TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 223 



think our admiration for the small birds puzzled 

 Clarence very much. He made nothing of them. All 

 the hunters were singularly ignorant on the subject, 

 and could tell us nothing, not even the names of quite 

 well-known finches. All the exquisite little things 

 were tame as tame could be, willingly picking up 

 crumbs as we scattered them in the very tent. The 

 most wondrously coated starlings wandered about in 

 their inquisitive habit, and made many moments of 

 amusement for us with their quarrels and peacocking 

 ways. 



At Well-Wall we got some water, and camped for 

 the night. There were many stray nomadic Somalis, 

 hunters mostly, at the water, some Midgans, almost 

 in " the altogether." They were a scraggy, miserable- 

 looking lot, with whom our men got to loggerheads 

 in " the wee sma' hours," and, quarrelling most of the 

 night, made the place hideous with their din, all 

 carried on, as it was, on a top note. I went out once 

 to try and silence them all, and Cecily had a go at it 

 also, but nothing would stop the incessant jangle of 

 their voices. We simply lay down, said things, and 

 wished for day. 



When the dawn broke in gray shadows we insisted 

 on striking camp at once, breakfasting after a short 

 trek. The outcaste Somalis followed us for a long 

 way, begging for tobes. It seemed cruel to refuse 

 them, but we hadn't enough to go round even if we 

 handed over our remaining stock, and really to give 

 one tobe, or even two or three, to such a needy band 

 would be about as much use as to present one brace of 



