at war with their southern neighbours, occasioned by the latter
having intercepted a vessel laden with dates, knowing it to belong
to a merchant of Assouan. A battle had been fought opposite Philæ,
a few days before my arrival, in which a pregnant woman was killed
by a stone; for whenever the Nubians are engaged in skirmishes,
their women join the party, and furiously attack each other, armed
with slings. The southern party, to whom the deceased belonged,
was now demanding from their enemies the debt of blood, not only
of the woman, but of the child also, which she bore in her womb at
the time of her death. This the latter refused to pay, and being
the weaker in numbers, and there being no garrison at Assouan to
support them, the men thought proper to retire from the field; they
abandoned the villages nearest to Philæ, leaving only their women
and female children, and retired with the males to Assouan. On my
return from Mahass, peace had not yet been restored; the Nubians
were still at Assouan, where a caravan of women arrived daily,
with provisions for their husbands.
We recrossed the before mentioned plain, opposite the island, where
I observed numerous fragments of pottery, and then ascended the
mountain to the south of it, there being no road fit for camels
by the side of the river. We traversed the deep valleys of this
mountain for about two hours. The rocks present an endless variety
of granite, among which a rose-coloured species is particularly
beautiful. Sienite, and red feldspath, together with granite,
compose this chain. We afterwards descended again to the side
of the river, near one of the small hamlets which compose the
district of Shamet el Wah (شعامة الواح). The bed of
the river here is free from rocks and islands, but its banks, on
both sides, are so narrow, that there is hardly a hundred yards of
cultivable ground. Half an hour farther, we reached the village of
Sak el Djemel (ساق الجمل), belonging to the district called
Wady Debot, and alighted at the Shikh’s house, where we passed
the night. Here I first tasted the country dish which, during a
journey of five weeks, became my constant food; thin, unleavened,
and slightly baked cakes of Dhourra, served up with sweet or sour
milk. From the Dhourra being badly ground, this food is very coarse,
and nothing but absolute hunger could have tempted me to taste it.
_February 25._ I continued along the east bank of the river. The
road the whole of the way to Derr is perfectly safe, provided one
of the natives accompanies the traveller. I every where found the
people to be possessed of a degree of curiosity which I had never
met with before. Whenever we passed a village, often at a full trot,
the men came running out of their houses, and across the fields, to
ask my guide who I was, and what was the object of my journey. The
answer was, that I was sent from Esne to Derr, with letters from
the governor to the Nubian chiefs. They would then enquire after the
contents of the letters, and, that they might do this more at their
ease, would press me to alight, and breakfast with them. One hour and
a half brought us to Wady Syale (وادي سياله). Two hours and
a half, Wady Abdoun (وادي عبدون). Four hours, Wady Dehmyt,
(وادي دهميت). All the villages, as far as Dóngola, are
called _Wady_, or valley. There are always three or four of them
comprised under one general name: thus, Wady Dehmyt extends about
four miles along the bank of the river, and includes upwards of half
a dozen hamlets, each of which has its particular name. Travellers,
therefore, who note down the names of villages in these parts,
will easily be led into mistakes, by confounding the collective
appellation with that of the single hamlet. There are few large
villages; but groups of five or six houses are met with wherever
a few palm trees grow on the banks of the stream, or wherever the
breadth of the soil is sufficient to admit of cultivation.
I found Daoud Kashef, the son of Hosseyn Kashef, encamped with a
party of men at Dehmyt, in huts constructed of Dhourra[4] stalks. I
alighted at his own hut, and breakfasted there, informing him,
that I was sent on business to his father and uncles. The governors
of Nubia are continually moving from one part of their dominions
to another, to collect the tribute from their subjects, and are
always accompanied by a guard of forty or fifty men, in order to
levy it by force, wherever necessary, and to be the better able to
commit depredations. On the night preceding my arrival at Dehmyt,
a Nubian came to me at Sak el Djemel, to complain of Daoud’s
tyranny; it had been reported to the latter, that this man, with
his family, was secretly indulging in bread made from wheat, a
sufficient proof of great wealth. Daoud’s people, in consequence,
surrounded his house during the night, and demanded from him a
camel, as a present to their master: on his refusal to comply,
they attacked the house; and as the owner had no near neighbours,
he in vain attempted to defend himself: he was severely wounded,
and the whole of his property fell a prey to the aggressors. Daoud
was but poorly equipped; he was dressed in the common white shirt
of the country. He asked me for some gunpowder,[5] and, on my
telling him that the supply I had of that article was scarcely
sufficient for myself, he did not appear at all offended by the
refusal. Several hundred peasants were assembled round the camp,
with herds of cows and sheep, with which they pay their land tax.
We quitted Dehmyt, and in five hours from our departure from Wady
Debot, reached Wady Kardassy (وادي كرداسه), where I
passed the ruin of a small temple, of which one corner of the wall
only remains standing. I saw no fragments of columns; but, on some
of the stones which lay scattered about, hieroglyphic figures are
sculptured; and the winged globe appears upon several of them. On
the west side of the river, opposite to this place, is a large
ruin. My guide told me, that, at a long day’s journey from hence,
in the eastern mountain, are the ruins of a city called Kamle. In
five hours and a half, we came to Djama (جمع); and in six hours,
to Tafa (تافه); the villages so named lying on both sides of
the river. The plain between the banks of the river and the foot of
the mountain is about a quarter of a mile in breadth. Here are the
ruins of two buildings, standing near each other, of which nothing
now remains but the foundations; they are constructed of sand-stone,
in a very rude manner, and are about forty feet square. There are no
fragments of columns, nor of sculptured stones of any kind. There
are also some ruins on the opposite side. These are undoubtedly
the remains of _Taphis_ and _Contra Taphis_.[6] Immediately to the
south of the ruins, the mountains on both sides of the river prevent
all passage along its banks; the road, in consequence, lies, for
one hour, across the mountain, which I again found to be composed
of rocks of granite. The granite chain had been uninterrupted from
Assouan to Dehmyt. To the south of Dehmyt, the mountain which borders
the river is composed of sand-stone, and continues thus as far as
the second Cataract, at Wady Halfa, with the exception only of the
granite rocks above Tafa, which extend as far as Kalabshe.
We descended again to the bank of the river in one hour, and
passed the village of Darmout (درموت), built partly upon
a rocky island, and partly upon the high rocks of the eastern
shore. The effect of the evening sun upon the black granite islands,
surrounded by the pure[7] stream, and the verdant banks, was very
beautiful. From hence to Tafa the river is studded with numerous
islands. Seven hours and three quarters brought us to El Kalabshe
(القلابشه), the largest Wady, or assemblage of villages,
we had yet passed. Although the plain is very narrow, there are
nevertheless considerable mounds of rubbish and broken pottery,
along the foot of the mountain, indicating the site of an ancient
town; and as there is a large ruin opposite to this place, on the
western bank,[8] we may safely conjecture these to be _Talmis_
and _Contra Talmis_. There are no remains of any edifice on the
eastern side. The two hundred houses which compose the village on
that bank occupy a space of about half an hour in length. In eight
hours and a half we came to El Shekeyk (الشقيق); in eight
hours and three quarters, to Abou Hor (ابو هور). In the course
of this day, I passed several beds of torrents. When the rains are
copious in the mountain, torrents occasionally rush down into the
river, but they never continue longer than two days. These torrents
account for the _momentary_ increase of the Nile in Egypt, during
the winter, when the river is at its lowest. Throughout Nubia,
rain never falls in the valley, some light showers excepted; but
there is a regular rainy season in the eastern mountains, as far as
Suez, which produces abundant crops of wild herbs, and pasturage
for the cattle of the Bedouins who inhabit those districts. I had
occasion to mention a similar phenomenon, in my former Journals,
in the mountains of Eastern Palestine. In the Ghor, or valley of
the Jordan, rain seldom falls, while the mountains on either side
have their regular rainy season. Our host at Abou Hor served us
this evening with the dish called Asyde, which consists of the
green ears of barley boiled in water, and mixed with milk.
_Feb. 26th._ The Wady Abou Hor is about three quarters of an hour
in length. After a ride of two hours we passed the village Dandour
(دندور); three hours and a half, Wady Abyadh (وادي ابيض)
the plain still continuing very narrow. In order to gain some soil
from the river, the ancient inhabitants of Nubia had erected numerous
piers or jetties of stone, extending for twenty or thirty yards into
the river; which, by breaking the force of the stream, would leave,
on their northern side, a small extent of land free from water. Many
of the piers still remain, but in a decayed state. I generally
observed, on the western side of the river, a similar structure,
exactly opposite to that on the eastern. In four hours and a half,
Merye (مريه); five hours, Gyrshe (كرشه). I passed the ruins
of an ancient town, probably Saracen, built partly of bricks, and
partly of small stones. The natives say that a king of the name
of Dabagora reigned here. The plain at Gyrshe is broader than I
had any where yet seen it, to the south of Assouan, being about a
mile. Like all the villages I had hitherto passed, Gyrshe is but
poorly inhabited, two-thirds of the houses being abandoned. The
country had been ruined by the Mamelouks, who remained here several
months, when on their retreat before the Turkish troops of Mohammed
Aly; and the little they left behind was consumed by the Turks
under Ibrahim Beg, Mohammed Aly’s son, who finally succeeded
in driving the Mamelouks out of Nubia, and across the mountains,
into the plains of Dongola. A terrible famine broke out after their
retreat, in which one-third of the population of Nubia perished
through absolute want; the remainder retired into Egypt, and settled
in the villages between Assouan and Esne, where numbers of them were
carried off by the small-pox. The present inhabitants had returned
only a few months before my visit to these parts, and had begun to
sow the fields after the inundation had subsided; but many of their
brethren still continued in Egypt. The great number of newly-dug
graves which I observed near each village, were too convincing proofs
of the truth of the melancholy accounts which the natives gave me.
In six hours I came to Wady Kostamne (قُستَمنه), a well
built village. Here the Mamelouks fought a battle with the troops
of Ibrahim Beg, and were routed. They retreated to the eastern
mountains, where they remained for several months, till their
enemies retired to Assouan; when the greater part of the Begs
descended to the banks of the Nile, and as the stream happened at
that moment (May, 1812) to be extremely low, they crossed it at
a ford near Kostamne,[9] with all their women and baggage. Some
of them continued their route southward along the western bank,
plundering in their way all the villages of Derr, Wady Halfa, Sukkot,
and Mahass; while the chief Begs, with their Mamelouks, made a short
cut through the western desert; and the whole party united again on
the banks of the Nile, near Argo, one of the principal places within
the dominions of the King of Dongola;[10] mustering in the whole
about three hundred white Mamelouks, and as many armed slaves, the
wretched remains of upwards of four thousand, against whom Mohammed
Aly had begun his contest for the possession of Egypt. The fate of
about twelve hundred of them, who, with their chief, Shahin Beg, were
treacherously slaughtered in the castle of Cairo, notwithstanding the
most solemn promises of personal security had been given to them,
is too well known to be repeated here; but a similar massacre,
which took place at Esne, is less known, and may here be related,
as serving to prove the stupidity and infatuation which have always
presided over the councils of the Mamelouks. These fierce horsemen
had sought refuge in the mountains inhabited by the Ababde and
Bisharye Arabs, where all their horses died from want of food,
and where even the richest Begs had been obliged to expend their
last farthing, in order to feed their troops, provisions being
sold to them by the Arabs at the most exorbitant prices. Thus cut
off from all the comforts, and luxuries of Egypt, to which they
had been accustomed from their infancy, Ibrahim Beg thought it a
propitious moment to ensnare them, as his father had done their
brethren at Cairo. With this design, he sent them the most solemn
promises of safe conduct, if they would descend from the mountain,
and pledged himself that they should be all placed in situations
under the government of Mohammed Aly, corresponding with the rank
which each individual then held amongst themselves. It will hardly
be believed that, well acquainted as they were with the massacre
at Cairo in the preceding year, more than four hundred Mamelouks,
headed by several Begs, accepted the delusive offer, and descended
in small parties from the mountains. They were stripped in the way
by faithless guides, so that, with the exception of about thirty,
the whole reached the camp of Ibrahim Beg, then near Esne, in a
state of nakedness. After the different parties had all joined,
and it was ascertained that no others were ready to follow them,
the signal of carnage was given, and the whole of them, with about
two hundred black slaves, were unmercifully slaughtered in one
night. Two French Mamelouks only were saved, through the interest
of the physician of Ibrahim Beg. Similar instances of perfidy daily
occur among the Turks; and it is matter of astonishment, that men
should still be found stupid enough to allow themselves to be thus
ensnared by them.
Eight hours and a quarter brought us to Djebel Heyaty (جبل
حياتي) eight hours and a half to Kobban (قبّان), opposite
the fine temple of Dakke, which stands on the western bank.
_February 27._ Near Kobban are the remains of an ancient town,
enclosed by a wall of bricks burnt in the sun, much resembling
that of Eleithias, to the north of Edfou in Egypt. The length of
the oblong square is about 150 paces, its breadth 100 paces. The
wall is upwards of 20 feet in thickness, and in several places
more than 30 feet in height. Within its area are ruins of private
habitations, partly constructed of stone, and partly of bricks. Some
capitals of small columns of the Egyptian order lay about. On the
S. E. corner of the wall, beyond its precincts, is the ruin of a
very small Egyptian chapel, of a rude construction, with a few
stones only remaining above the foundations. There are several
hieroglyphic figures: a chariot sculptured on a stone indicates
that a battle was represented. It appears that this enclosure,
which stands close to the river, was meant as a castle. Large
mounds of rubbish, the ruins of the ancient town, continue for
about five minutes walk further. In one hour, I reached Oellaky
(علاقي), having passed, close to it, a broad canal: similar
canals are met with in almost every part of Nubia, where the extent
of the shore, and its height above the level of the river, rendered
artificial irrigation necessary; but they are now no longer taken
care of, and are gradually choaking up. The plain here is a mile in
breadth. Oellaky has given its name to a chain of mountains, which
begins to the east of it, and runs quite across the high hills of
the eastern desert, towards the shores of the Red Sea. If I am not
mistaken, Bruce passed this chain. According to the reports of the
natives, and the unanimous testimony of all the Arabian geographers,
this mountain, called Djebel Oellaky, contains gold mines; I am
inclined to believe, however, that the Bedouins, who alone wander
about in those districts, and who must therefore be the authors of
such reports, have mistaken yellow mica for gold; for the river
carries down with it through the whole of Nubia a great deal of
micaceous sand. Hassan Beg, the governor of Esne, who is fond of
mineralogy, as far as it relates to precious stones and metals,
had read in some book, of the mines of Oellaky; and being desirous
to ascertain whether the report was true, sent four of his soldiers
to escort a Greek, who pretends to a knowledge in stones, with an
order to make researches in the mountain. They reached the village of
Oellaky, and proceeded from thence about two hours to the eastward;
but being frightened by a report that a large party of Mamelouks was
descending from the mountain, they immediately returned, throwing
the whole country into an alarm. I had met them at Dehmyt, when
they earnestly pressed me to return with them, assuring me that the
Mamelouks would certainly strike off my head, if they learnt that I
was the bearer of letters from Hassan Beg. There was some truth in
the report; for two Mamelouk Begs, Ibrahim Beg Djezayrly, and Osman
Beg Bouhanes, who had remained in these mountains with the Arabs,
after the departure of their companions for Dongola, in order to be
as near at hand as possible, in the event of a change taking place
in Egypt, had at last, with five of their women, and two servants
only,[11] been obliged, through absolute want, to rejoin their
brethren. All the money and valuables which they possessed had
been extorted from them by the Arabs, as the price of provisions;
their horses had died; their Mamelouks had deserted them; and their
clothes and equipages were in rags; in this state, they abandoned
for the present all ideas of the re-conquest of Egypt, and quitting
their station near the shores of the Red Sea opposite Djidda,
they took the road to Derr. The arrival of the Greek and the four
soldiers above mentioned drove them back one day’s journey into
the mountain, until their spies informed them of their departure;
they then returned, and arrived at Derr one day before me.
I travelled from two to three hours along a rocky shore, opposite the
island Derar (درار), which is well cultivated, and about three
quarters of an hour in length. On the western bank is the village
of Korty. From three to four hours the Wady Meharraka (وادي
محرّقه) extends; and farther south, from four to five hours,
the Wady Thyale (وادي ثياله). I had here the pleasure of
falling in with two English travellers, Messrs. Legh and Smelt, and
Captain Barthod, an American; I had already seen the two former at
Cairo, and at Siout. They had left Cairo on board a country ship,
two days after my departure from thence, and on reaching Assouan,
had hired a large boat to carry them up to Derr, from whence they
had visited Ibrim, being the first Europeans who had reached that
place, and examined the antiquities between it and the island of
Philӕ; for Norden saw them only through his telescope. I hailed
their boat as I rode along the bank of the river, and we passed a
few hours together, after which they pursued their course down to
Assouan. In five hours and a half, I came to Wady Name (وادي
نعمه); in six hours, Bareda (بارده); six and a half, Kokan
(قوكان); here I saw a great number of crocodiles, the first I
had seen since leaving Cairo, my road through Egypt having seldom
been close along the river. Here also I observed stone piers in the
river at several places. Seven hours and a half, Wady Nasrellab
(وادي نصرالاب). South of Kokan, for two hours, the
mountains come down so close to the river as to leave no space for
a passage along its banks, and of course none for cultivation. We
passed several beds of torrents. Eight hours and a half brought me
to Wady Medyk (وادي مديك), where I slept.
_February 28th._ One hour from Wady Medyk is Wady Seboua (وادي
سبوع), or the Lion’s Wady, so called from the figures of
sphynxes with the bodies of lions, which stand before the ruined
temple on the west side of the river, opposite to Seboua. This is
the best cultivated part of the country which I met with, between
Assouan and Derr. The inhabitants of Seboua, and those of Wady el
Arab, to the south of them, are active merchants, and possessed
of considerable wealth. They travel across the mountain to Berber
(where Bruce’s Goos lies), eight days journies distant, and import
from thence all the different articles of the Sennaar trade. This
route is so perfectly secure that parties with four or five laden
camels arrive almost weekly; but the character of these Arab
merchants themselves is very indifferent; they are treacherous,
and despised for their want of hospitality. The inhabitants of
Seboua and Wady el Arab are not, like all their neighbours, of the
tribe of Kenous,[12] but belong to the Arabs Aleykat (عليقات),
who are originally from the Hedjaz.[13] Some of them wander about
in the eastern mountains, like Bedouins; they all speak exclusively
Arabic, and the greater part of them are ignorant of the language
of the Kenous. The governors of Nubia levy a tribute from all the
goods imported from the south by the Aleykat; but the latter being
numerous, and well armed, seldom submit to any extra exactions from
the governors, and have thus acquired considerable property. They
dispose of the slaves, ivory, gum arabic, ostrich feathers, and
camels, which they bring from Berber, in Upper Egypt, where they
purchase the merchandize necessary for the southern market.[14]
Two hours and a half from Wady Medyk is Wady el Arab (وادي
العرب), where, besides the Aleykat, Arabs of the tribe of
Gharbye (غربي) have been settled since the period of the
Mohammedan conquest of Nubia. The shore is every where well
cultivated. From three hours and a half, till five hours and a
half, the rock is close to the river, with a narrow footpath on the
bank; the road for camels traverses the rugged sand-rocks and deep
valleys of the mountain. Five hours and a half brought us to Wady
Songary (وادي سنكاري); six hours and a half, to Korosko
(قرسكو). Here the shore widens, and a grove of date-trees
begins, which lines the banks of the river as far as Ibrim. Groups
of houses are now met with at every hundred yards, which render it
difficult to determine the exact limits of each village. At seven
hours, is Beshyra Nerke (بشير نرقه); seven and a quarter,
Shakke (شقّه); eight hours, Kherab (خراب). Here are some
heaps of hewn stones, the remains of ancient edifices, from which
the village has taken its name (Kherab signifying ruined). Nine
hours, Wady Oeshra(وادي عشرا). Nine and a half, Wady Diwan
(ديوان). Ten and a half, Derr, (الدر), the chief place
between Egypt and Dongola. I do not remember to have seen, in any
part of Egypt, fields more carefully cultivated than are those
between Korosko and Derr. The peasants’ houses too are larger,
and more cleanly, than those of the Egyptian Felah.