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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.
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-
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
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....
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CHAPTER II.
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
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
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....
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
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....
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
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....
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
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....
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
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....
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
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
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
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....
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
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 Rus
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
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
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
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....
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
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
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
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
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
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 Harpoo
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
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 C
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
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—Interes
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
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"....
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
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....
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
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
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
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 Abyss
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
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 Ni
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
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
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CHAPTER II.
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
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
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
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
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 six
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
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 te
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
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 con
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
ON the morning of the 25th July, 1861, Abou Sinn arrived at our tent with a number of his followers, in their whitest apparel, accompanied by one of his grandsons, Sheik Ali, who was to command our escort and to accompany us to the frontier of the Dabaina tribe, at which spot we were to be handed over to the care of the sheik of those Arabs, Atalan Wat Said, who would conduct us to Sofi. There were two superb hygeens duly equipped for my wife and myself: they were snow-white, without speck or bl
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
TIME glided away smoothly at our camp amidst the storms of the rainy season. The Arabs had nothing to do, and suffered much from the absence of their herds, as there was a great scarcity of milk. The only animals that had not been sent to the north were a few goats; these were so teased by the flies that they produced but a small supply. Fever had appeared at the same time with the flies, and every one was suffering more or less, especially Florian, who was seriously ill. I was in full practice
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
ON the 15th September the entire male population of Sofi turned out to assist us in crossing the river, as I had promised them a certain sum should the move be effected without the loss or destruction of baggage. I had arranged a very superior raft to that I had formerly used, as I now had eight inflated skins attached to the bedstead, upon which I lashed our large circular sponging bath, which, being three feet eight inches in diameter, and of the best description, would be perfectly safe for m
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
I WILL not follow the dates of the journal consecutively, but merely pounce from time to time upon such passages as will complete the description of our life at Ehetilla. "October 4.—I went out fishing in the usual place, where the Till joins the Atbara; the little stream has disappeared, and the bed is now perfectly dry, but there are many large rocks and sandbanks in the river, which are excellent places for heavy fish. I had only three runs, but I landed them all. The first was a beautiful ba
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
Two months had elapsed since the last drop of rain had closed the wet season. It was 15th November, and the river had fallen to so low an ebb that the stream was reduced to a breadth of about eighty yards of bright and clear water, rushing in places with great rapidity through the centre of its broad and stony bed, while in sudden bends of the channel it widened into still, and exceedingly deep pools. We were encamped exactly upon the verge of a perpendicular cliff, from which there was a rugged
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
WE started from Geera, on the 23d of December, with our party complete. The Hamran sword-hunters were Abou Do, Jali, and Suleiman. My chief tracker was Taher Noor, who, although a good hunter, was not a professional aggahr, and I was accompanied by the father of Abou Do, who was a renowned "howarti," or harpooner of hippopotami. This magnificent old man might have been Neptune himself; he stood about six feet two, and his grizzled locks hung upon his shoulders in thick and massive curls, while h
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
EARLY on the following morning the lions were still roaring, apparently within a hundred yards of the camp. I accordingly took a Reilly No. 10 double rifle and accompanied by my wife, who was anxious to see these glorious animals, and who carried my little Fletcher No. 24, I skirted the outside of the jungle on the high bank, on the narrow arm of the river. We were not long in finding traces of the lions. A broad track in the sandy bed of the dried stream showed where the buffalo had been dragge
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
I HAD been for some hours in the camp, but none of the aggageers had returned, neither had we received any tidings of our people and camels that had left us at daybreak to search for the dead elephants. Fearing that some mishap might have occurred in a collision with the Base, I anxiously looked out for some sign of the party. At about 4 P.M. I observed far up the bed of the river several men, some mounted, and others upon foot, while one led a camel with a curious looking load. Upon a nearer ap
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
OUR course lay as usual along the banks of the river, which we several times forded to avoid the bends. Great numbers of antelopes were upon the river's bed, having descended to drink; by making a circuit, I cut off one party upon their retreat, and made two good shots with the Fletcher No. 24, bagging two tetel (Antelopus Bubalis), at considerable ranges. I also shot an ariel (G. Dama), and, upon arriving at a deep pool in the river, I shot a bull hippopotamus, as a present for Taher Sheriff an
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
ABOU DO and Suleiman had lately given me some trouble, especially the former, whose covetous nature had induced him to take much more than his share of the hides of buffaloes and other animals that I had shot; all of which I had given to my head camel-man and tracker, Taher Noor, to divide among his people and the Tokrooris. This conduct was more improper, since the aggageers had become perfectly useless as elephant-hunters; they had ridden so recklessly upon unnecessary occasions, that all thei
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
HAVING explored the Settite into the gorge of the mountain chain of Abyssinia, we now turned due south from our camp of Delladilla, and at a distance of twelve miles we reached the river Royan. The intervening country was the high and flat table-land of rich soil, that characterises the course of the Settite and Atbara rivers; this land was covered with hegleek trees of considerable size, and the descent to the Royan was through a valley, torn and washed by the rains, similar in appearance to th
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
I EXTRACT a few notes from my journal:— "March 25, 1862.—Mai Gubba is about twelve miles E.N.E. of our camp. Mek Nimmur's stronghold is upon a lofty table-mountain, due south of this spot, from which great elevation (about 5,000 feet) the granite mountain of Cassala is said to be plainly visible. "March 27.—We started for the Bahr Salaam, and said good-bye to Mek Nimmur, as we passed his position on our march; he had given us a guide; an awful-looking scoundrel. "We had hardly marched two miles,
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
I HAD thoroughly explored the beautiful country of the Salaam and Angrab; it was the 11th of April, and I intended to push on to Gallabat, the frontier market-town of Abyssinia. We had no guide, as the fellow that had been supplied by Mek Nimmur had absconded the day after our arrival at the Salaam, but during the march he had pointed out a blue outline of a distant mountain in the south, that was called Nahoot Guddabi, or the Saddle of Guddabi. This was an unmistakeable landmark, as it exactly
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
WE left the village of Toganai at 5 A.M. and, after a rapid march of sixteen miles, we came in view of Metemma, or Gallabat, in the bottom of a valley surrounded by hills, and backed on the east by the range of mountains of which Nahoot Guddabi formed the extremity of a spur. As we descended the valley, we perceived great crowds of people in and about the town, which, in appearance, was merely a repetition of Katariff. It was market-day, and as we descended the hill and arrived in the scene belo
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
WE daily followed the banks of the Rahad, the monotony of which I will not inflict upon the public. This country was a vast tract of wonderfully fertile prairie, that nearly formed an island, surrounded by the Rahad, Blue Nile, Great Nile, and Atbara; it was peopled by various tribes of Arabs, who cultivated a considerable extent upon the banks of the Rahad, which for upwards of a hundred miles to the north were bordered with villages at short intervals. Cotton and tobacco were produced largely,
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
FOR some days we continued our journey along the banks of the Dinder, and as the monotonous river turned towards the junction with the Blue Nile, a few miles distant, we made a direct cut across the flat country, to cross the Rahad and arrive at Abou Harraz on the Blue Nile. We passed numerous villages and extensive plantations of dhurra that were deserted by the Arabs, as the soldiers had arrived to collect the taxes. I measured the depths of the wells, seventy-five feet and a half, from the su
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