1 68 Wanderings in Eastern Africa, 
attended to ; there could be no talk without the 
"jifu," the customary present of cloth, etc. The 
outer man supplied, something for the inner man 
had to be furnished. First something to drink. We 
gave them a beverage which no teetotaler would 
have objected to on account of strength ; it was a 
mixture of treacle and water. It was given to them 
in a large oblong bowl, the half of a coco de mer, and 
holding not less than three pints. The four greatest 
men were first supplied in the order of their age and 
rank, circumstances which must never be overlooked 
in dealing with Africans. The bowl was bottomed 
not less than six times before the party cried " Hold, 
enough ! " Two of them each quaffed off a bowl at a 
draught. All present looked on astonished. This 
enormous capacity for drink is said to be charac- 
teristic of the Gallas. They are equally capable too 
at eating, that is to say when they get abundance to 
eat. But then they are also said to possess great 
powers of endurance, often going for days without 
tasting either food or drink. We had no food to give 
them to-day, but a piece of tobacco-leaf was handed 
to each man, and then the " dubbi " (palaver) com- 
menced. 
" Gur odes ' (give the news) said Hemmet bin Sayid 
to the Gallas, in reply to which we had a speech half- 
an-hour in length. One piece of news, which was 
given in the gravest manner, ran as follows : " A child 
has been born in our country, far away beyond the 
river Maro, whose birth has been attended by some 
very extraordinary circumstances, the chief of which 
is that before it had been fully delivered it began to 
speak. This is a wonderful event, though we do not 
