70 MY SOMALI BOOK 



engaging a separate " head man " to run the caravan, 

 which I particularly did not want to do. 



Meanwhile P. had kindly wired to the post nearest 

 to where Abdilleh's section of the Habr Awal were 

 then believed to be pasturing. He was found and to 

 my great relief turned up on the 22nd. We soon 

 came to terms and I sacked the two Midgans with 

 some consolatory bakshish. By the evening of the 

 following day, the caravan was practically ready. I 

 had bought a riding mule for 1255. and twelve camels 

 at an average price of 55s., not cheap, as Government 

 were buying and prices were up. I had not been able 

 to bring a pony with me this time and it was difficult 

 to get one in Berbera. They brought me a three- 

 year-old to try, and I promptly fell off, saddle and 

 all ; it was so small that the girths could not be made 

 tight enough ! Eventually I picked up an old screw 

 that looked as if he might have enough work in him 

 for marching purposes. 



Elmi Farali, my third shikari of 1907, came with 

 me again in the same capacity ; my No. 2 this time 

 was one Henduleh, of the Habr Yunis sub-tribe, 

 whose weak point was his inability to speak any 

 language but his own. With Elmi I had to try and 

 talk Arabic, while my medium of communication with 

 Abdilleh was indifferently Hindustani or English. 



The personal following which I brought over from 

 Aden consisted of an Indian police orderly named 

 Iddu Khan, a good man though not brilliant of intellect, 

 and a Somali, named Abdi, as cook. I had known the 

 latter for two or three years, but was taking his cooking 

 capacities very nmcli on trust. It had not seemed 



