Editing Richard Francis Burton (section)

===Early explorations===
{{third party|section|date = May 2025}}
[[File:The Romance of Isabel, Lady Burton - Burton at marriage.jpg|thumb|An illustration of Isabel Burton]]

In May 1854, Burton travelled to [[Aden]] in preparation for an RGS-backed expedition, which included [[John Hanning Speke]], to [[Somaliland]]. The expedition lasted from 29{{Spaces}}October 1854 to 9{{Spaces}}February 1855, with much of its time spent in [[Zeila]], where Burton was a guest of the town's governor [[Sharmarke Ali Saleh]]. Burton, assuming the disguise of an Arab merchant "Hajji Mirza Abdullah", awaited word that the road to [[Harar]] was safe. On 29 December, Burton met with Gerard Adan in the village of Sagharrah and openly proclaimed himself as a British officer with a letter for the [[Emir]] of Harar. On 3 January 1855, Burton made it to Harar and was graciously met by the Emir. He stayed in the city for ten days, officially a guest of the Emir but in reality his prisoner. Burton also investigated local landmarks in Harar; according to him, "A tradition exists that with the entrance of the first [white] Christian, Harar will fall." With Burton's entry, the tradition was broken.<ref name=er/>{{rp|219f,227–264}}{{page range too broad|date=May 2025}}{{verification needed|date=May 2025}}<!--All preceding material of the paragraph must be here.--> The journey back was plagued by lack of supplies, and Burton wrote that he would have died of thirst had he not seen desert birds and realized they would be near water. He made it back to [[Berbera]] on 31 January 1855.<ref name=er/>{{rp|238–256}}<ref name=BurtonFirstFootsteps1856>{{Cite book | author=Burton, Richard | year=1856 |title=First footsteps in East Africa or, An Exploration of Harar |location =  London, England | publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans | edition=1st| pages =  | url=https://archive.org/details/firstfootstepsi00burtgoog/page/n511 | access-date =  }} For a further presentation of this material at Burtoniana.org, see [http://burtoniana.org/books/1856-First%20Footsteps%20in%20East%20Africa/1856-FirstFootstepsVer2.htm this link].</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2025}}

Following this expedition, Burton prepared to set out in search of the source of the [[Nile]], accompanied by Speke and a number of African porters and expedition guides.{{cn|date=May 2025}} The [[Royal Indian Navy|Indian Navy]] schooner {{ship|HCS|Mahi|834|6}} transported them to [[Berbera]] on 7 April 1855.{{cn|date=May 2025}} While the expedition was camped near [[Berbera]], they were attacked by a group of [[Somali people|Somali]] warriors from the [[Isaaq]] clan; the British estimated the number of attackers at 200.{{cn|date=May 2025}} In the ensuing fight, Speke was wounded in eleven places before he managed to escape, while Burton was impaled with a javelin, the point entering one cheek and exiting the other, leaving a permanent scar.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Burton was forced to escape with the weapon still transfixing his head.{{cn|date=May 2025}} Burton subsequently wrote that the Somalis were a "fierce and turbulent race".<!--THE FOLLOWING SOURCE provides the quote, but no material preceding it.--><ref>{{cite news | author = Howden, Daniel | date = 2 December 2010 | title = Somalia's Last Poets Sing of a Country on the Brink | newspaper = [[The Independent (London)|The Independent]] | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalias-last-poets-sing-of-a-country-on-the-brink-2148791.html | access-date = 15 May 2025}}</ref> However, the failure of this expedition (which also resulted in the [[Blockade of Berbera (1855–1856)|second blockade of Berbera]]) was viewed harshly by the British authorities, and a two-year investigation was set up to determine to what extent Burton was culpable for this disaster.{{cn|date=May 2025}} While he was largely cleared of any blame, his career prospects were damaged.{{cn|date=May 2025}} He described the attack in ''First Footsteps in East Africa'' (1856).<ref name=er/>{{rp|257–264}}<ref name=BurtonFirstFootsteps1856/>{{rp|449-458}}

After recovering from his wounds in [[London]], Burton travelled to [[Constantinople]] during the [[Crimean War]], seeking an [[Officer (armed forces)|officer's commission]]. He received one from [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major-General]] William Ferguson Beatson as the [[chief of staff]] for [[Beatson's Horse]], an irregular [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman cavalry unit]] stationed in [[Gallipoli]]. Burton returned to England after an incident which implicated him as the instigator of a [[mutiny]] among the unit, damaging his reputation and disgracing Beatson.<ref name=er/>{{rp|265–271}}{{verification needed|date=May 2025}}<!--All material in the paragraph must be here.-->