First Footsteps in East Africa Part 28

_28th January_.--At about 9 A.M. the caravan crossed one of the lower ridges of the mountains by a tolerable road. Lieutenant Speke had preceded his camels, and was sitting down to rest, when he was startled by hearing the rapid discharge of a revolver. His valiant Abban, either in real or in pretended terror of the Habr Gerhajis had fired the pistol as a warning.

It had the effect of collecting a number of Bedouins to stare at the travellers, and cogitate on what they could obtain: they offered, however, no opposition.

At midday the caravan reached a broad and deep Fiumara, which contained a spring of good sweet water flowing towards the sea. Here they halted for refreshment. Again advancing, they traversed another ridge, and, after a march of twelve miles, arrived in the evening at another little watercourse on the Maritime Plain. That day was clear and warm, the rain being confined to the upper ranges. The name of the halting-place was Farjeh.

_29th January_.--The caravan marched over the plain into Kurayat, or Little Las Kuray, where Lieutenant Speke, after a detention of upwards of a fortnight, took boat, and after five days' sail arrived at Aden, where I was expecting him. He was charged forty dollars--five times the proper sum--for a place in a loaded Buggalow: from Aden to Bombay thirty-five dollars is the hire of the whole cabin. This was the last act of the Abban, who is now by the just orders of the acting Political Resident, Aden, expiating his divers offences in the Station Jail.

CONCLUSION.

Lieutenant Speke has pa.s.sed through three large tribes, the Warsingali, the Dulbahanta, and the Habr Gerhajis.

The Warsingali have a Sultan or Chief, whose orders are obeyed after a fas.h.i.+on by all the clans save one, the Bihidur. He cannot demand the attendance of a subject even to protect the country, and has no power to raise recruits; consequently increase of territory is never contemplated in this part of the Somali country. In case of murder, theft, or dispute between different tribes, the aggrieved consult the Sultan, who, a.s.sembling the elders, deputes them to feel the inclinations of the "public." The people prefer revenging themselves by violence, as every man thereby hopes to gain something. The war ends when the enemy has more spears than cattle left--most frequently, however, by mutual consent, when both are tired of riding the country. Expeditions seldom meet one another, this retiring as that advances, and he is deemed a brave who can lift a few head of cattle and return home in safety. The commissariat department is rudely organised: at the trysting-place, generally some water, the people a.s.semble on a day fixed by the Sultan, and slaughter sheep: each person provides himself by hanging some dried meat upon his pony. It is said that on many occasions men have pa.s.sed upwards of a week with no other sustenance than water. This extensive branch of the Somal is divided into eighteen princ.i.p.al clans, viz.:

1. Rer Gerad (the royal family).

2. Rer Fatih.

3. Rer Abdullah.

4. Rer Bihidur.

5. Bohogay Salabay.

6. Adan Yakub.

7. Gerad Umar.

8. Gerad Yusuf.

9. Gerad Liban.

10. Nuh Umar.

11. Adan Said.

12. Rer Haji.

13. Dubbays.

14. Warlabah.

15. Bayabarhay.

16. Rer Yasif.

17. Hindudub.

18. Rer Garwayna.

The Northern Dulbahantas are suffering greatly from intestine war. They are even less tractable than the Warsingali. Their Sultan is a ruler only in name; no one respects his person or consults him in matters of importance: their Gerad was in the vicinity of the traveller; but evasive answers were returned (probably in consequence of the Abban's machinations) to every inquiry. The elders and men of substance settle local matters, and all have a voice in everything that concerns the general weal: such for instance as the transit of a traveller. Lieutenant Speke saw two tribes, the Mahmud Gerad and Rer Ali Nalay. The latter is subdivided into six septs.

The Habr Gerhajis, here scattered and cut up, have little power. Their royal family resides near Berberah, but no one as yet wears the turban; and even when invest.i.ture takes place, a ruler's authority will not extend to Makhar. Three clans of this tribe inhabit this part of the Somali country, viz., Bah Gummaron, Rer Hamturwa, and Urus Sugay.

I venture to submit a few remarks upon the subject of the preceding diary.

It is evident from the perusal of these pages that though the traveller suffered from the system of black-mail to which the inhospitable Somal of Makhar subject all strangers, though he was delayed, persecuted by his "protector," and threatened with war, danger, and destruction, his life was never in real peril. Some allowance must also be made for the people of the country. Lieutenant Speke was of course recognised as a servant of Government; and savages cannot believe that a man wastes his rice and cloth to collect dead beasts and to ascertain the direction of streams. He was known to be a Christian; he is ignorant of the Moslem faith; and, most fatal to his enterprise, he was limited in time. Not knowing either the Arabic or the Somali tongue, he was forced to communicate with the people through the medium of his dishonest interpreter and Abban.

I have permitted myself to comment upon the system of interference pursued by the former authorities of Aden towards the inhabitants of the Somali coast. A partial intermeddling with the quarrels of these people is unwise. We have the whole line completely in our power. An armed cruiser, by a complete blockade, would compel the inhabitants to comply with any requisitions. But either our intervention should be complete,--either we should const.i.tute ourselves sole judges of all disputes, or we should sedulously turn a deaf ear to their complaints. The former I not only understand to be deprecated by our rulers, but I also hold it to be imprudent. Nothing is more dangerous than to influence in any way the savage balance of power between these tribes: by throwing our weight on one side we may do them incalculable mischief. The Somal, like the Arab Bedouins, live in a highly artificial though an apparently artless state of political relations; and the imperfect attempt of strangers to interfere would be turned to the worst account by the designing adventurer and the turbulent spirit who expects to rise by means of anarchy and confusion. Hitherto our partial intervention between the Habr Awal of Berberah and the Habr Gerhajis of Zayla has been fraught with evils to them, and consequently to us.

But it is a rapidly prevailing custom for merchants and travellers to engage an Abban or Protector, not on the African coast, as was formerly case, but at Aden. It is clearly advantageous to encourage this practice, since it gives us a right in case of fraud or violence to punish the Abban as he deserves.

Lastly, we cannot expect great things without some establishment at Berberah. Were a British agent settled there, he could easily select the most influential and respectable men, to be provided with a certificate ent.i.tling them to the honor and emolument of protecting strangers. Nothing would tend more surely than this measure to open up the new country to commerce and civilisation. And it must not be inferred, from a perusal of the foregoing pages, that the land is valueless. Lieutenant Speke saw but a small portion of it, and that, too, during the dead season. Its exports speak for themselves: guano, valuable gums, hides, peltries, mats, clarified b.u.t.ter, honey, and Dumbah sheep. From the ruins and the traditions of the country, it is clear that a more civilised race once held these now savage sh.o.r.es, and the disposition of the people does not discourage the hope entertained by every Englishman--that of raising his fellow man in the scale of civilisation.

Camp, Aden, March, 1855.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS

_Made by Lieutenant Speke, during his Experimental Tour in Eastern Africa, portions of Warsingali, Dulbahanta, &c._

Date. 6 A.M. Noon. 3 P.M. Meteorological Notices.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1854.

Oct. 29. 70 87 *112 Wind from the N. E. strong. (*Exposed " 30. 70 87 85 Ditto. to sun.) " 31. 68 88 85 Ditto.

Nov. 1. 67 88 82 Ditto. (These observations from " 2. 62 86 85 Ditto. the 29th Oct. to the 7th " 3. 59 86 " Nov., were taken in the " 4. 65 86 84 Ditto. tent.) " 5. 65 88 -- Ditto.

" 6. 63 88 86 Ditto.

" 7. 74 90 88 Cloudy in the morning.

" 8. 66 83 88 Wind strong from the N. E. (In open " 9. 64 84 82 Ditto. air, but not exposed " 10. 69 84 82 Ditto. to the sun.) " 11. 70 84 82 Ditto.

" 12. 68 83 82 " 13. 64 85 82 " 14. 77 82 82 " 15. 70 83 83 " 16. 72 83 82 " 17. 62 110 104 In open air exposed to sun.

" 18. 62 95 96 " 19. 62 102 95 All these observations were taken " 20. -- 98 103 during the N. E. monsoon, when the " 21. " " " wind comes from that quarter. It " 22. 59 74 77 generally makes its appearance " 23. 56 81 75 about half-past 9 A.M.

" 24. 59 78 82 " 25. 58 78 79 " 26. 60 74 75 " 27. 59 82 77 " 28. 59 82 72 " 29. 59 -- 80 " 30. 61 82 80 Dec. 1. 52 78 86 " 2. 50 86 89 " 3. " " "

" 4. -- 69 "

" 5. 54 84 84 " 6. -- 97 98 " 7. 52 -- 89 " 8. 52 95 100 " 9. 38 90 94 " 10. 42 92 91 " 11. 42 " "

" 12. 45 73 "

" 13. 40 81 82 " 14. 25 76 82 " 15. 33 80 82 " 16. 47 91 89 " 17. 36 84 90 " 18. 34 82 84 " 19. 54 78 84 " 20. 52 77 83 " 31. -- 89 88

1855.

Jan. 1. 40 98 98 In open air exposed to the sun.

" 2. 43 84 88 All these observations were taken " 3. 34 84 86 during the N. E. monsoon, when " 4. 32 86 84 the wind comes from that quarter; " 5. 28 96 87 generally making its appearance at " 6. 34 92 94 about half-past 9 A.M.

" 7. 39 91 80 " 8. 39 95 "

" 9. 40 81 "

" 10. 55 -- 72 " 11. 50 91 90 " 12. 53 87 90 " 13. 51 94 94 " 14. 39 84 95 " 16. 40 81 87 " 17. 46 78 81 " 18. 42 86 88 " 19. 44 82 83 " 20. 40 " "

" 21. 38 87 93 " 22. 50 91 84 " 23. 52 86 98 " 24. 52 -- 62 On the north or sea face of the " 25. 51 79 66 Warsangali Hills, during 24th, " 26. 58 65 63 25th, and 26th, had rain and heavy " 27. 58 " " clouds daring the day: blowing " 30. 72 82 82 off towards the evening.

" 31. 71 88 93 From the 27th to the 7th the Feb. 1. 67 96 80 observations were taken at the sea.

" 2. 74 89 80 " 3. 68 87 88 " 4. 68 89 "

" 5. 68 84 83 " 6. 72 88 " On the 7th observations were taken " 7. 68 83 " in tent.

Govern. Therm. ! Therm. Feet.

boiled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1854 Nov. 1st. At Las Guray 212 88 0000 22nd. At Adhai 204.25 81 4577 30th. At Habal Ishawalay 203 58 5052 Dec. 4th. At Yafir, top of range 200.25 69 6704 5th. At Mukur, on plateau 205.5 67 3660 7th. At Rhat Tug, on plateau 206.5 62 3077 15th. At Yubbay Tug, on plateau 204 62 4498 Government boiling therm. broke here.

Common therm. out of bazar boiled at sea level 209 Thermometer 76 1855 Com. ther.

Jan. 1st. At Jid Alli, on plateau 202 62 3884 12th. At Biyu Hablay 201. 62 4 449 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPENDIX II.

GRAMMATICAL OUTLINE AND VOCABULARY

HARARI LANGUAGE.