On journeys it is as well to behave with kindness towards these children of the desert, for although life may never be endangered by them, they injure those who treat them with harshness in a manner which is most severely felt. Their mode of revenging themselves generally consists in making an almost imperceptible incision with their lances into the leather bags containing the water, which is thus wasted, and does not last over the expected time. They call themselves sultans of the desert, and the stranger is indeed entirely at their mercy, for they can themselves bear thirst well for one day or longer, but travellers are dreadfully tortured by this proceeding; hence it is much better not to injure these poor people in any way, as they are by no means officious, but readily perform all the services required of them for a mere trifle.
Merchandize and goods entrusted to them are well taken care of, for their sheikh, with whom an agreement touching the delivery of the goods is made, is answerable for their safe arrival. Anything that may be stolen by his people, or destroyed through their neglect, he is forced to make good; he consequently only receives one half of the stipulated payment in advance. On my journey to Kordofan I met with seventeen camel-loads of gum and hides, near the ravine of Semmeria, which the Kubbabeesh, for some reason with which I am not acquainted, left lying in the road, having themselves decamped with their camels. Neither the gum nor the hides had suffered any damage, and the whole cargo was subsequently safely delivered at Dongola. The Divan of Lobeid, however, made a demand of thirty thousand piasters as an indemnification for the loss said to be sustained by the damage done to the goods. The sheikh was forced to pay this sum to the very farthing, although the goods had not cost the government more than about one thousand piasters; for the government pays one ox-hide with three piasters, and a cantaro of gum with fifteen piasters. The government, moreover, had not even lost anything in interest for the capital laid out, as the occurrence took place during the dry season. But this is the system pursued by this tyrannical administration for extorting money from this tribe, which is otherwise not highly taxed, and thus it again deprives them of their hard-earned wages, a pittance literally gained by the sweat of their brow, as their pay is always most narrowly calculated; and so much is, moreover, deducted from the sum agreed upon, that barely enough remains to keep them from starving.
It has been proved, by accurate calculation, that the Kubbabeesh must make considerable sums by the thousands of camel-loads which the government and the many Djelabi, transport, especially as their own expenses are but trifling. In order, therefore, to lessen these profits, as far as this is possible, for the benefit of their employers, all manner of ruses and subterfuges are resorted to, to enable the government to sue the sheikhs for a compensation for damage sustained. The gum is forwarded immediately after it has been collected from the trees, when four cantari constitute a camel-load. The distance from Kordofan to Dongola, is twenty days’ journey. Wind and heat will dry gum, and it of course decreases in bulk and weight; much is, moreover, lost on the road, in consequence of the slovenly manner in which it is packed. Arrived at Dongola, it is left several days lying in the sun before it is weighed, the natural consequence of this exposure is, that each load suffers a considerable reduction in weight. All this loss the sheikh has to make good, and in effecting the arrangement, the gum is calculated at the price at which the government sells it in Alexandria to the Europeans; thus the sheikh frequently only receives a quarter of the sum agreed upon for the freight, and not even this pittance in ready money, for he is finally compelled to accept cotton-stuff, manufactured at Dongola, in lieu of payment, taking the piece sold by the government in the same place for twelve piasters, at a value of twenty piasters. Goaded to the utmost by oppressions of this description, the subjects of a small sheikh determined, in the year 1838, to leave Kordofan, and settle in Darfour. The poor people, however, gained nothing by this movement, but fell, as the proverb has it, out of the frying-pan into the fire; for on their arrival at Darfour, where they intended to place themselves under the protection of the Sultan Mohammed Fadel, he seized nearly all their camels, with the exception only of some few beasts, laden with bread and water, and had the emigrants hunted over the borders, thus they were forced to deliver themselves again into the hands of their former tormentors in Kordofan. When Mehemed Ali, on his last journey, heard this, he summoned, on his arrival at Khartoom, Salé, the great sheikh of the Kubbabeesh, into his presence, and flattered him in every possible manner, in order to win him over; he even did him the extraordinary honour of allowing him to sit on his right hand, and after having convinced himself of the injustice under which his people groaned, promised to take the measures necessary for their relief. The Viceroy immediately raised the rate of freightage of a camel-load from forty-five to eighty piasters, and thus Sheikh Salé was conciliated. On the same occasion, Mehemed Ali asked the chief the reason why he, so young a man, had already a grey beard? This question he impressively answered by saying,—“Your Turks are the cause of my beard turning grey; for they oppress and torment me in every possible way, and make me grow old before my time!” Mehemed Ali consoled him, and took leave of him with that flattering language so peculiar to him on these occasions. The government, in fact, well understands the necessity of keeping on good terms with these good people; for the services they perform are invaluable, and nothing is, moreover, to be effected by force with this tribe; for if they had the slightest idea that coercive measures were to be employed against them, they would soon disappear out of Kordofan. To emigrate into Darfour would certainly be too hazardous an experiment; to the south and south-east the murderous fly, so destructive to the camels, is to be met with, and helps materially to compel them to remain in the country. Notwithstanding these impediments, however, they know very well how to secure themselves when force is employed against them, for the following facts were related to me by an officer, who was himself an eye-witness of the affair. The government was about to expedite several hundred camel-loads of goods, and sent couriers to the Kubbabeesh with orders to furnish the necessary quantity of camels, and bring them to Lobeid; the latter, however, refused to obey. A considerable military detachment was now sent to force them to submission, but the government was very much deceived in its expectations of the result; for the Kubbabeesh, acquainted with their intentions, collected all their camels, and fled to the desert, where it was impossible to overtake them. They always kept half a day’s march in advance of the troops, could even frequently be descried at a distance, but all attempts to overtake them were in vain; for, thoroughly acquainted with all the roads and various localities, they were enabled easily to deceive their pursuers, and thus to effect their escape. Arrived on the third day at a spring, they watered their camels, supplied themselves with the quantity of water they required, filled up the well, and continued their march. The soldiers, in their turn, arriving with their camels at the well, found it destroyed, and were forced, for want of water, to return, and give up the chase of the victorious Kubbabeesh. Thus the government was obliged to wait patiently until they returned of their own accord.
Their dress consists of a piece of cotton-stuff which they wind round their bodies, and very few of them only wear shirts. Their heads are uncovered, but on journeys they wear a sheep or goatskin, after the fashion of the leathern apron of the miners of Germany, to enable them to sit down, a position which would otherwise be impracticable, considering the burning heat of the sand. They always carry a few spears and a shield. Foreigners visiting these countries cannot travel more economically than by engaging the Kubbabeesh; in Dongola, the Dongolas indeed keep camels, but I advise every one to give the preference to the former, for although the government pays eighty piasters from Lobeid to Debba, or Dolip, on the Nile, (in the province of Dongola,) whereas the Djelabi only pay sixty piasters, sometimes even only forty-five, for the same distance, and thirty piasters from Lobeid to Khartoom, the Kubbabeesh always give the preference to an engagement with the latter because the payment, although less, is effected in ready money, whereas the government make great deductions, and force them moreover to accept of goods in lieu of cash.
CHAPTER VIII.
DAR-HAMMER.
This people immigrated several years ago from Darfour into Kordofan; a large branch of the same tribe, however, is yet to be found in the former country. Their occupation consists in rearing camels and in agriculture. They are possessed of the finest “ships of the desert” in Kordofan; they do not, however, undertake transports like the Kubbabeesh, but merely trade in these animals, which they sell to the Djelabi, Kubbabeesh, and neighbouring tribes. They are obliged to furnish the government with the quantity of camels necessary for the slave-hunts or other grand expeditions, and to bring them to Cairo. They also form the guard of the borders towards Darfour, several thousands of men armed with shield and spear, and in part with large double-edged swords being always in readiness to prevent an invasion from that quarter. No incursion has ever yet taken place, but many a depredatory excursion has been undertaken by the Dar-Hammer themselves into the neighbouring villages of Darfour; and the Egyptian government not only tolerates these marauding invasions, but lends the Dar-Hammer every possible assistance, furnishing them even with a few Bedouin horsemen on these occasions. These expeditions are, in fact, virtually undertaken for the government, for the number of camels they demand as tribute from the tribe is too great for the sheikh to be able to furnish, and he is therefore forced to steal the deficiency in Darfour.
When the sheikh, a few years ago, complained at the divan in Lobeid, that it was not in his power to return the number of animals required of him, and that he must make an incursion into Darfour for the purpose of stealing camels to be able to satisfy their claims; they not only approved of the measure, but agreed to assist the sheikh in the execution of this useful project by lending him a number of Bedouin horsemen. Thus, if there be a lack of camels, an incursion is made without further question into the nearest villages, to steal them. It is only astonishing that Darfour puts up with this depredation without making any reprisals.
The residence of the sheikh of the Dar-Hammer is situated at a distance of twelve hours’ march from Lobeid. I made his acquaintance in the town, and subsequently paid him a visit at his quarters. He received me most hospitably, and I had the opportunity of being present at a divan which he held in his spacious tukkoli. The sheikh’s seat was on an angareb opposite the door, and by his side sat one of his four wives; he changes them, indeed, daily, and the great lady must honour the divan with her presence. By his side lay his sword of justice, with a massive silver hilt and silver head of the size of a hen’s egg. The plaintiffs and defendants had arranged themselves in the form of a half circle on the floor. A large earthen pot filled with merissa was placed at the feet of the chief’s wife, from which she offered both parties frequently a cup during the transaction of the business. But this was done with a certain degree of ceremony, in order to prove that the sheikh, as arbitrator, knew no partiality, and that both parties were, in fact, equal in his eyes. The decision of the arbitrator is always short and decisive; is regarded as peremptory, and strictly acted upon, for these good people go upon the principle that their head can never be deceived.
The Dar-hammer do not differ in their domestic habits from the other inhabitants of Kordofan, and are on the whole one of the most amiable class of people in this province. They make a noise with their tongues to express “yes or no,” like the other natives of Kordofan; and this sound must have been frequently heard before it is possible to distinguish between the negative and affirmative tone.