ASTONISHING THE NATIVES. 129 
retreated. We met a large war party returning to the vil- 
lages we had just left, who told us that their enemies had 
all been scattered. Besides the ordinary Somali spear, 
the people along the river use acruel weapon witha barbed 
point, which is poisoned, and remains in the flesh after the 
shaft is detached. The war party now flourished these 
about boastingly, and told me they were better for killing 
crocodiles than our rifles. In order to give them a good 
lesson, therefore, I walked to the bank of the river, and 
pointing out a huge crocodile lying on the opposite shore, 
about fifty yards away, took a steady aim at the brute 
just behind the shoulder, and fired. The animal never 
moved, but a great stream of blood pouring from his side 
showed the assembled natives that his day was ended. 
Loud were the shouts of astonishment at this evidence of 
the white man’s power, as there was scarcely one among 
these natives who had ever seen a European before 
we came among them, although they had heard much 
about the Europeans from traders. No expedition 
had been along here before, Lord Wolverton and the 
James brothers having gone directly from Milmil to 
Barl. 
Both sides of the river are thickly populated. The 
Aulihans occupy the western shores, opposite the Ogadens, 
while mixed with both these tribes are many Adones, or 
Seedy boys. Although the natives living on the two sides 
of the river are deadly enemies to each other, the Aulihans 
kept shouting continually to us to come across and visit 
them, as they had much to sell us. 
At the village of Bergin, where we camped, I had a 
zareba built for lions, as there were many fresh tracks of 
these beasts about; but my only visitors were swarms of 
mosquitoes. The river divides here into three branches, 
—the two largest joining again near Geledi, — while the 
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