TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 3 
stance has made us the possessors of such wondrous 
modern rifles, &c., as to leave us no reason to think of 
endeavouring to supply ourselves with better. We, 
fortunately, have an uncle who is one of the greatest 
shikaris of his day, and his day has only just passed, 
his sun but newly set. A terribly bad mauling from a 
lion set up troubles in his thigh, and blood poisoning 
finally ended his active career. He will never hunt 
again, but he placed at our disposal every beautiful 
and costly weapon he owned, together with his bound- 
less knowledge. He insisted on our taking many 
things that would otherwise have been left behind, 
and his great trust in our powers inspired us with con- 
fidence. It is to his help we owe the entire success 
of our expedition. 
It would be an impertinence for a tyro like myself 
to offer any remarks on the merits or demerits of any 
rifle. Not only do the fashions change almost as 
quickly as in millinery, not only do great shikaris 
advise, advertise, and adventure with any weapon that 
could possibly be of service to any one, but my know- 
ledge, even after the experience gained in our long 
shoot, is confined to the very few firearms we had 
with us. They might not have met with unqualified 
approval from all men ; they certainly served us well. 
After all, that is the main point. 
Our battery consisted of : 
Three 12-bore rifles. 
Two double-barrelled hammerless ejecting .500 
Expresses. 
One .35 Winchester. 
