CHAPTER Vil. 
SURPRISED BY THE ABYSSINIANS — ‘THE SOMALIS SHOW THEIR METTLE — A 
DANGEROUS PREDICAMENT — EMPEROR MENELEK ORDERS US TO RETURN 
THE Way WE CAME — GLOOMY PROSPECTS — SALAN MOHAMMED — WaAL- 
DA-GUBBRA NOT TO BLAME — WE BID GOOD-BY TO THE GOOD OLD 
ABYSSINIAN GENERAL — AN AMUSING REQUEST FROM WAL-DA-GUBBRA’S 
DAUGHTER — MARCHING TOWARDS SOMALILAND AGAIN — THE HawatTu 
AND Daro Mountains —I RECEIVE A LETTER FROM EMPEROR MENELEK 
SAVING THAT HE DID NOT FORBID MY GOING THROUGH HIS COUNTRY — 
WE TURN SOUTH — HOPES DISPELLED — WAL-DA-GUBBRA AND HIS ARMY 
STOP US ON THE LacGa TuG— THE EXPEDITION A HARD ONE — AT THE 
SHEBELL RIVER ONCE MORE. 
UST about daybreak we were surprised by a little body 
of Abyssinians, who rode up to our camp on the 
Budda with much bluster. At their head was our old 
acquaintance Hazach Jarro, and also the son of Wal-da- 
Gubbra. They had a great deal to say about our march- 
ing without first notifying the general. Why had we not 
waited for his present, the King’s answer, etc. They asked 
what we intended doing. If we intended going to the 
Emperor, everything would be done to facilitate our jour- 
ney. I told them it would be impossible to go two hun- 
dred miles out of our way to New Antoto, through such a 
high, wet country, where our camels would surely die, but 
that on the contrary I was determined to march directly 
towards Lake Rudolf. After a tedious conference, in 
which the old excuses were repeated many times, and my 
answers were always the same, the envoys pretended to get 
into a rage, and left my tent, vowing that they would 
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