184 
SOMALILAND 
I looked at them I found they had all turned into 
chrysalides, and my headman would not believe that they 
were still alive. My headman was, as usual, a great 
scoundrel, and had to be watched. He was a great swell, 
having a valet in attendance on him and his pony. He 
donned a turban and an extremely dirty white pair of 
trousers, and his favourite song was ‘ Disy, Hisy, give me 
yer answer dough.’ 
Next day we reached Allahballah, after passing through 
thick bush, where we saw a single ostrich and the fresh 
tracks of several rhinoceros. At Allahballah was a little 
shallow lake of rain-water, surrounded by a fringe of 
20 yards of brilliant green grass. We had done the 
seventy miles or so of desert in three and a half days, and 
so well had we managed that, although we encountered not 
a drop of water en roiite^ we still had three barrels and one 
harn full when we reached Allahballah, after watering 
thirty-four men, one donkey, two sheep, and one goat. 
Round the lake were to be seen several large storks, paddy 
birds, waders, snipe, wild ducks, and Egyptian geese. I 
spent a busy afternoon collecting and skinning. Soon after 
pitching, three men arrived to look for a camel which they 
had lost, and we had captured on the way. They brought 
news of plenty of lions near Gambissa, two long marches 
off, and rhinoceros and elephant were reported further 
south. 
After nailing up notices upon the trees to tell Stanford 
where we had gone, we marched next morning through 
alternate bush and open plains. On one of the latter we saw 
two ‘ oysteriches,’ as my shikari termed the big birds. They 
were off before we o^ot within half a mile of them. At the 
request of the men, who wanted meat, I shot them an ‘ owl,’ 
and then pitched under some curious trees, as it was too 
late to reach the villages that night. We built a zareba, 
and tethered up the donkey as bait for a lion, my men 
shouting, ‘ Hoi ! libah, hoi !’ (Hi ! lion, hi !), and telling him 
to come quick, as there was a nice fat donkey waiting for 
