Staying at Barradudda.—Milk diet.—Wound myself by accidental discharge
of gun.—Bedouin skirmish.—Mode of warfare among Dankalli.—Compensation
for wounds and injured property.—Peace re-established.
DURING the evening of our first day’s halt at Barradudda, a party of the
women of Herhowlee came into camp, bearing upon their loins, in the
usual fashion, large skins of milk. They had followed the Kafilah, upon
hearing that we had halted at so short a distance. I came in for a share
of their delicious burden, and certainly among the many discomforts of a
wandering desert life, the constant supply of rich sweet curdled milk,
which forms the principal food of the natives, compensates somewhat for
the compulsatory abstinence of an educated stomach, from the cooked
viands, and other creature comforts attendant upon civilization. One
woman, for a handful of tobacco, brought me a kid-skin, containing about
a quart of camel’s milk. This is of a very different character, to that
of cattle, sheep, or goats, and as it never affords any cream, is never
mixed with the produce of these for the purpose of making butter. It is
a favourite drink of the Dankalli, from its medicinal virtues, being a
gentle aperient. It is a light and agreeable beverage, having very
little body, as connoisseurs are accustomed to say when speaking of
their wines. Camels yield milk at all hours, and not merely at the
stated morning and evening’s milkings of the flocks, which is a great
recommendation of these animals to a Dankalli family.
On turning in for the night, Allee the Second sat at the entrance of my
hut, telling me a long tale of the luxuries of Owssa, dates, milk, and
wheaten bread, and nothing to do but sleep and eat, and eat and sleep.
He seemed to think that if there were Paradise upon earth, it was
situated in this particular part of Africa; but I expect, that the poets
of Greece and Rome, held a more correct opinion, when they made it the
kingdom of hell, for I am convinced myself, that when they send their
heroes to the infernal regions, they are only describing some journey,
made into this dangerous and desert-spread continent. The punishments of
Tantalus, or the mirage; of Sisyphus, or the whirlwind of sand; and of
Ixion for his amour with a cloud, or the necessity of continually
revolving water-wheels, to irrigate even the most favoured spots; all
tend to connect Africa, in my opinion with the hell of mythological
history; and the natural phenomena there witnessed are the foundations,
of the highly-coloured figurative punishments awarded to the guilty, who
were supposed to be banished to these dreary and unhappy deserts, in
contradistinction to the abode of the blest in the beautiful and
luxuriant garden of the Hesperides, the elysium of the West.
_April 27th._—Barradudda was too abundant of forage and water to admit
of our leaving to-day, so we remained, much to my discomfort, for I
found the little bug-like tics, as great admirers of beautiful scenery
as ourselves, and seemed on this spot to be collected in myriads. They
constitute, I should think, a very efficient remedy for the bad effects
of too much blood being made by animals, who otherwise might suffer from
the unlimited indulgence in good food, this place admits of.
After writing out a few notes on the conversation of yesterday with
Ohmed Medina, I set about cleaning my carbine. Having drawn the charge
of both barrels, as I supposed, I put caps upon the nipple, and to show
how little was to be feared from the detonation of these alone, which
the surrounding Bedouins thought quite as dangerous as ball and powder,
I put my hand very bravely to the muzzle of the gun. On pulling the
trigger, however, much to my surprise, I blew my hand into the mouth of
a gaping Bedouin, who, with some others, sat upon their heels watching
all my movements, until it came to the explosion, with very evident
interest. Fortunately, the only injury I received was a severely
contused burn of the whole of the palm of my hand, but the Bedouins
thinking I must be killed outright rushed from the hut in a great hurry;
Moosa dropped the bullet he held in his hand, another, the powder of the
only barrel it appeared, that I had drawn the complete charge of, whilst
each of the others seemed anxious to get as far away as he possibly
could. The fellow whom I had upset, rolled over and over in an agony of
mind, in too great a hurry, to get on his legs and run.
Ohmed Mahomed, and Ohmed Medina, expecting the worst from the stir that
was so suddenly occasioned, came with two or three of the Tajourah
people to my aid, as soon as they could snatch up their spears and
shields, for the commotion and rush to arms had now become general.
Quiet, however, was soon restored upon my endeavouring to laugh at the
accident, as my friends came up, and who certainly were very sorry to
see the state of my hand, the extent of injury to which I could not
ascertain, so contracted were my fingers over the palm. Himyah, the
matchlock man, was the only one who enjoyed the accident, and he laughed
with most unrestrained mirth, as he pointed to the cut on his cheek, not
yet cured, and called my attention to the fact, of my having laughed as
immoderately, on the occasion of his accident, as he did now, at mine.
Having washed the wound with the hot water Zaido had prepared for the
purpose of cleaning my gun, a poultice was made with some biscuits that
remained, and binding it on the injured part I retired with gloomy
anticipations of the morrow’s examination, expecting to find a most
extensive injury done to the tendons of my hand. I could not help though
being much amused, with the very-varying accounts of this accident,
related by the Bedouins to their women, or strangers, who visited the
camp.
Among other visitors, were six Wahamas, who came to make some
proposition of peace to the Hy Soumaulee people, and on whose account a
long calahm was held, for three or four hours during the day. One of
them had relations with us, an old man and his son, the wife of the
former being the aunt of one of the Wahama, and after the calahm, the
family party retired together to the shade of a large mimosa-tree, a few
hundred yards from the camp, where they sat for some time in friendly
conversation.
About four o’clock, a sudden commotion among the Kafilah men, all
rushing to spears and shields, and loud shouts of “Ahkeem! Ahkeem!”
awoke me from my siesta. Jumping up from my mat, I seized my firearms,
and ran towards the place where Ohmed Medina and Ebin Izaak were
beckoning me to come. In front, was a crowd of some twelve or fourteen
men fighting in the greatest desperation, and so near to us, that the
spears that were thrown almost struck the shields of those with whom I
was sitting. About thirty yards beyond the combatants, who, in close
fight, were yelling, struggling, and falling, another line, consisting
chiefly of my Hy Soumaulee escort, sat with their shields before them,
in the same quiet spectator-like fashion as ourselves. I must observe,
however, that Adam Burrah and Moosa, as soon as they saw me in the line
with the Tajourah people, came from the opposite side, and sat close in
front of me. Ohmed Medina told me not to fire, or take any part in the
business except to take care of myself, as the quarrel was a private
one, and that no one would attack us, if we did not commence
hostilities. To make more secure against an accident, Ebin Izaak kept
his hand on my right arm all the time, to prevent me taking up either of
my guns that lay upon the ground on each side of me.
During the fight I noticed, that occasionally one of the Kafilah men
would spring up from his sitting posture, and with a loud shout run
towards the combatants. He was invariably answered by one of the Hy
Soumaulee opposite, who rushed to meet him; so that in a short time,
more than double the number of the original fighters were engaged.
The contest which was now taking place in my sight was an actual
representation, on a small scale, of the mode of fighting practised by
the Dankalli tribes. When two hostile bodies of these people meet, it is
not usual for the whole to engage, but sitting down in two opposite
lines at the distance of sixty or eighty yards from each other, they
await the result, produced by the yelling, jumping, and speechifying of
their leaders, who for this purpose stand up immediately in front of
their men.
At the intended attack upon our Kafilah at Wadalissan, by the Bursane
Bedouins, Garahmee, in addition to his duty of keeping the people
squatting upon their heels, evidently recited some martial song, or
speech, which at intervals, was responded to with loud yells, and
shaking of the spears in the direction of the enemy.
A few becoming sufficiently excited by these means, they rush from
either side into the intervening space. The combat then commences, by
each of these singling out his opponent and squatting opposite to him,
in their usual attitude, at the distance of a few yards. Balancing their
spears in a threatening manner, they spar at each other for several
minutes, until one conceives he has a favourable opportunity of
launching his spear, when, springing to his feet, he darts it with great
force and precision. Seldom, however, any injury is thus produced, for
his wary antagonist, with his shield, dashes it aside, and then
endeavours to break by jumping and stamping upon it, as it lies upon the
ground. He, in his turn, threatens with his weapon, his spearless
opponent, who, bounding from side to side, in a stooping posture,
endeavours to cover with his shield his whole body, save the head, and
thus gives no steady object for the aim of the coming missile. At
length, the spear being thrown, probably with the same harmless effect,
both snatch their knives from their girdle, and rush with great
impetuosity upon each other, throwing their shields to the ground to
admit of their grappling with their left hands, whilst with the right
they strike swift and heavy blows at the neck and into the left side. A
few moments decide the murderous conflict, and the loud shout of the
victor, as he pushes from his front the heavy corpse of the slain,
proclaims his success in the gladiatorial combat.
During the fight, continual shouts of encouragement, or of derision, are
raised by the non-combatants, who are waiting only the stimulus of
revenge, on seeing a friend or leader killed, or to be prompted by the
desire to assist some wounded companion, when they then rush into the
conflict, from their previous couchant position, in the rear. No sooner,
however, does any one spring forward for this purpose, than he is met by
some brave of the opposite side, who runs to encounter him. Sometimes
two or three, or even more, hasten for the same purpose; but
corresponding opponents leap forward to engage hand to hand in a
succession of duels, with those who shew this anxiety to mingle in the
fray. In this manner the excitement spreads, pair after pair enter the
ensanguined lists, and new comers continue to lengthen out the contest,
until one side exhausts its warriors, and the weak and cowardly of that
party alone are sitting in the rear. The victors now joined by their
reserve friends rush forward to attack these, and kill whoever resists,
while the rest, throwing aside their spears and shields, fly for their
lives. Thus terminates a sanguinary affair, for of the number of
warriors actually engaged, one half, on the side of the defeated party,
must be slain; sometimes, with very little loss on the part of the
victors.
To return to the little battle in our front, I soon observed, that part
of the latter comers up, instead of joining in the fight, were throwing
their twisted tobes across the arms of the combatants, and dragging
them, one by one, out of the _mélée_, some being thrown violently to the
ground, in the efforts made by their friends to separate them. In a few
minutes afterwards, four men burst from the crowd, threw away their
shields, their spears had been broken previously, and ran at the top of
their speed, in a direction towards the south. No one followed after to
molest them, or to prevent their retreat, and the remaining combatants,
who were able to walk, returned to their respective sides, where they
fell into line as before. No attention, at the time, being paid to the
deep gashes, and bleeding wounds, every one of them exhibited on some
part of their bodies.
The cause of the quarrel had been the attempt of one of the Wahamas, who
had retired with two of our Kafilah men to some little distance from the
camp, to appropriate to himself the shield of the old man, when the son
of the latter had returned on some errand to the camp. The old man,
however, still retained somewhat of the spirit of youth, and after a
vain struggle to retain possession of the shield, suddenly let it go,
but seizing a spear, hurled it at the thief, just as he was making off
with his prize. It was fortunate for him that the weapon was thrown with
the trembling hand of age; for as it was, it inflicted a severe wound a
little below the hip, and hung trailing a moment or two before it fell
out.
The man thinking himself more grievously hurt than he was, dropt the
shield, and began calling out “Wahama, Wahama,” rushing at the same time
with his drawn knife upon the old man. The son of the latter, who had
returned on the first alarm, ran to the rescue of his father, whilst the
Wahama people hastened to the assistance of their friend. A number of
the Kafilah people, Hy Soumaulee and half-bloods, now mingled in the
fray, whilst those who knew nothing of either party, or were not
relations, took no part beyond looking after their own safety. My
escort, not knowing how the affair would terminate, sat prepared for any
emergency on one side, whilst the Kafilah people formed another
semicircular line opposite. It was evident, however, that both the Hy
Soumaulee and the Tajourah people were afraid of the consequences that
might arise from any of the Wahama negotiators being killed; and at
length, after a message from Ohmed Mahomed, in which he promised a tobe
to the Chief of the Hy Soumaulee, and some blue sood to his men, several
of them laid aside their arms, and with their twisted tobes managed, by
main force, to drag asunder the contending parties, and in this manner
restored peace.
Settling this affair was a very serious business. Two of the Wahamas
were severely wounded, Himyah had got the muscles of the upper arm
transfixed by a spear, and numbers of others had received sundry cuts,
stabs, and scratches. Then there were broken spears, lost knives, torn
tobes, and injured shields, for all of which compensation was claimed.
I was desired to go to the assistance of the Wahama by some of their
friends, but both Ohmed Medina and Ohmed Mahomed insisted on my not
moving until the peace assembly had been convened. Some design was
evidently intended against my person by the determined “Cutta” with
which Moosa and Adam Burrah sent away the friends of the wounded men,
and who would not have done so had they not suspected something unfair.
Heaven only knows what those intentions were; but as the Wahamas desired
nothing so much as to see the Tajourah people foiled in any attempt to
take up an English Kafilah to Shoa, and which they asserted could be
only done by their own country-man Mahomed Allee, I dare say they would
have attempted to assassinate me, to contribute so much to the
discomfiture of their hated rivals. Even the half-bloods, who formed
part of our own Kafilah, always disliked to converse, on the subject of
the transmission of stores, through the country of Adal. Some preference
and especial marks of favour bestowed upon Mahomed Allee by the Embassy
and Salie Selasse, King of Shoa, seemed, in their minds, to have
constituted a right of monopoly, as regarded this business, in his
favour and that of his tribe.
Nature’s last daily care, the star-spangled curtain of night, was drawn
around her tumultuous children, and we all retired from the scene of
strife; my injured hand paining me much less than I could have
anticipated. Ohmed Medina, Ebin Izaak, and fifteen or sixteen others,
were now engaged in chanting a noisy zekar, whilst Ohmed Mahomed,
supported by Moosa, sat in a large calahm of the Kafilah men and Hy
Soumaulee until long after midnight, arranging the offerings or presents
intended to be given as compensation to the injured in the late
conflict. The two dying Wahamas were lively enough upon this subject,
and although they could not join in the discussion, insisted on being
placed on two mats in the centre of the circle, instead of being
carried, as was proposed, to Herhowlee. Their case was first discussed,
and after a deal of arguing, five dollars’ worth of blue sood and a tobe
each, was received by them as satisfaction for their wounds, they
undertaking also to accompany us through their own country, on purpose
to obviate the effects of the evil reports it was expected their
friends, who ran away from the conflict, would spread. A drawback from
one of these wounded men was one dollar’s worth of sood, paid to Himyah
for the wound in his arm. The old man on whose account the quarrel
commenced had to pay for two spears and to receive one, in lieu of which
he consented to take one of the shields that had been thrown away by the
fugitives. In this manner all injured articles, every deep cut or
smallest bruise, was fairly balanced according to their ideas of the
market value of such commodities, against every kind of merchandise,
from a cow or sheep down to a handful of tobacco.
Long before this business was concluded, Zaido, who, in addition to his
other duties, was cashier to Ohmed Mahomed, had come to a conclusion
that our halt at Barradudah would be a very expensive one. Already he
had manufactured into the currency of the country one entire piece of
blue calico, and still fresh comers, demanding their compensation, kept
him measuring cubits with his fore arm, and then tearing each half
dollar’s worth away, with a wrench that seemed every time to dislocate
his heart. It was too dark to observe the expression of his countenance,
but, no doubt, it was dolorous in the extreme; if I could judge from his
sighs and often-repeated oaths, that “twenty times the value of all the
good the camels had received by their halt had been paid by him to men,
who”—here he muttered some scandal, I suppose, for he did not think it
expedient to whisper even to me, (he was sitting close under the side of
my hut,) his real opinion of the Bedouins, who had occasioned all the
tumult. Another trouble that disturbed his mind not a little, was the
great probability of our being obliged to pay all over again in the
Wahama country, the inhabitants of which, he was convinced, would be all
up in arms, to resent the insult and injury committed by us upon their
heralds.
I fell asleep at last, tired out with the excitement and noise, nor did
I awake the next morning, until roused by Zaido and the two Allees
walking away with the boxes of my hut, which were the only loads that
had yet to be placed upon the backs of the camels.
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