Towards the close of the year 1837 I undertook, at the request of a friend, a journey into the most distant portion of the countries under the government of the Viceroy of Egypt, in order to collect information referring to commerce, but more especially with the view of convincing myself whether trade might be carried on with these countries directly, instead of through the intermediation of agents, in whose hands it had hitherto rested. The task, although rather arduous, was not displeasing to me, for a residence of several years in Egypt had rendered me tolerably proficient in the Arabic language and colloquial dialect, and my prior travels in various parts of the Soudan had made me familiar with the habits of the natives, besides procuring me the acquaintance of many merchants from the more distant provinces. With these advantages I travelled during nineteen months in all directions through these countries. Whilst on my journey, or sojourning in any place, I noted down in my journal everything that appeared to me remarkable, which I laid before my friends for their amusement on my return. It is with their advice, and more particularly at the instigation of the celebrated French traveller Antoine d’Abbadie, that the information I was able to collect respecting a country of which so little was formerly known, now appears in print. My journey was strictly mercantile in its tendency; I cannot, therefore, venture on so explicit a description as might be expected of a traveller or a man well versed in the various sciences a traveller should profess, and yet I am not altogether diffident, inasmuch as I think that my small contribution will at least form a short guide for those who may be willing to explore these countries more fully hereafter, as it will give them many a hint before they reach these climes, which will save them much trouble and inconvenience during their residence in Kordofan. Although two distinguished German travellers, Dr. Rueppel and the Conseillier des Mines, Russegger, have visited the country before me, their sojourn there was of such short duration, and they travelled in so much company, that many things must have escaped their observation, and remained hidden from them, which were revealed to me, who, defying every species of danger, wandered through the province alone, under a variety of circumstances, sometimes accompanied by one solitary servant, and sometimes even without thus much protection. Thus I have often shared the humble fare of a camel-driver in the desert, or conversed with the natives in their damp and obscure Tukkoli; whilst at other times I have enjoyed the opportunity of gaining information from the governor and higher officials, to whose feasts I was frequently invited.
My readers must excuse me if, in the perusal of this small work, they meet with a deficiency of much information generally expected from a traveller, for I repeat again that I did not undertake this journey with the view of writing, but that I wrote merely at the request of my friends, and because I thought that by lifting the veil of obscurity from certain relations, I might in some measure become useful to futurity, and in this respect I have already met with a few grateful acknowledgments. I shall, therefore, send this little book into the world with confidence, assured that it will find a considerate reception, and that its deficiencies will be placed to the account of the circumstances under which it was produced.
The Author.
Cairo.
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE.
Ignatius Pallme, a Bohemian by birth, it would appear, undertook the journey to Kordofan, on commission, for a mercantile establishment at Cairo, in the hope of discovering new channels of traffic with Central Africa. In the pursuit of his object, he sojourned longer in the country than any European before him; the information he furnishes respecting the present state of this province of Egypt in particular, and of the Belled Soudan in general, may, therefore, be considered the most authentic in existence at the present time. That few travellers have visited these countries, and subjected the information they were enabled to collect to print, may be deduced from the facts, that scarcely one-half of the places mentioned in the work before us are to be found on the most recent maps; and that in referring to the literature on these countries, for making a comparison between Pallme’s opinions and those of other authors, many difficulties were experienced, and many researches proved ungratified. The original is characterised by an ingenuous and unassuming style; and it has been my chief endeavour to paraphrase the text as closely as compatible with the two languages. Those idiomatic constructions which may be met with in the translation, are owing to this strict adherence to the original; but I have at least the consolation of knowing that the loss by solecism may be considered as gain in authenticity—the chief object of the undertaking. Pallme’s orthography has been generally followed as regards Arab terms, excepting where the same words are familiar to the public in a different garb, or where they are to be found otherwise spelt, in at least two accredited English authors; for it was impossible to furnish the certain literation, as the Arab character is not affixed to the original text.
The Translator.
London,
May 1st, 1844.