The hygrometer seems to have got out of order through Arnaud’s clumsy handling, for it yesterday morning shewed 82°, notwithstanding the air is far drier and clearer than this height of the hygrometer would shew. Half-past ten o’clock. We are driven on the sand, and there we stop to wait for the other vessels. Alas! the beautiful wind! Two o’clock. We sail on southwards. On the right two islands. Selim Capitan is said to have the Sultan’s brother on board his vessel; we are making every exertion, therefore, to overtake him. The commander no sooner remarks this than he halts at the nearest island. I repaired immediately to his vessel, and found two relations of King Làkono on board. Half-past two o’clock. We leave the island and the previous direction of S.S.W., and approach the right shore of the river E.S.E. On the right a gohr, or arm of the Nile, appears to come from S.W., and indeed from Mount Korèk, or Korèg, as the word is also pronounced.
The two distinguished guests sit upon their stools, which they brought with them, with their own royal hands, in naked innocence, and smoke their pipes quite delighted. An arm of the river leaves on the left hand the main stream to the north, and may be connected with a gohr previously seen. A village stands above the arm of the river on the right shore of our stream, and an island is immediately under it before the gohr itself. The name of the village is Ullibari, and the arm Beregènn. It is said to flow down a very great distance before it again joins the White Stream. The latter winds here to the south; to the right we perceive a village on the left shore, called Igàh. On the right shore we remark several villages, and those summer huts, or rekùbas, already mentioned. All the tokuls have higher-pointed roofs, of a tent-like form. The country generally, in the neighbourhood of the residence of the great Negro-King, appears very populous. The north wind is favourable. The black princes look at the sails, and seem to understand the thing, although the whole must appear colossal to them in comparison with their surtuks, as we perceive from their mutually drawing each other’s attention to them. The king’s brother, whose name is Nikelò, has a friendly-looking countenance; and his handsome Roman-like head, with the tolerably long curled hair, is encircled with a strip of fur instead of the laurel. On the right he wears a yellow copper, on the left a red copper bracelet. The latter might have been easily taken for an alloy of gold, although the noble man did not know the gold which was shewn him as being of higher value, but distinguished that it was a different metal. Silver he did not know at all. These mountains being rich in metals, must afford very interesting results with respect to the precious metals. The other guest is called Tombé: he is the son-in-law of the king; stronger and taller than Nikelò, and always cheerful.
We landed soon afterwards on the right shore, as the nearest landing-place to the capital, Belènja, on the mountain of the same name, which was at some distance. They gave us the names of all the mountains lying around in the horizon. The river flows here from S.S.W., or rather the right shore has this direction. To N. by W. Mount Nerkonji, previously mentioned as Niakanja, long seen by us; to W. by S., Mount Konnobih; behind it, in the far distance, the mountain-chain of Kugelù; to S.W., the rocky mountain, Korek; behind which the before-named mountain-chain still extends, and is lost in misty heights. These do not appear, indeed, to be of much greater height; but on a more accurate observation, I distinguished a thin veil, apparently sunk upon them, clearer than the western horizon, and the blue of the mountain forms vanishing from Kugelù to the south. As I once looked for the alpine world from Montpellier, and found it, trusting to my good eye-sight, so now I gazed for a long time on this region of heights; their peaks were clearly hung round with a girdle of clouds, apparently shining with a glimmering light in opposition to the clouds hanging before them in our neighbourhood. When I view the long undulating chain of Kugelù, distant at all events, taking into consideration the clear atmosphere, more than twenty hours behind Konnobih (some twelve hours off), the highest summit of which, west by south, without losing its horizontal ridge, disappears first evidently in the west, and is completely veiled behind Korèk lying nearer over south-west, I conceive that this Kugelù well deserves the name of a chain of mountains, even if we only take the enormous angle of the parallax at twenty hours’ distance.
These mountains lie, to all external appearance, upon the left side of the river, and Nikelò also confirms this. On the right side of the Nile, we see the low double rocks of Lùluli to S.S.E., and a little further to S.E. by S., the two low mountains or hills of Liènajihn and Konnofih lying together. To S.E. Mount Korrejih, and then lastly to E. the mountain chain of Belenjà, rising up in several peaks to a tolerable height, but apparently scarcely elevated more than 1000 feet above the Nile. Far towards S., over the Lobèk, I remarked from here several other misty mountains, the names of which I would have willingly learned, for I feared, and with justice, that they would be invisible in advancing nearer under the prominences of these African Alps. The royal gentlemen, however, with whom we stood on an old river bed of six feet high, were restless, and in a great hurry to take home their presents of a red coat and glass beads. The city is like all other villages, but large: the king’s palace consists of several straw tokuls lying together, encompassed as usual with a seriba; this also Nalewadtshòn had told us. The Ethiopian palaces, therefore, have not much to boast of; it is sufficient if the men in them be pleased and happy, and not oppressed by the cares of government and want of sustenance. The durra was also here, as I had remarked in other places, either cut away, or cropped before it became ripe by the cattle; no matter,—it sprouted a second time, and promised a good harvest, though only as yet about seven feet high. I had seen it thrice as high in Taka, without the people thinking even of cutting it down or mowing it. Selim Capitan dares not trust the natives; we went, therefore, ashore at the island close at hand, fixed stakes in the ground, and tied the vessels fast to them.
CHAPTER II.
RECEPTION OF ENVOYS FROM KING LÀKONO. — DESCRIPTION OF THEM. — RELIGION OF THE BARIS: THEIR ARMS AND ORNAMENTS. — PANIC CREATED AMONG THE NATIVES AT THE EXPLOSION OF CANNON. — LIVELY SCENE ON SHORE. — COLOURED WOMEN. — ARRIVAL OF KING LÀKONO AND SUITE. — HIS INTERVIEW WITH THE COMMANDERS: HIS DRESS. — THE NATIONAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF BARI. — PRESENTS TO KING LÀKONO AND HIS DEPARTURE.
24th January.—I repaired to Selim Capitan, to be present at the reception of the Sultan Làkono. He had sent two other envoys to announce to us that he would come, and we were to wait a little. One of these ambassadors was likewise a younger brother of the king’s, a real giant both in height and breadth, and coloured red from head to foot; there was not even a single hair on the whole body of this Hercules that was not red. His name is Dogalè. Nikelò, already known to us, returned also, but entirely in his natural state, not having even one of the strings of beads presented to him round his neck. The other envoy, a relation of the king’s, is called Betjà. Dogalè lolls very comfortably on the carpet extended before the cabin, supporting his long ribs on the little stool placed under him. Favoured by nature in every respect, he has regular features, and a good-tempered though not intelligent countenance. All the questions asked of these high and mighty lords were answered with the greatest readiness. Sultan, or king, is called in their language Matta, which means generally a lord, but there is no other lord besides him. There is no one in these countries equal to their Matta in power and strength. The word Làkono was also pronounced Làgono, for they frequently change k for g, as well as p for b, vice versâ, and they vary the fall of the accent, for example, Belènja and Pelenjà. Làkono has forty wives and several children, amongst them many grown-up sons. They shew us the number, not by stretching out the fingers of both hands, but by holding their clenched fist towards the questioners, in order to express by that means the number five or ten. Each of the brothers of the king had six wives, and this appears to be their usual appanage; for the women are purchased, and they are probably allowed a certain number of wives, according to their station. A private man, such as the sheikhs or chiefs of the community, has only three; the others have only one or two wives, exclusive of the slaves taken in war or purchased, like the male ones, for iron weapons. The latter, I learned on my return to the country of the Bokos, down to which place Làkono has navigated, for the purpose of purchasing slaves, as they told us there.
We order the drum to be beat and the men to pipe; it was with difficulty then that they could keep their seats. They do not display any troublesome prying spirit, or impertinent curiosity; but they see too much at once, the impression assails them too powerfully on all sides. I gaze on these people,—they are men like ourselves, but they are more bashful than we,—not, however, by any means approaching that timidity and helplessness which we have perceived, for example, among the Keks. They eat dates, almonds, and raisins, but do not snatch them hastily or greedily. They take the tinned-copper can (Brik) filled with water from the wash-hand basin (Tisht), and drink directly from the curved spout, after having lifted up the cover and ascertained the contents; yet they have never seen such fruits and such a water-vessel. I observe them in their mutual confidential conversation, perhaps referring to us,—what do they think of us? They are not astonished at the white faces; perhaps they take them to be coloured, like their own bodies, for our crew display all possible tints of flesh.
I am led to this latter supposition from a couple of women having previously tried the skin on my face with their wet fingers, to see if it were painted. The features and form of the head are quite regular among these gigantic people, and are a striking contrast to those of our black soldiers, with their more negro-like physiognomy, although they are not, on the whole, ugly. I compare the true Caucasian races, who are present, with these men, and find that the latter have a broader forehead. The inhabitants of the kingdom of Bari might be designated a protoplasma of the black race; for not only do they shoot up to a height of from six and a half to seven Parisian feet,[1] which we have seen also in the other nations, but their gigantic mass of limbs are in the noblest proportions. The form of the face is oval, the forehead arched, the nose straight, or curved, with rather wide nostrils,—the alæ, however, not projecting disagreeably; the mouth full, like that of the ancient Egyptians; the orifice of the ears large, and the temples a little depressed. The last we do not find in the Baràbras, and the races akin to them in Abyssinia. The men of Bari have, besides, well-proportioned legs, and muscular arms. It is a pity that they also extract the four lower incisors, for not only is the face disfigured by this custom when they are laughing, but their pronunciation also becomes indistinct. They differ, moreover, from the nations hitherto seen by having no holes in their ears for ornaments; and they do not tattoo themselves. Yet I remarked some who had incisions, as imaginary ornaments, on their shoulders: such exceptions may originate from the mothers being of another race. I have even seen in the land of Sudàn instances of a twofold genealogical table in the countenance, because the father and mother were of different nations. There appears to be no national custom with respect to wearing the hair long or short; but generally the hair is short, and not more woolly than that of the Baràbras and Arabs. On some there was none to be seen, and it appears either to be removed by a knife or a cauterising process, such as the women in the harìm use for other parts. Some wear their hair like a cock’s comb from the forehead down to the nape of the neck; others have scarcely the crown of the head covered: the most, however, wear tolerably long hair, in the natural manner, which gives a significant look to many faces. Their good-natured countenances correspond also to their jokes among themselves, which are, perhaps, occasionally directed against us. I have never been able to discover in the whole journey their reverence for our race and the god-like descent, much as this was asserted by Thibaut, who was with the first expedition.