Travels in Nubia

by John Lewis Burckhardt; Association for Promoting the Discovery of the Interior Parts of Africa

JOURNEY FROM BERBER TO SHENDY.

After having settled all our accounts at Berber, our caravan, reduced to about two-thirds of its original number, set out again on the afternoon of the 7th of April. Several of the merchants had returned to Egypt, others remained at Berber to sell their goods, as did also many Ababdes, who had their families there, and who intended to remain till the return of the caravan from Shendy. I was not sorry to leave Berber; for the character of the inhabitants is such, that a stranger can never consider himself safe for a moment amongst them. Several of the first people of the town advised me strongly to remain, and wait for the opportunity of proceeding with a Taka caravan; but alone, I should have been entirely at the mercy of the Meyrefab, who, no doubt, intended to plunder me; I therefore resolved to proceed as far as Shendy, where I thought I should be more likely to meet with a safe conveyance towards the Red Sea.

We proceeded this evening about two miles through the sands, and stopped at the village of Goz el Funnye (قوز الفنّيه), belonging to Berber. Here we alighted in the court-yard of the house of a Fakir, a trader well known in Egypt, who entertained us hospitably, and asked for no presents. Whenever he visits Egypt, he quarters himself in like manner upon his acquaintance at Daraou. Late in the evening our host Edris paid us a last farewell visit, and insisted upon some further presents. After much disputing, he wrested from the Daraou traders a fine shield, worth eight dollars, the value of which we were obliged to pay him by a general contribution, in order to recover it.

April 8th. There are many ruins of modern buildings at Goz, which is now in decay; formerly, it was the chief place in Berber, and it is so mentioned by Bruce. In several places are public wells or pits of brackish water, where travellers water their beasts, the banks of the river being steep, and the descent to it very difficult. We pursued our way along the skirts of the desert, over a perfectly level plain or arable track of land, about two miles in breadth, which lay between us and the Nile. The ground was every where overgrown with the Oshour tree (عُشور), so often mentioned in my journey along the Nile towards Dóngola, and in the previous one through Arabia Petræa. Our path was well trodden, and might be called a high road; numerous paths diverged from it in every direction into the eastern desert. After about two hours march, we reached a woody tract, where Sant and Sellam trees grow. The country on the western side of the Nile was, as far as I could see, perfectly flat, without any mountains or hills; but a white line, indicating the sands of the desert, was every where discernible beyond the narrow stripe of arable land which borders the course of the stream. We met many travellers, on horseback and on dromedaries, and women and children either riding alone on asses, or driving loaded asses before them. This road appears to be perfectly safe for the inhabitants of the country, though it would not be so for strangers, without a proper guide. We had taken two men from Ankheyre to escort us to the limits of the Wady Berber. At the end of three hours and a half, we entered the district of Ras el Wady; and at the end of four hours reached the village of that name (راس الوادي), where we were obliged to stop, as a transit duty is here levied upon merchants. Ras el Wady is a considerable village, larger than Ankheyre, but not so well built, and containing many huts made of mats. We went straight to the Mek’s dwelling, and encamped on the open ground before it. This Mek, whose name is Hamze, is a relation of Noureddyn, the Mek of Berber (مك حمزه ابن عم المك نورالدين في بربر), but is quite independent of him, Ras el Wady being a principality of itself, although I think that most of its inhabitants are Meyrefabs, and of the same tribe with those who people Berber. Like the latter place, however, it is subject to the king of Sennaar, by whom the Mek is appointed. Hamze is much dreaded by the caravan travellers, especially the Egyptians. The Daraou traders supposing that they might, perhaps, on my account, experience some ill treatment from this chief, and convinced, at all events, that my society could no longer be of any advantage to them, as they saw that I fought for every handful of Dhourra, determined to abandon me entirely. We had halted for some minutes in the plain, near a pond of water, before the village. On starting again, they ordered me, in a contemptuous manner, to keep off, and not to come near their party any more. The boys accompanied these orders with a shouting similar to that which is made in driving dogs away, and then beating my ass with the but-end of their lances, they drove him into the desert.

I had always endeavoured to keep on good terms with our Ababde companions, who, bad as they were, were still better than the Daraou people; I now asked them whether they intended to leave me to the mercy of the Meyrefab robbers, or would permit me to make one of their party. They immediately consented to my joining them, and my situation became thus materially bettered. During the whole of our stay at Berber, no dirty villainous trick or joke was left untried by my companions from Daraou to hurt my feelings and render me contemptible; at last, well assured that my bodily strength was superior to that of any of their party (for I had several times thrown the strongest of them in wrestling), the boys attempted to tire my patience by an incessant teazing, which I could not easily resent upon them, and which I thought it necessary to put up with, because I was afraid, that if I should leave the party abruptly I might expose myself to some more deliberate mischief, which I could not estimate, and had not the means of preventing.

The Mek Hamze gave us a very cold reception. We remained from morning, till late in the evening, before he sent us any food; and my companions said, that if he should hear of any of us having eaten in the meanwhile of our own provisions, he would consider it as a great affront, because we were now his guests. Two of our merchants went up to the Mek, to negociate with him, about the sum to be paid, while the rest were all busily engaged in defending the baggage from the rapacity of the inhabitants, who had at first collected round it in great numbers, and inquiring, with apparent friendly concern, about our welfare, had soon after placed themselves in the midst of it. There was no open quarrel, but many things were found missing, and amongst the rest I lost my pipe. Late at night we were informed that the Mek would not be satisfied with less than ten dollars for each camel’s load, and four dollars from each trader; I was comprised among the latter, and the sum was paid down, partly in cash, and partly in goods. The Ababdes paid nothing, and for some presents given to them, they even secured several Egyptian camel loads from taxation, by claiming them as their own. I had reason to be afraid that the Mek would take my gun, for I had heard that he is in the habit of seizing upon all the fire-arms he can; in the preceding night, therefore, I made a pretended bargain for it with the Ababde chief, in the presence of the caravan, well knowing that my companions themselves would otherwise have betrayed me. The Ababde chief now declared to the Mek’s people that the gun was his, which nobody could deny. It was thus saved, but the Ababde took a dollar for his trouble.

The Mek remained in his house the whole night, without our seeing him; but his son came down to ask for some presents for himself, which were flatly refused. He then inquired if there was any jolly fellow amongst us, who would keep him company at the Bouza shop. One of the Egyptians stepped forward, and had the honour of being led by him to a common brothel just by, where they sat drinking and singing the whole of the night.

April 9th. This morning Mek Hamze made his appearance; on quitting his house, he walked across the plain, and set himself down on a stone bench, near a house, in front of our baggage. It being a hot day, he was quite naked, with the exception of a towel tied round his loins, and his hair had just been smeared with grease. He was attended by six or eight slaves, one of whom carried a small water-flask, very prettily made of leather, of Sennaar manufacture; another his sword, and a third his shield; so that his Mekship had altogether a most proud and commanding appearance. The merchants, who had expected to be permitted to depart early in the morning, were alarmed, and apprehended the levy of a new contribution. We all went up to him, kissed his hand, and stood before him in the most humble posture. He said he was glad to see us, that he was a great friend to traders, but that of late they had become very niggardly; he then insisted upon a present for his son, and seeing a fine ass in the caravan, told him to mount it. The owner of the ass offered in vain six dollars, as a ransom; the animal was carried to the Mek’s stable, and we were then permitted to depart. This ass happened to be the very one which had carried me through the desert. Understanding, while on the road, that Egyptian asses were in great demand in the southern countries, especially among the great people, and mine having become famous in the caravan, for his great strength and activity, I foresaw that it would be difficult for me to preserve him from the avidity of the Meks, and I therefore exchanged him on the night preceding our arrival at Berber, for one of a smaller size, and of inferior strength, belonging to one of the traders from Daraou, who gave me a dollar into the bargain; he undoubtedly flattered himself that he had over-reached me, little thinking that any body would take the ass from him, and reckoning upon selling it afterwards for ten or twelve dollars. At Berber he contrived to save the animal from the clutches of Mek Noureddyn; but Mek Hamze’s rapacity was of a more determined kind, and made him sorely repent of his bargain with me. He pretended to insist upon taking back the ass he had exchanged with me; but the Ababdes took my part, and even secretly praised me for having led him into the scrape.

A large party of Bisharein was encamped near Ras el Wady; they had come to purchase Dhourra for their summer provision. The brother of Mek Hamze had lately gone to Souakin, on his way to Arabia, with several slaves and fine horses, which he meant to offer as a present to the Sherif Hamoud, the chief of Yemen, expecting, of course, some suitable presents in return. Speculations of this sort are often made in these countries. Some of the dromedaries belonging to Mek Hamze were very fine animals, and their bridles and saddles were very fantastically ornamented. Every chief keeps a couple of dromedaries of the best race, for show, and, whenever he rides out, he is followed by them, mounted by two of his slaves.

We departed from Ras el Wady in the course of the morning. The Mek sent two of his relations, to accompany us to the limits of his jurisdiction. Our road lay partly through barren sands, and partly through thin woods of acacia trees. In two hours we passed several hamlets, where Doum trees were numerous, and in the neighbourhood of which a large island is formed in the river. The inhabitants of these hamlets are said to be great robbers, and this was, probably, the reason why our two guides made us halt here, and demanded ten dollars for having accompanied us so far. Fond as the traders are of their money, they thought that circumstances required them to submit to the imposition, and the money was paid. At this time our caravan was reduced to about twenty camels; many of the lesser traders, in order to elude the payment of passage-money, having already preceded us, and passed during the night through the desert to the east of Ras el Wady; others, who had no camels to mount, had engaged a man of Goz to conduct them by night along a perilous path by the side of the river, and they joined us again beyond the territory of Mek Hamze.

At a short distance from the hamlets, we came to a great number of new tombstones, in the desert, the melancholy proofs of the terrible ravages of the small-pox. According to the Nubian custom, and which I had already observed in the Berábera country, every tomb was covered with white pebbles, and pieces of quartz. The plain of the eastern desert is here interrupted by several sandy and gravelly hillocks. At the end of four hours, after passing through a wood of acacia trees, we reached the river Mogren (مُقرن), not Mareb, as Bruce writes it, a name quite unknown here. After descending a high bank, we passed for at least a mile, over deep sands in the bed of the river, and then came to a pool of stagnant water, about twenty paces broad, where the water reached up to the ankle: in many places there were similar pools, but no where any running stream. I estimated the height of the banks at thirty feet, and I observed the high-water marks to be about twenty feet from the bottom, from whence it is evident that this river can never inundate the adjacent country; indeed this fact was confirmed by my companions, who told me that during the time of high-water they pass the river in a boat brought from Damer for the purpose, and that they had never seen the country on either side of the river inundated, except by the waters of the Nile. The verdant banks of the Mogren, covered with fresh herbage and tamarisk bushes, afforded a delightful scene, which I was permitted to enjoy for a full hour, as many of the camels, in ascending the steep banks on the south side of the river, stumbled, and threw their loads, thus occasioning a delay.

The Mogren forms the boundary between the territories of Ras el Wady and Damer. On its southern banks several water-wheels were at work, drawing up the water from some of the pools. The regular distribution of the fields, and the small channels for irrigation, shewed that agriculture is here more attended to than in the districts we had passed. The banks of the Mogren, for about two days journey above its confluence with the Nile, are inhabited by the Arabs, or Bedouins Djaalein (جاعلين); they are quite independent, and their tribes are widely spread over these countries as high as Sennaar. They are the strongest Arab tribe in this neighbourhood; they cultivate some Dhourra fields on the banks of the river, and feed many cattle.

After passing the Mogren, we rode across a sandy barren plain, overgrown with Oshour, of which I saw trees twenty feet high, and then re-entered upon the arable soil, where we were met by some of the Shikhs of Damer, whom our advanced party had despatched to meet us, and to serve as an escort against the robberies of the Djaaleins, several of whose horsemen were seen hovering about, at a little distance from the caravan, with evidently bad intentions. At the end of six hours, and after sun-set, we entered Damer (دامر), a place of considerable note and reputation in this part of the world, and whose inhabitants, I was glad to find, are of a much better disposition than their neighbours of Berber. Having now joined the Ababdes of our caravan, I accompanied them to the house where they took up their quarters. We entered the dwelling of a Dóngola merchant, an old friend of my companions; he happened to be absent, but his wife gave us a kind reception, and cleaned two rooms in her court-yard, where the goods and baggage were deposited. We found here some Kordofan merchants, who had just come from Dóngola, by way of Shendy, and who gave us the latest news concerning the Mamelouks.

At Damer, from 10th to 15th April. Damer is a large village or town,i[18] containing about five hundred houses. It is clean, and much neater than Berber, having many new buildings, and no ruins. The houses are built with some uniformity, in regular streets, and shady trees are met with in several places. It is inhabited by the Arab tribe of Medja-ydin (مجايدين), who trace their origin from Arabia; the greater part of them are Fokara, or religious men. They have no Shikh, but a high pontiff, called El Faky el Kebir (the great Faky), who is their real chief, and decides all matters in dispute. The family of Medjdoule, in whom this office is established, has the reputation of producing necromancers, or persons endowed with supernatural powers, from whom nothing remains hidden, and whose spells nothing can withstand. Innumerable stories are related of their magic powers, of which the following is a specimen: Abdallah, the father of the present Faky, caused a lamb to bleat in the stomach of the thief who had stolen, and afterwards eaten it. The Faky is resorted to in all cases where property is stolen, and as every body entertains the greatest terror of his supposed omniscience, it is generally an easy task with him to perform wonders. If I am not mistaken, the office of the great Faky is hereditary; of course it is essential that the successor should be a shrewd man, and well instructed in the Mussulman law, these being absolutely necessary to enable him to act his part. The great Shikh, however, is not the only person in the place who possesses magical powers; there are many Fakys of less note, who enjoy a similar credit, in proportion always to their sanctity and learning, and thus the whole town of Damer has acquired great reputation. Here are several schools, to which young men repair from Darfour, Sennaar, Kordofan, and other parts of Soudan, in order to acquire a proficiency in the law, sufficient to enable them to make a figure as great Fakys in their own countries. The learned men of Damer have many books, but they treat exclusively of religious and judicial subjects. Amongst others, I saw a copy of the Koran worth at least four hundred piasters, and a complete copy of Bochari’s Commentaries upon the Koran, worth double that sum, at the Cairo book-market. These books are brought from Cairo by the young Fakys of Damer themselves, many of whom go to study there in the mosque El Azher, or in the great mosque at Mekka, where they remain for three or four years, living during that time principally upon alms and stipends. In the schools at Damer they teach the true reading of the Koran, and deliver lectures on the Tefsyn (explanations of the Koran), and on the Touhyd, or the nature of God, and his divine attributes. They have a large well built mosque, but without a minaret; it rests upon arches built of bricks, and the floor is covered with fine sand. This is the coolest spot in Damer, and much resorted to by strangers to pass a few hours in sleep after the mid-day prayers. Around an open place adjoining the mosque are a number of school-rooms. Many Fakys have small chapels near their own houses, but the Friday’s prayers are always performed in the great mosque. The chief Fakys live with great ostentation of sanctity, and the Faky el Kebír leads the life of a hermit; he occupies a small building in the midst of a large square in the town. One part of this building is a chapel, and the other a room about twelve feet square, in which he constantly resides day and night, without any attendants, and separated from his own family. He lives upon what his friends or disciples send him for breakfast and supper. About three o’clock in the afternoon he quits his chamber, after having been shut up all the morning, occupied in reading, and takes his seat upon a large stone bench before the building. He is here joined by all his fraternity, and business is then transacted until long after sun-set. I went once to kiss his hands, and found him a venerable figure, entirely wrapped up in a white cloke. He asked me from whence I came, in what school I had learnt to read, and what books I had read; and he seemed satisfied with my answers. Near him sat a Moggrebyn Shikh, a native of Mekinéz, who had come from Mekka, to serve as his scribe, and who transacted all the public business. I was told that this person had found means to amass a large sum of money.

The affairs of this little hierarchical state appear to be conducted with great prudence. All its neighbours testify much respect for the Fakys; the treacherous Bisharein even, are so completely kept in awe by them, that they have never been known to hurt any of the people of Damer when travelling from thence across the mountains to Souakin. They particularly fear the power of the Fakys to deprive them of rain, and thus to cause the death of their flocks. Caravans pass occasionally from Damer to Souakin, for many of the Fakys are traders. On the outside of the town we found encampments of Bisharein, and Djaalein, who had come to sell their sheep. There are several public wells in the town, as well as at some distance along the roads leading to it.

The principal trade of Damer is with Dóngola and Shendy; with Berber there is little intercourse, except by means of the Egyptian caravans passing that way. There is a manufacture of coarse cotton stuffs in imitation of the Dammour of Sennaar, and most of the articles of the Egyptian trade are found in the warehouses of the Damer merchants. There is no Souk, or daily market, but there is a weekly one, in which every merchant exposes his goods; the sales of cattle are said to be considerable, and the Damer mats, made of Doum leaves, are greatly in demand throughout the neighbouring country. In places like Damer, where there is no daily market, and where nothing whatever is sold publicly except on the weekly market day, the traveller finds it very troublesome to buy the articles of small value which he may be in need of. I wanted a few measures of Dhourra for my ass, but there being no metal currency less than a dollar, which would have purchased a larger quantity than I could have carried with me, I was under the necessity of imitating my companions, and went from house to house with some strings of beads in my hands, offering them for sale at about four handfuls of Dhourra for each bead. I gained at this rate about sixty per cent. above the prime cost, and had at the same time an opportunity of entering many private houses. I was somewhat surprised to find that, notwithstanding the austerity of the Fakys, a great number of Bouza shops, and houses of debauchery, were established all over the town. I repeated these walks every day during our stay at Damer. One afternoon, while crying my beads for sale, I was accosted by a Faky, who asked me if I could read. On answering in the affirmative, he desired me to follow him to a place where, he said, I might expect to get a good dinner. He then led me to a house where I found a great number of people collected to celebrate the memory of some relative lately deceased. Several Fakys were reading the Koran in a low tone of voice. A great Faky afterwards came in, whose arrival was the signal for reciting the Koran in loud songs, in the manner customary in the east, in which I joined them. This was continued for about half an hour, until dinner was brought in, which was very plentiful, as a cow had been killed upon the occasion. After a hearty meal, we recommenced our reading. One of the Shikhs produced a basket full of white pebbles, over which several prayers were read. These pebbles were destined to be strewed over the tomb of the deceased in the manner which I had often observed upon tombs freshly made. Upon my enquiries concerning this custom, which I confessed to have never before seen practised in any Mohammedan country, the Faky answered that it was a mere meritorious action, that there was no absolute necessity for it, but that it was thought that the soul of the deceased, when hereafter visiting the tomb, might be glad to find these pebbles, in order to use them as beads in addressing its prayers to the Creator.i[19] When the reading was over, the women began to sing and howl. I then left the room, and on taking my departure my kind host put some bones of roasted meat in my hand, to serve for my supper.

The ladies of Damer adorn their sitting rooms with a number of large wooden bowls or dishes hung against the walls like so many pictures. The floor is covered with fine mats of various designs and colours, for the art of dying the Doum leaves appears to be known here. I have likewise seen ostrich eggs, and black ostrich feathers put up as ornaments on the wall, over the door.

On the west bank of the river, opposite the town, is a small village, called Damer el Gharby (دامر الغربي), or the Western Damer. The communication between the two places is kept up by ferry-boats, of the rudest workmanship, consisting merely of the excavated trunk of a large Nebek tree.

The cultivation of the soil is much more attended to at Damer, than in any other place from Dóngola to Shendy. Artificial irrigation is carried on by numerous water-wheels, turned by cows, like those used in Egypt; this custom enables the cultivators to obtain two crops every year. Damer suffered less during the last famine than any of the neighbouring countries; but great numbers died of the small-pox. The principal produce of the soil is Dhourra; some wheat is sown, but not for exportation; it serves only for the private consumption of the great Fakys, who have learnt the use of this luxury in Egypt. Some Bamyes are cultivated, and a considerable quantity of red pepper (Sheteyta شطيطه). Of the latter a part is exported, and the people are immoderately fond of it for the seasoning of their dishes. The district produces cotton plentifully, and a little tobacco of the worst kind, for the Bisharye market. The Fakys themselves never smoke. I thought the cattle looked finer and better fed than those of Berber. Few horses are kept, but asses are numerous. Our traders bought some camels, and disposed of some of their merchandize. No passage duties are paid to the Fakys, whose principal income arises from agriculture and trade. This is the reason why Damer flourishes, caravans being never averse from staying here a few days. Our landlord was very reasonable in his demands, and our whole party, myself included, left the town well satisfied with its inhabitants. The Ababde sent some loaves of sugar to the Faky el Kebír, but quite as a voluntary donation.

April 15th. We set out early in the morning, being accompanied by two Fakys, who were to serve as guards as far as the limits of the country of Shendy. The road is dangerous, and the inhabitants upon it are robbers; but such is the fear entertained of the Fakys of Damer, that the mere sight of them marching unarmed at the head of the caravan was sufficient to inspire the country people with the greatest respect; they often came, as we passed along, to kiss the Fakys hands, and then retired. It would require an armed force to pass here, without the aid of some of these religious men. Caravans from the south halt on the northern frontier of Shendy, until a Faky arrives from Damer to accompany them.

Our companions were all under great apprehensions, in setting out from Damer, notwithstanding the presence of our guides. We kept close together, lest any stragglers should be cut off in the woods through which the road lies. I carried my gun in my hand, which I knew would frighten a host of robbers, but, according to my constant practice in travelling, I did not think it necessary to load it. The principal of the Daraou traders rode up to me, and knowing the gun to be unloaded, ordered me, in a very peremptory tone, to put in a ball; upon my refusing a sharp dispute arose; he called me at last a cowardly rascal (معرّص خّواق), who was unworthy of wearing arms; “that may be true,” I replied, “but I am at least accustomed to wear them, while you peasants find a stick or a scithe more suited to your hands than a sword.” His pride was so much hurt by this reply, that he struck me a blow with his stick across the shoulders which almost levelled me to the ground; I warded off a second blow with my gun, and was going to return it with the butt end, when our companions leapt in between us, and wrested the gun from me, which, after a moment’s reflection, I was glad of, for if I had struck the man, I should have wounded him, and it would then have become a serious business. I vented my anger in heavy curses upon my aggressor, who was blamed by every body, and especially by the Ababdes, who declared that they would resent any further insult offered to me. The bustle which this affair occasioned, together with our fears of robbers, which did not permit me to quit the caravan, prevented me from taking my notes as fully as usual. On leaving Damer we entered a wood of Sellam trees, and continued our route at a little distance from the arable ground. Near the river we saw several small villages and hamlets, among clusters of Doum trees; they are inhabited by the Arabs Mekaberab (مكابراب),i[20] who were formerly tributary to the chiefs of Shendy, but who have long since asserted their freedom, and now live partly upon the produce of their fields, and partly by robbery; they are at war with all their neighbours, and having acquired a reputation for superior valour, are much dreaded by them. Travellers unaccompanied by one or more Fakys from Damer, are sure of being stripped by them.

At the end of six hours from Damer we quitted the valley of the Nile, and made a short cut over sand hills, which brought us, after a march of nine hours, to Hawaya (حوايه), a village which forms at present the northern frontier of the territory of Shendy. Shendy extends de jure as far as the river Mogren, including Damer; but we have already seen that the Fokaha of Damer are quite independent. It was a beautiful evening, after a very hot day; and we all went to bathe in the river, the bed of which, near the shore, I found covered with pebbles. We encamped in an open square in the midst of the village, and understanding it to be a safe place, I took some beads to exchange for bread in the village. After a long and fruitless search, I was met by some men who invited me to go home with them, saying that their wives would take the beads. I followed them, until we reached a narrow unfrequented lane, when they turned short upon me, snatched away the beads, tore off my cap, and then finding that unarmed as I was I still made some resistance, they drew their swords. I now took to my heels, and rejoined my companions, who laughed at my misfortunes. They advised me to go to the Shikh of the village, who, they said, would find out the robbers. I met with the Shikh late at night in a Bouza hut, surrounded by a drunken party. Having described the persons of the thieves, the beads and cap were soon discovered, and returned to me. The Shikh then insisted upon my taking a merry cup with him, and, upon my refusal, he accompanied me back to our people, when I was at last obliged to pay him, as a compliment, twice the value of the stolen goods. I mention this anecdote to show how small a chance a single traveller has of passing through this country without being stripped.

April 16th. After a march of four hours from Hawaya we came to the village of Gabaty (قباتي). Here, as in the higher parts of Upper Egypt, all the larger villages are built on the declivity of the hills of the desert, and at some distance from the soil cultivated by their inhabitants. At Gabaty I saw a very uncommon building, which covered the tomb of a saint; it is in the form of a

well rounded cone, about thirty feet in height, resting upon a square substructure five or six feet high, in which is a low door. The whole is built of sun-burnt bricks. I found the entrance shut, and was told that it was opened on Fridays only. At a distance this tomb had the exact appearance of a pyramid, and I could not help thinking that such buildings might have been used as sepulchres from the earliest times by the Ethiopians, and might have given origin to the stupendous tombs of Memphis. I observed a similar but smaller structure at Shendy, but I met with them nowhere else, although every village of note has some tombs of revered saints or Shikhs.

Beyond Gabaty we rode alternately through the arable plain, and the sandy hills. The former, where it is broadest, appears to be about four miles in breadth, from the hills to the river. The harvest had long been collected, but we saw the whole plain still full of Dhourra stalks, not thickly crowded together as in Egypt, but at wide intervals asunder, evidently shewing a great neglect of cultivation. In the fields are many Nebek trees, and the borders of the desert are everywhere overgrown with Oshour. We passed several hamlets in the hills on our left; and at the end of ten hours, late in the evening, reached Djebail (جبيل), a large village in the hills, with several small mosques, and good buildings. It is governed by a relative of the Mek of Shendy, whose district extends as far as Hawaya. We encamped upon a piece of open ground at the back of the village. After we had retired to rest we were awakened by the servants of the principal Faky of the place, who sent us a plentiful supper. During this day’s march we often met passengers on the road, riding, for the most part, upon asses, and also a small caravan from Shendy, on its way to Berber. I observed several ancient dikes of earth, without any appearance of stone or brick in them, and many canals for the purpose of irrigating the plain, which were almost filled up with earth, and of little or no use. Near Djebail begins a chain of mountains of sandstone, running southwards, parallel with the river.

April 17th. At the end of two hours from Djebail, in crossing the arable soil, we passed low mounds consisting of rubbish, and red burnt bricks; they were about eighty paces in length, and extended quite across the arable soil, for at least one mile eastwards, turning, as I thought, towards their extremity, a little more to the south. The bricks are of a very rude make, much coarser than those now in use in Egypt. The mounds have the appearance of having served as a wall, although but little remains by which to form a judgment. Both on the northern and southern side we passed some foundations of buildings, of moderate size, constructed of hewn stones. These were the only remains of antiquity I could discover; nor could I see any stones scattered amongst the mounds of rubbish, as far, at least, as my sight could reach. A closer examination might, perhaps, have led to some more interesting discoveries, but I was in the company of the caravan, and had the wonders of Thebes been placed on the road, I should not have been able to examine them. At the end of three hours we came to Dawa (داوه), a small village. The hills here take a direction more to the east, and leave a plain of at least ten miles in breadth, luxuriantly covered with wild plants, mixed with all the species of the thorny acacias, and where are a great number of dispersed huts and hamlets. The Arabs Djaalein here pasture their numerous herds of cows, camels, and sheep. They have also a few water-wheels, and grow considerable quantities of onions, with which they supply the Shendy market. Their huts are made of mats; I entered several of them, but could not get a drop of milk without paying for it in Dhourra. The road across the plain was much entangled with weeds, and overhanging branches of acacia, which rendered the passage somewhat troublesome to our loaded camels.

We rode for two or three hours in this fertile district, and then entered again upon a sandy plain overgrown with large Syale trees, where we stopped during the noontide hours, on the high banks of the river, and watered our camels. Large flocks of storks passed over our heads to the northward. At the end of seven hours from our setting out in the morning we reached the extremity of the sandy plain, where commences a tract called Boeydha (بويضه), less extensive, but equally fertile with the plain preceding. It contains many small hamlets, in which the houses consist generally of one room only, serving for all purposes. Here are the salt-works which supply the whole country as far as Sennaar with salt. The earth, which for several miles round is strongly impregnated with salt, is collected by the Arabs in heaps upon the side of the road. The salt is separated from the earth by boiling in large earthen vessels, and the saline part is then boiled a second time, in smaller vessels. The salt is afterwards formed into small round cakes about a foot in diameter, and three inches in thickness; it is perfectly white, and has much the appearance of rock salt. About a dozen cakes are packed together in a basket; four baskets make a camel’s load. This salt constitutes a considerable branch of the Shendy trade. The Sennaar merchants buy it in great quantities for the Abyssinian markets, and exchange it in the mountains about Ras el Fil, for slaves and gold. The works are the property of the Mek of Shendy: there were about twenty boilers on the fire when I passed.

Just beyond the plain of Boeydha, where the road again enters a barren sandy desert, stands a tall date-tree, the only one of its species met with hereabouts, for no dates are grown anywhere from Dóngola to Sennaar. The merchants hail this tree as a beacon which marks the successful termination of their journey. Several people of Shendy were waiting for us, to salute their acquaintances, and take a look at the loads. As traders never enter Shendy in the day time, we halted till sun-set, and then proceeded slowly towards the town, which we reached after about nine hours march from our departure from Djebail.

At Shendy from April 17th to May 17th. We entered a large house belonging to the friends of the Ababdes, situated on the skirts of the town, towards the desert; but the next morning the Mek sent one of his slaves to tell us, that he wanted that house himself for one of his Abyssinian female slaves, who was to be inoculated with the small-pox, and whom he wished to pass the time of her illness in an open, airy, and insulated place. He ordered a house to be prepared for us in the middle of the town, and we took possession of it the next day; the owner was absent, but his wife gave us a civil reception.

Next to Sennaar, and Cobbé (in Darfour), Shendy is the largest town in eastern Soudan, and larger, according to the report of the merchants, than the capitals of Dóngola and of Kordofan. It consists of several quarters, divided from each other by public places, or markets, and it contains altogether from eight hundred to a thousand houses. It is built upon the sandy plain, at about half an hour’s walk from the river; its houses are similar to those of Berber; but it contains a greater number of large buildings, and fewer ruins. The houses seldom form any regular street, but are spread over the plain in great disorder. I nowhere saw any walls of burnt bricks. The houses of the chief, and those of his relatives, contain court-yards twenty feet square, inclosed by high walls, and this is the general description of the habitations of Shendy. The government is in the hands of the Mek; the name of the present chief is Nimr (نِمر), i. e. Tiger. The reigning family is of the same tribe as that which now occupies the throne of Sennaar, namely the Wold Adjib(ولد عجيب), which, as far as I could understand, is a branch of the Funnye. The father of Nimr was an Arab of the tribe of Djaalein, but his mother was of the royal blood of Wold Adjib; and thus it appears that women have a right to the succession. This agrees with the narrative of Bruce, who found at Shendy a woman upon the throne, whom he calls Sittina (an Arabic word meaning our Lady). The Mek of Shendy, like the Mek of Berber, is subject to Sennaar; but, excepting the purchase money paid for his government, on his accession, and occasional presents to the king and vizieri[21] of Sennaar, he is entirely independent, and governs his district, which extends about two days journeys farther to the south, quite at his own pleasure.

Before the arrival of the Mamelouks in Dóngola Mek Nimr had been for many years in continual warfare with the Arabs Sheygya, who had killed several of his relatives in battle, and, by making inroads into his dominions with large parties of horsemen, had repeatedly laid waste the whole western bank of the river. The Sheygya made peace with him, in order more effectually to oppose the Mamelouks, when his own brother, to whom the command of the western bank had been entrusted, declared against him, and they have now carried on war for several years, with little success or loss on either side, as they are separated from each other by the river, and can never pass it but in small parties.

The government of Shendy is much to be preferred to that of Berber: the full authority of the Mek is not thwarted by the influence of powerful families, which in these countries tends only to insecurity, nor has he adopted that system of rapacity which makes Berber so justly dreaded by strangers. His absolute power is owing to the diversity of Arab tribes inhabiting Shendy, none of which is strong enough to cope with his own family and its numerous branches. The largest of these tribes are the Nimrab, Nayfab, and Djaalein, the greater part of whom still lead the Bedouin life. The most respectable class of the inhabitants of Shendy are the merchants, amongst whom are great numbers of foreign settlers from Sennaar, Kordofan, Darfour, and Dóngola: the last are the most numerous, and they occupy an entire quarter of the town, but their nation is less esteemed than any other. They are reproached with inhospitality, and their avarice has become proverbial; the broker business, which is almost exclusively in their hands, has added to the odium of their name, so that an Arab of Shendy considers it as an insult to be called a Dongoláwy, a name here considered as equivalent to that of Jew in Europe.

Commerce flourishes at Shendy because the Mek does not extort any taxes from the merchants, which many people assured me he dared not do from his fear of the vizier of Sennaar. I am not able to judge how far this may be true; but the fact is, that caravans pay nothing whatever by way of duty; they generally make up a small present to the Mek, in order to enjoy his particular protection, and add something further for one of his brothers, who is a principal man in the place. Our party of Ababdes sent him a small parcel of soap and sugar, of which my quota amounted to half a dollar. I did not hear of any subordinate offices in the government of Shendy, and the Mek seems to unite all the branches of authority in his own person. His relatives are the governors of villages; and his court consists of half a dozen police officers, a writer, an Imam, a treasurer, and a body guard, formed principally of slaves. The character of the people is much the same as that of the inhabitants of Berber. They are kept in some order, it is true, by the Mek; but wickedness and injustice govern all their conduct, for they know that the law can do little more than endeavour to prevent crimes, and that it very seldom punishes them. Nightly robbers, drunken people who have assaulted strangers, thieves detected in the market, &c. &c. are often carried before the Mek, but he is generally satisfied with imprisoning them for two or three days; and I did not hear a single instance of his having ordered any person to be put to death, or even flogged, although such crimes as I have mentioned were committed daily during my stay at Shendy. The delinquents were permitted to return quietly to their homes, on paying a small fine to the Mek and his people. I was told that at Kordofan thieves are always punished with death.

Debauchery and drunkenness are as fashionable here as at Berber; the latter, I think, is even more common. No night passed without my hearing the loud songs of some Bouza meeting, though our quarter, that of the Dongoláwy, who are too avaricious to be addicted to these vices, was one of the quietest. At Berber public women were constantly seen in the street; at Shendy I very seldom met any of them, though within the inclosures of the houses they are almost as numerous as at Berber.

The dress, habits, and manners of the inhabitants of Shendy are the same as those of the places last described, and appear to prevail as far as Darfour, and Sennaar. I observed more well dressed people at Shendy than at Berber, and clean linen was much oftener seen. Gold being a very current article in the Shendy market, the women have more frequently golden rings at their noses and ears than those of Berber; the people also possess more wealth. It is not uncommon to see a family possessed of a dozen slaves, acting as servants in the house, and labourers in the field.

The people of Shendy, like those of Berber, are shepherds, traders, and husbandmen. Agriculture, however, seems to be little thought of by the inhabitants themselves, being chiefly left to the Arab peasants of the vicinity; the cultivable soil in the neighbourhood of the city is narrow; but to the north and south of it are some fine arable plains. Water-wheels are common; they are erected generally on those parts of the high banks, which the most copious inundations of the river cannot overflow; by means of them the cultivators raise one winter crop; but they are too lazy to bestow the labour necessary for watering the soil a second or third time, as is done in the most elevated parts of Upper Egypt, where also the river very seldom rises high enough to overflow the banks. Dhourra is the chief produce; Dokhen and wheat are sown in small quantities, the former for the consumption of the western traders who visit Shendy, the latter almost exclusively for the families of the great. Large quantities of onions, some red pepper (brought from Kordofan), Bamyes, chick-peas (حُمّص), Meloukhye, and Tormos,i[22] are always found in the market either green or dried. During the inundation some water-melons and cucumbers are sown, but for the use only of the Harem of the Mek.

The cattle is very fine; and the inhabitants say that their size and quality continue to increase, in proportion as you ascend the river. I saw no domestic animals that are not common in Egypt. Elephants are first met with at Abou Heraze, two or three days to the north of Sennaar; and they have never been known to pass to the northward of that district, which is bounded by a chain of mountains six or eight hours in breadth, reaching close to the river. I was told that tigers are frequently seen in the Wadys east of Shendy. In the mountains of Dender, a district towards the Atbara, and six or eight journies south-east of Shendy, the giraffa is found (Arabic, Zerafa, ظرافه, i. e. the elegant). It is hunted by the Arabs Shukorein and Kowahel, and is highly prized for its skin, of which the strongest bucklers are made. I frequently saw mountain-goats of the largest size brought to the market of Shendy; they have long horns bending to the middle of the back; their flesh is esteemed a great dainty. They call them Areal (آريَل), a name given in Syria to the red deer. In Upper Egypt they are called Teytal (تيتل), and in Syria Beden (بَدَن). They are caught by the Djaalein Bedouins in nooses, in the same manner as they catch ostriches, which are also very common in this neighbourhood. The ostrich-feathers however are inferior to those of the western deserts. Those most esteemed in Egypt are from Kordofan and Darfour, which the caravans from the latter place bring to Siout. The Djaalein peasants bring the feathers to the market in bundles, good and bad together, and exchange them for Dhourra. Their price, when I was at Shendy, was about one-tenth of what they would bring at Cairo, where the best kinds, in 1812, sold at two hundred and eighty piastres per pound. The Pasha of Egypt has lately included them among the articles monopolised by himi[23].

The hippopotamus (in Arabic Farass el Bahhr, فَرَص البحر, or Barnick, برنيق), is not common at Shendy, though it occasionally makes its appearance there; during my stay there was one in the river in the vicinity of Boeydha, which made great ravages in the fields. It never rose above water in the day-time, but came on shore in the night, and destroyed as much by the treading of its enormous feet, as it did by its voracity; the people have no means of killing them. At Sennaar, where hippopotami are numerous, they are caught in trenches, slightly covered with reeds, into which they fall during their nightly excursions. It is generally said that no musket ball can bring them to the ground, unless they are hit in the vulnerable spot, which is over the ear. The whips called Korbadj (كرباج), which are formed of their skins, are made at Sennaar, and on the Nile, above that place, immediately after being taken off, the skin is cut into narrow strips, about five or six feet in length, gradually tapering to a point: each strip is then rolled up, so that the edges unite, and form a pipe, in which state it is tied fast and left to dry in the sun. In order to render these whips pliable, they must be rubbed with butter or grease. At Shendy they are sold at the rate of twelve or sixteen for a Spanish dollar; in Egypt, where they are in general use, and the dread of every servant and peasant, they are worth from half a dollar, to a dollar each. In colder climates, even in Syria, they become brittle, crack, and lose their elasticity.

Crocodiles are very numerous about Shendy. I have generally remarked that these animals inhabit particular parts of the Nile, from whence they seldom appear to move; thus, in Lower Egypt, they have entirely disappeared, although no reasonable cause can be assigned for their not descending the river. In Upper Egypt, the neighbourhood of Akhmim, Dendera, Orment, and Edfou, are at present the favourite haunts of the crocodile, while few are ever seen in the intermediate parts of the river. The same is the case in different parts of Nubia towards Dóngola. At Berber nobody is afraid of encountering crocodiles in the river, and we bathed there very often, swimming out into the midst of the stream. At Shendy, on the contrary, they are greatly dreaded; the Arabs and the slaves and females, who repair to the shore of the river near the town every morning and evening to wash their linen, and fill their water-skins for the supply of the town, are obliged to be continually on the alert, and such as bathe take care not to proceed to any great distance into the river. I was several times present when a crocodile made its appearance, and witnessed the terror it inspired; the crowd all quickly retiring up the beach. During my stay at Shendy a man who had been advised to bathe in the river, after having escaped the small-pox, was seized and killed by one of these animals. At Sennaar crocodiles are often brought to market, and their flesh is publicly sold there. I once tasted some of the meat at Esne, in Upper Egypt; it is of a dirty white colour, not unlike young veal, with a slight fishy smell; the animal had been caught by some fishermen in a strong net, and was above twelve feet in length. The Governor of Esne ordered it to be brought into his court yard, where more than an hundred balls were fired against it without effect, till it was thrown upon its back, and the contents of a small swivel discharged at its belly, the skin of which is much softer than that of the back. Fish are very seldom caught by the Arabs of Shendy. Nets appear to be unknown, but children often amuse themselves in angling with hooked nails.

The produce of the fields of Shendy and its neighbourhood is not sufficient for the supply of the population, the wants of which are much increased by the continual arrival of caravans. Dhourra is imported principally from Abou Heraze, in the route to Sennaar. A caravan of more than three hundred camels arrived from thence with Dhourra during my stay at Shendy, and the price, which, on our arrival, was at the rate of one dollar for twelve measures, fell to twenty measures per dollar. The price of grain varies almost daily, the market being affected by the arrival of every caravan of traders, who always buy up a considerable quantity for the food of the slaves and camels. The Mek also monopolizes the corn-trade as much as he can. At Abou Heraze and Sennaar, Dhourra is said to be in great plenty; forty measures being sold for a dollar. This grain is of the same shape and size as that of Shendy and Upper Egypt; but it is of an ash gray colour; it is said to be less nourishing, and of course is less esteemed than the other.

Horses are more numerous here than at Berber. The Mek, it is said, can raise within Shendy itself from two to three hundred horsemen. According to the custom of the Eastern Arabs, the Djaalein Bedouins ride mares in preference to stallions; but the latter are preferred by the inhabitants of the town. The Mek’s brother, Ras Saad ed Dyn (سعد الدين), had a horse for which he had given in the southern districts thirteen slaves; it surpassed in beauty any other horse I ever remember to have seen. At a public festival on the occasion of the circumcision of one of Mek Nimr’s sons, all the horsemen of Shendy met, and accompanied the family of the chief through the town, their horses prancing about. They appeared to me but very indifferent horsemen; none attempted any of the manœuvres for which the Mamelouks are so famous; they contented themselves with gallopping backwards and forwards; nor did I see one bold rider amongst them. It is in this cavalry, however, that the Mek places his chief strength, and it decides the fate of all the battles he is obliged to fight with his enemies. The saddles, and bridles, as well as the stirrups, in which they place the great toe only, are the same as those used at Berber and by the Arabs Sheygya, who appear to be as celebrated for their horsemanship in this country as the Mamelouks once were in Turkey. Mek Nimr has about twenty firelocks, which he has either bought or taken from Egyptian traders; with these he arms his favourite slaves, but few of them have courage sufficient to fire them off, and there are none who dare take an aim by placing the gun against the shoulder. The sight of it alone generally frightens the enemy, and so far it fully answers their purpose, for it is always the wish of both parties to finish the battle with as little bloodshed as possible, because the law of retaliation is in full force amongst these Arabs. Several of Mek Nimr’s musquets are either broken, or so much rusted, as to make them unserviceable, and nobody could be found to clean and mend them. Having been seen one day cleaning my gun, I was supposed to be skilful in this art, and serious proposals were made to me, to enter into the Mek’s service as gunsmith. He offered me one male and two female slaves, and as much Dhourra as I might want for their maintenance; and it was with difficulty that I could persuade the slaves who made me the proposal in the name of their master, that I knew nothing of the business of a gunsmith. Travellers in these countries ought to avoid shewing their capacity in the most trifling things that may be of use or afford pleasure to the chiefs, who will endeavour to force them into their service. Not having succeeded in prevailing upon me to remain, the Mek wished at least to have my gun. He sent for it, and kept it for several days; and upon my urgent entreaties to have it returned to me, he sent me four Spanish dollars, ordering his slaves at the same time to carry me several dishes of bread and meat from his own kitchen. Upon complaining to some of the inhabitants of this treatment, they replied, that having now eaten of the Mek’s food I had become his friend, and that it would therefore be a disgrace to me to make any difficulty in parting with my gun. I was very sorry to lose it, especially when I considered in what countries I still intended to travel; but in my present circumstances four dollars were not to be despised. Seeing no chance therefore of either getting back my gun, or obtaining a higher price for it, I accepted the Mek’s four dollars with many professions of thanks.

It will appear very singular that fire-arms are not more frequently met with here, as they may so easily be imported. But the fact is, that traders are afraid to carry them, lest they should excite the cupidity of some or other of the chiefs; and it is not to be supposed, that until they are more numerous, they can be taken to market like other goods, or be paid for at a regular price. To the country people, who seldom visit the towns where traders make any stay, a musquet is an object of the greatest terror, and will frighten away dozens of them. A Djaalein Arab, who had some ostrich feathers to sell, came one day to the house where I lodged, to barter with my companions for his feathers. The moment he espied my gun standing in the corner of the room, he got up, and desired it might be removed, for that he did not like to remain near so deadly an instrument.

The envoy whom the Pasha of Egypt sent to Sennaar, related, upon his return, that the king exhibited one day a review of cavalry before him, when the envoy desired to be permitted to shew the Turkish artillery exercise, he having with him two small field-pieces mounted on camels, and three soldiers. When they began to fire, the greater part of the people fled, and many threw themselves on the ground, crying out for help. I never saw a man of these countries who dared touch my gun, unless he had been either in Egypt or Arabia; and the young men belonging to our caravan frequently got rid of troublesome visitors by laying hold of it, and saying that they were going to fire it off. If such is the case in this part of the continent, which has so much intercourse with the Turkish dominions, what must be the degree of surprise and terror upon first witnessing the effect of fire-arms among the people farther removed in the interior, where such instruments have never been seen, and scarcely heard of. This is one of the reasons which lead me to believe that with prudence and perseverance a very small body of European soldiers might make their way across these countries without opposition. Three hundred, for instance, well inured to a tropical climate, might, I am persuaded, penetrate very far into Eastern Africa. From Assouan to Sennaar they certainly would have little to apprehend. If 250 miserable Mamelouks conquered and kept possession of Dóngola, against the joint efforts of the Dongoláwy and the Sheygya, a body of experienced Europeans could not have much to fear from these Africans, divided as they are into small principalities, which possess no union among one another. The difficulties arising from fatigue, privation, and climate, might be obviated by patience and prudence; by following the banks of the rivers, where provisions and camels may be always procured, and, by selecting salubrious and elevated spots, wherein to pass the rainy season, which moreover has none of those dreadful effects experienced in the western countries of Africa. Single individuals attempting to make discoveries in the interior of this continent, through districts unfrequented by northern traders, will, I fear, always fall victims to their zeal and honourable ambition; and if the sources of the Bahr el Abyadh are ever to be discovered, it must be by an armed force. England has, by her different voyages of discovery, and her missions to explore distant countries, far surpassed all the nations of Europe: and a successful expedition through the interior of the African continent is alone wanting to render her triumph complete.

Shendy has a daily, and one large weekly market, which is frequented by all the surrounding Arabs. The common currency is the same as that at Berber, viz. Dhourra and Dammour. Slaves and camels are generally bought with dollars, or whole parties of slaves are bartered for Egyptian and Souakin merchandize. Of dollars those only are current that are coined in Spain. They are called Abou Medfaa (ابو مدفع), from having the supposed figure of a gun on the reverse, or Abou Amoud (ابو عمود), from the columns: none pass current but those with the inscription Carolus IIII., which they term Reyal Abou Areyaa (ريال ابو اريع), and these numerals, or lines, must be visible upon the dollar to make it pass at its full value. They say that the dollars with Carolus III. must be of less value, because they have only three lines, whence they are estimated at one-sixth below the real value. Those coined under the Ferdinands lose one-third. Austrian dollars are not taken at all. During my stay at Shendy, I found a blacksmith secretly employed in adding an I to the dollars of Charles III., for which he received two measures of Dhourra per dollar. This distinction of the numerals, it is said, was first made by the Bedouins; as it is now known amongst the merchants, little inconvenience arises from it. Gold coins have no currency; but pure gold, in small pieces, or lumps, or ear-rings, can always be procured from the Sennaar merchants at the market price. I never saw any gold dust in the possession of the traders during the whole of my journeys. The Mamelouks had sent one of their servants to Shendy with Venetian zecchins, and Turkish gold coins, in order to exchange them for dollars; the Egyptians bought them up at half their value, but they afterwards repented of it, when they recollected that they might have employed their dollars in other purchases, which would have returned them more than fifty per cent. profit in Egypt.

The market of Shendy is held upon a wide open space between the two principal quarters of the town. Three rows of small shops built of mud, one behind the other, in the shape of niches, about six feet in length by four feet in depth, and covered by mats, are occupied by the more opulent tradesmen, who carry their goods to their respective shops every morning, and back to their houses in the evening, as these shops have no door by which they can be secured. The other merchants sit upon the ground, under a kind of shed or awning of mats supported by three long poles, which can be turned in all directions, to keep off the sun, so as to afford sufficient shade to the seller and his customers at all times of the day. Similar awnings are in common use in the Hedjaz. The articles usually offered for sale in the daily market are the following:

Butchers Meat. Cows and camels are slaughtered daily for this supply, but sheep very seldom. I did not hear that they were in the habit of emasculating the animals destined for the shambles. The tallow is sold by particular merchants, who wash and cleanse it, in order to make it fit for anointing the hair and skin. Close by the butchers shops are sold pieces of roasted fat, upon which and a little Bouza, the Bedouins of the desert usually dine when they come to the town. The flesh is not weighed, but sold in lots of about two or three pounds weight. Weights, in general, are only met with in the merchants own houses; in the market they use for this purpose stones, by means of which the sellers have often an opportunity of cheating. The pound or rotolo is equal to that of Cairo.

Milk. In the morning both fresh and sour milk is brought in by Bedouin girls, and exchanged for Dhourra; they carry with them small wooden bowls, one of which the buyer fills with the grain, and receives in return three measures of milk; these girls also sell boiled chick-pease and boiled Tormous, both of which are a favourite breakfast, and called Belileh (بِليله). Bread is never sold in the market; but there are many women living in poor huts in different parts of the town, who, for a trifling recompense, immediately grind the Dhourra, and make it into bread. It is an established custom not to eat in the market-place, nor any where in public; it is even considered very indecorous for a person to be seen chewing any food beyond the threshold of his own house: the reason of this is a superstitious notion that a hungry man may observe the eater and may envy the morsels he puts into his mouth; for there is no blessing, they say, or nutriment in food upon which another has cast an envious eye (الطعام المحسود مافيه بَرَكة). It is for the same reason that in the Levant, the meanest peasant never eats his dinner of bread and onions without exclaiming (بِسمللّه) Besmillé, and inviting every one who passes by to partake with him; and he considers it a great favour if a small portion of his loaf is accepted, and as great an insult if his offer is silently refused; he expects, according to the custom of the country, that the person invited should answer him at least with the word Hannyan (هَنّياً prosit), if he does not choose to eat with him. In Turkey, this custom is not observed; and people may often be seen eating in the market places, and before their own houses. I often bought milk early in the morning in the market at Shendy, and then retired into a neighbouring hut, to drink it; but I was obliged to give the woman of the hut a handful of Dhourra for permission to do so.

Tobacco.—Retail dealers in tobacco are met with in every corner of the market; the people are immoderately addicted to the use of it, and esteem it a luxury; they have not, however, the insolent custom of taking the pipes of others, like the people of Berber. The Fokara never smoke. The best tobacco comes from Sennaar, and is called Taba; when dry, it is of a dark green colour, and has much the same taste and appearance as that cultivated in the mountains of Arabia Petræa. Pipes, and pipe-heads of clay, are also imported from Sennaar. Many persons mix natron with the tobacco before they chew it. Snuff is much in use; it is made by reducing the tobacco to a fine powder, and mixing about one-third of natron to given quantities of it. They use for snuff-boxes small cocoa nut shells brought from Sennaar, or very small gourds; like the inhabitants of the Hedjaz, they lay the snuff upon the thumb-nail, and never take it between the finger and thumb. The Souakin merchants take off several camel loads of the tobacco, for the Djedda and Yemen markets. Unlike the Arabs and Turks, the people of these countries spit at every whiff; and they say that he who does not, will never be a hardy bouza drinker. They squirt the spittle through the fore-teeth, a custom I should not have thought worth noticing here, had it not been a habit so totally different from that of all the Musulman smokers I ever saw.

The dealers in tobacco also sell natron, which is brought from Kordofan, whither it is imported from Darfour; and salt, from the salt mines of Boyedha; but this salt is dear, and the poor use as a substitute for it a brine, which they procure by dissolving in hot water lumps of a reddish coloured saline earth, of a bitterish, disagreeable taste, which they purchase from the Bedouins of the eastern desert; it seems to contain ochre and allum. Some of the poorer merchants sell dried Bamyes, red pepper, onions, and Meloukhye.

The grocers and druggists shops are the most frequented of any; there are always half a dozen of them opened, in which are sold cloves (قرنفل), pepper, cardamoms, (حَبّ الحال), and tamarinds, called here Erdeyb (عِرديب), which are brought from Kordofan, in small cakes. The tamarinds are prepared by exposing the pulse together with the beans to the sun until they approach putrefaction, in which state they are kneaded into cakes. The best sort grows to the N. W. and W. of Darfour, between that country and Dar Saleht; but they abound also in the neighbourhood of Kordofan. The people of Shendy dissolve the cakes in hot water, which they drink as a refreshing beverage. Many camel loads of this excellent fruit are carried to Egypt; it is called Tamerhindy (تمرهندي), the date of India, at Cairo, where it is in part imported from the East-Indies. I have seen considerable quantities of it in the hands of the Indian merchants, at Djidda, where it is called Homar (حُمر); but this sort is much cheaper than the other, being loose, not made into cakes, and of an inferior quality. The Tamerhindy tree grows at Mekkai[24] and in different parts of the Hedjaz.

Sandal wood is imported from India, in considerable quantities; it forms one of the ingredients of the perfumed paste with which they rub the skin; and in cases of sickness the patient’s room is perfumed with it by strewing chips of the wood upon burning charcoal. It is sold in pieces about six inches in length. Much of it is carried to Sennaar.

Fenugreek (Helbeh, حلبه) is brought from Egypt, and used by the medical practitioners in this part of the country as a tonic.

The Liban (لبان) is a species of gum, collected by the Bedouin Arabs who inhabit the deserts between Kordofan and Shilluk, on the road to Sennaar. It is said to exude from the stem of a tree in the same manner as gum arabic. It is sold in small thin cakes, is of a dull gray colour, very brittle, and has a strong smell. The country people use it as a perfume, but it is dear. It is much in demand for the inhabitants of Taka, and all the tribes between the Nile and the Red Sea. It is exported to Souakin; the Cairo merchants receive it from Djidda. At Cairo it is considered as the frankincense, and is called Incenso. There are two sorts, one of which is much coarser than the other. It is also imported into Djidda from Souahal, on the eastern coast of Africa, beyond Cape Gardafui; and from Abyssinia, by the way of Massouah; but this last is of an inferior quality.

Gum arabic is sold in small quantities in the markets of Shendy; but loads of it may always be had of the Sennaar or Kordofan merchants; that of which the fine white colour causes it to be most esteemed comes from Kordofan, from the districts inhabited by the Bedouins Fadhel. The trade in gum arabic by this route has of late been of little consequence, as the profits arising from it are much less than those on slaves and camels; but the Darfour caravan continues to import it. It is now, however, become scarce and dear in Egypt, and will therefore, probably, be again imported in large quantities.

Shishm (ششم), a small grain of the size and shape of the smallest lentils, of a deep black, shining colour, is imported from Darfour. It is pulverised and rubbed into the eyelids for complaints of the eyes. The Darfour caravans carry large quantities of this grain to Egypt, where it is much more in request than in the southern countries; there it is in general use amongst all classes, rather as a preserver of the eyes, than as a remedy for ophthalmia. It certainly communicates a refreshing coolness to the eye. I did not understand that any of it was exported from Egypt.

Antimony is sold in large quantities to people from all parts, and of all descriptions, to blacken the eyelids. In the open country, small pieces of antimony (Kohhel) often answer the purpose of a currency, as the peasants wives will always readily barter for it any thing that their house can afford.

A drug called Kerféi[25] (قرفه), i. e. bark, is imported by the western merchants; it is a yellow-coloured bark, of considerable thickness, of a fibrous texture, and apparently belonging to a shrub, or the smaller branches of a tree, being about an inch in diameter. A decoction of it is used as an astringent in fever and dysentery; it has a very bitter taste. I was told that the tree or shrub from which this bark is procured, grows also in the mountains towards Abyssinia, in the country of the Shukorye.

I had collected small specimens of the articles above enumerated; but I unfortunately lost them through the negligence of my companions during the voyage from Souakin to Djidda. Amongst them was some of the fruit Allobé, brought from Sennaar and Kordofan. In its dry state it is of the size of a pigeon’s egg, of a brownish yellow colour, with a large kernel, inveloped in a thin fleshy substance, which has a sub-acid, and rather agreeable taste. It is eaten as a dainty; and is believed to be a remedy for flatulency, of which many people here cornplain. It is likewise called Tamr el berr (تمر البرّ),i[26] or the date of Soudan. The Allobé is said to grow on a large tree. The people of Kordofan are extremely fond of it. I have seen at Cairo a specimen of a fruit called Zakkoum, from the plains of Ramle, in Palestine, which appeared to me to be the same as the Allobé.

On the great market days, which are every Friday and Saturday, several thousands of people resort to Shendy from the distance of three or four days; the greater part of whom bring cattle for sale. Judging from the individuals I saw in the market, all these Arabs appear to be entirely of the same race, excepting only that the true Djaalein Bedouins who come from the eastern desert are much fairer-skinned than the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile, which arises probably from their taking greater care not to mix in concubinage with the negro race. I was much struck with the physiognomy of many of these Djaaleins, who had exactly the countenance and expression of features of the Bedouins of eastern Arabia; their beards are even shorter, and thinner. Some individuals of a tribe of Djaalein who border, to the south, upon the Shukorye, appeared at the market with hats on their heads, made of reeds; they were high and pointed, with broad brims, and were tied under the chin with a leather thong. They are worn both by men and women.

About four or five hundred camels, as many cows, a hundred asses, and twenty or thirty horses, were on sale on the great market-days. Every merchant then takes his stand in one of the open shops, or in the open market, and exposes part of his merchandize; for even the richest traders are not ashamed of trafficking in the minutest detail. The Egyptian, Souakin, Sennaar, and Kordofan merchants form separate corps, in the midst of which is a great circle of slaves, thus exposed for sale. The country people bring to market mats, baskets, ox hides, and other skins, coarse pottery, camel saddles, wooden dishes, and other articles of their own manufacture, &c. About a dozen shoe-makers, or rather sandal-makers, from the country, work for these two days in the market, and will make a pair of sandals at an hour’s notice. The works in leather are very prettily done. The leather is tanned with the Garadh (قَرَض) or pulse of the acacia (Sant سَنتi[27]); the Bedouins about Sennaar are said to be the most skilful in its preparation. Leather sacks (Djerab جراب plur. جربان) are likewise sold here; they serve for the transport of every kind of baggage and merchandize, excepting Dhourra, gum arabic, and salt, which are carried in baskets. Many blacksmiths repair to Shendy from

the country; they make and sell the small knives generally worn among these people. These knives are about eight inches long, and are worn in a leathern scabbard tied over the left elbow: they are two-edged, like those worn by the Berábera, and are of the shape here represented.

The market is so crowded, and the dust and heat are so great, during the mid-day hours, which is the favourite time for transacting business, that I was unable to remain in the market-place many hours together, and always left one of my companions in charge of the little I had to sell. In different parts of the place are stationed peasants with jars of water, which they sell to the thirsty, at the rate of a handful of Dhourra for as much water as two persons can drink. Several of the Fakys have water cisterns in the court-yards of their houses, which are always kept full, and at which every one may drink gratis. Many of them have likewise small chapels annexed to their dwellings. There is no mosque in the whole place.

The only artizans I saw at Shendy were blacksmiths, silversmiths, who work very coarse ornaments for the women, tanners, potters, and carpenters. If a house is to be built, the owner, his relatives, and slaves, with a few labourers, execute the masonry, and the carpenter is only called in to lay the roof and make the doors. Like the Bedouins of the desert, these Arabs are their own artizans upon all ordinary occasions.

There are no weavers at Shendy, but all the women and grown up children, and many of the men, are seen with a distaff constantly in their hands, spinning cotton yarn, which they sell to the people of Berber. The distaff, Mugzil (مغزل), resembles that used in Egypt and Syria. Cotton is cultivated in this neighbourhood, and is a general produce of all the countries on the banks of the Nile, although nowhere in any great quantity, except at Damer and about Sennaar.

The wholesale trade at Shendy is principally conducted through the agency of brokers. Most of these are Dongoláwy, who seem, in general, to be the most acute and intelligent traders of this part of the country. A caravan no sooner arrives, than every merchant’s house is crowded with brokers; but the avidity and parsimony of all parties are too great to allow them to bring their transactions to a speedy conclusion. Even after the bargain is made, each party endeavours to cheat the other before the goods are delivered and the money paid. In addition to this, every attempt to enter into an engagement of any importance becomes known all over the place, and the jealousy of the traders often prevents its taking place. No merchandize has its fixed price; there is no such thing as a price current; every one sells according to the prospect he has of cheating the buyer and bribing the broker. The purchase money, or in cases of barter, its equivalent in merchandize, is almost always immediately paid down; the longest credit I have witnessed is a couple of days; and it is evident, on the termination of every commercial transaction, that the buyer and seller reciprocally entertain suspicions of each others honesty. To oblige a debtor to settle his accounts, recourse is generally had to the slaves of the Mek, who act as police officers; but a man who is unprotected, and without friends, is sure to lose the greater part of his goods, if he allows them to go out of his hands without immediate payment.

I shall now briefly mention the different articles of the trade of Shendy with Egypt, Kordofan, Sennaar, and Souakin; premising, however, that I remained too short a time to collect the fullest and most correct information on that subject.

The principal articles imported from Egypt are the Sembili[28] (سِنبِل), and Mehleb (محلب), both of which are in great request in Soudan; the former as a perfume and medicine, the latter as a condiment, and occasionally as a medicine also. The traders usually sell them together, in the proportion of about three parts of Sembil to one of Mehleb. Thus, in general, each camel load contains about 350 pounds of the former, and 120 pounds of the latter; but sometimes it consists of equal quantities of each. The loads of these articles are termed exclusively Zamele (زامله), i. e. the full, or great load. Every respectable merchant coming from Egypt brings with him two Zameles. In the caravan with which I came there were eight, distributed amongst thirty-nine camels, the whole number of the beasts of transport. The Zamele is easily disposed of, in wholesale, to the Sennaar merchants, who give, in exchange, dollars, Dammour, and slaves.

There is much less demand for these drugs in the west than in the south of Africa. In the countries to the north of Abyssinia, in those south of Sennaar, and in Abyssinia itself, they are in constant use, and besides what passes by land, considerable quantities are shipped from Djidda to Massouah, for the Abyssinian market. They are here at least 250 per cent. dearer than at Cairo. The Egyptians sometimes push on as far as Sennaar, if they cannot find a ready sale for their Zamele at Shendy.

Soap. The soap which supplies all Egypt and Arabia, is manufactured at Gazé, Yaffa, Hebron, and Jerusalem. No good soap has hitherto been made in Egypt itself; there are several manufactories of it at Siout, but it is of a very inferior kind, the oil which they employ being made from the lettuce, instead of the olive. The Pasha of Egypt, however, has lately established, under the direction of an able Italian, a soap manufactory in the Delta. The oil is brought from the Archipelago, and the natron lakes furnish the alkali. Soap is a very profitable article, and in great demand in all parts of the southern countries, but it exposes the merchant to the importunities of numerous beggars of all classes, whose commonest intreaty is for a piece of soap to wash their shirt, and whom it is not always advisable to send away unsatisfied. Soap is sold at Shendy by the piece, without examining into its greater or smaller size. This is likewise the case with sugar. The loaf, weighing about four pounds, and the prime cost of which in the sugar works of Upper Egypt is one-sixth of a dollar, is sold for a dollar at Shendy. Its dearness is owing to the great risks incurred in transporting it, as a sudden fall of rain on the road might ruin a whole cargo.

Sugar is much in demand in all parts, for presents to the great people, and to the women.i[29] It is always eaten by itself, never entering into any dish of sweetmeats, or cookery.

The other chief imports of Egyptian manufacture are Takas, a sort of coarse cambric, died blue, with which the women, especially the Bedouin women, line their best clokes. It is sold in small pieces, one of which, when I was at Shendy, was worth a dollar; it is the most current article of merchandize in small bargains, and is principally bought up by the Kordofan merchants. It is everywhere very acceptable, as it serves to pay the local authorities, when dollars are not at hand. White cotton stuffs, with red borders, made at Mehalla, in the Delta; they are worn by the great people, especially at Sennaar. Melayes, a blue striped cotton cloth, in which the women of distinction wrap themselves up when they sleep. The Darfour caravans also take from Egypt, as presents to kings and other great persons, scarlet cloth, and some velvet, satin, and gold-embroidered stuffs, of the lighter kind, from Lyons and Florence, together with a variety of English calicoes and cambrics. Linen made at Siout and Monfalout is in great request for shirts, but is too dear to be commonly worn. Egyptian Sheep-skins, dressed with the wool on, form also a considerable article of importation. They are used as saddle-cloths for the horses, dromedaries, and asses, of the natives, and as carpets to sit upon in their women’s apartments. They are often died blue or red, and find their way to the farthest parts of the west and south. No chief of a tribe, or head of a village, is without one of these skins. The sheep of the southern countries bear no wool.

Beads. I have already mentioned the use of beads in these countries, as a kind of currency. The most common are small wooden beads, made by the turners of Upper Egypt, which are bought up chiefly by the Bedouin and other peasants. Others, of which the chief manufactory is at Déndera in Upper Egypt, are made of the kernels of the Doum, and are worn by all those who wish to distinguish themselves by an appearance of sanctity. A variety of beads, of a red and black colour, are imported from Jerusalem. There is hardly a man, woman, or child, without a string or two of beads round the neck, or arm, or in their hands. Glass beads (Kherraz خرّز) have not the same currency here as they have in Abyssinia and Darfour, though they are constantly seen in the market. The better sort are of Venetian manufacture, but the greater part are made at El Khalil (or Hebron, near Jerusalem), which furnishes the whole of southern Syria, and the greatest part of Egypt, and of Arabia, with glass ware. The white glass beads of Bohemia, called by the Italians Contaria d’Olanda, go to Darfour. Of Venetian glass beads, from four to five hundred chests, of ten cwt. each, are sold annually at Cairo, at from fifty to one hundred patacks per cwt., or from 4l. to 8l. I had an opportunity, when at Djidda, of seeing the beads destined for the Abyssinian market, of which I counted at least a dozen varieties, each known by its name, as, Om Shaher (ام شهر, the renowned), Serdj el Melouk (سرج الملوك, the king’s saddle), Ayn el Kahba (عين القحبه, the whore’s eye), Alowan (الوان, the many-coloured), Khams djenous (خمس جنوس, the five sorts), Hassan Beg (حسّن بك), Othman Beg (عثمن بك), all different species. Every district there has its particular glass bead, which is not in fashion in the neighbouring districts. The Souakin merchants import into Shendy a species of beads called Reysh (رَيش), which are bought up exclusively by the Kordofan merchants, and which form the principal article of exchange for slaves, in their own country: they are likewise in demand at Darfour, Dar Saleh, and Bergho, to the west of Darfour. The Reysh come from the East Indies, principally from Surat; they are perforated balls of coloured agate, of the size of a small cherry, much resembling the marbles with which the children in Europe play. One thousand of these Reysh were worth, at Djidda, fifteen Spanish dollars. At Shendy they are sold at three Wokyes, or forty-eight dollars; and I was told that at Kordofan one thousand of them would purchase six female slaves, who, on being carried to Shendy, are there worth one hundred and twenty dollars. The Reysh are worn as necklaces by the women. The trade in this article is considered as one of the most profitable, because the beads are easily transported, and may escape the notice of the chiefs of the country.

Coral (Merdjan مرجان) of a bad kind is brought in small quantities; the tribes of the chiefs adorn their necks with it, and also with amber. False coral (Merdjan kudab مرجان كداب) comes from Venice, and goes principally to the western countries. Of amber the transparent kind only is in request.

Paper (Papier de trois limes, from Genoa and Leghorn), is rather a heavy article here; it is more in demand in the western countries, to which it is carried by the Darfour caravans: it is, however, always found in the warehouses of the Egyptians. Pewter (Gasdir قصدير), in thin bars, in small quantity. Old copper, principally large boilers, and pots, which are bought up by the slave traders, for their own use. Yellow brass wire (Selk Asfar سلك اصفر), for which there is a great demand throughout all these countries, for ornamenting the lances, by twisting it round different parts of the shaft.

Of hardware, the most current articles are razors, of that quality which, in Germany, from whence they come, may be worth three pence each; at Cairo, they are sold wholesale for twelve paras apiece. Files, almost all of which are transformed into knives, in order to obtain a good steel blade. Thimbles, scissars, needles, all of the coarsest kind, of Nuremberg manufacture; Nails, steels to strike fire; Sword-blades, of the kind, which I have already described, and which are in common use all over the Black countries to the east of the Fezzan trade. They come from Sohlingen in Germany; about three thousand of them are annually sold at Cairo to the southern traders. Antimony, in small lumps. Tar (Gitran قطران), with which water-skins are rubbed, to make them water-tight, and the backs of camels, to preserve them from the scab, or to cure them of that disease. Silver trinkets for female ornaments, as bracelets, ear-rings, &c.; of these the Darfour caravans take off considerable quantities from Egypt. Very small bells (sonaglii), with which they ornament, in Sennaar and Darfour, the camel’s bridle and halter. Marcasite (Roh toutiya روح توتيه) goes likewise to Sennaar and Darfour. Looking-glasses of Venetian and Trieste manufacture, with gilt covers, constitute a distinguished article of the Egyptian trade; the most common kinds are about four inches square; others are round, of about the same size, with a long handle, made at Cairo. No woman marries here without decorating her room with such a looking-glass.

Since the Mamelouks have established themselves in Dóngola, every Egyptian caravan brings to Shendy some articles of Mamelouk dress, as cloths, shoes, &c., which are purchased by the Dóngola merchants. Until lately the direct trade between Upper Egypt and Dóngola was prohibited by the Pasha of Egypt, and the merchants preferred this circuitous route to the danger of having their goods confiscated. During the warfare between the Mamelouks and the Sheygya, the former sent the greater part of their women to Shendy, as a place less exposed to the casualties of desultory warfare; they afterwards recalled them, but some were still there when I arrived, making themselves ridiculous by their arrogance and pretensions.

The Egyptian trade is, in general, carried on with very small capitals. I do not believe that there is a single merchant, the whole amount of whose stock exceeds fifteen hundred Spanish dollars. The family of the Alowein, with whom I came from Daraou, and who formed of themselves a party of about a dozen people, had no more than a thousand dollars embarked in their adventure. The common class of merchants have from two to three hundred dollars; even this money is seldom their own property; in general it is either borrowed by them in Upper Egypt, at high interest, or their merchandize is bought at Esne, Kenne, or even at Cairo, upon credit: the reason is, that no truly respectable merchant of Egypt ever engages in such enterprizes. A journey to Soudan is looked upon, even in Egypt, as a desperate undertaking, in which those only embark who have little or nothing to lose; and in general, the traffic in slaves, or, as it is often called in Egypt, the trade in human flesh (التسبّب في لحم بن ادم) is by no means thought creditable. The people of Daraou, however, find credit, and might easily accumulate riches, if they were not so incorrigibly vicious and dissipated, spending the best part of their profits in drinking and debauchery. The money which they borrow in Upper Egypt, and for which they generally pledge their houses or landed property, as security, is lent to them at an interest of fifty per cent. for the journey, whatever length of time they may remain absent; and the goods which are bought upon credit in Egypt, on condition of payment upon their return, are sold to them at a price raised in the same proportion. The Daraou merchants train their children, at a very early age, to this commerce. Several boys, hardly ten years of age, followed their fathers in the caravan with which I travelled from Daraou; and when once embarked in this traffic, they perform at least two journeys annually until their latest years. I have seen people at Daraou, who boasted that their great, great grandfathers (جد جدّي) had been Sennaar merchants.

The Darfour merchants have at Cairo the reputation of being much better paymasters than those of the eastern route; they have also much larger capitals embarked in their trade, and are entrusted with more considerable sums upon credit, especially at Siout, where many of them make their purchases. It may easily be conceived, from what I have already said of the prices of several articles of trade, that the profits of the Egyptians are very great. In fact there is not a single article of Egyptian or European manufacture, which is not sold at Shendy at double or triple its prime cost in Egypt, and the products of the southern countries yield as great a profit when sold in Egypt. The rapacity of the chiefs through whose territories the caravans pass, the expense of transport across the desert,i[30] the feeding of the slaves, the tribute paid to the Ababdes, and the duties laid upon the trade by the Pasha of Egypt,i[31] are indeed heavy drawbacks, but still the profits are very considerable; and I am certain that a well chosen assortment of goods carried from Daraou to Shendy, leaves, after the sale of the return-cargo at Daraou, a clear gain of one hundred and fifty per cent., according to the most moderate calculation. I have heard of Zameles, or camel loads of Sembil and Mehleb, which, after having been exchanged at Shendy for slaves, produced at Cairo a profit of almost five hundred per cent. Of late, the Egyptian merchants have found dollars the most beneficial article of importation from Europe, because with dollars camels can be immediately procured in any quantity; but this preference will last only as long as camels continue to be in great demand in Egypt, for the transport between Kenne and Kosseir, and for the supply of the Turkish army in the Hedjaz.

There are a few instances of wealthy merchants from Egypt having come to Shendy with large capitals, as Bakim Aga, a Smyrniote by birth, who, eight or ten years ago, left Egypt with about twenty loaded camels, but who died at Shendy: his property fell a prey to the Mek, and no one has since made a similar attempt. The entire amount of the capital invested by the Egyptian merchants in the Soudan trade, I calculate to be from sixty to eighty thousand dollars, but as this sum produces a profit twice, and sometimes thrice in one year, according to the number of journeys, the whole value of the imports into these countries from Egypt, may be computed at about fifteen hundred, or two thousand dollars per annum. No dollars are re-exported from the Negro countries; they are dispersed or hoarded by the chiefs and other persons, and thus Soudan becomes a continual drain for a part of the silver of Europe.

The trade might be much improved, either by regularity in the departure of the caravans (they might quit Daraou, for instance, every two months), or by establishing factories at Berber and Shendy; for at present, caravans from all parts are often kept waiting for months for the arrival of others, to which alone they can dispose of their goods. The Nubian desert is indeed crossed almost every fortnight by small parties of adventurers; but they trade at every place on the road, and Egyptian goods can seldom be found in any quantity at Shendy (and I suppose it is the same at Sennaar), except after the arrival of the large caravans, the departure of which from Daraou is at present quite irregular. The Sennaar caravan sets out from Upper Egypt generally once a year, and returns the next year. It rests at Berber, Damer, and Shendy, and is often from two to three months on its way from Daraou to Sennaar. This caravan consists of three or four hundred men, and several hundred camels, and it is joined on its return by many Sennaar traders, chiefly agents of the king of Sennaar and his vizier, who are the principal merchants at that place. It was with this caravan that the Pasha of Egypt sent last year an envoy to Sennaar, for the purpose, as it was said, of exciting the king against the Mamelouks, and at the same time of informing himself of the practicability of invading the country with a Turkish army. Notwithstanding the contrary assertions of the government of Egypt, it is certain that the ambassador was much slighted, and narrowly escaped ill treatment in the road. He carried to the king of Sennaar presents of shawls, muslins, arms, &c. to the amount of three or four thousand dollars; in return for which the king sent to Mohammed Aly three or four ugly female slaves, some leopard skins, a civet cat, two monkeys, and a young lion, which died in its passage through the desert; the whole present was worth, at Sennaar, about eighty dollars. During my stay in Arabia I was informed that an embassy sent by Mohammed Aly to Abyssinia, had had a still less agreeable issue. Mohammed having taken possession of the town and harbour of Massouah, where, until that time, the Sherif of Mekka had kept his collector of customs,i[32] and having thus become a neighbour of the Abyssinians, thought it necessary to place himself upon good terms with the king of Gondar, preferring, by these means, to counteract any efforts which the Mamelouks might make in that direction, while he gratified his vanity in causing it to be said that the celebrity of his name had reached even the most inaccessible parts of Africa. The ambassador, however, was stopped at Axum by Ras Weled Selase, in the same manner as Mr. Salt had been, some years before. Selase took the presents destined for the king, and sent the Pasha, in return, a white linen shirt (the dress of the country), and one hundred Spanish dollars, as a subsidy for his expenses in the Wahabi campaign.i[33]

Caravans from Sennaar arrive at Shendy every six weeks, or two months. Whenever they bring Dhourra, the number of their loaded camels amounts to five or six hundred; but if they have only goods and slaves, they seldom have one hundred camels with them. The principal import from Sennaar is the Dammour, or cotton stuff, which is in use not only along the banks of the Nile, as far as Dóngola, but in Kordofan, in a great part of Darfour, and Abyssinia, and throughout the whole of Nubia east of the Nile, as far as the Red Sea. This article is always in great demand, and is therefore taken in exchange for almost every article of trade. The cotton manufactories of Sennaar, and those of Bagerme, to the west of Darfour, furnish the greater part of north-eastern Africa with articles of dress.

Gold is the second article in the Sennaar trade. It is purchased by the merchants of Sennaar from the Abyssinian traders: but I have not been able exactly to ascertain in what province of western Abyssinia it is found. The principal market for gold appears to be Ras el Fil, a station in the caravan route from Sennaar to Gondar, four days journeys from the former. This route is at present much frequented by Sennaar traders, as well as by that class of Abyssinian merchants called Djebert (جبرت), who appear to be the chief slave and gold traders of that country. I have never heard of a single Egyptian merchant who ever pushed on as far as Ras el Fil; for although the road is not unsafe, yet every body seems to be afraid in these countries of undertaking distant journeys unaccompanied by a large party of his own countrymen. The jealousy of all classes of merchants is very great, and their known treachery prevents single adventurers from trusting themselves to their mercy, or good faith.

The Djebert above mentioned often repair to Sennaar, chiefly in search of Negro slaves; and I have reason to believe that the route from Sennaar through Ras el Fil to Gondar, and from thence to the coast, may be safely travelled in time of internal peace. The gold imported from Sennaar is principally bought up by the Souakin traders, who carry it to Djidda, where it is given in payment for India goods. It is seldom purchased by the Egyptian merchants, as it is not very profitable. At Sennaar the ounce of pure gold is worth twelve dollars; at Shendy, sixteen; at Souakin, twenty; at Djidda, twenty-two. Although the Souakin merchants might purchase at Shendy many articles more profitable than gold, they often prefer it on account of its easy transport, and the facility with which they can secrete it, and avoid paying any duty on the road.

Slaves are also brought to Shendy by the merchants of Sennaar. Since the direct caravan route from Sennaar to Kordofan has been interrupted, principally by the robberies and the rapacity of the Arabs of Shilluk, at the passage of the Bahr el Abyadh, this is the only route open to them. The slaves are chiefly either Abyssinians or of the race called Nouba (sing. Nebowy, نبوه). The former consist principally of females of the Gala nations, and of a few Amaaras.i[34] Upon the whole, the number of Abyssinians sent to the northward by Shendy is small. The best female Abyssinians are always purchased by the chiefs for their own harems; and in Arabia and Egypt Abyssinian slaves may be had cheaper by the Djebert traders from Massouah, who sell them at Djidda. I think that not more than one hundred female Abyssinian slaves are annually exported from Sennaar either to Souakin or to Egypt. Latterly the Mamelouks have bought up many of them, the Abyssinians being remarked above all other black women for their beauty, and for the warmth and constancy of their affection to the master who has once taught them to love him.

The name of Nouba is given to all the Blacks coming from the slave countries to the south of Sennaar. The territory of Sennaar extends, as far as I could learn from the merchants of the country, ten days journey beyond the city, in a south and south-east direction, and is inhabited exclusively by free Arab tribes, who make incursions into the more southern mountains, and carry off the children of the idolaters. These Nouba slaves (among whom must also be reckoned those who are born in the neighbourhood of Sennaar, of male Negroes and female Abyssinians; and who are afterwards sold by the masters of the parents) form a middle class between the true Blacks and the Abyssinians; their colour is less dark than that of the Negroe, and has a copper tinge, but it is darker than that of the free Arabs of Sennaar and Shendy. Their features, though they retain evident signs of Negroe origin, have still something of what is called regular; their noses, though smaller than those of the Europeans, are less flat than those of the Negroes; their lips are less thick, and the cheek-bones not so prominent. The hair of some is woolly; but among the greater part it is similar to the hair of Europeans, but stronger, and always curled. The palm of their hands is soft, a circumstance by which they particularly distinguish themselves from the true Negroe, whose hands, when touched feel like wood.

The male Noubas in Egypt, as well as in Arabia, are preferred to all others, for labour: they bear a good character, and sell at Shendy and in Egypt twenty per cent. dearer than the Negroes. The male Abyssinians, on the contrary, are known to be little fit for bodily work, but they are esteemed for their fidelity, and make excellent house servants, and often clerks, their intellects being certainly much superior to those of the Blacks. The Noubas are said to be of a healthier constitution, and to suffer less from disease than the Abyssinians. The greatest part of them are exported to Egypt; but some are sent to Souakin.

Ivory. Elephants teeth are bought up by the Egyptian merchants, but in small quantities. This branch of commerce seems to have been formerly much more flourishing; but at present there is little demand for ivory in Egypt, probably because Europe draws its supplies cheaper from Barbary and the East Indies. The importation of ivory, however, from Darfour into Egypt is still of some importance, though ivory often fails entirely in the market of Cairo.

The Negroes seem never to have known the art of taming the elephant; they catch him in pits, or kill him by discharging a shower of javelins from the trees under which he passes. The flesh is said to be eaten near Sennaar.

Rhinoceros horns; in Egyptian Arabic called Khartit (خرتيت). The rhinoceros is called in the Negroe countries Om Korn (ام قرن or, the mother (i. e. the owner) of the one horn; it is evidently from this animal that the imaginary unicorn has had its origin. The Arabs have often described to me the rhinoceros as an animal like a large cow, with thick legs, and a short tail, with one long horni[35] on its forehead, and having a skin like large scales, as hard as iron. Whenever I described the unicorn, and asked them whether such an animal, with a long horn existed, they never failed to point out the Om Korn, as the animal I meant. The rhinoceros inhabits the neighbourhood of Sennaar, but never the countries of the Nile to the north of that place. Its northern boundary, like that of the elephant, seems to be the mountain to the north of the village of Abou Heraze, two days journeys from Sennaar, which advances close to the river, and thus intercepts the passage along its banks. Neither of these animals is known at Shendy, or at Halfaya, which is two days to the south of the former place. The Khartit, or horn of the rhinoceros, is worked at Cairo into ornaments for the handles of swords and poniards, to be mounted in the Mamelouk fashion. It is dear; I have seen pieces about four inches long, and one inch thick, sold for four or five Spanish dollars each.

The Musk of the civet-cat is not sold at Shendy; but the Souakin merchants who visit Sennaar bring with them small quantities of it, which they sell again at Djidda. The principal markets for this article are Massouah, and Mekka, during the Hadj. It is brought to Cairo by the Djidda merchants.

The Whips above mentioned, called Korbadj, are imported from Sennaar only.

Ebony is brought in small pieces; the largest I saw were about one foot in length. The wood is said to grow to the south of Sennaar; but, I suspect, at a great distance, as it is very dear. Knife handles, neatly worked in ebony, are brought from Sennaar; the knives, which are worn tied over the elbow by the Arabs of those countries, are afterwards fitted into them. The Djellabs, or slave merchants, do not carry any ebony into Egypt, Cairo being supplied with it from Djidda; but I understand that it grows in the deserts adjoining to Darfour on the west.

Coffee-beans, in small quantity, the growth of Abyssinia and the Gala country. None of these are carried from Massouah to Djidda, as the coffee plant grows in the most western parts of Abyssinia only. Coffee is not commonly drank here; it is a luxury in which the chiefs alone indulge.

Leather. The best manufactories of leather, between Darfour and the Red Sea, are at Sennaar. The manufacturers exercise their skill chiefly in making camel saddles (قصعة Gassaat), leathern sacks, and sandals. The first are exported to Egypt for the dromedaries, or riding-camels, and are sold there as high as twenty dollars. They are ornamented with many pretty leathern tassels, and are of workmanship equally elegant and durable. The leathern sacks are bought up by the Souakin merchants, and sold by them to the inhabitants of Yemen, who use them for carrying provisions in travelling; they are extremely well sewed; some of them are secured with a padlock: great numbers of them were formerly sold at Mekka to the Wahabi by the Souakin people. The leather is of the best quality, much superior to that made in Egypt and Syria, and almost as good as the Russia leather. The Sennaar sandals are worn by all the well-dressed men and women throughout Nubia; a young woman had rather wear a torn shirt than ugly sandals. They are sown with a precision and nicety little to be expected from the rude Arabs. At Shendy the best sandals cost two dollars a pair. Every place in these countries has a peculiar fashion in the form of the sandals worn by its inhabitants; so that, with a little experience, the residence of every man may be ascertained by looking at his feet. The same custom prevails in Arabia; and I remember, that when I first arrived at Djidda, wearing a pair of sandals which I had bought at Souakin, many persons, who knew nothing of me, pointed to my sandals, and asked what business I had had at Souakin.

Small water flasks (مطهَره Mattharah, or زَمزَميِّه Zamzamieh), made of leather, which are much esteemed in Egypt.

To the imports of Sennaar belong likewise the Shields made of the skins of the rhinoceros and giraffa; they are made by the Bedouin Arabs, who sell them at Sennaar, and they are used all along the Nile, and across the mountains, as far as Kosseir and Kenne, in Upper Egypt.

The fruit of the Nebek, the fleshy part of which is separated from the stone, and dried in the sun; it is put up in small leathern bags and carried as far as Souakin; it affords a very agreeable provision during a journey.

The most important articles of the Sennaar trade at Shendy are camels and Dhourra, without the continual importation of which Shendy would soon be in danger of famine. The Dhourra caravans usually perform the journey by themselves, the merchants seldom joining them, but forming caravans of their own. They are more wealthy people than the Egyptian traders; and it is not rare to see a man possessing ten camel loads of Dammour, and a whole party of slaves. I was told the name of a Sennaar merchant who bought at Shendy the entire loads of an Egyptian caravan, consisting of thirty camels.

Honey, in considerable quantity, is also imported from Sennaar. As far as I could understand, the Arabs about Sennaar collect wild honey in great quantity, but do not trouble themselves with keeping beehives near their own houses.

I did not learn that any passage duties, or customs, are exacted at Sennaar; the only obstacle thrown in the way of trade is that the king always forces his own merchandize upon the buyer, before the private adventurers can enter into any bargains. The Sennaar merchants take in return from the Egyptian traders Sembil and Mehleb, in large quantities, sugar, soap, and almost every article of the Egyptian and Souakin markets. Since the interruption of the direct communication between Sennaar and Kordofan, the inhabitants of the former place have been known to buy at Shendy Negro slaves brought from Kordofan, which they can obtain here at lower prices than their own Nouba slaves at Sennaar. During my residence at Shendy, the route along the Nile to Sennaar was rendered dangerous, from the disputes that had arisen between the Meks of Halfaya and Herbadjy; the caravans therefore preferred taking the desert route, which lies parallel with the river, at about one day’s journey inland, as far as Abou Heraze, where they again join the river; a single well is met with in this route, at about three days from Shendy, and this even is sometimes not taken into the road, on account of the visits of the Bedouins Shukorye, of whom the Sennaar people entertain great fears.

The arrival of the Kordofan caravans at Shendy is quite uncertain, and depends upon the caprice of the governor of Kordofan, who often prevents the departure of merchants, in order to increase his own commercial profits. Three months sometimes elapse without any arrival, after which they come in rapid succession. The road from Obeydh (اُبيّض) (not Ibeit, as Browne writes it), the capital of Kordofan, to Shendy, is quite safe; it is performed in about fourteen days, of which the five last are through a desert without water. With the Kordofan caravans arrive also merchants from Darfour; and the intercourse between Kobé, the capital of Darfour, and Obeydh, is said to be at present very brisk, and quite safe. Kordofan has no other slaves than those brought from Darfour; its own people, it seems, do not traffic with the southern Negro countries; but since the arrival of the Mamelouks in Dóngola, a direct trade has been opened between that country and Kordofan, the northern limits of which are said to be only six days distance from the frontiers of Dóngola.

The arrival of every Kordofan caravan at Shendy fills the market with slaves, who constitute the principal import from thence. The Kordofan merchants bring likewise gum arabic, of the best quality known in the Negro countries;i[36] Erdeyb, or Tamarinds; the gum Leban; Natron from Darfour; Sheshme, the seed used in Egypt for diseases of the eye; Shooshe, a small pea of Kordofan and Darfour growth; the latter are of a fine pink colour, with a small black spot at one end, and are worn in strings as necklaces. They sell also ropes of leather. The inhabitants of the countries on the Nile make their ropes and cords of the fibrous inner bark of the palm date-tree, called Lif (ليف), or of reeds which grow on the banks of river; but all the western nations, where no date-trees grow, use for their packages twisted leathern thongs, which are of great solidity and strength, a very important advantage in travelling through the deserts with heavily loaded camels. These ropes are sold to the Egyptian and Souakin merchants, as are likewise large leathern sacks made of very thick ox-leather in Kordofan and Darfour. These sacks are used for the transport of Dhourra meal through the desert for the food of the slaves. Large water-skins (Rey رَيّ) made of ox-hides, in which traders who have many slaves transport water through the desert: two of these Reys make a camel’s load; they keep the water much better than the smaller goats skins, and the thickness of the leather prevents it from evaporating so readily. Reys are a considerable article of commerce between Darfour and Egypt; they are used in all the towns of Egypt, and particularly at Cairo, to transport the water from the river to the town, for the daily use of the inhabitants. The Kordofan merchants bring likewise water-skins made of sheep-skins, in the manufacture of which great skill is shown, because the skins are preserved entire. The animals are killed by cutting off the head; and those who slaughter them possess an art, unknown to the Arabian Bedouins, of taking off the skin without cutting it, by introducing the hand at the aperture in the throat, armed with a small knife, and thus separating it entirely from the carcase. A Kordofan water-skin has thus no seams but where the legs are cut off, while the common ones are sewed up on three sides. Another import from Kordofan are large wooden dishes, or bowls, carved, as it is said, out of the root of some tree; they are rubbed with butter, and then held over the fire, to give them a black colour. These bowls often supply the place of the China ware, vessels, dishes, cups, &c. which in the more polite parts of the East are placed upon shelves along the walls of the sitting-room, as ornaments. Some of these bowls are large enough to contain sufficient food for twelve persons; they are very nicely worked; not the smallest trace of the instruments with which they are formed can be observed.

Ostrich feathers brought by the Kordofan merchants are also in great request. These merchants are people of moderate property; the greater part of them have wives at Shendy and at Darfour, as well as at Obeydh; they buy up slaves at Darfour, remain awhile with their families at Obeydh, and then bring their slaves to Shendy. They have a better character for honesty than the people of Sennaar, but the favourable opinion entertained of them does not induce any one to trust them with goods upon credit. They take in return from Shendy, a little Sembil and Mehleb, some antimony and beads, a good deal of spices, especially cloves, which are in great demand all over the western countries; a little hardware; Dammour from Sennaar; Egyptian linen; Indian cotton stuffs imported from Souakin; a few silk and cloth dresses from the Hedjaz, which are worn by the chiefs, who seem to be extremely fond of gaudy showy dresses, as a mark of distinction; some coffee-beans; but above all, Reysh, or Indian agate beads. The common currency of Kordofan, besides Dhourra, is said to be small pieces of iron, with which milk, flesh, and Dhoken bread, are bought in the market. These pieces of iron are collected and worked into axes and spear-heads. Cows are likewise taken as a medium of exchange. Slaves are often bought for so many cows; wild herbage for their food is so abundant, that nobody objects to keeping large numbers of those animals in their court-yards.

The most substantial of all the traders who at present frequent the Shendy market are the people from Souakin, or as they are more commonly called in this part of Africa, the Hadharebe, or Hadharame, that is, people of Hadremaut, in South Arabia, from whence they draw their origin. Some of these traders are always found at Shendy: during my stay there two caravans took their departure for Souakin, and one large party arrived; and no month passes without some arrivals from that quarter. The Hadhareb also visit the Sennaar market; their caravans to that place either take the road by Shendy, or the nearer one by Goz Radjeb, on the Atbara, from whence they proceed straight across the desert to Sennaar. Some of the Hadharebe also frequent Obeydh in Kordofan, but not in sufficient numbers to form a caravan of their own, and they therefore join the native traders. Their caravans are hailed at Shendy by the Sennaar and Kordofan people, as the promptest purchasers of their goods; but they create great jealousy among the Egyptians, whose rivals they are in various articles of import. The Souakin trade supplies Shendy principally with India goods. Different sorts of cambric (بفت Baft, and another sort called بنوه Benoueh) from Madras and Surat; and coarse muslins from Bengal are partly wanted for the use of the Shendy and Sennaar inhabitants themselves; but the greater part is given in exchange to the Kordofan merchants for slaves. They bring also spices, especially cloves, ginger (Zandjebil زنجبيل), India sugar, Mokha beads, as they are called, though none are made at Mokha; sandal wood, which is an article of consequence, and finds its way from hence to the countries west of Darfour, as far as Bagermé; and all the articles of hardware imported by the Egyptians, in which, however, the latter can afford to undersell them. They also bring the Dhofer, which is taken by the Sennaar and Darfour merchants. It is the shell of an animal found in the Red Sea, cut into small pieces, and used as a perfume, emitting a pleasant odour when held over the fire. The pieces of the Dhofer, cut like beads, are much esteemed in the Hedjaz and Egypt, where the ladies wear them as necklaces; they are of a black, or dark blue colour, with veins of a lighter hue. The people of Souakin export them likewise to Djidda.

The Hadharebe take in return gold, slaves (Abyssinians in preference), and all the other articles of the Negro trade, except gum arabic; though they sometimes take this article also, and sell it at Mokha, to English and American traders. Every Souakin caravan purchases at Shendy a number of horses of the Dóngola breed, which they sell to great advantage in Yemen, at Hodeyda, Loheya, and as far south as Mokha. The cavalry of the Sherif Hamoud, the present chief of Yemen, are mounted almost entirely upon horses from Dóngola, for the good breed of native Arab horses is very scarce in Yemen.

The Souakin caravans, that go as far as Sennaar, bring from thence a large quantity of tobacco, which they sell in the Yemen. These merchants enjoy more credit at Shendy than any others, because they are the richest and most numerous, all free Arabs themselves, not peasants, like those of Upper Egypt, or Blacks, like those of Kordofan; but composed chiefly of the best families of Souakin, and who are prompt to revenge an insult offered to any individual amongst them. They are always treated very politely by the Mek, to whom they make larger presents than any other traders. But I shall recur to this subject hereafter, under the head of Souakin, which at present is, next to Massouah and Cairo, the most important slave-trading place in north-eastern Africa, beyond the limits of Soudan.

The Dóngola trade is of little consequence at Shendy. The Dongoláwy bring dates, which they buy up in Mahass, and tobacco, the growth of their own country. Dates are sent to Sennaar and to Kordofan as presents to the chiefs, and are there considered, next to sugar, the most exquisite dainty they have.

The female slaves who have served an apprenticeship in the houses at Dóngola are eagerly sought for by all traders, as expert cooks, and good servants.i[37]

From the concurrence of all these traders, Shendy has become the first commercial town in the Black countries for the Egyptian and Arabian slave trade. These two trades, and the Abyssinian, are closely allied to each other, and merchants of all the three countries occasionally meet each other upon the most distant limits of their respective trades: and the imports into Africa from the north and east are much the same. The farthest limit of the trade appears to be Dar Saley, or perhaps Bagermé, to the west and north-west of Darfour. Although the countries, to a considerable distance beyond those provinces, keep up an intercourse with Darfour, for the purpose of receiving Arabian and Egyptian merchandize, they are not accessible to commercial enterprize; and merchants, with goods of any value, would in vain attempt to pass through the hostile tribes of Arabs and Bedouins who people the Bahr el Ghazal, and the idolatrous African nations between Bagermé and Afnou. Beyond Bahr el Ghazal, towards the frontiers of Bournou, the Fezzan, or Zeyla trade, as it is here termed, begins to exercise its influence, and spreads from thence far westward across Soudan. Notwithstanding my repeated questions on this head (and such questions may be put to the Black traders without fear of exciting jealousy or suspicion), I never could trace any regular intercourse, by means of caravans, between eastern and western Soudan; nor have I ever seen any merchants who came from the countries beyond Bagermé. Those persons who wish to engage in that direction join the Fezzan caravans at Bornou. The few Bornou people who come by the direct route through Bahr el Ghazal to Darfour are pilgrims who live by charity. The greater part of the slaves met with at Shendy are from the idolatrous countries in the vicinity of Darfour, Borgho, and Dar Saley. Those from Bornou, who are easily distinguished by their tattooed skin, never find their way to Shendy; such of them as are seen in Egypt, came by the way of Fezzan. Few foreign traders, except Egyptians, visit Shendy. A few Yembawy, or Arabians from Yembo, arrive occasionally by the Souakin caravans, and there are others of the same people, who accompany the Egyptian caravans, for there are considerable settlements of Yembawy at Kenne and Gous, in Upper Egypt. When I was at Shendy, there were at Kordofan, two Yembawy and one Turk from Mohil; the latter had gone thither with a small adventure from Egypt, but had spent his money in debauchery, and could not raise enough to carry him back to the northern countries. Turkishi[38] merchants going from Egypt to Darfour, and Sherifs from the Hedjaz, whose object it is to importune the chiefs for presents, occasionally come this way. While I was at Shendy an Arabian came from Souakin, who was of the tribe of Refaay (رفاعي), which is related to the great tribe of Djeheyne (جهينه),i[39] near Yembo; he told me that he had heard that there were descendants of his own tribe of Refaay settled to the south of Sennaar, and that he intended to visit them, in the hope of obtaining some presents from them, as they had always manifested kindness to their relatives in the Hedjaz, especially to such as had undertaken the journey for the purpose of saluting them. He knew the name, and the place of residence of one of the chiefs of these Refaay on the river, about six days above Sennaar, and he left Shendy with the Sennaar caravan, on his way thither.

Persons from the Hedjaz and from Egypt sometimes pass by Shendy on their way to Sennaar, in search of young monkeys, which they teach to perform the tricks so amusing to the populace in the towns of Arabia, Syria, and Egypt. I was repeatedly asked whether I had not come in search of monkeys, for that my equipments appeared too shabby for those of a merchant. These monkey-hunters are held in great contempt, because, as the Negroes say, they pass their whole lives in making others laugh at them.

I have extended my remarks upon commerce to so great a length because it is the very life of society in these countries. There is not a single family which is not connected, more or less, with some branch of traffic, either wholesale or retail, and the people of Berber and Shendy appear to be a nation of traders in the strictest sense of the word. I have a few remarks to add upon the most important branch of their commerce, the slave-trade.

I calculate the number of slaves sold annually in the market of Shendy at about five thousand, of whom about two thousand five hundred are carried off by the Souakin merchants, and fifteen hundred by those of Egypt; the remainder go to Dóngola, and to the Bedouins who live to the east of Shendy, towards the Atbara and the Red Sea. I have already made some mention of the places from whence these slaves come. Those brought from Kordofan to Darfour, are, for the greater part, from the idolatrous countries of Benda, Baadja, Fetigo, and Fertit, to the south and south-west of Darfour, from twenty to forty days from Kobbe; each of these countries speaks a separate language. The Darfour merchants trade with Fertit, which lies about twenty days distant from Kobbe, in a southerly direction: the country is mountainous, and its inhabitants are wholly ignorant of agriculture; but they have tasted the luxury of Dhourra and Dokhen; and are said, in cases of a dearth of these grains, to sell even their own children to procure them.

Far the largest proportion of the slaves imported into Shendy are below the age of fifteen. All of them, both male and female, are divided by the traders, with reference to age, into three classes: namely, Khomasy (خماسي), comprising those apparently below ten or eleven years; Sedasy (سَداسي), those above eleven and below fourteen or fifteen; and Balegh (بالغ), or grown up, those of fifteen and upwards. The Sedasy are the most esteemed; when I was at Shendy a male of this class was worth fifteen or sixteen dollars, provided he bore the marks of the small pox, without which a boy is not worth more than two-thirds of that price; a female was worth from twenty to twenty-five Spanish dollars. The price of the male Khomasy was twelve, of the female fifteen dollars. The male Balegh seldom sells for more than eight or ten dollars; and there is but a small proportion of this class, because it is thought both in Egypt and Arabia, that no great dependance can be placed upon any slave, who has not been brought up in the owner’s family from an early age. Hence there is a great reluctance to the purchasing of grown up slaves for domestic purposes, or even for labourers. The Baleghs are chiefly bought by the Bedouins, who employ them as shepherds. The Bisharein have many of them in all their encampments. Grown up female slaves, although past the age of beauty, sometimes sell for as much as thirty dollars, if they are known to be skilful in working, sewing, cooking, &c. In Syria few slaves are kept; those which I have seen there are, for the greater part, imported by the caravans from Bagdad, and come from Souahel on the Mozambik coast.

Few slaves are imported into Egypt, without changing masters several times, before they are finally settled in a family; for instance, those from Fertit are first collected on the borders of that country by petty merchants who deal in Dhourra. These sell them to the traders of Kobbe, who repair to Fertit in small caravans for that purpose. At Kobbe they are bought up by the Darfour, or Kordofan traders, who transport them to Obeydh in Kordofan. Here they generally pass into the hands of other Kordofan dealers, who carry them to Shendy, for the Soudan merchants commonly limit their speculations to a single market; thus the Kordofan people who trade to Darfour are different from those who visit Shendy, while, on the other hand, the Egyptians who trade to Shendy only, are different from those who proceed forward to Sennaar; and, in like manner, the Souakin traders are divided into Shendy and Sennaar merchants. At Shendy the slave is bought by some Egyptian or Abadbe. Upon his arrival in Upper Egypt he is disposed of either at Esne, Siout, or Cairo. In the two first places, entire lots of slaves are taken off by merchants, who sell them in retail at Cairo, or in the small towns of Upper Egypt, in each of which they stop for a few days, in their passage down the river. Even at Cairo they are not always finally disposed of in the first instance. The Khan of the slave-traders, called Okal-ed-djelabe, which is near the mosque El Azher, is crowded with pedlars and petty traders, who often bargain with the merchants of Upper Egypt for slaves immediately after their arrival, and content themselves with a small profit for the re-sale. Again, there are merchants from Smyrna and Constantinople residing constantly at Cairo, who deal in nothing but slaves; these persons export them from Alexandria, and it often happens that they pass through three or four hands, between Alexandria and their final destination in the northern provinces of Turkey. Such is the common lot of the unfortunate slave, but many instances happen of a still more rapid change of masters. At Shendy and Esne I have seen slaves bought and sold two or three times before they were finally removed from the market; after which, perhaps, if the master at the end of a few days trial did not find them answer his expectations, he would again put them up for sale, or exchange them for others. In fact, slaves are considered on the same level with any other kind of merchandize, and as such are continually passing from one merchant to another. The word Ras (head) is applied to them as to the brute species; and a man is said to possess ten Ras Raghig (رقيق), or ten head of slaves,i[40] in the same manner as he would be said to possess fifty Ras Ghanam, or head of sheep. When the buyer is desired to take the slave away, it is usual to say, Soughe, (سوقه), drive him out, an expression which is applied only to cattle, as Soug el ghanam go damek (سوق الغَنَم قدامك).

I have seen among the young slaves on sale at Shendy, many children of four or five years old without their parents; others of the same age are met with in the market, with their mothers; and the traders so far shew humanity, that they seldom sell them separately; when such a thing is done, the vender is in general reproached with being guilty of an act of cruelty.

The traders, in buying slaves, are very attentive to their origin, because long experience has proved to them that there is little variety of character amongst individuals of the same nation. Thus the Noubas who come from Sennaar are said to have the best dispositions next to the Abyssinians and Gallas, and to be the most attached to their masters. Of the Abyssinians, those from the northern provinces, called Kostanis, are said to be treacherous and malicious, while the Amaaras are noted for their amiable tempers. Of the western Negroes those from Benda are the most esteemed, and next to them those imported into Darfour from Borgho, a Mohammedan country, whose inhabitants carry off their pagan neighbours. The slaves from Fertit are said to be ferocious and vindictive, and stand the lowest on the list.

Few slaves arrive at Shendy who have not already passed a considerable time in a state of slavery. The strongest proof of this fact is, that I never saw any who could not make themselves understood in Arabic; and the greater part of those imported from Darfour and Kordofan, besides their own native tongue, and Arabic, have some acquaintance with the idioms of those countries.

As soon as a slave boy becomes the property of a Mussulman master he is circumcised, and has an Arabic name given to him. They are seldom honoured with a true Mussulman name; such as Hassan, Mohammed, Selim, Mustapha, &c. Most of them bear such names as these: خير الله Kheyr el illah; فضل الله Fadil ’lilah; فضل الواسع Fadil Elwasia; جبر واجد Jaber Wadjed; اُم الخير Om Elkheyr, and the like. Sometimes the names are more extraordinary, as صباح الخير Sabah el Kheyr (good morning), جراب Djerab (leather sack), &c. &c. It very rarely happens that any uncircumcised boys come from the west; and I never knew any instance of a Negroe boy following the pagan worship of his father, and refusing to become Mussulman; though I have heard it related of many Abyssinian slaves, who, after having been converted from idolatry to the Christian religion by the Abyssinian Copts, were sold by them to the Mussulman traders. I have been told of several of these slaves, particularly females, so steadily refusing to abjure their faith, when in the harem of a Mohammedan, that their masters were finally obliged to sell them, in the dread of having children born of a Christian mother, which would have been a perpetual reproach to the father and his offspring. In Soudan, the slaves, though made Mussulmans by the act of circumcision, are never taught to read or to pray: and even in Egypt and Arabia this instruction is seldom given to any but those for whom their masters take a particular liking. It may be observed, nevertheless, that they are greater fanatics than the proudest Olemas, and that Christians and Franks are more liable to be insulted by slaves than by any other class of Mussulmans.

I enquired at Shendy whether any of the slaves were eunuchs, but I was informed that no eunuchs were imported into that place during my stay, and that Borgho, to the west of Darfour, is the only country in eastern Soudan where slaves are thus mutilated for exportation. Their number, however, is very small; a few are carried to Egypt from Darfour, and the remainder are sent as presents by the Negroe sovereigns to the great mosques at Mekka and Medina, by the way of Souakin. The great manufactory which supplies all European, and the greater part of Asiatic Turkey with these guardians of female virtue, is at Zawyet ed-deyr (زويت الدير), a village near Siout in Upper Egypt, chiefly inhabited by Christians. The operators, during my stay in that part of the country, were two Coptic monks, who were said to excel all their predecessors in dexterity, and who had a house in which the victims were received. Their profession is held in contempt even by the vilest Egyptians; but they are protected by the government, to which they pay an annual tax; and the great profits which accrue to the owners of the slaves in consequence of their undergoing this cruel operation, tempts them to consent to an act which many of them in their hearts abhor. The operation itself, however extraordinary it may appear, very seldom proves fatal. I know certainly, that of sixty boys upon whom it was performed in the autumn of 1813, two only died; and every person whom I questioned on the subject in Siout assured me that even this was above the usual proportion, the deaths being seldom more than two in a hundred. As the greater number undergo the operation immediately after the arrival of the Darfour and Sennaar caravans at Siout, I had no opportunity of witnessing it, but it has been described to me by several persons who have often seen it performed. The boys chosen, are between the age of eight and twelve years, for at a more advanced age, there is great risk of its proving fatal.—Puer, corpore depresso, a robustis quibusdam hominibus, super mensâ continetur. Tunc emasculator, vinculis sericis sapone illitis, genitalia comprimit, et cum cultro tonsorio (dum puer pro dolore animo deficit) quam celerrime rescindit. Ad hemorhagiam sistendam plagam pulvere et arenâ calidâ adurunt, et post aliquot dies calido oleo inungunt. Dein vulnus cum emplastro aliquo, quod inter Coptos arcanum est, per quadraginta spatium dierum donec glutinetur curatur. Nunquam de celotomia sub hoc cœlo audivi.—The operation is always performed upon the strongest and best looking boys; but it has a visible effect upon their features when they arrive at full age. The faces of the eunuchs whom I saw in the Hedjaz, appeared almost destitute of flesh, the eye hollow, the cheek bones prominent, and the whole physiognomy having a skeleton-like appearance, by which the eunuch may generally be recognised at first sight.

A youth on whom this operation has been successfully performed is worth one thousand piastres at Siout; he had probably cost his master, a few weeks before, about three hundred; and the Copt is paid from forty-five to sixty for his operation. This enormous profit stifles every sentiment of mercy which the traders might otherwise entertain. About one hundred and fifty eunuchs are made annually. Two years ago, Mohammed Aly Pasha caused two hundred young Darfour slaves to be mutilated, whom he sent as a present to the Grand Signor. The custom of keeping eunuchs has greatly diminished in Egypt, as well as in Syria. In the former country, except in the harems of the Pasha and his sons, I do not think that more than three hundred could be found; and they are still more uncommon in Syria. In these countries there is great danger in the display of wealth, and the individual who keeps so many female slaves as to require an eunuch for their guardian, becomes a tempting object to the rapacity of the government. White eunuchs are extremely rare in the Turkish dominions. In Arabia I have seen several Indian eunuchs of a sallow or cadaverous complexion, and I was informed that slaves are often mutilated in Hindostan. Almost all the eunuchs of Siout are sent to Constantinople and Asia Minor.i[41]

Among the slave girls who arrive at Shendy and Siout, there are several who are called مُخَيَّط Mukhaeyt (consutæ), from an operationi[42] which has been described by Mr. Browne.i[43] I am unable to state whether it is performed by their parents in their native country, or by the merchants, but I have reason to believe by the latter. Girls in this state are worth more than others; they are usually given to the favourite mistress or slave of the purchaser, and are often suffered to remain in this state during the whole of their life.

The daughters of the Arabs Ababde, and Djaafere, who are of Arabian origin, and inhabit the western bank of the Nile from Thebes, as high as the cataracts, and generally those of all the people to the south of Kenne and Esne as far as Sennaar, undergo circumcision, or rather excision,i[44] at the age of from three to six years. Girls thus treated are also called Mukhaeyt (مخيط), but their state is quite different from that of the Negroe slave-girls, just mentioned.

The treatment which the slaves experience from the traders is rather kind than otherwise. The slaves are generally taught to call their masters Abouy (ابوي, my father, and to consider themselves as their children. They are seldom flogged, are well fed, are not over-worked, and are spoken to in a kind manner; all this, however, results not from humanity in the traders, but from an apprehension that under different treatment the slave would abscond; and they are aware that any attempt to prevent his flight by close confinement would injure his health; for the newly imported slaves delight in the open air, and reluctantly enter houses, which they look upon as prisons. But when they are once in the desert, on the way to their final destination, this treatment is entirely changed; the traders knowing that the slaves have no longer any means of escaping, give a loose to their savage temper. At Shendy I often overheard my companions, who, although savage enough, were certainly not of the worst class of slave-merchants, say to each other, when a slave had behaved ill, and they were afraid of punishing him, “Let him only pass Berber, and the Korbadj will soon teach him obedience.” The Souakin traders with whom I afterwards travelled, shewed as little humanity, after we had passed Taka. The health of the slave, however, is always attended to; he is regularly fed, and receives his share of water on the road at the same time that his master drinks; and the youngest and most delicate of the females are permitted to ride upon camels, while all the others perform the journey on foot, whether it be to Egypt or to Souakin, as they had done from Darfour to Shendy. The hardiness of the young slaves is very extraordinary; after several successive days march at the rate of ten or twelve hours a day, I have seen them, in the evening, after supper, playing together as if they had enjoyed a long rest. Females with children on their backs follow the caravan on foot; and if a camel breaks down the owner generally loads his slaves with the packages. If a boy can only obtain in the evening a little butter with his Dhourra bread, and some grease every two or three days, to smear his body and hair, he is contented, and never complains of fatigue. Another cause which induces the merchants to treat the slaves well, is their anxiety to dissipate that horror which the Negroes all entertain of Egypt and of the white people. It is a common opinion in the black slave countries that the Oulad er-Rifi[45] (ولد الريف), or children of Rif, as the Egyptians are there called, devour the slaves, who are transferred thither for that purpose.i[46] Of course the traders do every thing in their power to destroy this belief, but notwithstanding all their endeavours, it is never eradicated from the minds of the slaves. Another terrible apprehension which they have is of a small jumping animal, which they are told will live upon their skin, suck their blood, and leave them not a moment’s rest. By this description they mean fleas, which are entirely unknown in the interior parts of Soudan, and of which the most curious stories are told by the people of the country, in enumerating the superior advantages of their own country over those of Egypt. Other vermin however, more to be dreaded than fleas, are too common among them. The fear of being mutilated on their arrival in Egypt operates powerfully also upon the minds of the young slaves.

Slave boys are always allowed complete liberty within the yard of the house; but the grown up males, whose characters cannot be depended upon, or whose dispositions are unknown, are kept in close confinement, well watched, and often chained. On the journey they are tied to a long pole, one end of which is fastened to a camel’s saddle, and the other, which is forked, is passed on each side of the slave’s neck, and tied behind with a strong cord, so as to prevent him from drawing out his head; in addition to this, his right hand is also fastened to the pole at a short distance from the head, thus leaving only his legs and left arm at liberty; in this manner he marches the whole day behind the camel; at night he is taken from the pole and put in irons. While on my route to Souakin I saw several slaves carried along in this way. Their owners were afraid of their escaping, or of becoming themselves the objects of their vengeance: and in this manner they would continue to be confined until sold to a master, who, intending to keep them, would endeavour to attach them to his person. In general the traders seem greatly to dread the effects of sudden resentment in their slaves; and if a grown up boy is only to be whipped, his master first puts him in irons.

It is not uncommon to hear of a slave-dealer selling his own children born of Negroe women; and instances occur daily of their disposing of female slaves who are pregnant by them; in such cases the future child of course becomes the property of the purchaser. Most of the traders have old slaves who have been for many years in their service; these are placed over the young slaves bought in trade, and become very useful in travelling; but even these too I have seen their masters sell, after they had become members as it were of the family, merely because a high price was offered for them. It is in vain to expect in a slave trader any trace of friendship, gratitude, or compassion.

Slave girls are every where thirty per cent. dearer than males of the same age. They are called in these countries Khademe (خادمه) and not Djarye (جاريه), as in Egypt. The finest of them are kept by the traders themselves, and are called Serrye (سرّيه); their masters allow these girls great liberty, which they often abuse. It is falsely asserted by the caravan traders in Egypt, that it is a custom among them to respect the chastity of the handsomest female slaves; on the contrary, the traders do not observe the slightest decorum in their intercourse with the slave-girls. During our journey to Souakin, where the caravan often encamped, on account of the apprehension of danger, in one large circle, I frequently witnessed scenes of the most shameless indecency, which the traders, who were the principal actors, only laughed at. I may venture to state (whatever may be the opinion at Cairo), that very few female slaves who have passed their tenth year, reach Egypt or Arabia in a state of virginity. The grandees, and rich people of those countries, take care never to buy grown up females from the traders, except for servants; but they often purchase very young girls, whom they educate among their women.

Young slaves are bought upon trial; at Shendy one day’s trial is allowed, in Egypt three days are usually granted. Girls are often delivered in this manner for Tadjrebat leilat (تجربة ليلة), as it is called, and the purchaser may return a girl without alleging any other reason than that he dislikes her, so little do these savages care about cherishing a sense of shame or honour in their female slaves, who, of course, whenever they remain any length of time in a trader’s hands, acquire the most depraved habits. Sometimes young slaves are sold under the express condition that they shall not be returned.

There are certain defects (عيوب Aayoub), which if met with in the male slave authorize the purchaser to return him, even so long as a fortnight after he has bought him, unless, in making the bargain, he has renounced this right. Of these defects the principal are; 1. snoring at night, which is considered as a capital defect; 2. si mingit dormiens; 3. grinding and rubbing the teeth upon each other during sleep; this is much disliked, from an idea that the boy who does so will never become attached to his master; 4. any disease which has not been completely cured, or recurs while in the hands of the purchaser, as intermittent fever, itch, &c. &c. In buying a slave it is carefully observed, and enquired, whether or not he has had the small-pox; those who have not had it sell for less than the others. Traders have told me, that in Darfour and Kordofan, one-fifth upon an average of the young slaves die of the small-pox.

Many of the traders engage their female slaves to turn their beauty to profit, which they afterwards share with them. In our caravan one of my companions openly sold the favours of one of his females for two measures of Dhourra, of which he always received one. This man also, when a favourite little slave girl died during our stay at Shendy, with the utmost indifference ordered the body, after stripping it of every rag of Dammour, to be laid on an ass and carried to the Nile to be thrown in. It is true, indeed, that slaves are very seldom buried, the corpse being usually thrown into the river.

The merchants take great care to prevent any improper intercourse between the slaves themselves, always separating the boys from the girls at night; this is not so much done from jealousy, as because the pregnancy of the females diminishes their value. It frequently occurs however, notwithstanding all their vigilance; and it is generally found that every female has some favourite among her master’s slaves. It is a received opinion also in all the countries where the slave-trade prevails, that a female black conceives more readily from her intercourse with a black male, than with a stranger. If a female proves pregnant under these circumstances, no means are left untried by the trader who owns her, to procure abortion. She is compelled to swallow certain potions, which are supposed to have this effect; and I have several times even seen masters beating pregnant women in a manner, that evidently shewed that it was for this purpose. It is a general observation in the East, that a female slave, when pregnant, easily acknowledges the true father; and several instances have come within my own knowledge, where such an avowal, which they might easily have avoided, has subjected them to great hardship. In Egypt, where almost every family keeps a couple of slave servants, abortion is still more common, and is considered as being far from a criminal act. The favourite females are often admitted by their masters to the Bouza, or drinking parties, where the great joke is to intoxicate the girls.

What I have seen and heard of the Negroes has made me conceive a very indifferent opinion of their general character; but I ought to add that I have not yet seen them in their native countries, before they fell into the hands of these vile traders, who would spoil the mildest and most amiable dispositions. I have found, however, very few instances of slaves being sincerely attached to their masters, even when well treated by them. Their general vice is an incorrigible stubbornness and haughtiness of temper, and many of them betray a deadly rancour and spirit of revenge; but in general the treacherous disposition discernible in the children even of the free Arabs of the Nile and of Nubia, is certainly not to be found among them. They are lazy and slovenly, and will not work but when forced to do so. They seem to be almost entirely devoid of every feeling but that of gratifying their appetites; and provided the slave is well fed, and receives a regular allowance of butter and meat, and of grease to besmear his body, he cares little for the stripes or curses he receives. The merchants say: “Never trust a black slave; whip him well, and feed him well, and the work will be done” (لا تامن العبد اضربه و اطعمه فتشوف الحاجه مقضيه). I know not whether the maxim is founded in truth or not, but it is certainly that by which the merchants are guided, when they are no longer afraid of their slaves escaping. The slaves, nevertheless, whether from strength of mind, or from a brutal apathy, manifest the same propensity to mirth and frolic. In intellect, I think they are much upon a level with the Negroe Arabs, and little lower than the inhabitants of Egypt and Syria; nor should I much blame their obstinacy, if it were not too often accompanied by malignity. I have already observed that different characters are assigned to different countries, and all that I observed of them has not diminished my belief, that with proper education the Black nations might be taught to approach, and, perhaps, to equal the white.

Though the slaves endure the greatest fatigue, they are not of a hardier constitution than Europeans; indeed, I have reason to believe that, upon the whole, they are more frequently attacked by diseases; when ill, they certainly endure them much less patiently. It is a saying among the traders that “a blow (i. e. illness) which scarcely makes an Arab stagger, knocks down a slave.” The most common disease among them is inflammatory fever, to which the people of Shendy also are very subject. The remedies applied by them are cupping on the legs, and a drink made of infusion of tamarinds, but the disorder carries off great numbers of the slaves, and especially those who have endured a fatiguing journey, which is, perhaps, chiefly owing to their exposing themselves to currents of air while perspiring, and to their sleeping the whole night quite naked. I heard many people complain of bile, which is occasioned, perhaps, by their immoderate use of the ill-fermented Bouza. Piles (Bouassir, بواسير) are very common among the country people, less among the slaves. The only remedy they know or practise for it is cauterising, by the application of a red-hot iron to the parts. I first saw here the Fertit, or genuine Guinea worm, although it is not unknown among the slaves, and Soudan merchants who come to Upper Egypt. It seems very common in Soudan, and I also saw it in Arabia. The worm does not attach itself exclusively to the leg; I have seen it issuing from the arm, the breast, and the knees, though its favourite place seems to be the calf of the leg. Persons are more rarely attacked with it in Shendy than in Kordofan and Darfour; and great numbers of the slaves and traders coming from the two latter places are affected by it. Though it occasions great pain, it does not prevent the sufferer from walking until the very approach of death. I have been shown persons who had been repeatedly attacked by it, but who had always had the good fortune to descry the worm breaking through the skin, when they were able, with patience, to draw it entirely out; for it proves mortal only when it does not issue through the skin, or when, having issued, it is afterwards broken off in the act of drawing out. Even in the latter case many persons are cured. In Kordofan and Darfour the attack of the Fertit is universally ascribed to the animal matter contained in the water which is drank after the first rains.

In Soudan it is rare that male slaves are emancipated (Maatoug معتوق), but we find many females who have obtained their liberty. It is different in Arabia and in Egypt, where a slave very seldom remains in a respectable family for a series of years without being made free; and then he is either married to a female slave of the family, or remains voluntarily as a servant, and receives wages. It is a general custom in these latter countries to emancipate every female slave who has borne a child to her master. It is then considered discreditable, especially if the child is a male, not to present the mother with the Tezkeret el Nekah (تزكرة النكاح), or the marriage contract, signed by the Kadhi, which is the only marriage ceremony used on those occasions. If the child dies after this marriage, it is not considered improper to divorce such a wife, but provision must in that case be made for her. As the number of wives is limited by the Mussulman law to four, it sometimes happens that the rich people keep, besides their four wives, several of these emancipated female slaves, who live with them as mistresses.

Slavery, in the East, has little dreadful in it but the name; male slaves are every where treated much like the children of the family, and always better than the free servants. It is thought a mean action to sell a slave after he has been long resident in a family. If a slave behaves ill, he is generally sent into the country to work as a labourer in the fields of his master. Female slaves who are servants in families, are not so well off as males, because they generally suffer much from the jealousy of their mistresses. It is only by the Turkish soldiers that slaves are ill-treated. They purchase, in Upper Egypt, slave boys, whom they rear in their service, and who, after they have come to a certain age, and learned the Turkish language, are clothed and armed as soldiers, and enlisted into the company or corps of which their master is the chief. He then draws the monthly pay of his slave from the governor, as he does that of every other soldier; for, according to the regulations of the Turkish army, the captain, or Binbashy, receives the pay for the number of men whom he has under his command, and distributes it among them. It thus becomes a source of emolument to him to enrol slaves, to whose services the government never objects, and whose pay goes into his own pocket, as he is subject only to the obligation of feeding and clothing them. Great numbers of Black soldiers have, in this manner, been introduced into the Turkish army in Egypt; it was even thought that Mohammed Aly Pasha had formed the plan of organizing a body of Black troops, and of drilling them according to the European manner; but the great dislike to this innovation expressed by his principal officers, appears to have made him abandon it. At present, from six to eight hundred slaves are bought up annually by the Turkish officers in Egypt.

In the southern countries a slave brought up in the family (I do not here speak of the traders) thinks himself superior to every other person in it except the master: he is admitted to all the family councils, is allowed to trade, or to engage in any other business on his own account, and to do just as he pleases, provided he proves a bold fellow, and in case of emergency can wield a sword in his master’s defence; he may then misbehave at pleasure, without the fear of punishment. If a slave kills a free man his master is obliged to pay the price of blood, otherwise his own family becomes exposed to the retaliation of the relations of the slain; for the death of a slave who commits murder is not deemed a sufficient atonement for the blood of a free man.

In Arabia and Egypt the law gives to the slaves one great advantage; if they are discontented with their master, and decidedly determined not to remain with him, they have the right of insisting upon being sent to the public slave market, (Beaéni fi Souk el Sultaun, بيعني في سوق السلطان), to be resold. The owner may at first refuse to part with his slave, but if, having overcome the fear of exposing himself to the effects of his master’s rage, the slave finds an opportunity of making his demand, in presence of respectable witnesses, and perseveres in this conduct, he must at last effect his purpose. Some slaves are less able to take advantage of this privilege, which the law grants to all, from being shut up in the harem, where no one hears their complaints except those who are the cause of them.

According to the most moderate calculation, the number of slaves actually in Egypt is forty thousand, two-thirds of which number are males, and the rest females. There is hardly a village in which several of them are not found, and every person of property keeps at least one. During the plague in the spring of 1815, upwards of eight thousand slaves were reported to the government to have died in Cairo alone. I have reason to believe, however, that the numbers exported from Soudan to Egypt and Arabia, bears only a small proportion to those kept by the Mussulmans of the southern countries themselves, or in other words to the whole number yearly derived by purchase, or by force, from the nations in the interior of Africa. At Berber and Shendy there is scarcely a house which does not possess one or two slaves, and five or six are frequently seen in the same family, occupied in the labours of the field, tending cattle, &c. &c.; the great people and chiefs keep them by dozens. As high up the Nile as Sennaar the same system prevails, as well as westwards to Kordofan, Darfour, and thence towards Bournou. All the Bedouin tribes also who surround those countries are well stocked with slaves. If we may judge of their numbers by those kept on the borders of the Nile, (and I was assured by the traders, that slaves were more numerous in those distant countries than even at Shendy,) it is evident that the number exported towards Egypt, Arabia, and Barbary, is very greatly below what remains within the limits of Soudan. From what fell under my own observation at Berber and Shendy, I believe that the slaves of both sexes on the borders of the Nile from Berber to Sennaar, amount to not less than twelve thousand. As the population of Darfour, according to Mr. Browne, is two hundred thousand, there are probably twenty thousand slaves in that kingdom; and every account agrees in proving that as we proceed farther westward into the populous countries of Dar Saley, Bournou, Bagermé, and the kingdoms of Afnou and Haoussa, the proportion of the slave population does not diminish.

The laudable efforts made in Europe, and particularly by England, to abolish the slave trade, will, no doubt, in time, extend a beneficial influence over the Negroe countries of Western and South-western Africa, from whence slaves have hitherto been drawn for the supply of the European traders; but there does not appear to be the smallest hope of the abolition of slavery in Africa itself. Were all the outlets of Soudan closed to the slave trade, and the caravans which now carry on the traffic with Barbary, Egypt, and Arabia, prevented from procuring further supplies, still slavery would universally prevail in Soudan itself; for as long as those countries are possessed by Mussulmans, whose religion induces them to make war upon the idolatrous Negroes, whose domestic wants require a constant supply of servants and shepherds, and who considering slaves as a medium of exchange in lieu of money, are as eager to obtain them as other nations might be to explore the African mines, slavery must continue to exist in the heart of Africa; nor can it cease until the Negroes shall become possessed of the means of repelling the attacks and resisting the oppression of their Mussulman neighbours. It is not from foreign nations that the Blacks can hope for deliverance; this great work must be effected by themselves, and can be the result only of successful resistance. The European governments, who have settlements on the coasts of Africa, may contribute to it by commerce, and by the introduction among the Negroes of arts and industry, which must ultimately lead them to a superiority over the Mussulmans in war. Europe, therefore, will have done but little for the Blacks, if the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade, which is trifling, when compared with the slavery of the interior, is not followed up by some wise and grand plan, tending to the civilization of the continent. None presents a fairer prospect than the education of the sons of Africa in their own country, and by their own countrymen, previously educated by Europeans. Faint hopes, however, can be entertained that the attention of European governments will be turned towards the remote and despised Negroes, while selfishness and a mistaken policy have prevented them from attending to the instruction of their own poor.

What I have said on the manners of Berber is applicable, in every respect, to Shendy, where the habits of the people are equally dissolute. The chief of Shendy, however, possesses much more power than the Mek of Berber, and keeps the violence and rapacity of his subjects in check. The inhabitants of the district are all free Arabs; of these the Djaalein are the most numerous, and next to them the following: 1. Ababde, who pretend to be descended from the same Djidd (جِدّ) or forefather as those of Egypt; namely, Selman, an Arab of the Beni Helal, the great eastern tribe which emigrated into the northern parts of Africa, as far as Tunis, after the Mohammedan conquest; 2. Battakhein (بطخين); 3. El Hamdeh (الحامده); these, I understand, are acknowledged as relations by the Arabs of the same name who inhabit the neighbourhood of Luxor and Karnak, in Upper Egypt; Luxor has hence received the name of El Hamdye, and is more generally known in Upper Egypt by that appellation. The several tribes are constantly quarrelling with each other, chiefly respecting the retaliation of blood, to which, among the eastern Bedouins, the near relations are liable; but it appears to me that those nice distinctions which I have detailed in my description of the Bedouins, are not here attended to. Among the Djaalein the price of blood is one thousand Tob Dammour, equivalent, at the present time, to three or four hundred Spanish dollars. If the relations of the slain agree to take it, which seems to expose them to less obloquy than a similar action does in Arabia, the murderer pays the sum by instalments; a regular account is kept, and credit given for the smallest sum paid to the family of the deceased by the murderer or his family, even if it be no more than a little bread, or a few handfuls of Dhourra. Many years may pass before the whole sum is paid, and during this time the parties keep the peace.

The Djaalein have the character of being treacherous, but this is common to all the Arabs of these countries; and they have not yet so much degenerated from their forefathers, as not to know that good faith is held the first of Arab virtues: I have often heard the Djaalein boast of their sincerity to those to whom they have pledged their word as friends or companions; but this character, which they give of themselves, is not confirmed by the general opinion.i[47]

All these Arabs have two tribes of mortal enemies, the Shukorye (شُكُريه) and the Kouahel (قواحل), names which are both Arabic in their formation. They inhabit to the south and south-west of the others, and make frequent inroads upon the Djaalein, plundering the country, and driving off the cattle. Some of the Shukorye live on the banks of the Nile near Abou Heraze, but the greater part of them lead a pastoral life in the Eastern desert. The Kouahel are said to extend as far as the country of Dender, and some of them are found on the Atbara. Both tribes speak the Arabic language. During my stay at Shendy the Djaalein returned from a successful expedition against them, bringing back a booty of two hundred camels taken from the hostile encampment which was then about four days distant from Shendy. In the Syrian and Arabian deserts in like manner, there is scarcely an Arab tribe of any importance which has not a national enemy in some equally powerful tribe; the warlike spirit and rivalship of the young men of both parties being kept up by continual expeditions against each other. These, however, seldom occur between tribes who are immediate neighbours: among whom although war often happens, it is generally soon succeeded by peace and alliance.

All the Arabs of the southern countries, excepting those who inhabit the valley of the Nile, besides their daily movements from one spot to another, make two general movements in the year. In the summer they retire towards the mountains, where springs and pasturage are more abundant than in the parched plains; during the rains they spread themselves, with their flocks, over the wide expanse between the Atbara and the Nile, which in that season is clothed with abundant pasturage. The Kouahel are said to be less numerous but more powerful than the Shukorye; they are both, nominally at least, Mohammedans; it is said that their cattle is admirable.

Though I remained only a month at Shendy, and in a situation not at all favourable for such inquiries, some geographical information respecting the surrounding countries may reasonably be expected from me. In the Appendix will be found some details of this kind respecting the western countries, which, however, are the less interesting as Mr. Browne has already elucidated the geography of those parts. Of the countries to the south I was unfortunately unable to obtain any information, nor of those between Shendy and Habbesh, to the eastward. This was not owing to indolence or indifference; but to my situation with the caravan, which rendered it extremely difficult for me to take any notes whatever. Surrounded on all sides by curious observers of my conduct, and having no other protection than that which poverty gives, I knew that if suspicion was once excited, it would end in my ruin. Accurate and detailed statements of positions and distances could only have been acquired by expressly questioning the traders on this head; but nobody showed any inclination so far to oblige a person from whom no profit was to be derived, and to have paidi[48] for information would have rendered me a subject of conversation and enquiry through the whole town, where I was already but too conspicuous an object. I often indeed attempted to entice people from Sennaar into familiar conversation, by sitting down near them, and filling their pipes with my own tobacco; but they soon got tired of my questions concerning the southern countries, and put the strangest constructions upon them. Such information, therefore, I could only have derived from casual conversations during a long stay. Had I been known as a Frank traveller, like Bruce in Abyssinia, and Browne in Darfour, I might have made the best use of my leisure time, without thereby indangering my person much more than it would otherwise have been. But my case was different: I had succeeded in keeping my secret: I had still a very dangerous road before me, nor could I ever have hoped to reach the sea, had any suspicions been excited concerning my travelling projects; at least such was my firm belief. In asserting that I was unknown, I do not mean to claim the merit of extraordinary prudence, but merely to inform the reader upon what depended my success.i[49] I must be allowed to add, that if future travellers should hear me described, in these countries, as a Frank, they will have no right to disbelieve on that account the other parts of my personal history during this journey. For although the people of Daraou will undoubtedly at last discover who the poor man was who travelled with them, I was certainly unknown during the journey.

Mr. Browne, in the course of his two years residence at Darfour, collected highly valuable information concerning the Negroe countries surrounding that kingdom, but I have little doubt, that the bad opinion which the Darfour people entertained of him, was owing in great part to such enquiries. The same thing would have happened to him in any other part of Soudan, had he been permitted to quit Darfour, and it must ultimately have frustrated all his views. This remark is not made for the purpose of detracting from the merits of Mr. Browne, whose talent and perseverance were such as will seldom be found united in the same person, whose friendship for me I can never forget, and to whose excellent advice I owe much of my success. It is for the sake of those who may succeed me, that I make these observations. When Mr. Browne undertook his journey to Darfour he was not possessed of that knowledge of Arabic, and of Arab manners, which he afterwards acquired; unable therefore to attempt to pass for a native of the Levant, he never assumed any other name than that of a Frank, justly thinking that it would be more to his advantage to maintain his native character, however little it might be respected in those parts, than by an awkward imitation of native dress and manners, to expose himself to still worse consequences, and to the hourly dread of being discovered. But even as a Frank he would have been more secure in the character of a mercantile adventurer, than in that of a physician, which is a profession quite unknown in these countries. During my stay at Siout, in Upper Egypt, I became acquainted with a man who had seen Mr. Browne in Darfour, and in whose brother’s house Mr. Browne had spent a considerable part of his time. He told me that Mr. Browne, during his journey from Siout to Darfour, was busily occupied in writing down the daily occurrences, and in inquiring after the names of all the hills and valleys met with on the road; that he had a piece of lead, with which he wrote, and which never failed him. The Soltan of the English (the man observed) had undoubtedly sent him to inquire after these countries; and the king of Darfour prevented him from travelling about the country, as knowing that his sole motive was curiosity. The same person confirmed Mr. Browne’s statements respecting himself while in Darfour, of the veracity of which, indeed, no one, acquainted with that gentleman’s integrity, would ever entertain any doubt. My departed friend, who has fallen a noble sacrifice in the cause of truth and science, felt at last, that the circumstance of his taking notes had prevented him from succeeding to the full extent of his wishes; and he repeatedly advised me to use the greatest precaution in this respect. To an European reader such a maxim may look like pusillanimity, or at least excess of prudence, for it can be fully appreciated only by those persons who embark in such expeditions.

There is no communication by water between Sennaar, Shendy, and Berber; boats are used only as ferries, but even these are extremely scarce, and the usual mode of passing the river is upon the Ramous, or small raft of reeds. It is usual with the native Arabs to call the branch of the river on which Sennaar lies, and which rises in Abyssinia, by the name of Nil, as well as by that of Bahr el Azrek (Blue-River.) Thus every one says that Sennaar is situated on the Nile, (بلد سنار مبنيه علي حافيه النيل); so far therefore Bruce is justified in styling himself the discoverer of the sources of the Nile. But I have often heard the Sennaar merchants declare, that the Bahr el Abyadh (White-River), which is the name invariably given to the more western branch, is considerably larger than the Nile. I was credibly informed, that between Shendy and Damour, there is a cataract in the river, similar to that of Assouan, and another of greater size and rapidity in the country of the Arabs Rebatat, below Berber.

At Shendy the river, owing to the height of the banks, often fails to inundate the adjacent lands; and the husbandmen are too lazy to aid nature by digging canals. I have already said that Shendy depends, for its Dhourra, principally upon importations from the south; but during the famine last year, part of the supply was drawn from Taka. The rains generally begin about the middle of June; their season, however, seems to be less settled than in the western countries of Soudan. In the last days of April, some slight showers fell at Shendy, and in the evening much lightning was seen to the east. So early as the 10th of May, we were informed that the bed of the Mogren was filled with water, and that its stream, then several feet deep, emptied itself into the Nile; it was therefore evident that heavy rains must have fallen either towards the Bisharye mountains, where the Mogren rises, or towards the source of the Atbara, in Abyssinia; the latter is the more probable, as we afterwards found no traces of rains in the Bisharye desert. They do not appear to be very abundant, never continuing for weeks together without intermission, as is said to be the case in Kordofan, but falling at intervals, though in heavy torrents. In the northern desert, between Berber and Egypt, but more particularly in the mountainous country north of the well of Shigre, there appears to be no fixed rainy season: all the Egyptians and Ababdes whom I questioned on the subject, agreed in stating that rain falls in those mountains both in winter and summer, but never in great quantity. The caravans are always under some apprehensions of having their bales spoiled in crossing the desert, by an occasional shower of rain, whatever may be the time of year. The same information as to the nature of the rains was given to me during my journey up the Nile towards Dóngola. In the chain of mountains extending from Assouan to Kosseir, between the river and the Red Sea, the rain falls in like manner at all seasons, while to the north of the Kosseir route, and from thence to Suez, in the mountains of the Arabs Maazy, it is much more confined to the winter season. It is well known that showers rarely fall in the valley of the Nile, but the Delta has its months when the rain falls occasionally. Upper Egypt is almost entirely deprived of rain near the river, and thus exhibits the singular spectacle of continual dryness of atmosphere in the fertile valley, while the barren mountains, at a few hours distance, have their regular falls of rain. During my stay at Esne, in Upper Egypt, there occurred in the month of September a most violent shower, which lasted for two hours; the inhabitants did not remember having ever experienced any thing like it.

The inhabitants of Shendy, in common with the Egyptians, distinguish the time of the Khamsein (خمسين), or hot wind. The word is derived from Khamsyn (fifty), because the winds are computed to last fifty days, from the 29th or 30th of April, to the 18th or 19th of June, which is the period of the Nokhta, or dew, when the river first begins to rise in Egypt. During my stay at Esne the Khamsein began on the 1st of May, with a suffocating hot wind. I passed the early part of the same period at Shendy, where we had several days of hot winds, but whether it was in consequence of my temperate habits, which (I have reason to believe) tend greatly to weaken the effect of immoderate heat, as well as cold, or whether it was owing to the climate itself, the heat appeared much less oppressive than during the Khamsein in Upper Egypt, although at Shendy I was, day and night, exposed to the open air, without ever entering a cool room, and having seldom any thing but a shed to shelter me from the mid-day heat. It must be recollected, however, that Shendy is upon a level considerably higher than that of Upper Egypt.

The people of the countries on the Nile from Dóngola to Sennaar, and all the other true Arab tribes, as far as Bornou, speak no other language than the Arabic; and they look with disdain upon their western and eastern neighbours, whom they designate by the same epithet of Adjem,i[50] which the Koran bestows upon all nations who are strangers to the Arabic language. There exist, however, among them as many dialects, and as much difference in pronunciation and phraseology, as are found among the Arabian Bedouins. The eastern nations on the Atbara, towards Taka and the Red Sea, speak the Bisharye language, of which I have given a short vocabulary,i[51] and to the west the nearest foreign language is that of Kordofan, a dialect differing in pronunciation only from that of Four. The Arabic is well spoken in these countries, and the black Arabs appeared to me to possess a greater command of it, and to be more eloquent than their Egyptian brethren. The pronunciation is similar to that of Upper Egypt, which differs considerably from the pronunciation of Cairo and the Delta. The inhabitants of Upper Egypt, to the south of Siout, are in fact ancient Bedouin tribes, and their idiom appears to me the purest, next to that of Arabia proper. The pronunciation indeed is Egyptian, but the terms and phraseology are, for the most part, borrowed from the language of the Hedjaz, and Yemen, as I fully convinced myself afterwards, during my stay at Djidda and Mekka. The southern Arabs use many expressions foreign to the language, and which have been introduced perhaps by their intimate connexion with the Negroes. They have a great number of technical terms, which seem to be derived from the Abyssinian, and others from the Bisharye and Negroe languages.

The Djaalein particularly value themselves upon speaking their language well. I have heard Arabs of the tribe of Beni Hassan, who pasture their flocks in the Bahr el Ghazal, speaking much the same dialect as the Djaalein, and, as I particularly observed, without any tincture of the Moggrebyn. This circumstance makes it very probable, that they are of eastern, and not western origin. In the same manner there are numerous tribes of Arabs in Darfour and Kordofan, who still retain the language of their forefathers, although they speak also the idiom of the country. Few persons among the Arab tribes know how to write and read, but all express themselves with great neatness, and often very eloquently; and poets are not rare among them. Like the eastern Arabs, they celebrate the praises of their warriors in the Kaszyde (قصيده);i[52] these are not written down, but are transmitted orally from one to another; and although they may often fail in grammatical accuracy, the measure of the verse is always scrupulously attended to. The melodies of their songs appear not to be national, for the songs of the Arabs (I do not mean the Bedouins), whether in Mesopotamia, Syria, Arabia or Egypt, retain amidst their varieties a common character, whereas the melodies of the Moggrebyns as well as of the Negroe Arabs are quite different. Those of the latter seem to originate with the Bisharye Bedouins, whose national airs approach much nearer to them than those of the Egyptians. The Ababde Bedouins have borrowed the melodies of their songs entirely from the Bisharein, and they sing in Upper Egypt the same airs, which I heard again at Shendy from the Sennaar merchants, over their Bouza. There is however, one species of song common to all these nations; I mean the Hedou (حدو), or song with which they animate their camels on the march, especially during the night; it is the favourite air of all the Bedouins in the Arabian deserts, and I have heard it on the banks of the Euphrates as well as on those of the Atbara. Among the peculiarities of all these people, is a very common practice of smacking with the tongue, when denying, or refusing any thing, and the same, but in a sharper or higher tone, as a sign of affirmation or approbation. In Turkey and Arabia this is considered as an affront, or at least as a most vulgar habit; they also snap the fingers at the person of whom they demand any thing, as equivalent to saying “Give me.”

The people of Shendy know little of musical instruments, however fond they may be of songs. The lyre (Tamboura) and a kind of fife with a dismal sound, made of the hollow Dhourra stalk, are the only instruments I saw, except the kettle-drum. This appears to be all over Soudan an appendage of royalty; and when the natives wish to designate a man of power, they often say the Nogára (نُقاره) beats before his house. At Shendy the Mek’s kettle-drums were beaten regularly every afternoon before his house. A favourite pastime of the Negroe Arabs, and which is also known among the Arabs of Upper Egypt, is the Syredje (سيرجه), a kind of draughts; it is played upon sandy ground, on which they trace with the finger chequers of forty-nine squares; the pieces, on one side, are round balls of camel’s dung, picked up in the street, and on the other those of goats. It is an intricate game, and requires great attention; the object is to take all the antagonist’s pieces, but the rules are very different from those of Polish draughts. The people are uncommonly fond of the game, two persons seldom sitting down together without immediately beginning to draw squares in the sand. The Mek himself will play with the lowest slave, if the latter is reputed a good player. If a bye-stander assists one of the parties with his advice, it gives no offence to the other; sometimes they play for a gourd of Bouza, but not usually. Chess is not quite unknown here, but I never met with any one who played it.

Nothing unpleasant occurred to me during my stay at Shendy. The Ababdes with whom I lodged, although they did not shew me great kindness, yet forbore to treat me with rudeness; this was all I demanded. Their society served as a protection, for my person soon became conspicuous throughout the town, and I took care to let every one know that I belonged to the respected party of Ababde guides. Our house and court-yard were soon filled with slaves and camels: we separated into different messes, and every one delivered a daily ration of Dhourra to the female slaves, who cooked for the mess; we defrayed all our common expenses with Dhourra. Every evening some of my companions had a Bouza party; the day was spent in commercial pursuits. Soon after our arrival, in order to conciliate the Ababdes, I bought a young sheep, and had it killed for their entertainment, and I always kept my tobacco pouch well supplied for their use. I attended the market regularly, and courted the acquaintance of some Fakys, whose protection I thought might prove useful to me against the ill-will which my former companions from Daraou never failed to manifest towards me whenever we met. The son of my old friend of Daraou, to whom I had been most particularly recommended by his father, went so far as once to spit in my face in the public market-place, because I pressed him for the payment of a small sum which I had lent him, and which he denied with a solemn oath having ever received from me; indeed I never met any of these Egyptians in the streets without receiving some insulting language from them, of which, had I taken notice, they would, no doubt, have carried me before the Mek, where their superior influence might have been attended with the worst consequences to me. It was to them, as I afterwards learnt, that I was indebted for the loss of my gun; and I do not know what they might have attempted further, had I not fallen upon an expedient which was attended with the happiest effects. They had always thought that I intended to proceed straight to Sennaar, for I had never informed any one that I was bound direct to the Red Sea. They became anxious, in consequence of their own behaviour to me, that I should never return to Egypt, where I might be able to call them to an account, and where, though they certainly did not know it, a word from me to Ibrahim Pasha, who then governed Upper Egypt, would have been of the most serious consequences to them. They endeavoured therefore to prepare my ruin, by spreading the most injurious reports of me among the Sennaar merchants, whom they supposed that I should accompany; they represented me to be possessed of wealth, which I had fraudulently acquired in Egypt; and they urged that it would be an act of justice towards those whom I had cheated, to deprive me of my baggage. I had now been about three weeks at Shendy; my companions the Ababde having purchased a considerable number of slaves and camels, were preparing to return home; a Souakin caravan was also about to depart. Under these circumstances, I gave out that I had abandoned all idea of proceeding farther southward, as foreseeing that I should not have more than enough to defray my expenses beyond Sennaar. Accordingly, with the remainder of my funds, I bought a slave boy, and a camel, and declared that I intended to return to Egypt with my friends the Ababde, a course which they had often endeavoured to persuade me to adopt. This proceeding completely thwarted the plans of the Daraou people, and caused them suddenly to change their behaviour towards me; the principal man amongst them, he who struck me at Damer, repeatedly visited me, sent me several times a choice dish for my supper, and expressed his wishes that we might again meet, as good friends, in Egypt, for which country (he added) his party intended to set out soon after the Ababde, and to take guides for the journey across the desert from among the Ababde at Berber. In the meanwhile I made every preparation for my journey. I had secretly informed myself respecting the Souakin caravan, and on the eve of its departure, which happened to be two days previous to the time fixed by the Ababde for their return, I communicated my design to the chief of the latter, and by making him a small present, prevailed on him to accompany me to the chief of the Souakin caravan, and to recommend me to him, as his friend. Much ceremony is not necessary on such occasions; every person has his own beast of burthen, and joins at pleasure, whatever caravan he chooses. An increase of numbers is always desirable by the chief, as it both adds to the amount of his duties, and to the means of general defence.

It was not from any apprehensions of the consequences likely to result from the representations of the Egyptian traders, that I was induced to take the route to the Red Sea. Situated as I was, there seemed to be no great obstacle in my way to Sennaar, nor from thence to Gondar and Massouah; for I knew that the Abyssinian traders go constantly backwards and forwards between Gondar and Ras el Fil, where they are met by the Sennaar merchants; and once at Gondar, and in the fertile valleys of Abyssinia, I should, at all events, have been able to beg my way to the coast. But in this case I should have followed the footsteps of Poncet and Bruce; and am persuaded that it will not be long before Abyssinia, from its comparatively easy access by sea, will be thoroughly explored. On the other hand I thought that a journey through the country between Shendy and the Red Sea would add new information to our knowledge of Ethiopia, and being full of difficulty and danger, could only be undertaken by a traveller who had already served a hard apprenticeship; I preferred therefore traversing this comparatively small tract of ground, which might otherwise still remain for a long course of years unknown. The wish to be at Mekka in the month of November, at the time of the pilgrimage, was another consideration that had a strong effect upon me. It had indeed been a principal object with me during all the time that I was in Upper Egypt, and a motive in determining me to this second journey into Nubia. I was then, as I still am, fully convinced, that the title of Hadji would afford me the most powerful recommendation and protection in any future journey through the interior countries of Africa. From Suez or Kosseir I should have found it extremely difficult to carry my designs into effect; in going through Abyssinia, I might perhaps have been detained too long on the way by land or sea to reach Mekka at the above-mentioned period, and I knew that if I should reach Mekka without being present at the ceremonies of the Hadj, I could not hope to pass afterwards as a true Hadji, without exposing myself to daily detection.

I sold at Shendy the whole of my adventure of merchandize, and after paying my share of the expenses of our stay there, including a suitable present in money to our landlord, I bought a slave boy about fourteen years of age, partly for the sake of having a useful and constant companion, and partly to afford me an ostensible reason for going in the direction of the Red Sea, where I might sell him with profit. I still pretended to be in search of a relation, but added, that having experienced the difficulties of journeys by land through these countries, I intended to embark at Souakin for Massouah, and by that route to enter Abyssinia, where I affected to have every reason to believe that I should find my relation. I knew that the Souakin caravan consisted of two parties, one of which was bound direct to Souakin, while the other intended to take the route by Taka. It was with the latter that I resolved to proceed, and to take the chance of finding a favourable conveyance from Taka to Massouah.

I chose my slave, who cost me sixteen dollars, from among a great number, and he proved to be a very good and serviceable boy. I also purchased a camel, for which I gave eleven dollars; and as my safety entirely depended upon it, I took care to make choice of one of the strongest. I laid in a provision of Abré, or dried bread, Dhourra, Dhourra meal, and butter, and purchased several pieces of Dammour, which I knew was much in demand on the way to Taka. After all my accounts were settled, I had four dollars left; but the smallness of this sum occasioned me no uneasiness, for I calculated on selling my camel on the coast for as much as would defray the expenses of my voyage to Djidda, and I had a letter of credit on that place for a considerable sum, which I had procured at Cairo.