Half-past four o’clock. Still the solitary tokuls, with fishing implements and sürtuks. From S.E. by S., a short tract to S. The natives are of a friendly disposition, and laughed immoderately, when the sailors, among whom our Abu Hashis play the principal part, imitated the cry and laughter of the women. By the short stakes, which are already sufficiently known to us, we perceive that their icthyophagism has a flesh-side. They also use the word matta (lord and king) when they address us. It may, therefore be a borrowed word among them; it is said also to be used in Habesh. A quarter before five o’clock, from S.S.W. to S. by E. A miserable village, with tobacco-plantations, on the left shore, but the divine smoke rising close by, asserts the old attractive power of meat. We stop for a moment, at five o’clock, at the right shore, as if we were about to land, but the drum is beat, and the tired crew must again to the rope. S.E. by S. The village at the right shore, before which a little sycamore hangs over the river, is better built, and its several magazines testify that the people apply themselves to agriculture. Half-past five o’clock. At the upper end of the village the river winds in an arch S.E. by E. We see continually doum-palms in the forest of the left shore, whereon a village rises.
At last we are again close to the main stream, and near the Island of Buko. At sunset we halt at the right shore S.S.E. We see from hence the trees near which, a few days ago, we lay at anchor by the village of Buko, and also the village itself, but separated from it by land, and our gohr,—the presumed river, winds to the right.
The Liènns dwell here; and the interpreter already dismissed, Gùmberi, who had left us in Berize, the capital of the Bambers, came to us again. Clothing appears here to be the privilege only of the chiefs, for Gùmberi was obliged to take off his red shirt, it being against the Ethiopian regulations about dress, and he was asked whether he was a sheikh. (I use here, as throughout my book, the word sheikh of the Arabic language, as the most significant in analogous circumstances.) There are many doum-palms here, especially young copse, upon which the sailors pounce, and take the leaves to make cords of them. I see, to my sorrow, that they do not even spare the narrow convoluted hearts, which are four to five feet long. The leaves are plucked, laid in bundles upon a stone, and worked with a stick, till they are split into fibres; then they are again twisted together, sorted anew, and laid, like coarse hemp, in the sun to dry. The very same process takes place with the inside bark of various trees. I got, subsequently, in the country of the Shilluks, a small handful of flax, which, according to my Tshauss Marian, was prepared from the bark of the Baobàb: this tree is called in the Nuban language, Omràh; its fruit, however, Tabeldi. It is whiter than flax, shining like raw silk, and feels exactly like the latter.
7th February.—The beating of the doum-leaves goes on again at daybreak, as if the crew wanted to acquire enormous treasures by them in Khartùm. It appears as if we shall remain here to-day, on account of the doum-palms and hunting. Our encampment is an old bean-field, from which my servants brought me, in a very short time, a number of beans, quite young, to eat as a salad. Unfortunately I must begin to be sparing of my vinegar, for it is truly welcome to me in these regions, as the most refreshing restorative, although it causes thirst afterwards. I have almost entirely renounced meat, and live principally on coffee, biscuit and uèka. The people cannot subsist without this dried bamie, and therefore my men have laid in a plentiful stock. Rubbed to a meal on the murhaka, I have it boiled to a thick pap, with onions and the pepper of the country, (fillfill bèlladi), and I afterwards pour vinegar over it. I remarked this morning that Arnaud noted 82° atmospheric moisture, although the hygrometer has entirely left off working. I made him comprehend that this was somewhat too much here; he took the thing, however, as a bagatelle, and said that it would rectify itself afterwards!
The race of the Liènns, who dwell here, is called Kikin, and the Tshièrrs live opposite. The Liènns are friendly, and even sociable: they allow themselves to be joked with, and take the blows with reeds, which the sailors deal them, as play; but do not venture to return them. Though these people are inclined generally to jesting, and merry scenes often take place with our wags, during which the former are a pattern of good humour, yet they still remain extremely mistrustful in barter. It is not till they have grasped the beads firmly in their hands, that they let the goods go which are to be given for them. I remark that the number of the stippled lines on their forehead is usually from three to five; we see many also with quite a smooth forehead. Their weapons are better than those of the Elliàbs, and they exhibit, on the whole, more wealth, not only by their ornaments, which, indeed, per se, are insignificant, but, in particular, by a certain plumpness of body, denoting better nourishment.
They bring us baskets, very neatly plaited, of split bamboo reeds, square at the top, and protruding spherically at the bottom. I get some bows and arrows, perfectly similar to those of Bari. The arrows, with wooden or bone points, are principally only destined for the chase, as also the spears, with barbs. Iron is dear here, and they did not like, therefore, to sell their javelins, some specimens of which I had acquired previously. They tell us that there are several lions in the neighbouring Haba, and want to prevent us from hunting on that account. We remained on land to-night, with just confidence in the good disposition of the people, as we had done previously among the Elliàbs, and set sentinels on the shore.
8th February.—I repaired early this morning to the forest, and returned in two hours, just as Arnaud was setting out, in company with Suliman Kashef and his men. Suliman altered his mind suddenly, alleging, as a pretext, the heat; and Arnaud also, who, before sunrise, was going to slaughter lions and tigers, composed himself very submissively to return. The doum-palms, if they do not form a single species, have a meagre appearance, and but little height; the doum-copse, on the contrary, stands very luxuriantly, and measures sixty fingers’ breadth in a fan. The negroes have really no dome-fruit left, and the elephants may have had the beginning of it, and the gleanings. The poison-trees are unusually large here.
A tree attracted my attention, by its size and light-coloured branches, similar to those of the sycamore. Unfortunately it had lost, like the baobàb, its leaves, except a few. The ends of its boughs, from which the leaves develope themselves, have buds similar to those of the chesnut-trees. Mariàn says that this tree is called Emeddi, and is present on all the mountains of Nuba. According to him it has small flowers, and little fruits of a reddish colour. These are as large as clusters of grapes, and hang together in the same manner, only somewhat looser, are very sweet and eaten. The elephant-tree (in the language of the Nubas Tihl, or also Or Omul—Or, tree, omul, elephant) stood in abundant verdure, with long young fruits. As I now hear, its fruit is eaten by the Nubas only in case of necessity. If we consider this tree, with its shady roof of leaves and its magnificent long clusters of flowers and fruits, we feel inclined to look upon it as the Persea, or arbor cœlestis of the hieroglyphics, and not the leafless baobàb, which is mostly a ruin without shade. In Kordofàn, the Or Omul or Tihl sheds, moreover, its leaves, as the beautifully foliated Emeddi does here.
Another tree pleased me, which was covered with white flowers, as if with snow. The small, pointed, and succulent leaves are something like those of the pear-tree, as well as the tree itself. Four white leaves are arranged around eighteen long blue stamina. The fruit is said to be as large as an egg, and is eaten. The tree is called döbker, and is also indigenous in Nuba. Among the mimosas we remarked only talle; sunt seems not to present itself at all in these upper regions. Nearly all the wood of these trees is soft, and was felled to be worked into pulleys and other things for the vessels. As the bark of the muddus-tree is better than all the others for ropes, and does not appear on the great Nile, it was eagerly sought for. I found also some cotton-trees with small leaves, in the Haba, which lies tolerably high, and presents an extensive view. Honey is found here in the ground, and on the trees, but the little cakes contain only a small quantity. A large durra-field in the Haba lies, on the whole, high, and falls away to E. and S.; the soil is strongly mixed with sand. It must rain here, therefore, for a long time, and continuously, as the powerful growth of the trees bespeaks, because otherwise durra, even were it ever so rapid in coming to maturity, could not thrive without artificial irrigation.
The Tshièrrs live in friendship with the Liènns, whose language they use, and have the very same insignia of race on their foreheads. Wherever there are boundaries, such as the river here, then there appears jealousy and discord. A little slave of Selim Capitan’s begged to be allowed to throw into the water the other boy, who was not, like himself, a Tshièrr, but a Liènn, because he dwelt on the other side of the river. In other respects both these tribes live in peace; and yesterday a Tshièrr brought us a young slave-girl purchased from the Liènns, and she was bought in exchange by Suliman Kashef. We have already become too intimate with the natives by our two days’ abode for the Turks not to commence civilising them after their manner. At the head stands Selim Capitan, who is really earnest about the matter; at his side, Suliman Kashef, who is not behind the worthy son of Crete in cultivation, and likes laughing and amusement. The thermometer had this morning 20°, noon until three o’clock, 27° to 29°, and after sunset 27° Reaumur.