The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs

by Sir Samuel White Baker

WE REACH THE ROYAN.

HAVING explored the Settite into the gorge of the mountain chain of Abyssinia, we now turned due south from our camp of Delladilla, and at a distance of twelve miles we reached the river Royan. The intervening country was the high and flat table-land of rich soil, that characterises the course of the Settite and Atbara rivers; this land was covered with hegleek trees of considerable size, and the descent to the Royan was through a valley, torn and washed by the rains, similar in appearance to that of the Settite, but upon a small scale, as the entire width did not exceed a mile.

Descending the rugged ground, we arrived at the margin of the river. At this season (February) the bed was perfectly dry sand, about ninety yards from bank to bank, and the high-water mark upon the perpendicular sides was a little above nine feet deep. The inclination was extremely rapid: thus the Royan during the rainy season must be a most frightful torrent, that supplies a large body of water to the Settite, but which runs dry almost immediately upon the cessation of the rains.

We descended the bank in a spot that had been broken down by elephants, and continued our course up stream along the sandy bed, which formed an excellent road. The surface was imprinted with the footsteps of every variety of game, and numerous holes about two feet deep had been dug in the sand by the antelopes and baboons to procure water. Great numbers of the oterop, a small reddish-brown antelope without horns (Calotragus Montanus) were drinking at these little watering-places, and did not appear to heed us. We disturbed many nellut and tetel upon the banks, and after having marched about four miles along the river's bed, we halted at a beautiful open forest of large trees at the junction of Hor Mai Gubba. This was a considerable torrent, which is tributary to the Royan; at this spot it had cut through a white sandstone cliff, about eighty feet perpendicular: thus upon either side it was walled in. The word Gubba is Abyssinian for the nabbuk, therefore the torrent was the Nabbuk River: this flowed past the village of Mai Gubba, which is the head-quarters of Mek Nimmur, from which we were not twenty-five miles distant. We camped in a forest of the largest trees that we had as yet seen in Africa, and as we had observed the fresh tracks of horses, on the sand, some of my Arabs went in search of the aggageers of Taher Sheriff's party, whom they had expected to meet at this point. While they were gone, I took a few men to beat the low jungle within the forest for francolin partridge, numbers of which I had seen running through the covert. I went up the dry bed of the river at the junction of the Hor Gubba, while they drove towards me, and I was compelled to fire as fast as I could load, as these beautiful birds flew across the ravine. I shot five brace almost immediately. There is no better game bird than the francolin: the flesh is white, and of a most delicate and rich flavour. My shots had attracted the aggageers, and shortly after my return to camp they arrived with my Arabs, as they had been stationed on the opposite side of the Royan in a forest within a quarter of a mile of us. Taher Sheriff was delighted to see us free from the company of Abou Do. His party had killed several elephants, and had captured two young ones; also, two young rhinoceroses, three giraffes, and several young antelopes; these were to be sold to Johann Schmidt, who contracted to supply the Italian agent at Cassala. I agreed to have a long day's hunt with Taher Sheriff; we were to start before sunrise, as he wished to ride to a spot about twenty-five miles distant, up the course of the Royan, that was a favourite resort for elephants.

That evening we had a delicious dinner of francolin partridges. This species is rather larger than the French partridge: it is dark brown, mottled with black feathers, with a red mark around the eye, and double spurs.

There was a small but deep pool of water in the bed of the river, beneath the high bank about two hundred paces from our camp; this was a mere hole of about twenty feet square, and I expected that large game might come to drink during the night. Accordingly, I determined to watch for elephants, as their tracks were numerous throughout the bed of the river. My wife and two gun-bearers accompanied me, and we sat behind an immense tree that grew on the bank, exactly about the drinking place. I watched for hours, until I fell asleep, as did my men likewise: my wife alone was awake, and a sudden tug at my sleeve attracted my attention. The moon was bright, and she had heard a noise upon the branches of the tree above us: there were no leaves, therefore I quickly observed some large animal upon a thick bough. My Tokrooris had awoke, and they declared it to be a baboon. I knew this to be impossible, as the baboon is never solitary, and I was just preparing to fire, when down jumped a large leopard within a few feet of us, and vanished before I had time to shoot. It must have winded our party, and quietly ascended the tree to reconnoitre. Nothing but hyaenas came to the pool, therefore we returned to camp.

According to my agreement, I went to the aggageers' camp at 5 A.M. with Hadji Ali and Hassan, both mounted on my two horses, Aggahr and Gazelle, while I rode Tetel. Taher Sheriff requested me not to shoot at anything, as the shots might alarm and scare away elephants; therefore I merely carried my little Fletcher, in case of meeting the Base, who hunted in this country. The aggageers mounted their horses; each man carried an empty water-skin slung to his saddle, to be filled at the river should it be necessary to quit its banks. We started along the upward course of the Royan.

For seven hours we rode, sometimes along the bed of the river between lofty overhanging rocks, or through borders of fine forest-trees; at other times we cut off a bend of the stream, and rode for some miles through beautiful country diversified with hills, and abounding in enormous baobab-trees (Adansonia digitata). At length we entered the mountains at the foot of the great chain. Here the views were superb. The Royan was no longer a stream of ninety or a hundred yards in width, but it was reduced to a simple mountain torrent about forty yards across, blocked in many places by masses of rock, while at others it had formed broad pools, all of which were now perfectly dry, and exhibited a bed of glaring sand. Numerous mountain ravines joined the main channel, and as the inclination was extremely rapid, there could be little doubt that the violent storms of the rainy season, descending from the great chain of mountains, would, by concentrating in the Royan, suddenly give birth to an impetuous torrent, that would materially affect the volume of the Settite. The entire country bore witness to the effect of violent rains, as the surface was torn and water-worn.

We had ridden nearly thirty miles, having seen large quantities of game, including antelopes, buffaloes, giraffes, and rhinoceroses, none of which we had hunted, as we were in search of elephants. This was the country where the aggageers had expected, without fail, to find their game.

They now turned away from the Royan, and descended a sandy valley at the foot of the mountains, the bottom of which appeared to have been overflowed during the wet season. Here were large strips of forest, and numerous sandy watercourses, along the dry bed of which we quickly discovered the deep tracks of elephants. They had been digging fresh holes in the sand in search of water, in which welcome basins we found a good supply; we dismounted, and rested the horses for half an hour, while the hunters followed up the tracks on the bed of the stream. Upon their return, they reported the elephants as having wandered off upon the rocky ground, that rendered further tracking impossible. We accordingly remounted, and, upon arrival at the spot where they had lost the tracks, we continued along the bed of the stream. We had ridden about a mile, and were beginning to despair, when suddenly we turned a sharp angle in the watercourse, and Taher Sheriff, who was leading, immediately reined in his horse, and backed him towards the party. I followed his example, and we were at once concealed by the sharp bend of the river. He now whispered, that a bull elephant was drinking from a hole it had scooped in the sand, not far round the corner. Without the slightest confusion, the hunters at once fell quietly into their respective places, Taher Sheriff leading, while I followed closely in the line, with my Tokrooris bringing up the rear; we were a party of seven horses.