Part 8
At about four hours after the noon of the 8th, we quitted the banks of the Nile, and turned into the desert, carrying as much water as we well could, myself taking four water-skins for myself, Khalil Aga, and a black slave of mine. We marched till about an hour before midnight, when we halted for an hour to breathe the camels and to eat a morsel of bread, after which we continued our way till nearly day-break, when one of the Pasha's horses falling down and refusing to rise, it was necessary to wait till the animal had taken a little rest. We threw ourselves upon the sand, and slept profoundly for two hours, when we were roused to continue our journey. We proceeded till about two hours before noon, when we halted in a low sandy plain, sprinkled here and there with thorny bushes. These bushes afforded food for the camels, and a miserable shelter from the sun for ourselves. We shoved embodies under them as closely to their roots as the thorns would admit, to sleep as well sheltered as possible from the burning rays of the vertical sun. But sound sleep in this condition was impossible, as every half-hour the sun advancing in his course contracted or changed the shadow of the bush, and obliged us to change our position; as to sleep in his rays in this climate is not only almost impossible but dangerous, it almost infallibly producing a fever of the brain.
The country we traversed this first day's journey is a level plain of sand and gravel, with scattered mountains of black granite here and there in view, where no sound is heard but the rush of the wind. The weather was cool enough during the day, and coldish in the night.[74] In the afternoon we again set forward, proceeding and halting as yesterday, viz. once for an hour about two hours before midnight, and once again a little before day-break for an hour and a half. The desert continued to exhibit the same aspect as before till about midnight, when we quitted the plains to enter among gloomy defiles, winding between mountains of black granite. We passed one chain, and at a little beyond the entrance of another, lying about two leagues to the north of the first, the guide told us that we were near the well Apseach; soon after we arrived at a place containing bushes. Here the caravan halted, and those who wanted fresh water filled their water-skins from the well which lies in the mountains, about an hour's march from the place where we halted. This well is at the bottom of an oblique passage leading into one of the mountains, at the termination of which is found no great quantity of sweet water deposited by the rains which fall in this country about the time of the summer solstice.[75] During the last two days I traveled in great pain; the reflection of the sun from the sand, and the strong wind from the north (prevalent at this season in the desert), which blew its finer particles into my eyes, in spite of all my precautions to shelter them, exasperated and inflamed their malady to a great degree, which the want of sufficient shelter from the sun, during the time of repose, contributed to aggravate.
We stayed near the well till about sunset, when we resumed our travel, and at about three hours after sunrise on the morning of the 10th, came to a rock in a sandy plain, where the conductor of the caravan ordered a halt. We distributed ourselves round this rock as well as we could, in order to repose;[76] Khalil Aga and myself making a covering from the sun by means of my carpet, propped up by our fusees and fastened by the corners to stones we placed upon the rock, by means of our shawls and sashes. We stayed here till the middle of the afternoon, when we mounted our camels in order to reach the well Morat as soon as possible, in order to water those patient and indispensable voyagers of the desert.[77] We traversed a tolerably level but rocky tract till about two hours after midnight, when we reached the well. It lies in a valley between two high chains of mountains of black granite. Its water is somewhat bitter, as its name imports, and is not drank by travelers except when their water-skins are exhausted. It serves, however, for the camels of the caravans, and for the inhabitants of two Arab villages in the vicinity, named "Abu Hammak" and "Dohap" who brought their camels to water here the morning after our arrival. These poor but contented people are obliged to subsist, for the most part, upon their camels' milk, their situation affording little other means of nourishment. They are, however, independent, and remote from the tyranny and oppression which afflicts the people of most of the countries of the east.[78]
On the rocks near the well we saw some rude hieroglyphics, representing bulls, horses, and camels, cut in the granite, in the manner of those found in the rocks near Assuan, on the south side of the cataract. Our guide tells us that such cuttings in the rocks are found in many of the mountains of the desert.
During our stay at Morat a violent dispute had arisen among the Arabs of our caravan about some money which had been stolen from one of them. The man suspected of the theft endeavored to justify himself by much hard swearing, but circumstances being strong against him, I told the man who had been robbed, that if the money was not restored previous to our arrival at Assuan, I would speak to the Cacheff about the affair, who would take the proper measures to detect and punish the thief. In consequence of this menace, the man robbed, next morning had the satisfaction to find unexpectedly that his money had been secretly restored and deposited among the baggage, from whence it had been stolen.
On the 13th, at sunset, we quitted Morat; and after a winding march among the hills for five hours, we arrived at a broad valley, surrounded by high mountains and abounding in doum trees, the first we had seen since we quitted the river. This place is called "El Medina." It contains an Arab village, whose inhabitants gain something by supplying the caravans with goats, of which they have many, and by furnishing them with water, of which they possess several reservoirs filled by the rains. We reposed for the rest of the night under the doum trees, and in the morning regaled ourselves with the pure and wholesome water of El Medina, which was to me particularly grateful after being obliged to drink, for several days, either the muddy water we had brought from the river, or that of Apseach, which had become heated by the sun, and impregnated with a disgusting smell, derived from the new leather of the water-bags which contained it. I bought here a fat goat and some milk, which made us a feast, which hunger and several days fasting on bad bread made delicious.
We stayed here to water and repose the camels till the afternoon of the second day after our arrival, when we recommenced our march for the river, whose distance we were told was three days march from El Medina. During our stay at El Medina, Khalil Aga my companion was taken very ill with vomiting and purging, occasioned by having drank of the water of Morat, against which I had remonstrated without effect. He did not get quit of the consequences of his imprudence for several days.
On the 15th, in the afternoon, we commenced our march for the river. The desert hereabouts resembles that we passed the two first days after our quitting the river, being a sandy plain studded with hills and mountains of granite. We proceeded till about three hours after midnight, when we lay down to repose till day-break, when we again mounted and continued our journey till two hours before noon, when we stopped at a rock which had some holes in it, where we sheltered ourselves from the sun, and dined with appetite on some coarse durra bread baked upon camel's dung.
By the middle of the afternoon we were again on our way, which led through the deep and winding valleys of three mountains of calcareous stone, which indicated the proximity of the river, and over hills of deep sand, with which the eddies of the wind had in many places filled those valleys. Since we left Morat till we came to these mountains the granite hills had become rarer, others of calcareous stone here and there presented themselves, and the level of the desert was constantly ascending[79] I have no doubt that the level of the interior of the desert is lower than the bed of the river.
During the passage over these hills several of the camels gave out, that of my black slave among the rest.[80] Four hours after sunrise we came to a valley, where there was here and there some herbs of the desert, where we stopped to let the camels eat, they having fasted since we left El Medina.
We were obliged to look among the rocks for shelter from the sun, each one arranging himself as well as he could to eat durra bread and drink warm water, and sleep as soundly as possible. During the course of last night we fell in with a caravan coming from Assuan; we pressed round them to buy something to eat; we asked for dates and flour to make bread, but they had nothing of the kind that they could afford to part with.
We stayed at the rock before mentioned till the middle of the afternoon. On awaking from sleep, I observed two of the Arabs of our caravan busily employed about our guide. They were a long time engaged in frizzing and plaiting his hair, and finished the operation by pouring over it a bowlful of melted mutton suet, which made his head quite white. I asked for the meaning of this operation at this time; they told me that we should be at the river to-morrow morning, and that our guide was adorning himself to see and salute his friends there. He appeared to be highly satisfied with the efforts of his hair-dressers to make him look decent, and it must be confessed that he made a very buckish appearance.
As soon as our guide had finished his toilette, he mounted his dromedary and took his post in front, and we set forward. We marched all night without stopping, which was necessary, as our water was nearly spent,[81] but which distressed greatly that part of our caravan who had no beast to ride.[82] These wretched men had hitherto accompanied us all the way on foot, with little to eat and less to drink. At present they were almost exhausted with fatigue, hunger and thirst. Every now and then, one or more of them would throw himself on the sand in despair. The repeated assurance that the river was near, hour after hour, became less and less capable of rousing them to exertion, and the whip was at length applied to make them get up and go on.[83] They demanded water immediately, which we were too short of ourselves to give them, as we feared every minute that our camels would drop, which would render every drop of water we had as precious as life.
One unfortunate lad, who had joined the caravan before it entered the desert, I suspect a domestic who had fled from the distresses that had found us in the upper countries, made pathetic applications to me for water; I twice divided with him a bowlful I was drinking, "in the name of God, the protector of the traveler."
This young man, in the course of this toilsome night, had disappeared, having doubtless laid himself down in despair. We unfortunately did not miss him till it was too late.[84] About two hours before day-break we reached the entrance of a deep ravine, between ridges and hills of rocks. We marched in it for six hours. It zigzagged perpetually, and its bottom was covered with fragments of the rocks that enclosed it, and which had apparently been displaced by strong currents of water. This phenomenon surprised me, as the entrance into this ravine being from the plain, it was evident that the currents which had produced these displacements could not at any era have come from thence. But at the termination of this ravine, which ended nearly at the river, the cause became evident. An ancient canal, now nearly filled up, leads from the river into this ravine, and the rush of the current during the seasons of inundation, has loosened and displaced fragments of the bordering mountains.
It was about two hours before noon on the 18th of Zilkade, when, emerging from this ravine, we came upon the bank of the beautiful and blessed river, which is the very heart and life's blood of all north-eastern Africa. It was with the most grateful feelings toward "the Lord of the universe," that I laid myself down under the date trees by its brink to cool and to wash my swollen and inflamed eyes, whose disorder was greatly increased by fatigue, a dazzling sun, and want of sleep.
Immediately after our arrival at the little village of Seboo,[85] which stands on the canal leading to the ravine before mentioned, myself and Khalil Aga addressed ourselves to the people of the village to engage some one to go and bring to the river the unfortunate lad who had been missed. I told them that, in two hours, a man mounted on a dromedary could reach the place where he had disappeared, and save his life: I appealed to their humanity, to their sense of duty towards God and man, to engage them to go and save him. Finding them deaf to my entreaties, I offered them money, and Khalil Aga his musket, to bring him safe and sound to the river. I appealed to their humanity in vain, and to their avarice without effect.[86] We told them that the Christians, in a case of this kind, would send not one but forty men, if necessary, to go and save a fellow creature from the horrible death of desert famine; and that heaven would surely require at their hands the life of this young man, if they neglected to save him At length the Sheck of the village promised me to send a dromedary to the place to-morrow morning. He made the promise probably to appease my reproaches, for he did not fulfill it.
On the second day after my arrival, I dipped my feet and slippers into the Nile, and bequeathing the village of Seboo my most hearty curse, (which God fulfill!) embarked on board a boat on its way from Dongola to Egypt, and in three days reached Assuan.[87]
THE END
London Printed by C. Roworth Bell Yard, Temple Bar
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: For instance, a navigable passage has been cut through the rocks of the First Cataract, and a canal is at present constructing, by order of the Pasha, round some of the most difficult passes of the Second. He has completed a broad and deep canal from the Nile to Alexandria, by which commerce is liberated from the risk attending the passage of the Boghaz of Rosetta. Large establishments for the fabric of saltpeter, gunpowder, cannon and small arms, others for the fabric of silks, cotton and sugar, have been erected by the Viceroy, and are in operation under the superintendence of Europeans.]
[Footnote 2: Their names are as follows:--Succoot, Machass, Dongola, Shageia, Monasier, Isyout, Rab-a-Tab, Berber, Shendi, Halfya, the kingdoms of Sennaar, Darfour, and Kordofan; at present, all subject to the conqueror of Egypt and Arabia.]
[Footnote 3: Mr. Frediani, an Italian*, and Messrs. Caillaud and Constant, the latter sent out by His Most Christian Majesty, have accompanied our camp to Sennaar, where I left them in good health. To Messrs. Caillaud and Constant, particularly, I am indebted for much cordiality and friendship, which it is a pleasure to me to acknowledge. The geographical positions of the most important places on the Upper Nile have been ascertained by Mr. Constant, who is provided with an excellent set of instruments, with great care and the most indefatigable pains, of which I myself have been a witness. His observations will doubtless be a most valuable acquisition to geography.]
* Since dead in Sennaar, This unfortunate man died a chained maniac, in consequence of violent fever.]
[Footnote 4: Corresponding to the end of September, or the former part of October, A.C. 1820.]
[Footnote 5: This force may be thus enumerated: ten pieces of field artillery, one mortar 8 inch caliber, and two small howitzers, attached to which were one hundred and twenty cannoneers; three hundred Turkish infantry and seven hundred Mogrebin ditto; the remainder of the army Turkish and Bedouin cavalry, together with a corps of Abbadies mounted on dromedaries.]
[Footnote 6: Called the Shellal of Semne.]
[Footnote 7: Called the Shellal of Ambigool.]
[Footnote 8: Called the Shellal of Tongaroo.]
[Footnote 9: Called the Shellal of Dal.]
[Footnote 10: I have been informed that about two miles northward of this place, on the west side of the river, is to be seen a curious vaulted edifice, having the interior of its walls in many places covered with paintings. My informants believed that it was anciently a Christian monastery. This is possible, as the ruins of several are to be seen on the Third Cataract, and, as I have been told, on the Second also.]
[Footnote 11: About seventy miles above Wady Haifa.]
[Footnote 12: I cannot help smiling in copying off this part of my journal, at the little account I made of "bread rice and lentils," at the commencement of the campaign. Before I left Sennaar, I have been more than once obliged to take a part of my horse's rations of durra to support nature. He ate his portion raw and I boiled mine. The causes of such distress were that the natives of the Upper country would frequently refuse to sell us any thing for our dirty colored piastres of Egypt, and the Pasha would allow nobody to steal but himself. "Steal" a fico for the phrase. The wise "convey it call," says ancient Pistol, an old soldier who had seen hard times in the wars.]
[Footnote 13: These were the rapids of Dall.]
[Footnote 14: In every dangerous pass, we invariably saw one or more of our boats wrecked.]
[Footnote 15: It is called Gamatee.]
[Footnote 16: The middle of the Upper Nile is generally occupied by an almost continued range of islands.]
[Footnote 17: I learned afterwards from Khalil Aga, the American, who accompanied me to Sennaar and back again to Egypt, and who visited tins spot, that this column made a part of the ruins of an ancient temple, where are to be seen two colossal statues. I set out the next day with him to visit this place, but being then only convalescent from a bloody flux which had reduced my strength, I found myself too weak to reach the place, and returned to the boat.]
[Footnote 18: The river continues in the same general direction as high up as the island of Mograt, on the Third Cataract, when it resumes a course more south and north. The length of this bend is probably not less than two hundred and fifty miles.]
[Footnote 19: i.e. The bank on our left-hand ascending the river.]
[Footnote 20: A more particular account of this battle will be given hereafter, in the course of the narrative.]
[Footnote 21: These gentlemen were Messrs. Waddington and Hanbury, who, after staying a short time in our camp, returned to Egypt. Mr. Waddington, on his return to England, published an account of his travels on the upper Nile, in which, having been misled by the tongue of some mischievous enemy of mine, he gave an account of me not a little fabulous. On my arrival in London, I wrote to Mr. Waddington what he was pleased to call a "manly and temperate letter," informing him of his error, representing to him the serious injury it might do me, and calling upon him for a justification or an apology. Mr. Waddington, in the manner best becoming an English gentleman, frankly gave me both, concluding with the following expressions--"I feel the most sincere and profound sorrow for the unintentional injustice into which I have been betrayed by too hasty a belief of false information. For this I am as anxious to make you reparation, as I am incapable of doing any person a willful injury. I will therefore cause the note in question to be erased in the following editions of my book; and in the remaining copies of the present, I will instantly insert a new page or sheet, if necessary; or should that be impossible, I will immediately destroy the whole impression." It was impossible for me, after this, to retain any of the angry feelings excited by this affair, excepting towards "the false tongue" that occasioned it, on which I cordially imprecate a plentiful portion of the "sharp arrows of the mighty and coals of juniper."]
[Footnote 22: The desperate courage of these wretched peasants was astonishing; they advanced more than once to the muzzles of the cannon, and wounded some of the cannoneers in the act of re-loading their guns. Notwithstanding their efforts, such was the disparity of their arms against cannon and fire-arms, that only one of the Pasha's soldiers was killed, and they are said to have lost seven hundred in the battle and during the pursuit.]
[Footnote 23: I say "shot down," for the saber was found an unavailing weapon, as these people are so adroit in the management of their shields that they parried every stroke. I have seen upon the field where this battle was fought several shields that had not less than ten or fifteen saber cuts, each lying upon the dead body of the man who carried it, who had evidently died by three or four balls shot into him. The soldiers have told me that they had frequently to empty their carabine and pistols upon one man before he would fall.]
[Footnote 24: When our troops approached the castle of Malek Zibarra, his daughter, a girl of about fifteen, fled in such haste that she dropped one of her sandals, which I have seen. It was a piece of workmanship as well wrought as any thing of the kind could be even in Europe. The girl was taken prisoner and brought to the Pasha, who clothed her magnificently in the Turkish fashion and sent her to her father, desiring her to tell him to "come and surrender himself, as he preferred to have brave men for his friends than for his enemies." When the girl arrived at the camp of Zibarra, the first question her father asked her was, "My child, in approaching your father, do you bring your honor with you?" "Yes," replied the girl, "otherwise I should not dare to look upon you. The Pasha has treated me as his child, has clothed me as you see, and desires that you would leave war to make peace with him." Zibarra was greatly affected, and did make several efforts to effect a peace with the Pasha, which were traversed and frustrated by the other chiefs of the Shageias.]
[Footnote 25: Khalil Aga, who has passed the whole of the third Cataract, found in several of the islands there ruins which were probably those of monasteries, as he found there many of the stones covered with Greek inscriptions, one of which he brought to me; I was obliged to abandon it on the route, on the dying of the camel that carried it.]
[Footnote 26: On my return to Egypt, I presented Mr. Salt with several specimens, which are now in his possession.]
[Footnote 27: To which all the troops had been concentrated.]
[Footnote 28: It has been found, however, possible to pass the whole of the third cataract, in boats not drawing more than three feet of water, by the aid of all the male population on its shores, who, by the aid of ropes, dragged up nine boats, which arrived in Berber before the Pasha commenced his march for Sennaar. They were fifty-seven days in getting from the island of Kendi to Berber. Every one of them was repeatedly damaged in getting through the passages.]