'ARRIVAL AT HARGAISA 
19 
and body. The butterflies of this country were so far 
disappointing, but the birds magnificent. In the evening 
we saw some gazelle, and just as I was about to pull the 
trigger on a fine buck, he bounded off. Shortly afterwards, 
as my shikari did not understand the working of my rifle, 
which, although a splendid weapon (*450 Express) by 
Alexander Henry of Edinburgh, had the old-fashioned 
half-cock arrangement with bolts, I took it into my hands, 
and essayed to bring it from full to half cock^ but, owing 
to my fingers being wet with perspiration, I accidentally 
let the hammer fall on the nipple, firing the rifle. The 
stock caught me in the thigh, and one of the hammers took 
a piece out of my -thumb, otherwise I escaped without 
injury. I am afraid I did not impress my shikari much 
with my knowledge of the safety of this excellent weapon. 
I was now sunburnt to such an extent that hiy skin was 
peeling right off my hands and face, which was most^ pain- 
ful, my shikari remarking : 
' You go to become bleck allsame Somali ’ ( You are getting 
black like a Somali). 
At length we reached the village of Hargaisa, having 
been on the march for five days. This curious little collec- 
tion of huts lies on sloping barren ground, surrounded 
by a zareba, or thorn fence. As we approached the place, 
which is about 100 miles south-west of Berbera, we spied 
three koodoos, two cows and a bull, and- after a most 
exciting stalk I fired a long shot, and struck the bull too 
far back, and the three galloped over the sky-line. We 
followed the blood spoor for some way till we lost it -on 
rocky ground. So I left two men to try and find it, »and 
went on. 
On regaining the pony, the syce said that the shot had 
disturbed two splendid bulls, which we had not seen. The 
cows of this magnificent antelope are hornless. Soon after- 
wards we found the old skeleton of to elephant. - Alas ! it 
is many a day since the last fell so near Hargaisa. This 
place, which was formerly overrun with lions, has now been 
2—2 
