the left bank. A t the end of two days’ march the
guides said we were then but a short distance from
the point where they had been attacked.
Upon first telling their story, they had described the
attacking party of Somali as consisting of several hundred
men, and stated that these, with large flocks and
herds, were camped near the river. Now, however,
upon being questioned, they changed their story to
the effect that the Somali were few in number, and
like themselves were elephant-hunters. We pushed on
the next day, sending out Somali scouts to reconnoitre.
In a short time they returned with the intelligence that
they had seen Somali tracks leading to the river. It
is easy to distinguish from the appearance of the impression
made in the soil by a sandal, whether it is
made by a Somali, or by a member of some of the
other native tribes. The sandals of the Somali are
made with much greater care (often consisting of as
many as four or five thicknesses of leather in the sole),
and have a well-defined shape. Those worn by the other
tribes consist of but a single thickness, and have no definite
shape.
Upon receiving this intelligence from the scouts I
had sent out, I halted the caravan, and sent four Somali
to reconnoitre the neighbourhood, and bring back intelligence
as to the force I was likely to encounter. In
less than one hour these men returned, bringing with ‘
them a small, ill-fed negro with a head covered with
a veritable bush of hair, dyed by some means to a yellowish
colour. This colour of hair I had noticed among
the Somali I had met at Aden. The man proved to be
a Midgan; that is, a member of a tribe held in subjection
by the Somali, and used by them as hunters, scouts,
and herdsmen.
The account of his capture given to me by my men
was as follows: On taking up the trail leading from
the river they had suddenly come upon a small zeriba.
This, at first, they thought to be empty; but upon
entering it they were startled to see their present captive
spring to his feet with an arrow strung in his bow.
Before he could find time to discharge his weapon,
however, he was knocked down by a blow with the
butt-end of a gun in the hands of one of my men, and
after a scuffle was bound and brought into my presence.
Upon being questioned, he admitted he was one of
the party who had robbed the Giriama. He said the
party consisted of eight men belonging to Hassan
Burgan (a Somali ruling over a portion of the country
between Kismayu and the Tana). He and his party
had been sent out by their master to hunt ivory, but
had secured none; and they were surprised and delighted
to find the Giriama, and had taken their ivory
from them. The captive insisted that at present he
was alone, and that his companions had gone to the
coast with their plunder.
I went to the zeriba, and found it full of Somali
utensils. It looked as if it had been occupied by a
larger party than our captive had told me of. All
around were bits of giraffe meat drying in the sun,
and, when surprised by my men, the Midgan had been
engaged in making sandals from a piece of the giraffe
hide. The presence of prayer mats disclosed the fact
that they were Mohammedans. I gave the captive a
good lecture, and told him to inform his master, Hassan