A BIG FIGHT 
201 
come up and said that the wells had been dug by his fore- 
fathers, and that none but his tribe should drink therefrom. 
He then proceeded to hit my man a severe blow across the 
cheek with his spear, to which my man responded with 
excellent judgment, for he threw down his loaded rifle, and, 
giving his assailant two smart blows above and below the 
eye with a thick stick, knocked him head over heels to the 
ground. A big fight followed, and I was called upon to 
patch up the wounded, some of whom showed very nasty 
deep stabs and gaping gashes. When they saw I was a 
‘ medicine man,’ they all ran off to their villages and brought 
their halt and maimed and blind for me to cure. Amongst 
this ghastly array was a child with the most hideous disease 
I have ever beheld (probably lupus). I will not defile 
these pages with a description of this loathsome object which 
was presented before me. I could only shudder, and refer 
the patient to the doctor at Berbera. Poor child ! it would 
have been really merciful to have put a bullet through the 
piece of matter which was supposed to be its head, for it 
suffered agonies. It would have been a priceless treasure 
in pickle in some medical museum in England. 
I sent my shikari out shootingj being too weak to walk 
myself, bought some milch goats, mended hams, and pre- 
pared for a long, waterless march across the Marehan desert 
on the morrow. My shikari was very busy wdth the gun 
(rather too busy, considering the number of cartridges he 
exploded), but he brought home half a dozen guinea-fowl 
(vulturine), some guyu, and some ‘ gussuli ’ dik-dik ante- 
lopes. I tried to buy or hire extra camels and water hams 
to carry us across the desert, but failed, and decided to 
trust to what we had. I dosed myself again heavil}^ with 
quinine and champagne, and, remembering the night before, 
rigged up the mosquito-curtain. 
At 5 o’clock next morning I started to cross the great 
Marehan waterless desert in a south-easterly direction 
in quest of elephants. Soon after it became light I sighted 
an antelope, and seized the first weapon that came to hand, 
