I ordered the entire party to stand in a line; and I gave them their choice, whether the ringleaders would receive a flogging from me, or whether I should tie them to the tails of camels and lead them to the Turkish Governor of Souakim? They immediately chose the former; and, calling them from the rank, I ordered them to lie down on the ground to receive punishment.
They submitted like dogs; Richarn and Achmet stood over them with their whips, ready for the word. At this moment an old white-headed Arab of my caravan came to me: kneeling down, he stroked my beard with his dirty hands, and implored pardon for the offenders. Thoroughly understanding the Arab character, I replied, "They are miserable sons of dogs, and their swords are like the feathers of a fowl; they deserve flogging, but when a white head asks for pardon, it should be granted. God is merciful, and we are all his children." Thus was the affair ended to the satisfaction of our side. I broke all the lances into fragments upon a rock,—ordered Zeneb to make a fire with the wood of the handles, to boil some coffee; and tying the swords into a bundle, we packed the lance-heads and knives in a basket, with the understanding that they should be delivered to their owners on our arrival at the last well, after which point there would be water on the route every day. From that place, there would be no fear of our camels being stolen, and of our being deserted in the desert.
On arrival at the well a few days later, I delivered the weapons to their owners as promised, they having followed our party. Souakim is about 275 miles from the Nile at Berber. At Kokreb, about half-way, we entered the chain of mountains that extends from Suez parallel with the Red Sea to the south; many portions of this chain are four or five thousand feet above the sea-level. The mountains were exceedingly beautiful, their precipitous sides of barren rock exhibiting superb strata of red and grey granite, with vast masses of exquisite red and green porphyry. Many hills were of basalt, so black, that during an entire day's journey the face of the country appeared like a vast desert of coal, in broken hills and blocks strewed over the surface of the ground. Kokreb was a lovely oasis beneath the high mountains, with a forest of low mimosas in full leaf, and a stream running from the mountains, the produce of a recent storm. Throughout this country there are no rivers that should be noticed on a map, as the torrents are merely the effects of violent storms, which, falling upon the mountains several times during the rainy season from June to the end of August tear their boisterous way along their stony course and dry up in a few hours, becoming exhausted in the sand of the deserts. For some days our course lay along a deep ravine between stupendous cliffs; this was the bed of a torrent, that, after heavy storms, flowed through the mountains, inclining to the east; in this were pools of most beautifully clear water. In many places the nooks among the cliffs were fringed with lovely green trees. It was extraordinary to observe the activity of the camels in climbing the most difficult passes, and in picking their way among the rocks and stones that obstructed the route. In many places camels might be seen grazing upon the green mimosa bushes, that growing among the rocks high upon the mountains had tempted the animals into places that I should not have believed they could have reached.
After a journey of twenty-four days from the Nile at Berber, we emerged from the mountain-pass, and from the elevated embouchure we obtained a sudden and most welcome view of the Red Sea. We now quickly descended: the heat increased every hour; and after a long day's march, we slept within a few miles of Souakim. On the following morning we entered the town.
Souakim is a considerable town; the houses are all built of coral. The principal dwellings, and the custom house and Government offices are situated on an island in the harbour. We were received with much attention by the Governor, Moomtazze Bey, who very kindly offered us a house. The heat was frightful, the thermometer 115 degrees F and in some houses 120 degrees F.
There is no doubt that Souakim should be the port for all exports and imports for the Soudan provinces. Were a line of steamers established from Suez, to call regularly at Souakim, at a moderate freight, it would become a most prosperous town, as the geographical position marks it as the nucleus for all trade with the interior. At present there is no regularity: the only steamers that touch at Souakim are those belonging to the Abdul Azziz Company, who trade between Suez and Jedda. Although advertised for distinct periods, they only visit Souakim when they think proper, and their rates are most exorbitant.
There was no steamer upon our arrival. After waiting in intense heat for about a fortnight, the Egyptian thirty-two gun steam frigate, Ibralaimeya, arrived with a regiment of Egyptian troops, under Giaffer Pasha, to quell the mutiny of the black troops at Kassala, twenty days' march in the interior. The General Giaffer Pasha, and Mustapha Bey the captain of the frigate, gave us an entertainment on board in English style, in honour of the completion of the Nile discovery. Giaffer Pasha most kindly placed the frigate at our disposal to convey us to Suez, and both he and Mustapha Bey endeavoured in every way to accommodate us. For their extreme courtesy I take this opportunity of making my acknowledgment.
Orders for sailing had been received, but suddenly a steamer was signalled as arriving: this was a transport, with troops. As she was to return immediately to Suez, I preferred the dirty transport rather than incur a further delay. We started from Souakim, and after five days' voyage we arrived at Suez. Landing from the steamer, I once more found myself in an English hotel. The spacious inner court was arranged as an open conservatory; in this was a bar for refreshments, and "Allsopp's Pale Ale" on draught, with an ice accompaniment. What an Elysium! The beds had SHEETS and PILLOW-CASES! neither of which had I possessed for years.
The hotel was thronged with passengers to India, with rosy, blooming English ladies, and crowds of my own countrymen. I felt inclined to talk to everybody. Never was I so in love with my own countrymen and women; but they (I mean the ladies) all had large balls of hair at the backs of their heads! What an extraordinary change! I called Richarn, my pet savage from the heart of Africa, to admire them. "Now, Richarn, look at them!" I said. "What do you think of the English ladies? eh, Richarn? Are they not lovely?"
"Wah Illahi!" exclaimed the astonished Richarn, "they are beautiful! What hair! They are not like the negro savages, who work other people's hair into their own heads; theirs is all real—all their own—how beautiful!"