'Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society, from January 1847 to May 1849. Edited by the Secretary. Volume VIII.' [‎207] (316/496)

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It is a mistake supposing that the high ranges produce the best frank
incense. As before stated, we found no luban trees on the summit of
Eyransid, though at an elevation of two to 3000 feet they were abund
ant. The traveller in crossing the Somali country generally is struck
with the appearance of boundary lines dividing the hills into portions.
These landmarks have existed probably for centuries, and serve to denote
the limits of each family’s gum-trees. In the Oor Sungeli tribes, we
were assured that the gum-trees were never planted, but increased in
course of nature. In the Mijirtheyn country we observed several young
trees that had been transplanted, and we were then told that in some
districts the trees were regularly cultivated like the coffee, and, naturally,
the produce w'as increased seven-fold.
Frankincense, myrrh, sumuk or gum arabic, shenneh (orchel,) and
ghee, form the exports of this tribe, and a peculiar kind of gum called
“ telleh felleh.” I could not find the tree producing this gum, and I
can hardly fancy, from the specimens in my possession, that it is the Per
sian fulay falah, the fruit of the aloe tree, as Eichardson gives it in his
dictionary. It is imported into Aden in large quantities from the coast,
but the merchants cannot tell me the use made of it.
The graves found in the Somali country generally, and especially
amongst the tribes of the Ahl Oor Sungeli, are remarkable for their
neatness, being built of while slabs of limestone, almost marble, and sur
rounded by a circle of stones, the space within being neatly gravelled;
but at Bunder Khor, in the Mijirtheyn territory, and in the neighbourhood
of Berbera, very ancient graves are found consisting of a heap of stones,
frequently seven to eight feet in height, and fifteen to eighteen feet in
diameter at the base, hollowed in the centre, and with no head-stone ;
similar in all respects to those described by Mr. Richardson in his
“Travels in the Great Desert of the Sahara.” They are, I fancy, relics of
the Galla tribes, who once resided on the coast, but we could obtain no
information regarding them.
To a traveller wishing to ascend the mountain ranges* of the Jebel
Ahl Oor Sungeli, I should recommend the small port of Doorderi, to the
eastward of Ras Kori, as the best starting point. The mountain spurs
there approach nearer the sea, and there is not the same scarcity of water:
moreover, that part of the mountain district called Minneh, on which the
people throughout the year keep immense herds of horned cattle, lies in
his way. I do not anticipate any difficulty being thrown in the way by