6 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA CHAr. 



Menelik had sent his permission for us to travel to 

 Adis Ababa by Gildessa and the Hawash Valley. 



Most of the next day was taken up in discharging use- 

 less men who had been engaged for us, and in taking on 

 more suitable candidates, in inquiring into characters, 

 settling duties, rations, etc. I \vas kept pretty busy, 

 being the only member of the party who spoke a little 

 Hindustani, which most Somalis understand better than 

 English. When it came to discussing the question of 

 wages, the trouble began, since all the men combined in 

 demanding half as much again as we were prepared to 

 give. The four " boys " marched off in a body, but, when 

 they found I was making- active inquiries for others, 

 came back and accepted our terms. On the 9th, 

 Harrison and myself went to Warabileh, a two hours' 

 ride, to inspect the sixty camels which had been bought 

 for us at Berbera. We found some rather young and a 

 few with rubbed backs, but on the whole they were a 

 very useful lot, far better than the animals I got together 

 at Berbera in 1895. The rest of the day I spent in 

 seeing that the numbers of camel-mats, ropes, etc., 

 agreed with the quantities paid for, and that all were 

 serviceable. Meanwhile the others were unpacking 

 tents, rifles, cooking-pots, and the hundred and one 

 items of camp-kit which would be in daily use. We had 

 also to catalogue and pack the parcels of beads of all 

 shapes, sizes, and colours, bars of iron, brass rods, 

 copper and brass wire, little bells, and various odds and 

 ends which were to delight the hearts of the natives 

 round Lake Rudolf and towards Fashoda, and to be 

 bartered for food. 



