On Our Way We Passed Lines Of Donkeys
And Camels Carrying Water-Skins From The Town; They Were Under Guard Like
Ourselves, And The Sturdy Dames That Drove Them Indulged In Many A Loud
Joke At Our Expense.
After walking about four miles we arrived at what is
called the Takhushshah--the sandy bed of a torrent nearly a mile broad
[19], covered with a thin coat of caked mud:
In the centre is a line of
pits from three to four feet deep, with turbid water at the bottom. Around
them were several frame-works of four upright sticks connected by
horizontal bars, and on these were stretched goats'-skins, forming the
cattle-trough of the Somali country. About the wells stood troops of
camels, whose Eesa proprietors scowled fiercely at us, and stalked over
the plain with their long, heavy spears: for protection against these
people, the citizens have erected a kind of round tower, with a ladder for
a staircase. Near it are some large tamarisks and the wild henna of the
Somali country, which supplies a sweet-smelling flower, but is valueless
as a dye. A thick hedge of thorn-trees surrounds the only cultivated
ground near Zayla: as Ibn Said declared in old times, "the people have no
gardens, and know nothing of fruits." The variety and the luxuriance of
growth, however, prove that industry is the sole desideratum. I remarked
the castor-plant,--no one knows its name or nature [20],--the Rayhan or
Basil, the Kadi, a species of aloe, whose strongly scented flowers the
Arabs of Yemen are fond of wearing in their turbans. [21] Of vegetables,
there were cucumbers, egg-plants, and the edible hibiscus; the only fruit
was a small kind of water-melon.
After enjoying a walk through the garden and a bath at the well, I
started, gun in hand, towards the jungly plain that stretches towards the
sea. It abounds in hares, and in a large description of spur-fowl [22];
the beautiful little sand antelope, scarcely bigger than an English rabbit
[23], bounded over the bushes, its thin legs being scarcely perceptible
during the spring. I was afraid to fire with ball, the place being full of
Bedouins' huts, herds, and dogs, and the vicinity of man made the animals
too wild for small shot. In revenge, I did considerable havoc amongst the
spur-fowl, who proved equally good for sport and the pot, besides knocking
over a number of old crows, whose gall the Arab soldiers wanted for
collyrium. [24] Beyond us lay Warabalay or Hyaenas' hill [25]: we did not
visit it, as all its tenants had been driven away by the migration of the
Nomads.
Returning, we breakfasted in the garden, and rain coming on, we walked out
to enjoy the Oriental luxury of a wetting. Ali Iskandar, an old Arab
mercenary, afforded us infinite amusement: a little opium made him half
crazy, when his sarcastic pleasantries never ceased. We then brought out
the guns, and being joined by the other escort, proceeded to a trial of
skill.
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