The Governor was a remarkably intelligent Kurd, and great was my regret that I could not spare a longer time to listen to the interesting information that he gave me about the habits of the Shillooks, which he knew accurately from many years’ experience. I accepted all that he said with the greater confidence, because it had seldom occurred to me to meet a Turkish officer, who could fluently speak the dialect of the country. He was continually being called upon to adjust the disputes of the natives, who appealed to his judgment, even in their most private concerns. One young girl there was who, abashed and dejected, had been crouching in a corner, and then ventured to present herself before him as adjudicator. With her speech half-choked by emotion, she besought him to interpose his authority to set aside the obstacles which her parents threw in the way of her completing her marriage engagement with a young Shillook, whose name was Yōd. The hindrance to the wedding was simply the fact that the young man possessed no cattle. The Mudir inquired whether Yōd was not the owner of some cows. Her reply was, “No; Yōd has no cows; but Yōd wants me, and I want Yōd.” Although she urged her point over and over again, and pressed the Mudir to pronounce in her favour, because his judgment would constrain her parents, the Mudir did not yield. The girl kept saying “we must,” and “we will;” the judge could speak only of bullocks. There seemed to be no settling the matter, when he said, “You must go and wait: wait till Yōd has bullocks enough to satisfy your parents.” This was not a very comforting decision, but it showed me plainly how that it was ever his rule to recognise the customs of the country.
In order to attend to my European correspondence, which had fallen somewhat into arrears during my voyage, I prolonged my stay for three days. Pine forests of gum-acacias encompassed the spot as far as the extensive Shillook villages allowed them space, whilst the opposite shore presented an unreclaimed desert. At this season, when the waters had nearly reached their lowest level, the banks of the river were everywhere enlivened by numerous kinds of water-fowl. Ducks and geese did not preponderate, as in the northern districts, but the bird most frequently seen was the crowned crane. Thousands of these in swarms were to be seen upon the level banks, nor was there much difficulty in getting at them. Protected by the tall grasses on the slopes of the bank, one had but to discharge a load of good-sized shot, and the destruction was marvellous. Besides the black and rose-coloured storks there is occasionally found the common stork, familiar to us at home; deeper onwards in the interior I have always looked for this in vain. In every region throughout Africa there exists the rapacious hawk, whilst the graceful grey falcon is not at all uncommon. The most remarkable bird of prey, however, is the large whitey-brown eagle (Haliaëtos vocifer), which, sitting apart on trees and shrubs in the proximity of the waters, startles the passer-by by its peculiar shriek.
The noise of this bird is very singular, and is unlike any other known note of the feathered race; its cry ever comes unexpectedly, and is prolonged on the waters. Sometimes it makes one think that it must be the cry of frightened women which alarms him; or sometimes it appears as if a lot of shouting boys were rushing from their hiding-place. The illusion is so perfect, that, for my part, I never failed to hurry off in the direction of the sound, whenever I chanced to hear it. The peculiar cry of the bird is so characteristic, that the inhabitants of the Soudan have given it the expressive name of Faki, the shrieking priest.
Of birds which attach themselves to inhabited parts, the white-breasted Abyssinian raven is most abundant; the trees around Fashoda are full of them. This species dwells in pairs, which are continually hacking away at the tree stems, the raven not unfrequently coming to associate with them. The Rahama, consecrated (as an emblem of parental affection) amongst the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews, collects in considerable numbers in Khartoom, where it does duty as a scavenger; but although it is ever to be found in the towns of Egypt and Nubia, it is never met with here; it shuns the wilderness, and only feels at home in civilised places. In this district its place is supplied by the little carrion vulture (Neophron pileatus), which the people of the Soudan call “Nisr,” although this is only the ordinary Arabian appellation of an eagle. The heaths, broken as they frequently are by low shrubs, notwithstanding the nearness of so many dwellings, afford a suitable resort for whole coveys of guinea-fowls. The herbage on the steppe itself appears for miles together to be covered with the Bamia (Hibiscus esculentus), a species of marsh-mallow, the seed-pods of which form a favourite vegetable amongst the Nubians. By the White Nile it grows perfectly wild, whilst in the north it requires to be cultivated.
ACACIA-GROVES.
The acacia-groves produce gum in such unlimited quantities that, in the interests of commerce, they are specially worthy of regard. In the winter time, with the greatest ease in the course of a day a hundredweight of this valuable article could be collected by one man. Not once, however, did I see anyone gathering the gum, although the merchants of Khartoom are never in a position to supply sufficient to meet the demands of Europe. The descriptions of gum, which are hence brought to the Khartoom market, are those known as Sennaari and Talha, and are, in truth, only of a mediocre quality. Yet they do possess a certain marketable value, and through their abundance could be made to render a very large profit. The acacia-groves extend over an area a hundred miles square, and stretch along the right bank of the stream. The kind which is most conspicuous is the A. fistula, and which is as rich as any other variety in gummy secretions. I choose this definition of it from its Arabian appellation “soffar,” which signifies a flute or pipe. From the larvæ of insects which have worked a way to the inside, their ivory-white shoots are often distorted in form and swollen out at their base with globular bladders measuring about an inch in diameter. After the mysterious insect has unaccountably managed to glide out of its circular hole, this thorn-like shoot becomes a sort of musical instrument, upon which the wind as it plays produces the regular sound of a flute; on this account, the natives of the Soudan have named it the whistling-tree. It yields a portion of the gum known on the exchange as gum of Gedaref. It is often found in lumps as large as the fist; it is rarely colourless, and more frequently than otherwise tinged with the hue of amber.
Very striking is the sight afforded by the wood of acacias in the months of winter; the boughs, bare of leaves and white as chalk, stretch out like ghosts; they are covered with the empty pods, which cluster everywhere like flakes of snow; whilst the voices of a thousand flutes give out their hollow dirge. Such is the forest of the Soffar.
Prickles of Acacia.