or any respect for life? You don't know what these people are you've
come amongst! Come with me now to my place; rest the night, and
refresh yourself: tomorrow morning your Abban will come and conduct
you safely on your way." This was a climax to the day's journey; the
men smelt grub in an instant, and hurried off with the old lady to
some empty stone enclosures (sheepfolds), and at once unburdened and
"lay-to" for the night. As before, I had many conferences about the
THE WADI NOGAL, which Lieutenant Burton had desired me to investigate,
but could obtain no satisfactory information. They said there were
many wadis in Nogal, but the largest one was in the Mijjertaine
country, where its waters were deep and large, with extensive forest
around it, frequented by numerous herds of elephants. Those in advance
of my line of march, on the road to Berbera, were all mere nullahs,
like Yubbe Tug, or Jid Ali Tug, and were not used for agricultural
purposes. However, in the southern Dulbahanta country, south by west
of this, at a distance of five or six marches, there was a nullah,
with many springs in it, which united in certain places, and became a
running stream. This I now, from subsequent inquiries and inspection
of Lieut. Cruttenden's map,[18] suspect is the watercourse set down in
my instructions as the Wadi Nogal. This watercourse, I was assured,
bounded the Nogal or white stony country on the west, and divided it
from the Haud or red stoneless country, which is occupied in most part
by the southern Dulbahantas, who have "the finest grazing-grounds in
the world, and possess incalculable numbers of camels and horses
(meaning ponies), and cows, sheep, and goats; whilst the game which
roamed about there covered the ground like flocks of sheep." Of these
the largest were giraffes, rhinoceroses, and lions, elephants being
confined to the Mijjertaine country, the Koolies hills to the south of
Berbera, and the Webbe Shebeli, or Haines River.[19]