■ miles, we arrived at our destination, not far from a
well, and made a ring-fence of prickly boughs.
Here for the last time I boiled the thermometer, to
ascertain the altitude of the plateau along my line of
march, and found its average height was 3913 fe e t:
the minimum, at Ehut Tug, being 3077 feet—and the
maximum, at Yubbd Tug, 4498 feet.
The following day two Dulbahantas paid us a visit,
and demanded to know by whose authority we had
come upon their grounds; we were trespassers, and
must pay our footing. The ground was theirs, and
they recognised no authority over them. What I had
given at the last place was no concern of theirs, but I
must give them also a quantity of cloth equivalent to
it. This being refused as a preposterous imposition,
they turned hastily away, and, tossing their heads,
said, I might soon expect to see them again in larger
numbers, when they would help themselves. Moreover,
for my satisfaction, they could assure me that a
number of men, who had learned which road I was
bent on travelling, were fast gathering on ahead, to
oppose my advance. In the evening the Abban
arrived, bringing only two ponies with him.
1*1 th.—I t would be needless to recount all the varied
incidents of the next five days which were wasted
here, by the thousand and one stories which the
Abban produced to fritter away my time near his
home, and swindle me out of my property. The time
had now arrived when by appointment I should have
been at Berbera; and as I was not then aware at what
time the fair usually broke up, I felt much afraid of
being too late to join my companions. Sometimes
Sumunter raised my hopes by saying he would certainly
proceed on a certain d a te ; and when that day
arrived, the journey was deferred again, but not without
severe rows, so exactly like the past ones as to
be unworthy of description. One day we were ready,
and I was to pass through any people that might fall
in the way by giving large credits on Aden under his
security, when the tide was turned again in another
moment by the arrival of some accomplices, who
dropped in like unexpected evils, to say the southern
Dulbahantas had gained a great victory, slaughtering
men and cattle, and the road to Berbera would be
thronged with people, so that advance would be impossible
for the present. This was a settler to my
westward march ; and now I thought of escaping
from this land of robbers by turning northwards, and
marching over the hills to Bunder Hdis, where I could
either ship off, or march along the coast to Berbera.
Negotiations were then set on foot with the Bheer
Hamaturwa, and several of their Akils came at my
bidding, but were as implacable about obliging a
stranger as any of their neighbours. The whole distance
was not three days’ trav e l; still they said I
should not see their country, and acknowledged themselves
a lawless band, who would take everything from
me if I ventured there : adding, if the Warsingali
and Dulbahantas, who were stronger than themselves,
would only withdraw from me one day, they would
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