TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



Talking of specimens reminds me of another live product 

 of the country which I acquired in a somewhat curious 

 fashion on my way to the interior. I had passed various 

 caravans of armed Somalis, journeying to the coast with 

 strings of camels laden with skins, etc., when, one day, I 

 came across a wretched woman, who had lately given 

 birth to a child, and being too feeble to keep up with the 

 caravan, had been left, together with the infant, on the 

 road. I picked them up and, much to the disgust of my 

 men, had them carefully placed on a camel and taken to my 

 zareba, where the woman, who was in the last stage of 

 exhaustion, subsequently died. The difficulty now arose 

 as to how to rear the child, but we finally overcame this 

 by feeding him on condensed milk and sago — a diet which 

 evidently suited him, for he throve wonderfully well on it, 

 soon becoming strong and fat. 



He came in time to be a great pet with the men, who, 

 whether as an experiment or in accordance with recognized 

 Somali methods for the physical improvement of their 

 young, used to oil and grease him all over, then put him 

 out in the sun to dry ! 



He had been with us for several months, when one day, 

 happening to fall in with another caravan of his tribesmen, 

 I handed him over to them. This incident not only 

 confirms what I have said as to the callousness of the 

 Somalis with reference to their woman-kind, but would 

 serve to prove the fallacy of ultra-civilization ; for I am 

 convinced no newly-born European infant in like circum- 

 stances would have survived the ordeal. But to go on 

 with my story, my time was now drawing to a close, and I 

 had to make all haste I could to reach the coast. However, 

 by a succession of forced marches I accomplished the 

 journey in an extraordinarily short time. On arrival at 

 Aden, I found the garrison all down with danki — a kind 

 of rheumatic fever which had broken out in epidemic form. 

 I fared no better than the rest, but, fortunately, before my 

 steamer sailed, I had sufficiently recovered to be able to go 

 on board. 



All my skins, which had been carefully packed up inj 

 bales, were relegated to the hold, but some of my best' 

 heads I insisted on keeping in my cabin much to the 

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