Mr. Speedy has been requested by the Commander-in-chief to wear the native
attire; and his appearance, although no doubt very imposing to the native
mind, is yet extremely comic to a European eye. Imagine a gentleman six
feet and a half high, with spectacles, wearing a red handkerchief over his
head, and shading himself with a native straw umbrella. Round his neck he
wears the fur collar with tails, to which I have already alluded as part
of a chief’s insignia; over his shoulders is the native white-cloth
wrapping, with red ends; below this is a long coloured-silk garment; and
below all this the British trousers and boots. Mr. Speedy is a capital
fellow, and a general favourite with everyone; but his appearance at
present is almost irresistibly inducive of laughter.
The climate of this place is as near perfection as possible. It is not so
hot as Senafe during the day, although even here in a single bell-tent the
thermometer registered 110° to-day at eleven o’clock. But there is almost
always a fresh breeze; and excepting from nine to twelve, when the wind
generally drops, it is never too hot for walking. At night it is not so
cold as at Senafe; for although the glass goes down to 36° or 37°, there
is no wind at night and very little dew, so that one does not feel the
cold as one did at Senafe. It is really a delightful climate; and although
110° in a tent sounds hot, the sensation of heat is nothing approaching
that of a sultry July day in England. There is no game here, with the
exception of hares, which are very plentiful. Major Fanshawe, of the 33d,
went out the other afternoon with his gun, and returned in a couple of
hours with a bag of nineteen hares, an almost unprecedented amount of
sport for two hours’ shooting in an unpreserved country. The natives bring
in leopard-skins for sale: where they shoot them I cannot say. They do not
find any purchasers, for the amount of baggage allowed is so small, and
will be smaller beyond Antalo, that no one will burden themselves with a
pound of unnecessary weight.
The 33d went forward three days ago, and Sir Robert Napier himself starts
for Antalo on the 17th instant. If the 4th regiment arrive in time they
will accompany him. I close my letter rather hastily, as I have just heard
there is a mail expected to go three days before the regular packet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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