PREFACE.
Towards the close of the year 1837 I undertook, at the request of a friend, a journey into the most distant portion of the countries under the government of the Viceroy of Egypt, in order to collect information referring to commerce, but more especially with the view of convincing myself whether trade might be carried on with these countries directly, instead of through the intermediation of agents, in whose hands it had hitherto rested. The task, although rather arduous, was not displeasing to me, for a residence of several years in Egypt had rendered me tolerably proficient in the Arabic language and colloquial dialect, and my prior travels in various parts of the Soudan had made me familiar with the habits of the natives, besides procuring me the acquaintance of many merchants from the more distant provinces. With these advantages I travelled during nineteen months in all directions through these countries. Whilst on my journey, or sojourning in any place, I noted down in my journal everything that appeared to me remarkable, which I laid before my friends for their amusement on my return. It is with their advice, and more particularly at the instigation of the celebrated French traveller Antoine d’Abbadie, that the information I was able to collect respecting a country of which so little was formerly known, now appears in print. My journey was strictly mercantile in its tendency; I cannot, therefore, venture on so explicit a description as might be expected of a traveller or a man well versed in the various sciences a traveller should profess, and yet I am not altogether diffident, inasmuch as I think that my small contribution will at least form a short guide for those who may be willing to explore these countries more fully hereafter, as it will give them many a hint before they reach these climes, which will save them much trouble and inconvenience during their residence in Kordofan. Although two distinguished German travellers, Dr. Rueppel and the Conseillier des Mines, Russegger, have visited the country before me, their sojourn there was of such short duration, and they travelled in so much company, that many things must have escaped their observation, and remained hidden from them, which were revealed to me, who, defying every species of danger, wandered through the province alone, under a variety of circumstances, sometimes accompanied by one solitary servant, and sometimes even without thus much protection. Thus I have often shared the humble fare of a camel-driver in the desert, or conversed with the natives in their damp and obscure Tukkoli; whilst at other times I have enjoyed the opportunity of gaining information from the governor and higher officials, to whose feasts I was frequently invited.
My readers must excuse me if, in the perusal of this small work, they meet with a deficiency of much information generally expected from a traveller, for I repeat again that I did not undertake this journey with the view of writing, but that I wrote merely at the request of my friends, and because I thought that by lifting the veil of obscurity from certain relations, I might in some measure become useful to futurity, and in this respect I have already met with a few grateful acknowledgments. I shall, therefore, send this little book into the world with confidence, assured that it will find a considerate reception, and that its deficiencies will be placed to the account of the circumstances under which it was produced.
The Author.
Cairo.