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.