CHAP. II " YOU CANNOT FLOG A SOMALI !' 29 



Next day I sent some of the men with the camels and 

 donkeys back to Witu and crossed with the remainder to the 

 other side of the river, so as to be able to keep a better watch 

 for Harris's force. But the men did not start without a row. 

 When I told Jarma that he was to be one of those to return 

 with the camels, he refused to do so. He said that he had 

 been told by the chief to obey the orders of no one but him- 

 self, and that he had only told him to come to Ngatana. He 

 was therefore going to stay where he was, until he had orders 

 from the chief to go elsewhere. Before he knew what I was 

 doing I had seized his rifle and ammunition. I had him 

 arrested and tied to a tree. The other Somali asked what I 

 was going to do with him. " Flog him, of course," I replied. 

 At once there was a hubbub in camp. The men threw down 

 their guns and danced about in the wild, noisy, excitable way 

 to which I had now become accustomed. " Kowadku, labadku, 

 sadehadku " (By the first, by the second, by the third), they 

 shouted. " You cannot flog a Somali. You may flog a 

 Pokomo ; you may flog a Zanzibari ; you may flog an 

 Habeshi (Abyssinian) ; but you cannot flog a free Somali." 

 They were simply told to wait for a few minutes and see. There 

 were some Wa-pokomo at the other end of the village, watch- 

 ing us and wondering what the excitement was all about. I 

 called one of them and told him he was to flog the Somali. 

 This was adding insult to injury, for the Somali hold the 

 Wa-pokomo as their slaves. There was therefore another 

 outburst of " Kowadku, labadku, etc.," but it made no impres- 

 sion. I was resolved that the man should be flogged. It was 

 not till Jarma, seeing I was in earnest, began to whine and 

 promise to do anything I told him, if I would only let him off, 

 and when I reflected that striking a Somali meant starting 

 a blood feud, that I decided it was useless proceeding to 

 extremities, as the man was thoroughly cowed. I had him 

 untied, returned him his rifle but not his ammunition, and he 

 started back with the others without a murmur. Our head- 

 man subsequently told me that this Jarma was a hopelessly 

 bad character, and that he had tried in Aden to persuade our 

 chief not to take him, as he would be sure to give us trouble. 

 However, I had no more bother with him after this. 



The camels and the other men returned, leaving me with 



