From the 7th to the 23rd of December we traversed the country of the Gudabursi Somal, a large tribe, whose habitat is between the Eesa eastward and the Girhi to the W. Theirs is the rolling ground diversified with thorn-clad hill and fertile vale lying above the first zone of maritime mountain, and they have extended their lands by conquest towards Harar, being now bounded in that direction by the Marar prairie. These nomades, who are said to number 10,000 shields, are rich in camels and cows; their warlike reputation depends upon a few wretched ponies. They are more hospitable and docile than the Eesa, but their brighter qualities are obscured by knavery, thievishness, exceeding covetousness, and a habit of lying, wonderful even to the Eastern traveller. Some of the girls are not wanting in attractions. I gave to one of the prettiest a bead necklace, and she repaid me by opining that I was painted white. The savages, who take a delight in sight showing, insisted upon my visiting the Halimalah tree and the ruins of Aububah and Darbinyah Kolah. The former is a gigantic fig (Ficus religiosa), under which is performed the ceremony of binding the turban around the brow of each newly-elected Ugaz or chief. The ruins, composed of rough stones, - the mud used for cement in these regions, - and bars of wood inserted as in Cashmir between the courses of masonry, are interesting, as they prove that the land has not been always been barbarous. The only tradition preserved by the nomades is, that the fort of Kolah - so-called from its queen - as well as Aububah belonged to the Gallas, once lords of the soil, and that their violent hostility ended in mutual destruction.
In the Harawwah valley I met with a notable disappointment as regards elephants. At Zayla they were represented to be plentiful as sheep; after beating the country nothing appeared but the last year's earths. The animals were still in the higher jungles, and we hastened to quit a place where it is impossible even to ride out without being covered with swarms of flies. The Tzetze of Southern Africa does not exist here; there is, however, a red variety called Diksi As (red fly), whose bite, according to the natives, is so hot in summer that it causes violent vomitings. This, together with the fever produced by the mosquito-sting, is universally believed by the people; the traveller will receive the information cum grano.
On the 23rd of December I crossed the Ban Marar (Marar Prairie), a grassy tract not unlike our English downs, which separates the first from the second zone of hills. Its length is considerable; the breadth varies from 25 to 28 miles. The undulating surface is covered at this season with a glaring yellow coat of dried up grass; about half-way we halted for an hour in a wady or fiumara, where my Somal employed themselves in eating the acacia gum. The place is infamous for razzias, and a small caravan, laden with hides and clarified butter to be bartered for maize and grain, had the honour (as the phrase of the country is) to sit under the shade of our sandals. Starting at 6 A.M., we arrived at 8 in the evening under the hills of Harar, with no other adventure than being dogged by a lion, who fled at the ring of a rifle. The cold was excessive, 42 deg. in the hut at dawn, and in the noon-tide sun the mercury rose to 120 deg.
Though almost in sight of Harar, our advance was impeded by the African traveller's bane. The Gudabursi tribe was at enmity with the Girhi, and, in such cases, the custom is for your friends to retain you and for their enemies to bar your progress. Shermarkay had given me a letter to the Gerad Adan, chief of the Girhi; a family feud between him and his brother-in-law, our Gudabursi protector, rendered the latter chary of committing himself. We found ourselves forced to idleness until "Dahabo", one of the chief's six wives, and his eldest son Sherwa, visited our kraal for the purpose of escorting us onwards.
On the 27th of December we exchanged the rocks, thorn-trees, and dried grass of the desert for alpine scenery rendered by contrast truly delicious. We stood upon the portals of the highlands of Abyssinia, the huge primary chain which runs N. and S. along the length of Eastern Africa, and which - I hazard a conjecture - may have given rise to the theory of the " Lunatic Mountains." This range is broken into abrupt masses, often with table-formed summits; mountain rills of the purest crystal bubble down the ravines, a system of fissures in the pink granite, and, collecting into one broad shallow stream, flow towards the Webbe Shebayli. A species of fir (the Sinaubar of India, here called Dayyib) clothes the flanks and summits of the hills which are bared of earth by heavy rains; its presence in these lands usually denotes an altitude of 5000 feet. The valleys were yellow with corn and tawny crops of the gigantic "Holcus Sorghum;" it was " harvest-home" when the song of the reapers and the sound of the flail gave pleasant proof that we had left the land of Bedouins. The roads were thronged with peasants and market-people, and in the hedges the daisy, the thistle, and the sweet briar were so many mementos of an English home.
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Richard Burton Trip to Harar