94 
SOMALILAND 
would impress upon the would-be sportsman : firstly, never 
believe what you hear ; and, secondly, never do what you 
are told. I had a zareba built between the well and the 
village, and sat in it all night. A great deal of rain fell, 
which did not add to the comfort of sleeping ‘ rough.’ Of 
course a lion was neither seen nor heard. 
My head-shikari was not with me, as he had complained of 
a bad headache, at which I had sniggered, but next morning 
I awoke to find that I also had a headache, and felt so 
stiff and slack, when let out of the zareba, that I could 
scarcely walk. However, I determined to start back to 
the main camp at Bun Feroli, and started at 4.30 a.m. 
When I had ridden for two hours, I felt so weak I could 
with difficulty sit in the saddle, and calling a halt, I sat in 
the shade for half an hour. Hearing some camels roaring 
about a mile off, I sent two of my men to try and get me 
some milk ; but after drinking it I was violently sick. 
After a five hours ride, I at length reached Bun Feroli, and 
as my tent had not as yet arrived, I threw myself under 
the very inefficient shade afforded by a thorn-bush. I 
was now seized with a very violent attack of fever, and, 
the heat that day being very great, I had a poor time of 
it. When my tent arrived and was pitched, I went to bed, 
but I could neither sleep nor eat. At night I dosed my 
shikari and myself heavily with quinine. Two lions roared 
round the camp during the night, and made a most magni- 
ficent noise, which I should have thoroughly enjoyed had I 
been well. 
The whole of the next day I remained in my bed, feeling 
verv weak and ill. I ordered two small zarebas to be built, 
and in the evening my two shikaris went out and watched 
for lions in them. Somalis are extremely cruel to the brute 
creation. I saw a man deliberately cut a huge slice out of 
the ear of a donkey, which was going to carry some bedding to 
one of the small zarebas. I made him understand that if 
I saw him do it again I would take a slice out of his ear. 
On asking him why he did it, he replied that he ‘ did it for 
