Chapter IV: Habits and Customs (2)

In those districts, where the inhabitants occupy themselves with agriculture, as at the foot of Mount Kordofan, merissa flows in great abundance, and the greater part of the men are, consequently, in a state of intoxication all the year round, for they never take the vessel containing it from their mouths from early in the morning until late at night. In Lobeid, and in many villages, there are houses for the sale of merissa, where this beverage is served by very pretty girls, who are also excellent dancers, and thus attract many guests. They are, moreover, so very acute that you might believe them to have been brought up, or at least to have received a lesson, in one of the capitals of Europe. Mehemed Ali, a few years ago, put down public prostitution in Egypt, and some of the refugees found an asylum in Kordofan and Sennaar. When the governor or other Turks give a _fête_, they always engage some of these able performers to amuse their guests. They come accompanied by a clown, and besides their original dances give plastic representations which, be they ever so trifling or even offensive against the mahommedan law, afford much pleasure. I saw travesties of this kind performed in presence of the governor, in which the government and its respective functionaries were faithfully portrayed, and affairs were represented such as too frequently occur in reality; but no offence is ever taken at these plays, they, on the contrary, only increase the laughter of those who feel themselves hit.

Brandy is distilled at Lobeid only, from dates imported from Dongola: the natives are very fond of it, but it is too expensive an enjoyment for them to indulge in to intoxication, or to drink instead of merissa; for the bottle costs nine piasters or fifty-four cruitzers (equal to about two shillings and sixpence). The wealthy inhabitants, therefore, and the Turkish officers only drink brandy. Festivals like those kept in Egypt are not known in Kordofan, for the natives in general are not sufficiently wealthy to spend large sums on the like amusements, and it is not, moreover, customary to give feasts at marriages, circumcisions, and other occasions of this kind. If a man be about to marry, he goes straightways to the father of the bride he has selected, and before exchanging a word with her concludes the contract, determining the allowance he proposes to make to his future wife.

The marriage portion consists either in money, oxen, sheep, goats, or other articles of domestic economy, and is at the same time the property of the woman, although she may be shortly divorced from her husband. Marriages are contracted with very little ceremony, for as soon as the bridegroom has agreed with the father of the bride on the bargain, he takes the woman of his choice home, hews the rahat, or fringed virginal girdle with a knife in innumerable pieces, covers her with a melayeh as a sign that she is now his wife, and the ceremony thus terminates. The nearest neighbours are at the most invited to a dinner; merissa is served up, and the whole affair is concluded with the customary dances. If the bride belong to one of the tribes who practise circumcision, she is certainly forced to subject herself to a fresh operation twenty days before her marriage. When a woman is ill-treated by her husband, or there exists any other cogent reason, she requests to be divorced from him, and the separation is effected without the slightest difficulty. She takes her marriage portion, and if there be children, the girls away with her, whilst the boys remain with the father. A separation is, however, frequently insisted upon without any good cause, for if the husband does not make his wife a sufficient allowance of telka,[33] she may sue for a divorce. Many men separate from their wives when they begin to age, as they generally do after the birth of the second child, and marry a second time with a young girl. To these cast-off wives a tukkoli is then accorded, and a maintenance sufficient to keep them, consisting generally of twenty paras, little more than three halfpence daily. The rich of course are only able to follow this custom, one man, however, scarcely ever has more than two wives in lawful wedlock; but every one keeps a number of female slaves as concubines, especially when his wives begin to grow old. They do not pay much attention to those clauses in matrimony, prescribed by the mahommedan religion, and to which the Moslemins rigidly adhere. The birth of a child is attended with little or no festivity, and the husband pays but slight attention to his wife during this critical period, for every one knows that labours are mostly natural, and terminate quickly and successfully. A midwife and an elderly relation at the utmost are present in the hut with the parturient woman, and when the child is born, a drink, consisting of soda, dried dates, and milk, which is very cooling, or water only, is offered to the mother. On the second, frequently even on the first day, the woman leaves her bed and goes about her ordinary occupations. Parents are very fond of their children, and are never known to beat them for any error they may have committed. The care and education of the young is left entirely to the mother; until they have attained a more mature age, the father troubles himself but little about his children. When a mother weans her child—children at the breast are, however, frequently fed with bread soaked in water—and it has attained the age of one year, it may be seen with an onion in its little hands, gnawing it with as much pleasure as our European children evince in sucking preparations of sugar. Wild fruits are also given to them, and yet the children are for the most part healthy and strong, with this one exception, that they all, up to a certain age, have protuberant abdomina, a consequence of feeding them on bread, which causes distention even in grown-up persons. Whilst the children are very young, they are laid in cradles, or rather hammocks, consisting of a cotton cloth, attached with cords by its four ends to a beam.

Circumcision is generally performed according to the custom of the Moslems, between the fourth and sixth year. I also met with some few tribes, where circumcision of the female was practised; this, however, is a popular custom, totally unconnected with religious rites, and is probably intended to prove to the bridegroom, who is about to marry, that the girl is a virgin,—a circumstance to which these tribes attach much importance. The Turks, and others, have a peculiar ceremony on the occasion of their marriage festivals, by which the bridegroom, on the day of his marriage, convinces himself of the virginity of his bride; but this test is liable to fallacy, which is not possible with circumcision. The operation of circumcision[34] is performed on girls when they are five, or, at the utmost, seven years of age, and is attended with festivities, for which no expense is shunned; it constitutes, indeed, a festival, against which the poorer people begin to save money a year before it takes place, that nothing may be wanting to add to its celebration. From four to eight days before the period of circumcision they dance and sing all day long until late at night; but on the actual day of the operation, the dancing and singing is kept up during the whole night. Professional performers are hired for the occasion, merissa is distributed, in short, everything is done to afford amusement to the poor victim, and to induce her to forget the bitter moment which awaits her. When the important hour arrives, all the men are turned out of the hut; but the mother, and a few women, remain with the girl, partly to hold her during the operation, partly to encourage her to bear it with fortitude. The patient is now stretched upon an angareb, and the women surrounding her grasp her feet, arms, head, and body firmly, so that she cannot move; an elderly matron then approaches with a common razor, and performs the operation. At this moment, both those within the hut, and those without, become merry to ecstacy; they applaud until their hands burn with clapping; the dara’book’keh is beaten until the skin is ready to burst; and the singers exert their voices to the utmost, with deafening eagerness, in order to drown the cries of pain of the little sufferer, which, nevertheless, penetrate through all this noise. The incision is performed from below upwards, and removes the external organs of the girl. Hæmorrhage is stopped with butter, the bark of a tree, beaten into fine fibre, is laid into the wound, instead of lint, and a piece of wood, about the size of a quill, is inserted, to prevent its edges from adhering together. The great toe of each foot is then firmly tied together, and in this extended position the little patient has to lie for twenty long days on an angareb. During this period, very little is given her to drink, and she is lifted out of bed, at the most twice, daily. The wound generally heals successfully; but it frequently happens that a girl has to undergo a second operation two years after the first, or a little later, for they marry in this country at an early age.

When the bridegroom has concluded the marriage contract with the father,[35] (...) The second operation is now performed, which the girl bears with more patience, as she enters on a married life immediately after she has recovered from her sufferings. Twenty days are on this occasion required for the cure; whereupon the bridegroom, as I before mentioned, hues the rahat of the girl into pieces, and dresses his bride with the melayéh.

Another operation, which is quite as painful, and infinitely more revolting, is performed on the young male slaves, who are intended for the guards of the harems of the Turks, and other moslems. A sheikh at Lobeid, named Sultan Tehmé,[36] performs this operation. Boys of eight, or nine years of age, are generally brought to him for mutilation. The operation is performed in his court, where the poor victim is stretched upon the ground like a head of cattle. Sacks, filled with sand, are laid upon his feet and chest, which are so heavy that the poor boy can scarcely breathe beneath their weight. With one incision, with a common razor, the organs of generation of the unfortunate being are removed; hæmorrhage is arrested with melted butter, and the bark of a tree, beaten into fibre, is then laid as dressing on the wound, while a piece of lead, of the size of a quill, is inserted into the urethra, to keep that necessary passage open. The patient remains twenty days under treatment, at the expiration of which term, he is returned to his master. More than one half of these unfortunate boys die under the operation, or during their march to Egypt, for very few of them ever reach the place of their destination. The price of these eunuchs is, consequently, generally double that of a common slave. The operator receives ten reals, at fifteen piasters, for each operation. Two boys are also frequently given to the mutilator, the one of which must be returned to the owner, whilst he keeps the other in lieu of payment. Castrates are, indeed, made in Sennaar, and Upper Egypt; but those of Lobeid are in greater request.

The death of a native is immediately made known by the cry of “Lu, lu, lu, lu!” which the women set up, bringing the notes out separately at certain intervals, and resting upon them with their voice. Not only the mourners, but all the women, who happen to be present at the time, join in the dismal dirge. This lamentation is continued until sun-set, and repeated on the following day. The corpse is then washed, wrapped in a white cotton cloth, if his means were adequate to the expense, and is carried on a stretcher to the place of sepulture, and there interred. His widows mourn always in company with their female friends, until their grief is allayed,—a result which requires a few days only, especially if they be young, and pretty, and wish to marry again. This mode of mourning is not only customary where the deceased was a grown-up person; but if a child, a few days old, die, it is honoured with the same ceremony during a few days. The negro women are very susceptible, both to pain and pleasure; and I have frequently, on these occasions, seen them writhing, as if beside themselves, in the sand, biting their arms, until the blood flowed in sincere grief, and not for outward show.

There are certain districts in Kordofan, the agricultural population of which inhabit two different villages in the year; for even in several of the most fertile tracts of land, water is at times entirely wanting, more especially during the dry season. Whole villages, therefore, are frequently necessitated to reinstate themselves in localities a few miles distant from their former place of residence, where they find wells. The whole of their domestic utensils will not overload an ox, hence an emigration of this nature is quickly effected, and without much difficulty. Those tribes who occupy themselves with the tillage of land, possess but few horses or camels, but a more considerable number of oxen, sheep, and goats. The oxen are broken in for riding and carrying loads. In some villages the herds of horned cattle are very considerable. When the herds of a village are driven out, the drover either rides before or after them on an ox; each animal has its peculiar name, by which the herdsman recalls it, if it stray to either side or remain behind the drove. The animals quickly hear his voice, understand it well, and are very obedient to his command. If a head of cattle stray too far from the herd, and do not hear his call, he rides after it, and brings it back without any difficulty. These herdsmen ride very well, and it is a matter of astonishment to see them going along at full gallop on a very young ox. They ride on the bare back of the animal, with a cord passed through the nose of the beast, answering the purpose of a bit. In many villages in isolated situations, far distant from other habitations, where the cattle, therefore, cannot easily stray and become mixed with other herds, there are no drovers, but when the cows have been milked in the morning the enclosures are opened, and the whole herd is let out. They all proceed straightways to a well, where they are watered in troughs, hollowed out of the trunks of trees, and when they have finished drinking and are all collected together, an old ox taking the lead, shows them the way and the whole drove follows him. It is astonishing how accurately they follow their leader, who frequently conducts them to a pasture situated at a distance of two hours’ march from the village, and brings them all safely back again. The most remarkable part of the affair, however, is that they always re-assemble at the well punctually at half an hour before sunset, whether they have been one mile or eight miles distant. I observed this fact at the village of Ledet, where I met the cattle at a distance of eight miles from the huts, and, to my great astonishment, saw no herdsman. On my arrival in the village I asked what this meant, and was told that it had been the custom from time immemorial, to allow the cattle to go unattended to pasture in this village, as it is in many others; and that an animal very rarely strayed. In order to be the better able to look after a beast which might possibly be lost, a circumstance, however, of very rare occurrence, it is only necessary to observe the direction the herd takes in wandering out in the morning. I was told that, a few months before my arrival, a cow belonging to this place was missing when the herd returned. As the animal did not come back in the night, the owner mounted a camel with the first dawn of day, provided himself with a supply of bread and water sufficient for four days, and rode out in the direction the cattle had taken on the former day. Having arrived at the place of pasture he traversed it in all directions, until he came upon the track of a camel and a cow, which he followed up during two whole days, until it brought him to an encampment of the Kubbabeesh, where he found his lost cow alive; nor did he experience the slightest difficulty about its restitution. The cows are milked throughout the country twice daily, once in the morning at sunrise, and again in the evening, but they yield very little milk, which in an hour’s time turns sour and thick. The baskets made of rushes, into which the cows are milked, can never be washed thoroughly clean, and are probably the chief cause of the deterioration of the milk; it is consequently impossible to keep it for any length of time. Butter is quickly made, and without any difficulty. As soon as the necessary quantity of milk is obtained it is put into leathern bags, which are fastened to a piece of wood, and shaken about for some time until the butter is ready. A small yellow fruit is sometimes added to the milk, and greatly accelerates the butyration.

In many villages a market is held once a week, when every inhabitant must provide himself with supplies for the whole week, as nothing is to be purchased on the intervening days; this rule applies more especially to tobacco, an article of consumption which ranks, with many natives, before food. As a proof of this assertion I may, perhaps, be allowed to mention the following occurrence:—In a village where a market is generally held every week, a fire broke out and burnt the hut of an old man to the very ground. The proprietor stood quietly looking on at a distance, and consoled himself with an exclamation of “Allah-Kerim” (God is merciful); he then approached me, and I, expecting to hear a dismal tale, had a trifling present in readiness for him, but greatly was I astonished when he refused the present, and begged of me to give him merely a handful of tobacco, as his whole supply was consumed in the conflagration.

The natives of Kordofan are a very good tempered people, and the traveller meets everywhere with a kind and hospitable reception. If he arrive at midday, or in the evening in a village, he has only to choose a hut, which the inhabitant immediately quits, leaving it entirely at the disposal of his guest. The natives content themselves, in the meantime, with being quartered on their next neighbours, or they will pass the whole time, if the weather permit it, in the open air. If he do not despise their fare, he will not have a _sous_ of outlay, neither for himself, his servant, nor for his camels, who find their food close to the village. The inhabitants perform all the services he may require willingly, and without the slightest contradiction, and he will hear nothing of the “backsheesh,” so troublesome among the Egyptians. The only custom which the stranger will find a nuisance, are the visits with which he is honoured in great numbers soon after his arrival. The judge, and persons of influence in the village, enter the hut, whilst the rest encamp around it in the open air. The ceremonies commence with greetings, and then a hundred questions are asked, as, whence he came? where he is travelling to? what has befallen him on the road? whether he have heard of any fresh war, and the like? in fact they scarcely allow him time to breathe, and he has barely answered one question before a hundred fresh inquiries are made. The servant has to suffer more even than the master from their importunities; for they endeavour to obtain all possible information indirectly from him. They ask him who the stranger is? whether he is a person of consideration? to which nation he belongs? and anything else, in fact, they may deem worthy of knowing. If they hear that he is a Frank, then the conflux becomes great indeed. All the sick persons in the village are dragged into his presence, and he is entreated to give advice and medicine. Protestations to the effect that he is no medical man are of no use, for a Frank must be a hakkim, and the stranger has no alternative left him, but to console them with the hope of recovery through Providence, if he will not make use of common domestic remedies. Should he have coffee and sugar served, or at least a pipe of good tobacco, he will cause them a great pleasure. Every man takes a few whiffs from the pipe and then hands it to his neighbour, and thus it circulates among them. He must not, however, imagine that, when the pipe is out and the coffee finished, the natives will take their leave, for they become then, on the contrary, more talkative as their bashfulness is dissipated by his condescension. There is, in fine, no other way of getting rid of these troublesome visitors than by pretending to be overcome with sleep from weariness and fatigue. When they observe his eyes to be shut they all rise, and leave the hut so quietly that they are scarcely heard. Having got rid of the men the worst is not yet over, for then come the women tormented with curiosity to see a Frank. They assemble generally at some distance before the hut he inhabits, and anxiously await the moment he may quit the house and exhibit himself to them. At first they are afraid to approach, but in a short time, or by presenting a piece of sugar to their children, they become as familiar with him as if he had lived for years among them. The villages situated on the road to Dongola or Khartoom are very much plagued by the frequent marches of troops through them, and especially with the frequent journeys of the Turkish officers. The latter on arriving at a village, immediately take possession of the best hut, leave the inhabitants no time to take their few chattels away with them, but drive them out whip in hand, and heap every species of abuse on the poor natives. All the articles of food they require are demanded in an authoritative tone, and if they be not immediately forthcoming they again resort to the whip; and fowls, or pigeons, or any living thing that is not willingly given, is shot down by the officer or his servants in the streets before the houses. Payment is totally out of the question; in all villages, therefore, exposed to the marches of the Egyptians, very little poultry or other animals subservient as articles of food are to be met with; for the inhabitants keep their stock and provisions concealed. But no sooner do they hear that the traveller is a Frank, than they bring him everything he asks for; their demands are very moderate, and they frequently will not accept anything in return. They are also very attentive in procuring everything he may require for his journey onwards; whereas the Turks frequently have, in this respect, to suffer a deficiency of many things. The natives of Kordofan are altogether the best tempered people in the world, if they are but treated with common civility, and differ widely from their neighbours in Sennaar, who although under the same government, situate under the same degree of latitude, and for the most part of the same race, are of totally different disposition.

The villages, more especially lying on the borders of the country, form an exception to the former rule, and are not in the best odour with the natives themselves. The traveller should, more particularly, be on his guard at Haraza, on the road to Dongola; Ledet, on the road to Khartoom; and Caccia on the road to Darfour; the last mentioned village is of all the most formidable. In travelling through Haraza, I myself took an active part in a scene which might have proved of very evil consequences, if my servant had not been able to intimidate the son of the sheikh with an excusable falsehood. At this place it is necessary to take in a supply of fresh water, because none is to be met with until beyond Ketshmar, situate at a distance of two short days’ journey from the former village. Persons also travelling to Dongola must furnish themselves with water, sufficient to last them to the rocky caverns in Semmeria, in this village. The sheikh, who considers himself the proprietor of all the wells, will not allow water to be drawn, except he be paid for it; and the Djelabi are forced to give him from one to five dollars for the permission of filling their water-bags. When I wanted water, he demanded six dollars of me, thinking a Frank ought, of course, to pay more. He was not prepared for any contradiction, because he saw me travelling alone with my servant; I, however, was acquainted with these arbitrary demands, and had been, moreover, cautioned by others not to submit to his extortions, as he has no right to sell the water for his own benefit, which is the property of the government. I, consequently, refused to pay the sum he demanded with decision; and after much talking on the one side and the other, he at last ordered water to be given me from a well, which was so putrid that the camels even would not drink it. When my servant mentioned this circumstance to me, I ordered him to pour the water immediately away, and demanded good drinkable water of the sheikh, as I knew that there were pure wells in the neighbourhood; he, however, would not draw me any more, not even of the bad water. I was so irritated at the audacious conduct of this man, that I drew my pistol from my belt, and, pointing it at his breast, threatened to shoot him if he did not immediately give orders to his people to furnish me with the quantity of water necessary for my journey from the good wells. My servant begged of me not to shoot; took the sheikh’s son aside, and whispered to him, that I was not to be trusted, as I had, twelve days before, shot a sheikh in Dongola for a similar resistance, and that I had a perfect right, as a Frank, to slay any man who opposed himself to my lawful demands. This _ruse_ had the desired effect; and the man, who had been before so obstinate, now humbly begged my pardon, entreated me to go into his own residence, where the good water I required should be sent in a very short time. This was really done; and, in addition to the supply required, he presented me with a fat sheep for my journey, would not receive any payment, and shewed himself altogether very desirous of gratifying every wish I might express.

This sheikh possesses several very excellent horses, broken for hunting the giraffe, and almost all those beautiful animals sent to Europe and America are caught by him. At the time I speak of, he had twenty-four sons and daughters living.

Before undertaking a journey into Kordofan, it is essential to understand properly the characters of the various nations inhabiting this country, to study their dispositions well, and treat them accordingly; for that which is to be effected with the one by rigour and intimidation, can only be obtained from the other by friendly and conciliating treatment. In the contrary case, the worst must be feared. The negroes, especially, should be treated with lenity and kindness; whereas, with the Arabs and Dongolavi, severity and intimidation are necessary. In my travels, during nineteen months in the various countries, I had to suffer more (consequently had more experience) than those travellers who hurried through the country, accompanied by a military escort, a number of Ghawa’zee,[37] servants, and others, whereas I had but one single servant, and, during the latter part of my travels, was not even attended by him. I was often forced to suffer the greatest torments of hunger and thirst, and was, for a short time, obliged to rest contented with locusts and putrid camels’ flesh,—bread was quite out of the question; I even held out once for thirty-six hours without water. As far as my eye could reach, I saw nothing but sand and sky,—not a worm even enlivened the dismal scene; the skeletons of men and camels lay strewn about the plains, as fitting monuments of the surrounding misery; a hot wind raised the burning sand, so as to darken the sun, and I expected with every step to find my grave. One of our camel-drivers sank under the fatigue; and the sand of the desert which rode upon the winds soon covered his bones. On my flight from Kordofan to Sennaar, sleep, during which so many cares and troubles are forgotten, frequently failed me; and what did I not suffer on my return home through the frightful desert, from Abouhamed to Krusko, on the Nile! I had not the means to purchase a second camel. My solitary beast was laden with my luggage and water-bags; it was, indeed, overloaded, I could not, therefore, mount it, and I was thus under the painful necessity of following the caravan, during two tedious days on foot, enduring a march of twenty-one hours daily on the sand, under a scorching sun. Man overcomes many difficulties, and will bear more than is generally believed. In eight days I reached Krusko, where I met Mr. Kotschy, the naturalist; he alone can tell how worn out I was with fatigue, hunger, and thirst, when I arrived at his tent, where he entertained me during three days, for he had just arrived from Grand Cairo.[38] I may, therefore, say that I have been put to many trials, endured innumerable hardships, and had many hair-breadth escapes with my life. It is not very probable that a traveller, furnished with a passport, would now meet with any misadventure in the interior of the country, for the government is very strict; on the borders, on the other hand, especially towards Darfour and Takale, he may dread the worst; for who would make enquiries after a single stranger, if he were robbed and murdered by these nomadic tribes? should he even be missed, it would be a very extraordinary thing if any one could come upon the track of a single individual; for no one native would ever betray the other. It is, therefore, very essential to study well the character of these people, and to avoid coming into collision with them. I will mention a single instance in illustration, which happened on the borders of the Shilluk’s country, on the White Nile, and nearly cost me and my servant our lives. With my knowledge of the character of the people, and by humouring them, and thus gaining on their weak points, I was alone able to help myself out of this embarrassment. I pitched my tent, namely, on the shore of the Nile, and sent my servant out in search of the wood requisite for our consumption during the night; for it is necessary in these regions, when encamped in the open air on the banks of the river, to keep up a fire all night long, partly on account of the crocodiles, which swarm in these localities and are very dangerous, partly on account of the hippopotami; for, although the latter never do any injury, yet they are by no means an agreeable acquaintance. Lions, moreover, and other beasts of prey, might pay a very disagreeable visit in the dark, and they are only to be kept at a respectful distance by maintaining a fire throughout the night. Just as my servant was about to sally forth in quest of fuel, a boat, laden with wood, and rowed by a negro, crossed the river, and landed near my tent. My servant immediately walked up to the negro, and demanded a quantity of wood, as he could find none in the neighbourhood. The good-tempered black instantly gave him the half of his store; but, as soon as I had turned my back, my avaricious servant asked for more, which the negro flatly refused; the former, hereupon, became abusive, and his opponent by no means remained mute, until from words they fell to blows, and, finally, began to fight in real earnest. The negro, who was the better man of the two, gave my servant a sound beating, and did not cease, until he roared out most lustily for mercy. I observed the scuffle from the distance; but, unacquainted with what had transpired, and merely seeing that my servant was getting the worst of the affray, I took my double-barrelled gun, presented it at the negro, and commanded him to desist. He instantly sprang on his feet, seized his spear, and threw it at me, before I was even aware of his intention; the missile, fortunately, only grazed my wide papooshes. He was now disarmed, and I again presented at him. The negro remained perfectly cool, and merely said: “Shoot on! I die; and what of that!” I now saw that nothing was to be effected by intimidation, laid my gun aside, and, walking up to him, enquired into all he circumstances of the case, which he faithfully related. Convinced of the injustice of my servant, I endeavoured to pacify the negro, and assured him that I would punish the former. All my persuasion was, however, in vain; he foamed with rage, and replied, that we should both suffer for this act. Seeing that he was too weak to offer battle to us both, he ran away in an instant, loudly uttering his war-cry of “Lu, lu, lu!”[39] This was an ill omen for us, and put us both in no slight degree of fear. Flight was out of the question, we had no chance of thus escaping. I, therefore, set my wits to work to devise a remedy, to avert at least the first outbreak of our enemies rage. I bound my servant hand and foot with a cord, and taking up the branch of a tree which lay near me pretended to beat him most unmercifully; he played his part remarkably well, and screamed as if he were being impaled, whenever I made the slightest movement with my hand; for we already descried a crowd of natives at the distance, running towards us, their lances glittering in the evening sun, and the shouts of the women, who followed in the wake of the men, boded us no good; but the nearer they approached the better we played our parts; and my servant continued his screams until he was fairly out of breath. Those of our enemies, who were nearest, called out to me to desist; and when I obeyed, my servant rolled himself about in the sand like a madman. The negro who had been the cause of the whole scene now walked up to me, took my hand, and said, “Have no fear, you shall not be hurt, because you have acknowledged the injury your servant has done me, and have punished him for it.” An old man now untied the cord which bound the hands and feet of the culprit, and approached me, to be informed of the whole affair. They proved to be Bakkara.[40] I invited the old man and the negro, of whom I have before spoken into my tent, where I entertained them with coffee, and gave them my pipe to smoke. Harmony was immediately restored, and every one conciliated. They asked me whence I came, and where I was travelling to, and then the conversation turned on other topics. When the night closed in, they all gradually retired, with the exception of five men, who remained with me all night as a guard, emptied several pots of merissa together, and kept up the fire, thus consuming the whole of the wood which had been the _belli teterrima causa_. When they took their leave of me in the morning, they presented me with a young gazelle, as provision for my further journey.

I cannot sufficiently praise the kind, and even cordial behaviour of the natives of Kordofan. I received many proofs of kindness at their hands, and I could not have expected better treatment in my own country from my nearest relations. This was especially the case when I had the misfortune to fall sick in the desert, where I lay helpless on the sands, as I was too weak to keep my seat on my camel. In this state of exhaustion I was obliged to remain, until I could receive assistance from the neighbouring village, which was, fortunately, only half an hours march distant from the spot. A good-natured inhabitant carried me home, and I passed thirty days in his hut, stretched upon a bed of sickness. I cannot describe the interest these kind people appeared to take in my sufferings; the one vied with the other to be of service to me. Some women and girls sat alternately by the side of my bed, by day and night, the one keeping off the flies, the other cooling me with a fan of ostrich feathers, for the heat was frequently at 40° Reaumur (122° Fahrenheit) in my hut, as there was no current of air through it. A young and beautiful slave, Agami was her name, evinced so much sympathy, that she frequently shed tears when she observed my sufferings. All the medicines with which I had taken the precaution to provide myself, proved ineffective; I lay in a continued fever, and was already, on the fifth day, so weak that I could not move, and the good women were obliged to lift me on and off the bed; for my own part, I had quite made up my mind that my days were drawing to a close.

When no amelioration was observed to take place, they bound amulets round my arms, and placed charms beneath my head, endeavouring in this way to overcome the disease. I submitted to all these proceedings in order not to avoid hurting the feelings of the good people; but as my illness still continued to rage, they sent for a celebrated fortune-teller from a neighbouring village, who casting her shells upon the sand, prophesied that the Frank would not yet die. As soon as the prophetess had taken her departure, the women lifted me out of bed, seated me down on a bundle of straw, with my back to the door, took off my shirt, and as I was too weak to sit in an upright position, held me up by passing their arms under my axillae. I suddenly felt a shock through my whole frame, which deprived me of breath for a few moments, for they had poured a whole basket full of cold spring water over my feverish body. Hundreds of others would have instantly expired, but my sound constitution enabled me to survive this douche. I was immediately dried, returned to bed, and covered with empty sacks and sheep-skins. I felt somewhat relieved and fell asleep; a refreshment I had not enjoyed for a long time. On waking, the women told me that I had perspired but very slightly, and that the douche must be repeated to put me into a thorough sweat. I allowed this hazardous proceeding to be repeated because I had no other choice. The operation was performed in the same manner as on the former occasion, but it did not produce so violent a shock, because I was prepared for it. After this bath I perspired so freely that, on waking, I believed myself to be in a second bath. This proceeding, however, broke through the chain of morbid symptoms, and I felt so much relieved, that I was able to rise from my bed, and walk about for a short time in the shade of the palm-trees. As soon as the rumour spread in the village that I was recovering, the inhabitants all flocked around to greet me, and to congratulate me on my convalescence. A fire was lighted before my hut at night, round which the people danced to evince their delight at my recovery; I regaled them with merissa, and all were happy and merry. My convalescence proceeded now very rapidly, and I was in a short time able to resume my journey; but I shall never forget the debt of gratitude I owe to these good people, who, from pure and disinterested charity and feeling for the sufferings of a fellow creature, took so much care of me whilst in this lamentable condition.