We marched rapidly and in silence, stopping every quarter of an hour to
raise the camels' loads as they slipped on one side. I had now an
opportunity of seeing how feeble a race is the Somal. My companions on the
line of march wondered at my being able to carry a gun; they could
scarcely support, even whilst riding, the weight of their spears, and
preferred sitting upon them to spare their shoulders. At times they were
obliged to walk because the saddles cut them, then they remounted because
their legs were tired; briefly, an English boy of fourteen would have
shown more bottom than the sturdiest. This cannot arise from poor diet,
for the citizens, who live generously, are yet weaker than the Bedouins;
it is a peculiarity of race. When fatigued they become reckless and
impatient of thirst: on this occasion, though want of water stared us in
the face, one skin of the three was allowed to fall upon the road and
burst, and the second's contents were drunk before we halted.

At 11 P.M., after marching twelve miles in direct line, we bivouacked upon
the plain. The night breeze from the hills had set in, and my attendants
chattered with cold: Long Guled in particular became stiff as a mummy.
Raghe was clamorous against a fire, which might betray our whereabouts in
the "Bush Inn." But after such a march the pipe was a necessity, and the
point was carried against him.

After a sound sleep under the moon, we rose at 5 A.M. and loaded the
camels. It was a raw morning. A large nimbus rising from the east obscured
the sun, the line of blue sea was raised like a ridge by refraction, and
the hills, towards which we were journeying, now showed distinct falls and
folds. Troops of Dera or gazelles, herding like goats, stood, stared at
us, turned their white tails, faced away, broke into a long trot, and
bounded over the plain as we approached. A few ostriches appeared, but
they were too shy even for bullet. [41] At 8 P.M. we crossed one of the