A biography of Mohammed Abdille Hassan, who fought to keep Somaliland, on the Horn of Africa, free of European and Ethiopian control and Christian influence. Born around 1864, he was influenced by a puritanical Muslim movement opposed to foreigners and Christians. He gradually exerted his influence over his tribesmen, who recognized him as a holy man, and built up forces to oppose the British, who wanted to stop other European powers or the Ethiopians from controlling the area when the Egyptians withdrew. This is the tragic story of unnecessary deaths and waste, occasions of great courage and self-sacrifice on both sides. Illustrated.