18 PERSONAL NAB llATIVE. 



up the hill a small animal, apparently a squirrel which 

 had lost part of its tail by accident, ran into a hole 

 amono-st some rocks before I could shoot it. As I was 



O 



sitting down on the top of the hill taking some bearings, 

 I saw another, and presently a third, all with equally 

 short tails, on some very precipitous rocks, and creeping 

 down cautiously I succeeded in shooting both ; but after 

 having, with no small difficulty, climbed down a rather 

 ugly piece of cliff to the spot, I could only find one. It 

 was evidently no squirrel : its rather differently shaped 

 head, singularly soft close fur, and short taU, which was 

 evidently natural and not accidental, showed it to be 

 some other animal ; and on comparing it afterwards 

 with Mr. Blyth's description, I was delighted to find 

 that I had rediscovered the rare rodent Pectinatur 

 Spekei, first found by the late gallant and distinguished 

 African traveller, after whom it is named, in his explora- 

 tion of the Somali country in 1854. 



The remainder of my stay in ZuUa or Malkatto camp 

 was principally occupied in collecting animals and ex- 

 ploring the geology. Although there was no risk whatever 

 in riding about the country, there was a great drawback 

 in the difficulty of procuring water, and the necessity 

 for horses to be in camp morning and evening, as 

 otherwise they ran the risk of going without. The 

 commissariat arrangements also, which necessitated 

 the drawing up of a long document, as elaborate 

 and formal as a mercantile invoice, before any rations 

 could be' obtained, involved a considerable loss of 

 time at first. 



