56 TWO DIANAS IN ^SOMALILAND 
We tried them first, fearing to be done again, and they 
seemed willing little fellows, and full of life. Most of 
the tribes breed ponies on a small or large scale, and 
as they are never groomed or tidied up at all they 
cannot help a somewhat unkempt appearance. We 
bought a few sheep for food, and were presented with 
a dirty harn full of camels’ milk, horrid tasting stuff 
which we handed over to the men, and so didn’t 
desert our “ Nestle ” for it. Going among the squalid 
tents in the karia we found a woman in a sad state 
of collapse, although nobody seemed to mind it save 
ourselves. More of the Kismet business. She had 
a wee baby, a few hours old, lying on the herio beside 
her. The whole scene was primitive and pathetic 
to a degree. I am glad to say we improved matters 
considerably. 
Although water was very scarce, we spared enough 
from our store to tub the quaint little baby, going first 
back to our tents to procure soap and a few other 
things. We dressed the mite in a white vest, in which 
it was completely lost, to the interest and astonishment 
of a jury of matrons who stood around us, ever and 
again feeling some part of our clothing, tying and un- 
tying our boot laces, and even going the length of 
putting inquisitive hands into our pockets. For the 
mother of His Majesty the Baby we opened our first 
bottle of emergency champagne. A right thinking 
Somali is dead against strong drink of any kind, spirits 
being entirely taboo, so we thought it safer and more 
diplomatic to refer to the champagne as medicine. 
The bang it opened with astonished the listless crowds, 
