20th April.
Wuo gave the Mullah Abdulahi, who is now seriously threatening the British Somali Coast Protectorate, the disrespectful sobriquet now commonly differentiating him from other P mullahs we do not know, for the facts of his career, as far as known, show much more method than madness. Most China hands take an interest in the Somalis from the time that they first come out in a P.&O. steamer, and are told that the jolly shiny-faced dark-brown men who pop up ous of the stokehole to get a breath of fresh air before going back to their furnaces are Somalis. Then' if they are impressionable they are told weird stories of the treatment of the crews of unfortunate steamers that have come to grief through mistaking Ras Hafun for Guardafu and they make enquiries and fin that the actual north-east point of Africa is Italian Somaliland; that the British protectorate occupies the greater part of the south shore of the Gulf of Aden, from Bunder Ziahden to Jibuti, with a depth of about 220 miles at its eastern, and 50 miles at its western end. he Ogaden district, of which we have heard n good deal lately, lies to the south of the British Protectorate.
By birth the so-called Mad Mullah isan Ogaden Somali, his father being a village Akil, or Councillor. In his early youth our hero studied for the priesthood, andasayoung man he went to Mecca and for some years so' at the feet of the Grand She:
Tim," or Seeker after (rel ledge, finally returning to his own country some five years ago as a full-blown Mullah, or Mahomedan pri The Somalis, we may explain, are a very numerous tribe inhabiting the whole country bounded by the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, the Abyssinian empire and the Juba river. This country is divided up into pr rectorates more or less effectively occupied by British, French, Italians, and Abyssinians, The people lead a nomadic life, wandering about with their flocks and herds as the season suits for pasturage, and they do a considerable trade in cattle, sheep, and goats with Aden, chiefly from the ports of Berbera, Zeila, and Bulhar.
It is the British protectorate which the Mullah has taken as the theatre of his performances. Until three years ago this protectorate was, most naturally, administered from Aden, on the opposite shore of the Gulf, and its officials were supplied by the Government of India. There was little interference with the people and little taxation, and all went smoothly. Unfortunately, three years ago the Foreign Office laid its unwelcome hand on British Somaliland, and to pay the officials it sent out an export duty on cattle and other taxes were fixed.
This caused a certain amount of ill-feeling among the Somalis, of which our Mullah seems to have skilfully availed himself. He started in a small way, giving out that he was solely a religious man, and preaching eace and the settlement of all feuds, of which the Somalis, like all bucolic people, had many. This would have all very well, but he soon issued a "futwah" or religious decree, appointing himself arbitrator and ignoring the British authorities. That was the moment at which he should have been crushed; but he was a long way off, the Ogaden country is difficult to approach and almost impossible for regular troops to act in owing to scarcity of food and water, so he was left alone. In a short time he took a farther step; he commenced levying taxes on caravans, which must all pass through Burao, where he established his headquarters, advancing thereto from his-capital Bahotli, distant some sixty miles in a southerly direction, the country between the two places being an absolute desert devoid of water, while the capital Bahotli consists of a few huis and a few sweet water wells. In this proceeding the Mullah went too far, so the East African Regiment was sen' to occupy the coast ports and Burao, from which latter place the Mullah retreated on the approach of the British force. He then collected his forces, gave himself out asa Mahdi or Heavenly Guide, and directed his rabble against Harrar, the capital of an Abyssinian province, about 160 miles south by west of Jibuti, a very interesting account of which and the railway which joins it to Jibuti will be found in the March issue of the " Pall Mall Magazine."
By the order of the Emperor Menelik the Harrar garrison marched out against the Mullah. He attacked it, and was badly defeated, but owing to the na-ure of the country the Abyssinians could not fulton him to complete their success. The Mullah then returned to Bahotli where he has organised his fresh attack on the British Sumali protectorate. To stop his advance Burao was again occupied, and it is to attack this port that the Mullah is reporied to be now collecting his levies. There is no doubt that if he runs his head against it he will be defeated, though if not killed he will again retire into the desert, and may give a very considerable amount of trouble before being finally disposed of. All the Northern tribes are against him, his following being among the Ogaden and some of the Mijertain Somali tribes in the Italian sphere. presumably the northern tribes that are being drilled, and sent against him under British officers.,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.