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COLONEL OUTRAM. 



having been appointed according to custom, 

 would have claimed the honour and the profits of 

 the post, and they would have been supported by 

 public opinion against any Abbans of another 

 tribe. 



Making acquaintance with Lieut. Speke, I 

 found with astonishment that he could speak no 

 Eastern language but a little of the normal 

 Anglo-Hindostani, and that, without knowing 

 even the names of the harbour-towns, he proposed 

 to explore one of the most dangerous parts of 

 Africa. Convinced that if he preceded me his 

 life would be lost, and that the Somali Expedition 

 would be unable even to set out, I applied 

 officially to the Political Resident of Aden, the 

 late Colonel, afterwards Sir James, Outram, 

 of whose * generous kind nature ' and of whose 

 ' frank and characteristic ardour ' my personal 

 experience do not permit me to speak with 

 certainty. In his younger days Colonel Outram 

 had himself proposed to open up the wild regions 

 opposite Aden. But when he rose to command 

 and its responsibilities, he 'considered it his 

 duty as a Christian to prevent, as far as he was 

 able, anybody from hazarding his life there.' 

 To a traveller prepared for a forlorn hope this 

 view of Christian obligations was by no means 



