RULES OF CONDUCT 



should in the first instance report it to the chief, and 

 all disputes should be settled locally. 



The following points should be remembered if the 

 traveller has not had any previous acquaintance with 

 Mohammedans : — 



1. Never hit or beat a Somali. 



2. Never point at a man with your finger. 



3. Never stare or attempt to photograph a Mussulman at 



his prayers. 



4. Do not ask unnecessary questions, and do not inquire 



after a man's family, 



5. Do not be contemptuous or patronising with the Somali, 



nor familiar. There is a happy mean, which he is 

 quick to recognise and welcome with respect. 



6. Do not laugh or sneer at his hut or his habits. He is 



quick to resent this, and rightly so. 



7. Do not promise or threaten anything, unless you know 



you can carry it out immediately. Delay will be re- 

 garded as a confession of weakness, with a consequent 

 loss of authority. 



There is still much exploratory work to be accom- 

 plished in the remoter parts of East Africa, and I 

 should like to urge very strongly on travellers who 

 intend to visit those regions, that they should fit 

 themselves in a scientific sense of the word, in order 

 that they may fully profit by the opportunities afforded 

 them on such an expedition. I cannot do better than 

 quote a passage by Mr. E. A. Reeves in the Intro- 

 duction to the ninth edition of the Royal Geographical 

 Society's Hints to Travellers. "The days of rough 

 route surveying," he says, "are practically past. A 

 man who only makes a hurried journey through some 

 imperfectly known district without proper instruments 

 or previous training, and who is able consequently 

 only to bring back with him a rough prismatic com- 



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