30 TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 
at pasture these birds never leave the browsing camels 
alone, clinging on to shoulders, haunch, and side, in 
threes and fours. 
We had now in our caravan, not counting Clarence 
and the cook, two boys (men of at least forty, who 
always referred to themselves as “ boys ”) to assist the 
cook, one “ makadam,” or head camel-man, twenty-four 
camel-men, four syces, and six hunters, to say nothing 
of a couple of men of all work, who appeared to be 
going with us for reasons only known to themselves. 
In most caravans the head-man and the head shikari 
are separate individuals, but in our show Clarence was 
to double the parts. It seemed to us the wisest 
arrangement. He was so excellent a manager, and we 
knew him to be a mighty hunter. 
The chaos of purchases included rice, hams or native 
water-casks, ordinary water barrels calculated to hold 
about twelve gallons apiece, blankets for the men, 
herios, or camel mats, potatoes, ghee, leather loading 
ropes, numerous native axes, onions, many white tobes 
for gifts up country, and some Merikani tobes (American 
made cloth) also for presents or exchange. Tent-pegs, 
cooking utensils, and crowds of little things which 
added to the confusion. A big day’s work, however, 
set things right, and meanwhile Cecily had discovered 
a treasure in the way of a butler. He had lived in the 
service of a white family at Aden, and so would know 
our ways. 
We had taken out a saddle apiece, as the double- 
peaked affair used by the Somalis is a very uncom- 
fortable thing indeed. 
