All Day, And During
The Greater Part Of Night, The Town Rang With The Voices Of Buyer And
Seller:
To specify no other articles of traffic, 500 slaves of both sexes
were in the market.
[1] Long lines of laden and unladen camels were to be
seen pacing the glaring yellow shore; rumours of plundering parties at
times brought swarms of spear-men, bounding and yelling like wild beasts,
from the town; already small parties of travellers had broken ground for
their return journey; and the foul heap of mat hovels, to which this
celebrated mart had been reduced, was steadily shrinking in dimensions.
Our little party consisted of forty-two souls. At Aden I had applied
officially for some well-trained Somali policemen, but as an increase of
that establishment had been urged upon the home authorities, my request
was refused. We were fain to content ourselves with a dozen recruits of
various races, Egyptian, Nubian, Arab and Negro, whom we armed with sabres
and flint muskets. The other members of the expedition were our private
servants, and about a score of Somal under our rival protectors Jami Hasan
and Burhale Nuh. The Ras or Captain of the Kafilah was one Mahmud of the
Mijjarthayn, better known at Aden as El Balyuz or the Envoy: he had the
reputation of being a shrewd manager, thoroughly acquainted with the
habits and customs, as well as the geography, of Somaliland.
Our camp was pitched near the site of the proposed Agency, upon a rocky
ridge within musket-shot of the southern extremity of the creek, and about
three quarters of a mile distant from the town.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 394 of 479
Words from 105420 to 105694
of 128411
