“But,” said I, “my fields are sown, and we are on the eve of the harvest. Will not the Sultan allow me time to gather in my crops?”
“Listen to me,” he replied; “the Sultan, our master, is going to send the Fakih Ahmed Abou-Sarrah as an ambassador to the Prince of Wadaï. It is his desire that thou shouldst depart with this expedition. If thou wilt take advantage of this opportunity, prepare at once. Think well of the matter, for at a future time it will not be possible for thee to leave Darfur. As for thy crops, care not for them. However, thou art wise enough to choose for thyself.”
I accordingly agreed to go, and returned to Aboul-Joudoul to get ready. I abandoned, though unwilling, my crops, which would have been very profitable, and made a present of them, before witnesses, to one of my servants. Then I returned with my family to the Fasher, and waited upon Malik, who handed over to me a passport signed by the Sultan, recommending me to all the chiefs by the way. We had special orders for the governor of the western province, by which we were to leave Darfur, requesting him to accompany us with his soldiers until he brought us to a place of safety. “Take this order,” said Malik, “and go and join Sarrah, who waits for thee at Kelkabieh.” I took the paper, and having thanked Malik, bade him adieu.
Next morning I set out, and arrived in two days at Kelkabieh. I stopped at Sarf-el-Degaj to see Ahmed the younger, son of Ahmed Bedawee, with whom I had come from Cairo. I remained with him twelve days, whilst we waited to collect a sufficient number of travellers for Wadaï. Then we set out, taking the direction of the western province, that is to say, the province of the Massalit. We reached it in five days, and on the sixth presented ourselves before the king of the province, and showed him our firman. He received us well, and promised to accompany us with his troops, and to leave us only when we should be out of danger, but he would not depart, he said, before thirty days were over. We laid before him our remonstrance, to the effect that this delay would be too long, and that our provisions would be exhausted; but he told us that he had business to perform which rendered it necessary for him to remain. We flattered him, and, so to speak, scratched his head to soothe him, as the camel-drivers soothe their beasts; but he remained obstinate, and we were compelled to tarry in that country until the thirty days had expired. Then we presented ourselves before him, and reminded him of his promise; but he put us off once more for three days, swearing that he would then set out. We waited until the three days passed, and threatened to return. Then he got into a passion, and made loud complaints, and invented all kinds of explanations. “This time,” said he, “in three days I will depart without fail. God is the hope of us all, and he will relieve me from my embarrassments.”
We agreed, however unwilling, to wait, and these other three days being passed, presented ourselves to him, and said,—“The honest man performs what he promises, and clouds give rain after thunder.” This time he set out with us, followed by some of his troops and guards. Our caravan marched under his protection for three days, which, such were his attentions to us, seemed like a continued festival. But the fourth day we halted upon one of his estates, at the extreme limit of the province. Here he spent the whole week collecting his soldiers, horse and foot. New embarrassment on our part, new delays—we feared again to see our journey put off.
However, every day new additions were made to our company; troops of men came flocking in from all sides; and our encampment resembled that of an army. One morning he looked abroad and saw that he had sufficient strength, and ordered the camels to be laden, and gave the signal of departure. It was still early when we started; our caravan was placed in the middle of the army, which marched in one mass. Presently we got beyond the cultivated country, and entered the uninhabited districts which separate, like a wall, Darfur from Wadaï. In this wilderness we beheld an innumerable quantity of wild animals, from the elephant down to the gazelle and the hare. The hares, frightened by the noise we made in marching, started up from their covers, and flying on all sides, as if blind, came some of them into the midst of the soldiers, who killed them nearly at their feet. A great number of gazelles and other animals, bewildered by this invasion of their territory, were killed without trouble. The army amused itself thus with hunting until the great heat of the day had passed, when the king set up his tent, and all by degrees followed his example. Fires were lighted over the whole surface of the plain, and all the game taken was roasted. The meal finished, and the heat somewhat subsiding, we again set out; but suddenly our progress was arrested, and the vacillating governor rode up and informed us that he intended to return. I alone dared to make an objection. “If thou returnest,” said I, “we will return with thee. We will not remain here, unescorted, in the midst of these solitudes.” He endeavoured to excuse himself, alleging his numerous occupations, but we insisted that our safety should be provided for. Then he gave us one of his suite as a guide, with an escort of fifty or sixty horsemen, and told him to accompany us until we were in safety, and until we sent him away. Then we bade adieu to the king, who immediately set off at a gallop, followed by the great mob of his army, and returned towards his country, and as we pursued our way in the other direction their murmur and trampling soon no longer came to us, and the last stragglers disappeared amidst the trees. Our guide escorted us for some hours, and then pulled up and told us that he intended to leave us. We made what opposition we could, and repeated to him over and over again that we were without means of defence; that four armed men would be sufficient to destroy us; and that, if anything happened to us, our blood would be upon his head. “Nay,” said he, “I will not proceed, for you are now near the cultivated lands of Wadaï; and we are afraid, on account of our enemies. If they perceive us, blood will be spilt, and it will be your fault.” We conjured him in the name of all the saints and of all the prophets, and exerted ourselves to persuade him to accompany us a little farther. He yielded; but scarcely had he escorted us a quarter of an hour more when he and his companions again reined in, and said that they would not advance a single step farther. He swore that he had never led out his escort to so great a distance before, and, having given us a guide, and received our adieus, galloped off and left us. Then fear entered our minds: every bush, every clump of trees, seemed to us to be men approaching to kill us. Uneasiness blinded our eyes; night was coming on; there seemed to be no longer a single drop of blood in our veins, so greatly were we terrified.
Darkness came over us in the middle of a forest. We made our camels kneel down, and hastened to collect wood and light great fires all around to keep off the lions. We passed a melancholy night of fear, ever on the watch. Only few of the most stupid were able to sleep; for the roaring of the lions and the howling of the wolves and the hyenas continually filled our ears. Sometimes also the crashing step of an elephant made us shudder for our safety. We saw an incredible number of these huge animals in the forest; on the ground, moreover, were spread on all sides great quantities of tusks, which had grown yellow in the sun, and even black. We observed some enormous ones, sufficient of themselves to lade a good camel; others were split in two, or covered with crevices in an incalculable number.
During the night we kept good watch, and the next day, before sunrise, we had laden our camels, which soon went swinging away with their regular step through the trees. Having marched for about three hours, we entered a district which appeared to be cultivated, and our guide declared to us that he dared not go any farther, and bidding us adieu hastened away, fearing for himself. We proceeded for about a quarter of an hour, when suddenly there appeared coming down upon us a troop of cavaliers, fully armed, bearing lances with large iron heads, and javelins. They threw several of the latter towards us, and we halted and cried, “Peace! peace! we are merely travellers, your guests!”—“Do not move,” they answered; “remain where you are, and wait till we have informed the governor.” We halted in the sun, not being allowed even to go under the shade of some trees that were at a little distance from us; we sat down under cover of four camels. The horsemen of Wadaï took position opposite to us, and allowed us neither to advance nor to retire. But, meanwhile, they had sent a messenger to their governor, or king, who soon appeared, accompanied by some ten horsemen. His approach was announced by the sharp jingling of the bells which hung on the necks of the horses. The troop drew nigh, and, putting foot to ground, sat under the shade of a tree, and called us to them. We advanced, and when we were near at hand one of the horsemen came a little forward, and said to us: “The king salutes you.” It is customary for a Wadaïan king never to address himself directly to his visitors; he communicates with them only through one of his suite. We returned the salutation, and the same horseman said to us: “The king demands who you may be, whence you come, and what is the object of your visit?”—“We come from Darfur,” was our reply; “our caravan is composed of merchants, of an envoy from the Prince of Darfur, and of another individual, a simple traveller, the Shereef, son of Omar of Tunis.”
Our names were written down upon paper, and the king, mounting his horse, departed with five of his people, leaving the other five with those who at first met us. As he departed he said: “Remain here until you receive my orders.” We made our camels kneel down, and sat ourselves under the shade of a tree. Our guards gave us some water, and we waited about two hours, when there came to us, jingling their bells, another troop of horsemen. They were dressed in a long and ample garment, like the black dress of the Fellatah women of Egypt; but they were bareheaded. Every one of them, behind each ear, had a swelling something like the bubo of a plague-patient. These swellings are produced artificially, by the means of cups applied behind the ears, and from which the air is exhausted by suction. When the cups or horns are taken away the tumefied skin is puckered up by the fingers, and two lines of incisions being made, the portion of skin between them is removed, and the cups are again applied. When a good deal of blood has been drawn, cotton is applied, and, the wound being healed, there remains a projection resembling a gland. The people of Wadaï lay great stress upon these swellings, which may be called bumps of courage. Whoever does not possess them is looked upon as a coward, and is repulsed on all hands. In the language of the country they are called Dauma, in allusion to the fruit of the Daum. The Wadaïans despise strangers who are not thus distinguished, thinking it impossible that any one can be courageous who does not possess these bumps.
As I have said, all these horsemen were bareheaded, except their chief, who wore a skull-cap of black stuff; he had also a Melayeb, or scarf-mantle, over his shoulders. The party alighted at a certain distance and ordered us to approach, and when we drew nigh their chief said:—“The Aguid (or governor), my master, salutes you.” We answered by compliments to the chief and to the Sultan; and after some further communications our names were written down, accompanied by a complete description of ourselves and the merchandise we brought with us. This done, we were told to wait during the hot time of the day, when they promised to take us to the Aguid.