Chapter I (11)

Hardly was this erection finished, than my brother was summoned to the Pascha, to inspect two female slaves purchased for him by Mohammed Ehle (Ehle, white, innocent). According to my brother’s report, they were both very pretty, of bright brown colour, free from blemish, very young, and from the land of Basa. The poor girls sat in one corner of this larger recuba, behind a great curtain; they were totally ignorant of the Arab language, and, trembling in every limb, awaited their fate. Ere long we beheld, behind the large building, two tokuls (plur. täkela) erecting under Mohammed Ehle’s superintendence; the cross-formed pointed roofs were brought in by men, placed on buried pales, bound fast on the forks of these, and the interval between the pales filled up into a wall with durra straw; so that, in a few hours, these Æthiopian huts (of which the Hallenga erected many in the camp, for twenty or thirty piastres each) were all ready, finished, and standing there, in connexion with the Pascha’s palace. The one tokul was for the girls, the other for his excellency, that he might there retire and rest after the labours of the day. Silken stuffs and coloured muslins were all at hand, to dress out, or rather hang on these girls; and one would have fancied that these naked innocents would have felt happy in their unwonted splendours; but it was not so. On the second day, as we sat on our heels with the Pascha, he smiled in his own peculiar way, and then asked my brother to give him some love-powders. Joseph would not hear of it; and the mighty man became angry, and said it was his own look-out whether they injured him or not, as Joseph said they would. Joseph now hit on a happy thought, viz. to tell the Pascha that wine was specially necessary. On this a whole basket of wine was sent to our hut, with the remark that we might, with the rest, make any decoctions for ourselves we pleased; which we laughingly promised to do, but hastened off to our hut to see what sort of liquor we had got, and found a most capital French wine. As my brother knew how strong the Pascha’s faith was, he merely mixed up two bottles of it with some lemon-peel, and sent them to him.

The following night a regular hurricane, with torrents of rain, came on; and this was used by the home-sick girls, left all alone in their dark corner, to call to mind the liberty they had been deprived of, and while the Pascha held a divan in front of their abode, to break through the straw walls of their prison, cast off and forsake all their fine clothes, and escape out of the camp. The Pascha was furious; but, in spite of his rage, he in a very droll way alluded to the girls’ escape. He had, however, during the night sent out scouts in all directions, who, to our great grief, brought back to the Pascha the unfortunate fugitive girls, whom they had found hiding in the bush. Unhappily, none of us were present at this minute, to beg mercy (amahn) for them; for he afterwards told us he would have given them to us. He had acted so meanly as to sell them to the merchant, Hassan Mosmar of Berber, who was then in the camp. A real piece of good fortune it was for the poor girls that they had left all the clothing and ornaments the Pascha had given them behind, for otherwise some deed of barbarity would have most probably fallen on them.

This same night, during which the storm demolished a great part of the camp, the roof was blown off our recuba. In spite of a sound draught we had taken out of the Pascha’s hamper, the heavy rain aroused us out of our sound sleep. A foot deep rushed the water, below our bed places. I hastily seized the carpet and cowskin on which I lay, and hung both up above my head; on which my brother lost no time in jumping across to me, and getting under this shelter. With legs tucked in under us we both crouched close together, and were all right; save only our just alarm for a return of fever. The water-spout, however, seemed as if it would never cease, and a chill seemed inevitable; besides, thirst tormented us. Luckily, the hamper of wine stood near me, on it there lay a piece of bread that had been given us, made out of the apple-like fruit of the thorny Nebbek, and this, in our state of despair, we much longed for, both to pass the time in eating, and, if possible, ward off the fearful cold and consequent fever. The dagger served instead of a knife, the yet untasted curious bread had the flavour of the best ginger-bread, and the wine was excellent. The next morning, when the rain had ceased, and the water run off, the cover was raised from our head as if by an invisible hand, and we were found sleeping in brotherly love and embrace, the head of one on the other’s shoulders; but the laugh and well-known voice of Mallem Challill, aroused us out of our sweet dreams, and we sprung up happy and fresh, only somewhat dazzled with the daylight, but all ready for work, as we had, as usual, lain down dressed and armed.

CHAP. XII.

Gohr-el-Gash. — Dam across the great Gohr. — Kassela-el-lus. — Elephants. — Lion and Elephant Hunt. — Mohammed Din. — Murder of his Nephew and Friends. — Sheik Mussa resolves to starve himself. — The Faki-el-Kebir. — Faki Village. — Faki Plot. — Narrow Escape.

The hatred of the natives among themselves goes so far, that it has caused “divide et impera” to be the rule of Egypt’s policy. Mohammed Ehle, who is appointed by the Divan Sheik of the Hallenga, has taken it into his pious wise head to drive the Haddenda out of their land, if not totally extirpate them, with the support of the Turks. The great Gohr- el-Gash goes in full force from here, and sends its arms—such, for instance, as the gohr at El-Sofr—through the lands of the Haddenda; and it is this that gives abundance of water to this great tribe and their fruitful lands, as well as, here and there, to the impenetrable Chaaba, that land of free tribes so much dreaded by the Turks. This life-vein is now, on the advice of Mohammed Ehle, who already before tried it, to be cut off without mercy; and I, as engineer and confidential adviser to the Pascha, have been at the same time compelled to lend a helping hand in it. Mohammed Ehle, the Pascha, and I, mounted dromedaries, and rode, followed at a distance by an escort, towards the south, for about an hour, passing by the village of Kadmin. On our way our beasts suddenly shied, and I fancied I saw a hulk of a bear; but it proved to be some large baboons, who were hurrying past us from the dom-palm forest, where they find their food, to the barren rocks, over which dangerous road they made their way with great speed and agility. We then came to the western rocks of the Kassela-el-Lus, which extend to the gohr. Here the gohr was pretty deep, and at the same time narrower both above and below, and this place seemed suitable for forming a dam slanting across it. The Pascha at once gave the order, that a part of the army, with 4000 axes, should cut down the palms, which are only to be found in the neighbourhood of the gohr, and as far as its overflow extends. The troops, on this, advanced; and the Pascha rode backwards and forwards, to encourage the people by his presence, and called this “politica sogaier” (small policy); which art he also afterwards exercised with no little effect. The tribe of the Hallenga is by no means so savage and defiant as the Haddenda, and patiently set about delivering tribute, in a monstrous quantity of straw mats, that we found would be necessary in forming the dam (gisser).

By next morning, a lot of fallen palm-trees lay scattered about the gohr, near this spot. The dam ran from N.E. to S.W., and the main bed of the gohr was 1220 metres broad. I at once told the Pascha that it would be necessary, on the other side, where the banks somewhat rose, to dig a canal so far as to reach the water level of the Atbara, and so prevent the rushing back of the waters. The dam was commenced by a double row of palm-trees being placed close to one another perpendicularly, while mats were extended along these on both sides, and sand thrown in between them. As soon as one set of mats were filled, another was placed above, and by this means the height of five metres was reached. To prevent the yielding of the trees, and to break the force of the water above, a slope of 45° (Arab, kerath) was given to the dam. At the rocks on the right bank, where the principal body of water seemed to rush, was thrown in an immense quantity of matting sacks filled with sand. The work was from time to time urged on by drums beating, and by the Pascha’s presence; this haste was all the more necessary, as the rainy season had commenced, and might, as if by a charm, call up all growing shrubs and trees into full force, and fill at any moment the gohr, before we could oppose our first bulwark to its waters. I examined the opposite side, which was covered with atle-trees, and found there an arm that must be filled up, as well as the main course. From the greater depth of this, and its seeming to contain when full a greater weight of water, a triple row of palms was used here. To prevent the work in the main gohr from going to nought in the tropical rains, I had placed above the dam a row of palms, sunk in the earth to half their length, and supported them also by straw mats full of sand. This was run out about 270 metres. Hardly had we got our work ready, when the rain from the Abyssinian mountains turned the gohr into a lake. It was now plainly seen that the level was also to be taken well into consideration, and that from the water rising the whole length of the dam, it must be forced backwards into the forests higher up. Bad food, and the burning sun, had prostrated almost all the soldiers, who were fearfully tyrannised over during this labour by their officers. I therefore proposed to the Pascha to continue the dam by means of an earthen mound, and to employ on it the hypocritical Mohammed Ehle and his people; which task Mohammed Ehle, with most humble reverence to the Pascha, and a fiery glance of gratitude to me, at once promised to undertake. The dam was thus continued, and ere long had a length of 1613 metres, and, at top, a breadth of five metres.

The Haddenda already felt the want of water, as that stood already three metres high in the great gohr. Bloody feuds commenced between the Haddenda and Hallenga, and I much rued now my inhuman work. I therefore did not further urge the digging of a canal (bachr terra) to lead the water over the small rise of the land, into Atbara, and well knew what was coming. One morning the Pascha pulled up his horse before our recuba, and aroused me by his “Musju!” out of my sleep. There was a fearful tumult in the camp; all were rushing out from it; for the Gisser was broken through. I had to mount in all haste, and on the way I heard that the Haddenda, in spite of the guard of 200 men, had broken down this Arab wonder. We rode to the critical point; bags with sand were cast in; the Pascha was furious; he sprung from his horse, rushed into the water, and gazed at me as if he expected I was about to follow his example. I, however, remained calmly on my horse, and tried by remonstrances to get him out of the water—told him how little such conduct became the general; that it was his duty to support us; that here human powers were useless; and that all came from above (kulo min fok). We now went to the rocks from which the dam ran out, and took our breakfast in the shade; where I repeatedly advised him to return at once to the camp, so as not, by remaining in his wet clothes, to incur the danger of fever. He was already green and yellow about his jaws, ere he could be persuaded to leave. Hardly was he in camp, when my brother was called; found him in the cold fit, and his teeth chattering so much that he could not speak. Joseph and I were, most probably, the only ones in all the camp who rejoiced that such had been the dam’s fate. The Gisser was done for!

In this way were all the fine plans of drying up the highly beautiful lands of the Haddenda and destroying their Silva Hercynia—or, as the Pascha (excusing himself to me) styled it, forming the dam into an immense reservoir, and so, selling the water to the Haddenda—if not for ever totally defeated, at least transferred to futurity.

Very soon the gohr was in flood, and the water extended up to the S. and W. points of the camp, while it overflowed the whole Dom-palm forests, and from this arose general illness. The soil here is not so good as in Mohammed Din’s country, and even in the lower fields, the durra does not reach the same height as in his lands. The Hallenga have, therefore, less grain, fewer cattle, and camels; but such of the last as they have, they have wisely hid from our spoiler’s eyes. A horse costs here fifteen or twenty reals or Theresa dollars. The Sugk or Bazaar is in the open streets of the village of Hauathi, on the Gohr-el-Gash, some half an hour’s journey distant: milk, butter, honey, meat, and cotton goods are the main articles. Although, in former days, the barter of small articles was chiefly managed by means of durra, men now begin to know the value of Egyptian coin, and are shameless in their demands; for instance, for a bottle of milk, about three quarters of a quart, they will ask sixty fadda or paras, equal to one and a half piastres. Gold, however, will not be taken, as men will not acknowledge its value, not holding it to be as good as the Okiën that rich women wear in their ears. The mats they make here are seventeen to eighteen feet long, three feet wide, and cost two girsch, or piastres. An immense quantity of monkeys are among the hills here; we often, at first, counted troops of 200 or 300 of them on the slopes of the dome-shaped Kassela, ere the continued shooting in the camp frightened them off; they are the size of a stout hound, and have shiny, dark brown skins and horrible faces. They are called here Chirt, and seem to be a species of _kynokephalos_. At night, is often heard, on the rocks above us, a fearful screaming and howling, when they receive a visit from some panther or leopard. One day, my brother and I made a foray on the apes, and, unmarked by them, got before them on the smooth rocks, over which their path ran; but hardly were we there, when they descended from their Olympus, and bombarded us with stones, so that we had to beat a speedy retreat. A Turk called Hassan, a capital shot, and who often brought to our kitchen hares, guinea fowls, and otru (a dwarf deer), that he had killed with ball, promised at our request, not only to bring in a male and female of these apes, but, if well paid, a camel load of them. For many days we did not see our friend Hassan again; at last, we fell in with him at the bazaar, but he tried to get out of our way; however, we caught him, and asked for the apes; but he fancied we were laughing at him, and pointed to a hole in his head and a wound he had got in the shoulder. On my pressing two charien (gulden) into his hand, he recovered his good humour, and declared to us, that he would have nothing to do with those _metamorphosed men_.

In former times the race of the Hallenga had, at the foot of the hill of Kassela-el-Lus, a great city, an hour’s journey in length, and it seems to have extended from Kadmin, near which one sees yet many loam walls, over our camping place, and on to the entrance of the valley, between the above-named hill and that of Mochrän (Mokran). The true name of the hill is el Lus, and the word Kassela is the name of a sainted Sheik. The rock-dome of Kassela is surrounded by six pillar-like rocks; and hence the saying “Kassela-el-Lus saba Rus” (Kassela-el-Lus of the seven heads), whereby would be denoted the pride and invincibility of its people. Above on the hill are yet to be found the ruins of the castle of a queen, named Sunia. The above-mentioned large city was called Fakenda, and there, according to the old Faki Mohammed in Kadmin, dwelt all the race of the Hallenga, descendants of the Hedjas. Some thirty years ago the race, partly from the distance of water, and partly from their numbers becoming too great, divided and separated; and from this separation arose Hauathi, Kadmin (Sunia or Assunia), Abré and Dabàb. The language of these villages is the Aggem, an original language, but mixed with many Arabic words. In Sabderath are made very nice sandals, stout leather sacks, and a good cotton stuff. Defterdar Bey destroyed Sabderath and murdered all he met with therein; he had large pyramids built of the corpses, to contaminate the air, and so force the fugitives to take up, at least for some time, a new location. He acted less savagely in Hallenga, as he was not resisted there, all having fled to the hills, but he carried off all their fine horses, which were of the famed Dongola breed, and also all their horned cattle, which are of a fine form and bright colour, the dark-coloured ones not being admired by the natives. Judging from their language, some mixture must have taken place with the original native race, perhaps by means of their women; but of this the natives will not hear, but claim a pure origin.

The Sheik Mussa of Hauathi had often visited us, and invited us to come to his village, as there many birds of paradise are to be found. We started, and we were yet a good distance from the village, when we perceived a large tree, on which, even when some way from it, we saw, glistering in the sun’s beams, many of these splendid birds. We entered Mussa’s court-yard, and the first thing that struck our eyes was his beautiful slave-girl Melka. She had a regular, handsome face, was a native of the Basa hills, and had, like all these hill-races, the advantage over the Arabian females in displaying well-turned, round calves. She had been the person who for some time had brought us milk in the mornings, and so we were old acquaintances. We also saw the Sheik’s wife and daughter, both of good stature and with delicately cut features. On returning from our bird-chase and from the before-mentioned tree, from which we procured many of the gay birds, as also of their artfully formed nests suspended from it, we found our dinner prepared; this consisted chiefly of a number of fowls, brought on in a great pot, floating in butter. The Sheik seemed much vexed that our stomachs were not those of two starved Arabs; he scooped with a small gourdshell the melted butter out of the pot, and begged us to drink it, as it was most wholesome, and would make us fat. On this occasion he told us, that every rich man took from five to eight pounds of butter to breakfast, a statement incredible, though confirmed by many other informants.

Sheik Jacob, a relative of Mussa, visited us, inviting us to enter his hut; on so doing, we there saw his wife, who was distinguished by very long nails tinged red and yellow with henna. He is the most considerable merchant of this neighbourhood, and trades principally with Makada or Habesch; his tokul, here also called Baid (house), was dark, as all the light it had came in at the door, but was elegantly arranged in its way. Tables and seats were of well-made wicker-work from Abyssinia. Ostrich eggs were hung round, and the whole way round the tokul was a row of wine bottles placed close to each other as ornaments. Here we had again to eat, but we could hardly get a piece down, on which coffee was produced, which, from the perfumes used in its preparation, had a most peculiar though not unpleasant taste. He told us much of their habits and customs; such as, that the son of the ruling Sheik retained that title even when he was not elected on his father’s death by the tribe, and received a third part of the revenue from the newly chosen Sheik; that the Faki did not accompany the tribe to battle. Here, too, the higher women colour their eyelids with antimony. Sheik Jacob confirmed what Mussa had already told us, that he had twice killed a lion with a lance, while the latter was moving off slowly with a calf in his jaws, and that he did not drop it when Mussa attacked him. The Sheik held that the king of beasts was ashamed of his theft, although he had no fear for himself. We were told that the elephants had twice nearly destroyed the whole village, because the holes dug in the gohr, which also served them as drinking-places, had been filled up by sand drifted by the wind. One elephant, on the occasion, had eaten too much durra, and drunk copiously of water, and had been left behind dead. We wandered about the village and came on a house of Mohammed Ehle’s, who, though standing at his door, did not invite us in, but only saluted us. He was vexed and his pride was offended, because we had not visited him first of all. Some Schaigies, who stood near, joked Mohammed Ehle on it, blaming him for not showing us the usual civilities. As neither Mussa nor Jacob had placed any merissa before us, for, being Faki, they neither drink it nor smoke tobacco, though they snuff it, we asked the former where this Æthiopian drink was to be procured. On this he led us to a concealed hut in a distant corner, and here we found a merry party, Melek Mahmud presiding. The fat Mohammed el Chamuss (Buffalo), who owes the epithet to his corpulence, was so far gone in drunkenness, that in rising to welcome us he fell, but continued by his humour and wit to highly amuse the party, at the expense of the Turks. We afterwards saw a funeral; the corpse was rolled up in two pieces of cotton cloth and borne on the shoulders; men with shields and lances followed it, and behind them came the wife and female attendants. She was of very voluptuous build, held a cloth in her hands; with most furious howling, she waved it over her head, ever and anon striking her naked breast. She, like the other women and girls, conducted themselves as if insane, grasping handfuls of sand, casting it in the air, on their heads, and on all around. But in spite of this outward inconsolable state, we observed that not a tear was to be seen in her eyes, or in any of the other women’s.

A chasua had been made into the hills of Basa; the troops returned, bringing a crowd of prisoners of both sexes with them. The males were almost all wounded, and exhibited much stoicism during the painful operation of extracting the balls, which my brother performed. Even the Turks confessed that these mountaineers had defended themselves bravely with stones and lances. Many of the soldiers were also wounded, and with balls, which they in their usual blundering had fired into each other. It was, however, Turk-like asserted, that the Mograbin and Schaigies knowingly and wilfully had here and there fired on the soldiers, to drive them from the booty. It was a piteous sight to behold the prisoners, especially the women and children, brought into the camp bound on camels, despair written on their countenances. Before these were sold or distributed by lot, they were taken near the tent of Topschi Baschi, where a fire was burning, in which were iron stamps in the form of a star, heated red hot, to brand all of them with on the shoulder, even to the smallest child. No sooner did the howling and weeping reach our hut than, starting up, we seized our rifles, and with three servants were off to hunt. In spite of all our warnings, these would not remain with us, and we were much enraged on hearing three shots fired; we went up to the spot, supposing it to be our servants, but instead of them we found three soldiers, who lay on the ground bathed in their blood, and fearfully torn. Two were already dead, and the third, who yet lived, though his whole belly was torn out, told us, that a lion had attacked them. On hearing the shots, our servants had hurried up, and were now sent back to the camp with the survivor, though my brother had no hopes of saving him. The Pascha no sooner heard this, than with Soliman Kaschef and his body-guard he mounted to pursue the lion, and I accompanied him with my hunter Sale, my brave lad from Mahass, who afterwards followed me to the White Nile, to show him the place and the visible track. Arrived there, the Turks galloped on, and I and Sale remained alone behind. I heard a heavy tread and the breaking down of bushes, and saw near me an elephant with its young. Sale, who was some distance from me, and had just shot a parrot, called to me, asking, if he was to fire at the elephant, which I loudly forbade. The beast went on close past me, crushing down the bushes: I saw its high back, and took up a secure position between some Dom-palms which, springing from one root, stood so close together, that the elephant from its size could not push in to me. Sale, in the meantime, was up a tree, and told me that the elephant had turned and was making its way back to the Chaaba. The monster seemed to be enraged, but still alarmed for its young one; for we found a long track on the ground where it had with its tusks as with a plough turned up the soil. Some shots were heard, and we fancied the lion had been tracked; but it proved to be the Pascha and his mounted followers, who had seen the elephant. A mounted messenger now galloped into camp, and in a moment the Arnaut Abdin Bey with some of his people came up. The elephant, finding itself saluted from all sides by a shower of balls, now charged here now there on the riders, who fired at it and as quickly as possible wheeled off. Aim as far as possible was taken at the eye, and ere long it was evident it was blinded, as in its mad charges on its foes it dashed against the palm- trees till the fruit fell in showers from them. All dismounted, and a narrower circle was formed round the elephant. It must have by this time received some hundred balls, and the ground it staggered over was dyed red, when the Pascha crept up to it, and, kneeling down, sent a ball into the right eye, on which the colossal creature fell backwards and expired. No traces could be found of the young one, and as little of the lion. However, some days after and close to the camp, in which one often at night heard the lions roaring, a large male lion, without a mane, was shot by the followers of Soliman Kaschef.

We now got some sad news. Our hunter Abdallah, who from his unusual bravery we highly cherished, had a good while before, at his own express wish, marched with the Schaigie chief Melek Ada to Beni Amer, to shoot wild beasts for us, and inquire into other matters in that land. We had provided him with one of our best camels, a double-barrelled flint gun, powder, lead, and a considerable sum of money, to enable him to purchase giraffes. He had collected a good number of birds and other curiosities, when he resolved on joining us with what he had. Disregarding the advice of Melek Ada, as he himself afterwards told us, Abdallah would not await the recal of the detachment, but, without escort or companion, commenced his journey back. He had got safely through the lands of our foes, and reached those of the Hallenga; but near Arbre, three hours’ journey from here, he was slain. There he was found, recognised as our hunter, and the intelligence spread in the camp by the Hallenga themselves. The Pascha at once sent out people to inquire after our property; and our man Sale, who went with them, found his dear friend lying with his belly cut open. He openly asserted that this murder was committed by the Hallenga. Of Abdallah’s property and packages not a feather was to be found, although he was known to have carried two cases of stuffed birds with him. We suspected Mohammed Ehle, and were strengthened in our suspicions, as ere long a yet more horrid accident occurred. Ali, a nephew of Mohammed Din, and the friend who had protected us on our visit to the Great Sheik, and accompanied us back into the camp, had, with two other young relatives, visited his uncle, and ourselves, here. The Pascha had not deigned to notice him, and he was much cast down about the sad fate of his near relative Mohammed Din. Although the latter was ill, and the Pascha had forbidden my brother access to him, still we resolved from humane feeling to pay him a visit. Unquestioned, we passed the guard, and found the unhappy man, who had been deprived of his angareb, lying on the bare, damp earth, in an old, dirty ferda; two thick posts had been driven into the ground, to which he was chained heavily, and in a way more fitting a wild beast than a man. He would take no medicine from my brother, as he feared poison; we could not, indeed, understand his Aggem, but his words as translated to us implied that he was ready to die for his race, and even by the fearful death of impalement, with which the Pascha threatened him. Towards evening, the three young men had started on their homeward journey. Next morning we had gone out very early on the hunt, and ere we went far saw thousands of birds hovering in the sky, and too truly foreboding the horrible fate of our acquaintances. We went to the spot over which the birds hovered in greatest numbers, and found, some half hour’s journey from the camp, the three corpses, lying in their blood, most fearfully disfigured and mutilated. The bloody lances, and the quantity of blood round, showed that our friends had bravely defended themselves, but they offered a horrible spectacle, their eyes having been already picked out by the birds. That this murder was committed by order of the Pascha admitted of little doubt in our minds, and therefore it behoved us to bring punishment on him for it. We laid the three corpses on a camel feeding near, and I accompanied them into camp and to the Pascha’s presence. I commenced as accuser against the Hallenga, and bitterly reproached them for such a breach of hospitable duties; but the Pascha, without any look of surprise or displeasure, answered with a mere “Min ara di?” (Who knows it?) accompanied by a meaning look at me, and then, by a sign, ordered the removal of the corpses, without exchanging another word with me. General pity was felt in the camp for the murdered, and even among the feelingless Turks there was much excitement, when Mohammed Ehle, with a small train, entered to pay his respects to the Pascha, or inform him of his villanous treachery. As at first the Pascha did not speak to him, which probably my presence might account for, he, according to Turkish etiquette, had to remain silent, and afterwards, as we were at the same time leaving the divan, I, before all his people, bitterly reproached him. This he bore in silence, as if he was the guilty party, and in his own village of Hauathi the same was openly asserted by our friends. The Albanian Abdin Bey was so enraged, that it was only by the united persuasions of the other officers that he was prevented from mounting, along with his wild Albanians, and overtaking and cutting down Mohammed Ehle; this, had it occurred, would more likely have brought on a general revolt against the Pascha himself, as the soldiers have been long loudly murmuring at his ill treatment of them as regards food and pay. Mohammed Ehle had before this, in a battle with the Haddenda, received a lance wound right through the outer part of the breast, directly over the midriff. The Pascha had expressed a wish that my brother should operate on him, but Joseph did not admire this practice, and had recourse to washing it with opium. When the pious Sheik, from its smell, recognised opium, he would no longer submit to the treatment, because opium in no shape must find its way into the sainted body of a Faki. So my brother let him and his wound, which had already become an ulcer, alone; he had hoped to have healed it by sympathetic means.

In our hunting excursions, we often visited Hauathi, as merissa was to be got there, which was not allowed to be introduced or brewed in the camp. The women of the upper orders pass the whole day on their angarebs, and do not busy themselves in any way; they anoint their bodies, and wear glass coral, and some real coral in its rough state, round their necks and wrists, as well as silver and horn rings on the latter, the ankles, and above the elbows; silver rings on the fingers and both thumbs, a small silver ring in their right nostril, and in their ears golden plates. Their hair lies in small plaited knots close to the head, but one never sees on it the white pomade made from camels’ fat, so common on the men’s. Each house had a hollow in the floor, covered with hoops and a cloth, in which the women squat down on their heels and smoke their pipes; they also smear their face, and necks to their shoulders, with musk; the men do the same to their necks, so as to conceal the disagreeable specific smell that the skins of all these dark races emit. We also hit here upon an establishment where the men had their hair frizzed out after the prevailing fashion before mentioned. Instead of a comb a piece of pointed wood was used, which they often leave sticking in the hair, so that it may serve to scratch the head with. Such a frizzing-out requires many hours’ labour, and with the women it often takes up a whole day, as their hair is very stiff and difficult to arrange. The women carry very heavy burdens on their heads, and move under them with much grace and activity, nor did we observe any deformity among them.

We paid a visit to the Chawaga Mohammed, a respected and, in his way, well-informed merchant: he confirmed to us what the fiery milkmaid of Mohammed Ehle, by name Fatme, had reported in the camp, that our friend Mussa, who had been most shamefully defamed by Ehle to the Pascha, had shut himself up in his tokul, to starve himself to death. For four days he had been shut up in his dark hut without any nourishment, and threatened to stab with his lance any one who came near its door. We held it to be our duty to dissuade him from this determination, and so went to his house. Here all were in deep sorrow, and we were warned not to go near the tokul, as the Sheik was a brave man, who would keep his word. This however did not alarm us, nor prevent our going up to the door and begging admittance, saying we wished before his death, which we declared a manly one, to take our leave of him. It was the work of some hours, during which we sat in the shade of the recuba, to get the miserable man to answer us. At length, however, after we had stoutly abused both Turks and Mohammed Ehle, he cried out that all should retire save we alone, and cautiously opening with his lance the door, admitted us, and again locked it behind him, so that only a very little light came in through its crevices. We embraced and kissed the brave old man, who wept that it was the last time he would behold us. We pretended to be about to leave him; my brother telling him he carried drops about with him, which did he take he would avoid all the tortures of the death by starvation he seemed resolved on. I still see the man, with shaking knees, leaning on his lance, and gazing on my brother, as he dropped on sugar, from a phial, some liquid anodyne. Mussa let his lance fall, seized us both by the hands, and begged my brother to stick the sugar in his mouth. Instead of the instantaneous hoped for effect, he found his love of life awakened; and my brother plainly told him that he now would live fourteen days, although he took neither food nor drink. This did not at all please him, and he grew angry. I saw, through a crevice, that food was prepared for us in the recuba, and begged him to let us eat our meal. My brother held him persuasively in his embrace, and as the Sheik opened the door, I drew the angareb into the doorway, under the pretext that we would eat in his presence; he began to yield a little, said we had acted ill towards him, in forcing him yet to live fourteen days. After some remonstrance, he took a little milk, and gave up his purpose of dying. No sooner did his family and the merchant Mohammed remark his drinking from the distance, than they rushed up to him, and embraced him. I afterwards told all this to the Pascha, who gave me an assurance that nothing to harm or annoy the Sheik should happen. The people, who had heard of this wonderful medicine, now came about us, and would have some of it. My brother, who well knew the greed of these Arabs, told them first to bring honey and butter into the camp; on this they hurried off as fast as they had come, but, as usual, brought us nothing.

The Aggem, or language of Taka, has no means of counting over the thousand, and by this is therefore often meant much more. Mabuck and Abba mean father; Oho, merissa; el Dura, honey and water as drink; Eüm, water; Tohscha, Toschi, flesh; Dahanita, Good day; Dabaiakn, How goes it? Tiah, milk; Ola, butter; Thau, honey; Otamm, bread; an Harguab, I am hungry; an Guib, I am thirsty; Ohàtta, horse; Okamm, camel; Omir, ass; Ditock, mother; Sannock, brother, &c. This language has great similarity with that of the Bischari, and like it is very widely spread, and to be viewed as the original language of the old foes of Egypt. Whether the words of Arabic occurring in it have been introduced by the Arabs, or are an original part of the language, cannot well be decided.

In the stalls of the cows in milch were always some stuffed skins, taken from the slain calves, stuffed and placed there, that the cows at the sight of their sucklings might yield their milk. The Hallenga possess many suits of chain armour (labbis) and good straight swords; the first however they only now use in their forays upon their foes about here, as these would not protect them from musket-balls. Their food is chiefly milk and asside (meal soup); in such meat dishes as they have, they put so much of a small red pepper (schiteta) that an European can hardly eat them. They ascribe curious powers to this schiteta. They eat, in defiance of the Koran, the tortoise, as well as the hog, and also the locust or grasshopper, from which they tear off the wings, and then roast it in the fire. The shells of the tortoise and of many small mussels they use as dishes and spoons. They have neither wheat nor maize, although the ground is well adapted to them. The merry-makings on marriage often last a month, when the bridegroom is rich, or has a number of relatives. Hides are used as cradles, which are suspended like hammocks on cords, and swung about. These are hung from trees, in the open air, as are also skins filled with milk, and in them, by shaking, butter is produced.

One day, when we were with the Pascha, he gave my brother directions to professionally visit the sick Faki Mahommed of Kadmin, a man held in high esteem by all. He, the head of all the priesthood in Hallenga, was now very old, and had no special liking to pay his respects to the Pascha; besides, he might also have been offended, the Pascha having laid his village, where alone the Faki may dwell, under contribution,—a thing even Defterdar Bey had not ventured on. We learned from a Faki, who had accompanied the army from Chartum, that this Faki-el-Kebir had sworn not to behold the sun-light, as long as the Turks darkened the land. Accompanied by a servant, we mounted our asses, and started for the Faki village, some half-hour’s journey distant; we must have been spied out when some way from it, for we found many of these holy men assembled, who would have denied us entrance into it, as no laity were permitted to tread its sacred soil. However, on our unslinging our guns, they disappeared in all haste; but on our calling out and asking where the great Faki dwelt, two of them turned and showed us to his abode. We entered a roomy recuba, where many young girls of considerable beauty and bright colour were occupied weaving straw mats. From the entrance- hall we came to a tokul, and through this to another, where the old man lay on an angareb, reading by dull lamp-light. I, however, returned at once into the entrance-hall, both for the sake of the purer air, and more agreeable company, the latter of which our sudden entrance much surprised. My brother remained conversing a considerable time with the old man, who told him many things, and could not conceal his hatred of the Turks; he had been many years in Mecca and Medina,—had, according to his own expression, learnt every thing, and called himself Allan (learned). When my brother questioned him as to his ailments, he at once loudly declared he would take no medicine from any surgeon of the Pascha’s, not because he mistrusted my brother, as he before now had in Djedda had for his friend a Frank doctor, but merely because he would not be indebted to the Pascha for any thing whatever. When my brother recommended him to move into a better atmosphere, as the air in the dark tokul was very detrimental to health, he replied, that after sunset and before sunrise he continued his devotions in the open air.

We left him, and, as we were doing so, we were met by the Faki of Chartum before mentioned, who had married a woman of this priest- village, and who often had invited us to come and drink merissa, which he secretly brewed. As he almost never spoke the truth, from which habit we called him Misaur, we now threatened to take him stoutly to task, if he did not procure us this drink, which he had days before promised to bring into the camp, though we held it impossible that he would dare to produce it here. He led us through an empty house into a court surrounded by a high mud wall, and to the shade of a tree; then brought out some small stools or chairs (bamber), made of woven camel-hides, for us to sit on. With his hands he dug up the earth before us, showed us a wooden cover, and, after this was removed, a great burma (an earthen bomb-shaped vessel), full of merissa, concealed under it. He then hurried into the house, and brought out a small gara, to scoop it up in, and a knife, with which he scraped off the brown bark of some branch smelling like mint, and which, powdered over the merissa, gave it a more piquant taste. We grew merry, as if from draughts of good wine, and drank, in the German student style, in rivalry with the Faki. From the rapid drinking and talking, he became maudlin and loving, and wanted to embrace us as his brothers, but the stools not being the steadiest, he came to the ground. We then helped him up, and now he as suddenly became lachrymose, as it occurred to him that he must save us from a great peril, and that, as he knew the road, we must return with him to Sennaar along the Abyssinian frontier. Our servant became now attentive, and winked to me to mark the Faki; however, we drank on stoutly, would not allow any danger was near us, and at last out came his secret. On our arrival hereabouts, the Pascha had sent his stores of powder to this village, not so much because, from the great want of caution in the soldiery, it and the camp were in great peril when it was there, but as he held it improbable the enemy would risk the blowing so many holy men and their village into the air by firing it. This, however, we now, to our great surprise, learned was about to be done, and the holy men were, within three days, secretly to remove their possessions by night out of the village, and hide them in the great cave of the Kassela, and when all was ready, the house in which the all-important powder was stored would be fired. If this plot were carried out, the whole army, and we with it, would be lost to a certainty, as the Hallenga, excited by their priests, would have then set on us, and we could have offered no resistance. As by this time the Faki could no longer either get upon his legs, or stand when placed on them, our servant raised the burma out of the ground, and placed it on his beast before him, to bear it off to the camp, where we might finish its contents. Burdened with this important secret, but otherwise very merry, we rode back to the camp. My brother made his report to the Pascha as to the illness of the Faki, and the former could not conceal his annoyance, that, by declining the medicine, a want of confidence had been shown him,—a confidence that he on so many occasions had most horribly abused, as had been acknowledged by his former trusty surgeon, Soliman Effendi.

Before now, I had, at the instigation of his higher officers, more than once begged of the Pascha to remove the stores of powder into the camp, and place a cordon of sentinels round it, as the priesthood, most especially, were unworthy of trust. I now repeated the request; he gazed on me with sparkling eyes, and said, “I know all!” At once he gave orders to closely surround the village with troops, to allow no one to pass in or out, and to strongly reinforce the guard over the powder- magazine. Next morning, the powder, which was packed in small chests, was brought on camels’ backs into the camp, and piled up in a pyramidical form on the open space before our tent. The Pascha fancied that all that was necessary for its safety, was to cover it with a tokul, to protect it from rain. I represented to him, that the foe might steal up into the rocks above us, and from thence, fastening burning stuff to their lances, hurl them down on the straw thatch, and so, at one stroke, destroy us all. On this, great thick woollen cloths were got, and spread over the chests, and above these a coating of turf placed. Over all this a tokul was erected, and the Pascha seemed satisfied, but still brooding over the vengeance he would take on the Faki, though probably he would not at once venture to carry it out, so as not to further inflame all the tribes against him. I had afterwards returned to Chartum (Chardum, by the Turks), on my way to visit the White River, when my brother’s letters informed me that the Pascha had hung up, not on a gallows, but on Dom-trees near the camp, nine of the Faki, and that he asserted he would ere long serve in the same way some forty more.

Breach of matrimonial ties is uncommon here; any female guilty of such breach is slain with a lance, not by her husband, but her brother. At a marriage, the women sing all manner of indecent scandals against the man, and especially those least likely to make him acceptable to a young wife. The wives veil themselves always, even at home, while the slave and female attendants (Nussuahn), young or old, wear merely a small cloth round the loins and hips. The preparation of fat for ointments, and incense, form their main employment. The beauties of a maiden are great eyes, large and round; small breasts; hair down to the shoulders, and sometimes a white skin. When tidings reach them of the death of a relative, they howl in a fearful manner all night, strew dust or earth on their heads, and repeat this for many successive nights.

CHAP. XIII.

Ravages of Wild Beasts. — Hills of Basa. — Native Tribes. — Chariff. — A Chasua and its consequences. — Singular Recovery. — Supper Party. — Female Slaves. — Turkish Jealousy. — Snakes. — Superstitions. — Basa. — Origin of Tribes and Races. — Miseries and Ennui of Camp Life.