CHAPTEKAE 
ARRIVAL AT ADEN — Haji Hassan — His DISCREET CHARACTER — MAKING 
CONTRACTS WITH MY MEN — VoyAGE TO BERBERA — THE START — 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SOMALIS — AN Opp MARRIAGE CUSTOM — TRIBAL 
Divisions — THE Hapr-AWAL. 
W°* set sail from London on the rst of June, 1894, 
and in eighteen days were at Aden. Almost the 
first boat that approached the steamer as she came to 
anchor contained my good friend Mr. Charles McConkey, 
and behind him was a grinning face I recognized at once. 
This peculiar, black, ugly, though amusing countenance, 
that seemed to be bursting with joy, belonged to a good old 
follower of mine named Hassan. As he had been to 
Mecca he was called Haji Hassan. The last time I had 
seen Haji Hassan was when I was leaving the wharf at 
Aden upon my departure for London. I could not restrain | 
a smile at that time, for instead of the graceful folds of 
flowing white cloth the Somalis usually wear, Haji was ar- 
rayed in two flannel shirts I had given him, the tails waving 
one above the other, while below there was nothing to 
cover his nakedness except a pair of thick boots. His 
last words had been, “ Hofficer must come back soon; I 
wait for hofficer.” He had picked up considerable cock- 
ney English in Aden. It was with no slight feeling of 
pleasure that I saw this curious specimen of humanity 
once more. I had no regular head man on my previous 
trip, as I attended to everything in camp myself; but 
Haji Hassan was so quick in noticing if anything went 
