92 BRANDING CAMELS. 



Mission that I found on the road, and which had been 

 abandoned by the officers of the preceding division. 

 Their fidelity to our engagement was also remark- 

 able, considering the reported bad character of this 

 people, which I must say was confirmed by my own 

 observation; but as by the terms of our engagement 

 they were to receive no money until our arrival in 

 Abyssinia, it was their interest, of course, to be 

 faithful to their charge, for in case of any accident 

 preventing me or the stores reaching our destina- 

 tion, it was understood they were not to receive 

 their pay. 



I was a witness to-day of the barbarous manner 

 in which the Dankalli brand the camel. It seems 

 two different marks are required, both of which are 

 made with a red-hot iron. One intimates the tribe 

 of the owner, the other his private mark. Two 

 camels had been purchased by another Ibrahim, a 

 cousin of Ebin Izaak, a young quiet-looking fellow, 

 and less violent in his manner than is usual among 

 his countrymen ; he, however, did not practise the 

 less forbearance towards his new purchase, but pro- 

 ceeded at once to stamp them as his property. The 

 fore legs of one of the camels being first secured by a 

 strong leathern thong ; another was afterwards fas- 

 tened around the hind ones in a similar manner. A 

 rope attached to the former was then made to run 

 through the loop of the latter, and this being pulled 

 by three or four men the feet were all drawn toge- 

 ther, and the consequence was that the poor animal 



