234 
THROUGH SOMALILAND AND ABYSSINIA chap. 
a thousand feet to the Mirso ledge, and walking for several miles 
between splendid specimens of the mountain cedar, I had again 
descended into the Henweina Valley near the main camp, by a 
sheep track which we hit upon, hitherto unknown to the guides. 
I continued unsuccessful during the next few days, going many 
a “ wild-goose chase ” after some bull which some one had seen, 
and when away after this, a splendid chance in another direction 
would be lost through my being out of camp. What sometimes 
occurred was that three shepherds would see a koodoo while out 
in the early morning tending sheep, and leaving one of their 
number to mind the sheep and to watch the koodoo at the same 
time, the other two would run down to camp, over four miles of 
mountain and valley, to bring me the news. By the time I had 
arrived at the spot, perhaps some hours afterwards, the man who 
had been left to watch would either be asleep or would have 
moved with his sheep to another pasture ; and while we looked 
for the koodoo in the absence of a guide, it would catch sight of 
us and steal away. 
One day we heard a leopard coughing among the hills, and I 
spent the day looking for his cave. Arriving home after dark, 
the first object which I saw on approaching the camp-fire was 
the spotted body, with a framing of natives, who had just 
brought him over from the Esa Musa karia quite close to us. 
The elders, having lost a goat the night before, had on this 
evening tied one up as a bait, and had prepared a running noose 
of camel-rope in the brushwood of the zerfba through which he 
must pass to get to the goat. Having sauntered boldly down 
from the hills in the evening for another goat, as had been his 
custom, he charged recklessly and got himself noosed, when the 
Somdlis waiting in ambush closed round and speared him. 
The body was scarcely cold when I bought it of Waiss Mahomed, 
the patriarch of the karia, for twelve rupees. 
The koodoos seemed to have left this neighbourhood. I had 
heard a good deal in Henweina about a mysterious bull koodoo 
living in the high Massleh Wein gully, overlooking Garbadir, 
fifteen miles to the east along the foot of Golis if one went 
round by the camel -path, or nine miles up and down if one 
took a short cut over the mountains. He was known to have 
remained in Massleh Wein, drinking nightly at the spring below, 
for three years. He was reported to be old and cunning, to 
carry enormous horns, and to be lame in one foot. Having 
resolved to try conclusions with this bull, I sent my caravan 
