interpreter between us. I tben engaged two other
men, a Hindustani butler named Imam, and a Seedi
called Farhan. This latter man was a perfect Hercules
in stature, with huge arms and limbs, knit together
with largely developed ropy-looking muscles. He had
a large head, with small eyes, flabby squat nose,
and prominent muzzle filled with sharp-pointed teeth,
as if in imitation of a crocodile. Farhan told me that
when very young he was kidnapped on the Zanzibar
coast by the captain of a small Arab vessel. This captain
one day seeing him engaged with many other little
children playing on the sandy seashore, offered him a
handful of fine fruity-looking dates, which proved so
tempting to his juvenile taste that he could not resist
the proffered bait, and he made a grab at them. The
captain’s powerful fingers then fell like a mighty trap
on his little closed hand, and he was hurried off to the
vessel, where he was employed in the capacity of
“ powder-monkey.” In this position he remained
serving until full grown, when, finding an opportunity,
he ran away from his master, and has ever since lived
the life of a “ free-man.”
As a soldier, he had been tried in warfare, and was
proved valorous and cunning in the art, and promised
to be a very efficient guard for me. The next thing
of most importance to be considered was the dress I
should wear. I first consulted the Colonel (Outram),
who said he was averse to our going in disguise, thinking
that lowering ourselves in this manner would
operate against me in the estimation of the natives.
But this did not suit Lieutenant Burton’s plans, who,
not wishing to be conspicuous whilst travelling to
Harar, determined on going there disguised as an
Arab merchant, and thought it better we should appear
as his disciples, in accordance with which Herne
had already purchased his dress, and now I bought
mine. I t was anything but pleasant to the feel. I
had a huge hot turban, a long close-fitting gown,
baggy loose drawers, drawn in at the ankles, sandals
on my naked feet, and a silk girdle decorated with
pistol and dirk. As an outfit for this especial journey,
I bought at Aden £120 worth of miscellaneous articles,
consisting chiefly of English and American sheeting,
some coarse fabrics of indigo-dyed Indian manufacture,
several sacks of dates and rice, and a large
quantity of salt, with a few coloured stuffs of greater
value than the other cloths, to give away as presents
to the native chiefs. As defensible and other useful
implements for the scientific portion of the expedition,
I took rifles, guns, muskets, pistols, sabres, ammunition
in great quantity, large commodious camel-boxes
for carrying specimens of natural history, one sextant
and artificial horizon, three boiling-point and common
atmospheric thermometers, and one primitive kind of
camera obseura, which I had made at Aden under the
ingenious supervision of Heme.