Nov. 25th.—We halted, yesterday afternoon, opposite the Hill of Brame (Gebel Mussa), for it was the eve of the lesser Bairam feast, and Suliman Kashef wished to shew himself there in all his glory. We had now arrived at his piratical states, an extensive territory of several days’ journey; which he, as Kashef of the first rank, has acquired under the ægis of the Basha Ahmed! who had his peculiar share therein. If he does not understand how to read or interrogate, his administration, nevertheless, goes on excellently, according to the Turkish manner. He knows how to receive a complaint or petition with much grace, and with the other hand, to let the beads of his sebha (rosary) glide through his fingers to keep time with his course of ideas; to glance over the paper in appearance whilst he listens to the bearer, and then to hand it with stately contempt to a Faki to read to him. Really generous and social by nature, he loves to have cheerful people, in pure pleasure and genuine joy, around him; and appears to be beloved by this tribe whom he helps to oppress, since he selects, like a Nimrod, the élite for his predatory expedition; but if the enterprise succeed, does not let them go away empty-handed. As far as the Shilluka and Dinkus he is a dreaded guest, full of warlike artifices, Circassian and Ethiopian κρυπτεις, and of open fierce valour, and known only under the name of “Abu Daoud,” which means “Chief David,” and seems to be an historical name of the Ethiopian land; for it cannot be supposed to apply to the King or Prophet David. The old Sheikh Mussa himself appeared to pay his respects; and the Circassian was exceedingly glad to see him continue so fresh and well,—at the same time he winked at me to draw my attention to the flexible nature of the Arabs, when he gave the Sheikh to understand, with the most unruffled countenance, that he must procure an indefinite number of cattle and sheep for the feast of Bairam. All the Arabs suddenly drew a long face.
I made use of the time to examine the country, to ascertain clearly the lower formation of the valley of the White Stream. Here, also, the river is partly dammed up by downs, on which there are single groups of tokuls in the shade of Mimosas, the inhabitants of which belong to the races of Arabs dwelling farther back, who form a kind of line of defence towards the Stream, and amuse themselves with the chase, especially that of the Nile buffalo. Behind these downs, washed by the stream, is low ground covered with verdure, which alone would prove that there had been an inundation, even if standing water were not visible here and there, left by the river when it broke through or swept away the deposited and accumulated downs, and spread itself over the low country until it was sucked up by the sun. The valley, besides the good grass already dried up, was covered with various kinds of shrubs, with thorny nebek and kitter, with brandy clover called loïd, with mimosas, harash, sant, salle, &c. In the midst of these there are many paths formed in hastening to the water, by which the deer and the herds, when pursued, immediately divide the huntsmen, and lead into impenetrable thickets of thorns and creepers, or to sloughs and swamps where danger threatens on all sides, without their being able to render assistance to each other. The humid spaces were covered with luxuriant aquatic plants; amongst which was a Nymphæa with a reddish calix, like the convolvulus, and large cordate leaves. This, to my great astonishment, was called Loss, and reminded me of the old word, lotus, and is as prevalent here as the white lotus (Nelumbum speciosum), at a later period, the double flowers of which shine at a great distance through its leaves, taking light and life from the other aquatic plants, and covering the whole watery region like flat tumblers. The white lotus, called Zitehb, might here, as it once did with the Egyptians, serve as an emblem of the material world, from its abundance, like the potatoes with us; its roots serving equally for food.
The stream had not long returned to its limits, as I soon convinced myself, when, wandering to its brink, I saw to the south of this embankment an expanse of water stretching far over the land, out of which the tops of the taller trees peeped forth like verdant islands. Beyond the inundation still older downs were visible, which are no longer disturbed by water. These heights and hills connected with each other in an extremely arbitrary manner, or lying scattered, and partly forming a manifold circumvolution of the white stream, are not perhaps remains of an old deposit from the river, but probably the product of alluvial soil and earth thrown up. The river acquires for itself, from its well-known fruitful qualities—the nature of the place being favourable, by means of the plants floating towards it—a green border, which mostly consists of bushes, whose roots, matted together, resist the action of the stream. These bushes retain the yearly deposited slime of the Nile, and continue to grow with the ascending ground. So, likewise, the sand driven in when the water is low, and the portion of earth thrown up by the violent squalls of wind, remain behind protected by the bushes. When the water is at its greatest possible height, this accumulation is chiefly covered with its fertilizing layer of slime; whilst by the pressure of the water and the particles forcing themselves upwards, it still becomes higher. The sandy earth deposited by every wind, and the roots of the bushes penetrating through the moist soil, increase the swell of this formation of hills, by the fall of their leaves and wood, as one may plainly see in the spheroid and parallel sites of the shores of the downs, which have been partly destroyed.
In the interior beyond Mandera dwell the Kabbabish Arabs, a widely-spread Nomad race, possessing large droves of camels and horses, which they bring down from time to time to the shore to drink, and to supply themselves with drinkable water. This is the point of time at which Suliman Kashef is on the watch to extort tribute from them.
The Baghara (cow herdsmen, from Bagh’r, a cow), a wide-spread Arabian tribe, dwell further up the stream and possess the country as far as Kordofan. Their name is collective for many Kabyles of this Nomadic nation, who are to be considered as branches from the very same root, although from necessary local circumstances (in reference to pasture-ground), or from dispersions brought about by dissensions, various names of places and chiefs must have arisen gradually displacing the names of the original race (gios), and recognizing no longer any patriarch or archezekes, or Great Sheikh, but only the kindred (Kabyle), of their hereditary leader or Sheikh. The latter we see in their peculiar origin in every Arabian camp in the closer union of their relations, and in every great Arabian village, where they live retired among themselves, and frequently by means of a a seriba (enclosure) like families, in the encampment of a people who are of one and the same blood.
The Mahass use the expression gebeirù for Kabyle, and this corresponds with the signification of γένεα. On account of this original connection by blood, no wars occur between them, the boundaries of their pasture-grounds having continued undisturbed among them since ancient times, and been recognized by other tribes, though lying before them in small separate encampments. The Baghara of the left shore are here all mounted, which enables them to make daring incursions into the lands of the Shilluks and Jenugah, who are not horsemen. The Baghara, on the contrary, of the right side of the river in Sennaar, settle themselves very submissively with their whole family to take care of cattle, entrust the charge of the tents to the women and children, and exhibit to the spectators the most strange groups when they move from one place to the other, and kindled fire in the evening to cook by, in front of every tent. Precisely because of their difficulty in moving, contributions are levied on them by the Basha, and they are hostilely visited, on which occasion the Funghs unite themselves to the Turks. The Baghara are also forced to come to the shore for water and pasture, when they are frequently waylaid, robbed, and plundered by the Shilluks, who, however, only requite like for like.
I heard that the Shilluks, who dwell in these parts on the river islands, and on both shores, but further up on the left only, display uncommon skill in their marauding expeditions. The Arabs say they crawl upon all fours as swiftly as a snake; and rarely use force to effect their robberies, but effect their purpose with incredible cunning—a circumstance which agrees but ill with our preconceived idea of the qualifications of a robber. In the East, however (we will not speak generally of the Southern lands); and, indeed, among the ancient Greeks, craft was considered equally worthy of a man as open combat, if it led to the point aimed at. The Shilluks are said also to be compelled to use artifice in this anterior part of their territory; which has extended, according to the expression of the Barabras, up to the mouth of the White River, because their number has become very small by the advance of the Arab tribes, with their horsemen clad in armour, and they could effect nothing by open violence. Peculiar washed-up limestone conglomerates and porous volcanic productions are here found on the shore, as well as a number of small Conchylia; Paludina bulimoides, Melania fasciolata, Neritijachasa Jordani, Cyrene consobrina, and a new species of Physa, distinguished by a plait on the spire.
Nov. 26th.—Before we left Sheikh Mussa, yesterday morning at eleven o’clock, we had an uncommonly stirring and merry time of it. The Rhamadan, fasting month, was luckily over, and the little feast of Bairam, which follows it, was celebrated the more worthily, because Sheikh Mussa had not remained deaf to the friendly persuasion of Suliman, and had had oxen and sheep driven down quite early in such quantities, that the eyes of the whole crew sparkled at seeing them. In a trice the Kashef allotted their shares to the different ships, and sent me also two capital wethers for the next day, the beef here being generally tough and coarse, and even despised by the Turks.
This peculiarity of the meat depends on the nature of the fodder; for the tender grass and herbs of our marsh-lands and pastures are wanting here. And the climate exercises a considerable influence in the hardening of animal texture, which the surgeon himself perceives when operating on the human body. Our Arabs, who, like the Greeks and Jews, born butchers and flayers, know no mercy for beasts or men, fell upon the victims, hamstrung them, to obviate the chance of any resumption of the gift; and the festive hecatomb fell—a sight pitiful to behold. Every one tried, during the flaying and quartering, to cut off a little piece or strip of meat, or stole it from the back of the bearers. This little booty was stuck on skewers into the glowing fires, which were still burning, and voraciously devoured, in order to prepare the stomach for the approaching banquet. Although they know how to roast the liver excellently, they preferred at this moment to cut it up into a flat wooden dish (gadda), to pour the gall of the slaughtered beast over it, strew it with salt and pepper, and so to eat it raw. This tastes not a bit worse than a good raw beefsteak. The ships were drawn up abreast, in order to lessen the procession of the general salutation to the Bairam.
I found Selim-Capitan with Suliman Kashef: the former had thought it well to do homage to the latter as his superior, by offering him his congratulations. Suliman embraced me tenderly, right and left, according to the Turkish custom; and so did every one in his turn, till I began at last to take myself for a Turk, although I did not even know the formula of salutation. Araki (brandy from Aràk, perspiration, distillation) was handed round instead of the coffee (Kawoë) usual at other times; and the servants had enough to do to continue filling the small flagon, in spite of the extreme narrowness of the spout through which the liquor had to pass into the glasses. The Frenchmen also soon appeared in Turkish costume, as we all were; their sabres by their sides, as also is usual at every visit; and, moreover, with their marks of distinction on their breasts. But, in spite of all the airs they tried to give themselves, they were far surpassed by Suliman Kashef in personal imposing dignity; so that no one, even if he did not know the different relations in which they stood, could be in doubt who was of the most importance here. His demeanour is quite simple, but yet of that character that it restricts every pretension to its proper limits; although Arnaud tried to speak like Mohammed Ali, as if he had been his privy-counsellor, and wanted to prove to us that he was a Marquis; whereupon he acquired there and then the name of “Le Prince de la Lune,” in honour of his bald pate and his marquisate in the mountains of the moon.