MY SOMALI BOOK 139 



work until 10 p.m. It was very good fun as soon as we 

 were sure that nothing important had been damaged ; 

 at the first indication that it was going to be heavy 

 rain all the camel mats had been piled on top of the 

 precious skins and ammunition, etc. And the Somali 

 sets too high a value on the rain that keeps his flocks 

 alive, to mind a wetting, so no one could have had 

 more cheery companions than were mine. Next morn- 

 ing we had to wait until about 10 a.m. to let things 

 dry a bit before we could march again. 



Another long march took us across a corner of the 

 Aror Ban, a great open plain. Before reaching it a 

 concourse of vultures led me aside to discover the 

 reason why, which proved to be the skeleton of a camel 

 that had probably died a natural death as there was 

 no sign of lions about. 



Further on, crossing the brow of a low liiU, I suddenly 

 came upon an ostrich only fifty yards 

 away. I was down on the ground 

 like a shot and the rifle came up, to 

 be stopped just in time by Elmi as he 

 pointed to a karia on the left. The 

 bird was a tame one ! 



Crossing this part of the han, 

 whether walking or riding, it was 

 rather trying, on account of the extraordinary number 

 of holes concealed by the grass, even the old mule 

 (" mayule " as Abdilleh pronounces it) came down 

 three times. 



We halted for the night on the far edge of the 

 plain, and next morning marched three or four miles 

 into the bush and made a zariba in which to spend 



