What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile | Page 7

with grass mats; or, when favourable, they throw up
loose stone walls like the dykes in Scotland. But on the sea-coast,
wherever there are harbours for shipping, they build permanent villages
on a very primitive scale. These are composed of square mat walls,
supported by sticks, and all huddled together, and partitioned off for the
accommodation of the various families, near which there are usually
one or more square box-shaped stone buildings, the property of the
chief of the place, which are designated forts, though there is nothing in
their artless construction to deserve this name. They are all composed
of blocks of coralline, cemented together with mortar extracted from
the same material.
Like nearly all places within the tropics, beyond the equatorial rainy
zone, this country is visited by regular monsoons, or seasons in which
the winds prevail constantly in one direction; consequently vessels can
only come into the harbours of the northern coast when the sun is in the
south, or during five months of the year, from the 15th November to
the 15th April, to trade with the people; and then the Somali bring the
products of their country, such as sheep, cows, ghee, mats made by the
women from certain grasses and the Daum palm, ostrich feathers, and
hides, and settle on the coast to exchange them in barter with the outer
merchants, such as Arabs and men from Cutch, who bring thither cloths,
dates, rice, beads, and iron for that purpose.
Of all the trading places on the coast, the most important is Berbera; it
is, in fact, the great emporium of Somali land, and we must call the
reader's particular attention to it, since it forms the chief point of
interest in these pages. It is on the same meridian as Aden, and only
divided from it by the gulf of that name. Although it is of such great
importance, it is only inhabited during the five months of the
favourable monsoon, when great caravans come up from the rich
provinces which lie to its south and south-west, the principal ones

being those from Ugahden and Harar.
Having now given a general sketch of the country, we shall enter upon
the objects of the expedition. It was obvious, by the lay of the land, that
the richest and most interesting part of the country must be that which
lies between the Jub and Webbe Shebéli rivers, and it was the most
accessible to inspection, as large and powerful caravans, travelling
southwards through Ugahden, much frequent it. Seeing this, Lieutenant
Burton conceived the idea of waiting until the breaking up of the
Berbera fair, when the caravans disperse to their homes, to travel by the
ordinary caravan route, through the Ugahden country to the Webbe
Shebéli, and on to Gananah, and then to proceed further by any
favourable opportunity to the Zanzibar coast.
It was now, however, early October, and fully five months must elapse
ere we could finally enter on our march. In the mean time, Lieutenant
Burton, desirous of becoming acquainted as far as possible with the
habits of the people we were destined to travel amongst, as well as the
nature of the country and the modes of travelling in this _terra
incognita_, determined on making an experimental tour to Harar, a
place which had never been entered by any European, and was said to
be inaccessible to them. Harar, as I have said before, sends caravans
annually to the Berbera fair, and therefore comes within the influence
of British power. Taking advantage of this, Lieutenant Burton ordered
Herne to go to Berbera whilst he was on this expedition, to keep up a
diversion in his favour, arming him with instructions, that in case he
was detained in Harar by the Amir of that place, Herne might detain
their caravan as a ransom for the release of his party.
Further, to obtain more accurate knowledge concerning the march of
the Ugahden caravans, to gain an insight into the market transactions of
Berbera, and to collect cattle for our final march, it was deemed
advisable he should go there. Stroyan, as soon as he could manage it,
was also to go to Berbera to assist him. Thus everybody had a duty to
perform during this interregnum but myself.
Dreading the monotony of a station life, I now volunteered to travel in
any direction my commandant might think proper to direct, and to any
length of time he might consider it advisable for me to be away. This
proposition had its effect, as affording an extra opportunity of obtaining
the knowledge desired, and instructions were drawn up for my

guidance. I was to proceed to Bunder Gori, on the Warsingali frontier,
to penetrate the country southwards as far as possible, passing over the
maritime hill-range, and,