in a northern direction, for about an hour and a half, when we
met a small caravan coming from Souakin, and bound to Taka. This
was the seventh day of their march. On reaching the extremity of
the plain, we began again to ascend through a narrow sandy valley,
thickly overgrown with the Seder (سدر) tree,[67] a small space
in the middle only being open for the road. The valley winds very
much: it is generally about four hundred yards across, but in
many places only one hundred, with steep cliffs on both sides worn
into deep channels by the rains; we passed several pools of water;
I might therefore have saved all the labour I had had in filling
my water-skins; but thus it often happens in the desert with
travellers who are ignorant of the road; those who know where the
wells or pools are situated, generally keep their knowledge secret,
and urge the necessity of taking as copious a supply as possible,
for they have this saying, “We would transport the Nile itself,
if the camels could but carry it.” Sometimes it becomes necessary
to load water, even if a well is known to be at a short distance,
because the caravan is not to halt there, and no one ever thinks
of stopping alone to fill his water-skins. The Oshour and tamarisk
trees grow in many parts of the valley, but the Seder predominated
quite to the upper extremity. On looking back towards the plain we
had quitted, a vast rocky wilderness presented itself with the green
strip of the Wady serpentizing through it; there was in many parts
of the Wady cultivable soil, for wherever in these countries water
abounds, the most barren sands become fertile. The valley every
where bore traces of the devastation occasioned by the torrents,
and the sides of the mountain had been so much undermined by them,
that the upper layer of rocks had been displaced, and was lying
about shattered to pieces.
After a march of nine hours, (the general direction NNE.) four of
which had been occupied in ascending, we came to a spot where the
valley, having reached the summit, becomes level for about five
hundred yards; here we encamped. We had met with several Hadendoa
families near the pools of water, and as they are reputed to be great
thieves, we determined to continue our march thus far, as we thought
they would follow us no farther in the woods. One of the men asserted
that in coming up the valley he had seen a monkey among the trees,
and I was informed that these animals are not unfrequently met with
in this place, and that they are very common on the western road
to Souakin, which leads over the same chain of mountains. We saw
many Gazelles, and several hares. The heat of the day, which had
become particularly oppressive in the lower plain between the high
mountains, was here succeded by a chilling cold. We lighted many
fires, and the fear of robbers kept us awake the greater part of
the night. I killed a scorpion just by my fire.
_June 20th._ The highest summit of the mountain was about three
hundred feet higher than the elevation on which we were encamped. It
is from its steep and almost perpendicular cliffs that the torrents
in the rainy season are precipitated through innumerable clefts in
the rocks, into this plain, where they divide, part rushing towards
the northern, and part towards the southern plain. We followed, this
morning, the bed of the northern torrent, in our descent, which was
not so steep as the ascent had been. The climate of this mountain
recalled to my feelings, that of the valleys of Mount Lebanon; the
fresh morning air breathed a vigour through my frame which I had
not felt since I quitted Syria. Trees were met with during the whole
of the descent. At the end of four hours we halted where the valley
widens considerably; here we found fine pasturage among the barren
rocks; there were also many Doum trees, and some water in shallow
pools. The whole aspect of the valley was extremely picturesque,
at least to a traveller who, after passing a desert, hails every
spot of verdure as an Eden. A small caravan, six days from Souakin,
bound for Taka with salt here passed us. Several side valleys,
all equally full of trees, join the main bed of the torrent. After
again starting we continued descending very slowly for two hours,
and then issued where the Wady is lost in the open plain; our road
then lay over uneven, gravelly ground, (direction N. E. ½ N.) and
after a day’s march of nine hours and a half we halted for the
night; the chain of mountains extended to the right and left;
on the right appearing to take a S. E. direction; and on the left
dividing into two branches, one of which runs to the westward, and
loses itself in the desert, and the other northwards parallel with
the sea shore. Having met several straggling parties during the day,
we kept close together the whole night, for fear of robbers.
The route over the mountain which we had just crossed presents no
difficulties whatever; the mountain is called by the inhabitants
Orbay Langay, or the mountain of Langay, and is one of the principal
features in the topography of Eastern Nubia. It is full of pasturage
in every direction, but more particularly to the west, where many
wells and springs are found. I think it probable that in the most
western point of this mountain the river, or rather great torrent,
Mogren has its rise, for as I have already said, its course does not
intersect the caravan route from Atbara to Souakin. The mountain
Langay is inhabited by Hadendoa Arabs only, and serves them as an
asylum against the depredations of the Bisharein. The Hadendoa who
live at several days distance, and the people of Souakin also, send
their cattle in the summer to this mountain, where they are certain
of finding pasturage. The Langay forms a separation of climates
in Eastern Nubia; to the south of it the rains had set in for a
fortnight, while to the north no rain had yet fallen, as appeared
both by the dusty ground, and the testimony of the Bedouins. At
Souakin, I was told that the rains were not expected there till
the middle of July. In the plains of the Bedja,[68] easterly winds
had generally prevailed; but in this northern plain we had usually
northerly breezes. On the south of the mountains, since quitting
the Atbara, we had never felt any dew during the night, whereas
heavy dews now fell every night, and continued during our stay at
Souakin. The whole of this chain consists of primitive calcareous
rock. I could no where find any petrifactions, nor any granite.
_June 21st._—We rode this morning over uneven and generally stony
ground; direction NE. ½ N.; the rocks were quartz and grünstein,
which latter is met with in every part of Nubia. Many low grounds,
the beds of torrents, intersected the road. At the end of three hours
we halted in Wady Osouyt, near a pool of water. These collections
of rain water amongst the rocks are often of considerable depth;
those on the level plain are shallow and of greater extent. From
Wady Osouyt we continued NW. by N. over a plain having exactly the
appearance of the Syrian deserts. Low shrubs were growing everywhere
in a soil that might easily be rendered productive. We travelled
parallel with the chain on our left, and from four to six miles
distant from it. This chain is called Dyaab, and extends along the
coast, I conjecture, as far as Kosseir: at first sight it appears
barren, but the sheep and goats find plenty of herbage in its
clefts. We met another caravan of about thirty camels, returning
unloaded, to Taka. We also passed a small encampment of Hadendoa,
who had large herds of camels. We halted in the plain after a
day’s march of ten hours.
_June 22d._—We travelled over stony ground; direction NNW. After
three hours march we entered Wady Moez, full of large fragments of
rocks, among which we rode westward towards the mountain, till we
reached a well, close to which was a pool of rain water; here we
found flocks of sheep and many camels, which the Hadendoa shepherds
had been watering. Notwithstanding the steepness of the mountain
there are trees to its very summit, exhibiting an interesting and
novel sight to me, who had seen nothing like it since I quitted
Syria. There are numberless ravines through which the torrents are
precipitated into the plain during the rains, when they must form
so many cascades boiling over the rocks, and presenting altogether
a grand spectacle. Many Seder trees grow in the plain. Here again
the slaves caught locusts, which they roasted over the fire, after
taking out the entrails. From Wady Moez we continued over even but
rocky ground, four hours farther, when we halted.
_June 23d._ The country before us presented a valley (called Wady
Osyr) of at least four hours in breadth, bordered on the east side
by low hills. We continued our route close to the high western
chain; the whole plain is full of trees and shrubs, and in every low
ground was herbage, now parched up. We passed another encampment of
Hadendoa, with large herds of camels; they appear to live here in
perfect security from any surprise by their enemies. We also met
a travelling party of Hadendoa, with their women and tents; the
women were seated upon the camels, on high saddles fantastically
decorated, with three or four poles sticking out in front, beyond
the animal’s head, having the extremities ornamented with large
bunches of black ostrich feathers. The African, like the Arabian
Bedouins, seem to display elegance of equipment in the decorations of
their women only: leathern tassels of different sizes, small bells,
and white shells, from the Red Sea, contributed to the ornament of
the harness and saddles of the camels. None of the women passed me
without uttering a loud shriek, and then laughing. After marching
two hours and a half, we halted under a thick cover of acacia trees,
in low ground, called Wady Shenkera. The slaves had to bring water
from an hour’s distance in the mountain. We here collected the
same herb which I have already mentioned, to season our Asyde. A
few poor women came to sell us milk and to beg a little Dhourra,
which is scarce among these Bedouins; they draw their supplies from
Taka, but they live generally upon milk and flesh only. We continued
travelling in Wady Osyr during the evening, NE. b. E. and halted
for the night after a day’s journey of eight hours and a half.
_June 24th._—During the night the chief of the caravan and several
of the principal merchants left us, and being well mounted upon
dromedaries, expected to reach Souakin the next day. We started
before sunrise. The eastern hills terminate in this latitude; and the
sun was just rising beyond them, when we descried its reflection at
an immense distance in the sea, affording a pleasing sight to every
individual in the caravan, but most of all to me. The slaves asked
whether it was the Nile, for they had never heard of any other great
water or sea, and the Arabs apply the same word Bahr (بحر) both
to the sea and to the Nile. A plain which lay between us and the sea
appeared to consist of barren sand, covered towards the sea with a
superstratum of salt. Our road continued among trees and the beds
of torrents which empty themselves into the sands. After a march
of three hours and a half we reached Wady Shinterab in which is a
copious spring, but the water has a brackish taste; it collects
in a basin, and can only be drank by man when sweetened by rain
water. Around this well are some rocks of gray granite, the only
granite I had seen since quitting the hills of Goz Radjeb. A good
deal of Senna Mekke grows here. A very wild rocky valley branches
off into the chain on the left. The Wady Shinterab forms a very large
torrent during the rainy season; it is at least three hundred yards
broad, and about twelve feet deep. Farther on the ground was uneven,
and the road so very rocky, that the camels proceeded along it with
difficulty. There was a beaten path the whole of the way we had
come from the Langay, and it continued as far as Souakin. After a
journey of six hours and a half, direction NE. by N. we halted in
a Wady full of verdure, where our cattle were driven to pasture.
A camel belonging to one of the Kordofan traders fell and was
killed during this day’s march. The Souakin merchants, who
proved themselves on every occasion to be destitute of every
feeling of compassion or charity, passed on without shewing the
least disposition to aid the owner in his distress. My camel was
the strongest in the party, I therefore volunteered my services,
and transferred the greater part of the dead camel’s load to mine,
which obliged me to perform the remainder of the journey to Souakin
on foot. The merchant to whom the camel belonged had several times
ordered his slaves to cook my supper and bring me water, when he
had seen me exhausted by fatigue, and it thus became my duty to
repay his kindness.
_June 25th._—We set out soon after midnight, and travelled over
a rocky plain. When the sun rose, we saw the sea about five hours
distant. The soil now began to be strongly impregnated with salt; a
bitter saline crust covering its surface in many places to the depth
of several inches. The atmosphere arising from this soil, rendered
still more saline by the sea breezes, had made the branches of all
the trees as black as if they had been charred; and it was with
difficulty that the herds of camels of forty or fifty together,
could find out a few green leaves. I had never seen the camel
so nearly approaching to a wild state. Whole herds are here left
to pasture without the care of either men or dogs; the Hadendoa
keep them almost entirely for their milk and flesh, very few being
employed as beasts of burthen; they appeared to be frightened at
the approach of men and of loaded camels, a circumstance I had never
witnessed before. In the Arabian and Syrian deserts, the camels when
grazing come running and frisking towards any strange camel which
they perceive at a distance, and they easily obey even the call of
strangers, provided they are Bedouins like their own masters. The
herds of camels which we saw this day were, like those of Nubia,
in general of a white colour. The acacia trees in this plain are
stunted, owing to the violent winds to which they are exposed. I
observed a parasitic species of cactus growing upon all of them,
and completely covering some of them like a net.
After marching about four hours, we took the direction of N. by
E. and approached a mountain branching into the plain, from the
main chain of Dyaab. It is called the mountain of Gangerab, and is
inhabited by families of Hadendoa, who supply Souakin with butter
and milk during the summer, when no cattle is to be found near that
place. We encamped during the mid-day hours at some distance from
the mountain, and were much distressed for water, having taken a
very small supply on the 23d. The Souakin merchants, who knew the
country well, hired without our knowledge, an Arab who brought them
several camel loads of water from the mountain, which we in vain
intreated them to share with ourselves and slaves. No idea can be
formed by Europeans of the quantity of water necessary for drinking,
cooking, and washing during a journey through these countries, but
more particularly to allay the thirst of the traveller, whose palate
is continually parched by the effects of the fiery ground and air,
who has been confined perhaps for several days to a short allowance
of water, and who lives upon food which, consisting of farinaceous
preparations and butter, is calculated to excite thirst in the
greatest degree. It is a general custom in the caravans in these
parts, as well as in the Arabian deserts, never to drink, except
when the whole caravan halts for a few minutes for that purpose; the
time of doing this is, in the slave caravans, about nine o’clock in
the morning, and twice during the afternoon’s march, namely about
four and six o’clock. In the forenoon also every one drinks at the
halting of the caravan, and again after the meal; and the same rule
is observed in the evening. To drink while others do not, exposes a
man to be considered effeminate, and to the opprobrious saying, that
“his mouth is tied to that of the water-skin.” (فمه مربوط
علي خشم القربه—Fomoh marboutt alá kháshm el gerbé),
and it is otherwise imprudent, as the opening of his water-skin at
an unusual time subjects the traveller to importunities which it
is not always prudent to reject; but none thinks of asking such a
favour when the whole caravan halts to drink. Those who have many
slaves fill the large wooden bowl in which dinner is served up,
and place it upon the ground, when the slaves kneel down and drink
out of it half a dozen times, as cattle do out of a trough; this is
done to prevent the waste of water that would be occasioned by each
having a separate allowance. Travellers in these journeys drink a
great quantity of water when it is plentiful; I do not exaggerate
when I say that I have often drank in the afternoon, at one draught,
as much as would fill two common water-bottles. To drink three or
four times a day is considered short allowance; few Blacks and Arabs,
when water is abundant, drink less than six or seven times daily;
but when the S. E. wind blows no quantity is sufficient to keep the
mouth moist, and one wishes to drink every quarter of an hour. The
stories related by the Bedouins to the town’s-people, of their
remaining often two or three days in the desert without drinking,
are mere fables. In all parts of Nubia, at least in the caravan
routes, travellers can never be in very great distress from want
of water, if the wells are not dried up. The only portions of the
road, of any length, without water, are from Goz Radjeb to Sennaar,
and from the frontiers of Kordofan to Shendy. Yet the Black traders
often suffer from want of water, even where the wells are near,
because their avarice leads them to load their camels so heavily
with merchandize, that they have no room for a plentiful supply
of water. The usual computation is that a middling sized skin or
Gerbé (قربه) holding about fifty or sixty pounds of water,
will serve a man for three days, if he is alone, or four men for
one day, if they mess together.
The Arabs call the halt at noon, el Keyale (القيله). They
say, “Nahun kayalna fi el mattrah el fulani” (نحن
قيلناَّ في المطرح الفلاني). “We halted
in such a place.” The chief, in giving orders to alight, cries
out: “Keyaloua ikhouatna (قيلويا اخواتنا) Brothers,
let us alight. When the caravan is to set out again, he exclaims,
Esshedeid, Esshedeid (الشديد, from شدّ to tie fast the
ropes of the loads.) In the evening he gives the word Hottoué,
(حطّوا), to rest. Thus an Arab, when relating the history of
his day’s march, says, “Komna fi el fadjer, wa keyalna alá
el ma’a, wa shaddeyna wa ed-dhal bettoul es-shaksz, wa baad el
nizoul hatteyna, wa beitna fi mattrah el fulani.” (قمنا في
الفجر و قيّلنا علي الماء و شدّينا و
الظل بطول الشخض و بعد النزول حطينا
و بيتنا في المطرح الفلاني). We started at
day break, we rested at noon near the water, we set out again,
when a man’s shadow was equal to his length, and after sunset we
alighted and slept, in such and such a place.
The Souakin caravans, like those of the Hedjaz, are accustomed
to travel in one long file; the Egyptians, on the contrary, march
with a wide extended front; but the former method is preferable,
because if any of the loads get out of order, they can be adjusted
by leading the camel out of the line, before those behind have
come up; in the latter case, the whole caravan must stop, when any
accident happens to a single camel. The caravans from Bagdad to
Aleppo and Damascus, consisting sometimes of two thousand camels,
marching abreast of each other, extend over a space of more than a
mile. Our Souakin traders obliged their slaves to lead each of the
camels by a halter, and upon every false step made by the animal
they applied the whip to the leader.
I was much amused by a circumstance which took place to day, during
our halt at noon: the black merchants had bought a sheep, and after
it was killed a part of the meat was distributed among the slaves;
some of it was offered to me, but I refused it, because meat always
made me very thirsty; it had this effect upon the slaves who ate
it, and unfortunately for them, their masters had no water left in
the Gerbes. A boy came to me with a bone he had just been gnawing,
and offered it to me, remarking that the best part of the meat was
still remaining on it, if I would give him a drink of water for it;
‘my master,’ he added, ‘has sent to Gangerab with the Souakin
people, and if his water-skins return filled, I faithfully promise
to repay you the draught.’ The greediness of this little fellow in
devouring his allowance of meat, together with his attempt to cheat
me, by offering me the bone, and promising what he knew he could not
perform, presented as complete a picture of the Oriental character
in low life, as could be drawn: he failed however in his artifice,
for I drank with my slave the last drop of water left in the skin.
We had a long afternoon’s march over the saline plain. I saw a
Gazelle of the largest size, almost as tall as a stag, with long
pointed horns. A Souakiny approached it near enough to throw his
lance at it, but missed it. Towards sun-set we came in sight of
Souakin, and halted near a small village, or rather encampment,
after a day’s march of ten or eleven hours. The greater part of
the merchants proceeded immediately to the town; but myself and
companions thought it more prudent to enter it in the day time.
_June 26th._—We reached the invirons of Souakin at the end of
two hours, and pitched our little sheds at about twenty minutes
walk from the town.
_Souakin_ (سواكن) is situated at the extremity of a narrow bay,
about twelve miles in depth and two in breadth. Towards the bottom
of the bay are several islands, upon one of which the town itself
is built, separated from its suburb, called El Geyf (القيف),
which stands on the main land, by an arm of the sea about five
hundred yards wide. The harbour is on the east side of the town,
and is formed by a prominent part of the continent. The arm of the
sea on the west side affords no anchorage for ships of any size. The
islands, as well as the whole of the surrounding country, are sandy,
and produce nothing but a few shrubs, or low acacias. The town upon
the island is built in the same manner as Djidda; the houses have
one, or two stories, are constructed of blocks of madrepores, and
have a neat appearance; but the greater part of them are falling to
decay; the suburb El Geyf, on the contrary, is rapidly increasing
in size and population, and is now larger than the town itself. On
the south-east side of the town, near the harbour, some ancient
walls indicate the former existence of fortifications. It is within
the precincts of these walls that the Aga resides, and the ships
generally anchor just under the windows of his house. Two or three
rusty iron guns lie dismounted upon the rubbish of the ruined walls,
which at present afford not the slightest protection to the town. The
Aga’s house is a mean building, but commands a fine view over the
bay towards the sea; near it are some warehouses, and a wharf, at
which were lying the shattered hulls of several small ships, for no
body has here the means or skill to repair vessels when once damaged.
The number of houses in Souakin is about six hundred, of which
two-thirds are in ruins, for the madrepore with which they are
built soon decays, unless constantly kept in repair. The only public
buildings in the town are three mosques. In the suburb El Geyf are a
few houses of stone, built rather in the Soudan than Arabian style,
having large courtyards; the other dwellings are formed of mats,
like those of the Nubian Bedouins. El Geyf contains one mosque.
At half an hour’s distance from El Geyf are the wells which
supply Souakin, the suburbs, and the shipping, with water; they
are about a dozen in number, and within fifty yards of each other;
near them stand a few Nebek trees. One of the wells is lined with
stone, the others are mere holes dug in the ground. The water of a
few of them is tolerable, but in none of them is it good. In the
town are cisterns for holding rain water; but they are in ruins,
and nobody will incur the expense of repairing them.
All those concerned in the maritime trade, and about the shipping,
and those connected with the government, reside upon the island,
while the native Arabs and the Soudan traders live in the Geyf,
where the market is kept.