MY SOMALI BOOK 145 



The lioness was dead and we proceeded to look for 

 the cubs, but without success. As it happened we were 

 quite close to camp, so I at once sent off a man to bring 

 Iddu Khan, my Indian orderly, as hitherto he had seen 

 only the skins of lions, and it was not right that he 

 should go back to Aden without having seen some- 

 thing more to spin yarns about. Meanwhile I sat down 

 to have a smoke. When Iddu arrived I photographed 

 him sitting on the lioness, to his great dehght. When 

 she was skinned he insisted on carrying off a hind leg ! 

 He said he was going to dry the meat and take it to 

 Aden, the Subadar Major of the Indian Infantry Regi- 

 ment there attributed great properties to it. Both 

 in India and Somaliland, great store is set by the fat 

 of a lion, tiger, or leopard, for various medicinal 

 purposes, among others the cure of rheumatism, and 

 it is always carefully preserved ; but this was the only 

 time I have ever heard of any such value attaching to 

 the lean meat. Somalis also preserve the liquid oily 

 secretion found in the liver of a lion for use as a wash 

 for sore eyes. Western physicians have evidently still 

 a lot to learn ! 



Later, when back in camp at breakfast, a Somali 

 turned up with an offering — for a consideration — in 

 the form of a baby caracal (the African lynx, Somali 

 gududoiint), a quaint little reddish-brown kitten with 

 thick soft fur and black tufted ears. It was three or 

 four weeks old with very sharp teeth already, but 

 quite friendly, and I was pleased to have it. The 

 caracal is not common in Somaliland, and being very 

 quick and active as well as extremely stealthy and 

 nocturnal in its habits, is very rarely met with. 



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