Next morning they volunteered to act as escort.
_25th January_.--Loading was forbidden by the valiant sons of Habr
Gerhajis; but as they were few in number, and the Warsingali clan was
near, it went on without interruption. This day, like the latter, was
cloudy; heavy showers fell for some hours, and the grass was springing up.
Rain had lasted for some time, and had not improved the road. This fall is
called by the people "Dairti:" it is confined to the hills, whereas the
Gugi or monsoon is general over the plateau.
About noon the caravan marched, late, because the Abban's two horses had
strayed. These animals belonged to a relation of the "Protector," who
called them his own, and wished as a civility to sell the garrons at the
highest possible price to his client. The caravan marched down a tortuous
and difficult road, descending about four miles. It unloaded as evening
drew near, and the travellers found at Gambagahh a good dormitory, a cave
which kept out the rain. Water was standing close by in a pool. The whole
way was a thick jungle of bush and thorn.
_26th January_.--The Somal insisted upon halting to eat, and the caravan
did not start before noon. The road was tolerable and the descent oblique.
The jungle was thick and the clouds thicker; rain fell heavily as usual in
the afternoon. Five cloths were given to the Habr Gerhajis as a bribe for
passage. After a march of six miles the caravan halted at a place called
Minan. Here they again found a cave which protected them from the rain.
Water was abundant in the hollows of the rock.
_27th January_.--Early in the morning the caravan set out, and descended
the hill obliquely by a tolerable road. They passed a number of thorn
trees, bearing a gum called Falafala or Luban Meyti, a kind of
frankincense: it is thrown upon the fire, and the women are in the habit
of standing over it. After travelling six miles the travellers unloaded at
Hundurgal, on the bank of a watercourse leading to Las Galwayta: some
pools of rain-water were observed in the rocky hollows of the bed.
_28th January_.--At about 9 A.M. the caravan crossed one of the lower
ridges of the mountains by a tolerable road. Lieutenant Speke had preceded
his camels, and was sitting down to rest, when he was startled by hearing
the rapid discharge of a revolver. His valiant Abban, either in real or in
pretended terror of the Habr Gerhajis had fired the pistol as a warning.
It had the effect of collecting a number of Bedouins to stare at the
travellers, and cogitate on what they could obtain: they offered, however,
no opposition.
At midday the caravan reached a broad and deep Fiumara, which contained a
spring of good sweet water flowing towards the sea. Here they halted for
refreshment. Again advancing, they traversed another ridge, and, after a
march of twelve miles, arrived in the evening at another little
watercourse on the Maritime Plain. That day was clear and warm, the rain
being confined to the upper ranges. The name of the halting-place was
Farjeh.
_29th January_.--The caravan marched over the plain into Kurayat, or
Little Las Kuray, where Lieutenant Speke, after a detention of upwards of
a fortnight, took boat, and after five days' sail arrived at Aden, where I
was expecting him. He was charged forty dollars--five times the proper
sum--for a place in a loaded Buggalow: from Aden to Bombay thirty-five
dollars is the hire of the whole cabin. This was the last act of the
Abban, who is now by the just orders of the acting Political Resident,
Aden, expiating his divers offences in the Station Jail.
CONCLUSION.
Lieutenant Speke has passed through three large tribes, the Warsingali,
the Dulbahanta, and the Habr Gerhajis.
The Warsingali have a Sultan or Chief, whose orders are obeyed after a
fashion by all the clans save one, the Bihidur. He cannot demand the
attendance of a subject even to protect the country, and has no power to
raise recruits; consequently increase of territory is never contemplated
in this part of the Somali country. In case of murder, theft, or dispute
between different tribes, the aggrieved consult the Sultan, who,
assembling the elders, deputes them to feel the inclinations of the
"public." The people prefer revenging themselves by violence, as every man
thereby hopes to gain something. The war ends when the enemy has more
spears than cattle left--most frequently, however, by mutual consent, when
both are tired of riding the country. Expeditions seldom meet one another,
this retiring as that advances, and he is deemed a brave who can lift a
few head of cattle and return home in safety. The commissariat department
is rudely organised: at the trysting-place, generally some water, the
people assemble on a day fixed by the Sultan, and slaughter sheep: each
person provides himself by hanging some dried meat upon his pony. It is
said that on many occasions men have passed upwards of a week with no
other sustenance than water. This extensive branch of the Somal is divided
into eighteen principal clans, viz.:
1. Rer Gerad (the royal family).
2. Rer Fatih.
3. Rer Abdullah.
4. Rer Bihidur.
5. Bohogay Salabay.
6. Adan Yakub.
7. Gerad Umar.
8. Gerad Yusuf.
9. Gerad Liban.
10. Nuh Umar.
11. Adan Said.
12. Rer Haji.
13. Dubbays.
14. Warlabah.
15. Bayabarhay.
16. Rer Yasif.
17. Hindudub.
18. Rer Garwayna.
The Northern Dulbahantas are suffering greatly from intestine war. They
are even less tractable than the Warsingali. Their Sultan is a ruler only
in name; no one respects his person or consults him in matters of
importance:
