X 
JOURNEY TO WEBBE SHABELEH RIVER 
251 
them among the glades and thick cover near the margin of the 
river, and found the marks where they had lain and rolled in 
the mud during the previous night ; but it became dark before 
we could come up with them. My guide, a Midgan, said that 
four bull buffaloes had strayed from the GMla country a few 
years before, and that his father had shot two of them with 
poisoned arrows, those which we were hunting being the two 
survivors ; and I am inclined to think these two were perhaps 
the only specimens on the Webbe, for I had always been told 
that buffalo did not exist anywhere near Somaliland. 
I made a strong zerfba while we were halted here ; for the 
AuliMn at Burka told me that the Gallas were constantly 
raiding down to the river, and that while on the southern side 
we were liable to attack, owing to the antipathy to white men 
which had sprung up in GMlaland. We were reminded of the 
insecurity of the border by passing the skeletons of two GMlas, 
who a month before had been promptly killed by the Aulih&n 
“because they looked like robbers.’’ This condition of insecurity 
is very uncomfortable, and it is also a great nuisance when one 
is out shooting, as when hunting clol in the thick bush one 
cannot hope for success if attended by more than two men, 
because of the difficulty in moving silently ; and three riflemen, 
miles from camp in thick bush, would make a poor defence 
against a raiding party of Gallas. 
I devoted one day to a buffalo-hunt, which was more exciting 
than successful. In the early morning we went into the forest 
again and came on the fresh tracks of the two buffalo, in dense 
bush near the river-bank, the whole jungle being composed of 
evergreens and a network of creepers. It was necessary to stoop 
and sometimes to crawl on all -fours through the tunnels of 
vegetation ; sometimes five or six creepers clinging around arms 
and legs held me fast, so that it would have been impossible to 
shoot ; I had to go bareheaded because of the tangled vines 
which constantly swept off my canvas hat ; but this did not 
matter, because the density of the forest afforded protection from 
the sun’s rays, — indeed there was perpetual twilight inside. 
Underfoot were the debris of all kinds of timber, almost 
impossible to climb over without making some noise. The 
whole jungle smelt of monkeys. They could be seen overhead 
covering the branches in clusters, their chattering giving notice 
of our approach as we stole along. There were two kinds : the 
large clog-faced baboon, different from those found in the 
