68 MY SOMALI BOOK 



the British Infantry Regiment then in Aden, com- 

 mended the latter to H., wished him luck and departed 

 homewards. 



M. came home in December, lunched with me in 

 Town, and told me all about his very successful two 

 months' shoot. He had bagged several lions and a 

 greater kudu with horns of record spread. Abdilleh, 

 he said, liad done him very well. 



Of course I was keener than ever, and arranged to 

 go out in June (1909), which would give me nearly 

 three months. I wrote to ask H. to engage shikaris, 

 including Abdilleh, and to buy camels for me. I had 

 also written to H.M.'s Minister in Abyssinia to apply 

 for a permit to shoot in Abyssinian territory, as I 

 wanted to visit Ogiiden. 



Meanwhile I was getting together my battery, a 



more powerful one than I had on the first trip. It 



consisted of the following : — 



{a) A D.B. 12-bore Paradox gun by Holland and 



Holland, shooting a Magnum charge of 33 grains 



revolver Cordite and a 735 grain bullet (hollow-pointed, 



also 780 grains solid). 



{h) A D.B. •450/-400 Cordite rifle by Watson, 



shooting the standard charge of 60 grains Cordite (or 



rather the Axite equivalent in my cartridges) and a 



400 grain bullet. 



(c) A -318 " Accelerated Express " magazine rifle 

 by Westley Richards, shooting 50 grains Axite and a 

 250 grain bullet, with a muzzle velocity of 2500 f.s. 



(d) A -300 " Sherwood " miniature rifle for small 

 animals and birds. 



The -318, I considered, should be an ideal weapon 



