26th March.—The wind is favourable; but Arnaud wants to renew his sections, in order to make the world believe that the Sobàt gives more water than the White river. He is fishing about, therefore, in the deep places, and a fall has made its appearance, which was invisible to other eyes. Yesterday evening I said to him, accidentally, that I had an attack of fever the day before, accompanied with vomiting and diarrhœa. He immediately complained of his health, and said that he was suffering under tertian ague, and dropped a hint that Khartùm was very unhealthy, in which I agreed, experience having taught me the same; but I saw clearly what he meant—he intends to play the invalid, and will certainly become worse in Khartùm itself, so as to induce the Basha to let him go to Metemma, where he will find more lucrative work in examining the ruins there than in composing his map. He eats and drinks, however, like men in good health—is active on his legs, even when there is nothing doing—shakes his round head, talks to himself, lays his finger on his nose, and looks first to the sky and then to the ground so quickly that his straw hat, adorned as it is with a large knot of ribbons, in the Tyrolean style, flaps up and down. A Turkish under-cap and this hat cover his partly bald head, on which he has let a pigtail grow, to make up for the loss of his hair at a future time. He stands still, and then sets off running: we call him, but his profound meditations will not allow him to answer. The Turks say, in short, that he is magnuhn (crazed). His usual expression to the others, “Je le sais tout,” is worthy of a man of such varied acquirements as he pretends to be; but he does not dare say so to me. When the time comes that he puts on the appearance of sickness, he orders Thibaut to be summoned, and makes the latter understand, if he does not perceive directly the illness of his lord and master, that he is unwell, and not inclined for work, and therefore wants to have a little chat with him. Thibaut sits down very quietly, yawns now and then, and answers “Oui Monsieur” to all his remarks, and thus are the rays of these great minds reflected. But Arnaud truly is an all-comprehensive genius! After he has spoken a little about the way to make money, &c., it pleases him to fall into a kind of somnambulism, which will be attributed subsequently to feverish delirium—talks some hodgepodge about constellations and declining spheres, which he means, however, to put in order, and then all at once turns the conversation from stars to his property in the moon, or to a royal princess, whose favours he has refused—all in most beautiful harmony with what he tries, at other times, to impose on the world. During all this scene Sabatier sits in his cabin, and is nearly bursting with laughter. “Relata refero.”
We navigate part of to-day with a good wind, and may, therefore, easily reach the Nile. The more I ascend the Sobàt, the more I am convinced how the shore and land fall away towards the Nile; and yet the former appeared to me high at first, without, however, being much higher; but then we came from the Nile, which is shoreless. The Sobàt on the tract navigated by us is like the shore of the Nile near Kàhira, and the more ancient high shores in Nubia. The greater gradation of its shores at a distance indicate a chain of mountains in the neighbourhood, or an unusually strong falling away of the slope in the highlands, which is certainly not far distant.
That the Sobàt should still retain its old channel when on the point of discharging itself into the Nile, as it seems to do at the upper part, is very improbable, because I saw to-day from the deck merely a gohr on its left side, at the end of the forest above, and perhaps flowing into it as usual at high water. Moreover, the alluvial soil at the lower end of the Sobàt was contrary to the nature of such soft deposits, and very certainly belonged to that which I have considered a Nile lake, the reach of which might always elevate the Sobàt sufficiently high. The undulating ground extending from the river, and running parallel to it, displays still furrows caused by the marshes having ebbed away, and the Sobàt, rushing over it afterwards, flowed without opposition wherever it liked, and might even have separated into several arms.
27th March.—Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the mouth of the Sobàt, and remain here to-day to make observations; but if the strong north wind do not change, we shall not be able to advance. Yesterday evening another man was carried dead from our vessel, who would not eat, and drank nothing but water from the Sobàt. A species of marsh hyacinth, having scent, was found by Thibaut. It has little bulbs, but spreads and increases by shoots from the root. Arnaud, who is never at a loss for a name, declares that a beautiful water-bird, with perfect web feet, which we remark, is the Phœnix.
The Shilluks came this morning from the opposite shore, and asked us to barter with them. This afternoon a Sheikh came to us (unless he was an impostor, as the one on our ascent was) and invited us to come without fear to their city, which was close at hand, and said that cows, poultry, &c. would be brought to us. He himself presented us a cow, for which we gave him a ferda. At four o’clock we were able to proceed with oars: we navigate to E. and E.N.E. The shores are surprisingly elevated since we were here, and a considerable drainage of water, probably the last one, seems especially to have taken place within these few days. The Nile is not broader here than the Sobàt. Dry grass-reeds at the right; large hillocks of decayed ant-castles at the left. Five o’clock, N.E.; the foot of an island on the left, behind which the river becomes broad, and a group of Shilluks are stationed there on the ground, whilst further below they have taken possession of the ant-hills, and stand in the form of a pyramid. The Turks are dreadfully afraid of these people, and say that they are “batalin” (bad), because they are aware that the Shilluks know them well. Feïzulla Capitan has had a number of cartridges made for his pistols, and Selim Capitan wears his thick white woollen trousers, and not without cause.
Soon after five o’clock we stop, conformably to the wisdom of our high dignitaries, at the uninhabited right shore, which is considerably higher than the left, and belongs to the country of the Dinkas, whilst the Shilluks appear to possess the mouth of the Sobàt, although not protected by forts and guns. Suliman Kashef was pursued a few days ago by a lion, notwithstanding he had four halberdiers with him, but he happily escaped the danger. To shew his gratitude to Allah, he gave every one of his crew twenty-five piasters.
CHAPTER XI.
THE SHILLUKS, A VITIATED PEOPLE. — CAUSE OF THE VIOLENT RAINS IN INNER AFRICA. — REFUSAL OF THE SULTAN OF THE SHILLUKS TO VISIT THE VESSELS. — DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIES OF GRASS. — BARTER WITH THE SHILLUKS. — CONQUEST OF THEIR COUNTRY NOT DIFFICULT. — FORM OF THEIR BOATS. — AMBAK RAFTS. — IRON RARELY FOUND AMONG THE EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES. — WORSHIP OF TREES BY THE SHILLUKS: THEIR RELIGIOUS RITES. — STARS IN THE SOUTHERN REGIONS OF AFRICA. — SHILLUK WOMEN: THEIR DRESS. — REFUSAL OF THE MEN TO SELL THEIR ARMS. — THE BAGHÀRAS: THEIR DRESS, ETC. — RE-APPEARANCE OF THE ISLAND PARKS, AND MOUNT DEFAFAÙNGH. — ASCENT OF THIS MOUNTAIN, AND FULL DESCRIPTION OF IT. — THE DINKAS: THEIR LOVE FOR OLD CUSTOMS. — DESERTION OF TWO DINKA SOLDIERS, AND REFUSAL OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN TO GIVE THEM UP. — SHEIKS SEIZED, AND DESERTERS RECOVERED.
28th March.—We navigated to the neighbouring island, and passed by it on the left, N.E. by N., just as the sun was rising. Where is the meat that was to be put to-day into the Egyptian flesh-pots? The Shilluks will be delighted at having tricked the Turks, for they are really an extremely vitiated people. According to nature, corruption of morals cannot take place in the very earliest stage of life, and there might have been, therefore, a previous cultivation here which has now disappeared, and left only the bad parts behind. But how could they have gone back to the naked state? Slight clothing is even necessary here: a people that has once worn a fig-leaf never throws it off, although a cynic here and there may choose to lead a free dog-life.