SOMALILAND.
"Well, I will tell you what I know about them. Up to recent times they have been known to us as friendly and harmless people. Many of our countrymen have made shooting expeditions into the interior, and all have reported that they have met with kindness and courtesy; that the natives are intensely fond of sport, and enjoy the pursuit of wild game, with which the country abounds. I remember having a long chat with one of these great hunters, and he told me that the Somali people are entirely different from the 'Fuzzy-Wuzzy,' as the natives of the Soudan are jocularly known. They are more like playful children, and are extremely excitable. If suddenly thrown into a position of danger, they will face it boldly, and are reliable fighters in such circumstances. But they are afraid of uncertainties, and that being the case, are of little use as soldiers. Then, as I dare say you have already heard, they are a scheming and cunning race, so that it is always well to be on the best terms with them, for then one has nothing to fear. On the other hand, if you incur their hatred, you may look out for squalls, and you will find it a wise precaution to put an extra guard over your camels. Indeed, the one serious occupation of the Somali is to keep his own beasts safe from marauders, and to rob his neighbours of as many as possible. Sometimes a few of the men will band together and raid a neighbouring tribe. If they are discovered, they fly for their lives; for camel-stealing, though a recognized crime in the country, is one which is not easily forgiven by those who are attacked, and capture means certain death. But the narrow escape is never taken in the light of a warning, for, on the very first opportunity another raid will be planned and carried out.
"There, I think that will give you a fair idea of the men you will meet during your march; but, because I have described them as a friendly race, you must not on that account omit to take every precaution. You will meet many different tribes, some of which are still friendly to the British, but others which have gone over to the Mullah, whose emissaries are busily at work stirring them up against the white people.
"As for this man, whom we all speak of as the 'Mad' Mullah, he is, I have little doubt, an unscrupulous ruffian. To the Somali he is known as Hadji Mahomed Abdullah. He belongs to the Habr Suleiman section of the Ogaden tribe, who have their hunting-grounds in the southwest of the country. He married into the Ali Ghiri, a Dolbahanta tribe, and is, therefore, connected with a great number of people. But what has given him such a powerful position in Somaliland is the fact that he has made several pilgrimages to Mecca, and, consequently, is considered a man of deep wisdom, and 'hadji,' or holy, as the word is understood here. For some time he has travelled about Somaliland, pillaging the various districts and attacking the peaceful tribes. But it was not until he quarrelled with a certain tribe living in our Protectorate that we took any notice of him. Then we began to gather troops, so as to attack him. Having pillaged the land in this direction, he struck off towards the Abyssinian frontier, and flung himself and his hordes of desperadoes upon the men of that race who happened to be stationed there. I am happy to say that they beat him handsomely, so that he was forced to fly. For some time we heard little more of him, and, no doubt, during all that while he was busily collecting men and arms, the latter being considerably harder to obtain than the former. But there are some rascals who will do anything for money, and amongst them, I regret to say, are a few white people, who, at considerable risk, run cargoes of inferior guns to the coast, and sell them at an exorbitant price, careless of the consequences to the peaceful nations who live within touch of the Mullah.
"In due time his preparations were completed, and he then began to give us further trouble. First, it was by raiding a tribe who lived under our protection, and then by stealing camels from Berbera itself. In one way and another he has steadily made himself a pest to the country, and as he is as cruel as he is unscrupulous, the people have suffered terribly at his hands.
"And now to tell you why Britain should concern herself with the Mullah. The Italians, the French, and ourselves, each hold a Protectorate over a large tract of country along this northern coast of Africa, and there is really no more reason why we should take up the quarrel any more than the others. But then, you know, Britain has always been the one friend of the oppressed. It has been our policy for generations, and we are known the world over as a fighting race who love freedom and hate the oppressor. Look at the manner in which we subdued the Soudan at enormous cost to ourselves, and yet without benefit to our country. This is a sample of the work we do, and we are about to repeat the same process here. Indeed, we have already made one successful attempt, during which we beat the Mullah with heavy loss to himself, and caused him to retreat. But a holy man, in a country like this, has extraordinary power, and the Mullah rapidly took advantage of that fact. Within an incredibly short space of time he gathered together the remnants of his following, and at once began to march through the country preaching a holy war. Those tribes who were reluctant to join him, and who preferred a peaceful existence, were compelled to throw in their lot with him or take the consequences, which meant that they would be robbed in a most scandalous manner, and, possibly, would run the danger of being altogether exterminated. And so the host of warriors marching beneath the banner of the Mullah has steadily and rapidly increased, so much so that they have become a menace to us, and forced us to take action.
"The Foreign Office, which governs this Protectorate, gave orders that a field force should be prepared for service in Somaliland. In January, 1901, the force did not exist, but, by dint of superhuman exertions, fifteen hundred natives were got ready for the fray at the end of May. They consisted almost entirely of Somalis from the neighbouring friendly tribes, and they were trained and taught to use the rifle by a select band of British officers, than whom there are none more expert at this class of work. A score of non-commissioned officers from India helped them, and together they built up a very creditable following. At length, when all arrangements had been made for transport, and sufficient drivers had been engaged, the force marched for Burao to cross the waterless Hoad. Crossing the range of mountains known as the Gobik, they entered the Geratto pass, which leads from the Guban, or low country, to the high country, which is known as the Ogo, and which is very much healthier. From there the troops safely crossed the desert, and entered the Mullah's country. And now, for the first time, they met with opposition, for stragglers hung upon their flanks, sniping at the caravans, and flying whenever an attempt was made to come to close quarters. At length information came to hand that the enemy was a couple of days' march away, and at once it was decided to attack him. Leaving his baggage and the greater part of his camels to the care of a handful of the Somali levy, with Captain McNeill in command, Colonel Swayne, who had charge of the whole expedition, marched forward with the bulk of his men, hoping to come upon the enemy unawares and teach him a lesson.
"You will remember that I mentioned to you a certain characteristic of these people. I told you that in certain circumstances they were bold and reliable, and that, if they were unfriendly to you, it was wise to watch them with the utmost care, on account of their cunning and treachery. The Mullah speedily gave an example of this, and made a crafty move, which might have proved disastrous had it not been for the soldierly qualities and the bravery of Captain McNeill. You may be sure that if we had information of the Mullah's whereabouts, he, also, was well aware of our movements, for his spies and scouts were in all directions. Waiting until Colonel Swayne and his men had marched well away from the camel zareba, this leader struck his 'karia,' or camping-ground, and travelling in a roundabout direction, so as to evade the main column, threw his thousands upon the tiny garrison which was left to protect the camels and baggage. It was a splendid move, and was most successfully accomplished, so far as eluding the main army went. But the Mullah was not to have it all his own way, for he had, as I have just said, a man to deal with who had studied his profession. Put yourself in Captain McNeill's position for one moment, and imagine what you would have done. Knowing that the greater part of the force had marched against the enemy, many men would have put aside all thought of danger, and would have been content with the ordinary precautions which are necessary when campaigning in an enemy's country. But Captain McNeill thought otherwise. It occurred to him that, with a crafty man such as the Mullah was known to be, this was a splendid opportunity for him to fall upon the weaker portion of the force which had come to attack him, and after disposing of that, to march swiftly upon the other part, and take it by surprise. Therefore, he at once made preparations to meet an attack in force. Selecting an excellent site, upon a raised plateau, so situated as to be unapproachable from one side, and altogether cleared of the scrub and undergrowth, which could be so useful to an attacking enemy, he built two zarebas of thorns, strengthened with long stretches of barbed wire, and between the two a third, into which he drove the camels. At the highest point he built a mound, and placed upon it a Maxim, which, owing to its elevation, could command the plateau in all directions, firing over the heads of the defenders when necessary. That done, he sent out scouts in all directions, and having appointed each man to a post and given him precise instructions as to his part in the coming battle, he sat down to await, with as much patience as he could, the appearance of the Mullah and his rascally gang.