52 Mr. R. McD. Uawker— Results of a 



VI. — On the Results of a Collecting -Tour of Three Months in 

 Somaliland. By R. McD. Hawker, F.Z.S. 



(Plate II.) 



Mil. G. H. Cheetham aud I, having engaged the services 

 of Mr. Harwood (who had been before in Somaliland 

 with Mr. E. Lort Phillips^ and had there done excellent 

 work) as collector, arrived at Aden on October 17th, 1897, 

 and called on Colonel Sadler, the Political Resident and 

 Consul for the Somali coast. Col. Sadler told us that we 

 could not be allowed to go into Abyssinia, as we had planned, 

 as at that time the treaty with Menelik had not been ratified, 

 and that for the same reason we could not go into Somali- 

 land unless we undertook not to pass outside the British 

 Protectorate. This was a great disappointment to us after 

 all our preparations, as it confined us to a well-known 

 country. But Colonel Sadler had kindly engaged Adan 

 Yusuf as our head man, and had told him to buy camels for 

 us at Berbera. Our next difficulty was that our rifles had 

 not arrived ; so we had to spend nearly three weeks in 

 Aden, waiting for them. Here we passed the time more 

 pleasantly than one could have expected, thanks to the 

 hospitality of Colonel Sadler and some of the officers of 

 the garrison. Our rifles arrived on November 1st, and 

 next day we started for Berbera, arriving there after a 

 voyage of fifteen hours on a horrible little steamer. At 

 Berbera Captain Walter Merewether, the Resident, besides 

 heing our host, helped us in every way possible ; so that we 

 were able to start oft' on November 5 th. Our caravan of 

 37 Somalis was made up of camel-men, shikaris, tent-boys, 

 a cook, and syces. The camel-men were armed and had 

 to act as guard. Our first march took us twelve miles 

 along the coast, and when we got to the camp we found 

 everything in order. 



The track along the coast was sandy, and the country was 

 covered with low mimosa bushes and abounded in Dik-dik 

 {Madoqua swaynei).; but as we turned inland the bushes were 

 replaced by thorn-trees about twelve feet high. Our track 



