APPENDIX 111 
367 
as is often the case, may be lying in his tent drunk, thus involving con- 
siderable delay. This is scarcely exaggeration. 
As I am still in favour of each white man having his own small caravan 
complete, and the two or more white men amalgamating when together. 
I shall consider only one traveller, and the arrangements can easily be 
multiplied. 
We will suppose he is to be absent from the coast for six months. Of 
the faithful coast-men, he will require a cook, a tent-boy, two shikaris 
(one of whom may be the head coast-man or confidential headman and 
interpreter), and two saises ; that is, six Somalis in all. 
Thus if two white men were clubbing together, there would be twelve 
reliable Somalis — a very useful number. 
They should be rationed for the whole trip ; this would not be difficult, 
as six Somalis for six months require 1080 lbs. rice, 540 lbs. dates, and 
180 lbs. ghee, which would be carried by seven camels, twelve mules, or 
nineteen donkeys. As the rations were consumed, the transport animals 
would be available for skin and horn trophies, and all kinds of collections. 
The ordinary traveller who has made no such arrangement for a small 
permanent following, rationed for the trip, will have to live from hand to 
mouth ; the “breads” and beer sent by the King’s orders, or other arrange- 
ment, will often not be ready for him at the right point ; and one cannot 
blame the Abyssinian muleteers and followers if, failing food, they walk 
away in a body and leave the European sitting at the roadside unattended, 
surrounded by a pile of baggage. Here the few well-rationed, obedient 
coast-men would come in useful. If utterly left in the lurch by the 
Abyssinian s, the baggage could at least be got back to the coast or to 
more hospitable country, instead of the traveller being detained practically 
a prisoner till such time as he would be allowed to proceed. While out- 
wardly polite, the Abyssinian high official can, without employing force, 
easily stop any traveller who lives from hand to mouth, by merely sending 
the “breads” to the wrong place ; he will be profuse in his apologies, but he 
will withhold the “breads” at his good-will and pleasure ; moreover some 
of these officials are quite capable of giving a double set of instructions. 
I am allowing for two shikaris and two saises, because one of each 
should always be with his master, and doubling them allows for sickness. 
The riding mule and sporting rifle would then be in reliable hands, though 
an Abyssinian shikari who knew the country and language would also be 
necessary to secure sport. The sais also should be assisted by an Abys- 
sinian muleteer who can interpret. In this way the traveller will always 
have two coast-men with him whenever he is out on his mule. 
In case of desertion by the Abyssinians, the extra sais and shikari, cook 
and tent-servant, four men in all, could, with the aid of a few small boys, 
collect donkey transport and manage to get the baggage along somehow. 
It will here be useful to calculate the total transport required by the 
traveller and his six coast followers. I am assuming that no special 
scientific work is to be undertaken, requiring extra transport. Mules are 
the usual transport in Abyssinia, so they will be calculated for ; but 
donkeys are much used in small transport work by the Abyssinians them- 
selves, and personally I would go anywhere in that country with donkeys. 
They are cheap, require less supervision, and give less trouble, in health 
or sickness, than mules. It is easier to replace casualties in donkeys, 
they are hardy feeders, picking up food at the roadside and carrying no 
