The creeping beans seem to have the power especially of attracting to themselves atmospheric moisture; I saw them often, on quite arid soil, where everything else was already dried up, spreading from one root up to twenty paces distant in the most luxuriant dark green foliage. It was only with caution that one dare raise these long tendrils, to seek the slender long pods, for animals liking moisture—such as snakes and loathsome reptiles—take up their abode under them. Soon we push off again from the shore and go to N.N.E. On the left an island, which is cultivated towards its lower end, whilst the reeds are wisely allowed to stand at the upper end, on account of the pressure of water. Near the pastoral village in the neighbourhood a large tree rises. Our men believe that veneration is paid to trees standing isolated. Another small island, covered with grass and reeds, obeys still the element from which it rose.
The shores of the river are generally green, and enjoy the cultivation of the human hand. The land extends flat on the right, encircled by the Habas: four villages lie in it, and the village on the shore is really large. On the left, a small and pretty river-meadow with a tokul and watchhouses; we make a strong bend to N.N.W., and here ends on the left the former island, above half an hour in length. A fifth village joins the four others; the solitary farm-houses are surrounded with hedges of light reeds, as also the farm-yards, wherein a few tokuls lie together. The latter, perhaps, as generally in the land of Sudàn, harbour an increasing family, and increase with it till they become a large settlement, where the head of the family has the precedence according to the rights of primogeniture; this we find also in King Làkono’s dominions. Though harvest has taken place on the right shore, we see on the left nothing but green cultivation.
Three o’clock. We land below this Ethiopian pentapolis on the right shore. Here, therefore, the bairàm-el-kebir will be probably solemnised. Unfortunately I do not see a tree under the shade of which I could seat myself, but interesting purchases of the national curiosities may be made. My speculation in elephants’-teeth is considerable, and a kind of mercantile rage comes over me for the first time in my life, when I think how I shall surprise my dear brother in Khartùm, as we are drinking the first glass of wine together in the divàn, and my three faithful Baràbras, covered with the weapons and ornaments of the people of these countries, march in through the bye-door and lay the whole booty at our feet. We are here in the country of Bamber, and the large village city bears the name of Berize. Here Gùmberi, our interpreter, is really at home: I see how his relations shake hands with him and press him in their arms. His countrymen have generally, but not always, these single tattooed prominences or points upon the forehead, which reach in six or eight lines crossways to the temples. The natives are, on the average, of considerable height, although we find among them men of moderate size, but they are destitute of the muscular structure of limbs of the highlanders, and are much more slimly built: the formation of the face and the language is, however, similar to those above. They are dirty, and may be called poor, in respect to their ornaments and weapons, compared with the people of the highlands of Bari. The ivory bracelets we find dearer here than anywhere else; the interpreter, who has left on board the greatest part of his beads for temporary safe-keeping, may have enlightened them on the value of our ornaments, in order to remain the safer in possession of his own treasures.
They produce their iron weapons from Bari, and seem not to wish to sell them at all. This deserves all praise, and shews that they reflect; for being a small nation they ought always to be ready for combat. The forest behind the wide-extended durra-stubble consists of melancholy geïlid trees on dry and sandy soil. The men bring wood, every one a little log: a couple of small beads are given to each. They are contented, like children; but they manage to steal our purchased wood and sell it to us a second time. My servants tell me that they have found a deep pit covered at the top lightly with straw, in which elephants are caught. A barking dog was fastened to a corner of it. The latter is a huntsman’s whistle to entice the elephants who may chance to be curious. This manner of catching elephants is common throughout all the land of Sudàn, especially in Fàzogl. We were not a little afraid formerly in Taka of falling, during our nocturnal marches, with our horses, into these elephant-pits, as frequently happens in the Chasuas. In truth the people in Taka seem to stand on friendly terms with elephants, and to leave the hunting of them to the mountain people of that country, although Sauachinn (Sauakim) on the Red Sea is the staple town of ivory, from whence it goes to India, and afterwards to Europe.
2nd of February.—To-day is the great Bairam feast. The rising sun is greeted with twenty-one cannon-shots: all the people run away, and do not return till after all the guns had been discharged. I learned from Feïzulla Capitan the formula of the usual congratulation: “Bairam Sheriff ma berèk,” and set off with it to the two commanders. The Egyptians could not belie, on this opportunity, their innate Bakshish mania, and came one after the other for drink-money.
Arnaud is so ill that he cannot leave his vessel, and raves incessantly. With the exception of some small elephants’ teeth, I only acquire, notwithstanding Fadl’s activity, a few ivory bracelets and iron buckles, with an oblong plate. Although Selim Capitan yesterday, at the request of Gùmberi, who petitioned for his countrymen, distributed some cups, with the usual sug-sug, among the people, and also presented strings of beads to certain individuals, yet they only brought us to-day, at last, one ox. Gùmberi seemed not to possess the proper influence with his friends, and, moreover, to have excited the envy of a chief; for he had only fetched away, at night, from Selim Capitan, his glass treasures, under the promise of several paschal lambs. We set out at half-past eleven o’clock at noon from Berize, and leave on the right a reed-island, of the length of half an hour, the lower part of which is covered with lubiën. N.W. by W. Both shores are cultivated. At one o’clock a large village on the right; opposite, another one, with open tokuls, and a strong palisado-kind of enclosure, seemingly as a protection against wild beasts, if not against men themselves; for this is a station of herds. N.E. by N., and a quarter after one o’clock to N. Near the large village three others are in a line, on the right side of the river, the last numbering about a hundred and fifty tokuls. The walls of the magazines, being raised on stakes, are wattled like baskets, and then besmeared with clay; the tokuls for the cattle, which also stand separately here, are protected by a strong seriba of trunks of trees and thorns; whilst around the habitations of human beings there are hedges of reeds, partly smooth. Opposite, at a little distance from the left shore, another village. To judge from the shores, beans here appear to afford a principal means of nourishment. Half-past one o’clock. From N.N.E. to W. by N., and then N.N.W. Solitary tokuls, near which the beans occupy entire plains. From N.N.W. immediately again W. Some hundreds of royal cranes perched here quite gorgeously on a sand-bank; they were right not to keep their position, for I had raised the “longue carabine,” as my brother used to call our long Turkish gun. A quarter before two o’clock, N.W. From the deck we see four villages to the right, and one to the left.
Before us we have the obtuse corner of an island, which has from here considerable extension. Large herds of cows and villages are scattered upon it. Away over the end of this island we see, on the right side of the river, three more villages. In consequence of the shallows, we leave the right arm of the Nile and make for the left shore before the broad island, going again aback. Close to the nearest village, on the large island, a number of blacks have collected.
The leader of the chorus leads the choir, and the multitude answers with fearful vigour. A troop of élites, assembled before the crowd, run in close column backwards and forwards,—their leader at their head, commanding them, and holding a pole, on the top of which an animal’s tail was fastened, clearly in order to give us a warlike representation. But they bring several heads of cattle to the shore. These are reasonable men: we have, in truth, no meat, and the sailors crack the rough lubiën-pods and the durra-stalks like sugar-canes. Real garden warblers are these Arabs, and all the blacks. Selim Capitan has already reached the island, whilst we remain fixed on the sand until I wake up the captain. I hear the sailors gasping forth “eh lissa,” but I know this simulating of extreme exertion, when each man trusts to the other one working. At half-past two o’clock we pushed on through the left arm of the Nile over to the island, where there was a great huzzaing and joy on the vessels touching land. Again they brought three oxen, and a splendid barter took place. Besides fowls, goats, and sheep, they bring a quantity of elephants’ teeth, panthers’, leopards’ and monkeys’ skins, little stools, iron buckles, ivory bracelets, weapons, lubiën, small water-melons, woollen war-caps, iron necklaces, strings twisted together of little shining black fruits, fixed like beads, &c. The people are very friendly, and willing to oblige, and I might say, more cultivated than those of Bari. We are on the large island called after the name of the neighbouring great village Buko. The latter contains more than five hundred tokuls. I hear, to my astonishment, that the nation here is not called Bamber, but Buko, and that the tribe of the Bambers has its boundaries before this island, and is only a small race, like the Korreji, or Korreschi, who are said to dwell above the Bambers, and may have originated from Mount Korreji in Barì. It seems that these Bukos are of one race with the Bambers, Tshièrrs, and Liènns, for they have generally their foreheads dotted. The formation of the face, and other physical qualities—the large and moderate stature, also speak in favour of a common origin and subsequent separation.
The arm of the Nile wherein we lie, and which we shall navigate, is called Kirboli; the right and narrow arm on the other side of the island, towards N., Kirti. Selim Capitan requests me to accompany him to the Kirti. We went down it in the sandal for the distance of half an hour, and found its breadth to be seventy-five metres, by the assistance of the rope which was drawn across it through one of the plundered sürtuks. As far as we can see, this arm goes, with slight declinations to E. and W., entirely to N., which direction the natives also gave. According to this it would be our nearest road, but its water is unknown, and it is not thought safe to let the lighter vessels take this short cut.
With respect to this little track, it had a depth, at the commencement, of two, immediately afterwards of two and a half, and, at the end of our excursion, of three and a quarter fathoms. We returned about evening by land,—painful enough for Sabatier and myself, who are just convalescent,—and passed by nine small villages, or groups of tokuls, which I had taken, at our anchorage, for three villages, and then had counted thirteen. The surface of the earth is an excellent humus on this side, and the little fields were trenched with furrows for irrigation, and on which, among other things, we found water-melons. On the extensive plain of the island we do not observe a tree, except some small ones, near our vessels, and a large one behind the city of Buko. From a distance we saw the natives harpooning fish, which they brought soon for sale to us. But here, also, we found, in general, an intolerable and abominable mistrust.