Journey from Bundurah to Kuditee, general direction south-west, time
marching, four hours.—Territory of the Wahama.—Description of
halting-ground.—Meet with party of friends returning from
Shoa.—Strange request.—Custom of incising skin with sharp
stone.—Influx of Wahama people into camp.—_May 5th._ Staying
at Kuditee.—La Belle Sauvage.—Long discussion with the
Wahama.—Differences settled, and allowed to proceed.
_May 4th._—We moved off our halting-ground long before daylight, the
Wahama men and women accompanying us. Our march was over a very level
country of a sandy-kind of loam, on which the tallest grass, I ever saw
in my life, grew, not in tufts, but in one continued field. It was quite
as high as our shoulders, and our pathway through it looked like a
deeply-cut canal. No trees were seen until the latter part of the march,
where low mimosa-trees, with their spreading umbrella tops, running into
each other, made a miniature grove, beneath which children might have
walked in a delightful shade, but which restricted us to one narrow
path, where the thorny boughs, just the height of our faces, annoyed us
not a little. Numerous herds of the large Wydiddoo antelope grazed
around, gazing on our approach, as if undecided how to act. As we came
nearer, they trotted away for a short distance, turned about, formed
front, in an irregular line, and then made up their minds either to
continue their flight, or recommence their meal.
I noticed that the buck was solitary, living apart from the herd; but
wherever we did see one of these gentlemen, we were pretty sure of
finding his harem on the other side of the ridge, or at some short
distance beyond, on the plain. All were far too shy for me to think of
following them with my short carabine, so that my sporting on the road
now was confined to shooting the tall-stalking bustards, or the
tantalizing florican that, dropping a few yards after I had started
them, would run in quite a different direction to what was expected;
then, if flushed again, would fly up a short distance to drop again and
take another dodging run, and when I was quite sure they were before me
in the grass, would be started a long distance on one side, or even
sometimes behind me, by others of my companions. Something more than
ubiquity is required, following up these birds, with Dankalli beaters to
assist the sportsman, for when half a dozen are calling several ways to
come to their particular spots, it is a difficult thing for him to
please all, or to prove that the bird would not have been there, had he
gone to every other place but the one he did.
After a march of four hours, we arrived at a fair open spot, where
water, in many little pools, lodged amidst groves of sweetly-scented
henna trees, and the yellow-blossomed mimosa. Here it was determined the
Kafilah should halt for the day. The moment we came up, five men sprung
from a recumbent position to their feet, seizing spears and shields,
whilst a little boy ran hastily to drive in three lean, ragged-looking
horses that were standing beneath the shade of one of the larger trees,
as if the fatigue of a night march, or the growing heat of the day had
driven the animals for repose and shelter to the same retreat with their
owners.
A word or two satisfied the surprised party that we were friends, and
they soon found plenty of acquaintances among our Kafilah people. They
belonged to the little village of Ambabboo, which it will be
recollected, was our first halt after leaving Tajourah. They gave us
some news from Shoa, from whence they were returning home. They reported
that the members of the Political Mission were all well, and that Dr.
Krapf had left Ankobar for Gondah. They confirmed what I had heard at
Tajourah from the two Greeks, Demetrius and Joannes, of the death of
three servants, who had formerly belonged to the British Embassy, and
who, with five others had been discharged very summarily, and, I think,
very unwisely, on their arrival in Shoa. These three unfortunate men had
endeavoured to return with the same Kafilah which brought down the
Greeks. They were attacked on this side of the Hawash by the Takale
tribe, who, it was supposed, had killed the servants, and several slave
children besides. Subsequently, however, I found that only one of the
former was murdered, the other two being protected, and ultimately
conveyed safe to Shoa by tribes to which they had fled immediately the
attack was made by the Takale.
In return for their information, we gave them all the news from Berberah
and Tajourah, besides a detailed account of every march we had made from
the latter place. Ohmed Medina was spokesman on this occasion, and went
through the long statement as quietly and regularly as if reading it out
of a logbook. All this introductory conversation being got over, coffee
and general talking came in together. I being very tired, and not
understanding a word of what they were saying, soon fell asleep upon the
ground, between Ebin Izaak and Ohmed Medina, nor was I disturbed in my
long nap until an intimation from the latter, asking me if I were going
to join in the assair, or afternoon’s prayer, was a hint for me to
retire to my hut.
After prayers, I had a curious application from one of the strangers,
who required an amulet or charm of such a nature that would insure him
offspring, that he might see sons and daughters rising around him, and
that he should not go down childless to the grave. It was no use
protesting my inability to give him anything of the sort, or that I
possessed no power to effect for him the desires of his heart. He was
convinced I could, and as he refused to be satisfied with my advice to
pray to Allah to grant him his request, Ohmed Medina, who was
interpreter, slyly nudged me to give the man something or other and send
him away. I consented very reluctantly to be a party to any such
imposition, but scrawling some figures on a bit of paper, and writing
down that I thought the bearer a regular simpleton, I told Ohmed Medina
to assure him that whilst he wore that round his neck he would never die
in child-bed. My bad Arabic, perfectly understood by Ohmed Medina, was
sufficiently obscure to lead the man to think I was promising him, if
not a quantity of children, at least one son before he died, and
perfectly satisfied with this, he thankfully received the potent charm,
and went his way rejoicing; I and Ohmed Medina having a good laugh at
his folly, and the harmless deception that, in consequence of his
importunity, I had been obliged to practise upon him.
A large sand-spout passed over the camp again to-day, accompanied with
thunder and some few drops of rain. The usual laughable pursuit on its
retreat, made by the Kafilah men after their tobes and mats, which had
been carried away and spread over the plain, occasioned considerable
merriment, especially as my broad-brimmed hat also took an extraordinary
flight, pursued by the whole escort, who, I really believe, were very
sorry when they caught it, such a game they had in following it up.
Great numbers of Wahama Bedouins visited us but as all of them were
friends and relations of the party who accompanied us from Bundurah,
they evinced no feeling of dissatisfaction at our presence. All were
plentifully feasted by Ohmed Mahomed, and in the evening received
presents of blue sood and tobacco. By a clever stroke of policy, an
expectation was raised among these, that an additional escort would be
required to travel with safety across the disturbed district for two or
three days’ march on this side of the Hawash, which had not been
traversed by any Kafilah since the large one of Mahomed Allee had come
down from Shoa. Hopes were thus held out that the first comers of the
Wahama would be selected to perform this service, and it then became
their interest, of course, that we should first pass unmolested through
their own country.
They were continually applying to me for something or other, but I had
now got pretty well accustomed to their natural expectation, and by a
corresponding bestowal of next to nothing, held out a warning
intimation, that should they apply again they must not be surprised at
having arrived at the very negative point in the diminishing scale of my
worthless gifts. One great advantage also, arising from small presents
is, that they are not so ostentatiously displayed by the receiver as are
large ones, and others have therefore less inducement to apply for
similar proofs of the traveller’s generosity.
The woman of last night, occupied part of my hut again to-day. In the
afternoon I amused myself copying into my note-book the muslin sprig
pattern incised upon the skin of her body; in front from the neck over
her breasts to the waist, and on her back from the shoulders to the
hips. She seemed proud of the attention this savage kind of ornament
attracted, and was very particular in showing me how it was performed.
Going out of the hut, she soon came back with a piece of obsidian or
volcanic glass, she had found among the sand. From this, the rough blow
of another stone splintered off a scale-like fragment, sharp as a razor,
and which she proved to me could shave off the hair if required. With
this the strange operation of ornamenting the girls’ skins is performed
when they are quite young, and it is also used to cut the “Arriah,” or
tribe-symbol, upon the breasts or shoulders of the boys. As I looked at
the rude instrument, my mind reverted to the fourth chapter of Exodus,
where we are told, “Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the
foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody
husband art thou to me.” Before this, I had no idea in what manner, the
circumcision of the son of Moses could have been effected, for although
stone instruments, to separate large substances, were general in the
early history of man, it appears difficult to conceive how the delicate
operation alluded to in the above verse could be accomplished by such as
those. From the admitted volcanic character of the country which is
presumed to have been the scene of Moses’s early life, I have been led
to suppose, that Zipporah resorted to a splinter of obsidian, as the
means of excision in the case of her son, as is done at the present day
by the Adal mother, to incise on her children the marks of the tribe to
which they belong.
Besides the new blue covering for the head, given to my female
acquaintance by Ohmed Mahomed, her only other article of dress was the
usual fringed petticoat of soft leather. In a roll of this garment,
along its upper edge, she had hid a necklace of red beads and shells,
and holding out her hand when she showed them to me, plainly enough
asked me to give her some more; but as I had long ago distributed all I
possessed of these desired ornaments, I could only add to her stock of
valuables, a few needles and some black thread. These she deposited in
her curious scrap _album_, which with a twist of the petticoat, she then
replaced behind her, where it rested upon the loins, free from any
casual observation.
At sunset, I was desired to fire off my guns, the noise of the reports
being intended as a kind of warning voice, to deter any of the Wahama
from attacking us. This was rendered the more necessary, for after
sunset, great numbers flocked from all quarters, and our camp was full
of them.
_May 5th._—We could not start this morning, much to the great grief of
every man of the Kafilah; the father of Mahomed Allee, and three or four
other powerful Wahama chiefs, having come in during the night. Calahm
circles, on all sides, covered the ground, with anything but fairy
rings, though the spot itself, seemed a little Eden, where things of
light and beauty might have been tempted to hold their nocturnal
assemblies. The tall henna trees shed a delicious perfume, far and wide,
exactly resembling that of our dear little weed, the mignonnette; and
out of due reverence for, and remembrance of, the sweets of home, I
carried in the bosom of my tobe a small branch of its clustered
pale-yellow flowers. Whilst plucking this, I was joined by Carmel
Ibrahim, who seemed not unmindful of its delightful odour, and stuck a
small sprig in the hair at the back of his head; but I was still more
pleased to find, that Ina, my Dankalli patroness, had some idea of the
beautiful, having placed in her hair a wreath of the small blue
convolvulus. Thus decorated, she looked most interesting, and greatly
improved by the absence of her finery, which, as I before stated, for
some sufficient reason, she kept packed up in her bustle behind.
Two or three Hy Soumaulee came to pull me back towards my hut, for I had
strolled quite at my ease, some distance from the camp. Turning with my
companion, Carmel Ibrahim, to look for some explanation, we saw that the
various lesser councils had broken up, and two large circles, at some
distance from each other, now discussed the momentous subjects that had
occasioned such a numerous attendance of the Wahama. I thought of going
to the Tajourah people at once, as twenty or thirty strangers surrounded
my hut, but seeing me coming, Adam Burrah, and Moosa, jumped up, and met
me, pointing to the hut, then to my carabine, and afterwards to the
Wahama. I understood them to say, that I was to get my other gun loaded
for the benefit of our visitors, so we all proceeded to the hut, Carmel
Ibrahim, pushing a lane through the crowd of fierce-looking savages,
who, without a word, fell backwards, as directed, gazing at me as an
object of curiosity, but did not ask for a single thing.
It was an ominous silence, and I felt it to be so, but taking my long
fowling-piece from beneath the roof of mats, I loaded it, a hint taken
by more than one half of the crowd, who left immediately, and slowly
paced towards their friends sitting in council, where they dropt upon
their heels, adding their long bright spear-heads, glittering in the
sun, to the ring of troubled light that was suspended above them. In
this body, a few minutes afterwards, a great commotion was observed, and
some of them recovering the upright posture, shouted out “Wahama,
Wahama,” which was echoed back by the party about my hut, and by all
stragglers in the precincts of the camp, as they hurried towards this
point of gathering.
The Hy Soumaulee upon hearing this, immediately took me with them to the
small denuded base of a former volcanic cone, which was a few feet
higher than the surrounding plain; and which, besides the advantages of
its elevated and isolated character, afforded a plentiful supply of
large stones, or as Carmel Ibrahim called them, “bandook Bedouins,”
Bedouin guns. The Tajourah people still continued their calahm, and were
joined immediately by every man in the Kafilah, when the war cry of the
Wahama was raised. It was very evident that a storm was coming; but
still, it appeared, our opponents were a long time in making up their
minds to attack us. Neither party had much advantage in point of
numbers, although every hour was adding to the force of the Wahama, and
this, I supposed, was occasioning the delay, thinking it probable that
their leaders were waiting to collect as many of their people as
possible, before they attempted to carry into effect the violent
measures, that were proposed by some of the party.
In this state of suspense, the little band I was with, sat in silence,
for above two hours; the Tajourah people, and the Wahama, all this time
being engaged in close calahm. Whatever was said on either side was done
in a very low tone of voice, and I was glad, when the sun set, to see
the still scene broken into, by several of the slaves of my friends, go
out to bring the camels in for the night.
Occasionally might be now seen messengers passing and repassing between
the debating circles; and after the camels had been secured, Zaido, with
a large skinful of milk and a corresponding wooden bowl, was a welcome
visitor to our position. I saw directly that matters were going on
favourably, by the saucy bearing and swagger of our black Ganymede, who,
had he been serving at some feast of the gods, could not have talked
more freely of the impotent assaults of the Titans, than he did of the
“dust-eating Wahama,” as he now called them. We all took long deep
draughts of the sweet new milk, and twice round the bowl was passed, no
question of creed here interfering with the fair distribution of its
contents, and we all laughed when Adam Burrah placed the dripping bowl
upon the frizzled wig of Zaido, whilst a shower of small stones, tossed
up by the rest of the amused Hy Soumaulee, deterred him from removing
his wooden helmet, as he hastily retreated to the camp.
Matters, however, were yet far from being amicably arranged, and on one
occasion Zaido, in a very different mood than when he visited us before,
began to lament the little chance of our ever getting out of the
clutches of the Wahama thieves, a pretty good proof that the war party,
in the councils of the latter, was influencing more than he desired, the
ultimate determination of the tribe. At nine o’clock, seeing there was
little chance of returning during the night to my hut, Adam Burrah went
to the camp, and having brought me a mat, and a fedeenah or wooden
pillow, I laid myself down, and soon fell fast asleep. About midnight I
was awakened by Ohmed Mahomed seizing my knee, and then crawling to my
side, to tell me that all was settled amicably with the Wahama. He never
had a narrower escape from death in his life, than when he took the
method he did to apprize me of his presence, and to this day he relates,
with exaggerated particulars, the push in the chest with my fortunately
uncocked pistol, with which I met his silent and sudden approach.
Peaceable relations between us and the Wahama had been established by
Ohmed Mahomed consenting to give, for distribution among the individuals
of the tribe assembled at Kuditee, five pieces of blue cloth, and a tobe
each to three of the principal chiefs. The fact of the father of Mahomed
Allee and his two brothers being present contributed greatly to the
reluctant assent given by the tribe, that our Kafilah should be allowed
to proceed unmolested, and that no attempt upon my life should be made.
This favourably disposed family party was aware of the situation of
Mahomed Allee, who probably was in Tajourah at that time, and upon whom
and whose property they well knew, retaliation and indemnity would be
taken, should any violence be done to us.
I was now allowed by my careful guards, to sleep out the remainder of
the night in my hut, and glad enough I was, to exchange my hard uneven
bed of stone, for the softer couch of sand the encampment afforded.
Taking up my guns, I very soon walked down to my retreat, one of the Hy
Soumaulee bringing after me, the mat and wooden pillow. The father of
Mahomed Allee was waiting to receive me, and the politic old man, as we
shook hands, asked if I were “Engreez?” or “Feringee?” my reply, of
course, instructing him as to the character of the conversation he must
assume, during the next morning’s interview, which he in bad Arabic
proposed, and I readily assented to; glad enough to escape from a
lengthened discussion at so late an hour.
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