THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELLS
 
 THE CEADLE 
 
 THE BLUE NILE. 
 
 A VISIT TO THE COURT OF KING JOHN 
 OF ETHIOPIA. 
 
 BY E. A. DE COSSON, F.R.G.S. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. II. 
 
 WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 1877. 
 
 [All rights reserved.]
 
 LONDON 
 BRADBl'RY, AONEW, <fe CO., PRINTERS, WH1TEFRIAR8.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 PACK 
 
 THE ROYAL CAMP AT AMBACHAEA 1 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 LIFE AT THE ETHIOPIAN COURT 23 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WE PREPARE TO VISIT LAKE fZANA 49 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE GREAT LAKE 66 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SPORT ON THE LAKE CONTINUED OUR RETURN TO AMBA- 
 
 CHARA 91 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 I BID ADIEU TO THE KING ARRIVAL AT THE CITY OF 
 
 GOXDAE 109 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE RIDE TO THE FRONTIER 138 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 GALABAT AND ITS SLAVE MARKET . . 156 
 
 1308870
 
 iv Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 PAOE 
 
 FROM OALABAT TO KATARIP .17:5 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A CAMEL BIDE ACROSS THE PLAINS 192 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 JOURNEY DOWN THE BLUE NILE. AND ARRIVAL AT KHARTUM 213 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 KHARTUM CONTINUED DEPARTURE FOR BERBER . . . 235 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 BERBER DEPARTURE FOR SUAKIN . . . . 261 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 DESERT JOURNEY CONTINUED THE STORY OF LEILA . . 281 
 
 APPENDIX , 303
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. II. 
 
 THE SLAVE SIABKET AT GALABAT . . . (Frontispiece) 
 
 PAGE 
 A WICKED HIPPO 88 
 
 A XIGHT EXrorNTER 162 
 
 THE LAST PROP OP WATEB . . . 198
 
 THE CBADLE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE BLUE NILE 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE ROYAL CAMP AT AMBACHARA. 
 
 WHEN day dawned I returned to my tent, where I 
 found Bo-Galla had been spending his leisure moments 
 in trying to empty the gumbos of tedge, and having in 
 consequence got frightfully drunk, had amused himself 
 by smashing my pith helmet, English saddle, and one 
 or two other things that could not possibly be replaced. 
 I was so angry with him that I paid him and dismissed 
 him on the spot, retaining only my gun-bearer Sinke, 
 to whom I was forced to convey most of my orders by 
 signs, as he could speak nothing but Tigre. It was 
 embarrassing to have nobody by whom I could make 
 myself understood, but having once forbidden Bo-Galla 
 the tent, I was resolved not to recall him, as the surest 
 way for a European to gain an ascendance over the 
 Abyssiniaus, is to convince them that he is entirely 
 independent of their assistance.
 
 2 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. OH. xvm. 
 
 I had not been long alone before one of the king's 
 principal officers, Likamanguas "Warki, called to enquire 
 after my health in his majesty's name. He was 
 splendidly dressed in a robe of flowered silk, with an 
 embroidered kuarie of Indian muslin draped round him, 
 and a silver-mounted pistol in his sash. As all my 
 knowledge of Abyssinian was confined to a few nouns, a 
 few simple words of command, and one or two vigorous 
 adjectives more useful among the wild tribes of the 
 mountains than the denizens of a court, we unfortunately 
 could not communicate our ideas very freely ; however, 
 the courtly manner of the Likamanguas quite made up 
 for all deficiencies of speech, and we were soon good 
 friends. He was one of four officers who bear the title 
 of "Likamanguas," and are as inseparable from the 
 king as his shadow. Each Likamanguas has the privi- 
 lege of wearing the same dress as his sovereign, and 
 when the King of Abyssinia goes into battle they wear 
 the same arms, so that the king's person may not be 
 distinguished from them. Formerly, I believe, the 
 kings of Ethiopia were seldom killed in battle, the royal 
 insignia being always respected by their foes, but alas ! 
 radical ideas have crept even into Ethiopia, and her 
 kings are no longer treated with such reverence. 
 
 The Likamauguases rank among the principal officers 
 of the state ; they serve the king with food, transmit his 
 orders, and, in short, are his private chamberlains. I 
 have read * that time was when all those who served 
 
 * " Dictionnaire des Faita et Bits memorables de 1'Histoire." Paris : 
 1763.
 
 CH. xvin. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 3 
 
 the kings of Ethiopia had to share their sufferings, even 
 to the breaking of their own legs and arms should the 
 royal legs or arms happen to get broken. Thus, says 
 the chronicler, the kings were served with great zeal, 
 and their servants attended to their interests as to their 
 own. But this appears to have been another good 
 old custom that has fallen into disuse in Ethiopia. 
 tempora ! mores ! 
 
 After many expressions of amity the Likamanguas 
 left me, as he said, to tell his Majesty of my welfare ; 
 while I set to work to mend my saddle and repair as 
 much as possible the damage done by Bo-Galla the 
 Franzoui. At 3 P.M. the king's interpreter Maderakal 
 came to summon me to the royal banquet, an invita- 
 tion I was much pleased to receive, for the king does not 
 as a rule like strangers to be present at his banquets, 
 lest they should draw invidious comparisons between 
 his court and the courts of other kings, less powerful, 
 but more civilized. 
 
 Seeing me plainly dressed in grey cloth, Maderakal 
 asked if I was not going to wear a uniform. I told 
 him that being on a simple sporting expedition I had 
 not brought one with me, and that with us a gorgeous 
 dress was not the necessary symbol of social position 
 that it is in the East, and that indeed we often showed 
 our pride by dressing our servants far more splendidly 
 than ourselves. At this moment the king's gasJca- 
 zagry, or esquire, bearing his sword and shield, came 
 for us, and Maderakal, daring to delay no longer, led 
 me to the front of the royal enclosure. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xvm. 
 
 As I entered, a salute was fired from a battery of 
 brass howitzers, and the air reverberated with the 
 sound of drums and trumpets. In the centre of the 
 enclosure stood a large oblong building made of boughs, 
 interlaced with the stems of young trees let into the 
 ground, and covered with a flat roof of rushes. A sort 
 of double colonnade of tree-trunks ran up the centre of 
 this hall to where stood the king's throne, or divan, 
 raised high above the earth, and draped with rich 
 purple velvet. A short way in front of the throne a 
 bright wood fire was blazing merrily, and immediately 
 at the foot of it, and on either side, were spread several 
 rich carpets, presents from her Majesty to the king 
 when he was Prince Kassa of Tigre. The king him- 
 self, 
 
 " In rough magnificence arrayed," 
 
 sat cross-legged on his divan, with a pair of English 
 rifles, loaded and cocked, resting on the cushions to the 
 right and left of him, and his slippers, of solid silver 
 filigree, lying on the carpet before him. By his side 
 was a beautiful sword, with a sheath of velvet and 
 enamel ; while on his head the great triple crown of 
 Ethiopia flashed with gold and jewels. The royal robe 
 was of cloth of silver, and over the king's brows hung a 
 long cloth of crimson silk, worn under the crown, and 
 falling in heavy folds round the face, so as to conceal 
 the features. Bruce says that formerly the kings of 
 Abyssinia, like the kings of the Medes and Persians, 
 never permitted the profane gaze of their subjects to 
 rest on the royal countenance, but the necessity of con-
 
 CH. xvin. The Royal Camp at AmbacJiara. 5 
 
 stantly leading their armies in person has forced the 
 Abyssinian sovereigns to abandon this custom, and it is 
 now only on very solemn occasions that the king thus 
 veils "the terrors of his brow," and places the great 
 triple crown on his head. 
 
 On either side of the throne stood two gigantic 
 eunuchs, over six feet high, clad in shirts of purple and 
 green silk, and holding drawn sabres in their hands. A 
 swarthy guard of honour, dressed with almost equal 
 magnificence, stood, also with drawn sabres, behind ; 
 while all around crowded the great officers of state, and 
 noted warriors, sumptuously arrayed in long robes of 
 silk and velvet of every colour, the scarlet scabbards of 
 their swords gleaming with gold and silver filigree, and 
 their necks adorned with the skins of the lion and black 
 panther. The Likamanguases, nearly as richly dressed 
 as their lord, stood grouped round the throne, two on 
 each side of it, and the air shook with the wild notes of 
 the trumpets and drums of the royal band. Thrice 
 as we pushed our way through the crowd of courtiers 
 and attendants that thronged the lower end of the hall, 
 towards the foot of the throne where the veiled king 
 sat, like the veiled prophet of Korassan, surrounded by 
 the barbaric splendour of his warlike court Madera- 
 kal prostrated himself till his forehead rested on the 
 ground, and his lips kissed the dust. I, as an English- 
 man, of course confined myself to the plain bow of 
 our European receptions, and the king, -when I reached 
 him, stretched his hand from the folds of his robe and 
 shook mine, saying at the same time a few courteous
 
 6 The Cradle of ike Blue Nile. en. xvm. 
 
 words of welcome in Tigre. He then motioned me to 
 sit down on a carpet at his right hand, and immediately 
 all the rest of the assembly sat down on the ground, taking 
 their places nearer or farther from the king according to 
 their rank. Soon afterwards, a tall, stout man, with a 
 very handsome, though somewhat sensual, face, walked 
 up the centre of the hall, carrying a rifle in one hand, 
 and a round shield, beautifully ornamented with 
 plates of silver and filigree work, in the other. This 
 was the redoubtable Has Warenia, the newly sub- 
 dued chief, who, before, had ruled over all Amhara 
 as an absolute prince, but now was forced to prostrate 
 himself in the dust before his master, and take his 
 place on my right as a guest, in the same spot where 
 others had so often bowed to him as lord Sic transit 
 gloria mundi ! 
 
 Round his neck he wore a splendid tippet of black 
 panther skin, enriched with clasps and bosses of gold 
 filigree, which had belonged to the king, and been pre- 
 sented to him that morning as a mark of honour. For 
 King Yohannes was politic, and sought to gild the 
 chains of this proud chief, and reconcile him to his fall. 
 At the side of the Ras hung a long straight sword, also 
 handsomely ornamented with gold filigree, and his care- 
 fully platted hair was covered with a thin piece of white 
 muslin, fixed with a golden pin ; but his feet like 
 those of all the rest of the courtiers were bare. His 
 robe, however, was of the richest silk, and round his 
 right wrist was clasped a silver-gilt gauntlet, studded 
 with gems, an ornament which was also worn by several
 
 en. xvin. The Royal Camp at AmbacJiara. 7 
 
 of the officers of the king's household, and is conferred 
 by the Abyssinian sovereigns as a mark of especial 
 favour. 
 
 To the left of the throne sat the principal minister of 
 state, a man advanced in years, with a remarkably 
 intelligent countenance, but it would tax the ingenuity 
 of a court newsman to describe the appearance of the 
 many striking figures that were grouped around. One, 
 however, I cannot pass without a mention. He was a 
 veteran warrior, the oldest of all the king's personal 
 attendants. The grey hairs of his beard mingled with 
 the tawny mane of the lion's skin thrown over his 
 shoulders, and his thin locks were bound with a sort of 
 silver crown ; his tall, gaunt figure was almost as 
 straight as the long silver-mounted matchlock he held 
 in his hand, and the fire in his dark eyes was un- 
 quenched, though nearly ninety years had passed over 
 his head, and marked their course by many a deep 
 furrow on his broad and handsome brow. Indeed, the 
 Ethiopic monarch's court, thronged as it was on this 
 day with all his greatest chiefs, was a grand and 
 striking sight, well worth my hard ride through the 
 mountains. And now a long line of slaves made their 
 way up the hall, bearing on their heads round baskets 
 covered with crimson cloth. One of these baskets was' 
 placed on the ground before each of the principal 
 guests, and contained the usual flat cakes of tef, or 
 bread, which serve the triple purpose of food, napkin, 
 and table-cloth, to the Abyssinian epicure. Mean- 
 while, several cows had been slaughtered on the thres-
 
 8 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xvm. 
 
 hold of the hall, according to the proper traditions of 
 native hospitality, and large hunks of the raw and 
 smoking meat were placed on the baskets before us, I, 
 as the stranger guest, being first served. Two atten- 
 dants then went round, one, distributing knives from a 
 case he carried at his side, and the other offering an 
 antelope's horn full of mixed salt and red pepper, for 
 us to season the meat with. All the company then 
 set to, and began to devour the raw cow's flesh with 
 the greatest avidity, cutting off huge pieces, which they 
 swallowed with much smacking of lips and gesticula- 
 tion. 
 
 I fear my pen is not powerful enough to describe in 
 sufficiently picturesque colours this barbaric banquet. 
 The gorgeous robes of every dye, the glittering shields 
 and swords, the dark faces of more than two hundred 
 guests, with gleaming eyes and teeth, clutching the red 
 pieces of raw beef of which their feast was composed, 
 formed a picture I must leave to the imagination of 
 the reader. 
 
 I need hardly say I did not touch the raw meat 
 before me, and when the king noticed this he whispered 
 to his master of the ceremonies, an active personage, 
 robed in purple velvet, and armed with a white wand, 
 which he did not scruple to apply to the shoulders of 
 those who disobeyed him. The Agafdree, as this 
 official is called,* thereupon took a piece of meat, which 
 he placed on the fire, and, after leaving it there for 
 
 * In Abyssinian, Agafdree signifies door-keeper. Two of them 
 always stand by the king's throne.
 
 cir. xvm. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 9 
 
 about a minute, brought to me. Though the meat 
 was of course still quite raw, I felt constrained to eat a 
 few mouthfuls of it, in acknowledgment of the courteous 
 attention, and then, at Maderakal's suggestion, passed 
 the remainder to the attendants and courtiers of humble 
 degree standing behind, who divided it amongst them 
 with great gusto. Most of the chiefs did the same with 
 what remained of their portions, and thus the whole 
 company was fed. 
 
 After the raw meat had been all consumed, pieces of 
 meat slightly braised in the fire were handed round, and 
 I was given a dish of curry prepared by the king's own 
 reverend cook. This ended the dinner. Each guest was 
 then allowed a small portion of arrakee ; and after that, 
 tedge, ad libitum, was served to the whole company. I 
 was presented with the king's glass to drink my tedge 
 out of; it was one of the presents that had been sent 
 him in her Majesty's name after the Magdala cam- 
 paign, and had a beautifully painted head of Cupid on 
 the front. This glass was afterwards sent to my tent 
 for me to use during the rest of my stay at the camp, 
 and I was often asked whether the head painted on it 
 was not a portrait of her Majesty's eldest son ! Great 
 quantities of tedge were consumed, but the revelry of 
 the guests was much hushed and awed by the presence 
 of royalty, and nobody drank excessively, though it was 
 just perceptible that one or two of them had been 
 looking at somebody drinking, as they say in Conne- 
 mara. 
 
 We presently heard a great deal of shouting and
 
 io The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xvm. 
 
 singing at the lower end of the hall, and a party of na- 
 tives came dancing up to the foot of the throne, led by a 
 man wearing a lion-skin over his shoulders, who every 
 now and then fired his gun in the air, and danced to 
 the wild chanting of his companions. Maderakal ex- 
 plained to me that this man had slain a lion, and had 
 now come to boast of it before the king, for, in Abys- 
 sinia, to kill a lion single-handed is considered a greater 
 feat than to slay a dozen men in battle. After the lion- 
 slayer had been dismissed, two slaves entered leading 
 an enormous lioness, who walked majestically up the 
 hall, uttering every now and then a low growl. At a 
 sign from the king, the slaves occasionally loosened the 
 cord attached to her neck, and allowed her to make 
 in the direction of some of the groups of guests, who 
 rushed away in the greatest consternation, upsetting 
 one another, and causing great laughter to those who 
 were at a safe distance. Seeing that the beast was 
 really entirely under the control of her keepers, I 
 allowed her to come quite close, and I do not think I 
 ever saw a finer specimen. Of a rich tawny yellow, 
 with firm lean flanks, enormously powerful forearms and 
 claws, a broad forehead, and square cut jaws armed 
 with a splendid array of glittering white teeth, she 
 looked truly a worthy consort for the king of beasts, 
 and a noble plaything for an African sovereign. After 
 the guests had been sufficiently frightened by the 
 lioness, a monkey was brought in and made to con- 
 front her; much fresh laughter being excited by the 
 grimaces of the poor beast, who did not feel at all
 
 en. xvin. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 1 1 
 
 comfortable in such noble company. These rude 
 sports brought the entertainment to a close, and I 
 rose to go, repeating to the king a few words of 
 thanks in his own language, which appeared to please 
 him much. I then returned to my tent, and slept till 
 late the next day. 
 
 April 22nd. Murcher, the head interpreter, and a 
 Swiss, called Louis, who was in the service of the king, 
 came to breakfast with me. I also had a visit from 
 Maderakal, with whom I had a long conversation about 
 the slave trade in this part of Africa, which I shall have 
 occasion to speak of in another chapter. Likamanguas 
 Warki, too, paid me an official visit, and informed me 
 that his Majesty had ordered a hundred naphteiias to 
 escort me to his banquet on the previous day, but that, 
 owing to a mistake of the king's page, they had not 
 appeared at the right time, and that I should be happy 
 to hear that the boy had been soundly flogged for his 
 error. I was not at all happy to hear it, but, as in duty 
 bound, thanked the courtly Likamanguas for this 
 polite attention. 
 
 April 23rd. A very wet day, and, as my tent was 
 just like a shower-bath, I was again forced to take 
 refuge in Marcher's hut for shelter. I had a long talk 
 with him about Bruce's story, that the Abyssinians 
 feasted off live cow. He assured me that the oldest 
 men in the country had no recollection of such a cus- 
 tom ever having prevailed, though it was quite true 
 that the Abyssinians were very fond of raw meat, as I 
 had been able to see for myself at the king's banquet,
 
 1 2 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. x 
 
 and that they liked the flesh fresh and smoking from 
 the carcase. 
 
 April 24;th. A messenger brought me a letter from 
 my brother to say that he and K. would not be able to 
 reach Ambachara for two days. A couple of regiments 
 of naphtciias were therefore dispatched to meet them 
 and help them on with the baggage. In the after- 
 noon the king again invited me to dine with him. This 
 time the royal dinner was quite sans c6r&monie, and 
 the king and all his court were simply clad in the 
 white blanket with a crimson stripe down it, called a 
 kuarie, Avhich forms the ordinary costume of all the 
 people of Tigre and Arnhara, from the king to the 
 humblest peasant.* 
 
 King Yohannes sat on an alga at the upper end of 
 the hall, with his two English rifles beside him. He 
 wore no covering on his head or feet, but each of his 
 ankles was adorned with a small string of silver beads, 
 and these, with a diamond pin stuck in his carefully 
 platted hair, were the only ornaments about him. I 
 had now a good opportunity of studying his face, and 
 rarely have I seen a more intelligent countenance, or 
 one that a physiognomist like Lavater would have 
 examined with greater interest. 
 
 The brow was beautifully moulded, though small 
 and slightly retreating; the nose aquiline, with very 
 delicately-formed nostrils ; the eyes deep-set, and not 
 very large, but singularly courageous and penetrating; 
 the cheek bones high for an Ethiopian ; the mouth and 
 * See Appendix, note E.
 
 (H. xvni. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 13 
 
 chin sharply chiselled ; and the ears almost as tiny 
 and shell-like as a woman's. His Majesty's age was 
 about thirty-five, and his stature somewhat under 
 the middle height, but his figure was perfectly propor- 
 tioned, and he seemed possessed of great strength and 
 endurance, though his hands and feet were exceedingly 
 small and delicately shaped. That King Yohannes is 
 an astute diplomatist has been proved "by the masterly 
 manner in which he has placed himself at the head of 
 the large and turbulent empire, which, at the death of 
 Theodorus, was left to be disputed for by several great 
 and warlike chiefs, some of whom were not less powerful 
 than Kassa himself,* and yet Prince Kassa obtained his 
 present supi - ernacy with comparatively little bloodshed. 
 He had the sagacity to cultivate the friendship of the 
 English, and obtain a supply of muskets for his followers, 
 who, though few in numbers, were soon twice as well 
 armed and disciplined as those of any other chief. 
 Having once obtained this moral lever, he worked it so 
 firmly and judiciously that it was not long before he was 
 able to have himself crowned the successor of Theodorus. 
 But, though the king has always preferred policy to 
 warfare, I was assured by K. that he is a hardy and 
 fearless soldier, prompt in action, and ever to the fore- 
 front in battle. Indeed, his personal attendants said that 
 they often had hard work to keep up with their royal 
 master when once he was on his war-horse, so recklessly 
 and furiously would he ride through the ranks of the 
 
 * I have before mentioned that King Yohannes was formerly known 
 as Prince Kassa of Tigre.
 
 14 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xvm. 
 
 foe, nor is it a pleasant thing for his enemies to he 
 within range of his English rifle, as he is a splendid 
 shot. But he possesses other qualities besides those of 
 a soldier and statesman, for he is of a studious dispo- 
 sition and well read in the laws and history of Ethiopia. 
 Nor is his outward sobriety and piety of life less 
 remarkable. 
 
 At little after 3 A.M. he is wont to rise every morn- 
 ing, and read the Psalms of David by candle-light for a 
 couple of hours; then he goes to church, after which he 
 frequently sits fasting in open court to judge all cases 
 that may be brought before him. The rest of the day 
 is divided between the necessary hospitalities of the 
 camp, riding out to indulge in the martial game of 
 goaks, and attending to state affairs. Two or three 
 hours being always reserved by his Majesty for study, 
 while by nine o'clock he is generally in bed, as becomes 
 one who rises so early. 
 
 I think Markham's opinion that Kassa is a " poor 
 weak creature," is an erroneous conclusion, probably 
 arising from the peculiarly quiet and unobtrusive de- 
 meanour of the king, and the great secretiveness of his 
 character, which renders him loath to talk, or to appear 
 to notice what is passing around him, though in after 
 conversation I often found that there are few things 
 that escape his observation, and that he does not care- 
 fully revolve in his mind. Crabbe's words would not 
 inaptly describe him : 
 
 ' Yet might observers in his sparkling eye 
 Some observation, some acuteness spy ; 
 The friendly thought it keen, the treacherous deemed it sly.
 
 en. xvm. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. i 5 
 
 Yet not a crime could foe or friend detect, 
 His actions all, were, like his speech, correct. 
 Chaste, sober, solemn, and devout, they named 
 Him who was this, and not of this ashamed." 
 
 But it must not be supposed for a moment that I am 
 judging the king by a European standard. I merely 
 wish to point him out as a remarkable man in a country 
 like Ethiopia, and among a people like the Abyssinians.* 
 The dinner consisted of raw beef followed by braised 
 beef as before ; but this day tedge was the only drink. 
 I made the acquaintance of the king's confessor, who 
 was sitting near me. He was an amiable old man with 
 a grey beard, and, when he saw me looking at him, he 
 touched my boots with his hand and then kissed it in 
 token of homage, saying at the same time that he was 
 saluting St. Michael, for the Abyssinians think that 
 white men are like St. Michael, and, in Wooma, the 
 province governed by King Aba-Jubar, the people really 
 believe that a white man is an angel come to visit 
 them. Foreigners generally have a knack of paying 
 ingenious compliments, but in the whole of my experi- 
 ence I had never before been taken for a saint, and I 
 really felt quite at a loss how to look the part and 
 not bring discredit on my new character. Alas ! the 
 good old times are passed, when, as Thomas Ingoldsby 
 says : 
 
 " Saints were many, and sins were few," 
 
 and I could not call to mind a single male saint of my 
 * See Appendix, note F.
 
 1 6 The Cradle oj the Blue Nile. CH. xvm. 
 
 acquaintance who would serve as a model, and had 
 
 therefore to be content with looking as pre-Raphaelite 
 
 and Fra- Angelic as I could, which, though I dare say it 
 
 was very effective, was decidedly not comfortable. I 
 
 also saw three ambassadors from the Galla country who 
 
 had arrived at the camp. The Galla women are said 
 
 to be wonderfully beautiful, but, if these three men 
 
 might be taken as specimens, the sterner sex most 
 
 assuredly do not share their good looks. They were 
 
 short powerfully-built fellows, with a profusion of coarse 
 
 black hair, which was unplatted and fell in heavy 
 
 masses over their naturally low and retreating brows, 
 
 making them look as if they had no foreheads at all, 
 
 and the expression of their dark sensual faces was 
 
 ferocious in the extreme ; while at their girdles hung 
 
 the horrible curved knives with which they emasculate 
 
 their prisoners. Altogether, I do not think I ever saw 
 
 a more truculent-looking trio, or one I should be less 
 
 desirous to meet on a dark night if my rifle were 
 
 empty; but though, even in Abyssinia, the savage 
 
 ferocity of the Gallas is proverbial, I was told that if, 
 
 which is rare, a Galla once becomes your friend, he will 
 
 remain staunch to you and sacrifice his own life in 
 
 your defence. 
 
 Several times during dinner I felt some of the 
 courtiers near me, furtively feeling the texture of my 
 coat, or examining my boots, cap, &c. ; but what most 
 struck their attention was my hunting-knife which 
 was the only ornament I wore. It had once belonged 
 to General Ortith de Rodas, the brother of the bloody
 
 in. xvni. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. i 7 
 
 president of Bueuos Ayres, arid the handle and sheath 
 were of silver enriched with gold. When it was 
 given to me, I was told that it had been the amiable 
 general's custom to descend at night to the oubliettes 
 where his brother's prisoners were confined, and cut 
 their throats with this identical knife, so that there was 
 a sort of gloomy interest attached to it, and the rude 
 gorgeousness of its South American workmanship was 
 greatly admired by the Abyssinians. I may here 
 remark that it is very useful in Africa to have a knife 
 with a blade of soft steel like a butcher's knife, as it is 
 more easily sharpened, cuts meat better, and is less 
 liable to chip or break than a knife of hard steel. 
 
 After the king's banquet I rode out to see a glorious 
 blood-red sunset. At night the innumerable lights in 
 the huts and tents made the camp look like some great 
 city built round the base of Mount Ambachara. The 
 weather being cold the king sent me a kuarie from his 
 treasury as a cover for my bed. 
 
 April 2oth. I had now been five days at Ambachara, 
 yet K. and C. had not arrived, and it was nine days in 
 all since I had parted from them. Some of the king's 
 soldiers were building me a house near the royal 
 enclosure by his majesty's order, for now that the wet 
 season had commenced my tent was uninhabitable. The 
 Abyssinian mode of constructing a house is very simple. 
 A long stake is driven into the ground, and six rather 
 shorter stakes placed round it, forming a circle the 
 diameter of which is about eight feet ; the tops of these 
 shorter stakes are then connected together by branches 
 
 VOL. II. C
 
 1 8 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xvm. 
 
 laid from one to the other, after which several long 
 sticks are attached to the centre pole and placed sloping 
 over the outer circle of uprights like the ribs of an 
 umbrella. The ends of these sticks reach to within 
 about three feet of the ground, and are attached to short 
 uprights between which boughs are interlaced to form 
 the wall of the house, the roof is then covered with 
 branches and thatched with grass, and when all is firm, 
 the centre stake is removed, the inner circle of uprights 
 being now sufficient to support it. A hole is next 
 scooped in the ground for the fire, and a bed of stones 
 is built between two of the uprights and the wall for 
 the owner of the mansion to repose on ; this stony bed 
 is generally placed opposite the door, which, like the 
 wall of the hut, is only three feet high. Windows and 
 chimney there are none, the smoke of the fire being 
 considered rather good for the eyes, and generally 
 strengthening. 
 
 I have omitted to mention that the king had kindly 
 ordered a cow to be slaughtered daily for my private 
 consumption, besides which he had sent me dishes of 
 curry from his own table and an unlimited supply of 
 tedye. Though my appetite in Abyssinia was remark- 
 ably robust, a cow a day was rather an ertibamas de 
 richesses, and the pile of raw meat in my tent waxed 
 higher and higher till I was nearly overwhelmed by 
 it, and quite sickened by the sight and smell. At 
 last I was forced to tell Maderakal to have it all cleared 
 away and given to the soldiers, who accordingly held a 
 grand feast.
 
 CH. xvni. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 19 
 
 About 10 A.M. a native came into the camp with the 
 news that K. and C. were in sight. I therefore mounted 
 my horse and rode to meet them, accompanied by 200 of 
 the king's naphteiias in charge of a Basha,* Maderakal, 
 and a little prince, a nephew of the king, who, though 
 quite a child, rode his horse with much pluck and 
 dexterity. Halting the escort on the top of a hill, I 
 went forward alone to meet my brother and K., whom I 
 found reposing by the side of a stream. They told me 
 they had been suffering from all sorts of miseries, and 
 had been forced to come forward without much of the 
 baggage. The cold in the mountains had been extreme, 
 and out of the two regiments of naphteiias sent to 
 meet them the day before, only five men remained, 
 the rest having all gone off plundering on their own 
 account. Most of the villages they had passed through 
 were swarming with vermin, and they had ghastly 
 stories to tell of how they had been forced to sit up all 
 night dismally feeding the lamp with fleas, while, to put 
 a climax to their misfortunes, one of their porters had 
 been accidentally shot by Tedla, the general's servant. 
 We had always been careful to make our servants carry 
 the breech-loaders empty and the muzzle-loaders un- 
 capped, but it seems that Tedla thought this beneath 
 his dignity, and had purloined a couple of caps which 
 he placed on the gun he was carrying. As might be 
 expected, one day when the men were all clubbed in a 
 narrow pass the gun went off in the midst of them, and 
 
 * Baslia is the title given to an officer of naphtciias, or fusileers. 
 
 c 2
 
 2O The Cradle of tlic Blue Nile. m. xvm. 
 
 one of the porters at once went do\vn with two charges 
 of buckshot in his knees. Tedla tried to look as 
 innocent as the rest, but an inspection of the muskets" 
 soon pointed him out as the culprit. K. grimly asked 
 my brother to lend him his stick, and Tedla, seeing 
 there was no escape, began calmly to strip off his kuarie 
 for the coming castigation, wtiile my brother busied 
 himself cutting the shot out of the wounded man's legs 
 with a razor. The poor fellow behaved very well, never 
 murmuring or complaining, and even interceded in 
 Tedla's behalf. He was, however, too badly hit to be 
 taken forward, and was therefore carried to a village 
 and placed under the care of a shoum, who promised to 
 give him every attention. 
 
 After a brief halt we mounted our horses and pro- 
 ceeded to join the escort. K. narrowly escaped being 
 crushed in jumping a stream, as the bank gave way, 
 and his horse rolled back on him. When the escort 
 saw us they fired an irregular volley, and two fresh 
 horses, with silver-mounted head-stalls and scarlet sad- 
 dle-cloths, were led up for K. and C. "\Ve all then 
 set off at a sharp trot, surrounded by a crowd of naph- 
 tenas and attendants running beside us. As we ueared 
 the camp two slaves came up to K., leading the king's 
 own mule for him to ride, reminding one of the old 
 days when he whom the king most esteemed was 
 mounted on the royal mule, and led through the streets 
 of the city, with loud shouts of " this is the man the 
 king delighteth to honour." The mule was a magnifi- 
 cent beast, as fat as a prize ox, and beautifully capari-
 
 n. xvni. The Royal Camp at Ambachara. 21 
 
 soned, with a bridle of solid silver. According to the 
 old Abyssinian law it is high treason for a subject to sit 
 on the king's seat, and the king never mounts again on 
 a, horse that he has once given to another to ride, there- 
 fore, when he sent K. his mule to ride into the camp, it 
 was equivalent to making him a present of it. 
 
 All the troops crowded out to see us as we approached, 
 and when we reached the royal enclosure a salute was 
 fired, and Murcher came forward and led us before the 
 king, "who sat upon his royal throne, and was clothed 
 with all his robes of majesty, all glittering with gold 
 and precious stones ; and he was very dreadful." * 
 Around the throne stood many of the potent, grave, 
 and reverend signiors whom I had seen on the day of 
 the feast. K. knelt and presented the great Abyssinian 
 book of laws which Her Majesty's government had 
 entrusted him with to give to the king, and which had 
 been brought to England after the fall of Theodoras. 
 King Yohannes bowed low as he received this valuable 
 present, and also the letters from Her Majesty and 
 Lord Granville. My brother was then presented, and 
 we repaired to my tent, where we were visited by 
 Murcher, Maderakal, and Likamanguas WarkL In the 
 course of the afternoon two more tents were erected for 
 my brother and K., while the construction of a couple 
 of new houses was commenced for their future accom- 
 modation. The king's treasurer also supplied us with 
 some carpets, and five cows, ten sheep, and several 
 
 * Esther, c. xv. v. 6.
 
 22 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. i. xvm. 
 
 gallons of tedge and tella were sent us to appease our 
 appetites. Of course we had to hold a sort of levee 
 and receive an endless string of dark visitors, who one 
 and all desired to examine our guns and other appoint- 
 ments, but at length we cleared the tent and retired to 
 court what slumber we could.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 LIFE AT THE ETHIOPIAN COURT. 
 
 April 26th. K. was engaged with the king all the 
 morning assisting in the translation of the dispatches 
 he had brought from England. The king was so 
 pleased with Her Majesty's letter to him that he 
 ordered a copy of it, in Abyssinian, to be placed in all 
 the churches, that his people might know, as he said, 
 the graciousness of " his Mother of England." 
 
 I spent the morning, file in hand, attemping further 
 improvements in the locks of my IG-bore gun. By 
 placing wedges of wood between the springs I shortened 
 the arms, and rendered them somewhat Differ. Like 
 yesterday, we had an endless influx of dusky visitors, 
 who came and squatted in and around the tent, saying 
 little, drinking much, and staring more. A guard of 
 royal naphtenas was stationed outside the tent, com- 
 manded by the pretty little lieutenant who had met me 
 on my arrival at the camp. Seeing that our rack of 
 guns attracted his admiration, I asked him if he would 
 like to discharge my big elephant rifle, as it wanted 
 cleaning. He put three fingers down the muzzle, and 
 then looking up in my face, said, " If you wish to kill 
 me, master, do so, but not by making me fire off this." 
 Several of our visitors were very curious to know how
 
 24 The Cradle of the Bine Nile. CH. xix. 
 
 old we were, as they could not reconcile it to their ideas 
 that the chin of thoughtless youth, should be clothed 
 with the beard of age and wisdom, and supposed, from 
 our beards, that we ought to be already far gone in the 
 sere and yellow leaf. One chief even took hold of my 
 hand to try if there was any strength remaining in 
 my aged muscles, but did not try a second time. Ac- 
 cording to our usual custom, we rode in the afternoon, 
 and I endeavoured to teach my horse to stand fire 
 from the saddle. I was much pleased with the success 
 of the first lesson. When we returned we found 
 one of our new houses finished, and determined all 
 to remove there. Accordingly, three beds of stones 
 were built round the wall beautiful dry beds com- 
 posed entirely of large angular lumps of hard service- 
 able granite that would not wear out however much we 
 might toss about on them ; and we did toss about a 
 good deal at first, for it took a long time before we 
 fitted our bodies comfortably into the angles of the 
 stones, or rather the angles of the stones fitted 
 themselves comfortably into our bodies. Getting 
 seasoned to the fire was also rather a trying pro- 
 cess, as the wood was damp, and the smoke pre- 
 ponderated, and, in the absence of a chimney, caused 
 us all to weep copiously. However, when we did get to 
 sleep we slept soundly, and I am convinced there is 
 nothing like a hard bed for dreamless slumber, even 
 though the hard bed be of hardest stone. 
 
 At 3 A.M. a low buzzing noise commenced which 
 sounded very like the distant hum of a carouse, but it
 
 <ii. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 25 
 
 proved to be only the priests droning the Psalms of 
 David, "which they continued chanting in a monotonous 
 way till sunrise. This-day, April 27th, was the old 
 Abyssinian Easter, for the Ethiopians"have two styles 
 just as we have at home, though their styles do not 
 quite correspond to ours, and, if I understood them right, 
 the Abyssinian year is composed of twelve months of 
 thirty days, and they do not count the remaining five 
 days necessary to complete the year, considering them 
 as having no existence, and whatever occurs on them 
 as not having taken place. Would that we could do 
 the same with some days of our lives ! 
 
 It rained hard all the morning, and the king, who was 
 holding a council in his great hall, had to run to his 
 tent for shelter, as the water came through in buckets- 
 full. We had plenty of visits from distinguished natives, 
 but there was as yet no sign of our baggage appearing, 
 and indeed it was now so scattered over the country at 
 Guldofellassie, Adowa, Axum,and along the highways and 
 byways of the mountains, that my hopes of ever seeing it 
 again were daily becoming smaller and beautifully less. 
 
 At 2 P.M. the weather cleared, and C. and I rode 
 out. We saw large quantities of Francolin partridges 
 in the bush that grew on the mountain sides, and there 
 were also numbers of beautiful little green love parrots, 
 with rose-coloured beaks, flitting among the trees. 
 
 The grey rocky cone of Mount Ambachara is sur- 
 rounded on all sides by hills of lower height covered 
 with grass and bush ; and from the top of one of these 
 which lies to the S.W. of the mountain, we obtained a
 
 26 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xi\-. 
 
 magnificent view of the province of Dembea, a fine 
 alluvial plain, stretching away at our feet to the shores 
 of the great lake Tzana, which bounded the horizon like 
 a vast sea. We could perceive the sharp outline of two 
 headlands jutting into the lake, and some little green 
 islands dotting its surface, but the opposite shore was 
 quite out of sight. On the flat beach of the near shore 
 long white lines of breakers were clearly visible as they 
 rolled foaming in like the surf of the Atlantic, for it 
 had blown almost a hurricane overnight. Thirty miles 
 to our right was the plateau of Gondar, where stands 
 the capital of Ethiopia beneath the shadow of the 
 Mountain of the Sun ; and over head squadrons of dark 
 ragged clouds swept across the stormy sky like some 
 shadowy host going to battle, but every now and then 
 they were broken by the powerful rays of the sun, 
 which, for a moment, glittered on the waters of the 
 mighty lake, turned to gold the graceful clusters of 
 trees that grew on the spurs of the hills bounding the 
 fertile valley below, and lent a smiling aspect to 
 Tzana's shores, which, the next instant, as the heavy 
 thunder-clouds massed themselves together again, ap- 
 peared dark and gloomy as the borders of Avernus. 
 
 We heard on returning that the king was likely soon 
 to move his camp. A young man called M r Kelvie was 
 talking to K. He had been brought out from England 
 some years before by an English captain who had started 
 an ivory hunting venture on the N.W. frontier of Abys- 
 sinia. The party of hunters consisted of the captain, 
 MKelvie, and four others, their object being to shoot
 
 ru. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 27 
 
 as many elephants as they could and sell the ivory. 
 Each of the party had some special duty assigned to 
 him the captain's, if I remember right, being to cut 
 
 wood for the camp-fire. Though Captain was a 
 
 good sportsman the venture was not very successful, 
 and when the party was broken up M e Kelvie remained 
 behind in Abyssinia, and subsequently entered the ser- 
 vice of the king, for, being an orphan, he had few ties 
 to draw him back to England. One of the adventures 
 that befell him while on the elephant-hunting expedi- 
 tion was so tragic that I must endeavour to describe it 
 as well as I can from memoiy. 
 
 The little party of Europeans had been shooting for 
 some time with varying success, when one day the 
 captain wounded a large bull elephant which carried a 
 fine pair of tusks. The elephant got away, but its track 
 was followed by the hunters, who, after much weary 
 marching, at last came upon it lying dead in the 
 bush, in the country of one of the warlike tribes that 
 dwell on the frontiers of Abyssinia, near the border of 
 the Egyptian Soudan. M c Kelvie and his companions 
 were preparing to secure the tusks of the elephant, 
 when they perceived a strong party of natives ap- 
 proaching evidently with the same object. The natives 
 had seen the dead elephant before, but were not aware 
 of the presence of the Europeans, and these, fearing a 
 collision with so strong a party, hid themselves and 
 their camels in the bush, quite willing, as the captain 
 said, that the natives should do their work for them, 
 and cut out the tusks, though they were fully deter-
 
 28 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. <" *' x - 
 
 mined not to abandon their quarry if they could help 
 it. The party of natives, meanwhile, never dreaming 
 of snare or danger, began hacking out the ivory with 
 much jubilation, but just as their work was completed, 
 and they were preparing to march in triumph with their 
 prize to the village, the white hunters, of whom each 
 had marked his man, at a given signal fired a volley 
 and shot six of the natives dead, while the remainder 
 naturally took to flight at this sudden and unexpected 
 attack. The hunters then without delay packed the 
 ivory on their own camels, and directed the Arab 
 drivers to follow a circuitous route through the bush 
 and meet them again in the Egyptian territory, whither 
 they decided to make their way as swiftly as possible, 
 for they knew that it would not be long before the 
 Abyssinians would be up in arms, and come down in 
 numbers to exact blood vengeance for the death of their 
 comrades. Their fears were destined only too soon to 
 be realised. About sunset they descried a large force 
 of armed natives winding down the side of one of the 
 mountains so as to intercept them, and they knew that 
 now the critical moment had indeed arrived. But the 
 little party of Europeans was equal to the occasion^ 
 Deciding that resistance would be useless, they resolved 
 again to have recourse to stratagem, and concealed their 
 rifles and ammunition in the dry bed of a river, retained 
 only their long hunting knives, which they secreted 
 in the legs of their trowsers so as not to be visible. 
 When the villagers surrounded them they made no re- 
 sistance, and, being apparently unarmed, were led off
 
 tir. xi.\. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 29 
 
 without injury to the village, where the chief was to 
 decide their fate on the following day. It never entered 
 the heads of the simple Africans to search for hidden 
 weapons, and, as their prisoners appeared quite sub- 
 missive, they contented themselves with placing an 
 armed sentinel over each, who at night lay down beside 
 lii.s captive with his hand firmly twisted in the folds of 
 his dress so that he should not get away without waking 
 him. 
 
 Gradually the fires waned low and darkness closed 
 around. One by one the Abyssinians enveloped their 
 heads in their Itiw cu < and stretched themselves out to 
 sleep, that sleep from which some would never wake 
 ag-:dn in this world. Soon all was hushed and quiet, 
 the white prisoners appearing to slumber as calmly as 
 the rest, notwithstanding the fate that awaited them on 
 the morrow, but a terrible scene was yet to be enacted. 
 At the dead of night, each of the prisoners drew forth 
 his long hunting knife from its hiding-place, and with 
 one sharp straight stroke drove it home to the heart of 
 the man who held him. Not a hand seems to have 
 trembled or failed in dealing the death-blow, each man 
 successfully achieved his horrible task, and a horrible 
 task it must have been to stab a man sleeping, even to 
 men who knew, as they did, that their own lives 
 would be forfeited if they faltered for a moment. 
 However, the hunters had little time for such thoughts ; 
 having thus effectually released themselves from their 
 gaolers they sprang up and escaped in the darkness, the 
 subsequent panic and confusion which occurred among
 
 3O 77ic Cradle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 the natives only tending to help their flight. They 
 succeeded in finding the place where their rifles were 
 buried, and, having recovered them, made their way 
 safely across the Egyptian frontier, where of course all 
 pursuit was at an end. 
 
 I do not wish to make myself responsible for this 
 story, but merely relate it as it was told to me by one 
 who said he was an actor in it, and whom I have no 
 cause to disbelieve. 
 
 It is rare that such tragic episodes do not lead to 
 unhappy results. Some years later Powell Avent shoot- 
 ing in almost the same country, and unfortunately took 
 with him as guide and general factotum an Alsatian 
 who had been one of the above-mentioned party of 
 hunters. The Alsatian was murdered by the natives, 
 and it is believed in Abyssinia that his murder was 
 partly, though not entirely, brought about by the feeling 
 of hatred which existed against him on account of the 
 affair of the elephant. The Alsatian's death led to the 
 murder of poor Powell, his wife, and child, for the 
 people said, as we have murdered the white man's 
 servant we must murder the white man too, or he will 
 assuredly come back and take vengeance upon us. 
 Thus four more lives were perhaps indirectly sacrificed ; 
 add to these about twenty lives taken when Prince 
 Kassa punished the people of Bogos for the murder of 
 Powell, and we have a total of thirty-six lives, twelve of 
 which were directly, and the remainder, it is possible, 
 indirectly, lost for a pair of elephant's tusks Teljeu 
 vaut-il la chandelle ? I think since the fatal day
 
 <-!i. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 31 
 
 when Earl Percy rode a hunting in his neighbour's 
 woods, the answer has been NO. 
 
 April 28f/<,. The weather was very wet, and we had 
 been disagreeably awakened in the night by feeling 
 large drops of rain falling on our noses. At 3 A.M. the 
 priests as usual had begun chanting the Psalms of David 
 close by, in tones as excruciating as a dozen Scotch bag- 
 pipes, so we had enjoyed little sleep. The morning was 
 spent in repairing the thatch of our hut, and draping 
 the inside with red and white kuaries and pieces of 
 native cloth, Avhich soon made it look quite bright and 
 cheerful, our beds between the uprights having very 
 much the appearance of boxes in a theatre. The fire 
 still smoked horribly, but one of the servants converted 
 himself into a human bellows, and squatted beside it, 
 blowing all day, till his naturally dark complexion 
 became almost black. The king dispatched another 
 messenger after our baggage, which had not yet ap- 
 peared, though, seven days before, K. and C. had left it 
 only one day's march behind them. In the afternoon 
 we were visited by a French missionary, a very unctuous 
 young man, dressed in a long cassock of black velvet, 
 with a sort of black velvet smoking-cap on his head, 
 which gave him a picturesque though rather unclerical 
 aspect. He had accompanied Powell to Massowah, then 
 gone to Bogos, and lastly come to Amhara from 
 Metemma. Some dissensions he had got into with the 
 native priests and chiefs had led to his being placed in 
 captivity, and he had now just been released by the 
 king, with an intimation that he had better leave the
 
 32 The Cradle of the Blue A 7 He. OH. xix. 
 
 country. While he was talking to us Maderakal came 
 in, and the missionary at once accused him of having 
 advocated his imprisonment ; both parties became per- 
 sonal, and the quarrel was waxing hot, when my brother 
 interposed, and reminded them that, as they were both 
 his guests, he could not allow them to discuss their 
 differences under his roof ; the missionary apologised 
 and peace was restored. 
 
 I confess I do not think it does much good to send 
 isolated missionaries to preach in Africa, as they are not 
 unfrequently induced to espouse the side of some one 
 chief, for the sake of his support, and consequently get 
 at issue with the rest; feuds then run high, and the 
 alleged messenger of peace and goodwill becomes really 
 an instrument for the exciting of party feeling and 
 dissension among the people to whom he has pro- 
 fessedly come to preach Christian love and charity. 
 
 Livingstone's great theory is, I honestly believe, the 
 only true one. Open up the commerce of the country, 
 establish colonies as centres of European civilisation, 
 with missions attached, to educate the children, and 
 teach the natives by practical example the advantages 
 of industry and peaceful occupations. Religion will not 
 be long in following on the steps of civilisation. Theo- 
 retically it may appear that civilisation ought to follow 
 on the steps of religion. But religion takes a more 
 lasting hold on a mind already developed by a little 
 practical civilisation, and my opinion is that the other 
 system will work by far the most rapidly and well. 
 
 Towards evening our baggage at last arrived. The
 
 xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 33 
 
 king's messenger said lie had made prisoner the chiefs 
 to whom it had been entrusted, and would keep 
 them tied up until we had counted the packages. 
 We told him to keep a guard .on the chiefs, but not 
 to tie them up. The weather was still very cold and 
 tempestuous. Our guard of honour drank, caroused, 
 burnt our wood, consumed our supplies, and generally 
 enjoyed themselves, but would not assist in watching 
 the cattle or make themselves useful in any way. In 
 fact, if it had not been for the honour and glory of their 
 presence, we began to feel we should be much better 
 without them. 
 
 K. was occupied during the afternoon with the king, 
 finishing the translation of the letters from Her Ma- 
 jesty and Lord Granville. The king, having no means 
 of sending the answers to these letters safely through 
 the Egyptian territory, wished to know if I would oblige 
 him by taking charge of them on my way home. I 
 said I should be glad to do so, but must first request 
 that he would allow me to speak to him about the 
 slave trade in Ethiopia, as I hoped that I might pre- 
 vail on him to put an end to it. 
 
 M. Berlioux, in his pamphlet on the Slave-trade 
 in Africa, laments that the difficulties encountered 
 by travellers attempting to penetrate into Africa 
 from the East coast have rendered our knowledge very 
 limited as to the extent to which " man-hunting " is 
 carried on the frontiers of Abyssinia and the country of 
 the Gallas. He says the tribes who live on the 
 elevated terraces whence the Blue Nile descends, have 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. .n.xix. 
 
 retained some generous ideas with their disfigured 
 Christianity, while the Arabs, who occupy the deserts 
 at the foot of those mountains, keep them at war and 
 in a state of siege, and have done so for ages. These 
 Avars are profitable to the slave-trade ; robberies of 
 children are constantly taking place, the details of 
 which are not well known. 
 
 We had overcome the obstacles which the natives on 
 the shores of the Red Sea, and even the Egyptian 
 officials, throw in the way of a traveller attempting to 
 visit these districts, and I was ambitious to obtain a 
 thorough insight into the real state of this traffic in 
 Abyssinian slaves ; a traffic which appeared to me all 
 the more horrible, because these slaves are not, like 
 some of the negro races, creatures of a low type of 
 humanity, without religion, and capable of little improve- 
 ment, but Christians, who, though rude and primitive 
 in their faith and customs, are yet naturally endowed 
 with moral and physical qualities capable of high 
 development. Moreover, having been fortunate enough 
 to obtain the friendship of the king, I felt that I 
 was bound in common humanity to employ what 
 little influence I might have with him for the sup- 
 pression of this infamous and unnatural trade. There 
 is a Gaelic proverb which says: Ge beag an t-ubh tJtiy 
 cun os Be the egg ever so small, a bird may come 
 from it and I did not altogether despair of success, 
 though I could not but feel painfully how small my 
 knowledge of the country was, and how difficult it might 
 be to make a powerful and despotic prince move in
 
 ii. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 35 
 
 such an important matter. However, I determined to 
 do my best when the king should grant me an inter- 
 view, and K. promised to second my endeavours, a 
 promise he amply fulfilled. 
 
 April 29/i. At a little before six A.M. the king sent 
 to say he was ready to grant us an audience. In this 
 latitude the days are of pretty even length, and the 
 sun does not rise before six. So we were all asleep 
 in bed when the royal summons arrived. K, however 
 got up, and explained to his Majesty that royalty in 
 Europe was not usually so matutinal, whereupon His 
 Majesty goodnaturedly postponed the audience till ten 
 o'clock, at which hour we duly repaired to his presence. 
 Besides my brother, General K., and myself, there were 
 only three chiefs admitted to the audience, one of whom, 
 Dedjatch Area, was the king's uncle. Maderakal acted 
 us interpreter, and a Likamanguas sat in front of the 
 king nursing the royal feet in his lap. His Majesty was 
 dressed, in a plain kuarie, with his head and feet bare. 
 He sat on an alga before a bright fire burning in an 
 iron brasier, and, as soon as we had saluted him, 
 motioned us to be seated on a carpet spread on his 
 right hand. Both my brother and myself were much 
 struck with the grace of his figure and the intelligence 
 and refinement of his face. He spoke in a clear frank 
 manly voice ; and, after a few compliments, the con- 
 versation, as I had desired, turned on the slave trade. 
 
 In reply to my representations, his Majesty said it 
 was true that slavery existed in his dominions. All 
 his Christian subjects were in the habit of buying 
 
 I) 2
 
 36 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xix. 
 
 slaves ; these slaves came chiefly from Wooma, Prince 
 Aba-Jubar's country ; they belonged to a sect of Chris- 
 tians who particularly reverence St. Michael, and were 
 generally sold young by their parents to be slaves in 
 Abyssinian families, where they were employed as 
 servants and well treated. His Majesty went 011 to say 
 that though his Christian subjects might buy slaves, 
 they were not allowed to sell them, death being the 
 punishment decreed for such an offence by an old, 
 though rarely enforced, Abyssinian law. I now ques- 
 tioned him regarding his Mahometan subjects. These, 
 he said, laboured under no restriction to prevent them 
 from selling slaves, indeed, they were the great slave- 
 merchants of the country, and procured all the slaves 
 that were bought by his Christian subjects ; they also 
 drove large parties of slaves, whom they had collected 
 in Wooma and the Galla countries, through Abyssinia 
 to Galabat, and other towns on the frontiers of the 
 Soudan, where there were regular markets at which 
 the slaves were sold to merchants, who took them 
 across the desert to the shores of the Ked Sea, whence 
 they were shipped to Arabia, in which country Abys- 
 sinian slaves were in great demand. 
 
 I need hardly pause here to remark that the Ma- 
 hometan merchants do not confine themselves to legi- 
 timate buying of children from their parents, though 
 that is bad enough. Great numbers of the young 
 slaves carried into the Soudan are kidnapped, and the 
 sufferings the poor little things have to undergo in the 
 long marches across mountain and desert are too awful
 
 CH. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 37 
 
 to be described. Girls of seven and eight are violated 
 by their brutal conductors, and the weakly left to die 
 on the road. Another way the Mahometan dealers 
 have of obtaining slaves is by exciting feuds between 
 neighbouring tribes and carrying off the prisoners, or 
 making razzias on some peaceful mountain village 
 when opportunity offers. But I shall have occasion to 
 speak of these things again. 
 
 In Abyssinia all arguments are adduced in the form 
 of questions, and I now spoke to the king accordingly, 
 Maderakal, probably interpreting my speech somewhat 
 in the following form : " Oh king ! Is not slavery 
 opposed to the tenets of the Christian faith ? Is it 
 right, then, that you should countenance it in your 
 dominions? Should not a king be the Father of his 
 people ? Is it just, then, that you should allow your 
 children to be carried off and sold into bondage ? You 
 claim to be the head and defender of the Christian 
 faith in Africa; is it well that you should stand by 
 and let your Christian subjects be transported to a 
 Mahometan country, where they are forced to abandon 
 the faith which you profess to uphold ? Do not those 
 who perish, and the souls of those who are forced to 
 abandon the faith of their fathers, cry to you that this 
 is wrong ? " &c. I also represented to his Majesty that 
 if, as he had declared, he wished to cultivate the friend- 
 ship of the civilized nations of Europe, the first and 
 best step towards proving the sincerity of his desire for 
 the advancement of his country would be to put an 
 end to an abuse which was fatal to the progress of
 
 38 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 civilization, and show that he, the king of Ethiopia, 
 could set an example to Egypt and Turkey with all 
 their boasted advancement ; an act which could not 
 but be appreciated in a country like England, which 
 had ever been the first to advocate the abolition of 
 slavery ; and more to the same effect. 
 
 His Majesty, who had listened attentively while 
 Maderakal translated my discourse, replied that he had 
 thought gravely over these matters, and that it was true 
 that slavery was distasteful to him as a Christian 
 sovereign, but that no European power had ever before 
 requested him, as I had, to abolish the slave trade, and 
 that while he was only Prince of Tigre it would have 
 been out of his power to do so, as the measure would 
 have been opposed by many of his chiefs, whom he 
 could not have controlled. He said that rioiv he cer- 
 tainly had the power in his hands, and spoke with great 
 modesty of the way in which he had attained it ; he de- 
 clared that he had never hoped to reach so high a position, 
 but that God had helped him, and he trusted would favour 
 his efforts to deliver his country from the attacks of the 
 Mussulmans, and advance it in the friendship and esteem 
 of England and the other civilized nations of Europe. 
 
 I hinted to his Majesty that he could take no step 
 more conducive to this than setting himself earnestly 
 to abolish slavery, which in itself would be a measure 
 calculated to give great pleasure to my countrymen. 
 
 The king said he wished above all things to preserve 
 the friendship of England, which had been a good friend 
 to him from the time when he was fighting against
 
 Life at the Ethiopian Court. 39 
 
 Theodoras, and in short, to my great joy, at last granted 
 my request, telling me that the king could not lie, and 
 that I had his promise that he would take immediate 
 measures to enforce the punishment of death against 
 all traders, Mahometan or Christian, who should in 
 future attempt to buy, sell, or kidnap slaves in his 
 country, or attempt to pass them through it. 
 
 I begged his Majesty, while he was doing so much, 
 to complete the work by declaring free the slaves then 
 existing in Abyssinia, as those who were contented with 
 their lot would be no worse, while those who pined for 
 liberty would be able to enjoy it like their fellow crea- 
 tures. This also he said he would do, and, at my 
 request, promised to pledge himself to the fulfilment of 
 these things, in letters written under his great seal, 
 which he would ask me to convey for him to our 
 Government, to whom he hoped they would prove the 
 sincerity of his friendship. 
 
 His Majesty then spoke to my brother of the ancient 
 history of his country, which he appeared to have care- 
 fully studied, and alluding to the ancient limits of the 
 Ethiopian empire, complained bitterly of the encroach- 
 ments of the Mahometans. He said that last year * he 
 had sent General K. with letters to her Majesty, in 
 which he had informed her of his coronation as Emperor 
 of Ethiopia, and complained of the encroachments of 
 the' Khedive's troops on his dominions, begging Eng- 
 land, as a Christian power, to remonstrate with the 
 Khedive on the subject. The letters he had just 
 
 * 187-J.
 
 4O The Cradle of the Blue Nile. i. xix. 
 
 received from Her Majesty and Lord Granville, congra- 
 tulated him on his coronation, and stated that the 
 British Government recognised him with pleasure as 
 the Emperor of Ethiopia, adding that her Majesty had 
 been pleased to approve the appointment of an Abys- 
 sinian consul in London.* 
 
 These friendly sentiments, the king said, had given 
 him great joy, and he had ordered a copy of her 
 Majesty's letter to him to be placed in the principal 
 churches of his country, that his people might learn to 
 love the English. " But with regard to the encroach- 
 ments of the Egyptians," his Majesty continued, " your 
 Government informs me that they have questioned the 
 Khedive, and that he has answered that he has not 
 taken any land from Ethiopia, and has no intention of 
 taking any in the future, so they think my fears must 
 be unfounded. Now what Ismael Pasha (the Khedive) 
 has said to your Government is false. He told me that 
 the frontier of his country was the Mareb, and now he 
 has taken, beyond the Mareb, the countries of Halhal, 
 Kayekh-barea, Tsellim-barea, Bogos, Taander, Henbub, 
 Mennsa, Ailet, Asgede-bukgala, Zula, Tora, Semhali, 
 Amphilla, and all the land from the highlands to the 
 sea, called Hamasen. These he has taken from me, and 
 all that now remains to me of Hamasen is that part 
 which is situated on the highlands. Moreover, all the 
 world knows that the Shaugalla country is mine. 
 After Mr. Powell was murdered by the Shangallas, his 
 
 * Mr. Henry S. King, 65, Cornhill.
 
 CH. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 41 
 
 brother went to Isrnael Pasha to ask for assistance to 
 avenge his death, but Ismael Pasha said he could not 
 give it, as the murder was not committed in his coun- 
 try, and when Mr. Powell's brother came to me, I said 
 the blood of the murdered man is my blood, and I sent 
 a strong army, and punished the Shangallas for the 
 murder; yet now Ismael Pasha says that country is 
 his. Also there is a land behind Gondar, called Wak- 
 hni, formerly the residence of the sons of the kings of 
 Ethiopia, which Ismael Pasha now claims to be his 
 frontier, and has occupied with his troops. He has 
 besides taken my subject, named Sheik Jumar, who 
 was my governor of Metemma, and has had him chained 
 and flogged for several days, and then sent to Egypt ; 
 while his soldiers have plundered the country that paid 
 me tribute. My friends, I will tell you another thing ; 
 there is a great convent, called Waldubba, where many 
 monks and priests teach the people the gospel and faith 
 of Christ, and pray for all the world. The Shangallas 
 came out to shed their blood, and refused to pay me 
 tribute. Now, is there not a law that enables a king to 
 punish men that disobey him, and refuse to pay their 
 just tribute ? The apostles, St. Paul, and the book of 
 the law throughout the world, allow that there is. So 
 I sent troops to punish these rebels, but Ismael' Pasha 
 wrote to me, saying, ' Send me the chief you have sent 
 against the Shangallas, that I may punish him, for he has 
 killed my people.' Thus does he ever craftily seek to 
 raise a quarrel with me, and advance his troops into my 
 country, and take it from me, compelling the people to
 
 42 The Cradle of the Bine Nile. 
 
 abandon their faith, and placing my akowms in chains. 
 Judge then if I am not oppressed ! Ismael Pasha duo 
 these things because he is ambitious of worldly great- 
 ness, and wishes to damage Christianity, and establish 
 Mahomedanism in Ethiopia, and make us his slaves, 
 and the slaves of the devil. He has taken Zula and 
 Amphilla bay, which were mine, and charges a dutv. 
 equal to double its market value, on all merchandise- 
 exported from my country. Thus am I encompassed 
 on all sides by the Mahometans, who allow me no port 
 or outlet by which I may communicate with other 
 nations, and advance the prosperity and civilization of 
 my kingdom. Oh ! my friends, I pray you, let this be 
 known in your country, and how much we desire a port, 
 that we may hold intercourse with other nations. But," 
 continued the king and here his eyes flashed with the 
 true expression of a soldier " I w-ill fight to the last if 
 so it must be, but I do not wish that the blood of 
 thousands should be shed, if the intervention of the 
 European powers can prevent it. Let them determine 
 the true frontiers of my country, and by their decision 
 I am content to abide." 
 
 Few people could have helped being favourably im- 
 pressed by the earnest and straightforward manner of 
 the king. The isolation of which he so pathetically 
 complained, has indeed been the bane of the vast 
 country over which he rules. Encompassed by the 
 Mahometan Arabs of the plains, this strange Christian 
 empire of tropical Africa has remained for ages cut off 
 from the outer world, like an enchanted island, and a
 
 -H. \ix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 43 
 
 thousand years have scarcely changed the customs or 
 dress of its people. It is true that the Ethiopians 
 have themselves partly caused this isolation, for, being 
 surrounded by enemies, they have ever been sus- 
 picious of admitting strangers into their country, and 
 still more suspicious of letting them return from it. 
 But an active and intelligent mind like that of king 
 Yohaunes at once sees the danger of such a position, 
 and there are few sacrifices the present king would not 
 make to break through the blockade which hems him in. 
 Nor have his fears concerning the intentions of the Egyp- 
 tians proved unfounded. While I was in Abyssinia, 
 the Khedive's troops were gradually closing round the 
 country, and few pains were taken to conceal their real 
 object, which was neither more nor less than the sub- 
 jugation of Ethiopia. 
 
 A short time ago I was told by an officer, who was 
 formerly in the Khedive's service, that when we were 
 leaving Cairo, the vice-regal government actually con- 
 templated sending him with us, ostensibly to facilitate 
 our journey through the Soudan, but really to 
 reconnoitre the frontiers of Ethiopia under cover of our 
 shooting party. The idea was however abandoned, and 
 it is as well that it was so, for we should hardly have 
 cared to enact the vole so kindly prepared for us. 
 
 We now know that the breech-loaders and Gatliug 
 guns of the Khedive have failed to subdue the courage 
 of the Abyssinian mountaineers in their rocky strong- 
 holds, but I certainly think it a pity that, after the 
 Magdala campaign, when the roads and railways were
 
 44 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xix. 
 
 all there, England did not at least try the success of 
 establishing a colony and developing the resources of 
 this fine country and people, instead of abandoning 
 them to their fate, after causing the death of their king. 
 I firmly believe that the advancement of civilization 
 -and commerce, to say nothing of Christianity, would be 
 materially assisted were we even -now to arbitrate 
 between Egypt and Abyssinia, and secure to the latter 
 the means, so long withheld from her, of transporting 
 her produce to the shores of the Red Sea, and com- 
 municating with other countries. 
 
 Our interview with the king lasted an hour, and 
 before we left, his Majesty introduced us to his uncle 
 Dedjatch Area, who had been imprisoned on a mountain 
 for fourteen years by Theodorus, and released by the Eng- 
 lish, and therefore naturally expressed a very friendly 
 feeling towards our countrymen. We afterwards rode out 
 to a little church near the camp to see the funeral of one 
 of our tiapldeilas who had died. All the Abyssinians are 
 in the habit of taking monthly doses of kousso to check 
 the horrible disease engendered by eating raw meat, but 
 the medicine is so powerful, that it sometimes proves 
 more dangerous than the malady. This poor fellow had 
 taken his dose of kousso in the morning, and before 
 twelve hours had elapsed he was dead from weakness. 
 We found his body laid in an open shell near the church 
 door, surrounded by white-robed priests singing the 
 Psalms of David, while his comrades sat in picturesque 
 groups under the fine old trees that grew near the 
 sacred building. The contrast of the dead soldier lying
 
 CH. xix. Life at the Ethiopian Court. 45 
 
 so calm and still while all around was life and anima- 
 tion was very striking. 
 
 When we returned to our hut, the king's secretary 
 brought us some of the correspondence that had passed 
 between his Majesty and the Khedive, in order that we 
 might judge for ourselves of the correctness of the 
 statements we had heard in the morning. We were 
 also visited by Basha Nigso, the king's treasurer, who 
 evidently thought himself a very great chief, and said 
 he was going to his province to raise a body of 10,000 
 horse, a statement we thought it as well to take with a 
 grain of salt. M c Kelvie came in, and was commissioned 
 by K. to ride to Gondar and make some purchases at 
 the market there. As there were rumours of robbers 
 on the road, M c Kehrie begged a few cartridges, which I 
 gave him. The weather was still very stormy, so at 
 night we stabled our horses in the large tent which 
 we had brought with us from Cairo. 
 
 April 3Qtk. We were just sitting down to breakfast, 
 when Avho should darken our little doorway but good 
 Father Louis de Gonzague, the missionary. He said he 
 had come on from Adowa with his own mules, as Ras 
 Barrioii had treated him just as badly as he had done 
 us. How the worthy Father, who was anything but a 
 feather weight, ever managed to clamber over those 
 prodigious mountains of the Semyen I do not know. 
 However, here he was, with his three black gun-bearers, 
 and we were delighted to see him. He told us that 
 when he left Adowa Captain R. was still there with the 
 remainder of our baggage, and still vainly endeavouring
 
 46 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. x 
 
 to procure porters. It was fortunate that R. had a 
 large stock of patience, a most desirable quality in this 
 country. We made Father Louis breakfast with us, 
 and established him in one of the tents we had vacated. 
 It looked strange to see his gentle face and long white 
 robes among the rude skin-clad warriors of the camp. 
 Yet sometimes a bright gleam would break through the 
 usually placid and tempered expression of the Father's 
 eyes, for he had not always been a missionary. Indeed 
 he confessed that, 
 
 " In his hot youth," 
 
 he had been destined for a soldier's career, but, as lie 
 said reverently, raising his broad-brimmed hat, L'honWM 
 propose et Dieu dispose, Monsieur. 
 
 The weather continued wretchedly wet and miser- 
 able. I fode out alone to a church, a few miles from 
 the camp, where still stood the ruins of a tower built 
 by the Portuguese. Being in a destructive mood, I 
 slew one of the beautiful little green love parrots that 
 here abound, and skinned it while taking shelter in the 
 old tower from a tremendous thunder-storm. I remarked 
 here, as I had often done before, with what taste and 
 care the Portuguese always collected the most beau- 
 tiful of the Abyssinian trees and planted them round 
 their buildings. The old settlers made careful provision 
 for a long stay in the country, judging by their planting 
 those sweet scented cedars, some of which have not yet 
 done growing, though three hundred years have passed 
 since their seeds were laid in the ground. I imagine these 
 stern Portuguese adventurers were not bad fellows,
 
 < H. xi\-. Life at tltc Ethiopian Court. 47 
 
 und they were certainly civilising the country very 
 rapidly, when their fatal mania for trying to introduce 
 the "blessed Inquisition" made it too hot to hold 
 them. 
 
 Had they gone on as they began, Ethiopia would 
 have been a very great country before this time ; but 
 the brief interval of improvement extended over less 
 than half a century, so what wonder that, when the 
 Portuguese disappeared from the scene, the country 
 relapsed back into the state of barbarism it had been 
 in for ages. 
 
 As I stood listening dreamily to the wind moaning 
 among the trees, I could almost fancy I saw the stiff 
 old senhors with their long noses and longer rapiers 
 sticking out behind them like corking pins, what ever 
 those are, as they perambulated solemnly up and down 
 by the church instructing the natives in the art of 
 building, and crossing themselves devoutly whenever 
 they yawned or sneezed, or otherwise departed from the 
 grave decorum of their demeanour. Presently I rubbed 
 my eyes, for there in the darkest part of the grove 
 there positively were figures moving noiselessly about 
 with long swords sticking out like corking pins behind 
 them, but suddenly I heard a short grating laugh, and 
 one of my grave senhors bounded in a most undignified 
 way at least ten feet from the ground and cleverly twist- 
 ing the end of his sword round the bough of a tree, 
 hung head downwards suspended by it, while his com- 
 panions clambered hand over hand up the long creepers 
 that depended from the branches, and made faces at
 
 48 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xi\-. 
 
 him ; then there was a great chattering and barking, 
 and off they all scampered chasing one another round 
 and round the little church, and holding on to each 
 other's tails in the most ludicrous way imaginable. I 
 should think there must have been upwards of sixty 
 monkeys, and though they took refuge in the tops of the 
 trees when I came forth, they still continued their gam- 
 bols up there, and I verily believe most of them lived 
 in the old church, for they appeared to come out from 
 under its thatched roof, and, as the country round about 
 was open, I cannot otherwise account for their appear- 
 ing so suddenly. 
 
 While I was riding, ray brother had been to visit the 
 king, to whom he presented one of Reilly's revolvers, 
 with a plated ban-el and ivory handle. The king in 
 taking it said with a grace that might have done credit 
 to the first gentleman of Europe " The most accept- 
 able present you can make me, Baron, is your arrival at 
 my camp." This was a very pretty compliment for 
 Central Ethiopia, but the Abyssinians are by no means 
 deficient in wit. C. also introduced Father Louis to his' 
 Majesty, who questioned the Father closely as to why 
 he had only a Christian name, and the object of his 
 journey, but lie received him graciously, and sent him 
 a better tent than the one we had been able to lend 
 him. All night the rain fell in torrents.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 WE PREPARE TO VISIT LAKE TZANA. 
 
 1st. Was cold and tempestuous, the rain 
 falling as if Lake Tzana had gone up into the clouds, 
 and then thought better of it. May-day in the 
 tropics I Avouder if I shall ever see a really fine 
 31 ay-day ! Surely, within 13 of the equator one 
 might have hoped for something more cheerful than 
 this. But in Ethiopia the seasons do not follow the 
 European order, and May and June herald the com- 
 mencement of the Abyssinian wet season, or winter 
 time. The king received no one this morning, as 
 he had been taking kousso. I spent several hours 
 re-writing the lost part of my diary, with the assis- 
 tance of C.'s notes, which he kindly lent me. It 
 being now too late to 'go shooting on the Takazze, 
 C. and I had decided to make an expedition to 
 the great lake Tzana, and the king had promised 
 that the letters concerning the abolition of the slave- 
 trade should be ready by the time we returned. I 
 decided to give the king my big elephant rifle, as it 
 was the only thing of any value I had with me, and I 
 
 YOL. II. E
 
 50 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. x\-. 
 
 knew lie could easily get the ammunition for it, which 
 had been abandoned with our other heavy baggage. 
 This rifle was a good piece of workmanship, but it 
 kicked so tremendously with eight drams of powder 
 and a five-ounce bullet, that it always required some 
 moral courage to discharge it. However, the maker 
 had thoughtfully provided it with a hair trigger, which 
 saved one from the mental agony of a long steady pull, 
 and generally prevented any hesitation at the last 
 moment, by abruptly letting it off before one knew 
 what was going to happen. When I fired this piece 
 before cleaning it, we were amused to see our gallant 
 guard of naphteiias duck down as if they expected 
 to be blown away. I afterwards gave the rifle to our 
 native boys to oil, but they began scouring off the 
 browning with sand-paper, taking it for rust ; so I 
 was reduced to following " Punch's " advice, " When you 
 want a thing done, do it yourself." Our stock of shirts 
 had been lamentably diminished by all our losses, and 
 we set the boys to make some new ones of native cotton, 
 but the thunder-storms were so violent that they soon 
 gave up their task, saying they could not work in such 
 weather ; indeed it was often nearly dark, and we spent 
 the day miserably enough in our hut, continually dis- 
 covering new leaks in the roof. 
 
 There was a market held twice a week near the 
 king's enclosure, where we obtained such necessaries as 
 cotton cloth, grain, pepper, coffee, &c., and, as a dollar 
 is a large sum in Abyssinia, we had to lay in a good 
 supply of small change, i.e., blocks of salt weighing one
 
 en. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 5 1 
 
 pound each, twelve of which if I remember right went 
 to the dollar. Never did capital dissolve so rapidly ; 
 whenever it was very wet, our cherished stock of money 
 would melt slowly away before our eyes, till nothing 
 but a small pool of salt water remained where once had 
 been a goodly pile of pence. 
 
 The king, ever careful of his guests, had sent two 
 days before to Lake Tzana for some fish, which was duly 
 brought us by a couple of horsemen in the afternoon. 
 These fish were very gorgeous in colour, and strange 
 in shape, but their great merit was that they had 
 scarcely any bones, and were excellent eating. Father 
 Louis came, and complained that "one of his Shoa ser- 
 vants had been robbed. A half naked naphteila, seeing 
 the lad walking about the camp in a good kuarie, had 
 taken it from him vi et armis, on the usual principle of 
 the Abyssinian militaire, that might constitutes right. 
 If the lad had cried out Abiet ! Abiet! as the natives 
 generally do when attacked, he would have collected a 
 crowd round him, and the naphteila might have been 
 recognised, and afterwards punished, but the boy's mis- 
 sionary education had taught him to suffer injury 
 meekly, and he did. 
 
 May 2ml. K. was summoned to attend the king at 
 half-past five in the morning, which appears to be 
 the fashionable hour for royal levees in Abyssinia. 
 This was indeed a levde, as it roused poor K. out of his 
 bed. When he reached the king, he found him hard at 
 work, delivering judgment on all cases that were 
 brought before him, so he determined to repeat his
 
 52 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xx. 
 
 visit later, and promised me that he would at the same 
 time present his Majesty with my elephant rifle, and 
 also, if possible, borrow from him a gun and a few 
 cartridges for our expedition to Lake Tzana, as I was 
 now destitute of ammunition, which was all the more 
 provoking that there were some thousands of loaded 
 cartridges lying in the boxes abandoned on the road 
 behind us. Maderakal paid us a visit, and we had a 
 long talk with him and K. on the political state and 
 prospects of the country. He also told us some 
 reminiscences of his youth. 
 
 He had been one of several native boys that the 
 French scientific expedition, sent to Abyssinia by Louis 
 Philippe's government, proposed to take back with them 
 to France. It is well known how few of the members 
 of this ill-fated expedition lived to return, and all the 
 boys except Maderakal ran away before they reached 
 the shores of the Ked Sea. Maderakal, however, ac- 
 companied Lefevre to Paris, where he Avas kindly 
 received, and his portrait, as a boy, published in 
 Lefevre's great book. He told us that when he first 
 landed, I think it was at Marseilles, and saw the people 
 rolling about in carriages, he thought they were devils, 
 and jumped into the sea, declaring that he would sir/'/,/ 
 home to his own country.* However, habit is second 
 
 * Young Abyssinia is less impressionable. My brother brought a 
 native boy to Europe with him on his return. This lad followed him 
 to the station at Suez, and saw the express train move off, but beyond 
 a sardonic grin which spread slowly over his dusky face, he evinced 
 neither surprise nor fear.
 
 <-H. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 53 
 
 nature, and he soon got accustomed to these strange 
 things, and afterwards went to England, where he 
 learnt to speak the language before, at his own urgent 
 request, he was sent back to his native mountains. 
 
 It has been asserted by some writers that the love of 
 country is strongest among the natives of mountainous 
 districts, and this might seem to corroborate the fact ; 
 but I afterwards ascertained that the Arabs of the 
 desert possess just as strong an infatuation for their 
 sandy plains, so that I imagine the love of the father- 
 land is pretty equally divided between the children of 
 the mountain, the desert, the moor, and the forest. 
 Even the natives of Londinum do not utterly detest 
 their November fogs, and were it not for this all-wise 
 law of nature one portion of mankind would assuredly 
 be much less happy than the other. 
 
 Maderakal had been in the service of King Theo- 
 doras up to the time of that despotic monarch's death, 
 and he related how he used to tremble whenever the 
 late king began to lash himself into one of his un- 
 governable fits of fury ; but Maderakal, like many of 
 Theodorus's former servants, appeared to entertain a 
 sincere affection for his old master, and there seems to 
 be little doubt that Theodoras possessed many of the 
 characteristics of a great man. He was ambitious, 
 brave, intelligent, determined, prompt to execute his 
 designs, and had some chivalrous ideas ; but, a deep 
 drinker, accustomed to indulge without restraint in 
 every licence, and the possessor of absolute power, he 
 did not know what it was to control his passions. At
 
 54 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. H. xx. 
 
 one moment he was cruel in the extreme, and the next, 
 generous to a fault. He possessed in a high degree 
 that peculiar power, given to so few, of commanding 
 men, but unfortunately he had no Diogenes near him 
 to ask if he was not ashamed to be master of so much, 
 when he was not even master of himself. There is 
 small doubt that as he grew older he became partially 
 insane, and on the slightest provocation he would lash 
 himself into such terrible passions that the Abyssinians 
 could only compare them to the paroxysms of the black 
 panther, an animal popularly supposed by the natives 
 to be of so choleric a disposition that it will actually 
 die of rage. Maderakal told us how, in his calmer 
 moments, Theodorus would say to him, " My friend, I 
 do not wish to harm you, so when you see me getting 
 angry, run, run for your life, for I do not know what I 
 may do to you," advice he often repeated to his 
 favourites. There was once a brave old officer, now 
 dead, whose favourite dictum used to be, " If a woman 
 once gets her eye upon you, sir, there's nothing for it 
 but to take refuge in instant flight, instant flight, 
 sir." The same sound advice might have been given to 
 the unlucky subject of King Theodorus on whom the 
 royal eyes chanced to fall in a moment of anger, for 
 nothing but instant flight could save him. 
 
 Like his successor, Theodorus was exceedingly pro- 
 ficient in all martial and athletic sports, and he thought 
 that innocent blood might be spared, and his quarrel 
 with England satisfactorily settled, by a single combat 
 between himself and the British General. This was an
 
 < H. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 55 
 
 idea likely rather to astonish an officer of the modern 
 school. I wonder what Moltke would have said to such 
 a proposition ? Perhaps Prince Bismarck would not so 
 much have minded, but it is not everybody combines 
 mental power with such physical proportions as those of 
 Prince Otto.* To Theodorus's semi-barbarous mind, 
 however, it appeared that princes were responsible for 
 their own quarrels, and ought to fight them out them- 
 selves, instead of making their subjects do it for them, 
 and it never occurred to him to shrink from the respon- 
 sibility. But he did not know that all kings are not 
 absolute, and therefore could hardly be called on to 
 turn themselves into public champions. 
 
 Maderakal spoke French and English fairly well. 
 Murcher, the other interpreter, spoke English and 
 Hindustanee ; for he had been in India. He had also 
 accompanied Powell's brother on the expedition sent 
 by Prince Kassa to punish the Shangallas, and recover 
 Powell's remains, and he had some interesting details 
 to relate of the murder. 
 
 Powell appears to have been a very courageous man, 
 and a splendid shot. He had wounded an elephant, 
 and gone forward with his wife and son to follow 
 up the tracks, leaving his Alsatian servant at a 
 mountain village to procure corn. This man got into 
 a row with the shoum about some native girl, and in 
 the quarrel shot the shoum dead. It is supposed the 
 
 * I believe that, many years ago, Prince Bismarck, when a University 
 student, did light a duel, in which he cut off the nose of the future 
 Archbishop of Mayence.
 
 56 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. . -\\. xx. 
 
 natives were already incensed against him, and indeed 
 all white men, on account of a previous exploit of his, 
 to which I have before alluded, so they killed him. 
 But this was only the beginning of the tragedy, it was 
 now determined that the whole of the white party should 
 be sacrificed, for the natives feared Powell might come 
 back to revenge his servant's death, and they therefore 
 sent on word that Powell and his family must be slain. 
 Poor Powell was laying outside his tent one hot 
 night, and his wife and son were inside, when a party 
 of Shangallas crept up, and threw a shower of spears, 
 one of which transfixed Powell through the side. 
 Powell was disabled, but he got his revolver from under 
 his pillow, and shot the man who had wounded him in 
 the arm, by which means he was afterwards identified. 
 Meanwhile Mrs. Powell, on hearing her husband's cry, 
 rushed out with the rifles, and stood at bay over him. 
 I was told that all through the weary day this brave 
 English lady defended her wounded husband and kept 
 the Shangallas from him, but at sunset, seeing the 
 agony he was in for want of Avater, she went for a 
 moment to a stream to get some, and when she returned 
 it is supposed, she found her husband and her child 
 both dead. Then, and not till then, her brave heart 
 failed her, and she lay down beside the father and the 
 child, and died of sheer exhaustion and grief, for it is 
 not known that she was actually wounded. When 
 Powell's brother came to establish the proof of his 
 death, and avenge it, he found the skeletons of the 
 husband and wife, but that of the child was never dis-
 
 CH. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 57 
 
 covered, and it is not positively known whether it was 
 killed, or sold into slavery, though the probability is 
 that it perished with its parents. I do not know if all 
 the details of this story are correct, but I give it as I 
 heard it in the country. 
 
 When Maderakal left us we rode to the top of the 
 hills that overlook Lake Tzana. It was always a beau- 
 tiful and refreshing sight to gaze on the green fields of 
 the fertile vale of Dembea, stretching from the foot of 
 the mountains like an emerald carpet to the borders of 
 the vast expanse of water more than forty miles long 
 by thirty broad, that glittered on the horizon till it was 
 gradually lost to view in the distant sky line. Some of 
 the wooded valleys running down towards the lake 
 between the spurs of the mountains were very beautiful, 
 and we saw both partridges and antelopes in the bush. 
 
 On returning to our tent we found K. just come from 
 his audience with the king, to whom he had presented 
 my elephant rifle. It was a more powerful piece than 
 any the king possessed, and he appeared very pleased 
 with it. As usual, he measured the size of the bore 
 with his fingers, and then patting the rifle, said signifi- 
 cantly in English of which he has picked up a few 
 words " Man lie down, elephant lie down," meaning 
 that when it was discharged the elephant and the 
 hunter would be mutually rolled over. His Majesty, 
 on hearing that I had no ammunition remaining and 
 could therefore not use my guns, ordered one of his 
 chiefs to give me a breech-loading rifle and fifty car- 
 tridges which had been presented to his Majesty by Mr.
 
 58 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. cu. xx. 
 
 Powell's brother. A gun is the possession an Abyssinian 
 holds most dear, and the chief replied that the rifle in 
 question had been given to his father by his Majesty 
 " And is a rifle the only thing I gave him ? " said the 
 king, with a look that was not to be mistaken. Indeed 
 he had given to the father the country over which the 
 son now ruled. However, to console the chief, K. pro- 
 mised he should have in exchange a very handsome 
 double-barrelled fowling-piece by one of our best Eng- 
 lish makers, which, being a muzzle-loader, would be 
 more useful to him than the breech-loader, for which he 
 could not procure ammunition when his fifty car- 
 tridges were expended, as the Egyptians strictly inter- 
 dict the passage of ammunition into Abyssinia, and the 
 natives are therefore compelled to make their own 
 powder, a good deal of which goes a very little way ; 
 but this is rather fortunate than otherwise, as many 
 of their guns are almost as weak as their powder. 
 McKelvie, on his return from Gondar, told me that 
 when he made use of the cartridges I had given him, 
 the nipples of his gun were blown bodily out, the said 
 gun being of Birmingham manufacture, especially in- 
 tended for African exportation. Considering the fre- 
 quent African campaigns we get involved in, it is per- 
 haps fortunate for our soldiers that some of our ex- 
 porters deal in such articles, though, how a man with 
 a conscience can trust a fellow-creature with a gun 
 that cost eight and sixpence, I cannot understand ; yet 
 I believe some of these guns are turned out wholesale 
 at that price, and I suppose a profit is made out of them.
 
 CH. xx. IV c Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 59 
 
 May 3rc?. K. had another interview with the king 
 and brought me the rifle and cartridges his Majesty had 
 promised me. I consider it a wonderful feat of diplo- 
 macy to have extracted a gun from an African prince. 
 It was settled that we were to start for Lake Tzana on 
 Monday, the 5th, stay there five days, and return to 
 Ambachara for the letters, after which the king pro- 
 mised to consent to my beginning the homeward jour- 
 ney, though he did not at all like letting me go so soon. 
 African princes are rather proud of having a white 
 man at their court, and they look upon it as a personal 
 insult if he wishes to depart. 
 
 At 10 A.M. we heard that his Majesty had gone to 
 play the martial game of goal's, so we mounted our 
 horses and rode out to see it. The royal party was as- 
 sembled on a long level piece of turf near the church 
 where the poor fellow who had died of taking kousso was 
 buried. The ground was kept clear by a number of the 
 king's naphteilas, armed with long guns gaily decorated 
 with jackal's tails, and there was a large crowd of na- 
 tives dressed in their crimson and white kuaries stand- 
 ing around to see the sport. The effect of this multi- 
 tude, clad entirely in two colours, was very brilliant and 
 striking. King Yohannes wore a plain kuarie and 
 loose white trowsers, his head and feet were bare, and 
 he rode with the ordinary big-toe stirrups of the coun- 
 try. His hair was carefully plaited, and in his right 
 hand he carried two long straight sticks which are used 
 in the game of goaks to represent javelins. The royal 
 charger was a superb milk-white Arab far above the
 
 60 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xx. 
 
 average size, a present from the Khedive of Egypt. 
 The high-peaked Turkish saddle was of purple velvet, 
 richly embroidered with silver, with which precious 
 metal the king's shield which he carried in his left 
 hand and the bridle and breastplate of his horse were 
 also profusely adorned. I need hardly say that the 
 glittering white and silver, relieved by the crimson 
 stripe of the kuarie, and the darker purple of the 
 saddlecloth, contrasted splendidly, and set off to great 
 advantage the clear bronze colour of the king's face. 
 Though perhaps more simply clad than any of his 
 chiefs, he looked every inch a king as he sat firmly 
 and gracefully on his beautiful Arab steed. All the 
 chiefs were provided with two long sticks like their 
 sovereign, besides which they were armed with their 
 silver-mounted swords and shields. Ras Wareuia wore 
 round his neck the splendid black panther skin which 
 he had received from his royal master, and the bridles 
 and breastplates of most of the horses were studded 
 with plates and bosses of solid silver. 
 
 The game of goaks somewhat resembles the ancient 
 exercise of the djereed as practised by the Moors when 
 they still used the shield. One of the chiefs would 
 dash forward hotly pursued by two others, who hurled 
 their javelins at him with great dexterity, the fugitive 
 alternately guarding his back, breast, and side with his 
 buffalo-hide target, as he presented them to his adver- 
 saries. Sometimes he would continue flying from them 
 till they had expended all their shafts, and sometimes 
 he would double back upon them with lightning quick-
 
 OH. x.\. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 61 
 
 ness, hurling in his turn a javelin at his pursuers. 
 The horsemanship, as a rule, was exceedingly good, 
 equal to anything I have seen at an Andalusian tenta- 
 dero,* and it was marvellous to see the rapidity with 
 which the small Abyssinian horses would double round at 
 full gallop. Owing to the strain of the cruel ring bits, 
 most of their mouths were dripping with foam and blood, 
 and the ground soon become so slippery with the tramp- 
 ling of their hoofs, that there were not a few tumbles. 
 However, nobody appeared to be hurt, though it must 
 be no easy thing to get clear of the native wooden 
 saddles, which have a sharp peak in front nearly a foot 
 high. Sometimes a chief galloped round brandishing 
 his long sickle-shaped sword, and displaying what the 
 French would call the haute ecole of horsemanship. 
 Ras Warenia, who is considered the best rider in 
 Amhara, certainly sat his horse with wonderful grace, 
 though a stout and heavy man, but, as a rule, it was 
 the king's fortune to 
 
 " Stand forth distinguished from the circling crowd, 
 For him who farthest sends the winged reed ;" 
 
 for the swiftness of his Arab horse gave him a superiority 
 over the others whenever he chose to dash into the 
 'melee, which he frequently did with great spirit, look in a- 
 very grand on his white steed, with his white robes blow- 
 ing in the wind, as he shot through the crowd of horse- 
 men like an arrow, and singled out some chief for attack, 
 
 * At the Spanish tcntadcros the wild bull is overthrown with a lance, 
 a feat that requires no mean horsemanship.
 
 62 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. cu. xx. 
 
 laughing gaily as his javelin caught him in some part 
 which he had not been quick enough to guard with 
 his shield. Between the pauses in the game tlie chil- 
 dren of the various chiefs also tried their puny hands 
 at the mimic warfare, sturdily riding their horses, and 
 throwing their javelins, like their elders, while the 
 gasha-zagries, or esquires, ran over the ground picking 
 up the fallen javelins of their masters. 
 
 On returning to our hut I set to work to clean my new 
 rifle. It was a 12-bore double-barrel of Westley-Richards' 
 best make, but was dreadfully dirty and rusty, and the 
 late owner had succeeded in breaking part of the 
 mechanism for closing the breech. However, I soon 
 got it into working order, and despatched the gun that 
 had been promised in exchange. In the afternoon, C. 
 and I rode out to one of the park-like glades in the 
 woods to try the shooting, and were well satisfied with 
 the result. As we returned through the camp, we 
 remarked with astonishment how unwarlike was its 
 appearance. Here was an army of probably forty thou- 
 sand men, and yet the camp seemed chiefly peopled by 
 women and naked infants, who were everywhere to be 
 seen in all the various stages, from crawling on all fours 
 to walking as men should, with their faces uplifted to 
 heaven. The innocent prattle of children and the 
 merry laughter of young girls softened the stern pre- 
 paratives of war, and made it hard to realize that we 
 were in the lines of an invading host. 
 
 When an Abyssinian soldier goes on the march, he 
 takes his wife and famity with him, and, during the
 
 (ii. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 63 
 
 halts, enjoys the pleasures of domestic life ; but it must 
 not be supposed from this that the men are effeminate, 
 or the women useless ; indeed they carry a great por- 
 tion of the necessary baggage, cook and wash for their 
 husband, draw water, &c., and to a great extent prevent 
 the army being accompanied by the worst class of camp 
 followers. Every man in Abyssinia knows how to 
 build his own hut in an incredibly short space of time ; 
 and the men brought into the field by each chief, as 
 soon as the king halts, build their bell-shaped reed 
 huts in good order round the hut of their leader, which 
 is of larger dimensions and surrounded by palisades, 
 the cavalry lodging their horses in their own huts, as 
 I have before described, that is, of course, when the halt 
 is to be of any duration. For mere bivouacking, the men 
 make shelters of branches, and some of the chiefs have 
 tents a white cotton one for the warm weather, and a 
 black camel's-hair one for the rain. Each chief knows 
 the exact distance he must be from the king's tent, 
 so the camp is very rapidly formed, and soon presents 
 the appearance of an enormous village. In one point, 
 however, the Abyssinian camps are very deficient no 
 attempt is made to preserve cleanliness. It has been 
 said that a man rarely sees more than one dead donkey 
 in his lifetime, but here donkeys that had been used 
 for carrying baggage were to be seen lying by the score 
 in every stage of putrefaction, and the filth and offal 
 of the camp was never removed. 
 
 The soldiers fight under their chiefs with little 
 organization. K. succeeded in getting about two thou-
 
 64 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xx. 
 
 sand of the king's naphtenas into some sort of disci- 
 pline, but he never could keep them steadily at drill 
 for any length of time, as the men said they would 
 rather be put to death at once than work so hard. The 
 king has only a few brass cannon. He succeeded in 
 getting a battery of English rockets which were placed 
 undercharge of the Swiss Louis, but the powder became 
 so dry that the rockets burst, doing more harm to those 
 who tried to fire them than to the enemy, and when 
 Louis attempted to damp them he only managed to 
 render them utterly useless. Louis was now about to 
 quit the king's service, and had prepared a grand 
 farewell speech, beginning : " All powerful Ethiop, now 
 happily Emperor of these mighty dominions ; for two 
 years have I fought beside your Majesty, and contributed 
 to the glory of your conquests, but now my sacred duty 
 to my country calls me home ! " &c., &c., &c. ; and on fine 
 evenings he was to be seen wandering about the camp 
 getting up this bombastic speech by heart with tlie 
 appropriate gesticulations, and reflecting pleasantly on 
 the reward the king would give him. He was a vain, 
 foolish man, and had, I was told, always been more 
 trouble than service to King Yohannes. Among other 
 events, Mustafa was in so detestable a humour this day 
 that we had to promise him an application of the gvraff 
 by the king's own flogger if he did not amend his ways. 
 May 4ith. We had slept little, for the weather had 
 been tempestuous, the fleas more voracious, and the wind 
 and rain more penetrating than usual. In the morning 
 I found the piece of cotton-cloth stretched above my
 
 en. xx. We Prepare to Visit Lake Tzana. 65 
 
 bed, hanging within a foot of my face, and, raising my 
 hand, immediately emptied on my devoted head nearly 
 u gallon of rain water that had collected in it during the 
 night. K. was suffering agonies from rheumatism, but 
 later in the day went to see the king. We had a visit 
 from Basha Tesemma, a captain of naphtenas, who was 
 to accompany us to the lake on the morrow. C. was 
 desirous of procuring some cartridges for his 12-bore 
 Devisme, and by solemnly promising that when our 
 baggage arrived the loan should be repaid threefold, he 
 extracted a few with great difficulty. One chief said 
 he had thirty unloaded cartridges, which, for the sake of 
 friendship, he would give us if C. would promise to 
 return him the same number full; C. promised, but 
 when he received them they proved to be old cartridge 
 cases that had been already fired off. Such is friend- 
 ship ! 
 
 During our afternoon ride we came on the carcase of 
 a dead horse with two large hawks sitting on it. C. 
 killed them both with one shot, and the natives ran 
 down to secure them for food, yet these people think a 
 goose an unclean animal, perhaps that is because they 
 are geese themselves. 
 
 The greater part of the evening was devoted to the 
 casting of bullets for the expedition which C. and I were 
 to make next morning. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 THE GREAT LAKE. 
 
 May 5th. At nine o'clock our baggage mules were 
 packed and standing in front of the hut. The king 
 had appointed fifty naphtenas to accompany us, under 
 Basha Tesemma, and one of his attendants, called Ale- 
 gas, who could speak a little English, being of English 
 origin on the paternal side, though born in Abyssinia 
 of a native mother. Before starting we bid adieu to 
 King Johannes, whom we found sitting on his judgment- 
 seat, a high throne erected in the open air behind the 
 camp. A great crowd of people and attendants stood in 
 a circle round him, and at the foot of the throne were 
 two Agafarees, and the executioners ready to execute 
 each sentence as soon as it issued from the royal lips. 
 The ground was wet with blood, a man having just 
 been flogged with the giraff, or hippopotamus-hide 
 whip, a terrible instrument, with a plaited thong twelve 
 feet long. His majesty always sits in judgment fasting, 
 and, like the kings of the old romances, is t ready to 
 redress the wrongs of all who come to beg justice at 
 bis hands, whether they be chief or peasant, his word 
 being final, and the punishment of the offender at once 
 meted out to him. As has been before stated, the fun- 
 damental principle of all Abyssinian justice is the 
 Mosaic law, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
 
 CH. xxi. T/ie Great Lake. 67 
 
 Bowing to the Ethiopian sovereign, whose throne was 
 high above our heads, C. and I left this grim scene, and 
 rode W.S.W. for Lake Tzana. "We passed within a few 
 hours' march of some hot springs, lying south of Am- 
 bachara, which are much resorted to by sick chieftains, 
 and, growing in a sheltered valley, we noticed some 
 large kousso trees, with their acacia-like leaves and 
 drooping pink blossoms, from which the medicine is 
 made. We also saw many specimens of shivti, the 
 pepper-like seed of which serves the Abyssinians instead 
 of soap, as it makes a lather when ground into powder 
 and mixed with water. Alegas declared that limes, 
 bananas, grape-vines, and apple-trees grew here in 
 abundance, and he also pointed out to us a weed that 
 grows by the banks of streams, and is of so poisonous a 
 nature that it proves instantly fatal to horses and cows, 
 who, strangely enough, are always eager to eat it. It 
 is curious how many terrible forms of death lurk in the 
 midst of the beautifully luxuriant animal and vege- 
 table life of tropical Africa ; but here everything is 
 exaggerated. The sun blinds the eye and scorches the 
 brain, the scent of the flowers is so powerful as to 
 become noxious, and the perfect muscular development 
 of the wild denizens of the forest renders them only 
 more dangerous. The gifts lavished by nature on un- 
 cultivated Africa are like the gift of beauty to a woman 
 whose mind is unregulated a fatal possession. 
 
 Alegas told us that the king was much pleased with my 
 elephant rifle, and had taken it out with him on horse- 
 back, and fired it with one hand, much to the wonderment
 
 68 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 and admiration of his courtiers. I believe that when 
 his majesty did this he was astute enough to place only a 
 small charge in the rifle, with plenty of wadding ; after 
 which he had it loaded with the full charge, and gave it 
 to one of his chiefs, bidding him perform a similar feat. 
 The luckless chief dared not disobey, and, as might be 
 expected, was sent spinning off his horse by the recoil. 
 These rude practical jokes appear to be a favourite 
 amusement of Abyssinian princes. Theodorus was a 
 great hand at them, and woe to the chieftain who de- 
 murred at being made the royal butt, for it is almost as 
 dangerous a pastime to play with sovereigns of Ethiopia 
 as with the king of the African forests. 
 
 Apropos of Theodorus, Alegas gave us an account 
 of a fight he once had with the people of Mitraha, 
 an island on Lake Tzana. The people of Mitraha 
 had revolted, and when they heard that the king was 
 . coming against them, their wise men met in council 
 and said : " Let us collect all the canoes, and haul 
 them on to our island, for then the king's wrath will 
 be unable to reach us ;" and when they saw that 
 they had completely cut off the communication with 
 the main land, they laughed and pointed the finger of 
 scorn at the royal despot, who stood grinding his teeth 
 on the shore. Theodorus heard their laughter wafted 
 faintly across the lake, and he waxed so terribly wroth 
 that it was with difficulty his attendants could keep 
 him from plunging, there and then, into the water, and 
 swimming across to chastise the insolent islanders in 
 person. He at once despatched swift messengers to
 
 The Great Lake. 69 
 
 Massowah for carpenters skilled in constructing boats, 
 and, like the ancient Roman general, organised a swim- 
 ming legion, with which he attacked the island in force, 
 vowing vengeance on all who should fall into his hands. 
 Some of the islanders escaped in their boats, but Theo- 
 dorus captured about forty of them, among whom were 
 many women and children, and he had them all shut 
 up in a house, without regard to age or sex, and set fire 
 to the house, so that they might be roasted alive ; and 
 the people of Lake Tzana remember, even to the third 
 generation, never again to raise the anger of their king. 
 We had to make our way on foot down a very steep 
 hill, the plains of Dembria being more than three hun- 
 dred feet below Ambachara. The bush on either side 
 of the path was full of dog- faced baboons, and we saw 
 some red buck. On a hill before us stood the village of 
 Arnba Mariana, and on another hill were the ruins of 
 an old Portuguese palace. At the bottom of the descent 
 we crossed a river called Arno Garno, flowing S.S.W. 
 to the lake, and here we met a number of girls 
 carrying pats of fresh butter nicely wrapped up in 
 leaves ; before we could interfere, our napktei'ias rushed 
 forward and possessed themselves of the butter, which 
 they clapped on their heads, where it soon melted in 
 the sun, and trickled down their necks and faces, to 
 their great satisfaction. It is considered quite corn/me 
 if' f<ni.t in Ethiopia to have half a pound of butter on 
 the top of your head ; and, in default of butter, raw fat> 
 previously masticated until it has become soft and 
 malleable, is used as a dressing for the hair.
 
 70 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxr. 
 
 At 2.30 P.M. we reached a village, and entered the 
 principal hut. Some eggs were brought us by an old 
 woman, but previous experience had taught us always 
 to test Abyssinian eggs in water before cooking them ; 
 and when we tried these they all floated to the surface 
 a sure sign they were bad. Some guinea-fowls' eggs 
 were next produced, but they all contained partially- 
 developed chickens, so we had to turn our attention to 
 the fowls that were running about the village, while 
 the old woman hobbled off to get a supply of milk, tef, 
 and tella for our attendants. The naplttcnas soon cap- 
 tured us a brace of chickens, and, having begged the 
 loan of my hunting-knife, chopped off their heads at 
 one blow. Incredible though it may appear, I solemnly 
 declare that those chickens' heads remained for several 
 seconds rolling their eyes, and gasping on the ground, 
 while the headless bodies ran round and round, one of 
 them positively going out at the door. After a brief 
 space the bodies naturally became rather uncertain in 
 their movements without their heads, and after turning 
 one or two somersaults, as if in search of those appen- 
 dages, rolled over and died. 
 
 I have a vague recollection of once reading a horrible 
 story of the French revolution, in which an executioner, 
 on being asked if decapitated people retain any life, 
 replies, "Ah, Monsieur, I see you have never looked 
 in the basket as I have done, when the freshly-severed 
 heads lie heaped together ; why, I have to get a new 
 basket every fortnight, for by that time the bottom of 
 the old one is bitten through"
 
 CH. xxr. The Great Lake. 71 
 
 I do not venture to theorize about human heads, but 
 certainly these chickens had the strange vitality I have 
 described ; and should any of my readers doubt the fact ? 
 and care to try the experiment, I believe they can easily 
 obtain ocular proof of its truth, unless English chickens 
 are much less vivacious than African ones, which is 
 hardly likely. 
 
 Basha Tesenima made a hearty feast off sour milk 
 and fermenting tef, the old woman first rolling the tef 
 into a ball in her hands, and then stuffing it affection- 
 ately into his mouth. I trust the meal agreed with him. 
 The stragglers of our party having by this time come 
 up, we pushed forward again towards the lake, passing 
 large flocks of guinea-fowl on the way. We had the 
 greatest difficulty to prevent our naphtenas taking a 
 zig-zag route, from village to village, in order that they 
 might indulge their plundering proclivities; and we 
 were positively forced to drive the Basha in front of us 
 to make him keep the straight road. I may here men- 
 tion that the Basha was got up regardless of expense, in 
 a gorgeous striped-silk robe, and mounted on a white 
 horse the favourite colour for steeds here. At his 
 side strode an old man, the chief of this part of Dembea, 
 who was deputed to act as our guide and caterer. 
 
 Most of our followers committed small peculations on 
 such natives as passed, when we did not chance to be 
 in sight, and one man captured from a village a stick 
 of a kind much esteemed here. It was cut from a tree 
 that bears a flower like a large orange-blossom, but 
 with three times the scent, and the wood of which is so
 
 72 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 hard and heavy, that it is said shepherds have been 
 known to kill lions with sticks made of it. 
 
 In Abyssinia it is thought a great feat to slay a lion, 
 but, strangely enough, we were told that the shepherds 
 of the mountains not unfrequently drive lions from 
 their flocks with nothing but these sticks. Perhaps 
 the lions found in the mountains are a small kind, 
 though I certainly once heard in Norway of a woman 
 who attacked with her broomstick a large brown bear, 
 that, had seized on her pig, and gave it such a vigorous 
 thrashing, that the astonished bruin was glad to beat a 
 retreat and abandon its prey. Happily such very stal- 
 wart Amazons are rare among womankind. 
 
 As we neared the lake, Basha Tesemma made a des- 
 perate effort to inveigle us into a halting at a little 
 hamlet nestling among some low wooded hills, but I 
 drove him ruthlessly down to a small bay, opposite the 
 memorable island of Mitraha, and 
 
 nigh upon that hour, 
 
 "When the heron forgets his melancholy, 
 
 Sets down his other leg, and stretching, dreams 
 
 Of goodly supper in the distant pool " 
 
 we found ourselves standing by that vast sheet of 
 water which the Abyssinians say is the home of the 
 King of the Demons, who rises through the waves when 
 invoked by magical incantations. 
 
 The last rays of the sinking sun threw a mellow light 
 upon the scene ; to our right a tangled jungle hung 
 over the lake, which laved the drooping boughs of the 
 trees. The water here was shallow, and rippled gently
 
 en. xxi. The Great Lake. 73 
 
 in on the narrow shingly beach with a soothing murmur ; 
 two or three tiny canoes, made of rushes, were drawn 
 up on the bank, and about thirty yards from the shore 
 a, solitary heron stood motionless on one leg, watching 
 intently for the passing fish ; not half a mile beyond 
 was the little island of Mitraha, with its conical houses, 
 nestling among groves of trees. Perhaps on this very 
 spot stood Theodorus when he vowed his terrible ven- 
 geance against its inhabitants. 
 
 Alegas begged the loan of my gun, which was loaded 
 with ball, and shot the heron dead. A Wito, one of the 
 curious race of hippopotamus hunters who dwell in this 
 region, approached, and, throwing off the strip of cotton 
 cloth which formed his only covering, plunged into the 
 lake and brought the bird to land. These "Wito men 
 have a very peculiar type of face. Their foreheads are 
 extraordinarily retreating, and the outer corners of their 
 eyes and eyebrows slope upwards, like those of the 
 typical Mephistopheles ; their sharp aquiline noses 
 curve over the upper lip like a beak, and their chins 
 are prodigiously long. Their ears end in a point like 
 those of the ancient satyrs, and their hair, which they 
 wear unplaited, is short and woolly. A more diabolical 
 cast of countenance it would be hard to imagine, but I 
 believe they are a harmless race, and live principally on 
 the flesh of hippopotami, which they kill with poisoned 
 spears. They believe that the spirits of some people 
 go to God, while others graze on the plains round Lake 
 Tzana in the form of cows ; but they do not seem to 
 have any form of worship or religion. They dwell in
 
 74 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 tiny conical huts made of reeds from the lake, which 
 are hardly large enough for a man to stand upright in ; 
 and when they marry they simply swear to take the 
 woman " Yohannes y mute" (" By the king's death" ), 
 the usual way of ratifying any promise iii Abyssinia. 
 But the Wito women some of whom are very beau- 
 tiful will not marry a Wito brave until he has proved 
 himself a man by slaying a hippopotamus with his own 
 hand. They do not mix with the rest of the Abyssi- 
 nians, and appear to be a distinct, probably an abori- 
 ginal race. They cultivate no arts but the simple one 
 of hunting, and seem to be quite contented with their 
 lot in this " happy valley." Perhaps 
 
 "Thought would destroy their paradise," 
 
 as the poet Gray says. 
 
 Mustafa and the baggage mules were nowhere to be 
 seen, so we despatched a naphtena in search of them, 
 and having picketed the horses, prepared to dine off 
 what we had in our' haversacks. The sJioum of a 
 neighbouring village had orders to provide food for the 
 king's naphtenas, but did not do so. We therefore 
 gave the men permission to procure a cow for them- 
 selves next day. Bruce says the kings of Abyssinia 
 give a village to a stranger to supply him with food. 
 This custom is still maintained, but each village is not 
 supposed to be laid under this burden for more than 
 three days at a time, unless the shoum behaves badly, 
 in which case the stranger may prolong his stay as a 
 punishment.* 
 
 * See Appendix, note G.
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 75 
 
 In the evening Alegas related how he once came 
 upon seven lions in a forest, but managed to effect his 
 escape unperceived. We slept for two hours, when 
 Mustafa at last arrived with the tent, after much -wan- 
 dering; and not a little frightened at having missed 
 hi.s way in so wild a country, for, though he trusted im- 
 plicitly in our power to protect him, he knew that, being 
 an Egyptian, he was looked on as an enemy, and did not 
 love to find himself alone. When all our people were 
 asleep, C. and I strolled down by the lake to look for 
 hippos, as the Wito had told us they usually came on 
 shore at night to eat the grass, but we saw none. Tzana 
 looked lovely as the Larian lake by moonlight, but in 
 the jungle hard-by we could hear at intervals the 
 growling of a leopard, breaking the quiet stillness of 
 the night. 
 
 May 6th. We were up at daybreak, and walked by 
 the shore towards a headland that we saw on our right. 
 The beautiful trees and creepers of the jungle were 
 reflected in the water as in a vast mirror ; further on 
 were some great grey rocks, and beyond these we came 
 to a long reach of grass running down to the water's- 
 edge, as smooth and green as an English lawn. 
 Geese, spoonbills, black swans, and every variety of 
 duck abounded here, and paid no heed to our approach, 
 for they were unacquainted with the sound of a gun. 
 C. shot a fine black swan, and I a brace of woodcock, 
 which were also plentiful. Presently the noses of 
 two large hippopotami appeared above the waters of 
 the lake, but out of range from the land ; however
 
 76 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxr. 
 
 a canoe loaded with cotton was rounding the headland, 
 so we hailed it, and after some parley, induced the 
 natives to bring their load to shore, and carry us on 
 their shoulders to the canoe, which, being little more 
 than a large bundle of rushes, floated very low in the 
 water. Alegas was to have accompanied us as inter- 
 preter, but, like Bob Acres, his courage was rapidly 
 oozing out at the ends of his ringers, and failed him at 
 the last moment. He said the Goumarie * were some- 
 times very bold in their own element, and would take 
 it into their heads to attack a canoe, and crunch it up, 
 men and all, between their enormous jaws ; so we left 
 him behind, and took the canoe as near to the hippos 
 as we could get the natives to venture. On our ap- 
 proach, the huge beasts disappeared under the water, 
 but one of them coming up again to breathe about 
 thirty yards off, I fired a shot with my twelve-bore 
 Westley-Richards, which struck him on the neck with 
 a dull thud, and at once sent him down again. The 
 other then rose, on which C. fired with his Devisme, but 
 rather too high. They did not re-appear after this, so 
 we returned to shore, and walked on to the headland, 
 where C. bagged a brace of guinea-fowl, of which there 
 were great numbers among the bushes. 
 
 On the way back, we noticed that the ground was 
 deeply indented with the foot-prints of hippopotami 
 and wild pigs. We were examining these, when our 
 gun-bearers were suddenly charged in rear by a trucu- 
 
 * Goumarie, Abyssinian for hippopotamus.
 
 rif. xxr. The Great Lake. 77 
 
 lent-looking bullock which was grazing on the plains, 
 and which rapidly put them to flight. Shortly afterwards 
 we encountered our friend the Wito, who had come to 
 tell us that he had seen two hippos asleep on a rock in 
 the lake. We therefore dismissed the noisy naphtefiax, 
 and followed him silently to the spot he indicated. 
 Only the black noses of the hippos were visible, near a 
 reef of rock some distance from the land ; but a second 
 Wito had brought his canoe round, and in this I em- 
 barked, first taking off rny boots, and making all 
 secure for a capsize, as the tiny craft was not more than 
 ten feet long, and could barely hold the Wito and my- 
 self. These Wito canoes are of charmingly simple con- 
 struction. A narrow mat of long rushes is tied 
 together at each end, and distended in the centre with 
 a bundle of reeds. On this bundle kneels the Wito, 
 who paddles his frail bark with a long stick, which 
 has no blade attached to it. When the canoe is dry 
 it floats pretty lightly, but the water soon filters 
 through the rushes, and the canoe sinks lower and 
 lower, till it hardly rises above the surface of the 
 lake ; and, being nearly round, of course the least 
 motion is liable to capsize it. Indeed, these boats 
 bear a strong resemblance to the vessel on which 
 the primeval navigator made his first voyage, which 
 tradition tells us was simply a log floating upon the 
 water. 
 
 A fresh breeze had sprung up, and the little canoe 
 danced about on the rising wavelets like an egg shell ; 
 however, the Wito managed it with great dexterity
 
 78 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 and we soon got near the hippos, one of whom dis- 
 appeared as we approached. I fired at the other, and, 
 as before, heard the bullet strike the thick hide of his 
 neck, causing him to plunge at once beneath the waters 
 of the lake. I then landed on the rock, and fired again 
 as he rose to breathe, with just the same result, the 
 echoes of my rifle, I fear, sadly disturbing the solemn 
 meditations of a flock of pelicans who were floating 
 tranquilly by. 
 
 In the day time the hippopotami show as little as 
 possible of their heads above the water, and their 
 skulls and hides are so tremendously thick that an 
 ordinary lead bullet makes no impression on them. 
 There is, however, one small spot behind the ear 
 where a bullet will penetrate, though having no pre- 
 vious experience of this sport, we had not yet discovered 
 its true position. 
 
 When I regained the shore, we lunched off par- 
 tridge's eggs roasted on a fire of dried cactus-leaves, 
 which burned very brightly, as if impregnated with 
 turpentine. The Wito showed us his hippopotamus 
 lance, the point of which was carefully enveloped in a 
 bamboo sheath ; the stick of the lance was fully twelve 
 feet long, and into one end was inserted a piece 
 of iron with a small sharp barbed point dipped in 
 poison. The Wito cautioned us not to examine this 
 point too closely, as he said the smell even of the poison 
 in which it had been dipped was hurtful. The Wito 
 poison is vegetable, and I believe is prepared by boiling 
 down a plant that grows by the lake, but we could not
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 79 
 
 learn the exact way of making it, as the Witos were 
 very reserved on this subject. That the poison is 
 powerful is certain, for a hippopotamus generally 
 dies within two hours of receiving a scratch from a 
 poisoned spear. The mode of hunting the hippos is as 
 follows : The Wito huntsman hides himself at night- 
 fall among the bushes on the margin of Lake 
 Tzana, near some spot where the hippopotami are 
 accustomed to come on shore to make their midnight 
 feast of grass and young twigs. Care must' be taken 
 that the wind is blowing off the lake, for the hippos 
 have very keen scent, and being much more courageous 
 at night than they are in the daytime, will charge down 
 on the hunter if they scent him ; their enormous 
 weight and size rendering them very dangerous, though 
 their movements are somewhat unwieldy. As soon 
 as the Wito sees the hippos come out of the water, he 
 poises his spear, and as they pass his hiding-place, 
 throws it so as to strike one of them behind the fore 
 leg, where the fold of the flesh renders the hide less 
 hard ; the small barbed point sticks firmly in, and the 
 brittle shaft of the spear is at once broken off by the 
 movements of the huge animal, who immediately takes 
 to the water, and soon dies from the effects of the poi- 
 soned wound. Some hours after death, the body floats 
 to the surface of the lake, and is hauled on shore by 
 the first party of Witos who may chance to see it, and 
 though it is sometimes found twenty miles from where 
 it was killed, word is always sent to the Wito who 
 slew it, as each spear-head has a mark to inclicat e
 
 So The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. x\i. 
 
 whom it belongs to, and there is honour among these 
 hunters. 
 
 It is said that the Wito poison does not injure the 
 flesh of the hippopotamus, and the skin having been 
 cut off for whips and shields, the meat is divided by 
 these people for food, its taste, though rather coarse, 
 being by no means disagreeable. The head of the 
 hippo is then immersed in the lake till the tusks are 
 loosened, these tusks being estimated in the country at 
 a value, in barter, of about one dollar the set. Some 
 of the Witos, AVC were told, make rudely carved brace- 
 lets and anklets of the ivory, but I never saw any of 
 this work myself. 
 
 As the neighbouring villages still refused to let the 
 naphtenas have any food, they dispersed to forage for 
 themselves, and captured a cow, which they slew, and 
 eat raw as usual. In the afternoon, some of the con- 
 tumacious shoums were brought before us, and, on 
 their still continuing refractory, we had them placed in 
 chains, and ordered them to be taken to Ambachara 
 next day, for the King to dispose of them as he thought 
 fit. They now humbly begged to be forgiven, and 
 declared that they would be all that was good and 
 virtuous in the future if we would only set them free ; 
 so, on their solemnly promising to send in a supply of 
 grain, we pardoned them, and restored them to liberty ; 
 but of course they only took advantage of this to slip 
 over to the island of Mitraha, and we never saw them 
 more, for we did not wish to raise the enmity of the 
 natives by attempting their re-capture. Indeed, I
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 81 
 
 thought it a wise precaution to force Basha Tesema 
 always to have a certain number of his roving napli- 
 tenas on guard at the camp, by telling him, from time 
 to time, that I should require him to parade them, and, 
 if I did not find all present, would send him and his men 
 back to the king, and have nothing more to do with 
 them ; a prospect the poor Basha looked forward to with 
 unmitigated horror, as he well knew what kind of re- 
 ception his Royal Master would give him if he returned 
 without us. Indeed, he took to following us everywhere 
 so closely, that he became almost as great a bore as 
 a certain escort of bersaglieri that I remember once 
 accompanied us to Psestum, in the days when brig- 
 andage was rife. 
 
 Our party was a large one, the day was splendid, and 
 the old Greek temples, standing in lonely grandeur, 
 with the dark blue sea behind them, more than realized 
 all our anticipations ; but when, after luncheon, we 
 strolled away in couples to enjoy the beauties of the 
 scene, according to our various fancies, the too con- 
 scientious sergeant of our escort, told off a private to 
 follow each couple at six paces distance, with a loaded 
 rifle, for General Desjardin had cautioned him on no 
 account to lose sight of his charges, and the brave 
 fellow obeyed the consigne to the letter, quite oblivious 
 of the fact that two is company and three is none. Not 
 a moment could we escape from the vigilant eyes of 
 the grim sentries, who stood behind us, and a few pro- 
 mising flirtations were nipped in the bud, while we all 
 had an uncomfortable feeling, as if ive were malefac- 
 
 VOI, II. G
 
 82 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 tors, and the escort our gaolers. However, to return 
 to the Basha : we ordered him to guard the tent, and 
 not us, and then strolled away to enjoy the luxury of 
 a bathe in the lake, for this part of Tzana seemed to be 
 free from crocodiles, though they abound in many of 
 the Abyssinian rivers. After a glorious swim, C. and 
 I proceeded to the little jungle, in which I had heard a 
 leopard growling during the night, and where the Wito 
 had assured us we were certain to find one. We, 
 therefore, plunged into the thickest of the under- 
 growth, regardless of the thorns that guarded every 
 tree, shrub, and creeper, with the exciting prospect of 
 disturbing the leopard, at any moment, from its lair, 
 or seeing it crouching on one of the great overhang- 
 ing boughs of the trees ; but though we traversed the 
 jungle in every direction, and our course through it 
 might have been traced by the fragments of our clothing 
 that adorned its brambles, our perseverance, like virtue, 
 had to be its own reward, and we returned to our tent 
 without having encountered the leopard. 
 
 When the moon rose over the waters, we started on 
 another quest after hippopotami, but this also resulted 
 in "no find." 
 
 May 7th was a wet morning. We decided to explore 
 the lake in a southerly direction, so, after writing to 
 K., and striking the tent, we mounted our horses, and 
 cantered along the shore, past two lovely little bays, 
 swarming with gaily coloured waterfowl of every kind. 
 C. rode to the top of a wooded hill, where he found a 
 number of wild geese perched in a tree, like crows.
 
 en. xxi. The Great Lake. 83 
 
 Alegas said that when Theodorus burned Mitralia, a 
 young girl escaped to the foot of this hill, by swimming 
 from the island to the shore. We presently came to a 
 small river called the Keman, which appeared too deep 
 to be easily forded ; but one of the Witos waded into 
 the lake, and showed us a bar of sand that crossed the 
 mouth of the river at some distance from the land, by 
 following which we were enabled to reach the other 
 side without swimming our horses. Beyond the 
 Keman, we traversed a level expanse of green sward, 
 overshadowed by some noble trees, that looked very 
 like a bit of scenery from an English park. Deeply 
 indented in the wet earth by the water's edge were the 
 fresh foot-prints of a full grown lion, who must have 
 been here to drink, the Witos averred, not three hours 
 before. C. shot a duck of the muscovy kind, and not long 
 afterwards we noticed the heads of a large female hippo 
 and her young calf peering at us from the lake. They 
 say these creatures are attracted by the sound of a gun, 
 which excites their curiosity, even when they are under 
 water ; I suppose the concussion of the air is percep- 
 tible to them. Izaac Walton declared that no true 
 follower of "the gentle craft" should speak near a 
 stream, as it disturbs the fish. 
 
 There being no canoes*in sight, we dismounted, slung 
 a couple of extra cartridges round our necks, and waded 
 into the lake, holding our rifles above our heads. The 
 hippos, doubtless thinking themselves secure in their 
 own element, did not attempt to go away ; but I no- 
 ticed that the careful mother hippo shifted her position
 
 84 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 as we approached, and placed her own body between 
 her calf and us. When we had got as near as the 
 depth of the water would permit, I fired, whereat she 
 rose out of the water, and opened her gigantic jaws to 
 their full extent, as if she would like to swallow us 
 whole. C. at this moment fired a Pertuiset explosive 
 shell right into her mouth, which caused her to spring 
 round, and for a moment we thought she was going to 
 charge ; but a shot from my second barrel made her 
 turn again, and plunging under the waters of the lake, 
 she disappeared from sicfht, taking her young one with 
 her. We had hoped by distracting the cow's attention 
 to get a shot at the calf, whose more tender hide would 
 not have resisted our bullets, and whose flesh would 
 have been delicate eating; but so strong was the 
 maternal instinct in the brave old mother hippo, that 
 she never for an instant ceased to shield her child, 
 and even when, enraged by our shots, she exposed 
 herself out of the water, she never permitted the 
 calf to show more than his black nozzle above the 
 surface. 
 
 On regaining the shore, I shot another muscovy 
 duck, and we rode to a small Abyssinian village a 
 short distance inland. Here we saw the funeral of 
 a poor fellow, who had beem burnt alive ; his hut 
 having caught fire while he was asleep in it. A 
 crowd of natives were sitting round the body, but rose 
 to their feet as we passed. C. and I breakfasted in 
 an empty hut, and then went for a long walk south- 
 wards, round the lake. We forded the river Arno
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 85 
 
 Garno,* which runs into the lake near this village ; and, 
 after wandering through some thin copses of mimosa 
 trees, reached the shore opposite two rocks called " the 
 sisters " or " stones of friendship," which rise side by 
 side out of the water, looking a little like the Faro 
 Leoni at Capri. Ducks, surrounded by broods of pre- 
 cocious ducklings, who could already gaze at the African 
 sun without blinking, though but a few hours emerged 
 from their shells ; graceful spoonbills, black and white 
 ibis, swans, flamingos, grave-looking pelicans, speckled 
 geese, and, in short, all sorts of waterfowl, whose names I 
 am net sufficiently learned in ornithology to enumerate, 
 floated tranquilly on the water, or stood meditatively 
 on* one leg, among the shallows, in all the bravery of 
 goodly plumage, taking little notice of the strangers 
 who had invaded their territory ; for the Witos have 
 no guns, and the birds of Lake Tzana have not yet 
 learned to look on the approach of man with dread. 
 Indeed, it was difficult to realize that all these birds were 
 wild, and that we were not wandering in some Jardin 
 d'acclimatation, where long habit had rendered the 
 different specimens tame. 
 
 A sharp shower drove us to seek shelter, which we 
 obtained in a natural summer house, formed by a net- 
 work of creepers, which had twined themselves round a 
 graceful mimosa tree. N ear it we noticed the footprints 
 of a leopard, that had come down here to drink ; and 
 towards dusk, as we were returning, we saw three 
 
 * So called, because the two streams, Arno and Garno, run into it.
 
 86 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 hippos, a bull, cow, and calf, swimming in the lake, not 
 far from the mouth of Arno Garno. We waded to- 
 wards them, greatly to the excitement of a crowd of 
 natives, who had collected on the shore ; but the water 
 being deep, we could only get within fifty yards, at which 
 distance we both fii'ed at the bull, who was between us 
 and the others. He at once went down, and did not 
 appear again ; but the cow and calf swam away out of 
 range, the mother being careful all the time to screen 
 her child. When we returned to land, some of the 
 natives promised to watch for the body of the hippo 
 that had gone down, and bring it in should it float to 
 the surface, as these animals always sink for a couple 
 of hours when they are killed in the water. Our gun- 
 bearers having now brought our horses to meet us, we 
 rode back to the village, where our tent presently ar- 
 rived, and we lay down to snatch a few hours' sleep 
 before starting to hunt by moonlight. 
 
 At 8.30 P.M., Alegas came to tell us that a hyena 
 was prowling round the tent, with designs on our cattle. 
 We, therefore, took our guns and sallied out, Alegas 
 drawing his great curved sword to be ready for the 
 encounter. 
 
 I have seen the hyena described in Professor Wilson's 
 " Narrative of Discovery and Adventure in Africa," in 
 thrilling language, as " not the strongest, but the most 
 ferocious and untamable of all the beasts of prey ; " 
 and we learn from the same source that " these 
 creatures, by moving in numerous bands, achieve what 
 is beyond the single strength of the greater animals ;
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 7 
 
 they burst with mighty inroad into cities, and have even 
 carried by storm fortified enclosures." If such be the 
 case, Heaven help the traveller in a canvas tent ! but I 
 fear these creatures little merit so high an encomium 
 on their valour. Laughing hyenas, of the largest kind, 
 swarm by thousands in Abyssinia, and nightly prowl 
 round the camp of the traveller ; but I never heard of 
 their making a united attack, nor, so far as my personal 
 experience goes, have I ever found them other than the 
 most cowardly of animals. 
 
 Why will writers always exagerate the terrible ? 
 Perhaps, however, it has the effect of inducing a love of 
 adventure in our youth. I remember that ever since 
 I was a child I longed to follow the wanderings of 
 the adventurous Bruce, and the imaginary Rolando ; 
 and if I had known that I should do so, and yet 
 not meet with a single adventure, I might never have 
 gone to Africa. Mais, revenons a nos moutoiis 
 The hyena we were in search of, as usual, flitted away 
 like a ghost the moment it caught sight of us. So 
 we summoned the two Wito hunters, and proceeded 
 to the borders of the lake, the hour being near when 
 hippopotami were wont to come on shore. Alegas 
 gave us the cheering intelligence, en route, that the 
 goumarie were very bold at night, and would charge 
 at the flash of a rifle the moment it was fired. He also 
 declared that they would sometimes take two or three 
 men at a time in their enormous jaws, carry them 
 away into the lake, and sink with them to the 
 bottom until they were drowned. I find, after this
 
 88 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. OH. xxi. 
 
 story, an entry in my diary as follows : " I begin to 
 think Alegas rather a romancer." When we reached 
 the edge of the water, we removed our boots and glided 
 silently along in our stockings, as the Witos said it was 
 absolutely necessary to make no noise. We saw the 
 nose of one hippo far out in the lake ; but it afforded 
 an insufficient mark, and we continued our way with- 
 out firing at it. At last the Witos declared that it was 
 no use going further, as they knew the coast and the 
 habits of the goumarie, and were sure we should see no 
 more. However, though ready to admit that they 
 ought to know all about it, we preferred following our 
 own instincts, and ordered them to go on, which they 
 very unwillingly did. After again wading through the 
 Arno Garno, we crept among the mimosa trees, our 
 Witos leading the way with their long spears in their 
 hand, as they said that if there were any goumarie 
 about they would perceive them long before we should. 
 But we had hardly walked a hundred yards, when 
 suddenly there was a cracking of branches, the trees in 
 front of us parted asunder, and a huge black mass 
 appeared rushing down upon us with short angry snorts, 
 like a railway engine letting off steam. Our native 
 hunters had got, without perceiving it, between the wind 
 and a hippopotamus that was grazing on land,and which, 
 finding its retreat to the lake cut off, had made up its 
 mind to charge. The attack was so sudden that we 
 found ourselves running as hard as we could before we 
 well knew what we were running for; and the valiant 
 Witos, who had been the first to turn, passed us like
 
 CH. xxi. The Great Lake. 89 
 
 lightning and never stopped till they reached the 
 river. Sauve qui peut was the first instinct with every- 
 body, yet we could not help feeling that there was 
 something rather ludicrous in thus being suddenly 
 hunted by the very beast we had come to hunt. How- 
 ever, it is no joke to be caught by an irate hippopotamus ; 
 so as soon as I could pull myself up, I faced round and 
 got a rapid shot at our pursuer ; and its way to the lake 
 being now clear, and the first fury of its charge ex- 
 pended, it turned aside and plunged into the water. 
 
 After this little incident, we decided to trust no more 
 to the sagacity and courage of our Witos; but, in future, 
 to lead the way ourselves. 
 
 We presently descried the 'black back of another 
 hippo appearing above the surface of the lake, but it 
 remained so motionless, that the Witos said it must be 
 a stone, and offered to go forwards to reconnoitre. We, 
 however, bid them lie quiet where they were ; and, 
 creeping cautiously past the mimosas, the fallen thorns 
 of which pierced our stockinged feet most unmercifully, 
 crouched down behind two little bushes that grew close 
 by the water's edge, to watch. 
 
 An hour passed : the moon rose slowly, casting a 
 broad path of light across the lake, and turning to 
 silver the feathery foliage of the mimosas that grew by 
 its shores. The bnxLs were all asleep, not even the 
 flight of an owl disturbing the stillness ; for owls are 
 rare in Abyssinia. Our two Witos contemplated pity- 
 ingly, and with ill-disguised impatience, the weakness 
 of mind that induced us to continue watching what
 
 9O TJie Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi. 
 
 they still declared to be a stone ; and we ourselves were 
 getting tired of our position, for the bushes which 
 screened us were so small that we dared not move ; 
 when suddenly the waters parted with a mighty 
 splash, and a splendid hippopotamus emerged from 
 the waves and walked slowly towards us, its enormous 
 body showing clear and dark in the bright moonlight- 
 A forehead shot was the only one possible ; so we 
 pointed our rifles and waited till it should come to 
 close quarters. When it was within twenty yards of 
 us, C. fired a Pertuiset shell, right between its eyes, 
 which exploded with a bright flash as it struck. I 
 followed this immediately with a conical bullet, from 
 my 12-bore, aimed at the same spot; and the next 
 moment the great beast rolled completely over, and we 
 flattered ourselves that we had got it. But it re- 
 covered its feet again, and rushed splashing and 
 stumbling back towards the deep water, waking the 
 sleeping echoes of the night with its bellowings. 
 When, afterwards, the Witos found the body, it had 
 drifted a considerable distance round the shore of the 
 lake ; but they honestly brought us the teeth and part 
 of the hide, which was more than an inch in thickness. 
 We saw no more hippos this night, and only regained 
 our tent an hour before daylight.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SPORT OX THE LAKE CONTINUED. OUR RETURN TO 
 AMBACHARA. 
 
 May 8th. At 9 a.m. we were in the saddle and 
 rode towards our old camp to see if any hippos were 
 taking their siesta by the stones where we had seen 
 them sleeping before. Ambachara and all the moun- 
 tains were enveloped in dense rain clouds ; but here in 
 this favoured valley of Dembea, the weather was lovely 
 and the wind blew off the water as fresh and fragrant 
 as a sea-breeze. A heavy surf was running in on the 
 shore, sparkling merrily in the sunlight as it laved the 
 green grass, which extended like a lawn to the water's 
 edge, and tumbled in a long line of white breakers over 
 the bar at the mouth of the Keman, and the rocks 
 beyond. There were no hippos at the stones, but we 
 saw two opposite the dry bed of a stream where, from 
 the number of their foot-prints, they were evidently 
 accustomed to land. Hippopotami walk on the tips of 
 their toes, and make very deep foot-prints, their weight 
 being enormous, owing to the fact that their bones, like 
 those of the elephant, are solid all through. I need 
 hardly say that the full-grown hippopotami living wild 
 in lake Tzana are giants compared to the specimens 
 that have been brought alive to Europe.
 
 92 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 The two hippos we had seen from the shore dis- 
 appeared before we could wade out to them ; however, 
 we enjoyed a swim in the lake, and while dressing, I 
 made a discovery which illustrates one of the worst 
 miseries of human life in Abyssinia. I found that 
 hidden in every seam of my flannel shirt lurked . hun- 
 dreds of a kind of white lice, so small and transparent 
 that it was hardly possible to see them without a magni- 
 fying glass ; yet this shirt was washed regularly every 
 day. It was the last flannel shirt that remained to 
 me of all my stock ; but I placed a big stone in it, 
 and consigned it to the depths of the lake then and 
 there, determining that in future I would only wear 
 cotton a material I should recommend to Abyssinian 
 travellers in preference to flannel. 
 
 C. bagged a fine goose, and I shot a duck with my 
 rifle. We were obliged to have these birds cooked at 
 once, as the climate of lake Tzana had the peculiar pro- 
 perty of causing all the game we shot to spoil in a few 
 hours, like meat struck by lightning, so that we could 
 not keep anything from one day to the next. I never 
 clearly understood the reason of this phenomenon, for 
 in other parts of Abyssinia, where the weather was 
 much warmer, our game would always keep through 
 the night. 
 
 When we returned to the camp, the naphteiias were 
 clamouring for food, having, as before, been unable to 
 procure any in the villages. The Shoums, as I have 
 related, had all disappeared to Mitralia; so we sum- 
 moned the villagers, and asked them to let the men
 
 en. xxn. Our Return to Ambachara. 93 
 
 have a cow; but they refused to do so, though there were 
 several herds of cattle grazing, half wild, on the plains. 
 Towards these we, therefore, walked, rifle in hand, 
 followed by a crowd of natives, gestulating wildly with 
 their spears. C. singled out a fat cow, and 4 having with 
 some difficulty got within forty yards of it, fired at the 
 white spot on its forehead. The effect of the shot was 
 instantaneous, and the beast sunk gently forwards on 
 its knees and died without a groan. The villagers at 
 once yelled out that this cow was the fattest of the lot, 
 and belonged to the priest. " Very well," said the 
 Basha, " why did you not let us have another when we 
 asked for it ? " The naphtenas now rushed forwards 
 with their curved swords, and in an incredibly short time 
 all but the skeleton of the cow had disappeared from 
 sight. As for ourselves, we were so fatigued with hunt- 
 ing all night as well as riding all day, that we quite 
 forgot dinner, and slept in the tent till 10 p.m., when 
 the Witos came to accompany us in quest of hippos ; 
 but though we made a pilgrimage of three hours in our 
 stockings round the shores of the lake, we did not find 
 any. 
 
 May 9th. This morning we made the Witos practise 
 throwing spears at a small piece of matting stuck on a 
 stick, which they struck with great dexterity at thirty 
 yards. Alegas distinguished himself by casting the 
 spear furthest, though thirty yards was the longest 
 range at which he could make good practice. The 
 Abyssinian horsemen, however, can throw farther when 
 at a gallop, as their lances are lighter than those used
 
 94 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxn. 
 
 by men on foot, and the impetus of the horse helps 
 them. 
 
 When about to throw the spear, the Abyssinians 
 poise it accurately in the centre, keeping the fore-arm 
 perpendicular, the elbow close to the side, the head 
 thrown back, and the weight of the body on the right 
 foot ; they then give to the spear a quivering motion 
 throughout its length, and rapidly springing forwards 
 on the left foot, send it hurtling through the air with 
 such force that it will often transfix a buffalo-hide 
 shield. 
 
 Mustafa being again in a most detestable and hopeless 
 humour this day, we gave him a second fatherly warning, 
 that if he did not improve he must be beaten, which 
 would be his punishment ; while if he did improve, he 
 should not be beaten, which would be his reward. 
 Whether he appreciated all the beauty and simplicity 
 of this system I do not know, for we mounted our 
 horses and rode out to continue our explorations round 
 the east side of the lake. 
 
 We traversed a wide belt of alluvial plain, stretching 
 between the foot of the mountains and the shore ; this 
 plain was now dried and cracked by the sun, but in a 
 couple of months, when the rains had fallen, it would 
 be covered by the waters of Lake Tzana, which yearly 
 endow it with a wonderful fertility.* One of our Wito 
 guides proudly pointed out to us the spot where he had 
 speared a hippopotamus, and thus qualified himself, 
 
 * The villagers who dwell on the plain, shift their Dli pennies to 
 other villages on the hills during the wet season.
 
 rn. xxir. Our Return to Ambachara. 95 
 
 like a true knight, to win his lady's favour. The shore, 
 as usual, teemed with strange aquatic birds, one of 
 which a beautiful milk-white spoonbill C. shot as 
 a specimen. A long ride brought us to a promontory, 
 on which stood a little village, and from this point we 
 got an extensive view along the eastern shores of the 
 lake ; the country as far as the eye could reach pre- 
 served always the same characteristics as that we had 
 already ridden through, being a fine fertile valley, dotted 
 with woods and mimosa bushes, bounded to the east by 
 ranges of mountains, and to the west by the waters of 
 Lake Tzana. To the S.W. the faint outline of the island 
 of Daka was visible, apparently floating in the air and 
 enjoying an isolation almost as complete as that of Gul- 
 liver's flying island ; for the frail native canoes can only 
 venture out there in the calmest of weather, and, even 
 then, it is quite a long voyage to reach it, little less ad- 
 venturous than crossing the channel in a Boyton dress. 
 We turned our horse's heads, and rode back to a cluster 
 of tiny extinguisher-shaped huts, made of reeds, which 
 we had noticed near the border of the lake : this was a 
 Wito village. A gentle Wito girl came out and offered 
 us milk in a zanaiiia a kind of gourd prettily orna- 
 mented with basket-work. There was something inex- 
 pressibly beautiful and attractive about this girl that I 
 do not know how to describe. The grave, almost pathetic 
 look in her large dark eyes, the delicate and sensitive 
 lines of her forehead and eyebrows, the exquisite chisel- 
 ling of her nose and chin, and the rare purity and 
 sweetness in the expression of her mouth, combined to
 
 96 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxn. 
 
 make her appear one of those rare types of woman- 
 hood, in whom the physical beauty of the frame seems 
 only the natural accompaniment of the still more beau- 
 tiful mind that dwells within like a priceless gem 
 encased in a fair casket. We not unfrequently see the 
 beautiful casket empty, or the beautiful gem concealed 
 beneath a rough covering; but the spiritual look that 
 lighted up this girl's face seemed to indicate that, here, 
 both gem and casket were together, and yet she was 
 the daughter of a race who, from time immemorial, have 
 adhered to a savage life. She knew no religion, and 
 perhaps had no ambition higher than one day to keep 
 the hut of some hunter more skilled than the rest in 
 spearing the hippopotamus, the pursuit of which animal 
 little more wild than themselves had been the one 
 aim and object in life of her father and brothers, 
 and all those of her tribe, who had gone before her, as 
 far as the memory of man could reach. Still, some- 
 how, the wonderful look of soul, thought, and feeling, 
 that lived in her face when she raised her eyes, made 
 one forget everything except that she was a fitting 
 type of fairest womanhood in that fair land where the 
 sun loves to dwell, and lends a wondrous beauty, 
 through the magic of his rays, to every created thing. 
 Her small hands and arched feet might have served as 
 a study to a sculptor, and a bright glow of health shone 
 through the dark transparency of her skin ; her black 
 hair was plaited in the Abyssinian fashion, and her 
 lithe girlish figure had a wild grace and beauty all its 
 own, which her coarse shirt of native cotton, confined by
 
 < ii. xxn. Our Return to Ambachara. 97 
 
 a leather thong at the waist, and open at the breast, 
 covered, but did not conceal. There was a modest dig- 
 nity and gentleness in her bearing as she stood waiting 
 for us to drink the milk, with her great black eyes 
 lifted up towards us, that made us fear to ask her to 
 stand as a model, lest it should frighten or pain her ; so 
 we humbly begged for more milk, and strove to transfer 
 the outline of her beauty to our note books while she 
 brought it, but our efforts to reduce to black and white 
 the charm of her expression were all in vain, and I 
 think we must each have drunk more than a gallon of 
 milk during the attempt. Could we possibly have 
 drunk another gallon, and had an excuse for staying 
 half an hour longer, I am not sure that I should not 
 have had serious thoughts of asking King Yohannes to 
 give me the province of Dembea, and making the 
 beautiful AVito my queen. 
 
 As we were riding homewards over the plain we saw 
 a herd of antelopes, and gave chase to them, to tiy 
 the speed of our cattle. All horses have a natural love 
 for hunting, and ours entered into the chase heart and 
 soul, following every swerve and movement of the fly- 
 ing herd, leaping lightly over the crevices and irregu- 
 larities in the ground, and wheeling round with light- 
 ning quickness, of their own accord, whenever the an- 
 telopes, hard pressed, tried to double back. The more 
 we galloped, the better our plucky little steeds went, 
 which is usually the case with Abyssinian horses, which 
 always require to be warm before they will display 
 their real quality. For a long time we kept so close to 
 
 VOL. II. II
 
 98 T/ic Cradle of tlie Blue Nile. en. 
 
 the antelopes that had we been provided with lances 
 we could have speared them with ease. I tried firing ray 
 heavy Westly Richards rifle with one hand, but did not 
 try again, as the experiment nearly landed me on my 
 back in the dust. At last the antelopes gained the 
 hills, and we pulled up, but not until we had enjoyed 
 forty minutes run at a pace that one rarely sees with 
 any but the Exmoor stag-hounds. 
 
 Returning to the Arno Garno, we dismissed our at 
 tendants, and rode towards our former camp to look for 
 hippos. Near the Keman we encountered the old chief 
 who had accompanied us from Ambachara, gently urging 
 on with his spear a peasant who was walking before him 
 with a little jar of honey. The old man said it was the 
 only way he could get the villagers to pay their tithes. 
 Being unsuccessful in our search for hippos, we prac- 
 tised shooting at a hippopotamus' skull that lay on the 
 shore, and were afterwards on the point of plunging 
 into the lake for a swim, when a huge hippo who I 
 suppose had been attracted by the firing suddenly 
 poked his nose out of the water just below the rock 011 
 which we were standing. I did not much appreciate 
 the pleasure of bathing with him, so seized my rifle 
 and shot him in the head, after which he disappeared. 
 Our startled horses had broken loose, but we presently 
 overtook them and rode home by the light of the 
 newly-risen moon. As we n eared the camp we were 
 greeted with loud shouts from Alegas and the naph- 
 teiias, who, alarmed at our long absence, were starting 
 in search of us.
 
 OH. xxn. Our Return to Ambackara. 99 
 
 At 2.30 A.M. we attached white paper sights to our 
 rifles,* and waking the Witos, issued forth again to 
 look for hippos. This was to be our last expedition, as 
 it was now time that I should return to Ambachara for 
 the king's letters, and start on my homeward journey. 
 The night was cold, for lake Tzana lies at an elevation of 
 no less than six thousand two hundred and seventy feet 
 above the level of the sea, and is in fact the great reser- 
 voir of the rapid Blue Nile, which, bubbling up from its 
 source only a few days' march from the western shore, 
 flows into the lake and out again on the eastern side, 
 carrying down with it every year to the main trunk 
 of the Nile at Khartum, a wealth of water from the 
 lofty reservoir of the Abyssinian mountains, which 
 floods the plains of lower Egypt, and causes their 
 fertility. 
 
 We forded Arno Garno, and stole along the shore in 
 our stockings. Presently we heard the snort of a hippo, 
 and could just discern the dark outline of its body 
 where it stood grazing on a patch of grass some thirty 
 yards before us. We tried to get nearer, but the crack- 
 ing of a dead branch gave it the alarm, and away it 
 dashed, bending the mimosa trees right and left in its 
 course. Another hippo, which we had not perceived, fol- 
 lowed, and I had just time to put a bullet into the 
 centre of its flank as it rushed past. We ran down to 
 the shore to try to get another shot, but they were 
 already off into the deep water, the last one bellowing 
 
 * By this means we were able to take a fair aim at night. 
 
 H 2
 
 TOO The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxu. 
 
 loudly. Some time afterwards we saw their noses above 
 the lake, nearer land, and lay down to watch them. 
 
 My eyes were now much affected by the mists of 
 the lake, and the constant exposure to the baneful rays 
 of the moon, which in this country frequently produce 
 ophthalmia. However, by a perpetual use of laudanum, 
 both internally and externally, I had hitherto been able 
 to keep the disease from becoming very serious. 
 
 The moon went down, and darkness closed around, 
 yet still the hippos showed no disposition to move, so 
 C. and I decided to wade towards them, and walked 
 into the lake as far as we could go without swimming, 
 only to find that they had disappeared ; however, 
 on turning round, we saw them again to our right, 
 looming above the water like two great rocks. It being 
 too dark to take any aim, we determined to attack them 
 at close quarters, and approached to within ten yards of 
 them. The water now reached our arm-pits, and I could 
 feel the spray which the hippos occasionally blew from 
 their nostrils. We fired four shots in rapid succession, 
 and there was a tremendous commotion in the water, 
 but the bright flashes of our rifles made the darkness 
 appear so much more profound, that we could not see 
 what happened, except that the hippos had gone down, 
 so we left the Witos to watch for the bodies, with di- 
 rections to bring to us at the king's camp the teeth and 
 heads of any they should find, which they afterwards 
 did. We heard another hippo snorting near us as we 
 re-forded the Arno Garno, but had not succeeded in 
 finding it when we beheld
 
 CH. xxn. Our Return to Ambachara. 101 
 
 "The ruby red clouds in the cast 
 Float like islands upon the sea," 
 
 and in a few minutes it was broad daylight. 
 
 May Wth. When we reached the tent I had a 
 couple of mules saddled, and mounting one myself, and 
 placing a naphteila on the other as guide, started for 
 Ambachara, leaving C. to follow more leisurely with the 
 baggage and servants. There were gazelles on the plain, 
 and birds in the bush, but I pressed on as hard as I could 
 for the king's camp, without turning to the right or 
 left. We soon gained the foot of the highlands, and 
 passed below the dark 'battle men ted ruins of an old 
 palace, built for King Facil by the Portuguese settlers, 
 which stands, like an eagle's nest, on an eminence com- 
 manding a wide view of the plain and lake. Among 
 the flowers that grew by the way-side were some white 
 lilies, the delicate beauty of which struck me much ; the 
 prettiest variety had a broad purple stripe down the centre 
 of the leaf, and quite scented the air with its fragrance. 
 I got a farewell look at Tzana from the top of a steep hill 
 that separates the highlands from the vale, and about noon, 
 after five hours' hard riding, reached the royal camp, 
 where, to my chagrin and disappointment, I learnt that 
 K. had been ill, and the king's letters to the English 
 government were not even begun. I had promised to 
 be back in England in August, and now determined 
 finally to fix a day for my departure, and adhere to it, 
 hoping that when the king saw I was really leaving, he 
 would get the letters ready. M c Kelvie presently 
 called, and sat in the smoky hut all the afternoon,
 
 IO2 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. <-n. xxn. 
 
 talking about traits of native character, while K. lay 
 beside us on his bed of stones, suffering from an acute 
 attack of rheumatism, which had utterly prostrated him. 
 The Abyssinians are very quick witted, and are rarely 
 at a loss for an answer. M c Kelvie told me that a thief 
 at Gondar, once went into the market, and sat down 
 by a man who had several blocks of salt, which, as 
 I have said, represents money in Abyssinia. The 
 thief watched till the man turned his head away 
 to talk to a friend, and then appropriated the salt 
 to himself, and hid it under his kucirie, or blanket, 
 with the intention of slipping quietly off when he 
 could do so unremarked. But the owner of the salt 
 discovered his loss almost immediately, and began to 
 cry out loudly about it, so as to collect a great crowd 
 round him. " Ah ! " said the thief, calmly, lifting up the 
 fold of his Imarie, so as to display the property he had 
 stolen, "you should have kept your salt hidden under 
 your Jcuarie as I have done mine, there are so many 
 dishonest people about ; " and with this good advice he 
 covered up the salt again, and walked slowly away with 
 it. The same thief, being caught at last and brought 
 before Theodoras, the king asked him why he stole ? 
 " Steal," replied he, " that is to rob people secretly of 
 their property, but I do not do so ; what I take I take 
 before their faces, and if they let me do that, surely 
 your majesty cannot call it stealing ; " and Theodoras, 
 who loved a clever rejoinder, let him go. If I remem- 
 ber right, however, this thief went on " taking things 
 before people's faces," to such an extent that Theodoras
 
 <-ii. xxu. Our Return to AmbacJiara. 10' 
 
 had at last to have his right hand and left foot cut off, 
 which, as the king- grimly remarked, would stop this 
 thieving for the future. But, on the contrary, as soon 
 as his wounds were healed, lie went on stealing worse 
 than ever, for now nobody suspected him of being able 
 to steal, and he therefore did it with impunity. 
 M ( 'Kelvie said that Theodorus was often very generous, 
 and had been known to take a poor man into his 
 palace, give him a thousand dollars, and then turn him 
 out at the back door, bidding him not to tell any one. 
 
 Late in the evening C. and Alegas arrived alone, all 
 the napktenas and servants having remained behind on 
 the road. The Basha, it is true, although very tired, had 
 offered to remain with C., but one of his na^hteuas 
 had taken compassion on him, and acted as guide in his 
 place till he was sent to look for an antelope that Alegas 
 had shot, after which he also disappeared, and C. and 
 Alegas were left to find their way to Ambachara as best 
 they could, which was very badly, for they had lost them- 
 selves more than once among the intricacies of the hills. 
 
 May llth, Sunday. I copy textually from my diary, 
 " This morning I have been preparing for my journey, 
 I see the king will not let me leave till Tuesday, he is 
 however very anxious that we should be comfortable 
 while we are here. The other day he asked Maderakal 
 if he thought we should be vexed at his not having 
 sent us tea and sugar, ' for,' said he, ' you know I 
 have none to give them.' K. attends the king every 
 day. Yesterday the king asked him jokingly if he 
 could tell fortunes, and bid him tell that of Dedjatch
 
 IO4 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xx 
 
 Teffer} T , knowing that K. would say he had plenty of 
 money, some of which the king probably wanted to 
 get, as this chief has the character of being very ava- 
 ricious, and never pays his tribute punctually. K. 
 looked at Dedjatch Teffery's hand, and said he was a 
 rich man, and that he had escaped death four times, 
 and would escape it again, as he knew how to run 
 away. This greatly discomposed the worthy Dedjatch, 
 who was formerly a partisan of Gobasie, and, at the 
 defeat of that chief by the present king, ran away and 
 took refuge in a church, which gave him the right of 
 sanctuary. To escape from this church he had a goat 
 killed, and smearing himself over with the blood, 
 placed himself on a stretcher, and made some of his 
 people carry him forth, lamenting loudly. Prince Kassa's 
 soldiers saw the stretcher, and asked who was on it, but 
 they were told it was only a poor wounded soldier who 
 was being taken to his own village to die, and seeing the 
 body covered with blood they let it pass. Some days 
 afterwards the people of Tigre got wind of the trick, and 
 overtaking the party with the stretcher, demanded to 
 examine the wounds of the soldier they were carrying. 
 The Dedjatch in a weak voice said that they should do 
 so, merely begging that his own people should uncover 
 his wounds, and telling them to hold up their kuaries 
 round him while they stripped his body. The moment 
 he was thus concealed, he slipped off the stretcher, and 
 made a boy, who had really received a wound in the 
 shoulder, lie down in his place; he then wrapped a 
 white cloth round his head after the manner of the
 
 CH. xxn. Ojir Return to Ambackara. 105 
 
 turbans worn \>y tlie priests, and thus disguised, walked 
 through the throng telling his beads." 
 
 I find no entry in my diary of what the Dedjatch's 
 fourth escape was, but all his cunning does not seem to 
 have enabled him to cheat the skeleton and the scythe 
 a fifth time, for in May, 187-5, I received news from 
 Abyssinia telling me that poor Dedjatch Teffery was 
 no more. 
 
 " The king asked K. yesterday why the Turks were 
 strong, and the Abyssinians, who are Christians, weak? 
 He supposed it was because they had sinned so much. 
 K. said it was because they were not all united. The 
 king's eyes filled with tears, and rising from his seat 
 he retired to his tent, saying he was weary. To-day 
 he is full of warlike ardour, and wishes to fight the 
 Turks if the European Powers will not interfere to 
 stop their encroachments. K. has been to him twice, 
 and he is now writing his letters to the English Go- 
 vernment." 
 
 "I rode out with C. this afternoon, and gathered 
 some fine mushrooms. When Sir W. G., in a chance 
 conversation, showed me how to distinguish the edible 
 kinds, I little thought the knowledge would prove useful 
 in Abyssinia. Unfortunately I haye lost my field glass ; 
 I took it out of rny holster to make room for the mush- 
 rooms, and it must have become detached from the 
 sling while I was jumping my horse over one of the 
 enclosures in the camp ; rather a dear price to pay 
 for a dish of mushrooms." 
 
 On returning, we found a celebrated Abyssinian
 
 io6 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. . H. xxn. 
 
 doctor at our hut, who had extracted from the king's 
 neck a bullet, which had been there for nine years. 
 His system was simply to make a small incision over 
 the place where the bullet was supposed to lodge, into 
 which he then rubbed some medicine of so powerful 
 a character, that he declared it would make the bullet 
 work its way to the surface, and roll out from the 
 wound of its own accord, without any mechanical 
 aid at all. However, nothing would induce him to 
 divulge the nature of the medicine he employed. K. 
 said it Avas perfectly true that this man had fre- 
 quently extracted bullets in the most wonderful 
 manner, and, as K. had often declared that he had 
 two musket balls still lodged in his own body, we 
 suggested that he should let the doctor perform on 
 him, in our presence, for the benefit of science, on 
 the fiat experimentum in corpore vili principle. 
 K., however, did not appear to regard the matter 
 from the same point of view, and said he had be- 
 come so accustomed to his bullets, that he would 
 rather keep them. We were told that the doctor 
 sometimes sucked the bullet out through a hollow 
 reed which he applied to the wound, but everybody 
 agreed in saying that he extracted bullets without 
 using any probes or instruments. We also heard a won- 
 derful story how he had brought hundreds of worms 
 out of a man's head by anointing his ears and nostrils 
 with a certain ointment. 
 
 Maderakal visited us, and, hearing of the loss of my 
 field glass, said that he would send a priest through the
 
 < it. xxn. Our Return to Ambachara. 107 
 
 camp in the morning with bell, book, and candle, 
 to excommunicate anybody who should find it and 
 not return it to me. This is how they recover lost 
 property in Abyssinia. Maledictus sit ubicunque 
 fuerit, sive in domo, sive in agro, sive in via, sive in 
 seniita, sive in silvd, sive in aqua, sive in ecclesid, 
 &c., cOc'., as the Roman Church would say Like the 
 poor little jackdaw of Rheims, the finder of my glass 
 Avas to be followed by the curses of the Church 
 wherever he went, and whatever he did, until he 
 restored it. What an awful position to place a man 
 in ! There is no advertising medium in Ethiopia, 
 and he might keep the glass for an indefinite time 
 without ever knowing the awful fate that was pur- 
 suing him. Indeed, the glass has not been returned 
 to me yet, let us hope it was never found. The 
 Ancient Egyptians are said to have had an ingenious 
 way of recovering stolen property, but surely it was 
 nothing to this ! * 
 
 We spent the evening reading a packet of letters 
 and papers which had found its way to us from the 
 coast. It was a great pleasure to get news from home. 
 R., we learnt, had at last left Adowa with the baggage, 
 and, as I had now positively fixed my departure for 
 Tuesday, we sent M c Kelvie back to meet him, and 
 
 * "\Vhen an Egyptian thief determined to steal anything, he went to 
 the priest and inscribed his name, and after having stolen the thing, 
 carried it to the priest, to whom the person robbed also repaired, and 
 received back his property, on paying one-third of its value, which 
 went to the thief. ncyclopccdia Londincnsis, Art. Egypt.
 
 loS The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxn. 
 
 bring on the big medicine chest with all speed, that I 
 might renew my supply of quinine. The night was 
 bitterly cold, the wet season having now fairly begun in 
 the mountains.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 I BID ADIEU TO THE KING ARRIVAL AT THE CITY 
 OF GONDAR. 
 
 May 12f/i. The king sent for K. at 5 A.M. this 
 morning. He returned bringing the letters that his 
 Majesty had received from the Queen, Lord Granville, 
 and the Khedive. The Khedive had apparently 
 solemnly denied to the British Government all inten- 
 tion of encroaching on Abyssinia, and had made out a 
 plausible story about the necessity of protecting his 
 frontier, &c. Of course it is almost impossible to de- 
 cide who is in the right and who in the wrong in the 
 frontier raids which take place in so wild a country ; 
 but the fact of the gradual and systematic occupation 
 by Egyptian troops of districts formerly belonging to 
 Abyssinia, speaks pretty strongly of itself; and as- 
 suredly these same border raids, which Egypt professes 
 to deplore in so long-suffering a tone, must prove 
 rather profitable, when each one is followed by some 
 fresh annexation of territory. Moreover, these feuds 
 are favourable to the slave trade, and I have heard it 
 asserted that the Mahometans are to blame for en- 
 couraging them. Certainly there is evidence to point
 
 no The Cradle of the Blue Nile. <-H. xxm. 
 
 to such a conclusion, for I afterwards saw many 
 Abyssinian slaves in Egypt and Arabia, but curiously 
 enough I do not remember ever seeing an Arab em- 
 ployed as a slave by the Abyssinians. 
 
 The king's scribes were busy all day writing 
 draughts of the letters for the English Government. 
 We lent them our tent, as it was the only place where 
 a cabinet council could be held undisturbed by the cu- 
 riosity and importunity of the chiefs and courtiers who 
 attend the king. His Majesty's advisers, of course, 
 gave all sorts of conflicting advice, and some strongly 
 opposed his putting an end to the purchase and sale of 
 slaves. The king put off to the last moment com- 
 mitting himself positively to this step, and wanted me 
 to stay longer at his camp, but I adhered to my deter- 
 mination to leave on the morrow, and declared posi- 
 tively that unless the king bound himself to put down 
 the slave trade in the letters he was then writing to the 
 British Government I would not take them with me. 
 
 K. went again to the king, and was much troubled 
 at the continual presence in the council of a chief who 
 he had reason to know was in the pay of the Egyptians*. 
 When the secretaries left off work which they were 
 only too glad to do on the first pretext nothing had 
 been settled, and the letters were still unwritten. It 
 is always the same story throughout the East ! Every- 
 thing except death is put off till the morrow. 
 
 May ~L3th. K. was again called before sunrise to 
 attend his Majesty ; meanwhile, I began to have my 
 baggage packed for departure. C. had agreed to ac-
 
 en. xxni] Arrival at the City of Gondar. 1 1 1 
 
 company me as far as Goudar, after which he intended 
 staying some time longer with the king, and then re- 
 turning to Massowah through Abyssinia, when the 
 rains should have fallen. As I was pressed for time, I 
 had decided to make my way to Khartoum across the 
 plains of the Soudan and Upper Nubia, which, though 
 said to be frightfully hot at this season, could be tra- 
 versed more rapidly than the mountains of Abyssinia, 
 of which I had already sufficient experience. The 
 baggage from Adowa not having yet arrived, I deter- 
 mined to abandon it entirely, and the only difficulty 
 that now remained to be overcome was the want of 
 money, for one of my boxes of Maria Teresa dollars had 
 been abandoned with the other things our porters had 
 deserted near Guddofelassie. Fortunately, the king was 
 desirous of transmitting money to his newly appointed 
 consul in London, and on our giving him cheques for 
 200, ordered his treasurer to count us out a thousand 
 silver dollars, which were placed in a kuarie and borne 
 to our hut by a party of servants and naplttenas with 
 great state. As may be supposed, the king had never 
 seen a cheque before, and when K. explained to him 
 that it was an order for his consul to receive a thousand 
 dollars in gold from our treasure keepers, he asked where 
 the seal was, for in Ethiopia all documents are sealed 
 instead of signed, as is the usual custom throughout the 
 East. K., with ready wit, pointed out the embossed 
 penny stamp on the cheque, and the king was satisfied. 
 The thousand dollars, which were no small weight, 
 Laving been piled on the bed, two of the treasurer's
 
 H2 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 servants sat down and began to count them over before 
 us. One of these youths had quite a Venetian type of 
 head, and looked in his long striped silk robe, like a 
 figure out of a picture by Paul Veronese. K. went 
 twice to the king, whom he found busy dictating his 
 letters to his secretary. I asked if he had written the 
 clause about the slave trade, but he had not made up 
 his mind to do that yet. 
 
 At 9 A.M. we thought it prudent to get the mules 
 packed, and Mustafa and some of the boys sent for- 
 wards to Gondar with the baggage, as the king was 
 unwilling to let me go without his letters ; and I was 
 determined not to take them unless he kept his pro- 
 mise regarding the slaves, and at the last moment the 
 native servants might get frightened and not dare to 
 leave the camp without the royal permission. 
 
 At 10 A.M. Maderakal came, followed by some of the 
 king's pages, leading a beautiful cream-coloured horse, 
 fully caparisoned in the Abyssinian fashion, the head 
 stall and breastplate being profusely ornamented with 
 plates and bosses of solid silver. This was a present 
 from his Majesty, who also sent me one of his shields, 
 richly ornamented with silver work, a pair of the light 
 spears or javelins, with which Abyssinian horsemen 
 are armed, and a mule, with a curiously worked saddle 
 of scarlet and green leather, which is called in Abys- 
 sinia " the golden saddle," and can only be conferred by 
 the king, who permits none under the rank of Ded- 
 jatchmatch to use it. 
 
 Maderakal said that king Yohannes was now in his
 
 <H. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 113 
 
 banquet hall, whither I at once repaired to thank him ; the 
 horse,mule, shield,and spears being brought into the hall 
 after me. His Majesty received me graciously, but his 
 face darkened visibly when I told him that I must take 
 that opportunity of bidding him adieu, as I had duties 
 in the service of my own Sovereign which would render 
 it impossible for me to postpone my departure beyond 
 that day ; that to reach my country in time I should 
 now have to travel day and night without pause or 
 rest, and that I had delayed leaving him till the last 
 moment in the hope that I should have been able to 
 take charge of his letters as he had requested, and had 
 trusted they "would contain the pledges regarding the 
 suppression of the slave trade, which he had promised 
 me. I then bowed, and withdrew with my brother 
 from the royal presence, amid a profound silence, all 
 the chiefs who were grouped round the throne looking 
 uneasily at the king, as they must have been wont 
 to look at the dreaded Theodorus when anything 
 thwarted him. The chief whom K. believed to be in 
 the pay of Egypt stood craning his neck forwards as 
 far as he dared, with an expression of curiosity on his 
 features which was ludicrous in its intensity, as he 
 strove in vain to catch what passed, for Maderakal had 
 spoken in a very low voice while translating my adieu. 
 Dedjatch Area, the king's uncle, followed us to the 
 outer enclosure, and making us sit down on some 
 stones, said with great solemnity that he had a favour to 
 beg before we left. " Oh, chief ! " we said, " what is it 
 that you desire ?" and he replied that it was some aiiti- 
 vot, ii. i
 
 ii4 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 dyspeptic pills. It appeared that when the English 
 delivered him from the mountain on which he had been 
 imprisoned for fourteen years by Theodoras, an army 
 surgeon rendered his happiness complete by giving 
 him some antidyspeptic pills which, as long as they 
 lasted, enabled him to enjoy the good things of this 
 world ; but that now they were all gone, he was a 
 martyr to heartburn. C. promised him the pills, and 
 left him happy. It is not always that happiness is so 
 easily bestowed. 
 
 We returned to our hut, and bid the naphtcuas hold 
 themselves ready for departure, but I still lingered in 
 the hope that the king would bring his letters to a 
 satisfactory conclusion. At last Maderakal brought me 
 one of them, and translated it. His Majesty, in this 
 letter, pleaded for the arbitration of the English Go- 
 vernment between himself and Egypt, but he had not 
 made up his mind to pledge himself to the abolition 
 of the slave trade, as he had promised me he would ; 
 and I therefore sent back the letter, and refused to take 
 charge of it unless this promise was kept, for I had 
 now seen enough of the Abyssinians to know that 
 spoken words might be soon forgotten, while whatever 
 was -written was to them as the laws of the Medes and 
 Persians, and that if the king once pledged his word in 
 a written document issued under his great seal, he 
 would hold himself bound by it, when required to do so, 
 as by a solemn treaty. 
 
 Though the king's hour for holding audience was 
 over, I now determined to go to him, and make one
 
 en. xxm. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 115 
 
 last effort to induce him to take the important step he 
 had promised ; but Maderakal was very reluctant to ven- 
 ture into the royal presence any more, and declared that 
 his Majesty was in a dangerous humour at my having 
 forced him, by my departure, to decide one way or the 
 other ; and that as he was an absolutely despotic sove- 
 reign, it was not safe to cross him. K., however, volun- 
 teered to accompany me, and we walked up together 
 to the king's enclosure. I had just succeeded in re-cap- 
 turing the unwilling Maderakal, who had slipped away, 
 when we were nearly run over *by a crowd of terrified 
 courtiers, all rushing from the king's house at full 
 speed, and streaming down the hill in every direction. 
 The private secretary dashed past us with pens and 
 papers flying in the wind, nor ever stopped till he 
 reached our hut. With frightened faces and disordered 
 robes, the whole of the royal household were escaping 
 from the king's presence as if from Satan himself; and 
 when we asked the cause of all this, we were told 
 that his Ethiopic Majesty was in a furious rage, and 
 flogging people right and left. He had just had a 
 man's hand chopped off for stealing a gun, next he had 
 caused one of his great chiefs to be flogged before him 
 with the yiraff ; and had now despatched a gasha- 
 '-"</i'ij post haste for a new hippopotamus hide whip 
 with which to continue his castigations. Everybody 
 who could, had taken to flight, for no one knew on 
 whom the anger of the princely despot might be vented 
 next, and they implored us, as they rushed past, not to 
 go near him. Under these circumstances we thought 
 
 i 2
 
 n6 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 it wisest to keep away, and returned to the hut, where 
 we found Maderakal, who had made good his escape at 
 the first appearance of the panic. Barran Ban-as 
 Tachu, the chief of Chelga, who had previously been 
 appointed to accompany me to the Abyssinian frontier, 
 now came and asked when we wished to leave, appa- 
 rently deeming it wise to get away as soon as possible ; 
 but I decided to remain in the camp till midnight, 
 having promised the king to wait till the expiration of 
 the day for his letters, and therefore ordered him to be 
 ready when the moon should rise. He complained that 
 the road was very bad, but we laughed at his fears, and 
 dismissed him with a caution not to talk about our 
 departure, lest in the present temper of the king it 
 should be imprudent. Though I was resolved to leave that 
 night, as I had informed the king that I should do so, I 
 told K. I would remain at Gondar till the 16th, in 
 case the king, when he found that I had kept my word, 
 and was really gone, should make up his mind to keep 
 his, and forward me the letters he had promised, in 
 which case I would still take them with me to England. 
 
 After dinner we cleared the hut, and set to work to 
 assist K. in preparing the draught of a letter, em- 
 bodying the clause about the slave trade, which he was 
 to offer for the king's approval on the morrow. 
 
 As the evening wore on, the rain came down in tor- 
 rents, and a violent storm of thunder and lightning 
 shook the mountains, making the prospect of a night 
 ride anything but cheerful. However, at midnight, 
 when our writing was completed, feeling that I had
 
 on. xxm. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 117 
 
 now done all I could, I shook hands with K., and 
 prepared to start for Gondar, accompanied by C. and 
 the na/phteiias. 
 
 The men were in good spirits, considering the 
 weather, for we had supplied them liberally with 
 tedge, but the horses were in a wretched plight, and 
 frightened at the lightning. As I was leaving the camp 
 against the king's wishes, I determined to leave the horse 
 he had given me behind, so, taking the faithful bay which 
 I had ridden from Adowa by the bridle, I bid good-bye 
 to Ambachara. 
 
 The rain still continued to pour down as it only 
 does in these latitudes, and the night was pitch dark, 
 except when a lurid flash blinded us for a moment, 
 making our terrified nags start and tremble. Not a 
 light was to be seen in the camp, and, except our 
 immediate attendants, not a soul was aware of our 
 departure. For a long time we were obliged to walk 
 by our horses' heads, as the ground was like soap, 
 and they were in danger of slipping down every mo- 
 ment ; but, at last, after a great deal of sliding and 
 splashing, we got clear of the sleeping host, and rode 
 silently and wretchedly for two or three hours 
 W.N.W., till we came to the top of a steep hill, lead- 
 ing down to an extensive plateau. The track that we 
 followed for path there was none was literally knee 
 deep in mud, through which men and horses rolled and 
 slid promiscuously, occasionally catching in the bushes 
 that grew on the hill side, but quite unable to control 
 their movements, or regulate the speed of their descent.
 
 1 1 8 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 At the bottom of the hill was something very like an 
 Irish bog, and here we mounted our horses, and trusted 
 to Providence and their intelligence to get us through 
 it, which they did, though not without frequently gli- 
 sading twenty feet at a time, and occasionally splashing 
 up to their girths in water. We forded one or two 
 small rivers, and felt our way through some woods, 
 which were said to be inhabited by shouftas, or robbers, 
 from whose attacks, however, our escort of napktenas 
 rendered us quite safe. We were sick and ill with 
 wet, cold, and fatigue, and it was with no small pleasure 
 that w r e beheld the first warm rays of light appearing 
 in the East. 
 
 May I4<tk. When the sun rose at six o'clock, we 
 discovered that our progress through the darkness had 
 been so slow that we were only half way to Gondar. 
 Everybody was still asleep in a village through which 
 we passed, but riding across the plain before us we 
 espied, to our astonishment, a European on a mule. 
 This proved to be the Swiss Lewis whom I have before 
 mentioned. He told us that he had carried out his 
 intention of leaving the king's service, and had de- 
 livered his famous speech beginning "All powerful 
 Ethiop ! now happily Emperor of these mighty do- 
 minions. For two years have I, &c., &c; " but it seems 
 the king had ^failed to appreciate it, and had merely 
 ordered him to receive 100 dollars to pay his journey 
 out of the country. The rage of Lewis at this treat- 
 ment was the best comment possible on the professions 
 of devotion with which only a short time before he had
 
 cu. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 119 
 
 so profusely adorned his famous discourse, and he now 
 declared that he would be revenged, for he knew all the 
 passes of the mountains, and would go to the Governor 
 of Massowah and betray the King of Ab} 7 ssinia into his 
 power. " I will prove to Munzinger Pasha," said he, 
 in conclusion, "that I know Abyssinia, for King 
 Yohannes has bestowed upon me the full dress of an 
 Abyssinian warrior, and it is in this costume that I will 
 present myself at the Egyptian divan." As the French 
 missionary afterwards remarked to my brother, they 
 would probably take him for a monkey, and I believe 
 they did, at least I subsequently heard that he did not 
 produce quite the impression he had intended, the 
 Egyptian officials wisely deeming that a man who was 
 willing to betray his first master might betray his second. 
 Poor Lewis ! he was always trying to produce a 
 dramatic effect, and always failing. We left him still 
 vowing vengeance, and rode across a cultivated plain 
 till 11 A.M., when we at length came in sight of the city 
 of Gondar, grandly situated on a hill, with the lofty 
 table-lands of the Woggera rising behind it like a vast 
 amphitheatre. A river lay before us spanned by an 
 old Portuguese bridge with five arches. It is strange 
 that the Abyssinians do not know how to build bridges 
 when they have had this model before them for three 
 hundred years. The river wound backwards and for- 
 wards across the plain below Gondar in such a way that 
 it was necessary to cross it several times before we 
 could approach the heights on which the city stands. 
 We saw many women of the country drawing water,
 
 I2O The Cradle of the Blue Nile. m. xxm. 
 
 who had mostly short rounded figures, good-natured 
 faces, and were much lighter in colour than the people 
 of Tigre. We had now been marching for more than 
 eleven hours without a halt, and all our people, with 
 the exception of one indefatigable na.pldena, were out 
 of sight. As we began to ascend towards the city, how- 
 ever, we met our baggage mules under the charge of 
 Mustafa and our native servants, who, though they had 
 left Ambachara thirteen hours before us, had only just 
 arrived, having taken refuge in a wayside village from 
 the storm of the previous night. We now clambered 
 up a rocky ascent to a level plateau covered with grass, 
 which commanded a fine view of Gondar, and here we 
 pitched the tent and picketed the beasts. When the 
 chief of Chelga at last arrived, he proposed we should 
 lodge in the house of the Governor of Gondar, to whom 
 we had a letter from the king, but remembering our 
 previous experience of Abyssinian houses we decided 
 to stay where we were, and truly from our elevated 
 position we enjoyed a magnificent prospect not devoid of 
 romantic interest. 
 
 Before us to the north, stood the capital of Ethiopia, 
 perched on a spur of grey rock, and divided into two 
 quarters, one Christian, and the other Mahometan, 
 while behind, like a mighty wall, rose the heights of the 
 vast table-lands of the Woggera, stretching away to the 
 distant mountains of the Semyen. On our left "Debra 
 Tzai," the mountain of the sun, over the rugged crest 
 of which I must pass to reach Chelga, cast a dark 
 shadow across the plain, while behind us the fertile
 
 r. xxui. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 121 
 
 vales of Dembea extended to the S. AV., encircling the 
 demon-haunted lake Tzana, now glistening in the sun- 
 light like burnished steel. We could see the towers 
 of the magnificent castle which the hands of cunning 
 Indian architects raised here as if by enchantment in 
 the heart of the mountains of Ethiopia, dominating 
 the Christian quarter of this strange city, where, we 
 were told, that on moonlight nights, spotted leopards 
 might be seen clambering over the thatched roofs of the 
 houses like cats. In the subterranean vaults of the 
 ancient castle were said to lurk flying dragons, and 
 gigantic rats, as large as bull dogs, who, perhaps, are 
 hunted by the leopard cats in the still hours of the 
 night, and the country around teemed with weird and 
 fantastic legends. Here had dwelt that terrible lady, 
 Gouxa Herrut, who preserved her beauty by drinking 
 the blood of young children ; here still lived Chris- 
 topholos, the Greek magician, of whom I shall have 
 occasion to speak later. In the country that lies be- 
 tween Gondar, Chelga, and the Woggera, dwelt the 
 superstitious Kumants, w r ho yet adhere to the ancient 
 traditions of the Magi, worshipping fire, and bowing to- 
 big trees and the moon. To the N.N.E., were the 
 fierce people of Jiratan, who have tails, and are 
 cannibals that devour one another. Of more distant 
 tribes, like the Beni Temash,' who have human bodies- 
 and crocodiles' heads ; the swarthy diggers of copper 
 of the Fertit country, south of Darfour, who file their 
 teeth like ogres, and their near neighbours, the Beni 
 Kelb, the male portion of whom are dogs, and the
 
 122 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. <-n. xxm. 
 
 female lovely women ; I cannot speak without entering 
 on a wide field of mingled truth and fiction which would 
 take a volume to itself. I will only mention that in 
 the East there are firm believers in the Beni Kelb, and 
 female slaves reputed to have come from that country 
 fetch a very high price. The traveller who visits the 
 Beni Kelb, is said to be kindly received by the dogs, 
 who go forth to find him food, which is prepared by the 
 hands of their fair helpmates, but woe to the traveller 
 should he trifle with the affections of a Beni Kelb 
 maiden, for his hosts, the dogs, will then set upon him 
 and devour him.* 
 
 In the afternoon we went to explore the ruins of the 
 castleof Gondar. Our path followed the side of a deep and 
 rugged ravine overlooking the Mahometan or Kouffou\ 
 part of the city, as Alegas called it, which lay below us, 
 and extended up to the Christian quarter on the hill ; 
 from this upper town it was separated by a small run- 
 ning stream, which we were obliged to cross. Loose stones 
 were lying about everywhere, and the houses were in 
 no way different from the usual Abyssinian model, 
 being round in form, built without mortar, and covered 
 with conical thatched roofs. They were all huddled 
 together in inextricable, though very picturesque, con- 
 fusion, each man having apparently constructed his dwell- 
 ing where fancy dictated, 'and with the first stones that 
 came to hand. We entered a large open space or square, 
 where we saw a crowd of natives sitting under the shade 
 
 * See Mansfield Parkyns. 
 t Kouffou, bad or wicked.
 
 en. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 123 
 
 of a big tree. At our approach they all rose to their 
 feet, and our napktenaa having halted, the Governor 
 of Gondar, a handsome man of about fifty, whose head 
 contrary to the usual Abyssinian custom was covered 
 with a red tarboush, came forth to meet us. After a few 
 salutations, the whole party surrounded us, and set off 
 at a rapid pace for the castle. It would be as hopeless 
 to expect an Abyssinian crowd to abstain from following 
 one, as to expect flies to keep from a jar of treacle ! 
 
 Presently we saw before us a great square keep or 
 donjon, rising from a large and picturesque pile of 
 buildings surrounded by beautiful trees. This was the 
 palace of the kings of Ethiopia. The sky behind it 
 was magnificent, dark purple, with copper-coloured 
 thunder clouds, which seemed to touch the top of the 
 mountains. 
 
 As we advanced, we perceived what a splendid 
 building this palace, or rather castle, was. Lofty towers, 
 and battlemented w r alls and terraces, rose above the 
 foliage in all directions. We passed by a great tree 
 whose gnarled and twisted roots stood fifteen feet out 
 of the ground, supporting the trunk on a sort of natural 
 summer house, and entering a gate under a tower in 
 the castle-wall we found ourselves within the interior 
 court, now all overgrown with grass and weeds. The 
 castle itself consisted of a large and irregular block of 
 buildings piled picturesquely round an immense square 
 keep, of considerable height ; there were four smaller 
 round towers at the corners of this keep, and big beams 
 of blackened wood that had once on a time supported
 
 124 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 balconies, were still to be seen projecting from the walls 
 below the windows. In every crack and crevice, lovely 
 tropical creepers had taken root, clinging round the 
 ruins like a green garment. 
 
 Ascending a lofty flight of steps we entered the great 
 hall, which was dark and spacious ; the old gates and 
 shutters still remained, but were fast falling into decay, 
 and we seemed to hear 
 
 " The sound of time long passed 
 Still murmuring o'er us in the lofty void 
 Of these dark arches, like the lingering voices 
 Of those who long within their graves have slept." 
 
 From the windows there was a grand view of the 
 distant lake Tzami, rendered more than ordinarily 
 beautiful by the magnificent sunset-sky that now lit 
 up the whole scene and threw a ruddy glow over the 
 ruins. We passed through many corridors and vaulted 
 chambers, and ascended to a terrace above the great 
 hall, but we could not gain the summit of the keep, as 
 the flying wooden staircase, which had formerly existed 
 outside it, had rotted away. We were astonished at 
 every turn by the beauty and picturesqueness of the 
 piles of buildings that clustered round the great tower 
 of the castle, and by the grand solidity of the masonry. 
 Long battlemented walls stretched into the distance, 
 and scattered over various parts of the park -like grounds 
 and deserted gardens were groups of beautiful towers, 
 decorated with fanciful tracery in red stone, which gave 
 them a semi-Moorish appearance. Indeed, I at first 
 took the red stone ornamentation for brick-work. The
 
 m. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 125 
 
 palace had evidently been designed by the old Portu- 
 guese adventurers on the plan of a medieval stronghold, 
 but the Indian workmen they had employed had given 
 to it a fantastic character all its own, and everywhere 
 the gorgeous foliage of the creeping plants, hung in 
 graceful festoons from tower and battlement as if 
 tenderly striving to hide the rents that time had made 
 even in these massive walls. 
 
 As we gazed from a lofty window in the keep at the 
 deepening tints of the stormy sky strange night birds 
 dashed out from the recesses of the inner chambers, and 
 sweeping close past our heads, sailed away on outspread 
 wings into the twilight. An Aclicoco, one of the 
 gigantic tribe of Abyssinian rats, fully two feet long, 
 emerged from some subterranean dungeon and scam- 
 pered along the crumbling wall : here and there, in the 
 deep shades of the passages leading to the underground 
 chambers of the castle, we could hear a rustling amongst 
 the dead leaves, probably caused by some of the leopards 
 that abound among these ruins, and sally forth when 
 the veil of night has fallen upon the earth. In fact, 
 the whole scene reminded one of some weird legendary 
 castle of romance, and it was hard to realize that the 
 old Portuguese settlers had reared this vast edifice only 
 for the semi-savage monarchs of Ethiopia, and that it 
 had never been peopled by doughty knights and fair 
 ladies. Certainly the little band of adventurers who came 
 to Abyssinia under the brave Cristobel da Gama in the 
 sixteenth century, left a noble and lasting monument 
 behind them in the palace they built at Gondar.
 
 126 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxm. 
 
 We stood for a long time on the castle terrace watch- 
 ing the storm-clouds gather, like a host of winged genii, 
 over the dark range of highlands before us. At one 
 moment the sky was all purple and burnished copper, 
 with rain falling in the distance; then it became 
 glorious with crimson and gold, as the sinking sun 
 threw a farewell glow over Gondar, and again it changed 
 to a dark sombre green, illuminated by vivid flashes of 
 violet lightning, which from time to time revealed the 
 gleaming surface of the distant lake, while the deep roll 
 of thunder echoed all around, shaking the old ruins, 
 and reverberating through the empty vaults and pas- 
 sages of the castle till they resounded as if they had 
 been built of the sonorous marble of Campanini. 
 
 What Milton would have called ' Cimmerian dark- 
 ness ' had closed around when we began to retrace our 
 steps, and heavy drops of rain were already beginning 
 to fall. We could only stumble our way along the 
 rocky path that traversed the side of the ravine by the 
 help of the bright flashes of lightning that almost 
 blinded us every other minute, while the mingled roar 
 of thunder and rushing water, prevented us from hear- 
 ing our own voices. Soon after we reached home the 
 rain began to descend in earnest, and even the double 
 roof of our tent was quite inadequate to keep out the 
 torrents of water which poured down upon it like a 
 second deluge, bidding fair to float us bodily into the 
 swollen stream below, while every now and then fierce 
 gusts of wind whistled through the straining cords, and 
 flash after flash of lightning, following one another in
 
 ( H. \\iir. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 127 
 
 rapid succession, cast a lurid and fitful light over the 
 ruins of the ancient town. We could hear the frightened 
 horses and mules plunging madly as they pulled at 
 their tether ropes, but there was no one to watch them 
 now, for guards, servants, and porters had all fled to 
 the town for shelter, and we were as solitary on the 
 isolated bluff of rock where our tent was pitched, as if 
 we had been encamped in the desert of Sahara. How- 
 ever, there was little to fear from man or beast. On 
 such a night as this, the most ravenous hyena, or daring 
 leopard, would prefer the darkness and safety of his lair 
 to the lightning and tempest outside ; and as for man, 
 though he sometimes emulates the cruelty of a beast of 
 prey, he rarely equals him in courage when bent on an 
 evil purpose. So having lighted a fire inside the tent, 
 for the fire outside had been long since extinguished, 
 we cooked a hasty meal and proceeded to the calm 
 enjoyment of our pipes, after which we lay down on our 
 soaking carpets, and were soon as sound asleep as if we 
 had been lying on beds of down, instead of in a pool of 
 mud and rain-water three or four inches deep. 
 
 May loth. When we opened our eyes in the morn- 
 ing the weather had not changed for the better, and the 
 city of Gondar was only dimly visible through the mass 
 of falling water. Everything was soaking wet, and, as 
 it was impossible to light a fire, we had to send Mustafa 
 to cook our breakfast in the town. 
 
 About mid-day two visitors made their way to us in 
 spite of the weather. One was an Assyrian merchant, 
 who had come to Gondar from the Soudan to trade, but
 
 128 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 having had his goods seized by Ras Warenia, then 
 absolute master of Amhara, was now waiting for King 
 Yohannes to redress his wrongs. The other was a Greek, 
 called Christopholos, who had been twice put in chains 
 by Prince Kassa, for aiding and abetting the rebel 
 chief Gobasie, in whose ranks he had fought, armed 
 with an enormous elephant gun that dealt destruction 
 on all who came Avithin its range. He was now living 
 at Gondar, ostensibly as a gunsmith, an art beyond the 
 skill of the Abyssinians ; but it was whispered through- 
 out this part of Ethiopia that he was really a magician, 
 most of whose time was passed in studying the 
 black art, and, as it afterwards appeared, popular 
 report for once spoke true. But notwithstanding the 
 strange and sinister rumours we had heard about this 
 man, we were quite unprepared for his extraordinary 
 appearance. Looking at him from a distance, and 
 watching his swift sure step, his lithe agile figure, and 
 the almost cat-like activity of his movements as he 
 sprang from stone to stone of the rocky path, you would 
 have said he was in the very prime of youth and 
 strength, but when you saw his face you seemed to be 
 in the presence of a man over whose head at least a 
 hundred years had passed, and it was not a little start- 
 ling to behold the young shoulders thus surmounted by 
 a haggard, wan visage, through which the death's head 
 showed so conspicuously. 
 
 There are stories of people whose hair has turned 
 white in a single night, and Christopholos, with his 
 stricken, blasted look, might well have passed for one of
 
 in. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 129 
 
 them. His face was perfectly colourless, a dead mat 
 white, and the low, narrow forehead was furrowed as if 
 by the cares of centuries. The teeth were slightly pro- 
 jecting, and there were two little hard lines at the 
 corners of the thin lips, that made you instinctively 
 feel that this man might be cruel, with a ferocious 
 cruelty like that of the feline races, that increases in 
 intensity as it is indulged. His hair hung in long locks 
 over his neck from under a black cap, but it was 
 perfectly bleached, as were his eyebrows, beard, and 
 moustache ; his nose was sharp and aquiline, with the 
 skin tightly dra\vn over it, Avhile, at either side, the 
 small, red, deep-set eyes sparkled like live coals, giving 
 a peculiar air of fire and energy to the worn and 
 battered mask in which they were set ; however, beyond 
 a certain look of latent fierceness, and of some past 
 passions that had left an indelible mark on his 
 features, there was little in the countenance of 
 the Greek necromancer to betray his actual thoughts, 
 just as his appearance gave not the slightest clue 
 to his real age, which might have been anything 
 between thirty and a hundred. He was dressed 
 in a blouse of blaCk cotton, confined at the waist 
 by a black leather belt, supporting a brace of re- 
 volvers, which he wore behind him, so as to be ready 
 at need to either hand ; he spoke Italian fluently, 
 and expressed himself with some grace, saying that 
 he hoped we would come to his house, and offering 
 to be our guide through the ruins of the castle when 
 next we wished to ^ee them. As nothing could be 
 
 VOL. II. K
 
 1 30 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. m. xxm. 
 
 more dreary than our soaking tent, we gladly accepted 
 this offer, and accompanied him back to his dwelling, 
 which was in the Christian quarter of Gondar, and 
 more comfortable than the houses we had hitherto 
 seen. I noticed two Ethiopian crosses carved in wood 
 nailed against the wall, one of which he gave me, 
 seeing I was struck by its peculiar form. He also sent 
 a slave in search of skins and native silver work, as we 
 had expressed a desire to purchase some. In the 
 meanwhile we examined a few books that he had, all 
 of which were full of magical signs and formulae traced 
 on the blank leaves, but he seemed unwilling to talk of 
 magic, though he showed us a large collection of drugs 
 and poisons, some if he was to be credited possessing 
 most marvellous properties. Presently the slave re- 
 turned, bringing a number of quaint silver ornaments, 
 prettily worked in filigree. There was a pair of 
 anklets to which were hung numbers of little pen- 
 dants, that tinkled like bells, and there "were chains 
 supporting silver boxes for charms or relics, to be worn 
 on the breast and back, for charms are much esteemed in 
 Abyssinia, and even the horses and mules are generally 
 adorned with a necklace of little leather bags containing 
 spells against various misfortunes. 
 
 Working silver and leather seem to be the two 
 elegant arts the Abyssinians possess, and I believe they 
 learned the art of working silver originally from some 
 Armenians, who came to Gondar, and were detained 
 there by the Ethiopian sovereigns, who were jealous of 
 letting such ingenious people leave the country. It is
 
 <n. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 131 
 
 not, however, easy to buy much of this silver work, unless 
 some lady happens to wish to sell her trinkets, as the 
 silversmiths only make things to order, and take a very 
 long time about it. When an Abyssinian lady wishes for 
 a set of ornaments, she sends to the smith the necessary 
 weight of silver in dollars, and gives him half as many 
 dollars again for his work. Thus a pair of anklets, 
 containing twelve dollars weight of silver, are worth 
 eighteen dollars. The silver of the old Austrian Maria 
 Theresa dollars, which is the only silver used in 
 Abyssinia, is not very pure, and most of the filigree 
 work of the country is somewhat rude and coarse, 
 though I have seen some chains that were beautifully 
 fine and supple. 
 
 We bought several ornaments, and received a visit 
 from the Governor of Goudar, after which we started 
 on another excursion to the castle. The Greek pointed 
 out to us, en route, a building said to be the tomb of 
 Sultan Facil's horse, and we went into an old church, 
 called Sultan Facil's Church, which was now being 
 repaired. There were frescoes on the walls like those 
 we had seen in the cathedral at Axum, and we were 
 much struck by the portraits of a couple of the kings of 
 Ethiopia, lynsiau Negous and Kesukeyasu Negous, 
 painted on panels covered with cotton-cloth. The 
 two monarchs were depicted sitting on their thrones, 
 wearing the great crown of Ethiopia, and attended 
 by two very small men, holding two very large 
 umbrellas over their heads, while at the feet of 
 one was a man in chains, probably somebody the 
 
 K 2
 
 132 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 king had overcome ; but whether intended for a rebel 
 chief or the devil, I do not know. We also saw a sketch 
 on parchment of a Virgin and Child, by a modern Abys- 
 sinian artist, which, though very quaint, was much better 
 than I should have expected. In the yard of the 
 church was the tomb of Consul Plowden * (Basha 
 Plowden, as the Abyssinians call him), a little hut built 
 of stones, in which an old priest now lives. 
 
 As we made our way to the castle, which stands on 
 an elevated tract of ground behind the city of Gondar r 
 Christopholos related wonderful stories of horned dra- 
 gons, and other dreadful beasts that he had sometimes 
 encountered among the ruins. These stories were much 
 on a par with Tedlar's tales of the flying snakes of the 
 Walkit, and a monstrous serpent, thirty cubits long, 
 that is said to inhabit the shores of Lake Tzaua, but 
 which we had fortunately not come across. However, 
 Christopholos spoke with the strongest conviction, and 
 appeared really to believe that dragons did dwell in the 
 subterraneous vaults of the castle. Perhaps he had 
 seen in the dusk of the evening one of the gigantic race 
 of African lizards, called, I think, Iguano, which are 
 ugly enough to frighten anybody. 
 
 We entered the castle through some of the lower 
 chambers : these were nearly dark, and numbers of 
 frightened bats flitted past us as we made our way up 
 a narrow flight of red-stone steps into the great hall, 
 on the walls of which we remarked some Indian or 
 Moorish designs, and the cross of Solomon often 
 
 * Plowden was speared in the time of Tlieodoms.
 
 < n. xxin. Arrival at the City of Gondar, 133 
 
 repeated. In front of the windows was a big tree, on 
 which Sultan Facil, for whom, the Abyssinians say, this 
 castle was built, used to hang his prisoners ; and in a 
 chamber of one of the round towers we found, clinging 
 to the rafters, a family of some thousands of bats that 
 had multiplied there undisturbed, and now covered the 
 entire roof of the chamber, filling it with a mysterious 
 noise. We afterwards passed out on a flat terrace, the 
 pavement of which was pierced with round holes, large 
 enough to admit the body of a man ; these commu- 
 nicated with a subterranean dungeon below, wherein 
 pointed stakes were placed, on which prisoners thrown 
 down these oubliettes used to be impaled. In the centre 
 of the castle green grew a curious tree, with clusters of 
 spear-shaped leaves, radiating like stars from a stout 
 stem : it is called Berbera, by the natives, who 
 declare that it only grows in this country, and has 
 great medicinal virtues, among others, that of making 
 fish drunk and insensible, if its leaves be soaked in the 
 waters of a stream. 
 
 As we passed out of the principal block of building 
 we encountered a second of the gigantic Abyssinian 
 rats, called achcoco; it was as large as a badger. We also 
 saw the stables where of old the kings of Abyssinia 
 kept their lions. 
 
 Scattered through the grounds that surround the 
 original castle, are several smaller palaces erected at 
 different dates, one of these, called the Ladies' Palace, 
 is charmingly ornamented with red stone work in the, 
 Moorish style, and the very flowers and trees that grow
 
 134 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 wild about it seem to Lave a more graceful beauty than 
 those elsewhere : here the jasmine spreads a pleasant 
 fragrance around, and the echo of the voices of the 
 beautiful Ethiopians, who once trod these deserted 
 walks, seems still to float softly through the air, while 
 it is on the pink walls of this palace that the last rays 
 of the sun always appear to linger longest before it 
 sinks in the west. 
 
 " You may break, you may ruin, the vase if you will, 
 But the scent of the roses will cling round it still." 
 
 One of the buildings commanded our admiration from 
 the great height of its fine arched roof. Here and there, 
 the Portuguese had introduced reminiscences of the 
 Moorish ruins in Portugal, while on the floor of one of 
 the halls we noticed a rude and grotesque carving of a 
 lion, a goat, a man smoking, and some flowers. We 
 saw a pretty palace that had been built for an 
 Abyssinian queen, named Muntuav, and remarked that 
 the masonry, even where intended as ornamental, was 
 always exceedingly strong and massive, while the in- 
 troduction of round towers at various points gave a 
 castellated effect to the whole group of buildings which 
 covered a very large space of ground. 
 
 King Theodoras set fire to the palace of Gondar 
 when he thought the British troops were coming to in- 
 vade ^Abyssinia from the Egyptian side ; he is also 
 said to have had forty thousand head of cattle slain in 
 Amhara, which, putrifying, caused a plague in the 
 country.
 
 . xxm. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 135 
 
 At some distance from the other buildings stood the 
 palace of Ras Michael. This was a more modern erection, 
 built in imitation of the old Portuguese edifice by 
 native workmen. It Avas the first attempt I had seen 
 on the part of the Abyssinians to follow the architectural 
 models of the Portuguese ; and though the masonry was 
 rude, it was solid, and showed that it is more idleness 
 than want of ability that has made the Abyssinians 
 neglect architecture, as they neglect agriculture, and 
 almost all other civilised arts. Perhaps, too, the ne- 
 cessity of having constantly to defend their mountains 
 against the attacks of enemies, has had something to 
 do with the disdain in which they hold all pursuits 
 except those of war and the chase. 
 
 Before returning we went to see a new church that 
 had just been built. The whole of the walls, from 
 floor to roof, were covered with paintings in distemper, 
 like those we had seen at Axum, proving that the art 
 of painting has not quite died out in Abyssinia, though 
 it is much neglected. The colours were brilliant, and 
 there was a Byzantine character about the way in 
 which several subjects were introduced into one panel, 
 but the surroundings of the sacred personages were 
 decidedly Ethiopian. One group depicted our Lord 
 drinking tedgc with the Virgin Mariam, while St. Peter 
 sat nursing his bottle in the background. Another 
 painting represented Mahomet being dragged off his 
 famous white Arab mare by the devil ; a third showed 
 Sultan Facil regally attired, with a saint's nimbus about 
 his head ; and there was a very awful picture of a big
 
 1 36 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxm. 
 
 blue devil, with blue horns, white teeth, and round red 
 eyes, eating up little black men, supposed to be sinners, 
 while the good people going to heaven had all beautiful 
 white skins. When we returned to the Greek ma- 
 gician's house we learned that there were no skins of 
 wild beasts now for sale in Gondar, as the king had 
 bought up all he could a short time previously, to have 
 them converted into lemds, the fur tippets which he con- 
 fers on the chiefs whom he wishes to honour. The value 
 of a lion's skin in Gondar was about fifteen dollars- 
 Darkness having now set in, we invited Christopholos 
 to dine with us in our tent, whither we proceeded on 
 some mules he had procured. After dinner we pur- 
 posely led the conversation to the subject of magic, 
 and, as the evening wore on, I began to talk of the 
 powers of the Cabala and other spells that I had 
 read of in old books. This induced Christopholos to 
 drop his reserve, and at last he confessed that his prin- 
 cipal object in coming to see us, was to know if we had 
 brought a divining-rod with us, as he believed there was 
 gold to be found in the neighbourhood, and had hoped 
 we might have one to lend him. I replied gravely, 
 that unfortunately we had omitted to include a divining- 
 rod among our baggage, but that if the common 
 hazel grew in the country, he could make one for 
 himself by following the prescribed formula. This led 
 to a further discussion on the science of necromancy, 
 into which he entered with the greatest interest and 
 enthusiasm, and there seemed little doubt that he 
 really believed in the black art, and his own powers
 
 CH. xxin,. Arrival at the City of Gondar. 137 
 
 as a magician. He declared that by taking the fat of 
 bears and wolves, tempering it with the blood of men 
 or serpents, and mixing the whole with a certain herb 
 that grew in the country, a candle could be made, 
 which, when lighted, would conjure up a phantom host 
 of armed men, who would appear to surround the 
 holder of the light ; he also said that he knew of a certain 
 medicine which would render one perfectly invisible, 
 and seriously averred that his old chief, Gobasie, had 
 used it, and that it was through the possession of some 
 such drug that the redoubtable Aba Kassie had always 
 been able to make his escape, even when most securely 
 chained and guarded. He told us of an ointment 
 that made one's limbs so supple that one could with- 
 draw them from the tightest fetters, and of another 
 
 o * 
 
 that would render iron as soft as wax, so that it could 
 be broken with the greatest ease. I asked if he knew 
 how to make the potent ointment that enabled the 
 Abyssinian doctor, we had seen at the king's camp, to 
 extract bullets without surgical aid, but he confessed 
 that this was a secret he had not yet been able to dis- 
 cover, though he hoped soon to do so, and knew of a 
 drug that was better still, as it would preserve one from 
 bullets altogether. He, moreover, declared that he had 
 actually attempted most of the spells he had spoken of, 
 and could give us ocular proof of their potency if we 
 allowed him time to prepare them. The hours passed 
 quickly in such conversation, and it was late before our 
 strange guest left us, to prepare ourselves by sleep for 
 the fatigues of the morrow.
 
 CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 
 THE E1DE TO THE FRONTIER. 
 
 May 16th. Not a trace of the storm remained. 
 The tropical sun had spread its glamour over the land, 
 and though the swollen river still rushed madly over 
 the grey rocks, its spray glistened with the varied 
 colours of the rainbow, and the air was sweet with the 
 fragrance of flowers, and gay with the song of birds and 
 the hum of insects. Our tent, too, no longer stood 
 deserted and alone ; the Governor of Gondar, Christo- 
 pholos the Magician, Barran Barras Tachu the chief 
 of Tchelga, and many others were waiting outside to 
 see me ; for to-day I had decided to start on my home- 
 ward journey through those great plains of the Soudan 
 and Upper Nubia which lay between me and Khartum 
 on the White Nile. 
 
 I had been told that the deserts of Upper Nubia 
 would be a sort of Gehennum on earth at this time of 
 the year, as the rains had not yet fallen, and for nine 
 months the thirsty sand had been baking under the 
 rays of the African sun. But I preferred taking this* 
 route, as I hoped to travel faster over the plains on a 
 camel, than I could through the interminable and road- 
 less mountains of Abyssinia ; and I had now tarried so
 
 <H. xxiv. The Ride to the Frontier. 139 
 
 long at the Court of King Johannes, that I had no time 
 to lose if I wished to reach England at the time my 
 duty required. Moreover, I was anxious to arrive at 
 Wakhni, the frontier village of Abyssinia, before the 
 next market-day, in order that I might join the mer- 
 chants returning to Galabat through the forests which 
 form a sort of debateable land between the Abyssinian 
 and Egyptian territory, and which were said to be 
 overrun by fierce and predatory tribes, owning alle- 
 giance to neither country, and much addicted to plun- 
 dering small parties. 
 
 It did not take long to prepare for my departure. 
 C. having decided to remain in the highlands of Abys- 
 sinia till after the approaching rainy season, I was 
 thenceforward to be alone ; and I therefore left with 
 him the tent and baggage, determining to take with 
 me only what was absolutely necessary for the home- 
 ward journey. A bag of flour, another of coffee, some 
 pieces of native cloth, a hundred cartridges for my 
 Westley-Richards rifle, and rather more than seven 
 hundred dollars in silver, composed the principal part 
 of my luggage, which was packed on four mules. 
 
 While I was busy with these preparations I was 
 honoured by the visit of a dirty old man, who announced 
 himself as the Sheik of the Mahometan quarter of 
 Gondar, and brought me a long straight sword, of the 
 kind used by the Hamran Arabs, which he said was a 
 present, though when I offered him in return a very 
 beautiful necklace of Turin beads the only trinket I 
 had left he expressed a wish for something more;
 
 140 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. . xx 
 
 and when I accordingly gave him a couple of dollars, 
 and imagined I had got rid of him, he presently re-ap- 
 peared, to say he had noticed among my things a new red 
 tarbousk, and lifting from the folds of his turban a very 
 old greasy cap, offered to exchange with me,- always for 
 the sake of friendship. This was too much for my 
 patience, and I bid him begone, and Allah be with 
 him ! 
 
 I felt disappointed and vexed that I had not received 
 the letters the king had promised me, for all my efforts 
 of the last three weeks now appeared to have been 
 thrown away. M c Kelvie, too, who we had hoped would 
 by this time have overtaken us with the medicine-chest, 
 had not arrived ; so that I was unable even to provide 
 myself with drugs in case of illness. 
 
 However, before the sun was high in the heavens we 
 were all in the saddle, and riding down the ravine 
 leading to the river that flows below Gondar. As we 
 approached it we saw a young maiden bathing herself 
 in its sparkling waters, quite unconscious of our gay 
 cavalcade ; but when our horses entered the stream she 
 heard the jingling of the harness, and, looking round 
 for a moment, with her big black eyes wide open, 
 bounded lightly away among the rocks, like a fright- 
 ened Diana. 
 
 Christopholos and my Abyssinian friends now bade 
 me good-bye, but C. rode with me up the rocky ascent 
 of " the mountain of the sun," at the other side of 
 the river. We had almost gained the top, and I was 
 taking a last look at the old palace of " the King of
 
 < ii. xxiv. The Ride to the Frontier. 141 
 
 Kings," and the grey stone houses of the Ethiopian 
 capital, which in all human probability I should 
 never see again, when we perceived two horsemen 
 following us at full gallop, their horses all covered 
 with foam and mud, as if they had ridden through the 
 night. One of these horsemen was evidently from the 
 king's camp, and carried something white in his hand, 
 which he waived over his head ; while the other was 
 the Governor of Goudar, in his silk dress, apparently 
 mounted on the horse the king had given me, and 
 which I had left behind at Ambachara, for I could see 
 the silver harness glittering in the sunlight. 
 
 There was no doubt now that a message had arrived 
 from his Ethiopic Majesty, and one of importance, as 
 the governor was bringing it in person. We imme- 
 diately halted our party, and waited the advent of the 
 messengers with some anxiety ; for after the explosion 
 of royal anger I had witnessed at Ambachara, I was 
 not quite sure what the king's message might portend, 
 though I was determined, if necessary, to resist any 
 attempt to detain me longer in the country. 
 
 Our suspense, however, was not of long duration ; 
 the panting horses soon gained the top of the mountain 
 path, and, leaping from the saddle, the Governor of 
 Gondar threw himself at my feet, and handed me a 
 sealed packet. I tore it open, and, to my great relief, 
 found it contained the letters from the king to Lord 
 Granville, promising solemnly, if the English Govern- 
 ment wished it, to use every means to abolish the 
 slave-trade in Ethiopia. This was extremely cheering,
 
 142 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. <H. xxiv. 
 
 for I knew that the king would consider his sealed and 
 written promise to the Government as binding, and 
 with a very little encouragement from the Foreign 
 Office, would do much to check the slave-trade in this 
 part of Africa ; all the more that the Abyssinian slave- 
 traders, being Mahometans, he did not regard them 
 with favour. In addition to these letters, there was a 
 note from K., who told me the king, as soon as he found 
 I was really gone, had despatched the letters to follow 
 me with all haste, and had already issued orders about 
 the laws to be enforced against slave-dealing. 
 
 It appeared that the horsemen who brought the 
 despatches had ridden hard all night, but had only 
 reached Gondar as the governor was returning from 
 bidding me adieu. My new horse, notwithstanding the 
 forty miles he had traversed, was looking full of fire, 
 and I was very glad to get him, as my poor bay had 
 been very hard worked of late, and was falling out of 
 condition. 
 
 It was now time for C. to leave me, so, exchanging a 
 long shake of the hand, we said farewell, and parted : 
 he to return to the king's court at Ambachara, where 
 he' wished to stay some time longer, and I to continue 
 my solitary journey northward through the Nubian 
 deserts. 
 
 I felt very sad as our two little parties lost sight of 
 one another in the distance, for who could tell if we 
 should meet again, or either of us ever reach home at 
 all ? Does not Asrael, the Angel of Death, who, ac- 
 cording to Eastern tradition, sits on high, chronicling in
 
 <!!. xxiv. T/tc Ride to the Frontier. 143 
 
 his eternal book the names of those who are born, every 
 instant raise his hand also to blot out the name of some 
 one who has lived his allotted time, and must die ? 
 Life, which at all times is uncertain, seems doubly so in 
 Africa, where the wanderer has to encounter a treach- 
 erous climate, a warlike and uncivilised people, and 
 forests teeming with large game. A traveller will do 
 well, however, not to let such gloomy thoughts occupy 
 his mind. As Sir Samuel Baker says : " In this 
 country any grief of mind will ensure an attack of fever, 
 to which all are more or less predisposed during the 
 unhealthy season." But I believe the great secret of 
 health in all countries, is to encourage cheerfulness in 
 oneself and others. 
 
 I was now alone on my homeward journey, without 
 even an interpreter, through whom I could make myself 
 understood by my attendants, for Mustafa only spoke 
 Arabic, and Alegas had remained with C. However, 
 before starting I had asked Barran Barras Tachu, 
 whose name, by the way, was pronounced like a sneeze, 
 how long it would take to reach Tchelga, and on his 
 coolly replying five or six days, I had explained to him 
 that I did not wish to go from village to village to 
 indulge the plundering propensities of his naphteiias, 
 and that he must manage to reach Tchelga that night, 
 or I would send him back to the king. We therefore 
 rode briskly forwards in a nearly straight line W.S.AV., 
 across a level table-land that gradually merged into un- 
 dulating hills, covered with scanty bush. 
 
 Presently Mustafa came up beside me and said :
 
 144 The Cradle of the Bine Nile. <-H. xx 
 
 " You know that Greek, sar, who came to your 
 tent ? " 
 
 " You mean Christopholos, Mustafa ? " 
 
 " Yes, sar ; I know his face when I see him, sar : he 
 live once in Cairo. He live for six years in the same 
 house with an Italian, near the Turkish bazaar, and he 
 profess to be his very good friend, and eat with him 
 every day, sar ; but after six years he find out where 
 this man keep his money, and at supper he give him 
 wine, and they drink together, and when his friend the 
 Italian fall asleep, he take a knife and cut off his head, 
 and throw it out of the window into the yard ; and 
 then he take the money and go away, leaving the body 
 upstairs on the table. I know him at once, sar, for I 
 was in Cairo when that happen." 
 
 " Well, Mustafa, it seems I have had a murderer to 
 dine with me ; but why did you not tell me this 
 before ? " 
 
 " I not dare, sar. You see his eye he never forgive 
 anybody he kill me if I tell you, sar. I not dare to 
 do so when he was there." 
 
 So this was one of the terrible episodes which had 
 left their shadow on the face of Christopholos ; certainly 
 the magician was not a pleasant man to have either as 
 a friend or an enemy. 
 
 We skirted the country of the Kumants, whom I 
 have before alluded to as worshipping fire, big trees, 
 and the moon. They have anything but a prepossessing 
 type of countenance, their jaws being heavy and pro- 
 jecting, and their foreheads narrow and pointed. I was
 
 en. xxiv. The Ride to the Frontier. 145 
 
 told they are worse than the Gallas, who at least 
 remain faithful to their friends ; while these people 
 will kill any man, even for a single piece of the 
 common bread of the country. Their mode of gaining 
 a livelihood is, if not strictly honest, ingenious ; for 
 they live by carrying wood to Gondar to build houses 
 with, and generally, soon after the house is built, re- 
 turn at night and set it on fire, so as to have to bring 
 fresh wood for its reconstruction : thus they are never 
 without work. 
 
 About sunset we forded the famous river Atbara 
 near its head : even here it was a big stream, though 
 very muddy. A short way beyond we came to a little 
 straggling village, which Barran Barras Tachu boldly 
 announced to be Tchelga. I had never seen Tchelga, 
 but I felt convinced that he was deceiving me, and 
 being anxious to arrive at Wakhni on Sunday (it was 
 now Friday), so as to avail myself of the protection of 
 the merchants returning from the market to Galaba,t, 
 J summoned what Abyssinian I could command, and 
 sternly ordered him to continue the march. 
 
 It was quite dark when the barking of a number of 
 savage dogs announced our approach to the true and 
 veritable Tchelga a large village, composed, in the 
 usual fash ion, entirely of round huts, whose extinguisher- 
 shaped roofs were dimly visible against the night sky. 
 Barran Barras Tachu led me into a hut which was appa- 
 rently used as a storehouse, for it contained some bales 
 of cotton and large earthen jars, like the jars one asso- 
 ciates with the story of the Forty Thieves, full of 
 
 VOL. II. L
 
 146 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. i. 
 
 grain. My napldeiias captured some fowls, and, cutting 
 off their heads, placed them in a flat dish, with butter 
 and red pepper, to cook. A few pieces of tef, a gourd 
 of honey, and a basket lined with hardened cow-dung 
 full of milk, completed the entertainment. I tried to 
 sleep, but sleep was out of the question, for the hut 
 swarmed with all sorts of horrors. I was therefore 
 quite ready to start before daylight next morning. 
 
 May 17th. When I summoned my naphtenas from 
 their slumbers they held up their feet reproachfully, 
 and said they were footsore with the long march of the 
 previous day. So I gave them all leave to return to 
 Gondar, merely keeping with me my friend Barran 
 Barras Tachu, Mustafa, and three native boys, called 
 Guan Goul, Sinke, and Feynta, who had been my gun- 
 bearers ever since I was at Adowa. 
 
 As we rode out of Tchelga I noticed, lying across 
 the path, a beautiful green snake three feet long, which, 
 from the shape of its head, must have been one of the 
 many venomous kinds that abound here. Presently we 
 met the shoum of Tchelga, a grey-haired old man, with 
 a long double-edged sword, of the kind used by the 
 Hamran elephant hunters, slung over his shoulder. He 
 saluted his chief, Barran Barras Tachu, with much 
 respect, and at once turned back and accompanied me, 
 with his two servants, a pair of gigantic, bullet-headed 
 negroes, naked to the waist, and armed with Portuguese 
 matchlocks, some three hundred years old, which they 
 appeared to regard with much pride. 
 
 We had many thousand feet to descend before we
 
 ii. xxiv. The Ride to the Frontier. 147 
 
 should be clear of the mountains of Abyssinia, and 
 I pushed on as fast as was possible through a country 
 which was now becoming broken and intersected by deep 
 ravines. My rapid rate of travelling did not, however, 
 suit Barran Barras Tachu, who more than once proposed 
 that we should halt for the day, arguing, with Abys- 
 sinian philosophy, that all days were alike, and, as each 
 village we stopped at was bound to supply us with food 
 by the king's order, the more stoppages we made the 
 better. But I was inexorable, and some time after- 
 wards discovered that the worthy Barran Barras Tachu 
 had taken French leave, and abandoned me, though 
 the old skoum, with his two negroes, still continued to 
 keep me company. 
 
 It was pleasant to watch the flora of the country 
 becoming more luxuriant and beautiful as we gradually 
 descended from the great elevation of the table-lands 
 to the low, warm valleys leading down towards Nubia. 
 I remarked in particular one charming tree, with a red 
 leaf and a yellow flower, growing in clusters like May 
 blossom ; and there was another tree, with light green, 
 spade-shaped leaves, and red flowers that hung down 
 from it like scarlet feathers. The ferns and wild 
 flowers, also, that clothed the mountain sides, were as 
 beautiful as they were varied. 
 
 We presently entered a little valley possessing won- 
 derful acoustic properties, for one of the shoum's people, 
 climbing into a big tree, hailed a village more than half 
 a mile distant on the other side. Shrill voices replied, 
 and some of the villagers came running down the
 
 148 The Cradle of the Bine Nile. < -\\. xxiv. 
 
 mountain with jars of native beer, which we drank under 
 a lofty ficus religiosa, the wide-spreading branches of 
 which afforded us a shelter for our noonday halt. 
 
 On resuming our route, we followed for many hours 
 one of the tributaries of the Atbara, which ran along 
 the bottom of the valley, making its way down, through 
 endless ranges of mountains, to the plains. The thunder 
 rolled all day, and the effect of the detonations, as they 
 were echoed back from peak to peak, was very grand. 
 The thunder storms are continual at this time of the 
 year, and the last view I obtained of the highlands of the 
 Woggera showed them dimly looming through the 
 purple clouds, like a great wall stretching between 
 earth and heaven, with incessant flashes of forked 
 lightning playing across it. 
 
 About 5 P.M. we came to a wretched little group of 
 huts, where the shoum proposed we should sleep, as it 
 was the last village before Wakhni. I, however, de- 
 cided not to halt till sunset, and told the villagers to 
 send some tef after us, for they had none ready when 
 we arrived. The boys and mules were now dead tired, 
 and, as Sinke' had fallen sick, I had him placed on my 
 spare horse. Presently we entered a forest, and soon 
 the darkness became so intense that we could not see 
 one another as we rode under the trees ; so, on reaching 
 a clear space, where there was* a pool of water, we 
 halted and laid down, dinnerless, under the canopy of 
 heaven, taking care to keep near to our beasts, lest the 
 leopards and other wild animals we could hear howling 
 in the woods should carry them off during the night.
 
 CH. xxiv. 77ie Ride to the Frontier. 149 
 
 May 18th. At sunrise we arose and continued our 
 way through the wood, which was full of blossoming 
 trees, with wonderful creepers hanging in gay festoons 
 from their boughs, literally illustrating a verse satirized 
 by Pope : 
 
 ' ' The groves appeared all dress'd with wreaths of flowers, 
 And from their leaves dropp'd aromatic showers." 
 
 We presently forded the tributary of the Atbara, and 
 came upon a herd of camels eating the young branches 
 of the mimosa trees. This was a sign that we were 
 fairly beyond the Abyssinian mountains, where the 
 soft-footed camel cannot travel. My native horses were 
 not a little frightened at the sight of such uncouth, 
 long-legged animals, and wanted to run away when 
 the camels lifted up their ugly heads, and roared in the 
 harsh grating notes peculiar to them. 
 
 About nine we arrived at Wakhni, which is now the 
 last village on the frontier of Abyssinia, though not 
 long ago Galabat also owed allegiance to the Ethiopian 
 kings, and was governed by an Abyssinian shoum. I 
 was told that the general of the Egyptian troops, 
 pursuing a system of gradual encroachment, had even 
 sent officers as far as Wakhni; but these had been 
 recalled a short time before I arrived there. 
 
 I gave the sJioum of the village a letter from King 
 Yohannes, ordering him to help me on my journey, 
 which he promised to do ; and as I saw a large party of 
 Arab merchants, who had come to the market, preparing 
 to return to Galabat, I expected to have no difficulty in
 
 150 77ic Cradle of the Blue Nile. on. xxiv. 
 
 getting forward that day. Unfortunately, a short time 
 before noon, it began to rain, and the merchants at 
 once declared that they could not begin the journey, 
 though, as they were half naked, and well rubbed over 
 with butter, it was difficult to conceive that they would 
 have been any the worse for a little water. However, 
 so strong was their prejudice against travelling in the 
 wet, that they declared they would remain at Wakhni 
 a week if necessary, and kept as carefully under shelter 
 as if they were afraid their colour might be washed out 
 of them. 
 
 I now went to the shown, whom I found reading a 
 letter in Arabic characters, which a horseman had just 
 brought from the direction of Galabat. After reading 
 this letter the shouni's manner changed entirely. 
 Before, he had bowed low at sight of the lion on 
 the seal of King Johannes, promised me an escort of 
 spearmen through the bush, and seemed zealous in my 
 service ; now, he w r ould only let me have a single at- 
 tendant as guide, and, though he pretended the road 
 was quite safe, he insisted on being absolved of all 
 responsibility should anything happen to me. I endea- 
 voured to hire some men from the merchants, but they 
 unanimously declared the country between Wakhni and 
 Galabat was infested by robbei*s and wild beasts, and so 
 dangerous that nothing would induce them to separate 
 from their companions. This made me begin to distrust 
 the good faith of the shoum. He knew that I had 
 letters with me from the King of Abyssinia to the 
 English government, and that Egypt always tried to
 
 ( H. xxiv. The Ride to tJie Frontier. 1 5 r 
 
 prevent any such communications from reaching Europe, 
 lest they should interfere with her plans of encroach- 
 ment.* The shoum was a Mahometan, and it struck me 
 he might wish to curry favour with the Egyptians by 
 getting hold of my despatches. I Vas quite alone, with 
 only one gun ; the country was unsettled, and nobody 
 was responsible ; so that it would not be difficult. Be- 
 sides, I had with me a large sum of silver, and it seemed 
 strange that, after promising me an escort, he should 
 want me to go without one, and that he should wish me 
 to believe the road was safe when it appeared to be 
 quite the reverse. The more I remarked his manner, 
 the less I liked it, and I decided to leave Wakhni at 
 once, so as, at least, to give him no time for preparation. 
 Calling my servants, I had the mules loaded, and 
 rode into the forest, determined to inake my way 
 through it as best I could ; but we had scarcely gone a 
 mile when my native boys who had shown great un- 
 easiness as they approached the frontier, lest they 
 should be taken by the Egyptians and sold for slaves 
 were seized with a sudden panic, and all ran away. 
 It was in vain I called to them that I only wanted them 
 to keep me company for twelve hours longer, that they 
 might help to. load the mules in the morning, after 
 
 * The French vice-consul at Massowah assured me that when he first 
 arrived at his post, even the despatches he addressed officially to his 
 government were intercepted, and that it was only by getting the 
 engineer of one of the steamers going up the Eed Sea to take charge 
 of duplicate despatches, that he at last managed to communicate witli 
 his minister, and force the Egyptian authorities to respect his cor- 
 respondence.
 
 152 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 which they should be free to return. Their fears got 
 the better of their fidelity, and they left me at the very 
 time when I wanted them most. I confess I was dis- 
 appointed, for I had believed them faithful, and had 
 tried to attach them to me by many little acts of 
 kindness. 
 
 Mustafa was the only one who remained he, honest 
 fellow, would not leave his master, though he was 
 horribly frightened at the prospect of crossing the bush 
 alone ; and, indeed our position was helpless enough, 
 for we soon found that four refractory mules were more 
 than we could manage, as the amiable animals kept 
 alternately lying down, slipping off their packs, or wan- 
 dering into the recesses of the forest, forcing us to leave 
 the beaten track, which we more than once nearly lost. 
 
 A very little of this sort of work showed me the 
 hopelessness of attempting to reach Galabat at our 
 present rate of progression, unless we were prepared to 
 spend a month in the woods ; so, much to the relief of 
 Mustafa, I turned the horses' heads and rode back to 
 Wakhni, where I decided to try a new scheme. 
 
 I sent for the shoum, and told him that I did not 
 think it right to expose the king's letters to the risk of 
 being lost, and that therefore, unless he would provide 
 me with an escort, I feared I must send them back to 
 the king, and that I should charge him with their safe 
 delivery. The satisfaction the shoum could not help 
 betraying at this announcement went far to confirm 
 my suspicion that his real object was to get the letters 
 into his own hands ; so, my servants having returned
 
 CH. xxiv. 77/6' Ride to the Frontier. 153 
 
 to their allegiance when they saw me come back to 
 "Wakhn i, I called them and gave them the letters in 
 the shoum's presence, telling them to take two of my 
 mules and return to Ambachara next morning, and 
 that the tshoum would give them all they required. I 
 then expressed my intention of not starting for Galabat 
 till next day, and retired to an empty hut. 
 
 Though I had apparently given my servants the 
 king's letters to take back, I had really substituted in 
 their place a letter in English to C., telling him my 
 suspicions of the shoum, and the stratagem I had 
 adopted, and also cautioning him against our mutual 
 friend, Christopholos, the magician of Gondar ; nor 
 did even Mustafa know, until he reached Cairo, that 
 I still had the king's letters with me. 
 
 My first care, as soon as I was alone, was to exchange 
 the contents of two of my mule packs one containing 
 dollars and the other hippopotamus' teeth so that the 
 pack supposed to contain dollars should only contain 
 teeth, and vice versa. While ' I was making these 
 preparations, I sent Mustafa to try if he could not 
 privately secure the services of one of the camel 
 drivers who had attended the market, by the offer of a 
 liberal reward. 
 
 Money is a powerful argument, even in the wilds 
 of Africa, and there presently came to me a wild- 
 looking Hamada Arab, armed with shield and spear, 
 and covered with amulets, who, after some hesitation, 
 agreed to bring his camel to my hut at night, load 
 it with the baggage of the mules I had sent back, and
 
 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. i. xx 
 
 guide me through unfrequented paths of the bush to 
 Galabat, by which means I hoped to frustrate any 
 treachery the shoum might be contemplating. 
 
 I was sitting in tjie hut, directing my boys in the 
 construction of a little shelter tent, composed of five 
 spears and some pieces of native cotton, when I was 
 astonished to hear a voice speaking in German, and 
 Mustafa ushered in a European in the dress of an 
 artisan. He said he had landed on the shores of the 
 Red Sea, and made his way to Wakhni from the Soudan, 
 with the intention of entering Abyssinia, and offering 
 his services as a workman to the king. He had no 
 money, no friends, and did not speak a word of any- 
 thing but German ; for which reason Mustafa had 
 brought him to me, as nobody could understand him, 
 or make out what he wanted, where he came from, or 
 whither he was going. The only wonder was, how he 
 had come so far ! It seemed, however, that fortune 
 had favoured him, and that he had been passed on 
 from place to place by different parties of merchants 
 till he had at last reached Wakhni. I was, luckily, 
 able to help him another step on his journey, by send- 
 ing him to Ambachara under the care of my servants, 
 whom I charged to give him one of the mules to ride. 
 Though imperfectly educated, he seemed a very intel- 
 ligent man, and certainly was possessed of a wonderful 
 amount of pluck and perseverance. 
 
 Since my return to Europe, I have learned that he 
 reached Ambachara safely, met C., who presented him 
 to the king, and managed to make a little money ; but,
 
 en. xxiv. The Ride to the Frontier. 155 
 
 in attempting to cross the Sewyen to Adowa., in his 
 usual happy-go-lucky sort of way, he fell into the hands 
 of a band of shouftas, or robbers, who stripped him of 
 all he possessed, and left him naked and alone in the 
 midst of the mountains, where he very nearly died 
 miserably of cold and hunger. He, however, sub- 
 sequently made his way to the sea coast, and joined 
 Count Zichy's hunting expedition in the Bogos.* 
 
 When night closed in the rain was still falling, and 
 I tried to get a few hours' sleep, of which I stood in 
 much need. I had determined to delay my departure 
 till after midnight, as I had told the shoum I should 
 not leave till the morrow. 
 
 * See Appendix, note H.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 GALABAT AND ITS SLAVE MARKET. 
 
 May 19/i. About two hours before sunrise, the 
 Hamada Arab, faithful to his promise, made his camel 
 kneel before my hut, and noiselessly loaded it with the 
 packs of the mules I had sent away. I mounted, for 
 the first time, the horse the king had given me, not 
 without, difficulty, as he was very restive ; and, placing 
 Mustafa on the bay, gave him one of the mules to lead, 
 while I took the other, which, I need not say, carried 
 my precious stock of dollars. In this order we followed 
 the camel and its driver, as they glided, like ghosts, 
 through the sleeping village, and were lost in the 
 shadows of the forest beyond. 
 
 No one had seen our departure, except my Abyssinian 
 boys, who came running after me to kiss my hands and 
 knees in a silent farewell. I believe the lads had 
 affection enough to be sorry to part from me, though their 
 devotion was not sufficiently strong to induce them to 
 follow me through the bush. 
 
 The night was very dark, and from time to time we 
 had to call to each other, as we could only tell by the 
 sound of our voices if we were still together. Our 
 guide, however, seemed to have an instinct for the
 
 CH. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 157 
 
 road, and wound among the trees, keeping clear of all 
 obstacles with wonderful skill, until the welcome 
 advent of the daylight enabled us to see what we were 
 about. 
 
 As the sun rose in the heavens, wreaths of white 
 cloud floated up from the woods, and gathered like a 
 veil round the distant mountain peaks behind us ; 
 whilst around stretched hundreds of miles of undulating 
 bush and thorny nabbuk jungle, a tangled mass of 
 glorious African vegetation, decked with sweet-smelling 
 flowers of every colour. 
 
 Gradually the heat became intense, and the whole 
 atmosphere vibrated beneath the almost vertical rays 
 of the sun. In the early morning I had seen beautiful 
 birds, of bright cerulean plumage, flitting among the 
 trees like living turquoises, and active, cinnamon- 
 coloured lizards, with blue tails, chasing pretty russet 
 lizardesses, with golden throats, over the glistening 
 quartz stones ; but now, in the burning heat, all these 
 were still. The birds ceased to sing ; the blue lizard 
 lay basking, motionless, on the rock by the wayside ; a 
 pair of tiny gazelles stood gazing at me dreamily with 
 their large black eyes from the shade of some sweet- 
 scented mimosas, among the boughs of which sat a 
 little grey monkey, too overcome by the warmth even 
 to make faces. The green beetles gleamed like 
 emeralds in the dry, yellow grass ; and not a sound 
 broke the stillness save the humming of numberless 
 insects among the flowers. It was just such a scene of 
 tropical beauty as Dore' has depicted in some of his
 
 158 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. m. \x\-. 
 
 illustrations to " Atala " ; and all one's senses seemed 
 to drink in the sunlight and scents and sounds, with a 
 dreamy satisfaction that was very delightful. 
 
 " There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, 
 There is a rapture on the lonely shore, 
 There is society where none intrudes " 
 
 Suddenly all such thoughts were put to flight by the 
 strange conduct of my horse, which stopped short and 
 began to shiver, as if stricken with cold. I looked up 
 and saw, not five-and-twenty yards before me, a mag- 
 nificent spotted leopard slowly walking across the glade, 
 with an easy, undulating motion, intensely suggestive 
 of latent power and agility. 
 
 He stood in the full blaze of the sunlight, with his 
 long tail curling and uncurling like the coils of a 
 serpent, and his sleek spotted coat glistening with a 
 thousand rich prismatic tints that are never seen in the 
 caged animals brought to Europe, whose fur soon be- 
 comes dull and pale, losing all the lustre and beauty 
 that distinguishes the wild animal in its native country. 
 The leopard had paused nearly in front of me, but he 
 showed no sign of having perceived me, and remained 
 for about ten seconds gazing straight before him, look- 
 ing very handsome in the pride of his strength and 
 perfect symmetry. 
 
 I threw the bridle of my horse, which still trembled 
 violently, over the branch of a tree, and, slippiug 
 quietly to the ground, levelled my rifle and fired. I 
 think one's conscience need hardly reproach one for 
 shooting a leopard, yet there was something terrible
 
 CH. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 159 
 
 in the sudden change that now came over the beautiful 
 beast, who a moment before seemed to enjoy life so 
 thoroughly. His hind quarters lay paralyzed on the 
 ground, with the blood slowly trickjing from a wound 
 in the back ; but he uttered no cry, only, as the smoke 
 floated away, he raised himself with a great effort on 
 his forepaws, and glared round for the enemy who had 
 so swiftly smitten him of his strength, with a diabolical 
 expression of rage I shall never forget. His white 
 teeth gleaming in the sunlight, the skin on his nose 
 and forehead all wrinkled into thick folds, and his 
 powerful claws tearing up the ground, as he drew his 
 breath in short, spasmodic gasps, were so horribly indi- 
 cative of pain, rage, and impotent ferocity, that a dark 
 shadow seemed to have fallen over the peaceful forest 
 scene, and to have all at once marred its beauty. 
 
 I determined to try to give the leopard his coup-de- 
 grdce with my long hunting knife, as my terrified 
 horse had broken away, leaving me with only one 
 cartridge, which I wished to reserve in case of future 
 need. But I was mistaken in supposing he was quite 
 paralyzed, and had not calculated on the tenacity with 
 which wild animals, especially those of the feline kind, 
 cling to life. When I reached within half-a-dozen 
 yards of him, he suddenly started up, and with a 
 desperate effort, collected all his strength for a spring ; 
 but I suppose his strength gave way, or the pain of 
 his wound cowed his courage at the last moment, for, 
 just as I had made up my mind that an encounter was 
 inevitable, he turned sharply to the left and disap-
 
 160 The Cradle of the Bhte Nile. CH. xxv. 
 
 peared down a gully, where the bush grass grew ten 
 feet high. I had instinctively raised my rifle when I 
 saw him about to spring at me, but his abrupt change 
 of direction caused my shot to fly harmlessly past him, 
 which left me without cartridges. However, I went 
 into the bush grass to look for him, a search that had 
 to be conducted with great caution, as the grass was so 
 thick and high that I could not see a yard before me. 
 I searched for some time, but, though I knew he could 
 not be far off, my efforts were unsuccessful ; and, per- 
 haps, it was fortunate they were so, for a wounded 
 leopard is no pleasant vis-d-vis. 
 
 As for Mustafa and the Arab, when they heard my 
 rifle and saw my horse galloping back riderless, with 
 the bridle over its head, they halted and prepared to 
 retrace their steps, exclaiming, with Eastern wisdom : 
 " BISMILLAH ! why should we go forwards if our 
 master is killed and does not want us ? " 
 
 We crossed several small streams, and about 2 P.M. 
 forded the Gandowa, a considerable river, which was 
 here divided by a little island. It is a tributary 
 of the Atbara, and the current was so rapid that we 
 narrowly escaped being carried away by it. On the 
 opposite side we halted under a tree for a short rest, 
 and about 3 P.M. continued the march. I felt rather 
 weak, and noticed that streams of blood were trickling 
 down my legs, from numbers of sores that had broken 
 open from the fatigue of riding. These sores were the 
 result of my having lived almost entirely on animal 
 food in Abyssinia, and I was obliged to burn them with
 
 (u. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 161 
 
 lunar caustic every day for three weeks before I could 
 check this inconvenience. 
 
 When night closed in we made a meagre supper off 
 some pieces of native bread, and lay down under a tree 
 to sleep till the moon should rise. 
 
 I may here mention that it is advisable for a traveller 
 sleeping in the jungle not to lie too near the trunks of 
 the trees, as the snakes collect under the trees at 
 nightfall, and one of them may easily be mistaken for 
 a dead branch, their habit being to lurk where the 
 shade is thickest. 
 
 May 2(Wi. When the moon rose we rose too, for the 
 Arab said this part of the forest was infested by wild 
 border tribes, who owed allegiance to no sovereign, and 
 whose only law was that the stronger should plunder 
 the weaker, and I was anxious to get through it as 
 rapidly and secretly as possible. I might have cried 
 out, like Shylock : " Oh, my Christian ducats ! " for on 
 them depended my means of traversing the Soudan ; 
 and I guarded the rmile that carried the valuable 
 burden with unceasing vigilance and no small anxiety. 
 
 The night was cloudy, and the moon afforded us but 
 little light, so that our progress was necessarily very 
 slow, and whenever I got a few yards ahead of my 
 two companions the forest echoed with the voice of 
 Mustafa, exclaiming, in the most pathetic accents : . 
 " Where are you, Captain ? Do not go away, good 
 Captain ; do not leave us behind ! " I noticed he 
 always called me Captain when he was nervous : it 
 seemed to stimulate his courage. 
 
 VOL. II. jr
 
 1 62 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. . xxv. 
 
 Presently the moon became obscured, but, through a 
 break in the clouds to the east, Ashtaroth, the morning 
 star, rose like a diamond in the violet sky, casting a 
 pale gleam of light across the path. In that instant 
 I caught sight of something dark that bounded noise- 
 lessly through the long bush grass to within three 
 yards of my bridle-rein, and the next moment per- 
 ceived it was a panther, in the very act of crouching 
 for a spring. Luckily, I was riding with my rifle 
 ready cocked in my hand, and, levelling it straight 
 in the animal's face, I fired both barrels in rapid suc- 
 cession ; but I had no time to ascertain the fate of the 
 panther, for my new horse, who had never had a gun 
 fired from his back before, no sooner saw the flash than 
 he reared upright, and plunging madly forwards, bolted 
 with me through the jungle at a furious pace, tearing 
 me ruthlessly through the thickest of the tangled 
 growth of trees and creepers, armed with long fish-hook 
 thorns, and causing me to leave, like Black Hassan, 
 
 " A stain on every bush that bore 
 A fragment of my palampore." 
 
 There was nothing for it but to crouch down on the 
 neck of the horse and hold tight. Even the cruel 
 native ring-bit, with which I still rode him, was per- 
 fectly powerless to stop his headlong career, though 
 I exerted all my strength; and it was not till I had 
 made a very considerable de'tour, and was nearly 
 reduced to rags, that I at last struck the track again, 
 where I was presently joined by Mustafa and the
 
 en. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 163 
 
 Arab, who had taken a short cut through the bush to 
 meet me. 
 
 About sunrise we heard a hoarse, grating roar among 
 the trees to our right, which sent a peculiar thrill 
 through both men and beasts. We stopped, as if by 
 consent : the Arab looked at Mustafa, Mustafa looked 
 at the Arab, and I looked at them both. The roar 
 was repeated, and the Arab now whispered the word, 
 " asad " lion. As my horse was frightened and would 
 not advance, I tied him to a tree, and, bidding the two 
 men stay with the cattle, followed the direction of the 
 sound on foot ; but as I advanced the lion seemed to 
 retire, and then there was silence for some time, after 
 which I suddenly heard his roar behind me. I believe 
 it is a common habit of lions, if they discover that they 
 are being pursued, to make a circle and follow the 
 person who was previously following them. Anyhow, 
 this lion was too wary to let me approach him, though 
 I doubled back several times ; and, at last, his roar 
 ceasing altogether, I was forced to abandon the chase. 
 
 As we neared the confines of the bush, we came on 
 an encampment of natives, all armed to the teeth, with 
 their horses picketed beside them. They proved to 
 be only a party of merchants, and we rode on without 
 halting, till we reached a stream not half-an-hour's 
 ride from Galabat. Here I was met by a French mis- 
 sionary, of the same order as the young missionary we 
 had seen at Ambachara, who had been released from 
 prison by King Johannes. He said he had heard at 
 Galabat that a white man was coming out of Abyssinia, 
 
 H 2
 
 1 64 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xxv. 
 
 and as the only white man he knew of there was his 
 brother missionary, he had supposed it must be he, and 
 had come to meet him. 
 
 We rode together to Galabat, which is a considerable 
 market town, composed principally of round houses, 
 thatched with conical roofs of grass, after the Abys- 
 sinian model. It has a shallow stream, and plenty of 
 green trees growing round it, which give it a pleasant 
 aspect. Behind it is a hill, on which was a camp of 
 Egyptian troops. We crossed the stream which partly 
 encircles the town, and entered the market-place. 
 Being market-day it was full of natives, clad in every 
 variety of the scanty costume of Upper Nubia, and of 
 all shades of colour, from sickly yellow to jet black. 
 Tokrouris, Abyssinians, Arabs, Gallas, and even a few 
 Greek and Armenian traders mingled with woolly- 
 headed negroes from the White Nile ; while everywhere 
 camels were being led about, laden with cotton, gum, 
 hides, and other produce of the interior of Africa, much 
 to the terror of my little Abyssinian horses, who could 
 not reconcile themselves to the great height and strange 
 proportions of the "desert ships." Standing in the 
 midst of this noisy crowd, we found the principal 
 merchant of Galabat, a Mahometan Abyssinian, called 
 Jusef, who welcomed me hospitably, and had a tent 
 pitched near his house for my accommodation. 
 
 The Egyptian general at Galabat was a Nubian negro, 
 and he was away chastising some refractory tribes of his 
 own colour ; but his second in command, in whom I recog- 
 nised one of the officers who had sailed with us down the
 
 (H. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 165 
 
 Red Sea on board the Kosseir, presently came and blew 
 up Jusef, or, as he expressed it, " pulled his beard," for 
 not having given him immediate notice of my arrival. 
 This officer was a very little personage when I had last 
 seen him, but here he had developed into a great man, 
 and bullied Jusef unmercifully. His reception of me, 
 however, was almost gushing ; and he told me that his 
 Highness the Khedive had given orders that, should C. 
 or myself return from our journey in Abyssinia through 
 the Egyptian Soudan, we were to be furnished with 
 every assistance. At the invitation of my new friend, I 
 rode to the Egyptian camp, which commanded the town 
 The top of the hill was perfectly level, and the camp was 
 enclosed by a strong stone parapet, with platforms at 
 the four corners for cannon. The round huts of the 
 soldiers were built with the greatest regularity, in long 
 double lines, and everything seemed in excellent order. 
 I was presented to the Colonel-commandant, a white 
 haired Arab, and, a divan having been placed in the 
 open air, we sat down in state, while a regiment of sol- 
 diers, composed entirely of slaves, who had been given 
 the Hobson's choice of serving Ismael Pacha instead of 
 their masters, marched past to the sound of pipe and 
 drum. They performed their evolutions perfectly, and 
 were all clothed in neat cotton uniforms, that contrasted 
 strikingly with their black faces and red caps. While 
 we were smoking, and drinking the inevitable finjal 
 of coffee flavoured with cloves, a Nubian band played 
 several Arab and Turkish airs, and then two new 
 Catling guns, or mitrailleuses, were wheeled up for
 
 1 66 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxv. 
 
 my inspection. The Egyptian troops were also pro- 
 vided with bronze mountain pieces, and all the men 
 were armed with breech-loading Remington rifles. 
 Before I left, I was shown all round the camp, which 
 was well supplied with food and munitions, was very 
 clean, and certainly in first-rate order. It was evident 
 that every preparation had been made for a war with 
 Abyssinia, should the occasion occur. 
 
 My companions, while striving to make a favourable 
 impression on me, also endeavoured quietly to extract 
 what information they could about the movements of 
 King Johannes, the strength of his army, and the state 
 of his country ; nor were they a little startled when 
 they learned that I had ridden from his camp at Amba- 
 chara in less than six days, and that the force he had 
 with him was so large. They were also unable to un- 
 derstand how I had crossed the bush between Wakhni 
 and Galabat without their knowledge, for they evidently 
 kept a line of scouts on the frontier. 
 
 On our way back to Jusef, we called on the chief of 
 irregular cavalry, a magnificently attired individual, 
 with a fine collection of pistols, knives, and yataghans 
 in his sash. The greater part of his men, I was told, 
 were mounted on swift camels, and were employed car- 
 rying despatches, or scouring the desert in search of 
 fugitives. The distances they traversed were wonderful, 
 but sometimes their camels died, or were killed, and 
 they never returned. 
 
 Jusef, on my return, presented me with a little red 
 monkey, who as yet was only half tame ; and, after an
 
 ;u. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 167 
 
 early supper in the hospitable merchant's house, I 
 retired to my tent for the night. 
 
 -]/<'<y 21sf. There are two market days at Galabat, 
 Tuesday and Wednesday, and the town has an impor- 
 tant trade in Abyssinian produce, such as bees-wax, 
 coffee, cotton, and hides. In 1862, when Sir Samuel 
 Baker was there, it belonged to the kingdom of 
 Ethiopia, and the distinguished traveller relates how 
 the Sheik Jemma,* on seeing his firman, told him 
 " that this was Abyssinia, and that the firman of the' 
 Viceroy of Egypt was a bad introduction, as the Egyp- 
 tians forced them to pay tribute at the point of the 
 bayonet, although they had no right to enter this 
 country; and that they paid taxes willingly to the 
 King of Abyssinia, as he had a right to exact them." 
 But now I found the Egyptians sole masters of the 
 place, the whole revenue of which they diverted to their 
 own uses. Not content with placing the Abyssinian 
 eihown in irons some people said he had even been 
 unmercifully flogged they had sent him, though old 
 and infirm, the long and painful journey across the 
 Nubian deserts to Cairo, from which he would probably 
 never return to see his native hills ; and the town was 
 now held by a strong force of Egyptian soldiers, quar- 
 tered in the camp I have described, who if I might 
 believe the complaints of several merchants com- 
 mitted whatever outrages they pleased on the defence- 
 less natives. I was told that although the Egyptian 
 
 * Evidently the " Sliiek Jumar," that the King spoke to me about.
 
 1 68 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxv. 
 
 Government had professed to pass laws prohibiting the 
 slave trade, and that Galabat was now entirely occupied 
 by Egyptian soldiers, and under the absolute control of 
 an Egyptian general, I should yet find a public slave- 
 market there, where I should see many Galla and 
 Abyssinian slaves, some of whom were Christians, 
 openly bought and sold. I therefore expressed a desire 
 to Jusef that he should show me the slave market, and 
 he readily agreed to accompany me there, evidently 
 regarding it as one of the sights of the place. 
 
 We rode into a large field outside the town, where 
 were a number of long low booths, made very roughly 
 of branches. Each of these booths was divided into 
 several little compartments, the interior of which was 
 hidden from view by curtains of native cloth hung in 
 front of them. The slave merchants sat smoking be- 
 side their booths with Arab gravity. We visited them 
 one after the other, and they led us into the different 
 compartments, expatiating on the beauty and merits of 
 their slaves, very much as a dealer shows off his 
 horses. Galla and Abyssinian girls were numerous, and 
 averaged from thirty to seventy dollars. Over the head 
 of each was thrown a piece of cotton cloth, which con- 
 cealed her features till her turn came to be inspected, 
 when the dealer removed it, like an upholsterer un- 
 covering a chair. They had scarcely any clothing, and 
 sat crowded together in their little cells, with the 
 African sun burning down on the flat roof close above 
 their heads, in an atmosphere which was perfectly 
 stifling.
 
 CH. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 169 
 
 Many of these young girls were very beautiful : their 
 colour was often not darker than that of a Spanish 
 gipsy, their features were small and delicate, their 
 forms proportioned like a Greek statue, and their 
 eyes large and lustrous. I have been told that these 
 fair children, for they were little more, who are 
 brought here from the Galla country, Showa, Wooma, 
 and other parts of Abyssinia, are of a gentle and affec- 
 tionate disposition, and faithful and loving to those who 
 treat them kindly. They did not seem to know 
 Arabic, and their masters made them do what they 
 wished by signs. I heard no weeping or lamentation ; 
 but, though they were all so young, I did not see a 
 single smiling face, and their lot seemed a sad one 
 indeed ; transported, at the very spring time of life, 
 into a strange country, to be given up body and soul 
 to the highest bidder. I believe they are generally 
 bought by merchants, who send them to Arabia, where, 
 if they be Christians, they are soon made to renounce 
 their faith. Occasionally, it may happen that one of 
 these girls gets into a good harem ; but, for one that 
 does, numbers- die on the way, from change of climate, 
 change of food too often indeed the want of it and 
 the long, long journey across the deserts under a 
 broiling sun. They say that all people who live among 
 mountains love their country; and I have often thought 
 how fondly these poor girls must think of the green 
 valleys among their native hills, when, like caged birds, 
 they gaze through their lattices at Jiddah, on the hot 
 sands of Arabia el Hidjaz ! Indeed, I afterwards heard,
 
 1 70 TJic Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xxv- 
 
 when I was at Jiddah, that one of these fair prisoners 
 had recently flung herself from her window into the 
 street below, preferring death to captivity. 
 
 Of the horrors the poor creatures sometimes have to 
 endure from the brutality of the men who capture 
 them, and take them down to the markets of Upper 
 Nubia in regular droves, like so many cattle, I can 
 hardly speak. Even children do not escape, and it is 
 not uncommon to see young girls not more than seven 
 or eight years old suffering from the most horrible 
 diseases. Nor will the traders of Galabat guarantee 
 the health of their slaves, or even allow them to be in- 
 spected by a doctor. The mortality among them is 
 simply fearful, and even now it makes my blood boil to 
 think of their fate. 
 
 "Not for this, 
 
 Was common clay ta'en from the common earth, 
 Moulded by God, and tempered with the tears . 
 Of angels, to the perfect shape of man ! " 
 
 I fancy a slave dealer soon forgets that a slave has 
 any feelings. While I was in one of the booths, a 
 beautiful young Galla girl, some seventeen years old, 
 happened to take the fancy of an old man, who might 
 except so far as beauty was concerned have very 
 well been her grandfather. The veil was torn from her 
 shoulders by the merchant, and she was made to stand 
 up and display her beauty. 
 
 " Light was the form, and darkly delicate 
 That brow, whereon her native sun had sat, 
 But had not marr'd. "
 
 PH. xxv. Galabat and its Slave Market. 171 
 
 The customer felt and examined carefully her teeth, 
 feet, hands, and knees, very much as people look at the 
 points of a horse. Then came the haggling about the 
 price, the old octogenarian beating down the merchant, 
 dollar by dollar, though the merchant only asked ten 
 pounds for her, the price of a good mule. All this time 
 the poor girl was looking on with straining eyes, trying 
 to read her fate in the merchant's face, for she could 
 not understand what he was saying. Probably, as there 
 are two market days at Galabat every week for slaves, 
 and this was the second day, she was doomed to be sold, 
 for her owner wanted to get rid of his remaining stock ; 
 but they were still cheapening her when I left the 
 stifling booth and stepped forth into the bright sun- 
 shine, where a lark, singing high up in the blue heavens, 
 seemed to mock in its freedom a dejected crowd of 
 naked negroes, just arrived from the neighbourhood of 
 the White Nile, who sat huddled together, without dis- 
 tinction of sex or age, and some even with their hands 
 still tied, for they were merely regarded as so many 
 strong animals, to be sold cheap for purposes of labour. 
 But I will not linger longer over the revolting picture. 
 
 What can I say of this horrible traffic that has not 
 been said before? It is a blot on the face of the 
 earth, a disgrace to humanity, and a standing reproach 
 to all so-called Christian nations that allow it to exist ; 
 but 
 
 " Those gentlemen of England who sit, in Downing Street, at ease," 
 cannot see this. It is so hard to realize, when we are
 
 1 72 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxv. 
 
 comfortable at home, the sufferings of fellow-creatures 
 five thousand miles away ; yet a few vibrations of the 
 telegraph from England to Cairo might work a great 
 change. It is true that " Charity should begin at 
 home," but when by a little exertion of influence we 
 may save from shame, misery, and death, our fellow- 
 creatures abroad, ought we to hesitate ?
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 FROM GALABAT TO KATARIF. 
 
 Ox returning to my tent I was horrified to discover 
 that the white ants had made their way into it, and 
 were attacking my baggage. I had often seen, in 
 Abyssinia, fields covered with the conical hills, from 
 ten to twelve feet high, raised by these creatures, which, 
 at a distance, looked exactly like a native village. 
 The white ants are regularly distributed into labourers, 
 and soldiers, or fighting ants ; with others, holding the 
 rank of king and queen, to rule over them. Professor 
 Wilson says, that the queen, when she is about to 
 add to the numbers of the tribe, presents a most 
 extraordinary spectacle, being swelled to greatly beyond 
 her natural dimensions, and producing at each delivery 
 a progeny of many thousands. Terrible stories are 
 related of the destruction caused by the inroads of 
 these ants ; who devour everything before them, clothes, 
 leather, wood, and even, it is said, human beings, unless 
 they take refuge in flight. A fallen animal will have its 
 bones picked clean in a wonderfully short space of time ; 
 for union is strength, and these small animals become 
 formidable when working in millions. However, I be- 
 lieve they will not attack baggage if it be raised on
 
 1 74 The Cractle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 stones some height above the ground ; and, after I had 
 emptied my tent of everything, they soon abandoned 
 it, and went off in search of what they might devour 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Jusef showed me over his house, which consisted of 
 several thatched buildings standing in a large enclosure. 
 One was devoted to his harem, the fair inhabitants of 
 which disappeared precipitately behind some curtains 
 as we entered, leaving nothing visible but their small 
 arched feet, and dark eyes peeping out from among 
 the folds. In the outer enclosure were two young 
 camel-leopards, which had just been captured for a 
 German who had come up here to collect animals for 
 the European menageries. I was much struck by the 
 brilliant tints on the skins of these beautiful creatures, 
 so different from their appearance when they have been 
 transported to captivity and our colder skies. As dark- 
 ness bleaches the colour of most living things, so where 
 the sun's rays are hottest their colour appears to be- 
 come more brilliant. The camel-leopard, though diffi- 
 cult to capture, is, like the ostrich, easy to transport to 
 Europe, as it supports the journey across the desert 
 better than other animals. Here, in the Soudan, the 
 value of a young camel-leopard was about fifty dollars ; 
 but in Europe it would probably fetch five hundred. 
 
 Jusef said, that the same German who had bought 
 the camel-leopards had some dromedaries, or hygeens, 
 to dispose of, which might suit me, as I had told him I 
 wanted to procure dromedaries on which to make the 
 journey of nearly four hundred miles to Khartum.
 
 CH. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 175 
 
 Every one knows the story of the three artists one 
 English, the other French, and the other German. who 
 
 o ' * 
 
 were each commissioned to paint a perfect dromedary. 
 And how the Englishman travelled all over the world 
 to inspect personally every dromedary that could be 
 seen ; while the Frenchman went to the Jardin des 
 Plantes at Paris, fully convinced that the dromedary 
 there must be the finest in the whole world ; and the 
 German, never even troubling to look at a dromedary 
 at all, shut himself in his study with a goodly supply of 
 beer, books, and tobacco, and proceeded to evolve out 
 of his own inner consciousness the perfect architype 
 of the dromedary of the future. 
 
 I was no judge of a dromedary or camel ; and yet it 
 was important to procure good ones, as, at this time of 
 year the plains I should have to traverse were almost 
 destitute of water. So I followed the German's prin- 
 ciple, and evolved from my inner consciousness a beau- 
 tiful standard dromedary by which to judge all that 
 might be shown me. Alas ! they fell very short of the 
 standard ; indeed, they were not dromedaries at all, two 
 of them being only light trotting camels, while the 
 third was a strong camel suitable for baggage. When 
 I first saw them they were kneeling round a skin full 
 of grain, which they were devouring ravenously ; though 
 every now and then they found time to roar and bite at 
 each other with an expression of countenance that was 
 evil in the extreme. The camel preserves the quaint- 
 ness of the antediluvian animals ; and with his long 
 neck and projecting breastbone, always reminds me of
 
 1 76 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvr. 
 
 some uncouth bird, a cross between the ostrich and the 
 griffin, that has accidently got possessed of four legs.* 
 Besides their natural ugliness, and decidedly bad tem- 
 pers, the three specimens before me were as thin as 
 skeletons. But there was a certain look of blood and 
 pluck about them, which, judging them as I should a 
 horse, rather pleased me, and I determined to take 
 them, notwithstanding Mustafa's gloomy prophecy that 
 they would die of sheer emaciation before the end 
 of the first day's journey. Fortunately Mustafa was not 
 a prophet in his own country, and these camels after- 
 wards showed powers of endurance that astonished even 
 the Arabs. 
 
 I gave in exchange for my three liygeens two horses 
 and two mules, a bad bargain, as a camel at Galabat 
 is only worth thirty dollars (6), while a good horse will 
 fetch fifty ; but I could not take my horses across the 
 desert, and I was willing to let the German have them 
 to exchange with the Arab hunters, for camel-leopards. 
 
 The Hamran Arabs, who are the great hunters of 
 this part of the country, are splendid horsemen, and 
 boldly pursue the large game of Africa, armed with no 
 other weapon than their long straight double-edged 
 cross-handled swords, which they wield with so much 
 power and skill that they can ham-string the ele- 
 phant and rhinoceros, and can cut a man through the 
 
 * Remains of camels have been found in Europe and Asia, in recent 
 beds of the tertiary epoch, showing its co-existence with the mam- 
 moth, giant wood-stag, and cave-bear.
 
 en. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 177 
 
 middle of the body, like a carrot, at one blow. These 
 swords are carried in a red leather sheath between the 
 thigh and the saddle, when riding, and slung round the 
 neck when walking. I remember being told by a 
 French general that, during the Franco-Prussian war, 
 he found it advantageous to make his cavalry carry 
 their swords between the leg and the saddle, as the 
 men suffered much from the constant strain on the 
 waist of a heavy sabre. Certainly some improvement 
 might be made on the present regulation belt, which 
 is not only very fatiguing on a long march, but liable 
 to produce permanent injury. 
 
 The great test for one of the Arab swords is, if it 
 will cut iron. The Arab, naked to the waist, raises- 
 his sword in both hands, and, whirling it round his 
 head, aims a mighty blow at a piece of iron. If the 
 sword makes a cut in the iron, and yet preserves its 
 edge uninjured, it is considered a weapon fit for a 
 Sheik, and is handed down from father to son in a 
 family as a treasure not to. be sold at any price. 
 Sheiks and rich Arabs have the handles of their 
 swords and the rings of the scabbard mounted in 
 silver, cunningly worked, and I have even seen verses, 
 of the Koran etched on the blade. But an examination 
 of the marks on these swords showed me that the 
 blades all came from Solingen, whence they must be 
 shipped wholesale to the Red Sea. The traders on the 
 coast of the Egyptian Soudan buy them and transport 
 them inland, where the natives mount them with 
 scarlet-leather scabbards, and cross handles of the old 
 
 VOL. II. X
 
 178 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 Cmsader pattern; the verses of the Koran are also 
 etched in the country, but this is only done at Khartum, 
 where there lives, or lived, an old Arab silversmith 
 skilled in such work. 
 
 Having now got camels with which to continue my 
 journey, I rode up to the camp to ask the governor for 
 a guide to Abou Harras, a town on the Blue Nile, 
 about two hundred and eighty miles from Galabat, 
 whither I wished to proceed. The governor at once 
 offered to give me a messenger he was sending to Abou 
 Harras witli letters, if I would mount him as far as 
 Katarif, where the Sheik would provide him with a 
 fresh camel I gladly accepted this offer, and turned 
 homewards to prepare for the journey. In the crowded 
 market-place, on which the sun was blazing down 
 with intense heat, I was astonished to see guns for 
 sale at eight dollars (thirty-tiuo shillings') a-piece. What 
 must they have cost in Europe ? And yet, cheap though 
 they were, I was told that a slave was not unfrequently 
 exchanged for a gun. 
 
 May 22nd. At G'30 A.M. my camels were packed, 
 and at 7 my guide made his appearance. He was 
 a Nubian negro, and confessed it was thirteen years 
 since he had been to Abou Harras, but he believed, 
 " wishdlldh " that he should remember the road. He 
 gave me a letter from the Governor of Galabat to the 
 Arab Sheiks of Katarif and Abou Harras, and it 
 now only remained for me to bid farewell to my 
 kind host Jusef, on whom I bestowed my gold signet- 
 ring, as it was the only thing of value I had left to give
 
 <-H. xxvi. From Galabat to Kaiarif. \ 79 
 
 Turning our faces Northwards, we rode past the 
 camp, near which a pair of gigantic Maraboo storks 
 Abou seen. "Father of the teeth," as the Arabs call 
 them, from the formidable proportions of their beaks 
 were marching with long strides through the fields, 
 performing the meritorious duty of scavengers. These 
 birds present a somewhat heavy and ungainly appear- 
 ance, but they have such enormous wings that they can 
 soar even higher than the vulture, though its flight is so 
 high that it is far beyond the reach of the naked eye when 
 making its circles through the air in search of prey. 
 
 The guide rode the spare camel devoted to the bag- 
 gage, while Mustafa and I were mounted on the two 
 Jnjyeens, or trotting camels, which I resolutely kept at 
 a trot, though it required no small amount of fortitude 
 to do so, as the trot of even a hygeen produces a sensa- 
 tion that can only be compared to riding on the roof of a 
 bathing-machine being rapidly taken over large boulder 
 stones. However, the walk is little better, as the con- 
 tinual swaying backwards and forwards is intensely 
 fatiguing to the back, and makes some people sick ; 
 thus fully illustrating the simile of the camel being the 
 desert ship. 
 
 Our road lay through a level country, thickly covered 
 with mimosa trees ; and the only people we saw were a 
 few wild-looking Tokrouris, riding on the bare backs of 
 oxen, and armed with wooden clubs, shaped like hat- 
 chets. The native name for these weapons is tonibdsh, 
 and they are often thrown at an adversary, though they 
 do not return as the boomerang is said to do. The 
 
 >- 2
 
 T 80 The Cradle of the Bine Nile. en. xxvr. 
 
 Tokrouris also carry curved knives, and spears horribly 
 barbed behind the point, so that they cannot be with- 
 drawn from a wound. They are a very black race of 
 negroes, who originally emigrated io the fertile fron- 
 tiers of Abyssinia from Darfour, an arid country west of 
 the White Nile, lying principally between the 12th and 
 loth degrees North latitude. Though a true negro 
 race, their noses are prominent and curved, nor are their 
 ears of less ample proportions ; but as if to compensate 
 for her liberality in this respect, Nature has given them 
 very small eyes, which slope upwards, and they wear 
 their hair standing upright on the top of their heads like 
 a mop, which does not give them a prepossessing 
 appearance. 
 
 Presently we heard an unmistakable bray, and were 
 overtaken by a fat old man in a voluminous turban, 
 mounted on an active little donkey, which he goaded 
 on with the sharp points of his Turkish slippers, which 
 served him instead of spurs. We interchanged salaams, 
 and he introduced himself as a merchant from Khartum, 
 whither he was returning. At his back hung one of 
 the long swords of the country, handsomely mounted in 
 silver ; and, seeing that I admired it, he at once begged 
 me to accept it an offer I was obliged to refuse as I had 
 nothing to give in return. Behind him rode his wives 
 on two camels, guarded by a couple of negroes armed 
 with flint-lock guns. 
 
 We passed three small villages, at one of which the 
 old merchant halted ; but I continued riding till sunset, 
 when, as it was becoming too dark for us to find our
 
 OH. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 1 8 r 
 
 way, we were forced to halt at a small hamlet, called 
 Eggeford, which proved to be almost deserted, on account 
 of the dearth of water. We could therefore obtain 
 nothing for supper beyond the bread we had with us. 
 About nine o'clock the moon rose very brightly, but I 
 lay down under a tree, determined to rest myself and 
 the cattle till sunrise, as the heat of the past day had 
 been intense, and I was weak and ill, the wounds in 
 my legs having broken open again, and the ophthalmia 
 I had caught at the lake being much aggravated by the 
 sun and dust. 
 
 May 23rd At daybreak we perched ourselves again 
 on our uncouth steeds, and continued the journey ; our 
 road lying, like yesterday, through a tract of country 
 thickly covered with mimosas. 
 
 These beautiful trees not only please the eye by 
 their graceful appearance, and the sense of smell by 
 the sweet fragrance of their flowers, but they are ex- 
 tremely useful. There is a variety from the bark of 
 which excellent fibre is obtained by the Arabs for the 
 manufacture of ropes, and sacks that serve to hold 
 the gum-arabic which the mimosa also produces. Sir 
 Samuel Baker, in his " Nile Tributaries," alludes to the 
 beautiful effect of the pure crystallized gum-arabic on 
 the stems, and branches of the trees, which at one season 
 makes the mimosa bush look like the jewelled garden 
 in the story of Aladdin. Another variety of this tree, 
 the Acacia Arabica, produces a fruit used by the Arabs 
 as a medicine for its astringent and tonic qualities, and 
 invaluable also for the tanning of hides ; and there is a
 
 1 82 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. OH. xxvi, 
 
 kind of mimosa, the branches of which are said to bend 
 like those of the sensitive plant when they are touched. 
 Hence Moore, in his " Lalla Rookh," calls it 
 
 " That courteous tree 
 Which bows to all who seek its canopy. " 
 
 If you sit down beneath a mimosa when the sun is hot, 
 it will afford you a grateful shelter ; but should a 
 rain-cloud approach, the shade will instantly become a 
 mere skeleton shadow, dotted with little patches of light,, 
 and you will see the delicate leaves of the mimosa all 
 close, as if by magic, to let the grateful moisture fall 
 round its roots. Such sensibility surely almost amounts- 
 to instinct. 
 
 There appeared to be little game in the bush, for we 
 only saw two antelopes during the whole day's march. 
 My monkey made his escape at a village where we 
 halted for an hour ; but, after an exciting chase, he was- 
 recaptured before he could reach the trees. When he 
 saw that his pursuers were gaining on him, he quietly lay 
 down on his back and waited philosophically to be taken. 
 
 As the sun sank slowly through a chaotic mass of gold 
 and crimson clouds, and for a moment appeared to rest 
 like a ball of fire on the earth, a melodious voice broke 
 the stillness, calling aloud the praise of "Allah, the 
 Most High ! " and we presently saw a young man, 
 mounted on a tall white camel, singing verses from a 
 religious book as he rode through the gloaming. On 
 nis head was a handsome qufieh, or handkerchief, of 
 variegated silk ; his dress was of fine white cotton, orna- 
 mented with innumerable buttons ; and at his side hung
 
 on. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 183 
 
 a long Turkish gun. We exchanged the usual salaams, 
 and continued our journey together. 
 
 When the darkness of night overspread the land- 
 scape, a circle of bright fires blazed into the air round a 
 village in the distance, and I learned from my com- 
 panion that the natives were burning the bush to clear 
 it. Guiding ourselves by these flames towards the vil- 
 lage, which was named Tdoka, we made our camels 
 kneel before a large thatched house, built of branches 
 and plastered with mud, which my new friend invited 
 me to enter. He also insisted on giving up to me his 
 bed, saying that he had seen me with Jusef at Galabat, 
 and that it would be an everlasting shame to him, an 
 Arab, if he allowed a stranger to pass his village without 
 offering him hospitality. Then, telling me that Mustafa 
 and my camels should be well cared for, he left me to 
 the care of his servants, who presently entered bearing 
 an anyarep, on which was a soft mattrass and pillows 
 covered with spotless white cotton. A carpet was spread 
 on the ground, and, after a slave had offered me a 
 brazen vessel full of clear water in which to wash my 
 hands, I found myself sitting cross-legged before a 
 carved octangular stool, on which reposed a large tray 
 containing a delicious dinner of four courses, comprising 
 flesh, fowl, and vegetables cunningly stewed in the Arab 
 fashion. Two slaves stood by with lighted beeswax 
 tapers, and a bowl of fresh milk, followed by nfipjal of 
 scented black coffee, completed the luxurious entertain- 
 ment, which seemed almost like one of the enchanted 
 feasts of the Arabian Nights, after the meagre fare I
 
 1 84 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxvi. 
 
 had been so long accustomed to in Abyssinia. My host 
 now sent to ask if I would receive him, and, after 
 politely inquiring whether I required anything further, 
 told me that he would bear me company on the morrow 
 as far as Katarif, whither it seemed we were both bound. 
 
 This night, for the first time in four months, I enjoyed 
 the luxury of sleeping between sheets. 
 
 May 24itk. It was of no use ordering Mustafa to 
 make my coffee in the morning : my host insisted that, 
 as I was a stranger, it would be an undying shame to 
 him if he did not provide me with everything; and I 
 had hardly risen, before the scribe of the village, a hale 
 old man in a white turban and long black robe, came 
 and pressed me to breakfast with him, while the " gem- 
 malin," or camels, were being saddled. The repast, 
 like that of yesterday, consisted of various stewed meats 
 and vegetables ; and, as soon as it was over, my Amphy- 
 trion mounted his donkey and accompanied me to the 
 confines of the village, the ground round about which I 
 noticed was carefully irrigated and cultivated. How- 
 ever, we soon plunged again into a vast tract of bush 
 that extended on all sides as far as the eye could reach, 
 though mimosa trees were somewhat less plentiful than 
 on the preceding day. 
 
 At noon, the sun being fearfully hot, we made a short 
 halt, and lunched off some cold meat which my Arab 
 friend had been careful to provide ; and then, as we were 
 to pass no water on this day's march, rode far into the 
 night, the bush presenting always the same monotonous 
 and dried-up aspect.
 
 CH. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 185 
 
 Towards sunset we met an Arab, riding on a trotting 
 camel, who stopped to talk with my companion. He 
 was a handsome young fellow, with beautiful dark eye?, 
 and a long, trailing moustache a rare adornment here, 
 where the beard seems only to grow when man enters on 
 the fourth decade. On his head was a red tarloush, with 
 a silk and gold handkerchief bound round it, one end 
 of which fell over his shoulders ; his shirt was of the 
 finest cotton, very wide at the sleeves, and elaborately 
 plaited ; over this he wore a long tunic, also of spotless 
 white, decorated with many buttons at the breast and 
 wrists, and confined at the waist by a handsome sash, 
 from the folds of which peeped a long knife or dagger ; 
 his loose trowsers were tuckecl into pointed scarlet- 
 leather boots, very much turned up at the toes ; and at 
 the side of his camel saddle, which was covered with 
 .black sheep-skin, hung a scarlet leather holster, con- 
 taining a brace of silver-mounted Turkish pistols. In 
 short, he was an Arab dandy. 
 
 Soon after the two young men had parted, we 
 saw some gazelles, but could not get within shot of 
 them. However, my companion shot from the back of 
 his camel a couple of brace of guinea-fowl, which served 
 us for supper. I may here mention, that the best way 
 to cook birds on the march is to skin them, feathers 
 and all ; split them open ; and, after sprinkling them with 
 red pepper, lay them on the fire. By this means a 
 very good grill may be obtained in less than a quarter 
 of an hour. 
 
 About midnight we stopped to rest under a tree, but
 
 1 86 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. rn. xxvi. 
 
 I had hardly been asleep an hour before my friend arose 
 and continued his journey, as he -wished to be at Katarif 
 early in the morning. I remained where I was till 
 sunrise, when, rousing Mustafa and the letter-carrier, 
 I also proceeded on my way. 
 
 May Zoth. After four hours' march we came to a 
 well, with a number of mud tanks round it, which a 
 crowd of nearly naked Arab men and women were em- 
 ployed filling gratuitously, for the benefit of the'passers- 
 by ; this is a capital institution in a countiy where 
 water is life. 
 
 My camels drank eagerly, and we rode on till we 
 reached a village, where they told us that we had taken 
 the wrong road. However, we struck a track leading 
 through the bush towards Katarif; and, about one o'clock, 
 had the pleasure of seeing the conical roofs of the 
 houses of " Soog Abou Sin," as it is sometimes called, 
 rising before us. 
 
 I had heard that there was a Greek merchant living 
 at Katarif; and, as in Africa hospitality from one white 
 man to another is a matter of course, I enquired my 
 way to his dwelling, and without further ceremony 
 made my camels kneel at his door, and walked into the 
 hut, where I received a very kind welcome. 
 
 Katarif, or the market of Abou Sin,* is situ- 
 ated on the border of immense prairies, which, in 
 the rainy season, are covered with long grass, but at 
 this time of the year, after being exposed for eight 
 
 * Soog means market.
 
 CH. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 187 
 
 months to a burning sun, were an arid and waterless 
 desert. I was told that, for three days' march, we 
 should find no water on the road ; and was therefore 
 anxious to obtain another camel, to carry a supply of 
 water and corn ; but it was no easy task to get away 
 from Katarif. 
 
 As yet I had been unable to procure any water- 
 skins ; and here, after much trouble, I could only get 
 some old ones that were scarcely water-tight. The 
 Sheik also sent word that he could not let me have a 
 camel for two or three days ; and even the Greek mer- 
 chant, with whom I was lodged, declared it was hopeless 
 for me to try to get away sooner. What did it matter? 
 Bukhara insJtdlldh, to-morrow, should Allah will it ; or, 
 if not, then, insltdlldlt, the day after that. It was enough 
 to make one fancy, like the mad Lady Elizabeth in 
 Miss Braddon's novel, that " the order of the universe 
 was changed, and time was all to-morrow." I received 
 a visit from my travelling companion of the previous 
 day, and, after giving him a present of some English 
 powder, asked him to accompany me to the Sheik, an 
 aged Arab, whom we met riding on a donkey, for an 
 Arab Sheik thinks it quite the proper thing to ride a 
 donkey, though he may own the most beautiful horses 
 and liyyeens in the country. 
 
 The Sheik dismounted as we approached, and salu- 
 ting us with a grave salaam, repeated his former asser- 
 tion that he could not let me have a camel. I therefore 
 ordered Mustafa to tell him that, if this was the case, I 
 should leave the letter-carrier behind, so as to keep my
 
 1 88 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvi. 
 
 third camel for the water-skins, and continue the 
 journey alone, leaving him to be responsible for the 
 non-arrival of the governor of Galabat's messenger to 
 Abou Harras. This was an argument he was not pre- 
 pared for, and he promised to have a camel ready for 
 me at seven a.m. on the morrow. 
 
 May 26th. Seven o'clock on the morrow came, but 
 of course no camel came with it. The Sheik, who knew 
 nothing of maps and compasses, had not kept his 
 promise, believing that it would be impossible for me to 
 go forwards without a guide ; however, I soon convinced 
 him of the contrary, by having the water-skins placed 
 on my third camel and preparing to start. My host, 
 the Greek, was almost as bad as the Sheik in trying to 
 delay my departure, and related all sorts of horrible 
 stories about the arid tract of country I was going to cross ; 
 but I merely mounted my hygeen and bid him farewell. 
 He insisted on accompanying me a short way, in accor- 
 dance with the Arab usage, and earnestly requested 
 that when I reached England I would forward to the 
 Foreign Office a petition he had prepared, begging that 
 he might be granted the protection of an English pass- 
 port, as he was entirely at the mercy of the Egyptian 
 troops, and there was no security for property in the 
 Soudan. 
 
 We were just starting, when the Sheik begged me to 
 delay a little longer, as the camel was coming; and true 
 enough, a very small child presently appeared, driving 
 a very large camel, but the camel was unprovided with 
 either saddle or driver, which necessitated another de-
 
 en. xxvi. From Galabat to Katarif. 1 89 
 
 lay ; and, at last, after waiting vainly till ten o'clock, I 
 determined to put my threat into execution, and, leaving 
 the letter-carrier behind, rode off with Mustafa. 
 
 Katarif is only a little Arab town of round grass-huts, 
 but, being on the direct camel route from Cassala to 
 Khartum, on the White Nile, it is of some importance, 
 and boasts of two market-days in a week. This 
 being one of them we had to make our way through a 
 long row of open sheds, made of straw, in many of 
 which the long cross-handled swords of the country 
 were exposed for sale, at one and two dollars apiece. 
 In some sheds squatted half-naked Arabs, selling red- 
 leather scabbards for these swords ; while in others such 
 luxuries as beads, perfumery, red pepper, and balls of 
 raw fat for dressing the hair, were to be bought from 
 coffee-coloured Arab women, who would have been 
 pretty if they had not had their faces disfigured by the 
 three long gashes on each cheek, which they here inflict 
 upon themselves as an ornament; for the cruel goddess, 
 Fashion, is no less a tyrant in the wilds of Upper 
 Nubia than in the drawing-rooms of Paris ! 
 
 Besides the ordinary vendors of cotton, grain, gourds, 
 &c., there were numbers of Arab cooks engaged in 
 broiling most savouiy cow-steaks in large earthen 
 dishes, which diffused an appetising odour through the 
 air, that caused many a swarthy Tokrouris, riding by 
 with shield and spear on the bare back of his camel, to 
 pause and fortify himself with a meal before entering 
 on the lonely prairie. 
 
 Mustafa and I had not left Katarif far behind us
 
 1 90 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. i. xxvr. 
 
 before we were overtaken by the letter-carrier, riding 
 on the sheik's camel, and accompanied by its Arab 
 driver, who, as usual, was forthcoming the moment we 
 were gone. I never could clearly understand what can 
 be the motive that makes both Abyssinians and Arabs 
 have such an inveterate love for putting everything 
 off till the morrow. Perhaps, when they have had 
 more intercourse with Europeans, they <nmy at last 
 learn that if a thing must be done it is best to 
 do it at once. There seems little chance of it at 
 present. 
 
 An old Spanish legend relates that St. Isidore, who, 
 before he became a saint, was a hopelessly dull 
 boy, one day looked into a well, and, noticing that 
 the marble was worn by the constant friction of the 
 rope, modestly compared his head to the marble, and 
 said to himself, " If a rope by constant rubbing can 
 wear a groove in hard stone, surely constant study 
 ought to make some impression even on r my mind," 
 whereupon he became a saint. Let us hope that some 
 such beneficial change may one day be worked in the 
 Arabs, only I fear their heads are even harder than that 
 of St. Isidore ! 
 
 A short ride across a level plain brought us to a little 
 village, where was a well surrounded by a crowd of 
 Arab girls and children, laughing gaily as they drew up 
 the water in pieces of hide attached, at the four corners, 
 to a rope the only form of bucket known in the 
 country. This was the last well on our road, so we 
 loosened the girths of our camels and let them drink
 
 < H. xxvi. From Gala bat to Katarif, 191 
 
 their fill, a privilege they availed themselves of by 
 swelling to an enormous size. 
 
 The village was quite a pretty sight, with its round 
 straw huts fenced-in with cane, shaded by palms 
 aird other eastern trees ; while, lying in the sun- 
 shine round the well, reposed peaceful groups of 
 humped oxen, and Roman-nosed sheep with enormous 
 tails, among whom strutted a purple-headed stork, 
 quite tame. But a very different prospect soon met 
 our view, for we now entered the desert, or, more cor- 
 rectly speaking, vast tract of waterless prairie, that lies 
 between Katarif and Abbou Harras, on the Blue Nile.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 A CAMEL BIDE ACROSS TOE PLAINS. 
 
 I COPY textually from my journal : " This desert is 
 not sand, but mud, and nothing meets the eye as far as 
 it can reach but the dead skeleton grass of last rain 
 season, which rises dry and white in the burning sun- 
 shine, making the plain look at a distance like a gigantic 
 field of over-ripe corn. The track is worn bare by the 
 feet of camels and strewn with their bones. An un- 
 wholesome smell of dead vegetable matter rises from 
 the cracks in the black mud, now all parched and 
 baked, and reflecting back the almost vertical rays of 
 the sun, like heated fire-brick. It is easy to understand 
 how fever, "the pestilence that walketh in darkness 
 and the destruction that wasteth at noonday," lurks on 
 these plains, both when the tropical rains are melting 
 all the decayed vegetable matter of which the mud is 
 composed, and when the sun is boiling the blood in 
 one's veins and the very air one is breathing is at the 
 temperature of a baker's oven. 
 
 " Presently we come to the carcase of a camel newly 
 fallen, his head turned towards his journey's end. Poor 
 fellow, he had almost reached it like how many men ! 
 A score of tufted vultures, holding council over him, are
 
 en. xxvir. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 193 
 
 the only living things to be seen, besides the great 
 saw-legged locusts, and spotted salamanders of a sickly 
 yellow, apparently born of the mud, which crawl out of 
 every fissure. 
 
 " But now we see a lake of clear water, not more than 
 five miles off, and surrounded by trees, whose forms are 
 distinctly visible, reflected in its mirror-like depths. 
 It is only a mirage, though so surprisingly real that 
 even Mustafa, a born Arab, is deceived by it. 
 
 " The red sun sets, leaving a broad golden wake over 
 the dry grass, like the path of light it casts on the sea, 
 and as the purple veil of night falls over the desert the 
 sheet lightning lights up the whole horizon, flashing 
 vividly round a dozen different points of the compass 
 at once. 
 
 " I am still suffering from ophthalmia and the wounds 
 in my legs, so make a short halt at sunset. But as we 
 are to find no water for three days we cannot afford to 
 tarry more than an hour, and ride steadily forwards 
 again till two in the morning, when we make a 
 second halt, lying down in our clothes beside the 
 camels. 
 
 " Occasionally we can see against the starlight sky the 
 dark silhouettes of some Arabs passing on their camels 
 like the shadow figures of a galanty show ; but pre- 
 sently a tropical shower the first of the season begins 
 to fall, the large drops of which almost hiss as they 
 touch the baking ground, and I take refuge under 
 an ox-hide that I have brought from Galabat, till 
 morniujj."
 
 194 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxvu. 
 
 May 27th. We rose with the sun and mounted our 
 camels. The Arab riding in front on the Sheik's 
 camel, naked to the waist, with his shield and spear at 
 his side, and his long black hair waving to and fro, 
 looked quite a picture. The negro letter-carrier with 
 his white turban, red sash, and bright blue shirt, at a 
 distance had the appearance of some extraordinary bird 
 of gaudy plumage ; but Mustafa was the grandest sight 
 of all : perched on the top of a heterogeneous pile of 
 kettles, carpets, skins, horns, and provision-bags, with my 
 rifle in his hand, and the monkey behind him, which 
 made hideous faces whenever the lurching motion of the 
 camel disturbed its balance, and amused itself by picking 
 out the cotton that served to close the mouths of some 
 bottles of native arrakee, and emptying their contents 
 on the ground, much to the grief and rage of Mustafa, 
 under whose special care I had placed this valuable 
 store of spirit. " I speak to him in Arabic, sar," said 
 Mustafa despairingly, as if the monkey were a fellow 
 mortal, " but he only make fun of me and laugh in my 
 face ! " 
 
 We now saw before us some great rocks rising like 
 islands from the sea of dead grass, but though every 
 rent and crevice in them was as plainly visible in this 
 clear atmosphere as if they were quite near, it took six 
 hours' hard riding before we reached them. An Arab 
 passed us on a dromedary. He had started from Soog 
 Abou Sin eight hours after us, and ridden all night. 
 Happy man, having no baggage but his sword and 
 shield, he could go fast, while we were condemned to
 
 xxvir. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 195 
 
 three miles an hour, and even that was a quick pace for 
 a baggage camel. 
 
 I was astonished to see an Arab on foot suddenly 
 appear on the plain, but he disappeared as mysteriously 
 as he appeared, and where he came from or whither he 
 went I cannot imagine, as the eye here swept over a 
 level plain in every direction. It was noon when we 
 reached the rocks we had seen in the distance, and 
 turned our beasts loose to get what sustenance they 
 could from the dead herbage. I saw a guinea-fowl 
 among the stones, and from this argued that there must 
 be water somewhere, but the Arab declared that he 
 knew of none. 
 
 I was vainly seeking some shelter from the sun, 
 which being now directly overhead, produced no shadows, 
 when Mustafa staggered up with mouth and eyes wide 
 open, looking perfectly limp with terror. His dark 
 brown skin had turned to a livid blue, and his flesh 
 was quivering like calves'-foot jelly, with a spasmodic 
 and perfectly involuntary action. I asked him what 
 was the matter, but at first he could only point to a 
 heap of stones, which, when I examined them, presented 
 nothing extraordinary in their appearance. However, 
 at last he explained that he had gone near these stones 
 collecting dry grass and sticks for the fire, when a 
 gigantic cobra, " four yards long," had suddenly reared 
 itself up as high as a man in front of him, and turned 
 him, as he said, all cold in a moment. Though the 
 snake had not bitten him, and had glided away after 
 merely rising up and hissing at him menacingly, there 
 
 o 2
 
 196 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvn. 
 
 was no doubt of the terrible nervous shock it had 
 produced on him, which was followed by a profound 
 mental and bodily prostration, that left his system 
 unstrung for a long time. He declared he felt quite 
 unable to move from the spot where he was standing 
 when the snake rose up before him, though he fully 
 realised the danger of his position. 
 
 In a desert where there is no water, well or ill one 
 cannot tarry ; so, after little more than an hour's rest 
 we continued the march, though the sun was now so 
 hot that our water-skins perspired like human beings, 
 and were fast becoming empty through evaporation. 
 
 Late at night we reached the base of Mount Sirgain, 
 a mass of rock which we had seen from time to time 
 standing out black against the horizon illuminated by 
 the violet flashes of the lightning, that was playing all 
 around us, as on the previous evening. Every now and 
 then the night wind swept through the skeleton grass 
 with a low moaning sound that reminded one of stormy 
 weather by the sea; and indeed there was Something won- 
 derfully deserted and ocean-like in the great plain as seen 
 by the lurid electric light, with the pale dead grass rising 
 and falling in long waves before the force of the wind. 
 
 We only halted at the foot of Mount Sirgain for an 
 hour, and rode on again through the night, like restless 
 spirits, till nearly dawn. Once a thunderstorm swept 
 over the desert, and our camels, frightened at the 
 phenomenon, knelt down, and burying their heads in 
 the dust, wanted to stop, but we made them go on, as 
 our water was now nearly all evaporated, and we could
 
 n. xxvii. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 197 
 
 not afford to march less than twenty hours in the 
 twenty-four. At last, two hours before sunrise, we 
 lay down to sleep ; but, even as we slept, we had to 
 keep one hand on the water-skins, for the Arab 
 declared the hyenas were often rendered so daring 
 by thirst that they would make a dash at a caravan 
 and carry the water-skins bodily off. 
 
 May 28th. At daybreak we rose again. All the 
 water had disappeared, the skins which we supposed 
 still contained some proving to be merely distended 
 with hot air. Mustafa, having no water, had the bright 
 inspiration to boil my coffee with arrakee, or white 
 spirit, and presented it to me as usual. I need hardly 
 say he very nearly brought my travels to an abrupt 
 termination. Boiling-hot spirit, with the thermometer 
 at 109 in the shade, and the nearest well far away on 
 the horizon, ABAS AN GA ! ! ! as the Abyssinians say. 
 
 Nearly all trace of vegetation had now disappeared, 
 and the desert was a dazzling expanse of white sandy 
 soil, very painful to the eyes. Before us on the horizon we 
 could see a level island of rock several miles long, rising 
 above the plain, and looking not unlike Lundy Island, 
 as seen from the Devonshire coast. This was Jebel 
 Araing, where we should find water. The air was so 
 perfectly light and clear that every crack in the rock 
 was distinctly visible, and it appeared impossible that 
 the Jebel could be very far off, yet hour succeeded 
 hour of weary marching beneath a burning sun, and 
 the mountain only seemed to recede further before us 
 as we advanced.
 
 198 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvn. 
 
 The ground was now becoming thickly strewn with 
 the bones of camels that had died before they reached 
 the well, for it causes a camel considerable suffering 
 to go more than three days without water, and once a 
 camel sinks down from exhaustion he never rises again. 
 Our camels being lightly burdened had travelled some- 
 what faster than the caravans do, but already my poor 
 hygeen, who, when he left the wells near Katarif, was 
 distended to an enormous size with water, had become 
 as fine as a greyhound, and I had to be continually 
 tightening the girths. It was painful to feel the poor 
 beast stumbling along over the parched sand, with his 
 head down, his mouth open, and his dull eyes ever 
 fixed wistfully on the distant rock where was the well. 
 Twice he nearly went down, and I knew that if he did 
 so he would not rise again ; but he struggled on 
 bravely, though he staggered perceptibly as he dragged 
 himself wearily forwards. My three men were only 
 little black specks on the horizon behind me, for I had 
 ridden ahead, knowing that once at the wells I could 
 send them assistance should any of their camels fall ; 
 but now it seemed that my own camel was the one 
 that was about to succumb, and the confounded Jebel 
 still looked no nearer than it had done when we 
 started, though we had been marching incessantly for 
 five hours. Fortunately, notwithstanding that I was 
 horribly thirsty, I had been careful to preserve about 
 a quart of water untouched in my leather-bottle or 
 zemzemir, and this I now poured into a calabash that 
 hung by my saddle. No sooner did my camel hear the
 
 THE LAST DROP OF WATER.
 
 iii. xxvii. A Camel Ride across tlic Plains. 1 99 
 
 gurgling sound than be turned his long neck and looked 
 up in my face with such an eager wistful expression 
 in his eyes, that somehow he reminded me of the 
 Ancient Mariner. I bent forwards so that he could 
 reach the calabash, and in a few moments he had 
 drained it dry. It was a very small draught, but every 
 drop seemed to give him new life, and he even broke 
 into a feeble trot, compared to which the action of a 
 cart-horse with all its joints dislocated would have been 
 luxurious. 
 
 Presently we reached a few straggling mimosas, 
 then a grove of green trees, among which guinea fowl 
 were running, then we saw a troop of dog-faced baboons, 
 and an Arab woman and her daughter starting away 
 across the desert, heaven knows where ! with water- 
 skins on their backs : and at last the murmur of many 
 voices and the roar of hundreds of camels, announced 
 that we had reached the wells. 
 
 Almost in the centre of a long range of rocks before 
 us was an immense natural amphitheatre, partially 
 enclosed by perpendicular walls of red granite. An 
 opening at the other side of this amphitheatre formed 
 a natural gate, through which the traveller could gain 
 the desert beyond, and thus avoid making a detour of 
 many miles, for everywhere else the rocks sloped at an 
 angle of 45 to a height of some six or eight hun- 
 dred feet. The desert island, for I can give it no better 
 name, was encircled by a belt of mimosa trees, and in 
 the level sandy bottom of the amphitheatre twenty or 
 thirty deep wells had been dug, out of which, a crowd
 
 2OO The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. XXMI. 
 
 of Arabs, tanned dark as bronze, were busily engaged 
 drawing water, which they poured into little mud 
 reservoirs, surrounded by groups of thirsty camels. 
 Like all the Arabs of these plains, their only clothing 
 consisted of a narrow piece of cotton wrapped round 
 the loins ; but their figures had a suppleness, and the 
 movement with which they swung their water-skins 
 up from the wells, a peculiar grace that I had not 
 noticed among any of the other Arab tribes, who, as a 
 rule, are rather angular, and have a hard spare look 
 that reminds one of leather thongs and whipcord. 
 These people, too, had oval faces, and an almost wo- 
 manly delicacy of feature. They drew up the water 
 from the wells to a sort of rude song, that repeated by 
 many voices swelled into a chorus and produced no 
 unmelodious effect as it was echoed back with variations 
 by the granite walls of the mountain. 
 
 Round about the wells, in the blazing sunshine, lay 
 hundreds of camels, cows, and donkeys, which had been 
 brought here when the other wells of the plains had 
 become dry, and the ground was littered with shields, 
 spears, bales of cotton, skins, and other merchandise, 
 the wild-looking owners of which sat under the mimosa 
 trees, waiting till their beasts had quenched their 
 thirst. 
 
 The Arab, who, two days before, had passed us on 
 his trotting kygeen, presently came and squatted gravely 
 down on one end of my carpet. He was a Shukeriah, 
 very dark, with a somewhat sinister expression of face, 
 and part of his hair standing straight up, like a mop, on
 
 en. xxvii. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 201 
 
 the top of his head after the fashion of the country 
 while the rest hung round his neck in long woolly 
 ringlets richly adorned with fat. He was of course 
 naked to the waist, and the whole of his personal 
 effects apparently consisted of a giraffe-hide shield, 
 a long straight sword, a heavy spear, and the swift 
 Injgeen on which he rode. He told Mustafa that he 
 could guide me a short cut across the desert to Abou 
 Harras if I would accompany him, and I agreed to do 
 so when the sun should be somewhat less hot ; for, not- 
 withstanding his rather sinister look, that the desert 
 beyond Jebel Araing was said to be infested by pre- 
 datory Arabs, and that it seemed slightly imprudent to 
 leave the beaten track of the caravans, there was 
 neither deceit nor malice in the man's face, and I de- 
 termined to trust him. 
 
 When our camels had rested and again distended 
 themselves with water, we passed through the natural 
 gate in the rocks, and entered a tract of leafless mimosa 
 bush, peopled by myriads of scarlet locusts, but we soon 
 emerged again on the open desert, which was, if pos- 
 sible, more dreary than the previous one, being now 
 perfectly barren sand and stone, with not even the 
 skeleton of the dead grass of a past season to cheer it. 
 Even the dead grass had been better than nothing, 
 for it 'moved. Here all was motionless ! 
 
 The sunsets I saw, while crossing these plains, were 
 some of the most beautiful I can remember. A rich 
 golden glow would light up earth and sky as the sun 
 sank behind the horizon, changing the tropical desert
 
 2O2 Tlie Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxvn. 
 
 into a wondrous Tom Tiddler's ground, the very 
 stones of which seemed moidores, and the sands auri- 
 ferous dust. 
 
 We were marching through the darkness, and I was 
 humming a tune, when presently I heard Mustafa's 
 voice : " Master, sar, the Bedawee ask you not to 
 sing." " Why ? " " He say there be many bad Arabs 
 about ; he not want them to know we are here. Will 
 I give you your rifle, Captain ? " " No, Mustafa, I 
 have my revolver ; you can hand me my rifle should 
 you hear me fire it." " Very good, sar ; but you not 
 leave me, Captain!" "Ail right, Mustafa." And so 
 we continued moving silently through the night for 
 many hours. 
 
 I know nothing more painful than the want of sleep 
 when one is ridJng a camel. I had been obliged to 
 take frequently small doses of opium for my ophthalmia, 
 and these, together with the little rest I had been able 
 to enjoy since I left Galabat, produced in me a pro- 
 found desire to sleep : a desire that each hour had 
 been increasing in intensity, till it seemed that the riches 
 of Golconda, had I possessed them, would have been a 
 small price to pay for five hours' calm repose. Several 
 times I had nearly gone off into a doze, when a sudden 
 lurch of the camel reminded me of the insecure nature 
 of my lofty seat, and I woke with a start and a vague 
 idea that I was going over a precipice, just in time to 
 save myself from falling over the camel's head. The 
 silence, the darkness, and the rocking motion all com- 
 bined to make the necessity of keeping a vigilant look-
 
 CH. xxvn. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 203 
 
 out I was riding in front very trying. However, at 
 last, between two and three in the morning, the Arab 
 said he thought it would be safe to halt, and we made 
 our beasts kneel down in a little hollow that concealed 
 us from view. My camel, who had learned to know 
 me, came shuffling up on his knees and slept beside 
 me, looking in the half-light of the stars like a great 
 boulder stone. I could distinguish the sound of a 
 party of Arabs passing near us in the night, but they 
 did not see us. 
 
 May 29f/i. We rose as usual with the sun, and 
 keeping the camels at a trot, made a long march before 
 noon. Some of the atmospheric effects on the desert 
 were very curious. The rocky islands we had left in 
 the far distance appeared floating above the surface of 
 the plain like clouds instead of rising from it, and the 
 higher points of Jebel Araing being now only visible, 
 presented the appearance of a series of isolated rocks, 
 while at the same time the air was so beautifully clear 
 that it was impossible to appreciate their distance. 
 
 At last we reached a wide tract of mimosa bush, 
 among which scores of camels were roaming at liberty. 
 They were the first living things we had seen since 
 sunrise. Owing to the burning heat the mimosa trees 
 were all dried up and nearly leafless, but they sug- 
 gested the idea, of shade, which was pleasant. We 
 presently espied two naked Arab boys, who, after a 
 colloquy with my Shukeriah friend, singled out a camel 
 calf of tender years and drove it towards its mother. 
 The mother stopped to let it suck, and, while it was thus
 
 2O4 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvn. 
 
 engaged, the boys managed to approach and draw some 
 of her milk into my calabash. The milk was very 
 sweet, and, with a few dried dates that the Shukeriah 
 produced, we made a delightful repast. 
 
 The mimosa bush continued very thin and scattered, 
 and the heat was terrible. About one o'clock a hot 
 blast swept across the plain, that literally made us 
 gasp for breath ; we could do nothing but halt where it 
 overtook us and lie down for three hours till it had 
 somewhat abated. I have felt the hot breath of the 
 sirocco in Italy, and the levante in Spain ; but, for 
 a real furnace-blast, to make the brain reel and bake 
 up the very marrow in one's bones, I never felt any- 
 thing to equal this tropical simoom. 
 
 At last we were able to continue our way, and pre- 
 sently saw in the distance a line of palms fringing the 
 banks of the Rahad, a tributary of the Atbara ; this 
 was a welcome sight. 
 
 Two hours after sunset we reached a well seventy feet 
 deep, and as usual surrounded by a crowd of Arabs, one 
 of whom I secured to guide me to the nearest village ; 
 for the Shukeriah, as soon as he found we were enter- 
 ing an inhabited region, abruptly bade me adieu, saying 
 that he could accompany me no further, and turning 
 his hygeen's head, trotted away across the lonely plain 
 towards the east, where he was soon lost to view in the 
 darkening shadows of the night. Mustafa said he 
 seemed afraid to enter a village ; but whatever he was, 
 or wherever he went, he acted loyally by me even to 
 the sharing his little stock of dried dates.
 
 CH. xxvn. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 205 
 
 It was late when my new guide led us into his vil- 
 lage, a small hamlet consisting only of a few round 
 houses dotted promiscuously about, with cattle sleeping 
 tranquilly near them ; not a light was to be seen, and 
 everything was profoundly quiet. I was led to the 
 Sheik's house, and the Sheik roused himself and greeted 
 me. He, like most Sheiks, Avas an old man, and he said he 
 was very poor, but all that he had was at the stranger's 
 service. " You have the head of a Sultan," said he, 
 courteously, as he sat beside me, and approaching the 
 taper to my face, stroked my beard ; " it is for you to 
 command, and all I have is yours." The compliments 
 of the Arabs are of course as worthless as most compli- 
 ments, and yet the grace with which they deliver them 
 shows a certain refinement ; for compliments may be 
 truly called the currency of good society, and well-bred 
 people naturally prefer to say agreeable things to each 
 other to going out of their way to say unpleasant ones. 
 It is just as easy, and much nicer. Indeed, it shows a 
 certain vulgarity of mind to take a pleasure in pointing 
 out painful truths. Suppose your head be too big, or 
 your eyes be too small, or your legs be too short, or 
 your nose be too long, the person who reminds you of 
 these uncomfortable defects has probably not got them 
 himself, and is really taking a mean delight in vaunting 
 his own advantages by comparison. It were much 
 more generous of him to tell you that small eyes are 
 just as serviceable as big ones, that big heads except 
 in the case of idiots generally denote large minds, that 
 short legs are often more solid than long ones, and that
 
 206 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvu. 
 
 Julius Caesar and his Grace the late Duke of Welling- 
 ton were both remarkable for their noses but this is a 
 digression. 
 
 An angarep or Arab bed was prepared for me in the 
 Sheik's own house, a skin of dkurra or grain brought 
 for the camels, and a supper laid before me, consisting 
 of a gourd of sour milk and some eggs ; the fare was 
 simple, but as the Sheik said, it was all he had to give, 
 and it was offered readily with true Arab grace. In 
 Lower Egypt, where travellers are common, the rights 
 of hospitality have taken the form of a grudging obe- 
 dience, or a calculating covetousness, very different from 
 the traditional hospitality of the Arabs, which, I am 
 glad to say, still really exists among some of the wild 
 tribes of Upper Nubia. 
 
 I slept profoundly, for curiously enough, since we had 
 descended to the Nubian plains, all the manifold varie- 
 ties of vermin that rendered life a burden and a sorrow 
 in Abyssinia, had completely disappeared. It was too 
 hot even for a flea to exist ! 
 
 May 30th. An hour before daybreak I roused Mus- 
 tafa from a heavy slumber and continued the journey. 
 Our route ran parallel with the river Rahad, and the 
 palms which grew beside the water were occasionally 
 visible to our left. We passed three small villages, ob- 
 taining at each a guide as far as the next, and at last 
 the white minaret of a mosque rising needle-like before 
 us denoted our approach to Abou Harras, a little town 
 situated on the east bank of the famous Bahr-el-Azerek, 
 or Blue Nile (the ancient Astapus), which here tra-
 
 CH. xxvir. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 207 
 
 verses a vast plain of rich bi'own soil highly adapted for 
 the cultivation of cotton, but, I need hardly say, unculti- 
 vated. The best houses in Abou Harras were of the 
 usual round form, though built of stones and inclosed 
 by cane fences, while the common habitations were 
 merely square mud hovels. The Blue Nile was here 
 upwards of five hundred yards wide, and rising rapidly. 
 The water was not blue, but a rich opaque red colour, 
 being highly charged with earth, which it was carrying 
 down from the highlands of Abyssinia, where the rains 
 were already falling. So thick was the water, that 
 even when it was placed in a glass, you could not see 
 through it, but the taste was fresh and pleasant, and it 
 was a grand sight to see the great river hurrying past 
 on its way to fertilise the plains of Egypt. 
 
 In the centre of the stream, just opposite Abou Har- 
 ras, was a white sand bank, each day becoming smaller, 
 and on the dry glistening ridge of this, five or six great 
 crocodiles were basking lazily, while at the further side 
 of the river a graceful cluster of a peculiar kind of palm 
 (Barassus jEth-iopicus), which I only noticed south of 
 Kartum, afforded shelter to a number of large black 
 birds with long curved beaks, who performed the duty 
 of town scavengers. Not a human being was visible, 
 for it was the hour when all seek refuge from the noon- 
 tide heat, and the great river seemed to be the only 
 thing moving besides ourselves. 
 
 With some difficulty we found the house of a mer- 
 chant, to whom my Greek host at Katarif had given me 
 a letter, and I was installed in a dark room with very
 
 208 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvn. 
 
 thick walls, which rendered it cool and pleasant. The 
 merchant came and said he would take all that I wanted 
 on his head, graphically placing his hand there, and 
 when the heat had somewhat abated we walked to the 
 banks of the river to look for a boat to convey me down 
 the stream to Khartum, now not more than a hundred 
 and twenty miles distant. There was only one rickety 
 old boat to be had, the owner of which offered to take 
 me for twelve dollars, which he said was the price he 
 would get for carrying a cargo of corn. I agreed to en- 
 gage the boat on his solemnly promising to start that 
 evening, and obtained from the Egyptian custom-house 
 officer, who came to visit me, the promise of a trust- 
 worthy man to take my camels by land to Khartum. 
 
 The Arab population of Abou Harras were very dark 
 in colour, and the fashionable dress for both men and 
 women was merely a narrow belt with a long fringe 
 hanging to it, worn rlmnd the waist ; blue bead neck- 
 laces, silver anklets, and little red leather bags contain- 
 ing charms hung to the arm above the elbow, were 
 also in vogue. 
 
 As the evening breeze rippled the river I prepared to 
 embark, but of course the boat was not ready, though the 
 owner hoped that bukkara, to-morrow, iiisAa^a/i, should 
 Allah be willing, he might be able to leave. I told him that, 
 insMlldh, I should be far on my way before the morrow, 
 and sending for the man from the custom-house, had 
 the camels saddled and continued my journey by land. 
 
 We followed the right bank of the Blue Nile, keep- 
 ing as near it as was possible ; but some hours after dark
 
 fir. xxvir. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 209 
 
 the guide missed his way in a maze of nabbuk trees 
 and mimosas which so hedged us in with their formid- 
 able thorns, that, in the darkness, we could find no outlet, 
 and were obliged to lie down under a tree till the 
 morning light should enable us to release ourselves. 
 
 May 31st. When I opened my eyes I discovered, 
 about three inches from my nose, a gigantic spider, with 
 a body as big as a walnut and legs in proportion ; this 
 awakened me thoroughly. \Ve continued our way through 
 the mimosa bushes, which here formed a kind of jungle, 
 and tore to shreds everything we had about us that was 
 tearable, my Arab mattress in particular suffered se- 
 verely, and the cotton with which it was stuffed adorned 
 the trees so profusely that they looked as if they were 
 covered with white flowers. The camels too not unfre- 
 quently forgot they had riders on their backs, and made 
 desperate efforts to pass under trees that were scarcely 
 lofty enough to clear their humps, and armed with fish- 
 hook thorns of most excruciating strength and sharpness. 
 
 Occasionally we caught a glimpse of the river : the 
 wind had risen, and the water was rippled into little 
 waves which, being bright cerulean blue where lighted 
 by the sun, and dark russet red on the shadow side, 
 presented a very strange effect. A pair of enormous 
 butterflies fluttered through the air before us, flirting 
 outrageously, and in many of the trees I noticed great 
 flat nests, occupied by big black and white storks, which 
 did not move, or in the least depart from the grave de- 
 corum of their manner as we passed, though our heads 
 often reached within half a foot of them. 
 
 VOL. it. r
 
 2io The Cradle of the Blue Nile. . xxvn. 
 
 Passing a village where the houses, though of the 
 ordinary conical form, were constructed of sun-dried 
 brick, we rode on till we reached an Arab ferry that 
 plied across the river. I determined to cross to the 
 Western side, and joined a dignified Sheik who was 
 standing on the shore with nearly a hundred camels, 
 several donkeys, and a beautiful bay horse, which he 
 wanted taken over. 
 
 The ferry was not very large, and as I calculated it 
 would take at least a couple of hours to transport all 
 these, I asked him to let my three camels go with the 
 first boat load, but instead of doing so, he hurried as 
 many of his cattle as he could into the boat and pushed 
 away from the bank, grinning derisively. However, he 
 became grave enough when he perceived that he was 
 covered by my rifle, which I had at once cocked and 
 levelled, and waving frantic signs to me not to fire, he 
 returned to the shore and made room for me. 
 
 The embarkation of the camels was a most ludicrous 
 process, as they seemed quite incapable of stepping over 
 the side of the boat themselves, and each of their long 
 legs had to be lifted into it separately by main force. 
 The horse, however, leaped in with a bound that nearly 
 swamped us, and we pushed away, my three camels 
 with their baggage, eight or nine donkeys, the horse, 
 and about twenty Arabs, all packed like herrings, 
 making a good boat-load. The ferry was flat-bottomed 
 and propelled by half-a-dozen Arabs, who stood facing 
 the bows, armed with short paddles, which they dug 
 straight into the water like spades and pulled towards
 
 cu. xxvn. A Camel Ride across the Plains. 211 
 
 them, singing the while a rather pretty chorus, the bur- 
 den of which, though occasionally varied, appeared to 
 be He dey le-lie y ho ! the paddles flashing out of the 
 water simultaneously with every ho ! At the stern of 
 the boat sat the ferryman, an aged Arab, naked to the 
 waist, hoary as Charon, and armed with a long oar, which 
 lie used instead of a rudder to steer the boat, like the 
 old Roman steersmen. There was a considerable breeze, 
 and, when we were in the middle of the river, a large 
 liight of locusts was suddenly blown across it, which 
 came pattering about us by thousands like hail, the air 
 for many hundred yards round being quite dark with 
 them. 
 
 After the most ludicrous efforts my camels were at 
 last induced to jump out of the boat and clamber on 
 shore ; we followed them, and I went to look at a fleet 
 of five flat-bottomed, one-masted, lateen-rigged barges, 
 that were moored at this side of the river. I hoped to 
 secure one of these to take me to Khartum, but in the 
 first four not a soul was to be seen ; however, in the 
 fifth, I espied a Dongolar Arab (who, like all his tribe, 
 had a remarkably villanous cast of countenance) lying 
 on his back, lazily sharpening his long nails with a 
 curved knife. He said he was not the reis or captain ; 
 but after a little parley, he agreed to take us down to 
 Khartum, on his own responsibility, for twelve dollars. 
 I therefore sent my camels forwards in charge of the 
 guide, and embarked the baggage. 
 
 Of course, when we were ready to start there was a 
 delay. The Arab said he had changed his mind, and
 
 212 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxvn. 
 
 we must wait for the rcis, who had gone to a neigh- 
 bouring village, and, inshdlluh, would return in a day 
 or two. Nor was it till I had threatened to cut the 
 boat loose and navigate it myself, that we at last got 
 under way. 
 
 " Sar," remarked Mustafa, with quite a Johnsonian 
 air, " since we leave Massowah, not one of them black 
 fellows in Habash or Nubia have kept his word ; they 
 all liars, sar!" for Mustafa, as I have before hinted, 
 though himself two shades darker than the darkest oak 
 wainscoting, affected to look on all " black fellows " 
 with great scorn. 
 
 The wind had now fallen as suddenly as it had risen, 
 and the boat drifted slowly down with the current to- 
 wards Khartum.
 
 CHAPTER XX VIII. 
 
 JOURNEY DOWN THE BLUE NILE, AND ARRIVAL 
 AT KHARTUM. 
 
 IT was now sixteen clays since we had left the capital 
 of Ethiopia, and by dead reckoning we had ridden not 
 less than four hundred and fifty miles. We had only 
 halted once for an entire day, at Galabat, which left 
 fifteen days of continual marching, at the average rate 
 of thirty miles a day ; a forced march, considering that 
 I had ridden my own cattle all the way, and was en- 
 cumbered by baggage. Of course our speed had 
 varied with the nature of the country, and while tra- 
 versing the great plains between Katarif and Abou 
 Harras, we must have covered at least fifty miles in 
 every twenty-four hours. After riding incessantly day 
 and night across those interminable wastes on a sway- 
 ing camel, it may be imagined how delightful it was to 
 lie in the shade, under a shelter of matting I had 
 rigged on the quarter-deck of the boat, and to idly 
 watch the bubbles floating down the great " blue river," 
 as it bore us slowly towards the fair Mediterranean sea, 
 still more than a thousand miles away. 
 
 There was even something soothing in the very mo- 
 notony of the brown mud banks past which we glided 
 so smoothly, the outline of which was only broken here 
 and there by a few feathery mimosas, a clump of grace-
 
 214 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH.XXVIU. 
 
 ful palms, or a cluster of bright green bushes, dripping 
 into the deep, red-coloured water. The low hum of 
 a sageer, or Arab water-wheel, occasionally floated 
 drowsily through the air, and there was a hazy calm 
 and tranquillity about the scene that made this gentle 
 drifting progress down the Nile wonderfully pleasant to 
 a tired man. All the worry and care and toil of the 
 long journey through Ethiopia seemed left behind, and 
 for the moment I felt as if I would ask nothing better 
 than to glide thus smoothly on for ever. 
 
 Sometimes we passed white sand-banks covered with 
 storks, herons, and other strange water-birds ; I even 
 saw a white bustard, of curiously hydropathic tastes, 
 standing gravely cooling his legs in the water. A little 
 farther on, a couple of lazy crocodiles had a bank all to 
 themselves, and smiled benignly as we went by; I 
 could not help thinking of the verses by the author of 
 " Alice in Wonder-land : " 
 
 " How cheerfully he seems to grin, 
 
 And neatly spreads his claws, 
 
 To welcome little fishes in 
 
 With sweetly smiling jaws. " 
 
 The Arabs of the Nile country solemnly believe that 
 crocodiles shed tears after they have devoured their 
 victims, and there is certainly a plausible look about 
 the creatures that seems to say " I would eat you 
 with pleasure, but at the same time I would weep over 
 your untimely fate with the sympathy of a friend " 
 which, however, would not make them relish the meal 
 the less. I have seen the same sort of expression on 
 some human faces.
 
 Journey down the Blue Nile. 215 
 
 Crocodiles have the tongue attached to the lower 
 jaw, so that they can give no distinct cry, but when 
 wounded they make an inarticulate noise, like a dumb 
 person, which is painful to hear. They rarely go far 
 from the river, and when I shot one he turned on his 
 back and rolled rapidly over till he dropped into the 
 water, where he sunk like a stone. 
 
 The way my crew navigated the Bahr-el-Azrek 
 was beautifully simple ; they just let the boat drift 
 round and round as the current took it, merely pushing 
 it off with a pole, when it grazed a sand bank. Some- 
 times we went stern foremost, sometimes broad-side on, 
 now in the middle of the stream, now at the side, 
 swinging slowly round till the view seemed a vast 
 revolving panorama. 
 
 Towards evening, where the Nile's banks were low, 
 we occasionally saw enormous herds of camels of all 
 ages and sizes, which had come down to drink, and 
 sunset was heralded by the appearance of a wonderful 
 golden haze on the horizon. The water was as smooth 
 and oily as quicksilver, and reflected each tint of the 
 roseate sky so faithfully, that it was difficult to say 
 where the one ended and the other began, while the 
 sun appeared like a red-hot ball, half in the sky and 
 half in the water. A few delicate violet clouds floated 
 lightly overhead, and presently the gold and red mists 
 of sunset changed to a cool greenish gray, as the day 
 died serenely amidst a profound stillness that pervaded 
 both air and water. 
 
 Those who have not been in the East can have little
 
 216 T/ic Cradle of the Blue Nile, cn.xxvm. 
 
 idea of the exquisite blue of the evening sky, where 
 the delicate crescent of the new moon now shone pale 
 and silvery, with one little star near it, as depicted on 
 the flag of Egypt.* Later the shades of night deepened, 
 and the broad blue Nile seemed turned to silver as it 
 lay bathed in the pure white moonlight. In one of its 
 wild gyrations the boat suddenly struck on a sunken 
 rock, and when, with considerable difficulty, we had got 
 her off, and I was preparing to go to sleep, she bumped 
 again on a sand bank at the east side of the river, and 
 stuck hard and fast. The evening wind had risen, but it 
 only blew her further on, so, after several ineffectual etforts, 
 we were fain to leave her where she was till daylight. 
 
 June 1st. At daylight I again tried to get off, but 
 we were jammed under a high mud bank, and unless 
 the wind shifted it seemed likely we might remain 
 there till doomsday. 
 
 Besides Mustafa and myself, my crew only consisted 
 of two negro slaves too old to work, and three young 
 Dongolar Arabs, who would not work. Mustafa, espying 
 a solitary native on shore, came and begged the loan of my 
 rifle that he might capture him and bring him to assist 
 us ; of course I refused to let him use the rifle for any 
 such purpose, so he compromised the matter by seizing 
 my walking stick, and started in pursuit. The man 
 came and gave what help he could, but it was all of no 
 use, our utmost efforts could only move the boat a few 
 yards, and then she stuck again harder than before. I 
 tried to get my crew to assist, but they would not exert 
 * The Egyptian flag has a crescent and a star for device.
 
 < -ii. xx vm. Journey down tlic Blue Nile. 217 
 
 themselves in the least, and when I tried beating one 
 of them, they simply jumped into the water and ran 
 away. Being thus deserted by our crew, Mustafa and I 
 had nothing to do but to make the best of our mud 
 bank, and wait calmly till, inshdUdh ! as the Arabs say, 
 some happy chance should release us from it. Luckily 
 we had some sardines that I had bought of an Armenian 
 at Galabat, and there was no lack of water. 
 
 I had been drowsily watching a young crocodile 
 swimming round the boat till I had fallen asleep, when 
 I was roused by a voice, saying, Taibiu lutwdgctht* 
 and found a rather good-looking Arab sitting cross- 
 legged beside me. He was the reis or skipper of the 
 boat, who, having heard that I had engaged his men to 
 take me to Khartum, had followed me by land. I soon 
 arranged with him to bring back the crew, for he 
 did not want to lose his money, and the wind being 
 now slightly shifted, we set the sail and managed to 
 get off. 
 
 The level mud banks of the river, were, as yesterday, 
 only varied by a few palms and mimosas, while over- 
 head the sky was an unbroken blue, through which the 
 sun blazed without mercy, but my shelter of matting 
 secured me from its rays, and the rising wind fanned 
 our foreheads and filled the great white lateen sail, 
 bearing us steadily onwards. Up here the breeze was 
 young and fragrant from the wooded highlands of 
 Ethiopia. It had been cooled by the tropical rains, 
 and scented by the perfume of the mimosa groves 
 * A form of greeting.
 
 218 The Cradle of tJie Bhie Nile, 
 
 through which it had wandered, but when it should 
 have crossed the great Nubian desert it would be con- 
 verted into a burning simoom, wasting and scorching all 
 before it, the hot breath of which might even be felt 
 on the shores of Europe. 
 
 One of the two aged black slaves we had on board 
 was called Jack nobody knew how he had come by 
 the name and his fate was to do all the work, and be 
 cuffed alternately by every one of the crew. His com- 
 panion in bondage was an old woman, frightful to be- 
 hold, who did nothing but grind corn, from morning to 
 night, between two big rough stones, and smoke ashes 
 out of the fire in a long pipe. Neither of these poor 
 creatures understood a word of Arabic, and I was 
 amused to see one of the Arabs, when he wanted a 
 knife, pass his finger across his throat, a sign the 
 negro at once understood. The re'is had bought both 
 slaves in a lot for forty dollars (8) ; but Mustafa said 
 that at the slave market, which is still privately carried 
 on near the Turkish bazaar at Cairo, their age would 
 have made them fail to fetch even that much. I 
 cannot understand why the slave traders ever thought 
 it worth their while to drag the poor old things from 
 their home up the "White Nile ! 
 
 We passed many crocodiles basking in the sun. 
 They looked wonderfully like one's childish ideas of 
 scaly dragons as they dragged themselves slowly along 
 the sand, making a long furrow with their tails. 
 
 The sunset was again most lovely, and after dark we 
 again bumped on a sand bank, not far from one of the
 
 i. xxvni. Journey down iJic Blue Nile. 219- 
 
 little Arab villages which occasionally dotted the banks 
 of the river. I sent the crew into the water to try to 
 get the boat off; but we were firmly grounded, and 
 had to wait for daylight. 
 
 June 2nd. We got off at sunrise, though only to run 
 ashore again half a mile further down. The wind was 
 now blowing quite a, gale, and forced us hard against 
 the mud bank of the river. The rc'is, simply re- 
 marking that we could not go on till, inshdlldh, it 
 shifted, composed himself into a comfortable position 
 with the philosophy of a man to whom all days are- 
 alike, and who is prepared to sleep for an unlimited 
 time. 
 
 I went on shore, but could not see two hundred yards 
 before me for the clouds of sand that were being blown 
 right across the Nile, and which struck my face like 
 a scourge. The waves reflecting the blue sky on the 
 sunny side, and dark red on the other, gave the river 
 a purple tint of such brilliancy that no painter could 
 have copied it faithfully without running serious risk 
 of being called colour-mad by European critics. 
 
 The water looked fresh and tempting for a bathe, but 
 I could see the pointed noses of two large crocodiles 
 protruding out of it, near a sand bank not a hundred 
 yards off; however, the Arabs had told me that the 
 ci'ocodiles only attack people in shallow water, and 
 that they never attempt to eat a man swimming out 
 of his depths, so, on the strength of this belief, I deter- 
 mined to risk a SAvim : for I contemplated sending my 
 men again into the water to tow the boat from under
 
 -22O The Cradle of the Blue Nile, 
 
 the bank, and it seemed hardly lair to make them do 
 what I would not do myself. I confess that as I pre- 
 pared for the plunge, a horrible idea would suggest 
 itself that even if a black man was safe in deep water, 
 the glistening skin of a white one might perhaps attract 
 the hungry crocodile in the same wa\" that a silver bait 
 attracts fish, reflecting however that the longer I looked 
 at the leap the less I should like it, I dived in and 
 struck out for the middle of the stream. It was de- 
 lightfully refreshing to cleave one's way through the 
 cool sparkling water of the great river, but the touch of 
 each broken branch or stick that floated past produced 
 a most unpleasant sensation, and, though I can testify 
 in support of the native theory, that the crocodiles did 
 me no harm, I came to the conclusion that their 
 company was not conducive to the full and unalloyed 
 enjoyment of a bath. 
 
 By threatening Abdallah, the veis, that if he could 
 not get the boat off, I should leave him and proceed by 
 land, I at length induced him to wake up and exert 
 himself, and after much tugging and pushing to a gut- 
 tural chorus of ley le-ke ho Ab</<iJl<iJi ! we once more 
 got under way. 
 
 We passed a shed where some Arabs were building 
 a boat ; I had remarked that these Nile boats had no 
 ribs, and now discovered that they were simply con- 
 structed of thick planks placed edge to edge and 
 fastened together by very long nails driven slanting- 
 wise through them, and yet they do not come to grief 
 more often than our iron-clads !
 
 in. xx vn i. Journey doisn the Bine Nile. 221 
 
 I think it is a character in one of Dickens's Christmas 
 stories, who remarks that nothing arrives more regularly 
 than dinner-time, while nothing arrives less regularly 
 than dinner. I felt thi> painfully when the dinner hour 
 came, and Mustafa appeared empty-handed to say the 
 provisions were all finished ; I even began to debate 
 whether, if the voyage lasted much longer, it would be 
 best to eat the crew or the crocodiles, and decided that 
 it would be fairer to eat the latter, as, had they been 
 hungry, they would probably not have scrupled to eat me. 
 
 It fell quite calm towards evening, and I had out the 
 sweeps and made the men row all night. It took two 
 men to work each of these oars, which were thirty-one 
 feet long, and made of several pieces of wood lashed 
 together. 
 
 June 3rd In the morning the men jvent ashore and 
 towed the boat with a rope. We had nothing now to 
 eat but a little corn, which Mustafa mixed with water 
 and baked ; unfortunately I was no cook, and did not 
 know how to make it more palatable. True I had 
 learned from a modern novel, " how to cook an olive," viz. 
 Put an olive into a lark ; put a lark into a quail ; 
 put a quail into a plover ; put a plover into a partridge ; 
 put a partridge into a pheasant ; put a pheasant into a 
 turkey. First partially roast : then carefully stew until 
 all is thoroughly done down to the olive. Throw away 
 the turkey, the pheasant, the partridge, the plover, the 
 mail, and the lark. Then eat the olive! But this 
 style of cookery was hardly suited to Nubia, and I 
 would recommend travellers not to go there unprovided
 
 222 The Cradle of tlie Blue Nile, cn.xxvm. 
 
 Avith a simple cookery book, showing the various ways 
 of cooking eggs, fowls, game, &c. It may prove a valu- 
 able companion in moments of ill health when the taste 
 becomes capricious, and raw meat and food swimming 
 in rancid butter are as bad as poison. 
 
 At last a breeze rippled the water, and we were able 
 to sail. The crew threw down their tow rope, and, 
 jumping into the river, swam after the boat like por- 
 poises. We passed a skadoot, the simple lever, with a 
 counterpoise for drawing up water, which from time 
 immemorial has existed on the banks of the Nile, then 
 we saw a square building on the right, which Abdallah 
 said was the telegraph station of Khartum, and soon 
 after we were moored amid a fleet of lateen-sailed 
 boats, near a row of flat-roofed houses buried in palm 
 trees on the west side of the Nile we had arrived at 
 Khartum. 
 
 I landed, and wended my way through a strag- 
 gling bazar, where I was accosted by a jovial mer- 
 chant, who declared that he was the American Vice- 
 Consul, though what his use was, as he only spoke 
 Arabic, and there were no Americans, was a mystery ; 
 next I proceeded to the house of the Austrian Vice- 
 Consul, the only resident European official, but this 
 gentleman was asleep, and it was long before I could 
 induce his servants to venture on awaking him. When 
 he did appear he welcomed me civilly, and offered me 
 the hospitality of his house. He was, however, so 
 wasted by fever, that I thought I was hardly justified 
 in troubling him, and repaired to the divan of Ismael
 
 < it. xxvin. Journey doiuu tJie Blue Nile. 223 
 
 Pacha, the governor of Khartum, and ruler of all this 
 part of the Soudan. 
 
 A young Abyssinian slave ushered me into a lofty 
 room, with white-washed walls, in one corner of which 
 sat the Pacha, with his legs crossed on the seat of a 
 spacious arm chair, and his slippers on the ground be- 
 fore him. He was a stout, good-looking young man, 
 and, after gravely saluting me with the motion of the 
 hand to the heart, lips, and forehead, which constitutes 
 the oriental salaam* addressed me in French, which 
 he spoke fluently. He asked me many questions about 
 Abyssinia, and I was astonished to see how little was 
 really known in Egypt of that country, and what wild 
 and exaggerated stories the border Arabs told about it. 
 
 Long afterwards, I learned accidentally in the course 
 of a conversation with the Egyptian Minister of War, 
 that no sooner did I leave the divan than the Pacha 
 had every word I had said to him telegraphed to Cairo. 
 I mention this to show how eager the Egyptian govern- 
 ment were even then to obtain information about the 
 country they intended to invade, but of course I was 
 careful not to betray in any way the confidence of King 
 Yohannes. 
 
 Ismael Pacha was both intelligent and well-informed. 
 On the divan where I was sitting lay several volumes of 
 the Monde Illustre, which he had just been reading, 
 and he told me he had been educated at Marseilles. 
 
 * I believe these motions are intended to convey the impression, 
 that yon gather up the dust from under the feet of the person you are 
 saluting, and after pressing it reverently to your heart and your 
 lips, place it on your head.
 
 224 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH.XXVIH. 
 
 He had met Sir Samuel Baker when he started on 
 his first expedition, and asked me anxiously if I had 
 heard anything about him, as it was many months 
 since any news of the adventurous traveller had come 
 down the river, and a rumour had been circulated that 
 he was dead. We little thought that, at that very 
 moment, Sir Samel Baker was on the White Nile, only 
 a few days' sail from us. 
 
 The Pacha could not conceal his surprise at the short 
 time it had taken me to come from Gondar, and ap- 
 peared rather startled at realising the fact that the 
 King of Ethiopia's camp was not twenty days' march 
 from Khartum. He was very kind, and placed a house, 
 guard, &c., at my disposal, telling me to ask him for 
 anything I required, and begging my acceptance of a 
 splendid crocodile skin, fourteen feet long, from the 
 Bahr-el-Abiad. 
 
 My next visit was to the bazaar, where some little 
 European trifles were to be obtained, which to me 
 seemed quite luxuries. A subtle smell of scent per- 
 vaded the air, as it always does Eastern bazaars ; and 
 the provision market was very picturesque with its 
 piles of bright yellow and red melons, beside which 
 squatted ebony-coloured negresses from the White 
 Nile, adorned with monstrous silver nose and lip rings. 
 
 In the evening I joined the Pacha on the banks of 
 the river, and we sat till a late hour, chatting, smoking, 
 and drinking pale ale like two German students unter 
 den linden, only the linden were lofty palm trees, 
 the river flowing so smoothly by was the great Blue
 
 en. xx vm. Journey down the Blue Nile. 225 
 
 Nile, and overhead the stars hung in the sky as large 
 and lustrous as houri's eyes, while the night breeze that 
 gently fanned our faces, had perhaps rippled the Bahr- 
 el-Abiad at its unknown source. 
 
 June kill. At dawn the Pacha sent me his own 
 horse to ride a pure Arab from Arabia the holy. I 
 never saw such a beautiful creature, even among the 
 three hundred Arabs in Alii Pacha Shereef s stable. 
 The neck and quarters were as broad and strong as 
 those of a young bullock, the first beautifully arched, 
 with a long silky rnane falling on either side ; the legs 
 straight and fine ; the nose and ears small and delicate 
 as a greyhound's ; the corners of the large dark eyes, 
 and the inside of the wide quivering nostrils, a bright 
 pink ; and the clean cut- hoofs and pasterns as shapely 
 as a lady's foot. The colour of this noble animal was a 
 rich chestnut ; and he was caparisoned with a handsome 
 Turkish saddle and bridle of crimson and gold. A bare 
 legged sai-s, or groom, dressed in blue and scarlet, held 
 the rein, and ran before me, crying to the people to 
 make way, W'ci riylak, mind your foot ! Yeminak, go 
 to the right ! 1TV, >/<i ycddd, take care, good man ! Wai 
 ya bent, ddhrak, mind your back, my daughter ! &c. 
 
 I rode beside the river, passed lateen-rigged boats 
 being laden with Indian corn ; and murmuring sageers 
 worked by drowsy oxen, through cool shady groves of 
 date-palms, and out on a sandy plain leading to the 
 junction of the two Niles ; here I laid the reins on my 
 horse's neck and let him go. for no sooner did he feel 
 the hard sand under his feet, than he was longing to be 
 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 226 The Cradle of the Blue Nile, 
 
 off. Away we sped at a gallop, but such a gallop ! the 
 Eastern legend which tells how when Allah had created 
 all the animals, he tempered the lightning with the 
 south wind and made the horse, describes it more elo- 
 quently than anything I can say. 
 
 When we stopped, the waters of the two Niles 
 washed my horse's hoofs ; the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White 
 Nile, and the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue Nile, which here 
 united into one mighty river. The banks on either 
 side were barren and sterile, save for a few trees dotting 
 them here and there ; a little island with one solitary 
 palm upon it, under the shade of which some cattle 
 were browsing, divided the current before me ; and in 
 the distance a line of mountains rose above the sandy 
 plain. The two rivers, though united, still preserved 
 their respective colours, the western side of the stream 
 being a pale opaque azure, the colour of the White 
 Nile ; and the eastern side dyed deep red with the earth 
 that the Blue Nile was bringing down from the high- 
 lands of Ethiopia. According to the Arabs, the water of 
 the Blue Nile is better than that of the White Nile, as 
 the latter is highly impregnated with vegetable matter, 
 but they declare that the mixture of the waters of the 
 two Niles is the most wholesome to drink. 
 
 It was strange to think that the very water now 
 hurrying past me might have washed the feet of 
 Livingstone,* patiently trying to unravel the secret of 
 the great river, the secret that Father Nile has guarded 
 so well for thousands of years, though even when his- 
 * I did not know then that Livingstone was dead.
 
 c it. xxvni. Journey down the Bhie Nile. 227 
 
 tory was young men were seeking to discover it. The 
 source of the Blue Nile has been found buried in the 
 heart of the mountains of Ethiopia. Scientific men no 
 longer hazard wild theories to account for the annual 
 floods that fertilise Egypt. The veil has been rent, and 
 one by one the secrets of the mysterious stream have 
 been revealed to the light of modern science, but as 
 yet no profane eye has looked on the birth-place of the 
 White Nile, and many a brave life may be sacrificed 
 before this last vestige of mystery is torn away. Time 
 was when a young virgin was yearly sacrificed as the 
 Nile's betrothed bride : now a clay image is all that is 
 thrown into the flood ; time will be, perhaps, when 
 Father Nile will have to be content with no bride at 
 all, and steamers will ply on the Victoria Nyanza, and 
 circular tickets to the source of the Nile and back, viA 
 Thebes and Memphis, will be advertised by Cook for 
 the long vacation. 
 
 I saw a fisherman dragging behind him a Nile fish ; 
 it was a party-coloured monster, two yards long, and 
 wide in proportion. Afterwards, when I reached Cairo, 
 I was shown a fish from the Nile of a kind that had 
 hitherto been supposed to be antediluvian, but which 
 yet existed in the old river. 
 
 Riding back along tke banks of the Bahr-el-Azrek, I 
 came to the new dockyard of Khartum. Here the 
 scene was very different ; steam engines, lathes, steam, 
 hammers and punches, in short, all the apparatus 
 necessary for repairing and fitting up steamboats filled 
 the workshops ; and the Pacha's steam yacht, with its 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 The Cradle of the Bine Nile, c-n.xxvm. 
 
 elegant saloon, furnished with blue satin, lay alongside 
 the jetty. 
 
 Quitting this noisy spot, I returned to the White 
 Nile, and rode far up its banks, for I felt as if I could 
 never tire of watching this great stream, flowing 
 smoothly down from its unknown source beyond the 
 equator, changeless and inscrutable, through wet and 
 dry season, ever bringing to the main trunk of the Nile 
 that unfailing supply of water which enables it to tra- 
 verse a thousand miles of sand without receiving the 
 influx of a single tributary. On the farther side of 
 the river a few mud huts denoted a village ; beyond this 
 nothing but barren sand met the eye, except where, 
 here and there, little green islands of tangled vegeta- 
 tion impeded the current, and afforded a home for 
 innumerable water-birds. 
 
 The hot rays of the sun presently warned me to re- 
 gain the town, for my head was only protected by a Glen- 
 garry cap, so turning my horse, who seemed to wish for 
 nothing better than permission to gallop unchecked, 
 from sunrise till sunset, I rode towards the town, passed 
 low flat-roofed houses of dark Nile mud, round which 
 goats and fowls were running, and apparently picking up a 
 sustenance from the sand ; passed brown Arab girls with 
 bare arms and feet, adorned with great silver anklets, 
 and draped in long blue skirts that but half concealed 
 their lithe figures as they moved gracefully about with 
 enormous water jars on their heads, their already dark 
 eyes looking still more lustrous from the black bdrqua, 
 or veil, that hid the lower part of their faces ; passed
 
 < H. xxvni. Journey doivn the Blue Nile. 229 
 
 fat merchants, grown rich with dealing in human 
 flesh, Avho jogged by, in spotless white robes and tur- 
 bans on sturdy donkeys from Arabia the Holy ; passed 
 half- naked peasants returning from the sooy, or market, 
 balancing newly-purchased melons on their heads with 
 the skill of practised jugglers ; passed the little Chris- 
 tian cemetery, with its four plain walls, and a cross 
 over the door ; passed the Moorish burial-ground, with 
 its white turbaned head-stones gleaming in the sun- 
 shine, and contrasting with the red minaret of the 
 mosque hard by ; till at last we again reached the Bahr- 
 el-Azrek, and saw a group of naked negresses, hideous 
 creatures from the Silouk country, with half-a-dozen 
 rings in their noses and ears, sitting half in the water 
 and half out of it, like hippopotami ; and so, wending 
 our way among the palm trees and water-wheels by the 
 river side, reached home. 
 
 The gift of a red tarboush satisfied the demands for 
 backsheesh of the sa'is, who had run after me like a 
 greyhound the whole morning, and came up in time 
 to hold my stirrup as I dismounted. At Cairo I have 
 known one of these men run for five miles before a 
 carriage going at a brisk trot, and I believe the next 
 day the fellow complained to his master that he did 
 not get exercise enough, and was afraid of growing 
 fat! 
 
 I went to an old silversmith to look for a silver- 
 mounted Nubian sword ; he showed me a very hand- 
 some one, but I could not induce him to part with it 
 for love or money, as it was warranted to cut iron, and
 
 230 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. 
 
 such a sword is valued by the Arabs of this country 
 even more than a gun. I therefore commissioned him 
 to mount in silver the Sheik of Gondar's sword, which 
 he promised to do, inshdlldh, in two days, though he 
 complained bitterly of the short time I allowed him. 
 While we were discussing the matter over the inevit- 
 able finjal of coffee, two veiled ladies came to have 
 their ornaments weighed ; the fair daughters of the 
 Prophet wished to know the value of the presents they 
 had received from their lords and masters. 
 
 The rooms the Pacha had assigned me opened on a 
 cool verandah, overlooking the Blue Nile, where I sat 
 all the afternoon receiving numbers of long-nosed Arab 
 visitors. As I had sent Mustafa marketing, the con- 
 versation was rather broken ; however, my monkey 
 helped me to do the honours to his countrymen, and 
 seemed to entertain them greatly. I think they took 
 as much pleasure in looking at him as a lady does in 
 seeing her features reflected in a mirror. 
 
 I was never quite alone, for a young Egyptian, who 
 was supposed to attend to the telegraph, occupied one 
 of my rooms. His only veal occupation was lying on 
 his back in the shade and killing flies, which indeed 
 appeared to be the principal employment of the people 
 of Khartum. 
 
 At sunset I joined the Pacha on the banks of 
 the river, where he always sat in the cool of the 
 evening. He had invited me to dine with him, and 
 had three guests to meet me ; Monsignore - , who 
 had come to visit the Austrian Catholic mission
 
 Journey down the Blue Nile. 231 
 
 at Khartum, over which he held authority ; the 
 Austrian Vice-consul placed at Khartum to protect the 
 interests of the mission ; and a young Egyptian Bey, 
 the aide-de-camp of the Pacha. A band of negro sol- 
 diers played some very well-selected airs, and dinner 
 being announced, we were ushered into a large square 
 room, adorned with a full-length portrait of Mahomet 
 Ali. The Pacha pointed to the portrait, and said that 
 all the Pachas of Khartum had religiously preserved 
 this room in the same state as when the famous old 
 warrior had held his divan in it, after braving the 
 fatigues of the journey across the Nubian deserts when 
 more than fourscore years of age. 
 
 At Cairo I had been told that forks and spoons were 
 unknown luxuries at Khartum, but the brilliantly 
 lighted table round which we now sat was shining with 
 cut glass and silver, while the meu soup, Nile fish, 
 meat, game, &c., might have done credit to a French 
 cook ; in fact, everything was as much en rtyle as if 
 we had been in Europe. The conversation was carried 
 on in French ; the Pacha made a charming host ; Mon- 
 signore Avas well informed, and had brought out a stock 
 of the latest on dits current in society ; the Austrian 
 consul had travelled extensively with Munzinger ; and 
 the young Egyptian colonel had a new and original 
 theory to propound viz., that the physical superiority 
 of the British race was owing to our due regard to the 
 proportion of things, as he had heard that the tall men 
 in England always married short wives, and the short 
 men tall ones, thereby preserving a just equilibrium.
 
 232 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH.XXVUI. 
 
 After the healths of Her Majesty and the Viceroy 
 had been duly drunk in excellent Bordeaux, we repaired 
 to the river side for coffee and cigarettes. It was more 
 like being on the banks of the Blue Danube than on 
 those of the Blue Nile. The Pacha said, with a smile, 
 that he had intended the dinner should be followed by 
 a dance ofRdwdzi, or dancing girls, but he did not know 
 what Monsignore might think of such an entertainment. 
 Monsignore at once pulled off his broad brimmed hat, 
 and politely disclaimed any desire to interfere with our 
 amusement, only he would beg leave to withdraw when 
 the Rdwdzi came, as the presence of a dignitary of the 
 Church would be hardly consistent. The Pacha, of 
 course, would not consent to this, and proposed to change 
 the entertainment to a war- dance by a regiment of 
 soldiers entirely recruited from the Silouks, the first 
 really savage race on the banks of the White Nile. 
 
 The night was a bright moonlight one. Presently 
 fearful yells 
 
 " And sounds that mingled laugh and shout and scream 
 To freeze the blood, in one discordant jar " 
 
 came borne down on the wind, and we saw a dark 
 crowd rushing towards us. It was the Silouks hurrying 
 to the war-dance. They were all jet-black negroes of 
 enormous stature, and seemed to take a fierce delight 
 in leaping and yelling like fiends. They divided into 
 two parties, and earned on a mimic battle, which was 
 occasionally suspended for a dance of triumph, and a 
 song of victoiy, as one party or the other gained some
 
 CH.XXVIH. Journey down the Bhic Nile. 233 
 
 supposed advantage. Now a dusky warrior rolled on 
 the ground, professing to be dead ; now the flying 
 enemy wheeled round, and delivered an imaginary 
 flight of arrows among the ranks of their pursuers. 
 Like all African music, their songs had a plaintive 
 chord running through them, even when they sang 
 loudest of victory, and throughout their wildest move- 
 ments they kept perfect time to the music which they 
 chanted. 
 
 They presented a weird effect, these savage-looking 
 negroes, most of whom were over six feet high, bound- 
 ing and yelling in the moonlight beside the tranquil 
 river, probably forgetting for the moment that they 
 were no longer free. Here they were dressed in the 
 white cotton uniform of the Egyptian infantry, but in 
 their native forests, higher up the White Nile, they had 
 been wont to walk naked as Adam through the thickest 
 jungle, their only arms the bow, the shield, and the 
 spear. 
 
 " When an Arab Sheik will not pay me his tribute," 
 said the Pacha, "I dispatch a company of Silouks to his 
 village, and they very soon frighten him into sending 
 it. The Arabs have a horror of my Silouk regiment." 
 " Do you find the Silouks give you no trouble ? " I en- 
 quired. "Not much," he said; "give them a few 
 sweet dates and plenty of common tobacco, and they 
 are happy as the day is long. They want nothing 
 more, and are no more difficult to manage than chil- 
 dren." "And how do you make the roving Arabs of 
 the desert pay you tribute ? " I asked. " Why," said
 
 234 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxvm. 
 
 he, " we wait till the dry season is well advanced, and 
 then send troops to the few wells that still contain 
 water. The Arabs must drive their flocks to these 
 wells or see them perish, and we take this opportunity 
 of collecting our tithes in kind." Truly the Egyptian 
 government knows well how to tax other people, if not 
 how to pay its own debts !
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 KHARTUM CONTINUED DEPARTURE FOR BERBER. 
 
 June oth. The Arab merchants of Khartum, know- 
 ing that I must part with my camels before sailing down 
 the Nile, would only offer a few dollars for them ; but 
 the Pacha, hearing of this, immediately ordered one of 
 the Sheiks to buy them for sixty dollars. The Sheik 
 dared not disobey, and this morning astonished me by 
 offering sixty dollars for the camels, and at the same 
 time asking me to let him have them for less. When 
 I made out the reason of this rather Irish proceeding I 
 gave him the three camels for fifty dollars (10). 
 
 Mustafa had seen a boat which could be hired for 
 twenty-five Turkish dollars to go to Berber, a town on 
 the Nile more than two hundred miles below Khartum. 
 The Pacha sent for the owner a gorgeously-attired 
 Armenian to ratify the bargain, but as soon as he saw 
 that it was a European who wanted his boat, he declared 
 that it was impossible his reis, or skipper, could have 
 agreed to go to Berber for twenty-five dollars, and asked 
 that he might be sent for. The reis came, and was 
 confronted with Mustafa. He stole a glance at his 
 master, and then, regarding Mustafa with well-feigned 
 surprise, lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven, and
 
 36 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxix. 
 
 exclaimed: "I swear by my beard" he had not got 
 any " by Allah above ! by the Prophet, and by my 
 eyes!" a solemn oath with Mahometans "that I never 
 saw this man Mustafa before. How, then, could I have 
 agreed to let him the dahabeaJi for twenty-five Turkish 
 dollars?" Though I believed Mustafa, there was no 
 going against such a solemn asseveration, and I agreed 
 to pay a higher price. No sooner, however, had we left 
 the divan than the refe went up to Mustafa, who was 
 looking quite bewildered, and, bursting into a hearty 
 fit of laughter, asked him what he thought of his powers 
 of lying. Such is the character of these people ! 
 
 More than two thousand years ago a deformed Greek 
 slave wittily said, that the only advantage gained by 
 liars in the end is, that they are not believed even when 
 they speak the tt^uth. The wise sayings of JEsop tra- 
 velled into Arabia, but though nearly twenty centuries 
 have passed, the Arabs have not yet begun to profit by 
 his wisdom, and are never so happy as when they have 
 told a successful lie ; nay, more, it is a common belief in 
 Egypt that to tell a lie in the morning ensures luck for 
 the rest of the twenty-four hours, so that it has become 
 a favourite way of beginning the day. The only disgrace 
 that attaches itself to a liar is the disgrace of not having 
 lied cleverly enough, should his lie fail. If, on the con- 
 trary, it succeed, he feels quite proud and happy, like a 
 man who has achieved a good and great action. 
 
 Even honest Mustafa, when we first engaged him, 
 gave as a reason for requiring rather high wages, that 
 he had a wife to support, and when we objected that
 
 .ii. xxix. Departure for Berber. 237 
 
 we could not take a married man, as we were going into 
 the interior of Africa, and should not feel justified in 
 separating him from his family, he at once repudiated 
 all matrimonial obligations, alleging that he had made 
 a slight mistake, and meant he had a mother dependent 
 on him. Afterwards I discovered that the only real 
 foundation for this story was that he had a grandmother 
 on whom 7te was dependent, the old lady being rich in 
 goats and date palms, which Mustafa hoped to inherit. 
 Yet Mustafa was one of the most truthful Arabs I ever 
 met ! One day he told me his grandmother was ninety 
 years old, and never seemed going to die. " Why, Mus- 
 tafa," I said, "you surely do not wish her to die; that 
 would be very wrong." "Well, no sar" with hesita- 
 tion " I not wish her to die, but I think she ought not 
 to live any longer. What good she now, sar ? " There 
 was something horribly practical about this, savouriDg 
 of the principles of the West Africans, who, when a 
 relation gets past work, eat him. I believe they do not 
 think this shows a want of respect. What more touching 
 tribute could the most exacting of parents desire than 
 that his children should make a family vault of their 
 own bodies ? 
 
 Mustafa had once been put in prison for saying in a 
 public place at Cairo that he did not think the Christians 
 could be all accursed, since Allah made them so pros- 
 perous, and an old Fakeer was sent to explain to him 
 the comfortable doctrine that the Franks were only 
 permitted by Allah to be prosperous in this world, be- 
 ause they were certain of being damned in the next.
 
 238 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxix. 
 
 "Well, Mustafa," I said, "the lot the Franks allow to 
 you is even harder ; for not only are you, as you admit, 
 to be poorer in this world, but they believe you will be 
 damned in the next as well." 
 
 I breakfasted with the Pacha, who this time ate with 
 his fingers, the meal being served in the Eastern 
 fashion ; but as I did not feel capable of performing 
 this exercise with the same grace that he did, I begged 
 permission to use a knife and fork. His Excellency 
 pointed out to me one of the stews before us as having 
 been the favourite dish of the Prophet. It did consid- 
 erable credit to the Prophet's taste. " There are two 
 things in this world that delight me," said Mahomet : 
 "women and perfumes;" and he might have added, 
 this stew. 
 
 While we were breakfasting, people were continually 
 coming to the Pacha with papers requiring the impres- 
 sion of his seal, and cases that they wanted him to judge. 
 One of these latter was curious, as illustrating the state 
 of the country : The wife of a Silouk soldier had been 
 stolen ; some time afterwards the soldier heard that 
 she was a slave in the house of a woman at Khartum, 
 and went to the Pacha to beg him to have the house 
 searched for his wife. Though the search proved un- 
 successful, the wife subsequently managed to effect her 
 escape and join her husband, who was in raptures at 
 getting back his ebony Venus. But now the woman 
 whose slave the wife had been, claimed to have her back 
 again, on the plea that she had been assigned to her 
 by another Silouk in payment of a debt of fifty dollars.
 
 en. xxix. Departure for Berber. 239 
 
 Ismael Pacha, however, did not approve of this con- 
 venient way of paying a debt by handing over another 
 man's wife, and dismissed the case. 
 
 We saw a little Arab boy making his sakiam at a 
 respectful distance. The Pacha called to him to ask 
 what he wanted. " I want to enter your Excellency's 
 service," replied he, as glibly as possible. " Well," said 
 the Pacha, " you had rather a good idea there ; will 
 you go to school?" There was a long pause, during 
 which a thoughtful expression stole over the youthful 
 countenance, for the child was not prepared for this 
 proposition. At last he replied : " Effendi, I cannot 
 go to school," as if it was an undertaking quite beyond 
 his strength. We laughed, and in obedience to a sign 
 from the Pacha a Kerwas stepped up, and led the boy 
 away to the college, where he would be taught to read 
 and write, and fitted for a calling. 
 
 Hospitable Ismael Pacha wished me to delay my de- 
 parture for a couple of weeks, and take a trip with 
 him up the White Nile in his steam-yacht. He wa- 
 enthusiastic about Khartum, and believed it was 
 destined to have a great future. Gold, skins, bees'- 
 wax, coffee, cotton, &c., were to flow down to it in pro- 
 fusion by the Blue Nile from Abyssinia and the Galla 
 countries, while the White Nile was to open up the 
 vast unexplored regions of Equatorial Africa ;. and 
 Khartum, being at the junction of the two great rivers, 
 was to be the store-house of boundless riches, and the 
 mighty emporium of the produce of the African conti- 
 nent, which was to be transported by a railway across
 
 240 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxix. 
 
 the desert to the shores of the Red Sea, from whence 
 deep-laden Argosies, full of precious woods, metals, 
 ivory, fragrant gums, and spices, would bear their 
 valuable cargoes to European ports. In anticipation 
 of these palmy days, he was building a palace on 
 the banks of the Blue Nile, which he invited me to 
 visit. It was really a very handsome construction, 
 built of brick and faced with stone. On the first floor 
 were the chambers designed for the hareem, and below 
 the state rooms for men. On each floor a long corridor 
 ran the whole length of the building for the attendants, 
 and behind the palace was a large garden full of palms, 
 pomegranates, and grape-vines ; while to the North, the 
 side facing the town, a park of artillery was stationed 
 behind fortifications, in case of an insurrection. Of the 
 dockyard I have already made mention, and the active 
 Pacha also contemplated building a new bazaar, and 
 opening a public garden, which would really make 
 Khartum quite a habitable place. At present it is said 
 to be frightfully unhealthy, and certainly some of the 
 inhabitants looked more like sickly ghosts than human 
 beings. But, standing as it does on a sandy plain, at 
 some considerable elevation above the sea-level, with a 
 great river flowing on either side of it, and bringing 
 down each evening what little fresh air is to be obtained 
 in this scorching climate, it ought to be fairly salubrious, 
 and I am not sure that it is not more the crowding, 
 dirt, and vices of the slave-trading population that 
 have so long inhabited it, than any fault in its natural 
 situation, that makes Khartum a hotbed of fever and
 
 on. xxix. Departure for Berber. 24 r 
 
 disease. It is only fair to add that, as far as my per- 
 sonal experience went, I saw and heard of very little 
 sickness while I was there. Nor was there anything 
 wild in the Pacha's dreams of what Khartum might 
 become, only the reality is very different from the 
 theory in this land of mismanagement. Each palm-tree, 
 from which the Arab gains a scanty sustenance, is 
 taxed ; the very water-wheels necessary to cultivation, 
 and which, therefore, ought to be encouraged, are taxed ; 
 the new countries that Egypt annexes in the interior 
 she only values because she gains new subjects to tax ; 
 she never really thinks of encouraging their cultivation 
 has she not enormous tracts of uncultivated countiy 
 nearer home ? For one good Governor like Isrnael 
 Pacha, a dozen who rule the Soudan only seek to make 
 all they can while they are in power. Ismael Pacha 
 told me himself that every improvement he sought to 
 make was misrepresented at Cairo, and any day he 
 might be replaced. Everything is mismanaged, rotten, 
 and bad ; money is spent like water on fetes and 
 palaces, but the country remains a desert ; and even 
 the dead do not escape taxation, for I was told that some 
 of the taxes had been levied five years in advance. 
 
 Near the new palace I saw the fragment of a kind of 
 Sphinx, with a bird's head, a bull's feet, and a scaly 
 body. It had been brought from a village up the Blue 
 Nile, where still remained a few ruins of some city 
 which, like lost Merb'e, had once flourished, but was 
 now save for these odd fragments of stone as if it 
 had never been. 
 
 VOL. II. R
 
 242 The Cradle of the Bhic Nile. < H. xxix. 
 
 Perhaps this Sphinx made a sculptor's fame, perhaps 
 it gained him the prize for which he had toiled patiently 
 for many years the wife whose hand was to be the 
 reward of his efforts to achieve fame. Perhaps thou- 
 sands of palpitating human beings bowed round it in 
 adoration ; and the fame of the sculptor, the passions of 
 the multitude, where are they now ? A traveller, 
 passing through Khartum, turns aside for a minute to 
 gaze with a vague curiosity at the work of hands that 
 have lain in the grave for thousands of years that is 
 all. The hopes, the fears, the affections and feelings 
 that twined themselves round that stone are unknown 
 to him ; yet even now there is a chord in his heart that 
 faintly responds to them, for does he not know that 
 Nature ever repeats herself, and the feelings that *tir 
 men in the present are but the reflex of the same 
 feelings that have stirred them in the past ? 
 
 While I am digressing, let me mention a curious phe- 
 nomenon the wonderful rapidity with which we accus- 
 tom ourselves to a strange country. We visit a place 
 we have never seen or heard described before, and yet 
 we are rarely taken quite by surprise. No scene, however 
 new, appears entirely unfamiliar to us : we seem to have 
 imagined it already, to know intuitively it would be as; 
 it appears. I believe there are few travellers that have 
 not felt something of this sensation. 
 
 I had dined with the Pacha in the open air, and wo 
 were sitting by the moonlit river, when a party of veiled 
 women glided noiselessly towards us. After they had 
 each in turn kissed our hands, and pressed them to their
 
 -en. xxix. Departure for Berber. 243 
 
 foreheads, they threw off the long white draperies in 
 which they were enveloped, and prepared to dance. 
 They were dressed in the tight silk jackets and loose 
 rose-coloured trousers usually worn by the Rdwdzi, and 
 had a profusion of little gold coins strung on their 
 foreheads and in their hair. One of them was an 
 Abyssinian, but the others were much fairer, being 
 of that pale moonlit complexion one sometimes sees 
 among the daughters of Arabia. Their feet were bare, 
 and in their hands they held brass castanets, which 
 .made a gay ringing sound as they moved. The dance 
 was like that of the Spanish gitanas, but rather more ani- 
 mated and idealised in character, the peculiar undu- 
 lating movement they imparted to their bodies being of 
 course the chief feature. The movement of the arms 
 was also exceedingly graceful. 
 
 They were accompanied by an old Arab, in a white 
 gown and turban, who played on an extraordinary kind 
 of violin, made of a gourd, with a skin and strings 
 stretched across it. There were also some women who 
 beat hand-drums and tambourines, while a chorus of 
 girls sang a pretty, plaintive, Arab air. On a table hard 
 by two gigantic Turkish lanterns of red and yellow 
 glass threw a variegated light over the scene. 
 
 It was a fairy-like sight, to see these graceful crea- 
 tures in their light fluttering draperies 
 
 " Chase one another, in the varying dance 
 
 Of mirth and languor, coyness and advance 
 Too eloquently like love's warm pursuit" 
 
 R 2
 
 244 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. x 
 
 on the margin of the broad Blue Nile, flowing by like a 
 sheet of silver beneath the starry sky. 
 
 Suddenly the twinkling feet stopped, and the casta- 
 tiets were silent, while a new party of dancers ap- 
 proached. These were Arab girls of the Soudan, dark, 
 lithe, snake-like creatures, with long black hair plaited 
 after the manner of the ancient Egyptian dancers. 
 They were utterly innocent of clothing, save for a 
 narrow belt round the waist, to which hung a long 
 fringe, adorned with beads and cowery shells ; while 
 round the neck of each was a cord supporting a number 
 of amulets. They came forwards with a slow undulating 
 step, to a low, sad chorus, sung, or rather chanted, by 
 the other dancers, who struck their tambourines at 
 regular intervals. The old Arab, with the primitive 
 violin, got quite excited as he played, and looked as if 
 he would like to dance himself. There was no figure 
 in the dance ; only the slow, mysterious undulating of 
 the body as the girls passed before us, their breasts 
 heaving like the waves of the ocean, every muscle 
 apparently endowed with separate motion, their lus- 
 trous eyes turned upwards, their arms thrown back 
 over their heads, and their feet beating the ground with 
 a measured cadence. 
 
 After this three buffoons appeared on the scene. 
 These men belonged to the lowest class of the rabble, 
 and were privileged jesters, who said anything that 
 came into their heads, even to the Pacha, sung im- 
 promptu songs, and improvised dialogues, frequently 
 hitting each other sounding bloAvs on the head to amuse
 
 <H. xxix. Departure for Berber. 245 
 
 the spectators. Their dress was a round white cap and 
 loose blue shirt, tied round the waist with a cord : both 
 very dirty. They had a look about them of the ancient 
 Roman ragamuffin, and, like him, were witty, but 
 coarse. 
 
 After an interlude by these buffoons, the Almehx 
 danced again, three Arab women, who were looking on, 
 being made to throw off their clothes and join, which 
 they did without much hesitation. I noticed a young 
 girl, almost a child, in a pink Razieli costume, who stood 
 apart. Her companions said she was, as yet, only a 
 student; but when, at the Pacha's command, she executed 
 .a little pas seul with fear and trembling, it struck me that 
 she was perhaps more graceful than her companions, 
 for she had not acquired, as they had, the art of undu- 
 lating the hips, in a manner so extraordinary as 
 almost to verge on the horrible. The poor child 
 seemed quite overcome with delight when we rewarded 
 her with a handful of dollars. 
 
 Before leaving, the Rdiudzi again approached, and, 
 bending low before us, pressed our hands to their lips 
 and foreheads; for, in the East, however beautiful a 
 woman may be, she is taught never to forget that she 
 is a slave. The magnificent Pacha may smile on his 
 favourite to-day, but there is a sack and a bowstring for 
 the morrow should she displease him ; and the eunuch 
 who walks in the corridor carries a whip in his hand. 
 
 June Qth. I was unwell and lying idly in my veran- 
 dah, overlooking the Blue Nile, when a workman from 
 the dockyard brought me a much thumbed copy of
 
 246 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxi\-. 
 
 Byron's poems Don Juan, and Childe Harold, in 
 Upper Nubia ! I could not discover who the traveller 
 was who had brought them here ; but, after being so 
 long without literature, it was pleasant to read again 
 how 
 
 " Juan and Haidec gazed upon each other 
 With swimming looks of speechless tenderness," 
 
 and to wander in imagination with Childe Harold' 
 through the old cities of Europe. The man who gave 
 me this book had been sent to Khartum as a convict 
 for three years ; but, when his term of punishment was 
 over, he still found himself a prisoner ; for the governor 
 of the dockyard had no notion of depriving himself of 
 the services of a man who had learned his work, 
 required no wages, and had become inured to the 
 climate by the fiery ordeal of many fevers, so he kept 
 him, giving him from time to time enough spirit to get 
 drunk on, and then telling him that he must work off 
 the fines he had incurred. The poor fellow was now 
 come to beg that I would intercede for him with the 
 Pacha, as otherwise he saw no hope of his captivity 
 ever ending. Mustafa told me he had known him at 
 Alexandria, and that, when he was a young man, he had 
 inherited considerable wealth from his father, who was- 
 a merchant ; but, it seems, a fatal predilection for the 
 forbidden juice of the grape, and the songs of the 
 'Atcdlim, had dissipated all the old man's savings in less 
 than two years ; and, to complete his misfortunes, one 
 day a party of Arabs, travelling on the line from 
 Cairo to Alexandria, complained that they had been
 
 xxix. Departure for Berber. 247 
 
 robbed while under the influence of some narcotic drug. 
 This man was in the carriage with them, and the evil 
 character of his associates being known, he was sus- 
 pected, and finally condemned to three years' penal ser- 
 vitude at Khartum, notwithstanding his assertion that, 
 like his fellow travellers, he was also under the influ- 
 ence of the narcotic, and knew nothing of what had 
 passed. He told me that he had already been through, 
 I think, eleven attacks of fever, and he thought another 
 year or two at Khartum would kill him, which was not 
 improbable considering his love for drink. Indeed he 
 looked more like a ghost than a man. 
 
 Giving the poor fellow a trifle he was quite destitute 
 I bid him make his petition in the evening when I 
 was sitting with the Pacha after dinner ; for, without 
 going quite so far as Moseilma, the rival of Mahomet, 
 who averred that the soul of man is situated in his ab- 
 domen, I felt pretty sure that the post-prandial half hour 
 was the best moment to make an appeal to the Pacha's 
 philanthropy. 
 
 My next visitor was the old merchant who had intro- 
 duced himself to me as the American Yice-Consul ; he 
 brought me a horn from the White Nile, as a present. 
 It was made of an entire tusk of the finest ivory, beau- 
 tifully hollowed, with a hole at the side like the mouth- 
 piece of a flute. It was not, however, intended to pro- 
 duce any musical sound, the Silouks merely using 
 these instruments like speaking trumpets to augment 
 the frightful yells that delight their savage ears. 
 
 After the merchant, came the silversmith with the
 
 248 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. i. xxix. 
 
 handle of my sword mounted in curiously-wrought 
 silver, and after him the Pacha ; so, as it was no use 
 attempting to lie quiet any longer, I rose and strolled 
 with His Excellency along the bank of the Bahr-el-Azrek 
 to enjoy the evening air. 
 
 The scene was profoundly calm and peaceful, and the 
 sun was sinking through a cloudless sky. Just as, when 
 the sun rises, all nature seems to rejoice ; so except in 
 large cities there is always a sort of awed stillness, at 
 the moment when it sheds its farewell rays on our side 
 of the earth, which is very impressive ; and now 
 
 " Hark ! from the mosque the mighty solemn sound, 
 The Muzzin's call, doth shake the minaret. 
 There is no God but God, to prayur, lo ! God is great ! 
 And there is silence while the faithful pray." 
 
 But the Pacha did not pray, on the contrary, he 
 clapped his hands, and a succulent dinner was brought 
 us on a large brass tray, with plenty of Medoc and pale 
 ale to wash it down. 
 
 Presently the negro band appeared and played som 
 plaintive Arab airs, one called " The Rose," another 
 " The Maiden's Black Eyes." I now thought it a good 
 opportunity to obtain for my protege his liberty. He 
 had been hovering round us some time, not daring to 
 approach, and I had to beckon to him frantically before 
 he could summon up sufficient courage to come forward 
 and make his request. At last, however, the petition 
 was stammered forth, and the Pacha turning to me with 
 a smile asked if I really took an interest in the case. 
 " It gives me great pleasure to be able to please you so
 
 en. xxix. Departure for Berber. 249 
 
 easily," continued he courteously, and then he told the 
 man he was free. I do not know whether he made a 
 good use of his freedom, but it was pleasant to see the 
 poor fellow's delight at the prospect of quitting Khartum, 
 a place which everybody except the Pacha seemed to 
 regard as a sort of purgatory. Perhaps being a Pacha 
 makes people see things from a different point of view ! 
 
 I copy from my journal 
 
 " June 7th. Ready for departure. Ismael Pacha has 
 given me a letter to the Mudir, or governor, of Berber. 
 Have been to make my salaam. The Pacha walked 
 with me to the shore, where he bid me a cordial farewell 
 before I embarked on my ckiltabeak,* as Mustafa 
 proudly terms the boat. Such a dahabeah ! A little 
 raised cabin at the stern, with two narrow shelves to lie 
 on, may entitle it to the name ; but I fancy it bears a 
 closer resemblance to that primitive vessel we are told 
 was constructed by the hundred-eyed son of Aristor, 
 what time Jason sought the golden fleece, so I christen 
 it the ' Argo.' In the bows are a couple of live sheep 
 and a large basket of bread which the hospitable Pacha 
 has sent me for the journey, the enormous crocodile 
 skin from the White Nile is stowed smiling pleasantly 
 on the top of the cabin, by knocking out half the sides of 
 which, I have established a little ventilation ; and at last 
 we are under way, and, passing some flat sandy islands, 
 bid adieu to the Bahr-el-Azrek, and Bahr-el-Abiad, and 
 move slowly down the great main trunk of the Nile. 
 
 * The luxurious boats that can be hired at Cairo for the ordinary 
 winter trip up the Nile, are called dahalcahs.
 
 250 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 "I am constantly discovering new and interesting 
 entomological specimens in my bark ; cockroaches, hairy 
 spiders, with eyes in their backs, green and black mos- 
 quitos, and in particular a race of fat soft white worms 
 that will keep di-opping on my head and into my cup 
 and plate, share my cabin with me. If there is one 
 thing I object to it is to have a large white worm in my 
 hair. 
 
 " 9 P.M. All day long we have glided past low mono- 
 tonous mud-banks, the deposit of centuries. Now that 
 the moon is risen, and it is bearably cool, I am sitting 
 on the roof of the cabin making a footstool of the cro- 
 codile, and listening to the boatmen, who are singing 
 as they row, a chorus that sounds like Yas Allah ley> 
 hi ah hey, to a low hymn-like tune. 
 
 " June 8th. We anchored in the night, having ap- 
 proached some rapids, on the rocks of which the Meis 
 of course managed to bump the unfortunate Argo ; 
 however, with daylight we got off again, and continued 
 our voyage. Here and there villages dot the banks of 
 the great river, and sometimes a solitary Arab may be 
 seen riding his camel down to drink, or a quaint boat 
 with graceful lateen sails glides up the stream for the 
 wind is against us and hails us with guttural greetings 
 as she passes. 
 
 "Towards noon the sceneiy becomes more picturesque ; 
 grey rocks rise on all sides from the water, which eddy- 
 ing round them forms into sudden whirlpools, with a 
 loud rushing sound, and then glides smoothly on as 
 before. The banks are no longer barren like yesterday,
 
 <u. xxix. Departure for Berber. 251 
 
 but clothed with bright green bamboo-grass, and 
 crowned with palms and other graceful trees. Before 
 us a rocky island divides the river, its bushes brushing 
 the glistening surface of the water, and a dark cluster 
 of palms growing in the centre. In the distance the 
 red mountains of Royan, and Agaba, rise like islands 
 from the vast plain extending on either side. As we 
 row along, flocks of pelicans float gently by, as undis- 
 t urbed by our presence as ducks on a farm pond. The 
 wind is now so strong against us that both sail and mast 
 have to come down, and the poor Argo is thus bereft of 
 the very little beauty she ever possessed. 
 
 " As the day gets old, we pass the foot of Jebel Royan, 
 a great square flat-topped mass of rock sloping down to 
 the water's edge. It is the first of the range of the 
 mountains of Agaba, a great chain of rocks through the 
 centre of which the Nile forces its way ; though why it 
 should have taken this course, instead of following the 
 plain that extends right round them, is a mystery I 
 cannot solve. 
 
 " The river is thickly dotted with emerald knobs of 
 tropical vegetation, growing on the projecting rocks, 
 which form an asylum for innumerable beautiful white 
 water-birds. Gigantic storks, as big as a child five 
 years old, strut gravely along the shore ; and on a little 
 island of silver sand three juvenile crocodiles, no longer 
 than my arm, are disporting themselves blithely in the 
 broiling sunshine, while their more cautious mother 
 swims round and round them with only her nose out of 
 the water. So even crocodiles, the most phlegmatic of
 
 252 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxix. 
 
 animals, obey the universal laAV of nature, that makes ail 
 young things joyous and playful ! Why do they lose this 
 gaiety when they grow older ? Surely a crocodile, be- 
 tween the cataracts where steamers venture not, should 
 lead a happy life, and even if it does shed tears when 
 it devours some incautious Nubian, it must be with a 
 softened, almost a pleasing, sadness. 
 
 " If I had as few cares as a crocodile, I think I could be 
 as blithe all the year round as the painted butterfly, 
 that lives but a day, and has no time to grow old and 
 careworn. At present a vision will haunt me gf some 
 hundreds of miles that must be marched across the 
 desert under a June sun. But ' sufficient unto the day 
 is the evil thereof.' 
 
 " As the sun sinks in a cloudless sky, we enter the pas- 
 sage through the Agaba mountains ; they are of red 
 rock, and wondrously picturesque in shape. Indeed, 
 were it not for the deep blue of the heavens and the 
 brilliant tints and warm glow that pervade everything, 
 I could fancy that we were gliding up some beautiful 
 Scottish lock or Norwegian fiord ; so broad and tranquil 
 is the river, so grand the sloping mountains on either 
 side, now breaking into miniature bays and valleys, and 
 again rising abruptly from the water, in which their 
 rugged outlines are reflected as in a mirror. 
 
 " Moonlight succeeds the day, and a flight of bats, em- 
 blematic of the night,* skim overhead. The cool breath 
 of the evening fans our foreheads, and enables us to 
 enjoy the full beauty of the fairy-like scene ; but my 
 men savages who prefer sleep to moonlight effects
 
 cu. xxix. Departure for Berber. 253 
 
 want to moor for the night, declaring that the passage 
 between the mountains is full of hidden rocks and very 
 dangerous. The Rtiis testifies to this with so many 
 solemn oaths, that I decide it must be false ; and, telling 
 him I will recompense him for the Argo if I sink her, take 
 the tiller in my own hands and guide her on her moon- 
 lit way through the windings of the hills for nearly 
 three hours, when the roar of the sixth cataract of the 
 Nile warns us with hoarse voice that it is time to stop. 
 " June 9th. At sunrise we shoot the cataract. The 
 current is impetuous, and some jagged rocks show their 
 heads like teeth on the left ; but there is plenty of water, 
 and we sweep down without difficulty into the less 
 troubled stream beyond. The Nile is here divided by 
 charming islands, covered with trees and bushes, from 
 the branches of which depend long tropical creepers in 
 snake-like folds, that trail in the current, swaying grace- 
 fully to and fro with the movement of the waves. There 
 is one tree, with a delicate silvery-green leaf, the twisted 
 roots of which, being cleansed from earth by the annual 
 floods of the Nile, rise high above the water in the 
 most fanciful gothic tracery that can possibly be 
 imagined. Dark clusters of date-palms, feathery mi- 
 mosas, and emerald bamboo-grass, fringe the shore, 
 washed by the red waves that swirl rapidly onward, 
 reflecting in every alternate ripple the bright blue of 
 the summer sky : a brilliant and beautiful foreground ; 
 while, in the distance, rise the rose-coloured mountains 
 we have left behind us, looking like the gateway to 
 those still undefined regions of the Upper Nile that
 
 254 The Cradle of tJic Blue A r ile. CH. 
 
 have preserved a halo of mystery for so many thousand 
 years. 
 
 " About 3 r.M. we pass some low ridges of sandy rock, 
 and, save mimosas, there are now few trees. Occasion- 
 ally we see a village of little extinguisher-shaped huts, 
 and frequently mighty herds of goats, camels, and cows 
 come to drink at the river side ; while sometimes a 
 party of dusky maidens walk down the bank with 
 graceful swaying gait, balancing on their heads enor- 
 mous earthen water-jars, and beautifying and brighten- 
 ing up the barren scene as woman always does by her 
 gentle presence. The heat is intense, and there are 
 numbers of crocodiles basking on the sand-banks. 
 Mustafa is very anxious I should shoot a juvenile one 
 for him to eat, as the Arabs consider the flesh of the 
 young a great delicacy. I believe the crocodiles recip- 
 rocate this feeling. 
 
 " My monkey, Jacko, has developed a decided taste for 
 cockroaches : whenever he sees one crawling up the side 
 of the cabin, he trembles all over with excitement, and 
 pouncing on it, tears it limb from limb and devours it 
 with the utmost relish ; fortunately for him, the 
 supply of cockroaches on the Argo seems inexhaustible. 
 When I show him his reflection in a looking glass it is 
 amusing to see him stretch out his paw behind it to 
 feel for the other monkey. This little glass is a luxury I 
 got at Khartum ; in Abyssinia, the case of my watch 
 was my only mirror for many months. 
 
 " Jacko is the torment of Mustafa's life ; and truly it 
 is astonishing to see the spirit of mischief that dwells in
 
 ni. xxix. Departure for Berber. 255 
 
 his tiny body a dozen ordinary Fixes, Elves, Pucks, 
 Bogies, Brownies, and Wood-sprites, would not come 
 up to him for cunning and perseverance in the art of 
 wanton aggravation. When I am watching him, he sits 
 demurely on his haunches, looking as grave and virtuous 
 as a candidate for canonization ; but if I close my eyes 
 for a moment, my rifle, cartridges, water-bottle, clothes, 
 watch, in short everything that is moveable, are imme- 
 diately pulled down and dragged about the cabin floor, 
 till the crash of falling things awakens me, and he springs 
 back to his old place and gazes at me as innocently as 
 a medium, when the lights are turned up, and he in- 
 forms his audience that it is the spirits, and not he, that 
 sent the furniture flying about the room. I have tried 
 punishing him, but nothing will cure him of this un- 
 conquerable desire to ' make hay ' of everything he can 
 get hold of. He knows it is wrong, or, what to his 
 mind is the same thing, that he will be punished ; and 
 sometimes I do believe he tries to struggle against 
 temptation; at least, watching him furtively, I have seen 
 him drawing near to the leather water-bottle with the 
 laudable intention of emptying it over my boots, and 
 then suddenly withdraw his paw and turn his head 
 away from the tantalising prospect, as if determined to 
 shut it out of sight ; but the flesh is weak, gradually 
 the temptation becomes too strong, and at last he can 
 resist no longer out goes the little paw, down comes 
 the bottle, splash goes the water, and he dances about 
 with wild delight, till suddenly, perceiving my eyes on 
 him, he relapses into a fit of such preternatural gravity
 
 256 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. x 
 
 that it sets me laughing and procures him a pardon 
 for his offence. 
 
 " 9 p.m. The moon is shining brightly, and I have 
 ordered some of the crew to row alternately till morning. 
 
 "June llth. I wake to find the boat gliding under 
 the shadow of a long forest of palms. 
 
 " Like the mimosa, these trees are both beautiful and 
 useful, and the traveller in Africa cannot look oil them 
 without a mingled feeling of admiration and gratitude. 
 They are beautiful from the graceful shapes and 
 clusters in which they grow, while the cool shade they 
 afford, the sweet and nourishing nature of their fruit, 
 the toughness of their leaves, from which the natives 
 make many articles, and the pleasant qualities of the 
 milk or wine that may be extracted from them, render 
 them one of the most precious of the many gifts that 
 Nature has bestowed on Africa. Indeed, a single palm 
 combines in itself, as it were, the three necessaries of life 
 in this climate shade, food, and drink ; and, accord- 
 ing to Munzinger, the natives of the salt plains know 
 no other home and no other harvest than that afforded 
 by their palm-trees, which supply all their wants, and 
 the wine of which is so sweet to their taste that the 
 mere recollection of it will make them leave more 
 civilized regions to return to their simple life beneath 
 the palm-tree's shade. 
 
 " We can now sometimes hear the murmur of the 
 sageer, or water-wheel, indicating some attempt at 
 irrigation, though the vast plains on either side of the 
 river still seem to be wonderfully little cultivated.
 
 en. xxix. Departure for Berber. 257 
 
 When every sageer is taxed, how can it be otherwise ? 
 Well may you 
 
 ' Ask the squalid peasant how 
 His gains repay his broiling brow ! ' 
 
 while such a monstrous system exists. 
 
 " In Lower Egypt the peasant in charge of a sageer 
 squats on the ground, merely goading the oxen as they 
 pass him, and it is needless to say those intelligent 
 animals relapse into a snail's pace the moment they 
 are out of his reach. The Nubian peasant is more 
 clever, he sits on the bar to which his buffaloes are 
 harnessed, and follows them all the way round. 
 
 " We pass a canoe scooped out of the trunk of a single 
 tree, like Robinson Crusoe's boat. Further on, a group 
 of swarthy Arabs are laying a net, and presently we see 
 Jebel Omalie, some low sandy hills to the right, on the 
 top of one of which, the Reis says, still stand the brick 
 walls of an ancient house or temple. And now, oh 
 science ! the posts and wires of the telegraph come in 
 view. When I was a boy telegraphy was hardly under- 
 stood, and now in these upper regions of the Nile, cut 
 off from the rest of the world by rocks, mountains, and 
 waterless deserts, there are telegraphs and steam 
 boats ! 
 
 " Five days ago, at Khartum, I saw a party of black 
 Silouk soldiers men who a few years past were savages 
 roaming naked through their virgin forests being 
 dispatched up the Blue Nile in a steam-boat, for the 
 charitable purpose of frightening an Arab village into 
 paying its taxes. And now all that I can write here may 
 
 VOL. II. 3
 
 258 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 be learned in a few hours by '\\iring' to Upper Nubia. 
 Truly I may close my journal ! And yet the journey is 
 not nearly ended. There are twelve hundred miles be- 
 tween this and the Mediterranean, and there are nearly 
 three hundred miles of desert to be crossed before the 
 Red Sea can be reached, which will certainly entail some 
 suffering and danger to health, perhaps even to life ; but 
 science outstrips everything, and a message flies along 
 a thousand miles of telegraph wire while the tired wan- 
 derer has not plodded as many yards through the burning 
 sand ! 
 
 "June Ilth. Another hot and tranquil day, rowing 
 down the river to the merry song of the boatmen. 
 These fellows * know how to sing well in parts, and 
 some of their songs are very pretty, resembling more 
 the Negro melodies sung by the Christy Minstrels than 
 the ordinary Arab music. The Nile here is very wide, 
 and looks almost like an estuary of the sea. The shore 
 is fringed with trees, among which I notice the dome 
 palm (Hyphcene Thebaica). The leaves are lighter in 
 colour than those of the date palm, and the stem does 
 not, as a rule, grow to such a height, generally dividing 
 into two or three heads. The dome is a true child of 
 the tropics, and does not grow in Lower Egypt. 
 
 " 4 P.M. We have reached the junction of the Atbara 
 with the Nile, the spot where Baker began those won- 
 derful hunting adventures so graphically described in 
 his ' Nile tributaries.' The Atbara, the Astaboras of the 
 
 * They were nearly all natives of Dongola.
 
 CH. xxix. DepartiLre for Berber. 259 
 
 ancients, is here a fine river over 400 yards wide, and 
 the limpid blue of its waters contrasts strongly with the 
 deep earthy red of the swollen Nile. When I saw the 
 Atbara near its head in Abyssinia, not a month ago, it 
 was very muddy, but I suppose its long journey across 
 the desert sands has cleared the water. A flock of 
 pelicans are paddling lazily at the junction of the two 
 rivers, and the farther bank of the Atbara is covered 
 with long fresh-looking grass, and quite a little planta- 
 tion of dome palms. Some way up the stream a tiny 
 island is tenanted by a number of long-legged white 
 birds, who are busily engaged catching the passing fish. 
 I send a rifle shot among the pelicans, but they only fly 
 a few yards and then float lazily on again, with 'that 
 peculiar smiling expression which their enormous beak 
 gives to them. 
 
 "The Atbara is the last tributary of the Nile : from 
 this point the grand old river, ' The Father of Waters ' 
 as Dr. Johnson calls it ' whose bounty pours down 
 the streams of plenty, and scatters over half the world 
 the harvest of Egypt,' flows serenely on through 12,000 
 miles of sand, without receiving the waters of any other 
 stream to feed it on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
 " At night the moon rises through a thin mist, shed- 
 ding a green grey light over the landscape, like that the 
 Dutch painters loved to depict. The Rtis is very ill 
 with fever, and I cannot give the poor fellow much help, 
 as I have none of the necessary medicines. 
 
 "No sooner do I fall asleep than the Arabs leave oft' 
 rowing and fall asleep too, they never can be depended
 
 260 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxix. 
 
 on unless someone is looking after them. Luckily I 
 awake, and we get under way again, and about 10 P.M. 
 we reach Berber, where we moor alongside some other 
 boats till morning. 
 
 " To-morrow I shall bid farewell to the Nile."
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 BERBER. DEPARTURE FOR SUAKIX. 
 
 June 12th. Journal continued. " The sun is rising 
 through a golden mist, against which the mosque and 
 palm trees of Berber stand out quite black. The town 
 is some distance from the shore, as when the !Nile rises 
 it overflows its 'banks. The Re'is still suffers : poor 
 Jacko, my monkey, is dead. He fell ill at the same 
 time as the Re/is, and like him, I believe, of fever ; * it 
 was piteous to see him yesterday ; all his love of mischief 
 seemed to have gone. When I caressed him he looked 
 in my face and brightened up for a moment, but the 
 heavy eyes closed again, and the little head drooped 
 lower and lower till it rested on my hand, as the 
 lethargy crept over him, and this morning Mustafa found 
 him lying quite dead beside my couch. He had often 
 declared that Jacko was the torment of his life, but 
 110 w, as the honest fellow carried the frail little body in 
 
 * I remember being told by a learned Russian doctor, who had 
 studied the habits of monkeys, that he believed they are subject to 
 the same epidemic diseases as human beings, and that when rheumatic 
 lever is prevalent in a West African village, it often happens that the 
 monkeys in the surrounding woods become so stiff in the joints, that 
 they cannot run away if you try to catch them.
 
 262 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 his arms, I thought I saw a tear glistening on his dark 
 cheek, and he laid Jacko very gently iu the grave we had 
 dug under a sweet-scented mimosa on shore. Poor 
 Jacko ! 
 
 " I have been to the divan, where I found the Mudir 8 
 chief clerk trying some prisoners ; he has promised to 
 get me camels on the morrow for my desert journey. 
 Presently the Mudir arrived in person, and of course 
 gave me spiced coffee ; it was served in rhinoceros horn 
 finjals, which gave to the hot coffee a mingled flavour 
 of rhinoceros and burnt horn that was anything but an 
 improvement. As the Mudir has not a house to lend 
 me, he has established me in an unoccupied wing of 
 the hareem, with a bath attached to it, and has sent 
 me a sheep, some bread, and a number of large juicy 
 melons, which are a great luxury. The jalousies of 
 the hareem look on a pretty garden, where I can see 
 an unfortunate prisoner, with two enormous iron 
 shackles on his ancles, linked together by a heavy 
 chain, picking away at the earth with a short hoe in 
 the burning sunshine, and looking like the traditional 
 picture of an Algerine captive in the good old piratical 
 days. It is no joke to be a prisoner here. 
 
 " In the East you are either a slave yourself, or 
 surrounded by slaves, and it is wonderful with what 
 rapidity a divan will form itself about you if you have 
 anything to do. I sent for my boatmen to pay them, 
 and immediately my room was tilled with scribes, whip- 
 bearers, soldiers, attendants, &c., who seemed to come 
 from nowhere in particular, and, as soon as the men
 
 CH. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 263 
 
 were dismissed, disappeared again as silently and mys- 
 teriously as they had appeared. 
 
 " And still the wretched prisoner outside is pick, pick, 
 picking away at the hard earth. How different are the 
 fortunes of men ! " 
 
 Next morning, June 13th, I made preparations to 
 continue my journey, and as we should not be able to 
 procure food on the way, purchased two dozen small 
 boxes of sardines which a Greek merchant happened to 
 have in his store ; with these, and two small bags of 
 coffee and flour, I calculated I should be able to reach 
 the shores of the Red Sea. 
 
 Berber is an important Nubian town, and has direct 
 camel communication across the desert with Korosko on 
 the Nile, and Suakin on the Red Sea. I decided to follow 
 the latter route, in the hope of catching at Suakin an 
 Egyptian steamer, that was expected to touch there on 
 its way up the Red Sea to Jiddah and Suez. I was 
 told that we might be a fortnight on the desert, and 
 that the wells were nearly dry. So I sent Mustafa to 
 buy water skins. In the telegraph office of Berber I 
 found a Coptic clerk, who could speak a little English ; 
 he was a ghastly sight, wasted almost to a skeleton* 
 having been " caught by the fever," as he expressed it. 
 Full often does the black camel kneel before the thres- 
 hold at Berber, and sooner or later the fever seems to 
 " catch " all who stay there. If they do not take refuge 
 in flight, it ends by carrying them off. 
 
 The Mudir came and presented me with a rhinoceros 
 horn cup, expressing with Arab courtesy an elaborate
 
 264 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. cu. xxx. 
 
 hope that he might thus dwell in the habitation of 
 my thoughts whenever I quenched my thirst. Rhi- 
 noceros horn appears to be held in great estimation 
 here. 
 
 It was some hours after noon when five camels 
 knelt at my door, one for myself, one for Mustafa, and 
 the other three for the crocodile skin, the baggage, and 
 last, not least, the water skins. I sent for a sixth camel, 
 insisting that my Arab guide should also be mounted. 
 If I remember right I paid three dollars (twelve shil- 
 lings) apiece for these camels, which were to convey 
 me nearly three hundred miles. 
 
 No sooner had we left the town than we entered on 
 the desert, an arid reddish plain of corrugated sand and 
 grit. At sunset, as at sunrise, there was a golden haze 
 over Berber, and a rare phenomenon in this climate 
 the sun looked quite opaque, as when seen through a 
 London fog. Though Berber was enveloped in these 
 vapours, we were now past the limit of the tropical 
 rains, and the only supply of water we could look forward 
 to in the future was that which might have filtered its 
 way below the surface of the ground. At nightfall we 
 reached the first well, where we filled the water skins, 
 and made a fire of camels' dung, the only fuel on the 
 desert. When the moon rose we continued the journey, 
 and marched all night. 
 
 June 14>th. We were still plodding slowly along 
 when the sun peeped over the horizon, casting a bright 
 roseate glow upon the sky and plain. Not a vestige of 
 vegetation was to be seen, my six camels looked like a
 
 en. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 265 
 
 fleet of ships sailing over a glassy sea.* The crocodile 
 skin was a great nuisance, being so long that one end 
 or the other was always slipping down and tracing our 
 path along the sand ; what with stoppages to re-adjust 
 baggage, and the slow pace of our heavy-ba.cgage 
 camels, our average rate of marching was little more 
 than two miles an hour. When the sun got high, the 
 water, as usual, visibly evaporated through the skins, 
 which being new had imparted to it a most odious 
 colour and flavour. But that thirst is the least bear- 
 able of all agonies here, we should have found it 
 perfectly undriukable. 
 
 Horace says that care sits behind the horseman's back, 
 and heavily does she ride behind the hump of a camel. 
 If I had not been hardened by a previous desert 
 journey, the slow monotonous swaying backwards and 
 forwards in the intense heat would have been insup- 
 portable : as it was, after this day's march the whole of 
 my back, where exposed to the sun, rose up nearly half 
 an inch in one enormous blister ; but the human frame 
 adapts itself to all situations with wonderful rapidity, 
 and soon I began to feel quite at home on my camel, 
 and in fact to rather pride myself on my riding ; though 
 I think I never experienced a nightmare more weird or 
 fantastic than the reality of one of these beasts when 
 restive. A refractory camel usually begins by turning 
 round and round, roaring horribly, like a gigantic hum- 
 ming top ; the enormous length of its legs it seems 
 
 * "The camel has been termed the ship of the dtsert," says 
 "Washington Irving ; " the caravan may be_tenned its fleet."
 
 266 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 all legs unpleasantly magnifying every uncouth move- 
 ment, and the contest usually ending by its dropping sud- 
 denly down on its knees, and thus placing its rider at an 
 angle of 45 ; a manosuvre as alarming as it is gene- 
 rally successful. Whyte-Melville somewhere relates how 
 a Frenchman said to him, apropos of fox hunting, 
 "Monsiewr, nous ne cherchons pus nos emotions, nous 
 autres Franfais, a nous casser le cou; " but a camel 
 gives you your emotions whether you seek them or not. 
 In justice to my beasts, however, I must say that they 
 rarely performed these antics unless their girths were 
 badly adjusted and hurting them. 
 
 We saw in the distance some isolated mountains to 
 the right and left, at the foot of one of which (Jebel 
 Duquaiah) 'the guide said there was a well built of 
 stone, so ancient that not even Arab tradition could 
 point to its origin. The ordinary Arab wells are 
 merely round holes dug in the hard sand, and innocent 
 of masonry. 
 
 At 11 A.M. we came to some tufts of dry grass and 
 a few dead bushes, white and colourless as the sand, 
 under the meagre shelter of which we halted, having 
 marched continuously, for more than twelve hours. It 
 was what a Spanish sailor would have called una 
 caltna furiosa, and the heat was tremendous, but as I 
 had now no instruments I could not measure it. 
 
 About 3 P.M. we re-mounted our camels. The desert 
 was again barren sand without a trace of vegetation, 
 but the mirage spread its wonderful illusions about us, 
 and from our lofty situation we seemed to see green
 
 CH. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 267 
 
 trees and fresh lagoons on all sides. Curiously enough, 
 the phenomenon was not visible when we stood on the 
 ground, but this only increased the delusion, as it ap- 
 peared quite natural that a lake which could be seen 
 on the horizon from the back of a tall camel, should be 
 out of view to a man on the plain. 
 
 At dark we halted for four hours, after which we con- 
 tinued our way by Cynthia's friendly light. 
 
 June loth. (Sunday). 
 
 " The Sabbath comes, a clay of blessed rest," 
 
 to those at home, but it brought not rest to us, for 
 there was still no water. We met three caravans. At 
 first they appeared on the horizon like little black ants, 
 then they gradually grew bigger and passed us, only to 
 disappear again over the sky line behind, leaving the 
 desert seemingly more lonely than before. I noticed 
 many women accompanying these caravans, walking on 
 foot, while their lords and masters rode on the camels 
 with their long swords and giraffe-hide shields slung 
 beside them. So inveterate a habit is it with the 
 Nubian women to carry something on their heads, that 
 one girl was trudging stoutly along with a big round 
 stone balanced on hers, which certainly appeared a 
 work of supererogation. 
 
 We did not halt till it was nearly noon. There was 
 not the least shade anywhere. I took up some of the 
 staid in my hand, and it was so hot it nearly burnt me, 
 yet, to my astonishment, I found it alive with insects. 
 Without apparently a particle of nourishment or mois-
 
 268 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 ture, for here there is uo rain, thousands of these won- 
 derful little creatures, perfect in a delicate and compli- 
 cated organisation, were existing in the desert sand, and 
 apparently enjoying life too ! Why they should be 
 there, what their use was, or how they could possibly 
 exist, were some of those mysteries of Nature that 
 make man feel how painfully small is the boasted 
 knowledge by which he thinks he can rule and measure 
 the order of the Universe. 
 
 In the thriving city, the hive of his own creation, 
 where the very heavens are obscured by the smoke of 
 his factories, and every object that meets the eye is a 
 triumph of his own ingenuity, Man sometimes almost 
 forgets that he has a Creator. But when he crawls* 
 like some tiny insect over these vast plains, only 
 bounded by the blue of the sky above him, his eyes are 
 opened by the Majesty of Nature. He sees the least 
 of God's works far surpassing the highest effort of his 
 human skill, a sense of his feebleness comes upon him, 
 and his heart is humbled .... No longer does he 
 strive "to gauge the heavens with a two-foot rule"; 
 his conceptions expand, and looking reverently and with 
 wonder at the might and beauty of his Maker's works, 
 he seems to be drawn nearer to that Maker's presence, 
 and to behold afar off the lowest step of the Eternal 
 throne. 
 
 In years to come, perhaps, a railway will traverse the 
 African desert ; and the traveller, no longer the tiny 
 insect crawling across the plain, will feel like some 
 winged geni flying over it at forty miles an hour. If
 
 CH. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 269 
 
 then his heart should become elated with pride, and in 
 the contemplation of his own power, he should turn 
 ungratefully from the Power that made him as 
 Eastern stories tell us the genii did of old let him 
 take up a handful of sand, and looking on the perfect 
 formation of its myriads of denizens, read his lesson 
 there. When night approaches, thousands of brilliant 
 stars will shine in the sky, and as he raises his gaze 
 towards the heavens, perhaps his thoughts will turn 
 with awe and gratitude to that Creator who, though 
 this world of ours be but one of the smaller planets, 
 has watched with such tender care over the creation of 
 the smallest insect of the desert sand, and whose love, 
 like His power, is infinite ! 
 
 At 3 P.M. we continued the march. We had now 
 entered a vast region of loose yellow sand, mottled by 
 the action of the wind, like sand on the seashore where 
 the waves have been. Into this shifting surface our 
 camels sank so deep at each step, that our progress be- 
 came even slower than before. Presently we approached 
 a line of low sand hills, as soft as drifted snow, which, 
 however, are dignified by the name of " Jebel Bab." * 
 Crossing these, we entered a plain terminated on the 
 farther side by a range of black mountains, and found a 
 great concourse of merchants, with their camels, waiting 
 to get water at some dozen small round wells dug in 
 the sand, the hum of voices and the roar of camels 
 contrasting strangely with the silence of the desert, to 
 which we had become accustomed. I sent Mustafa to 
 * Jebd, in Arabic, means a bill or mountain.
 
 2 ;o The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 mount guard with my rifle over two of the wells, as 
 there was so little water that we were told it would be 
 five hours before enough would collect in them for us 
 to replenish the skins. In the meanwhile a merchant 
 from Stamboul came and smoked his long ckiluk beside 
 me, addressing me from time to time in Turkish, which 
 I do not understand. However, he seemed quite satis- 
 fied with an occasional tdib (it is well), accompanied 
 with a long puff of smoke, which I threw in senten- 
 tiously as my share of the conversation ; and I have no 
 doubt, that if he judged me by the Oriental axiom, 
 " Speech is silver, but silence is gold," he thought me a 
 very wise man. 
 
 When the camels had drunk and the moon was risen, 
 we proceeded on our way. 
 
 June 16th. The rising sun found us winding our 
 course through the chain of low mountains we had seen 
 in the distance at sunset. They rose abruptly from the 
 plain, which was still quite level, and were composed of 
 a coarse black slaty rock that had split into innumer- 
 able small fragments, and gave to them the appearance 
 of vast cinder heaps. Sometimes the level ground be- 
 tween the mountains was strewn with these fragments, 
 and, save the sky above, everything that met the eye 
 was black, making the landscape look inexpressibly 
 desolate and dreary. Here and there, however, the 
 yellow sand was still visible ; and wherever this was 
 the case, we found large tufts of coarse desert grass, 
 which, though perfectly bleached and dead, was eagerly 
 devoured by the camels. I also remarked some ridges
 
 cir. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 271 
 
 of white quartz projecting above tlie plain, in dazzling 
 contrast to the dark peaks all around, expressively 
 named by the Arabs, " The Crow-feet Mountains." 
 
 During the midday halt, I opened one of the skins 
 we had filled at the wells on the previous evening. To 
 my horror, I found it contained salt water ! For three 
 days and nights we had been marching across a water- 
 less desert, building our hopes on those wells, and now 
 the water we had got from them was literally as salt as 
 if it had come from the sea. This was dreadfully dis- 
 heartening. So intense was the heat that we could 
 not exist without drinking, and yet the more we drank 
 of this water the more horribly thirsty we became. If we 
 did not come to another well within twenty-four hours, 
 I felt I must expect someone to become delirious; and 
 as we were only three, it was not a pleasant prospect. 
 
 Byron, though I believe not much addicted to water 
 himself, has very truly said or sung 
 
 "Till taught by pain, 
 
 Men really know not what good water's worth ; 
 If you had been in Turkey or in Spain, 
 Or with a famished boat's crew had your berth, 
 Or in the desert heard the camel's bell, 
 You'd wish yourself where Truth is in a well." 
 
 I cannot tell why the wells at Jebel Bab, which are 
 on an elevated plain more than a hundred miles from 
 the sea, should have been salt ; but not unfrequently 
 the water found below the surface of the desert has a 
 somewhat saline and bitter taste, and I suppose the 
 fact of there being scarcely any water in these wells 
 accounted for the salt being so concentrated.
 
 272 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon march we met a party 
 of Arabs mounted on trotting hygeens, or dromedaries. 
 Our first care was naturally to inquire the distance to 
 the next well. They said they had left it on the 
 previous day, at noon. 
 
 The sunset over the black desert, as I called this 
 tract of country, was very striking. The sky was blue, 
 green, and gold ; while, for the first time, some feathery 
 orange clouds floated over head. 
 
 When darkness enveloped the scene, we stretched 
 ourselves on the ground, each beside his camel, to 
 snatch a few hours' sleep. But soon w r e were aroused 
 by the sound of voices singing afar off, and presently 
 we could see a great caravan, of nearly seventy women 
 and about twenty men, gliding past us in the starlight, 
 as ghost-like and shadowy as 
 
 " Fancy forms of midnight cloud." 
 
 These people were going to the holy shrines of Mecca, 
 not to pray, but to beg : their plan being to camp near 
 each village or town, and send out all their children 
 and old people to ask for food, money, &c., which are 
 liberally bestowed by pious Mahomedans. The whole 
 party was walking on foot, and they had only seven 
 young camels with them to carry their supply of water 
 and grain ; for this reason they travelled at night to 
 avoid the heat. 
 
 Two hours before dawn we continued our march. 
 
 Jwne Ytth. We were still travelling through a laby-
 
 CH. xxx. Departure for Siiakin. 273 
 
 rhith of low mountains, which the guide said extended 
 in successive ranges almost to the shores of the Red 
 Sea. The plain between them was level, as before ; 
 and we occasionally entered vast amphitheatres of sand, 
 some twenty or thirty miles in circumference, round 
 which the hills formed a nearly perfect circle. Here 
 and there grew tufts of the desert grass, or a few 
 stunted thorn-bushes might be seen, but all leafless 
 and dead. 
 
 The vertical rays of the June sun overhead were 
 hardly more powerful than the fierce heat that was 
 reflected up in our faces from the white sandy plain. 
 However, all living things are fitted for the countries 
 they inhabit, and Nature has given to the camel, giraffe, 
 gazelle, and even the Arabs of the desert, long thick 
 under eyelashes, especially calculated to screen the eye 
 from this upward glare ; while the natives of colder 
 climes are rarely so protected. 
 
 Ever since leaving Berber, our path had been strewn 
 with the carcases of innumerable dead camels, whose 
 remains alone would have been a sufficient guide to the 
 caravan route across the desert. They presented a 
 ghastly sight, for here were no hyenas to devour them, 
 and the skin had shrivelled up in the sun like parch- 
 ment, with occasionally a large bleached bone protruding 
 through it. Nor were there wanting still sadder traces 
 of mortality. We had passed many a little oval ring of 
 stones, with a fragment of rock standing upright at one 
 end, which marked the resting-place of those nameless 
 travellers who had perished on the way from fatigue 
 
 VOL. II. T
 
 2 74 The Cradle of the. Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 or thirst ; and such deaths are not uncommon among 
 the poorer Arabs. 
 
 It was sad to look on the scene of these lonely deaths 
 in the desert, to see the dead camels half buried in the 
 sand, and to think of the weary traveller lying down 
 never to rise again, perhaps utterly alone in the midst 
 of this silent waste, or perhaps with some companion 
 nearly as exhausted as himself, who yet paused to 
 scrape with pious care a shallow hole in the sand for 
 his friend, and to place a stone at the head of his grave, 
 before continuing that journey which for him too may 
 have ended in death. 
 
 Has not the poet said 
 
 " If from society we learn to live, 
 'Tis solitude should teach us how to die ! " 
 
 At night, when our camels swerved aside from one of 
 these isolated gravestones, revealed by the pale light of 
 the stars, it was easy to imagine that the ghost which, 
 according to Eastern tradition, sits at the head of each 
 tomb, was for a moment visible to mortal gaze.* 
 
 All through the day's march we saw no signs of a 
 well, and were forced to drink the salt water, into which 
 I put quantities of citric acid, thus in some degree 
 counteracting its bad effects. Nor was it till many 
 hours after nightfall that the welcome gleam of a fire 
 and the barking of dogs announced our approach to 
 some human habitation. 
 
 * There is a belief in the East that the ghosts of the departed sit at 
 the heads of their graves, invisible to man.
 
 xxx. Departure for Suakin. 275 
 
 Before a line of low Arab tents we found a halt- 
 naked girl, grinding corn between two rough stones ; 
 and hard by was a well containing the first freth water 
 we had met with for five days. Here we slept till 
 daybreak, as the guide said the road beyond was too 
 rough for night travelling. 
 
 June 18th. Mountains to the right, mountains to 
 the left, mountains in front ; relieved, however, by a few 
 trees. We crossed the dry bed of the Arayab, a river 
 which only starts into life for a brief space when the 
 tropical rains are falling up the country, but neverthe- 
 less lives sometimes to reach the sea. Our path still 
 traversed the level plain, the guide's assertion about 
 its roughness having been, as usual, false. To punish 
 him, and make up for lost time, I marched till past 
 noon, when the heat became so intense that he, though 
 a native of the desert, implored me to halt, which I did 
 beside some great blocks of composite rock, piled one 
 on the top of the other in the midst of a sandy plain, 
 as if placed there by some race of Titans. In the 
 crevices of these stones were many colonies of bats. 
 
 Since leaving Berber I had made a rule of only 
 halting twice in every twenty-four hours, the first halt 
 being during the hottest part of the day from 11 A.M. 
 to 3 P.M., and the second from 8 P.M. to midnight. At 
 each halt I ate a small box of sardines, drank a cup of 
 coffee, smoked a pipe, and enjoyed three hours' sleep. 
 The remaining sixteen hours of the day were devoted 
 to steady marching. 
 
 " 7s maith 'n cocair an t-ocras" Hunger is a good 
 
 T 2
 
 276 The Cradle of tJie Bine Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 cook said the Earl of Mar, when he made crowdie in 
 the heel of his shoe. But a limited ration of sardines, 
 and tonjours sardines and nothing else, had become 
 somewhat monotonous, and I have never been able to 
 look at these delicate fish since without a shudder. 
 
 I found that if I limited myself to two pipes a-day, 
 the tobacco served as an excellent soporific, to counter- 
 act the exciting tendencies of the coffee, and enabled 
 me to fall asleep at once. By drinking, when possible, 
 plenty of water, I kept myself fresh and cool, and 
 was able to support the heat as well, or better, than 
 the Arabs ; and, though I sometimes drank as much 
 as two gallons of water in the day, it never did me 
 the slightest harm. This I attribute to the fact that 
 my Abyssinian water-bottle was of greased leather, 
 and kept the water at the normal temperature of the 
 outer air, so that it produced no chill on the stomach. 
 The Arab zemzemirs of porous leather, which render 
 the water delightfully cool by evaporation, are most 
 dangerous ; for nothing is so certain to bring on disease 
 in this climate as the practice of imbibing cold fluids 
 when the body is hot. 
 
 At 3 P.M. we continued the march across a wide 
 tract of arid sand, bounded by a range of mountains of 
 more majestic dimensions than any we had as yet seen. 
 Three white gazelles scampered across the plain, far 
 out of range. 
 
 As the Norwegian hare turns white when the winter 
 snow is on the field, so in Africa the gazelles, birds, 
 lizards, and even insects that are found on the desert,
 
 Departure for Suakln. 277 
 
 take the same light colour as the sand ; while, among 
 the flowering trees and long yellow grass of the jungle, 
 their tints are rich and varied. 
 
 It was not till we were close under the chain of 
 mountains before us that any way through them was 
 visible ; then we discovered a pass full of luxuriant 
 vegetation a truly refreshing sight. We crossed the 
 dry beds of three streams, children of the thunderstorm, 
 the secret of whose birth and death was known only to 
 the mountain peaks and the thirsty sands, for the guide 
 could tell nothing of where they came from, or whither 
 they went, save that they never reached the sea. 
 
 We met a wild-looking Shoho Arab, a friend of the 
 guide, who wished us to halt that he might stay with 
 us, and watch through the night, lest any of his fellow 
 mountaineers, " interceptors of the way," as he termed 
 them, should approach on a predatory expedition. It, 
 however, struck me that the spot he proposed for an 
 encampment would be very unfavourable in case of an 
 attack, and I, therefore, determined to push on to the 
 next well on the main caravan route. Presently a 
 party of merchants passed us, who gave us the not very 
 cheering intelligence that they had already been nine 
 days coming from Suakin ; and at last we reached a 
 well, where we halted till the moon rose. 
 
 June 19th. The moon, " sweet regent of the sky," as 
 an old balladist calls her, was waning fast, and lighted 
 the path but dimly. We passed several Arab burial 
 grounds, " villages of the silent," laid close beside the 
 caravan route, for the Mussulman does not like to sleep
 
 278 The Cradle of the Bhie Nile. CH. x.\x. 
 
 far from the haunts of man, and has his grave placed 
 where there shall be many passers-by. We also came 
 to a desert mosque of the simplest possible form, i. e., a 
 little quadrilateral traced on the ground with four rows 
 of pebbles, which, on the eastern side, formed a neck 
 leading to three bigger stones set upright, so as to face 
 the direction of Mecca, This was the holy of holies, 
 and the passing merchant, deliberately kicking off his 
 slippers, steps within the line of pebbles, and, turning 
 towards the three stones, prostates himself in prayer ; 
 and certainly the followers of the Prophet do say their 
 prayers with exemplary regularity ; but why the Arabs 
 should employ three stones to indicate the holy places 
 of these primitive mosques is a point I cannot explain. 
 
 Following for some hours the dry bed of a river 
 called Ou-Carrin, which must sometimes attain con- 
 siderable dimensions, we ci'ossed the shoulder of a hill 
 before us, and entered another great plain, bounded in 
 the distance by fresh ranges of mountains. My en- 
 trance into this sandy waste was more abrupt than 
 dignified, for my camel, finding the girths were galling 
 him, dropped suddenly down and shot me into it head 
 foremost. 
 
 We were all day crossing the plain, and met with no 
 incident worth mention. Sometimes a solitary Arab 
 would pass and pause for a moment to look at our little 
 caravan. The Nubian Arab is a fine type of "the 
 child of Nature," untamed by civilisation ; and, as he 
 strides across the plain, his graceful sinewy figure erect 
 and unconfined, save by the kilt of home-spun cotton
 
 CH. xxx. Departure for Suakin. 279 
 
 twisted round his loins, his leather buckler at his back, 
 his spear in his hand, and his long black ringlets flow- 
 ing behind him, he looks every inch the free-born son 
 of the desert, and has a dignity about him that he 
 seems to derive from the majestic grandeur of the 
 scenes among which his life is passed. He is courteous 
 too, and rarely fails to greet with friendly salaam, the 
 stranger whom he may chance to meet. 
 
 Nothing can be more pure or delightful than the air 
 on these great plains ; and, barren and waterless though 
 they often are, there is a freedom about the rolling 
 waste of sand, and a wild beauty in the mountains 
 which rise like islands above it, changing their tints 
 with every hour of the day, that lends a peculiar charm 
 to the desert, and makes one soon begin to love it as 
 a sailor loves the ocean. All through the year the blue 
 sky remains unclouded, and yet the desert is not mono- 
 tonous. As a hundred shades of expression chase each 
 other across the face of a dreamer, the aspect of the 
 desert is ever varying for those who know it well, and 
 it is always beautiful Beautiful in the early morning, 
 when the newly-risen sun glances over the horizon, and 
 the blush of Aurora is reflected by rocky peaks and 
 glistening sand. Beautiful at noon, when the whole 
 atmosphere quivers with heat, and the distant mountains 
 look as if they were floating in the air, and the witcheiy 
 of the mirage turns the arid desert into a charming 
 park. Beautiful at eve, when the violet shadows of 
 night creep softly over the plain which but a moment 
 before was turned to gold by the setting sun. Beautiful
 
 2 So The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxx. 
 
 at night, when thousands of stars are shining on it, 
 bright as the regard of angels watching over the sleep- 
 ing earth. And beautifully grand, as the tempest 
 sweeps across it, and the heavens are dark with 
 
 " That crimson haze, 
 
 By which the prostrate caravan is aw'd 
 
 In the red desert, when the wind's abroad." 
 
 I cannot understand how men who have lost fame and 
 fortune, can remain at home sinking lower and lower till 
 they become a disgrace to their families, and a burden 
 to their friends. Were I in such an unfortunate posi- 
 tion, I think I would beg, borrow, or steal a rifle, and 
 come to these plains of the Souclan, to join the Arabs in 
 their wild hunter-life on the banks of the Atbara. I 
 would seek the friendship of some chief, and, while 
 helping his people in the chase, strive to promote their 
 happiness at home, and rejoice that, though weak and 
 erring myself, I was still able to do some good among 
 these rude tribes, while enjoying all the pleasures of a 
 sportsman's life.
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 DESERT JOURNEY CONTINUED. THE STORY OF 
 LEILA. 
 
 June 20/i. We had baited at dark near the foot of 
 the mountains, and I continued the march before the 
 moon rose, much to the disgust of the guide. The 
 night was lovely, and the stars 
 
 " Which are the poetry of heaven ' 
 
 were shining with a wonderful brilliancy. 
 
 " There is an hour when angels keep 
 Familiar watch o'er men ; " 
 
 and I have always associated this beautiful thought 
 with that period between midnight and dawn, when the 
 current of our life is feeblest, and millions of human 
 beings are lying helpless in sleep. Presently, over the 
 farthest range of mountains there appeared a bright 
 gleam of light, as from a watch fire ; a few moments 
 later the thin crescent of the moon rose through the 
 clear ether like a silver boat, and the stars veiled their 
 lustre before their queen. 
 
 The guide descended from his camel to prostrate 
 himself to the risen moon, and then rode on again, 
 chanting in a low tone some wild Arab song or invoca-
 
 282 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxxi. 
 
 tion to it. I wish I could convey even a faint idea of 
 the beauty of these nights on the desert ; alas, my pen 
 is too feeble to do so, and I can only say, like Childe 
 Harold : 
 
 " And this is night, most glorious is night ! " 
 
 Those who have been long with Nature for their sole 
 companion, alone know what intense pleasure it is to 
 watch every change in her varying face. 
 
 And now a few faint purple clouds floated in the sky, 
 which was of the purest azure, and the morning star 
 ascended slowly in all its beauty, like a single diamond 
 in a field of blue enamel. Then came the sun, flood- 
 ing the landscape with its warm yellow rays, and in- 
 fusing new life into all our veins. 
 
 We were riding through a narrow gorge in the moun- 
 tains, along the bed of a torrent. The sand was appa- 
 rently quite dry, but by digging with a spear to a depth 
 of two feet we came to water, which, when the sand 
 settled, was clear and good. I discovered that I had 
 only one box of sardines remaining, and as dinner de- 
 pended on our procuring some game, it was with much 
 pleasure that I espied a fine buck gazelle, on the side 
 of a neighbouring mountain, and I stalked him with 
 great care. I had sighted behind the shoulder, but I 
 suppose my anxiety to secure a dinner made my hand 
 less steady than usual, for the bullet struck the middle 
 of the haunch ; however the gazelle dropped at once, 
 and I ran forward to secure my prize. The conical rifle- 
 bullet had gone right through, for there was blood 
 spurting from the wound on the reverse side, but
 
 CH. xxxi. The Story of Leila. 283 
 
 strange to say, the gazelle was not even crippled, and 
 when I was close upon him he rose and bounded up 
 the mountain, as if nothing had happened. Forgetting 
 the heat of the sun, and only remembering dinner, I 
 gave chase, sometimes catching sight of him, sometimes 
 following the blood trail ; but, after climbing over half 
 the mountain, I had the disappointment of finding that 
 my dinner had " gone away," and, like the King of 
 France, had to march sadly down again. Fortunately 
 we met, shortly afterwards, some Hadarba Arabs 
 tending a flock of sheep, one of which I bought for 
 three quarters of a dollar ; the owner having no change, 
 cheerfully offered to accompany me five miles to get it 
 at his camp, an offer I did not think worth accepting. 
 The round shields of these Arabs were made from the 
 hide of the camel-leopard, which is quite white and 
 very tough. With some difficulty I persuaded one of 
 them to part with his shield, spear, and knife, which 
 formed his complete armament. For these and the 
 sheep I paid five dollars (1). 
 
 At noon we emerged from the mountains on a great 
 plain of sand. The sun was so powerful that I could 
 hardly bear to touch the butt of my rifle, and I had to 
 loosen with my hunting knife all the screws of the lock, 
 as the metal had expanded to such a degree that the 
 springs would no longer work. 
 
 While we were travelling across this plain in the 
 afternoon, I saw for the first time those pillars of sand 
 of which Bruce gives so dreadful an account. They 
 were certainly an imposing sight. A sort of whirlwind
 
 284 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxxi. 
 
 caught up the loose sand, and raised it in great spiral 
 columns over two hundred feet high, which sped across 
 the plain with amazing velocity, now breaking and dis- 
 appearing in a shower of dust, only to rise up again in 
 some other spot to a greater height than before ; and, 
 when three or four of these gigantic pillars advanced in 
 line, casting their shadows before them, the effect was 
 very striking. I do not wonder at the simple Arabs' 
 believing that the powerful pre-Adamite race of genii 
 traverse the deserts on the wings of the zo-ba'ha or 
 whirlwind, enveloped in these flying columns of sand, 
 and it is natural they should regard them with some 
 awe ; but there is really little danger of a caravan, or 
 even a single traveller, being overwhelmed by them 
 beyond the possibility of escape. 
 
 I remember once on a stormy day in the North Sea, 
 about a day's sail from Christiansand, on the Norwe- 
 gian coast, seeing nine waterspouts come sweeping 
 across the ocean towards us at the same time, like a 
 line of black soldiers. The phenomenon was exactly the 
 same, the water being whirled up in a spiral form by 
 the wind to a prodigious height, with only this differ- 
 ence, that as the watery columns rose the dark thunder- 
 clouds overhead bent down to meet them, while, in 
 the desert, the sand was dissipated in the clear air. 
 
 To give some idea of the size of these waterspouts I 
 may mention that one of them breaking a mile to 
 windward drenched our decks with water. 
 
 It is very difficult on the desert to realise that one is 
 making any progress. When on a perfectly open plain,
 
 CH. xxxi. The Story of Leila. 285 
 
 I often tried to counteract this feeling by watching 
 some distant stone or camel's skeleton, until we reached 
 it, and then riding towards some object beyond, and 
 so on. But we now had mountains behind us, and 
 mountains in front, and it naturally appeared that with 
 every step the mountains behind should look further off, 
 and the mountains in front nearer ; yet the clear, rarified 
 air made distant objects appear so distinct, that five or 
 six hours' hard marching did not produce any percep- 
 tible effect, and we seemed to have approached no 
 nearer to the mountain range before us, while that be- 
 hind looked but little further away. It was not till 
 after nightfall that we at last gained the foot of a red 
 mountain rich in iron ore which we had seen before 
 us all day, and I felt that we had earned a few hours' 
 repose. 
 
 June 21s. We started before dawn, and rode 
 through a labyrinth of rocky hills along the dry course 
 of a river, in which we could see the slot marks of 
 many gazelles, whose instinct had taught them to scrape 
 holes at various places, to get the water which lay two 
 feet below the surface of the sand. 
 
 At noon we came to a charming verdant spot, hidden 
 away in the heart of the mountains, the steep rocky 
 sides of which formed an inaccessible wall around it. 
 A level lawn of the softest grass spread like a green 
 carpet under foot, while a variety of beautiful trees 
 afforded a pleasing shade from the powerful rays of the 
 sun. One of these trees, named by the Arabs the 
 Hebe, had a light-green oval leaf, and bore clusters of
 
 286 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. en. xxxi. 
 
 transparent red berries, like currants, which they also 
 resembled in taste, though with the addition of a slight 
 pungent flavour, such as would be produced by eating 
 red currants with young mustard leaves. When this 
 fruit of the desert was dried in the sun, however, its 
 pungency quite disappeared, and the sweet flavour alone 
 remained. There was a tree of the acacia kind, called 
 the " sun tree," round which a number of goats were 
 kneeling, while a naked Arab shook down the seed-pods, 
 which were eagerly devoured by them. There were 
 also sweet-scented mimosas, and numbers of graceful 
 creepers interlacing themselves with the boughs of the 
 trees, and forming natural arbours. Indeed, it was quite 
 a little garden, such as Young tells us Nature delights 
 to create in the wilderness. 
 
 " In distant wilds, by human eye unseen, 
 She rears her flowers, spreads her velvet green ; 
 Pure gurgling rills the lonely desert trace, 
 And waste their sweetness on a savage race. " 
 
 Lying down on the soft grass to rest, we listened 
 lazily to the hum of insects and the tapping of the 
 woodpeckers among the trees. 
 
 There is a curious Turkish superstition about the 
 woodpecker, which I once accidentally overheard an old 
 man relating, and I will try to sketch the story here 
 in as few words as I can. 
 
 THE STORY OF LEILA. 
 
 It is related, but Allah is all knowing ! that in a 
 lonely tower on the shores of the Bahr-el-Ahmar, or
 
 en. xxxi. The Story of Leila. 287 
 
 Red Sea, there once dwelt a beautiful maiden, the 
 daughter of an old Pacha, a fierce and skilful warrior, 
 who had built this fortress as a habitation for his child 
 when he was engaged in distant wars. 
 
 The maiden was fairer than the moon of Ramadan 
 in its fourteenth lustre, her figure was more graceful 
 than the oriental willow, her hair was of the darkest 
 hue of night, her eyes were like two bright stars, and 
 she was named Leila. Leila's mother, a beautiful 
 Georgian, had died in giving life to her daughter, and 
 from that day the world had become black before the 
 eyes of the Pacha. At his frown his attendants felt 
 the bowstring tightening around their necks, and the 
 glance of his eye was like the edge of a keen sword, 
 making men's heads loose on their shoulders. But as 
 Leila grew in loveliness and intelligence, she wound 
 herself like a vine around the fiery old Moslem's heart ; 
 and, though he still remained a persecution to his 
 enemies, and a terror to all men, he was gentle to her, 
 and she became as a precious jewel in his sight. So he 
 built the lonely fortress on a rock beside the Bahr-el- 
 Ahmar, and made in it a pleasant garden, and placed 
 his daughter there, with women and black slaves to 
 tend and guard her, and when he went away to fight 
 the battles of El Islam, he fastened the gate with seven 
 great locks, that no one might enter or go forth until 
 he returned. 
 
 Now it happened one night that Leila stood by her 
 window singing, and her voice was so melodious that 
 the roses in the garden thought it was their lover the
 
 288 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxxi. 
 
 Bul-bul, and opened their fairest blossoms, and rilled 
 the air with their sweetest fragrance, and the poor 
 nightingale broke his heart in despair, and the stars 
 were jealous of the west wind that stole through the 
 casement to kiss her cheek, and then whispered of the 
 marvel of her beauty to the waves, which repeated it to 
 one another, and murmured the praise of Leila even on 
 the shores of the most distant countries of the earth. 
 
 And as Leila stood by the window there approached 
 a youth full of comeliness and strength, and he rode a 
 horse as white as camphor, and he was a chief among 
 the Bedawees. He had been parted from his com- 
 panions hunting ; and it came to pass that, as he neared 
 the tower, he heard Leila's song ; and when he saw her 
 looking out upon the night, as if the rising sun beamed 
 from her face, he no longer beheld the constellations of 
 heaven, and stood as one entranced. And when his 
 eyes met hers, it pleased Allah, whose name be exalted ! 
 to infuse love into both their hearts, and the Bedawee 
 warrior became as a slave at the feet of the Turkish 
 maiden. 
 
 So they ceased not to converse until the day began 
 to gleam, and the sun rose in splendour, when she bid 
 him leave her, and he rode away to a solitary place 
 mourning over his fate, for there was war between the 
 Pacha and the Bedawees, and heknewthat the implacable 
 General would never consent to give him his daughter. 
 
 Now, as he sat and meditated upon these things, lo ! 
 an old man came past, and his robe was of green, and 
 his beard white, and his back bent as with the burden
 
 en. xxxr. The Story of Leila. 289 
 
 of many years. So the youth rose and invited him to 
 rest, and spread what food he had before him ; but he 
 eat not himself, his heart being heavy with love. And 
 when the old man saw this, he lifted his head, and 
 said : " My son, tell me thy sorrow, and it may be that 
 I can give thee comfort, for wisdom is the recompense 
 of the aged, and I have lived many years ; aye, even 
 since the days of Abraham the son of Terah." 
 
 Now, when the Bedawee heard these words, his spirit 
 was troubled with fear, and he kissed the ground before 
 the old man, for he knew that he could be none 
 other than El-Khider, the comforter of the afflicted : he 
 who had drunk of the fountain of life, and had lived 
 ever since the days of Zu-1 Karmeyn the Conqueror, 
 and whose knowledge was the history of the world. So 
 when he had related his story he stood silent, with his 
 head hung in bashfulness ; but El-Khider touched him 
 on the breast, and said unto him : " My son, be of good 
 cheer, for it is written that a woman shall leave the 
 father that reared her, to cleave to the husband she 
 loves, and thou mayest obtain Leila for thy wife, if thou 
 Avilt give heed to my counsel, and put thy trust in God 
 Therefore, when the sun is at its highest, ride thou 
 towards it for the space of seven hours, when thou wilt 
 come to a river overshadowed by green trees, in the 
 trunk of one of which a woodpecker has built her nest. 
 And when the bird leaves the nest take heed to plug 
 up the hole, for know that Allah, from whom no- 
 thing is concealed ! has given to the woodpecker 
 the knowledge of a wonderful^ balsam, before which 
 VOL. ir. u
 
 290 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 all obstacles give way ; and when she discovers that 
 the entrance to her nest is closed, she will depart in 
 search of this, and return bearing a drop of it in her 
 bill, and thou must abide under the tree for her coming, 
 and when she is near wave thy red scarf at her, and she 
 will be frightened and drop the balsam ; and thou must 
 collect it, and take it to the tower where thy love 
 dwelleth, and the gates will open before thee, and the 
 chains fall asunder ; but forget not before thou leavest 
 to withdraw the plug from the woodpecker's nest, that 
 she may be rewarded." So saying, the old man gathered 
 up his robes, and departed on his way. 
 
 And the Bedawee rode across the plain in the direc- 
 tion of the sun for the space of seven hours, when he 
 came to a valley abounding with trees, and fruits, and 
 birds, and running streams ; and, lo ! in the hollow 
 trunk of one of the trees a woodpecker had built her 
 nest ; and the Bedawee closed up the entrance as he 
 had been directed, and the bird flew round and round, 
 uttering a plaintive cry, but the ring-doves cooed 
 " Kereem ! Towwab ! " which those learned in the lan- 
 guage of birds, say means " bountiful ! propitious !" So 
 the youth hardened his heart, and at length the wood- 
 pecker shot away like an arrow in the direction of the 
 setting sun, and was lost to view. And it was the hour 
 of asr on the following day when she returned, and her 
 wings beat the air slowly and feebly, as though she 
 came from a weary journey. 
 
 Now when the Bedowee perceived her, he unwound 
 his sash and waved it over his head, crying out in a
 
 CH. xrxr. The Story oj Leila. 291 
 
 loud voice, and the bird was terrified, and opened her 
 bill, and let fall a drop of clear gum on the sash, and 
 he wrapped this up ; whereupon the bird alighted on 
 the tree and mourned, for she knew that her young 
 ones would die before she could bring another drop of 
 balsam. But the * youth forgot not the injunction of 
 El-Khider, and withdrew the plug from the nest ere he 
 departed, and left the bird rejoicing. 
 
 And in the third quarter of the night he reached 
 Leila's tower, and saw her sitting by her window singing 
 of his absence, and her voice was more soft than zephyr 
 passing over the flowers of a garden. Then he touched 
 the seven locks of the gate with the balsam, and they 
 opened before him, and he entered the tower, and all 
 there were wrapped in slumber ; so he ascended to 
 Leila's chamber, and took her by the hand, and led her 
 forth, and placed her on his steed ; and God let down 
 the veil of his protection upon them, and they departed 
 and rode towards the country of his people. 
 
 But on the following day the father of Leila returned, 
 and, when he called out for his child, lo ! there was no 
 answer, for the female slaves had hidden themselves in 
 their fear of him. And when he found that Leila was 
 gone, the vein of anger swelled between his eyes, and 
 he put on the crimson apparel of wrath, and, sum- 
 moning his horsemen about him, commanded them to 
 go forth, and return not until they had found her ; and 
 they said : " We hear and obey." 
 
 And on the third day they overtook Leila and her 
 husband at a spring where they were reposing, and they
 
 292 The Cradle of the Bhte Nile. CH. 
 
 encompassed them round about, and bound them, and 
 brought them before the Pacha, who, when he beheld 
 Leila's husband, looked very fiercely upon him, and said : 
 " Thy father, O Bedawee ! slew my brother ; wherefore 
 should I not slay thee ? " Then the Bedawee lifted up 
 his head, and replied : " Oh, Pacha ! thy brother had a 
 sword in his hand when my father slew him : is it not 
 thus that a warrior should die ? " And Leila threw 
 herself at her father's feet, and cried : " my father ! 
 if thou killest my husband thou wilt assuredly kill me, 
 for without him I cannot live ; but if thou sparest him, 
 not only wilt thou save the life of thy child, but thou 
 wilt gain a son." And when the Pacha heard these 
 words, and looked upon her, and saw how beautiful she 
 was, God changed his spirit into mildness, and his 
 heart was moved with a great compassion ; and he bid 
 them loose the bonds from Leila's husband, and em- 
 braced him, and there was peace. 
 
 Such is the story of " Leila and the Woodpecker." 
 We continued our march at 3 P.M., the way becoming 
 gradually more uneven, and after dark we descended a 
 mountain path, so precipitous that we had to dismount 
 and lead the camels, whose large soft feet were much 
 hurt by the broken fragments of rock. At eight we 
 lighted a fire, and made our last bivouack ; for we cal- 
 culated that we should gain Suakin on the morrow. Our 
 beds were of sharp stones, but camel riding is conducive 
 to slumber ; and what speaks well for the air of the 
 desert is, that in only four meals I had finished an entire 
 sheep to my own knife and fork.
 
 The Story of Leila. 293 
 
 June %'lnd (Sunday). An hour before sunrise I 
 roused my men, and rode forwards. Presently the day 
 dawned, pale and pure as a young girl before she bursts 
 into the first bloom of womanhood, and night fled silently 
 to the other half of the globe. There is something almost 
 touching in these changes of nature. The sun rises and 
 reaches its meridian, anon the shadows of evening 
 lengthen, and the newly-born stars are all that remain 
 of the radiance that was before. Another day, which 
 dawned bright and glorious, has passed away irretriev- 
 ably for ever, adding a page that cannot be cancelled 
 to the history of the world. But these are idle fancies, 
 born of lonely days and nights on the desert, and I 
 will return to my journey. 
 
 At 9 A.M. we crossed the last range of mountains, and 
 saw a broad and verdant plain stretching below us, 
 bounded by the bright blue sea. To people who had 
 been so long traversing sand and rocks, this was a 
 delightful sight ; large herds of gazelles were grazing 
 among the park-like scenery, the birds were singing 
 blithely, and the sea-breeze was whispering among the 
 trees with that soft harmony Zorilla has so prettily 
 described in " Don Juan Tenorio" : 
 
 " Esa arruonia que el viento 
 Recoge entre esos millares 
 De Horidos olivares, 
 Que agita con manso aliento." 
 
 At 11 A.M. we reached a well, and lay down under some 
 mimosas for a few hours' rest. The spot was teeming 
 with animal life: an enterprising company of ants
 
 294 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxxi. 
 
 established a mountain route across my blanket ; a great 
 black salamander with a big head dropped down with a 
 flop on my pillow, and looked quite astonished at his own 
 temerity. Then two legal-looking lizards approached, 
 and made raids on the company of ants ; then a hawk, 
 who appeared to be young and inexperienced, came and 
 eyed me critically ; while an old vulture, who was suffer- 
 ing from heat and corpulence, took the whole shade of a 
 tree to himself, and panted there in ease and luxury. 
 An adventurous stag beetle reconnoitred my pillow, 
 with a view to crawling over my neck, and on my dis- 
 puting the right of way, waxed wroth ; another beetle, 
 black and many-jointed, made a voyage of discovery 
 up my leg as far as my knee, where the difficulties of 
 the road became too much for him. I have a fellow- 
 feeling with travellers, and expelled him gently, mindful 
 of my uncle Toby's address to the blue-bottle fly : " Go, 
 go, poor devil ! get thee gone : why should I hurt 
 thee ? This world is surely W 7 ide enough to hold both 
 thee and me." But I fear he did not appreciate my kind- 
 ness, and curled up his tail in a deeply-injured manner. 
 Again we were riding along under the blinding sun, 
 and at last the flat-roofed houses of Suakin appeared in 
 sight. The waves were dashing merrily against the coral- 
 reefs as we approached the little town, and rode through 
 the straggling street, stared at by the whole population, 
 who marvelled much at the crocodile skin and my strange 
 drees, which, having been made in Abyssinia of a 
 kuarie, had a broad crimson stripe meandering over it 
 in a rather startling manner. When we reached the
 
 en. xsxi. The Story of Leila. 295 
 
 market-place, the weary camels, thinking their journey 
 over, lay down ; but we urged them to the water's- 
 edge, and, embarking in a canoe, were paddled to the 
 governor's residence. There was a new governor now 
 in Egypt they change fast and the son of a great man's 
 favourite Circassian slave had been raised to the office. 
 He had his mother's beautiful eyes, but was not otherwise 
 handsome ; however, he received me courteously, and 
 appointed me an empty house to live in till the steamer 
 should arrive. The difficulties of the journey were now 
 over, and I therefore this day closed my journal. 
 
 On the 27th June, after four idle days passed in the 
 baking atmosphere of Suakin, I embarked, with my 
 servant Mustafa, on board an Egyptian steamer which 
 had come up from Massowah, and was bound for Jiddah, 
 a port situated a very short distance from Mecca, on 
 the coast of Arabia el Hidjaz. I had thought the Ked 
 Sea unbearably hot the last time I sailed upon it, but 
 now it was hotter than ever. The sultry wind brought 
 no freshness, the seething waters appeared to be 
 steaming and simmering in the sunshine, and only at 
 night, when the sea mirrored the stars in every ripple, 
 like a lover extolling his mistress in countless similes, 
 did we get a few brief hours of relief. 
 
 Nothing could be prettier than the view of Jiddah as 
 I first saw it, in the glow of an Eastern sunrise. The 
 white houses with their latticed windows, the delicate 
 minarets of the mosques, the glistening coral-reefs 
 stretching far out to sea, intersected by channels of
 
 296 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xx 
 
 bright green water, so clear that we could watch the 
 party-coloured sea-weed waving fathoms below ; the 
 quaint coasting-vessels in the harbour, with their high 
 sterns and lateen sails, and the long tawny line of the 
 Arabian mountains in the background, all combined to 
 produce a most picturesque effect, very different from 
 the desert scenes we had left behind. As I walked 
 forwards to enjoy the view, a gaily-painted boat, with a 
 party of musicians, and some veiled ladies in the stern, 
 rowed rapidly past our bows, and the sound of the 
 music lingered upon the water, long after the boat had 
 disappeared among the other vessels, awakening a 
 hundred memories of the Arabian Nights. 
 
 The steamer was to remain some days at Jiddah 
 before proceeding to Suez, and the captain lent me his 
 boat to go on shore. Landing at the mole of the 
 Custom-house, and passing under an arched gateway, 
 Mustafa and I soon found ourselves in the principal 
 street of the town. It was roofed over with loose planks 
 to keep out the sun, and the merchants were sitting 
 cross-legged in little open shops at either side, wherein 
 were displayed all the varied merchandise of an Eastern 
 port. Jewelled knives and pistols, carpets, embroidered 
 slippers, costly stuffs, and strings of beads of the black 
 coral for which Jiddah is famous, were to be bought of 
 many a merchant whose shop was no bigger than a 
 cobbler's stall ; while the unpaved street was thronged 
 with picturesque groups of Arabs, Turks, Armenians, 
 and negroes, clad in every variety of national dress, and 
 mostly armed to the teeth.
 
 CH. xxxi. Tke Story of Leila. 297 
 
 The doorways and windows of the houses, with their 
 projecting jalousies of carved wood, presented several 
 beautiful specimens of Arabian design and workman- 
 ship, well worthy the study of an artist. Opening 
 from one of the streets, was a narrow passage leading 
 to the slave market, but an old merchant at the 
 entrance warned me not to go there unless I wished to 
 create a riot, and I noticed that many of the Arabs 
 scowled at my European dress as I passed, and some 
 even uttered a curse : for the inhabitants of Jiddah, 
 being so close to Mecca, are very fanatical, and the 
 governor of the town does not profess to be re- 
 sponsible for Christians who venture beyond the 
 walls. Indeed not very many years ago there was a 
 general massacre, in. which the English and French 
 consols lost their lives, together with most of the Copts 
 and Greeks who were in the town. They say an Eng- 
 lish frigate was in the port at the time, and a Greek 
 managed to swim out to her and give tidings of what 
 was going on. If then the frigate had fired a broadside 
 into Jiddah, the fanatics might perhaps have been 
 cowed ; but instead of doing this, she fired one over 
 the town, which only made matters worse, for the 
 people cried out that a miracle had taken place, and the 
 shot of the unbelievers had been turned aside by the 
 hand of Allah ; so they continued the massacre, while 
 the frigate sailed away for instructions, for British 
 officers have learned by bitter experience the danger of 
 acting on their own responsibility, even when the lives 
 of hundreds of their fellow-creatures are imperilled,
 
 298 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. 
 
 and a brave man is left the choice of breaking his 
 heart, or being broken himself. I believe that weeks 
 after the massacre, the frigate returned with full in- 
 structions to demand the punishment of the ringleaders, 
 and at last tired out with the governor's delays, her 
 commander fired a broadside, this time at the governor's 
 house, and knocked it about his ears, which so frightened 
 the old Turk that there was hardly time to fire another 
 broadside before the ringleaders of the massacre had 
 been all strangled, and harmony was restored. 
 
 The ruins of the government buildings knocked 
 down by this broadside still remain a monument of 
 British vengeance, but I cannot help thinking that the 
 broadside came a little late, and it would have been 
 more satisfactory to have saved a dozen of the innocent 
 people who were massacred, than to punish whole scores 
 of the murderers. However, I only tell the story as it 
 was related to me at Jiddah, and will not be responsible 
 for the details. 
 
 There is a handsome carved window in the house 
 where the French consul was killed. The poor fellow 
 was sitting with his daughter when the fanatical crowd 
 burst in upon him, and snatching down his diplomatic 
 sword from the wall, he defended himself with that frail 
 tailor's weapon till he was overpowered and hacked to 
 pieces. His daughter was placed in a hareem, but 
 afterwards, with much difficulty, released. 
 
 A short distance beyond the walls of Jiddah is the tomb 
 of Eve, and naturally my first care was to seek the spot 
 where tradition places the remains of our great ancestress.
 
 CH. xxxi. The Story of Leila. 299 
 
 When Adam and Eve were cast out from Paradise 
 they fell in different parts of the earth, Adam alighting 
 on a mountain probably Adam's Peak in the island 
 of Ceylon, and Eve on the coast of the Red Sea, near 
 Jiddah". When " the grand old gardener and his wife " 
 met again, it was on Mount Arafat, near Mecca, and 
 when Eve died she was buried close to the spot where 
 Jiddah now stands. Such is the Arabian tradition.* 
 
 Passing through a gate in the walls of tke town, I 
 came to a sandy plain, and a short walk brought me to 
 a Moslem cemetery, in the centre of which was the tomb 
 of Eve. It is said that Adam's height was thirty 
 cubits, and this tomb tallied with the colossal propor- 
 tions assigned to our first parents. Two low walls, 
 about thirty paces long, enclosed it on either side, and 
 the earth between them, which was slightly convex, was 
 covered with flowers. A little shrine had been erected 
 above a flat stone, placed directly over the spot sup- 
 posed to be the centre of Eve's body, and this stone 
 was regarded with great reverence by the Arabs. \ 
 
 From times long antecedent to the birth of Mahomet, 
 the Arabs have preserved a tradition, that Abraham 
 built into the Caaba at Mecca a stone which fell from 
 Paradise on the expulsion of our first parents, but I do 
 not know that their belief in the tomb of Eve can be 
 
 * See Washington Irving's " Life of Mahomet." 
 
 t I regret I cannot describe this monument more accurately, for 
 the day after my visit to it I was attacked with a fever which pre- 
 vented me making notes at the time, and has ever since left me rather 
 a confused recollection of my sojourn at Jiddah.
 
 00 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. CH. xxxi, 
 
 traced so far back. However this may be, the greatest 
 sceptic could hardly look unimpressed upon a spot which 
 tradition has consecrated as the last resting-place of the 
 Mother of mankind. 
 
 Gathered around were the graves of many genera- 
 tions of her children, a weak and puny race, but have 
 not the very beasts dwindled down since the days of 
 the Mammoths ? As I stood on the verge of the arid 
 waste that surrounds Jiddah, and watched the loose 
 sand whirled about by the wind, I could not help 
 reflecting, like Longfellow : 
 
 " How many weary centuries has it been 
 About these deserts blown ! 
 How many strange vicissitudes has seen 
 How many histories known ?" 
 
 On returning to the town, I made my way to the 
 British consulate. I found that the only representative 
 of England at Jiddah was a Mahometan Indian, who 
 could not even speak English, and whose sympathies, 
 some merchants who had sought his assistance assured 
 me, were entirely with his co-religionists. Leaving 
 this valuable official, I called on an Englishman whom 
 I had heard was acting as vice-consul for the Dutch. I 
 need not say my fellow-countryman received me kindly, 
 and he asked me to make his house my home during 
 my stay. I decided to avail myself of his hospitality 
 for that night, and the next morning I had no choice 
 in the matter, for I was down with the African fever. 
 It is said that if you escape fever in the interior of 
 Africa, you will get it when you leave the country.
 
 en. xxxi. The Story of Leila. 301 
 
 For months past my bed had been upon the ground, 
 and constant exposure to the noonday heat and night 
 air had gradually done their work ; I had felt this at 
 times, but the fine air of the plains, and the perpetual 
 necessity for action during the desert marches, had 
 enabled me to fight against the malady which, now 
 that my task was ended, came upon me. 
 " 0, blessed health ! " exclaims Walter Shandy, " thou 
 
 art above all gold and treasure He that 
 
 has thee, has little more to wish for ; and he that is so 
 wretched as to want thee, wants everything with thee." 
 I do not remember how long the fever lasted, but I 
 had ample time to realise this. Every muscle in my 
 body ached excruciatingly, my head felt as if the top 
 had been taken off, and some one was tickling my 
 brain with a feather, violent burning and shivering fits 
 followed each other in fantastic succession, and the 
 slightest noise or movement made me shrink as if I 
 had been struck with a sledge-hammer. Fortunately I 
 still possessed a little muriatic acid and quinine, and 
 with these, and some tartarised antimony which Mustafa 
 procured from a Greek, I proceeded to doctor myself 
 during the intervals of the attack. A good constitution 
 did the rest. The day the steamer started for Suez 
 I was able to rise, and, thanking my host for his kind- 
 ness, tottered down to the shore, feeling as weak as a 
 child. The cabin of the steamer was unbearable, so a 
 mattrass was placed for me on the deck ; each day I 
 took five minutes' walk, and then had to lie down again 
 quite exhausted ; but a strong head wind kept us seven
 
 O2 The Cradle of the Blue Nile. C H. 
 
 or eight days at sea, and before we reached Suez the 
 voyage had placed me on the road to convalescence. 
 
 We were nearing the island of Shadawan when a 
 steamer approached. Shrieks proceeded from the fore- 
 castle, and I saw that a sailor was being flogged before 
 the captain, who sat calmly smoking his chibuk the 
 while. As the vessel passed, I discovered that she was 
 the Kosseir, the steamer on which C. and I had sailed 
 down the Red Sea, and the fat Turkish captain was at 
 his old amusement of rope-ending his crew. 
 
 Three days later I was installed in Shepherd's Hotel 
 at Cairo, the only other occupant of which was poor 
 Winwood Read, so soon destined to fall a victim to the 
 climate of the West African coast.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 NOTE A. 
 
 THE Khedive professes to have abolished slavery in 
 his dominions, but I found a slave market flourishing 
 at Galabat, when the town was garrisoned by Egyptian 
 troops,* and I will now relate an instance of the way 
 slaves are treated at Massowah ; my authority being M. de 
 Sarzec, late vice-consul for France at that port, and present 
 French consul at Bussorah. 
 
 1st case. A slave applied at the consulate for protection : 
 M. de Sarzec accordingly demanded his card of emancipa- 
 tion from the governor of Massowah, but was informed 
 1st, that the freedom of no slave would be recognised unless 
 he could prove in a court of inquiry that he had been 
 cruelly treated by his master ; 2ndly, that such court must 
 be composed exclusively of Mahometans ; and 3rdly, that if 
 the slave ivere granted his freedom, he must enter the Khe- 
 dive's army, i.e., exchange one servitude for another. - 
 
 2nd case. A woman begged for protection, stating that 
 she had been made a slave, although she was the wife of 
 a soldier in the Khedive's army. M. de Sarzec demanded 
 her freedom of the local government, which, as usual, 
 refused his application ; he therefore gave the woman a card, 
 stating her to be under the protection of the French con- 
 
 * Sea Vol. II , p. 168.
 
 304 Appendix. 
 
 sulate, but shortly afterwards her husband complained that, 
 notwithstanding this, his wife had been forcibly seized by her 
 master, and again placed in captivity. M. de Sarzec thereon 
 made a second application for her freedom, which was again 
 refused, while the unfortunate soldier was placed in irons 
 and imprisoned for upwards of two months, as a punish- 
 ment for having dared to protest against the enslavement 
 of his wife. It was only when a French frigate entered 
 the port of Massowah, and, at the consul's request, refused 
 to salute the governor's flag, that the Egyptian officials be- 
 came alarmed, and set the woman free, just four months 
 after M. de Sarzec's first application. It may be imagined, 
 therefore, how many slaves are released in a year. 
 
 The folio wing anecdote will also give some idea of Egyptian 
 justice. After the Magdala campaign, an Abyssinian, 
 named Wolkai'ti Bern, who had been educated at Malta, 
 and enjoyed both English and French protection, was com- 
 missioned to accompany the gifts sent by the British go- 
 vernment to Prince Kassa. He performed this duty, and 
 returned to Massowah, where he had not been long before 
 he was summoned into the presence of M. Munzinger, the 
 governor, who ordered him to relate what was the purport 
 of the letters addressed by England to Prince Kassa, and 
 also what the prince had said in reply. On Beru's refusing 
 to commit this breach of trust, he was immediately given 
 200 blows with the bastinado, and cast into prison, where 
 he was kept without the knowledge of the French consul, 
 although M. Munzinger knew perfectly well that he was 
 under French protection, as he himself had formerly been 
 French consul at Massowah, and signed Wolkai'ti Beru's 
 papers in that capacity. Beru could not communicate with 
 his consul, but the king of Abyssinia learned his position, 
 and expressed to M. de Sarzec his surprise that an agent 
 who had been sent to him by England, should receive such 
 treatment. The French consul thereon, of course, took
 
 Appendix, 305 
 
 immediate measures to procure Bern's release, which, how- 
 ever, he only obtained by threatening to take down his flag, 
 and after the poor fellow had been six weeks in the common 
 gaol of Massowah, suffering the greatest hardships. 
 
 I will not discuss whether the Khedive himself is sincere 
 in wishing to suppress the slave trade. The Scotch engi- 
 neer of one of his highness's own steamers assured me that 
 the vessel had been employed to transport slaves from the 
 Soudan to Arabia ; but even if the Khedive's private senti- 
 ments are everything that can be desired, it makes little 
 difference so long as he suffers his officials not only to per- 
 mit the slave trade, but to encourage and profit by it, in 
 those parts of the Soudan where it is supposed that there is 
 nobody to reveal what goes on. Egypt, with no little 
 ostentation, sent an expedition to suppress the slave trade 
 of Central Africa, by which means she also secured a claim 
 to what may prove a very valuable tract of country ; but, 
 while Sir Samuel Baker was risking his life to put down 
 slavery in the interior, slaves were being bought and sold in 
 the Soudan behind him, and the very agents whose machi- 
 nations he was trying to defeat were receiving high pro- 
 tection much nearer Cairo. No one knows this better than 
 the gallant traveller himself, and I doubt if he was much 
 pleased at the discovery. Of course, after so many promises, 
 Egypt has been forced to stop the direct transit of negroes 
 down the White Nile, and occasionally a dmv is captured, 
 but it would be interesting to know how the slaves thus 
 professedly released are disposed of. A German at Cairo, 
 who had been in the Egyptian telegraph service, told me a 
 very ugly story, to the effect that while he was stationed at 
 Khartum, some slave doivs were taken, and the slaves, 
 several hundred in number, temporarily enclosed in a large 
 building near the Blue Nile. The capture was telegraphed 
 to Cairo, and made the most of ; but it was nobody's busi- 
 ness in the meantime to look after the slaves, and they were 
 
 VOL. II. X
 
 306 Appendix. 
 
 left shut up in their enclosure, many of them still chained 
 together as they had been taken from the dows. "When, 
 after a week or two, instructions about them arrived from 
 Cairo, the enclosure was visited, but it was then found that the 
 slaves, who had been so generously set free by the Egyptian 
 government, had saved that government all further trouble, 
 for the poor creatures, unable to get out of the enclosure, 
 had died of thirst and starvation where they lay. I trust 
 for the sake of humanity that this was an exceptional case ; 
 there seems, however, little doubt that the so-called liberty 
 accorded to slaves means, that, if they are women, they are 
 given to the soldiers, while, if they are men, they merely 
 change masters, and have to serve in the army which is 
 thus economically recruited. 
 
 Colonel Chaille Long, of the Egyptian staff, tells us in 
 his book,* that at every Egyptian camp and garrison a 
 fugitive slave may seek protection and freedom by simply 
 declaring that he wants protection of the government. No 
 doubt the author of " Naked Truths about Naked People " is 
 correct in saying he may seek it, but the facts mentioned at 
 the commencement of this note, on the authority of the 
 French consul at Massowah, and my own experience at 
 Galabat, do not uphold the theory that he will get it. 
 However, it seems that Colonel Chaille Long is gifted 
 with peculiar fortitude when called upon to behold the 
 sufferings of other people, for according to his own ac- 
 count (p. 107), he allowed King M'Tse to have thirty unre- 
 sisting victims slaughtered in his honour, without entering 
 a single protest, because, forsooth, to do so would, "if 
 nothing more serious, have subjected me to ridicule and 
 loss of prestige." I believe Livingstone would have told a 
 different story, and considering that not to protest at such 
 a massacre was to lead M'Tse to infer that it was agreeable 
 
 * " Central Africa ; or Naked Truths about Naked People."
 
 Appendix. 307 
 
 to his white guest, and that Africans naturally judge of a 
 whole country by the one representative of it whom they 
 see, it appears probable that the character for justice and 
 humanity which white travellers have hitherto maintained 
 in Africa, may be much benefited should all who follow in 
 the footsteps of Colonel Long display the same laudable 
 phlegm. 
 
 Most of the slaves shipped from the Soudan are sold at 
 the markets on the Arabian coast, and I will give a precis 
 of a letter I received, in 1875, from an English merchant, 
 who was residing at Jiddah when I visited that port. He 
 writes " It will hardly be credited when I assert that the 
 Khedive's steamers continually bring slaves, especially the 
 pale and expensive ones, from Suakin and Massowah, and 
 doivs arrive daily which import each month several thousand 
 poor creatures to Jiddah alone, the dealers paying a poll-tax 
 to the Turkish government on each slave. The Turkish 
 government recognises the respective positions of master 
 and slave, and the Pacha or governor of a town publicly ad- 
 judicates in council on the slave trade disputes which arise 
 daily between the slave brokers and their clients. The 
 governor, chief of police, or port officers, will inflict corporal 
 punishment, or imprisonment, on a slave, at his master's 
 request. If a slave absents himself, or absconds, the police 
 will apprehend him, his escape is notified by the public 
 crier, and a reward offered for his recapture. The wages 
 earned by a slave are paid to his master, and even Europeans 
 are compelled to comply with this rule if they hire the ser- 
 vices of slaves ; yet if a slave cannot procure work, his 
 master need not feed or shelter him, and he may die of 
 want, as the law does not make his owner liable. A poor 
 Arab has generally one or more slaves whom he has bought 
 on credit, or received as a gift ; in the majority of cases the 
 Arab has not enough to feed himself, and if the slave can- 
 not provide for both, dreadful hardship is the result ; not
 
 308 Appendix. 
 
 unfrequently the slave has to work day and night for a bare 
 sufficiency of food. It is common to see old men and 
 women, unfit for work, begging at large, as also young 
 negroes who have incurable injuries of the body ; these are 
 allowed to perish like brutes in the roads and streets, and I 
 have even seen dogs given bread and water when no notice 
 was taken of a destitute negro. Boat owners equip their 
 vessels almost entirely with slaves, thus saving all expense 
 for labour beyond the miserable food they give them. 
 Perhaps the most curious fact of all is, that many 
 ships which sail under the British flag, belong to Arab 
 owners, and have the greater part of their crews composed 
 of slaves ; these slaves visit foreign ports, but rarely avail 
 themselves of the freedom they might thus obtain, as 
 their owners make them believe that the form of signing 
 articles before consuls is another form of securing their 
 bondage." 
 
 Talking of Sir Bar tie Frere's expedition, my corre- 
 spondent says, " The slave traders on the coasts of the 
 Red Sea were stricken with terror when they heard that 
 England had sent an expedition to Zanzibar, which, with 
 oriental exaggeration, was represented as visiting all 
 Eastern ports, and dealing out condign punishment to 
 towns and people engaged in the slave trade ; this seemed 
 confirmed when an English gun-boat actually chased some 
 slavers near Aden ; but the panic died away when the 
 Zanzibar expedition returned without visiting the Red Sea 
 ports, which have now become the great emporiums for 
 slaves ; though the mere presence of an armed cruiser in 
 the Red Sea, seconded by the honest efforts of consular 
 officers, would produce an effect as permanent as it would 
 be humane and desirable." He also remarks that from 
 January, 1870, to the end of 1874, the British consulate at 
 Jiddah was left in charge of a dragoman. Certainly, when 
 I was at Jiddah, in 1873, the only representative of Eng-
 
 Appendix. 309 
 
 land was an Indian Mahometan, who could not even speak 
 English. 
 
 The horrors of the slave trade have been so often ably 
 described, that I need not dwell on them here. There is 
 also a practical side to the question ; so long as the African 
 slave trade exists, so long must it be the interest of the 
 slave traders to close the country to the traveller, and to 
 stir up strife between the native tribes. The colonist is 
 the true pioneer of civilization, but the traveller is the 
 pioneer of the colonist, and so long as he is exposed to the 
 constant difficulties and dangers that it is the interest of 
 the slave traders to place in his way, so long will the civili- 
 zation of Africa be retarded. It is well that England has 
 compelled the Sultan of Zanzibar to put down the slave 
 trade, but it is not well that she should permit Egypt and 
 Turkey to carry on a traffic in slaves across the Red Sea, so 
 much nearer home. To stop this traffic would be no diffi- 
 cult task ; I have shown that the King of Abyssinia is 
 willing to prevent the export of slaves from his country, 
 and if we entered into an understanding with him, and 
 placed a cruiser in the Red Sea, the markets of the Soudan 
 would receive a double blow : first, because they could no 
 longer procure their supply of expensive slaves from Ethi- 
 opia ; and secondly, because there would be no means of 
 exporting them to the markets of Arabia. With these 
 difficulties in its way, the East African slave trade would 
 soon disappear, and one of the principal obstacles to the 
 development and civilization of the Continent would dis- 
 appear with it. 
 
 NOTE B. 
 
 The necrology of Abyssinian travellers certainly presents 
 a somewhat gloomy subject for contemplation. Of the five 
 savants forming the French expedition sent out by Louis
 
 310 Appendix. 
 
 Philippe, Dillon died of fever caught in the vale of the 
 Mareb ; Petit was devoured by a crocodile, whilst crossing 
 the Aba'i, or Blue Nile ; Sheffner died of dysentery at An- 
 tichon ; Vigneau at Jiddah, of a fever caught at Massowah 
 or Souakin ; whilst Lieutenant Lefebre alone lived to 
 return to France, but, again tempting fate, returned to 
 Abyssinia, where he went mad, was put in chains by Consul 
 Cameron, and died shortly afterwards at Jiddah, on his way 
 home. 
 
 Ferret and Galinier, also sent by the French government 
 to examine the resources of Abyssinia, lost their companion, 
 M. Jules Eouget, of dysentery, at Antichon. 
 
 Plowden, Cameron's predecessor, was speared on his 
 way to Adowa, whilst his friend and companion, Bell, was 
 first half killed at Korata, for the sake of a few dollars 
 which he had unluckily shown whilst buying mules at 
 the market of Ifag, and some years later killed outright 
 in a fight between King Theodorus and his foster brother 
 Garrad. 
 
 Powell, his wife and child, and an Alsatian servant, were 
 murdered in the Shaugalla country. 
 
 General Kirkham, whom I have so often mentioned in 
 this book, died recently at Massowah, and Count Vilmos 
 Zichy was killed near Gundet. 
 
 Add to this formidable list the names of those who have 
 been made captive in Abyssinia, and it will be found that a 
 very small percentage of European travellers have escaped 
 losing either life or liberty in this ill-fated country. 
 
 The death of Bell was related to my brother by Lika- 
 manguas Warki, formerly private secretary to King 
 Theodorus, in the following manner : 
 
 Dedjatch Kounfu, half-brother to Theodorus, made war 
 upon him at Metemma. Kounfn was older than Theodorus. 
 Theodorus defeated and killed Kounfu and all his men. 
 Kounfu's son, Dedjatch Garrad, then joined a rebel named
 
 Appendix. 3 1 1 
 
 Dedjach Negoussie, who rose against Theodorus, while he 
 \vas on an expedition to Shoa. 
 
 Father Jacobus, the Roman Catholic bishop, had agreed 
 with Xegoussie to convert Abyssinia. Likamanguas "Warki, 
 who was then at Adowa, heard of this, and wrote in secret 
 to Theodorus to expose the plans of Negoussie and Jacobus, 
 and to say that they had written to France for assistance 
 and cannon. Theodorus, on receiving this news, was so 
 enraged, that he flnng down on the ground a pistol he held 
 in his hand. Soon afterwards he met Garrad, at Waldubba, 
 on his \\ay back from Shoa. A battle ensued, but the 
 soldiers of Theodorus fled, leaving him alone with Bell, or 
 Likamanquos Yohannes, as he was called in Abyssinia. 
 
 On the other side, Garrad's soldiers had moved away, 
 leaving him and his brother also alone on the field four 
 only of all the combatants. They fought. Bell slew Garrad's 
 brother; Garrad slew Bell; Theodorus shot Garrad. Theo- 
 dorus remained the victor. 
 
 His followers now rallied, and 3000 of Garrad's men 
 were made prisoners. Theodorus took them to his camp 
 at Debarek. He ordered all his troops to form a circle, 
 and then placed the prisoners in the centre. Advancing 
 towards them, he addressed them thus : " You fought 
 against me with the Galla Ras All, and I pardoned you. 
 Again you fought against me, under Menin ; and again I 
 forgave you. A third time you fought against me, with 
 Dedjatch Gushu (the grandfather of Ras Desta) ; and a 
 third time you were pardoned. Again you fought against 
 me, with Alegas Beru ; and for the fourth time I pardoned 
 you. With Dedjatch Oubi you attacked me again, and 
 again I showed you my clemency. Again, when I conquered 
 Dedjatch Beru, I found you among my enemies. I have 
 often released you, but you are incorrigible. Night and 
 day you wish for my death. Each day I have done my 
 utmost for your good. Xow you have killed this stranger,
 
 312 Appendix. 
 
 who was with me. Nothing remains but to slaughter you 
 like cattle." Before the sun set, the 3000 prisoners had 
 ceased to live. 
 
 NOTE C. 
 
 According to one of the native traditions, the custom of 
 eating raw meat was introduced into Abyssinia at the time 
 when the Portuguese were assisting the Abyssinians to 
 repel the invasion of Mahomet Graign, the gigantic governor 
 of Zeila. The Abyssinians and their Portuguese allies had 
 been defeated, and forced to take refuge among some 
 wooded hills. The Portuguese leader advised that they 
 should remain concealed therefor two or three days ; " for," 
 said he, "the Moslems will feast and carouse after their 
 victory, and we shah 1 then have an opportunity of falling upon 
 them unawares and putting them to the sword. But that they 
 may not discover where we are, you must light no fires." 
 " Your council is good," said the Abyssinians ; " but how 
 shall we cook our meat ? " The Portuguese then ordered 
 some cows to be killed, and showed them that they could 
 eat the meat raw. Soon afterwards Graign was defeated ; 
 and the Abyssinians attributed their victory to the strength 
 given them by the raw meat, wherefore they have continued 
 to eat it ever since. 
 
 NOTE D. 
 
 There are four great families in Abyssinia. The first is 
 of Tigre, province of Enderta ; and Ras Michael, Has 
 "Weldo Selassy, Dedjatch Wagardis, and the present king, 
 Yohannes, who before his coronation bore the name of 
 Kassa Michael, are its latest representatives. 
 
 The second family is of Sokota, and claims descent from 
 Menilek. Its latest representatives are Dedjatch Garamadin 
 and his son, Takala Georgis.
 
 Appendix. 3 1 3 
 
 The third family is of Galla origin, and is represented 
 by Ras Guksa, Ras Ali, AH Faris, and the present 
 Ali Bern. 
 
 The fourth family is of Godjam, and descended from 
 Queen Muntuav. Its latest representatives are Beru 
 Gushu and the present Dedjatch Desta. 
 
 NOTE E. 
 
 The Abyssinians give the following reason for their only 
 wearing crimson and white. Our Lord, being innocent of 
 all sin, was clothed in white until the day of his crucifixion, 
 when blood flowed from his wounds and stained his 
 garments red. In remembrance of this, the crimson stripe 
 of the kuarie is worn over the left breast, that being the 
 side where the lance pierced the body of our Lord. 
 
 NOTE F. 
 
 In illustration of the king's decision of character, I will 
 relate an episode which occurred during the late war between 
 .Egypt and Abyssinia, and which I have on the authority of 
 au eye-witness. 
 
 At the moment that King Yohannes was leaving 
 Adowa at the head of his army to fight the Egyptians, a 
 great earthquake occurred, and part of a mountain came 
 crashing down in front of the king's horse, so close that the 
 king narrowly escaped being crushed by it. The Abyssinian 
 soldiers are naturally superstitious, and stood petrified with 
 terror at this unlucky accident; but the king, who knows the 
 character of his people, without a moment of hesitation leaped 
 from the saddle, and, flinging himself on his knees, lifted up 
 his hands and gave thanks aloud to Heaven before the whole 
 army : " God," he cried, " has sent this in his mercy as a
 
 314 Appendix. 
 
 sign that the power of the Moslems shall fall before me as 
 this mountain has rolled down at my feet !" Had Yohannes 
 been frightened, or wavered for a moment, a panic would 
 probably have been the result ; but his prompt and 
 courageous conduct kindled the enthusiasm of his troops, 
 who now rent the air with their shouts, and pushed eagerly 
 forward, certain that they were marching to predestined 
 victory. By his presence of mind, the soldier king had half 
 gained a victory before he had fought a battle ; but, never- 
 theless, like a good general, he was careful to take the 
 Egyptians by surprise, and his naphtenas did the rest, for 
 they threw themselves upon the enemy with an impetuosity 
 that nothing could check. An Egyptian officer, speaking 
 afterwards of the battle, said : "What can you do against 
 people who come boldly up to the muzzles of your guns, 
 and stab at the men who are serving them with their 
 spears ? " 
 
 NOTE Gr. 
 
 It appears that from time immemorial three days have 
 been the prescribed term for rendering hospitality to a 
 guest throughout the East. The Prophet said : " Whoso- 
 ever believeth in God and the day of resurrection, must 
 respect his guest ; and the time for being kind to him is 
 one day and one night ; and the period of entertaining him 
 is three days : and after that, if he does it longer, he 
 benefits him more ; but it is not right for a guest to stay in 
 the house of the host so long as to incommode him." 
 
 That the reader may form some idea of the hospitality 
 which an Abyssinian village is supposed to render to the 
 king's guests, I copy from my brother's diary the menu of 
 the dinner furnished by one village for two Europeans and 
 six native servants : 100 cakes of white bread, 200 cakes of 
 black ditto, 10 gumbos of beer, containing three gallons each;
 
 Appendix. 3 1 5 
 
 1 gumbo of tedrje ditto, 1 gumbo of white honey, 1 cow, 100 
 eggs, 10 fowls, 3 small gumbos of butter for cooking, 1 ditto 
 of fresh butter, 2 ditto of curry, 1 ditto of milk, and 1 
 madega of corn. This repast required thirty-five men to 
 carry it. The same morning the same village had furnished 
 for breakfast 200 cakes of bread, 1 goat, 60 eggs, 15 fowls, 
 and 2 gumbos of beer. Total, for eight people in one day : 
 500 cakes of bread, each a foot and a half in diameter ; 
 1 cow, 1 goat, 25 fowls, 160 eggs, 36 gallons of beer, 3 
 gallons of tedge, 3 gallons of honey, besides butter, curry, 
 corn, &c. Certainly the supply was sufficient for people of 
 moderate appetite, and the value of such a repast will have 
 been about twenty dollars. On the other hand, all the 
 sfioums of the villages were not so well disposed ; and it 
 sometimes happened that we were nearly starving. It is, 
 therefore, always a wise maxim in Abyssinia to eat while 
 you can. 
 
 NOTE H. 
 
 The name of this adventurous German was Hugo Alfary. 
 In a letter addressed to my brother, in 1874, he draws the 
 following picture of the Egyptian camp at Keren in Bogos, 
 one of the provinces which have been taken from Abyssinia 
 by Egypt : 
 
 " The pay of the troops has not been forthcoming for 
 four months, and, owing to this, the discipline has fallen off 
 considerably. Desertion does not take place at the rate of 
 one man, but always eight or ten at a time, with arms and 
 accoutrements, who roam about as robbers, and make the 
 country much more unsafe than it was under the Abyssinian 
 rule. The clanking of the chains of captured soldiers, and 
 native Sheiks and chiefs who have expressed discontent at 
 the Egyptian supremacy, and have to work in chains on a
 
 o 
 
 1 6 Appendix. 
 
 ship's biscuit a day, is dreadful to hear in the camp at 
 Keren. 
 
 " With regard to the promotion of trade, the Egyptian 
 Government does just the reverse of \vhat it parades in 
 newspaper reports as the main object of its policy of con- 
 quest viz., the promotion of security on the trade routes. 
 In the space of two months, no less than three caravans 
 were seized and plundered. I myself was a witness of it ; 
 but the commander excused himself by saying he was in 
 need of the cargo of the camels. The trade route from 
 Kassala to Massowah can only be used by avoiding all 
 Egyptian posts and camps, and the merchants go out of 
 their way, through Hamasen, in order not to fall in with 
 the troops in occupation ; for the result of such a meeting 
 would be maltreatment and the total loss of their goods." 
 
 This sad picture supports what I have before asserted 
 namely, that Egypt is doing more harm than good by her 
 ambitious policy of annexation. The vast plains of the 
 Soudan, through which the Nile flows down to Lower 
 Egypt, are the real field to which the Khedive should turn 
 his attention. It is lamentable to think that the Egyptian 
 peasants are still forced to irrigate the land by means of 
 hand wells and sageers turned by buffaloes, when such a 
 mighty water power is at their command. A little engi- 
 neering skill would make the Nile lift its own waters, and 
 irrigate hundreds of miles of the fertile plains that border 
 it on either side I say fertile, for so productive is the 
 sand of these plains, that when they are subjected to the 
 action of water, vegetation appears on them spontaneously, 
 and grows with the most marvellous rapidity. One half 
 the ingenuity which the Egyptian Government has exercised 
 in acquiring new provinces, would, if properly applied, have 
 converted hundreds of thousands of acres of the Soudan 
 into fruitful fields for the growth of cotton, coffee, &c. ; 
 while the money,[time, and labour which have been wasted
 
 Appendix. 317 
 
 on the invasion of Abyssinia, would have sufficed to make a 
 railway to Khartum. 
 
 Egypt is blessed with a mine of wealth in the Nile ; 
 let her cultivate its banks, and ameliorate the condition of 
 her own peasantry ; but until she enjoys the benefits of 
 civilization at home, it is useless for her to pretend that 
 she is doing good by extending her conquests abroad. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BRADBURY, AGNBW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
 
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