After we had dined, and quitted the mats, my servants and his

cash-keepers sat down; and what they left was cleared by the servants

of the melek. After washing, we had sherbet, coffee, and pipes. The

melek then went to sleep, according to the Arab and Turkish custom. In

the afternoon we walked about the place, and saw the ruins of the

ancient village. The inhabitants of this island suffered severely

from the inroads of the Shageea, with whom they were almost always

at war. The Melek of Argo was able to collect a force of 700 men,

many of them armed with coats of mail, of German manufacture. I

wished to see these; but he said they were all in the possession of

the Pasha of Egypt. This may be true of some of them; but, no doubt,

the greater part he had secreted, aware that the day may arrive when

he may require them.

The present melek has a small plantation of vines and pomegranates,

which flourish luxuriantly in this country. He procured the plants

a few years ago from Egypt; and seems to be prouder of his little

garden than of any thing else he possesses. We had a supper in

the same style as the dinner; and our beds were the angoureebs on

which we had been sitting all the day, with a carpet for a mattress,

and no other covering than our cloaks.

_Island of Argo.—April_ 18. The melek, perceiving my impatience to

visit the antiquities, provided my artist and myself with excellent

horses, while my dragoman, and our guide, his nephew, accompanied us

on dromedaries. We rode through the centre of the island, which is

entirely uncultivated, but planted with acacias, like a shrubbery. The

soil is capable of cultivation; and only a more extensive knowledge

of hydraulics appears required to enable the people to irrigate and

cultivate the whole of the island.

We set out at five o’clock, and, after two hours’ ride (about

ten miles), reached the site of a small town or village, with merely

a few bricks remaining. An hour afterwards we arrived at a similar

place, and in ten minutes more at a third. Twenty minutes from the

latter, being three hours and a half from the time that we started, we

arrived at the antiquities which were the object of our excursion. The

distance, from the rate we travelled, may be about eighteen miles.

[Illustration: Pl. 34.

_On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

COLOSSAL STATUE IN THE ISLAND OF ARGO.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The antiquities amply repaid us for the trouble of visiting

them. They consist chiefly of two colossal statues of grey granite,

now lying on the ground. The faces are Egyptian, but the sculpture is

Ethiopian; not in a very good style, the forms being extremely bulky

and clumsy. The length, including the pedestal, which is 2 feet 10

inches, is 23 feet. One statue has lost part of its arms; the other

is broken into two pieces, but the features are less injured. They

have never been quite finished; which is, doubtless the reason that

neither is ornamented with hieroglyphics. The figures are placed in

the usual standing position of Egyptian statues, one foot advanced

before the other. The one that is broken has on the left foot a small

statue. (See my picturesque views and architectural restoration,

Plates XXXIII., XXXIV., and XXXV.) The ornaments around their necks

and ankles are curious, and quite Ethiopian. The wreath around the

head-dress of one of them is that of a conqueror; which I conceive

to afford a strong ground for conjecturing that these statues were

erected in commemoration of the conquest of Egypt: but I am led to

this conclusion principally from the circumstance of the only name

in hieroglyphics now remaining here being that of Sabaco, the first

king of the Ethiopian dynasty who conquered and reigned over Egypt.

The circumstance of the statues not being finished, may be accounted

for by the brief duration, at that period, of the Ethiopian dominion

over this part of the country. The statues erected to celebrate the

triumph of their arms in Egypt would naturally be thrown down by the

Egyptian invaders. Psammitichus, the first king of the 26th dynasty,

who reigned immediately after the Ethiopians, and whose territory,

we know, from the Greek inscription at Abou Simbel, certainly

extended as far as the second cataract, might have conquered this

part of Ethiopia, and thrown down the statues of a king naturally

so hateful to the Egyptians. They seem, like the two celebrated

statues at Thebes, to have ornamented the entrance of a temple,

for behind them is a considerable space covered with sandstone,

all in small pieces, but evidently the ruins of a large temple.

Forty paces behind these colossals is a beautiful fragment of a small

seated statue, without a head, and half buried in the ruins: the name

of Sabaco is engraved on it in hieroglyphics; and 43 paces behind

the latter is a group of six small monkeys, very much mutilated,

and almost buried in the ground. The ruins of the temple extend 20

paces farther. It may have been perhaps from 250 to 300 feet long;

but, profiting by the softness of the sandstone, the stones seem to

have been studiously broken into the smallest fragments. There are,

unfortunately, no hieroglyphics, except the name of Sabaco, before

mentioned, remaining either on the statues or any of the stones; and,

from the degree in which the edifice is destroyed, I did not conceive

that, at all events, much advantage would be derived from excavation.

The name of this town is unknown; and, though the temple appears to

have been considerable, the remains afford no ground to suppose that

the place was of great importance. There is every reason to believe,

however, that the Island of Argo was formerly much more flourishing

than now. The different remains of ancient towns in the interior,

now surrounded merely with acacia groves and uncultivated plains,

prove the cultivation, at that time, to have been much more extended,

and the island to have contained not only better built cities,

but also a civilised population acquainted with the arts.

A sheakh, from a village at a short distance from the ruins, sent

us some excellent bread and milk; and, when our work was finished,

we went to his house, and reposed on his angoureebs,—luxuries which

every peasant possesses: we also partook of some dates, bouza, and

palm wine; the latter is like the honey of dates only more diluted

with water. Strabo speaks of the Ethiopian beverage made of honey

and barley; and also adds, that the only fruit in that country

are a few dates in the royal gardens. After requiting the sheakh

for his attention, we returned by the bank of the river to Melek

Tumbol’s house.

[Illustration: Pl. 35.

RESTORATION OF THE TWO COLOSSAL STATUES IN THE ISLAND OF ARGO.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The country was rich and beautiful, and I observed a great quantity

of indigo. In the melek’s territory, there are 500 water-wheels

employed in the cultivation of this plant. It requires much water,

each wheel being sufficient to irrigate on an average only three

quarters of a feddan of land.

_April_ 19. We dined and slept last night with the melek, and left

him this morning soon after sunrise. We gave a backsheesh (present)

of money to his servants, and, in return for his attention, I gave

him the amber mouth-piece of my pipe. We returned in his boat to

Haffeer; but as it was navigated by only two mariners, and sailed

ill, I there procured another from the katshef to visit the granite

quarries near the village of Toumbos.

On the east side, almost directly opposite to Haffeer, there is

a brick ruin, half an hour’s walk from the river. I perceived,

at a distance, that it was of no importance; but recollecting

that Cailliaud mentioned it in his work as resembling the towers

represented in the sculptures at Thebes, I visited it on foot, for

want of any conveyance, and suffered severely from the scorching,

almost vertical, mid-day sun. The ruin being situated in the

desert, my feet, unprotected with stockings, which I have long since

discarded, were dreadfully burnt by the hot soft sand, in which we

sank, at every step, considerably above the shoes. This ruin has not

the slightest resemblance to the towers in the sculpture at Thebes. It

has been apparently for ages so much decayed, as scarcely to present

any other form than that of a mere mass of brickwork; but I conceive

it to be Ethiopian, and very ancient. It is difficult to imagine

what has been its exact form (see vignette); but it has evidently not

resembled, in any respect, the elegant fortresses represented on the

walls of Thebes. The entrance into it, as will be seen by the view,

is partly remaining. The name of the village near it is Korma.

[Illustration: RUIN OF AN ETHIOPIAN FORT.]

We were two hours in descending the river to Toumbos. Immediately

before arriving, we passed the first of the cataracts of Hennek. The

country (see vignette) is very pleasing, flat, not romantic or

picturesque, like the scenery between Philæ and Assuan; but the

luxuriance of the vegetation on the islands, the acacias in the

foreground, the picturesque groups of palm trees, the masses of

rock impeding the current, and varying the tint of the river by the

white surges they create, and, in the distance, the yellow sands,

formed altogether a soft and lovely landscape. The rocks of the

third cataract, at least here, are of grey granite.

A very short distance from the river, on a granite rock, called

Hadjer el Dehab, or the Golden Stone, is a large historical tablet

of hieroglyphics, with the common Egyptian ornament above it, of the

globe, serpents, and wings. The hieroglyphics have been well executed,

but are now so defaced that few of them are distinguishable. I

copied a small portion of it containing the name of Thothmes I.;

and in another small tablet adjoining, I observed the prænomen of

Amunoph III.

[Illustration: CATARACT OF HENNEK.]

From the similarity of this granite, I think it evident that the

statues of Argo have been taken from these quarries. There is here

also another statue, twelve feet in length, much injured, but in

a tolerably good style of sculpture (see vignette, page 218). The

head has been destroyed, perhaps by some accident in separating it

from the rock, or rather in conveying it to its destination.

The katshef of Haffeer, through some misunderstanding, I suppose,

had informed me that Toumbos was distant only half an hour’s or

an hour’s sail. We, therefore, brought with us neither provisions,

beds, nor coverings. On arriving at Toumbos, the sheakh invited us to

pass the night with him. By the time we had finished our drawings

and examination of the quarries, it was almost night, and, the

wind having subsided, it was impossible to cross the cataract. We,

therefore, gladly accepted his hospitality, having had nothing to

eat since morning but grain, heated a little over the fire, with

salt. The Arabs are fond of grain prepared in this manner; and,

mixed with a few dates, it is not disagreeable.

The sheakh first conducted us into a ruined house, now used as a

mosque, rather miserable-looking, close to the river, and therefore

cold, especially for us, who had no covering. The heat of the day

being so excessive, the fresh air of the night, and particularly

of the morning, feels extremely chill. I complained of this

accommodation, at which he seemed vexed, and asked my servant if we

wished to sleep in his harem. Our complaint, however, procured us

a comfortable room in his own house, good angoureebs, covered with

mats and skins to lie on, a cheerful wood fire, and a good supper of

excellent bread and milk, with a large bowl of meat. We had therefore

no reason to complain of the sheakh’s hospitality.

[Illustration: COLOSSAL STATUE IN THE QUARRIES OF TOUMBOS.]

_April_ 20. At sunrise, after remunerating the sheakh for his

attentions with a present of money, which I conceived would be

the most acceptable that could be offered, we profited by a slight

breeze, and, with the assistance of three of the peasants, passed the

cataract. The sheakh gave me the not uncommon salutation at parting

of “Minsh Allah rasak taip!”—“May God preserve your head

from harm!” in a tone which appeared to me curious at the time,

but which, I conceived, might allude to the passing of the cataract;

though, as will soon be seen, before the setting of the sun, I

understood his meaning. Soon afterwards, being becalmed, we pressed

into our service a dozen peasants, who dragged us along with a cord.

This morning, and also yesterday, we saw on an island of sand,

near Haffeer, a large hippopotamus. This is the only one that now

remains in this part of the river, or so far to the northward. Here,

too, it is said that this animal flies from the approach of man,

and even from the boats. Each time that we approached the isle,

it darted into the water. There were, a short time ago, several in

this part of the river; but Melek Tumbol told me that he and his

people had destroyed all of them, with the exception of this one,

which had always eluded their pursuit. We did not arrive at Haffeer

until one in the afternoon, half-famished, having had nothing for

breakfast but a small handful of grain.

We received intelligence there which threw us into the greatest

consternation. The province of Mahas, which commences at Hannek,

one hour’s journey north from this place, and extends as far as

Sukkot, has broken out into insurrection. The dreadful consequences

of this event, cutting off completely my return to Egypt and Europe,

and making me a prisoner Heaven knows how long; also the uncertainty

of how widely the flame may spread, and what may be the result,

caused me the greatest anxiety. I am informed there are already 300

insurgents collected, and that their number increases hourly.

The reason ascribed for this revolt is, that the government refused

to accept in part payment of their taxes the linen cloths made in

the country. The owners of each water-wheel, besides grain to the

amount of five dollars, pay also fifteen in cash: the difficulty of

realising this sum may be easily conceived in a country where there

are no markets, little or no commerce, and that generally carried on

by exchange. The katshef of Haffeer, on hearing, this morning, that

they had murdered a kaimacam (officer), and three soldiers, within

two hours’ march of his residence, hastened to the spot with about

thirty soldiers, being all the forces he could muster. The insurgents

had retired upon an island. He buried the three men the Mahas had

killed, and brought away the other, whom they had severely wounded

in various places, and left as dead. The katshef informed me, that,

as he could not desert his post, he intended to shut himself up in

the indigo manufactory, which was partly fortified. I immediately

ordered my camels to be loaded for our return to Ourde, or New

Dongolah, for it is now impossible to proceed on our journey north.

That dress which has hitherto been our protection, and procured

us every where respect, now makes us a mark for the attack of the

insurgents. They would never suppose that any friend of theirs

would wear the costume of their oppressors. In our nizam dresses

we should certainly be taken for Turks, and perhaps murdered in a

summary manner. We have every reason to thank Providence that we

were detained a day at Argo, otherwise our fate was inevitable,

for we should have been exactly in the centre of the revolt at the

very moment when it broke out. In these countries, where Europeans

are almost unknown, except the few who, being in the service of the

Pasha, are considered as Turks, the natives only distinguish two

classes,—their own countrymen, and the white men, their tyrants

and oppressors. We could not have expected to be spared, even had

they recognised us as travellers: for they would have murdered us

for the treasures which they imagine we find among the ruins.

It were endless to enumerate the ridiculous stories which the Arabs

relate of these fancied discoveries. I will, however, mention one or

two, as characteristic. On our return from the colossal statues in the

Island of Argo, to the house of Melek Tumbol, one of his cash-keepers

asked me if we had found any gold; and he stated as a fact to a crowd

of Arabs in the room (swearing by his beard and the prophet), that

at a ruin called Dendera, in Egypt, he accompanied two Englishmen,

who obtained an immense treasure. The devil refused it until they

should give him a water melon, to allay his thirst. The Englishman

then sent him all the way to Kennah for the melon, and that as soon

as the devil smelt the fine odour of the fruit, gold came down like

rain. This the man declared he had seen with his own eyes, and all

the Arabs implicitly believed him.

At Gibel el Birkel, the natives conceived that my excavations

were made only to find gold; and they supposed me less fortunate,

or less clever, than the last European, a noble Lord, who visited

those ruins, who was stated to have found such a quantity, in the

form of a granite lion, that he was obliged to have a boat from

Dongolah to carry it down to Egypt.

CHAPTER XVI.

RETURN TO NEW DONGOLAH. — THE GOVERNOR. — HIS INDECISION. —

GENERAL ALARM. — INTERVIEW WITH THE GOVERNOR. — HIS DIFFICULT

SITUATION AND WANT OF ENERGY. — INCREASE OF THE INSURGENTS. —

RETREAT OF THE KATSHEF OF HAFFEER. — TROOPS MARCHED OUT AGAINST

THE INSURGENTS. — FEARS ABOUT THE RESULT. — THEIR ARMY. —

THE BATTLE. — EFFECTS OF THE REVOLT. — ROADS IMPASSABLE. —

RETURN OF THE EXPEDITION. — TURKISH AND ARAB EVOLUTIONS. —

HASSANYEH. — FUNGE. — CURIOUS ASSEMBLAGE. — _LULULOO_ OF THE

WOMEN. — TURKISH SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN THE PROVINCES, AND PRESENT

STATE OF THE PEASANTRY AND ARABS OF THE DESERT ABOVE WADY HALFAH.

_El Ourde, or New Dongolah.—April_ 21. Immediately on my

arrival, I paid a visit to the governor, but was not received;

for, notwithstanding the general alarm which exists on account of

the insurrection, he could not deny himself his mid-day nap. In the

evening I was more successful. The more I see of this man, the more

I feel alarmed about the length of time I may be detained, and what

may be the result of this unfortunate affair, for I perceive clearly

he is incapable of taking any resolution. He complained of not having

force sufficient. I advised him to adopt the common Turkish system

of offering a general pardon and lighter taxes, or muster all his

forces, and crush, at once, a movement which, in a country like this,

was likely to spread so rapidly.

_April_ 29. A week passed without any plan being determined upon. I

had not chosen to renew my advice, perceiving what I had already

given to be fruitless. The greatest panic existed in the town. Some

proposed to fly up the country; others, to reach Egypt by crossing the

desert by Selemeh. We had, every day, some new and false rumour, that

other districts had revolted, and that the whole valley of the Nile,

from Wady Halfah to the extremity of the Pasha’s dominions, was on

the point of throwing off the yoke of their oppressors. Sometimes

the insurgents were reported to be within an hour’s march of the

town, preparing to attack it. Muskets were distributed, the cannons

prepared, and we were all to fight for our lives. At length, the

officers, who are a despicable set, became refractory: some refused to

march, while others were anxious to commence operations. The governor

was undecided; some officers of the divan advised one course, and some

another; and, while he vacillated between them, day passed after day,

without any plan being adopted.

Foreseeing the consequences of this irresolution, while discontent

was spreading even among the government troops, and the insurgents

daily increasing, I determined to make one effort more to rouse him

from his lethargy, and persuade him to adopt some vigorous measure. I,

therefore, visited him, accompanied by a Greek dragoman, with whom the

governor, being a Turk from the Morea, could converse in the Romaic

without any other person in the divan understanding our discourse. I

thus obtained the best chance of my advice being followed, by sparing

his _amour propre_, of which he had a considerable stock.

I apologised for the liberty I was taking; conscious that, as a

stranger, I had no right to interfere with his administration; but

that my fate was linked with his, as the success of my own plans

depended on his being able to restore order and tranquillity to

the country. In return, too, for his attentions, I was anxious,

if possible, to be of service to him; I regretted his present

difficult situation, particularly as I saw him surrounded by men

guided more by their passions than by reason. To my surprise,

he raised up his head, which generally hangs over his knees,

almost touching them, and expressed his willingness to listen to,

and follow, my counsel. Tormented as he has been, for several days,

with the insolent dictation of his officers, each insisting on some

wild scheme of his own, he turned a ready ear to my suggestions,

which were, of course, disinterested. Each officer, on the contrary,

hoped, if his plan should be adopted, and be successful, that he

might have the merit of the victory, and obtain, in consequence,

a present from the Pasha.

I urged the governor to send to some of the sheakhs up the Nile,

who are strongly attached to the government, and have no affection

for the Mahas, to assemble their forces; and also to Melek Tumbol,

who is said to have a force of 500 men, while the former could muster

600 men, and both would be quite willing to join the government. The

governor had imprudently ordered the soldiers scattered in the

different villages to assemble, under the katshefs and kaimacams,

in bands of fifty. This had caused great dissatisfaction, by showing

that he distrusted the fidelity of the peasants; and the measure

was useless, except in affording a security for the lives of the

soldiers, which, after all, was only apparent; for bands of fifty

were too small to keep extensive districts in subjection, or protect

themselves against the united attacks of the peasantry. I urged

the governor to send for these troops to replace the garrison here,

which he might thus be enabled to send out against the revolters. He

consented to this proposition very reluctantly.

To my surprise, he informed me that he had sent no courier to

Cairo. He had despatched one to Khartoun, in the hopes of procuring

a reinforcement from that district. I did not think it probable

that the government there would risk its security by sending part of

their force to Dongolah: but it was great neglect not to inform all

the governors around of the revolt, that they might guard against any

attempts within their own territories; particularly as it is rumoured,

though, probably, without foundation, that this is only the first

explosion of a grand conspiracy, formed by the people, throughout

Upper Nubia, to avail themselves of the present opportunity, whilst

the Pasha is engaged with the war in Syria, to throw off his yoke.

The number of soldiers here at present is 200, part of a regiment

of invalids sent to this province, being of no use at Cairo; the

remainder of the regiment is scattered, as I have said, in small

parties, about the province. As the Arab and Turkish merchants in

the bazaar are more than sufficient to protect the citadel, and their

fidelity may be relied upon, their lives and property being at stake,

I urged the governor to send off the troops in the garrison without

delay; and he promised that he would do so as soon as the necessary

arrangements could be made. I advised him also to mount guards on

the citadel, to dispel the panic which existed, and prevent the

possibility of the place being surprised.

_April_ 30. The katshef of Haffeer arrived, without having received

permission from the governor to abandon his post, but conceiving it

impossible, with only 50 men, to protect the indigo house, which

is but partially fortified, against the threatened attack of the

insurgents. He stated the force of the latter to be 1500 men; and a

courier arrived last night, with the intelligence, that yesterday more

soldiers were killed, and that another party of fifty only escaped

through the means of an Arab sheakh, abandoning their baggage, and,

_mirabile dictu_ for Turks, also their pipes!

_May_ 1. The troops, 150 in number (leaving 50 in the citadel),

marched out this morning against the Mahas. They were accompanied

by 120 volunteers, some of them mounted. The Hassanyeh and Funge,

500 strong, and Melek Tumbol on the opposite bank, with 500 more,

are waiting to join them. They took with them one piece of cannon, an

eight-pounder, on which they rested their chief hopes of success. The

review of these warriors caused a great sensation in this little

capital. The governor had distributed muskets and ammunition to

all the merchants who joined the expedition, and also to those who

remained in garrison. Each man was trying his weapon by firing

it off. The women were weeping, and demonstrating their grief,

according to the custom of the country, by a peculiar _lululoo_,

caused by drawing their breath, and shaking their tongues between

their lips, at the same time waving their hands, in sign of wishes

for their husbands’ success.

Considering how this expedition was composed, I was almost doubtful

of its success. The soldiers and officers were the refuse of the

Pasha’s army; the merchants a confused mass; the commander notorious

for cowardice; the cannon in the hands of men not renowned for their

skill in engineering; and it seemed doubtful whether friendship to the

Turks, the rancour of ancient feuds, or even the hope of plunder, be

sufficient motives to induce the Hassanyeh Arabs and Melek Tumbol’s

forces to act against their neighbours, fighting for their liberty,

to free themselves from a grievous and intolerable yoke, and who

had placed their all upon the die,—death or victory. The governor

himself reviewed the troops outside the walls, and gave his last

directions. How ridiculous this expedition would have appeared in

Europe! It reminded me of the army of Bombastes Furioso; and the

Mahmoor might have dismissed them with the same words,—

“Begone, brave soldiers, don’t kick up a row!”

_May_ 2 and 3. were spent in great anxiety about the result of the

expedition. Rumours were spread that the government troops were

defeated, and that the Mahas were coming to attack the citadel.

_May_ 4. This morning news arrived of the engagement, and that

the Pasha’s troops had gained the victory. On the 10th, they and

the merchants returned, and I received from some sensible Turkish

merchants, on whose authority I could depend, the following account

of the battle. The insurgents, 1300 strong, at three o’clock in

the afternoon advanced to attack the government forces, encamped a

little below Hannek. Their chief, Melek Backeet, sent round 300 of

his men to intercept the enemy’s retreat; for it never occurred to

the brave warriors of Mahas that they could possibly be defeated. If

they had possessed any degree of judgment, or been less confident,

and had made the attack during the night, they would probably have

succeeded; for at that time no sentinels or guards were established,

and the greatest confusion reigned in the Turkish camp.

About 150 of the Mahas had guns, but very bad ones, mostly matchlocks,

and they were very ill supplied with ammunition. They were variously

armed; some with lances, shields, German swords (see various plates of

costumes); while others had only swords made of the acacia wood, about

four feet long, rounded at one end for the hand, the rest cut thin,

flat, and sharpened at both sides,—a heavy but formidable weapon in

the hands of an athletic Arab. Others had staves only. Sentences in

Arabic were written by the fakeers, on the wooden swords and staves;

on some of them lines from the Koran: the most common were,—“May

God give me force to destroy my enemies!” “May my foes tremble

before me!” “May the acacia sword be as the sharp steel in

my hand!” I have seen a staff similarly shaped in the museum at

Berlin, with hieroglyphics on it; the latter I could not examine,

as it was on a shelf, at too great a distance to be read.

Twelve Turks on horseback accompanied the troops; to whom, with

the Arab merchants (Jelabs), and about 500 Hassanyeh, must be

ascribed the honour of the victory. Melek Tumbol’s Arabs were on

the opposite side of the river, and the soldiers of the government

were so placed by their skilful commander, behind their own friends,

that they could not fire a single shot. The general, usually a great

talker, became miraculously silent when the engagement commenced;

and, knowing the value of his person, very prudently placed it out

of danger. The artillerymen fired the cannon sixty-two times, only

wounding one man: but, to give them their due, I was informed by

several, that the victory was chiefly gained by the noise they made.

To the astonishment of the brave Mahas, the government forces, or

rather the merchants, undeterred by their cries of “Cip! cap!”

and dancing round and round (see view of the Shageea fighting,

Plate XXXVIII.), returned the shaking of their spears with a good

discharge of musketry, while the Hassanyeh made a sharp attack. An

engagement of a few minutes ended in the unfortunate Mahas flying

to the river. Numbers were shot sitting on the rocks and islands,

and others in crossing the stream: altogether about 120 perished.

The regular troops, not having fired a ball during the engagement,

discharged their muskets in the air to celebrate _their_ victory;

and the brave commander, now quite loquacious, gratified his thirst

for blood by the massacre of two unfortunate young prisoners,

who fell into his hands. Melek Backeet, the chief of the Mahas,

is said to be concealed in the country, but that feudal attachment

to their chief, which is so strong among all the Arabs, will secure

him against being discovered.

A general pardon having been proclaimed, according to the usual

Turkish system, until the government feels itself sufficiently

strong to punish the delinquents, several of the inferior sheaks have

accepted the amnesty offered by the governor, and the peasants are

returning to their occupations. Many of the water-wheels are injured,

and a great number of the working oxen killed by the Mahas. The loss

to the government cannot, it is said, be less than 5000_l._

My chief apprehension now is, that the roads will be infested by

the most desperate of the Mahas, acting as brigands; among others,

by their chief: we are therefore still detained here until this man

is taken, or has left the country, and tranquillity is entirely

restored. Several caravans of merchants are likewise deterred

from going down to Egypt. They thus incur a large expense, having

to maintain a number of slaves; but they seem greatly afraid of

encountering the journey. I proposed forming a great caravan, but

they coolly replied, that they should wait until the full moon, and,

in the mean time, see whether I passed safely.

[Illustration: Pl. 38.

SHAGEEA FIGHTING.

_On stone by Walton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

_May_ 11. The return of the expedition was celebrated with great

rejoicings. The Mahmoor, shortly after sunrise, reviewed about 300

troops, who have arrived, within these few days, from Handek, Meroueh,

and other parts of the province; he marched out with these, and

joined the armament encamped at a short distance from the walls, and

all together then entered the citadel, in procession. The governor,

at the head of the regular troops, who kept up a continual fire,

went foremost, followed by the Turks and sheakhs on horseback,

going through their evolutions, which consisted in a kind of mock

battle, where they certainly displayed admirable horsemanship;

sometimes galloping at full speed, suddenly halting, and wheeling

round and round, the Turks firing their pistols, and the sheakhs

brandishing their lances. Some of the meleks and sheakhs made a very

picturesque appearance, being well mounted, with their peculiar

costumes, lances, swords, and shields, the latter of the hide of

the hippopotamus. After these came the Jelabs, or merchants of the

bazaar, making liberal use of the muskets and ammunition given to

them by the governor. Then followed a great number of the Hassanyeh,

and some few of the Shageea Arabs, mounted on camels, dromedaries,

or horses, and some on foot, going through their evolutions as in

battle, brandishing their spears, leaping in the air, first on one

leg, then on the other, at the same time turning round and shouting

their war cry, “Cip! cap!” and beating their shields with their

spears. Lastly came a tribe, formerly mentioned, the Funge,—fine

athletic men, said to be very brave. They wear, like the others,

their garments in the antique style, and their heads, as is the

custom of the Arabs of the desert, uncovered, but protected from

the sun by bushy tresses, reaching almost to the shoulders.

The _coup-d’œil_ was rendered particularly striking, by the

variety of costumes, complexions, and arms, and the singularity

of the evolutions. We saw in one field the regular troops, Fellahs

from Egypt, marching and firing in the European manner; the natives

of the Caucasus, the Turks, exhibiting their more dashing Mameluke

exercise; but neither of them attracted half so much my attention

as the wild extraordinary manœuvres of the dark peasants of the

country and the Arabs of the desert. I should not forget, also, the

cries of the women. The house-tops, and the walls of the citadel,

were covered with them, cackling (I think that the most appropriate

term) a welcome to their husbands in the same curious manner I

have before described; but on this occasion the note was different,

being expressive of joy at their return.

The governor, afraid of the Pasha’s censuring, and, perhaps,

dismissing him, on account of this affair, pays, from his own purse,

the expense of the expedition; and he has made a present of 100

piastres to each Turk, 50 to each melek, 30 to each sheakh, of 10

to each peasant and merchant. He pays for the gunpowder also,—no

trifle, since, beside what was consumed in the action, they have been

firing ever since, to indulge their fondness for the report of a gun,

under the plea of celebrating the governor’s triumph. The day is to

be devoted to feasting and rejoicing. Those who can afford it have

killed cows, others sheep. The mallums, the Coptic treasurers and

writers of the government, are now very conspicuously exhibiting

their joy. They have been terribly alarmed during this affair;

conceiving, perhaps with some reason, that, besides their office,

and having the character of being individually rich, their obnoxious

titles of Christian dogs and tax-gatherers would have ensured to them,

had the citadel been taken, being the first to have their throats cut.

In relating the causes of this insurrection, I shall only be giving

a sketch of the Turkish system of governing the provinces, which has

rarely, if ever, been sufficiently elucidated. The government of the

pashas in Egypt is essentially military. The officers all of whom

(except sometimes the baractars) are Turks, decide every question

connected with the revenues, and often interfere, in other affairs,

with the decisions of the cadis. The system of the government is to

extort from the peasant the utmost possible amount of tax, leaving

him only what they consider, or pretend to consider, a sufficient

subsistence, but it is usually a most miserable one.

I will give a more detailed account of the system in Egypt, at a

future opportunity, and shall here only say a few words respecting

that unfortunate country. If the peasants did not actually steal from

their own fields, in some places, they could not exist. Although

they bury their grain under ground, and by various other methods

deceive their oppressors, numbers perish from the want of sufficient

nourishment and clothing. I have seen them, in winter, assembled in

a corner, round a miserable fire, shivering with cold and hunger. In

the most favoured clime under heaven, and the most productive country

on the face of the earth, a vast proportion of the peasants may be

said barely to exist upon food more calculated for cattle than for

human beings, and, bad as it is, they have rarely enough.

The Pasha has power sufficient to hold them in subjection, and by his

extortions fills his coffers; but necessity alone induces them to

submit. He not only imposes most enormous taxes upon every article

of produce, but obliges them to cultivate what he chooses, and take

the price he offers for the produce. He is the only purchaser of

the grain, cotton, and indigo, and of the gum of Kordofan, ostrich

feathers, and other articles. Slaves are almost the only commodity

the merchants now are allowed to take in exchange for the manufactures

they carry to Sennaar and Kordofan: even wild animals of the desert,

as the giraffe, are a monopoly of the government.

The Pasha is the great landlord of this immense district: the people

are his slaves. His revenues are derived not only from the regular

taxes, but from his profits as a merchant, which are enormous,

in consequence of the low rate at which he pays the peasants for

their produce, compared with that at which he sells it again to

the Europeans. It is true that this source of gain is greatly

diminished by the roguery of the different officers through whose

hands it passes. From the highest to the lowest there is seldom any

exception,—mahmoors, nazrs, katshefs, kaimacams, and soldiers, all

concur in diminishing the amount, and, in particular, the mallums,

or Coptic accountants. The latter not only cheat the ignorant Turks,

who generally cannot read their accounts, but often trade with the

money of the treasury, and incur losses which they are unable to

repay. A number, on this account, are always immured in the prisons

of the Pasha.

The peasants in Upper Nubia are free from these pecuniary distresses,

and are comparatively happy. It is very true, that, instead of paying

only one dollar in money, two pieces of linen cloth, and a sheep,

thirty piastres, which was all they paid their ancient meleks, they

are now obliged to pay fifteen dollars in cash, and five in grain;

in all, three hundred piastres: ten times as much as they paid

formerly. Instead of sleeping, as was their custom, the greater part

of the day, they are now obliged to work: but the man who is at all

industrious may earn an ample sufficiency to afford food and dress

such as he has been accustomed to. The following calculation will

show more precisely their present condition.

Each sakkea, or Persian wheel, is sufficient to water three quarters

of a feddan of land, planted with indigo, and each feddan produces

a hundred cantars of the herb, and sometimes more, when carefully

irrigated: being seventy-five cantars for the extent of land which

one wheel will water. The government pay the peasants 12½ Egyptian

piastres for each quintal; that is, 937 piastres for the whole,

which, at the current rate of the dollar here, 15 piastres, is equal

to 62½ dollars; whence we must deduct twenty for the duty, and there

remains for the persons to whom the wheel belongs, 42½ dollars, or

637 piastres: but, as this is the lowest calculation, we may fairly

estimate nearly two piastres per day for each water-wheel. This will

go to the support of one family, provided it can afford five persons

capable of putting their shoulders to the wheel; but otherwise, two

families must unite to reckon up that number. A great deduction on

the gain of the peasant in Egypt is the immense expense of the wheel:

but here they are so much more simple, they cost a very trifling sum;

the oxen only 30 piastres each, and their keep next to nothing.

However small a sum two piastres, or sevenpence English, may appear

to a European, it is amply sufficient in this climate, where every

necessary is so cheap. In Lower and Upper Egypt, where bread is so

much dearer, and meat and milk double the price, the fixed price of

a labourer amounts to half a piastre per day, to sustain himself

and perhaps a family. Most of the peasants here, too, have other

slips of land which are watered by the inundation of the river, and

they gain considerably by their date trees, notwithstanding that

they pay a tax of a piastre for each tree. They also rear flocks,

and cultivate vegetables, particularly the favourite Arab ones,

bamia and malakkhia; they make linen, spirit, bouza, &c. They allow,

too, that grain pays them still better than indigo.

The condition of the peasants of Upper Nubia is thus happy, compared

to those of Egypt. In this country, you very rarely see a peasant

with a ragged garment, and there are very few of the men who have

not their harems. Those who live near the seat of government have

also the advantage of supplying the markets with the few vegetables

the country produces, and of being employed as workmen. Some also

keep camels, which afford them a large profit.

The Arabs of the desert have still more reason to be satisfied

with the present government, so far as regards their pecuniary

interests. They pay tribute only for the land they cultivate,

which is in general very little, and in many cases none at all;

but otherwise they gain a sufficient livelihood, by transporting

to Egypt, with their camels, the grain collected as revenue, or

purchased by the government, and in aiding the now constant passage

of troops and merchants. Many of the Arab tribes of Kordofan, who

formerly never came here, now participate in the profit of carrying

the 2500 camel loads of gum, which, as before stated, are annually

sent from that country to Cairo.

Thus the labouring peasants of the Nile and the Arabs of the desert

in Upper Nubia, so far as regards the taxes and means of subsistence,

are in happy circumstances compared to the Fellaheen of Egypt; but in

other respects they are equally galled by their Turkish rulers. In

Egypt, the officers only are oppressive: the soldiers, who are

Fellaheen, like the peasants, are not so insolent as here, where

their comparatively white complexion, their character as conquerors,

and their pride as _askari_, or soldiers, induce them to despise

the natives, and oppress them more than the government authorises.

When the chief governor of a province is possessed of talent,

energy, and firmness, the officers and soldiers are prevented from

committing many excesses; but when the country has the misfortune

to be under a man like the Mahmoor of Dongolah,—too timid to

redress the complaints continually made against the disorderly

soldiers,—its state may easily be imagined. Each soldier is a

little tyrant, and commits a series of gross and petty vexations

inconceivable to a European. Of the many I have witnessed, I will

give only a few specimens:—If the soldier wants a sheep, fowls,

eggs, or any other article, he obliges the peasant to sell them at

half the market price, and not unfrequently refuses to pay any thing

at all. When becalmed on the river, he goes on shore, and forces

ten, and sometimes twenty, natives to drag his boat, without any

remuneration. If he meets a peasant girl carrying milk or butter,

he often helps himself to half without paying for it, unless with a

salute; and woe betide the imprudent sheahk or peasant who refuses to

give gratuitously the best his house affords, or neglects the horse

or camel of the Turk or soldier who has taken up his quarters for the

night at his house. If camels or donkeys are wanted, they must furnish

them, and consider themselves fortunate if they get any trifle in

return. The haughty manner of the conquerors is still more galling

to the Arabs: their usual manner of addressing them is, “_Kelp,

Marhas!_”—“Dog! villain! Do this! do that! quick! quick! cursed

be your race!” with threats of a beating, even actual blows, and

sometimes with the sole of the shoe, which is the greatest indignity

that a Mahometan can receive.

Men whose ancestors have been chiefs in the country for ages must

now submit to the insolence and contumely of this vile and lawless

soldiery. From negligence the latter often do not demand the tax

on the water-wheels for some time; then, all at once, they appear,

calling out, “Pay me to-morrow, or the bastinado!” The peasant,

not being allowed sufficient time to raise the money, is obliged to

suffer this degrading punishment, and often even have his ears nailed

to a board. Being at a distance, perhaps, from the seat of government,

or large market towns, he has no opportunity of selling his produce;

nevertheless, with double the value of the sum required in effects,

he has to undergo a disgraceful punishment, because he has no dollars.

The Mahas who revolted had not paid the government for some

time. The mahmoor sent a villanous Turk into their province, with

the instruments of torture, who immediately began bastinadoing them,

nailing their ears, and threatening to cut off their heads, if they

did not pay him. He visited Melek Backeet, who owed a considerable

sum to the government, and told him that, if he did not pay his

taxes in a few days, every species of torture would be inflicted upon

him. The Mahas manufacture a strong linen cloth, which is very much

esteemed throughout all the valley of the Nile. Being at a distance

from the capital, and thus unable to command an immediate sale, at

least for the large quantity on hand, they tendered it in part of

their taxes. The government refused, though the transaction would

have been very advantageous to them, the linen being offered at a

price much lower than it sells for in the bazaar of Dongolah. Melek

Backeet, therefore, excited the revolt, preferring death to the

ignominious punishment with which he was threatened.

This country, under proper management, might become a far greater

source of wealth to the Pasha than it even now is. Notwithstanding

the galling system of the Turks, the natives are sensible of the

advantages of a settled and firm government; and the peasants of the

Nile, most particularly, are glad to be released from the tyranny

and spoliation accompanying the feuds and petty wars by which the

country was formerly torn. Did the Turks but treat them as men, and

not disgust them by their insulting manners, and by inflicting on

them such degrading and infamous punishments; had their rulers but

a few ideas of common policy and legislation, the resources might

be greatly augmented, the revenue increased, and the people would

be the most happy and contented under the sun. The superiority which

fire-arms afforded to their haughty conquerors taught them to despise

the strength of the Arabs, and, with that insolence which is ever

united with ignorance, they do not in the slightest degree endeavour

to attach them to the government, or, in fact, condescend to treat,

otherwise than as a vastly inferior race, the people which it cost

them so much, even with all their advantages, to conquer.

CHAPTER XVII.

DEPARTURE FROM EL OURDE. — ALARMS OF THE CARAVAN. — MELEK

BACKEET. — RETURN TO HAFFEER. — DETENTION IN THE INDIGO

MANUFACTORY. — NUBIAN PLANTS. — SECOND EXPEDITION OF THE

GOVERNMENT. — FANATICISM OF THE INSURGENTS. — THE BATTLE. —

PRISONERS. — DEPARTURE FROM HAFFEER. — DESCRIPTION OF

THE CARAVAN. — CATARACT. — EFFECTS OF THE REVOLUTION. —

SPLENDID RUINS OF SOLIB. — EXCAVATED TOMB NEAR SOLIB. — RUINS

OF SUKKOT. — HEAT OF THE CLIMATE. — ISLAND OF SAIS. — REMAINS

OF CHRISTIAN RUINS. — DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF THE DESERT.

_May_ 18. I conceived, from the information which I obtained from the

government, and other quarters, that I might now pass with tolerable

safety through the province of Mahas, particularly by not following

the banks of the river, but taking the short cut across the Desert,

from Fakeer el Bint to Solib. By this route I shall miss the ruin

of Sescé; but, as it consists only of two or three columns, I

shall consider myself fortunate if I escape from the country with

this slight sacrifice. My caravan wish me to go on direct to Egypt,

without stopping at any more ruins, particularly those of the splendid

and celebrated Temple of Solib, which is situated at the northern

extremity of Mahas; but I have told them that I will not leave that

place until I have fully examined it, and taken every drawing and

measurement I shall consider necessary. They are dreadfully afraid

of meeting with Melek Backeet, who, with a few desperate companions,

has committed several depredations: they think it very hard to incur

any risk for the sake of a few old stones: but I have hazarded my

own life and health in visiting this baneful clime; and I will not

consent to pass, in that hurried manner, one of the chief objects

of my journey. I took leave of the mahmoor, who gave me a guard,

consisting of an Arab baractar (ensign) and six soldiers, mounted

on dromedaries. We have, therefore, now nothing to apprehend from

stragglers. None of the merchants would venture to join my caravan,

notwithstanding my having a guard. I should delay my departure

for some days, but I see no chance of Melek Backeet being taken,

and, consequently, of the roads being clear, and I am sick of this

detention. We left Dongolah at three o’clock, and slept in a

beautiful grove of palm trees.

_May_ 19. Arrived this evening at Haffeer, and was well entertained

by the katshef, who chose the finest sheep in the village to regale

my caravan.

_Hannek.—May_ 20. We started soon after sunrise. Two Turkish

officers, with their servants, joined my caravan this morning. Their

company was not desirable, but the addition to our force, of six

persons, well armed, was not to be despised. We halted at Hannek, to

fill our water-skins, previous to entering the desert. After dinner,

at three P.M., we were on the point of mounting our dromedaries, when

a courier arrived from Sukkot, and informed us that Melek Backeet,

and his great coadjutor the Cadi Esau, are at Fakeer el Bint,

and in the desert, waiting for the Bey Zadé[45] and his caravan,

knowing that we intended to pass, and believing us loaded with

gold, which we had found in the temples. The news produced the

greatest consternation among my little troop. The soldiers were

more pusillanimous than the rest. One of the Turkish officers, a

cowhass, who last night, at Haffeer, talked loudly of his valour,

had this morning not a word to say. Such a change of countenances I

never witnessed: even my own servants were afraid to proceed. With

such an escort, and uncertain of the force of the Mahas, it was

impossible to attempt to pass. I, therefore, sent to the katshef of

Haffeer for a reinforcement: he advised me not to advance, as the

news was quite true. A reinforcement he could not give, as he had

only twenty soldiers to guard the indigo-house.

_May_ 21. This morning I returned to Haffeer, and having ascertained

from several peasants and couriers that Melek Backeet had already

with him 100 men, and that the number was increasing hourly,

I abandoned the idea of continuing my journey without additional

force. I, therefore, sent my dragoman to the mahmoor with a letter,

begging him not to delay, but send immediately a sufficient number

of soldiers to clear the country of the insurgents. Were I alone,

I would run the risk, and attempt to cross the desert, or rather,

with a compass in my hand, make a circuitous route. This plan would,

perhaps, have enabled me to elude the enemy; yet, unfortunately, they

have their spies in every direction, even in Dongolah. My departure

would be reported; and although I were to sacrifice my baggage, their

horses, swift dromedaries, and superior knowledge of the country,

would enable them easily to overtake me, or intercept my route. For

myself, I would run any hazard, rather than endure, a day longer,

the _ennui_ of being detained here; but the lives of others I have no

right to compromise. According to the arrangements I had made, I ought

now to have been in Europe. The heat is excessive, and increasing

daily, and my funds diminishing. As this delay will oblige me to pass,

with more haste, the antiquities below, my vexation may be imagined.

_Haffeer.—May_ 21. to _June_ 2. I was detained at Haffeer, in the

indigo-manufactory, twelve days. During this period, we collected

and made drawings of several plants. I publish three, which I think

may be interesting to the general reader, having mentioned them

repeatedly. One, in Plate IV., is the senna, a name, doubtless,

familiar to all. It grows wild upon the house-tops and in the fields:

the flower is yellow, and the leaves of a pale green. The other plant,

in the same plate, I have called indigo; but although very good

indigo is extracted from it, it is, in reality, a totally different

plant,—the Tephrosia Apollinea of botanists. Plate LII. is a drawing

of the Osshi, the Calotropis gigantea. There are large plains in

this neighbourhood entirely covered with it, and, as I have stated

in my description of Makkarif, it abounds also in the province of

Berber. The interior of the flower is of a pink colour; the buds

contain a pungent liquor, of the colour of milk, which, according to

the Arabs, blinds when put in the eye. The leaves are of a greyish

green. The apple, represented in the Plate, contains the seed and a

fine glossy silk. The plant varies from four to six feet in height,

and is extremely valuable to the natives, being almost their only

firewood; and, as I have stated before, many camel loads of charcoal

made from it are sent to Cairo, being excellent for gunpowder. Among

the others I found, the only one of any interest, and characteristic

of Nubia, was a small kind of rue, the Ruta tuberculata of botanists.

The mahmoor, having at his disposal a considerable body of troops,

which he had assembled, according to my advice, from different parts

of the province, was fortunately enabled to send out immediately

300 soldiers. The Turks having, on the last occasion, obtained 100

piastres and their expenses, again volunteered their services. Having

united with Melek Tumbol’s Arab forces, they marched against the

Mahas, who had rallied, in great numbers, under their old chief, Melek

Backeet; and this time had very judiciously stationed themselves on

a steep rock on a large island, near Hannek, making excursions day

and night, and rendering the roads quite impassable.

[Illustration: Pl. 4.

_From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

INDIGO.

SENNA.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

[Illustration: Pl. 52.

_From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

OSSHI.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The commander of the expedition was the same brave fellow who took

such particular care of his person during the former engagement. He

encamped near the Mahas, and published a proclamation offering them

a general pardon. The Cadi Esau and many of the other sheakhs were

disposed to accept the terms, when another fanatic priest started

up, and upbraided them with their cowardice, treachery, and folly;

“since,” said he, “you know that the Turks will deceive you,

and it is evident that God has given our enemies into our hands; for

without seeking them they are come to us.” By this absurd harangue,

he kindled a wild enthusiasm, to increase which all the fakeers were

employed in writing charms on their weapons. The commander was afraid

to attack them, on account of their number and their strong position;

but the Turkish volunteers laughed him to scorn, and dashed forward

on horseback to charge the Mahas. Notwithstanding the formidable

position of the insurgents, many of them having fire-arms, and the

facility their situation afforded them of rolling down stones on

the Turks, yet such was the effect of the instantaneous and gallant

example set by the latter, that the soldiers followed _en masse_,

and soon dislodged and put to flight the unfortunate Mahas.

In this engagement they calculated that 170 were killed, and about

30 made prisoners. I myself saw here 105 pairs of ears on a string,

which the victors were conveying to the governor; and I am informed

the commander has another. Very many being shot in the river, their

ears could not be obtained. They brought also to Haffeer twenty-two

prisoners, linked together in a string, having their arms tied

behind their backs, in the ancient Egyptian manner. Their arms were

drawn together behind with a rope, attached a little above their

elbows; causing, of course, an unnatural and painful projection

of the chest. Some of them were apparently half-bred negroes, who

were or had been slaves. They were all tall athletic men, but wild

and haggard in their appearance, and seemingly insensible either

to pity or to suffering. Seeing them in pain, I begged the Turks

to loosen their cords, which they did as a favour to me; but the

prisoners seemed quite indifferent, and did not even thank me. I

persuaded the Turks, also, to liberate from the cords a young boy,

of twelve or thirteen, on account of his extreme youth; but the lad

has something roguish in his eye; so that, if the soldiers on guard

do not pay more attention than it is their custom to do, I flatter

myself that, before they arrive at Dongolah, he will profit by the

indulgence, and effect his escape.

On hearing of the defeat of the Mahas, I determined instantly to

start, conceiving that, though Melek Backeet and his followers have

escaped, they will, for at least a day or two, be too much engaged

in providing for their own safety to lose time, and risk their own

security, in waylaying travellers. The only danger is that of falling

in with them by accident among the rocky passes of the cataract, or

in the desert; and they would gladly get hold of us, not, perhaps,

for plunder, but as hostages for their own security. Now, however,

we were all willing to encounter every risk rather than support

this endless delay, and be any longer confined to the prison of a

wretched indigo-house, in which my artist, myself, and the two Turks

had only one small hot room to sit, eat, and receive visiters. The

heat is dreadful: no cool refreshing wind to mitigate the scorching

rays of a sun almost completely vertical; every breath of air heated

as if issuing from a furnace; even the evenings, after sunset, are

hot. At that time I generally went down to the river, the air on

the banks being less oppressive: from about midnight until sunrise,

and even a few hours after, it is very cool and delightful; and,

not to lose the enjoyment and benefit of that period, I have for

the last month slept, like the Arabs, in the open air.[46]

My caravan, being strengthened by some merchants who joined us,

became now rather formidable, and may be worth describing. My own

party consisted of eleven, including the _habeer_ (guide), two

Ababde, and three Hassanyeh, the owners of our two dromedaries and

six camels. My artist and myself were well armed, and my dragoman,

and Greek and Coptic servant, also had muskets, with which the Mahmoor

had provided them. My guide had fire-arms, and the Arabs their lances

and swords: therefore, including the guard which the governor had

given me, of a baractar and six soldiers, my own party consisted of

eighteen persons, of whom thirteen had fire-arms. The two Turks and

their two servants were provided with them; and their camel-drivers

were three Shageea armed with spears. Besides these, five merchants,

three with guns, joined my caravan. We were, therefore, altogether,

thirty men; twenty with fire-arms; and were thus, I think, a match

for 100 of the Mahas, with their matchlocks and lances: but we all

conceived it so very probable that we might meet a party of the

insurgents, that I directed each person to keep his musket in his

hand during the whole night.

We started at four in the afternoon, and marched until two in the

morning, ten hours, and encamped in the desert two hours before

arriving at Fakeer el Bint. The effect of the caravan winding along

the rocky banks of the cataracts in a line, one after the other,

on account of the narrowness and badness of the road, was very

picturesque. The variety of the costumes and armour; the numerous

Arab tribes,—for scarcely more than two or three of our party

belong to the same one,—Hassanyeh, Shageea, and Ababde; Berberenes

of Upper Nubia, and Fellaheen of the lower valley of the Nile;

Turks, Greeks, and Europeans,—all differing in dress, features,

and complexion,—formed an interesting group. I could trace the

gradations of colour, even in my own caravan, from the yellowish

Arab of Cairo to the darker native of Upper Egypt, and from the

brown Dongoloue to the dark-brown Shageea; but the latter are very

different in feature and complexion from the bluish-black of the

negro slaves belonging to the Turks.

We all preserved the strictest silence, which enabled me to enjoy more

the noise of the cataracts, the soft moonlight, and the romantic rocky

scenery: but while I felt the beauty of the latter, I was well aware

that the granite rocks and passes afforded an ambush for the Mahas,

which was not without danger to us, their unskilfulness and ignorance

being my only security. We met repeatedly parties of women and boys,

either acting as spies, or going, as they pretended, to Haffeer, their

houses being destroyed, and husbands and fathers dead. Their manner

was certainly suspicious, and I had some difficulty in preventing

my soldiers from treating them as spies. We passed several cottages,

now uninhabited in consequence of the revolt.

_June_ 3. We arrived, in two hours, at Fakeer el Bint, and found

the village entirely deserted. The Mahas, by their imprudent rising,

have entailed a long series of sufferings and wretchedness on their

families; even those peasants who took no part in it are ruined;

their houses destroyed; their oxen killed, and their water-wheels

broken. We may admire the enthusiastic courage of the chiefs, who,

born to command, could ill endure the proud contempt and degrading

punishments of their insolent oppressors; but we cannot but condemn

their guilt and rashness in sacrificing, without the remotest

chance of ultimate success, the lives and happiness of so many of

their countrymen. I observed, on an island near Fakeer el Bint,

several fugitives. The Nile forms, between this place and Solib,

a considerable bend, the distance along the banks, through the

province of Mahas, being nearly thirty hours’ march of a camel,

or about seventy miles, and by the desert only twelve hours, or

thirty miles. We entered the desert at three o’clock. Never have

I felt such excessive heat; every breath of air is baneful. I tried

to protect myself from it with a turban and umbrella, and even the

sheets of my bed were put in requisition. I made an endeavour to

construct a tent on my dromedary; but my efforts were fruitless,

the wind being too strong. I felt my mouth dry and parched, and would

have given even one of my drawings of Meroe for a glass of pure cold

water; but every drop we had was soon quite warm. Before dark we had

passed the mountainous and the only soft part of the desert, and at

midnight we encamped within nine miles of Solib. The rocks are chiefly

of serpentine, slate, sandstone, and granite, the latter often much

decomposed: there were also a few fragments of marble scattered about.

_Ruins of Solib.—June_ 4-8. This morning, being anxious to arrive at

the celebrated Temple of Solib, I started before sunrise, and, pushing

on my dromedary at a quick pace, I arrived there in two hours. The

first view of the temple is very imposing; standing proudly at the

extremity of the desert, the only beacon of civilisation in this

sea of barrenness. The situation of the temple is as picturesque

as it is extraordinary. The columns are so distinctly visible,

that, at a distance, it has almost the appearance of a Grecian

edifice. On approaching nearer, the effect is changed, but not

injured; for, though not Grecian, it is of the purest Egyptian

architecture. I rambled over it for some time, delighted with its

picturesque appearance: the plan of the temple is also beautiful,

and the architecture of the most chaste simplicity; but, as an

antiquarian, I could have wished for more remains of sculpture,

and tablets with hieroglyphics.

The first grand propylon of the temple is 600 feet from the river; but

the form and exact dimensions of it are now not distinguishable, being

entirely ruined, and the materials almost all carried away. From the

appearance of the rooms, which the reader will observe on a reference

to the Plan, there seems to have been the same economy of stone in

constructing of this propylon, which we shall presently observe in

the second. Behind the first are the remains of two sphinxes. One

of them is nearly destroyed, but the other is not so much injured

as to prevent my perceiving that the style of the sculpture has

been good; but in its present state I did not consider it worth a

drawing. I observed that the first and second propylons were connected

together. The Plan (Plate XL.) will show that in front of the second

there are the remains of two walls, which, no doubt, connected it with

the first. This is quite in conformity with the general construction

of Egyptian edifices. A flight of steps, now scarcely distinguishable,

led up into a court before the second propylon. This court, the

entrance into which is about 85 feet from the first propylon, is

70 feet long and 45 feet wide. It was ornamented with six columns,

the diameter of which is 10 feet; the traces of them only are visible.

[Illustration: Pl. 40.

_Drawn by L. Bandoni._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE OF SOLIB BUILT BY AMENOPH 3.

_London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The remains of the second propylon are more considerable. Each wing

is 78 feet wide; the door in the centre, leading into the temple, 11

feet wide, making the total width 167 feet. The depth of the propylon

is 24 feet. It is remarkable, that this propylon is not, like those of

Egypt, a solid mass of stone, with only staircases, and, occasionally,

small rooms, but finished, and apparently used for habitations. The

one here contains three rooms on one side, and two on the other,

but without doors, and evidently constructed with a view of using

little stone, as the walls are not hewn smooth. This is an economy of

material rarely seen in Egyptian edifices. The doorway leading into

the temple is of the correct Egyptian form, the width of the centre

part, which is 17 feet long, being 13 feet, and that of the two ends,

which are each 3 feet long, being, as already mentioned, only 11 feet

wide. The recesses, thus formed in the centre of the doorways, add

very much to their architectural beauty. The view from this doorway

of the next court of the temple is very magnificent. This court is 90

feet long and 113 wide, and was ornamented with twenty-eight columns,

a single row on each of the north, south, and east sides, and two

on the west, being the side opposite to the entrance. There are

now seven of these columns standing, with the bud-shaped capital. I

observed a slight difference in their dimensions, but they are of

the purest Egyptian architecture; their circumference is 19 feet

4 inches, and intercolumniation 5 feet 5 inches. Few more striking

views are presented in any part of the valley of the Nile than the

first entrance from the second propylon into this court.

[Illustration: COLUMNS OF SOLIB.]

Plate XLI. is taken from this point, and will, I trust, give the

reader a correct idea of the magnificence and exquisite architectural

beauty of this temple. Five columns appear in this view, detached

from each other, proud monuments of the power and greatness of the

Egyptian conqueror Amunoph III., who erected them, and whose name

and titles are engraved in hieroglyphics on their shafts. They bear

also the name of the great divinity Amun Ra, to whom the temple

was dedicated. The remains of many of the columns are lying on the

ground; the roof is gone; and only one piece of architrave remaining,

supported by one of the most beautiful and perfect of the columns. The

architectural form of these columns is more light and elegant than

almost any specimens of the same kind in Egypt; at the same time

without losing that character of grandeur and severity, so much in

unison with its situation. The background to this view (as will be

seen in the Plate) is the trackless desert,—a vast yellow ocean,

bounded only by the horizon, without an eminence, or even hillock,

visible to relieve the eye; and that tide of sand which never ebbs,

driven on continually by the prevailing strong winds from the north,

and particularly the north-west, beats against the temple, and daily

encroaches on its remains. On the east side, at a short distance from

the ruin, towards the Nile, Isis seems still to extend her protection,

and a luxuriant and beautiful vegetation flourishes; but on the other

sides Typhon reigns in gloomy solitude, and the traveller turns with

delight from the contemplation of the bleak and dreary wilderness,

to the elegant and magnificent work of art which adorns its margin.

Plate XLII. is a view I made which shows all the seven columns

which remain in this court.[47] Waddington speaks of the red tints

of the sandstone: there are a few, but very few, the general colour

being much whiter than that of any Egyptian or Ethiopian ruin I have

seen. I was in doubt whether to consider it as arenarious limestone,

or sandstone; but the specimens I brought to England have been

decided to be sandstone. The background of this view, consisting of

the river and distant hills, is very pretty. The view is taken from

the last existing room; and the reader will perceive to the right,

in the foreground, the fragment of a column on which is one of the

representations of prisoners which adorn all the columns of that

room. The next court is more destroyed; yet there are sufficient

traces of the columns to show precisely what the plan has been. It

is of the same width as the last court, and 78 feet long; and was

ornamented with two rows of columns on the north and south sides,

and on the east and west with one only; in all, thirty-two. The

circumference of each is 17 feet; but not one of them is standing.

[Illustration: Pl. 41.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE OF AMENOPH III, SOLIB.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The next chamber, which was apparently an intermediate room leading

to the sanctuaries, contains the remains of twelve columns, of which

now only one remains perfect. The capital is of a form generally

considered as Ptolemaic, but we have here authority for calling it

Egyptian. It represents branches of the palm tree, and near the base

of these columns there is some interesting sculpture; a number of

prisoners, represented with their heads and busts resting on turreted

ovals, containing the names of the countries whence they come; and, to

signify that they are prisoners, their hands are tied together behind

their backs, in the usual Egyptian manner, tight above the elbows,

causing a painful and unnatural projection of the chest. The prisoners

on the columns on the north side of this room have beards and hair;

and some, without hair, appear to be old men. Their features are

fine, and have very little of the Negro cast. On the opposite side,

the prisoners represented are youths with their hair tied in a knot

a little below the crown of the head, and hanging down almost to

their shoulders. These have very much of the Negro features, wide

nostrils, thick lips, and high cheek-bones. I copied the names of

thirty-eight of these provinces: the only one I could make out was

that of Mesopotamia, in hieroglyphics.

On the column in this room which still preserves its capital, is some

sculpture, in a good style, representing the king presenting offerings

to Honsoo, with the globe and short horns for a head-dress. The

remains of the temple extend a hundred feet beyond this room;

so that the entire length of the edifice must have been about 540

feet, and the number of columns with which it was adorned, and whose

situation can now be accurately ascertained, is eighty-four. There

must, however, have been a greater number; for among the confused

piles of stone which are stated above as extending a hundred feet

beyond this room, I found some fragments of columns 3 feet in

diameter. (Plate XLIII. is taken from this end of the temple.) This

is also an extremely beautiful point of view; but although not even a

small stone is omitted, and notwithstanding the temple is so ruined,

the reader will perceive that there is no excess of shapeless masses

of stone to spoil the effect of the splendid architectural remains of

the edifice. The column I have described with the Ptolemaic capital is

the most prominent object in this view; but the picturesque grouping

of the columns of the great court is finely exhibited from this point.

On the door leading from the first great court into the second,

the king is represented with a staff in his hand, addressing Amun

Ra, who has the usual sceptre of the gods. Above the latter is

the king presenting offerings to a divinity, the hieroglyphical

titles of which are not legible; but the wings of the goddess of

truth are visible. Behind the second propylon, there has been some

very interesting sculpture, but it is now scarcely perceptible:

the figures were apparently only one foot high. One piece I copied,

which had some of the hieroglyphics remaining; but above this I could

only distinguish the divinities with the attributes of Horus, Thoth,

Anubis, Osiris, and Amun Ra, to whom the temple is dedicated. This

sculpture is in basso relievo. It is much to be regretted that

it is so defaced; for, doubtless, it has been a most interesting

mythological tablet. Some of the blocks of stone are harder than

the others, but the greater number are exceedingly soft, doubtless,

one cause of the ruined state of the temple, and why the sculpture

is scarcely distinguishable.

[Illustration: Pl. 42.

_On stone by C. Hullmandel from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

SOLIB.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

The remains of the ancient city extend for a considerable distance

both towards the north and south. On the bank of the river, 240

yards farther north than the temple, are the remains of a small pier,

13 feet high, and 20 feet long; while 200 yards to the north of this

pier is a projection of stones into the river, thrown in apparently to

form a port. This has evidently been a city of some importance. Its

situation, at the commencement of the road across the desert, is

also deserving of attention. The town was advantageously situated,

being on the route both of those who followed the banks of the river

and also of those who crossed the desert.

Ptolemy places the great cataract at 22° 30′; Φθουρι, at 21° 20′;

a difference of 1° 10′. The real difference of latitude is 1° 27′;

that is, 17′ more; but Autoba, the town he mentions before Phthouris,

is stated to be only 54°, that is, 23° less than the ascertained

difference; and Pistre, which is the next town he mentions after

Phthouris, is 1° 50′ from the cataract; that is, 23° too far distant.

We have thus, I think, no other alternative than to suppose this to be

the site of Phthouris, which, from the magnitude of the ruins, must

have belonged to a city of great importance, and one that he would not

have omitted to mention. The Temple of Siscé is probably the site of

Pistre.

After the pyramids of Meroe, this is decidedly the most interesting

and magnificent ruin we have seen in Ethiopia; superior to the former,

perhaps, in picturesque and architectural beauty, but less interesting

to the antiquarian, as being Egyptian, and not Ethiopian. It is

worthy of remark, that, with the exceptions of the colossal statues

of Argo, I have not met with any genuine Ethiopian remains since I

left Gibel el Birkel. Travellers who extend their tour of the Nile

to the second cataract, would be amply repaid for their additional

fatigue, if they visited this temple.

We found, on our arrival at Solib, a number of merchants detained

there on their way to Dongolah, on account of the insurrection. They

were delighted to see us arrive, and prepared immediately for their

departure. They complained bitterly of their long detention and great

consequent expense. Solib is almost at the extremity of the province

of Mahas; but, the peasants of this end of the province not having

taken any part in the revolt, we were comparatively secure, although

Melek Backeet, their chief, has a house in the neighbourhood. I lived

under a shed at a short distance from the temple, and remained there

four days, working almost from sunrise until sunset, regardless of

the extreme heat. I now required a sheep every day for my caravan,

which I had some difficulty in procuring, having had repeatedly to

send across the river. I fortunately provided myself with a large

stock of bread and biscuit at Dongolah: there is none to be had here.

_June_ 8. At the quick pace of the dromedary, I was twenty minutes

in going, this evening, from the temple to the village of Solib. It

is remarkable for the cottages being made, like those of the latter

in Mahas and Dongolah, of the stalks of the dourah, and branches

of the palm tree: here, however, the foliage extends considerably

above the roofs of the huts; and thus not only protects them in some

degree from the rays of the sun, but gives them a very picturesque

and graceful appearance. The house of the sheakh of the village is

fortified with square towers.

[Illustration: Pl. 43.

_On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr._

_Printed by C. Hullmandel._

TEMPLE OF AMENOPH, SOLIB.

_Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835._]

About a mile beyond the village is the rock called Doshe, which,

projecting into the river, divides the province of Mahas from

Sukkot. It is of sandstone, and contains traces of iron ore:

its surface is rugged, and in part blackened by the sun, forming a

striking contrast to the bright yellow sand which covers the central

part of the rock. At the eastern end, above the river, is an excavated

tomb, which contains some traces of sculpture, though now scarcely

distinguishable. I perceived, from what remains, that it was in a good

style of basso relievo. There were some ovals, but no hieroglyphics

on them at all legible. I endeavoured to make out the name, and,

from the slight fragments remaining, I conceived one to be that of

Thothmes III., and another that of Osirtisen III., but must confess

I could not make them out at all satisfactorily.[48] At the end of

the tomb are the remains of three divinities, seated. The sculpture

of these does not seem to have been good, but they are so defaced,

that it is impossible to decide upon the style. On each side of

the divinities is a niche. The site of this tomb is picturesque,

commanding a fine prospect of the river. (See vignette.) Above

it a king is represented making offerings to a divinity with the

attributes of Kneph, and behind the latter are two other divinities,

one with a plain helmet, the other a vase on her head. Beneath

the line containing these subjects is another containing a figure

kneeling, and a long tablet of hieroglyphics; but the latter are

so broken and defaced, that only one here and there is legible. On

the south side of the tomb is a beautiful little piece of sculpture,

representing a king making offerings to Amun Ra, with the head-dress

of the globe and short horns; and behind the last is a goddess. The

name of the king seems to have been broken off designedly, and the

hieroglyphics are very much defaced.

[Illustration: FROM A TOMB EXCAVATED OUT OF THE ROCK NEAR SOLIB.]

_June_ 8. We left the village of Solib, and province of Mahas,

at four o’clock, and arrived at the village of Sukkot at six in

the evening. This is rather a large place, and the residence of the

katshef. I observed, in passing, four of the fortified houses of

the sheakhs; the rest of the houses are of mud: there are some few

of the palm leaves, but not so picturesque as those of the Mahas.

[Illustration: TEMPLE OF SUKKOT.]

[Illustration: TEMPLE OF SUKKOT.]

We stopped to examine some ruins, called by the peasants, Biban. The

first consists of two fragments of columns, around which are the

traces of the temple. The plan is Roman-Egyptian, and is rather

curious, though not good. (See vignette.) Three hundred and fifty

yards to the north there is another ruined temple. One column is

standing amid a mass of large stones: it reminded me of the solitary

column, and the vast masses around it, of the Temple of Hercules at

Girgenti; but the comparison is very degrading to the great beauty

of the latter. The capital of this is almost entirely defaced,

but it has decidedly been a head of Athor. On some of the stones

I observed fragments of Egyptian ornaments, and the fragment of a

name, apparently Amunoph III. The column is fluted, but not in the

usual Egyptian style, being much more flat. Attempts have apparently

been recently made to throw it down, or break it to pieces, its

architectural ornaments being quite obliterated. Its circumference is

12 feet 8 inches. East of the temple is a basalt statue, the sculpture

of which seems to have been very good, but it is very much injured. On

the interval between the two temples, and also for 350 yards beyond,

extending thus over a space of 700 yards, there are traces of the

city. These may be called the ruins of Sukkot, from their vicinity

to that village, which is the chief place of the province.

It is very difficult to ascertain what was the ancient name of this

place. The situation of the ruins agrees better with the position,

according to Ptolemy, of Phthouris, than Solib; but the insignificance

of the remains here, compared to the splendid ruins of Solib, prevent

my imagining it to be that city. It may be one of the many mentioned

by Pliny, or the Autoba of Ptolemy.

Half an hour after we left this ruin we passed the village of

Gobetziteen. I observed a large caravan of slave merchants from

Dongolah, who had left Solib this morning: their numerous fires,

and the groups seated under the palm trees, were very picturesque,

presenting effects that even a Gherardo della Notte could scarcely

have done justice to. They complained of the detention at Dongolah

having cost them so much. The expense of transporting the slaves

from Kordofan, or Abyssinia, to Cairo, is very great; the duty alone,

besides the maintenance, is nearly seven dollars each. They pay duty

at four different places: at Kordofan, at Dongolah, at Deroueh near

Assuan, and, lastly, at Boulak near Cairo.

We stopped at the village of Essau, opposite to the Island of Hadji

Falme. On the latter they tell me that there are antiquities, but all

broken; and I could not procure a boat to visit them. Being rather

late of arriving, I found the inhabitants of the village sleeping in

the open air; the women on the angoureebs, and the men on mats: and,

I can assure the reader, it is a great enjoyment, in this climate,

to sleep thus beneath the clear blue sky. About ten o’clock the

air becomes rather cool, while at midnight and in the morning it is

comparatively cold: this invigorates the frame, after the enervating

heat of the day; and, in this climate, there are no fogs or damp to

dread. It is the only time that I can now enjoy; yet I support the

heat better than my servants, though accustomed to that of Egypt all

their lives. We are exposed nearly the whole day to a sun almost

directly vertical, without a breath of cool air to alleviate our

sufferings. The wind generally blows from the north, but, instead

of being refreshing, it is so heated, in passing over the desert,

that it not only feels oppressive, but dries up the mouth and skin,

and checks perspiration. The Arabs, under the shade of their palm

trees, and smoking their pipes, enjoy this hot weather; but the

unfortunate traveller, exposed to these scorching winds, and to the

heat reflected from the rocks and sand, has no other respite to his

sufferings than during the now short nights.

_June_ 9. At Gobetziteen the Island of Sais commences, and extends

for six hours towards the north. At this season of the year no boat is

necessary to visit this island, the water which separates it from the

main land being only deep enough to reach the knees of the camels. It

contains no remains of Egyptian antiquities. The peasants spoke of

ruins; but they proved to be some grey granite columns belonging to a

Christian edifice. They are in the centre of the island, nearly half

an hour from the river. Each column consists of one piece of granite,

with a Greek cross on their capitals. They are not very unlike the

Christian monolithic pillars in the centre of the splendid portico

of Medenet Abou. There are a great many wells in this island, with

water-wheels, by means of which a considerable part of the interior is

irrigated. I had a drawing of these Christian ruins taken by Mr. B.;

but, not setting much value on it, I have mislaid it. From the number

of houses the island appears to be populous. An hour beyond Sais,

and four hours from Essau, we stopped at a small village of five

huts, called Kasr Towaga, from the brick ruins of a castle of that

name close adjoining.

The ride this morning was most uninteresting; a slip of uncultivated

land, narrower than even in the most barren parts of Lower Nubia,

separating the river from the bleak and dreary desert. In the latter

I observed several hills of light sand, which a strong wind would

easily move, to the risk, perhaps, of the unfortunate travellers who

might happen to be near. These moving masses of sand would baffle

the efforts of cultivators more advanced in knowledge than the

Nubians. It is not, therefore, surprising that these unfortunate

beings consider as useless any attempt to resist so relentless an

invader. The islands, protected by the river, afford them a refuge

and support, without which this part of the valley of the Nile would

soon be abandoned to the gazelles and beasts of prey. Our camels

often sank up to the knees in sand. I observed on the latter great

quantities of scarabæi. I have often seen these insects on the

sand in parts of the desert where it was difficult to conceive how

they could exist. Perhaps they live on other insects too minute to

be seen by the naked eye. I once gave a scarabæus a date, and was

astonished with what avidity he devoured a part of it, till he was

completely gorged, and apparently half dead.

I observed here a curious thrush, which is also very common near

Dongolah. One I killed measured nine inches in length, including the

tail, which is four and a half. The under part of the wings is of

a light brown colour, and the lower feathers of the tail are edged

at the extremity with white; otherwise, the plumage is entirely of

a brownish black. The beak and legs are black; the former is curved.

CHAPTER XVIII.

KASR TOWAGA. — DIFFICULTY OF CROSSING THE RIVER. — INDOLENCE

OF THE ARABS. — ARAB SHEAKH. — TEMPLE OF AMARAH. — PRESENT

INHABITANTS. — WADY EL HADJAR. — FORTIFIED HOUSE ON AN ISLAND

AT DAHL. — CATARACT OF UCKMA. — BIGOTRY OF THE INHABITANTS. —

VARIOUS CATARACTS OF THE NILE. — MINERAL SPRING AT TANGOURE. —

TEMPLES OF SEMNEH, ON THE WESTERN BANK. — CURIOUS MANNER OF CROSSING

THE RIVER. — TEMPLE OF SEMNEH, ON THE EASTERN BANK. — INSCRIPTIONS

ON THE ROCKS. — THE ARAB ROBBER ISAH. — SECOND CATARACT OF THE

NILE. — INDUCEMENTS FOR TRAVELLERS TO EXTEND THEIR JOURNEY BEYOND

THIS POINT. — COMPARISON BETWEEN VOYAGES IN THE DESERT AND AT SEA.

At Kasr Towaga I wished to visit the remains of the Temple of Amarah,

on the eastern bank; but for several hours I despaired of procuring

a raft or boat, or any other means of crossing the river. After

waiting some time, I observed at a distance a Sukkot ferry-boat, and

immediately offered nine Turkish piastres to an Arab to go for it,

and the same sum for the boat; and, as the camel-drivers began to be

mutinous at the idea of being detained another day, I promised them

a backsheesh of eighteen piastres; but such is the character of the

Arabs in this country, that, so long as they have enough to procure

any kind of food, they will seldom exert themselves to procure

more. They prefer to live miserably, scarcely better than their

fellow-labourers the camels, rather than to better their condition,

secure an independence, and a provision against a day of distress.

To increase their possessions, and elevate themselves to a higher

rank by their activity and frugality, are ideas which never enter

the minds of these children of destiny. If they earn a little money,

or if some favour of fortune places unexpectedly in their hands a

hundred piastres, they more generally spend it in a few nights of

festivity, and burden themselves with the expense of another wife,

than reserve it for the day when the fickle goddess may cease to

befriend them. With what alacrity would a poor European accept the

offer of 9 piastres (2_s._ 3_d._) to walk two miles for a boat! How

gladly would a European boatman earn the same sum by merely ferrying

us across the stream; yet it was more by threats than by this offer

(although equal to eighteen days’ wages) that I induced one of my

camel-drivers to go, during the heat of the day, for the boat. As,

of course, I promised the reward only in case of success, he was

unwilling to undergo this little fatigue on an uncertainty. My

firman was also necessary to dispose the boatmen to earn more in

twenty-four hours than they certainly have gained during the whole

of the past week.

My camel-drivers were very mutinous when they found me determined

to pass the night at Amarah: my guide threatened to leave me, but he

changed his tone when I told him to go, and declared I would not pay

him. By the present of eighteen piastres, added to certain threats

of the _korbash_ (whip made of the hide of the hippopotamus), if they

annoyed me, order was restored. Backsheesh has great influence on the

Arabs, but without a certain degree of firmness they are sometimes

difficult to manage.

We crossed the river, landed on the eastern bank, and went to the

nearest village, called Heber. We found the sheakh and the principal

inhabitants assembled under the shade of the palm trees. The sheakh,

a noble-looking fellow, with that dignified gravity which I have

so often found among the Arabs of this rank, received us with the

usual attentions; and, in compliance with my request, immediately

procured us donkeys, and conducted us to the village of Amarah,

a ride of an hour and a half. The sheakh had a house at Amarah, to

which he took us, and gave us an excellent supper and angoureebs to

sleep on, which are very necessary here, on account of the number

of scorpions. The road between the villages of Heber and Amarah is

through the desert. I found on it some beautiful specimens of red

Egyptian jasper and hornstone nodules. We passed a large mountain,

called Hadjer el Heber, of a very imposing appearance, which we

had remarked this morning, on the opposite side of the river. It is

about ten miles distant from the Nile.

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE TEMPLE OF AMARAH.]

The Temple of Amarah is about half an hour’s walk from the village

of the same name, and is situated between the villages of Heber and

Amarah, in the desert, to the right of the road we passed. There is

sufficient remaining of the Temple of Amarah to exhibit the style

and epoch. The architecture is Ethiopian (see Plan). A gateway,

19 feet wide, and ornamented with two columns, fragments of which

are remaining, 3 feet 8 inches in diameter, leads into a room 53

feet by 30, ornamented with eight columns, also 3 feet 8 inches in

diameter. Not a fragment of their capitals remains; but a considerable

portion, covered with sculpture, of each column is standing.

The sculpture on the columns is Ethiopian, but very indifferent,

and the hieroglyphics so wretchedly executed, and so defaced, that

it was scarcely possible to decipher any of them. The lowest row

on the columns represents divinities of the Nile, besides which I

observed a goddess with the globe, long horns, and two feathers,

perhaps Koht, another with a plain helmet such as Neith often wears;

and there is a representation of a king making offerings to Kneph,

represented with a ram’s head, globe, and two feathers; and also to

Thriphis, with a tiger’s head; a plain figure of Amun Ra, and the

same with the figure of a mummy and globe and two feathers: I also

remarked Honsoo with the globe and short horns. In the centre of the

columns is a line of hieroglyphics, which I copied as well as their

ruined condition would permit: they contain some curious titles, and

the name of a king which is unknown. I conceive the temple to have

been dedicated to Kneph, as the representations of that divinity are

more frequent, and in more conspicuous situations, than the others.

The foundations of the temple are of brick, and, for some distance

around, are scattered fragments of pottery with branches of the palm

tree painted on them, remains, no doubt, of the ancient city. The

columns are of sandstone. Plate XLIV. (see Frontispiece) shows two of

them in detail, and their situation in regard to the Nile, or rather,

I should say, as the river is not visible, to the palm groves on

its banks, and will enable the reader to judge of the style of the

sculpture. Ptolemy places the second cataract in latitude 22° 30′,

and Berethis, on the eastern bank, 21° 30′. The difference of

1° agrees very exactly with the distance between the cataract and

the ruins of Amarah.

The country on this side of the Nile is richly cultivated, and

the inhabitants bear no appearance of poverty. Notwithstanding the

heavy taxes which they pay, those who are industrious may easily

earn sufficient to render them comfortable. I saw about thirty of the

peasants, who were all particularly clean and well-dressed. A party of

them were feasting on raw liver. The custom of eating raw kidneys and

liver is very common south of the second cataract. The same custom is,

I understand, very general in Syria, and once existed in Scotland. I

observed here, also, a custom which I had often heard of, but never

before witnessed. When an Arab loses any near relation, his friends

are expected to condole with him on his loss, by literally mingling

their tears with his; for they place their cheeks together, and sigh

and sob often for ten minutes at a time. This custom in the land of

crocodiles reminded me of our expression of “crocodile tears.” A

French merchant, Sheakh Ibrahim, who has often visited these regions,

was described to me as a perfect Arab; and when I asked why, “Oh,”

said they, “he eats raw liver, and cries as we do.”

[Illustration]

I saw here a description of guitar, which is very common in Upper

Nubia, but it may be called the guitar of the Shageea, as that tribe

possess more beautiful ones than are found elsewhere. They consist,

as the vignette will show (see vignette), of a circular bowl,

about nine inches in diameter, of wood, or sometimes of the shell

of a tortoise of the Nile: this is covered with prepared sheepskin,

in which are six small holes, marked E. The three sticks B, C, D,

are generally of acacia; but in Dar Shageea they are sometimes of

ebony, and ornamented with silver and ivory. There are five cords

attached to the cross stick C, but they have no pegs, merely folding

several times round the latter in rather a clumsy manner: they,

however, manage to tighten them. F is a string to attach it to the

wall; and G is a plectrum, with which they strike with their right

hand the cords near the bridge; playing, at the same time, with the

left. Their music is wild and simple,—little variation in it,—but

some of their airs are not unpleasing. The reader will perceive, from

the vignette, that the form is not very unlike that of the Greek lyre.

_June_ 10. We returned at noon from the Temple of Amarah to the

village of Kasr Towaga; started from the latter place at two in the

afternoon, and advanced five hours in the desert. The first part of

this wilderness is desolate and frightful, beyond any I have ever

seen. After a short space its appearance became still more terrible,

resembling a sea agitated and driven into the most awful shapes

by wild winds. For the first few hours the ground was covered with

pebbles and quartz nodules of various colours. The rocks, which are

of gneiss, serpentine, and flinty slate, occasionally appear. Four

hours after starting, we passed a mountain called Hellal, of a

conical shape, the second we have observed of this form since we

left Kasr Towaga; and an hour afterwards we encamped in the desert.

_June_ 11. We started at sunrise; and in half an hour entered among

a chain of granite rocks; fine, bold, roundish masses, having all

the appearance, at a distance, of being detached and piled on each

other. In two hours and a half from the time we started, we arrived at

the Nile, opposite the Island of Dahl. For some time before arriving,

we observed, on the eastern bank, a fine eminence, which, at one

point of view, reminded me somewhat of the western mountain of Thebes,

although smaller, and of a less brilliant colour. The place at which

we stopped (see vignette) offers one of the most picturesque views

in the Batn, or Wady el Hadjar, into which we have now entered. The

Island of Dahl is the principal object: on a picturesque rock, in

the centre of it, is a fortified castle of a sheakh, the successor,

perhaps, of one of the forts on the islands represented on the walls

of Thebes.

[Illustration: ISLAND OF DAHL IN THE WADY EL HADJER.]

The latter part of the small desert I passed this morning was strewed

with quartz, generally white. The gneiss of which the rocks, at the

commencement of this little desert, are formed, is soft, friable,

disposed in strata: there are also rocks of mica slate of a grey

colour. The granite rocks, at the other extremity, consist almost

entirely of felspar and quartz; the former predominating, with very

little mica: the grain is extremely coarse, generally very friable,

of a pink, but mostly of a grey colour. There were also in this

desert some rocks of felspar, porphyry, and a great variety of

granite—tone-granite, syenite, and others.

At two o’clock, we left, with great reluctance, the shade of the

doum trees, and the enjoyment of one of the most beautiful views in

the valley of the Nile, to encounter again the horrors of the desert

and a burning sun. For the first part of our route, the rocks were of

syenite. The circular summits of these dark red rocks were visible as

far as our view could reach, rising sometimes in hills, but mostly

in pyramidal and conical forms. I observed a line of calcareous

rock about 13 feet broad, almost resembling the foundations of a

wall, which crossed the road, and extended east and west among the

granite rocks. This was followed again by the granite; and shortly

after these was a similar narrow, but less regular, cross of jasper,

and also one of porphyry. I brought away no specimens of the latter,

for the masses were large, and difficult to break. Afterwards, we

had a succession of granite, porphyry, compact felspar, hornblende

slate, grey gneiss, and serpentine; and the rocks, immediately before

arriving at the Nile, were of syenite.

We passed this little desert in five hours, with great fatigue to

the camels and the men on foot, on account of the sand and heat. We

encamped, for the night, at the small village of Uckma, which consists

of only eight houses; but I am informed that this is the name of the

district, as there are two other little villages, one on the opposite

side of the river, and the other on the island, which bear the same

name. My servants, or, rather, my guide and camel-drivers, made us

pass for Turks; saying, that the peasants of this district were so

bigoted, that, if they knew us to be Christians, no consideration

would induce them to supply us with either milk or meat for ourselves,

or straw for our camels. The noise of the cataract here is very fine.

_June_ 12. A curious circumstance happened to me last night. I

am rather attached to a pretty little capuchin monkey which

I received from the Governor of Berber, and which (an unusual

circumstance with these animals) shows some little gratitude for my

attentions. Several times it has escaped among the acacias of the

desert; but, notwithstanding the temptation of the gum, it never

attempted to run away when I went for it myself. I was anxious that

it should not share the fate of my Dongolah greyhound, and die of

fatigue. Having taught it to be clean, and being unwilling to trust

it to my servants, I carried it always on my own camel, to shelter

it from the sun; and as the poor little animal suffered exceedingly

from the cold at night, I allowed it to sleep under the margin of

the covering of my divan. For some nights past it had got into the

habit of laying its head on the corner of my cushion, and, amused at

this manœuvre, I indulged it; but the ticking of my watch always

annoyed it, and several times it had attempted to take it away;

but, aware of this antipathy, and the mischievous propensities

of the race, I always wore my chain around my neck. Last night,

when in bed, I looked at the watch, which was a hunting one, and

having broken the hinge of the gold covering of the face, omitted,

I presume, to fasten it with the spring. This morning, on being

called, I looked, as usual, at my watch, and found that this piece

was missing. I immediately cast my eyes on the monkey, and saw,

by its fluttering and leaping about, and the ruffling of its skin,

which always takes place when it is afraid, that it was the culprit;

yet all my efforts to find the covering were useless. My bed was on

the sand of the desert, in which, no doubt, the animal, on seeing

it loose, had buried it deep, thinking, by that means, to get rid

of its nightly annoyance, or, perhaps, from its usual instinct of

taking every opportunity to do mischief.

We set out an hour before sunrise, and, crossing a short but

heavy sandy desert, arrived, in two hours, at Lamulay. The rocks,

at starting, were of gneiss, but there occurred afterwards some of

serpentine and grey granite; and I observed some of quartz, and very

small particles of the latter disseminated over the sand. There is a

cataract at Lamulay, but it is not so loud as the one we heard last

night, at Uckma. The view is very fine at this part. We were two

hours in going from Lamulay to Tangoure. The rocks were chiefly of

two descriptions of quartz. We came then to another cataract, making

the sixth from Dongolah:—the first at Hannek; the second at Kouki;

the third at Dahl; the fourth at Uckma; the fifth at Lamulay; and the

sixth at Tangoure. All these may be passed without much difficulty

for about six weeks or two months in the year; but at this season no

description of boats could pass. Between the above-mentioned places

the river and the rocks on the opposite side make so many bends,

first east and afterwards north-west, that our roads, across the

little deserts, on the west side might often be considered as the

strings of a bow. On the eastern side of the river there seems to

be a continued range of picturesque rocks. We miss, I fear, much

fine scenery in not being able to follow closely the bank.

Two hours north of Tangoure there is said to be a spring of mineral

water, about 100 yards from the river, which flows in small quantities

out of the rock into an ancient reservoir, and is described as so

hot that the vapour will answer for a bath. I regretted much not

being able to visit it, but I must have gone on foot, and, being

to-day far from well, could not have endured the excessive heat;

but I have this information not only from the natives, but also

from Monsieur M., at Dongolah, who had visited it. We started from

Tangoure this afternoon, at half past two, and, after five hours’

march, halted in the desert for the night. The rocks are of granite,

serpentine, porphyry schist, and quartz. Strata of these minerals

occurred, sometimes alternately, every few minutes.

_June_ 13. Whenever there are antiquities to be seen, I care not

how little sleep I take. I had my men up soon after midnight, and

in three hours we arrived, as the sun was rising, at the Temple of

Semneh. This temple is more remarkable for its situation than for

architectural beauty. It consists of a single narrow room 28 feet

by 10 feet, with a plain façade, in the centre of which is the

entrance. The exterior sides of this room are ornamented with square

pillars, and one polygonal column. The temple faces the south, which

is singular, particularly for an edifice constructed by an Egyptian

king. On the eastern side are three square pillars standing entire,

and the base of another; and on the western one column, one square

pillar, and the base of a third. The view shows this side, and also

the façade of the temple. The pillars sustain blocks of stone,

that is, architraves, which still remain, projecting about one foot

beyond the columns. I thought, at first, from this projection, that

they might have extended to other walls; in which case the edifice

would have some resemblance to the sanctuary in the small temple

at Medenet Abou; but, from there being no remains to support this

supposition, and also from the projection being very small, and,

I might say, the architrave’s extending so far beyond the centre

of the column, I conceive that the temple has never been finished,

and the architraves hewn to the size of the columns.

[Illustration: TEMPLE OF SEMNEH.]