Part 6

On the next day, the 29th, I found it impossible to stand on my legs, and postponed the work to the day following. I had all our household-furniture, beds, kitchen-pottery, and provisions, put on a camel, and returned to the boat, in hopes that the air might be cool at night; but I remained very ill the whole day, my stomach refusing to take almost any thing.

On the 30th we continued the work, and the colossus advanced a hundred and fifty yards towards the Nile. I was a little better in the morning, but worse again in the evening.

On the 31st I was again a little better, but could not proceed, as the road became so sandy that the colossus sunk into the ground. I was therefore under the necessity of taking a long turn of above three hundred yards, to a new road. In the evening of this day I was much better.

On the 1st of August we still improved in our success, as we this day proceeded above three hundred yards. I was obliged to keep several men employed in making the road before us, as we went on with the head. The Irish lad that was with me I sent to Cairo, as he could not resist the climate; but what is singular, Mrs. Belzoni enjoyed tolerable health all the time. She was constantly among the women in the tombs; for all the Fellahs of Gournou make dwelling-houses where the Egyptians had burial-places, as I shall have occasion to mention hereafter.

On the 2d the head advanced farther; and I was in great hopes of passing a part of the land, to which the inundation would extend, previous to the water reaching that spot.

On the 3d we went on extremely well, and advanced nearly four hundred yards. We had a bad road on the 4th, but still we proceeded a good way. On the 5th we entered the land I was so anxious to pass over, for fear the water should reach it and arrest our course; and I was happy to think, that the next day would bring us out of danger. Accordingly, I went to the place early in the morning, and to my great surprise found no one there except the guards and the carpenter, who informed me, that the Caimakan had given orders to the Fellahs not to work for the Christian dogs any longer. I sent for him, to know the reason of this new proceeding; but he was gone to Luxor. It is to be observed, that the spot where the head lay at this time was expected to be under water in a few days; and that by delay the risk would be incurred of having it sunk in the earth, so that it could not have been taken out till the following year, and then not without a great deal of additional trouble, exclusive of the tricks that might be played in the interval. Under these circumstances, it may be imagined I was uneasy upon the subject, and anxious for despatch. I afterwards learned, that the rogue of a Caimakan had suggested to the Cacheff to take advantage of the situation, when the head was to pass that spot, to put an end to our proceeding. I took the Janizary with me, and crossed the water to Luxor. I there found the Caimakan, who could give me no reason for his proceeding but saucy answers; and the more I attempted to bring him into good humour by smooth words and promises, the more insolent he became. My patience was great, and I was determined that day to carry it to its utmost length: but there is a certain point, which, if exceeded, these people do not understand; and, in a country where respect is paid only to the strongest, advantage will always be taken of the weak: consequently if a man carry his policy beyond that point, they mistake him for a coward; he is despised, and will have the more difficulties to encounter.

This was the case on the present occasion: my patience was mistaken; and this man, after having said all that he could against my nation, and those who protected me, was so much encouraged by my forbearance, that he attempted to put his hands on me, which I resisted. He then became more violent, and drew his sword, though he had a brace of pistols in his belt. There was no time to be lost; and as I had received a good lesson at Cairo from another Albanian like himself, I gave him no leisure to execute his purpose. I instantly seized and disarmed him, placed my hands on his stomach, and made him sensible of my superiority, at least in point of strength, by keeping him firm in a corner of the room. The pistols and sword, which I had thrown on the ground, were taken up by my Janizary; and after giving the fellow a good shaking, I took possession of them, and told him, that I should send them to Cairo, to show the Bashaw in what manner his orders were respected. He followed me towards the boat, and was no sooner out of the crowd that had assembled, than he began to be quite humble, and talk of matters as if nothing had happened. He then told me, that the order he had given to the Fellahs not to work he had received from the Cacheff himself, and it could not be expected, that, being only a Caimakan, he could disobey his superior. I did not stop one instant, but ordered the boat to take me to Erments immediately.

The reader, perhaps, may think my narrative too minute; but I beg to observe, that it is in this way only the true character of these people can be known. I remarked, that in almost every thing he said to me nothing escaped him against my religion, which is generally the first thing with a Mahometan; but I found afterwards, that the friend in Lower Egypt, with whom he had trafficked in antiques, from whom he received money and presents, and who influenced him on this occasion, was a Christian; and if he could have found the means to interrupt my proceedings respecting the bust, he would greatly have obliged this friend.

I hastened to Erments, and arrived there before sunset. As it was the time of Ramadan, the Cacheff had many of his principal officers, and several Hadgees and Santons, at dinner with him; it being the custom of these Turkish travellers, particularly at this season, to live at great men’s tables. There were about thirty in that place. The dinner was prepared in a field before the house, as no room within it would contain so many persons. An old carpet, about twenty feet long and three wide, was spread on the ground; and where we should put plates, cakes were placed of fine white bread, made expressly for the occasion. On my arrival they were just going to begin, the hour of dining being always a little after sunset during the festival of Ramadan, as they are then not allowed to eat till the sun has wholly disappeared; so that I could introduce no business at that time. There is certainly something in the ceremonial manners of the Turks, that is often peculiarly provoking. At the very moment that they order your throat to be cut, they will not fail to salute you, apparently, with the utmost cordiality. The Cacheff received me very politely, and invited me to dine with him. I dared not refuse, as it would have been the greatest affront I could have offered him. Accordingly, we sat all round the carpet, on the ground. The Turkish cookery does not always suit an European palate; but there are a few dishes, that are equally agreeable with our own; particularly mutton roasted on a wooden pole, at a wood fire. They have a particular way of cooking it, putting it on the fire immediately after it is killed, and before it has lost its natural warmth; and in this way it has a particular flavour, quite agreeable to the taste. The soldiers and Hadgees tucked up their large sleeves, and with naked arms dipped the fingers of their right hands into the various dishes. They never employ the left hand in eating, nor do they eat much out of one dish, but taste of all that are within their reach. They always finish their dinner with pilau, and seldom drink while eating. They wash immediately after, and pipes and coffee being served all round, they begin to converse on their usual topics, horses, arms, saddles, or dress.

At a proper time I expressed to the Cacheff the necessity of my having an order for the Fellahs, to proceed with my operations the next morning. He answered with indifference, that they must work in the fields for the Bashaw, and that he could not spare one; but that, if I would wait till the next season, I might have as many as I liked. I replied to this, that as I could obtain no men from him, I would bring over some from Luxor, and he would thus lose the merit of what he had done; and as I had to return to Luxor that night, I must take my leave. He observed, I had no reason to be afraid, as I was armed with such a pair of fine English pistols. I answered, they were very necessary in that country, but they were at his service notwithstanding, if he would be pleased to accept of them; though I had written to Cairo for a better pair for him, which would soon arrive. At these words, he put his hands on my knees, and said, “We shall be friends.” He ordered the firman to be written out immediately, and set his seal to it. I left him, returned to the boat, and arrived at Gournou before daylight. On passing before Luxor, we were in danger of being drowned. The pier, that protects these ruins from the force of the current, on the swelling of the Nile is always under water; and our boatman, not being acquainted with its situation, ran the boat against it. The current was very strong; no power could resist it; and the boat heeled so much, that the water kept running over the gunwale. As the rapidity in this spot is so great, that the most expert swimmer, being once in the stream, has no chance of reaching the shore, we appeared to have inevitable death before us, but Providence ordered it otherwise. At that moment a fresh breeze arose, the advantage of which was seized by the pilot, who hoisted the sail, got the boat under proper management, crossed the current, and escaped the danger.

Early on the morning of the 7th, I sent for the Sheik of the Fellahs, and gave him the Cacheff’s order. The men were ready in an hour after, and we continued the operation. The bust advanced this day considerably more than usual, owing to the men having rested on the preceding day: and on the 8th I had the pleasure of seeing it out of danger of being overtaken by the water.

On the 9th, I was seized with such a giddiness in my head, that I could not stand. The blood ran so copiously from my nose and mouth, that I was unable to continue the operation: I therefore postponed it to the next day.

On the 10th and 11th, we approached towards the river; and on the 12th, thank God, the young Memnon arrived on the bank of the Nile. Besides their promised payment, I gave the Arabs a bakshis, or present, of one piastre each, equal to sixpence English, with which they were exceedingly pleased; and they well deserved their reward, after an exertion, to which no labour can be compared. The hard task they had to drag, such a weight, the heavy poles they were obliged to carry to use as levers, and the continual replacing the rollers, with the extreme heat and dust, were more than any European could have withstood: but what is still more remarkable, during all the days of this exertion, it being Ramadan, they never ate or drank till after sunset. I am at a loss to conceive, how they existed in the middle of the day, at a work to which they were totally unaccustomed.

Next day, in the morning, according to my wish, some Arabs came to conduct me to the cave, where the sarcophagus was which Mr. Drouetti had attempted to take out, and had given to me as a present, if I could get it. I was conducted into one of those holes, that are scattered about the mountains of Gournou, so celebrated for the quantities of mummies they contain. The Janizary remained without, and I entered with two Arabs and the interpreter.

Previous to our entering the cave, we took off the greater part of our clothes, and, each having a candle, advanced through a cavity in the rock, which extended a considerable length in the mountain, sometimes pretty high, sometimes very narrow, and without any regularity. In some passages we were obliged to creep on the ground, like crocodiles. I perceived, that we were at a great distance from the entrance, and the way was so intricate, that I depended entirely on the two Arabs, to conduct us out again. At length we arrived at a large space, into which many other holes or cavities opened; and after some consideration and examination by the two Arabs, we entered one of these, which was very narrow, and continued downward for a long way, through a craggy passage, till we came where two other apertures led to the interior in a horizontal direction. One of the Arabs then said “This is the place.” I could not conceive how so large a sarcophagus, as it had been described to me, could have been taken through the aperture, which the Arab now pointed out. I had no doubt, but these recesses were burial-places, as we continually walked over skulls and other bones: but the sarcophagus could never have entered this recess; for it was so narrow, that on my attempt to penetrate it, I could not pass. One of the Arabs, however, succeeded, as did my interpreter; and it was agreed, that I and the other Arab should wait till they returned. They proceeded evidently to a great distance, for the light disappeared, and only a murmuring sound from their voices could be distinguished as they went on. After a few moments, I heard a loud noise, and the interpreter distinctly crying, “_O mon Dieu! mon Dieu! je suis perdu!_” After which, a profound silence ensued. I asked my Arab, whether he had ever been in that place? He replied, “Never.” I could not conceive what could have happened, and thought the best plan was to return, to procure help from the other Arabs. Accordingly, I told my man to show me the way out again; but, staring at me like an ideot, he said he did not know the road. I called repeatedly to the interpreter, but received no answer; I watched a long time, but no one returned; and my situation was no very pleasant one. I naturally returned through the passages, by which we had come; and, after some time, I succeeded in reaching the place, where, as I mentioned, were many other cavities. It was a complete labyrinth, as all these places bore a great resemblance to the one which we first entered. At last seeing one, which appeared to be the right, we proceeded through it a long way; but by this time our candles had diminished considerably; and I feared, that, if we did not get out soon, we should have to remain in the dark: meantime it would have been dangerous to put one out, to save the other, lest that which was left should, by some accident, be extinguished. At this time we were considerably advanced towards the outside, as we thought; but to our sorrow we found the end of that cavity, without any outlet. Convinced that we were mistaken in our conjecture, we quickly returned towards the place of the various entries, which we strove to regain. But we were then as perplexed as ever, and were both exhausted from the ascents and descents, which we had been obliged to go over. The Arab seated himself, but every moment of delay was dangerous. The only expedient was to put a mark at the place out of which we had just come, and then examine the cavities in succession, by putting also a mark at their entrance, so as to know where we had been. Unfortunately, our candles would not last through the whole researches: however, we began our operations.

On the second attempt, when passing before a small aperture, I thought I heard the sound of something like the roaring of the sea at a distance. In consequence I entered this cavity; and as we advanced the noise increased, till I could distinctly hear a number of voices all at one time. At last, thank God, we walked out; and, to my no small surprise, the first person I saw was my interpreter. How he came to be there I could not conjecture. He told me, that in proceeding with the Arab along the passage below, they came to a pit, which they did not see; that the Arab fell into it, and in falling put out both candles. It was then that he cried out, “Mon Dieu! je suis perdu!” as he thought he also should have fallen into the pit; but, on raising his head, he saw at a great distance a glimpse of daylight, towards which he advanced, and thus arrived at a small aperture. He then scraped away some loose sand and stones, to widen the place where he came out, and went to give the alarm to the Arabs, who were at the other entrance. Being all concerned for the man who fell to the bottom of the pit, it was their noise that I heard in the cave. The place by which my interpreter got out was instantly widened; and in the confusion the Arabs did not regard letting me see that they were acquainted with that entrance, and that it had lately been shut up. I was not long in detecting their scheme. The Arabs had intended to show me the sarcophagus, without letting me see the way by which it might be taken out, and then to stipulate a price for the secret. It was with this view they took me such a way round about.

I found that the sarcophagus was not in reality a hundred yards from the large entrance. The man was soon taken out of the well, but so much hurt in one of his hips, that he went lame ever after. Finding that the cover of the sarcophagus could be taken out, I set several men at work to clear the passage; but on the third day, on my return from the king’s tombs, I found that the Cacheff had recommenced his old tricks. He came to Gournou from Erments; and, seeing the Arabs at work, he took them all to the latter place, bound like thieves, and put them into prison. I could not imagine the reason of all this, after the promises I had made him, and the protestations on his part which he had made to me; but, on inquiry, I found that some agents of Mr. D—— had just arrived from Alexandria and brought him presents. I do not know what passed between them; I only state the case as it appeared. On my applying to him again, he said that the sarcophagus was sold to the French consul, and no one else should have it. I feigned to be quite unconcerned about the matter, as well as about the Arabs he had put into prison; for, if I had appeared anxious, he would have kept them longer, as his motives were all mercenary. I told him I should write to Cairo about the sarcophagus. In fact, I had to write to Mr. Salt, to have a boat sent to convey the colossus down the Nile, as none could be had at that season in Upper Egypt; for they were all engaged, and mostly for the Bashaw.

After having sent a courier to the consul about the boat, I thought I could not employ my time better than in going up the Nile, as no extra expense would be incurred. The boat which I had engaged might go where I pleased; and, by the time the answer from Cairo arrived, I should be back again. I always had two guards kept at the colossal bust day and night; but when I found that I could not get a boat to embark it without writing to Cairo, I formed an inclosure of earth all round it; and on the 18th we set off for Esne. Our number was diminished in this voyage, as I had sent the Irish lad to Cairo, and discharged the carpenter; so that we remained only with the Janizary and the interpreter. The next day we reached Esne, and I landed just in time to see Khalil Bey on the same evening, whom I knew some time before in Soubra. He was appointed to the government of the upper provinces, from Esne to Assouan; and having married one of the Bashaw’s sisters, he was quite independent of the orders of the Deftardar Bey at Siout. It was nearly night when I went to him. He was just returned from an excursion into the country. I found him seated on a sofa made of earth, covered with a fine carpet and satin cushions, surrounded by a great number of his chiefs, Cacheffs, and Santons. They had just finished their dinner, and I could not have arrived at a better time for conversation. He was much pleased to see me, and offered to give me letters to all the people under his command. Understanding that I might perhaps proceed as far as Ibrim, he caused a letter to be written to Osseyn Cacheff, who was one of the three princes residing in Nubia: and as Khalil Bey received a yearly contribution from the Nubians, he had sent his soldiers thither, so they were now on friendly terms. The moment the troops of Egypt enter Nubia to receive the tribute, the princes march higher up the Nile, and are never to be seen.

The usual conversation on horses, &c. was laid aside; and, as I was going to Nubia, the topics were the various personages I should meet with in that country, and the risk I ran of being robbed by them, &c. After smoking a few pipes, and drinking as many cups of coffee, I left the Bey, and returned to the boat.

The next day I made a cursory inspection of the temple in that town. It is much encumbered with rubbish, and only the portico of it is now to be seen; but the beautiful variety and fine shaped capitals of the columns, as well as the zodiacal figures on the ceiling, announce that it was one of the principal temples of Egypt. The figures and hieroglyphics are somewhat larger than those of Tentyra; and it is a great pity that such beautiful edifices should be inhabited by dirty Arabs and their cattle.