124 MY SOMALI BOOK 



only, while in the others the length was eleven to 

 fourteen inches — a marked difference. 



While looking for tracks on the ground in the Hand, 

 one's eye was frequently caught by marks which 

 seemed to require explanation. These consisted of 

 circles or parts of circles, sometimes three or four con- 

 centric, and perfectly regular, scraped on the ground. 

 They puzzled me until investigation showed they were 

 caused by stalks of grass trailing on the ground, pressed 

 down by the force of the wind, and then blown in a 

 circle round the central root, the regular indentations 

 being caused by knots in the stalk ! The comparatively 

 deep marks made by the fragile looking grass stalk 

 was remarkable. I have never seen anything of the 

 kind elsewhere, and imagine it only occurs with this 

 particular trailing grass. 



Ever since I was first able to walk I have been 

 more or less of a " bug-hunter." Here in the Haud 

 my dormant entomological instincts were roused by the 

 sight of a pink butterfly. Real pink for some unex- 

 plained reason is an extremely rare colour in butter- 

 flies, though not uncommon among moths, and a 

 butterfly in which the prevailing hue was pink was, to 

 me at any rate, unique. This species, of which I saw 

 several specimens, was a bright pink ail over (the pink 

 of our common English cinnabar moth), with black 

 markings somewhat after the style of that ubiquitous 

 butterfly, Danais chrysippus, which it also resembled 

 in flight, but was a smaller size. If any entomologist 

 wants a more accurate description, he must go and 

 catch one, which I failed to do. 



Most of the butterflies I saw, thej:' were not a great 



