They are a savage, treacherous race, noted for their
cheating and lying propensities; in figure tall, slender, light, and
agile, scarcely darker than Arabs, with thin lips and noses, but woolly
heads like negroes. Their ancestors, having taken possession of the
country, drove out its former Christian inhabitants, who retreated
northward.

Caravans, however, pass through their country to their only port and
chief market, Berbera, which at the time of the fair is crowded with
people, though entirely deserted for the rest of the year.

It was proposed that the expedition should follow the route of these
caravans, or accompany one of them, and thus penetrate through the
country, into the interior.

Considerable time was spent in making excursions for short distances,
during which Lieutenant Speke shot a large number of wild animals; but
unfortunately the _abban_, or petty chief, who undertook to be his
protector and guide, proved to be a great rascal, and cheated and
deceived him in every possible way.

The Somali are keen and cunning sportsmen, and have various methods of
killing elephants, ostriches, and gazelles. They fearlessly attack an
elephant, on foot, one man only being mounted on a horse, who gallops in
front, and while the animal pursues him, the others rush in and
hamstring him with their knives. Ostriches are caught by throwing down
poison at the spots where they feed. The Somali also hunt them, on the
backs of their hardy little ponies. The ostrich is a shy bird, and is
so blind at night that it cannot feed. A Somali, knowing this,
providing himself with provisions for two or three days, sets off in
search of them; showing himself to the ostriches, he is discovered, but
takes care to keep at a distance. They stalk off, and he follows at the
same rate, but never approaches sufficiently near to scare them. At
night the birds, unable to see, stop, but cannot feed. He, meantime,
rests and feeds with his pony, resuming the chase the next day. He
follows the birds in the same way as at first, they from constant
fasting becoming weaker, till after the second or third day he is able
to ride in among them and knock them down in succession.

The party had at length secured, after considerable trouble, the camels
and horses they required, and were encamped at Berbera, which was
completely deserted by its inhabitants, when they were surprised at
night by a large band of robbers. Lieutenant Stroyan was kill