December
1926
To my surprise everything turned out considerably better than I had expected. Actually, a regulation concerning visas for entering Abyssinia never existed. The captain, who took my passport for the purpose of obtaining the signature of the governor, remarked approvingly, while questioning me about the October Revolution, “it will work” in French “ça ira” a judgement apparently based on his knowledge of the French Revolution. In any case I decided to go to the Abyssinian consul nearby, a rather pleasant man, who also confirmed that the stamp of the French governor in Somalia was adequate for free entry into Abyssinia.
The train from Djibouti to Addis Ababa runs twice a week The next train was leaving the following day so it was necessary to hurry. I spent the rest of the day visiting villages around Djibouti. This was already the real Africa. Naked black children with skin like velvet surrounded Charlier [1] and me and walked with us in the villages. There were squalid huts covered with raffia and straw mats.
Somalia is a typical cattle-raising country. Enormous herds of sheep and goats around the villages clearly indicate absolutely special breeds, [2] perhaps even species, distinctly different from those seen during the expeditions in the Asiatic countries and the Mediterranean region. The well-proportioned goats have smooth and delicate hides and the sheep are short-haired. This was, in any case, a definitely special group of animals. 
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