TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 
142 
the arrival of the beast either, though she says from 
her zareba his form was at times dimly apparent. For 
myself, I never saw our prize in life at all. 
He was a glorious trophy, and with perfectly un- 
damaged skin measured, before skinning, seven feet, 
and after, seven feet six inches. Then from out of 
the Somali kavia strolled the head-man, not obliged at 
all, still clamouring for some further souvenir ! I bade 
Clarence endeavour to explain that the boot was on 
the other leg now, which the shikari literally and 
faithfully did, as I heard boots and legs, inextricably 
muddled with Somali cuss words, being heatedly 
discussed. Then back to camp and breakfast. 
Sometimes at night, before turning in we would go 
and sit around the blazing fires and try to talk to the 
men. We really wanted to find out more about them, 
where they came from, what they had done, and what 
they would like to do, but on our approach the chant- 
ing and the chatter ceased almost invariably and all 
the naturalness would vanish. I do not think they 
had any sense of humour. They laughed and were 
happy enough, but situations that would have taxed 
the risible faculties of a white man left them solemn 
and unmoved. 
Almost every one of our men, if you could extract 
his real name instead of his nick-name, had been 
christened Mahomed. What a lot of Mahomeds there 
must be ! I suppose it is like the glut of J ameses and 
J ohns with us. They are tremendous aristocrats, these 
Somalis ; immensely proud of their descent and origin, 
and even the most unlettered, though he cannot read 
