An incredible number of potsherds were found below on the flat shore which is deserted by the river. I thought to pick up pieces of brick, but I soon discovered that they were fragments of that kind of murhàka which the Shilluks bake from the mixed mud of the Nile, owing to the want of stones. I did not discover any remains of villages on the shore; they appear, however, to lie upon the high gohrs, and the pools arising therefrom, as if upon the primitive shore. These gohrs of the Sobàt running parallel, and lying actually twenty feet higher,—at times, also, displaying higher dams or shores than the river itself, indicate moreover that the river in its young days flowed wider than it does now, without deviating from its direction, so far as I have hitherto observed. I had an opportunity of convincing myself of what I have stated above, at the village in the neighbourhood of which I was shooting, and where I saw two ostriches. Nevertheless these potsherds are testimonies either of a previous and considerable population of the surrounding country, and even the hill covered with shrubs above the potsherds might have supported a village, or that more people dwell above than we should have supposed; and the pieces of murhàkas may be a sign that neither stones nor mountains are near at hand, and that the arts did not flourish; for all these fragments were of rude origin. We have never discovered traces of any finer vessels of terra-cotta, or pieces of glass, enamel, or delft ware, such as we find in Egypt.
When the antelopes come to drink, for which they have room enough,—for instance, yesterday evening—on the extensive plain, they appear drawn up as if in line of battle, but run away like a flock of sheep—yet not so close together—as soon as danger threatens. These animals, so numerous here, might be easily tamed and fed by the hand of man, if arms did not prevent such friendship; the lion and hyæna, besides, keep them in constant fear and trembling, and take a tenth part and more of them, in spite of all their innocence, as we have seen by the remains of saraffes and gazelles. Perhaps, the great lord of beasts, with whom I came so closely in contact that it was only necessary for him to make a spring, to set his teeth in my bit of Adam’s flesh, had made such a feast on venison before we met.
It is surprising that I have not hitherto seen any mouse-holes or mole-hills; the inundation and rains may be the cause of this, and we have not gone from the river into the interior of the country. The Schudder-el-Fas (axe-tree, mimosa sensitiva?) common in Bellet Sudan, is seen on the shore itself,—a shrub spreading like brambles, with small delicate acacia leaves, a similar sort of pods, flesh-coloured button-flowers, and barbed thorns. If its twigs be touched with an axe, or a knife, or merely knocked with the finger, its leaves immediately close (from fear, as the Arabs say) as if they were withered. I have not yet been able to procure ripe seeds of this shrub.
M. Arnaud makes a section, but not where the water running upon a shallower place allows a more accurate calculation to be made, but there where the river is full,—namely, in these basins, in which the water underneath is stagnant, whilst that on the surface moves as slowly as we have seen the Atbara, which has the very same deep basins. The public will therefore read of a mighty mass of water, said to be carried by the Sobàt to the Nile: the breadth of the river amounts here, as below, to one hundred and thirty mètres.
The section is therefore made, and we proceed at noon. The strong wind breaks in two the sail-yard of the vessel commanded by the Arnaut, Mohammed Aga, because Selim Capitan paid no attention to it, though it was rotten,—and so was the whole vessel.
We land afterwards at our peninsula or sand-bank, where there is a settlement of six tokuls. The poor inhabitants of these little straw huts were perhaps those whom Thibaut observed when setting out from hence, and who covered the whole island like a swarm of flies; whereupon he slily retreated. I rather think that my European fellow-travellers are afraid of my being an eyewitness of their doings and acts, lest I should accuse them of falsehood, or laugh at them when they exaggerate some small circumstance, or pretend to have seen wonders, and gone through frightful adventures with courage: and yet they give all this out of their journals to their attentive listeners. It is really as good as a play to see them. Arnaud and Sabatier have separate cabins in the same vessel; and, as soon as one has gone on deck, ashore, or on board another vessel, the other tries to find out the hiding-place of his journal, in order principally to read what is said of him. If Arnaud abuses Sabatier, the latter gets in a rage; but on our persuasion rests satisfied with threats, and sits down and writes against Arnaud in his journal: then he leaves it carelessly lying about, and goes away directly Arnaud enters, and the latter, immediately his back is turned, seizes it and reads it. Thus they read their notes and diaries in secret, and then I have the pleasure of hearing all about it from Thibaut and Sabatier, who come on board my bark.
Though Sabatier and Arnaud have related the history of their hunting two little marafills, the latter has not hesitated to write down that he came close upon two lions (whereas he only saw two hyænas running at a distance, whom Sabatier observed at the same time), because he is jealous, as his countrymen tell me, of my chivalry with the lion. He describes, also, antelope, lion, and crocodile hunts with similar Münchausen stories.
Our tokul inhabitants seem to have gained a little confidence, although they do not shew themselves, for they have tied up a sucking-calf close to their huts, which Suliman Kashef takes immediately into his possession. We have here a proof that the water is still falling, which I had not previously thought: this was the case in the peninsula to the extent of a foot, and we shall be obliged to go over the nearest oyster-bank, after we have remained here half a day, or perhaps the whole, to make the Arnaut’s vessel again in proper sailing trim. Thermometer 16°, 27°, 29°.
We find here, near the Sobàt, that the impregnation of iron oxyde, which is frequently so strong, is only in the earth brought down from above, in all the humus, and also in the coagulated layers of sand under or between the humus, but not in the drifted sand. There is no trace of it in the clay; it is therefore perhaps a primitive deposit,—the lime or cement of the ancient world. From this appearance of iron oxyde, which is not inferior to that on the upper part of the White river, the Sobàt might provide Bellet Sudàn and Egypt with iron, if the protecting hobgoblins of the mines be first driven away. Whether the Sobàt leads to gohrs of gold would be worth investigation, but the sand of this region has not the least appearance of it. For that very reason Arnaud is projecting an immediate expedition up the Sobàt this summer to the gold sources. Oh enviable Viceroy of Egypt, around whom charlatans of every kind have drawn a line, within the circle of which no one can penetrate but Italians of similar calibre, may your eyes be closed against gold-dust! At noon we set out from our halting-place, partly with libàhn and partly sailing, glide here and there over oyster-banks, and soon stick fast again on the sand.
25th March.—Sate Mohammed and Sale lay down yesterday to sleep close by, instead of going to shoot. I felt hungry, and had not prepared anything: the cook gazed stupidly in the distance; and I was obliged to eat soft biscuit and drink water. No sooner had I taken this than I felt unwell, and continued so till this morning. Thibaut seems to be possessed with the most trivial jealousy; he cannot understand, like all the rest, what I have to write so continually. The old monotony of the shores has hitherto continued. Only this morning two groups of naked Dinkas shewed themselves on the shores, without running away from us. They brought even goats and sheep with them; but we sailed by, and halted at noon near the dhellèbs, where several groups of fishermen’s huts stood here and there on the shore. Thermometer 17° to 30°; sunset 28°.