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The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs

by Sir Samuel White Baker · English · Gutenberg #2125 · 870,777 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs

Author: Sir Samuel White Baker


        
Release date: March 1, 2000 [eBook #2125]
                Most recently updated: April 3, 2015

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2125


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NILE TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA, AND THE SWORD HUNTERS OF THE HAMRAN ARABS ***
Ver.04.29.93*END*




THE NILE TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA AND THE
SWORD HUNTERS OF THE HAMRAN ARABS

BY SIR SAMUEL W. BAKER, M.A., F.R.G.S.




I DEDICATE THIS BOOK,
WITH SPECIAL PERMISSION,
TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS ALBERT EDWARD,
PRINCE OF WALES,
AS THE FIRST OF
ENGLAND'S ROYAL RACE
WHO HAS SAILED UPON THE WATERS OF
THE NILE;
THE LAKE SOURCES OF WHICH MIGHTY RIVER ARE HONOURED
BY THE NAMES OF
HIS AUGUST PARENTS.




PREFACE.

THE work entitled "The Albert N'yanza Great Basin of the Nile,"
published in 1866, has given an account of the equatorial lake
system from which the Egyptian river derives its source. It has
been determined by the joint explorations of Speke, Grant, and
myself, that the rainfall of the equatorial districts supplies
two vast lakes, the Victoria and the Albert, of sufficient volume
to support the Nile throughout its entire course of thirty
degrees of latitude. Thus the parent stream, fed by never-failing
reservoirs, supplied by the ten months' rainfall of the equator,
rolls steadily on its way through arid sands and burning deserts
until it reaches the Delta of Lower Egypt.

It would at first sight appear that the discovery of the lake
sources of the Nile had completely solved the mystery of ages,
and that the fertility of Egypt depended upon the rainfall of the
equator concentrated in the lakes Victoria and Albert; but the
exploration of the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia divides the Nile
system into two proportions, and unravels the entire mystery of
the river, by assigning to each its due share in ministering to
the prosperity of Egypt.

The lake sources of Central Africa support the life of Egypt, by
supplying a stream, throughout all seasons, that has sufficient
volume to support the exhaustion of evaporation and absorption;
but this stream, if unaided, could never overflow its banks, and
Egypt, thus deprived of the annual inundation, would simply
exist, and cultivation would be confined to the close vicinity of
the river.

The inundation, which by its annual deposit of mud has actually
created the Delta of Lower Egypt, upon the overflow of which the
fertility of Egypt depends, has an origin entirely separate from
the lake-sources of Central Africa, and the supply of water is
derived exclusively from Abyssinia.

The two grand affluents of Abyssinia are, the Blue Nile and the
Atbara, which join the main stream respectively in N. lat. 15
degrees 30 minutes and 17 degrees 37 minutes. These rivers,
although streams of extreme grandeur during the period of the
Abyssinian rains, from the middle of June until September, are
reduced during the dry months to utter insignificance; the Blue
Nile becoming so shallow as to be unnavigable, and the Atbara
perfectly dry. At that time the water supply of Abyssinia having
ceased, Egypt depends solely upon the equatorial lakes and the
affluents of the White Nile, until the rainy season shall again
have flooded the two great Abyssinian arteries. That flood occurs
suddenly about the 20th of June, and the grand rush of water
pouring down the Blue Nile and the Atbara into the parent
channel, inundates Lower Egypt, and is the cause of its extreme
fertility.

Not only is the inundation the effect of the Abyssinian rains,
but the deposit of mud that has formed the Delta, and which is
annually precipitated by the rising waters, is also due to the
Abyssinian streams, more especially to the river Atbara, which,
known as the Bahr el Aswat (Black River), carries a larger
proportion of soil than any other tributary of the Nile;
therefore, to the Atbara, above all other rivers, must the wealth
and fertility of Egypt be attributed.

It may thus be stated: The equatorial lakes FEED Egypt; but the
Abyssinian rivers CAUSE THE INUNDATION.

This being a concise summary of the Nile system, I shall describe
twelve months' exploration, during which I examined every
individual river that is tributary to the Nile from Abyssinia,
including the Atbara, Settite, Royan, Salaam, Angrab, Rahad,
Dinder, and the Blue Nile. The interest attached to these
portions of Africa differs entirely from that of the White Nile
regions, as the whole of Upper Egypt and Abyssinia is capable of
development, and is inhabited by races either Mohammedan or
Christian; while Central Africa is peopled by a hopeless race of
savages, for whom there is no prospect of civilization.

The exploration of the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia occupied the
first twelve months of my journey towards the Nile sources.
During this time, I had the opportunity of learning Arabic and of
studying the character of the people; both necessary
acquirements, which led to my ultimate success in reaching the
"Albert N'yanza." As the readers of the work of that title are
aware, I was accompanied throughout the entire journey by my
wife, who, with extraordinary hardihood and devotion, shared
every difficulty with which African travel is beset.




CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I.

ABOVE THE CATARACT.

Sterility--Arrival at Korosko--Twenty-six Days from Cairo--The
Nubian Desert--Nature's Pyramids--Volcanic Bombs--The Stony Sea--
The Camel's Grave--The Crows of Moorahd--A delicious
Draught--Rocks of the Desert--The perished Regiment--Arrival at
the Nile--Distance from Korosko--Gazelles of the Desert--Dryness
of the Atmosphere--Arrival at Berber--Halleem Effendi's
Garden--Halleem gives Advice--The Nile rising--Visit of the
Ladies--The Pillars of Sand--The Governor's Friendship--Save me
from my Friends.


CHAPTER II.

The Cairo Dragoman Mahomet--Mahomet forsakes his Pistols--The
Route to the Atbara--The Dry Bed of the River--The Dome
Palm--Preparation of the Fruit--Pools of the Atbara--Collection
of Birds--Charms of the Desert--Suffering of Men and
Beasts--Collodabad--Hippopotamus kills the Arab--Daring Feat of
the Fish-Eagle--Hippopotamus-shooting--Hippopotami
bagged--Delight of the Arabs--Fishing--Catch a Tartar--Lose my
Turtle Soup--Gazelle-shooting--The Speed of the Gazelle--
Preparation of Water-skins--Tanning the Hides--Shoot a
Crocodile--The River comes down--The mighty Stream of the
Atbara--Change in the Season.


CHAPTER III.

WILD ASSES OF THE DESERT.

My First and Last--Appetite for raw Meat--The Bishareen Arabs--
Gozerajup--The First Rain--Limits of the Desert--The Hadendowa
Arabs--The Wells of Soojalup--Antelopes--Antelope Stalking--Arab
Migrations--The Arab's Prayer--The Barren Women--Difficulty in
fording the River Gash--Arrive at Cassala--Hospitality of the
Greek Merchant.


CHAPTER IV.

ROUTE FROM CASSALA TO SOUAKIM.

Facilities of the Port of Souakim--Fortifications of
Cassala--Conquest of Nubia--Cruel Taxation--Extreme Cheapness of
Corn--Cultivation of Cereals--Arab Bread--Military Position of
Cassala--The Base--Prepare to start from Cassala--Mahomet's
Family Tree--Mahomet meets Relations--We cross the
Gash--Stalking the Ariel--Bagged the Game--Descent of
Vultures--Change of Scenery--The Source of the Delta--The Parent
of Egypt.


CHAPTER V.

THE STORM.

Cotton Farm of Malem Georgis--Ferocious Crocodiles--Shoot a
Monster--The Public Enemy--Resistance of a Crocodile's
Scales--Discover Gold--Heavy Action of the Camel--El Baggar
selects a Hygeen--The Easy-goer, suitable for a Lady--Hooked
Thorns of the Mimosa--We charge a Kittar Bush--The Scorpion's
Sting--Sudden Deluge--A Regiment of Scorpions--Valley of the
Atbara--The Migration of Camels--A Milk Diet--The Arab
Exodus--The Desert Patriarch.


CHAPTER VI.

SHEIK ACHMET ABOU SINN.

The Arab Welcome--Abou Sinn's Advice--Arab Tribes of Nubia--A
Hint to Octogenarians--The Arab Pomade--The Arab Lady's
Perfumery--The fatal Mixture--The Coiffure of the World--The Arab
Woman's Head-dress--"The Dust became Lice through all Egypt"--The
Arab Charms--The Rahat or Arab Kilt--Arab Weddings--No Divorce
Court--Anointing with Oil--Nomadic Habits of the
Arabs--Unchanging Customs of the Arabs--The Hand of God--Religion
of the Arabs.


CHAPTER VII.

THE DEPARTURE.

First-class Hygeens--Travelling Arrangements--The Evening
Bivouac--The Junction of the Settite River--Sheik Atalan Wat
Said--Abyssinian Frontier--Ismael Pasha burnt alive--Mek
Nimmur--The Enemy of Egypt--Arrival at Sofi--The
Reception--Position of Sofi--Florian, the German Settler--The
Cattle Fly--Peculiarities of the Seasons--The New Camp--I become
a Householder--Arrangement of our Establishment--My "Baby"--An
African Elysium--No Pipe!--The Elements at Work.


CHAPTER VIII.

THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT.

Go into Half Mourning--"Child of the Fever"--The Arab M.D.--Arab
Fondness for Relics--The Pest Spots of the World--The Dangers of
Holy Shrines--Arrival of the Holy Body--The Faky's Grave--Arab
Doctoring--Delights of Arab Surgery--The Pig and the
Koran--Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs--The Arab Shields--Hints
for carrying the Sword--Keenness of the Edge--Arab
Swordsmanship--The Aggageers--Elephant-hunting with the
Sword--Arab disabled by his own Sword--Maria Theresa--Great
Failure--The Baboons and the Crocodile--The drowned
Elephant--Game on the East Bank--Capabilities of the
Soil--Tanning of Leather--Native Baskets and Matting--Bacheet is
too attentive--"Oh Bacheet! you Ignoramus!"--Ferocity of the
Seroot Fly--Cross the Atbara--The Impromptu Raft--Stalking
Giraffes--Within Range--The First Rush of the Herd--The Retreat
of the Giraffes--Death of the Giraffes--Passage of the River--
The Giraffe Sentry--A difficult Stalk--The Seroot Fly takes
possession--Giraffe Steaks--A Hunt for the Tetel--Floating Meat
across a River--Buoy for Men and Cargo--Scare the
Crocodiles--The Lions devour the Giraffe--Arab Music--Arrange to
cross the River.


CHAPTER IX.

FORM A RAFT WITH THE SPONGING BATH.

The Impromptu Ferry--Achmet is tempted by Satan--Mahomet's
Relative absconds--End of the Rainy Season--The Seroot Fly
disappears--The "Till"--Preparations for Fishing--"That was a
Monster!"--The "Bayard"--Masara the Slave--Cross the Peninsula to
Settite--Jungle Cooking--A miserable Night--Shoot badly--Fishing
in the Atbara--A good Run--Another Monster--Bacheet lands
him--The Baboons visit us--The Coor--Wild Vegetables--Death of
Atalan Wat Said--Catch a Baggar--Fish-salting--The Arbour.


CHAPTER X.

A FEW NOTES AT EHETILLA.

Fire the Valley--Arrival of Birds--Seized by a
Crocodile--Audacity of the Buzzard--The Abomination of
Thorns--Boa Constrictor--The Baboons hunt for Berries--Masses of
small Birds--Cunning of the Crocodile--Method of seizing its
Prey--Horse-dealing--Arab Saddles and Bits--Arrive at Sherif el
Ibrahim--Arrival at the Settite--Recall of Mahomet--Sheik Achmet
Wat el Negur--Mansfield Parkyns--Advantages of a "Sweet Name"--
Elephants destroy the Crops--An Invitation to shoot--The Hippo
challenges Bacheet--A good Shot--A Rush at the Carcase--Elephants
at Night--Kill an Elephant.


CHAPTER XI.

THE FORD.

Girls carried away by the Rapids--An amphibious Arab Girl--Search
for the drowned Girl--The Corpse recovered--The Sheik lays down
the Law--"The Fact is simply impossible"--The Sheik's Idea of
Matrimony--The Duties of his Four Wives--The Maimed, the Halt,
and the Blind--The Arab Fakeers or Priests--"All the Same with a
little Difference"--The Cure for Frendeet--Arrival at
Katariff--The Market Day--Scenes at the Fair--Custom of
scarifying the Cheeks--The Galla Slave--Purchase her Freedom
--Singular Misunderstanding--Mahomet's Explanation--Mek Nimmur
invades the Frontier--Mek Nimmur's Tactics--Insecurity of the
Country--Mek Nimmur sends me his Compliments--Roder Sheriff's
withered Arm--The Aggageers--Mixture for Bullets--We make
Arrowroot--Florian's Hunter--Arrive at Geera--Follow a Herd of
Elephants--Track up the Elephants--A tremendous Crash--A
critical Position--The Forehead Shot--The Half-pound Explosive
Shell--Recover my old wounded Elephant--Fraternize with the
Sword Hunters.


CHAPTER XII.

OLD NEPTUNE JOINS THE PARTY.

The Arab Centaurs--Wild Arab Horsemanship--Discipline of the
Gun-bearers--Off goes the Gun, and its Master!--Ombrega (Mother
of the Thorn)--Leopard Springs into the Camp--The Dog carried
off--The Bull Elephant--The Forehead Shot fails--The Mountain
Chain of Abyssinia--A Hunt after a Herd of Baboons--The
Prisoners--A Course after a Tetel--The Cry of Buffaloes--We hunt
and capture--The Baboons take leave--The Valley of the
Settite--The Bull Buffalo--The Island Camp--Mahomet hears the
Lions--Tales of the Base.


CHAPTER XIII.

THE LIONS FIND THE BUFFALO.

We seek an Introduction--The Start of the Sword Hunters--The Bull
Elephant--The "Baby" screams at him--The Fight, Sword in
Hand--Abou Do's Blade tastes Blood--We find the Herd--Jali leads
the Party--The Forehead Shot fairly proved--The Charge of the
Phalanx--My "Baby" kicks viciously--Abou Do slashes the
Sinew--The Boar wounds Richarn--Old Moosa, the Sorcerer--Neptune
and his Trident--The Beauty of the Settite--Borders of the
River--The Hippopotamus Hunter--The Hippo is harpooned--A Cheer
for Old Neptune--Death of the Hippopotamus--Character of
Hippopotami--Habits of the Hippopotamus--Its Activity.


CHAPTER XIV.

A FOREBODING OF EVIL.

Jali's Thigh is broken--Abou Do saves Jali--Extraordinary
Dexterity--Jungle Surgery--We lose our best Man--My Tokrooris
determine to desert--A little Diplomacy is required--The Sick are
dosed--"Embrace him!" cried old Moosa--We become staunch
Friends--Abou Do's Weaknesses--The Baobab--The Crop of Gum
Arabic--The Rhinoceros--Now for a "Tally Ho!"--The Hunt--Close to
their Tails--"A Horse! a Horse! my Kingdom for a Horse!"--The
last Moment--Difficulty of Hunting--Power of Scent--Horns of the
Rhinoceros--Peculiarity of the Rhinoceros--Rhinoceros Snare--
Barrake poisons herself--Attractive Food for Elephants--Florian
killed by a Lion--Gloomy Prediction.


CHAPTER XV.

ANTELOPES ON THE SETTITE.

The Camp at Delladila--Trionis Nilotica--Fish linked to
Reptiles--Scenes on the River's Margin--The Nellut (A.
Strepsiceros)--Swimming Rivers with a Horse--The Lion--The Lion
Hunt--The Escape--The Bull Buffalo--Death of the Bull--The
Arabs' Tit-bit--The Arab Plan for making Fire--The Mehedehet
Antelope--Sauve qui peut!--Nearly caught--Fire clears the
Country--Discretion the better Part of Valour--The Camp in
Danger--Nearly burnt out--Crocodile harpooning--The ugly little
Statue--Harpooning the Hippopotamus--The Harpoon fixed--The Hippo
determines to fight--The Lances are blunted--Hor
Mehetape--Geological Features--Unpleasant Report of the Spies.


CHAPTER XVI.

ABOU DO IS GREEDY.

Departure of the Aggageers--Game returning from the River--A Bull
Rhinoceros--We stalk the Rhinoceros--The Death--The Aggageers
poach upon my Manor--Their Prize dies--Taher Noor faces the
Lion--We start fresh Game--A curious Shot--Bait for the
Lions--Highly exciting--My Tokrooris don't like the Lion--The
dying Lioness--Brought into Camp--Difficulty in tracking the
Lions--The Lion visits our Camp--Vis a vis with a Lion--A
Surprise--Tetel faces the wounded Lion--Wonderful Courage of the
Horse--Lions' Claws worn as a Charm--We commence Soap-boiling--
Savon a la Bete feroce--We bury poor Barrake.


CHAPTER XVII.

WE REACH THE ROYAN.

Hor Mai Gubba--The Francolin Partridge--We watch for Game--Out
with the Aggageers--The Banks of the Royan--We find a Bull
Elephant--Helter- skelter--The Elephant at Bay--Roder with the
withered Arm--The Sword wins the Day--The nimble Base dine
cheaply--The great Whirlpool--The Royan Junction with the
Settite--A Bull Rhinoceros--Bacheet has to run--Visit to Mek
Nimmur--Our Arabs decline to proceed--Obliged to threaten the
Camels--The Troop on a Foray--Narrow Escape--The Rifle bursts--We
march from the Settite--Interesting Route--Mineral Wealth of
Abyssinia--Present to Mek Nimmur--The Abyssinian
Minstrel--Richard Coeur de Lion--I part with my dear Maria
Theresa--The Ghost of the departed Fiddler--The "Lay of the Last
Minstrel"--My Introduction to Mek Nimmur--The Reception--The
poisonous Stream--Unfortunate Contretemps--Nimmur behaves like a
Gentleman--Pharaoh's lean Kine.


CHAPTER XVIII.

A CAMEL FALLS, AND DIES.

Arabs consume the Raw Flesh--Arrival at the Bahr
Salaam--Character of the Torrents--The Junction of the
Angrab--Good Sport--Four lucky Hits--A Fall over a Cliff--We
save the Camel--Narrow Escape--The Hyaena enters the
Tent--Hippotragus Bakerii--The Base of the Abyssinian Alps--
Delightful Country--Follow a Herd of Elephants--Aggahr takes the
Lead--Fall at the Feet of Elephants--Benighted on our Return to
Camp--"All's well that ends well".


CHAPTER XIX.

SEND A PARTY TO RECONNOITRE.

Ahead of the Camels--The Maarif--View from the Peak--The
Rhinoceros attacks the Horse--The Bullet saves him--Arrival of
the Horses--The Rhinoceros Hunt--Ridden to bay--Arrival of Birds
of Prey--Habits of Vultures--The Marabou Stork--Sight, not Scent,
directs the Vulture--Abou Seen--"Last but not least"--Route to
Nahoot Guddabi--Arrive at the Atbara--Last View of the
Atbara--The Atbara Exploration completed.


CHAPTER XX.

ARRIVAL AT METEMMA, OR GALLABAT.

Poisonous Water--The Trade of Abyssinia--We encounter
Missionaries--The theological Blacksmith--The Missionaries'
Medicine-Chest--Jemma, Sheik of the Tokrooris--The Egyptians'
attack upon Gallabat--Settlement of the Tokrooris--Industry of
the Tokrooris--Weapons, Type, and Character--The Colonization by
Tokrooris--Honey Wine of Abyssinia--All drunk last
Night--Distance from an Act of Parliament--We leave Gallabat--A
Row with the Tokrooris--I settle the Tokroori Champion--A real
flat-nosed African Nigger--Death of Aggahr and Gazelle--Forced
March to the Rahad--The River Rahad.


CHAPTER XXI.

FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRY ON THE BANKS OF THE RAHAD.

Journey along the Rahad--Rich Country--We cross over to the
Dinder--Ferocity of Crocodiles in that River--Character of the
Dinder--Activity of the African Elephant--Distinction of
Species--Peculiarity of Form--African and Indian
Elephants--Destruction of Forests--Elephant's Foot a
Luxury--Preservation of Flesh and Fat for the March--Preparation
of Bread for a Journey--The Bos Caffer--The most formidable
Animals--Rifles for wild Countries--Sundry Hints--Bullets for
large Game--Antelopes of Central Africa and Abyssinia.


CHAPTER XXII.

WE LEAVE THE DINDER.

Curious Hunting Party--Character of Abyssinian Rivers--Borassus
AEthiopicus--Rufaar and the Arab Sheik--The Blue Nile--The very
gentlemanly Faky--Regularly "sold"--Arrival at Khartoum--The
British Lion--The Zoological Collection--The Ostriches invite
themselves to Tea--I intercede for Mek Nimmur--King Theodore's
Ultimatum--Climate of the Soudan--The Sageer or
Water-wheel--Uncontrolled Action of the Nile--Suggestions for the
Irrigation of Egypt--Why should not Science create a Delta?--A
Series of Weirs upon the Nile--The Benefits to Egypt and to
Civilization--Ancient Works of Irrigation in Ceylon--Industrious
Population of Egypt--Capabilities for producing Cotton--The Great
Sahara--The Race of Life--Prepare to discover the White Nile
Source.




THE NILE TRIBUTARIES OF ABYSSINIA, AND THE
SWORD HUNTERS OF THE HAMRAN ARABS.


CHAPTER I.

ABOVE THE CATARACT.

WITHOUT troubling the public with a description of that portion
of the Nile to the north of the first cataract, or with a
detailed account of the Egyptian ruins, that have been visited by
a thousand tourists, I will commence by a few extracts from my
journal, written at the close of the boat voyage from Cairo :--

"May 8, 1861.--No air. The thermometer 104 degrees Fahr.; a
stifling heat. Becalmed, we have been lying the entire day below
the ruins of Philae. These are the most imposing monuments of the
Nile, owing to their peculiar situation upon a rocky island that
commands the passage of the river above the cataract. The banks
of the stream are here hemmed in by ranges of hills from 100 to
250 feet high; these are entirely destitute of soil, being
composed of enormous masses of red granite, piled block upon
block, the rude masonry of Nature that has walled in the river.
The hollows between the hills are choked with a yellow sand,
which, drifted by the wind, has, in many instances, completely
filled the narrow valleys. Upon either side of the Nile are
vestiges of ancient forts. The land appears as though it bore the
curse of Heaven; misery, barrenness, and the heat of a furnace
are its features. The glowing rocks, devoid of a trace of
vegetation, reflect the sun with an intensity that must be felt
to be understood. The miserable people who dwell in villages upon
the river's banks snatch every sandbank from the retiring stream,
and immediately plant their scanty garden with melons, gourds,
lentils, &c. this being their only resource for cultivation. Not
an inch of available soil is lost; but day by day, as the river
decreases, fresh rows of vegetables are sown upon the
newly-acquired land. At Assouan, the sandbanks are purely sand
brought down by the cataracts, therefore soil must be added to
enable the people to cultivate. They dig earth from the ruins of
the ancient town; this they boat across the river and spread upon
the sandbank, by which excessive labour they secure sufficient
mould to support their crops.

In the vicinity of Philae the very barrenness of the scenery
possesses a charm. The iron-like sterility of the granite rocks,
naked except in spots where the wind has sheeted them with sand;
the groves of palms springing unexpectedly into view in this
desert wilderness, as a sudden bend of the river discovers a
village; the ever blue and never clouded sky above, and, the only
blessing of this blighted land, the Nile, silently flowing
between its stern walls of rocks towards the distant land of
Lower Egypt, form a total that produces a scene to be met with
nowhere but upon the Nile. In this miserable spot the unfortunate
inhabitants are taxed equally with those of the richer
districts--about fivepence annually for each date palm.

"May 9.--A good breeze, but tremendous heat. Although the floor
and the curtains of the cabin are continually wetted, and the
Venetian blinds are closed, the thermometer, at 4 P.M., stood at
105 degrees in the shade; and upon deck, 137 degrees in the sun.
This day we passed the ruins of several small temples. The
country is generally rocky, with intervals of ten or twelve miles
of desert plains.

"May 10.--Fine breeze, the boat sailing well. Passed several
small temples. The henna grows in considerable quantities on the
left bank of the river. The leaf resembles that of the myrtle;
the blossom has a powerful fragrance; it grows like a feather,
about eighteen inches long, forming a cluster of small yellow
flowers. The day pleasantly cool; thermometer, 95 degrees.

"May 11.--At 5 A.M. we arrived at Korosko; lat. 22 degrees 50
minutes N.; the halting-place for all vessels from Lower Egypt
with merchandise for the Soudan."

At this wretched spot the Nile is dreary beyond description, as
a vast desert, unenlivened by cultivation, forms its borders,
through which the melancholy river rolls towards Lower Egypt in
the cloudless glare of a tropical sun. From whence came this
extraordinary stream that could flow through these burning sandy
deserts, unaided by tributary channels? That was the mysterious
question as we stepped upon the shore now, to commence our land
journey in search of the distant sources. We climbed the steep
sandy bank, and sat down beneath a solitary sycamore.

We had been twenty-six days sailing from Cairo to this point. The
boat returned, and left us on the east bank of the Nile, with the
great Nubian desert before us.

Korosko is not rich in supplies. A few miserable Arab huts, with
the usual fringe of dusty date palms, compose the village; the
muddy river is the frontier on the west, the burning desert on
the east. Thus hemmed in, Korosko is a narrow strip of a few
yards' width on the margin of the Nile, with only one redeeming
feature in its wretchedness--the green shade of the old sycamore
beneath which we sat.

I had a firman from the Viceroy, a cook, and a dragoman. Thus my
impedimenta were not numerous. The firman was an order to all
Egyptian officials for assistance; the cook was dirty and
incapable; and the interpreter was nearly ignorant of English,
although a professed polyglot. With this small beginning, Africa
was before me, and thus I commenced the search for the Nile
sources. Absurd as this may appear, it was a correct
commencement. Ignorant of Arabic, I could not have commanded a
large party, who would have been at the mercy of the interpreter
or dragoman; thus, the first qualification necessary to success
was a knowledge of the language.

After a delay of some days, I obtained sixteen camels from the
sheik. I had taken the precaution to provide water-barrels, in
addition to the usual goat-skins; and, with a trustworthy guide,
we quitted Korosko on the 16th May, 1861, and launched into the
desert.

The route from Korosko across the Nubian desert cuts off the
chord of an arc made by the great westerly bend of the Nile. This
chord is about 230 miles in length. Throughout this barren desert
there is no water, except at the half-way station, Moorahd (from
moorra, bitter); this, although salt and bitter, is relished by
camels. During the hot season in which we unfortunately
travelled, the heat was intense, the thermometer ranging from 106
degrees to 114 degrees Fahr. in the shade. The parching blast of
the simoom was of such exhausting power, that the water rapidly
evaporated from the closed water-skins. It was, therefore,
necessary to save the supply by a forced march of seven days, in
which period we were to accomplish the distance, and to reach
Abou Hammed, on the southern bend of the welcome Nile.

During the cool months, from November until February, the desert
journey is not disagreeable; but the vast area of glowing sand
exposed to the scorching sun of summer, in addition to the
withering breath of the simoom, renders the forced march of 230
miles in seven days, at two and a half miles per hour, the most
fatiguing journey that can be endured.

Farewell to the Nile! We turned our backs upon the life-giving
river, and our caravan commenced the silent desert march.

A few hours from Korosko the misery of the scene surpassed
description. Glowing like a furnace, the vast extent of yellow
sand stretched to the horizon. Rows of broken hills, all of
volcanic origin, broke the flat plain. Conical tumuli of volcanic
slag here and there rose to the height of several hundred feet,
and in the far distance resembled the Pyramids of Lower
Egypt--doubtless they were the models for that ancient and
everlasting architecture; hills of black basalt jutted out from
the barren base of sand, and the molten air quivered on the
overheated surface of the fearful desert. 114 degrees Fahr. in
the shade under the water-skins; 137 degrees in the sun.
Noiselessly the spongy tread of the camels crept along the
sand--the only sound was the rattle of some loosely secured
baggage of their packs. The Arab camel-drivers followed silently
at intervals, and hour by hour we struck deeper into the solitude
of the Nubian desert.

We entered a dead level plain of orange-coloured sand, surrounded
by pyramidical hills: the surface was strewn with objects
resembling cannon shot and grape of all sizes from a 32-pounder
downwards--the spot looked like the old battle-field of some
infernal region; rocks glowing with heat--not a vestige of
vegetation--barren, withering desolation.--The slow rocking step
of the camels was most irksome, and despite the heat, I
dismounted to examine the Satanic bombs and cannon shot. Many of
them were as perfectly round as though cast in a mould, others
were egg-shaped, and all were hollow. With some difficulty I
broke them, and found them to contain a bright red sand: they
were, in fact, volcanic bombs that had been formed by the
ejection of molten lava to a great height from active volcanoes;
these had become globular in falling, and, having cooled before
they reached the earth, they retained their forms as hard
spherical bodies, precisely resembling cannon shot. The exterior
was brown, and appeared to be rich in iron. The smaller specimens
were the more perfect spheres, as they cooled quickly, but many
of the heavier masses had evidently reached the earth when only
half solidified, and had collapsed upon falling. The sandy plain
was covered with such vestiges of volcanic action, and the
infernal bombs lay as imperishable relics of a hail-storm such as
may have destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Passing through this wretched solitude we entered upon a scene of
surpassing desolation. Far as the eye could reach were waves like
a stormy sea, grey, cold-looking waves in the burning heat; but
no drop of water: it appeared as though a sudden curse had turned
a raging sea to stone. The simoom blew over this horrible
wilderness, and drifted the hot sand into the crevices of the
rocks, and the camels drooped their heads before the suffocating
wind; but still the caravan noiselessly crept along over the
rocky undulations, until the stormy sea was passed: once more we
were upon a boundless plain of sand and pebbles.

Here every now and then we discovered withered melons (Cucumis
colocynthis); the leaves had long since disappeared, and the
shrivelled stalks were brittle as glass. They proved that even
the desert had a season of life, however short; but the desert
fruits were bitter. So intensely bitter was the dry white
interior of these melons, that it exactly resembled quinine in
taste; when rubbed between the fingers, it became a fine white
powder. The Arabs use this medicinally; a small piece placed in
a cup of milk, and allowed to stand for a few hours, renders the
draught a strong aperient. The sun--that relentless persecutor of
the desert traveller--sank behind the western hills, and the long
wished for night arrived; cool, delicious night! the thermometer
78 degrees Fahr. a difference of 36 degrees between the shade of
day.

The guide commanded the caravan,--he was the desert pilot, and no
one dared question his directions; he ordered a halt for TWO
HOURS' rest. This was the usual stage and halting-place by the
side of a perpendicular rock, the base of which was strewn thick
with camel's dung; this excellent fuel soon produced a blazing
fire, the coffee began to boil, and fowls were roasting for a
hasty dinner. A short snatch of sleep upon the sand, and the
voice of the guide again disturbed us. The camels had not been
unloaded, but had lain down to rest with their packs, and had
thus eaten their feed of dhurra (Sorghum vulgare) from a mat. In
a few minutes we started, once more the silent and monotonous
desert march.

In the cool night I preferred walking to the uneasy motion of the
camel; the air was most invigorating after the intense heat of
the day and the prostration caused by the simoom. The desert had
a charm by night, as the horizon of its nakedness was limited;
the rocks assumed fantastic shapes in the bright moonlight, and
the profound stillness produced an effect of the supernatural in
that wild and mysterious solitude; the Arab belief in the genii
and afreet, and all the demon enemies of man, was a natural
consequence of a wandering life in this desert wilderness, where
nature is hostile to all living beings.

In forty-six hours and forty-five minutes' actual marching from
Korosko we reached Moorahd, "the bitter well."

This is a mournful spot, well known to the tired and thirsty
camel, the hope of reaching which has urged him fainting on his
weary way to drink one draught before he dies: this is the
camel's grave. Situated half way between Korosko and Abou Hammed,
the well of Moorahd is in an extinct crater, surrounded upon all
sides but one by precipitous cliffs about 300 feet high. The
bottom is a dead flat, and forms a valley of sand about 250 yards
wide. In this bosom of a crater, salt and bitter water is found
at a depth of only six feet from the surface. To this our tired
camels frantically rushed upon being unloaded.

The valley was a "valley of dry bones." Innumerable skeletons of
camels lay in all directions; the ships of the desert thus
stranded on their voyage. Withered heaps of parched skin and bone
lay here and there, in the distinct forms in which the camels had
gasped their last; the dry desert air had converted the hide into
a coffin. There were no flies here, thus there were no worms to
devour the carcases; but the usual sextons were the crows,
although sometimes too few to perform their office. These were
perched upon the overhanging cliffs; but no sooner had our
overworked camels taken their long draught and lain down
exhausted on the sand, than by common consent they descended from
their high places, and walked round and round each tired beast.

As many wretched animals simply crawl to this spot to die, the
crows, from long experience and constant practice, can form a
pretty correct diagnosis upon the case of a sick camel; they had
evidently paid a professional visit to my caravan, and were
especially attentive in studying the case of one particular camel
that was in a very weakly condition and had stretched itself full
length upon the sand; nor would they leave it until it was driven
forward.

The heat of Moorahd was terrific; there was no shade of any kind,
and the narrow valley surrounded by glowing rocks formed a
natural oven. The intense dryness of the overheated atmosphere
was such, that many of our water-skins that appeared full were
nearly empty; the precious supply had evaporated through the
porous leather, and the skins were simply distended by the
expanded air within. Fortunately I had taken about 108 gallons
from Korosko, and I possessed a grand reserve in my two barrels
which could not waste; these were invaluable as a resource when
the supply in the skins should be exhausted. My Arab camel-men
were supposed to be provided with their own private supply; but,
as they had calculated upon stealing from my stock, in which they
were disappointed, they were on exceedingly short allowance, and
were suffering much from thirst. During our forced march of three
days and a half it had been impossible to perform the usual
toilette, therefore, as water was life, washing had been out of
the question. Moorahd had been looked forward to as the spot of
six hours' rest, where we could indulge in the luxury of a bath
on a limited scale after the heat and fatigue of the journey.
Accordingly, about two quarts of water were measured into a large
Turkish copper basin; the tent, although the heat was
unendurable, was the only dressing-room, and the two quarts of
water, with a due proportion of soap, having washed two people,
was about to be thrown away, when the Arab guide, who had been
waiting his opportunity, snatched the basin from the servant, and
in the agony of thirst drank nearly the whole of its contents,
handing the residue to a brother Arab, with the hearty
ejaculation, "El hambd el Illah!" (Thank God!)

My wife was seriously ill from the fatigue and intense heat, but
there can be no halt in the desert; dead or alive, with the
caravan you must travel, as the party depends upon the supply of
water. A few extracts verbatim from my journal will describe the
journey:--

"May 2O.--Started at 12.30 P.M. and halted at 6.30. Off again at
7.30 P.M. till 2.45 A.M. About four miles from Moorahd, grey
granite takes the place of the volcanic slag and schist that
formed the rocks to that point. The desert is now a vast plain,
bounded by a range of rugged hills on the south. On the north
side of Moorahd, at a distance of above eight miles, slate is met
with; this continues for about three miles of the route, but it
is of impure quality, with the exception of one vein, of a
beautiful blue colour. A few miserable stunted thorny mimosas are
here to be seen scattered irregularly, as though lost in this
horrible desert."

Many years ago, when the Egyptian troops first conquered Nubia,
a regiment was destroyed by thirst in crossing this desert. The
men, being upon a limited allowance of water, suffered from
extreme thirst, and deceived by the appearance of a mirage that
exactly resembled a beautiful lake, they insisted on being taken
to its banks by the Arab guide. It was in vain that the guide
assured them that the lake was unreal, and he refused to lose the
precious time by wandering from his course. Words led to blows,
and he was killed by the soldiers, whose lives depended upon his
guidance. The whole regiment turned from the track and rushed
towards the welcome waters. Thirsty and faint, over the burning
sands they hurried; heavier and heavier their footsteps
became--hotter and hotter their breath, as deeper they pushed
into the desert--farther and farther from the lost track where
the pilot lay in his blood; and still the mocking spirits of the
desert, the afreets of the mirage, led them on, and the lake
glistening in the sunshine tempted them to bathe in its cool
waters, close to their eyes, but never at their lips. At length
the delusion vanished--the fatal lake had turned to burning sand!
Raging thirst and horrible despair! the pathless desert and the
murdered guide! lost! lost! all lost! Not a man ever left the
desert, but they were subsequently discovered, parched and
withered corpses, by the Arabs sent upon the search.

"May 21.--Started at 5.45 A.M. till 8.45; again, at 1.45 P.M.
till 7 P.M.; again, at 9.30 P.M. till 4 A.M. Saw two gazelles,
the first living creatures, except the crows at Moorahd, that we
have seen since we left Korosko; there must be a supply of water
in the mountains known only to these animals. Thermometer, 111
degrees Fahr. in the shade; at night, 78 degrees. The water in
the leather bottle that I repaired is deliciously cool. N.B.--In
sewing leather bottles or skins for holding water, no thread
should be used, but a leathern thong, which should be dry; it
will then swell when wetted, and the seam will be watertight.

"May 22.--Started at 5.30 A.M. till 9.30; again, at 2.15 P.M.
till 7.15 P.M. Rested to dine, and started again at 8.30 P.M.
till 4.25 A.M.; reaching Abou Hammed, thank heaven!

"Yesterday evening we passed through a second chain of rugged
hills of grey granite, about 600 feet high, and descended through
a pass to an extensive plain, in which rose abruptly, like huge
pyramids, four granite hills, at great distances apart. So
exactly do they resemble artificial pyramids at a distance, that
it is difficult to believe they are natural objects. I feel
persuaded that the ancient Egyptians took their designs for
monuments and buildings from the hills themselves, and raised in
the plains of Lower Egypt artificial pyramids in imitation of the
granite hills of this form. Their temples were in form like many
of the granite ranges, and were thoroughly encased with stone.
The extraordinary massiveness of these works suggests that Nature
assisted the design; the stone columns are imitations of the date
palms, and the buildings are copies of the rocky hills--the two
common features of Egyptian scenery.

"Throughout the route from Korosko, the skeletons of camels
number about eight per mile, with the exception of the last march
on either side of the watering-place Moorahd, on which there are
double that number, as the animals have become exhausted as they
approach the well. In the steep pass through the hills, where the
heat is intense, and the sand deep, the mortality is dreadful; in
some places I counted six and eight in a heap; and this difficult
portion of the route is a mass of bones, as every weak animal
gives in at the trying place.

"So dreadful a desert is this between Korosko and Abou Hammed,
that Said Pasha ordered the route to be closed; but it was
re-opened upon the application of foreign consuls, as the most
direct road to the Soudan. Our Bishareen Arabs are first-rate
walkers, as they have performed the entire journey on foot. Their
water and provisions were all exhausted yesterday, but
fortunately I had guarded the key of my two water-casks; thus I
had a supply when every water-skin was empty, and on the last day
I divided my sacred stock amongst the men, and the still more
thirsty camels. In the hot months, a camel cannot march longer
than three days without drinking, unless at the cost of great
suffering.

"Having arrived here (Abou Hammed) at 4.25 this morning, 23d May,
I had the luxury of a bath. The very sight of the Nile was
delightful, after the parched desolation of the last seven days.
The small village is utterly destitute of everything, and the
sterile desert extends to the very margin of the Nile. The
journey having occupied ninety-two hours of actual marching
across the desert, gives 230 miles as the distance from Korosko,
at the loaded-camel rate of two and a half miles per hour. The
average duration of daily march has been upwards of thirteen
hours, including a day's halt at Moorahd. My camels have arrived
in tolerable condition, as their loads did not exceed 400 lbs.
each; the usual load is 500 lbs.

"May 24.--Rested both men and beasts. A caravan of about thirty
camels arrived, having lost three during the route.

"May 25.--Started at 5 A.M. The route is along the margin of the
Nile, to which the desert extends. A fringe of stunted bushes,
and groves of the coarse and inelegant dome palm, mark the banks
of the river by a thicket of about half a mile in width. I saw
many gazelles, and succeeded in stalking a fine buck, and killing
him with a rifle.

"May 26.--Marched ten hours. Saw gazelles, but so wild that it
was impossible to shoot. Thermometer 110 degrees Fahr.

"May 27.--Marched four hours and forty-five minutes, when we were
obliged to halt, as F. is very ill. In the evening I shot two
gazelles, which kept the party in meat.

"May 28.--Marched fifteen hours, to make up for the delay of
yesterday. Shot a buck on the route.

"May 29.--The march of yesterday cut off an angle of the river,
and we made a straight course through the desert, avoiding a bend
of the stream. At 7.30 this morning we met the Nile again; the
same character of country as before, the river full of rocks, and
forming a succession of rapids the entire distance from Abou
Hammed. Navigation at this season is impossible, and is most
dangerous even at flood-time. The simoom is fearful, and the heat
is so intense that it was impossible to draw the gun-cases out of
their leather covers, which it was necessary to cut open. All
woodwork is warped; ivory knife-handles are split; paper breaks
when crunched in the hand, and the very marrow seems to be dried
out of the bones by this horrible simoom. One of our camels fell
down to die. Shot two buck gazelles; I saw many, but they are
very wild.

"May 3O.--The extreme dryness of the air induces an extraordinary
amount of electricity in the hair, and in all woollen materials.
A Scotch plaid laid upon a blanket for a few hours adheres to it,
and upon being roughly withdrawn at night a sheet of flame is
produced, accompanied by tolerably loud reports.

"May 31.--After an early march of three hours and twenty minutes,
we arrived at the town of Berber, on the Nile, at 9.35 A.M. We
have been fifty-seven hours and five minutes actually marching
from Abou Hammed, which, at two and a half miles per hour, equals
143 miles. We have thus marched 373 miles from Korosko to Berber
in fifteen days; the entire route is the monotonous Nubian
desert. Our camels have averaged twenty-five miles per day, with
loads of 400 lbs. at a cost of ninety piastres (about 19s.) each,
for the whole distance. This rate, with the addition of the
guide's expenses, equals about 5s. 6d. per 100 lbs. for carriage
throughout 373 miles of burning desert. Although this frightful
country appears to be cut off from all communication with the
world, the extremely low rate of transport charges affords great
facility for commerce."*

  * Since that date, 31st May, 1861, the epidemic or cattle
    plague carried off an immense number of camels, and the
    charges of transport rose in 1864 and 1865 to a rate that
    completely paralysed the trade of Upper Egypt.

Berber is a large town, and in appearance is similar to the Nile
towns of Lower Egypt, consisting of the usual dusty, unpaved
streets, and flat-roofed houses of sun-baked bricks. It is the
seat of a Governor, or Mudir, and is generally the quarters for
about 1,500 troops. We were very kindly received by Halleem
Effendi, the ex-Governor, who at once gave us permission to pitch
the tents in his garden, close to the Nile, on the southern
outskirt of the town. After fifteen days of desert marching, the
sight of a well-cultivated garden was an Eden in our eyes. About
eight acres of land, on the margin of the river, were thickly
planted with lofty date groves, and shady citron and lemon trees,
beneath which we revelled in luxury on our Persian rugs, and
enjoyed complete rest after the fatigue of our long journey.
Countless birds were chirping and singing in the trees above us;
innumerable ring-doves were cooing in the shady palms; and the
sudden change from the dead sterility of the desert to the scene
of verdure and of life, produced an extraordinary effect upon the
spirits. What caused this curious transition? Why should this
charming oasis, teeming with vegetation and with life, be found
in the yellow, sandy desert? . . . Water had worked this change;
the spirit of the Nile, more potent than any genii of the Arabian
fables, had transformed the desert into a fruitful garden.
Halleem Effendi, the former Governor, had, many years ago,
planted this garden, irrigated by numerous water-wheels; and we
now enjoyed the fruits, and thanked Heaven for its greatest
blessings in that burning land, shade and cool water.

The tents were soon arranged, the camels were paid for and
discharged, and in the cool of the evening we were visited by the
Governor and suite.

The firman having been officially presented by the dragoman upon
our arrival in the morning, the Governor had called with much
civility to inquire into our projects and to offer assistance. We
were shortly seated on carpets outside the tent, and after pipes
and coffee, and the usual preliminary compliments, my dragoman
explained, that the main object of our journey was to search for
the sources of the Nile, or, as he described it, "the head of the
river."

Both the Governor and Halleem Effendi, with many officers who had
accompanied them, were Turks; but, in spite of the gravity and
solidity for which the Turk is renowned, their faces relaxed into
a variety of expressions at this (to them) absurd announcement.
"The head of the Nile!" they exclaimed, "impossible!" "Do they
know where it is?" inquired the Governor, of the dragoman; and
upon an explanation being given, that, as we did not know where
it was, we had proposed to discover it, the Turks merely shook
their heads, sipped their coffee, and took extra whiffs at their
long pipes, until at length the white- haired old Halleem Effendi
spoke. He gave good and parental advice, as follows:--

"Don't go upon so absurd an errand; nobody knows anything about
the Nile, neither will any one discover its source. We do not
even know the source of the Atbara; how should we know the source
of the great Nile. A great portion of the Atbara flows through
the Pasha of Egypt's dominions; the firman in your possession
with his signature, will insure you respect, so long as you
remain within his territory; but if you cross his frontier, you
will be in the hands of savages. The White Nile is the country of
the negroes; wild, ferocious races who have neither knowledge of
God nor respect for the Pasha, and you must travel with a
powerful armed force; the climate is deadly; how could you
penetrate such a region to search for what is useless even should
you attain it? But how would it be possible for a lady, young and
delicate, to endure what would kill the strongest man? Travel
along the Atbara river into the Taka country, there is much to be
seen that is unexplored; but give up the mad scheme of the Nile
source."

There was some sense in old Halleem Effendi's advice; it was the
cool and cautious wisdom of old age, but as I was not so elderly,
I took it "cum grano salis." He was a charming old gentleman, the
perfect beau ideal of the true old style of Turk, but few
specimens of which remain; all that he had said was spoken in
sincerity, and I resolved to collect as much information as
possible from the grey-headed authorities before I should
commence the expedition. I was deeply impressed with one fact,
that until I could dispense with an interpreter it would be
impossible to succeed, therefore I determined to learn Arabic as
speedily as possible.

A week's rest in the garden of Halleem Effendi prepared us for
the journey. I resolved to explore the Atbara river and the
Abyssinian affluents, prior to commencing the White Nile voyage.
The Governor promised me two Turkish soldiers as attendants, and
I arranged to send my heavy baggage by boat to Khartoum, and
secure the advantage of travelling light; a comfort that no one
can appreciate who has not felt the daily delay in loading a long
string of camels. Both my wife and I had suffered from a short
attack of fever brought on by the prostrating effect of the
simoom, which at this season (June) was at its height. The Nile
was slowly rising, although it was still low; occasionally it
fell about eighteen inches in one night, but again rose; this
proved that, although the rains had commenced, they were not
constant, as the steady and rapid increase of the river had not
taken place. The authorities assured me that the Blue Nile was
now rising at Khartoum, which accounted for the increase of the
river at Berber.

The garden of Halleem Effendi was attended by a number of fine
powerful slaves from the White Nile, whose stout frames and
glossy skins were undeniable witnesses of their master's care. A
charmingly pretty slave girl paid us daily visits, with presents
of fruit from her kind master and numerous mistresses, who, with
the usual Turkish compliments as a preliminary message, requested
permission to visit the English lady.

In the cool hour of evening a bevy of ladies approached through
the dark groves of citron trees, so gaily dressed in silks of the
brightest dyes of yellow, blue, and scarlet, that no bouquet of
flowers could have been more gaudy. They were attended by
numerous slaves, and the head servant politely requested me to
withdraw during the interview. Thus turned out of my tent, I was
compelled to patience and solitude beneath a neighbouring date
palm.

The result of the interview with my wife was most satisfactory;
the usual womanish questions had been replied to, and hosts of
compliments exchanged. We were then rich in all kinds of European
trifles that excited their curiosity, and a few little presents
established so great an amount of confidence that they gave the
individual history of each member of the family from childhood,
that would have filled a column of the Times with births, deaths,
and marriages.

Some of these ladies were very young and pretty, and of course
exercised a certain influence over their husbands; thus, on the
following morning, we were inundated with visitors, as the male
members of the family came to thank us for the manner in which
their ladies had been received; and fruit, flowers, and the
general produce of the garden were presented to us in profusion.
However pleasant, there were drawbacks to our garden of Eden;
there was dust in our Paradise; not the dust that we see in
Europe upon unwatered roads, that simply fills the eyes, but
sudden clouds raised by whirlwinds in the desert which fairly
choked the ears and nostrils when thus attacked. June is the
season when these phenomena are most prevalent. At that time the
rains have commenced in the south, and are extending towards the
north; the cold and heavy air of the southern rain-clouds sweeps
down upon the overheated atmosphere of the desert, and produces
sudden violent squalls and whirlwinds when least expected, as at
that time the sky is cloudless.

The effect of these desert whirlwinds is most curious, as their
force is sufficient to raise dense columns of sand and dust
several thousand feet high; these are not the evanescent
creations of a changing wind, but they frequently exist for many
hours, and travel forward, or more usually in circles, resembling
in the distance solid pillars of sand. The Arab superstition
invests these appearances with the supernatural, and the
mysterious sand-column of the desert wandering in its burning
solitude, is an evil spirit, a "Gin" ("genii" plural, of the
Arabian Nights). I have frequently seen many such columns at the
same time in the boundless desert, all travelling or waltzing in
various directions at the wilful choice of each whirlwind: this
vagrancy of character is an undoubted proof to the Arab mind of
their independent and diabolical origin.

The Abyssinian traveller, Bruce, appears to have entertained a
peculiar dread of the dangers of such sand columns, but on this
point his fear was exaggerated. Cases may have occurred where
caravans have been suffocated by whirlwinds of sand, but these
are rare exceptions, and the usual effects of the dust storm are
the unroofing of thatched huts, the destruction of a few date
palms, and the disagreeable amount of sand that not only half
chokes both man and beast, but buries all objects that may be
lying on the ground some inches deep in dust.

The wind at this season (June) was changeable, and strong blasts
from the south were the harbingers of the approaching rainy
season. We had no time to lose, and we accordingly arranged to
start. I discharged my dirty cook, and engaged a man who was
brought by a coffee-house keeper, by whom he was highly
recommended; but, as a precaution against deception, I led him
before the Mudir, or Governor, to be registered before our
departure. To my astonishment, and to his infinite disgust, he
was immediately recognised as an old offender, who had formerly
been imprisoned for theft! The Governor, to prove his friendship,
and his interest in my welfare, immediately sent the police to
capture the coffee-house keeper who had recommended the cook. No
sooner was the unlucky surety brought to the Divan than he was
condemned to receive 200 lashes for having given a false
character. The sentence was literally carried out, in spite of my
remonstrance, and the police were ordered to make the case public
to prevent a recurrence. The Governor assured me, that as I held
a firman from the Viceroy he could not do otherwise, and that I
must believe him to be my truest friend. "Save me from my
friends," was an adage quickly proved. I could not procure a
cook, neither any other attendants, as every one was afraid to
guarantee a character, lest he might come in for his share of the
200 lashes!

The Governor came to my rescue, and sent immediately the promised
Turkish soldiers, who were to act in the double capacity of
escort and servants. They were men of totally opposite
characters. Hadji Achmet was a hardy, powerful,
dare-devil-looking Turk, while Hadji Velli was the perfection of
politeness, and as gentle as a lamb. My new allies procured me
three donkeys in addition to the necessary baggage camels, and we
started from the pleasant garden of Halleem Effendi on the
evening of the 10th of June for the junction of the Atbara river
with the Nile.


CHAPTER II.

"'Mongst them were several Englishmen of pith,
Sixteen named Thompson, and nineteen named Smith."
DON JUAN.

MAHOMET, Achmet, and Ali are equivalent to Smith, Brown, and
Thompson. Accordingly, of my few attendants, my dragoman was
Mahomet, and my principal guide was Achmet; and subsequently I
had a number of Alis. Mahomet was a regular Cairo dragoman, a
native of Dongola, almost black, but exceedingly tenacious
regarding his shade of colour, which he declared to be light
brown. He spoke very bad English, was excessively conceited, and
irascible to a degree. No pasha was so bumptious or overbearing
to his inferiors, but to me and to his mistress while in Cairo he
had the gentleness of the dove, and I had engaged him at 5l. per
month to accompany me to the White Nile. Men change with
circumstances; climate affects the health and temper; the sleek
and well-fed dog is amiable, but he would be vicious when thin
and hungry; the man in luxury and the man in need are not equally
angelic. Now Mahomet was one of those dragomen who are accustomed
to the civilized expeditions of the British tourist to the first
or second cataract, in a Nile boat replete with conveniences and
luxuries, upon which the dragoman is monarch supreme, a whale
among the minnows, who rules the vessel, purchases daily a host
of unnecessary supplies, upon which he clears his profit, until
he returns to Cairo with his pockets filled sufficiently to
support him until the following Nile season. The short three
months' harvest, from November until February, fills his granary
for the year. Under such circumstances the temper should be
angelic. But times had changed: the luxurious Mahomet had left
the comfortable Nile boat at Korosko, and he had crossed the
burning desert upon a jolting camel; he had left the well-known
route where the dragoman was supreme, and he found himself among
people who treated him in the light of a common servant. "A
change came o'er the spirit of his dream;" Mahomet was no longer
a great man, and his temper changed with circumstances; in fact,
Mahomet became unbearable, and still he was absolutely necessary,
as he was the tongue of the expedition until we should accomplish
Arabic. To him the very idea of exploration was an absurdity; he
had never believed in it from the first, and he now became
impressed with the fact that he was positively committed to an
undertaking that would end most likely in his death, if not in
terrible difficulties; he determined, under the circumstances, to
make himself as disagreeable as possible to all parties. With
this amiable resolution Mahomet adopted a physical infirmity in
the shape of deafness; in reality, no one was more acute in
hearing, but as there are no bells where there are no houses, he
of course could not answer such a summons, and he was compelled
to attend to the call of his own name--"Mahomet! Mahomet!" No
reply, although the individual was sitting within a few feet,
apparently absorbed in the contemplation of his own boots.
"Mahomet!" with an additional emphasis upon the second syllable.
Again no response. "Mahomet, you rascal, why don't you answer?"
This energetic address would effect a change in his position; the
mild and lamb-like dragoman of Cairo would suddenly start from
the ground, tear his own hair from his head in handfuls, and
shout, "Mahomet! Mahomet! Mahomet! always Mahomet! D--n Mahomet!
I wish he were dead, or back in Cairo, this brute Mahomet!" The
irascible dragoman would then beat his own head unmercifully with
his fists, in a paroxysm of rage.

To comfort him I could only exclaim, "Well done, Mahomet! thrash
him; pommel him well; punch his head; you know him best; he
deserves it; don't spare him!" This advice, acting upon the
natural perversity of his disposition, generally soothed him, and
he ceased punching his head. This man was entirely out of his
place, if not out of his mind, at certain moments, and having
upon one occasion smashed a basin by throwing it in the face of
the cook, and upon another occasion narrowly escaped homicide, by
throwing an axe at a man's head, which missed by an inch, he
became a notorious character in the little expedition.

We left Berber in the evening at sunset; we were mounted upon
donkeys, while our Turkish attendants rode upon excellent
dromedaries that belonged to their regiment of irregular cavalry.
As usual, when ready to start, Mahomet was the last; he had piled
a huge mass of bags and various luggage upon his donkey, that
almost obscured the animal, and he sat mounted upon this pinnacle
dressed in gorgeous clothes, with a brace of handsome pistols in
his belt, and his gun slung across his shoulders. Upon my
remonstrating with him upon the cruelty of thus overloading the
donkey, he flew into a fit of rage, and dismounting immediately,
he drew his pistols from his belt and dashed them upon the
ground; his gun shared the same fate, and heaving his weapons
upon the sand, he sullenly walked behind his donkey, which he
drove forward with the caravan.

We pushed forward at the usual rapid amble of the donkeys; and,
accompanied by Hadji Achmet upon his dromedary, with the
coffee-pot, &c. and a large Persian rug slung behind the saddle,
we quickly distanced the slower caravan under the charge of Hadji
Velli and the sullen Mahomet.

There was no difficulty in the route, as the sterile desert of
sand and pebbles was bounded by a fringe of bush amid mimosa that
marked the course of the Nile, to which our way lay parallel.
There was no object to attract particular attention, and no sound
but that of the bleating goats driven homeward by the Arab boys,
and the sharp cry of the desert sand grouse as they arrived in
flocks to drink in the welcome river. The flight of these birds
is extremely rapid, and is more like that of the pigeon than the
grouse; they inhabit the desert, but they travel great distances
both night and morning to water, as they invariably drink twice
a day. As they approach the river they utter the cry "Chuckow,
chuckow," in a loud clear note, and immediately after drinking
they return upon their long flight to the desert. There are
several varieties of the sand grouse. I have met with three, but
they are dry, tough, and worthless as game.

We slept in the desert about five miles from Berber, and on the
following day, after a scorching march of about twenty miles, we
arrived at the junction of the Atbara river with the Nile.
Throughout the route the barren sand stretched to the horizon on
the left, while on the right, within a mile of the Nile, the soil
was sufficiently rich to support a certain amount of
vegetation--chiefly dwarf mimosas and the Asclepias gigantea. The
latter I had frequently seen in Ceylon, where it is used
medicinally by the native doctors; but here it was ignored,
except for the produce of a beautiful silky down which is used
for stuffing cushions and pillows. This vegetable silk is
contained in a soft pod or bladder about the size of an orange.
Both the leaves and the stem of this plant emit a highly
poisonous milk, that exudes from the bark when cut or bruised;
the least drop of this will cause total blindness, if in contact
with the eye. I have seen several instances of acute ophthalmia
that have terminated in loss of sight from the accidental rubbing
of the eye with the hand when engaged in cutting firewood from
the asclepias. The wood is extremely light, and is frequently
tied into fagots and used by the Arabs as a support while
swimming, in lieu of cork. Although the poisonous qualities of
the plant cause it to be shunned by all other animals, it is
nevertheless greedily devoured by goats, who eat it unharmed.

It was about two hours after sunset when we arrived at the steep
bank of the Atbara river. Pushing through the fringe of young
dome palms that formed a thick covert upon the margin, we
cautiously descended the bank for about twenty-five feet, as the
bright glare of the river's bed deceived me by the resemblance to
water. We found a broad surface of white sand, which at that
season formed the dry bed of the river. Crossing this arid bottom
of about 400 yards in width, we unsaddled on the opposite side,
by a bed of water melons planted near a small pool of water. A
few of these we chopped in pieces for our tired donkeys, and we
shared in the cool and welcome luxury ourselves that was most
refreshing after the fatigue of the day's journey. Long before
our camels arrived, we had drunk our coffee and were sound asleep
upon the sandy bed of the Atbara.

At daybreak on the following morning, while the camels were being
loaded, I strolled to a small pool in the sand, tempted by a
couple of wild geese; these were sufficiently unsophisticated as
to allow me to approach within shot, and I bagged them both, and
secured our breakfast; they were the common Egyptian geese, which
are not very delicate eating. The donkeys being saddled, we at
once started with our attendant, Hadji Achmet, at about five
miles per hour, in advance of our slower caravan. The route was
upon the river's margin, due east, through a sandy copse of
thorny mimosas which fringed the river's course for about a
quarter of a mile on either side; beyond this all was desert.

The Atbara had a curious appearance; in no part was it less than
400 yards in width, while in many places this breadth was much
exceeded. The banks were from twenty-five to thirty feet deep:
these had evidently been over-flowed during floods, bnt at the
present time the river was dead; not only partially dry, but so
glaring was the sandy bed, that the reflection of the sun was
almost unbearable.

Great numbers of the dome palm (Hyphoene Thebaica, Mart.) grew
upon the banks; these trees are of great service to the Arab
tribes, who at this season of drought forsake the deserts and
flock upon the margin of the Atbara. The leaves of the dome
supply them with excellent material for mats and ropes, while the
fruit is used both for man and beast. The dome palm resembles the
palmyra in the form and texture of its fan-shaped leaves, but
there is a distinguishing peculiarity in the growth: instead of
the straight single stem of the palmyra, the dome palm spreads
into branches, each of which invariably represents the letter Y.
The fruit grows in dense clusters, numbering several hundred, of
the size of a small orange, but of an irregular oval shape; these
are of a rich brown colour, and bear a natural polish as though
varnished. So hard is the fruit and uninviting to the teeth, that
a deal board would be equally practicable for mastication; the
Arabs pound them between stones, by which rough process they
detach the edible portion in the form of a resinous powder. The
rind of the nut which produces this powder is about a quarter of
an inch thick; this coating covers a strong shell which contains
a nut of vegetable ivory, a little larger than a full-sized
walnut. When the resinous powder is detached, it is either eaten
raw, or it is boiled into a delicious porridge, with milk; this
has a strong flavour of gingerbread.

The vegetable ivory nuts are then soaked in water for about
twenty-four hours, after which they are heaped in large piles
upon a fire until nearly dry, and thoroughly steamed; this
process renders them sufficiently tractable to be reduced by
pounding in a heavy mortar. Thus, broken into small pieces they
somewhat resemble half-roasted chestnuts, and in this state they
form excellent food for cattle. The useful dome palm is the chief
support of the desert Arabs when in times of drought and scarcity
the supply of corn has failed. At this season (June) there was
not a blade of even the withered grass of the desert oases. Our
donkeys lived exclusively upon the dhurra (Sorghum Egyptiaca)
that we carried with us, and the camels required a daily supply
of corn in addition to the dry twigs and bushes that formed their
dusty food. The margin of the river was miserable and uninviting;
the trees and bushes were entirely leafless from the intense
heat, as are the trees in England during winter. The only shade
was afforded by the evergreen dome palms; nevertheless, the Arabs
occupied the banks at intervals of three or four miles, wherever
a pool of water in some deep bend of the dried river's bed
offered an attraction; in such places were Arab villages or
camps, of the usual mat tents formed of the dome palm leaves.

Many pools were of considerable size and of great depth. In
flood-time a tremendous torrent sweeps down the course of the
Atbara, and the sudden bends of the river are hollowed out by the
force of the stream to a depth of twenty or thirty feet below the
level of the bed. Accordingly these holes become reservoirs of
water when the river is otherwise exhausted. In such asylums all
the usual inhabitants of this large river are crowded together in
a comparatively narrow space. Although these pools vary in size,
from only a few hundred yards to a mile in length, they are
positively full of life; huge fish, crocodiles of immense size,
turtles, and occasionally hippopotami, consort together in close
and unwished-for proximity.

The animals of the desert--gazelles, hyaenas, and wild asses--are
compelled to resort to these crowded drinking-places, occupied by
the flocks of the Arabs equally with the timid beasts of the
chase. The birds that during the cooler months would wander free
throughout the country, are now collected in vast numbers along
the margin of the exhausted river; innumerable doves, varying in
species, throng the trees and seek the shade of the dome palms;
thousands of desert grouse arrive morning and evening to drink
and to depart; while birds in multitudes, of lovely plumage,
escape from the burning desert, and colonize the poor but welcome
bushes that fringe the Atbara river.

The heat was intense. As we travelled along the margin of the
Atbara, and felt with the suffering animals the exhaustion of the
clinmate, I acknowledged the grandeur of the Nile that could
overcome the absorption of such thirsty sands, and the
evaporation caused by the burning atmosphere of Nubia. For nearly
1,200 miles from the junction of the Atbara with the parent
stream to the Mediterranean, not one streamlet joined the
mysterious river, neither one drop of rain ruffled its waters,
unless a rare thunder-shower, as a curious phenomenon, startled
the Arabs as they travelled along the desert. Nevertheless the
Nile overcame its enemies, while the Atbara shrank to a skeleton,
bare and exhausted, reduced to a few pools that lay like blotches
along the broad surface of glowing sand.

Notwithstanding the overpowering sun, there were certain
advantages to the traveller at this season; it was unnecessary to
carry a large supply of water, as it could be obtained at
intervals of a few miles. There was an indescribable delight in
the cool night, when, in the perfect certainty of fine weather,
we could rest in the open air with the clear bright starlit sky
above us. There were no mosquitoes, neither were there any of the
insect plagues of the tropics; the air was too dry for the gnat
tribe, and the moment of sunset was the signal for perfect
enjoyment, free from the usual drawbacks of African travel. As
the river pools were the only drinking-places for birds and game,
the gun supplied not only my own party, but I had much to give
away to the Arabs in exchange for goat's milk, the meal of the
dome nuts, &c. Gazelles were exceedingly numerous, but shy, and
so difficult to approach that they required most careful
stalking. At this season of intense heat they drank twice a
day--at about an hour after sunrise, and half an hour before
sunset.

The great comfort of travelling along the bank of the river in a
desert country is the perfect freedom, as a continual supply of
water enables the explorer to rest at his leisure in any
attractive spot where game is plentiful, or where the natural
features of the country invite investigation. We accordingly
halted, after some days' journey, at a spot named Collodabad,
where an angle of the river had left a deep pool of about a mile
in length: this was the largest sheet of water that we had seen
throughout the course of the Atbara. A number of Arabs had
congregated at this spot with their flocks and herds; the total
absence of verdure had reduced the animals to extreme leanness,
as the goats gathered their scanty sustenance from the seed-pods
of the mimosas, which were shaken down to the expectant flocks by
the Arab boys, with long hooked poles. These seeds were extremely
oily, and resembled linseed, but the rank flavour was
disagreeable and acrid.

This spot was seven days' march from the Nile junction, or about
160 miles. The journey had been extremely monotonous, as there
had been no change in the scenery; it was the interminable
desert, with the solitary streak of vegetation in the belt of
mimosas and dome palms, about a mile and a half in width, that
marked the course of the river. I had daily shot gazelles, geese,
pigeons, desert grouse, &c. but no larger game. I was informed
that at this spot, Collodabad, I should be introduced for the
first time to the hippopotamus.

Owing to the total absence of nourishing food, the cattle
produced a scanty supply of milk; thus the Arabs, who depended
chiefly upon their flocks for their subsistence, were in great
distress, and men and beasts mutually suffered extreme hardship.
The Arabs that occupy the desert north of the Atbara are the
Bishareens; it was among a large concourse of these people that
we pitched our tents on the banks of the river at Collodabad.

This being the principal watering-place along the deserted bed of
the Atbara, the neighbourhood literally swarmed with doves, sand
grouse, and other birds, in addition to many geese and pelicans.

Early in the morning I procured an Arab guide to search for the
reported hippopotami. My tents were among a grove of dome palms
on the margin of the river; thus I had a clear view of the bed
for a distance of about half a mile on either side. This portion
of the Atbara was about 500 yards in width, the banks were about
thirty feet perpendicular depth; and the bend of the river had
caused the formation of the deep hollow on the opposite side
which now formed the pool, while every other part was dry. This
pool occupied about one-third the breadth of the river, bounded
by the sand upon one side, and by a perpendicular cliff upon the
other, upon which grew a fringe of green bushes similar to
willows. These were the only succulent leaves that I had seen
since I left Berber.

We descended the steep sandy bank in a spot that the Arabs had
broken down to reach the water, and after trudging across about
400 yards of deep sand, we reached the extreme and narrowest end
of the pool; here for the first time I saw the peculiar four-toed
print of the hippopotamus's foot. A bed of melons had been
planted here by the Arabs in the moist sand near the water, but
the fruit had been entirely robbed by the hippopotami. A melon is
exactly adapted for the mouth of this animal, as he could crunch
the largest at one squeeze, and revel in the juice. Not contented
with the simple fruits of the garden, a large bull hippopotamus
had recently killed the proprietor. The Arab wished to drive it
from his plantation, but was immediately attacked by the hippo,
who caught him in its mouth and killed him by one crunch. This
little incident had rendered the hippo exceedingly daring, and it
had upon several occasions charged out of the water, when the
people had driven their goats to drink; therefore it would be the
more satisfactory to obtain a shot, and to supply the hungry
Arabs with meat at the expense of their enemy.

At this early hour, 6 A.M., no one had descended to the pool,
thus all the tracks upon the margin were fresh and undisturbed:
there were the huge marks of crocodiles that had recently
returned to the water, while many of great size were still lying
upon the sand in the distance: these slowly crept into the pool
as we approached. The Arabs had dug small holes in the sand
within a few yards of the water: these were the artificial
drinking-places for their goats and sheep, that would have been
snapped up by the crocodiles had they ventured to drink in the
pool of crowded monsters. I walked for about a mile and a half
along the sand without seeing a sign of hippopotami, except their
numerous tracks upon the margin. There was no wind, and the
surface of the water was unruffled; thus I could see every
creature that rose in the pool either to breathe or to bask in
the morning sunshine. The number and size of the fish, turtles,
and crocodiles were extraordinary; many beautiful gazelles
approached from all sides for their morning draught: wild geese,
generally in pairs, disturbed the wary crocodiles by their cry of
alarm as we drew near, and the desert grouse in flocks of many
thousands had gathered together, and were circling in a rapid
flight above the water, wishing, but afraid, to descend and
drink. Having a shot gun with me, I fired and killed six at one
discharge, but one of the wounded birds having fallen into the
water at a distance of about 120 yards, it was immediately seized
by a white-throated fish-eagle, which perched upon a tree,
swooped down upon the bird, utterly disregarding the report of
the gun. The Bishareen Arabs have no fire-arms, thus the sound of
a gun was unknown to the game of the desert.

I had killed several wild geese for breakfast in the absence of
the hippopotami, when I suddenly heard the peculiar loud snorting
neigh of these animals in my rear; we had passed them
unperceived, as they had been beneath the surface. After a quick
walk of about half a mile, during which time the cry of the
hippos had been several times repeated, I observed six of these
curious animals standing in the water about shoulder-deep. There
was no cover, therefore I could only advance upon the sand
without a chance of stalking them; this caused them to retreat to
deeper water, but upon my arrival within about eighty yards, they
raised their heads well up, and snorted an impudent challenge. I
had my old Ceylon No. 10 double rifle, and, taking a steady aim
at the temple of one that appeared to be the largest, the ball
cracked loudly upon the skull. Never had there been such a
commotion in the pool as now! At the report of the rifle, five
heads sank and disappeared like stones, but the sixth hippo
leaped half out of the water, and, falling backwards, commenced
a series of violent struggles: now upon his back; then upon one
side, with all four legs frantically paddling, and raising a
cloud of spray and foam; then waltzing round and round with its
huge jaws wide open, raising a swell in the hitherto calm surface
of the water. A quick shot with the left-hand barrel produced no
effect, as the movements of the animal were too rapid to allow a
steady aim at the forehead; I accordingly took my trmisty little
Fletcher* double rifle No. 24, and, running knee-deep into the
water to obtain a close shot, I fired exactly between the eyes,
near the crown of the head. At the report of the little Fletcher
the hippo disappeared; the tiny waves raised by the commotion
broke upon the sand, but the game was gone.

   * This excellent and handy rifle was made by Thomas Fletcher,
     of Gloucester, and accompanied me like a faithful dog
     throughout my journey of nearly five years to the Albert
     N'yanza, and returned with me to England as good as new.

This being my first vis-a-vis with a hippo, I was not certain
whether I could claim the victory; he was gone, but where?
However, while I was speculating upon the case, I heard a
tremendous rush of water, and I saw five hippopotami tearing
along in full trot through a portion of the pool that was not
deep enough to cover them above the shoulder: this was the affair
of about half a minute, as they quickly reached deep water, and
disappeared at about a hundred and fifty yards' distance.

The fact of five hippos in retreat after I had counted six in the
onset was conclusive that my waltzing friend was either dead or
disabled; I accordingly lost no time in following the direction
of the herd. Hardly had I arrived at the spot where they had
disappeared, when first one and then another head popped up and
again sank, until one more hardy than the rest ventured to appear
within fifty yards, and to bellow as before. Once more the No. 10
crashed through his head, and again the waltzing and struggling
commenced like the paddling of a steamer: this time, however, the
stunned hippo in its convulsive efforts came so close to the
shore that I killed it directly in shallow water, by a forehead
shot with the little Fletcher. I concluded from this result that
my first hippo must also be lying dead in deep water.

The Arabs, having heard the shots fired, had begun to gather
towards the spot, and, upon my men shouting that a hippo was
killed, crowds came running to the place with their knives and
ropes, while others returned to their encampment to fetch camels
and mat bags to convey the flesh. In half an hour at least three
hundred Arabs were on the spot; the hippo had been hauled to
shore by ropes, and, by the united efforts of the crowd, the
heavy carcase had been rolled to the edge of the water. Here the
attack commenced; no pack of hungry hyaenas could have been more
savage. I gave them permission to take the flesh, and in an
instant a hundred knives were at work: they fought over the spoil
like wolves. No sooner was the carcase flayed than the struggle
commenced for the meat; the people were a mass of blood, as some
stood thigh-deep in the reeking intestines wrestling for the fat,
while many hacked at each other's hands for coveted portions that
were striven for as a bonne bouche. I left the savage crowd in
their ferocious enjoyment of flesh and blood, and I returned to
camp for breakfast, my Turk, Hadji Achmet, carrying some
hippopotamus steaks.

That morning my wife and I breakfasted upon our first hippo, an
animal that was destined to be our general food throughout our
journey among the Abyssinian tributaries of the Nile. After
breakfast we strolled down to the pool to search for the
hippopotamus No. 1. This we at once found, dead, as it had risen
to the surface, and was floating like the back of a turtle a few
inches above the water. The Arabs had been so intent upon the
division of their spoil that they had not observed their new
prize; accordingly, upon the signal being given, a general rush
took place, and in half an hour a similar scene was enacted to
that of hippo No. 2.

The entire Arab camp was in commotion and full of joy at this
unlooked-for arrival of flesh. Camels laden with meat and hide
toiled along the sandy bed of the river; the women raised their
long and shrill cry of delight; and we were looked upon as
general benefactors for having brought them a supply of good food
in this season of distress. In the afternoon I arranged my
tackle, and strolled down to the pool to fish. There was a
difficulty in procuring bait; a worm was never heard of in the
burning deserts of Nubia, neither had I a net to catch small
fish; I was therefore obliged to bait with pieces of
hippopotamnus. Fishing in such a pool as that of the Atbara was
sufficiently exciting, as it was impossible to speculate upon
what creature might accept the invitation; but the Arabs who
accompanied me were particular in guarding me against the
position I had taken under a willow-bush close to the water, as
they explained, that most probably a crocodile would take me
instead of the bait; they declared that accidents had frequently
happened when people had sat upon the bank either to drink with
their hands, or even while watching their goats. I accordingly
fished at a few feet distant from the margin, and presently I had
a bite; I landed a species of perch about two pounds' weight;
this was the "boulti," one of the best Nile fish mentioned by the
traveller Bruce. In a short time I had caught a respectable dish
of fish, but hitherto no monster had paid me the slightest
attention; accordingly I changed my bait, and upon a powerful
hook, fitted upon treble-twisted wire, I fastened an enticing
strip of a boulti. The bait was about four ounces, and glistened
like silver; the water was tolerably clear, but not too bright,
and with such an attraction I expected something heavy. My float
was a large-sized pike-float for live bait, and this civilized
sign had been only a few minutes in the wild waters of the
Atbara, when, bob! and away it went! I had a very large reel,
with nearly three hundred yards of line that had been specially
made for monsters; down went the top of my rod, as though a
grindstone was suspended on it, and, as I recovered its position,
away went the line, and the reel revolved, not with the sudden
dash of a spirited fish, but with the steady determined pull of
a trotting horse. What on earth have I got hold of? In a few
minutes about a hundred yards of line were out, and as the
creature was steadily but slowly travelling down the centre of
the channel, I determined to cry "halt!" if possible, as my
tackle was extremely strong, and my rod was a single bamboo.
Accordingly, I put on a powerful strain, which was replied to by
a sullen tug, a shake, and again my rod was pulled suddenly down
to the water's edge. At length, after the roughest handling, I
began to reel in slack line, as my unknown friend had doubled in
upon me; and upon once more putting severe pressure upon him or
her, as it might be, I perceived a great swirl in the water,
about twenty yards from the rod. The tackle would bear anything,
and I strained so heavily upon my adversary, that I soon reduced
our distance; but the water was exceedingly deep, the bank
precipitous, and he was still invisible. At length, after much
tugging and counter-tugging, he began to show; eagerly I gazed
into the water to examine my new acquaintance, when I made out
something below, in shape between a coach-wheel and a
sponging-bath; in a few moments more I brought to the surface an
enormous turtle, well hooked. I felt like the old lady who won an
elephant in a lottery: that I had him was certain, but what was
I to do with my prize? It was at the least a hundred pounds'
weight, and the bank was steep and covered with bushes; thus it
was impossible to land the monster, that now tugged and dived
with the determination of the grindstone that his first pull had
suggested. Once I attempted the gaff but the trusty weapon that
had landed many a fish in Scotland broke in the hard shell of the
turtle, and I was helpless. My Arab now came to my assistance,
and at once terminated the struggle. Seizing the line with both
hands, utterly regardless of all remonstrance (which, being in
English, he did not understand), he quickly hauled our turtle to
the surface, and held it, struggling and gnashing its jaws, close
to the steep bank. In a few moments the line slackened, and the
turtle disappeared. The fight was over! The sharp horny jaws had
bitten through treble-twisted brass wire as clean as though cut
by shears. My visions of turtle soup had faded.

The heavy fish were not in the humour to take; I therefore shot
one with a rifle as it came to the surface to blow, and, the
water in this spot being shallow, we brought it to shore; it was
a species of carp, between thirty and forty pounds; the scales
were rather larger than a crown piece, and so hard that they
would have been difficult to pierce with a harpoon. It proved to
be useless for the table, being of an oily nature that was only
acceptable to the Arabs.

In the evening I went out stalking in the desert, and returned
with five fine buck gazelles. These beautiful creatures so
exactly resemble the colour of the sandy deserts which they
inhabit, that they are most difficult to distinguish, and their
extreme shyness renders stalking upon foot very uncertain. I
accordingly employed an Arab to lead a camel, under cover of
which I could generally manage to approach within a hundred
yards. A buck gazelle weighs from sixty to seventy pounds, and is
the perfection of muscular development. No person who has seen
the gazelles in confinement in a temperate climate can form an
idea of the beauty of the animal in its native desert. Born in
the scorching sun, nursed on the burning sand of the treeless and
shadowless wilderness, the gazelle is among the antelope tribe as
the Arab horse is among its brethren, the high-bred and
superlative beauty of the race. The skin is as sleek as satin, of
a colour difficult to describe, as it varies between the lightest
mauve and yellowish brown; the belly is snow-white; the legs,
from the knee downwards, are also white, and are as fine as
though carved from ivory; the hoof is beautifully shaped, and
tapers to a sharp point; the head of the buck is ornamented by
gracefully-curved annulated horns, perfectly black, and generally
from nine to twelve inches long in the bend; the eye is the
well-known perfection--the full, large, soft, and jet-black eye
of the gazelle. Although the desert appears incapable of
supporting animmial life, there are in the undulating surface
numerous shallow sandy ravines, in which are tufts of a herbage
so coarse that, as a source of nourishment, it would be valueless
to a domestic animal: nevertheless, upon this dry and wiry
substance the delicate gazelles subsist; and, although they never
fatten, they are exceedingly fleshy and in excellent condition.
Entirely free from fat, and nevertheless a mass of muscle and
sinew, the gazelle is the fastest of the antelope tribe. Proud of
its strength, and confident in its agility, it will generally
bound perpendicularly four or five feet from the ground several
times before it starts at full speed, as though to test the
quality of its sinews before the race. The Arabs course them with
greyhounds, and sometimes they are caught by running several dogs
at the same time; but this result is from the folly of the
gazelle, who at first distances his pursuers like the wind; but,
secure in its speed, it halts and faces the dogs, exhausting
itself by bounding exultingly in the air; in the meantime the
greyhounds are closing up, and diminishing the chance of escape.
As a rule, notwithstanding this absurdity of the gazelle, it has
the best of the race, and the greyhounds return crestfallen and
beaten. Altogether it is the most beautiful specimen of game that
exists, far too lovely and harmless to be hunted and killed for
the mere love of sport. But when dinner depends upon the rifle,
beauty is no protection; accordingly, throughout our desert march
we lived upon gazelles, and I am sorry to confess that I became
very expert at stalking these wary little animals. The flesh,
although tolerably good, has a slight flavour of musk; this is
not peculiar to the gazelle, as the odour is common to most of
the small varieties of antelopes.

Having a good supply of meat, all hands were busily engaged in
cutting it into strips and drying it for future use; the bushes
were covered with festoons of flesh of gazelles and hippopotami,
and the skins of the former were prepared for making girbas, or
water-sacks. The flaying process for this purpose is a delicate
operation, as the knife must be so dexterously used that no false
cut should injure the hide. The animal is hung up by the hind
legs; an incision is then made along the inside of both thighs to
the tail, and with some trouble the skin is drawn off the body
towards the head, precisely as a stocking might be drawn from the
leg; by this operation the skin forms a seamless bag, open at
both ends. To form a girba, the skin must be buried in the earth
for about twenty hours: it is then washed in water, and the hair
is easily detached. Thus rendered clean, it is tanned by soaking
for several days in a mixture of the bark of a mimosa and water;
from this it is daily withdrawn, and stretched out with pegs upon
the ground; it is then well scrubbed with a rough stone, and
fresh mimosa bark well bruised, with water, is rubbed in by the
friction. About four days are sufficient to tan the thin skin of
a gazelle, which is much valued for its toughness and durability;
the aperture at the hind quarters is sewn together, and the
opening of the neck is closed, when required, by tying. A good
water-skin should be porous, to allow the water to exude
sufficiently to moisten the exterior: thus the action of the air
upon the exposed surface causes evaporation, and imparts to the
water within the skin a delicious coolness. The Arabs usually
prepare their tanned skins with an empyreumatical oil made from
a variety of substances, the best of which is that from the
sesame grain; this has a powerful smell, and renders the water so
disagreeable that few Europeans could drink it. This oil is
black, and much resembles tar in appearance; it has the effect of
preserving the leather, and of rendering it perfectly
water-tight. In desert travelling each person should have his own
private water-skin slung upon his dromedary; for this purpose
none are so good as a small-sized gazelle skin that will contain
about two gallons.

On the 23d June we were nearly suffocated by a whirlwind that
buried everything within the tents several inches in dust; the
heat was intense; as usual the sky was spotless, but the simoom
was more overpowering than I had yet experienced. I accordingly
took my rifle and went down to the pool, as any movement, even in
the burning sun, was preferable to inaction in that sultry heat
and dust. The crocodiles had dragged the skeletons of the
hippopotami into the water; several huge heads appeared and then
vanished from the surface, and the ribs of the carcase that
projected, trembled and jerked as the jaws of the crocodiles were
at work beneath. I shot one of very large size through the head,
but it sank to the bottom; I expected to find it on the following
morning floating upon the surface when the gas should have
distended the body.

I also shot a large single bull hippopotamus late in the evening,
which was alone at the extremity of the pool; he sank at the
forehead shot, and, as he never rose again, I concluded that he
was dead, and that I should find him on the morrow with the
crocodile. Tired with the heat, I trudged homeward over the hot
and fatiguing sand of the river's bed.

The cool night arrived, and at about half-past eight I was lying
half asleep upon my bed by the margin of the river, when I
fancied that I heard a rumbling like distant thunder: I had not
heard such a sound for months, but a low uninterrupted roll
appeared to increase in volume, although far distant. Hardly had
I raised my head to listen more attentively when a confusion of
voices arose from the Arabs' camp, with a sound of many feet, and
in a few minutes they rushed into my camp, shouting to my men in
the darkness, "El Bahr! El Bahr!" (the river! the river!)

We were up in an instant, and my interpreter, Mahomet, in a state
of intense confusion, explained that the river was coming down,
and that the supposed distant thunder was the roar of approaching
water.

Many of the people were asleep on the clean sand on the river's
bed; these were quickly awakened by the Arabs, who rushed down
the steep bank to save the skulls of my two hippopotami that were
exposed to dry. Hardly had they descended, when the sound of the
river in the darkness beneath told us that the water had arrived,
and the men, dripping with wet, had just sufficient time to drag
their heavy burdens up the bank.

All was darkness and confusion; everybody was talking and no one
listening; but the great event had occurred the river had arrived
"like a thief in the night." On the morning of the 24th June, I
stood on the banks of the noble Atbara river, at the break of
day. The wonder of the desert!--yesterday there was a barren
sheet of glaring sand, with a fringe of withered bush and trees
upon its borders, that cut the yellow expanse of desert. For days
we had journeyed along the exhausted bed: all Nature, even in
Nature's poverty, was most poor: no bush could boast a leaf: no
tree could throw a shade: crisp gums crackled upon the stems of
the mimosas, the sap dried upon the burst bark, sprung with the
withering heat of the simoom. In one night there was a mysterious
change--wonders of the mighty Nile!--an army of water was
hastening to the wasted river: there was no drop of rain, no
thunder-cloud on the horizon to give hope, all had been dry and
sultry; dust and desolation yesterday, to-day a magnificent
stream, some 500 yards in width and from fifteen to twenty feet
in depth, flowed through the dreary desert! Bamboos and reeds,
with trash of all kinds, were hurried along the muddy waters.
Where were all the crowded inhabitants of the pool? The prison
doors were broken, the prisoners were released, and rejoiced in
the mighty stream of the Atbara.

The 24th June, 1861, was a memorable day. Although this was
actually the beginning of my work, I felt that by the experience
of this night I had obtained a clue to one portion of the Nile
mystery, and that, as "coming events cast their shadows before
them," this sudden creation of a river was but the shadow of the
great cause.

The rains were pouring in Abyssinia! these were sources of the
Nile!

One of my Turks, Hadji Achmet, was ill; therefore, although I
longed to travel, it was necessary to wait. I extract verbatim
from my journal, 26th June:--"The river has still risen; the
weather is cooler, and the withered trees and bushes are giving
signs of bursting into leaf. This season may be termed the spring
of this country. The frightful simoom of April, May, and June,
burns everything as though parched by fire, and not even a
withered leaf hangs to a bough, but the trees wear a wintry
appearance in the midst of intense heat. The wild geese have
paired, the birds are building their nests, and, although not
even a drop of dew has fallen, all Nature seems to be aware of an
approaching change, as the south wind blowing cool from the wet
quarter is the harbinger of rain. Already some of the mimosas
begin to afford a shade, under which the gazelles may be surely
found at mid-day; the does are now in fawn, and the young will be
dropped when this now withered land shall be green with herbage.

"Busy, packing for a start to-morrow; I send Hadji Velli back to
Berber in charge of the two hippos' heads to the care of the good
old Halleem Effendi. No time for shooting to-day. I took out all
the hippos' teeth, of which he possesses 40, 10--10,
                                             ------
                                             10--10
six tusks and fourteen molars in each jaw. The bones of the
hippopotamus, like those of the elephant, are solid, and without
marrow."


CHAPTER III.

WILD ASSES OF THE DESERT.

THE journey along the margin of the Atbara was similar to the
entire route from Berber, a vast desert, with the narrow band of
trees that marked the course of the river; the only change was
the magical growth of the leaves, which burst hourly from the
swollen buds of the mimosas: this could be accounted for by the
sudden arrival of the river, as the water percolated rapidly
through the sand and nourished the famishing roots.

The tracks of wild asses had been frequent, but hitherto I had
not seen the animals, as their drinking-hour was at night, after
which they travelled far into the desert: however, on the morning
of the 29th June, shortly after the start at about 6 A.M., we
perceived three of these beautiful creatures on our left--an ass,
a female, and a foal. They were about half a mile distant when
first observed, and upon our approach to within half that
distance they halted and faced about; they were evidently on
their return to the desert from the river. Those who have seen
donkeys in their civilized state have no conception of the beauty
of the wild and original animal. Far from the passive and subdued
appearance of the English ass, the animal in its native desert is
the perfection of activity and courage; there is a high-bred tone
in the deportment, a high-actioned step when it trots freely over
the rocks and sand, with the speed of a horse when it gallops
over the boundless desert. No animal is more difficult of
approach; and, although they are frequently captured by the
Arabs, those taken are invariably the foals, which are ridden
down by fast dromedaries, while the mothers escape. The colour of
the wild ass is a reddish cream tinged with the shade most
prevalent of the ground that it inhabits; thus it much resembles
the sand of the desert. I wished to obtain a specimen, and
accordingly I exerted my utmost knowledge of stalking to obtain
a shot at the male. After at least an hour and a half I succeeded
in obtaining a long shot with a single rifle, which passed
through the shoulder, and I secured my first and last donkey. It
was with extreme regret that I saw my beautiful prize in the last
gasp, and I resolved never to fire another shot at one of its
race. This fine specimen was in excellent condition, although the
miserable pasturage of the desert is confined to the wiry herbage
already mentioned; of this the stomach was full, chewed into
morsels like chopped reeds. The height of this male ass was about
13.3 or 14 hands; the shoulder was far more sloping than that of
the domestic ass, the hoofs were remarkable for their size; they
were wide, firm, and as broad as those of a horse of 15 hands.
I skinned this animal carefully, and the Arabs divided the flesh
among them, while Hadji Achmet selected a choice piece for our
own dinner. At the close of our march that evening, the morsel of
wild ass was cooked in the form of "rissoles:" the flavour
resembled beef but it was extremely tough.

On the following day, 30th June, we reached Gozerajup, a large
permanent village on the south bank of the river. By dead
reckoning we had marched 246 miles from Berber. This spot was
therefore about 220 miles from the junction of the Atbara with
the Nile. Here we remained for a few days to rest the donkeys and
to engage fresh camels. An extract from my journal will give a
general idea of this miserable country:--

"July 3.--I went out early to get something for breakfast, and
shot a hare and seven pigeons. On my return to camp, an Arab
immediately skinned the hare, and pulling out the liver, lungs,
and kidneys, he ate them raw and bloody. The Arabs invariably eat
the lungs, liver, kidneys, and the thorax of sheep, gazelles, &c.
while they are engaged in skinning the beasts, after which they
crack the leg bones between stones, and suck out the raw marrow."

A Bishareen Arab wears his hair in hundreds of minute plaits
which hang down to his shoulders, surmounted by a circular bushy
topknot upon the crown, about the size of a large breakfast-cup,
from the base of which the plaits descend. When in full dress,
the plaits are carefully combed out with an ivory skewer about
eighteen inches in length; after this operation, the head appears
like a huge black mop surmounted by a fellow mop of a small size.
Through this mass of hair he carries his skewer, which is
generally ornamented, and which answers the double purpose of
comb and general scratcher.

The men have remarkably fine features, but the women are not
generally pretty. The Bishareen is the largest Arab tribe of
Nubia. Like all the Arabs of Upper Egypt, they pay taxes to the
Viceroy; these are gathered by parties of soldiers, who take the
opportunity of visiting them during the drought, at which time
they can be certainly found near the river; but at any other
season it would be as easy to collect tribute from the gazelles
of the desert as from the wandering Bishareens. The appearance of
Turkish soldiers is anything but agreeable to the Arabs;
therefore my escort of Turks was generally received with the
"cold shoulder" upon our arrival at an Arab camp, and no supplies
were forthcoming in the shape of milk, &c. until the long
coorbatch (hippopotamus whip) of Hadji Achmet had cracked several
times across the shoulders of the village headman. At first this
appeared to me extremely brutal, but I was given to understand
that I was utterly ignorant of the Arab character, and that he
knew best. I found by experience that Hadji Achmet was correct;
even where milk was abundant, the Arabs invariably declared that
they had not a drop, that the goats were dry, or had strayed
away; and some paltry excuses were offered until the temper of
the Turk became exhausted, and the coorbatch assisted in the
argument. A magician's rod could not have produced a greater
miracle than the hippopotamus whip. The goats were no longer dry,
and in a few minutes large gourds of milk were brought, and
liberally paid for, while I was ridiculed by the Turk, Hadji
Achmet, for so foolishly throwing away money to the "Arab dogs."

Our route was to change. We had hitherto followed the course of
the Atbara, but we were now to leave that river on our right,
while we should travel S.E. about ninety miles to Cassala, the
capital of the Taka country, on the confines of Abyssinia, the
great depot upon that frontier for Egyptian troops, military
stores, &c.

Having procured fresh camels, we started on 5th July. This
portion of the desert was rich in agates and numerous specimens
of bloodstone. Exactly opposite the village of Gozerajup are
curious natural landmarks,--four pyramidical hills of granite
that can be seen for many miles' distance in this perfectly level
country. One of these hills is about 500 feet high, and is
composed entirely of flaked blocks of grey granite piled one upon
the other; some of these stand perpendicularly in single masses
from 30 to 50 feet high, and from a distance might be taken for
giants climbing the hill-side. The pinnacle has a peculiar
conical cap, which appears to have been placed there by design,
but upon closer inspection it is found to be natural, as no stone
of such immense size could have been placed in such a position.

For the first two hours' march from this landmark, the country
was covered with scrubby bush abounding in gazelles and
guinea-fowl. Here, for the first time, I saw the secretary bird,
known to the Arabs as the "Devil's horse." A pair of these
magnificent birds were actively employed in their useful
avocation of hunting reptiles, which they chased with wonderful
speed. Great numbers of wild asses passed us during the march
towards evening; they were on their way from the desert to the
Atbara river, some miles distant upon the west. Veritable thunder
we now heard for the first time in Africa, and a cloud rose with
great rapidity from the horizon. A cloud was a wonder that we had
not enjoyed for months, but as this increased both in size and
density, accompanied by a gust of cool wind, we were led to
expect a still greater wonder--RAIN! Hardly had we halted for the
night, when down it came in torrents, accompanied by a heavy
thunderstorm. On the following morning, we experienced the
disadvantage of rain; the ground was so slippery that the camels
could not march, and we were obliged to defer our start until the
sun had dried the surface.

We had now arrived at the most interesting point to an explorer.
From Cairo to within a few miles south of Gozerajup stretched the
unbroken desert through which we had toiled from Korosko, and
which had so firmly impressed its dreariness upon the mind that
nothing but desert had been expected: we had learned to be
content in a world of hot sand, rocks, and pebbles; but we had
arrived upon the limit; the curious landmark of Gozerajup was an
everlasting beacon that marked the frontier of the Nubian desert;
it was a giant warder, that seemed to guard the living south from
the dreadful skeleton of nature on the north; the desert had
ceased!

It was a curious and happy coincidence that onr arrival upon the
limits of the desert should have been celebrated by the first
shower of rain: we no longer travelled upon sand and stones, but
we stood upon a fertile loam, rendered soapy and adhesive by the
recent shower. The country was utterly barren at that season, as
the extreme heat of the sun and simoom destroys all vegetation so
thoroughly that it becomes as crisp as glass; the dried grass
breaks in the wind, and is carried away in dust, leaving the
earth so utterly naked and bare that it is rendered a complete
desert.

In the rainy season, the whole of this country, from the south to
Gozerajup, is covered with excellent pasturage, and, far from
resembling a desert, it becomes a mass of bright green herbage.
The Arabs and their flocks are driven from the south by the flies
and by the heavy rains, and Gozerajup offers a paradise to both
men and beasts; thousands of camels with their young, hundreds of
thousands of goats, sheep, and cattle, are accompanied by the
Arabs and their families, who encamp on the happy pastures during
the season of plenty.

We had now passed the hunts occupied by the Bishareens, and we
had entered upon the country of the Hadendowa Arabs. These are an
exceedingly bad tribe, and, together with their neighbours, the
Hallonga Arabs, they fought determinedly against the Egyptians,
until finally conquered during the reign of the famous Mehemet
Ala Pasha, when the provinces of Nubia submitted unconditionally,
and became a portion of Upper Egypt.

Upon arrival at Soojalup we came upon the principal encampment of
the Hadendowa during the dry season. Within a few miles of this
spot the scene had changed: instead of the bare earth denuded of
vegetation, the country was covered with jungle, already nearly
green, while the vast plains of grass, enlivened by beautiful
herds of antelopes, proved not only the fertility of the soil,
but the presence of moisture. Although there was no stream, nor
any appearance of a river's bed, Soojalup was well supplied with
water throughout the hottest season by numerous wells. This spot
is about forty miles distant from Gozerajup, and is the first
watering-place upon the route to Cassala. As we approached the
wells, we passed several large villages surrounded by fenced
gardens of cotton, and tobacco, both of which throve exceedingly.
Every village possessed a series of wells, with a simple
contrivance for watering their cattle:--Adjoining the mouth of
each well was a basin formed of clay, raised sufficiently high
above the level of the ground to prevent the animals from
treading it while drinking. With a rope and a leathern bag
distended by pieces of stick, the water was raised from the wells
and emptied into the clay basins; the latter were circular, about
nine feet in diameter, and two feet deep. I measured the depth of
some of the wells, and found a uniformity of forty feet. We
halted at Soojalup for the night: here for the first time I saw
the beautiful antelope known by the Arabs as the Ariel (Gazelle
Dama). This is a species of gazelle, being similar in form and in
shape of the horns, but as large as a fallow deer: the colour
also nearly resembles that of the gazelle, with the exception of
the rump, which is milk-white.

These animals had no water nearer than the Atbara river, unless
they could obtain a stealthy supply from the cattle basins of the
Arabs during the night; they were so wild, from being constantly
disturbed and hunted by the Arab dogs, that I found it impossible
to stalk them upon the evening of our arrival. The jungles
literally swarmed with guinea-fowl--I shot nine in a few minutes,
and returned to camp with dinner for my whole party. The only
species of guinea-fowl that I have seen in Africa is that with
the blue comb and wattles. These birds are a blessing to the
traveller, as not only are they generally to be met with from the
desert frontier throughout the fertile portions of the south, but
they are extremely good eating, and far superior to the domestic
guinea-fowl of Europe. In this spot, Soojalup, I could have
killed any number, had I wished to expend my shot: but this most
necessary ammunition required much nursing during a long
exploration. I had a good supply, four hundredweight of the most
useful sizes, No. 6 for general shooting, and B B. for geese,
&c.; also a bag of No. 10, for firing into dense flocks of small
birds. On the following morning we left Soojalup; for several
miles on our route were Arab camps and wells, with immense herds
of goats, sheep, and cattle. Antelopes were very numerous, and it
was exceedingly interesting to observe the new varieties as we
increased our distance from the north. I shot two from my camel
(G. Dorcas); they were about the size of a fine roebuck;--the
horns were like those of the gazelle, but the animals were larger
and darker in colour, with a distinguishing mark in a jet black
stripe longitudinally dividing the white of the belly from the
reddish colour of the flank. These antelopes were exceedingly
wild, and without the aid of a camel it would have been
impossible to approach them. I had exchanged my donkey for Hadji
Achmet's dromedary; thus mounted, I could generally succeed in
stalking to within ninety or a hundred yards, by allowing the
animal to feed upon the various bushes, as though I had mounted
it for the purpose of leading it to graze. This deceived the
antelopes, and by carefully ascertaining the correct wind, I
obtained several shots, some of which failed, owing to the
unsteadiness of my steed, which had a strong objection to the
rifle.

The entire country from Gozerajup to Cassala is a dead flat, upon
which there is not one tree sufficiently large to shade a
full-sized tent: there is no real timber in the country, but the
vast level extent of soil is a series of open plains and low bush
of thorny mimosa: there is no drainage upon this perfect level;
thus, during the rainy season, the soakage actually melts the
soil, and forms deep holes throughout the country, which then
becomes an impracticable slough, bearing grass and jungle. Upon
this fertile tract of land, cotton might be cultivated to a large
extent, and sent to Berber, via Atbara, from Gozerajup, during
the season of flood. At the present time, the growth is
restricted to the supply required by the Arabs for the
manufacture of their cloths. These are woven by themselves, the
weaver sitting in a hole excavated in the ground before his rude
loom, shaded by a rough thatch about ten feet square, supported
upon poles. There is a uniformity in dress throughout all the
Nubian tribes of Arabs, the simple toga of the Romans this is
worn in many ways, as occasion may suggest, very similar to the
Scotch plaid. The quality of cotton produced is the same as that
of Lower Egypt, and the cloths manufactured by the Arabs,
although coarse, are remarkably soft. The toga or tope is
generally ornamented with a few red stripes at either extremity,
and is terminated by a fringe.

As we approached within about twenty-five miles o Cassala, I
remarked that the country on our left was in many places flooded;
the Arabs, who had hitherto been encamped in this neighbourhood
during the dry season, were migrating to other localities in the
neighbourhood of Soojalup and Gozerajup, with their vast herds of
camels and goats. As rain had not fallen in sufficient quantity
to account for the flood, I was informed that it was due to the
river Gash, or Mareb, which, flowing from Abyssinia, passed
beneath the walls of Cassala, and then divided into innumerable
ramifications; it was eventually lost, and disappeared in the
porous soil, after having flooded a large extent of country. This
cause accounted for the never-failing wells of Soojalup--doubtless
a substratum of clay prevented the total escape of the water,
which remained at a depth of forty feet from the surface. The
large tract of country thus annually flooded by the river Gash
is rendered extremely fruitful, and is the resort of both the
Hadendowa and the Hallonga Arabs during the dry season, who
cultivate large quantities of dhurra, and other grain.
Unfortunately, in these climates, fertility of soil is
generally combined with unhealthiness, and the commencement of
the rainy season is the signal for fevers and other maladies. No
sooner had we arrived in the flooded country than my wife was
seized with a sudden and severe attack, which necessitated a halt
upon the march, as she could no longer sit upon her camel. In the
evening, several hundreds of Arabs arrived, and encamped around
our fire. It was shortly after sunset, and it was interesting to
watch the extreme rapidity with which these swarthy sons of the
desert pitched their camp--a hundred fires were quickly blazing;
the women prepared the food, children sat in clusters round the
blaze, as all were wet from paddling through the puddled ground,
from which they were retreating.

No sooner was the bustle of arrangement completed, than a grey
old man stepped forward, and, responding to his call, every man
of the hundreds present formed in line, three or four deep. At
once there was total silence, disturbed only by the crackling of
the fires, or by the cry of a child; and with faces turned to the
east, in attitudes of profound devotion, the wild but fervent
followers of Mahomet repeated their evening prayer.

The flickering red light of the fires illumined the bronze faces
of the congregation, and as I stood before the front line of
devotees, I took off my cap in respect for their faith, and at
the close of their prayer I made my salaam to their venerable
Faky (priest); he returned the salutation with the cold dignity
of an Arab. In this part the coorbatch of the Turk was
unnecessary, and we shortly obtained supplies of milk. I ordered
the dragoman Mahomet to inform the Faky that I was a doctor, and
that I had the best medicines at the service of the sick, with
advice gratis. In a short time I had many applicants, to whom I
served out a quantity of Holloway's pills. These are most useful
to an explorer, as, possessing unmistakeable purgative
properties, they create an undeniable effect upon the patient,
which satisfies him of their value. They are also extremely
convenient, as they may be carried by the pound in a tin box, and
served out in infinitesimal doses from one to ten at a time,
according to the age of the patients. I had a large medicine
chest, with all necessary drugs, but I was sorely troubled by the
Arab women, many of whom were barren, who insisted upon my
supplying them with some medicine that would remove this stigma
and render them fruitful. It was in vain to deny them; I
therefore gave them usually a small dose of ipecacuanha, with the
comforting word to an Arab, "Inshallah," "if it please God." At
the same time I explained that the medicine was of little value.

On the following morning, during the march, my wife had a renewal
of fever. We had already passed a large village named Abre, and
the country was a forest of small trees, which, being in leaf,
threw a delicious shade. Under a tree, upon a comfortable bed of
dry sand, we wer obliged to lay her for several hours, until the
paroxysm passed, and she could remount her dromedary. This she
did with extreme difficulty, and we hurried toward Cassala, from
which town we were only a few miles distant.

For the last fifty or sixty miles we had seen the Cassala
mountain--at first a blue speck above the horizon. It now rose in
all the beauty of a smooth and bare block of granite, about 3,500
feet above the level of the country with the town of Cassala at
the base, and the roaring torrent Gash flowing at our feet. When
we reached the end of the day's march, it was between 5 and 6
P.M. The walled town was almost washed by the river, which was at
least 500 yards wide. However, our guides assured us that it was
fordable, although dangerous on account of the strength of the
current. Camels are most stupid and nervous animals in water;
that ridden by my wife was fortunately better than the
generality. I sent two Arabs with poles, ahead of my camel, and
carefully led the way. After considerable difficulty, we forded
the river safely; the water was nowhere above four feet deep,
and, in most places, it did not exceed three; but the great
rapidity of the stream would have rendered it impossible for the
me to cross without the assistance of poles. One of our camels
lost its footing, and was carried helplessly down the river for
some hundred yards, until it stranded upon a bank.

The sun had sunk when we entered Cassala. It is a walled town,
surrounded by a ditch and flanking towers, and containing about
8,000 inhabitants, exclusive of troops. The houses and walls were
of unburnt brick, smeared with clay and cow-dung. As we rode
through the dusty streets, I sent off Mahomet with my firman to
the Mudir; and, not finding a suitable place inside the town, I
returned outside the walls, where I ordered the tents to be
pitched in a convenient spot among some wild fig-trees. Hardly
were the tents pitched than Mahomet returned, accompanied by an
officer and ten soldiers as a guard, with a polite message from
the Mudir or governor, who had, as usual, kissed the potent
firman, and raised it to his forehead, with the declaration that
he was "my servant, and that all that I required should be
immediately attended to." Shortly after, we were called upon by
several Greeks, one of whom was the army doctor, Signor Georgis,
who, with great kindness, offered to supply all our wants. My
wife was dreadfully weak and exhausted, therefore an undisturbed
night's rest was all that was required, with the independence of
our own tent.

Cassala is rich in hyaenas, and the night was passed in the
discordant howling of these disgusting but useful animals: they
are the scavengers of the country, devouring every species of
filth, and clearing all carrion from the earth. Without the
hyaenas and vultures, the neighbourhood of a Nubian village would
be unbearable; it is the idle custom of the people to leave
unburied all animals that die. Thus, among the numerous flocks
and herds, the casualties would create a pestilence were it not
for the birds and beasts of prey.

On the following morning the fever had yielded to quinine, and we
were enabled to receive a round of visits--the governor and
suite, Elias Bey, the doctor and a friend, and, lastly, Malem
Georgis, an elderly Greek merchant, who, with great hospitality,
insisted upon our quitting the sultry tent and sharing his own
roof. We therefore became his guests in a most comfortable house
for some days. Our Turk, Hadji Achmet, returned on his way to
Berber; we discharged our camels, and prepared - to start afresh
from this point for the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia.


CHAPTER IV.

ROUTE FROM CASSALA TO SOUAKIM.

BY dead reckoning, Cassala is ninety-three miles S.S.E. of
Gozerajup, or about 340 miles from Berber. We had ridden about
710 miles from Korosko, 630 miles of which had been through
scorching deserts during the hottest season. We were, therefore,
thankful to exchange the intense heat of the tent for a solid
roof, and to rest for a short time in the picturesque country of
Taka.

The direct route to Cassala, the capital of Taka, should be from
Suez to Souakim, on the Red Sea, and from thence in sixteen days,
by camel. Thus, were there a line from Suez to Souakim by
steamers, similar to that already established to Jedda, Cassala
would be only twenty-two days' journey from Cairo. At present,
the arrival of steamers at Souakim is entirely uncertain;
therefore the trade of the country is paralysed by the apathy of
the Egyptian Government. The Abdul Azziz Company run their
steamers regularly from Suez to Jedda; and, although they
advertise Souakim as a port of call, there is no dependence to be
placed upon the announcement; therefore, all merchants are afraid
not only of delay, but of high warehouse charges at Souakim. The
latter port is only four days' steaming from Suez, and, being the
most central depot for all merchandise both to and from Upper
Egypt, it would become a point of great importance were regular
means of transport established.

Cotton of excellent quality may be grown to an unlimited amount
in the provinces of Upper Egypt, and could be delivered at
Souakim at a trifling cost of transport. A large quantity of gum
arabic is collected throughout this country, which sells in
Cassala at 20 piastres (4s. 2d.) the cantar of 100 lbs. There are
three varieties, produced from various mimosas; the finest
quality is gathered in the province of Kordofan, but I
subsequently met with large quantities of this species in the
Base country. Senna grows wild in the deserts, but the low price
hardly pays for the cost of collection. There are several
varieties; that with extremely narrow and sharp-pointed leaves is
preferred. It grows in sandy situations where few plants would
exist. The bush seldom exceeds three feet in height, and is
generally below that standard; but it is exceedingly thick, and
rich in a pale green foliage, which is a strong temptation to the
hungry camel. Curiously, this purgative plant is the animal's
bonne bouche, and is considered most nourishing as fodder.

The exports of the Soudan are limited to gum arabic, ivory,
hides, senna, and bees'-wax; the latter is the produce of
Abyssinia. These articles are generally collected by travelling
native traders, who sell to the larger merchants resident in
Cassala and Khartoum, the two principal towns of the Soudan. The
bazaar in Cassala was poor, as the principal articles were those
of low price, adapted to the wants of the Arabs, who flock to the
capital as a small London, to make their purchases of cloths,
perfumery for the women, copper cooking pots, &c.

The fortifications of the town, although useless against cannon,
are considered by the Arabs as impregnable. The walls are of
solid mud and sun-baked bricks, carefully loopholed for musketry,
while a deep fosse, by which it is surrounded, is a safeguard
against a sudden surprise.

These engineering precautions were rendered necessary by the
ferocity of the Arabs, who fought the Egyptians with great
determination for some years before they were finally subdued.
Although the weapons of all the Arab tribes are the simple sword
and lance, they defended their country against the regular troops
of Egypt until they were completely defeated by a scarcity of
water, against which there could be no resistance. The Egyptians
turned the course of the river Gash, and entirely shut off the
supply from one portion of the country, while they inundated
another. This was effected by an immense dam, formed of the stems
of the dome palms, as a double row of piles, while the interior
was rendered water-tight by a lining of matting filled up with
sand.

Cassala was built about twenty years before I visited the
country, after Taka had been conquered and annexed to Egypt. The
general annexation of the Soudan and the submission of the
numerous Arab tribes to the Viceroy have been the first steps
necessary to the improvement of the country. Although the
Egyptians are hard masters, and do not trouble themselves about
the future well-being of the conquered races, it must be
remembered that, prior to the annexation, all the tribes were at
war among themselves. There was neither government nor law; thus
the whole country was closed to Europeans. At present, there is
no more danger in travelling in Upper Egypt than in crossing Hyde
Park after dark, provided the traveller be just and courteous. At
the time of my visit to Cassala in 1861, the Arab tribes were
separately governed by their own chiefs or sheiks, who were
responsible to the Egyptian authorities for the taxes due from
their people: since that period, the entire tribes of all
denominations have been placed under the authority of that grand
old Arab patriarch Achmet Abou Sinn, to be hereafter mentioned.
The Sheik Moosa, of the Hadendowa tribe, was in prison during our
stay in that country, for some breach of discipline in his
dealings with the Egyptian Government. The iron hand of despotism
has produced a marvellous change among the Arabs, who are
rendered utterly powerless by the system of government adopted by
the Egyptians; unfortunately, this harsh system has the effect of
paralysing all industry.

The principal object of Turks and Egyptians in annexation, is to
increase their power of taxation by gaining an additional number
of subjects. Thus, although many advantages have accrued to the
Arab provinces of Nubia through Egyptian rule, there exists an
amount of mistrust between the governed and the governing. Not
only are the camels, cattle, and sheep subjected to a tax, but
every attempt at cultivation is thwarted by the authorities, who
impose a fine or tax upon the superficia1 area of the cultivated
land. Thus, no one will cultivate more than is absolutely
necessary, as he dreads the difficulties that the broad acres of
waving crops would entail upon his family. The bona fide tax is
a bagatelle to the amounts squeezed from him by the extortionate
soldiery, who are the agents employed by the sheik; these must
have their share of the plunder, in excess of the amount to be
delivered to their employer; he, also, must have his plunder
before he parts with the bags of dollars to the governor of the
province. Thus the unfortunate cultivator is ground down; should
he refuse to pay the necessary "baksheesh" or present to the
tax-collectors, some false charge is trumped up against him, and
he is thrown into prison. As a green field is an attraction to a
flight of locusts in their desolating voyage, so is a luxuriant
farm in the Soudan a point for the tax-collectors of Upper Egypt.
I have frequently ridden several days' journey through a
succession of empty villages, deserted by the inhabitants upon
the report of the soldiers' approach; the women and children,
goats and cattle, camels and asses, have all been removed into
the wilderness for refuge, while their crops of corn have been
left standing for the plunderers, who would be too idle to reap
and thrash the grain.

Notwithstanding the misrule that fetters the steps of
improvement, Nature has bestowed such great capabilities of
production in the fertile soil of this country, that the yield of
a small surface is more than sufficient for the requirements of
the population, and actual poverty is unknown. The average price
of dhurra is fifteen piastres per "rachel," or about 3s. 2d. for
500 lbs. upon the spot where it is grown. The dhurra (Sorghum
andropogon) is the grain most commonly used throughout the
Soudan; there are great varieties of this plant, of which the
most common are the white and the red. The land is not only
favoured by Nature by its fertility, but the intense heat of the
summer is the labourer's great assistant. As before described,
all vegetation entirely disappears in the glaring Sun, or becomes
so dry that it is swept off by fire; thus the soil is perfectly
clean and fit for immediate cultivation upon the arrival of the
rains. The tool generally used is similar to the Dutch hoe. With
this simple implement the surface is scratched to the depth of
about two inches, and the seeds of the dhurra are dibbled in
about three feet apart, in rows from four to five feet in width.
Two seeds are dropped into each hole. A few days after the first
shower they rise above the ground, and when about six inches
high, the whole population turn out of their villages at break of
day to weed the dhurra fields. Sown in July, it is harvested in
February and March. Eight months are thus required for the
cultivation of this cereal in the intense heat of Nubia. For the
first three months the growth is extremely rapid, and the stem
attains a height of six or seven feet. When at perfection on the
rich soil of the Taka country, the plant averages a height of ten
feet, the circumference of the stem being about four inches. The
crown is a feather very similar to that of the sugar cane; the
blossom falls, and the feather becomes a head of dhurra, weighing
about two pounds. Each grain is about the size of hemp-seed.
I took the trouble of counting the corns contained in an
average-sized head, the result being 4,848. The process of
harvesting and thrashing are remarkably simple, as the heads are
simply detached from the straw and beaten out in piles. The dried
straw is a substitute for sticks in forming the walls of the
village huts; these are plastered with clay and cow-dung, which
form the Arab's lath and plaster.

The millers' work is exclusively the province of the women. There
are no circular hand-mills, as among Oriental nations; but the
corn is ground upon a simple flat stone, of either gneiss or
granite, about two feet in length by fourteen inches in width.
The face of this is roughened by beating with a sharp-pointed
piece of harder stone, such as quartz, or hornblende, and the
grain is reduced to flour by great labour and repeated grinding
or rubbing with a stone rolling-pin. The flour is mixed with
water and allowed to ferment; it is then made into thin pancakes
upon an earthenware flat portable hearth. This species of
leavened bread is known to the Arabs as the kisra. It is not very
palatable, but it is extremely well suited to Arab cookery, as it
can be rolled up like a pancake and dipped in the general dish of
meat and gravy very conveniently, in the absence of spoons and
forks. No man will condescend to grind the corn, and even the
Arab women have such an objection to this labour, that one of the
conditions of matrimony enforced upon the husband, if possible,
provides the wife with a slave woman to prepare the flour.

Hitherto we had a large stock of biscuits, but as our dragoman
Mahomet had, in a curious fit of amiability, dispensed them among
the camel-drivers, we were now reduced to the Arab kisras.
Although not as palatable as wheaten bread, the flour of dhurra
is exceedingly nourishing, containing, according to Professor
Johnston's analysis, eleven and a half per cent. of gluten, or
one and a half per cent. more than English wheaten flour. Thus
men and beasts thrive, especially horses, which acquire an
excellent condition.

The neighbourhood of Cassala is well adapted for the presence of
a large town and military station, as the fertile soil produces
the necessary supplies, while the river Gash affords excellent
water. In the rainy season this should be filtered, as it brings
down many impurities from the torrents of Abyssinia, but in the
heat of summer the river is entirely dry, and clear and wholesome
water is procured from wells in the sandy bed. The south and
south-east of Cassala is wild and mountainous, affording
excellent localities for hill stations during the unhealthy rainy
season; but such sanitary arrangements for the preservation of
troops are about as much heeded by the Egyptian Government as by
our own, and regiments are left in unwholesome climates to take
their chance, although the means of safety are at hand.

The Taka country being the extreme frontier of Egypt, constant
raids are made by the Egyptians upon their neighbours--the
hostile Base, through which country the river Gash or Mareb
descends. I was anxious to procure all the information possible
concerning the Base, as it would be necessary to traverse the
greater portion in exploring the Settite river, which is the
principal tributary of the Atbara, and which is in fact the main
and parent stream, although bearing a different name. I heard but
one opinion of the Base--it was a wild and independent country,
inhabited by a ferocious race, whose hand was against every man,
and who in return were the enemies of all by whom they were
surrounded--Egyptians, Abyssinians, Arabs, and Mek Nimmur;
nevertheless, secure in their mountainous stronghold, they defied
all adversaries. The Base is a portion of Abyssinia, but the
origin of the tribe that occupies this ineradicable hornet's nest
is unknown. Whether they are the remnant of the original
Ethiopians, who possessed the country prior to the conquests of
the Abyssinians, or whether they are descended from the
woolly-haired tribes of the south banks of the Blue Nile, is
equally a mystery; all we know is that they are of the same type
as the inhabitants of Fazogle, of the upper portion of the Blue
River; they are exceedingly black, with woolly hair, resembling
in that respect the negro, but without the flat nose or
prognathous jaw. No quarter is given on either side, should the
Base meet the Arabs, with whom war is to the knife. In spite of
the overwhelming superiority of their adversaries, the Base
cannot be positively subdued; armed with the lance as their only
weapon, but depending upon extreme agility and the natural
difficulties of their mountain passes, the attack of the Base is
always by stealth; their spies are ever prowling about unseen
like the leopard, and their onset is invariably a surprise;
success or defeat are alike followed by a rapid retreat to their
mountains.

As there is nothing to be obtained by the plunder of the Base but
women and children as slaves, the country is generally avoided,
unless visited for the express purpose of a slave razzia.
Cultivation being extremely limited, the greater portion of the
country is perfectly wild, and is never visited even by the Base
themselves unless for the purpose of hunting. Several beautiful
rivers descend from the mountain ranges, which ultimately flow
into the Atbara; these, unlike the latter river, are never dry:
thus, with a constant supply of water, in a country of forest and
herbage, the Base abounds in elephants, rhinoceroses,
hippopotami, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, and great
numbers of the antelope tribe.

Cassala, thus situated on the confines of the Taka country, is an
important military point in the event of war between Egypt and
Abyssinia, as the Base would be invaluable as allies to the
Egyptians; their country commands the very heart of Abyssinia,
and their knowledge of the roads would be an incalculable
advantage to an invading force. On the 14th July I had concluded
my arrangements for the start; there had been some difficulty in
procuring camels, but the all-powerful firman was a never-failing
talisman, and, as the Arabs had declined to let their animals for
hire, the Governor despatched a number of soldiers and seized the
required number, including their owners. I engaged two wild young
Arabs of eighteen and twenty years of age, named Bacheet and Wat
Gamma: the latter being interpreted signifies "Son of the Moon."
This in no way suggests lunacy, but the young Arab had happened
to enter this world on the day of the new moon, which was
considered to be a particularly fortunate and brilliant omen at
his birth. Whether the climax of his good fortune had arrived at
the moment he entered my service I know not, but, if so, there
was a cloud over his happiness in his subjection to Mahomet the
dragoman, who rejoiced in the opportunity of bullying the two
inferiors. Wat Gamma was a quiet, steady, well-conducted lad, who
bore oppression mildly; but the younger, Bacheet, was a fiery,
wild young Arab, who, although an excellent boy in his peculiar
way, was almost incapable of being tamed and domesticated. I at
once perceived that Mahomet would have a determined rebel to
control, which I confess I did not regret. Wages were not high in
this part of the world,--the lads were engaged at one and a half
dollar per month and their keep. Mahomet, who was a great man,
suffered from the same complaint to which great men are (in those
countries) particularly subject: wherever he went, he was
attacked with claimants of relationship; he was overwhelmed with
professions of friendship from people who claimed to be
connexions of some of his family; in fact, if all the
ramifications of his race were correctly represented by the
claimants of relationship, Mahomet's family tree would have
shaded the Nubian desert.

We all have our foibles: the strongest fort has its feeble point,
as the chain snaps at its weakest link;--family pride was
Mahomet's weak link. This was his tender point; and Mahomet, the
great and the imperious, yielded to the gentle scratching of his
ear if a stranger claimed connexion with his ancient lineage. Of
course he had no family, with the exception of his wife and two
children, whom he had left in Cairo. The lady whom he had
honoured by an admission to the domestic circle of the Mahomets
was suffering from a broken arm when we started from Egypt, as
she had cooked the dinner badly, and the "gaddah," or large
wooden bowl, had been thrown at her by the naturally indignant
husband, precisely as he had thrown the axe at one man and the
basin at another, while in our service: these were little
contretemps that could hardly disturb the dignity of so great a
man. Mahomet met several relations at Cassala: one borrowed money
of him; another stole his pipe; the third, who declared that
nothing should separate them now that "by the blessing of God"
they had met, determined to accompany him through all the
difficulties of our expedition, provided that Mahomet would only
permit him to serve for love, without wages. I gave Mahomet some
little advice upon this point, reminding him that, although the
clothes of the party were only worth a few piastres, the spoons
and forks were silver, therefore I should hold him responsible
for the honesty of his friend. This reflection upon the family
gave great offence, and he assured me that Achmet, our quondam
acquaintance, was so near a relation that he was--I assisted him
in the genealogical distinction: "Mother's brother's cousin's
sister's mother's son? Eh, Mahomet?" "Yes, sar, that's it!" "Very
well, Mahomet; mind he don't steal the spoons, and thrash him if
he doesn't do his work!" "Yes, sar," replied Mahomet; "he all
same like one brother, he one good man will do his business
quietly; if not, master lick him." The new relation not
understanding English, was perfectly satisfied with the success
of his introduction, and from that moment he became one of the
party. One more addition, and our arrangements were completed:--
the Governor of Cassala was determined that we should not
start without a representative of the Government, in the shape of
a soldier guide; he accordingly gave us a black man, a corporal
in one of the Nubian regiments, who was so renowned as a
sportsman that he went by the name of "El Baggar" (the cow), on
account of his having killed several of the oryx antelope, known
as "El Baggar et Wahash" (the cow of the desert).

The rains had fairly commenced, as a heavy thunder-shower
generally fell at about 2 P.M. On the 15th, the entire day was
passed in transporting our baggage across the river Gash to the
point from which we had started upon our arrival at Cassala: this
we accomplished with much difficulty, with the assistance of
about a hundred men supplied by the Governor, from whom we had
received much attention and politeness. We camped for the night
upon the margin of the river, and marched on the following
morning at daybreak due west towards the Atbara.

The country was a great improvement upon that we had hitherto
passed; the trees were larger, and vast plains of young grass,
interspersed with green bush, stretched to the horizon. The soil
was an exceedingly rich loam, most tenacious when wetted: far as
the eye could reach to the north and west of Cassala was the dead
level plain, while to the south and east arose a broken chain of
mountains.

We had not proceeded many miles, when the numerous tracks of
antelopes upon the soil, moistened by the shower of yesterday,
proved that we had arrived in a sporting country; shortly after,
we saw a herd of about fifty ariels (Gazelle Dama). To stalk
these wary antelopes I was obliged to separate from my party, who
continued on their direct route. Riding upon my camel, I tried
every conceivable dodge without success. I could not approach
them nearer than about 300 yards. They did not gallop off at
once, but made a rush for a few hundred paces, and then faced
about to gaze at the approaching camel. After having exhausted my
patience to no purpose, I tried another plan: instead of
advancing against the wind as before, I made a great circuit and
gave them the wind. No sooner was I in good cover behind a mimosa
bush than I dismounted from my camel, and, leading it until
within view of the shy herd, I tied it to a tree, keeping behind
the animal so as to be well concealed. I succeeded in retreating
through the bushes unobserved, leaving the camel as a gazing
point to attract their attention. Running at my best speed to the
same point from which I had commenced my circuit, and keeping
under cover of the scattered bushes, I thus obtained the correct
wind, and stalked up from bush to bush behind the herd, who were
curiously watching the tied camel, that was quietly gazing on a
mimosa. In this way I had succeeded in getting within 150 yards
of the beautiful herd, when a sudden fright seized them, and they
rushed off in an opposite direction to the camel, so as to pass
about 120 yards on my left; as they came by in full speed, I
singled out a superb animal, and tried the first barrel of the
little Fletcher rifle. I heard the crack of the ball, and almost
immediately afterwards the herd passed on, leaving one lagging
behind at a slow canter; this was my wounded ariel, who shortly
halted, and laid down in an open glade. Having no dog, I took the
greatest precaution in stalking, as a wounded antelope is almost
certain to escape if once disturbed when it has lain down. There
was a small withered stem of a tree not thicker than a man's
thigh; this grew within thirty yards of the antelope; my only
chance of approach was to take a line direct for this slight
object of cover. The wind was favourable, and I crept along the
ground. I had succeeded in arriving within a few yards of the
tree when up jumped the antelope, and bounded off as though
unhurt; but there was no chance for it at this distance, and I
rolled it over with a shot through the spine.

Having done the needful with my beautiful prize, and extracted
the interior, I returned for my camel that had well assisted in
the stalk. Hardly had I led the animal to the body of the ariel,
when I heard a rushing sound like a strong wind, and down came a
vulture with its wings collapsed, falling from an immense height
direct to its prey, in its eagerness to be the first in the race.
By the time that I had fastened the ariel across the back of the
camel, many vultures were sitting upon the ground at a few yards'
distance, while others were arriving every minute: before I had
shot the ariel, not a vulture had been in sight; the instant that
I retreated from the spot a flock of ravenous beaks were tearing
at the offal.

In the constant doubling necessary during the stalk I had quite
lost my way. The level plain to the horizon, covered with
scattered mimosas, offered no object as a guide. I was
exceedingly thirsty, as the heat was intense, and I had been
taking rapid exercise; unfortunately my water-skin was slung upon
my wife's camel. However unpleasant the situation, my pocket
compass would give me the direction, as we had been steering due
west; therefore, as I had turned to my left when I left my party,
a course N.W. should bring me across their tracks, if they had
continued on their route. The position of the Cassala mountain
agreed with this course; therefore, remounting my dromedary, with
the ariel slung behind the saddle, I hastened to rejoin our
caravan. After about half an hour I heard a shot fired not far in
advance, and I shortly joined the party, who had fired a gun to
give me the direction. A long and deep pull at the water-skin was
the first salutation.

We halted that night near a small pond formed by the recent heavy
rain. Fortunately the sky was clear; there was abundance of fuel,
and pots were shortly boiling an excellent stew of ariel venison
and burnt onions. The latter delicious bulbs are the blessing of
Upper Egypt: I have lived for days upon nothing but raw onions
and sun-dried rusks. Nothing is so good a substitute for meat as
an onion; but if raw, it should be cut into thin slices, and
allowed to soak for half an hour in water, which should be poured
off: the onion thus loses its pungency, and becomes mild and
agreeable; with the accompaniment of a little oil and vinegar it
forms an excellent salad.

The following day's march led us through the same dead level of
grassy plains and mimosas, enlivened with numerous herds of
ariels and large black-striped gazelles (Dorcas), one of which I
succeeded in shooting for my people. After nine hours' journey we
arrived at the, valley of the Atbara, in all sixteen hours'
actual marching from Cassala.

There was an extraordinary change in the appearance of the river
between Gozerajup and this spot. There was no longer the vast
sandy desert with the river flowing through its sterile course on
a level with the surface of the country, but after traversing an
apparently perfect flat of forty-five miles of rich alluvial
soil, we had suddenly arrived upon the edge of a deep valley,
between five and six miles wide, at the bottom of which, about
200 feet below the general level of the country, flowed the river
Atbara. On the opposite side of the valley, the same vast table
lands continued to the western horizon.

We commenced the descent towards the river; the valley was a
succession of gullies and ravines, of landslips and watercourses;
the entire hollow, of miles in width, had evidently been the work
of the river. How many ages had the rains and the stream been at
work to scoop out from the flat table land this deep and broad
valley? Here was the giant labourer that had shovelled the rich
loam upon the delta of Lower Egypt! Upon these vast flats of
fertile soil there can be no drainage except through soakage. The
deep valley is therefore the receptacle not only for the water
that oozes from its sides, but subterranean channels, bursting as
land-springs from all parts of the walls of the valley, wash down
the more soluble portions of earth, and continually waste away
the soil. Landslips occur daily during the rainy season; streams
of rich mud pour down the valley's slopes, and as the river flows
beneath in a swollen torrent, the friable banks topple down into
the stream and dissolve. The Atbara becomes the thickness of
pea-soup, as its muddy waters steadily perform the duty they have
fulfilled from age to age. Thus was the great river at work upon
our arrival on its bank at the bottom of the valley. The Arab
name, "Bahr el Aswat" (black river) was well bestowed; it was the
black mother of Egypt, still carrying to her offspring the
nourishment that had first formed the Delta.

At this point of interest, the journey had commenced; the deserts
were passed, all was fertility and life: wherever the sources of
the Nile might be, the Atbara was the parent of Egypt! This was
my first impression, to be proved hereafter.


CHAPTER V.

THE STORM.

A VIOLENT thunderstorm, with a deluge of rain, broke upon our
camp upon the banks of the Atbara, fortunately just after the
tents were pitched. We thus had an example of the extraordinary
effects of the heavy rain in tearing away the soil of the valley.
Trifling watercourses were swollen to torrents; banks of earth
became loosened and fell in, and the rush of mud and water upon
all sides swept forward into the river with a rapidity which
threatened the destruction of the country, could such a tempest
endure for a few days. In a couple of hours all was over. The
river was narrower than in its passage through the desert, but
was proportionately deeper. The name of the village on the
opposite bank was Goorashee, with which a means of communication
had been established by a ferry-boat belonging to our friend and
late host, Malem Georgis, the Greek merchant of Cassala. He had
much trouble in obtaining permission from the authorities to
introduce this novelty, which was looked upon as an innovation,
as such a convenience had never before existed. The enterprising
proprietor had likewise established a cotton farm at Goorashee,
which appeared to succeed admirably, and was an undeniable
example of what could be produced in this fertile country were
the spirit of improvement awakened. Notwithstanding the advantage
of the ferry-boat, many of the Arabs preferred to swim their
camels across the river to paying a trifle to the ferryman. A
camel either cannot or will not swim unless it is supported by
inflated skins: thus the passage of the broad river Atbara (at
this spot about 300 yards wide) is an affair of great difficulty.
Two water-skins are inflated, and attached to the camel by a band
passed like a girth beneath the belly. Thus arranged, a man sits
upon its back, while one or two swim by the side as guides. The
current of the Atbara runs at a rapid rate; thus the camel is
generally carried at least half a mile down the river before it
can gain the opposite bank. A few days before our arrival, a man
had been snatched from the back of his camel while crossing, and
was carried off by a crocodile. Another man had been taken during
the last week while swimming the river upon a log. It was
supposed that these accidents were due to the same crocodile, who
was accustomed to bask upon a mud bank at the foot of the cotton
plantation. On the day following our arrival at the Atbara, we
found that our camel-drivers had absconded during the night with
their camels; these were the men who had been forced to serve by
the Governor of Cassala. There was no possibility of proceeding
for some days, therefore I sent El Baggar across the river to
endeavour to engage camels, while I devoted myself to a search
for the crocodile. I shortly discovered that it was unfair in the
extreme to charge one particular animal with the death of the two
Arabs, as several large crocodiles were lying upon the mud in
various places. A smaller one was lying asleep high and dry upon
the bank; the wind was blowing strong, so that, by carefully
approaching, I secured a good shot within thirty yards, and
killed it on the spot by a bullet through the head, placed about
an inch above the eyes.

After some time, the large crocodiles, who had taken to the water
at the report of the gun, again appeared, and crawled slowly out
of the muddy river to their basking-places upon the bank. A
crocodile usually sleeps with its mouth wide open; I therefore
waited until the immense jaws of the nearest were well expanded,
showing a grand row of glittering teeth, when I crept carefully
towards it through the garden of thickly-planted cotton. Bacheet
and Wat Gamma followed in great eagerness. In a short time I
arrived within about forty yards of the beast, as it lay upon a
flat mud bank formed by one of the numerous torrents that had
carried down the soil during the storm of yesterday. The cover
ceased, and it was impossible to approach nearer without alarming
the crocodile; it was a fine specimen, apparently nineteen or
twenty feet in length, and I took a steady shot with the little
Fletcher rifle at the temple, exactly in front of the point of
union of the head with the spine. The jaws clashed together, and
a convulsive start followed by a twitching of the tail led me to
suppose that sudden death had succeeded the shot; but, knowing
the peculiar tenacity of life possessed by the crocodile, I fired
another shot at the shoulder, as the huge body lay so close to
the river's edge that the slightest struggle would cause it to
disappear. To my surprise, this shot, far from producing a
quietus, gave rise to a series of extraordinary convulsive
struggles. One moment it rolled upon its back, lashed out right
and left with its tail, and ended by toppling over into the
river.

This was too much for the excitable Bacheet, who, followed by his
friend, Wat Gamma, with more courage than discretion, rushed into
the river, and endeavoured to catch the crocodile by the tail.
Before I had time to call them back, these two Arab water-dogs
were up to their necks in the river, screaming out directions to
each other while they were feeling for the body of the monster
with their feet. At length I succeeded in calling them to shore,
and we almost immediately saw the body of the crocodile appear
belly upwards, about fifty yards down the stream; the forepaws
were above the water, but, after rolling round several times, it
once more disappeared, rapidly carried away by the muddy torrent.
This was quite enough for the Arabs, who had been watching the
event from the opposite bank of the river, and the report quickly
spread that two crocodiles were killed, one of which they
declared to be the public enemy that had taken the men at the
ferry, but upon what evidence I cannot understand. Although my
Arabs looked forward to a dinner of crocodile flesh, I was
obliged to search for something of rather milder flavour for
ourselves. I waited for about an hour while the first crocodile
was being divided, when I took a shot gun and succeeded in
killing three geese and a species of antelope no larger than a
hare, known by the Arabs as the Dik-dik (Nanotragus
Hemprichianus). This little creature inhabits thick bush. Since
my return to England, I have seen a good specimen in the
Zoological Gardens of the Regent's Park.

Upon my arrival at the tents, I found the camp redolent of musk
from the flesh of the crocodile, and the people were quarrelling
for the musk glands, which they had extracted, and which are much
prized by the Arab women, who wear them strung like beads upon a
necklace.

A crocodile possesses four of such glands; they vary in size
according to the age of the reptile, but they are generally about
as large as a hazel-nut, when dried. Two glands are situated in
the groin, and two in the throat, a little in advance of the
fore-legs. I have noticed two species of crocodiles throughout
all the rivers of Abyssinia, and in the White Nile. One of these
is of a dark brown colour, and much shorter and thicker in
proportion than the other, which grows to an immense length, an
is generally of a pale greenish yellow. Throughout the Atbara,
crocodiles are extremely mischievous and bold; this can be
accounted for by the constant presence of Arabs and their flocks,
which the crocodiles have ceased to fear, as they exact a heavy
tribute in their frequent passages of the river. The Arabs assert
that the dark-coloured, thick-bodied species is more to be
dreaded than the other.

The common belief that the scales of the crocodile will stop a
bullet is very erroneous. If a rifle is loaded with the moderate
charge of two and a half drachms it will throw an ounce ball
through the scales of the hardest portion of the back; but were
the scales struck obliquely, the bullet might possibly glance
from the surface, as in like manner it would ricochet from the
surface of water. The crocodile is so difficult to kill outright,
that people are apt to imagine that the scales have resisted
their bullets. The only shots that will produce instant death are
those that strike the brain or the spine through the neck. A shot
through the shoulder is fatal; but as the body immediately sinks,
and does not reappear upon the surface until the gases have
distended the carcase, the game is generally carried away by the
stream before it has had time to float. The body of a crocodile
requires from twelve to eighteen hours before it will rise to the
surface, while that of the hippopotamus will never remain longer
than two hours beneath the water, and will generally rise in an
hour and a half after death. This difference in time depends upon
the depth and temperature; in deep holes of the river of from
thirty to fifty feet, the water is much cooler near the bottom,
thus the gas is not generated in the body so quickly as in
shallow and warmer water. The crocodile is not a grass-feeder,
therefore the stomach is comparatively small, and the contents do
not generate the amount of gas that so quickly distends the huge
stomach of the hippopotamus; thus the body of the former requires
a longer period before it will rise to the surface.

In the evening we crossed with our baggage and people to the
opposite side of the river, and pitched our tents at the village
of Goorashee. A small watercourse had brought down a large
quantity of black sand. Thinking it probable that gold might
exist in the same locality, I washed some earth in a copper
basin, and quickly discovered a few specks of the precious metal.
Gold is found in small quantities in the sand of the Atbara; at
Fazogle, on the Blue Nile, there are mines of this metal worked
by the Egyptian Govermnent. From my subsequent experience I have
no doubt that valuable minerals exist in large quantities
throughout the lofty chain of Abyssinian mountains from which
these rivers derive their sources.

The camels arrived, and once more we were ready to start. Our
factotum, El Baggar, had collected a number of both
baggage-camels and riding dromedaries or "hygeens;" the latter he
had brought for approval, as we had suffered much from the
extreme roughness of our late camels. There is the same
difference between a good hygeen or dromedary and a baggage-camel
as between the thoroughbred and the cart-horse; and it appears
absurd in the eyes of the Arabs that a man of any position should
ride a baggage-camel. Apart from all ideas of etiquette, the
motion of the latter animal is quite sufficient warning. Of all
species of fatigue, the back-breaking monotonous swing of a heavy
camel is the worst; and, should the rider lose patience, and
administer a sharp cut with the coorbatch that induces the
creature to break into a trot, the torture of the rack is a
pleasant tickling compared to the sensation of having your spine
driven by a sledge-hammer from below, half a foot deeper into the
skull. The human frame may be inured to almost anything; thus the
Arabs, who have always been accustomed to this kind of exercise,
hardly feel the motion, and the portion of the body most subject
to pain in riding a rough camel upon two bare pieces of wood for
a saddle, becomes naturally adapted for such rough service, as
monkeys become hardened from constantly sitting upon rough
substances. The children commence almost as soon as they are
born, as they must accompany their mothers in their annual
migrations; and no sooner can the young Arab sit astride and hold
on, than he is placed behind his father's saddle, to which he
clings, while he bumps upon the bare back of the jolting camel.
Nature quickly arranges a horny protection to the nerves, by the
thickening of the skin; thus, an Arab's opinion of the action of
a riding hygeen should never be accepted without a personal
trial. What appears delightful to him may be torture to you, as
a strong breeze and a rough sea may be charming to a sailor, but
worse than death to a landsman.

I was determined not to accept the camels now offered as hygeens
until I had seen them tried; I accordingly ordered our black
soldier El Baggar to saddle the most easy-actioned animal for my
wife, but I wished to see him put it through a variety of paces
before she should accept it. The delighted El Baggar, who from
long practice was as hard as the heel of a boot, disdained
a	saddle; the animal knelt, was mounted, and off he started at
full trot, performing a circle of about fifty yards' diameter as
though in a circus. I never saw such an exhibition! "Warranted
quiet to ride, of easy action, and fit for a lady!" This had been
the character received with the rampant brute, who now, with head
and tail erect, went tearing round the circle, screaming and
roaring like a wild beast, throwing his fore-legs forward, and
stepping at least three feet high in his trot. Where was El
Baggar? A disjointed-looking black figure was sometimes on the
back of this easy-going camel, sometimes a foot high in the air;
arms, head, legs, hands appeared like a confused mass of
dislocations; the woolly hair of this unearthly individual, that
had been carefully trained in long stiff narrow curls, precisely
similar to the tobacco known as "negro-head," alternately started
upright en masse, as though under the influence of electricity,
and then fell as suddenly upon his shoulders: had the dark
individual been a "black dose," he or it could not have been more
thoroughly shaken. This object, so thoroughly disguised by
rapidity of movement, was El Baggar; happy, delighted El Baggar!
As he came rapidly round towards us flourishing his coorbatch, I
called to him, "Is that a nice hygeen for the Sit (lady), El
Baggar? is it VERY easy?" He was almost incapable of a reply.
"V-e-r-y e-e-a-a-s-y," replied the trustworthy authority,
"j-j-j-just the thin-n-n-g for the S-i-i-i-t-t-t." "All right,
that will do," I answered, and the jockey pulled up his steed.
"Are the other camels better or worse than that?" I asked. "Much
worse," replied El Baggar; "the others are rather rough, but this
is an easy-goer, and will suit the lady well."

It was impossible to hire a good hygeen; an Arab prizes his
riding animal too much, and invariably refuses to let it to a
stranger, but generally imposes upon him by substituting some
lightly-built camel, that he thinks will pass muster. I
accordingly chose for my wife a steady-going animal from among
the baggage-camels, trusting to be able to obtain a hygeen from
the great sheik Abou Sinn, who was encamped upon the road we were
about to take along the valley of the Atbara; we arranged to
leave Goorashee on the following day.

Upon arriving at the highest point of the valley, we found
ourselves on the vast table land that stretches from the Atbara
to the Nile. At this season the entire surface had a faint tint
of green, as the young shoots of grass had replied to the late
showers of rain; so perfect a level was this great tract of
fertile country, that within a mile of the valley of the Atbara
there was neither furrow nor watercourse, but the escape of the
rainfall was by simple soakage. As usual, the land was dotted
with mimosas, all of which were now bursting into leaf. The
thorns of the different varieties of these trees are an
extraordinary freak of Nature, as she appears to have exhausted
all her art in producing an apparently useless arrangement of
defence. The mimosas that are most common in the Soudan provinces
are mere bushes, seldom exceeding six feet in height; these
spread out towards the top like mushrooms, but the branches
commence within two feet of the ground; they are armed with
thorns in the shape of fish-hooks, which they resemble in
sharpness and strength. A thick jungle composed of such bushes is
perfectly impenetrable to any animals but elephants,
rhinoceroses, and buffaloes; and should the clothes of a man
become entangled in such thorns, either they must give way, or he
must remain a prisoner. The mimosa that is known among the Arabs
as the Kittar is one of the worst species, and is probably
similar to that which caught Absalom by the hair; this differs
from the well-known "Wait-a-bit" of South Africa, as no milder
nickname could be applied than "Dead-stop." Were the clothes of
strong material, it would be perfectly impossible to break
through a kittar-bush.

A magnificent specimen of a kittar, with a wide-spreading head in
the young glory of green leaf, tempted my hungry camel during our
march; it was determined to procure a mouthful, and I was equally
determined that it should keep to the straight path, and avoid
the attraction of the green food. After some strong remonstrance
upon my part, the perverse beast shook its ugly head, gave a
roar, and started off in full trot straight at the thorny bush.
I had not the slightest control over the animal, and in a few
seconds it charged the bush with the mad intention of rushing
either through or beneath it. To my disgust I perceived that the
wide-spreading branches were only just sufficiently high to
permit the back of the camel to pass underneath. There was no
time for further consideration; we charged the bush; I held my
head doubled up between my arms, and the next moment I was on my
back, half stunned by the fall. The camel-saddle lay upon the
ground; my rifle, that had been slung behind, my coffee-pot, the
water-skin burst, and a host of other impedimenta, lay around me
in all directions; worst of all, my beautiful gold repeater lay
at some distance from me, rendered entirely useless. I was as
nearly naked as I could be; a few rags held together, but my
shirt was gone, with the exception of some shreds that adhered to
my arms. I was, of course, streaming with blood, and looked much
more as though I had been clawed by a leopard than as having
simply charged a bush. The camel had fallen down with the shock
after I had been swept off by the thorny branches. To this day I
have the marks of the scratching.

Unless a riding-camel is perfectly trained, it is the most
tiresome animal to ride after the first green leaves appear;
every bush tempts it from the path, and it is a perpetual fight
between the rider and his beast throughout the journey.

We shortly halted for the night, as I had noticed unmistakeable
signs of an approaching storm. We quickly pitched the tents,
grubbed up the root and stem of a decayed mimosa, and lighted a
fire, by the side of which our people sat in a circle. Hardly had
the pile begun to blaze, when a cry from Mahomet's new relative,
Achmet, informed us that he had been bitten by a scorpion.
Mahomet appeared to think this highly entertaining, until
suddenly he screamed out likewise, and springing from the ground,
he began to stamp and wring his hands in great agony: he had
himself been bitten, and we found that a whole nest of scorpions
were in the rotten wood lately thrown upon the fire; in their
flight from the heat they stung all whom they met. There was no
time to prepare food; the thunder already roared above us, and in
a few minutes the sky, lately so clear, was as black as ink. I
had already prepared for the storm, and the baggage was piled
within the tent; the ropes of the tents had been left slack to
allow for the contraction, and we were ready for the rain. It was
fortunate that we were in order; a rain descended, with an
accompaniment of thunder and lightning, of a volume unknown to
the inhabitants of cooler climates; for several hours there was
almost an uninterrupted roar of the most deafening peals, with
lightning so vivid that our tent was completely lighted up in the
darkness of the night, and its misery displayed. Not only was the
rain pouring through the roof so that we were wet through as we
crouched upon our angareps (stretchers), but the legs of our
bedstead stood in more than six inches of water. Being as wet as
I could be, I resolved to enjoy the scene outside the tent; it
was curious in the extreme. Flash after flash of sharp forked
lightning played upon the surface of a boundless lake; there was
not a foot of land visible, but the numerous dark bushes
projecting from the surface of the water destroyed the illusion
of depth that the scene would otherwise have suggested. The rain
ceased, but the entire country was flooded several inches deep;
and when the more distant lightning flashed as the storm rolled
away, I saw the camels lying like statues built into the lake. On
the following morning the whole of this great mass of water had
been absorbed by the soil, which had become so adhesive and
slippery that it was impossible for the camels to move; we
therefore waited for some hours, until the intense heat of the
sun had dried the surface sufficiently to allow the animals to
proceed.

Upon striking the tent, we found beneath the valance between the
crown and the walls a regiment of scorpions; the flood had
doubtless destroyed great numbers within their holes, but these,
having been disturbed by the deluge, had found an asylum by
crawling up the tent walls: with great difficulty we lighted a
fire, and committed them all to the flames. Mahomet made a great
fuss about his hand, which was certainly much swollen, but not
worse than that of Achmet, who did not complain, although during
the night he had been again bitten on the leg by one of these
venomous insects, that had crawled from the water upon his
clothes. During our journey that morning parallel with the valley
of the Atbara, I had an excellent opportunity of watching the
effect of the storm. We rode along the abrupt margin of the table
land, where it broke suddenly into the deep valley; from the
sides of this the water was oozing in all directions, creating
little avalanches of earth, which fell as they lost their
solidity from too much moisture. This wonderfully rich soil was
rolling gradually towards Lower Egypt. From the heights above the
river we had a beautiful view of the stream, which at this
distance, reflecting the bright sunlight, did not appear like the
thick liquid mud that we knew it to be. The valley was of the
same general character that we had remarked at Goorashee, but
more abrupt--a mass of landslips, deep ravines, shaded by
mimosas, while the immediate neighbour hood of the Atbara was
clothed with the brightest green foliage. In this part, the
valley was about three miles in width, and two hundred feet deep.

The commencement of the rainy season was a warning to all the
Arabs of this country, who were preparing for their annual
migration to the sandy and firm desert on the west bank of the
river, at Gozerajup; that region, so barren and desolate during
the hot season, would shortly be covered with a delicate grass
about eighteen inches high. At that favoured spot the rains fell
with less violence, and it formed a nucleus for the general
gathering of the people with their flocks.

We were travelling south at the very season when the natives were
migrating north. I saw plainly that it would be impossible for us
to continue our journey during the wet season, as the camels had
the greatest difficulty in carrying their loads even now, at the
commencement: their feet sank deep into the soil; this formed
adhesive clods upon their spongy toes, that almost disabled them.
The farther we travelled south, the more violent would the rains
become, and a long tropical experience warned me that the rainy
season was the signal for fevers. All the camels of the Arabs
were being driven from the country; we had already met many herds
travelling northward, but this day's march was through crowds of
these animals, principally females with their young, many
thousands of which were on the road. Some of the young foals were
so small that they could not endure the march; these were slung
in nets upon the backs of camels, while the mother followed
behind. We revelled in milk, as we had not been able to procure
it since we left Cassala. Some persons dislike the milk of the
camel; I think it is excellent to drink pure, but it does not
answer in general use for mixing with coffee, with which it
immediately curdles; it is extremely rich, and is considered by
the Arabs to be more nourishing than that of the cow. To persons
of delicate health I should invariably recommend boiled milk in
preference to plain; and should the digestion be so extremely
weak that liquid milk disagrees with the stomach, they should
allow it to become thick, similar to curds and whey: this should
be then beaten together, with the admixture of a little salt and
cayenne pepper; it then assumes the thickness of cream, and is
very palatable. The Arabs generally prepare it in this manner; it
is not only considered to be more wholesome, but in its thickened
state it is easier to carry upon a journey. With an apology to
European medical men, I would suggest that they should try the
Arab system whenever they prescribe a milk diet for a delicate
patient. The first operation of curdling, which is a severe trial
to a weak stomach, is performed in hot climates by the
atmosphere, as in temperate climates by the admixture of rennet,
&c.; thus the most difficult work of the stomach is effected by
a foreign agency, and it is spared the first act of its
performance. I have witnessed almost marvellous results from a
milk diet given as now advised.

Milk, if drunk warm from the animal in hot climates will affect
many persons in the same manner as a powerful dose of senna and
salts. Our party appeared to be proof against such an accident,
as they drank enough to have stocked a moderate-sized dairy. This
was most good-naturedly supplied gratis by the Arabs.

It was the season of rejoicing; everybody appeared in good
humour; the distended udders of thousands of camels were an
assurance of plenty. The burning sun that for nine months had
scorched the earth was veiled by passing clouds; the cattle that
had panted for water, and whose food was withered straw, were
filled with juicy fodder: the camels that had subsisted upon the
dried and leafless twigs and branches, now feasted upon the
succulent tops of the mimosas. Throngs of women and children
mounted upon camels, protected by the peculiar gaudy saddle hood,
ornamented with cowrie-shells, accompanied the march; thousands
of sheep and goats, driven by Arab boys, were straggling in all
directions; baggage-camels, heavily laden with the quaint
household goods, blocked up the way; the fine bronzed figures of
Arabs, with sword and shield, and white topes, or plaids, guided
their milk-white dromedaries through the confused throng with the
usual placid dignity of their race, simply passing by with the
usual greeting, "Salaam aleikum," "Peace be with you."

It was the Exodus; all were hurrying towards the promised
land--"the land flowing with milk and honey," where men and
beasts would be secure, not only from the fevers of the south,
but from that deadly enemy to camels and cattle, the fly; this
terrible insect drove all before it.

If all were right in migrating to the north, it was a logical
conclusion that we were wrong in going to the south during the
rainy season; however, we now heard from the Arabs that we were
within a couple of hours' march from the camp of the great Sheik
Achmet Abou Sinn, to whom I had a letter of introduction. At the
expiration of about that time we halted, and pitched the tents
among some shady mimosas, while I sent Mahomet to Abou Sinn with
the letter, and my firman.

I was busily engaged in making sundry necessary arrangements in
the tent, when Mahomet returned, and announced the arrival of the
great sheik in person. He was attended by several of his
principal people, and as he approached through the bright green
mimosas, mounted upon a beautiful snow-white hygeen, I was
exceedingly struck with his venerable and dignified appearance.
Upon near arrival I went forward to meet him, and to assist him
from his camel; but his animal knelt immediately at his command,
and he dismounted with the ease and agility of a man of twenty.

He was the most magnificent specimen of an Arab that I have ever
seen. Although upwards of eighty years of age, he was as erect as
a lance, and did not appear more than between fifty and sixty; he
was of Herculean stature, about six feet three inches high, with
immensely broad shoulders and chest; a remarkably arched nose;
eyes like an eagle, beneath large, shaggy, but perfectly white
eyebrows; a snow-white beard of great thickness descended below
the middle of his breast. He wore a large white turban, and a
white cashmere abbai, or long robe, from the throat to the
ankles. As a desert patriarch he was superb, the very perfection
of all that the imagination could paint, if we would personify
Abraham at the head of his people. This grand old Arab with the
greatest politeness insisted upon our immediately accompanying
him to his camp, as he could not allow us to remain in his
country as strangers. He would hear of no excuses, but he at once
gave orders to Mahomet to have the baggage repacked and the tents
removed, while we were requested to mount two superb white
hygeens, with saddle-cloths of blue Persian sheep-skins, that he
had immediately accoutred when he heard from Mahomet of our
miserable camels. The tent was struck, and we joined our
venerable host with a line of wild and splendidly-mounted
attendants, who followed us towards the sheik's encampment.


CHAPTER VI.

SHEIK ACHMET ABOU SINN.

AMONG the retinue of the aged sheik, whom we now accompanied,
were ten of his sons, some of whom appeared to be quite as old as
their father. We had ridden about two miles, when we were
suddenly met by a crowd of mounted men, armed with the usual
swords and shields; many were on horses, others upon hygeens, and
all drew up in lines parallel with our approach. These were Abou
Sinn's people, who had assembled to give us the honorary welcome
as guests of their chief; this etiquette of the Arabs consists in
galloping singly at full speed across the line of advance, the
rider flourishing the sword over his head, and at the same moment
reining up his horse upon its haunches so as to bring it to a
sudden halt. This having been performed by about a hundred riders
upon both horses and hygeens, they fell into line behind our
party, and, thus escorted, we shortly arrived at the Arab
encampment. In all countries the warmth of a public welcome
appears to be exhibited by noise--the whole neighbourhood had
congregated to meet us; crowds of women raised the wild shrill
cry that is sounded alike for joy or sorrow; drums were beat; men
dashed about with drawn swords and engaged in mimic fight, and in
the midst of din and confusion we halted and dismounted. With
peculiar grace of manner the old sheik assisted my wife to
dismount, and led her to an open shed arranged with angareps
(stretchers) covered with Persian carpets and cushions, so as to
form a divan. Sherbet, pipes, and coffee were shortly handed to
us, and Mahomet, as dragoman, translated the customary
interchange of compliments; the sheik assured us that our
unexpected arrival among them was "like the blessing of a new
moon," the depth of which expression no one can understand who
has not experienced life in the desert, where the first faint
crescent is greeted with such enthusiasm. After a long
conversation we were led to an excellent mat tent that had been
vacated by one of his sons, and shortly afterwards an admirable
dinner of several dishes was sent to us, while with extreme good
taste we were left undisturbed by visitors until the following
morning. Our men had been regaled with a fat sheep, presented by
the sheik, and all slept contentedly.

At sunrise we were visited by Abou Sinn. It appeared that, after
our conversation of the preceding evening, he had inquired of
Mahomet concerning my future plans and intentions; he now came
specially to implore us not to proceed south at this season of
the year, as it would be perfectly impossible to travel; he
described the country as a mass of mud, rendered so deep by the
rains that no animal could move; that the fly called the "seroot"
had appeared, and that no domestic animal except a goat could
survive its attack; he declared that to continue our route would
be mere insanity: and he concluded by giving us a most hospitable
invitation to join his people on their road to the healthy
country at Gozerajup, and to become his guests for three or four
months, until travelling would be feasible in the south, at which
time he promised to assist me in my explorations by an escort of
his own people, who were celebrated elephant hunters, and knew
the entire country before us. This was an alluring programme; but
after thanking him for his kindness, I explained how much I
disliked to retrace my steps, which I should do by returning to
Gozerajup; and that as I had heard of a German who was living at
the village of Sofi, on the Atbara, I should prefer to pass the
season of the rains at that place, where I could gather
information, and be ready on the spot to start for the
neighbouring Base country when the change of season should
permit. After some hesitation he consented to this plan, and
promised not only to mount us on our journey, but to send with us
an escort commanded by one of his grandsons. Sofi was about
seventy-eight miles distant.

Abou Sinn had arranged to move northwards on the following day;
we therefore agreed to pass one day in his camp, and to leave for
Sofi the next morning. The ground upon which the Arab encampment
was situated was a tolerably flat surface, like a shelf, upon the
slope of the Atbara valley, about thirty or forty feet below the
rich table lands; the surface of this was perfectly firm, as by
the constant rains it had been entirely denuded of the loam that
had formed the upper stratum. This formed a charming place for
the encampment of a large party, as the ground was perfectly
clean, a mixture of quartz pebbles upon a hard white sandstone.
Numerous mimosas afforded a shade, beneath which the Arabs sat in
groups, and at the bottom of the valley flowed the Atbara.

This tribe, which was peculiarly that of Abou Sinn, and from
which he had sprung, was the Shookeriyah, one of the most
powerful among the numerous tribes of Upper Egypt.

From Korosko to this point we had already passed the Bedouins,
Bishareens, Hadendowas, Hallongas, until we had entered the
Shookeriyahs. On the west of our present position were the
Jalyns, and to the south near Sofi were the Dabainas. Many of the
tribes claim a right to the title of Bedouins, as descended from
that race. The customs of all the Arabs are nearly similar, and
the distinction in appearance is confined to a peculiarity in
dressing the hair; this is a matter of great importance among
both men and women. It would be tedious to describe the minutiae
of the various coiffures, but the great desire with all tribes,
except the Jalyn, is to have a vast quantity of hair arranged in
their own peculiar fashion, and not only smeared, but covered
with as much fat as can be made to adhere. Thus, should a man
wish to get himself up as a great dandy, he would put at least
half a pound of butter or other fat upon his head; this would be
worked up with his coarse locks by a friend, until it somewhat
resembled a cauliflower. He would then arrange his tope or plaid
of thick cotton cloth, and throw one end over his left shoulder,
while slung from the same shoulder his circular shield would hang
upon his back; suspended by a strap over the right shoulder would
hang his long two-edged broadsword.

Fat is the great desideratum of an Arab; his head, as I have
described, should be a mass of grease; he rubs his body with oil
or other ointment; his clothes, i.e. his one garment or tope, is
covered with grease, and internally he swallows as much as he can
procure.

The great Sheik Abou Sinn, who is upwards of eighty, as upright
as a dart, a perfect Hercules, and whose children and
grandchildren are like the sand of the sea-shore, has always
consumed daily throughout his life two rottolis (pounds) of
melted butter. A short time before I left the country he married
a new young wife about fourteen years of age. This may be a hint
to octogenarians.

The fat most esteemed for dressing the hair is that of the sheep.
This undergoes a curious preparation, which renders it similar in
appearance to cold cream; upon the raw fat being taken from the
animal it is chewed in the mouth by an Arab for about two hours,
being frequently taken out for examination during that time,
until it has assumed the desired consistency. To prepare
sufficient to enable a man to appear in full dress, several
persons must be employed in masticating fat at the same time.
This species of pomade, when properly made, is perfectly white,
and exceedingly light and frothy. It may be imagined that when
exposed to a burning sun, the beauty of the head-dress quickly
disappears, but the oil then runs down the neck and back, which
is considered quite correct, especially when the tope becomes
thoroughly greased; the man is then perfectly anointed. We had
seen an amusing exanmple of this when on the march from Berber to
Gozerajup. The Turk, Hadji Achmet, had pressed into our service,
as a guide for a few miles, a dandy who had just been arranged as
a cauliflower, with at least half a pound of white fat upon his
head. As we were travelling upwards of four miles an hour in an
intense heat, during which he was obliged to run, the fat ran
quicker than he did, and at the end of a couple of hours both the
dandy and his pomade were exhausted; the poor fellow had to
return to his friends with the total loss of personal appearance
and half a pound of butter.

Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great
attention is bestowed upon perfumery, especially by the women.
Various perfumes are brought from Cairo by the travelling native
merchants; among which those most in demand are oil of roses, oil
of sandalwood, an essence from the blossom of a species of
mimosa, essence of musk, and the oil of cloves. The women have a
peculiar method of scenting their bodies and clothes by an
operation that is considered to be one of the necessaries of
life, and which is repeated at regular intervals. In the floor of
the tent, or hut, as it may chance to be, a small hole is
excavated sufficiently large to contain a common-sized champagne
bottle: a fire of charcoal, or of simply glowing enmbers, is made
within the hole, into which the woman about to be scented throws
a handful of various drugs; she then takes off the cloth or tope
which forms her dress, and crouches naked over the fumes, while
she arranges her robe to fall as a mantle from her neck to the
ground like a tent. When this arrangement is concluded she is
perfectly happy, as none of the precious fumes can escape, all
being retained beneath the robe, precisely as if she wore a
crinoline with an incense-burner beneath it, which would be a far
more simple way of performing the operation. She now begins to
perspire freely in the hot-air bath, and the pores of the skin
being thus opened and moist, the volatile oil from the smoke of
the burning perfumes is immediately absorbed.

By the time that the fire has expired, the scenting process is
completed, and both her person and robe are redolent of incense,
with which they are so thoroughly impregnated that I have
frequently smelt a party of women strongly at full a hundred
yards' distance, when the wind has been blowing from their
direction. Of course this kind of perfumery is only adapted for
those who live in tents and in the open air, but it is considered
by the ladies to have a peculiar attraction for the other sex, as
valerian is said to ensnare the genus felis. As the men are said
to be allured by this particular combination of sweet smells, and
to fall victims to the delicacy of their nasal organs, it will be
necessary to give the receipt for the fatal mixture, to be made
up in proportions according to taste :--Ginger, cloves, cinnamon,
frankincense, sandal-wood, myrrh, a species of sea-weed that is
brought from the Red Sea, and lastly, what I mistook for shells,
but which I subsequently discovered to be the horny disc that
closes the aperture when a shell-fish withdraws itself within its
shell; these are also brought from the Red Sea, in which they
abound throughout the shores of Nubia and Abyssinia. In addition
to the charm of sweet perfumes, the women who can afford the
luxury, suspend from their necks a few pieces of the dried glands
of the musk cat, which is a native of the country; such an
addition completes the toilet, when the coiffure has been
carefully arranged.

Hair-dressing in all parts of the world, both civilized and
savage, is a branch of science; savage negro tribes are
distinguished by the various arrangements of their woolly heads.
Arabs are marked by similar peculiarities, that have never
changed for thousands of years, and may be yet seen depicted upon
the walls of Egyptian temples in the precise forms as worn at
present, while in modern times the perfection of art has been in
the wig of a Lord Chancellor. Although this latter example of the
result of science is not the actual hair of the wearer, it adds
an imposing glow of wisdom to the general appearance, and may
have originated as a necessity where a deficiency of sagacity had
existed, and where the absence of years required the fictitious
crown of grey old age. A barrister in his wig, and the same
amount of learning without the wig, is a very different affair;
he is an imperfect shadow of himself. Nevertheless, among
civilized nations, the men do not generally bestow much anxiety
upon the fashion of their hair; the labour in this branch of art
is generally performed by the women, who in all countries and
climes, and in every stage of civilization, bestow the greatest
pains upon the perfection of the coiffure, the various
arrangements of which might, I should imagine, be estimated by
the million. In some countries they are not even contented with
the natural colour of the hair, either if black or blonde, but
they use a pigment that turns it red. I only noticed this among
the Somauli tribe; and that of the Nuehr, some of the wildest
savages of the White Nile, until I returned to England, where I
found the custom was becoming general among the civilized, and
that ladies were adopting the lovely tint of the British fox. The
Arab women do not indulge in fashions; strictly conservative in
their manners and customs, they never imitate, but they simply
vie with each other in the superlativeness of their own style;
thus the dressing of the hair is a most elaborate affair, which
occupies a considerable portion of their time. It is quite
impossible for an Arab woman to arrange her own hair; she
therefore employs an assistant, who, if clever in the art, will
generally occupy about three days before it is satisfactorily
concluded. First, the hair must be combed with a long skewer-like
pin; then, when well divided, it becomes possible to use an
exceedingly coarse wooden comb. When the hair is reduced to
reasonable order by the latter process, a vigorous hunt takes
place, which occupies about an hour, according to the amount of
game preserved; the sport concluded, the hair is rubbed with a
mixture of oil of roses, myrrh, and sandal-wood dust mixed with
a powder of cloves and cassia. When well greased and rendered
somewhat stiff by the solids thus introduced, it is plaited into
at least two hundred fine plaits; each of these plaits is then
smeared with a mixture of sandal-wood dust and either gum water
or paste of dhurra flour. On the last day of the operation, each
tiny plait is carefully opened by the long hair-pin or skewer,
and the head is ravissante. Scented and frizzled in this manner,
with a well-greased tope or robe, the Arab lady's toilet is
complete, her head is then a little larger than the largest sized
English mop, and her perfume is something between the aroma of a
perfumer's shop and the monkey-house at the Zoological Gardens.
This is considered "very killing," and I have been quite of that
opinion when a crowd of women have visited my wife in our tent,
with the thermometer at 95 degrees, and they have kindly
consented to allow me to remain as one of the party. It is hardly
necessary to add, that the operation of hair-dressing is not
often performed, but that the effect is permanent for about a
week, during which time the game become so excessively lively,
that the creatures require stirring up with the long hair-pin or
skewer whenever too unruly; this appears to be constantly
necessary from the vigorous employment of the ruling sceptre
during conversation. A levee of Arab women in the tent was
therefore a disagreeable invasion, as we dreaded the fugitives;
fortunately, they appeared to cling to the followers of Mahomet
in preference to Christians.

The plague of lice brought upon the Egyptians by Moses has
certainly adhered to the country ever since, if "lice" is the
proper translation of the Hebrew word in the Old Testament: it is
my own opinion that the insects thus inflicted upon the
population were not lice, but ticks. Exod. viii. 16, "The dust
became lice throughout all Egypt;" again, Exod. viii. 17, "Smote
dust . . . it became lice in man and beast." Now the louse that
infects the human body and hair has no connexion whatever with
"dust," and if subject to a few hours' exposure to the dry heat
of the burning sand, it would shrivel and die; but the tick is an
inhabitant of the dust, a dry horny insect without any apparent
moisture in its composition; it lives in hot sand and dust, where
it cannot possibly obtain nourishment, until some wretched animal
should lie down upon the spot, and become covered with these
horrible vermin. I have frequently seen desert places so infested
with ticks, that the ground was perfectly alive with them, and it
would have been impossible to have rested on the earth; in such
spots, the passage in Exodus has frequently occurred to me as
bearing reference to these vermin, which are the greatest enemies
to man and beast. It is well known that, from the size of a grain
of sand in their natural state, they will distend to the size of
a hazel-nut after having preyed for some days upon the blood of
an animal. The Arabs are invariably infested with lice, not only
in their hair, but upon their bodies and clothes; even the small
charms or spells worn upon the arm in neatly-sewn leathern
packets are full of these vermin. Such spells are generally
verses copied from the Koran by the Faky, or priest, who receives
some small gratuity in exchange; the men wear several of such
talismans upon the arm above the elbow, but the women wear a
large bunch of charms, as a sort of chatelaine, suspended beneath
their clothes round the waist. Although the tope or robe, loosely
but gracefully arranged around the body, appears to be the whole
of the costume, the women wear beneath this garment a thin blue
cotton cloth tightly bound round the loins, which descends to a
little above the knee; beneath this, next to the skin, is the
last garment, the rahat--the latter is the only clothing of young
girls, and may be either perfectly simple or adorned with beads
and cowrie shells according to the fancy of the wearer; it is
perfectly effective as a dress, and admirably adapted to the
climate.

The rahat is a fringe of fine dark brown or reddish twine,
fastened to a belt, and worn round the waist. On either side are
two long tassels, that are generally ornamented with beads or
cowries, and dangle nearly to the ankles, while the rahat itself
should descend to a little above the knee, rather shorter than a
Highland kilt. Nothing can be prettier or more simple than this
dress, which, although short, is of such thickly hanging fringe,
that it perfectly answers the purpose for which it is intended.
Many of the Arab girls are remarkably good-looking, with fine
figures until they become mothers. They generally marry at the
age of thirteen or fourteen, but frequently at twelve, or even
earlier. Until married, the rahat is their sole garment.
Throughout the Arab tribes of Upper Egypt, chastity is a
necessity, as an operation is performed at the early age of from
three to five years that thoroughly protects all females, and
which renders them physically proof against incontinency.

There is but little love-making among the Arabs. The affair of
matrimony usually commences by a present to the father of the
girl, which, if accepted, is followed by a similar advan

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