210 LIFE WITH THE HAM RAN ARABS. 



They often can be seen by day moving in troops along 

 the banks, a few fine old gentlemen with long manes 

 marching one behind the other majestically in front, 

 whilst the rest follow in general disorder mothers 

 carrying their little ones on their backs ; and from the 

 amount of screaming and screeching we sometimes hear 

 amongst the general community, it is evident that rows 

 are not uncommon in the family circle of our Darwinian 

 brethren. They pay us the great compliment of taking 

 a lively interest in our proceedings when they pass near 

 our camp, provided that they are separated from it by 

 the river. 



There is at the present moment (6 P.M.) a tremendous 

 storm over the Abyssinian hills, and we are having the 

 benefit of the thunder and lightning, the latter being very 

 vivid. Some very ominous-looking clouds are creeping 

 onwards towards us, but the Arabs say that there is no 

 chance of the storm reaching us so early in the year. 



No reference has been made to the pearly whiteness 

 of our Arabs' teeth, and it deserves a passing notice, 

 universal as it is amongst Eastern races, for the Hamrans 

 have their own way, at least so they think, of producing 

 this satisfactory condition. It is simple enough, as it 

 merely consists of rubbing the teeth when chance offers 

 with the smoothly-cut end of a twig of some small tree 

 now in the green state, the fibres of which gradually 

 get separated in the rubbing process, and converted 



