TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



the I.-G. Police for sanction to enter Somaliland through 

 Aden, which is under the jurisdiction of the Government of 

 Bombay. 



I also applied to the Inspector-General of Police for 

 sanction to take forty Sniders from the Police Headquarters 

 Reserve with which to arm my escort, for owing to the 

 reputed lawlessness of the country I purposed visiting, an 

 armed escort was essentially necessary. 



After some weeks' delay I received a curt demi-official 

 reply from the I.-G. Police regretting that he was unable to 

 accede to my wishes, but that he had forwarded my appli- 

 cation to the Government for disposal. 



This was not encouraging — especially as I had obtained 

 the requisite leave of absence and had already made all my 

 preparations for the expedition, assuming that permission 

 would be granted and I should be able to start at once. 



However, Lord H , the then Governor of Bombay, 



a sportsman himself, and always anxious to encourage this 

 spirit among his officers, came to my rescue, and not only 

 sanctioned my expedition — subject to the approval of the 

 Aden authorities — but issued a special resolution giving 

 me the loan of forty Sniders and ammunition from the Aden 

 arsenal. 



As I was making the expedition alone — for I had no 

 white companion — I was particularly anxious to take some 

 of my own men with me. At the same time I felt it was 

 expecting too much, and hardly reasonable to ask a Bhil 

 to leave his home and family and to undertake a sea voyage 

 to a country he had never seen or even heard of. 



However, on my calling for volunteers Gungdya and 

 Sabha, two of my best shikaris — of whom mention has 

 already been made in previous chapters — ^both came forward 

 at once and expressed their willingness to accompany me. 



These men, as I have said elsewhere, were very different 

 both in appearance and character, one being tall, thin, and 

 dignified, and the other short, squat, and of a wild and 

 reckless disposition, but a pluckier couple it would have 

 been difficult to find, and though so different in character 

 yet the best of friends and comrades. 



I laid in a quantity of stores — ^far too much as I dis- 

 covered later — consisting of tea, coffee, tinned butter, soups, 

 162 



