Somali word "Fal" properly means "to do"; "to
bewitch " is its secondary sense.
3 The price of blood in the Somali country is the highest
sanctioned by El Islam. It must be remembered that amongst
the pagan Arabs, the Koraysh "diyat" was twenty she-camels.
Abd el Muttaleb, grandfather of Mohammed, sacrificed 100 animals
to ransom the life of his son, forfeited by a rash vow, and from
that time the greater became the legal number. The Somal
usually demand 100 she-camels, or 300 sheep and a few cows ;
74 First Footsteps in East Africa
cows, a white mule, and a small black mare. The
prisoner was visited by his brother, who volunteered
to share his confinement, and the meeting was
described as most pathetic: partly from mental
organisation and partly from the peculiarities of
society, the only real tie acknowledged by these
people is that which connects male kinsmen. The
Hajj, after speaking big, had the weakness to let the
murderer depart alive : this measure, like peace-
policy in general, is the best and surest way to
encourage bloodshed and mutilation. But a few
months before, an Eesa Bedouin enticed out of the
gates a boy about fifteen, and slaughtered him for
the sake of wearing the feather. His relations were
directed to receive the Diyat or blood fine, and the
wretch was allowed to depart unhurt a silly
clemency 1
You must not suppose, dear L., that I yielded
myself willingly to the weary necessity of a month at
Zayla. But how explain to you the obstacles thrown
in our way by the African indolence, petty intrigue,
and interminable suspicion ? Four months before
leaving Aden I had taken the precaution of meeting
the Hajj, requesting him to select for us an Abban, 1
here, as in Arabia, the sum is made up by all the near relations
of the slayer; 30 of the animals may be aged, and 30 under age,
but the rest must be sound and good. Many tribes take less
from strangers 100 sheep, a cpw, and a camel; but after the
equivalent is paid, the murderer or one of his clan, contrary to the
spirit of El Islam, is generally killed by the kindred or tribe of the
slain. When blood is shed in the same tribe, the mil reparation,
if accepted by the relatives, is always exacted; this serves the
purpose of preventing fratricidal strife, for in such a nation of
murderers, only the Diyat prevents the taking of life.
Blood money, however, is seldom accepted unless the murdered
man has been slain with a lawful weapon. Those who kill with the
Dankaleh, a poisonous juice rubbed upon meat, are always put to
death by the members of their own tribe.
1 The Abban or protector of the Somali country is the Mogasa
of the Gallas, the Akh of El Hejaz, the Ghafir of the Sinaitic
Peninsula, and the Rabia of Eastern Arabia. It must be observed,
however, that the word denotes the prote'ge' as well as the pro-
tector ,* in the latter sense it is the polite address to a Somali, as
Ya Abbaneh, O Protectress, would be to his wife.
The Abban acts at once as broker, escort, agent, and interpreter,
Excursions near Zayla 75
or protector, and to provide camels and mules ; two
months before starting I had advanced to him the
money required in a country where nothing can be
done without a whole or partial prepayment. The
protector was to be procured anywhere, the cattle
at Tajurrah, scarcely a day's sail from Zayla : when
I arrived nothing was forthcoming. I at once begged
the governor to exert himself : he politely promised
to start a messenger that hour, and he delayed doing
so for ten days. An easterly wind set in and gave
the crew an excuse for wasting another fortnight. 1
Travellers are an irritable genus: I stormed and
fretted at the delays to show earnestness of purpose.
All the effect was a paroxysm of talking. The Hajj
and his son treated me, like a spoilt child, to a double
allowance of food and milk : they warned me that
the smallpox was depopulating Harar, that the road
and the institution may be considered the earliest form of transit
dues. In all sales he receives a certain percentage, his food and
lodging are provided at the expense of his employer, and he not
unfrequently exacts small presents from his kindred. In return he
is bound to arrange all differences, and even to fight the battles of
his client against his fellow-countrymen. Should the Abban be
slain, his tribe is bound to take up the cause and to make good the
losses of their protege. El Taabanah, the office, being one of
"name," the eastern synonym for our honour, as well as of lucre,
causes frequent quarrels, which become exceedingly rancorous.
According to the laws of the country, the Abban is master of the
life and property of his client. The traveller's success will depend
mainly upon his selection : if inferior in rank, the protector can
neither forward nor defend him ; if timid, he will impede advance ;
and if avaricious, he will, by means of his relatives, effectually
stop the journey by absorbing the means of prosecuting it. The
best precaution against disappointment would be the registering
Abbans at Aden ; every donkey-boy will offer himself as a protector,
but only the chiefs of tribes should be provided with certificates.
During my last visit to Africa, I proposed that English officers
visiting the country should be provided with servants not pro-
tectors, the former, however, to be paid like the latter J all the
people recognised the propriety of the step.
In the following pages occur manifold details concerning the
complicated subject, El Taabanah,
1 Future travellers would do well either to send before them
a trusty servant with orders to buy cattle; or, what would be
better, though a little more expensive, to take with them from
Aden all the animals required.
76 First Footsteps in East Africa
swarmed with brigands, and that the Amir or prince
was certain destruction I contented myself with
determining that both were true Oriental hyperbolists,
and fell into more frequent fits of passion. The old
man could not comprehend my secret. " If the
English," he privately remarked, " wish to take Harar,
let them send me 500 soldiers ; if not, I can give all
information concerning it." When convinced of my
determination to travel, he applied his mind to calcu-
lating the benefit which might be derived from the
event, and, as the following pages will show, he was
not without success.
Towards the end of November four camels were
procured, an Abban was engaged, we hired two
women cooks and a fourth servant ; my baggage was
reformed, the cloth and tobacco being sewn up in
matting, and made to fit the camels' sides ; l sandals
were cut out for walking, letters were written, mes-
sages of dreary length too important to be set
down in black and white were solemnly entrusted
to us, palavers were held, and affairs began to wear
the semblance of departure. The Hajj strongly re-
commended us to one of the principal families of the
Gudabirsi tribe, who would pass us on to their
brother-in law Adan, the Gerad or prince of the
Girhi ; and he, in due time, to his kinsman the Amir
of Harar. The chain was commenced by placing us
under the protection of one Raghe, a petty Eesa
chief of the Mummasan clan. By the good aid of the
Hajj and our sweetmeats, he was persuaded, for the
moderate consideration of ten Tobes, 2 to accompany
1 The Somal use as camel saddles the mats which compose
their huts; these lying loose upon the animal's back, cause, by
slipping backwards and forwards, the loss of many a precious hour,
and in wet weather become half a load. The more civilised make
up of canvas or " gunny bags " stuffed with hay and provided with
cross bars, a rude packsaddle, which is admirably calculated to
gall the animal's back. Future travellers would do well to pur-
chase camel-saddles at Aden, where they are cheap and well made.
2 He received four cloths of Cutch canvas, and six others of
coarse American sheeting. At Zayla these articles are double the
Aden value, which would be about thirteen rupees or twenty-six
shillings ; in the bush the price is quadrupled. Before leaving us
Excursions near Zayla 77
us to the frontier of his clan, distant about fifty
miles, to introduce us to the Gudabirsi, and to provide
us with three men as servants, and a suitable escort,
a score or so, in dangerous places. He began with us
in an extravagant manner, declaring that nothing but
" name " induced him to undertake the perilous task ;
that he had left his flocks and herds at a season of
uncommon risk, and that all his relations must
receive a certain honorarium. But having paid at
least three pounds for a few days of his society, we
declined such liberality, and my companions, I be-
lieve, declared that it would be " next time " : on
all such occasions I made a point of leaving the room,
since for one thing given at least five are promised
on oath. Raghe warned us seriously to prepare for
dangers and disasters, and this seemed to be the
general opinion of Zayla, whose timid citizens deter-
mined that we were tired of our lives. The cold had
driven the Nomads from the hills to the warm mari-
time plains, 1 we should therefore traverse a populous
region ; and, as the End of Time aptly observed,
" Man eats you up, the Desert does not." Moreover
this year the Ayyal Nuh Ismail, a clan of the Habr
Awal tribe, is " out," and has been successful against
the Eesa, who generally are the better men. They
sweep the country in Kaum or Commandos, 2 number-
ing from twenty to two hundred troopers, armed
with assegai, dagger, and shield, and cairying a water-
skin and dried meat for a three days' ride, sufficient
to scour the length of the low land. The honest
fellows are not so anxious to plunder as to ennoble
themselves by taking life : every man hangs to his
the Abban received at least double the original hire. Besides small
presents of cloth, dates, tobacco and rice to his friends, he had six
cubits of Sauda Wilayati or English indigo-dyed calico for women's
fillets, and two of Sauda Kashshi, a Cutch imitation, a Shukkah
or half Tobe for his daughter, and a sheep for himself, together
with a large bundle of tobacco.
1 When the pastures are exhausted and the monsoon sets in,
the Bedouins return to their cool mountains; like the IHyat of
Persia, they have their regular Koshlakh and Yaylakh.
2 "Kaum" is the Arabic, "All" the Somali, term for these
raids.
78 First Footsteps in East Africa
saddle-bow an ostrich 1 feather emblem of truth
and the moment his javelin has drawn blood he sticks
it into his tufty pole with as much satisfaction as
we feel when attaching a medal to our shell-jackets.
It is by no means necessary to slay the foe in fair
combat : Spartan-like, treachery is preferred to stand-
up fighting; and you may measure their ideas of
honour, by the fact that women are murdered in
cold blood, as by the Amazulus, with the hope that
the unborn child may prove a male. The hero
carries home the trophy of his prowess, 2 and his wife,
springing from her tent, utters a long shrill scream of
joy, a preliminary to boasting of her man's valour,
and bitterly taunting the other possessors of noirs
fain'eants : the derided ladies abuse their lords with
peculiar virulence, and the lords fall into paroxysms
of envy, hatred, and malice. During my short stay
at Zayla six or seven murders were committed close
to the walls : the Abban brought news, a few hours
before our departure, that two Eesas had been
slaughtered by the Habr Awal The Eesa and
Dankali also have a blood feud, which causes per-
petual loss of life. But a short time ago six men
of these two tribes were travelling together, when
1 Amongst the old Egyptians the ostrich feather was the symbol
of truth. The Somal call it "Bal," the Arabs "Rish"; it
is universally used here as the sign and symbol of victory.
Generally the white feather only is stuck in the hair; the Eesa
are not particular in using black when they can procure no other.
All the clans wear it in the back hair, but each has its own rules ;
some make it a standard decoration, others discard it after the
first few days. The learned have an aversion to the custom,
stigmatising it as pagan and idolatrous; the vulgar look upon
it as the highest mark of honour.
8 This is an ancient practice in Asia as well as in Africa. The
Egyptian temples show heaps of trophies placed before the
monarchs as eyes or heads were presented in Persia. Thus in
I Sam. xviii. 25, David brings the spoils of 200 Philistines,
and shows them in full tale to the king, that he might be the
king's son-in-law. Any work upon the subject of Abyssinia
(Bruce, book 7, chap, viii.), or the late Afghan war, will prove
that the custom of mutilation, opposed as it is both to Christianity
and El Islam, is still practised in the case of hated enemies and
infidels; and De Bey remarks of the Cape Kafirs, "victores cajsis
cxcidunt TO, a/Soto, quse exsiccata regi aflferunt*"
Excursions near Zayla 79
suddenly the last "but one received from the hinder-
most a deadly spear-thrust in the back. The wounded
man had the presence of mind to plunge his dagger
in the side of the wayfarer who preceded him, thus
dying, as the people say, in company. One of these
events throws the country into confusion, for the
vendetta is rancorous and bloody, as in ancient
Germany or in modern Corsica. Our Abban enlarged
upon the unpleasant necessity of travelling all night
towards the hills, and lying perdu during the day.
The most dangerous times are dawn and evening
tide : the troopers spare their horses during the heat,
and themselves during the dew-fall. Whenever, in
the desert where, says the proverb, all men are
enemies you sight a fellow creature from afar, you
wave the right arm violently up and down, shouting
" War Joga ! War Joga ! "stand still ! stand still !
If they halt, you send a parliamentary to within
speaking distance. Should they advance, 1 you fire,
talcing especial care not to miss ; when two saddles
are emptied, the rest are sure to decamp.
I had given the Abban orders to be in readiness-
my patience being thoroughly exhausted on Sunday,
the 26th of November, and determined to walk the
whole way, rather than waste another day waiting
for cattle. As the case had become hopeless, a
vessel was descried standing straight from Tajurrah,
and, suddenly as could happen in the Arabian Nights,
four fine mules, saddled and bridled, Abyssinian
fashion, appeared at the door. 2
1 When attacking cattle, the plundering party endeavour with
shouts and noise to disperse the herds, whilst the assailants huddle
them together, and attempt to face the danger in parties.
> 8 For the cheapest I paid twenty-three, for the dearest twenty-
six dollars, besides a Riyal upon each, under the names of custom
dues and carriage. The Hajj had doubtless exaggerated the price,
but all were good animals, and the traveller has no right to com-
plain, except when he pays dear for a bad article.
CHAPTER IV
THE SOMAL, THEIR ORIGIN AND PECULIARITIES
BEFORE leaving Zayla, I must not neglect a short
iescription of its inhabitants, and the remarkable
Somal races around it.
Eastern Africa, like Arabia, presents a population
composed of three markedly distinct races.
1. The Aborigines or Hamites, such as the Negro
Sawahili, the Bushmen, Hottentots, and other races,
laving such physiological peculiarities as the steato-
3yge, the tablier, and other developments described,
n 1815, by the great Cuvier.
2. The almost pure Caucasian of the northern
-egions, west of Egypt : their immigration comes
within the range of comparatively modern history.
3. The half-castes in Eastern Africa are represented
principally by the Abyssinians, Gallas, Somals, and
Kafirs. The first-named people derive their descent
from Menelek, son of Solomon by the Queen of
Sheba : it is evident from their features and figures
too well known to require description that they are
lescended from Semitic as well as Hamitic progenitors. 1
About the origin of the Gallas there is a diversity
Df opinion. 2 Some declare them to be Meccan Arabs,
who settled on the western coast of the Red Sea at
a, remote epoch : according to the Abyssinians, how-
1 Eusebms declares that the Abyssinians migrated from Asia to
Africa whilst the Hebrews were in Egypt (circ. A.M. 2345) ; and
Syncellus places the event about the age of the Judges.
2 Moslems, ever fond of philological fable, thus derive the word
Galla. When Ullabu, the chief, was summoned by Mohammed
io Islamise, the messenger returned to report that "he said no"
ECal la pronounced Gil la which impious refusal, said the Prophet,
ihould from that time become the name of the race.
So
The Somal 81
ever, and there is little to find fault with in their
theory, the Gallas are descended from a princess of
their nation, who was given in marriage to a slave
from the country south of Gurague. She bare seven
sons, who became mighty robbers and founders of
tribes : their progenitors obtained the name of Gallas,
after the river Gala, in Gurague, where they gained
a decisive victory over their kinsmen the Abyssins. 1
A variety of ethnologic and physiological reasons
into which space and subject prevent my entering
argue the Kafirs of the Cape to be a northern people,
pushed southwards by some, to us, as yet, unknown
cause. The origin of the Somal is a matter of modern
history.
" Barbarah " (Berberah), 2 according to the Kamus,
is " a well known town in El Maghrib, and a race
located between El Zanj Zanzibar and the Negrotic
coast and El Habash 8 : they are descended from
the Himyar chiefs Sanhdj (-A^lo) and Sumamah
and they arrived at the epoch of the con-
1 Others have derived them from Metcha, Karaiyo, and
Tulema, three sons of an ^Ethiopian Emperor by a female slave.
They have, according to some travellers, a prophecy that one day
they will march to the east and north, and conquer the inheritance
of their Jewish ancestors. Mr. Johnston asserts that the word
Galla is "merely another form of Catta, which in the ancient
Persian, Sanscrit, Celtic, and their modem derivative languages,
under modified, but not changed terms, is expressive of blackness."
The Gallas, however, are not a black people.
2 The Aden stone has been supposed to name the " Berbers,*'
who must have been Gallas from the vicinity of Berberah. A
certain amount of doubt still hangs on the interpretation : the
Rev. Mr. Forster and Dr. Bird being the principal contrasts.
Rev. Mr. Forster
"We assailed with cries of
hatred and rage the Abyssinians
and Berbers.
"We rode forth wrathfully
against this refuse of mankind."
Dr. Bird
"He, the Syrian philosopher
in Abadan, Bishop of Cape
Aden, who inscribed this in the
desert, blesses the institution of
the faith."
* This word is generally translated Abyssinia ; Oriental geo-
graphers, however, use it in a more extended sense. The Turks
have held possessions in "Habash," in Abyssinia never.
F
82 First Footsteps in East Africa
quest of Africa by the king Afrikds (Scipio Afri-
canus ?)." A few details upon the subject of mutila-
tion and excision prove these to have been the pro-
genitors of the Somal, 1 who are nothing but a slice
of the great Galla nation Islamised and Semiticised
by repeated immigrations from Arabia. In the
Kamus we also read that Samal (J^) is the name
of the father of a tribe, so called because he thrust
out ( jjkw , samala) his brother's eye. 2 The Shaykh
Jami, a celebrated genealogist, informed me that in
A.H. 666 = A.D. 1266-7, the Sayyid Yusuf el Bagh-
dadi visited the port of Siyaro near Berberah, then
occupied by an infidel magician, who passed through
mountains by the power of his gramarye : the saint
summoned to his aid Mohammed bin Yunis el Siddiki,
of Bayt el Fakih in Arabia, and by their united
prayers a hill closed upon the pagan. Deformed by
fable, the foundation of the tale is fact : the numerous
descendants of the holy men still pay an annual fine,
by way of blood-money to the family of the infidel
chief. The last and most important Arab immigra-
tion took place about fifteen generations or 450 years
ago, when the Sherif Ishak bin Ahmed 3 left his native
1 The same words are repeated in the Infak el Maysur fi Tarikh
bilad el Takrur (Appendix to D&nham and Clappertoris Travels,
No. xii.} again confounding the Berbers and the Somal. Afrikus,
according to that author, was a king of Yemen who expelled the
Berbers from Syria I
2 The learned Somal invariably spell their national name
with an initial Sin, and disregard the derivation from Saumal
( l jv< y<?) which would allude to the hardihood of the wild people.
An intelligent modern traveller derives "Somali" from the
Abyssinian "Spumahe" or heathens, and asserts that it corresponds
with the Arabic word Kafir or unbeliever, the name by which
Edrisi, the Arabian geographer, knew and described the inhabitants
of the AfTah (Afar) coast, _ to the east of the Straits of Bab el
Mandeb. Such derivation is, however, unadvisable.
3 According to others he was the son of Abdullah. The
written genealogies of the Somal were, it is said, stolen by the
Sherifs of Yemen, who feared to leave with the wild people
documents that prove the nobility of their descent.
The Somal 83
country Hazramaut, and, with forty-four saints,
before mentioned, landed on Makhar the windward
coast extending from Karam Harbour to Cape
Guardafui. At the town of Met, near Burnt Island,
where his tomb still exists, he became the father of
all the gentle blood and the only certain descent in
the Somali country : by Magaden, a free woman,
he had Gerhajis, Awal, and Arab ; and by a slave
or slaves, Jailah, Sambur, and Rambad. Hence the
great clans, Habr Gerhajis and Awal, who prefer
the matronymic Habr signifying a mother since,
according to their dictum, no man knows who may be
his sire. 1 These increased and multiplied by connec-
tion and affiliation to such an extent that about
300 years ago they drove their progenitors, the Galla,
from Berberah, and gradually encroached upon them,
till they intrenched themselves in the Highlands of
Harar.
The old and pagan genealogies still known to the
Somal are Dirr, Aydur, Darud, and, according to
some, Hawiyah. Dirr and Aydur, of whom nothing
is certainly known but the name, 2 are the progenitors
of the northern Somal, the Eesa, Gudabirsi, Ishak,
and Bursuk tribes. Darud Jabarti 8 bin Ismail bin
AMI (or Ukayl) is supposed by his descendants to
have been a noble Arab from El Hejaz, who, obliged
to flee his country, was wrecked on the north-east
coast of Africa, where he married a daughter of the
Hawiyah tribe : rival races declare him to have been
1 The salient doubt suggested by this genealogy is the barbarous
nature of the names. A noble Arab would not call his children
Gerhajis, Awal, and Rambad.
2 Lieut Cruttenden applies the term Edoor (Aydur) to the
descendants of Ishak, the children of Gerhajis, Awal, and Jailah.
His informants and mine differ, therefore, toto c<zlo. According
to some, Dirr was the father of Aydur; others make Dirr (it
has been written Tir and Durr) to have been the name of the
Galla family into which Shaykh Ishak married.
* Some travellers make Jabarti or Ghiberti to signify "slaves"
from the Abyssinian Guebra; others "Strong in the Faith"
(El Islam). Bruce applies it to the Moslems of Abyssinia : it is
still used, though rarely by the Somal, who in these times generally
designate by it the Sawahili or Negro Moslems,
84 First Footsteps in East Africa
a Galla slave, who, stealing the Prophet's slippers, 1
was dismissed with the words, Innd-tara^-na-hu
(verily we have rejected him) : hence his name Tarud
(J^lio) or Darud, the Rejected. 3 The etymological
part of the story is, doubtless, fabulous ; it expresses,
however, the popular belief that the founder of the
eastward or windward tribes, now extending over
the seaboard from Bunder Jedid to Ras Hafun, and
southward from the sea to the Webbes, 3 was a man
of ignoble origin. The children of Darud are now
divided into two great bodies : " Harti " is the family
name of the Dulbahanta, Ogadayn, Warsangali, and
Mijjarthayn, who call themselves sons of Harti bin
Kombo bin Kabl Ullah bin Darud : the other Darud
tribes not included under that appellation are the
Girhi, Berteri, Marayhan, and Bahabr Ali. The
Hawiyah are doubtless of ancient and pagan origin ;
they call all Somal except themselves Hashiyah, and
thus claim to be equivalent to the rest of the nation.
Some attempt, as usual, to establish a holy origin,
deriving themselves like the Shaykhash from the
Caliph Abubekr : the antiquity, and consequently the
Pagan origin of the Hawiyah are proved by its present
widely scattered state ; it is a powerful tribe in the
Mijjarthayn country, and yet is found in the hills of
Harar.
The Somal, therefore, by their own traditions, as
well as their strongly marked physical peculiarities,
their customs, and their geographical position, may
be determined to be a half-caste tribe, an offshoot of
the great Galla race, approximated, like the originally
Negro-Egyptian, to the Caucasian type by a steady
influx of pure Asiatic blood.
In personal appearance the race is not unpre-
possessing. The crinal hair is hard and wiry, growing,
1 The same scandalous story is told of the venerable patron
saint of Aden, the Sherif Haydrus.
2 Darud bin Ismail's tomb is near the Yubbay Tug in the
windward mountains ; an account of it will be found in Lieut
Speke's diary.
8 The two rivers Shebayli and Juba.
The Somal 85
like that of a half-caste West Indian, in stiff ringlets
which sprout in tufts from the scalp, and, attaining
a moderate length, which they rarely surpass, hang
down. A few elders, savans, and the wealthy, who
can afford the luxury of a turban, shave the head.
More generally, each filament is duly picked out with
the comb or a wooden scratcher like a knitting-needle,
and the mass made to resemble a child's "pudding,"
an old bob-wig, a mop, a counsellor's peruke, or an
old-fashioned coachman's wig there are a hundred
ways of dressing the head. The Bedouins, true
specimens of the " greasy African race," wear locks
dripping with rancid butter, and accuse their citizen
brethren of being more like birds than men. The
colouring matter of the hair, naturally a bluish-black,
is removed by a mixture of quicklime and water, or
in the desert by a lessive of ashes * : this makes it a
dull yellowish-white, which is converted into red
permanently by henna, temporarily by ochreish earth
kneaded with water. The ridiculous Somali peruke
of crimsoned sheepskin almost as barbarous an
article as the Welsh is apparently a foreign inven-
tion : I rarely saw one in the low country, although
the hill tribes about Harar sometimes wear a black
or white " scratch-wig." The head is rather long
than round, and generally of the amiable variety, it
is gracefully put on the shoulders, belongs equally to
Africa and Arabia, and would be exceedingly weak
but for the beauty of the brow. As far as the mouth,
the face, with the exception of high cheek-bones, is
good ; the contour of the forehead ennobles it ; the
eyes are large and well-formed, and the upper features
are frequently handsome and expressive. The jaw,
however, is almost invariably prognathous and
African ; the broad, turned-out lips betray approxi-
mation to the Negro ; and the chin projects to the
detriment of the facial angle. The beard is repre-
1 Curious to say this mixture does not destroy the hair; it
would soon render a European bald. Some of the Somal have
applied it to their beards; the result has been the breaking and
failing off of the filaments.
86 First Footsteps in East Africa
sented by a few tufts ; it is rare to see anything
equal to even the Arab development : the long and
ample eyebrows admired by the people are uncommon,
and the mustachios are short and thin, often twisted
outwards in two dwarf curls. The mouth is coarse
as well as thick-lipped ; the teeth rarely project as
in the Negro, but they are not good ; the habit of
perpetually chewing coarse Surat tobacco stains
them, 1 the gums become black and mottled, and the
use of ashes with the quid discolours the lips. The
skin, amongst the tribes inhabiting the hot regions,
is smooth, black, and glossy ; as the altitude increases
it becomes lighter, and about Harar it is generally
of a caft au lait colour. The Bedouins are fond of
raising beauty marks in the shape of ghastly seams,
and the thickness of the epidermis favours the size
of these stigmates. The male figure is tall and some-
what ungainly. In only one instance I observed an
approach to the steatopyge, making the shape to
resemble the letter S ; but the shoulders are high,
the trunk is straight, the thighs fall off, the shin
bones bow slightly forwards, and the feet, like the
hands, are coarse, large, and flat. Yet with their
hair, of a light straw colour, decked with the light
waving feather, and their coal-black complexions
set off by that most graceful of garments the
clean white Tobe, 2 the contrasts are decidedly effec-
tive.
In mind the Somal are peculiar as in body. They
are a people of most susceptible character, and withal
uncommonly hard to please. They dislike the Arabs,
fear and abhor the Turks, have a horror of Franks,
and despise all other Asiatics who with them come
under the general name of Hindi (Indians). The
latter are abased on all occasions for cowardice and
1 Few Somal except the citizens smoke, on account of the
expense ; all, however, use the Takhzinah or quid.
-* The best description of the dress is that of Fenelon : " Leurs
habits sont aise*s a faire, car en ce doux climat on ne porte qu'une
piece d'&offe fine et l%ere, qui n'est point taillee, et que chacun
met a longs plis autour de son corps pour la modestie; lui donnant;
la forme qu'il veut."
The Somal 87
a want of generosity, which has given rise to the
following piquant epigram :
* ' Ask not from the Hindi thy want :
Impossible that the Hindi can be generous !
Had there been one liberal man in El Hind,
Allah had raised up a prophet in El Hind 1"
They have all the levity and instability of the
Negro character ; light-minded as the Abyssinians
described by Gobat as constant in nothing but in-
constancy soft, merry, and affectionate souls, they
pass without any apparent transition into a state of
fury, when they are capable of terrible atrocities.
At Aden they appear happier than in their native
country. There I have often seen a man clapping
his hands and dancing, childlike, alone to relieve the
exuberance of his spirits : here they become, as the
Mongols and other pastoral people, a melancholy race,
who will sit for hours upon a bank gazing at the
moon, or croning some old ditty under the trees.
This state is doubtless increased by the perpetual
presence of danger and the uncertainty of life, which
make them think of other things but dancing and
singing. Much learning seems to make them mad }
Hke the half-crazy Fakihs of the Sahara in Northern
Africa, the Widad, or priest, is generally unfitted for
the affairs of this world, and the Hafiz, or Koran-
reciter, is almost idiotic. As regards courage, they
are no exception to the generality of savage races.
They have none of the recklessness standing in lieu
of creed which characterises the civilised man. In
their great battles a score is considered a heavy loss j
usually they will run after the fall of half-a-dozen :
amongst a Kraal full of braves who boast a hundred
murders, not a single maimed or wounded man will
be seen, whereas in an Arabian camp half the male
population will bear the marks of lead and steel.
The bravest will shirk fighting if he has forgotten
his shield : the sight of a lion and the sound of a gun
elicit screams of terror, and their Kaum or forays
much resemble the style of tactics rendered obsolete
88 First Footsteps in East Africa
by the Great Turenne, when the tactician's chief
aim was not to fall in with his enemy. Yet they
are by no means deficient in the wily valour of wild
men: two or three will murder a sleeper ^ bravely
enough ; and when the passions of rival tribes, be-
tween whom there has been a blood feud for ages, are
violently excited, they will use with asperity the
dagger and spear. Their massacres are fearful. In
February 1847 a small sept, the Ayyal Yunis,
being expelled from Berberah, settled at the road-
stead of Bulhar, where a few merchants, principally
Indian and Arab, joined them. The men were in
the habit of leaving their women and children, sick
and aged, at the encampment inland, whilst, descend-
ing to the beach, they carried on their trade. One
day, as they were thus employed, unsuspicious of
danger, a foraging party of about 2500 Eesas attacked
the camp: men, women, and children were indis-
criminately put to the spear, and the plunderers
returned to their villages in safety, laden with an
immense amount of booty. At present, a man
armed with a revolver would be a terror to the
country; the day, however, will come when the
matchlock will supersede the assegai, and then the
harmless spearman in his strong mountains will
become, like the Arab, a formidable foe. Travelling
among the Bedouins, I found them kind and hospit-
able. A pinch of snuff or a handful of tobacco
sufficed to win every heart, and a few yards of coarse
cotton cloth supplied all our wants. I was petted
like a child, forced to drink milk and to eat mutton ;
girls were offered to me in marriage ; the people
begged me to settle amongst them, to head their
predatory expeditions, free them from lions, and kill
their elephants ; and often a man has exclaimed in
pitying accents, " What hath brought thee, delicate
as thou art, to sit with us on the cowhide in this cold
under a tree ? " Of course they were beggars,
princes and paupers, lairds and loons, being all equally
unfortunate; the Arabs have named the country
Bilad Wa Issi the " Land of Give me Something " ;
The Somal 89
but their wants were easily satisfied, and the open
hand always made a friend.
The Somal hold mainly to the Shafei school of
El Islam : their principal peculiarity is that of not
reciting prayers over the dead even in the towns.
The marriage ceremony is simple : the price of the
bride and the feast being duly arranged, the formula
is recited by some priest or pilgrim. I have often
been requested to officiate on these occasions, and the
End of Time has done it by irreverently reciting the
Fatihah over the happy pair. 1 The Somal, as usual
amongst the heterogeneous mass amalgamated by El
Islam, have a diversity of superstitions attesting
their Pagan origin. Such for instance are their oaths
by stones, their reverence of cairns and holy trees,
and their ordeals of fire and water, the Bolungo of
Western Africa. A man accused of murder or theft
walks down a trench full of live charcoal and about
a spear's length, or he draws out of the flames a
smith's anvil heated to redness : some prefer picking
four or five cowries from a large pot full of boiling
water. The member used is at once rolled up in
the intestines of a sheep and not inspected for a
whole day. They have traditionary seers called
Tawuli, like the Greegree-men of Western Africa,
who, by inspecting the fat and bones of slaughtered
cattle, " do medicine," predict rains, battles, and
diseases of animals. This class is of both sexes:
they never pray or bathe, and are therefore con-
sidered always impure ; thus, being feared, they are
greatly respected by the vulgar. Their predictions
are delivered in a rude rhyme, often put for im-
portance into the mouth of some deceased seer.
During the three months called Rajalo 2 the Koran
is not read over graves, and no marriage ever takes
place. The reason of this peculiarity is stated to be
1 Equivalent to reading out the Church Catechism at an English
wedding.
2 Certain months of the lunar year. In 1854, the third Rajalo,
corresponding with Rabia the Second, began on the 2 1st of
December.
90 First Footsteps in East Africa
imitation of their ancestor Ishak, who happened not
to contract a matrimonial alliance at such epoch : it
is, however, a manifest remnant of the Pagan's
auspicious and inauspicious months. Thus they sacri-
fice she-camels in the month Sabuh, and keep holy
with feasts and bonfires the Dubshid or New Year's
Day. 1 At certain unlucky periods when the moon
is in ill-omened Asterisms those who die are placed
in bundles of matting upon a tree, the idea being that
if buried a loss would result to the tribe. 2
Though superstitious, the Somal are not bigoted
like the Arabs, with the exception of those who,
wishing to become learned, visit Yemen or El Hejaz,
and catch the complaint. Nominal Mohammedans,
El Islam hangs so lightly upon them, that apparently
they care little for making it binding upon others.
The Somali language is no longer unknown to
Europe. It is strange that a dialect which has no
written character should so abound in poetry and
eloquence. There are thousands of songs, some local,
others general, upon aH conceivable subjects, such as
camel loading, drawing water, and elephant hunting ;
every man of education knows a variety of them.
The rhyme is imperfect, being generally formed by
the syllable " ay " (pronounced as in our word
" hay "), which gives the verse a monotonous regu-
larity ; but, assisted by a tolerably regular alliteration
and cadence, it can never be mistaken for prose, even
1 The word literally means, "lighting of fire." It corresponds
with the Nayruz of Yemen, a palpable derivation, as the word
itself proves, from the old Guebre conquerors. In Arabia New
Year's Day is called Ras el Sanah, and is not celebrated by any
peculiar solemnities. The ancient religion of the Afar coast was
Sabseism, probably derived from the Berbers or shepherds
according to Bruce the first faith of the East, and the only
religion of Eastern Africa. The Somal still retain a tradition
that the "Furs," or ancient Guebres, once ruled the land.
2 Their names also are generally derived from their Pagan
ancestors : a list of the most common may be interesting to
ethnologists. Men are called Rirash, Igah, Beuh, Fahi, Samattar,
Farih, Madar, Raghe, Dubayr, Irik, Diddar, Awalah, and Alyan.
Women's names aie Aybla\ Ayyo, Aurala, Ambar, Zahabo, Ash-
karo, Alka", Asoba", Gelo, Gobe, Mayran, and Samaweda,.
The Somal 91
without the song which invariably accompanies it.
The country teems with " poets, poetasters, poetitos,
and poetaccios " : every man has his recognised
position in literature as accurately defined as though
he had been reviewed in a century of magazines
the fine ear of this people * causing them to take the
greatest pleasure in harmonious sounds and poetical
expressions, whereas a false quantity or a prosaic
phrase excite their violent indignation. Many of
these compositions are so idiomatic that Arabs settled
for years amongst the Somal cannot understand
them, though perfectly acquainted with the conversa-
tional style. Every chief in the country must have
a panegyric to be sung by his clan, and the great
patronise light literature by keeping a poet. ^The
amatory is of course the favourite theme : sometimes
it appears in dialogue, the rudest form, we are told,
of the Drama. The subjects are frequently pastoral :
the lover for instance invites his mistress to walk
with him towards the well in Lahelo, the Arcadia of
the land ; he compares her legs to the tall, straight
Libi tree, and imprecates the direst curses on her
head if she refuse to drink with him the milk of his
favourite camel. There are a few celebrated ethical
compositions, in which the father lavishes upon his
son all the treasures of Somali good advice, long as
the somniferous sermons of Mentor to the insipid
son of Ulysses. Sometimes a black Tyrtaeus breaks
into a wild lament for the loss of warriors or territory ;
he taunts the clan with cowardice, reminds them of
their slain kindred, better men than themselves,
whose spirits cannot rest unavenged in their gory
graves, and urges a furious onslaught upon the
exulting victor.
And now, dear L., I will attempt to gratify your
just curiosity concerning the sex in Eastern Africa.
The Somali matron is distinguished externally
from the maiden by a fillet of blue network or indigo-
dyed cotton, which, covering the head and containing
1 It is proved by the facility with which they pick up languages,
Western as well as Eastern, by mere ear and memory.
92 First Footsteps in East Africa
the hair, hangs down to the neck. Virgins wear
their locks long, parted in the middle, and plaited in
a multitude of hard thin pigtails : on certain festivals
they twine flowers and plaster the head like Kafir
women with a red ochre the coiffure has the merit
of originality. With massive rounded features, large
flat craniums, long big eyes, broad brows, heavy
chins, rich brown complexions, and round faces, they
greatly resemble the stony beauties of Egypt the
models of the land ere Persia, Greece, and Rome
reformed the profile and bleached the skin. They
are of the Venus Kallipyga order of beauty : the
feature is scarcely ever seen amongst young girls,
but after the first child it becomes remarkable to a
stranger. The Arabs have not failed to make it a
matter of jibe.
" 'Tis a wonderful fact that your hips swell
Like boiled rice or a skin blown out,"
sings a satirical Yemeni : the Somal retort by com-
paring the lank haunches of their neighbours to those
of tadpoles or young frogs. One of their peculiar
charms is a soft, low, and plaintive voice, derived
from their African progenitors. Always an excellent
thing in woman, here it has an undefinable charm.
I have often lain awake for hours listening to the
conversation of the Bedouin girls, whose accents
sounded in my ears rather like music than mere
utterance.
In muscular strength and endurance the women of
the Somal are far superior to their lords : at home
they are engaged all day in domestic affairs, and
tending the cattle ; on journeys their manifold duties
are to load and drive the camels, to look after the
ropes, and, if necessary, to make them ; to pitch the
hut, to bring water and firewood, and to cook. Both
sexes are equally temperate from necessity ; the mead
and the millet-beer, so common among the Abyssinians
and the Danakil, are entirely unknown to the Somal
of the plains. As regards their morals, I regret to
say that the traveller does not find them in the
The Somal 93
golden state which Teetotal doctrines lead him to
expect. After much wandering, we are almost
tempted to believe the bad doctrine that morality
is a matter of geography ; that nations and races
have, like individuals, a pet vice, and that by restrain-
ing one you only exasperate another. As a general
rule Somali women prefer amourettes with strangers,
following the well-known Arab proverb, " The new
comer ffleth the eye." In cases of scandal, the
woman's tribe revenges its honour upon the man.
Should a wife disappear with a fellow-clansman, and
her husband accord divorce, no penal measures are
taken, but she suffers in reputation, and her female
friends do not spare her. Generally, the Somali
women are of cold temperament, the result of
artificial as well as natural causes : like the Kafirs,
they are very prolific, but peculiarly bad mothers,
neither loved nor respected by their children. The
fair sex lasts longer in Eastern Africa than in India
and Arabia : at thirty, however, charms are on the
wane, and when old age comes on they are no excep-
tions to the hideous decrepitude of the East.
The Somal, when they can afford it, marry between
the ages of fifteen and twenty. Connections between
tribes are common, and entitle the stranger to im-
munity from the blood-feud : men of family refuse,
however, to ally themselves with the servile castes.
Contrary to the Arab custom, none of these people
will marry cousins ; at the same time a man will
give his daughter to his uncle, and take to wife,
like the Jews and Gallas, a brother's relict. Some
clans, the Habr Yunis for instance, refuse maidens
of the same or even of a consanguineous family. This
is probably a political device to preserve nationality
and provide against a common enemy. The bride,
as usual in the East, is rarely consulted, but frequent
tt&-&-ttes at the well and in the bush when tending
cattle effectually obviate this inconvenience: her
relatives settle the marriage portion, which varies
from a cloth and a bead necklace to fifty sheep or
thirty dollars, and dowries are unknown. In the
94 First Footsteps in East Africa
towns marriage ceremonies are celebrated with feasting
and music. On first entering the nuptial hut, the
bridegroom draws forth his horsewhip and inflicts
memorable chastisement upon the fair person of his
bride, with the view of taming any lurking propensity
to shrewishness. 1 This is carrying out with a will the
Arab proverb,
"The slave girl from her capture, the wife from her wedding."
During the space of a week the spouse remains with
his espoused, scarcely ever venturing out of the hut ;
his friends avoid him, and no lesser event than a
plundering party or dollars to gain, would justify
any intrusion. If the correctness of the wife be
doubted, the husband on the morning after marriage
digs a hole before his door and veils it with matting,
or he rends the skirt of his Tobe, or he tears open
some new hut-covering : this disgraces the woman's
family. Polygamy is indispensable in a country
where children are the principal wealth. 2 The chiefs,
arrived at manhood, immediately marry four wives :
they divorce the old and unfruitful, and, as amongst
the Kafirs, allow themselves an unlimited number
in peculiar cases, especially when many of the sons
have f aUen. Daughters, as usual in Oriental countries,
do not " count " as part of the family : they are,
however, utilised by the father, who disposes of them
to those who can increase his wealth and importance.
Divorce is exceedingly common, for the men are
liable to sudden fits of disgust. There is little cere-
mony in contracting marriage with any but maidens.
I have heard a man propose after half-an-hour's
acquaintance, and the fair one's reply was generally
the question direct concerning " settlements." Old
1 So the old Muscovites, we are told, always began married
life with a sound flogging.
2 I would not advise polygamy amongst highly civilised races,
where the sexes are nearly equal, and where reproduction becomes
a minor duty. Monogamy is the growth of civilisation ; a plurality
of wives is the natural condition of man in thinly populated
countries, where he who has the largest family is the greatest
benefactor of his kind.
The Somal 95
men frequently marry young girls, but then the
portion is high and the manage a trois common.
The Somal know none of the exaggerated and
chivalrous ideas by which passion becomes refined
affection amongst the Arab Bedouins and the sons of
civilisation, nor did I ever hear of an African aban-
doning the spear and the sex to become a Darwaysh.
Their " Hudhudu," however, reminds the traveller
of the Abyssinian " eye-love/' the Afghan's "Namzad-
bazi," and the Semite's " Ishkuzri," which for want
of a better expression we translate " Platonic love." l
This meeting of the sexes, however, is allowed in
Africa by male relatives ; in Arabia and Central Asia
it provokes their direst indignation. Curious to say,
throughout the Somali country kissing is entirely
unknown.
Children are carried on their mothers' backs or
laid sprawling upon the ground for the first two
years 2 : they are circumcised at the age of seven or
eight, provided with a small spear, and allowed to
run about naked till the age of puberty. They learn
by conversation, not books, eat as much as they can
beg, borrow and steal, and grow up healthy, strong,
and well proportioned according to their race.
As in El Islam generally, so here, a man cannot
make a will. The property of the deceased is divided
amongst his children the daughters receiving a small
portion, if any of it. When a man dies without issue,
his goods and chattels are seized upon by his nearest
male relatives ; one of them generally marries the
widow, or she is sent back to her family. Relicts,
as a rule, receive no legacies.
You will have remarked, dear L., that the people
of Zayla are by no means industrious. They depend
for support upon the Desert : the Bedouin becomes
the Nazil or guest of the townsman, and he is bound
1 The old French term "la petite oie" explains it better.
Some trace of the custom may be found in the Kafir's Slambuka
or Schlabonka, for a description of which I must refer to the
traveller Delegorgue.
2 The Somal ignore the Kafir custom during lactation.
g6 First Footsteps in East Africa
to receive a little tobacco, a few beads, a bit of coarse
cotton cloth, or, on great occasions, a penny looking-
glass and a cheap German razor, in return for his
slaves, ivories, hides, gums, milk, and grain. Any viola-
tion of the tie is severely punished by the Governor,
and it can be dissolved only by the formula of triple
divorce: of course the wild men are hopelessly cheated, 1
and their citizen brethren live in plenty and indolence.
After the early breakfast, the male portion of _ the com-
munity leave their houses on business, that is to say,
to chat, visit, and flaner about the streets and
mosques. 2 They return to dinner and the siesta, after
which they issue forth again, and do not come home
till night. Friday is always an idle day, festivals
are frequent, and there is no work during weddings
and mournings. The women begin after dawn to
plait mats and superintend the slaves, who are sprink-
ling the house with water, grinding grain for breakfast,
cooking, and breaking up firewood : to judge, however,
from the amount of chatting and laughter, there
appears to be far less work than play.
In these small places it is easy to observe the
mechanism of a government which, en grand, becomes
that of Delhi, Teheran, and Constantinople. The
Governor farms the place from the Porte : he may
do what he pleases as long as he pays his rent with
punctuality and provides presents and douceurs for
the Pasha of Mocha. He punishes the petty offences
of theft, quarrels, and arson by fines, the bastinado,
the stocks, or confinement in an Arish or thatch-hut :
the latter is a severe penalty, as the prisoner must
provide himself with food. In cases of murder, he
1 The citizens have learned the Asiatic art of bargaining under
a cloth. Both parties sit opposite each other, holding hands:
if the little finger, for instance, be clasped, it means 6, 60, or 600
dollars, according to the value of the article for sale ; if the ring
finger, 7, 70, or 700, and so on.
2 So, according to M. Krapf, the Suaheli of Eastern Africa
wastes his morning hours in running from house to house, to his
friends or superiors, ku amkla (as he calls it), to make his morning
salutations. A worse than Asiatic idleness is the curse of this part
of the world.
The Somal 97
either refers to Mocha or he carries out the Kisas
lex talionis by delivering the slayer to the relatives
of the slain. The Kazi has the administration of
the Shariat or religious law : he cannot, however,
pronounce sentence without the Governor's per-
mission ; and generally his powers are confined to
questions of divorce, alimony, manumission, the
wound-mulct, and similar cases which come within
Koranic jurisdiction. Thus the religious code is
ancillary and often opposed to " El Jabr " " the
tyranny " the popular designation of what we call
Civil Law. 1 Yet is El Jabr, despite its name, gener-
ally preferred by the worldly wise. The Governor
contents himself with a moderate bribe, the Kazi is
insatiable : the former may possibly allow you to
escape unplundered, the latter assuredly will not.
This I believe to be the history of religious jurisdic-
tion in most parts of the world.
1 Diwan el Jabr, for instance, is a civil court, opposed to the
Mahkamah or the Kazi's tribunal.
CHAPTER V
FROM ZAYLA TO THE HILLS
Two routes connect Zayla with Harar ; the south-
western or direct line numbers ten long or twenty
short stages 1 : the first eight through the Eesa
country, and the last two among the Nole Gallas,
who own the rule of " Waday," a Makad or chief
of Christian persuasion. The Hajj objected to this
way, on account of his recent blood-feud with the
Rer Guleni. He preferred for me the more winding
road which passes south, along the coast, through
the Eesa Bedouins dependent upon Zayla, to the
nearest hills, and thence strikes south-westwards
among the Gudabirsi and Girhi Somal, who extend
within sight of Harar. I cannot but suspect that in
selecting this route the good Sharmarkay served
another purpose besides my safety. Petty feuds
between the chiefs had long " closed the path/' and
perhaps the Somal were not unwilling that British
cloth and tobacco should re-open it.
Early in the morning of the 2yth of November
1854, the mules and all the paraphernalia of travel
stood ready at the door. The five camels were forced
1 By this route the Mukattib or courier travels on foot from
Zayla to Harar in five days at the most. The Somal reckon
their journeys by the Gedi or march, the Arab "Hamleh," which
varies from four to five hours. They begin before dawn and
halt at about 1 1 A.M., the time of the morning meal. When a
second march is made they load at 3 P.M. and advance till dark ;
thus fifteen miles would be the average of fast travelling. In
places of danger they will cover twenty-six or twenty-seven miles
of ground without halting to eat or rest : nothing less, however,
than regard for " dear life " can engender such activity. Generally
two or three hours' work per diem is considered sufficient; and,
where provisions abound, halts are long and frequent.
98
From Zayla to the Hills 99
to kneel, growling angrily the whole, by repeated
jerks at the halter : their forelegs were duly tied or
stood upon till they had shifted themselves into a
comfortable position, and their noses were held down
by the bystanders whenever, grasshopper-like, they
attempted to spring up. Whilst spreading the saddle-
mats, our women, to charm away remembrance of
chafed hump and bruised sides, sang with vigour
the " Song of Travel " :
" O caraven-men, we deceive ye not, we have laden the camels !
Old women on the journey are kenned by their sleeping 1
(O camel) can'st sniff the cock-boat and the sea?
Allah guard thee from the Mikahil and their Midgans !" x
As they arose from squat it was always necessary
to adjust their little mountains of small packages
by violently "heaving up" one side an operation
never failing to elicit a vicious grunt, a curve of the
neck, and an attempt to bite. One ^ camel was
especially savage ; it is said that on his return to
Zayla, he broke a Bedouin girl's neck. Another, a
diminutive but hardy little brute of Dankali breed,
conducted himself so uproariously that he at once
obtained the name of El Harami, or the Ruffian.
About 3 P.M., accompanied by the Hajj, his amiable
son Mohammed, and a party of Arab matchlock-men,
who escorted me as a token of especial respect, I
issued from the Ashurbara Gate through the usual
staring crowds, and took the way of the wilderness.
After half a mile's march we exchanged affectionate
adieus, received much prudent advice about keeping
watch and ward at night, recited the Fatihah with
upraised palms, and with many promises to write
frequently and to meet soon, shook hands and
parted. The soldiers gave me a last volley, to which
I replied with the " Father of Six."
You see, dear L., how travelling maketh man
banal. It is the natural consequence of being forced
1 The Mikahil is a clan of the Habr Awal tribe living near
Berberah, and celebrated for their bloodthirsty and butchering
propensities. Many of the Midgan or servfles (a term explained
in Chap. II.) are domesticated amongst them.
ioo First Footsteps in East Africa
to find, in every corner where Fate drops you for a
month, a "friend of the soul," and a "moon-faced
beauty." With Orientals generally, you must be on
extreme terms, as in Hibernia, either an angel of
light or, that failing, a goblin damned. In East
Africa especially, English phlegm, shyness, or pride
will bar every heart and raise every hand against
you, 1 whereas what M. Rochet calls " a certain
rondeur of manner " is a specific for winning affection.
You should walk up to your man, clasp his fist, pat
his back, speak some unintelligible words to him
if, as is the plan of prudence, you ignore the language
laugh a loud guffaw, sit by his side, and begin
pipes and coffee. He then proceeds to utilise you,
to beg in one country for your interest, and in another
for your tobacco. You gently but decidedly thrust
that subject out of the way, and choose what is most
interesting to yourself. As might be expected, he
will at times revert to his own concerns ; your
superior obstinacy will oppose effectual passive re-
sistance to all such efforts ; by degrees the episodes
diminish in frequency and duration ; at last they
cease altogether. The man is now your own.
You wul bear in mind, if you please, that I am
a Moslem merchant, a character not to be confounded
with the notable individuals seen on 'Change.
Mercator in the East is a compound of tradesman,
divine, and T. G. Usually of gentle birth, he is
everywhere welcomed and respected ; and he bears
in his mind and manner that, if Allah please, he
may become prime minister a month after he has
sold you a yard of cloth. Commerce appears to be
an accident, not an essential, with him ; yet he is
by no means deficient in acumen. He is a grave and
reverend signior, with rosary in hand and Koran on
lip, is generally a pilgrim, talks at dreary length
about Holy Places, writes a pretty hand, has read
and can recite much poetry, is master of his religion,
demeans himself with respectability, is perfect in all
1 So the Abyssinian chief informed M. Krapf that he loved the
French, but could not endure us simply the effect of manner.
From Zayla to the Hills 101
points of ceremony and politeness, and feels equally
at home whether sultan or slave sit upon his counter.
He has a wife and children in his own country, where
he intends to spend the remnant of his days ; but
" the world is uncertain " " Fate descends, and
man's eye seeth it not " " the earth is a charnel
house " : briefly, his many wise old saws give him
a kind of theoretical consciousness that his bones
may moulder in other places but his fatherland.
To describe my little caravan. Foremost struts
Raghe, our Eesa guide, in all the bravery of Abban-
ship. He is bareheaded and clothed in Tobe and
slippers : a long, heavy, horn-hilted dagger is strapped
round his waist, outside his dress ; in his right hand
he grasps a ponderous wire-bound spear, which he
uses as a staff, and the left forearm supports a round
targe of battered hide. Being a man of education,
he bears on one shoulder a Musalla or prayer carpet
of tanned leather, the article used throughout the
Somali country ; slung over the other is a Wesi or
wicker bottle containing water for religious ablution.
He is accompanied by some men who carry a little
stock of town goods and drive a camel colt, which,
by the by, they manage to lose before midnight.
My other attendants must now be introduced to
you, as they are to be for the next two months
companions of our journey.
First in the list are the fair Samaweda Yusuf and
Aybla Farih, 1 buxom dames about thirty years' old,
who presently secured the classical nicknames of
Shehrazade and Deenarzade. They look each like
three average women rolled into one, and emphati-
cally belong to that race for which the article of
feminine attire called, I believe, a " bussle " would
be quite superfluous. Wonderful, truly, is their en-
durance of fatigue ! During the march they carry
pipe and tobacco, lead and flog the camels, adjust
the burdens, and will never be induced to ride, in
sickness or in health. At the halt they unload the
1 The first is the name of the individual ; the second is that of
her father.
IO2 First Footsteps in East Africa
cattle, dispose the parcels in a semicircle, pitch over
them the Gurgi or mat tent, cook our food, boil tea
and coffee, and make themselves generally useful.
They bivouac outside our abode, modesty not per-
mitting the sexes to mingle, and in the severest cold
wear no clothing but a head fillet and an old Tobe.
They have curious soft voices, which contrast agree-
ably with the harsh organs of the males. At first
they were ashamed to see me ; but that feeling soon
wore off, and presently they enlivened the way with
pleasantries far more naive than refined. To relieve
their greatest fatigue, nothing seems necessary but
the "Jogsi": 1 they lie at full length, prone, stand
upon each other's backs trampling and kneading
with the toes, and rise like giants much refreshed.
Always attendant upon these dames is Yusuf, a
Zayla lad who, being one-eyed, was pitilessly named
by my companions the " Kalendar " ; he prays
frequently, is strict in his morals, and has conceived,
like Mrs. Brownrigg, so exalted an idea of discipline,
that, but for our influence, he certainly would have
beaten the two female 'prentices to death. They
hate him therefore, and he knows it.
Immediately behind Raghe and his party walk
Shehrazade and Deenarzade, the former leading the
head camel, the latter using my chibouque stick as
a staff. She has been at Aden, and sorely suspects
me ; her little black eyes never meet mine ; and
frequently, with affected confusion, she turns her
sable cheek the clean contrary way. Strung together
by their tails, and soundly beaten when disposed to
lag, the five camels pace steadily along under their
burdens bales of Wilayati or American sheeting,
Duwwarah or Cutch canvas, with indigo-dyed stuff
slung along the animals' sides, and neatly sewn up
in a case of matting to keep off dust and rain a
1 This delicate operation is called by the Arabs Daasah (whence
the "Doseh ceremony" at Cairo). It is used over most parts
of the Eastern world as a remedy for sickness and fatigue, and
is generally preferred to Takbis or Dugmo, the common style
of shampooing, which, say many Easterns, loosens the skin.
From Zayla to the Hills 103
cow's hide, which serves as a couch, covering the
whole. They carry a load of " Mushakkar " (bad
Mocha dates) for the Somal, with a parcel of better
quality for ourselves, and a half hundredweight of
coarse Surat tobacco l ; besides which we have a box
of beads, and another of trinkets, mosaic-gold earrings,
necklaces, watches, and similar nick-nacks. Our
private provisions are represented by about 300 Ibs.
of rice here the traveller's staff of life a large pot
full of " Kawurmeh," 2 dates, salt, 3 clarified butter,
tea, coffee, sugar, a box of biscuits in case of famine,
" Halwa " or Arab sweetmeats to be used when
driving hard bargains, and a little turmeric for
seasoning. A simple batterie de cuisine, and sundry
skins full of potable water, 4 dangle from chance rope-
1 The Somal, from habit, enjoy no other variety; they even
showed disgust at my Latakia. Tobacco is grown in some places
by the Gudabirsi and other tribes ; but it is rare and bad. Without
this article it would be impossible to progress in East Africa;
every man asks for a handful, and many will not return milk
for what they expect to receive as a gift. Their importunity
reminds the traveller of the Galloway beggars some generations
ago: "They are for the most part great chewers of tobacco,
and are so addicted to it, that they will ask for a piece thereof
from a stranger as he is riding on his way; and therefore let
not a traveller want an ounce or two of roll tobacco in his pocket,
and for an inch or two thereof he need not fear the want of a
guide by day or night."
2 Flesh boiled in large slices, sun-dried, broken to pieces and
fried in ghee.
3 The Bahr Assal or Salt Lake, near Tajurrah, annually sends
into the interior thousands of little matted parcels containing this
necessary. Inland, the Bedouins will rub a piece upon the tongue
before eating, or pass about a lump, as the Dutch did with sugar
in the last war ; at Harar a donkey- load is the price of a slave ;
and the Abyssinians say of a millionaire^ "he eateth salt."
* The element found upon the maritime plain is salt or brackish.
There is nothing concerning which the African traveller should be
so particular as water ; bitter with nitre, and full of organic matter,
it causes all those dysenteric diseases which have made research in
this part of the world a Upas tree to the discoverer. Pocket filters
are invaluable. The water of wells should be boiled and passed
through charcoal; and even then it might be mixed to a good
purpose with a few drops of proof spirit. The Somal generally
carry their store in large wickerwork pails. I preferred skins,
as more portable and less likely to taint the water.
IO4 First Footsteps in East Africa
ends ; and last, but not the least important, is a
heavy box 1 of ammunition sufficient for a three
months' sporting tour. 2 In the rear of the caravan
trudges a Bedouin woman driving a donkey the
proper " tail " in these regions, where camels start
if followed by a horse or mule. An ill-fated sheep,
a parting present from the Hajj, races and frisks
about the Cafilah. It became so tame that the Somal
received an order not to " cut " it ; one day, however,
I found myself dining, and that pet lamb was the
menu.
By the side of the camels ride my three attendants,
the pink of Somali fashion. Their frizzled wigs are
radiant with grease ; their Tobes are splendidly white,
with borders dazzliiigly red ; their new shields are
covered with canvas cloth ; and their two spears,
poised over the right shoulder, are freshly scraped,
oiled, blackened, and polished. They have added
my spare rifle and guns to the camel-load ; such
weapons are well enough at Aden, in Somaliland
men would deride the outlandish tool ! I told them
1 Here, as in Arabia, boxes should be avoided ; the Bedouins
always believe them to contain treasures. Day after day I have
been obliged to display the contents to crowds of savages, who
amused themselves by lifting up the case with loud cries of "hoo !
hoo ! ! hoo ! ! ! " (the popular exclamation of astonishment), and
by speculating upon the probable amount of dollars contained
therein.
2 The following list of my expenses may perhaps be useful to
future travellers. It must be observed that, had the whole outfit
been purchased at Aden, a considerable saving would have
resulted :
Cos. Rs.
Passage money from Aden to Zayla . . . -33
Presents at Zayla 100
Price of four mules with saddles and bridles . . 225
Price of four camels 88
Provisions (tobacco, rice, dates, &c.) for three months 428
Price of 150 Tobes 357
Nine pieces of indigo-dyed cotton 16
Minor expenses (cowhides for camels, mats for tents, 1
presents to Arabs, a box of beads, three handsome J-i66
Abyssinian Tobes bought for chiefs) . . . J
Expenses at Berberah, and passage back to Aden . 77
Total Cos. Rs. . 1490 =149
From Zayla to the Hills 105
that in my country women use bows and arrows ;
moreover, that lancers are generally considered a
corps of non-combatants ; in vain ! they adhered as
strongly so mighty a thing is prejudice to their
partiality for bows, arrows, and lances. Their horse-
manship is peculiar ; they balance themselves upon
little Abyssinian saddles, extending the leg and raising
the heel in the Louis Quinze style of equitation, and
the stirrup is an iron ring admitting only the big
toe. I follow them mounting a fine white mule,
which, with its gaudily galonne Arab pad and wrapper
cloth, has a certain dignity of look ; a double-barrelled
gun lies across my lap ; and a rude pair of holsters, the
work of Hasan Turki, contains my Colt's six-shooters.
Marching in this order, which was to serve as a
model, we travelled due south along the coast, over
a hard, stoneless, and alluvial plain, here dry, there
muddy (where the tide reaches), across boggy creeks,
broad water-courses, and warty flats of black mould
powdered with nitrous salt, and bristling with the
salsolaceous vegetation familiar to the Arab voyager.
Such is the general formation of the plain between
the mountains and the sea, whose breadth, in a direct
line, may measure from forty-five to forty-eight miles.
Near the first zone of hills, or sub-Ghauts, it produces
a thicker vegetation ; thorns and acacias of different
kinds appear in clumps ; and ground broken with
ridges and ravines announces the junction. After
the monsoon this plain is covered with rich grass.
At other seasons it affords but a scanty supply of
an "aqueous matter" resembling bilgewater. The
land belongs to the Mummasan clan of the Eesa :
how these " Kurrah-jog " or " sun-dwellers," as the
Bedouins are called by the burgher Somal, can exist
here in summer, is a mystery. My arms were peeled
even in the month of December ; and my companions,
panting with the heat, like the Atlantes of Herodotus,
poured forth reproaches upon the rising sun. The
townspeople, when forced to hurry across it in the
hotter season, cover themselves during the day with
Tobes wetted every half -hour in sea-water ; yet they
io6 First Footsteps in East Africa
are sometimes killed by the fatal thirst which the
Simttm engenders. Even the Bedouins are now long-
ing for rain ; a few weeks' drought destroys half
their herds.
Early in the afternoon our Abban and a woman
halted for a few minutes, performed their ablutions,
and prayed with a certain display: satisfied ap-
parently with the result, they never repeated^ the
exercise. About sunset we passed, on the right,
clumps of trees overgrowing a water called " Wara-
bod," the Hyena's Well ; this is the first Marhalah
or halting-place usually made by travellers to the
interior. Hence there is a direct path leading south-
south-west, by six short marches, to the hills. Our
Abban, however, was determined that we should
not so easily escape his kraal. Half-an-hour after-
wards we passed by the second station, " Hanga-
garri," a well near the sea : frequent lights twinkling
through the darkening air informed us that we were
in the midst of the Eesa. At 8 P.M. we reached
" Gagab/' the third Marhalah, where ^the camels,
casting themselves upon the ground, imperatively
demanded a halt. Raghe was urgent for an advance,
declaring that already he could sight the watchfires
of his Rer or tribe I ; but the animals carried the
point against him. They were presently unloaded
and turned out to graze, and the lariats of the mules,
who are addicted to running away, were fastened
to stones for want of pegs, 2 Then, lighting a fire,
we sat down to a homely supper of dates.
The air was fresh and clear ; and the night breeze
was delicious after the steamy breath of day. The
weary confinement of walls made the splendid ex-
panse a luxury to the sight, whilst the tumbling of
the surf upon the near shore, and the music of the
1 I shall frequently use Somali terms, not to display my scanty
knowledge of the dialect, but because they perchance may prove
serviceable to my successors.
2 The Somal always "side-line" their horses and mules with
stout stiff leathern thongs provided with loops and wooden
buttons; we found them upon the whole safer than lariats or
tethers.
From Zayla to the Hills 107
jackal, predisposed to sweet sleep. We now felt
that at length the die was cast. Placing my pistols
by my side, with my rifle butt for a pillow, and its
barrel as a bed-fellow, I sought repose with none of
that apprehension which even the most stout-hearted
traveller knows before the start. It is the difference
between fancy and reality, between anxiety and
certainty : to men gifted with any imaginative powers
the anticipation must ever be worse than the event.
Thus it happens, that he who feels a thrill of fear
before engaging in a peril, exchanges it for a throb
of exultation when he finds himself hand to hand
with the danger.
The " End of Time " volunteered to keep watch
that night. When the early dawn glimmered he
aroused us, and blew up the smouldering fire, whilst
our women proceeded to load the camels. We pur-
sued our way over hard alluvial soil to sand, and
thence passed into a growth of stiff yellow grass not
unlike stubble in English September. Day broke
upon a Somali Arcadia, whose sole flaws were salt
water and Simum. Whistling shepherds l carried in
their arms the younglings of the herds, or, spear in
hand, drove to pasture long regular lines of camels,
that waved their vulture-like heads, and arched
their necks to bite in play their neighbours* faces,
humps, and hind thighs. They were led by a patri-
arch, to whose throat hung a Kor or wooden bell,
the preventive for straggling; and most of them
were followed (for winter is the breeding season) by
colts in every stage of infancy. 2 Patches of sheep,
1 Arabs hate "El Sifr" or whistling, which they hold to be
the chit-chat of the Jinns. Some say that the musician's mouth
is not to be purified for forty days ; others that Satan, touching a
man's person, causes him to produce the offensive sound. The
Hejazis objected to Burckhardt that he could not help talking
to devils, and walking about the room like an unquiet spirit.
The Somali has no such prejudice. Like the Kafir of the Cape,
he passes his day whistling to his flocks and herds; moreover,
he makes signals by changing the note, and is skilful in imitating
the song of birds.
2 In this country camels foal either in the Gugi (monsoon), or
during the cold season immediately after the autumnal rains.
io8 First Footsteps in East Africa
with snowy skins and jetty faces, flocked the yellow
plain ; and herds of goats resembling deer were
driven by hide-clad children to the bush. Women,
in similar attire, accompanied them, some chewing
the inner bark of trees, others spinning yarns of a
white creeper called Sagsug for ropes and tent-mats.
The boys carried shepherds' crooks, 1 and bore their
watering pails, 2 foolscap fashion, upon their heads.
Sometimes they led the ram, around whose neck a
cord of white leather was bound for luck ; at other
times they frisked with the dog, an animal by no
means contemptible in the eyes of the Bedouins. 3
As they advanced, the graceful little sand antelope
bounded away over the bushes ; and above them,
soaring high in the cloudless skies, were flights of
vultures and huge percnopters, unerring indicators
of man's habitation in Somaliland. 4
A network of paths showed that we were approach-
ing a populous place ; and presently men swarmed
forth from their hive-shaped tents, testifying their
satisfaction at our arrival, the hostile Habr Awal
having threatened to "eat them up." We rode
cautiously, as is customary, amongst the yeaning
she-camels, who are injured by a sudden start, and
about 8 A.M. arrived at our guide's kraal, the fourth
station, called " Gudingaras," or the low place where
the Garas tree grows. The encampment lay south-
east (165) of, and about twenty miles from, Zayla.
Raghe disappeared, and the Bedouins flocked out
to gaze upon us as we approached the kraal. Mean-
while Shehrazade and Deenarzade fetched tent-sticks
* The shepherd's staff is a straight stick about six feet long,
with a crook at one end, and at the other a fork to act as a rake.
2 These utensils will be described in a future chapter.
t * The settled Somal have a holy horror of dogs, and, Wahhabi-
like, treat man's faithful slave most cruelly. The wild people are
more humane ; they pay two ewes for a good colley, and demand
a two-year-old sheep as " diyat " or blood-money for the animal,
if killed.
4 Vultures and percnopters lie upon the wing waiting for the
garbage of the kraals ; consequently they are rare near the cow-
villages, where animals are not often killed.
From Zayla to the Hills 109
from the village, disposed our luggage so as to form
a wall, rigged out a wigwam, spread our beds in the
shade, and called aloud for sweet and sour milk. I
heard frequently muttered by the red-headed spear-
men the ominous term " Faranj " 1 ; and although
there was no danger, it was deemed advisable to
make an impression without delay. Presently they
began to deride our weapons : the Hammal requested
them to put up one of their shields as a mark ; they
laughed aloud but shirked compliance. At last a
large brown, bare-necked vulture settled on the
ground at twenty paces' distance. The Somal hate
the " Gurgur," because he kills the dying and devours
the dead on the battlefield : a bullet put through
the bird's body caused a cry of wonder, and some
ran after the lead as it span whistling over the ridge.
Then loading with swan-shot, which these Bedouins
had never seen, I knocked over a second vulture
flying. Fresh screams followed the marvellous feat ;
the women exclaimed, " Lo ! he bringeth down the
birds from heaven " ; and one old man, putting his
forefinger in his mouth, praised Allah and prayed
to be defended from such a calamity. The effect
was such that I determined always to carry a barrel
loaded with shot as the best answer for all who
might object to " Faranj/'
We spent our day in the hut after the normal
manner, with a crowd of woolly-headed Bedouins
squatting perseveringly opposite our quarters, spear
in hand, with eyes fixed upon every gesture. Before
noon the door-mat was let down a precaution also
adopted whenever box or package was opened we
drank milk and ate rice with " a kitchen " of Kawur-
mah. About midday the crowd retired to sleep;
my companions followed their example, and I took
the opportunity of sketching and jotting down notes. 2
1 They apply this term to all but themselves ; an Indian trader
who had travelled to Harar, complained to me that he had always
been called a Frank by the Bedouins in consequence of his
wearing Shalwar or drawers.
2 Generally it is not dangerous to write before these Bedouins,
as they only suspect account-keeping, and none but the educated
i io First Footsteps in East Africa
Early in the afternoon the Bedouins returned, and
resumed their mute form of pleading for tobacco :
each man, as he received a handful, rose slowly from
his hams and went his way. The senior who disliked
the gun was importunate for a charm to cure his
sick camel : having obtained it, he blessed us in a
set speech, which lasted at least half-an-hour, and
concluded with spitting upon the whole party for
good luck. 1 It is always well to encourage these
Nestors ; they are regarded with the greatest rever-
ence by the tribes, who believe that
"old experience doth attain
To something like prophetic strain ; "
and they can either do great good or cause much
petty annoyance.
In the evening I took my gun, and, accompanied
by the End of Time, went out to search for venison :
the plain, however, was full of men and cattle, and
its hidden denizens had migrated. During our walk
we visited the tomb of an Eesa brave. It was about
ten feet long, heaped up with granite pebbles, bits
of black basalt, and stones of calcareous lime : two
upright slabs denoted the position of the head and
feet, and upon these hung the deceased's milk-pails,
much the worse for sun and wind. Round the grave
was a thin fence of thorns : opposite the single narrow
entrance were three blocks of stone planted in line,
and showing the number of enemies slain by the
brave. 2 Beyond these trophies, a thorn roofing, sup-
ported by four bare poles, served to shade the rela-
tives, when they meet to sit, feast, weep, and pray.
The Bedouin funerals and tombs are equally
recognise a sketch. The traveller, however, must be on his
guard : in the remotest villages he will meet Somal who have
returned to savage Hfe after visiting the Sea-board, Arabia, and
possibly India or Egypt.
1 I have often observed this ceremony performed upon a new
turban or other article of attire ; possibly it may be intended as
a mark of contempt, assumed to blind the evil eye.
2 Such is the general form of the Somali grave. Sometimes
two stumps of wood take the place of the upright stones at the
head and foot, and around one grave I counted twenty trophies,
From Zayla to the Hills in
simple. They have no favourite cemeteries as in
Sindh and other Moslem and pastoral lands : men
are buried where they die, and the rarity of the
graves scattered about the country excited my
astonishment. The corpse is soon interred. These
people, like most barbarians, have a horror of death
and all that reminds them of it : on several occasions
I have been begged to throw away a hut-stick, that
had been used to dig a grave. The bier is a rude
framework of poles bound with ropes of hide. Some
tie up the body and plant it in a sitting posture, to
save themselves the trouble of excavating deep : this
perhaps may account for the circular tombs seen in
many parts of the country. Usually the corpse is
thrust into a long hole, covered with wood and
matting, and heaped over with earth and thorns,
half -protected by an oval mass of loose stones, and
abandoned to the jackals and hyenas.
We halted a day at Gudingaras, wishing to see the
migration of a tribe. Before dawn, on the 3oth
November, the Somali Stentor proclaimed from the
ridge-top, " Fetch your camels ! Load your goods !
We march ! " About 8 A.M. we started in the
rear. The spectacle was novel to me. Some 150
spearmen, assisted by their families, were driving
before them divisions which, in total, might amount
to 200 cows, 7000 camels, and 11,000 or 12,000 sheep
and goats. Only three wore the Bal or feather,
which denotes the brave \ several, however, had the
other decoration an ivory armlet. 1 Assisted by the
boys, whose heads were shaved in a cristated fashion
truly ridiculous, and large pariah dogs with bushy
tails, they drove the beasts and carried the colts,
belaboured runaway calves, and held up the hind
legs of struggling sheep. The sick, of whom there
were many dysentery being at the time prevalent
1 Some braves wear above the right elbow an ivory armlet
called Fol or Aj : in the south this denotes the elephant-slayer.
Other Eesa clans assert their warriorhood by small disks of white
stone, fashioned like rings, and fitted upon the little finger of the
left hand. Others bind a bit of red cloth round the brow.
ii2 First Footsteps in East Africa
were carried upon camels with their legs protruding
in front from under the hide-cover. Many of the
dromedaries showed the Habr Awal brand x : laden
with hutting materials and domestic furniture, they
were led by the maidens: the matrons followed,
bearing their progeny upon their backs, bundled in
the shoulder-lappets of cloth or hide. The smaller
girls, who, in addition to the boys' crest, wore a
circlet of curly hair round the head, carried the
weakling lambs and kids, or aided their mammas in
transporting the baby. Apparently in great fear of
the " All " or Commando, the Bedouins anxiously
inquired if I had my " fire " with me, 2 and begged
us to take the post of honour the van. As our
little party pricked forward, the camels started in
alarm, and we were surprised to find that this tribe
did not know the difference between horses and
mules. Whenever the boys lost time in sport or
quarrel, they were threatened by their fathers with
the jaws of that ogre, the white stranger ; and the
women exclaimed, as they saw us approach, " Here
comes the old man who knows knowledge ! " 3
Having skirted the sea for two hours, I rode off
with the End of Time to inspect the Dihh Silil, 4
a fiumara which runs from the western hills north-
eastwards to the sea. Its course is marked by a
long line of graceful tamarisks, whose vivid green
looked doubly bright set of! by tawny stubble and
amethyst-blue sky. These freshets are the Edens of
Adel. The banks are charmingly wooded with acacias
of many varieties, some thorned like the fabled
Zakkum, others parachute-shaped, and planted in
1 It is sufficient for a Bedouin to look at the general appearance
of an animal ; he at once recognises the breed. Each clan,
however, in this part of Eastern Africa has its own mark.
2 They found no better word than "fire " to denote my gun.
8 "Oddai," an old man, corresponds with the Arab Shaykh
in etymology. The Somal, however, give the name to men of
all ages after marriage.
4 The "Dihh" is the Arab "Wady" a fiumara or freshet.
"Webbe" (Obbay, Abbai, &c.) is a large river; "Durdur," a
running stream.
From Zayla to the Hills 113
impenetrable thickets : huge white creepers, snake-
shaped, enclasp giant trees, or connect with their
cordage the higher boughs, or depend like cables
from the lower branches to the ground. Luxuriant
parasites abound : here they form domes of flashing
green, there they surround with verdure decayed
trunks, and not unfrequently cluster into sylvan
bowers, under which grateful sight ! appears succu-
lent grass. From the thinner thorns the bell-shaped
nests of the Loxia depend, waving in the breeze,
and the wood resounds with the cries of bright-winged
choristers. The torrent-beds are of the clearest and
finest white sand, glittering with gold-coloured mica,
and varied with nodules of clear and milky quartz,
red porphyry, and granites of many hues. Some-
times the centre is occupied by an islet of torn trees
and stones rolled in heaps, supporting a clump of
thick jujube or tall acacia, whilst the lower parts
of the beds are overgrown with long lines of lively
green colocynth. 1 Here are usually the wells, sur-
rounded by heaps of thorns, from which the leaves
have been browsed off, and dwarf sticks that support
the water-hide. When the flocks and herds are
absent, troops of gazelles may be seen daintily pacing
the yielding surface; snake trails streak the sand,
and at night the fiercer kind of animals, Hons, leopards,
and elephants, take their turn. In Somalfland the
well is no place of social meeting ; no man lingers
to chat near it, no woman visits it, and the traveller
fears to pitch hut where torrents descend, and where
enemies, human and bestial, meet.
We sat under a tree watching the tribe defile across
the water-course : then remounting, after a ride of
two miles we reached a ground called Kuranyali, 2
upon which the wigwams of the Nomads were already
rising. The parched and treeless stubble lies about
1 I saw these Dihhs only in the dry season ; at times the torrent
must be violent, cutting ten or twelve feet deep into the plain.
2 The name is derived from Kuranyo, an ant : it means the
" place of ants," and is so called from the abundance of a tree
which attracts them.
H
ii4 First Footsteps in East Africa
eight miles from and 145 S.E. of Gudingaras ; both
places are supplied by Angagarri, a well near the
sea, which is so distant that cattle, to return before
nightfall, must start early in the morning.
My attendants had pitched the Gurgi or hut : the
Hammal and Long Guled were, however, sulky on
account of my absence, and the Kalendar appeared
disposed to be mutinous. The End of Time, who
never lost an opportunity to make mischief, whispered
in my ear, " Despise thy wife, thy son, and thy
servant, or they despise thee ! " The old saw was
not wanted, however, to procure for them a sound
scolding. Nothing is worse for the Eastern traveller
than the habit of " sending to Coventry " : it does
away with all manner of discipline.
We halted that day at Kuranyali, preparing water
and milk for two long marches over the desert to the
hills. Being near the shore, the air was cloudy,
although men prayed for a shower in vain : about
midday the pleasant sea breeze fanned our cheeks, and
the plain was thronged with tall pillars of white sand. 1
The heat forbade egress, and our Wigwam was
crowded with hungry visitors. Raghe, urged thereto
by his tribe, became importunate, now for tobacco,
then for rice, now for dates, then for provisions in
general. No wonder that the Prophet made his
Paradise for the Poor a mere place of eating and
drinking. The half-famished Bedouins, Somal or
Arab, think of nothing beyond the stomach their
dreams know no higher vision of' bliss than mere
repletion. A single article of diet, milk or flesh,
paling upon man's palate, they will greedily suck
the stones of eaten dates : yet, Abyssinian like, they
are squeamish and fastidious as regards food. They
despise the excellent fish with which Nature has so
plentifully stocked their seas. 2 " Speak not to me
1 The Arabs call these pillars " Devils," the Somal " SIgo."
2 The Cape Kafirs have the same prejudice against fish, com-
paring its flesh to that of serpents. In some points their squeamish-
ness resembles that of the Somal : he, for instance, who tastes
the Rhinoceros Simus is at once dubbed "Om Fogazan" or
outcast.
From Zayla to the Hills 115
with that mouth which eateth fish ! " is a favourite
insult amongst the Bedouins. If you touch a bird
or a fowl of any description, you will be despised even
by the starving beggar. You must not eat marrow
or the flesh about the sheep's thigh-bone, especially
when travelling, and the kidneys are called a woman's
dish. None but the Northern Somal will touch the
hares which abound in the country, and many refuse
the sand antelope and other lands of game, not
asserting that the meat is unlawful, but simply
alleging a disgust. Those who chew coffee berries
are careful not to place an even number in their
mouths, and camel's milk is never heated, for fear
of bewitching the animal. 1 The Somali, however,
differs in one point from his kinsman the Arab :
the latter prides himself upon his temperance ; the
former, like the North American Indian, measures
manhood by appetite. A " Son of the Somal " is
taught, as soon as his teeth are cut, to devour two
pounds of the toughest mutton, and ask for more:
if his powers of deglutition fail, he is derided as
degenerate.
On the next day (Friday, ist Dec.) we informed
the Abban that we intended starting early in the
afternoon, and therefore warned him to hold him-
self and his escort, together with the water and milk
necessary for our march, in readiness. He promised
compliance and disappeared. About 3 P.M. the
Bedouins, armed as usual with spear and shield,
began to gather round the hut, and nothing in
this country can be done without that terrible
" palaver ! " the speechifying presently commenced.
Raghe in a lengthy harangue hoped that the tribe
would afford us all the necessary supplies and assist
us in the arduous undertaking. His words elicited
no hear ! hear ! there was an evident unwillingness
on the part of the wild men to let us, or rather our
cloth and tobacco, depart. One remarked, with surly
1 This superstition may have arisen from the peculiarity that
the camel's milk, however fresh, if placed upon the fire, breaks
like some cows* milk.
n6 First Footsteps in East Africa
emphasis, that he had " seen no good and eaten no
Bori 1 from that caravan, why should he aid it ? "
When we asked the applauding hearers what they
had done for us, they rejoined by inquiring whose the
land was ? Another, smitten by the fair Shehrazade's
bulky charms, had proposed matrimony, and offered
as dowry a milch camel : she " temporised," not
daring to return a positive refusal, and the suitor
betrayed a certain Hibernian vetteite to consider
consent an unimportant part of the ceremony. The
mules had been sent to the well, with orders to return
before noon : at 4 P.M. they were not visible. I
then left the hut, and, sitting on a cpw's-hide in the
sun, ordered my men to begin loading, despite the
remonstrances of the Abban and the interference of
about fifty Bedouins. As we persisted, they waxed
surlier, and declared that all which was ours became
theirs, to whom the land belonged : we did not deny
the claim, but simply threatened sorcery-death, by
wild beasts and foraging parties, to their " camels,
children, and women." This brought them to then-
senses, the usual effect of such threats ; and presently
arose the senior who had spat upon us for luck's
sake. With his toothless jaws he mumbled a vehe-
ment speech, and warned the tribe that it was not
good to detain such strangers : they lent ready ears
to the words of Nestor, saying, " Let us obey him,
he is near his end I " The mules arrived, but when
I looked for the escort, none was forthcoming. At
Zayla it was agreed that twenty men should protect
us across the desert, which is the very passage of
plunder ; now, however, five or six paupers offered
to accompany us for a few miles. We politely de-
clined troubling them, but insisted upon the attend-
ance of our Abban and three of his kindred : as some
of the Bedouins still opposed us, our aged friend once
more arose, and by copious abuse finally silenced
them. We took leave of him with many thanks
and handfuls of tobacco, in return for which he
1 ** Bpri " in Southern Arabia popularly means a water-pipe :
tore it is used for tobacco.
From Zayla to the Hills 117
blessed us with fervour. Then, mounting our mules,
we set out, followed for at least a mile by a long tail
of howling boys, who, ignorant of clothing, except
a string of white beads round the neck, but armed
with dwarf spears, bows, and arrows, showed all the
impudence of baboons. They derided the End of
Time's equitation till I feared a scene ; sailor-like
he prided himself upon graceful horsemanship, and
the imps were touching his tenderest point.
Hitherto, for the Abban's convenience, we had
skirted the sea, far out of the direct road ; now we
were to strike south-westwards into the interior.
At 6 P.M. we started across a " Goban " I which
eternal summer gilds with a dull ochreish yellow,
towards a thin blue strip of hill on the far horizon.
The Somal have no superstitious dread of night and
its horrors, like Arabs and Abyssinians : our Abban,
however, showed a wholesome mundane fear of
plundering parties, scorpions, and snakes. 2 I had been
1 "Goban" is the low maritime plain lying below the "Bor"
or Ghauts, and opposed to Ogti, the tableland above. "Ban"
is an elevated grassy prairie, where few trees grow ; " Dir," a
small jungle, called Haija by the Arabs ; and Khain is a forest
or thick bush. ** Bor " is a mountain, rock, or hill: a stony
precipice is called "Jar," and the high clay banks of a ravine
"Gebi."
2 Snakes are rare in the cities, but abound in the wilds of
Eastern Africa, and are dangerous to night travellers, though
seldom seen by day. To kill a serpent is considered by the
Bedouins almost as meritorious as to slay an Infidel. The
Somal have many names for the reptile tribe. The Subhanyo,
a kind of whipsnake, and a large yellow rock snake called Got,
are little feared. The Abesi (in Arabic el Hayyeh the Cobra)
is so venomous that it kills the camel ; the Mas or Hanash, and
a long black snake called Jilbis, are considered equally dan-
gerous. Serpents are in Somaliland the subject of many super-
stitions. One horn of the Cerastes, for instance, contains a deadly
poison : the other, pounded and drawn across the eye, makes man
a seer and reveals to Mm the treasures of the earth. There is a
flying snake which hoards precious stones, and is attended by a
hundred guards : a Somali horseman once, it is said, carried away
a jewel ; he was pursued by a reptile army, and although he es-
caped to his tribe, the importunity of the former proprietors was
so great that the plunder was eventually restored to them. ^ Cen-
tipedes are little feared; their venom leads to inconveniences
inore ridiculous than dangerous. Scorpions, especially the large
n8 First Footsteps in East Africa
careful to fasten round my ankles the twists of black
wool called by the Arabs Zaal, 1 and universally used
in Yemen ; a stock of garlic acid and opium, here
held to be specifics, fortified the courage of the party,
whose fears were not wholly ideal, for, in the course
of the night, Shehrazade nearly trod upon a viper.
At first the plain was a network of holes, the
habitations of the Jir Ad, 2 a field rat with ruddy
back and white belly, the Mullah or Parson, a smooth-
skinned lizard, and the Dabagalla, a ground squirrel
with a brilliant and glossy coat. As it became dark
arose a cheerful moon, exciting the bowlings of the
hyenas, the barkings of their attendant jackals, 3
and the chattered oaths of the Hidinhitu bird. 4
yellow variety, are formidable in hot weather : I can speak of the
sting from experience. The first symptom is a sensation of
nausea, and the pain shoots up after a few minutes to the groin,
causing a swelling accompanied by burning and throbbing, which
last about twelve hours. The Somal bandage above the wound
and wait patiently till the effect subsides.
1 These are tightened in case of accident, and act as superior
ligatures. I should, however, advise every traveller in these
regions to provide himself with a pneumatic pump, and not to
place his trust in Zaal, garlic, or opium.
a The grey rat is called by the Somal ** Baradublay " ; in
Eastern Africa it is a minor plague, after India and Arabia,
where, neglecting to sleep in boots, I have sometimes been lamed
for a week by their venomous bites.
s In this country the jackal attends not upon the lion, but
the Waraba. His morning cry is taken as an omen of good or
evil according to the note.
4 Of this bird, a red and longed-legged plover, the Somal tell
the following legend. Originally her diet was meat, and her
society birds of prey: one night, however, her companions
having devoured all the provisions whilst she slept, she swore
never to fly with friends, never to eat flesh, and never to rest
during the hoars of darkness. When she sees anything in the
dark she repeats her oaths, and, according to the Somal, keeps
careful watch all night. There is a larger variety of this bird,
which, purblind during daytime, rises from under the traveller's
feet with loud cries. The Somal have superstitions similar to
that above noticed about several kinds of birds. When the cry
of the "Galu" (so called from his note Gal! Gall come in!
come in 1) is heard over a kraal, the people say, " Let us leave
this place, the Gain hath spoken I " At night they listen for the
Fin, also an ill-omened bird : when a man declares " the Fin did
$ot sleep last night/ 1 it is considered advisable to shift ground,
From Zayla to the Hills 119
Dotted here and there over the misty landscape
appeared dark clumps of a tree called " Kullan," a
thorn with an edible berry not unlike the jujube,
and banks of silvery mist veiled the far horizon from
the sight.
We marched rapidly and in silence, stopping every
quarter of an hour to raise the camels 1 loads as they
slipped on one side. I had now an opportunity of
seeing how feeble a race is the Somal. My com-
panions on the line of march wondered at my being
able to carry a gun ; they could scarcely support,
even whilst riding, the weight of their spears, and
preferred sitting upon them to spare their shoulders.
At times they were obliged to walk because the
saddles cut them, then they remounted because their
legs were tired ; briefly, an English boy of fourteen
would have shown more bottom than the sturdiest.
This cannot arise from poor diet, for the citizens,
who live generously, are yet weaker than the
Bedouins ; it is a peculiarity of race. When fatigued
they become reckless and impatient of thirst ; on
this occasion, though want of water stared us in the
face, one skin of the three was allowed to fall upon
the road and burst, and the second's contents were
drunk before we halted.
At ii P.M., after marching twelve miles in direct
line, we bivouacked upon the plain. The night breeze
from the hills had set in, and my attendants chattered
with cold : Long Guled in particular became stiff as
a mummy. Raghe was clamorous against a fire,
which might betray our whereabouts in the " Bush
Inn." But after such a march the pipe was a
necessity, and the point was carried against him.
After a sound sleep under the moon, we rose at
5 A.M. and loaded the camels. It was a raw mom-
ing. A large nimbus rising from the east obscured
the sun, the line of blue sea was raised like a ridge
by refraction, and the hills, towards which we were
journeying, now showed distinct falls and folds.
Troops of Dera or gazelles, herding like goats,
stood, stared at us, turned their white tails, faced
I2O First Footsteps in East Africa
away, broke into a long trot, and bounded over the
plain as we approached. A few ostriches appeared,
but they were too shy even for bullet. 1 At 8 P.M. we
crossed one of the numerous drains which intersect
this desert" Biya Hablod," or the Girls' Water, a
fiumara running from south-west to east and north-
east. Although dry, it abounded in the Marer, a
tree bearing yellowish-red berries full of viscous
juice like green gum edible but not nice and the
brighter vegetation showed that water was near the
surface. About two hours afterwards, as the sun
became oppressive, we unloaded in a water-course,
called by my companions Adad or the Acacia Gum : 2
the distance was about twenty-five miles, and the
direction S.W. 225 of Kuranyali.
We spread our couches of cow-hide in the midst
of a green mass of tamarisk under a tall Kud tree,
a bright-leaved thorn, with balls of golden gum
clinging to its boughs, dry berries scattered in its
shade, and armies of ants marching to and from its
trunk. All slept upon the soft white sand, with
arms under their hands, for our spoor across the
desert was now unmistakable. At midday rice
was boiled for us by the indefatigable women, and
at 3 P.M. we resumed our march towards the hills,
which had exchanged their shadowy blue for a coat
of pronounced brown. Journeying onwards, we
reached the Barragid fiumara, and presently ex-
changed the plain for rolling ground covered with
the remains of an extinct race, and probably alluded
to by El Makrizi when he records that the Moslems
of Adel had erected, throughout the country, a vast
1 Throughout this country ostriches are exceedingly wild : the
Rev. Mr. Erhardt, of the Mombas Mission, informs me that they
are equally so farther south. The Somal stalk them during the
day with camels, and kill them with poisoned arrows. It is said
that about 3 P.M. the birds leave their feeding places, and
traverse long distances to roost: the people assert that they are
blind at night, and rise up under the pursuer's feet.
2 Several Acacias afford gums, which the Bedouins eat greedily
to strengthen themselves. The town's people declare that the
food produces nothing but flatulence.
From Zayla to the Hills 121
number of mosques and oratories for Friday and
festival prayers. Places of worship appeared in the
shape of parallelograms, unhewed stones piled upon
the ground, with a semicircular niche in the direction
of Meccah. The tombs, different from the heaped
form now in fashion, closely resembled the older
erections in the island of Saad El Din, near Zayla
oblong slabs planted deep in the soil. We also ob-
served frequent hollow rings of rough blocks, circles
measuring about a cubit in diameter: I had not
time to excavate them, and the End of Time could
only inform me that they belonged to the
" Awwalin," or olden inhabitants.
At 7 P.M., as evening was closing in, we came
upon the fresh trail of a large Habr Awal cavalcade.
The celebrated footprint seen by Robinson Crusoe
affected him not more powerfully than did this
" daaseh " my companions. The voice of song
suddenly became mute. The women drove the
camels hurriedly, and all huddled together, except
Raghe, who kept well to the front ready for a run.
Whistling with anger, I asked my attendants what
had slain them : the End of Time, in a hollow voice,
replied, " Verily, pilgrim, whoso seeth the track,
seeth the foe i " and he quoted in tones of terror
those dreary lines
" Man is but a handful of dust,
And life is a violent storm."
We certainly were a small party to contend against
200 horsemen nine men and two women : more-
over all except the Hammal and Long Guled would
infallibly have fled at the first charge.
Presently we sighted the trails of sheep and goats,
showing the proximity of a village : their freshness
was ascertained by my companions after an eager
scrutiny in the moon's bright beams. About half-
an-hour afterwards, rough ravines with sharp and
thorny descents warned us that we had exchanged
the dangerous plain for a place of safety where
horsemen rarely venture. Raghe, not admiring the
122 First Footsteps In East Africa
" open," hurried us onward, in hope of reaching some
kraal. At 8 P.M., however, seeing the poor women
lamed with thorns, and the camels casting them-
selves upon the ground, I resolved to halt. Despite
all objections, we lighted a fire, finished our store
of bad milk the water had long ago been exhausted
and lay down in the cold, clear air, covering our-
selves with hides and holding our weapons.
At 6 A.M. we resumed our ride over rough stony
ground, the thorns tearing our feet and naked legs,
and the camels slipping over the rounded waste of
drift pebbles. The Bedouins, with ears applied to
the earth, listened for a village, but heard none.
Suddenly we saw two strangers, and presently we
came upon an Eesa kraal. It was situated in a deep
ravine, called Damal, backed by a broad and hollow
Fiumara at the foot of the hills, running from west
to east, and surrounded by lofty trees, upon which
brown kites, black vultures, and percnopters like
flakes of snow were mewing. We had marched over
a winding path about eleven miles from, and in a
south-west direction (205) of, Adad. Painful
thoughts suggested themselves: in consequence of
wandering southwards, only six had been taken off
thirty stages by the labours of seven days.
As usual in Eastern Africa, we did not enter the
kraal uninvited, but unloosed and pitched the
wigwam under a tree outside. Presently the elders
appeared bringing, with soft speeches, sweet water,
new milk, fat sheep and goats, for which they de-
manded a Tobe of Cutch canvas. We passed with
them a quiet luxurious day of coffee and pipes,
fresh cream and roasted mutton : after the plain-
heats we enjoyed the cool breeze of the hills, the
doudy sky, and the verdure of the glades, made
doubly green by comparison with the parched
stubbles below.
The Eesa, here mixed with the Gndabirsi, have
little power : we found them poor and proportionally
importunate. The men, wM4ooking as open mouths,
staring eyes, and tangled hair could make them,
From Zayla to the Hills 123
gazed with extreme eagerness upon my scarlet
blanket : for very shame they did not beg it, but
the inviting texture was pulled and fingered by the
greasy multitude. We closed the hut whenever a
valuable was produced, but eager eyes peeped through
every cranny, till the End of Time ejaculated
" Praised be Allah ! " 1 and quoted the Arab saying,
" Show not the Somal thy door, and if he find it,
block it up ! " The women and children were clad
in chocolate-coloured hides, fringed at the tops : to
gratify them I shot a few hawks, and was rewarded
with loud exclamations " Allah preserve thy hand ! "
" May thy skill never fail thee before the foe ! "
A crone seeing me smoke, inquired if the fire did not
burn : I handed my pipe, which nearly choked her,
and she ran away from a steaming kettle, thinking it
a weapon. As my companions observed, there was
not a " Miskal of sense in a Maund of heads " : yet
the people looked upon my sun-burnt skin with a
favour they denied to the " lime-white face."
I was anxious to proceed in the afternoon, but
Raghe had arrived at the frontier of his tribe : he
had blood to settle amongst the Gudabirsi, and
without a protector he could not enter their lands.
At night we slept armed on account of the lions that
infest the hills, and our huts were surrounded with
a thorn fence a precaution here first adopted, and
never afterwards neglected. Early on the morning
of the 4th of December heavy clouds rolled down
from the mountains, and a Scotch mist deepened
into a shower : our new Abban had not arrived, and
the hut-mats, saturated with rain, had become too
heavy for the camels to carry.
In the forenoon the Eesa kraal, loading their
asses, 2 set out towards the plain. This migration
presented no new features, except that several sick
and decrepid were barbarously left behind, for lions
1 ** Snbhaxi' Allah I " an exclamation, of pettisfaness or dis-
pleasure.
* The hills not abounding in camels, Eke the maritime
i,sses become the principal means of transport*
124 First Footsteps in East Africa
and hyenas to devour. 1 To deceive " warhawks "
who might be on the look-out, the migrators set fire
to logs of wood and masses of sheep's earth, which,
even in rain, will smoke and smoulder for weeks.
About midday arrived the two Gudabksi who
intended escorting us to the village of our Abbans.
The elder, Rirash, was a black-skinned, wild-looking
fellow, with a shock head of hair and a deep scowl
which belied his good temper and warm heart : the
other was a dun-faced youth betrothed to Raghe's
daughter. They both belonged to the Mahadasan clan,
and commenced operations by an obstinate attempt
to lead us far out of our way eastwards. The pretext
was the defenceless state of their flocks and herds, the
real reason an itching for cloth and tobacco. We
resisted manfully this time, nerved by the memory
of wasted days, and, despite their declarations of
Absi, 2 we determined upon making westward for
the hills.
At 2 P.M. the caravan started along the Fiumara
course in rear of the deserted kraal, and after an
hour's ascent Rirash informed us that a well was
near. The Hammal and I, taking two water skins,
urged our mules over stones and thorny ground:
presently we arrived at a rocky ravine, where, sur-
rounded by brambles, rude walls, and tough frame
works, lay the wells three or four holes sunk ten
feet deep in the limestone. Whilst we bathed in
the sulphureous spring, which at once discoloured
my silver ring, Rirash, baling up the water in his
shield, filled the bags and bound them to the saddles.
In haste we rejoined the caravan, which we found
about sunset, halted by the vain fears of the guides.
The ridge upon which they stood was a mass of old
mosques and groves, showing that in former days
a thick population tenanted these hills : from the
summit appeared distant herds of kine and white
1 This barbarous practice is generally carried out in cases of
smallpox where contagion is feared.
3 Fear danger; it is a word which haunts the traveller in
Soniaiiland.
From Zayla to the Hills 125
flocks scattered like patches of mountain quartz,
Riding in advance, we traversed the stony ridge,
fell into another ravine, and soon saw signs of
human life. A shepherd descried us from afar and
ran away reckless of property ; causing the End of
Time to roll his head with dignity, and to ejaculate,
" Of a truth said the Prophet of Allah, ' fear is
divided/ " Presently we fell in with a village,
from which the people rushed out, some exclaiming,
" Lo ! let us look at the kings ! " others, " Come,
see the white man, he is governor of Zayla ! " I
objected to such dignity, principally on account of
its price : my companions, however, were inexorable ;
they would be Salatin kings and my colour was
against claims to low degree. This fairness, and the
Arab dress, made me at different times the ruler of
Aden, the chief of Zayla, the Hajj's son, a boy, an
old woman, a man painted white, a warrior in silver
armour, a merchant, a pilgrim, a hedgepriest, Ahmed
the Indian, a Turk, an Egyptian, a Frenchman, a
Banyan, a sherif , and lastly a Calamity sent down
from heaven to weary out the lives of the Somal :
every kraal had some conjecture of its own, and
each fresh theory was received by my companions
with roars of laughter.
As the Gudabirsi pursued us with shouts for
tobacco and cries of wonder, I dispersed them with
a gun-shot : the women and children fled precipi-
tately from the horrid sound, and the men, covering
their heads with their shields, threw themselves face
foremost upon the ground. Pursuing the Fiumara
course, we passed a number of kraals, whose in-
habitants were equally vociferous : out of one came
a Zayla man, who informed us that the Gudabirsi
Abbans, to whom we bore Shaxmarkay's letter of
introduction, were encamped within three days*
march. It was reported, however, that a quarrel
had broken out between them and the Gerad Adan,
their brother-in-law ; no pleasant news I in Africa,
tinder such circumstances, it is customary for Mends
to detain, and for foes to oppose, the traveller. We
126 First Footsteps in East Africa
rode stoutly on, till the air darkened and the moon
tipped the distant hill peaks with a dim mysterious
light. I then called a halt : we unloaded on the
banks of the Darkaynlay fiumara, so called from a
tree which contains a fiery milk, fenced ourselves
in taking care to avoid being trampled upon by
startled camels during our sleep, by securing them
in a separate but neighbouring inclosure spread
our couches, ate our frugal suppers, and lost no
time in falling asleep. We had travelled five hours
that day, but the path was winding, and our progress
in a straight line was at most eight miles.
And now, dear L., being about to quit the land
of the Eesa, I will sketch the tribe.
The Eesa, probably the most powerful branch of
the Somali nation, extends northwards to the Wayma
family of the Dankali ; southwards to the Gudabirsi,
and midway between Zayla and Berberah; east-
wards it is bounded by the sea, and westwards by
the Gailas around Harar. It derives itself from Dirr
and Aydur, without, however, knowing aught
beyond the ancestral names, and is twitted with
paganism by its enemies. This tribe, said to number
100,000 shields, is divided into numerous clans : l
these again split up into minor septs z which plunder,
and sometimes murder, one another in time of peace.
1 The Somali Toi or Tul corresponds with the Arabic Kabilah.
a tribe : under It is the Kola or Jilib (Arabic Fakhizah), a clan,
"Gob 1 * is synonymous with the Arabic Kabail, "men of family, 3 *
opposed to "Gum," the caste-less. In the following pages I
shall speak of the Somali nation, the Eesa tribe, the Rer Musa
/an, and the Rer Galan sept, though by no means sure that such
verbal gradation is generally recognised.
3 The Eesa, for instance, are divided into
1. Rer Wardik (the royal clan). 6. Rer Hurroni
2. Rer Abdullah, 7. Rer Urwena.
3. Rer Musa. 8. Rer Furlabah.
4. Rer Mummasan. 9. Rer Gada.
5. Rer Guleni. 10, Rer A3i Addah.
These are again subdivided : the Rer Musa (numbering half
the Eesa), split up, for instance, into
1. Rer Galan. 4. Rer Dubbah.
2. Rer Harlah. 5. Rer KuL
3. Rer Gadishah. 6. Rer Gedi
From Zayla to the Hills 127
A fierce and turbulent race of republicans, the
Eesa own nominal allegiance to a Ugaz or chief
residing in the Hadagali hills. He is generally
called " Roblay " Prince Rainy the name or
rather title being one of good omen, for a drought
here, like a dinner in Europe, justifies the change
of a dynasty. Every kraal has its Oddai (shaikh or
head man), after whose name the settlement, as in
Sindh and other pastoral lands, is called. He is
obeyed only when his orders suit the taste of King
Demos, is always superior to his fellows in wealth
of cattle, sometimes in talent and eloquence, and in
deliberations he is assisted by the Wail or Akill
the Peetzo-council of Southern Africa Elders obeyed
on account of their age. Despite, however, this
apparatus of rule, the Bedouins have lost none of
the characteristics recorded in the Periplus ; they
are still " uncivilised and under no restraint."
Every free-born man holds himself equal to his
ruler, and allows no royalties or prerogatives to
abridge his birthright of liberty. 1 Yet I have ob-
served, that with all their passion for independence,
the Somal, when subject to strict rule as at Zayla
and Harar, are both apt to discipline and sub-
servient to command.
In character, the Eesa are childish and docile,
cunning, and deficient in judgment, kind and fickle,
good-hurnoured and irascible, warm-hearted, and
infamous for cruelty and treachery. Even the pro-
tector will slay his proteg6, and citizens married to
Eesa girls send their wives to buy goats and sheep
from, but will not trust themselves amongst, their
connections. " Traitorous as an Eesa/' is a proverb
at Zayla, where the people tell you that these
Bedouins with the left hand offer a bowl of milk,
and stab with the right. " Conscience/* I may
1 Traces of this turbulent equality may be found amongst the
slavish Kafirs in general meetings of the tribe, on the occasion
of harvest home, when the chief who at other times destroys
hundreds by a gesture, is abused and treated with contempt by
the youngest warrior.
128 First Footsteps In East Africa
observe, does not exist in Eastern Africa, and
" Repentance " expresses regret for missed oppor-
tunities of mortal crime. Robbery constitutes an
honourable man : murder the more atrocious the
midnight crime the better makes the hero. Honour
consists in taking human life : hyena-like, the
Bedouins cannot be trusted where blood may be
shed : Glory is the having done all manner of harm.
Yet the Eesa have their good points : they are not
noted liars, and will rarely perjure themselves :
they look down upon petty pilfering without vio-
lence, and they are generous and hospitable compared
with the other Somal Personally, I had no reason
to complain of them. They were importunate beggars,
but a pinch of snuff or a handful of tobacco always
made us friends : they begged me to settle amongst
them, they offered me sundry wives, and the
Somali Bedouin, unlike the Arab, readily affiliates
strangers to his tribe they declared that after a
few days* residence I should become one of them-
selves,
In appearance, the Eesa are distinguished from
other Somal by blackness, ugliness of feature, and
premature baldness of the temples ; they also shave,
or rather scrape off with their daggers, the hair
Mgh up the nape of the neck. The locks are dyed
dun, frizzled, and greased ; the Widads or learned
men remove them, and none but paupers leave them
in their natural state ; the mustachios are clipped
close, the straggling whisker is carefully plucked,
and the pile erroneously considered impure is
removed either by velHcation, or by passing the
limbs through the fire. The eyes of the Bedouins,
also, are less prominent than those of the citizens :
the brow projects in pent-house fashion, and the
organ, exposed to bright light, and accustomed to
gaze at distant objects, acquires more concentration
and power. I have seen amongst them handsome
profiles, and some of the girls have fine figures with
piquant if not pretty features.
Flocks and herds form the true wealth of the Eesa,
From Zayla to the Hills 129
According to them, sheep and goats are of silver,
and the cow of gold : they compare camels to the
rock, and believe, like most Moslems, the horse to have
been created from the wind. Their diet depends upon
the season. In hot weather, when forage and milk
dry up, the flocks are slaughtered, and supply excellent
mutton ; during the monsoon men become fat, by
drinking all day long the produce of their cattle.
In the latter article of diet, the Eesa are delicate and
curious : they prefer cow's milk, then the goat's,
and lastly the ewe's, which the Arab loves best : the
first is drunk fresh, and the two latter clotted, whilst
the camel's is slightly soured. The townspeople use
camel's milk medicinally : according to the Bedouins,
he who lives on this beverage, and eats the meat for
forty-four consecutive days, acquires the animal's
strength. It has perhaps less " body " than any
other milk, and is deliciously sweet shortly after
foaling : presently it looses flavour, and nothing can
be more nauseous than the produce of an old camel.
The Somal have a name for cream " Laben " but
they make no use of the article, churning it with the
rest of the milk. They have no buffaloes, shudder
at the Tartar idea of mare's-milk, like the Arabs
hold the name Labban 1 a disgrace, and make it a
point of honour not to draw supplies from their
cattle during the day.
The life led by these wild people is necessarily
monotonous. They rest but little from n P.M. till
dawn and never sleep in the bush for fear of
plundering parties. Few begin the day with prayer
as Moslems should : for the most part they apply
themselves to counting and milking their cattle.
The animals, all of which have names, 2 come when
called to the pail, and supply the family with a morning
meal. Then the warriors/ grasping their spears, and
sometimes the young women armed only with staves,
drive their herds to pasture: the matrons and
1 " Milk-seller."
2 For Instance, Anfarr, the "Spotted"; Tarren, "Wbeat-
ftcw," &c. &c.
I
130 First Footsteps in East Africa
children, spinning or rope-making, tend the flocks,
and the kraal is abandoned to the very young, the
old, and the sick. The herdsmen wander about,
watching the cattle and tasting nothing but the pure
element or a pinch of coarse tobacco. Sometimes
they play at Shahh, Shantarah, and other games,
of which they are passionately fond : with a board
formed of lines traced in the sand, and bits of dry
wood or camel's earth acting pieces, they spend hour
after hour, every looker-on vociferating his opinion,
and catching at the men, till apparently the two
players are those least interested in the game. Or,
to drive off sleep, they sit whistling to their flocks,
or they perform upon the Forimo, a reed pipe generally
made at Harar, which has a plaintive sound uncom-
monly pleasing. 1 In the evening, the kraal again
resounds with lowing and bleating : the camel's milk
is all drunk, the cow's and goat's reserved for butter
and ghee, which the women prepare ; the numbers
are once more counted, and the animals are carefully
penned up for the night. This simple life is varied
by an occasional birth and marriage, dance and
foray, disease and murder. Their maladies are few
and simple 2 ; death generally comes by the spear,
1 It is used by the northern people, the Abyssinians, Gallas,
Adail, Eesa, and Gudabirsi ; the southern Somal ignore it.
* The most dangerous disease is smallpox, which history traces
to Eastern Abyssinia, where it still becomes at times a violent
epidemic, sweeping off its thousands. The patient, if a man of
note, is placed upon the sand, and fed with rice or millet bread
till he recovers or dies. The chicken-pox kills many infants ; they
are treated by bathing in the fresh blood of a sheep, covered with
the skin, and exposed to the sun. Smoke and glare, dirt and flies,
cold winds and naked extremities, cause ophthalmia, especially
in the bilk ; this disease rarely blinds any save the citizens, and
no remedy is known. Dysentery is cured by lice and sour milk,
patients also drink clarified cows* butter; and in bad cases the
stomach is cauterised, fire and disease, according to the Somal,
never coexisting. Haemorrhoids, when dry, are reduced by a stick
used as a bougie and allowed to remain in loco all night. Some-
times the part affected is cupped with a horn and knife, or a leech
performs excision. The diet is camels' or goats' flesh and milk ;
clarified butter and Bussorah dates rice and mutton are carefully
avoided. For a certain local disease, they use senna or colocynth,
From Zayla to the Hills 131
and the Bedouin is naturally long-lived. I have
seen Macrobians hale and strong, preserving their
powers and faculties in spite of eighty and ninety
years.
anoint the body with sulphur boiled in ghee, and expose it to
the sun, or they leave the patient all night in the dew ; abstinence
and perspiration generally effect a cure. For the minor form,
the afflicted drink the melted fat of a sheep's tail. Consumption
is a family complaint, and therefore considered incurable ; to use
the Somali expression, they address the patient with *' Allah, have
mercy upon thee 1 " not with '* Allah cure thee ! "
There are leeches who have secret simples for curing wounds.
Generally the blood is squeezed out, the place is washed with
water, the lips are sewn up and a dressing of astringent leaves
is applied. They have splints for fractures, and they can reduce
dislocations, A medical friend at Aden partially dislocated his
knee, which half-a-dozen of the faculty insisted upon treating
as a sprain. Of all his tortures none was more severe than that
inflicted by my Somali visitors. They would look at him, dis-
tinguish the complaint, ask him how long he had been invalided,
and hearing the reply four months would break into exclama-
tions of wonder. "In our country," they cried, "when a man
falls, two pull his body and two his legs, then they tie sticks round
it, give him plenty of camel's milk, and he is well in a month ;'*
a speech which made friend S. groan in spirit.
Firing and clarified butter are the farrier's panaceas. Camel?
are cured by sheep's head broth, asses by chopping one ear,
mules by cutting off the tail, and horses by ghee or a drench of
melted fat.
CHAPTER VI
FROM THE ZAYLA HILLS TO THE MARAR PRAIRIE
I HAVE now, dear L., quitted the maritime plain or
first zone to enter the Ghauts, that threshold of the
^Ethiopian highlands which, beginning at Tajurrah,
sweeps in semicircle round the bay of Zayla, and
falls about Berberah into the range of mountains which
fringes the bold Somali coast. This chain has been
inhabited, within History's memory, by three dis-
tinct races the Gallas, the ancient Moslems of Adel,
and by the modern Somal. As usual, however, in
the East, it has no general vernacular name. 1
The aspect of these Ghauts is picturesque. The
primitive base consists of micaceous granite, with
veins of porphyry and dykes of the purest white
quartz : above lie strata of sandstone and lime, here
dun, there yellow, or of a dull grey, often curiously
contorted and washed clear of vegetable soil by the
heavy monsoon. On these heights, which are mostly
conoid with rounded tops, joined by ridges and saddle-
backs, various kinds of Acacia cast a pallid and sickly
green, like the olive tree upon the hUls of Provence.
They are barren in the cold season, and the Nomads
migrate to the plains : when the monsoon covers
them with rich pastures, the people revisit their
deserted kraals. The Kloofs or ravines are the most
remarkable features of this country : in some places
the sides rise perpendicularly, like gigantic walls, the
breadth varying from one hundred yards to half a
mile; in others cliffs and scaurs, sapped at their
1 Every hill and peak, ravine and valley, will be known by
some striking epithet: as Borad, the White Hill; Libohlay, the
Lions' Mountain ; and so forth.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 133
foundations, encumber the bed, and not unfrequently
a broad band of white sand stretches between two
fringes of emerald green, delightful to look upon
after the bare and ghastly basalt of Southern Arabia.
The Jujube grows to a height already betraying signs
of African luxuriance : through its foliage flit birds,
gaudy-coloured as kingfishers, of vivid red, yellow,
and changing green. I remarked a long-tailed jay
called Gobiyan or Fat, 1 russet-hued ringdoves, the
modest honey-bird, corn quails, canary-coloured
finches, sparrows gay as those of Surinam, humming-
birds with a plume of metallic lustre, and especially
a white-eyed kind of rnaina, called by the Somal,
Shimbir Load or the cow-bird. The Armo-creeper, 2
with large fleshy leaves, pale green, red, or crimson,
and clusters of bright berries like purple grapes,
forms a conspicuous ornament in the valleys. There
is a great variety of the Cactus tribe, some growing
to the height of thirty and thirty-five feet : of these
one was particularly pointed out to me. The vulgar
Somal call it Guraato, the more learned Shajarat
el Zakkum : it is the mandrake of these regions, and
the round excrescences upon the summits of its fleshy
arms are supposed to resemble men's heads and faces.
On Tuesday the 5th December we arose at 6 A.M.,
after a night so dewy that our clothes were drenched,
and we began to ascend the Wady Darkaynlay,
which winds from east to south. After an hour's
march appeared a small cairn of rough stones, called
Siyaro, or Mazar, 3 to which each person, in token of
honour, added his quotum. The Abban opined that
Auliya or holy men had sat there, but the End of
1 The Arabs call it Kakatua, and consider it a species of parrot.
The name Cacatoes is given by the Cape Boers, according to
Delegorgue, to the Coliphymus Concolor. The Gobiyan resembles
in shape and flight our magpie ; it has a crest and a brown coat
with patches of white, and a noisy note like a frog. It is rery
cunning, and seldom affords a second shot.
2 The berries of the Arrao are eaten by children, and its leaves,
which never dry up, by the people in times of famine ; they most
be boiled, or the acrid juice would excoriate the mouth.
3 Siyaro is the Somali corruption of the Arabic Ziyarat, whicli,
gynonvmons with Mazar^ means a place of piaus visitation.
134 First Footsteps in East Africa
Time more sagaciously conjectured that It was the
site of some Galla idol or superstitious rite. Presently
we came upon the hills of the White Ant, 1 a char-
acteristic feature in this part of Africa. Here the
land has the appearance of a Turkish cemetery on
a grand scale : there It seems like a city in ruins :
in some places the pillars are truncated into a re-
semblance to bee-hives, in others they cluster together,
suggesting the idea of a portico ; whilst many of
them, veiled by trees, and overrun with gay creepers,
look like the remains of sylvan altars. Generally
the hills are conical, and vary in height from four
to twelve feet : they are counted by hundreds, and
the Somal account for the number by declaring that
the insects abandon their home when dry, and com-
mence building another. The older erections are
worn away, by wind and rain, to a thin tapering
spire, and are frequently hollowed and arched beneath
by rats and ground squirrels. The substance, fine
yellow mud, glued by the secretions of the ant, is
hard to break : it is pierced, sieve-like, by a network
of tiny shafts. I saw these hills for the first time
In the Wady Darkaynlay : in the interior they are
larger and longer than near the maritime regions.
We travelled up the Fiumara in a southerly direc-
tion tin 8 A.M., when the guides led us away from
the bed. They anticipated meeting Gudabirsis :
pallid with fear, they also trembled with cold and
hunger. Anxious consultations were held. One
man, Ali surnamed " Doso," because he did nothing
but eat, drink, and stand over the fire determined
to leave us : as, however, he had received a Tobe
for pay, we put a veto upon that proceeding. After
a march of two hours, over ground so winding that
we had not covered more than three miles, our guides
halted under a tree, near a deserted kraal, at, a place
called El Armo, the " Armo-creeper water," or more
facetlou ly Dabadalashay : from Damal it bore S.W.
190. One of our Bedouins, mounting a mule, rode
forward to gather intelligence, and bring back a skin
1 The Somal call the insect Abor, and its hill Pundinpo,
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 135
full of water. I asked the End of Time what they
expected to hear : he replied with the proverb " News
liveth ! " The Somali Bedouins have a passion for
knowing how the world wags. In some of the more
desert regions the whole population of a village will
follow the wanderer. No traveller ever passes a
kraal without planting spear in the ground, and
demanding answers to a lengthened string of queries :
rather than miss intelligence he will inquire of a
woman. Thus it is that news flies through the
country. Among the wild Gudabirsi the Russian war
was a topic of interest, and at Harar I heard of a
violent storm, which had damaged the shipping in
Bombay Harbour, but a few weeks after the event.
The Bedouin returned with an empty skin but
a full budget. I will offer you, dear L., a specimen
of the " palaver " 1 which is supposed to prove the
aphorism that aH barbarians are orators. Demos-
thenes leisurely dismounts, advances, stands for a
moment cross-legged the favourite posture in this
region supporting each hand with a spear planted in
the ground : thence he slips to squat, looks around,
ejects saliva, shifts his quid to behind his ear, places
his weapons before him, takes up a bit of stick, and
traces lines which he carefully smooths away it being
ill-omened to mark the earth. The listeners sit
gravely in a semicircle upon their heels, with their
spears, from whose bright heads flashes a ring of
troubled light, planted upright, and look steadfastly
on his countenance over the upper edges of their
shields with eyes apparently planted, like those of the
Blemmyes, in their breasts. When the moment for
delivery is come, the head man inquires, " What is
the news ? " The informant would communicate the
important fact that he has been to the well : he pro-
ceeds as follows, noting emphasis by raising his voice,
at times about six notes, and often violently striking
at the ground in front.
1 The corrupted Portuguese word used by African travellers ;
in the western regions it is called Kelder, and the Arabs term It
"Kalam."
136 First Footsteps in East Africa
" It is good news, if Allah please I "
" Wa Sidda I " Even so ! respond the listeners,
intoning or rather groaning the response.
1 1 mounted mule this morning. 3 '
1 Even so ! "
' I departed from ye riding."
' Even so i "
1 There " (with a scream and pointing out the
direction with a stick).
I Even so ! "
' There I went."
( Even so ! "
' I threaded the wood."
< Even so ! "
I 1 traversed the sands/'
' Even so 1 "
* I feared nothing."
f Even so ! "
1 At last I came upon cattle tracks."
c Hoo 1 hoo ! ! hoc 1 II " (an ominous pause follows
this exclamation of astonishment).
' They were fresh."
' Even so 1 "
* So were the earths."
' Even so ! "
* I distinguished the feet of women."
{ Even so 1 "
1 But there were no camels."
* Even so I "
' At last I saw sticks "
* Even so ! "
1 Stones "
( Even so ! "
' Water "
1 Even so ! "
' A weH ! 1 ! "
Then follows the palaver, wherein, as occasionally
happens further West, he distinguishes himself who
can rivet the attention of the audience for at least
an hour without saying anything in particular. The
advantage of their circumlocution , however, is that
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 137
by considering a subject in every possible light and
phase as regards its cause and effect, antecedents,
actualities, and consequences, they are prepared for
any emergency which, without the palaver, might
come upon them unawares.
Although the thermometer showed summer heat,
the air was cloudy and raw blasts poured down from
the mountains. At half-past 3 P.M. our camels were
lazily loaded, and we followed the course of the
Fiumara, which runs to the W. and S.W. After
half-an~hour's progress we arrived at the gully in
which are the wells, and the guides halted because
they descried half-a-dozen youths and boys bathing
and washing their Tobes. All, cattle as well as men,
were sadly thirsty: many of us had been chewing
pebbles during the morning, yet, afraid of demands
for tobacco, the Bedouins would have pursued the
march without water had I not forced them to halt.
We found three holes in the sand ; one was dry, a
second foul, and the third contained a scanty supply
of the pure element from twenty to twenty-five feet
below the surface. A youth stood in the water and
filled a wicker-pail, which he tossed to a companion
perched against the side half-way up : the latter in
his turn hove it to a third, who, catching it at the
brink, threw the contents, by this time half wasted,
into the skin cattle trough. We halted about half-
an-hour to refresh man and beast, and then resumed
our way up the Wady, quitting it where a short cut
avoids the frequent windings of the bed. This opera-
tion saved but little time ; the ground was stony,
the rough ascents fatigued the camels, and our legs
and feet were lacerated by the spear-like thorns.
Here the ground was overgrown with aloes, 1 some-
times six feet high, with pink and " pale Pomona
green " leaves, bending in the line of beauty towards
1 Three species of the Dar or Aloe grow everywhere in the
higher regions of the Somali country. The first is called Dar
Main, the inside of its peeled leaf is chewed when water cannot
be procured. The Dar Murodx or Elephant's aloe is larger and
useless: the Dar Digwen or Long-eared resembles that of
Socotra,
138 First Footsteps In East Africa
the ground, graceful in form as the capitals of Corin-
thian columns, and crowned with gay-coloured bells,
but barbarously supplied with woody horns and
strong serrated edges. There the Hig, an aloetic
plant with a point so hard and sharp that horses
cannot cross ground where it grows, stood in bunches
like the largest and stiffest of rushes. 1 Senna sprang
spontaneously on the banks, and the gigantic Ushr
or Ascleplas shed its bloom upon the stones and
pebbles of the bed. My attendants occupied them-
selves with gathering the edible pod of an Acacia
called Kura, 2 whilst I observed the view. Frequent
ant-hills gave an appearance of habitation to a desert
still covered with the mosques and tombs of old
Adel ; and the shape of the country had gradually
changed, basins and broad slopes now replacing the
thickly crowded conoid peaks of the lower regions.
As the sun sank towards the west, Long Guled
complained bitterly of the raw breeze from the hills.
We passed many villages, distinguished by the bark-
ing of dogs and the bleating of flocks on their way
to the field : the unhappy Raghe, however, who had
now become our protege, would neither venture into
a settlement, nor bivouac amongst the lions. He
hurried us forwards till we arrived at a hollow called
Gud, " the Hole," which supplied us with the pro-
tection of a deserted kraal, where our camels, half-
starved and knocked up by an eight miles' march,
were speedily unloaded. Whilst pitching the tent
we were visited by some Gudabirsi, who attempted
to seize pur Abban, alleging that he owed them a cow.
We replied doughtily that he was under our sandals :
as they continued to speak in a high tone, a pistol
was discharged over their heads, after which they
cringed like dogs. A blazing fire, a warm supper, dry
1 The Hig is called " Salab" by the Arabs, who use its long
tough fibre for ropes. Patches of this plant situated on moist
ground at the foot of hills, are iavourite places with sand antelope,
spur- fowl, and other game.
2 The Darnel or pod has a sweetish taste, not unlike that of
a withered pea; pounded and mixed with milk or ghee, it is
relished by the Bedouins when vegetable food is scarce.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 139
beds, broad jests, and funny stories, soon restored
the flagging spirits of pur party. Towards night the
moon dispersed the thick mists which, gathering into
clouds, threatened rain, and the cold sensibly
diminished : there was little dew, and we should
have slept comfortably had not our hungry mules,
hobbled as they were, hopped about the kraal and
fought till dawn.
On the 6th December we arose late to avoid the
cold morning air, and at 7 A.M. set out over rough
ground, hoping to ascend the Ghauts that day.
After creeping about two miles, the camels, unable
to proceed, threw themselves upon the earth, and
we unwillingly called a halt at Jiyaf, a basin below
the Dobo 1 fiumara. Here, white flocks dotting the
hills and the scavengers of the air warned us that
we were in the vicinity of villages. Our wigwam
was soon full of fair-faced Gudabirsi, mostly Loajira -
or cow-herd boys, who, according to the custom of
their class, wore their Tobes bound scarf-like round
their necks. They begged us to visit their village,
and offered a heifer for each lion shot on Mount
Libahlay : unhappily we could not afford time.
These youths were followed by men and women
bringing milk, sheep, and goats, for which, grass being
rare, they asked exorbitant prices eighteen cubits of
Cutch canvas for a lamb, and two of blue cotton for
a bottle of ghee. Amongst them was the first really
pretty face seen by me in the Somali country. The
head was well formed, and gracefully placed upon
a long thin neck and narrow shoulders ; the hair,
brow, and nose were unexceptionable, there was an
arch look in the eyes of jet and pearl, and a suspicion
of African protuberance about the Mps, which gave
the countenance an exceeding naivete. Her skin was
a warm, rich nut-brown, an especial charm in these
regions, and her movements had that grace which
suggests perfect symmetry of limb. The poor girl's
1 Dobo in the Somali tongue signifies mud or clay.
2 The Loajira (from " Loh," a cow) is a neatherd ; the
" Geljira" is the man who drives camels.
140 First Footsteps in East Africa
costume, a coif for the back hair, a cloth Imperfectly
covering the bosom, and a petticoat of hides, made
no great mystery of forms: equally rude were her
ornaments ; an armlet and pewter earrings, the work
of some blacksmith, a necklace of white porcelain
beads, and sundry talismans in cases of tarnished
and blackened leather. As a tribute to her prettiness
I gave her some cloth, tobacco, and a bit of salt,
which was rapidly becoming valuable : her husband
stood by, and, although the preference was marked,
he displayed neither anger nor jealousy. She showed
her gratitude by bringing us milk, and by assisting us
to start next morning. In the evening we hired three
fresh camels l to carry our goods up the ascent, and
killed some antelopes which, in a stew, were not con-
temptible. The End of Time insisted upon firing a gun
to frighten away the lions, who make night hideous
with their growls, but never put in an appearance.
The morning cold greatly increased, and we did
not start till 8 A.M. After half-an-hour's march up
the bed of a fiumara, leading apparently to a cul de
sac of lofty rocks in the hills, we quitted it for a rude
zig-zag winding along its left side, amongst bushes,
thorn trees, and huge rocks. The walls of the opposite
bank were strikingly perpendicular ; in some places
stratified, in others solid and polished by the course
of stream and cascade. The principal material was
a granite, so coarse, that the composing mica, quartz,
and felspar separated into detached pieces as large
as a man's thumb ; micaceous grit, which glittered
in the sunbeams, and various sandstones, abounded.
The road caused us some trouble ; the camels* loads
were always slipping from their mats ; I found it
necessary to dismount from my mule, and, sitting
down, we were stung by the large black ants which
infest these hills. 2
1 For these we paid twenty*four cubits of canvas, and two
of blue cotton ; equivalent to about three shillings.
3 The natives call them Jana; they are about three-fourths
of an inch long, and armed with stings that prick like thorns
and burn violently for a few minutes.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 141
About half-way up we passed two cairns, and
added to them our mite like good Soinal. After two
hours of hard work the summit of this primitive pass
was attained, and sixty minutes more saw us on the
plateau above the hills the second zone of East
Africa, Behind us lay the plains, of which we vainly
sought a view : the broken ground at the foot of the
mountains is broad, and mists veiled the reeking
expanse of the low country. 1 The plateau in front
of us was a wide extent of rolling ground, rising
slightly towards the west ; its colour was brown with
a threadbare coat of verdure, and at the bottom of
each rugged slope ran a stony water-course trending
from south-west to north-east. The mass of tangled
aloes, ragged thorn, and prim-looking poison trees -
1 Near Berberah, where the descents are more rapid, such
panoramas are common.
3 This is the celebrated Wab, which produces the Somali
Wabayo, a poison applied to darts and arrows. It is a round
stiff evergreen, not unlike a bay, seldom taller than twenty feet,
affecting hill sides and torrent banks, growing in clumps that
look black by the side of the Acacias ; thornless, with a laurel -
coloured leaf, which cattle will not touch unless forced by
famine, pretty bunches of pinkish- while flowers, and edible berries
black and ripening to red. The bark is thin, the wood yellow,
compact, exceedingly tough and hard, the root somewhat like
liquorice ; the latter is prepared by tritu ration and other processes,
and the produce is a poison in substance and colour resembling
pitch.
Travellers have erroneously supposed the arrow poison of
Eastern Africa to be the sap of a Euphorbium. The following
** observations accompanying a substance procured near Aden,
and used by the Somalis to poison their arrows, 7 * by F. S. Arnott,
Esq., M.D., will be read with interest.
" In February 1853, Dr. Arnott had forwarded to him a watery
extract prepared from the root of a tree, described as 'Wabie,*
a toxicodendron from the Somali country on the Habr Gerhajis
range of the Goolies mountains. The tree grows to the height
of twenty feet. The poison is obtained by boiling the root in
water, until it attains the consistency of an inspissated juice.
When cool the barb of the arrow is anointed with the juice, which
is regarded as a virulent poison, and it renders a wound tainted
therewith incurable. Dr. Arnott was informed that death usually
took place within an hour ; that the hairs and nails dropped off
after death, and it was believed that the application of heat
assisted its poisonous qualities. He could not, however, ascertain
142 First Footsteps in East Africa
must once have been populous; tombs and houses
of the early Moslems covered with ruins the hills
and ridges.
the quantity made use of by the Somalis, and doubted if the
point of an arrow would convey a sufficient quantity to produce
such immediate effects. He had tested its powers in some other
experiments, besides the ones detailed, and although it failed in
several instances, yet he was led to the conclusion that it was a
very powerful narcotic irritant poison. He had not, however,
observed the local effect said to be produced upon the point of
insertion."
"The following trials were described :
" I. A little was inserted into the inside of the ear of a sickly
sheep, and death occurred in two hours.
" 2. A little \vas inserted into the inside of the ear of a healthy
sheep, and death occurred in two hours, preceded by convulsions.
" 3. Five grains were given to a dog ; vomiting took place after
an hour, and death in three or four hours.
"4. One grain was swallowed by a fowl, but no effect produced.
"5. Three grains were given to a sheep, but without producing
any effect,
"6. A small quantity was inserted into the ear and shoulder of
a dog, but no effect was produced.
" y. Upon the same dog two days after, the same quantity was
inserted into the thigh ; death occurred in less than two hours.
*'8. Seven grains were given to a sheep without any effect
whatever.
"9. To a dog five grains were administeied, but it was rejected
by vomiting ; this was again repeated on the following day, with
the same result. On the same day four grains were inserted into
a wound upon the same dog; it produced violent effects in ten,
and death in thirty-five, minutes.
" 10. To a sheep two grains in solution were given without any
effect being produced. The post-mortem appearances observed
were, absence of all traces of inflammation, collapse of the lungs,
and distension of the cavities of the heart/'
Further experiments of the Somali arrow poison by R. Haines,
M.B., assistant surgeon (from Transactions of the Medical and
Physical Society f Bombay ^ No. 2, new series 1853-1854).
*' Having while at Ahmednuggur received from the secretary
a small quantity of Somali arrow poison, alluded to by Mr.
Vaughan in his notes on articles of the Materia Medica, and
published in the last volume of the Society's Transactions, and
called * Wabie,* the following experiments were made with it :
"September i*]tL i. A small healthy rabbit was taken, and
the skin over the hip being divided, a piece of the poisonous
extract about the size of a corn of wheat was inserted into the
cellular tissue beneath: thirty minutes afterwards, seems disin-
clined to move, breathing quicker, passed * * * : one hour, again
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 143
About noon we arrived at a spot called the Kafir's
Grave. It is a square enceinte of rude stones about
one hundred yards each side ; and legends say that
passed * * * followed by * * * ; has eaten a little ; one hour and
a half, appears quite to have recovered from his uneasiness, and
has become as lively as before. (This rabbit was made use of
three days afterwards for the third experiment.)
" 2. A full-grown rabbit. Some of the poison being dissolved
in water a portion of the solution corresponding to about fifteen
grains was injected into an opening in the peritoneum, so large a
quantity being used, in consequence of the apparent absence of
effect in the former case : five minutes, he appears to be in pain,
squeaking occasionally ; slight convulsive retractions of the head
and neck begin to take place, passed a small quantity of * * * :
ten minutes, the spasms are becoming more frequent, but are
neither violent nor prolonged, respiration scarcely perceptible ; he
now fell on his side: twelve minutes, several severe general
convulsions came on, ^and at the end of another minute he was
quite dead, the pulsation being for the last minute quite imper-
ceptible. The chest was instantly opened, but there was no
movement of the heart whatever.
"September 2Ot&. 3. The rabbit used for the first experiment
was taken and an attempt was made to inject a little filtered
solution into the jugular vein, which failed from the large size of
the nozzle of the syringe; a good deal of blood was lost. A
portion of the solution corresponding to about two grains and a
half of the poison was then injected into a small opening made in
the pleura. Nine minutes afterwards: symptoms precisely re-
sembling those in number two began to appear. Fourteen minutes :
convulsions more violent ; fell on his side. Sixteen minutes, died.
* 1 4. A portion of the poison, as much as could be applied, was
smeared over the square iron head of an arrow, and allowed to
dry. The arrow was then shot into the buttock of a goat with
sufficient force to carry the head out of sight ; twenty minutes
afterwards, no effect whatever having followed, the arrow was
extracted. The poison had become softened aud was wiped com-
pletely off two of the sides, and partly off the two other sides.
The animal appeared to suffer very little pain from the wound;
he was kept for a fortnight, and then died, but not apparently
from any cause connected with the wound. In fact he \vas
previously diseased. Unfortunately the seat of the wound was
not then examined, but a few days previously it appeared to have
healed of itself. In the rabbit of the former experiment, three
days after the insertion of the poison in the wound, the latter was
closed with a dry coagulum and presented no marks of inflamma-
tion around it.
"5. Two good-sized village dogs being secured, to each after
several hours' fasting were given about five grains enveloped in
meat. The smaller one chewed it a long time, and frothed much
144 F^st Footsteps in East Africa
one Misr, a Galla chief, when dying, ordered the place
to be filled seven times with she-camels destined
for Ms Ahan or funeral feast. This is the fourth
stage upon the direct road from Zayla to Harar :
we had wasted ten days, and the want of grass and
water made us anxious about our animals. The
camels could scarcely walk, and my mule's spine
rose high beneath the Arab pad: such are the
effects of Jilal, 1 the worst of travelling seasons in
Eastern Africa.
at the mouth. He appeared to swallow very little of it, but the
larger one ate the whole up without difficulty. After more than
two hours no effect whatever being perceptible in either animal,
they were shot to get rid of them. These experiments, though not
altogether complete, certainly establish the fact that it is a poison
of no very great activity. The quantity made use of in the second
experiment was too great to allow a iair deduction to be made as to
its properties. When a fourth to a sixth of the quantity was
employed in the third experiment the same effects followed, but
with rather less rapidity ; death resulting in the one case in ten, in
the other in sixteen minutes, although the death in the latter case
was perhaps hastened by the loss of blood. The symptoms more
resemble those produced by nux vomica than by any other agent.
No apparent drowsiness, spasms, slight at first, beginning in the
neck, increasing in intensity, extending over the whole body, and
finally stopping respiration and with it the action of the heart.
Experiments first and fourth show that a moderate quantity, such
as may be introduced on the point of an arrow, produced no sensible
effect either on a goat or a rabbit, and it could scarcely be supposed
that it would have more on a man than on the latter animal ; and
the fifth experiment proves that a full dose taken into the stomach
produces no result within a reasonable time.
"The^extact appeared to have been very carelessly prepared.
It contained much earthy matter, and even small stones, and a
large proportion of what seemed to be oxidised extractive matter
also was left undisturbed when it was treated with water ; probably
it was not a good specimen. It seems, however, to keep well, and
shows no disposition to become mouldy."
1 The Somal divide their year into four seasons ;
I. Gugi (monsoon, from " Gug," rain) begins in April, is violent
for forty-four days, and subsides in August. Many roads may be
traversed at this season, which are death in times of drought ; the
country becomes " Barwako " (in Arabid Rakha, a place of plenty),
forage and water abound, the air is temperate, and the light showers
enliven the traveller.
^2. Hagi is the hot season after the monsoon, and corresponding
with our autumn : the country suffers from the Fora, a violent dusty
Simum, which is allayed by a fall of rain called Karan.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 145
At i P.M. we unloaded under a sycamore tree,
called, after a Galla chieftain, 1 " HaMmalah," and
giving its name to the surrounding valley. This
ancient of the forest is more than half decayed,
several huge limbs lie stretched upon the ground,
whence, for reverence, no one removes them : upon
the trunk, or rather trunks, for its bifurcates, are
marks deeply cut by a former race, and Time has
hollowed in the larger stem an arbour capable of
containing half-a-dozen men. This holy tree was,
according to the Somal, a place of prayer for the
infidel, and its ancient honours are not departed.
Here, probably to commemorate the westward pro-
gress of the tribe, the Gudabirsi Ugaz or chief has
the white canvas turban bound about his brows,
and hence rides forth to witness the equestrian games
in the Harawwah Valley. As every one who passes
by visits the Halimalah tree, foraging parties of the
Northern Eesa and the Jibril Abokr (a clan of the
Habr Awal) frequently meet, and the traveller wends
his way in fear and trembling.
The thermometer showed an altitude of 3350 feet :
under the tree's cool shade, the climate reminded
me of Southern Italy in winter. I found a butter-
cup, and heard a wood-pecker 2 tapping on the hollow
trunk, a reminiscence of English glades. The Abban
and his men urged an advance in the afternoon. But
my health had suffered from the bad water of the
3. Dair, the beginning of the cold season, opens the sea to
shipping. The rain which then falls is called Dairti or Hais : It
comes with a west-south-west wind from the hills of Harar.
4. Jflai is the dry season from December to April. The country
then becomes Abar (in Arabic Jahr), a place of famine: the
Nomads migrate to the low plains, where pasture is procurable.
Some reckon as a fifth season Kali!, or the heats between Jilal and
the monsoon.
1 According to Bruce this tree flourishes everywhere on the low
hot plains between the Red Sea and the Abyssinian hills. The
Gallas revere it and plant it over sacerdotal graves. It suggests
the Fetiss trees of Western Africa, and the Hiero-Sykaminon of
a There are two species of this bird, both called by the Somal
"Daudaulay" from their tapping.
K
146 First Footsteps in East Africa
coast, and the camels were faint with fatigue : we
therefore dismissed the hired beasts, carried our
property into a deserted kraal, and, lighting a fire,
prepared to " make all snug " for the night. The
Bedouins, chattering with cold, stood closer to the
comfortable blaze than ever did paterfamilias in
England: they smoked their faces, toasted their
hands, broiled their backs with intense enjoyment,
and waved their legs to and fro through the flame
to singe away the pile, which at this season grows
long. The End of Time, who was surly, compared
them to demons, and quoted the Arab's saying :
" Allah never bless smooth man, or hairy woman ! "
On the 8th of December, at 8 A.M., we travelled
slowly up the Halimalah Valley, whose clayey surface
glistened with mica and quartz pebbles from the
hills. All the trees are thorny except the Sycamore
and the Asclepias. The Gub, or Jujube, grows
luxuriantly in thickets : its dried wood is used by
women to fumigate their hair l : the Kedi, a tree
like the porcupine all spikes supplies the Bedouins
with hatchet-handles. I was shown the Abol with
its edible gum, and a kind of Acacia, here called
Galol. Its bark dyes cloth a dull red, and the thorn
issues from a bulb which, when young and soft, is
eaten by the Somal; when old it becomes woody,
and hard as a nut. At 9 A.M. we crossed the Lesser
Abbaso, a Fiumara with high banks of stiff clay and
filled with large rolled stones: issuing from it, we
traversed a thorny path over ascending ground
between higher hills, and covered with large boulders
and step-like layers of grit. Here appeared several
Gudabirsi tombs, heaps of stones or pebbles, sur-
rounded by a fence of thorns, or an enceinte of loose
blocks : in the latter, slabs are used to make such
houses as children would build in play, to denote
the number of establishments left by the deceased.
The new grave is known by the conical milk-pails
surmounting the stick at the head of the corpse,
1 The limbs are perfumed with the "Hedi" and '* JECaranii,"
products of the Ugadayn or southern country.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 147
apon the neighbouring tree is thrown the mat which
bore the dead man to his last home, and hard by are
the blackened stones upon which his funeral feast
was cooked. At it A.M. we reached the Greater
Abbaso, a Fiumara about 100 yards wide, fringed
with lovely verdure and full of the antelope called
Gurnuk : its watershed was, as usual in this region,
from west and south-west to east and north-east.
About noon we halted, having travelled eight miles
from the Holy Tree.
At half-past three reloading we followed the course
of the Abbaso valley, the most beautiful spot we had
yet seen. The presence of mankind, however, was
denoted by the cut branches of thorn encumbering
the bed : we remarked too the tracks of lions pursued
by hunters, and the frequent streaks of serpents,
sometimes five inches in diameter. Towards evening
our party closed up in fear, thinking that they saw
spears glancing through the trees: I treated their
alarm lightly, but the next day proved that it was
not wholly imaginary. At sunset we met a shepherd
who swore upon the stone l to bring us milk in exchange
for tobacco, and presently, after a five miles' march,
we halted in a deserted kraal on the left bank of a
Fiumara. Clouds gathered black upon the hill tops,
and a comfortless blast, threatening rain, warned
us not to delay pitching the Gurgi. A large fire was
lighted, and several guns were discharged to frighten
away the lions that infest this place. Twice during
the night our camels started up and rushed round
their thorn ring in alarm.
Late in the morning of Saturday, the gth December,
I set out, accompanied by Rirash and the End of
1 This great oath suggests the litholatry of the Arabs, derived
from the Abyssinian and Galla Sabaeans; it is regarded by the
Eesa and Gudabirsi Bedouins as even more binding than the
popular religious adjurations. When a suspected person denies his
guilt, the judge places a stone before him, saying " Tabo 1 (feel I) i ;
the liar will seldom dare to touch it. Sometimes a Somah will
take up a stone and say "Dagaba" (it is a stone), he may then
generally be believed.
148 First Footsteps in East Africa
Time, to visit some ruins a little way distant from
the direct road. After an hoar's ride we turned away
from the Abbaso Fiumara and entered a basin among
the hills distant about sixteen miles from the Holy
Tree. This is the site of Darbiyah Kola Kola's
I? or t so called from its Galla queen. It is said that
this city and its neighbour Aububah fought like
certain cats in Kilkenny till both were " eaten up " :
the Gudabirsi fix the event at the period when their
forefathers still inhabited Bulhar on the coast about
300 years ago. If the date be correct, the substantial
rains have fought a stern fight with time. Remnants
of houses cumber the soil, and the carefully built wells
are filled with rubbish : the palace was pointed out
to me with its walls of stone and clay intersected by
layers of woodwork. The mosque is a large roofless
building containing twelve square pillars of rude
masonry, and the Mihrab, or prayer niche, is denoted
by a circular arch of tolerable construction. But
the voice of the Muezzin is hushed for ever, and
creepers now twine around the ruined fane. The
scene was still and dreary as the grave ; for a mile
and a half in length all was ruins ruins ruins.
Leaving this dead city, we rode towards the south-
west between two rugged Mils, of which the loftiest
summit is called WanauH. As usual they are rich
in thorns : the tall " Wadi " affords a gum useful
to cloth-dyers, and the leaves of the lofty Wumba
are considered, after the Daum-palm, the best material
for mats. On the ground appeared the blue flowers
of the " Man " or " Himbah," a shrub resembling
a potato : it bears a gay yellow apple full of brown
seeds which is not eaten by the Somal. My com-
panions made me taste some of the Karir berries,
which in colour and flavour resemble red currants :
the leaves are used as a dressing to ulcers. Topping
the ridge we stood for a few minutes to observe the
view before us. Beneath our feet lay a long grassy
plain the sight must have gladdened the hearts of
our starving mules ! and for the first time in Africa
horses appeared grazing free amongst the bushes.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 149
A little further off lay the Aylonda valley studded
with graves, and dark with verdure. Beyond it
stretched the Wady Harawwah, a long gloomy hollow
in the general level. The background was a bold
sweep of blue hill, the second gradient of the Harar
line, and on its summit closing the western horizon
lay a golden streak the Marar Prairie. Already I
felt at the end of my journey.
About noon, reaching a kraal, whence but that
morning our Gudabirsi Abbans had driven of! their
kine, we sat under a tree and with a pistol reported
arrival. Presently the elders came out and welcomed
their old acquaintance the End of Time as a dis-
tinguished guest. He eagerly inquired about the re-
ported quarrel between the Abbans and their brother-
in-law the Gerad Adan. When assured that it was
the offspring of Somali imagination, he rolled his
head, and with dignity remarked, " What man
shutteth to us, that Allah openeth ! " We com-
plimented each other gravely upon the purity of our
intentions amongst Moslems a condition of success
and not despising second causes, lost no time in
sending a horseman for the Abbans. Presently
some warriors came out and inquired if we were of
the Caravan that was travelling last evening up a
valley with laden camels. On our answering in the
affirmative, they laughingly declared that a commando
of twelve horsemen had followed us with the intention
of a sham-attack. This is favourite sport with the
Bedouin. When however the traveller shows fright,
the feint is apt to turn out a fact. On one occasion
a party of Arab merchants, not understanding the
" fun of the thing," shot two Somal : the tribe had
the justice to acquit the strangers, mulcting them,
however, a few yards of cloth for the families of the
deceased. In reply I fired a pistol unexpectedly
over the heads of my new hosts, and improved the
occasion of their terror by deprecating any practical
facetiousness in future.
We passed the day under a tree : the camels
escorted by my two ^tten4ants, and the women,
150 First Footsteps in East Africa
did not arrive till sunset, having occupied about
eight hours in marching as many miles. Fearing
Hons, we pitched inside the kraal, despite crying
children, scolding wives, cattle rushing about, barking
dogs, flies and ticks, filth and confinement. I will
now attempt a description of a village in Eastern
Africa.
The Rer or Kraal l is a line of scattered huts on
plains where thorns are rare, beast of prey scarce,
and raids not expected. In the hills it is surrounded
by a strong fence to prevent cattle straying : this,
where danger induces caution, is doubled and trebled.
Yet the lion will sometimes break through it, and
the leopard clears it, prey in mouth, with a bound.
The abattis has usually four entrances, which are
choked up with heaps of bushes at night. The
interior space is partitioned off by dwarf hedges into
rings, which contain and separate the different species
of cattle. Sometimes there is an outer compartment
adjoining the exterior fence, set apart for the camels ;
usually they are placed in the centre of the kraal.
Horses being most valuable are side-lined and tethered
dose to the owner's hut, and rude bowers of brush
and firewood protect the weaklings of the flocks
from the heat of the sun and the inclement night
breeze.
At intervals around and inside the outer abattis
are built the Gurgi or wigwams hemispheric huts
like old bee-hives about five feet high by six in
diameter : they are even smaller in the warm regions,
but they increase in size as the elevation of the
country renders climate less genial. The material is
a framework of " Digo," or sticks bent and hardened
in the fire : to build the hut, these are planted in the
ground, tied together with cords, and covered with
mats of two different kinds: the Aus, composed of
small bundles of grass neatly joined, is hard and
smooth ; the Kibid has a long pile, and is used as
couch as well as roof. The single entrance in front
is provided with one of these articles which serves
1 Kariyafa is the Arabic word.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 151
as a curtain ; hides are spread upon the top duiing
the monsoon, and little heaps of earth are sometimes
raised outside to keep out wind and rain.
The furniture is simple as the building. Three
stones and a hole form the fireplace, near which sleep
the children, kids, and lambs : there being no chimney,
the interior is black with soot. The cow-skin couches
are suspended during the day, like arms and other
articles which suffer from rats and white ants, by
loops of cord to the sides. The principal ornaments
are basket-work bottles, gaily adorned with beads,
cowris, and stained leather. Pottery being here
unknown, the Bedouins twist the fibres of a root
into various shapes, and make them water-tight with
the powdered bark of another tree. 1 The Han is
a large wicker-work bucket, mounted in a framework
of sticks, and used to contain water on journeys.
The Guraf (a word derived from the Arabic
" Ghurfah ") is a conical-shaped vessel, used to bale
out the contents of a well. The Del, or milk pail,
is shaped like two cones joined at the base by lateral
thongs, the upper and smaller half acting as cup
and cover. And finally the Wesi, or water bottle, con-
tains the traveller's store for drinking and religious
ablution.
When the kraal is to be removed, the huts and
furniture are placed upon the camels, and the hedges
and earth are sometimes set on fire, to purify the
place and deceive enemies. Throughout the country
black circles of cinders or thorn diversify the hill
sides, and show an extensive population. Travellers
always seek deserted kraals for security of encamp-
ment. As they swarm with vermin by night and
flies by day, 2 I frequently made strong objections
to these favourite localities : the utmost conceded
to me was a fresh enclosure added by a smaller hedge
1 In the northern country the water-proofing matter is, ac-
cording to travellers, the juice of the Quolquol, a species of
Euphorbium.
* The flies are always most troublesome where cows have
been ; kraals of goats and camels are comparatively free from the
152 First Footsteps in East Africa
to the outside abattis of the more populous cow-
kraals.
On the loth December we halted ; the bad water,
the noon-day sun of 107, and the cold mornings
51 being the average had seriously affected my
health. All the population flocked to see me, darken-
ing the hut with nodding wigs and staring faces :
and the Gudabirsi are polite knaves apologised for
the intrusion. Men, women, and children appeared
in crowds, bringing milk and ghee, meat and water,
several of the elders remembered having seen me at
Berberah, 1 and the blear-eyed maidens, who were in
no wise shy, insisted upon admiring the white stranger.
Feeling somewhat restored by repose, I started
the next day " with a tail on " to inspect the ruins
of Aububah, After a rough ride over stony ground
we arrived at a grassy hollow near a line of hills,
and dismounted to visit the Shaykh Aububah s
remains. He rests under a little conical dome of
brick, clay, and wood, similar in construction to that
of Zayla : it is falling to pieces, and the adjoining
mosque, long roofless, is overgrown with trees, that
rustle melancholy sounds in the light joyous breeze.
Creeping in by a dwarf door or rather hole, my Guda-
birsi guides showed me a bright object forming the
key of the arch : as it shone they suspected silver,
and the End of Time whispered a sacrilegious plan
for purloining it. Inside the vault were three graves
apparently empty, and upon the dark sunken floor
ky several rounded stones, resembling cannon balls,
and used as weights by the more civilised SomaL
Thence we proceeded to the batfle-fidd, a broad
sheet of sandstone apparently dinted by the hoofs
of mules and horses : on this ground, which, according
to my guides, was in the olden days soft and yielding
took place the great action between Aububah and
Some years ago a French lady landed at Berberah : her white
face, according to the End of Time, made every man hate his wife
and every wife hate herself. J know not who the fair dame was :
her charms and black silk dress, however, have made a lasting im-
pression upon the Somali heart; from the coast tp Harar she is
Still remembered with rapture. J '
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 153
Darbiyah Kola. A second mosque was found with
walls in tolerable repair, but, like the rest of the
place, roofless. Long Guled ascended the broken
staircase of a small square minaret, and delivered
a most ignorant and Bedouin-like Azan or call to
prayer. Passing by the shells of houses, we con-
cluded our morning's work with a visit to the large
graveyard. Apparently it did not contain the bones
of Moslems : long lines of stones pointed westward,
and one tomb was covered with a coating of hard
mortar, in whose sculptured edge my benighted
friends detected magical inscriptions. I heard of
another city called Ahammed in the neighbouring hills,
but did not visit it. These are all remains of Galla
settlements, which the ignorance and exaggeration of
the Somal fill with " writings " and splendid edifices.
Returning home we found that our Gudabirsi
Bedouins had at length obeyed the summons. The
six sons of a noted chief, AM Addah or White Ali,
by three different mothers, Beuh, Igah, Khayri, Nur,
Ismail, and Yunis, all advanced towards me as I
dismounted, gave the hand of friendship, and wel-
comed me to their homes. With the exception of
the first-named, a hard-featured man at least forty
years old, the brothers were good-looking youths,
with clear brown skins, regular features, and graceful
figures. They entered the Gurgi when invited, but
refused to eat, saying, that they came for honour
not for food. The Hajj Sharmarkay's introductory
letter was read aloud to their extreme delight, and
at their solicitation I perused it a second and a third
time ; then having dismissed, with sundry small
presents, the two Abbans Raghe and Rirash, I wrote
a flattering account of them to the Hajj, and en-
trusted it to certain citizens who were returning in
caravan Zayla-wards, after a commercial tour in
the interior.
Before they departed, there was a feast after the
Homeric fashion. A sheep was " cut/* disem-
bowelled, dismembered, tossed into one of our huge
cauldrons, and devoured within the hour : the almost
154 First Footsteps in East Africa
alive food 1 was washed down with huge draughts
of milk. The feasters resembled Wordsworth's cows,
" forty feeding like one " : in the left hand they held
the meat to their teeth, and cut off the slice in pos-
session with long daggers perilously close, were their
noses longer and their mouths less obtrusive. During
the dinner I escaped from the place of flies, and
retired to a favourite tree. Here the End of Time
seeing me still in pain, insisted upon trying a Somal
medicine. He cut two pieces of dry wood, scooped
a hole in the shorter, and sharpened the longer, applied
point to socket, which he sprinkled with a little sand,
placed his foot upon the " female stick," and rubbed
the other between his palms till smoke and char
appeared. He then cauterised my stomach vigorously
in six different places, quoting a tradition, " the End
of Physic is Fire."
On Tuesday the i2th December I vainly requested
the two sons of White AM, who had constituted
themselves our guides, to mount their horses : they
feared to fatigue the valuable animals at a season
when grass is rare and dry. I was disappointed by
seeing the boasted " Faras " 2 of the Somal, in the
shape of ponies hardly thirteen hands high. The
head is pretty, the eyes are well opened, and the
ears are small ; the form also is good, but the original
Arab breed has degenerated in the new climate.
They are soft, docile, and like all other animals in
this part of the world timid : the habit of climbing
rocks makes them sure-footed, and they show the
remains of blood when forced to fatigue. The Guda-
birsi will seldom sell these horses, the great safeguard
1 The Abyssinian Brindo of omophagean fame is not eaten by
the Somal, who always boil, broil, or sun-dry their flesh. They
have, however, no idea of keeping it, whereas the more civilised
citizens of Harar hang their meat till tender.
2 Whilst other animals have indigenous names, the horse through-
out the Somali country retains the Arab appellation ** Faras."
This proves that the Somal, like their progenitors the Gallas,
originally had no cavalry. The Gudabirsi tribe has but lately
mounted itself by making purchases of the Habr Gerhajis and the
Habr Awal herds,
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 155
against their conterminous tribes, the Eesa and Girhi,
who are all infantry : a village seldom contains more
than six or eight, and the lowest value would be ten
cows or twenty Tobes. 1 Careful of his beast when
at rest, the Somali Bedouin in the saddle is rough and
cruel : whatever beauty the animal may possess in
youth, completely disappears before the fifth year,
and few are without spavin, or sprained back-sinews.
In some parts of the country, 2 " to ride violently to
your hut two or three times before finally dismounting
is considered a great compliment, and the same cere-
mony is observed on leaving. Springing into the
saddle (if he has one), with the aid of his spear, the
Somali cavalier first endeavours to infuse a little spirit
into his half-starved hack, by persuading him to
accomplish a few plunges and capers : then, his heels
raining a hurricane of blows against the animal's ribs,
and occasionally using his spear-point as a spur, away
he gallops, and after a short circuit, in which he
endeavours to show himself to the best advantage,
returns to his starting point at full speed, when the
heavy Arab bit brings up the blown horse with a
shock that half breaks his jaw and fills Ms mouth
with blood. The affection of the true Arab for Ms
horse is proverbial : the cruelty of the Somal to Ms,
may, I think, be considered equally so/' The
Bedouins practise horse-racing, and run for bets,
wMch are contested with ardour : on solemn occasions
they have rude equestrian games, in wMch they
display themselves and their animals. The Gudabirsi,
and indeed most of the Somal, sit loosely upon their
horses. Their saddle is a demipique, a Mgh-backed
wooden frame, like the Egyptian fellah's : two light
splinters leave a clear space for the spine, and the
tree is tightly bound with wet thongs : a sheepskin
shabracque is loosely spread over it, and the dwarf
iron stirrup admits only the big toe, as these people
fear a stirrup wliich, if the horse fall, would entangle
1 The milch cow is here worth two Tobes, or about six shillings.
2 Particularly amongst the windward tribes visited by Lieut.
Cmttenden, from whom I borrow this description.
156 First Footsteps in East Africa
the foot. Their bits are cruelly severe ; a solid iron
ring, as in the Arab bridle, embracing the lower jaw,
takes the place of a curb chain. Some of the head-
stalls, made at Berberah, are prettily made of cut
leather and bright steel ornaments hke diminutive
quoits. The whip is a hard hide handle, plated with
zinc, and armed with a single short broad thong.
With the two sons of White All and the End of
Time, at 8 A.M*, on the I2th December, I rode forward,
leaving the jaded camels in charge of my companions
and the women. We crossed the plain in a south-
westerly direction, and after traversing rolling ground*
we came to a ridge, which commanded an extensive
view. Behind lay the Wanauli Hills, already purple
in the distance. On our left was a mass of cones,
each dignified by its own name ; no one, it is said,
can ascend them, which probably means that it would
be a fatiguing walk. Here are the visitation-places
of three celebrated saints, Aniud, Sau, and Shaykh
Sharlagamadi, or the " Hidden from Evil/' To the
north-west I was shown some blue peaks tenanted
by the Eesa Somal. In front, backed by the dark
hills of Harar, lay the Harawwah valley. The
breadth is about fifteen miles : it runs from south-
west to north-east, between the Highlands of the
Girhi and the rolling ground of the Gudabirsi Somal,
as far, it is said, as the DankaH country. Of old this
luxuriant waste belonged to the former tribe ; about
twelve years ago it was taken from them by the
Gudabirsi, who carried off at the same time thirty
cows, forty camels, and between three and four
hundred sheep and goats.
Large herds tended by spearmen and grazing
about the bush, warned us that we were approaching
the kraal in which the sons of White Ali were camped ;
at half-past 10 A.M., after riding eight miles, we
reached the place which occupies the lower slope
of the Northern Hills that enclose the Harawwah
valley. We spread our hides under a tree, and were
soon surrounded by Bedouins, who brought milk,
sun-dried beef, ghee and honey in one of the painted
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 157
wooden bowls exported from Cutch. After breakfast,
at which the End of Time distinguished himself by
dipping his meat into honey, we went out gun in
hand towards the bush. It swarmed with sand-
antelope and Gurmik : the ground-squirrels haunted
every ant-hill, hoopoos and spur-fowls paced among
the thickets, in the trees we heard the frequent cry
of the Gobiyan and the bird facetiously termed from
its cry " Dobo-dogonguswen," and the bright-coloured
hawk, the Abodi or Bakiyyah, 1 lay on wing high in
the cloudless air. When tired of killing we returned
to our cow-hides, and sat in conversation with the
Bedouins. They boasted of the skill with which
they used the shield, and seemed not to understand
the efficiency of a sword-parry : to illustrate the
novel idea I gave a stick to the best man, provided
myself in the same way, and allowed him to cut at
me. After repeated failures he received a sounding
blow upon the least bony portion of his person : the
crowd laughed long and loud, and the pretending
" knight-at-arms " retired in confusion.
Darkness fell, but no caravan appeared: it had
been delayed by a runaway mule perhaps by the
desire to restrain my vagrant propensities and did
not arrive till midnight. My hosts cleared a Gurgi
for our reception, brought us milk, and extended
their hospitality to the full limits of even savage
complaisance.
Expecting to march on the I3th December soon
after dawn, I summoned Beuh and Ms brethren to
the hut, reminding him that the Hajj had promised
me an escort without delay to the vilage of the Gerad
1 This beautiful bird, with a black and crimson plume, and wings
lined with salver, soars high and seldom descends except at night :
its shyness prevented my shooting a specimen. The Abodi devours
small deer and birds ; the female lays a single egg in a large loose
nest on the summit of a tall tree, and she abandons her home when
the hand of man has violated it. The Somal have many supersti-
tions connected with this hawk : if it touch a child the latter dies,
unless protected by the talismanic virtues of the " Hajar Abodi,"
a scone found in the bird's body. As it frequently swoops upon
children carrying meat, the belief has doubtlessly frequently ful-
filled itsel
158 First Footsteps in East Africa
Adan. To my Instances they replied that, although
they were most anxious to oblige, the arrival of
Mudeh the eldest son rendered a consultation neces-
sary ; and retiring to the woods, sat in palaver from
8 A.M. to past noon. At last they came to a resolu-
tion which could not be shaken. They would not
trust one of their number in the Gerad's country ;
a horseman, however, should carry a letter inviting
the Girhi chief to visit his brothers-in-law. I was
assured that Adan would not drink water before
mounting to meet us : but, fear is reciprocal, there
was evidently bad blood between them, and already
a knowledge of Somali customs caused me to suspect
the result of our mission. However, a letter was
written reminding the Gerad of " the word spoken
under the tree," and containing, in case of recusance,
a threat to cut off the salt well at which his cows are
periodically driven to drink. Then came the bargain
for safe conduct. After much haggling, especially
on the part of the handsome Igah, they agreed to
receive twenty Tobes, three bundles of tobacco, and
fourteen cubits of indigo-dyed cotton. In addition
to this I offered as a bribe one of my handsome
Abyssinian shirts with a fine silk fringe made at Aden,
to be received by the man Beuh on the day of entering
the Gerad's village.
I arose early in the next morning, having been
promised by the Abbans grand sport in the Harawwah
valley. The Somal had already divided the elephants'
spoils : they were to claim the hero's feather, I was
to receive two-thirds of the ivory nothing remained
to be done but the killing. After sundry pretences
and prayers for delay, Beuh saddled his hack, the
Hammal mounted one mule, a stout-hearted Bedouin
called Fahi took a second, and we started to find
the herds. The End of Time lagged in the rear : the
reflection that a mule cannot outrun an elephant
made him look so ineffably miserable, that I sent
him back to the kraal. " Dost thou believe me to
be a coward, O Pilgrim ? " thereupon exclaimed the
Mullah, waxing bold in the very joy of his heart.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 159
" Of a truth I do ! " was my reply. Nothing abashed,
he hammered his mule with heel, and departed
ejaculating, " What hath man but a single life ? and
he who throweth it away, what is he but a fool ? "
Then we advanced with cocked guns, Beuh singing,
Boanerges-like, the Song of the Elephant.
In the Somali country, as amongst the Kafirs,
after murdering a man or boy, the death of an elephant
is considered the act of heroism : most tribes wear
for it the hair-feather and the ivory bracelet. Some
hunters, like the Bushmen of the Cape, 1 kill the
Titan of the forests with barbed darts carrying Waba-
poison. The general way of hunting resembles that
of the Abyssinian Agageers described by Bruce. One
man mounts a white pony, and galloping before the
elephant, induces him, as he readily does firearms
being unknown to charge and " chivy. " The rider
directs his course along, and close to, some bush,
where a comrade is concealed; and the latter, as
the animal passes at speed, cuts the back sinew of the
hind leg, where in the human subject the tendon
Achilles would be, with a sharp, broad and heavy
knife. 2 This wound at first occasions little incon-
venience : presently the elephant, fancying, it is
supposed, that a thorn has stuck in his foot, stamps
violently, and rubs the scratch till the sinew is fairly
divided. The animal, thus disabled, is left to perish
wretchedly of hunger and thirst : the tail, as amongst
the Kafirs, is cut oS to serve as trophy, and the ivories
are removed when loosened by decomposition. In
this part of Africa the elephant is never tamed. s
1 The Bushman creeps close to the beast and wounds it in the
leg or stomach with a diminutive dart covered with a couch of
black poison : if a drop of blood appear, death results from the
almost unfelt wound.
2 So the Veddahs of Ceylon are said to have destroyed the
elephant by shooting a tiny arrow into the sole of the foot. The
Kafirs attack it in bodies armed with sharp and broad-head
"Omkondo" or assegais: at last, one finds the opportunity of
cutting deep into the hind back sinew, and so disables the animal.
a The traveller Belegorgue asserts that the Boers induce the
young elephant to accompany them, by rubbing upon its trunk the
hand wetted with the perspiration of the huntsman's brow, and
i6o First Footsteps In East Africa
For six hours we rode the breadth of the Harawwah
valley: it was covered with wild vegetation and
surface-drains, that carry off the surplus of the hills
enclosing it. In some places the torrent beds had
cut twenty feet into the soil. The banks were fringed
with milk-bush and Asclepias, the Anno-creeper, a
variety of thorns, and especially the yellow-berried
Jujube : here numberless birds followed bright- winged
butterflies, and the " Shaykhs of the Blind," as the
people call the black fly, settled in swarms upon our
hands and faces as we rode by. The higher ground
was overgrown with a kind of cactus, which here
becomes a tree, forming shady avenues. Its quad-
rangular fleshy branches of emerald green, sometimes
forty feet high, support upon their summits large
round bunches of a bright crimson berry : when the
plantation is close, domes of extreme beauty appear
scattered over the surface of the country. This
" Hassadin " abounds in burning milk, and the Somal
look downwards when passing under its branches :
the elephant is said to love it, and in many places
the trees were torn to pieces by hungry trunks. The
nearest app "caches to game were the last year's
earths ; likely places, however, shady trees and green
thorns near water, were by no means uncommon.
When we reached the valley's southern wail, Beuh
informed us that we might ride all day, if we pleased,
with the same result. At Zayla I had been informed
that elephants are " thick as sand " in Harawwah :
even the Gudabirsi, when at a distance, declared
that they fed there Mke sheep, and, after our failure,
swore that they killed thirty but last year. The
animals were probably in the high Harirah valley,
and would be driven downwards by the cold at a
later period: some future Gordon Gumming may
therefore succeed where the Hajj Abdullah notably
failed.
On the 15th December I persuaded the valiant
that the calf, deceived by the similarity of smell, believes that it is
with its dam. The fact is, that the orphant elephant, like the
bison, follow* man because it fears to be left alone.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 161
Beuh, with his two brothers and his bluff cousin Fahi,
to cross the valley with us. After recovering a mule
which had strayed five miles back to the well, and
composing sundry quarrels between Shehrazade, whose
swains had detained her from camel-loading, and the
Kalendar whose one eye flashed with indignation at
her conduct, we set out in a southerly direction. An
hour's march brought us to an open space surrounded
by thin thorn forest : in the centre is an ancient
grave, about which are performed the equestrian
games when the turban of the Ugaz has been bound
under the Holy Tree. Shepherds issued from the
bush to stare at us as we passed, and stretched forth
the hand for " Bori " : the maidens tripped forwards
exclaiming, " Come, girls, let us look at this prodigy ! "
and they never withheld an answer if civilly addressed.
Many of them were grown up, and not a few were old
maids, the result of the tribe's isolation ; for here,
as in Somaliland generally, the union of cousins is
abhorred. The ground of the valley is a stiff clay,
sprinkled with pebbles of primitive formation : the
hills are mere rocks, and the torrent banks with
strata of small stones, showed a watermark varying
from ten to fifteen feet in height : in these Fiumaras
we saw frequent traces of the Edler-game, deer and
hog. At i P.M. our camels and mules were watered
at wells in a broad wady called Jannah-Gaban or
the Little Garden ; its course, I was told, lies north-
wards through the Harawwah valley to the Odla and
Waruf , two depressions in the Wayma country near
Tajurrah. About half-an-hour afterwards we arrived
at a deserted sheepfold distant six miles from our
last station. After unloading we repaired to a neigh-
bouring well, and found the water so hard that it
raised lumps like nettle stings in the bather's skin.
The only remedy for the evil is an unguent of oil or
butter, a precaution which should never be neglected
by the African traveller. At first the sensation of
grease annoys, after a few days it is forgotten, and
at last the " pat of butter " is expected as pleasantly
as. the pipe or the cup of coffee. It prevents the
L
162 First Footsteps In East Africa
skin from chaps and sores, obviates the evil effects of
heat, cold, and wet, and neutralises the^ Proteus-like
malaria poison. The Somal never fail to anoint
themselves when they can afford ghee, and the
Bedouin is at the summit of his bliss when sitting
in the blazing sun, orheat acts upon these people
as upon serpents with his back opposite a roaring
fire, he is being smeared, rubbed, and kneaded by
a companion.
My guides, fearing lions and hyenas, would pass
the night inside a foul sheepfold : I was not without
difficulty persuaded to join them. At eight next
morning we set out through an uninteresting thorn-
bush towards one of those Tctes or isolated hills
which form admirable bench-marks in the Somali
country. " Koralay/ 7 a term corresponding with
our Saddle-back, exactly describes its shape : pommel
and crupper, in the shape of two huge granite boulders,
were all complete, and between them was a depression
for a seat. As day advanced the temperature changed
from 50 to a maximum of 121. After marching
about five miles, we halted in a broad watercourse
called Gallajab, the " Plentiful Water " : there we
bathed, and dined on an excellent camel which had
broken its leg by falling from a bank.
Resuming our march at 5 P.M., we travelled over
ascending ground which must be most fertile after
rain : formerly it belonged to the Girhi, and the
Gudabirsi boasted loudly of their conquest. After
an hour's march we reached the base of Koralay,
upon whose lower slopes appeared a pair of the ante-
lopes called Alakud 1 : they are tame, easily shot,
and eagerly eaten by the Bedouins. Another hour
of slow travelling brought us to a broad Fiumara
with high banks of stiff clay thickly wooded and
showing a water-mark eighteen feet above the sand.
1 An antelope, about five hands high with small horns, which
inhabits the high ranges of the mountains, generally in couples,
resembles the musk deer, and is by no means shy, seldom flying
till close pressed ; when running it hops awkwardly upon the toes,
and never goes far.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 163
The guides named these wells Agjogsi, probably a
generic term signifying that water is standing close
by. Crossing the Fiumara we ascended a mil, and
found upon the summit a large kraal alive with
heads of kine. The inhabitants flocked out to stare
at us, and the women uttered cries of wonder. I
advanced towards the prettiest, and fired my rifle by
way of salute over her head. The people, delighted,
exclaimed, Mod ! Mod ! " Honour to thee ! " and
we replied with shouts of Kulliban " May Heaven
aid ye I " 1 At 5 P.M., after five miles' march, the
camels were unloaded in a deserted kraal whose high
fence denoted danger of wild beasts. The cowherds
bade us beware of lions : but a day before a girl had
been dragged out of her hut, and Moslem burial
could be given to only one of her legs. A Bedouin
named Uddao, whom we hired as mule-keeper, was
ordered to spend the night singing, and, as is cus-
tomary with Somali watchmen, to address and
answer himself dialogue-wise with a different voice,
in order to persuade thieves that several men are
on the alert. He was a spectacle of wildness as he
sat before the blazing fire his joy by day, his com-
panion and protector in the shades, the only step made
by him in advance of his brethren the Cynocephali.
We were detained four days at Agjogsi by the
non-appearance of the Gerad Adan : this delay gave
me an opportunity of ascending to the summit of
Koralay the Saddle-back, which lay about a mile
north of our encampment. As we threaded the rocks
and hollows of the side we came upon dens strewed
with cows' bones, and proving by a fresh taint that
the tenants had lately quitted them. In this country
the lion is seldom seen unless surprised asleep in his
lair of thicket : during my journey, although at times
the roaring was heard all night, I saw but one. The
people have a superstition that the king of beasts
will not attack a single traveller, because such a
person, they say, slew the mother of all the lions :
1 These are solemn words used in the equestrian games of ths
SoroaL
164 First Footsteps in East Africa
except in darkness or during violent storms, which
excite the fiercer carnivors, he is a timid animal,
much less feared by the people than the angry and
agile leopard. Unable to run with rapidity when
pressed by hunger, he pursues a party of travellers
stealthily as a cat, and, arrived within distance,
springs, strikes down the hindermost, and carries
him away to the bush.
From the summit of Koralay, we had a fair view
of the surrounding country. At least forty kraals,
many of them deserted, lay within the range of sight.
On all sides except the north-west and south-east
was a mass of sombre rock and granite hill : the course
of the valleys between the several ranges was denoted
by a lively green, and the plains scattered in patches
over the landscape shone with dull yellow, the effect
of day and stubble, whilst a light mist encased the
prospect in a circlet of blue and silver. Here the
End of Time conceived the jocose idea of crowning
me king of the country. With loud cries of Buh !
Buh ! Buh ! he showered leaves of a gum tree and a
little water from a prayer bottle over my head, and
then with all solemnity bound on the turban. 1 It is
perhaps fortunate that this facetiousness was not
witnessed : a crowd of Bedouins assembled below
the hill, suspecting as usual some magical practices,
and, had they known the truth, our journey might
have ended abruptly. Descending, 1 found porcupines'
quills in abundance, 2 and shot a rock pigeon called
Hal-jog the " Dweller at wells." At the foot a
" Baune " or Hyrax Abyssinicus, resembling the
Coney of Palestine was observed at its favourite
pastime of sunning itself upon the rocks.
1 Sometimes milk is poured over the head, as gold and silver in
the Nuzzeraiuli of India. These ceremonies are usually performed
by low-caste men ; the free-bom object to act in them.
f The Somal call it Hiddik or Anukub ; the quills are used as
head scratchers, and are exported to Aden for sale.
3 It appears to be the Ashkoko of the Amharas, identified by
Brace with the Saphan of the Hebrews. This coney lives in chinks
and holes of rocks : it was never seen by me on the plains. The
Arabs eat it, the Somal generally do not.
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 165
On the evening of the 2oth December the mounted
messenger returned, after a six hours' hard ride,
bringing back unopened the letter addressed by me
to the Gerad, and a private message from their sister
to the sons of White Ali, advising them not to
advance. Ensued terrible palavers. It appeared that
the Gerad was upon the point of mounting horse,
when his subjects swore him to remain and settle a
dispute with the Amir of Harar. Our Abbans, how-
ever, withdrew their hired camels, positively refuse
to accompany us, and Beuh privily informed the
End of Time that I had acquired through the land
the evil reputation of killing everything, from an
elephant to a bird in the air. One of the younger
brethren, indeed, declared that we were forerunners
of good, and that if the Gerad harmed a hair of our
heads, he would slaughter every Girhi under the sun.
We had, however, learned properly to appreciate such
vaunts, and the End of Time drily answered that
their sayings were honey but their doings myrrh.
Being a low-caste and a shameless tribe, they did
not reply to our reproaches. At last, a manoeuvre
was successful : Beuh and his brethren, who squatted
like sulky children in different places, were dismissed
with thanks we proposed placing ourselves under
the safeguard of Gerad Hirsi, the Berteri chief. This
would have thrown the protection-price, originally
intended for their brother-in-law, into the hands of
a rival, and had the effect of altering their resolve.
Presently we were visited by two Widad or hedge-
priests, Ao Samattar and Ao Nur, 1 both half-witted
fellows, but active and kindhearted. The former
wore a dirty turban, the latter a Zebid cap, a wicker-
work calotte, composed of the palm leafs mid-rib :
they carried dressed goatskins, as prayer carpets,
over their right shoulders dangled huge wooden ink
bottles with Lauh or wooden tablets for writing
talismans, 2 and from the left hung a greasy bag,
1 The prefix appears to be a kind of title appropriated bj saints
and divines.
* These charms are washed off and drunk by the people: an
economical proceeding where paper is scarce.
1 66 First Footsteps in East Africa
containing a tattered copy of the Koran and a small
^MS. of prayers. They read tolerably, but did not
* understand Arabic, and I presented them with cheap
^Bombay lithographs of the Holy Book. The number
of these idlers increased as we approached Harar, the
Alina Mater of Somaliland : the people seldom
listen to their advice, but on this occasion Ao Samattar
succeeded in persuading the valiant Beuh that the
danger was visionary. Soon afterwards rode up to
our kraal three cavaliers, who proved to be sons of
Adam, the future Ugaz of the Gudabirsi tribe : this
chief had fully recognised the benefits of reopening
to commerce a highway closed by their petty feuds,
and sent to say that, in consequence of his esteem
for the Hajj Sharmarkay, if the sons of White All
feared to escort us, he in person would do the deed.
Thereupon Beuh became a " Gesi " or hero, as the End
of Time ironically called him : he sent back his brethren
with their horses and camels, and vaiorously pre-
pared to act as our escort. I tauntingly asked him
what he now thought of the danger. For all reply
he repeated the words, with which the Bedouins
who, like the Arabs, have a holy horror of towns
had been dinning daily into my ears, " They will
spoil that white skin of thine at Harar 1 "
At 3 P.M., on the 2ist December, we started in a
westerly direction through a gap in the hills, and
presently turned to the south-west, over rapidly rising
ground, thickly inhabited, and covered with flocks
and herds. About 5 P.M., after marching two miles,
we raised our wigwam outside a populous kraal, a
sheep was provided by the hospitality of Ao Samattar,
and we sat deep into the night enjoying a genial blaze.
Early the next morning we had hoped to advance :
water, however, was wanting, and a small caravan
was slowly gathering ; these details delayed us till
4 P.M. Our Mne lay westward, over rising ground,
towards a conspicuous conical hill called Konti.
Nothing could be worse for camels than the rough
ridges at the foot of the mountain, full of thickets,
cut by deep Fiumaras, and abounding in dangerous
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 167
watercourses : the burdens slipped now backwards
then forwards, sometimes the load was almost dragged
off by thorns, and at last we were obliged to leave
one animal to follow slowly in the rear. After creep-
ing on two miles, we bivouacked in a deserted cow-
kraal sub dio, as it was warm under the hills. That
evening our party was increased by a Gudabirsi
maiden in search of a husband : she was surlily re-
ceived by Shehrazade and Deenarzade, but we in-
sisted upon her being fed, and superintended the
operation. Her style of eating was peculiar ; she
licked up the rice from the hollow of her hand. Next
morning she was carried away in our absence, greatly
against her will,by some kinsmen who had followed her.
And now, bidding adieu to the Gudabirsi, I will
briefly sketch the tribe.
The Gudabirsi, or Gudabursi, derive themselves
from Dir and Aydur, thus claiming affinity with the
Eesa : others declare their tribe to be an offshoot
from the Bahgoba clan of the Habr Awal, originally
settled near Jebel Almis, and Bulhar, on the sea-
shore. The Sornal unhesitatingly stigmatise them
as a bastard and ignoble race : a noted genealogist
once informed me, that they were little better than
Midgans or serviles. Their ancestors' mother, it is
said, could not name the father of her child : some
proposed to slay it, others advocated its preservation,
saying, " Perhaps we shaU increase by it 1 " Hence
the name of the tribe. 1
The Gudabirsi are such inveterate liars that I could
fix for them no number between 3000 and 10,000.
They own the rough and rolling ground diversified
with thorny hill and grassy vale, above the first or
seaward range of mountains ; and they have ex-
tended their lands by conquest towards Harar, being
now bounded in that direction by the Marar Prairie. As
usual, they are subdivided into a multitude of dans. 2
1 " Birsan," in Somali, meaning to increase.
8 The Ayyal Ytrais, the principal clan, contains four septs, viz.
1. Jibril Yunis. 3. Ali Yunis.
2. Nur Yunis, 4. Adan Yunis.
1 68 First Footsteps in East Africa
In appearance the Gudabirsi are decidedly superior
to their Hmitrophes the Eesa. I have seen handsome
faces amongst the men as well as the women. Some
approach closely to the Caucasian type : one old
man, with olive-coloured skin, bald brow, and white
hair curling round his temples, and occiput, exactly
resembled an Anglo-Indian veteran. Generally, how-
ever, the prognathous mouth betrays an African
origin, and chewing tobacco mixed with ashes stains
the teeth, blackens the gums, and mottles the lips.
The complexion is the Abyssinian cajt au lait f con-
trasting strongly with the sooty skins of the coast ;
and the hair, plentifully anointed with rancid butter,
hangs from the head in lank corkscrews the colour
of a Russian pointer's coat. The figure is rather
squat, but broad and well set.
The Gudabirsi are as turbulent and unmanageable,
though not so bloodthirsty, as the Eesa. Their late
chief, Ugaz Roblay of the Bait Samattar sept, left
children who could not hold their own : the turban
was at once claimed by a rival branch, the Rer
Abdlllah, and a civil war ensued. The lovers of
legitimacy will rejoice to hear that when I left the
country, GaDa, son of the former Prince Rainy, was
likely to come to his own again.
The stranger's life is comparatively safe amongst
this tribe : as long as he feeds and fees them, he may
even walk about unarmed. They are, however, liars
even amongst the Somal, Bobadils amongst boasters,
inveterate thieves, and importunate beggars. The
smooth-spoken fellows seldom betray emotion except
when cloth or tobacco is concerned ; " dissimulation
Is as natural to them as breathing," and I have
called one of their chiefs " dog " without exciting
Ms Indignation.
The other chief clans are
1. Mikahil Dera. 7. Basannah.
2. Rer Ugaz. 8. Bahbar Hasan.
3. Jibrain. 9. Abdillah Mikahil.
4. Rer Mohammed Asa. 10. Hasan Mikahil.
5. Musa Fin. II. ya h Mikahil.
6. Rer Abokr. 1 2. Hasan Waraba,
Zayla Hills to Marar Prairie 169
The commerce of these wild regions is at present
in a depressed state : were the road safe, traffic with
the coast would be considerable. The profit on hides,
for instance, at Aden, would be at least cent, per
cent. : the way, however, is dangerous, and detention
is frequent, consequently the gain will not remunerate
for risk and loss of time. No operation can be under-
taken in a hurry, consequently demand cannot readily
be supplied. What Laing applies to Western, may
be repeated of Eastern Africa : " the endeavour to
accelerate an undertaking is almost certain to occasion
its failure." Nowhere is patience more wanted, in
order to perform perfect work.
The wealth of the Gudabksi consists principally
in cattle, peltries, hides, gums, and ghee. The asses
are dun-coloured, small, and weak ; the camels large,
loose, and lazy ; the cows are pretty animals, with
small humps, long horns, resembling theDamara cattle,
and in the grazing season with plump, well-rounded
limbs ; there is also a bigger breed, not unlike that
of Tuscany. The standard is the Tobe of coarse
canvas ; worth about three shillings at Aden, here
it doubles in value. The price of a good camel varies
from six to eight cloths ; one Tobe buys a two-year-
old heifer, three, a cow between three and four years
old. A ewe costs half a cloth : the goat, although the
fiesh is according to the Spinal nutritive, whilst
" mutton is disease," is a little cheaper than the
sheep. Hides and peltries are usually collected at
and exported from Harar ; on the coast they are
rubbed over with salt, and in this state carried to
Aden. Cows' skins fetch a quarter of a dollar, or
about one shilling in cloth, and two dollars are the
extreme price for the Kurjah or score of goats* skins.
The people of the interior have a rude way of tanning 1 ;
they macerate the hide, dress, and stain it of a deep
calf-skin colour with the bark of a tree called Jirmah,
and, lastly, the leather is softened with the hand.
The principal gum is the Adad, or Acacia Arabica :
1 The best prayer-skins are made at Ogadayn ; there they cost
about half a dollar each.
170 First Footsteps in East Africa
foreign merchants purchase it for about half a dollar
per Farasilah of twenty pounds : cow's and sheep's
butter may fetch a dollar's worth of cloth for the
measure of thirty-two pounds. This great article of
commerce is good and pure in the country, whereas
at Berberah, the Habr Awal adulterate it, previous
to exportation, with melted sheep's tails.
The principal wants of the country which we have
traversed are coarse cotton cloth, Surat tobacco,
beads, and indigo-dyed stuffs for women's coifs. The
people would also be grateful for any improvement
in their breed of horses, and when at Aden I thought
of taking with me some old Arab stallions as presents
to chiefs. Fortunately the project fell to the ground :
a strange horse of unusual size or beauty, in these
regions, would be stolen at the end of the first march.
CHAPTER VII
FROM THE MARAR PRAIRIE TO HARAR
EARLY on the 23rd December assembled the Caravan,
which we were destined to escort across the Marar
Prairie. Upon this neutral ground the Eesa, Berteri,
and Habr Awal meet to rob and plunder unhappy
travellers. The Somal shuddered at the sight of a
wayfarer, who rushed into our encampment in cuerpo,
having barely ran away with Ms life. Not that our
caravan carried much to lose a few hides and pots
of clarified butter, to be exchanged for the Holcus
grain of the Girhi cultivators still the smallest con-
tributions are thankfully received by these plunderers.
Our material consisted of four or five half-starved
camels, about fifty donkeys with ears cropped as a
mark, and their eternal accompaniments in Somali-
land, old women. The latter seemed to be selected
for age, hideousness, and strength : all day they bore
their babes smothered in hides upon their backs, and
they carried heavy burdens apparently without
fatigue. Amongst them was a Bedouin widow, known
by her " Wer," a strip of the inner bark of a tree tied
round the greasy fillet. 1 We were accompanied by
three Widads, provided with all the instruments of their
craft, and uncommonly tiresome companions. They
recited Koran a tort et a tracers : at every moment
they proposed Fatihahs, the name of Allah was per-
petually upon their lips, and they discussed questions
1 It Is worn for a year, during which modest women will not
marry. Some tribes confine the symbol to widowhood, others
extend it to all male relations ; a strip of white cotton, or e?en
a^ white fillet, instead of the usual blue cloth, is used by the more
civilised.
172 First Footsteps in East Africa
of divinity, like Gil Bias and his friends, with a violence
bordering upon frenzy. One of them was celebrated
for his skffl in the " Fal/' or Omens : he was con-
stantly consulted by my companions, and informed
them that we had nought to fear except from wild
beasts. The prediction was a good hit : I must
own, however, that it was not communicated to me
before fulfilment.
At half-past six A.M. we began our march over
rough and rising ground, a network of thorns and
watercourses, and presently entered a stony gap
between two ranges of hills. On our right was a
conical peak, bearing the remains of buildings upon
its summit. Here, said Abtidon, a wild Gudabirsi
hired to look after our mules, rests the venerable
Shaykh Sarnawai Of old, a number of wells existed
in the gaps between the hills : these have disappeared
with those who drank of them.
Presently we entered the Barr or Prairie of Marar,
one of the long strips of plain which diversify the
Somali country. Its breadth, bounded on the east
by the rolling ground over which we had passed, on
the west by Gurays, a range of cones offshooting from
the highlands of Harar, is about twenty-seven miles.
The general course is north and south : in the former
direction, it belongs to the Eesa : in the latter may
be seen the peaks of Kadau and Madir, the property
of the Habr Awal tribes ; and along these ranges it
extends, I was told, towards Ogadayn. The surface
of the plain is gently rolling ground ; the black earth,
filled with the holes of small beasts, would be most
productive, and the outer coat is an expanse of tall,
waving, sunburnt grass, so unbroken, that from a
distance it resembles the nap of yellow velvet. In
the frequent Wadys, which carry off the surplus
rain of the hills, scrub and thorn trees grow in dense
thickets, and the grass is temptingly green. Yet the
land lies fallow : water and fuel are scarce at a dis-
tance from the hills, and the wildest Bedouins dare
not front the danger of foraging parties, the fatal
heats of day, and the killing colds of night. On
From Marar Prairie to Harar 173
the edges of the plain, however, are frequent vestiges
of deserted kraals.
About midday we crossed a depression in the
centre, where Acacias supplied us with gum for
luncheon, and sheltered flocks of antelope. I en-
deavoured to shoot the white-tailed Sig, and the large
dun Oryx ; but the brouhaha of the Caravan pre-
vented execution. Shortly afterwards we came
upon patches of holcus, which had grown wild, from
seeds scattered by travellers. This was the first
sight of grain that gladdened my eyes since I left
Bombay : the grave of the First Murderer never
knew a Triptolemus, 1 and Zayla is a barren flat of
sand. My companions eagerly devoured the pith of
this African " sweet cane/ 1 despite its ill reputation for
causing fever. I followed their example, and found
it almost as good as bad sugar. The Bedouins loaded
their spare asses with the bitter gourd, called Ubbah ;
externally it resembles the water melon, and becomes,
when shaped, dried, and smoked, the wickerwork
of the Somal, and the pottery of more civilised
people.
Towards evening, as the setting sun sank slowly
behind the distant western hiUs, the colour of the
Prairie changed from glaring yellow to a golden hue,
mantled with a purple flush inexpressibly lovely.
The animals of the waste began to appear. Shy
lynxes 2 and jackals fattened by many sheep's tails, 2
warned my companions that fierce beasts were nigh,
ominous anecdotes were whispered, and I was told
that a caravan had lately lost nine asses by lions.
As night came on, the Bedouin Kafilah, being lightly
1 Cain is said to repose under Jebel Shamsan at Aden an
appropriate sepulchre.
* This beast, called by the Somal Jaxnbel, closely resembles
the Sindh species. It is generally found in the plains and
prairies.
a In the Somali country, as in Kafirland, the Dnwao or jackal
is peculiarly bold and fierce. Disdaining garbage, he carries off
lambs and kids, and fastens upon a favourite frmndise^ the sheep's
tail; the victim runs away in terror, and unless the jackal bp
driven off by do^s, leave* a delicate piece of fat behind it
174 First Footsteps in East Africa
loaded, preceded us, and pur tired camels lagged
far behind. We were riding In rear to prevent
straggling, when suddenly my mule, the hinderaiost,
pricked his ears uneasily, and attempted to turn his
head. Looking backwards, I distinguished the form
of a large animal following us with quick and stealthy
strides. My companions would not fire, thinking It
was a man : at last a rifle-ball, pinging through the
air the moon was too young for correct shooting
put to flight a huge lion. The terror excited by this
sort of an adventure was comical to look upon : the
valiant Beuh, who, according to himself, had made
Ms preuves in a score of foughten fields, threw his
arms In the air, wildly shouting Libah ! Libah ! i
the lion ! the lion ! ! and nothing else was talked
of that evening.
The ghostly western hills seemed to recede as we
advanced over the endless rolling plain. Presently
the ground became broken and stony, the mules
stumbled in deep holes, and the camels could scarcely
crawl along. As we advanced our Widads, who, poor
devils ! had been " roasted " by the women all day
on account of their poverty, began to recite the Koran
with might, in gratitude for having escaped many
perils. Night deepening, our attention was riveted
by a strange spectacle ; a broad sheet of bright blaze,
reminding me of Hanno's fiery river, swept apparently
down a hill, and, according to my companions,
threatened the whole prairie. These accidents are
common : a huntsman burns a tree for honey, or
cooks his food in the dry grass, the wind rises and the
flames spread far and wide. On this occasion no
accident occurred ; the hills, however, smoked like a
Solfatara for two days.
About 9 P.M. we heard voices, and I was told to
discharge my rifle lest the kraal be closed to us ; in
due time we reached a long, low dark line of sixty
or seventy huts, disposed in a circle, so as to form
a fence, with a few bushes thorns being hereabouts
rare in the gaps between the abodes. The people,
a mixture of Girhi and Gudabirsi Bedouins, swarmed
From Marar Prairie to Harar 175
out to gratify their curiosity, but we were in no
humour for long conversations. Our luggage was
speedily disposed in a heap near the kraal, the
mules and camels were tethered for the night,
then, supperless and shivering with cold, we crept
under our mats and fell asleep. That day we had
ridden nearly fifteen hours ; our halting place lay
about thirty miles from, and 240 south-west of,
Koralay.
After another delay, and a second vain message
to the Gerad Adan, about noon appeared that digni-
tary's sixth wife, sister to the valiant Beuh. Her
arrival disconcerted my companions, who were too
proud to be protected by a woman. " Dahabo,"
however, relieved their anxiety by informing us that
the Gerad had sent his eldest son Sherwa as escort.
This princess was a gipsy-looking dame, coarsely
dressed, about thirty years old, with a gay leer, a
jaunty demeanour, and the reputation of being " fast " ;
she showed, little shamefacedness when I saluted her,
and received with noisy joy the appropriate present
of a new and handsome Tobe. About 4 P.M. returned
our second messenger, bearing with him a reproving
message from the Gerad, for not visiting him without
delay ; in token of sincerity, he forwarded his baton,
a knobstick about two feet long, painted in rings of
Cutch colours, red, black, and yellow alternately,
and garnished on the summit with a ball of similar
material.
At dawn on the 26th December, mounted upon a
little pony, came Sherwa, heir presumptive to the
Gerad Adan's knobstick. His father had sent him
to us three days before, but he feared the Gudabirsi
as much as the Gudabirsi feared him, and he probably
hung about our camp till certain that it was safe to
enter. We received him politely, and he in acknow-
ledgment positively declared that Beuh should not
return before eating honey in his cottage. Our
Abban's heroism now became infectious. Even the
End of Time, whose hot valour had long since fallen
below zero, was inspired by the occasion, and recited.
176 First Footsteps in East Africa
as usual with Mm in places and at times of extreme
safety, the Arabs' warrior lines
" I have crossed the steed since my eyes saw light,
I have fronted death till he feared ray sight,
And the cleaving of helm, and the riving of mail
Were the dreams of my youth are my manhood's delight."
As we had finished loading, a mule's bridle was
missed. Sherwa ordered instant restitution to his
father's stranger, on the ground that all the property
now belonged to the Gerad ; and we, by no means
idle, fiercely threatened to bewitch the kraal. The
article was presently found hard by, on a hedge.
This was the first and last case of theft which occurred
to us in the Somali country ; I have traveled
through more civilised lands, and have lost more.
At 8 A.M. we marched towards the north-west,
along the southern base of the Gurays hills, and soon
arrived at the skirt of the prairie, where a well-
trodden path warned us that we were about to quit
the desert. After advancing six miles in line we
turned to the right, and recited a Fatihah over the
heap of rough stones, where, shadowed by venerable
trees, lie the remains of the great Shaykh Abd el
Malik. A little beyond this spot rises suddenly from
the plain a mass of castellated rock, the subject of
many a wild superstition. Caravans always encamp
beneath it, as whoso sleeps upon the summit loses
his senses to evil spirits. At some future day Harar
will be destroyed, and " Jannah Siri n will become
a flourishing town. We ascended it, and found no
life but hawks, coneys, an owl, 1 and a graceful species
of black eagle 2 ; there were many traces of buildings,
walls, ruined houses, and wells, whilst the sides and
summit were tufted with venerable sycamores. This
act was an imprudence ; the Bedouins at once de-
clared that we were " prospecting " for a fort, and the
evil report preceded us to Harar,
1 The Somal call the owl " Shimbir libah " the lion bird.
2 The plume was dark, chequered with white, but the bird was
so wild that no specimen could be procured.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 177
After a mile's marcfi from Jannah Siri, we crossed
a ridge of rising ground, and suddenly, as though
by magic, the scene shifted.
Before us lay a little Alp ; the second step of the
^Ethiopian Highland. Around were high and jagged
hills, their sides black with the Saj x and Somali
pine, 2 and their upper brows veiled with a thin growth
of cactus. Beneath was a deep valley, in the midst
of which ran a serpentine of shining waters, the
gladdest spectacle we had yet witnessed : further in
front, masses of hill rose abruptly from shady valleys,
encircled on the far horizon by a straight blue line
of ground, resembling a distant sea. Behind us glared
the desert : we had now reached the outskirts of
civilisation, where man, abandoning his flocks and
herds, settles, cultivates, and attends to the comforts
of life.
The fields are either terraces upon the hill slopes
or the sides of valleys, divided by flowery hedges
with lanes between, not unlike those of rustic England,
and on a nearer approach the daisy, the thistle, and
the sweet briar pleasantly affected my European eyes.
The villages are no longer movable : the Kraal and
wigwam are replaced by the Gambisa or bell-shaped
hut of Middle Africa, 3 circular cottages of holcus
wattle, covered with coarse dab and surmounted by
a stiff, conical, thatch roof, above which appears the
central supporting post, crowned with a gourd or
ostrich egg. 4 Strong abbatis of thorns protects these
settlements, which stud the hills in all directions ;
near most of them are clumps of tall trees, to the
southern sides of which are hung, like birdcages,
long cylinders of matting, the hives of these regions.
Yellow crops of holcus rewarded the peasant's toil :
1 The Arabs apply this term to teak.
^ a The Dayyib of the Soroal, and the Sinauhar of the Arabs ; its
Hue of growth is hereabouts an altitude of 5000 feet.
s Travellers in Central Africa describe exactly similar buildings,
bell-shaped huts, the materials of which are stakes, clay and reed,
conical at the top, and looking like well -thatched corn-stacks.
4 Amongst the Fellatahs of Western Africa, only the royal huts
are surmounted by the ostrich's egg.
M
178 First Footsteps in East Africa
In some places the long stems tied in bunches below
the ears as piled muskets, stood ready for the reaper ;
in others, the barer ground showed that the task
was done. The boys sat perched upon reed platforms 1
in the trees, and with loud shouts drove away thieving
birds, whilst their fathers cut the crop with diminu-
tive sickles, or thrashed heaps of straw with rude
flails, 2 or winnowed grain by tossing it with a flat
wooden shovel against the wind. The women husked
the pineapple-formed heads in mortars composed of
a hollowed trunk,* smeared the threshing floor with
cow-dung and water to defend it from insects, piled
the holcus heads into neat yellow heaps, spanned
and crossed by streaks of various colours, brick-red
and brownish-purple, 4 and stacked the Karbi or
straw, which was surrounded like the grain with
thorn, as a defence against the wild hog. All seemed
to consider it a labour of love : the harvest-home
song sounded pleasantly to our ears, and, contrasting
with the silent desert, the hum of man's habitation
was a music.
Descending the steep slope, we reposed, after a
seven miles* march, on the banks of a bright rivulet,
which bisects the Kobbo or valley ; it runs, according
to my guides, from the north towards Ogadayn,
and the direction is significant about Harar I
found neither hill nor stream trending from east to
west. The people of the Kutti 5 flocked out to gaze
upon us : they were unarmed, and did not, like the
Bedouins, receive us with tries of " Bori." During
the halt we bathed in the waters, upon whose banks
1 These platforms are found even amongst the races inhabiting
the regions watered by the Niger.
2 Charred sticks about six feet long and curved at the handle.
8 Equally simple are the other implements. The plough, which
in Eastern Africa has passed the limits of Egypt, is still the crooked
tree of all primitive f>eople, drawn by oxen; and the hoe Is a
wooden blade inserted into a knobbed handle.
4 It is afterwards stored in deep dry holes, which are carefully
covered to keep out rats and insects ; thus the grain is preserved
undamaged for three or four years.
* This word is applied to the cultivated districts, the granaries
of Somaliland.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 179
were a multitude of huge Mantldse, pink and tender
green. Returning to the camels, I shot a kind of
crow, afterwards frequently seen. 1 It is about three
times the size of our English bird, of a bluish-black
with a snow-white poll, and a beak of unnatural pro-
portions : the quantity of lead which it carried off
surprised me. A number of Widads assembled to
greet us, and some Habr Awal, who were returning
with a caravan, gave us the salam, and called my
people cousins. " Verily," remarked the Hammal,
11 amongst friends we cut one another's throats ;
amongst enemies we become sons of uncles ! "
At 3 P.M. we pursued our way over rising ground,
dotted with granite blocks fantastically piled, and
everywhere in sight of fields and villages and flowing
water. A furious wind was blowing, and the End of
Time quoted the Somali proverb, " heat hurts, but
cold kills " : the camels were so fatigued, and the
air became so raw, 3 that after an hour and a half s
march we planted our wigwams near a village dis'ant
about seven miles from the Gurays Hills. Till late
at night \\e were kept awake by the crazy Widads :
Ao Samattar had proposed the casuistical question,
" Is it lawful to pray upon a mountain when a plain
is at hand ? " Some took the pro, others the contra,
and the wordy battle raged with uncommon fury.
On Wednesday morning at half-past seven we
started down hill towards '* Wilensi," a srnaU table-
mountain at the foot of which we expected to find
the Gerad Adan awaiting us in one of his many
houses, crossed a fertile valley, and ascended another
steep slope by a bad and stony road. Passing the
home of Shenva, who vainly offered hospitality, we
toiled onwards, and after a mile and a half's march,
which occupied at least two hours, our wayworn
beasts arrived at the Gerad's village. On inquiry,
1 "The huge raven with gibbous or inflated beak and white
nape," writes Mr. Blyth, *' is the comis crassirosiris of Ruppell,
and, together with a nearly similar Cape species, is referred to the
genus Corvultur of Lesson."
* In these hills it is said sometimes to freeze j I never saw ice.
i So First Footsteps in East Africa
it proved that the chief, who was engaged in selecting
two horses and two hundred cows, the price of blood
claimed by the Amir of Harar for the murder of a
citizen, had that day removed to Sagharrah, another
settlement.
As we entered the long straggling village of Wilensi,
our party was divided by the Gerad's two wives.
The Hammal, the Kalendar, Shehrazade, and Deenar-
zade remained with Beuh and his sister in her Gurgi,
whilst Long Guled, the End of Time, and I were
conducted to the cottage of the Gerad's prettiest
wife, Sudiyah. She was a tall woman, with a light
complexion, handsomely dressed in a large Harar
Tobe, with silver earrings, and the kind of necklace
called Jilbah or Kardas. 1 The Geradah (princess)
at once ordered our hides to be spread in a comfort-
able part of the hut, and then supplied us with food
boiled beef, pumpkin, and Jowari cakes. During the
short time spent in that Gambisa, I had an oppor-
tunity, dear L., of seeing the manners and customs
of the settled Somal
The interior of the cottage is simple. Entering
the door, a single plank with pins for hinges fitted
into sockets above and below the lintel in fact, as
artless a contrivance as ever seen in Spain or Corsica
you find a space, divided by dwarf walls of wattle
and dab into three compartments, for the men,
women, and cattle. The horses and cows, tethered
at night on the left of the door, fill the cottage with
the wherewithal to pass many a nuit blanche : the
wives lie on the right, near a large fireplace of stones
and raised day, and the males occupy the most
comfortable part, opposite to and farthest from the
entrance. The thatched ceiling shines jetty with
smoke, which when intolerable is allowed to escape
by a diminutive window: this seldom happens, for
smoke, like grease and dirt, keeping man warm, is
enjoyed by savages. Equally simple is the furniture :
the stem of a tree, with branches hacked into pegs,
1 It is a string of little silver bells and other ornaments made by
the Arabs at BerberaJ|.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 181
supports the shields, the assegais are planted against
the wall, and divers bits of wood, projecting from the
sides and the central roof-tree of the cottage, are
hung with clothes and other articles that attract
white ants. Gourds smoked inside, and coffee cups
of coarse black Harar pottery, with deep wooden
platters, and prettily carved spoons of the same
material, compose the household supellex. The in-
mates are the Geradah and her baby, Siddik a Galia
serf, the slave girls and sundry Somal : thus we hear
at all times three languages 1 spoken within the
walls.
Long before dawn the goodwife rises, wakens her
handmaidens, lights the fire, and prepares for the
Afur or morning meal. The quern is here unknown. 2
A flat, smooth, oval slab, weighing about fifteen
pounds, and a stone roller six inches in diameter,
worked with both hands, and the weight of the body
kneeling ungracefully upon it on " all fours/* are used
to triturate the holcus grain. At times water must
be sprinkled over the meal, until a finely powdered
paste is ready for the oven: thus several hours'
labour is required to prepare a few pounds of bread.
About 6 A.M. there appears a substantial breakfast
of roast beef and mutton, with scones of Jowari
grain, the whole drenched in broth. Of the men
few perform any ablutions, but all use the tooth
stick before sitting down to eat. After the meal
some squat in the sun, others transact business, and
drive their cattle to the bush till n A.M., the dinner
hour. There is no variety in the repasts, which are
always flesh and holcus : these people despise fowls,
and consider vegetables food for cattle. During the
day there is no privacy ; men, women, and children
enter in crowds, and will not be driven away by the
Geradah, who inquires screamingly if they come to
1 Harari, Somali, and Galla, besides Arabic, and other more
civilised dialects.
2 The Negroes of Senegal and the Hottentots use wooden
mortars. At Natal and amongst the Amazulu Kafirs* the work is
done with skbs and roller* like those described above.
1 82 First Footsteps In East Africa
stare at a baboon. My kettle especially excites their
surprise ; some opine that it is an ostrich, others, a
serpent : Sudiyah, however, soon discovered its use,
and begged irresistibly for the unique article.
Throughout the day her slave girls are busied in grind-
ing, cooking, and quarrelling with dissonant voices :
the men have little occupation beyond chewing
tobacco, chatting, and having their wigs frizzled by
a professional coiffeur In the evening the horses
and cattle return home to be milked and stabled :
this operation concluded, aU apply themselves to
supper with a will. They sleep but little, and sit
deep into the night trimming the fire, and conversing
merrily over their cups of Farshu or millet beer. 1
I tried this mixture several times, and found it detest-
able : the taste is sour, and it flies directly to the
head, in consequence of being mixed with some
poisonous bark. It is served up in gourd bottles upon
a basket of holcus heads, and strained through a
pledget of cotton, fixed across the narrow mouth,
into cups of the same primitive material : the drinkers
sit around their liquor, and their hilarity argues its
intoxicating properties. In the morning they arise
with headaches and heavy eyes ; but these symptoms,
which we, an industrious race, deprecate, are not
disliked by the Somal they promote sleep and
give something to occupy the vacant mind. I usually
slumber through the noise except when Ambar, a
half-caste Somal, returning from a trip to Harar,
astounds us with his conies Ueus, or wild Abtidon
howls forth some lay Hke this :
** J Tis joyesse all in Eesa's home i
The fatted oxen bleed,
And slave girls range the pails of milk,
And strain the golden mead.
1 In the Eastern World this well-known fermentation is generally
called "Buzah," whence the old German word "biisen" and our
"booze." The addition of a dose of garlic converts it into an
emetic.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 183
*"Tis joyesse all In Ecsa's home !
This day the Chieftain's price
Shall join the s>-ng, the dance, tie "east,
And Lear away a bride.
in
** * He comcth not ! " the father cried,
Smiting with spear the wall ;
* And yet he sent the ghostly man,
Yestre'en before the fall 1 '
IV
*' * He cometh not I ' the mother ^aid,
A tear stood in her eye ;
* He cometh not, I dread, I dr. ad,
And yet I know not why. 1
V
'* * He cometh not I 1 the maiden thought,
Yet in her glance was light,
Soft as the flash in summer's eve
Where sky and earth unite,
VI
** The virgins, deck'd with tress and flower,
Danced in the purple shade,
And not a soul, perchance, but wished
Herself the chosen maid.
VII
** The guests in groups sat gathering
Where sunbeams warmed the air,
Some laughed the fea&lers* laugh, and bam
Wore the bent brow of care.
VIII
*" * *Ti* he ! 'tis he ! * all anxious peer
Towards the distant lea ;
A courser feebly neais the throng
Ah S 'tis his steed they see.
IX
" The grief cry bursts from every lip,
Fear sits on every brow,
There's blood upon the courser's flank 1-
Blood on the saddle bow !
x
" * Tis he ! 'tis he ! * all arm and ran
Towards the Marar Plain,
Where a dark horseman rides the waste
With dust -cloud for a tram.
184 First Footsteps in East Africa
**The horseman reins his foam-fleckt steed,
Leans on his broken spear,
Wipes his damp brow, and faint begins
To tell a tale of fear.
XII
** l Where is my son? J * Go seek him there,
Far on the Marar Plain,
Where vultures and hyenas hold
Their orgies o'er the slain.
XIII
** 4 We took our arms, we saddled horse,
We rode the East countrie,
And drove the flocks, and harried herds
Betwixt the hills and sea.
XIV
*' * We drove the flock across the hill,
The herd across the wold
The poorest spearboy had returned.
That day, a man of gold.
XV
** * But AwaFs children mann'd the vale
Where sweet the Annan flowers,
Their archers from each bush and tree
Rained shafts in venomed showers.
XVI
** * Full fifty warriors bold and true
Fell as becomes the brave ;
And whom the arrow spared, the spear
Reaped for the ravening grave.
xvn
41 * Friend of my youth ! shall I remain
When ye are gone before ? J
He drew the wood from out his side,
And loosed the crimson gore.
" Falling, he raised his broken spear,
Thrice wav'd it o'er his head,
Thrice raised the warrior's cry * re\enge ! '
His soul was with the dead.
XIX
;< Now, one by one, the wounded braves
Homeward were seen to wend,
Each holding on his Caddie bow
A dead or dying friend.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 185
XX
"Two galliards bore the Eesa's son,
The corpse was staik and bare
Low moaned the maid, the mother sniule
Her breast in mute despair,
XXI
"The father bent him o'er the dead,
The wounds were all before ;
Again his brow, In sorrow clad,
The garb of gladness wore.
XXII
u Ho ! sit ye down, nor mourn fur me, 1
Unto the guests he cried ;
* My son a warrior's life hath lived,
A warrior's death hath died.
XXIII
44 * His wedding and his funeral feast
Are one, so Fate hath said ;
Death bore him from the brides of earth
The brides of Heaven to wed.'
XXIV
** They drew their knives, they sat them down,
An- 1 fed as warriors feed ;
The flesh of sheep and beeves they ate,
And quaffed the golden mead.
XXV
u And Eesa sat between the prayers
Until the fall of day,
When rose the guests and grasped their
And each man went his way.
** But in the morn arose the cry,
For mortal spirit flown ;
The father's mighty heart had burst
With woe he might not own.
XXVII
** On the high crest of yonder hill
They buried sire and son.
Grant, Allah ! grant them Paradise
Gentles, my task is done ! "
* *
Immediately after our arrival at Wflensi we sent
Yusuf Dera, the Gerad's second son, to summon his
father. I had to compose many disputes between
1 86 First Footsteps in East Africa
the Hammal and the End of Time : the latter was
swelling with importance ; he was now accredited
ambassador from the Hajj to the Girhi chief, conse-
quently he aimed at commanding the Caravan. We
then made preparations for departure, in case of the
Gerad being unable to escort us. Shehrazade and
Deenarzade, hearing that the smallpox raged at
Harar, and fearing for their charms, begged hard to
be left behind : the Kalendar was directed, despite
his manly objections, to remain in charge of these
dainty dames. The valiant Beuh was dressed in the
grand Tobe promised to him ; as no consideration
would induce him towards the city, he was dismissed
with small presents, and an old Girhi Bedouin, gener-
ally known as Said Wai, or Mad Said, was chosen
as our escort. Camels being unable to travel over
these rough mountain paths, our weary brutes were
placed for rest and pasture under the surveillance
of Sherwa : and not wishing the trouble and delay
of hiring asses, the only transport in this country,
certain moreover that our goods were safer here than
nearer Harar, we selected the most necessary objects,
and packed them in a pair of small leathern saddle-
bags which could be carried by a single mule.
All these dispositions duly made, at 10 P.M. on the
2gth December we mounted our animals, and, guided
by Mad Said, trotted round the northern side of the
Wilensi table-mountain down a lane fenced with
fragrant dog-roses. Then began the descent of a
steep rocky hill, the wall of a woody chasm, through
whose gloomy depths the shrunken stream of a large
Fiumara wound like a thread of silver. The path
would be safe to nought less surefooted than a mule :
we rode slowly over rolling stones, steps of micaceous
grit, and through thorny bush for about half-an-houn
In the plain below appeared a village of the Gerad's
Midgans, who came out to see us pass, and followed the
strangers to some distance. One happening to say,
" Of what use is his gun ? before he could fetch
fire, I should put this arrow through him ! " I
discharged a barrel over their heads, and derided
From Marar Prairie to Harar 187
the convulsion of terror caused by the unexpected
sound.
Passing onwards we entered a continuation of the
Wady Harirah. It is a long valley choked with
dense vegetation, through which meandered a line
of water brightly gilt by the sun's rays : my Somal
remarked that were the elephants now infesting it
destroyed, rice, the favourite luxury, might be
grown upon its banks in abundance. Our road lay
under clumps of shady trees, over rocky watercourses,
through avenues of tall cactus, and down trancMes
worn by man eight and ten feet below stiff banks of
rich red clay. On every side appeared deep clefts,
ravines, and earth cracks, all, at this season, dry.
The unarmed cultivators thronged from the frequent
settlements to stare, and my Somal, being no longer
in their own country, laid aside for guns their ridicu-
lous spears. On the way passing Ao Samattar's
village, the worthy fellow made us halt whilst he
went to fetch a large bowl of sour milk. About noon
the fresh western breeze obscured the fierce sun with
clouds, and we watered our mules in a mountain
stream which crossed our path thrice within as many
hundred yards. After six miles' ride reaching the
valley's head, we began the descent of a rugged pass
by a rough and rocky path. The scenery around
us was remarkable. The hill sides were well wooded,
and black with pine : their summits were bared of
earth by the heavy monsoon which spreads the valleys
with rich soil ; in many places the beds of waterfalls
shone like sheets of metal upon the black rock ; vil-
lages surrounded by fields and fences studded the
country, and the distance was a mass of purple peak
and blue table in long vanishing succession. Ascend-
ing the valley's opposite waU, we found the remains
of primeval forests little glades which had escaped
the axe they resounded with the cries of pintados
and cynocephali. 1 Had the yellow crops of Holcus
been wheat, I might have fancied myself once more
1 The Somal will not kill these plundering brutes, like the
Western Africans l^Iieving them to be enchanted men.
1 88 First Footsteps in East Africa
riding in the pleasant neighbourhood of Tuscan
Sienna.
At 4 P.M., after accomplishing fifteen miles on
rough ground, we sighted Saghanrah, a snug high-
fenced village of eight or nine huts nestling against
a hill side with trees above, and below a fertile grain-
valley. Presently Mad Said pointed out to us the
Gerad Adan, who, attended by a little party, was
returning homewards : we fired our guns as a salute,
he however hurried on to receive us with due cere-
mony in his cottage. Dismounting at the door we
shook hands with him, were led through the idle
mob into a smoky closet contrived against the inside
wall, and were regaled with wheaten bread steeped
in honey and rancid butter. The host left us to eat,
and soon afterwards returned : I looked with atten-
tion at a man upon whom so much then depended.
Adan bin Kaushan was in appearance a strong
wiry Bedouin before obtaining from me a turban
he wore his bushy hair dyed dun about forty-five
years old, at least six feet high, with decided features,
a tricky smile, and an uncertain eye. In character
he proved to be one of those cunning idiots so
peculiarly difficult to deal with. Ambitious and
wild with greed of gain, he was withal so fickle that
Ms head appeared ever changing its contents; he
could not sit quiet for half-an-hour, and this physical
restlessness was an outward sign of the uneasy
inner man. Though reputed brave, his treachery
has won him a permanent ill-fame. Some years ago
he betrothed a daughter to the eldest son of Gerad
Hirsi of the Berteri tribe, and then, contrary to
Somali laws of honour, married her to Mahonnned
Waiz of the Jibril Abokr. This led to a feud, in
which the disappointed suitor was slain. Adan was
celebrated for polygamy even in Eastern Africa:
by means of his five sons and dozen daughters, he
has succeeded in making extensive connections, 1 and
1 Some years ago Adan plundered one of Sharmarkay's cara-
vans ; repenting the action, he offered in marriage a daughter, who,
however, died before nuptials.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 189
his sister, the Gist! * Fatlmah, was married to Abu-
bakr, lather of the present Amir. Yet the Gerad
would walk into a crocodile's mouth as willingly as
within the walls of Harar. His main reason lor
receiving us politely was an ephemeral fancy for
building a fort, to control the country's trade, and
rival or overawe the city. Still did he not neglect
the main chance : whatever he saw he asked for ;
and, after receiving a sword, a Koran, a turban, an
Arab waistcoat of gaudy satin, about seventy Tobes,
and a similar proportion of indigo-dyed stuff, he
privily complained to me that the Mammal had given
him but twelve cloths. A list of his wants will best
explain the man. He begged me to bring him from
Berberah a silver-hilted sword and some soap, 1000
dollars, two sets of silver bracelets, twenty guns with
powder and shot, snuff, a scarlet cloth coat em-
broidered with gold, some poison that would not fail,
and any other little article of luxury which might be
supposed to suit him. In return he was to present
us with horses, mules, slaves, ivory, and other
valuables : he forgot, however, to do so before we
departed.
The Gerad Adan was powerful, being the head of
a tribe of cultivators, not split up, like the Bedouins,
into independent clans, and he thus exercises a direct
influence upon the conterminous races, 2 The Girhi
or " Giraffes " inhabiting these hills are, like most
of the other settled Somal, a derivation from Darud,
and descended from Kombo. Despite the unmerciful
persecution of the Gallas, they gradually migrated
westwards from Makhar, their original nest, now
1 Gisti is a ** princess" in Harari, equivalent to the Somali
Geradah,
2 They are, however, divided into clans, of which the following
are the principal :
I. Bahawiyah, the race which supplies the Gerads,
2* Abu Yunis (divided into ten septs).
3. Rer Ibrahim (similarly divided).
4. Jibril. 8. Rer Auro.
5. Bakasiyya. 9. Rer Walemba
6. Rer Mahmnd. 10. Rer Khahd.
jr. Mu$a Par,
190 First Footsteps in East Africa
number 5000 shields, possess about 180 villages, and
are accounted the power paramount. Though
friendly with the Habr Awal, the Girhi seldom descend,
unless compelled by want of pasture, into the plains.
The other inhabitants of these hills are the Gallas
and the Somali clans of Berteri, Bursuk, Shaykhash,
Hawiyah, Usbayhan, Marayhan, and Abaskul.
The Gallas l about Harar are divided into four
several clans, separating as usual into a multitude
of septs. The Alo extend westwards from the city :
the Nole inhabit the land to the east and north-east,
about two days' journey between the Eesa Somal
and Harar: on the south are situated the BabuB
and the Jarsa at Wilensi, Sagharrah, and Kondura
places described in these pages.
The Berteri, who occupy the Gurays Range, south
of, and limitrophe to, the Gallas, and thence extend
eastward to the Jigjiga hills, are estimated at 3000
shields. 2 Of Darud origin, they own allegiance to
the Gerad Hirsi, and were, when I visited the country,
on bad terms with the Girhi. The chief's family has,
for several generations, been connected with the
Amirs of Harar, and the caravan's route to and from
Berberah lying through his country, makes him a
useful friend and a dangerous foe. About the Gerad
Hirsi different reports were rife : some described him
as cruel, violent, and avaricious ; others spoke of him
as a godly and a prayerful person : all, however,
agreed that he had sowed wild oats. In token of
repentance, he was fond of feeding Widads, and the
Shaykh Jam! of Harar was a frequent guest at his
kraal.
The Bursuk number about 5000 shields, own no
chief, and in 1854 were at war with the Girhi, the
Berteri, and especially the Gallas. In this country
the feuds differ from those of the plains : the hill-
men fight for three days, as the End of Time phrased
1 I do not describe these people, the task having already been
performed by many abler pens than mine.
- They are divided into the Bah Ambaro (the chiefs family) and
the Shaykhasfaed,
From Marar Prairie to Harar 191
It, and make peace for three days. The maritime
clans are not so abrupt in their changes ; moreover
they claim blood-money, a thing here unknown.
The Shaykhash, or " Reverend r as the term means,
are the only Somal of the mountains not derived
from Dir and Darad. Claiming descent from the
Caliph Abubakr, they assert that ten generations ago
one Ao Khutab bin Fakih Umar crossed over from
El Hejaz, and settled in Eastern Africa with his
six sons, Umar the greater, Umar the less, two
AbdiHahs, Ahmed, and lastly Siddik. This priestly
tribe is dispersed, like that of Levi, amongst its
brethren, and has spread from Efat to Ogadayn.
Its principal sub-families are, Ao Umar, the elder,
and Bah Dumrna, the junior, branch.
The Hawiyah has been noticed in a previous
chapter. Of the Usbayhan I saw but few Individuals :
they Informed me that their tribe numbered forty
villages, and about 1000 shields ; that they had no
chief of their own race, but owned the rule of the
Girhi and Berteri Gerads. Their principal clans are
the Rer Yusuf , Rer Said, Rer Abokr, and Yusuf Liyo.
In the Eastern Horn of Africa, and at Ogadayn,
the Marayhan is a powerful tribe, here it is unconse-
quential, and affiliated to the Girhi. The Abaskul
also lies scattered over the Harar hills, and owns
the Gerad Adan as its chief. This tribe numbers
fourteen villages, and between 400 and 500 shields,
and is divided Into the Rer Yusuf, the Jlbrailah, and
the Warra Dig : the latter clan is said to be of
Galla extraction.
On the morning after my arrival at Sagharrah I
felt too ill to rise, and was treated with unaffected
kindness by all the establishment. The Gerad sent
to Harar for millet beer, Ao Samattar went to the
gardens In search of Kat, the sons Yusuf Dera and
a dwarf l Insisted upon firing me with such ardour
that no refusal could avail : and Khayrah the wife,
with her daughters, two tall dark, smiling, and wdl-
1 The only specimen of stunted humanity seen by me m the
Somali country. He was about eighteen years old, and looked ten.
192 First Footsteps in East Africa
.favoured girls of thirteen and fifteen, sacrificed a
feaeep as my Fida, or Expiatory offering. Even the
Galia Christians, who flocked ~ to see the stranger,
wept for the evil fate which had brought Mm so far
from his fatherland, to die under a tree. Nothing,
indeed, would have been easier than such operation :
all required was the turning face to the wall, for four
or five days. But to expire of an ignoble colic !
the thing was not to be thought of, and a firm resolu-
tion to live on sometimes, methinks, effects its object.
On the ist January 1855, feeling stronger, I
clothed myself in my Arab best, and asked a palaver
with the Gerad. We retired to a safe place behind
the village, where I read with pomposity the Hajj
Sharmarkay's letter. The chief appeared much
pleased by our having preferred his country to that
of the Eesa : he at once opened the subject of the
new fort, and informed me that I was the builder,
as Ms eldest daughter had just dreamed that the
stranger would settle in the land. Having discussed
the project to the Gerad's satisfaction, we brought
out the guns and shot a few birds for the benefit
of the vulgar. Whilst engaged in this occupation
appeared a party of five strangers, and three mules
with ornamented Morocco saddles, bridles, bells, and
brass neck ornaments, after the fashion of Harar.
Two of these men, Haji Umar and Nur Ambar, were
citizens : the others, Ali Hasan, Husayn Araleh, and
Haji Mohammed, were Somal cf the Habr Awal
tribe, high in the Amir's confidence. They had been
sent to settle with Adan the weighty matter of
Blood-money. After sitting with us almost half-an-
hour, during which they exchanged grave salutations
with my attendants, inspected our asses with por-
tentous countenances, and asked me a few questions
concerning my business in those parts, they went
privily to the Gerad, told him that the Arab was not
one who bought and sold, that he had no design but
to spy out the wealth of the land, and that the whole
party should be sent prisoners in their hands to
Harar. The chief curtly replied that we were big
From Marar Prairie to Harar 193
friends, and bade them " throw far those words."
Disappointed in their designs, they started late in
the afternoon, driving off their 200 cows, and falsely
promising to present our salams to the Amir.
It became evident that some decided step must
be taken. The Gerad confessed fear of his Harari
kinsman, and owned that he had lost all his villages
in the immediate neighbourhood of the city. I asked
him point-blank to escort us : he as frankly replied
that it was impossible. The request was lowered
we begged him to accompany us as far as the frontier :
he professed inability to do so, but promised to send
Ms eldest son, Sherwa.
Nothing then remained, dear L., but payer d'audace,
and, throwing all forethought to the dogs, to rely
upon what has made many a small man great, the
good star. I addressed my companions in a set
speech, advising a mount without delay. They sug-
gested a letter to the Amir, requesting permission to
enter his city : this device was rejected for two
reasons. In the first place, had a refusal been re-
turned, our journey was cut short, and our labours
stultified. Secondly, the End of Time had whispered
that my two companions were plotting to prevent
the letter reaching its destination. He had charged
Ms own sin upon their shoulders : the Hammal and
Long Guled were incapable of such treachery. But
our hedge-priest was thoroughly terrified ; " a coward
body after a'/ 1 Ms face brightened when ordered to
remain with the Gerad at Sagharrah, and though
openly taunted with poltroonery, he had not the
decency to object. My companions were then in-
formed that Mtherto our acts had been those of old
women, not soldiers, and that something savouring of
manliness must be done before we could return.
They saw my determination to start alone, if necessary,
and to do them justice, they at once arose. This
was the more courageous in them, as alarmists had
done their worst : but a day before, some travelling
Somali had advised them, as they valued dear life,
not to accompany that Turk to Harar, Once in the
If
194 First Footsteps in East Africa
saddle, they shook off sad thoughts, declaring that
If they were slain, I should pay their blood-money,
and if they escaped, that their reward was in my
hands. When in some danger, the Hammal especially
behaved with a sturdiness which produced the most
beneficial results. Yet they were true Easterns.
Wearied by delay at Harar, I employed myself in
meditating flight ; they drily declared that after-wit
serves no good purpose : whilst I considered the
possibility of escape, they looked only at the prospect
of being dragged back with pinioned arms by the
Amir's guard. Such is generally the effect of the
vulgar Moslems* blind fatalism.
I then wrote an English letter l from the Political
Agent at Aden to the Amir of Harar, proposing to
deliver it in person, and throw off my disguise.
Two reasons influenced me in adopting this " neck
or nothing " plan. All the races amongst whom my
travels lay, hold him nidering who hides his origin
in places of danger ; and secondly, my white face
had converted me into a Turk, a nation more hated
and suspected than any Europeans, without our
prestige. Before leaving Sagharrah, I entrusted to
the End of Time a few lines addressed to Lieut.
Heme at Berberah, directing him how to act in case
of necessity. Our baggage was again decimated;
the greater part was left with Adan, and an ass
carried only what was absolutely necessary a change
of clothes, a book or two, a few biscuits, ammunition,
and a little tobacco. My Girhi escort consisted of
Sherwa, the Bedouin Abtidon, and Mad Said mounted
on the End of Time's mule.
At 10 A.M. on the 2nd January all the villagers
assembled and recited the Fatihah, consoling us
with the information that we ware dead men. By
the worst of foot-paths we ascended the rough and
stony MO. behind Sagharrah, through bush and bum
1 At first I thought of writing it in Arabic ; but having no seal,
a sine qud non in an Eastern letter, and reflecting upon the con-
sequences of detection or even suspicion, it appeared more politic*
to come boldly fon\ ard as a European,
From Marar Prairie to Harar 195
and over ridges of rock. At the summit was a
village, where Sherwa halted, declaring that he dared
not advance: a swordsman, however, was sent on
to guard us through the Galla Pass. After an hour's
ride we reached the foot of a taH Table-mountain
called Kondura, where our road, a goat-path rough
with rocks or fallen trees, and here and there arched
over with giant creepers, was reduced to a narrow
ledge, with a forest above and a forest below. I could
not but admire the beauty of this Valombrosa, which
reminded me of scenes whilome enjoyed in fair
Tourahie. High up on pur left rose the perpendi-
cular walls of the misty hill, fringed with tufted pine,
and on the right the shrub-clad folds fell into a deep
valley. The cool wind whistled and sunbeams like
golden shafts darted through tal shady trees
Bearded with moss, and in garments green
the ground was clothed with dank grass, and around
the trunks grew thistles, daisies, and blue flowers
which at a distance might well pass for violets.
Presently we were summarily stopped by half-a-
dozen GaUas attending upon one Rabah, the Chief
who owns the Pass. 1 This is the African style of
toll-taking : the " pike " appears in the form of a
plump of spearmen, and the gate is a pair of lances
thrown across the road. Not without trouble, for
they feared to depart from the mos majofum, we
persuaded them that the ass carried no merchandise.
Then rounding Kondura's northern flank, we entered
the Amir's territory : about thirty miles distant, and
separated by a series of blue valleys, lay a dark speck
upon a tawny sheet of stubble Harar.
Having paused for a moment to savour success,
we began the descent. The ground was a slippery
black soil mist ever settles upon Kondura and
frequent springs oozing from the rock formed beds
of black mire. A few huge Birbisa trees, the remnant
of a forest still thick around the mountain's neck,
1 It Wongs, I was informed, to two clans of GaHas s who year by
feaur in tun* monopolise the profits.
196 First Footsteps in East Africa
marked out the road : they were branchy from stem
to stern, and many had a girth of from twenty to
twenty-five feet. 1
After an hour's ride amongst thistles, whose flowers
of a bright redlike worsted were not less than a
child's head, we watered our mules at a rill below the
slope. Then remounting, we urged over hill and dale,
where Galla peasants were threshing and storing
their grain with loud songs of joy ; they were easily
distinguished by their African features, mere carica-
tures of the Somal, whose type has been Arabised by
repeated immigrations from Yemen and Hadramaut.
Late in the afternoon, having gained ten miles in
a straight direction, we passed through a hedge of
plantains, defending the windward side of Gafra, a
village of Midgans who collect the Gerad Adan's
grain. They shouted delight on recognising their old
friend, Mad Said, led us to an empty Gambisa, swept
and cleaned it, lighted a fire, turned our mules into
a field to graze, and went forth to seek food. Their
hospitable thoughts, however, were marred by the
two citizens of Harar, who privately threatened them
with the Amir's wrath if they dared to feed that Turk.
As evening drew on came a message from our
enemies, the Habr Awal, who offered, if we would
wait till sunrise, to enter the city in our train. The
Gerad Adan had counselled me not to provoke these
men ; so, contrary to the advice of my two com-
panions, I returned a polite answer, purporting that
we would expect them till eight o'clock the next
morning.
At 7 P.M., on the 3rd January, we heard that the
treacherous Habr Awal had driven away their cows
shortly after midnight. Seeing their hostile inten-
tions, I left my journal, sketches, and other books
in charge of an old Midgan, with directions that they
should be forwarded to the Gerad Adan, and deter-
mined to carry nothing but our arms and a few
presents for the Amir. We saddled our mules,
1 Of tbis tree are made the substantial doors, the basins and the
porringers of Harar.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 197
mounted and rode hurriedly along the edge of a
picturesque chasm of tender pink granite, here and
there obscured by luxuriant vegetation. In the
centre, fringed with bright banks, a shallow rill,
called DogHah, now brawls in tiny cascades, then
whirls through huge boulders towards the Erar River.
Presently, descending by a ladder of rock scarcely
safe even for mules, we followed the course of the
burn, and emerging into the valley beneath, we
pricked forwards rapidly, for day was wearing on,
and we did not wish the Habr Awal to precede us.
About noon we crossed the Erar River. The bed
is about one hundred yards broad, and a thin sheet
of dear, cool, and sweet water covered with crystal
the greater part of the sand. According to my
guides, its course, like that of the hills, is southerly
towards the Webbe of Ogadayn l : none, however,
could satisfy my curiosity concerning the course of
the only perennial stream which exists between Harar
and the coast.
In the lower valley, a mass of waving holcus, we
met a multitude of Galla peasants coming from the
city market with new potlids and the empty gourds
which had contained their butter, ghee, and milk :
all wondered aloud at the Turk, concerning whom
they had heard many horrors. As we commenced,
another ascent appeared a Harar Grandee mounted
upon a handsomely caparisoned mule and attended
by seven servants who carried gourds and skins of
grain. He was a pale-faced senior with a white
beard, dressed in a fine Tobe and a snowy turban
with scarlet edges ; he carried no shield, but an
Abyssinian broadsword was slung over Ms left
shoulder. We exchanged courteous salutations, and
as I was thirsty he ordered a footman to fill a cup
with water. Half-way up the hill appeared the 200
Girhi cows, but those traitors, the Habr Awal, had
hurried onwards. Upon the summit was pointed out
to me the village of Elaoda : in former times it was
a wealthy place belonging to the Gerad Adan.
1 The Wcbbe Shebayli or Haines River.
198 First Footsteps In East Africa
At 2 P.M. we fell into a narrow fenced lane and
halted for a few minutes near a spreading tree, tinder
which sat women selling ghee and unspun cotton.
About two miles on the crest of a hill stood the
city the end of my present travel a long sombre
line strikingly contrasting with the whitewashed
towns of the East. The spectacle, materially speak-
ing, was a disappointment : nothing conspicuous ap-
peared but two grey minarets of rude shape : many
would have grudged exposing three lives to win so
paltry a prize. But of all that have attempted,
none ever succeeded in entering that pile of stones :
the thoroughbred traveller, dear L., will understand
my exultation, although my two companions ex-
changed glances of wonder.
Spurring our mules we advanced at a long trot,
when Mad Said stopped us to recite a Fatihah in
honour of Ao Umar Siyad and Ao Rahmah, two
great saints who repose under a dump of trees near
the road. The soil on both sides of the path is rich
and red : masses of plantains, limes, and pome-
granates denote the gardens, which are defended by
a bleached cow's skull, stuck upon a short stick l and
between them are plantations of coffee, bastard
saffron, an the graceful Kat. About half a mile
eastward of the town appears a burn called Jalah or
the Coffee Water : the crowd crossing it did not
prevent my companions bathing, and whilst they
donned dean Tobes I retired to the wayside, and
sketched the town.
These operations over, we resumed our way up
a rough tramMe ridged with stone and hedged with
tail cactus. This ascends to an open plain. On the
right lie the holcus fields, which reach to the town wall :
the left is a heap of rude cemetery, and in front are
the dark defences of Harar, with groups of citizens
loitering about the large gateway, and sitting in chat
near the ruined tomb of Ao Abdal. We arrived at
1 This scarecrow is probably a talisman. In the Saharah,
according to Richardson, the skull of an ass averts the evil eye
from gardens.
From Marar Prairie to Harar 199
3 P.M., after riding about five hours, which were
required to accomplish twenty miles in a straight
direction. 1
Advancing to the gate, Mad Said accosted a
warder, known by his long wand of office, and sent
our salams to the Amir, saying that we came from
Aden, and requested the honour of audience. Whilst
he sped upon his errand, we sat at the foot of a round
bastion, and were scrutinised, derided, and catechised
by the curious of both sexes, especially by that con-
ventionally termed the fair. The three Habr Awal
presently approached and scowlingly inquired why
we had not apprised them of our intention to enter
the city. It was now " war to the knife " we did
not deign a reply,
1 The following is a table of our stations, directions, and
distances ;
Miles.
I.
From Zayla to Gudingaras . . S.E. 165
19
2.
To Kuranyali
. . * 145
8
3-
To Adad .
. . - 225
25
4.
To Damal .
. . . 205-
ii
5-
To El Armo
190
ii
6.
To Jiyaf
202
10
7-
To Halimalah (the Holy Tree
about half-way) , . . 192
7
91 miles
8.
To Aububah
245
21
9-
To Koralay
. . I6 5
25
10.
To Harar .
260
65
in miles
Total statute miles 202
CHAPTER VIII
TEN DAYS AT HARAR
AFTER waiting half-an-hour at the gate, we were
told by the returned warder to pass the threshold,
and remounting, guided our mules along the main
street, a narrow up-hill lane, with rocks cropping
out from a surface more irregular than a Perote
pavement. Long Guled had given his animal into
the hands of our two Bedouins : they did not
appear til after our audience, when they informed
us that the people at the entrance had advised them
to escape with the beasts, an evil fate having been
prepared for the proprietors.
Arrived within a hundred yards of the gate of
holcus-stalks, which opens into the courtyard of this
African St. James, our guide, a blear-eyed, surly-
faced, angry-voiced fellow, made signs none of us
understanding his Harari to dismount. We did so.
He then began to trot, and roared out apparently
that we must do the same. 1 We looked at one
another, the Hammal swore that he would perish
foully rather than obey, and conceive, dear L., the
idea of a petticoated pilgrim venerable as to beard
and turban breaking into a long " double ! " I ex-
pressed much the same sentiment. Leading our
mules leisurely, in spite of the guide's wrath, we
entered the gate, strode down the yard, and were
placed under a tree in its left corner, close to a
low building of rough stone, which the danMng of
frequent fetters argued to be a state-prison.
1 The Ashantees at customs* time ran across the royal threshold
to escape being seized and sacrificed ; possibly the trace of the
pagan rite is still preserved by Moslem Harar, where it is now held
a mark of respect and always exacted from the citizens.
Ten Days at Harar 201
This part of the court was crowded with Galas,
some lounging about, others squatting in the shade
under the palace walls. The chiefs were known by
their zinc armlets, composed of thin spiral circlets,
closely joined, and extending in mass from the wrist
almost to the elbow : all appeared to enjoy peculiar
privileges they carried their long spears, wore their
sandals, and walked leisurely about the royal pre-
cincts. A delay of half-an-hour, during which state-
affairs were being transacted within, gave me time
to inspect a place of which so many and such different
accounts are current. The palace itself is, as Clap-
perton describes the Fellatah Sultan's state-hall, a
mere shed, a long, single-storied, windowless bam
of rough stone and reddish day, with no other insignia
but a thin coat of whitewash over the door. This
is the royal and vizierial distinction at Harar, where
no lesser man may stucco the walls of Ms house.
The courtyard was about eighty yards long by thirty
in breadth, irregularly shaped, and surrounded by
low buildings : in the centre, opposite the outer
entrance, was a circle of masonry, against which
were propped divers doors. 1
Presently the blear-eyed guide with the angry
voice returned from within, released us from the
importunities of certain forward and inquisitive
youth, and motioned us to doff our slippers at a
stone step, or rather line, about twelve feet distant
from the palace-wall. We grumbled that we were
not entering a mosque, but in vain. Then ensued
a long dispute, in tongues mutually unintelligible,
about giving up our weapons : by dint of obstinacy
we retained our daggers and my revolver. The
guide raised a door curtain, suggested a bow, and I
stood in the presence of the dreaded chief.
1 I afterwards learned that when a man neglects a summons his
door is removed to the royal courtyard on the first day ; on the
seeped, it is confiscated. The door is a valuable and venerable
article in this part of Africa. According to Brace, Ptolemy
Energetes engraved it upon the AXHJXI Obelisk for the benefit of
his newly conquered ^Ethiopian, subjects, to whom it had been
unknown.
2O2 First Footsteps in East Africa
The Amir, or, as lie styles himself, the Sultan
Ahmad bin Sultan Abibakr, sat in a dark room
with whitewashed walls, to which hung significant
decorations rusty matchlocks and polished fetters.
His appearance was that of a little Indian Rajah,
an etiolated youth twenty-four or twenty-five years
old, plain and thin-bearded, with a yellow complexion,
wrinkled brows and protruding eyes. His dress was
a flowing robe of crimson doth edged with snowy
fur, and a narrow white turban tightly twisted round
a tall conical cap of red velvet, like the old Turkish
headgear of our painters. His throne was a common
Indian Kursi, or raised cot, about five feet long,
with back and sides supported by a dwarf railing :
being an invalid he rested his elbow upon a pillow,
under which appeared the hilt of a Cutch sabre.
Ranged in double line, perpendicular to the Amir,
stood the "court," his cousins and nearest rela-
tions, with right arms bared after fashion of
Abyssinia.
I entered the room with a loud " Peace be upon
ye ! " to which H. H. replying graciously, and ex-
tending a hand, bony and yellow as a kite's claw,
snapped Ms thumb and middle finger. Two cham-
berlains stepping forward held my forearms, and
assisted me to bend low over the fingers, which
however I did not kiss, being naturally averse to
performing that operation upon any but a woman's
hand. My two servants then took their turn : in
this case, after the ba,ck was saluted, the palm was
presented for a repetition. 1 These preliminaries con-
cluded, we were led to and seated upon a mat in
front of the Amir, who directed towards us a frowning
brow and an inquisitive eye.
Some inquiries were made about the chief s health :
he shook his head captiously, and inquired our
errand. I drew from my pocket my own letter :
it was carried by a chamberlain, with hands veiled
in his Tobe, to the Amir, who after a brief glance
1 In Abyssinia, according to the Lord of Geesh, this is a mark
of royal familiarity and confidence.
Ten Days at Harar 203
laid it upon tlie couch, and demanded further ex-
planation. I then represented in Arabic that we
had come from Aden, bearing the compliments of
our Daulah or governor, and that we had entered
Harar to see the light of H. H/s countenance : this
information concluded with a little speech, describing
the changes of Political Agents in Arabia, and alluding
to the friendship formerly existing between the
English and the deceased chief Abubakr.
The Amir smiled graciously.
This smile I must own, dear L., was a relief. We
had been prepared for the worst, and the aspect of
affairs in the palace was by no means reassuring.
Whispering to his Treasurer, a little ugly man
with a badly shaven head, coarse features, pug nose,
angry eyes, and stubby beard, the Amir made a sign
for us to retire. The baist main was repeated, and
we backed out of the audience-shed in high favour.
According to grandiloquent Bruce, " the Court of
London and that of Abyssinia are, in their principles,
one " : the loiterers in the Harar palace yard, who
had before regarded us with cut-throat looks, now
smiled as though they loved us. Marshalled by the
guard, we issued from the precincts, and after walking
a hundred yards entered the Amir's second palace,
which we were told to consider our home. There
we found the Bedouins, who, scarcely believing that
we had escaped alive, grinned in the joy of their
hearts, and we were at once provided from the chief's
kitchen with a dish of Shabta, holcus cakes soaked
in sour milk, and thickly powdered with red pepper,
the salt of this inland region.
When we had eaten, the treasurer reappeared,
bearing the Amir's command that we should call
upon his Wazir, the Gerad Mohammed. Resuming
our peregrinations, we entered an abode distinguished
by its external streak of chunam, and in a small
room on the ground floor, cleanly whitewashed and
adorned, like an old English kitchen, with varnished
wooden porringers of various sizes, we found a vener-
able old man whose benevolent countenance belied
2O4 First Footsteps in East Africa
the reports current about him in SomaMand. 1 Half
rising, although his wrinkled brow showed suffering,
he seated me by his side upon the carpeted masonry-
bench, where lay the implements of his craft, reeds,
inkstands and whitewashed boards for paper, politely
welcomed me, and gravely ^ stroking his cotton-
coloured beard, desired my object in good Arabic.
I replied almost in the words used to the Amir,
adding however some details how in the old day one
Madar Farih had been charged by the late Sultan
Abubakr with a present to the governor of Aden,
and that it was the wish of our people to re-establish
friendly relations and commercial intercourse with
Harar.
" Khayr inshallah ! it is well if Allah please ! "
ejaculated the Gerad: I then bent over his hand,
and took leave.
Returning we inquired anxiously of the treasurer
about my servants' arms which had not been re-
turned, and were assured that they had been placed
in the safest of store-houses, the palace. I then sent
a common six-barrelled revolver as a present to the
Amir, explaining its use to the bearer, and we pre-
1 About se^en years ago the Hajj Sharmarkay of Zayla chose
as his agent at Harar one of the Amir's officers, a certain Hajj
Jamitay. When this man died Sharmarkay demanded an account
from his sons ; at Berberah they promised to give it, but returning
to Harar they were persuaded, it is believed, by the Gerad
Mohammed to forget their word. Upon this Sharmarkay's friends
and relations, incited by one Husayn, a Somali who had lived many
years at Harar in the Amir's favour, wrote an insulting letter to
the Gerad, beginning with, "No peace be upon thee, and no
blessings of Allah, thou butcher ! son of a butcher, &c., &c I " and
concluding with a threat to pinion him in the market-place as a
warning to men. Husayn carried the letter, which at first excited
general terror ; when, however, the attack did not take place, the
Amir Abubakr imprisoned the imprudent Somali till he died.
Sharmarkay by way of reprisals persuaded Alu, son of Sahlah
Salaseh, king of Shoa, to seize about three hundred Harari citizens
living in his dominions and to keep them two years in durance.
The Amir Abubakr is said on his deathbed to have warned his
son against the Gerad. When Ahmad reported his father's decease
to Zayla, the Hajj Sharmarkay ordered a grand Maulid or Mass in
honour of the departed. Since that time, however, there has been
little intercourse and no cordiality between them.
Ten Days at Harar 205
pared to make ourselves as comfortable as possible.
The interior of our new house was a clean room,
with plain walls, and a floor of tamped earth ; opposite
the entrance were two broad steps of masonry, raised
about two feet, and a yard above the ground, and
covered with hard matting. I contrived to make
upon the higher ledge a bed with the cushions which
my companions used as shabracques, and, after seeing
the mules fed and tethered, lay down to rest, worn
out by fatigue and profoundly impressed with the
potsie of our position. I was under the roof of a
bigoted prince whose least word was death ; amongst
a people who detest foreigners ; the only European
that had ever passed over their inhospitable threshold,
and the fated instrument of their future downfall.
I now proceed to a description of unknown
Harar.
The ancient capital of Hadiyah, called by the
citizens " Harar Gay," 1 by the Somal " Adari," by
the Gallas " Adaray," and by the Arabs and our-
selves " Harar/' 2 lies, according to my dead reckon-
ing, 220 S.W. of, and 175 statute miles from, Zayla
257 W. of, and 219 miles distant from, Berberah.
This would place it in 9 20' N. lat. and 42 17' E.
long. The thermometer showed an altitude of about
5500 feet above the level of the sea. 3 Its site is the
slope of a hill which falls gently from west to east.
On the eastern side are cultivated fields ; westwards
a terraced ridge is laid out in orchards \ northwards
is a detached eminence covered with tombs ; and to
the south, the city declines into a low valley bisected
by a mountain burn. This irregular position is well
sheltered from high winds, especially on the northern
side, by the range of which Kondura is the lofty
1 Thus M. Isenberg (Pre&cc to Amtoric Grammar % p, iv) calls
the city Harrar or Ararg&
1 ** Harar/* is not an uncommon name In this part of Eastern
Africa : according to some* the city Is so called from a Had of tree ;
according to others, from the Talley below it.
8 I say o^&ut: we were compelled to boE ow thermometeis at
sif not venturing upon such operation within the city.
206 First Footsteps in East Africa
apex ; hence, as the Persian poet sings of a heaven-
favoured city
" Its heat Is not hot } nor Its cold, cold."
During my short residence the air reminded me
of Tuscany. On the afternoon of the nth January
there was thunder accompanied by rain : frequent
showers fell on the I2th, and the morning of the
I3th was clear ; but, as we crossed the mountains,
black clouds obscured the heavens. The monsoon
is heavy during one summer month ; before it begins
the crops are planted, and they are reaped in
December and January. At other seasons the air
is dry, mild, and equable.
The province of Hadiyah is mentioned by Makrizi
as one of the seven members of the Zayla Empire, 1
founded by Arab invaders, who in the seventh century
of our area conquered and colonised the low tract
between the Red Sea and the Highlands. Moslem
Harar exercised a pernicious influence upon the
fortunes of Christian Abyssinia. 2
The allegiance claimed by the ^Ethiopian Emperors
from the Adel the Dankali and ancient Somal
was evaded at a remote period, and the intractable
Moslems were propitiated with rich presents when
they thought proper to visit the Christian court.
The Abyssmians supplied the Adel with slaves, the
latter returned the value in rock-salt, commercial
intercourse united their interests, and from war re-
sulted inj ury to both people. Nevertheless the fanatic
lowlanders, propense to pillage and proselytising,
burned the Christian churches, massacred the infidels,
and tortured the priests, until they provoked a blood
feud of uncommon asperity.
In the fourteenth century (A.D. 1312-1342) Amda
Sion, Emperor of jiEthiopia, taunted by Amano, King
1 The other six were Efat, Arabini, Duaro, Sharka, Bali, and
Darah.
& A circumstantial account of the Jihad or Moslem crusades is, I
am told, given in the Fath el Habashah, unfortunately a rare work.
The Amir of Harar had but one volume, and the other is to bQ
found at Mocha or Hudaydah,
Ten Days at Harar 207
of Hadiyah, as a monarch fit only to take care of
women, overran and plundered the Lowlands from
Tegulet to the Red Sea. The Amharas were com-
manded to spare nothing that drew the breath of
life : to fulfil a prophecy which foretold the fall of
El Islam, they perpetrated every kind of enormity.
Peace followed the death of Amda Sion. In the
reign of Zara Yakub l (A.D. 1434-1468), the flame of
war was again fanned in Hadiyah by a Zayla princess
who was slighted by the ^Ethiopian monarch on
account of the length of her fore-teeth : the hostilities
which ensued were not, however, of an important
nature. Boeda Mariana, the next occupant of the
throne, passed his life in a constant struggle for
supremacy over the Adel : on his deathbed he caused
himself to be so placed that Ms face looked towards
these lowlands, upon whose subjugation the energies
of ten years had been vainly expended.
At the close of the fifteenth century, Mahfuz, a
bigoted Moslem, inflicted a deadly blow upon
Abyssinia. Vowing that he would annually spend
the forty days of Lent amongst his infidel neighbours,
when, weakened by rigorous fasts, they were less
capable of bearing arms, for thirty successive years
he burned churches and monasteries, slew without
mercy every male that fell in his way, and driving off
the women and children, he sold some to strange
slavers, and presented others to the Sherifs of Mecca.
He bought over Za Salasah, commander-in-chief of
the Emperor's bodyguard, and caused the assassina-
tion of Alexander (A.D. 1478-1493) at the ancient
capital Tegulet. Naud* the successor, obtained some
transient advantages over the Moslems. During the
earlier reign of the next emperor, David III., son of
Naud, 2 who being but eleven years old when called to
the throne was placed under the guardianship of his
1 This prince built "Debra Berttan," the "Hill of gtoay," a
church dedicated to the Virgin Hwy at Gonclar.
3 A prince of nutny titles : he is generally called Wanag Sagged,
** feared amongst the lions," because he spent the latter yeats of Ms
life in the wild.
2o8 First Footsteps in East Africa
mother the Iteghe Helena, new combatants and new
Instruments of warfare appeared on both sides In
the field.
After the conquest of Egypt and Arabia by Selim I.
(A.D. 1516) l the caravans of Abyssinian pilgrims
travelling to Jerusalem were attacked, the old were
butchered and the young were swept into slavery.
Many Arabian merchants fled from Turkish violence
and injustice to the opposite coast of Africa, where-
upon the Ottomans took possession from Aden of
Zayla, and not only laid the Indian trade under
heavy contributions by means of their war-galleys,
but threatened the total destruction of Abyssinia.
They aided and encouraged Mahfuz to continue his
depredations, whilst the Sherif of Meccah gave him
command of Zayla, the key of the upper country, and
presented him with the green banner of a Crusader.
On the other hand, the great Albuquerque at the
same time (A.D. 1508-1515) was viceroy of India,
and to him the Iteghe Helena applied for aid. Her
ambassador arrived at Goa, " bearing a fragment of
wood belonging to the true cross on which Christ
died," which relic had been sent as a token of friend-
ship to her brother Emanud by the empress of
Ethiopia. The overture was followed by the arrival
at Masawwah of an embassy from the king of Portugal.
Too proud, however, to await foreign aid, David at
the age of sixteen took the field in person against
the Moslems.
During the battle that ensued, Mahfuz, the Goliath
of the Unbelievers, was slain in single combat by
Gabriel Andreas, a soldier of tried valour, who had
assumed the monastic life in consequence of having
lost the tip of his tongue for treasonable freedom of
speech : the green standard was captured, and 12,000
Moslems fell. David followed up Ms success by
invading the lowlands, and, in defiance, struck his
spear through the door of the king of Adel.
Harar was a mere mass of Bedouin villages during
the reign of Mohammed Gragne, the " left-handed "
1 Yemen submitted to Suleyman Pasha in A.D. 1538.
Ten Days at Harar 209
Attila of Adel. 1 Supplied with Arab mercenaries from
Mocha, and by the Turks of Yemen with a body
of Janissaries and a train of artillery, he burst into
Efat and Fatigar. In A.D. 1528 he took possession
of Shoa, overran Amhara, burned the churches, and
carried away an immense booty. The next campaign
enabled him to winter at Begmeder : in the following
year he hunted the Emperor David through Tigre
to the borders of Senaar, gave battle to the Christians
on the banks of the Nile, and with his own hand
killed the monk Gabriel, then an old man. Rein-
forced by Gideon and Judith, king and queen of the
Samen Jews, and aided by a violent famine which
prostrated what had escaped the spear, he per-
petrated every manner of atrocity, captured and
burned Axum, destroyed the princes of the royal
blood on the mountain of Amba Geshe, 2 and slew in
A.D. 1540 David, third of his name and last emperor
of Ethiopia who displayed the magnificence of
" King of Kings/ 1
Claudius, the successor to the tottering throne,
sent as his ambassador to Europe one John Bermudez,
a Portuguese, who had been detained in Abyssinia,
and promised, it is said, submission to the Pontiff
of Rome, and the cession of the third of his dominions
in return for reinforcements. By order of John III.,
Don Stephen and Don Christopher, sons of Don
Vasco de Gama, cruised up the Red Sea with a
powerful flotilla, and the younger brother, landing
at Masawwah with 400 musqueteers, slew Nur the
governor and sent his head to Gondar, where the
Iteghe Sabel Wenghel received it as an omen of good
fortune. Thence the Portuguese general imprudently
marched in the monsoon season, and was soon con-
fronted upon the plain of Ballut by Mohammed
Gragne at the head of 10,000 spearmen and a host
1 ** Gragne," or in the Somali dialect **Guray/ J means
a left-handed man ; Father Lobo errs in translating 1 it ** the
Lame/' *
1 This exploit has been erroneously attributed to Nur, the
successor of Mohammed.
2io First Footsteps in East Africa
of cavalry. On the other side stood a rabble rout
of Abyssinians, and a little band of 350 Portuguese
heroes headed by the most chivalrous soldier of a
chivalrous age.
According to Father Jerome Lobo, 1 who heard the
events from an eye-witness, a conference took place
between the two captains. Mohammed, encamped
in a commanding position, sent a message to Don
Christopher informing him that the treacherous
Abyssinians had imposed upon the king of Portugal,
and that in compassion of his opponent's youth, he
would give him and his men free passage and supplies
to their own country. The Christian presented the
Moslem ambassador with a rich robe, and returned
this gaHant answer, that " he and his fellow-soldiers
were come with an intention to drive Mohammed
out of these countries which he had wrongfully
usurped ; that his present design was, instead of
returning back the way he came, as Mohammed
advised, to open himself a passage through the country
of Ms enemies ; that Mohammed should rather think
of determining whether he would fight or yield up
his ill-gotten territories than of prescribing measures to
him ; that he put his whole confidence in the omni-
potence of God, and the justice of his cause ; and that
to show how full a sense he had of Mohammed's
* This reverend Jesuit was commissioned in A.D. 1622, by the
Count de Vidigueira, Viceroy of the Indies, to discover where his
relative Don Christopher was buried, and to procure some of the
relics. Assisted by the son-in-law of the Abyssinian Emperor,
Lobo marched with an army through the Gallas, found the martyr's
teeth and lower jaw, his arms and a picture of the Holy Virgin
which he always carried about him. The precious remains were
forwarded to Goa.
I love the style of this old iather, so justly depreciated by our
writers, and called ignorant peasant and liar by Bruce, because he
claimed for his fellow-countrymen the honour of having discovered
the Coy Fountains. The Nemesis who never sleeps punished
Brace by the justest of retributions. His pompous and inflated
style, his uncommon arrogance, and over-weening vanity, his
affectation of pedantry, his many errors and misrepresentations,
aroused against him a spirit which embittered the last years of his
life. It is now the iashion to laud Brace, and to pity his mis-
fortunes. I cannot but think that he deserved them.
Ten Days at Harar 211
kindness, lie took the liberty of presenting him with
a looking-glass and a pair of pincers."
The answer and the present so provoked the Adel
Monarch that he arose from table to attack the little
troop of Portuguese, posted upon the declivity of a hill
near a wood. Above them stood the Abysshiians, who
resolved to remain quiet spectators of the battle, and
to declare themselves on the side favoured by victory.
Mohammed began the assault with only ten horse-
men, against whom an equal number of Portuguese
were detached : these fired with so much exactness
that nine of the Moors fell and the king was wounded
in the leg by Peter de Sa. In the mele*e which
ensued, the Moslems, dismayed by their first failure,
were soon broken by the Portuguese muskets and
artillery. Mohammed preserved his life with diffi-
culty, he however rallied his men, and entrenched
himself at a strong place called Membret (Mamrat),
intending to winter there and await succour.
The Portuguese, more desirous of glory than
wealth, pursued their enemies, hoping to cut them
entirely off: finding, however, the camp impreg-
nable, they entrenched themselves on a hill over
against it. Their little host diminished day by day,
their friends at Masawwah could not reinforce them,
they knew not how to procure provisions, and could
not depend upon their Abyssinian allies. Yet memo-
rious of their countrymen's great deeds, and de-
pending upon divine protection, they made no doubt
of surmounting all difficulties.
Mohammed on his part was not idle. He soli-
cited the assistance of the Moslem princes, and by
inflaming their religious zeal, obtained a reinforce-
ment of 2000 musqueteers from the Arabs, and a
train of artillery from the Turks of Yemen. Animated
by these succours, he marched out of Ms trenches
to enter those of the Portuguese, who received him
with the utmost bravery, destroyed many of his
men, and made frequent sallies, not, however, without
sustaining considerable losses.
Don Christopher had already one arm broken and
212 First Footsteps in East Africa
a knee shattered by a musket shot. Valour was at
length oppressed by superiority of numbers : the
enemy entered the camp, and put the Christians to
the spear. The Portuguese general escaped the
slaughter with ten men, and retreated to a wood,
where they were discovered by a detachment of the
enemy. 1 Mohammed, overjoyed to see his most
formidable enemy in his power, ordered Don Christo-
pher to take care of a wounded uncle and nephew,
telling him that he should answer for their lives, and
upon their death, taxed him with having hastened
it. The Portuguese roundly replied that he was
come to destroy Moslems, not to save them. En-
raged at this language, Mohammed placed a stone
upon his captive's head, and exposed frim to the
insults of the soldiery, who inflicted upon him various
tortures which he bore with the resolution of a
martyr. At length, when offered a return to India
as the price of apostacy, the hero's spirit took fire.
He answered with the highest indignation, that
nothing could make him forsake his Heavenly
Master to follow an " imposter," and continued in
the severest terms to vilify the " false Prophet,"
till Mahpmmed struck off his head. 2 The body
was divided into quarters and sent to different
places, 8 but the Catholics gathered their martyr's
remains and interred them. Every Moor who
passed by threw a stone upon the grave, and raised
1 Brace, followed by most of our modern authors, relates a
circumstantial and romantic story of the betrayal of Don Christo-
pher by his mistress, a Turkish lady of uncommon beauty, who
had been made prisoner.
The more truth-like pages of Father Lobo record no such silly
scandal against the memory of the " brave and holy Portuguese."
Those who are well read in the works of the earlier Eastern
travellers will remember their 'horror of " handling heathens after
that fashion/* And amongst those who fought for the faith an
affaire ds cceur with a pretty pagan was held to be a sin as deadly
as heresy or magic.
2 Romantic writers relate that Mohammed decapitated the
Christian with his left hand.
3 Others assert, in direct contradiction to Father Lobo, that
the body was sent to different parts of Arabia, and the head to
Constantinople.
Ten Days at Harar 213
In time such a heap that Father Lobo found difficulty
in removing it to exhume the relics. He concludes
with a pardonable superstition: "There is a tra-
dition in the country, that in the place where Don
Christopher's head fell, a fountain sprang up of
wonderful virtue, which cured many diseases, other-
wise past remedy."
Mohammed Gragne improved his victory by chasing
the young Claudius over Abyssinia, where nothing
opposed the progress of his arms. At last the few
Portuguese survivors repaired to the Christian Em-
peror, who was persuaded to march an army against
the King of Adel. Resolved to revenge their general,
the musqueteers demanded the post opposite
Mohammed, and directed all their efforts against the
part where the Moslem Attila stood. His fellow
religionists still relate that when Gragne fell in action,
his wife Talwambara, 1 the heroic daughter of Mahfuz,
to prevent the destruction and dispersion of the host
of Islam, buried the corpse privately, and caused a
slave to personate the prince until a retreat to safe
lands enabled her to discover the stratagem to the
nobles. 2
Father Lobo tells a different tale. According to
Mm, Peter Leon, a marksman of low stature, but
passing valiant, who had been servant to Don Chris-
topher, singled the Adel king out of the crowd, and
shot him in the head as he was encouraging his men.
Mohammed was followed by Ms enemy till he fell
down dead : the Portuguese then alighting from his
horse, cut off one of his ears and rejoined his fellow-
1 Brace, followed by later authorities, writes this name Del
Wumbarea.
a Talwambara, according to the Christians, after her husband's
death, and her army's defeat, threw herself into the wilds of Atbara,
and recovered her son Ali Gerad by releasing Prince Menas, the
brother of the Abyssinian emperor, who in David's reign had been
carried prisoner to Adel.
The historian will admire these two widely different accounts
of the left-handed hero's death. Upon the whole he will prefer
the Moslem's tradition from the air of truth pervading it, and the
various improbabilities which appear in the more detailed story of
the Christians.
214 First Footsteps in East Africa
countrymen. The Moslems were defeated with great
slaughter, and an Abyssinian chief finding Gragne's
corpse upon the ground, presented the head to the
Negush or Emperor, claiming the honour of having
slain his country's deadliest foe. Having witnessed
in silence this impudence, Peter asked whether the
king had but one ear, and produced the other from
his pocket to the confusion of the Abyssinian.
Thus perished, after fourteen years' uninterrupted
fighting, the African hero, who dashed to pieces the
structure of 2500 years. Like the " KardiHan " of
the Holy Land, Mohammed Gragne is still the subject
of many a wild and grisly legend. And to the present
day the people of Shoa retain an inherited dread of
the lowland Moslems.
Mohammed was succeeded on the throne of Adel
by the Amir Nur, son of Majid, and, according to
some, brother to the " Left-handed/' He proposed
marriage to Talwambara, who accepted him on con-
dition that he should lay the head of the Emperor
Claudius at her feet. In A.D. 1559, he sent a message
of defiance to the Negush, who, having saved Abys-
sinia almost by a miracle, was rebuilding on Debra
Work, the " Golden Mount," a celebrated shrine
which had been burned by the Moslems. Claudius,
despising the eclipses, evil prophecies, and portents
which accompanied his enemy's progress, accepted
the challenge. On the 22nd March 1559 the armies
were upon the j>omt of engaging, when the high
priest of Debra Libanos, hastening into the presence
of the Negush, declared that in a vision Gabriel had
ordered him to dissuade the Emperor of ^Ethiopia
from needlessly risking his life. The superstitious
Abyssinians fled, leaving Claudius supported by a
handful of Portuguese, who were soon slain around
him, and he fell covered with wounds. The Amir
Nur cut off his head, and laid it at the feet of Tal-
wambara, who, in observance of her pledge, became
his wife. This Amazon suspended the trophy by its
hair to the branch of a tree opposite her abode, that
her eyes might be gladdened by the sight : after
Ten Days at Harar 215
hanging two years, it was purchased by an Armenian
merchant, who interred it in the Sepulchre of St.
Claudius at Antioch. The name of the Christian hero
who won every action save that in which he perished
has been enrolled in the voluminous catalogue of
Abyssinian saints, where it occupies a conspicuous
place as the destroyer of Mohammed the Left-handed.
The Amir Nur has also been canonised by his
countrymen, who have buried their favourite " Wall "
under a little dome near the Jam! Mosque at Harar.
Shortly after his decisive victory over the Christians,
he surrounded the city with its present wall a
circumstance now invested with the garb of Moslem
fable. The warrior used to hold frequent conversa-
tions with El Khizr : on one occasion, when sitting
upon a rock, stil called Gay Humburti Harar's
Navel he begged that some Sherif might be brought
from Meccah, to aid him IB building a permanent
city. By the use of the *' Great Name " the vagrant
prophet instantly summoned from Arabia the Sherif
Yunis, Ms son Fakr el Din, and a descendant from
the Ansar or Auxiliaries of the Prophet : they settled
at Harar, which throve by the blessing of their
presence. From this tradition, we may gather that
the city was restored, as it was first founded and
colonised, by hungry Arabs.
The Sherifs continued to rule with some interrup-
tions until but a few generations ago, when the present
family rose to power. According to Bruce, they
are Jabartis, who, having intermarried with Sayyid
women, claim a noble origin. They derive them-
selves from the Caliph Abubakr, or from Akil, son of
Abu Talib, and brother of AM. The Ulema, although
lacking boldness to make the assertion, evidently
believe them to be of Gafla or pagan extraction.
The present city of Harar is about one mile long
by half that breadth. An irregular wall, lately re-
paired, 1 but ignorant of cannon, is pierced with five
1 Formerly the Waraba, creeping through the holes in the wall,
rendered the streets dangerous at night. They are now destroyed
by opening the gates In the evening, enticing In the animals by
2i6 First Footsteps in East Africa
large gates, 1 and supported by oval towers of artless
construction. The material of the houses and de-
fences are rough stones, the granites and sandstones
of the hills, cemented, Hke the ancient Galla cities,
with clay. The only large building is the Jami or
Cathedral, a long barn of poverty stricken appearance,
with broken-down gates, and two whitewashed
minarets of truncated conoid shape. They were
built by Turkish architects from Mocha and Hoday-
dah : one of them lately fell, and has been replaced
by an inferior effort of Harari art. There are a few
trees in the city, but it contains none of those gardens
which give to Eastern settlements that pleasant view
of town and country combined. The streets are
narrow lanes, up hill and down dale, strewed with
gigantic rubbish-heaps, upon which repose packs of
mangy or one-eyed dogs, and even the best are
encumbered with rocks and stones. The habitations
are mostly long, flat-roofed sheds, double storied,
with doors composed of a single plank, and holes for
windows pierced high above the ground, and decorated
with miserable wood-work : the principal houses have
separate apartments for the women, and stand at the
bottom of large courtyards closed by gates of Holcus
stalks. The poorest classes inhabit " Gambisa," the
thatched cottages of the hill-cultivators. The city
abounds in mosques, plain buildings without minarets,
and in graveyards stuffed with tombs oblong troughs
skughteriDg cattle, and closing the doors upon them, when they
arc safely speared.
1 The following are the names of the gates in Harari and
Somali
Eastward. Argob Bari (Bar in Amharic is a gate, e.g. Ankobar,
the gate of Anko, a Galla Queen, and Argob is the name
of a Galla clan living in this quarter), by the Somal called
Erar.
North. Asum Bari (the gate of Axum), in Somali, Faldano or
the Zayla entrance.
West* Asmadlm Bari or Hamaraisa.
South. Badro Bari or Bab Bida.
South East. Sukutal Bari or Bisidimo.
At all times these gates are carefully guarded ; in the evening
the keys are taken to the Amir, after which no one can leave the
city till dawn.
Ten Days at Harar 217
formed by long slabs planted edgeways in the ground.
I need scarcely say that Harar is proud of her learning,
sanctity, and holy dead. The principal saint buried
in the city is Shaykh Umar Abadir El Bakri, originally
from Jeddah, and now the patron of Harar : he lies
under a little dome in the southern quarter of the
city, near the Bisidimo Gate.
The ancient capital of Hadiyah shares with Zebid,
in Yemen, the reputation of being an Alma Mater,
and inundates the surrounding districts with poor
scholars and crazy "\Vidads." Where knowledge
leads to nothing, says philosophic Volney, nothing is
done to acquire it, and the mind remains in a state
of barbarism. There are no establishments for learn-
ing, no endowments, as generally in the East, and
apparently no encouragement to students : books
also are rare and costly. None but the religious
sciences are cultivated. The chief Ulema are the
Kabir 1 Khalil, the Kabir Yunis, and the Shaykh
Jami : the two former scarcely ever quit their houses,
devoting all their time to study and tuition : the
latter is a Somali who takes an active part in politics.
These professors teach Moslem literature through
the medium of Harari, a peculiar dialect confined
within the walls. Like the Somali and other tongues
in this part of Eastern Africa, it appears to be partly
Arabic in etymology and grammar: the Semitic
scion being grafted upon an indigenous root : the
frequent recurrence of the guttural kk renders it
harsh and unpleasant, and it contains no literature
except songs and tales, which are written in the
modern Naskhi character. I would willingly have
studied it deeply, but circumstances prevented :
the explorer too frequently must rest satisfied with
descrying from his Pisgai the Promised Land of
Knowledge, which another more fortunate is destined
to conquer. At Zayla, the Hajj sent to me an
Abyssinian slave who was cunning in languages ;
1 Kabir In Arabic means great, and is usually applied to the
Almighty ; here it is a title given to the principal professors of
religious science.
2i 8 First Footsteps in East Africa
but he, to use the popular phrase, " showed his right
ear with his left hand." Inside Harar, we were so
closely watched that it was found impossible to put
pen to paper. Escaped, however, to Wilensi, I
hastily collected the grammatical forms and a vocabu-
lary, which will correct the popular assertion that
"the language is Arabic: it has an affinity with
the Amharic." l
Harar has not only its own tongue, unintelligible
to any save the citizens ; even its little population
of about 8000 souls is a distinct race. The Somal
say of the city that it is a Paradise inhabited by
asses : certainly the exterior of the people is highly
unprepossessing. Amongst the men, I did not see
a handsome face : their features are coarse and
debauched ; many of them squint, others have lost
an eye by smallpox, and they are disfigured by
scrofula and other diseases : the bad expression of
their countenances justifies the proverb, " Hard as
the heart of Harar/' Generally the complexion is
a yellowish-brown, the beard short, stubby and un-
tractable as the hair, and the hands and wrists, feet
and ankles, are large and ill-made. The stature is
moderate-sized, some of the elders show the " pudding
sides IJ and the pulpy stomachs of Banyans, whilst
others are lank and bony as Arabs or Jews. Their
voices are loud and rude. The dress is a mixture oi
Arab and Abyssinian. They shave the head, and
clip the mustacMos and imperial dose, like the
Shafei of Yemen. Many are bareheaded, some wear
a cap, generally the embroidered Indian work, or the
common cotton Takiyah of Egypt : a few affect white
turbans of the fine Harar work, loosely twisted over
the ears. The body-garment is the Tobe, worn
flowing as in the Somali country or girt with the
dagger-strap round the waist: the richer classes
bind under it a Futah or loin-cloth, and the dignitaries
have wide Arab drawers of white calico. Coarse
leathern sandals, a rosary and a tooth-stick rendered
1 This is equivalent to saying that the language of the Basque
provinces is French with an affinity to English.
Ten Days at Harar 219
perpetually necessary by the habit of chewing tobacco,
complete the costume : and arms being forbidden in
the streets, the citizens carry wands five or six feet long.
The women, who, owing probably to the number
of female slaves, are much the more numerous,
appear beautiful by contrast with their lords. They
have small heads, regular profiles, straight noses,
large eyes, mouths approaching the Caucasian type,
and light yellow complexions. Dress, however, here
is a disguise to charms. A long, wide, cotton shirt,
with short arms as in the Arab's Aba, indigo-dyed or
chocolate-coloured, and ornamented with a triangle
of scarlet before and behind the base on the shoulder
and the apex at the waist gprt round the middle
with a sash of white cotton crimson-edged. Women
of the upper class, when leaving the house, throw a
blue sheet over the head, which, however, is rarely
veiled. The front and back hair parted in the centre
is gathered into two large bunches below the ears,
and covered with dark blue muslin or network, whose
ends meet under the chin. This coiffure is bound
round the head at the junction of scalp and skin
by a black satin ribbon which varies in breadth
according to the wearer's means : some adorn the
gear with large gilt pins, others twine in it a Taj or
thin wreath of sweet-smelling creeper. The virgins
collect their locks, which are generally wavy not
wiry, and grow long as well as thick, into a knot tied
& la Diane behind the head : a curtain of short dose
plaits escaping from the bunch, falls upon the
shoulders, not ungracefully. Silver ornaments are
worn only by persons of rank. The ear is decorated
with Somali rings or red coral beads, the neck with
necklaces of the same material, and the fore-arms
with six or seven of the broad circles of buffalo and
other dark horns prepared in Western India. Finally,
stars are tattooed upon the bosom, the eyebrows are
lengthened with dyes, the eyes fringed with Kohl, and
the hands and feet stained with henna.
The female voice is harsh and screaming, especially
when heard after the delicate organs of the Somal
220 First Footsteps in East Africa
The fair sex is occupied at home spinning cotton
thread for weaving Tobes, sashes, and turbans;
carrying their progeny perched upon their backs, they
bring water from the wells in large gourds borne on the
head ; work in the gardens, and the men considering,
like the Abyssinians, such work a disgrace sit and
sell in the long street which here represents the Eastern
bazaar. Chewing tobacco enables them to pass much
of their time, and the rich diligently anoint them-
selves with ghee, whilst the poorer classes use remnants
of fat from the lamps. Their freedom of manners
renders a public flogging occasionally indispensable.
Before the operation begins, a few gourds full of cold
water are poured over their heads and shoulders,
after which a single-thonged whip is applied with
vigour. 1
Both sexes are celebrated for laxity of morals.
High and low indulge freely in intoxicating drinks,
beer, and mead. The Amir has established strict
patrols, who unmercifully bastinado those caught in
the streets after a certain hour. They are extremely
bigoted, especially against Christians, the effect of
their Abyssinian wars, and are fond of " Jihading "
with the Gallas, over whom they boast many a
victory. I have seen a letter addressed by the late
Amir to the Hajj Sharmarkay, in which he boasts
of having slain a thousand infidels, and, by way of
bathos, begs for a few pounds of English gunpowder.
The Harari hold foreigners in especial hate and
contempt, and divide them into two orders, Arabs
and Somal. 2 The latter, though nearly one-third
1 When ladies arc bastinadoed in more modest Persia, their
hands are passed through a hole in a tent wall, and fastened for
the infliction to a Falakah or pole outside.
2 The hate dates from old times. Abd el Karim, uncle to the
late Amir Abubakr, sent for sixty or seventy Arab mercenaries
under Haydar Assal the Auliki, to save him against the Gallas.
The matchlockmen failing in ammunition, lost twenty of their
number in battle and retired to the town, where the Gallas, after
capturing Abd el Karim, and his brother Abd el Rahman, seized
the throne, and, aided by the citizens, attempted to massacre the
strangers. These, however, defended themselves gallantly, and
would have crowned the son of Abd el Rahman, had he not in
Ten Days at Harar 221
of the population, or 2500 souls, are, to use their
own phrase, cheap as dust : their natural timidity
Is Increased by the show of pomp and power, whilst
the word " prison " gives them the horrors.
The other inhabitants are about 3000 Bedouins,
who " come and go." Up to the city gates the
country Is peopled by the Gallas. This unruly race
requires to be propitiated by presents of cloth ; as
many as 600 Tobes are annually distributed amongst
them by the Amir. Lately, when the smallpox,
spreading from the city, destroyed many of their
number, the relations of the deceased demanded and
received blood-money : they might easily capture
the place, but they preserve it for their own con-
venience. These Gallas are tolerably brave, avoid
matchlock balls by throwing themselves upon the
ground when they see the flash, ride well, use the
spear skilfully, and although of a proverbially bad
breed, are favourably spoken of by the citizens. The
Somal find no difficulty In traveling amongst them,
I repeatedly heard at Zayla and at Harar that traders
had visited the far West, traversing for seven months
a country of pagans wearing golden bracelets, 1 till
they reached the Salt Sea, upon which Franks sail
In ships. 2 At Wilensi, one Mohammed, a Shaykhash,
fear declined the dignity ; they then drew their pay, and marched
with all the honours of war to Zayla.
Shortly before our arrival, the dozen of petty Arab pedlars at
Harar, treacherous intriguers, like all their dangerous race, had
been plotting against the Amir. One morning when they least
expected it, their chief was thrown into a prison which proved Ms
grave, and the rest were informed that any stranger found in the
city should lose his head. After wandering some months among
the neighbouring villages, they were allowed to return and live
tinder surveillance. No one at Harar dared to speak of this
event, and we were cautioned not to indulge our curiosity.
1 TMs agrees with the Hon. R. Curzon's belief in Central African
"diggings," The traveller once saw an individual descending the
Nile- with a store of nuggets, bracelets, and gold rings similar to
those used as money by the ancient Egyptians.
* M. Krapf relates a tale current in Abyssinia; namely, that
there is a remnant of the slave trade between Guineh (the Guinea
coast) and Shosu Connection between the East and West formerly
emted : in the time of John the Second, the Portuguese on the
222 First Footsteps in East Africa
gave me Ms itinerary of fifteen stages to the sources
of the Abbay or Blue Nile : he confirmed the vulgar
Somali report that the Hawash and the Webbe
Shebayli both take rise in the same range of well-
wooded mountains which gives birth to the river
of Egypt.
The government of Harar is the Amir. These
petty princes have a habit of killing and imprisoning
all those who are suspected of aspiring to the throne. 1
Ahmed's greatgrandfather died in jail, and his father
narrowly escaped the same fate. When the present
Amir ascended the throne he was ordered, it is said,
by the Makad or chief of the Nole Gallas, to release
his prisoners, or to mount his horse and leave the
city. Three of his cousins, however, were, when I
visited Harar, in confinement : one of them since
that time died, and has been buried in his fetters.
The Somal declare that the state-dungeon of Harar
is beneath the palace, and that he who once enters
it, lives with unkempt beard and untrimmed nails
until the day when death sets him free.
The Amir Ahmed's health is infirm. Some attri-
bute Ms weakness to a fall from a horse, others
declare Mm to have been poisoned by one of his
wives. 2 I judged Mm consumptive. Shortly after
my departure he was upon the point of death, and
he afterward sent for a physician to Aden. He has
four wives. No. i is the daughter of the Gerad
Hirsi ; No. 2 a Sayyid woman of Harar ; No. 3 an
emancipated slave-girl ; and No. 4 a daughter of
Gerad Abd el Majid, one of Ms nobles. He has two
sons, who will probably never ascend the throne ;
river Zaire in Congo learned the existence of the Abyssinian Church.
Travellers in Western Africa assert that Fakihs or priests when
performing the pilgrimage pass from the FellataJi country through
Abyssinia to the coast of the Red Sea. And it has lately been
proved that a caravan line is open from the Zanzibar coast to
Benguela.
* All male collaterals of the royal family, however, are not im-
prisoned by law, as was formerly the case at Shoa.
2 This is a mere superstition ; none but the most credulous can
believe that a man ever lives after an Eastern dose.
Ten Days at Harar 223
one is an infant, the other is a boy now about five
years old.
The Amir Ahmed succeeded his father about three
years ago. His rule is severe if not just, and it has
all the prestige of secrecy. As the Amharas say, the
" belly of the Master is not known " : even the Gerad
Mohammed, though summoned to council at all
times, in sickness as in health, dares not offer uncalled-
for advice, and the queen dowager, the Gisti Fatimah,
was threatened with fetters it she persisted in inter-
ference. Ahmed's principal occupations are spying
his many stalwart cousins, indulging in vain fears
of the English, the Turks, and the Hajj Shaimarkay,
and amassing treasure by commerce and escheats.
He judges civil and religious causes in person, but
he allows them with little interference to be settled
by the Kazi, Abd el Rahman bin Uinar el Harari :
the latter, though a highly respectable person, is
seldom troubled ; rapid decision being the general
predilection. The punishments, when money forms
no part of them, are mostly according to Koranic
code. The murderer is place in the market street,
blindfolded, and bound hand and foot ; the nearest
of kin to the deceased then strikes his neck with a
sharp and heavy butcher's knife, and the corpse is
given over to the relations for Moslem burial. If
the blow prove ineffectual a pardon is generally
granted. When a citizen draws dagger upon another
or commits any petty offence, he is bastinadoed in a
peculiar manner : two men ply their horsewMps upon
his back and breast, and the prince, in whose presence
the punishment is carried out, gives the order to stop.
Theft is visited with amputation of the hand. The
prison is the award of state offenders : it is terrible,
because the captive is heavily ironed, lies in a filthy
dungeon, and receives no food but what he can obtain
from Ms own family seldom liberal under such
circumstances buy or beg from his guards. Fines
and confiscations, as usual in the East, are favourite
punishments with the ruler. I met at Wilensi an
old Harari, whose gardens and property had all
224 First Footsteps in East Africa
been escheated, because Ms son fled from justice,
after slaying a man. The Amir is said to have
large hoards of silver, coffee, and ivory : my attendant
the Hammal was once admitted into the inner palace,
where he saw huge boxes of ancient fashion supposed
to contain dollars. The only specie current in Haxar
is a diminutive brass piece called Mahallak l hand-
worked and almost as artless a medium as a modern
Italian coin. It bears on one side the words ;
J>
i *A) T^
(Zaribat el Harar, the coinage of Harar.)
On the reverse is the date, A.H. 1248. The Amir
pitilessly punishes all those who pass in the city any
other coin.
The Amir Ahmed is alive to the fact that some
state should hedge in a prince. Neither weapons nor
rosaries are allowed in his presence ; a chamberlain's
robe acts as spittoon ; whenever anything is given
to or taken from him his hand must be kissed ; even
on horseback two attendants fan him with the hems
of their garments. Except when engaged on the
Haronic visits which he, like his father, 1 pays to the
1 The name and coin are Abyssinian. According to Bruce,
20 Maballaks are worth . . I Grush.
12 Grush . I Miskal.
4 Miskal ,, . . i Wakiyab, (ounce).
At Harar twenty-two plantains (the only small change) = one
Mahallak, twenty- two Mahallaks=one Ashrafi (now a nominal
coin), and three Ashrafi = one dollar.
Lieut. Crattenden remarks, "The Ashrafi stamped at the Harar
mint is a coin peculiar to the place. It is of silver and the twenty-
second part of a dollar. The only specimen I have been able to
procure bore the date of 910 of the Hagira, with the name of the
Amir on one side, and, on its reverse, ' La Ilaha ill 'Allah.' " This
traveller adds in a note, "the value of the Ashrafi changes with
each successive ruler. In the reign of Emir Abd el Shukoor, some
200 years ago, it was of gold." At present the Ashrafi, as I have
said above, is a fictitious medium used in accounts.
1 An old story is told of the Amir Abubakr, that during one
of his nocturnal excursions, he heard three of his subjects talking
treason, and coveting his food, his wife, and his throne. He sent
for them next morning, filled the first with good things, and bas-
tinadoed him for not eating more, flogged the second severely for
5, /
1 /,'
1 /v\
Ten Days at Harar 225
streets and byways at night, he Is always surrounded
by a strong bodyguard. He rides to mosque escorted
by a dozen horsemen, and a score of footmen with
guns and whips precede him : by his side walks an
officer shading him with a huge and heavily fringed
red satin umbrella from India to Abyssinia the
sign of princely dignity. Even at his prayers two
or three chosen matchlock-men stand over him with
lighted fusees. When he rides forth in public, he
is escorted by a party of fifty men : the running
footmen crack their whips and shout " Let 1 Let ! **
(Go ! Go !) and the citizens avoid stripes by retreat-
ing into the nearest house, or running into another
street.
The army of Harar is not imposing. There are
between forty and fifty matchlock-men of Arab origin,
long settled in the place, and commanded by a
veteran Maghrebi. They receive for pay one dollar's
worth of holcus per annum, a quantity sufficient
to afford five or six loaves a day : the luxuries of
life must be provided by the exercise of some peaceful
craft. Including slaves, the total of armed men may
be two hundred : of these one carries a Somali or
Galla spear, another a dagger, and a third a sword,
which is generally the old German cavalry blade.
Cannon of small calibre is supposed to be concealed
in the palace, but none probably knows their use.
The city may contain thirty horses, of which a dozen
are royal property : they are miserable ponies, but
well trained to the rocks and hills. The GaUa
Bedouins would oppose an invader with a strong
force of spearmen, the approaches to the city are
difficult and dangerous, but it is commanded from
the north and west, and the walls would crumble
at the touch of a six-pounder. Three hundred Arabs
and two galloper guns would take Harar in a hour.
Harar is essentially a commercial town : its citizens
live, like those of Zayla, by systematically defrauding
the Galla Bedouins, and the Amir has made it a
being unable to describe the difference between his own wife and
the princess, and put the third to death.
F
226 First Footsteps in East Africa
penal offence to buy by weight and scale. He re-
ceives, as octroi, from eight to fifteen cubits of Cutch
canvas for every donkey-load passing the gates,
consequently the beast is so burdened that it must
be supported by the drivers. Cultivators are taxed
ten per cent., the general and easy rate of this part
of Africa, but they pay in kind, which considerably
increases the Government share. The greatest mer-
chant may bring to Harar 50 worth of goods, and
he who has 20 of capital is considered a wealthy
man. The citizens seem to have a more than Asiatic
apathy, even in pursuit of gain. When we entered,
a caravan was to set out for Zayla on the morrow ;
after ten days, hardly one-half of its number had
mustered. The four marches from the city eastward
are rarely made under a fortnight, and the average
rate of their Kafilahs is not so high even as that of
the Somal
The principal exports from Harar are slaves,
ivory, coffee, tobacco, Wars (safflower or bastard
saffron), Tobes and woven cottons, mules, holcus,
wheat, " Karanji," a kind of bread used by travellers,
ghee, honey, gums (principally mastic and myrrh),
and finally sheep's fat and tallows of all sorts. The
imports are American sheeting, and other cottons,
white and dyed, muslins, red shawls, silks, brass,
sheet copper, cutlery (generally the cheap German),
Birmingham trinkets, beads and coral, dates, rice, and
loaf sugar, gunpowder, paper, and the various other
wants of a city in the wild.
Harar is still, as of old, 1 the great " half-way
house Jy for slaves from Zangaro, Gurague, and the
Galla tribes, Alo and others 2 : Abyssinians and Am-
haras, the most valued, 8 have become rare since the
1 EI Makria informs us that in his day Hadiyah supplied the
East with black Eunuchs, although the infamous trade was expressly
forbidden by the Emperor of Abyssinia.
2 The Arusi Gallas are generally driven direct from Ugadayn to
Berberah.
* " If you want a brother (in arms)," says the Eastern proverb,
" buy a Nubian, if you would be rich, an Abyssinian, and if you
require an ass, a Sawahili (negro)/* Formerly a small load of salt
Ten Days at Harar 227
King of Shoa prohibited the exportation. Women
vary in value from 100 to 400 Ashrafis, boys from
9 to 150 : the worst are kept for domestic purposes,
the best are driven and exported by the Western
Arabs 1 or by the subjects of H.H. the Imam of Mus-
cat, in exchange for rice and dates. I need scarcely
say that commerce would thrive on the decline oi
slavery : whilst the Felateas or manrazzias are allowed
to continue, it is vain to expect industry in the land.
Ivory at Harar amongst the Kafirs is a royal mono-
poly, and the Amir carries on the one-sided system
of trade, common to African monarchs. Elephants
abound in Jarjar, the Erar forest, and in the Harirah
and other valleys, where they resort during the hot
season, in cold descending to the lower regions. The
Gallas hunt the animals and receive for the spoil a
little cloth : the Amir sends his ivory to Berberah,
and sells it by means of a Wakil or agent. The
smallest kind is called " Ruba Aj " (Quarter Ivory),
the better description "Nuss Aj " (Half Ivory),
whilst "Aj/' the best kind, fetches from thirty-two
to forty dollars per Farasilah of 27 Arab pounds. 2
bought a boy in Southern Abyssinia, many of them, however, died
on their way to the coast.
1 The Firman lately issued by the Sultan and forwarded to the
Pasha of Jeddah for the Kaimakan and the Kazi of Mecca, has
lately caused a kind of revolution in Western Arabia. The Ulema
and the inhabitants denounced the rescript as opposed to the
Koran, and forced the magistrate to take sanctuary. The Kaimakan
came to his assistance with Turkish troops, the latter, however,
were soon pressed back into their fort. At this time, the Sherif
Abd el Muttalib arrived at Meccah, from Taif, and almost
simultaneously Reshid Pasha came from Constantinople with orders
to seize him, send him to the capital, and appoint the Sherif Nazir
to act until the nomination of a successor, the state prisoner
Mohammed bin Aun.
The tumult redoubled. The people attributing the rescript to the
English and French Consuls of Jeddah, insisted upon puling down
their flags. The Pasha took them under his protection, and oa the
1 4th January 1856, the Queen steamer was despatched from
Bombay, with orders to assist the Government and to suppress the
contest.
2 This weight, as usual in the East, varies at every port. At
Aden the Farasilah is 27 Ibs., at Zayla 20 Ibs., and at Berbers!!
228 First Footsteps in East Africa
The coffee of Harar is too well known in the markets
of Europe to require description: it grows in the
gardens about the town, in greater quantities amongst
the Western GaUas, and in perfection at Jarjar, a
district of about seven days' journey from Harar on
the Efat road. It is said that the Amir withholds
this valuable article, fearing to glut the Berberah
market : he has also forbidden the Harash, or coffee
cultivators, to travel lest the art of tending the tree
be lost. When I visited Harar, the price per parcel
of twenty-seven pounds was a quarter of a dollar,
and the hire of a camel carrying twelve parcels to
Berberah was five dollars : the profit did not repay
labour and risk.
The tobacco of Harar is of a light yellow colour,
with good flavour, and might be advantageously
mixed with Syrian and other growths. The Alo,
or Western Gallas, the principal cultivators, plant it
with the holcus, and reap it about five months after-
wards. It is cocked for a fortnight, the woody part
is removed, and the leaf is packed in sacks for trans-
portation to Berberah. At Harar, men prefer it for
chewing as well as smoking: women generally use
Surat tobacco. It is bought, like all similar articles,
by the eye, and about seventy pounds are to be had
for a dollar.
The Wars or Saffiower is cultivated in considerable
quantities around the city : an abundance is grown
in the lands of the Gallas. It is sown when the
heavy rains have ceased, and is gathered about two
months afterwards. This article, together with slaves,
forms the staple commerce between Berberah and
Muscat. In Arabia, men dye with it their cotton
shirts, women and children use it to stain the skin
a bright yellow ; besides the purpose of a cosmetic,
it also serves as a preservative against cold. When
Wars is cheap at Harar, a pound may be bought for
a quarter of a dollar.
The Tobes and sashes of Harar are considered
equal to the celebrated cloths of Shoa ; hand-woven,
they as far surpass, in beauty and durability, th,e
Ten Days at Harar 229
vapid produce of European manufactories, as the
perfect hand of man excels the finest machinery.
On the windward coast, one of these garments is
considered a handsome present for a chief. The
Harari Tobe consists of a double length of eleven
cubits by two in breadth, with a border of bright
scarlet, and the average value of a good article, even
in the city, is eight dollars. They are made of the
fine long-stapled cotton, which grows plentifully upon
these hills, and are soft as silk, whilst their warmth
admirably adapts them for winter wear. The thread
is spun by women with two wooden pins : the loom
is worked by both sexes.
Three caravans leave Harar every year for the
Berberah market. The first starts early in January,
laden with coffee, Tobes, Wars, ghee, gums, and other
articles to be bartered for cottons, silks, shawls, and
Surat tobacco. The second sets out in February.
The principal caravan, conveying slaves, mules, and
other valuable articles, enters Berberah a few days
before the close of the season: it numbers about
3000 souls, and is commanded by one of the Amir's
principal officers, who enjoys the title of Ebi or leader.
Any or all of these kafilahs might be stopped by
spending four or five hundred dollars amongst the
Jibril Abokr tribe, or even by a sloop of war at the
emporium. " He who commands at Berberah, holds
the beard of Harar in his hand," is a saying which I
heard even within the city walls.
The furniture of a house at Harar is simple a
few skins, and in rare cases a Persian rug, stools,
coarse mats, and Somali pillows, wooden spoons, and
porringers shaped with a hatchet, finished witn a
knife, stained red, and brightly polistiecL The gourd
is a conspicuous article ; smoked inside and fitted
with a cover of the same material, it serves as cup,
bottle, pipe, and water-skin : a coarse and heavy
kind of pottery, of black or brown day, is used by
some of the citizens.
The inhabitants of Harar live well. The best
meat, as in Abyssinia, is beef ; it rather resembled,
230 First Footsteps in East Africa
however, in the dry season when I ate it, the lean
and stringy sirloins of Old England in Hogarth's
days. A hundred and twenty chickens, or sixty-six
full-grown fowls, may be purchased for a dollar, and
the citizens do not, like the Somal, consider them
carrion. Goat's flesh is good, and the black-faced
Berberah sheep, after the rains, is, here as elsewhere,
delicious. The staff of life is holcus. Fruit grows
almost wild, but it is not prized as an article of food ;
the plantains are coarse and bad, grapes seldom
come to maturity ; although the brab flourishes in
every ravine, and the palm becomes a lofty tree, it
has not been taught to fructify, and the citizens do
not know how to dress, preserve, or pickle their
limes and citrons. No vegetables but gourds are
known. From the cane, which thrives upon these
hills, a little sugar is made: the honey, of which,
as the Abyssinians say, "the land stinks/' is the
general sweetener. The condiment of East Africa
is red pepper.
To resume, dear L., the thread of our adventures
at Harar.
Immediately after arrival, we were called upon
by the Arabs, a strange mixture. One, the Haji
Mukhtar, was a Maghrebi from Fez : an expatriation
of forty years had changed bis hissing Arabic as little
as his "rocky face/' This worthy had a coffee-
garden assigned to him, as commander of the Amir's
bodyguard : he introduced himself to us, however,
as a merchant, which led us to look upon him as a
spy. Another, Haji Hasan, was a thoroughbred
Persian : he seemed to know everybody, and was
on terms of bosom friendship with half the world
from Cairo to Calcutta, Moslem, Christian, and Pagan.
Amongst the rest was a boy from Meccah, a Muscat
man, a native of Suez, and a citizen of Damascus :
the others were Arabs from Yemen. AH were most
civil to us at first ; but, afterwards, when our inter-
views with the Amir ceased, they took alarm, and
prudently cut us.
Ten Days at Harar 231
The Arabs were succeeded by the Somal, amongst
whom the Hammal and Long Guled found relatives,
friends, and acquaintances, who readily recognised
them as government servants at Aden. These
visitors at first came in fear and trembling with
visions of the Harar jail : they desired my men to
return the visit by night, and made frequent excuses
for apparent want of hospitality. Their apprehen-
sions, however, soon vanished: presently they began
to prepare entertainments, and, as we were with-
out money, they wiEingly supplied us with certain
comforts of life. Our three Habr Awal enemies,
seeing the tide of fortune settling in our favour,
changed their tactics : they threw the past upon
their two Harari companions, and proposed them-
selves as Abbans on our return to Berberah. This
offer was politely staved off ; in the first place we
were already provided with protectors, and secondly
these men belonged to the Ayyal Shkdon, a clan
most hostile to the Habr Gerhajis. They did not
fail to do us all the harm in their power, but again
my good star triumphed.
After a day's repose, we were summoned by the
Treasurer, early in the forenoon, to wait upon the
Gerad Mohammed. Sword in hand, and followed
by the Hammal and Long Guled, I walked to the
" palace/* and entering a little ground-floor-room on
the right of and dose to the audience-hall, found
the minister sitting upon a large dads covered with
Persian carpets. He was surrounded by six of his
brother Gerads or councillors, two of them in turbans,
the rest with bare and shaven heads : their Tobes,
as is customary on such occasions of ceremony, were
allowed to fall beneath the waist. The lower part
of the hovel was covered with dependents, amongst
whom my Somal took their seats : it seemed to be
customs' time, for names were being registered, and
money changed hands. The Grandees were eating
Kat, or as it is here called " J&t." x One of the
1 See Chap. ill. El Makrizi, describing the kingdom of Zayk,
uses the Harari not the Arabic term; he remarks that it is im-
232 First Footsteps in East Africa
party prepared for the Prime Minister the tenderest
twigs of the tree, plucking off the points of even
the softest leaves. Another pounded the plant with
a little water in a wooden mortar : of this paste,
called " El Mad-kuk," a bit was handed to each person,
who, rolling it into a ball, dropped it into Ms mouth.
All at times, as is the custom, drank cold water from
a smoked gourd, and seemed to dwell upon the sweet
and pleasant draught. I could not but remark the
fine flavour of the plant after the coarser quality
grown in Yemen. Europeans perceive but little
effect from it friend S. and I once tried in vain a
strong infusion the Arabs, however, unaccustomed
to stimulants and narcotics, declare that, like opium
eaters, they cannot live without the excitement. It
seems to produce in them a manner of dreamy en-
joyment, which, exaggerated by time and distance,
may have given rise to that splendid myth the Lotos,
and the Lotophagi. It is held by the Ulema here
as in Arabia, " Aid el Salikin," or the Food of the
Pious, and literati remark that it has the singular
properties of enlivening the imagination, clearing the
ideas, cheering the heart, diminishing sleep, and
taking the place of food. The people of Harar eat
it every day from 9 A.M. till near noon, when they
dhie and afterwards indulge in something stronger,
millet-beer and mead.
The Gerad, after polite inquiries, seated me by
his right hand upon the Dais, where I ate Kat and
fingered my rosary, whilst he transacted the business
of the day. Then one of the elders took from a little
recess in the wall a large book, and uncovering it,
began to recite a long Dua or Blessing upon the
Prophet : at the end of each period all present
intoned the response, " Allah bless our Lord Moham-
med with his Progeny and his Companions, one and
all ! " This exercise lasting half-an-hour afforded
me the opportunity much desired of making an
impression. The reader, misled by a marginal refer-
known to Egypt and Syria, and compares its leaf to that of the
orange.
Ten Days at Harar 233
ence, happened to say, " angels, Men, and Genii " :
the Gerad took the book and found written, " Men,
Angels, and Genii." Opinions were divided as to the
order of beings, when I explained that human nature,
which amongst Moslems is not a little lower than the
angelic, ranked highest, because of it were created
prophets, apostles, and saints, whereas the other
is but a " Wasitah " or connection between the
Creator and his creatures. My theology won general
approbation and a few kinder glances from the elders.
Prayer concluded, a chamberlain whispered the
Gerad, who arose, deposited his black coral rosary,
took up an inkstand, donned a white " Badan " or
sleeveless Arab cloak over his cotton shirt, shuffled
off the Dais into his slippers, and disappeared.
Presently we were summoned to an interview with
the Amir : this time I was allowed to approach the
outer door with covered feet. Entering ceremoni-
ously as before, I was motioned by the Prince to sit
near the Gerad, who occupied a Persian rug on the
ground to the right of the throne : my two attendants
squatted upon the humbler mats in front and at a
greater distance. After sundry inquiries about the
changes that had taken place at Aden, the letter
was suddenly produced by the Amir, who looked
upon it suspiciously and bade me explain its contents.
I was then asked by the Gerad whether it was my
intention to buy and sell at Harar : the reply was,
" We are no buyers nor sellers 1 ; we have become
your guests to pay our respects to the Amir whom
may Allah preserve 1 and that the friendship be-
tween the two powers may endure/* This appearing
satisfactory, I added, in lively remembrance of the
proverbial delays of Africa, where two or three months
may elapse before a letter is answered or a verbal
message delivered, that perhaps the Prince would
be pleased to dismiss us soon, as the air of Harar
was too dry for me, and my attendants were in danger
of the smallpox, then raging in the town. The Amir,
1 In conversational Arabic * 4 we" is used without affectation
for " L"
234 First Footsteps in East Africa
who was chary of words, bent towards the Gerad,
who briefly ejaculated, " The reply will be vouch-
safed " : with this unsatisfactory answer the inter-
view ended.
Shortly after arrival, I sent my Salam to one of
the Ulema, Shaykh Jami of the Berteri Somal : he
accepted the excuse of ill-health, and at once came
to see me. This personage appeared in the form of
a little black man aged about forty, deeply pitted
by smallpox, with a protruding brow, a tufty beard
and rather delicate features : his hands and feet
were remarkably small. Married to a descendant of
the Sherif Yunis, he had acquired great reputation as
an Allm of Savan, a peace-policy-man, and an ardent
Moslem. Though an imperfect Arabic scholar, he
proved remarkably well read in the religious sciences,
and even the Meccans had, it was said, paid him
the respect of kissing Ms hand during his pilgrimage.
In his second character, his success was not remarkable,
the principal results being a spear-thrust in the head,
and being generally told to read his books and leave
men alone. Yet he is always doing good " lillah,"
that is to say, gratis and for Allah's sake : his pug-
nacity and bluntness the prerogatives of the " peace-
ful " gave him some authority over the Amir, and
he has often been employed on political missions
amongst the different chiefs. Nor has his ardour
for propagandism been thoroughly gratified. He
commenced his travels with an intention of winning
the crown of glory without delay, by murdering the
British Resident at Aden 1 : struck, however, with
the order and justice of our rule, he changed his
intentions and offered El Mam to the officer, who
received it so urbanely, that the simple Eastern
repenting having intended to cut the Kafir's throat,
1 The Shaykh himself gave me this information. As a rule it
is most imprudent for Europeans holding high official positions in
these barbarous regions to live as they do, unarmed and unattended.
The appearance of utter security may impose, where strong motives
for assassination are wanting. At the same time the practice has
occasioned many losses which singly, to use an Indian statesman's
phrase, would have " dimmed a victory."
Ten Days at Harar 235
began to pray fervently for Ms conversion. Since
that time he has made it a point of duty to attempt
every infidel : I never heard, however, that he suc-
ceeded with a soul.
The Shaykh's first visit did not end well. He
informed me that the old Usmanlis conquered
Stamboul in the days of Umar. I imprudently ob-
jected to the date, and he revenged himself for the
injury done to his fame by the favourite ecclesiastical
process of privily damning me for a heretic, and a
worse than heathen. Moreover he had sent me a
kind of ritual which I had perused in an hour and
returned to him : this prepossessed the Shaykh
strongly against me, lightly " skimming " books
being a form of idleness as yet unknown to the
ponderous East.
Our days at Harar were monotonous enough. In
the morning we looked to the mules, drove out the
cats as great a nuisance here as at Aden and ate
for breakfast lumps of boiled beef with peppered
holcus-scones. We were kindly looked upon by one
Sultan, a sick and decrepit Eunuch, who having
served five Amirs, was allowed to remain in the
palace. To appearance he was mad : he wore upon
his poll a motley scratch wig, half white and half
black, like Day and Night in masquerades. But
his conduct was sane. At dawn he sent us bad
plantains, wheaten crusts, and cups of unpalatable
coffee-tea, 1 and, assisted by a crone more decrepit
than himself, prepared for me his water-pipe, a gourd
fitted with two reeds and a tile of baked clay by
way of bowl : now he " knagged " at the slave-girls,
who were slow to work, then burst into a fury because
1 In the best coffee countries, Harar and Yemen, the berry is
reserved for exportation. The Southern Arabs use for economy
and, health the bean being considered heating the Ki&hr or
follicle. This in Harar is a woman's drink. The men considering;
the berry too dry and heating for their arid atmosphere, toast the
leal" on a girdle, pound it and prepare an infusion which they declare
to be most wholesome, but which certainly suggests weak senna.
The boiled coffee-leaf has been tried and approved of in England ;
we omit, however, to toast it.
236 First Footsteps in East Africa
some visitor ate Kat withotit offering It to him, or
crossed the royal threshold in sandal or slipper. The
other inmates of the house were Galla slave-girls,
a great nuisance, especially one Berille, an unlovely
maid, whose shrill voice and shameless manners were
a sad scandal to pilgrims and pious Moslems.
About 8 A.M. the Somal sent us gifts of citrons,
plantains, sugar-cane, limes, wheaten bread, and
stewed fowls. At the same time the house became
full of visitors, Harari and others, most of them
pretexting inquiries after old Sultan's health. Noon
was generally followed by a little solitude, the people
retiring to dinner and siesta: we were then again
provided with bread and beef from the Amir's
kitchen. In the afternoon the house again filled,
and the visitors dispersed only for supper. Before
sunset we were careful to visit the mules tethered
in the courtyard; being half starved they often
attempted to desert. 1
It was harvest home at Harar, a circumstance
which worked us much annoy. In the mornings the
Amir, attended by forty or fifty guards, rode to a
bill north of the city, where he inspected his Galla
reapers and threshers, and these men were feasted
every evening at our quarters with flesh, beer, and
mead, 2 The strong drinks caused many a wordy
war, and we made a point of exhorting the pagans,
with poor success I own, to purer lives.
We spent our soirfc alternately bepreaching the
Gallas, " chaffing " Mad Said, who, despite his
1 In Harar a horse or a mule is never lost, whereas an ass straying
from home is rarely seen again.
2 This is the Abyssinian "Tej," a word so strange to European
organs, that some authors write it " Zatsh." At Harar it is made
of honey dissolved in about fifteen parts of hot water, strained and
fermented for seven days with the bark of a tree called Kudidah ;
when the operation is to be hurried, the vessel is placed near the
fire. Ignorant Africa can ferment, not distil, yet it must be owned
she is skilful in her rude art. Every traveller has praised the honey-
wine of the Highlands, and some have not scrupled to prefer it to
champagne. It exhilarates, excites and acts as an aphrodisiac ; the
consequence is, that at Harar all men, pagans and sages, priests
and rulers, drink it
Ten Days at Harar 237
seventy years, was a hale old Bedouin, with a salt
and sullen repartee, and quarrelling with the slave-
girls. BeiiUe the loud-lunged, or Aminah the pert,
would insist upon extinguishing the fat-fed lamp
long ere bed-time, or would enter the room singing,
laughing, dancing, and clapping a measure with
their palms, when, stoutly aided by old Sultan, who
shrieked like a hyena on these occasions, we ejected
her in extreme indignation. All then was silence
without : not so alas 1 within. Mad Said snored
fearfully, and Abtidon chatted half the night with
some Bedouin friend, who had dropped in to supper.
On our hard couches we did not enjoy either the
nodes or the coence deorum.
The even tenor of such days was varied by a
perpetual reference to the rosary, consulting sooth-
sayers, and listening to reports and rumours brought
to us by the SomaS. in such profusion that we all
sighed for a discontinuance. The Gerad Mohammed,
excited by the Habr Awal, was curious in his inquiries
concerning me : the astute Senior had heard of our
leaving the End of Time with the Gerad Adan, and
his mind fell into the fancy that we were transacting
some business for the Hajj Sharmarkay, the popular
bugbear of Harar. Our fate was probably decided
by the arrival of a youth of the Ayyal Gedid dan,
who reported that three brothers had landed in the
Somali country, that two of them were anxiously
awaiting at Berberah the return of the third from
Harar, and that, though dressed like Moslems, they
were really Englishmen in government employ.
Visions of cutting off caravans began to assume a
hard and palpable form : the Habr Awal ceased
intriguing, and the Gerad Mohammed resolved to
adopt the suaviter in modo whilst dealing with his
dangerous guest.
Some days after his first visit, the Shaykh Jami,
sending for the Hammal, informed him of an intended
trip from Harar : my follower suggested that we
might well escort him. The good Shaykh at once
offered to apply for leave from the Gerad Mohammed 5
238 First Footsteps In East Africa
not, however, finding the minister at home, he asked
us to meet him at the palace on the morrow, about
the time of Kat-eating.
We had so often been disappointed in our hopes
of a final " lay-public/' that on this occasion much
was not expected. However, about 6 A.M., we were
all summoned, and entering the Gerad's levee-room
were, as usual, courteously received. I had dis-
tinguished his complaint chronic bronchitis and
resolving to make a final impression, related to him
all its symptoms, and promised, on reaching Aden,
to send the different remedies employed by ourselves.
He dung to the hope of escaping his sufferings,
whilst the attendant courtiers looked on approvingly,
and begged me to lose no time. Presently the Gerad
was sent for by the Amir, and after a few minutes
I followed him, on this occasion, alone. Ensued a
long conversation about the state of Aden, of Zayla,
of Berberah, and of Stamboul. The chief put a
variety of questions about Arabia, and every object
there; the answer was that the necessity of com-
merce confined us to the gloomy rock. He used
some obliging expressions about desiring our friend-
ship, and having considerable respect for a people
who built, he understood, large ships. I took the
opportunity of praising Harar in cautious phrase,
and especially of regretting that its coffee was not
better known amongst the Franks. The small wizen-
faced man smiled, as Moslems say, the smile of
Umax 1 : seeing his brow relax for the first time, I
told him that, being now restored to health, we
requested his commands for Aden. He signified
consent with a nod, and the Gerad, with many
compliments, gave me a letter addressed to the
Political Resident, and requested me to take charge
of a mule as a present. I then arose, recited a short
1 The Caliph Umar is said to have smiled once and wept once.
The smile was caused by the recollection of his having eaten his
paste-gods in the days of ignorance. The tear was shed in re-
membrance of having buried alive, as was customary amongst the
Pagan Arabs, his infant daughter, who, whilst he placed her in the
grave, with her little hands beat the dust off his beard and garment.
Ten Days at Harar 239
prayer, the gist of which was that the Amir's days
and reign might be long in the land, and that the
faces of his foes might be blackened here and hereafter,
bent over his hand and retired. Returning to the
Gerad's levee-htrt, I saw by the countenances of my
two attendants that they were not a little anxious
about the interview, and comforted them with the
whispered word " Achha " " all right ! "
Presently appeared the Gerad, accompanied by
two men, who brought my servants' arms, and the
revolver which I had sent to the prince. This was
a contretemps. It was dearly impossible to take
back the present, besides which, I suspected some
finesse to discover my feelings towards him: the
other course would ensure delay. I told the Gerad
that the weapon was intended especially to preserve
the Amir's life, and for further effect, snapped caps
in rapid succession to the infinite terror of the august
company. The minister returned to his master, and
soon brought back the information that after a day
or two another mule should be given to me. With
suitable acknowledgments we arose, blessed the
Gerad, bade adieu to the assembly, and departed
joyful, the Hammal in his glee speaking broken
English, even in the Amir's courtyard.
Returning home, we found the good Shaykh Jami,
to whom we communicated the news with many
thanks for his friendly aid. I did my best to smooth
his temper about Turkish history, and succeeded.
Becoming communicative, he informed me that the
original object of his visit was the offer of good
offices, he having been informed that, in the town
was a man who brought down the birds from heaven,
and the citizens having been thrown into great
excitement by the probable intentions of such a per-
sonage. Whilst he sat with us, Kabir Khalil, one of
the principal Ulema, and one Haji Abdullah, a Shaykh
of distinguished fame who had been dreaming dreams
in our favour, sent their salams. This is one of the
many occasions in which, during a long residence in
the feast, I have had reason to be grateful to the
240 First Footsteps In East Africa
learned, whose Influence over the people when un-
biassed by bigotry is decidedly for good. That evening
there was great joy amongst the Somal, who had
been alarmed for the safety of my companions : they
brought them presents of Harari Tobes, and a feast
of fowls, limes, and wheaten bread for the stranger.
On the nth of January I was sent for by the
Gerad and received the second mule. At noon we
were visited by the Shaykh Jami, who, after a long
discourse upon the subject of Sufiism, 1 invited me
to inspect Ms books. When midday prayer was
concluded we walked to his house, which occupies
the very centre of the city : in its courtyard is " Gay
Humburti," the historic rock upon which Saint Nur
held converse with the Prophet Khizr. The Shaykh,
after seating us in a room about ten feet square, and
lined with scholars and dusty tomes, began read-
ing out a treatise upon the genealogies of the Grand
Masters, and showed me in half-a-dozen tracts the
tenets of the different schools. The only valuable
MS. in the place was a fine old copy of the Koran ;
the Kamus and the Sihah were there, 2 but by no
means remarkable for beauty or correctness. Books
at Harar axe mostly antiques, copyists being ex-
ceedingly rare, and the square massive character is
more like Cufic with diacritical points, than the
graceful modem NaskM. I could not, however, but
admire the bindings : no Eastern country save Persia
surpasses them in strength and appearance. After
some desultory conversation the Shaykh ushered us
into an inner room, or rather a dark doset parti-
tioned off from the study, and ranged us around
the usual dish of boiled beef, holcus bread, and red
pepper. After returning to the study we sat for a
few minutes Easterns rarely remain long after
dinner and took leave, saying that we must call
upon the Gerad Mohammed.
Nothing worthy of mention occurred during our
final visit to the minister. He begged me not to
1 The Eastern parent of Freemasonry.
2 Two celebrated Arabic dictionaries.
,^& * *- \
"sia^kif . * ...
Position of Harar
La.
Idry 4? 3$ Off 2 I
lot & oo y i
?
long *%*&?' OS) 1 J
Ten Days at Harar 241
forget his remedies when we reached Aden : I told
him that without further loss of time we would
start on the morrow, Friday, after prayers, and he
simply ejaculated, "It is well, if Allah please 1 "
Scarcely had we returned home when the clouds,
which had been gathering since noon, began to dis-
charge heavy showers, and a few loud thunder-claps
to reverberate amongst the hills. We passed that
evening surrounded by the Somal, who charged us
with letters and many messages to Berberah. Our
intention was to mount early on Friday morning.
When we awoke, however, a mule had strayed and
was not brought back for some hours. Before noon
Shaykh Jami called upon us, informed us that he
would travel on the most auspicious day Monday
and exhorted us to patience, deprecating departure
upon Friday, the Sabbath. Then he arose to take
leave, blessed us at some length, prayed that we
might be borne upon the wings of safety, again
advised Monday, and promised at all events to meet
us at Wilensi.
I fear that the Shaykh's counsel was on this
occasion likely to be disregarded. We had been
absent from our goods and chattels a whole fortnight :
the people of Harar are famously fickle ; we knew not
what the morrow might bring forth from the Amir's
mind in fact, all these African cities are prisons on
a large scale, into which you enter by your own wHi,
and, as the significant proverb says, you leave by
another's. However, when the mosque prayers ended,
a heavy shower and the stormy aspect of the sky
preached patience more effectually than did the
divine : we carefully tethered our mules, and un-
willingly deferred our departure till next morning.
CHAPTER IX
A RIDE TO BERBERAH
LONG before dawn on Saturday the I3tn January
the mules were saddled, bridled, and charged with
our scanty luggage. After a hasty breakfast we shook
hands with old Sultan the Eunuch, mounted and
pricked through the desert streets. Suddenly my
weakness and sickness left me so potent a drug is joy !
and, as we passed the gates loudly salaming to the
warders, who were crouching over the fire inside, a
weight of care and anxiety fell from me like a cloak
of lead.
Yet, dear L., I had time, on the top of my mule,
for musing upon how melancholy a thing is success.
Whilst failure inspirits a man, attainment reads the
sad prosy lesson that all our glories
** Are shadows, not substantial things."
Truly said the sayer, " disappointment is the salt of
life " SL salutary bitter which strengthens the mind
for fresh exertion, and gives a double value to the
prize.
This shade of melancholy soon passed away. The
morning was beautiful. A cloudless sky, then un-
tarnished by sun, tinged with reflected blue the
mist-crowns of the distant peaks and the smoke
wreaths hanging round the sleeping villages, and the
air was a cordial after the rank atmosphere of the
town. The dew hung in large diamonds from the
coffee trees, the spur-fowl crew blithely in the bushes
by the wayside : briefly, never did the face of
Nature appear to me so truly lovely.
We hurried forwards, unwilling to lose time and
A Ride to Berberah 243
fearing the sun of the Erar valley. With arms
cocked, a precaution against the possibility of Gatta
spears in ambuscade, we crossed the river, entered
the yawning chasm and ascended the steep path.
My companions were in the highest spirits ; nothing
interfered with the general joy but the villain
Abtidon, who loudly boasted in a road crowded
with market people, that the mule which he was
riding had been given to us by the Ainir as a Jizyah
or tribute. The Hammal, direfully wrath, threatened
to shoot Mm upon the spot, and it was not without
difficulty that I calmed the storm.
Passing Gafra we ascertained from the Midgans
that the Gerad Adan had sent for my books and
stored them in his own cottage. We made in a direct
line for Kondura. At i P.M. we safely threaded the
Galla's pass, and about an hour afterwards we ex-
daimed " Alhamdulillah " at the sight of Sagharrah
and the distant Marax Prairie. Entering the village
we discharged our firearms : the women received us
with the Masharrad or joy-cry, and as I passed the
enclosure the Geradah Khayrah performed the
" Fola " by throwing over me some handfuls of toasted
grain. 1 The men gave cordial poignles de mains,
some danced with joy to see us return alive ; they
had heard of our being imprisoned, bastinadoed,
slaughtered ; they swore that the Gerad was raising
an army to rescue or revenge us in fact, had we
been their kinsmen more excitement could not have
been displayed. Lastly, in true humility, crept
forward the End of Time, who, as he kissed my
hand, was upon the point of tears : he had been
half-starved, despite his dignity as Sharmarkay's
Mercury, and had spent his weary nights and days
reciting the chapter Y.S. and fumbling the rosary
for omens. The Gerad, he declared, would have
given him a sheep and one of his daughters to wife,
temporarily, but Sherwa had interfered, he had
1 It is an Arab as well as a Somali ceremony to throw a little
Kallyah or Satal (toasted grain) orer the honoured traveller when
he enters hut or tent.
244 First Footsteps In East Africa
hindered tlie course of his sire's generosity : " Cursed
be he/' exclaimed the End of Time, " who with dirty
feet defiles the pure water of the stream ! "
We entered the smoky cottage. The Gerad and
his sons were at Wilensi settling the weighty matter
of a caravan which had been plundered by the
Usbayhan tribe in their absence the good Khayrah
and her daughters did the duties of hospitality by
cooking rice and a couple of fowls. A pleasant evening
was spent in recounting our perils as travellers will
do, and complimenting one another upon the power
of our star.
At eight the next morning we rode to Wilensi.
As we approached it all the wayfarers and villagers
inquired Hibernically if we were the party that had
been put to death by the Amir of Harar. Loud con-
gratulations and shouts of joy awaited our arrival.
The Kalendar was in a paroxysm of delight : both
Shehrazade and Deenarzade were affected with
giggling and what might be blushing. We reviewed
our property and found that the One-eyed had been
a faithful steward, so faithful, indeed, that he had
well-nigh starved the two women. Presently appeared
the Gerad and his sons, bringing with them my books ;
the former was at once invested with a gaudy Abys-
sinian Tobe of many colours, in which he sallied forth
from the cottage the admired of all admirers. The
pretty wife Sudiyah and the good Khayrah were
made happy by sundry gifts of huge Birmingham
earrings, brooches and bracelets, scissors, needles, and
thread. The evening as usual ended in a feast.
We halted a week at Wilensi to feed in truth
my companions had been faring lentenly at Harar
and to lay in stock and strength for the long
desert march before us. A Somali was despatched
to the city under orders to load an ass with onions,
tobacco, spices, wooden platters, and Karanji, 1 which
our penniless condition had prevented our purchasing.
1 Bread made of holcus grain dried and broken into bits ; it
is thrown into broth or hot water, and thus readily supplies the
traveller with a wholesome pomade.
A Ride to Berberah 245
I spent the time collecting a vocabulary of the
Harari tongue under the auspices of Mad Said and
Ali the Poet, a Somali educated at the Alma Mater.
He was a small black man, long-headed and long-
backed, with remarkably prominent eyes, a bulging
brow, nose pertly turned up, and lean jaws almost
unconscious of beard. He knew the Arabic, Somali,
Galla, and Harari languages, and his acuteness was
such, that I found no difficulty in what usually
proves the hardest task extracting the gram-
matical forms. " A poet, the son of a Poet," to use
his own phrase, he evinced a Horatian respect for
the beverage which bards love, and his discourse,
whenever it strayed from the line of grammar,
savoured of over reverence for the goddess whom
Pagans associated with Bacchus and Ceres. He was
also a patriot and a Tyrteus. No clan ever attacked
his Girhis without smarting under terrible sarcasms,
and his sneers at the young warriors for want of
ardour in resisting Gudabirsi encroachments, were
quoted as models of the " withering." Stimulated
by the present of a Tobe, he composed a song in
honour of the pilgrim : I will offer a literal transla-
tion of the exordium, though sentient of the fact
that modesty shrinks from such quotations.
" Formerly, my sire and self held ourselves songsters :
Only to-day, however, I really begin to sing.
At the order of Abdullah, Allah sent, my tongue is loosed,
The son of the Kuraysh by a thousand generations,
He hath visited Audal, and Sahil and Adari l ;
A hundred of his ships float on the sea ;
His intellect," &c. &c. c.
When not engaged with All the Poet I amused
myself by consoling Mad Said, who was deeply
afflicted, his son having received an ugly stab in
the shoulder. Thinking, perhaps, that the Senior
anticipated some evil results from the wound, I
attempted to remove the impression. " Alas, O
Hajj i " groaned the old man, " it is not that f
1 The Somal invariably call Berberah the "Sahil ** (meaning in
Arabic the seashore), as Zayla with them is ** Audal,** and Harax
Adari."
246 First Footsteps in East Africa
how can the boy be my boy, I who have ever given
instead of receiving stabs ? " nor would he be com-
forted on account of the youth's progeniture. At
other times we summoned the heads of the clans
and proceeded to write down their genealogies. This
always led to a scene beginning with piano, but
rapidly rising to the strepitoso. Each tribe and
clan wished to rank first, none would be even second
what was to be done ? When excitement was at
its height, the paper and pencil were torn out of my
hand, stubby beards were pitilessly pulled, and
daggers half started from their sheaths. These
quarrels were, however, easily composed, and always
passed off in storms of abuse, laughter, and derision.
With the end of the week's repose came Shaykh
Jami, the Berteri, equipped as a traveller with
sword, praying-skin, and water-bottle. This bustling
little divine, whose hobby it was to make every man's
business his own, was accompanied by his brother,
in nowise so prayerful a person, and by four burly,
black-looking Widads, of whose birth, learning, piety,
and virtues he spoke in terms eloquent. I gave
them a supper of rice, ghee, and dates in my hut,
and with much difficulty excused myself on plea of
ill-health from a Samrah or night's entertainment
the chaunting some serious book from evening even
to the small hours. The Shaykh informed me that
Ms peaceful errand on that occasion was to determine
a claim of blood-money amongst the neighbouring
Bedouins. The case was rich in Somali manners.
One man gave medicine to another who happened
to die about a month afterwards : the father of the
deceased at once charged the mediciner with poison-
ing, and demanded the customary fine. Mad Said
grumbled certain disrespectful expressions about the
propriety of divines confining themselves to prayers
and the Koran, whilst the Gerad Adan, after listening
to the Shaykh's violent denunciation of the Somali
doctrine, " Fire, but not shame ! " x conducted his
1 AI Nar wala al Ar," an Arabic maxim, somewhat more forcible
than our "death rather than dishonour."
A Ride to Berberah 247
head-scratcher, and with sly sarcasm declared that
he had been Islamised afresh that day.
On Sunday the 2ist of January our messenger
returned from Harar, bringing with him supplies for
the road : my vocabulary was finished, and as nothing
delayed us at Wilensi, I determined to set out the
next day. When the rumour went abroad every
inhabitant of the village flocked to our hut, with the
view of seeing what he could beg or borrow: we
were soon obliged to dose it, with peremptory orders
that none be admitted but the Shaykh Jami The
divine appeared in the afternoon accompanied by
all the incurables of the countryside : after hearing
the tale of the blood-money, I determined that talis-
mans were the best and safest of medicines in those
mountains. The Shaykh at first doubted their effi-
cacy. But when my diploma as a master Sufi was
exhibited, a new light broke upon him and his attendant
Widads. " Verily he hath declared himself this day I "
whispered each to his neighbour, still sorely mystified.
Shaykh Jami carefully inspected the document,
raised it reverently to his forehead, and muttered
some prayers : he then in humble phrase begged a
copy, and required from me " Ijazah " or permission
to act as master. The former request was granted
without hesitation, about the latter I preferred to
temporise: he then owned himself my pupil, and
received, as a well-merited acknowledgment of his
services, a pencil and a silk turban.
The morning fixed for our departure came ; no
one, however, seemed ready to move. The Hammal,
who but the night before had been full of ardour and
activity, now hung back ; we had no coffee, no water-
bags, and Deenarzade had gone to buy gourds in
some distant village. This was truly African:
twenty-six days had not sufficed to do the work of
a single watch ! No servants had been procured
for us by the Gerad, although he had promised a
hundred whenever required. Long Guled had im-
prudently lent his dagger to the smooth-tongued
Dera, who, hearing of the departure, naturally
248 First Footsteps In East Africa
absconded. And, at the last moment, one Abdy
Aman, who had engaged himself at Harar as guide
to Berberah for the sum of ten dollars, asked a score.
A display of energy was clearly necessary. I sent
the Gerad with directions to bring the camels at once,
and ordered the Hammal to pull down the huts.
Abdy Aman was told to go to Harar or the other
place Long Guled was promised another dagger at
Berberah ; a message was left directing Deenarzade
to follow, and the word was given to load.
By dint of shouting and rough language the
caravan was ready at 9 A.M. The Gerad Adan and
his ragged tail leading, we skirted the eastern side
of Wilensi, and our heavily laden camels descended
with pain the rough and stony slope of the wide
Kloof dividing it from the Marar Prairie. At i P.M.
the chief summoned us to halt : we pushed on, how-
ever, without regarding him. Presently, Long Guled
and the End of Time were missing; contrary to
express orders they had returned to seek the dagger.
To ensure discipline, on this occasion I must have
blown out the long youth's brains, which were, he
declared, addled by the loss of his weapon: the
remedy appeared worse than the disease.
Attended only by the Hammal, t I entered with
pleasure the Marar Prairie. In vain the Gerad en-
treated us not to venture upon a place swarming
with lions ; vainly he promised to kill sheep and
oxen for a feast ; we took abrupt leave of him, and
drove away the camels.
Journeying slowly over the skirt of the plain,
when rejoined by the truants, we met a party of
travellers, who, as usual, stopped to inquire the news.
Their chief, mounted upon an old mule, proved to
be Madar Farih, a Somali well known at Aden. He
consented to accompany us as far as the halting-
place, expressed astonishment at our escaping Harar,
and gave us intelligence which my companions
judged grave. The Gerad Hksi of the Berteri,
amongst whom Madar had been living, was incensed
With us for leaving the direct road. Report informed
A Ride to Berberah 249
him, moreover, that we had given 600 dollars and
various valuables to the Gerad Adan why then had
he been neglected? Madar sensibly advised us to
push forward that night, and to 'ware the bush,
whence Midgans might use their poisoned arrows.
We alighted at the village formerly beneath Gurays,
now shifted to a short distance from those MUs.
Presently appeared Deenarzade, hung round with
gourds and swelling with hurt feelings : she was
accompanied by Dahabo, sister of the valiant Beuh,
who, having for ever parted from her graceless
husband, the Gerad, was returning under our escort
to the Gurgi of her family. Then came Yusuf Dera
with a smiling countenance and smooth manners,
bringing the stolen dagger and many excuses for the
mistake ; he was accompanied by a knot of kinsmen
deputed by the Gerad as usual for no good purpose.
That worthy had been informed that his Berteri rival
offered a hundred cows for our persons, dead or
alive : he pathetically asked my attendants, " Do
you love your pilgrim ? " and suggested that if they
did so, they might as well send him a little more
cloth, upon the receipt of which he would escort us
with fifty horsemen.
My Somal lent a willing ear to a speech which smelt
of falsehood a mile off: they sat down to debate;
the subject was important, and for three mortal hours
did that palaver endure. I proposed proceeding at
once. They declared that the camels could not
walk, and that the cold of the prairie was death to
man. Pointing to a caravan of grain-carriers that
awaited our escort, I then spoke of starting next
morning. Still they hesitated. At length darkness
came on, and knowing it to be a mere waste of time
to debate over-night about dangers to be faced next
day, I ate my dates and drank my milk, and lay down
to enjoy tranquil sleep in the deep silence of the desert.
The "morning of the 23rd of January found my
companions as usual in a state of faint-heartedness.
The Hammal was deputed to obtain permission for
fetching the Gerad and all the Gerad's men. This
250 First Footsteps in East Africa
was positively refused. I could not, however, object
to sending sundry Tobes to the cunning idiot, in
order to back up a verbal request for the escort.
Thereupon Yusuf Dera, Madar Farih, and the other
worthies took leave, promising to despatch the troop
before noon : I saw them depart with pleasure, feeling
that we had bade adieu to the Girhis. The greatest
danger we had run was from the Gerad Adan, a fact
of which I was not aware till some time after my
return to Berberah: he had always been plotting
an avanie which, if attempted, would have cost him
dear, but at the same time would certainly have
proved fatal to us.
Noon arrived, but no cavalry. My companions had
promised that if disappointed they would start
before nightfall and march till morning. But when
the camels were sent for, one, as usual if delay was
judged advisable, had strayed : they went in search
of him, so as to give time for preparation to the
caravan. I then had a sharp explanation with my
men, and told them in conclusion that it was my
determination to cross the prairie alone, if necessary,
on the morrow.
That night heavy clouds rolled down from the
Gurays Hills, and veiled the sky with a deeper gloom.
Presently came a thin streak of blue lightning and
a roar of thunder, which dispersed like flies the mob
of gazers from around my Gurgi ; then rain streamed
through our hut as though we had been dwelling under
a system of cullenders. Deenarzade declared herself
too ill to move ; Shehrazade swore that she would
not work : briefly, that night was by no means
pleasantly spent.
At dawn on the 24th we started across the Marar
Prairie with a caravan of about twenty men and
thirty women, driving camels, carrying grain, asses,
and a few sheep. The long straggling line gave a
" wide berth M to the doughty Hirsi and his Berteris,
whose camp-fires were clearly visible in the morning
grey. The air was raw ; piles of purple cloud settled
upon the hills, whence cold and damp gusts swept
A Ride to Berberah 251
the plain ; sometimes we had a shower, at others
a Scotch mist, which did not fail to penetrate our
thin raiment. My people trembled, and their teeth
chattered as though they were walking upon ice.
In our slow course we passed herds of quagga and
gazelles, but the animals were wild, and both men
and mules were unequal to the task of stalking
them. About midday we closed up, for our path
wound through the valley wooded with Acacia fittest
place for an ambuscade of archers. We dined in
the saddle on huge lumps of sun-dried beef, and
bits of gum gathered from the trees.
Having at length crossed the prairie without
accident, the caravan people shook our hands, con-
gratulated one another, and declared that they owed
their lives to us. About an hour after sunset we
arrived at Abtidon's home, a large kraal at the foot
of the Konti cone : fear of lions drove my people
into the enclosure, where we passed a night of scratch-
ing. I was now haunted by the dread of a certain
complaint for which sulphur is said to be a specific.
This is the pest of the inner parts of Somaliland ;
the people declare it to arise from flies and fleas :
the European would derive it from the deficiency,
or rather the impossibility, of ablutions.
" Allah help the Goer, but the Return is Rolling " :
this adage was ever upon the End of Time's tongue,
yet my fate was apparently an exception to the
general rule. On the 25th January we were delayed
by the weakness of the camels, which had been half-
starved in the Girhi mountains. And as we were
about to enter the lands of the Habr Awal, 1 then
1 TMs is the second great division of the Somal people, the lather
of the tribe being Awal, the cadet of Ishak el Hazrami
The Habr Awal occupy the coast from Zayla and Siyaro to the
lands bordering upon the Berteri tribe. They own the rale of a
Gerad, who exercises merely a nominal authority. The late chiefs
name was "Bon," he died about four years ago,btitjiis children
have not yet received the turban. The royal race is the Ayyal
Abdillah, a powerful clan extending from the Dahasanis Hills to
near Jigjiga, skirting the Marar Prairie.
The Habr Awal are divided into a multitude of dans; of these
252 First Footsteps in East Africa
at blood feud with my men, all Habr Gerhajis,
probably a week would elapse before we could
provide ourselves with a fit and proper protector.
Already I had been delayed ten days after the ap-
pointed time, my comrades at Berberah would be
apprehensive of accidents, and although starting from
Wilensi we had resolved to reach the coast within the
fortnight, a month's march was in clear prospect.
Whilst thus chewing the cud of bitter thought
where thought was of scant avail, suddenly appeared
the valiant JBeuh, sent to visit us by Dahabo his
gay sister. He informed us that a guide was in the
neighbourhood, and the news gave me an idea. I
proposed that he should escort the women, camels,
and baggage under command of the Kalendar to
Zayla, whilst we, mounting our mules and carrying
only our arms and provisions for four days, might
push through the lands of the Habr Awal. After
some demur all consented.
It was not without apprehension that I pocketed
all my remaining provisions, five biscuits, a few
limes, and sundry lumps of sugar. Any delay or
accident to our mules would starve us ; in the first
place, we were about to traverse a desert, and secondly,
where Habr Awal were, they would not sell meat or
milk to Habr Gerhajis. My attendants provided
themselves with a small provision of sun-dried beef,
grain, and sweetmeats : only one water-bottle, how-
ever, was found amongst the whole party. We arose
at dawn after a wet night on the 26th January, but
we did not start till 7 A.M., the reason being that
all the party, the Kalendar, Shehrazade, and Deenar-
zade, claimed and would have his and her several
and distinct palaver.
I shall specify only the principal, the subject of the maritime Somal
being already familiar to our countrymen. The Esa Musa inhabit
part of the mountains south of Berberah. The Mikahil tenant the
lowlands on the coast from Berberah to Siyaro. Two large clans,
the Ayyal Yunis and the Ayyal Ahmed, have established them-
selves in Berberah and at Bulhar. Besides these are the Ayyal
Abdillah Saad, the Ayyal Geraato, who live amongst the Ayyal
Yunis the Bahgobo and the Ayyal Haraed,
A Ride to Berberah 253
Having taken leave of our friends and property, 1 we
spurred our mules, and guided by Beuh, rode through
cloud and mist towards Koralay the Saddle-back
hill. After an hour's trot over rugged ground falMng
into the Harawwah valley, we came to a Gudabirsi
village, where my companions halted to inquire the
news, also to distend their stomachs with milk.
Thence we advanced slowly, as the broken path
required, through thickets of wild henna to the
kraal occupied by Beuh's family. At a distance we
were descried by an old acquaintance, Fahi, who
straightways began to dance like a little Polyphemus,
his shock-wig waving in the air : plentiful potations
of milk again delayed my companions, who were now
laying in a four days' stock.
Remounting, we resumed our journey over a mass
of rock and thicket, watered our mules at holes in
a Fiumara, and made our way to a village belonging
to the Ugaz or chief of the Gudabirsi tribe. He
was a middle-aged man of ordinary presence, and
he did not neglect to hold out his hand for a gift which
we could not but refuse. Halting for about an hour,
we persuaded a guide, by the offer of five dollars
and a pair of cloths, to accompany us. " Dubayr "
the Donkey who belonged to the Bahgobo dan
of the Habr Awal, was a " long LanMn/' unable, like
all these Bedouins, to endure fatigue. He could not
ride, the saddle cut him, and he found his mule
restive ; lately married, he was incapacitated for
walking, and he suffered sadly from thirst. The
Donkey little knew, when he promised to show
Berberah on the third day, what he had bound him-
self to perform : after the second march he was
induced, only by the promise of a large present and
one continual talk of food, to proceed, and often
1 My property arrived safe at Aden after about two months.
The mule left under the Kalendar's charge never appeared, and
the camels are, I believe, still grazing among the Ees^ The fair
Shehrazade, having amassed a little fortune, lost^no time in changing
her condition, an example followed in due time by Deenarzade.
And the Kalendar, after a visit to Aden, returned to electrify his
Zayla friends with long and terrible tales of travel.
254 First Footsteps in East Africa
he threw Ms lengthy form upon the ground, groaning
that his supreme hour was at hand. In the land
which we were to traverse every man's spear would
be against us. By way of precaution, we ordered
our protector to choose desert roads and carefully
to avoid all kraals. At first, not understanding our
reasons, and ever hankering after milk, he could not
pass a thorn fence without eyeing it wistfully. On
the next day, however, he became more tractable,
and before reaching Berberah he showed himself,
in consequence of some old blood-feud, more anxious
even than ourselves to avoid villages.
Remounting, under the guidance of the Donkey,
we resumed our eastward course. He was communi-
cative even for a Somali, and began by pointing out,
on the right of the road, the ruins of a stone building,
called, as customary in these countries, a fort. Be-
yond it we came to a kraal, whence all the inhabitants
issued with shouts and cries for tobacco. Three
o'clock P.M. brought us to a broad Fiumara choked
with the thickest and most tangled vegetation : we
were shown some curious old Galla wells, deep holes
about twenty feet in diameter, excavated in the
rock; some were dry, others overgrown with huge
creepers, and one only supplied us with tolerable
water. The Gudabirsi tribe received them from the
Girhi in lieu of blood-money: beyond this water-
course the ground belongs to the Rer Yunis Jibril,
a powerful clan of the Habr Awal, and the hills are
thickly studded with thorn-fence and kraal.
Without returning the salutations of the Bedouins,
who loudly summoned us to stop and give them the
news, we trotted forwards in search of a deserted
sheep-fold. At sunset we passed, upon an eminence
on our left, the ruins of an ancient settlement, called
after its patron Saint, Ao Barhe : and both sides
of the mountain road were flanked by tracts of
prairie-land, beautifully purpling in the evening air.
After a ride of thirty-five miles we arrived at a large
fold, where, by removing the inner thorn-fences,
we found fresh grass for our starving beasts. The
A Ride to Berberah 255
night was raw and windy, and thick mists deepened
into a drizzle, which did not quench our thirst, but
easily drenched the saddle-cloths, our only bedding.
In one sense, however, the foul weather was pro-
pitious to us. Our track might easily have been
followed by some enterprising son of Ynnis Jibril ;
these tracts of thorny bush are favourite places for
cattle lifting ; moreover, the fire was kept blazing
all night, yet our mules were not stolen.
We shook off our slumbers before dawn on the
27th. I remarked near our resting-place one of
those detached heaps of rock common enough in
the Somali country : at one extremity a huge block
projects upwards, and suggests the idea of a gigantic
canine tooth. The Donkey declared that the summit
still bears traces of building, and related the legend
connected with Moga Medic. 1 There, in times of
old, dwelt a Galla maiden whose eye could distinguish
a plundering party at the distance of five days 1
march. The enemies of her tribe, after sustaining
heavy losses, hit upon the expedient of an attack,
not en chemise, but with their heads muffled in
bundles of hay. When Moga, the maiden, informed
her sire and clan that a prairie was on its way to-
wards the hill, they deemed her mad ; the manoeuvre
succeeded, and the unhappy seer lost her life. The
legend interested me by its wide diffusion. The
history of Zarka, the blue-eyed witch of the Jadis
tribe, who seized Yemamah by her gramarye, and
our Scotch tale of Birnam wood's march, are Asiatic
and European facsimiles of African " Moga's Tooth."
At 7 A.M. we started through the mist, and trotted
eastwards in search of a well. The guide had de-
ceived us : the day before he had promised water
at every half mile ; he afterwards owned with groans
that we should not drink before nightfall. These
people seem to lie involuntarily : the habit of untruth
with them becomes a second nature. They deceive
without object for deceit, and the only way of obtain-
ing from them correct information is to inquire,
1 " Moga f s eye-tooth."
256 First Footsteps in East Africa
receive the answer, and determine it to be diametri-
cally opposed to fact.
I will not trouble you, dear L., with descriptions
of the uniform and uninteresting scenery through
which we rode horrid hills upon which withered
aloes brandished their spears, plains apparently
rained upon by a shower of stones, and rolling ground
abounding only with thorns like the " wait-a-bits "
of Kafir land, created to tear man's skin or clothes.
Our toil was rendered doubly toilsome by the Eastern
travellers' dread the demon of Thirst rode like Care
behind us. For twenty-four hours we did not taste
water, the sun parched our brains, the mirage mocked
us at every turn, and the effect was a species of
monomania. As I jogged along with eyes closed
against the fiery air, no image unconnected with the
want suggested itself. Water ever lay before me
water lying deep in the shady well water in streams
bubbling icy from the rock water in pellucid lakes
inviting me to plunge and revel in their treasures.
Now an Indian cloud was showering upon me fluid
more precious than molten pearl, then an invisible
hand offered a bowl for which the mortal part would
gladly have bartered years of life. Then drear
contrast I I opened my eyes to a heat-reeking plain,
and a sky of that eternal metallic blue so lovely to
painter and poet, so blank and death-like to us,
whose KaXw was tempest, rain-storm, and the huge
purple nimbus. I tried to talk it was in vain, to
sing in vain, vainly to think ; every idea was bound
up in one subject, water. 1
As the sun sank into the East we descended the
wide Gogaysa valley. With unspeakable delight we
saw in the distance a patch of lively green : our
animals scented the blessing from afar, they raised
their drooping ears, and started with us at a canter,
till, turning a comer, we suddenly sighted sundry
1 As a rule, twelve hours without water In the desert during hot
weather kill a man. I never suffered severely from thirst but on
this occasion ; probably it was in consequence of being at the time
but in weak health.
A Ride to Berberah 257
little wells. To spring from the saddle, to race with
our mules, who now feared not the crumbling sides
of the pits, to throw ourselves into the muddy pools,
to drink a long slow draught, and to dash the water
over our burning faces, took less time to do than to
recount. A calmer inspection showed a necessity for
caution the surface was alive with tadpoles and
insects : prudence, however, had little power at that
time, we drank, and drank, and then drank again.
As our mules had fallen with avidity upon the grass,
I proposed to pass a few hours near the well. My
companions, however, pleading the old fear of lions,
led the way to a deserted kraal upon a neighbouring
hill. We had marched about thirty miles eastward,
and had entered a safe country belonging to the
Bahgoba, our guide's clan.
At sunrise on the 28th of January, the Donkey,
whose limbs refused to work, was lifted into the saddle,
declaring that the white man must have been sent
from heaven, as a special curse upon the children
of Ishak. We started, after filling the water-bottle,
down the Gogaysa valley. Our mules were becoming
foot-sore, and the saddles had already galled their
backs ; we were therefore compelled to the addi-
tional mortification of travelling at snail's pace over
the dreary hills, and through the uninteresting bush.
About noon we entered Wady Danan, or " The
Sour," a deep chasm in the rocks ; the centre is a
winding sandy watercourse, here and there grassy
with tall rushes, and affording at every half mile
a plentiful supply of sweet water. The walls of the
ravine are steep and rugged, and the thorny jungle
clustering at the sides gives a wild appearance to
the scene. Traces of animals, quagga and gazelle,
everywhere abounded : not being however, in
** Dianic humour," and unwilling to apprise Bedouins
of our vicinity, I did not fire a shot. As we advanced
large trees freshly barked and more tender plants
torn up by the roots, showed the late passage of a
herd of elephants : my mule, though the bravest of
our beasts, was in a state of terror all the way. The
E
258 First Footsteps in East Africa
little grey honey-bird 1 tempted us to wander with
all his art : now he sat upon the nearest tree chirping
his invitation to a feast, then he preceded us with
short jerking flights to point out the path. My
people, however, despite the fondness for honey
inherent in the Somali palate, 2 would not follow
him, deciding that on this occasion his motives for
inviting us were not of the purest.
Emerging from the valley, we urged on our animals
over comparatively level ground, in the fallacious
hope of seeing the sea that night. The trees became
rarer as we advanced and the surface metallic. In
spots the path led over ironstone that resembled slag.
In other places the soil was ochre-coloured 8 : the
cattle lick it, probably on account of the aluminous
matter with which it is mixed. Everywhere the
1 I have never shot this feathered friend of man, although frequent
opportunities presented themselves. He appears to be the Cuculus
Indicator (le Concou Indicateur) and the Om-Shlanvo of the Kafirs ;
the Somal call him Maris. Described by Father Lobo and Bruce,
he is treated as a myth by Le Vaillant ; M. Wiedman makes him
cry "Shirt! Shirt! Shirt!" Dr. Sparrman "Tcherr! Tcherr!"
Mr. Delegorgue " Chir ! Chir 1 CMr 1 " His tone suggested to me
the shrill chirrup of a sparrow, and his appearance that of a green-
finch.
Buffon has repeated what a traveller had related, namely, that
the honey -bird is a little traitor who conducts men into ambuscades
prepared by wild beasts. The Lion-Slayer in S. Africa asserts it
to be the belief of Hottentots and the interior tribes, that the bird
often lures the unwary pursuer to danger, sometimes guiding him
to the midday retreat of a grizzly lion, or bringing him suddenly
upon the den of the crouching panther. M. Delegorgue observes
that the feeble bird probably seeks aid in removing carrion for the
purpose of picking up flies and worms ; he acquits him of malice
prepense, believing that where the prey is, there carnivorous beasts
may be met
The Somal, however, carry their superstition still farther. The
honey-bird is never trusted by them ; he leads, they say, either to
the lions 3 den or the snakes' hiding-place, and often guides his
victim into the jaws of the Kaum or plundering party.
2 The Somal have several kinds of honey. The Donyale or
wasp-honey is scanty and bad ; it is found in trees, and obtained by
smoking and cutting the branch. The Malab Shinni or bee-honey
is either white, red, or brown; the first is considered the most
delicate in flavour.
a The Somal call it Arrah As.
A Ride to Berberah 259
surface was burnt up by the sun, and withered from
want of rain. Towards evening we entered a broad
slope called by the Somal Dihh Murodi, or Murodilay,
the Elephants' Valley. Crossing its breadth from
west to east, we traversed two Fiumaras, the nearer
(t Hamar/' the further " Las Dorhhay," or the
Tamarisk water-holes. They were similar in ap-
pearance, the usual Wady about 100 yards wide,
pearly sand lined with borders of leek green, pitted
with dry wells around which lay heaps of withered
thorns and a herd of gazelles tripping gracefully
over the quartz carpet.
After spanning the valley we began to ascend the
lower slopes of a high range, whose folds formed like
a curtain the bold background of the view. This
is the landward face of the Ghauts, over which we
were to pass before sighting the sea. Masses of cold
grey doud rolled from the table-formed summit, we
were presently shrouded in mist, and as we advanced,
rain began to fall. The light of day vanishing, we
again descended into a Fiumara with a tortuous and
rocky bed, the main drain of the landward mountain
side. My companions, now half-starved they had
lived through three days on a handful of dates and
sweetmeats ndevoured with avidity the wiH Jujube
berries that strewed the stones. The guide had
preceded us: when we came up with him, he was
found seated upon a grassy bank on the edge of the
rugged torrent bed. We sprang in pleased astonish-
ment from the saddle, dire had been the anticipations
that our mules one of them already required driving
with the spear would, after another night of starva-
tion, leave us to carry their loads upon our own
backs. The cause of the phenomenon soon revealed
itself. In the rock was a hole about two feet wide,
whence a crystal sheet welled over the Framara
bank, forming a paradise for frog and tadpole. This
" Ga'angal " is considered by the Somal a " fairies'
well' 1 : all, however, that the Donkey could inform
me was, that when the Nomads settle in the valley,
the water sinks deep below the earth a knot which
260 First Footsteps in East Africa
metMnks might be unravelled without the interposi-
tion of a god. The same authority declared it to
be the work of the " old ancient " Arabs.
The mules fell hungrily upon the succulent grass,
and we, with the most frugal of suppers, prepared
to pass the rainy night. Presently, however, the
doves and Katas, 1 the only birds here requiring
water, approached in flights, and fearing to drink,
fluttered around us with shrill cries. They suggested
to my companions the possibility of being visited in
sleep by more formidable beasts, and even man:
after a short halt, an advance was proposed ; and
this was an offer which, on principle, I never refused.
We remounted our mules, now refreshed and in good
spirits, and began to ascend the stony face of the
Eastern hill through a thick mist deepening the
darkness. As we reached the bleak summit, a heavy
shower gave my companions a pretext to stop :
they readily found a deserted thorn fence, in which
we passed a wet night. That day we had travelled
at least thirty-five miles without seeing the face of
man : the country was parched to a cinder for want
of water, and all the Nomads had migrated to the
plains.
The morning of the 2gth January was unusually
fine : the last night's rain hung in masses of mist
about the hill-sides, and the rapid evaporation clothed
the clear background with deep blue. We began the
day by ascending a steep goat-track : it led to a
sandy Fiumara, overgrown with Jujubes and other
thorns, abounding in water, and showing in the
rocky sides caverns fit for a race of Troglodytes.
Pursuing the path over a stony valley lying between
parallel ranges of hills, we halted at about 10 A.M.
in a large patch of grass-land, the produce of the
rain, which for some days past had been fertilising
the hill-tops. Whilst our beasts grazed greedily we
sat under a bush, and saw far beneath us the low
country which separates the Ghauts from the sea.
* The sand -grouse of Egypt and Arabia, the rock-pigeon of Sindh
and the surrounding countries.
A Ride to Berberah 261
Through an avenue in the rolling nimbus we could
trace the long courses of Fiumaxas, and below, where
mist did not obstruct the sight, the tawny plains,
cut with watercourses glistening white, shone in
their eternal summer.
Shortly after 10 A.M. we resumed our march, and
began the descent of the Ghauts by a ravine to which
the guide gave the name of " Kadar." No sandy
watercourse, the " Pass " of this barbarous land,
here facilitates the travellers' advance : the rapid
slope of the hill presents a succession of blocks and
boulders piled one upon the other in rugged steps,
apparently impossible to a laden camel. This ravine,
the Spliigen of Somaliland, led us, after an hour's
ride, to the Wady Duntu, a gigantic mountain-deft
formed by the violent action of torrents. The chasm
winds abruptly between lofty walls of syenite and
pink granite, glittering with flaky mica, and streaked
with dykes and veins of snowy quartz : the strata of
the sandstones that here and there projected into
the bed were wonderfully twisted around a central
nucleus, as green boughs might be bent about a
tree. Above, the hill-tops towered in the air, here
denuded of vegetable soil by the heavy monsoon,
there clothed from base to brow with gum trees, whose
verdure was delicious to behold. The channel was
now sandy, then flagged with limestone in slippery
sheets, or horrid with rough boulders : at times the
path was clear and easy ; at others, a precipice of
twenty or thirty feet, which must be a little cataract
after rain, forced us to fight our way through the
obstinate thorns that defended some spur of ragged
hflL As the noontide heat, concentrated in this
funnel, began to affect man and beast, we found a
granite block, under whose shady brow clear water,
oozing from the sand, formed a natural bath, and sat
there for a while to enjoy the spectacle and the atmos-
phere, perfumed, as in part of Persia and Northern
Arabia, by the aromatic shrubs of the desert.
After a short half -hour, we remounted and pursued
our way down the Duntu chasm. As we advanced,
262 First Footsteps in East Africa
the hills shrank in size, the bed became more level,
and the waHs of rock, gradually widening out, sank
into the plain. Brisk and elastic above, the air,
here soft, damp, and tepid, and the stm burning with
a more malignant heat, convinced us that we stood
once more below the Ghauts. For two hours we
urged our mules in a south-east direction down the
broad and winding Fiumara, taking care to inspect
every well, but finding them all lull of dry sand.
Then turning eastwards, we crossed a plain called
by the Donkey " Battaladayti Taranay "the Flats
of Taranay an exact representation of the maritime
regions about Zayla. Herds of camels and flocks of
milky sheep browsing amongst thorny Acacia and
the tufted Kulan suggested pleasing visions to
starving travellers, and for the first time after three
days of hard riding, we saw the face of man. The
shepherds, Mikahil of the Habr Awal tribe, all fled
as we approached : at last one was bold enough to
stand and deliver the news. My companions were
refreshed by good reports: there had been few
murders, and the sea-board was tolerably dear of our
doughty enemies, the Ayyal Ahmed. We pricked
over the undulating growth of parched grass, shaping
our course for Jebel Almis, to sailors the chief land-
mark of this coast, and for a certain thin blue stripe
on the far horizon, upon which we gazed with
gladdened eyes.
Our road lay between low brown hills of lime a.nd
sandstone, the Sub-Ghauts forming a scattered line
between the maritime mountains and the sea. Pre-
sently the path was choked by dense scrub of the
Annan Acacia : its yellow blossoms scented the air,
but hardly made amends for the injuries of a thorn
nearly two inches long, and tipped with a wooden
point sharp as a needle. Emerging, towards evening,
from this bush, we saw large herds of camels, and
called their guardians to come and meet us. For
all reply they ran like ostriches to the nearest rocks,
uttering the cry of alarm, and when we drew near
each man implored us to harry his neighbour's cattle.
A Ride to Berberah 263
Throughout our wanderings in SomaMland this had
never occurred : It impressed me strongly with the
disturbed state of the regions inhabited by the Habr
Awal. After some time we persuaded a Bedouin who,
with frantic gestures, was screaming and flogging
his camels, to listen : reassured by our oaths, he
declared himself to be a Bahgoba, and promised to
show us a village of the Ayyal Gedid. The Hammal,
who had married a daughter of this clan, and had
constituted his father-in-law my protector at Berberah,
made sure of a hospitable reception : " To-night we
shall sleep under cover and drink milk/' quoth one
hungry man to another, who straightways rejoined,
" And we shall eat mutton ! "
After dark we arrived at a kraal, we unsaddled
our mules and sat down near it, indulging in Epi-
curean anticipations. Opposite us, by the door of a
hut, was a group of men who observed our arrival, but
did not advance or salute us. Impatient, I fired a
pistol, when a gruff voice asked why we disturbed
the camels that were being milked. " We have fallen
upon the Ayyal Shirdon" our bitterest enemies
whispered the End of Time. The same voice then
demanded in angrier accents, " Of what tribe be ye ? "
We boldly answered, "Of the Habr Gerhajis."
Thereupon ensued a war of words. The Ayyal
Shirdon inquired what we wanted, where we had
been, and how we dared, seeing that peace had not
been concluded between the tribes, to enter their
lands. We replied civilly as our disappointment would
permit, but apparently gained little by soft words.
The inhospitable Bedouins declared our arrival to
be in the seventeenth house of Geomancy an advent
probable as the Greek Kalends and rudely insisted
upon knowing what had taken us to Harar. At last,
a warrior, armed with two spears, came to meet us,
and bending down recognised the End of Time:
after a few short sentences he turned on his heel and
retired. I then directed Long Guled to approach
the group, and say that a traveller was at their doors
ready and willing to give tobacco in exchange for a
264 First Footsteps in East Africa
draught of milk. They refused point-blank, and
spoke of fighting : we at once made ready with our
weapons, and showing the plain, bade then come on
and receive a " bdlyfull." During the lull which
followed this obliging proposal we saddled our mules
and rode off, in the grimmest of humours, loudly
cursing the craven churls who knew not the value
of a guest.
We visited successively three villages of the Ayyal
Gedid ; the Hammal failed to obtain even a drop of
water from his connections, and was taunted accord-
ingly. He explained their inhospitality by the fact
that all the warriors being at Berberah, the villages
contained nothing but women, children, servants, and
flocks. The Donkey when strictly questioned de-
clared that no well nearer than Bulhar was to be
found: as men and mules were faint with thirst,
I determined to push forward to water that night.
Many times the animals were stopped, a mute hint
that they could go no further : I spurred onwards,
and the rest, as on such occasions they had now
learned to do, followed without a word. Our path
lay across a plain called Banka Hadla, intersected
in many places by deep watercourses, and thinly
strewed with Kulan clumps. The moon arose, but
cast a cloud-veiled and uncertain ^light : our path,
moreover, was not clear, as the guide, worn out by
fatigue, tottered on far in the rear.
About midnight we heard delightful sound ! the
murmur of the distant sea. Revived by the music,
we pushed on more cheerily. At last the Donkey
preceded us, and about 3 A.M. we found, in a Fiumara,
some holes which supplied us with bitter water, truly
delicious after fifteen hours of thirst. Repeated
draughts of the element, which the late rains had
rendered potable, relieved our pain, and hard by we
found a place where coarse stubbly grass saved our
mules from starvation. Then rain coming on, we
coiled ourselves under the saddle cloths, and, reckless
alike of Ayyal Ahmed and Ayyal Shirdon, slept like
the dead.
A Ride to Berberah 265
At dawn on the 3oth January I arose and inspected
the site of Bulhar. It was then deserted, a huge
heap of bleached bones being the only object sug-
gestive of a settlement. This, at different times,
has been a thriving place, owing to its roadstead, and
the feuds of Berberah : it was generally a village of
Gurgis, with some stone-houses built by Arabs. The
coast, however, is open and havenless, and the Shimal
wind, feared even at the Great Port, here rages with
resistless violence. Yet the place revives when
plundering parties render the plain unsafe : the timid
merchants here embark their goods and persons,
whilst their camels are marched round the bay.
Mounting at 6 A.M. we started slowly along the sea
coast, and frequently halted on the bushy Fiumara-cut
plain. About noon we bathed in the sea, and sat on
the sands for a while, my people praying for per-
mission to pass the kraals of their enemies, the Ayyal
Ahmed, by night. This, their last request, was
graciously granted: to say sooth, rapid travelling
was now impossible ; the spear failed to urge on one
mule, and the Hammal was obliged to flog before
him another wretched animal. We then traversed
an alluvial plain, lately flooded, where slippery mud
doubled the fatigue of our cattle ; and, at 3 P.M.,
again halted on a patch of grass below the rocky spur
of Dabasenis, a hill half-way between Bulhar and
Berberah. On the summit I was shown an object
that makes travellers shudder, a thorn-tree, under
which Habr Gerhajis 1 and their friends of the Eesa
1 The Habr Gerhajis, or eldest branch of the sons of Ishak
(generally including the children of ** Arab"), inhabit the Ghauts
behind Berberah, whence they extend for several days* march to-
wards Ogadayn, the southern region. This tribe is divided into a
multitude of clans. The Ismail Arrah supply the Sultan, a nominal
chief like the Eesa Ugaz ; they extend from Makhar to the south
of Gulays, number about 15,000, shields and are subdivided into
three septs. The Musa Arrah hold the knd between Gulays and
the seats of the Mijjarthayn and Warsangeli tribes on the windward
coast. The Ishak Arrah count 5000 or 6000 shields, and inhabit
the Gulays Range. The other sons of Arrah (the fourth in descent
from Ishak), namely, Mikahil, Gambah, Daudan, and others, also
became founders of small clans. The Ayyal Baud, facetiously
266 First Footsteps in East Africa
Musa sit, vulture-like, on the look-out for plunder
and murder. Advancing another mile, we came to
some wells, where we were obliged to rest our animals.
Having there finished our last mouthful of food, we
remounted, and following the plain eastward, pre-
pared for a long night-march.
As the light of day waned we passed on the right
hand a table-formed hill, apparently a detached
fragment of the Sub-Ghauts or coast range. This
spot is celebrated in local legends as " Auliya Kumbo,"
the Mount of Saints, where the forty-four Arab Santons
sat in solemn conclave before dispersing over the
Somali country to preach El Islam. It lies about
six hours of hard walking from Berberah.
At midnight we skirted Bulho Faranji, the Franks'
Watering-place, 1 a strip of ground thickly covered
with trees. Abounding in grass and water, it has been
the site of a village : when we passed it, however, all
was desert. By the moon's light we descried, as we
silently skirted the sea, the kraals and folds of our
foe the Ayyal Ahmed, and at times we could dis-
tinguish the lowing of their cattle ; my companions
chuckled hugely at the success of their manoeuvre,
and perhaps not without reason. At Berberah we
were afterwards informed that a shepherd in the bush
had witnessed and reported our having passed, when
the Ayyal Ahmed cursed the star that had enabled
us to slip unhurt through their hands.
Our mules could scarcely walk : after every bow-
shot they rolled upon the ground and were raised
only by the whip. A last halt was called when arrived
within four miles of Berberah : the End of Time and
Long Guled, completely worn out, fell fast asleep upon
called ** Idagallah **or earth-burrowers, and sprung from the second
son of Gerhajis, claim the country south of the Habr Awal, reckon
about 4000 shields, and are divided into n or 12 septs.
As has been noticed, the Habr Gerhajis have a perpetual blood
feud with the Habr Awal, and, even at Aden, they have fought out
their quarrels with clwbs and stones. Yet as cousins they willingly
unite against a common enemy, the Eesa for instance, and become
the best of friends.
1 So called from the Mary Anne brig, here plundered in 1825,
A Ride to Berberah 267
the stones. Of all the party the Hammal alone
retained strength and spirits: the sturdy fellow
talked, sang, and shouted, and, whilst the others
could scarcely sit their mules, he danced his war-
dance and brandished his spear. I was delighted
with his " pluck."
Now a long dark line appears upon the sandy
horizon it grows more distinct in the shades of
night the silhouettes of shipping appear against sea
and sky. A cry of joy bursts from every mouth ;
cheer, boys, cheer, our toils here touch their end !
The End of Time first listened to the small still voice
of Caution. He whispered anxiously to make no noise
lest enemies might arise, that my other attendants
had protectors at Berberah, but that he, the hated and
feared, as the locum tenens of Sbarmarkay the great
Ute noire depended wholly upon my defence. The
Donkey led us slowly and cautiously round the
southern quarter of the sleeping town, through bone
heaps and jackals tearing their unsavoury prey : at
last he marched straight into the quarter appropriated
to the Ayyal Gedid our protectors. Anxiously I
inquired if my comrades had left Berberah, and heard
with delight that they awaited me there.
It was then 2 AJYL and we had marched at least
forty miles. The Somal, when in fear of forays, drive
laden camels over this distance in about ten hours*
I dismounted at the huts where my comrades were
living. A glad welcome, a dish of rice, and a glass of
strong waters pardon, dear L, these details made
amends for past privations and fatigue. The servants
and the wretched mules were duly provided for, and I
fell asleep, conscious of having performed a feat which,
like a certain ride to York, wffl live in local annals for
many and many a year.
CHAPTER X
BERBERAH AND ITS ENVIRONS
IT is Interesting to compare the earliest with the
latest account of the great emporium of Eastern
Africa.
Bartema, writing In the sixteenth century " of
Barbara and the Island of Ethlope," offers the follow-
ing brief description : " After that the tempests
were appeased, we gave wind to our sails, and in short
time arrived at an island named Barbara, the prince
whereof Is a Mahometan. 1 The island is not great
but fruitful and well peopled : it hath abundance of
flesh. The inhabitants are of colour inclining to black.
All their riches is in herds of cattle."
Lieut. Cruttenden of the I.N., writing in 1848, thus
describes the place : " The annual fair is one of the
most Interesting sights on the coast, if only from
the fact of many different and distant tribes being
drawn together for a short time, to be again scattered
In all directions. Before the towers of Berbera were
built, 2 the place from April to the early part of October
was utterly deserted, not even a fisherman being found
there ; but no sooner did the season change, than the
inland tribes commenced moving down towards the
coast, and preparing their huts for their expected
visitors. Small craft from the ports of Yemen,
1 I cannot guess why Baxtema decided " Barbara " to be an
Island, except that he used ** insula " in the sense of ** peninsula."
The town is at very high tides flooded round, but the old traveller
manifestly speaks of the country.
2 These are the four roartello towers erected, upon the spot where
the town of huts generally stands, by the Hajj Sharmarkay, who
garrisoned them with thirty Arab and Negro matchlock- men. They
are now in ruins, having been dismantled by orders from Aden.
268
Berberah and its Environs 269
anxious to have an opportunity of purchasing before
vessels from the gulf could arrive, hastened across,
followed about a fortnight to three weeks later by
their larger brethren from Muscat, Soor, and Ras el
Khyma, and the valuably freighted Bagalas 1 from
Bahrein, Bussorah, and Graen. Lastly, the fat and
wealthy Banian traders from Porebunder, Mandavie,
and Bombay, rolled across in their clumsy Kotias, 1
and with a formidable row of empty ghee jars slung
over the quarters of their vessels, elbowed themselves
into a permanent position in the front tier of craft
in the harbour, and by their superior capital, cunning,
and influence soon distanced all competitors/*
" During the height of the fair, Berbera is a perfect
Babel, in confusion as in languages: no chief is
acknowledged, and the customs of bygone days are
the laws of the place. Disputes between the inland
tribes daily arise, and are settled by the spear and
dagger, the combatants retiring to the beach at a
short distance from the town, in order that they may
not disturb the trade. Long strings of camels are
arriving and departing day and night, escorted
generally by women alone, until at a distance from
the town ; and an occasional group of dusky and
travel-worn children marks the arrival of the slave
Cafila from Hurrur and Efat/'
" At Berbera, the Gurague and Hurrur slave
merchant meets his correspondent from Bussorah,
Bagdad, or Bunder Abbas; and the savage Gidr-
beersi (Gudabirsi), with his head tastefully orna-
mented with a scarlet sheepskin in lieu of a wig, is
seen peacefully bartering his ostrich feathers and
gums with the smooth-spoken Banian from Pore-
bunder, who prudently living on board his ark, and
locking up his puggree, 2 which would infallibly be
knocked off the instant he was seen wearing it,
exhibits but a small portion of his wares at a time,
tinder a miserable mat spread on the beach/*
1 The former is an Arab craft, the latter belongs to the Northern
Coasts of Western India.
* A terban.
270 First Footsteps in East Africa
" By the end of March the fair is nearly at a close,
and craft of all kinds, deeply laden, and sailing gener-
ally in parties of three and four, commence their
homeward journey. The Soori boats are generally
the last to leave, and by the first week in April
Berbera is again deserted, nothing being left to mark
the site of a town lately containing 20,000 inhabitants,
beyond bones of slaughtered camels and sheep, and
the framework of a few huts, which is carefully piled
on the beach in readiness for the ensuing year. Beasts
of prey now take the opportunity to approach the
sea : lions are commonly seen at the town well during
the hot weather ; and in April last year, but a week
after the fair had ended, I observed three ostriches
quietly walking on the beach." *
Of the origin of Berberah little is known. El
Firuzabadi derives it, with great probability, from
two Himyar chiefs of Southern Arabia. 2 About
A.D. 522 the troops of Anushirwan expelled the
Abyssinians from Yemen, and re-established there a
Himyarl prince under vassalage of the Persian
Monarch. Tradition asserts the port to have been
occupied in turns by the Furs, 1 the Arabs, the Turks,
the GaUas, and the Somal. And its future fortunes
are likely to be as varied as the past.
The present decadence of Berberah is caused by
petty internal feuds.. Gerhajis, the eldest son of
Ishak el Hazrami, seized the mountain ranges of
Gulays and Wagar lying about forty miles behind
the coast, whilst Awal, .the cadet, established himself
and his descendants upon the lowlands from Berberah
to Zayla. Both these powerful tribes assert a claim
to the customs and profits of the port on the grounds
that they jointly conquered it from the Gallas. 4
1 The wild animals have now almost entirely disappeared. As
will afterwards be shown, the fair since 1848 has diminished to one-
third its former dimensions.
z This subject has been folly discussed in Chapter IV.
3 The old Persians.
* Especially the sea-board Habr Gerhajis clans the Musa Arrah,
the Aii Said, and the Saad Yunis are interested in asserting their
claims*
Berberah and Its Environs 271
The Habr Awal, however, being in possession, would
monopolise the right : a blood feud rages, and the
commerce of the place suffers from the dissensions
of the owners.
Moreover, the Habr Awal tribe is not without
internal feuds. Two kindred septs, the Ayyal Yunis
Nuh and the Ayyal Ahmed Nuh, 1 established them-
selves originally at Berberah. The former, though
the more numerous, admitted the latter for some
years to a participation of profits, but when Aden,
occupied by the British, rendered the trade valuable,
they drove out the weaker sept, and declared them-
selves sole " Abbans " to strangers during the fair.
A war ensued. The sons of Yunis obtained aid of
the Mijjarthayn tribe. The sons of Ahmed called
in the Habr Gerhajis, especially the Musa Arrah clan,
to which the Hajj Sharmarkay belongs, and, with
his assistance, defeated and drove out the Ayyal
Yunis. These, flying from Berberah, settled at the
haven of Bulhar, and by their old connection with the
Indian and other foreign traders, succeeded in drawing
off a considerable amount of traffic. But the road-
stead was insecure : many vessels were lost, and in
1847 the Eesa Somal slaughtered the women and
children of the new-comers, compelling them to sue
the Ayyal Ahmed for peace. Though the feud thus
ended, the fact of its having had existence ensures
bad blood : amongst these savages treaties are of no
avail, and the slightest provocation on either side
becomes a signal for renewed hostilities.
After this dry disquisition we will return, dear L.,
to my doings at Berberah.
i Yunis and Ahmed were brothers, children of Nuh, the ninth
in descent from Ishak el Hazrami. The former had four sons,
Hosh Yunis, Gedid Yunis, Mahmud Yunis, and Shirdon Yunis;
their descendants are all known as the Ayyal or progeny of Yunis.
The Ayyal Ahmed Nuh hold the land immediately behind the
town, and towards the Ghauts, blend with the Eesa Musa. The
Mikahil claim the Eastern country from Siyaro to IHanti, a wooded
valley affording good water and bad anchorage to wind-bound
vessels.
272 First Footsteps in East Africa
Great fatigue Is seldom followed by long sleep.
Soon after sunrise I awoke, hearing loud voices pro-
ceeding from a mass of black face and tawny wig,
that blocked up the doorway, pressing forward to see
their new stranger. The Berberah people had been
informed by the Donkey of our having ridden from
the GirM Mis in five days : they swore that not only
the thing was impossible, but moreover that we had
never sighted Harar. Having undergone the usual
catechising with credit, I left the thatched hut in
which my comrades were living, and proceeded to
inspect my attendants and cattle. The former
smiled blandly: they had acquitted themselves of
their trust, they had outwitted the Ayyal Ahmed,
who would be furious thereat, they had filled them-
selves with dates, rice, and sugared tea another
potent element of moral satisfaction and they
trusted that a few days would show them their wives
and families. The End of Time's brow, however,
betrayed an arriere pensee ; once more his cowardice
crept forth, and he anxiously whispered that his
existence depended upon my protection. The poor
mules were by no means so easily restored. Their
backs, cut to the bone by the saddles, stood up like
those of angry cats, their heads drooped sadly, and
their hams showed red marks of the spear-point.
Directing them to be washed in the sea, dressed with
cold-water bandages, and copiously fed, I proceeded
to inspect the* Berberah Plain.
The " Mother of the Poor," as the Arabs call the
place, in position resembles Zayla. The town if
such name can be given to what is now a wretched
clump of dirty mat-huts is situated on the northern
edge of alluvial ground, sloping almost imperceptibly
from the base of the Southern hills. The rapacity
of these short-sighted savages has contracted its
dimensions to about one-sixth of its former extent :
for nearly a mile around, the now desert land is
strewed with bits of glass and broken pottery. Their
ignorance has chosen the worst position: Mos
Maforum is the Somali code, where father built there
Berberah and its Environs 273
son builds, and there shall grandson build. To the
S. and E. lies a saline sand-flat, partially overflowed
by high tides : here are the wells of bitter water, and
the filth and garbage make the spot truly offensive.
Northwards the sea-strand has become ahuge cemetery,
crowded with graves whose dimensions explain the
Somali legend that once there were giants in the land :
tradition assigns to it the name of Bunder Abbas.
Westward, close up to the town, runs the creek which
forms the wealth of Berberah. A long strip of sand
and limestone the general formation of the coast
defends its length from the northern gales, the breadth
is about three-quarters of a mile, and the depth varies
from six to fifteen fathoms near the Ras or Spit at
which ships anchor before putting out to sea.
Behind the town, and distant about seven miles,
lie the Sub-Ghauts, a bold background of lime and
sandstone. Through a broad gap called Duss
Malablay * appear in fine weather the granite walls
of Wagar and Gulays, whose altitude by aneroid was
found to be 5700 feet above the level of the sea. 2 On
the eastward the Berberah plain is bounded by the
hills of Siyaro, and westwards the heights of Dabasenis
limit the prospect. 8
1 In the centre of the gap is m detached rock called Daga
Malablay.
8 It was measured by Lieut Herne, who remarks of this range that
41 cold in winter, as the presence of the pine-tree proves, and cooled
in summer by the monsoon, abounding in game from a spur-fowl
to an elephant, this hill would make an admirable Sanitarium."
Unfortunately Gulays is tenanted by the Habr Gerhajis, and Wagar
by the Eesa Musa, treacherous races.
3 This part of Somaliland is a sandy plain, thinly covered with
thorns and bounded by two ranges, the Ghauts and Sub-Ghauts.
The latter or maritime mountains begin at Tajurrah, and extend
to Karam (long. 46 E.), where they break into detached groups ;
the distance from the coast varies from 6 to 15 miles, the height
from 2000 to 3000 feet, and the surface is barren, the rock being
denuded of soil by rain. The Ghauts lie from 8 to 40 miles from
the sea, they average from 4000 to 6000 feet, are thickly covered
with gum-arabic and frankincense trees, the wild fig and the Somali
pine, and form the seaward wall of the great tableland of the
interior. The Northern or maritime face is precipitous, the summit
is tabular and slopes gently southwards. The general direction is
S
274 First Footsteps in East Africa
It was with astonishment that I reflected upon the
impolicy of having preferred Aden to this place.
The Emporium of Eastern Africa has a salubrious
climate, 1 abundance of sweet water a luxury to be
" fully appreciated only after a residence at Aden " 2
a mild monsoon, a fine open country, an excellent
harbour, and a soil highly productive. It is the
meeting-place of commerce, has few rivals, and with
half the sums lavished in Arabia upon engineer follies
of stone and lime, the environs might at this time
have been covered with houses, gardens, and trees.
The Eye of Yemen, to quote Carlyle, is a " moun-
tain of misery towering sheer up like a bleak Pisgah,
with outlooks only into desolation, sand, salt water,
and despair/* The camp is in a " Devil's Punch-
bowl/' stiflingly hot during nine months of the year,
and subject to alterations of sandstorm and Simum,
" without either seed, water, or trees/' as Ibn Batutah
described it 500 years ago, unproductive for want
o | raja not a sparrow can exist there, nor will a
E. by N. and W. by S. ; there are, however, some spurs at the
three Mils termed "Qurat/* which project towards the north.
Each portion of the plain between these ranges has some local
name, such as the " Shimberali Valley," extending westwards from
the detached hill Dimoli, to Genii, Dinanjir, and Gularkar. In-
tersected with Fiumaras which roll torrents during the monsoon,
they are covered with a shrub of thorns, wild fig, aloe, and dif-
ferent kinds of Cactus.
i The climate of Berberah is cool during the winter, and though
the sun is at all times burning, the atmosphere, as in Somaliland
generally, is healthy. In the dry season the plain is subject to
great heats, but lying open to the north, the sea-breeze is strong
and regular. In the monsoon the air is cloudy, light showers
frequently fall, and occasionally heavy storms come up from the
southern hills.
3 I quote Lieut. Cruttenden. The Berberah water has acquired
a bad name because the people confine themselves to digging holes
three or four feet deep in the sand, about half a mile from high-
water mark. They are reconciled to it by its beneficial effects,
especially after and before a journey. Good water, however, can
be procured in any of the Fiumaras intersecting the plain ; when
the Hajj Sharmarkay r s towers commanded the town wells, the
people sank pits in low ground a few hundred yards distant, and
procured a purer beverage. The Banyans, who are particular
about their potations, drink the sweet produce of Siyaro, a road-
stead about nineteen miles eastward of Berberah.
Berberah and its Environs 275
crow thrive 1 and essentially unhealthy. 2 Our loss
in operatives is only equalled by our waste of rupees ;
and the general wish of Western India is, that the
extinct sea of fire would, Vesuvius-like, once more
convert this dismal cape into a living crater.
After a day's rest physical, not spiritual, for the
Somal were as usual disputing violently about the
Abbanship 3 I went with my comrades to visit an
interesting ruin near the town. On the way we were
1 The experiment was tried by an officer who brought from
Bombay a batch of sparrows and crows. The former died, scorbutic
I presume ; the latter lingered through an unhappy life, and to
judge from the absence of young, refused to entail their miseries
upon posterity.
* The climate of Aden, it may be observed, has a reputation for
salubrity which it does not deserve. The returns of deaths prove
it to be as healthy for the European soldier as London, and there are
many who have built their belief upon the sandy soil of statistics.
But it is the practice of every sensible medical man to hurry his
patients out of Aden ; they die elsewhere some I believe recover
and thus the deaths caused by the crater are attributed statisti-
cally to Bombay or the Red Sea.
Aden is for Asiatics a hot-bed of scurvy and ulcer. Of the former
disease my own corps, I am informed, had in hospital at one time
200 cases above the usual amount of sickness ; this arises from the
brackish water, the want of vegetables, and lastly the cachexy in-
duced by an utter absence of change, diversion, and excitement,
The ulcer is a disease endemic in Southern Arabia ; it is frequently
fatal, especially to the poorer classes of operatives, when worn out
by privation, hardship, and fatigue.
a The Abban is now the pest of Berberah. Before vessels have
cast anchor, or indeed have rounded the Spit, a crowd of Somai,
eager as hotel-touters, may be seen running along the strand. They
swim off, and the first who arrives on board inquires the name of
the Abban ; if there be none, he touches the captain or one of the
crew and constitutes himself protector. For merchandise sent for-
ward, the man who conveys it becomes answerable.
Thesystem of dues has become complicated. Formerly, the standard
of value at Berberah was two cubits of the blue cotton-stuff called
Sauda ; this is now converted into four pice of specie. Dollars form
the principal currency ; rupees are taken at a discount. Traders
pay according to degree, the lowest being one per cent., taken from
Muscat and Suri merchants. The shopkeeper provides food for
Ms Abban, and presents him at the close of the season with a Tobe,
a pair of sandals, and half-a-dozen dollars. Wealthy Banyans and
Mehmans give food and raiment, and before departure from 50 to
200 dollars. This class, however, derives large profits ; they will
lend a few dollars to the Bedouin at the end of the Fair, on con-
2j6 First Footsteps In East Africa
shown pits of coarse sulphur and alum mixed with
sand ; in the low lands senna and colocynth were
growing wild. After walking a mile south-south-east,
from present Berberah to a rise in the plain, we found
the remains of a small building about eight yards
square divided into two compartments. It is ap-
parently a Mosque : one portion, the sole of which
is raised, shows traces of the prayer niche ; the other
might have contained the tomb of some saint now
obsolete, or might have been a fort to protect a
neighbouring tank. The walls are of rubble masonry
and mud, revetted with a coating of cement hard as
stone, and mixed with small round pebbles. 1 Near
it is a shallow reservoir of stone and lime, about five
yards by ten, proved by the aqueduct, part of which
still remains, to be a tank of supply. Removing the
upper slabs, we found the interior lined with a deposit
of sulphate of lime and choked with fine drift sand ;
the breadth is about fifteen inches and the depth nine.
After following it fifty yards toward the hills, we
lost the trace ; the loose stones had probably been
removed for graves, and the soil may have buried the
firmer portion.
Mounting our mules we then rode in a south-south-
east direction towards the Dubar Hills. The surface
elision of receiving cent, per cent, at the opening of the next season.
Travellers not transacting business must feed the protector, but
cannot properly be forced to pay him. Of course the Somal take
every advantage of Europeans. Mr. Angelo, a merchant from
Zanzibar, resided two months at Bulhar ; his broker of the Ayyal
Gedid tribe, and an Arab who accompanied him, extracted, it is
said, 3000 dollars. As a rule the Abban claims one per cent, on
sales and purchases, and two dollars per head of slaves. For each
bale of cloth, half a dollar in coin is taken ; on gums and coffee the
duty is one pound in twenty-seven. Cowhides pay half a dollar
each^ sheep and goafs skins four pice, and ghee about one per cent.
Lieut Herne calculates that the total money dues during the
Fair-season amount to 2cxx> dollars, and that, in the present reduced
state of Berberah, not more than ,10,000 worth of merchandise is
sold. This estimate the natives of the place declare to be consider-
ably under the mark.
1 The similarity between the Persian "Gach" and this cement,
which is found in many rains about Berberah, has been remarked
by other travellers.
Berberah and its Environs 277
of the ground, apparently level, rises about 100 feet
per mile. In most parts a soft sand overlying hard
loam, like work en pise, limestone and coralline ; it
shows evidences of inundation : water-worn stones
of a lime almost as compact as marble, pieces of
quartz, selenite, basalt, granite, and syenite in nodules
are everywhere sprinkled over the surface. 1 Here
and there torrents from the hills had cut channels
five or six feet below the level, and a thicker vegeta-
tion denoted the lines of bed. The growth of wild
plants, scanty near the coast, became more luxuriant
as we approached the hills; the Arman Acacia
flourished, the Kulan tree grew in clumps, and the
Tamarisk formed here and there a dense thicket.
Except a few shy antelope, 2 we saw no game.
A ride of seven or eight miles led us to the dry bed
of a watercourse overgrown with bright green rushes,
and known to the people as Dubar Wena, or Great
Dubar. This strip of ground, about half a mile long,
collects the drainage of the hills above it : numerous
I The following note by Dr. Carter of Bombay will be interest-
ing to Indian geologists.
" Of the collection of geological specimens and fossils from
Berberah above mentioned, Lieut. Burton states that the latter are
found on the plain of Berberah, and the former m the following
order between the sea and the summits of mountains (600 feet
high) above it that is, the ndge immediate behind Berberah.
** i. Country along the coast consists of a coralline limestone
(tertiary formation), with drifts of sand, &c. 2. Sub-Ghauts and
lower ranges (say 2000 feet high), of sandstone capped with limestone,
the former preponderating. 3. Above the Ghauts a plateau of
primitive rocks mixed with sandstone, granite, syenite, mica schist,
quartz rock, micaceous grit, &c.
"The fawn-coloured fossils from his coralline limestone are
evidently the same as those of the tertiary formation along the
south-east coast of Arabia, and therefore the same as those of
Cutch ; and it is exceedingly interesting to find that among the
blue-coloured fossils which are accompanied by specimens of the
blue shale, composing the beds from, which they have been
weathered out, are species of Terebratula Belemnites, identical
with those figured in Grant's Geology of Cutch; thus enabling us
to extend those beds of the Jurassic formation which exist in Cutch,
and along the south-eastern coast of Arabia, across to Africa."
II These animals are tolerably tame in the morning, as day ad*
vances their apprehension of man increases.
278 First Footsteps in East Africa
Las or Pits, in the centre of the bed, four or five feet
deep, abundantly supply the flocks and herds.
Although the surface of the ground, where dry, was
white with impure nitre, the water tasted tolerably
sweet. Advancing half a mile over the ^ southern
shoulder of a coarse and shelly mass of limestone,
we found the other rushy swamp, called Dubar Yirr,
or Little Dubar, A spring of warm and bitter water
flowed from the hill over the surface to a distance
of 400 or 500 yards, where it was absorbed by the soil.
The temperature of the sources immediately under
the hill was 106 Fahr., the thermometer standing
at So in the air, and the aneroid gave an altitude of
728 feet above the sea.
The rocks behind these springs were covered with
ruins of mosques and houses. We visited ^ a little
tower commanding the source ; it was built in steps,
the hffl being cut away to form the two lower rooms,
and the second story showed three compartments.
The material was rubble and the form resembled
Gala buildings ; we found, however, fine mortar
mixed with coarse gravel, bits of glass bottles and blue
glazed pottery, articles now unknown to this part of
Africa. On the summit of the highest peak our guides
pointed out remains of another fort similar to the old
Turkish watch-towers at Aden.
About three-quarters of a mile from the Little Dubar,
we found the head of the Berberah Aqueduct.
Thrown across a watercourse apparently of low level,
it is here more substantially built than near the
beach, and probably served as a force-pipe until the
water found a fall. We traced the line to a distance
of ten yards, where it disappeared beneath the soil,
and saw nothing resembling a supply-tank except an
irregularly shaped natural pool. 1
A few days afterwards, accompanied by Lieut.
1 Lieut. Crnttenden in considering what nation could have con-
structed, and at what period the commerce of Berberah warranted
so costly an undertaking, is disposed to attribute it to the Persian
conquerors of Aden in the days of Anushirwan. He remarks that
the trade carried on in the Red Sea was then great, the ancient
emporia of Hisn Ghorab and Aden prosperous and wealthy, and
Berberah and its Environs 279
Herne, I rode out to inspect the Biyu Gora or Night-
running Water. After advancing about ten miles
in a south-east direction from Berberah, we entered
rough and broken ground, and suddenly came upon
a Fiumara about 250 yards broad. The banks were
fringed with Brab and Tamarisk, the Daum palm and
green rushes : a clear, sparkling and shallow stream
bisected the sandy bed, and smaller branches wandered
over the surface. This river, the main drain of the
Ghauts and Sub-Ghauts, derives its name from the
increased volume of the waters during night : evapora-
tion by day causes the absorption of about a hundred
yards. We found its temperature 73 Fahr. (in the
air 78) , and our people dug holes in the sand instead
of drinking from the stream, a proof that they feared
leeches, 1 The taste of the water was bitter and
nauseous. 2
Following the course of the Biyu Gora through
two low parallel ranges of conglomerate, we entered
a narrow gorge, in which lime and sandstone abound.
The dip of the strata is about 45 west, the strike
Berberah doubtless exported, as it does now, ivory, giims, and
ostrich feathers. But though all the maritime Somali country
abounds in traditions of the Furs or ancient Persians, none of the
buildings near Berberah justify our assigning to them, in a country
of monsoon rain and highi winds, an antiquity of 1300 years.
The Somal assert that ten generations ago their ancestors drove
out the Gallas from Berberah, and attribute these works to the
ancient Pagans. That nation of savages, however, was never
capable of constructing a scientific aqueduct. I therefore prefer
attributing these remains at Berberah to the Ottomans, who, after
the conquest of Aden by Sulayman Pacha in A.D. 1538, held
Yemen for about loo years, and as auxiliaries of the King of Adel,
penetrated as far as Abyssinia. Traces of their architecture are
found at Zayla and Harar, and according to tradition, they possessed
at Berberah a settlement called, after its founder, Bunder Abbas,
1 Here, as elsewhere in Somaiiland, the leech is of the horse-
variety. It might be worth while to attempt breeding a more useful
species after the manner recommended by Capt. R. Johnston, the
Sub- Assistant Commissary-General in Sindh (loth April 1845).
In these streams leeches must always be suspected ; inadvertently
swallowed, they fix upon the inner coat of the stomach, and in
northern Africa have caused, it is said, some deaths among the
French soldiers,
8 Yet we observed frogs and a. small species of fish.
280 First Footsteps in East Africa
north and south. Water springs from under every
stone, drops copiously from the shelves of rock, oozes
out of the sand, and bubbles up from the mould.
The temperature is exceedingly variable : in some
places the water is icy cold, in others the thermometer
shows 68 Fahr., in others 101 the maximum, when
we visited it, being 126. The colours are equally
diverse. Here the polished surface of the sandstone
is covered with a hoar of salt and nitre. 1 There,
where the stream does not flow, are pools dyed
greenish-black or rust-red by iron ^ sediment. The
gorge's sides are a vivid red : a peculiar creeper hangs
from the rocks, and water trickles down its metallic
leaves. The upper cliffs are crowned with tufts of
the dragon 's-blood tree.
Leaving our mules with an attendant, we began
to climb the rough and rocky gorge which, as the
breadth diminishes, becomes exceedingly picturesque.
In one part, the side of a limestone hiU hundreds of
feet in height has slipped into the chasm, half filling
it with gigantic boulders: through these the noisy
stream whirls, now falling in small cascades, then
gliding over slabs of sheet rock : here it cuts grooved
channels and deep basins clean and sharp as artificial
baths in the sandstone, there it flows quietly down a
bed of pure sparkling sand. The high hills above are
of a tawny yellow : the huge boulders, grisly white,
bear upon their summits the driftwood of the last
year's inundation. During the monsoon, when a
furious torrent sweeps down from the Wagar Hills,
this chasm must afford a curiously wild spectacle.
Returning from a toilsome climb, we found some
of the Ayyal Ahmed building near the spot where
Biyu Gora is absorbed the usual small stone tower.
The fact had excited attention at Berberah ; the
erection was intended to store grain, but the suspicious
savages, the Eesa Musa, and Mikahil, who hold the
land, saw in it an attempt to threaten their liberties.
On our way home we passed through some extensive
i ^ Either this or the sulphate of magnesia, formed by the decom-
position of limestone, may account for the bitterness of the water.
Berberah and its Environs 281
cemeteries : the tombs were in good preservation ;
there was nothing peculiar in their construction, yet
the Somal were positive that they belonged to a race
preceding their own. Near them were some ruins of
kilns comparatively modern, for bits of charcoal
were mixed with broken pieces of pottery and the
oblong tracery of a dwelling-house divided into several
compartments : its material was the sun-dried brick
of Central Asia, here a rarity.
After visiting these ruins there was little to detain
me at Berberah. The town had become intolerable,
the heat under a mat hut was extreme, the wind and
dust were almost as bad as Aden, and the dirt perhaps
even worse. As usual we had not a moment's privacy,
Arabs as well as the Somal assuming the right of
walking in, sitting down, looking hard, chatting with
one another, and departing. Before the voyage,
however, I was called upon to compose a difficulty
upon the subject of Abbanship. The Hammal had
naturally constituted his father-in-law, one Burhale
Nuh, of the Ayyal Gedid, protector to Lieut. Heme
and myself. Burhale had proved himself a rascal :
he had been insolent as well as dishonest, and had
thrown frequent obstacles in his employer's way ;
yet custom does not permit the Abban to be put away
like a wife, and the Hammars services entitled him
to the fullest consideration. On the other hand Jami
Hasan, a chief and a doughty man of the Ayyal Ahmed,
had met me at Aden early in 1854, and had received
from me a ring in token of Abbanship. During my
absence at Harar, he had taken charge of Lieut.
Stroyan. On the very morning of my arrival he
came to the hut, sat down spear in hand, produced
the ring and claimed my promise. In vain I objected
that the token had been given when a previous trip
was intended, and that the Hammal must not be
disappointed : Jami replied that once an Abban
always an Abban, that he hated the Hammal and
all his tribe, and that he would enter into no partner-
ship with Burhale Nuh : to complicate matters,
lieut, Stroyan spoke highly of his courage and conduct
282 First Footsteps in East Africa
Presently lie insisted rudely upon removing his protege*
to another part of the town : this passed the limits
of our patience, and decided the case against him.
For some days discord raged between the rivals.
At last it was settled that I should choose my own
Abban in presence of a general council of the Elders.
The chiefs took their places upon the shore, each with
his followers forming a distinct semicircle, and all
squatting with shield and spear planted upright in
the ground. When sent for, I entered the circle
sword in hand, and sat down awaiting their pleasure.
After much murmuring had subsided, Jami asked
in a loud voice, " Who is thy protector ? " The
reply was, " Burhale Nuh ! " Knowing, however,
how little laconism is prized by an East-African
audience, I did not fail to follow up this answer with
an Arabic speech of the dimensions of an average
sermon, and then shouldering my blade left the circle
abruptly. The effect was success. Our wild friends
sat from afternoon till sunset : as we finished supper
one of them came in with the glad tidings of a " peace
conference." Jami had asked Burhale to swear that
he intended no personal offence in taking away a
prot6g6 pledged to himself : Burhale had sworn, and
once more the olive waved over the braves of Berberah.
On the 5th February 1855, taking leave of my
comrades, I went on board El Kasab or the Reed
such was the ill-omened name of our cranky craft
to the undisguised satisfaction of the Hammal, Long
Guled, and the End of Time, who could scarcely
believe in their departure from Berberah with sound
skins. 1 Coasting with a light breeze, early after noon
on the next day we arrived at Siyaro, a noted watering-
place for shipping, about nineteen miles east of the
emporium. The roadstead is open to the north, but
a bluff buttress of limestone rock defends it from the
1 They had been in some danger : a treacherous murder per-
petrated a few days before our arrival had caused all the Habr
Gerhajis to fly from the town and assemble 5000 men at Bulhar for
battle and murder. This proceeding irritated the Habr Awal, and
certainly, but for our presence, the strangers would have been s>cujrvily
treated by their "cousins,"
Berberah and its Environs 283
north-east gales. Upon a barren strip of sand lies the
mateiial of the town ; two houses of stone and mud,
one yet unfinished, the other completed about thirty
years ago by Farih Binni, a Mikahil chief.
Some dozen Bedouin spearmen, Mikahil of a neigh-
bouring kraal, squatted like a line of crows upon the
shore to receive us as we waded from the vessel.
They demanded money in too authoritative a tone
before allowing us to visit the wells, which form then-
principal wealth. Resolved not to risk a quarrel so
near Berberah, I was returning to moralise upon the
fate of Burckhardt after a successful pilgrimage
refused admittance to Aaron's tomb at Sinai when
a Bedouin ran to tell us that we might wander
where we pleased. He excused himself and his com-
panions by pleading necessity, and his leanness lent
conviction to the plea.
The larger well lies close to the eastern wall of the
dwelling-house: it is about eighteen feet deep, one-
third sunk through ground, the other two-thirds
through limestone, and at the bottom is a small supply
of sweet, clear water. Near it I observed some ruined
tanks, built with fine mortar like that of the Berberah
ruins. The other well lies about half a mile to the
westward of the former : it is also dug in the limestone
rock. A few yards to the north-east of the building
is the Furzeh or custom-house, whose pristine sim-
plicity tempts me to describe it : a square of ground
surrounded by a dwarf rubble enclosure, and provided
with a proportional mosque, a tabular block of
coralline niched in the direction of Meccah. On a
little eminence of rock to the westward rise rained
walls, said by my companions to have been built by a
Frank, who bought land from the Mikahil and settled
on this dismal strand.
Taking leave of the Bedouins, whose hearts were
gladdened by a few small presents, we resumed our
voyage eastwards along the coast. Next morning
we passed two broken pyramids of dark rock called
Dubada Gumbar Madu the Two Black HiHs. After
a tedious day's sail, twenty miles in twenty-four hours,
284 First Footsteps in East Africa
the Captain of El Kasab landed us in a creek west of
Aynterad. A few sheep-boats lay at anchor in this
" back-bay," as usual when the sea is heavy at the
roadstead, and the crews informed us that a body of
Bedouins was marching to attack the village. Abdy
Mohammed Diban, proprietor of the Aynterad Fort,
having constituted me his protector, and remained
at Berberah, I armed my men, and ordering the
Captain of the Reed to bring his vessel round at early
dawn, walked hurriedly over the three miles that
separated us from the place. Arrived at the fort, we
found that Abdy's slaves knew nothing of the reported
attack. They received me, however, hospitably,
and brought a supper of their only provision, vile
dates and dried meat. Unwilling to diminish the
scanty store, the Hammal and I but dipped pur hands
in the dish : Long Guled and the End of Time, how-
ever, soon cleared the platters, while abusing roundly
the unpalatable food. After supper, a dispute arose
between the Hammal and one of the Habr Tul JaUah,
the tribe to whom the land belongs. The Bedouin,
not liking my looks, proposed to put his spear into me.
The Hammal objected that if the measure were carried
out, he would return the compliment in kind. En-
sued a long dispute, and the listeners laughed heartily
at the utter indifference with which I gave ear. When
it concluded, amicably as may be expected, the slaves
spread a carpet upon a coarse Berberah couch, and
having again vented their hilarity in a roar of laughter,
left me to sleep.
We had eaten at least one sheep per diem, and
mutton baked in the ship's oven is delicious to the
Somali mouth. Remained on board another dinner,
a circumstance which possibly influenced the weak
mind of the Captain of the Reed. Awaking at dawn,
I went out, expecting to find the vessel within stone's
throw: it was nowhere visible. About 8 A.M. it
appeared in sight, a mere speck upon the sea-horizon,
and whilst it approached, I inspected the settlement.
Aynterad, an inconsiderable place lying east-
north-east of, and about forty miles from, Berberah,
Berberah and Its Environs 285
is a favourite roadstead principally on account of its
water, which rivals that of Siyaro. The anchorage is
bad : the Shimal or north wind sweeps long lines of
heavy wave into the open bay, and the bottom is a
mass of rock and sand-reef. The fifty sunburnt and
windsoiled huts which compose the settlement are
built upon a bank of sand overlying the normal lime-
stone : at the time when I visited it, the male popula-
tion had emigrated en masse to Berberah. It is
principally supported by the slave trade, the Arabs
preferring to ship their purchases at some distance
from the chief emporium. 1 Lieut. Herne, when he
visited it, found a considerable amount of " black
bullion " in the market.
The fort of Aynterad, erected thirty years ago by
Mohammed Diban, is a stone and mud house square
and flat-roofed, with high windows, an attempt at
crenelles, and, for some reason intelligible only to its
own Vitruvius, but a single bastion at the northern
angle. There is no well, and the mass of huts cluster
close to the walls. The five guns here deposited by
Sharmarkay when expelled from Berberah stand on
the ground outside the fort, which is scarcely calcu-
lated to bear heavy carronades : they are unprovided
with balls, but that is a trifle where pebbles abound.
Moreover, Abdy's slaves are well armed with match-
lock and pistol, and the Bedouin Tul Jaiiah e find
the spear ineffectual against stone walls. The
garrison has frequently been blockaded by its trouble-
1 Of all the slave-dealers on this coast, the Arabs are the roost
unscrupulous. In 1855, one Mohammed of Muscat, a shipowner,
who, moreover, constantly visits Aden, bought within sight of our
flag a free-born Arab girl of the Yafai tribe from the Akarib of
Bir Hamid, and sold her at Berberah to a compatriot. Such
a crime merits severe punishment ; even the Abyssinians visit with
hanging the Christian convicted of selling a fellow-religionist. The
Arab slaver generally marries his property as a ruse, and arrived
at Muscat or Bushire, divorces and sells them. Free Somali women
have not unfrequently met with this fete.
* The Habr Tul Jailah (mother of the tribe of Jailah), descendant*
of Ishak el Hazrami by a slave girl, inhabit the land eastward of
Berberah. Their principal settlements after Aynterad are the three
small ports of Karam, Unkor, and Hays. The former, according
to Lieut, Cruttenden, is " the most important from its possessing a
286 First Footsteps In East Africa
some neighbours, whose prowess, however, never
extended beyond preliminaries.
To allay my impatience, that morning I was in-
vited into several huts for the purpose of drinking
sour milk. A malicious joy filled my soul as, about
noon, the Machiavellian Captain^ of the Reed
managed to cast anchor, after driving his crazy
craft through a sea which the violent Shimal was
flinging in hollow curves foam-fringed upon the
strand. I stood on the shore making signs for a
canoe. My desires were disregarded, as long as
decency admitted. At last, about I P.M., I found
myself upon the quarter-deck.
" Dawwir el fannan "shift the yard 1 I shouted
with a voice of thunder.
The answer was a general hubbub. "He surely
will not sail in a sea like this ? " asked the trembling
Captain of my companions.
" He will ! " sententiously quoth the Hammal,
with a Burieigh nod.
" It blows wind" remonstrated the Rais.
" And if it blew fire ? " asked the Hammal with
the air goguenard, meaning that from the calamity
of Frankish obstinacy there was no refuge.
A kind of death-wail arose, during which, to hide
untimely laughter, I retreated to a large drawer
in the stern of the vessel, called a cabin. There
my ears could distinguish the loud entreaties of
the crew vainly urging my attendants to propose
tolerable harbour, and from its being the nearest point from Aden,
the coarse to which place is N.N.W. consequently the wind is
fair, and the boats laden with sheep for the Aden market pass but
one night at se% whilst those from Berberah are generally three,
What greatly enhances the value of Kurram (Karam), however, is
its proximity to the country of the Dulbahanteh, who approach
within four days of Karruxn, and who therefore naturally have their
chief trade through that port. The Ahl Yusuf, a branch of the
Haberte! Jahleh, at present hold possession of Kurrum> and between
them and the tribes to windward there exists a most bitter and irre-
concilable feud, the consequence of sundry murders perpetrated
about five years since at Kurrum, and which hitherto have not been
avenged. The small ports of Enterad, Unkor, Heis, and Rukudah
are not worthy of mention, with the exception of the first-named
place, which has a trade with Aden in sheep.**
Berberah and its Environs 287
a day's delay. Then one of the garrison, accom-
panied by the Captain, who shook as with fever,
resolved to act forlorn hope, and bring a feu d'enfer
of phrases to bear upon the Frank's hard brain.
Scarcely, however, had the head of the sentence
been delivered, before he was playfully upraised by
his bushy hair and a handle somewhat more sub-
stantial, carried out of the cabin, and thrown, like
a bag of biscuit, on the deck.
The case was hopeless. All strangers plunged into
the sea the popular way of landing in East Africa
the anchor was weighed, the ton of sail shaken out,
and the Reed began to dip and rise in the yeasty
sea laboriously as an alderman dancing a polka.
For the first time in my life I had the satisfaction
of seeing the Somal unable to eat unable to eat
mutton. In sea-sickness and needless terror, the
captain, crew, and passengers abandoned to us all
the baked sheep, which we three, not being be-
lievers in the Evil Eye, ate from head to trotters
with especial pleasure. That night the waves broke
over us. The End of Time occupied himself in
roaring certain orisons, which are reputed to calm
stormy seas: he desisted only when Long Guled
pointed out that a wilder gust seemed to follow
as in derision each more emphatic period. The
Captain, a noted reprobate, renowned on shore for
his knowledge of erotic verse and admiration of
the fair sex, prayed with fervour: he was joined
by several of the crew, who apparently found the
charm of novelty in the edifying exercise. About
midnight a Sultan el Bahr or Sea-king a species
of whale appeared close to our counter; and as
these animals are infamous for upsetting vessels in
waggishness, the sight elicited a yell of terror and
a chorus of religious exclamations.
On the morning of Friday, the gth February 1855
we hove in sight of Jebel Shanisan, the loftiest peak
of the Aden Crater. And ere evening fell, I had
the pleasure of seeing the faces of friends and com-
rades once more.
POSTSCRIPT
ON Saturday, the 7th April 1855, the H. E. I. Com-
pany's Schooner MaM, Lieut. King, I.N., command-
ing, entered the harbour of Berberah, where her
guns roared forth a parting salute to the " Somali
Expedition."
The Emporium of East Africa was at the time
of my landing in a state of confusion. But a day
before, the great Harar caravan, numbering 3000
souls, and as many cattle, had entered for the pur-
pose of laying in the usual eight months' supplies,
and purchase, barter, and exchange were trans-
acted in most hurried and unbusiness-like manner.
All day, and during the greater part of night, the
town rang with the voices of buyer and seller : to
specify no other articles of traffic, 500 slaves of
both sexes were in the market. 1 Long lines of
* The Fair-season of 1854-55 began on the i$th November, and
may be said to have broken up on the I5th April.
The principal caravans which visit Berberah are from Harar the
Western, and Ogadayn, the Southern region: they collect the
produce of the numerous intermediate tribes of the Somal. The
former has been described in the preceding pages. The following
remarks upon the subject of the Ogadayn caravan are the result
of Lieuts, Stroyan and Herne's observations at Berberah.
** Large caravans from Ogadayn descend to the coast at the
beginning and the end of the Fair-season. They bring slaves from
the Arasa country, cattle in great quantities, gums of sorts, clarified
butter, ivory, ostrich feathers, and rhinoceros horns to be made into
handles for weapons. These are bartered for coarse cotton cloth
of three kinds, for English and American sheeting in pieces of
seventy-five, sixty-six, sixty-two, and forty-eight yards, black and
indigo-dyed calicos in lengths of sixteen yards, nets or fillets worn
by the married women, iron and steel in small bars, lead and zinc,
beads of various kinds, especially white porcelain and speckled
glass, dates and rice."
The Ayyal Ahmed and Ayyal Yunis classes of the Habr Awal
288
Postscript 289
laden and unladen camels were to be seen pacing
the glaring yellow shore ; rumours of plundering
parties at times brought swarms of spear-men,
bounding and yelling like wild beasts, from the
town ; already small parties of travellers had broken
ground for their return journey ; and the foul heap
of mat hovels, to which this celebrated mart had
been reduced, was steadily shrinking in dimensions.
Our little party consisted of forty-two souls. At
Aden I had applied officially for some well-trained
Somali policemen, but as an increase of that estab-
lishment had been urged upon the home authorities,
my request was refused. We were fain to content
ourselves with a dozen recruits of various races,
Egyptian, Nubian, Arab and Negro, whom we
armed with sabres and flint muskets. The other
members of the expedition were our private servants,
and about a score of Somal under our rival pro-
tectors Jami Hasan and Burhale Nuh. The Ras
or Captain of the Kafilah was one Mahmud of the
Mijjarthayn, better known at Aden as El Balyuz
or the Envoy : he had the reputation of being a
shrewd manager, thoroughly acquainted with the
habits and customs, as well as the geography, of
Somaliland.
Our camp was pitched near the site of the pro-
posed Agency, upon a rocky ridge within musket-
shot of the southern extremity of the creek, and
about three-quarters of a mile distant from the
town. This position had been selected for the
benefit of the Mahi's guns. Political exigencies
required the Mahi to relieve the Elphinstone, then
Somal have constituted themselves Abbans or brokers to the
Ogadayn Caravans, and the rapacity of the patron has produced
a due development of roguery in the client. The principal trader
of this coast is the Banyan from Aden and Cutch, facetiously
termed by the Somal their "Milch -cows." The African cheats
by mismeasuring the bad cotton cloth, and the Indian by felsely
weighing the coflee, ivory, ostrich feathers and other valuable
articles which he receives in return. Dollars and even rupees are
now preferred to the double breadth of eight cubits which con-
stitutes the well-known "Tobe,"
T
290 First Footsteps In East Africa
blockading the seaboard of our old Arab foe, the
Fazli chief ; she was unable to remain upon the
coast and superintend our departure, a measure
which I had strongly urged. Our tents were pitched
in one line: Lieut. Stroyan's was on the extreme
right, about a dozen paces distant was the " Rowtie," *
occupied by Lieut. Heme and myself, and at a
similar distance on the left of the camp was that
in which Lieut. Speke slept. The baggage was
placed between the two latter, the camels were
tethered in front upon a sandy bed beneath the
ridge our camping-ground, and in rear stood the
horses and mules. During day-time all were on
the alert : at night two sentries were posted, re-
gularly relieved, and visited at times by the Ras and
ourselves.
I had little reason to complain of my reception
at Berberah. The chiefs appeared dissatisfied with
the confinement of one Mohammed Sammattar,
the Abban who accompanied Lieut. Speke to the
Eastern country: they listened, however, with
respectful attention to a letter in which the Political
Resident at Aden enjoined them to treat us with
consideration and hospitality.
There had been petty disputes with Burhale
Nuh and the elders of Eesa Musa tribe, touching
the hire of horse-keepers and camel-drivers : such
events, however, are not worthy to excite atten-
tion in Africa. My friend at Harar, the Shaykh
Jami, had repeatedly called upon us, ate bread and
salt, recommended us to his fellow-countrymen, and
used my intervention in persuading avaricious ship-
owners to transport, gratis, pauper pilgrims to Arabia.
The people, after seeing the deaths of a few elephants,
gradually lowered their loud boasts and brawling
claims : they assisted us in digging a weE, offered
their services as guides and camel-drivers, and in
some cases insisted upon encamping near us for
protection. Briefly, we saw no grounds of appre-
1 A Sepoy's tent, pent-hcmse shaped, supported by a single
transverse and two upright poles and open at one of the long cuds,
Postscript 291
hension. During thirty years, not an English-
man of the many that had visited it had been
molested at Berberah, and apparently there was
as little to fear in it as within the fortifications of
Aden. 1
Under these favourable circumstances we might
have set out at once towards the interior. Our
^camels, fifty-six in number, had been purchased, 2
and the Ogadayn Caravan was desirous of our
escort. But we wished to witness the close of the
Berberah fair, and we expected instruments and
other necessaries by the mid-April mail from
Europe. 3
About 3 P.M., on the qth April, a shower, accom-
panied by thunder and lightning, came up from
the southern hills, where rain had been falling for
some days, and gave notice that the Gugi or Somali
monsoon had begun. This was the signal for the
Bedouins to migrate to the Plateau above the hills. 4
1 Since returning I have been informed, however, by the cele-
brated Abyssinian traveller M. Antoine d'Abbadie, that in no part
of the wild countries which he visited was his life so much perilled
as at Berberah.
2 Lieut. Speke had landed at Karam harbour on the 24th of
March, in company with the Ras, in order to purchase camels. For
the Ayyun or best description he paid seven dollars and a half;
the Gel Ad (white camels) cost on an average four. In five days
he had collected twenty-six, the number required, and he then
marched overland from Karam to Berberah.
I had taken the precaution of detaching Lieut, Speke to Karam
in lively remembrance of my detention for want of carriage at Zayla,
and in consequence of a report raised by the Somal of Aden that
a sufficient number of camels was not procurable at Berberah. This
proved false. Lieuts. Stroyan and Herne found no difficulty what-
ever in purchasing animals at the moderate price of five dollars and
three quarters a head : for the same sum they could have bought
any reasonable number. Future travellers, however, would do well
not to rely solely upon Berberah for a supply of this necessary,
especially at seasons when the place is not crowded with caravans.
* The Elders of the Habr Awal, I have since been informed,
falsely asserted that they repeatedly urged us, with warnings of
danger, to leave Berberah at the end of the fair, but that we posi-
tively refused compliance, for other reasons. The facts of the case
are those stated in the text
* They prefer travelling during the monsoon, on account of the
abundance of water.
292 First Footsteps in East Africa
Throughout the town the mats were stripped from
their frameworks of stick and pole, 1 the camels were
laden, and thousands of travellers lined the roads.
The next day Berberah was almost deserted except
by the pilgrims who intended to take ship, and by
merchants, who, fearful of plundering parties,
awaited the first favourable hour for setting sail.
Our protectors, Jami and Burhale, receiving per-
mission to accompany their families and flocks,
left us in charge of their sons and relations. On
the isth April the last vessel sailed out of the creek,
and our little party remained in undisputed pos-
session of the place.
Three days afterwards, about noon, an Aynterad
craft en route from Aden entered the solitary harbour
freighted with about a dozen Somal desirous of
accompanying us towards Ogadayn, the southern
region. She would have sailed that evening;
fortunately, however, I had ordered our people
to feast her commander and crew with rice and the
irresistible dates.
At sunset on the same day we were startled by a
discharge of musketry behind the tents : the cause
proved to be three horsemen, over whose heads our
guard had fired in case they might be a foraging
party. I reprimanded our people sharply for this
act of folly, ordering them in future to reserve their
fire, and when necessary to shoot into, not above,
a crowd. After this we proceeded to catechise the
strangers, suspecting them to be scouts, the usual
forerunners of a Somali raid : the reply was so
plausible that even the Balyuz, with all his acute-
ness, was deceived. The Bedouins had forged a
report that their ancient enemy the Hajj Shar-
markay was awaiting with four ships at the neigh-
bouring port, Siyaro, the opportunity of seizing
Berberah whilst deserted, and of re-erecting his
forts there for the third time. Our visitors
swore by the divorce-oath the most solemn which
the religious know that a vessel entering the creek
* The framework is allowed to remain for u*e next Fair-season,
Postscript 293
at such unusual season, they had been sent to
ascertain whether it had been freighted with materials
for building, and concluded by laughingly asking if
we feared danger from the tribe of our own pro-
tectors. Believing them, we posted as usual two
sentries for the night, and retired to rest in our
wonted security.
Between 2 and 3 A.M. of the igth April I was
suddenly aroused by the Balyuz, who cried aloud
that the enemy was upon us. 1 Hearing a rush of
men like a stormy wind, I sprang up, called for my
sabre, and sent Lieut. Herne to ascertain the force
of the foray. Armed with a " Colt/' he went to
the rear and left of the camp, the direction of danger,
collected some of the guard others having already
disappeared and fired two shots into the assailants.
Then finding himself alone, he turned hastily to-
wards the tent ; in so doing he was tripped up by
the ropes, and as he arose, a Somali appeared in
the act of striking at him with a club. Lieut. Heme
fired, floored the man, and rejoining me, declared
that the enemy was in great force and the guard
nowhere. Meanwliile, I had aroused Lieuts. Stroyan
and Speke, who were sleeping in the extreme right
and left tents. The former, it is presumed, arose
to defend himself, but, as the sequel shows, we
never saw him alive. 2 Lieut. Speke, awakened by
the report of firearms, but supposing it the normal
false alarm a warning to plunderers he remained
where he was: presently hearing clubs rattling
upon his tent, and feet shuffling around, he ran to
my Rowtie, which we prepared to defend as long as
possible.
1 The attacking party, it appears, were 350 strong ; 12 of the
Mikahil, 15 of the Habr Gerhajis, and the rest Eesa Musa. One
Ao Ali wore, it is said, the ostrich feather for the murder of Lieut.
Stroyan.
2 Mohammed, his Indian servant, stated that rising at my
summons he had rushed to his tent, armed himself with a revolver,
and fired six times upon his assassins. Unhappily, however,
Mohammed did not see his master fall, and as he was foremost
amongst the fugitives, scant importance attaches to his evidencet
294 F* rst Footsteps in East Africa
The enem swarmed like hornets with shouts
and screams intending to terrify, and proving that
overwhelming odds were against us : it was by no
means easy to avoid in the shades of night the
jobbing of javelins, and the long heavy daggers
thrown at our legs from under and through the
opening of the tent. We three remained together :
Lieut. Herne knelt by my right, on my left was
Lieut. Speke guarding the entrance, I stood in the
centre, having nothing but a sabre. The revolvers
were used by my companions with deadly effect :
unfortunately there was but one pair. When the
fire was exhausted, Lieut. Herne went to search for
Ms powder-horn, and that failing, to find some
spears usually tied to the tent-pole. Whilst thus
engaged, he saw a man breaking into the rear of
our JRowtie, and came back to inform me of the
circumstance.
At this time, about five minutes after the beginning
of the affray, the tent had been almost beaten down,
an Arab custom with which we were all familiar,
and had we been entangled in its folds, we should have
been speared with unpleasant facility. I gave the
word for escape, and sallied out, closely followed by
Lieut. Herae, with Lieut. Speke in the rear. The
prospect was not agreeable. About twenty men were
kneeling and crouching at the tent entrance, whilst
many dusky figures stood further off, or ran about
shouting the war-cry, or with shouts and blows drove
away our camels. Among the enemy were many
of our friends and attendants : the coast being
open to them, they naturally ran away, firing a
few useless shots and receiving a modicum of flesh
wounds.
After breaking through the mob at the tent en-
trance, imagining that I saw the form of Lieut.
Stroyan lying upon the sand, I cut my way towards
it amongst a dozen Somal, whose war-clubs worked
without mercy, whilst the Balyuz, who was violently
pushing me out of the fray, rendered the strokes of
my sabre uncertain. Tins individual was cool and
Postscript 295
collected : though incapacitated by a sore right-
thumb from using the spear, he did not shun danger,
and passed unhurt through the midst of the enemy :
his efforts, however, only illustrated the venerable
adage, " defend me from my friends." I turned to
cut him down : he cried out in alarm ; the well-known
voice caused an instant's hesitation : at that moment
a spearman stepped forward, left his javelin in my
mouth, and retired before he could be punished.
Escaping as by a miracle, I sought some support :
many of our Somal and servants lurking in the dark-
ness offered to advance, but " tailed off " to a man
as we approached the foe. Presently the Balyuz
reappeared, and led me towards the place where he
believed my three comrades had taken refuge. I
followed him, sending the only man that showed
presence of mind, one Golab of the Yusuf tribe, to
bring back the Aynterad craft from the Spit into the
centre of the harbour. 1 Again losing the Balyuz in
the darkness, I spent the interval before dawn
wandering in search of my comrades, and lying down
when overpowered with faintness and pain : as the
day broke, with my remaining strength I reached the
head of the creek, was carried into the vessel, and
persuaded the crew to arm themselves and visit the
scene of our disasters.
Meanwhile, Lieut. Herne, who had closely followed
me, fell back, using the butt-end of his discharged
six-shooter upon the hard heads around him: in so
doing he came upon a dozen men, who though they
loudly vociferated, " Kill the Franks who are killing
the Somal ! " allowed him to pass uninjured.
He then sought his comrades in the empty huts of
the town, and at early dawn was joined by the Balyuz,
who was similarly employed. When day broke he
sent a Negro to stop the native craft, which was
apparently sailing out of the harbour, and in due time
i At tins season native craft quitting Berberah make for the Spit
late in the evening, cast anchor there, and set sail with the land
breeze before dawn. Our lives hung upon a thread. Had the
vessel departed, as she intended, the night before the attack
nothing could have saved us from destruction*
296 First Footsteps in East Africa
came OB board. With the exception of sundry stiff
blows with the war-club, Lieut. Herne had the fortune
to escape unhurt.
On the other hand, Lieut. Speke's escape was in
every way wonderful. Sallying from the tent he
levelled his " Dean and Adams " close to an assailant's
breast. The pistol refused to revolve. A sharp blow
of a war-club upon the chest felled our comrade, who
was in the rear and unseen. When he fell, two or
three men sprang upon him, pinioned his hands
behind, felt him for concealed weapons an operation
to which he submitted in some alarm and led him
towards the rear, as he supposed to be slaughtered.
There, Lieut. Speke, who could scarcely breathe from
the pain of the blow, asked a captor to tie Ms hands
before, instead of behind, and begged a drop of
water to relieve his excruciating thirst. The savage
defended him against a number of the Somal who
came up threatening and brandishing their spears,
he brought a cloth for the wounded man to He upon,
and lost no time in procuring a draught of water.
Lieut. Speke remained upon the ground till dawn.
During the interval he witnessed the war-dance of
the savages a scene striking in the extreme. The
tallest and largest warriors marched in a ring round
the tents and booty, singing, with the deepest and
most solemn tones, the song of thanksgiving. At
a little distance the grey uncertain light disclosed
four or five men, lying desperately hurt, whilst their
kinsmen kneaded their limbs, poured water upon their
wounds, and placed lumps of dates in their stiffening
hands. 1 As day broke, the division of plunder
caused angry passions to rise. The dead and dying
were abandoned. One party made a rush upon the
cattle, and with shouts and yells drove them off
towards the wild, some loaded themselves with goods,
others fought over pieces of cloth, which they tore
with hand and dagger, whilst the disappointed,
1 The Somal place dates in the hands of the fallen to ascertain
the extent of injury ; he who cannot eat that delicacy is justly
decided to be in artuulc.
Postscript 297
vociferating with rage, struck at one another and
brandished their spears. More than once during
these scenes, a panic seized them ; they moved off
in a body to some distance ; and there is little doubt
that had our guard struck one blow, we might still
have won the day.
Lieut. Speke's captor went to seek his own portion
of the spoil, when a Somal came up and asked in
Hindostanti, what business the Frank had in their
country, and added that he would kill him if a
Christian, but spare the life of a brother Moslem.
The wounded man replied that he was going to
Zanzibar, that he was still a Nazarene, and therefore
that the work had better be done at once: the
savage laughed and passed on. He was succeeded
by a second, who, equally compassionate, whirled
a sword round his head, twice pretended to strike,
but returned to the plunder without doing damage.
Presently came another manner of assailant. Lieut.
Speke, who had extricated his hands, caught the
spear levelled at his breast, but received at the same
moment a blow from a club which, paralysing his arm,
caused him to lose his hold. In defending his heart
from a succession of thrusts, he received severe
wounds on the back of his hand, his right shoulder,
and his left thigh. Pausing a little, the wretch crossed
to the other side, and suddenly passed his spear clean
through the right leg of the wounded man : the latter
" smelling death/' then leapt up, and taking advantage
of his assailant's terror, rushed headlong towards the
sea. Looking behind, he avoided the javelin hurled
at his back, and had the good fortune to run, without
further accident, the gauntlet of a score of missiles.
When pursuit was discontinued, he sat down faint
from loss of blood upon a sandhill. Recovering
strength by a few minutes' rest he staggered on to the
town, where some old women directed him to us.
Then, pursuing Ms way, he fell in with the party sent
to seek him, and by their aid reached the craft,
having walked and run at least three miles, after
receiving eleven wounds, two of which had pierced
298 First Footsteps in East Africa
Ms tMgfis. A touching lesson how difficult it is to
Mil a man in sound health ! 1
When the three survivors had reached the craft,
Ytisiif, the captain, armed his men with muskets
and spears, landed them near the camp, and as-
certained that the enemy, expecting a fresh attack,
had fled, carrying away our cloth, tobacco, swords,
and other weapons, 2 The corpse of Lieut. Stroyan
was then brought on board. Our lamented comrade
was already stark and cold. A spear had traversed
Ms heart, another had pierced his abdomen, and a
frightful gash, apparently of a sword, had opened
the upper part of Ms forehead : the body had been
braised with war-clubs, and the thighs showed
marks of violence after death. This was the severest
affliction that befell us. We had lived together like
brothers : Lieut. Stroyan was a universal favourite,
and his sterling qualities of manly courage, physical
endurance, and steady perseverance had augured for
Mm a bright career, thus prematurely cut off. Truly
melancholy to us was the contrast between the even-
ing when he sat with us full of life and spirits, and
the morning when we saw amongst us a livid corpse.
We had hoped to preserve the remains of our friend
for interment at Aden. But so rapid were the effects
of exposure, that we were compelled most reluctantly,
on the morning of the 20th April, to commit them
to the deep, Lieut. Herne reading the funeral service.
Then with heavy hearts we set sail for the near
Arabian shore, and, after a tedious two days, carried
to our friends the news of unexpected disaster.
1 In less than a mouth, after receiving such injuries, Lieut. Speke
was on Ms way to England ; he has never felt the least inconvenience
from the wounds, which closed up like cuts in Indian -rubber.
2 They had despised the ieavy sacks of grain, the books,
broken boxes, injured instruments, and a variety of articles which
they did not understand. We spent that day at Berberah, bringing
off our property, and firing guns to recall six servants who were
missing. They did not appear, having lost no time in starting for
Kanun and Aynterad, whence they made their way in safety to
Aden. On the evening of the igth of April, unable to remove the
hearier effects, and anxious to retain with the least possible delay,
I ordered them to be set on ire*
APPENDIX I
DIARY AND OBSERVATIONS
MADE BY LIEUTENANT SPEKE, WHEN ATTEMPTING
TO REACH THE WADY NOGAL
LIEUTENANT SPEKE'S DIARY
ON the 28th October 1854, Lieutenant Speke arrived
at Kurayat, a small village near Las Kuray (Goree
Bunder), in the country called by the Somal
" Makhar," or the eastern maritime region. During
the period of three months and a half he was enabled
to make a short excursion above the coast-mountains.
visiting the Warangali, the Dulbahanta, and the
Habr Gerhajis tribes, and penetrating into a region
unknown to Europeans. The bad conduct of his
Abban, and the warlike state of the country, pre-
vented his reaching the " Wady Nogal," which,
under more favourable circumstances and with
more ample leisure than our plans allowed him, he
conceives to be a work of little difficulty and no
danger. He has brought back with him ample
notices of the region visited, and has been enabled
to make a valuable collection of the Fauna, which
have been forwarded to the Curator of the Royal
Asiatic Society's Museum, Calcutta. On the isth
February 1855 Lieutenant Speke revisited Kurayat,
and there embarked for Aden.
Before proceeding to Lieutenant Speke's Journal,
it may be useful to give a brief and general account
of the region explored.
^The portion of the Somali country visited by
Lieutenant Speke may be divided into a Maritime
Plain, a Range of Mountains, and an elevated
Plateau.
The Maritime Plain, at the points visited by
Lieutenant Speke, is a sandy tract overlying lime-
stone, level to the foot of the hills, and varying from
half a mile to two miles in breadth. Water is not
everywhere procurable. At the village of Las
3 oo
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 301
Kuray, there is an old and well built well, about
twelve feet deep, producing an abundant and ex-
cellent supply. It appears that the people have no
implements, and are too barbarous to be capable
of so simple an engineering operation as digging.
The vegetation presents the usual appearance of
salsolaceous plants thinly scattered over the surface,
with here and there a stunted growth of Annan or
Acacia. The watershed is of course from south to
north, and the rain from the hills is carried off by a
number of Fiumaras or freshets, with broad shallow
beds, denoting that much of the monsoon rain falling
in the mountains is there absorbed, and that little
finds its way to the sea. At this season (the dry
weather) the plain is thinly inhabited; there are
no villages except on the sea-shore, and even these
were found by the traveller almost entirely de-
serted, mostly women occupying the houses, whilst
the men were absent, trading and tending cattle
in the hills. The harbours are, generally speaking,
open and shallow roadsteads, where ships find no
protection ; there is, however, one place (Las
Galwayta), where, it is said, deep water extends to
the shore.
Meteorological observations show a moderate
temperature, clear air, and a regular north-easterly
wind. It is probable that, unlike the Berberah
Plain, the monsoon rain here falls in considerable
quantities. This land belongs in part to the War-
singall Westwards of Las Galwayta, which is the
frontier, the Habr Gerhajis lay claim to the coast.
The two tribes, as usual in that unhappy land, are
on terms of " Dam " or blood-feud ; yet they inter-
marry.
The animals observed were, the Waraba, a dark-
coloured cynhyena, with a tail partly white, a grey
jackal, and three different kinds of antelopes. Be-
sides gulls, butcher birds, and a description of
sparrow, no birds were found on the Maritime Plain.
The Range of Mountains is that long line which
fringes the Somali coast from Tajurrah to Ras Jerd
3O2 Appendix I
Hafun (Cape Guardafui). In the portion visited by
Lieutenant Speke it is composed principally of lime-
stones, some white, others brownish, and full of
fossil shells. The seaward face is a gradual slope,
yet as usual more abrupt than the landward side,
especially in the upper regions. Steep irregular
ravines divide the several masses of hill. The range
was thinly covered with Acacia scrub in the lower
folds. The upper portion was thickly clad with
acacia and other thorns, and upon the summit, the
Somali pine tree observed by me near Harar, and by
Lieutenant Herne at Gulays, first appeared. Rain
had freshly fallen.
The animal creation was represented by the
leopard, hyena, rhinoceros, Waraba, four kinds of
antelopes, hares and rats, tailless and long-tailed.
It is poor in sea birds (specimens of those collected
have been forwarded to the Asiatic Society's Museum),
and but one description of snake was observed.
These hills belong partly to the Warsingali, and
partly to the Habr Gerhajis. The frontier is in
some places denoted by piles of rough stones. As
usual, violations of territorial right form the rule,
not the exception, and trespass is sure to be followed
by a "war." The meteorology of these hills is
peculiar. The temperature appears to be but little
lower than the plain : the wind was north-easterly ;
and both monsoons bring heavy rains.
At Yafir, on the summit of the hill, Lieutenant
Speke's thermometer showed an altitude of about
7500 feet. The people of the country do not know
what ice means. Water is very scarce in these hills,
except during the monsoon : it is found in springs
which are far apart ; and in the lower slopes collected
rain water is the sole resource. This scarcity renders
the habits of the people peculiarly filthy.
After descending about 2000 feet from the crest
of the mountains to the southern fall, Lieutenant
Speke entered upon the platform which forms the
country of the Eastern Somal. He is persuaded
that the watershed of this extensive tract is from
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 303
N.W. to S.E., contrary to the opinion of Lieutenant
Cruttenden, who, from information derived from the
Somal, determined the slope to be due south.
" Nogal " appears, according to Lieutenant Speke,
to be the name of a tract of land occupied by the
Warsingali, the Mijjarthayn, and the northern clan
of the Dulbahantas, as Bohodlay in Haud is inhabited
by the southern. Nogal is a sterile tableland, here
and there thinly grown with thorns, perfectly useless
for agriculture, and, unless it possess some mineral
wealth, valueless. The soil is white and stony,
whereas Haud or Ogadayn is a deep red, and is
described as having some extensive jungles. Between
the two lies a large watercourse, called " Tuk Der,"
or the Long River. It is dry during the cold season,
but during the rains forms a flood, tending towards
the Eastern Ocean. This probably is the line which
in our maps is put down as " Wady Nogal, a very
fertile and beautiful valley/'
The surface of the plateau is about 4100 feet above
the level of the sea : it is a space of rolling ground,
stony and white with broken limestone. Water is
found in pools, and in widely scattered springs : it
is very scarce, and in a district near and south of the
hills lieutenant Speke was stopped by want of this
necessary. The climate appeared to our traveller
delightful. In some places the glass fell at 6 A.M.
to 25, yet at noon on the same day the mercury rose
to 76. The wind was always N.E., sometimes
gentle, and occasionally blowing strongly but without
dust. The rainy monsoon must break here with
violence, and the heat be fearful in the hot season.
The principal vegetation of this plateau was Acacia,
scarce and stunted ; in some places under the hills
and in the watercourses these trees are numerous and
well grown. On the other hand, extensive tracts
towards the south are almost barren. The natives
speak of Malmal (myrrh) and the Luban (incense)
trees. The wild animals are principally antelopes j
there are also ostriches, onagers, Waraba, lions
(reported to exist), jackals, and vermki. The
304 Appendix I
bustard and florikan appear here. The Nomads
possess large flocks of sheep, the camels, cows, and
goats being chiefly fonnd at this season on the seaward
side of the Mils, where forage is procurable. The
horses were stunted tattoos, tolerably well-bred, but
soft for want of proper food. It is said that the
country abounds in horses, but Lieutenant Speke
"doubts the fact." The eastern portion of the
plateau visited by our traveller belongs to the
Warsingali, the western to the Dulbahantas : the
former tribe extends to the S.E., whilst the latter
possess the lands lying about the Tuk Der, the Nogal,
and Haud. These two tribes are at present on bad
terms, owing to a murder which led to a battle : the
quarrel has been allowed to rest till lately, when it
was revived at a fitting opportunity. But there is
no hostility between the Southern Dulbahantas and
the Warsingali, on the old principle that " an enemy's
enemy is a friend."
On the 2ist October 1854 Lieutenant Speke,
from the effects of a stiff easterly wind and a heavy
sea, made by mistake the harbour of Rakddah.
This place has been occupied by the Rer Dud, descend-
ants of Sambur, son of Ishak. It is said to consist
of an small fort, and two or three huts of matting,
lately re-erected. About two years ago the settle-
ment was laid waste by the rightful owners of the soil,
the Musa Abokr, a sub-family of the Habr Tal Jailah.
22nd October. Without landing, Lieutenant Speke
coasted along to Bunder Hais, where he went on shore.
Hais is a harbour belonging to the Musa Abokr. It
contains a " fort," a single-storied, flat-roofed, stone
and mud house, about 20 feet square, one of those
artless constructions to which only Somal could attach
importance. There are neither muskets nor cannon
among the braves of Hais. The " town " consists
of half-a-dozen mud huts, mostly skeletons. The
anchoring ground is shallow, but partly protected
by a spur of hill, and the sea abounds in fish. Four
Buggaloes (native craft) were anchored here, waiting
for a cargo of Dumbah sheep and clarified butter, the
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 305
staple produce of the place. Hals exports to Aden,
Mocha, and other parts of Arabia; it also manu-
factures mats with the leaves of the Daum palm and
other trees. Lieutenant Speke was well received by
one Ali, the Agil, or petty chief of the place : he
presented two sheep to the traveller. On the way
from Bunder Jedid to Las Kuray, Lieutenant Speke
remarks that Las Galwayta would be a favourable site
for a Somali settlement. The water is deep even close
to the shore, and there is an easy ascent from it to the
summit of the mountains. The consequence is that
it is coveted by the Warsingali, who are opposed by
the present proprietors, the Habr Gerhajis. The
Sultan of the former family resists any settlement
for fear of dividing and weakening their force ; it is
too far from their pastures, and they have not men
enough for both purposes.
28th October. Lieutenant Speke landed at Kurayat,
near Las Kuray, and sent a messenger to summon
the chief, Mohammed Ah*, Gerad or Prince of the
Warsingali tribe.
During a halt of twenty-one days, the traveller had
an opportunity of being initiated into the mysteries
of Somali medicine and money hiding. The people
have but two cures for disease, one the actual cautery,
the other a purgative, by means of melted sheep's-tail,
followed by such a draught of camel's milk that the
stomach, having escaped the danger of bursting, is
suddenly and completely relieved. It is here the
custom of the wealthy to bury their hoards, and to
reveal the secret only when at the point of death.
Lieutenant Speke went to a place where it is said a
rich man had deposited a considerable sum, and
described his " cache " as being " on a path in a direct
line between two trees as far as the arms can reach
with a stick/' The hoarder died between forty and
fifty years ago, and his children have been prevented
by the rocky nature of the ground, and their forgetting
to ask which was the right side of the tree, from
succeeding in anything beyond turning tip the stones.
Las Kuray is an open roadstead for native craft.
306 Appendix I
The town is considered one of the principal strongholds
of the coast. There are three large and six small
" forts/' similar in construction to those of Hais ;
all are occupied by merchants, and are said to belong
to the Sultan. The mass of huts may be between
twenty and thirty in number. They are matted
buildings, long and flat-roofed ; half-a-dozen families
inhabit the same house, which is portioned off for such
accommodation. Public buildings there are none,
and no wall protects the place. It is in the territory
of the Warsingali, and owns the rule of the Gerad or
Prince, who sometimes lives here, and at other times
inhabits the Jungle. Las Kuray exports gums,
Dumbah sheep, and guano, the latter considered
valuable, and sent to Makalla in Arabia, to manure
the date plantations.
Four miles westward of Las Kuray is Kurayat, also
called little Kuray. It resembles the other settle-
ment, and is not worth description. Lieutenant
Speke here occupied a fort or stone house belonging to
his Abban ; finding the people very suspicious, he
did not enter Las Kuray for prudential motives.
There the Sultan has no habitation ; when he
visited the place he lodged in the house of a Nacoda
or ship-captain.
Lieutenant Speke was delayed at Kurayat by the
pretext of want of cattle ; in reality to be plundered.
The Sultan, who inhabits the Jungle, did not make
Ms appearance till repeatedly summoned. About
the tenth day the old man arrived on foot, attended
by a dozen followers ; he was carefully placed in the
centre of a double line bristling with spears, and
marched past to his own fort. Lieutenant Speke
posted his servants with orders to fire a salute of
small firearms. The consequence was that the
evening was spent in prayers.
During Lieutenant Speke's first visit to the Sultan,
who received him squatting on the ground outside
the house in which he lodged, with his guards about
him, the dignitary showed great trepidation, but
returned salams with politeness. He is described
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 307
as a fine-looking man, between forty-eight and fifty
years of age ; he was dressed in an old and dirty Tobe,
had no turban, and appeared unarmed. He had
consulted the claims of " dignity " by keeping the
traveller waiting ten days whilst he journeyed twenty
miles. Before showing himself he had privily held
a Durbar at Las Kuray ; it was attended by the Agils
of the tribe, by Mohammed Samattar (Lieutenant
Speke's Abban), and the people generally. Here
the question was debated whether the traveller
was to be permitted to see the country. The voice of
the multitude was as usual contra, fearing to admit
a wolf into the fold. It was silenced however by the
Sultan, who thought fit to favour the English, and
by the Abban, who settled the question, saying that
he, as the Sultan's subject, was answerable for all that
might happen, and that the chief might believe him
or not " how could such Jungle-folk know any-
thing ? "
On the morning of the 8th November the Sultan
returned Lieutenant Speke's visit. The traveller
took the occasion of " opening his desire to visit the
Warsingali country and the lands on the road to
Berberah, keeping inland about 200 miles more or
less according to circumstances, and passing through
the Dulbahantas." To this the Sultan replied, that
"as far as his dominions extended the traveller was
perfectly at liberty to go where he liked ; but as for
visiting the Dulbahantas, he could not hear of or
countenance it." Mahmud Ali, Gerad or Prince of
the southern Dulbahantas, was too far away for
communication, and Mohammed Ali Gerad, the
nearest chief, had only ruled seven or eight years j
his power therefore was not great. Moreover, these
two were at war ; the former having captured, it is
said, 2000 horses, 400 camels, and a great number of
goats and sheep, besides wounding a man. During
file visit, which lasted from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M., the
Sultap. refused nothing but permission to cross the
frontier, fearing, he said, lest an accident should
embroil him with our Government. lieutenant
308 Appendix I
Speke gave them to understand that he visited their
country, not as a servant of the Company, but merely
as a traveller wishing to see sport. This of course
raised a laugh; it was completely beyond their
comprehension. They assured him, however, that he
had nothing to apprehend in the Warsingali country,
where the Sultan's order was like that of the English.
The Abban then dismissed the Sultan to Las Kuray,
fearing the appetites of his followers ; and the guard,
on departure, demanded a cloth each by way of
honorarium. This was duly refused, and they
departed in discontent The people frequently
alluded to two grand grievances. In the first place,
they complained of an interference on the part of our
Government, in consequence of a quarrel which took
place seven years ago at Aden, between them and the
Habr Tal Jailah tribe of Karam. The Political
Resident, it is said, seized three vessels belonging to
the Warsingali, who had captured one of the ships
belonging to their enemies ; the former had command
of the sea, but since that event they have been reduced
to a secondary rank. This grievance appears to be
based on solid grounds. Secondly, they complained
of the corruption of their brethren by intercourse with
a civilised people, especially by visiting Aden : the
remedy for this evil lies in their own hands, but desire
of gain would doubtless defeat any moral sanitary
measure which their Elders could devise. They
instanced the state of depravity into which the Somal
about Berberah had fallen, and prided themselves
highly upon their respect for the rights of meum and
tuum, so completely disregarded by the Western
States. But this virtue may arise from the severity
of their chastisements ; mutilation of the hand being
the usual award to theft. Moreover Lieutenant
Speke's Journal does not impress the reader highly
with their honesty. And lastly, I have found the
Habr Awal at Berberah, on the whole, a more respect-
able race than the Warsingali.
Lieutenant Speke's delay at Kurayat was caused
by want of carriage. He justly remarks that " every
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 309
one in this country appeals to precedent " ; the
traveller, therefore, should carefully ascertain the
price of everything, and adhere to it, as those who
follow him twenty years afterwards will be charged
the same. One of the principal obstacles to Lieutenant
Speke's progress was the large sum given to the natives
by an officer who visited this coast some years ago.
Future travellers should send before them a trusty
Warsingali to the Sultan, with a letter specifying the
necessary arrangements, a measure which would save
trouble and annoyance to both parties.
On the loth of November the Sultan came early to
Lieutenant Speke's house. He received a present
of cloth worth about forty rupees. After comparing
his forearm with every other man's and ascertaining
the mean, he measured and re-measured each piece,
an operation which lasted several hours. A flint gun
was presented to him, evidently the first he had ever
handled ; he could scarcely bring it up to his shoulder,
and persisted in shutting the wrong eye. Then he
began as usual to beg for more cloth, powder, and lead.
By his assistance Lieutenant Speke bought eight
camels, inferior animals, at rather a high price, from
10 to i6| cloths (equivalent to dollars) per head. It
is the custom for the Sultan, or in his absence, for an
Agft to receive a tithe of the price ; and it is his part
to see that the traveller is not overcharged. He
appears to have discharged his duty very inefficiently,
a dollar a day being charged for the hire of a single
donkey. Lieutenant Speke regrets that he did not
bring dollars or rupees, cloth on the coast being now
at a discount.
After the usual troubles and vexations of a first
move in Africa, on the i6th of November 1854
Lieutenant Speke marched about three miles along
the coast, and pitched at a well close to Las Kuray.
He was obliged to leave about a quarter of his baggage
behind, finding it impossible with his means to hire
donkeys, the best conveyance across the mountains,
where camels must be very lightly laden. The
Sultan could not changej h,e said, the route settled
3io Appendix I
by a former Sahib. He appears, though famed for
honesty and justice, to have taken a partial view of
Lieutenant Speke's property. When the traveller
complained of his Abban, the reply was, " This is the
custom of the country, I can see no fault ; all you
bring is the Abban's, and he can do what he likes
with it."
The next day was passed unpleasantly enough in
the open air, to force a march, and the Sultan and his
party stuck to the date-bag, demanding to be fed as
servants till rations were served out to them.
1.8th November. About 2 A.M. the camels (eleven
in number) were lightly loaded, portions of the luggage
being sent back to Kurayat till more carriage could
be procured. The caravan crossed the plain south-
wards, and after about two miles' march entered a
deep stony watercourse winding through the barren
hills. After five miles* progress over rough ground,
Lieutenant Speke unloaded under a tree early in the
afternoon near some pools of sweet rain water collected
in natural basins of limestone dotting the watercourse.
The place is called Iskodubuk; the name of the
watercourse is Duktura. The Sultan and the Abban
were both left behind to escort the baggage from Las
Kuray to Kurayat. They promised to rejoin
Lieutenant Speke before nightfall; the former
appeared after five, the latter after ten, days. The
Sultan sent his son Abdallah, a youth of about fifteen
years old, who proved so troublesome that Lieutenant
Speke was forced repeatedly to dismiss him : still
the lad would not leave the caravan till it reached the
Dulbahanta frontier. And the Abban delayed a Negro
servant, lieutenant Speke's gun-bearer, trying by
many offers and promises to seduce him from service.
igth November. At dawn the camels were brought
in ; they had been feeding at large aH night, which
proves the safety of the country. After three hours'
work at loading, the caravan started up the water-
course. The road was rugged ; at times the water-
course was blocked up with boulders, which compelled
the travellers temporarily to leave it. With a little
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 311
cutting away of projecting rocks, which are of soft
stone, the road might be made tolerably easy.
Scattered and stunted Acacias, fringed with fresh
green foliage, relieved the eye ; all else was barren
rock. After marching about two miles the traveller
was obliged to halt by the Sultan ; a messenger
arrived with the order. The halting-place is called
Damalay. It is in the bed of the watercourse, stagnat-
ing rain, foul-looking but sweet, lying close by. As in
all other parts of this Framara, the bed was dotted
with a bright green tree, sometimes four feet high,
resembling a willow. Lieutenant Speke spread his
mat in the shade, and spent the rest of the day at his
diary and in conversation with the natives.
The next day was also spent at Damalay. The
interpreter, Mohammed Ahmed, a Somali of the
Warsingali tribe, and all the people, refused positively
to advance. Lieutenant Speke started on foot to Las
Kuray in search of the Abban : he was followed at
some distance by the Somal, and the whole party
returned on hearing a report that the chief and the
Abban were on the way. The traveller seems on this
occasion to have formed a very low estimate of the
people. He stopped their food until they promised
to start the next day.
2is^ November, The caravan marched at gun-fire,
and, after a mile, left the watercourse, and ascended
by a rough camel-path a buttress of hill leading to the
ridge of the mountains. The ascent was not steep,
but the camels were so bad that they could scarcely
be induced to advance. The country was of a more
pleasant aspect, a shower of rain having lately fallen.
At this height the trees grow thicker and finer, the
stones are hidden by grass and heather, and the air
becomes somewhat cooler. After a six miles' march
Lieutenant Speke encamped at a place called Adhai.
Sweet water was found within a mile's walk the
first spring from which our traveller drank. Here
he pitched a tent.
At Adhai Lieutenant Speke was detained nine days
by the non-appearance of Ms " Protector " and the
312 Appendix I
refusal of his followers to march without him. The
camels were sent back with the greatest difficulty to
fetch the portion of the baggage left behind. On
the 24th Lieutenant Speke sent his Hindostani
servant to Las Kuray, with orders to bring up the
baggage. " Imam " started alone and on foot, not
being permitted to ride a pony hired by the traveller :
he reported that there is a much better road for laden
camels from the coast to the crest of the hills. Though
unprotected, he met with no difficulty, and returned
two days afterwards, having seen the baggage en
route. During Lieutenant Speke's detention, the
Somal battened on his provisions, seeing that Ms two
servants were absent, and that no one guarded the
bags. Half the rice had been changed at Las Kuray
for an inferior description. The camel drivers refused
their rations because all their friends (thirty in
number) were not fed. The Sultan's son taught them
to win the day by emptying and hiding the water-skins,
by threatening to kill the servants if they fetched
water, and by refusing to do work. During the
discussion, which appears to have been lively, the
eldest of the Sultan's four sons, Mohammed Aul,
appeared from Las Kuray. He seems to have taken
a friendly part, stopped the discussion, and sent away
the young prince as a nuisance. Unfortunately,
however, the latter reappeared immediately that the
date bags were opened, and Mohammed Aul stayed
only two days in Lieutenant Speke's neighbourhood.
On the 28th November the Abban appeared. The
Sultan then forced upon Lieutenant Speke his brother
Hasan as a second Abban, although this proceeding
is contrary to the custom of the country. The new
burden, however, after vain attempts at extortion,
soon disappeared, carrying away with him a gun.
For tanning water-skins the Somal here always
use, when they can procure it, a rugged bark with a
smooth epidermis of a reddish tinge, a pleasant
aromatic odour, and a strong astringent flavour.
They call it Mohur : powdered and sprinkled dry on
a wound, it acts as a styptic. Here was observed
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 313
an aloe-formed plant, with a strong and woody thorn
on the top. It is called Haskul or Hig ; the fibres
are beaten out with sticks or stones, rotted in water,
and then made into cord. In other parts the young
bark of the acacia is used ; it is first charred on one
side, then reduced to fibre by mastication, and lastly
twisted into the semblance of a rope.
^From a little manuscript belonging to the Abban,
Lieutenant Speke learned that about 440 years ago
(A.D. 1413), one Darud bin Ismail, unable to live with
his elder brother at Mecca, fled with a few followers
to these shores. In those days the land was ruled,
they say, by a Christian chief called Kin, whose Wazir,
Wharrah, was the terror of all men. Darud collected
around him, probably by proselytising, a strong
party : he gradually increased his power, and ended
by expelling the owners of the country, who fled to the
N.W. as far as Abyssinia. Darud, by an Asyri damsel,
had a son called Kabl lUlah, whose'son Harti had, as
progeny, Warsingali, Dulbalianta, and Mijjarthayn.
These three divided the country into as many portions,
which, though great territorial changes have taken
place, to this day bear their respective owners' names.
Of this I have to observe, that universal tradition
represents the Somal to be a people of half-caste
origin, African and Arabian; moreover, that they
expelled the Gallas from the coast, until the latter
took refuge in the hills of Harar. The Gallas are a
people partly Moslem, partly Christian, and partly
Pagan ; this may account for the tradition above
recorded. Most Somal, however, declare " Darud "
to be a man of ignoble origin, and do not derive him
from the Holy City. Some declare he was driven
from Arabia for theft. Of course each tribe exag-
gerates its own nobility with as reckless a defiance of
truth as their neighbours depreciate it. But I have
made a rule always to doubt what semi-barbarians
write. Writing is the great source of historical con-
fusion, because falsehoods accumulate in books,
persons are confounded, and fictions assume, as in the
mythologic genealogies of Indk, Persia, Greece, and
314 Appendix I
Rome, a regular and systematic form. On the other
hand, oral tradition is more trustworthy ; witness the
annals and genealogies preserved in verse by the Bhats
of Cutch, the Arab Nassab, and the Bards of
Belochistan.
30$ November. -The Sultan took leave of Lieu-
tenant Speke, and the latter prepared to march in
company with the Abban, the interpreter, the Sultan's
two sons, and a large party. By throwing the tent
down and sitting in the sun he managed to effect a
move. In the evening the camels started from
Adhai up a gradual ascent along a stony path. The
way was covered with bush, jungle, and trees. The
frankincense, it is said, abounded ; gum trees of
various kinds were found ; and the traveller remarked
a single stunted sycamore growing out of a rock. I
found the tree in all the upper regions of the Somal
country, and abundant in the Harar Hills. After
two miles' march the caravan halted at HabaJ
Ishawalay, on the northern side of the mountains,
within three miles of the crest. The halting-ground
was tolerably level, and not distant from the waters
of Adhai, the only spring in the vicinity. The
travellers slept in a deserted Kraal, surrounded by a
stout fence of Acacia thorns heaped up to keep out
the leopards and hyenas. During the heat Lieutenant
Speke sat under a tree. Here he remained three
days ; the first in order to bring up part of his baggage
which had been left behind ; the second to send on a
portion to the next halting-place ; and the third in
consequence of the Abban's resolution to procure
Ghee or clarified butter. The Sultan could not resist
the opportunity of extorting something by a final
visit for a goat, killed and eaten by the camel-
drivers contrary to lieutenant Speke's orders, a
dollar was demanded.
4//i December 1854. About dawn the caravan was
loaded, and then proceeded along a tolerably level
pathway through a thick growth of thorn trees
towards a bluff hill. The steep was reached about
9 AM., and the camels toiled up the ascent by a stony
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 315
way, dropping their loads for want of ropes, and
stumbling on their road. The summit, about 500
yards distant, was reached in an hour. At Yafir, on
the crest of the mountains, the caravan halted two
hours for refreshment. Lieutenant Speke describes
the spot in the enthusiastic language of all travellers
who have visited the Seaward Range of the Somali
Hills. It appears, however, that it is destitute of
water. About noon the camels were again loaded,
and the caravan proceeded across the mountains
by a winding road over level ground for four miles.
This point commanded an extensive view of the
Southern Plateau. In that direction the mountains
drop in steps or terraces, and are almost bare ; as in
other parts rough and flat topped piles of stones,
reminding the traveller of the Tartar Cairns, were
observed. I remarked the same in the Northern
Somali country ; and in both places the people gave
a similar account of them, namely, that they are
the work of an earlier race, probably the Galas.
Some of them are certainly tombs, for human bones
are turned up ; in others empty chambers are dis-
covered ; and in a few are found earthen and large
copper pots. Lieutenant Speke on one occasion saw
an excavated mound propped up inside by pieces of
timber, and apparently built without inlet. It was
opened about six years ago by a WarsingaH, in order
to bury his wife, when a bar of metal (afterwards
proved by an Arab to be gold) and a gold ring, similar
to what is worn by women in the nose, were discovered.
In other places the natives find, it is said, women's
bracelets, beads, and similar articles still used by the
Gallas.
After nightfall the caravan arrived at Muktor, a
halting-place in the southern declivity of the hills.
Here Lieutenant Speke remarked that the large
watercourse in which he halted becomes a torrent
during the rains, carrying off the drainage towards
the eastern coast. He had marched that day seven-
teen miles, when the party made a "Kx&al with a few
bushes. Water was found within a mile in a rocky
316 Appendix I
basin ; it was fetid and full of animalculae. Here
appeared an old woman driving sheep and goats into
Las Kuray, a circumstance which shows that the
country is by no means dangerous.
After one day's halt at Mukur to refresh the camels,
on the 6th December Lieutenant Speke started at about
10 A.M. across the last spur of the hills, and presently
entered a depression dividing the hills from the
Plateau. Here the country was stony and white-
coloured, with watercourses full of rounded stones.
The Jujube and Acacias were here observed to be
on a large scale, especially in the lowest ground.
After five miles the traveller halted at a shallow
watercourse, and at about half a mile distant found
sweet but dirty water in a deep hole in the rock.
The name of this station was Karrah.
Bth December. Early in the morning the caravan
moved on to Rhat, a distance of eight miles : it
arrived at about noon. The road lay through the
depression at the foot of the hills. In the patches
of heather Florikan was found. The Jujube-tree
was very large. In the rains this country is a grassy
belt, running from west to east, along a deep and
narrow watercourse, called Rhat Tug, or the Fiumara
of Rhat, which flows eastward towards the ocean.
At this season, having been " eaten up," the land was
almost entirely deserted; the Kraals lay desolate,
the herdsmen had driven off their cows to the hills,
and the horses had been sent towards the Mijjarthayn
country. A few camels and donkeys were seen :
considering that their breeding is left to chance, the
blood is not contemptible. The sheep and goats are
small, and their coats, as usual in these hot countries,
remain short. Lieutenant Speke was informed that,
owing to want of rain, and it being the breeding
season, the inland and Nomad Warsingali live entirely
on flesh, one meal serving for three days. This was
a sad change of affairs from what took place six
weeks before the traveller's arrival, when there
had been a fall of rain, and the people spent their
time revelling on milk, and sleeping all day under
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 317
the shade of the trees the Somali idea of perfect
happiness.
On the Qth December Lieutenant Speke, halting at
Rhat, visited one of " Kin's " cities, now ruined by
time, and changed by the Somal having converted
it into a cemetery. The remains were of stone and
mud, as usual in this part of the world. The houses
are built in an economical manner ; one straight
wall, nearly 30 feet long, runs down the centre, and is
supported by a number of lateral chambers facing
opposite ways, e.g.
a ,_!
This appears to compose the village, and suggests a
convent or a monastery. To the west, and about
fifty yards distant, are ruins of stone and good white
mortar, probably procured by burning the limestone
rock. The annexed ground plan will give an idea
of these interesting remains, which are said to be those
of a Christian house of worship. In some parts the
walls are still 10 feet high, and they show an extent
of civilisation now completely beyond the WarsingalL
It may be remarked of them that the direction of the
niche, as well as the disposition of the building, would
denote a Moslem mosque. At the same time it must
be remembered that the churches of the Eastern
Christians are almost always made to front Jerusalem,
and the Gallas being a Moslem and Christian race, the
sects would borrow their architecture from each other.
The people assert these ruins to be those of Nazarenes.
Yet in the Jid Ali valley of the Dulbahantas Lieutenant
Speke found similar remains, which the natives
declared to be one of their forefathers' mosques ; the
plan and the direction were the same as those now
described* Nothing, however, is easier than to con-
318
Appendix I
vert St. Sophia Into the Aya Sufiyyah mosque. More-
over, at Jid AM the traveller found it still the custom
of the people to erect a Mala, or cross of stone or wood
r\
...*..*.**** 48 F T*"<
covered with plaster, at the head and foot of every
tomb.
The Dulbahantas, when asked about these crosses,
said it was their custom, derived from sire and grand-
sire. This again would argue that a Christian people
once inhabited these now benighted lands.
North of the building now described is a cemetery,
in which the Somal still bury their dead. Here
Lieutenant Speke also observed crosses, but he was
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 319
prevented by the superstition of the people from
examining them.
On an eminence S.W. of, and about seventy yards
from the main building, are the isolated remains of
another erection, said by the people to be a fort. The
foundation is level with the ground, and shows two
compartments opening into each other.
T
Rhat was the most southerly point reached by
Lieutenant Speke. He places it about thirty miles
distant from the coast, and at the entrance of the
Great Plateau. Here he was obliged to turn westward,
because at that season of the year the country to the
southward is desolate for want of rain a warning to
future visitors. During the monsoon this part of the
land is preferred by the people : grass grows, and there
would be no obstacle to travellers.
Before quitting Rhat, the Abban and the interpreter
went to the length of ordering Lieutenant Speke not
to fire a gun. This detained him a whole day.
nth December. Early in the morning Lieutenant
Speke started in a westerly direction, still within sight
of the mountains, where not obstructed by the in-
equalities of the ground. The line taken was over
an elevated flat, in places covered with the roots of
parched up grass ; here it was barren, and there
appeared a few Acacias. The view to the south was
shortened by rolling ground: hollow basins, some-
times fifteen miles broad, succeed each other ; each
sends forth from its centre a watercourse to drain
off the water eastward. The face of the country,
however, is very irregular, and consequently descrip-
tion is imperfect. This day ostriches and antelopes
were observed in considerable numbers. After
marching ten mfles the caravan halted at Barham,
where they found a spring of clear and brackish water
from the limestone rock, and flowing about 600 yards
down a deep rocky channel, in parts lined with fine
320 Appendix I
Acacias. A Kraal was found here, and the traveller
passed a comfortable night.
I2th December. About g A.M. the caravan started,
and threaded a valley, which, if blessed with a fair
supply of water, would be very fertile. Whilst
everything else is burned up by the sun on the high
ground, a nutritious weed, called Buskallay, fattens
the sheep and goats, "Wherever, therefore, a spring is
found men flock to the place and fence themselves
in a Kraal. About half-way the travellers reached
Darud bin Ismail's tomb, a parallelogram of loose
stones about one foot high, of a battered and ignoble
appearance ; at one extremity stood a large sloping
stone, with a little mortar still clinging to it. No
outer fence surrounded the tomb, which might easily
be passed by unnoticed : no honours were paid to the
memory of the first founder of the tribe, and the
Somal did not even recite a Fatihah over his dust.
After marching about twelve miles, the caravan en-
camped at Labbahdilay, in the bed of a little water-
course which runs into the Yubbay Tug. Here they
found a small pool of bad rain water. They made a
rude fence to keep out the wild beasts, and in it
passed the night.
I3//I December. -The Somal showed superior acti-
vity in marching three successive days ; the reason
appears to be that the Abban was progressing to-
wards his home. At sunrise the camels were loaded,
and at 8 A.M. the caravan started up a valley along
the left bank of a watercourse called the Yubbay Tug.
This was out of the line, but the depth of the perpen-
dicular sides prevented any attempt at crossing it.
The people of the country have made a peculiar use
of this feature of ground. During the last war, ten
or eleven years ago, between the WarsingaJi and the
Dulbahantas, the latter sent a large foraging party
over the frontier. The Warsingali stationed a strong
force at the head of the watercourse to prevent its
being turned, and exposed their flocks and herds on
the eastern bank to tantalise the hungry enemy. The
Dulbahantas, unable to cross the chasm, and unwilling,
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 321
like all Somali heroes even in their wrath, to come to
blows with the foes, retired in huge disgust. After
marching five miles the caravan halted, the Abban
declaring that he and the Sultan's younger son must
go forward to feel the way ; in other words, to visit
his home. His pretext was a good one. In countries
where postal arrangements do not exist, intelligence
flies quicker than on the wings of paper. Many evil
rumours had preceded Lieutenant Speke, and the
inland tribe professed, it was reported, to despise a
people who can only threaten the coast. The Dul-
bahantas had been quarrelling amongst themselves
for the last thirteen years, and were now determined
to settle the dispute by a battle. Formerly they were
all under one head ; but one AH Harram," an AMI or
minor chief, determined to make his son, Mohammed
Ali, Gerad or Prince of the clans inhabiting the
northern provinces. After five years* intrigue the
son was proclaimed, and carried on the wars caused
by his father, declaring an intention to fight to the
last. He has, however, been successfully opposed
by Mahmud Ali, the rightful chief of the Dulbahanta
family, the southern clans of Haud and beyond the
Nogal being more numerous and more powerful than
the northern divisions. No merchant, Arab or other,
thinks of penetrating into this country, principally
on account of the expense. Lieutenant Speke is of
opinion that his cloth and rice would easily have
stopped the war for a time : the Dulbahantas
threatened and blustered, but allowed themselves
easily to be pacified.
It is illustrative of the customs of this people that,
when the Dulbahantas had their hands engaged, and
left their rear unprotected, under the impression that
no enemies were behind, the Warsingali instantly
remembered that one of their number had been
murdered by the other race many years ago. The
blood-money had been paid, and peace had been
concluded, but the opportunity was too tempting to
be resisted.
The Yubbay Tug watercourse begins abruptly,
322 Appendix I
being as broad and deep at the head as it is in the
trunk. Wlien Lieutenant Speke visited it, it was
dry; there was but a thin growth of trees in it,
showing that water does not long remain there.
Immediately north of it Hes a woody belt, running
up to the foot of the mountains, and there bifurcating
along the base, Southwards, the Yubbay is ^ said
to extend to a considerable distance, but Somali ideas
of distance are peculiar, and absorption is a powerful
agent in these latitudes.
Til the 2ist December Lieutenant Speke was
delayed at the Yubbay Tug. His ropes had been
stolen by discharged camel-men, and he was unable
to replace them.
On the isth December one of the Midgan or Serviles
was tried for stealing venison from one of his fellows.
The Sultan, before Ms departure, had commissioned
three of Lieutenant Speke's attendants to act ^ as
judges in case of such emergency : on this occasion
the interpreter was on the Woolsack, and he sensibly
fined the criminal two sheep to be eaten on the road.
From inquiries, 1 have no doubt that these Midgan
are actually reduced by famine at times to live on a
food which human nature abhors. In the northern
part of the Somali country I never heard of canni-
balism, although the Servile tribes will eat birds and
other articles of food disdained by Somal of gentle
blood. Lieutenant Speke complains of the scarcity
and the quality of the water, " which resembles the
mixture commonly known as black draught." Yet
it appears not to injure health ; and the only disease
found endemic is an ophthalmia, said to return
periodically every three years. The animals have
learned to use sparingly what elsewhere is a daily
necessary ; camels are watered twice a month, sheep
thrice, and horses every two or three days. No wild
beasts or birds, except the rock pigeon and duck,
ever drink except when rain falls.
The pickaxe and spade belonging to the traveller
were greatly desired : in one place water was found,
but more generally the people preferred digging for
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 323
honey In the rocks. Of the inhabitants we find it
recorded that, like all Nomads, they are idle to the
last degree, contenting themselves with tanned skins
for dress and miserable huts for lodging. Changing
ground for the flocks and herds is a work of little
trouble ; one camel and a donkey carry all the goods
and chattels, including water, wife, and baby. Milk
in all stages (but never polluted by fire), wild honey,
and flesh are their only diet ; some old men have
never tasted grain. Armed with spear and shield,
they are in perpetual dread of an attack. It is not
strange that under such circumstances the population
should be thin and scattered ; they talk of thousands
going to war, but the wary traveller suspects gross
exaggeration. They preserve the abominable Galla
practice of murdering pregnant women in hopes of
mutilating a male foetus.
On the 20th December Lieutenant Speke was in-
formed by the Sultan's son that the Dulbahantas
would not permit him to enter their country. As a
favour, however, they would allow him to pass towards
the home of the Abban, who, having married a Dul-
bahanta girl, was naturalised amongst them.
zist December. Early in the morning Lieutenant
Speke, accompanied by the interpreter, the Sultan's
son, one servant, and two or three men to lead a pair
of camels, started eastward. The rest of the animals
(nine in number) were left behind in charge of Imam,
a Hindostani boy, and six or seven men under him.
The reason for this step was that Husayn Haji, an
Agil of the Dulbahantas and a connection of the
Abban, demanded, as sole condition for permitting
Lieutenant Speke to visit " Jid AH," that the traveller
should give up all his property. Before leaving the
valley, he observed a hillock glistening white : it
appears from its salt, bitter taste to have been some
land of nitrate efflorescing from the ground. The
caravan marched about a mile across the deep valley
of Yubbay Tug, and ascended its right side by a beaten
track : they then emerged from a thin jungle in the
lower grounds to the stony hills which compose the
324 Appendix I
country. Here the line pursued was apparently
parallel to the mountains bordering upon the sea :
between the two ridges was a depression, in which
lay a small watercourse. The road ran along bleak
undulating ground, with belts of Acacia in the
hollows : here and there appeared a sycamore tree.
On the road two springs were observed, both of bitter
water, one deep below the surface, the other close
to the ground ; patches of green grass grew around
them. Having entered the Dulbahanta frontier,
the caravan unloaded in the evening, after a march
of thirteen mfles, at a depression called Ali. No
water was found there.
22nd December. Early in the morning the traveller
started westward from Ali, wishing that night to
make Jid Ali, about eighteen miles distant. After
marching thirteen miles over the same monotonous
country as before. Lieutenant Speke was stopped by
Husayn Haji, the Agil, who declared that Guled Ali,
another Agfl, was opposed to his progress. After a
long conversation, lieutenant Speke reasoned him
into compliance ; but that night they were obliged
to halt at Birhanrhr, within five miles of Jid Ali. The
traveler was offered as many horses as he wanted,
and a free passage to Berberah, if he would take part
in the battle preparing between the two rival clans of
Dtilbahantas : he refused, on plea of having other
engagements. But whenever the question of pene-
trating the country was started, there came the same
dry answer : "No beggar had even attempted to
visit them what, then, did the Englishman want ? "
The Abban's mother came out from her hut, which
was by the wayside, and with many terrors en-
deavoured to stop the traveller.
2yd December. Next morning the Abban appeared,
and, by his sorrowful surprise at seeing Lieutenant
Speke across the frontier, showed that he only had
made the difficulty. The caravan started early, and,
travelling five miles over stony ground, reached the
Jid Ali valley. This is a long belt of fertile soil,
running perpendicular to the seaward range; it
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 325
begins opposite Bunder Jedid, at a gap in the moun-
tains through which the sea is, they say, visible. In
breadth, at the part first visited by Lieutenant Speke,
it is about two miles : it runs southward, and during
rain probably extends to about twenty miles inland.
Near the head of the valley is a spring of bitter water,
absorbed by the soil after a quarter of a mile's course :
in the monsoon, however, a considerable torrent must
flow down this depression. Ducks and snipe are found
here. The valley shows, even at this season, extensive
patches of grass, large acacia trees, bushes, and many
different kinds of thorns : it is the most wooded low-
land seen by Lieutenant Speke. Already the Nomads
are here changing their habits ; two small enclosures
have been cultivated by an old Dulbahanta, who had
studied agriculture during a pilgrimage to Meccah.
The Jowaii grows luxuriantly, with stalks 8 and 9
feet high, and this first effort had well rewarded the
enterpriser. Lieutenant Speke lent the slave Farhan
to show the art of digging ; for this he received the
present of a goat. I may here remark that every-
where in the Somali country the people are prepared
to cultivate grain, and only want some one to take the
initiative. As yet they have nothing but their hands
to dig with. A few scattered huts were observed
near Jid Ali, the grass not being yet sufficiently
abundant to support collected herds.
Lieutenant Speke was delayed nineteen days at Jid
Ali by various pretexts. The roads were reported
closed. The cloth and provisions were exhausted.
Five horses must be bought from the Abban for
thirty dollars a head (they were worth one-fourth that
sum) as presents. The first European that visited
the Western Country had stopped rain for six months,
and the Somal feared for the next monsoon. All
the people would flock in, demanding at least what
the Warsingali had received ; otherwise they
threatened the traveller's life. On the 26th of
December Lieutenant Speke moved three miles up
the valley to some distance from water, the crowd
being troublesome and preventing Ms servants eating.
326 Appendix I
On the 3ist of December all the baggage was brought
up from near Abi : one of the camels, being upon the
point of death, was killed and devoured. It was
Impossible to keep the Abban from his home, which
was distant about four miles : numerous messages
were sent in vain, but Lieutenant Speke drew him
from his hut by " sitting in Dhurna/' or dunning him
into compliance. At last arose a violent altercation.
All the Warsingali and Dulbahanta servants were
taken away, water was stopped, the cattle were cast
loose, and the traveller was told to arm and defend
himself and his two men : -they would all be slain
that night and the Abban would abandon them to the
consequences of their obstinacy. They were not
killed however, and about an hour afterwards the
Somal reappeared, declaring that they had no in-
tention of deserting.
nth January 1855. About 10 A.M. the caravan
started without the Abban across the head of the
Jid All valley. The land was flat, abounding in
Acacia, and showing signs of sun-parched grass
cropped close by the cattle. After a five miles* march
the travellers came to a place called Biyu Hablay ;
they unloaded under a tree and made a Kraal. Water
was distant. Around were some courses, ending
abruptly in the soft absorbing ground. Here the
traveller was met by two Dulbahantas, who demanded
Ms right to enter their lands, and insinuated that a
force was gathering to oppose him. They went away,
however, after a short time, threatening with smiles
to come again. Lieutenant Speke was also informed
that the Southern Dulbahanta tribes had been de-
feated with loss by the northern clans, and that his
journey would be interrupted by them. Here the
traveller remarked how willing are the Somal to study :
as usual in this country, any man who reads the Koran
and can write out a verset upon a board is an object
of envy. The people are fanatic. They rebuked the
interpreter for not praying regularly, for eating from
a Christian's cooking pot, and for cutting deer's
throats low down (to serve as specimens) j they also
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 327
did not approve of the traveller's throwing date stones
into the fire. As usual, they are fearful boasters.
Their ancestors turned Christians out of the country.
They despise guns. They consider the Frank formid-
able only behind walls : they are ready to fight it out
in the plain, and they would gallop around cannon so
that not a shot would tell. Vain words to conceal
the hearts of hares ! Lieutenant Speke justly remarks
that, on account of the rough way in which they are
brought up, the Somal would become excellent police-
men ; they should, however, be separated from their
own people, and doubtless the second generation
might be trained into courage.
At Biyu Hablay Lieutenant Speke, finding time as
well as means deficient, dropped all idea of marching
to Berberah. He wished to attempt a north-western
route to Hais, but the Rer Hamaturwa (a clan of the
Habr Gerhajis who occupy the mountain) positively
refused passage. Permission was accorded by
that clan to march due north upon Bunder Jedid,
where, however, the traveller feared that no vessel
might be found. As a last resource he determined
to turn to the north-east, and, by a new road through
the Habr Gerhajis, to make Las Kuray.
xSth January. The Abban again returned from
his home, and accompanied Lieutenant Speke on his
first march to the north-east. Early in the morning
the caravan started over the ground before described :
on this occasion, however, it traversed the belt of
jungle at the foot of the mountains. After a march
of six miles they halted at " Mirhiddo," under a tree
on elevated ground, in a mere desert, no water being
nearer than the spring of Jid AH. The Abban took
the opportunity of Lieutenant Speke going out
specimen-hunting to return home, contrary to orders,
and he did not reappear till the traveller walked
back and induced him to march. Here a second
camel, being in articulo, was cut up and greedily
devoured.
2is January. The Abban appeared in the morning,
and the caravan started about noon over the stony
328 Appendix I
ground at the foot of the hills. After a mile's march
the " Protector " again disappeared, in open defiance
of orders. That day's work was about ten miles.
The caravan halted, late at night, in the bed of a
watercourse, called Hanfallal. Lieutenant Speke
visited the spring, which is of extraordinary sweetness
for the Warsingali country : it flows from a cleft in
the rock broad enough to admit a man's body, and
about 60 feet deep.
2yd January. Lieutenant Speke was about to set
out under the guidance of Awado, the Abban's mother,
when her graceless son reappeared. At noon the
caravan travelled along a rough road, over the lower
spurs of the mountains : they went five miles, and it
was evening when they unloaded in a watercourse
a little distance up the hills at a place called Ball-
rn'ilay. The bed was about 150 yards broad, full of
jungle, and showed signs of a strong deep stream
during the monsoon. The travellers made up a
Kraal, but found no water there.
2$h Jammry. Early in the morning the caravan
started, and ascended by a path over the hills. The
way was bare of verdure, but easy : here a camel,
unable to walk, though unloaded, was left behind.
One of Lieutenant Speke's discharged camel-men,
a Warsingali, being refused passage by the Habr
Gerhajis on account of some previous quarrel, found
a stray camel, and carried it off to his home amongst
the Dulbahantas. He afterwards appeared at Las
Kuray, having taken the road by which the travellers
entered the country. Having marched eleven miles,
the caravan arrived in the evening at Gobamiray, a
flat on the crest of the mountains. Here again thick
jungle appeared, and the traveller stood over more
on the seaward side. Water was distant.
On arriving, the camels were seized by the Urns
Sugay, a clan of the Habr Gerhajis. The poor
wretches pretended to show fight, and asked if they
were considered a nation of women that their country
was to be entered without permission. Next morning
they volunteered to act as escort.
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 329
January. Loading was forbidden by the
valiant sons of Habr Gerhajis ; but as they were few
in number, and the Warsingali clan was near, it went
on without interruption. This day, like the latter,
was cloudy ; heavy showers fell for some hours, and
the grass was springing up. Rain had lasted for some
time, and had not improved the road. This fall is
called by the people " Dairti " : it is confined to the
hills, whereas the Gugi or monsoon is general over
the plateau.
About noon the caravan marched late, because the
Abban's two horses had strayed. These animals be-
longed to a relation of the " Protector/ 1 who called
them his own, and wished as a civility to sell the
garrons at the highest possible price to his client.
The caravan marched down a tortuous and difficult
road, descending about four miles. It unloaded as
evening drew near, and the travellers found at
Gambagahh a good dormitory, a cave which kept out
the rain. Water was standing close by in a pooL
The whole way was a thick jungle of bush and thorn.
26th January. The Somal insisted upon halting
to eat, and the caravan did not start before noon.
The road was tolerable and the descent oblique. The
jungle was thick and the clouds thicker; rain fell
heavily as usual in the afternoon. Five cloths were
given to the Habr Gerhajis as a bribe for passage.
After a march of six miles the caravan halted at a
place called Minan. Here they again found a cave
which protected them from the rain. Water was
abundant in the hollows of the rock.
27/& January. Early in the morning the caravan
set out, and descended the hill obliquely by a tolerable
road. They passed a number of thorn trees, bearing
a gum called Falafala or Luban Meyti, a kind of
frankincense : it is thrown upon the fire, and the
women are in the habit of standing over it. After
travelling six miles the travellers unloaded at Hun-
durgal, on the bank of a watercourse leading to Las
Galwayta : some pools of rain-water were observed
in the rocky hollows of the bed.
33 Appendix I
28th January. hi about 9 A.M. the caravan crossed
one of the lower ridges of the mountains by a tolerable
road. Lieutenant Speke had preceded his camels,
and was sitting down to rest, when he was startled
by hearing the rapid discharge of a revolver. His
valiant Abban, either in real or in pretended terror
of the Habr Gerhajis, had fired the pistol as a warning.
It had the effect of collecting a number of Bedouins
to stare at the travellers, and cogitate on what they
could obtain : they offered, however, no opposition.
At midday the caravan reached a broad and deep
Fiumara, which contained a spring of good sweet
water flowing towards the sea. Here they halted for
refreshment. Again advancing, they traversed another
ridge, and, after a march of twelve miles, arrived in
the evening at another little watercourse on the
Maritime Plain. That day was clear and warm, the
rain being confined to the upper ranges. The name
of the halting-place was Farjeh.
2gfh January. The caravan marched o\ 7 er the
plain into Kurayat, or Little Las Kuray, where
Lieutenant Speke, after a detention of upwards of a
fortnight, took boat, and after five days' sail arrived
at Aden, where I was expecting him. He was charged
forty dollars five times the proper sum for a place
in a loaded Buggalow : from Aden to Bombay thirty-
five dollars is the hire of the whole cabin. This was
the last act of the Abban, who is now by the just orders
of the acting Political Resident, Aden, expiating his
divers offences in the Station Jail.
CONCLUSION
Lieutenant Speke has passed through three large
tribes, the Warsingali, the Dulbahanta, and the Habr
Gerhajis.
The WarsingaH have a Sultan or Chief, whose orders
are obeyed after a fashion by all the clans save one,
the Bihidur. He cannot demand the attendance of a
subject even to protect the country, and has no power
to raise recruits ; consequently increase of territory
is never contemplated in this part of the Somali
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 331
country. In case of murder, theft, or dispute between
different tribes, the aggrieved consult the Sultan,
who, assembling the elders, deputes them to feel the
inclinations of the (< public." The people prefer
revenging themselves by violence, as every man
thereby hopes to gain something. The war ends
when the enemy has more spears than cattle left
most frequently, however, by mutual consent, when
both are tired of riding the country. Expeditions
seldom meet one another, this retiring as that ad-
vances, and he is deemed a brave who can lift a few
head of cattle and return home in safety. The
commissariat department is rudely organised : at the
trysting-place, generally some water, the people
assemble on a day fixed by the Sultan, and slaughter
sheep : each person provides himself by hanging
some dried meat upon his pony. It is said that on
many occasions men have passed upwards of a week
with no other sustenance than water. This extensive
branch of the Somal is divided into eighteen principal
clans, viz. :
1. Rer Gerad (the royal 10. Nuh Umar,
family). n. Adan Said.
2. Rer Fatih. 12. Rer Haji.
3. Rer Abdullah. 13. Dubbays.
4. Rer Bihidur. 14. Warlabah.
5. Bohogay Salabay. 15. Bayabarhay.
6. Adan Yakub. 16. Rer Yasif.
7. Gerad Umar. 17. Hindudub.
8. Gerad Yusuf. 18. Rer Garwayna.
9. Gerad Liban.
The Northern Dulbahantas are suffering greatly
from intestine war. They are even less tractable
than the Warsingali. Their Sultan is a ruler only in
name ; no one respects his person or consults him
in matters of importance : their Gerad was in the
vicinity of the traveller ; but evasive answers were
returned (probably in consequence of the Abban's
machinations) to every inquiry. The elders and men
of substance settle local matters* and all have a voice
332 Appendix I
in everything that concerns the general weal : such,
for instance, as the transit of a traveller. Lieutenant
Speke saw two tribes, the Mahmud Gerad and Rer
All Nalay. The latter is subdivided into six septs.
The Habr Gerhajis, here scattered and cut up, have
little power. Their royal family resides near Berberah,
but no one as yet wears the turban ; and even when
investiture takes place, a ruler's authority will not
extend to Makhar. Three clans of this tribe inhabit
this part of the Somali country, viz. Bah Gummaron,
Rer Hamturwa, and Urus Sugay.
I venture to submit a few remarks upon the subject
of the preceding diary.
It is evident from the perusal of these pages that
though the traveller suffered from the system of
blackmail to which the inhospitable Somal of Makhar
subject all strangers, though he was delayed, per-
secuted by his " protector," and threatened with
war, danger, and destruction, his life was never in
real peril. Some allowance must also be made for
the people of the country. Lieutenant Speke was of
course recognised as a servant of Government ; and
savages cannot believe that a man wastes his rice and
cloth to collect dead beasts and to ascertain the
direction of streams. He was known to be a Chris-
tian ; he is ignorant of the Moslem faith | and, most
fatal to his enterprise, he was limited in time. Not
knowing either the Arabic or the Somali tongue, he
was forced to communicate with the people through
the medium of his dishonest interpreter and Abban.
I have permitted myself to comment upon the
system of interference pursued by the former autho-
rities of Aden towards the inhabitants of the Somali
coast. A partial intermeddling with the quarrels
of these people is unwise. We have the whole line
completely in our power. An armed cruiser, by a
complete blockade, would compel the inhabitants
to comply with any requisitions. But either our
intervention should be complete either we should
constitute ourselves sole judges of all disputes, or we
should sedulously turn a deaf ear to their complaints.
Lieutenant Speke's Diary 333
The former I not only understand to be deprecated
by our rulers, but I also hold it to be imprudent.
Nothing is more dangerous than to influence in any
way the savage balance of power between these
tribes : by throwing our weight on one side we may
do them incalculable mischief. The Somal, like the
Arab Bedouins, live in a highly artificial though an
apparently artless state of political relations ; and
the imperfect attempt of strangers to interfere would
be turned to the worst account by the designing
adventurer and the turbulent spirit who expects to
rise by means of anarchy and confusion. Hitherto
our partial intervention between the Habr Awal of
Berberah and the Habr Gerhajis of Zayla has been
fraught with evils to them, and consequently to us.
But it is a rapidly prevailing custom for merchants
and travellers to engage an Abban or Protector, not
on the African coast, as was formerly the case, but at
Aden. It is clearly advantageous to encourage this
practice, since it gives us a right in case of fraud or
violence to punish the Abban as he deserves.
Lastly, we cannot expect great things without some
establishment at Berberah. Were a British agent
settled there, he could easily select the most in-
fluential and respectable men, to be provided with a
certificate entitling them to the honour and emolument
of protecting strangers. Nothing would tend more
surely than this measure to open up the new country
to commerce and civilisation. And it must not be
inferred, from a perusal of the foregoing pages, that
the land is valueless. Lieutenant Speke saw but a
small portion of it, and that, too, during the dead
season. Its exports speak for themselves : guano,
valuable gums, hides, peltries, mats, clarified butter,
honey, and Dumbah sheep. From the ruins and the
traditions of the country, it is clear that a more
civilised race once held these now savage shores,
and the disposition of the people does not discourage
the hope entertained by every Englishman that of
raising his fellow-man in the scale of civilisation,
CAMP, ADEN, March 1855,
334
Appendix I
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS
A f fide by Lieutenant Speke t during Ms Experimental Tour in
Eastern Africa, portions of Warsingali, Dulbahanta, d'c.
Date,
i
6A.M.
Noon.
S,M
Meteorological Notices.
1854
!
Decrees
j*0et.
'70
70
87
87
fl!2
85
Wind from the N.E. strono-.
Ditto. *
n 31
ifS
88
85
Ditto.
NOT. 1
67
83
82
Ditto.
2
tj2
86
85
Ditto.
j ." 3 60
85
4 65
86
b4
Ditto.
f,
65 .S3
Ditto.
11
CS
88
88
Ditto.
" " : 74
90
88 > Cloudy in the mornln^.
S
66
88
83
Wind strong from the N.E. (In
open air, but not exposed, to
the sun.)
* 9
64
63
84
84
82
82
Wind strong from the N.E.
Ditto.
" H
70
84
82
Ditto.
68
83
82
13
64
85
82
1*
77
82
82
15
70
S3
83
> 11
72
88
82
17
62
110
104
la open air exposed to the sun.
^ '
G2
05
96
10
62
11)2
95
AH these observations were taken
s - 1 '
08
It '3
during the N.E. monsoon,
21 1
98
ioa
when the wmd comes from
J 59
74
77
that quarter. It generally
S3 ' 50
24 50
25 i fS
81
78
78
75
70
makes its appearance about
half -past 9 A.M.
26
0l|
74
75
27
59
82
77
50
82
72
I! So
50
80
so
81
82
80
Dec. I
5
78
86
> 2
54)
86
SO
3
51)
86
89
> 4
9
89
5
54
84
84
i, 6
97
0S
> 7
52
89
8 52
95
100
9 ; iJs
90
94
* The observations from the 29th Get. to the 7th Nov. were taken in
the tent.
f Exposed to sun.
Lieutenant Speke's Observations 335
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS-mMmZ.
Date.
6P.M.
Noon.
3 P.M.
Meteorological Notices.
1854
Dec. 10
Degrees
42
Decrees
"92
Degrees
91
11
42
92
91
12
45
73
91
13
40
81
82
14
25
76
82
15
33
80
82
16
47
91
89
17
36
84
90
n 18
34
82
84
19
54
73
84
20
52
77
83
, 31
89
88
1S55
Jan. 1
:; 5
40
43
34
98
84
84
98
86
88
In open air exposed to the sun.
All these obsei vat ions were taken
during" the N.E, monsoon,
4
5
6
> 7
, 8
28
34
39
39
86
96
02
91
95
84
S7
94
SO
80
when the wind cornea from
that quarter ; generally mak-
ing its appearance at about
hall-past 9 A.M,
, 9
40
81
80
, 10
55
..
72
, 11
50
91
90
, 12
53
87
90
, 13
51
94
94
14
39
84
95
n Its
40
81
87
. 17
40
78
81
18
42
86
88
19
44
82
83
20'
40
82
83
> 21
38
87
93
22
60
91
84
23
52
86
98
24
52
02
On the north or *ro face of the
25
26
51
58
79
65
60
63
Warmii^ili Hilla, during 24th,
25th, ami 26th, had rain and
27
58
(S5
d'>
be-'ivy climdB during the
30
72
82
82
day ; blowing off towards the
31
71
88
9;
evening.
Feb. 1
67
96
SU
From the 27th to the 7th the
2
74
89
80
observations were taken ID
i 3
68
87
&S
the sea,
n *
68
89
88
68
S4
83
^
72
S3
83
On the 7th observations were
7
68
83
83
taken in tent*
33^
Appendix I
Govern.
Therm.
Tlierui.
Feet.
boiled.
1854
Deirrec?.
Deprrees.
Nov. 1
AtLasGnray ....
212
SO
0000
At Adhai * .
204-25
81
4577
!! S
AtHaballshawalay
203
58
5052
Bee. i
At Yafir, top of range .
200-25
69
6704
At Mater, on plateau .
205-5
67
3660
J 7
At Rhat Tncr, on plateau
206-5
62
3077
*i ^
At Yublmy Tug, on platean,*
204
62
4498
Com.
1855
Tberm.
Jan. 1
At JM Allij on plateau .
2U2
62
3884
.. 12
At Biyn Hablay
201
62
4449
* Government boiling thermometer broke here. Common thermometer
out of bazaar br.iled at sea-level, 209 degrees ; thermometer, 76 degrees.
APPENDIX II
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN THE
COLD SEASON OF 1854-55
BY
LIEUTENANTS HERNE, STROYAN, AND BURTON
338
Appendix II
P3
&
a
*2
2
K
&
pj
w
S
02
JZi
O
t <
5
>
tf
w
2C
O
^
a
s
o
s
1
&$S"
111
Ij|
!*
i4 2*3?;S I
* S ed S o S
fl !lg1 1
^55li|l253S
^^S^^ ^S-<
^ Srs t> *< iH * O *
j* DO -0000 -00 00
H
I
*
p4
05
-* s r- o c ^"5
IS /5S .? . S . :
s
ri
|i "ss 'ii ' a
1
! SfesS :128S SS :
B
4
s
2
3ooo ^o ^S
O O O) Cl O rH O 'SO
J O O O "f*t**& O 3
geocow eaMW OJCN
s
h . . x^-r- r~t -rH >CQOO C-fiM rX 'nf
. -EOO) 00 -00 '0000 -00000000
E-<
53
8
P*
oo
3 *C kO CS OO VO IQ US 1C CO CO
g
* oo * " o o oo oooo
,g weo eo CQ soco eococoeo
a
5
d
g
S
9
4
g Og ggggO.OOOOg
1 gg ' ' * * g^iggggggg
r
f
1
t^.03"*OOW'* lOCOtC<Oi-tOl-*lOCOr^.OQCOTH
^.r-t(S3C40a&3 rHT-iC^MSoqjMfivsSiSoSW
rt j|" > "'"p ..s. .ass
a o
Q
J
A
Lieut. Herne's Observations 339
i-s^sss i
w
fil
A
o
o
g
t(* * . o
-oooo co c
5 tM 5> J O 5 IN W I*
r=JS -Op OJ9 ;90 ;iHOO O
SI W M <-* 91 11
Otu1 *ici^t^iOi-.t?
jlCpp .prHr^r-rtrHpC
O O O O O O O O O 3 O O O " O O O 3 O O S O
eo co co co eo oo 03 co a so so co so eo as 03 w so
oao -oooooo
"ooo *ooo "coi
05CCCO OSM SC?
PCiNOO p5OOOOQOi
W5002>O Se4'*>j3M5O*
5 O
It
340
Appendix II
A*
O
S4
M
&
02
P.M.
T*
I!
Sd*
se
"
.
-a
g a
. ?
2-io Mooioo>joi-tcsici*a^.j>ocsooooi
3J 30 00 Ob M JO GO 3Q X SO fr- 1*. 1*. I*~ t~- 1*~ t>- 1~ t* t- t
MS23P$$P$S$?
i U NCOOOOO>
SN -^r-tSo3(MrH W5 ^ N rt ^ 5 O J?
r-i * r-IOr-tOr-(OOOr-tOr-tOOC!iOOOCaOS
* "
feff : rSSSSSggggJ: : : = r
2*i!?^s^s?? > *?
Lieut. Herne's Observations
si
w
DQ
I
pq
O
.g . M
|SSS3 'g ' 'gggggggg ==>
3 O 3 *Q o to D U) ^ o ^r O >K O f
|p&?&psS^s^II . A
S^ :^^!^ : : : :gggg : : :g
.07*0
g a
I
34i
P
^a
II
Bg
II
P-fl
*- S
S ^
9
Ss
II
r
342
Appendix II
THERMOMITRIC OBSERVATIONS B5f
LIEUT. BURTON
During the month of November 1854.
Date.
Tempemtmre.
Eeiaarks.
ii
o
B
1
H
e
[At Zayla. Thermometer placed in a
NOT. i
78*
83*
83"
J room opening to the 8. and W. Pay
1 cloudy, cirri ; nights cool, heavy dew.
{ Sea breeze from N.E.
5
81
82
Cirro-cumuli.
{On the terrace at dawn 71" ; in the sun
6
7?
82
82
at noon 118. Sky clear ; heavy dew
at night.
7
78
81
Misty morning ; dark horizon.
8
77
81
88
Air oppressive.
>
{ Zayla is open to both the land breeze
i 9
10
70
75
S2
82
82
78
(el barri) and the sea breeze (el bahri).
The sea breeze usually set in at 10 A.M.,
J and continued as at Aden until sunset.
I Wind from W. and S.W.
,, 11
77
82
| The land breeze endured from nightfall
till 8 A.M., when there was generally
\ a calm. Wind from N.E.
{Nimbus in morning- from E. and N.E.
,i
78
83
S3
Cloudy day. Horizon dark at night-
fall.
18
77
83
Hazy day ; cold clear night.
14
75
81
83
Cold night ; clear day.
w IS
70
83
83
/ EaJn clouds gathering. Bain expected
\ by people about this time.
( Cloudy morning. In afternoon rain
16
70
83
84
\ fell upon southern hills. Atmos-
\ phere close in plain.
17
82
83
84
/ Thunder in morning ; close and cloudy
\ at noon. At night rain fell on hills.
, is
80
83
84
Cloudy morning.
19
81
S3
83
Cloudy forenoon.
,
82
82
82
/Kained heavily at Zayla from 9 A.M. to
\ 2 P.M. Eain from N.E.
M
22
81
82
82
S3
;;
Fine clear day. Lightning at night.
/ Black clouds in morning- from S.E.
1 Windy night. Lightning from N.
23
11 **
82
76
8S
82
83
82
Cloudy morning. Clear day.
Cool morning. Hot cloudy day.
25
78
82
Ditto. Ditto.
(Fresh morning. Cloudless day. Fine
it 26
77
82
82
j evening. All signs of rain hare
i vanished.
27
70
82
Cloudless day. Cool night
Left Zayla at 8 P.M. on 27th November.
OS
1 In hut at Gudingaras on Zayla Plain,
, *
80
88
i Sea breeze at 10 A.M.
29
73
88
At same place. Earn expected.
i 30
SS
86
Cloudy morning. Cool day.
Lieut. Burton's Observations 343
THERMOMETRIO OBSERVATIONS BY
LIEUT. BURTON
During the months of December 1854 and January 1855.
Date.
Temperature.
Kemarka.
o
I
rf
A
1854.
Dec. 1
72
86*
84*
In hut. Light clouds at dawn. Hot
day.
'In hut helow hills. Nimbus in morn-
3
82
80
ing. Hot sun.
'Bain at 8 A.M. Cloudy day. Heavy
11 ^
70
80
dew at night.
' In open air under tree. Hot snn. Cold
> 5
80
night breeze.
In hut at foot of ascent. Wind gusty.
6
79
80
Day cool and cloudy.
'Under tree. Clezir cold day. Hot sun
n 7
63
71
at noon 107*.
, 8
52
73
Under tree. Cloudy morning. Cold
day.
la hut below hills. Clear day ; cold in
10
51
74
t**
shade ; hot In sun.
Fine clear day. Atmosphere resern-
11
12
56
52
72
hling that ol Pisa, in Tuscany.
In hut. Hot sun. Cold wind.
13
61
7H
SO
/ In hut at Harawwah valley. No rain ;
1 season sickly ; drought and dysentery.
14.
54
Snn very hot, 120" at noon.
" 17
52
79
In hut at AgJoguL At dawn 41.
18
10
50
41
76
71
lAt Agjogsi, under the hill Korala.
I Fine clear weather. Nomads lament
2
40
72
I want ol rain.
21
22
42
41
74
82
In hut under Konti hill. Close day.
> **"
51
Observations taken in open air.
21
73
72
fin hut under Gurays hill?. Sun power-
1 ful.
25
42
72
71
At the same place. Cool day.
/Ditto. Till end of December cold
26
51
\ winds and hot suns.
1855.
Jail. 3
68
In hut below Kondnra.
15
61
71
68
/High wind. Cumuli. Furious^
\ wind at nitfht. 1
16
58
69
69
Fine clear day.
* Au
18
56
72
70
66
70
/Cloudi on hill tops. Cold In nut
\ night, and hi<?h wiud. 1 at *
Hot day. No wind or elonda. j tvii ens f
/Hot day. Cloudless warm
19
20
56
56
77
78
73
1 night.
Day hot and clondless.
," 21
57
77
Fine wrm day. i., . ^
fLeft Wilensi. Hot day. >uinM at
,, 22
56
1 2P.M. No rain. Warm night.
/In the Marar prairie. Warm elouoy
23
66
73
77
\ day.
344 Appendix II
THERMOMETER BOILED.
Corrected
Place. Decrees. Temperature. Altitude.
Zayla (bwi level) . .210 S3
Halimalah (hill -top) . . 04 64 3,347
Agjogsi (foot of Harar
hills) .... 201 79 5,133
Wilensi (near Harar) . 200 70 5,656
Harar about 5,500
Berberah (level of sea) . 210 88
APPENDIX III
A CONDENSED ACCOUNT
OF
AN ATTEMPT TO REACH HARAR FROM
ANKOBAR
The author is Lieutenant, now Commander, WILLIAM BARKER of
the Indian Navy, one of the travellers who accompanied Sir
William Cornwallis, then Captain, Harris on his mission to
the Court of Shoa. His services being required by the Bombay
Government, he was directed by Captain Harris, on 14th
October 1841, to repair to the coast m'd Harar, by a road
*' hitherto untrodden by Europeans. " These pages will reward
perusal as a narrative of adventure, especially as they admirably
show what obstacles the suspicious chaiacters and the vain
terrors of the Bedouins have thrown in the way of energy and
enterprise.
LIEUT. BARKER'S NARRATIVE
"ADEN, Febntary 28, 1842.
* f SHORTLY after I had closed my last communication
to Captain Harris of the Bombay Engineers on special
duty at the Court of Shoa (14 Jan. 1842), a report
arrived at Allio Amba that Demetrius, an Albanian
who had been for ten years resident in the Kingdom
of Shoa, and who had left it for Tajoorah, accom-
panied by " Johannes," another Albanian, by three
Arabs, formerly servants of the Embassy, and by
several slaves, had been murdered by the Bedoos
(Bedouins) near Murroo. This caused a panic among
my servants. I allayed it with difficulty, but my
interpreter declared his final intention of deserting
me, as Hurruri caravan had threatened to kill Mm
if he persisted in accompanying me. Before proceed-
ing farther it may be as well to mention that I had
with me four servants, one a mere lad, six mules and
nine asses to carry my luggage and provisions.
" I had now made every arrangement, having, as
the Wallasena Mahomed Abugas suggested, pur-
chased a fine horse and a Tobe for my protector and
guide, Datah Mahomed of the clan Seedy Habroo,
a sub-tribe of the Debeneh. It was too late to recede :
accordingly at an early hour on Saturday, the I5th
January 1842, I commenced packing, and about
S A.M. took my departure from the village of Allio
4mba. 1 had spent there a weary three months,
ind left it with that mixture of pleasure and regret
elt only bv those who traverse unknown and inhos-
jitable regions. I had made many friends, who
Accompanied me for some distance on the road, and
ook leave of me with a deep feeling which assured
34 6
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 347
me of their sympathy. Many endeavoured to dis-
suade me from the journey, but my lot was cast.
" About five miles from Allio I met the nephew
of the Wallasena, who accompanied me to Farri,
furnished me with a house there, and ordered my
mules and asses to be taken care of. Shortly after
my arrival the guide, an old man, made his appearance
and seemed much pleased by my punctuality.
"At noon, on Sunday the i6th, the Wallasena
arrived, and sent over his compliments, with a present
of five loaves of bread. I called upon him in the
evening, and reminded him of the letter he had pro-
mised me ; he ordered it to be prepared, taking for
copy the letter which the king (Sahala Salassah of
Shoa) had given to me.
" My guide having again promised to forward me
in safety, the Wallasena presented him with a spear,
a shield, and a Tobe, together with the horse and the
cloth which I had purchased for him. About noon on
Monday the I7th we quitted Farri with a slave-
caravan bound for Tajoorah. I was acquainted with
many of these people, the Wallasena also recommended
me strongly to the care of Mahomed ibn Buraitoo and
Dorranu ibn Kami! We proceeded to Datharal,
the Wallasena and his nephew having escorted me
as far as DenehmelU, where they took leave. I found
the Caffilah to consist of fifteen Tajoorians, and about
fifty camels laden with provisions for the road, fifty
male and about twenty female slaves, mostly children
from eight to ten years of age. My guide had with
him five camels laden with grain, two men and two
women.
"The Rasel Caffilah (chief of the caravan) was one
Ibrahim ibn Boorantoo, who it appears had been chief
of the embassy caravan, although Essakh (Ishak)
gave out that he was. It is certain that this man
always gave orders for pitching the camp and for
loading ; but we being unaware of the fact that he
was Ras el Caffilah, he had not received presents on
the arrival of the embassy at Shoa. Whilst unloading
the camels, the following conversation took place.
348 Appendix III
* Ya Kabtan I ' (0 Captain) said he addressing me
with a sneer, ' where are you going to ? do you
think the Bedoos will let you pass through their
country ? We shall see 1 Now I will tell you !
you Feringis have treated me very ill 1 you loaded
Essakh and others with presents, but never gave me
anything. I have, as it were, a knife in my stomach
which is continually cutting me this knife you have
placed there ! But, inshaUah ! it is nor/ my turn 1
I will be equal with you I you think of going to
Hurrar we shall see ! ' I replied, ' You know me
not ! It is true I was ignorant that you were Ras el
Cafflah on our way to Shoa. You say yoa have a
knife cutting your inside I can remove that knife !
Those who treat me well, now that I am returning
to my country, shall be rewarded ; for, the Lord be
praised! there I have the means of repaying my
friends, but in Shoa I am a beggar. Those that treat
me ill shall also receive their reward/
" My mules, being frightened at the sight of the
camels, were exceedingly restive ; one of them strayed
and was brought back by Deeni ibn Earned, a young
man who was indebted to me for some medicines and
a trifling present which he had received from the
embassy, Ibrahim, the Ras el Cafflah, seeing him
lead it back, called out, f So you also have become
servant to the Kafir (infidel) 1 * At the same time
Datah Mahomed, the guide, addressed to me some
remark which he asked Ibrahim to explain ; the latter
replied in a sarcastic manner in Arabic, a language
with which I am unacquainted. 1 This determined
hostility on the part of the Ras el Caffilah was par-
ticularly distressing to me, as I feared he would do
me much mischief. I therefore determined to gain
him over to my interests, and accordingly, taking
Deeni on one side, I promised him a handsome present
if he would take an opportunity of explaining to
Ibrahim that he should be well rewarded if he behaved
properly, and at the same time that if he acted badly,
1 Thus in the original. It may be a mistake, for Captain Barker
is* I am informed, a proficient in conversational Arabic,
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 349
that a line or two sent to Aden would do him harm.
I also begged him to act as my interpreter as long
as we were together, and he cheerfully agreed to
do so.
" We were on the point of resuming our journey on
Tuesday the i8th, when it was found that the mule
of the Ras el Caffilah had strayed. After his conduct
on the preceding evening, he was ashamed to come
to me, but he deputed one of the caravan people to
request the loan of one of my mules to go in quest
of his. I gave him one readily. We were detained
that day as the missing animal was not brought back
till late. Notwithstanding my civility, I observed
him in close conversation with Datah Mahomed
about the rich presents which the Feringis had given
to Essakh and others, and I frequently observed him
pointing to my luggage in an expressive manner.
Towards evening the guide came to me and said,
* My son 1 I am an old man, my teeth are bad, 1
cannot eat this parched grain I see you eat bread.
Now we are friends, you must give me some of it 1 *
I replied that several times after preparing for the
journey I had been disappointed and at last started
on a short notice that I was but scantily supplied
with provisions, and had a long journey before me :
notwithstanding which I was perfectly willing that he
should share with me what I had as long as it lasted,
and that as he was a great chief, I expected that he
would furnish me with a fresh supply on arriving at
his country. He then said, * It is well ! but why did
you not buy me a mule instead of a horse ? * My
reply was that I had supposed that the latter would
be more acceptable to him. I divided the night into
three watches : my servants kept the first and middle,
and I myself the morning.
" We quitted Dattenab, the frontier station, at
about 7 o'clock A.M. on Wednesday the igth. The
country at this season presented a more lively appear-
ance than when we travelled over it before, grass
being abundant : on the trees by the roadside was
much gum Acacia, which the Cafflah people collected
35 Appendix III
as they passed. I was pleased to remark that Ibrahim
was the only person ill-disposed towards me, the rest
of the travellers were civil and respectful. At noon
we halted under some trees by the wayside. Presently
we were accosted by six Bedoos of the Woemah tribe
who were travelling from Keelulho to Shoa : they
informed us that Demetrius had been plundered and
stripped by the Takyle tribe, that one Arab and three
male slaves had been slain, and that another Arab
had fled on horseback to the Etoh (Ittu) Gallas,
whence nothing more had been heard of him : the
rest of the party were living under the protection of
Shaykh Omar Buttoo of the Takyle. The Bedoos
added that plunderers were lying in wait on the banks
of the river Howash for the white people that were
about to leave Shoa. The Ras el Caffilah communi-
cated to me this intelligence, and concluded by
saying : * Now, if you wish to return, I will take you
back, but if you say forward, let us proceed ! ' I
answered, l Let us proceed ! * I must own that the
intelligence pleased me not ; two of my servants were
for returning, but they were persuaded to go on to
the next station, where we would be guided by
circumstances. About 2 o'clock P.M. we again pro-
ceeded, after a long u Cullam " or talk, which ended
in Datah Mahomed sending for assistance to a neigh-
bouring tribe. During a conversation with the Ras
el Caffilah, I found out that the Bedoos were lying in
wait, not for the white people, but for our caravan.
It came out that these Bedouins had had the worst
of a quarrel with the last Caffilah from Tajoorah :
they then threatened to attack it in force on its return.
The Ras el Cafflah was assured that as long as we
journeyed together, I should consider his enemies my
enemies, and that being well supplied with firearms,
I would assist him on all occasions. This offer pleased
him, and we became more friendly. We passed
several deserted villages of the Bedoos, who had re-
tired for want of water towards the Wadys, and about
7 o'clock P.M. halted at the lake Leadoo.
" On the morning of Thursday the 20th, Datah
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 351
Mahomed came to me and delivered himself through
Deeni as follows : ' My son 1 our father the Wallasena
entrusted you to my care, we feasted together in
Gouchoo you are to me as the son of my house!
Yesterday I heard that the Bedoos were waiting to
kill, but fear not, for I have sent to the Seedy Habroo
for some soldiers, who will be here soon. Now these
soldiers are sent for on your account ; they will want
much cloth, but you are a sensible person, and will
of course pay them well. They win accompany us
beyond the Howash 1 ' I replied, ' It is true the
Wallasena entrusted me to your care. He also told
me that you were a great chief, and could forward
me on my journey. I therefore did not prepare a
large supply of cloth a long journey is before me
what can be spared shall be freely given, but you
must tell the soldiers that I have but little. You
are now my father ! '
" Scarcely had I ceased when the soldiers, fine
stout-looking savages, armed with spear, shield, and
crease, mustering about twenty-five, made their
appearance. It was then 10 A.M. The word was
given to load the camels, and we soon moved forward.
I found my worthy protector exceedingly good-
natured and civil, dragging on my asses and leading
my mules. Near the Howash we passed several
villages, in which I could not but remark the great
proportion of children. At about 3 P.M. we forded
the river, which was waist-deep, and on the banks of
which were at least 3000 head of homed cattle. See-
ing no signs of the expected enemy, we journeyed on
till 5 P.M., when we halted at the south-eastern ex-
tremity of the Howash Plain, about one mile to the
eastward of a small pool of water.
" At daylight on Friday the zist it was discovered
that Datah Mahomed's horse had disappeared. This
was entirely his fault ; my servants had brought ^ it
back when it strayed during the night, but he said,
' Let it feed, it will not run away ! * When I condoled
with him on the loss of so noble an animal, he replied,
* I know very well who has taken it : one of my
35^ Appendix III
cousins asked me for it yesterday, and because I
refused to give it he has stolen it ; never mind,
Inshallah ! I will steal some of his camels/ After
a " Cullam n about what was to be given to our
worthy protectors, it was settled that I should con-
tribute three cloths and the Caffilah ten ; receiving
these, they departed much satisfied. Having filled
our water-skins, we resumed our march a little before
noon. Several herds of antelope and wild asses
appeared on the way. At 7 P.M. we halted near Hano.
Prevented from lighting a fire for fear of the Galla, I
was obliged to content myself with some parched
grain, of which I had prepared a large supply.
"At sunrise on the 22nd we resumed our journey,
the weather becoming warm and the grass scanty.
At neon we halted near Shaykh Othman. I was glad
to find that Deem* had succeeded in converting the
Ras el Caffilah from an avowed enemy to a staunch
friend, at least outwardly so ; he has now become
as civil and obliging as he was before the contrary.
There being no water at this station, I desired my
servant Adam not to make any bread, contenting
myself with the same fare as that of the preceding
evening. This displeasing Datah Mahomed, some
misunderstanding arose, which, from their ignorance
of each other's language, might, but for the inter-
ference of the Ras el Caffilah and Deeni, have led to
serious results. An explanation ensued, which ended
in Datah Mahomed seizing me by the beard, hugging
and embracing me in a manner truly unpleasant. I
then desired Adam to make him some bread and coffee,
and harmony was once more restored. This little
disturbance convinced me that if once left among
these savages without any interpreter, that I should
be placed in a very dangerous situation. The Ras
el Caffilah also told me that unless he saw that the
road was clear for me to Hurrur, and that there was
no danger to be apprehended, that he could not think
of ^ leaving me, but should take me with him to
Tajoorah. He continued, ' You know not the Emir
of Hurrur : when he hears of your approach he will
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 353
cause you to be waylaid by the Galla. Why not come
with me to Tajoorah ? If you fear being in want of
provisions we have plenty, and you shall share all
we have ! ' I was much surprised at this change of
conduct on the part of the Ras el Caffilah, and by way
of encouraging him to continue friendly, spared not to
flatter him, saying it was true I did not know him
before, but now I saw he was a man of excellent dis-
position. At three P.M. we again moved forward.
Grass became more abundant ; in some places it was
luxuriant and yet green. We halted at eight P.M.
The night was cold with a heavy dew, and there being
no fuel, I again contented myself with parched grain.
" At daylight on the 23rd we resumed our march.
Datah Mahomed asked for two mules, that he and his
friend might ride forward to prepare for my reception
at his village. I lent him the animals, but after a few
minutes he returned to say that I had given him the
two worst, and he would not go till I dismounted and
gave him the mule which I was riding. About noon
we arrived at the lake Toor Erain Murroo, where the
Bedouins were in great numbers watering their flocks
and herds, at least 3000 head of horned cattle and
sheep innumerable. Datah Mahomed, on my arrival,
invited me to be seated under the shade of a spreading
tree, and having introduced me to his people as his
guest and the friend of the Wallasena., immediately
ordered some milk, which was brought in a huge bowl
fresh and warm from the cow; pay servants were
similarly provided. During the night Adam shot a
fox, which greatly astonished the Bedouins, and gave
them even more dread of our firearms. Hearing that
Demetrius and his party, who had been plundered of
everything, were living at a village not far distant,
I offered to pay the Ras el Caffilah any expense he
might be put to if he would permit them to accom-
pany our caravan to Tajoorah. He said that he had
no objection to their joining the Caffilah, but that he
had been informed their wish was to return to Shoa.
1 had a long conversation with the Ras, who begged
of me not to go to Hurrur ; * for/ he said, ' it is well
z
354 Appendix III
known that the Hurruri caravan remained behind
solely on your account. You will therefore enter the
town, should you by good fortune arrive there at all,
under unfavourable circumstances. I am sure that
the Emir, 1 who may receive you kindly, will eventually
do you much mischief, besides which these Bedouins
will plunder you of all your property/ The other
people of the caravan, who are all my friends, also
spoke in the same strain. This being noted as a bad
halting-place, all kept watch with us during the night.
" The mules and camels having had their morning
feed, we set out at about 10 A.M. on Monday the 24th
for the village of Datah Mahomed, he having invited
the Caffilah's people and ourselves to partake of his
hospitality and be present at his marriage festivities.
The place is situated about half a mile to the E.N.E.
of the lake ; it consists of about sixty huts, surrounded
by a thorn fence with separate enclosures for the
cattle. The huts are formed of curved sticks, with
their ends fastened in the ground, covered with mats,
in shape approaching to oval, about five feet high,
fifteen feet long, and eight broad. Arrived at the
village, we found the elders seated under the shade
of a venerable Acacia feasting ; six bullocks were
immediately slaughtered for the Caffilah and ourselves.
At sunset a camel was brought out in front of the
building and killed the Bedoos are extremely fond
of this meat. In the evening I had a long conver-
sation with Datah Mahomed, who said, ' My son I
you have as yet given me nothing. The Wallasena
gave me everything. My horse has been stolen I
want a mule and much cloth/ Deeni replied for me
that the mules were presents from the king (Sahala
Salassah) to the Governor of Aden : this the old man
would not believe. I told him that I had given him
the horse and Tobe, but he exclaimed, ' No, no !
my son ; the Wallasena is our father ; he told me
that he had given them to me, and also that you
would give me great things when you arrived at my
1 This chief was the Emir Abubakr, father of Ahmed : the latter
was ruling when I entered Harar in 1855.
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 355
village. My son ! the Wallasena would not lie.'
Datah was then called away.
" Early on the morning of Tuesday the 25th, Datah
Mahomed invited me and the elders of the Caffiiah
to his hut, where he supplied us liberally with milk ;
clarified butter was then handed round, and the
Tajoorians anointed their bodies. After we had left
his hut he came to me, and in presence of the Ras el
Caffiiah and Deeni said, ' You see I have treated you
with great honour, you must give me a mule and
plenty of cloth, as all my people want cloth. You
have given me nothing as yet ! ' Seeing that I became
rather angry, and declared solemnly that I had given
him the horse and Tobe, he smiled and said, ' I know
that, but I want a mule, my horse has been stolen,'
I replied that I would see about it. He then asked
for all my blue cloth and my Arab * Camblee '
(blanket). My portmanteau being rather the worse
for wear its upper leather was torn he thrust in
his fingers, and said, with a most avaricious grin,
' What have you here ? ' I immediately arose and
exclaimed, ' You are not my father ; the Wallasena
told me you would treat me kindly ; this is not doing
so/ He begged pardon and said, ' Do not be fright-
ened, my son ; I will take nothing from you but what
you give me freely. You think I am a bad man ;
people have been telling you ill things about me. I
am now an old man, and have given up such child's
work as plundering people/ It became, however,
necessary to inquire of Datah Mahomed what were
his intentions with regard to myself, I found that I
had been deceived at Shoa: there it was asserted
that he lived at Errur and was brother to Bedar, one
of the most powerful chiefs of the Add, instead of
which it proved that he was not so highly connected,
and that he visited Errur only occasionally. Datah
told me that his marriage feast would last seven
days, after which he would forward me to Doomi,
where we should find Bedar, who would said me
either to Tajoorah or to Hurrar, as he saw fit
" I now perceived that all hope of reaching Hurrar
356 Appendix III
was at an end. Vexed and disappointed at having
suffered so much in vain, I was obliged to resign the
idea of going there for the following reasons : The
Mission treasury was at so low an ebb that I had left
Shoa with only three German crowns, and the pros-
pect of meeting on the road Mahomed All in charge
of the second division of the Embassy and the presents,
who could have supplied me with money. The con-
stant demands of Datah Mahomed for tobacco, for
cloth, in fact for everything he saw, would become
ten times more annoying were I left with him without
an interpreter. The Tajoorians, also, one all, begged
me not to remain, saying, ' Think not of your property,
but only of your and your servants* lives. Come with
us to Tajoorah ; we will travel quick, and you shall
share our provisions.' At last I consented to this
new arrangement, and Datah Mahomed made no
objection. This individual, however, did not leave
me till he had extorted from me my best mule, all my
Tobes (eight in number), and three others, which I
borrowed from the caravan people. He departed
about midnight, saying that he would take away his
mule in the morning.
" At 4 A.M. on the 26th I was disturbed by Datah
Mahomed, who took away his mule, and then asked
for more cloth, which was resolutely refused. He
then begged for my ' Camblee/ which, as it was my
only covering, I would not part with, and checked him
by desiring him to strip me if he wished it. He then
left me and returned in about an hour with a parti-
cular friend who had come a long way expressly to
see me. I acknowledged the honour, and deeply
regretted that I had only words to pay for it, he him-
self having received my last Tobe. ' However/ I
continued, seeing the old man's brow darken, ' I will
endeavour to borrow one from the Caffilah people/
Deeni brought me one, which was rejected as inferior.
I then said, * You see my dress that cloth is better
than what I wear but here ; take my turban/
This had the desired effect ; the cloth was accepted.
At length Datah Mahomed delivered me over to the
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 357
charge of the Ras el Caffilah in a very impressive
manner, and gave me his blessing. We resumed our
journey at 2 P.M., when I joined heartily with the
caravan people in their * Praise be to God ! we are at
length dear of the Bedoos ! ' About 8 P.M. we halted
at Metta.
" At half-past 4 A.M. on the 2yth we started ; all
the people of the Caffilah were warm in their con-
gratulations that I had given up the Hurrur route.
At 9 A.M. we halted at Codaitoo : the country bears
marks of having been thickly inhabited during the
rains, but at present, owing to the want of water, not
an individual was to be met with. At Murroo we
filled our water-skins, there being no water between
that place and Doomi, distant two days' journey. As
the Ras el Cafnlah had heard that the Bedoos were as
numerous as the hairs of his head at Doomi and
Keelulhoo, he determined to avoid both and proceed
direct to Warrahambili, where water was plentiful
and Bedoos were few, owing to the scarcity of grass.
This, he said, was partly on my account and partly
on his own, as he would be much troubled by the
Bedouins of Doomi, many of them being his kinsmen.
We continued our march from 3 P.M. till 9 P.M., when
we halted at Boonderrah.
" At 4 P.M., on January 28th, we moved forward
through the Wady Boonderrah, which was dry at
that season ; grass, however, was still abundant.
From ii A.M. till 4 P.M. we halted at Geera Dohiba.
Then again advancing we traversed, by a very rough
road, a deep ravine, called the ' Place of Lions.'
The slaves are now beginning to be much knocked
up, many of them during the last march were obliged
to be put upon camels. I forgot to mention that one
died the day we left Murroo, At 10 P.M. we halted
at Hagaioo Geera Dohiba: this was formerly the
dwelling-place of Hagaioo, chief of the Woemah
(Dankali), but the Eesa Somali having made a success-
ful attack upon him, and swept of! all his cattle, he
deserted it. During the night the barking of dogs
betrayed the vicinity of a Bedoo encampment, and
Z 2
358 Appendix III
caused us to keep a good look-out. Water being too
scarce to make bread, I contented myself with coffee
and parched grain.
" At daylight on the 2Qth we resumed our journey,
and passed by an encampment of the Eesa. About
noon we reached Warrahambili. Thus far we have
done well, but the slaves are now so exhausted that
a halt of two days will be necessary to recruit their
strength. In this Wady we found an abundance of
slightly brackish water, and a hot spring.
"Sunday, $oth January. K Cafflah, travelling
from Tajoorah to Shoa, passed by. The people
kindly offered to take my letters. Mahomed ibn
Boraitoo, one of the principal people in the Caffilah,
presented me with a fine sheep and a quantity of milk,
which I was glad to accept. There had been a long-
standing quarrel between him and our Ras el Caffilah,
When the latter heard that I accepted the present he
became very angry, and said to my servant Adam,
* Very well, your master chooses to take things from
other people ; why did he not ask me if he wanted
sheep ? We shall see ! ' Adam interrupted him by
saying, ' Be not angry ; my master did not ask for the
sheep, it was brought to him as a present ; it has been
slaughtered, and I was just looking for you to dis-
tribute it among the people of the Cafflah/ This
appeased him ; and Adam added, ' If my master
hears your words he will be angry, for he wishes to be
friends with all people/ I mention the above merely
to show how very little excites these savages to anger.
The man who gave me the sheep, hearing that I
wished to go to Tajoorah, offered to take me there in
four days. I told him I would first consult the Ras
el Caffilah, who declared it would not be safe for me
to proceed from this alone, but that from Dakwaylaka
(three marches in advance) he himself would accom-
pany me in. The Ras then presented me with a sheep,
" We resumed our journey at i P.M., January 3ist,
passed several parties of Eesa, and at 8 P.M. halted at
Burroo Ruddah.
" On February ist we marched from 4 A.M. to n
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 359
A.M., when we halted in the Wady Fiahloo, dry at this
season. Grass was abundant. At 3 P.M. we resumed
our journey. Crossing the plain of Amahdoo some
men were observed to the southward, marching
towards the Caffilah ; the alarm and the order to close
up were instantly given ; our men threw aside their
upper garments and prepared for action, being fully
persuaded that it was a party of Eesa coming to
attack them. However, on nearer approach we ob-
served several camels with them ; two men were sent
on to inquire who they were ; they proved to be a
party of Somalis going to Ousak for grain. At 8 P.M.
we halted on the plain of Dakwaylaka.
" At daylight on February the 2nd, the Ras el
Caffilah, Deeni, and Mahomed accompanied me in
advance of the caravan to water our mules at Dak-
waylaka. Arriving there about n A.M. we found the
Bedoos watering their cattle. Mahomed unbridled
his animal, which rushed towards the trough from
which the cattle were drinking ; the fair maid who was
at the well baling out the water into the trough im-
mediately set up the shrill cry of alarm, and we were
compelled to move about a mile up the Wady, when
we came to a pool of water black as ink. Thirsty as
I was I could not touch the stuff. The Caffilah
arrived about half-past I P.M., by which time the cattle
of the Bedoos had all been driven off to grass, so that
the well was at our service. We encamped close to
it. Ibrahim recommended that Adam Burroo of the
Assoubal tribe, a young Bedoo, and a relation of his
should accompany our party. I promised him ten
dollars at Tajoorah. 1 At 3 P.M., having completed
my arrangements, and leaving one servant behind to
bring up the luggage, I quitted the Caffilah amidst
the universal blessings of the people. I was accom-
panied by Ibrahim, the Ras d Caffilah, Deeni ibn
Hamid, my interpreter, three of my servants, and the
young Bedoo, all mounted on mules. One baggage
1 As the youth gave perfect satisfaction, he received, besides the
ten dollars, a Tobe and a European saddle, * * to which he had taken
a great fancy.**
360 Appendix III
mule, fastened behind one of my servants' animals,
carried a little flour, parched grain, and coffee, coffee-
pot, frying-pan, and one suit of clothes for each.
Advancing at a rapid pace, about 5 P.M. we came up
with a party consisting of Eesa, with their camels.
One of them instantly collected the camels, whilst the
others hurried towards us in a suspicious way. The
Bedoo hastened to meet them, and we were permitted,
owing, I was told, to my firearms, the appearance
of which pleased them not, to proceed quietly. At
7 P.M., having arrived at a place where grass was
abundant, we turned off the road and halted.
" At 1.30 A.M., on Thursday, 3rd February, as the
moon rose we saddled our mules and pushed forward
at a rapid pace. At 4 A.M. we halted and had a cup
of coffee each, when we again mounted. As the day
broke we came upon an encampment of the Debeneh,
who hearing the clatter of our mules* hoofs, set up the
cry of alarm. The Bedoo pacified them : they had
supposed us to be a party of Eesa. We continued
our journey, and about 10 A.M. we halted for break-
fast, wMch consisted of coffee and parched gram. At
noon we again moved forward, and at 3 P.M., having
arrived at a pool of water called Murhabr in the Wady
Dalabayah, we halted for about an hour to make some
bread. We then continued through the Wady, passed
several Bedoo encampments till a little after dark,
when we descended into the plain of GurgudelL Here
observing several fires, the Bedoo crawled along to
reconnoitre, and returned to say they were Debeneb.
We gave them a wide berth, and about 8.30 P.M. halted.
We were cautioned not to make a fire, but I had a
great desire for a cup of coffee after the fatigue of this
long march. Accordingly we made a small fire, con-
cealing it with shields.
" At 3 A.M. on Friday, the 4th February, we re-
sumed our journey. After about an hour and a half
arriving at a good grazing ground, we halted to feed
the mules, and then watered them at Alooli. At
[P.M. 1 found the sun so oppressive that I was obliged
,o halt for two hours. We had struck off to the right
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 361
of the route pursued by the Embassy, and crossed,
not the Salt Lake, but the hills to the southward.
The wind blowing very strong considerably retarded
our progress, so that we did not arrive at Dahfurri,
our halting-place, till sunset. Dahfurri is situated
about four miles to the southward of Mhow, the en-
campment of the Embassy near the Lake, and about
300 yards to the eastward of the road. Here we
found a large basin of excellent water, which the
Tajoorians informed me was a mere mass of mud when
we passed by to Shoa, but that the late rains had
cleared away all the impurities. After sunset a gale
of wind blew.
" At i A.M. on the 5th February, the wind having
decreased we started. Passing through the pass of
the Rer Essa, the barking of dogs caused us some little
uneasiness, as it betrayed the vicinity of the Bedoo,
whether friend or foe we knew not. Ibrahim requested
us to keep close order, and to be sEent. As day broke
we descended into the plain of Warrah Lissun, where
we halted and ate the last of the grain. After half-an-
hour's halt we continued our journey. Ibrahim soon
declared Ms inability to keep up with us, so he recom-
mended me to the care of the Bedoo and Deeni,
saying he would follow slowly. We arrived at
Sagulloo about n A.M., and Ibrahim about two hours
afterwards. At 3 P.M. we resumed our march, and
a little before sunset arrived at Ambaboo.
" The elders had a conference which lasted about
a quarter of an hour, when they came forward and
welcomed me, directing men to look after my mules.
I was led to a house which had been cleaned for my
reception. Ibrahim then brought water and a bag of
dates, and shortly afterwards some rice and milk.
Many villagers called to pay their respects, and
remained but a short time as I wanted repose : they
would scarcely believe that I had travelled in eighteen
days from Shoa, including four days* halt,
** Early on the morning of the 6th February I set
out for Tajoorah, where I was received with every
demonstration of welcome by both rich and poor.
362 Appendix III
The Sultan gave me Ms house, and after I had drank
a cup of coffee with him, considerately ordered away
all the people who had flocked to see me, as, he re-
marked, I must be tired after so rapid a journey.
" It may not be amiss to mention here that the
British character stands very high at Tajoorah. The
people assured me that since the British had taken
Aden they had enjoyed peace and security, and that
from being beggars they had become princes. As a
proof of their sincerity they said with pride, ' Look
at our village, you saw it a year and a half ago, you
know what it was then, behold what it is now ! ' I
confessed that it had been much improved."
(From Tajoorah the traveller, after rewarding his
attendants, took boat for Zayla, where he was hos-
pitably received by the Hajj Shannarkay's agent.
Suffering severely from fever, on Monday the I4th
February he put to sea again and visited Berberah,
where he lived in Sharmarkay's house, and finally
he arrived at Aden on Friday the 25th February 1842.
He concludes the narrative of his adventure as follows.)
" It is due to myself that I should offer some ex-
planation for the rough manner in which this report
is drawn up. On leaving Shoa the Caffilah people
marked with a jealous eye that I seemed to number
the slaves and camels, and Deeni reported to me that
they had observed my making entries in my note-book.
Whenever the Bedoos on the road caught sight of a
piece of paper, they were loud in their demands for it. 1
Our marches were so rapid that I was scarcely allowed
time sufficient to prepare for the fatigues of the ensuing
day, and experience had taught me the necessity of
keeping a vigilant watch. 2 Aware that Government
1 In these wild countries every bit of paper written over is con-
sidered to be a talisman or charm.
2 A sergeant, a corporal, and a Portuguese cook belonging to
Captain Harris's mission were treacherously slain near Tajoorah at
night. The murderers were Harnid Saborayto and Mohammed
Saborayto, two Dankalis of the Ad AH clan. In 1842 they seem
to have tried a ruse de guerre upon M. Rochet, and received from
him only too mild a, chastisement. The ruffians still live at Juddah
(Jubbah ?) near Ambabo.
Lieutenant Barker's Narrative 363
must be anxious for information from the ' Mission/
I performed the journey in a shorter space of time
than any messenger, however highly paid, has yet
done it, and for several days lived on coffee and
parched grain. Moreover, on arrival at Aden I was
so weak from severe illness that I could write but at
short intervals.
" It will not, I trust, be considered that the altera-
tion in my route was caused by trivial circumstances.
It would have been absurd to have remained with the
Bedoos without an interpreter: there would have
been daily disputes and misunderstandings, and I had
already sufficient insight into the character of Datah
Mahomed to perceive that his avarice was insatiable.
Supposing I had passed through his hands, there was
the chief of Bedar, who, besides expecting much more
than I had given to Datah Mahomed, would, it is
almost certain, eventually have forwarded me to
Tajoorah. Finally, if I can believe the innumerable
reports of the people, both at Tajoorah and Zalaya,
neither I myself nor my servants would ever have
passed through the kingdom of Hurrar. The jealousy
of the prince against foreigners is so great that,
although he would not injure them within the limits
of Ms own dominions, he would cause them to be
waylaid and murdered on the road,"
Printed by BALLANTYNB, HANSOK <5* Co.
Edinburgh &* London
114177
CZ
9?
