We remarked a group of trees at a long village situated on the left side of the river, containing sixty-five to seventy tokuls; and near it we go further east, the Haba before us, receding in S.S.W. I look at the village closer, and find that the very diminutive huts near the large tokuls, are not, as our men thought, for the children, but for the young cattle, and that this village has many straw or reed huts behind it for the pastoral men. Every thing is burnt down at our right hand, and only on the left is the border of the Nile still festooned by reeds and creepers; it is here not above three feet high. The enormous plain, in which is distinguished, from the mast, three lakes at the last point of the Haba to S.S.W., stood, therefore, entirely under water, although we perceive now numerous cattle and a large summer village in the centre. On the left also we see, from the mast, a lake and a village, about half an hour from the right shore. The large half-moon on the right has still green spots on every side, defying the fire with their pools. The land (if I may use this expression to distinguish it from the plain subject to the inundation, the secondary shores of which have become secure by the stream having fallen very much) is about three hours’ distant. The before-mentioned group of trees stands isolated behind the left shore; the latter is somewhat elevated; yet the old shore, said to approach before us again, recedes far into the above-named higher tract of land.
Ten o’clock. We have mastered the bend to S.W. by W., and sail now with north wind to S. A sand-bank forms the point of this bend. Yesterday afternoon, and previously, it occurred to me that here also the right side of the river, in an easterly direction, is nearly always marked by higher shores; but to-day this was very apparent, for the difference amounts to four feet. This is more evident because the reeds and grass are burnt away. Behind the above-mentioned group of trees, near which we perceive a number of overgrown ant-hills, I saw again the blue trees of the right shore, like the friendly appearance of old acquaintances. For a long time nothing has emerged on that side except from the elevated point of view on the mast. It depends upon the changeable humour of the river whether they come nearer to us or not. Between the dark blue margin of this wood we perceive a long glimmering water-tract. Some ten minutes’ later to S.E., at our right hand, a herdsmen’s village. Again, on the right, round to the S., up to W. In the interior of the country three villages, an hour long; but at a distance between the Haba, which appears to be very thick and woody, water is still visible, possibly in connection with the lake. This is at half-past ten o’clock; four miles. At eleven o’clock S.E.; on the right a pastoral village, on the left another. The north wind has veered, and we go, about twelve o’clock, libàhn, in E.S.E. The wind changes about two o’clock to our advantage: we sail from E.S.E. to S. and W.S.W.
At three o’clock we halt in S.E. by S. At half-past three o’clock we go S.S.E. A tokul city of one hundred and five dwellings is on the left, upon an island of two hours and a half long, commencing already when we were in S. On the left shore a lake about three hours long extends to the distant Haba, connected with the river by a narrow canal. Somewhat more behind we see two more lakes, and at a little distance on the right another city. On the left shore and the lake some tokuls, with flat arched roofs and round doors. E. and E. by S., towards S.E., is a village of thirty tokuls, some paces from the shore, by it a lake, and behind this the other lake, which I stated to be a water-tract, still continues.
We go quickly, with four miles’ course in S.W. by W., but also round a corner to E. We halt at half past five o’clock to N.N.E., where, on the right, there is a lake with a village. The before-named lake, of about three hours long, on the left shore, extends still far with the river, like a deserted bed of the stream, as we saw by the green strips, and the numbers of white and light coloured birds, that had encamped on its margin. If we consider somewhat more accurately, as I have already remarked, the main direction of these lakes, so far as the prospect from the vessel allows, we find that they always form chords, diameters, and tangents of the elliptical and circular windings of the present stream. On the right and left, a number of elephants are quite close to the shore, without being disturbed by us, and even the many light-brown antelopes remain quietly standing, and gaze at us. They are of the ariel species, of which also there are many in Taka; their flesh is very savoury.
We have done with sailing, and take refuge again in towing. The above-named intersections of the curves formed by the river are seen plainly on both sides. I had already thought that Suliman Kashef could not withstand the sight of the ariels. We stop on the right, at the shore just where the river winds from N.E. to N. The extreme edge of the shore is broken off precipitately to a height of five feet, as also on the right side of the river. The antelopes retreated as soon as the noise of the vessels reached the shore. The reeds are by no means to be trusted, because large beasts of prey are in the habit of taking up their position there, in order to rush upon the antelopes as their certain prize, when the deer go to water at sunset. A few soldiers, therefore, were sent forward for our protection.
On our return from the chase, during which not a shot was fired, we lost two bàltashi (carpenters or sappers) in the reeds, without our being able to recall them, though signal-shots were fired. They were Egyptians, steady men, and therefore we could not at all suppose that they had deserted. Notwithstanding this, the crew only looked for these men in the neighbourhood, shrugged their shoulders, and supposed that the assad or nimr (lion or tiger) had eaten them. The word nimr cannot, properly speaking, mean tiger here, for there are no tigers, as is well known, in Africa; but it is the general expression for panthers and leopards, as fagged for the lynx. At eight o’clock we sail on again to S.E., and make four miles. The river is here again about 400 paces broad. At nine o’clock, when we go S., we leave a small island at our left; the wind slackens in half an hour, but brings us S. by E. to a village, near which we cast anchor in the middle of the river.
8th January.—The vessels stand S.E., and this is the first time, for a considerable period, that one direction has held on so long. Long before sun-rise, the natives sing in honour of us their “Teabing.” The village only consists of some forty sleeping-places; each one holds several men, but the herds of cattle tethered there are exceeding numerous. The natives drive oxen near us, and are in such haste to bring them to the vessels that we can scarcely keep them off; they remain standing with the beasts, quite out of humour, point to them, and make supplicating gestures that we would condescend to receive the offerings. We have, however, become proud, for our Saturnian stomachs have had, at last, enough meat. The natives are of unusual size, and the troop standing above the pastoral village near the bee-hives, overtop their habitations by a foot.
The north-east wind is too faint; therefore again the cry is “Churr el libàhn.” From the mast:—back on the right, towards W., a large lake and a village; another at the side towards S.W., of half an hour in length, with a herdsman’s village. Behind this the Haba draws round in a bend. The wood is about one hour and a half distant, beyond the right side of the shore; but no lake is to be seen there, because there are not any angles cut off at this side. So likewise Fadl does not see a village, although yonder is the country of the Bohrs, who are said to dwell more inland; at all events, there must be water there. My Sale Mohammed, who, being my cook, wanted to procure me some roasted venison, has, against my will, gone too far from the shore, and not observed that we have changed the towing-path, and gone to the left shore. I am very angry with him, for one so easily gets in a passion in these countries. On calmer reflection, I see that I ought to have more care for his life, and that he who ventures his life for me does not deserve blows.
Eight o’clock, S.W. by S. We halt at nine o’clock, S.S.E. on the left shore, in order to wait for ivory. I sent Suliman Kashef’s sürtuk to the other side, to fetch Sale at this opportunity. The hygrometer 54°. A number of people are collecting around, and ready to give us all that they possess. The men, though only seven feet high, look like trees, in their rough and naked natural forms. Their tonsure is various; large ivory rings adorn the upper part of their arms. They would like to strip these off, but they sit too tightly, because they were placed on the arm before it was thoroughly formed. Now the flesh protrudes above and below the rings. A large man, appearing to be a little crased, or, perhaps, chief jester, wears an iron ring with flat bells on his left foot, and carries an unusually long spear, the shaft of which, being of a spiral form, is surrounded from the top to the bottom with narrow iron hoops. It must be interesting to understand his witticisms, for the others listened to him very attentively, and are extraordinarily delighted. He prefers his protecting spear to my beads; and it almost seems to me that these great children laugh at his philosophy as being stupidity.
The few spears we see here are of very different kinds; therefore, either imported or captured, in their contests, in the mutual hurling of spears. The greatest number, however, are pikes, tapering to a conical point. I only see the latter in the hands of the less skilful negroes. They seat themselves on the shore, sing, and beg for beads, pointing with their forefinger and thumb to the roundness of them. They have bad teeth, almost without exception; from this circumstance, perhaps, that they chew and smoke tobacco, partly to alleviate the eternal tooth-ache. If they did not complain of tooth-ache, yet they shewed us the entire want or decay of their teeth, when we gave them biscuit to masticate. Their chief or sheikh had, like the great sheikh of the Bunduriàls, an aquiline nose, and nobler features than the others: this I have remarked generally. The black colour alone induces us to suppose that they are of the negro race; though their features are generally not of that cast. Most Europeans, if they were painted as black, would be like them.