It was on November the 16th, 1839, that I saw in Khartùm the crimson streamers of the flotilla of discovery waving up the White Stream. My heart bled at not being able to accompany it on this occasion. I was so ill and weak that I was obliged to lean against the door-post, when my brother, who was equally unwell with myself, rose up slowly from the divan, and standing behind me, made me laugh again by shaking a large medicine-bottle, with a long label, and commanding me, as my physician, to retire with a Hell el Alle! Riff! Jalla! (“Spread sails! North! Forward!”); for we were looking with eager desire towards our northern forests. This first expedition got as far as the country of the Elliabs (6° 35″ N. lat.) on January the 27th, 1840. The statements and reports giving 3° 35″ N. lat. as the point reached, rest either on false astronomical calculations, or the adventurers wished to acquire the fame of having proceeded 3° further, not supposing that any other expedition would follow to check them.
Mohammed Ali, being dissatisfied with the result of this expedition, appointed in the very same year a second voyage of discovery. Various motives have been alleged for this glorious resolution. He either wished, with respect to various ulterior views, to have a country inspected, which had pleased him so well in his journey to Fàzogl, because, among other advantages, it contains the radius of the circle of an immeasurable kingdom, whose motto is “Noli me tangere;” or he thought of opening another commercial road in the interior of Africa. Perhaps his restless and avaricious heart hoped to find a real golden fleece, with the acquisition of which—like Nero, who also ordered the sources of the Nile to be sought for—he might connect the reputation of a lover of science. Nevertheless, he has, like a true Renard the Fox, scented out his Malepartus,[1] even if he have not gone as a penitent pilgrim to Turkish Rome. There the report was spread, and believed, that the old Basha would return to Sennaar. Even Ahmed Basha, the Governor-General of the land of Sudàn, and the greatest Verres among the Bashas of Mohammed Ali, feared such an unwelcome visit in Sennaar, after the taking of St. Jean d’Acre; and the merchants of the place wished it, because money, by that means, would flow into the country.
This Ahmed Basha had also other reasons, which I will detail afterwards, for fearing such a change of residence. Nevertheless, whatever may have been the secret thoughts of Mohammed Ali, a second expedition was resolved upon in 1840, and this time I was fortunate enough to take a part in it myself. For seven months I had been present in the Taka country, in a district previously untrodden by Europeans, at a campaign opened by Ahmed Basha, against the free people of that district, who are called, as being such, Asi. That nomen is one of the words of the diplomatic language of the day, not sufficiently expressive, because it means rebels as well as free men, and reminds us besides of Asia and the godlike Asi of the North. For a long time we had our camp surrounded with palisadoes of thick palm-trees, under the wonderful granite rocks of Kaffela-el-Lus, rising up above us like a dome, to the height of more than 3.000 feet, near the village of Kadmir, in the country of the Hallengas, when orders arrived from Káhira for the second expedition. The Basha permitted me at last to accompany this highly interesting enterprise; but my brother, who was his physician in ordinary, could not share in this favour, on account of the great mortality in the camp. For three days we considered and wavered, before we resolved upon the journey, and then we mutually promised not to be always forward in exposing ourselves to danger: for separation is no trifling matter in these countries, where, from the frequent diseases, and other misfortunes, no compassion is to be expected; where neither friendship nor love, and still less gratitude, is known.
Suliman Kashef, a bold Circassian, who had commanded the first expedition, and had only been a short time with us in the camp, was nominated, according to Ahmed Basha’s statement, by Mohammed Ali himself, as the Commandant, though he is said, in the former expedition, to have been pushed forward by the mistrustful Ahmed, in order to take care of his interests, and to keep a watch on Selim-Capitan, who was sent from Alexandria. To deceive, by a demonstration, the enemy, the great nation of the Haddendas, (whose cause must be honoured as a sacred and just one, and whose great Sheikh, Mohammed Din, had been taken prisoner in a treacherous manner, and was detained in the camp,) and to open at least the road, Ahmed Basha marched with us, about two miles and a quarter, as far as the village of Huàthi, where we had to cross a large mountainous torrent. The spies sent out by Mohammed Ehle, the Sheikh of the Hallengas, came back the second time, and declared that the forest on the other side was free from Arabs (Arab plural Urbàn), as they judged by the footsteps, which all turned to the north. In this manner Suliman Kashef and the Shaïgiën leader, Melek Hammed, and myself, left the camp, which was threatened far and wide by more than 100,000 hostile lances. Having good guides preceding us, we pushed through Gohr-el-Gash, (Gohr, pass of the floods, or wild path of tropical cataracts,) the dry and hitherto sandy bed of which was full of water, 4,000 feet deep, arising from the periodical rains, pouring down from the lofty chain of mountains of Makada (Habesh), that lay before us, and crossed, without any accident, a chain of sand-banks, which Baraká, the overflowing arm of the Gohr, forms below Huàthi. This Baraká springs in the north-eastern alpine chain of Habesh, and, as trustworthy persons, amongst others, the Kadhi of the Hallengas, have assured us, flows towards the west, through the mountainous countries of Kostàn and Mària, then separates into two branches, of which one runs by Suakin eastwards into the Red Sea, and the other takes its course through Beni-Amer westward, and divides itself again at Sadderath, a day’s journey to the east of Kaffela, and then flows into the Gash. On the contrary, this great Gohr comes from the north-west mountains of Habesh, and pursues its principal direction through the countries, or mountainous regions of Hamassein, Dembalass, Belga, and Basa, to the group of rocks of Kaffela-el-Lus, where it runs to the north, and is said to lose itself, or else it forms the Mogren, which appears to me also to be a Gohr. These Gohrs afford sufficient water during the hot season, when their beds seem quite dry, to the various tribes, with whom we partly came in contact, and who may be the remains of some ruined nations that have fled to the mountains. When they require water for themselves and their cattle, they make in the bed of the Gohr a hole, not very deep, in the sand, till they come to a layer of blue clay, and they draw the water, that springs forth immediately, so far down that the animals cannot reach it, into peculiar round cisterns, which they place close to the hole, and which form flat basins of half a foot or a foot deep, and six to ten feet in diameter. These basins are kneaded with clay to make them solid and compact, and then the cattle drink out of them. Such watering-places are indispensable near the springs, which, notwithstanding the basin-shaped depression of this whole country, are of a great depth, on account of the alluvial soil. In these situations we find not only birds which are scarcely seen anywhere except in the neighbourhood of water, but also the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, hyæna, and the lion with his family. They not only leave water behind in cisterns for this great and dreaded lord of beasts, but they also draw it afterwards, in order to detain him, that they may fetch him tender fresh calves-flesh from their houses, which is here his favourite food, as I convinced myself in Beshum, in the country of the Haddendas. It is a fable that the elephant dislikes the camel: I saw them both at Hauàthi drinking in the middle of the day, close to one another, out of two different holes. The elephant is said to be angry with the people if he find the cistern, from which he is accustomed to drink, choked up with earth by the wind or animals, and to attack the nearest village (as was the case some time since in Hauàthi), to overthrow everything he meets, to clear out the water-vessels, and not even to disdain the corn he may happen to find.
Ahmed Basha could not spare any troops for our protection, on account of his being pressed so closely by the enemy. There were about sixty of us, including the mounted halberdiers of Suliman Kashef, who carried arms, besides unarmed servants, male and female slaves. The excellent light cavalry of the Shaïgiës, under the command of the bold Melek Mahmud, accompanied us only a short distance. These Shaïgiës are not at all of Arabian origin; they call themselves “Warriors of old of the soil,” and are still held memorable, even as knights, through their really daring and adventurous plundering excursions in these parts.
We worked our way over heavy and untrodden roads, whilst the Shaïgiës wound right and left through the thicket, like snakes, and covered our flanks. We passed through the Haba (forest; in this place, swampy forest), which it is well known is so dreaded by the Turks, and fortunately reached the high swollen Atbara near Gos Rajeb after three days’ and three nights’ hard riding, having been obliged to leave behind many animals, especially horses, which had fallen from exhaustion on the bad roads, and from the want of sufficient fodder. I perceived that the Turks congratulated themselves on leaving behind them their Silva Hercynia, in which Mohammed Din with his Haddendas, though only armed with lances, had twice defeated Kurdshid Basha.
In vain we looked about here for the ships, which, in case of an unfortunate issue of the campaign, were ordered from Berber to communicate with the shore; but there was not a plank to be seen, as the requisite northern winds had not set in to enable them to sail against the strong current of Atbara. No sooner had the haughty Sheikh Hadàb remarked this than he, who had strongly asserted that the ships would be here, looked about very uneasily, and slipped away from the side of Suliman Kashef into a bush, giving me a significant look as he passed, and had nearly disappeared when Suliman Kashef took up his long gun. The Basha had but lately, from his own absolute power, advanced him to be the great Sheikh of Sogilàb, and by that means had gained partisans in the family. He had accompanied us as a guide from the commencement of our journey to this place in a very dirty dress, and had all along assured us that we should have a strong encampment of his Kabyles at our side, although he had only provided some bread, but no fodder for the beasts, which were completely disabled and obliged to live merely on the trees, and with which we were obliged to cross a rapid stream. As he had been created a Sheikh by the Basha (Sheikh betal Divan), he was exceedingly hated by the two other Kabyles of Sogilàb; and I, who knew him well, watched him, lest he should play us any treacherous trick. He was soon afterwards shot with a pistol, in the middle of his people, in the village of Sogilàb, by one of our Magrabis (Mogrebins), who had been sent for the purpose, without his death being avenged or the Magrab being punished by the Basha.
On a signal-gun being repeated, a small boat appeared, similar in size and construction to a moderate fishing-cauf. We saw men plunge from the left shore into the flood, and this cauf became animated with human beings from Gos Rajeb: soon afterwards the bold swimmers landed, having been carried here and there by the current. A strong arm grasped, at my feet, the root of the tree affording me shade: “Oh, uahet sheïtàn keweiss!” (“Oho, a fine ghost!”) said my huntsman Sale, whilst he held my pipe under my nose, and gave a horse-laugh. A woman’s breast, just disclosed from under her ringlets, and confiding in heaven, appeared first on the top of the waters, and then dived back again. Shaking off my lassitude, I threw myself upon the ground to offer an assisting hand to the poor creature. A nut-brown Amazon, of the clearest complexion, a true picture of most luxuriant youthful strength and vigour, stood naked up to her dripping rahat (girdle of strips of leather) upon the end of my carpet. Throwing off from her head the Ferda (a long cotton cloth with ornamental borders, worn by all these people of both sexes, and exactly the same as those found in the Egyptian tombs), she smoothed it, slung it round her hips over the right shoulder and the head, soundly rated Sale, and then ran away laughing because I understood her Aggem, (heathen language, or rather what is not Arabic,) uttered by her deep hoarse voice, as little as she my Arabic cur, quomodo, quando. Recovering from this unexpected fright, I followed her, and learned that these Bishari had come from the Kabyles of Wood Naga, on the Atbara, for the purpose of conveying across our cattle. The wildly beautiful damsel had grown up from a child in this employment, which was her greatest pleasure. Stronger and bolder than any of her nearest relations, she had lost her voice by lying in the damp in her night-quarters on the shore, expecting for some time the retreat of the army, said to be nearly annihilated, for the sake of the profit (four piastres or girsh, about one shilling,) on every camel and horse.
The old boat, which had been concealed out of fear of the rapacious Haddendas, and had become leaky, was drained of the water, after it became certain that there were no other vessels near. This tribe of the Haddendas is always at war with all the neighbouring races. The Haddendas, whose territory here borders on the right shore of the Atbara, above the equally marauding Anafidabs, swim over in a small daring body, take very coolly the vessels from the left side which are to transport the people waiting on the right shore to pillage and murder, and then hasten back with the booty so much the more securely.
Suliman Kashef invited me to cross over immediately with him, but I could not venture to entrust my collections and camels to the thoughtless and timid servants; I therefore remained behind, and by his directions ordered durra, the corn of this country, for the exhausted animals, and bread, or rather flour, and meat as supper for myself and my men. We had already, at Gohr el Gash, beaten the camels to make them go into the water, and yet there were others sent before to set them a good example; but here it was far worse, for there was a depth of from forty to fifty feet to swim in.