Taking a summary view of Lobeid it appears only to be a large village; the barren country around it presents a slightly excavated surface, and the rain-water flowing towards the village forms a torrent which runs towards the north, but soon disappears in the sand. The environs are cultivated with dockn. Lobeid offers many spectacles rendering it interesting to the traveller, the chief of which is the concourse of men from the most distant parts of Africa, even from Timbuctoo, and other negro states as yet totally unknown to Europeans. Before the first rays of the sun emerge from the sea of desert sand, the whole of the population is on foot, and each man begins the business of the day; with the majority, however, this only consists in lying on the sand, or visiting his neighbour when the same interesting occupation is performed in company. The flocks are driven to their pasture by a shepherd riding on his ox, the slaves are led to work with chains on their feet, caravans are passing and repassing, and all this affords an unique exhibition. In the streets songs are heard everywhere, even the female slave at the Morak sings her plaintive ditty of attachment to her home, whilst grinding the corn; in fact all is life and motion as in a beehive; but from 11 o’clock A.M. till 3 o’clock P.M., during the hot months, quietude and silence reign in the streets, and the whole town resembles a city of the dead; every one seeks shelter from the fierce rays of a vertical sun in his own hut, and there enjoys his rest, for it is impossible to exist out of the shade; only a few hungry dogs may then be seen running about in the streets, and even they do not remain long in the open air, but seek a shady place with all speed, where they may protect themselves from the burning heat. This recess lasts until 3 o’clock, when every one, refreshed by his siesta, returns to his occupations. The streets now become again as animated as they were at sunrise, but the most lively scene is then in the market-place; this state of activity lasts until the sun sets, when the inhabitants all retire again to their houses to recover from the fatigues of the day. The streets become suddenly empty, for with sunset night closes in; there is no twilight, and every one is anxious for repose. This silence continues until they have all finished their frugal meal, for the poorest man finds the necessaries of life in his hut, or should he really suffer want, goes to his nearest neighbour, where his wants are willingly supplied. As soon as the repast is over, large fires may be seen burning before the huts far and near; drums, beating of hands, and songs resound in all directions, and the girls and young men congregate for the merry dance, which is kept up until midnight; and then the whole town once more becomes as suddenly silent, for each man, with but few exceptions, betakes himself again to rest. The streets are now, indeed, wrapped in the silence of the grave, save that the stillness of the night is occasionally interrupted by the howl of a hyaena, or the yelling of the timid dogs. This mode of life is repeated daily, and but rarely undergoes even the slightest variation.
CHAPTER XV.
COMMERCE.
The monopoly enjoyed by the Egyptian government in this province totally impedes trade in general. The chief articles of commerce are not only all bought by the authorities, who are, moreover, protected by a law prohibiting any private person from bringing them into the market; but the immense duties levied on the goods render it impossible to transport them to Egypt; this rule especially applies to ivory. Every one is, therefore, forced to sell to the government,—the most arbitrary species of monopoly, or rather worse, inasmuch as the individual suffers an outlay in capital, freight, and duty. The country might produce indigo, opium, sugar, and many other articles, which would yield an immense profit, both to private persons and to the administration, for the soil requires but little cultivation, and brings forth every plant in great luxuriance; but the onus placed upon the province by the despotic government discourages the individual from attempting more than trusting entirely to nature. The whole population live in fear, and are not one day sure of their property; thus every one looks only to the moment, and troubles himself very little about his successor. All the produce met with in commerce is in its natural state, and few manufactured goods are ever seen beyond some solitary cottons, and objects in leather.
The articles of export are: gum, hides, senna-leaves, ivory, rhinoceros’-horns, cattle, tamarinds, ostrich-feathers, ostrich-eggs, gold in rings and in grain, water-bags, salt, tobacco, sim-sim, cisme, and slaves. The first three articles named are the most lucrative in a commercial point of view, and monopolized, of course, by the government. The gum Arabic is collected in the forests a few months after the expiration of the rainy season, and we may say by force; for the government pays the cantaro of forty-four oock’ckahs, equivalent to one hundred and ten pounds, with fifteen piasters (four shillings and fourpence) only. They might greatly increase their profits if they were to remunerate the labour better, and to pay more attention to this branch of trade, although it must be allowed to a certain extent to rest under the influence of the weather, for if much rain fall, the trees are the more prolific; but the collection itself is performed with the utmost carelessness, as the people employed are driven to this work by force, and receive but small wages. Add to this, that whole forests are being annually hewn down, and converted into arable land, whilst no one dreams of replanting trees, a provision considered a work of supererogation, and left entirely to nature.
If the export of gum and ivory to Europe should ever become a free-trade, merely subjected to duty, these two articles will yield a very considerable profit to those who may have the good fortune to benefit first by this alteration, and who take the trouble to repair to the spot. The gathering takes place, as I have before-mentioned, at the close of the rainy season, in the months of November, December, and January; the gum obtained is of the finest quality, and is erroneously named gum Arabic. Kordofan yields, in average years, from three thousand five hundred to four thousand loads of this product, or from ten to fourteen thousand hundred-weight, at forty-four oock’ckahs. I have been assured by many persons that an addition of six thousand hundred-weight might be made to this quantity, if the labour of the persons employed in the collection were but better remunerated. Before the introduction of the monopoly, it was sold in the following manner, a plan which will be again pursued as soon as the present statutes are repealed. A number of men, women, and children, gather the raw gum in the forest into baskets, capable of containing twelve rottoli (the rottolo about three quarters of a pound). Forty of these baskets constitute a camel-load, which weighs four hundred and eighty rottoli, and reckoning the tare of the cases at five hundred rottoli; the cost of this quantity would vary from five and a half to six Spanish dollars. These five hundred rottoli[70] cannot be transported by camel across the desert to Debba, on the Nile, because the load would be too heavy; for three to four contari, at one hundred rottoli, form the average load of each camel. Another expedient, which might be turned to very good account, would be to pack the gum in ox-hides instead of cases; for the government buys dry hides at three piasters (ten pence halfpenny), and at Alexandria they are sold at thirty piasters (six shillings and sixpence). It would be imperatively necessary to employ the natives in the purchase of gum, sending them out in all directions into the various villages; but I would advise every one to be on his guard against the Dongolavi, and it should be a rule in general not to trust any native with much money, for it would stand a very good chance of being totally lost. Those who are furnished with articles in consumption in the country may effect one-third of their outlay in goods, and will thus realize an average profit of fifty per cent.
The place best adapted for the purchase of gum would be Bara, and I adjoin a list of the expenses of freightage and duties thence to Cairo, as defrayed before the introduction of the monopoly:—
| £. | s. | d. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To outlay for four hundredand eighty rottoli (about three and a half hundred-weight), atforty-four oock’ckahs | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Freight to Dongola | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| „ | from Dongola to Wady Chalfa | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| „ | per boat to Cairo | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Duty in Kordofan | 0 | 8 | 9 | |
| „ | Darawi | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| „ | Cairo | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | 3 | 5 | ||
As the export duty is, according to the existing laws, only twelve shillings, ad valorem, the customs would amount only to sixteen shillings per hundred-weight to Alexandria.
In the countries bordering on Kordofan, as Nuba, Takele, Kodero, etc., the gum rots every year, because Mehemed Ali makes no use of it, but is too avaricious to allow any other person to derive benefit from it. The purchase might in those places be effected by barter.