About Noon We Bathed In The Sea,
And Sat On The Sands For A While, My People Praying For Permission To Pass
The Kraals Of Their Enemies, The Ayyal Ahmed, By Night.
This, their last
request, was graciously granted:
To say sooth, rapid travelling was now
impossible; the spear failed to urge on one mule, and the Hammal was
obliged to flog before him another wretched animal. We then traversed an
alluvial plain, lately flooded, where slippery mud doubled the fatigue of
our cattle; and, at 3 P.M., again halted on a patch of grass below the
rocky spur of Dabasenis, a hill half way between Bulhar and Berberah. On
the summit I was shown an object that makes travellers shudder, a thorn-
tree, under which the Habr Gerhajis [13] and their friends of the Eesa
Musa sit, vulture-like, on the look-out for plunder and murder. Advancing
another mile, we came to some wells, where we were obliged to rest our
animals. Having there finished our last mouthful of food, we remounted,
and following the plain eastward, prepared for a long night-march.
As the light of day waned we passed on the right hand a table-formed hill,
apparently a detached fragment of the sub-Ghauts or coast range. This spot
is celebrated in local legends as "Auliya Kumbo," the Mount of Saints,
where the forty-four Arab Santons sat in solemn conclave before dispersing
over the Somali country to preach El Islam. It lies about six hours of
hard walking from Berberah.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 359 of 479
Words from 95870 to 96126
of 128411
