Arab and Syrian troops. The first regiment, now nearly twenty years in
Bellad-Sudan, is almost all blacks; as climate and skirmishes have
carried off almost all the Arabs of Egypt and Syria that were in it.
Those still alive are old, worn-out invalids, as nothing but total
uselessness, such as blindness, the loss of a leg or arm, releases these
unfortunates from the service; lameness, the loss of one eye, the want
of three or four fingers of the hand, is a matter of no consequence.
Often have we heard Achmet Pascha express the wish that all his
regiments, officers excepted, were composed of blacks; and he is in the
right for service in Bellad-Sudan. They are not affected by sickness and
the influence of climate as the others, suffer hardships without
murmuring, quickly and cheerfully obey all orders, and can subsist on
the worst food, in the smallest quantities, a little durra daily
satisfying them. Besides, their courage is good, even though they may
not possess the same bravery as soldiers who fight for parents, wife,
children, and country, or who are spurred on by honour; still they go on
to the spot they are ordered, fight their way, and many of them,
especially those from the mountains of the upper parts of Faszogl, fear
death little, if at all. In the Morea, the body-guard of Ibrahim Pascha,
composed of 500 blacks, more than once distinguished themselves above
his other forces. Once a hill held by the enemy was to be taken; twice
did the Egyptians advance to the attack and fail; Ibrahim now sent his
blacks, who at once took by storm the important point. Hardly could such
things be expected from men who are first forcibly made slaves, and then
soldiers. A greater part of them certainly feel unhappy in their lot,
more than one would suppose in these rude men; and many die from home-
sickness, as we saw in Chartum—a disease which, once attacking, proves
fatal. But as many, also, are not sensible of the misery of their
existence, or the wretched life they pass as Egyptian soldiers, the
state of their former lot may be guessed. They are stolen as children,
have been slaves, and feel themselves freer as soldiers, and, at least,
considered as men; while those they have left behind them, as they know,
live in the saddest state, almost like cattle, often exposed to
starvation, and always to slavery, from the repeated wars among
themselves. Formerly without clothing they now are proud of their dress,
cap, arms, and that they, as soldiers inspire others with fear; and,
finally, what may contribute not a little to their satisfaction, they
always find themselves associating with their own countrymen.
* * * * *
CHAP. X.
Breaking up of the Camp. — March into the Interior. — Nature of the
Country. — Sheiks’ Swords.
The tribe of the Haddenda, in spite of Mohammed Din’s imprisonment, will
not bring in their tribute. The Pascha has discovered that he gains
nothing here by violence, and has now ordered them to collect 6,000
ardeps of durra at Kassela, a spot some fourteen miles from here, where
the Pascha will pass the all-dreaded chariff, and will found a new city
to protect his army, as up to the present time the health of both men
and animals has been wonderfully good. The Hallenga must also deliver
durra (here called Esch). All Arabs, as well as the blacks, chew the
fresh durra-straw all day, as in the sap there is a slightly perceptible
sweetness, and one never meets any of these people without a piece of
the stem in hand or mouth, at which they are ever gnawing, as at a
favourite morsel. In like manner one sees in Egypt, and also in part of
Chartum, during the time of the ripening of the sugar-cane, considerable
quantities of it exposed in every market; and of this the people buy
much, to suck the juice of it. Turks, Arabs, blacks, all are very fond
of sweets, although from stinginess they never use sugar in their
coffee, or drink much in their sherbets; but from a Frank, to whom they
never offer any sugar with the coffee they produce for him, they always
expect to have such, and they are honest enough to confess that the
coffee tastes much better with it. However, we do not live here very
luxuriously or splendidly. Rice and flesh are our only food. Vegetables,
that from the continuous great heat would be of much service, are not to
be got; but, on the other hand, there is no want of the stick, and
especially with Rustan Bey, who in Upper Egypt served out plentiful
doses of it to the fellahs there. If any of these came to him to
complain, he heard them patiently, and on their ending recommended them,
with serious face, to go to his chasnadar (treasurer), and to tell him
to pay out to them one or two purses. The complainants, much rejoiced at
such unexpected luck, ran off to the treasurer, already in fancy
counting over their coin, and he counted out to them blows instead of
piastres; one purse, holding 500 piastres, was paid by 500 lashes. Our
Pascha used to act similarly in Chartum.
Every day the journey to Kassela is talked of, but we still sit
crouching here. Not long ago a report was suddenly spread, that Achmet
Pascha was recalled to Cairo, and Mustapha Bey of Kordofan appointed
governor of the Bellad-Sudan. This came to us as a secret, and was only
mentioned to us by the Turks we were most intimate with, and in an under
tone. But as the truth of the report was a serious matter to us, and
none of the Turks knew how to put the question to the Pascha, we went
ourselves to him; when he laughingly told us, that he had, in jest, told
the Kaimakan of the 8th regiment, Sorop Effendi, something of the sort,
but had himself no intention of going to Cairo, as, in spite of the
failure as regarded the treatment of the Sheiks, he could easily make
himself independent; at least so his words to me, during the absence of
my brother, seemed to imply.
All at once the order came—we break up to-morrow! So near no one had
believed the march to be. All things were in disorder; the whole night
all was bustle and confusion in the camp. More than likely the Pascha
had purposely said nothing of this beforehand, so that the Arabs might
make no preparations for an attack, to set at liberty their Sheiks who
go with us in chains. We had, during the night, to hurriedly buy a
dromedary from Mohammed Defalla, after having at a high price, only the
day before, purchased the others we needed; then we had to set about
packing up the numerous articles we had unpacked during our month’s
halt; the three new servants we had got knew too little about our
baggage to be themselves ready in time with it. Punctually, two hours
before sunrise, the well-known cannon shot aroused all for the march.
When half an hour from the camp, the Pascha halted a long while to await
the baggage camels.
Our way led through high durra fields, impenetrable to sight; in a
south-east direction the whole country seemed flat, with well cultivated
and fruitful soil, and before us, like a great blue cloud, rose the hill
of Kassela, under which was to be our abode for a considerable time. In
brighter blue, as the sun rose higher, was displayed its beautiful head,
which towered in splendour over the rest of the hill’s chain extending
to the eastward. A most refreshing sight in this monotonous country! We
fancied we saw in these magnificent hills a second Switzerland; and kept
our longing eyes constantly fixed on their groups. It seemed to us as if
we were now arriving at some wished for and promised land, and about to
receive the reward for our long wanderings and sufferings in the
deserts, for all our exertions and deprivations. Mountains have, on
every man, a solemn effect, arouse curious longings and indescribable
desires, call up an insensible brightening of mind, and an increase both
of mental and physical powers. After long marches in barren countries,
when the blue hills rise in the distance, the eye becomes as if chained
on them, and man dreams that behind them lies the strange, new, and
unseen, and that he will there behold and tread an unknown world.
After some hours we found ourselves at last quit of the monstrous durra
fields, and a great plain with scanty herbage received the army, which,
expecting an attack from the infuriated Arabs, drew up in some order on
it. The infantry marching in sections, in three divisions, formed the
centre, the Turkish cavalry formed the right, the Mograbin horsemen and
Schaigies the left wing; in the advance, and forming the advance guard,
were the Arab Sheiks Mohammed Defalla, Achmet Abu Sinn, Edris Woodagib,
&c. The plain was only here and there broken by ill-grown, distorted
trees, the soil good and fertile, but bearing nothing, as the rain had
not yet given the scorched ground the power of bringing forth. Many
long, irregular, two feet high walls or mounds, with small ditches,
intersected the ground, and showed that the Arabs irrigated the land,
and used it for the growth of grain. Seemingly they change their
cultivated fields every three or four years, and in this way have a
certain rotation of crops. Many hares were started and galloped down by
the horsemen, or slain by sticks. Those of these lands are smaller than
ours, but have enormous lop ears; the skin, like the flesh, is lighter
in colour, nor has the latter the pleasant game flavour of ours; the
same may be said of all their wild animals, nor has their flesh that
aroma which prevails in the game animals of northern lands. Various
schakals (jackals, badschumm) were also disturbed out of their slumbers,
and even they were galloped down and slain by the Turkish horsemen. They
are only eaten by the Arabs and Dongolese. Large and small gazelles we
saw vanishing in the distance on all sides; their speed is wonderfully
great; yet we have seen them overtaken by the Turkish horses.
Soon the plain began to slope very gradually downwards. Trees, among
them the atla, atle, or atal (here darfa), the tundo, and a tree similar
to a wild pear-tree, grow in numbers on the plain; the two latter, more
like shrubs or bushes, and the former of ill growth, and rising into
trees giving little or no shade. The tundo we had already seen in the
great desert; it has no leaves, but thick green thorny branches, similar
to those of a rose stem; it also bears sour, round berries, which
contain many seeds, and have a decayed sweet taste. They are greedily
eaten by the Arabs. The shrub itself is, from its bitterness, a special
favourite with the camels. Useful woods, such as would from size do for
house or ship building, we have not as yet seen. Birds, save vultures,
hawks, and crows, we have seen or heard hardly any, as is ever the case
in the little animated and devoid of water scenes of Africa. Only in the
neighbourhood of rivers, lakes, or springs, are to be found rich
plumaged birds. The vultures with ruffled feathers, bald heads and
necks, generally grey, or grey-black; yellowish or light grey bodies,
follow, in monstrous flocks, our march, and rush in hundreds on each
falling beast. They are a real blessing to these countries, in which men
let animals lie where they have fallen, even in the streets of the
capital, Chartum. They are quite tame, and will let one go up to them
without rising; and when they do rise, they only fly off a little way,
and then lounge about as usual.
On our progress the bush grows ever thicker; nebbeck, acacias, and other
mimosas, start up among the former trees, and the grass grows very high,
so that it overtops the smaller asses. Foot-tracks of many wild beasts
cross in all directions; those of the elephant are of enormous size and
sunk into the ground, somewhat moistened by the rain, more than a foot,
and are from one and a half to two feet in length and breadth. One can
plainly enough distinguish where these gentry have halted any time, for
all bushes and shrubs are destroyed or trodden into the ground. At some
such places we saw perfectly fresh marks of them; and much did these
excite us, as it was evident they had only on the army’s advance retired
somewhat further into the thickets. We much lamented we fell in with
none of these giants of the forest; for to see them moving about in
their homes would doubtless afford a different sight from the tame
specimens in Europe. Numbers also of the two-horned rhinoceros (the
lower horn is the larger) are here to be met with. It is said to be of
savage fierceness, to attack men and beasts as it meets them, nay even
to engage in violent battle with the elephant, and often to vanquish it
in spite of its greater agility.
But to make up for our disappointment, another not less interesting
scene was afforded us. Among the little Schaigie cavalry all of a sudden
arose a loud shouting, all seized their arms, expecting an immediate
attack of the Arabs. But soon we distinguished the cries of “Asset!
asset!” (lion), and quickly we glanced round on all sides, anxiously
expecting to see him burst forth. In the mean time the Pascha had issued
orders to his chase-loving cavalry, not to leave their places on the
appearance of the beast, under penalty of a punishment of 1000 blows; as
he, in this intricate ground, was much alarmed for any disorder among
his ranks, and expected every moment an attack from the Arabs. We were
at the time at the extreme head of the left wing, near Melek Mahmud,
when all at once came out of the bushes on our side, not one hundred
paces from us, a pretty large lioness, moving at a sharp trot: she
seemed totally without fear, for at the sight of the whole army she did
not quicken her pace. A minute later at the same spot appeared, roaring
fearfully, a mighty lion, in great fury as it seemed; he moved off yet
slower than his mate, at times halting in his course, gazing at us, and
when he had approached within sixty or seventy paces of us, he again
gazed with furious eye at all, and then, with great bounds, was lost to
our view. How much we were astounded, but at the same time delighted, at
this scene, all may easily imagine: I for my own part openly confess,
that the appearance of this savage beast, whose strength and courage
have become a proverb, made a most peculiar impression on me; had I been
alone, and not in such a large and armed crowd, I would have assigned it
to fear or alarm, but it would, more than likely, be felt by any one,
who instead of now reading this in his snug room, and probably laughing
at it, was at once brought into these countries, and thus introduced to
the sight of such an animal in its full liberty. In short, the sight of
this proud, royal pair, had awakened and excited all our spirits and
life, after they had been sunk from a seven hours’ ride, the regular
movement of the camels, and more than all by the hot scorching midday’s
sun, and most horrible thirst.
On this occasion, as before, we observed that the Arab Sheiks seem to
place far more confidence in their old straight cross-handled blades,
than in the light, crooked Turkish sabre. In purchasing these swords the
Arabs use every precaution; they have their own marks or ideas on this
point, and should a sword be wanting in one of them, though in every
other respect good, it is looked on by them as valueless. First of all,
it must not be new, or at least not have any appearance of being so; a
certain part of the double edges must show itself ground out, so that
the lines may run in the form of a bow, and on one of its sides must a
lion be engraved, and on the other a figure the meaning of which I have
not been able to find out. The blade is hollow (_i.e._ a shallow groove
must run along both edges of the flat, but never get completely into the
centre), pointed and double edged the whole way down. These are the
principal necessary points. Many of these swords are very old, and this
can be clearly proved, as the present possessors are well aware of their
history, and proud of it; the swords are handed down from father to son,
and one never hears of new blades being carried into the country. Whence
these swords come, no one knows, and they never have either the maker’s
name or residence on them, as far as we could discover. Ask any one
whence they come, and he answers, “Min, beid, beid!” (From far, from
far!) either from the north (Riff) or from far beyond the Bach’r male
(Red, literally, salt sea), and were made by heathens (Kaff’rn). In
Cairo we saw, at the merchant’s Biagini, of Genoa, many swords from the
manufactory of Küll of Solingen; but still they were all in some way
different from those generally in use here, and principally in being
ground off round at the point. But I afterwards bought, on my journey to
Mandera, two swords, of which one, a new blade from Solingen, had the
usual sharp point, the other was an old Spanish blade of the fourteenth
century. Oh, that such a knightly relic of the crusades could speak!
Most of these blades have been introduced by or procured from the slave-
dealers, and probably brought from the south-west countries, Darfur,
&c., as in the south and south-east, such blades are not to be seen. The
chain armour, with which man and horse is covered in battle, comes from
India, as all say; in time of peace, the horses of the Arab chiefs only
carry head and eye covering.
The land still continued sloping downwards, the vegetation became
extremely luxuriant, and it was evident that water lay longer here than
in other places; so that during and after the rainy season, this
neighbourhood must be a lake or swamp. Ere long we found ourselves in
the great Gohr (the bed of a river only full in the rainy season), named
el Gasch, which seems to have its main sources in the rain from the
mountains of Makada (Habesch), and extends in a direction from south-
east to north-west. This it is that principally furnishes the watering
of the land of Taka, and causes the fruitfulness of its fields, as well
as the growth of the trees of the Chaaba. We beheld a considerable arm
of this Gohr in el Sofra, the village of Mohammed Din; and it also
furnishes waters to the wells and springs of those lands, and by its
sinking into the earth forms the subterranean rivulets, which
principally maintain the high fruitfulness of the lands of the Haddenda.
It is commonly said that it afterwards divides into many branches, and
loses itself at last in standing pools in the Chaaba, that during the
dry season evaporate under the sunbeams. But as, during the rainy
season, the torrents of waters conveyed to it from the higher mountains
are very considerable, and as, at the same period, very many other rain
brooks pour their waters into it, it does not seem very probable that
these grounds, so completely soaked themselves by the Chariff, can drink
in this immense quantity of water also. In Berber we heard that a
considerable rain torrent poured itself into the Nile, either a little
above or below that place, perchance that is the el Gasch; it may,
however, pour itself into the Mogren, a large river in the rainy season,
which rushes into the Atbara, a day’s journey higher up than its
junction with the Nile. That it does not run into the Atbara under the
name of the el Gasch, is well known.
On the high bank of the Gohr el Gasch, on our side, stood many pretty
large trees, atles and mimosas; but in spite of the height of the bank,
one saw plainly by marks on the trees how high the water rose on them,
and that it extended far over its banks, and poured itself into the
plain, turning it into a swamp, and, afterwards, giving life to a
luxuriance of vegetation unknown to us, and furnishing a shelter and
abode to all kinds of animals, and among them many venomous reptiles.
The breadth of the Gohr was over fifty paces. Its fall, at least where
we saw it, does not seem great; its bed was deep, and smoothly covered
with sand; no stones were in either its bed or banks. Its windings are
many and varied, and everywhere were to be seen, lying about, larger or
smaller trees and bushes, washed loose in the season of its floods. Its
direction here was in general south-east to north-west. We rode almost
for an hour up its dried bed, and had to guide our dromedaries most
carefully, that they might not step into the deep foot-holes of the
elephants, which were all over the river bed, and often of such a size
and depth, that the camels fell into them, some breaking their legs. To
fall with or from a dromedary is most dangerous; for first the height is
something, and then the chances are that the unwieldy and unaided beast
falls, with its large, heavy body, on the rider, or sets a foot on him.
To jump off it, is, from the form of the saddle and the position of the
rider, who sits as if on a stool, next to impossible. The saddle, a
skeleton of wood with high cantle behind, and great hook of a pummel, is
exceedingly well adapted, either to catch the dress of the rider should
he attempt to leap off, or to smash his bones when he comes with his
beast to the ground. If the camel falls violently, then from the force
of the fall, and the height, the rider is at best pitched over its ears,
and runs a good chance of breaking neck or limbs.
To preserve some order in his army in so dangerous a spot, the Pascha
caused it to pass this Gohr by divisions; but still each rode and went
as he pleased. In the centre of the infantry was Mohammed Din, loaded
with heavy chains, though on account of his age an ass had been
furnished him; but the three other prisoners, in spite of the chains on
their neck and ankles, were obliged, under the horrible heat, to perform
the long march on foot, and certainly received no consolation or comfort
from the conversation of the soldiery, which was neither edifying nor
friendly. As we were thus in the Gohr, passing through, each as he
chose, without order, crowded together and moving ever on, it seemed to
us most wonderful that the Haddenda, a tribe that numbers over 80,000
fighting men, did not set on us, and give us a lesson such as Churschid
Pascha had received from them. The army in long column pressed on, in
crowded masses, through the Gohr, the banks of which were high, and
thickly overgrown with trees and bushes, so all the foe had to do was to
post themselves on each side in the thickets, and not one lance would
have failed to transfix its man; cavalry could do nothing here, and the
infantry, from its disorder, would have been unable to deploy or get
into any position of defence, as the ground would not have allowed of
it. The tribe must either have been afraid of the Turks and their fire-
arms, or alarmed that their great Sheik would have been instantly
murdered. For some 100 paces on the other side of the Gohr, the path lay
through trees and low bushes; then we again arrived at a country where a
thousand determined Arabs, with lance and shield, might certainly have
destroyed great part of the army. It was now a dried morass, some half
mile in breadth, but of unknown length. Path there seemed none; for all
was so perfectly overgrown with luxuriant uschar (_Asclepias procera,
L._) young atles, and high reedy grasses, that it was impossible for a
foot passenger to make his way through it; and we, on horses and
dromedaries, only got forward with much difficulty, having to tread down
the lower bushes, and work our way through, with all kinds of turnings
and windings.
The Pascha, with some horsemen, had ridden on to form a path, but found
himself often obliged to turn back and seek out an easier and more
practicable way. Every one saw the dangers of such a place, but no one
thought of holding their arms ready, when both hand and foot were needed
to pull asunder, and make way through the interwoven boughs and branches
on every side. The two guns were to be dragged through; this was only
effected, with the greatest difficulty, by a double yoke of mules, and
even then the poor animals had almost to lower their bellies to the
earth, to get the guns a few feet on. Where the guns went was told by
the crashing of breaking bushes, especially by the crushing of the fruit
of the uschar, here of great size, and full of wind; the noise they made
in bursting much resembling that of a bladder. We almost fancied we
heard some platoon firing, and laughed heartily at these blank shots, in
spite of the trouble and danger of our way. On our road, as well as at
the Gohr, many of our old soldiers were reminded of the fatal defeat of
Churschid Pascha, in which he also lost two guns, to recover which a
whole battalion, save one or two men, were sacrificed. But again they
trusted in the Pascha, and the Arab-Turkish “Allah Kerim!” Surely there
was nothing easier than to have had these dangerous spots reconnoitred
beforehand, and some 1000 men sent on with axes to clear a way.