VIII JOURNEY TO WEBBE SHABELEH RIVER 223 
woman a month ago, five men and another woman had been 
carried off by the pair, my man Daura being the eighth human 
victim within the mouth ! 
We resumed our journey on the following morning towards 
the coast. Passing through the Sheikh Ash tribe and thence 
by Milmil, we reached the Rer Ali at Warma-kés in the Haud 
Plateau, after eight marches, on 24th May. The Rer Ali turned 
out fifty horsemen to dibdltig before me, and I gave a show in 
return, advancing over the plain and firing volleys of blank 
cartridge with my twenty camelmen, and whistling them up to 
form rallying groups against cavalry. I refused, however, to 
part with any tobes, so they said I was “good but stingy.” 
They told me that lately an English officer had been sent from 
Aden to Harar, and had ordered the Abyssinians to evacuate 
the town within a fortnight. This information turned out to be 
based on my own peaceful visit to Ras Makunan, and was thus 
distorted by passing from mouth to mouth! We made a detour 
to the east of several days’ journey in order to come on to ground 
frequented by Clarke’s gazelle, and I was so fortunate as to 
shoot a good buck of this antelope and to pick up two pairs of 
horns. 
While marching through a jungle called Gouss in the Haud, 
I started about forty beisa, which galloped past us looking like 
a body of cavalry with sloped swords. Sorely tempted, I fired 
at the galloping line, and then ran up and found a splendid bull 
lying dead. His horns are the best I possess, being nearly 
three feet long, very thick, with a slight and beautiful curve 
backwards. 
A large Somali caravan, going to Berbera, took advantage of 
our escort to pass through the Hidegalla tribe. I found some 
interesting artificial pools in the Eidegalla Haud, and the natives 
told me that these had been dug out from time to time in honour 
of well-known Sudtdéns and elders who had died. I examined 
them, and was glad to find that they held water for many weeks 
after rain had fallen, a proof that the red Haud soil will hold 
rain-water in suitable places, and that tanks might be made on 
a larger scale. 
As we came to the Eidegalla tribe, the men, women, and 
children ran away on first sighting us, thinking we were Abys- 
sinians ; but when they recognised us they were civil enough. 
On the evening of 3rd June we arrived at Syk fig-tree, near the 
top of the Jerato Pass, which is sixty miles from Berbera, and 
