frontier, and begged a gun at parting as Judge’s fee
for bis settlement of tbe Abban question, and as an
earnest tbat he would bring the five ponies which I
wanted. We then got under way, and travelled westward,
bidding Rhut Tug adieu, but every one was stiff
and formal. Sumunter had not confessed contrition,
and I had not committed myself to saying that I would
hush the matter up, assuring him that in duty as a
public officer I could not, that I was bound to report
every circumstance, though privately I promised a
pardon as before. After travelling a little way, we
emerged from the low land of the valley, and ascended
a higher track to the normal level of the plateau, which,
as I have said before, was all bleak and barren, with
scarcely a tree growing on it, and very stony. Here
I saw a large troop of ostriches and numberless
gazelles stalking away out of the line of the caravan’s
march. My men were all highly anxious I should
shoot them, but I would not, to try what effect it
would have on the Abban, saying, sport was of secondary
importance to me, and I now only wished to finish
the journey quickly.
By his detentions I had lost so much time, I despaired
of reaching Berbera agreeably with my instructions,
and, moreover, he had not begged my
pardon, from which I doubted his intention to serve
me faithfully. This caused a halt. Sumunter and
all the men alike said, “ Of what good is your coming
here, if you do not enjoy yourself? We all came on
this journey to reap advantages from serving you, and
now if you don’t shoot, what may we expect ? ” I
said, Prove to me that I shall not be thwarted again,
and I will shoot or do anything to create goodwill.
Then appointing three men as Sumunter’s advisers
to hold him in restraint in case any wrongheadedness
on his part should get the mastery of him,
I begged they would proceed. This proved successful
for the time. Sumunter wrote me a letter, statins' his
intention of abject servitude, and ratified it by presenting
his spear and shield, through the hands of the
interpreter, for me to return to him as an acknowledgment
that I would henceforth forgive him; and
we again proceeded on the journey.
After travelling ten miles without seeing a single
habitation or human being of any sort, we arrived at
a nullah, in which there were several pools of bitter
spring-water, and some Egyptian geese swimming on
them. This place was called Barham. On the right
or northern side of the line of our march was the hill-
range, about ten miles distant, at the foot of which, in
the beds of small ravines, grew some belts of the
jujube-tree and hardy acacias; but to the south the
land was all sterile, and stretched away in a succession
of little flat plains, circumscribed by bosses or
hillocks of pure white limestone rock, which appeared
standing unaffected by the weathering which had
worn down the plains that were lying between them.
Again these little enclosed plains sank in gentle
gradation to their centres, where nullahs, like the one
I was encamped upon, drained the land and refuse