Up to this time the Military Policy had been to make preparations as unostentatiously as possible, so that the Mullah would not take fright and move off from Medishe. His doing so would have necessitated a complete rearrangement of plans, so telling heavily on the transport arrangements--an important consideration. The assembling of the aeroplanes at Berbera was nearing completion, and trial flights to the West were being made. The reason why the planes were not tried to the Eastward is obvious, but the native population believed they were prevented from doing so by the supernatural power of the Mullah, who had, they said, cast a spell over the machines, so barring them from using the aerial route over the town of Berbera (East of the R.A.F. Camp) or above the hills to the South-East. As a proof of what the Mullah could do in this direction I have heard intelligent natives state that on a certain occasion the old man pointed out three crows, high in the air, to his followers, directing them to watch that which was about to happen. The three crows fell dead to the ground. A holy man, who could bring down birds by reciting a verse from the Koran, the method employed, was not likely to be troubled by aeroplanes. But to return to the disposition of the military forces on the 12th of January. The 101st Grenadiers had occupied El-dur-Elan, where a dump of stores for all arms had been established. The Somaliland Camel Corps, leaving a small dismounted detachment at headquarters, Burao, was moving on the same point, where a detachment of R.A.F. was busily preparing the aerodrome, workshops and camp necessary for their Corps. The Somaliland Field Force Field Hospital, and the R.A.F. Field Hospital, were likewise established at the same point. The King's African Rifles had established their base at Musha Aled, and, in spite of the fact that, owing to lack of steamer transport, great difficulty was experienced in supplying them with transport camels, they were practically ready to move. At Berbera the R.A.F. were feverishly engaged in the assembling and tuning up of the ten fighting two-seaters, and the two ambulance planes that had been landed from H.M.S. _Ark Royal_. In addition to this work they had prepared emergency landing grounds and established dumps at Las Khorai, Burao, and Eil Dab. The P.W.D., Somaliland, was pushing on as quickly as possible with the work of making the track between Berbera and Las Dureh passable for motorcars, which were not, however, used for transport for the expedition. They were found most useful in carrying European ranks over the first, and worst, stage of the journey between Berbera and Las Dureh. A dry barren terrain, over which they were never able to proceed farther than within a few miles of Hagal, about forty-five miles out. From here the almost impossible country for cars became quite impossible, unless most expensive works were undertaken.