May 1st.—At sunrise, we were up and off; and if I complained, yesterday, of the short march, to-day, had I not felt more pleased, than otherwise, with the progress we made, I might with equal reason, have objected to the length of our journey, being eight hours travelling, and all the way on foot. The road was very good, with but few inequalities of surface, as we continued following the dry watercourse of Alee-bakalee, which appeared to contract as we advanced.
The appearance of the country that we passed through was, as might be expected, very uniform, the whole way; a beautiful long valley, extending in a general direction, from the south-west towards the north-east. A rich alluvial soil was thinly strewn with a few dark coloured fragments of the lava ridges which formed the boundaries towards the east and west. Grass was very plentiful; and the trees so thick, as in some parts, to assume the appearance of a wood. Enormous ant-hills showed their red tops between the summits of the low trees, and numerous herds of several different kinds of antelope were feeding all around. At length, the lava ridges on either side seemed to approach each other, and we reached a confined valley, through which flowed a narrow stream, winding among thick clumps of very high trees. Birds of the most brilliant plumage, and gorgeously tinted butterflies, made the road one continued cabinet gallery of all that is rare and beautiful, in the colours which are most admired, in these painted favourites of nature.
Some Dankalli naturalists, who wanted a few red tail feathers to ornament their greasy locks, made a requisition for me to supply them, pointing to my gun, and then to the birds; but I would not understand them in any other way than my own, and so nodding very good humouredly, I told them to remain where they were; and going a few yards from the road, fired into a busy-pecking crowd of guinea-fowl, bringing back with me a brace of very fine ones; birds, however, which, to the great disappointment of my Dankalli fashionable friends, were found to have scarcely any more tail feathers than they had themselves.
We should have halted two hours before we did, at the very commencement of the valley of Hasanderah Kabeer, as the little stream was called, but that we there found it filled with an immense herd of cattle, through which we marched, as if in a long-extended Smithfield market, for at least five miles. I had not imagined such vast herds to have been in the possession of the Dankalli Bedouins. The number of men required to attend them was very great, and afforded me an explanation, why I had met with so few upon the journey; their chief employment being to protect their cattle, with whom they constantly remain. The elders only indulge in the domestic comforts found in the kraal, and are supported chiefly by the produce of the flocks of sheep and goats, which during the day are placed under the care of the children.
The young men and women follow the herds; the former lie idly under the trees during the heat of the day, whilst the latter perform the duties of milking and of making the ghee or fluid butter. Churning is performed by the milk being placed in large skin bags, suspended upon the hips by a leathern thong passed over the shoulders and across the breasts. A quick semi-rotary movement of the trunk continually agitates the contents, until the butter is formed in soft white lumps; it is then taken out with the hand as it collects upon the surface of the milk, and is placed into lesser skins, where in a few hours it assumes the appearance of a light yellow oily fluid, the ghee of the Berberah market, from whence it is exported in great quantities to India and the Persian Gulf.
The cattle of Adal are nearly all of one colour, a kind of brindled iron grey, with moderately sized horns, curving first outwards, then forwards, and upwards.
Our Kafilah having reached the farther extremity of Hasanderah Kabeer, we found a clear open spot where grass and water were equally abundant as along the whole line of our march to-day. Trees of greater altitude, and with a thicker shade than any I had seen before, invited us to that rest which we all needed, after our long march of nearly twenty miles. Our pedestrian party had outstripped the camels above two hours, and were nearly all asleep, when the leading files of these gaunt, sober stepping animals, paced their serpentine course among the thick bushes of wild cotton, and of a tree, that reminded me exceedingly of our hazel, by its foliage and general character. The camels were not so fatigued as I expected they would be, but the late halts and short marches, in a country so abounding with vegetation, had enabled them to recruit their strength, almost worn out by the hardships and their scanty food, during the journey through the wilderness of stones between Tajourah and Herhowlee. They were glad enough, however, I dare say, on their arrival at Hasanderah; for, too impatient to wait for farther attendance, after the loads and saddles were removed, these sagacious animals soon swept off, with their nose and cheek, the numerous chafing mats which are placed below the saddle to prevent abrasions and ulcers on the hump, to which they are very liable.
One good effect was produced by a long march; that was the freedom from importunity I enjoyed, for all the Bedouins and Kafilah men seemed determined to take, immediate advantage of the shady accommodations of this “hotel verte,” or in plain English, this extensive “bush inn.” I obliged myself, tired as I was, to build my own hut rather than seek a bower, where others would throng, greatly to my discomfort; and something of a conscience told me that Zaido and the Allees, after unloading the two-and-twenty camels belonging to their master, Ohmed Mahomed, would require rest as well as myself. My architectural occupation attracted the attention of the chief of the escort, Carmel Ibrahim, and he, very good-naturedly, came to assist me, so that by our joint labours, and his excellent suggestions, a box-house was constructed, the most convenient I had yet occupied, for the boxes, on previous occasions placed close together, were now arranged with spaces between, that admitted both light and air.
At sunset, when the camels were to be brought in for the night, Ohmed Medina and a party, principally of Tajourah people, came to get some coffee with me, which was quickly prepared by Zaido; who, on a little fire made of camel-dung and dried sticks, had soon the long-necked vase of coarse red earthenware, in which the social inspiring berry was boiled. The only cup we had was fairly circulated, whilst another discussion upon religion was entered upon, nearly of the same character as our previous one.
The party had come with the intention of converting me, but they were all disappointed, for I proved that my religion was founded upon truth, and that they themselves believed every principle of faith I did. My reason for not going so far as they did, as to receive the Koran as the Word of God, was because my book, the New Testament, did not testify to the truth of Mahomed’s mission, as their’s did to that of Jesus. This plea, however, was met by a curious tirade against Poulos (St. Paul), the only one of the apostles that the Mahomedans appear to have any knowledge of, and him they charge with having falsified the Gospels, by striking out the name of Mahomed wherever it appeared. I have since learned, that all the foundation they have for this accusation is the circumstance of one of the forms of the name Mahomed, “Ohmed” having the same signification in Arabic as the Greek word παρακλητος. Comforter, one of the designations of the Holy Ghost, and the coming of which was certainly promised by Christ.