All information concerning passages to and from the Somáli coast can be obtained by applying to either of the two Parsi firms named. Two coasting steamers visit the coast ports of Berbera, Bulhár, and Zeila once a week each. The usual charge was 20 rupees for one European and his baggage, and 5 rupees for each native.
Under the heading of purchase and sale of necessaries at the coast will come the following:—
| Purchase before leaving coast. | Sale on return. | |
|---|---|---|
| Rupees. | Rupees. | |
| 11 sets of hério, or camel-mats | 35 | 12 |
| 11 leather loading ropes | 11 | 3 |
| 9 native axes | 5 | 2 |
| 6 hangol, or wooden crooks | 2 | 1 |
| 4 knives for cutting camel-rope | 2 | .. |
| Several bundles of common loading rope | 10 | 2 |
| 20 iron tent-pegs | 5 | .. |
| Cloth for payment in interior | 150 | .. |
| Cash for payment on journey (in small silver) | 100 | .. |
| Rations for Somális:— | ||
| Rice, 4 bags | 36 | .. |
| Dates, 3 gosra | 22 | .. |
| Ghee, 5 gumba | 50 | .. |
| Extras | 10 | .. |
| Total | 438 | 20 |
Thus we have 418 rupees expenditure after deducting the proceeds of the selling-off auction, so that 450 rupees should well cover expenses under this head; the hério are the sets of camel-mats which are the Somáli substitute for a packsaddle. Three auss, or grass mats, and one kibit, or soft bark mat, make a complete set.
The axes are for cutting brushwood for the zeríba, and some of them may be made specially heavy for cutting out ivory. Good axes from England might be useful for this purpose.
The hangol are crooked sticks used for pulling about thorny brushwood.
The cloth required might be made up of:—
| 3 Khaili, or coloured tobes | at | 7 rupees | 21 rupees |
| 8 Bafta tobes | ” | 2⅛ rupees | 17 ” |
| 56 Merikáni tobes | ” | 2 rupees | 112 ” |
| 150 rupees |
The purchase of twelve camels will cost about 480 rupees, and their sale at the end of the trip (allowing for one death) will produce about 330 rupees.