TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 21 1 
There were dabs of black and white here and there on 
its thick khaki-coloured coat, and the tail was immense, 
and white tipped. Each foot had but four toes, with 
much- worn claws. We delayed progress for a little 
while for the skin to be secured. Meanwhile we rode 
off a short distance and sighted some gereniik, far out 
of range, and dik-dik in multitudes popped up. 
We got into some thick thorn cover, too dense for 
the ponies’ comfort, after a short ten minutes, and 
turning, on another path, we startled some large 
animal which crashed off in front of us. We separated, 
dashing different ways, to try and cut whatever it was 
off, and saw a reddish antelope careering away across 
a small open expanse. It was a gereniik, hornless, 
a doe, of course — I say 44 of course,” because our luck, 
or rather the lack of it in this part of the world, was 
most depressing. To have endured that Marehan 
Desert for such “ sport ” as this ! We kicked our- 
selves, figuratively speaking, every day. 
Our next halt at a place garnished with a name was 
El Dara. “ El ” in Somali parlance means “ well,” 
so anything 44 El ” signifies that water ought to be 
in the vicinity. Very often it isn’t. But it ought 
to be — like a good many other things. 
I don’t see how any one could master the Somali 
language thoroughly — any foreigner I mean. There 
are no books to be got about it, because the language 
has not as yet been reduced or elevated by pen and 
ink. Reading anything seems an intense puzzle to 
the native mind, and to be able to do it raises one 
miles in their estimation ! Only the scholars can read 
