III.
[10] The author hoped to insert Lieut. Berne's journal, kept at Berberah,
and the different places of note in its vicinity; as yet, however, the
paper has not been received.
[11] Harar has frequently been described by hearsay; the following are the
principal authorities:--
Rochet (Second Voyage Dans le Pays des Adels, &c. Paris, 1846.), page 263.
Sir. W. Cornwallis Harris (Highlands of AEthiopia, vol. i. ch. 43. et
passim).
Cruttenden (Transactions of the Bombay Geological Society A.D. 1848).
Barker (Report of the probable Position of Harar. Vol. xii. Royal
Geographical Society).
M'Queen (Geographical Memoirs of Abyssinia, prefixed to Journals of Rev.
Messrs. Isenberg and Krapf).
Christopher (Journal whilst commanding the H. C.'s brig "Tigris," on the
East Coast of Africa).
Of these by far the most correct account is that of Lieut. Cruttenden.
[12] In A.D. 1825, the Government of Bombay received intelligence that a
brig from the Mauritius had been seized, plundered, and broken up near
Berberah, and that part of her crew had been barbarously murdered by the
Somali. The "Elphinstone" sloop of war (Capt. Greer commanding) was sent
to blockade the coast; when her guns opened fire, the people fled with
their wives and children, and the spot where a horseman was killed by a
cannon ball is still shown on the plain near the town. Through the
intervention of El Hajj Sharmarkay, the survivors were recovered; the
Somal bound themselves to abstain from future attacks upon English
vessels, and also to refund by annual instalments the full amount of
plundered property. For the purpose of enforcing the latter stipulation it
was resolved that a vessel of war should remain upon the coast until the
whole was liquidated. When attempts at evasion occurred, the traffic was
stopped by sending all craft outside the guard-ship, and forbidding
intercourse with the shore. The "Coote" (Capt. Pepper commanding), the
"Palinurus" and the "Tigris," in turn with the "Elphinstone," maintained
the blockade through the trading seasons till 1833. About 6000_l._ were
recovered, and the people were strongly impressed with the fact that we
had both the will and the means to keep their plundering propensities
within bounds.
[13] The writer advised that these men should be hung upon the spot where
the outrage was committed, that the bodies should be burned and the ashes
cast into the sea, lest by any means the murderers might become martyrs.
This precaution should invariably be adopted when Moslems assassinate
Infidels.
[14] The reason of the objection is not apparent. A savage people is
imperfectly punished by a few deaths: the fine is the only true way to
produce a lasting impression upon their heads and hearts. Moreover, it is
the custom of India and the East generally, and is in reality the only
safeguard of a traveller's property.
