'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From December 1854 to March 1856. (New Issue.) Edited by the Secretary. Volume XII.' [‎83] (100/258)

Ixxxiii
GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH IN 1854-55.
Gudabursi and the Harar Hills. It was desperately cold, 42° in the hut nt a
a. m and the sun rose to 120 ° at noon. ’ n me llut at 6
On the 27th December we entered the country of the Garad Aden, Chief of the
G.rh., a clan of Somali cultivators, whose fertile hills supply all the eastern tribes
withjowaree. Here the climate was truly delightful, water freezing at night
and the scenery Alpine, perennial streams, hills wooded with tall pine deen nre
cip.ces and mountain flora the daisy, the thistle, and the sweet briar pleilingi;
affecting European eyes. After five long marches over roads so rugged that loads
are shifted from camel to donkey and back, we entered, leaving with the Garad our
goods, a trusty servant and a letter of directions for Lieut. Herne in case of
accidents at the celebrated city of Harar. 380 0t
By dead reckoning, I make Harar 9 ° 20’ N. lat. and 42° 17 E long Mv
thermometer boiled at 200 ° at the level of the sea, 210 ° showing an altitude of
about 5,500 feet. The city like all others in this part of the world is ^St of mud
and rough stone, the granites and sandstone of the hills. It has a dino-v apnear-
ance, very different from the glaring whitewash of Eastern towns. The houses
are flat roofed with small holes for windows, and coarse wooden shutters lar°- e
court yards and separate apartments for the women. Almost all even the Amir s
palace are single storied. There are few trees in the town, and some cultivators’
huts shaped like a bell tent, of the kind called ‘Gambica.’ The population may
amount to 10,900 souls. The site of the city is the side of a hill which slopes
from west to east; in the latter direction is highly cultivated ground, with gardens
of plantains, citrons, limes, the cotton, coffee and kat plants. Westwards are
gardens and orchards on a terraced slope. Northwards, a hill covered with tombs
and to the south the city falls into a low valley. It is about a mile lon^-, and at
the utmost half that breadth ; the site is very irregular and the streets are
like mountain roads.
Harar is a walled town, the defences are in good repair, but no cannon protect
the place. r
The only public buildings in the place are the wretched domes of the Amir
Kur who built the wall, the Shaykh Abadin the ‘patron’ of the Hararites, and
the Zami or Cathedral Mosque which has two queer old minarets, built it is said
by Turkish architects.
The present Amir, Ahmed bin Abubekr, is a beardless youth 23 or 24 years
old, short, thin and sickly. He is the real African despot, has established strict
patrols, hoping thereby to mend his subjects’ proverbially bad morals, flogs women,
imprisons and confiscates without mercy. He is greatly feared by his people as
well as strangers, and at Harar the Arabs, like the Somalis, are, to use their own
phrase, viler than earth.
Harrar is the great ‘ half-way house’ for the slaves of Efat, Guragur and tho
Galla countries. They are driven thence to Berberra and exported chiefly by the
subjects of H. H. the Amir of Muscat, in exchange for rice and dates. I am hap
py to say that even the presence of Lieut. Herne at Berberra has done much, this
season, to suppress the traffic, and the Arabs have been obliged to smuggle them
out of the country in fear and trembling. An armed pattimar cruising from Met
(Burnt Island) to Taguna would put an end to the exportation, and prevent thou
sands of wretches being torn away from their homes and families, under circum
stances of uncommon brutality. It would be a boon to the country were we to take
steps in this matter, and commerce would thrive on the decline of slavery. Harar
is also the great depot for the coffee, the wars-dye, the admirable cotton, the gums,
the tobacco, and the grain of the Galla country around and westward of Harar.
The citizens cheat the Bedouins to the utmost of their power, and the Amir has
made it penal to buy by weight and scale. Ivory is a royal monopoly. The best
coffee comes from Yarjar,aGalladistrictseven days westofHarar. It has been scarce
of late, because it is said the Amir lias limited the exportation for fear of diminish
ing the value of the article. The Tobcs of Harar are celebrated throughout this