178 himyah's matchlock. 



had been a close attendant upon me during our 

 journey, but of whom I have not had occasion to 

 speak before, now came to invite me to take a walk 

 around the neighbourhood of our camp, for in the 

 valley below, and, in fact, on all sides, we could see 

 considerable numbers of deer, which promised no 

 little sport. The individual I now introduce to the 

 reader was named Himyah, and was a tall, ugly, 

 middle-aged man, the very person whom I par- 

 ticularized in Tajourah as being the possessor of 

 the only matchlock, previous to Mr. Cruttenden 

 presenting one to the Sultaun's brother, Izaak. 

 This morning I found that he had brought his 

 clumsy piece with him ; it had escaped my observation 

 before, from its looking so very little like a gun, as it 

 was carefully wrapt up in a lot of rags, and lashed 

 behind a heap of salt on one of Himyah's camels. 

 Its stock consisted of one long piece of wood, of 

 equal dimensions through its whole extent, from 

 the muzzle to the back of the pan of the lock, 

 where a slight bend terminated in a semi-lunar 

 butt-end, something in the form of half a Dutch 

 cheese, its round surface being adapted to the 

 hollow of the shoulder. The barrel was nearly six 

 feet long, and the metal loops for receiving the ram- 

 rod being broken off, this necessary appendage was 

 obliged to be carried in the barrel, secured within 

 the muzzle by a tightly-fitting piece of wood. 



I was very glad to have the opportunity of 

 seeing the country, which had become remarkably 



