the countries bordering upon it, I shall now add a few words
respecting its political relations at the period of the irruption
of the Mamelouks, and the consequences of that event, as far as
they were known when I visited Mahass. According to the relation
of the Arabs, Dóngola had been governed from time immemorial
by the families of Zebeyr (زبير) and Funnye (فنيه), the
former ruling over the northern provinces and the latter over the
southern; but, in latter times, these families had only possessed
the shadow of power, the real government being in the hands of
the Sheygya. These Arabs had been accustomed to make continual
incursions into Dóngola, and to lay waste whole districts; until
at length, after the principal men of Funnye had been slain, the
chiefs of Dóngola, forced by the remonstrances of their people,
entered into a treaty with the invaders, and gave up to them the
half of the revenue as the price of their forbearance: from that
period they lived on amicable terms with each other; but as the
Sheygya chiefs resided occasionally at Dongola, at Handak, and at
Argo, in order to collect their share of the revenue, and had thus
the means of acquiring influence in every part of the country, their
authority soon began to preponderate. When the Mamelouk Begs reached
Argo, in their flight from Egypt, as I have already related,[42]
they were received by the great chief of the Sheygya, Mahmoud el
Adelanab (محمود آلدلَناب), with the wonted hospitality
of his nation; and as they then declared that their intention was
to settle in Sennaar, he made them considerable presents in horses,
camels, slaves, and provisions. These treacherous fugitives, however,
had not been a month at Argo, when, upon some slight pretext, they
killed their benefactor, with several of his attendants; and then
spreading themselves over the country, plundered the property of
the Sheygya, and seized upon the revenue. In this state of things,
one of the kings of the Zebeyr family joined the Mamelouks against
the Sheygya; while the other, his brother, named Toubol ibn Zebeyr,
repaired to Egypt, to seek for aid in men and arms against the new
invaders,[43] who were joined by another body of Sheygya, amounting
to about eighty horsemen, the inveterate enemies of the tribe of
Mahmoud el Adelanab. The Mamelouks have since been at continual war
with the Sheygya, and several individuals have been slain on both
sides. In January last, the former made an expedition, with their
whole force, towards Merawe; but, while they proceeded southward,
a party of Sheygya crossed the mountains, and falling on the rear of
the Mamelouks, killed the few followers whom they had left at Argo
and Handak, and plundered what remained of their property. This
was the state of the country, when I was at Tinareh: the Sheygya
were still at Argo, the result of the expedition against Merawe
was then unknown, and the partizans of both sides spread the most
contradictory reports. It was evident, that under such circumstances,
the two Begs whom I saw at Derr could not rejoin their companions;
it was supposed that they would wait the result of the contest,
in the castle of Hannek, in Mahass, which is a strong place.[44]
It appears to me that, in the present state of their affairs,
the Mamelouks have only one alternative; either to strike a last
desperate blow upon Upper Egypt, if the slightest opportunity should
present itself, though the vigilance of Mohammed Aly leaves them
little chance of success in that quarter; or, to endeavour to seize
upon some harbour in the Red Sea, where they may recruit their
strength by the importation of young Georgian slaves, no others
being admitted among them. Massuah is the best situation for such
a project; it is distant from their present position, twenty-two
days; four days across the desert to Shendy, and eighteen days from
thence to Massuah, for the most part along the cultivated banks of
the Astaboras. I believe that the project of invading Abyssinia
is really entertained by the Mamelouks; were they to attempt it,
and succeed, a new and important branch of trade might be opened
to the East India Company; but woe to the country occupied by these
tyrannical and unprincipled slaves! At present, they have no money
left, but they have plenty of slaves with them, with which they can
purchase any thing; a slave being a kind of currency in the southern
countries. Many of the Mamelouks died last summer from the effects
of a putrid fever, which regularly prevails in Dóngola during
the hot season, and carries off numbers of the inhabitants. Unable
to bear the heat in their thick woollen dresses, which they still
continue to wear, they constructed a number of rafts, on board of
which they passed the whole of the summer, under awnings of mats,
kept continually wet by their slaves.
RETURN FROM DAR-EL-MAHASS
TO ASSOUAN.
_March 15th._ My guide, as it appeared, had received secret
instructions to retard my march. At sunrise, I found him still
asleep, contrary to the custom of the country, which is to rise at
the break of day; and shortly after we had set out, he pretended that
the camel he rode was lame, and unable to proceed at a trot. Seeing
clearly that his intention was to allow Mohammed Kashef’s troops
to come up with us, I told him that he might dismount, as I knew
my way back to Derr perfectly well, and was determined to travel
with all possible haste. On hearing this, he went on, but remained
several times, during the day, at the distance of a mile behind me,
thinking by this means to make me wait for him.
Instead of proceeding across the desert to Waouy, we followed the
river; in one hour and a half, from the place where we slept,
we arrived opposite to Soleb (صُلب), a fine village on the
west bank. There I saw the ruins of a large temple, which it had
been my intention to visit, after crossing the river at Tinareh. I
offered some peasants, who were watering the fields upon an island
opposite Soleb, all the Dhourra remaining in my provision sack,
to carry me over, and back again, which, I think, was as much,
as offering a guinea for a similar service to a London waterman;
but there was no Ramous, nor any of those goat-skins, which when
inflated, often serve as a conveyance on the Nile; and as I did not
think it prudent to trust to my arms only, in swimming over, I was
obliged pursue my route, without gratifying my curiosity. The temple
appeared to have been of the size of the largest of those found in
Egypt; the body of it seemed to be entire, with ten or twelve large
pillars of the pronaos. I hope some other traveller will be more
fortunate than myself, in being able to examine this ruin, which I
believe to be the most southern specimen of Egyptian architecture;
for I was credibly informed that no ancient buildings whatever are
to be found in the southern parts of Mahass, or in Dóngola. It
was, perhaps, a very fortunate circumstance for me, that I did
not cross the river at Tinareh, and proceed down the western bank,
as I should have again fallen in with the two Mamelouk Begs, who
were proceeding rapidly southward on that side, and our meeting in
this part of Nubia might not, perhaps, have been so friendly as it
was when I visited them at Derr.
In two hours we reached Waouy; two and a half, Eshamotto; three and
a half Irau; four and a half, Wady Aboudy; six hours, Dar Hamyde;
seven hours, Koeyk. The insulated mountain called Djebel Oellaky,[45]
bears N. E. by N. from Waouy. The western mountain, which may be
said to terminate at the southern extremity of the Batn el Hadjar,
in low sand hills, begins again to the west of the island of Say,
and describing, from thence, a wide semicircle westward, joins
the river again near Soleb. From Koeyk we crossed the stony plain,
overspread with cornelians, quartz, and agate, and leaving the river,
and the village Ebar, far to our left, arrived by a straight course
at the village of Sheikh Medjdera, a part of Wady Aamara, where
we slept, at the house of a man, whose father was from Damascus,
and had married here.
In order to explain the difference between the distances as noted
in my journal up the river, and those on my return, it is to be
observed that I travelled at a quick rate the whole of the way from
Assouan to Derr, (except where prevented by the rocky nature of the
ground), or at an average of four miles an hour, at the least. From
Derr to Wady Halfa, it appears to me, that I went at the rate of
three miles and a half per hour; and through the Batn el Hadjar,
three miles. From Sukkot to Mahass, again four miles an hour. On my
return from Mahass to Sukkot the rate was three miles and a half an
hour. From Sukkot to Derr, through the sands of the western shore,
three miles an hour. From Der to Assouan I travelled only two miles
in the hour, as I was fearful of injuring my camels by fatigue.
_March 16th._ We rode this day from sunrise to sunset, resting only
one hour, opposite the island of Ferke, under a tent of Kerrarish. I
have already described this route. The western bank of the river
from Dal to opposite Aamara is a sandy desert with scarcely any
interruption. The river is full of rocks as far as Aamara, where
there is a trifling cataract; from thence southward it is quite free
from rocks. To the east of Ferke and Zergamotto is a high mountain,
called Djebel Mama (جبل ماما), at the foot of which are the
tumuli or barrows before mentioned;[46] this may be said to form the
extremity of the Batn el Hadjar, on the east side. Opposite to it,
on the west side, the mountains of this tract are terminated by
low hills called Kitfukko (قتفقو). We recrossed the mountain
from Dabbe to Kolbe in an E. N. E. direction, and arrived at
sunset opposite the island of Kolbe. The principal rock met with
in passing this mountain is feldspath, and close to the river are
granite, and granite schist. I wished to pass the river at Kolbe;
but as it was too late in the evening to attempt it, I sent over
my guide to Daoud Kara, with my compliments, and a request that he
would send me a supper, and on the morrow two men, to assist me in
transporting my camels, and the little baggage I had, to the west
bank of the river. The guide soon returned, with a promise of what
I requested; and late in the night, a slave brought us some barley
soup. We slept among the rocks over the water side. My Arab had been
informed that the two Mamelouk Begs had passed Kolbe two days before,
on their way to Mahass, which was very agreeable intelligence to me.
_March 17th._ Two slaves came over, as promised, to assist us in
crossing the river. The two camel’s saddles and the two sacks were
placed upon the Ramous, at the head of which one of the slaves seated
himself, to paddle it over, while the other took hold of the halters
of the camels, with one hand, and the stern of the Ramous with the
other; an inflated goatskin was tied to the neck of each camel,
to aid it in swimming, but we had great difficulty to get them
into the water, the Egyptian camels not being accustomed to this
mode of passing the river. My guide stripped, and laid hold of the
tail of his camel with one hand, while he urged the beast forward
by a stick which he carried in the other. It was proposed to me to
take my seat upon the Ramous, but finding that frail conveyance
already too heavily laden, I followed the example of my guide,
and placing my clothes upon the Ramous, swam over with my camel in
the manner just mentioned. At Mahass the people are afraid to cross
the river in this manner, on account of the crocodiles, so that the
communication between the two shores is very irregular. The vessel,
which the Kashefs had brought to Tinareh had no boatmen capable of
towing it from one side to the other; if the wind was favourable,
a few rags were put up to serve as sails, and were sufficient
to carry the vessel across; but whenever the wind was contrary,
two horses were attached to it by ropes, and being driven into the
water, dragged the boat after them in swimming across.
The governor of Sukkot had left Kolbe early in the morning, to go in
search of a cow that was due to him, as tribute, from the chiefs of
the Omsherifs in Batn el Hadjar; I therefore breakfasted with his
slaves, and pursued my journey. Kolbe appears to be an artificial
island; a deep canal, too regular to be the work of nature, runs
along the western side of it, and is dry in the spring season,
so that we could at present wade across it. On the west side of
this canal is a recess in the mountain, where is a plain that
bears traces of former cultivation. There is a small village upon
the island, and several ruins of brick buildings, one of which I
entered, and was not a little surprised to find myself in a Greek
chapel: figures of saints were painted in gaudy colours upon the
walls, and the names of many visitors or pilgrims inscribed. The
colours of the paintings are extremely well preserved, probably
owing to the extreme dryness of the air of Nubia. I found the date
{ΥC} to several of the names. It should seem from the quantities of
brick ruins upon the islands of Batn el Hadjar, that the builders of
those edifices were unable to hew the rocks of the neighbouring
mountains, which are throughout of considerable hardness. In
proceeding towards the northern limits of the island, I found a deep
and wide well, lined on the inside, up to the top, with large stones.
The rock on this side of the river is granite, crossed by strata of
quartz three or four inches in thickness.
From Kolbe we rode two hours and a half to Wady Okame, in the
direction of N. N. E.; in the Batn el Hadjar the Wadys on both
sides of the river bear the same name. We continued four hours
in the Wady, where we saw only some ruined houses. From thence
the road lies over high sandy hills. Six hours and a half, Wady
Sonk: the sands here descend into the river like torrents; the
northerly winds blew the sand directly in our faces, and greatly
annoyed us. We supped at Wady Sonk, at the hut of a poor Arab woman,
whose husband had gone to Derr to sell a few goats, and bring home
Dhourra in return. A plant called Kharoua (خروع), which is also
found in Upper Egypt, growing to the height of four or five feet, is
cultivated here, as well as in several parts of the Batn el Hadjar;
a medicinal oil is extracted from its fruit, with which the people
anoint their hair. The situation of most of these Wadys among the
rocks and tamarisk trees is delightful, especially wherever the
water is collected in little pools; but the gnats frequent the
pools in such numbers, that we could get no rest for them, and we
therefore quitted our station, when the moon rose, and halted again,
half an hour farther, on the sands of the upper plain, at the foot
of the mountain called Djebel Lamoule. We heard here the noise of
the river rushing over the rocks at the foot of the western Lamoule.
_March 18th._ Our road lay over a high sandy plain, in the
direction of E. by N.; insulated rocky hills rise above the
plain, and form a hilly chain, much inferior in height to the
mountains on the east side. At two hours the beginning of Wady
Formoke (وادي فرمكه), lay several miles to our right,
on the banks of the river. Three hours, Wady Om Kanaszer; here,
upon a rocky island, are several brick ruins, and a tower of
some size, of the same material. This place is inhabited by some
Omsherifs, who cultivate a few acres of ground; they begged a
little gunpowder of me to shoot the gazelles, which devour their
harvest. These animals inhabit the western mountains in large herds,
and regularly descend to the banks of the river during the night,
to feed upon the herbage which grows there; I every morning found
the sands above the river thickly covered with the traces of the
delicate feet of this pretty animal. The Arabs have no other means
of guarding their fields against them, than by setting up objects
to frighten them; I frequently met with the grotesque figure of a
hyena, formed of straw, and mounted upon legs of wood. The hyena
inhabits the mountains on both sides of the river, and is the most
formidable enemy of the gazelle. I did not hear of any other beasts
of prey in these parts. In five hours we came to Wady Ambigo, or
Ambougo, with large islands in the river. The high sandy plain,
with insulated hills, continues on this side; and the Nile has
many turnings. We always made a short cut over the mountain. Our
road from Ambigo lay E. N. E. until at eight hours and a half,
Wady Ambigo terminated; Djebel Doushe being on the eastern bank;
the road for the greater part lies over a plain covered with what
are called Egyptian pebbles; the mounds and hillocks on both sides
of the road consist, for about three miles, of red porphyry. Ten
hours, Wady Attyre, where we passed the house of the Melek of the
Omsherifs, built of stone: this, and several other habitations, had
been plundered and ruined last year by the Arabs Sheygya, who do not
confine their depredations to the eastern side, but often cross the
river, and lay waste the western shore. At ten hours and a half,
we halted for the night opposite the hut of a Kerrarish family,
who lived upon an island; they brought us some butter and milk,
and received Dhourra in exchange. In the night, a little girl came
over to us, and begged us to give her some Dhourra for her mother
and herself, as the men never allowed them any bread. I satisfied
her beyond her expectations; and early in the morning she returned
with a pot of milk, as a present from her mother. I should observe,
that my guide was known to this family, otherwise the girl would not
have trusted herself, alone, among entire strangers. The high thorny
shrub, called Syale (سياله) grows here in large quantities;
it bears red berries, which are eaten by the Arabs.
_March 19th._ Our path, on setting out, lay along a narrow passage
between rocks of granite, quartz, and feldspath; the direction
north. In one hour and a half we returned to the banks of the river,
near the northern extremity of Wady Attyre, opposite the Akabet
el benat, on the eastern side.[47] Throughout the Batn el Hadjar,
there are a few date trees at intervals on the west bank, but not
so many as on the east; no one claiming a property in these trees,
their fruit is collected by the traveller. We again crossed the
sands from Wady Attyre. In three hours, we reached Wady Samne
(وادي سَمنه), near which is a cataract in the river:
the stream forces its way through a narrow passage, not more than
fifty paces in breadth, formed by two rocks, which project from the
opposite sides. On the east side, upon a hill over the cataract, are
some brick ruins; and, on the west side, are similar ruins, with an
ancient temple on the top of the hill. It is built of sand-stone, and
differs in its shape from other Egyptian temples, though it somewhat
resembles in its plan the small temple of Elephantine. It consists
of a principal building [Illustration] twelve paces in length,
and three paces only in breadth. On each side, stood originally
four small pillars, of which two remain on one side, and three on
the other; one of the former has a polygonal shaft, the others are
square; they are all covered with sculptures. The pillars are joined
to the main building by blocks of stone, which serve as a roof to
the vestibule. There are two small gates. The inner walls of the
apartment are covered with hieroglyphics, and mystic representations
of the divine worship. On both sides a long ship is sculptured,
with Osiris in it; and the group of two figures resting their hands
upon each others shoulders is every where repeated. The roof is
painted blue, and there are some remains of colours upon several of
the figures. Near the posterior wall, opposite the main entrance,
a statue lies on the floor, the head of which has been cut off; it
is about five feet high; the arms are crossed upon the breast, and in
one hand is the flail, and in the other the instrument usually called
a crosier. On the exterior wall of the temple I distinguished several
figures of Mendes, or the Egyptian Priapus. All the sculptures are
of coarse execution; and several of the lines of the compartments
wherein the hieroglyphics are cut, are not straight, as if they had
been the work of young persons only learning their art. Some of the
hieroglyphics on the pillars have evidently been left unfinished;
and even those which are completed, are badly and rudely done. A
part of the wall appears to be of a different date from the rest,
as it is constructed of stones much larger, and better hewn. There
seems to have been another similar building near this temple, for
several capitals of columns are lying on the ground, and a large
block of granite covered with hieroglyphics. All around are heaps
of rubbish. The temple is surrounded by ruined brick buildings,
which are certainly of high antiquity; they cover the top of the
hill which overhangs the shore, and are enclosed by a double wall,
or rather by a wall within a parapet; the former is of brick, from
eight to twelve feet thick, and wherever entire, upwards of thirty
feet in height; the parapet is constructed of stone, twenty feet
in breadth, with sides sloping towards the declivity of the hill;
the stones of the parapet are thrown irregularly upon each other,
without cement, but those which form the sloping side are either
cut, or dexterously arranged, so as to present a perfectly smooth
surface, which, at the period when the work was taken care of, must
have rendered it impossible for any one to climb over it. These
works of defence indicate powerful enemies; but who they were, it
is impossible to ascertain. Did the forefathers of the Blemmyes
disturb the hierarchy of Egypt, as their descendants afterwards
did the Roman prætors?
In four hours we arrived opposite the ruins of a brick tower,
or small castle, upon a rocky island: here begins Wady Seras. Our
road was N. E. over ground, covered with deep sand, and perfectly
even, with the exception of a few low insulated hillocks. At five
hours, the plain opens wide to the west, and the river takes a
winding course to the eastward. At the end of seven hours, in an
E. N. E. direction, we came again to the side of the river. In eight
hours and a half, reached the northern extremity of Wady Seras:
an ancient brick castle, called Escot (اسقُط), stands upon
an island. At the end of nine hours, we halted on the high shore,
over the river, opposite a small island, on which was an Arab hut;
we called out to its inhabitants, and one of them swam over to
receive some Dhourra, of which the women made us bread. Doum trees
grow here in plenty, and the fruit had already come to maturity. The
tamarisk and acacia trees also abound.
_March 20th._ We rode over a sandy plain, in the direction of
N. E. by E., and in two hours and a half, came again to the river
at Wady Djayme (وادي جيمه). The face of the country here
has a less rugged appearance; the river, for several miles, is
free from rocks and islands, and a narrow strip of cultivable soil
lines the shore. We met with an Arab, who was digging salt in the
western hills: it is found in small white pieces, mixed with sand and
stones; these are boiled in water, and when the salt is dissolved,
the Arabs strain the solution through their shirts, and preserve
it in large earthen vessels; whenever they are in want of salt,
for their dishes, they pour a little of this brine over them. From
hence the road along the shore was N. N. E. The rock here is entirely
grünstein. In three hours and a half, we reached Wady Mershed. On
the west side, opposite the island mentioned in my way southward,
stand two detached brick buildings, a small Greek convent, and
a church; in which some paintings of saints are still visible on
the walls. The plain here is broader than in any other part of the
Batn el Hadjar, and bears traces of former cultivation; it is now
entirely deserted, although many date trees grow here. From hence
northward, the face of the country gradually loses its wild aspect,
and the eastern chain diminishes considerably in height. In four
hours and a half we came to three or four chapels, or dwellings
of cenobites, close to, but detached from, each other: these may
have been the habitations of ambitious monks, whom the fanaticism of
party had driven from Constantinople into the deserts of Nubia. Five
hours and a half, the river is again choked with rocks and islands,
and continues so to the Cataract of Wady Halfa. Here the Wady Sulla
(سُلّه) commences: the road ascends the sandy hills which skirt
the narrow plain along the shore. On the top of these hills is an
immense plain, in which are a number of small insulated hillocks,
some of them so regular in their shape, as to appear like the work
of art. In six hours, we reached the borders of the upper plain;
overhanging the river are the remains of a considerable brick
enclosure, about three hundred feet square, with a thick wall; it had
probably served as a watch-tower; there are no ruins whatever within
the area of the enclosure. At this place a distant view opens over
the river and its islands, upon one of which, just below, are some
brick ruins. In seven hours and a half we came again to the river;
the road N. E. by E. At eight hours we passed the celebrated second
Cataract of the Nile, or _The Cataract of Wady Halfa_, laid down
in all the maps of Nubia under the name of the _Cataract of Jan
Adel_.[48] The cataract is formed by a part of the stream only, at
most twenty yards in breadth; its fall is more rapid, and the noise
and foam greater, than in any other place in the Batn el Hadjar, or
than at the cataracts of Assouan; still, however, it little deserves
to be called a Cataract, or Shellal (شلّال).[49] There are
three principal falls, or sloping rocks, one above the other, over
which the water descends with great velocity. The Arabs who inhabit
some of the neighbouring islands, stretch a net across the fall,
and in this way catch a considerable number of fish. The high hill
on the west bank, close to the Cataract, forms the termination of
the primitive rocks of the Batn el Hadjar; from thence northward,
as far as the first Cataract, the rock is everywhere sand-stone.