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TWO  DIANAS  IN 
SOMALILAND 


,   ' 


. 


THE   AUTHORESS 


TWO  DIANAS  IN 

SOMALILAND 

THE  RECORD  OF  A  SHOOTING 
TRIP  BY  AGNES  HERBERT 

WITH    TWENTY-FIVE    ILLUSTRATIONS 
REPRODUCED   FROM    PHOTOGRAPHS 


»  > 


LONDON  :  JOHN  LANE,  THE  BODLEY  HEAD 
NEW  YORK:  JOHN  LANE  COMPANY.  MCMVIII 


•     * 


•     •  •  •     •  •    *     • 


Printed  by  Ballantyne  <5^  Co.  Limited 
Tavistock  Street,  London 


TO 

THE  LEADER  OF  THE  OPPOSITION 
SHOOT 

SOLDIER,  SHIKARI,  AND  SOMETIME 
MISOGYNIST 


255209 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 

I.  We  set  out  for  Somaliland 
II.  In  Berbera       .... 

III.  The  Starting  of  the  Great  Tre 

IV.  We  meet  King  Leo 
V.  More  Lions      .... 

VI.  Benighted  in  the  Jungle     . 
VII.  Another  uncomfortable  Night 
VIII.  A  Battle  Royal 
IX.  Death  of  "  The  Baron  " 
X.  We  meet  "The  Opposition" 
XI.  An  Oasis  in  the  Desert 
XII.  Our  Butler  levants 

XIII.  We  cross  the  Marehan 

XIV.  We  reach  a  real  Lake 
XV.  Another  Gap  in  our  Ranks  . 

XVI.  Cecily  shoots  a  Rhinoceros 
XVII.  Tree  Climbing 
XVIII.  A  Joust  with  a  Bull  Oryx 

XIX.  In  the  Golis  .... 
XX.  The  Last  Phase 

XXI.  End  of  the  Great  Shikar    . 


PAGE 
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119 

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166 

182 
196 
210 
226 
240 

257 

272 

284 
300 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

To/ace 
page 

The  Authoress Frontispiece 

Clarence .         .  24 

Some  of  our  Escort 30 

The  Oryx  at  Home 48 

Cecily 62 

A  Good  Maneless  Lion  ........  74 

Our  Tents 98 

Leaving  Camp no 

Some  Good  Heads 120 

The  Leader  of  the  Opposition  Shoot 136 

Dead  Oryx 142 

Cooking  Operations 154 

Drying  the  Lioness's  Skin 164 

Typical  Game  Country 176 

Rhinoceros's  Skin  Drying 190 

Skins  Drying 204 

Rhino  and  Oryx     .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         ,214 

Dead  Rhinoceros    .........  230 

Koodoo 250 

Ralph      ...........  272 

The  Opposition  Camp 276 

Haec  olim  meminisse  juvabit " 298 


<c 


. ;., 


TWO  DIANAS  IN 
SOMALILAND 

CHAPTER  I 

WE  SET  OUT  FOR  SOMALILAND 

This  weaves  itself  perforce  into  my  business 

King  Lear 

It  is  not  that  I  imagine  the  world  is  panting  for  another 
tale  about  a  shoot.  I  am  aware  that  of  the  making  of 
sporting  books  there  is  no  end.  Simply — I  want  to 
write.  And  in  this  unassuming  record  of  a  big  shoot, 
engineered  and  successfully  carried  through  by  two 
women,  there  may  be  something  of  interest  ;  it  is 
surely  worth  more  than  a  slight  endeavour  to  engage 
the  even  passing  interest  of  one  person  of  average 
intelligence  in  these  days  of  universal  boredom. 

I  don't  know  whether  the  idea  of  our  big  shoot  first 
emanated  from  my  cousin  or  myself.  I  was  not  exactly 
a  tenderfoot,  neither  was  she.  We  had  both  been  an 
expedition  to  the  Rockies  at  a  time  when  big  game 
there  was  not  so  hard  to  find,  but  yet  less  easy  to  get 
at.  We  did  not  go  to  the  Rockies  with  the  idea  of 
shooting,  our  sole  raison  d'etre  being  to  show  the 
heathen  Chinee  how  not  to  cook ;  but  incidentally  the 
charm  of  the  chase  captured  us,  and  we  exchanged  the 

A 


2''  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

gridiron  for  the  gun.  So  at  the  end  of  March  190- 
\ve  planned  a  sporting  trip  to  Somaliland — very 
secretly  and  to  ourselves,  for  women  hate  being 
laughed  at  quite  as  much  as  men  do,  and  that  is 
very  much  indeed. 

My  cousin  is  a  wonderful  shot,  and  I  am  by  no 
means  a  duffer  with  a  rifle.  As  to  our  courage — well, 
we  could  only  trust  we  had  sufficient  to  carry  us 
through.  We  felt  we  had,  and  with  a  woman  intuition 
is  everything.  If  she  feels  she  is  not  going  to  fail,  you 
may  take  it  from  me  she  won't.  Certainly  it  is  one 
thing  to  look  a  lion  in  the  face  from  England  to  gazing 
at  him  in  Somaliland.  But  we  meant  to  meet  him 
somehow. 

Gradually  and  very  carefully  we  amassed  our  stores, 
and  arranged  for  their  meeting  us  in  due  course.  We 
collected  our  kit,  medicines,  and  a  thousand  and  one 
needful  things,  and  at  last  felt  we  had  almost  every- 
thing, and  yet  as  little  as  possible.  Even  the  little 
seemed  too  much  as  we  reflected  on  the  transport 
difficulty.  We  sorted  our  things  most  carefully — I 
longed  for  the  floor-space  of  a  cathedral  to  use  as  a 
spreading-out  ground — and  glued  a  list  of  the  contents 
of  each  packing-case  into  each  lid. 

To  real  sportsmen  I  shall  seem  to  be  leaving  the 
most  important  point  to  the  last — the  rifles,  guns,  and 
ammunition.  But,  you  see,  I  am  only  a  sportswoman 
by  chance,  not  habit.  I  know  it  is  the  custom  with 
your  born  sportsman  to  place  his  weapons  first,  minor 
details  last.  "  Nice  customs  curtsey  to  great  kings," 
they  say,  and  so  it  must  be  here.     For  King  Circum- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  3 

stance  has  made  us  the  possessors  of  such  wondrous 
modern  rifles,  &c.,  as  to  leave  us  no  reason  to  think  of 
endeavouring  to  supply  ourselves  with  better.  We, 
fortunately,  have  an  uncle  who  is  one  of  the  greatest 
shikaris  of  his  day,  and  his  day  has  only  just  passed, 
his  sun  but  newly  set.  A  terribly  bad  mauling  from  a 
lion  set  up  troubles  in  his  thigh,  and  blood  poisoning 
finally  ended  his  active  career.  He  will  never  hunt 
again,  but  he  placed  at  our  disposal  every  beautiful 
and  costly  weapon  he  owned,  together  with  his  bound- 
less knowledge.  He  insisted  on  our  taking  many 
things  that  would  otherwise  have  been  left  behind, 
and  his  great  trust  in  our  powers  inspired  us  with  con- 
fidence. It  is  to  his  help  we  owe  the  entire  success 
of  our  expedition. 

It  would  be  an  impertinence  for  a  tyro  like  myself 
to  offer  any  remarks  on  the  merits  or  demerits  of  any 
rifle.  Not  only  do  the  fashions  change  almost  as 
quickly  as  in  millinery,  not  only  do  great  shikaris 
advise,  advertise,  and  adventure  with  any  weapon  that 
could  possibly  be  of  service  to  anyone,  but  my  know- 
ledge, even  after  the  experience  gained  in  our  long 
shoot,  is  confined  to  the  very  few  firearms  we  had 
with  us.  They  might  not  have  met  with  unqualified 
approval  from  all  men  ;  they  certainly  served  us  well. 
After  all,  that  is  the  main  point. 

Our  battery  consisted  of  : 

Three  12-bore  rifles. 

Two  double-barrelled  hammerless  ejecting  .500 
Expresses. 

One  .35  Winchester. 


4  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Two  small  .22  Winchesters. 

One  single-barrel  .350. 

One  410  bore  collector's  gun. 

A  regular  olla  podrida  in  rifles. 

My  uncle  selected  these  from  his  armoury  as  being 
the  ones  of  all  others  he  would  feel  safest  in  sending 
us  out  with.  There  may,  in  the  opinion  of  many,  be 
much  more  suitable  ones  for  women  to  use,  but, 
speaking  as  one  who  had  the  using  of  them,  I  must 
say  I  think  the  old  shikari  did  the  right  thing,  and  if  I 
went  again  the  same  rifles  would  accompany  me. 

My  uncle  is  a  small  man,  with  a  shortish  arm,  and 
therefore  his  reach  about  equalled  ours,  and  his  rifles 
might  have  been  made  for  us. 

We  also  towed  about  with  us  two  immensely  heavy 
shot  guns.  They  were  a  great  nuisance,  merely  adding 
to  the  baggage,  and  we  never  used  them  as  far  as  I 
remember. 

As  we  meant  frequently  to  go  about  unescorted,  a 
revolver  or  pistol  seemed  indispensable  in  the  belt,  and 
under  any  conditions  such  a  weapon  would  be  handy 
and  give  one  a  sense  of  security.  On  the  advice  of 
another  great  sportsman  we  equipped  ourselves  with  a 
good  shikar  pistol  apiece,  12-bore;  and  I  used  mine 
on  one  occasion  very  effectively  at  close  quarters 
with  an  ard-wolf,  so  can  speak  to  the  usefulness  and 
efficiency  of  the  weapon. 

It  was  the  "cutting  the  ivy"  season  in  Suburbia 
when  we  drove  through  it  early  one  afternoon,  and  in 
front  of  every  pill-box  villa  the  suburban  husband 
stood  on  a  swaying  ladder  as  he  snipped  away,  all 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  5 

unmindful  of  the  rampant  domesticity  of  the  sparrows. 
The  fourteenth  of  February  had  long  passed,  and  the 
fourteenth  is  to  the  birds  what  Easter  Monday  is  to 
the  lower  orders,  a  general  day  for  getting  married. 

A  few  days  in  town  amid  the  gilty  splendour  of  one 
of  the  caravan-serais  in  Northumberland  Avenue  were 
mostly  spent  in  imbibing  knowledge.  My  uncle  never 
wearied  of  his  subject,  and  it  was  to  our  interest  to 
listen  carefully.  Occasionally  he  would  wax  pessimist, 
and  express  his  doubts  of  our  ability  to  see  the  trip 
through  ;  but  he  was  kind  enough  to  say  he  knows  no 
safer  shot  than  myself.  "  Praise  from  Caesar."  Though 
I  draw  attention  to  it  that  shouldn't !  The  fragility 
of  my  physique  bothered  him  no  end.  I  assured  him 
over  and  over  that  my  appearance  is  nothing  to  go 
by,  and  that  I  am,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  most  wiry 
person. 

This  shoot  of  ours  was  no  hurried  affair.  We  had 
been  meditating  it  for  months,  and  had,  to  some  ex- 
tent, arranged  all  the  difficult  parts  a  long  time  before 
we  got  to  the  actual  purchases  of  stores,  and  simple 
things  of  the  kind.  We  had  to  obtain  special  permits 
to  penetrate  the  Ogaden  country  and  beyond  to  the 
Marehan  and  the  Haweea,  if  we  desired  to  go  so  far. 
Since  the  Treaty  with  King  Menelik  in  1897  ^e 
Ogaden  and  onwards  is  out  of  the  British  sphere  of 
influence. 

How  our  permits  were  obtained  I  am  not  at  liberty 
to  say  ;  but  without  them  we  should  have  been  forced  to 
prance  about  on  the  outskirts  of  every  part  where  game 
is  abundant.     By  the  fairy  aid  of  these  open  sesames 


6  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

we  were  enabled  to  traverse  the  country  in  almost  any 
part,  and  would  have  been  passed  from  Mullah  to 
Sheik,  from  Sheik  to  Mullah,  had  we  not  taken  ex- 
cellent care  to  avoid,  as  far  as  we  could,  the  settled 
districts  where  these  gentry  reside.  At  one  time  all 
the  parts  we  shot  over  were  free  areas,  and  open  to  any 
sportsman  who  cared  to  take  on  the  possible  dangers 
of  penetrating  the  far  interior  of  Somaliland,  but  now 
the  hunting  is  very  limited  and  prescribed.  We  were 
singularly  fortunate,  and  owe  our  surprising  good  luck 
to  that  much  maligned,  useful,  impossible  to  do  with- 
out passport  to  everything  worth  having  known  as 
"  influence." 

The  tents  we  meant  to  use  on  the  shoot  were  made 
for  us  to  a  pattern  supplied.  They  were  fitted  with 
poles  of  bamboo,  of  which  we  had  one  to  spare  in 
case  of  emergencies.  The  ropes,  by  particular  request, 
were  of  cotton,  in  contradistinction  to  hemp,  which 
stretches  so  abominably. 

Two  skinning  knives  were  provided,  and  some  little 
whet-stones,  an  axe,  a  bill-hook,  two  hammers,  a  screw- 
driver— my  vade  mecum — nails,  and  many  other  need- 
ful articles.  We  trusted  to  getting  a  good  many 
things  at  Berbera,  but  did  not  like  to  leave  everything 
to  the  last.  Our  "  canned  goods  "  and  all  necessaries 
in  the  food  line  we  got  at  the  Army  and  Navy  Stores. 
Field-glasses,  compasses,  and  a  good  telescope  our 
generous  relative  contributed. 

They  say  that  the  best  leather  never  leaves  London, 
that  there  only  can  the  best  boots  be  had.  This 
is  as  may  be.     Anyway  the  shooting  boots  made  for 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  7 

us  did  us  well,  and  withstood  prodigious  wear  and 
tear. 

The  night  before  our  departure  we  had  a  "  Good- 
bye "  dinner  and,  as  a  great  treat,  were  taken  to  a 
music-hall.  Of  course  it  was  not  my  first  visit,  but 
really,  if  I  have  any  say  in  the  matter  again,  it  will  be 
the  last.  Some  genius — a  man,  of  course — says,  some- 
where or  other,  women  have  no  sense  of  humour — I 
wonder  if  he  ever  saw  a  crowd  of  holiday-making 
trippers  exchanging  hats — and  I  am  willing  to  concede 
he  must  be  right.  I  watched  that  show  unmoved  the 
while  the  vast  audience  rocked  with  laughter. 

The  piece-de-resistance  of  the  evening  was  provided 
by  a  "  comic "  singer,  got  up  like  a  very-much-the- 
worse-for-wear  curate,  who  sang  to  us  about  a  girl 
with  whom  he  had  once  been  in  love.  Matters 
apparently  went  smoothly  enough  until  one  fateful 
day  he  discovered  his  inamorata's  nose  was  false,  and, 
what  seemed  to  trouble  him  more  than  all,  was  stuck 
on  with  cement.  It  came  off  at  some  awkward 
moment.  This  was  meant  to  be  funny.  If  such  an 
uncommon  thing  happened  that  a  woman  had  no  nose, 
and  more  uncommon  still,  got  so  good  an  imitation  as 
to  deceive  him  as  to  its  genuineness  in  the  first  place, 
it  would  not  be  affixed  with  cement.  But  allowing 
such  improbabilities  to  pass  in  the  sacred  cause  of 
providing  amusement,  surely  the  woman's  point  of 
view  would  give  us  pause.  It  would  be  so  awful  for 
her  in  every  way  that  it  would  quite  swamp  any 
discomfort  the  man  would  have  to  undergo.  I 
felt    far   more  inclined   to   cry   than    laugh,   and    the 


8  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

transcendent  vulgarity  of  it  all  made  one  ashamed  of 
being  there. 

The  next  item  on  the  programme  was  a  Human 
Snake,  who  promised  us  faithfully  that  he  would  dis- 
locate his  neck.  He  marched  on  to  a  gaudy  dais,  and 
after  tying  himself  in  sundry  knots  and  things,  sud- 
denly jerked,  and  his  neck  elongated,  swinging  loosely 
from  his  body.  It  was  a  very  horrid  sight.  An  atten- 
dant stepped  forward  and  told  us  the  Human  Snake 
had  kept  his  promise.  The  neck  was  dislocated.  My 
only  feeling  in  the  matter  was  a  regret  he  had  not  gone 
a  step  farther  and  broken  it.  All  this  was  because  I 
have  no  sense  of  humour.  I  don't  like  music-hall 
entertainments.  I  would  put  up  with  being  smoked 
into  a  kipper  if  the  performance  rewarded  one  at  all. 
It  is  so  automatic,  so  sad.  There  is  no  joy,  or  fresh- 
ness, or  life  about  it.  Tis  a  squalid  way  of  earning 
money. 

At  last  every  arrangement  was  arranged,  our  clothes 
for  the  trip  duly  packed.  Being  women,  we  had 
naturally  given  much  thought  to  this  part  of  the  affair. 
We  said  "  Adieu  "  to  our  wondering  and  amazed  rela- 
tives, who,  with  many  injunctions  to  us  to  "  write 
every  day,"  and  requests  that  we  should  at  all  times 
abjure  damp  beds,  saw  us  off  en  route  for  Berbera,  via 
Aden,  by  a  P.  and  O.  liner. 

I  think  steamer-travelling  is  most  enjoyable — that 
is,  unless  one  happens  to  be  married,  in  which  case 
there  is  no  pleasure  in  it,  or  in  much  else  for  the  matter 
of  that.  I  have  always  noticed  that  the  selfishness 
which  dominates  every  man  more  or  less,  usually  more, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  9 

develops  on  board  ship  to  an  abnormal  extent.  They 
invariably  contrive  to  get  toothache  or  lumbago  just 
as  they  cross  the  gangway  to  go  aboard.  This  is  all 
preliminary  to  securing  the  lower  berth  with  some 
appearance  of  equity.  What  does  it  matter  that  the 
wife  detests  top  berths,  not  to  speak  of  the  loss  of 
dignity  she  must  endure  at  the  idea  even  of  clambering 
up  ?  Of  course  the  husband  does  not  ask  her  to  take 
the  top  berth.  No  husband  can  ask  his  wife  to  make 
herself  genuinely  uncomfortable  to  oblige  him.  He 
has  to  hint.  He  hints  in  all  kinds  of  ways — throws 
things  about  the  cabin,  and  ejaculates  parenthetically, 
"  How  am  I  to  climb  up  there  with  a  tooth  aching  like 
mine  ?  "  or  "  I  shall  be  lamed  for  life  with  my  lumbago 
if  I  have  to  get  up  to  that  height." 

Having  placed  the  wife  in  the  position  of  being  an 
unfeeling  brute  if  she  insists  on  taking  the  lower  berth 
for  herself,  there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  go  on  as 
though  the  top  berth  were  the  be-all  of  the  voyage  and 
her  existence. 

"  Let  me  have  the  top  berth,  Percy,"  she  pleads  ; 
"  you  know  how  I  love  mountaineering." 

"  Oh,  very  well.  You  may  have  it.  Don't  take  it  if 
you  don't  want  it,  or  if  you'd  rather  not.  I  should 
hate  to  seem  selfish." 

And  so  it  goes  on.  Then  in  the  morning,  in  spite  of 
comic  papers  to  the  contrary,  the  husband  has  to  have 
first  go-in  at  the  looking-glass  and  the  washing  appa- 
ratus, which  makes  the  wife  late  for  breakfast  and 
everything  is  cold. 

Cecily  and  I  shared  a  most  comfortable  cabin  amid- 


io  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

ships,  together  with  a  Christian  Science  lady  who  lay 
in  her  berth  most  days  crooning  hymns  to  herself  in 
between  violent  paroxysms  of  mal-de-mer.  I  always 
understood  that  in  Christian  Science  you  do  not  have 
to  be  ill  if  you  do  not  want  to.  This  follower  of  the 
faith  was  very  bad  indeed,  and  didn't  seem  to  like  the 
condition  of  things  much.  We  rather  thought  of 
questioning  her  on  the  apparent  discrepancy,  but 
judged  it  wiser  to  leave  the  matter  alone.  It  is  as  well 
to  keep  on  good  terms  with  one's  cabin  mate. 

Nothing  really  exciting  occurred  on  the  voyage,  but 
one  of  the  passengers  provided  a  little  amusement  by 
her  management,  or  rather  mismanagement,  of  an 
awkward  affair.  Almost  as  soon  as  we  started  I 
noticed  we  had  an  unusually  pretty  stewardess,  and 
that  a  warrior  returning  to  India  appeared  to  agree 
with  me.  He  waylaid  her  at  every  opportunity,  and  I 
often  came  on  them  whispering  in  corners  of  passages 
o'  nights.  Of  course  it  had  nothing  to  do  with  me 
what  the  stewardess  did,  for  I  am  thankful  to  say  I  did 
not  require  her  tender  ministrations  on  the  voyage  at 
all.  Well,  in  the  next  cabin  to  ours  was  a  silly  little 
woman — I  had  known  her  for  years — going  out  to 
join  her  husband,  a  colonel  of  Indian  Lancers.  She 
made  the  most  never-ending  fuss  about  the  noise 
made  by  a  small  baby  in  the  adjoining  cabin.  One 
night,  very  late,  Mrs.  R.  could  not,  or  would  not, 
endure  the  din  any  longer,  so  decided  to  oust  the 
stewardess  from  her  berth  in  the  ladies'  cabin,  the 
stewardess  to  come  to  the  vacated  one  next  the  wailing 
baby.     All  this  was  duly  carried  into  effect,  and  the 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  n 

whole  ship  was  in  complete  silence  when  the  most 
awful  shrieks  rent  the  air.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  of 
my  corridor  turned  out,  and  all  made  their  way  to  the 
ladies'  cabin,  which  seemed  the  centre  of  the  noise. 
There  we  found  the  ridiculous  Mrs.  R.  alone,  and  in 
hysterics.  After  a  little,  we  could  see  for  ourselves 
there  was  nothing  much  the  matter.  She  gasped  out 
that  she  had  evicted  the  stewardess,  and  was  just 
falling  off  to  sleep  when  a  tall  figure  appeared  by  the 
berth,  clad  in  pale  blue  pyjamas — it  seemed  to  vex  her 
so  that  it  was  pale  blue,  and  for  the  life  of  me  I  could 
not  see  why  they  were  any  worse  than  dark  red — 
and  calling  her  "Mabel,  darling!"  embraced  her 
rapturously. 

"And  you  know,"  said  Mrs.  R.  plaintively,  "my 
name  is  not  Mabel  1     It  is  Maud." 

In  the  uproar  the  intruder  had  of  course  escaped, 
but  Mrs.  R.  unhesitatingly  proclaimed  him  to  be 
Captain  H.,  the  officer  whom  I  had  noticed  at  first. 
We  discovered  the  stewardess  sleeping  peacefully,  or 
making  a  very  good  imitation  of  it,  and  she  was 
wakened  up  and  again  dislodged,  whilst  Mrs.  R. 
prepared  to  put  up  with  the  wailing  baby  for  the 
remains  of  the  night. 

Next  morning  the  captain  of  the  ship  interviewed 
the  warrior,  who  absolutely  denied  having  been  any- 
where near  the  ladies'  cabin  at  the  time  mentioned, 
and  aided  by  a  youthful  subaltern,  who  perjured  him- 
self like  a  man,  proved  a  most  convincing  alibi. 
Matters  went  on  until  one  day  on  deck  Captain  H. 
walked  up  to  Mrs.  R.  and  reproached  her  for  saying 


12  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

he  was  the  man  who  rudely  disturbed  her  slumbers  in 
the  wee  sma'  hours.  She,  like  the  inane  creature  she 
is,  went  straight  to  the  skipper  and  reported  that 
Captain  H.  was  terrorising  her.  I  heard  that  evening, 
as  a  great  secret,  that  the  warrior  had  been  requested 
to  leave  the  ship  at  Aden.  Where  the  secret  came  in 
I  don't  quite  know,  for  the  whole  lot  of  us  knew  of  it 
soon  after. 

Secret  de  deux, 

Secret  des  dieux ; 

Secret  de  trois, 

Secret  de  tons. 
Do  you  know  that  ? 

I  was  not  surprised  to  hear  Captain  H.  casually 
remark  at  breakfast  next  morning  that  he  thought  of 
stopping  off  at  Aden,  as  he  had  never  been  ashore 
there,  and  had  ideas  of  exploring  the  Hinterland 
some  time,  and  besides  it  was  really  almost  foolish  to 
pass  a  place  so  often  and  yet  know  it  not  at  all.  I 
went  to  his  rescue,  and  said  it  was  a  most  sound  idea. 
I  had  always  understood  it  was  the  proper  thing  to  see 
Aden  once  and  never  again.  He  looked  at  me  most 
gratefully,  and  afterwards  showed  us  much  kindness 
in  many  small  ways. 

Mrs.  R.  preened  herself  mightily  on  having  unmasked 
a  villain.  She  assured  me  the  warrior's  reputation 
was  damaged  for  all  time.  The  silly  little  woman  did 
not  seem  to  grasp  the  fact  that  a  man's  reputation  is 
like  a  lobster's  claw  :  a  new  one  can  be  grown  every 
time  the  old  one  is  smashed.  In  fact  we  had  a  lobster 
at  home  in  the  aquarium,  and  it  hadn't  even  gone  to 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  13 

the  trouble  of  dropping  one  reputation — I  mean  claw — 
but  had  three  at  once  ! 

It  was  one  of  the  quaintest  things  imaginable  to 
watch  the  attitude  of  the  various  passengers  towards 
the  cause  of  all  the  trouble.  A  community  of  people 
shut  up  together  on  board  ship  become  quite  like  a 
small  town,  of  the  variety  where  every  one  knows 
everyone  else,  and  their  business.  Previous  to  the 
semi-subdued  scandal  Captain  H.  had  been  in  great 
request.  He  was  a  fine-looking  man,  and  a  long  way 
more  versatile  than  most.  Now  many  of  the  people 
who  had  painstakingly  scraped  acquaintance  with  him 
felt  it  necessary  to  look  the  other  way  as  he  passed. 
Others  again — women,  of  course — tried  to  secure  an 
introduction  from  sheer  inquisitiveness. 

The  sole  arbiter  of  what  is  what,  a  multum  in  parvo 
of  the  correct  thing  to  do,  we  discovered  in  a  young 
bride,  a  perfect  tome  of  learning.  I  think — I  thought 
so  before  I  met  this  walking  ethic  of  propriety — there 
is  no  doubt  Mrs.  Grundy  is  not  the  old  woman  she  is 
represented  to  be,  with  cap  and  spectacles,  though  for 
years  we  have  pictured  her  thus.  It  is  all  erroneous. 
Mrs.  Grundy  is  a  newly  married  youthful  British 
matron  of  the  middle  class.  There  is  no  greater 
stickler  for  the  proprieties  living.  Having  possessed 
herself  of  a  certificate  that  certifies  respectability,  she 
likes  to  know  everyone  else  is  hall-marked  and  not 
pinchbeck.  She  proposed  to  bring  the  romance  of  the 
stewardess  and  the  officer  before  the  notice  of  the 
directors  of  the  company,  and  had  every  confidence  in 
getting  one  or  two  people  dismissed  over  it.     All  hail 


i4  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND 

for  the  proprieties  !  This  good  lady  markedly  and 
ostentatiously  cut  the  disgraced  warrior,  who  was  her 
vis-a-vis  at  table,  and  when  I  asked  her  why  she  con- 
sidered a  man  guilty  of  anything  until  he  had  been 
proved  beyond  doubt  to  merit  cutting,  she  looked  at 
me  with  a  supercilious  eyebrow  raised,  and  a  world  of 
pity  for  my  ignorance  in  her  tone  as  she  answered 
firmly  :  "  I  must  have  the  moral  courage  necessary  to 
cut  an  acquaintance  lacking  principle." 

H  Wouldn't  it  be  infinitely  more  courageous  to  stick 
to  one  ?  "  I  said,  and  left  her. 

We  had  a  very  narrow  little  padre  on  board  too, 
going  out  to  take  on  some  church  billet  Mussoorie 
way.  He  was  bent  on  collecting,  from  all  of  us  who 
were  powerless  to  evade  him,  enough  money  to  set  up 
a  screen  of  sorts  in  his  new  tabernacle.  Although  he 
did  not  approve  of  the  sweepstakes  on  the  day's  run, 
he  sacrificed  his  feeling  sufficiently  to  accept  a  free 
share,  and  would  ask  us  for  subscriptions  besides,  as 
we  lounged  about  the  deck  individually  or  in  small 
groups,  always  opening  the  ball  by  asking  our  value- 
less opinions  as  to  the  most  suitable  subject — biblical, 
of  course — for  illustration.  He  came  to  me  one  day 
and  asked  me  what  I  thought  about  the  matter.  Did 
I  think  Moses  with  his  mother  would  make  a  good 
picture  for  a  screen  ?  I  had  no  views  at  all,  so  had 
to  speedily  manufacture  some.  I  gave  it  as  my 
opinion  that  if  a  screen  picture  were  a  necessity  Moses 
would  certainly  do  as  well  as  anybody  else — in  fact 
better.  For,  after  all,  Moses  was  the  greatest  leader  of 
men  the  world  has  ever  known.     He  engineered  an 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  15 

expedition  to  freedom,  and  no  man  can  do  more  than 
that. 

But  I  begged  the  padre  to  give  Moses  his  rightful 
mother  at  last.  For  the  mother  of  Moses  was  not  she 
who  took  all  the  credit  for  it.  The  mother  of  Moses 
was  undoubtedly  the  Princess,  his  father  some  hand- 
some Israelite,  and  that  is  why  Moses  was  for  ever  in 
heart  hankering  after  his  own  people,  the  Israelites.  The 
Princess  arranged  the  little  drama  of  the  bullrushes, 
most  sweetly  pathetic  and  tender  of  stories,  arranged 
too  that  the  baby  should  be  found  at  the  crucial 
moment,  and  then  gave  the  little  poem  to  the  world 
to  sing  through  the  centuries. 

I  shocked  the  parson  profoundly,  and  he  never  asked 
me  to  subscribe  again. 

He  was  a  narrow,  bigoted  little  creature,  and  I 
should  think  has  the  church  and  the  screen  very  much 
to  himself  by  now.  I  went  to  hear  him  take  service  in 
the  saloon  on  Sunday.  He  was  quite  the  sort  of 
padre  that  makes  one  feel  farther  off  from  heaven 
than  when  one  was  a  boy. 

I  often  wonder  why  so  clever  a  man  as  Omar  asked  : 
"Why  nods  the  drowsy  worshipper  outside?"  He 
must  have  known  the  inevitable  result  had  the  drowsy 
worshipper  gone  in. 

I  fell  asleep  during  the  sermon,  and  only  wakened 
up  as  it  was  about  ending,  just  as  the  padre  closed  an 
impassioned  harangue  with  "  May  we  all  have  new 
hearts,  may  we  all  have  pure  hearts,  may  we  all  have 
good  hearts,  may  we  all  have  sweet  hearts,"  and  the 
graceless  Cecily  says  that  my  "Amen  "  shook  the  ship, 


16  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

which  was,  I  need  hardly  tell  you,  "  a  most  unmitigated 
misstatement." 

Aden  was  reached  at  last — "  The  coal  hole  of  the 
East."  As  a  health  resort,  I  cannot  conscientiously 
recommend  it.  The  heat  was  overwhelming,  and  the 
local  Hotel  Ritz  sadly  wanting  in  some  things  and 
overdone  in  others.  We  found  it  necessary  to  spend 
some  days  there  and  many  sleepless  nights,  pursuing 
during  the  latter  the  big  game  in  our  bedrooms. 
"  Keatings"  was  of  no  use.  I  believe  the  local  insects 
were  case-hardened  veterans,  and  rather  liked  the 
powder  than  otherwise.  What  nights  we  had  !  But 
every  one  was  in  like  case,  for  from  all  over  the  house 
came  the  sound  of  slippers  banging  and  much  scuffling, 
and  from  the  room  opposite  to  mine  language  con- 
signing all  insects,  the  Aden  variety  in  particular,  to 
some  even  warmer  place. 

In  some  ways  the  hotel  was  more  than  up  to  date. 
Nothing  so  ordinary  as  a  mere  common  or  garden 
bell  in  one's  room.  Instead,  a  sort  of  dial,  like  the 
face  of  a  clock,  with  every  conceivable  want  written 
round  it,  from  a  great  desire  to  meet  the  manager  to 
a  wish  to  call  out  the  local  Fire  Brigade.  You  turned 
on  a  small  steel  ringer  to  point  at  your  particular 
requirement,  rang  a  bell — ct  voild !  It  seems  mere 
carping  to  state  that  the  matter  ended  with  voild.  The 
dials  were  there,  you  might  ring  if  you  liked — what 
more  do  you  want  ?  Some  day  some  one  will  answer. 
Meanwhile,  one  can  always  shout. 

We  met  two  other  shooting  parties  at  our  auberge. 
The  first  comprised  a  man  and  his  elderly  wife  who 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  17 

were  not  immediately  starting,  some  of  their  kit  having 
gone  astray.  He  was  a  noted  shot,  and  Madam  had 
been  some  minor  trip  with  him  and  meant  to  accom- 
pany another.  She  was  an  intensely  cross-grained 
person,  quite  the  last  woman  I  should  yearn  to  be 
cooped  up  in  a  tent  with  for  long  at  a  time.  Cecily's 
idea  of  it  was  that  the  shikari  husband  meant,  sooner 
or  later,  to  put  into  practice  the  words  of  that  beautiful 
song,  "Why  don't  you  take  her  out  and  lose  her?"  and 
stuck  to  it  that  we  should  one  day  come  on  head-lines 
in  the  Somaliland  Daily  Wail  reading  something  like 
this  : 

GREAT  SHIKARI  IN  TEARS. 

LOOKING  FOR  THE  LOST  ONE. 

SOME  LIONS  BOLT  THEIR  FOOD. 

The  good  lady  regarded  us  with  manifest  disapproval. 
She  considered  us  as  two  lunatics,  bound  to  meet  with 
disaster  and  misfortune.  Being  women  alone,  we  were 
foredoomed  to  failure  and  the  most  awful  things.  Our 
caravan  would  murder  or  abandon  us.  That  much  was 
certain.  But  she  would  not  care  to  say  which.  Any- 
way we  should  not  accomplish  anything.  She  pointed 
out  that  a  trip  of  the  kind  could  not  by  any  chance  be 
manoeuvred  to  a  successful  issue  without  the  guidance 
of  a  husband.     A  husband  is  an  absolute  necessity. 

I  had  to  confess,  shamefacedly  enough,  that  we 
had  not  got  a  husband,  not  even  one  husband,  to  say 
nothing  of  one  each,  and  husbands  being  so  scarce 
these  days,  and  so  hard  to  come  by,  we  should  really 
have  to  try  and  manage  without.  Having  by  some 
means  or  other  contrived  to  annex  a  husband  for  her- 

B 


18  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

self,  she  evinced  a  true  British  matron-like  contempt 

for  every  other  woman  not  so  supremely  fortunate. 

She  talked  a  great  deal  about  "the  haven  of  a 
good  man's  love."  One  might  sail  the  seas  a  long  time, 
I  think,  before  one  made  such  a  port.  Meanwhile  the 
good  lady's  own  haven,  the  elderly  shikari,  was  flirting 
with  the  big  drum  of  the  celebrated  ladies'  orchestra 
at  the  Aden  tea-house. 

"  All  human  beans,"  for  this  is  what  our  friend  got 
the  word  to,  as  she  was  right  in  the  forefront  of  the 
^-dropping  craze,  "  should  marry.  It  is  too  lonely  to 
live  by  oneself." 

Until  one  has  been  married  long  enough  to  appre- 
ciate the  delight  and  blessedness  of  solitude  this  may 
be  true,  but  wise  people  don't  dogmatise  on  so  big  a 
subject.  Even  Socrates  told  us  that  whether  a  man 
marries  or  whether  he  doesn't  he  regrets  it.  And  so  it 
would  almost  follow  that  if  one  never  jumped  the 
precipice  matrimonial  one  would  always  have  the 
lurking  haunting  fear  of  having  been  done  out  of 
something  good.  It  may  be  as  well,  therefore,  to 
take  the  header  in  quite  youthful  days  and — get  it 
over.  But  as  the  wise  Cecily  pertinently  remarks, 
you  must  first  catch  your  hare  ! 

The  other  shooting  party  was  that  of  two  officers 
from  India,  one  of  them  a  distant  cousin  of  mine,  who 
was  as  much  surprised  to  see  me  as  I  was  to  see  him. 
They  were  setting  off  to  Berbera  as  soon  as  humanly 
possible,  like  ourselves. 

The  younger  man,  my  kinsman,  took  a  great  fancy 
to  Cecily.     At  least  I  suppose  he  did,  in  spite  of  her 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  19 

assertions  to  the  contrary,  for  he  stuck  to  us  like  a  burr. 
He  was  really  by  way  of  being  a  nuisance,  as  we  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  in  the  way  of  satisfying  the  excise 
people,  procuring  permits  and  myriad  other  things. 

One  evening  I  heard  the  two  warriors  talking  and  the 
elder  said,  not  dreaming  that  his  voice  would  carry  so 
clearly  :  "  Look  here,  if  you  are  not  careful,  we  shall 
have  those  two  girls  trying  to  tack  on  to  our  show. 
And  I  won't  have  it,  for  they'll  be  duffers,  of  course." 

I  laughed  to  myself,  even  though  I  was  annoyed. 
Men  are  conceited  ever,  but  this  was  too  much  !  To 
imagine  we  had  gone  to  all  the  initial  expense  and 
trouble  only  to  join  two  sportsmen  who,  true  to  their 
masculine  nature,  would  on  all  occasions  take  the  best 
of  everything  and  leave  us  to  be  contented  with  any 
small  game  we  could  find  ! 

It  is  true  that  being  called  a  girl  softened  my  wrath 
somewhat.  One  can't  be  called  a  girl  at  thirty  without 
feeling  a  glow  of  pleasure.     I  am  thirty.     So  is  Cecily. 

I  expect  you  are  smiling  ?  I  know  a  woman  never 
passes  thirty.    It  is  her  Rubicon,  and  she  cannot  cross  it. 

My  uncle  had  written  ahead  for  us  to  Berbera  to 
engage,  if  possible,  his  old  shikari  and  head-man,  and 
in  addition  had  sent  on  copious  instructions  as  to  our 
needs  generally.  Our  trip  was  supposed  to  be  a  secret 
in  Aden,  but  we  were  inundated  with  applications  from 
would-be  servants  of  all  kinds.  I  afterwards  discovered 
that  a  Somali  knows  your  business  almost  before  you 
know  it  yourself,  and  in  this  second-sight-like  faculty  is 
only  exceeded  in  cleverness  by  the  inhabitants  of  a  little 
island  set  in  the  Irish  Sea  and  sacred  to  Hall  Caine. 


CHAPTER    II 

IN  BERBERA 

All  is  uneven, 
And  everything  left  at  six  and  seven 

Richard  II 

By  this  time  the  weekly  steamer  had  sailed  to  Berbera, 
across  the  Gulf,  but  we  arranged  to  paddle  our  own 
canoes,  so  to  speak,  and  the  two  sportsmen,  still,  I 
suppose,  in  fear  and  trembling  lest  we  should  clamour 
to  form  a  part  of  their  caravan,  went  shares  with  us  in 
hiring  at  an  altogether  ridiculous  sum,  almost  enough 
to  have  purchased  a  ship  of  our  own,  a  small  steamer 
to  transport  us  and  our  numerous  belongings  across 
the  Gulf. 

Here  I  may  as  well  say  that  it  is  possible  for  two 
women  to  successfully  carry  out  a  big  shoot,  for  we 
proved  it  ourselves,  but  I  do  not  believe  it  possible  for 
them  to  do  it  cheaply.  I  never  felt  the  entire  truth  of 
the  well-known  axiom,  "  The  woman  pays,"  so  com- 
pletely as  on  this  trip.  The  women  paid  with  a  ven- 
geance— twice  as  much  as  a  man  would  have  done. 

The  getting  of  our  things  aboard  was  a  scene  of 
panic  I  shall  never  forget.  It  was,  of  anything  I  have 
ever  had  to  do  with,  the  quaintest  and  most  amusing  of 
sights.  Each  distinct  package  seemed  to  fall  to  the 
ground  at  least  twice  before  it  was  considered  to  have 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  21 

earned  the  right  to  a  passage  at  all.  The  men  engaged 
by  us  to  do  the  transporting  of  our  goods  were  twins 
to  the  porters  engaged  by  our  friends,  the  opposition 
shoot.  They  did  not  appear  to  reason  out  that  as  the 
mountain  of  packages  had  to  be  got  aboard  before  we 
could  sail,  it  did  not  matter  whose  porter  carried  which 
box  or  kit.  No,  each  porter  must  stick  to  the  belong- 
ings of  the  individual  who  hired  him  to  do  the  job. 
Naturally,  this  caused  the  wildest  confusion,  and  I  sat 
down  on  a  packing  case  that  nobody  seemed  to  care 
much  about  and  laughed  and  laughed  at  the  idiocy  of 
it.  To  see  the  leader  of  the  opposition  shoot  gravely 
detach  from  my  porter  a  bale  of  goods  to  which  their 
label  was  attached,  substituting  for  it  a  parcel  from  our 
special  heap,  was  to  see  man  at  the  zenith  in  the  way  of 
management. 

It  was  very  early,  indeed,  when  we  began  operations, 
but  not  so  early  by  the  time  we  sailed,  accompanied  by 
a  rabble  of  Somalis  bent  on  negotiating  the  voyage  at 
our  expense.  It  was  useless  to  say  they  could  not  come 
aboard,  because  come  they  would,  and  the  villainous- 
looking  skipper  seemed  to  think  the  more  the  merrier. 
Our  warrior  friends  were  all  for  turning  off  the  unpay- 
ing  guests,  but  I  begged  that  there  should  be  no  more 
delay,  and  so,  when  we  were  loaded  up,  like  a  cheap 
tripping  steamer  to  Hampton  Court,  we  sailed.  It  was 
a  truly  odious  voyage.  The  wretched  little  craft  rolled 
and  tossed  to  such  an  extent  I  thought  she  really  must 
founder.     I  remember  devoutly  wishing  she  would. 

The  leader  brought  out  sketching  materials,  and 
proceeded  to  make  a  water-colour  sketch  of  the  sea. 


22  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

It  was  just  the  same  as  any  other  sea,  only  nastier  and 
more  bumpy.  We  imagined — Cecily  and  myself — 
that  the  boat  would  do  the  trip  in  about  sixteen  hours. 
She  floundered  during  twenty-four,  and  I  spent  most 
of  the  time  on  a  deck-chair,  "  the  world  forgetting." 
At  intervals  Somalis  would  come  up  from  the  depths 
somewhere,  cross  their  hands  and  pray.  I  joined 
them  every  time  in  spirit.  Cecily  told  me  that  the 
little  cabin  was  too  smelly  for  words,  but  in  an  evil 
minute  I  consented  to  be  escorted  thither  for  a  meal. 

"  She's  not  exactly  a  Cunarder,"  sang  out  the  younger 
officer,  my  kinsman,  from  the  bottom  of  the  com- 
panion, "but  anyway  they've  got  us  something  to  eat." 

They  had.  Half-a-dozen  different  smells  pervaded 
the  horrid  little  cabin,  green  cabbage  in  the  ascendant. 
The  place  was  full  of  our  kit,  which  seemed  to  have 
been  fired  in  anyhow  from  the  fo'castle  end.  With  a 
silly  desire  to  suppress  the  evidence  of  my  obvious  dis- 
comfort, I  attacked  an  overloaded  plate  of  underdone 
mutton  and  cabbage.  I  tried  to  keep  my  eyes  off  it  as 
far  as  possible  ;  sometimes  it  seemed  multiplied  by 
two,  but  the  greasy  gravy  had  a  fatal  fascination  for 
me,  and  at  last  proved  my  undoing.  The  elder  warrior 
supplied  a  so-called  comfort,  in  the  shape  of  a  pre- 
ventative against  sea-sickness,  concocted,  he  said,  by 
his  mother,  which  accelerated  matters  ;  and  they  all 
kindly  dragged  me  on  deck  again  and  left  me  to  my- 
self in  my  misery.  All  through  the  night  I  stayed  on 
my  seat  on  deck,  not  daring  to  face  the  cabin  and  that 
awful  smell,  which  Cecily  told  me  was  bilge  water. 
It  was  intensely  cold,  but,  fortunately,  I  had  a  lot  of 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  23 

wraps.  The  others  lent  me  theirs  too,  telling  me  I 
should  come  below,  as  it  was  going  to  be  "  a  dirty 
night,"  whatever  that  might  mean.  It  seemed  a  never- 
ending  one,  and  my  thankfulness  cannot  be  described 
when,  as  the  dawn  broke,  I  saw  land — Somaliland.  We 
made  the  coast  miles  below  Berbera,  which  is  really  what 
one  might  have  expected.  However,  it  was  a  matter 
of  such  moment  to  me  that  we  made  it  at  last  that  I 
was  not  disposed  to  quibble  we  had  not  arrived  some- 
where else. 

I  managed  to  pull  myself  together  sufficiently  to  see 
the  Golis  Range.  The  others  negotiated  breakfast. 
They  brought  me  some  tea,  made  of  some  of  the  bilge 
water  I  think,  and  I  did  not  fancy  it.  Then  came 
Berbera  Harbour,  with  a  lighthouse  to  mark  the 
entrance ;  next  Berbera  itself,  which  was  a  place  I  was 
as  intensely  glad  to  be  in  as  I  afterwards  was  to  leave 
it.  I  should  never  have  believed  there  were  so  many 
flies  in  the  whole  world  had  I  not  seen  them  with 
mine  own  eyes.  In  fact,  my  first  impression  of  Ber- 
bera may  be  summed  up  in  the  word  "flies."  The 
town  seemed  to  be  in  two  sections,  native  and  Euro- 
pean, the  former  composed  of  typical  Arab  houses  and 
numerous  huts  of  primitive  and  poverty-stricken  ap- 
pearance. The  European  quarter  has  large  well-built 
one^storied  houses,  flat-roofed  ;  and  the  harbour  looked 
imposing,  and  accommodates  quite  large  ships. 

Submerged  in  the  shimmering  ether  we  could  dis- 
cern, through  the  parting  of  the  ways  of  the  Maritime 
Range,  the  magnificent  Golis,  about  thirty-five  miles 
inland  from  Berbera  as  the  crow  flies. 


24  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

The  same  pandemonium  attended  our  disembarking. 
All  our  fellow  voyagers  seemed  to  have  accompanied 
the  trip  for  no  other  reason  than  to  act  as  porters. 
There  were  now  more  porters  than  packages,  and  so  the 
men  fought  for  the  mastery  to  the  imminent  danger  of 
our  goods  and  chattels.  Order  was  restored  by  our 
soldier  friends,  who  at  last  displayed  a  little  talent  for 
administration  ;  and  sorting  out  the  porters  into  some 
sort  of  system,  soon  had  them  running  away,  like 
loaded-up  ants,  with  our  packages  and  kit  to  the 
travellers'  bungalow  in  the  European  square,  whither 
we  speedily  followed  them,  and  established  ourselves. 
It  was  quite  a  comfortable  auberge,  and  seemed  like 
heaven  after  that  abominable  toy  steamer,  and  we 
christened  it  the  "  Cecil "  at  once. 

Cecily  began  to  sort  our  things  into  some  degree  of 
sequence.  I  could  not  help  her.  I  was  all  at  sea  still, 
and  felt  every  toss  of  the  voyage  over.  These  sort  of 
battles  fought  o'er  again  are,  to  say  the  least,  not 
pleasant. 

We  had  not  arrived  so  very  long  before  our  master 
of  the  ceremonies  came  to  discover  us,  with  my 
uncle's  letter  clasped  in  his  brown  hand.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  amazement  on  the  man's  face  as  we 
introduced  ourselves.  I  could  not  at  first  make  out 
what  on  earth  could  be  the  matter,  but  at  last  the  truth 
dawned  on  me.  He  had  not  expected  to  find  us  of  the 
feminine  persuasion. 

Our  would-be  henchman's  name  was  unpronounce- 
able, and  sounded  more  like  "  Clarence  "  than  anything, 
so    Clarence  he  remained  to  the  end — a  really  fine, 


<  '  1 ' 

I     > 


>  1      1  1     > 

)  ,  >     ) 


■---*>- 


a 
o 
z 

a 

a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  25 

handsome  fellow,  not  very  dark,  about  the  Arab  colour, 
with  a  mop  of  dark  hair  turning  slightly  grey.  His 
features  were  of  the  Arab  type,  and  I  should  say  a 
strong  Arab  strain  ran  in  his  family,  stronger  even  than 
in  most  Somali  tribes.  I  think  the  Arab  tinge  exists 
more  or  less  in  every  one  of  them.  Anyhow,  they  are 
not  of  negritic  descent. 

Our  man  used  the  Somali  "  Nabad  "  as  a  salutation, 
instead  of  the  "  Salaam  aleikum  "  of  the  Arabs.  The 
last  is  the  most  generally  used.  We  heard  it  almost 
invariably  in  the  Ogaden  and  Marehan  countries. 
Clarence  had  donned  resplendent  garb  in  which  to  give 
us  greeting,  and  discarding  the  ordinary  everyday 
white  tobe  had  dressed  himself  in  the  khaili,  a  tobe 
dyed  in  shades  of  the  tricolour,  fringed  with  orange. 
We  never  saw  him  again  tricked  out  like  this  ;  evidently 
the  get-up  must  have  been  borrowed  for  the  occasion. 
He  wore  a  tusba,  or  prayer  chaplet,  round  his  neck, 
and  the  beads  were  made  from  some  wood  that  had  a 
pleasant  aroma.  A  business-like  dagger  was  at  the 
waist  ;  Peace  and  War  were  united. 

I  noticed  what  long  tapering  fingers  the  Somali  had, 
and  quite  aristocratic  hands,  though  so  brown.  He 
had  a  very  graceful  way  of  standing  too.  In  fact  all 
his  movements  were  lithe  and  lissome,  telling  us  he 
was  a  jungle  man.  I  liked  him  the  instant  I  set  eyes 
on  him,  and  we  were  friends  from  the  day  we  met  to 
the  day  we  parted.  Had  we  been  unable  to  secure  his 
services  I  do  not  know  where  we  should  have  ended, 
or  what  the  trip  might  have  cost.  Everyone  in  Berbera 
seemed  bent  on  making  us  pay  for  things  twice  over, 


26  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

and  three  times  if  possible.  Clarence's  demands  were 
reasonable  enough,  and  he  fell  in  with  our  wishes  most 
graciously. 

I  gave  instructions  for  the  purchase  of  camels,  fifty 
at  least,  for  the  caravan  was  a  large  one.  There  were 
not  so  many  animals  in  the  place  for  sale  at  once,  and 
of  course  our  soldier  friends  were  on  the  look  out  for 
likely  animals  also. 

During  the  next  few  days  we  busied  ourselves  in  en- 
gaging the  necessary  servants.  My  uncle  had  impressed 
on  me  the  necessity  of  seeing  that  the  caravan  was 
peopled  with  men  from  many  tribes,  as  friction  is  better 
than  a  sort  of  trust  among  themselves.  Clarence 
appeared  to  have  no  wish  to  take  his  own  relatives 
along,  as  is  so  often  the  case,  and  we  had  no  bother  in 
the  matter.  But  we  were  dreadfully  '  had '  over  six 
rough  ponies  we  bought.  We  gave  one  hundred  and 
fifty  rupees  each  for  them  and  they  were  dear  at  forty. 
However,  much  wiser  people  than  Cecily  and  myself 
go  wrong  in  buying  horses  !  Later  in  the  trip  we 
acquired  a  better  pony  apiece  and  so  pulled  through 
all  right. 

My  cousin  has  a  very  excellent  appetite,  and  is  rather 
fond  of  the  flesh-pots  generally,  and  gave  as  much 
attention  to  the  engaging  of  a  suitable  cook  as  I  did 
to  the  purchase  of  the  camels.  No  lady  ever  emerged 
more  triumphantly  from  the  local  Servants'  Registry 
Office  after  securing  the  latest  thing  in  cooks  than  did 
Cecily  on  rushing  out  of  the  bungalow  at  express  speed 
to  tell  me  she  had  engaged  a  regular  Monsieur  Escofner 
to  accompany  us. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  27 

What  he  could  not  cook  was  not  worth  cooking. 
Altogether  we  seemed  in  for  a  good  time  as  far  as  meals 
were  concerned. 

Meanwhile  Clarence  had  produced  from  somewhere 
about  forty-five  camels,  and  I  judged  it  about  time  to 
launch  a  little  of  the  knowledge  I  was  supposed  to  have 
gathered  from  my  shikari  uncle.  I  told  Clarence  I 
would  personally  see  and  pass  every  camel  we  bought 
for  the  trip,  and  prepared  for  an  inspection  in  the 
Square.  I  suffered  the  most  frightful  discomfort,  in 
the  most  appalling  heat,  but  I  did  not  regret  it,  as  I 
really  do  think  my  action  prevented  our  having  any 
amount  of  useless  camels  being  thrust  upon  us. 

Assume  a  virtue  if  you  have  it  not.  The  pretence  at 
knowledge  took  in  the  Somalis,  and  I  went  up  some 
miles  in  their  estimation. 

As  I  say,  some  of  the  camels  offered  were  palpably 
useless,  and  were  very  antediluvian  indeed.  I  refused 
any  camel  with  a  sore  back,  or  with  any  tendency  that 
way,  and  I  watched  with  what  looked  like  the  most 
critical  and  knowing  interest  the  manner  of  kneeling. 
The  animal  must  kneel  with  fore  and  hind  legs  together, 
or  there  is  something  wrong.  I  can't  tell  you  what. 
My  uncle  merely  said,  darkly,  "  something."  Of  course 
I  found  out  age  by  the  teeth,  an  operation  attended  with 
much  snapping  and  Somali  cuss-words.  The  directions 
about  teeth  had  grown  very  confused  in  my  mind,  and 
all  I  stuck  to  was  the  pith  of  the  narrative,  namely, 
that  a  camel  at  eight  years  old  has  molars  and  canines. 
I  forget  the  earlier  ages  with  attendant  incisors.  Then 
another  condition  plain  to  be  seen  was  the  hump.    Even 


28  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

a  tyro  like  myself  could  see  the  immense  difference 
between  the  round,  full  hump  of  a  camel  in  fine  condi- 
tion and  that  of  the  poor  over-worked  creature.  As  I 
knew  we  were  paying  far  too  much  for  the  beasts  any- 
way I  saw  no  reason  why  we  should  be  content  to  take 
the  lowest  for  the  highest. 

Finally  I  stood  possessed  of  forty-nine  camels,  try  as 
I  would  I  could  not  find  a  fiftieth.  I  was  told  this 
number  was  amply  sufficient  to  carry  our  entire  outfit, 
but  how  they  were  to  do  so  I  really  could  not  conceive. 
Viewed  casually,  our  possessions  now  assumed  the 
dimensions  of  a  mountain,  and  we  had  to  pitch  tents  in 
the  Square  in  order  to  store  the  goods  safely.  This 
necessitated  a  constant  guard. 

Everything  we  brought  with  us  was  in  apple-pie 
order  owing  to  the  lists  so  carefully  placed  in  the  lid 
of  each  box,  and  gave  us  no  trouble  in  the  dividing  up 
into  the  usual  camel  loads.  It  was  our  myriad  pur- 
chases in  Berbera  that  caused  the  chaos.  They  were 
here,  there  and  everywhere,  and  all  concerning  them 
was  at  six  and  seven.  I  detailed  some  camels  to  carry 
our  personal  kit,  food  supplies,  &c.,  exclusively;  the 
same  men  to  be  always  responsible  for  their  safety, 
and  that  there  should  be  no  mistake  about  it  I  took 
down  the  branding  marks  on  a  piece  of  paper.  Camels 
seem  to  be  branded  on  the  neck,  and  most  of  the  marks 
are  different,  for  I  suppose  every  tribe  has  its  own  hall- 
mark. 

Some  of  the  camels  brought  into  Berbera  for  sale 
are  not  intended  to  be  draught  animals,  being  merely 
for  food,  and  with  so  much  care  and  extra  attention 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  29 

get  very  fine  and  well-developed  generally.  Camel- 
meat  is  to  the  Somali  what  we  are  given  to  understand 
turtle  soup  is  to  the  London  alderman.  Next  in  favour 
comes  mutton,  but  no  flesh  comes  up  to  camel.  The 
Somali  camel-man  is  exceedingly  attentive  to  his 
charges,  giving  them  names,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  ill 
treating  them.  As  a  result  the  animals  are  fairly  even 
tempered,  for  camels,  and  one  may  go  amongst  them 
with  more  or  less  assurance  of  emerging  unbitten. 
When  loading  up  the  man  sings  away,  and  the  camel 
must  get  familiar  with  the  song.  It  seems  to  be  in- 
terminably the  same,  and  goes  on  and  on  in  dreary 
monotone  until  the  job  is  over.  I  would  I  knew  what 
it  was  all  about. 

Of  course  it  is  a  fact  that  a  camel  can  take  in  a 
month's  supply  of  water,  but  it  very  much  depends  on 
the  nature  of  the  month  how  the  animal  gets  on.  If 
he  is  on  pasture,  green  and  succulent,  he  can  go  on 
much  longer  than  a  month,  but  if  working  hard,  con- 
tinuously, and  much  loaded,  once  a  week  is  none  too 
often  to  water  him.  They  are  not  strong  animals ; 
far  from  it,  and  they  have  a  great  many  complaints 
and  annoyances  to  contend  with  in  a  strenuous  life. 
The  most  awful,  to  my  mind,  is  sore  back  and  its  con- 
sequences. This  trouble  comes  from  bad  and  uneven 
lading,  damp  mats,  &c,  and  more  often  than  not  the 
sore  is  scratched  until  it  gets  into  a  shocking  condition. 
Flies  come  next,  and  maggots  follow,  and  then  a 
ghastly  Nemesis  in  the  form  of  the  rhinoceros  bird 
which  comes  for  a  meal,  and  with  its  sharp  pointed 
beak  picks  up  maggots  and  flesh  together.     When  out 


30  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

at  pasture  these  birds  never  leave  the  browsing  camels 
alone,  clinging  on  to  shoulders,  haunch,  and  side,  in 
threes  and  fours. 

We  had  now  in  our  caravan,  not  counting  Clarence 
and  the  cook,  two  boys  (men  of  at  least  forty,  who 
always  referred  to  themselves  as  "  boys  ")  to  assist  the 
cook,  one  "  makadam,"  or  head  camel-man,  twenty-four 
camel  men,  four  syces,  and  six  hunters,  to  say  nothing 
of  a  couple  of  men  of  all  work,  who  appeared  to  be 
going  with  us  for  reasons  only  known  to  themselves. 

In  most  caravans  the  head-man  and  head  shikari 
are  separate  individuals,  but  in  our  show  Clarence  was 
to  double  the  parts.  It  seemed  to  us  the  wisest 
arrangement.  He  was  so  excellent  a  manager,  and  we 
knew  him  to  be  a  mighty  hunter. 

The  chaos  of  purchases  included  rice,  hams  or  native 
water-casks,  ordinary  water  barrels  calculated  to  hold 
about  twelve  gallons  apiece,  blankets  for  the  men, 
herz'os,  or  camel  mats,  potatoes,  ghee,  leather  loading 
ropes,  numerous  native  axes,  onions,  many  white  tobes 
for  gifts  up  country,  and  some  Merikani  tobes  (American 
made  cloth)  also  for  presents,  or  exchange.  Tent-pegs, 
cooking  utensils,  and  crowds  of  little  things  which 
added  to  the  confusion.  A  big  day's  work,  however, 
set  things  right,  and  meanwhile  Cecily  had  discovered 
a  treasure  in  the  way  of  a  butler.  He  had  lived  in  the 
service  of  a  white  family  at  Aden,  and  so  would  know 
our  ways. 

We  had  taken  out  a  saddle  apiece,  as  the  double- 
peaked  affair  used  by  the  Somalis  is  a  very  uncom- 
fortable thing  indeed. 


,  >   )    1        '  J  1  >      > 


t-l 
O 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  31 

Rice  for  the  men's  rations  we  bought  in  sacks  of 
some  160  pounds,  and  two  bags  could  be  carried  by- 
one  camel.  Dates,  also  an  indispensable  article  of 
diet,  are  put  up  in  native  baskets  of  sorts,  and  bought 
by  the  gosra,  about  130  pounds,  and  two  gosra  can 
be  apportioned  to  a  camel.  Ghee,  the  native  butter,  is 
a  compound  of  cow's  milk,  largely  used  by  the  Somalis 
to  mix  with  the  rice  portion,  a  large  quantity  of  fat 
being  needful  ere  the  wheels  go  round  smoothly.  It 
is  bought  in  a  bag  made  of  a  whole  goat  skin,  with  an 
ingenious  cork  of  wood  and  clay.  Each  bag,  if  my 
memory  serves  me  rightly,  holds  somewhere  about 
20  pounds,  and  every  man  expects  two  ounces  daily 
unless  he  is  on  a  meat  diet,  when  it  is  possible  to 
economise  the  rice  and  dates  and  ghee. 

The  camel  mats,  or  herios,  are  plaited  by  the  women 
of  Somaliland,  and  are  made  from  the  chewed  bark  of 
a  tree  called  Galol.  The  hams  for  water  are  also  made 
from  plaited  bark,  in  different  sizes,  and  when  near  a 
karia,  it  is  quite  usual  to  see  old  women  and  small 
children  carrying  on  their  backs  the  heaviest  filled 
hams,  whilst  the  men  sit  about  and  watch  operations. 
The  hams,  which  hold  about  six  gallons  of  water, 
are — from  the  camels'  point  of  view  anyway — the 
best  for  transport  purposes.  Six  can  be  carried  at  once, 
but  a  tremendous  amount  of  leakage  goes  on,  and  this 
is  very  irritating,  upsetting  calculations  so.  The  water- 
casks  were  really  better,  because  they  were  padlocked, 
and  could  also  be  cleaned  out  at  intervals.  But  of 
these  only  two  can  go  on  a  camel  at  one  time. 

Our  own  kit  was  mostly  in  tin  uniform  cases,  these 


32  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

being  better  than  wooden  boxes  on  account  of  damp 
and  rainy  weather.  Leather,  besides  being  heavy,  is  so 
attractive  to  ants.  Our  rifles,  in  flat  cases,  specially 
made,  were  compact  and  not  cumbersome,  at  least  not 
untowardly  cumbersome.  Our  food  stores  were  in  the 
usual  cases,  padlocked,  and  a  little  of  everything  was 
in  each  box,  so  that  we  did  not  need  to  raid  another 
before  the  last  opened  was  half  emptied.  The  ammuni- 
tion was  carried  in  specially  made  haversacks,  each 
haversack  being  marked  for  its  particular  rifle,  and 
more  spare  ammunition  was  packed  away  in  a  con- 
venient box,  along  with  cleaning  materials,  &c.  We 
made  our  coats  into  small  pantechnicons,  and  the 
pockets  held  no  end  of  useful  small  articles  and  useful 
contraptions.  My  two  coats,  one  warm  khaki  serge, 
one  thin  drill,  were  both  made  with  recoil  pads  as 
fixtures,  and  this  was  an  excellent  idea,  as  they  saved 
my  shoulder  many  hard  knocks. 

We  heard  of  a  man  who  was  anxious  to  go  out  as 
skinner,  but  the  Opposition,  for  we  had  by  now 
christened  the  rival  camp  so,  snapped  him  up  before 
we  had  an  opportunity  to  engage  him.  On  learning 
of  our  disappointment  they  nobly  volunteered  to  waive 
their  claim,  but  when  I  saw  the  trophy  in  discussion  I 
would  not  take  him  into  our  little  lot  at  any  price.  A 
more  crafty,  murderous-looking  individual  it  would  be 
hard  to  find. 

The  Opposition  watched  us  do  some  of  the  packing, 
and  were  green  with  envy  as  they  handled  our  rifles. 
The  elder  tried  to  induce  me  to  sell  him  my  double- 
barrelled  hammerless  ejecting  "500  Express.  •  I  don't 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  33 

know  how  I  was  meant  to  be  able  to  get  along  without 
it,  but  I  suppose  he  didn't  think  that  mattered. 

It  was  then  that  Clarence,  who  had,  I  believe,  been 
yearning  to  ask  all  along,  wanted  to  know  if  I  was  any 
good  with  a  rifle,  and  the  other  Mem-sahib  could  she 
shoot,  and  if  so  how  had  we  learned,  for  the  Somalis 
are  nothing  if  not  direct.  They  rather  remind  me  of 
English  North-country  people  with  their  outspoken 
inquisitiveness,  which  is  at  home  always  regarded  as 
such  charming  straightforwardness  of  character. 

I  was  as  modest  as  I  could  be  under  the  circum- 
stances, but  I  had  to  allay  any  fears  the  man  might  be 
harbouring.  Besides,  it  is  not  well  to  under-estimate 
oneself,  especially  to  a  Somali.  Nowadays  everywhere 
it  is  the  thing  to  remove  the  bushel  from  one's  light 
and  to  make  it  glare  in  all  men's  eyes.  My  advice  to 
any  one  who  wants  to  be  heard  of  is — Advertise,  adver- 
tise, advertise.  If  you  begin  by  having  a  great  opinion 
of  yourself  and  talk  about  it  long  enough,  you  generally 
end  by  being  great  in  the  opinion  of  everyone  else.  I 
told  our  shikari  I  had  the  use  of  my  uncle's  fine  range 
at  home,  and  the  advantage  of  what  sport  there  was 
to  be  had  in  England  and  Scotland.  Also  that  this 
was  not  our  first  expedition.  The  knowledge  of  all 
this  and  my  unbounded  confidence,  not  to  say  cheek, 
set  all  doubts  at  rest. 

Every  night  I  was  rendered  desperate  by  the  scratch- 
ing in  my  room  of  some  little  rodent  which  thundered 
about  the  floor  as  though  his  feet  were  shod  with  iron. 

Hurrah  !  At  last  I  had  him  !  He  stole  my  biscuits 
set   for   my   "chota   hazari,"  and  sometimes  left  me 

c 


34  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

stranded.  They  resided  in  a  tin  by  my  bedside. 
Kismet  overtook  him,  and  his  nose  was  in  the  jaws  of 
a  gin.  He  was  killed  instanter,  and  the  cat  dropped 
in  to  breakfast. 

I  helped  her  to  him. 

She  commenced  on  his  head,  and  finished  with  his 
tail,  a  sort  of  cheese  straw.  This  is  curious,  because 
a  lion,  which  is  also  a  cat,  begins  at  the  other  end. 
Domesticity  reverses  the  order  of  a  good  many  things. 

He  left  no  trace  behind  him.  Unknown  (except 
to  me)  he  lived,  and  uncoffined  (unless  a  cat  may  be 
called  a  coffin)  he  died.     By  the  way,  he  was  a  rat. 

One  afternoon  Cecily  and  I  walked  along  the  sea 
coast  at  Berbera,  and  came  on  the  most  remarkable 
fish,  jumping  into  the  sea  from  the  sandy  shore.  I 
asked  a  resident  about  this,  and  he  said  the  fish  is 
called  "mud-skipper" — a  name  that  seems  to  have 
more  point  about  it  than  most. 

So,  at  last,  we  reached  the  day  fixed  for  the  starting 
of  the  great  trek. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  STARTING  OF  THE  GREAT  TREK 

My  necessaries  are  embark'd 

Hamlet 

Occasion  smiles  upon  a  second  leave 

Hamlet 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  joined  our  caravan, 
all  in  readiness,  in  the  Square.  It  was  still  dark,  but 
we  could  see  the  outline  of  the  waiting  camels  loaded 
up  like  pantechnicon  vans,  and  our  ponies  saddled  in 
expectation  of  our  coming.  The  Opposition,  who  had 
mapped  out  a  different  route,  beginning  by  skirting 
the  borders  of  the  now  barred  reserve  for  game  in  the 
Hargaisa,  got  up  to  see  us  start  and  wish  us  "  Good 
hunting."  What  our  men  thought  of  us  and  the  ex- 
pedition generally  I  cannot  conjecture.  Outwardly  at 
least  they  gave  no  sign  of  astonishment.  Clarence 
gave  the  word  to  march,  and  we  set  out,  leaving 
Berbera  behind  us,  and  very  glad  we  were  to  see  the 
suburbs  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  flies  and  the  sand 
storms  there  are  most  hard  to  bear,  and  a  little  longer 
sojourn  would  have  seen  both  of  us  in  bad  tempers. 

We  made  up  our  minds  from  the  first  to  have  tents 
pitched  every  night  under  any  circumstances,  and 
never  do  any  of  that  sleeping  on  the  ground  business 
which  seems  to  be  an  indispensable  part  of  the  fun  of 


36  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

big  game  shooting.  We  also  resolved  to  share  a  tent 
for  safety's  sake,  but  after  a  little,  when  we  had  begun 
to  understand  there  was  nothing  on  earth  to  be  afraid 
of,  we  "chucked"  this  uncomfortable  plan  and  sported 
a  tent  apiece. 

On  clear  nights  I  always  left  the  flap  of  the  tent  open. 
I  loved  to  see  the  wonderful  blue  of  the  sky,  so  remi- 
niscent of  the  chromo-lithograph  pictures  admired  so 
greatly  in  childhood's  days.  And  I  would  try  and 
count  the  myriad  stars,  and  trace  a  path  down  the 
Milky  Way.  How  glorious  it  was,  that  first  waking  in 
the  early,  early  morning  with  dark  shadows  lurking 
around,  the  embers  of  the  fires  glowing  dully,  and — 
just  here — a  faint  breeze  blowing  in  with  messages 
from  the  distant  sea. 

The  long  string  of  grunting  camels  ahead  looked 
like  some  pantomime  snake  of  colossal  proportions  as 
it  wriggled  its  way  through  the  low  thorn  bushes 
which,  here  and  there,  grew  stunted  and  forlorn  ; 
camels  move  with  such  an  undulating  gait,  and  the 
loads  I  had  trembled  about  seemed  to  be  a  mere 
bagatelle. 

All  too  soon  came  the  day,  and,  with  the  day,  the  sun 
in  fiery  splendour,  which  speedily  reduced  us  both  to 
the  condition  of  Mr.  Mantalini's  expressive  description 
of  "  demn'd,  damp,  unpleasant  bodies."  The  glitter 
from  the  sand  made  us  blink  at  first,  but,  like  every, 
thing  else,  we  got  perfectly  inured  to  it,  and  dark 
days  or  wet  seemed  the  darker  for  its  loss. 

Jerk  !  And  all  the  camels  stopped  and  bumped  into 
each  other,  like  a  train  of  loaded  trucks  after  a  push 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  37 

from  an  engine.  The  front  camel  decided  he  would 
rest  and  meditate  awhile,  so  sat  down.  He  had  to  be 
taught  the  error  of  such  ways,  and  in  a  volley  of  furious 
undertones  from  his  driver  be  persuaded  to  rise. 

We  passed  numerous  camels  grazing,  or  trying  to,  in 
charge  of  poor  looking,  half-fed  Somali  youths.  There 
is  no  grazing  very  near  into  Berbera,  very  little  outside 
either  unless  the  animals  are  taken  far  afield.  Here 
they  were  simply  spending  their  energy  on  trying  to 
pick  a  bit  from  an  attenuated  burnt-up  patch  of  grass 
that  would  have  been  starvation  to  the  average 
rabbit. 

The  camel  men  in  charge  came  over  to  exchange 
salaams  with  ours,  and  proffer  camels'  milk,  in  the 
filthiest  of  hams,  to  the  "  sahibs."  We  couldn't  help 
laughing.  But  for  our  hair  we  looked  undersized 
sahibs  all  right,  I  suppose,  but  we  couldn't  face  the 
milk.  It  would  have  been  almost  as  disagreeable  as 
that  bilge  water  tea. 

We  each  rode  one  of  our  expensive  steeds,  and  I  had 
certainly  never  ridden  worse.  I  called  mine  "  Sceptre," 
and  "  Sceptre  "  would  not  answer  to  the  rein  at  all.  I 
think  his  jaw  was  paralysed.  He  would  play  follow 
the  leader,  so  I  rode  behind  Cecily. 

The  cook  of  cooks  made  us  some  tea,  but  I  don't 
think  the  kettle  had  boiled.  Cecily  said  perhaps  it 
wasn't  meant  to  in  Somaliland.  I  asked  her  to  see 
that  we  set  the  fashion. 

We  rested  during  the  hottest  hours,  and  then  trekked 
again  for  a  little  in  the  evening.  There  was  no  need 
to  form  a  thorn  zareba  the  first  night  out,  as  we  were 


38  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

practically  still  in  Berbera — at  least  I  felt  so  when  I 
knew  we  had  covered  but  some  fifteen  miles  since 
dawn.  Perhaps  it  will  be  as  well  here  to  describe  our 
clothes  for  the  trip.  We  wore  useful  khaki  jackets, 
with  many  capacious  pockets,  knickerbockers,  gaiters, 
and  good  shooting  boots.  At  first  we  elected  to  don  a 
silly  little  skirt  that  came  to  the  knee,  rather  like  the 
ones  you  see  on  bathing  suits,  but  we  soon  left  the 
things  off,  or  rather  they  left  us,  torn  to  pieces  by  the 
thorns. 

Mosquitoes  do  not  like  me  at  all  in  any  country,  but 
we  had  curtains  of  course,  and  they  served,  very  badly, 
to  keep  out  the  insects  that  swarmed  all  over  one. 

Next  day  as  we  progressed,  we  saw  numerous  dik- 
dik,  popping  up  as  suddenly  as  the  gophers  do  in 
Canada.  They  are  the  tiniest  little  things,  weighing 
pnly  about  four  pounds,  and  are  the  smallest  variety  of 
buck  known.  The  back  is  much  arched,  grey  brown 
in  colour,  with  much  rufous  red  on  the  side.  The 
muzzle  is  singularly  pointed.  The  little  horns  measure 
usually  about  two  and  a  half  inches,  but  the  females 
are  hornless. 

The  ground  we  went  over  was  very  barren  and 
sandy,  rather  ugly  than  otherwise,  and  there  was  no 
cover  of  any  kind.  Any  thought  of  stalking  the  small 
numbers  of  gazelle  we  saw  was  out  of  the  question. 
Besides,  our  main  object  was  to  push  on  as  fast  as 
possible  to  the  back  of  beyond. 

In  the  evenings  we  always  did  a  few  miles,  and 
camped  where  any  wells  were  to  be  found.  The  water 
was  full  of  leeches,  but  we  carefully  boiled   all   the 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  39 

drinking  water  for  our  personal  use.  The  Somalis 
seem  to  thrive  on  the  filthiest  liquid. 

The  cook  got  a  leech  of  the  most  tenacious  principles 
on  to  his  wrist,  and  made  the  most  consummate  fuss. 
A  bite  from  a  venomous  snake  could  hardly  have 
occasioned  more  commotion.  I  can't  imagine  what 
the  condition  of  the  man  would  have  been  had  the 
leech  stayed  as  long  as  it  intended.  I  put  a  little  salt 
on  its  tail,  and  settled  the  matter.  By  the  end  of  the 
next  short  trek  we  reached  the  Golis  Range,  taking 
them  at  their  narrowest  part.  The  whole  place  had 
changed  for  the  better.  Clear  pools  of  water  glistened 
bright  among  a  riot  of  aloes  and  thorns,  and  there  was 
also  a  very  feathery  looking  plant,  of  which  I  do  not 
know  the  name. 

For  the  first  time  we  said  to  each  other,  "  Let  us  go 
out  and  kill  something,  or  try  to."  There  was  always 
the  dread  of  returning  to  camp  unblooded,  so  to  speak, 
when  Clarence  might,  or  would,  or  should,  or  could 
regard  us  as  two  amiable  lunatics  not  fit  to  be  trusted 
with  firearms.  This  is  a  woman  all  over.  Try  as  she 
will  she  cannot  rise  superior  to  Public  Opinion — even 
the  opinion  of  a  crowd  of  ignorant  Somalis  !  After  all, 
what  is  it?  "The  views  of  the  incapable  Many  as 
opposed  to  the  discerning  Few." 

We  agreed  to  separate,  tossing  up  for  the  privilege 
of  taking  Clarence.  To  my  infinite  regret  I  drew  him. 
As  a  rule  when  we  tossed  up  we  did  it  again  and  again 
until  the  one  who  had  a  preference  got  what  she 
wanted.  Women  always  toss  up  like  that.  Why 
bother  to  toss  at  all  ?     Ah,  now  you've  asked  a  poser. 


40  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

But  I  couldn't  get  Cecily  to  try  our  luck  again.  She 
said  she  was  suited  all  right.  The  fact  being  that 
neither  of  us  yearned  to  make  a  possible  exhibition 
before  our  shikari.  There  was  nothing  for  it.  I  took 
my  .500  Express,  and  with  Clarence  behind  me  flung 
myself  into  the  wilderness  in  as  nonchalant  a  manner 
as  I  could  assume.  I  was  really  very  excited  in  a 
quiet  sort  of  way,  "for  now  sits  Expectation  in  the 
air."  It  got  a  trifle  dashed  after  an  hour  of  creeping 
about  with  no  sort  of  reward  save  the  frightened  rush 
of  the  ubiquitous  dik-dik. 

"  Mem-sahib  !  Mem-sahib  !  "  from  the  shikari,  in 
excited  undertone. 

He  gripped  my  arm  in  silent  indication. 

"Mem-sahib!"  in  tones  of  anguished  reproach. 
"  Gereniik  ! " 

We  were  always  Mems  to  Clarence,  who  perhaps 
felt,  like  the  lady  at  Aden,  that  if  we  weren't  we  ought 
to  be. 

I  looked  straight  ahead,  and  from  my  crouching 
position  could  make  out  nothing  alive.  I  gazed  in- 
tently again.  And,  yes,  of  course,  all  that  I  looked  at 
was  gereniik,  two,  three,  four  of  them.  In  that  moment 
of  huge  surprise  I  couldn't  even  count  properly.  The 
intervening  bushes  screened  them  more  or  less,  but 
what  a  comical  appearance  they  had  !  how  quaintly 
set  their  heads!  how  long  their  necks!  how  like 
giraffes  !  They  moved  on,  slowly  tearing  down  the 
thorns  as  they  fed.  I  commenced  to  stalk.  There 
was  a  fine  buck  with  a  good  head.  It  was  not  difficult 
to  distinguish  him,  as   his  harem  carried   no  horns. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  41 

For  twenty  minutes  or  more  I  crawled  along,  hoping 
on,  hoping  ever,  that  some  chance  bit  of  luck  would 
bring  me  in  fairly  clear  range,  or  that  the  antelope 
would  pause  again.  Clearly  they  had  not  winded  me  ; 
clearly  I  was  not  doing  so  very  badly  to  be  still  in 
their  vicinity  at  all.  Now  came  a  bare  patch  of  country 
to  be  got  over,  and  I  signed  to  Clarence  to  remain 
behind.  I  was  flat  on  my  face,  wriggling  along  the 
sand.  If  the  antelope  were  only  in  the  open,  and  I  in 
the  spot  where  they  were  screened  !  The  smallest 
movement  now,  and  ...  I  got  to  within  120  yards  of 
them  when  something  snapped.  The  herd  gathered 
together  and  silently  trotted  off,  making  a  way  through 
the  density  with  surprising  ease  considering  its  thick 
nature.  I  got  up  and  ran  some  way  to  try  and  cut 
them  off,  dropping  again  instantly  as  I  saw  a  gap  ahead 
through  which  it  seemed  likely  their  rush  would  carry 
them.  It  was  an  uncertain  and  somewhat  long  shot, 
but  the  chances  were  I  should  never  see  the  animals 
again  if  I  did  not  take  even  the  small  opportunity  that 
seemed  about  to  present  itself.  I  had  long  ago  for- 
gotten the  very  existence  of  my  shikari.  The  world 
might  have  been  empty  save  for  myself  and  four 
gerenuk.  Nervousness  had  left  me,  doubts  of  all  kinds; 
nothing  remained  save  the  wonder  and  the  interest  and 
the  scheming. 

It  really  was  more  good  luck  than  good  manage- 
ment. I  afterwards  discovered  that  the  gerenuk,  or 
Waller's  gazelle,  is  the  most  difficult  antelope  to  shoot 
in  all  Somaliland,  mostly  from  their  habit  of  frequent- 
ing the  thickest  country. 


42  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

This  is  where  the  ignoramus  scores.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  tyro  at  first  is  often  more  successful  in  his 
stalks,  and  kills  too,  for  the  matter  of  that,  than  your 
experienced  shikari  with  years  of  practice  and  a  mine 
of  knowledge  to  draw  on.  Fools  rush  in  where  angels 
fear  to  tread — and  win  too  sometimes. 

The  herd  passed  the  gap,  and,  as  they  did  so,  slowed 
up  a  bit  to  crush  through.  The  buck  presented  more 
than  a  sporting  shot,  his  lighter  side  showing  up  clear 
against  his  dark  red  back.  I  fired.  I  heard  the  "phut" 
of  the  bullet,  and  knew  I  had  not  missed.  I  began  to 
tremble  with  the  after  excitements,  and  rated  myself 
soundly  for  it.  I  dashed  to  the  gap.  The  buck — oh, 
where  was  he  ?  Gone  on,  following  his  companions, 
and  all  were  out  of  sight.  He  was  seriously  wounded, 
there  was  no  doubt,  for  the  blood  trail  was  plain  to  be 
seen.  Clarence  joined  me,  and  off  we  went  hot  on 
the  track.  After  a  long  chase  we  came  on  a  thickish 
bunch  of  thorns,  and  my  quarry,  obviously  hard  hit, 
bounded  out,  and  was  off  again  like  the  wind  before  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  bring  up  my  rifle.  It  was  a  long 
time  before  he  gave  me  another,  when,  catching  him 
in  fairly  open  ground,  I  dropped  him  with  a  successful 
shot  at  some  140  yards,  and  the  buck  fell  as  my  first 
prize  of  the  trip. 

Clarence's  pleasure  in  my  success  was  really  genuine, 
and  I  gave  him  directions  to  reserve  the  head  and  skin, 
royally  presenting  him  with  all  the  meat.  I  could  not 
at  first  make  out  why  he  so  vigorously  refused  it.  I 
made  up  my  mind  he  had  some  prejudice  against  this 
particular  variety  of  antelope.     I  afterwards  found  that 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  43 

no  Jew  is  more  particular  how  his  meat  is  killed  than 
is  the  Somali.  The  system  of  "hallal"  is  very  strictly 
respected,  and  it  was  only  occasionally,  when  I  meant 
the  men  to  have  meat,  that  I  was  able  to  stock  their 
jarder. 

I  tasted  some  of  this  gereniik,  and  cooked  it  myself, 
Our  cook  was,  indeed,  a  failure.  He  was  one  of  the 
talk-about-himself  variety,  and  from  constant  assertions 
that  he  could  cook  anything  passing  well,  had  come  to 
believe  himself  a  culinary  artist. 

I  roasted  a  part  of  the  leg  of  my  gereniik,  and  did  it 
in  a  way  we  used  to  adopt  in  the  wilds  of  Vancouver 
Island.  A  hole  is  made  in  the  ground  and  filled  with 
small  timber  and  pieces  of  wood.  This  is  fired,  and 
then,  when  the  embers  are  glowing,  the  meat  being 
ready  in  a  deep  tin  with  a  tight-fitting  lid,  you  place 
it  on  the  hot  red  ashes,  and  cover  the  whole  with  more 
burning  faggots,  which  are  piled  on  until  the  meat  is 
considered  to  be  ready.  If  the  Somalis  have  a  quantity 
of  meat  to  cook,  they  make  a  large  trench,  fill  it  with 
firewood,  and  make  a  network  of  stout  faggots,  on 
which  the  meat  is  placed.  It  is  a  sort  of  grilling  pro- 
cess, and  very  effective.  If  kept  constantly  turned,  the 
result  is  usually  quite  appetising. 

Cecily  came  into  camp  with  a  Speke  buck.  I  ex- 
amined it  with  the  greatest  interest.  The  coat  feels 
very  soft  to  the  touch,  and  has  almost  the  appearance 
of  having  been  oiled.  Speke's  Gazelle  are  very  nume- 
rous in  the  Golis,  and  are  dark  in  colour,  with  a  tiny 
black  tail.  They  have  a  very  strange  protuberance  of 
skin  on  the  nose,  of  which  I  have  never  discovered  the 


44  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

use.  Every  extraordinary  feature  of  wild  life  seems  to 
me  to  be  there  for  some  reason  of  protection,  or 
escape,  or  well  being.  Dear  Nature  arranges  things  so 
to  balance  accounts  a  little  'twixt  all  the  jungle  folk. 
In  the  Speke  fraternity  there  is  more  equality  of  the 
sexes.  The  does  as  well  as  the  bucks  carry  horns.  At 
first  I  pretended  to  Cecily  that  my  expedition  had  been 
an  humiliatingi  and  embarrassing  failure,  that  I  had 
signally  missed  a  shot  at  a  gereniik  that  would  have 
delighted  the  heart  of  a  baby  in  arms.  But  she  caught 
sight  of  my  trophy  impaled  on  a  thorn  bush,  and 
dashed  over  to  see  it  instanter. 

About  this  time  we  were  very  much  amused  to  dis- 
cover we  had  among  our  shikaris  a  veritable  Baron 
Munchausen.  Of  whatever  he  told  us,  the  contrary 
was  the  fact.  If  he  brought  news  of  splendid 
"  khubbah,"  there  was  no  game  for  miles.  If  we  went 
spooring,  he  spoored  to  the  extent  of  romancing  about 
beasts  that  could  not  possibly  frequent  the  region  we 
were  in  at  all.  I  do  not  mind  a  few  fibs  ;  in  fact,  I 
rather  like  them. 

"  A  taste  exact  for  faultless  fact 
Amounts  to  a  disease," 

and  argues  such  a  hopeless  want  of  imagination. 
But  this  man  was  too  much  altogether.  Of  course  he 
may  have  had  a  somewhat  perverted  sense  of  humour. 

My  uncle  had  warned  me  I  should  find  all  Somalis 
frightful  liars,  and  to  be  prepared  for  it.  Personally, 
I  always  like  to  assume  that  every  man  is  a  Washing- 
ton until  I  have  proved  him  to  be  an  Ananias. 

We  saw — in  the  distance — numerous  aoul,  Scemmer- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  45 

ing's  Gazelle,  and  the  exquisitely  graceful  koodoo,  the 
most  beautiful  animal,  to  my  thinking,  that  lives  in 
Somaliland.  The  horns  are  magnificent,  with  the  most 
artistic  of  curves.  The  females  are  hornless  in  this 
species  also.  When  come  upon  suddenly,  or  when 
frightened,  this  animal  "  barks  "  exactly  as  our  own  red 
deer  are  wont  to  do.  In  colour  they  are  of  a  greyish 
hue,  and  their  sides  are  striped  in  lines  of  white. 

It  was  not  our  intention  to  stay  and  stalk  the  quan- 
tities of  game  about  us.  Our  desire  was  all  to  push  on 
to  the  kingdom  of  His  Majesty  King  Leo.  So  for  days 
we  went  on,  halting  o'  nights  now  in  glorious  scenery, 
and  everywhere  the  game  tracks  were  plentiful.  The 
other  side  of  the  Golis  we  thought  really  lovely,  the 
trees  were  so  lofty  and  the  jungle  so  thick.  The 
atmosphere  was  much  damper,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  we  felt  the  difference  in  our  tents.  However, 
there  was  one  consolation,  water  was  plentiful,  and 
we  were  so  soon  to  leave  that  most  necessary  of  all 
things. 

The  birds  were  beautiful,  and  as  tame  as  the  spar- 
rows in  Kensington  Gardens.  One  afternoon  I  walked 
into  a  small  nullah,  where,  to  my  joy,  I  found  some 
ferns,  on  which  some  of  the  most  lovely  weaver-finches 
had  built  their  nests.  The  small  birds  are,  to  my 
mind,  the  sweetest  in  the  world.  Some  were  crimson, 
some  were  golden,  and  the  metallic  lustre  of  their 
plumage  made  them  glitter  in  the  sun.  There  was  also 
a  variety  of  the  long-tailed  whydah  bird,  some  honey- 
suckers,  and  a  number  of  exquisite  purple  martins. 
Two  of  the  last  flew  just  behind  me,  snapping  up  the 


46  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

insects  I  stirred  up  with  my  feet.  I  watched  one  with 
a  fly  in  its  beak,  which  it  released  again  and  again, 
always  swooping  after  it  and  recapturing  it,  just  like  a 
cruel  otter  with  its  fish. 

I  tried  to  find  some  of  the  nests  of  the  little  sun- 
birds.  I  believe  they  dome  them,  but  no  one  quite 
knows  why.  It  was  once  thought  that  it  was  done  to 
hide  the  brilliant  colours  of  some  feminines  from  birds 
of  prey,  but  it  is  done  by  some  plain  ones  as  well. 
Some  birds  lock  up  their  wives  in  the  nests  ;  they  must 
be  a  frivolous  species  ! 

Many  of  the  honey-suckers  are  quite  gorgeous  when 
looked  at  closely — especially  the  green  malachite 
ones,  which  have  a  bright  metallic  appearance.  I 
also  watched  some  little  russet  finches  performing 
those  evolutions  associated  with  the  nesting  season 
only.  They  rose  clapping  their  wings  together  above 
them,  producing  a  noise  somewhat  similar  to  our  own 
hands  being  clapped,  and  when  at  the  top  of  their 
ascent  they  uttered  a  single  note  and  then  shut  up  as  if 
shot,  descending  rapidly  until  close  to  the  ground,  when 
they  open  their  wings  again  and  alight  most  gently. 
The  single  note  is  the  love  song,  and  the  other  extra- 
ordinary performance  is  the  love  dance.  It  must  be 
attractive,  as  it  is  done  by  the  male  only,  and  only  in 
the  breeding  season. 

Farther  on  I  got  into  a  perfect  little  covey  of  sun- 
birds  flying  about  and  enjoying  themselves.  Every 
now  and  again  one  would  settle  on  a  flowering  shrub 
with  crimson  blossoms,  and  dip  its  curved  long  beak 
into  the  cup  and  suck  out  the  honey.     The  male  of  this 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  47 

species  is  ornamented  with  a  long  tail,  the  female  being 
much  plainer.  In  the  brute  creation  it  is  always  so  ; 
the  male  tries  to  captivate  by  ornaments  and  brilliant 
colours.  We  human  beings  have  grown  out  of  that 
and  try  other  blandishments.  But  it  is  curious  that  the 
male  has  still  to  ask  and  the  female  to  accept.  We 
haven't  changed  that.  We  fight  just  as  bucks  and 
tigers  do,  and  the  winner  isn't  always  chosen  ;  there 
may  be  reasons  against  it.  There  is  just  that  little  un- 
certainty, that  little  hardness  to  please  which  gives  such 
joy  to  the  pursuit.  Well,  there  are  exceptions,  for  the 
ladies  of  the  bustard  persuasion  fight  for  their  lords. 

On  my  way  back  to  camp  I  saw  a  buck  and  Mrs. 
Buck  of  the  Speke  genus.  The  former  stood  broadside 
on,  and  almost  stared  me  out  of  countenance  at  fifty 
paces.  He  evidently  knew  I  was  unarmed.  Why  do 
they  always  stand  broadside  on  ?  I've  never  seen  i^ 
explained.  I  suppose  it  is  partly  because  he  is  in  a 
better  position  for  flight. 

At  this  camp  we  were  caught  in  a  continuous 
downpour  which  lasted  twenty-four  hours,  inter- 
mixed with  furious  thunderstorms.  Cecily's  tent 
(fortunately  she  was  in  mine  at  the  time)  was  struck, 
producing  some  curious  results.  The  lightning  split 
the  bamboo  tent-pole  into  shreds  and  threw  splinters 
about  that,  when  collected,  made  quite  a  big  bundle. 
The  hats  and  clothes  which  were  hanging  on  to  the 
pole  were  found  flung  in  all  directions,  but  nothing 
was  burnt.  The  lightning  disappeared  into  the  loose 
soil,  without  appreciably  disturbing  it. 

Then  we  had   a   glorious  day  sandwiched  in,  but 


48  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

returned  again  to  the  winter  of  our  discontent  and 
Atlantic  thunderstorms.  It  was  rather  unfortunate  to 
emerge  from  one  rain  to  enter  another.  We  took  the 
precaution  this  time  to  entrench  ourselves  so  that  the 
tents  were  not  flooded,  but  the  poor  camels  must  have 
had  a  bad  time. 

The  sun  reappeared  at  last,  after  a  long  seclusion, 
and  all  our  clothes,  beds,  and  chattels  had  to  be 
dried.  Never  has  old  Sol  had  a  warmer  welcome. 
All  nature  aired  itself. 

We  moved  on  and  now  found  it  needful  to  form  a 
zareba  at  night.  Into  this  citadel  of  thorns  and  cut 
bushes  the  camels  were  driven  and  our  tents  set  up. 
At  intervals  of  a  few  yards  fires  blazed,  and  a  steady 
watch  was  kept. 

We  camped  in  one  place  for  two  days  in  order 
to  fill  up  every  water  cask,  and  here  Cecily  and  I, 
going  out  together  one  morning  quite  early,  had  the 
luck  to  come  on  a  whole  sounder  of  wart  hog.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  weird  and  extraordinary  spec- 
tacle they  presented.  A  big  boar,  rather  to  the 
front,  with  gleaming  tushes,  stepping  so  proudly  and 
ever  and  again  shaking  his  weighty  head.  They  all 
appeared  to  move  with  clockwork  precision  and  to 
move  slowly,  whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were 
going  at  a  good  pace.  We  dropped,  and  I  took  a  shot 
at  the  coveted  prize,  and  missed !  The  whole  sounder 
fled  in  panic,  with  tails  held  erect,  a  very  comical  sight. 
We  doubled  after  them  through  the  bush,  and  bang  ! 
I  had  another  try.  They  were  gone,  and  the  whole 
jungle  astir. 


■  I 


HtnkMHMHarv^.' 


\J       -    -•      " 


m, 


i**i»>*-1»a 


THE  ORYX   AT   HOME 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  49 

I  bagged  a  very  fine  Speke's  Gazelle  here,  but  am 
ashamed  to  say  it  was  a  doe.  It  is  very  hard  some- 
times to  differentiate  between  the  sexes  in  this  species. 

I  was  very  much  looking  forward  to  the  oppor- 
tunity of  bagging  an  oryx,  I  admire  the  horns  of 
this  antelope  so  greatly,  though  I  suppose  they  are 
not  really  to  be  compared  in  the  same  breath  with 
those  of  the  koodoo.  The  oryx  is  very  powerfully 
made,  about  the  size  of  a  pony,  and  the  horns  are 
long  and  tapering.  They  remind  me  of  a  vast  pair 
of  screws,  the  "  thread  "  starting  from  the  base  and 
winding  round  to  a  few  inches  off  the  top  when  the 
horn  is  plain.  They  are  the  greatest  fighters  of  all 
the  genus  buck,  and  the  bulls  are  provided  by 
nature,  who  orders  all  things  well,  with  almost  im- 
penetrable protective  horn-proof  shields  of  immensely 
thick  skin  which  covers  the  withers.  These  are  much 
valued  by  the  Somalis  for  many  purposes,  notably 
for  the  shields  carried  by  them  when  in  full  dress. 
Set  up  as  trophies  they  take  a  high  polish  and  come 
up  like  tortoise-shell.  One  or  two  of  mine  I  had 
mounted  as  trays,  with  protective  glass,  others  as 
tables.     All  were  exceedingly  effective. 

By  this  time  we  had  got  to  and  set  out  upon,  not 
without  some  qualms,  the  waterless  Haud,  starting 
for  the  first  march  at  cock-crow.  In  some  parts  it 
attains  a  width  of  over  two  hundred  miles  across.  It 
all  depends  on  where  you  strike  it.  We  did  the  cross- 
ing in  ten  marches,  taking  five  days  over  it.  All  that 
time  we  had  to  rely  solely  on  the  supply  of  water 
we  carried  with   us,  which  was  an  anxious  piece  of 

D 


50  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

work.  I  do  not  think  we  ever  did  so  little  washing 
in  our  lives  before  ;  water  was  too  precious  to  juggle 
with  then. 

Haud  is  a  Somali  word  signifying  the  kind  of 
country  so  named,  and  may  mean  jungly  ground  or 
prairie-like  plains.  We  crossed  a  part  which  re- 
minded us  both  of  the  Canadian  prairies,  dried-up 
grass  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  waterless 
tract  most  crossed  by  travellers  and  trading  caravans 
is  arid  and  barren,  and  the  paths  are  not  discernible 
owing  to  the  springy  nature  of  the  ground.  Parts  of 
the  Haud  are  quite  luxuriant,  and  provide  grazing  for 
countless  thousands  of  camels,  sheep,  and  goats.  Our 
route  lay  over  a  flat,  ugly,  and  uninteresting  expanse. 
It  was  no  use  looking  for  signs  of  game.  The  new 
grass  had  not  as  yet  appeared.  Even  the  easily  con- 
tented camels  had  to  make  believe  a  lot  at  meal-times. 

We  were  marvellously  lucky  in  our  getting  over  this 
daunting  place.  At  no  time  were  we  overwhelmed 
with  the  heat.  A  quite  refreshing  breeze  blew  over  us 
most  days,  and  at  night  we  found  it  too  cold  to  be 
pleasant.  I  called  it  luck,  but  Clarence  attributed  it  to 
the  will  of  Allah. 

I  got  a  fine  bustard  for  the  pot.  A  beautiful  bird 
with  a  dark  brown  crest,  and  a  coat,  like  Joseph's,  of 
many  colours.  I  saved  some  of  the  feathers,  they 
were  so  iridescent  and  beautiful.  The  bustard  tribe  in 
Somaliland  appears  to  be  a  large  one.  I  noticed  three 
or  four  distinctly  different  species,  with  dissimilar 
markings.  The  Ogaden  bustard  had  the  prize,  I  think, 
in   glory  of   plumage.      Even    his   beak  was   painted 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  51 

green,  his  legs  yellow,  and  all  else  of  him  shone 
resplendent.  The  cook  made  a  bustard  stew,  and 
very  good  it  tasted.  We  did  not  need  to  feel  selfish, 
feasting  so  royally,  for  birds  are  not  looked  on  with 
any  favour  by  Somalis,  though  they  do  not  refuse  to 
eat  them.  I  think  it  is  because  no  bird,  even  an 
ostrich,  can  grow  big  enough  to  make  the  meal  seem 
really  worth  while  to  a  people  who,  though  willing 
enough  to  go  on  short  commons  if  occasion  forces, 
enjoy  nothing  less  than  a  leg  of  mutton  per  man. 

Cecily,  lucky  person,  shot  a  wart-hog,  coming  on 
him  just  as  he  was  backing  in  to  the  little  pied-a-terre 
they  make  for  themselves.  She  did  deserve  her  luck, 
for  as  I  was  out,  and  not  able  to  help  her,  she  had  to 
dissect  her  prize  alone.  Pig  is  unclean  to  the  Somali. 
Even  the  cook,  who  claimed  to  be  "  all  same  English," 
was  not  English  enough  for  this.  We  kept  the  tushes, 
and  ate  the  rest.  The  meat  was  the  most  palatable  of 
any  we  had  tasted  so  far. 

I  bagged  a  wandering  aoul,  not  at  all  a  sporting  shot. 
I  got  the  buck  in  the  near  fore,  and  but  for  its  terrible 
lameness  I  should  never  have  come  up  with  it  at  all. 
His  wound,  like  Mercutio's,  sufficed.  One  might  as 
well  try  to  win  the  Derby  on  a  cab-horse  as  come  up 
with  even  a  wounded  buck  on  any  of  the  steeds  we 
possessed.  I  ambled  along,  and  so  slowly  that  the 
buck  was  outstripping  the  pony.  I  slipped  off  then, 
and  running  speedily,  came  within  excellent  range  and 
put  the  poor  thing  out  of  his  pain.  His  head  was  the 
finest  of  his  kind  we  obtained. 

The  horns  differ  considerably,  and  I  have  in  my 


52  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

collection  backward  and  outward  turning  ones.  Aoul 
is  a  very  common  gazelle  in  all  parts  of  open  country, 
barring  South-East  Somaliland,  and  travels  about  in 
vast  herds.  Its  extraordinary  inquisitiveness  makes  it 
fall  a  very  easy  victim. 

Clarence  went  out  with  us  in  turn.  His  alternative 
was  a  fine  upstanding  fellow,  but  after  three  or  four 
expeditions  with  him  as  guide  I  deposed  him  from  the 
position  of  second  hunter.  He  was  slow,  and  lost  his 
presence  of  mind  on  the  smallest  provocation,  both 
of  them  fatal  defects  in  a  big  game  hunter,  where 
quickness  of  brain  and  readiness  of  resource  is  a  sine 
qua  non. 


CHAPTER  IV 

WE  MEET  KING  LEO 

My  hour  is  almost  come 

Hamlet 

A  lion  among  ladies  is  a  most  dreadful  thing,  for  there  is  not 
a  more  fearful  wild  fowl  than  your  lion  living 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream 

Very  shortly  after  this  we  came  to  a  Somali  karia,  or 
encampment.  Its  inhabitants  were  a  nomadic  crowd, 
and  very  friendly,  rather  too  much  so,  and  I  had  to 
order  Clarence  to  set  a  guard  over  all  our  things. 

Their  own  tents  were  poor,  made  of  camel  mats  that 
had  seen  better  days.  The  Somali  women  were 
immensely  taken  with  our  fair  hair,  and  still  more  with 
our  hair-pins.  Contrary  to  the  accepted  custom  of 
lady  travellers,  we  did  not  suffer  the  discomfort  of 
wearing  our  hair  in  a  plait  down  our  backs.  We 
"did"  our  hair — mysterious  rite — as  usual.  By  the 
time  I  had  finished  my  call  at  the  camp  my  golden  hair 
was  hanging  down  my  back.  I  had  given  every  single 
hair-pin  to  the  Somali  ladies,  who  received  them  with 
as  much  delight  as  we  should  a  diamond  tiara. 

Married  women  in  Somaliland  wear  their  hair 
encased  in  a  bag  arrangement.  Girls  plait  theirs. 
The  little  ones'  heads  are  shaven,  and  so,  apparently, 
were  the  scalps  of  the  very  old  men.     Clarence's  hair 


54  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

was  about  two  inches  long  when  we  started,  and  he 
had  a  way  of  cleaning  it  reminiscent  of  a  bird  taking  a 
sand  bath.  He  rubbed  his  head  with  wet  ashes,  which 
speedily  dried  in  the  sun,  and  allowed  him  to  shake  the 
dust  out — a  nettoyage  d  sec  process,  and  very  effective. 
As  a  rule  he  wore  no  head-covering  in  the  hottest  sun. 

Even  the  heads  of  the  Somali  babies  are  exposed 
in  all  their  baldness.  I  suppose  God  tempers  the  rays 
to  the  shorn  lambs. 

The  huts  are  made  of  a  frame  of  bent  poles,  over 
which  camel  mats  and  odds  and  ends  in  the  way  of 
blankets  are  thrown.  The  nomadic  tribes  in  their 
treks  follow  the  grass,  and  occupy  the  same  zarebas 
year  after  year.  These  they  make  of  thick  thorn 
brushwood,  immensely  high,  two  circles,  one  inside 
the  other.  Between  the  two  fences  the  cattle  are 
penned  sometimes,  but  at  night  the  middle  encamp- 
ment receives  most  of  them,  and  fires  are  lighted.  All 
the  work  of  erecting  the  huts  and  tending  the  animals 
is  done  by  women,  and  very  often  the  oldest  women 
and  the  smallest  of  the  children  have  this  office  thrust 
upon  them. 

You  can  imagine  that  a  Somali  karia  is  rather  of  the 
nature  of  Barnum's,  minus  the  auctioneering  and  the 
shouting  and  bustle — countless  people,  ground  all 
ploughed  with  the  sturm  und  drang  of  the  restless 
feet,  and  smell ! 

It  is  a  wonderful  thing  that  human  beings  can  thrive 
in  the  condition  of  dirt  and  squalor  in  which  these 
wandering  Somalis  live.  They  do,  and  some  of  them 
are  very  fine-looking  men  indeed. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  55 

The  majority  of  the  tribes  are  nomadic.  There  are 
some  settled,  some  traders  pure  and  simple,  and  some 
outcaste  people,  of  whom  the  Midgans  seem  the  most 
romantic — probably  because  he  still  uses  bow  and 
arrow,  lives  a  hand  to  mouth  existence,  calls  no  karia 
home,  and  makes  his  bed  in  the  open. 

Most  Somalis  wear  the  long  tobe  in  various 
degrees  of  cleanliness.  The  real  dandy  affects  a 
garment  of  dazzling  whiteness.  Less  particular  people 
carry  on  until  the  tobe  is  filthy.  I  imagine  the 
cloth  hails  from  Manchester.  It  is  cotton  sheeting, 
several  feet  in  length,  and  put  on  according  to  the 
taste  and  fancy,  artistic,  original,  or  otherwise,  of  the 
wearer.  It  is  a  graceful  costume,  Caesar-like  and 
imposing.  At  night  it  is  not  removed,  and  seen  by 
the  light  of  the  fire  each  sleeping  Somali  looks  like 
nothing  so  much  as  some  great  cocoon. 

A  praying  carpet  is  considered  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  Somali  equipment.  It  isn't  really  a  carpet 
at  all,  being  nothing  in  the  wide  world  but  a  piece  of 
tanned  hide  or  skin.  Some  of  our  men  spent  a  good 
deal  of  time  on  the  mat,  prostrating  themselves  at  the 
most  untoward  moments.  Others  again  did  not  seem 
to  have  got  religion,  and  never  called  the  thing  into 
use  at  all.  But  to  every  one  of  them  Allah  was  a 
something  impossible  to  get  along  without  entirely. 
If  there  had  been  no  Allah  or  Kismet  to  put  all  the 
blame  on  to  when  everything  went  wrong,  we  should 
have  been  in  an  awkward  place  indeed. 

It  was  at  this  encampment  I  purchased  two  more 
ponies,  not  beautiful  to  look  at  but  beggars   to   go. 


56  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

We  tried  them  first,  fearing  to  be  done  again,  and  they 
seemed  willing  little  fellows,  and  full  of  life.  Most  of 
the  tribes  breed  ponies  on  a  small  or  large  scale,  and  as 
they  are  never  groomed  or  tidied  up  at  all  they  cannot 
help  a  somewhat  unkempt  appearance.  We  bought  a 
few  sheep  for  food,  and  were  presented  with  a  dirty 
harn  full  of  camels'  milk,  horrid  tasting  stuff,  which  we 
handed  over  to  the  men,  and  so  didn't  desert  our 
"  Nestle  "  for  it.  Going  among  the  squalid  tents  in 
the  karia  we  found  a  woman  in  a  sad  state  of  collapse, 
although  nobody  seemed  to  mind  it  save  ourselves. 
More  of  the  Kismet  business.  She  had  a  wee  baby,  a 
few  hours  old,  lying  on  the  hcrio  beside  her.  The 
whole  scene  was  primitive  and  pathetic  to  a  degree. 
I  am  glad  to  say  we  improved  matters  consider- 
ably. 

Although  water  was  very  scarce,  we  spared  enough 
from  our  store  to  tub  the  quaint  little  baby,  going  first 
back  to  our  tents  to  procure  soap  and  a  few  other 
things.  We  dressed  the  mite  in  a  white  vest,  in  which 
it  was  completely  lost,  to  the  interest  and  astonishment 
of  a  jury  of  matrons  who  stood  around  us,  ever  and 
again  feeling  some  part  of  our  clothing,  tying  and  un- 
tying our  boot  laces,  and  even  going  the  length  of 
putting  inquisitive  hands  into  our  pockets.  For  the 
mother  of  His  Majesty  the  Baby  we  opened  our  first 
bottle  of  emergency  champagne.  A  right  thinking 
Somali  is  dead  against  strong  drink  of  any  kind,  spirits 
being  entirely  taboo,  so  we  thought  it  safer  and  more 
diplomatic  to  refer  to;the  champagne  as  medicine. 
The  bang  it  opened  with  astonished  the  listless  crowds, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  57 

and  the  effect  as  the  good  wine  did  its  work  astonished 
them  still  more. 

We  presented  the  headman  with  a  tobe,  and  then 
took  ourselves  back  to  camp,  accompanied  by  a  rabble 
of  Somalis  who  infested  our  zareba  until  we  struck 
tents  that  evening.  I  had  as  much  of  a  bath  as  it  was 
possible  to  get  in  a  tea-cupful  of  water.  But  a  visit 
to  a  Somali  encampment  makes  you  feel  a  trifle  dirty. 

Our  water  supply  was  on  the  verge  of  becoming  a 
worry,  so  we  had  to  make  a  detour  towards  a  place 
where  rain  was  reported  to  have  fallen  and  the  pools 
could  be  counted  on.  Clarence  knew  all  this  part  of 
the  country  well,  and  was  a  most  reliable  guide  as  wTell 
as  everything  else.  His  duties  were  multitudinous,  and 
it  was  marvellous  how  deftly  he  discharged  them.  He 
always  saw  to  the  lading  and  unloading,  chose  the 
spot  for  camp,  placed  the  watch  o'  nights,  gave  out  the 
stores,  and  kept  his  temper  through  it  all.  He  was  a 
born  leader  of  men,  amiable,  quick  and  never  sulked  ; 
an  admirable  thing.  Sulkiness  is  rather  a  big  trait  in 
the  Somali  character  ;  it  usually  springs  from  wounded 
vanity. 

At  the  water  holes  we  fell  in  with  some  more  Somalis, 
who  gave  the  Baron  Munchausen  news  of  lions  in  the 
vicinity.  By  the  time  our  henchman  had  elaborated 
the  story  the  lions  were  practically  in  our  zareba,  and 
we  were  much  discouraged,  feeling  that,  in  all  human 
probability,  judging  by  previous  results,  we  were  as  far 
off  lions  as  ever. 

That  night,  after  a  somewhat  longer,  more  tiring  trek 
than  usual,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  heard  a  lion 


58  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

roar.  I  say  for  the  first  time,  because  in  my  superiority 
I  tell  you  that  the  grunting,  short,  peevish  crying  heard 
in  the  great  cat  house  at  the  Zoo  at  feeding-time  cannot 
be  called  roaring,  after  one  has  heard  the  wonderful 
sound  of  His  Majesty  hunting.  My  heart  seemed  to 
stand  still  with  awe  as  I  listened  to  that  never-to-be- 
forgotten  sound.  Terrific  and  majestic,  it  rever- 
berated through  the  silence  of  the  night,  and  seemed 
to  repeat  itself  in  echoes  when  all  was  really  still. 

The  dawn  is  the  time  when  lions  roar  most.  They 
occasionally  give  tongue  when  actually  hunting,  often 
after  feeding.  The  sound  varies  with  the  age  and  lung 
power  of  the  animal,  and  has  many  gradations,  some- 
times sounding  as  though  the  pain  of  doing  it  at  all  hurt 
the  throat,  sometimes  the  sound  comes  in  great  abrupt 
coughs,  and  again  one  hears  even  triumphant  roars. 

We  rose  early.  Indeed,  I  do  not  think  we  slept 
again  after  hearing  the  longed-for  serenade,  and 
arranging  for  all  the  hunters  to  accompany  us,  set  off 
on  our  new  steeds  to  spoor  for  lion.  After  about  six 
miles  of  roughish  going  we  struck  the  tracks.  We 
examined  them  with  the  greatest  interest,  and  Clarence 
demonstrated  to  us  the  evidence  that  the  spoor  was 
very  new  indeed,  that  the  lions  were  two  in  number 
and  going  at  a  walking  pace.  I  soon  learnt  when  a 
lion  was  walking  and  when  he  commenced  to  run. 
The  lion,  being  a  cat,  has  retractile  claws,  and  there- 
fore when  he  walks  the  pugs  are  even  and  rounded. 
The  instant  he  alters  the  pace  and  runs,  the  nail- 
marks  are  plain,  and  the  sand  is  usually  slightly  furred 
up  by  the  pad. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  59 

High  above  us,  sailing  round  and  round  majesti- 
cally, were  many  vultures.  Sometimes  one  would 
swoop  low,  to  rise  again.  It  was  plain  from  the 
screaming  of  the  birds  a  kill  was  at  hand.  Wc 
pushed  on,  an  indescribable  excitement  gripping 
me.  I  regarded  every  bush  furtively.  What  secrets 
mightit  not  hold  ?  Abreast  of  it,  passed  it.  Nothing  ! 
I  had  a  taut  feeling  of  strained  relief ;  I  glanced 
at  Cecily,  but  you  could  not  guess  her  feeling 
from  her  face.  I  felt  I  should  like  to  walk,  to  feel 
terra  firma  beneath  my  feet,  and  grasp  my  rifle  instead 
of  reins  ;  but  Clarence  had  said  nothing,  and  plodded 
along  by  my  side.  He  was  walking,  but  four  hunters 
were  mounted. 

In  a  slightly  open  space — the  whole  of  the  sandy 
waste  was  dotted  here  with  bushes  taller  than  a  man 
— we  came  on  what  had  once  been  a  graceful  aoul, 
mangled  and  torn.  The  lions  had  dined,  and  that 
heavily,  only  the  shoulders  of  the  gazelle  being  left. 
The  sand  was  tossed  up  and  ploughed  into  furrows  in 
the  death  struggle,  and  from  the  scene  of  the  last  phase 
wound  a  lion  track  going  towards  a  thick  bunch  of 
thorn.  It  seemed  likely  the  lions  were  lying  up  in  the 
immediate  vicinity.  The  lion  feeds  in  a  very  business- 
like manner,  and  after  a  kill  gorges  himself  to  reple- 
tion, then,  not  to  put  too  fine  a  point  on  it,  goes  a  little 
way  off,  is  violently  and  disgustingly  sick,  after  which 
he  returns  and  gorges  some  more.  Then  he  sleeps,  off 
and  on,  for  perhaps  three  days,  when  he  hunts  again. 
When  hunting,  immense  distances  are  covered,  and 
though  he  hunts  alone,  his  mate  comes  up  with  him 


60  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

eventually  to  share  the  spoil.  They  seem  to  have  some 
way  of  communicating  their  whereabouts  that  is  quite 
as  effective  as  our  telegraphic  system. 

I  felt  it  was  quite  time  to  quit  my  saddle,  and  be 
clear  of  the  pony,  so  dismounted  and  prepared  for 
action,  taking  my  rifle  and  looking  to  it.  It  was  only 
just  in  time  for  my  peace  of  mind.  In  one  tense 
second  I  realised  I  had  seen  two  monstrous  moving 
beasts,  yellowish  and  majestic.  They  were  very  close, 
and  moved  at  a  slow  pace  from  the  bush  ahead  into  a 
patch  of  still  thicker  cover  to  the  left.  I  remember 
that  though  the  great  moment  for  which  we  had 
planned  and  longed  and  striven  was  really  at  hand,  all 
my  excitement  left  me,  and  there  was  nothing  but  a 
cold  tingling  sensation  running  about  my  veins. 
Clarence  in  a  moment  showed  the  excellent  stage- 
management  for  which  he  was  famous,  and  I  heard  as 
in  a  dream  the  word  of  command  that  sent  our 
hunters,  the  Baron  included,  dashing  after  our  quarry 
shouting  and  yelling  and  waving  spears.  Again  I' 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  now  hurrying  beasts.  How 
mighty  they  looked!  In  form  as  unlike  a  prisoned 
lion  as  can  well  be  imagined.  They  hardly  seemed 
related  to  their  cousins  at  the  Zoo.  The  mane  of  the 
wild  lion  is  very  much  shorter.  No  wild  lion  acquires 
that  wealth  of  hair  we  admire  so  much.  The  strenuous 
life  acts  as  hair-cutter.  And  yet  the  wild  beast  is 
much  the  most  beautiful  in  his  virile  strength  and 
suggestion  of  enormous  power. 

The  lions  being  located,  we  crept  on  warily  towards 
the  bush,  a  citadel  of  khansa  and  mimosa  scrub,  a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  61 

typical  bit  of  jungle  cover.  The  lions  sought  it  so 
readily,  as  they  had  dined  so  heavily  that  they  were 
feeling  overdone.  The  men  went  around  the  lair  and 
shouted  and  beat  at  the  back.  Whether  the  cats  were 
driven  forward  or  not  with  the  din,  or  whether  they 
had  not  penetrated  far  within  the  retreat  at  first,  I 
cannot,  of  course,  tell,  but  I  saw  from  thirty-five  yards 
off,  as  I  stood  with  my  finger  on  the  trigger,  ferocious 
gleaming  eyes,  and  heard  ugly  short  snarls,  breaking 
into  throaty  suppressed  roars  every  two  or  three 
seconds.  The  jungle  cover  parted,  and  with  lithe 
stretched  shoulders  a  lioness  shook  herself  half  free  of 
the  density,  then  crouched  low  again.  Down,  down, 
until  only  the  flat  of  her  skull  showed,  and  her  small 
twitching  ears.  In  one  more  moment  she  would  be 
on  us.  I  heard  Cecily  say  something.  I  think  it  may 
have  been  "  Fire  ! "  Sighting  for  as  low  as  I  could  see 
on  that  half  arc  of  yellow  I  pulled  the  trigger,  and 
Cecily's  rifle  cracked  simultaneously.  The  head  of 
the  lioness  pressed  lower,  and  nothing  showed  above 
the  ridge  of  grass  and  thorn.  The  lioness  must  be 
dead.  And  yet,  could  one  kill  so  great  a  foe  so  simply  ? 
We  stood  transfixed.  The  sun  blared  down,  a  butterfly 
flickered  across  the  sand,  a  cricket  chirruped  in  long- 
drawn,  twisting  notes.  These  trifles  stamped  them- 
selves on  my  memory  as  belonging  for  ever  to  the 
scene,  and  now  I  cannot  see  a  butterfly  or  hear  a 
cricket's  roundelay  without  going  back  to  that  day  of 
days  and  wonder  unsurpassed. 

Then  I  did  an  inanely  stupid  thing.     It  was  my  first 
lion  shoot,  and  my  ignorance  and  enthusiasm  carried 


62  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

me  away.  I  ran  forward  to  investigate,  with  my  rifle 
at  the  trail.  I  don't  excuse  such  folly,  and  I  got  my 
deserts.  Worse  remains  behind.  It  was  my  rule  to 
reload  the  right  barrel  immediately  after  firing,  and 
the  left  I  called  my  emergency  supply.  My  rule  I  say, 
and  yet  in  this  most  important  shoot  of  all  it  was  so  in 
theory  only  !  I  had  forgotten  everything  but  the  dead 
lioness.  I  had  forgotten  the  bush  contained  another 
enemy. 

A  snarling  quick  roar,  and  almost  before  I  could  do 
anything  but  bring  up  my  rifle  and  fire  without  the 
sights,  a  lion  broke  from  the  side  of  the  brake.  I 
heard  an  exclamation  behind  me,  and  my  cousin's  rifle 
spoke.  The  bullet  grazed  the  lion's  shoulder  only,  and 
lashed  him  to  fury.  All  I  can  recollect  is  seeing  the 
animal's  muscles  contract  as  he  gathered  himself  for  a 
springing  charge,  and  instinct  told  me  the  precise 
minute  he  would  take  off.  My  nerves  seemed  to  relax, 
and  I  tried  to  hurl  myself  to  one  side.  There  was  no 
power  of  hurling  left  in  me,  and  I  simply  fell,  not 
backwards  nor  forwards,  but  sideways,  and  that  acci- 
dent or  piece  of  luck  saved  me.  For  the  great  cat  had 
calculated  his  distance,  and  had  to  spring  straight  for- 
ward. He  had  not  bargained  for  a  victim  slightly  to 
the  right  or  left.  His  weight  fell  on  my  legs  merely, 
and  his  claws  struck  in.  Before  he  had  time  to  turn 
and  rend  me,  almost  instantaneously  my  cousin  fired. 
I  did  not  know  until  later  that  she  did  so  from  a  dis- 
tance of  some  six  yards  only,  having  run  right  up  to 
the  scene  in  her  resolve  to  succour  me.  The  top  of 
the  lion's  head  was  blown  to  smithereens,  and  the 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  63 

heavy  body  sank.  I  felt  a  greater  weight  ;  the  blood 
poured  from  his  mouth  on  to  the  sand,  the  jaws  yet 
working  convulsively.  The  whole  world  seemed  to  me 
to  be  bounded  north,  south,  east,  and  west  by  Lion. 
The  carcase  rolled  a  little  and  then  was  still.  Pinned 
by  the  massive  haunches  I  lay  in  the  sand. 

Clarence,  Cecily,  and  all  the  hunters  stood  around. 
I  noticed  how  pale  she  was.  Even  the  tan  of  her 
sunburnt  face  could  not  conceal  the  ravages  of  the 
last  five  minutes.  The  men  pulled  the  heavy  car- 
case away,  taking  him  by  the  fore-paws,  his  tail  trailing, 
and  exquisite  head  all  so  hideously  damaged.  Only 
his  skin  would  be  available  now,  still 

I  sat  up  in  a  minute,  feeling  indescribably  shaky,  and 
measured  the  lion  with  my  eye.  He  could  be  gloriously 
mounted,  and  "  He  will  just  do  for  that  space  in  the 
billiard  room,"  my  voice  tailed  off.  I  don't  remember 
anything  else  until  I  found  myself  in  my  tent  with  my 
cousin  rendering  first  aid,  washing  the  wounds  and 
dressing  them  with  iodoform.  Only  one  gash  was  of 
any  moment.  It  was  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  thigh. 
We  had  not  sufficient  medical  skill  to  play  any  pranks, 
so  kept  to  such  simple  rules  as  extreme  cleanliness, 
antiseptic  treatment,  and  nourishing  food.  Indeed,  our 
cook  did  well  for  me  those  days,  and  made  me  at 
intervals  the  most  excellent  mutton  broth,  which  he 
insisted  on  bringing  to  me  himself,  in  spite  of  the 
obvious  annoyance  of  the  butler,  who  had  lived  in  the 
service  of  an  English  family  and  so  knew  what  was 
what. 

The   days   and    nights   were   very   long  just   then. 


64  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Clarence  came  to  see  me  often.  His  occupation  was 
gone.  Cecily  did  not  leave  meat  all  at  first.  I  believe 
our  good  fellow  wondered  if  we  should  ever  require 
him  to  hunt  again.  He  did  not  know  the  proverb, 
"Once  bitten,  twice  shy,"  but  you  could  see  he  felt  it. 

One  evening,  when  I  was  convalescent,  Clarence 
brought  one  of  the  men  to  us  with  inquiries  as  to  the 
best  way  to  cure  him. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  was  naturally  the  first  ques- 
tion, as  we  were  not  the  human  Homoceas  our  men 
seemed  to  take  us  for. 

Our  servant  had  been  chewing — must  have  been — a 
piece  of  thorn,  and  a  particularly  spiky  insidious  bit 
had  stuck  itself  well  in  the  back  of  his  throat,  near  the 
left  tonsil.  It  would  seem  an  easy  enough  thing  to  pull 
out,  but  it  was  the  most  difficult  of  operations.  We  could 
not  make  any  very  prolonged  attempt  at  dislodgment 
because  every  time  we  tried  to  touch  the  bit  of  thorn 
the  man  either  shut  his  mouth  with  a  snap  and  bit  us, 
or  pretended  he  must  be  sick  forthwith.  It  was  very 
laughable,  but  a  little  worrying.  We  tried  nippers,  a 
vast  pair,  that  filled  the  mouth  to  overflowing  and  hid 
the  offending  thorn  from  sight,  We  tried  blunt 
scissors,  which  Cecily  said  would  not  cut  because  they 
could  not,  and  might  be  relied  on  to  act  the  part  of 
nippers.  Of  course  they  did  cut,  when  they  weren't 
needed  to,  the  roof  of  the  patient's  mouth,  and  matters 
grew  worse  than  ever.  The  light  was  wholly  insuffi- 
cient, and  we  could  hardly  see  at  all.  The  candle 
lamp  never  shone  in  the  right  direction,  and  we 
laughed  so — the  two   Somalis  were    in    such    deadly 


'.'    > 


' 


. 


CECILY 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  65 

earnest.  I  do  not  think  any  harm  would  have  resulted 
if  the  thorn  had  been  left  where  it  stuck  until  the 
morning.  But  no  !  The  men  said  if  the  thorn  were 
left  the  throat  would  swell,  and  if  the  throat  swelled 
the  patient  would  choke,  and  if  he  choked  he  would  be 
dead.  The  cook  produced  some  of  the  doughy  bread 
he  was  past-master  in  concocting,  a  sticky  mass  to 
act  as  panacea,  and  our  thorn-stuck  henchman  swal- 
lowed a  lot  to  the  detriment  of  his  digestion.  No 
use.  The  thorn  would  not  be  levered  out.  Then — 
brilliant  idea — try  a  hairpin  !  Comic  papers  have  it 
that  a  woman  can  go  through  the  world  with  a  hair- 
pin as  a  tool  for  everything,  and  come  out  victorious. 
I  have  never  seen  one  put  in  the  list  of  a  hunter's 
requirements — a  great  oversight.  Take  my  word  for 
it,  a  hair-pin  does  the  work  of  ten  ordinary  implements. 
The  rounded  end  of  one  hooked  round  the  offending 
thorn  ejected  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble,  and  peace 
reigned  in  the  camp. 


E 


CHAPTER  V 


MORE  LIONS 


Much  better  than  I  was.     I  can  stand  and  walk.     I  will 
even  pace  slowly  to  my  kinsman's 

A  Winter's  Tale 

My  leg,  with  the  extra  big  gash,  was  a  frightful  nuis- 
ance. It  was  not  much,  but  was  just  enough  to  prevent 
my  going  out  hunting  for  some  time.  I  could  not  run 
at  all ;  and  if  you  would  hunt  buck  or  beast,  you  must 
run  like  Atalanta.  From  point  to  point  you  scamper 
on  occasion,  and  it  is  all  as  glorious  as  it  sounds. 

During  the  period  of  my  rest  I  prevailed  on  Cecily 
to  go  out  as  of  old,  and  try  her  luck.  I  occupied  myself 
in  caring  for  the  trophies  we  had  by  now  acquired. 
All  the  skulls  were  carefully  buried  near  the  largest 
ant-hill  in  the  vicinity,  and  were  dug  up  every  time  we 
struck  camp.  The  earlier  trophies  were  by  now  picked 
almostclean.  Themasks  andskinsgenerallywererubbed 
with  alum,  taxidermine,  and  wood  ashes.  I  was  very 
careful  to  smooth  out  any  creases,  and  gave  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  magnificent  coat  from  mine  enemy. 
Even  with  occasional  drenchings  the  trophies  suffered 
no  harm,  and  we  generally  in  rainy  times  tried  to 
spare  them  a  covering  of  waterproof  sheeting.  In 
those  days  of  idleness  the  bored-looking  camels  had 
been  two  short  expeditions  for  water  supplies.     Cecily 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  67 

did  wonders,  bagging  a  fine  oryx  after  an  exciting 
stalk,  a  lesser  koodoo — a  most  beautiful  creature — and 
a  jackal.  It  was  of  the  black-backed  variety,  with  silver 
hairs  and  flaming  yellow  sides,  and  I  admired  him 
immensely.  He  was  a  monster  too,  and  measured  four 
feet  as  he  lay. 

The  men  were  revelling  in  any  amount  of  meat  of 
my  cousin's  providing.  I  think  we  were  more  generous 
in  this  direction  than  are  many  hunters.  The  caravan 
is  expected  to  rely  on  the  usual  ration  of  rice  and 
dates — the  latter  a  gummed  together  mass  of  fruit, 
which  is  eaten  by  the  Somalis  in  handfuls.  They  were 
quite  good,  for  I  tasted  them  frequently. 

We  bought  sheep  throughout  the  trip,  either  by 
exchange  or  for  cash ;  and,  as  I  say,  there  was  a 
plentiful  supply  of  venison. 

As  soon  as  I  could  ride  we  marched,  and  very  glad 
we  were  to  leave  the  place  where  circumstances  had 
enforced  so  long  a  stay.  The  camp  began  to  take  on 
the  slovenly,  dirty  ways  of  the  average  Somali  karia 
The  spirit  of  idleness  sits  ill  on  these  natives.  They 
like  doing  nothing,  but  doing  nothing  does  not  like 
them,  and  very  speedily  they  get  slothful. 

The  procedure  of  our  camping  arrangements  varied 
but  little  when  things  were  normal  and  going  smoothly. 
On  selecting  the  right  spot  to  halt,  every  man  went  to 
his  own  work,  and  our  tents  were  up  almost  as  soon  as 
they  were  taken  off  the  kneeling  camels,  who  flopped 
down,  joyfully  obedient  at  the  first  sign  of  a  rest,  and, 
being  relieved  of  the  loads,  were  allowed  to  graze  at 
once.    Our  butler  put  out  everything  we  needed,  set 


68  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND 

up  the  beds,  placed  our  goods  and  chattels  to  hand, 
and  prepared  a  bath  each  for  us  if  we  happened  to  be 
in  a  place  where  a  bath  was  not  too  great  a  luxury,  and 
a  mere  sponge  if  water  was  absent. 

Meanwhile  the  cook  had  a  fire  going,  or  theoretically 
he  had,  though  very  often  it  was  a  long  time  before  it 
got  started.    The  camel  men  hacked  down  thorn  bushes, 
using  native  axes,  and  hangols,  or  wooden  crooks,  for 
pulling  the  wood  about  with.     The  chant  that  accom- 
panies all  Somali  occupations  was  loud  and  helpful. 
Sometimes  we  took  a  hand  at  this  zareba  building, 
using  an  English  axe  or  a  bill-hook,  and  the  men  would 
laugh  in  surprise,  and  hold  the  boughs  in  readiness  for 
us  to  chop.     They  liked  the  English  axes.     "  Best  axe 
I  see,"  the  camel-man  in  chief  said.     But  we  would 
not  lend  them  permanently,  because  they  would  have 
been  broken  at  once.      Every  mortal   thing  goes  to 
pieces  in  the  hands  of  these  Somalis ;  most  extraordi- 
nary.     Only  tough   native   implements    could   stand 
against  such  treatment.     Buck  were  carried  slung  on 
Sniders,  and  bent  the  weapon  into  graceful  curves. 
The  sights  and  even  the  triggers  were   knocked  off. 
The  Somali  boys  broke  all  the  handles  off  the  pans, 
and   seemed   incapable    of    taking   care   of  anything. 
Many  of    the    native    harm  gave  out  at  the  different 
wells  because  of  the  smashing  about  they  received, 
and  meant  our  buying  more  from  passing  tribes. 

At  night  my  shikar  pistol,  loaded,  lay  to  my  hand  on 
a  box  at  my  bedside,  for  what  I  don't  quite  know,  as 
I  should  have  disliked  immensely  to  use  it.  But  it 
seemed  the  correct  thing  ;  the  butler  expected  it.     He 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  69 

always  asked  me  to  give  him  the  weapon  from  my  belt 
about  supper  time,  and  I  next  saw  it  in  readiness  for 
midnight  affrays.  "  Chota-hazari "  was  served  us  by 
the  butler  calling  loudly  outside  our  tents,  or  by  deli- 
cately tapping  two  stones  together  as  an  intimation 
that  a  cup  of  tea  stood  on  the  ground  at  the  entrance, 
when  it  meant  making  a  long  arm  to  reach  it.  The 
teacups  were  not  Dresden  ;  they  were  of  thick  enamel 
— we  only  had  one  each  and  two  over  in5  case  of 
accidents  or  visitors — and  to  appreciate  them  at  their 
true  value  we  would  have  needed  the  mouths  of 
flukes. 

Sometimes  a  case  of  necessaries  required  for  break- 
fast would  be  in  our  tents  doing  duty  as  furniture,  and 
then  it  was  very  funny  indeed.  The  cook  would  come 
and  chant  outside  that  unless  he  could  have  the  box 
Mem-sahib  no  breakfast  would  see,  and  if  Mem-sahib 
no  breakfast  saw  she  would  upbraid  the  chef  because 
he  had  not  got  the  box.  All  this  would  be  woven  into 
a  little  tune  in  a  mixture  of  Somali,  Hindostanee,  and 
so-called  English.  Mem-sahib  would  chant  back  to 
the  effect  that  the  necessaries  would  appear  all  in  good 
time.  The  cook  would  retire  to  stir  up  the  fire  and 
cuff  his  assistant,  a  tow-headed  "  youth,"  whose  raison 
d'etre  appeared  to  be  the  cleaning,  or  making  worse 
dirty,  of  the  pans,  and  preparing  things  for  the  culi- 
nary artist.  The  tow-headed  one  was  a  mere  dauber  ; 
at  least  our  cook  told  us  so  in  effect,  with  great  dis- 
dain, when  I  suggested  the  assistant  should  be  allowed 
to  try  his  'prentice  hand.  That  was  one  day  when  I 
got  worried   about  my  digestion  holding  out  against 


70  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  insidious  attacks   made   on   it   by  the  high-class 
cookery  we  were  supposed  to  be  having. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  I  got  used  to  the  hot 
nauseating  smell  of  the  camels.  It  was  ever  present  in 
camp,  and  when  the  wind  blew  into  one's  tent  the 
indescribable  aroma  transcended  all  others.  Barring 
the  horrid  odour,  we  had  nothing  else  to  complain  of 
in  our  patient  dumb  servants.  The  camels  were  good 
tempered  beasts,  taking  them  all  round  ;  very  different 
to  Indian  camels,  among  whom  it  would  have  been 
impossible  to  wander  so  nonchalantly  o'  nights.  All 
our  camels,  save  one,  were  of  the  white  variety  usually 
to  be  found  in  Berbera.  The  one  exception  was  a 
trojan  creature,  dark  and  swarthy  looking,  who  hailed 
from  distant  Zeila.  He  was  a  splendid  worker,  untiring 
and  ungrumbling,  never  roaring  at  loading-up  time. 
But  the  Gel  Ad,  or  Berbera,  camel  is  considered 
by  experts  to  be  the  better  animal.  We  preferred 
"Zeila"  to  any  animal  we  had;  we  christened  him 
after  his  home.  It  is  very  odd,  and  may  be  will  be 
found  difficult  to  understand,  as  to  explain,  but  in 
some  of  the  camels'  faces  we  traced  the  most  speaking 
likenesses  to  friends  and  relatives,  either  through  ex- 
pression, form,  or  fancy.  Anyway,  they  were  like  many 
of  our  acquaintances ;  and  so,  to  Cecily  and  myself, 
the  different  camels  were  thoroughly  described  and 
known  as  "Uncle  Robert,"  "Aunt  Helena,"  or  "Mrs. 
Stacy,"  and  so  on  and  so  forth.  One  haughty  white 
camel,  with  a  lofty  sneer  of  disdain  and  arrogance 
about  it,  was  so  very  like  a  human  beauty  of  our 
acquaintance  that  we  smiled  every  time  we  looked  at 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  71 

the  animal.  Our  caravan  on  the  march  straggled  like 
a  flock  of  geese.  Some  two  or  three  of  the  camel-men 
had  to  lead  the  van  ;  the  others  lagged  behind  in  a 
bunch.  The  hunters  took  it  in  turns  to  ride  the  spare 
ponies,  and  Cecily  and  I  rode  the  steeds  we  had 
purchased  at  the  first  Somali  karia  we  came  upon. 

I  often  wondered  what  our  followers  thought  of  two 
women  being  in  the  position  to  command  attention, 
deference,  and  work — the  Somali  feminine  is  such  a 
very  crushed  down  creature,  and  takes  a  back  seat  at 
all  times.  Even  if  a  superabundance  of  meat  is  on 
hand  she  is  not  spared  a  tit-bit,  but  is  presented  with 
fearsome  scraps  and  entrails,  the  while  the  masculine 
element  gorges  on  the  choicest  morsels.  This  is  rather 
different  to  our  home  system.  I  remember  an  English- 
man of  my  acquaintance  telling  me  once,  with  no 
acrimony  of  tone,  nothing  but  calm  acceptance  of  the 
inevitable,  that  he  had  never  tasted  the  breast  of 
chicken  since  his  marriage  five  years  before  !  What 
a  glimpse  into  a  household  ! 

My  first  excursion  was  after  that  oryx  I  had  so  set  my 
heart  upon,  and  Clarence,  to  his  joy,  accompanied  me. 

"  Much  better  than  I  was,"  but  still  not  quite  fit  even 
yet.  I  carefully  stalked  a  small  herd  of  oryx,  four  to 
be  precise,  crawling  about  on  hands  and  knees  for  up- 
wards of  an  hour,  and  when  my  chance  came  at  last, 
and  a  bull  (not  anything  very  wonderful  I  am  glad  to 
remember)  passed  broadside  on,  well  within  range, 
I  fired — and  missed  !  At  the  very  instant  a  violent 
stab  agony  in  my  damaged  leg  made  me  cringe  in- 
voluntarily.    The  oryx  was  gone ! 


72  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

I  sat  down,  and  but  for  the  presence  of  my  shikari 
I  am  sure  I  should  have  cried. 

Game  was  now  most  plentiful,  gereniik,  oryx,  and 
aoul  being  more  often  in  sight  than  not.  Thunder- 
storms became  more  frequent,  and  rain  more  insistent. 
Since  leaving  the  place  where  we  sojourned  so  long  we 
had  not  known  one  day  in  which  rain  did  not  fall  some 
time  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  We  had  managed 
fairly  well  by  going  out  "  between  whiles,"  but  now 
there  weren't  any,  and  there  came  a  time  of  no  half 
measures.  Steady  downpours  bothered  us  no  end. 
I  am  very  used  to  water,  because  my  habitat  in  England 
is  in  that  delectable  spot  where  of  all  other  places 
nobody  dreams  of  going  out  minus  an  umbrella.  And 
I  have  seen  rain  in  many  corners  of  the  world,  but 
never  rain  like  the  Somali  variety.  It  is  for  all  the 
world  like  holding  on  to  the  string  of  a  shower  bath — 
it  pours  and  pours.  Of  course  whilst  the  rain  is  on 
there  is  no  use  in  endeavouring  to  spoor,  for  all  traces 
of  game  are  simply  wiped  out  by  the  floods  of  water 
as  a  sponge  cleans  a  slate.  We  could  do  nothing  save 
remain  in  our  soaked  tents  and  fume.  Things  were 
very  bad  and  uncomfortable  at  this  time.  For  a  whole 
week  we  never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  dry.  Every 
mortal  thing  we  had  was  drenched,  and  the  poor  tents 
were  no  more  use  than  brown  paper  in  face  of  the 
continued  avalanches  of  water.  We  used  to  wring  our 
blankets  each  night,  and  but  for  copious  doses  of 
quinine  I  don't  know  how  I  should  have  pulled  through. 
Cecily  pinned  her  faith  on  weak  whisky-and-water,  of 
which  latter  commodity  there  was  now  no  scarcity,  and 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  73 

both  our  schemes  worked  admirably,  and  bar  a  little 
rheumatism  in  my  left  shoulder  I  carried  on  all  right. 
At  last — "a.  fine  day;  let  us  go  out  and  kill  some- 
thing" came  and,  the  conditions  being  splendid  for 
spooring,  we  went  off  bent  on  an  execution — of  any- 
thing. 

Running  in  and  out  among  some  rocks  were  the 
quaintest  little  rabbits,  without  tails,  Manx  rabbits,  odd 
stumpy  greyish  bodies,  and  an  engaging  air  of  in- 
difference to  passers-by. 

A  great  yellow-beaked  hornbill  sat  on  a  tree  and 
made  his  own  peculiar  croaking  noise.  Most  wise  he 
looked  as  he  put  his  grey  head  to  one  side  and  in- 
vestigated us.  Yet  his  looks  bewrayed  him  ;  for  when 
I  threw  some  dates  at  him  to  see  if  he  knew  how  to 
catch  them  in  his  beak,  he  let  them  pass  him  all  un- 
heeded. His  cousin  at  the  Zoo  could  teach  many 
things. 

After  a  long  ride  we  left  our  ponies  to  be  led  along 
behind  by  a  syce,  and  spoored  on  foot.  Clarence  and 
the  two  hunters  were  still  riding.  We  nearly  went  off 
our  heads  with  joy  and  excitement  when  we  suddenly 
came  on  a  neat  little  path  made  by  lion.  The  print 
was  perfect.  The  most  perfect  I  have  ever  seen.  The 
soft  earth  had  taken  the  mould  like  dough.  There 
were  the  fore  indents,  there  the  cushions  of  the  pad. 
We  knelt  down  in  our  eagerness  to  realise  how  really 
soaked  everything  was.  The  ground  was  sodden,  and 
every  step  oozed  water. 

We  ran  on,  Clarence  and  the  hunters  keeping  pace 
easily  with  us.    There  were  scrubby  bushes  all  about, 


74  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

but  the  pugs  threaded  in  and  out,  and  held  plainly  on, 
until  they  ended  in  a  vast  pile  of  stones  and  brush- 
wood. An  ideal  lair.  Clearly  our  quarry  was  run  to 
earth.  With  a  "  whuff  "  two  mighty  animals  leapt  up, 
over  the  stones  and  away,  just  for  all  the  world  like  a 
couple  of  agile  common  or  garden  cats.  Cecily  and  I 
flew  after  them.  I  don't  think  I  ever  ran  so  hard  in 
my  life  before.  I  might  have  been  the  pursued  rather 
than  the  pursuer.  The  ground  opened  up  to  great 
plateau  country,  and  the  lion  and  lioness  were  canter- 
ing close  together,  almost  touching  shoulders.  Making 
a  detour  Clarence  and  the  hunters  rounded  the  great 
cats  up.  For  a  moment  it  almost  seemed  that  they 
pulled  up  dead  as  the  gallant  little  ponies  dashed  by 
them,  but  a  man  is  fairly  safe  on  a  galloping  pony.  I 
laid  this  flattering  well-known  unction  to  my  soul 
as  I  saw  the  lion  go  for  "The  Baron,"  whilst  the 
lioness  simply  broke  away,  and  vanished  in  that 
marvellous  manner  of  disappearing  which  lions  know 
the  secret  of. 

With  quivering  tail  extended,  and  most  horrible 
coughing  snarls  the  lion  seemed  about  to  disprove  the 
idea  that  he  was  no  match  for  a  mounted  horseman. 
But  away  and  away  dashed  the  sporting  little  pony, 
and  His  Majesty  turned  his  terrific  attentions  to  us,  and 
in  a  whirl  of  tossed-up  mud  came  to  within  forty  yards 
of  the  place  where  Cecily  and  I  stood  in  the  open, 
rigid  and  awaiting  the  onslaught.  Then  we  let  him 
have  it.  I  saw  his  tremendous  head  over  my  sights 
as  in  short  bounds  he  cleared  the  distance  that 
separated  us.     I  fired  simultaneously  with  my  cousin. 




,  ...         ,    ,        I    ) 


*r    ■ 


z 
o 


a 
z 

< 


o 
o 
o 


...   •  '. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  75 

I  was  using  the  heavy  12-bore,  but  I  kept  my  fingers 
on  the  rear  trigger  as  we  advanced  cautiously  to  the 
dropped  lion.  He  crumpled  up  like  a  toy  with  the 
mainspring  broken,  and  sank  as  he  finished  his  last 
spring  with  his  massive  head  between  his  paws — a 
majestic  and  magnificent  sight. 

I  measured  him  previous  to  the  skinning  operation 
and,  stretched  out,  from  his  nose  to  the  end  of  his  tail 
he  touched  seven  feet  ten  and  a  half  inches.  Of 
course  this  was  before  rigor-mortis  had  set  in,  and  he 
may  have  stretched  a  little.  His  mane  was  shorter  than 
our  other  damaged  lion  trophy,  and  entirely  clear  from 
the  patches  of  mange  we  found  on  one  or  two  other 
lions  we  bagged.  But  he  was  infested  with  ticks.  I 
should  think  life  must  have  been  an  irritating  affair  for 
him. 

We  were  immensely  set  up,  and  only  regretted  that 
the  lioness  had  made  good  her  escape.  One  of  the 
most  extraordinary  features  about  lions  to  me  is  the 
way  so  large  an  animal  can  obliterate  itself  ;  they  sim- 
ply blend  into  the  landscape.  Their  brownish-yellow 
skins,  so  similar  in  colour  to  the  burnt  grass,  and  their 
agile  bodies,  which  can  crouch  and  wriggle  like  any 
lizard,  play  parts  in  the  scheme  for  invisibility.  On 
one  occasion  Cecily  and  I  surprised  a  lion  in  a  small 
nullah.  (We  were  a  trifle  astonished  ourselves,  too, 
but  that  is  a  detail.)  We  ran  in  pursuit,  being  out  of 
range,  and  though  we  kept  our  eyes  fixed  on  him,  or 
thought  we  did,  that  lion  seemed  to  disappear  as  sud- 
denly as  though  the  earth  had  swallowed  him  up. 
Then  Clarence  pointed  out  to  us  a  patch  of  brown 


j6  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

grass,  taller  than  the  rest — any  amateur  like  myself 
would  have  sworn  it  was  grass.  "  Libbah,"  our  man 
said  impressively.  And  "libbah"  it  was.  We  ap- 
proached and  the  "  grass  "  with  a  bound  was  off  !  We 
bagged  him  in  the  end,  and  he  was  a  very  old  creature 
indeed.  Alone,  and  almost  toothless,  his  day  was 
almost  spent,  and  he  died  more  royally  at  our  hands 
than  ending  as  the  ignominious  prey  of  some  hyaena. 
He  put  me  in  mind  of  a  wonderful  lion  picture  I  saw 
once  at  the  Academy,  which  portrayed  an  old,  old 
lion,  at  twilight,  in  his  own  beloved  haunts,  weak  and 
doddering,  yet  still  a  king— too  strong  even  yet  to  be 
pulled  down  by  the  lurking  forms,  which  with  lurid 
eyes  watched  the  dying  lion  from  the  dark  thorn  back- 
ground.    I  think  the  picture  was  called  "  Old  Age." 

The  strange  inborn  dread  all  wild  creatures  have  of 
man,  unknown  man,  makes  even  the  mightiest  lion  try 
for  safety.  There  is,  of  course,  no  sort  of  cowardice 
in  him.  In  open  country  he  knows  the  man  has  all 
the  advantage,  but  even  then  he  faces  the  music 
grandly  when  cornered.  In  cover,  instinct  tells  him 
most  of  the  game  lies  with  himself.  The  Somalis  have 
a  way — I  am  afraid  this  is  a  bit  of  a  chestnut — of 
riding  down  lion  that  is  really  a  clever  performance 
If  some  venturesome  beast  makes  a  habit  of  helping 
himself  to  a  baby  camel  or  two  from  the  karia  at 
night,  he  is  a  marked  beast,  and  a  small  army  of 
Somalis  prepare  to  give  battle.  Riding  their  quick 
little  tats,  and  all  armed  with  spears,  they  drive  the 
lion,  with  prodigious  shouting  and  yelling,  into  the 
open.      Here  they  close  around  him  and  harry  him 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  77 

hither  and  thither,  dazing  the  mazed  creature  with 
their  cries  and  hurry.  In  the  end  the  monarch  always 
abdicates,  and  some  Somali,  quicker  than  his  fellows, 
finishes  the  business  with  a  drive  of  his  spear.  It  is 
not  unlike  the  principle  of  bull-fighting,  except  that  in 
the  case  of  the  Somalis  self-preservation  originates  the 
necessity  for  the  battle. 

In  the  lion-world  I  noticed  that  the  rule  of  Place  anx 
dames  did  not  apply.  The  male  invariably  tried  to 
take  the  shortest  route  to  safety,  and  madam  had  to 
look  after  herself. 

Buck  of  every  variety  forms  the  staple  food  of  lions. 
I  have  heard  that  they  have  been  known  to  kill  wart- 
hog,  but  never  myself  came  on  any  proof  of  this. 

A  large  trading  caravan  passed  us  here  en  route  to 
Berbera.  They  were  taking  a  heterogeneous  collection 
for  sale  at  the  coast  town,  ostrich  feathers,  ghee,  gum- 
arabic,  prayer-mats  and  skins  of  all  varieties.  They 
sold  us  some  ghee,  which  we  were  gladi  to  get,  as  our 
supply  was  running  low.  Their  huts  were  standing 
when  we  came  on  the  caravan,  and  on  the  march  were 
carried  on  camels  as  our  tents  were.  Like  turtles,  we 
carried  our  houses  with  us  wherever  we  went.  We 
wrote  two  or  three  letters,  enclosing  them  in  an  outer 
envelope  asking  that  they  should  be  posted.  Then 
we  gave  them  to  the  head-man  of  the  trading  party 
with  a  request  that  he  should  hand  them  to  the  first 
sahib  he  saw  in  Berbera.  The  letters  eventually  turned 
up  at  their  destinations,  so  some  good  Samaritan 
posted  them. 

That  same  evening,  as  Cecily  was  riding  alongside 


78  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

me,  a  group  of  some  twenty  Somali  horsemen  rode  up 
to  us,  and  every  one  of  them  closed  tight  around  us 
until  all  the  ponies  were  wedged  like  sardines.  The 
whole  crowd  wished  to  shake  hands  and  welcome  us. 
The  Somali  handshake  is  not  a  shake  strictly  speaking. 
It  is  a  mere  pressing  of  hands  and  is  prefaced  usually 
by  the  salutation  "  Aleikum  salaam,"  which  you  reply 
to  by  reversing  the  order  of  it,  "  Salaam  aleikum." 
Then  generally  the  interview,  if  lagging  a  little,  is 
materially  assisted  by  "  Mot  !  Mot !  io  Mot !"  (Hail  ! 
Hail  !  Again  Hail  !)  This  is  a  great  feature  of  the 
conversation,  and,  shouted  as  only  a  Somali  can  shout 
it,  is  a  rousing  welcome  indeed. 

These  friends  of  ours  were  the  outposts  of  a  vast 
horde  of  Somalis,  for  at  some  wells  we  saw  multitudes 
of  camels  standing  in  a  sort  of  lake,  quite  a  good-sized 
piece  of  water,  in  a  grilling  sun.  The  water  was  turgid 
and  foul,  or  I  should  have  schemed  for  a  bath  out  of  it. 
Every  one  came  to  call,  and  to  inquire  what  we  were 
doing.  They  crowded  round  the  trophies  drying, 
putting  their  fingers  on  the  skins  and  then  tasting  the 
fingers  to  see  what  the  result  was  like.  They  were  a 
great  nuisance,  and  we  had  to  trek  on  again  to  get 
away  from  their  unwelcome  attentions.  One  of  our 
camels  fought  another  as  we  loaded  up.  Never  did  I 
see  such  viciousness.  The  fur  flew,  and  bites  were 
many,  and  at  last  the  victor  drove  the  vanquished 
roaring  before  it.  The  camel-man  who  valeted  the 
conquering  hero  seemed  quite  charmed,  but  as  the 
beaten  animal  had  some  nasty  bites  in  the  neck,  the 
performance  did  not  seem  to  us  so  meritorious.     In  a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  79 

day  or  two  the  bites  had  developed  into  really  open 
wounds  and  the  men  treated  them  in  cruel-to-be-kind 
fashion  by  applying  red-hot  stones,  tying  this  drastic 
treatment  firmly  over  the  sore.  Burning  seemed  to  be 
an  all-curing  cure,  and  during  most  of  the  weeks  a 
spear  was  heated  with  which  to  raise  blisters  on  one 
camel  or  another. 


CHAPTER  VI 

BENIGHTED  IN  THE  JUNGLE 

Mercy  o'  me,  what  a  multitude  are  here  !     They  grow  still, 
too  ;  from  all  sides  they  are  coming 

King  Henry  VII  1 

O,  I  have  passed  a  miserable  night, 

So  full  of  ugly  sights,  of  ghostly  dreams 

King  Richard  III 

One  of  our  hunters,  a  melancholy  visaged  individual, 
was  a  very  amusing  personage  to  go  out  with  alone. 
He  always  acted  like  the  guide  of  a  Cook's  personally 
conducted  tour.  Not  a  tree,  or  twig,  or  water-hole 
was  left  to  be  seen  or  not  seen  by  us.  All  must  be 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Mem-sahibs.  It  reduced 
the  tracking  of  game  to  a  delicious  farce.  If  we  sighted 
an  antelope  he  would  first  point  it  out  to  me  most 
carefully,  telling  me  about  the  distance  the  creature 
was  from  us,  perhaps  saying  commandingly,  "You 
shoot  urn,"  handing  me  my  own  rifle  as  though  he 
were  giving  me  a  valuable  present. 

Sometimes  he  even  went  the  length  of  putting  it  to 
my  shoulder  and  cocking  it  for  me,  and  was  a  grand- 
motherly hunter  indeed!  He  spoiled  a  glorious 
chance  for  me  one  day  with  his  chaperoning  me 
through  tactics,  actually  telling  me  the  precise  moment 
to  fire,  and  when   I  did,  at  my  own  moment,  and — 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  81 

through  his  rattling  me  so — missed  ignominiously,  he 
whispered  to  himself,  with  a  whole  world  of  resigna- 
tion in  his  tone,  "  Mem-sahib  no  shoot,  Mem-sahib  no 
shoot  !  " 

Mem-sahib  turned  round  and  gave  the  idiot  a  bit  of 
her  mind.  I  had  had  enough  of  being  hurried  and 
flurried  by  his  ways.  I  learned  early  on  to  take  no 
notice  of  my  shikari.  Clarence  never  made  the 
egregious  mistake  of  obtruding  himself.  Some  of  the 
others  were  not  so  cautious,  and  were  very  quick  with 
their  ideas  and  remarks.  It  is  very  easy  to  rattle  a 
person  after  a  tiring  crawl,  and  throw  the  whole 
scheme  out  of  gear  to  fall  about  your  ears  like  an 
evanescent  card-house.  One  asks  time  to  recover 
breath  and  balance,  taking  one's  own  way.  Then  on 
occasion  it  is  necessary  to  shoot  from  all  sorts  of 
positions,  and  it  is  disconcerting  to  have  any  one  com- 
menting. I  prefer  to  be  able  to  sit  down  fair  and 
square  so  that  both  knees  may  be  elbow  rests  ;  but, 
alas,  not  often  the  opportunity  is  given  in  big  game 
shooting  to  choose  your  position.  You  seize  the 
moment,  and  the  moment  may  find  you  placed  very 
awkwardly. 

We  were  now  again  in  the  most  wonderful  region 
for  game  that  the  heart  of  the  most  grasping  sportsman 
could  desire.  Herds  of  buck  were  met  with  on  every 
march  we  made,  and  galloping  forms  were  outlined  on 
every  horizon.  If  there  were  more  aoul  to  be  seen  in  the 
early  days  of  the  discovery  of  Somaliland  as  a  Land  of 
Promise  for  the  hunter,  I  do  not  know  how  the  ground 
supported  them.     If   the   larger  and  more  dangerous 

F 


82  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

fauna  has  been  thinned  almost  to  extinction,  it  would 
seem  that  the  lesser  has  thriven.  Fewer  lions  to  find 
food  means  more  buck  to  live. 

You  never  find  aoul  in  jungle  country,  and  conse- 
quently they  are  of  gazelle  the  most  easily  seen. 
Frequenting  the  grass  plateaus  and  flat  sandy  wastes, 
as  they  do,  whereon  a  few  straggling  bushes  try  to 
grow,  the  white  hindquarters  stand  out  clear  and 
distinct  as  a  target.  When  going  off,  startled,  they 
stretch  out,  seeming  to  gain  many  inches  in  length,  and 
when  wounded  an  aoul  never  creeps  off  to  die  in 
impenetrable  bush  where  the  hunter  has  a  difficulty  in 
locating  the  hiding  creature.  Sensibly  he  selects  the 
open  "  bun,"  and  there  is  despatched  the  quicker. 

On  coming  to  one  open  space  of  country  I  rubbed 
my  eyes  to  see  if  I  were  awake  or  dreaming.  The 
place  swarmed  with  aoul.  It  was  like  some  field  at 
home,  full  of  cows  before  milking  time,  except  that 
these  were  very  animated  creatures,  fighting  battles 
together,  and  making  the  history  for  buckland.  I  lay 
down  in  a  tuft  of  grass  for  an  hour  or  more,  watching 
the  pantomime.  The  aoul  were  in  two  great  herds, 
separate  and  distinct.  Each  was  in  the  charge  of  a 
war-like  old  buck  who  had  drilled  his  does  into  fine 
order,  and  vigilantly  saw  that  they  kept  a  fair  distance 
from  the  rival  herd.  Sometimes  a  doe  of  frivolous 
propensities  would  essay  to  seek  fresh  fields  and 
pastures  new,  edging  away  in  the  direction  of  the 
other  harem.  Nemesis  was  after  her  on  the  instant, 
in  the  person  of  her  outraged  lord,  who  gave  chase, 
and  cuffing  her  about  most  vigorously,  soon  showed 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  83 

her  the  error  of  such  ways,  restoring  her  to  his 
charmed  circle  again.  On  the  outskirts  of  both  well 
guarded  harems  there  were  many  likely  looking  young 
bucks,  who  were  kept  at  a  respectful  distance  from 
the  does  they  admired  so  much  by  the  flying  charges 
and  battering  onslaughts  of  each  boss  buck.  To  say 
their  lives  were  strenuous  is  to  convey  nothing.  They 
had  no  time  to  eat,  or  rest,  or  sleep. 

Then,  by  a  hideous  mischance  the  two  parties  of 
aoul  converged,  and  the  strain  was  at  breaking-point. 
For  the  system  of  all  things  was  disturbed,  and  worse 
than  all,  the  two  old  bucks  met  face  to  face.  Now 
fight  they  must  for  the  mastery,  or  be  shamed  for  ever 
in  the  soft  eyes  of  all  their  feminine  kind.  At  it  they 
went,  hammer  and  tongs,  clawing  with  razor  hoofs, 
circling  round  each  other,  clashing,  crashing.  Mean- 
while— but  we  all  know  what  the  mice  do  when  the 
cat's  away  !  And  this  golden  moment  was  the  young 
bucks'  opportunity.  Every  Jack  found  a  Jill,  and  some 
fortunate  ones  many  Jills,  and  ran  off  promptly  with 
their  loot.  Then  when  the  old  bucks  had  fought  till  they 
were  dripping  with  foam  and  blood-flecked  muzzles, 
the  one  slightly  the  stronger  would  end  the  fray  with  a 
terrific  drive,  and  send  his  vanquished  foe  bellowing 
back  to — nothing.     The  harem  had  all  eloped. 

One  might  lie  and  watch  a  herd  of  aoul  for  hours, 
really  in  full  view,  and  not  cause  them  any  great 
anxiety.  We  never  talked  save  in  whispers,  and  it  was 
really  amazing  to  see  how  very  indifferent  the  creatures 
grew  to  our  presence.  If  they  did  take  it  into  their 
heads  to  feign  alarm,  remaining  quite  still  seemed  to 


84  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

restore  confidence  in  us.  The  old  bucks  and  does 
were  the  most  suspicious  ;  the  young  were  far  more 
trusting.  Just  as  it  is  with  we  human  things.  Illusions 
are  smashed  in  buck  land  as  in  England. 

The  ridiculous  inquisitiveness  of  the  aoul  makes  him 
easy  to  stalk.  The  glinting  of  a  rifle  barrel  seems  to 
charm  him  rather  than  frighten  him,  as  it  would  one 
of  our  Scotch  deer.  Sense  of  smell  in  the  buck  of  the 
wild  is  even  more  marvellously  marked  than  in  the 
case  of  our  home  deer,  and  it  must  be  so  when  we 
consider  the  added  dangers.  Death  lurks  on  every 
side,  but  for  one  geruniik  that  falls  a  victim  to  King 
Leo's  appetite,  I  should  imagine  five  aoul  run  into  his 
very  jaws  in  mistaken  endeavour  to  see  how  many 
teeth  in  working  order  the  fearsome  enemy  has.  Never 
did  I  see  such  an  inquisitive  genus  ! 

I  found  one  or  two  newly  born  kids  by  watching  the 
mother's  movements.  I  would  mark  the  place  in  my 
mind  to  which  she  kept  trotting  away,  then  go  later. 
It  needed  so  careful  a  hunt  before  one  would  come  on 
the  little  kid,  covered  up  so  ingeniously,  in  its  cradle  in 
a  thorn  brake.  In  a  very  short  time  though  the  babies 
get  their  jungle  legs  and  can  follow  the  mother  at  her 
own  pace.  1  don't  know  of  any  very  much  prettier 
sight  than  an  aoul  nursery  full  of  kids  playing.  They 
are  such  sportive  little  creatures,  just  like  lambs  at 
home — jumping  imaginary  obstacles,  running  races, 
mimicking  their  elders  in  childish  battle.  Any  little 
alarm,  crack  of  twig,  or  fearsome  rustle  sends  them  all, 
on  the  instant,  dashing  back  to  the  realm  of  safety  by 
the  side  of  the  watchful  parent. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  85 

As  1  have  said  elsewhere,  the  horns  of  the  aoul  differ 
considerably,  and  some  otherwise  well  fitted  out  bucks 
have  no  horns  at  all.  These  bucks  are  often  as  well 
able  to  hold  their  own  as  their  more  perfectly  equipped 
(so-called)  betters,  frequently  bossing  a  herd.  Others 
again  have  but  one  horn,  and  that  deformed. 

It   was   near    this    place   of  the  aoul   that  a  most 
amusing   thing   happened.     Clarence   and    I    got   be- 
nighted in   the   jungle,    and    didn't   get    home    until 
morning.     I  know  that  this  sounds  just  like  the  plot 
for  a  fashionable  problem  novel,  but  there  wasn't  much 
problem  about  it  really ;   it  all  came  about  as  a  very 
natural  consequence,  and   happened   mostly  through 
my  enthusiasm  over  another  splendid  oryx.     I  stalked 
this  one  for  hours  and  hours,  and  the  mosquitoes  and 
heat  seemed  but  to  sting  him  into  keener  alertness.     I 
could  not  get  within  range.     I  tried  on  foot,  I  tried 
squirming  along  the  ground  flat,  and  then,  when  there 
was  nothing  else  for  it,  I'd  mount  my  little  pony  once 
again  and  furiously  dash  off  in  pursuit.     When  within 
range  I  only  got  the  oryx  in  the  leg,  a  slight  wound 
merely,  and  I  had  to  try  and  ride  the  wounded  buck 
down.     A  desperate  business  in  this  case,  for  he  was 
not  hard  hit.     I  did  not  like  the  idea  of  leaving  a  hurt 
creature  to  die  miserably  after  prolonged  torture,  so  we 
let  him  lead  us  on  and  on,  and  it  was  very  nearly  dark 
before   I  gave  that  animal  the  coup-de-grdce.     By  the 
time  we  had  secured  his  head,  a  fine  one  indeed,  his 
shield  and  skin,    it  was  dark.     Night  had  descended 
upon  the  jungle.    We  fired  three  times  in  quick  succes- 
sion, a  signal  agreed  on  in  case  we  ever  got  bushed, 


86  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

but  we  knew  the  wind  was  blowing  away  from  the 
very  distant  camp. 

I  told  Clarence  we  would  get  away  as  far  as  possible 
from  the  dead  oryx,  or  we  should  find  ourselves  in  for 
a  livelier  night  than  we  bargained  for,  and  have  a 
regular  at-home  day  of  most  unwelcome  callers.  We 
led  our  ponies  and  pushed  and  scrubbed  our  way 
through  dense  undergrowth,  ominous  rents  in  my 
poor  coat  greeting  me  as  the  vicious  wait-a-bit  thorn 
held  me  back.  We  found  the  darkness  impenetrable 
in  parts,  and  then  in  kind  of  drifts  it  would  lighten  a 
little.  At  last  we  made  out  a  small  patch  of  clearing, 
and  decided  on  camping.  The  first  thing  to  do  was 
to  collect  wood  for  a  fire,  and  as  this  was  a  difficult 
job  on  so  dark  an  evening,  Clarence  just  grabbed  what 
sticks  he  could,  lighted  them,  and  the  welcome  glare 
enabled  us  to  amass  a  great  supply  of  firewood.  I 
worked  hard  at  this,  for  I  had  no  mind  to  be  among 
the  jungle  folk  in  darkness.  We  tethered  the  ponies 
as  near  the  fire  as  possible,  where  we  could  see  them, 
and  I  took  the  precaution  to  move  the  oryx  head,  &c, 
from  my  steed,  and  place  them  where  I  could  carefully 
guard  them.  I  did  not  want  to  run  the  risk  of  losing 
the  trophies.  Besides,  it  was  rather  rough  on  the  pony 
to  leave  him  all  baited  as  it  were  to  attract  some  hungry 
beast. 

I  should,  I  think,  have  preferred  to  lose  the  pony 
rather  than  the  oryx,  but  wanted,  if  possible,  to  keep 
both. 

Next  came  our  little  supper,  and  this  was  quite 
excellently  managed.     I  always  carried  an  enamel  cup 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SO  MALI  LAND  87 

and  many  of  Lazenby's  soup  squares,  together  with  a 
supply  of  biscuits.  We  had  water  too  in  a  bottle  on 
Clarence's  saddle,  so,  filling  the  cup  carefully,  I  stuck 
it  into  the  glowing  embers.  When  it  boiled  in  went 
my  compressed  tablet  of  ox-tail,  and,  after  stirring  it 
all  with  a  stick,  I  had  a  supper  fit  for  a  queen.  I  made 
Clarence  a  brew  of  mock-turtle  next.  He  said  it  was 
very  good,  and  finished  off  all  the  biscuit.  He  then 
suggested  he  should  keep  guard  and  I  might  try  to 
sleep.  I  said  we  would  divide  the  night,  he  playing 
guardian  angel  the  first  half  and  I  taking  duty  for  the 
rest.  I  showed  him  my  Waterbury,  and  explained  that 
when  the  hands  stood  both  together  at  twelve  he  was 
to  call  me.  He  seemed  to  understand.  Then  I  laid 
me  down,  but  not  to  rest.  I  could  not  help  the  fear 
haunting  me  that  my  shikari  might  nod,  and  in  that 
moment  of  unconsciousness  what  awful  thing  might 
not  happen  !  Such  strange  imaginings  trouble  a  semi- 
sleeping  mind  at  night  that  with  daylight  would  cause 
us  no  concern  at  all.  I  lay  and  gazed  at  the  stars. 
Sirius  was  shining  away,  and  Venus  was  as  beautiful  a 
fraud  as  ever.  I  dozed  awhile,  I  suppose,  but  the 
strange  sounds  around  me  kept  my  senses  more  or  less 
awake.  The  jungle  at  night !  The  most  eerie  thing  in 
the  world,  with  strange  short  rustlings  in  the  under- 
growth, the  furtive  pad,  pad,  pad  of  some  soft-footed 
creature,  and  ever  and  again  a  sound  as  though  some 
man  passed  by,  laggingly,  and  dwelling  on  his  steps. 

The  jungle  at  night  is  a  world  unknown  to  most 
shikaris.     Even  Clarence  was  not  familiar  here. 

At  twelve  he  called  me,   furtively  pulling  my  coat 


88  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

sleeve,  and  saying,  "  Wake !  wake  !  wake  ! "  I 
"awakened,"  and  took  the  watch.  My  rifle  lay 
beside  me  on  my  right,  the  oryx  trophies  on  my  left. 
The  fire  was  piled  up,  shedding  shafts  of  light  into  the 
fearsome  darkness.  The  ponies  stood  dejectedly. 
This  tense  silent  watching  is  more  of  a  trial  than  play- 
acting sleep.  I  fixed  my  eyes  on  the  inky  blackness 
ahead,  and  it  was  not  long  before  my  fancy  peopled 
the  shadows  with  lurking  forms.  I  chid  myself. 
Suddenly  I  could  make  out  two  blazing  lights,  gleaming 
like  little  lamps.  The  eyes  of  some  preying  animal. 
I  sidled  over  to  the  sleeping  Clarence,  and  pushed 
him.  He  wakened  instantly.  I  told  him  of  the  eyes. 
u  Shebel,"  he  said.  A  leopard  !  This  was  nice,  but 
why  bother  us  when  the  remains  of  a  whole  oryx  was 
so  close  to  hand.  We  sat  and  waited.  The  eyes 
again — sometimes  at  a  lower  level  than  others,  as 
though  the  beast  crouched  as  he  gazed.  "  Let  us  fire 
together,"  I  said. 

At  my  soft  "  One,  two,  three,"  we  blazed  away  at  the 
twin  specks  of  light.  A  scuffle,  then  a  hideous  scream- 
ing cry,  that  echoed  again  in  the  stillness.  Worse 
remains  behind.  The  ponies  thoroughly  upset  by  the 
unusual  sounds  of  the  jungle  at  night,  and  not  expect- 
ing the  enormous  report,  simply  stampeded  before  we 
had  time  to  get  to  them.  They  made  off  in  mad  terror, 
and  there  we  were  in  a  worse  hole  than  ever.  Sleep 
was  out  of  the  question.  We  made  some  more  soup 
to  pass  the  hours,  julienne  and  mulligatawny  this 
time,  and  after  that  I  fell  to  talking  to  Clarence 
about  England.      He  asked    many  questions  that  he 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  89 

evidently  badly  wanted  answered.  One  was  to  know 
if  these  trophies  had  some  great  intrinsic  value  there 
that  so  many  people  come  at  such  trouble  and  danger 
to  themselves  to  get  them  ?  He  evidently  was  much 
puzzled. 

At  last  the  dawn  came,  and  at  the  first  hint  of  it  we 
prepared  to  move.  The  scene  was  of  rare  beauty.  In 
the  dense  undergrowth  that  hid  the  trees  to  the  height 
of  several  feet  was  a  wonder  world  of  mystery. 
Webs  of  Arachne's  weaving  made  bars  of  silver 
gossamer  from  bush  to  bough.  'Twas  like  a  scene 
from  Shakespeare's  woodlands.  The  same  thrill  and 
marvel,  joy,  happiness  and  pain.  For  life  is  not  all 
a  song.  Fierce  burning  strife  comes  oft  to  mar  the 
stillness,  death,  too,  in  crudest  form.  In  the  jungle 
all  is  one  long  struggle  for  survival ;  no  excuses  are 
made,  none  wanted,  they  kill  to  live,  just  as  we 
human  things  kill  each  other  every  day ;  only  in 
civilisation  it  is  done  more  delicately. 

First  we  investigated  the  place  of  the  eyes,  and  there, 
sure  enough,  was  a  blood  trail.  We  followed  but  a  few 
yards  to  find  a  large  striped  hyaena — a  magnificent 
beast,  yellow  gray,  with  black  stripes  on  his  shoulders, 
and  beautiful  mane  and  bushy  gray  tail.  He  measured 
from  nose  to  tail  four  feet  eight  inches.  We  skinned 
and  decapitated  him,  a  long  and  horrid  business,  and 
then  took  up  our  none  too  pleasant  loads  and  departed. 
We  passed  the  remains  of  the  dead  oryx,  but  there 
was  little  left  of  him.  The  hyaenas  had  been  feast- 
ing all  the  night,  and  now  the  vultures  were  picking 
his  bones.     It  was  still  darkish   as  we  took  our  way 


9o  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

campwards,  the  mad  rush  of  the  ponies  being  clearly 
visible  to  us.  Through  bushes,  anyhow,  helter  skelter 
they  had  pelted. 

I  had  to  stop  and  rest  frequently,  as  my  load  was 
more  than  a  little  heavy,  though  Clarence  carried  as 
much,  and  more,  than  he  ought.  The  rifles  alone  were 
no  light  weight,  and  when  it  came  to  the  slain  animals 
as  well  we  found  them  all  a  bit  of  a  trial. 

In  some  thick  grass  a  great  wart-hog  rose  up  before 
me,  and  after  giving  me  a  look  from  his  tiny  fierce 
eyes,  lost  himself  again.  I  flung  my  load  down,  all 
but  the  very  necessary  rifle,  and  went  after  him.  He 
made  some  ugly  rushes  in  the  long  grass,  but  I  dodged 
and  chased  him  to  clearer  country,  until  I  could  get  in 
a  shot  which,  raking  him,  ended  his  career  as  a  perfect 
king  of  his  kind.  I  did  not  want  to  take  his  tusks 
merely,  as  I  desired  his  head  to  be  a  complete  trophy. 
But  when  Clarence  strenuously  refused  to  touch  the 
creature  I  knew  I  could  not  then,  tired  as  I  was, 
play  butcher  myself.  So  I  had  to  be  contented  with 
digging  out  his  huge  tushes.  And  a  very  messy  job 
it  was  too. 

We  took  up  our  loads  again,  and  went  back  over  the 
ground  over  which  we  had  chased  the  oryx  the  evening 
before.  I  was  progressing  wearily  enough  when  I 
almost  stepped  on  a  yellow  snake,  with  a  dark  head, 
lying  near  a  thorn  bush.  It  was  only  about  eighteen 
inches  long,  but  quite  long  enough  to  make  me  jump 
some  feet,  all  encumbered  as  I  was.  Clarence  looked 
genuinely  surprised. 

"You  not  afraid  of  aliphint,"the  said,  a  thing  we  had 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  91 

about  as  much  chance  of  meeting  as  the  man  in  the 
moon  ;  "  what  for  you  'fraid  now  ?  " 

I  told  him  women  have  a  long-standing  quarrel 
with  serpents  :  that  a  serpent  once  spoiled  the  happi- 
ness of  a  woman  and  turned  her  out  of  a  garden  where 
she  fain  would  be. 

"  She  cousin  of  yours  ?  "  he  asked,  with  true  Somali 
inquisitiveness. 

"Very  distant,"  I  answered. 

Cecily  and  a  couple  of  hunters  met  us  quarter  way. 
She  told  us  the  ponies  rushed  into  camp  in  the  early 
morning,  as  I  had  thought  they  would.  She  had  not 
been  unduly  anxious  about  me,  knowing  I  was  with 
Clarence,  and  guessing  we  were  bushed.  They  never 
heard  the  shots  at  all. 

I  did  enjoy  my  breakfast,  and  never  had  a  cup  of  tea 
that  tasted  half  so  good. 

The  thought  of  all  that  pork  wasting  in  the  near 
vicinity  bothered  us  no  end.  Very  greedy,  I  know. 
But,  you  see,  dainties  were  not  often  to  be  had.  We 
ordered  out  a  couple  of  ponies,  and  rode  back  to  the 
scene  of  my  early  morning  encounter  with  the  wart- 
hog  to  find  him,  marvel  of  marvels,  intact.  Though  a 
thwarted  looking  vulture  of  business-like  appearance 
flapped  off  and  sat  down  in  stone's  throw.  They  have 
a  mighty  contempt  for  man,  these  birds,  or  else  it  is 
they  recognise  they  aren't  worth  powder  and  shot. 

Cecily  evolved  the  idea  of  converting  half  the  wart-hog 
into  bacon,  putting  it  into  pickle,  and  promising  it 
would  equal  the  finest  home  cured.  The  ham  was  to 
be  a  treat  to  which  we  should  look  forward  for  weeks. 


92  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

We  pickled  it  all  right,  or  what  seemed  like  all  right  to 
us,  rubbing  it  daily  with  handfuls  of  salt  as  we  had  seen 
ham  cured  at  home.  And  then  one  day,  when  a  meal 
was  badly  wanted,  and  the  larder  was  empty  of  all  else, 
we  essayed  to  cut  the  treasured  ham  and  fry  it  in  slices. 
Cecily  inserted  a  knife.  The  resultant  odour  was 
appalling.  So  were  the  awful  little  maggots  that  rose 
in  hundreds.  Clearly  we  didn't  know  how  to  pickle 
ham,  or  else  the  ham  of  wart-hog  would  not  take  salt 
as  our  pig  at  home  does.  We  could  see  the  line  to 
where  the  pickle  had  penetrated.  Below  chaos  !  Rue- 
fully we  had  a  funeral  of  our  looked-for  supper,  and 
fell  back  on  the  never-failing  "  Elizabeth  Lazenby." 


CHAPTER  VII 

ANOTHER  UNCOMFORTABLE  NIGHT 

I  see  a  man's  life  is  a  tedious  one.    I  have  tired  myself;  and 
for  two  nights  together  have  made  the  ground  my  bed 

Cymbeline 

You  can  imagine  with  what  joy  I  looked  forward  to  a 
good  night's  rest  after  the  previous  twelve  hours'  vigil, 
and  therefore  it  is  the  more  amusing  to  remember  that, 
as  Fate  would  have  it,  I  had  an  even  more  occupied 
time  during  the  midnight  hours  than  ever.  We  had 
started  to  march,  after  returning  to  camp  with  the 
wart-hog,  as  we  had  news  of  splendid  "  khubbah  " 
some  miles  off,  given  to  us  by  a  Somali  who  came  in 
riding  his  unkempt  pony.  The  Somali  ponies,  by  the 
way,  are  never  shod. 

The  ground  was  very  bad  going,  and  over  one  bit  of 
sandy  waste  I  thought  we  never  should  get.  The 
camels  sank  in  up  to  their  knees  at  every  forward 
move,  then  deeper,  and  at  last  so  deep — it  was  almost 
like  an  American  mud-hole — I  began  to  fear  conse- 
quences. The  absurd  creatures  made  no  attempt  to 
extricate  themselves,  but  simply,  when  they  found  the 
place  a  perfect  quagmire,  settled  down  like  squashed 
jellies. 

It  was  too  ridiculous  for  words,  and  I  laughed  and 
laughed.     Everybody  talked  at  once,  and  nobody  did 


94  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

anything.  At  last  we  all,  even  the  Somali  who  brought 
us  the  news  of  the  distant  game,  and  who  seemed  to 
like  us  very  much,  for  we  never  got  rid  of  him  again 
lent  a  hand,  and  began  to  unload  the  laden  camels, 
carrying  the  goods  to  terra-firma  some  sixty  yards 
away. 

The  moment  the  camels  considered  their  loads 
lightened  they  condescended  to  heave  themselves  up 
a  little.  After  loading  up  again  we  proceeded  but  a 
little  way,  indeed  but  a  few  hundred  yards,  when  the 
whole  thing  repeated  itself.  The  camels  were  em- 
bedded once  more.  Cecily  and  I  decided  to  go  on 
and  leave  them  all  to  it,  and  try  and  get  any  sport  that 
might  be  had,  ordering  the  men  to  release  the  camels 
from  this  new  quagmire  of  theirs,  and  to  afterwards 
form  zareba  close  to  the  place,  I  was  really  glad  to 
ride  away  from  the  whole  thing,  confusion  and  every- 
thing. The  disorganised,  unsettled  feeling  I  got  re- 
minded me  of  that  which  comes  to  one  at  home  during 
the  annual  upheaval  known  as  the  spring-cleaning. 
The  green  grass  was  springing  up  with  the  recent 
rains,  and  our  little  ponies  made  light  of  the  muddy 
going.  The  spoor  of  all  sorts  of  game  was  everywhere 
apparent,  and  we  were  most  interested  to  see  traces  of 
ostrich,  although  we  did  not  that  day  come  across  any, 
indeed  they  are  rather  difficult  creatures  to  see. 

We  separated,  as  was  our  wont,  Cecily  taking 
Clarence,  and  I  the  Baron,  whom  we  had  now,  in 
spite  of  his  romancing  propensities,  promoted  to 
second  in  command.  He  had  great  acumen  when  he 
chose  to  display  it,  and  was  no  sort  of  a  coward.     But 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  95 

then,  in  spite  of  what  some  travellers  say,  the  average 
Somali  rarely  is.  They  are  frightful  "  buck-sticks," 
but  I  never  saw  any  cowardice  to  disprove  their  boast- 
ing stories. 

After  leaving  the  ponies  with  two  syces  we  went  off 
at  right  angles,  and  after  a  long  and  heavy  walk  I  came 
on  a  bunch  of  aoul,  who  winded  me  and  darted  away 
like  lightning.  Their  flight  started  a  great  prize,  whom 
I  had  not  noticed  before,  so  much  the  colour  of  the 
reddish-brown  earth  was  he.  A  dibatag  buck.  He  fled 
too  a  little  way,  but  then  halted,  appearing  to  think  the 
sudden  fright  of  the  aoul  unnecessary.  I  was  crouch- 
ing low  behind  a  small  bush,  and  took  most  careful 
aim.  Off  went  the  long-necked  creature  again,  its 
quite  lengthy  tail  held  erect.  He  stood  and  faced  me. 
He  apparently  mistrusted  the  bush,  but  had  some 
weakness  for  the  spot.  It  was  a  very  long  shot,  but  I 
tried  it.  The  bullet  found  a  billet,  for  I  heard  it  tell, 
but  the  buck  sprang  feet  into  the  air  and  was  off  in  a 
moment.  I  took  to  my  heels  and  ran  like  mad.  I  don't 
know  how  I  ever  imagined  I  was  to  overtake  the  ante- 
lope. The  Baron  tore  along  behind  me.  I  ran  until  I 
was  completely  winded,  but  I  could  see  a  strong  blood- 
trail,  so  knew  the  antelope  was  hard  hit.  I  ran  on  again, 
and  we  were  now  in  very  boggy  ground,  or  rather  sur- 
rounded by  many  oozy-looking  water  holes.  It  was  a 
very  shaky  shot  I  got  in  next  time.  The  dibatag  dashed 
on  for  a  few  paces,  and  then  took  a  crashing  header 
into — of  course — the  largest  pool  in  the  vicinity.  The 
Baron  and  I  danced  about  on  the  edge  in  great  vexa- 
tion, but  I  did  not  mean  to  lose  my  splendid  prize  even 


96  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

if  I  had  to  go  in  after  him  myself.  Satisfying  myself 
that  the  water  was  not  deep,  I  bribed  the  avaricious 
Somali  to  go  in  and  help  lift  the  animal  whilst  I  ren- 
dered active  assistance  on  dry  land,  and  this  was  done. 
The  Baron  went  in  with  a  very  bad  grace,  at  which 
one  cannot  be  surprised,  and  after  prodigious  splashing 
and  any  amount  of  exertion,  for  the  buck  was  an  im- 
mense weight,  I  held  the  dibatag  out  of  the  water 
whilst  the  Baron  extricated  himself,  together  with  many 
leeches,  from  the  pool.  Then  we  both  heaved  together, 
and  the  buck  was  mine.  The  Baron  now  began  to 
make  such  a  fuss  about  his  loss  of  blood  caused  by  the 
leeches  who  would  not  let  go  I  told  him  to  go  home 
to  camp  and  put  salt  on  them  and  then  recover,  and 
ordered  him  meanwhile  to  send  the  syce  back  to  me 
with  my  pony. 

I  sat  down  and  admired  my  dibatag,  and  was 
mightily  pleased  with  my  luck.  For  this  antelope  is 
very  shy  and  difficult  to  stalk  as  a  rule.  Dibatag  is,  of 
course,  the  native  name,  but  somehow  the  one  most 
commonly  used  everywhere.  The  correct  name  is 
Clark's  Gazelle.  The  tail  is  really  quite  lengthy,  and 
the  one  sported  by  my  prize  measured  twelve-and-a- 
half  inches.  His  horns  were  good  and  touched  nine- 
and-three-quarter  inches.     Only  the  bucks  carry  horns. 

The  dibatag  was  so  large  we  had  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  packing  him  on  to  the  pony  as  I  wanted  to  do, 
so  we  finally  skinned  him,  keeping  his  head  and  the 
feet,  which  I  afterwards  had  mounted  as  bell-pulls. 

Going  back  to  camp  I  came  on  Cecily,  who  recounted 
her  adventures — not  a  quarter  so  interesting  as  mine, 


■> 


t  t  *     < 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  97 

though,  for  she  had  drawn  blank.  It  would  be  boring 
for  any  one  to  have  to  wade  through  stories  of  stalks 
that  came  to  nothing. 

"  What's  hit  is  history,  but  what's  missed  is  mystery," 
though,  of  course,  each  several  excursion  teemed  with 
myriad  interests  for  us  on  the  spot. 

Sometimes  I  spoored  for  hours  without  getting  a 
shot,  involving  a  great  knowledge  of  the  habits  of 
animals,  keen  eyes  and  judgment,  all  of  which  Clarence 
possessed  in  a  high  degree.  Then  his  ability  to  speak 
English,  even  imperfectly,  was  such  an  advantage,  and 
we  beguiled  many  an  hour  in  conversation. 

I  wonder  if  we  human  beings  will  ever  be  able  to 
hunt  for  its  own  sake,  without  the  desire  for  its  cruel 
consummation.  Much  though  I  love  the  old  primitive 
instinct  of  pursuing,  I  am  not  able  to  forgo  the  shot, 
and  particularly  when  I  want  a  lovely  pair  of  horns. 
I  suppose  we  keep  the  balance,  and  if  we  did  not  kill 
the  lions  and  leopards  would  get  the  upper  hand.  But 
often  I  wished  when  I  was  flushed  with  success,  and  I 
saw  my  beast  lying  dead,  that  I  had  not  done  it.  It 
seemed  so  cruel,  and  all  antelope  are  so  very  beautiful. 
Of  course,  we  had  to  kill  for  food  as  well  as  sport,  and 
I  think  we  spared  generously  on  the  whole,  for  we 
could  have  trebled  the  bag. 

I  began  to  feel  tired  of  the  actual  killing  as  soon 
as  I  had  perfect  specimens  of  each  sort,  and  always 
preferred  the  nobler  sport  of  more  dangerous  game.  I 
think  if  I  went  again  I  could  in  most  instances  deny 
myself  the  shot,  and  content  myself  with  watching  and 
photographing.    As  it  was,  I  often  lay  for  an  hour  and 

G 


98  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

watched  game,  after  crawling  to  within  fifty  yards. 
On  one  occasion  an  aoul  and  I  eyed  each  other  at 
twenty  paces,  and  so  motionless  was  I  he  could  neither 
make  head  nor  tail  of  me. 

The  camp  was  in  a  turmoil  and  every  camel-man 
shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice — the  one  thing  I  do 
object  to  in  Somalis.  Their  very  whispers  almost 
break  your  ear-drum,  and  I  suppose  a  loud  voice  is 
the  result  of  many  centuries  of  calling  over  vast 
spaces. 

Three  of  the  camels,  heavily  laden,  had  turned 
aggressive,  bitten  several  men,  and  shaken  the  dust  of 
the  place  off  their  feet.  Of  course,  the  levanting 
camels  proved  to  be  the  ones  loaded  up  with  our 
tents  and  bedding.  They  had  a  very  excellent  start 
before  anyone  thought  it  necessary  to  go  in  pursuit. 
It  was  all  gross  carelessness,  as  a  loaded  camel  is  easy 
enough  to  stop  if  the  stopping  is  done  by  its  own 
driver. 

There  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  in  the  matter,  and 
supper  seemed  the  main  object  just  then.  The  cook 
served  us  up  some  soup  and  broiled  chops,  and  we 
topped  up  with  some  delicious  jam  out  of  the  useful 
little  pots  from  the  A.  and  N.  Stores,  holding  enough 
for  a  not  very  greedy  person.  Cecily  voted  for  black- 
berry, and  I  sampled  the  raspberry. 

Night  fell,  and  still  no  returning  camels.  I  rode 
out  a  little  way,  but  the  going  was  too  impossible  in 
the  dark.  My  pony  was  a  gallant  little  beast,  a  bit  of 
a  stargazer,  but  I  prefer  a  horse  with  his  heart  in  the 
right  place,  wherever  his  looks  may  be. 


' . '    •      •  •      ,   .  ■•■>■>■> 


T   -1 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  99 

I  was  by  this  time  aching  all  over,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  make  provision  for  as  comfortable  a 
night  as  might  be.  We  collected  what  spare  blankets 
we  could,  and  lay  down  near  one  of  the  fires.  Though 
so  weary  I  could  not  sleep,  and  the  camp  was  never  silent 
for  a  moment.  The  fires  were  kept  high,  and  shots 
fired  at  intervals  to  guide  the  wandering  camel-men. 

The  men  lay  about  or  sat  about  the  watch-fires,  and 
in  the  middle  of  the  night  two  of  them  began  to  fight. 
In  the  lurid  light  the  scene  was  sufficiently  realistic  to 
be  unpleasant.  They  began  with  loud  words,  pro- 
gressed to  blows,  and  then  advanced  to  spears. 
Thinking  that  rifles  would  probably  be  the  next  re- 
source, I  got  up  and  called  on  the  men  to  desist.  They 
took  no  more  notice  of  me,  naturally,  than  if  I  had 
never  spoken.  And  as  the  now  thoroughly  awakened 
camp  appeared  to  be  going  to  take  sides  in  the  busi- 
ness, I  got  my  "  express  "  and  shrieked  out  loudly  that 
I  then  and  there  meant  to  make  an  end  of  both  the 
combatants.  Although  they  were  not  supposed  to 
understand  English,  they  translated  enough  from  my 
resolute  manner  and  threatening  gestures  to  know  that 
I  would  put  up  with  no  nonsense.  They  ceased  the 
combat  as  suddenly  as  they  began  it,  but  not  before 
camel-man  No.  1  had  jabbed  camel-man  No.  2  in  the 
fleshy  part  of  his  thigh. 

I  told  Clarence  to  hold  No.  1  in  durance  vile  whilst 
No.  2  had  to  be  attended  to  with  as  much  care  as  if 
we  really  sympathised  with  him.  All  my  desire  was  to 
be  able  to  shoot  both  of  them  on  sight.  I  was  so  tired 
I  could  hardly  see,  and  too  aching  to  do  more  than 


loo  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

drag  myself  around.  We  had  to  dress  the  man's 
wound  for  fear  of  consequences,  and  went  on  messing 
away  with  him  until  the  first  signs  of  dawn  saw  the 
return  of  the  prodigals,  travel-stained  and  weary.  The 
camels  promptly  sank  down  and  began  chewing  the 
cud  composedly.  Really  the  camel  is  the  most 
philosophical  of  all  living  things  ! 

Next  morning  I  held  a  court-martial  of  sorts  on  the 
offenders,  and  threatened  them  both  with  the  loss  of 
the  promised  bonus  to  be  given  at  the  end  of  the  trip 
provided  all  things  pleased  us.  I  also  docked  them  of 
some  pay.  This  had  the  desired  effect,  and  battles, 
except  wordy  ones,  were  "  off  "  henceforward. 

The  wound  by  rights  ought  to  have  been  stitched, 
but  we  rather  shied  off  doing  it.  The  dressing  was 
pantomime  enough  ;  I  nearly  lost  my  temper  many 
times.  An  expedition  like  ours  is  a  grand  field  on 
which  to  practise  repression,  and  I  was  for  ever 
trying  conclusions  with  my  capabilities  in  that  direc- 
tion. 

Out  early  near  here  one  morning  we  came  on  an 
astonishing  sight — an  oryx  lying  down  in  a  thorn 
patch,  and  all  around  him,  like  familiars  of  a  witch, 
crouched  jackals,  the  length  of  one  of  their  kind  apart, 
watching  with  never  flinching  stare  the  centre  of 
attraction.  We  cantered  up,  and  the  jackals  reluctantly 
made  off.  One  big  fellow  struck  me  as  unlike  his 
brethren,  and  a  bit  of  a  prize.  So,  reining  in  the 
pony,  I  jumped  to  the  ground,  losing  a  lot  of  time  in 
the  process,  and  fired  with  rather  a  shaky  hand.  The 
result  was  I    hit  the    loping  animal  in  the  leg  only, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  101 

laming  it,  causing  it  to  howl  terribly,  and  causing  me 
much  shame  for  my  unskilled  aim. 

I  pursued  my  quarry,  because  I  could  not  leave  it 
out  wounded,  and  overtook  it  just  as  it  fled  into  a  lair 
of  thick  adad  bushes.  Dismounting,  I  let  the  pony 
stand,  and  going  to  the  bushes  I  stooped  down  to  peer 
in,  laying  my  rifle  on  the  sand.  A  flare  of  green  eyes 
and  snarling  teeth,  a  flat  yellow  head  shot  out  as  a 
snake  strikes.  My  coat  sleeve  was  gripped  in  a  gin  of 
white  fangs,  but  only  the  incisors  cut  into  my  flesh — 
caught  by  the  left  arm  in  a  flash.  Before  worse  could 
happen  I  pulled  my  shikar  pistol  from  my  belt,  and  in 
the  tussle — for  we  neither  of  us  took  things  lying 
down — the  weapon  went  off  anyhow.  My  enemy  sank 
inert,  still  gripping  my  sleeve.  He  was  hit  mortally, 
and  died  in  a  moment  or  two.  My  arm  began  to 
smart  a  trifle,  and  I  had  some  difficulty  in  dragging 
the  wolf-creature  from  its  deep-in  lair.  It  was  a  wolf, 
not  large — no  bigger  than  a  jackal,  and  much  smaller 
than  a  hyaena.  Its  coat  was  marked  with  brown,  and 
right  down  the  middle  of  the  back  was  a  fine  upstand- 
ing length  of  hair  that  formed  a  black-tipped  mane  or 
ridge.  The  tail  was  long  and  thick,  very  black  on  the 
lower  part  and  very  yellow  at  the  upper.  The  fore 
feet  were  five-toed  ;  I  counted  them  carefully. 

It  was  a  bit  of  a  struggle  to  lift  the  carcase  across 
the  pony,  and  I  had  to  walk,  holding  it  on,  to  the  place 
where  I  left  Cecily.  She  was  watching  over  the 
departed  oryx,  and  vultures  sat  around  her  wistfully 
regarding  the  feast  that  might  have  been.  In  the  side 
of  the  dead  antelope  an  arrow  still  stabbed,  and  marks 


io2  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

of  a  whole  flight  were  in  evidence  all  over  the  glossy 
coat.  Some  Midgans  hunting  without  dogs  had  missed 
their  quarry  somehow.  Cecily  had  put  the  big  bull 
out  of  his  pain,  and  there  we  were  with  an  embarras  de 
richesse  miles  from  camp  and  alone.  The  oryx  had 
very  finely  turned  horns,  and  it  seemed  a  sin  to  waste 
them.  We  set  off  to  decapitate  him  with  the  only 
implement  we  had,  a  very  small  shikar  knife.  It  took 
a  long  time  in  the  doing,  and  we  were  so  hot  and  tired 
and  sick  by  the  end  of  the  performance,  I  thought  we 
must  be  struck  with  the  sun.  The  water  in  our  bottles 
was  quite  hot. 

The  instant  we  left  the  carcase  of  the  oryx  the 
vultures  came  from  all  sides,  hanging  over  it  with  legs 
poised  to  alight,  screaming  as  they  flapped  along  the 
ground  and  settled  on  the  bushes  around.  We  took  it 
in  turns  to  ride  the  spare  pony  ;  the  other  was  a  beast 
of  burden  for  our  spoils.  A  flock  of  quail  ran  ahead 
and  disappeared  beneath  the  khansa.  The  walking 
one  walked,  and  the  riding  one  rode,  and  at  last  we 
had  to  take  our  coats  off.  The  heat  grew  insufferable, 
the  sun  blazed  a-shimmer  through  the  purple-blue 
coverlet  of  the  sky.  Even  the  sun  loving  sun-birds 
kept  in  the  shade  of  the  bushes.  My  rifle — best  of 
playthings — took  on  a  pound  or  two  in  weight. 

Cecily  wears  perpetually  a  single-stone  diamond 
ring,  given  her  by  a  friend  now  in  Purgatory,  if  every- 
one gets  their  deserts,  as  we  are  told  is  the  invariable 
rule.  The  sun  danced  on  the  exquisite  stone,  and  as 
she  moved  her  hand  a  glinting  light  flickered  from  it 
on   the  sand  here  and   there,  like  a  will-o'-the  wisp. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  103 

Our  pony  shied — actually  pretending  to  possess  nerves 
— at  a  porcupine,  who  suddenly  rustled  his  quills  like 
the  upsetting  of  a  box  of  pens.  The  oryx  head  fell  off, 
and  the  mettlesome  steed  backed  on  to  it,  damaging 
the  horn  near  the  tip  against  a  sharp  stone.  A  small 
kink,  but  a  pity.  Cecily  made  the  pony  walk  up  to  our 
friend  of  the  quills,  but  as  it  seemed  likely  to  result  in 
the  wolf  being  chucked  off  also,  we  abandoned  horse- 
training  notions  for  the  present. 

Getting  back  to  camp,  we  found  the  men  lining  up 
for  their  devotions,  so  waited  patiently  until  they  were 
over.  Everybody's  creed,  or  form  of  it,  should  be 
respected,  because  each  separate  religion,  multitu- 
dinous though  they  are,  is  but  one  religion,  and  a  part 
of  the  vast  whole.  The  seeming  difference  in  all  sects 
are  merely  the  individual  temperamental  superstitions. 
It  does  not  matter,  therefore,  if  we  worship  Allah  or 
Joss,  Buddha  or  Mrs.  Eddy.  "  What's  in  a  name  ? 
That  which  we  call  a  rose  by  any  other  name  would 
smell  as  sweet."  To  certain  people  certain  names  for 
religion  are  necessary — to  others  the  "  Religion 
Universal  "  serves.  Now,  our  chef  belonged  to — I  am 
sure — the  Peculiar  People,  and  didn't  know  it,  and 
called  himself  a  Mussulman  of  the  Shafai  sect.  He 
must  have  been  peculiar  to  think  he  deceived  us  into 
believing  he  was  a  cook,  ever  had  been,  or  ever  would 
be.  Some  people  are  born  cooks,  some  achieve 
cooking,  and  some  have  cooking  thrust  upon  them. 
Our  satellite  was  of  the  latter  kind. 

We  bought  a  couple  of  sheep  that  night  from  a 
passing  caravan,  but  told  the  men  they  would  be  the 


104  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

last  we  should  provide  if  the  animals  could  not  be 
despatched  in  a  quicker,  more  humane  manner.  The 
"hallal"  slash  across  the  throat  seems  only  to  be 
really  efficacious  if  the  animal  to  be  killed  is  in  full 
possession  of  its  senses.  They  might  easily  be  stunned 
first.  When  we  killed  antelope  for  meat  the  shikari 
always  satisfied  himself  first  that  the  animal  was  alive 
before  he  bothered  to  give  the  "  hallal."  This  seems 
rather  an  Irishism,  but  you  understand  how  I  mean. 

Somali  sheep  are  never  shorn,  for  their  wool  attains  no 
length.  This  is  another  of  dear  Nature's  wise  arrange- 
ments. I  do  not  like  to  imagine  the  condition  of  any 
poor  sheep  in  the  Somali  sun  with  a  coat  on  like  unto 
the  ones  grown  by  our  animals  at  home.  The  number 
of  sheep  in  Somaliland  is  as  the  sands  of  the  sea.  Such 
vast  flocks  would  be  large  even  in  an  avowedly  sheep- 
producing  country  where  the  rearing  of  them  is 
reduced  to  a  fine  art.  The  Somali  animals  thrive  and 
multiply  with  hardly  any  attention.  They  never  grow 
horns,  and  have  the  most  extraordinary  tails,  huge 
lumps  of  fat,  which  wax  all  very  fine  and  large  if  the 
pasturage  is  good,  and  dwindle  at  once  if  the  herbage 
is  scanty.  Carefully  fostered,  the  sheep  raising  industry 
could  support  the  country.  The  export  at  present  is 
as  nothing  to  what  it  might  be  engineered  into. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

A  BATTLE  ROYAL 

Take  that  to  end  thy  agony 

Henry  V 

Our  happiness  is  at  the  height 

Richard  III 

The  Somalis,  as  I  have  explained  before,  are  almost 
entirely  a  nation  of  nomads,  and  the  only  settled 
villages  or  townships  are  those  run  by  Sheiks  or 
Mullahs,  or  whatever  name  they  elect  to  be  known  by. 
These  men  are  Mahomedans  with  an  eye  to  business, 
religious,  influential,  knowing  the  value  of  education, 
and  are  often  quite  learned.  We  marched  into  the 
vicinity  of  some  hundreds  of  huts,  and  sent  Clarence 
on  ahead  to  present  our  compliments  to  the  Mullah 
and  express  our  desire  to  call  on  him.  We  also  sent 
along  a  consignment  of  gifts  likely  to  appeal  to  a 
learned  man — a  Koran,  a  tusba,  and  a  couple  of 
tobes,  for  even  a  Mullah  has  to  have  clothes,  anyway, 
in  Somaliland.  I  don't  know  whether  our  sending 
presents  first  was  correct,  or  whether  we  should  have 
waited  for  the  Mullah  to  weigh  in.  We  debated  the 
point,  and  decided  any  one  with  an  extra  sensible  mind 
would  think  a  bird  in  the  hand  worth  two  in  the  bush 
any  day  of  the  week.    This  village,  if  our  men's  talk 


106  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

was  to  be  believed,  was  full  of  Mullahs,  not  one 
Mullah.  We  concluded  that  all  the  wise  and  religious- 
minded  men  must  have  banded  together  to  live  as 
monks  do,  save  that  celibacy  was  not  the  fashion. 

The  Mullah  lost  no  time  in  sending  us  return  offer- 
ings in  the  shape  of  three  sheep,  and  hams  and  hams 
of  milk.  He  also  asked  us  to  go  and  see  him  in  his 
karia,  as  owing  to  some  infirmity  he  could  not  wait  on 
us.  All  this  was  very  correct  and  nice.  I  should  think 
this  Mullah  had  been  trained  in  the  way  he  should  go. 

We  put  in  an  appearance  that  same  afternoon, 
hardly  able  to  push  through  the  crowds  that  lined  up 
in  readiness  for  our  advent.  The  Mullah  received  us 
at  the  door  of  his  hut,  a  smiling,  urbane  personage.  I 
saw  no  sign  of  infirmity,  but  of  course  I  couldn't  ask 
what  it  was.  The  Mullah  would  be  about  fifty  years 
old,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  and  he  had  the  tiniest  hands 
and  feet.  His  face  was  full  of  intelligence,  his  eyes 
deep  set  and  alert.  In  colour  he  was  of  the  Arab 
shade,  and  some  Somalis  are  almost  black.  He  was 
exceedingly  gracious,  and  received  our  credentials,  or 
passport  so  to  speak,  with  serene  smiles.  He  barely 
read  them.  I  suppose  he  could.  All  the  Mullahs  can 
read  Arabic. 

Myriads  of  children — our  hosts  we  concluded — sat 
and  squatted  and  lay  about  the  earth-floor,  two  circles 
of  them.  Cecily  says  they  went  three  times  round, 
but  no,  two  large  circles. 

The  Mullah  asked  a  great  many  questions  about 
England — who  we  were  when  we  were  at  home  ?  how 
it  was  two  women  could  come  so  far  to  shoot  lion, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  107 

and  why  we  wanted  to  ? — to  all  of  which  we  replied  as 
clearly  and  comprehensively  as  we  could  through 
Clarence.  Then  more  personal  questions  were  asked. 
Were  we  married  ?  "Say  no,  Clarence."  "No,"  said 
the  stolid  shikari. 

The  Mullah  reflected  a  little.  Didn't  we  think  we 
ought  to  be  ?  A  dreadful  flick  on  the  raw  this.  If  we 
married  how  many  husbands  are  we  allowed  ?  I  in- 
structed Clarence  to  say  that  is  not  so  much  how  many 
you  are  allowed  as  how  many  you  can  get.  Cecily 
broke  in  and  said  that  it  was  enough  to  puzzle  any 
Mullah,  and  that  Clarence  must  explain  that  one 
husband  at  a  time  is  what  English  women  are  per- 
mitted, but  it  is  very  difficult  in  the  present  over- 
crowded state  of  the  marriage  market  to  obtain  even 
one's  rightful  allowance,  hence  our  lonely  forlorn  con- 
dition. The  Mullah  looked  really  sorry  for  us.  He 
said  he  would  like  to  give  us  another  sheep,  and  that 
he  did  not  think  he  would  care  to  live  in  England, 
but  he  approved  of  the  English  he  had  seen.  "  Best 
people  I  see."  We  thanked  him,  salaamed,  and  left. 
We  were  then  followed  by  a  pattering  crowd  who 
dodged  in  front  of  us,  peering  into  our  faces,  and  when 
we  smiled,  smiled  back  crying  "  Mot  !  Mot  !  io  Mot  ! " 
over  and  over.     It  was  quite  a  triumphal  progress. 

At  our  own  camp  we  found  the  place  invaded  by 
every  invalid  of  the  Mullah  settlement  waiting  in 
serried  rows  for  us  to  cure  them.  Why  every  English 
person,  or  European  rather,  is  supposed  to  possess 
this  marvellous  in-born  skill  in  medicine  I  cannot  tell. 
Some  of  the  complaints  presented  I  had  never  heard 


108  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

of,  much  less  seen,  and  even  our  learned  tome  of  a 
medical  work  failed  to  identify  many.  It  was  very 
pathetic,  as  we  were  so  helpless.  The  poor  things  re- 
garded the  book  as  some  saviour  come  to  succour  them. 

There  was  enough  occupation  before  us  to  keep  a 
doctor  busy  for  weeks,  that  much  we  could  see.  We 
only  dared  venture  on  the  simplest  plain-sailing  cases, 
and  even  if  we  had  used  up  our  entire  stock  of  medicine 
and  remedies  required  for  our  own  use  it  would  have 
been  a  drop  in  the  ocean  of  trouble  here.  We  gave 
presents  as  a  consoler  to  the  worst  of  the  invalids,  and 
then,  lest  they  should  all  return  again  on  the  morrow, 
we  folded  our  tents  like  the  Arabs  and  silently  stole 
away. 

One  of  our  own  men  required  our  attention  after 
this.  He  showed  all  the  symptoms  of  ptomaine  poison- 
ing, and  ferreting  into  the  matter  I  found  that — well 
fed  as  he  was — he  had  gone  after  the  contents  of  a  tin 
of  beef  I  had  my  doubts  of,  and  which  I  threw  away 
over  the  zareba  fence,  and  had  consumed  the  stuff.  I 
was  exceedingly  vexed,  because  I  had  told  all  the  men 
standing  about  at  the  time  that  the  tin  was  bad  and 
would  poison  any  one.  Is  it  not  odd  that  people — 
especially  men — always  want  and  like  that  which  is 
denied  them  ?  If  we  could  only  get  at  the  truth  of  it,  I 
expect  we  should  find  that  in  taking  the  forbidden  fruit 
in  the  Garden  of  Eden  Eve  did  it  at  the  express  wish 
of  Adam  who  wanted  it  badly,  and  had  not  the  moral 
courage  to  take  it  for  himself.  By  the  way,  it  may  not 
be  generally  known  that  quite  a  lot  of  learned  people 
claim  that  Eden  existed  in  Somaliland. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  109 

To  return  to  the  subject  in  hand  again.  Just  imagine 
a  well-looked-after  camel-man  deliberately  going  and 
making  a  meal  of  doubtful  meat  just  because  it  was 
forbidden  him.  Ah,  well  !  is  it  not  said  that  "  the 
dearest  pleasure  of  the  delicately  nurtured  is  a  furtive 
meal  of  tripe  and  onions"?  Perhaps  our  follower  took 
the  beef  as  a  surreptitious  dish  of  that  kind.  The 
analogy  may  seem  a  little  "  out,"  but  it  is  there  if  you 
look  for  it. 

One  day,  somewhere  about  this  time,  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  witness  a  great  and  splendid  sight,  a  battle 
to  the  death  between  two  bull  oryx.  I  had  been 
lunching  on  sandwiches  of  their  kind — alas  !  their 
poor  brother ! — and  was  resting  awhile  on  the  verge 
of  a  thick  bit  of  country,  a  natural  clearing  with  thick 
thorn  cover  around.  I  kept  very  silent — I  was  in  fact 
very  sleepy — when  I  heard  the  war  challenge  of  some 
genus  buck,  imperious  and  ringing,  and  not  far  away. 
It  was  replied  to  instantly.  Again  it  sounded  louder 
and  nearer.  I  raised  myself  and  looked  about.  From 
out  the  dense  brushwood,  but  a  few  hundred  yards  away, 
and  from  opposite  sides,  sprang  a  fine  up-standing 
oryx.  Crash  !  And  the  great  bulls  were  at  each  other. 
Clawing  with  hoofs  and  teeth  and  rapier  horns.  Then 
backwards  they  would  sidle,  and  each  taking  a  flying 
start  would  come  together  with  a  sickening  crash,  and 
all  the  while  each  tried  every  possible  tactic  to  drive 
the  merciless  horns  home.  I  held  my  breath  with 
excitement,  as  in  theirs  I  was  permitted  to  creep  almost 
up  to  the  panting,  foam-flecked  warriors.  I  could  have 
shot  both,  but  as  I  was  strong  so  was  I  merciful.     It 


no  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

wasagreat'and  glorious  struggle,  and  the  laurels  should 
be  to  the  victor.  For  quite  a  long  time  it  was  im- 
possible to  tell  which  was  the  stronger,  but  at  last  the 
right-hand  buck — for,  oddly  enough,  though  they 
circled  round  each  other  each  always  charged  from 
the  side  from  which  he  commenced  to  give  battle — 
began  to  show  signs  of  tremendous  stress,  and  the 
telling  blows  of  his  opponent  wore  him  down  more 
and  more.  No  longer  was  he  able  to  parry  the  lunges 
of  his  infuriated  foe,  who,  like  lightning,  took  instant 
advantage  of  the  on-coming  weakness  of  the  stricken 
buck,  and  rushing  in  on  a  flying  charge  like  a  whirl- 
wind, inserted  his  rapier-like  horns  into  his  enemy's 
side  and  gored  him  unmercifully. 

This  is  where  I  came  in.  I  would  not  shoot  the 
victor,  for  he  had  won  his  battle  in  fair  fight.  It  was 
the  survival  of  the  fittest.  As  he  shook  his  dripping 
horns  and  looked  at  me  with  blood-shot  eyes  and 
frothing  muzzle,  I  saw  he  was  a  youngster  in  the  height 
of  his  prime,  and  that  the  stricken  buck  was  old.  The 
victor  and  I  looked  at  one  another,  and  I  threw  my 
rifle  up.  A  charge  from  a  maddened  oryx  would  be 
no  simple  thing.  But  I  did  not  want  to  take  his  life 
unless  compelled.  A  soft,  low  whinnying  noise  in  the 
bush  :  he  was  off,  and  I  was  forgotten.  Cherchez  la 
femme,  even  in  oryx  land  !  I  walked  up  to  the  dying 
buck,  and  Clarence,  who  had  seen  the  whole  thing 
also,  hurried  up  and  asked  me  if  he  might  "  hallal  " 
quickly  and  save  the  meat.  A  Somali  could  not  be 
expected  to  appreciate  sentimental  reasons,  so  I  did 
not  urge  mercy  towards  the  utterly  vanquished,  mostly 


,   111,1.   ■  •     . 


,',,.,,> 


• ,  ■  .  ,  ■    •  ■ 


a 

< 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  in 

because  the  kindest  course  was  to  put  the  beast  out  of 
pain.  His  horns  were  the  horns  of  a  mighty  fighter, 
and  his  shield  bore  the  cuts  and  indents  of  many 
battles.  But  his  day  was  over,  and  his  harem  passed 
to  a  new  lord. 

The  ground  was  all  ploughed  up  with  the  scuffle. 

The  head  of  the  dead  oryx  was  poor.  It  looked  old, 
and  was  moreover  the  worse  for  strenuous  living, 
being  in  parts  hairless.  As  I  now  had  better  heads,  I 
took  his  shield  merely,  as  a  souvenir  of  the  great  fight. 
It  is  now  a  little  tea-tray  from  which  I  peacefully 
drink  tea. 

We  struck  camp  next  day,  and  trekked  along  the 
borders  of  the  Ogaden  country.  That  night  we  had  a 
camel  looted.  A  camel  seems  a  bit  of  an  undertaking 
to  run  off  with,  as  more  often  than  not  he  won't  move 
when  you  want  him  to.  I  suspect  there  was  some 
collusion  on  the  part  of  the  camel-man  in  charge,  but 
I  never  could  bring  it  home  to  one  of  them. 

Our  clothes  were  now  in  a  shocking  state  of  repair, 
or  disrepair.  What  with  wait-a-bit  thorns,  drenching 
rain,  torrid  sun,  wriggling  on  the  ground,  kneeling  and 
grovelling  about,  we  were  the  most  awful  scarecrows 
you  ever  saw.  But  we  were  intensely  happy.  That  is 
the  wonder  of  the  wild.  One  forgets  clothes — and 
that  is  much  for  a  woman  to  say — newspapers  and 
letters.  What  was  going  on  in  the  world  we  knew 
not,  nor  did  we  care.  I  cannot  conceive  the  heart  of 
man  desiring  more  than  was  ours  just  then.  The 
glories  of  the  jungle  were  all  for  us  ;  every  dawn 
brought  something  new,  and   everywhere   we  could 


ii2  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

trace  the  wonders  of  the  world  in  which  we  lived: 
each  morning  come  on  romance  in  footprints,  tragedy 
in  massed  spoor,  "sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in 
everything." 

It  is  not  to  be  thought  that  all  things  went  smoothly. 
In  a  big  caravan  of  the  kind  such  an  idyllic  condition 
of  things  would  be  well-nigh  impossible.  There  were 
the  most  awkward  disagreeablenesses  and  unpleasant- 
nesses of  all  sorts  to  bother  us.  I  hate  sporting  books 
full  of  grumbling  and  tales  of  discomforts.  Nobody 
asked  the  sportsman  to  undertake  the  job,  and  nobody 
cares  if  he  "chucks"  it.  Therefore  why  write  reams 
about  miseries  when  there  are  so  many  things  to  make 
up  for  them  ?  No  life  is  all  couleiir  de  rose  ;  but  we 
can  make  light  of  the  darkness,  "  walk  in  its  gardens, 
and  forget  the  rain." 

Ostrich  spoor  was  now  all  about,  but  they  are  the 
most  difficult  of  all  things  to  come  on  at  close  quarters. 
I  stalked  odd  birds,  birds  in  twos,  birds  in  trios  for 
hours,  but  never  came  within  any  sort  of  range. 

All  the  natural  history  as  told  to  me  in  childish  days 
about  the  ostrich  burying  its  head  in  the  sand  and 
imagining  itself  hidden  I  found  very  much  of  a 
nursery  romance.  The  ostrich  takes  no  chances,  and, 
so  far  from  burying  its  head,  has  to  thank  the  length  of 
its  neck  for  much  of  its  safety. 

After  days  of  wriggling  about  on  the  flanks  of 
ostrich,  in  the  front  and  in  the  rear,  I  confided  my 
chagrin  to  Clarence.  He  said  he  had  A  Plan.  I  told 
him  I  was  delighted  to  know  that,  and  would  he 
unfold  it  at  once  ?     It  seems  very  ridiculous,  but  just 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  113 

because  I  could  not  bag  an  ostrich  the  bird  seemed  to 
me  the  be-all  and  end-all  of  the  trip.  I  am  a  woman 
all  over,  it  seems. 

Well,  Clarence's  idea  was  this :  Ostrich  never  eat  at 
night  ;  therefore,  if  you  persistently  chase  the  same 
ostrich  for  two  or  three  days  consecutively  it  follows, 
of  course,  that  the  bird  must  give  in  sooner  or  later — 
sooner,  Clarence  hoped — from  want  of  food  and 
exhaustion.  Or,  if  a  hen  ostrich  could  only  be  pro- 
cured— just  as  though  I  was  not  prepared  to  welcome 
her — it  would  not  be  long  before  I  should  have  a  near 
view  of  a  cock  bird,  who  would  come  along  with  a 
view  to  a  possible  introduction  to  Miss  Ostrich.  She 
was  to  be  tied  to  a  thorn  bush  behind  which  I  should 
be  ensconced.  It  did  not  seem  at  all  a  sporting  thing 
to  do.  Love's  young  dream  should  not  be  made  a 
potent  factor  in  a  deadly  business  of  the  kind.  Love 
spells  life,  not  death. 

The  other  idea  did  not  commend  itself  to  me  either 
with  any  gusto.  I  had  no  mind  myself  to  go  riding 
after  ostrich  as  though  it  were  a  trophy  beyond  price. 
Neither  did  I  want  to  detail  any  of  the  men  for  the 
job.  It  was  just  as  well  we  did  not  trouble  for — such 
are  the  chances  of  hunting,  when  the  position  of  things 
may  change  from  success  to  failure,  from  failure  to 
success  in  the  blinking  of  an  eyelid — I  suddenly  came 
on  two  birds — two  grey  hens — one  afternoon  as  I  was 
returning  from  a  fruitless  expedition  after  a  lion  that 
must  have  left  the  neighbourhood  a  week  before.  One 
hen  was  picking  the  new  grass  that  was  everywhere 
springing  up,  the  other  was  playing  sentry.     And  very 

H 


ii4  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

well  she  did  it  too,  marching  up  and  down  with  head 
erect  and  alert  eyes.  They  had  not  winded  us.  We 
were  covered  by  fairly  dense  wait-a-bit.  The  birds, 
however,  were  entirely  out  of  range.  I  was  now  on 
foot,  and  flung  myself  down,  as  had  Clarence.  We  then 
raised  ourselves  sufficiently  to  cut  as  silently  as  we  could 
a  bunch  of  the  awful  prickly  grass,  all  mixed  with  thorn 
spikes,  and  though  it  scratched  me  like  fun,  and  I  heard 
my  poor  garments  ripping  away,  I  took  the  screen  from 
Clarence  and  holding  it  well  in  front  of  me  wriggled  to 
the  edge  of  the  open  country  in  front  of  me.  I  did 
feel  absurd,  and  how  was  I  to  get  within  range  of  those 
knowing  birds,  all  encumbered  as  I  was  too,  with  my 
weapon  and  my  wait-a-bit  ?  It  was  wait-a-bit  !  I  took 
half  an  hour  to  crawl  a  few  yards.  But  the  birds  still 
went  on  picking  the  grass  in  the  peculiar  way  they 
have,  taking  turns  at  sentry-go.  They  had  great  doubts 
about  this  small  tuft  that  had  grown  up  in  a  day, 
mushroom-like,  and  it  was  only  when  sentry  turned 
and  paced  the  other  way  I  could  progress  at  all.  The 
bird  who  was  doing  the  eating  did  not  trouble  itself  so 
much.  At  last,  wonderful  to  relate,  I  really  got  within 
range,  and  then  it  was  a  toss  up  which  bird  to  choose. 
I  really  considered  it  an  embarras  de  richesse,  and  told 
myself  that  both  belonged  to  me  !  Sentry  presented 
the  best  mark,  and  as  she  turned  and  came  towards  me 
I  drew  a  bead  on  her  breast  and  fired.  She  fell — 
plop !  But  her  companion  simply  took  a  sort  of 
flying  run,  very  quaint  to  watch,  and  vanished  in  the 
instant  on  the  horizon.  This  is,  I  know,  a  prodigious 
fuss   about  shooting   an   ostrich ;  but    I    found   them 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  115 

harder  to  come  on  and  account  for  than  the  king  of 
beasts  himself.  Some  of  my  ostrich  found  its  way  to 
the  stock-pot,  and  a  portion  was  roasted.  We  were 
quite  unable  to  get  our  teeth  through  it.  Cecily  said  I 
had  undoubtedly  shot  the  oldest  inhabitant.  The 
stewed  ostrich,  after  being  done  to  rags,  was  eatable, 
but  no  great  treat. 

The  next  day  I  was  taking  a  breathing  space  in 
between  moments  of  stalking  an  aoul  with  pecu- 
liarly turned  horns,  a  regular  freak  amongst  aoul,  when 
I  suddenly  heard  that  weirdest  of  sounds,  the  hunting 
call  of  a  hyaena  when  the  sun  is  high.  I  got  up  and 
gazed  about,  and  at  some  distance  there  flashed  into 
my  vision  a  disabled  buck,  I  could  not  then  tell  of 
what  variety,  haltingly  cantering  and  lurching  along. 
The  hyaena  was  on  his  track,  running  low,  but  covering 
the  distance  between  them  magically  quickly.  In 
shorter  time  than  I  can  write  it  the  hyaena  sprang  on  to 
the  haunches  of  the  spent  buck,  and  down,  down  it 
sank,  with  head  thrown  back,  into  a  pitiful  heap,  the 
fierce  wolf-like  creature  worrying  it  at  once.  I  threw 
up  my  rifle,  in  the  excitement  I  had  been  allowed  to 
approach  very  near,  and  the  hyasna  paid  toll.  He  was 
a  mangy  brute  of  the  spotted  variety,  but  the  strength 
of  his  teeth  was  amazing.  He  hung  on  to  a  piece  of 
the  aoul  long  after  death.  I  kept  his  head,  but  the 
skin  was  useless.  The  buck  was  an  old  aoul,  evidently 
in  shocking  condition  and  run  down  generally.  He 
was  dead,  or  I  would  have  put  him  out  of  his  misery. 
I  took  the  head  for  the  sake  of  the  horns.  These 
measured  on  the  curves  seventeen  and  a  half  inches. 


n6  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Just  here  Clarence  when  out  spooring,  came  on  an 
ostrich  nest  just  about  to  hatch  out,  and  nothing  would 
do  but  we  must  go  then  and  there  to  see  it.  We 
penetrated  some  wait-a-bit  and  then  came  on  the  nest 
with  seven  eggs  therein.  Next  we  hid  ourselves, 
waited  awhile,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  father 
ostrich  return  to  the  domicile.  I  don't  know  where 
the  mother  could  be.  We  never  sighted  her.  Perhaps 
she  was  an  ostrich  suffragette  and  had  to  attend  a 
meeting.  We  did  not  want  to  go  too  near  the  nest,  or 
go  too  often,  but  we  could  not  help  being  very  much 
interested.  Our  consideration  was  quite  unnecessary. 
The  eggs  hatched  out,  the  broken  eggs  told  the  tale, 
but  some  prowling  jackal  or  hungry  hyaena  had  called 
when  the  parents  were  away  and  annexed  the  entire 
seven.  Housekeeping  in  the  jungle  has  its  drawbacks. 
It  must  be  really  difficult  to  raise  a  family. 

It  was  quite  strange  that  Clarence,  who  was  a  born 
shikari,  versed  in  the  ways  of  the  wild,  and  master  of 
the  jungle  folk,  was  not  at  all  what  I  call  a  safe  shot.  I 
never  felt  that  I  could  depend  on  his  rifle  if  we  got 
into  a  tight  hole.  My  uncle  says  times  must  have 
changed,  for  in  their  days  together  Clarence  was  very 
reliable  with  a  rifle.  But  I  don't  see  why  a  man,  so 
often  out  in  the  jungle,  should  go  off  as  a  shot — rather, 
one  would  think,  would  he  improve,  like  grouse,  with 
keeping. 

We  did  a  most  amusing  stalk  one  day  here.  On  a 
Sunday — I  know  it  was  a  Sunday,  because  ever  since 
we  lost  the  only  almanac  we  had  with  us  we  notched  a 
stick,  Crusoe  fashion — Cecily  and   I   decided  to   part 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  117 

company  and  go  our  ways  alone,  and  taking  our  ponies 
rode  off  in  opposite  directions.  After  some  time  I 
tethered  my  steed  and  left  him  for  the  syce  to  attend 
to,  and  then  I  mooned  along  slowly  until  I  must  have 
traversed  a  mile  or  so.  I  lay  down  awhile,  and  then  a 
bunch  of  aoul  crossed  my  front,  a  Speke's  Gazelle  with 
them  but  not  of  them,  for  he  held  himself  well 
aloof,  and  seemed  by  his  very  bearing  to  say  he  was 
only  with  them  by  accident.  The  aoul  moved  on,  but 
the  Speke  began  to  feed,  and  I  realised  then  he  carried 
a  head  worth  having,  and  I  must  take  it  an'  I  could.  I 
was  out  of  range,  and  it  meant  a  careful  stalk.  I  hoped 
he  would  not  notice  me  if  I  wriggled  to  the  next  clump 
of  wait-a-bit,  which  showed  the  crassness  of  my 
ignorance  !  Of  course,  he  knew  something  was  afoot, 
and  I  had  to  lie  still  for  ages  ere  I  deceived  him  into 
passivity  again.  The  ground  was  like  a  razor's  edge  ; 
small  stones  and  sharp-edged  flints  cut  into  my  poor 
knees,  but  I  crept  nearer  by  twenty  paces.  The  sun- 
light danced  again  on  his  shining  coat,  and  all  his 
thoughts  were  hemmed  in  now  by  a  little  patch  of 
green  grass  he  had  come  on.  He  consumed  this  while 
I  squirmed  from  point  to  point,  and  then  with  a  whisk 
of  his  tail  he  was  off  again.  A  brisk  run  brought  him 
in  view  once  more,  and  all  this  time  my  presence  had 
never  really  irked  him.  Aha  !  I  pretty  well  had  him. 
A  few  paces  more  when,  wonder  of  wonders,  he  saw 
some  danger  signal  in  quite  another  quarter  and 
dashed  away,  this  time  with  no  halting.  He  was  gone 
for  ever.  I  rose  and  stretched  myself,  when  a  distant 
bush  of  wait-a-bit  yielded  up  another  figure,  doing  the 


n8  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

same  thing.  It  was  Cecily.  And  we  had  both  been 
stalking  the  self-same  buck  for  hours — spoiling  the 
other's  chances  every  time.  We  laughed  and  laughed, 
for  who  could  help  it  ? 

On  our  walk  back  to  camp  we  found  the  vacated 
hole  of  a  wart-hog.  They  dig  these  entrenchments 
for  themselves,  and  back  into  them  so  that  they  face 
any  danger  that  may  come — a  most  wise  and  sound 
policy.  The  hole  only  just  admits  piggy  ;  there  is  not 
one  inch  to  spare.  Living  as  they  do  on  roots,  it  can 
well  be  understood  that  the  flesh  is  really  much  more 
appetising  than  that  of  the  home-grown  porker.  Their 
only  drawback  as  a  welcome  addition  to  our  larder 
was  this  refusal  of  the  Somalis  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  pig.  I  am  quite  sure  they  ran  this  phase  of 
Mahomedanism  for  all  it  was  worth,  thereby  saving 
themselves  labour,  for  I  never  could  see  any  very 
strong  leanings  towards  any  other  teachings  of  their 
religion. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEATH  OF  "THE  BARON" 

My  very  friend  has  got  his  mortal  hurt 
In  my  behalf,  my  reputation  stain'd 

Romeo  and  fuliet 

A  piteous  corse,  a  bloody  piteous  corse, 
Pale,  pale  as  ashes,  all  bedaubed  in  blood, 
All  in  gore  blood 

Romeo  and  Juliet 

Very  often  we  made  detours  from  the  main  caravan, 
rejoining  it  at  a  given  spot,  and  this  spirit  of  "  wander- 
lust" brought  us  into  a  nice  quandary  one  fine  day. 
Going  by  the  map  and  guided  by  the  compass,  Clarence 
was  to  arrive  with  the  whole  outfit  at  a  precise  place 
by  nightfall,  and  we  two,  tired  of  the  two-and-a-half 
miles  an  hour  pace,  did  an  excursion  on  sport  intent, 
taking  our  own  way  to  meet  the  caravan.  We,  with 
three  hunters  on  the  ever-willing  ponies,  left  camp 
early,  and  going  easily  soon  put  a  good  distance 
between  ourselves  and  the  slow-coach  camels.  Dik- 
dik  popped  up  everywhere,  but  'twas  no  use  disturbing 
the  jungle  for  such  small  game.  Water-holes  next 
loomed  ahead,  and  into  the  mud  the  Somalis  precipi- 
tated themselves  to  drink  and  dabble.  It  was  really 
not  fit  to  swallow,  and  sudden  death  would  seem  to  be 
the  probable  result.     Not  at  all  1     It  gave  a  sudden 


120  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

impetus  to  our  men,  who  grew  quite  lively,  game  for 
anything,  as  they  chanted  invitations  to  imaginary 
animals  to  come  and  be  shot.  All  the  song  was  of  the 
"  Dilly,  Dilly,  come  and  get  killed  "  pattern,  and  was 
for  the  most  part  addressed  to  a  rhinoceros  who  lived 
in  fancy.  "  Wiyil,  Wiyil,  Mem-sahib  calls  you,"  was  the 
bed-rock  of  the  anthem,  and  like  our  home-made 
variety  one  sentence  had  to  go  a  long  way. 

We  found  a  track  made  by  tortoises  innumerable  who 
evidently  marched  in  solid  phalanx  to  the  water-holes. 
We  followed  the  trail  for  a  long  way,  but  it  seemed  to 
be  taking  us  to  a  Never-never  land,  so  we  turned,  giving 
up  the  idea  of  discovering  the  source  of  the  path.  But 
in  a  tiny  lake,  as  big  as  a  bath  and  as  shallow,  we  came 
on  three  tortoises  swimming.  They  drew  in  their  ugly 
snake-like  heads  with  a  sideway  motion  beneath  their 
armour-plate  residence,  and  there  was  nothing  left 
to  see  but  a  flat,  dirty,  yellow  carapace.  They  were 
quite  small,  and  we  pulled  one  out  with  a  deft  noose 
thrown  by  the  second  hunter.  Each  man  took  off 
his  turned-up  sandals  and  rested  one  bare  foot  at  a 
time  on  the  shelly  back,  "  to  make  strong  the  feet." 
They  did  this  very  solemnly,  and,  of  course,  in  turns, 
mounting  their  ponies  when  the  superstitious  rite  was 
well  over. 

We  saw  a  very  immature  gereniik  standing  on  his 
hind  legs  to  feed  on  the  young  tops  of  a  thorn  bush. 
It  went  off  at  a  crouching  trot,  stopping  after  a  short 
run  to  turn  and  stare.  It  even  returned  a  few  paces, 
with  unparalleled  impudence,  to  gaze.  It  was  a  young- 
ster of  last  season.    The  gereniik  mother  is  not  the 


'   '     '   '    '  >  ' 

>        »       . 
>  '        '  >    ■>  i  ->      >       ,  , 

>     1 


LESSER    KOODOO 


SPEKKS   GAZELLE 
SWAYNE S    HARTEREEST 


GERENtlK  AOUL   GAZELLE 

SOME   GOOD    HEADS 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  121 

highest  type  of  jungle  matron,  frequently  abandoning 
a  little  one  to  fend  for  itself  weeks  before  it  has  been 
taught  the  ways  of  the  jungle.  And  so  it  is  that 
gereniik  fawns  are  a  great  mainstay  in  the  lion  dietary. 

We  let  our  youthful  friend  investigate  us  to  his  lik- 
ing, after  which  he  trotted  off.  Gereniik  seldom  or 
never  gallop,  and  get  up  nothing  like  the  speed  of  an 
oryx  for  instance. 

We  paused  for  lunch,  and  some  surprised  Midgans 
were  located  beneath  a  guda  tree.  Round  about  them 
were  many  fierce  and  vengeful-looking  dogs.  They 
had  a  fire  over  which  they  were  roasting  bits  of 
flesh.  A  few  dogs  fought  and  wrangled  over  mangled 
remnants  of  bone,  skin,  and  entrails.  The  horns  and 
shield  of  an  oryx  hung  on  a  khansa  bush.  The  horns 
were  not  large,  and  were  those  of  a  cow  oryx,  killed  to 
make  a  Midgan  holiday,  by  the  aid  of  the  trained  dogs, 
arid  with  a  coup- de-gr dee  of  arrows.  I  have  never  seen 
the  actual  hunting,  but  I  understand  that  these  pariah 
dogs  are  bred  by  the  Midgans  to  hunt  the  oryx,  and 
going  out  in  a  pack  make  straight  for  the  prey  on  being 
shown  the  antelope. 

The  music  of  the  chase  is  noteless.  The  dogs  hunt 
in  silence,  until  they  bring  the  antelope  to  his  last  stand, 
when  they  give  tongue,  guiding  the  tracking  Midgans, 
who  steal  up,  asiconcealed  as  may  be,  and  let  fly  a  flight 
of  arrows  which  either  settles  the  oryx  there  and  then, 
or  paves  the  way  for  an  easy  pull  down  later.  Very 
often  the  antelope  makes  such  a  glorious  stand  that  a 
couple  of  dogs  are  left  on  the  field  of  battle  for  the 
hyaenas.     Though  the  dogs  fasten  on  to  their  prey  and 


122  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

are  fierce  beyond  relief  an  oryx  at  bay  is  something  to 
be  afraid  of.  His  swift  forward  rush,  head  down,  with 
horns  just  fixed  at  the  right  angle  for  impaling  an 
enemy,  and  sideway  strike  render  him  a  formidable 
foe  at  close  quarters. 

The  Midgans  were  very  friendly.  They  were  very 
ragged,  and  the  quivers  full  of  poisoned  arrows  hung 
on  quite  bare  shoulders.  They  kindly  showed  us  a 
track  to  our  betterment,  for  the  going  now  was  stony 
and  difficult.  In  and  out  among  rocky  nullahs  were 
week-old  pugs  of  lion,  and  farther,  where  rain  had 
fallen,  well  defined  spoor  of  more  lion,  together  with 
massed  tracks  of  oryx  and  aoul.  The  spoor  of  the 
former  is  broad  in  the  forefoot,  somewhat  resembling 
two  pears  set  together,  and  the  hind  foot  makes  a  much 
longer,  narrower  impress.  We  followed  the  rough 
track  for  a  mile  or  more  being  led  to  an  open  "  bun," 
not  extensive,  where  some  few  bunches  of  aoul  grazed 
and  an  odd  bull  oryx  also.  We  got  off  our  ponies, 
and  making  the  hunters  into  syces  pro  tern.,  did  a  stalk 
on  all  fours.  Cover  there  was  not,  and  the  centre  of 
the  u  bun  "  was  the  centre  of  attraction  to  all  the  buck, 
the  best  grass  probably  growing  there.  It  was  com- 
pletely out  of  reasonable  range.  A  crackle,  a  rustle, 
or  possibly  a  vision  gave  the  alarm,  and  away  went  the 
oryx,  out  of  sightdnstantly.  The  aoul  fled  anrightedly 
for  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  then  brought  up  in  a  thick 
bunch  to  stare.  One,  inquisitive  beyond  belief,  trotted 
towards  us,  advancing  in  short  bounds  in  his  anxiety 
to  solve  the  mystery  of  these  new  squirming  creatures. 
Head  on,  the  aoul  presented  the  position  for  the  most 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  123 

reliable  shot  possible.  A  child  would  have  brought  it 
off.     Cecily  dropped  the  inquirer  dead  in  his  tracks. 

We  were  very  glad  of  the  meat,  and  the  horns  were 
not  amiss.  The  men  would  not  be  able  to  look  for- 
ward to  a  resulting  feast,  as  the  "  hallal  "  was  left  out. 
However,  they  had  any  amount  of  sun-dried  meat  to 
go  on  with.  One  pony  had  to  carry  the  buck,  which, 
after  being  cleaned,  probably  weighed  less  than  the 
Somali  who  had  occupied  the  saddle  previously.  Then 
we  made  tracks  for  the  rendezvous.  Looking  behind 
us  we  saw  a  large  jackal  making  off  with  the  left-behind 
bits  of  aoul.  Another  and  another  came  up,  and  then 
a  set-to  fight  began  as  to  who  should  eat  the  spoils. 
Whilst  the  battle  raged  with  fang  and  claw  a  tiny 
jackal  stealing  up  made  off  at  best  pace  with  most  of 
the  bone  of  contention. 

At  the  arranged  place  of  meeting  we  found  no  hos- 
pitably waiting  tents,  no  cook  trying  to  cook,  no  camels, 
no  anything,  but  an  arid  waste  of  sand,  sparsely  dotted 
with  adad  bushes  and  a  couple  of  very  stunted  guda 
trees.  From  the  adad  comes  the  gum  arabic  of  Somali 
trading,  a  useless  commodity  to  us.  But  we  could  see 
it  for  ourselves  in  amber  lumps,  in  the  crannies  of  the 
thorn. 

Half  an  hour  passed.  The  ponies  nibbled  the  occa- 
sional brown  spears  that  masqueraded  as  grass,  and 
we  sat  down,  and  said  things.  One  of  the  hunters  got 
up  a  guda  tree  to  help  investigations,  and  we  played  : 
"  Sister  Ann,  Sister  Ann,  do  you  see  anybody  coming  ? " 
until  we  were  tired  of  it,  and  the  man  not  being  par- 
ticularly agile  missed  his  footing  and  fell  with  a  plop 


124  twO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

to  the  ground.     After  he  realised  he  still  lived  we  had 
to  listen  to  his  complaints,  which  embraced  everything 
from  petitions  to  Allah,  allusions  to  Kismet,  to  ordinary 
swear  words  consigning  the  tree  and  the  bruises  to 
altogether  impossible  places.     It  grew  bitterly  cold. 
A  breeze  sprang  up  and  dashed  the  sand  in  little  sprays 
about  us.     Then  it  got  colder  still,  and  darker  ;  pre- 
sently night  would  fall  and  find  us  unprepared.     We 
guarded  the  ponies,  and  the  men  with  nothing  but  a 
couple  of  shikar  knives,  cut  thorn  hurriedly,  and  we 
could  not  cry,  "  Hold,  enough  !  "  until  a  goodly  pile  had 
been  collected.     We  started  a  fire  then  and  sat  about 
it  holding  the  ponies  by  us.    A  comical  group.     The 
fire  warmed  us  in  front,  but  oh,  the  cold  where  the  fire 
was  not.     I  kept  turning  round  and  round  like  a  meat- 
jack.     We  sat  on  like  this  in  great  discomfort  until 
twelve  o'clock.     We  had  on  drill  jackets,  so  were  very 
coldly  clad.     Then — a  shot  on  the  silence,  cracking 
suddenly  like  ice  splitting  on  a  frozen  lake.     Crack 
again.     We  replied  ;  and  after  a  waste  of  cartridges  on 
either  side  a  dark  mass  loomed  on  our  limited  horizon, 
and  the  camel-men  called  words  of  endearment  to  the 
lost  hunters.     We  were  huffy  enough  to  have  dismissed 
the  whole  caravan  and  left   ourselves    stranded,  but 
feigned  to  be  propitiated  by  stories  of  how  they  lost 
their  way  and  the  compass,  for  a  Somali  will  lose,  as 
he  can  break,  anything.     The  sight  of  our  tents  being 
erected  and  the  prospect  of  bed  and  warmth  mollified 
us  as  nothing  else  could  have  done,  and  we  turned 
in  as  soon  as  the  cook  produced  some  soup.     The 
men  had  to  collect  wood  in  the  dark — a  thing  they 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  125 

hate.  It  was  all  a  gross  piece  of  bad  management  on 
the  part  of  Clarence.     Even  Homer  nods. 

As  a  result  of  the  exposure  Cecily  contracted  rheu- 
matism of  some  inflammatory  description.  We  called 
it  rheumatism  for  want  of  a  better  name,  but  her  illness 
most  coincided  with  something  discussed  in  our  medi- 
cal work — our  vade  mecum — and  most  unfortunately 
the  page  was  lost  and  the  name  of  the  complaint,  as 
luck  would  have  it,  was  on  it. 

We  decided  it  must  be  rheumatism  and  treated  it 
accordingly.  The  right  arm  was  rendered  quite  useless, 
and  it  was  agony  for  the  poor  girl  to  do  more  than 
crawl  about.  It  was  a  most  irritating  affair  for  her 
and  ever  so  disappointing.  The  best  sport  of  the  trip 
was  now  at  hand.  We  were  in  the  rhino  country,  and 
at  breakfast  next  morning  a  Somali  hunter  rode  in — it 
is  marvellous  the  way  in  which  these  people  track 
caravans  and  then  seem  to  drop  in  from  nowhere — 
and  he  brought  news,  great  news  for  us.  Clarence 
introduced  the  man,  a  fine  upstanding  Berserk,  who 
gazed  in  bewilderment  at  the  new  type  of  sporting 
sahib.  A  rhinoceros  was  in  the  vicinity,  that  much  we 
elicited,  that  much,  and  enough  too.  A  flowing  tobe 
was  the  reward  for  these  tidings  of  great  joy. 

Leaving  Clarence  to  glean  all  particulars,  I  rushed 
to  Cecily's  tent  to  see  if  she  would  require  me  to  remain 
in  camp  with  her.  She  said,  nobly,  "  Of  course  not." 
Truth  to  tell,  I  don't  think  I  could  have  done  it  had 
she  asked  me  to. 

I  was  so  overjoyed  and  excited  that  I  saw  to  the 
condition  of  my  rifle  ten  times  over. 


126  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

The  only  animal  a  Somali  really  fears  is  the  rhino- 
ceros. His  charge,  though  so  blundering,  is  so  terrific  ; 
and  though  he  has  not  the  cunning  of  the  elephant,  in 
fact  hardly  any  finesse  at  all,  the  native  mind  knows  it 
is  safer  to  take  no  chances.  I  learnt  by  after  experi- 
ence that  a  rhinoceros  is,  indeed,  a  very  big  thing  to 
tackle ;  that  his  immense  bulk  is  no  deterrent  to 
nimbleness,  that  his  lumbering,  bull-like  charge  is  not 
the  most  he  can  do,  for  if  needs  be  he  can  turn  and 
double  with  agility. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  hearing  the  great  news  we 
prepared  to  try  our  luck.  The  country  here  was  of 
the  densest  description,  and  Clarence's  idea  was  to 
make  a  detour  south,  by  way  of  some  water-holes, 
where  we  might  come  on  tracks  of  more  rhino.  He 
said  the  one  we  had  heard  of  would  probably  by  now 
be  far  away,  and,  as  we  were  right  in  the  Ogaden,  there 
was  every  possibility  of  our  picking  up  fresh  rhino 
spoor  for  ourselves  almost  immediately.  We  got 
ready  quite  a  little  expedition,  and  I  detailed  a  camel 
to  carry  my  requirements  in  case  we  thought  it  better  to 
stay  out  all  night,  and  with  Clarence,  the  Baron,  a  syce, 
and  two  camel  men  my  retinue  was  sufficiently  imposing. 
Danger  from  the  Ogaden  Somalis  never  presented  itself 
to  me  as  a  very  real  thing,  in  spite  of  certain  lurid  tales 
we  had  heard  and  read.  Although  we  penetrated  the 
country  from  end  to  end,  the  few  tribes  we  met  gave  us 
no  anxiety  save  that  of  the  off-chance  that  we  might 
catch  some  disease  from  them.  They  are  very  prone 
to  small-pox,  and  go  on  walking  about  with  it,  giving  it 
to  all  and  sundry,  when  most  people  would  be  isolated. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  127 

But  to  return  to  that  joint  of  mutton  we  sat  down 
to.  I  took  a  whole  armoury  along  with  me,  but  had 
quite  selected  my  12-bore  as  the  rifle  for  the  job.  I 
said  good-bye  to  poor  disappointed  Cecily,  thinking 
how  lucky  I  was  to  be  well  and  able  to  set  off  on  this 
the  greatest  adventure  of  all  my  life.  I  little  thought  I 
was  nearing  one  of  its  tragedies.  As  I  rode  along  I  felt 
light-hearted  enough  to  sing.  Even  the  woeful  going 
and  the  consequent  delays  did  not  seriously  vex  me. 
The  sandy  plateaus  presently  changed  to  the  most 
impossible  thorn,  and  it  became  apparent  we  could  get 
the  encumbered  camel  no  farther.  The  creature  could 
not  struggle  on  through  such  dense  jungle,  neither 
could  the  ponies.  I  would  hear  of  no  going  back,  and 
there  was  no  going  round,  so  I  instructed  the  small 
caravan  to  await  my  reappearance  under  pain  of  all 
sorts  of  penalties  whilst  "the  Baron,"  myself,  and 
Clarence  pushed  and  crawled  our  way  in  a  direction 
where  we  confidently  hoped  to  come  on  rhino. 

I  simply  held  my  breath,  took  a  header  into  the  sea 
of  bush  before  us,  and  with  the  ubiquitous  Clarence 
ever  and  anon  carving  out  a  rough  path  for  me  with 
his  hunting  knife,  held  on  the  way. 

The  heat  was  appalling.  I  can  truthfully  say  I 
never  was  so  hot  in  all  my  life.  After  about  an  hour 
of  this,  we  all  suddenly  came  upon  a  distinct  passage 
through  the  jungle,  running  at  right  angles,  a  passage 
that  could  hardly  be  called  one,  still  the  way  was 
easier,  and  it  was  apparent  that,  though  the  brushwood 
had  closed  together  again  more  or  less,  some  mighty 
creatures  had  passed  along.  But  which  way?    Spooring 


128  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

was  impossible,  the  broken  thorns  could  not  solve 
the  puzzle.  We  must  chance  it.  Clarence  was  for  the 
left.  I  advocated  the  right.  Something  made  me 
choose  so  ;  but  oh,  how  devoutly  afterwards  I  wished 
I  had  taken  the  man's  way  and  not  mine  own.  It  was 
not  easy  going  now,  but  child's  play  to  what  we 
endured  at  first.  On  and  on,  very,  very  slowly  ;  and 
at  last  the  heavy  country  broke  up  somewhat  and  we 
could  see  the  sandy  ground  in  patches  once  more.  A 
space  and  then — rhino  spoor  !  New,  never-to-be- 
forgotten,  I  stooped  down  and  examined  it  carefully. 
It  was  very  distinct  considering  the  dry  nature  of  the 
ground.  I  ascribed  this  to  his  immense  weight.  I 
measured  the  imprint,  and  found  it  came  out  at  nine 
and  three-quarters  long  by  eight  and  three-quarter 
inches  broad.  A  rhino  causes  no  havoc  to  the  thorn 
bushes  as  he  travels  bar  the  injury  of  his  passage. 
Unlike  the  elephant,  he  does  not  stop  and  eat  all  along 
the  way.  He  waits  until  settled  in  some  cherished 
feeding  ground. 

By  the  time  we  had  done  another  hour,  the  spoor 
still  holding  on,  the  country  was  comparatively  clear. 
I  was  so  fatigued  and  winded  I  lay  down  and  hardly 
knew  what  to  do  with  myself.  I  sent  Clarence  and 
the  Baron  on  a  bit  to  prospect,  and  had  really 
nearly  forgotten  their  existence  in  exhausted  sleep 
when  they  appeared  again  all  tingling  with  excitement 
and  eagerness,  and  with  many  signs  and  mysterious 
facial  contortions  explained  the  rhino  was  not  far  off. 
A  wave  of  the  hand  to  a  far  away  fastness  of  thicket 
showed  me  its  lair,  and  as  we  crept  closer  a  pensive 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  129 

munching    sound    betrayed    the    occupation    of   our 
prey. 

Aching  all  over,  I  silently  crept  on.  In  the  stillness 
I  could  more  plainly  hear  the  crunching  of  the  thorns 
as  they  made  a  meal  for  the  great  pachyderm.  But  I 
saw  nothing,  and  how  I  was  to  penetrate  the  wait-a-bit 
with  any  degree  of  safety  I  could  not  see.  Few  people 
would  care  to  meet  a  rhinoceros  at  such  disadvantage, 
and  I  had  to  add  to  other  drawbacks  the  fact  that  I 
had  for  safety's  sake  to  let  the  hammers  of  my  rifle 
down  ere  negotiating  such  dense  undergrowth.  It 
would  be  highly  dangerous  to  proceed  with  the  rifle 
cocked,  but  I  wanted  it  very  much  cocked  indeed  on 
my  first  introduction  to  so  vast  and  important  an 
animal.  The  thing  was  to  circumvent  the  wood — if  I 
may  call  the  place  by  so  home-like  a  word — and  on 
reaching  one  spot  where  the  thorn  grew  sparser,  I 
decided  to  penetrate  here.  I  could  not  bear  to  leave 
it  longer,  and  could  not  wait  all  day  ;  besides,  I  prefer 
to  meet  a  rhino  in  some  place  where  there  is  a  pre- 
tence at  cover  anyway  to  trying  conclusions  with  him 
in  a  patch  of  conspicuously  open  ground. 

My  men  showed  no  sign  of  fear,  and  following  me 
came  on  as  carefully  and  steadily  as  ever.  Both  were 
armed,  inadequately  it  is  to  be  feared,  but  the  onus  of 
the  business  was  to  fall,  presumably,  on  me.  At  last ! 
In  one  dazzling  minute  of  surprise  I  saw  the  huge 
lumbering  bulk  we  know  as  the  rhinoceros.  I  have  a 
bowing  acquaintance  with  his  relatives  in  many  zoos, 
yet  he  seemed  to  me  a  stranger.  Surely  they  never 
were  so  colossal,  so  mighty,  so  altogether  awe-inspiring. 

1 


130  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

My  hands  trembled  violently.  I  was  for  the  moment 
unsteady.  It  all  seemed  so  impossible  I  could  kill  the 
wondrous  brute. 

The  cocking  of  the  hammers  seemed  to  echo  through 
the  jungle.  To  let  him  hear  us  now  would  present 
difficulties  unthinkable.  Beads  of  perspiration  rolled 
down  my  forehead,  and  my  heart  beat  so  loudly  that  I 
wondered  if  Clarence  heard  it.  This  would  never  do, 
so  rating  myself  to  myself — a  method  that  never  fails 
to  pull  me  together — I  took  long,  steady,  and  careful 
aim  at  the  pachyderm's  shoulder.  The  frontal  shot  is 
never  of  the  slightest  use,  and  I  could  not  get  in  a 
heart  one.  I  know  now  I  had  no  business  to  fire  at 
all,  but  my  keenness  was  great,  my  ignorance  greater, 
and  Clarence  had  not  protested  once. 

I  fired  !  Instantly  a  noise  like  the  letting  off  steam 
of  a  C.P.R.  engine,  twice  as  noisy  as  any  other.  The 
rhino  sniffed  the  air  with  his  huge  muzzle,  and  I  could 
clearly  see  his  prehensile  upper  lip.  In  a  moment  he 
seemed  on  us — through  us  ;  we  scattered  as  he  came. 
Then  I  saw  what  a  truly  awful  business  we  were  in 
for,  and,  recognising  there  must  be  no  delay  in  getting 
the  sights  on  him  again,  I  dashed  after  the  animal, 
who  was  now  about  to  double  on  his  tracks,  and  1 
crawled  into  the  insignificant  shelter  of  a  thorn  bush 
to  await  developments. 

The  rhino  had  not  as  yet  realised  what  was  the 
matter,  or  quite  gathered  who  his  foes  were.  I  fired 
again,  another  shoulder  shot.  This  bullet  "told" 
heavily,  and  the  maddened  creature,  smarting  and 
furious,  passed  me  like  the  wind  and  charged  like  a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  131 

Juggernaut  right  over  the  Baron,  who,  in  meaning  to 
evade  the  rush,  fell  into  it  through  the  unexpected 
agility  of  the  brute.  A  most  awful  stifled  shriek  arose 
as  my  poor  fellow  went  down.  Frightened  as  I  was,  I 
felt  I  should  be  everlastingly  branded  to  myself  as  a 
coward  if  I  made  no  attempt  to  save  the  man,  although 
I  understood  how  altogether  impossible  salvation  was 
just  then.  The  pachyderm  was  giving  the  prostrate 
body  a  number  of  vicious  rams  with  his  horn.  I 
advanced  quite  close,  and  the  rhino,  seeing  me,  blun- 
deringly charged,  passing  so  near  I  got  the  very  breath 
from  his  nostrils.  I  luckily  managed  to  get  in  a  heart 
shot,  and  yet  another.  The  animal  lurched  on,  and 
then  fell,  as  a  loaded  furniture  van  might,  with  a 
terrific  crash.  But  it  was  not  entirely  accounted  for 
even  yet,  and  continued  to  emit  little  squeals  and 
plough  the  ground  up  all  about  it.  Still,  I  knew  it 
would  rise  no  more,  and  I  gave  my  rifle  to  Clarence 
with  a  sign  to  him  to  do  the  happy  despatch.  I  went 
to  the  fallen  Baron,  and  even  now  cannot  write  of  the 
dreadful  nature  of  his  wounds  without  a  shudder  at 
the  manner  of  so  hideous  a  death.  I  was  overwhelmed, 
but  Clarence  was  still  imperturbable  as  he  looked  back 
from  the  great  mass  that  now  lay  as  inert  as  my  poor 
follower. 

There  was  no  use  trying  anything ;  the  Baron  was 
dead.  I  did  my  best  to  hide  my  stress  of  mind  from 
the  calm  shikari,  and  endeavoured  to  think  what  it 
was  best  to  do.  I  wanted  to  have  the  body  taken  back 
to  camp  and  bury  it  decently,  but,  after  aii,  it  was  a 
silly  idea  enough,  and  a  mere  relic  of  home  associa- 


132  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

tions.  The  man  had  to  be  buried,  so  why  not  do  it 
where  he  fell  ?  Then  the  rhinoceros,  with  all  its  value 
in  hide  and  horn,  lay  there  to  be  dealt  with.  The  only 
way  seemed  to  be  to  return  to  the  spot  where  we  left 
the  camel,  let  Clarence  lead  two  men  to  the  scene  of 
the  debacle,  and  then  I  would  proceed  to  camp  and 
order  out  further  assistance. 

We  covered  the  poor  Baron  with  cut  thorns,  which 
seemed  a  slight  barrier  of  protection  for  his  body  ;  and 
the  thought  of  the  inroads  of  some  beasts  of  prey 
made  me  hurry  and  almost  run  back  through  the  awful 
way  we  had  come  so  short  a  time  ago.  Our  passage 
had  cleared  it  a  very  little,  and  my  mind  was  so  much 
occupied  with  the  catastrophe  that  it  did  not  seem 
very  long  before  we  reached  the  philosophic  camel 
and  the  help  of  which  we  stood  in  need. 

One  camel-man  I  instructed  to  return  to  camp  with 
his  charge  ;  the  other  and  my  syce  I  detailed  to  go 
back  with  Clarence  to  attend  to  the  Baron  and  the 
rhino.  I  got  on  my  own  pony,  leading  the  others, 
and  going  as  hard  as  I  could  under  such  harassing 
conditions,  I  returned  an  hour  or  so  after  with  a  few 
men,  whom  I  led  to  the  edge  of  the  thick  jungle  into 
which  I  heartily  wished  I  had  never  penetrated,  and 
explained  to  the  leader  the  exact  location  of  the  scene 
of  the  disaster.  I  arranged  that  a  rifle  should  be  fired 
three  times  to  acquaint  me  of  his  meeting  with  Clarence 
at  the  awful  spot.  For  myself,  I  was  too  utterly  done 
to  take  on  the  journey  down  that  path  again.  I  sat 
and  waited  for  the  signal,  and  felt  a  little  easier  in  my 
mind  as  I  heard  the  welcome  one,  two,  three. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  133 

I  wearily  returned  to  camp,  and  having  fully  ex- 
plained to  Cecily  the  extent  of  the  disaster,  lay  on  my 
bed,  face  down,  for  ages.  The  death  of  the  poor 
hunter  could  not,  strictly  speaking,  be  ascribed  to  me. 
I  might  so  easily  have  been  the  victim  myself,  but  the 
horror  of  it  all  and  the  pity  of  it  bothered  me  as  I 
suppose  it  would  not  have  done  a  real  sportsman. 
For,  in  retailing  it  now  to  my  uncle,  he  pooh-poohs 
my  trouble  and  says  it  is  the  fortune  of  big  game 
hunting.  "  You  hunt  big  game,  big  game  hunt  you," 
as  the  case  may  be. 

Cecily  tried  in  her  loving  way  to  comfort  me,  and 
the  cook  made  me  a  soporific  in  the  shape  of  tea, 
and  the  kettle  had  really  boiled.  I  was  very  glad  to 
see  Clarence  back  before  the  light  gave  out,  and  hear 
that  the  Baron  had  been  buried  deeply  and  far  out  of 
the  reach  of  hungry  jackals  and  hyaenas. 

I  spent  a  fearful  night  of  regrets  and  recriminations. 
When  pain  is  acute  it  is  as  well  to  let  it  bite  deep, 
because  the  reaction  is  greater  in  proportion  to  the 
pain.  I'm  not  sure  that  the  old  adage  about  crying 
over  spilt  milk  isn't  a  fraud.  It  does  a  woman  good  to 
cry,  so  I  wept  and  wept. 

Next  morning  I  thoroughly  overhauled  my  prize  so 
dearly  bought.  The  spoil  must  have  taken  some  carry- 
ing. The  head,  which  I  kept  entire — I  mean  without 
despoiling  it  of  horns — was  not  so  large  as  I  somehow 
expected  from  an  animal  of  his  bulk.  Still,  it  was  big 
enough  in  all  conscience.  The  skin  appeared  like 
some  freshly-peeled  fruit,  and  was  of  great  thickness, 
though   it   afterwards   shrank  in   the   drying   a  little. 


134  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

After  the  epidermis  is  removed,  the  hide,  when 
polished,  comes  up  like  clouded  amber,  and  makes 
the  most  exquisite  top  for  a  table,  of  which  the  four 
feet  form  the  base.  In  my  worry  at  the  time  I  neg- 
lected to  measure  the  rhinoceros  as  he  lay,  but  in  any 
case  we  were  quite  unable  to  move  him.  I  afterwards 
took  the  dimensions  of  the  horns,  and  the  length  of 
the  anterior  was  sixteen  inches,  the  posterior  being  at 
seven.  I  could  not  settle  in  that  camp  again,  nor  hunt 
with  any  happiness.  As  soon  as  Cecily  was  well 
enough  to  trek  we  struck  camp,  and  held  on  in  the 
direction  of  Galadi,  wherever  that  might  be. 


CHAPTER  X 

WE  MEET  "THE  OPPOSITION" 

Therefore  be  merry,  coz  ;  since  sudden  sorrow 
Serves  to  say  thus — some  good  thing  comes  to-morrow 

King  Henry  VI 

It  was  impossible  to  feel  down-hearted  for  long,  and 
my  spirits  began  to  rise  again.  Even  the  heat  did  not 
affect  us  as  much  as  one  might  have  thought.  Of 
course  we  were  burnt  as  mahogany  brown  as  it  is 
possible  for  a  white  woman  to  be,  and  I  think  very 
little  marked  us  out  from  our  Somalis  in  point  of 
colour.  Our  very  fair  hair  looked  quite  odd  in 
contrast. 

Our  hunters  reported  one  morning  that  in  spooring 
for  leopard  they  had  come  on  the  tracks  of  a  large 
caravan,  and  overtaking  some  part  of  it  gathered  that 
the  outfit  belonged  to  some  English  officer  on  sport 
bent.  Every  Englishman  is  an  officer  to  the  Somalis. 
It  is  really  rather  funny.  It  is  quite  like  the  way  every 
American  is — to  the  Englishman — a  martial  colonel.  I 
was  intensely  sorry  to  know  we  were  so  near  to  other 
hunters.  It  was  very  selfish  too,  for  the  country  was 
big  enough,  in  all  conscience,  to  hold  us  all.  But  I 
was  sorry,  and  there's  an  end  of  it.  Cecily  said 
perhaps  it  was  all  a  mistake,  because  how  could  any- 
one be  hunting  in  the  forbidden  ground  of  the  Ogaden 


136  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

unless  they  were  as  signally  favoured  as  ourselves  ? 
I  suggested  that  they  might  be,  because  we  did  not 
surely  suppose  we  were  the  only  people  with  relatives 
able  to  pull  the  strings.  We  were  both  a  bit  "  shirty  " 
because  we  were  vexed  to  know  we  had  not  got  the 
Ogaden  to  ourselves.     A  nice  sporting  spirit,  wasn't  it  ? 

We  were  at  lunch,  battling  with  an  altogether  impos- 
sible curry  Cecily  had  perpetrated,  for  she  always  said 
you  can  curry  anything,  even  old  boots,  at  a  push,  and 
they  would  be  rendered  appetising.  Oryx  beat  her 
efforts  culinary,  and  she  had  to  admit  at  last  that  curry 
powder  and  oryx  meat  should  be  strangers. 

As  she  had  had  all  the  trouble  of  stirring  the  concoc- 
tion over  a  grilling  fire  on  a  grilling  day  I  struggled  on 
as  long  as  I  possibly  could  in  order  that  the  amateur 
chef's  feelings  should  not  ;be  hurt,  but  confessed 
myself  beaten  in  the  end  and  very  hungry,  so  we  fell 
to  opening  a  tin  of  meat. 

"  I  fear  no  beef  that's  canned  by  Armour,"  sang 
Cecily,  coming  events  not  having  cast  any  shadows 
before. 

"  Salaam,  ladies  !  "  said  an  English  voice  close  at 
hand. 

It  was  the  leader  of  the  opposition  shoot.  The 
younger,  my  kinsman,  was  quarrelling  with  a  syce 
about  the  proper  way  to  hold  a  pony.  I  don't  know  if 
we  were  glad  to  see  them  or  not.  Anyway  we  had  to 
pretend  to  be,  besides  making  the  usual  ridiculous 
remarks  about  the  smallness  of  the  world,  and  how 
odd  it  was  we  should  have  come  across  each  other 
again. 


>         >  i     n>      )        11 


i     » 
i       i        i    i   i  i    i    i 


.      '    ,i 


THE    LEADER    OF   THE   OPPOSITION    SHOOT 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  137 

It  would  have  been  inhospitable  to  offer  any  of  the 
curry,  so  we  begged  them  to  sample  the  tinned  beef. 
Our  butler  waited  on  us,  and  drenched  the  four  of  us 
in  a  successful  attempt  to  open  a  champagne  bottle. 
Oh  yes,  we  gave  them  champagne,  to  make  up  for 
other  deficiencies.  I  told  them  if  they  would  wait  for 
dinner  they  should  have  a  Carlton-hke  meal.  After 
lunch  they  would  see  our  skins  and  heads,  so  we 
excavated  the  skulls,  and  displayed  all  we  had  for 
admiration.  We  tried  not  to  feel  superior,  but  it  was 
rather  difficult  when  we  heard  they  had  not  as  yet  got 
a  shot  even  at  a  rhino.  I  lay  low  about  the  price  we 
paid  for  ours  !  We  evidently  went  up  a  little  in  their 
estimation,  because  they  invited  us  to  take  part  in  a 
big  shoot  next  day,  and  seemed  really  anxious  we 
should  accept.  We  said  we  were  about  to  trek  in  an 
opposite  direction,  but  I  was  rather  taken  aback  when 
the  elder  warrior  asked  me  how  I  knew  which  direction 
the  proposed  shoot  was  to  take  ?  They  invited  us  to 
go  over  and  see  their  trophies,  but  we  did  not  mean  to 
give  them  one  single  chance  to  crow,  and  instantly  on 
their  departure  struck  camp  and  moved  on  towards  a 
large  Somali  encampment  which  had  recently  suffered 
many  grievous  losses  from  the  depredations  of 
leopards. 

We  were  anxious  to  see  the  spoor  for  ourselves.  A 
great  many  of  the  leopards  reported  are  nothing  in  the 
wide  world  but  hyaena  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
leopard,  being  a  cat,  does  not,  in  quiescence,  show 
his  claws  in  the  pug  marks,  and  the  hyaena,  being  a 
dog,  does  ;  besides,  the  shape  of  the  pad  is  entirely 


138  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

different.  The  hyaena  has  a  triangle-shaped  back  pad, 
with  two  large  side  toes  and  two  smaller  centre  ones, 
whilst  the  pug  of  the  leopard  is  similar  to  that  of  lion 
but  proportionately  smaller.  In  spite  of  these  mistakes 
on  the  part  of  some  unlettered  Somali,  almost  every 
black  man  spoors  in  a  way  no  white  man  ever  can  hope 
to  do.  The  former  can  follow  tracks  of  game  over 
ground  that  tells  us  nothing.  Stony  ground,  wet 
ground,  loose  ground,  dry  ground,  all  alike  give  up 
secrets  to  him  whereof  we  cannot  hear  the  faintest 
whispers.  The  whole  jungle  is  an  open  book  to  the 
black  shikari,  and  compared  to  him  the  cleverest  chiel 
among  us  is  but  a  tyro. 

We  camped  some  two  miles  from  the  karia,  and 
barely  arrived  when  the  head-man  arrived  to  say 
"  Salaam."  He  brought  with  him  all  his  sisters  and 
his  cousins  and  his  aunts.  A  very  plain  lot  they 
looked  too,  although  Clarence  whispered  to  me  that  in 
Somaliland  one  of  the  women  was  rated  as  a  great 
beauty.  I  don't  know  how  he  knew,  unless  the  local 
M.  A.  P.  said  so.  After  a  closer  inspection  of  the 
lady  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  for  a  beauty,  she 
really  was  not  bad  looking. 

They  were  very  prying  though,  and  really  dangerous 
to  have  round,  as  one  could  not  be  everywhere  at  once. 
They  all  had  advanced  kleptomania.  My  tent  was 
overflowing  with  them,  though  I  had  given  orders  to 
keep  the  place  clear,  and  somebody  annexed  my 
sponge,  hair-brush,  and  even  a  tooth-brush  vanished 
from  Cecily's  tent,  though  we  never  saw  any  one  pene- 
trate it.     I  don't  know  what  use  the  tooth-brush  would 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  139 

be.  The  Somalis  do  not  neglect  their  teeth,  far  from 
it,  but  they  use  for  cleaning  purposes  a  soft  stick, 
rubbing  and  polishing  away  at  all  sorts  of  odd 
moments.     The  result  is  of  dazzling  whiteness. 

It  was  unnecessary  also  for  them  to  help  themselves 
as  we  were  more  than  generous,  and  in  response  to 
their  unblushing  demands  for  presents  we  gave  them 
at  least  four  tobes,  a  turban  or  two,  and  an  umbrella 
without  a  handle,  which  the  proud  proprietor  unfurled 
and  at  once  subsided  beneath. 

When  Cecily  in  the  warmth  of  her  heart  began  to 
bestow  things  we  really  had  need  of  ourselves  I  begged 
her  to  curb  her  Santa  Claus-like  ideas,  and  let  us  try 
and  get  to  the  leopard  subject.  But  they  were  not  to 
be  switched  off  so  easily.  The  head-man  yearned  for 
a  rifle,  and  seemed  to  think  we  were  the  very  people  to 
satisfy  him,  and  I  don't  wonder,  when  we  had  been 
playing  universal  provider  to  them  for  half  an  hour. 
There  is  nothing  on  earth  a  black  man  longs  for  so 
earnestly  as  a  rifle  of  his  own.  It  does  not  matter  if  it 
is  a  mere  piece  of  gas  piping  with  sights  set  on  it,  so 
that  he  may  call  it  rifle.  A  vast  amount  of  rubbish  is 
palmed  off  by  rascally  traders,  who  get  the  arms 
through  in  spite  of  regulations  and  precautions.  The 
maker  is  nothing,  the  skill  of  the  user  nothing,  the 
mere  name  rifle  is  everything  ;  and  the  fact  that  a  native 
was  not — it  may  still  be  so,  I  don't  know — allowed  to 
own  such  a  treasure  made  the  prospect  more  enchant- 
ing than  ever.  I  refused  the  head-man's  request,  so 
trifling  as  it  was  too,  as  firmly  and  politely  as  possible, 
and  offered  him  a  pen-knife  instead.     He  took  one 


140  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

somewhat  superciliously,  and  went  off  with  it  with 
both  blades  open.  We  had  not  once  got  to  the  main 
point,  the  leopard,  whose  existence  was  supposed  to 
be  a  daily  menace  to  their  karia.  I  bade  Clarence  go 
after  our  guest,  and  extract  particulars. 

After  a  little  time  a  convoy  appeared  with  return 
gifts,  a  couple  of  goats,  and  dirty  hams  without  number 
full  of  camels'  milk.  I  thought  at  one  time  the  extreme 
uncleanliness  of  the  hams  accounted  for  the  unpleasant 
taste  of  the  milk,  but  I  liked  it  no  better  when  I 
sampled  it  from  a  can  of  my  own  providing. 

The  leopard,  for  this  time  rumour  had  not  lied,  had 
made  serious  depredations,  and    carried    off    nightly 
goats,  sheep,  and  even  a  baby  camel.     It  jumped  the 
zareba  wall  with  ease  apparently.     We  decided  to  have 
"  machan,"  or  rather  a  small  enclosure,  built,  and 
sit  up  for  the  thief.     I  never  see  much  fun  in   this 
sitting  up  business.     It  is  so  often  all  waiting  and  no 
coming.     We  set  some  of  the  men  to  construct  the 
shelters,  and  arranged  them  some  six  hundred  yards 
away  from  the  Somali  encampment  on  the  side  where 
the  leopard  had  most  often  made  an  entry.     We  de- 
cided to  have  a  small  zareba  each,  two  hundred  yards 
apart,  and  took  up  our  residence  for  the  night  about 
6  p.m.     Cecily  had  Clarence  with  her  ;  I  had  mine  to 
myself.     I  was  most  uncomfortably  crowded  as  it  was, 
but  Cecily  had  a  little  more  space  in  her  prison. 

We  tied  up  a  goat  between  us,  and  settled  down  to 
dreary  hours  of  silent  watching.  Though  we  kept 
quiet,  the  Somalis  never  gave  over  singing  and  shouting 
for  a  moment.     I  wondered  at  a  leopard  going  near 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  141 

the  place  at  all.  But  it  may  have  used  the  din  to  its 
own  advantage. 

The  night  grew  very  dark,  and  for  a  wonder,  as  the 
midnight  hours  drew  near,  it  got  intensely  cold.  The 
mosquitoes  did  not  bother  me  in  the  least,  though  they 
were  present  in  hundreds.  I  was  completely  fastened 
in,  and  only  had  a  peep  hole  for  my  rifle  which  covered 
the  goat. 

I  heard  a  lion  roar  once,  and  after  a  little  came  a 
strange  lowing  sound,  most  weird  and  eldritch.  I  had 
never  known  it  before,  but  I  judged  a  leopard  was  hunt- 
ing. My  senses  being  completely  awake,  I  peered 
through  the  darkness  at  the  goat.  It  was  most  ridicu- 
lous. It  was  impossible  even  to  see  it.  The  whole 
place  was  in  inky  darkness.  I  waited,  shivering,  and 
next  moment  I  distinctly  heard  the  crunching  of  bones 
and  the  tearing  of  flesh.  The  leopard,  or  hyaena,  had 
come  without  a  sound.  I  could  not  fire  when  I  could 
see  absolutely  nothing  to  fire  at.  Bang  !  came  from 
Cecily's  zareba,  and  was  followed  by  a  choking  gurgle. 

"  I've  got  him,  don't  you  think  ?  "  called  out  Cicely 
from  her  enclosure. 

We  dared  not  venture  out,  and  remained  there  until 
in  the  early  hours  some  of  our  men  arrived  to  let  us 
free.  But  as  it  grew  light  I  could  see  the  shadowy 
form  of  a  great  leopard  lying  prone  on  his  victim. 
We  investigated  as  soon  as  possible,  and  found  that 
Cecily  had  got  him  through  the  head.  This  was,  of 
course,  a  mere  fluke,  for  she  says  she  only  fired  after 
she  and  Clarence  had  sighted  and  just  as  the  darkness 
seemed  to  lift  in  the  very  slightest.     She  did  not  see 


142  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  arrival  of  the  beast  either,  though  she  says  from 
her  zareba  his  form  was  at  times  dimly  apparent.  For 
myself,  I  never  saw  our  prize  in  life  at  all. 

He  was  a  glorious  trophy,  and  with  perfectly  un- 
damaged skin  measured,  before  skinning,  seven  feet, 
and  after,  seven  feet  six  inches.  Then  from  out  of 
the  Somali  karia  strolled  the  head-man,  not  obliged  at 
all,  still  clamouring  for  some  further  souvenir  !  I  bade 
Clarence  endeavour  to  explain  that  the  boot  was  on 
the  other  leg  now,  which  the  shikari  literally  and 
faithfully  did,  as  I  heard  boots  and  legs,  inextricably 
muddled  with  Somali  cuss  words,  being  heatedly  dis- 
cussed.    Then  back  to  camp  and  breakfast. 

Sometimes  at  night,  before  turning  in  we  would  go 
and  sit  around  the  blazing  fires  and  try  to  talk  to  the 
men.  We  really  wanted  to  find  out  more  about  them, 
where  they  came  from,  what  they  had  done,  and  what 
they  would  like  to  do,  but  on  our  approach  the  chant- 
ing and  the  chatter  ceased  almost  invariably  and  all 
the  naturalness  would  vanish.  I  do  not  think  they 
had  any  sense  of  humour.  They  laughed  and  were 
happy  enough,  but  situations  that  would  have  taxed 
the  risible  faculties  of  a  white  man  left  them  solemn 
and  unmoved. 

Almost  every  one  of  our  men,  if  you  could  extract 
his  real  name  instead  of  his  nick-name,  had  been 
christened  Mahomed.  What  a  lot  of  Mahomeds  there 
must  be  !  I  suppose  it  is  like  the  glut  of  Jameses  and 
Johns  with  us.  They  are  tremendous  aristocrats,  these 
Somalis  ;  immensely  proud  of  their  descent  and  origin, 
and  even  the  most  unlettered,  though  he  cannot  read 


1   '     ■  ■    '     >  > 

..■'.','■. 
1     >  >      >.>'-, 


M 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  143 

or  write,  can  give  you  the  names  of  his  grandfathers, 
great-grandfathers,  and  all  the  other  greats,  until  you 
know  you  must  be  going  back  to  grope  in  the  mists  of 
centuries. 

When  we  were  tracking  one  morning  about  this 
time,  on  the  spoor  of  a  very  small-footed  lion,  we 
came  on  a  bit  of  ridge  country,  and  for  some  hundred 
yards  or  so  a  small  thorn  fence  had  been  erected, 
chevaux-de-frise  like,  the  thorn  having  been  cut  and 
brought  there.  At  intervals  tiny  gaps  were  left,  and 
inset,  right  on  the  sand  of  the  ridge,  stood  the  most 
primitive  gins  to  catch — Clarence  said — dik-dik.  The 
Midgans  set  them.  It  would  need  to  be  a  very  un- 
sophisticated little  antelope  indeed  to  run  its  head  into 
so  palpable  a  noose.  They  were  like  the  ones  you  set 
at  home  for  rabbits,  but  made  of  string  instead  of  wire 
held  up  in  an  apology  for  a  circle  by  plainly-to-be-seen 
props  of  thorn  twigs.  On  the  sides  of  the  thorn  walls 
forming  the  passages,  bits  of  uninviting  scraps  of  dik- 
dik  heads  and  tails  were  impaled — to  attract  and 
allure  their  kind  our  shikari  said.  I  should  have 
thought  the  evidence  of  what  awaited  them  would 
have  had  a  deterring  effect  on  any  roaming  dik-kik, 
and  serve  merely  to  attract  jackals  and  foxes.  But 
Clarence  said  the  small  antelope  are  often  caught  in 
this  way  for  the  pot. 

That  night  a  vast  bat  visited  our  tent,  flying  round 
the  candle  lamp  and  dashing  himself  against  it.  We 
called  to  Clarence  to  come  and  evict  it,  not  meaning 
him  to  kill  it,  but  he  flew  at  the  creature  forthwith,  a 
hangol  in  his  hand,  smashing  the  winged  thing  in  a 


144  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

heap  to  the  ground.  The  wings  hung  limply  around 
the  mouse  body,  and  myriads  of  fleas  scattered  from 
it.  It  was  larger  than  our  English  bats,  and  the  top  of 
the  head  was  raised  in  a  sort  of  crown-like  lump. 

As  we  sat  breakfasting,  the  camel-man  in  charge  of 
the  grazing  camels  ran  into  the  zareba  and  did  a  lot  of 
excited  jabbering.  Then  most  of  the  men  made  off 
outside.  I  called  to  know  what  was  the  matter,  and 
the  butler  said  one  of  the  camels  had  fallen  into  a  pit 
and  could  not  get  out.  Presently  we  went  off  to  see  how 
affairs  stood,  and  were  exceedingly  put  about  to  find 
Zeila,  our  big  brown  camel,  had  somehow  or  other 
fallen  into  a  long  disused  elephant  trap  which  are  still 
to  be  found  in  parts  of  the  Ogaden.  They  were  quite 
deep,  and  the  intention  was  that  an  elephant  would 
tumble  in  at  night  and  find  itself  unable  to  get  out  like 
our  Zeila,  whose  hump  was  about  level  with  the  top  of 
the  hole. 

Every  order  the  camel-man  gave  he  countermanded 
as  soon  as  it  was  about  to  be  put  into  execution,  and 
all  they  had  as  a  means  of  retrieving  our  camel  was 
one  leather  lading  rope.  We  sent  back  to  camp  for 
more,  and  sat  on  the  edge  of  the  trap  and  waited. 
The  other  camels  grazed  about  us,  and  Zeila  was  very 
quiet  indeed,  only  occasionally  breaking  into  groans. 
The  poor  beast  was  ominously  down  in  the  fore- 
quarters,  and  we  thought  must  be  kneeling.  When 
the  ropes  arrived  the  difficulty  was  how  to  pass  them 
around  the  camel,  and  if  we  did  get  them  round  how 
to  prevent  the  leather  thongs  from  cutting  into  the 
flesh.     A  rather  sporting  hunter  volunteered  to  join 


TWO  DIANAS  IN   SOMALILAND  145 

Zeila  in  the  trap,  a  tight  fit  already,  and  endeavour  to 
place  the  ropes.  First  we  wound  grass  around  the 
rope  up  to  a  certain  distance  making  a  pad,  and  then 
the  hunter  climbed  down.  Had  the  camel  done  any 
lashing  about  or  moving  the  man  would  have  been 
awkwardly  placed.  The  ropes  were  successfully  passed 
around  the  body,  made  into  nooses,  the  intrepid 
hunter,  wreathed  in  smiles  at  our  congratulations, 
emerged  sandy  but  successful,  and  we  all  did  a  tug  of 
war,  heaving  poor  Zeila  to  the  surface,  a  struggling 
mass.  Once  on  terra  firma  at  the  top  it  sank  groaning 
pitifully.  The  camel  man  examined  it,  u  Bruk ! 
bruk  !"  he  said,  ruefully  regarding  the  right  fore-leg. 

He  evidently  was  right.  The  poor  creature  had 
broken  the  leg  in  the  fall.  Here  was  a  calamity  !  The 
head  camel  man  said  it  could  not  be  mended,  and 
Zeila  was  no  more  use  to  us.  I  asked  Clarence  if  he 
thought  so  fine  a  camel  would  be  given  a  home  at  the 
karia  of  the  leopard  adventure  if  I  offered  to  hand  it 
over.  He  laughed  and  said  a  broken-legged  camel  is 
no  use  anywhere,  and  if  I  offered  the  animal  the 
Somalis  would  accept  it  gladly  and  then  eat  it,  and 
didn't  I  think  it  better  our  own  men  should  get  the 
benefit  of  the  meat  ?  I  had  never  thought  of  our 
turning  cannibal  and  eating  each  other  this  wise,  but 
I  believe  all  the  men  were  looking  forward  to  a  Zeila 
chop.  With  great  reluctance  I  said  I  supposed  the 
poor  camel  must  be  killed,  that  it  must  be  shot  first 
through  the  head,  and  then  that  "hallal"  business 
could  follow  immediately.  Clarence  swore  by  Allah 
he  would  do  the  killing  humanely,  a  word  the  Somali 

K 


146  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

does  not  understand  at  all.  The  rest  of  the  day  the 
men  spent  in  gorging. 

When  we  went  out  late  in  the  afternoon  by  the  place 
of  the  catastrophe,  where  the  vultures  were  feasting  on 
dragged-away  bits  of  camel  bones,  we  caught  some 
exquisite  butterflies  who  sat  on  the  now  putrid  carcase, 
gorged  into  quiescence.  It  seems  an  odd  juxtaposition, 
butterflies  and  bad  flesh,  but  there  they  were  in  unison. 
Cecily  is  an  ardent  entomologist,  and  collected.  I  let 
her  do  the  securing  the  specimens  because  she  under- 
stands how  to  kill  them  neatly,  pressing  the  thorax 
without  damaging  the  glory  of  the  wings.  I  never 
could  gain  the  knowledge.  My  fingers  seemed  all 
thumbs  at  it. 

We  purchased  two  new  camels  from  the  neighbour- 
ing karia,  needing  a  full  complement  on  account  of  the 
water-carrying  nuisance.  I  gave  the  head-man  an 
order  on  our  banker  at  Berbera  with  which  he  was  as 
pleased  as  though  it  were  cash,  but  the  next  trading 
trip  would  take  him  to  the  coast-town.  These  jungle 
Somalis  have  some  delightfully  pre-historic  traits. 
Belief  is  one  of  them.  An  Englishman's  bond  is  as 
good  as  his  word,  and  that  is  something  ;  it  isn't  always 
in  civilisation. 


CHAPTER  XI 

AN  OASIS  IN  THE  DESERT 

Since  mine  own  doors  refuse  to  entertain  me 

Comedy  of  Errors 

Things  without  all  remedy 

Should  be  without  regard,  what's  done  is  done 

Macbeth 

What's  gone  and  what's  past  help 
Should  be  past  grief 

IV biter's  Tale 

We  were  now  having  a  great  time  trying  to  cure  the 
skin  of  the  rhino.  I  was  so  afraid  something  would 
go  wrong  with  it  that  I  was  for  ever  messing  away. 
Clarence  would  have  it  that  the  wrong  thing  had  been 
done  from  the  first.  He  was  rather  pessimistic  these 
days,  mainly,  I  think,  because  he  had  a  gathered  hand 
and  it  pained  very  considerably. 

The  skins  generally  were  menaced  by  the  deadly 
beetle  grub,  and  we  had  to  resort  to  all  sorts  of  drastic 
measures.  Saltpetre  I  found  of  great  use  here,  and 
we  used  it  freely.  The  heads  of  rhino  are  very  difficult 
to  dry,  as  can  well  be  imagined,  and  our  trophy  looked 
a  hopeless  mess.  It  was  difficult  to  believe  it  would 
ever  rise  in  glory,  Phcenix-like,  from  the  ashes,  to  be  a 
thing  of  joy  to  anyone.  Such  great  heads  swarm  with 
maggots  in  no  time  unless  carefully  watched.     The 


148  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

monster  we  were  tackling  was  no  exception  to  the 
rule,  and  manufactured  the  enemy  on  the  "  whilst 
you  wait "  principle. 

It  now  became  a  matter  for  our  deep  consideration 
as  to  how  far  our  trip  should  extend. 

We  had  known  before  we  started  that  Somaliland  is 
no  longer  the  old  time  sportsman's  paradise.  The 
shikar  obtainable  is  not  what  it  was,  and  every  year 
lessens  the  chances.  The  truth  is  the  country  is  fairly 
shot  out. 

Fifteen  years  ago  the  most  excellent  shooting  was 
to  be  had  all  over  ;  now,  unless  one  penetrates  right 
into  the  interior  where  a  certain  amount  of  danger 
from  warlike  tribes  must  be  looked  for,  there  is  not 
much  hope  of  a  truly  great  and  representative  bag. 
The  reserving  of  the  Hargeisa  and  Mirso  as  entirely 
protected  regions  has  also  necessarily  restricted  the 
game  area.  The  day  of  the  sportsman  in  all  Africa  was 
in  that  Golden  Age  when  he,  all  untrammelled,  might 
stalk  the  more  important  fauna,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
lesser,  as  he  listed.  Now  he  pays  heavy  toll,  varying 
with  the  scarcity  of  the  quarry,  and  the  licences  are 
not  the  least  part  of  the  expenses.  Of  course  the 
needful  preservation  of  big  game  should,  and  inevi- 
tably must,  lead  to  good  results,  since  to  husband  the 
resources  of  anything  is  to  accumulate  in  the  long  run. 
But  the  idea  of  artificial  preservation  and  legislation 
seems  to  knock  some  of  the  elemental  romance  out  of 
hunting.  Anything  cut  and  dried  seems  out  of  place 
in  sport  of  big  game  variety,  and  brings  it  down  to 
the  nearer  level  of  shooting  pheasants  that  know  you 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  149 

by  sight,  and  which  have  been  on  terms  of  friendship 
with  their  slaughterers.  The  Ogaden  country,  in  parts, 
like  the  curate's  egg,  still  possesses  potentialities  not  to 
be  sneered  at,  and  if  one  is  willing  to  penetrate  the 
interior,  getting  clear  away  from  the  beaten  track,  the 
possibilities  become  certainties. 

To  go  onwards  through  the  Mijertain  meant  striking 
into,  or  crossing  the  "  Mary  Ann  Desert,"  as  Cecily 
persisted  in  styling  the  Marehan.  This  was  a  some- 
what daunting  enterprise,  but  to  put  against  any  draw- 
backs there  was  the  attraction  and  magnet  of  unlimited 
sport  at  the  other  side.  We  consulted  our  maps,  and 
understood  them  sufficiently  to  plan  a  route  and  leave 
the  rest  to  Providence,  which  useful  commodity  or 
personage  we  confidently  hoped  would  be  good  enough 
to  see  us  through. 

We  told  Clarence  and  the  caravan  generally  in  an 
off-hand  manner,  very  confidently,  that  we  proposed 
trekking  eventually  to  Joh  in  the  Haweea  country,  but 
I  cannot  say  they  received  the  news  in  the  same  spirit 
of  easy^confidence.  Clarence  was  and  looked  taken 
aback.  He  murmured  something  about  its  being  a 
great  journey,  days  and  days,  that  he  had  never  pene- 
trated so  far  before.  Even  our  shikari  uncle  had 
stopped  at  the  Bun  Arnwein.  This  rather  settled 
the  matter.     Oh,  to  go  one  better  than  our  relative  ! 

We  mapped  our  homeward  route  so  that  it  permitted 
of  a  day  or  more  on  the  Bun  Toyo  with  the  new  grass 
all  a-blowing  and  a-growing  to  tempt  out  buck  in 
dozens,  even  though  it  all  meant  going  over  much  of 
our  old  shooting  ground.     We  had  not  yet  got  a  "sig," 


150  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Swayne's  hartebeest,  among  our  trophies.  We  also 
intended  to  pass  through  a  new — to  us — part  of  the 
Golis,  and  try  our  luck  there. 

This  Ogaden  country  is  a  God-forsaken  spot,  and 
the  eye  aches  at  last  with  the  dull  brown  of  everything. 
Even  the  haze  of  the  early  morning  is  khaki-tinted.  As 
for  ourselves,  we  matched  the  landscape.     Our  hands 

were  sienna-coloured,  and  our  complexions ,  but 

maybe  the  very  word  is  out  of  place  in  connection  with 
our  sun-dried  faces. 

Cecily  was  very  bent  on  shooting  a  rhino  on  her  own, 
saying  she  would  not  count  the  one  that  fell  to  my  rifle 
as  anything  to  do  with  her.  I  offered  half  share  in  it 
enthusiastically,  for  I  had  no  desire  to  meet  another. 
I  had  killed  one,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Baron,  and  was 
more  than  sated.  Cecily,  however,  would  not  be  put 
off  with  any  sophistry  on  my  part,  so  we  had  the  order 
on  hand. 

At  last  we  came  on  the  oasis  called  Galadi,  a  very 
remarkable  place,  set  like  a  jewel  in  a  rim  of  iron.  We 
could  hardly  believe  our  eyes.  It  was  such  a  faceted 
gem.  No  more  dingy  brown  landscape,  but  a  peaceful 
sylvan  scene  of  great  trees,  real  turf,  and  a  wealth  of 
green  vegetation.  This  patch  of  emerald  extended  for 
a  mile  or  more  and  seemed  like  a  little  Heaven.  I  was 
very  interested  in  the  wells  we  came  on  here  and  there. 
They  were  of  immense  antiquity,  very  deep,  cut  in  the 
solid  rock.  We  could  not  but  be  impressed  with  the 
industry  of  the  long  dead  hewers.  Naturally  in  some 
places,  though  the  wells  are  deep,  the  work  of  excava- 
tion is  rendered  less   difficult   by   the  nature  of   the 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  151 

ground  cut  through,  which  is  in  most  parts  of  red 
earth.  There  are  always  steps  cut  all  the  way  down, 
on  which  the  Somalis  balance  themselves  with  the 
greatest  sang-froid,  doing  the  necessary  conjuring  trick 
with*the  buckets  from  hand  to  hand  the  while.  They 
are  made  from  the  ubiquitous  leather— in  no  country, 
I  imagine,  can  leather  be  more  pressed  into  service — 
and  a  number  of  Somalis  often  descend  a  deep  well  at 
one  time,  passing  up  the  full  buckets  in  continuous 
chain,  receiving  back  the  returning  empty  ones  as  the 
other  leaves  the  hand.  All  the  time  the  ever  helpful 
songs  are  sung. 

When  a  large  number  of  camels  have  to  be  watered 
it  means  spending  the  best  part  of  a  day  down  the 
wells,  which  are  often  very  foul,  and  full  of  noxious 
gases.  Troughs  for  the  cattle  are  made  by  the  wells  as 
a  rule,  again  of  the  ever  helpful  leather,  or  hollowed 
by  hand,  and  lined  with  some  sort  of  clay.  We  used 
the  ordinary  English  method,  much  simpler,  of  pro- 
curing water,  and  a  bucket  and  rope  seemed  to  be  as 
effectual  and  as  expeditious,  with  certainly  less  waste 
than  the  Somali  system. 

We  had  hoped  to  have  a  splendid  bath  at  Galadi, 
and  a  real  good  drink,  but  on  trying  well  after  well  we 
found  the  water  absolutely  poisonous,  and  highly 
dangerous.  The  liquid  was  putrid.  The  birds  of  the 
air  in  their  thousands  made  the  place  their  own,  and 
the  smell  when  we  disturbed  the  surface  of  the  wells 
was  simply  abominable.  Our  men  drank  freely,  but 
Cecily  and  I  worried  along  on  the  short  commons  of 
our  last  water  barrel.     All  the  animals  were  watered, 


152  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

and  it  did  not  surprise  me  in  the  least  when  one  of  the 
camels  shortly  afterwards  without  a  word  of  warning, 
sat  down,  and  promptly  died.  Clarence  said  it  died 
because  its  time  to  die  had  come,  but  I  averred,  and 
held  to  it,  that  even  a  camel  cannot  always  swallow 
drainage  with  impunity,  even  if  it  can  philosophically. 
Such  big  words  baffled  the  shikari,  and  I  left  him 
pondering. 

We  were  camped  in  a  beautiful  glade,  the  armo 
creeper,  bright  green,  with  large  leaves,  grew  festooned 
on  lofty  guda  trees,  and  the  fairy  web  of  the  Hangeyu 
spider  hung  in  golden  threads  from  leaf  to  leaf.  The 
camels  were  rejoicing  in  splendid  grazing,  and  would 
be  all  the  better  for  the  change.  It  is  always  very 
rough  on  camels,  I  think,  having  to  provide  for  them- 
selves, after  bringing  them  in  so  late  at  night,  after  a 
march,  as  one  is  so  often  compelled  to  do.  If  reason- 
able care  is  not  taken  of  them  they  will  cave  in,  and 
there's  the  end.  Grazing  through  the  hot  hours,  as  is 
the  inevitable  custom,  does  not  permit  of  enough  food 
being  taken  in,  especially  when  the  grass  is  more  often 
than  not  conspicuous  merely  by  its  absence.  They  fed 
now  in  charge  of  the  camel-men,  wandering  whither- 
soever, in  reason,  they  listed.  On  trek  camels  are  tied 
together  in  good  going.  In  bad  I  always  ordered 
them  to  go  separately,  because  I  observed  how  cruelly 
jerked  the  tail  often  was. 

Here  we  had  an  apiary  of  wild  bees.  They  are 
expected  to  live  on  flowers  in  Somaliland  as  elsewhere, 
1  presume,  but  the  flowers  were  not.  And  the  insects, 
naturally,  were  a  bit  peckish  and  invaded  my  tent  after 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  153 

a  pot  of  marmalade.     They  ate  away  to  their  hearts 
content,  for  no  human  being  thought  of  going  in  and 
interfering  ;  but  the  brainy  Clarence  put  some  sugar  in 
their  official    residence    and   the    counter    attraction 
caused  them  to  return. 

There  was  a  strong  moon  now,  so  magical  that  it 
set  all  the  jackals  for  miles  around  a-baying  and 
a-barking,  and  nearly  distracted  us  whose  vocal  chords 
were  not  so  susceptible.  What  this  mysterious  influ- 
ence on  the  canine  genus  is  no  man  can  tell,  but  it  had 
the  effect  of  making  me  rouse  some  of  the  men  to  eject 
rocks  at  the  offenders.  The  worship  of  Astarte  was 
all  very  well  in  olden  days,  but  the  manner  of  it  in 
Somaliland  was  intolerable. 

A  quaint  insect  made  a  loud  tapping  noise  in  the 
roof  of  my  tent — probably  his  love  signal.  I  tried  to 
see  him,  but  he  hid  from  the  light.  Altogether  I  had 
a  wakeful  time. 

I  watched  some  weavers  building  next  morning  as  I 
strolled  about,  the  while  the  parody  of  a  cook  struggled 
with  the  kettle  which  seemed  unable  to  boil.  It  really 
was  very  wonderful  and  astonishing.  They  snip  off 
the  threads  of  gra^s  with  their  beaks,  and  actually  tie 
knots,  half-hitches.  It  was  rather  late  for  building, 
but  the  cock  birds  of  this  species,  sensible  little  things, 
sometimes  make  nests  for  roosting  purposes. 

Whydah  birds  were  flying  about  in  large  numbers. 
They  have  crimson  bodies,  black  wings  and  tails 
about  two  feet  long,  which  hamper  them  so  in  flight 
they  can  only  lollop  along.  I  pursued  one,  and  could 
have  caught  it  had  I  wished.     They  are  finches,  and 


154  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND 
so  always  to  be  found  in  damp  green  places.  I  saw  a 
merry  little  sand-piper  in  grey,  with  no  tail  at  all,  but 
wagging  as  though  he  had  one.  He  had  rather  a  long 
beak  and  was  very  tame,  eating  the  crumbs  I  threw 
him  within  a  yard  of  my  feet.  Two  birds  that  looked 
like  sand-grouse  crossed  to  the  wells.  The  whole 
oasis  was  a  paradise  for  birds. 

Dik-dik  was  now  our  staple  food,  and  very  palatable 
we  found  it.  We  had  it  cooked  up  every  imaginable 
way.  The  cook  was  a  sombre  individual,  but  in 
moments  of  roasting  he  could  joke  with  ease.  We 
had  but  little  fat  to  cook  with,  as  antelope  have  none 
on  them  to  speak  of.  We  put  our  meat  on  stones  in 
the  pot  with  a  little  water,  and  we  grilled  on  a  gridiron, 
or  we  boiled  it.  We  made  bread  easily,  but  as  a  long 
course  of  baking  powder  is  bad  for  one  we  made  our 
yeast  from  hops,  of  which  we  had  some  packets  with 
us.     It  was  much  nicer  than  dough  bread,  all  sour. 

The  butler  who  had  lived  with  the  English  family 
had  an  insinuating  smile,  and  a  vocabulary  of  English 
words,  a  moiety  of  which  he  had  grasped  the  meaning 
of.  He  had  no  fairy  footsteps  nor  airy  nothingness,  so 
valued  in  an  attendant  of  his  variety  at  home.  On  the 
contrary,  he  hit  the  ground  with  heavy  beats  in  planti- 
grade fashion. 

We  felt  quite  regretful  to  leave  this  fairy  place  and 
turn  back  to  the  blistering  hot  red  sand.  But  time 
was  flying,  and  we  were  rather  out  of  the  way  of  big 
game  here. 

We  struck  camp  and  marched,  seeing  dibitag  and 
oryx,  which  we  vainly  stalked,  and  as  we  progressed 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  155 

we  passed  through  extraordinary  changes.  Every  two 
or  three  miles  or  so  we  came  on  similar  oases  to  Galadi 
and  then,  in  between,  burnt  up  patches  of  familiar 
country.  In  one  of  these  green  gardens  Cecily  bagged 
a  lesser  koodoo,  somewhat  rare  in  these  parts,  and  an 
exceedingly  beautiful  trophy. 

Nearing  another  oasis,  some  two  miles  in  extent, 
Clarence  manifested  the  greatest  desire  for  me  to 
penetrate  the  place  with  him  and  see  something  that 
was  bound  to  interest  me.  He  was  like  a  woman  with 
a  secret,  longing  to  tell,  telling  a  little,  then  feeling  if 
he  showed  his  hand  entirely  I  might  not  trouble  to  go 
at  all.  Whatever  could  the  mystery  be  ?  Animal, 
vegetable,  or  mineral  ?  "  Curiouser  and  curiouser." 
None  of  these  things  !  So,  following  the  shikari,  his 
face  all  alight  with  eager  interest  and  desire  to  surprise 
me,  we  pushed  ourway through  the  density  of  the  foliage 
until  we  reached  about  the  centre  of  the  place.  It  was 
a  Titania's  bower,  carpeted  with  green  and  shaded  by 
lofty  trees.  I  sat  down  and  gazed  upon  the  wonders 
of  it,  though  it  would  have  taken  me  hours  to  take  in 
the  many  beauties  in  detail.  They  were  so  infinite  in 
variety,  the  etchings,  the  colour  and  the  rainbow  effects 
as  the  sun  glinted  through  the  lustrous  fresh  verdure.  I 
sat  on  and  marvelled.  To  think  that  outside  of  this 
there  existed  only  a  waste  of  red  sand,  ugly  and 
monotonous,  and  here— but  it  is  ridiculous  on  my  part 
to  try  and  describe  it.  I  should  like  some  Shakespeare 
to  see  it  and  try  his  art. 

This  did  not  please  Clarence  at  all,  who  has  no  love 
for  the  beauties  of  nature.     We  must  push  on.     Then, 


156  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

of  a  sudden,  he  turned  and  running  to  a  tree,  proudly 
patted  its  trunk.  I  looked  and  there  I  saw  in  indistinct 
letters — my  uncle's  initials.  Clarence  had  evidently 
seen  the  deed  of  vandalism  committed.  I  could  not 
have  believed  my  relative  would  do  such  a  thing  had 
I  not  seen  the  result  with  my  own  eyes.  Not  that  I 
mean  to  say  my  uncle  is  anything  but  truly  British  to 
the  backbone,  but  I  thought  he  would  have  been  the 
man  to  rise  above  the  habits  of  his  countrymen.  I 
never  looked  on  the  stern  old  shikari  as  a  man  likely 
to  give  the  lighter  side  of  life  the  upper  hand.  Expede 
Herculem  ! 

We  turned  to  get  back  to  the  caravan,  taking  a 
different  route  and  found  it  stiffish  going.  In  a  little 
shady  dingle  I  came  on  the  remains  of  a  jungle  king 
dead  and  turned  to  dust.  The  oasis  had  been  his 
sepulchre  these  many  years,  and  there  was  little  of  him 
left  to  tell  us  of  long  passed  monarchy.  His  skull, 
which  I  looked  at,  was  practically  eaten  away,  and 
was  not  worth  taking. 

A  venomous  snake  struck  at  me  here,  but  was  turned 
by  the  top  of  my  shooting  boot.  It  was  a  near  shave, 
and  I  was  off  and  out  of  the  place  in  quick  time  after  that. 

I  missed  a  fine  lion  in  this  thick  forest  that  evening, 
and  followed  him  in  fear  and  trembling  without  getting 
him.  On  the  way  back  to  camp  however,  disconsolate, 
I  bagged  a  small  oryx  for  the  pot,  which  turned  a 
somersault  like  a  hare  does  when  shot  in  the  head.  I 
thought  I  had  lost  him  when  I  saw  him  leap  about 
seven  feet  into  the  air,  and  then  again  and  again  until 
I  despatched  him. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  157 

On  another  early  morning  here,  having  only  a 
collector's  gun  with  me,  I  put  a  charge  into  an  old 
wart-hog,  but  failed  to  do  more  than  prick  him  into  a 
great  annoyance  and  send  him  off  into  the  wilderness 
without  getting  him.  I  was  vexed  with  myself  for 
hurting  him. 

Just  here,  too,  we  came  on  a  kill  which  had  been  a 
jungle  tragedy  indeed  :  the  spoor  of  two  oryx  all  about 
the  outskirts  of  a  green  oasis,  where  succulent  bushes 
flourished,  and  confused  pugs  of  a  large  lion.  The 
pugs  had  no  beginning,  only  an  ending,  and  a  return 
path.  Therefore  the  devastator  leaped  from  out  his 
lair  and  struck  down  his  prey  all  suddenly.  We 
measured  the  spring  from  where  it  is  certain  the  great 
cat  must  have  taken  off  to  the  spot  where  lay  the  half- 
consumed  oryx,  lying  as  he  fell,  and  it  came  out  at 
nineteen  feet. 

Somalis  are  exceedingly  fond  of  giving  nicknames 
to  one  another,  more  or  less  personal,  and  the  European 
does  not  escape  his  satire  in  this  direction.  All  the 
men  in  our  caravan  answered  to  names  of  the  most 
irritatingly  personal  variety,  though  they  all  took  the 
for  the  most  part  rude  attention  to  some  unfortunate 
peculiarity  quite  good  humouredly.  I  asked  Clarence 
one  day,  as  we  were  sitting  under  a  shady  guda  tree 
waiting  for  what  might  chance  to  cross  our  line  of 
fire,  what  the  men  had  been  pleased  to  christen  me. 
He  assented  diffidently  to  the  assumption  that  I  had 
a  nickname,  but  gave  me  to  understand  he  would 
rather  not  mention  it,  if  indeed  he  had  not  forgotten 
it,  and  a  lapse  of  memory  seemed  imminent.     This 


158  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

piqued  my  curiosity  naturally,  and  I  gave  him  no 
peace  until  I  extracted  what  I  wanted  to  know  more 
than  anything  else  just  then.  Prepared  for  any  mortal 
thing,  for  the  Somali  nicknames  are  nothing  if  not 
deadly  descriptive,  I  learned  I  was  called  by  the  men 
"  Daga-yera,"  small  ears.  This  was  not  so  bad,  and 
at  least  not  uncomplimentary.  Clarence  looked  at  me 
keenly  to  see  if  he  noted  any  signs  of  offence  but  I 
was  smiling  broadly,  so  he  smiled  too.  I  told  him 
that  with  us  small  ears  are  not  considered  a  drawback, 
whatever  they  may  be  in  Somaliland. 

Almost  on  every  march  we  came  on  graves,  some 
together,  here  and  there  one  alone,  marking  the  spot 
where  some  traveller  had  fallen  by  the  way.  An 
important  head-man,  or  chief,  has  a  perfect  stockade 
of  thorn  bushes  and  stones  piled  atop  of  him  to  keep 
off  the  jackals  and  hyaenas.  The  women,  however, 
less  important  in  death  as  in  life,  have  merely  thorn 
piled  casually  on  their  tombs  with  some  such  relic  as 
a  bit  of  an  old  shield  or  worse  for  wear  harn  strung 
aloft  to  act  as  a  deterrent  to  the  scratchings  of  wild 
beasts.  When  we  passed  by  graves  the  men  would 
cross  their  hands  and  say  a  prayer,  whether  for  them- 
selves or  for  the  dead  I  do  not  know.  They  would 
be  solemn  for  a  moment,  brooding,  and  then  set  off 
a-chanting  again.  They  are  a  strange  romantic  people, 
whose  sun  ever  follows  on  the  silver  mist  of  rain. 

A  perfect  avalanche  of  water  fell  after  this  for  two 
whole  days  and  kept  us  in  our  drenched  tents.  And 
again  everything  was  wet  through.  Rain  is  a  very  real 
terror  to  the  poor  camper  out.      Fires   are   off   and 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  159 

many  little  comforts,  that  passed  unnoticed  before,  go 
with  them.  We  had  our  spirit  lamp,  and  had  econo- 
mised with  it  all  along,  only  using  it  on  hopeless 
occasions  like  the  present.  Cecily  again  fled  to  her 
warm  whisky  and  water  cure,  and  I  drank  ammoniated 
quinine  until  my  brain  reeled.  My  tent,  after  a  night 
of  deluge  which  more  resembles  the  bursting  of  a 
reservoir  than  anything  else  I  can  think  of,  collapsed 
altogether,  and  was  a  perfect  wreck.  Since  mine  own 
doors  refused  to  entertain  me  I  migrated  to  Cecily's, 
after  digging  out  my  belongings  from  the  debris,  and, 
packed  like  sardines,  we  had  to  go  on  until  I  got  my 
flattened  home  set  to  rights,  which  I  did  after  a  lot 
of  trouble. 

Two  black-backed  jackals  came  close  around  the 
tents  several  times  during  the  torrential  rains.  I  think 
they  winded  the  rhino,  who  was  by  now  exceedingly 
"  nifify."  About  six  one  evening,  when  the  rain  ceased 
for  a  short  five  minutes,  I  had  a  shot  at  one  venture- 
some jackal  and  caught  him  in  the  shoulder.  I  had 
to  rush  after  him  and  follow  quite  a  long  way  before  I 
got  within  range  again,  when  I  finished  the  job  with  a 
long  shot.  Clarence  and  one  of  the  hunters  brought 
his  skin  and  head  to  camp.  I  admire  the  black-backed 
jackal,  next  to  the  koodoo,  more  than  any  other  trophy 
to  be  found  in  Somaliland.  It  is  quite  unique  in 
colouring.  A  veritable  admixture  of  the  beaux  arts 
and  the  bizarre. 

A  fine  day  again,  and  with  everything  steaming  like 
boiling  water  we  trekked  on.  Two  or  three  of  the  camels 
were  suffering  terribly  from  sore  backs,  and  had  to  be 


160  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

placed  hors  dc  combat  and  unloaded,  thus  disorganising 
everything.  We  can  take  the  average  load  at  250 
pounds,  though  it  frequently  exceeds  this,  because 
naturally  loads  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  things  to 
be  carried,  bulky  or  compact,  easy  or  difficult.  On 
being  required  to  walk,  one  sick  animal  refused  to 
budge  another  inch.  It  is  very  hard  to  judge  the 
extent  of  the  illness  of  a  camel.  They  do  not  act  any 
differently,  ill  or  well,  as  far  as  my  small  experience 
goes.  Clarence  and  the  head  camel-man  made  certain 
that  the  creature  was  sick  unto  death,  and  finally  it  had 
to  be  shot.  It  would  not  walk,  we  could  not  tow  it, 
and  humanity  forbade  our  leaving  it  to  fend  for  itself. 
All  the  camels  were  bothered  no  end  by  a  small  fly,  a 
species  of  gad-fly,  I  think,  not  very  large,  but  most 
mischievous. 

One  or  two  of  the  animals  were  so  overcome  with 
the  attentions  of  these  pests  of  insects  they  took  to 
rolling,  which,  all  encumbered  as  the  camels  were, 
could  not  but  be  exceedingly  detrimental  to  the  load. 
These  troubles  continued  for  some  days,  and  the 
camel  we  lost  may  have  been  too  badly  bitten  to  go 
on.  This  fly  is  a  cause  of  great  loss  to  the  Somali 
herds.  Another  joined  the  attack,  a  fearsome  creature 
too — much  larger  again — and  he  seemed  to  prefer 
people  to  camels.  We,  Cecily  and  myself,  kept  him 
off  by  bathing  the  exposed  parts  of  our  skin  in  solution 
of  carbolic,  and  this  seemed  to  him  an  anathema- 
maranatha  and  was  to  us  a  god-send.  We  only  wished 
we  had  sufficient  to  tub  all  the  camels.  I  think  our 
precautions  against  these  annoying  flies  helped  to  keep 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  161 

off  the  fearful  ticks  also.  Our  ponies  were  much 
affected  by  them,  and  the  camels,  poor  things,  lived  in 
a  chronic  state  of  providing  nourishment  for  the  hate- 
ful little  insects,  which  grew  and  fattened  by  what 
they  fed  on.  Some  of  the  antelopes  we  shot  had  these 
ticks  very  badly  too,  and  in  one  or  two  cases  the  skin 
was  marred  thereby,  being  pitted  with  small  pin-head 
spots  all  over  the  even  surface. 

There  was  now  such  an  abundance  of  water  we 
decided  to  camp  for  a  day  and  have  a  washing  of  our- 
selves and  our  clothes.  It  was  not  clear  water  as  we 
use  the  word,  but  limpidly  translucent  compared  to 
most  of  the  water  holes  we  had  struck  lately.  Game 
was  plentiful  again,  but  very,  very  shy. 

We  went  out  at  dawn  and  saw  spoor  of  many  varie- 
ties of  game  and  rhino  ;  of  the  last  a  perfect  maze  of 
tracks.  I  had  privately  no  intention,  however  I  may 
have  play-acted  to  Cecily  with  a  view  of  keeping  up 
appearances,  of  being  in  at  another  battue  ;  but  Fate, 
that  tricksy  dame,  ordained  otherwise.  As  we  were 
spooring  for  leopard,  and  hard  on  him,  we  suddenly 
came  on  a  vast  rhino  calmly  lying  down  by  a  patch  of 
guda  thorn.  The  idea  of  another  fracas  with  an  in- 
furiated animal  of  the  genus  was  too  much  for  me, 
and  I  shamelessly  turned  on  my  heel,  taking  the 
precaution,  however,  to  grab  my  rifle  from  my  hunter 
as  I  passed  him. 

I  put  myself  behind  a  little  adad  tree,  and  turned  to 
see  what  was  going  on.  The  great  lumbering  bulk 
stood  up,  winded  us,  saw  us  too,  I  should  think,  and 
sniffed  the  air.     There  was  very   poor   cover  imme- 

L 


162  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

diately  around  the  pachyderm,  but  a  thick  belt  of 
khansa  and  mimosa  jungle  lay  to  our  left  and  the 
country  behind  us  was  fairly  thick. 

All  this  unexpected  treat  was  joy  untold  to  Cecily,  I 
suppose  ;  it  was  absolute  horror  to  me.  If  she  could 
have  had  the  affair  all  to  herself  it  wouldn't  have 
mattered,  but  how  are  you  to  know  which  hunter  the 
rhino  may  select  to  chase  ?  His  sight  is  so  poor,  his 
charge  goes  this  way  or  that,  and  has,  in  my  experi- 
ence, next  to  nothing  to  do  with  the  way  of  the  wind  ; 
and  all  this  makes  it  quite  impossible  to  reduce  the 
possibilities  of  his  onslaught  to  a  mathematical  calcu- 
lation beforehand.  Another  moment  and  the  huge 
animal  was  rushing  straight  at  my  poor  bit  of  thorn 
bush,  a  mere  broken  reed  of  a  shelter.  What  was  I  to 
do  ?  Anger  the  brute  with  a  useless  frontal  shot,  or 
fly  on  the  wings  of  terror  ?  The  wings  of  terror  had 
it.  I  abandoned  my  untenable  position,  and  gained 
another  very  little  better.  I  let  the  rhino  have  the 
right  barrel  just  as  I  installed  myself,  and  looked 
for  Cecily  to  finish  the  affair.  She  was  doing  a 
scientific  stalk  on  the  flank. 

The  rhino  was  now  spinning  about  and  knocking 
up  the  dust  in  clouds.  I  played  Brer  Rabbit  and  "lay 
low."  I  saw  Cecily  expose  herself  to  the  full  view  of 
the  wounded  animal,  and  her  12-bore  spoke.  We  were 
spared  another  charge,  thank  goodness  ;  and  as  the 
dust  subsided  I  saw  the  rhino  ambling  quickly  towards 
the  thick  cover,  blood  pouring  from  its  shoulder.  We 
followed,  discreetly,  I  assure  you,  as  far  as  Fm  con- 
cerned, on  the  blood  trail  until  we  reached  the  fringe 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  163 

of  jungle.  The  men  volunteered  to  beat,  but  I  was 
set  against  this  ;  so  we  wandered  about  on  the  edge  of 
this  natural  zareba  awaiting  developments,  my  heart  in 
my  mouth  the  whole  time.  Intrepid  Cecily  was  all  for 
penetrating  the  thorn,  and  at  last  came  on  a  place  she 
could  at  least  peer  into.  There  was  not  a  sound  nor 
rustle,  nor  crackle  of  twig.  Then  Clarence,  in  evil 
minute,  suggested  firing  the  place,  and  under  Cecily's 
directions  at  once  set  about  the  business  with  his  fire 
stick.  I  had  often  tried  to  acquire  the  knack  of  sum- 
moning the  spirit  of  flame  thus,  but  had  long  since 
given  it  up  as  an  accomplishment  impossible  for  me 
to  learn. 

The  thorn  was  damp  and  took  some  time  to  ignite, 
but  in  half  an  hour  the  blaze  got  a  fair  start  and  simply 
ate  up  all  before  it.  We  had  to  back  farther  and 
farther  away  each  moment.  Volumes  of  smoke  rolled 
away  to  the  northward,  and  the  heat  grew  insufferable. 
It  had  been  about  as  much  as  we  could  stand  before  we 
began  operations.  The  flames  roared  away,  licking  up 
every  trace  of  vegetation.  I  was  so  surprised  no  small 
affrighted  animals  broke  cover,  but  this  was  explained 
to  my  wondering  mind  a  moment  later,  when,  to  my 
amazement,  a  tawny  lioness  sprang  from  the  burning 
bush  and,  terror-stricken,  passed  close  to  me — so  close 
almost  I  could  have  touched  her.  I  ran  straight  to  my 
waiting  pony  held  by  my  syce  at  some  distance, 
mounted,  and  calling  to  a  couple  of  men  to  follow, 
galloped  on  the  track  of  the  lioness.  Occasionally  I 
caught  glimpses  of  her  as  she  cantered  between  the 
low-lying  bushes.    Then  she  disappeared  suddenly  and 


164  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

precipitately.  There  was  a  small  nullah  hereabouts, 
and  I  made  certain  the  great  cat  had  brought  up  there  ; 
so  I  rode  on  and  then  settled  down  on  the  verge  to 
wait  for  the  shikaris  to  come  up.  When  they  arrived, 
they  surrounded  the  place  in  most  daring  fashion,  and 
began  to  prod  with  their  spears  into  the  thickest  grass 
and  thorn,  keeping  up  a  hideous  yelling  the  while. 

A  choking,  gurgling  roar,  and  the  lioness  was  out 
and  off.  I  hastily  brought  up  my  rifle  and  fired.  It 
was  a  shaky  shot  enough,  and  I  only  got  her  in  the 
hind  quarter.  Things  looked  a  bit  nasty  as  she  turned 
on  us,  ears  laid  back,  mouth  curled  up  in  a  furious 
snarl,  and  tail  working  up  and  down  like  a  clockwork 
toy.  She  sprang,  as  a  set  off,  several  feet  into  the  air. 
Such  mighty  bounds  with  a  sideway  twist  about  them, 
and  I  did  not  delay  longer. 

Seeing  the  great  head  over  my  sights,  I  pulled  the 
trigger.  Still  she  came  on  a  few  yards,  worrying  the 
ground  with  her  mouth.  Then  the  game  and  magnifi- 
cent creature  crashed  forward  and  never  moved  again- 
She  was  a  young  lioness,  in  the  heyday  of  beauty,  and 
I  sat  down  quivering  all  over  at  the  sight  of  so  won- 
drous a  prize.  After  directing  the  three  men  who  had 
followed  to  skin  and  decapitate  my  lioness,  I  worked 
back  to  the  retreat  of  the  rhino.  On  my  way  I  sighted 
a  dibatag  and  a  couple  of  graceful  oryx,  but  saw  them 
disappear  on  the  horizon  without  an  attempt  to  annex 
one  of  them.  It  was  not  only  late,  but  the  men  had 
all  they  could  manage. 

I  imagined  the  rhino  would  be  by  now  accounted 
for.     It  was — thoroughly  !     Cicely  met  me  as  I  neared 


'      *        3       J 

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,      '  '  >  >       '  '  '         *       ,     '  1  '  ' 

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Ed 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  165 

the  blackened  waste,  and  explained  they  had  waited 
and  waited  for  the  rhino  to  break  cover,  expecting  the 
rush  every  second,  and  the  flames  and  heat  drove  them 
almost  out  of  range.  Nothing  happened,  and  it  was 
not  until  the  whole  brake  of  thorn  was  a  heap  of  ashes 
that  they  came  on  the  pachyderm  at  last.  His  charred 
bulk  lay  in  the  smouldering  embers,  and  until  the 
place  cooled  it  was  impossible  to  retrieve  his  horns. 
What  a  pity  and  what  a  waste  !  We  both  cursed  the 
lire  stick  and  our  haste.  One  bullet,  Cecily's,  I  surmise, 
must  have  penetrated  the  rhino's  heart,  and  after 
careering  on  for  a  short  way  the  stricken  animal  settled 
down  silently  to  die.  We  were  intensely  put  out. 
Not  even  the  beautiful  lioness  allayed  our  disappoint- 
ment and  chagrin. 

After  a  rest  and  a  meal  in  camp  we  returned  to  the 
scene  of  the  still  smoking  barbecue.  The  vultures 
rose  in  a  slothful  lazy  mass,  and  perched  again  around 
us.  The  hide  of  the  rhino  was  too  roasted  to  be  of 
any  use,  and  the  men  commenced  sawing  off  the  horns, 
a  slow,  weary  job  which  we  left  them  to  finish.  Bed 
was  what  I  prayed  for  just  then.  I  was  wearied  out. 
It  had  been  our  biggest,  hottest  day  yet,  and  next 
morning,  Sunday  too,  I  deliberately  and  carefully  de- 
tained Morpheus  —  what  a  loop-hole  for  a  Somali 
scandal — until  9  A.M. 


CHAPTER  XII 


OUR  BUTLER  LEVANTS 


O,  I  am  out  of  breath  in  this  fond  chase 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream 

Good  morrow  to  you  both  ;  what  counterfeit  did  I  give  you  ? 
The  slip,  sir,  the  slip 

Romeo  and  Juliet 

Whenever  practicable,  usually  when  we  remained  a 
day  or  two  in  the  one  place,  I  made  the  men  build  me 
a  little  hut  of  bushes,  so  that  if  there  was  any  breeze 
it  blew  through  the  branches.  At  such  times  I  made 
my  canvas  residence  a  cache-tent,  and  gladly  took  up  my 
abode  in  my  jerry-built  shelter,  esteeming  myself  lucky 
in  having  it.  I  should  never  have  done  for  a  Bedouin 
or  Baluchi.  I  hate  and  detest  tents,  even  the  most 
sumptuous.  They  are  the  hottest  and  coldest  resi- 
dences I  know.  Give  me  four  walls  and  a  roof  of  any 
sort !  Be  they  never  so  humble  they  are  better  than 
the  best  tent  that  ever  was  made.  Really,  if  it  hadn't 
been  for  the  flies  that  unceasingly  did  worry,  my  pied- 
a-terre  was  luxury,  and  I  could  sing  with  unmixed 
pleasure  as  I  looked  across  at  my,  for  the  nonce,  dis- 
carded tent,  "  I  wouldn't  leave  my  little  wooden  hut 
for  you." 

My  furniture  was  of  the  "  art "  variety  that  you  see 
so  frequently  advertised  in  that   useful  little  journal 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  167 

indispensable  to  housewives,  Home  Snips.  Two 
wooden  boxes  up-ended,  with  a  box  lid  for  top,  formed 
the  table.  It  was  simple  and  effective,  and  only  lacked 
the  necessary  Aspinall,  hedge-sparrow  blue  for  choice, 
to  convert  it  into  a  joy  for  ever.  The  remainder  of 
"the  suite"  matched.  A  herio  made  me  a  carpet, 
a  biscuit-box  a  foot-stool.  Cecily  went  in  for  Spartan 
simplicity,  and  her  tent  was  quite  like  you  read  of 
famous  generals  who  wilfully  make  themselves  un- 
necessarily uncomfortable. 

Late  one  evening  we  had  a  fracas  with  the  butler. 
That  henchman  entered  the  precincts  of  our  tent  where 
we  were  hungrily  awaiting  supper,  and  instead  of 
depositing  my  cup  of  soup  on  to  another  "  art  "  table 
presented  me  with  it  in  the  form  of  an  avalanche  down 
my  back.  The  soup  was  not  only  hot,  burning  hot, 
but  exceedingly  messy,  being  of  the  variety  known  to  our 
cook  as  "  thick" — Anglice,  not  sieved — and  with  more 
bits  in  it  than  usual.  Our  appearance  was  not  so 
enticing  that  it  could  bear  being  played  any  pranks 
with,  or  putting  to  any  additional  strain.  Moreover, 
the  cook  had  no  more  soup  prepared.  I  had  it  all, 
he  said.     I  had  indeed  ! 

I  gave  our  butler  a  sound  talking  to  for  his  careless- 
ness in  this  matter  and  in  others,  and  incidentally  cast 
doubts  on  the  savoir  faire  of  that  English  family  who 
know  what's  what.  This  was  the  last  straw,  and  I  was 
answered  in  a  furious  jabber  of  talk.  I  could  not 
make  head  nor  tail  of  it,  or  even  get  a  word  in  edge- 
ways. Clarence  came  to  the  rescue  as  usual.  He 
translated,  and  tried  to  stem  the  torrent  of  language. 


1 68  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Finally,  the  whole  thing  resolved  itself  into  this.  Our 
butler  refused  to  "  buttle  "  any  more.  He  gave  notice, 
and  desired  to  leave  our  service.  When  I  understood, 
I  could  not  help  laughing.  I  said  of  course  I  accepted 
the  notice,  but  how  he  proposed  it  to  take  effect  was 
beyond  my  understanding,  as  we  were  miles  from 
Berbera,  at  the  very  back  of  beyond,  and  there  could 
be  no  means  of  leaving  the  caravan  with  any  degree 
of  safety  or  sense.  If  the  butler  remained,  as  remain 
he  obviously  must,  I  insisted  on  his  buttling  as  usual, 
but  better.  He  withdrew  at  last,  angry  looking  and 
discontented,  and  we  went  to  bed. 

I  remember  what  a  lively  night  it  was.  A  lion 
roared  for  two  hours  or  more  at  intervals  of  ten 
minutes,  very  close  to  camp — such  fine  majestic, 
rolling  roars,  ending  each  time  in  three  rumbling 
"  grumphs."  I  hoped  the  watch  watched,  and  looking 
forward  to  meeting  my  serenader  next  day,  I  turned 
over  and  tried  to  sleep.  What  a  glorious  country  to 
be  in  !  I  might  anticipate  presenting  myself  on  the 
morrow  to  a  king,  and  no  mere  ordinary  mortal,  with- 
out the  "  open  sesame  "  of  "  let  me  introduce  "  being 
necessary.  What  a  glorious  country  !  Convention 
spelt  with  a  little  c,  and  originality — that  most  ex- 
cellent of  things — everywhere  rife.  No  running  of 
jungle  affairs  on  the  deadly  tram-lines  of  tradition,  and 
everything  new  looked  on  askance.  Mrs.  Grundy  does 
not  live  in  the  wild  ;  an'  she  did  conventionality  would 
be  taught  to  the  jungle  people,  and  she  would  rob 
them  of  all  their  naturalness.  Doesn't  she  regard 
originality  very   much   in   the  light  of  a  magazine  of 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  169 

combustibles,  and  take  care  to  lose  all  the  match- 
boxes ?  But  I — superior  I — in  Somaliland  might  strike, 
and  strike,  and  strike. 

Having  once  returned  to  Nature,  one  has  eaten  of 
the  tree  of  life  and  knowledge,  and  can  never  again 
be  content  with  what  we  call  "  civilisation."  For- 
tunately Nature  can  be  discovered  everywhere  quite 
close  at  hand  if  we  hunt  very  carefully,  but  unless  God 
is  very  particularly  kind  with  His  storms  and  clouds, 
imagination  has  often  to  do  so  much.  Then,  as  if  to 
remind  me  of  my  own  smallness  and  impotence  and 
limitations,  came  that  earthquake  roar  again. 

In  the  morning  breakfast  was  served  by  one  of  the 
hunters  who  told  us  that  Clarence — good  man — was 
out  betimes  spooring  for  the  lion  of  the  night,  and  we 
hurried  our  meal  that  we  might  not  lose  any  time  in 
getting   started   out  ourselves.      The   butler   did   not 
appear,  and  I  did  not  ask  for  him,  because  I  judged  he 
was  trying  to  recover  his  lost  temper  and   sense  of 
dignity.     Breakfast   over,    Clarence    rode   into    camp, 
and   we   heard   raised   voices    and  much   discussion. 
We  went  on  cleaning  rifles.     Presently  a   very  per- 
turbed Clarence  hurried  to  us,  and  told  us  that  the 
butler  had  taken  notice,  yet  without  it  had  annexed 
one  of  our  best  camels,  its  driver,  a  supply  of  food, 
and  levanted !     Heaven   only   knows   where  !      How 
did  he  propose  to  reach  safety,  all  unarmed  as  he  was 
too.     But — was  he  unarmed  ?     As  the  thought  struck 
us  both  instantaneously,  we  rushed — Cecily  and  I — 
pell-mell  to  our  armoury,  and  delved  into  it.     In  an 
agony  of  fury  we  realised    that  our  ci-devant  butler 


170  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMAL1LAND 

had  taken  with  him  our  -35  Winchester.  I  doubt  if 
he  ever  fired  a  rifle  in  his  life,  but  I  swore  he  shouldn't 
learn  on  ours.  I  would  go  after  him,  and  catch  up  with 
him,  if  I  had  to  pursue  him  all  the  way  to  Berbera 
itself.  My  chance  of  meeting  that  lion — which  Clarence 
had  practically  located — were  knocked  out  at  1000 
to  1. 

A  few  speedy  directions  and  questions  produced  a 
couple  of  our  best  camels,  lightly  laden,  and  the  know- 
ledge that  the  fugitive  had  about  an  hour's  start  of  us, 
having  indeed,  waited  to  go  until  he  saw  Clarence 
clear  of  the  camp.  I  reproached  the  caravan  that  they 
had  not  prevented  the  running  away,  but  no  sense 
could  be  driven  into  their  stupid  heads.  Every  man 
feigned  complete  ignorance.  The  stolid  "  me  no 
savey  "  of  the  Chinaman  is  not  a  whit  more  obtuse  or 
provoking  than  the  Somali  equivalent.  They  can  be 
as  beautifully  dense  as  the  most  wilfully  non-under- 
standing Chinee.  Hammers  won't  drive  a  subject  in 
if  that  subject  is,  in  their  opinion,  better  kept  out. 
They  are  diplomatic,  but  maddening. 

Our  two  camels  for  the  pursuit  were  loaded  up 
with  a  small  amount  of  food  in  case  we  were  out  all 
night,  and  taking  my  '500  Express  as  the  best  all  round 
rifle,  I  mounted,  not  without  trepidation,  an  evil- 
looking  beast,  whose  driver  greeted  me  with  a  tolerant 
and  broad  smile.  Clarence,  as  to  the  manner  born, 
put  himself  on  the  other  animal,  and  with  a  waved 
"  Good-bye  "  to  Cecily,  who,  lucky  person,  was  going 
after  King  Leo,  we  set  out.  My  irritation  and  annoy- 
ance at  being  so  signally  done  kept  me  up  for  a  short 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  171 

time,  but  it  was  not  really  long  before  the  un- 
accustomed method  of  travel  began  to  tell.  I  had 
never  before  been  for  a  long  excursion  on  board  a 
ship  of  the  desert,  certainly  I  had  previously  no  idea 
of  what  it  could  do  going  "full  steam  ahead."  It  is 
difficult  to  explain  the  matter  delicately.  To  put  it  as 
nicely  as  possible,  I  suffered  horribly  from  "  mal-de- 
camel." 

We  never  stopped,  we  rushed  on  at  top  speed.  The 
way  the  camel-men  picked  up  the  trail  of  the  runaway 
was  very  clever,  sorting  it  out  from  other  trails,  and 
must,  I  think,  have  been  born  of  centuries  of  following. 
Sometimes  the  great  splayed  track  lay  ahead  for  all  to 
see,  but  ofttimes  it  was  lost — to  me — in  a  maze  of  stones 
and  scrub  and  thick  country.  We  went  on  until,  as 
far  as  I  was  concerned,  the  world  was  revolving  around 
me,  the  sun  a  gimlet  to  bore  my  brain,  the  dust  a 
dense  curtain  to  my  mind.  I  did  not  now  look  ahead. 
Vengeance  and  the  desire  for  it  had  left  me.  Let  the 
man  go,  and  the  rifle  with  him.  Probably  it  would 
prove  Nemesis  enough  without  my  taking  on  the 
function  ! 

Suddenly  Clarence  shouted,  and  pointed  enthusiasti- 
cally to  the  horizon.  Yes,  there  was  a  twirling  column 
of  dust.  The  fugitive  of  course.  We  had  come  up 
with  him  sooner  than  I  thought.  The  driver  urged 
along  our  camel  until  we  fairly  shot  over  the  ground, 
and  presently  we  could  hear  the  pad,  pad,  pad  of  our 
stolen  animal,  and  see  plainly  the  recreant  butler, 
apparently  in  two  minds  whether  to  alter  his  course  or 
not.     His  party  swerved  suddenly,  away  to  the  left, 


172  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

towards  a  tangle  of  thorn  country.  This  was  absolute 
nonsense,  and  I  was  provoked  into  firing  anyhow,  very 
wide,  I  need  hardly  say  how  wide,  as  a  sort  of  warning 
to  pull  up.  The  runaways  slackened  speed  at  once, 
and  the  chase  ended  like  a  pricked  bubble.  We 
ranged  alongside,  and  without  speaking,  bar  a  few  curt 
directions,  turned  campwards,  and  slowly — oh,  how 
slowly — retraced  our  way.  We  did  not  make  home 
until  5.30,  and  during  the  whole  of  the  hours  since 
morning  we  had  been  going  solid,  and  of  course  had 
no  opportunity  to  get  a  meal.  I  personally  did  not 
require  one,  but  the  men  must  have  been  hungry. 

Terribly  jolted  and  worn  out  I  made  for  my  little 
hut,  and  lay  down  for  an  hour  or  so.  Cecily  was  still 
out,  and  I  resolved  to  wait  for  her  assistance  to  tell  off 
our  shameless  henchman.  She  arrived  at  last  from  a 
fruitless  expedition.  She  came  on  the  kill  and  fol- 
lowed the  lion  up,  saw  him,  then  lost  all  trace  of  him 
in  thick  khansa  cover.  So  we  hoped  for  better  luck 
next  day. 

Clarence  conducted  the  crest-fallen  butler  to  the 
presence,  and  we  intimated  to  him  that  we  were  aston- 
ished, not  to  say  disgusted  ;  that  the  promised  bonus 
at  the  end  of  the  trip  was  now  non-existent  as  far  as  he 
was  concerned  ;  and  further,  on  returning  to  Berbera, 
he  would  be  indicted  for  the  attempted  stealing  of  the 
rifle  and  camel.  These  words  had  tremendous  effect. 
He  begged  us  to  forgive  him.  With  sophistry  un- 
equalled he  explained  that  our  ways  were  strange  to 
him,  that  the  Mem-sahib  in  whose  household  he  was 
such  an  ornament  was  not  like  unto  these  Mem-sahibs. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  173 

She  stayed  at  home,  and  we — "We  scour  the  plain," 
put  in  Cecily. 

It  was  all  very  absurd,  and  as  we  were  for  the  time 
being  perfectly  impotent,  however  much  we  might 
bluster,  we  provisionally  pardoned  him  on  condition 
that  he  returned  to  butler's  duty,  and  henceforth  spelt 
it  with  a  capital  D. 

"Oh,  frabjous  day  !  Calloo  !  Callay  !  " 

Our  men  reported  that  the  lion — presumably  the 
same  lion — had  returned  to  his  kill,  and  was  now  lying 
up  in  the  bushes  watching  the  meat.  Our  tempers 
had  recovered  their  balance,  and  we  happily  set  out, 
Clarence  promising  that  we  should  "  paint  um  day 
red."  His  vocabulary  was  varied  enough  to  amuse  us, 
and  what  little  English  he  was  absolute  master  of  was 
interspersed  with  the  quaintest  idioms  of  Hindostanee 
and  American,  which  he  would  bring  out  in  whole 
representative  sentences.  His  last  big  "shikar"  was 
with  an  American  magnate  who  wanted,  said  Clarence, 
to  "shoot  um  libbah  before  um  died."  Whether  it 
was  to  be  before  the  lion  died  or  the  sportsman 
seemed  a  bit  involved,  though  as  it  was  obvious  that 
the  sportsman  could  not  very  well  go  shooting  after 
crossing  the  "  Great  Divide,"  the  demise  of  the  lion 
must  have  been  referred  to.  It  certainly  was  more 
sporting  to  wish  to  shoot  at  the  animal  before  it 
expired  than  after. 

It  was  the  oddest  thing  in  the  world  to  hear  that 
Americanism  of  "  Painting  the  town  red"  on  the  lips 
of  the  solemn  Somali.  Did  he  wonder  at  its  origin  as 
I  did  ?     I  remember  hearing  it  for  the  first  time  in  a 


174  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

little  Western  mining  camp,  when  its  familiarity  struck 
my  ear.  But  it  eluded  me,  until  at  last  I  placed  it. 
You  remember  where  Dante,  guided  by  Virgil,  comes 
on  the  suffering  spirits  of  Paolo  and  Francesca  : 

"  Noi  che  tingemmo  il  mondo  di  sanguino." 

There  in  a  nutshell  lies  the  origin  of  the  "  painting 
the  town  red "  phrase.  One  cannot  but  admire  the 
literary  points  of  American  slang,  though  we  know 
there  is  so  little  originality  in  the  mind  of  man,  even  of 
the  American.  There  is  no  time  to  create.  It  is 
simpler  to  take  the  ready-made,  so  that  all  our  speech 
and  writing  is  unconsciously  but  a  series  of  quotations 
from  the  great  human  poets,  who  expressed  simple 
human  thoughts  in  the  most  perfect  and  yet  the 
simplest  words.  Every  thought  we  have  can  be 
expressed  in  quotations  from  Horace,  Dante,  and 
Shakespeare. 

The  strength  of  our  party  on  that  memorable  morn- 
ing comprised  six  of  us — Cecily,  myself,  Clarence  and 
three  hunters.  The  men  led  us  first  to  the  kill,  from 
which  two  sleuth-like  forms  glided  away — jackals, 
young  ones,  with  youthful  rough  coats.  Vultures 
poised  motionless  in  the  blue,  or  nearer  flew  sluggishly, 
with  legs  hanging  loosely,  screaming. 

The  dead  aoul  poisoned  the  air  with  odoriferous 
whiffs,  and  I  found  it  difficult  to  believe  that  a  lion  had 
returned  to  a  carcase  in  such  an  advanced  stage  of 
decomposition,  but  apparently  it  was  so.  Among  the 
devious  trails  of  hyaena  and  jackal  were  the  indents  of 
lion  spoor.  Massed  often,  and  there  in  the  sand  was 
the   plainly  seen  mark  of  the  crouched  beast  as  he 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  175 

gnawed  his  food.  We  found,  too,  at  a  short  distance  a 
piece  of  dropped  flesh,  and  either  side  of  it  the  pugs 
holding  on  and  quiescent. 

Our  men,  as  a  rule,  wore  tremendously  heavy 
sandals,  which  turned  up  at  the  front  like  the  prow 
of  a  ship,  but  when  stalking  the  hunters  discarded 
these  and  were  barefooted.  For  stalking  some  game 
the  lightest  of  foot  wear  is  essential,  and  though,  as  a 
rule,  I  wore  nothing  but  boots,  I  found  a  pair  of 
moccasins  very  handy  on  occasions  ;  they  are  too  hot, 
though,  for  wear  in  such  a  country,  and  the  knowing 
and  learned  shikari  provides  himself  with  cotton  shoes. 
The  thorns  are  too  insistent  to  make  any  light  foot- 
wear pleasurable  to  me,  but  I  have  gone  the  length  of 
taking  off  my  boots  and  running  in  stocking  feet  when 
a  particularly  alert  koodoo  needed  an  exceptionally 
careful  stalk,  but  it  was  a  painful  business,  even  if 
necessary,  and  I  don't  advocate  it. 

Two  exquisite  lesser  koodoo  does  crossed  our  front 
going  like  the  wind,  and  we  heard  a  distant  bark. 
Otherwise  the  jungle  slept  in  the  heat  of  the  sun.  Our 
ponies  drooped  their  heads  as  the  fierce  rays  smote 
them  between  the  eyes.  Waves  of  heat  seemed  to  come 
rising  and  rising  as  the  hoofs  churned  up  the  sand. 

We  dismounted  presently,  and  two  of  the  hunters 
bestrode  the  ponies  and  fell  behind.  Fresh  lion  spoor 
was  now  crossing  the  old  trail,  and  we  decided  to 
follow  it  up.  We  came  on  some  very  dense  mimosa  and 
khansa,  and  in  this  zareba  the  pugs  vanished.  We 
encircled  the  whole  place.  There  were  no  other 
prints.     Our   quarry  was   run  to  earth.     Cecily  fired 


176         TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

into  the  mimosa  once,  twice,  and  instantly,  like  a  toy, 
the  machinery  was  set  in  motion,  and  great  snarling 
growls  breaking  into  stifled  roars  broke  on  the  quiet 
air.  This  was  a  most  business-like  lion,  and  evidently 
was  for  putting  up  with  none  of  our  monkey  tricks. 
The  bushes  parted,  and  quicker  than  I  can  set  it  down 
a  lion  charged  out  straight,  like  a  whirlwind,  past  one 
of  our  men  who  stood  next  to  me.  The  beast  would 
have  gone  on  had  not  the  hunter  made  the  greatest 
possible  mistake.  He  bolted,  thereby  drawing  attention 
to  himself.  The  lion  turned  on  the  man,  catching 
him,  it  seemed  to  me,  by  the  leg,  and  they  fell  in  an 
inextricable  heap.  We  dared  not  fire  because  of  the 
danger,  but  not  a  moment  was  lost. 

All  the  four  hunters  rallied  to  the  aid  of  their  com- 
rade. One  threw  a  spear,  which  might  have  done  some 
good  had  it  been  pitched  accurately.  It  fell  wide.  One 
smart  little  fellow  actually  ran  up  and  whacked  the  lion 
a  resounding  slap  with  a  rifle — poor  rifle  !  A  most 
brave  and  familiar  way  of  acting.  It  was  effectual 
though.  The  lion  turned  from  his  purpose  and  made 
a  bid  for  safety  in  the  bushes  again.  I  let  fly  my  right 
barrel  at  him  as  he  crashed  in,  but  know  I  missed,  for 
all  I  heard  was  metallic  singing  in  my  ears  and  no 
answering  thud  of  a  bullet  striking  flesh.  I  went 
towards  the  place  where  the  cat  vanished.  The  humane 
Cecily  was  attending  to  the  injured  man. 

The  lion  betrayed  his  exact  location  by  low  growls, 
and  I  did  all  I  knew  to  induce  him  to  charge  out  again. 
I  shouted,  the  men  shouted,  we  whistled,  we  fired. 
Then  the  enraged  animal  took  to  roaring,  real  resound- 


'  '       '       >'        '  >   l 

•   »  >  >       >  I  > 

»  »  »      l    t    >         t 


>       1 


.    t 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  177 

ing  roars,  in  which  his  personal  animus  railed  at  us. 
I  instructed  the  men  to  remain  as  they  were,  talking 
and  endeavouring  to  weary  the  lion  into  breaking 
cover,  whilst  I  did  a  stalk. 

When  investigated  from  the  other  side,  the  citadel 
chosen  for  the  great  stand  was  of  less  dense  khansa, 
and  the  umbrella  tops  made  great  dark  shelters  for  the 
tunnels  between  the  stems.  It  was  most  exciting  and 
dangerous,  and  I  had  so  many  things  to  plan  and  think 
out.  I  crawled  in,  and  commenced  to  work  my  way 
towards  the  place  occupied  by  my  enemy,  whose  exact 
position  could  be  located  to  a  nicety  by  his  growls  and 
snarls,  and  the  noise  he  kept  up  was  of  the  greatest 
help  to  me.  Even  the  lightest,  deftest  tracker  could 
hardly  go  through  bush  like  that  in  silence. 

It  was  very  dark  at  first  in  my  covert,  but  at  intervals 
it  lightened  up.  I  crawled  for  the  best  part  of  half  an 
hour,  and  then,  when  my  aching  hands  almost  refused 
to  drag  me  farther,  I  found  myself  in  dense  under- 
growth, in  the  actual  vicinity  of  the  lion,  who  half- 
standing,  half-crouching,  was  facing,  in  sparser  cover 
the  direction  of  my  hunters  and  the  scene  of  the  catas- 
trophe. There  was  nothing  to  fire  at  but  swishing  tail. 
The  grass  and  aloes  hid  any  vital  part,  and  I  dared  not 
miss,  whatever  came  about.  A  heart  shot,  or  a  head 
shot  it  must  be,  or  the  sportswoman  !  Oh,  where  was 
she !  The  thought  struck  through  my  brain  of  the 
imminence  of  my  danger  should  Clarence  or  one  of 
the  others  take  to  some  flank  movement  whereby  the 
present  position  of  things  might  be  altered  by  a  hair's 
breadth.     As  it  was,  time  was  what  I   needed,  and  I 

M 


178  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

should  get  that.  It  was  foolish  of  me  to  doubt  my 
shikari's  common  sense.  I  had  never  known  him  fail, 
and  he  knew  I  was  carefully  stalking.  I  heard  their 
voices  at  intervals  in  the  distance,  buzzing,  and  it  all 
seemed  some  chimera  of  my  brain.  Myself  in  that  hot 
jungle  tangle,  and  but  twenty  yards  away  a  lion  of 
mettle  and  business-like  habits  !  I  was  on  my  knees  in 
half-raised  position,  and  had  he  turned  even  in  a  half 
circle,  he  must,  I  verily  believe,  have  seen  me,  and 
sorted  me  out  as  something  untoward. 

The  air  was  stifling,  and  oh  !  how  heavily  I  weighed 
on  my  knees  !  My  fighting  weight  seemed  enormous 
as  I  supported  it.  It  was  eight  stone  really  and  seemed 
like  eighteen,  but  of  course  it  was  because,  in  my  ex- 
citement, Antaeus-like,  I  pressed  down  heavily  to 
something  solid  until  I  drew  my  strength  from  earth, 
and  thus  took  heart  of  grace.  I  carefully  got  up  my 
rifle.  It  seemed  a  long  business.  Did  I  really  make 
no  noise  ?  Strange  crackling  rustlings  sounded  in  my 
ears,  as  at  each  growl  I  seized  the  opportunity,  and  in 
the  semi-obscurity  of  the  reverberations  placed  myself 
better.  The  lion  came  more  into  focus.  I  saw  his  side 
where  it  sank  in,  then — farther.  A  heart-shaking 
second.  My  bullet  was  too  low.  The  vast  body 
lashed  round  and  round.  I  seemed  to  see  what  my 
fate  would  be  in  another  instant.  My  breath  was 
coming  in  great  sobs,  and  I  wondered  whether  the 
lion  was  choking  or  I.  All  this  was  in  the  fraction  of 
a  moment.  Then  came  my  opportunity.  His  chest 
presented  itself  fair  and  square  like  a  target.  I  pressed 
my  second  trigger,  and  then  threw  myself  backwards 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  179 

and  went  anyhow  as  though  the  devil  himself  was  after 
me,  like  a  streak  of  greased  lightning.  "  You  kill  um 
libbah  ?  "  asked  Clarence,  who  remained  pretty  much 
as  I  had  last  seen  him. 

"  I  don't  know,"  I  gasped,  stupidly  enough. 

And  neither  did  I. 

Loading  up  carefully  again,  I  carefully  retraced  my 
steps,  Clarence  crawling  after  me.  There  was  no 
sound.  All  was  still  as  death.  We  crept  on  until  we 
reached  my  coign  of  vantage,  and  there  ahead,  prone, 
motionless,  lay  a  great  yellow  mass,  some  ten  yards 
nearer  than  at  my  first  shot.  He  was  dead  indeed,  and 
a  very  fine  specimen  of  his  kind.  Strangely  enough,  he 
had  one  eye  missing,  the  hall-mark  of  some  early 
battle,  and  to  this  fact  I  possibly  owed  much  of  the 
credit  I  had  been  taking  to  myself  for  my  stalk.  Then 
began  the  usual  modus  operandi  for  the  animal's  dis- 
memberment, and  I  cleared  out  of  the  place  to  find 
that  Cecily  had  taken  the  injured  man  back  to  camp, 
propping  him  up  on  her  pony  with  the  help  of  the 
second  hunter.  My  pony  was  amusing  itself  at  some 
distance,  having  dragged  its  moorings,  and  I  caught 
him  after  a  bit  of  a  tussle. 

The  invalid  was  given  my  tent,  which  smelt  like 
concentrated  essence  of  High  Churchism.  Keating's 
incense  smouldered  in  one  corner  and  burning  carbo- 
lic powder  fought  it  for  the  mastery.  Puzzled  mos- 
quitoes buzzed  in  and  out,  but  more  out  than  in,  thanks 
be.  The  man's  leg  was  torn  in  strips  which  hung  in 
two  or  three  inch  lengths,  fleshy  and  horrible.  We 
arranged  the  torn  shreds  back,  like  patching  an  orna- 


180  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

ment  minus  the  seccotine.     We  covered  the  wounds 

with  iodoform — very  amateurishly  of  course — and  then 

bandaged  it.     Altogether  I  think  the  invalid  was  rather 

pleased  with  himself,  as  he  lay  up  in  the  cache-tent, 

feeling,  doubtless,  the  importance  of  having  been  in 

the  jaws  of  a  lion  and  come  out  alive  from  such  a  gin. 

As  we  could  not  move  him  for  several  days,   we 

arranged   to   form  quite  a  good   zareba,   strong  and 

comfortable,    round   our   follower,    and   make   flying 

excursions   of   which    it   should   be   the   base.      The 

wounded   hunter   proved   a  very  unwilling   dawdler, 

being  an  active-souled  creature,  and  did  not  take  at  all 

kindly  to  a  life  of  enforced  idleness.     He  acted  like  an 

irritated  vegetable,  and  only  slept  and  drowsed  the 

hours  away,  and  kept  his  leg  up,  because  I  solemnly 

told   him  he  would    die  if  he  did  not.     I  think  the 

active  spirits  in  nations  not  yet  civilised  are  always  the 

better.     Laziness  is  demoralising  anywhere,  and  with 

it  one  soon    harks   back   to   the   animal.     Energetic 

souls  are  never  idle  from  choice.     The  power  to  idle 

successfully  and  with  comfort  must  be  inborn.    During 

his  days  of  illness  our  charge  grew  really  attached  to 

us,  and  looked   for  our   coming    with    an  expansive 

smile   of   welcome.     We   kept   the   fever  down  with 

quinine,  and  before  many  weeks  were  over  his  scars 

were  healed  into  cicatrices,  which,  of  course,  he  could 

never  lose.     They  would,  however,  be  a  glorious  asset 

and  advertisement,  showing  such  undoubted  zeal,  and 

should  commend  the  proprietor  to  any  one  on    the 

look-out  for  a  truly  sporting  hunter. 

While  I  was  examining  the  skull  and  wet  skin  of 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  181 

the  lion  as  Clarence  pegged  it  out,  our  cook  volun- 
teered the  information  that  the  butler  had  gone  again 
on  a  still  better  camel,  with  the  same  driver,  but  minus 
a  rifle.  I  had  thought  he  would  settle  down  to  a 
dreary  acceptance  of  the  position.  It  really  was  un- 
comfortable to  harbour  two  such  unwilling  people  in 
our  otherwise  contented  caravan,  so  we  decided  they 
were  better  gone  even  at  the  cost  of  a  camel,  and  this 
time  we  wasted  no  energy  on  trying  to  retrieve  them. 
Whether  they  ever  made  safety  again  we  never  could 
find  out.  Their  movements  from  that  hour  were 
wrapped  in  mystery,  and  the  butler,  the  driver,  and 
the  camel  disappeared  for  ever  from  our  ken.  They 
must  have  wanted  to  go  very  badly.  It  was  not  com- 
plimentary, but  we  put  as  good  a  face  on  the  crusher 
as  we  could. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

WE  CROSS  THE  MAREHAN 

They  are  as  sick  that  surfeit  with  too  much, 
As  they  that  starve  with  nothing 

Merchant  of  Venice 

And  now  for  a  few  days  we  struck  a  period  of  bad 
luck.  Our  larder  was  empty  save  for  tins  of  food  kept 
for  dire  emergencies,  and  the  men  affected  to  be  weak 
from  scant  rations.  In  any  other  caravan  they  would 
never,  or  hardly  ever,  have  had  them  supplemented  bv 
flesh  food  ;  but  we  had  thoroughly  spoiled  them. 
Game  grew  scarce,  even  the  ubiquitous  dik-dik  was 
absent,  and  any  shot  we  got  on  these  flying  excursions 
of  ours  away  from  the  base  camp  we  bungled.  The 
more  we  failed  the  more  disconcerted  we  became. 
How  true  it  is  nothing  succeeds  like  success  !  At  last 
matters  got  so  bad  we  both  of  us  always  politely 
offered  the  other  the  chance  of  a  miss.  I  would  first 
decline  to  take  it,  and  then  Cecily.  Meanwhile  the 
buck  made  good  its  escape.  We  both  got  backward 
in  coming  forward,  and,  in  American  parlance,  were 
thoroughly  rattled. 

At  last  I  volunteered  to  go  out  early  one  morning 
with  Clarence,  and  we  put  up  a  bunch  of  aoul  some 
five  hundred  yards  away.  They  winded  us,  and  went 
off  at  their  best  pace.     In  desperation  I  spurred  on 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  183 

the  pony,  and  called  to  Clarence  to  try  and  round  up 
the  flying  creatures  from  behind  a  clump  of  mimosa 
and  shoot  one  himself  if  he  could.  Of  course  they 
passed  the  place  sailing  ere  ever  he  reached  it.  As  we 
galloped  along  our  rush  disturbed  another  band  of 
aoul  at  close  quarters,  and  in  sheer  desperation  I 
checked  my  pony  so  suddenly  that  he  sat  down.  I 
flung  myself  into  a  semblance  of  a  position,  and  fired 
at  the  vanishing  quarters  of  a  fine-looking  buck.  He 
staggered  and  kicked  out,  but  caught  up  again  with 
his  fellows,  and  they  all  disappeared  in  a  cloud  of 
dust.  Mounting  again,  we  dashed  after  them,  and 
after  a  hard  gallop  came  on  the  wounded  animal  going 
slower  and  far  separated  from  the  others.  I  dared  not 
try  a  shot  from  the  saddle,  as  the  going  was  so  bad  ; 
and  if  there  is  one  thing  I  object  to  it  is  a  cocked  rifle 
at  a  gallop  over  ant-bear  holes. 

The  aoul  put  on  a  spurt  and  my  pony  began  to 
show  signs  of  stress,  and  blundering  terribly  let  me 
down  suddenly  over  a  large-sized  hole.  Much  shaken, 
I  gathered  up  my  scattered  wits  and  called  to  Clarence 
to  ride  the  buck  down.  It  was  certainly  wounded, 
and,  I  judged,  badly  so.  To  return  to  the  famishing, 
reproachful  camp  without  meat  was  unthinkable,  as 
we  had  done  it  so  often  lately.  I  sat  where  I  was 
tossed  and  meditated  until  I  felt  a  burning  sensation 
on  my  finger,  sharp  and  stinging,  and  found  it  to  be  a 
scorpion  of  sorts.  He  paid  toll  for  such  a  liberty,  and 
the  butt  of  my  rifle  finished  him.  I  immediately 
sucked  the  stung  finger  perseveringly.  What  an  odd 
thing  it  is — or  seems  odd  to  me,   being  unlearned — 


1 84  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

that  no  mischief  ever  comes  from  the  poison  being 
sucked  into  the  system  via  the  mouth.  Not  even  the 
virulent  poison  of  the  rattler  harms  this  way.  When 
I  got  into  camp  I  soaked  my  finger  in  ammonia,  and 
so  got  off  excellently  well. 

I  bestrode  my  weary  steed  again,  asking  no  more  of 
it  than  a  slow  walk,  and  followed  on  the  traces  of 
Clarence  and  the  aoul.  I  shouted  after  a  while,  and 
he  replied.  I  came  on  him  shortly,  sitting  by  the  dead 
aoul,  resting  between  moments  of  butchery.  I  hadn't 
heard  a  shot,  but  I  must  have  been  too  dazed.  WTe 
were  a  long  way  from  camp,  and  the  difficulty  con- 
fronted us  of  packing  so  large  a  buck  back.  We  could 
only  do  it  conveniently,  as  I  did  not  want  to  walk, 
minus  the  head  and  feet.  The  horns  were  good,  but 
the  head  as  a  trophy  was  ruined  by  the  way  its  neck 
was  cut.  The  system  of  "  hallal "  doesn't  seem  to  allow 
of  ordinary  throat-cutting,  far  down,  where  the  gash 
does  not  show.  The  gash  must  run  from  ear  to  ear, 
consequently  it  ruins  a  trophy  for  setting  up  purposes. 
Laden,  we  hied  us  back  to  what  Nathaniel  Gubbins 
would  call  "  the  home-sweet,"  and  were  welcomed  with 
glowing  fires,  on  which  the  aoul,  in  parts,  was  immedi- 
ately frizzling.  The  men  gorged  incontinently,  as 
Cecily  came  in  shortly  after  us  with  an  oryx.  These 
two  beasts  broke  the  run  of  bad  luck,  and  afterwards, 
for  a  few  days,  we  could  not  miss  a  shot.  Our  bullets 
seemed  charmed.  So  did  the  men.  They  ate  semi- 
raw  meat  in  such  large  quantities  I  wondered  they 
didn't  get  mange  and  lose  their  hair.  There  is  no 
satisfying  a  Somali  with  meat.     He  cannot  have  suffi- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  185 

cient.  If  a  man  would  give  all  the  substance  of  a  buck 
to  him  it  would  utterly  be  condemned. 

After  what  seemed  like  a  very  long  period  of  doing 
very  little,  we  judged  our  follower  was  well  enough  to 
be  moved,  and  very  glad  we  were  to  strike  camp,  as 
the  men  were  none  the  better  for  so  much  idleness. 
It  takes  about  an  hour  to  strike  camp,  load  up,  and 
set  out.  The  camels  kneel  for  the  process  of  lading, 
with  an  anchor  in  the  shape  of  the  head  rope  tied 
behind  the  knees.  Unloading  is  a  much  more  expedi- 
tious business.  Everything  comes  off  in  a  quarter  the 
time  taken  up  in  putting  it  on.  Our  rifles  travelled  in 
cases  made  to  take  two  at  full  length.  They  were  not 
very  cumbersome,  and  we  felt  that  the  terrific  amount 
of  banging  about  they  would  receive  during  loading 
and  unloading  made  it  a  necessity  to  give  them  entire 
protection. 

This,  I  feel  sure,  is  the  very  moment  your  hardened, 
seasoned  shikari  would  seize  to  make  a  few  pertinent 
remarks  on  the  merits  of  various  sporting  rifles. 
Anything  I  could  say  on  the  subject,  either  of  rifles, 
or  the  shooting  on  our  expedition,  I  am  diffident  of 
setting  down.  The  time  is  not  yet  when  masculinity 
will  accept  from  a  mere  woman  hints  or  views  on  a 
question  so  essentially  man's  own.  In  the  days  of  my 
youth  I  troubled  myself  to  read  all  sorts  of  books  on 
shooting  :  Hints  to  beginners  on  how  to  shoot,  hints 
to  beginners  on  how  not  to  shoot ;  how  to  open 
your  eyes  ;  how  to  hold  your  rifle  that  you  feel  no 
recoil,  how  the  rifle  must  be  fitted  to  your  shoulder  or 
you  cannot  do  any  good  at  all  with  it  ;  and  (gem  of  all) 


186  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

how  to  be  a  good  sportsman — as  though   one  could 
learn  that  from  books  ! 

All  these  tomes  of  wisdom  were  written  for  man  by 
man.  I  tried  to  follow  out  their  often  entirely  opposite 
advice,  but  after  a  while,  being  a  woman  and  therefore 
contrary,  I  "chucked"  all  systems  and  manufactured 
rules  for  myself.  I  don't  close  either  eye  when  I 
shoot.  I  shoot  with  both  open.  In  Cecily's  case  her 
left  is  the  most  reliable,  and  she  makes  provision  ac- 
cordingly. Our  present  rifles  were  not  fitted  to  our 
shoulders.  So  far  as  I  know,  they  would  have  done 
nicely  for  any  one's  shoulder.  Either  we  were  making 
the  best  of  things,  putting  up  with  inconveniences 
unknown  to  us,  or  else  there  is  a  frightful  lot  of  rub- 
bish written  around  a  sportsman's  battery.  In  spite 
of  any  "  advice  "  and  "  remarks  "  to  the  contrary,  I 
consider  my  12-bore,  with  soft  lead  spherical  bullets, 
driven  by  5J  drams  of  powder,  ideal  for  lion  and  all 
more  important,  because  dangerous,  game.  When  one 
did  get  a  bullet  in  it  stayed  in,  and  there  was  no  wast- 
ing of  its  dreadness  on  the  desert  air.  In  reply  to 
remarks  as  to  the  undoubted  superiority  of  this,  that, 
and  the  other  rifle,  &c,  &c,  &c,  I  merely  answer 
oracularly  :  "  May  be." 

"  This,  General,"  an  American  hostess  once  remarked 
to  General  Sheridan,  who  was  busily  manipulating  an 
ordinary  fork  at  the  commencement  of  a  banquet, 
"  this  is  the  oyster  fork." 

"D n   it,    madam,"   answered  the   General,   "I 

know  it  ! " 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  187 

In  rifles,  as  in  forks,  and  in  many  other  things, 
Chacun  d  son  gout. 

Not  even  marksmanship  can  make  a  good  sports- 
man, if  there  is  any  temper  or  jealousy  or  smallness 
about  one.  A  good  sportsman  is  as  happy  on  the 
chance  as  on  the  certainty,  and  is  not  to  be  numbered 
as  of  the  elect  because  he  has  slaughtered  so  many 
head.  It  is  not  the  quantity  but  the  quality  that 
counts.  Any  one,  short  of  an  absolute  lunatic,  can 
hit  a  large  mark,  say  a  buck,  but  not  all  men  can  hit 
it  in  a  vital  place.  Wounded  animals,  left  in  the 
jungle,  are  one  of  the  most  awful  evidences  of  un- 
skilled shots,  bad  judgment,  flurry,  and  an  hundred 
other  proofs  of  things  not  learned  or  discovered  for 
oneself.  Of  course,  often  it  is  that  the  chances  are 
entirely  against  one,  and  the  quarry  escapes  ;  but  the 
careful,  thoughtful,  business-like  shikari  does  not  take 
on  foolish  impossibilities.  He  knows  that  word  without 
the  "im,"  and  the  result  is  unerring  success.  Cecily 
and  I  never  went  in  for  anything  but  legitimate  rivalry, 
and  unlike  the  majority  of  women  who  go  in  for  games 
of  chance  together  never  had  the  slightest  desire  to 
pull  each  other's  hair  out,  or  indulge  in  sarcastic  badin- 
age disguised  as  humour. 

Wandering  about  the  Mijertain  we  came  on  one  or 
two  wealthy  tribes.  Their  wealth  consists  of  camels, 
and  so  many  in  a  batch  I  had  never  before  seen. 
When  grazing  in  their  hundreds  like  this  each  mob  of 
camels  is  led  by  one  of  the  most  domineering  charac- 
ter, who  wears  a  bell,  just  as  the  leader  of  cattle  does 


188  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

in  Canada.  The  camel-bell  is  made  of  wood,  carved 
by  the  natives,  and,  ringing  in  dull,  toneless  fashion, 
localises  the  band. 

We  now  began  to  be  afraid  of  our  reception.  We 
were  out  of  the  beaten  track,  and  Clarence  was  getting 
a  bit  out  of  his  depth.  Nothing  untoward  happened 
We  did  not  allow  any  stranger  into  our  zareba,  and 
met  every  caller  outside.  We  felt  that  if  we  played  the 
Englishman's  home  is  his  castle  idea  for  all  it  was 
worth  we  should  be  on  the  safe  side.  The  Somali  chil- 
dren seem  to  begin  to  work  and  carry  heavy  weights 
when  ours  at  home  are  just  about  beginning  to  think  it 
is  time  to  sit  up,  and  I  never  saw  such  out-sized  heads  ! 
They  were  all  head  and  "  Little  Mary."  With  age  equi- 
poise asserts  itself  and  the  whole  structure  seems  to 
revert  to  humdrumidity.  For  three  years  at  least 
every  Somali  could  qualify  for  Barnum's  as  a  freak. 
After  that  he  begins  to  look  like  every  other  of  his 
countrymen.  But  not  all  are  alike.  For  instance,  the 
head-man  of  this  particular  tribe  was  the  most  atrabi- 
larious  creature  possible  to  meet.  I  don't  think  he 
could  smile.  We  thought  he  must  be  crossed  in  love, 
but  Clarence  said  the  Lothario  had  already  worked 
through  a  little  matter  of  four  wives,  so  I  suppose  his 
excursions  into  the  realms  of  Cupid  had  been  fortunate 
rather  than  the  reverse. 

A  Somali  is  entitled  to  four  wives  at  once,  and  the 
number  of  his  children,  as  a  rule,  would  rejoice  the 
heart  of  President  Roosevelt.  The  more  children  the 
better  for  him,  because  they  make  for  the  strength  of 
the  tribe.     Even  girls  are  not  altogether  despised  assets, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  189 

because  in  their  youth  they  are  valuable  to  tend  the 
camels  and  goats,  and  some  day  can  be  bartered  for 
sheep  or  ponies.  Some  Somali  women  go  to  their 
lords  with  dowries,  and,  as  with  us  at  home,  are  the 
more  important  for  their  wealth.  Consideration  is 
shown  them  that  is  lacking  towards  their  poorer  sisters 
who  toil  and  moil  at  heavy  work  the  whole  day  long, 
and  when  on  trek  load  all  the  camels,  and  do  all  the 
heavy  camp  work. 

We  tried  our  best  to  propitiate  this  Mijertain  savage 
— he  really  was  an  ordinary  savage — but  he  only 
glowered  and  received  all  overtures  in  the  worst  pos- 
sible taste  and  rudeness.  One  could  have  told  he  was 
rich  even  if  we  hadn't  seen  his  banking  account  feed- 
ing in  their  thousands. 

This  tribe  looked  on  the  sporting  spirit  with  distrust, 
evidently  suspecting  ulterior  motives.  It  would  be 
hard  to  convey  to  an  utterly  savage  mind  that  we  took 
on  all  this  sturm  und  drang  of  a  big  expedition 
merely  because  we  loved  it.  Trophies  here  descended 
to  being  meat,  and  meat  of  all  else  topped  the  scale. 
Still,  one  could  only  eat  a  certain  amount  before  being 
very  ill,  so  why  such  energy  to  procure  an  unlimited 
quantity  ?  I  don't  think  our  sex  was  ever  discovered 
here  at  all.  Englishwomen  were  not  exactly  thick  on 
the  ground,  and  I  think  it  possible  the  melancholy 
Mijertain  had  never  previously  seen  one.  Probably 
his  intelligence,  of  a  very  low  order  indeed,  did  not 
take  him  farther  than  thinking  what  particularly  under- 
sized, emasculated  English  sahibs  these  two  were. 

After  a  consultation  we  decided  it  would  be  really 


190  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

nice  to  do  a  long  forced  march  and  put  some  miles 
between  our  two  encampments.  Somehow,  we  couldn't 
fraternise.  And  that  beautiful  sentence,  without  which 
no  suburban  friendship  is  ever  cemented — "  Now 
you've  found  your  way  here,  you  must  be  sure  to  come 
again  " — was  quite  useless  to  be  spoken.  In  Suburbia 
that  formula  is  a  solemn  rite,  never  disregarded  in  the 
formation  of  a  friendship.  You  might  as  well  forget 
to  ask  "Is  your  tea  agreeable?"  at  an  "At-Home" 
day.  But  in  Somaliland  you  had  friendship  offered 
so  differently,  if  indeed  it  was  offered  at  all.  It  came 
in  the  guise  of  a  dirty  ham  of  camel's  milk,  microbial 
and  miasmatic,  or  in  the  person  of  a  warlike  goat, 
who  with  no  mauvaise-honte  is  willing  to  take  the 
whole  caravan  to  his  horns,  or  in  cases  of  overwhelm- 
ing friendliness  a  sheep  may  be  presented,  with  no 
thought  of  return.  We  were  rarely  privileged  to  reach 
this  giddy  height — too  stand-offish,  I  conclude. 

We  did  a  stalk  about  this  time  that  amused  us  very 
much.  We  went  out  alone  on  our  ponies,  and  came 
on  a  couple  of  oryx  in  a  plot  of  country  interspersed 
with  light  cover  of  mimosa  and  thorn  bushes,  who 
winded  us  and  were  off  immediately.  They  did  not 
run  very  far,  but  inquisitively  turned  to  stare  back, 
standing  close  together.  They  were  considerably  out 
of  range.  We  separated,  and  Cecily  rode  off,  so  that 
finally  we  two  and  the  oryx  formed  the  points  of  a 
triangle.  A  nomadic  Somali  came  riding  up,  the 
wind  blowing  away  from  him  screened  his  approach, 
but  presently  the  oryx  caught  sight  of  this  new  appari- 
tion and  back  my  way  they  raced.     As  they  came  level 


'    ,    '         T  >        >     '  '  '  >    > 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  191 

with  my  pony  I  blazed  at  the  nearest  buck,  but  as  I 
am  no  good  at  all  at  shooting  from  the  saddle  I  missed 
gloriously,  and  the  confused  and  startled  animal  fled 
helter  skelter,  and  dashed  headlong  into  Cecily,  who, 
not  ready  for  the  unexpected  joust,  went  flying  with 
the  impact.  Fortunately  oryx  carry  their  heads  high 
when  at  the  gallop,  so  she  wasn't  really  hurt,  only 
winded.  It  does  take  one's  breath  a  bit  to  be 
cannonaded  into  by  a  flying  buck  of  the  size  of  an 
oryx.  I  think  this  one  was  the  last  we  saw  for  some 
time,  as  this  variety  is  very  scarce  in  the  Mijertain  and 
Haweea  country. 

The  Somali  looked  very  much  astonished,  and  after 
remarking  a  few  not  understood  sentences,  took  to  a 
course  of  signalling  of  which  we  hadn't  the  code.     We 
agreed  between  ourselves  that  the  man  meant  his  karia 
was  "  over  there,"  so  we  windmilled  back  with  our  arms 
to  demonstrate  we  lived  "over  here,"  which  thoroughly 
mystified  and  fogged  him.     He  made  things  a  trifle 
clearer  by  pointing  to  his  mouth,  and  pretending  to  eat, 
which  could  not  mean   anything  but  "  an   invitation  to 
lunch  would  be  acceptable."     We  nodded  benignly  and 
signed  to  him  to  follow  us,  and  rode  back  to  camp. 
He  gorged  on  oryx,  like  all  the  rest,  and  seemed  to  be 
about  to  put  himself  on  the  strength  of  the  caravan, 
dawdling  round  until  later  on  in  the  evening.      We 
seemed  to  act  on    these  wandering   spirits  like  a  fly- 
paper does  on  flies,  but  not  wanting  any  more  stickers 
I   bade  Clarence  ask  our  friend  if  they  wouldn't  be 
missing  him  at  home.     And   the    last    I    saw   of  our 
visitor  was  his  outlined  figure,  in  tattered  tobe,  riding 


192  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

away,  gnawing  a  lump  of  meat,  a  "  speed  the  parting 
guest "  present. 

This  particular  part  of  the  world  was  overdone  with 
snakes,  of  a  deadly  variety,  black  and  horrible  looking. 
I  went  warily  now,  I  can  tell  you,  and  there  was  no 
more  tracking  for  a  few  days  in  anything  but  my  stout 
boots. 

We  next  filled  up  every  available  thing  that  held 
water,  and  launched  ourselves  fairly  on  to  the  Marehan 
Desert.  Never  was  the  word  more  apt.  The  place 
was  deserted  by  man  and  beast.  There  was  no  life  nor 
thing  stirring.  We  marched  the  first  day  from  dawn 
to  about  10  a.m.,  when  the  fierce  sun  forced  us  to  take 
shelter  in  hastily  erected  tents.  Even  the  men,  accus- 
tomed to  the  glare,  made  shift  to  primitive  shelters 
from  the  Jicrios.  The  ponies  stood  up  well,  and  the 
camels  were  calm  as  ever.  Oh,  the  heat  of  that 
frightful  noon-day  !  We  did  not  wish  to  eat,  and  put 
off  meals  until  the  evening.  The  men  were  now  on 
dates  and  rice,  as  we  had  no  dried  meat,  and  fresh 
meat,  even  if  we  had  been  able  to  get  it,  would  not  have 
kept  an  hour. 

In  the  evening  we  doled  out  the  water,  and  the 
ponies  got  their  insufficient  share.  Afterwards  we 
marched  on,  travelling  until  very  late,  or  rather  early. 
It  was  nearly  full  moon  again,  and  the  hideous  parched- 
up  desert  looked  quite  pretty,  and  was  busy  trying  to 
pass  itself  off  as  a  delectable  country.  After  too  little 
of  bed  we  rose  and  toiled  on  until  9.30,  when  we  caved 
in,  this  time  very  thoroughly,  as  Cecily  had  a  bad 
touch  of  the  sun  and  was  in  rather  a  bad  way.     But 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  193 

progress  we  must,  as  time  was  of  the  utmost  conse- 
quence. I  had  a  sort  of  hammock  rigged  up,  made 
from  a  camel  mat,  with  a  shelter  over  it ;  and  she  was 
carried  along  in  it  that  evening  for  some  miles. 
During  the  night  hours  the  bigness  of  the  job  we  had 
taken  on  began  to  appal  me.  I  wished  myself  back  in 
the  woodlands  of  Galadi.  But  it  is  not  of  much  use 
in  purgatory  to  sigh  for  heaven  ! 

Next  dawn  we  could  do  no  marching  at  all,  and  I 
was  forced  to  use  an  unlimited  amount  of  the  precious 
water  to  keep  wet  the  handkerchief  on  Cecily's  burn- 
ing head,  occasionally  pouring  some  over  her  lavishly 
and  in  regardless-of-consequence  fashion.  The  heat  in 
the  tent,  as  out,  was  unspeakable  ;  and  I  spent  most 
of  the  hours  of  that  dreadful  day  fanning  my  cousin, 
who  was  really  in  parlous  state.  Clarence  told  me 
late  on  in  the  afternoon  we  must  push  on,  whatever 
happened,  as  the  water  was  very  low  indeed.  I  gave 
the  word,  and  we  marched,  Cecily  carried  as  before. 
We  heard  a  lion  roaring,  but  did  not  see  anything,  and 
it  was  not  very  likely  we  should.  Night  was  the  only 
bearable  time,  and  I  would  it  had  perpetually  remained 
night. 

Not  until  the  next  night  did  we  come  on  some  water- 
holes,  and  they  were  dry !  I  could  not  persuade  the 
men  to  camp  ;  they  said  the  place  was  not  good,  and 
mysterious  things  of  that  kind.  I  found  out  that  the 
place  was  supposed  to  be  haunted  by  spirits  of  some 
sort,  and  it  was  no  use  ordering  or  commanding,  for 
the  men  would  not  stay  to  spend  a  night  in  the  vicinity. 
We  had  to  go  on.     Matters  were  now  really  serious. 

N 


194  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Cecily  was  much  better,  though  still  travelling 
luxuriously,  but  there  was  not  much  more  than  a 
gallon  of  water  left.  We  opened  a  bottle  of  lukewarm 
champagne  and  drank  a  little  at  intervals,  but  this  silly 
idea  made  us  nearly  frantic  with  thirst,  and  we  wished 
we  hadn't  thought  of  it.  The  ponies,  poor  creatures, 
had  been  without  water  for  hours,  and  their  lolling 
tongues  and  straining  eyes  went  to  our  hearts.  Cecily 
was  the  more  concerned,  because  she  said  but  for  her 
the  water  would  have  lasted.  I  assured  her  it  was  my 
prodigality,  but  in  any  case  it  was  water  well  wasted, 
as  she  was  almost  herself  again. 

I  consulted  with  Clarence,  and  we  found  that  by 
going  on,  never  stopping,  for  another  twenty  miles  we 
should  make  wells.  Twenty  miles  was  a  big  thing  to 
us  then  with  horses  and  men  in  the  state  ours  were.  I 
asked  them,  through  Clarence,  to  "  make  an  effort," 
and  promised  them  water  by  the  morning.  We  struck 
camp  on  a  grilling  afternoon  at  4.30.  Cecily  in  her 
hammock,  I  alternately  walking  to  ease  my  pony,  and 
then  mounting  for  a  little  to  ease  myself.  I  will  not 
describe  the  tramp  through  the  night,  or  how  very 
childish  the  men  got.  I  prefer  the  English  way  of 
bearing  small  troubles — in  silence.  I  think  it  is 
embarrassing  to  be  let  in  on  the  ground  floor  of  any- 
one's emotion. 

Let  it  pass ! 

A  few  camel  men  raced  on  ahead,  and  got  to  the 
wells  before  the  main  caravan,  who  were  able  to 
quicken  the  pace  pathetically  little,  and  we  made 
safety,  which  this  time  spelt  water,  about  an  hour  after 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  195 

dawn.  I  saw  the  ponies  watered  myself  before  turning 
in,  and  I  slept  eight  hours  straight  on  end. 

Going  out  late  in  the  evening  with  the  object  of 
securing  something  for  the  pot,  I  came  on  a  regular 
aviary  of  birds.  Sand  grouse  and  pigeons,  guinea-fowl 
and  wild  geese,  and  small  birds  too  in  thousands.  I 
lay  down  for  a  little  and  watched  the  small  ones 
preparing  for  the  night.  I  love  the  tiny  birds  of 
Somaliland,  and  never  wearied  of  studying  their  pretty 
ways.  It  seems  to  me  that  they  are  most  beautiful  in 
proportion  to  their  size  of  any  bird  life.  The  protec- 
tions, the  pleadings,  the  dances,  the  love-making,  the 
little  furies,  the  make-believes,  cannot  be  excelled  in 
charm. 

I  was  too  wearied  out  to  bother  much,  even  though 
food  in  plenty  was  there  to  my  hand,  and  I  don't  like 
killing  anything  so  tame,  even  when  I  ought  to.  When 
I  got  back  to  camp  I  sent  Clarence  out  with  instruc- 
tions to  shoot  some  guinea-fowl  and  geese. 

A  vast  caravan  of  some  hundreds  arrived  at  the 
wells  in  the  middle  of  that  night,  and  things  hummed 
for  an  hour  or  so.  I  was  not  disturbed,  except  by  the 
wrangling  that  went  on  all  the  hours  until  dawn.  It 
was  very  cold,  and  my  "  carpet "  ended  on  the  top  of 
me  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

WE  REACH  A  REAL  LAKE 
So  fair  a  troop 

Call  it  a  travel  that  thou  tak'st  for  pleasure 

King  Richard  II 

In  the  morning  we  found  ourselves  the  centre  of  an 
admiring  throng.  Every  mouthful  of  my  breakfast 
was  criticised  and  commented  on,  every  square  yard 
of  camp  was  congested  with  Somalis,  and  when  one, 
more  daring  than  the  rest,  embraced  a  rifle  box,  tight 
round  its  waist,  as  though  to  feel  the  weight,  and 
then  let  it  drop,  bump,  my  amazement  and  horror 
knew  no  bounds.  Even  had  he  known  the  contents 
I  don't  suppose  the  treatment  meted  out  would  have 
been  any  kinder.  The  most  experienced  native 
hunter  has  an  idea  that  rifles  are  non-breakable,  and 
a  small  kink  or  bulge  here  and  there  can  make  no 
possible  difference  !  But  this — this  was  too  much. 
I  could  not  order  the  zareba  to  be  cleared,  for  the 
good  reason  we  had  no  zareba,  having  been  too  tired 
the  previous  day  to  form  one.  I  could,  and  did, 
however,  order  the  tents  to  be  struck,  and  mean- 
while Cecily  watched  like  a  detective  at  a  fashionable 
wedding  over  the  treasures.  It  would  have  been 
fairly  easy  to  have  lost  bits  of  our  kit  in  such  crowds. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  197 

Marching  until  about  eleven,  we  settled  down  once 
more,  only  to  be  immediately  disturbed  by  a  messenger 
from  the  head-man  of  the  tribe  just  so  gladly  parted 
from,  who  was  followed  hard  on  his  tracks  by  a  number 
of  horsemen,  streaming  across  the  plain,  threading  in 
and  out  between  the  clumps  of  durr  grass,  the  sun 
glinting  on  their  shining  spears. 

They  very  kindly  wished  to  entertain  us  with  a 
species  of  circus  performance,  known  as  the  dibaltig, 
a  great  equestrian  feat,  carried  out  in  this  case  by 
some  fifty  Somahs  on  typical  native  ponies  got  up  for 
the  occasion — a  veritable  attempt  to  make  silk  purses 
out  of  sow's  ears — in  trappings  of  red,  and  many  tassels. 
Their  riders  were  dressed  in  brilliantly  dyed  tobes  of 
green  and  scarlet  and  blue,  and  each  man  carried  a 
complete  warrior's  kit  of  shield,  spear,  and  short  sword. 
It  was  nice  that  the  performance  did  not  wait  for  us 
to  go  to  it,  but  placed  itself  right  in  our  way  like  this 
— a  great  improvement  on  the  system  of  amusements 
at  home.  Our  men  gave  up  all  idea  of  doing  any 
camp  work  for  the  time,  and  stood  in  an  admiring 
throng  in  a  half-circle  behind  Cecily  and  myself, 
who  were  allowed  a  box  each  to  sit  on. 

On  a  prairie-like  waste  of  sand  the  Somalis  formed  in 
an  even  line,  and  with  the  usual  "  Salaam  aleikum," 
the  show  began.  One  of  the  horsemen  advanced 
slightly,  and  still  sitting  in  his  peaked  saddle,  began 
to  sing  a  long  chant.  I  do  not  know  if  he  was  chosen 
as  chorister  because  of  some  hereditary  right  in  his 
family,  or  by  favour,  or  because  of  the  fancied  ex- 
cellence of  his  voice.     With  every  singer  not  all  are 


198  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

pleased.  So  I  will  just  state  that  this  one  sang.  I 
need  not  say  how.  It  is  rude  to  look  a  gift  horse  in 
the  mouth,  and  this  was  a  free  entertainment.  The 
warbler  continued  his  romance  and  paean  in  various 
tones  for  a  long  time  when,  suddenly,  at  a  more  screech- 
ing note  than  usual,  every  man  left  the  line  and  galloped 
frantically  about  the  sand,  never  knocking  into  each 
other,  throwing  spears  with  all  their  force  here,  there, 
and  everywhere,  to  catch  them  up  again  as  the  ponies 
dashed  past.  The  pace  grew  hotter,  and  presently 
each  rider  was  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dust,  and  we 
could  only  see  the  energetic  frantic  forms  through  a 
maze  of  sand.  It  reached  us  and  set  us  coughing. 
The  riders  seemed  almost  to  lift  the  ponies  by  the  grip 
of  the  knees  and  the  balance  seemed  perfect,  and  the 
greatest  surprise  was  that  something  other  than  the 
ground  was  not  jabbed  by  the  flying  spears.  Some 
good  throwers  could  attain  a  distance  of  about  seventy 
to  eighty  yards. 

They  all  careered  about  like  possessed  creatures  in 
a  turmoil  of  tossed  up  sand  and  wild  excitement, 
when,  at  a  signal  may  be,  but  I  saw  none,  back  the 
whole  lot  raced,  straight  like  an  arrow  from  a  bow, 
so  swiftly,  I  thought  we  should  be  ridden  over.  But 
of  course  we  had  to  sit  tight,  and  pretend  we  were  not 
in  fear  and  trembling  about  the  issue  of  so  furious  a 
charge.  The  poor  ponies  were  reined  in  at  our  very 
feet  so  jerkily  and  cruelly  that  the  blood  started 
from  the  overstrained  corners  of  their  mouths.  Then 
crowding  around  us,  jostling  and  pushing  each  other, 
the  animals  gasped  and  panted  their  hearts  out.     I 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  199 

longed  to  take  the  whole  lot  to  the  wells  to  drink  ? 
but  of  course  we  had  to  go  through  the  ceremonial 
properly.  The  dibaltig  is  a  Somali  way  of  doing  honour 
or  paying  allegiance,  and  is  only  performed  at  the 
election  of  a  Sultan,  or  for  the  offering  of  deference 
due  to  an  English  traveller. 

With  spears  held  aloft  the  Somalis  united  in  the 
strident  familiar  "  Mot  !  Mot  !  Mot  !  io  Mot  !  "  (Hail  ! 
Hail  !  Hail  !  again  Hail  !) — to  which,  as  a  safe  remark, 
I  replied  "  Mot  !  "  The  wrong  thing,  of  course,  and 
Clarence,  who  stood  just  behind,  whispered  I  was  to 
say  "  Thank  you,"  which  I  did  in  Somali,  very  badly. 

Then  we  invited  our  circus  party  to  a  meal,  and  I 
said  if  they  could  produce  a  couple  of  sheep  from 
somewhere  I  would  pay  for  the  banquet.  We  got 
through  all  right,  but  the  whole  of  the  day  was  taken 
up  with  the  princely  entertainment.  The  sheep  duly 
arrived,  and  the  entire  camp  helped  to  roast  them, 
when  with  bowls  of  rice  and  ghee  as  a  top  up,  every 
one  made  merry  at  our  expense.  We  bestowed  a  few 
presents  also,  of  which  the  most  successful  was  a 
tusba,  wooden  beads  to  be  counted  in  prayer  saying. 
I  was  sorry  we  had  not  provided  ourselves  with  more  of 
these  to  give  away,  as  they  seemed  so  intensely  popular. 
Cecily  gave  one  Berserk  a  piece  of  gay  red  ribbon,  and 
he  seemed  very  much  delighted.  They  do  not  care 
for  things  of  which  no  use  can  be  made,  as  they  are  not  a 
silly  nation.  Red  scarves  and  ribbon  can  always  be 
used  up  effectively  for  the  ponies'  trappings  on  dibaltig 
and  other  great  occasions. 

We  managed  to  effect  an  exchange  here.     I  wanted 


200  TWO   DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

a  couple  of  the  native  dyed  blue  and  red  khaili  tobes  to 
take  home  as  souvenirs,  so  Clarence  managed  it  for 
us  by  handing  over  two  new  white  ones,  a  turban, 
and  a  couple  of  iron  tent  pegs.  These  last  were  great 
treasures,  as  they  can  be  fashioned  into  spear  heads. 
The  throwing  spear  is  a  cruel  barbed  affair,  but  some  are 
plain.  Accurately  pitched  it  is  a  deadly  weapon, 
and  the  Somali  as  he  throws  gives  the  spear  a  smart 
knock  on  the  palm  of  his  hand,  which  conveys  an 
odd  trembling  that  keeps  the  shaft  straight  as  it  flies 
through  the  air.  The  spear  blades  take  different 
shapes  in  the  different  tribes,  but  shields  seem  to  be  of 
uniform  pattern — of  oryx,  rhino,  or  other  leather, 
made  with  a  handle  at  the  back. 

We  did  a  short  march  in  the  evening  and  were  spared 
the  trouble  of  building  a  zareba,  and  like  cuckoos, 
took  up  a  place  in  a  nest  of  some  one's  making.  It  had 
been  evacuated  long  enough  to  be  fairly  clean,  and 
did  us  well  with  a  little  patching.  Ant-hills  around  us 
were  so  numerous  we  seemed  in  the  centre  of  some 
human  settlement.  That  night  a  leopard  entered  our 
zareba  and,  regardless  of  the  fires  and  the  watch, 
clawed  one  of  the  ponies  badly,  being  only  driven  off 
by  having  a  rifle  fired  at  him.  Even  at  such  close 
quarters  the  bullet  found  no  billet,  as  there  was  no 
sign  of  the  blood  trail.  We  could  clearly  see  the  spot 
where  our  visitor  entered  ;  the  thorn  was  lower  and 
weaker  there.  We  decided  to  remain  over  the  next 
night  and  try  and  catch  him.  I  gave  orders  for  some- 
body to  ride  back  towards  the  camp  of  our  dibaltig 
friends  and,  if  possible,  buy  a  goat  for  tying  up.     Mean- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  201 

while,  Cecily  and  I  went  out  on  a  sort  of  prospecting  ex- 
cursion. We  actually  came  on  some  water  oozing  up 
through  a  rock,  not  standing  or  sluggish.  So  we  sent 
a  man  back  to  camp  to  tell  the  head  camel  man  to 
have  out  all  his  animals  and  water  them  whether  they 
wanted  it  or  not. 

We  struck  a  well-defined  caravan  route,  probably  the 
road  to  Wardare  over  the  Marehan.  We  arrived  by  a 
more  direct  line  from  Galadi.  Game  is  always  scarcer  on 
frequented  ways,  so  we  turned  off  into  the  wilderness. 

A  rocky  nullah  lay  to  our  left,  and  we  caught  a 
glimpse  of  a  fine  hysena  looking  over  the  country. 
He  stood  on  the  summit  of  a  pile  of  whitish  rock, 
clearly  outlined,  and  as  he  winded  us,  or  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  leading  figures,  he  was  off  his  pinnacle 
with  a  mighty  bound  and  away  into  the  adad  bushes 
behind  him.  A  little  farther  we  came  on  fresh  lion 
spoor,  and  followed  it  up  only  to  overrun  it.  The 
ground  here  was  for  the  most  part  so  stony  and  baked 
up  it  was  impossible  to  track  at  all.  We  held  on, 
searching  in  circles  and  then  pursuing  the  line  we 
thought  most  likely.  We  were  more  than  rewarded. 
Under  a  shady  guda  tree  lay  a  vast  lioness  with  year- 
old  cub.  Our  men  ran  in  different  directions  to  cut 
off  the  retreat,  but  we  called  to  them  to  come  back. 
We  had  quite  enough  skins  without  trying  to  deplete 
the  country  of  a  lioness  at  this  stage  of  the  expedition, 
especially  as  the  cub  was  small,  and  not  yet  thoroughly 
able  to  right  his  own  battles.  She  would  have  to 
wage  war  for  herself  and  him.  I  dislike  all  wholesale 
slaughter ;  it  ruins  any  sporting  ground. 


202  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Interested,  we  watched  the  two  cats  cantering  off, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  far  out  into  the  open  country 
beyond  our  ken.  Our  men  whispered  among  them- 
selves. We  were  out  with  the  second  hunter,  as 
Clarence  was  occupied  in  camp.  They  were  puzzled 
evidently.  As  a  result  of  a  long  course  of  noticing 
that  to  many  white  shikaris  a  lion  is  a  lion,  and  has  no 
sex  or  age,  it  seemed  to  the  native  mind  a  remarkably 
odd  circumstance  that  we  made  no  effort  at  all  to  bag 
two  specimens  at  one  fell  swoop.  I  never  had  any 
scruples  about  killing  hyaenas.  They  are  not  to  be 
classed  as  among  the  more  valuable  fauna,  being  so 
numerous  and  productive,  and  such  low-down  sneaking 
creatures,  doing  such  harm  among  the  herds  and 
karias,  carrying  off  the  children  so  frequently,  and 
always  maltreating  the  face,  as  if  with  some  evil 
design,  voraciously  tearing  it  before  it  commences  on 
any  other  part. 

We  entered  a  little  forest  of  khansa  and  adad, 
sombre  and  dark.  But  in  the  great  tunnellings  it 
was  possible  to  see  ahead  for  a  fair  distance.  We  were 
just  examining  a  bit  of  gum-arabic  with  faint  tracery 
on  it  when  a  hunter  pulled  my  sleeve.  There,  a  great 
way  off,  going  with  the  wind,  moving  with  a  rolling 
gait,  was  a  lion  ;  head  carried  low  as  is  their  wont,  and 
going  along  at  a  smart  pace.  Signing  to  the  syce  to 
stand  there  with  the  ponies,  Cecily  and  I  rushed  down 
the  path  the  lion  had  taken.  But  we  never  sighted 
him  again.  The  jungle  grew  thicker,  and  it  was 
getting  late,  so  we  were  forced  to  abandon  the  stalk, 
returning  to  our  distant  camp  after  a  blank  day. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  203 

The  goat  had  been  procured,  and  after  supper  we 
had  it  tied  in  between  the  fences  of  the  zareba.  Our 
stolen  homestead  being  of  native  make,  I  had  a  great 
loop-hole  made  for  me  in  the  inner  circle  and  remained 
inside  our  main  camp.  You  have  to  do  this  miserable 
form  of  sport  to  bag  leopards,  because  they  are  too 
cunning  as  a  rule  to  appear  in  the  day-time,  and 
rarely  walk  about  in  the  open  way  lions  will.  There 
is  nothing  magnificent  about  the  character  of  a  leopard. 
He  is  a  mere  cunning  thief.  j 

A  rush,  and  the  leopard  was  on  his  prey,  his  side 
towards  me,  his  tail  slowly  lashing  from  left  to  right 
with  pleasure  as  he  drank  the  warm  blood.  I  carefully 
sighted.  It  was  not  a  dark  night,  and  I  simply  couldn't 
miss.  Bang  !  Then  the  second  barrel.  The  whole 
caravan  turned  out,  and  buzzed  like  disturbed  bees, 
one  or  two  wakeful  spirits  singing  the  chant  they 
keep  for  the  occasion  of  the  killing  of  some  dangerous 
beast.  I  had  the  leopard  kept  as  he  was  until  morning, 
when  I  examined  him  to  find  he  was  of  the  Marehan 
variety,  or  hunting  leopard,  quite  different  to  his  first 
cousin  Fclis  pardus.  His  head  was  smaller,  and  much 
more  cunning  looking,  and  he  was  distinguished  from 
the  panther  by  non -retractile  claws.  He  was  fawn  in 
colour,  and  his  teeth  were  old  and  much  worn. 

It  took  two  men  now  pretty  well  all  their  time  to 
see  after  the  trophies,  and  bar  the  way  they  went  on 
with  anything  to  do  with  wart-hog,  they  really  were 
most  assiduous  and  careful.  At  first  the  men  actually 
routed  us  out  every  time  the  loading-up  commenced 
in  order  that  we  should   put   bits  of   pig   on   to   the 


204  TWO    DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

pack  camels  !  We  struck.  It  was  going  a  little  too 
far.  We  made  a  huge  fuss,  and  some  one,  probably 
the  cook,  who  seemed  a  more  casual  person  than  most, 
attended  to  this  little  matter  from  that  time  onwards, 
and  things  went  quite  smoothly.  I  am  sure  these 
scruples  about  pigs  are  very  largely  labour-saving 
dodges. 

Next  morning  as  we  marched  we  came  on  a  half- 
eaten  lesser  koodoo,  surrounded  by  a  lot  of  kites, 
vultures,  and  white  carrion  storks,  tall,  imposing- 
looking  birds.  We  shot  one  to  cure  as  a  specimen, 
damaging  it  rather.  It  had  a  horrid  smell,  but  was 
very  handsome.  One  of  the  hunters  skinned  it  at 
our  next  camp. 

The  American  who  was  out  with  Clarence  on  his 
last  big  shikar  seemed  to  have  been  outrageously  free 
and  easy  in  his  dealings  with  the  men.  In  fact,  in 
one  or  two  trifling  ways  such  habits  as  we  heard  of 
had  rather  been  to  Clarence's  detriment.  A  very 
little  encouragement  breeds  too  great  familiarity  in 
any  native  of  narrow  mind.  I  do  not  mean  to  infer 
that  Clarence  presumed,  or  that  his  judgment  was 
ever  at  fault  in  his  dealings  with  us,  merely  that  I  was 
annoyed  to  hear  some  of  his  stories  relating  to  the 
terms  on  which  the  men  of  the  camp  were  on  with 
the  free  and  open-hearted  Yankee.  One  would  think 
that  an  American,  with  the  nigger  problem  ever  before 
him,  would  be  more  stand-offish  than  most  people. 
May  be  he  considered  himself  on  a  real  holiday,  and 
let  his  national  socialistic  tendencies  run  riot.  This 
is  not  "  writ  sarcastic,"  for  I'm  a  Socialist  myself,  and 


>  )     1      )    1 


1       )  >»  .     , 

A 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  205 

if  I  were  a  professional  politician  I  should  be  a  Socialist 
of  a  kind  that  very  soon,  in  our  time,  will  be  the 
usual  type  all  over  the  world.  At  present,  the  Social- 
ists, by  going  too  far,  by  plucking  the  fruit  ere  it  is 
ripe,  have  brought  ridicule  on  themselves  and  their 
cause,  and  by  associating  themselves  with  nihilists, 
anarchists,  and  destructionists  generally,  have  alienated 
the  sympathy  of  all  moderate,  gradual,  and  practical 
reformers.  The  days  for  revolutions  have  gone  by, 
and  the  reforms  urgently  required  by  almost  every 
European  nation  can  take  place  without  the  painting 
red  of  the  great  cities. 

Gracious  !  I  am  digressing  !  And  talking  like  a 
suffragette  !  This  is  supposed  to  be  a  book  on  sport 
— mostly.  Other  things  will  creep  in,  and  come 
crowding  to  my  pen,  crying,  "  Put  me  down  !  Put  me 
down  !  "  But — a  big  But :  did  you  ever  know  a 
woman  stick  to  the  point  ? 

Everywhere  we  came  on  ancient  elephant  tracks, 
but  I  think  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find  any 
sort  of  a  specimen.  We  heard  of  none  having  been 
seen  for  years,  yet  it  has  always  been  understood 
that  at  no  distant  time  this  part  of  the  Haweea  was  a 
resort  for  herds  of  the  great  pachyderms. 

We  were  now  not  more  than  a  week's  trek  of  the 
east  coast  line.  Wonderful  !  Or  we  thought  it  so 
who  had  marched  from  Berbera.  At  our  next  halt 
we  came  on  a  lake,  a  real  lake,  a  delightful  spot,  quite 
a  good-sized  sheet  of  water,  125  yards  or  so  across, 
and  formed  in  a  basin  of  gypsum-like  rock.  We  had 
not  seen  so  much  water  en  masse  since  leaving  the  sea, 


206  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

and  were  so  overjoyed  and  charmed  with  it  that  we 
ordered  the  tents  to  be  placed  on  the  verge,  so  that 
the  ripples  lapped  up  to  our  very  feet.  It  was  quite 
sea-side}^,  or  perhaps,  more  than  anything,  reminiscent 
of  a  park  at  home,  for  all  varieties  of  birds  floated  on 
the  surface  and  waded  on  the  edge.  When  I  threw 
broken  biscuit  to  them  they  paddled  to  me  in  their 
dozens,  flying  over  each  other  in  the  hurry  to  be  first. 

Of  course,  a  swim  was  what  appealed  most  to  us. 
To  be  wet  all  over  at  one  time  instead  of  furtive  dabs 
with  a  damp  sponge  seemed  the  acme  of  desirability. 
It  seemed  difficult  of  accomplishment.  I  don't  care 
for  mixed  bathing  at  home — if  the  usual  percentage  of 
some  twenty  women  to  three  men  can  be  called  "  mixed  " 
— and  then  there  was  the  awkwardness  about  kit.  Cecily 
suggested,  in  evil  moment,  cutting  up  the  khaili  tobes. 
And  we  did,  fashioning  them  into  bathing-suits 
during  the  hot  hours  of  the  afternoon,  when  we  should 
have  been  using  them.  The  result  might  not  have 
passed  at  Ostend  ;  they  were  a  succcs  fou  at  Sinna- 
dogho.  On  giving  orders  that  the  lake  was  to  be 
reserved  for  us  at  five  o'clock — the  men,  who  were 
good  swimmers,  having  been  dashing  in  and  out  all 
day — the  whole  camp  lined  up  to  see  the  Mem-sahibs 
in  a  new  phase.  It  was  funny.  We  had  made  the 
tunics  sleeveless,  and  from  the  wrist  up  our  skin  was 
as  white  as  white  could  be,  but  from  the  wrist  down 
we  were  Somali  colour  to  our  fingertips. 

We  ran  in  out  of  our  tents,  and  words  cannot  tell 
how  glorious  that  swim  was.  We  dived,  we  raced, 
we  floated,  we  dabbled,  until  at  last  we  knew  we  must 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  207 

get  out,  for  the  water  was  quite  cold.  It  was  altogether 
a  rarity  in  Somaliland.  The  result  will  seem  absurd, 
I  know.  Those  wretched  khaili  tobes  !  The  dye 
came  straight  out  of  them  when  wet,  and  on  to  us- 
We  found  ourselves  converted  into  woaded  Britons  ! 
It  was  quite  a  catastrophe,  if  ridiculous,  and  bothered  us 
considerably,  and  at  night,  very  late,  when  it  was 
quite  dark,  we  went  across  to  the  other  side  of'  the  lake 
and  had  a  real  good  scrub  with  any  amount  of  water 
to  draw  on.  Coming  back,  something  started  up  so 
close  to  me,  I  felt  it  brush  my  hand — something  furry. 
A  wild  dog,  I  imagine,  for  we  saw  many  next  day. 

It  was  an  absolute  joy  to  breakfast  by  the  cool 
rippling  waters,  and  we  could  hardly  bear  to  leave  it  to 
strike  on  to  Joh,  so  remained  all  day,  and  then,  in  the 
late  afternoon,  regretfully  said  "good-bye."  After 
a  short  march  we  came  on  another  small  lake,  not  a 
patch  on  Sinnadogho,  but  we  liked  it  because  it  was 
wet.  The  country  now  was  of  the  most  rolling  descrip- 
tion, intensely  stony,  with  small  rounded  hills  like 
Atlantic  billows,  and  in  between  good  grass  and 
grazing  for  many  camels.  On  the  top  of  each  rise 
there  was  thorn  jungle,  thick  or  sparse,  and  stunted- 
looking  guda  trees.  It  was  a  most  peculiar  tract' 
holding  on  like  this  for  some  way.  We  came  on  herds 
of  camels  and  goats  grazing,  this  time  in  charge  of 
men,  and  no  karia  seemed  visible  for  miles.  We  pro- 
cured some  camel's  milk  for  the  men,  as  it  is  such  a 
treat  to  them.  We  ourselves,  however,  liked  it  no 
better  than  before. 

A  Somali  shepherd  wished  to  tack  on  to  us  here, 


208  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

deserting  his  charge,  and  as  he  seemed  so  very  keen 
about  it,  and  Clarence  said  he  could  do  with  another 
man,  we  assented.  It  is  the  dream  with  some  of  thest 
jungle  people  to  taste  the  sweets  of  civilisation,  make 
money,  and  then  return  to  his  tribe,  acquiring  many 
camels  and  wealth  of  goats  and  sheep,  and  it  is  very 
strange  that  in  no  time  he  becomes  a  jungly  person 
again,  casting  off  the  trammels  of  civilisation  with  ease 
after  having  lived  perhaps  for  two  or  three  years  in  the 
service  of  a  white  man.  A  very  good  thing  it  is  so 
too.  For  the  savage  who  lives  in  the  wild  is  far  more 
to  be  admired,  and  is  altogether  a  more  estimable 
creature  than  the  savage  who  drives  you  about  Aden, 
or  hauls  your  boxes  about  at  Berbera.  Like  many 
other  wanderers,  he  learns  the  white  man's  follies  and 
faults  and  none  of  his  better  attributes. 

And  so  it  comes  about,  once  in  a  while,  you  enter  a 
karia,  with  every  evidence  of  native  domesticity  about 
it,  and  are  greeted  by  the  village  head-man  without  the 
usual  "  Nabad,"  or  "  Salaam  aleikum,"  and  in  great 
amaze,  you  hear  an  English  salutation. 

We  camped  for  the  night  at  a  place  of  deep  stone 
wells.  If  game  seemed  scarce,  water  was  plentiful. 
Next  day  we  came  on  a  Somali  encampment  where 
lions  were  provided  against  and  so  must  occasionally 
come  to  call.  All  manner  of  scare-lions  were  set  about 
the  zareba,  torn  herios  arranged  flag-like  on  broken 
spears,  and  an  ingenious  scheme  for  making  a  scratching 
noise  in  a  wind  amused  us  very  much.  It  was  a  rough 
piece  of  iron,  strung  on  a  bit  of  leather  rope,  and  its 
duty  was  to  scrape  against  a  flint  set  in  a  contrivance 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  209 

of  wood.  Poor  protections  against  so  fierce  a  foe  as 
a  lion  !  This  tribe  seemed  none  too  friendly,  and  we 
put  a  couple  of  miles  between  us  ere  we  camped. 

We  sighted  a  dibatag  buck,  shy  as  a  hawk.  This 
was  a  part  of  the  country  destitute  of  game  apparently. 
Only  the  useful  dik-dik  abode  with  us  to  fill  the  pot.     ; 

To  Joh  next  day.  There  was  nothing  to  tell  us  it 
was  Joh,  any  more  than  Bob  or  Tom.  The  only 
reason  it  had  for  being  specified  as  a  place  at  all  was  that 
it  had  a  very  superior  well  with  running  water.  Even 
that  did  not  please  half  the  caravan,  for  we  saw  them, 
in  preference,  choose  a  dirty  mud-hole  and  drink  from 
it.  We  did  a  big  day's  excursion  into  the  jungle,  trying 
to  come  on  spoor  of  any  animal  where  spoor  was  not. 
As  a  resort  for  game  this  part  of  Somali]  and  seems 
unpopular.  I  cannot  think  why.  Were  I  a  lion,  far 
rather  would  I  haunt  the  shores  of  the  lake  at  Sinna- 
dogho  than  grill  on  the  sands  of  the  Ogaden. 


CHAPTER  XV 

ANOTHER  GAP  IN  OUR  RANKS 

Give  thy  thoughts  no  tongue 

Hamlet 

Ay,  but  to  die,  and  go  we  know  not  where 

Measure  for  Measure 

The  poor  pony  which  the  leopard  had  pounced  upon 
was  now  in  grievous  plight,  hardly  able  to  drag  itself 
along,  and  the  condition  of  his  wounds,  though  we 
had  done  all  we  could,  can  better  be  imagined  than 
described.  I  judged  it  kindest  to  read  the  death 
warrant,  and  the  unfortunate  creature  was  led  away 
from  camp,  going  very  painfully,  to  be  shot.  His 
knell  rang  out  as  we  were  dressing,  and  rather  spoilt 
our  breakfast.  We  had  grown  by  this  time  to  be 
quite  fond  of  all  the  ponies ;  even  "  Sceptre  "  counted 
as  a  friend  of  standing. 

Leaving  Joh  about  8.30,  we  passed  the  spot  where 
the  men  had  buried  our  steed,  not  deeply,  I  fear,  and 
as  the  caravan  came  up  a  great  horde  of  yellowish 
animals  ceased  their  depredations  and  made  off. 
Cecily,  who  was  walking,  dropped  one,  I  am  glad  to 
say,  and  the  others  loped  away  at  break-neck  speed. 
It  was  a  fine  vicious-looking  animal,  the  sort  of  creature 
you  would  not  care  to  meet  if  it  happened  to  be  hungry, 
and  we  afterwards  knew  it  to  be  a  Cape  hunting-dog. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  211 

There  were  dabs  of  black  and  white  here  and  there  on 
its  thick  khaki-coloured  coat,  and  the  tail  was  immense, 
and  white  tipped.  Each  foot  had  but  four  toes,  with 
much- worn  claws.  We  delayed  progress  for  a  little 
while  for  the  skin  to  be  secured.  Meanwhile,  we  rode 
off  a  short  distance  and  sighted  some  gereniik,  far  out 
of  range,  and  dik-dik  in  multitudes  popped  up. 

We  got  into  some  thick  thorn  cover,  too  dense  for 
the  ponies'  comfort,  after  a  short  ten  minutes,  and 
turning,  on  another  path,  we  startled  some  large 
animal  which  crashed  off  in  front  of  us.  We  separated, 
dashing  different  ways,  to  try  and  cut  whatever  it  was 
off,  and  saw  a  reddish  antelope  careering  away  across 
a  small  open  expanse.  It  was  a  gereniik,  hornless  ; 
a  doe,  of  course — I  say  "  of  course,"  because  our  luck, 
or  rather  the  lack  of  it,  in  this  part  of  the  world,  was 
most  depressing.  To  have  endured  that  Marehan 
Desert  for  such  "  sport  "  as  this  !  We  kicked  our- 
selves, figuratively  speaking,  every  day. 

Our  next  halt  at  a  place  garnished  with  a  name  was 
El  Dara.  "  El  "  in  Somali  parlance  means  "  well," 
so  anything  "El  "  signifies  water  ought  to  be  in  the 
vicinity.  Very  often  it  isn't.  But  it  ought  to  be — 
like  a  good  many  other  things. 

I  don't  see  how  any  one  could  master  the  Somali 
language  thoroughly — any  foreigner,  I  mean.  There 
are  no  books  to  be  got  about  it,  because  the  language 
has  not  as  yet  been  reduced  or  elevated  by  pen  and 
ink.  Reading  anything  seems  an  intense  puzzle  to 
the  native  mind,  and  to  be  able  to  do  it  raises  one 
miles  in  their  estimation  !     Only  the  scholars  can  read 


212  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  Koran  in  Arabic.  It  would  not  be  to  the  advantage 
of  the  mullahs  if  any  one  and  every  one  could  accom  - 
plish  this  feat.  Not  one  of  our  men  could  even  write, 
much  less  read. 

I  had  taken  a  couple  of  favourite  books  along  with 
me,  as  every  traveller  must  who  will  be  away  from 
libraries  and  would  yet  change  literary  diet.  In  my 
moments  of  leisure  for  reading  I  accompanied  Elizabeth 
in  Rugen,  or  wandered  with  her  through  that  solitary 
summer.  She  was  very  good  to  me,  but  she  bored 
Clarence  almost  to  tears.  I  read  him  a  little  one 
afternoon  in  response  to  his  demands  to  know  what 
the  book  was  all  about,  and  after  a  short  while,  thinking 
he  was  very  quiet,  I  looked  up  ;  the  vandal  slept ! 

Sunday  again. 

After  the  great  heat  of  the  early  hours  of  the  after- 
noon we  made  another  start,  heading  straight  now  for 
the  return  journey  over  the  Marehan.  Cecily  bagged 
a  couple  of  dik-dik  out  of  a  bunch  of  three.  All  those 
hereabouts  did  not  find  the  two-is-company  axiom 
worth  considering,  and  ran  about  everywhere  in 
threes.  We  secured  two  guinea  fowl,  too,  for  future 
meals.  They  were  decidedly  gamey  by  night  ;  the 
heat  was  so  against  keeping  any  sort  of  meat.  I  very 
often  thought  this  unceasing  pondering  on  what 
could  be  provided  for  the  next  feast  made  for  dreadful 
greediness.  When  we  pitched  tents  Clarence  reported 
that  one  of  the  camel  men  very  sick.  "  Him  die  all 
right."  I  was  not  very  much  put  about,  because  by 
this  I  had  learned  the  Somali  ways,  and  knew  that 
every  one  of  them  considers  himself  at  the  portals  of 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  213 

death's  door  if  he  has  merely  a  pain  somewhere.  They 
cannot  be  called  cowards  by  any  means,  and  will  bear 
pain  well  enough  when  it  comes,  but  in  minor  illnesses 
they  cave  in  sooner  than  any  other  nation  I  have  come 
across,  and  get  so  terribly  alarmed  about  themselves. 
Theirs  is  not  the  stoicism  of  the  American  Indian,  in 
matters  large  and  small,  the  delightful  sangfroid  of 
the  Chinaman  is  absent,  and  the  calm  of  the  English- 
man unknown.  We  had  really,  up  to  now,  been 
singularly  fortunate  in  the  health  of  the  caravan,  and 
most  of  the  minor  ills  from  which  the  men  had  suffered 
could  fairly  have  been  ascribed  to  gorging.  This 
gluttony  over  meat  occasionally  landed  them  into 
double-distilled  bilious  attacks. 

I  was  in  a  frightful  tantrum  with  some  one — of 
course  nobody  would  own  to  being  the  delinquent — 
who  had  dropped,  or  somehow  made  away  with,  the 
very  best  oryx  shield  we  had.  Going  over  the  trophies, 
which  we  knew  individually,  I  missed  the  treasure. 
The  immortal  one  counselled  "  Give  thy  thoughts  no 
tongue."  But,  after  all,  he  was  giving  directions  to 
a  young  man  just  about  to  go  out  into  the  world,  and 
had  not  dreamed  of  the  conditions  that  would  govern 
the  loss  of  an  oryx  shield  most  hardly  come  by.  I 
gave  all  the  thoughts  I  had  by  me  vehement  voice, 
and,  more  than  that,  I  borrowed  a  few  from  Cecily. 

We  had  camped  where  there  had  once  been  a  lake 
as  large  as  at  Sinnadogho.  It  was  now  a  mere  hole, 
and  all  the  one-time  springs  were  dry.  Some  Midgan 
hunters  here  gave  us  news  of  having  seen  a  lion  an  hour 
or  so  ago.     No  wonder  they  reported  such  a  find. 


214  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Lions  and  all  other  game  seemed  about  to  follow  the 
dodo  in  these  parts.  We  were  so  thoroughly  disgusted 
now  that  all  our  object  was  to  push  back  to  our  old 
haunts  in  the  Ogaden,  and  enjoy  ourselves  for  the 
short  time  left  to  us  in  the  country.  I  am  not  wilfully 
rubbing  it  in  about  this  Marehan  and  Haweea  locality, 
because  I  myself  hate  bewailing  as  much  as  any  one. 
But,  to  let  you  in  on  the  ground  floor,  all  this  part  of 
the  expedition  was  hateful,  and  our  one  desire  was  to 
get  it  over.  No  wonder  our  shikari  uncle,  wise  in  his 
generation,  had  never  passed  the  Bun  Arnwein.  We 
intended  to  lie  low  about  our  having  done  so  also. 

After  our  temper  had  dwindled  a  little  we  went  to 
see  the  sick  man,  armed  with  a  few  medicines,  and 
our  vexation  merged  into  forge tfulness,  and  then  to 
pity.  The  poor  fellow  lay  on  a  camel  mat,  his  dirty 
tobe  tangled  about  him,  in  acute  pain,  and  often  in 
delirium.  It  could  not  be  a  touch  of  the  sun  very 
well,  for  Somalis  and  the  sun  are  well  acquainted. 
Cecily  suggested  that  dirty  water  of  a  short  time  ago 
as  the  root  of  the  evil,  but  here  again,  had  we  not 
seen  the  men  drinking  quite  as  filthy  water,  and 
thriving  the  better  for  it.  We  really  were  stuck  to 
know  what  to  do,  and  fled  to  our  everlasting  remedy, 
champagne.  It  was  difficult  to  get  any  down,  and  the 
little  we  managed  to  dispose  of  made  no  earthly  differ- 
ence to  the  writhing  man.  Cecily  tried  catapultic 
questions  in  a  Somali  accent  that  came  from  her 
inner  consciousness. 

"  Wurrer  anonesha  "  (head-ache)  ? 

"  Aloche  anonesha  "    (stomach-ache)  ? 


>  >      >      1     >       >      1 


o  >      9  1   1         > 


t  ,  '     1         11 


)       >        1    t  )  »    )     1 


'  'l  ' 
>  ;  >  ,  >  i 


RHINO   AND    ORYX 


■ 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  215 

There  was  no  reply,  and  Cecily  had  expended  all  the 
lingo  she  knew. 

The  man  went  on  suffering  all  night,  and  we  did  all 
we  could,  putting  mustard  leaves  on  his  side  and 
keeping  him  warm,  for  the  nights  here  were  bitterly 
cold.  Ever  and  again  we  tried  to  force  champagne 
between  his  set  teeth.  Of  no  avail.  He  died  about 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Clarence  said  it  was 
Kismet,  but  I  think,  and  always  shall,  it  was  a  newt. 
Anyway,  it  was  something  swallowed  in  that  filthy 
water,  too  much  even  for  the  inner  mechanism  of  a 
Somali. 

Cecily  and  I  retired  to  get  some  sleep  if  possible,  and 
the  men  buried  their  unfortunate  comrade.  We  did 
not  attend,  as  it  is  always  so  intensely  piteous  a 
ceremony — a  burial  without  a  coffin — at  least  to  me 
it  seems  far  worse  than  seeing  a  coffin  put  into  the 
earth.  I  gave  Clarence  a  blanket  to  wrap  our  follower 
in.  He  seemed  amused,  and  certainly  did  not  use  it, 
for  I  saw  him  lapped  in  it  a  night  or  so  later.  I 
rebuked  him,  but  he  said  it  was  a  different  blanket. 
All  men  are  liars,  and  though  an  estimable  servant, 
our  head-man  was  no  exception  to  the  rule. 

We  investigated  to  see  that  the  funeral  had  been 
conducted  properly,  and  ordered  more  stones  and 
brushwood  to  be  piled  on  top,  such  a  rampart  indeed 
that  Clarence  said  we  were  giving  our  dead  friend  the 
grave  of  a  chief.  Then,  in  the  late  afternoon  we 
marched  away,  leaving  the  lonely  stockade  behind  us. 
Every  man  of  the  caravan  threw  some  grass  upon  the 
grave    and,    touching    their    ears,    prayed    to    Allah. 


216  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Cecily  and  I  could  not  help  feeling  very  sorry,  but  in 
half  an  hour  the  men  had  all  forgotten,  and  marched 
chanting  a  droning  song.  The  camels  that  had  been 
the  charge  of  the  dead  man  now  were  controlled  by  a 
lively  little  fellow,  and  the  whole  incident  seemed  of 
no  moment. 

Any  amount  of  wild  geese  abode  here.  It  was 
rather  like  keeping  a  vast  poultry  farm.  The  birds 
were  so  ridiculously  tame  and  easily  caught.  At  our 
next  trek  we  should  have  to  consider  the  return  journey 
across  the  Marehan  as  begun,  and  we  should  not  be 
likely  to  make  any  water  for  five  or  six  days.  Every- 
thing was  carefully  filled  up,  and  the  march  commenced 
at  3.30  a.m.  The  net  result  of  this  Marehan  excursion 
was  one  leopard  and  one  wild  dog,  which  we  would 
just  as  soon  have  been  without  as  with.  They  may 
be  hard  to  shoot,  and  come  on — I  have  heard  so — but 
take  it  how  you  like,  with  everything  said  that  can 
be  to  belaud  them  into  valuable  treasures,  dogs  aren't 
very  grand  trophies  when  all  is  done.  Who  values  a 
coyote  in  Canada  ? 

We  passed  thousands  of  grazing  camels.  The  men 
in  charge  weren't  bothering  about  water  at  all,  but 
drank  milk  only.  I  arranged  with  Clarence  that  our 
men  were  to  go  on  to  rations  of  dates,  and  do  without 
rice  for  the  trip  over  the  waterless  desert.  Rice  in 
such  quantities  sucks  up  such  an  amount  of  water, 
and  it  was  safer  to  keep  it  for  drinking  purposes  merely. 
The  dates  are  very  nutritious,  and  natives  often  live 
on  nothing  else  for  days. 

We  camped   about   eleven   o'clock,   when   the  sun 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  217 

grew  too  fierce  to  let  us  proceed.  We  did  a  few  more 
miles  in  the  evening.  Every  hour  we  were  not  on 
trek  we  spent  in  exhausted  sleep.  Even  as  we  marched 
I  was  often  in  a  condition  of  somnolence  that  pre- 
vented my  guiding  the  pony  in  the  least. 

We  passed  a  fine  range  of  mountains,  said  to  be 
alive  with  leopards.  We  saw  the  tracks  of  several, 
but  time  did  not  permit  of  a  stalk.  However,  one 
came  to  stalk  us,  very  thoughtfully,  and  saved  us  a 
lot  of  trouble.  We  made  the  round  of  the  camp  that 
night  very  late  before  turning  in  to  see  that  all  was 
extra  safe.  The  camels  were  lying  in  rows,  some  with 
heads  outstretched  flat,  snake-like,  on  the  sand, 
asleep,  others  chewing  the  cud,  watching  us  lazily  with 
keen  bright  eyes  threading  our  way  among  the  debris 
of  the  stores.  Our  candle  lamps  were  hardly  needed 
here,  the  bright  fires  lighted  us  to  bed,  and  we  had 
but  just  settled  down  when  the  most  prodigious 
shouting  and  banging  of  tin  pans  together  roused  us 
up  again.  Then  two  shots  reverberated  on  the  night. 
By  the  time  I  was  sufficiently  clad  to  emerge  with 
propriety  the  camp  was  more  or  less  calm  again,  save 
for  a  few  men  jabbering  in  excited  groups.  The  ponies 
stood  in  a  bunch,  and  one  or  two  of  the  camels  had 
risen.  A  leopard  had  jumped  the  zareba,  but  was 
immediately  turned  by  having  a  piece  of  lighted 
brushwood  thrust  in  his  face.  One  of  the  hunters  had 
fired  after  the  retreating  animal,  and  claimed  to  have 
hit  it.  As  no  man  of  the  black  persuasion  cares  to  go 
outside  a  zareba  at  night,  all  investigations  had  to  be 
put  off  until  day-break,  when,  without  waiting  for 


218  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND 

breakfast,  we  hurried  out  to  see  what  we  should 
see. 

The  hunter  was  right.  The  blood  trail  was  plain, 
and  held  on  at  intervals  for  a  mile  or  more,  when  it 
led  us  to  a  flimsy  bit  of  thorn  growing  in  some  rocky 
cover.  Stones  and  shouts  did  not  serve  to  eject  our 
visitor  of  the  night  before,  but  we  heard  his  singing 
snarls.  Posting  ourselves  some  hundred  yards  away, 
for  a  wounded  leopard  is  not  likely  to  prove  an  amiable 
customer,  Clarence  made  some  fire  alongside  us  with 
another  hunter  by  twirling  the  fire  stick.  And  as 
soon  as  the  flame  burst  from  the  timber  he  fostered 
it  with  a  little  durr  grass,  then  using  it  to  ignite  a 
larger  torch,  ran  towards  the  citadel  and  threw  the 
blazing  thing  into  the  midst.  Speedily  the  flames 
took  hold,  burning  all  before  it. 

"Shebel!   Shebel  !  " 

The  leopard  stole  out  from  the  side  of  the  under- 
brush, with  low  crouched  shoulders,  and  made  for  the 
open.  It  limped  badly,  and  lurched  as  it  ran.  I 
wanted  to  clear  the  hunters  who  were  dancing  about 
right  in  the  very  zone  of  fire — a  lot  of  good  shots  are 
spoiled  in  this  way — so  dashed  after  our  prey.  Cecily 
ran  round  the  back  of  the  burning  bush,  and  as  she 
was  nearer,  the  leopard  hearing  the  quick  pad-pad 
after  him  turned,  as  a  cat  does  when  cornered.  With 
ears  flattened  against  the  head  and  a  look  of  most 
vicious  rage  on  the  snarling  face  the  leopard  shot,  all 
wounded  as  he  was,  straight  at  us  like  an  arrow  from 
a  bow.  He  was  a  most  courageous  animal,  but  my 
cousin  dropped  him  with  a  well-planted  bullet,  catching 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  219 

him  in  the  chest.  The  creature  doubled  up  like  a 
caterpillar,  undid  itself,  gave  one  or  two  twists,  doubled 
up  again,  and  finally  dropped  very  near  to  us. 

We  were  anxious  to  get  the  trophy  back  to  camp  for 
the  better  convenience  of  skinning  it,  as  we  were 
already  late  in  starting  the  morning's  march,  but  our 
pony  would  have  none  of  it,  and  at  the  suggestion  of 
burdening  his  usually  willing  little  back  with  the  cat- 
like carcase,  gave  us  to  understand  that  whatever  else 
he  might  carry  at  any  time  it  would  never  be  leopard. 
We  had  to  give  up  the  attempt  at  last,  and  two  hunters 
stayed  behind  to  skin  and  decapitate  the  prize,  coming 
in  to  camp  about  two  hours  after  us.  This  particular 
leopard  differed  slightly  from  the  one  obtained  in  the 
Haweea,  but,  like  all  of  the  leopard  tribe,  it  doubtless 
differed  in  skin  and  colouring  by  reason  of  the  part 
of  the  world  where  it  lived  and  had  its  being.  The 
chin  was  almost  white,  and  it  was  lighter  in  colouring 
all  over.  We  neglected  to  measure  it  when  pegged 
out  for  drying,  but,  dressed,  it  touched  just  six  feet  from 
tip  to  tail.  The  bullet  of  the  night  before  had  passed 
through  the  forearm,  and  I  think  it  would  have  got 
over  its  effects  in  time  nicely. 

Nothing  more  of  any  moment  occurred  on  the 
great  hurried  march.  We  walked,  and  slept,  and  rode 
and  ate,  and  ate,  and  rode,  and  slept,  and  walked. 
The  history  of  those  strenuous  six  days  is  summed  up 
in  these  words.  We  managed  very  well  this  time 
about  the  water,  though  we  ran  things  very  fine  at  the 
ast,  landing  at  wells  with  but  a  quart  in  hand. 

The   last    afternoon   was   rendered   hideous   by   a 


220  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

plague  of  locusts,  and  their  millions  darkened  all  the 
sky,  like  the  big  black  crow  in  Alice's  Adventures 
through  the  Looking-glass,  taking  an  hour  or  more  to 
pass.  Some  didn't  pass  at  all,  but  settled  in  countless 
thousands  on  an  area  of  red  sand,  that  they  changed 
to  rainbow  colours.  Closely  looked  at,  they  are 
the  ordinary  familiar  locust  of  many  countries,  in 
shades  of  green,  yellow,  with  red  spots.  Cecily,  who 
would,  I  believe,  curry  anything,  said  they  ought  to 
taste  like  prawns.  The  insects  quite  forgot  their 
plain  duty — and  didn't.  They  tasted  like — well,  like 
themselves  !  The  shell  of  the  back  was  as  hard  as 
nails,  and  I'm  sure  they  were  meant  to  be  anything 
but  curried. 

At  last,  towards  6.30,  as  the  light  was  not  so  good, 
we  found  ourselves  on  a  plain  again  covered  with 
splendid  trees,  and  we  knew  we  had  left  the  dreary 
waste  of  forsaken  desert  behind  us.  Turning  joyfully 
in  my  saddle  I  waved  my  hand,  crying  Au  revoir. 

"  It's  good-bye  as  far  as  I'm  concerned,"  said 
Cecily  stolidly. 

We  came  to  a  place  of  many  deep  wells,  and  the  men 
went  down  forthwith  and  began  watering  the  animals. 
A  few  busied  themselves  cutting  the  thorn  for  the 
zareba,  whilst  two  more  erected  our  tents.  The 
camels  commenced  to  graze  as  each  one  was  satisfied 
by  a  drink. 

We  rested  under  a  thorn  tree  until,  in  awful  moment, 
we  realised  it  was  already  in  the  possession  of  a  most 
horrible-looking  creature,  a  hateful  monster  who  eyed 
us  from  his  branch  above  us.     We  vacated  our  seats 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  221 

instanter,  but  returned  carefully  to  investigate.  'Twas 
a  hideous  monstrosity  indeed,  alligator-like,  with  yellow 
claws.  In  length  about  a  foot,  with  tail  of  twice  as 
much,  yellow  gray,  with  whitish  markings,  and 
appeared  to  have  no  interest  in  us  or  animosity  towards 
us.  We  knew  it  was  of  the  lizard  fraternity,  and 
afterwards  natural  history  revealed  it  to  us  as  a 
Monitor.  He  disturbed  my  slumbers  all  that  night. 
I  could  not  get  the  hideous  thing  out  of  my  dreams, 
and  my  fancy  peopled  the  tent  with  creatures  of  his 
kind,  and  every  place  on  which  I  would  set  my  foot 
was  covered  with  monitors.  Next  morning  our  friend 
was  still  on  his  perch,  and  we  saw  a  smaller  brother 
on  another  tree.  Common  chameleons  frequented 
this  part  also.  They  lay  thickly  on  the  branches 
of  the  guda  trees,  brown-green,  and  almost  unnotice- 
able. 

That  evening,  as  the  light  was  fading,  I  shot  a 
marabou  stork,  not  often  to  be  met  with  in  these  parts. 
It  was  indeed  a  prize,  and  we  spent  hours  of  semi- 
darkness,  in  a  dim  religious  light,  skinning  our  treasure. 
It  sounds  so  easy — it  seems  nothing — but  try  your 
hand  on  a  common  or  garden  hen,  and  see  if  the 
business  is  as  simple  as  you  think  ?  We  poked  and 
pushed,  and,  I'm  afraid,  tore  a  little,  but  in  the  end 
were  successful,  and  stretched  the  result  to  dry.  The 
splendid  colour  of  the  pouch  of  this  marabou,  which 
was  so  much  admired  by  us,  faded  after  skinning,  and 
was  gone.  The  feathers,  so  reminiscent  of  civilisation, 
and  beloved  of  suburban  fan  proprietors,  were  very 
fine  and  fluffy.    We  measured  the  beak  of  our  trophy, 


222  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

and  it  came  out  at  a  shade  over  eleven  inches,  and  the 
extended  wings  topped  eight  and  a  half  feet. 

We  were  now  on  the  march  through  a  waterless 
tract  again,  but  game  was  once  more  plentiful,  and 
the  men  dined  royally  every  day.  We  not  so  magnifi- 
cently, as  a  whole  boxful  of  our  provisions  had 
mysteriously  disappeared  ;  the  camel  man  in  charge 
said  lost,  but  looted  or  sold  really.  I  kicked  up  a 
frightful  fuss,  but  of  course  that  did  not  bring  back 
the  missing  necessaries.  The  loss  of  the  box  meant 
much  carefulness  to  us,  as  it  would  certainly  be  five 
weeks  or  more  before  we  touched  Berbera,  a  con- 
summation not  wished  for  at  all,  and  even  the  idea 
was  a  vast  regret  to  us.  To  think  that  in  a  short 
space  of  time  we  should  be  in  touch  with  the  world 
again,  that  the  wild  would  call,  and  we,  all  an  ache  of 
desperate  longing,  could  not  reply  !  There  would  be 
nothing  to  compensate  us  for  the  loss  of  the  joys  of  the 
jungle,  no  music  like  unto  the  lion's  roar.  We  should 
listen  in  vain  for  the  whining  bark  of  the  koodoo,  and 
the  weird  calls  of  the  wrangling  hyaenas  prowling 
around  our  zareba  o'  nights  would  echo  only  in 
memory.  To  us  these  things  were  the  heart  of  happi- 
ness, and  to  dream  of  leaving  them  was  pain. 

Ah  me  !     Well,  "  fill  the  cup." 

Cecily  bagged  an  oryx  near  Well- Wall,  a  fine  female, 
ever  the  best  fitted  out  in  the  horn  line  among  this 
species.  It  is  strange  this  should  be  so,  when  the  bulls 
are  so  pugnacious.  The  horns  of  this  trophy  were  in 
perfect  condition,  and  measured  thirty-two  inches. 
The  bird  life  around  us  charmed  us  exceedingly.     I 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  223 

think  our  admiration  for  the  small  birds  puzzled 
Clarence  very  much.  He  made  nothing  of  them.  All 
the  hunters  were  singularly  ignorant  on  the  subject, 
and  could  tell  us  nothing,  not  even  the  names  of  quite 
well-known  finches.  All  the  exquisite  little  things 
were  tame  as  tame  could  be,  willingly  picking  up 
crumbs  as  we  scattered  them  in  the  very  tent.  The 
most  wondrously  coated  starlings  wandered  about  in 
their  inquisitive  habit,  and  made  many  moments  of 
amusement  for  us  with  their  quarrels  and  peacocking 
ways. 

At  Well-Wall  we  got  some  water,  and  camped  for 
the  night.  There  were  many  stray  nomadic  Somalis, 
hunters  mostly,  at  the  water,  some  Midgans,  almost 
in  "  the  altogether."  They  were  a  scraggy,  miserable- 
looking  lot,  with  whom  our  men  got  to  loggerheads 
in  "  the  wee  sma'  hours,"  and,  quarrelling  most  of  the 
night,  made  the  place  hideous  with  their  din,  all 
carried  on,  as  it  was,  on  a  top  note.  I  went  out  once 
to  try  and  silence  them  all,  and  Cecily  had  a  go  at  it 
also,  but  nothing  would  stop  the  incessant  jangle  of 
their  voices.  We  simply  lay  down,  said  things,  and 
wished  for  day. 

When  the  dawn  broke  in  gray  shadows  we  insisted 
on  striking  camp  at  once,  breakfasting  after  a  short 
trek.  The  outcaste  Somalis  followed  us  for  a  long 
way,  begging  for  tobes.  It  seemed  cruel  to  refuse 
them,  but  we  hadn't  enough  to  go  round  even  if  we 
handed  over  our  remaining  stock,  and  really  to  give 
one  tobe,  or  even  two  or  three,  to  such  a  needy  band 
would  be  about  as  much  use  as  to  present  one  brace  of 


224  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

grouse  to  a  hospital.  At  last  we  outdistanced  our 
following,  and  were  able  to  negotiate  breakfast.  How 
I  loved  the  breakfasts  "  out  there  "  in  the  open,  a 
permanent,  everlasting  picnic.  Many  insects  came  to 
breakfast  too,  but  then,  what  would  you  ?  Were  they 
not  all  part  and  parcel  of  this  world  of  happiness  ? 

We  went  on,  and  everywhere  was  beautiful  now  in 
green  splendour ;  the  jungle  had  dressed  itself  anew 
in  robes  of  emerald.  How  exquisite  the  colours,  how 
drowsy  all  the  air  !  Great  golden  cobwebs  hung  from 
thorn  to  thorn,  the  early  sun  scintillating  on  the 
myriad  dewdrops  clinging  to  the  fragile  web.  Ants 
here  lived  in  larger  palaces  than  ever. 

The  only  available  track  lay  through  jungle  as 
dense  as  could  be  negotiated  by  any  caravan.  Pro- 
gress was  very  slow,  and  sometimes  very  annoying. 
Camels  refused  to  move  through  gaps,  necessitating 
unloading  and  reloading,  all  the  time  bothered  by  the 
grabbing  wait-a-bit  thorn.  My  pony  put  his  foot  into 
a  hole  of  sorts  unexpectedly,  and  I  came  a  terrific 
purler  bang  into  a  bunch  of  thorn.  I  daresay  it  was 
a  blessing  in  disguise  and  saved  me  a  bad  shaking,  but 
I  was  grievously  pricked  and  scratched.  Besides,  it 
really  is  a  very  humiliating  feeling  to  be  retrieved  from 
a  thorn  bush  by  a  mere  camel  man.  I  felt  disgraced 
for  ever  as  an  equestrienne.  It  was  a  "  come  off  "  so 
disgracefully  simple. 

At  intervals,  when  the  bush  lightened  a  little,  we 
came  on  spoor  of  lion  and  rhino.  The  latter  again 
whetted  Cecily's  desire  to  come  on  another  of  these 
creatures  and  give  battle.     I  agreed  we  would  track 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  225 

the  spoor  if  she  really  wished  it,  but  after  a  hard  five 
miles  of  really  impossible  going  at  right  angles  from 
our  main  camp  we  quitted  the  chase  for  that  day 
arranging  to  get  up  with  the  sun  and  make  a  real  day 
of  it  after  rhino.  I  admit  I  did  all  I  knew  to  stifle 
these  sporting  longings.  It  seemed  cowardly  of  me 
to  say  "  Go  alone,  if  go  you  must."  But  I  longed  to 
say  it.  I  could  never  forget  the  apparition  of  that 
rhino  going  for  the  Baron,  and — I'll  whisper  it  if 
you'll  come  nearer — where  a  rhinoceros  is  concerned 
I  am  a  contemptible  coward. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CECILY  SHOOTS  A  RHINOCEROS 

The  day  shall  not  be  up  so  soon  as  I, 
To  try  the  fair  adventure  of  the  morn 

King  John 

We  are  blessed  in  this  man,  as  I  may  say,  even  blessed 

Winter's  Tale 

The  sun  shall  not  be  up  so  soon  as  I.  Indeed,  I  had 
a  whole  half-hour's  start  of  him,  while  I  put  my  house  in 
order.  I  prepared  in  my  own  way  for  the  fair  adven- 
ture of  the  morn,  and  told  Cecily  where  to  look  for 
my  will.  She  was  in  wild  spirits,  and  chaffed  me  no 
end.  She  saw  to  her  armoury,  and  asked  me  over  and 
over  to  eat  more.  But  I  said  I  felt  exactly  like  a  man 
about  to  be  hanged,  of  whom  you  read  in  the  next 
day's  papers  :  "  The  prisoner  made  a  most  excellent 
breakfast." 

Out  we  started,  Clarence,  the  Somali  who  joined 
our  forces  at  the  spot  where  the  camels  tried  a  course 
of  mud  baths,  four  hunters,  and  two  syces.  We 
followed  the  old  spoor  for  miles,  but  it  was  at  last 
apparent  that  the  pachyderm  we  were  after  had  by 
this  time  travelled  far  out  of  our  ken.  We  sat  down 
to  cogitate,  and  the  hunters  went  off  spooring  on  a 
detour  of  their  own. 

In   the    thick   jungle   we   disturbed    a   few   baby 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  227 

ostriches.  I  could  not  count  how  many,  because  they 
scattered  right  and  left,  thrown  into  panic  by  the 
shameless  desertion  of  the  little  brood  by  their  father, 
who  making  a  direct  bid  for  his  own  safety,  took  a  bee- 
line  out  of  our  radius.  I  cornered  one  little  fluffy  yellow 
and  black  bird,  and  could  have  caught  him  had  I 
wished.  He  was  about  twelve  inches  high,  very 
important  looking,  and  his  bright  black  boot-button 
eyes  gazed  at  me  unblinkingly.  Stout  little  yellow 
legs  supported  the  tubby  quaint  body,  and  then  I 
let  him  pass  to  gain  solitude  and  his  brothers.  We 
did  not  war  with  ostrich  babies.  I  had  rather  a 
contempt  for  that  cock  bird.  Imagine  leaving  his 
children  like  that !  And  yet,  considered  in  the  abstract, 
an  ostrich  of  all  other  denizens  of  the  wild  world 
stands  for  respectability  and  staunchness  of  purpose. 
He  pairs  for  life.  None  of  your  gad-about  ideas  for 
him.  One  life,  one  love,  is  the  ostrich  motto,  and  if  he 
finds  the  "  Ever  and  ever,  Amen  "  variety  of  domes- 
ticity spells  satiety  almost  invariably,  well,  he  is  no 
different  from  other  two-footed  creatures  we  know. 
Nature  is  the  same  wherever  or  however  we  find  it. 

The  ostrich  does  not  look  a  happy  bird.  His  sad 
pathetic  face  makes  one  think  something  in  this  "sorry 
scheme  of  things  entire  "  does  not  altogether  satisfy. 
What  the  ostrich  really  needs  is  a  matrimonial  system 
whereby  these  birds  might  take  each  other  on  the 
lease  principle,  as  we  do  houses,  with  the  option  of 
renewal.  Things  would  brighten  up  for  them,  I 
am  sure,  considerably.  I  don't  know  how  we  can 
arrange  it,  or  even  put  the  suggestion  to  them.     Perhaps 


228  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

some  intensely  knowing  person  could  arrange  this, 
the  editor  of  the  halfpenny  patron  of  patriotism,  for 
instance.  He  understands  everything.  The  sug- 
gested lease  system  would  add  considerable  zest  to 
life  in  the  ostrich  world,  as  indeed  it  would  in  many 
others.  Just  before  the  lease  fell  in  Madame  Ostrich 
would  assure  her  husband  that  the  very  last  idea  she 
had  would  be  its  renewal.  For  all  masculinity  wants 
is  that,  and  that  only,  which  is  denied  him.  Mr. 
Ostrich  would  feel  that  the  renewal  of  the  lease  was 
the  be-all  of  everything,  and  the  fattest  slugs,  the 
best  bit  of  ground  for  finding  tit-bits  upon,  and  the 
least  prickly  walks  in  the  jungle  would  all  be  offered 
as  persuasive  arguments.  The  general  pleasantness 
would  last  them  both  for  weeks. 

A  hunter  reported  he  had  come  on  a  maze  of  rhino 
tracks.  Allowing  for  the  usual  exaggeration,  we  judged 
one  rhinoceros  might  be  get-at-able.  On  investigation, 
we  found  that  one  had  passed  through  the  thickish 
country,  and  that  very  recently.  Joy  ! — for  Cecily  ! 
Hastily  we  left  our  ponies  in  charge  of  the  syces, 
detailed  two  other  hunters  to  remain  also,  and  with 
the  remaining  followers  prepared  to  stalk.  Often 
the  spoor  was  lost  for  a  hundred  yards  or  so,  but  our 
very  able  shikaris  never  failed  to  pick  it  up  again, 
and  though  the  going  was  exceedingly  heavy,  we 
made  fair  progress.  We  saw  numerous  oryx  and 
dibitag,  one  of  the  latter  passing  so  near  me  that  I 
exchanged  glances  with  her  at  twenty-five  yards. 
But,  of  course,  "  the  likes  of  them  "  were  safe  from 
us  now. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  229 

We  sped  across  an  open  bit,  and  then  into  another 
belt  of  jungle.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  spot  looked 
to  me  as  the  very  place  to  see  a  repetition  of  the  Baron 
disaster.  We  plunged  into  the  ubiquitous  thorn, 
starting  a  frightened  dik-dik  as  I  took  my  header. 
Crawling,  pushing,  scratching,  we  won  our  way  to 
comparatively  clear  ground.  Clarence  raised  his 
hand  for  utter  silence.  We  heard  a  scrunching  and 
breaking  of  thorns.  A  great  beast  was  a-travelling. 
Maybe  he  had  winded  us  or  been  disturbed.  And 
then  "  a  strange  thing  happened."  I,  who  had  been 
absolutely  impassive  up  to  now,  was  drawn  into  the 
mesh  of  desire.  The  effects  of  rhino  shooting  on  me 
is  like  unto  the  results  of  champagne  drinking  on 
Brillat-Savarin,  at  first  (ab  initio)  most  exciting,  after- 
ward (in  recessu)  stupefying.  I  was  now  thoroughly 
game  for  anything.  But  kept  my  reason  in  sufficient 
bounds  to  remember  that  thick  thorn  cover  is  not  an 
ideal  place  to  meet  a  rhino  in. 

We  did  a  most  careful  stalk,  creeping  towards  the 
place  of  the  sounds,  under  Clarence's  complete  direc- 
tions. At  last,  he  alone  pressed  on  with  us,  the 
others  willingly  remaining  where  he  signalled.  WTe 
were  not  now  in  overwhelmingly  thick  thorn,  but 
it  was  too  dense  to  be  pleasant,  and  necessitated  our 
handling  our  rifles  with  the  greatest  care.  After  a 
hard  few  minutes  we  sank  down  to  rest.  Our  rifles 
covered  a  small  clearing. 

The  game  of  all  sizes  had  made  tunnels  through  the 
jungly  place,  high  enough  in  some  parts  for  us  to 
stand  upright,  and  all  seemed  to  lead  to  this  open 


230  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

glade.  Flies  in  myriads  were  buzzing  about  the 
undergrowth,  a  reddish  squirrel,  with  bushy  tail, 
jerked  towards  me  on  a  fallen  guda  tree,  then  with  a 
chatter  made  off  among  the  branches.  The  air  was 
simply  stifling  with  dry  heat,  and  I  was  thirsty  beyond 
words. 

Wonder  of  wonders !  A  dark  ponderous  bulk 
loomed  on  the  left  of  us,  under  a  great  guda  tree, 
overhung  with  armo  creeper.  The  great  head  came 
well  into  view,  all  unconscious  of  intruders.  The 
beast  was  lunching,  eating  his  favourite  bushes,  and 
munching  steadily.  This  was  not  at  all  sporting — 
it  seemed  so  simple. 

Cecily  gently  pushed  the  muzzle  of  her  12-bore 
through  the  sheltering  thorns,  and  was  able  to  take 
careful  and  steady  aim  at  the  rhino's  ear.  She  was  in 
excellent  range.  It  is  no  use  trying  for  a  rhino  at  a 
distance  exceeding  eighty,  or  at  the  most,  ninety 
yards.  Bang  !  The  smoke  hung  for  a  moment, 
obscuring  everything.  The  animal  seemed  to  stagger 
to  the  shot.  And  then,  on  the  instant,  with  snorts 
and  squeals,  small  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  emitter,  charged  across  the  intervening  space. 
Then  when  he  made  the  jungle  he  as  quickly  dashed 
back  again.  I  was  very  anxious  for  Cecily  to  have 
this  shoot  all  to  herself,  and  though  I  had  a  glorious 
chance  of  a  heart  shot  from  my  position,  I  held  my 
fire. 

I  am  not  very  clear  what  happened  next,  and  when 
I  apply  to  my  cousin  she  says,  "  I'm  sure  I  cannot  tell 
you."     I  think  Cecily  came  dangerously  forward.     The 


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TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  231 

rhino  turned  on  our  inadequate  fortress  of  mimosa, 
and  as  the  peril  swept  upon  us  we  seemed  to  gather 
wit  and  sense  to  combat  the  danger.  Separating 
widely  as  the  beast  plunged  straight  in  where  we  had 
been,  we  turned  on  him,  simultaneously,  to  fire.  Then 
we  branched  off  again,  at  right  angles.  I  fell  into  a 
thorn  bush,  and  took  the  opportunity  of  comparative 
safety  to  reload.  Cecily  was  now  dancing  about  in 
the  open,  in  a  most  sporting  but  in  no  sense  a  common- 
sense  fashion.  For  a  dreadful  instant  I  feared  the 
result.  The  rhino  bull  took  up  a  large  circle  with  its 
careering  and  struggles,  and  the  dust  was  so  great  that 
from  my  post  I  could  not  clearly  see  the  finish.  I 
heard  the  rifle  crack  twice  again,  and  then  a  ringing 
shout  for  me  came.  There  lay  the  mighty  carcase 
in  a  kneeling  attitude.     A  mountain  of  flesh  indeed  ! 

Cecily  had  a  great  gash  on  her  wrist,  caused,  I  fancy, 
by  some  sharp  flint  stone,  and  the  blood  was  running 
down  her  rifle  as  she  held  it  at  the  trail.  She  was 
too  excited  to  speak,  and  there  was  no  calming  her 
down.  She  really  seemed  like  a  person  in  a  dream. 
I  announced  to  her  solemnly  it  was  to  be  our  last 
rhino  shoot.  The  tension  relaxed  then,  and  she 
laughed  at  my  serious  face. 

A  series  of  whistles  brought  up  the  hunters,  and 
the  last  phase  began.  Cecily  and  I  set  off  to  find  our 
ponies,  and,  full  of  elation,  made  for  camp  and  tea. 
We  had  tea  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  finding  it  the  most 
refreshing  of  anything,  and  I  don't  really  think  it 
affected  our  nerves  one  scrap. 

It  was  rather  late  when  our  men  reached  camp, 


232  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

laden  with  treasure.  They  brought  the  rhino's  feet, 
his  tail,  his  head,  and  some  of  his  skin.  There  was  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  have  brought  it  all.  It 
comes  off  quite  easily.  They  said  they  had  not  time, 
as  they  feared  being  bushed,  or  that  lions  would  be 
attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  smell  of  blood.  The  skin 
is  very  valuable  to  the  Somalis  for  shields,  and  many 
other  purposes,  and  we  rather  thought  it  was  a  put  up 
business  to  secure  half  the  rhino  hide  for  themselves. 
We  thought  of  going  back  then  and  there  and  seeing 
the  thing  finished,  but  Clarence  said  it  was  such  a 
long  way  off,  the  result  would  be  we  would  all  assuredly 
be  caught  out  in  the  bush  at  night.  I  suppose  he 
was  right.     They  had  us  fairly. 

The  Somalis  don't  care  for  eating  rhino,  and  I  cannot 
say  the  flesh  looks  very  inviting,  but  we  got  the  chef 
to  make  us  some  soup  of  the  tail,  which  you  hear  so 
well  spoken  of  by  all  travellers.  I  do  not  think  our 
opinion  can  be  considered  a  fair  one.  It  would  have 
been  a  better  soup  had  we  made  it  ourselves.  Our 
cook  could  not  cook  anything  properly,  and  the  tail 
and  taste  of  it,  if  there  had  been  either  in  the  pan  at 
any  time,  was  drowned  in  a  waste  of  water. 

Before  the  great  pachyderm  began  to  be  dismem- 
bered we  measured  him,  and  his  waist,  or  where  his 
waist  should  be  if  he  had  one,  was  by  the  tape,  seven 
feet  three  inches.  I  don't  know  what  a  fashionable 
belle  rhinoceros  would  think  of  that.  In  length  he 
was  a  shade  over  ten  feet,  but  this  was  not  a  very 
large  animal  as  they  go.  We  set  to  work  helping  to 
stretch  and  clean  and  saltpetre.     The  anterior  horn 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  233 

was  much  blunted  at  the  tip,  the  result  of  some  accident 
or  wear  and  tear  of  some  kind,  so  that  it  lost  half  an 
inch  or  so  in  length.  But  eleven  inches  looks  for- 
midable enough,  on  such  a  fearsome  head.  The  eyes 
are  ridiculously  small  in  a  rhino.  I  think  to  such 
altogether  inadequate  optics  much  of  the  bad  sight 
put  down  to  the  rhino  must  be  ascribed.  One  would 
hardly  think  every  single  animal  of  this  variety  starts 
its  career  with  bad  sight,  but  that  is  what  every 
hunter  tells  you.  Go  nap  every  time  on  the  non-seeing 
powers  of  your  enemy  if  he  happens  to  be  a  rhinoceros 
if  you  like,  but  see  there  is  a  tree  to  get  behind  before 
you  begin.     This  is  advice  from  myself. 

Next  day  was  a  poor  one  as  far  as  sport  was  con- 
cerned. We  were  very  stiff  with  so  much  crawling, 
though  at  the  time  we  had  not  noticed  it.  We  sent  off 
a  few  men  to  retrieve  the  rest  of  the  hide  from  the 
remains  of  the  rhino,  and  when  the  camp  was  quiet 
we  investigated  the  trophies,  and  overhauled  them 
carefully.  Some  of  them  cried  aloud  in  their  agony 
for  attention.  The  skin  of  the  last  killed  lion  was 
beginning  to  lose  some  hair  in  parts.  And  this  was 
because,  when  we  undid  it  and  looked  behind,  great 
lumps  of  flesh  still  adhered,  making  it  impossible 
for  the  preservatives  to  do  any  curing.  It  took  us  a 
long  time  to  set  this  right,  and  we  rubbed  alum  in  as 
hard  as  we  could  on  the  inside.  Of  course,  if  the 
skinning  is  not  carefully  done,  the  chances  are  the 
trophy  will  have  to  be  thrown  away.  I  don't  know 
how  we  should  have  taken  a  catastrophe  of  such 
magnitude. 


234  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

The  men  returned  to  say  the  skin  of  the  rhino  was 
not  to  be  found.  I  don't  suppose  they  had  even  been 
to  the  spot.  I  am  confident  they  had,  in  some  nrys- 
terious  way,  managed  to  let  their  friends  know  a 
wealth  of  shields  were  to  be  had  for  the  taking.  There 
was  nothing  left  of  our  huge  friend  of  the  day  before, 
so  the  men  said.     Wild  beasts  had  eaten  him. 

Later,  I  heard  a  great  shouting  in  camp  and  calls  for 
us,  and  answering  in  person,  I  saw  Clarence  seated  on 
a  pony,  proudly  displaying  and  offering  to  me  a 
baby  oryx,  which  he  had  in  front  of  him.  We  lifted 
the  mite  down,  holding  it,  all  struggling,  firmly.  It 
was  terror-stricken,  poor  wee  thing.  I  tried  to  stroke 
its  satin  coat,  but  it  only  started  and  looked  at  me 
with  frightened  piteous  beseeching  eyes.  Clarence 
meant  well,  but  oh,  I  would  a  thousand  times  he  had 
left  the  kid  with  its  mother.  And  then  a  thought 
struck  me.  How  had  he  come  by  this  fleet  thing  ? 
May  be  killed  the  doe  and  then  ridden  the  baby  down. 
Instantly  I  put  it  to  him.  I  know  I  frowned.  But 
he  disarmed  me  by  saying  the  matter  was  not  as  I 
thought,  and  the  mother  was  alive,  unharmed ;  that 
he  had  ridden  them  down  until  the  little  oryx,  spent, 
had  to  drop,  and  the  mother  fled  away  in  fear  before 
his  threatening  gestures. 

I  consulted  with  Cecily,  and  we  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  if  we  wanted  to  please  Clarence  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  keep  the  buck,  but  after 
mixing  it  some  condensed  milk,  which  we  gave  it  in 
a  bottle  with  a  bit  of  rubber  tubing  on  the  neck,  we 
realised  that  to  retain  our  little  guest  meant  our  going 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  235 

without  milk  in  our  tea  for  weeks.  Camel  milk  was 
not  available,  and  the  baby  could  not  eat.  I  was 
thankful  of  a  reasonable  excuse  to  offer  Clarence,  and 
he  saw  the  sense  of  it.  I  longed  to  restore  the  tiny 
creature  to  its  mother,  and  Clarence  said  if  we  took 
it  back  to  the  place  from  whence  it  came  the  doe  would 
assuredly  find  it. 

We  decided  to  try  this,  but  to  secrete  ourselves, 
and  cover  the  baby  buck  with  our  protecting  rifles. 
Otherwise,  it  was  quite  on  the  cards  that  a  lion  or 
leopard  would  make  off  with  it  ere  its  mother  could 
retrieve  it.  In  any  case,  I  should  imagine  a  violent 
death  awaited  it.  It  was  so  very  youthful  and  easily 
stalked.  I  took  the  timorous  creature  across  my 
saddle,  it  seemed  all  struggling  legs  and  arms,  and 
with  Clarence  for  guide  made  for  the  place,  some  two 
miles  off,  where  he  first  started  the  oryx.  I  confess 
I  still  had  my  doubts  as  to  his  tale  and  its  veracity, 
but  in  this  I  wronged  our  shikari. 

We  set  the  baby  down  alone,  so  fragile  and  small  it 
looked,  and  then  hid  ourselves  in  a  great  thorn  brake. 
We  were  as  far  off  as  we  dared  go,  and  the  buck  did  not 
wander  far.  Sometimes  it  bleated  in  a  little  treble, 
once  or  twice  it  lay  down,  tucking  its  long  legs  beneath 
it,  to  rise  again  and  wander,  all  lonely,  among  the  low 
thorn  bushes.  Two  hours  or  more  we  waited  and 
then — a  gentle  whinny,  and  almost  before  we  realised 
it,  a  perfect  oryx  doe  cantered  towards  the  fawn.  She 
nosed  it  all  over  and  her  joy  expressed  itself  in  every 
imaginable  way.  It  was  a  most  beautiful  and  pathetic 
sight.    We  made  some  movement,  and  all  alert  again, 


236  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  graceful  creature  sailed  away,  the  baby  trotting 
beside.  My  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  and  I  had  a  lump 
in  my  throat.  'Twas  pitiful,  'twas  wondrous  pitiful. 
To  think  that  in  all  the  jungle  a  mother  could  find 
her  way  to  the  lost  best  beloved  with  nothing  to  guide 
her,  nothing  to  tell  her.  Clarence  took  it  all  most 
naturally,  and  said  all  female  things  are  like  that.  I 
do  almost  believe  him  ! 


The  sun  sailed  high  in  a  sky  of  molten  brass,  the 
hot  sand  blistered  the  palm  set  down  on  it,  not  a 
breath  of  air  was  stirring.  And  I,  foolish  wight,  was 
stalking,  on  hands  and  knees,  a  hartebeest.  A  family 
of  ants  had  crawled  up  my  sleeve.  I  went  too  near 
their  palace,  I  suppose,  and  they  mistook  the  way. 
A  yellow  snake,  small,  wicked-looking,  and  alert,  lay 
right  in  my  path.  Not  for  a  hundred  hartebeest  would 
I  disturb  him  !  I  made  a  great  detour,  to  the  wonder- 
ment of  Clarence,  who  trailed  along  in  my  wake.  When 
he  saw  he  wondered  no  longer.  He  has  learned  now, 
and  thinks  snakes  are  a  sort  of  mania  of  mine,  and 
that  I  must  be  humoured.  Great  bluebottle  flies 
jumped  up  in  our  faces  from  the  red-hot  sand,  then — 
buzz — and  down  again.  Oh,  for  some  shade — some 
air — some  water  !  There  was  my  hartebeest  again, 
with  well-groomed  coat  and  flicking  tail.  The  flies 
were  a  worry  to  him  too.  Now  he  gets  beyond  a 
bunch  of  aoul — his  sentinels.  I  shall  never  get  within 
range.     I  lay  my  rifle  down,  myself  with  it.     I  can't 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  237 

see  the  hartebeest,  the  aoul,  the  flies — there  is  nothing 
anywhere  but  a  golden  maze  of  light,  and  a  world  of 
noisy  hammers  in  my  ears. 


'Twas  nothing,  just  a  mild  touch  of  the  sun,  and 
next  day  Richard  was  himself  again,  and  out  with  the 
second  hunter,  like  a  French  falconer,  prepared  to 
fly  at  anything.  Only  we  chose  towards  evening  for 
our  hunting. 

Our  ponies  carried  us  through  most  of  the  dense 
country,  but  sometimes  we  had  to  get  off  and  seek  an 
easier  way  round.  We  saw  tracks  of  all  varieties  of 
game,  but  for  an  hour  or  more  had  the  jungle  ap- 
parently to  ourselves.  We  were  leading  our  steeds, 
when  we  crossed  a  great  rind,  a  place  where  a  lion  had 
been  lying,  may  be  after  some  great  banquet.  The 
thorns  had  taken  his  size  and  shape  like  a  mould, 
and  his  hairs  were  all  about  to  betray  his  whilom 
presence.  The  hunter  spoored  about  and  picked  up 
the  lion  trail  some  little  way  off.  The  ground  being 
so  loose  and  sandy  made  no  good  evidence  of  time. 
The  pugs  might  have  been  made  now,  or  that  morning. 
We  went  on  silently  and  after  not  more  than  five 
minutes  going,  with  an  electric-like  shock,  I  realised 
that  a  lion  stood  over  a  kill  to  our  immediate  front. 
He  winded  us,  and  stretching  his  great  neck  and  head 
upwards  to  sniff  in  magnificent  disregard  bounded 
into  the  thicket,  the  tuft  on  his  tail  being  the  last 
glimpse   I  caught  of   him.     I  was  too   taken   aback 


238  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

to  even  try  to  get  my  rifle  up.  It  all  happened  so 
very  swiftly.  We  were  a  very  small  party  to  tackle 
a  lion  in  thick  cover,  but  my  man  was  a  little  Trojan 
and  did  not  hesitate  when  I  said  I  would  proceed 
and  he  must  take  a  hand  at  the  game.  He  was  carrying 
my  12-bore,  and  I  had  my  .500  Express. 

First  we  tethered  the  ponies,  thinking  they  would 
be  quite  safe  as  we  should  be  in  the  near  vicinity, 
then  we  commenced  to  beat  after  a  fashion  of  our 
own.  Walking  as  straight  ahead  as  we  could,  pushing 
and  struggling  through  where  we  couldn't.  We  fired 
into  the  dusky  depths  in  desperation  at  last,  but 
nothing  happened.  It  was  not  until  we  had  covered 
a  few  hundred  yards  more  before  we  saw,  in  a  lightening 
of  the  undergrowth,  a  sinuous  yellow  form  streaking 
along.  The  hunter  in  his  excitement  brought  up  his 
rifle.  I  held  his  arm.  The  danger  was  too  great.  If 
a  wounded  lion  turned  on  us  here  we  were  done  for, 
hemmed  in  as  we  were.  We  saw  no  more  of  him, 
he  had  put  some  distance  between  us,  and  "  on  my 
life,  had  stol'n  him  home  to  bed." 

It  was  a  great  disappointment,  but,  after  all,  there 
isn't  much  sport  in  courting  disaster.  The  chances 
should  be  almost  even,  a  little  in  favour  of  the  animal, 
not  entirely  so. 

The  ponies  had  untethered  themselves,  it  doesn't 
say  much  for  the  way  we  secured  them,  I'm  afraid, 
and  had  betaken  their  way  campwards.  We  had  to 
track  their  hoof  marks  that  we  might  also  cut  a  long 
journey  short.     Night  was  closing  in,  and  we  wanted 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  239 

the  shelter  of  our  zareba.      And  supper,  oh,  supper  ! 
most  of  all  ! 

We  had  no  special  time  for  meals  in  camp.  A 
system  that  would  properly  disgust  a  good  housewife. 
The  cook  had  to  produce  food  whenever  we  required 
some,  at  any  time,  early  or  late.  It  did  not  make  for 
good  cooking  ;  but  then,  neither  did  the  chef. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

TREE  CLIMBING 

Do  not  give  dalliance  too  much  the  rein 

The  Tempest 

When  out  early  one  morning  a  green  oasis  tempted 
me  to  leave  the  sandy  waste  and  ramble  in  among  the 
depths  of  the  aloes,  creep  in  and  out  of  the  festoons 
of  armo,  and  hunt  for  anything  that  might  be  astir. 
Choosing  the  part  where  the  bushes  seemed  most 
willing  to  admit  us,  we  crept  in — a  hunter  and  I — he 
of  the  Cook's  Guide  turn  of  mind.  Parting  the  creepers 
as  we  went,  we  found  it  easier  than  we  had  thought  to 
penetrate  the  density. 

On  almost  every  branch  a  chameleon  lay  basking, 
dead  to  all  appearances  save  for  the  eternal  wake- 
fulness of  their  eyes.  In  a  glade  where  the  grass 
grew  high  there  was  a  whirr  and  a  rush.  Some  small 
animal  was  startled.  But  we  saw  nothing.  The 
hunter  prepared  to  account  for  it,  but  I  would  have 
none  of  it,  and  silenced  him  with  a  look.  I  was  there 
to  read  the  book  of  the  wild  for  myself,  not  to  have  it 
read  aloud. 

A  tree  snake  dropped  from  his  low  perch  on  a  thorn 
bush,  and  wriggled  away  in  the  thicket.  Two  dis- 
tinct lines  of  brown  marked  him,  and  that  was  all 
I  saw.    He  gave  me  "  creeps,"  and  I  turned  away  in 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  241 

an  opposite  direction.  Sometimes  a  bit  of  thorn 
would  hold  me  lovingly,  and  all  my  blandishments 
could  not  make  it  let  me  go.  I  only  obtained  freedom 
with  leaving  a  piece  of  my  coat  as  tribute.  Vulturine 
guinea-fowl  ran  at  the  sight  of  us,  raising  their  naked 
necks  and  setting  off  at  great  speed  to  make  safety. 
They  are  beautiful  birds,  and  the  prismatic  colours 
of  the  feathers  show  up  against  the  green  of  the  armo 
very  distinctly.  Doves  cooed  above  us,  but  I  could 
not  catch  a  glimpse  of  one.  As  we  neared  the  middle 
of  the  oasis  we  came  on  a  few  scattered  half-eaten 
bones — a  dead  lesser  koodoo.  He  had  furnished  a 
meal  for  a  lion,  doubtless,  and  later  for  one  of  his  own 
people.  One  or  two  varieties  of  antelope  are  very  fond 
of  nibbling  dry  white  bones. 

We  took  a  turn  to  the  right,  and  on  the  instant  a 
beautiful  lesser  koodoo  took  a  gigantic  leap  over  an 
in-the-way  bunch  of  aloe  scrub.  He  disappeared 
into  a  thicket  and  I  stood  motionless  listening.  So 
I  suspect  did  my  koodoo.  All  was  still,  but  only  for 
a  moment.  The  amateur  Cook's  Guide  got  entangled 
somehow  or  other  with  a  trailing  creeper,  and  to  my 
complete  horror  and  amazement  let  off  my  .500  Ex- 
press which  he  was  carrying.  He  must  have  been 
holding  it  in  very  unskilled  fashion.  The  bullet 
missed  my  head  by  a  couple  of  inches.  I  felt  the 
whiz  of  it  and  heard  it  ricochet  into  the  trees.  I  was 
so  unnerved  I  sat  down  and  thought  things  out.  My 
hunter  was  quite  oblivious  to  any  shock  I  might  have 
received,  because  the  stock  of  the  rifle  had  hit  him  hard 
somewhere — I  was  too  vexed  to  inquire  the  exact 

Q 


242  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

location — and  he  bewailed  his  misfortune.  I  ordered 
him  to  go  home  to  camp  and  leave  me,  which  he  did 
with  alacrity.  After  about  half  an  hour  my  trembling 
fit  passed.  It  was  very  cowardly  to  be  so  upset,  but 
I  hate  unknown  and  quite  unforeseen  dangers,  and 
an  unsuspected  bullet  at  close  quarters  demoralises 
me. 

I  sat  on  quietly,  and  the  bush  began  to  stir  and 
take  up  its  daily  round  again,  forgetting  the  demon 
crash  that  had  disturbed  its  slumbers.  A  little  red 
velveteen  spider  ran  speedily  up  an  armo  leaf,  tumbled 
over  the  edge  and  suspended  himself  on  a  golden  wire. 
Jerk  !  jerk  !  Lower  he  went,  then  up  again.  Two 
bars  of  his  house  completed,  when  alas,  a  great  fly 
of  the  species  that  haunted  our  trophies,  flew  right 
across  and  smashed  the  spider-house  to  nothing.  The 
velveteen  spider  sat  on  a  leaf — fortunately  he  had 
made  safety  ere  the  Juggernaut  passed  along — and 
meditated,  but  only  for  a  moment.  He  was  a  philo- 
sopher and  knew  all  about  the  "  Try,  try,  try  again  " 
axiom.  Over  he  hurled  himself  on  another  golden 
thread  and  laid  another  criss-cross  foundation-stone. 
And  there  I  left  him  because  I  wanted  to  penetrate 
farther. 

How  could  I  manoeuvre  a  big  antelope  now  if  I 
shot  one,  seeing  that  my  hunter  had  left  me  ?  Was 
it  not  counting  my  chickens  ?  Yes,  but  that  is  what 
one  does  all  the  time  in  big  game  shooting  ! 

In  one  bit  of  glade  I  worked  my  way  through  the 
caterpillars  had  played  devastator ;  every  leaf  was 
eaten.     I   hurried   on.     I   rested    again    on    a   fallen 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  243 

guda  tree,  hunting  first  to  see  no  snake  shared  my  seat 
with  me.  I  kept  utterly  silent  for  an  hour  or  more, 
when  my  patience  was  rewarded.  Through  the 
bushes  I  saw  a  white  chin  bobbing  up  and  down  as  it 
chose  out  the  most  succulent  thorns.  Lower  it  went. 
I  hardly  breathed.  To  see  a  lesser  koodoo  in  his 
haunts  one  sometimes  has  to  wait  for  months.  Here 
was  I,  in  the  limits  of  a  morning's  patrol,  so  lucky. 
The  great  broad  ear  flickered  in  and  out.  Because 
this  antelope  mostly  lives  in  thick  cover  where  quick 
hearing  is  his  only  safety,  his  ear  has  grown  in  ac- 
cordance with  necessities.  Somali  hunters  never 
seem  to  differentiate  between  the  koodoo  and  the 
lesser  koodoo.  They  are  both  one  and  the  same  to 
them,  and  are  called  "  Godir "  indiscriminately. 
And  yet  the  two  animals  are  so  different  it  seems 
absurd  to  think  of  confusion. 

The  koodoo  (strepsiceros  koodoo)  is  the  biggest 
antelope  in  Somaliland,  heavy,  magnificent  and  war- 
like. It  inhabits  mountainous  parts,  and  the  reason 
would  seem  to  be  plain.  Space  for  such  great  horns 
is  required,  and  though  on  occasion  they  frequent 
jungly  parts  of  the  Golis,  their  nature  and  habit  is  to 
live  in  the  stony  gorges,  and  stalking  one  is  not  unlike 
stalking  one  of  our  own  Scotch  deer.  The  lesser 
koodoo  (strepsiceros  imberbis)  is  the  personification 
of  all  the  graces.  What  the  koodoo  gains  in  majesty 
the  lesser  has  in  exquisite  symmetry  of  line  and 
contour.  The  lesser  koodoo  never  grows  much  larger 
than  a  small  donkey,  the  horns  are  replicas  in  little 
of  the  average  three  footer  of  the  koodoo,  and  there  is 


244  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

no  beard,  but  a  short  mane.  Like  the  koodoo,  the 
lesser  is  striped  down  each  side  like  the  white  ribs  of 
a  skeleton. 

My  friend  still  fed,  rustling  the  bushes  as  he  chose 
out  his  favourite  herbage.  I  had  seen  nothing  to  fire 
at,  but,  in  any  case,  I  did  not  mean  to  try  for  him,  as 
in  my  lone  condition  it  would  mean  a  return  to  camp 
for  assistance,  and  meanwhile  the  beautiful  antelope 
would  be  food  for  any  prowling  beast.  I  hated  at  all 
times  to  kill  wastefully.  The  head  of  the  lesser  koodoo 
looked,  as  far  as  I  could  see,  a  fair  one,  the  light  of  the 
sun  glinting  through  the  shadowy  depths  occasionally 
caught  the  curving  horns.  But  since  he  might  not 
be  mine,  since  I  could  not  get  him  back  to  camp,  I 
would  not  kill  wantonly. 

In  speaking  of  the  wholesale  slaughter  of  Somali- 
land  fauna  by  sportsmen  and  sportsmen  so-called, 
one  ought  really  to  include  the  Somalis  themselves. 
They  have  assisted  materially  to  decimate  the  country 
— of  elephants  particularly.  On  lions  they  have  not 
made  much  impression,  as  these  animals  are  too  big 
a  job  to  tackle  unless  they  are  driven  to  it.  But  in 
the  days  when  the  elephant  roamed  the  land,  their 
slaughter  for  the  sake  of  the  ivory  was  wholesale, 
terrific  and  amazing.  Clarence,  who  was  of  the  Gada- 
bursi  country,  well  remembers  his  father  and  his 
tribe  hunting  the  elephant  on  a  colossal  scale,  killing 
several  a  week.  The  manner  of  it  was  courageous,  to 
say  the  least.  The  tribe  went  out,  mounted  on  swift 
ponies,  and  the  marked-down  elephant  being  selected 
from  the  herd,  he  was  ridden  down  in  the  open.     One 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  245 

agile  Somali  would  caper  in  front  of  the  pachyderm 
to  attract  his  attention,  and  a  rider  at  the  gallop 
would  pass  in  swift  flying  rush  behind  and  cut 
the  ham-string  or  tendon  of  one  of  the  hind  legs. 
The  elephant  would  then  be  at  the  mercy  of  the 
hunters.  It  must  have  been  a  dangerously  exciting 
business.  The  sword  used — I  saw  one  in  the  hut  of  a 
Mullah  at  the  Upper  Sheik — is  of  native  make,  ap- 
parently, strong,  and  longer  in  the  blade  than  the 
bilawa,  which  is  often  seen  in  its  scabbard  of  white 
leather  bound  round  the  waist  of  a  Somali.  It  was  not 
unlike  the  familiar  sword  known  to  us  as  the  "  Der- 
vish " — two-edged,  with  a  groove  down  the  centre, 
and  light.  The  handle  was  of  horn,  and  bound  about 
with  leather.  And  yet  we  think  ourselves  brave  to 
venture  in  the  vicinity  of  my  lord  the  elephant  with 
the  latest  thing  in  rifles  in  our  hands  ! 

What  with  the  ham-stringing,  and  all  hunters  killing 
cows  and  bulls  indiscriminately,  the  result  has  been 
that  the  elephant  has  left  his  old  haunts,  never  to 
return.  The  Somalis  wasted  the  entire  carcase.  They 
do  not  care  to  eat  the  flesh,  and  even  the  hide  is  not  so 
beloved  as  that  of  the  oryx  and  rhino.  The  Somali 
tusks  were  never  of  the  vast  proportions  attained 
in  other  parts  of  Africa.  Ivory  still  forms  part  of  the 
stock  of  some  trading  caravans,  so  the  elephants  must 
exist  in  the  flesh  somewhere  in  Somaliland,  unless 
these  traders  trade  with  others  again  at  the  rear  of 
the  back  of  beyond. 

A  twig  cracked  !  No  twig  of  mine,  I  swear,  since 
I  sat  like  a  statue  carved  in  stone.     My  foot  had  long 


046  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

since  gone  to  sleep,  and  pins  and  needles  pricked  it. 
The  bushes  trembled,  then  were  still,  and  stealthily, 
with  very  little  movement,  the  beautiful  antelope 
moved  away.  I  saw  him  as  he  circled  round  a  bend  in 
the  jungle,  and  in  a  flash  he  was  gone.  Really  I  had 
enjoyed  my  morning  as  keenly  as  though  I  had  added 
to  my  bag  an  hundredfold. 

And  so  back  to  camp  I  went,  and  as  I  went  I  notched 
the  trees  that  I  might  find  the  right  place  in  my 
"  Hedd-Godir "  (koodoo  forest)  again.  I  wanted 
Cecily  to  come  with  me  and  try  and  track  my  friend 
the  lesser  koodoo.  When  I  got  home,  I  found  all  the 
men  congregated  round  one  whom  they  said  was  grie- 
vously hurt  through  a  camel  falling  on  him.  I  couldn't 
find  anything  wrong,  no  broken  bones,  but  the  man 
said  the  pain  internally  was  very  great,  almost  un- 
bearable. I  got  out  my  hypodermic  syringe  and 
injected  some  of  the  morphia  we  had  in  case  of  emer- 
gencies into  the  arm,  to  the  wonderment  of  the  men, 
and  then  I  had  the  invalid  placed  down  on  a  camel- 
mat  to  sleep,  and  all  the  other  men  were  forbidden 
to  disturb  the  invalid.  And  lo  !  when  the  effects  of 
the  morphia  wore  off  we  heard  no  more  of  aches  and 
pains.  It  was  the  cure  of  the  trip.  And  the  "  coogeri " 
medicine  was  held  in  high  esteem  ever  afterwards. 
I  asked  what  "  coogeri "  meant,  and  was  told — 
"  inside." 

Sitting  on  a  camp  chair  in  peace  and  quietness, 
with  a  book  and  the  cup  that  cheers,  Clarence  broke 
in  on  us  to  say  that  a  party  of  twenty-five  horsemen 
had  arrived  prepared  to  dibaltig  before  us — Heaven 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  247 

only  knows  why,  or  where  the  men  had  dropped 
from.  With  as  good  grace  as  we  could,  and  a  cup  of 
tea  in  hand,  we  went  outside  the  zareba  to  see  a  crowd 
of  Somalis,  mounted,  in  the  usual  lively  get-up,  khaili 
tobes,  shields,  spears,  and  the  other  necessaries  of 
performers  of  the  dibaltig.  The  ponies  were  so  be- 
tasselled  on  a  bright  red  band  over  the  eyes,  I  don't 
know  how  they  were  to  see  the  way  at  all.  One 
stalwart,  the  head-man  of  the  party,  had  decorated  his 
steed  with  a  frill  of  lions'  mane  around  its  neck,  fasten- 
ing in  front  with  a  large  bunch  of  yellow  ribbons. 
Very  hot  and  uncomfortable  for  the  pony,  but  very 
effective  and  circus-like. 

"  Salaam  aleikum,"  and  "  Mot  !  Mot  !  io  Mot  !  " 
Then  the  chorister-in-chief  (these  dibaltig  performances 
are  somewhat  like  the  "  waits  "  at  Christmas)  began 
a  long  song,  all — Clarence  said — about  us,  wishing 
us  health,  happiness,  and  many  wives. 

"  Wives,  Clarence  ?  " 

"  So  says  the  song." 

"  Then  say  we  can't  have  wives,  because  we  are  not 
sahibs,  and  some  day  we  shall  be  wives  ourselves." 

"  With  luck  !  "  ejaculated  Cecily. 

Clarence  translated,  and  a  perfect  tremor  of  excite- 
ment shook  the  whole  team.  The  horsemen  pressed 
closer,  and  gazed  at  us  until  their  eyes  nearly  dropped 
out  of  their  heads.  Laughing  at  the  intensity  of  the 
inspection,  we  took  our  hats  off  and  bowed.  Our  hair 
might  be  considered  adequate  proof  of  Mem-sahibdom. 
Goodness  knows  what  the  team  considered  it.  They 
drew  back  and    talked  and  jabbered  and  discussed. 


248  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

To  dibaltig  or  not  to  dibaltig,  that  is  the  question. 
And  how  we  hoped  they  would  answer  it  in  the  negative, 
and  let  us  get  back  to  tea. 

With  a  wild  war-whoop  the  matter  was  decided, 
and  girding  up  their  loins,  away  and  away,  hither  and 
thither  dashed  the  performers,  throwing  spears, 
catching  them,  jumping  off  the  pony,  then  vaulting 
the  saddle,  then  back  again,  finally  gaining  a  seat  face 
to  tail.  A  real  circus  show  this.  Going  at  a  mad 
gallop  the  riders  would  suddenly  jerk  the  bit — 
a  perfect  devil  of  cruelty — and  back  the  foaming  pony 
would  go,  haunches  to  the  ground.  Poor  creatures, 
how  lathered  they  were  and  beside  themselves  with 
the  pace  and  rush.  Dust  rose  in  volumes,  and  we 
receded  and  receded,  but  the  flying  figures  only  drew 
the  circle  closer.  The  affair  went  on  for  a  whole  hour, 
when  it  had  to  cease  because  the  ponies  were  done,  and 
could  not  keep  up  the  required  speed  any  longer. 
All  the  Somalis  came  round  us,  the  ponies'  heads 
facing  us,  almost  touching  us,  and  we  must  have  been 
hidden  entirely  from  our  own  men,  because  as  our 
dibaltig  friends  sat  their  panting  ponies  they  raised 
both  arms  with  spears  held  high,  and  dear  me,  how 
they  shouted  that  "  Mot  "  sentence. 

I  signed  with  my  hand  that  we  wished  to  get  out 
of  the  circle — it  was  not  pleasant  so  near  the  panting, 
pawing  ponies,  and  one  big  black-looking  fellow 
backed  his  steed  out  and  made  a  path.  I  thanked 
them  through  Clarence  and  then  began  the  usual 
palaver  about  the  inadequacy  of  the  presents. 

If  every  man  had  to  have  a  tobe  it  meant  twenty- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  249 

five,  and  we  had  to  economise  or  we  should  clear  out 
our  stock  before  we  finished  up  at  Berbera.  We  had 
started  out  with  several  pieces  of  sheeting,  but  had 
done  an  immense  amount  of  distributing.  A  tobe 
when  cut  has  to  be  about  twelve  times  over  the  length 
from  a  man's  elbow  to  his  finger  tips.  That  is  how 
we  measured.  We  offered  half  a  dozen  tobes,  and 
suggested  that  the  performers  should  toss  up  for 
them. 

A  hurricane  of  stormy  words  ensued,  most  annoying, 
as  six  tobes  at  a  whack  is  very  generous  indeed.  The 
men  could  not  be  invited  to  a  meal  because  the  rice 
supplies  would  not  bear  any  undue  strain.  The  affair 
ended  with  the  presentation  of  five  good  clasp  knives. 
And  then  the  dissatisfied  warriors  rode  away.  We 
took  the  opportunity  of  telling  Clarence  that  if  any 
more  Somalis  came  bent  on  doing  this  dibaltig  per- 
formance they  must  do  it  on  their  own.  We  had  seen 
enough  of  it.  And  run  on  the  present  lines  it  is  more 
expensive  than  a  box  at  the  opera.  We  went  back 
to  a  second  tea,  and  a  bath  to  get  rid  of  the  dust  that 
covered  us  like  flour. 

In  the  evening,  Cecily  and  I  again  penetrated  my 
koodoo  forest  by  ourselves,  more  for  the  pleasure  of 
wandering  in  the  beautiful  oasis  than  anything,  and 
our  search  went  farther  than  my  stroll  of  the  morning. 
We  pushed  and  crawled  our  way  through  the  densest 
thickets  that  we  might  find  the  reason  for  such  flapping 
and  screaming  of  dozens  and  dozens  of  vultures,  kites 
and  hawks.  In  a  thicket  of  thorn  where  the  durr 
grass  grew  high,  and  in  patches  left  off  altogether, 


250  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

and  exposed  the  sand,  lay  the  remains  of  a  lesser 
koodoo.  It  had  been  partially  eaten,  but  not  by  vul- 
tures, a  lion  evidently,  because  it  had  begun  on  the 
hind  quarters  and  eaten  about  half  the  animal.  The 
antelope's  head  was  thrown  back,  and  the  fore  legs 
were  tucked  beneath  him.  The  lion  had  sprung 
from  the  grass  straight  on  to  his  prey.  The  horns 
swept  the  hunched  shoulders,  and  I  think  it  must 
have  been  my  friend  of  the  morning. 

Judging  by  the  way  in  which  the  birds  were  acting, 
coming  near,  and  then  retiring,  and  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  fact  that  they  had  not  ventured  to  the 
kill,  it  was  likely  that  the  lion  was  now  lying  close  to 
the  meat,  watching  it,  until  the  internal  arrangements 
permitted  of  eating  some  more.  This  is  a  very  usual 
thing  with  the  big  cats.  Was  it  nice  to  be  in  this  durr 
grass  with  a  lion,  even  a  fed-up  one  ? 

We  decided  to  hurry  back  to  camp  and  try  and  get 
out  some  of  the  men  before  the  light  gave  in,  to  build 
us  a  "  machan  "  over  the  dead  antelope,  in  which 
we  should  keep  watch  and  ward  all  night  in  the  hope 
of  bagging  the  lion  as  he  returned  to  his  kill.  Our  first 
idea  was  that  one  of  us — to  be  decided  by  tossing  up — 
should  remain  in  the  jungly  place  to  see  that  time 
was  not  taken  by  the  forelock  by  his  majesty.  But, 
debating  the  point,  we  thought  it  was  going  to  be  a 
trifle  lonely  for  the  one  left  behind,  with  night,  and 
possibly  a  lion,  coming  on. 

We  made  our  way  out  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
careering  back  to  camp  as  though  all  the  fiends  were 
after  us,  brought  Clarence  and  four  of  the  hunters 


,      ,    ■>    ,  >  > 

1  >,   > 


1       l  > 

■  >  >    > 


KOODOO 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  251 

with  axes  and  hangols  to  the  place  where  the  koodoo  had 
been.  Had  been !  For  there  it  was  not  when  we  returned. 
The  dragging  of  the  bushes  and  the  crushed  grass 
showed  us  the  way.  There  at  some  two  hundred  yards 
off  was  all  that  now  remained  of  the  lesser  koodoo. 

A  flash  of  sinuous  yellow.  A  cry  of  "  Libbah ! 
Libbah  ! "  from  the  left-hand  hunter.  The  durr 
grass  waved,  and  a  fine  lioness  bounded  high  and 
sank  again.  Crack  !  from  Cecily's  rifle.  She  must 
have  been  in  better  place  than  I  was  for  a  shot.  I 
should  have  annihilated  one  of  the  men  had  I  blazed 
away.  Crack !  again.  And  then  I  saw  what  the 
redoubtable  Cecily  was  firing  at.  Another  animal 
altogether  !  A  massive  lion,  with  an  almost  black 
mane  and  more  cumbersome  in  the  front  than  any 
other  of  his  genus  I  had  ever  seen.  All  lions  fall 
away  very  much  behind,  but  I  really  think  this  one 
must  have  been  malformed.  However,  we  never  saw 
him  again,  so  the  point  had,  perforce,  to  remain  un- 
settled. As  the  lion  streaked  off,  evidently  not  incon- 
venienced by  Cecily's  bombardment,  his  mate  made 
a  successful  effort  to  follow  his  lead.  Flat,  and  low 
to  earth,  snake-like,  she  crossed  the  only  bare  patch 
of  clearing  to  the  right  of  me.  Still  my  line  of  fire 
was  blocked  by  a  hunter  who  put  himself  in  my  way 
every  time  as  if  by  design,  and  had  not  the  sense  to 
drop  and  give  me  a  chance.  Still,  there  was  Clarence 
on  the  extreme  right,  armed  with  a  12-bore.  The 
lioness  would  have  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  his  fire. 
"  Maro  !  Maro  !  "  (Shoot !  Shoot !)  I  cried  to  him  in  an 
agony  of  nervous  Hindostanee. 


252  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

The  imperturbable  Clarence  did  nothing,  and  let 
the  yellow  one  pass  him.  Cecily  was  not  now  so 
placed  that  she  could  get  in  a  successful  shot.  Two 
lions,  and  both  gone  !  No  koodoo  left  to  attract 
anything  save  hyaenas  and  jackals.  When  I  asked 
our  shikari  why  on  earth  he  had  let  slip  so  wonderful 
a  chance  he  was  quite  calm  and  said  :  "  Mem-sahib 
shoot  dar  lion.  I  no  shoot  dar  lion."  Evidently  he 
meant  to  be  very  magnanimous  and  refrain  from 
poaching  on  our  preserves  in  the  laudable  desire  to 
see  we  got  our  money's  worth. 

It  was  now  getting  dusk,  and  ominous  dark  corners 
told  us  night  had  cast  her  mantle  athwart  the  trees. 
I  ordered  a  hunter  to  cut  off  the  head  of  the  mal- 
treated lesser  koodoo,  for  the  sake  of  the  horns,  a 
very  easily  acquired  trophy,  but  one  very  well  worth 
having.  The  head  was  not  eaten  at  all,  for  as  I  have 
explained  it  is  the  habit  of  lions  to  begin  at  the  other  end. 

Then  we  tried  to  get  out  of  the  place.  We  took 
some  tosses  over  thorn  and  bramble,  and  disturbed 
the  guinea  fowl  as  they  settled  to  roost  in  rows  on  the 
branches.  I  upset  the  equilibrium  of  a  hornbill  and 
his  wife,  who  flapped  and  croaked  their  annoyance  at 
me.  Before  we  were  clear  of  the  oasis,  night  had 
settled  down  in  inky  blackness,  and  then  Clarence 
led  us  by  the  hand.  I  believe  he  saw  in  the  dark  like 
a  cat.  He  brought  us  safe  and  sound  to  the  sandy 
waste  that  rimmed  the  green  garden,  and  once  there 
camp  was  easily  reached. 

All  through  the  night  the  lions  roared,  and  we 
could  distinguish  the  difference  in  the  voice  of  the 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  253 

lion  to  that  of  his  mate.  One  would  have  thought 
they  had  eaten  too  much  to  roar — a  whole  lesser 
koodoo  between  them  !  Perhaps  they  were  protesting 
that  we  had  docked  them  of  the  head.  Next  day 
around  the  wells  near  where  we  were  camped  the  pugs 
of  two  lions  stood  out  clear  in  the  sand,  going  from 
the  oasis  and  back.  The  wells  are  too  deep  for  wild 
creatures  to  negotiate,  but  water  sometimes  is  to  be 
had  in  the  clay  troughs  used  by  the  camels.  These 
troughs  were  very  dry,  and  I'm  afraid  that  the  lions 
went  away  thirsty.  As  it  seemed  an  undoubted  fact 
that  the  great  cats  were  still  in  the  fastness  of  green 
a  mile  or  more  in  circumference,  it  did  seem  absurd 
for  us  to  go  on  until  we  had  made  another  effort  to 
secure  a  fine  trophy  for  the  collection. 

At  the  edge  of  the  oasis,  on  the  north  side,  before 
it  finally  ended  in  a  yellow  waste  of  sand,  stood  a  few 
guda  trees,  difficult  to  climb,  for  no  branches  hold  out 
kindly  assistance  for  at  least  sixteen  feet  from  the 
roots,  when  the  tree  spreads  vigorously  into  fantastic 
shapes  to  the  top,  which  attains  a  height  of  some  fifty 
feet.  The  foliage  is  very  wide,  and  beautifully  green. 
Our  idea  was  to  climb  a  guda  in  the  evening,  having 
tied  up  a  suitable  bait  below.  It  had  to  be  a  sheep, 
because  we  had  no  goat.  We  chose  our  tree,  and 
when  the  witching  hour  of  twilight  arrived,  armed 
with  climbing-irons  we  began  the  ascent  this-wise. 
First  myself,  to  the  astonishment  of  half  our  caravan, 
who  had  come  to  see  what  they  should  see.  They 
liked  the  climbing-irons  immensely.  I  don't  think 
they  had  seen  any  before. 


254  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

When  I  was  perched  on  the  bough  selected  I  flung 
the  irons  down  to  Cecily,  who  used  them.  Next, 
with  cords,  we  drew  up  the  rifles.  Clarence  and  a 
hunter  used  the  climbing  irons  also,  and  came  up  like 
woodpeckers.  The  men  below  tethered  the  sheep, 
and  departed  to  camp  and  bed.  It  was  not  very  long 
before  we  wished  we  had  had  a  platform  made.  Not 
being  birds,  or  bird-like,  the  perching  business  hurt 
frightfully.  And  it  was  only  by  getting  well  against 
the  trunk  we  could  put  up  with  the  position  at  all. 
Clarence  lay  extended  full  length  along  a  bough,  on 
the  look-out — "  ship-ahoy  !  "  sort  of  game.  The 
other  hunter  imagined  himself  a  Blondin  on  an  in- 
significant branch  beyond  me,  slightly  above  me. 
A  ridiculous  situation  we  were  all  in.  I  longed  to 
laugh  out  loud.  But  we  had  to  be  very,  very  silent 
and  hardly  move  a  muscle.  After  about  an  hour  I 
began  to  get  cramp  in  my  foot,  and  had  to  press  my 
boot  hard  against  the  bough  to  try  to  bear  the  agony 
calmly. 

A  roar  broke  on  the  stillness.  Things  were  more 
interesting  for  a  few  moments,  and  Clarence's  tense 
figure  outlined  on  the  branch  seemed  to  be  an  Argus 
of  many  eyes.  The  Blondin  gentleman  had  got  on 
my  nerves  long  since,  and  I  wished  with  all  my  heart 
he  would  take  a  seat.  The  clouds  grew  darker  and 
darker,  and  presently  rain  began  to  fall,  real  Somali 
rain,  not  in  single  drops,  but  water-spouts.  The 
hunter  pirouetting  on  the  adjacent  bough  missed  his 
footing  and  fell  to  the  ground — Somalis  are  not  the 
slightest  use  as  tree-climbers — and  caused  as  much 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  255 

consternation  to  the  sheep  as  the  appearance  of  the 
lion  could  have  done.  The  man  had  to  be  followed 
by  the  necessary  humanitarian  inquiries,  and  we  re- 
flected that  no  lion  with  an  ounce  of  caution  about  him 
would  have  failed  to  take  warning  long  ere  this.  The 
rain  had  damped  our  ardour  as  well  as  our  clothes.  We 
voted  for  camp  and  bed.  Cecily  affixed  the  irons  to 
her  boots  and  descended,  and  then  I  pulled  them  up 
again  for  my  use.  Clarence  got  the  rifles  down,  and 
the  fallen  hunter  had  no  need  to  get  any  lower.  There 
we  all  stood  in  pouring  rain.  Clarence  had  to  lead  the 
hunter  who  claimed  to  be  badly  injured,  and  Cecily 
and  I  led  the  sheep. 

The  caravan  was  silent,  fires  out  with  the  rain,  but 
the  watch  was  alert,  for  on  our  approach  we  heard, 
"  Kuma  ?  "  (Who  are  you  ?)  repeated  twice.  Clarence 
replied  "  Friends,"  and  we  passed,  and  all  was  well 
— at  least  more  or  less,  for  the  camp  was  in  a  dismal 
state  of  slop.  A  big  rain-storm  speedily  turns  the 
deep  sand  to  mud.  The  men  were  sleeping  beneath 
herios,  and  I  think  one  or  two  had  been  making  free 
with  our  tents,  as  they  had  a  very  hot  native  smell 
about  them  when  we  turned  in  to  rid  ourselves  of  our 
dripping  garments.  The  canvas  residences  stood  up 
well  that  night  and  resisted  the  downpour  valiantly. 
Everything  was  damp  and  fires  were  impossible. 

All  the  next  day  the  deluge  continued.  It  was  no 
use  to  attempt  to  go  a-hunting,  as  the  rain  was  washing 
out  spoor  as  fast  as  the  animals  walked.  The  day 
dragged  through  somehow,  and  bored  us  almost  to 
tears.     However,  night  saw  a  welcome  cessation  of 


256  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  rain,  and  the  sky  grew  clear  and  dotted  with  stars 
innumerable.  The  next  morning  had  to  see  the 
camel-mats  dried  ere  they  could  go  on,  and  the  sun 
was  fortunately  like  a  furnace. 

In  the  evening  we  were  able  to  trek  some  eight 
miles,  and  formed  zareba  by  starlight.  To  get  the 
fires  lighted  was  a  great  difficulty,  and  the  cook  sent 
many  messages  by  the  "  boy,"  to  encourage  us  in  the 
belief  supper  would  be  forthcoming  if  we  had  the 
patience  to  wait  long  enough. 

pl  Chatting  over  the  meal  we  realised  that  the  hour 
had  come  when  we  might  dawdle  no  longer.  Time 
and  the  season  bade  us  make  a  decided  effort  to  cross 
the  Haud  again  now  that  water  was  so  plentiful. 
We  sent  for  Clarence  and  talked  to  him,  deciding  to 
rise  early  on  the  morrow  and  get  things  into  trim  for 
the  great  undertaking. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  JOUST  WITH  A  BULL  ORYX 

On  a  sudden  one  hath  wounded  me, 
That's  by  me  wounded 

Romeo  and  Juliet 
Truly,  pleasure  will  be  paid,  one  time  or  another 

Twelfth  Night 

The  following  day  we  made  our  way  to  some  adjacent 
wells,  and  spent  the  whole  of  the  hours  in  filling  up 
everything  we  could  lay  hands  on  with  water.  All 
old  bottles  were  utilised,  and  I  arranged  that  the 
precious  fluid  should  be  allowanced,  and  any  man 
found  helping  himself  would  find  the  promised  bonus 
at  the  end  of  the  trip  a  myth.  The  camels  and  ponies 
were  watered,  and  we  had  baths  !  Then,  in  the  dawn 
of  a  day  of  intense  heat,  with  the  early  sun  a-shimmer 
on  all  the  glory  of  green  that  surrounded  us  again,  the 
air  yet  heavy  with  dew,  and  drowsy  with  the  hum  of 
myriad  insects  we  marched,  heading  for  the  Haud. 
We  might  not  again  have  any  opportunity  of  securing 
any  water  before  we  negotiated  the  great  tract,  which 
we  were  to  cross  in  a  different  part  to  our  previous 
journey  over. 

The  jungle  was  very  dense,  and  the  caravan  simply 
crawled.  I  rode  ahead,  and  about  eight  o'clock 
walked  into,  almost  over,  a  lioness  sound  asleep  with 


258  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

two  cubs.  She  was  off  almost  before  I  realised  the 
marvel  of  the  thing.  Clarence  dashed  up,  his  quick 
eye  had  taken  in  the  scene.  He  handed  me  my  rifle. 
I  frowned  at  him.  Surely  he  had  learned  by  this  time 
that  even  a  woman  can  be  sporting.  For  it  was  not 
only  discretion  that  made  me  play  the  better  part,  nor 
the  thought  of  the  panic  a  fracas  with  a  lioness  would 
cause  in  the  caravan.  I  would  have  loved  to  take  a 
cub  home.  But — there  was  a  big  but.  Nobody  short 
of  a  sportsman  who  "browns"  a  herd  of  buck  indis- 
criminately— oh  yes,  there  are  such  men  here  and 
there  ! — would  destroy  such  a  family.  They  departed 
in  peace,  and  not  in  pieces.  I  spoored  a  little  way, 
and  in  clear  sandy  ground  came  on  the  tiny  pugs,  now 
quiescent,  now  running  and  claw  marks  showing. 

Next  we  came  on  rhino  spoor,  but  in  spite  of  what 
I  had  said  Cecily  halted  the  caravan,  whilst  she,  in 
the  very  hottest  part  of  the  day,  did  a  stalk.  It  all 
came  to  nothing,  thanks  be.  I  fell  asleep  on  a  herio, 
and  awakened  to  find  my  tent  over  me.  The  men  had 
erected  it  to  screen  me  from  the  sun.  They  were 
servants  in  a  thousand. 

From  this  thick  jungle  we  emerged  on  to  a  great  open 
plain,  or  "  bun,"  and  Clarence  told  me  it  was  called 
the  Dumberelli.  He  often  told  us  the  names  of  places 
we  came  to,  and  sometimes  I  wondered  why  they 
should  be  christened  at  all.  The  "  bun  "  was  a  waving 
sea  of  bright  green  grass,  and  full  of  game.  Aoul  in 
regiments  sought  the  new  grass,  an  oryx  or  two,  and 
"  Sig "  (Swayne's  gazelle),  looking  like  well  kept 
sea-side  donkeys,  stood  about  in  ones  and  twos.     But 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  259 

always  out  of  range.  Time  was  of  such  value  here 
we  could  not  make  a  really  big  attempt  to  secure  a 
specimen  of  picked  hartebeest.  But  I  managed  after 
a  wearying  effort,  in  which  I  was  frustrated  time  and 
time  again  by  alert  bands  of  aoul,  who  constantly  gave 
the  alarm,  to  bag  a  smallish  sig,  a  female,  and  they 
carry  much  lighter  heads  than  the  male.  I  could  not 
afford  to  pick  and  choose.  It  was  my  first  hartebeest, 
and  I  feared  the  possibility  of  going  home  minus  a 
specimen  of  the  genus.  However,  Cecily,  who  did  a 
rival  shoot  on  her  own,  secured  a  male,  whose  horns 
topped  seventeen  inches,  a  great  improvement  on  the 
beggarly  twelve  of  my  trophy.  We  took  the  tape 
measurement  on  the  front  curves. 

The  sunsets  were  superb,  and  heralded  the  most 
intense  cold.  It  became  necessary  to  trek  every  hour 
we  could,  as  every  one  dreaded  a  water  famine.  We 
seemed  in  these  days  not  to  sleep  at  all,  but  march  and 
march  interminably. 

One  early  morning  we  found  the  quaintest  of  lizards 
lying  in  the  sun.  It  had  an  outspread  tail  that  seemed 
to  overbalance  the  horrid  little  thing.  Clarence 
prodded  it  gently  with  a  small  stick,  and  it  cried 
every  time  he  did  it,  just  like  a  baby.  He  told  us  it 
is  called  "  asherbody,"  which  translated  means  baby, 
and  I  noticed,  not  for  the  first  time,  that  the  Somali 
mind  has  a  nice  sense  in  the  christening  of  things. 

We  trekked  right  into  a  large  Somali  zareba,  the 
largest  camp  we  had  yet  seen,  and  after  a  visit  from  the 
head-man,  were  let  in  for  a  "  tomasho,"  or  native 
dance,  a  different  thing  altogether  to  the  dibaltig,  and 


260  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

much  more  boring.  We  arrived  at  the  karia  at  the 
time  appointed,  dressed  in  our  best  clothes,  which  did 
not  say  much,  as  the  best  was  very  bad.  I  would  we 
had  been  fortified  by  the  possession  of  spotless  garments 
to  steel  ourselves  against  the  inquisitive  looks  of  the 
Somali  ladies.  It  is  so  hard  for  a  woman  to  appear 
at  ease  in  rags.  He  was  a  philosopher  indeed  who 
said,  somewhere  or  other,  "It  is  our  clothes-thatch 
that,  reaching  to  our  heart  of  hearts,  tailorises  and 
demoralises  us." 

We  were  received  by  the  usual  curious  crowd,  who 
fingered  our  coats  and  tried  to  look  into  our  pockets. 
Clarence  explained  we  were  to  sit  on  the  herios  pre- 
pared, and  the  show  would  begin.  Men  and  women 
took  part  in  the  dance,  advancing  from  either  side  and 
then  retreating.  I  have  attended  many  an  Indian 
"  potlatch  "  of  extravagant  description,  but  they  were 
dignified  in  the  extreme  to  the  Somali  equivalent.  I 
won't  describe  the  dance  in  detail,  because  this  is 
supposed  to  be  a  pleasant  book ;  besides,  Mr.  Stead 
may  read  it.  To  put  the  case  mildly,  the  affair  was 
savage  to  a  degree  of  ignorance  I  had  not  dreamed  of 
in  its  unvarnished  vulgarity. 

It  was  the  first  indication  we  had  that  the  Somalis 
are  uncivilised  savages.  I  tried  to  doze.  And  being 
very  weary,  slept.  A  violent  push  from  Cecily  aroused 
me  to  a  sense  of  politeness  again,  and  realising  that 
peace  reigned  around  we  stood  up,  and  through 
Clarence,  thanked  the  gratified  "  artistes,"  and  left 
them  wrangling  over  the  gifts  which  lay  on  the  ground, 
looking  as  though  they  were  trying  to  apologise  for 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  261 

the  fact  that  there  were  not  enough  of  them  to  go 
round.  We  had  to  trench  on  the  water  supply  a 
little  after  this  entertainment,  for  a  wash  was  an 
absolute  necessity. 

Next  day  a  somewhat  untoward  incident  occurred. 
Cecily  and  I  had  detached  from  a  herd  of  three  a  fine 
bull  oryx,  who  by  reason  of  some  infirmity  was  not 
so  fleet  as  his  fellows,  and  so  made  an  easier  quarry. 
Such  a  glorious  chase  he  gave  us,  and  more  than  once 
we  almost  took  a  toss  as  the  ponies  groped  for  a  foot- 
hold in  the  maze  of  ant  bear  holes. 

At  last,  to  cut  what  promised  to  be  a  never-ending 
chase,  I  flung  myself  off  the  pony  at  the  nearest  point 
I  judged  we  should  ever  get  to  the  coveted  oryx  this 
way,  and  taking  no  sort  of  a  sight,  I  was  so  out  of 
breath  with  the  shaking  of  my  steed,  brought  down 
the  antelope  in  a  crumpled  heap  at  a  distance  of  some 
two  hundred  and  ten  yards.  This  was  not  so  bad,  all 
things  considered.  We  went  up  close  to  the  fallen 
creature.  I  had  my  hand  through  the  reins  of  my 
prodigiously  blowing  pony,  and  most  injudiciously 
ranged  alongside.  Cecily  was  still  mounted.  The 
splendid  bull  rose  from  the  dead,  erect  and  firm,  and 
I  was  given  no  sort  of  a  chance  to  protect  myself 
before  he  made  for  me  with  lowered  horns.  It  all 
happened  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  I  jumped  as 
clear  as  I  could,  but  the  reins  entangled  me,  and  the 
vicious  horns  caught  my  left  arm  as  my  foe  swept 
along.  I  was  brought  to  my  knees  with  the  impact. 
As  he  pulled  up  in  a  great  slide  to  turn  for  a  return 
joust   Cecily   dropped   him,    at   such   close   quarters 


262  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

though  that  the  skin  was  much  damaged.  My  arm 
was  ripped  up  most  ingeniously  for  quite  three  inches, 
Another  rent  in  my  poor  coat  to  be  mended  !  How- 
ever, it  might  all  have  been  much  worse.  It  might 
have  been  my  right  arm.  The  wind  was  tempered  to 
the  shorn  lamb. 

I  rode  back  to  camp,  with  a  handkerchief  twisted 
tightly  round  the  wound,  and  Cecily  stayed  to  guard 
the  oryx  from  vultures,  until  I  could  send  some  one  to 
take  over,  when  she  returned  to  me  fired  with  medical 
ardour  and  primed  with  medical  knowledge  from  our 
book.  She  pronounced  the  wound  as  of  the  variety 
to  be  stitched.  Could  I  bear  it  being  stitched  ?  I  said 
certainly,  if  she  could  endure  the  horror  of  stitching 
it.  So  we  prepared  for  action.  I  told  my  doctor  I 
would  not  have  the  place  washed  because  I  was  con- 
vinced that  Somali  water,  even  when  filtered,  was  not 
calculated  to  cleanse,  rather  the  reverse,  and  I  did 
dread  blood-poisoning.  I  sat  outside  the  tent  on  a 
packing  case,  and  Cecily  put  three  most  workman- 
like stitches  into  my  arm.  She  was  a  brick,  never 
flinching  until  it  was  done,  when  she  let  off  bottled- 
up  steam  by  crying  about  four  tears,  and  I  think 
four  tears  are  allowable — I  mean  without  showing 
any  sort  of  cowardice  or  lack  of  courage — don't  you  ? 
Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day,  and  Cecily  had  never  even 
been  hospital-nursing ;  but  then  she  is  the  most  un- 
fashionable person  in  the  wide  world. 

I  carried  my  arm  in  a  sling  as  we  marched  next 
day.  Cecily  was  very  anxious  to  halt  the  caravan  on 
my  account,  but  this  I  would  not  allow.     The  wells 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  263 

must  be  reached  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
Clarence  had  reported  that  the  supply  was  dangerously 
low.  We  traversed  very  ugly  country,  sand  and 
sand,  with  a  few  low  scrub  bushes  dotted  about — a 
dispiriting  vista  enough.  We  shot  a  dik-dik  for 
dinner,  and  so  fared  sumptuously.  There  is  about  as 
much  meat  on  the  body  of  this  tiny  buck  as  one  gets 
on  an  English  hare. 

At  last  we  came  to  the  wells.  We  found  a  number 
of  Somalis  making  a  spa  out  of  the  place,  and  selling 
the  water,  drop  by  drop.  I  don't  know  if  the  wells 
were  some  one's  birthright,  or  if  some  speculative 
Somali  jumped  the  claim,  but  a  repellent  old  gentleman, 
who  looked  as  though  he  had  not  tried  the  precious 
liquid  on  himself  for  some  years,  gave  us  to  under- 
stand he  owned  the  place.  He  asked  such  wealth  for 
a  mere  dole  of  water  we  decided  to  camp  and  think 
it  out.  He  knew  the  value  of  what  he  had  to  sell, 
the  old  sinner,  for  though  we  were  but  a  few  marches 
now  from  the  end  of  the  Haud  our  caravan  was  a  good 
size,  and  its  consumption  necessarily  great.  We  had 
the  tents  set  up  right  there,  and  prepared  to  improve 
the  shining  hour  by  seeking  some  sport  on  the  Toyo 
Plain. 

I  discarded  my  sling  altogether,  and  we  started  from 
camp  early,  reaching  the  great  "  bun  "  after  a  stiffish 
ride.  We  left  the  ponies  in  charge  of  the  hunters 
some  way  from  the  fringe  of  grass,  and  in  a  certain 
amount  of  cover.  We  stood  for  quite  a  long  while 
watching  the  sea  of  waving  green  which  was  not  yet 
tall  enough  to  conceal  the  numerous  bands  of  game 


264  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

that  were  out  betimes  to  breakfast.  A  somnolent 
hartebeest  stood  up  out  of  range  behind  a  clump  of 
active  aoul.  Then  we  worked  our  way  very  gently  to 
a  spot  which  gave  us  a  clearer  view.  We  lay  down 
awhile,  glad  of  the  rest,  and  watched  the  little  harems 
quarrel  and  make  it  up.  Sometimes  a  buck  of  detective- 
like propensities  would  seem  to  say  "  I  spy  strangers," 
and  communicated  his  alarm  to  the  entire  herd.  A 
perfect  note  of  interrogation  animated  every  one  for 
a  few  moments,  and  all  would  gather  together,  until  a 
buck  skipped  towards  us,  and  then  in  active  graceful 
bounds  dash  back  to  bring  a  pal  to  help  investigation. 
Satisfied,  they  rejoined  the  admiring  does  again. 

But  that  hartebeest !  I  longed  to  get  near  him,  but 
it  seemed  a  hopeless  task.  His  sleepiness  had  passed, 
and  now  he  was  all  ears  and  eyes.  The  sun  lit  up  his 
glossy  coat,  and  caught  the  odd  twist  of  his  horns  until 
they  gleamed  again.  We  stalked  in  vain  for  an  hour 
or  more.  My  arm  was  a  great  drawback  to  me,  but  I 
would  not  allow  it  to  hamper  me,  and  played  the 
Christian  Science  dodge  on  myself,  saying,  whenever 
a  particularly  acute  shoot  of  agony  stabbed  me,  "  You 
only  think  you  have  pain."  At  last  we  hit  on  a  device 
for  ensnaring  the  active  one.  He  was  taking  no 
chances,  and  that  the  best  laid  plans 'gang  aft  agley 
we  know.  Still  my  schemes  and  machinations  were 
rather  disorganised  for  the  moment,  because  I  suddenly 
realised  I  was  sharing  my  small  portion  of  the  earth's 
surface  with  a  particularly  nasty  looking  snake  !  It 
was  quite  large  enough  to  rout  us  both,  and  we  should 
have  fled,  I  know,  had  not  the  reptile  manifested  a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  265 

dislike  of  its  own  to  our  presence,  and  made  off  into 
the  long  grass. 

It  took  us  a  few  minutes  to  recover  from  this  shock 
and  get  back  to  our  designs  for  ensnaring  the  hartebeest. 
The  general  idea  was  that  Cecily  was  to  work  her  way 
round  opposite  to  me  so  that  the  sig  lay  between 
us.  The  coveted  prize  would  then,  at  least  we  hoped 
so,  break  near  to  one  of  us.  Of  course  it  might  just 
as  easily  dash  off  in  quite  another  direction,  altogether 
out  of  range.  But  it  was  the  only  thing  we  could 
think  of  to  dislodge  our  quarry  from  the  out-of-reach 
area  in  which  it  fed.  I  could  not  do  any  stalking 
myself  that  necessitated  going  on  hands  and  knees, 
so  Cecily  set  off,  wriggling  along  like  an  eel.  Though 
I  soon  lost  sight  of  her,  I  could  in  a  way  judge  of  her 
whereabouts.  Aoul  started  here  and  there  as  they 
winded  her,  moved  away,  and  then  contented  them- 
selves again.  They  are  like  sentinels,  these  creatures, 
and  must  play  a  most  useful  part  in  the  drama  of  the 
jungle.  Not  knowing,  though,  the  actual  moment 
Cecily  would  start  the  hartebeest,  I  began  to  feel 
quite  nervous  for  fear  I  missed  an  easy  shot.  The 
tension  got  quite  irritating  when  up  from  the  sea  of 
grass  rose  Cecily,  like  an  Aphrodite  in  khaki.  Her 
loud  shout  startled  the  sig,  who  stood  an  instant 
in  paralysed  affright,  then,  on  the  wings  of  the  wind 
he  sailed  past  me.  I  threw  up  my  rifle,  the  pain  in 
my  supporting  arm  forgotten,  and  fired.  The  animal 
went  on  at  a  great  pace.  I  do  not  think  I  got  him 
anywhere,  but  Cecily,  who  ran  through  the  grass  to 
join  me,  says  she  heard  even  from  where  she  was  the 


266  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

"  phut  "  of  the  bullet,  and  why  didn't  I  ?  This  worried 
me  a  lot.  I  hate  to  think  of  half -shot  creatures 
dragging  on  in  agony.  We  found  our  ponies  and 
galloped  off  in  the  line  of  country  traversed  by  the 
vanished  sig.  We  rode  for  a  long  way,  searched 
thoroughly,  but  found  nothing.  We  saw  ostrich,  but 
at  long  range,  and  we  hadn't  the  desire  to  try  and  bag 
one.  After  a  lunch  of  cold  oryx  and  bread  of  sorts 
(the  oryx,  by  the  way,  who  gave  me  reason  to  remember 
him),  we  decided  to  give  up  the  chase,  satisfied  my 
bullet  had  not  found  a  billet.  The  whole  way  home 
was  blank.  My  shot  had  alarmed  all  the  jungle  folk, 
and  they  were  now  as  shy  as  hawks. 

Back  in  camp  the  parleying  with  the  stingy  pro- 
prietor of  the  wells  began.  He  would  not  reduce  his 
charges,  and  we  had  to  have  water.  I  so  hated  to  be 
done.  After  due  deliberation  we  served  the  old 
gentleman  with  an  ultimatum  to  the  effect  that  we 
offered  him  a  fair  price,  and  if  he  would  not  accept 
the  amount,  we  should  take  the  water  by  force  if  neces- 
sary. Clarence  translated  the  message,  and  afterwards 
we  saw  the  recipient  talking  to  his  friends,  some  fifteen 
Somalis,  and  gesticulating  wildly.  The  time  arrived 
when  the  kettle  demanded  filling  ere  tea  was  forth- 
coming, so  with  almost  all  our  men  carrying  hams  and 
barrels,  we  marched  right  up  to  the  walls.  The  old 
man,  backed  up  by  his  Somalis,  came  close  to 
Cecily  and  myself,  and  jabbered  a  great  deal  in 
furious  tones.  I  expect  the  words  were  cuss  words 
all  right.  They  sounded  like  them.  I  signed  to  the 
men  to  set  to  work  filling  up.     The  enraged  Somali 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  267 

struck  at  me  with  his  spear.  It  would  have  fallen 
heavily  upon  me  had  not  Clarence  seen  the  danger  and 
parried  it  on  his  rifle.  This  annoyed  me  frightfully. 
I  tendered  the  amount  we  considered  the  water  worth, 
and  tapped  my  rifle  significantly.  The  Somalis  fell 
back,  and  congregated  at  a  little  distance,  one  of  their 
number  presently  advancing  to  ask  for  backsheesh. 
The  battle  was  over. 

That  night  my  arm  was  in  a  parlous  state,  swollen 
and  inflamed,  and  the  pain  well-nigh  overwhelmed 
me.  I  was  in  a  high  fever,  and  to  proceed  with  the 
journey  was  impossible.  Cecily's  kindness  during  the 
awful  days  that  followed  was  wonderful,  and  her 
patience  inexhaustible.  In  truth,  I  cannot  tell  how 
much  trouble  I  must  have  caused  her,  for  things  were 
not  always  clear  to  me,  and  time  seemed  nothing. 
One  night  I  wakened  from  this  world  o'  dreams,  and 
the  tent  flap  being  open  I  saw  the  scene  around  me  like 
a  clear-limned  etching.  A  glorious  moon  lit  up  the 
camp.  Cecily  stood  just  outside,  and  by  her  side — 
who  was  it  ?  I  racked  my  muddled  brains.  Why,  of 
course,  the  leader  of  the  Opposition.  I  sank  back 
again,  convinced  I  was  dreaming.  By  my  side,  on  an 
upturned  packing  case,  lay  a  bunch  of  flowers.  In 
the  dim  light  they  looked  like  English  roses.  They 
were  dream  flowers,  I  suspect,  but  they  seemed  to  me 
most  sweet.  I  pondered  about  them  for  an  age.  Was 
it  the  marvellous  Marconi  ?  Or  did  Mercury  bring 
them  ?     I  cared  not,  so  they  came. 

Next  morning  I  wakened  to  sense  again,  and  Cecily 
was  beside  me  and  told  me — her  dear  eyes  rilled  with 


268  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

tears — how  nearly  I  had  been  lost  to  her,  and  how,  at 
the  very  worst  of  things,  all  unexpectedly,  the  leader 
of  the  Opposition  and  Ralph  had  ridden  into  camp ; 
that  without  their  help  and  common  sense  she  could 
never  have  pulled  me  through. 

The  wells  were  now  practically  in  our  possession, 
the  old  gentleman  having  waived  his  claims,  but  we 
were,  of  course,  still  out  on  the  Haud.  Camels  had 
been  sent  off  to  Berbera  to  meet  us  a  little  farther  on, 
to  return  with  stores,  mainly  for  the  men.  The 
Opposition  had  provided  us  with  many  necessaries, 
and  I  was  so  glad  because  I  did  not  want  to  leave  the 
wild  any  the  sooner  because  of  all  this  wasted  time. 

Next  afternoon  I  held  quite  a  Durbar.  I  sat  outside 
the  tent,  and  most  of  the  men  came  to  make  their 
salaams.  Clarence — the  good  fellow — even  got  so  far  as 
to  say,  shyly,  "  Me  glad  you  olri."  They  all  seemed 
glad  to  have  me  all  right,  and  it  was  nice  of  them. 

The  leader  of  the  Opposition  and  Ralph  came  to  tea, 
and  we  made  very  merry.  The  latter  pretended  to 
be  not  on  speaking  terms  with  Cecily,  because  at  their 
last  interview  she  had  called  him  "  horrid  pig,"  but 
I  explained  that  it  must  be  a  wild  pig,  and  then  it 
would  be  a  compliment  ;  he  is  so  much  nobler  than 
a  tame  one,  is  fleet  of  foot,  and  courageous  of  heart, 
and  sometimes  resembles  a  lion.  Where  comes  the 
sting  of  being  called  after  such  an  animal  ?  It  was 
delightful  to  feel  we  had  friends  so  near,  at  least  just 
now,  when  self-reliance  was  at  such  a  low  ebb  with 
me.  Old  William  puts  "  Honour,  love,  obedience, 
troops^of  friends  "  as  making  up  the  joys  of  life.     I  did 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  269 

not  want  troops,  but  after  the  jungle  world,  two  did 
make  my  joy  just  then.  I  have  to  say  the  jungle 
first,  because  it  still  stood  first,  and  I  longed  to  be  out 
again,  not  in  it,  and  yet  not  of  it.  "  He  who  has 
heard  the  voice  of  Nature  in  her  wildest  places,  who 
has  felt  the  mystery  of  her  loveliness,  the  glamour  of 
her  nameless  airs  and  graces,  is  one  who  has  eaten  of 
the  bread  of  Faery,  and  drunken  of  the  wine  of 
dreams." 

And  the  next  day  they  propounded  a  scheme  to  me — 
these  three  arch-plotters — we  would  all  join  forces, 
and  wind  up  the  shoots  together.  But  I  had  so  many 
objections,  one  being  the  remembrance  of  the  remark 
at  Aden  about  our  wishing  to  cling  on.  The  leader, 
with  deep  sophistry,  said  that  was  more  than  atoned 
for,  and  wiped  out  by  the  humiliating  fact — to  them — 
that  our  trip  was  much  the  most  successful,  not  only 
in  the  actual  results,  but  in  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the 
caravan.  In  theirs  chaos  had  reigned  from  the  very 
outset.  The  head-man  had  levanted  early  on,  taking 
with  him  the  two  best  camels  and  no  end  of  loot,  far 
worse  calamity  than  a  butler  !  Not  a  thing  had  been 
done  willingly,  only  under  compulsion,  and  grumbling 
was  the  order  of  every  day. 

I  wondered  if  the  extra  large  sum  of  money  promised 
to  each  man  of  our  caravan  at  the  end  of  the  trip, 
provided  his  conduct  pleased  us — quite  my  own  idea — 
had  kept  things  straight.  Was  it  bribery  and  corrup- 
tion ?  If  so,  in  our  case,  at  least,  the  end  justified 
the  means. 

As  for  our  trophies,  we  of  the  rival  expedition  had 


270  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

much  the  best  of  it.  The  Opposition  had  but  one 
rhino,  and  altogether  we  had  reason  to  feel  quite 
conceited.  I  hope  we  didn't.  For  if  there  is  one 
thing  I  hate  it  is  this  same  conceit.  And  sometimes 
I  fear  I  have  it  slightly.  For  I  judge  by  the  fact  that 
I  am  apt  to  feel  contempt  at  times,  and  lose  sight  of 
the  motto  "  Make  allowances."  Now,  conceit  and 
contempt  are  hand  in  glove,  and  if  one  has  the  one  it 
entails  having  the  other.  But  I  hate  contempt  in 
others,  and  admire  humility  as  much  as  any  virtue, 
it  is  perhaps  the  rarest  of  them  all.  So  I  tried  to  be 
very  humble,  and  thanked  the  warriors  for  their 
gracious  words. 

Another  great  reason  against  the  amalgamation  was 
the  trouble  that  would  arise  with  the  men.  With  us 
Clarence  was  all  powerful.  Perhaps  the  new  arrivals 
would  not  pay  allegiance  to  him,  and  so  large  a  number 
together  would  surely  fight.  All  things  considered, 
we  agreed  not  to  join,  but  to  meet  at  Berbera  and  go 
home  together.  We  were  bound  there  by  way  of  the 
midst  of  the  Golis,  and  the  Opposition  did  not  propose 
to  take  them  so  far  up.  They  thought  the  game 
hardly  worth  the  candle,  in  more  senses  than  one. 
True,  the  reserved  area  spreads  a  long  way,  but  we 
wanted  to  see  the  country  anyhow. 

In  these  days  of  convalescence  we  learned  we 
had  such  worth  having  friends.  If  Cecily  regretted 
calling  Ralph  a  "  pig,"  my  conscience  pricked  me 
that  I  once  scornfully  cavilled  at  the  "  leader's " 
lack  of  inches.  Not  that  he  was  by  any  means  a 
midget.     How  foolish  I  was  !    Why,  the  greatest  men 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  271 

have  been  little.  Nelson  and  Napoleon,  Lee  and 
Frederick  the  Great,  Gustavus  Adolphus  and  Marl- 
borough, too,  were  on  the  small  side. 

How  very  foolish  I  was  ! 

Of  a  night  Ralph  would  play  his  violin  around  the 
twinkling  fires.  It  looked  so  unlikely  an  instrument 
in  his  hands,  and  yet  he  made  it  speak  to  us  like  a 
living  thing.  He  was  the  finest  amateur  I  ever  heard. 
Even  the  Somalis  loved  to  hear  him  play,  and  sat  in 
charmed  groups  listening  intently.  It  shows  they 
have  receptive  souls  for  beauty.  I  agree  with  an  old 
friend  of  mine  that  the  man  who  has  no  music  in  his 
soul  is  fit  for  "  treasons,  stratagems,  and  spoils."  If 
I  haven't  mangled  the  Immortal  One's  words. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN  THE  GOLIS 

There  was  never  yet  philosopher   that   could   endure  the  toothache 
patiently 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing 

To  climb  steep  hills  requires  slow  pace  at  first. 

Henry  VIII 

The  next  matter  of  interest  lay  in  the  return  of  the 
camel  men.  They  came  into  camp  unexpectedly,  and 
Ralph,  who  was  lunching  with  us,  called  out  to  me  in 
my  tent  that  a  civilised  looking  "  oont-wallah " 
(camel-man)  wanted  to  speak  to  me.  There  indeed 
stood  one  of  the  men  who  had  gone  off  to  Berbera  by 
the  shortest  possible  route  for  supplies.  He  was  to 
have  met  us  farther  on,  but  we  had  delayed  our 
departure  so  much  longer  than  had  been  planned  ; 
we  were  not,  of  course,  to  be  found  at  the  arranged 
rendezvous.  So,  very  sensibly,  the  small  caravan 
came  on  to  find  us.  The  man  gave  me  particulars  of 
his  stewardship,  and  handed  me  a  bundle  of  letters,  and 
some  ancient  Daily  Wails  and  other  newspapers. 
The  whole  lot  seemed  out  of  place.  Letters  and 
papers  are  for  those  who  live  in  the  humming  world  of 
men.  We  considered  ourselves  dead  and  buried  to  it, 
We  wished  we  had  been  in  very  truth  after  opening 
some  of  the  communications.  "  Another  little  bill," 
Cecily  said,  handing  me  a  quarter  yard  long  sheet. 


.  ) 


a, 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  273 

There  were  letters  from  our  old  shikari  uncle,  full  of 
advice,  kindly  doubts,  and  a  few  sharp  digs.  But  his 
rapiers  always  had  great  big  buttons  on,  so  did  not 
hurt  us  as  he  lunged.  Sooner,  I  know,  would  he  have 
broken  his  weapon  across  his  knee. 

All  Suburbia  was  announcing,  through  the  columns 
of  the  Morning  Post,  that  marriages  had  been 
arranged  for  them.  Who  does  all  this  "  arranging  "  ? 
Nobody  ever  "  arranges  "  a  marriage  for  me.  I  often 
look  hopefully  to  see.  I  suppose  if  you  come  on  it 
"  arranged,"  however  unpleasant  it  may  be  to  you, 
there  is  nothing  to  be  done  but  see  the  thing  through. 
A  quaint  business  !  Really  quite  on  the  lines  of  the 
Stone  Age,  when  a  furry  suitor  would  arrange  with  the 
furry  father  to  exchange  the  furry  daughter  for  a 
couple  of  rabbits. 

Cecily  says  if  some  one  doesn't  arrange  a  marriage 
for  her  soon  she'll  be  left  on  the  shelf,  but  one  can  see 
a  lot  from  a  shelf,  provided  it  is  high  enough.  Of 
course  she'd  be  unpopular.  Old  maids  always  are. 
And  this  is  just  because  a  man  sees  in  every  unmarried 
woman  a  walking  statistic  against  his  irresistibility. 

The  Opposition  kept  us  going  in  meat  these  days, 
but  at  last  I  prevailed  on  Cecily  to  leave  me  and  do  a 
stalk  on  her  own.  But  Ralph  joined  her,  and  I  wonder 
how  much  stalking  they  did.  Anyway,  they  were 
bound  for  the  Toyo  to  look  for  hartebeest,  and  all  they 
came  back  with  was  the  tail,  very  much  the  worse  for 
wear  and  time,  of  an  aoul.  Ralph  said  he  grabbed  it 
as  the  animal  dashed  past  him,  and  it  came  off  in  his 
hand  !     I  told  him  he  reminded  me  of  the  Book  of 


274  twO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Chronicles — Unveracious  Chronicles !  After  all,  it 
was  no  taller  story  than  many  one  hears,  and  a  good 
deal  funnier  than  some.  We  know  Eve  told  the  first 
lie,  but  I  am  confident  that  if  Adam  ever  went  big  game 
shooting  he  came  in  a  very  good  second  at  the  winning 
post. 

The  leader  had  a  brilliant  inspiration  just  then.  We 
would  have  a  day  at  pig-sticking.  He  was  great 
after  pig  in  India,  and  of  course  where  we  were  was 
quite  the  right  sort  of  country.  I  won't  say  we  had 
the  right  sort  of  mounts.  They  did  not  understand 
the  chase  of  a  pig,  did  not  yearn  to,  and  certainly  never 
fathomed  the  secret. 

First,  we  were  explained  to  about  the  rules  of  the 
game.  Then  Clarence  and  some  hunters  were  told  off 
to  beat,  and  we  saw  to  the  spears,  tipping  them, 
choosing  the  most  likely  from  the  collected  ones 
belonging  to  our  men.  I  was  allowed  to  wield  a  light 
one,  being  still  a  semi-invalid.  We  all  rode  out  towards 
the  Toyo  Plain,  the  men  walking  behind.  I  think  I 
have  forgotten  to  mention  the  fact  that  Cecily  and  I 
rode  astride.  That  torturing,  awkward,  and  most 
uncomfortable  position  which  is  at  home  considered 
the  correct  way  to  sit  a  horse  would  have  been  im- 
possible in  Somaliland,  not  to  say  dangerous,  living 
under  our  present  conditions. 

The  men  beat  every  bush  and  blade  of  grass  most 
conscientiously,  but  at  first  nothing  resulted.  On 
nearing  the  Toyo,  however,  we  joyfully  discovered 
that  a  bit  of  thick  thorn  cover  concealed  a  small  sounder 
of  wart-hog.      They  scattered  as  we  rode  into  them. 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  275 

Cecily  smartly  detached  one  of  them,  which  immediately 
charged  away  back  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  waving 
grass  of  the  "  bun."  A  grand  hiding-place,  and  I 
feared  we  had  lost  the  treasure.  The  leader  and 
Ralph  dashed  like  lightning  after  the  pig,  and  rounded 
it  up  in  style.  Back  it  came  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
made  for  the  open  again.  I  rode  at  him,  thinking 
I  was  doing  quite  the  right  thing,  and  wild  to  draw 
first  blood,  when  Ralph  signalled  "  Sow."  I  was 
going  far  too  quickly  to  draw  up,  my  stirrup  leather 
broke,  and  the  consequence  was  the  pig  and  my  steed 
cannoned  violently,  and  bang  over  I  went.  I  called 
to  the  others  not  on  any  account  to  stop,  but  to  pursue 
the  vanished  sounder  before  it  was  too  late.  This 
they  did,  and  disappeared  in  a  moment. 

After  I  had  sorted  myself  from  out  the  pony,  and 
with  Clarence's  help  picked  sundry  bits  of  the  land- 
scape off  my  clothes,  I  mounted  again,  and  following  the 
trail  of  the  others,  and  led  by  their  shouts,  I  arrived 
on  the  scene  of  action  just  as  one  spear — Ralph's — 
was  taken.  I  tried  to  join  the  exciting  chase  that 
ensued,  but  my  pony  would  not  see  the  thing  through, 
and  disgraced  me  and  itself  every  "  jink."  The 
leader's  spear  now  flashed  about  so  very  quickly  I 
could  hardly  follow  each  phase  of  the  game,  intent  as 
I  was  on  forcing  my  pony  to  take  a  hand  in  it.  The 
boar  charged  several  times  most  ferociously,  but  the 
nimble  warrior  parried  each  onslaught  successfully. 
The  boar  was  indeed  a  game  one,  and  nothing  could 
hold  him.  Ralph  and  his  pony  went  down  like  nine- 
pins before  him,  but  the  effort  was  the  gallant  hog's 


276  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

last.     The  leader  pinned  him  down,  and  that  spear 
was  the  couft-de-grdce. 

They  said  Cecily  and  I  did  very  well  for  complete 
novices  at  the  sport,  but  I  can't  see  that  we  did  any- 
thing but  get  in  the  way.  It  was  all  very  exciting, 
and  we  were  no  end  done  up  by  the  time  we  made 
camp  again.  Cecily's  pony  had  a  nasty  gash  as  a 
reminder  of  the  fray.  Ralph  stitched  it  up  most 
scientifically.  We  were  promised  the  tushes  of  the 
boar,  set  up  in  some  way,  as  a  souvenir  of  the  great 
adventure. 

One  late  afternoon  Cecily  went  off  with  Ralph  and 
Clarence  for  a  final  attempt  on  the  life  of  a  hartebeest, 
while  the  leader  and  I  peacefully  collected  butterflies, 
or  tried  to,  and  paid  a  visit  to  the  opposition  camp  to 
see  their  trophies.  All  the  skulls  and  skins  were 
inspected.  They  had  a  couple  of  Grevy's  zebra, 
having  been  to  the  Bun  Feroli  (Zebra  Plain),  after  we 
left  them  in  the  Ogaden,  and  a  magnificent  hippo 
from  near  the  Webbi.  I  felt  very  envious,  but  one 
can't  go  everywhere.  The  zebra  skins  were  most 
exquisite,  shining  and  silky,  marked  in  great  lines  of 
white  and  brown.  The  stripes  varied  very  much  in 
the  two  skins,  one  having  much  narrower  lines  than 
the  other.  Birds  of  many  varieties  the  leader  had 
collected,  snakes  too,  and  all  the  lizards.  Being  full 
of  infinite  variety  he  loved  the  coleoptera  as  much  as 
the  flaunting  glories  of  the  lepidoptera,  and  it  took  us 
a  long  time  to  go  through  it,  for  each  treasure  was 
safely  put  away  in  its  own  box.  We  made  for  my 
camp  to  find  Ralph  in  the  seventh  heaven  of  delight 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  277 

because  he  had  brought  down  a  hartebeest  that  Cecily 
had  missed — missed  on  purpose,  she  said,  to  give  him 
the  pleasure  of  bagging  it.  Anyway,  there  lay  the 
trophy,  a  present,  Ralph  said,  for  me.  I  thanked  him 
profusely,  because  our  collection  was  not  overdone 
with  this  variety. 

I  do  not  really  admire  this  antelope  very  much,  or 
perhaps  I  should  say  I  admire  it  less  than  any  other, 
since  every  antelope  has  some  points  of  undoubted 
beauty.  Their  faces  are  what  baulk  me.  They  are 
so  silly  looking,  like  a  particularly  inane  cow — a  cow's 
face,  and  yet  not  a  cow's  face,  and  though  very  massive 
and  magnificent  in  the  fore  they  pan  out  to  nothing  in 
the  hind  quarters.  The  horns,  set  in  sockets,  are 
hardly  ever  the  same,  curving  this  way  and  that  way,i 
as  cow's  do.  Hartebeest  are  the  quickest  goers  in  all 
the  antelope  world.  They  are  never  spoken  of  by  the 
natives  by  any  other  name  than  "  sig."  And  this  is 
odd,  because  in  other  varieties  I  frequently  heard  the 
correct  designation. 

The  best  of  friends  must  part,  and  we  were  no 
exception  to  the  rule.  However,  we  buoyed  ourselves 
up  with  the  notion  that  it  was  not  to  be  for  long.  For 
the  second  time  the  opposition  shoot  watched  our 
departure,  but  this  time  we  all  had  an  interest  in  the 
affair — very  different  to  the  almost  animosity  that 
actuated  us  at  the  start.  Souvent  femme  varie,  and 
man  too. 

Our  caravan  got  on  the  move  once  more.  The 
hams  were  not  well  filled  because  we  had  used  up  all 
the  water,  whoever  it  belonged  to,  and  this  made  it 


278  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

necessary  for  us  to  march  as  swiftly  as  might  be.  We 
took  on  three  of  the  most  terrific  treks,  for  length  and 
weariness  unsurpassed.  The  track  was  fortunately 
good,  but  the  dust  was  absolutely  blinding,  blowing 
before  the  wind  in  clouds,  and  once  or  twice  during  the 
march  I  had  the  tent  pitched  that  we  might  rest  awhile 
in  a  slightly  clearer  atmosphere.  Our  small  quantity 
of  water  was  used  almost  at  once,  and  the  last  march 
on  the  Haud  was  a  forced  one  indeed.  We  lumbered 
on  long  after  darkness  had  fallen,  and  reached  some 
wells,  apparently  free,  about  eleven  o'clock.  The  men 
formed  a  rough  zareba,  but  we  were  all  too  tired  to 
trouble  much,  and  after  watering  the  animals  by  the 
light  of  the  watch  fires  we  had  supper  and  turned  in. 

The  Haud  now  was  safely  over,  and  before  us  lay 
the  great  ascent  of  the  Goli  range.  The  gradual  rise 
began  to  be  felt  after  the  second  day's  march.  We 
saw  numerous  Speke's  gazelle,  and  Cecily  bagged  a 
fine  male,  after  a  prolonged  chase,  that  took  her  some 
miles  from  camp.  I  was  nearly  out  of  my  senses  with 
toothache,  a  grievous  pain  indeed,  and  one  so  im- 
possible almost,  under  the  circumstances,  to  cure. 
Dentistry  was  beyond  us. 

For  two  days  I  trekked  in  a  state  of  semi-delirium. 
I  got  no  peace  at  night  nor  by  day,  until  at  last  I  hit 
on  a  glorious  panacea.  We  had  finished  a  huge  day, 
and  on  turning  in  for  another  sleepless  night  I  decided 
to  drink  enough  whisky  to  paralyse  me  and  the 
tooth.  A  very  little  spirit  overcomes  me.  I  mixed 
half  a  tumbler  full  of  whisky  with  precious  little 
water — drank  it — and  knew  no  more  till  morning  ! 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  279 

The  thing  worked  like  a  charm.  The  tooth  had  given 
over  aching,  and  bar  a  dark  brown  taste  in  my  mouth  I 
was  none  the  worse  for  my  carouse. 

We  saw  a  couple  of  oryx  out  early,  and  dashed  off 
after  them.  Ponies  were  of  no  use  now,  and  had  to 
be  left  behind.  I  crawled  along  such  stony  ground 
I  wore  down  to  my  bare  knees  in  no  time,  and  then 
only  got  within  range  as  the  oryx  sped  away  again. 
They  sailed  so  gracefully  over  the  rough  ground,  and 
no  obstacle  barred  their  way.  Cecily  was  posted  on 
a  small  rise  beneath  which  the  oryx  passed,  and  got  in 
a  telling  shot,  running  down  to  see  the  result.  We 
were  exceedingly  foolish  in  what  we  did,  after  all  the 
experience  we  had  too.  Seeing  the  oryx  was  hard  hit 
we  ran  towards  him,  and  he  who  looked  at  first  like 
dying  as  suddenly  rose  to  his  feet  and  ran  towards  us 
head  down  for  the  charge,  his  whole  weight  set  for  the 
blow.  Perdition  catch  our  stupidity  !  Did  we  not 
know  the  strength  and  power  of  those  rapier  horns  ? 
Cecily  was  taken  back  with  the  onslaught  for  a  moment, 
and  then  dashed  precipitately  behind  a  clump  of  aloes. 
I  dropped  on  one  knee  to  try  and  get  a  surer  shot,  to 
rise  next  moment  to  dodge  and  flee.  My  very 
ignominious  flight  was  my  cousin's  opportunity.  The 
buck  followed  me,  she  followed  him,  and  getting  in  a 
close  raking  shot,  finished  what  looked  like  the  com- 
mencement of  an  ugly  affair.  This  was  our  last  oryx 
of  the  trip,  and  a  very  fair  specimen.  The  skin  of  his 
neck  was  quite  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  a  veritable 
armour-plate.  I  did  not  know  until  later  that  the 
best  and  most  desired  shields  are  got  from  the  neck 


280  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

skin,  the  shoulder  providing  the  second  quality 
only. 

Higher  and  higher  we  climbed  each  trek,  the 
going  much  slower  now.  The  camels  took  their  time 
over  the  so  far  simple  ascent.  We  sighted  gereniik 
many  times,  both  when  riding  alone  and  with  the 
caravan.  Many  times  we  pursued  them,  and  as  many 
times  returned  discouraged.  Stalking  was  a  very 
difficult  business  here,  the  bushes  all  grew  aslant,  and 
the  buck  had  a  perfection  of  balance  unknown  to  us. 
One  try  of  Cecily's  very  much  amused  us.  She  got 
a  chance  at  a  gereniik,  after  a  stiff  pursuit  over  hill 
and  down  dale,  fired,  and  the  kick  from  her  rifle  over- 
balanced her  as  she  clung  with  uncertain  feet  to  the 
hillside,  and  she  slid  like  an  animated  toboggan 
downwards.  Goodness  knows  where  the  gereniik  or 
the  bullet  went  to. 

We  camped  on  a  beautiful  range  one  night,  where  a 
small  plateau  seemed  to  invite  us  to  rest  awhile.  The 
sun  was  just  setting,  and  the  mighty  mountains  around 
were  bathed  in  a  roseate  glow.  It  was  a  most  perfect 
scene.  The  camp  that  night  was  like  a  biblical 
picture — the  sleeping  camels,  the  recumbent  forms  of 
their  drivers,  and  over  all  a  sky  of  such  wondrous  blue 
dotted  with  stars  innumerable. 

Next  the  sublime  is  always  the  ridiculous.  Another 
camel  man  fell  sick  here,  but  his  case  was  not  really 
genuine,  I  verily  believe.  Cecily  and  I  feigned  to 
have  found  among  our  things  a  medicine  of  most 
marvellous  properties,  warranted  to  cure  in  one  dose 
all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to.     Quinine  was  its  name 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  281 

really,  and  Clarence  dosed  the  Somali  with  it,  and  the 
curative  effect  was  at  once  apparent. 

Jackals  were  here  very  plentiful,  too  much  so  for 
our  peace  and  quiet.  They  came  prowling  round  the 
camp  in  ones  and  twos  seeking  for  what  they  might 
devour.  I  shot  one  at  night  on  hearing  a  crunching 
sound  near  by.  I  rushed  out  of  the  tent  in  terror  lest 
the  half -dry  rhino  was  furnishing  a  succulent  meal. 
We  had  no  thorn  zareba  in  these  days,  and  the  watch 
must  have  belied  his  name.  The  stealthy  prowler 
passed  behind  our  tent,  and  I  got  a  clear  shot  between 
his  gleaming  eyes.  Far  too  near  !  I  blew  the  jackal's 
head  to  smithereens,  and  damaged  its  beautiful  coat 
considerably  also.  The  whole  camp  awakened  then 
and  buzzed  with  excitement,  until  the  men  knew  the 
nature  of  the  animal  that  had  come  in  on  us.  When 
it  was  discovered  that  the  intruder  was  a  mere  jackal 
matters  quieted  down  considerably.  It  was  no  credit 
to  them  that  it  wasn't  a  leopard.  I  lectured  the 
parody  of  a  watch  severely  next  day,  and  as  we  were 
getting  to  an  end  of  the  trip  our  lightest  words  had 
immediate  effect.     It  was  quite  odd. 

The  thickness  of  the  aloe  jungle  here  was  immense, 
and  to  penetrate  it  was  impossible,  though  constantly 
we  longed  to  do  so,  as  we  heard  mysterious  rustles 
n  the  density. 

Our  mileage  was  next  to  nothing  these  days,  and 
our  marches  desperate  slow.  But  a  camel  won't  be 
hurried. 

We  had  a  day  in  the  ravines,  picking  up  the  caravan 
at  a  given  place,  taking  Clarence  and  the  second  hunt 


282  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

with  us.  We  ventured  down  a  perfect  abyss  clothed 
at  the  bottom  in  aloe  jungle.  It  was  most  difficult 
to  keep  upright  at  all,  and  we  took  some  glorious 
tosses.  The  worst  thing  to  contend  with  was  the 
hunter's  habit  of  carrying  Cecily's  rifle  pointing 
straight  at  the  person  who  happened  to  be  struggling 
along  in  front.  It  gave  me  the  creeps  to  watch  him. 
However  improbable  an  accident  may  be,  we  know 
they  do  happen  in  the  best  regulated  families.  At 
last,  as  repeated  telling  him  did  no  good,  we  relieved 
him  of  his  load.  He  may  have  had  some  method  in 
his  madness. 

We  heard  a  crackle  of  the  aloes,  and  two  koodoo 
passed  in  view,  going  fairly  hard.  We  hadn't  a  look 
in,  for  they  vanished  before  we  realised  they  were 
there.  We  crossed  from  ravine  to  ravine,  and  came 
on  any  amount  of  koodoo  spoor,  and  leopard,  the 
latter  some  two  days  old.  At  last,  as  we  were  giving 
up  dispirited,  sitting  down  to  recover  our  breath,  a  small 
koodoo  bull  passed  below  us,  at  a  distance  of  some  two 
hundred  and  thirty  yards.  It  was  ridiculous  to  wait 
for  a  slightly  improved  position,  there  wouldn't  be 
one,  and  as  meat  was  very  scarce  with  us  these  days, 
I  had  a  try  for  him.  I  really  aimed  in  front  of  the  bull, 
averaging  the  pace  at  which  he  was  travelling,  and 
pressed  the  trigger.  It  was  written  in  my  Kismet  book 
that  I  might  not  do  freak  shots  of  this  kind  with 
success.  The  koodoo  saved  his  venison,  and  a  sort  of 
groan  went  up  from  the  greedy  hunters.  Two  hundred 
yards  is  really  the  limit  of  a  sporting  shot  or  chance, 
and  at  that  distance  you  cannot  make  out  the  animal's 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  283 

ear  clearly — my  invariable  test.  A  down  hill  shot  is 
the  one  most  likely  to  fail,  because  it  is  so  difficult  to 
judge  distance  horizontally,  not  vertically. 

We  had  a  huge  climb  for  it  back  to  our  camp,  which 
we  saw  perched  high  above  us,  our  tent  looking  a  mere 
white  speck  on  the  sky-line.  Once  as  we  skirted  a 
thick  bunch  of  foliage  and  undergrowth  we  heard  a 
leopard  "  cough."  We  pulled  up,  and  listened  awhile, 
but  could  hear  no  more  of  him.  Firing  the  place  was 
no  use.  The  smoke  might  hang  about,  there  was 
little  air  in  these  ravines,  and  it  might  be  impossible 
for  us  to  see  clearly.  We  were  really  tired,  and  very 
unenthusiastic,  so  let  the  matter  go. 


CHAPTER    XX 

THE  LAST  PHASE 

Our  gayness  and  our  gilt  are  all  besmirch'd 
With  rainy  marching  in  the   painful  field, 
And  time  has  worn  us  into  slovenry, 
But,  by  the  mass,  our  hearts  are  in  the  trim 

King  Hairy  V 

At  night  came  that  weird  lowing  sound  a  leopard  often 
makes  when  hunting.  Our  friend  of  the  afternoon, 
of  course.  He  wakened  us  up,  and  we  turned  out  to 
see  that  the  watch  happened  to  be  on  the  alert.  It 
would  be  a  parlous  thing  if  we  lost  any  of  the  precious 
trophies  now  when  the  expedition  was  almost  over — 
not  that  taxidermine-covered  skins  and  heads  would 
be  the  sort  of  feast  that  would  appeal  to  a  saucy 
leopard.     Then  silence  again. 

Next  day  one  of  our  hunters  heard  of  a  neighbouring 
karia  losing  a  sheep  the  previous  night.  It  was  struck 
down  but  not  removed.  I  had  heard  of  such  a  thing 
before,  and  believe  it  to  be  an  undoubted  fact  that  a 
leopard  kills  on  occasion  for  mere  lust. 

Cecily  and  I  went  to  the  karia,  which  was  perched 
on  a  plateau  surrounded  with  slopes  covered  with 
aloes.  Quite  a  natural  fortress,  and  one  that  might 
be  most  easily  guarded  from  the  incursions  of  wild 
beasts.  But  the  Somalis  seem  to  me  to  introduce 
the    kismet  idea  into  every  phase  of   their  everyday 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  285 

life.     Any  easily  avoided  disaster  is  accepted  in  this 
fashion. 

The  head-man  gave  us  all  the  particulars.  A 
leopard  had  indeed  entered  the  karia,  killed  a  sheep, 
and  then  left  the  carcase.  We  begged  for  the  remains, 
and  for  a  consideration  got  them.  Clarence  bestowed 
them  at  the  foot  of  the  rise  in  open  ground,  by  a  brake 
of  aloes  and  thick  cover.  The  men  set  about  con- 
structing a  "  machan  "  in  the  jungly  place,  and  kept 
guard  till  sunset,  when  Cecily  and  I  took  the  job  on. 
We  climbed  into  our  refuge  ;  it  was  intensely  rickety, 
and  rocked  every  time  we  made  the  least  movement. 
I  was  no  more  enamoured  of  this  sort  of  sport  than 
before,  and  suppose  we  were  doing  it  because  we  felt  the 
trip  being  so  nearly  over  it  was  foolish  now  to  miss 
any  chance  whatever.  For  once  in  a  way  we  were 
both  rather  uninterested,  a  fatal  frame  of  mind  in  this 
sort  of  an  affair.  We  were  bitterly  cold,  and  I  could 
hardly  hold  my  rifle  at  all.  Hours  seemed  to  drag 
along,  minutes  really.  I  had  to  strike  a  light,  whatever 
the  consequence,  to  ascertain  the  time.  It  was 
12  a.m.  Oh,  for  bed  and  this  sort  of  sport  at  an  end ! 
Another  weary  silence.  I  slept,  I  believe,  with  one 
eye  open.  Then  an  ominous  rustle,  and  a  lightning 
whirr  and  rush,  succeeded  by  a  blank  silence  again. 
Whatever  had  happened  now  ?  We  listened  and 
gazed  attentively,  but  no  more  sounds  reached  our 
straining  ears.  Over  all  the  jungle  brooded  a  stillness 
that  could  almost  be  felt.  Then  Cecily,  whose  sight 
is  better  than  mine,  said  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  even 
in  the  blackness  that  surrounded  us  that  the  carcase  of 


286  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

the  sheep  was  no  longer  there.  After  that,  what  a 
weary  night.  We  did  not  care  to  risk  getting  out,  and 
there  was  no  good  to  be  done  in  staying  in.  The  dawn 
broke  at  last,  falsely  at  first,  and  dark  gray  shadows 
fell  again  to  flee  away  before  the  all  conquering  sun, 
who  rose  in  splendour,  gilding  the  lofty  ranges  with 
tips  of  gold  and  red. 

We  pushed  our  way  out,  not  waiting  for  the  men  to 
come  and  let  us  free,  and  the  whole  show,  unable  to 
hold  up  any  longer,  fell  over  with  us.  It  was  very 
badly  put  together,  and  would  have  been  a  pantomime 
protection  in  case  of  stress.  We  were  dishevelled 
looking  before,  and  worn  out  for  want  of  sleep,  but  we 
were  objects  by  the  time  we  had  fought  our  way  from 
out  the  collapsed  "  machan."  We  followed  the  pugs 
of  the  leopard  till  they  disappeared  in  impenetrable 
bush.  He  had  taken  his  victim  to  a  safe  stronghold. 
But  we  weren't  to  be  worsted  so  easily.  When  Clarence 
appeared  we  asked  him  the  best  plan  for  dislodging  the 
cat,  who  must  be  gorged  now,  and  a  little  overdone. 
Our  shikari  said  he  would  order  some  of  the  men  out 
and  try  to  beat  the  place.  I  asked  him  to  take  the 
•35  Winchester  himself,  and  use  it  if  he  could.  Then 
began  a  lively  morning.  The  men  beat  the  place  with 
their  spears  in  sort  of  flying  rushes,  dashing  forward, 
then  dashing  back,  and  at  last,  as  we  really  made  the 
radius  of  the  place  smaller,  we  heard  a  continuous 
snarling,  like  that  a  domestic  cat  makes  when  it  has 
a  mouse  in  its  paws,  only  this  was  much  more  vicious 
and  sounding  louder. 

I  stood  close  to  the  jungle,  and  Clarence  begged  me 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  287 

to  stand  a  little  farther  off.  This  I  did  not  care  to 
do.  The  men  were  not  armed,  bar  their  spears,  and 
it  seemed  unfair  to  expose  them  so  without  giving 
them  the  protection  of  one's  rifle.  Cecily  was 
doing  the  same  thing  on  her  side  of  the  brake,  where 
the  men  were  spearing  bravely  and  shouting  lustily. 
We  fired  into  the  undergrowth,  but  it  was  of  no  avail ; 
still  the  ominous  snarling  kept  up,  still  the  animal 
would  not  break  cover.  I  made  up  my  mind  I  would 
try  and  see  if  I  could  not  get  a  shot  into  him  somehow, 
so  I  took  on  the  silly  job  of  crawling  very  slowly  down 
the  rough  trail  made  through  the  dense  bush  by  the 
dragging  of  the  sheep.  I  came  on  its  remains  almost 
at  once.  The  leopard,  where  was  he  ?  Then  I  saw 
it  in  one  brief  second.  What  a  face  of  rage  and  fury  ! 
I  dare  not  fire.  I  backed  hurriedly,  getting  clear  of  the 
place,  and  then  fired  twice  into  the  very  place  where 
I  judged  the  leopard  lay  up.  A  rush.  Out  he  came, 
rather  from  the  side,  looking  like  a  fiend  let  loose.  I 
was  glad  we  were  not  bang  in  his  path.  I  could  not 
get  a  shot  in  at  all,  for  one  of  the  hunters,  in  the 
warmth  of  his  earnest  efforts,  put  himself  in  my  light. 
There  was  Cecily,  she  blazed  away  ;  there  was  Clarence, 
whose  rifle  spoke,  but  I  heard  his  bullet  strike  a  rock 
behind.  The  leopard,  with  lithe  swinging  bounds, 
was  up  the  clefts  of  the  ravine  in  a  moment.  I  threw 
up  my  rifle  and  had  a  try  for  him.  No  result.  He 
was  lost  to  sight.  Four  of  the  men  went  to  the  top 
of  the  ravine  and  descended  carefully,  reporting  the 
leopard  to  be  in  a  sort  of  cave  between  two  boulders. 
We  must  get  there  too,  of  course,  which  would  be  a 


288  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

prodigious  bit  of  climbing.  Cicely  said  she  was 
confident  her  bullet  told ;  I  know  mine  didn't.  We 
reached  the  spot  where  the  animal  was  ensconced,  and 
there,  sure  enough,  we  could  see,  if  we  stooped,  his 
crouched  shoulders,  head  dropped  on  paws,  eyes 
gleaming  defiance.  He  was  a  foe  to  be  afraid  of,  and 
I  was  afraid  for  consequences.  The  men  were  in 
such  dangerous  positions,  and  all  of  us  had  such  in- 
secure foothold.  In  case  of  a  charge  from  the  leopard 
one  or  more  would  certainly  go  over  the  rocks  to  the 
bottom  of  the  gorge,  a  very  nasty  fall  indeed.  I  made 
up  my  mind  I  would  finish  it.  I  walked  as  carefully 
as  I  could  towards  my  enemy,  rifle  ready,  expecting 
the  very  worst  every  minute.  I  drew  a  bead  on  its 
head.  Fired  !  A  moment  of  such  intense  anxiety. 
No  movement.  We  advanced  cautiously.  The  great 
cat  was  dead.     A  passive  ending  indeed. 

By  all  the  laws  of  first  blood  he  belonged  to  Cecily. 
She  had  got  him  very  much  indeed,  in  the  base  of  the 
spine.  He  was  done  for  when  I  shot  him,  and  it  is 
questionable  if  he  had  the  power  to  move  at  all. 
Indeed,  his  ascent  of  the  place,  wounded  where  he  was, 
seemed  to  us  a  wonderful  feat.  The  men  extricated 
the  beautiful  thing  ;  he  was  somewhat  aged,  with  old 
teeth,  and  skin  much  scarred  and  seamed  with  fighting. 
The  head-man  from  the  karia  was  very  much  delighted, 
for  he  insisted  the  leopard  was  one  for  whom  they  had 
long  looked  to  make  an  end  of.  He  had  struck  down 
a  Somali,  who  was  only  saved  by  the  spears  of  his 
friends.  The  yellow  danger  lurked  in  rocks,  and  would, 
from  all  accounts,  probably  have    developed    into  a 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND  289 

man-eater.      We    were    glad    to     have    finished    his 
career. 

All  the  flies  in  all  the  world  seemed  to  join  in  at  the 
skinning,  and  we  went  back  to  camp,  breakfast,  and 
a  bath  of  sorts. 

We  rested  that  day,  seeing  to  all  the  trophies,  the 
new  acquisition  included,  instructing  the  men  where 
to  rub  the  skins  and  where  not.  Taking  them  all 
round,  every  specimen  was  in  good  condition. 

We  progressed  during  the  evening  hours  as  long  as 
the  light  held.  The  climbing  was  now  quite  a  big 
thing,  and  for  one  step  forward  we  seemed  to  go  two 
back.  A  sounder  of  wart-hog  crossed  our  front,  and 
Cecily  bagged  a  small  sow,  quite  by  mistake,  but  it 
was  the  animal's  own  fault  for  growing  tushes.  This 
freak  occurs  often,  and  I  don't  think  one  can  be 
blamed  if  accidents  happen  through  this  mistaken 
habit.  Accidents  always  do  happen  when  femininity 
adopts  the  attributes  which  are  the  prerogative  of  the 
masculine  gender.  Anyway,  the  pig  was  a  great 
luxury  in  the  way  of  a  change  on  the  daily  menu.  Of 
course  we  had  to  dress  it  ourselves — a  bit  of  a  set  back. 
We  fried  some  chops  for  supper  that  night,  and  smiled 
to  ourselves  as  we  thought  we  could  almost  rival 
Chicago  for  quick  despatch. 

The  next  big  undertaking  was  the  negotiating  of 
the  Upper  Sheik,  a  big  affair  indeed,  and  we  set  off 
with  not  a  few  qualms  as  to  our  success.  The  fore- 
most camel  looked  as  though  if  he  fell  he  must  carry 
all  the  others  with  him  in  swift  rush  downwards.  We 
took  care  to  lead  the  van. 


290  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

"  The  morning  was  one  of  God's  own,  done  by  hand, 
just  to  show  what  He  could  do."  We  climbed  up 
and  up,  painstakingly  and  ploddingly,  and  presently 
saw  the  rugged  way  over  which  we  had  come  far 
below  us.  We  had  then  been  marching  close  on  two 
hours,  and  must  have  done  less  than  four  miles.  A 
little  lonely  karia  was  perched  on  a  terraced  outlook 
away  to  the  west,  its  inhabitants  strolling  out  lazily  to 
watch  our  progress.  Half  a  mile  or  so  off  was  the 
Sheik  Argudub's  tomb,  a  white  dome-shaped  structure, 
glinting  in  the  sun,  and  looking  for  all  the  world  like 
a  replica  of  some  massive  wedding-cake.  The  whole 
scene  was  now  grandly  picturesque  in  the  extreme, 
and  gaining  the  top  of  the  pass  a  wondrous  panorama 
lay  spread  at  our  feet.  Wealth  of  colour  sprang 
voluptuous  around  us  :  here  a  mass  of  green  merging 
to  purple,  there  pale  tints  of  cream  and  brown,  aesthetic 
and  delicate.  Everywhere  great  ravines  yawned, 
black  and  mysterious.  Farther  off,  the  vast  Marmitime 
Plain,  and  miles  on  miles  away,  thirty  or  more,  a  tiny 
dark  blue  riband,  fringing  the  whole,  told  us  that  the 
sea  was  there.  Valleys,  ravines,  mountains,  rivers 
too,  helped  out  the  beauteous  scene,  and  above  all, 
rising  superior,  was  Mount  Wager,  mightiest  of  all  the 
Golis. 

We  camped  in  this  delightful  place,  overlooking  a 
vista  I  can  never  forget.  Preying  vultures  kept  watch 
over  infinite  space,  in  widening  circles.  A  hot  wind 
blew  through  the  camp.  Here  at  last,  for  the  moment, 
we  could  see  about  us  without  that  smoke-like  dust 
to  curtain  all  things.     The  light  of  the  setting  sun 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  291 

limned  clear  the  mighty  peaks,  and  brooding  night 
swept  gently  down  the  slopes  and  wrapped  the  world 
in  sombre  garb.  The  wild  eerie  grandeur  of  it  im- 
pressed me  greatly,  and  I  simply  could  not  leave  our 
terraced  plateau,  but  beneath  the  arch  of  the  stars 
sat  on  and  marvelled.  Then,  as  though  by  some 
special  arrangement  of  Providence  for  our  good 
entertainment,  a  mighty  storm  brewed  itself  sullenly 
away  over  the  Marmitime,  then  crept  insidiously  to 
the  Golis,  and  broke  in  majesty.  The  bombardment 
lasted  for  an  hour  or  more,  reverberating  through  every 
pass  and  every  ravine;  the  heavens  were  alight  with 
wondrous  flashes,  that  rent  the  air  in  forked  spears, 
striking  down  to  the  depths  of  the  darkest  crevass. 

We  were  as  safe  outside  the  tent  as  in,  I  think,  but 
nowhere  very  safe ,  the  lightning  grew  so  close. 
Some  of  the  men  got  under  herios,  some  even  under 
the  standing  camels,  a  nice  Juggernaut  to  run  the 
risk  of  bringing  down  on  one's  devoted  head.  Then, 
gradually  the  wildness  passed,  and  spent  itself  in 
deep-tongued  mutterings  and  distant  murmurs.  Then 
came  the  rain,  Somali  rain,  and  we  had  to  shelter. 
Cecily's  treasure  had  made  us  our  inevitable  night- 
cap— tea — before  the  streams  of  water  drenched  his 
fire.     Thanks  be  ! 

I  pictured  in  my  mind  the  days  when  herds  of 
elephants  roamed  the  Golis  valleys,  and  the  lion  woke 
the  still  ravines  with  resonant  sound.  Alas  !  this 
place  will  know  them  no  more. 

The  Sheik  Pass  is,  of  course,  christened  after  the 
old    gentleman  who   is    buried    in   the  wedding-cake 


292  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

arrangement,  and  not  very  far  from  our  camp  was 
an  immense  cemetery  where  many  thousands  of 
people  are  buried.  Clarence  took  us  also  to  the  ruins 
of  a  one-time  city,  now  covered  with  grass  and  aloe 
growth.  How  ancient  the  place  is  I  cannot  say  with 
accuracy,  but  it  looked  very  ancient  indeed.  Not  far 
away  at  the  Upper  Sheik  is  a  large  Somali  village,  a 
Mullah  settlement,  and  [the  Sheik  there,  a  very  en- 
lightened person  indeed,  told  us  that  the  remains  of 
the  city  are  not  really  very  antediluvian,  and  is  the 
site  of  the  homes  of  the  early  settlers  from  the  Yemen. 
As  we  neither  of  us  knew  anything  about  such  influx 
we  kept  silent,  to  conceal  our  ignorance.  Quite  a  lot 
of  the  tracery  on  the  stones  which  satisfied  un- 
archaeological  people  like  ourselves  is  nothing  but 
decorative  work  carved  by  the  shepherds  trying  to 
kill  time  ! 

Being  comparatively  near  Berbera  and  "  civilisa- 
tion," the  pass  being  a  kind  of  high  road  to  Brighton, 
this  Mullah  saw  a  good  deal  of  Europeans,  and  spoke 
a  little  English.  We  presented  him  with  a  Koran,  a 
tusba,  and  a  couple  of  tobes — the  last  of  the  Mohicans 
— and  so  our  reception  was  exceedingly  cordial.  The 
Mullah  was  an  elderly  man,  but  it  is  exceedingly 
hard  to  guess  ages  "  out  there,"  and  his  face  was 
deeply  lined,  his  eyes  were  very  jaded.  When  the 
conversation,  engineered  by  Clarence  as  usual,  began 
to  flag  I  cast  about  in  my  mind  for  a  suitable  remark, 
which  I  placed  carefully.  He  would  just  wait  for  me 
to  make  another,  and  seemed  to  have  no  inventive 
faculty  of  his  own.     At  last  I  said  I  hoped  all  his 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  293 

wives  were  well.  The  Mullah  tersely  said  he  had 
none,  and  relapsed  into  silence  again.  This  was  a 
set-back  that  took  some  getting  over,  but  I  gathered 
myself  together  sufficiently  to  say  I  trusted  the 
forlorn  condition  of  things  was  temporary  only,  and 
that  when  he  had  some  wives  they  would  keep  well. 
Cecily  pulled  my  sleeve,  and  whispered  I  was  getting 
on  very  badly.     "  You  try  then,"  I  said  huffily. 

She  asked  him  how  many  cattle  he  owned.  Oh, 
hundreds.     Would  we  like  some  milk  ? 

"  I  hope  he  didn't  think  I  was  hinting  !  "  murmured 
Cecily  abashed.  But  we  did  look  forward  to  a  good 
drink  of  cow's  milk.  When  it  came  we  could  not 
manage  it,  for  the  milk  tasted  so  horribly.  I  think 
the  milking  vessels  must  have  been  dirty. 

In  this  settlement  they  made  large  quantities  of 
ghee  for  sending  down  to  Berbera,  and  the  whole 
atmosphere  seemed  more  business-like  and  agricul- 
tural than  most  Somali  karias.  Quite  a  crop  of 
jowari  cultivation  brightened  the  plateau  ground 
around,  and  farming  seemed  to  be  thoroughly  under- 
stood. Many  herds  of  sheep,  watched  over  by  women 
and  children,  whitened  the  hills.  A  goat  of  acumen 
and  intelligence  led  each  band,  and  they  were  not 
driven  from  the  rear,  with  the  consequent  going  in 
the  wrong  direction  every  time  that  attends  the 
moving  of  a  flock  of  sheep  with  us.  The  shepherdess 
walked  in  front,  the  tame  goat  followed,  and  the  sheep 
came  wandering  after.  They  were  exceedingly  fat  sheep, 
and  our  men  revelled  in  the  grease  that  ensued  after  the 
cooking  of  two  presented  to  us  by  our  friend  the  Mullah. 


294  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

The  hot  karif  wind  here  blew  hurricanes  for  a  couple 
of  days,  and  tents  would  not  stand  against  it.  We 
tried  to  keep  them  up,  but  the  anxiety  of  the  prospect 
of  one's  house  about  one's  ears  kept  us  awake,  and  the 
next  night  we  had  a  sort  of  circle  made  of  all  our 
boxes  and  luggage  generally,  and  slept  inside  the  ring 
with  the  gale  blowing  great  guns  over  our  heads.  The 
karif  is  part  of  the  Haga  season,  July  and  August,  and 
we  had  met  it,  only  less  furiously  inclined,  on  and  off 
lately.  It  springs  up  at  night,  and  you  may  go  to 
bed  with  not  a  breath  stirring  to  wake  to  feel  the  tents 
straining  at  its  moorings.  The  sand  blows  before  the 
wind  in  clouds,  and  the  best  way  to  combat  it  is  to 
precipitate  oneself  face  downwards  until  the  swirl  of 
grit  has  passed  for  the  time.  At  the  height  of  the 
Golis  the  karif  is  not  usually  prevalent,  keeping  its 
attentions  for  the  plains.  And  we  were  delighted  that 
each  morning  as  the  day  advanced  the  wind  of  the 
night  spent  itself  into  a  pleasant  refreshing  breeze. 

Just  where  we  pitched  our  camp  was  a  reserved 
area  for  game,  so  we  descended  next  morning,  minus 
the  hunters,  to  lower  country,  down  the  remains  of 
elephant  trails.  They  are  not  so  amazing  to  me  as 
the  tracks  of  the  bison — extinct,  or  practically  extinct 
anyway — one  comes  on  in  some  parts  of  Montana.  I 
remember  one  in  particular  that  I  thought  was  the 
ancient  bed  of  some  great  river,  so  wide  and  deep  was 
it.  And  yet  thousands  of  bison  passing  over  it  to 
drink  daily  at  a  lake  in  the  vicinity  had  made  the 
wondrous  track.     But  I'm  digressing,  and  that  badly. 

A  couple  of  agile  wild  asses  raced  along  a  little  path- 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  295 

way  cleft  in  the  side  of  the  ravine  above  us,  the  dis- 
lodged stones  raining  about  our  ears.  Graceful  alert 
creatures,  but  of  course  barred  to  us,  and  not  only 
by  reason  of  the  red  tape  that  ties  them  up.  I  cannot 
think  a  wild  ass  is  an  allowable  trophy.  I  should  for 
ever  apologise  if  I  had  one.  So — we  saw  them  vanish 
in  a  cloud  of  dust.  We  saw  a  klipspringer  as  we  turned 
a  little  curving  piece  of  rock.  I  fired,  and  missed. 
Most  unfortunately,  as  the  shot  was  called  through 
every  ravine  by  every  echo. 

As  we  were  silently  standing  gazing  across  a 
lovely  valley  a  couple  of  wart-hog  sows  with  immense 
families  ran  among  the  aloes.  Cecily  dashed  after 
them,  and  into  them,  separating  the  little  band. 
Laughing  heartily,  she  pursued  one  agile  mite,  and 
almost  cornered  it.  The  sow  turned  viciously  and 
charged  head  down.  I  shouted  to  the  venturesome 
Cecily,  but  she  saw  the  danger  as  soon  as  I,  and  made 
for  an  aloe  stronghold.  The  baby  pig  with  little 
grunts  and  squeals  ran  to  its  mother,  who  gave  up  the 
idea  of  punishing  us  for  our  temerity  in  waylaying  her, 
and  trotted  back  to  her  litter,  all  scuttling  away  in  the 
tangle  of  jungly  places.  We  laughed  at  the  comical 
sight  they  presented,  and  then  began  to  lunch  off  a 
bit  of  their  relation. 

The  air  made  us  drowsy,  and  I  think  we  slept 
awhile.  The  bark  of  a  koodoo  wakened  us,  and  we 
started  up  all  alert.  Two  small  does  crossed  the 
ravine  lower  down,  but  were  gone  in  the  fraction  of  a 
second.  It  was  a  stiff  climb  back,  and  as  I  made  a 
detour  round  a  jutting  peak  of  rock  I  caught  a  glimpse 


296  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

of  a  distant  klipspringer.  Down  I  went,  and  oh,  how 
I  pra}*ed  Cecily  would  keep  quiet,  and  not  set  a  dozen 
stones  a-rolling,  for  she  had  not  sighted  the  prize.  I 
threw  up  my  rifle  and  took  careful  aim.  The  klip- 
springer was  off.  It  perched  again  on  a  spiky  summit. 
Bang  !  sounded  to  the  astonishment  of  Cecily.  The 
little  buck  took  a  header  clean  off  its  halting  place,  and 
turning  somersaults  fell  a  hundred  feet  or  so.  We 
slid  and  ran  and  fell  after  it.  I  made  certain  its  horns 
would  be  broken  and  useless,  but,  thank  goodness,  we 
found  them  intact.  I  had  hit  the  klipspringer  fair 
and  square  in  the  heart,  and  its  rough  olive-coloured 
coat  was  hardly  marked.  The  little  straight  horns  of 
this  trophy  measured  three  and  three  quarter  inches. 
The  females  are  hornless. 

}  Then  came  the  difficulty  of  packing  our  prize  back  to 
camp — our  camp  in  the  skies.  First  we  sought  a 
stout  branch,  and  then  tied  the  hollow  rounded  hoofs 
of  the  little  klipspringer  to  it.  We  always  went  about 
with  our  pockets  stuffed  with  cord  and  useful  things, 
the  sort  of  things  a  woman  in  peace  times  would  not 
find  useful  at  all.  Then  we  lifted  together.  What  a 
mighty  weight  for  so  small  a  thing  !  The  rests  we  had, 
the  slips  downhill,  the  tempers  we  got  into,  are  they 
not  all  graphically  described  in  my  diaries  of  the  day 
in  the  following  terse  but  meaning  words  :  "  I  shot 
a  klipspringer  at  the  bottom  of  a  ravine.  Cecily  and  I 
carried  it  back  to  our  camp  in  the  Upper  Sheik  our- 
selves."    Simple  words,  but  fragrant  with  meaning. 

Near  camp  the  waiting  Clarence  met  us,  and  we 
gladly  turned  over  the  klipspringer  to  him.     It  was 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  297 

indeed  a  charming  trophy,  and  we  were  intensely 
happy  at  having  procured  one  of  this  species.  Our 
excursion  had  about  put  the  finishing  touch  to  our 
garments,  which  were  already  on  their  last  legs.  We 
were  literally  in  rags,  and  had  come  down  to  our  last 
suit.     Time  had  indeed  made  us  slovenly. 

If  the  ascent  of  the  Upper  Sheik  had  been  a  big 
matter,  what  shall  we  say  about  the  descent  ?  It  was 
a  very  serious  matter,  but  Cecily  and  I  laughed  and 
laughed,  and  hugely  enjoyed  ourselves.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  a  barrow  load  of  stones  tipped  over  the 
edge  would  have  been  graceful  to  us.  I  tried  the 
going  down  for  a  short  way  on  my  pony,  but  speedily 
resolved  that  if  I  must  die  I  would  at  least  do  it  with 
some  degree  of  dignity,  and  not  be  hurled  into  space 
in  company  with  a  wretched,  if  well  meaning,  Somali 
tat.  The  camels,  one  by  one,  went  on  before  us  ;  it 
would  have  been  vastly  unpleasant  to  go  before. 
Westinghouse  brakes  are  what  they  wanted,  Somali 
camel  men  are  what  they  got.  Clinging  on  to  the 
already  overbalanced  creatures,  backing,  pushing, 
shouting,  rarely  have  I  seen  a  more  amusing  sight. 
The  ponies  practically  tobogganed  down,  and  the 
accidents  were  many.  One  box  full  of  provisions  fell 
off  a  heaving  camel,  burst  open,  and  all  the  provisions 
spread  themselves  as  far  and  as  widely  as  ever  they 
possibly  could.  I  scooped  up  all  the  coffee  I  could 
find,  as  it  was  the  last  we  had.  We  drank  it  as 
"  Turkish  "  afterwards,  grits  and  all,  and  thus  got  it 
down  with  more  liking. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  pass  we  called  a  halt  for  a 


298  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

much-needed  rest,  and  looking  back  one  wondered 
however  we  had  made  the  journey  down  so  success- 
fully. The  camels  seemed  none  the  worse,  but  one 
pony,  my  erstwhile  steed  "  Sceptre,"  had  gone  very 
lame.  We  were  now  in  big  timber  country,  and  for 
the  first  time  for  an  age  saw  water  running,  and  not 
stagnant.  We  took  off  our  boots  and  stockings,  and 
went  in  at  once,  only  sorry  that  propriety  would  not 
allow  a  total  eclipse.  We  could  not  leave  that 
blessed  brook  ;  I  really  cannot  dignify  it  by  the  name 
of  river. 

Camp  was  formed  here,  but  a  zareba  was  no  longer 
a  necessity.  All  that  day  we  drowsed  away  the  hours, 
wandering  about  among  the  trees  and  chasing  butter- 
flies.    It  was  quite  an  idyllic  day. 

Next  morning  we  left  camp,  thoroughly  fresh  and 
game  for  a  big  tramp.  We  took  our  way  up  a  rocky 
gorge  that  led  us  towards  the  Marmitime.  The 
scenery  everywhere  was  still  of  the  most  exquisite 
description,  vastly  different  to  the  sun-dried  plains 
we  had  traversed  so  short  a  time  ago.  Walking  was 
not  easy,  and  we  made  a  great  clatter  of  stones  as  we 
passed  along.  Our  noise  startled  a  small  creature  we 
had  not  noticed  before,  so  much  the  colour  of  the 
ground  was  he.  He  sprang  from  rock  to  rock  with 
surprising  agility,  and  poised  for  a  moment  ere  he  took 
off  again  like  some  light-winged  bird.  We  excitedly 
started  in  pursuit,  and  I  was  almost  certain  we  should 
lose  him.  Cecily  vowed  she  must  risk  it,  and  I  did 
not  think  it  mattered  very  much  anyway.  The 
gazelle  seemed  to  me  lost. 


1      I    >      >    >    >       > 

.    1 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  299 

My  cousin  waited  for  the  creature  to  rest  a  second, 
and  then  did  what  I  consider  the  finest  shot  of  the 
trip.  She  brought  her  quarry  down  from  a  great 
height,  two  hundred  and  ten  yards  at  least,  smack, 
to  a  little  grassy  knoll  beneath,  stone  dead.  I  patted 
her  on  the  back.  It  was  a  wonderful  and  never-to-be- 
forgotten  achievement.  We  had  no  end  of  a  difficulty 
to  reach  the  place,  and  arrived,  our  joy  knew  no 
bounds.  It  might  be  said  of  our  trip  as  of  the  life  of 
King  Charles,  that  nothing  in  all  of  it  so  much  became 
it  as  the  ending,  for  this,  our  last  trophy  of  all,  proved 
to  be  the  somewhat  rare  Pelzeln's  Gazelle.  It  is  not 
at  all  rare  in  the  Marmitime,  I  believe,  but  necessitating 
a  special  expedition  there  to  bag  one.  The  gazelle  had 
quite  good  horns,  topping  eight  inches.  He  was  fawn 
in  colour,  darker  on  the  back,  with  a  black  tail.  The 
females  of  this  species  carry  horns  also. 

I  stayed  up  in  the  rocks  on  guard  until  Cecily  brought 
Clarence  and  one  of  the  hunters  to  do  the  carrying 
of  our  treasure,  Cecily  and  I  having  gone  out  of  that 
business. 

In  camp  now  the  greatest  activity  reigned,  the  men 
working  so  very  willingly,  taking  no  end  of  pains 
with  the  heads  and  skulls  and  skins.  And  the  cook, 
Cecily's  cook,  made  us  weird  hashes  and  tea  till  we 
feared  for  our  digestions. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

END   OF   THE    GREAT   SHIKAR 

Approved  warriors,  and  my  faithful  friends 

Titus  Andronicus 
Then  must  I  count  my  gains 

Richard  III 
And  so  I  take  my  leave 

Midsummer  Night's  Dream 

At  last  Berbera  in  the  distance.  At  last  the  one 
remaining  night  in  our  tent— over.  At  last  the  final 
breakfast  in  the  open— over.  Then  the  outskirts  of 
the  town,  and  then  Berbera  itself. 

The  leader  of  the  Opposition  and  Ralph  met  us 
almost  at  once,  looking  quite  respectable  and  clean. 
They  said  they  had  been  waiting  right  there  for  two 
days  for  fear  we  should  come  unwelcomed.  We  put 
up  at  the  old  familiar  rest-house  in  the  European 
Square,  and  our  camels  and  impedimenta  generally 
camped  in  front  of  us.  Our  first  dinner  in  "  civilisa 
tion  "  did  not  please  us  half  as  much  as  the  culinary 
efforts  of  Cecily's  chef.  Roast  chicken  with  flies  is  not, 
after  all,  so  appetising  as  badly  cooked  oryx,  served 
up  with  hunger  sauce,  and  at  least,  in  the  jungle,  we 
escaped  that  last  resource  of  the  average  cook  when 
she  can't  think  up  a  pudding — stewed  rhubarb.  I 
wonder  if  there  is  a  country  where  the  weed  can  be 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  301 

avoided  ?  Here  it  was  again,  a  mass  of  flies  and 
fermentation,  singing  away  to  itself  in  a  little  dish. 

After  dinner  we  sat  outside  the  bungalow  fighting 
battles  o'er  again,  and  regretting,  oh,  with  such  an 
ache  of  longing,  the  jungle  and  the  wild.  That  night 
we  hardly  slept  at  all.  We  missed  the  camp  sounds, 
the  grunting  camels,  the  sound  of  the  fires  being  piled, 
we  missed  the  open — all  !  We  stretched  out  longing 
arms  and  touched  a  wall  !  We  paced  a  floor  that  was 
not  ground. 

Everything  in  the  world  comes  to  an  end.  How 
sad  that  is  sometimes  !  How  we  longed  to  turn  the 
hands  of  the  clock  back,  and  Time  with  it  ! 

Next  day  we  joined  our  camp  again,  and  began  to 
make  arrangements  for  its  disbandment.  We  had 
come  in  at  a  bad  time — camels  being  a  drug  in  the 
market.  The  leader  and  Ralph  disposed  of  theirs 
by  public  auction,  but  there  could  not  be  much  of  a 
demand  for  any  more  at  this  time  of  the  year.  Our 
beasts  were  in  a  very  fair  condition,  all  things  con- 
sidered, but  we  had  great  difficulty  in  getting  rid  of 
them.  At  last  Clarence  produced  a  dirty  old  Arab, 
whose  appearance  gave  one  the  idea  he  had  no  means 
whatever,  but  of  course  this  is  not  peculiar  to  Arabs, 
for  some  of  our  home  millionaires  are  afflicted  in  the 
same  way.  The  old  gentleman  bargained  and  bargained 
until  I  almost  let  the  creatures  go  at  30  Rs.  apiece, 
but  Ralph  arrived  at  the  crucial  moment  and  put  a 
different  complexion  on  the  matter.  He  rushed  into 
the  discussion  with  vigour,  and  called  the  offer  piracy, 
robbery,  and  things  of  that  sort.     I  never  could  have 


302  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

been  so  personal  myself.  The  Arab  did  not  seem  to  think 
any  worse  of  my  kinsman  for  it,  and  the  camels  changed 
hands  at  the  much  improved  price  of  35  Rs.  apiece. 

The  ponies  were  practically  given  away,  and  I  had  no 
end  of  a  difficulty  to  unearth  a  philanthropist  willing 
to  board  and  lodge  "  Sceptre."  We  only  just  got  rid 
of  our  camels  in  time  !  That  very  evening  the  sports- 
man arrived  in  Berbera  whom  we  had  left  cogitating 
at  Aden.  His  wife  was  going  stronger  than  ever,  and 
her  temper  was,  if  possible,  worse.  He  had  not  lost 
her.  What  a  wasted  opportunity  !  Their  caravan 
had  taken  a  completely  different  route  to  ours,  having 
been  to  the  Boorgha  country  and  round  by  the  Bun 
Feroli.  Their  trophies  were  very  fine  and  numerous, 
and  the  kindly  old  shikari  showed  them  to  us  with 
great  pleasure  and  pride.  He  managed  to  be  a  sports- 
man in  spite  of  Madam,  not,  I  am  sure,  by  her  aid. 
She  was  a  Woman's-Righter,  and  like  Sally  Brass,  a 
regular  one-er.  Regardless  of  the  plain  fact  that  we 
must  all  be  hopelessly  ignorant  of  home  affairs,  she 
worried  our  lives  out  of  an  evening  to  discover  our 
trivial,  worthless  opinions  on  all  sorts  of  political 
questions.  It  was  very  amusing  to  hear  Cecily  artfully 
trying  to  conceal  her  dense  ignorance  ;  we  listened  to 
them  one  night  after  dinner,  and  Madam,  who  probably 
knew  as  little  of  the  subject  as  her  victim,  desired  to 
know  what  Cecily  thought  of  Mr.  Chamberlain's 
fiscal  policy.  My  cousin  did  not  enlarge,  so  that  her 
lack  of  knowledge  was  overwhelmingly  apparent.  She 
shook  her  head  solemnly,  and  said  darkly,  with  grave 
emphasis,  "  What  indeed  !  " 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  303 

Now,  "What,  indeed!"  can  cover  a  multitude  of 
things  if  said  just  as  it  should  be.  Put  the  accent  on 
both  words,  and  try  it  next  time  you  are  cornered. 

I  know  Madam  regarded  us  four  as  a  ribald  crew, 
and  kept  her  fickle  smiles  only  for  "  the  Leader," 
whom  she  desired  to  propitiate  because  his  place  at 
home  adjoined  hers,  and  as  the  old  shikari  meant  to 
put  up  for  Parliament  at  the  next  election,  Madam  saw  a 
faint  chance  of  securing  a  vote.  We  got  a  great  deal  of 
amusement  out  of  her  wiles  and  blandishments.  One 
day  in  between  the  camel-selling  and  general  disband- 
ment  we  had  much  difficulty  to  repress  our  mirth,  as 
we  heard  the  warrior  being  tackled  something  like 
this. 

"  Of  course,  Major,"  very  suavely,  "  I  can  count  on 
your  vote  ?  " 

"  I  ought  to  say  '  Of  course '  too.  But  what 
precisely  are  your  husband's  political  views  ?  " 

"  Oh,  he  hasn't  any.     Except  on  big  game  shooting." 

"  Well,  that  simplifies  matters,  anyhow,"  said  the 
officer,  musingly.  "  Could  you  tell  me  if  he  holds 
with  an  eight  hours'  day  ?  " 

"  I  expect  so."  Then  added,  as  an  afterthought, 
"  What — er — what  kind  of  a  day  is  it  ?  " 

"  Oh,"   answered  the  no-wiser  warrior,    "  an  eight 
hours'  days  is — er — an  eight  hours'  day." 
i     "  To  be  sure,"   in  a  tone  of  great  relief.     "  How 
silly  of  me  !     I  should  persuade  my  husband  to  have 
any  kind  of  day  his  constituents  most  preferred." 

"But  imagine,"  put  in  Cecily,  "if  they  all  wanted 
different !  " 


304  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALI  LAND 

"  There  are  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days  in 
the  year,  I  believe,"  said  the  offended  lady,  frigidly. 

The  old  husband  was  much  more  likeable,  and  we 
got  on  well  with  him  when  we  were  allowed  a  look  in. 
He  had  a  pretty  wit,  and  told  stories  in  an  inimitable 
manner,  though  not  always  of  come-in-with-the-fish 
variety.  Indeed,  some  of  his  anecdotes  could  better 
have  made  an  entree  with  the  curry.  I  dare  say  so 
much  camp  life  had  roughened  him  a  little.  When 
Madam  waxed  sarcastic,  and  scornfully  told  him  a 
tale  was  too  far  fetched  he  would  say  quite  good- 
humouredly  he  could  never  fetch  his  stories  from  far 
enough,  as  he  was  for  ever  seeing  the  light  of  auld 
lang  syne  in  some  eye.  He  had  that  best  and  most 
useful  of  gifts,  the  power  to  say  things  apropos  at  just 
the  right  moment.  Most  of  us  think  them  up  afterwards 
when  it  is  too  late.  Such  a  power  is  a  gift  worth  having 
from  the  gods,  just  as  malapropisms  come  from  another 
quarter. 

The  traveller's  bungalow  affected  to  put  us  all  up. 
Ralph  said  it  was  affectation  merely,  as  the  place  was 
so  crowded  out  he  slept  with  his  feet  through  the 
window  ! 

Anything  that  was  likely  to  be  of  the  least  use  to  him 
we  gave  to  Clarence,  to  his  great  joy,  and  his  choice 
did  fall  on  some  quaint  things.  An  ordinary  English 
axe  was  his  first  selection  ;  he  passed  over  the  native 
ones  in  lofty  scorn.  In  addition  to  these  few  simple 
gifts  we  decided  to  bestow  on  him,  as  a  mark  of  our 
immense  appreciation  of  the  good  work  done,  our 
spare  12-bore,  in  order  that   he  might   go  out  on  his 


TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND  305 

next  shikar  with  every  degree  of  safety.  Such  a 
present  overwhelmed  our  follower  by  its  magnificence, 
and  he  was  almost  too  excited  to  speak,  or  express 
his  thanks.  At  first  he  did  not  realise  we  meant  to 
give  it,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  indeed  to  watch  his 
face  as  the  wonderful  truth  dawned  on  his  mind. 

The  rest  of  our  men  filed  past  us  as  we  stood  ready 
to  pay  them  by  the  side  of  the  tent  that  had  been 
our  home  for  so  long.  Every  man  got  his  bonus  of 
money,  and  a  little  present  besides  from  the  stores, 
and  we  shook  hands  all  round.  I  think  we  all  felt 
the  same  regret  at  parting.  Absurd  as  it  may 
sound,  the  saying  "  Good-bye  "  to  these  rough 
followers  of  ours  was  a  sentimentally  sad  business. 

"  What  days  and  nights  we'd  seen,  enjoyed,  and 
passed."  And  truly  few  travellers  had  been  better 
served.  Clarence  was  immensely  anxious  to  go  home 
with  us,  and  become,  I  don't  quite  know  what,  in  our 
household.     He  spoke  to  me  very  seriously  about  it. 

"You  welly  good  people,"  he  said;  "me  go  to 
Englan'  all  same  you."  But  England  and  Clarence 
could  never  amalgamate,  and  we  had  to  explain  to 
him  we  would  all  look  forward  to  meeting  again 
in  Berbera  some  day. 

Cecily  gave  my  Waterbury  to  the  cook — a  cheap 
way  of  giving  a  present,  as  I  told  her;  but  she  had 
to  give  him  a  useful  mark  of  her  appreciation,  she 
said,  and  her  own  watch  was  broken.  I  said  farewell 
to  this  personage  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger,  and 
he  went  off  winding  his  Waterbury  as  hard  as  he 
could  go. 

u 


306  TWO  DIANAS  IN  SOMALILAND 

Clarence  helped  us  pack  the  trophies  in  great 
cases,  a  big  piece  of  work,  and  one  that  took  us  right 
up  to  the  time  of  sailing.  We  counted  our  gains,  and 
found  that  they  included  rhino,  lion,  leopard,  harte- 
beest,  dibatag,  gereniik,  oryx,  aoul,  Speke's  gazelle, 
klipspringer,  Pelzeln's  gazelle,  wart-hog,  hyaena, 
jackal,  wolf,  ostrich,  marabou,  dik-dik,  and  one  or 
two  other  varieties  of  game  and  birds.  As  for  our 
losses — well,  I  was  assured  the  Baron  was  no  loss  at 
all.  For  on  being  guided  by  Clarence  to  the  filthy 
abode  in  the  native  quarter  where  the  Baron's 
family  resided,  I  was  given  to  understand  that  his 
removal  was  a  source  of  gratification  to  them  all. 
The  amount  of  money  owing  him,  and  a  little  over, 
which  I  tendered  apolegetically  enough,  instantly 
caused  the  very  memory  of  the  ill-fated  man  to  fade 
away.  Our  other  follower,  who  died  naturally, 
with  no  assistance  from  us,  directly  or  indirectly, 
did  not  appear  to  have  any  belongings. 

And  so  the  great  shikar  ended,  and  for  nearly 
four  months  and  a  half  we  had  lived  in  tents,  and 
played  at  being  nomads. 

Every  one  of  our  men  came  to  the  quay  to  see  us 
off,  Clarence  carrying  his  rifle,  the  cook  still  winding 
his  watch.     We  all  shook  hands  over  again. 

"  Salaam  aleikum,  Clarence." 

"  Aleikum  salaam,  Mem-sahibs." 

Salaam. 


BIG-GAME    SHOOTING     ON    THE 
EQUATOR 

By  Captain  F.  A.  Dickinson,  F.R.G.S.  With  an  Introduction 
by  Sir  Charles  Norton  Eliot,  K.C.M.G.,  late  Commissioner 
for  British  East  Africa.  79  Illustrations  reproduced  from 
Photographs.     Demy  8vo  (9  x  5I  inches).     12s.  6d.  net. 

***  East  Africa  is  the  paradise  of  big-game  shooters,  and  Captain 
Dickinson's  volume  will  tell  the  sportsman  not  only  of  what  has  been  done, 
but  what  may  still  be  done.  He  will  find  in  its  pages  many  valuable  hints 
as  to  how  to  reach  the  fields  where  an  enormous  quantity  of  game  exists. 
Captain  Dickinson  says  in  his  Preface  :  "All  I  can  say  is,  if  you  don't 
believe  it,  go  there  and  see  for  yourself,  and  you  will  be  badly  startled." 
The  illustrations  are,  for  the  most  part,  reproduced  from  photographs  taken 
by  the  author  himself. 

RIFLE     AND    ROMANCE    IN    THE 
INDIAN  JUNGLE 

Being  the  Record  of  Thirteen  Years  of  Indian  Jungle  Life.  By 
Captain  A.  I,  R.  Glasfurd  (Indian  Army).  With  numerous 
Illustrations  by  the  Author  and  reproductions  from  Photographs. 
New  and  cheaper  Edition.     Crown  8vo.     7s.  6d.  net. 

Sportsman. — "Fascinating  reading  .  .  .  aptly  named,  brightly  written, 
and  lavishly  illustrated." 

Daily  News. — "  Full  of  stirring  incidents  and  bright  description," 
Daily  Mail. — "  Extremely  interesting." 

BOMBAY  DUCKS 

An  Account  of  some  of  the  Every-day  Birds  and  Beasts  found 
in  a  Naturalist's  El  Dorado.  By  Douglas  Dewar.  With 
numerous  Illustrations  reproduced  from  Photographs  by 
Captain  Fayrer,  I.  M.S.     Demy  8vo.     16s.  net. 

Spectator. — "Mr.  Douglas  Dewar's  book  is  excellent.  ...  A  feature  of 
the  book  is  the  photographs  of  birds  by  Captain  Fayrer.  They  are  most 
remarkable,  and  quite  unlike  the  usual  wretched  snapshot  and  blurred 
reproductions  with  which  too  many  naturalists'  books  are  nowadays 
illustrated." 

JOHN  LANE,  The  Bodley  Head,  VIGO  ST.,  LONDON,  W. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL     AND     OTHER 
ODDITIES 

By  Frank   Finn,  B.A.    (Oxon),   F.Z.S.,   late   Deputy   Super- 
intendent of  the  Indian  Museum,  Calcutta.     With  numerous 
Illustrations  from  Photographs.     Demy  8vo  (9  x  5|  inches). 
10s.  6d.  net. 

***  In  this  book  Mr.  Finn  deals  with  various  out-of-the-way  subjects 
connected  with  the  study  of  living  birds  and  other  animab,  with  a  freshness 
of  touch  which  is  the  outcome  of  an  unusually  wide  experience  of  Nature 
in  more  countries  than  one.  While  written  in  a  popular  style,  the  articles 
in  the  work  are  full  of  original  observation  and  deal  incidentally  in  many 
cases  with  problems  of  a  wide  scientific  interest ;  the  author's  belief,  founded 
on  long  experience  as  a  lecturer,  being  that  such  subjects  are  often  the  most 
attractive  to  the  ordinary  intelligent  reader.  The  illustrations  will  be  found 
to  be  a  notable  feature  of  the  book,  having  been  selected  with  the  greatest 
care  with  a  view  to  its  adequate  elucidation. 

AFRICA  FROM  SOUTH  TO  NORTH 
THROUGH  MAROTSELAND 

By  Major  A.  St.  H.  Gibbons.  With  numerous  Illustrations 
from  Photographs,  and  Maps.  Demy  Svo.  In  Two  Volumes. 
32s.  net. 

Academy. — "  There  are  innumerable  excellent  photographs,  and  several 
most  valuable  and  informing  maps.  Altogether  a  remarkably  fine,  thorough, 
and  interesting  publication." 

Morning  Post. — "A  permanent  and  valuable  addition  to  the  literature 
of  African  travel." 

Liverpool  Post. — "A  work  well  entitled  to  be  classed  with  Nansen's 
'  Farthest  North.'" 

FROM    FOX'S    EARTH    TO    MOUN- 
TAIN TARN 

Days  Among  the  Wild  Animals  of  Scotland.  By  J.  H. 
Crawford.  With  numerous  Illustrations.  Demy  Svo 
(9  x  5i  inches).     10s.  6d,  net. 

***  Mr.  Crawford's  book  is  a  contribution  to  the  natural  history  of 
Scotland.  He  tells  of  days  among  the  wild  creatures,  days  selected  on 
account  of  the  incident  with  which  they  were  crowded.  Starting  from  the 
earth  of  the  lowland  fox,  the  volume  carries  us  to  a  lonely  mountain  tarn. 
It  ranges  to  the  borders  of  Shetland,  from  burn  to  river,  from  shaded  lane 
to  fenceless  moor  and  bare  mountain.  Scotland  is  perhaps  the  only  part 
of  the  British  Isles  where  the  term  "  wild  life"  has  much  meaning.  The 
volume  is  illustrated  with  carefully  selected  series  of  photographs  from  life. 

JOHN  LANE,  The  Bodley  Head,  VIGO  ST.,  LONDON,  W. 


,?(P  TICE 

Those  who  possess  old  letters,  documents ^  corre- 
spondence^ £MSS.,  scraps  of  autobiography,  and  also 
miniatures  and  portraits,  relating  to  persons  and 
matters  historical,  literary,  political  and  social,  should 
communicate  with  £Mr.  John  Lane,  The  Bodley 
Head,  Vigo  Street,  London,  W.,  who  will  at  all 
times  be  pleased  to  give  his  advice  and  assistance, 
either  as  to  their  preservation  or  publication. 


LIVING  MASTERS  OF  MUSIC 

An  Illustrated  Series  of  Monographs  dealing  with 
Contemporary  Musical  Life,  and  including  Repre- 
sentatives of  all  Branches  of  the  Art.  Edited  by 
Rosa  Newmarch.  Crown  Svo.  Cloth,  zs.  6d.  net 
each  volume. 

HENRY  J.  WOOD.     By  Rosa  Newmarch. 
SIR   EDWARD   ELGAR.      By  R.   J.   Buckley. 
JOSEPH   JOACHIM.     By  J.    A.   Fuller  Maitland. 
EDWARD    MACDOWELL.       By  L.  Gilman. 
EDVARD  GRIEG.     By  H.  T.  Finck. 
THEODOR  LESCHETIZKY.     By  A.  Hullah. 
GIACOMO  PUCCINI.      By  Wakeling  Dry. 
ALFRED  BRUNEAU.      By  Arthur  Hervey. 

T/ie  following  Volumes  are  in  preparation  : 
RICHARD  STRAUSS.     By  A.  Kalisch. 
IGNAZ  PADEREWSKI.     By  E.  A.  Baughan. 

STARS    OF    THE    STAGE 

A  Series  of  Illustrated  Biographies  of  the  Leading 
Actors,  Actresses,  and  Dramatists.  Edited  by  J.  T. 
Grein.      Crown  Svo.     zs.  6d.  each  net. 

*»*  It  was  Schiller  who  said :  "  Twine  no  wreath  for  the 
actor,  since  his  work  is  oral  and  ephemeral."  "Stars  of  the 
Stage"  may  in  some  degree  remove  this  reproach.  There  are 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  playgoers,  and  both  editor  and  publisher 
think  it  reasonable  to  assume  that  a  considerable  number  of  these 
would  like  to  know  something  about  actors,  actresses,  and 
dramatists,  whose  work  they  nightly  applaud.  Each  volume 
will  be  carefully  illustrated,  and  as  far  as  text,  printing,  and 
paper  are  concerned  will  be  a  notable  book.  Great  care  has  been 
taken  in  selecting  the  biographers,  who  in  most  cases  Iiave 
already  accumulated  much  appropriate  material. 

First  Volumes. 
ELLEN  TERRY.     By  Christopher  St.   John. 
HERBERT  BEERBOHM  TREE.  By  Mrs.  George  Cran. 
W.  S.   GILBERT.     By  Edith  A.  Browne. 
CHAS.  WYNDHAM.     By  Florence  Teignmouth  Shore. 
GEORGE  BERNARD  SHAW.      By  G.  K.  Chesterton. 
ARTHUR  WING  PINERO.     By  E.  A.  Baughan. 
HENRY  ARTHUR  JONES.     By  Anthony  Ellis. 


A   CATALOGUE    OF 

MEMOIRS,  "BIOGRAPHIES,  ETC. 


WO%,KS    UPON   ZNIAPOLEON 
NAPOLEON drTHE  INVASION  OF  ENGLAND : 

The  Story  of  the  Great  Terror,  1 797-1 805.  By  H,  F.  B. 
Wheeler  and  A.  M.  Broadley.  With  upwards  of  100  Full- 
page  Illustrations  reproduced  from  Contemporary  Portraits,  Prints, 
etc.  ;  eight  in  Colour.      Two  Volumes.      32J.  net. 

'.*  Hitherto  no  look  dealing  exhaustively  with  Napoleon  s  colossal  plans  for  invading 
the  United  Kingdom,  and  our  own  strenuous  measures  to  resist  his  coming,  has  appeared 
in  the  English  language.  This  work,  which  has  been  in  preparation  for  several  years,  is 
a  careful  study  of  this  neglected  phase  of  Napoleonic  history.  It  not  only  deals  with  the 
military  and  naval  preparations  made  by  both  nations,  but  'with  the  more  picturesque 
side  of  their  campaign.  While  Napoleon  was  riding  along  Hie  sands  of  Boulogne 
encouraging  the  shipbuilders  and  organising  the  Army  of  England — which  was  to  conquer 
half  Europe  as  the  Grand  Army — Pitt  was  drilling  Volunteers  at  H'almer  Castle,  Fox 
was  exercising  as  a  private  in  the  Chertsey  Volunteers,  and  the  peace-loving  Addington 
appeared  in  the  House  of  Commons  in  military  uniform.  The  churches  were  storeit  with 
arms,  and  two  hours'  drilling  was  undergone  every  Sunday,  to  say  nothing  of  "week-days. 
Never  before  or  since  has  the  pencil  of  the  cartoonist  played  so  important  a  part  in  the 
formation  of  public  opinion.  Patriotism  on  paper  was  rampant.  From  179S  till  1805, 
when  Trafalgar  lifted  the  war-cloud  which  hung  over  the  Kingdom,  pen  and  press  were 
turning  out  history  in  pictures  by  hundreds,  as  well  as  popular  songs.  Caricatures, 
squibs,  and  broadsides  against  Napoleon  and  the  threatened  invasion  did  inuch  to 
encourage  the  population  to  prepare  to  resist  the  legions  of  France.  The  facile  pencils  of 
Gillray,  the  Cruickshanks,  Ansell,  Rowlandson,  West,  Woodzuard,  and  a  score  of  lesser 
lights,  were  never  idle.  Many  unique  cartoons  and  other  illustrations  appear  in  these 
volumes,  which  also  include  important  letters,  never  before  published,  of  George  III,  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  Lord  Brougham.  Decies,  RicJiard  Cumberland,  Thomas  Order 
Powlett,  Mrs.  Piozzi,  and  other  celebrities. 

THE     FALL     OF     NAPOLEON.        By    Oscar 

Browning,  m. a.,  Author  of  "The  Boyhood  and  Youth  of  Napoleon." 
With  numerous  Full-page  Illustrations.  Demy  Svo  (9  x  5f  inches). 
1 2/.  6d.  net. 

*»*  The  story  of  the  fall  of  Napoleon  has  never  been  adequately  written  for  English 
readers,  and  great  misconception  still  exists  in  this  country  even  with  regard  to  the  most 
material facts.  The  present  volume  a:  tempts  to  supply  this  omission,  and  makes  use  of 
the  copious  recent  literature  on  this  portion  of  Napoleon's  life,  which  adds  so  largely  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  subject.  The  narrative  begins  with  Napoleon's  return  to  Paris  after  the 
Russian  disaster.  It  gives  a  complete  account  of  the  campaigns  of  1S13  and  1814,  based 
very  largely  upon  personal  knowledge  of  the  battlefields.  The  events  connected  with  the 
abdication  at  Fontainebleau  are  carefully  described.  The  life  in  Elba  is  painted,  and 
the  marvellous  march  to  Paris  dealt  with  in  detail.  In  treating  of  the  Hundred  Days 
the  attitude  of  the  English  Government  has  received  much  attention,  and  tlie  Waterloo 
campaign  has  been  dealt  with  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  best  and  most  recent  authori- 
ties. The  book  concludes  with  a  minute  account  of  Napoleon's  surrender  at  Aix,  which 
has  never  before  been  properly  presented  in  an  English  dress,  and  leaves  Napoleon  on  board 
the  "Northumberland."  The  book  'will  form  a  companion  volume  to  "  The  Boyhood  and 
Youth  of  Napoleon,"  by  the  same  author. 


4 A    CATALOGUE    OF 

THE  BOYHOOD  &  YOUTH  OF  NAPOLEON, 

1 769-1 793.  Some  Chapters  on  the  early  life  of  Bonaparte. 
By  Oscar  Browning,  m.a.  With  numerous  Illustrations,  Por- 
traits, etc.      Crown  Svo.      5/.  net. 

Daily  News. — "  Mr.  Browning  has  with  patience,  labour,  careful  study,  and  excellent  taste 
given  us  a  very  valuable  work,  which  will  add  materially  to  the  literature  on  this  most 
fascinating  of  human  personalities." 

Literary  World. — ".  .  .  Mr.  Browning  has  examined  all  the  available  sources  of  informa- 
tion and  carefully  weighed  his  historical  evidence.  His  discriminating  treatment  has 
resulted  in  a  book  that  is  .  .  .  one  that  arrests  attention  by  the  conviction  its  reasoned 
conclusions  carry." 

World. — "  The  story  of  Napoleon's  childhood  could  not  have  had  an  abler  or  more  sympa- 
thetic narrator  than  the  author  of  this  very  fascinating  work." 

THE  DUKE  OF  REICHSTADT (NAPOLEON  II.) 

By  Edward  de  Wertheimer.  Translated  from  the  German. 
With  numerous  Illustrations.  Demy  Svo.  zis.  net.  (Second 
Edition.) 

Times. — "  A  most  careful  and  interesting  work  which  presents  the  first  complete  and 
authoritative  account  of  the  life  of  this  unfortunate  Prince." 

Westminster  Gazette. — "This  book,  admirably  produced,  reinforced  by  many  additional 
portraits,  is  a  solid  contribution  to  history  and  a  monument  of  patient,  well-applied 
research." 

Public  Opinion. — "No  student  of  Napoleon's  life  can  afford  to  miss  this  book,  which  tells 
the  story  of  his  son,  who  was  variously  known  as  King  of  Rome,  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
Napoleon  II,  and  the  Duke  of  Reichstadt.  .  .   .  The  story  of  his  life  is  admirably  told. " 

Bookman. — "This  is  the  first  authoritative  book  on  the  subject  of  the  Duke  of  Reichstadt 
(Napoleon  II)  and  his  short,  dramatic  life.  The  present  biography  is  full  of  fresh 
interest,  and  is  exceptionally  valuable  owing  to  the  numerous  portraits  which  are 
included." 

NAPOLEON'S  CONQUEST  OF  PRUSSIA,  1806. 

By  F.  Loraine  Petre,  Author  of  "Napoleon's  Campaign  in 
Poland,  1806-7."  With  an  Introduction  by  Field-Marshal 
Earl  Roberts,  V.C.,  K.G.,  etc.  With  Maps,  Battle  Plans, 
Portraits,  and  16  Full-page  Illustrations.  Demy  Svo  (9  x  5f- 
inches).      I  zs.  6d.  net. 

Scotsman. — "  Neither  too  concise,  nor  too  diffuse,  the  book  is  eminently  readable.  It  is  the 
best  work  in  English  on  a  somewhat  circumscribed  subject." 

Outlook. — "  Mr.  Petre  has  visited  the  battlefields  and  read  everything,  and  his  monograph  is 
a  model  of  what  military  history,  handled  with  enthusiasm  and  literary  ability,  can  be. ' 

NAPOLEON'S  CAMPAIGN  IN  POLAND,  1806- 

1807.  A  Military  History  of  Napoleon's  First  War  with  Russia, 
verified  from  unpublished  official  documents.  By  F.  Loraine 
Petre.  With  16  Full-page  Illustrations,  Maps,  and  Plans.  New 
Edition.      Demy  Svo  (9  x  5| inches).      \zs.  6d.  net. 

Army  and  Navy  Chronicle. — "We  welcome  a  second  edition  of  this  valuable  work.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Loraine  Petre  is  an  authority  on  the  wars  of  the  great  Napoleon,  and  has  brought 
the  greatest  care  and  energy  into  his  studies  of  the  subject." 


MEMOIRS,   BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc.       5 
RALPH  HEATHCOTE.    Letters  of  a  Diplomatist 

During  the  Time  of  Napoleon,  Giving  an  Account  of  the  Dispute 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Elector  of  Hesse.  By  Countess 
Gunther  Groben.  With  Numerous  Illustrations.  Demy  8vo 
(9  x  5 1  inches),      lzs.  6d.  net. 

~.+  Ralph  Heaihcote,  the  son  of  an  English  father  and  an  Alsatian  mother,  was  for 
some  time  in  the  English  diplomatic  service  as  first  secretary  to  Mr.  Brook  Tavlor,  minister 
at  the  Court  of  Hesse,  and  on  one  occasion  found  himself  very  near  to  making  history. 
Napoleon  became  persuaded  that  Taylor  tuas  implicated  in  a  plot  to  procure  his  assassina- 
tion, and  insisted  on  his  dismissal  from  the  Hessian  Court.  As  Taylor  refused  to  be 
dismissed,  the  incident  at  one  time  seemed  likely  to  result  to  the  Elector  in  the  loss  of  his 
throne.  Heathcote  came  into  contact  with  a  number  of  notable  people,  including  the  Miss 
Berrys,  with  whom  lie  assures  his  mother  he  is  not  in  love.  On  the  whole,  there  is  much 
interesting  material  for  lovers  of  old  letters  and  journals. 

MEMOIRS  OF  THE  COUNT  DE   CARTRIE. 

A  record  of  the  extraordinary  events  in  the  life  of  a  French 
Royalist  during  the  war  in  La  Vendee,  and  of  his  flight  to  South- 
ampton, where  he  followed  the  humble  occupation  of  gardener. 
With  an  introduction  by  Frederic  Masson,  Appendices  and  Notes 
by  Pierre  Amedee  Pichot,  and  other  hands,  and  numerous  Illustra- 
tions, including  a  Photogravure  Portrait  of  the  Author.  Demy  8vo. 
1 is.  6d.  net. 

Daily  News. — "We  have  seldom  met  with  a  human  document  which  has  interested  us  so 

much." 
Dundee  Advertiser. — "The  identification  and  publication   of  the  Memoirs  of  Count  de 

Cartrie  are  due  to  as  smart  a  piece  of  literary  detective  work  as  has  been  reported  for 

many  years." 
Liverpool  Courier. — "Mr.   Lane  and  his   French  coadjutors  are   entitled  to  the   utmost 

credit  for  the  pains  which  they  have  taken  to  reconstruct  and  publish  in  such  complete 

form  the  recollections  of  an  eyewitness  of  important  events  concerning  which  even  now 

no  little  dubiety  exists." 
Athenteum. — "As  a  record  of  personal  suffering  and  indomitable   perseverance   against 

opposing  circumstances  the  narrative  of  De  Cartrie's  escape  to  the  Eastern  frontier,  in 

the  disguise  of  a  master-gunner,  could  not  easily  be  surpassed." 
World. — "The  book  is  very  entertaining,  and  will  be  read  with  pleasure  by  all  who  delight 

in  the  byways  of  history." 

WOMEN     OF    THE     SECOND    EMPIRE. 

Chronicles  of  the  Court  of  Napoleon  III.  By  Frederic  Loliee. 
With  an  introduction  by  Richard  Whiteing  and  53  full-page 
Illustrations,  3  in  Photogravure.     Demy  Svo.      z\s.  net. 

Standard. — "  M.  Frederic  Loliee  has  written  a  remarkable  book,  vivid  and  pitiless  in  its 
description  of  the  intrigue  and  dare-devil  spirit  which  flourished  unchecked  at  the  French 
Court.  .  .  .  Mr.  Richard  Whiteing's  introduction  is  written  with  restraint  and  dignity." 

Mr.  James  Douglas  in  the  Star. — "At  a  moment  when  most  novels  send  you  to  sleep,  let 
me  whisper  the  name  of  a  book  which  will  amuse  you  in  most  melancholy  mood.  One 
of  the  freshest,  gayest,  and  wittiest  volumes  of  gossip  and  anecdote  I  have  ever  read." 

Sunday  Times. — "A  delicious  banquet  of  scandal,  contributions  to  which  have  been  secured 
by  the  artful  device  of  persuading  ladies  not  so  much  to  make  their  own  confessions  as 
to  talk  about  their  friends.  .  .  .  The  illustrations  present  us  with  a  veritable  galaxy 
of  beauty." 

Daily  Telegraph. — "  It  is  a  really  fascinating  story,  or  series  of  stories,  set  forth  in  this 
volume.  .  .  .  Here  are  anecdotes  innumerable  of  the  brilliant  women  of  the  Second  Em- 
pire, so  that  in  reading  the  book  we  are  not  only  dazzled  by  the  beauty  and  gorgeousness 
of  everything,  but  we  are  entertained  by  the  record  of  things  said  and  done,  and  through 
all  we  are  conscious  of  the  coming  'gloom  and  doom'  so  soon  to  overtake  the  Court. 
Few  novels  possess  the  fascination  of  this  spirited  work,  and  many  readers  will  hope  that 
the  author  will  carry  out  his  proposal  of  giving  us  a  further  series  of  memories  of  the 
'Women  of  the  Second  Empire.'" 


A    CATALOGUE    OF 


MEMOIRS     OF     MADEMOISELLE     DES 

ECHEROLLES.  Translated  from  the  French  by  Marie 
Clothilde  Balfour.  With  an  Introduction  by  G.  K.  Fortescue, 
Portraits,  etc.      5/.  net. 

Liverpool  Mercury. — ".  .  .  this  absorbing  book.  .  .  .  The  workhas  a  very  decided 
historical  value.  The  translation  is  excellent,  and  quite  notable  in  the  preservation  of 
idiom." 

JANE  AUSTEN'S  SAILOR  BROTHERS.    Being 

the  life  and  Adventures  of  Sir  Francis  Austen,  g.c.b.,  Admiral  of 
the  Fleet,  and  Rear-Admiral  Charles  Austen.  By  J.  H.  and  E.  C. 
Hubback.    With  numerous  Illustrations.    Demy  8vo.     1  is.  bd.  net. 

Morning-  Post. — ".  .  .  May  be  welcomed  as  an  important  addition  to  Austeniana  .  .  .; 
it  is  besides  valuable  for  its  glimpses  of  life  in  the  Navy,  its  illustrations  of  the  feelings 
and  sentiments  of  naval  officers  during  the  period  that  preceded  and  that  which 
followed  the  great  battle  of  just  one  century  ago,  the  battle  which  won  so  much  but 
which  cost  us — Nelson." 

Globe.— "The.  book  is  doubly  fortunate  in  its  appearance,  for  it  appeals  not  only  to  the 
lovers  of  Jane  Austen's  novels,  but  also  to  those  who  value  sidelights  on  the  most 
stirring  times  of  the  Navy." 

POETRY   AND    PROGRESS    IN    RUSSIA.      By 

Rosa  Newmarch.  With  6  full-page  Portraits.  Demy  Svo 
(9x5!  inches),      ys.  6d.  net. 

***  This  book  deals  with  an  aspect  of  Russian  literature  hitherto  unjustly  neglected  in 
favour  of  the  school  of  realistic  fiction.  Nevertheless,  the  poets  of  the  earlier  half  of  the 
iqth  century  were  the  pioneers  of  the  intellectual  progress  which  culminated  in  the  work 
of  that  Pleiad  of  novelists :  Gogol,  Tourgeniev,  Dostoievsky,  and  Tolstoi.  The  spirit^  of 
Russia  can  never  be  more  than  imperfectly  understood  by  those  who,  without  preparation, 
plunge  straightway  into  this  tide  of  realism  which  marks  only  the  second  stage  in  the 
evolution  of  the  national  genius.  Mrs.  Newmarch' s  volume  covers  a  period  extending 
from  the  first  publications  of  Poushkin,  in  1814,  to  the  death  of  Nadson,  in  i836,  and 
consists  of  an  Introduction  and  six  studies,  as  follows  :  Poushkin,  the  frst  and  greatest 
of  the  Russian  national  poets  ;  Lcrmontov,  the  meteoric  poet  of  the  Romantic  School; 
Koltsov,  the  Russian  Burns;  Nikitin,  the  singer  of  Russian  rural  life ;  Nekrassov,  the 
poet  of  revolution  ;  and  Nadson,  whose  work  is  characteristic  of  the  decadence  of  Russian 
poetry. 

THE  LIFE  OF  PETER  ILICH  TCHAIKOVSKY 

( 1 840-1 893).  By  his  Brother,  Modeste  Tchaikovsky.  Edited 
and  abridged  from  the  Russian  and  German  Editions  by  Rosa 
Newmarch.  With  Numerous  Illustrations  and  Facsimiles  and  an 
Introduction  by  the  Editor.    Demy  Svo.    21s.  net.    Second  edition. 

The  Times. — "A  most  illuminating  commentary  on  Tchaikovsky's  music." 

World. — "One  of  the  most  fascinating  self-revelations  by  an  artist  which  has  been  given  to 

the  world.  The  translation  is  excellent,  and  worth  reading  for  its  own  sake." 
Contemporary  Review. — "  The  book's  appeal  is,  of  course,  primarily  to  the  music-lover  ;  but 
there  is  so  much  of  human  and  literary  interest  in  it,  such  intimate  revelation  of  a 
singularly  interesting  personality,  that  many  who  have  never  come  under  the  spell  of 
the  Pathetic  Symphony  will  be  strongly  attracted  by  what  is  virtually  the  spiritual 
autobiography  of  its  composer.  High  praise  is  due  to  the  translator  and  editor  for  the 
literary  skill  with  which  she  has  prepared  the  English  version  of  this  fascinating  work  .  .  . 
There  have  been  few  collections  of  letters  published  within  recent^  years  that  give  so 
vivid  a  portrait  of  the  writer  as  that  presented  to  us  in  these  pages." 


MEMOIRS,   BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc. 


7 


COKE    OF    NORFOLK    AND    HIS    FRIENDS  : 

The  Life  of  Thomas  William  Coke,  First  Earl  of  Leicester  of 
the  second  creation,  containing  an  account  of  his  Ancestry, 
Surroundings,  Public  Services,  and  Private  Friendships,  and 
including  many  Unpublished  Letters  from  Noted  Men  of  his  day, 
English  and  American.  By  A.  M.  W.  Stirling.  With  20 
Photogravure  and  upwards  of  40  other  Illustrations  reproduced 
from  Contemporary  Portraits,  Prints,  etc.  Demy  Svo.  2  vols. 
32/.  net. 

*«.*  The  na?7ie  of  Coke  of  Norfolk  was  once  known  throughout  the  civilized  world,  now 
it  is  familiar  to  very  few.  Coke  occupied  a  unique  position  in  his  generation :  as  a 
landlord-owner  he  was  credited  with  having  transformed  the  agriculture  of  both 
hemispheres  ;  as  a  politician  he  remained  for  over  half  a  century  the  "  Father"  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  exercising  by  the  force  of  his  example  a  peculiar  influetice  upon  the 
political  world  of  his  day.  He  was  offered  a  peerage  seven  times  for  his  services  by  seven 
different  Prime  Ministers.  Coke  was  especially  fortunate  in  his  friendships,  and  he 
preserved  his  correspondence.  The  letters  of  the  noted  men  of  his  day  recreate  Coke's 
generation  for  us,  and  we  see  many  famous  men  in  a  guise  with  which  we  are  but  little 
acquainted.  We  see  Lafayette  as  the  humble  farmer,  absorbed  in  rearing  his  pigs  and  his 
cattle;  Lord  Hastings  as  a  youth  climbing  a  volcano  during  an  eruption;  George  IV  as 
the  fickle  friend,  pocketing  humiliation  in  order  to  condone  deceit,  or,  at  a  period  of 
exciting  national  danger,  filling  his  letters  to  Coke  with  characteristically  trivial 
speculations  whether  the  Sergeant  whom  he  was  sending  to  recruit  the  Holkham  Yeomanry 
would,  or  would  not,  get  drunk.  Again,  we  see  Fox  as  a  slovenly  schoolboy  playing  pitch- 
and-toss  at  Eton  ;  Nelson,  but  as  the  delicate  son  of  an  obscure  Norfolk  clergyman. 
Incongruous  in  their  endless  variety,  the  characters  move  across  the  pages — Pope 
Clement  XIV,  Louise  of  Stolberg,  Dr.  Parr,  Amelia  Opie,  Honest  King  William, 
tlte  Duke  of  Sussex,  Chantrey,  Lord  £rskine,  Gainsborough,  Roscoe,  Sir  James  Smith, 
Sir  Humphry  Davy  —  statesmen,  scientists,  artists,  literati,  a  great  international 
train,  amongst  whom,  and  perhaps  more  remarkable  than  all  at  that  especial  date,  are 
celebrities  from  the  United  States— at  a  date  when,  be  it  remembered,  all  who  came  thence 
were  looked  at  askance  as  the  recent  foes  of  England,  and  were,  as  Raitres  remarks — 
"Foreigners,  and  of  a  nation  hitherto  but  little  known  in  our  circles."  Ami  for  all  this 
we  have  had  to  wait  sixty-five  years,  because,  of  the  many  biographies  commenced,  the  one 
that  swallowed  up  all  the  rest  was  eventually  lost.  A  feature  of  this  book  is  the  wealth 
of  illustrating  material,  including  many  hitherto  unpublished  pictures  by  famous  hands. 

DEVONSHIRE  CHARACTERS  AND  STRANGE 

EVENTS.  By  S.  Baring-Gould,  m.a.,  Author  of  "  Yorkshire 
Oddities,"  "  Mehalah,"  « Tragedy  of  the  Caesars,"  etc.  Demy 
Svo.      21j.net. 

*»*  Notices  of  some  of  the  most  singular  characters  and  events  connected  with  the 
County  of  Devon— a  county  that  has  been  exceptionally  prolific  of  such.  The  personages 
named,  and  whose  lives  are  given,  belong  to  a  lower  plane  than  the  great  men  of  the 
county  who  have  made  their  ?nark  in  history.  But  the  range  of  characters  is  really 
wonderful.  Tke  volume  is  profusely  illustrated  with  reproductions  from  old  and 
rare  prints. 

THE    HEART    OF    GAMBETTA.       Translated 

from  the  French  by  Violette  Montagu.  With  Portraits  and 
other  Illustrations.     Demy  Svo.      Js.  6d.  net. 


8 A    CATALOGUE    OF 

THE  MEMOIRS  OF  ANN,  LADY  FANSHAWE. 

Written  by  Lady  Fanshawe.  With  Extracts  from  the  Correspon- 
dence of  Sir  Richard  Fanshawe.  Edited  by  H.  C.  Fanshawe. 
With  38  Full-page  Illustrations,  including  four  in  Photogravure 
and  one  in  Colour.     Demy  Svo  (9  x  5!  inches).      16s.  net. 

***  This  Edition  has  been  printed  direct  from  the  original  manuscript  in  the  possession 
of  the  Fanshawe  Family,  and  Mr.  H.  C.  Fanshawe  contributes  numerous  notes  which 
form  a  running  commentary  on  the  text.  Many  famous  pictures  are  reproduced,  includ- 
ing paintings  by  Velazquez  and  Van  Dyck. 

THE  TRUE   STORY   OF   MY  LIFE  :  an  Auto- 

biography  by  Alice  M.  Diehl,  Novelist,  Writer,  and  Musician. 
Demy  Svo.      10/.  6d.  net. 

*»*  These  confessions,  written  with  a  naive  frankness  rare  in  present  times,  have  been 
pronounced  by  an  authority  to  be  a  human  document  of  utmost  importance  to  all  interested 
in  the  great  subjects  of  life  and  genius.  During  the  years  following  a  remarkable  child- 
hood of  prodigies  of  literary  and  musical  attainments,  the  Author  made  brilliant  careers, 
first  in  the  world  of  -music,  then  in  that  of  literature.  An  intimate  friend  of  the  late 
Sir  Henry  Irving,  his  confidences  to  her  throw  a  new  light  on  the  inner  life  of  this  some- 
what enigmatical  man.  But  the  same  may  also  be  said  of  her  friendship  or  acquaintance 
with  many  other  personages  of  world-wide  renown.  In  music,  we  read  of  Berlioz, 
Ferdinand  Hiller,  Jenny  Lind,  Sivori,  Thalborg,  Henselt  (her  master  in  his  Silesian 
Castle),  Piatti,  Sainton  and  his  wife,  Pietzius,  Cruz'elli,  the  Princess  Czartoryska,  and 
other  eminent  pupils  of  Chopin,  as  well  as  a  host  of  others  known  in  all  countries  and 
climes.  In  literature,  besides  such  stars  as  Robert  Browning,  Bret  Harte,  "  Ouida," 
Miss  Braddon,  M^rs.  Riddell,  Amelia  B.  Edwards,  R.  E.  hichens,  the  work  abounds  in 
familiar  sketches  of  former  men  and  women  whose  names  are  so  well  known  that  any 
information  about  their  personalities  is  of  absorbing  interest. 

THE    LIFE    OF    ST.  MARY    MAGDALEN. 

Translated  from  the  Italian  of  an  Unknown  Fourteenth-Century 
Writer  by  Valentina  Hawtrey.  With  an  Introductory  Note  by 
Vernon  Lee,  and  14  Full-page  Reproductions  from  the  Old  Masters. 
Crown  Svo.      5*.  net. 

Daily  News.—"  Miss  Valentina  Hawtrey  has  given  a  most  excellent  English  version  of  this 

pleasant  work." 
Academy. — "  The  fourteenth-century  fancy  plays  delightfully  around  the  meagre  details  of 

the  Gospel  narrative,  and  presents  the  heroine  in  quite  an   unconventional   light.  .  .   . 

In  its  directness  and  artistic  simplicity  and  its  wealth  of  homely  detail  the  story  reads 

like  the  work  of  some  Boccaccio  of  the  cloister;  and  fourteen  illustrations  taken  from 

Italian  painters  happily  illustrate  the  charming  text." 

MEN  AND  LETTERS.     By  Herbert  Paul,  m.p. 

Fourth  Edition.     Crown  Svo.      5/.  net. 

Daily  News. — "Mr.  Herbert  Paul  has  done  scholars  and  the  reading  world  in  general  a  high 

service  in  publishing  this  collection  of  his  essays. " 
Punch. — "  His  fund  of  good  stories  is  inexhaustible,  and  his  urbanity  never  fails.     On  the 

whole,  this  book  is  one  of  the  very  best  examples  of  literature  on  literature  and  life." 


MEMOIRS,   BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc.       9 
HUBERT  AND  JOHN  VAN  EYCK  :  Their  Life 

and  Work.     By  W.  H.  James  Weale.     Royal  4to.     ^5  5/.  net. 

Sir  Martin  Conway's  Note. 

Nearly  half  a  century  has  passed  since  Mr.  W.  H.  James  Weale,  then  resilient  at 
Bruges,  began  that  long  series  of  patient  investigations  into  the  history  of  Netherlandish 
art  which  was  destined  to  earn  so  rich  a  harvest.  When  he  began  work  Memlinc  was 
still  called  Hemling,  and  was  fabled  to  have  arrived  at  Bruges  as  a  wounded  soldier. 
The  van  Eycks  were  little  more  than  legendary  heroes.  Roger  Van  der  Weyden  was  little 
more  than  a  name.  Most  of  the  other  great  Netherlandish  artists  were  either  wholly 
forgotten  or  named  only  in  connection  with  paintings  with  which  they  had  nothing  to  do. 
Mr.  Weale  discovered  Gerard  David,  and  disentangled  his  principal  works  from  Mem- 
line's,  with  which  they  were  then  confused.  During  a  series  of  years  he  published  in  the 
"  Beffroi,"  a  magazine  issued  by  himself,  the  many  important  records  from  ancient 
archives  which  threw  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  whole  origin  and  development  of  the  early 
Netherlandish  school.  By  universal  admission  he  is  hailed  all  over  Europe  as  the  father 
of  this  study.  It  is  due  to  him  in  great  measure  that  the  masterpieces  of  that  school, 
which  by  neglect  were  in  danger  of  perishing  fifty  years  ago,  are  now  recognised  as  among 
the  most  priceless  treasures  of  the  Museums  of  Europe  and  the  United  States.  The 
publication  by  him,  therefore,  in  the  ripeness  of  his  years  and  experience,  of  the  result  of 
his  studies  on  the  van  Eycks  is  a  matter  of  considerable  importance  to  students  of  art 
history.  Lately,  since  the  revived  interest  in  the  works  of  the  Early  French  painters  has 
attracted  the  attention  of  untrained  speculators  to  the  superior  schools  of  the  Low 
Countries,  a  number  of  wild  theories  have  been  started  which  cannot  stand  upright  in  the 
face  of  recorded  facts.  A  book  is  now  needed  which  will  set  down  all  those facts  infill 
and  accurate  form.    Fullness  and  accuracy  are  the  characteristics  of  all  Mr.  Weale  s  work. 


VINCENCO  FOPPA  OF  BRESCIA,  Founder  of 

the  Lombard  School,  His  Life  and  Work.  By  Constance 
Jocelyn  Ffoulkes  and  Monsignor  Rodolfo  Majocchi,  d.d., 
Rector  of  the  Collegio  Borromeo,  Pavia.  Based  on  research  in  the 
Archives  of  Milan,  Pavia,  Brescia,  and  Genoa,  and  on  the  study 
of  all  his  known  works.  With  over  100  Illustrations,  many  in 
Photogravure,  and  100  Documents.      Royal  4to.     ^5.  5 J.  net. 

*,*  No  complete  Life  of  Vincenco  Foppa,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  North  Italian 
Masters,  has  ever  been  written  :  an  omission  which  seems  almost  inexplicable  in  these  days 
of  over-production  in  the  matter  of  biographies  of  painters,  and  of  subjects  relating  to  the 
art  of  Italy.  In  Milanese  territory —  the  sphere  of  Foppa 's  activity  during  many  years — 
he  was  regarded  by  his  contemporaries  as  unrivalled  in  his  art,  and  his  right  to  be 
considered  the  head  and  founder  of  the  Lombard  school  is  undoubted.  His  influence  was 
powerful  and  far-reaching,  extending  eastwards  beyond  the  limits  of  Brescian  territory, 
and  south  and  westwards  to  Liguria  and  Piedmont.  In  the  Milanese  district  it  was 
practically  dominant  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  until  the  coming  of  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  thrust  Foppa  and  his  followers  into  the  shade,  and  induced  him  to  abandon  Pavia, 
which  had  been  his  home  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  to  return  to  Brescia.  The  object 
of  the  authors  of  this  book  has  been  to  present  a  true  picture  of  the  master  s  life  based 
upon  the  testimony  of  records  in  Italian  archives;  all  facts  hitherto  known  relating 
to  hint  have  been  brought  together ;  all  statements  have  been  verified;  and  a  great  deal  of 
new  and  unpublished  material  has  been  added.  The  authors  have  unearthed  a  large 
amount  of  new  material  relating  to  Foppa,  one  of  the  most  interesting  facts  brought  to 
light  being  that  he  lived  for  twenty-three  years  longer  than  was  formerly  supposed.  The 
illustrations  will  include  several  pictures  by  Foppa  hitherto  unknown  in  the  history  of  art, 
and  otliers  which  have  never  before  been  published,  as  well  as  reproductions  of  every 
existing  work  by  the  master  at  present  known. 


Mk 


ro A    CATALOGUE    OF 

JUNIPER  HALL  :  Rendezvous  of  certain  illus- 
trious Personages  during  the  French  Revolution,  including  Alex- 
ander D'Arblay  and  Fanny  Burney.  Compiled  by  Constance 
Hill.  With  numerous  Illustrations  by  Ellen  G.  Hill,  and  repro- 
ductions from  various  Contemporary  Portraits.    Crown  8 vo.     5j.net. 

Daily  Telegraph. — "  .  .  .  one  of  the  most  charming  volumes  published  within  recent  years. 
.  .  .  Miss  Hill  has  drawn  a  really  idyllic  and  graphic  picture  of  the  daily  life  and  gossip 
of  the  stately  but  unfortunate  dames  and  noblemen  who  found  in  Juniper  Hall  a 
thoroughly  English  home." 

The  Times. — "  This  book  makes  another  on  the  long  and  seductive  list  of  books  that  take 
up  history  just  where  history  proper  leaves  off  .  .  .  We  have  given  but  a  faint  idea  of 
the  freshness,  the  innocent  gaiety  of  its  pages  ;  we  can  give  none  at  all  of  the  beauty  and 
interest  of  the  pictures  that  adorn  it." 

Westminster  Gazette. — "  Skilfully  unified  and  charmingly  told." 

JANE    AUSTEN  :    Her  Homes  and  Her  Friends. 

By  Constance  Hill.  With  numerous  Illustrations  by  Ellen  G. 
Hill,  together  with  Reproductions  from  Old  Portraits,  etc.  Crown 
8vo.      5/.  net. 

World. — "Miss  Constance  Hill  has  given  us  a  thoroughly  delightful  book.  .  .  ." 

Spectator. — "  This  book  is  a  valuable  contribution  to  Austen  lore." 

Daily  Telegraph. — "Miss  Constance  Hill,  the  authoress  of  this  charming  book,  has  laid  all 

devout  admirers  of  Jane  Austen  and  her  inimitable  novels  under  a  debt  of  gratitude." 
Manchester  Guardian. — "The  volume  is   the   most   valuable   accession   made   since   the 

publication  of  her  Letters,  to  our  knowledge,  of  Jane  Austen." 
The  Times. — "Related  with  an  engaging  naivete." 

THE    HOUSE    IN    ST.    MARTIN'S    STREET. 

Being  Chronicles  of  the  Burney  Family.  By  Constance  Hill, 
Author  of  "  Jane  Austen,  Her  Home,  and  Her  Friends,"  "  Juniper 
Hall,"  etc.  With  numerous  Illustrations  by  Ellen  G.  Hill,  and 
reproductions  of  Contemporary  Portraits,  etc.    Demy  8vo.    21s.net. 

World. — "This  valuable   and    very   fascinating   work.  .  .  .  Charmingly  illustrated.  .  .  . 

Those  interested  in  this  stirring  period  of  history  and  the  famous  folk  who  were  Fanny 

Burney's  friends  should  not  fail  to  add  '  The  House  in  St.  Martin's  Street '  to  their 

collection  of  books." 
Mr.  C.  K.  Shortek  in  Sphere. — "  Miss  Hill  has  written  a  charming,  an  indispensable  book." 
Graphic. — "This  is  the  most  interesting,  as  well  as  the  most  charming  collection  of  Fanny 

Burney's  letters  that  we  remember  to  have  seen.     Miss  Constance  Hill  has  written  and 

compiled  this  volume  in  a  truly  admirable  manner,  and  all  readers  owe  her  a  deep 

debt  of  gratitude." 
Bookman. — "To  lay  down  this  book  is  like  being  forced  to  quit  a  delightful  and  congenial 

company." 
Morning  Post. — ".  .  .  the  authoress  of  this  book  has  made  a  compilation  which  is  full  of 

charm  and  entertainment,  and  she  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  succeeded  in  her  object  of 

recreating  some  of  the  domestic  atmosphere  of  a  very  delightful  family." 
Globe.— "  This  is  a  thoroughly  engaging  book,  bright  and  thoughtful,  and  delightful  in  its 

simple  humanness." 

STORY  OF  THE  PRINCESS  DES  URSINS  IN 

SPAIN  (Camarera-Mayor).  By  Constance  Hill.  With  12 
Illustrations  and  a  Photogravure  Frontispiece.  New  Edition. 
Crown  8vo.      5/.  net. 

Truth. — "  It  is  a  brilliant  study  of  the  brilliant  Frenchwoman  who  in  the  early  years  of  the 
eighteenth  century  played  such  a  remarkable  part  in  saving  the  Bourbon  dynasty  in 
Spain.  Miss  Hill's  narrative  is  interesting  from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  and  the  value 
of  the  book  is  enhanced  by  the  reproductions  of  contemporary  portraits  with  which  it  is 
illustrated." 

British  Weekly.—"  We  rejoioe  to  see  this  new  and  cheaper  edition  of  Miss  Hill's  fascinating 
and  admirable  book." 


MEMOIRS,    BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc.     ii 


NEW    LETTERS    OF    THOMAS    CARLYLE. 

Edited  and  Annotated  by  Alexander  Carlyle,  with  Notes  and 
an  Introduction  and  numerous  Illustrations.  In  Two  Volumes. 
Demy  8vo.      25/.  net. 

Pall  Mall  Gazette. — "  To  the  portrait  of  the  man,  Thomas,  these  letters  do  really  add 

value ;  we  can  learn  to  respect  and  to  like  him  the  more  for  the  genuine  goodness  of  his 

personality." 
Morning  Leader. — "These  volumes  open  the  very  heart  of  Carlyle." 
Literary  World. — "  It  is  then  Carlyle,  the  nobly  filial  son,  we  see  in  these  letters  ;  Carlyle, 

the  generous  and  affectionate  brother,   the  loyal  and  warm-hearted  friend,  .  .  .  and 

above  all,  Carlyle  as  the  tender  and  faithful  lover  of  his  wife." 
Daily  Telegraph. — "The  letters  are  characteristic  enough  of  the  Carlyle  we  kmow  :  very 

picturesque  and  entertaining,  full  of  extravagant  emphasis,  written,  as  a  rule,  at  fever 

heat,  eloquently  rabid  and  emotional." 

THE   NEMESIS   OF  FROUDE  :   a  Rejoinder  to 

"  My  Relations  with  Carlyle."  By  Sir  James  Crichton  Browne 
and  Alexander  Carlyle.     Demy  Svo.      3/.  6d.  net. 

Glasgow  Herald. — ".  .  .  The  book  practically  accomplishes  its  task  of  reinstating  Carlyle  ; 

as  an  attack  on  Froude  it  is  overwhelming." 
Fublic  Opinion. — "The  main  object  of  the  book  is  to  prove  that  Froude  believed  a  myth 

and  betrayed  his  trust.     That  aim  has  been  achieved." 

NEW  LETTERS  AND  MEMORIALS  OF  JANE 

WELSH  CARLYLE.  A  Collection  of  hitherto  Unpublished 
Letters.  Annotated  by  Thomas  Carlyle,  and  Edited  by 
Alexander  Carlyle,  with  an  Introduction  by  Sir  James  Crichton 
Browne,  m.d.,  ll.d.,  f.r.s.,  numerous  Illustrations  drawn  in  Litho- 
graphy by  T.  R.  Way,  and  Photogravure  Portraits  from  hitherto 
unreproduced  Originals.    In  Two  Volumes.    Demy  Svo.     25/.  net. 

Westminster  Gazette. — "  Few  letters  in  the  language  have  in  such  perfection  the  qualities 
which  good  letters  should  possess.  Frank,  gay,  brilliant,  indiscreet,  immensely  clever, 
whimsical,  and  audacious,  they  reveal  a  character  which,  with  whatever  alloy  of  human 
infirmity,  must  endear  itself  to  any  reader  of  understanding." 

World. — "Throws  a  deal  of  new  light  on  the  domestic  relations  of  the  Sage  of  Chelsea. 
They  also  contain  the  full  text  of  Mrs.  Carlyle's  fascinating  journal,  and  her  own 
'  humorous  and  quaintly  candid  '  narrative  of  her  first  love-affair." 

Daily  News. — "  Every  page  .  .  .  scintillates  with  keen  thoughts,  biting  criticisms,  flashing 
phrases,  and  touches  of  bright  comedy." 

EMILE    ZOLA  :    Novelist    and    Reformer.      An 

Account  of  his  Life,  Work,  and  Influence.  By  E.  A.  Vizetelly. 
With  numerous  Illustrations,  Portraits,  etc.     Demy  Svo.     21/.  net. 

Morning  Post. — "Mr.  Ernest  Vizetelly  has  given  .  .  .  a  very  true  insight  into  the  aims, 

character,  and  life  of  the  novelist." 
Athen&um. — ".  .  .  Exhaustive  and  interesting." 
M.A.P. — ".  .  .  will  stand  as  the  classic  biography  of  Zola." 
Star. — "This  '  Life'  of  Zola  is  a  very  fascinating  book." 
Academy.—"  It  was  inevitable  that  the  authoritative  life  of  Emile  Zola  should  be  from  the 

pen  of  E.  A.  Vizetelly.     No  one  probably  has  the  same  qualifications,  and  this  bulky 

volume  of  nearly  six  hundred  pages  is  a  worthy  tribute  to  the  genius  of  the  master." 
Mr.  T.  P.  O'Connor  in  T.P.'s  Weekly.— "It  is  a  story  of  fascinating  interest,  and  is  told 

admirably  by  Mr.  Vizetelly.    I  can  promise  any  one  who  takes  it  up  that  he  will  find  it 

very  difficult  to  lay  it  down  again." 


i2  A    CATALOGUE    OF 


MEMOIRS  OF  THE  MARTYR  KING  :  being  a 

detailed  record  of  the  last  two  years  of  the  Reign  of  His  Most 
Sacred  Majesty  King  Charles  the  First,  1 646-1 648-9.  Com- 
piled by  Allan  Fea.  With  upwards  of  100  Photogravure 
Portraits  and  other  Illustrations,  including  relics.  Royal  4_to. 
1 05 j.  net. 

Mr.  M.  H.  Spielmann  in  The  Academy.— "  The  volume  is  a  triumph  for  the  printer  and 

publisher,  and  a  solid  contribution  to  Carolinian  literature." 
Pall  Mall  Gazette.— "The  present  sumptuous  volume,  a  storehouse  of  eloquent  associations 

.   .  .  comes  as  near  to  outward  perfection  as  anything  we  could  desire." 

AFTER  WORCESTER  FIGHT  :  being  the  Con- 
temporary Account  of  King  Charles  II.'s  escape,  not  included  in 
"  The  Flight  of  the  King."  By  Allan  Fea.  With  numerous 
Illustrations.     Demy  Svo.      15j.net. 

Morning  Post.— ."The  work  possesses  all  the  interest  of  a  thrilling  historical  romance,  the 

scenes  of  which  are  described  by  the  characters  themselves,  in  the  language  of  the  time, 

and  forms  a  valuable  contribution  to  existing  Stuart  literature." 
Western _  Morning  News.—"  Mr.   Fea  has  shown  great   industry  in   investigating   every 

possible  fact  that  has  any  bearing  on  his  subject,  and  has  succeeded  in  thoroughly 

establishing  the  incidents  of  that  romantic  escape." 

Standard.—"  .  .  .  throws  fresh  light  on  one  of  the  most  romantic  episodes  in  the  annals  of 
English  History." 

KING    MONMOUTH  :    being   a    History    of  the 

Career  of  James  Scott,  the  Protestant  Duke,  1649-1685.  By 
Allan  Fea.  With  14  Photogravure  Portraits,  a  Folding-plan  of 
the  Battle  of  Sedgemoor,  and  upwards  of  100  black  and  white 
Illustrations.     Demy  Svo.      zis.  net. 

Morning  Post.  — "The.  story  of  Monmouth's  career  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  the 
annals  of  English  History,  and  Mr.  Fea's  volume  is  singularly  fascinating.  Not  only 
does  it  supplement  and  correct  the  prejudiced  though  picturesque  pages  of  Macaulay, 
but  it  seems  to  make  the  reader  personally  acquainted  with  a  large  number  of  the 
characters  who  prominently  figured  in  the  conspiracies  and  in  the  intrigues,  amorous 
and  political,  when  society  and  politics  were  seething  in  strange  cauldrons." 

FRENCH   NOVELISTS   OF  TO-DAY  :   Maurice 

Barres,  Rene  Bazin,  Paul  Bourget,  Pierre  de  Coulevain,  Anatole 
France,  Pierre  Loti,  Marcel  Prevost,  and  Edouard  Rod.  Bio- 
graphical, Descriptive,  and  Critical.  By  Winifred  Stephens. 
With  Portraits  and  Bibliographies.      Crown  Svo.      5/.  net. 

***  The  -writer,  who  has  lived  much  in  France,  is  thoroughly  acquainted  with  French 
life  and  with  the  principal  currents  of  French  thought.  The  hook  is  intended  to  be  a 
guide  to  English  readers  desirous  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  best  present-day  French 
fiction.  Special  attention  is  given  to  the  ecclesiastical,  social,  and  intellectual  problems 
0/ contemporary  France  and  their  influence  upon  the  works  of  French  novelists  of  to-day. 


MEMOIRS,    BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc.     13 
THE    LIFE    AND    LETTERS    OF    ROBERT 

Stephen  Hawker,  sometime  Vicar  of  Morwenstow  in  Cornwall. 
By  C.  E.  Byles.  With  numerous  Illustrations  by  J.  Ley 
Pethybridge  and  others.  Demy  Svo.  ~s.  6d.  net.  (Popular 
Edition.) 

Daily  Telegraph. — "  ...  As  soon  as  the  volume  is  opened  one  finds  oneself  in  the  presence 
of  a  real  original,  a  man  of  ability,  genius  and  eccentricity,  of  whom  one  cannot  know 
too  much  .  .  .  No  one  will  read  this  fascinating  and  charmingly  produced  book  without 
thanks  to  Mr.  Byles  and  a  desire  to  visit — or  revisit — Morwenstow." 

Fall  Mall  Gazette. — "There  is  scarcely  a  page  of  this  book  that  does  not  tingle  with  the 
ruddy  and  exuberant  vitality  of  one  of  the  most  living  men  of  his  day.  Those  who 
want  the  portrait  of  Hawker  the  man,  not  the  poet  merely,  or  the  eccentric,  or  the 
"theologian"  (if  he  can  be  said  to  have  had  a  theology),  must  in  future  come  to 
Mr.  Byles's  work.  ...  It  is  Hawker  the  poet,  in  his  life  more  poetic  than  in  his 
writings,  that  will  live  long  in  the  memory  of  Cornwall  and  of  England." 

THE  LIFE  OF  WILLIAM  BLAKE.  BvAlexander 

Gilchrist.  Edited  with  an  Introduction  by  W.Graham  Robertson. 
Numerous  Reproductions  from  Blake's  most  characteristic  and 
remarkable  designs.     Demy  Svo.      \cs.6d.  net.      New  Edition. 

Birmingham  Post. — "Nothing  seems  at  all  likely  ever  to  supplant  the  Gilchrist  biography. 

Mr.  Swinburne  praised  it  magnificently  in  his  own  eloquent  essay  on  Blake,  and  there 

should  be  no  need  now  to  point  out  its  entire  sanity,  understanding  keenness  of  critical 

insight,  and  masterly  literary  style.     Dealing  with  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  subjects, 

it  ranks  among  the  finest  things  of  its  kind  that  we  possess." 
Daily  Mail.  —  "  It  would  be  difficult  to  name  a  more  fascinating,  artistic  biography  in  the 

language." 
Western  Morning  News, — "  This  hand--ome  volume  should  direct  attention  anew  to  a  man 

whose  work  merits  remembrance." 
Public  Opinion.—"  .  .   .  The  form  in  which  this  Life  is  now  published  calls  for  the  warmest 

praise." 

MEMOIRS  OF  A  ROYAL  CHAPLAIN,  1729-63. 

The  correspondence  of  Edmund  Pyle,  d.d.,  Domestic  Chaplain  to 
George  II,  with  Samuel  Kerrich,  d.d.,  Vicar  of  Dersingham,  and 
Rector  of  Wolferton  and  West  Newton.  Edited  and  Annotated 
by  Albert  Hartshorne.      With  Portrait.      Demy  Svo.      16i.net. 

Truth. — "  It  is  undoubtedly  the  most  important  book  of  the  kind  that  has  been  published 
in  recent  years,  and  is  certain  to  disturb  many  readers  whose  minds  have  not  travelled 
with  the  time." 

Westminster  Gazette.— "  How  the  world  went  when  George  II  was  king,  and  what  the 
Church  made  of  it,  are  matters  revealed  with  a  good  deal  of  light  in  this  entertaining 
volume,  edited  and  annotated  by  Mr.  Hartshorne."  _    _ 

Great  Thoughts.—  "  The  Pyle  letters,  though  not  so  well  known  as  other  similar  correspon- 
dence  of  a  public  nature,  are  well  worth  the  vast  amount  of  labour  and  care  bestowed 
upon  their  publication." 

GEORGE     MEREDITH  :     Some    Characteristics. 

By  Richard  Le  Gallienne.  With  a  Bibliography  (much  en- 
larged) by  John  Lane.  Portrait,  etc.  Crown  Svo.  5/.  net.  Fifth 
Edition.      Revised. 

Punch.— "All  Meredithians  must  possess  'George  Meredith;  Some  Characteristics,'  by 
Richard  Le  Gallienne.  This  book  is  a  complete  and  excellent  guide  to  the  novelist  and 
the  novels,  a  sort  of  Meredithian  Bradshaw,  with  pictures  of  the  traffic  superintendent 
and  the  head  office  at  Boxhill.  Even  Philistines  may  be  won  over  by  the  blandishments 
of  Mr.  Le  Gallienne." 


H A    CATALOGUE    OF 

LIFE  OF  LORD  CHESTERFIELD.    An  account 

of  the  Ancestry,  Personal  Character,  and  Public  Services  of  the 
Fourth  Earl  of  Chesterfield.  By  W.  H.  Craig,  M.A.  Numerous 
Illustrations.     Demy  8vo.      1 2s,  6d.  net. 

Daily  Telegraph. — "  Mr.  Craig  has  set  out  to  present  him  (Lord  Chesterfield)  as  one  of  the 
striking  figures  of  a  formative  period  in  our  modern  history  .  .  .  and  has  succeeded  in 
giving  us  a  very  attractive  biography  of  a  remarkable  man." 

Times. — "  It  is  the  chief  point  of  Mr.  Craig's  book  to  show  the  sterling  qualities  which 
Chesterfield  was  at  too  much  pains  in  concealing,  to  reject  the  perishable  trivialities  of 
his  character,  and  to  exhibit  him  as  a  philosophic  statesman,  not  inferior  to  any  of  his 
contemporaries,  except  Walpole  at  one  end  of  his  life,  and  Chatham  at  the  other." 

Daily  Graphic. — "Reparation  was  due  to  Lord  Chesterfield's  memory;  and  this  book  which 
at  last  does  him  justice  is  a  notable  contribution  to  historical  biography." 

Saturday  Review. — "Mr.  W.  H.  Craig's  book  is  the  first  connected  account  of  the  public 
life  of  Lord  Chesterfield,  and  the  most  elaborate  attempt  to  appreciate  his  value  as  a 
serious  statesman." 

Standard. — "  Mr.  Craig  has  written  an  interesting  book." 

A  QUEEN  OF  INDISCRETIONS.     The  Tragedy 

of  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  Queen  of  England.  From  the  Italian 
of  G.  P.  Clerici.  Translated  by  Frederic  Chapman.  With 
numerous  Illustrations  reproduced  from  contemporary  Portraits  and 
Prints.      Demy  8vo.      zis.  net. 

The  Daily  Telegraph. — "It  could  scarcely  be  done  more  thoroughly  or,  on  the  whole,  in 
better  taste  than  is  here  displayed  by  Professor  Clerici.  Mr  Frederic  Chapman  himself 
contributes  an  uncommonly  interesting  and  well-informed  introduction." 

IVestminster  Gazette.—"  The  volume,  scholarly  and  well-informed  .  .  .  forms  one  long  and 
absorbingly  interesting  chapter  of  the  chronique  scandaleuse  of  Court  life  .  .  .  reads 
like  a  romance,  except  that  no  romancer  would  care  or  dare  to  pack  his  pages  so  closely 
with  startling  effects  and  fantastic  scenes." 

The  Times. — "Signor  Clerici  has  brought  to  his  task  immense  pains,  lucidity,  and  an 
impartiality  of  mind  which  does  not  prevent  a  definite  view  from  emerging.  Mr.  Chap- 
man has  done  the  translation  admirably  well,  and  his  own  introduction  is  a  careful 
assistance  to  thoroughness." 

Academy. — "Caroline's  life  was  an  astounding  romance,  .  .  .  Mr.  Chapman  especially 
lends  colour  to  her  adventures  in  his  clever  introduction  by  the  way  in  which  he  shows 
how,  for  all  her  genius  for  mischief,  and  for  all  her  tricks  and  wantonness,  Caroline  never 
lost  a  curious  charm  which  made  her  buoyancy  and  reckless  spirit  lovable  to  the  last." 

LETTERS    AND    JOURNALS    OF    SAMUEL 

GRIDLEY  HOWE.  Edited  by  his  Daughter  Laura  E. 
Richards.  With  Notes  and  a  Preface  by  F.  B.  Sanborn,  an 
Introduction  by  Mrs.  John  Lane,  and  a  Portrait.  Demy  8vo 
(9  x  j|  inches).      \6s.  net. 

Outlook. — "This  deeply  interesting  record  of  experience.  The  volume  is  worthily  produced 
and  contains  a  striking  portrait  of  Howe." 

Dundee  Advertiser. — "  The  picturesque,  animated,  and  deeply  interesting  story  of  his  career 
is  now  open  in  a  considerable  volume  entitled  "Letters  and  Journals  of  Samuel  Gridley 
Howe  during  the  Greek  Revolution."  This  is  helpfully  edited  by  his  daughter  Laura 
E.  Richards,  and  has  an  introduction  and  notes  by  his  old  friend,  F.  B.  Sanborn,  besides 
an  illuminating  preface  by  Mrs.  John  Lane  .  .  .  The  journals  are  written  with  sincerity 
and  realism.  They  pulsate  with  the  emotions  of  life  amidst  the  difficulties,  privations, 
and  horrors  of  the  battle  march,  siege  and  defeat.'' 

Daily  News. — "  Dr.  Howe's  book  is  full  of  shrewd  touches  ;  it  seems  to  be  very  much  a  part 
of  the  lively,  handsome  man  of  the  portrait.  His  writing  is  striking  and  vivid  ;  it  is  the 
writing  of  a  shrewd,  keen  observer,  intensely  interested  in  the  event  before  him.  When- 
ever his  attention  is  arrested  he  writes  with  living  force." 


MEMOIRS,   BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc.     15 
A    LATER    PEPYS.     The   Correspondence   of  Sir 

William  Weller  Pepys,  Bart.,  Master  in  Chancery,  1 758—1 825, 
with  Mrs.  Chapone,  Mrs.  Hartley,  Mrs.  Montague,  Hannah  More, 
William  Franks,  Sir  James  Macdonald,  Major  Rennell,  Sir 
Nathaniel  Wraxall,  and  others.  Edited,  with  an  Introduction  and 
Notes,  by  Alice  C.  C.  Gaussen.  With  numerous  Illustrations. 
Demy  8vo.      In  Two  Volumes.      32/.  net. 

Douglas  Sladen  in  the  Queen. — "This  is  indisputably  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  the 
literature  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is  a  veritable  storehouse  of  society  gossip,  the 
art  criticism,  and  the  mots  of  famous  people." 

Academy  and  Literature. — "The  effect  consists  in  no  particular  passages,  but  in  the  total 
impression,  the  sense  of  atmosphere,  and  the  general  feeling  that  we  are  being  introduced 
into  the  very  society  in  which  the  writer  moved." 

Daily  News. — "  To  Miss  Alice  Gaussen  is  due  the  credit  of  sorting  out  the  vast  collection  of 
correspondence  which  is  here  presented  to  the  public.  .  .  .  Her  industry  is  indefatigable, 
and  her  task  has  been  carried  out  with  completeness.  The  notes  are  full  of  interesting 
items ;  the  introduction  is  exhaustive ;  and  the  collection  of  illustrations  enhances  the 
value  of  the  book." 

World. — "Sir  William  Pepys's  correspondence  is  admirable." 

ROBERT  LOUIS  STEVENSON,  AN  ELEGY; 
AND   OTHER   POEMS,   MAINLY   PERSONAL.     By 

Richard  Le  Gallienne.     Crown  8vo.      \s.  bd.  net. 

Daily  Chronicle. — "Few,  indeed,  could  be  more  fit  to  sing  the  dirge  of  that  'Virgil  of 
Prose '  than  the  poet  whose  curiosafelicitas  is  so  close  akin  to  Stevenson's  own  charm." 

Globe. — "The  opening  Elegy  on  R.  L.  Stevenson  includes  some  tender  and  touching 
passages,  and  has  throughout  the  merits  of  sincerity  and  clearness." 

RUDYARD  KIPLING  :  a  Criticism.     By  Richard 

Le  Gallienne.  With  a  Bibliography  by  John  Lane.  Crown 
8vo.      3  j.  bd.  net. 

Guardian. — "  One  of  the  cleverest  pieces  of  criticism  we  have  come  across  for  a  long  time." 

Scotsman—"  It  shows  a  keen  insight  into  the  essential  qualities  of  literature,  and  analyses 

Mr.  Kipling's  product  with  the  skill  of  a  craftsman  .  .  .  the  positive  and  outstanding 

merits  of  Mr.  Kipling's  contribution  to  the  literature  of  his  time  are  marshalled  by  his 

critic  with  quite  uncommon  skill." 

ROBERT    BROWNING  :     Essays    and    Thoughts. 

By  J.  T.  Nettleship.  With  Portrait.  Crown  Svo.  5/.  bd.  net. 
(Third  Edition.) 

POEMS.     By  Edward  Cracroft  Lefroy.     With  a 

Memoir  by  W.  A.  Gill,  and  a  Reprint  of  Mr.  J.  A.  Symonds' 
Critical  Essay  on  "  Echoes  from  Theocritus."  Photogravure 
Portrait.     Crown  Svo.      5/.  net. 

The  Times.—"  ...  the  leading  features  of  the  sonnets  are  the  writer's  intense  sympathy 
with  human  life  in  general  and  with  young  life  in  particular ;  his  humour,  his  music,  and, 
in  a  word,  the  quality  which  'leaves  a  melody  afloat  upon  the  brain,  a  savour  on  the 
mental  palate.'" 

Bookman.— "The  Memoir,  by  Mr.  W.  A.  Gill,  is  a  sympathetic  sketch  of  an  earnest  and 
lovable  character  ;  and  the  critical  estimate,  by  J .  Addington  Symonds,  is  a  charmingly- 
written  and  suggestive  essay." 


16     MEMOIRS,   BIOGRAPHIES,   Etc. 


BOOKS    AND    PERSONALITIES  :    Essays.      By 

H.  W.  Nevinson.     Crown  8vo.      5/.  net. 

Daily  Chronicle.—"  It  is  a  remarkable  thing  and  probably  unique,  that  a  writer  of  such 
personality  as  the  author  of  '  Between  the  Acts '  should  not  only  feel,  but  boldly  put 
on  paper,  his  homage  and  complete  subjection  to  the  genius  of  one  after  another  of 
these  men.  He  is  entirely  free  from  that  one  common  virtue  of  critics,  which  is 
superiority  to  the  author  criticised." 

BOOKS    AND    PLAYS  :    A   Volume  of  Essays  on 

Meredith,  Borrow,  Ibsen,  and  others.  By  Allan  Monkhouse. 
Crown  Svo.      5 J.  net. 

LIBER     AMORIS  ;     or,    The    New    Pygmalion. 

By  William  Hazlitt.  Edited,  with  an  introduction,  by  Richard 
Le  Gallienne.  To  which  is  added  an  exact  transcript  of  the 
original  MS.,  Mrs.  Hazlitt's  Diary  in  Scotland,  and  Letters  never 
before  published.  Portrait  after  Bewick,  and  facsimile  Letters. 
400  copies  only.     4_to.      364  pp.      Buckram.      21/.  net. 

TERRORS  OF  THE  LAW  :    being  the  Portraits 

of  Three  Lawyers — the  original  Weir  of  Hermiston,  "  Bloody 
Jeffreys,"  and  "  Bluidy  Advocate  Mackenzie."  By  Francis 
Watt.    With  3  Photogravure  Portraits.     Fcap.  Svo.     4/.  6d.  net. 

The  Literary  World.—'1  The  book  is  altogether  entertaining;  it  is  brisk,  lively,  and 
effective.  Mr.  Watt  has  already,  in  his  two  series  of  "The  Law's  Lumber  Room," 
established  his  place  as  an  essayist  in  legal  lore,  and  the  present  book  will  increase  his 
reputation." 

CHAMPIONS   OF  THE  FLEET.     Captains  and 

Men-of-War  in  the  Days  that  Helped  to  make  the  Empire.  By 
Edward  Fraser.  With  16  Full-page  Illustrations.  Crown  Svo. 
5/.  net. 

***  Mr.  Fraser  takes  in  the  whole  range  of  our  Nazy's  story.  First  there  is  the  story 
of  the  "Dreadnought,"  told  for  the  first  time:  Iiow  the  name  was  originally  selected  by 
Elizabeth,  why  she  chose  it,  the  launch,  how  under  Drake  she  fought  against  the 
Armada,  how  her  captain  was  knighted  on  the  quarter-deck  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy. 
From  this  point  the  name  is  traced  dozvn  to  the  present  leviathan  which  bears  it.  This  is 
but  one  of  the  "champions"  dealt  with  in  Mr.  Fraser  s  volume,  which  is  illustrated  by 
some  very  interesting  reproductions. 


JOHN    LANE,    THE    BODLEY    HEAD,    VIGO    STREET,    LONDON,   W. 


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