72 LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



careful inspection of the individual with such an imposing 

 name. He begged us to be very kind to his people 

 whom he had given us, as they were his children ; and 

 never to use the koorbatch, or they would run away, and 

 he would be unable to send us any more. 



In the evening some hunters arrived who had been 

 out elephant-shooting in the neighbourhood to-day. 

 They had seen several and had killed one, and it was 

 really almost annoying to find these Arabs so well armed. 

 One man had a very heavy muzzle-loading four-bore 

 rifle with the name of Williams and Co. upon it, which 

 he said cost one hundred and thirty-five dollars, and 

 almost always killed an elephant first shot at about 

 twenty-five yards distance. The charge is ten drachms 

 of their bad powder, and it is fired from a rest consisting 

 of a forked stick. The other rifles they had were of 

 very inferior quality, and were only used on an emergency 

 to shoot at a wounded animal. It appears, however, 

 that these firearms are almost the only ones in the pos- 

 session of the Hamran Arabs, and are looked upon with 

 much wonder ; and one cannot help hoping they may 

 remain so, for it would be a pity if the career of the 

 renowned Hamran sword-hunter had to yield to the 

 advance of civilisation in this respect. Sir Samuel 

 Baker thus describes their exploits : l ' Provided with 

 horses, the party should not exceed four. They start 



1 Vide ' Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia.' 



