Early History: British Somaliland 1884-1898

[Jabuutawi]

A brief history of the lay of the land in late 19th Century British Somaliland. Bulhar and Zeyla regions are predominantly Ciise territories, specifically Yonis Muse and Mamassan. That said, here are particular events that happened during that time:

From time to time punitive expeditions had to be mounted against raiders who swooped down to remove livestock belonging to tribes under British protection. A typical example was in 1888 when the Jibril Abuker clans needed disciplining, and Hunter and Walsh rode forth with their Police, Friendlies and Biladiehs accompanied by whatever elements of the Indian troops from Aden that could be spared.

Invariably the best tactic that the British could employ was to delay the raiders from returning home directly with their slow-moving stolen herds, as this delay was seized upon by all the raiders’ neighbours who immediately took advantage of the raiding parties’ absence to themselves seize the raiders’ domestic herds! On this occasion as on others the Jibril Abuker had to abandon their recently stolen stock in order to get home quickly and try to retrieve their own domestic herds from their neighbours.

The above expeditions were a cake walk for the Brits and their allies, however, a more serious situation arose in 1890, read below:

A more serious situation arose in 1890 when the Ayleye [Yonis Muse and Mamassan] section of the White Aysa tribe living on the plain southeast of Zeila made several raids on herds outside Zeila and Bulhar. The following troops were dispatched from Aden to Zeila:

2 companies of the 17th Bombay Infantry (224 Sepoys)
Cavalry from the Aden Troop (64 Sowars)
Arab Levies (20 riflemen)
A Troop of Bombay Sappers and Miners (30 Sappers)
Royal Navy personnel manning two machine guns (13 Bluejackets)

At Zeila they were joined by a detachment of about 150 men from Walsh’s Somali Coast Police, Mounted Friendlies and Biladieh Riflemen

A garrison of 51 of the Aden troops remained in Zeilah and the remainder of the Zeilah Field Force as it was now named moved into enemy territory. On 19th January a troop of 36 cavalry Sowars raided White Aysa herds near Garissa, 50 miles south of Zeila, and after killing some tribesmen and taking others prisoner the troops removed 100 camels and a large flock of sheep. The camels and prisoners were marched back into camp before dusk, but the Sowars with the slower moving sheep were ambushed during the night and lost one Indian officer and ten men killed. Meanwhile the camp had not been well-located and had been sited too late in the day resulting in the zareba not being built sufficiently wide or high. The horses and camels were hobbled in the centre of the zareba and a perimeter defence organized. Just before dawn an alert naval gunner opened fire as up to 40 White Aysa used their spears to pole-vault over the zareba and attack the troops. Rifle fire inside the circular zareba was too dangerous to use as it endangered other defenders, so the senior officer Colonel Stace ordered a charge at the enemy by those armed with revolvers and swords. Other attackers lurking in the surrounding bushes declined to follow their pole-vaulting comrades and so the defenders cut down the intruders and cleared the zareba, but not before the British troops had suffered 34 casualties.

The Zeila Field Force now withdrew onto the coast and Colonel Stace, after ordering ‘No Move from the present location’, rode the 80 miles along the shore to Bulhar to signal for reinforcements from Aden. However the Aden Troop commander, Captain J.R.C. Domvile, was ambitious and he wanted revenge for his dead Sowars. Domvile moved out with the cavalry, infantry and Bluejackets to confront the White Aysa again (Walsh obeyed orders and refused to move).

Another enemy ambush was successfully sprung and

13 Sowars were killed whilst half the cavalry mounts were killed or stolen.

Domvile’s horseless men made it on foot back to the infantry position and another withdrawal was made to Walsh’s firm base on the coast. When Colonel Stace arrived back he found that his force was now incapable of further operations, and the Aden troops sailed back home from Zeila. As he watched the Aden troops depart Walsh received notification that he had been created a Companion of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.). Politically all was not lost as the offending clans, having enjoyed a good fight, now submitted and agreed to cease raiding and to allow safe passage through their territory to caravans.

They went back to Aden with their tails between their legs.

Walle rag wa ragi horee.

Sources: The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham.
Official History of the Operations in Somaliland 1901-1904.
Under the Flag and Somali Coast Stories by L.P. Walsh.
Frontier and Overseas Expeditions from India Volume VI.
The King’s African Rifles by Lt Col H. Moyse-Bartlett.
Early Days in Somaliland and Other Tales by H.G.C. Swayne