The first Arab Governor, "headman" would be a more correct title, known to my informant was called Syyed. He cannot remember his full name. Syyed it was who built a wall around the town for purposes of defence, and his great-grandson, a carpenter by profession, lives in Zeila to-day. One fine day there came to Syyed the Governor, a Somal, by name Sharmarki Ali, to report his arrival and intention of relieving the former of his arduous duties. They were very casual in those days, and as this was the first Syyed had heard of Sharmarki Ali he exerted himself with such success to procure Sharmarki's departure that the latter found it most expedient to revisit Hodeida, from which port he had come, on urgent private affairs. These attended to--they included the fitting out of a force of fifty Somals, armed with muzzle loading guns and two cannon--Sharmarki chartered two dhows and returned with his army to Zeila. This time nothing would induce him to go away. There was a violent argument which Sharmarki settled by loading up his two cannon to the muzzle with powder and sand and firing them close to the walls of the town. Syyed and his followers, who had never heard anything like the tremendous explosions made by these guns in their lives before, became afraid and ran away. Sharmarki entered the town in triumph, assumed the governorship, made overtures to the friendly disposed tribes in the surrounding district, and was comfortably lining his pockets when history made arrangements to repeat itself. The Governor of Hodeida, ever short of cash, was bribed by one Abubakr Ibrahim Shebani, nowadays better known as Abubakr Basha, a Danakil, to fit him out with a small force of good soldiers which would be unlikely to run away from a big noise, for the purpose of taking Zeila. Without doubt the Governor of Hodeida considered he was leasing Zeila by contract, as he was quite entitled to do. Abubakr Basha convinced Sharmarki Ali that for his health's sake he required a change of air, and was left in charge of the town. This he proceeded to exploit in much the same way that all his adventurer-predecessors had done.