"I omit altogether the other routes taken from Souakim to Khartoum, for some travellers have reached the Nile from the south, without touching at Berber. Werne in 1841, Baker in 1861, and Lejean in 1864, went down the Red Sea as far as Massouah, and reached Khartoum by Keren, Kassala and the Blue Nile.
"All these districts, you must know, are under Egyptian rule, and form part of Eastern or Egyptian Soudan. No very extraordinary adventures can, consequently, be expected just yet, but they will come later on, at least we will hope so. There is a time for all things, says the proverb. Have patience, and as soon as ever the unforeseen and the marvellous afford scope for soul-stirring description, I will yield the pen to Périères and you shall be happy.
"For the time being we have only to deal with a country already half-civilized, where Turkish and Egyptian customs prevail, where there is a talk of constructing a railway, and where, horrible to relate, the telegraph is in full swing. So you see, we are not yet amongst the savages, and you would not thank me for discounting the interesting things in store for you.
"On the 6th November, 1872, we landed at Souakim, where, thanks to the Governor, Muntas-Bey, a charming man, by-the-way, we were enabled to lodge both ourselves and our servants in a tolerably presentable brick house.
"I must tell you that Souakim has become a place of considerable importance since Egypt acquired it from Turkey, and became its sovereign mistress. There is actually a bakery in it, an inestimable boon in a country where, ten years ago, the Governor alone ate wheaten bread. But, from a moral point of view, the most complete change in Souakim has been brought about by the new aqueduct. The women will no longer be beasts of burden, destined to seek for water outside the town, and the Bedouin will have other things to think of than the capture of some poor slave-girl, to fill the degrading post of water-carrier. You cannot imagine how sad a sight it is to a European to see these old women, often infirm, wearily dragging themselves along the deep and burning sand, with heavy water-bottles on their heads. Nor are the young and pretty spared; their flexible figures, their backs still weak, are bowed, beneath their heavy burden, and remain so. Why, you will say, are not animals employed on this work? For the simple reason that they are more expensive to keep than slaves.
"Other customs have also undergone considerable modification since the country has been annexed by Egypt. Our European dress, which formerly would have caused a regular commotion, now scarcely attracts any attention. I do not mean to say by this that the Europeans and Egyptians are in a majority here. In the rainy season, hosts of Bedouins, followed by their flocks and herds, come down from the neighbouring mountains, and pitch their tents to the south of the town. But that is more like a suburb situated on the mainland, because Souakim proper is on an island, and it is in this part alone that any noteworthy buildings are to be seen, such as the custom house, the English postal telegraph office, the divan and a few mosques. Of gardens, both public and private, there is an absolute dearth, and I have only been able to discover one solitary clump of date-palms, maintaining a struggling existence in the courtyard of a former Governor. To make up for this want of attraction, we have enough and to spare of the sun, and the heat is so great that we are longing, I can assure you, to get to the mountains.
"We are waiting only for camels and drivers, and it is not an easy matter to procure either, the drivers especially, seeing that every day seems to make them more extortionate and intractable. In consequence of the horror which Joseph now has of a camel, I have been obliged to procure him another sort of conveyance. It is a donkey, strong enough to carry his hulking body, but so small that his rider's legs almost touch the ground and make the animal appear six-footed. Joseph objects to the very mention of a bûrnus ever since his mishap, and he has invented for himself a fanciful costume, which, when he is mounted on his ass, gives him a resemblance to Sancho Panza. Please do not on that account, attempt to confound his master, physically, with Don Quixote, although, morally, I should be flattered by the comparison.
"Miss Beatrice Poles will have nothing to say to camel, horse, mule, or ass. 'I have my feet,' she says, 'they are quite enough for me, and I am only too happy to make use of them. You will never have to wait for me, for I shall go ever so much faster than you. A caravan, in these parts, is just like a lot of tortoises marching in single file, one after another.'
"Our camels, twenty in number, will therefore be reserved for our two interpreters, the three Nubian women-servants, and our personal luggage, the remainder of the luggage having, as I have already told you, been sent on direct to Khartoum. Excuse all these details, they are absolutely necessary if you wish to understand our trip and to follow us.
"We calculate on reaching the Nile, without hurrying ourselves, in about a fortnight. Beurman estimates the distance from Souakim to Berber at one hundred and thirteen hours' travelling, and Heuglin at one hundred and eight, much about the same thing. Schweinfurth calculates by miles, and puts it down at seventy-five. Do not forget, for it is a detail of great importance, that marine miles are meant, sixty to the degree, and representing 1,952 metres. You must not, as is so often done, confound the mile with the kilometre."