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[ Malek Shouus, on learning that the Malek of Shendi had made his peace with the Pasha, threatened to attack him. On this it is said the Malek of Shendi called out twenty thousand men to line the easterly bank of the Nile, to prevent the approach of Shouus. Shouus, however, had the whole country of Shendi on the western side entirely under his control before our arrival, he and his cavalry devouring their provisions and drinking their bouza at a most unmerciful rate. On our approach, he went up opposite Halfya, where the country, on the western shore, is desert. He demanded of the chief of Halfya, to supply him with provisions: on his refusal, Shouus, in the night, swam the river with his cavalry, fell upon the town of Halfya by surprise, and ransacked it from end to end, and then repassed the river before the chief of Halfya could collect a force to take his revenge. The cavalry of Shouus, in the course of the campaign, have swam over the Nile five times: both horse and man are trained to do this thing, inimitable, I believe, by any other cavalry in the world. Shouus, since his joining us, has rendered very important services to the Pasha, as he is thoroughly acquainted with the strength, resources, and riches of all the tribes of the Nile, from the second Cataract to Sennaar and Darfour: his horses' feet are familiar with the sod and sand of all these countries, which he and his freebooters have repeatedly traversed. On our march from Berber to Shendi, I ran some risk of falling into his hands, as Shouus was continually prowling about in our neighborhood, from the time of our quitting Berber. Two nights before we reached Shendi, I stopped on the route, at a village, to take some refreshment, letting the army go by me. About an hour and a half after, I mounted my horse to follow the troops, but, owing to the state of my eyes, I missed my way, after wandering back-wards and forwards to find the track of the troops, about two hours after midnight, I descried the rockets always thrown aloft during our night marches, to direct all stragglers to the place where the Pasha had encamped. I put my horse to his speed, and arrived there a little before dawn.]
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[ During the night of the 22d, I received an order from the Pasha to precede the march of the troops, and pick out a spot near Halfya to encamp his army on, in the European manner. Mr. Caillaud was requested to accompany me in this duty. Mr. Caillaud candidly told me that he was not a military man, and left the affair entirely to me. I chose a fine position on the river, about two miles above Halfya, in the rear of which was plenty of grass for the horses and camels. The Pasha, however, did not choose to come so far, but pitched his camp on the low sand flats before Halfya, near which there was no grass for the camels, who, during the five days following, perished in great numbers. He had undoubtedly his reasons for this, among which not the least important was, to be near enough to Halfya to have the town within reach of his cannon, as the Malek of Halfya had not as yet submitted. The Pasha, however, had like to have had serious cause to repent of having taken this position, when the river rose, and threatened to inundate his camp. Luckily it did not reach the ammunition, otherwise we should probably have been left without the means of defending ourselves.
This overflowing of the Nile was occasioned by the rise of the Bahar el Abiud, which, this year at least, commenced its annual augmentation nearly a month sooner than the Nile.]
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[ The troops of Shouus and the Abbadies swam their horses and dromedaries over the river. Cogia Achmet, one of the chiefs of the army, in endeavoring to imitate the cavalry of Shageia, lost seventy horses and some soldiers. The rest of the horses and camels of the army were taken over by arranging them by the sides of the boats, with their halters held in hand by the people in the boats. Another large portion of our horses and camels was taken over by the Shageias and the Abbadies, who fastened at the breast of each horse, and over the neck of each camel of ours, so carried over, an empty water-skin blown up with air, which prevented the animal from sinking, while their guides swam by their sides, and so conducted them over.]
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[ The same day that the camp marched from the Bahar el Abiud, Mr. Caillaud and Mr. Frediani embarked in the boats to go to Sennaar, by the river, in order to have an opportunity of visiting the ruins of "Soba," which lie on the east side of the Nile, not far above from its junction with the Bahar el Abiud. When these gentlemen rejoined us at Sennaar, they informed me that almost the very ruins of this city have perished; they found, however, there some fragments of a temple, and of some granite, statues of lions: the city itself, they said, had been built of brick. This city of "Soba" probably takes its name from "Saba," the son of Cush, who first colonized this country, which is called, in the Hebrew Bible, "the land of Cush and Saba."—See Gen. x. 7. See the references in a Concordance to the Hebrew Bible, under the heads of "Cush," and "Saba."
If there were any pyramids near Saba, I should believe it to be the ancient Meroe, because Josephus represents that the ancient name of Meroe was "Saba." "Nam Saba urbs eadem fuisse perhibetur quae a Cambyse Meroe in uxoris honorem dicta est:" quoted from Eichom's ed. of Sim. Heb. Lex. artic. Sameh Bet Alef
It was impossible for me to ask of the Pasha liberty to accompany the gentlemen abovementioned, as a battle was expected in a few days between us and the king of Sennaar, from which I would not have been absent on any consideration.]