TRAVELS IN KORDOFAN; 
 
 EMBRACING 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF THAT PROVINCE OF EGYPT, 
 
 AND OF SOME OF THE BORDERING COUNTRIES, 
 WITH A REVIEW OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE COMMERCE 
 
 IN THOSE COUNTRIES, 
 
 OF THE HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS, 
 
 AS ALSO AX ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVE-HUNTS TAKING PLACE 
 
 rXDER THE GOVERNMENT OF MEIIEMED ALT. 
 
 BY 
 
 IGNATIUS PALLME. 
 
 n 
 
 FROM NOTES COLLECTED DURING A RESIDENCE OF NEARLY TWO YEARS IN 
 
 KORDOFAN. 
 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 .1. MADDEN AND CO., 8, LEADEN HALL ST1IKKT. 
 IM-i. 
 
DTI35 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 Printed by 8. & J. BENTLKY, WILSON, and FT.EY, 
 Bangor House, Shoe Lane. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 TOWARDS the close of the year 1837 I undertook, 
 at the request of a friend, a journey into the most 
 distant portion of the countries under the govern- 
 ment of the Viceroy of Egypt, in order to collect 
 information referring to commerce, but more espe- 
 cially with the view of convincing myself whether 
 trade might be carried on with these countries 
 directly, instead of through the intermediation of 
 agents, in whose hands it had hitherto rested. The 
 task, although rather arduous, was not displeasing 
 to me, for a residence of several years in Egypt 
 had rendered me tolerably proficient in the Arabic 
 language and colloquial dialect, and my prior tra- 
 vels in various parts of the Soudan had made me 
 familiar with the habits of the natives, besi<l<-- 
 
 M157148 
 
Vi PREFACE. 
 
 procuring me the acquaintance of many merchants 
 from the more distant provinces. With these ad- 
 vantages I travelled during nineteen months in all 
 directions through these countries. Whilst on my 
 journey, or sojourning in any place, I noted down 
 in my journal everything that appeared to me re- 
 markable, which I laid before my friends for their 
 amusement on my return. It is with their advice, 
 and more particularly at the instigation of the 
 celebrated French traveller Antoine d* Abbadie, that 
 the information I was able to collect respect- 
 ing a country of which so little was formerly 
 known, now appears in print. My journey was 
 strictly mercantile in its tendency ; I cannot, there- 
 fore, venture on so explicit a description as might 
 be expected of a traveller or a man well versed in 
 the various sciences a traveller should profess, and 
 yet I am not altogether diffident, inasmuch as I 
 think that my small contribution will at least form 
 a short guide for those who may be willing to ex- , 
 plore these countries more fully hereafter, as it will 
 give them many a hint before they reach these 
 clinios, which will save them much trouble and 
 inconvenience during their residence in Kordofan. 
 Although two distinguished German travellers, J)r. 
 
PREFACK. vii 
 
 and the Conseill'u'i' dcx A/i/ir*. Rttssegger, 
 have visited the country before me, their sojourn 
 there was of such short duration, and they travelled 
 in so much company, that many things must have 
 escaped their observation, and remained hidden 
 from them, which were revealed to me, who, defy- 
 ing every species of danger, wandered through the 
 province alone, under a variety of circumstances, 
 sometimes accompanied by one solitary servant, and 
 sometimes even without thus much protection. 
 Thus I have often shared the humble fare of a 
 camel-driver in the desert, or conversed with the 
 natives in their damp and obscure Tukkoli ; whilst 
 at other times I have enjoyed the opportunity of 
 gaining information from the governor and higher 
 officials, to whose feasts I was frequently invited. 
 
 My readers must excuse me if, in the perusal of 
 this small work, they meet with a deficiency of 
 TI inch information generally expected from a tra- 
 veller, for I repeat again that I did not undertake 
 this journey with the view of writing, but that I 
 wrote merely at the request of my friends, and be- 
 cause I thought that by lifting the veil of obscurity 
 from certain relations, I might in some measure 
 become useful to futurity, and in this respect I 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 have already met with a few grateful acknowledg- 
 ments. I shall, therefore, send this little book into 
 the world with confidence, assured that it will find 
 a considerate reception, and that its deficiencies 
 will be placed to the account of the circumstances 
 under which it was produced. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 Cairo. 
 
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 IGNATIUS PALLME, a Bohemian by birth, it would 
 appear, undertook the journey to Kordofan, on 
 commission, for a mercantile establishment at Cairo, 
 in the hope of discovering new channels of traffic 
 with Central Africa. In the pursuit of his object, 
 he sojourned longer in the country than any Euro- 
 pean before him ; the information he furnishes 
 respecting the present state of this province of 
 Egypt in particular, and of the Belled 'Soudan in 
 general, may, therefore, be considered the most 
 anthentic in existence at the present time. That few 
 travellers have visited these countries, and subjected 
 the information they were enabled to collect to print, 
 may be deduced from the facts, that scarcely one- 
 half of the places mentioned in the work before us 
 are to be found on the most recent map* ; and that 
 in referring to the literature on these countries, for 
 making a comparison between Pallme's opinions 
 
x TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 an<l those of other authors, many difficulties were 
 experienced, and many researches proved ungrati- 
 ficd. The original is characterised by an ingenuous 
 and unassuming style ; and it has been my chief 
 endeavour to paraphrase the text as closely as com- 
 patible with the two languages. Those idiomatic 
 constructions which may be met with in the trans- 
 lation, are owing to this strict adherence to the 
 original ; but I have at least the consolation of 
 knowing that the loss by solecism may be consi- 
 dered as gain in authenticity the chief object of 
 the undertaking. Pallme's orthography has been 
 generally followed as regards Arab terms, excepting 
 where the same words are familiar to the public in 
 a different garb, or where they are to be found 
 otherwise spelt, in at least two accredited English 
 authors ; for it was impossible to furnish the cer- 
 tain literation, as the Arab character is not affixed 
 to the original text. 
 
 THE TRANSLATOR. 
 
 LONDON, 
 May 1st, 1844. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 (HAP. 
 
 I. Position of the Country ; Borders, Rivers, Soil, and 
 
 Climate .... 1 
 
 II. History . . . . .11 
 
 III. Government ..... 27 
 
 IV. Habits and Customs . . . .44 
 V. Character of the People . . . 1 07 
 
 VI. The Bakkara. (Nomadic Tribes.) . .118 
 
 VII. The Kubbabeesh . . . .132 
 
 VIII. Dar-Hammer . . . . .142 
 IX. Tribes bordering on Kordofan, Shilluk, Nuba, 
 
 Takele, etc. . . . .147 
 
 X. Religion . . . . .184 
 
 XI. Diseases . . . . .192 
 
 XII. The Troops . . . . .199 
 
 XIII. Products . . . . . 217 
 
 XIV. The Capital of Kordofan; Lobeid . . 258 
 XV. Commerce . . . . 279 
 
 XVI. Mehemed Ali's Slave-hunts in general . . 305 
 
 XVII. Description of a Slave-hunt in the years 1838 and 
 
 1839 . .... 326 
 
 XVIII. Information concerning the Course of the Bahr- 
 Abiad (White Nile). Antiquities of Kordo- 
 fan. Bandanianiam . . . 345 
 XIX. On the kingdom of Darfmir . . . 350 
 
TRAVELS IN KORDOFAN, 
 
 ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 POSITION OF THE COUNTRY J BORDERS, RIVERS, SOIL, AND CLIMATE. 
 
 KORDOFAN, one of the most southern provinces 
 under the government of the Viceroy of Egypt, 
 extends in the north from Haraza to Kodero, in the 
 south from the Nuba mountains, and eastwards 
 from Caccia to the Shilluk or Shillook* mountains, 
 about four degrees of longitude. The desert of 
 Dongola forms its northern border, that of Darfur 
 its western limit. Towards the south, no definite 
 confines can be described, as the extent of these 
 dominions increases or decreases accordingly as the 
 inhabitants of this part of the country become tri- 
 butary, either by their own free-will, or are ren- 
 dered subjects by force, as occasionally occurs, and 
 subsequently free themselves from the yoke. On this 
 account the present government has divided the 
 country into five districts, and regards Kodero. and 
 the free heathen Nuba, as its southern bonier. 
 
 * The Rev. J. Russell's Nubia and Abyssinia, p. 1 79. Tr. 
 
 D 
 
2 BORDERS. 
 
 Kordofan has no townships on the Bahr-Abiad, or 
 White Nile, for the village nearest to this river is 
 situate at a distance of about four hours' march 
 from its banks. The Nomadic tribes, inhabiting 
 the western shore, belong to the realms of Sennaar, 
 and are entirely distinct from the natives of Kordo- 
 fan ; the Bakara-Kubbabeesh * only, a Nomadic 
 tribe, also, frequently drive their herds to the bor- 
 ders of the White River for pasturage. The five dis- 
 tricts are named severally : Korci, Bara, Ketshmar, 
 Abou-Haraz, and Dayara. Each of them is go- 
 verned by a Casheff, or captain of the district, who 
 is at the same time captain in a regiment of the 
 line. Taking a general view of Kordofan, it may 
 be said to consist chiefly of a cluster of small and 
 large oases, which are not far distant from each 
 other, as in the Great Desert. The soil is sandy 
 throughout, and the country is rather flat than 
 mountainous. In the vicinity of Haraza, however, 
 a chain of mountains arises, shelving off towards the 
 White River ; while the mountains in the interior are 
 inconsiderable, several of which may be seen towards 
 the south and south-east. The soil is, on the whole, 
 very fertile; for, with the commencement of the 
 rainy season, vegetation springs up from the earth 
 as if by magic, and nature then shows herself in her 
 full vigour and pomp; balsamic odours, which act 
 almost intoxicatingiy on the senses, are everywhere 
 breathed forth, and the traveller might imagine 
 
 * A pastoral race. 
 
RIVERS. 3 
 
 himself transplanted into the fairy gardens of the 
 Arabian Nights' talcs. 
 
 Kordofan has no flowing rivers ; during the rain v 
 season, some few running streams are formed, but 
 these dry up as quickly as they appear. There 
 are several lakes, or large ponds, in the country, 
 amongst which those at Arat, Birget,* Ketshmar, 
 and Caccia, are the most considerable ; in the lat- 
 ter, many leeches are found ; but the other stagnant 
 waters, which are generated during the rainy sea- 
 son, quickly evaporate, and only those above-named 
 contain water throughout the year. In the vicinity 
 of Haraza, in a north-easterly direction from the 
 village, pure and fresh water for drinking is found 
 on the summit of a mountain during the whole year. 
 There is an abundance of iron ore in the province, 
 respecting which more explicit information may be 
 gleaned from the work of Russegger, the Royal Im- 
 perial inspector of mines, who, in the year 1837, tra- 
 velled through this country as far as Sheibon, to 
 which book I must refer my readers, as geognostic 
 research was not the purpose of my travels. The cli- 
 mate is very unhealthy, especially during the rainy 
 season; no hut is then, indeed, to be met with in 
 which there are not at least several sick ; in the dry 
 season, again, all disease disappears; at this time, 
 however, not only man, but all living creatures, suffer 
 from the extreme heat. The eye then rests with 
 melancholy on the desolate and parched plains, 
 
 * Birket, as found on the maps of Arrowsmith. 
 
4 SOIL AND CLIMATE. 
 
 trophies of the victory of the heat over animated na- 
 ture, where nothing is to be seen but bones of men 
 and animals bleached by the burning sun. During 
 the whole of this season, which endures about eight 
 months, the sky is clear and cloudless, and the heat 
 is insupportable, especially in the months of April 
 and May. From eleven o'clock, A.M., to three, P.M., 
 when the thermometer stands in the shade at 38, 
 or even at 40, Reaumur (117 to 122 Fahrenheit), 
 it is impossible for any breathing creature to remain 
 in the open air. Every living being, both men and 
 cattle, with equal eagerness seek the shade, to pro- 
 tect themselves from the scorching rays of a fierce 
 sun. Man sits during these hours as if in a vapour- 
 bath, his cheerfulness of disposition declines, and he 
 is almost incapable of thought ; listless, and with 
 absence of mind, he stares vacantly before him, 
 searching in vain for a cool spot. The air breathed 
 is hot as if it proceeded from a heated furnace, and 
 acts in so enervating a manner on the animal 
 economy, that it becomes a trouble even to move 
 a limb. All business ceases, everything is wrapped 
 in a sleep of death, until the sun gradually sinks, 
 and the cool air recalls men and animals again into 
 life and activity. The nights, on the other hand, 
 are so sharp, that it is necessary to be more careful 
 in guarding against the effects of cold in this coun- 
 try, than in the northern parts of Europe during 
 the severest winter, for the consequences frequently 
 prove fatal During the whole year, day and night 
 
SOIL AND CLIMATE. i> 
 
 an- equally divided, or with but imperceptible varia- 
 tion, and, as in all tropical climates, there is no twi- 
 light; for with sunset night begins. During the 
 dry season, everything in nature appears desolate 
 and dismal ; the plants are burnt up; the trees lose 
 their leaves, and appear like brooms ; no bird is heard 
 to sing ; no animal delights to disport in the glad- 
 ness of its existence ; every living being creeps to- 
 wards the forest to secrete itself, seeking shelter 
 from the fearful heat; save that, now and then, an 
 ostrich will be seen traversing the desert fields in 
 Hying pace, or a giraffe hastening from one oasis to 
 another. In this season, however, frightful hurri- 
 canes occasionally arise, and fill the minds of those, 
 who have not been witness of such a phenomenon 
 in nature before, with the utmost consternation. A 
 powerful current of air, of suffocating heat, blov. ^ 
 fiercely from one point of the heavens to the other, 
 devastating everything that lies in its course. The 
 atmosphere bears at these times generally a leaden 
 grey appearance, and is impregnated with fine sand: 
 the sun loses its brilliancy, and total darkness enve- 
 lopes the earth, rendering it even difficult to distin- 
 guish objects at a few paces distant. The sky 
 changes suddenly, becomes of a yellow colour, then 
 armies a reddish hue, and the sun appears as a 
 blood-red disk. The wind howls, tears up every- 
 thing within its reach ; houses, fences, and tr> 
 by the roots, carrying them away with it; levels 
 mounds of sand, and piles up fresh hills. In short. 
 
6 SOIL AND CLIMATE. 
 
 the devastation caused by a hurricane of this kind 
 is beyond description. Unfortunate, indeed, is he 
 who happens to be overtaken in the desert by one 
 of these storms. There is no course left for him to 
 save himself, but to throw himself with his face 
 on the ground, in order to avoid suffocation by the 
 pressure of the atmosphere. Respiration is totally 
 impeded ; all the fibres are tightly contracted ; the 
 chest threatens to burst for want of pure air; and a 
 man of rather weak constitution, overtaken by one 
 of these hurricanes in the open air, generally suc- 
 cumbs. But robust men, even those in full vigour 
 of life, feel depressed in every limb for several 
 hours after exposure to these storms, and recover 
 but slowly, and by degrees. Animals fly and endea- 
 vour to conceal themselves ; every creature, in fact, 
 seeks a place of shelter. The camels on journeys 
 indicate the storm before it breaks forth by an un- 
 steadiness of gait, and by drooping their heads to- 
 wards the ground. 
 
 A no less remarkable phenomenon is the Mirage, 
 i. e. the appearance of seas and rivers, supposed to 
 be observed in the middle of the desert, but which, 
 in fact, are only represented to the eye in this de- 
 ceptive manner by a rising vapour, and the reflec- 
 tion of the sun. The sensation is indescribable, 
 of descrying at the distance large rivers and lakes, 
 after having travelled for several tedious days through 
 the desert, where nothing is to be seen but sand 
 and heaven, as but water and sky on the high seas, 
 
SOIL AND CLIMATE. 7 
 
 and at a time, moreover, when the traveller is 
 longing after water. We wish for wings, to be 
 able to reach the element of which we have been 
 BO long deprived as quickly as possible. We de- 
 light in the idea of invigorating the exhausted and 
 enervated body by a bath, and the eye is continu- 
 ally bent upon this pleasing object. But what is 
 our disappointment, how are the spirits depressed, 
 when, notwithstanding these ardent wishes, on 
 our approach, the lakes and rivers, which we had 
 discerned at the distance, are resolved, in the 
 literal sense of the word, into thin air ; and when we 
 find, in lieu of water, the sand as hot and dry as in 
 the place we had just left ! When the traveller has 
 frequently observed this phenomenon, and accus- 
 tomed himself to it, he will be pleased with the 
 image which diverts his eye, and will look upon it as 
 a variation in the scene. These aerial phenomena 
 are called in the country, Bahr-el-Ghazal, or Gazelle 
 Rivers, probably because, like these animals, they 
 disappear as soon as seen. 
 
 The rains begin in the month of June, and termi- 
 nate with the month of October. Those who have 
 not spent this season in a tropical country, can form 
 no idea of the showers which then drench the earth. 
 The storms generally arise in the east or in the 
 south. A small black cloud is, at first, perceived 
 on the horizon, which increases as it approaches, 
 spreads in a few minutes, with incredible velocity, 
 over i he uhole reo-ion, and then descends. A fear- 
 
8 SOIL AND CLIMATE. 
 
 ful storm now rages : flash upon flash, and peal suc- 
 ceeding peal, the lightning illumines the whole 
 heavens, and the thunder rolls most fearfully, as if 
 the sky were about to open and the earth to burst ; 
 streams of water pour down with violence, which 
 the soil is incapable of imbibing, and torrents are 
 thus formed, destined, however, soon to be lost in 
 the sands. Showers of this description generally 
 last over one quarter of an hour, seldom for a longer 
 period, and very rarely, indeed, are they repeated 
 on the same day. They remit frequently during 
 two, three, or even six days, and this is the most 
 unhealthy, and even dangerous time both for stran- 
 gers and natives ; but it is admitted by general 
 consent, that those of white colour suffer more than 
 the blacks. 
 
 As if by magic, Nature now awakes from her 
 sleep of death ; for, immediately after the first 
 shower, the earth is clad with verdure, the trees 
 shoot forth fresh buds, and a vesture of flowers is 
 spread over the whole country. 
 
 Certain districts of Kordofan, whose position 
 is not elevated, may, indeed, be compared with 
 Paradise. Everything there appears in most per- 
 fect luxuriance. All the trees and bushes are 
 covered with flowers and fruit, so that the leaves 
 are scarcely discernible. The grass attains a height 
 sufficient to cover a rider and his horse. Creeping 
 plants wind themselves up to the summit of the 
 highest trees; in short, the force and vigour of 
 
SOIL AND CLIMATE. 9 
 
 vegetation is everywhere demonstrated. As the 
 eye is delighted by the diversity of the magnificent 
 flowers, so it is also gratified by the varieties of 
 colours displayed in the plumage of the parroN, 
 colibris, and other feathered inhabitants of the de- 
 sert and the gardens, animating the trees with their 
 gorgeous plumes, and enchanting the ear with their 
 delightful song ; melodious and charming notes re- 
 sound, as if in emulation, from the various branches 
 and I could almost have forgotten the song of the 
 lark and the nightingale of my own beloved coun- 
 try. But these silvery notes are not of long dura- 
 tion ; the song is too sweet to last for a long time. 
 It begins as the first dawn of morning removes the 
 veil of night, increases as the light extends; but 
 when the sun arises above the horizon of the desert, 
 or gilds the mountains with his rays, one warbler 
 after the other becomes mute, and single notes are 
 only heard. Now appear a swarm of butterflies 
 and beautiful insects, delighting the eye with the 
 same change of gorgeous colours. Giraffes, ante- 
 lopes, and other animals, browse upon the plains in 
 the full enjoyment of life. But all these charms 
 soon disappear, for, under the operation of the un- 
 healthy climate, all cheerfulness of spirits fades in 
 opposition to the resolute efforts of the will, and 
 anxiety befalls man and robs him of all his rest. 
 Debility of stomach, nausea, disinclination for food, 
 in short, all the precursory symptoms of disease, 
 deprive him of every enjoyment which the beauties 
 
10 SOIL AND CLIMATE. 
 
 of nature might afford ; and, in a short time, he is 
 stretched upon the bed of sickness, from which no 
 stranger is entirely exempt ; thus, of all the Euro- 
 peans who have visited these regions, and sojourned 
 there for any time, but very few have escaped with 
 their lives, as far as ' our observations at present 
 reach; for the miasmata with which the air is im- 
 pregnated, arising from the morasses, the unwhole- 
 some water, the damp south winds, penetrating to 
 the very nerves, all co-operate to wear out the 
 thread of life ; and every one hastens, if it be, in- 
 deed, in his power, to quit this unhealthy climate 
 as quickly as he possibly can. Do not imagine that 
 the showers clear the atmosphere, as is the case in 
 Europe, for they are immediately followed by in- 
 tense heat, which, during my residence in the coun- 
 try attained a degree of 30 R.=99 Fahrenheit. 
 
 December and January are the most healthy 
 months, but the nights are then so cold that the 
 thermometer frequently falls to 8, or even 4 R., 
 (50 or 41 F.,) especially shortly before sunrise. This 
 rapid change from the extremes of heat and cold, 
 and the pernicious vapours, are very deleterious in 
 their effect on the constitution of man, especially 
 on the health of strangers coming from the northern 
 districts of Egypt or from Europe ; and, indeed, few 
 men can ever totally accommodate themselves to 
 this climate. 
 
HISTORY. 1 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HISTORY. 
 
 EVERY one will agree that it is no easy matter 
 to write the history of a country, or, rather, of a 
 province, whose inhabitants live in a state of utter 
 ignorance, and care little for the occurrences which 
 took place but half the period of the life of man 
 before them. There exist, moreover, no chronicles 
 capable of giving information on any event which 
 might serve as reference; thus I was unable to ex- 
 tend my researches, or to learn more than was com- 
 municated to me by a faquir,* seventy-eight years 
 of age, who appeared to me worthy of belief, and 
 who had been an eye-witness of all the recent 
 events. 
 
 Kordofan takes its name from a mountain, situ- 
 ate at three and a half hours' march to the south- 
 east of Lobeid. The aborigines are negroes from 
 Nubia, who. even at the present time, inhabit many 
 parts of Kordofan. The word Kordofan it>elt' i- 
 of Nubian derivation. Three tribes subsequently 
 immigrated: the Iladejat, el Giomme, and Bederie. 
 
 * A hermit, and also a schoolmaster. 
 
12 HISTORY. 
 
 The period of this immigration, however, cannot be 
 definitely determined. These three nomadic tribes 
 distributed themselves over the country round about 
 Mount Kordofan, occupied themselves with cattle- 
 breeding, and each tribe had its sheikh, or magis- 
 trate ; but from these three tribes, collectively, a head 
 was chosen, who acted as impartial judge in all ques- 
 tions of difficulty, and, in fact, as the last authority. 
 This people became, towards the middle of the last 
 century, better acquainted with Sennaar. The King of 
 Sennaar, namely, sent, in the year 1779, the Sheikh 
 Nacib, with two thousand cavalry, to take possession 
 of the country, and the tribes surrendered, with a 
 pretty good grace, to their fate, without offering 
 much resistance. Thus they remained for about five 
 years, under the government of Sennaar. A Melek 
 was instituted, and the people felt themselves happy 
 under his government. Several Arab tribes, and 
 people from Sennaar and Dongola, immigrated into 
 the country, and agriculture and commerce began 
 to flourish. Darfour now directed its attention to- 
 wards this province, and entered on a campaign, 
 in which the Melek-el-Hashma .was driven out of 
 Sennaar, and expelled the country for ever. Me- 
 leks now governed this country in the name of the 
 Sultan of Darfour, up to the year 1821, during thirty- 
 five years of the reign of Mehemed Ibn Fadels. 
 During this epoch the country was also prosperous; 
 the inhabitants lived in peace, and were not trou- 
 bled with taxes ; the merchants were exempt from 
 
HISTORY. l:J 
 
 all duties, and the tribute paid was a voluntary pre- 
 sent to the Sultan of Dart'our. 
 
 Bara, the second commercial town of importance 
 in the country, was built by the Dongolavi ; tribes 
 immigrated from the most distant parts, and this 
 province enjoyed a high degree of prosperity, 
 under the really mild government of Darfour. 
 Commerce extended in all directions; caravans 
 brought the produce from Abyssinia, the interior 
 of Africa, and from Egypt, into the two towns of 
 Lobeid and Bara, whence the greater part was 
 again transported into other countries. Abundance 
 might be said to reign everywhere, and there was 
 no want of any necessaries, whilst all were wealthy, 
 and even the women of the less opulent inhabitants 
 wore golden rings in their noses and ears, and many 
 even golden bracelets and silver anklets round their 
 feet. No other metal but gold or silver was to be 
 MTM in the decoration of the women, and many 
 female slaves even wore gold about their persons. 
 Agriculture and rattle-breeding flourished, and there 
 were few inhabitants in the country who did not, 
 to a certain extent, devote themselves to commerce. 
 The whole population, in fact, lived free from care, 
 and was wealthy ; singing and dancing resounded 
 from place to place ; in short, this was the golden 
 nuv of Kordofan. 
 
 This >tate of happiness was not, however, of long 
 duration, for in the year 1821 Mehemed Ali sent 
 his son-in-law, the notorious Defturdar. with a 
 
14 HISTORY. 
 
 brigade of four thousand five hundred infantry and 
 cavalry, attended by eight hundred Bedouins and 
 eight pieces of artillery, to subject this country to 
 his power. The people, apprized of his intention, 
 prepared themselves to the utmost of their power 
 for defence. The Melek Moosalem marched out 
 with his troops to meet the Defturdar at Bara, a 
 march of twelve hours from Lobeid. His numerous 
 but irregular army was well provided with every 
 species of warlike weapons, excepting fire-arms, which 
 were little or not at all known in the country. The 
 cavalry, like the old Numidian equestrian troops, 
 wore a shirt of mail, and pointed helmet without 
 a vizor on their heads, and bore a double-edged 
 sword thirty-six inches in length. The horses were 
 caparisoned with plates of copper. The infantry were 
 nearly naked ; armed simply with a shield and spear, 
 and but a small party of them with two-edged 
 swords, (turbatsh,} and a species of tomahawk. The 
 battle was fierce and bloody. The men of Kordo- 
 fan rushed with fury upon the foe, and defended 
 their freedom with a total disregard of death ; even 
 women participated in the fray. Hundreds of the 
 combatants fell struck by the balls of the enemy ; the 
 wounded placed their fingers in their wounds, un- 
 able to understand how they could have been hurt, 
 without having been touched by a weapon ; so igno- 
 rant were they of the use of fire-arms. Infuriated 
 they flung their spears at the cannons ; and, having 
 succeeded in capturing a gun for a short time, sought 
 to revenge themselves on it for the destruction it 
 
HISTORY. 15 
 
 IKK I poured forth, by attacking it with their swords. 
 The battle remained for a long time undecided. 
 The Defturdar placed himself at the head of his 
 cavalry, and, although ill, would not leave the field. 
 Several attacks were valiantly repulsed. The Be- 
 douins put the Turks to the blush by their bravery ; 
 where the battle raged hottest, these children of 
 the desert we're to be seen discomfiting the enemy 
 most. Victory inclined sometimes to the side of 
 the Turks, sometimes to the side of the men of 
 Kordofan, but it yet remained doubtful. The Turks 
 were sometimes sorely pushed ; a Sheikh, however, 
 of the Bedouins, from the race of Gemeat, was for- 
 tunate enough to lay Moosalem, the leader of the 
 Kordofanese, prostrate with a pistol shot ; his death 
 decided the battle. The army of Kordofan, depriv- 
 ed of its leader, turned and took to flight ; they 
 were pursued by the Turkish cavalry, and many of 
 them killed on this route. Amongst the dead on 
 the field of battle three women were even i'ound, 
 who had taken an active part in the fight for their 
 freedom. On the second day after this battle, the 
 Defturdar entered Lobeid with his victorious army. 
 The town was plundered, and nearly wholly sacked ; 
 the Defturdar found immeasurable treasure in this 
 place, which this avaricious tyrant immediately ap- 
 propriated to himself. The country surrendered 
 without further resistance, excepting the mountain of 
 " Dyre," situated at twenty hour*' march from Lobeid, 
 which has retained its freedom to the present dav. 
 The Turkish army suffered deprivations of all kinds: 
 
16 HISTORY. 
 
 tlic greater part fell victims to the climate, and but 
 few survived who could withstand its pernicious in- 
 fluence, and thus escaped with their lives. 
 
 Kordofan, excepting the free Nuba, is now divid- 
 ed into five districts ; a Casheff, or captain, presid- 
 ing over each ; a colonel, resident in Lobeid, is 
 governor of the province, and no pen can describe 
 to what oppression the country is now subjected ; 
 all signs of wealth have entirely disappeared, and it 
 is, as it were, drained by the Turks, who will not 
 suffer any private person to attain the slightest 
 degree of opulence. Many of the natives, tired of 
 this oppression, have emigrated with all their pos- 
 sessions, and sought refuge either in Darfour, or in 
 Takeli; and even as lately as the year 1838 the 
 inhabitants of six villages have left the country. 
 Nothing is now discernible but poverty and misery ; 
 inhabitants of even moderate means are not to be 
 met with, if we, perhaps, except some few Djelabi.* 
 
 The various tribes inhabiting the country at pre- 
 sent are the following : Hadejat, el Giomme, Bede- 
 rie, Shiswaba, el Etonian, Ogendiab, Birget, Dombab, 
 Almakaita, Elberiab, Hassenie, Hawara, Felata, 
 Denagle or Dongolavi, Darhammer, Abusanun, Dar- 
 hami, Serauy, Freseh, Basaue, el Maramera, Volet el 
 Angon, Czahalin, Kubbabeesh (Sheikh Sale), Bene- 
 cira, Hababin (Sheikh Abdel Mahmud), Elhauwas- 
 
 * Slave Merchants; Merchants in general; called, also, Dje- 
 labs, Gelabs, and Jelabs. Vid. " Legh's Narrative of a Journey 
 in Egypt and the Countries beyond the Cataracts ;" and, also, the 
 Journal of Captain Light Tr. 
 
HISTORY. 17 
 
 ma (Sheikh Moosa), el Messerie (Sheikh Labaied), 
 Koncieri or Darfurer, Pergu, and Nas-Gioffon ;* 
 hut these people may be arranged collectively under 
 three heads, namely : the Negroes ; the Bakkari 
 and Arabs or free people ; and the Dongolavi. All 
 these various tribes differ in their manners and 
 customs, if not totally, at least to a certain extent, 
 and speak thirteen dialects and languages among 
 them. 
 
 The total population of Kordofan may be com- 
 puted at 400,000 souls, excluding the nomadic Bak- 
 kari. The Defturdar did all in his power to de- 
 grade this country, and his name is, even at the pre- 
 sent day, a word of terror to the natives. Terribly, 
 indeed, the tyrant abused his authority in this un- 
 happy country ; no pen can describe the cruelties 
 which he perpetrated in the province. Human nature 
 revolts at hearing the inventions of this ruffian, prac- 
 tised upon his unfortunate victims for the mere gratifi- 
 cation of his passion of cruelty. I should not have 
 believed every rumour, or have regarded the ac- 
 counts I heard of the atrocities of this man, for the 
 most part, in the light of fiction, if I had not re- 
 ceived corroborating evidence in all the districts of 
 Kordofan, Sennaar and Egypt, through which T 
 travelled ; tales the more worthy of credit, inasmuch 
 as many persons are yet living who were not only 
 
 1 The German orthography has been generally followed, as it is 
 impossible to give the exact spelling of these names, without being 
 furnished with the Arab characters, TR, 
 
18 HISTORY. 
 
 eye-witnesses uf all these deeds of horror, but even 
 themselves sufferers by his cruelty. 
 
 I may, perhaps, be permitted to illustrate a few 
 traits in the character of this ruthless tyrant by 
 narrating some of his feats ; it will then become 
 evident, that this flourishing country could but sink 
 in a very short time, as the natural consequence of 
 his oppressive tyranny ; and that a considerable 
 period must elapse before it will be able to recover 
 itself but slightly, 
 
 A soldier who had stolen a sheep from a peasant 
 was caught in the very act. He not only refused to 
 return the stolen goods, but even maltreated the 
 peasant. Confiding in the equity of his cause, the 
 latter thought he should more probably have justice 
 done him by the governor than by any one else, and 
 entered a complaint against the soldier. The Def- 
 turdar listened very patiently to the story ; but, when 
 the peasant had finished, the tyrant accosted him in 
 an angry voice, with the words : " And with these 
 trifles you trouble me ?" Then turning to his atten- 
 dants he ordered the peasant to be brought before 
 the kadi ; they understood immediately that he 
 meant by the kadi, a cannon, carried the poor wretch 
 immediately off, and bound him to the mouth of a 
 gun which was instantly fired. 
 
 His very servants, consisting not only of slaves, 
 but of free Arabs and Turks, although they might 
 be regarded as his executioners, stood in great awe* 
 of him, for he punished the slightest offence of 
 which they might be guilty with every imaginable 
 
HISTORY. 19 
 
 species of cruelty. Thus it happened that one of 
 these servants was tempted to dip his finger into a 
 dish to taste it. The Defturdar, unfortunately, ob- 
 served the act. He demanded of the unhappy man, 
 in an ironical tone, whether the dish were sweet or 
 sour? The servant was naturally mute with fear. 
 The Defturdar now ordered him to be nailed by the 
 tongue to the door and his face to be smeared with 
 honey, in order, as he expressed himself, to stimulate 
 liis gustatory faculties. In this position the unfor- 
 tunate man had to pass two full hours. It took a 
 long time before he recovered, and a variety of 
 remedies were required to heal his tongue. 
 
 A seyss or groom, w T hose office is, according to 
 custom in Egypt, to run before the rider, was inca- 
 pable of keeping up with the Defturdar from abso- 
 lute fatigue, in a long and quick trot. The tyrant 
 struck him with his whip to quicken his pace. The 
 unfortunate man, who was, however, quite exhausted, 
 as may be supposed, did not become more active 
 after this remedy had been applied. For this crime 
 the unnatural barbarian had his feet bound to the 
 tail of a horse, and ordered the animal to be driven 
 through the streets of Lobeid by two other seyss. 
 The unhappy groom would, no doubt, have met 
 with his death in this manner, were not the streets 
 paved merely with fine sand; thus he received many 
 wounds, but none which proved mortal. The horse, 
 unaccustomed to such usage, turned suddenly round, 
 and struck at the unfortunate seyss, who. in 
 
 c 2 
 
20 HISTORY. 
 
 ration, seized the animal with all his remaining 
 strength by the head ; and to save himself bit into 
 its upper lip. No attention was at first paid to this 
 slight wound, but in a short time the head of the 
 horse began to swell, and it eventually died. The 
 seyss w r ho was covered with wounds, however, sur- 
 vived the torture. 
 
 A man gave his neighbour, in a quarrel, a box on 
 the ears ; the latter brought a complaint against 
 him before the Defturdar. " With which hand didst 
 thou strike thy neighbour?" asked the tyrant. 
 " With the right," answered the peasant. " Well," 
 replied the Defturdar, " that thou mayst not forget 
 it, I shall have the flesh removed from the palm of 
 that hand." This order was immediately executed. 
 " Now return to thy work," said the Defturdar to 
 the sufferer, who, writhing with pain, replied : " In 
 this state I cannot work." "What!" exclaimed 
 the tyrant in a rage ; " thou darest to contradict 
 me ! cut his tongue out, it is rather too long !" and 
 this operation was also immediately performed, with- 
 out consideration of the tortures to which he had 
 been previously subjected. 
 
 The Defturdar one day observed, that some one 
 had taken a pinch of snuff out of his box during his 
 absence ; his suspicion lighted upon his valet ; he, 
 therefore, on a subsequent occasion, confined a fly 
 in his box and leaving it in his divan went into 
 another room, and ordered his servant to fetch some- 
 thing from the chamber in which he had put down 
 
HISTORY. 21 
 
 the box. The servant fell into the snare, wa> 
 really tempted to take a pinch, and the fly escaped 
 without being observed. In a short time the Def- 
 turdar returned to the room, found that the fly had 
 escaped from its confinement, and immediately 
 asked the servant "Who had opened the box?" 
 " I, sir," he confidently replied ; " I took a pinch." 
 This liberty he paid with his life : the ruffian had 
 him flogged to death. 
 
 A negro bought milk of a women for five paras,* 
 drank it, but forgot the payment ; the woman com- 
 plained to the Defturdar, who happened to be in the 
 neighbourhood. " Well," said he, " I will imme- 
 diately investigate the affair," and ordered the offend- 
 ing negro to be instantly brought before him. When 
 he appeared, he asked him, if he had bought milk 
 of that woman and not paid for it ? The negro in 
 fear denied it. The barbarian immediately ordered 
 the abdomen of the negro to be cut open, to see 
 whether his stomach contained the milk. It was, 
 indeed, found; whereupon he quietly said to the 
 woman : " Thou art right, take these five paras, and 
 now go thy ways." 
 
 In his garden the Defturdar had a den, in which 
 he kept a lion; the animal became gradually 96 
 
 * Accounts, it would appear, are kept in current piastres of 
 Egypt, each piastre being equivalent to forty paras. Fifteen and 
 a half or sixteen piastres are = one Spanish dollar ; hence one 
 piastre = three pence halfpenny of English money, and five paras 
 would, therefore, be about one halfpenny English. For further in- 
 formation vide Encyclopaedia Britanica, vol. iii. Article Egypt. 
 
22 HISTORY. 
 
 tame that he ran about at liberty in the grounds, and 
 followed his master like a dog. Of this tame lion 
 the tyrant made use to frighten the people who 
 came before him, a species of wanton sport in which 
 he took the greatest pleasure. If it so happened that 
 no stranger came to visit him during the hour in 
 which he engaged himself in his garden, he ordered 
 his attendants to bring any person they might meet 
 on the high roads to him. The invitation was suffi- 
 cient in itself to frighten any one to death ; but 
 when an unfortunate man in the greatest trepida- 
 tion entered the garden, and in absolute fear of his 
 life creeping along the earth, approached the Deftur- 
 dar, he set the lion at him, and the poor fellow, of 
 course, fell senseless to the ground at the sight 
 of the wild beast. This was now his greatest 
 delight ; for, although the animal did no harm, it 
 was sufficient to frighten the most courageous man 
 to be brought in close contact with a rampant lion. 
 Before this animal was quite domesticated, and 
 whilst it was yet kept in confinement, one of the 
 gardener's assistants was guilty of some error, of 
 which the superintendant complained to the Deftur- 
 dar. In no case dilatory in passing judgment, he 
 ordered the accused, without going into details, or 
 listening even to the full explanation of the case, to 
 be cast into the lion's den. This order was imme- 
 diately complied with ; the beast, however, treated 
 the poor condemned wretch like a second Daniel ; 
 it not only did him no harm, but, to the astonish- 
 
HISTORY. 23 
 
 meiit of all beholders, licked his hands. The gar- 
 dener's assistant was not the animal's attendant, 
 but had occasionally thrown some of his bread into 
 the den in passing. The noble animal had not for- 
 gotten this kindness, and spared his benefactor's life. 
 The Defturdar, on hearing this, was by no means 
 pleased; but bloodthirsty as ever, and without 
 feeling the slightest appreciation for this act of 
 generosity, ordered the lion to be kept fasting during 
 the whole of the day, and the delinquent to remain 
 in confinement, thinking in the anger of ungratified 
 rage, to force the beast to become the executioner of 
 its benefactor. But even hunger could not over- 
 come the magnanimity of the royal animal, and the 
 poor gardener remained the whole day unhurt in 
 the den with the lion.* In the evening he was 
 liberated, but the unfortunate man did not long 
 escape the vengeance of the tyrant, who, meeting 
 him one day in the garden, where he had brushed up 
 a heap of leaves, accosted him with, " Dog, thou art 
 so bad that a lion will not eat thee, but now thou hast 
 made thine own grave." Hereupon he commanded 
 him to carry the dry leaves to an oven, and then to 
 creep in himself. When this order was executed 
 the tyrant had the leaves lighted, and the poor wretch 
 expired under the most horrid tortures. 
 
 A Fellah (peasant) owed the government forty 
 
 
 
 * This noble animal will probably be found stuffed in the royal 
 Museum at Munich, for Mehemed AH presented it to the Conseillier 
 d'Etat Schubert who was at Cairo in the year 1836. 
 
24 HISTORY. 
 
 maamle,* the sheikh of his village had his last 
 ox seized, the fellah declaring himself incapable 
 of paying. The beast was slaughtered and divided 
 into forty parts : the butcher received the head 
 and skin for his trouble, and the remaining forty 
 parts were sold at one maamle each, to the in- 
 habitants of the village promiscuously. The meat, 
 as may be supposed, was quickly sold at this low 
 price. The poor peasant now appeared with a com- 
 plaint before the Defturdar, assuring him that the ox 
 was worth more than forty maamle. The Deftur- 
 dar proceeded with all speed to the village, to in- 
 vestigate the matter on the spot. Having convinc- 
 ed himself of the truth, he ordered the sheikh, the 
 butcher, and all those persons who had bought a 
 portion of the confiscated ox, to be called together, 
 and reproached the sheikh, in presence of all for 
 his unlawful conduct. The butcher now received 
 the order to slaughter the sheikh and to divide his 
 body into forty parts. Every former purchaser was 
 obliged to buy a part at a price of one maamle, and 
 to carry the flesh home with him. The money was 
 handed over to the Fellah as an indemnification for 
 the ox which had been taken from him. 
 
 At the feast of the Baeram. f all the servants and 
 
 * A coin which is no longer current, but was equal to two 
 piastres ten para, about twelve and a half kreuzer current zz eight 
 pence of English n^oney. TR. 
 
 t A solemn feast kept by the Moslemin j the great Baeram, com- 
 mences on the 10th of Dhu Ihajia ; the little Baeram is held at the 
 close of the fast Ramadhan TH. 
 
HISTORY. t>5 
 
 98, eighteen in number, went before the Defturdar 
 to offer their congratulations according to custom, and 
 begged at the same time for a pair of new shoes. 
 - You shall have them," said he. He now had the 
 farrier called, and commanded him to make eighteen 
 pairs of horse-shoes to fit the feet of his servants; 
 these were ready on the next day, whereupon he 
 ordered two shoes to be nailed to the soles of the 
 feet of each of the eighteen servants without mercy. 
 Nine of them died in a short time of mortification ; 
 he then had the survivers unshod, and consigned 
 them to the care of a medical man. 
 
 But, enough of the atrocities perpetrated by this 
 tiger in human shape, cruelties which are neither to 
 be justified nor excused. Volumes might be filled 
 with instances of tyranny of which this barbarian 
 was guilty in the conquered country of Kordofan, in 
 Sennaar, and Egypt. No single day passed without 
 its tribute to his blood-thirsty cruelty. His power 
 of invention of tortures for his unfortunate victims 
 was extraordinary, and he was always capable of 
 lighting upon some new mode of gratifying his re- 
 vengeful disposition. His name will remain unfor- 
 gotten for ages in Kordofan, Sennaar, and Egypt, 
 and is yet an object of terror to all who hear it. 
 Mdirnied All, wearied of the complaints which 
 daily reached him against this tyrant, at last had a 
 bowl of poison presented to him. \ myself saw 
 sr \eral of the victims of his cruelty who had been 
 fortunate enough to escape with their lives, but 
 
26 HISTORY. 
 
 wandered about the country as cripples, begging their 
 daily bread from their neighbours, deprived of their 
 noses, ears, or tongues, or with their eyes put out. 
 
 We may now easily imagine what fate befel this 
 ill-starred country, when it became subject to the 
 Turks. In former days, the inhabitants lived in 
 freedom, without care, in the consciousness of secu- 
 rity of property, or at least of life ; but, when the 
 Turks gained possession of this province, a total 
 change took place ; from that moment, the right 
 of property ceased to exist, and the government 
 considered all possessions as its own. Add to this 
 the inhuman conduct of the Defturdar, which 
 brought the people to the verge of despair ; for 
 the slightest suspicion that any one subject had 
 amassed a small fortune, either in goods, money, 
 or cattle, was sufficient to bring him, under some 
 pretext, to death, in order to be able to confiscate 
 his property. The Defturdar was insatiable ; he 
 robbed everything, if he only knew where to find it, 
 and had thus collected immeasurable wealth in a 
 very short space of time. 
 
 The government is, indeed, at present, rather 
 more lenient, and its officers have received a check 
 in their arbitrary abuse of power ; but the distance 
 from the seat of government is too great to render 
 the superior authorities cognizant of all abuses, 
 too many of which, unfortunately, yet afflict this 
 doomed province. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 27 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 THE form of government of Kordofan resem- 
 bles that of other countries under Egyptian sway, 
 that is to say, it is despotic ; but the inhabitants 
 of this province are subjected to particularly severe 
 oppression, being situate, as we have above ob- 
 served, at so great a distance from the seat of go- 
 vernment, that it indeed almost amounts to an 
 impossibility to proffer a complaint to the first 
 authorities. 
 
 The people feel themselves, therefore, extremely 
 miserable, the more so since, under the dominion 
 of Sennaar and Darfour, neither property nor life 
 were endangered, as they are at present. The 
 difference may be deduced from the fact, that, in 
 former times, nearly all the women wore ornaments 
 of gold, a metal which is now rarely, or never seen 
 in the province. 
 
 Under the government of Darfour, there were 
 no taxes, no duties, trade was five, and everywhere 
 reigned opulence. Now the reverse is observed. 
 Duties and imposts of every description <>ppres> 
 
28 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 the people, and have reduced them to abject po- 
 verty. The old proverb, " Where a Turk sets his 
 foot no grass will grow," is, in this province, ade- 
 quately exemplified. The originator of all this 
 misery was, undoubtedly, the Defturdar, the con- 
 queror of this country. With the conquest, go- 
 vernment was out of the question, for every one 
 was subjected to arbitrary and tyrannical treat- 
 ment. Mehemed Ali, indeed, recalled the Def- 
 turdar, but the people experienced, on the whole, no 
 material relief by this measure, for the subsequent 
 governors were by no means idle in scraping trea- 
 sure together, and gradually exhausted all the sap 
 from this already impoverished country. The pro- 
 vince is now governed by the Bey, (colonel,) of 
 the first regiment of the line, quartered at Lobeid, 
 to whom the Casheffs, (chief magistrates of the five 
 districts, and generally captains in the same regi- 
 ment,) are subordinate. The Bey is again respon- 
 sible to the Pasha (general) of Khartoom, who is, 
 at the same time, governor of the whole Belled 
 Soodan.* 
 
 The Bey, or governor, is the superior authority 
 in all civil and military affairs ; his decision is per- 
 emptory ; but, in matters of importance, orders 
 must be received from Khartoom. In judicial 
 cases, the kadi passes judgment, and the governor 
 sees it executed ; this, however, is generally a mere 
 
 * Sennaar and Kordofan ; Dongola is also under his sway, but 
 does not belong to the Belled Soodan. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 29 
 
 Mind, to keep up the appearance of a just admi- 
 nistration of the law to the people, for every judg- 
 ment is perfectly arbitrary. 
 
 The revenue consists of the ordinary taxes, and 
 in the levy of custom duties, but these are never 
 exacted in proper proportion, or after a fixed scale; 
 for when a contribution is ordered to be levied 
 from Cairo, the country is generally forced to con- 
 tribute double the amount, a very natural conse- 
 quence, when we consider that all the government 
 situations are held by officers, who purchase their 
 commissions from the governor. It is, of course, 
 an understood thing, that one functionary endea- 
 vours to outbid the other, in which practice he is 
 encouraged by the knowledge, that he will in time 
 be able to make good his outlay. They certainly 
 cannot reckon on enjoying their privileges for any 
 length of time; for if a person present himself, and 
 pay a few purses of money more, the colonel is not 
 long in finding a cause for turning one of his former 
 employes out of office, and conferring the vacant 
 situation on the new candidate. Every officer, there- 
 fore, endeavours to extort as much as he possibly 
 can by oppression, in the shortest possible time, in 
 order to reimburse himself for his expenditure, and 
 to gain something by his bargain. Each casheff, or 
 captain of a district, is provided with a few subor- 
 dinate officers, who arc distributed in the distant 
 localities. These subalterns, and the Sheikhs d 
 Belled, or village magistrates, must occasionally 
 
30 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 make presents to the casheffs. The sheikhs are by 
 no means thoughtless of themselves ; and lastly, the 
 copts, who perform the duties of secretaries, all and 
 every one prey upon the small gains of the poor 
 inhabitants, so that we may easily conceive what 
 the unfortunate people have to suffer. Mehemed 
 Ali, acquainted with the arbitrary proceedings of the 
 governors, and subordinate functionaries, notwith- 
 standing the great distance from the scene of their 
 rapacity, has done everything in his power to put a 
 limit to these impositions. Thus, in the years 1838 
 and 1839, a greater part of the employes were sum- 
 moned before a commission of enquiry, and sent 
 into different provinces, in short, everything was 
 done to bring about a just administration, but all in 
 vain. With the best intentions, the Viceroy was 
 incapable of curing the cancer which preyed upon 
 the bowels of the land ; and although, indeed, 
 much of the property, which had been unjustly 
 scraped together, or we should rather say, the 
 plunder of the government functionaries, was con- 
 fiscated ; the Viceroy was, in the end, the gainer, 
 not the people. To the latter, nothing is returned ; 
 and this restitution, indeed, would be no easy un- 
 dertaking, inasmuch as the individual sufferers 
 could not be readily found, and Mehemed Ali, 
 moreover, does not trouble himself in the slightest 
 about the matter. It is true that the country 
 swarms with spies, who observe every action of the 
 government officers with great accuracy, and make 
 
GOVERNMENT. 31 
 
 their reports in a higher quarter i but the state, in 
 tli<>s<> cases, confiscates the plunder, as I have before 
 mentioned, and the poor people receive no indemni- 
 fication. The interests of the separate functionaries 
 are, moreover, too closely united for the one to 
 place any impediment in the way of the other. 
 The judges are bribed, and a mere deposition, or 
 loss of office, generally terminates the affair. 
 When the detected fraud is, however, too flagi- 
 tious, the criminated officer is immediately sent 
 into a distant province, and then prosecuted, in 
 order that he may have no opportunity of coming to 
 an understanding with his judges, or accusers. In 
 this case he is certainly lost ; but the state confis- 
 cates the proceeds of his rapacity, and his successor 
 plunders and extorts again, as much as he possibly 
 can, as long as he can manage to keep his actions 
 secret. 
 
 An additional, and chief grievance, is the circum- 
 stance of the Viceroy being obliged to treat the 
 governors with the utmost lenity and forbearance; 
 for he knows full well how dangerous it would be 
 to irritate them, and thus, perhaps, to goad them on 
 to rebellion. In one moment the whole Belled 
 Soodan would be lost, and not so easily regained. 
 The troops of the garrison consist of native negroes, 
 who implicitly obey those who give them the most, 
 or merely make them the largest promises, and who 
 more especially treat them with kindness. The 
 country in general detests the Viceroy, believing 
 
32 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 him to be the cause of all the oppression under 
 which it groans, as it considers all the acts of injus- 
 tice, under which it has to suffer, to be perpetrated 
 by his orders. In case of a governor, therefore, re- 
 belling against the government, the whole province 
 would instantly attach itself to his faction, if he 
 merely released them of a portion of their taxation. 
 To re-conquer the country by force of arms would 
 be a more difficult matter than it was twenty years 
 ago ; we know what resistance the negroes of Kor- 
 dofan and Sennaar offered the Turks, when armed 
 with spears and swords only ; and at present, there 
 are 15,000 muskets in the arsenal at Khartoom, 
 which would give the insurgents no small advantage. 
 Mehemed Ali knows all this very well, and acts very 
 wisely in conciliating the governors : the authority of 
 the latter is, therefore, virtually far' greater than that 
 of the Viceroy, and most wofully do they use it to 
 their advantage ; for, with few exceptions, they exert 
 unlimited power, are masters over life and death, as 
 also over the property of the people. A code of 
 laws has certainly been instituted, but these are 
 totally disregarded, and in every case will is law. 
 Judgment is sometimes even passed according to 
 the whim or fancy of the individual in the most un- 
 justifiable manner. During my residence in this 
 country, I had the opportunity of convincing myself 
 of this fact. 
 
 A Turk, who travelled with a large quantity of 
 goods, was murdered in the desert of Bahiouda,* 
 * Between Ambukol and Khartoom. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 33 
 
 and robbed of his property. All investigations and 
 endeavours to detect the murderer proved fruitli 
 thus much was. however. subMMpiently discovered, 
 that the goods had been sold at Dart our, and it wa- 
 suspected that the perpetrator of the crime was 
 M-creted in Kordofan. Several persons were taken 
 into custody, and examined, but in vain ; the delin- 
 quent could not be discovered. A prophetess, who, 
 by casting a handful of shells on the sand, pre- 
 tended to be able to look into futurity, and to ex- 
 plain the past, arrived, by means of her mystic art, 
 at the conclusion, that the son of the Sheikh of 
 Haraxa was the murderer. The result of her sor- 
 cery was imparted to the governor, Mohammed 
 Bey, in conversation over a pipe of tobacco. The 
 governor, a man of weak mind, who placed more 
 confidence in the idle talk of an old woman, than in 
 common sense, gave credence to this tale, and had 
 the man accused instantly arrested, and conducted 
 by a party of soldiers to Lobeid ; he was then 
 loaded with irons, and cast into prison; whereupon 
 the investigation immediately took place. Although 
 he asserted that he was at that time in quite' a dif- 
 ferent place, and was able to corroborate this state- 
 ment by witnesses, the testimony of a fortune-teller 
 was regarded as better evidence, and the unfortu- 
 nate man was subjected to the most cruel torture* 
 to force a confession from him. He was bound, by 
 order of the governor, hand and foot, close to a 
 large fire, whence a soldier took a burning branch, 
 
 D 
 
34 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 and burnt his body ; he received twenty wounds, 
 and not until he writhed like a worm with pain and 
 anger did the governor put a stop to the cruelty. 
 The true criminal was shortly after this discovered, 
 and the son of the Sheikh, who had been so fright- 
 fully tortured, was now proved to be innocent ; but 
 no one could alleviate his sufferings, and any fur- 
 ther compensation was totally out of the question. 
 
 When an individual is guilty of any offence, the 
 examination generally takes place as soon as he is 
 arrested, judgment is quickly passed, and instantly 
 executed. Two circumstances are, however, neces- 
 sary for the conviction of the party accused, 
 namely, detection in the act, or confession. If he 
 plead not guilty, and deny the charge, he is sub- 
 mitted to torture, and thus it frequently happens 
 that the innocent suffer for the guilty. 
 
 Stealing a slave, an ox, a camel, an ass, &c., is 
 punished by the loss of a hand. The judgment is 
 executed by the first butcher casually met with in 
 the streets. The delinquent is ordered to lay his 
 hand upon a block, in which situation it is held 
 down by two men : the butcher then chops it off. 
 The stump is immediately thrust into a vessel con- 
 taining butter, heated nearly to the boiling point, 
 which stands in readiness, for the purpose of stop- 
 ping haemorrhage, and preventing mortification, and 
 the limb is then enveloped in a rag. In the course 
 of ten minutes all is over, and the sufferer returns 
 home. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 35 
 
 Murder, with the exception of negroes, is of very 
 rare occurrence. One single instance of this crime 
 occurred in the year 1838 ; the murderer was 
 detected, and, after a short examination, hung on a 
 gibbet erected in front of the house of the go- 
 vernor. In praise of Mehemed Ali, it must be 
 stated that there is not at present that danger for 
 an European travelling through the country as was 
 the case during the time it was under the govern- 
 ment of Darfour, when no Djelabi could venture to 
 undertake a journey into this province, excepting 
 under the protection of a considerable escort. At 
 present, any person may traverse the country from 
 one end to the other without fear. I myself, on 
 nearly all occasions, travelled alone, or merely ac- 
 companied by my servant, and never met with the 
 slightest delay from robberies, or other hinderances ; 
 on the contrary, I was everywhere received with 
 the utmost hospitality and courtesy, the more so 
 when it became gradually known that I was no 
 Turk, although of white colour, but a Frank. 
 
 Cases of petty larceny are of frequent occur- 
 rence ; for thieving is almost a congenital vice with 
 many of the negroes. What they see they wish to 
 possess, and if it be not given to them freely, they 
 will watch their opportunity of appropriating it to 
 themselves; but we never find several persons con- 
 spiring together to commit a robbery. 
 
 A single mountain, " Mount Dyre," inhabited 
 by negroes, who have not yet been brought to siib- 
 
36 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 mission, is to be dreaded; for these people live 
 solely by plunder and robbery. They make incur- 
 sions into the neighbouring country in large bodies, 
 even to Milbes, situate at three hours' march from 
 Lobeid, and steal and rob everything that comes in 
 their way, both men find cattle, which they either 
 use for their own purposes, or sell to others, The 
 Djelabi, and other travellers, avoid this hill, by 
 making a great circuit, in order to escape the 
 negroes of " Dyre." 
 
 The jurisdiction over the offences and crimes of 
 slaves, is an affair sui generis. This class of beings 
 is not looked upon, or treated as men, but as cattle. 
 The master of a slave acts as judge in cases of 
 offences, which the one or the other may commit in 
 his house. If one slave murder or stab the other, 
 the proprietor must bear the loss, if both the slaves 
 be his property; and he can merely punish the 
 criminal, or sell him, if he please. In this case, the 
 affair is regarded in the same light as when, in 
 Europe, one horse kills the other, both belonging to 
 the same owner. If, on the other hand, the mur- 
 dered slave be the property of another, the pro- 
 prietor of the murderer must make the loss good ; 
 and only if he refuse, or offer too little, pro- 
 ceedings at law are entered upon, not a crimi- 
 nal process for murder, but a suit for damages. 
 Only in case a slave murder a free man, is he 
 ever brought to trial, and executed according to 
 sentence. 
 
GOVERNMENT. 37 
 
 The revenue is collected partly in money, partly 
 in kind, L e., in products, or slaves; there is no 
 systematic arrangement in the mode in which the 
 contribution is levied; the governor fixes the rate, 
 and it is the duty of the casheffs, and Sheikhs-el 
 Belled, to collect it. Whosoever is suspected of 
 possessing any treasure is forced to give it up, or 
 his cattle, or other property, is taken away from 
 him by force. In the year 1838, the country was 
 obliged to contribute, in addition to the imposts in 
 money, beside cattle, butter, and slaves, 4,000 ardeb* 
 (about 118,000 sacks) of doura,f or millet; and 
 the Bakkara nomadic tribes, 12,000 oxen, and kine. 
 Cattle is only received from the villagers when they 
 cannot produce cash ; a large ox is then taken by 
 the government to the value of 35 piaster, (3 fl., 30 
 kr., C.M. ; about 9 shillings sterling). During seve- 
 ral years, 8,000 heads of horned cattle were annually 
 sent to Cairo, the greater part of which perished on 
 the road. The government have now had their eyes 
 opened to the absurdity of driving beasts so great a 
 distance, and the transport of cattle to Cairo has 
 consequently ceased; they are now only driven to 
 Kliartoom. The cash received as revenue proceeds 
 from taxes, duties, the sale of slaves, and other pro- 
 duce? of the country. It is impossible to describe 
 
 * The ardeb is equivalent to very nearly five English bushels. 
 LANE. Modern E</>/j>tia>u<, Library of Entertv tut ii Knutcledije. 
 Tu. 
 
 f Holcus arundinaccus, or Sort/hum vuhjarc, of Liniiteus, and 
 Hotcus Doura, of Forskai-1. Tu. 
 
38 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 the cruelty with which the taxes and contributions 
 are collected; and it is really wonderful that it 
 should be yet possible to drain a country, where so 
 little trade is carried on, of such large sums annu- 
 ally. But this state of things cannot last long; for 
 the ready money decreases with every year, and the 
 trade of the country is scarcely worthy of considera- 
 tion. The people will, in fact, eventually be obliged 
 to emigrate, as they have already from several parts, 
 or a general insurrection will be the result ; this revo- 
 lution would, indeed, have taken place in 1838, if a 
 leader had been forthcoming. Droughts, or excess 
 of rains, may cause the harvest, in many districts, to 
 fail, or the locusts may totally devour it ; the cattle, 
 moreover, may fall a prey to epidemic diseases ; but 
 none of these circumstances are ever taken into con- 
 sideration, and the contributions are levied without 
 mercy or compassion. In the year 1838, the inhabi- 
 tants of several villages, were forced, in consequence 
 of an unsuccessful harvest, to take refuge in a forest, 
 and to live upon the fruit of a tree, called Egelit, and 
 on milk ; but the government knew very well where 
 to find them, and took away all their cattle. When 
 a village has nothing left wherewith to pay its 
 taxes, it is obliged to find a certain number of 
 slaves, who are drafted as recruits into the various 
 regiments, or publicly sold ; in the former case, the 
 government receives these slaves at a value of 150 
 to 300 piasters, (15 to 30 fl., C.M. ; from 30 shillings 
 to 3 10s.) a-head ; children at 30 piasters, or more ; 
 
GOVERNMENT. 39 
 
 but always below the market price, in order that 
 Meliemed Ali, the great slave-merchant, may gain 
 ^umething by the bargain, at the expense of his 
 oppressed subjects. A great portion of the import < 
 is even now paid in slaves ; and on these occasions 
 truly revolting scenes frequently take place. Should 
 it ever happen that Mehemed Ali puts an end to 
 slave-hunting, as he has confidently promised, he 
 would yet remain the most extensive slave-mer- 
 chant, because he endeavours to cover his revenues 
 by slaves, and receives them in lieu of money. It 
 is. indeed, much easier in this country to find a 
 slave than a dollar of ready money ; and this state 
 of things is rather on the increase than on the 
 decrease. With what right, may I ask, is Mehemed 
 Ali called, by many Europeans, the civilizer of his 
 country, when we have ample ppoof of his forcing 
 his people to steal slaves, in order to be able to 
 satisfy his claims as regent ! Many of these subjects 
 meet with an untimely end in these expeditions ; 
 for the negroes defend their freedom most stub- 
 bornly. If a native of Kordofan lose his father, his 
 brother, or his friend, in one of these private depre- 
 datory excursions, he lays the blame on the free 
 negroes, and endeavours to revenge the death of his 
 relative ; he becomes cruel, and, lastly, stains himself 
 with the crime of murder, whilst the blame is due 
 to no one but Mehemed Ali, the great slave-trader. 
 Even if it were really ever to happen, that the 
 transport of slaves to Cairo should cease, I have a 
 
40 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 strong suspicion that those slaves which Mehemed 
 Ali receives in Kordofan, and elsewhere, in pay- 
 ment of imposts, would be sold to the Djelabi, to 
 be transported into Arabia, to which country thou- 
 sands are being daily sent. 
 
 As far as my observations went during my so- 
 journ in this country, and it is an opinion of the 
 correctness of which I had the opportunity of 
 convincing myself in a great measure, there are 
 many sources in the state to cover its revenue, 
 without proceeding to such extreme and inhuman 
 measures as slave-hunting or slave-trading. The 
 sugar-cane grows here without cultivation and 
 thrives exceedingly. The soil is, in many situa- 
 tions, well adapted to the growth of indigo, and 
 the country would yield many other products, if 
 the experiment were made, and water were not so 
 scarce as it is in many situations. Although the 
 White Nile flows close to the confines of the pro- 
 vince, yet the water of this river could not be 
 rendered serviceable for the irrigation of Kordofan 
 by means of a canal, for the excavation of the 
 bed would cost millions of money, and the country 
 is so elevated that a simple canal would not an- 
 swer the purpose. No less than twenty thousand 
 heads of horned cattle might, with ease, be annu- 
 ally sent to Egypt, for there is no lack of pas- 
 turage ; but the transport of cattle should be in- 
 trusted to the care of more sensible people than it 
 lias becMi hitherto, who have acted entirely on their 
 
GOVERNMENT. 41 
 
 own discretion. Mehemed Ali has, further, not yet 
 made an attempt to derive any benefit from the 
 large forests of gum trees in Nubia. They might 
 1)i i a source of great profit to the state, and would 
 prove far more productive than those contemptible 
 and atrocious slave-hunts. He need only employ 
 the tenth part of those troops whose services are 
 required in these abominable excursions as inspec- 
 tors in collecting the gum, and allow the negroes 
 of Nubia small wages, as is done in Kordofan ; 
 both the state and the people would in this way 
 gain, and the negroes would enjoy their liberty; 
 their confidence in the government would be aug- 
 mented, when they came to understand that they 
 were treated as a free people and not as slaves ; 
 trade, commerce, and agriculture would, by this 
 measure, receive a stimulus and improve; and every 
 man would with pleasure engage in an undertak- 
 ing whence a small profit might be expected, be- 
 cause he would not have to tremble for his free- 
 dom and his life. The mountains of Nubia might 
 yield from ten to twenty thousand cantari* of gum 
 of the best quality annually; and Mehemed Ali 
 would soon find out, that he could with as much 
 ea>e obtain two cantari of gum as one slave, and 
 that the acquisition would be attended with less 
 expense. 
 
 * The Cantaro is=100 Rotoli, but the rotolo has different 
 weights. The former is= 150ft) avoirdupois; the latter=61,39 
 grs. English, or, also, to 18oz. avoirdupois. TR. 
 
42 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The governors and government functionaries look 
 upon Kordofan as their private property, and, re- 
 garding the inhabitants as slaves, treat them as 
 such, in every sense of the word ; thus the coun- 
 try is subjected to every possible species of ex- 
 tortion. In the year 1838, Mehemed Ali deter- 
 mined to undertake a journey to Sennaar. Many 
 cases of oppression had probably reached his ears 
 which were likely to lead to proceedings, and 
 might prove productive of considerable sums. On 
 his arrival at Khartoom, he summoned the chief 
 sheikhs of Kordofan into his presence, and listened 
 to the complaints of his subjects. On accurate 
 investigation, and where he was convinced of un- 
 lawful actions he had the guilty party immedi- 
 ately prosecuted. Thus the governor of Kordofan 
 was deposed, and all the staff-officers, with nine 
 other officers and copts, were brought to trial. 
 Much property which had been illegally acquired 
 was certainly confiscated ; but, as I have before 
 observed, Mehemed Ali was, in the end, the sole 
 gainer by this measure, and not the people. On 
 his departure, the former arbitrary system pre- 
 vailed ; he left, indeed, strict orders with the go- 
 vernor and other government officers, rigorously 
 prohibiting them from indulging in cruelties, but 
 these measures were insufficient to mitigate the 
 evil. Mehemed Ali was, on this occasion, cunning 
 enough, in travelling to Fazoglo, to liberate a con- 
 voy of slaves he casually met on the road, who 
 
GOVERNMENT. 43 
 
 had but a few days before left their native hills; 
 but why ? Because several Europeans were in 
 his suite. No such orders were left in Kordofan ; 
 the stipulated number of five thousand slaves were 
 delivered to a man. I was the only European 
 at that time in Kordofan, and the governor con- 
 descended to request that I would not mention 
 this circumstance in Europe. The country, in fine, 
 could only be relieved and gradually raised from 
 its present degraded state, by sending a governor 
 to Kordofan who would act, not upon private in- 
 terest, but on the interests of the state and people : 
 in fact, as a man, as well as a diplomatist. 
 
44 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 THE dwelling-places, in Kordofan, are called 
 " tukkoli," and are of extremely simple construc- 
 tion. The house is generally ten to twelve feet 
 in diameter, and of a circular form ; it has but one 
 single entrance, which answers the purpose of door, 
 window, and chimney, and is just large enough 
 for a man to creep in whilst stooping. One house 
 is as like the other as one egg is like its fellow, 
 for there is no scope for architectural display; as 
 the residences of the negroes are built on the 
 same plan at the present day, and formed of the 
 same materials they were centuries ago. A certain 
 number of wooden poles are stuck into the ground, 
 in a circular form, according to the dimensions 
 required, and, being bent inwards, form a fork 
 above. A second series, exactly similar to the 
 first, is added, and the ends are bound together 
 in a point, so that the second layer has the shape 
 of a sugar loaf, and constitutes the roof. The whole 
 fabric is then combined with a kind of basket- 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 45 
 
 work and covered with dokn* straw. The apex 
 of the roof forms a basket, which serves as a nest 
 for the black stork, which generally returns in the 
 months of May and July from its migrations, and 
 hatches its young in the nests it finds ready formed. 
 If no stork happen to build on one or the other of 
 these u tukkoli," three or four ostrich's eggs are 
 placed, by way of ornament, on a pole erected per- 
 pendicularly on the top of the roof. 
 
 Simple as is the construction of these houses, 
 they may be said, on an average, to be very firmly 
 built, so that a drop of water seldom penetrates 
 during the heaviest shower in the rainy season, 
 and they afford, at least, a dry place of shelter. 
 From two to five of these tukkoli are generally 
 built for one family, and the whole homestead is 
 then hedged in with a fence of thorn ; an opening 
 is left in this hedge for the gate, represented by 
 a bush of thorn, which is taken away and replaced 
 after entrance or egress from the enclosure. This 
 is not done from any apprehension of thieves or of 
 any other intrusion, but to keep the hungry camels, 
 who would devour the house, in a short time, down 
 to the very framework, at a respectful distance. 
 These thorn fences are a great inconvenience, and 
 even dangerous to strangers, for, if they do not 
 exactly shed blood, they will seldom enter them 
 or quit them without leaving a portion of their 
 
 * A general term for millet, whether panicmn miliaceum, or 
 ftolcus sjricata ; it is the holcus dockna of Forskacl. T. 
 
46 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 dress thereunto attached. The expense of building a 
 house of this description is very trifling ; the poorest 
 people, therefore, are able to erect their own tukkoli. 
 Wood may be cut in the forests without any charge 
 being made for it ; certainly those who do not happen 
 to grow corn, and consequently have no straw, are 
 obliged to buy this material. The expense, how- 
 ever, rarely exceeds from five to ten piasters, (less 
 than three shillings ;) for which sum, a sufficient 
 quantity may be bought to keep out every drop of 
 water during the severest shower. Labourers are 
 not paid, for each man assists his neighbour gra- 
 tuitously. These houses present another and very 
 desirable advantage, putting aside the consideration 
 that the material costs a mere trifle and the build- 
 ing but little trouble ; for every man can have his 
 house carried away, by ten or twelve men, in two 
 divisions, and quickly again erected in a different 
 place, if the site did not please him, or a disagree- 
 able neighbour rendered his prior residence unplea- 
 sant to him. If fire break out in a village, no 
 attempt is made to extinguish it, as it would be 
 labour in vain, but the houses nearest to the seat 
 of conflagration are conveyed out of the reach of 
 danger, and a limit is thus put to the raging ele- 
 ment. Whole villages are sometimes carried away, 
 when an insect happens to infest the neighbour- 
 hood, and renders residence in a certain district 
 insupportable. The animal is the ricinus,* called 
 
 * Ornithomyzes, a family of apterous and parasitic insects, vul- 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 47 
 
 there "kurat;" it harbours in the sand, whence 
 it issues, in astonishing numbers, to attack those 
 who may happen to sit down on the sand naked, 
 ;i< the negroes do. This little animal then imme- 
 diately approaches and bites most severely. The 
 camels stand in great awe of it, immediately take 
 flight, and cannot be made to stop in a place 
 where it is to be met with. The sting of this 
 insect is only to be avoided by sitting on straw 
 mats, for they seldom creep upon these. 
 
 Every family possesses an additional hut, (called 
 " moraka,") in which the flour necessary for the con- 
 sumption of the house is ground. This operation is 
 performed in a hollow stone, a species of rude mor- 
 tar, which is fixed into the ground, whilst a girl, 
 generally a slave, reduces the grain (dokn) with 
 another cylindrical stone to a powder. In a family 
 consisting of eight persons, one girl would be oc- 
 cupied throughout the whole year in grinding the 
 necessary quantity of corn. This simple labour 
 requires great exertion, and is only to be per- 
 formed by girls who have attained their fourteenth 
 year, younger children being unequal to the task. 
 Even grown persons suffer considerably in this oc- 
 cupation, for it requires no slight exertion to roll 
 a heavy stone all day long backwards and forwards 
 
 garly called "tics." The latin name Ricimis, is taken from Varro, 
 and not well chosen, as it is liable to be confounded with the 
 plant of the same name. Vid. Dictionnaire des Sciences naturelle*, 
 torn. xlv. article Ricins. TR. 
 
48 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 in the heat of these huts ; the poor creatures thus 
 employed are generally bathed in perspiration, and 
 yet they may be heard singing all day long. Their 
 songs are certainly merely expressive of their de- 
 sire to escape, or of longing after their homes. The 
 chaunts are very peculiar, and, with few exceptions, 
 the impromptu pouring-forth of the feelings of the 
 singer, according to the custom prevalent over 
 nearly the whole of the East. 
 
 Few songs are to be met with which the one 
 learns of the other ; for each individual sings exactly 
 what he thinks, without any regard to metre or time. 
 For their dances the natives have a few peculiar 
 melodies, which, however, are frequently altered by 
 variations of their own composition. The young 
 female slaves are heard to sing chiefly in a minor 
 key, and their notes are scarcely audible in the next 
 hut : the song will frequently run in the following 
 strain : " The sun is concealing itself behind the 
 hills, coine people to the joyous dance; the cows are 
 milked, the work is done, light the fire ; my lover 
 comes to fetch me home, &c." A tear may be seen 
 to flow from the eye of many a girl as she thinks 
 of her native hills, over these songs ; time, however, 
 is capable of assuaging the grief of these poor 
 creatures, and after the lapse of two or three years 
 but few of them devote a thought to their native 
 country. In Egypt I have often conversed with 
 both male and female slaves who scarcely remem- 
 bered their fatherland, which they the more easily 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 49 
 
 forget, as they meet with treatment in captivity they 
 could not have experienced under the paternal roof; 
 they subsequently adopt the customs and habits of 
 the people with whom they are forced to live, and 
 frequently laugh at the simple customs of their own 
 country. 
 
 In the houses of the married there is a small ele- 
 vation, of about one foot and a half in height, in 
 which an earthern pot is immured up to its em- 
 bouchure : this is called " tirankul," and is for the 
 purpose of fumigating the person. Wood cut into 
 thin shavings, named " klet " and " telch," is placed 
 in the pot, and ignited, whereupon the person per- 
 forms the fumigation. This smoke is very tonic in 
 its operation, and so astringent that it corrugates 
 the skin. The shirts are also fumigated with 
 sandal-wood over this pot. 
 
 The influential and more opulent inhabitants of the 
 village, e. g. the sheikhs or the djelabis, possess, in 
 addition to the houses we have already described, a 
 hut built in a quadrangular form and called 
 "rakuba:" they are more spacious than the com- 
 mon dwellings, and are furnished with two entrances 
 to admit of a freer circulation of air, but are not 
 tc'iiantable during the rainy season on account of the 
 extreme lightness with which they are constructed. 
 This description of public building serves the pur- 
 POM> of a place of abode for travellers, and is certainly 
 preferable to the dark and hot tukkoli, which are 
 built rather for the rainy season than for the dry and 
 
 E 
 
50 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 hot weather, during which period the people live 
 more in the open air. In Bari and Lobeid, where 
 many Turks and Dongolavi reside who look more to 
 comfort, several spacious residences are to be met 
 with, constructed on the principle of those observed 
 in all Egyptian towns. The houses at Bari are more 
 substantially built than those at Lobeid, which are, 
 literally speaking, made of sand. An European 
 architect would be much puzzled to erect a house 
 of this description, if he were shown the material 
 only. It consists of wood and sand; but as the 
 swallows build their nests with very slight material, 
 which, however, in time becomes as firm as stone, in 
 like manner houses are constructed at Lobeid which, 
 although they will not last for ever, resist the in- 
 clemencies of the weather for a great length of 
 time, and afford the occupant a secure place of 
 shelter. 
 
 In several parts of the East I have had frequent 
 opportunities of observing that they build very neat 
 dwellings as it were of nothing. Houses, two stories 
 in height, are frequently erected from the ground in 
 five or six weeks. The walls are represented by a 
 thick framework of wood, lined with a few bricks. 
 A coating of mortar covers the whole, and thus a 
 house bears all the appearance of being built of 
 stone, and does not easily fall, especially where they 
 are not detached, but form streets, and the one, 
 therefore, supports the other. In Kordofan, on the 
 other hand, each man builds an isolated hut, and 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 51 
 
 every species of building material, excepting wood, 
 is wanting ; the construction, therefore, is completely 
 that of a swallow's nest. When a man has fixed 
 upon the plot of ground on which he intends to con- 
 struct his house, the earth is excavated to the depth 
 of half a foot ; and as much of the sand dug out as 
 is necessary for the building, is mixed with water in 
 a well, at two or three paces distant from the site of 
 the building. The foundation is now erected to a 
 height of about two feet, and the labour is remitted 
 for two or three days, to allow the wall of sand to 
 acquire the proper firmness. This latter proceeding 
 is the more essential as the whole fabric would tum- 
 ble to pieces before it had attained its necessary 
 height, unless this precaution were adopted. When 
 the destined elevation is completed, and the wall is 
 thoroughly dry, thin rafters are laid horizontally 
 across it to form the skeleton of the roof. Mats of 
 straw are now placed upon the rafters, and covered 
 with a thin layer of sand, which is then wetted; 
 small pebbles of quartz are now strewn over this bed, 
 and the whole mass is firmly beaten together. A 
 fabric of this nature is not unlike papier macM, and, 
 like the latter, would become perfectly saturated 
 with the first rain, and fall to pieces, if they did not 
 take the precaution of covering the whole with a 
 coating of cow-dung, which effectually keeps out 
 water, and thus pi-events the occurrence of such a 
 calamity. It will be easily conceived that a house of 
 this kind (Utilises no very agreeable odour during the 
 
52 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 first few days after erection, and that its colour is 
 by no means the most pleasing. In the rainy season 
 this plastering has to be repeated several times, and 
 yet the rain frequently penetrates. I have lived in 
 one of these houses, and derived the greatest benefit 
 from my umbrella both by day and by night. 
 
 Most places are provided with draw-wells, but 
 the water is on the average very bad. The wells are 
 situated at a short distance from some of their places 
 of residence, and the tributary springs frequently 
 dry up, as was the case in the year 1839, when many 
 villages suffered from want of water. In several 
 localities, where this element was formerly found 
 at a depth of ten feet, it is now necessary to dig to 
 a depth of twenty feet before it can be reached. 
 About fifteen years ago water was found at twenty 
 feet below the level of the ground at Lobeid ; at 
 present fifty feet must be penetrated before arriv- 
 ing at it. During the rainy season water is, indeed, 
 never wanting ; but the rains do not last long, and 
 that which remains in the ponds either quickly 
 evaporates, or becomes in a short time so deteriorated 
 that it could not be drank without producing fatal 
 consequences. 
 
 The arrangements in the interior of the tukkoli 
 are as simple as the huts themselves. In addition 
 to an " angareb " (a bedstead or frame, with straps 
 fastened across it), a leathern shield, and a few spears, 
 the furniture consists of the following objects : 
 a pot, called " burma," for water ; a second for boil- 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS 53 
 
 , and a third for " merissa " (a species of beer); 
 further a flat earthern dish " doka " for baking 
 bread : ^mie few gourds for drinking; a wooden 
 platter named "gedda" for the boiled food; and a 
 dish of straw plaited from the leaves of the Doum 
 palm, called "tabake." Milk is kept in a basket 
 formed of rushes so densely interlaced that no fluid 
 can percolate : to render them thus impermeable 
 they are steeped in boiling water immediately after 
 they are plaited. Provisions and other articles of 
 domestic economy are hung against the walls, to 
 keep them from the mice and white ants ; these 
 insects are a thorough plague in the country, and 
 nothing is safe from them ; they will even gnaw 
 and undermine the wood-work of a house, and cause 
 the whole fabric to fall to pieces. Their habitation 
 is the sand, especially where it is rather damp ; every- 
 thing in fact that is placed on the ground is in 
 danger of being eaten up by them ; chests and trunks 
 should, therefore, be placed upon stones, for they 
 do not creep up these : the open air is also fatal to 
 the white ant. When they have gnawed anything 
 to pieces they leave a moisture mixed with sand, 
 which becoming hard forms an incrustation; and 
 beneath this they carry on their work of destruc- 
 tion. This covering is not intended to defend them 
 from other insects inimical to them, and likely to 
 disturb them in their work, but to guard themselves 
 against the access of the air, which, as I before men- 
 tioned, they cannot bear. T took all possible pains 
 
54 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 to learn something more of the habits of these 
 animals, to find out where they live and in what 
 numbers they congregate. I have often dug to a 
 depth of one foot or two feet in the sand without 
 meeting with one single ant ; and yet, if I placed a 
 wooden chest on the ground, where I had just been 
 digging, I found in a short time the spot covered 
 with hundreds of these insects. 
 
 The interior of some of the tukkoli is decorated 
 with beautiful coloured straw mats ; the angareb is 
 also covered with variegated matting, and serves, at 
 the same time, as a couch. Two or three ropes are 
 drawn across the middle of the hut, to which ribbons, 
 two fingers in breadth, plaited of rushes, and spread- 
 ing out inferiorly, are attached; by these ligatures 
 blue porcelain plates, of English manufacture, are sus- 
 pended, to contain food and preserve it from the 
 insects. A second cord is passed round the hut, to 
 which black glass bottles are hung, ornamented with 
 gold paper ; part of these are empty, others again are 
 filled with perfumery and cosmetics belonging to the 
 women, as grease, palm-oil, oil of cloves, shebe,* 
 telka,f etc. The walls are decorated with a shield, 
 a two-edged sword, and a few spears. Before the 
 tukkoli, a hollow cylinder made of cow-dung is fre- 
 quently met with, it is placed on stones, and is her- 
 metically closed with a lid. In this vessel the in- 
 habitants keep their corn, but a majority of them 
 bury their stores under-ground. For this purpose 
 
 * Shebe or Sheb, native alum. TR. 
 
 t Telka or Telg, a species of pomatum. TK. 
 
II A H ITS AND CUSTOMS. .").") 
 
 thev <lig a pit, ami line it internally with straw-mat- 
 ting; the corn is then thrown in and covered with 
 straw-mats; sand is now shot over the whole, and 
 the ground is levelled. Cabinets d'aisance are not 
 known to the natives ; in these matters they imitate 
 the eats. There are no stalls or stables for the do- 
 mestic animals; the cattle is penned together in an 
 enclosure of thorn, in the vicinity of the tukkoli. 
 The fence is exceedingly dense, intended to keep out 
 the wild beasts at night ; and yet it frequently 
 happens that a lion, or hyaena, when urged by hunger, 
 will effect an entry through the thickest hedge, and 
 carry away a sheep, a goat, or a calf. 
 
 The habits of the people are very simple, and 
 their labour is restricted to the most necessary 
 employments. As soon as the day begins to dawn 
 old and young rise from their couches, and after 
 washing their faces, hands, and feet, in accord- 
 ance with their religion, proceed to work ; the oc- 
 cupation of the majority, however, consists in again 
 retiring to the angareb. It is worthy of remark 
 that no one sleeps on the bare ground, and that the 
 meanest slave is provided with a mat to lie upon. 
 In the houses of the more respectable natives, one 
 or two angarebs are always found on which they 
 sleep, while the lower orders are provided with straw- 
 mats, for no human being could endure lying on the 
 mere ground for any length of time; for the ver- 
 min harbouring in the sand would nearly eat him up. 
 The bed of a slave is certainly not of eiderdown, 
 and many Kuropeans, rising in the morning from a 
 
56 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 couch of this description, would consider they had 
 undergone a severe punishment ; for these straw, or 
 rather cane-mats, are plaited from a species of reed, 
 the stalks of which are as thick as the little finger, 
 and each particular reed is so far apart in the 
 texture, that their entire number may be counted 
 in the morning on the body of the slave. I have 
 often asked these poor wretches how they could 
 possibly sleep on a bed of torture of this kind, but 
 they have always assured me, laughing, that they 
 could rest better there than on the bare ground. 
 As a general rule no one places any pillow under 
 his head, not even as much as a stone; but the 
 natives cover themselves with a shirt, if indeed they 
 have one ; in this garment they envelope the whole 
 head, and if any one, in fact, neglect covering his 
 head at night, he will experience a sensation of 
 heaviness and indisposition in the morning, which 
 will continue during the whole day. Breakfast is 
 not customary in this country. Although the coffee 
 from Abyssinia, and even from Yemen, which stands 
 in commercial connexion with Kordofan, is very 
 cheap, this beverage is but little known and is only 
 drank by some few djelabi and the Turkish residents 
 of Kordofan ; with the exception of one coffee-house 
 at Lobeid, there is no establishment of the kind in 
 the whole province, and this single cafe is frequented 
 by the Turks solely, and not by the natives. Among 
 the most respectable Dongolavi, however, some few 
 mav be occasionally found who do not abstain 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. f>7 
 
 altogether from this beverage. If a foreigner vMt 
 an influential person in the morning a pipe and 
 nierissa are offered him, and a dish, reckoned a great 
 delicacy, which requires, however, a stomach differ- 
 ently constituted to that of an European to digest 
 it. I, on one occasion, had the honour of being 
 treated with this dish. I was one day invited by a 
 djelabi at Denagle to breakfast. Having arrived 
 at the appointed time, I was conducted to a seat on 
 an angareb covered with beautiful carpets, and a 
 pipe and merissa were handed to me. When I 
 observed that no fire was lighted in the fire-place and 
 that no other preparations were being made, I asked, 
 without further ceremony, where the breakfast 
 was, for I knew very well that simple merissa 
 would not be considered sufficient to offer me, and 
 I had not time to remain longer. The djelabi told 
 me that it would be ready immediately, and pointed 
 to a sheep which was running about in the court, 
 adding, that he would not have it slaughtered until I 
 had arrived. I replied, "It will soon be midday 
 and I have other business to attend to, and cannot 
 wait until the meat is roasted or boiled, especially 
 ;i^ you have not even prepared a fire." My host 
 a^ured me that the breakfast would be ready imme- 
 diately, and that I should have ample time to attend 
 to my business. My curiosity was now excited to 
 the utmost to know with what kind of breakfast he 
 intended to honour me, and T kept my eyes con- 
 tinually on the sheep, which was to be sacrificed in 
 
58 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 honour of my visit ; judge, however, of my embar- 
 rassment when a slave, on a signal from his master, 
 quickly decapitated the sheep, and without waiting 
 to flay the animal, ripped up its abdomen, took out 
 the stomach, cleaned it, cut it into small pieces, and 
 laying them on a wooden dish, squeezed the gall- 
 bladder of the animal, as we might a lemon, on 
 the fragments, and lastly, strewed a considerable 
 quantity of cayenne pepper over the whole mess. 
 This being done, and, indeed, in an incredibly short 
 space of time, I was pressed to help myself quickly, 
 before the dish became cool ; I sighed, however, and 
 thanking my host, begged to be excused, assuring 
 him at the same time that an European stomach 
 could not possibly bear this very exquisite dish, and 
 that I would, therefore, content myself with looking 
 on. He smiled piteously at my fastidiousness, and 
 showed evident symptoms of relishing the delicacy. 
 I afterwards frequently observed that this is a 
 very favourite dish, and was tempted, rather to 
 satisfy my curiosity than my appetite, to partake of 
 it ; and really the flavour is not very disagreeable, 
 for the gall in combination with the cayenne takes 
 away the odour and taste of the raw paunch, never- 
 theless I could never eat a sufficient quantity of it 
 to satisfy the demands of hunger. Not only in 
 Kordofan, but in Sennaar, and Abyssinia, also, this 
 dish is considered, as I have before observed, a great 
 delicacy. 
 
 The duties the inhabitants have to perform 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. .")!) 
 
 during the day require very little trouble, and in no 
 country have I seen as much indolence as in Kordo- 
 fan. Every man, be his means ever so small, en- 
 deavours to purchase a slave, and this poor wretch 
 must then do all the work, in order that his master 
 may lie all day long in the shade, indulging in 
 idleness. The natives never perform any more 
 labour than is absolutely necessary, and thus much 
 only when it is urgently required. Those who 
 attend to agriculture have very little trouble or care 
 in their employment ; for they have nothing to do but 
 to sow the seed at a certain season, and to carry the 
 harvest in three months' time. Very few persons 
 occupy themselves with handicraft. The houses are 
 repaired, or renovated, at the utmost every three or 
 five years ; thus no one has anything to do, and the 
 natives are consequently seen lying about sleeping 
 all the day long. The women attend, indeed, to the 
 domestic duties, but these are inconsiderable, and if 
 their means will permit it, they pass the greater part 
 of the day on the angareb. The men have no amuse- 
 ments; only very few of the Dongolavi smoke tobacco, 
 but the negro tribes indulge the more in this habit. 
 They take little or no interest in the dances of the 
 women, and when they are tired of lying down, and 
 have slept to their hearts' content, a few neighbours 
 congregate; and after greet ings and mutual inquiries 
 into the state of their health, a ceremony which 
 generally occupies a quarter of an hour, the conver- 
 sation at the most turns upon the governor and the 
 
60 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 casheffs, or they talk of their sick camels or asses. 
 Politics in general are a very small trouble to them ; 
 the taxes, however, which they are forced to pay 
 several times in the year, cause them a few days of 
 great uneasiness. On these occasions they consult 
 together how they may best collect them ; and if 
 the harvest was successful, and merissa consequently 
 plentiful, many a bitter hour is drowned with this 
 liquor. Their conversation becomes then more ani- 
 mated, they console themselves with providence, and 
 the rhababa, a lyre with five strings, entirely dissi- 
 pates their cares. This instrument is their chief 
 amusement, they will listen for hours to its mono- 
 tonous notes, and it forms a frequent accompaniment 
 to the voice ; but story tellers who relate tales from 
 the Arabian Nights are not to be met with among 
 them as in Egypt. However noisy their amuse- 
 ments may become, or whatever the effects of the 
 merissa may be, they seldom or never proceed to 
 quarrels. Swearing and abusive language is scarcely 
 ever heard among them as it is among the Arabs, 
 and if, as a very rare occurrence, a quarrel ever 
 arise, it is immediately arranged by the elders pre- 
 sent. They never fall to blows, although they may* 
 perhaps, occasionally pull each other about by the 
 shirts. They are hospitable, and every one who 
 casually passes-by whilst they are amusing them- 
 selves is considered their guest, and must participate 
 in the amusements. 
 
 Among the Dongolavi, I found a very singular 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. til 
 
 custom prevalent for settling their n Hairs of honour, 
 as they arc termed; these are, generally, disputes 
 arising from love, or jealousy, at which the young 
 unmarried men have taken mortal offence ; the 
 married, who certainly have better cause for duel- 
 ling, never proceed to such extremities; they are 
 far more tolerant on the like occasions, and not 
 very particular about such trifling affairs. The 
 young men, on the other hand, take these things far 
 more to heart; when, therefore, the friends have 
 not been able to adjust the quarrel, a formal chal- 
 lenge is sent. The duel takes place in an open 
 space, in presence of all their friends and comrades, 
 who act as seconds, or rather as umpires. An an- 
 gareb is placed in the middle of the field of battle : 
 the two combatants strip, and, binding their shirts 
 round their loins, each man places his foot close to 
 the edge of the couch, the breadth of which simply 
 separates them from each other. A whip, made 
 of one solid thong of the hide of the hippopotamus, V 
 is handed to each, and attempts to reconcile them 
 are again resumed. If both parties, however, prove 
 obstinate, or their sense of honour be too deeply 
 implicated, for either to yield, the signal of 
 battle is at last given. He who is entitled to the 
 Hrst blow, now intlicts a severe lash on the body of 
 his adversary, who instantly returns the compli- 
 ment, and thus the conflict is kept up, blow for 
 blow, with Lrrcat regularity. The head must not he 
 struck. The manner in which thev lacerate each 
 
62 "HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 other is perfectly frightful ; for the blows are dealt 
 with the utmost severity, and the weapon is suffi- 
 ciently formidable to cause an immense ecchymosis 
 with the very first stripe, with the third or fourth 
 blow the blood begins to flow most copiously. Not 
 the slightest expression of pain is uttered by either 
 party, and the umpires remain cool spectators of the 
 scene. Thus the duellists persevere with their bar- 
 barous cruelty, until the one or the other, over- 
 come with pain, or exhausted with fatigue, throws 
 down his whip, whereupon the victor does the same, 
 and both shake hands, in sign of mutual satisfac- 
 tion. Their comrades now rend the air with their 
 exclamations of joy, and congratulate them on their 
 reconciliation; their lacerated backs are washed 
 with water, and the affair terminates with a copious 
 libation of merissa, sundry jugs of which had been 
 provided beforehand for the occasion. 
 
 Similar causes sometimes give rise to another 
 species of duel, far more dangerous in its conse- 
 quences than the latter, for it frequently terminates 
 with an injury, the effects of which are felt 
 during life, or even with the loss of the use of a 
 limb. The combatants, on this occasion, are also 
 divided by an angareb; but, in dealing out their 
 alternate blows, they pay no attention to the part 
 they fall upon, whether the face, or any other sen- 
 sitive portion of the body, and thus severe injuries 
 are always the result. These duels are, however, 
 rare, and mortal quarrels are generally fought out in 
 
II A P, ITS AND CUSTOMS. G3 
 
 the manner above described. The girl, who had 
 been the cause of all this broil and warfare, is not 
 drawn into the aii'air, but is generally considered 
 innocent, or pitied as seduced. 
 
 As a general rule, the women are tar more indus- 
 trious than the men; tor, besides attending to their 
 domestic occupations, they employ themselves more 
 especially with plaiting straw-mats, making baskets 
 to hold milk, and funnels for filtering meris-,t. 
 They perform, moreover, other business, which 
 should more properly be considered as the duty of 
 the men. I have even seen them tanning leather, 
 whilst their husbands were quietly looking on, 
 smoking their pipes, and indulging in idleness. 
 
 The women are, generally speaking, regarded as 
 servants. Their degradation is yet greater, if they 
 should unfortunately happen not to have children. 
 In this case they are quite despised by their lords, 
 if they were ever so fond of them before, and the 
 husband indemnifies himself with a female slave. 
 Should this woman bear him a child, which is gene- 
 rally the case, she is immediately raised to the rank 
 of his wife, and his former spouse is cither sent 
 away, or totally neglected. Among the more opu- 
 lent natives, the custom prevails of making the wife 
 a >mall allowance' after the birth of the second 
 child, and giving her a separate hut as a place of 
 residence; for they grow old very rapidly, and a 
 woman in her twenty-fourth year is considered pa.^ 
 Hence it is that many women may be seen running 
 
64 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 about as if deranged to consult their Sheikhs,* or 
 fortune-tellers. The information these impostors 
 give is, of course, always agreeable to the desires of 
 the client, but is, generally speaking, utterly false. 
 The women of Kordofan are very merry; they 
 
 * These Sheikhs, or saints, are what we call idiots. They are 
 unfortunate beings, who, although neglected by nature, are con- 
 sidered in this country as direct apostles from God, to inform the 
 children of man of their destiny. These poor wretches are all but 
 idolized, every one being anxious to shew them the utmost respect. 
 When they walk out in the streets, they are stopped by old and 
 young, who kiss their face, hands, and even their feet, and offer them 
 everything they wish for. Beings of this description are generally 
 very apathetic, and accept little or nothing ; they are, in fact, gene- 
 rally to be met dressed in the most disgusting clothes, in rags, or 
 utterly naked, although they would be provided with the finest rai- 
 ment if they merely expressed the slightest wish. Their parents, 
 sisters, or other relations, on the other hand, know how to turn their 
 misfortune to the best account, and accept considerable presents for 
 their intercession with these saints, or for procuring others an op- 
 portunity of consulting this oracle. They give the most absurd 
 and ridiculous answers to questions that are put to them, partly as 
 a consequence of their fatuity, and partly because taught to do so ; 
 it is, indeed, scarcely possible at times to guess at their meaning. 
 The more absurd the answer, the more contented is the party in- 
 terested; and absolutely delighted, if he can only make out a single 
 word of the whole rodomontade, which in the slightest agrees with 
 his wishes. To these saints the women flock in numbers to beg 
 for fertility. Besides these Sheikhs, there are others, and Fakeers, 
 who write amulets, which the women wear on their arms, or heads, 
 firmly believing that their most fervent wishes will be then ful- 
 filled. The latter profession is exceedingly lucrative, and I have 
 seen several persons who had made a small fortune in this manner, 
 and very well understood the art of imposing on the people, and of 
 persuading them to purchase a fresh charm, although experience 
 must have convinced them of the futility of the last. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. (j') 
 
 may be heard singing, or laughing, all day long ; 
 and (-haunt over their work, either Hiiirly, or in 
 company. As soon as the labours of the day are 
 ended, the girls and neighbours congregate to- 
 gether, and dancing commences, an amusement 
 generally kept up till past midnight. They are, 
 in fact, passionately addicted to this recreation. 
 If they have even been employed during the whole 
 day with the most onerous labour, sufficient to 
 fatigue a strong man, all symptoms of weariness im- 
 mediately disappear when the wood-fires are lighted 
 before the huts in the evening, and the sound of 
 the Dar'abook'keh* is heard. This is, in fact, the 
 signal for old and young to leave their houses, and 
 hasten to the scene of amusement, where the men, 
 with their wives, lay themselves down in a circle, 
 and become spectators, or, joining in the song, beat 
 the time with their hands, while the girls now 
 make their appearance, and singly begin the dance. 
 This dance is very simple in its nature, requires, 
 however, great muscular exertion, and would prove 
 a very difficult task for some of our fair country- 
 women. The black beauties commence their evo- 
 lutions by moving slowly, but frequently, in a small 
 spuee. Whilst beating time with their feet, they, 
 throw their heads back at measured intervals, and 
 draw their shoulders up ; so that they frequently 
 even bend their bodies backwards until their hea<N 
 touch the ground. This is done \\itli so much n 
 * Tarabuka, a drum, which is heat en with the hand. 
 
 F 
 
66 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 cular effort, that it is scarcely possible to believe a 
 girl of slender build could possess sufficient power of 
 muscle. The movements are, at first, all very slow, 
 but gradually increase in rapidity, and become, at 
 last, so frequent and quick, that you could almost 
 imagine yourself looking at an automaton moving 
 on springs and wires, and not on a human being. 
 When a girl has nearly danced herself to death, 
 she modestly retires to the background, and a se- 
 cond takes her place. If one of them particularly 
 distinguish herself, and the company wish to pay 
 her a very great compliment, she is desired to stand 
 forth, and a sword is flourished several times over 
 her head. During this ceremony, the music is 
 silenced, but becomes the more noisy afterwards, 
 and is intended as a kind of musical honour to 
 the danseuse. This compliment is generally paid 
 her by her admirer or by a stranger present. The 
 natives are always delighted if a stranger will 
 attend their dances, offer him the best place, and 
 treat him with abundance of merissa. Married 
 women, and those more advanced in age, scarcely 
 ever dance ; they are mere spectators, or pass the 
 time in a different manner, more agreeably to them- 
 selves ; they form, namely, comme cJiez nous, very 
 polite coteries for scandal, where the neighbour 
 who happens to be brought on the tapis is by no 
 means spared, for they leave no hair of his head 
 untouched. The married women, again, are those 
 who pay the least attention to the seventh com- 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. G7 
 
 mandnient, a crime wliich is considered very hein- 
 ous according to the Mahommedan laws ; the girls, 
 on the other hand, are far more moral. In some 
 parts of Kordofan, the men consider it a great 
 honour if their wives have several admirers, but 
 the difference exists, in this country, that the ladies 
 court the men. 
 
 The dress of both men and women is very sim- 
 ple, for only the Dongolavi, the wealthiest of all 
 the tribes, wear long shirts with wide sleeves, 
 and a tackeeyeh,* or small white cap, with a white 
 shawl on their heads, like the turban of the Turks ; 
 red caps are but rarely seen, nor is the tackee- 
 yeh white longer than one day, for it soon be- 
 comes, with dirt and grease, as black as the owner. 
 All the other tribes are nearly naked ; they bind 
 simply a cotton cloth round their loins, throwing 
 one end of it over one shoulder; they wear no 
 covering to their heads, but let their hair grow 
 as long as they please, or braid it in from ten to 
 sixteen plaits, which, however, never reach their 
 backs. Every man carries a double-edged dagger 
 in a sheath on his left arm, and a few charms sewn 
 up in red leather, which the fakeers write and 
 sell to them. On journeys, they wear long dou- 
 ble-edged swords, in leathern sheaths, suspended 
 by a short strap from the left shoulder ; the hilts 
 of tli CM> sabres have no guards, and are merely 
 covered with leather. The sheikhs, however, bear 
 
 * Takie. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 HABITS AND CUSTOMS.' 
 
 swords with massive silver hilts, terminating in 
 a knob as large as a hen's egg of the same metal ; 
 some of them ornament the sheaths with agates, 
 or imitations of precious stones in glass. The men 
 carry large oval shields on their backs made of 
 the skin of the antelope, when on a march. They 
 also carry a number of spears, or javelins, con- 
 tained in a rude leathern quiver hanging from 
 their shoulders. Short tours are performed on 
 asses ; longer journeys on camels or dromedaries. 
 The peasants who possess no camels travel short 
 distances on oxen. 
 
 The dress of the women does not differ from 
 that of the men of the lower orders, for they also 
 wear a large cotton cloth bound round their loins, 
 part of which is thrown over one shoulder. When 
 they walk out they sometimes cover their heads 
 with this cloth, but, whilst at work, they wind the 
 whole of it round their loins. These melayeh, as 
 they are termed, are at first white, then proceed 
 through various gradations of colour, until they 
 lastly become black, for they are seldom washed. 
 In washing they make use of the bark of a tree 
 called Egelit, instead of soap, and spread the linen 
 on a piece of tanned leather, which is laid in a 
 deep hole in the sand. The melayeh of the Don- 
 golavi is washed with soap, and is generally deco- 
 rated with a broad red border. It is also adjusted 
 with a certain degree of care, in order to give their 
 dress a more picturesque appearance. The women 
 wear no covering on their heads, but roll their 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. <i!) 
 
 liair into curls, smearing them well with butter or 
 oil made of sim-sim.* They anoint the skin of 
 the whole body with a pomatum prepared of spike- 
 nard,! mahleb,^: and tuffer ;$ these ingredients, rubbed 
 down upon a stone, are called " telka." The oils and 
 butter give the hair a certain gloss, as long as it is 
 five from dust; but the pomatum on the head soon 
 becomes rancid, when it is impossible to remain long 
 in proximity of one of these beauties, without 
 offence to the olfactory nerves. Their eyelids are 
 covered with powdered antimony. || Women who 
 pride themselves on their head-dress, and do not 
 wish to discompose their curls, make use of a small 
 wooden bench, about a span in height, and hol- 
 lowed out above, so as to admit the neck, as a 
 pillow when they lie down to sleep, in order to 
 avoid pressing their curls. It is the most incom- 
 modious pillow in the world, but the women, to 
 gratify vanity, accustom themselves to it, as the 
 slave becomes inured to his fetters, and sleep very 
 well, notwithstanding the uncomfortable position 
 they are obliged to adopt. An idea may be formed 
 of the hardship they have at first to undergo, in 
 
 * The Arab term for the Sesamum. TB. 
 
 f Spica nanlus ; Valeriana celtica. TB. 
 
 { The fruit of the prunus mahcdeb, or perfumed cherry, a na- 
 tive of Austria. TR. 
 
 Dhofer is the shell of an animal found on the Red Sea, cut 
 into small pieces and used as a perfume, emitting a pleasant odour 
 when held over the fire. Bwrckkardt't Trace ,p.286. TB. 
 
 || The use of Kophel is of very great antiquity, and is men- 
 tioned in the New Testament by the term orifiifav . TR. 
 
70 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 considering that this position does not admit of 
 the slightest change during sleep ; but as our belles 
 willingly allow their ribs to be uncomfortably com- 
 pressed by a tight corset to appear with a small 
 waist, thus the women of Kordofan voluntarily 
 submit to this torture to preserve their head-dress. 
 The toilette of these children of nature requires, 
 moreover, a much longer time than that of our 
 European ladies, for the number of curls which 
 are matted together with oil and grease and dust, 
 until they form one dense mass, demand consider- 
 able time for their dressing. As they have no 
 combs, scissors, pincers, hair-pins, or other imple- 
 ments of coiffure, one simple wooden peg answers 
 the purpose of all these instruments, and we may 
 easily imagine that a great deal of time is spent 
 in arranging the hundreds of curls of their woolly 
 hair. The women wear rings in their noses and 
 ears, mostly of silver and brass, for those of gold 
 have totally disappeared, or have become, at least, 
 very rare. Several of them, indeed, wear bracelets 
 and rings of silver round their ankles, the latter 
 decorated with small pieces of coral or small bells. 
 The greater part of the bracelets worn are of horn 
 or of ivory, frequently two inches in breadth, 
 and the anklets are mostly of copper, sometimes 
 even as much as one pound in weight. Round their 
 necks and heads the women wind strings of beads 
 of Bohemian glass ; the favourite colour is dark 
 blue. Some of the ladies hang small round plates 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 71 
 
 of gold, an inch in diameter, on their foreheads, 
 or small round pieces of amber of the same size. 
 On their fingers they wear silver rings set with 
 cornelians. They are, in fact, fond of anything 
 that shines or glitters, and has a bright or gaudy 
 colour, and it is no easy matter, at times, to abstain 
 from laughter, on beholding one of these black 
 beauties in full dress. I have, frequently, on the 
 other hand, met with others who dressed them- 
 selves with peculiar taste, so that they really pre- 
 sented an agreeable appearance. Women who are 
 not wealthy wear small pearls, or small red berries, 
 or a charm sewn up in red leather on their fore- 
 heads. On their arms they carry ivory or horn 
 bracelets ; round their ankles copper rings or a large 
 milk-white glass bead ; round their necks they 
 hang strings of blue glass beads, and in their noses 
 and ears rings of brass. The unmarried or girls walk 
 about naked, and bind only round their loins a fringed 
 leathern belt, from which several hundred small 
 thin straps depend. This girth is called " rahat," 
 and is frequently decorated with agates. They are, 
 also, very fond of ornament, and adorn their heads 
 and necks with glass beads. The boys run about 
 in a perfect state of nudity up to their twelfth 
 year. The men anoint their bodies, like the wo- 
 men, with oil, butter, and other greasy substamv-. 
 not so much for the purpose of giving the skin a 
 .U'loxsy appearance, as to preserve it from cracking, 
 to which inconvenience it would IK- very liable, 
 
72 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 as they walk about uncovered, exposing themselves 
 to a scorching heat. The covering to the feet 
 consists of sandals of undressed leather bound with 
 straps ; the Dongolavi, however, wear sandals of 
 tanned leather, decorated with coloured straps. On 
 journeys, some of the natives wear sheepskin, after 
 the same fashion as the miners* of Germany a 
 leather behind them, to avoid sitting down naked 
 on the burning ground. 
 
 Slaves are met with in nearly every house : the 
 female portion is employed in domestic work, the 
 male in agricultural labour; they receive once a 
 year, at the feast of the great Baeram, a piece of 
 cotton stuff; which wound round their loins consti- 
 tutes their whole clothing. They are treated very 
 well, and, in most families, partake of the same fare 
 as their masters. The badge of servitude is, how- 
 ever, not wanting ; for the male slaves are generally 
 bound in fetters, applied to their legs, to prevent 
 them from running away. I never saw one of these 
 
 * The miners in Germany form almost a particular caste, and 
 are distinguished from every other artizan by the peculiarities 
 of their dress. It consists of a black half smock of glazed linen, 
 with wide sleeves, contracted at the wrist, decorated with innu- 
 merable buttons, and reaches to the waist, where it is fastened 
 by a broad belt. A leather apron, worn either in front, or, during 
 their work, reversed, completes the uniform. The latter article of 
 dress is essential to them in their occupation, which consists of sit- 
 ting on the hard rock and breaking the ore away with their ham- 
 mers. The head is covered with a thick felt hat, without a brim, 
 on the crown of which the lantern or candle is placed, during their 
 descent into the mines. TR. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 73 
 
 beings illtreated by his master for doing too little 
 work ; it is only when they make an attempt to run 
 away, that they are beaten. The female slaves run 
 at liberty, and unfettered ; they are also treated with 
 more lenity, especially if they should happen to be 
 young and pretty, or when the master admits them to 
 the rights of a wife. The children, born by these 
 slaves, are the property of the owner, who may sell 
 them; this is, however, no longer the case in 
 Egypt, where all natural children are treated like 
 Egyptians. These poor creatures have equal 
 cause to complain of their masters, as some slave- 
 proprietors make this a branch of commerce ; thus 
 they are mostly mustered after a few years, 
 and sold to slave-merchants, who take them down 
 to Grand Cairo. Europeans must be very careful 
 in purchasing female slaves, and ought especially to 
 be on their guard against those who speak Arabic 
 well, for many of them are acquainted with all 
 kinds of tricks. Many slaves, on the other hand, 
 are not to be purchased from their proprietors, 
 especially if they are well taught ; and only 
 when they have not adopted the faith of Is- 
 lam, and die, are they treated like cattle. These 
 children of nature frequently behave in the most 
 singular manner when they take an object that is 
 unknown to them into their hands; it would, in- 
 deed, make any man laugh heartily to see how awk- 
 wardly they comport themselves. A very comical 
 instance of the kind occurred to me : a girl, who 
 
74 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 was suffering from head-ache, begged a cloth of me 
 to bind round her head, and I lent her my flag,* as 
 I had nothing else at hand. I visited her on the 
 next day, thinking to find her ill at home, but was 
 told that she was much better, and had gone out. 
 My astonishment at meeting the handsome girl, in 
 company with several of her friends, on the market- 
 place, decked out with my flag in the form of a 
 woman's frock, may be easily imagined; and my 
 laughter was greatly increased, at observing the 
 double-headed eagle expanded in full glory over the 
 centre of her body. Several Turks, who were pre- 
 sent, were likewise attacked with fits of laughter ; 
 but the belle, and her friends, found this decoration 
 so pretty, that I was besieged with entreaties to pre- 
 sent them also with like fantasias ; and I was obliged 
 to use all possible means to persuade them, and 
 make them understand, that I possessed no more 
 articles of ornament of this description, and that I 
 must even take this one back. The handsome girls 
 were, as may be supposed, by no means pleased with 
 this measure, for I had a great deal of trouble in 
 getting my flag back to hoist it in its place in proper 
 time. 
 
 The food consists chiefly of dokn bread, assida, 
 
 * It is customary among Europeans travelling on the Nile, to 
 hoist their national flag, a custom which is the more necessary, as 
 they, by so doing, avoid many enquiries, which are made at differ- 
 ent places by the local police, and thus save themselves much 
 trouble, and unnecessary delay. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 7.") 
 
 and woika. The dokn, having been ground on a 
 stone to flour, is put into an earthen pot, and con- 
 verted, by means of water, into a thin paste, A fire 
 is now lighted under an earthen-dish (or under an 
 iron-plate, called doga), which stands on three 
 stones ; when the dish is heated, it is greased with 
 butter, and the paste is spread upon it in the shape 
 and size of an ordinary cake. The one side being 
 baked, the bread is turned, and the dish again 
 greased with butter. These cakes are about the 
 thickness of a finger, and for Europeans very indi- 
 gestible ; they distend the stomach, indeed, awfully ; 
 an effect produced by the corn, partly because the 
 husks are not separated from the flour, partly be- 
 cause the bread is not well baked. Those who are 
 more wealthy, consume a better kind of bread, 
 which has also a more pleasant flavour ; the flour is 
 purified, and the paste more fluid ; it is spread upon 
 the dish by means of a small brush, but otherwise 
 prepared in the same manner as the former variety. 
 Much time is required to bake the necessary quan- 
 tity for the consumption of the house. More than 
 one hour is spent in making bread enough of the 
 latter description to serve two persons at dinner. 
 Fresh bread must, therefore, be prepared every day ; 
 and it is always made by the women; for, as there 
 is no mill in Kordofan, every one is obliged to grind 
 the quantity of flour necessary for his consumption 
 daily. This is done, as I have already oler\v<I. l>y 
 female 
 
76 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 The assida and woika are the common dishes of 
 the natives of Kordofan. The former consists of 
 flour, boiled after the fashion of the Italian polenta*; 
 but there is a considerable difference in the mode 
 of preparing this mess ; for the poorer class use the 
 flour in its natural state, whereas the wealthy 
 natives have it several times washed in water, a 
 process rendering it much whiter and purer. Woika 
 is prepared in the following manner : The natives 
 take pieces of beef, dried in the sun, cut for the pur- 
 pose into long slips, of the thickness of a finger, 
 which form in every family a part of the household 
 stores. This is reduced with dried bami^f to a 
 coarse powder in a wooden mortar. Some onions 
 are now burnt with butter in an earthen-pot, over 
 which water is poured. When the stock boils, 
 one person stirs it up, whilst another gradually adds 
 the pounded meat and bamie', until it forms a thick 
 mass. This ragout, or currie, is then poured into 
 the assida before described, and served up ; it has a 
 pleasant flavour, is very nutritious, and far more 
 wholesome than any other kind of animal food. A 
 great deal of meat is consumed ; for it is very cheap, 
 and nearly every one keeps goats and sheep. The 
 Turks, indeed, do not eat the beef, nor is it to be 
 recommended to Europeans, for it is very indi- 
 
 * Chesnut, or maize flour, boiled in water, a species of flummery. 
 TR. 
 
 t Bamie, or bamiyeh, the esculent hibiscus : the part eaten is a 
 polygonal pod full of seeds and nutritive mucilage. Lanes Mo- 
 dern Egyptians, note>ip. 199. TH. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 77 
 
 , and of ill flavour. The oock'ckah,* of two 
 pounds and three quarters, does not cost more than 
 twenty paras (twopence); and it is sold in the mar- 
 ket-place of Lobeid without the bones. In the 
 country, it is retailed at half this amount; and the 
 price of the piece bargained for is fixed, without 
 weighing it, by judging by the eye alone. There is 
 no deficiency of fowls, pigeons, and various species 
 of gazelles ; these, however, are luxuries which are 
 only to be met with in the houses of the wealthy, 
 and on festive occasions. Every family dines at mid- 
 day ; the men are first served ; and when they have 
 finished their meal, the women and children sit 
 down. A straw-mat is spread upon the sand, in 
 the centre of which a wooden dish is placed, con- 
 taining assida and woika; while the necessary bread 
 is served up on a flat straw-dish. Every one present 
 in the hut, the family as well as strangers, for no 
 invitation is required, sit down, with their legs bent 
 under them, on the straw-mat round the dish ; and, 
 on being invited by the master of the house with 
 the word, Bishmillah (in the name of God) to help 
 themselves, all plunge their hands at the same time 
 into the dish. Each person now takes as much as 
 he can hold in his five fingers, and conveys it to his 
 mouth. The bread is generally eaten at the same 
 
 * The oock'ckah is=400 dir'hems, is from 3 ft). 3 oz. 13J dwt., 
 to 3 ft). 4 oz. troy; or from 2 5). 11 oz. 8 dr. 1SJ gr.,to about, or 
 nearly 12 Ib. 1 2 oz., or 2 J Ib. avoirdupois. Vide Lanes M<*1> 
 tin/at, Lffiran/ <>f Enft'ftiuitiny A'/^r/r./V, ujycmlijc, p. 578. TR. 
 
78 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 time; and thus they proceed, taking one handful 
 after the other, until the dish is emptied of the last 
 morsel. If a stranger cease to eat first, the master 
 of the house invites him to continue, not as a mat- 
 ter of ceremonious courtesy, but in true kindness. 
 During dinner little is spoken, for each individual 
 endeavours above all things to satisfy hunger. In 
 the villages, curds and bread are served up in the 
 dish at meals. The poorer class have not always 
 assida, but the woika alone, and bread and milk. 
 When the contents of a dish are coming to an end, 
 one man rises after the other. The master of the 
 house receives no thanks, nor does he, indeed, ex- 
 pect them ; for it is regarded as an understood thing, 
 that every one must be satisfied who happens to be 
 present at the time of the meals. They wash their 
 hands before, and after eating, and the same ablu- 
 tion is performed in the evening at sun-set. 
 
 During the dinner, water is only handed round in 
 gourds to drink ; when the meal is over the merissa 
 is served up. This description of beer is met with 
 in all the villages of Kordofan with but few excep- 
 tions ; and even among the nomadic tribes, it is 
 seldom missing, except, indeed, when the harvest 
 has been particularly unsuccessful. Merissa is 
 brewed in the following manner : the dokn forms 
 the chief basis : it is allowed to germinate first, as 
 the barley in Germany, dried in the sun, and then 
 bruised between stones. Cakes of bread are now 
 made, placed in a pot and covered with water, and 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 79 
 
 when this liquor has sufficiently fermented, a process 
 requiring two days, it is filtered through a sieve 
 formed of rushes. This merissa must be drunk 
 immediately, for with the third day it begins to 
 turn acid, a result which is not to be wondered at 
 considering the intense heat of the climate, for they 
 have no cellars in which they could preserve it for 
 any length of time. The same merissa repeatedly 
 filtered until it has become clearer is called bill-bill ; 
 but bill-bill prepared with sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and 
 other optional drugs forms sansugot. The latter be- 
 verage is made in various ways. It is an agreeable j 
 drink and very cooling. As a rule it is far more con- 
 ducive to health to drink a larger quantity of merissa 
 than of water in this climate, and I advise travellers 
 in particular to observe this prescription, the more 
 so as I found by experience that, as soon as I discon- 
 tinued water, and commenced drinking merissa and 
 brandy, the fever and dysentery, of which I could not 
 get rid before, left me. I have also known natives, 
 who, confining themselves to merissa, never drank 
 one drop of water throughout the year, and these 
 men were, without exception, the healthiest; where- 
 as the water-drinkers were always attacked witli 
 fever during the rainy season. 
 
 In those districts, where the inhabitants occupy 
 themselves with agriculture, as at the foot of Mount 
 Konlofaii, merissa flows in great abundance, and the 
 greater part of the men are, consequently, in a state 
 of intoxication all the year round, for they never take 
 
80 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 the vessel containing it from their mouths from early 
 in the morning until late at night. In Lobeid, and 
 in many villages, there are houses for the sale of 
 merissa, where this beverage is served by very 
 pretty girls, who are also excellent dancers, and thus 
 attract many guests. They are, moreover, so very 
 acute that you might believe them to have been 
 brought up, or at least to have received a lesson, in 
 one of the capitals of Europe. Mehemed Ali, 
 a few years ago, put down public prostitution in 
 Egypt, and some of the refugees found an asylum in 
 Kordofan and Sennaar. When the governor or other 
 Turks give &fete, they always engage some of these 
 able performers to amuse their guests. They come 
 accompanied by a clown, and besides their original 
 dances give plastic representations which, be they 
 ever so trifling or even offensive against the mahom- 
 medan law, afford much pleasure. I saw travesties 
 of this kind performed in presence of the governor, 
 in which the government and its respective func- 
 tionaries were faithfully portrayed, and affairs were 
 represented such as too frequently occur in reality ; 
 but no offence is ever taken at these plays, they, on 
 the contrary, only increase the laughter of those 
 who feel themselves hit. 
 
 Brandy is distilled at Lobeid only, from dates 
 imported from Dongola : the natives are very fond of 
 it, but it is too expensive an enjoyment for them to 
 indulge in to intoxication, or to drink instead of 
 merissa; for the bottle costs nine piasters or fifty- 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 81 
 
 four cniitzers (equal to about two shillings and 
 sixpence). The wealthy inhabitants, therefore, and 
 the Turkish officers only drink brandy. Festivals 
 like those kept in Egypt are not known in Kordo- 
 fan, for the natives in general are not sufficiently 
 wealthy to spend large sums on the like amuse- 
 ments, and it is not, moreover, customary to give 
 feasts at marriages, circumcisions, and other occa- 
 sions of this kind. If a man be about to marry, 
 he goes straightways to the father of the bride 
 he has selected, and before exchanging a word with 
 her concludes the contract, determining the allow- 
 ance he proposes to make to his future wife. 
 
 The marriage portion consists either in money, 
 oxen, sheep, goats, or other articles of domestic 
 economy, and is at the same time the property of 
 the woman, although she may be shortly divorced 
 from her husband. Marriages are contracted with 
 very little ceremony, for as soon as the bridegroom 
 has agreed with the father of the bride on the 
 bargain, he takes the woman of his choice home, 
 hews the rahat, or fringed virginal girdle with a 
 knife in innumerable pieces, covers her with a 
 rnelayeh as a sign that she is now his wife, and the 
 ceremony thus terminates. The nearest neighbours 
 are at the most invited to a dinner ; merissa is served 
 up, and the whole affair is concluded with the 
 customary dances. If the bride belong to one of the 
 tribes who practise circumcision, she is certainly 
 forced to subject herself to a fresh operation twenty 
 
 G 
 
82 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 days before her marriage. When a woman is ill- 
 treated by her husband, or there exists any other 
 cogent reason, she requests to be divorced from him, 
 and the separation is effected without the slightest 
 difficulty. She takes, her marriage portion, and if 
 there be children, the girls away with her, whilst 
 the boys remain with the father. A separation is, 
 however, frequently insisted upon without any good 
 cause, for if the husband does not make his wife a 
 sufficient allowance of telka,* she may sue for a 
 divorce. Many men separate from their wives 
 when they begin to age, as they generally do after 
 the birth of the second child, and marry a second 
 time with a young girl. To these cast-off wives a 
 tukkoli is then accorded, and a maintenance suffici- 
 ent to keep them, consisting generally of twenty 
 paras, little more than three halfpence daily. The 
 rich of course are only able to follow this custom, 
 one man, however, scarcely ever has more than two 
 wives in lawful w r edlock ; but every one keeps a 
 number of female slaves as concubines, especially 
 when his wives begin to grow old. They do not 
 pay much attention to those clauses in matrimony, 
 prescribed by the mahommedan religion, and to which 
 
 * A pomatum for anointing the body, prepared from Spikenard, 
 Mahaleb, and Tuffer. Burckhardt, in his Travels in Nubia, p. 200, 
 mentions a preparation of sheep's-fat, soap, musk, pulverized san- 
 dal-wood, senbal, i. e., Spikenard, and Mahaleb. Brown names 
 as one of the articles of this unguent, dufr, a species of shell of a 
 fish used for perfume. Browns Travels in Africa, Egypt, and 
 Syria. TR. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 83 
 
 the Moslem ins rigidly adhere. The birth of a 
 eli i Id is attended with little or no festivity, and the 
 husband pays but slight attention to his wife during 
 this critieal period, for every one knows that labours 
 are mostly natural, and terminate quickly and suc- 
 cessfully. A midwife and an elderly relation at 
 the utmost are present in the hut with the parturient 
 woman, and when the child is born, a drink, consist- 
 ing of soda, dried dates, and milk, which is very 
 cooling, or water only, is offered to the mother. On 
 the second, frequently even on the first day, the 
 woman leaves her bed and goes about her ordinary 
 occupations. Parents are very fond of their children, 
 and are never known to beat them for any error 
 they may have committed. The care and education 
 of the young is left entirely to the mother; until 
 they have attained a more mature age, the father 
 troubles himself but little about his children. 
 When a mother weans her child children at the 
 In-cast are, however, frequently fed with bread 
 soaked in water and it has attained the age of one 
 year, it may be seen with an onion in its little hands, 
 gnawing it with as much pleasure as our European 
 children evince in sucking preparations of sugar. 
 Wild fruits are also given to them, and yet the 
 children are for the most part healthy and strong, 
 with this one exception, that they all, up to a certain 
 age, have protuberant abdomina, a consequence of 
 feeding them on bread, which causes distention even 
 in grown-up persons. Whilst the children aiv 
 
 o 2 
 
84 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 very young, they are laid in cradles, or rather ham- 
 mocks, consisting of a cotton cloth, attached with 
 cords by its four ends to a beam. 
 
 Circumcision is generally performed according 
 to the custom of the Moslems, between the fourth 
 and sixth year. I also met with some few tribes, 
 where circumcision of the female was practised ; 
 this, however, is a popular custom, totally uncon- 
 nected with religious rites, and is probably intended 
 to prove to the bridegroom, who is about to marry, 
 that the girl is a virgin, a circumstance to which 
 these tribes attach much importance. The Turks, 
 and others, have a peculiar ceremony on the occa- 
 sion of their marriage festivals, by which the bride- 
 groom, on the day of his marriage, convinces himself 
 of the virginity of his bride ; but this test is liable 
 to fallacy, which is not possible with circumcision. 
 The operation of circumcision* is performed on girls 
 when they are five, or, at the utmost, seven years of 
 age, and is attended with festivities, for which no 
 expense is shunned ; it constitutes, indeed, a festival, 
 against which the poorer people begin to save money 
 a year before it takes place, that nothing may be 
 wanting to add to its celebration. From four to 
 eight days before the period of circumcision they 
 dance and sing all day long until late at night ; but 
 on the actual day of the operation, the dancing 
 
 * Or rather, probably, excision, a custom of great antiquity. 
 Vide Strabo Lib. xvii v Kcu, rci TraiSia Trepirepvtiv /cat TCI 6rj\ea 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 85 
 
 :in<l sinking is kept up during the whole night. 
 Professional performers are hired for the occa- 
 sion, merissa is distributed, in short, everything is 
 done to afford amusement to the poor victim, and 
 to induce her to forget the bitter moment which 
 u waits her. When the important hour arrives, all 
 the men are turned out of the hut ; but the mother, 
 and a few women, remain with the girl, partly to 
 hold her during the operation, partly to encourage 
 her to bear it with fortitude. The patient is now 
 stretched upon an angareb, and the women sur- 
 rounding her grasp her feet, arms, head, and body 
 firmly, so that she cannot move ; an elderly matron 
 then approaches with a common razor, and per- 
 forms the operation. At this moment, both those 
 within the hut, and those without, become merry 
 to ecstacy; they applaud until their hands burn 
 with clapping; the dara'book'keh is beaten until the 
 skin is ready to burst ; and the singers exert their 
 voices to the utmost, with deafening eagerness, in 
 order to drown the cries of pain of the little suf- 
 ferer, which, nevertheless, penetrate through all this 
 noise. The incision is performed from below -up- 
 wards, and removes the external organs of the girl. 
 Haemorrhage is stopped Avith butter, the bark of a 
 tree, beaten into fine fibre, is laid into the wound, 
 instead of lint, and a piece of wood, about the size 
 of a quill, is inserted, to prevent its edges from 
 adhering together. The great toe of each toot is 
 then firmly tied together, and in this extended posi- 
 
86 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 tion the little patient lias to lie for twenty long 
 days on an angareb. During this period, very little 
 is given her to drink, and she is lifted out of bed, 
 at the most twice, daily. The wound generally 
 heals successfully ; but it frequently happens that a 
 girl has to undergo a second operation two years 
 after the first, or a little later, for they marry in 
 this country at an early age. 
 
 When the bridegroom has concluded the mar- 
 riage contract with the father,* 
 The second operation is now performed, which the 
 girl bears with more patience, as she enters on a 
 married life immediately after she has recovered 
 from her sufferings. Twenty days are on this occa- 
 sion required for the cure ; whereupon the bride- 
 groom, as I before mentioned, hues the rahat of the 
 girl into pieces, and dresses his bride with the 
 melayeh. 
 
 Another operation, which is quite as painful, and 
 infinitely more revolting, is performed on the young 
 male slaves, who are intended for the guards of the 
 harems of the Turks, and other moslems. A sheikh 
 at Lobeid, named Sultan Tehm^,f performs this 
 operation. Boys of eight, or nine years of age, are 
 generally brought to him for mutilation. The opera- 
 tion is performed in his court, where the poor victim 
 is stretched upon the ground like a head of cattle. 
 
 * Mulieri in manum conventurae mentulae suae irnaginem 
 ligneam seu luto formatam sponsus mittit. TR. 
 f See the chapter entitled the capital Lobeid. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 87 
 
 Sacks, filled with sand, are laid upon his feet and 
 chest, which are so heavy that the poor boy can 
 scarcely breathe beneath their weight. With one in- 
 cision, with a common razor, the organs of generation 
 of the unfortunate being are removed ; haemorrhage 
 is arrested with melted butter, and the bark of a 
 tree, beaten into fibre, is then laid as dressing on the 
 wound, while a piece of lead, of the size of a quill, is 
 inserted into the urethra, to keep that necessary 
 passage open. The patient remains twenty days 
 under treatment, at the expiration of which term, 
 he is returned to his master. More than one half 
 of these unfortunate boys die under the operation, or 
 during their march to Egypt, for very few of them 
 ever reach the place of their destination. The price 
 of these eunuchs is, consequently, generally double 
 that of a common slave. The operator receives ten 
 reals, at fifteen piasters, for each operation. Two 
 boys are also frequently given to the mutilator, the 
 one of which must be returned to the owner, whilst 
 he keeps the other in lieu of payment. Castrates 
 are, indeed, made in Semiaar, and Upper Egypt ; 
 but those of Lobeid are in greater request. 
 
 The death of a native is immediately made 
 known by the cry of " Lu, lu, lu, lu !" which the 
 women set up, bringing- the notes out separately at 
 certain intervals, and resting upon them with their 
 voice. Not only the nionrneix but all the women, 
 who happen to l>e present at the time, join in the 
 dismal dirge. This- lamentation is continued until 
 
88 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 sun-set, and repeated on the following day. The 
 corpse is then washed, wrapped in a white cotton 
 cloth, if his means were adequate to the expense, 
 and is carried on a stretcher to the place of sepul- 
 ture, and there interred. His widows mourn always 
 in company with their female friends, until their 
 grief is allayed, a result which requires a few days 
 only, especially if they be young, and pretty, and 
 wish to marry again. This mode of mourning is not 
 only customary where the deceased was a grown-up 
 person ; but if a child, a few days old, die, it is ho- 
 noured with the same ceremony during a few days. 
 The negro women are very susceptible, both to pain 
 and pleasure ; and I have frequently, on these occa- 
 sions, seen them writhing, as if beside themselves, 
 in the sand, biting their arms, until the blood 
 flowed in sincere grief, and not for outward show. 
 
 There are certain districts in Kordofan, the agri- 
 cultural population of which inhabit two different 
 villages in the year ; for even in several of the most 
 fertile tracts of land, water is at times entirely want- 
 ing, more especially during the dry season. Whole 
 villages, therefore, are frequently necessitated to re- 
 instate themselves in localities a few miles distant 
 from their former place of residence, where they 
 find wells. The whole of their domestic utensils 
 will not overload an ox, hence an emigration of this 
 nature is quickly effected, and without much diffi- 
 culty. Those tribes who occupy themselves with 
 the tillage of land, possess but few horses or camels, 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 89 
 
 but a more considerable number of oxen, sheep, and 
 goats. The oxen are broken in for riding and carry- 
 ing loads. In some villages the herds of horned 
 cattle are very considerable. When the herds of a 
 village are driven out, the drover either rides before 
 or after them on an ox ; each animal has its peculiar 
 name, by which the herdsman recalls it, if it stray to 
 either side or remain behind the drove. The animals 
 quickly hear his voice, understand it well, and are 
 very obedient to his command. If a head of cattle 
 st ray too far from the herd, and do not hear his call, 
 he rides after it, and brings it back without any 
 difficulty. These herdsmen ride very well, and it 
 is a matter of astonishment to see them going along 
 at full gallop on a very young ox. They ride on 
 the bare back of the animal, with a cord passed 
 through the nose of the beast, answering the pur- 
 pose of a bit. In many villages in isolated situa- 
 tions, tar distant from other habitations, where the 
 cattle, therefore, cannot easily stray and become 
 mixed with other herds, there are no drovers, but 
 when the cows have been milked in the morning the 
 enclosures are opened, and the whole herd is let 
 out. They all proceed straightways to a well, where 
 they are watered in troughs, hollowed out of the 
 trunks of trees, and when they have finished drink- 
 ing and are all collected together, an old ox taking 
 the lead, shows them the way and the whole drove 
 follows him. It is astonishing how accurately they 
 follow their leader, who frequently conducts them to 
 
90 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 a pasture situated at a distance of two hours' march 
 from the village, and brings them all safely back 
 again. The most remarkable part of the affair, 
 however, is that they always re-assemble at the well 
 punctually at half an hour before sunset, whether 
 they have been one mile or eight miles distant. 
 I observed this fact at the village of Ledet, where I 
 met the cattle at a distance of eight miles from the 
 huts, and, to my great astonishment, saw no herds- 
 man. On my arrival in the village I asked what 
 this meant, and was told that it had been the custom 
 from time immemorial, to allow the cattle to go un- 
 attended to pasture in this village, as it is in many 
 others ; and that an animal very rarely strayed. In 
 order to be the better able to look after a beast 
 which might possibly be lost, a circumstance, how- 
 ever, of very rare occurrence, it is only necessary to 
 observe the direction the herd takes in wandering 
 out in the morning. I was told that, a few months 
 before my arrival, a cow belonging to this place was 
 missing when the herd returned. As the animal 
 did not come back in the night, the owner mounted 
 a camel with the first dawn of day, provided himself 
 with a supply of bread and water sufficient for four 
 days, and rode out in the direction the cattle had 
 taken on the former day. Having arrived at the 
 place of pasture he traversed it in all directions, until 
 he came upon the track of a camel and a cow, which 
 he followed up during two whole days, until it 
 brought him to an encampment of the Kubbabeesh, 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 91 
 
 where he found his lost cow alive; nor did he ex- 
 perience the slightest difficulty about its restitu- 
 tion. The cows are milked throughout the country 
 t wice daily, once in the morning at sunrise, and 
 again in the evening, but they yield very little milk, 
 which in an hour's time turns sour and thick. The 
 baskets made of rushes, into which the cows are 
 milked, can never be washed thoroughly clean, and 
 are probably the chief cause of the deterioration of 
 the milk ; it is consequently impossible to keep it 
 for any length of time. Butter is quickly made, and 
 without any difficulty. As soon as the necessary 
 quantity of milk is obtained it is put into leathern 
 bags, which are fastened to a piece of wood, and 
 shaken about for some time until the butter is 
 ready. A small yellow fruit is sometimes added 
 to the milk, and greatly accelerates the buty- 
 ration. 
 
 In many villages a market is held once a week, 
 when every inhabitant must provide himself with 
 supplies for the whole week, as nothing is to be 
 purchased on the intervening days; this rule ap- 
 plies more especially to tobacco, an article of con- 
 sumption which ranks, with many natives, before 
 food. As a proof of this assertion I may, per- 
 haps, be allowed to mention the following occur- 
 eiire : In a village where a market is generally 
 held every week, a fire broke out and burnt the hut 
 of an old man to the very ground. The proprietor 
 quietly looking on at a distance, and consoled 
 
92 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 himself with an exclamation of " Allah-Kerim " 
 (God is merciful) ; he then approached me, and I, 
 expecting to hear a dismal tale, had a trifling present 
 in readiness for him, but greatly was I astonished 
 when he refused the present, and begged of me to 
 give him merely a handful of tobacco, as his whole 
 supply was consumed in the conflagration. 
 
 The natives of Kordofan are a very good tempered 
 people, and the traveller meets everywhere with 
 a kind and hospitable reception. If he arrive at 
 midday, or in the evening in a village, he has only 
 to choose a hut, which the inhabitant immediately 
 quits, leaving it entirely at the disposal of his guest. 
 The natives content themselves, in the meantime, 
 with being quartered on their next neighbours, or 
 they will pass the whole time, if the weather permit 
 it, in the open air. If he do not despise their fare, he 
 will not have a sous of outlay, neither for himself, 
 his servant, nor for his camels, who find their food 
 close to the village. The inhabitants perform all the 
 services he may require willingly, and without the 
 slightest contradiction, and he will hear nothing of 
 the " backsheesh," so troublesome among the Egyp- 
 tians. The only custom which the stranger will find 
 a nuisance, are the visits with which he is honoured 
 in great numbers soon after his arrival. The judge, 
 and persons of influence in the village, enter the hut, 
 whilst the rest encamp around it in the open air. 
 The ceremonies commence with greetings, and then 
 a hundred questions are asked, as, whence he came ? 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 93 
 
 where he is travelling to? what has befallen him 
 on the road? whether he have heard of any fresh 
 war, and the like? in fact they scarcely allow him 
 time to breathe, and he has barely answered one 
 question before a hundred fresh inquiries are made. 
 The servant has to suffer more even than the master 
 from their importunities ; for they endeavour to 
 obtain all possible information indirectly from him. 
 They ask him who the stranger is ? whether he is a 
 person of consideration ? to which nation he belongs ? 
 and anything else, in fact, they may deem worthy of 
 knowing. If they hear that he is a Frank, then the 
 conflux becomes great indeed. All the sick persons 
 in the village are dragged into his presence, and he 
 is entreated to give advice and medicine. Protesta- 
 tions to the effect that he is no medical man are of 
 no use, for a Frank must be a hakkim, and the 
 stranger has no alternative left him, but to console 
 them with the hope of recovery through Providence, 
 if he will not make use of common domestic remedies 
 Should he have coffee and sugar served, or at least 
 a pipe of good tobacco, he will cause them a great 
 pleasure. Every man takes a few whiffs from the 
 pipe and then hands it to his neighbour, and thus it 
 circulates among them. He must not, however, ima- 
 gine that, when the pipe is out and the coftee finished, 
 the natives will take their leave, for they become 
 then, on the contrary, more talkative as their bash- 
 fulness is dissipated by his condescension. There k 
 in fine, no other way of getting rid of these trouble- 
 
94 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 some visitors than by pretending to be overcome with 
 sleep from weariness and fatigue. When they ob- 
 serve his eyes to be shut they all rise, and leave the 
 hut so quietly that they are scarcely heard. Having 
 got rid of the men the worst is not yet over, for then 
 come the women tormented with curiosity to see a 
 Frank. They assemble generally at some distance 
 before the hut he inhabits, and anxiously await the 
 moment he may quit the house and exhibit himself 
 to them. At first they are afraid to approach, but 
 in a short time, or by presenting a piece of sugar to 
 their children, they become as familiar with him as 
 if he had lived for years among them. The villages 
 situated on the road to Dongola or Khartoom are 
 very much plagued by the frequent marches of 
 troops through them, and especially with the fre- 
 quent journeys of the Turkish officers. The latter 
 on arriving at a village, immediately take possession 
 of the best hut, leave the inhabitants no time 
 to take their few chattels away with them, but 
 drive them out whip in hand, and heap every species 
 of abuse on the poor natives. All the articles of 
 food they require are demanded in an authoritative 
 tone, and if they be not immediately forthcoming they 
 again resort to the whip; and fowls, or pigeons, or any 
 living thing that is not willingly given, is shot down 
 by the officer or his servants in the streets before 
 the houses. Payment is totally out of the question ; 
 in all villages, therefore, exposed to the marches of 
 the Egyptians, very little poultry or other animals 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 95 
 
 subservient as articles of food are to be met with ; 
 for the inhabitants keep their stock and provisions 
 concealed. But no sooner do they hear that the 
 traveller is a Frank, than they bring him everything 
 he asks for ; their demands are very moderate, and 
 they frequently will not accept anything in return. 
 They are also very attentive in procuring everything 
 he may require for his journey onwards; whereas 
 the Turks frequently have, in this respect, to suffer 
 a deficiency of many things. The natives of Kordo- 
 fan are altogether the best tempered people in the 
 world, if they are but treated with common civility, 
 and differ widely from their neighbours in Sen- 
 naar, who although under the same government, 
 situate under the same degree of latitude, and for 
 the most part of the same race, are of totally diffe- 
 rent disposition. 
 
 The villages, more especially lying on the borders 
 of the country, form an exception to the former rule, 
 and are not in the best odour with the natives 
 themselves. The traveller should, more particularly, 
 be on his guard at Haraza, on the road to Dongola; 
 Ledet, on the road to Khartoom ; and Caccia on 
 the road to Darfour ; the last mentioned village 
 is of all the most formidable. In travelling through 
 Haraza, I myself took an active part in a scene 
 which in io lit have proved of very evil consequent 
 if my M-naiit had not been able to intimidate the 
 sou of the sheikh with an excusable falsehood. At 
 this place it is necessary to take iu a supply of 
 
96 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 fresh water, because none is to be met with until 
 beyond Ketshmar, situate at a distance of two short 
 days' journey from the former village. Persons also 
 travelling to Dongola must furnish themselves with 
 water, sufficient to last them to the rocky caverns 
 in Semmeria, in this village. The sheikh, who 
 considers himself the proprietor of all the wells, 
 will not allow water to be drawn, except he be paid 
 for it ; and the Djelabi are forced to give him from 
 one to five dollars for the permission of filling their 
 water-bags. When I wanted water, he demanded 
 six dollars of me, thinking a Frank ought, of course, 
 to pay more. He was not prepared for any contra- 
 diction, because he saw me travelling alone with 
 my servant ; I, however, was acquainted with these 
 arbitrary demands, and had been, moreover, cau- 
 tioned by others not to submit to his extortions, as 
 he has no right to sell the water for his own bene- 
 fit, which is the property of the government. I, 
 consequently, refused to pay the sum he demanded 
 with decision; and after much talking on the one 
 side and the other, he at last ordered water to be 
 given me from a well, which was so putrid that 
 the camels even would not drink it. When my 
 servant mentioned this circumstance to me, I or- 
 dered him to pour the water immediately away, and 
 demanded good drinkable water of the sheikh, as 
 I knew that there were pure wells in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; he, however, would not draw me any 
 more, not even of the bad water. I was so irritated 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 97 
 
 at the audacious conduct of this man, that I drew 
 my pistol from my belt, and, pointing it at his 
 breast, threatened to shoot him if he did not imme- 
 diately give orders to his people to furnish me with 
 the quantity of water necessary for my journey from 
 the good wells. My servant begged of me not to 
 shoot ; took the sheikh's son aside, and whispered 
 to him, that I was not to be trusted, as I had, 
 twelve days before, shot a sheikh in Dongola for a 
 similar resistance, and that I had a perfect right, as 
 Frank, to slay any man who opposed himself to my 
 lawful demands. This ruse had the desired effect ; 
 and the man, who had been before so obstinate, 
 now humbly begged my pardon, entreated me to go 
 into his own residence, where the good water I 
 required should be sent in a very short time. This 
 was really done ; and, in addition to the supply 
 required, he presented me with a fat sheep for my 
 journey, would not receive any payment, and shewed 
 himself altogether very desirous of gratifying every 
 wisli 1 might express. 
 
 This sheikh possesses several very excellent 
 horses, broken for hunting the giraffe, and almost 
 all those beautiful animals sent to Europe and 
 America are caught by him. At the time I speak 
 of, he had twenty-four sons and daughters living. 
 
 Before undertaking a journey into Kordotan, it is 
 r-M'iilml to understand properly the characters of 
 the various nations inhabiting this count rv, to 
 Mudy their dispositions well, and treat them accord- 
 
 n 
 
98 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 ingly ; for that which is to be effected with the one 
 by rigour and intimidation, can only be obtained 
 from the other by friendly and conciliating treat- 
 ment. In the contrary case, the worst must be 
 feared. The negroes, especially, should be treated 
 with lenity and kindness ; whereas, with the Arabs 
 and Dongolavi, severity and intimidation are neces- 
 sary. In my travels, during nineteen months in the 
 various countries, I had to suffer more (consequently 
 had more experience) than those travellers who 
 hurried through the country, accompanied by a 
 military escort, a number of Ghawa'zee,* servants, 
 and others, whereas I had but one single servant, 
 and, during the latter part of my travels, was not 
 even attended by him. I was often forced to suffer 
 the greatest torments of hunger and thirst, and was, 
 for a short time, obliged to rest contented with 
 locusts and putrid camels' flesh, bread was quite 
 out of the question; I even held out once for 
 thirty-six hours without water. As far as my eye 
 could reach, I saw nothing but sand and sky, not a 
 worm even enlivened the dismal scene ; the skeletons 
 of men and camels lay strewn about the plains, as 
 fitting monuments of the surrounding misery ; a hot 
 wind raised the burning sand, so as to darken the 
 sun, and I expected with every step to find my grave. 
 One of our camel-drivers sank under the fatigue ; 
 and the sand of the desert which rode upon the 
 winds soon covered his bones. On my flight from 
 * Public dancing girls. TR. 
 
ii.vr.rrs AND CUSTOMS. 99 
 
 Kordolaii to Seminar, sleep, during which so many 
 cares a n<l troubles are forgotten, frequently failed 
 me ; and what did I not suffer on my return home 
 through the frightful desert, from Abouhamed to 
 Krusko, on the Nile ! I had not the means to pur- 
 chase a second camel. My solitary beast was laden 
 with my luggage and water-bags; it was, indeed, 
 overloaded, I could not, therefore, mount it, and I was 
 thus under the painful necessity of following the 
 caravan, during two tedious days on 'foot, enduring 
 a march of twenty-one hours daily on the sand, 
 under a scorching sun. Man overcomes many diffi- 
 culties, and will bear more than is generally be- 
 lieved. In eight days I reached Krusko, where I 
 met Mr. Kotschy, the naturalist ; he alone can tell 
 how worn out I was with fatigue, hunger, and 
 thirst, when I arrived at his tent, where he enter- 
 tained me during three days, for he had just arrived 
 from Grand Cairo.* I may, therefore, say that I 
 have been put to many trials, endured innumerable 
 hardships, and had many hair-breadth escapes with 
 my life. It is not very probable that a traveller, 
 furnished with a passport, would now meet with any 
 misadventure in the interior of the country, for the 
 
 * It is, of course, understood, that travellers from Cairo are fur- 
 nished with provisions of all kinds, whereas those returning from 
 the Belled-Soodan are merely provided with red lentils. A sin- 
 gular fate has brought us five times unexpectedly together, within 
 the space of five years, in three different quarters of the globe ; the 
 last time we met in a miserable village, in the Isle of Cyprus, 
 towards the end of last year. 
 
 H2 
 
100 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 government is very strict ; on the borders, on the 
 other hand, especially towards Darfour and Takale, 
 he may dread the worst ; for who would make en- 
 quiries after a single stranger, if he were robbed 
 and murdered by these nomadic tribes ? should he 
 even be missed, it would be a very extraordinary thing 
 if any one could come upon the track of a single 
 individual ; for no one native would ever betray the 
 other. It is, therefore, very essential to study well 
 the character of these people, and to avoid coming 
 into collision with them. I will mention a single 
 instance in illustration, which happened on the bor- 
 ders of the Shilluk's country, on the White Nile, 
 and nearly cost me and my servant our lives. 
 With my knowledge of the character of the people, 
 and by humouring them, and thus gaining on their 
 weak points, I was alone able to help myself out of 
 this embarrassment. I pitched my tent, namely, on 
 the shore of the Nile, and sent my servant out in 
 search of the wood requisite for our consumption 
 during the night ; for it is necessary in these re- 
 gions, when encamped in the open air on the banks 
 of the river, to keep up a fire all night long, partly 
 on account of the crocodiles, which swarm in these 
 localities and are very dangerous, partly on account 
 of the hippopotami ; for, although the latter never 
 do any injury, yet they are by no means an agree- 
 able acquaintance. Lions, moreover, and other 
 beasts of prey, might pay a very disagreeable visit 
 in the dark, and they are only to be kept at a 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 101 
 
 respectful distance by maintaining a fire throughout 
 the night. Just as my servant was about to sally 
 forth in quest of fuel, a boat, laden with wood, and 
 rowed by a negro, crossed the river, and landed 
 near my tent. My servant immediately walked up 
 to the negro, and demanded a quantity of wood, as 
 he could find none in the neighbourhood. The 
 good-tempered black instantly gave him the half of 
 his store ; but, as soon as I had turned my back, 
 my avaricious servant asked for more, which the 
 negro flatly refused ; the former, hereupon, became 
 abusive, and his opponent by no means remained 
 mute, until from words they fell to blows, and, 
 finally, began to fight in real earnest. The negro, 
 who was the better man of the two, gave my ser- 
 vant a sound beating, and did not cease, until he 
 roared out most lustily for mercy. I observed the 
 scuffle from the distance ; but, unacquainted with 
 what had transpired, and merely seeing that my ser- 
 vant was getting the worst of the affray, I took my 
 double-barrelled gun, presented it at the negro, and 
 commanded him to desist. He instantly sprang on 
 his feet, seized his spear, and threw it at me, before 
 I was even aware of his intention ; the missile, for- 
 tunately, only grazed my wide papooshes. He was 
 now disarmed, and I again presented at him. The 
 negro remained perfectly cool, and merely said: 
 M Shoot on ! I die ; and what of that !" I now saw that 
 not li ing was to be effected by intimidation, laid my 
 gun aside', and, walking up to him, enquired into all 
 
102 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 the circumstances of the case, which he faithfully 
 related. Convinced of the injustice of my servant, 
 I endeavoured to pacify the negro, and assured him 
 that I would punish the former. All my persua- 
 sion was, however, in vain ; he foamed with rage, 
 and replied, that we should both suffer for this act. 
 Seeing that he was too weak to offer battle to us 
 both, he ran away in an instant, loudly uttering his 
 war-cry of " Lu, lu, lu !"* This was an ill omen for 
 us, and put us both in no slight degree of fear. 
 Flight was out of the question, we had no chance of 
 thus escaping. I, therefore, set my wits to work to 
 devise a remedy, to avert at least the first outbreak 
 of our enemies rage. I bound my servant hand 
 and foot with a cord, and taking up the branch of a 
 tree which lay near me pretended to beat him 
 most unmercifully ; he played his part remarkably 
 well, and screamed as if he were being impaled, 
 whenever I made the slightest movement with my 
 hand ; for we already descried a crowd of natives at 
 the distance, running towards us, their lances glit- 
 tering in the evening sun, and the shouts of the 
 women, who followed in the wake of the men, 
 boded us no good ; but the nearer they approached 
 the better we played our parts ; and my servant 
 continued his screams until he was fairly out of 
 
 * Lu, lu, lu ! This cry has a triple signification. It expresses 
 joy, grief, and danger, and serves also as an encouragement in 
 battle. The intonation of these sounds determines the difference of 
 their import. It may be readily recognised when it has been fre- 
 quently heard, but cannot be described. 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 103 
 
 breath. Those of our enemies, who were nearest, 
 called out to me to desist ; and when I obeyed, my 
 servant rolled himself about in the sand like a mad- 
 man. The negro who had been the cause of the 
 whole scene now walked up to me, took my hand, 
 and said, "Have no fear, you shall not be hurt, 
 because you have acknowledged the injury your 
 servant has done me, and have punished him for it." 
 An old man now untied the cord which bound the 
 hands and feet of the culprit, and approached me, 
 to be informed of the whole affair. They proved to 
 be Bakkara.* I invited the old man and the 
 negro, of whom I have before spoken into my tent, 
 where I entertained them with coffee, and gave 
 them my pipe to smoke. Harmony was imme- 
 diately restored, and every one conciliated. They 
 asked me whence I came, and where I was travel- 
 ling to, and then the conversation turned on other 
 topics. When the night closed in, they all gradu- 
 ally retired, with the exception of five men, who 
 remained with me all night as a guard, emptied 
 several pots of merissa together, and kept up the 
 fire, thus consuming the whole of the wood which 
 had been the belli teterrima causa. When they took 
 their leave of me in the morning, they presented 
 me with a young gazelle, as provision for my fur- 
 ther journey. 
 
 I cannot sufficiently praise the kind, and even cor- 
 
 * Bakkara are a race of Arabs who occupy themselves with 
 breeding cattle. 
 
104 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 dial behaviour of the natives of Kordofan. I re- 
 ceived many proofs of kindness at their hands, and 
 I could not have expected better treatment in my 
 own country from my nearest relations. This was 
 especially the case when I had the misfortune to 
 fall sick in the desert, where I lay helpless on the 
 sands, as I was too weak to keep my seat on my 
 camel. In this state of exhaustion I was obliged to 
 remain, until I could receive assistance from the 
 neighbouring village, which was, fortunately, only 
 half an hour's march distant from the spot. A 
 good-natured inhabitant carried me home, and I 
 passed thirty days in his hut, stretched upon a bed 
 of sickness. I cannot describe the interest these 
 kind people appeared to take in my sufferings ; the 
 one vied with the other to be of service to me. 
 Some women and girls sat alternately by the side 
 of my bed, by day and night, the one keeping off 
 the flies, the other cooling me with a fan of ostrich 
 feathers, for the heat was frequently at 40 Reaumur 
 (122 Fahrenheit) in my hut, as there was no cur- 
 rent of air through it. A young and beautiful, 
 slave, Agami was her name, evinced so much sym- 
 pathy, that she frequently shed tears when she ob- 
 served my sufferings. All the medicines with which 
 I had taken the precaution to provide myself, proved 
 ineffective ; I lay in a continued fever, and was 
 already, on the fifth day, so weak that I could not 
 move, and the good women were obliged to lift me 
 on and off the bed ; for my own part, I had quite 
 
HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 105 
 
 made up my mind that my days were drawing to a 
 close. 
 
 When no amelioration was observed to take 
 place, they bound amulets round my arms, and 
 placed charms beneath my head, endeavouring in 
 this way to overcome the disease. I submitted to all 
 these proceedings in order not to avoid hurting the 
 feelings of the good people ; but as my illness still 
 continued to rage, they sent for a celebrated fortune- 
 teller from a neighbouring village, who casting her 
 shells upon the sand, prophesied that the Frank 
 would not yet die. As soon as the prophetess had 
 taken her departure, the women lifted me out of 
 bed, seated me down on a bundle of straw, with my 
 back to the door, took off my shirt, and as I was too 
 weak to sit in an upright position, held me up by 
 passing their arms under my axillae. I suddenly 
 felt a shock through my whole frame, which de- 
 prived me of breath for a few moments, for they had 
 poured a whole basket full of cold spring water over 
 my feverish body. Hundreds of others would have 
 instantly expired, but my sound constitution enabled 
 me to survive this douche. I was immediately 
 dried, returned to bed, and covered with empty sacks 
 and sheep-skins. I felt somewhat relieved and fell 
 asleep ; a refreshment I had not enjoyed for a long 
 time. On waking, the women told me that I had 
 perspired but very slightly, and that the douche 
 must !>r repeated to put me into a thorough sweat. 
 I allowed this hazardous proceeding to be repeated 
 
106 HABITS AND CUSTOMS. 
 
 because I had no other choice. The operation was 
 performed in the same manner as on the former 
 occasion, but it did not produce so violent a shock, 
 because I was prepared for it. After this bath I 
 perspired so freely that, on waking, I believed my- 
 self to be in a second bath. This proceeding, how- 
 ever, broke through the chain of morbid symptoms, 
 and I felt so much relieved, that I was able to rise 
 from my bed, and walk about for a short time in the 
 shade of the palm-trees. As soon as the rumour 
 spread in the village that I was recovering, the 
 inhabitants all flocked around to greet me, and to con- 
 gratulate me on my convalescence. A fire was lighted 
 before my hut at night, round which the people 
 danced to evince their delight at my recovery ; I 
 regaled them with merissa, and all were happy and 
 merry. My convalescence proceeded now very 
 rapidly, and I was in a short time able to resume 
 my journey; but I shall never forget the debt of 
 gratitude I owe to these good people, who, from 
 pure and disinterested charity and feeling for the 
 sufferings of a fellow creature, took so much care of 
 me whilst in this lamentable condition. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. K>7 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CHARACTER OP THE PEOPLE. 
 
 THERE exists, perhaps, no country in which the 
 inhabitants are so various, and diametrically opposed 
 to each other in character as in Kordofan ; for, after 
 half a day's journey from one district to the other, 
 the traveller is almost tempted to believe that he has 
 arrived in a different country, subject to quite a 
 different government, and professing a different 
 religion. A shade of variation in the race of the 
 people quite alters their characters. There are, 
 properly speaking, three distinct races of men 
 abruptly differing from each other in the province : 
 namely the negroes, properly so called, or Aborigines ; 
 then the Arabs or free people, to which class the 
 Bakkara belong ; and, lastly, those who have emigrat- 
 ed from Dongola. The negroes who, witli the 
 exception of many slaves, profess the faith of Islam, 
 are to be met with distributed over all the five dis- 
 tricts, and occupy themselves chiefly with agricul- 
 ture. Their wants are, therefore, fewer than those 
 of the trading population, who on their travels have 
 become acquainted with many comfort*, which have 
 
108 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 become additional necessaries imperative to them. 
 These negroes, the greater part of which are Noubas, 
 are of very amiable disposition, extremely hospitable, 
 exceedingly fond of their children, and possess 
 the most honourable feelings. In their dealings 
 they are particularly upright, and there is no fear 
 of being overreached in transacting business with 
 them ; I will even go so far as to say there is less to 
 be feared in their dwellings than in many European 
 towns which appear far more safe. They are sincere 
 friends, and assist each other in all difficulties; are 
 endowed with a strong attachment to their native 
 country; and only the most tyrannical oppression, 
 such as existed under the government of the Def- 
 turdar, could force a few villages to leave their 
 native land. When they are, however, enraged, 
 they utterly disregard life for the opportunity of 
 revenging themselves. Anger, however, is of ex- 
 ceedingly rare occurrence with their good tempers ; 
 and when a negro is observed to be carried away 
 by passion, a few kind words are only required to 
 pacify him; but harshness must by no means be 
 resorted to. It is, in fact, necessary to treat them 
 like children ; for their mental faculties are very 
 limited, and they may, indeed, be said to be on the 
 lowest scale. There is, moreover, not the slightest 
 probability of their ever making any progress in the 
 cultivation of their minds, for they manage every- 
 thing at the present day as it was done a hundred 
 years ago. Their dwellings and domestic utensils, 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 109 
 
 in short everything is the same as it was in the 
 time of their forefathers. By the manner in which 
 they perform their work, it is easy to perceive that 
 they follow the plan adopted in former centuries, 
 and the idea never enters their heads of improving 
 upon any object, or of making a new invention. 
 This apathy to all progressive improvement is the 
 more astonishing, as these negroes are for the greater 
 part agriculturists, and have fixed places of residence, 
 and consequently enjoy the opportunity of gradually 
 perfecting themselves, as many other nations have 
 done before them, who formerly stood at the same 
 low degree of civilization. Amongst these people, 
 however, civilization is in a state of permanent stag- 
 nation. A few individuals may indeed be met with 
 who can read and write a little, but that is not 
 worth mentioning, and thus everything is enveloped 
 in the densest obscurity. The climate contributes 
 in no small degree to this obtuseness of mind, and 
 it is a well-proved fact, that Europeans who have 
 passed several years in these parts suffer a diminu- 
 tion in their capacity of mind, and in time forget a 
 great part of their former acquirements. Apathy 
 and phlegma are congenital with the negroes : it is, 
 therefore, not probable that they will ever rise in 
 the scale of civilization. The west of Africa may, 
 perhaps, form an exception to this rule. 
 
 These people are very candid and confiding, when 
 they are acquainted with a person; they then 
 seldom or never make a >ecret of their actions, 
 
110 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 never, indeed, unless they believe their personal or 
 the public interest to be endangered by the commu- 
 nication. The people of a similar race in the neigh- 
 bouring countries are of the same character: an 
 observation, the slaves brought from these parts 
 afford ample opportunity of making. These slaves 
 are for the most part heathens, and this is the chief 
 reason why they, and the tribes allied to them, are 
 rather harshly treated. If, in the course of time, 
 they adopt the faith of Islam, they are at least 
 treated more like one of the family, although not 
 liberated. The fate of these unfortunate beings is, 
 on the whole, dreadful ; for deprived of the greatest 
 blessing, their liberty, they are forced to perform 
 hard labour, and indeed in fetters, in which they 
 are bound to prevent them from running away to 
 their native hills, frequently in sight of their place 
 of captivity. These fetters, unlike the irons with 
 which convicts are laden in Europe, consist of 
 rings round both ankles, kept asunder by an iron 
 bar, attached to the rings round the ankles by 
 two smaller rings. Thus the slave can make but 
 one pace at a time, and never approximate his 
 two feet. The large rings open on one side 
 sufficiently to admit the ankle, and in adjusting 
 them they are welded together with a large stone, 
 in lieu of a hammer. The slave, on these occasions, 
 is laid upon the ground, and a stone is pushed under 
 his foot to serve the purpose of an anvil. Every 
 precaution is, indeed, taken in putting on the irons, 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. Ill 
 
 but the unfortunate being feels severe pain with every 
 blow. Some few fetters may be met with furnished 
 with locks, which, however, are very rare luxuries. 
 To prevent the rings from excoriating the ankles, 
 rags are interposed between the iron and the skin. 
 If the operation of putting on the irons be attended 
 with pain, the slaves suffer infinitely more when they 
 are taken off. On the latter occasion one side of 
 the ring is firmly attached to a tree, the slave lays 
 himself down on his back, and about eight people 
 pull in the direction opposite to the tree, at a cord 
 attached to the ring, until it is sufficiently opened to 
 allow the ankle to be disengaged. A quarter of an 
 hour is sometimes spent in efforts to remove the 
 trammels. 
 
 The negroes are, generally, at the commencement 
 of their slavery, morose, and speak very little, un- 
 less spoken to. Their thoughts are continually di- 
 rected to their homes, or at work inventing all 
 manner of means of escape, for the prevention of 
 which they are bound in irons. They are all power- 
 ful men, and are put to agricultural labour, very 
 few of this race being sent to Egypt. Many of 
 them are aware that urine will, in time, corrode 
 iron, and this knowledge enables them, occasionally, 
 to succeed in gradually ridding themselves of their 
 fetters, when they, of course, immediately decamp. 
 A negro who had liberated himself in tins manner 
 told me lie had resorted to this process himself. 
 His flight, however, unfortunately tailed, for he 
 
112 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 was soon caught and brought back again. Four- 
 teen whole months were required to soften the 
 iron, before he could complete his work of break- 
 ing it through with a stone. There are many 
 slaves who do not wear irons, especially such as 
 have lived many years with one master, who has 
 become thoroughly acquainted with their character ; 
 but even these men are frequently, after many 
 years, attacked with nostalgia, and then take to 
 flight. During my residence in the country, a 
 slave, who had lived seven years in one house, where 
 he had walked about unfettered, suddenly ran away, 
 without any appreciable cause. Another captive, 
 who wore irons, volunteered to bring the deserter 
 back, if his master would allow him, henceforth, to 
 lay aside his fetters, assuring him, at the same time, 
 that he would remain his slave for life, and did not 
 wish for liberty. The master was, certainly, at 
 first, rather undecided, but ultimately ventured to 
 allow him to sally forth on this expedition, and 
 furnished him, moreover, with a camel. He re- 
 turned, in a short time, bringing the fugitive back 
 with him. The master kept his word, took the 
 fetters off, and bought him a female slave as a wife, 
 whereas the deserter was put in chains, probably 
 for life. The girls walk about at liberty, because 
 there is not so much fear of their running away. 
 They would soon be brought back, are, moreover, 
 very timid, and would be readily recognised in the 
 next village ; but they sometimes also effect their 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. I 1 U 
 
 escape, as I had myself once the opportunity of ob- 
 serving. 
 
 A slave merchant at Lobeid kept eight girls, 
 destined for Grand Cairo, together in one IIOUM, 
 and locked them up carefully in a room with- 
 out windows ; to be yet more secure, he placed his 
 an^areb at night before the door and slept there. 
 How great was his astonishment, however, in the 
 morning, to find that all the girls had disappeared 
 out of the room ! He ran about, as if mad, to all 
 liis neighbours, begging them to assist him in his 
 search ; but all endeavours to find the fugitives were 
 in vain, and the man firmly believed the Shitan* 
 had spirited them away. In making a closer inves- 
 tigation of the wall of the room, however, a light was 
 soon thrown upon the subject, for an immense hole 
 was found through which the girls had crept and 
 covered it carefully with a straw mat. It appeared 
 that they had thrown water against the wall of clay, 
 a few days before they had effected their escape, 
 and were thus enabled to make the breach with 
 facility, for these houses melt like sugar when 
 water is poured upon them. Not one of these 
 girls ever again made her appearance. 
 
 The natives of Kordofan treat their slaves with 
 much humanity ; the Turks, on the other hand, (and 
 I am sorry to say, within the last few years, two 
 Kuropeaiis also,) are guilty of the greatest cruelty, 
 and are not deterred by qualms of conscience from 
 
 * Evil Spirit TB. 
 
114 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 staining their hands with the blood of these unfor- 
 tunate beings. Thus, an Italian doctor bound a 
 rope round the neck of his slave and strangled him 
 with his own hands ; another medical man, a rene- 
 gade, castrated his slave with his own razor, for 
 some trifling offence he had been guilty of. The 
 man died of the effects of the operation. Mo- 
 hammed Bey also, the governor of Kordofan, whom 
 Mehemed Ali deposed towards the close of the year 
 1838, and not without good cause, treated his slaves 
 most barbarously, as the following fact will illus- 
 trate. A female slave belonging to his haarem 
 was guilty of some slight offence, which, however, 
 enraged him to such an extent that he ordered her 
 to be thrown into a distant well and drowned. 
 One of the servants, happening to pass the well 
 on the following day, found the girl still living, 
 reported the circumstance to the governor, and 
 asked whether he should liberate her, as the water 
 only reached her arms; the tyrant, however, felt 
 no pity for the poor wretch, and ordered the w r ell 
 to be filled up with sand, thus burying his victim 
 alive. 
 
 The Arabs, or free people, to which the Bakkara 
 and other nomadic tribes belong, differ totally from 
 the aborigines ; they breed camels and other cattle, 
 and engage but little in agricultural pursuits. The 
 largest tribes of Bakkara are, el Giomme Hababin 
 under Sheikh Abdel Machmud, Elhawasma under 
 Sheikh Moosa, el Messeria under Sheikh Labaeid, 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 115 
 
 el Nassarie, Ilababin, el Hommer, etc.; beside 
 these, the Kubbabeesh under Sheikh Sale must be 
 mentioned. These Arabs, as they call themselves, 
 are, like the negroes, black; one tribe of Bakkara, 
 (Hababin,) however, is copper-coloured, although 
 they live under the same zone and lead the same 
 kind of life. I very much doubt the tradition, 
 that all these tribes wandered out of Arabia into 
 Africa, during the great migration of nations in 
 the seventh century. I know of no tribe in all 
 Araby of black colour, and the climate of Africa 
 could not have made them as dark as they are 
 at present, even in a thousand years. If this dis- 
 coloration be the effect of climate, why have not 
 the red Bakkara, as they are here called, become 
 black ? for the copper-coloured nations more readily 
 change to black than those of white complexion. 
 Their features, moreover, bear no resemblance to 
 those 4 of the Arabs ; they are, also, unlike the 
 negroes; they have 1 not the prominent cheek-bones 
 and the thick everted lips ; their hair is rather 
 smooth than curling, and they wear a number of 
 plaits. This race is, in part, of pure blood, and 
 yet they speak very bad Arabic, whereas other 
 Arab tribes, who live at a much greater distance 
 from the parent country, as several tribes of Be- 
 douins, have preserved the native' purity of their 
 language. It is far more probable, then, that these 
 Arabs have been inhabitant* of Africa, on the borders 
 of the Red Sea and in the neighbouring deserts, 
 
 i 2 
 
116 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 since thousands of years, and that the red Bakkara, 
 as they are termed, formerly inhabited a country 
 under the tropics, for in their profiles, and in the 
 manner in which they wear their hair, they correspond 
 exactly with those figures observed on monuments in 
 Upper Egypt and Nubia. In disposition they differ 
 entirely from the negroes, for they are stupid, proud, 
 and very suspicious, despise every one who is not of 
 their caste, and endeavour, moreover, to overreach 
 every person with whom they may have dealings. 
 The traveller cannot be too well on his guard against 
 them. In concluding a bargain with them it is 
 necessary that some one be present who does not 
 belong to their tribe, or the stranger may make sure 
 of being imposed upon. The chastity of their wives 
 and daughters is very praiseworthy. 
 
 The Dongolavi, a race of people distributed, un- 
 der different denominations, over a great part of 
 Africa, are men of athletic build, on whom little 
 fat is seen, but the more muscle and sinew. They 
 have w r ell formed features, but deeply set and very 
 sparkling eyes ; their beards are weak, and they 
 mostly only wear a moustache, less frequently an 
 additional tuft on the under lip. They do not show 
 age, except they are very old and the beard has 
 become grey. They vary in colour from bronze to 
 jet black ; this difference is owing to the circum- 
 stance of their having mixed much with other na- 
 tions, and intermarried. Their language resembles 
 that of the Nuba in its etymology. The Dongolavi 
 
CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 117 
 
 are the most opulent inhabitants of Kordofan, and 
 nearly the whole of the export trade by caravan is 
 in their hands. They, also, carry on the less impor- 
 tant home trade with the negroes in the hills, with 
 whom they barter for slaves, ivory, etc. They 
 have immigrated from Dongola into Kordofan, and 
 are to be met with in other negro states, where 
 they have become residents chiefly for the sake 
 of the trade. The Dongolavi have frequently, also, 
 been obliged to fly and settle in different places, on 
 account of debt or other offences ; they are of very 
 cheerful disposition, but shun all manner of work. 
 The 1 }' arc- the greatest liars on the face of the earth, 
 for truth never proceeds from their mouths; they 
 will, indeed, rather allow themselves to be mur- 
 dered than speak the truth, especially if their in- 
 terests be concerned. In trading with them, they 
 should never be trusted with cash, which would 
 be irrecoverably lost, for they will part with their 
 wives and children rather than with money. They 
 know no gratitude, and understand merely how 
 to flatter. If a person accept anything of them, 
 he may rest assured that they will demand, at least, 
 twice as much as it is worth, on the following day. 
 Their women are very frivolous. Servants of this 
 tribe should be carefully avoided; and I advise', in- 
 deed, every Kuropeun about to travel in Kordofan 
 to hire hU servant at Cairo. 
 
118 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BAKKARA. (NOMADIC TRIBES.) 
 
 THERE are several large and small tribes of this 
 nomadic people in the country who have no fixed 
 places of residence, but change them frequently in 
 the same year. They inhabit the districts situated 
 towards the south, south-east, and south-west of 
 Lobeid. Each tribe, whether large or small, is 
 governed by its sheikh, who may be regarded 
 almost as an absolute monarch ; as all the rest of 
 the tribe, with the exception of a few under- 
 sheikhs, are totally dependent upon him, and may, 
 indeed, be considered as his serfs. They pay tri- 
 bute to Kordofan, consisting of about twelve thou- 
 sand oxen, a little gold, and a few slaves ; but the 
 contribution must generally be collected by force. 
 They are not reckoned among the other inhabitants 
 of the five districts ; but when the time for levying 
 the tribute arrives, they are hunted out, tribe by 
 tribe, and plundered. They do not cultivate agri- 
 culture, excepting on the lake of Arrat, where a 
 little rice, of an inferior quality, is grown. Their 
 occupation consists otherwise in breeding horned 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 119 
 
 cattle, and, besides herds of kine, they possess a few 
 horses and camels. The sheikhs are all wealthy, 
 and carry on a considerable trade in cattle, butter, 
 and slaves, the latter of which they steal from the 
 bordering countries. They are a very warlike and 
 depredatory race, and live in a continual state of 
 warfare, not only with their neighbours, but even 
 among themselves ; for if two Bakkara tribes meet, 
 or are merely encamped near each other, there is 
 sure to be bloodshed ; nor does the conflict ter- 
 minate until the weaker tribe succumbs, or is 
 driven away. With the commencement of the hot 
 season, they wander into distant regions, unknown 
 to the governor of Kordofan, into which he dare 
 not venture to penetrate to levy the taxes, as this 
 measure would be attended with great danger to 
 liis troops. It is, indeed, impossible for the govern- 
 ment to send a large force, as it would meet with 
 many obstacles, and a small detachment would not 
 answer the purpose, for it might be easily inter- 
 cepted, and totally cut up. Thus this people 
 enjoy exemption from all contributions during the 
 dry season. The government, however, suffers no 
 loss thereby, for it knows full well that they will, 
 in a short time, be forced to leave the safe districts 
 beyond the boundaries of Kordofan, and thus return 
 spontaneously into the hands of their oppressors. 
 There is, perhaps no people who have so many and 
 such dangerous enemies. All the' negro trilu*-. 
 without exception, persecute' the liakkara from one 
 
120 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 region to the other, oh account of the slaves they 
 have kidnapped, and endeavour, by all possible 
 means, to revenge themselves on them. The go- 
 vernment does all in its power to torment this peo- 
 ple in the most piteous manner ; and, lastly, add the 
 quarrels of the tribes among themselves. Annoy- 
 ances of this description would be sufficient in 
 themselves to force the Bakkari to change their 
 residences continually. 
 
 But their greatest plague is a little animal, called 
 Yohara* a fly which makes its appearance in 
 great numbers, in many regions in central Africa, 
 in the rainy season, and proves very destructive. 
 Its bite is harmless to man, but the more dangerous 
 to cattle, and instances are on record, in several 
 regions, of whole herds having been destroyed by 
 these vermin in a very short time. The camels, who 
 cannot defend themselves with their short tails 
 against their encroachments, and must, therefore, of 
 course perish, suffer chiefly. In Shilluk, Shabun, 
 Runga, Kulla, etc., no camels are, consequently, to 
 be met with ; these countries, therefore, can only be 
 visited in the dry season. The Djelabi are frequently 
 prevented from entering on their march home from 
 these countries betimes, and have, on these occasions, 
 lost all their camels by the sting of this fly. This 
 insect is also the chief cause of the Bakkari leaving 
 these parts of the country, which are otherwise so 
 safe for them, and so advantageous for their cattle; 
 * Johara. TR. 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 121 
 
 it forces them, in fact, to deliver themselves into 
 tlie hands of the Turks. Their habits are very sim- 
 ple, and they occupy themselves with attending to 
 the cattle, and occasionally with warlike exercises. 
 
 I passed some time among one of the Bakkara 
 tribes, on the lake of Arrat, and had ample time 
 and opportunity for making myself thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the people, and their habits and cus- 
 toms, for they kept nothing secret from me, and, 
 as they knew for certain that I was no Turk, they 
 received me with extraordinary hospitality. I 
 would, however, not advise an European to entrust 
 himself to their care, or to venture too near to their 
 encampment, without having previously secured the 
 friendship of their sheikhs ; for his life would be 
 exposed to all manner of dangers, as they do not 
 even know the word European, or Frank, as we are 
 otherwise termed, but look upon every person of 
 white colour as a Turk, consequently as their 
 enemy. But their acquaintance being ,once made, 
 the traveller may be certain of receiving the most 
 unequivocal proofs of hospitality, and may place the 
 greatest confidence in them. Their food consists of 
 meat alone, and milk ; of the latter there is such an 
 abundance among them, that they give it to their 
 horses as drink, and it seems to agree excellently 
 with them. All the horses I saw, whilst sojourning 
 among them, were of very superior breed. The 
 Bakkari eat very little bread, which is reckoned a 
 luxury, and merely enjoyed by their sheikhs. Their 
 
122 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 dwellings consist of tents covered with ox hides. 
 They pitch them in separate divisions, and then 
 enclose the whole camp, together with the space of 
 ground into which they drive the cattle, with a 
 fence of thorns. In- the centre of the encamp- 
 ment, and generally on a slight elevation, the chief 
 guard-house is situated, which is inhabited by a cer- 
 tain number of armed men, who are daily relieved. 
 The guard is armed with from three to six light 
 javelins, and shields, and the men are provided with 
 their dar'book'keh (drum), in order to be able to alarm 
 the whole camp with the slightest danger. A fire 
 is also kept up all night at this guard-house. They 
 generally dance half the night long to keep them- 
 selves awake, are always prepared for an attack, and 
 cannot easily be surprised. The women and girls 
 pass the time of the watch with their husbands, or 
 brothers, at the chief guard-house, and join in the 
 dances. Their dance differs entirely from that of 
 the other natives of Kordofan ; it is very fantastic, 
 and has really something imposing about it. A 
 large fire is frequently lighted at each of the four 
 corners of the space, where the drummers, singers, 
 and those who beat time, are located. The dancers 
 range themselves in two rows in the centre, the one 
 being formed of women, the opposite of men, armed 
 with their spears, with which they frequently strike 
 the ground, in time, during the dance. At first 
 their movements are slow, but they are soon hurried 
 away by excitement ; and the men swing their 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 123 
 
 lances with a fearful cry, as if they were about to 
 throw them at the women, who represent the 
 enemy. The latter now assume a more humble 
 deportment, and evince their submission to the 
 attacking party. This dance must be seen, in order 
 to form a proper conception of it ; and I can assure 
 my readers, that nothing can be more picturesque 
 than to see this group of dancers on a dark night, 
 the scene lighted up by four blazing fires, when the 
 stillness of the night is only interrupted by the sim- 
 ple scream of a night-bird, the distant roar of a 
 lion, or the howl of a hyaena. The expressive coun- 
 tenances of the dancers form an admirable picture, 
 which well accords with the wildness of the whole 
 scene. 
 
 The women and girls are very talkative and 
 friendly with those they know ; they all shook 
 hands with me, and made repeated enquiries about 
 my health, and frequently asked me what I wished 
 to eat or drink. Nor are they by any means shy; 
 for I even had the opportunity of being present at 
 the toilette of a sheikh's wife. The lady sat on an 
 angareb (bedstead), surrounded by a number of 
 young and beautiful negro girls, upon each of which 
 a particular duty was incumbent. The one fanned 
 away the flies with a handful of the most beautiful 
 ostrich leathers, whilst the others arranged her hair, 
 an occupation requiring several hours for its per- 
 formance; for it is no easy task to open all the 
 various matted curls with a single pointed wooden 
 
124 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 peg. A third slave washed her feet, a fourth 
 ground sulphur to a fine powder between two stones. 
 Another slave held a gourd, filled with merissa, 
 in her hand, to offer her mistress a cooling draught 
 whenever she might demand it; while another 
 girl held a cup, containing more than one pound of 
 melted butter, which was poured over the lady's 
 head as soon as the hair was undone. All . the 
 butter that dropped off her hair on to her back was 
 rubbed in over her whole body by an additional 
 attendant. In conclusion, her head was powdered 
 with the fine flower of sulphur, which was strewn by 
 handfulls over her greasy hair, where every single 
 grain remained adherent. A massive golden ring 
 was now inserted in her nostrils, and two bracelets of 
 ivory, about two inches in breadth, were put upon 
 her arms. On her forehead three pieces of amber, 
 about the size of a gold coin, were hung, and round 
 her neck, several strings of beads, formed of Bohe- 
 mian glass. A piece of cotton stuff was wound 
 round her loins, the one end of which was thrown 
 gracefully over her right shoulder, and thus the 
 toilette of this black princess was completed. She 
 now admired herself once more in the mirror, repre- 
 sented by half a gourd filled with water. It must 
 not be imagined that these women in any way 
 offend against the dictates of delicacy ; for although, 
 like the other inhabitants of this hot climate, they 
 are totally naked, with the exception of a piece of 
 cotton, or a leathern apron (rahat), round their loins. 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 125 
 
 they never transgress the rules of the most rigid 
 propriety. The women are, without exception, 
 handsome, and are treated very well by their hus- 
 bands. Their occupation consists in cooking, and 
 at tending to other domestic duties; but when the 
 men go into battle, they by no means remain idle 
 spectators, but encourage them with their shouts, 
 and assist them in every way in offering the most 
 resolute resistance. 
 
 The men attend to the cattle, and make depre- 
 datory excursions for stealing slaves, on which occa- 
 sions their few, but exceedingly beautiful and hardy 
 horses render them essential service. When a tribe 
 of Bakkara is encamped in the vicinity of the hills 
 of the negroes, the horsemen are sent out to kidnap 
 boys or girls. They have not yet had the courage 
 to carry on this business on the same extensive 
 scale as Mehemed Ali. The mode of proceeding is 
 the following: The Bakkari repair to places in 
 which it is likely that these children will congre- 
 gate, for example, in the vicinity of separate 
 droves of cattle, or to wells, where they lie in am- 
 bush, and as soon as one of the children is within 
 reach, they seize it, mount their horses, and ride 
 away with their prize at full gallop. Although the 
 scene of this robbery may be in the neighbourhood of 
 a village, or of a tribe of negroes, and it even create 
 a disturbance, yet they are certain of their prey, for 
 their fleet steeds soon carry them beyond the reach 
 of their pursuers, who, moreover, possess no hors< -. 
 
126 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 They live very contentedly among themselves, and 
 are very happy, as I was assured by one of their 
 sheikhs, who added, " We have beautiful horses, 
 handsome wives, good fare, suffer no want, and 
 might even call ourselves rich ; but our enemies, 
 who surround us on all sides, and especially the 
 flies, so dangerous to our cattle, embitter our lives ; 
 for, in order to escape the latter plague, we are 
 forced to leave the safe parts of the country. In 
 the neighbourhood of the negroes we cannot re- 
 main, as they would rise in mass against us, and 
 destroy us all, in revenge for their kidnapped chil- 
 dren ; thus we are forced to choose the least of 
 these many evils, and to deliver ourselves into the 
 hands of the Turks, who treat us with great harsh- 
 ness and cruelty, and take away by force what we 
 will not give them willingly, but ALLAH KERIM 
 (as God will)!" 
 
 The government of Kordofan treats this people, 
 indeed, with every species of cruelty ; for as soon 
 as they are necessitated to fly from the more distant 
 regions, and make their appearance in the neighbour- 
 hood of Kordofan, troops are immediately despatched 
 to demand the tribute of them. I was myself an eye- 
 witness of this scene, and saw nothing but unmerci- 
 ful extortion and barbarous brutality used, which is, 
 unfortunately, the ordinary proceeding of that go- 
 vernment. A major, with three subaltern officers, 
 and two hundred men, rank and file, of infantry, at- 
 tended by a few Bedouin horsemen, and fifty men 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 127 
 
 of irregular troops, received orders to proceed 
 from Lobeid to levy the annual tribute, consisting 
 of one thousand heads of oxen, from the nearest 
 Bakkara. The tribe, acquainted with the approach 
 of their enemies, did all in their power to entertain 
 them to the best of their means. On their arrival, 
 several oxen and sheep were daily slaughtered, me- 
 rissa was served in abundance, all kinds of amuse- 
 ments were introduced, in short, nothing was neg- 
 lected that might render the sojourn agreeable to 
 their tormentors. The officers and soldiers felt ex- 
 ceedingly comfortable with this kind of life during 
 four days, enjoyed their Keyf,* and everything went 
 off very peaceably and all were happy. On the fifth 
 day, however, the scene suddenly changed : for the 
 major had a sheikh summoned into his presence, 
 and greeting him with all the customary terms of 
 abuse, said, in a harsh tone, " Do you remember that 
 you gave me last year the w r orst and leanest cattle, 
 the greater part of which died on the road, and that 
 I had to make good the loss to Mehemed Ali from 
 my own purse ! That I may not suffer a similar loss 
 this year, I draw your attention to this circum- 
 stance, and shall immediately take care to impress 
 it also on your memory." He hereupon ordered the 
 
 * The most prevalent means, in most Mooslem countries, of 
 
 exciting what the Arabs term lt Keyf," which I cannot more 
 
 nearly translate than by the word " exhilaration," is tobacco, 
 
 whose accompaniment is usually the cup of coffee. Lanes Mo- 
 
 / /t/j'ti<i/ l $ t vol. ii., ch. 2., p. 35-6. TR. 
 
128 THE BAKKARA. 
 
 sheikh to lay himself on the ground. Entreaties, 
 prayers, and promises, were all in vain. Two cor- 
 porals seized the condemned man, threw him for- 
 cibly to the ground, and stood in readiness to inflict 
 the punishment the major might think fit to order, 
 with the whips of hippopotamus' hide they held in 
 their hands. The delinquent again endeavoured to 
 conciliate the major with entreaties, and, begging 
 for mercy, assured him that he would not only give 
 him very good cattle this time, but, moreover, make 
 him a present, as a compensation for the loss he 
 had sustained the preceding year. This was what the 
 extortioner wanted ; but to intimidate the sheikh 
 the more, and to force him to increase his liberality, 
 he pretended to be inflexible ; at last, however, he 
 allowed the supplicant to rise, and go home to fetch 
 the promised presents. The sheikh hastened im- 
 mediately to fulfil his promise, and brought the 
 major four large nose-rings of massive gold, and two 
 slaves for each officer. Thus harmony was once 
 more restored ; the number of oxen required, and, 
 indeed, from the best herd, were selected, and the 
 march was ordered back to Lobeid. 
 
 On every occasion of levying tribute, the com- 
 manding officer, after having collected the govern- 
 ment dues, allows himself all kinds of cruelties and 
 oppressive means to extort a present for himself 
 and his men. A sheikh of the Bakkara told me, 
 and the soldiers subsequently corroborated his state- 
 ment, that two years ago a major, who had already 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 
 
 collected the tribute from a small Bakkara tribe, 
 and had besides received considerable presents for 
 himself and his officers, not contented with the 
 booty, resorted to a singularly cruel plan for forcing 
 them to greater liberality. 
 
 A sergeant, who was in the secret, feigning 
 drunkenness, went into a tent in which the sheikh's 
 wives were kept, and there conducted himself with 
 ^<> much impropriety, that the women ordered him 
 to leave the place. He refused to obey ; and seized 
 upon a woman, who, not knowing how to free her- 
 self from his importunities, began to scream. On 
 hearing the cry, several Bakkara, who happened to 
 be near, entered the tent, and one of them, witness- 
 ing the sergeant's indecorous behaviour, dealt him a 
 blow. This was what the soldier expected; he im- 
 mediately made a great noise, ushered himself in- 
 stantly into the presence of the commanding officer, 
 and complained that a Bakkara had dared to strike 
 one of Mehemed Ali's soldiers. For this offence, 
 the commanding officer demanded a most enor- 
 mous tine, and ordered his troops to take pos- 
 session of all the sheikh's women and girls, and to 
 keep them as hostages. The sheikh himself wu> 
 now summoned, and told to bring instantly an addi- 
 tion of two hundred oxen, as a compensation for the 
 offence ottered to a soldier in the service of the 
 government. To give additional weight to the-e 
 orders, and to intimidate the chief the more, the 
 barbarian had one of the sheikh's wives and two of 
 
 K 
 
130 THE BAR KARA. 
 
 his female slaves hewn to pieces by a corporal, in 
 his presence, informing him, At the same time, that 
 a similar fate awaited all /his wives and female 
 slaves, if the two hundred dxen demanded were not 
 instantly forthcoming. The sheikh, terrified to 
 the utmost by these proceedings, promised to satisfy 
 their demands, and in a few hours the number of 
 oxen required were delivered to the extortioner. 
 The cattle was of course shared by those who were 
 privy to the secret. 
 
 As the delivery of cattle to Egypt is at present 
 put an end to by order of the Viceroy, the Bakkara 
 have no longer to suffer these torments ; but they 
 are, no doubt, tortured in some other way. The 
 southern provinces, as Dongola, Sennaar, and Kordo- 
 fan, have, for several years past, been forced to 
 tender twelve thousand oxen annually for Egypt 
 alone ; eight or nine thousand heads being the 
 stipulated portion required from Kordofan. More 
 than one half of these animals perished on the 
 road on account of the bad management with which 
 the transport was conducted, and thus the govern- 
 ment suffered a great loss. Sheds where grass or 
 chaff was kept for the transport were, indeed, 
 erected between Deppa and Cairo, at a distance of 
 each day's march ; but these shunes, as they are 
 here termed, were under very bad direction ; for the 
 inspectors sold the greater part of the forage, and 
 thus the cattle were but sparingly fed, and the ex- 
 hausted beasts were deprived of the opportunity of 
 
NOMADIC TRIBES. 131 
 
 recruiting their strength. A second error was also 
 prevalent, namely, that of not allowing tired or sick 
 beasts to rest on the road, for they were driven on 
 with the rest of the drove until they dropped. 
 Thus by bad management one half the cattle was 
 annually lost, although they might easily have been 
 preserved by more careful treatment, and would 
 have been of invaluable assistance to the northern 
 part of Egypt, where the consumption of beasts is 
 considerable. 
 
132 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 THIS small nomadic tribe inhabits the country to 
 the east of the Bahr Abiad (White Nile), and allied 
 tribes are to be met with in the province of Don- 
 gola. They differ somewhat in their habits from the 
 Bakkara, remain stationary throughout the year in 
 Kordofan, merely changing their pastures frequently. 
 They scarcely follow any agricultural pursuits, and 
 breed but very little cattle. Their actual occupa- 
 tion consists merely in effecting the transports which 
 the government sends to Dongola and Sennaar, and 
 in supplying the caravans of the Djelabi proceed- 
 ing in all directions over Africa with the camels 
 necessary for their purpose. They themselves breed 
 very few of these animals, but buy the greater 
 quantity in the country. Their accurate acquaint- 
 ance with the roads in every direction across the 
 desert is truly wonderful. They readily shape their 
 course by the heavens by day or night, know 
 exactly where they are, and can tell to a nicety the 
 exact distance from the position in which they may 
 happen to be to any other place. Their senses both 
 
THE KUBBABEESH. 133 
 
 of sight and hearing are so acute and quick, that 
 they c;m distinguish, at the greatest distance, objects 
 which an Kuropean could only see with the aid of a 
 telescope ; they can even at night-time perceive 
 camels at long distances, seldom deceiving them- 
 selves in the estimation of their numbers ; they are, 
 therefore, invaluable to the government in the 
 transport of the various products of the country, and 
 to the caravans passing through the country, in 
 general, they are almost indispensable. Their sheikhs, 
 who, I may say, are lords and masters, consider their 
 subjects as their serfs, and treat them accordingly. 
 This race of men is already much contaminated by 
 mixing with negro women. The sheikhs make a 
 considerable profit by furnishing travellers with 
 camels ; the more so as their expenses on the road 
 may be considered a mere trifle, for they find the 
 food for their camels on the road-side, and the 
 drivers receive only a little flour for bread, (which, 
 however, they do not bake daily,) or dockn, a small 
 quantity of which they boil in water and call 
 belilleh. With a small bag of these hard pills they 
 undertake the longest journeys, and will bear 
 hunger and thirst for an astonishing length of time. 
 Locusts they consider a delicacy. The head, win 
 and first joints of the hind-legs of the insect are 
 torn oil, and the body, spitted on a wooden skewer, 
 is masted over the coals. At first I could not make 
 up my mind to ta^te these insects, but two woful 
 da\N. many of which may be passed in Africa, at 
 
134 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 last compelled me to eat them. The hard pills, or 
 belilleh, were too dry for me, and would not pass 
 down my throat ; I therefore made the best of a 
 bad case, and resorted to locusts. At first, as I 
 before mentioned, I felt a slight degree of disgust, 
 and I could not relish them, but I subsequently 
 consoled myself with John the Baptist and Allah 
 Kerim. When the Kubbabeesh meet with a sick 
 camel, which the caravans are frequently obliged to 
 leave behind them, they immediately cut its throat, 
 and make a hearty meal ; the rest of the meat is 
 laden on their own camels, and eaten even when 
 covered with maggots. They use no doga in making 
 their bread, but bake it after the fashion of many of 
 the negro tribes; that is to say, they lay several 
 stones close together in form of a circle, selecting 
 pebbles, if they can find them, as the small stones 
 become more quickly heated, and light a large fire 
 upon them. As soon as the wood is consumed, they 
 remove the charcoal from the stones, and spread a 
 paste of dockn flour, of the thickness of three 
 fingers, on them, covering it carefully over with the 
 coal. The bread is baked in a very short time, or, 
 to speak more accurately, the upper and lower 
 crust is burnt whilst the paste remains unbaked in 
 the interior. They are not paid any wages, but, at 
 the feast of the great Baeram, a present is made 
 them of a piece of cotton and a dollar. 
 
 On journeys it is as well to behave with kindness 
 towards these children of the desert, for although life 
 
THE KUBBABEESH. 135 
 
 may never be endangered by them, they injure those 
 who treat them with harshness in a manner which 
 is most severely felt. Their mode of revenging 
 themselves generally consists in making an almost 
 imperceptible incision with their lances into the 
 leather bags containing the water, which is thus 
 wasted, and does not last over the expected time. 
 They call themselves sultans of the desert, and the 
 stranger is indeed entirely at their mercy, for 
 they can themselves bear thirst well for one 
 day or longer, but travellers are dreadfully tor- 
 tured by this proceeding; hence it is much better 
 not to injure these poor people in any way, 
 as they are by no means officious, but readily 
 perform all the services required of them for a 
 mere trifle. 
 
 Merchandize and goods entrusted to them are 
 well taken care of, for their sheikh, with whom an 
 agreement touching the delivery of the goods is 
 made, is answerable for their safe arrival. Any- 
 thing that may be stolen by his people, or de- 
 stroyed through their neglect, he is forced to make 
 good ; he consequently only receives one half of the 
 stipulated payment in advance. On my journey to 
 Kordoian 1 met with seventeen camel-loads of gum 
 and hide's, near the ravine of Semmeria, which the 
 Kubbabeesh, for some reason with which 1 am not 
 acquainted, left lying in the road, having them- 
 elTOfi decamped with their camels. Neither the 
 gum nor the hides had sullered an\ damage, and 
 
136 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 the whole cargo was subsequently safely delivered 
 at Dongola. The Divan of Lobeid, however, made 
 a demand of thirty thousand piasters as an indemni- 
 fication for the loss said to be sustained by the 
 damage done to the goods. The sheikh was forced 
 to pay this sum to the very farthing, although the 
 goods had not cost the government more than about 
 one thousand piasters ; for the government pays one 
 ox-hide with three piasters, and a cantaro of gum 
 with fifteen piasters. The government, moreover, 
 had not even lost anything in interest for the capital 
 laid out, as the occurrence took place during the 
 dry season. But this is the system pursued by this 
 tyrannical administration for extorting money from 
 this tribe, which is otherwise not highly taxed, and 
 thus it again deprives them of their hard-earned 
 wages, a pittance literally gained by the sweat of 
 their brow, as their pay is always most narrowly 
 calculated ; and so much is, moreover, deducted from 
 the sum agreed upon, that barely enough remains 
 to keep them from starving. 
 
 It has been proved, by accurate calculation, 
 that the Kubbabeesh must make considerable sums 
 by the thousands of camel-loads which the go- 
 vernment and the many Djelabi, transport, espe- 
 cially as their own expenses are but trifling. In 
 order, therefore, to lessen these profits, as far as this 
 is possible, for the benefit of their employers, all 
 manner of ruses and subterfuges are resorted to, to 
 enable the government to sue the sheikhs for a 
 
THE KUBBABEESH. 137 
 
 compensation for damage sustained. The gum is 
 forwarded immediately after it has been collected 
 from the trees, when four cantari constitute a 
 camel-load. The distance from Kordofan to Don- 
 gola, is twenty days' journey. Wind and heat will 
 dry gum, and it of course decreases in bulk and 
 weight ; much is, moreover, lost on the road, in 
 consequence of the slovenly manner in which it 
 is packed. Arrived at Dongola, it is left several 
 days lying in the sun before it is weighed, the 
 natural consequence of this exposure is, that each 
 load suffers a considerable reduction in weight. 
 All this loss the sheikh has to make good, and in 
 (.'fleeting the arrangement, the gum is calculated 
 at the price at which the government sells it in 
 Alexandria to the Europeans ; thus the sheikh fre- 
 q neatly only receives a quarter of the sum agreed 
 upon for the freight, and not even this pittance in 
 ready money, for he is finally compelled to accept 
 cotton-stuff, manufactured at Dongola, in lieu of 
 payment, taking the piece sold by the government 
 in the same place for twelve piasters, at a value of 
 twenty piasters. Goaded to the utmost by oppres- 
 sions of tli is description, the subjects of a small 
 sheikh determined, in the year 1838, to leave Kor- 
 dofan, and settle in Darfour. The poor people, 
 however, gained nothing by this movement, but tell, 
 as the proverb has it, out of the frying-pan into the 
 tire; for on their arrival at Darfour, where they 
 intended to place themselves under the protection 
 
138 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 of the Sultan Mohammed Fadel, he seized nearly 
 all their camels, with the exception only of some 
 few beasts, laden with bread and water, and had 
 the emigrants hunted over the borders, thus they 
 were forced to deliver themselves again into the 
 hands of their former tormentors in Kordofan. 
 When Mehemed Ali, on his last journey, heard 
 this, he summoned, on his arrival at Khartoom, 
 Sale, the great sheikh of the Kubbabeesh, into his 
 presence, and flattered him in every possible man- 
 ner, in order to win him over ; he even did him the 
 extraordinary honour of allowing him to sit on his 
 right hand, and after having convinced himself of 
 the injustice under which his people groaned, pro- 
 mised to take the measures necessary for their 
 relief. The Viceroy immediately raised the rate of 
 freightage of a camel-load from forty-five to eighty 
 piasters, and thus Sheikh Sale was conciliated. On 
 the same occasion, Mehemed Ali asked the chief 
 the reason why he, so young a man, had already a 
 grey beard ? This question he impressively answered 
 by saying, " Your Turks are the cause of my beard 
 turning grey ; for they oppress and torment me in 
 every ^possible way, and make me grow old before 
 my time !" Mehemed Ali consoled him, and took 
 leave of him with that flattering language so pecu- 
 liar to him on these occasions. The government, in 
 fact, well understands the necessity of keeping on 
 good terms with these good people ; for the services 
 they perform are invaluable, and nothing is, more- 
 
THE KUBBABEESII. 131) 
 
 <vcr, to be effected by force with this tribe; for if 
 they had the slightest idea that coercive measures 
 were to be employed against them, they would soon 
 disappear out of Kordofan. To emigrate into Dar- 
 four would certainly be too hazardous an experi- 
 ment ; to the south and south-east the murderous 
 fly, so destructive to the camels, is to be met with, 
 and helps materially to compel them to remain in 
 the country. Notwithstanding these impediments, 
 however, they know very well how to secure them- 
 selves when force is employed against them, for 
 the following facts were related to me by an officer, 
 who was himself an eye-witness of the affair. The 
 government was about to expedite several hundred 
 camel-loads of goods, and sent couriers to the Kub- 
 babeesh with orders to furnish the necessary quan- 
 tity of camels, and bring them to Lobeid ; the lat- 
 ter, however, refused to obey. A considerable 
 military detachment was now sent to force them to 
 submission, but the government was very much 
 deceived in its expectations of the result; for the 
 Kubbabeesh, acquainted with their intentions, col- 
 lected all their camels, and fled to the desert, where 
 it was impossible to overtake them. They ahvay> 
 kept half a day's march in advance of the troops, 
 could even frequently be descried at a distance, 
 but all attempts to overtake them were in vain ; 
 for, thoroughly acquainted with all the roads and 
 various localities, they were enabled easily to de- 
 ceive their pursuers, and thus to eflect their escape. 
 
140 THE KUBBABEESH. 
 
 Arrived on the third day at a spring, they watered 
 their camels, supplied themselves with the quantity 
 of water they required, filled up the well, and con- 
 tinued their march. The soldiers, in their turn, 
 arriving with their camels at the well, found it 
 destroyed, and were forced, for want of water, to 
 return, and give up the chase of the victorious 
 Kubbabeesh. Thus the government was obliged to 
 wait patiently until they returned of their own 
 accord. 
 
 Their dress consists of a piece of cotton-stuff 
 which they wind round their bodies, and very few 
 of them only wear shirts. Their heads are un- 
 covered, but on journeys they wear a sheep or goat- 
 skin, after the fashion of the leathern apron of the 
 miners of Germany, to enable them to sit down, a 
 position which would otherwise be impracticable, 
 considering the burning heat of the sand. They 
 always carry a few spears and a shield. Foreigners 
 visiting these countries cannot travel more economi- 
 cally than by engaging the Kubbabeesh ; in Dongola, 
 the Dongolas indeed keep camels, but I advise 
 every one to give the preference to the former, 
 for although the government pays eighty piasters 
 from Lobeid to Debba, or Dolip, on the Nile, (in the 
 province of Dongola,) whereas the Djelabi only pay 
 sixty piasters, sometimes even only forty-five, for 
 the same distance, and thirty piasters from Lobeid 
 to Khartoom, the Kubbabeesh always give the prefe- 
 
THE KUBBABEESII. 141 
 
 mice to an engagement with the latter because the 
 payment, although less, is effected in ready money, 
 whereas the government make great deductions, 
 and force them moreover to accept of goods in lieu 
 of cash. 
 
142 DAR-IIAMMER. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DAR-HAMMER. 
 
 THIS people immigrated several years ago from 
 Darfour into Kordofan ; a large branch of the same 
 tribe, however, is yet to be found in the former 
 country. Their occupation consists in rearing ca- 
 mels and in agriculture. They are possessed of the 
 finest " ships of the desert " in Kordofan ; they do not, 
 however, undertake transports like the Kubbabeesh, 
 but merely trade in these animals, which they sell 
 to the Djelabi, Kubbabeesh, and neighbouring 
 tribes. They are obliged to furnish the government 
 with the quantity of camels necessary for the slave- 
 hunts or other grand expeditions, and to bring them 
 to Cairo. They also form the guard of the borders 
 towards Darfour, several thousands of men armed 
 with shield and spear, and in part with large dou- 
 ble-edged swords being always in readiness to pre- 
 vent an invasion from that quarter. No incursion 
 has ever yet taken place, but many a depredatory 
 excursion has been undertaken by the Dar-Ham- 
 mer themselves into the neighbouring villages of 
 
DAR-IIAMMER. 143 
 
 Darfour; and the Egyptian government not only 
 tolerates these marauding invasions, but lends the 
 Dar- 1 1 an nner every possible assistance, furnishing 
 them even with a few Bedouin horsemen on these 
 occasions. These expeditions are, in fact, virtually 
 undertaken for the government, for the number of 
 camels they demand as tribute from the tribe is too 
 great for the sheikh to be able to furnish, and he is 
 therefore forced to steal the deficiency in Darfour. 
 
 When the sheikh, a few years ago, complained at 
 the divan in Lobeid, that it was not in his power to 
 return the number of animals required of him, and 
 that he must make an incursion into Darfour for the 
 purpose of stealing camels to be able to satisfy their 
 claims ; they not only approved of the measure, but 
 agreed to assist the sheikh in the execution of this 
 useful project by lending him a number of Bedouin 
 horsemen. Thus, if there be a lack of camels, an 
 incursion is made without further question into the 
 nearest villages, to steal them. It is only astonish- 
 ing that Darfour puts up with this depredation with- 
 out making any reprisals. 
 
 The residence of the sheikh of the Dar-Hammer 
 is situated at a distance of twelve hours' march from 
 Lobeid. I made his acquaintance in the town, and 
 subsequently paid him a visit at his quarters. He 
 received me most hospitably, and I had the oppor- 
 tunity of being present at a divan which lie held in 
 liis spacious tukkoli. The sheikh's seat \\as on an 
 aii ( uarel) opposite the door, and by his side sat one 
 
144 DAR-HAMMER. 
 
 of his four wives ; he changes them, indeed, daily, 
 and the great lady must honour the divan with her 
 presence. By his side lay his sword of justice, with 
 a massive silver hilt and silver head of the size of a 
 hen's egg. The plaintiffs and defendants had arran- 
 ged themselves in the form of a half circle on the 
 floor. A large earthen pot filled with merissa was 
 placed at the feet of the chief's wife, from which 
 she offered both parties frequently a cup during the 
 transaction of the business. But this was done with 
 a certain degree of ceremony, in order to prove that 
 the sheikh, as arbitrator, knew no partiality, and 
 that both parties were, in fact, equal in his eyes. 
 The decision of the arbitrator is always short and 
 decisive ; is regarded as peremptory, and strictly 
 acted upon, for these good people go upon the 
 principle that their head can never be deceived. 
 
 The Dar-hammer do not differ in their domestic 
 habits from the other inhabitants of Kordofan, and 
 are on the whole one of the most amiable class of 
 people in this province. They make a noise with 
 their tongues to express " yes or no," like the other 
 natives of Kordofan ; and this sound must have been 
 frequently heard before it is possible to distinguish 
 between the negative and affirmative tone. 
 
 During my whole residence in Kordofan I never 
 heard of their having ill-treated or robbed any 
 stranger, much less of their having committed 
 murder ; always excepting their excursions into 
 Darfour, which they do not regard as wrong, as they 
 
DAR-IIAMMER. 1 }.") 
 
 are undertaken with the sanction or, more properly 
 speaking, at the command of the government. 
 
 The chief sheikh, a very handsome man, is only 
 to be distinguished from the rest of his tribe by his 
 silver hilted sword. He is generally beloved by his 
 subjects, and all his orders are executed with a 
 punctuality on which but few governments can 
 pride themselves. When out of doors he is always 
 mounted, and his horse might have been the boa-t 
 of the stud of an European court ; for during all my 
 travels I never saw a more beautiful animal, or one 
 of such pure breed. 
 
 The Dar-Hammer are very hospitable, and it re- 
 quires but little trouble to win the affection of these 
 simple children of nature, for they know but few 
 wants, and are always satisfied witli a trifle. The 
 women are not handsome, but of very amiable dis- 
 position ; they attend to the household affairs, and 
 to the children, and occupy their leisure hours, of 
 which there are certainly many, with their simple 
 adornment. Their dress resembles that of the 
 other tribes ; not even their sheikh wears a cover- 
 iiii>- to his head, nor do they indeed require it, for 
 their bushy hair is so thick that the rays of the sun 
 could not easily penetrate through it. 
 
 It is an axiom that where there is no water 
 neither man nor animals can live. A great tract of 
 the Dar-Hammer forms, however, an exception to* 
 this rule. This appears indeed incredible, but it k 
 nevertheless true; for when the rain-water which 
 
 L 
 
146 DAR-HAMMER. 
 
 collects in the small ponds, called by the Dar-Ham- 
 mer Fula, has evaporated, not a drop of drinkable 
 water is, commonly speaking, to be found in the 
 various districts they inhabit during three months 
 of the year ; and there are no wells or cisterns in 
 the country, with the exception of the Nedjer wells. 
 The villages, therefore, situated at a distance from 
 these springs, are obliged to send their women, 
 children, old and infirm men, their goats, sheep, and 
 part of their camels, to the above-mentioned wells, 
 and to Ketshmar, during three months of the year. 
 Only the men, and a few camels, remain behind. 
 To furnish a substitute for water they resort to the 
 following plan : they cultivate large fields of water- 
 melons, which ripen about the time at which the 
 scarcity of water begins to be felt. The ripe fruit 
 is daily gathered, and the juice expressed is not 
 drunk, but used for merissa, or boiling the assida 
 and woika : they escape one inconvenience which 
 would result from a lack of water elsewhere, for they 
 have no linen to wash, and those who wear so luxu- 
 rious an article of dress as a shirt never wash it, 
 even when there is abundance of water. The camels 
 remaining with them receive two fresh melon husks 
 daily. This allowance supplies them with the 
 quantity of fluid necessary for them, and they do 
 not suffer in the slightest degree from thirst ; for, as 
 a rule, camels are only watered every two or three 
 days 
 
TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN. 147 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKALB, 
 ETC. 
 
 ON the borders of the province of Kordofan pro- 
 perly so called, towards the south-east, live the Shil- 
 luk, and the Denky, or Jenky, as they are also termed; 
 the latter inhabit the eastern shore of the White 
 Nile. The country of the Shilluk occupies a very 
 large tract of land extending considerably into the 
 interior towards the west of the White River. Both 
 tribes, the Shilluk as well as the Denky, seem to be 
 one and the same people, as far as their outward ap- 
 pearance, their build, habits and customs are concern- 
 ed, but their language differs. The sultans of the 
 Shilluk were formerly very potent: even Sennaar, the 
 realms of which extended to the borders of Dongola, 
 they had conquered ; and the latter country wa* 
 governed by one of the sultan's family as late as the 
 year 1821, when it was rendered tributary to 
 Mehemed Ali by the superior force of the Egyptian 
 troops. The son of the last king of Sennaar is at 
 present living in a miserable village. Mehemed 
 
148 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 All, with peculiar consideration, has made him 
 magistrate of this village, where he lives in very 
 straitened circumstances. The Shilluks and Denky 
 are easily distinguished from among a concourse 
 of other nations, for they have oblong heads, and 
 are more especially known by the want of the 
 four lower incisor teeth, which are extracted when 
 they are ten or twelve years of age, a kind of re- 
 ligious ceremony, as I was told, similar to that of 
 circumcision or baptism. They are of muscular 
 build, and very merry, but are not much prized as 
 slaves, and are indeed always at a lower price than 
 other captives in Kordofan and Sennaar. The chief 
 reason of this discrepancy is that they are stupid, 
 lazy, and childish, and cannot be confidently en- 
 trusted with any duty. They are to be seen run- 
 ning about all day long, or engaged in games which 
 could only please children. They are very treacher- 
 ous, and can never be left to themselves, but must, 
 in fact, always be placed under the inspection of 
 other slaves. Those only w r ho leave home at a very 
 early age form the exception to this rule. With 
 such deficiences they are, consequently, only used for 
 the very lowest class of labour, and treated not 
 much better than beasts of burden. Mehemed Ali, 
 who formed his first regiment of foot entirely of 
 negroes, has latterly given orders not to enlist any 
 more recruits from this tribe ; he found, indeed, 
 that their services were not only of no avail, but 
 that their excessive stupidity was likely to lead to 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 149 
 
 ulterior consequences ; for there have been instances 
 known of soldiers from this tribe whilst on duty, giv- 
 ing their musket without hesitation, and the charge 
 into the bargain, to any casual passer-by who hap- 
 pened to offer them a small present for it. In fact, 
 the officers were always obliged to keep these men 
 under strict inspection, for they were never to be 
 trusted alone. 
 
 In many books of travels and geography the 
 Shilluks are described as cannibals, but this report 
 is erroneous, and all intelligence which I have 
 been able to collect from the Djelabi on this point 
 agrees in proving this assertion to be utterly false, 
 for they have never even heard the slightest 
 rumour corroborative of this absurd report. On 
 my flight from Kordofan, I heard on my arrival at 
 Tara, on the White River, that an European was 
 residing at the chief town of the Shilluk, with a 
 strong escort, to catch eight hippopotami for Me- 
 hemed Ali, and to prepare their skins, to stuff 
 them, in fact, as specimens for a museum. I im- 
 mediately set out on my journey from Tara, 
 and after a long march of two tedious days on a 
 camel, reached the scene of action, where I cer- 
 tainly found the hippopotamus hunters ; but the 
 Kuropean, whose name was Bartolo, lia<l left a few 
 davs before my arrival, for Kliartoom, on the east- 
 ern shore. During my sojourn among the Shil- 
 luks, I assisted at a hippopotamus limit ; five had 
 been already killed, hut they were so carelessly 
 
150 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 dissected, that I felt sure they would not keep for 
 any length of time ; in fact, they very soon spoiled, 
 and are now lying quite useless at Cairo. On this 
 occasion, I had an opportunity of becoming more 
 intimately acquainted with the Shilluks, as far in 
 fact as my residence among them would permit it. 
 I found that they are in their own country, quite 
 as idle as they are in captivity abroad; they may 
 be seen loitering about, but never by any chance at 
 work. During the hot season they do not sleep 
 in their huts, but in the open air, old and young 
 congregating together like a herd of cattle. The 
 Shilluks walk about in a state of complete nu- 
 dity, and only when they are married cover their 
 loins with a strip of cotton-stuff. The majority of 
 them wear merely a piece of calico of the size 
 of a hand to cover their nakedness. Their women 
 are very ill-used. The cause of this ill-treatment 
 is, generally, superstition : thus, if the husband whilst 
 hunting miss his aim with his spear, or tread a 
 thorn into his foot, his wife must bear the blame ; 
 he accuses her of having at the moment of his dis- 
 aster, been unfaithful, and there is no help for her, 
 she must undergo chastisement. If the adultery be 
 proved, and a complaint be made to the Sheikh, 
 she receives three strokes on the head with a 
 crooked stick, one in the centre arid one at either 
 side of the head, such unmerciful blows indeed, 
 that the blood instantly gushes forth. These 
 punishments are of very frequent occurrence, for 
 
SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 151 
 
 adultery is not uncommon among the Shilluks. * 
 
 * * * # 
 
 The products they obtain from the ground may 
 be regarded as a mere nothing. They cultivate as 
 much dokn as they believe sufficient to last from 
 one harvest to the next. On the possibility of a 
 failure of the harvest, they never bestow a thought, 
 nor do they pay any consideration to other contin- 
 gencies, by laying in stores. Their cattle is said 
 to be numerous in some few places, but is reared 
 without the slightest care or attendance. They 
 have no salt in their own country, and are obliged, 
 therefore, to obtain it from Sennaar or Kordofan; 
 but the greater portion of the inhabitants have 
 never tasted this condiment. All other necessaries, 
 which they might produce with little trouble them- 
 selves, they obtain by barter from their neigh- 
 bours, giving articles in exchange which nature 
 brings forth without the assistance of art. This 
 tribe is, taken all in all, the very ne plies ultra of 
 idleness and stupidity, and they differ but imma- 
 terially from animals. They are consequently not 
 as dangerous to travellers as other tribes, who are 
 always on the alert for prey, and but few robbers 
 by profession live among their hills; the other 
 Shi links, moreover, always warn the Djelabi travel- 
 ling through their country not to approach the in- 
 
 Maxima mihi etiam apud hoc nigrorum genus general ionis 
 orguna ubservandi fuit occasio. 
 
152 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 fested neighbourhoods. Their chief wealth consists 
 in ivory, which they likewise obtain in certain 
 parts of their dominions without the slightest 
 trouble. They arrange the teeth in rows, forming 
 a fence round their huts, and barter them away 
 to the Djelabi when they come into their parts. 
 There are many elephants in the country wan- 
 dering about in herds of several hundreds each ; 
 they are, however, met with singly, during the 
 greater portion of the year. It is only at a certain 
 period generally before the rain sets in that they 
 collect together in herds, and then they cross the 
 White Nile in the direction of Fazoglo. An old 
 female elephant is always the leader, and deter- 
 mines on the spot for crossing the stream. This 
 movement is effected with a fearful noise, as may be 
 easily imagined when so large a number of these mov- 
 ing mountains are known to be swimming in the river 
 at the same time. They draw up a quantity of 
 water in their proboscis, and spurt it forth again 
 like a fountain, thus appearing to convert a large 
 extent of the water in which they carry on their 
 pranks into a sort of whirlpool. Notwithstanding 
 their immense weight they swim with incredible 
 facility, and I have been assured that when these 
 animals cross the river singly, the water remains 
 frequently undisturbed, so that the unwieldy mass 
 appears to be moved by some invisible power. 
 Whilst on their journey, the emigrants observe 
 the strictest order ; their leader, a female, turns 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 153 
 
 frequently round and misus a cry if an elephant 
 stray, to recall him to the ranks again. A herd 
 frequently takes its route directly through a vil- 
 lage, without doing the slightest injury to the huts, 
 or to the inhabitants ; singly they never do any harm. 
 Several of these elephants always remain behind 
 their companions ; for they feel a presentiment of 
 their approaching end, and then choose a solitary 
 valley in the neighbourhood of the river, where 
 they patiently await their death, which generally 
 takes place before the large herds return from 
 their migrations. No one ever disturbs them, for 
 death generally overtakes them in a short time, and 
 then they fall a certain prey to the negroes. Hunting 
 expeditions are, indeed, occasionally instituted against 
 these animals, but only whilst they are to be met with 
 singly, and dispersed over the country ; for when 
 they have collected together in herd it would be 
 attended with great danger to attack them. Ivory 
 is the only commodity of trade in these regions. 
 
 Beside ivory, a small quantity of gold-dust is to 
 be met with, among some few of the Shilluks, and 
 yet more among the Jenky ; they fetch it from the 
 mountains of the Blue River, but these simple 
 people do not know its real value, and trouble 
 themselves very little about looking after it. The 
 Djelabi transact the most business with them. The 
 present Sultan of the Shilluks is named Denap ; 
 his wealth OMM>IS in elephants' tusks. I was told 
 bv several Djelabi that there exited an animal in 
 
154 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 the country of the Shilluks, totally unknown in 
 Kordofan and Sennaar. The natives call it denk ; 
 it is said to be rather larger than a rat, of an ash- 
 grey colour, and to resemble a monkey in shape; 
 the fore and hind paws, they say, are like the hands 
 and feet of man ; the tail is very short. This ani- 
 mal feeds on gum, climbs the trees, but cannot 
 jump from branch to branch like the monkey. 
 There are no camels in the country, on account of 
 that destructive fly called here Yohara. 
 
 At a distance of about twenty or thirty hours' 
 march southward and to the south-east of Lobeid, the 
 free negroes live, who are in part tributary to Kor- 
 dofan ; the tribute, however, is always levied by force 
 from these tribes. They resemble each other per- 
 fectly in stature and features, but converse in different 
 languages thus, in one day's march, many different 
 dialects and languages may be heard spoken : it 
 would appear, however, that the language of the 
 Takale, Kodero, and Schabun are of the same root. 
 The largest tribe with which I am acquainted calls 
 itself Nuba, and occupies a large extent of the 
 mountainous tract. The Nuba are republicans, and 
 recognise no superior authority beyond their parti- 
 cular sheikh, who, however, plays a passive part only, 
 for his jurisdiction does not extend beyond the con- 
 fines of one village. Even one of these chiefs, if 
 obnoxious to the greater number, is immediately 
 deprived of his dignity, and superseded by another 
 sheikh, elected by a majority of votes. It is for this 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 155 
 
 same reason, that a magistrate of this description dare 
 not enforce his decisions : thus the opinion of the 
 multitude prevails. It has frequently happened that 
 a sheikh, who had acquired authority among this 
 tribe by his personal advantages, or by his wealth, 
 has at last had the intention of usurping the au- 
 thority of sultan or monarch of all the Nuba ; but 
 this attempt has never yet succeeded, for the unfor- 
 tunate usurper was immediately put to death as soon 
 as the Nuba negroes had the slightest suspicion of 
 this project. Their sheikhs, therefore, are mere 
 ciphers, only to be tolerated as long as they do not 
 interfere with the freedom and privileges of the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 All the negro tribes inhabiting the country, ex- 
 tending to about the tenth degree of latitude, are 
 easily to be distinguished from each other, some by 
 their ear-rings and nose-rings, some again by the 
 loss of the lower incisor teeth, others by a hole in 
 the under lip, into which they insert the tooth of 
 soim* animal, which adheres in the aperture ; others, 
 again, are tattooed about the face. These negroes 
 have all perfectly woolly hair, which covers the head 
 but sparingly ; thick everted lips, and small com- 
 pressed noses. Many of them are less black than 
 the negroes inhabiting the southern regions, have 
 not the high projecting cheek-bones, and are, on an - 
 average, a well-made race of men. The girls have 
 fine hi-ea^N, convex from below upwards, and supe- 
 riorly rather c<>nca\<-. 
 
156 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 These Nuba reside in villages, which they build 
 chiefly in the most inaccessible parts of the moun- 
 tains, and put in the best possible state of defence. 
 Their dwellings are made of straw, hedged in with 
 thorns, and some of the houses are built of stone. I 
 must, however, observe, that those tribes which are 
 under monarchic government live more peaceably 
 than the republicans, who frequently go to war for 
 trifles, when the stronger tribes make prisoners of 
 the weaker, and sell them as slaves. 
 
 The climate of these districts is far more healthy 
 than that of Kordofan. The dress of the natives is 
 very simple. Only the grown-up people wear a 
 piece of cotton stuff; the majority wear only a strip 
 about as broad as the hand, passing a cord round 
 their hips, with which they fasten it to the abdo- 
 men and back. In addition to this simple hip-cloth, 
 they decorate themselves with ear-rings of brass or 
 iron wire, and the women w T ear necklaces of Bohemian 
 and Venetian glass beads. Some of the men w r ear 
 a ribbon, about an ell in length, round their loins. * 
 This ornament costs immense patience and no less 
 trouble in its manufacture : it consists of a number 
 of small buttons of about the size of a shirt-button, 
 made of the shell of the ostrich's egg, with a perforation 
 in the centre, through which a string is passed, con- 
 necting them together. I took the trouble of count- 
 ing the single buttons of one of these ribbons in my 
 
 * Hie cinctus pudenda tegit. 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 157 
 
 possession, and found a total number of six thousand 
 eight hundred and sixty. Above and below they are 
 frequently ornamented with small iron pins and glass 
 beads. If we consider that these men possess no 
 sharp cutting instruments to facilitate their labour, 
 wo may readily understand that great patience is 
 required in the manufacture of one of these girdles. 
 On some of the hills of the Nuba mountains the 
 women dye their hair of a red colour, by reducing a 
 species of red sandstone to a fine powder, which they 
 mix with butter, and thus form a pomatum, with 
 which they anoint their curls ; it generally remains 
 for a few days adherent to the hair, and gives them 
 no very pleasing appearance. Incisions are made 
 into the cheeks, arms, breasts, and bodies of the 
 girls, by way of ornament. The household furniture 
 of the Nuba negroes is very mean ; it consists merely 
 of a few pots, for water, for merissa and for cooking; 
 and of a few drinking cups, made of gourds : the lat- 
 ter filled with water, serve the women in lieu of 
 mirrors, which the girls frequently resort to during 
 the day. 
 
 The arms of the men, which they always earn- 
 about them, and scarcely ever lay aside, are 
 a shield, spears with iron or wooden points, the 
 latter always poisoned ; a small double-edged knife ; 
 and a kind of scythe, consisting of a cutting Made, 
 which is at first straight, but then cordiform in its 
 curve, and about two feet in length. This weapon 
 they denominate a TurhatsHi. and use it in battle 
 
158 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 for warding off sabre-cuts, and throw it also at the 
 feet of the enemy in an attack. 
 
 Their favourite occupation is tobacco smoking : 
 they are, indeed, never to be met during the whole 
 day without a pipe in their mouths. The young girls 
 seldom smoke, but the old women never put their 
 pipes aside for one moment ; and when several of 
 them squat down together, and form, as in other 
 places, a clique for scandal, you might imagine your- 
 self to be in a chimney. The bowls of the tobacco- 
 pipes of these Nuba negroes are made of clay or wood, 
 and they give them a very pleasing appearance. 
 The pipe is manufactured of wood, and is of about the 
 thickness of a finger ^-into this they insert a thin iron 
 tube, three inches in length, which serves the pur- 
 pose of a mouth-piece. They grow their own to- 
 bacco it resembles that of Kordofan, has a small 
 leaf, and thick stalk. It is very probable that the 
 negroes have smoked from time immemorial, and 
 that tobacco, therefore, does not come originally 
 from America alone. 
 
 The food of the Nuba negroes is far better than 
 that of the natives of Kordofan, for on many of the 
 hills there is an abundance of oxen, goats, sheep, 
 pigs, fowls, butter, and honey. Amongst their 
 favourite dishes rats must be classed, which are consi- 
 dered a great delicacy on several of the hills. The 
 species eaten is the field rat, and has not the same dis- 
 gusting appearance as that of Europe. It is roasted 
 here on a spit in its skin, and is subsequently flayed. 
 
SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKALE, ETC. 159 
 
 Besides the above-mentioned animals, game, which 
 i- met with in abundance on their hills, serves as an 
 article of food, and they are very expert in catch- 
 ing young giraffes, ostriches, hares, and various kinds 
 of antelopes, in snares, for their own consumption. 
 Bread forms one of their chief wants, they, there- 
 fore, pay great attention to agriculture. It fre- 
 quently happens that a drought destroys the harvest, 
 or that it is eaten up by the locusts, so common in 
 these regions, or, what is more likely still, that it falls 
 a prey to the predatory Turks, when a great dearth of 
 bread, which is of the most frightful consequence, is 
 generally the result; instances are then known of 
 parents selling their children for a few handfulls of 
 dockn. I myself saw a girl whom a Djelabi had 
 bought for fifty handfulls of grain. A brother will, 
 on these occasions, sell his sister to obtain a little 
 flour, and thus to supply himself and his people with 
 bread for a few days. One Djelabi received eight 
 oxen for* a camel-load of dockn, consisting of about 
 three cantars ; and another merchant bought eight 
 children at the same price. In these calamitous 
 times, the price of a man, therefore, is equal to that 
 of a beast. It is very astonishing that a famine 
 should ever exist with the abundance of animal food 
 they possess ; but it is nevertheless certain that, dur- 
 ing scarcity of corn, these negroes will despise every 
 other food, and rather suffer every species of misery. 
 Whenever this famine exists, the consequences are 
 always very tearful ; for the Nuba negroes then sally 
 
160 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 forth in quest of prey into the neighbouring villages, 
 where they plunder and steal everything they can 
 lay their hands upon. These depredations give rise 
 to many quarrels, which always lead to a war, and 
 the conflict lasts until the weaker party is overcome, 
 when they are all sold by the conquerors as slaves. 
 
 The chief exports of the Nuba consist in gum, 
 ostrich feathers, tamarinds, honey, and slaves, with 
 all of which they carry on a trade by barter. No 
 one troubles himself about the gum since Mehemed 
 Ali has monopolized the trade, for the freight to 
 Kordofan would cost double the amount which he 
 pays for it; hence thousands of cantari of gum, 
 which might afford a maintenance to as many hun- 
 dreds of families, are annually allowed to rot. The 
 Nuba negroes do not know the value of money, and 
 always accept such goods as they reckon among 
 their wants for their commodities. The Djelabi 
 generally import cottons, brass, and iron wire, glass 
 beads, counters, &c., and exchange them for the 
 articles above specified. The barter among them- 
 selves consists in tobacco, salt, and small shells. In 
 the neighbourhood of Schabun the negroes collect 
 gold, which they find in the mountain torrents, and 
 keep in the quills of large birds of prey ; but they 
 attach no great importance to this metal, for they do 
 not know its value. The Dongolavi only, who have 
 immigrated into these regions, since time immemo- 
 rial, for the purpose of trading, and have become 
 residents there, draw considerable profit from that 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 1(11 
 
 source. This gold is met with in commerce in 
 Kordofan in quills; it is frequently preferred to 
 ready money, and is also cast into rings. It would 
 appear that the negroes at Shabun possess no fire- 
 proof crucibles to melt the metal, as is the case with 
 the other negroes and Galla tribes. The Dongolavis 
 have in several places intermarried with negro girls, 
 whence a mixed language, as I am told, has ori- 
 ginated : they, however, preserve the characteristics 
 of the father, and a Dongolavi, although born of 
 a negro mother, may be immediately recognized. 
 
 The Nuba negroes are for the most part heathens, 
 and only very few of them profess the Mahommedan 
 faith. Their ideas of religion, in general, are very 
 limited, and they observe scarcely any ceremonies of 
 worship. They believe, indeed, in a superior being, 
 but it ranks below the moon, and hence it comes 
 that the end of the lunar month is especially kept 
 holy. Many of them again imagine that the sun, 
 which produces the rain, is the superior being, be- 
 cause nothing can grow without rain. They can ac- 
 curately determine the period when the rainy season 
 will begin, and count from the commencement of 
 cadi month. They are not idolators, but are by no 
 means free from superstition, for before entering 
 upon any undertaking or business, they wait for 
 certain omina, according to which they regulate 
 their actions. If, for example, an owl perch upon 
 a house in the night and utter its melancholy 
 note, they consider it a certain sign that one of the 
 
 M 
 
162 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 inhabitants will shortly die. A raven makes a still 
 stronger impression upon these simple beings ; should 
 it, as of course frequently occurs, happen to fly into 
 a village and settle on a tree or house, the whole 
 place is then in consternation, all cheerfulness dis- 
 appears, song and music cease to be heard, and even 
 dancing is put a stop to on this woful day, for the 
 arrival of a raven is a sure sign to them, that the 
 Turks are coming to plunder them, or even to carry 
 them off as slaves. They believe firmly in ghosts. 
 On some of the hills they celebrate the anniversary 
 of their dead, and indeed, at a certain time, annu- 
 ally. A large fire is on this occasion kindled in an 
 open space, in the evening, whence every man takes a 
 burning branch in his hand as a torch, and thus the 
 procession moves first to the place of burial, and then 
 to those houses in which some person had died during 
 the preceding year. A song is now commenced in 
 honour of the dead, at the conclusion of which, they 
 toss their burning branches into the air, much after 
 the same fashion in which midsummer is celebrated 
 in certain countries of Europe.* A festival is kept 
 when the first rain falls, and again at the termina- 
 tion of the harvest. To celebrate the latter feast, 
 everything the house affords which could enliven 
 
 * A custom more especially prevalent in the Harz mountains on 
 the evening of 1st of May, the night of Walpurgis, when fires 
 are lighted on the hills, and torches tossed into the air, to drive 
 away the witches, who are supposed on this occasion to be making 
 holiday. This custom is alluded to in Goethe's Faust. TR. 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 103 
 
 the festive scene is contributed, and merissa, of 
 course, flows in abundance. Their favourite amuse- 
 in cuts are singing and dancing, every one who is in 
 any way capable of exercise, dances, both men and 
 women, and frequently even the aged and infirm, 
 join in ; no day in fact passes, on which the whole 
 population of the village do not collect in an open 
 space after sunset and pass their time in dancing. 
 The accompaniment consists in singing, in beating 
 time with their hands to the sounds of a drum, and 
 the tones of a fife are frequently also added. The 
 young girls more especially may be heard singing all 
 day long, for they never perform any office be it 
 ever so trivial, without the accompaniment of the 
 voice. As soon as the sun disappears behind the 
 hills, large fires are lighted in all the villages, and 
 dancing begins ; whilst songs are re-echoed from hill 
 to hill, producing the effect of a kind of vocal 
 response or salutation. 
 
 These Nuba are of a more amiable disposition 
 tli an might be expected of a people in a state of 
 semi-barbarity, and if they be only convinced that 
 a traveller has no intention of doing them harm, he 
 may make sure of the most hospitable reception, 
 notwithstanding the ill-treatment and oppression 
 they occasionally suffer from the neighbouring 
 Turks, which has imbued them with an almost 
 incontrovertible hatred towards all white men. 
 The slave merchants greatly contribute to keep up 
 this aversion by assuring the negroes, that all the 
 
 M 2 
 
\ 
 
 164 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 captives who fall into the hands of the white men are 
 fattened in their country for slaughter. When the 
 Djelabi have reached Kordofan and set out on 
 their journey to Cairo, they make the poor slaves 
 understand that those white men who, like the 
 Arabs and Turks, profess the true faith, do not eat 
 the flesh of the negroes; but that the Giaours, or 
 unbelievers, by which denomination they distin- 
 guish the Franks, follow that barbarous custom. 
 This will account for the circumstance of slaves so 
 frequently beginning to cry when purchased by a 
 Frank at Cairo, they are, in fact, seized with the fear 
 of being led to the shambles. A Nuba negro, who 
 spoke Arabic well, said to me once very coolly : 
 " We black men are far better than you white 
 men, for when our children come into your coun- 
 try you slaughter them; we could do the same 
 with you, but we are charitable and do not act 
 thus, therefore we are better than you." With 
 kindness every thing may be obtained from these 
 children of nature, whilst harshness and severity 
 produce the opposite effect; for as soon as they 
 perceive that force is about to be employed, they 
 become passionate and malicious and obstinate to a 
 degree, for they are children of freedom, and will 
 rather forfeit their lives than tolerate coercion. 
 In requiring a service of them it is necessary to 
 make considerate representations to them, and to 
 use the utmost caution to keep them in a good 
 humour, for in the contrary case evil consequences 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 165 
 
 are alone to be expected; they will, indeed, rather 
 suller deatli than allow themselves to be forced bv 
 ill-treatment to the performance of even the most 
 trivial office. 
 
 Polygamy is not a general custom, each man 
 takes to himself only one or two women; the 
 sheikhs alone have several wives. When a man is 
 about to lead a girl away as his wife, he treats first 
 with the father concerning the price at which he will 
 deliver her up. The amount of course varies much, 
 and depends on the youth, beauty, and other advan- 
 tageous qualifications of the chosen bride. The 
 dowry consists generally in a certain number of 
 cows, goats, or sheep, which become the personal 
 property of the newly-married woman. As soon as 
 the agreement and business transactions are settled, 
 the bridegroom proceeds, accompanied by all the 
 young men in the village, to the hut of his selected 
 wife, who is delivered by the mother and nearest 
 relations, with some simple ceremonies, to the bride- 
 groom ; and he now leads her with song, drums, and 
 fifes, into his own hut, where a feast is prepared for 
 all his guests. In conclusion there is a ball at which 
 all as>ist, and thus the marriage festivities termi- 
 nate. Tn their family circles these negroes live very 
 peaceably, and if a case ever occur that a husband 
 for any reason separate from his wife, she goes back 
 to her parents, keeps her marriage portion, and takes 
 every thing she has received from her husband away 
 with her. 
 
166 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORUOFAN, 
 
 Their agricultural pursuits are very profitable to 
 them, and require very little labour, as the soil is 
 uncommonly fertile ; hence their occupations in 
 the fields during the time of sowing and of the 
 harvest are terminated in an incredibly short space 
 of time, and they have nothing to do but to rake up 
 the weeds with the hasseiaseh, in the intermediate 
 space between the two former seasons. After the 
 first fall of rain they hasten to the fields and plant 
 the dockn; this is done in the same manner as 
 in Kordofan, and will be explained hereafter in the 
 twelfth chapter. Tobacco is largely cultivated, for 
 they are inordinately addicted to smoking. When 
 the plant has arrived at its full growth the leaves 
 are gathered and dried, and after having been sub- 
 jected to a process of damping, are formed into the 
 shape of a cake. When the negroes are about to 
 smoke they break off a piece of the size required, 
 rub it to powder between their hands, and fill their 
 pipes. Their tobacco is very potent, so that an Euro- 
 pean is, in fact, obliged to soak it in water for 
 twenty-four hours before he can use it to render it 
 more mild ; and even then he will find it too acrid, 
 and it almost amounts to an impossibility to smoke 
 two of their short pipes successively. They barter 
 away this product. The whole of their husbandry 
 is comprised in the cultivation of these two articles, 
 and in the interval between the sowing season and 
 the harvest their occupation consists merely in rear- 
 ing cattle, in hunting, and throwing spears. 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 107 
 
 The business attended with the greatest trouble 
 to them is the collection of honey, for though 
 they are in a state of nudity and totally un- 
 covered, they use no means of defence against 
 the sting of the angry bees. In taking a hive, 
 therefore, they must endeavour to drive the bees 
 away as far as this is practicable with branches of 
 trees, before they can get at their produce; but 
 notwithstanding these and other precautionary mea- 
 sures, the little animals, infuriated at the invasion 
 of their peaceful dwellings, generally beset the 
 uninvited guest in swarms, and vent the whole 
 force of their anger on him ; the intruder has no 
 alternative but to throw himself on the ground and 
 writhe in the sand, but the effects of the punish- 
 ment inflicted are always severely felt for several 
 hours afterwards. 
 
 The military exercise of the Nubas consists chiefly 
 in throwing spears, and covering the body with the 
 shield in defence. For this practice they make use 
 of the stalks of the dockn, which they throw at each 
 other with much accuracy, seldom or never missing 
 their aim ; but they are, on the other hand, so well 
 veised in the use of their shields that they ge- 
 nerally ward off the missile and receive the blow 
 on it, or rolling themselves almost into the form 
 of a ball, cover the whole body with their shields. 
 Their attacks are always attended with a fright- 
 ful noises augmented by the shrieks of the women 
 in the back ground, and follow with such rapidity 
 
1G8 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 that the party attacked has but little time for con- 
 sideration, or for placing himself on his guard. If 
 the first shock, however, be well sustained, and a 
 bold front be offered, they retreat as rapidly as they 
 advanced, and do not so soon again venture on a 
 second charge, but confine themselves to skirmish- 
 ing. Their battles amongst each other are always 
 terrific, nor do they terminate until the one or other 
 party is brought to subjection, whereupon the pri- 
 soners are all sold as slaves. But these Nuba negroes 
 have, in addition to their own tribes, two classes of 
 far more dreaded enemies, namely, the Turks and 
 the Bakkara; the former take them away by force 
 as slaves, and the latter by stratagem ; they arc', 
 therefore, continually prepared for an attack, and 
 keep up their watchfires all night long, to avoid 
 being thrown into confusion during darkness. 
 
 Their fires even are frequently a source of annoy- 
 ance and trouble to them, for as they possess no 
 means of generating this element, they must be 
 very careful never to allow it to go out. In case's 
 of this disastrous occurrence, or when engaged in 
 hunting, or in other occupations, at a great distance 
 from their villages, they resort to the following pri- 
 mitive method for striking a light. They take two 
 dry pieces of wood, in the one of which they cut a 
 hole \\ith a knife, or sharp-pointed stone, barely 
 large enough to admit the other: they then lay the 
 former on the ground, holding it firmly in that peti- 
 tion \\ith their feet, lit the second piece into the 
 
MHLIJK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 
 
 perforation, and rub the two toother witjl (>v 
 ordinary rapidity, throwing a few grains of sind 
 i-ionallv into the hole to augment the friction. 
 This is a labour demanding great exertion, and 
 two persons are always necessary for its perform- 
 ance. A handfull of dry grass, or an old piece of 
 cotton rag. i- placed beneath the wood to catch the 
 spark*, and glows as soon as the wood i< converted 
 into coal. Dried grass and sticks are now added, 
 when the combustible materials are fanned into a 
 living flame. In Kordofan the same custom prevail-. 
 If all the fires be extinguished in a small village 
 during the rainy season, the inhabitants are inde.-d 
 put to the greatest enibarras>ment. -p. -chilly wl. 
 the distance to the nearest village is great, because 
 all the grass and wood is then very wet. A Shilluk 
 told me that in his village, which was situated at a 
 distance of ten hours' march from any other in- 
 habited -pot. they wen.- once not aide to produce a 
 tin- during twenty days. The inhabitants had made 
 frequent attempts to transport a burning branch 
 from the nean-t locality, and had lighted more than 
 fifty fires in the intervening <pace, in order to bring 
 it gradually into their own village; but the sho\ 
 had, on four different occasions, frustrated their 
 endeavours when they were on the point of succeed- 
 ing. Soft wnod !- usrle^ for procuring a light, and 
 there was im hard wood in that neighbourhood. I 
 was mvsrlf mee put to a very great incmi v.-niYnr.- 
 whiNt at L obi-id for want of a Hint, for there 
 
170 TRIBES BORDERING ON KQRDOFAN, 
 
 not one to be purchased in the bazaar at any price ; 
 my servant, however, soon invented a remedy : he 
 went up to a soldier, a Shilluk of course, and 
 bought the flint of his musket, which he unscrewed 
 whilst on duty, and delivered at the high price of 
 four-pence halfpenny. 
 
 The dominions of Takele are situated at a distance 
 of about five days' journey to the south-east of Kor- 
 dofan ; they are governed by a sultan, who is an 
 absolute monarch, and has his residence at Tassin. 
 
 This sultan, and the greater part of his subjects, 
 are of the Mahommedan persuasion. In former 
 times, when Kordofan and all these realms were 
 subject to Darfour, Takele paid tribute to that go- 
 vernment, and even after Mehemed Ali had taken 
 possession of Kordofan, sword in hand, the fine 
 was annually paid, it being taken for granted that 
 the conquerors should enjoy the same rights as the 
 former administration. But when the Turks, not con- 
 tented with the tribute, subsequently sought to put 
 their golden rule of raising the taxation into prac- 
 tice, looking upon everything in the country as their 
 own property, the Sultan of Takele refused to sub- 
 mit, and opposed their claims in person with an 
 armed force. Mehemed Ali undertook three inef- 
 fective campaigns against this country, and was at 
 last obliged to give up the project, after having lost 
 more than half of the forces employed in the expe- 
 dition. Takele possesses many irregular troops, 
 which proved very galling to the Egyptians ; for they 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 171 
 
 always took the unsuspecting Turks by* surpri 
 and, after having put them to the rout, fled again 
 into their hills, where the former dare not venture 
 to pursue them. The commander-in-chief of the 
 Egyptian forces revenged himself by destroying all 
 the crops which happened to be standing at the 
 time, by fire, and thus the war terminated ; for 
 when the Turks saw that nothing was to be gained 
 by plunder they retreated, and no attack has since 
 that period been made upon Takele. 
 
 The Djelabi, from Lobeid and Bara, are allowed 
 to carry on their trade with the country without 
 interruption, as are also those of Takele with Kor- 
 dofan ; for several Dongolavi from Kordofan have 
 settled in this country, as it affords them many ad- 
 vantages. Takele is hilly in its whole extent, and 
 is said to be traversed by a chain of mountains, two 
 full days' journey in length, considered there as one 
 hill. The natives of Takele, in forming an estimate 
 of the magnitude of their dominions, generally reckon 
 by the number of hills which are inhabited; thus 
 they say that Takele has ninety-nine inhabited 
 hills, and that the Nubas have one hill more 4 , and 
 reckon one hundred; hence we may conclude that 
 Nuba is larger than Takele. These numerals, how- 
 ever, must not be taken literally, for they denote 
 every 1 Mi-ire number, if it exceed thirty, by the term 
 ninety-nine ; and say (>'.//.), instead of forty or eighty 
 sheep, ninety-nine heads of cuttle. I have unbelt' 
 met with negroes from distant part**. who*e whole 
 
172 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 knowledge of arithmetic was limited to " five," 
 named after the five fingers ; thus the thumb was 
 one, the forefinger two, the middle-finger three, and 
 so forth. A question put to men of this limited 
 knowledge, entailing -a definite number, is an affair 
 attended with great difficulty, and it is indeed im- 
 possible to obtain a satisfactory answer. 
 
 The natives of this country are far more indus- 
 trious than those of Kordofan, and pay much greater 
 attention to agriculture, and the cultivation of cot- 
 ton, than their neighbours ; they also manufacture 
 the cotton themselves into stuifs, and produce other 
 articles of commerce. They have few, but very 
 beautiful horses; and a man must be a bold as 
 well as an excellent rider to keep his seat on these 
 spirited animals, which the natives prize very highly, 
 for they will not readily part with them. In fact, 
 an opportunity only offers itself of purchasing one 
 of their horses when, in a depredatory invasion by 
 the Bakkara, or in a conflict with their neighbours, 
 a man of Takele has been killed, and his horse 
 becomes the booty of the conqueror. I believe 
 that the pedigree of these horses must be sought 
 in Darfour. These negroes hunt elephants, and 
 carry on a trade in ivory with Kordofan. In those 
 parts of the country where there are no horses 
 the elephants are caught in pits, but where the in- 
 habitants possess horses the following plan is pur- 
 sued : Two men, mounted on horseback, go hunt- 
 ing together, and generally pick out a full-sized 
 
SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 173 
 
 elephant, because the larger animals prove the more 
 profitable. When they have discovered an elephant, 
 one man rides at a distance of about a hundred paces 
 in front of him, so that he keeps in full view of the 
 beast. The other rider approaches to within a hun- 
 dred paces of the animal from behind, dismounts 
 from his horse, for he is sure that it will stand 
 quietly, stealthily approaches it from the rear, 
 and with one cut with a sharp sabre, severs the 
 back sinews of its heel-joint. Infuriated to the 
 utmost by the violent pain, and seeing the rider 
 before it, the animal rushes instantly in pursuit 
 of him, whilst the man who inflicted the wound 
 gains time to vault upon his horse, and make off. 
 The elephant cannot follow the rider far, partly 
 because the latter has the advantage of a start, 
 and the horse is, moreover, fleeter than the ele- 
 phant, partly because he is, in a certain measure, 
 lamed ; thus he ultimately treads off his foot, and 
 sinks exhausted with the loss of blood, an easy prey 
 to the huntsman. 
 
 As fire-arms are not yet known in this country, 
 the natives slay lions in the following manner: 
 They trace out the lair where one of these 4 animals 
 gem 'rally takes its noonday repose ; but the nature of 
 the ground must be such, that the tree under which 
 it sleeps is isolated, or at least somewhat distant 
 from the other trees. If the ground be advan- 
 tngrous, the negro betakes himself to the scene 
 of action four hours before mid-day, and climbs 
 
174 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 the tree opposite to that under which the animal 
 takes its nap. During this time he knows the lion 
 to be out in search of prey, and is sure that he 
 will return to indulge in his siesta when the heat 
 increases, between ten and eleven o'clock. The 
 lion does not trouble himself about the business of 
 the man on the tree, even if he should happen to 
 see him ; and his adversary remains perfectly quiet 
 till between twelve and one. The huntsman is fur- 
 nished with a sackfull of small stones, and a few 
 sharp spears. When the sand on the ground is burn- 
 ing hot, so that animals even cannot walk about, 
 the hunter begins to pelt the lion with stones, 
 always aiming at his head, and the negroes are 
 very expert marksmen. The proud king of the 
 beasts utterly disregards the first three or four 
 stones, and does not consider it even worth his 
 while to rise ; but the blows upon his head thicken- 
 ing, and being, perhaps, hit in the eye, the audacity 
 appears too great to be borne with patience, and he 
 sets up a frightful roar as a signal of revenge. 
 With one leap he is at the foot of the tree on 
 which the disturber of his rest is perched, but re- 
 ceives a lance in his body ; his roar now becomes 
 more terrific, not that the wound is so irritating to 
 him at this moment as the burning sand painful 
 to his feet, and he retires once more to his 
 lair. Another stone hits him, he becomes furious, 
 makes a second charge at the tree, and is welcomed 
 by one, two, or more spears. He now takes to 
 
SITILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 175 
 
 flight, yelling and howling with pain; but the 
 of blood soon exhausts his strength, and the hunts- 
 man, who keeps him in sight from the tree, has, in 
 a very short time, the pleasure of seeing the royal 
 beast stretch its carcase on the plains. 
 
 The inhabitants of Takele are a well made race 
 of men, and all those I met with were of very 
 pleasing countenance. Their dress is like that of 
 the other negroes, the more opulent only wearing 
 white and blue shirts. Their habits and customs 
 are said to be the same as those among the Nuba, 
 some few Mahommedans merely forming the ex- 
 ception. The sultan is reported to be an exceed- 
 ingly good man, and all those who have the honour 
 of his acquaintance speak highly in his favour; 
 he is, indeed, almost adored by his subjects, none 
 of which approach- him, otherwise than kneeling, 
 and murmuring a prayer into their hands, nor do 
 they venture to rise, or to sit down, before the 
 sultan has given them permission. The divan, in 
 which he holds his audience, is a large saloon 
 built of stone, decorated with swords, spears, and 
 other warlike trophies, eighteen, or twenty, of 
 his body-guard are always present, they sit, armed 
 with spears, cross-legged, in the centre of the 
 saloon, and form a kind of living fence. The 
 sultan proceeds every morning, with sunrise, im- 
 mediately after prayers, into the divan, hears all 
 canoes himself, and issues his decision immediately. 
 Me is fond of hunting, and of his women, three 
 
176 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 hundred of which he is said to keep in his harem, 
 a stone building, situate on the summit of a rock at 
 Tassin, very difficult of access, which has, moreover, 
 only one approach. The brother of the Sultan of 
 Takele, whom a Djelabi of my acquaintance brought 
 to my house at Lobeid, wore merely a blue shirt, 
 and sandals, and not even a Tackeyeeh* on his 
 head. 
 
 It was formerly my intention to undertake a 
 journey into Takele, as no European has ever yet 
 set foot into that country. This was the chief rea- 
 son why I sought the acquaintance of the Prince of 
 Takele, who came every year to Lobeid. He visited 
 me daily during his sojourn in the capital, gave me 
 every information respecting his country, and as- 
 sured me that his brother, the sultan, would with 
 pleasure receive me in his states, where I should 
 have nothing to fear, as it was his most ardent wish 
 to make the acquaintance of a Frank. The go- 
 vernor, and Turkish officers, however, dissuaded me 
 from my project, assuring me that I should be ex- 
 posed to all manner of dangers, as the Turks are 
 hated in Takele, and every white man, without dis- 
 tinction, is considered an Osmanlee. Hence, I was 
 necessitated to relinquish my plan, and to confine 
 myself to the information I received from this prince, 
 and the Djelabis, who had travelled in the country. 
 I have since, however, convinced myself that these 
 apprehensions, created by the officiousness of others, 
 
 * A white cap, worn beneath the Tarboosh. 
 
SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 177 
 
 were totally unfounded, and that an European might 
 visit Takele without any danger, through the inter- 
 mediation of the brother of the sultan, or a Djelabi, 
 by merely previously forwarding, through one of 
 the opportunities named, a small present to the 
 sultan, who would then send an escort to the bor- 
 ders, under which the journey might be continued 
 with safety. Above all things, however, it would 
 be necessary to make the acquaintance of one or 
 the other of the persons mentioned, that they might 
 become security that the traveller was a Frank, 
 and not a Turkish spy. The prince, above men- 
 tioned, assured me that his brother was very 
 anxious to receive an European visitor, for the 
 express object of learning something from him, 
 and, more especially, to receive instruction in 
 tactics. This offer would be very acceptable to 
 many military men ; for I am convinced that 
 the Sultan of Takele would treat an instructor of 
 this description very well, who would, moreover, 
 have the opportunity of collecting authentic infor- 
 mation respecting the country, and, probably, also 
 concerning the neighbouring states. The prince, 
 who very frequently visited me, endeavoured to 
 persuade me in every possible way to travel with 
 him to Takele; and I had already overcome all 
 fears, and was about to venture on the journey, 
 when I was forced by circumstances to alter my 
 plans. I made the chief a present of a tarboosh* 
 
 * A red cap, with a silk tassel. 
 
 \ 
 
178 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 some time before his departure, which he wore all 
 the time he passed at Lobeid ; but on the day of 
 his departure he brought it back to me, begging me 
 to keep it for him until he returned, as he dare not 
 wear it in Takele, because his brother, the sultan, 
 had none. 
 
 At the head of the irregular troops is a gene- 
 ral, or seraskeer, as the Turks call him, who is, 
 indeed, chosen by the sultan, but obliged to dis- 
 tinguish himself, in accordance with the custom 
 of the country, by some feat of bravery, to prove 
 himself worthy of the dignity of that office. This 
 feat is generally an incursion into one or the other 
 of the neighbouring states, or some other proof 
 of personal valour and intrepidity. The ordeal, 
 however, does not always turn out to the advan- 
 tage of the aspirant, for, in the year 1838, the com- 
 mander-in-chief of the troops of Takele, who was 
 already elected, fell a victim to his feat of hero- 
 ism. He crossed the borders with about a hun- 
 dred men armed with spears, and attacked the 
 nearest Bakkara tribe, and was to put his heroism 
 to the test on a Mogghrebeen who happened to 
 be present. The general, armed with a broad- 
 sword, charged the Mogghrebeen on horseback, 
 waved his sabre in the air, and thought, with one 
 single blow, to put an end to the poor native of the 
 desert ; but the latter, although on foot and armed 
 merely with a pistol, cleverly avoided the impend- 
 ing blow, and laid the valorous general prostrate 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 170 
 
 with a pistol-ball. The invading party, seeing their 
 leader slain, immediately took to flight, and the 
 Bedouins became the possessors of the horse and 
 arms of the defunct general. A slight idea may 
 thus be formed of the state of the army of Takele. 
 
 Slaves are also exported from Takele, which these 
 negroes capture in the wars with their neighbours, 
 but they themselves are, in their turn, not spared, 
 and suffer greatly, partly by the predatoiy Bakkara, 
 partly by their own countrymen, who devise all 
 manner of means to kidnap their children by force 
 or stratagem, and to sell them to the slave mer- 
 chants. I myself met with a girl, in the house 
 of an European at Cairo, who had been stolen, 
 together with her younger sister, from the paternal 
 roof, in a manner which must cause the utmost 
 astonishment at the subtlety and cunning of these 
 uncivilized children of nature. This story may also 
 serve as a proof of the manner in which these poor 
 blacks are everywhere treated. 
 
 A slave, who had been stolen in Takele, 
 bought by a Turk in Khartoom, and liberated on 
 tlu 1 death of his master, as is frequently the case, 
 returned to his home. The sheikh of the place, 
 a native of Abyssinia, who had come to settle in 
 those parts at an early age, and had adopted 
 the Afahommedan religion from love for a negro 
 girl, received this slave hospitably into his hou- . 
 and completely provided for him, for his parents 
 were dead, and he had no other relations living. 
 
 N 2 
 
180 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN, 
 
 He remained, during several months, in the sheikh's 
 house, where he ingratiated himself, by his pleasing 
 manners so much with all the inhabitants, but more 
 especially with the children, that he was not treated 
 like a stranger, but regarded as a member of the 
 family. One day he was left alone with the chil- 
 dren at home, the sheikh's wife being called 
 away to visit a sick friend in a hut that was rather 
 distant, while the sheikh himself was at work in 
 the fields. He amused the children, for some 
 time, with a variety of games, then left them for a 
 short interval, and, on his return, invited the eldest 
 daughter, a girl of eleven years of age, and her 
 sister, who was rather younger, to accompany him 
 to fetch their mother. The children, not sus- 
 pecting any harm, acceded, with delight, to his 
 proposition, and left the house in his company. 
 He immediately led them out of the village, pre- 
 tending to show them a nearer way to the hut 
 of their mother's friend. On the road, he endea- 
 voured to divert the attention of the girls, by 
 relating stories, showing them flowers, and pluck- 
 ing fruit for them, in order that they might not 
 observe that he was leading them on an unbeaten 
 track. After several hours, passed with many 
 consolatory assurances, they arrived in an open 
 country, at a forest, where several men lay hid- 
 den among the bushes, and were feeding their 
 horses. The ungrateful villain now again assured 
 the children that he would soon conduct them 
 
SIIILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 181 
 
 to their parent in the company of all these 
 in CM, and gave them some refreshments. When 
 the night closed in, more horsemen arrived, 
 and they all immediately set out on their march. 
 The robber took the two girls on his horse, the 
 youngest in front of him, and the eldest behind, 
 again protesting that he would very soon bring them 
 to their mother, who was already waiting for 
 them. The whole night through they rode in the 
 forest and to prevent the girls, who, overcome 
 with fatigue, had fallen asleep, from slipping off 
 his horse, he bound them both with a rope to his 
 body. The younger girl still believed they were 
 going to their home, but the elder began to scream 
 and cry, and complained bitterly that she knew they 
 had both been stolen and were to be sold as slaves. 
 The barbarian now changed his conduct ; he beat 
 the poor girls about the head and face, and threat- 
 cued to murder them, if they uttered another note. 
 Thus they travelled on during four nights, for by day 
 these Bakkara robbers such they proved to be 
 were obliged to hide in the woods, or other 
 desolate places, to avoid being seen and attacked by 
 the natives. At last they reached an encampment 
 of Egyptian troops. The kidnapper now led the two 
 girls to the commanding officer, and made him a 
 present of them, of course against a present of equal 
 worth. The officer, moved to pity by the tears 
 of these two children, endeavoured to pacit'v them, 
 ottered them refreshment, and asked them whence 
 thev came. 
 
182 TRIBES BORDERING ON KORDOFAN. 
 
 When they had told the Turk the name of their 
 father and their place of residence, and at the same 
 time related the manner in which this ungrateful 
 wretch had stolen them from their paternal roof, he 
 became enraged, and ordered the robber a bastinado 
 of several hundred stripes. He quieted the sobs of 
 the children, and promised to send them home again, 
 and told them their father had arrived the day before 
 in the camp, but hastened back home again, to seek 
 them elsewhere, as he had not found them there. 
 It so happened that the Egyptian officer was a 
 friend of their father's, who had done him a great 
 service some few years before. He immediately sum- 
 moned a subaltern into his presence, and put 
 the two girls under his care, with orders to take 
 them back to their father, and give him notice of 
 his arrival at the borders. The subordinate mounted 
 a camel, took charge of the girls, and delighted them 
 with the assurance that they should reach the 
 borders of Takele in two days, and that he would 
 there find some safe opportunity of sending them to 
 their parent; but how were they deceived on their 
 arrival at Khartoom, after ten days, when they ob- 
 served a town totally unknown to them, and when 
 this second robber showed himself in his true co- 
 lours ! He hastened immediately to the blue Nile, 
 and hired a boat for the remainder of his journey to 
 Cairo ; but he was here arrested and carried before 
 the governor. On being questioned whence he 
 came, and by whose authority he was escorting 
 
SHILLUK, NUBA, TAKELE, ETC. 183 
 
 these slaves, he pretended to have received orders 
 from the officer commanding the troops of the bor- 
 ders to convey the girls to Cairo. The governor 
 dei iianded a proof in writing, but the corporal pre- 
 tended to have lost his passport. This circumstance, 
 and the assertion of the twice-stolen girls, corro- 
 borating the suspicion that he had kidnapped 
 them, and deserted from the ranks, he received 
 the punishment he richly deserved. The girls were 
 now given in charge to a sergeant's wife, and told 
 they should be sent with the next transport back to 
 their father's friend, the commanding officer of the 
 Egyptian troops on the borders, who would then see 
 tli em forwarded to their parents ; but this good for- 
 tune was not their fate. The sergeant, to whose 
 care they were intrusted, happened to meet a 
 Djelabi one evening in a certain house, he waked the 
 girls out of their sleep at night, told them to pre- 
 pare for their journey home, and led them to the 
 banks of the blue Nile, where they were ferried 
 across, and immediately mounted on a camel 
 standing in readiness to receive them. Early the 
 next day they were delivered over to a second slave- 
 merchant, who sold them to a Turk at Cairo, of 
 whom the European, at whose house I met the 
 elder o-irl, had bought her. Thus we see, that a 
 hard fate attends these poor blacks everywhere, and 
 that shivery, without the possibility of escape, is 
 almost their certain lot. 
 
1 84 RELIGION. 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 THE greater part of the natives of Kordofan pro- 
 fess Islamism, but they are less fanatic than other 
 Mahommedans, probably arising from the fact, that 
 few Christians and no Jews are to be met with in 
 these southern parts, hence there is no cause for 
 religious asperity or hatred. I found, however, as a 
 rule that, with the exception of the Dongolavi, but 
 few adhere strictly to the Koran, and their ideas on 
 articles of faith are quite in their infancy; nor do they 
 trouble themselves much with the various religious 
 ceremonies, and live in a state of utter ignorance, 
 with the exception of believing in one God, and 
 sometimes calling upon their prophet for assistance. 
 There are very few Mosques in the country, and 
 these are only frequented by the Turks and Dongo- 
 lavi, who are resident there. Thus the Koran is not 
 very strictly followed, but every one lives after that 
 natural species of religion which has been impressed 
 upon his mind, through the medium of his senses of 
 sight, and hearing, under the paternal roof. Hence 
 all manner of heterogeneous opinions and ideas are 
 
RELIGION. 185 
 
 mixed-up with their faith. They believe in one 
 God, and in addition to him in an evil spirit, and 
 a great deal of heathen superstition is, moreover, 
 jumbled together with their Islamism. A promi- 
 nent cause of this ignorance is the negligence of the 
 government, which does not institute a sufficient num- 
 ber of schools, for very few of them are to be found 
 among the majority of the tribes. Only a small 
 portion of the natives can read and write, with the 
 exception of the Fakee*rs and Tekirs. It is the office 
 of these men to study the Koran, and to communi- 
 cate what they have read to the people. The former 
 are the school-masters and religious instructers : 
 they write a few sentences from the Koran on a 
 board, and make their scholars copy them. When 
 they have learnt thus much, they are considered suf- 
 ficiently instructed, leave the school, and before a 
 year is over have forgotten everything again. They 
 also write amulets, with which they frequently de- 
 ceive the people in the most shameful manner. 
 They ingratiate themselves further into the favour 
 of families, like the clergy of Italy, and when they 
 have once gained a footing, worm out the most 
 trivial secrets, interfere with all the domestic affairs, 
 and have frequently more authority in the house 
 than the master himself. Matches are concocted 
 by them, and, in fact, nothing is undertaken without 
 their advice. The functions of a Fakeer would ap- 
 pear to be hereditary, for they descend generally 
 from father to son, and are not so easily transferred 
 
186 RELIGION. 
 
 from one family to another. They also make vows, 
 for example, not to smoke for the remainder of their 
 lives, to abstain from merissa and coffee, each man 
 choosing the hardship he likes best ; in short, they 
 are the same as the Derweeshes among the Turks, but 
 with this wide difference, that they are looked upon 
 as saints. I found the greatest number of Fakeers 
 among the Dongolavi, who are also the most rigid 
 observers of the Mahommedan religion, with one 
 single exception, that they are very -fond of brandy. 
 They do not follow agricultural pursuits, but are 
 merchants, brokers, &c. They are said, as a rule, to 
 be all capable of reading and writing, and wear a 
 long string of large wooden beads round their necks. 
 The majority of them are hypocrites, and indeed it is 
 better to avoid them altogether. 
 
 The Mahommedan negroes all live in a state of 
 the most abject ignorance. Not many Fakeers are 
 to be met with among them, and, with the excep- 
 tion of circumcision, they bear in fact very few 
 signs of belonging to the Mahommedan religion. 
 They have some peculiar ideas of their own on mat- 
 ters of faith, for example, on the creation of the 
 world, and mix up a great deal of superstition with 
 the Koran, with which they are altogether but very 
 little acquainted. Thus an old negro explained to 
 me why God Almighty allowed white men, dark- 
 coloured, and black men, to live together in this 
 world. When, namely, our first parents were 
 driven out of Paradise after committing the original 
 
RELIGION. 187 
 
 sin, the Lord came down from heaven every day to 
 his orders strictly obeyed, and to convince him- 
 self that they gained their daily bread with the sweat 
 of their brow. Eve, or as the negroes call our first 
 mother, Hauve, bore daily many hundred children, 
 which she was obliged to shew to the Abou, (God the 
 Father) who sent them into all parts of the world 
 there to multiply. It happened once that Hauve 
 brought several hundred children into the world of 
 a darker colour. When Abou came and saw these, 
 he reproached Hauve, and said he would not have 
 any more of these dark babes, took them immedi- 
 ately away from her, and transplanted them into 
 the present Abyssinia. Shortly after this, Hauve 
 brought forth another lot of similar children, which 
 for fear of the Abou, she locked in an oven to 
 secrete them ; but Abou, on his arrival, had a sus- 
 picion of what had transpired, and as he did not 
 receive a satisfactory answer from Hauve respect- 
 ing the last children, hunted for them everywhere, 
 and found them eventually in the oven. When 
 they crept out of their place of confinement, they 
 were all quite black with the soot. Abou in 
 his wrath at this second offence on the part of 
 Jfauve, again took away her children, and swore 
 that they should, in commemoration of their mo- 
 ther's crime, remain for ever as black as when they 
 emerged from the oven, and that nothing in the 
 world should be capable of wiping otF the stain. 
 These children now became the original parent > >f 
 the negroo. 
 
188 RELIGION. 
 
 The Mahommedan negroes are altogether fond of 
 clothing their religion in a traditionary garb, and of 
 adulterating it with absurdities, which remain then 
 so strongly impressed upon their minds, that it is 
 almost impossible to eradicate the false notions and 
 instruct them differently. They believe firmly in 
 metempsychosis, and accord to apes the honour of 
 being animated by those human souls which, for the 
 commission of some crime during life, must suffer 
 punishment after death in the shape of monkeys. 
 They never in any way injure these animals, and 
 take care that they do not suffer from want of food. 
 If they see any person ill-treating one of them, 
 they become very wrath, and an old negro once 
 reproached me severely for punishing my monkey 
 for some offence of which it had been guilty, for, 
 added he : " Why dost thou beat thy monkey ? 
 May it not be thy grandfather, whose soul is incor- 
 porated in this animal after death ?" Elephants 
 and parrots share the same honour with apes ; 
 and they contend that the former more espe- 
 cially could not act so sensibly as they do, unless a 
 human soul dwelt within their body. 
 
 Those sheikhs or saints, so common in Egypt, 
 where they are regarded as holy, and, as it were, 
 adored, but who are virtually idiots or cunning im- 
 postors, are not tolerated in Kordofan. On the 
 contrary, unfortunate beings really neglected by 
 nature are not indeed ill-treated, but kept as se- 
 cluded as they possibly can be in their own fami- 
 
RELIGION. 189 
 
 lies, who take care that they do not so readily come 
 in contact with strangers. I only know of two in- 
 stances in the whole province of Kordofan of those 
 saints above-mentioned (Sheikhs) being worshipped, 
 as they so frequently are, by the Moslems, both 
 before and after death. The one of these died 
 several years ago, and the people from the most 
 distant parts, at the present time undertake pilgrim- 
 ages to his grave, situated at a distance of two hours' 
 march from Lobeid. They there make vows to do 
 certain things if the saint will grant them their re- 
 quest. The offerings brought to his grave consist of 
 sheep, corn, &c. ; the former are slaughtered on 
 Mondays and Thursdays, and distributed among the 
 blind beggars who assemble on these days, at the 
 tomb. The person bringing the sacrifice now offers 
 up a short prayer, and thus the vow is completed. 
 
 The second Sheikh, who is yet living at Lobeid, 
 is named Beduy: he is a pious man and anything 
 but a hypocrite, hence he is beloved and enjoys the 
 good opinion of all men. He settles disputes, and 
 gives friendly advice to all who come to ask for it, 
 knows no partiality, and in no instance receives a 
 present. He lives very simply, his food consisting 
 of nothing but Garat,* which he has ground to 
 flour, and made into bread. He only eats meat 
 once a year. I have visited him on various occa- 
 sions, conversed with him on a variety of topics. 
 
 * The pod of a tree with which the natives tan leather in Kor- 
 dofan. 
 
190 RELIGION. 
 
 and have had the opportunity of convincing my- 
 self that he is possessed of good sound sense, and 
 has correct ideas on most subjects. As far as his 
 religion is concerned, he is a rigid Mahommedan, 
 and defends his opinions and articles of faith with 
 the greatest zeal ; but I never heard him speak with 
 contempt of the Christian or of any other religion, as 
 the Derweeshes frequently do ; he merely pities those 
 who are not as fortunate as himself in belonging to 
 the true faith. In short, he is a Mahommedan mis- 
 sionary. He has made thousands of proselytes 
 among the heathen negroes, for he strolls about 
 during the greater part of the year in the moun- 
 tains, endeavouring to disseminate el Islam. lie 
 also defends his faith according to the letter of the 
 Koran, sword in hand, and has even lost a son in 
 the fight for the good cause. The Fakeers are very 
 much afraid of him, and take great care not to play 
 their pranks in his vicinity ; he also feels a thorough 
 contempt for them. 
 
 It is high time for the Missionary Societies of Eu- 
 rope to direct their attention to this part of Africa; 
 if they delay much longer it will be too late, for 
 when the negroes have once adopted the Koran, no 
 power on earth can induce them to change their 
 opinions. I have heard through several authentic 
 sources that there are but few provinces in the in- 
 terior of Africa where Mahommedanism has not 
 already begun to gain a footing. The Djelabi 
 are the people who have taken the conversion of 
 
RELIGION. 191 
 
 the negroes on themselves, and have met with par- 
 tial success; I must, however, observe, that if the 
 propaganda, or protestant missionary societies, should 
 decide upon sending missionaries into the country, 
 they ought not to settle where the Koran predomi- 
 nates, for all their trouble would be wasted, and all 
 their money spent in vain. Sennaar and Kordofan, 
 are not fit provinces for this purpose, even if they 
 intended to convert negroes from distant countries, 
 who may be there bought for a trifle, and to send 
 them back into their own country ; for the converse 
 with Mahommedans, and the acquirement of the 
 Arabic language, would be sufficient causes of them- 
 selves to frustrate their endeavours. Nuba, Kodero, 
 Shilluk, Runga, Kulla, &c. ; these are the countries 
 where something might yet be done, but " if it were 
 done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well, it were done 
 quickly," or these, and many other states, will be lost 
 to Christianity. 
 
192 DISEASES. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DISEASES. 
 
 IN all my travels I never met with any country 
 where the climate is so unhealthy, and where there 
 is such a variety of disease as in Kordofan. Every 
 one in the province, natives and strangers, more or 
 less succumb to this scourge, but the Europeans are 
 the first who fall victims. Two thirds of the white 
 men who visit these regions may be with certainty 
 regarded as sacrificed. The Turks and Egyptians or- 
 dered there in Mehemed Ali's service, dwindle down 
 perceptibly, and must be continually replaced by 
 fresh supplies. Of the sixteen European medical 
 men and apothecaries employed in Kordofan, within 
 the space of seventeen years seven have died, and 
 of eight Englishmen sent into this province to work 
 iron mines, six perished in less than two months, 
 and the remaining two only escaped with their lives 
 by making a rapid flight from this unhealthy dis- 
 trict. Captain Woodfall, an Englishman, who visit- 
 ed this country in the year 1831, fell a victim to 
 the climate. 
 
 All diseases show themselves with redoubled 
 vigour during the rainy season ; no house, no hovel 
 
DISEASES. 193 
 
 is then free from sick, and tln whole of Kordofan 
 may be regarded as one large hospital. The total 
 want of European medical men who are only to be 
 found attached to the army at Lobeid during my 
 residence in this town, there were none at all there, 
 for the only one I met with very soon died is a cir- 
 cumstance deeply to be regretted ; and it has gene- 
 rally happened that those sent into the province 
 have paid their tribute to the climate, or were soon 
 thus far disabled that they could be of no assistance 
 to other sufferers. There is, indeed, no lack of native 
 doctors, but it may be easily imagined to what sys- 
 tem of treatment a patient is subjected under their 
 hands. Add to this the favourite, "Allah kerim" 
 (as God will) of the Mahommedans, and we may 
 readily understand the reason why they never resort 
 to means for suppressing a slight indisposition un- 
 til it increases to a frightful disease. Before pa- 
 rents offer their children relief in sickness, or before 
 the children attend to their parents, they consult 
 Fakeers and writers of amulets, and the like fanatics 
 and fortune-tellers, and their advice must have 
 proved useless. 
 
 The chief diseases are fevers, dysentery, abscesses 
 about the neck (named durore\ dropsy, small-pox, 
 jiggers, skin diseases, and lues. Every resident in the 
 country is attacked with fever, and all precautionary 
 measures to avert the evil, such as a regular life, 
 etc., are generally speaking futile. I found, on 
 the contrary, that those persons who indulged in 
 
 o 
 
194 DISEASES. 
 
 ardent liquors, such as brandy, merissa, or bill-bill, re- 
 mained far more free from fever and dysentery, than 
 those who endeavoured to escape these complaints by 
 the observance of rigid diet, and other prophylactic 
 means ; for the latter were not only sooner at- 
 tacked, but sooner fell victims to these scourges. 
 I myself observed this mode of life ; but, unfortu- 
 nately, experienced the contrary to what I might 
 have expected, under similar circumstances, in Eu- 
 rope, or in any more healthy climate ; for, out of the 
 eleven months of my residence in this country, 
 there were but few weeks during which I could 
 consider myself free from fever and dysentery. All 
 the drugs, with which I had provided myself for my 
 journey, proved of no avail, until I followed the 
 advice of several old people, and drank brandy and 
 merissa, in moderation, when both diseases left me. 
 The chief causes of the two maladies named, are the 
 sudden changes of temperature, and, more espe- 
 cially, the use of water. The greater part of the 
 water is putrescent, much of it is filled with animal- 
 culae, if it be not previously boiled ; and unfortu- 
 nately for the adoption of this precaution the oppor- 
 tunity is not always at hand ; in this case it should 
 be mixed with brandy. Where these rules are not 
 observed, fever, or dysentery, are sure to be the in- 
 fallible consequence. 
 
 The methods of treatment, customary among the 
 natives of Kordofan, are various, and consist in the 
 employment of the common domestic quack-remedies 
 
DISEASES. 1 95 
 
 of Europe, in addition to the above-mentioned super- 
 stitions aids. Thus, those attacked with fever, after 
 the amulets and other mystic charms have proved 
 useless, drink, for three or four days, a cup contain- 
 ing about a pound of melted butter daily, or a large 
 (juantity of milk, in which sandal-wood has been 
 steeped during twenty-four hours. Both these 
 remedies produce a powerful alterative effect, and I 
 saw several persons cured of fever by them. For allay- 
 ing dysentery, they make use of sour milk, in which 
 dabaldia, the fruit of a tree, causing constipation, 
 has been steeped over night. The same fruit, taken 
 in small quantities, acts as a gentle purgative ; but 
 these modes of treatment are only adapted to the 
 natives, and always prove fatal to Europeans. For 
 dropsy they know of no remedy, and persons attacked 
 with this disease die, with but few exceptions. 
 
 As soon as the jiggers show themselves, the part 
 inflamed is burnt with a red-hot iron, and a small 
 opening made, when the worm immediately presents 
 itself. The treatment is now the same as that of tape- 
 worm : thus the natives seize the portion of the ani- 
 mal protruding through the opening, wind it care- 
 fully round a small piece of wood, and proceed in 
 this manner until they have gradually extracted the 
 whole. If it tear before it is entirely eradicated, 
 the disease is reproduced. When attacked with 
 small-pox, the natives rub their whole body with 
 earth, or roll in the sand, until the pustules are 
 broken, and the entire surface is covered with an 
 
 o 2 
 
196 DISEASES. 
 
 incrustation, which they allow to remain adherent 
 until the period of desiccation. A negro, who has 
 suffered from small-pox, presents a very ridiculous 
 appearance when the scabs fall off, for his body is 
 speckled with white spots, which gradually become 
 red, but resume, subsequently, the original black 
 colour,- he is, in fact, for the time being, pie-bald. 
 They suffer greatly with this disease, for they can- 
 not keep themselves warm for want of clothing, or 
 other covering, and are thus put to inconceivable 
 torture. A great number of natives fall victims to 
 this complaint, but the majority are cured. The 
 form of disease presenting itself with abscesses, 
 about the neck, named durore, is indigenous to the 
 country, and frequently shews itself during the 
 rainy season ; it is said by the natives to originate 
 in colds. In the treatment of this affection, they 
 open the abscesses with the potential cautery, and 
 when the matter is discharged, dress the wound 
 with an ointment prepared of butter and clay. 
 Syphilis was totally unknown in these regions 
 during the preceding century, and the natives have 
 only been inoculated within recent years, through 
 the intermediation of the Egyptian troops quartered 
 in the province. It may be easily imagined what 
 ravages this disease commits, as these simple peo- 
 ple, unacquainted with its nature, frequently neg- 
 lect it for a considerable time. They are certainly 
 at present rather more enlightened on the subject, 
 and resort to a few remedies, which, however, prove 
 
DISEASES. 197 
 
 of slight avail, and, during the rainy season more 
 ^specially, all endeavours to arrest its progress are 
 in vain. The disorder assumes a very obstinate 
 character in this country ; for though cured in the 
 dry season, it generally presents itself again at the 
 period of the rain, a circumstance very easily ex- 
 plained, if we consider that the cure, what with their 
 inacquaintance with the nature of the disease, and 
 defective treatment, is generally palliative, or tem- 
 porary, and never radical; hence many of these pa- 
 tients remain cripples for life. They mostly employ 
 in the treatment an earth, named traiba,* which has 
 a purgative action. The lavements are administered 
 in the following manner : They take the thigh- 
 bone of a fowl, and clearing away the marrow, 
 fasten it to a portion of the intestines of a sheep, 
 into which they pour a decoction of garra,f and then 
 insert the pipe into the anus, compressing the gut 
 until the whole of the contents pass into the abdo- 
 men. If to the want of medical men, and scarcity 
 of remedies, we add the state of uncleanliness in 
 which these people live, we may form some slight 
 idea of the sufferings they endure in sickness. It 
 is. in fact, impossible to form a conception of the 
 misery to be met with in their hovels, which arc' 
 sometimes crowded with patients; nursing and 
 
 * This earth is found near Shendy, and is said to be met with 
 in several places on the White Nile also. 
 
 t It resembles the tomato in shape and size, grows in a similar 
 manner, and has a very unpleasant taste. 
 
198 DISEASES. 
 
 all attention is out of the question ; every man is left 
 to himself, hence many of course perish, who, with 
 but slight care, might easily have been saved, but 
 Allah Kerim ! 
 
 There are no prophylactics against all these 
 diseases, and I know of no better advice to give 
 to Europeans travelling in this country than to 
 caution them against drinking new milk or water; 
 the latter they should always boil, and ought more- 
 over to be careful to keep themselves, and more 
 especially their feet, warm during the rainy season ; 
 they should further use a large quantity of pepper 
 with their food, and rather eat too little than too 
 much. In cases of dysentery, for which rice and 
 gum-water are generally prescribed in Egypt, the 
 traveller should by all means avoid these same 
 remedies, for he would only debilitate his digestive 
 organs the more. For my own part I resorted 
 latterly to the shells of the pomegranate steeped 
 for a few hours in cold water, and found this re- 
 medy very successful. It is quite a mistake to 
 imagine the use of spirituous liquors pernicious in 
 tropical climates, for I convinced myself, but unfor- 
 tunately too late, of the contrary. On my own 
 personal experience I can assert that a moderate 
 quantity of brandy (in defect of wine) or Merissa 
 taken daily is an excellent prophylactic. All those 
 natives, moreover, who possess the means of pro- 
 curing it, enjoy health, and are not so easily at- 
 tacked with fever or dysentery ; it will of course be 
 understood that every excess is hurtful. 
 
THE TROOPS. I!)!) 
 
 (I LAPTER XII. 
 
 THE TROOPS. 
 
 THE military force stationed in Kordofan consists 
 of three battalions of the first regiment of the line, 
 each battalion being composed of 1000 men, further 
 of 800 Bedouin horsemen, called also Mogghrebeen, 
 in id of about 40 artillery men to serve the few guns 
 employed in the slave-hunting expeditions ; to this 
 number about 200 men of the irregular Turkish 
 cavalry were added, in the commencement of the 
 year 1839. The latter troops were removed from 
 Dongola to Kordofan, but for an indefinite time 
 only ; they were, indeed, expecting orders shortly 
 to return to their former quarters. The staff is 
 stationed at Lobeid, and the colonel of the regi- 
 ment (the Bey) whom we have before mentioned, 
 is both civil and military governor of the province. 
 Two companies of the same regiment are quartered 
 in Seminar. This regiment was originally the HIM 
 which Meliemed Ali formed of Negroes at Assuan 
 in K.Lrvpt, and placed on European footing; linii- 
 drcd> of Kgyptians have', at various times, been 
 dratted into this corps, but they mostly fell vie- 
 
200 THE TROOPS. 
 
 tims to the climate, or perished after a few years' 
 service in the razzias or slave-hunts. The entire 
 garrison consists of blacks : it is, in fact, indispens- 
 ably necessary that it should be so ; for the white 
 men cannot accommodate themselves to the climate. 
 Among all Mehemed All's troops, numbers of 
 which I have seen in various parts of his dominions, 
 I never met with a regiment so wretchedly equipped, 
 so badly drilled, and so utterly deficient in discipline 
 as the one in question. The soldiers wear only a 
 white cotton uniform, and it would be injudicious 
 indeed to clad them in cloth in this hot climate; 
 but when we come to consider that the negroes, by 
 nature not over addicted to cleanliness, do not 
 trouble themselves with washing, and are not even 
 provided for this purpose with soap, an expense 
 they feel no inclination to defray from their own 
 purses, and add to this that they are in the habit of 
 anointing their bodies frequently with butter as a 
 means for preserving their health, a pretty correct 
 idea of a trooper of Kordofan may be formed. On 
 meeting one of these foot-soldiers without his ac- 
 coutrements a stranger is really at a loss how to 
 classify him, and before he has thoroughly accus- 
 tomed himself to the sight he would rather take 
 him for a scarecrow than a soldier.* The accou- 
 
 * The chaussure consists of shoes and sandals, but a part of 
 them appear on parade barefooted, for they are not over rigid 
 disciplinarians ;_the covering to the" head, like that of all the other 
 troops, is the turboosh a red cap, and the only article of dress 
 about them in decent preservation. 
 
THE TROOPS. 'JO I 
 
 trements, like the regimentals, are not in the very 
 best state; while the drill sergeants are as ignorant 
 as the recruits, and quite inadequate to their task, 
 with the exception that the latter have no concep- 
 tion of fire-arms ; thus muskets may be seen on 
 which Time has set his tooth in the literal sense, so 
 weak in the barrel, not with over cleaning, but 
 with over rust, that they would never stand a 
 charge. Instead of a flint a piece of wood is fre- 
 quently screwed into the lock, the- soldier finding 
 it far more judicious to sell the former to enable 
 him to buy a little tobacco. To prevent desertion as 
 far as it is possible, the government encourages the 
 soldiers in marrying ; they do not then live in bar- 
 rack, but in separate huts of their own without the 
 precincts. It must not, however, be imagined 
 that there are barracks in Kordofan like those in 
 Europe, or even in Egypt. Those at Lobeid con- 
 sist of about fifty detached huts built irregularly, 
 but surrounded with a fence of thorn ; in the latter 
 tin aperture is left, guarded with the branch of a 
 tree, which forms the gate. The interior arrange- 
 ments correspond with the external appearance ; 
 Inside the angarebs and the knapsacks of the men, 
 there is not a single article of barrack furniture to 
 be seen. There are three infantry barracks of this 
 description in Lobeid. When the men mount guard, 
 the women accompany them, or, if they happen to 
 be unmarried, some of their comrades follow, carry- 
 ing the straw mats and pipes of the detachment ; for 
 
202 THE TROOPS. 
 
 it is the first maxim among them to make their visit 
 to the guard-room as pleasant and comfortable as 
 possible. This rule extends even to the very sen- 
 try, who makes his duties as easy as he possibly 
 can ; he does not stand sentry, but sits down whilst 
 on duty, and that the musket may not inconveni- 
 ence him by its weight during this important time, 
 he lays it down at a few paces distance. If an 
 officer happen to pass by, the occurrence by no 
 means disturbs his equanimity; the sentinel at 
 the most rises, but shouldering or presenting arms 
 is a mark of respect never heard of. In relieving 
 guard they do not wait for orders or other arrange- 
 ments, but as soon as the fresh detachment arrives, 
 and the various posts have been relieved, every 
 man walks quietly home with his straw mat and 
 pipe under one arm, and his musket on the other, 
 leaving it to his superior officers to manage every 
 thing else. 
 
 Their drill and exercise is at the same low ebb as 
 their garrison and field service. The recruits are 
 drilled during a few weeks only ; they are quick of 
 conception, and with the exception of the Shilluks, 
 very soon learn, but they as readily again forget 
 what they have acquired, for they do not consider 
 it worth their while to keep themselves in practice 
 by repeated exercise. The drill is generally per- 
 formed singly, they very seldom exercise in large 
 detachments, and scarcely ever in companies. It 
 is, therefore, not astonishing, that a battalion 
 
THE TROOPS. 203 
 
 cnn not execute the most simple movement with 
 precision. I have seen the commanding-officer on a 
 field-day not even able to bring his battalion to form 
 a square ; he had, in fact, to take each separate 
 man by the arm, and lead him to the place where 
 the square was to be formed, and yet this is the 
 only manreuvre to which they are obliged to pay 
 attention, because frequently put in practice in 
 skirmishes, in warfare with their neighbours, or 
 on those barbarous expeditions of slave-hunting. 
 The intention of this quarrt is to place the troops in 
 readiness to receive their enemy, who always attacks 
 suddenly, sword in hand, because it was found by 
 experience that single detachments sent in advance 
 were literally cut up, notwithstanding the advantage 
 Mehemed Ali's regular troops enjoy in the posses- 
 sion of fire-arms. According to the present system, 
 when an attack is expected, the troops form a 
 quarre", and prepare to receive cavalry ; sometimes 
 the square is hollow, and all non-combatants, ammu- 
 nition, and baggage, and frequently also the cavalry, 
 are enclosed within its precincts. When the first 
 shock has been sustained, and the enemy retreats in 
 disorder, they deploy and pursue. The nature of the 
 attack of the negroes has therefore induced the 
 officers to have this manoeuvre principally practised. 
 Of other movements, such as advancing in column, 
 marching in sections, wheeling to the right or left, 
 forming detachments, defiling, or other nece*sirv 
 niaiiirnvres. he tlu-v ever so simple, these soldiers 
 
204 THE TROOPS. 
 
 have no conception, and should it ever enter the 
 head of the inspector at a review to order one of 
 them, it is executed with so much confusion, 
 that the officer commanding has the greatest trou- 
 ble in re-forming his battalion from the confused 
 chaos. It is incredible how soon they forget every 
 thing, for this regiment formerly had an excellent 
 French preceptor, as lately even as the middle of 
 the year 1837, at which period he was obliged to 
 leave the country on account of ill health. The 
 troops learn to shoot well ; it is not, however, to be 
 wondered at, considering the wretched state of their 
 muskets, if the best shot frequently miss his aim. 
 Ball practice, so essential a branch of service, is but 
 rarely resorted to, and in this country, indeed, the 
 soldier is treated more like a policeman than a mili- 
 tary man, for his services are required for enforcing 
 the payment of taxes, the arrest of prisoners, and for 
 other duties generally devolving upon the consta- 
 bulary. 
 
 It would, moreover, prove a very dangerous expe- 
 riment to trouble the troops much with exercising 
 and other matters of duty, and would be attended with 
 an incurrence of the very worst of hazards. An officer 
 dare not even venture to enforce his orders with the 
 common rigidity of discipline ; they would not only 
 not be obeyed, but the officer'offending in this man- 
 ner must expect the worst. With kindness every 
 thing may be effected with these semi-barbarians, 
 whilst with harshness nothing is to be done; and to 
 
THE TROOPS. 205 
 
 obtain obedience to an order in which their service** 
 are required, it is necessary either to rouse their am- 
 bition, or to persuade them by soft words. There is, 
 therefore, a wide difference between these negro 
 soldiers and the Egyptian troops. The latter, ac- 
 customed from infancy to be driven with a stick to 
 their duties, cringe before an officer, like a worm 
 upon the ground, in presentiment of the punishment 
 they are to undergo ; whereas the negro who has 
 been reared in liberty boldly faces his superior, 
 whilst awaiting his command. When he has re- 
 ceived his orders, provided his sense of dignity or 
 freedom be not impeached, the officer may rely upon 
 their being punctually executed. But woe betide 
 the martinet who should venture to force a soldier 
 by harsh words or ill-treatment to the performance 
 of his duty! His life would be endangered from 
 that moment, and a revolt amongst the whole troops 
 might prove of the most serious consequence, as has 
 already been the case. The Turkish officers are 
 well aware of this, and are very careful not to say 
 or do anything that might irritate the negro soldiers. 
 
 The pay is the same as that of all other Egyptian 
 troops, namely, twenty paras (two-pence) per diem, 
 and a ration consisting of bread, meat, and butter in 
 abundance 1 ; but for their actual pay they have to 
 wait frequently a whole twelvemonth, and their 
 arrears are then liquidated with slaves or camels. 
 
 It frequently happens on these occasions that a son 
 receives his father or his brother instead of payment. 
 
206 THE TROOPS. 
 
 It might be imagined that this would be considered 
 a fortunate occurrence by both parties, and that the 
 slave would, as a natural consequence, be liberated ; 
 but this is by no means the case, for the soldier has 
 usually incurred a debt on his arrears, and in the 
 distribution of pay two troopers very often become 
 co-proprietors of one full-grown slave. Thus little 
 regard can be paid to filial or fraternal affection ; 
 the soldier can only delay the sale of his father or 
 brother for a few days, but it must eventually take 
 place. Officers themselves have told me, that these 
 scenes are of frequent occurrence, and that it would 
 move the heart of the most unfeeling man to pity, 
 to behold a son or brother concluding the bargain 
 with the Djelabi for his near relative, when they 
 are forced to part for ever. 
 
 The soldiers' boys receive pay from the day of 
 their birth, and having attained their eleventh year, 
 are drafted into the ranks as drummers or pipers ; 
 when they subsequently increase in strength they 
 advance to the musket. On the whole, a military 
 anarchy may be almost said to reign predominant ; 
 and it is indeed an arduous undertaking for the 
 colonel to keep order among these undisciplined 
 troops. Their present commander, however, appears 
 to be better fitted to the task, and also to have the 
 design of paying greater attention to the subject ; 
 for he insists upon a more rigid discipline, but will 
 tolerate no ill-treatment ; and I am convinced that 
 he is most likely to succeed in bringing about an 
 
THE TROOPS. 207 
 
 improved subordination, as everything may be ex- 
 pected from the negroes by stimulating their 
 ambition. 
 
 The Bedouins, those children of the desrrt, 
 enticed by vain promises from their native plain-. 
 to them still dear, though neglected by nature, are 
 to be pitied indeed; for they have but slight hopes 
 of ever being able to return to their homes ; receive 
 a miserable pay after waiting for it for a long time, 
 like the rest of the troops ; and are expected to find 
 themselves in clothing, horses, and accoutrements 
 out of their own pockets. Their sheikh must supply 
 all deficiencies, and if a man lose his horse is forced 
 to procure him another, whilst the Bedouin has to 
 resign all claims on pay, until the sum the new 
 animal cost is defrayed ; and thus it often happens 
 that the poor fellow must serve during three or five 
 years gratuitously. The government allows no com- 
 pensation, even if the horse be killed on actual 
 service. It will now be understood what kind of 
 services may be expected from these men. Although 
 they are not deficient in personal valour, in cases 
 where it is required, and are certainly equal to the 
 rest of the troops in courage and bravery, if they do 
 not surpass them; yet they never confidently inert 
 the enemy, as a natural consequence of this absurd 
 system, for they are always thinking of their hordes. 
 on these occasions, and often take to flight at the 
 most decisive moment, to avoid sustaining a loflB. 
 It has frequently even happened on slave-limit- 
 
208 THE TROOPS. 
 
 in which service they are generally employed, that 
 the van-guard, on being surprised by the enemy, 
 has turned to the right about in disorderly flight, 
 and thrown the infantry, by which it was to be 
 supported, into confusion ; so that the latter were 
 obliged to retreat in all haste, and to form again, in 
 order to stand the charge of the pursuing enemy. 
 If the government were to treat the Mogghrebeen 
 like the rest of the cavalry, and when they had lost a 
 horse in service, were to provide them with another, 
 or at least to allow some proper indemnification, they 
 would prove a far more efficient body of men. This 
 corps is, moreover, not treated as it deserves ; for if 
 one of them happen to be on the sick list he is not 
 even admitted into the infirmary. Certainly, as far as 
 my experience bears me out, they are far better off in 
 this respect than those who have the misfortune to 
 be received into the hospital at Lobeid, whilst under 
 the direction of medical men who have pursued the 
 whole course of their studies from beginning to end 
 at Abusabel.* There is more discontent among 
 these Bedouins or Mogghrebeen, as they are also 
 termed, (although they constitute the less number 
 of the body,) than in any other corps. The greater 
 part of them are quartered at Lobeid, the rest are 
 distributed over the country, where they perform a 
 species of gens d'armes duty. The circumstance of 
 
 * Situated at a distance of four hours' march from Cairo. This 
 school was subsequently removed to Cairo at the advice of Prince 
 Piickler-Muskau. 
 
THE TROOPS. 209 
 
 their being used by the government as catchpolls, 
 and the excess of which they are frequently guilty 
 in their ill-humour and discontent, render them 
 obnoxious to the natives, and they themselves take 
 no pains to heal the breach or to remove this ill 
 impression. They are of robust constitution, and 
 can defy the climate and all weather. An in- 
 stance presenting the opportunity of convincing 
 myself of their capability of bearing more than 
 ordinary men came under my own observation. 
 It appears, indeed, an adventure a la Munch- 
 hausen, but I can vouch for the truth, for I was 
 not the only person present at the time, but seve- 
 ral thousands witnessed the feat : The governor 
 held a review of all the troops prior to a march, the 
 occasion was a slave-hunt. After inspecting the 
 Mogghrebeen, he commanded them to dismount ; in 
 the confusion attending this movement, a horse broke 
 loose and ran away. Some of the men pursued it 
 on horseback, whilst others endeavoured to catch it 
 on foot : and thus it happened that a Bedouin who 
 tried to stop the animal came in collision with it, 
 his forehead, indeed, striking the front of the 
 horse. Both man and beast instantly fell, the horse 
 dead on the spot, but the man survived the shock 
 for several days. 
 
 Their arms consist of a long gun, two pistols, and 
 a sabre ; their colours are a green silk flag, which 
 they regard as sacred, and two kettle-drums at- 
 tached to the saddle-bow of the drummers are 
 
 P 
 
210 THE TROOPS. 
 
 beaten on a march by way of music, which is, of 
 course, very monotonous. These troops are irregu- 
 lars, and their attacks are always made with im- 
 petuosity, and in the greatest disorder. Hence 
 the first moment is decisive, whether they shall 
 keep the ground, or seek their safety in a precipi- 
 tate flight. 
 
 The third detachment of troops, stationed in Kor- 
 dofan, consists of about forty men of artillery. I 
 have been present at their ball practice, and have, 
 therefore, had the opportunity of convincing myself 
 of their performances. Of fifty balls scarcely one 
 hit the target, and even the successful shot must be. 
 ascribed to perfect chance, for the men have not 
 the slightest conception of charging or pointing 
 their guns. The pieces of ordnance are in a most 
 lamentable condition ; the carriages, warped by the 
 excessive heat, give no firmness to their bearings, 
 and the officers and men have no idea of remedying 
 the defect. Repair is totally out of the question, 
 and thus these field-pieces are dragged about from 
 place to place, as long as it is possible, when their 
 services are required, charged, pointed at hazard at 
 the object against which they are employed, and 
 fired without further consideration. The effect of 
 their balls may be easily guessed ; during the first 
 slave-hunts, when they attacked a hill, several shots 
 were generally fired at an object without one ball 
 ever taking effect. The negroes were, indeed, 
 alarmed at the terrible report, and even put to the 
 
THE TROOPS. 211 
 
 rout ; but they soon became accustomed to the 
 noise, and, subsequently, paid but little attention to 
 it, when they perceived no other effect than noise 
 and smoke. The artillery men are all Turks, and 
 when they are enlisted at Cairo no one questions 
 what their prior occupation consisted in ; it is, in 
 fact, all the same whether they were shoemakers or 
 tailors by trade, they are enrolled as artillery, and 
 must, henceforth, act in that capacity. 
 
 The military, in general, have a great deal to 
 suffer, for, besides being hated by the people, as 
 the executioners of the cruel punishments to which 
 the poor natives are frequently condemned by the 
 government, they do not lead the most agreeable 
 life themselves, inasmuch as they are only paid once 
 a-year. They are obliged to serve for the term of 
 their natural lives, and are nothing but slaves in the 
 strictest sense of the word. If a man fall sick, 
 he is, indeed, admitted into the hospital, but this 
 is a perfect place of horror to the soldier, for, 
 as soon as he enters the infirmary, he may make 
 his will and prepare for his latter end, so few are 
 fortunate enough to escape with their lives. It 
 would really be more humane to allow the soldiers 
 to cure themselves after their own fashion ; and 
 I am convinced that the majority of those literally 
 murdered by the doctors and apothecaries from 
 si i cor ignorance, would be yet living to put them 
 to the blush. Before I was aware of the frightful 
 mortality in thr hospitals, I expressed my sorrow 
 
212 THE TROOPS. 
 
 for the poor Mogghrebeen who are refused ad- 
 mission, and severely censured the government for 
 its cruelty ; but I subsequently convinced myself 
 that they have every reason to think themselves 
 fortunate in not being received into those houses 
 of slaughter. I procured, indeed, the bills of 
 mortality of the regiment, and that of the corps 
 of Mogghrebeen, compared the number of deaths 
 amongst the three thousand troops of the line and 
 the number of patients in the hospital, with those of 
 the eight hundred men, Bedouins, who receive no 
 medical relief, but cure themselves by domestic 
 remedies, and found a result of twenty-seven per 
 cent, of deaths among those killed in the hospital 
 above the rate of mortality of the Mogghre- 
 been, who are left entirely to themselves. The 
 Egyptian doctors and apothecaries, scarcely escaped 
 from the elementary schools and placed on their 
 own footing, treat the sick soldiers like cattle, 
 never dream of diagnosis, prescribe whatever enters 
 their heads, and care very little whether they save 
 a man's life or murder him. 
 
 The hospital consists of a few hovels of clay, 
 covered with a straw roofing ; they are ill-venti- 
 lated, and, in the wet season, the rain beats in 
 upon the sick soldiers through the narrow windows, 
 as they are not furnished with glass ; the cold 
 nights, moreover, prove very severe trials, espe- 
 cially to those who are suffering from small-pox. 
 The invalid lies on an angareb, and is left to his 
 
THE TROOPS. 213 
 
 late. The medical man hurries through the whole 
 hospital in one single visit, which he pays after 
 sunrise, prescribes what he has been reading up 
 for the occasion at home, without inquiring into 
 the disease, and every order is given on the prin- 
 ciple of "Allah kerim !" I have several times 
 had the opportunity of convincing myself of the 
 unparalleled neglect with which the hospital pa- 
 tients are treated, for, on my arrival at Lobeid, 
 I found but one European medical man, Dr. Iken, 
 a native of Hanover, who was too ill to do duty, 
 and shortly afterwards died. It is a common 
 saying, that an apothecary is no physician, and, 
 vice versa ; but we know by experience that 
 there are many apothecaries who are suffici- 
 ently well educated to be able to prescribe a 
 remedy in cases of urgent necessity ; we may, 
 however, form an idea of the want of medical 
 knowledge of an Arabian apothecary, when the 
 doctor of medicine is himself ignorant, and we 
 may also guess what the poor patients who fall 
 into their hands have to expect or suffer between 
 them. In Europe, the sick soldier is desirous of 
 being admitted into the hospital, because he N 
 convinced that he will there receive speedy and 
 certain relief. In Lobeid, the contrary is ol>>erve<l. 
 for the invalided men are obliged to be <1 ragged 
 to the infirmary by force, because they stand in so 
 much awe of this terrible place, that every <li>- 
 ease increases a^ soon a^ they know that they 
 
214 THE TROOPS. 
 
 are to enter the establishment ; and thus the 
 greater number keep their sufferings secret as long 
 as they possibly can. The apothecary who per- 
 formed the duty of the medical man in the infir- 
 mary paid his visit once daily, and, on his arrival 
 there, it depended, properly speaking, on the nurses 
 what medicines the patients should take. Of these 
 subordinate functionaries, even, there was a great 
 deficiency, for, as fast as they arrived from Cairo, 
 they were taken off their duties and employed 
 by the doctor and apothecary in private practice ; 
 for by these means they were enabled to earn more 
 than their pay, for which they always had to wait 
 twelve months. This extensive apothecary, who 
 acted in the capacity of pharmaceutist and me- 
 dical man, usually commenced a categorical con- 
 versation with the nurse, without seeing any one 
 of the patients ; the following dialogue took place 
 during one of my visits to the establishment. 
 
 Apothecary. " How is No. 1 ?" 
 
 Nurse. " He is still feverish." 
 
 ApotJi. " It cannot be helped, for I have not 
 had a drachm of quinine for several months past, 
 and I have no other febrifuge ; he will get better 
 in time without physic. How is No. 2 ?" 
 
 Nurse. " He died last night." 
 
 Apotk. " And is No. 3 no better ?" 
 
 Nurse. " He wants nothing further, for in two 
 or three days he will be dead." 
 How is No. 7?" 
 
THE TROOPS. 215 
 
 Nurse. " I don't understand his complaint. The 
 patients tell me he has not been able to sleep for 
 the last four nights ; he has no appetite, and is 
 continually vomiting." 
 
 Apoth. (Making up some tincture of opium, 
 which he gives to the nurse.} " There, that is to 
 make him sleep. I know nothing about the other 
 symptoms, What does No. 8 say for himself? 
 has his dysentery diminished ?" 
 
 Nurse. " No, it has rather increased, and it 
 will probably be all over with him this evening, 
 so he wants nothing more ; but No. 9 may be dis- 
 charged to-day." 
 
 Apoth." How is No. 35 ?" 
 
 Nurse. "I think he ought to be bled, for the 
 inflammation increases." 
 
 Apoth. " I will have nothing at all to do with 
 venesection, for I might be placed in the same un- 
 pleasant position as Dr. Ali Effendi, from w r hose 
 pay three hundred piasters were deducted, because 
 he divided the artery in performing the operation, 
 and the soldier was invalided. Is there no in- 
 crease ?" 
 
 Nurse. " Three patients ; two fevers, and I don't 
 know what is the matter with the third, but my 
 comrades think it is gout." 
 
 From this short dialogue, we may conclude how 
 the hospital at Lobeid is managed, and what con- 
 dition the poor patients who are sighing for relief 
 must be in. No medicine, no attention, and a 
 
216 THE TROOPS. 
 
 hard couch ! My heart misgave me every time 
 I entered this place of misery, and saw the cool 
 deliberation with which the poor sick soldiers are 
 murdered, in the strictest sense of the word. If 
 the other inhabitants of Lobeid died in the same 
 ratio, the capital of Kordofan would be totally 
 depopulated in less than fifty years. 
 
PRODUCTS. 217 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PRODUCTS. 
 
 THE two seasons prevailing in this country and 
 so strongly defined, are the chief reason why the 
 ground does not yield as many products as might 
 be obtained by the assistance of art; for, if field 
 and garden fruits were cultivated with the utmost 
 care during the dry season, no success could be 
 expected, as there is a total want of water where- 
 with to irrigate the plants, and, in the wet season, 
 the rain beats down with such force that it would 
 wash all small plants out of .the earth ; hence agri- 
 culture is confined to articles which thrive with- 
 out much attention, and proceed quickly to matu- 
 rity. I have no doubt that, if wells were sunk 
 and large reservoirs excavated to collect, during 
 the rainy months, the quantity of water necessary 
 for the irrigation of the soil during the ensuing 
 dry season, many vegetables might be produced 
 which it is now quite impossible to rear. There 
 a iv no running stivams, and the few small lake-, 
 or rather ponds, met with in the country, are not 
 supplied with water throughout the year, and are. 
 
218 PRODUCTS. 
 
 moreover, very inconsiderable when compared with 
 the extent of arable land. 
 
 Horticulture is limited to certain spots, and, ex- 
 cepting at Bara and some other small villages, 
 where there is plenty of water, no gardens are to 
 be seen in the whole province. The wants of the 
 natives who live in fixed places of residence are 
 not such as they may supply by cultivating gardens ; 
 and the frequent change of residence is a yet 
 greater hindrance to the nomades from occupying 
 themselves with tillage of the ground. The blame, 
 however, is chiefly to be attributed to the govern- 
 ment, who would lay their hands upon the har- 
 vest, or levy large contributions upon it, which 
 the natives would not be able to pay. When 
 the Egyptians first took possession of the country, 
 under the Defturdar, they found merely dokn, a lit- 
 tle douhra, water-melons, bamiyeh, meluchia (lentils), 
 onions, and tobacco. The Defturdar's army, there- 
 fore, suffered greatly from want of provisions, un- 
 til it was supplied from the stores in the north, 
 and the necessary articles of consumption were 
 subsequently produced in the country. Since 
 these times, the Turks, who have become residents, 
 and the Dongolavi have cultivated gardens, in which 
 they now grow wheat, bedingajoti* (Poradies-iiep- 
 felf ), small beans, radishes, celery, dill, and garlic ; 
 some vineyards have been planted, as also pome- 
 
 * Solanum Lycopersicum. TR. 
 
 t Citrus Decumana, the shaddock? TR. 
 
PRODUCTS. 219 
 
 granates, lemon trees, Indian and common figs. In 
 the larger plantations sim-siin, ful-Darfur (beans 
 from Darfour), rice, and cotton are grown. It is, 
 however, by mere chance if garden fruits, or green 
 vegetables, are ever seen exposed for sale in the 
 market place at Lobeid ; weeks frequently pass with- 
 out any such luxuries coming to sight, for the gar- 
 deners are very far backward in their art, and take 
 but little pains to produce any plants. The natives, in 
 fact, leave the cultivation of the gardens, like every- 
 thing else, to chance, and do not give the vegetation 
 the slightest assistance, so that it is really by mere 
 hazard if anything thrive. Should the traveller 
 wish to obtain vegetables for his own consumption 
 during his residence in this country, he must make a 
 kind of agreement with the proprietor of a garden to 
 deliver the produce of the season at his house ; for 
 to wait for what might be exhibited in the market, 
 would be, indeed, to wait in vain, as such an exhi- 
 bition is, in the first place, according to my former 
 statement, of very rare occurrence, and vegetables 
 are only offered publicly for sale when all the 
 private consumers are supplied, and there is a sur- 
 plus of one or the other production. The vegetables 
 indigenous in temperate climates are not of the 
 same succulent quality in this country, partly because 
 they are not properly attended to, and partly because 
 the tropical climate causes them to grow too luxu- 
 riantly to arrive at the same state of perfection in 
 which we obtain them in Europe, (irapes ripen twice 
 
1 
 
 220 PRODUCTS. 
 
 in the year, but the leaves must be gathered off the 
 vines, or all the sap will be exhausted by the foli- 
 age and tendrils, and no grapes will be formed. 
 Those which ripen in the month of August are very 
 watery, those, on the other hand, which come to per- 
 fection at the end of December are very sweet. A 
 great number of lime-trees are planted in the gar- 
 dens, but the lemons are too small, have but little 
 juice and acidity, and are quite exsiccated in a few 
 days after they have been gathered from the trees. 
 The orange tree produces no fruit, for it is not suited 
 to the climate. Indian (cactus) and Syrian figs bear 
 fruit, but not of the best quality. The same obser- 
 vation applies to other garden productions : they 
 have not the flavour that might be expected, and do 
 not in general attain their full size, for all plants 
 form too much leaf to produce sound and good fruit. 
 Thus even onions are too sweet in taste, of small 
 dimension, and without the slightest acridity. Salad 
 is not to be met with. The water-melons, which 
 are chiefly cultivated in Dar-Hammer, are not of an 
 agreeable flavour. The fruit of the few date-trees 
 to be seen in the province ripens during the rainy 
 season, is, consequently, very watery, and will not 
 keep for any time, like the dates of Egypt, but de- 
 composes shortly after it is gathered. Sim- Sim is 
 largely cultivated, whence the natives express an oil 
 used in the preparation of their pomatum ; for 
 they never burn oil, and, if they wish to illuminate 
 their tukkoli at night-time, light a wood-fire. Wheat 
 
PRODUCTS. 
 
 is grown in some few places, but only in small quan- 
 tities, and in the dry season, indeed, by artificial 
 irrigation ; a sufficient supply for the few Turk Mi re- 
 sidents during a few months is, however, merelv. pro- 
 duced, and even they are obliged to eat dokn-bread 
 during the greater part of the year. This description 
 of corn is very dear, and cost, in the year 1838, two 
 hundred piasters (2 18s. 4d.) the ardeb ; whilst in 
 Egypt the value of the same quantity rarely exceeds 
 the sum of thirty or sixty piasters. Only the Bak- 
 kara cultivate rice on the borders of the lakes Arrat 
 and Pirget, but it differs totally from the variety 
 generally met with in commerce ; for it is small in 
 grain, and of unpleasant flavour. The greater quan- 
 tity of rice consumed in Kordofan, by the Turks more 
 especially, is imported, therefore, from Egypt. Cotton 
 is grown in very inconsiderable quantities, in pro- 
 portion to the demand for this article ; in fact, not 
 one-third of the quantity consumed in the manufac- 
 ture of their calicoes. It is of the finest quality, 
 and resembles that of Sennaar,* well-known in the 
 trade in Europe. The fibre is rather longer than 
 that of the Makkof variety. I have often enquired 
 of the natives, why they do not attach more impor- 
 tance to the cultivation of plants, which would 
 prove of so much advantage to them, since they are 
 at present necessitated to purchase the calico re- 
 quired for their simple clothing at a very high 
 price ; but they always answered me, they were 
 
 * Long-staple, Sea island, Egyptian cotton. 
 ) Long staple, common Egyptian cotton. TR. 
 
222 PRODUCTS. 
 
 well aware that the growth of cotton was very pro- 
 fitable, but they had no desire to work for the 
 soldiers of the government, as they knew very well 
 that they would leave them little or none of the 
 cotton produced, and they should therefore be 
 obliged to buy the cloth for their own consumption 
 as they do at present ; hence they save themselves 
 the labour. Indigo would thrive very well in 
 various parts of Kordofan, for it grows spontane- 
 ously in some districts, and its cultivation would 
 prove a source of great profit to the government. 
 Experiments have been already made, and have fur- 
 nished indigo of a .quality superior to that of Egypt ; 
 but the government pays no attention to this sub- 
 ject, and the natives are far too ignorant to stumble 
 upon an object of so much importance without a 
 hint from some kind friend. 
 
 All the articles above mentioned are reared in 
 gardens, the cultivation of which is entrusted to 
 slaves. The irrigation is effected artificially by 
 means of draw-wells. As soon as the rainy season 
 is at an end, every native hastens to put his gar- 
 den in order, which during the former period had 
 been, as it were, lying fallow ; for if any one were to 
 venture to sow or plant during the period of the 
 rains, he must expect everything either to be 
 washed out of the earth by the violent showers, or 
 to rot before it arrived at maturity. Very few 
 articles are, therefore, cultivated, and these merely 
 where the position of the land is suitable. The 
 absolute tillage, or treatment of the soil, requires 
 
PRODUCTS. 223 
 
 but slight trouble, for the clods of earth are 
 simply broken by means of a short-pointed stick, 
 beaten into mould with a rather thicker staff, ami 
 then levelled with the hand, or with the same in- 
 strument. The seed is now sown, and covered with 
 a little earth ; and small furrows are made in the va- 
 rious beds, which are daily watered from a draw-well. 
 Agriculture, in general, is confined to dockn, a spe- 
 cies of field-fruit which may be compared to the 
 millet, from which it however differs in the circum- 
 stance that the stalk, with the inflorescence, attains 
 the height of seven or eight feet. It is the only 
 species of grain used by the inhabitants of Kordo- 
 fan and the bordering countries, and is indispensable 
 to them for their bread. It is a very exuberant and 
 profitable plant, and is cultivated everywhere through- 
 out the whole province. The fields in which the 
 dockn grows are generally very large, and many of 
 them are situated in the forests. To render these 
 woodland tracts arable, the trees are hewn down to 
 the height of a man; by the next year they are 
 dry when fires are lighted, the stems being burnt at 
 the same time with the brushwood. These fields do 
 not require as much labour and attention as our 
 corn-fields. The natives are not acquainted with 
 the plough, the harrow, or, in fact, with any other 
 civilized engine of husbandry; a single falciform 
 piece of iron, pointed at either extremity, and fur- 
 nished in the centre with a staff, answers the pur- 
 p<se of all necessary implements. This instrument 
 i called a hashash, and is to be found in every hut ; 
 
224 PRODUCTS. 
 
 thus all the agricultural utensils of a Kordofanese 
 peasant cost twenty paras (little more than three-half- 
 pence). After the fall of the first rain the grass is 
 raked up in the fields, and preparations are made for 
 sowing, an occupation requiring the services of two 
 persons only ; the one walks before the other, 
 making, at about every two paces, a hole with 
 the hashash in the sandy soil, in which his com- 
 panion each time places a few seeds, and then 
 treads down the hole with his right foot. This 
 operation is performed with extraordinary rapidity. 
 The ensuing rain imparts to the ground the neces- 
 sary moisture, and as soon as the rainy season ter- 
 minates the fruit ripens. The chief condition for a 
 successful harvest is, that an over abundance of rain 
 do not injure the seed, and on this account the field 
 should be situated on a declivity, that the water 
 may run off; but if too little rain fall, a failure 
 is likewise the result. With the straw the natives 
 build their tukkoli ; the remainder is consumed as 
 food by the cattle. The grain is thrashed out in 
 the field, laden upon camels or oxen, and brought 
 into the village, where it is shot into pits lined with 
 straw mats, and subsequently covered over with 
 sand. The latter proceeding is chiefly for the pur- 
 pose of securing the produce from the over-abun- 
 dant vermin, and frequently also from the rapacity 
 of the government. 
 
 Besides this species of grain a small quantity of 
 douhra may be met with, and I doubt very much 
 
PRODUCTS. 
 
 whether a species of corn of the temperate zone 
 nii^lit be cultivated with more profit or with the 
 same facility as the dockn. It happens, however, in 
 some years that the necessary quantity is not grown, 
 and then whole villages are frequently necessitated 
 to betake themselves to the woods, and live upon 
 the egelit,* a fruit of the size of a plum, of a yellow- 
 ish colour, and pulpy consistence, which has not an 
 unpleasant flavour. Kordofan is altogether blest 
 with many useful trees notwithstanding its poverty 
 in other respects, and an addition might be made to 
 their number with very little artificial aid, were the 
 inhabitants not too lazy and too stolid to engage 
 with energy in any undertaking, whilst the govern- 
 ment, on the other hand, only directs its attention 
 to those objects which return an immediate profit. 
 
 Among the most useful trees growing without 
 cultivation, must be reckoned : the gum-tree, the 
 tamarind, the beautiful tabaldi, and the egelit be- 
 fore mentioned. The gum-tree (mimosa Nilotica) as 
 it is termed in books, merits a different denomi- 
 nation in Kordofan, for the shape of the tree, its 
 leaves and spines, differ materially from those of the 
 mimosa Nilotica, properly so called. The latter 
 tree yields common gum only, whereas that of Kor- 
 dofan is of the finest description, so that it is errone- 
 distinguished by the name of gum-Arabic. 
 
 * Heglig, of Browne; Agihalid, of Adamson; the Balanites 
 l\L r yptiaca in the Dearrfj'tiii/i </' /'/-.}////>/<, jwMict' ]>ar Fanckoucke. 
 Forskael mentions the fruit of the eglit, but not the tree. TR. 
 
 Q 
 
226 PRODUCTS. 
 
 In some parts of the country, the mimosa forms 
 whole forests of vast extent; but the district of 
 Bara furnishes the largest quantity of gum. The 
 harvest is modified by the annual fall of rain, for, if 
 it rain much, the trees sweat the more. The gum 
 exudes from the bark of the stem and large branch- 
 es, nearly in the same manner as the resinous ex- 
 udation from the cherry-trees of Europe. In dig- 
 ging for a beetle, I casually observed that the gum 
 proceeds from the root also. Sennaar, which is situa- 
 ted under the same degree of latitude as Kordofan, 
 yields a far less quantity of this product. The gather- 
 ing takes place a few months after the rain, in the 
 months of December, January, and February, it is an 
 exceedingly profitable affair to the government, and 
 therefore a monopoly. But even in this undertaking, 
 the Egyptians act with unparalleled neglect, and do 
 not interfere when they see wiiole forests of gum- 
 trees hewn down, and the ground converted into 
 dockn fields, although immense tracts of the country 
 far better adapted for arable land remain uncultivated, 
 by making use of which, the gum-trees would be 
 spared. But the government does not trouble it- 
 self about such trifles, it merely scrapes together 
 that which comes within its reach without paying 
 the slightest attention to ulterior consequences. Of 
 the plantation of young trees and the extirpation 
 of such as are unprofitable, it has no idea, nature 
 must attend to that business. 
 
 The Garrat,* whose pod is employed in tanning, 
 * The Acacia TR. 
 
PRODUCTS. '2'27 
 
 and the tamarisk (tamarindus Indica) are likewise 
 frequently seen in the province, but not in the same 
 abundance as the gum-tree. The pods of the tama- 
 rind are collected and trodden into the form of 
 cakes, which are dried, and either kept for domestic 
 use or converted into commodity. A large quan- 
 tity of this production is consumed in the country. 
 This tree suffers greatly by the locusts ; for sometimes 
 the inflorescence, sometimes the fruit, is totally de- 
 voured by these destructive insects, and in those 
 years, there is, of course, a scarcity of this fruit in 
 many villages. 
 
 The Tabaldi is one of the most beautiful specimens 
 of the vegetable kingdom indigenous in this coun- 
 try. When in blossom, the majestic tree is nearly 
 covered with flowers, resembling those of the double 
 red hollyhock, and, at a distance, gives the idea 
 of hills covered with roses, while the eye rests with 
 delight on so beautiful an object. It blooms at the 
 commencement of August : the sarcocarp is three- 
 quarters of a foot in length, interiorly divided into 
 many cells, each of which includes a stone. The 
 fruit is of a pleasing acidulous flavour, but causes 
 diarrhoea in those who are not accustomed to eat it ; 
 it is, however, also employed for allaying dysentery; 
 but, to produce this opposite effect, it must be eaten 
 iu large quantities. The stems of these trees mea- 
 sure sometimes more than forty feet in circum- 
 ference, ami the wood is as hard as ebony; their 
 :i ( ire may be estimated at thousands of years. Of 
 
 Q 2 
 
28 PRODUCTS. 
 
 the fruit of the Doum palm* and fan-shaped palm,f 
 the outer skin is eaten, and a kind of syrup is also 
 obtained from them. 
 
 Besides the trees above-mentioned, there is an 
 innumerable variety of plants which spring up from 
 the ground in full luxuriance after the first rain, 
 and convert the whole province into a most beauti- 
 ful flower-garden. I am too little versed in botany 
 to be expected to give a full description of all the 
 plants found in the country, more especially as 
 there are many species not yet mentioned in any 
 botanical work ; but I am convinced that Kordofan 
 would prove a very interesting field to any botanist 
 who would take the trouble to explore it by travel- 
 ling there for a lengthened period. Dr. Rueppell 
 and Mr. Kotschy spent too short a time in the 
 country, and visited, moreover, too few places to be 
 able to make valuable collections. 
 
 The animal kingdom affords a no less fertile 
 source of instruction and amusement in this country. 
 Among domestic animals we have the horse, the 
 camel, the ass, the mule, the cow, the sheep, the 
 goat, the dog, the cat, fowls and pigeons ; and of 
 wild beasts : lions, giraffes, leopards, panthers, two 
 varieties of hyaenas, jackals, about ten species of 
 antelopes, some of which are not yet known in 
 Europe: further, monkeys, three varieties of wild cats, 
 hares, hedge-hogs, black and yellow mice, rats, and 
 
 * Cucifera thebaica, in the Description de VEgypte. TR. 
 t Faecher palme, Borassus flabelliformis, of Forskael TR. 
 
PRODUCTS. '2'2{) 
 
 many animals yet unknown, are to be met with in 
 Kordofan ; elephants and rhinoceroses are rare; occa- 
 sionally, however, one or the other of these animals 
 may be seen on the borders of the country. The 
 province is very rich in specimens of reptiles, and 
 tlic boa may also be found. 
 
 The country abounds in insects of every descrip- 
 tion, many of which are analogous, or very similar, to 
 those of Senegal. A good harvest may be made a 
 month before the rain, during the whole of that sea- 
 son, and at the most a month after it ; during the 
 remainder of the year all trouble to find single speci- 
 mens even is in vain. Collecting insects formed one 
 of my chief occupations during the whole of my 
 travels, and my labours were rewarded in a very 
 extensive display of the various specimens of the 
 insects of Kordofan: so complete a collection was, 
 in fact, never yet brought from that country to 
 Europe. Entomology might have been benefited by 
 the addition of many new species, and years must 
 transpire before so copious a collection will again 
 reach Europe, for few men will be able to stand eleven 
 months of this unhealthy climate. I have shed 
 millions of drops of sweat in my pursuit, and looked 
 like one who had been scourged after every excursion, 
 from the scratches I received from the thorns, with 
 which most of the shrubs and trees of this country 
 are furnished. I defied all weather and every species 
 of danger in forming this cabinet : but. unfortunately, 
 all my trouble, together with the advantage- eiito- 
 
230 PRODUCTS. 
 
 mology might thence have reaped, are totally lost 
 thanks to those barbarians of the lazaretto at 
 Trieste, who allowed my whole collection, consist- 
 ing of several consignments, to spoil. In butterflies 
 the country is very poor, but there are more than 
 a hundred different species of flies. 
 
 Among the feathered tribe there are birds of the 
 most beautiful plumage in this province, and many 
 European varieties, even those of Germany, hiber- 
 nate here. The grey water-wagtail may more 
 especially be met with in myriads. The desert, the 
 woods, even the huts in the villages, are filled with 
 these beautiful creatures, which delight the eye with 
 their magnificent colours, and the ear with their 
 charming song. It is, indeed, impossible to form a 
 conception of the spectacle they afford without 
 having seen it. New species arrive with every 
 month, whilst others migrate until the proper season 
 recalls them. Eagles, vultures, parrots, colibris, a 
 variety of aquatic birds, ostriches, black storks, and 
 the ibis, considered holy by the ancient Egyptians, 
 are to be here met with ; the latter two varieties are 
 the chief birds of Kordofan. A large aquatic bird 
 saved me a great deal of trouble in collecting shells 
 in the marshes. If I descried one of these birds in 
 the vicinity of a pond, I had only to retreat to a 
 distance of about fifty paces from it, and to watch 
 its movements. It dived beneath the water, 
 and always brought up one of the conchylia in 
 its beak, which resembles that of the woodpecker, 
 
PRODUCTS. 231 
 
 and laid it on the sand at a distance of a few paces 
 from the water. Its prize consisted of a larger or 
 smaller number of these shells according to their 
 si/e. It generally collected about twelve on one 
 spot, but as these conchylia are bi valvular, and the 
 one shell is so firmly connected with the other that 
 they can only be opened with a knife, it had to 
 wait until the rays of the sun performed the office 
 for it. He continually walked round the spot 
 where he had deposed his prey, and kept his eye 
 upon it. As soon, however, as one of these mollusca 
 opened its shell he instantly inserted his beak, to 
 pi-event it from closing it again, and tore it asunder 
 with his claw. I never disturbed him in his work, 
 for he saved me the trouble of destroying the 
 animal and clearing the shell, which, as I knew by 
 experience, he seldom entirely separates. 
 
 Kordofan can enumerate no running streams ; 
 the fula (ponds) and small lakes nearly all dry up 
 during the hot season, and yet fish, differing in variety 
 and size, are to be found in this province. At first, 
 I could not understand this apparent anomaly, 
 and the explanation given me by the natives, that 
 the fish hide themselves in the mud, appeared to me 
 very unsatisfactory, for it becomes in time, so hard 
 that a heavily laden waggon might pass over it, and 
 thi' spawn of the fish remaining would, of course, be 
 soon destroyed by the rays of the sun. The natives, 
 however, firmly believe that the fish are preserved 
 under ground, and cmue to lite again in three <>r 
 
232 PRODUCTS. 
 
 six months' time, when the rain has softened their 
 bed. I, of course, could not give credence to this 
 version of the story, but casually made a discovery 
 likely to throw a light upon the subject. I one 
 day shot a wild duck, and having gutted it, pro- 
 ceeded to prepare it for dinner ; in examining the 
 intestines, I found a quantity of fish eggs. Is it 
 not, therefore, probable that the aquatic birds, which 
 set out on "their migration immediately after having 
 gorged themselves with spawn on the White Nile, 
 and take to the water again on their arrival in Kor- 
 dofan, discharge one half of their prey in an un- 
 digested form, and that thus the fish are shortly 
 hatched ? 
 
 The horses are not very excellent, or of pure 
 Arabian blood, but a half-breed between Dongola 
 horses and those of Berber and Darfur ; they are not, 
 indeed, as well built as the pure Arabians, but are, 
 nevertheless, fleet, and exceedingly hardy. The na- 
 tives, more especially the Bakkari, pride themselves 
 on their steeds, and give them milk to drink as long- 
 as they live, which they say renders them very strong, 
 and capable of enduring the greatest fatigue. The 
 other inhabitants of Kordofan also offer their horses 
 milk until they are four years old, and not until they 
 have attained that age do they feed them on grass. 
 The dockn forms their substitute for oats. The 
 sheikhs of the Bakkara, seem nearly grown to their 
 horses, and are scarcely ever seen without them. 
 They are of the utmost service to them, in their wars 
 
PRODUCTS. 233 
 
 themselves, and against their neighbours ; but 
 more especially in capturing slaves. Their remark- 
 able fleetness renders them very useful in catching 
 gi raffes, and ostriches even ; but on the whole there 
 are not so many horses to be met with in this 
 country as in the other provinces under the sway of 
 the Viceroy. 
 
 The most valuable gift nature has bestowed on 
 the hot climates of Africa, is undoubtedly the camel. 
 The value of these animals to the country is beyond 
 calculation, independently of their utility in car- 
 rying loads, which no other beast, except the ele- 
 phant, could bear, or would even be capable of 
 drawing. The food of the camel causes the dri- 
 vers but little care, for contented with the worst 
 produce of the desert plains, namely, with thistles 
 or a few leaves, this animal will hold out for four days 
 without feeding, and even eight days without drink- 
 ing, and yet it suffers no appreciable loss of strength. 
 Its paces are very sure, and it scarcely ever falls, 
 hence all goods, be they ever so fragile, may be 
 more safely transported by camels than they could 
 possibly be by any other animal, or by waggon. 
 For loading or unloading, the camel bends down, as 
 it does also for the convenience of the rider, when 
 about to mount. If the load be too heavy, it in- 
 stantlv gives notice of the circumstance to its driver 
 lv itN -roans. It requires no whip, and keeps up 
 it N|.W but progress e march without ever break- 
 ing from the same pare. A laden camel will per- 
 
234 PRODUCTS. 
 
 form eight miles in two hours. In the cool of the 
 morning or evening, and when cheered up by the 
 songs of the drivers, these animals become more 
 lively, and increase their paces to one third of their 
 speed. Their organs of sight and smell are very 
 acute, for they scent the vicinity of water at a 
 distance of half a day's journey or further, and make 
 it known by snuffing with the upper lip, in sign of 
 pleasure. By night they perform the office of a 
 watchful dog ; for if a man, or an animal approach 
 the caravan, or a wild beast give tongue even at a 
 great distance, the camels instantly perceive it, prick 
 their ears, and stretch their long necks towards the 
 suspected quarter, to draw the attention of their 
 keepers to the interruption. Of no less utility is 
 the dromedary, a camel of more slender build, and 
 broken in for riding. It was formerly an erroneous 
 hypothesis that the dromedary was a different ani- 
 mal from the camel, and the former was generally 
 depicted with two humps ; but this is a fallacy, for 
 the dromedary is nothing but a camel, and the vari- 
 ation in the name is merely made use of by the in- 
 habitants of the East to indicate that it is broken-in 
 for riding, and not for carrying loads. They select 
 from among the young camels such as are most 
 slightly built, and most light of foot, never lay any 
 load upon their backs except the saddle, and thus 
 gradually break them in for this important service. 
 No horse can keep up with the dromedary, whrn 
 proceeding at full trot. When this animal is at the 
 top of its speed, the rider is obliged to bind a hand- 
 
PRODUCTS. 235 
 
 kerchief before his face, to avoid the effects of the 
 pressure of air, which would otherwise be painful to 
 him. If a dark speck, which quickly increases, be ob- 
 served on the horizon, at the greatest distance in the 
 desert, a dromedary rider is sure to be met in a few 
 minutes, and the natives, in endeavouring to impart a 
 correct idea of the fleetness of these animals to the 
 traveller, have a saying : " If you meet a good dro- 
 medary, and the rider salute you with ' JEs-s elam' 
 aley'koom!* both man and beast are out of sight 
 before you can answer ' aleykoom es-selam" It 
 requires, indeed, some practice to be able to bear 
 the exertion of riding these animals. Letters from 
 the southern provinces, are usually forwarded to 
 Cairo by couriers mounted on dromedaries, who 
 generally require twenty-eight days to perform a dis- 
 tance of about seventeen degrees of latitude. For the 
 accomplishment of this task, a relay of three or four 
 couriers is necessary. On important missions, how- 
 ever, one and the same courier frequently performs the 
 whole distance, merely changing his dromedaries at 
 the various stations. The rider is always very lightly 
 accoutred, and carries, besides his arms, consisting 
 of u sabre, a pair of pistols, and frequently also of a 
 long gun, two bags of moderate size for his pro- 
 vender, and a small water-bag attached to his 
 siddle-bow. and thus lie sets out upon his journev. 
 which would prove a most arduous undertaking to 
 
 * " IVacv be on you," the greeting of peace, to which the re- 
 - is, " On you be peace." This is the salutation of Mooslims 
 
 ii other only. - /'//.-. LuHi-'.f Mn-/rrtt A//v/'/'r///s, y. L'?J. Til. 
 
236 PRODUCTS. 
 
 any other person, with the least possible incum- 
 brance, and with no uneasiness. 
 
 The flesh of the young camels, of the two or four 
 years old, is highly prized by the natives, more 
 especially by the Nomadic tribes, and forms their 
 chief article of food. Many of them are slaughtered 
 at Lobeid, and the meat is sold at the same price as 
 beef, which some of the residents prefer. The milk 
 is also a chief article of consumption with many of 
 the natives. 
 
 The asses, native to the country, are of a very 
 inferior breed ; good donkeys are, therefore, still im- 
 ported from Egypt by the Djelabi. Horned cat- 
 tle is more especially met with in vast num- 
 bers. There are few villages in the neighbourhood, 
 in which large herds may not be seen at pasture ; 
 and amongst the Bakkara, the droves consist even 
 of thousands of heads. They feed throughout the 
 year in the open air, but suffer much from hunger 
 in the dry season, when everything is burnt to a 
 cinder, and are, therefore, not so fat at this period 
 as during the rainy season, when they are, literally 
 speaking, up to their horns in grass. Thus thou- 
 sands of heads of cattle may be feeding in a 
 meadow, and yet not one single beast will be seen ; 
 their presence is merely denoted by the motion of 
 the grass. The kine, however, are not of very ex- 
 cellent breed, they yield but little milk, of inferior 
 quality, and much worse beef. The Turks resident 
 in Kordofan never eat this meat. Amongst the Bak- 
 kara, a particular breed of short -horned oxen is to 
 
PRODUCTS. 237 
 
 be met with, furnished with a high hump, or depo- 
 sition of fat above the fore-quarters, and a depen- 
 dent flap of skin below the neck and chest, reaching 
 downwards to the knee.* The oxen are chiefly 
 used for riding, and carrying weights: a cord pa^<-<| 
 tli rough the nose of the animal forms a species of 
 bridle. They are instructed for these purposes 
 nt a very early age, and, indeed, by children. The 
 instruction, however, requires immense patience, 
 for many months frequently transpire before a 
 young calf will allow a lad to sit quietly on its 
 back, and the boys meet with innumerable falls, 
 before they succeed in thoroughly breaking-in one 
 of these animals. In many parts of Africa, where 
 the camel will not live on account of the fly (yo- 
 hara), oxen are only employed for riding, and trans- 
 porting loads. There are many sheep, and among 
 them one species of very large breed ; they bear no 
 wool, but short hair; the mutton is of good flavour, 
 and is preferred to beef, or to the flesh of goats. 
 
 The goat is very common in the country, and 
 may be reckoned among the chief domestic animals. 
 There are several varieties, or rather cross breeds, 
 and some of exceedingly elegant form ; but they are 
 mostly very small. Nothing can induce the Turks 
 to partake of goafs-milk during the rainy season; 
 for they firmly believe that it produces fever, if the 
 animal .should happen to have browsed the leases of 
 a tree called, in A rabic, escher (asclepias procera), and 
 known as a poisonous plant. It is, in fact, the tree 
 * Buffaloes. TK. 
 
238 PRODUCTS. 
 
 whence the well-known poison is expressed, with 
 which an obnoxious person was quietly put out of 
 the way with a fingan of coffee in former times in 
 Egypt, and is sometimes employed for the same 
 purpose at the present day. This plant may be met 
 with occasionally as a shrub in Upper Egypt ; but in 
 Kordofan it attains the height of a tree. Many of 
 the natives pay great attention to its cultivation, 
 and lay the leaves into the sieve, through which 
 they filter their merissa. These leaves contain a 
 white milky juice, which is imparted to the beer 
 and said to render it very narcotic. I have often 
 warned these good people against its use; but they 
 excuse themselves, by saying that their fathers and 
 mothers made use of it before them. The camel, 
 not very particular in the selection of its food in 
 general, never touches the escher.* As regards the 
 superstition prevalent among the Turks, that the 
 milk of the goats generates fever, in consequence of 
 their having fed off the foliage of this poisonous 
 plant, it is perfectly absurd ; for it is a well-known 
 fact, that any kind of milk taken during the rainy 
 season will produce fever. 
 
 Dogs, of which there are a great number, run 
 about, as in all other mahommedan countries, with- 
 out any real owners, and are yet looked upon as 
 domestic animals. They are mostly of a yellow 
 colour, but rather better shaped than the Egyptian 
 dogs; like them they feed off the garbage and 
 fallen cattle, and are not otherwise of the slightest 
 * The oschour of Burckhardt and Browne. TK. 
 
PRODUCTS. 239 
 
 utility. F found, however, that they might be in- 
 structed for sporting, with very little trouble. 
 There are very few cats in the country, hence the 
 rats and the mice are so tame that they will run 
 across the feet of a person by day-time. If anv- 
 thing be thrown to them for food, they immediately 
 pick it up, devour it quickly, and return fearlessly 
 to fetch more. The natives of Kordofan take little 
 pains to destroy this vermin, and merely set snares 
 in the fields and gardens for the field rat, which 
 is eaten by many negroes, and even by some few 
 of the Dongolavi. I myself saw the Nuba negroes 
 eating rats ; they roast them in their skins, and 
 flay them after they are cooked. There is one 
 species of rat, however, which does not create the 
 slightest disgust. It is of a cream-colour, with a 
 snow white belly and feet tipped with white, and its 
 coat is as sleek as silk. They may be classed 
 amongst the most elegant animals. 
 
 The fowls of this province are far larger than 
 those of Egypt the cock birds more especially and 
 are decorated with a very beautiful plumage, similar 
 to those observed in Nubia. The tame pigeons are 
 likewise larger than those met with in Kgypt, and 
 1 counted nine dittereiit varieties of wood-pigeons 
 the smallest of the size of a blackbird, but with 
 a tail as long as the bird itself. 
 
 The giralle, one of the most beautiful animals 
 of Africa, is frequently seen in Kordofan, and nearly 
 all the specimens of this animal sent by way of 
 K.nypt to Kurope and America, have been caught 
 
240 PRODUCTS. 
 
 in the plains of Kordofan. During the rainy season 
 they are not to be met with, for they are supposed to 
 travel into countries situate at a great distance from 
 this province. The natives believe them to betake 
 themselves to parts where very little rain falls, as 
 of all the wild beasts of the torrid zone, none is 
 so sensitive to climate as the giraffe. In captivity 
 they require the greatest care and attention to keep 
 them alive ; in Egypt even they must be guarded 
 during the winter months against cold, and their 
 diet, moreover, demands the strictest attention, for 
 instances are known of giraffes dying very soon, in 
 consequence of a trifling neglect on the part of their, 
 keepers. As soon as the dry season commences, the 
 giraffes return to the neighbourhood of Kordofan ; 
 they are not gregarious in their habits like the ante- 
 lopes, and are only to be seen separately, or at the 
 most in pairs. These beautiful creatures are caught 
 by men on horseback, but merely the young animals 
 are taken alive, as it would almost amount to an 
 impossibility to catch an old beast, who would over- 
 throw both horse and rider, and use them very 
 roughly. The latter are, therefore, slain with the 
 sword, merely for the sake of their skins, which 
 form an article of trade. The flesh is eaten, and 
 has not exactly a disagreeable flavour. In order to 
 be allowed to hunt giraffes for a menagerie, it is ne- 
 cessary first to obtain a firman from the minister of 
 the interior, and it is indeed the best plan to apply 
 at once to the Sheikh Abdel Had at Haraza ; he 
 
 
PRODUCTS. 241 
 
 will immediately give an order to his people who 
 occupy themselves with this sport, for it requires 
 not only a very expert horseman, but a very per- 
 fect horse, and more especially experience in this 
 species of hunting. Generally speaking, two horse- 
 men provided with one or two camels laden with a 
 supply of provender and water sufficient for a few 
 days, proceed into the desert frequented by the 
 giraffes. The camels are left at an appropriate 
 place, whilst the riders reconnoitre the country until 
 they come upon the track of an animal. Great ex- 
 perience is now requisite to distinguish whether the 
 trace be of to-day or yesterday, or of a yet older 
 date. If it be recent, and that of a young animal, 
 it is immediately followed up, and the huntsmen 
 may make sure of gaining a sight of their prey in 
 a few hours. As soon as the giraffe is in view, 
 the run instantly takes place, for the animal, very 
 timid by nature, seeks refuge in flight, and indeed 
 with extraordinary fleetness. Everything now de- 
 pends on the dexterity of the rider, and activity of 
 his horse. They must do all in their power to gain 
 upon the game they have started, an endeavour which 
 is the more readily to be effected, as the giraffe 
 never takes a straight course, but by nature timid, 
 doubles, in the fear of its life, sometimes to the right, 
 sometimes to the left, and is thus quickly over- 
 taken by the horsemen. Having come up with the 
 young animal pursued, the rider casts a la o over 
 its head; his throw but seldom tails, and in the 
 
 R 
 
242 PRODUCTS. 
 
 worst case must be repeated. He then attaches the 
 end of the rope to his saddle, drags the animal as 
 closely as he can to his horse, and thus the capture is 
 effected. But now a steady and patient horse, well 
 broken to its work, is again necessary for the further 
 transport; for the horse must resist the animal's 
 efforts, or give way to them (for it pulls and 
 jumps in all directions), in conveying it to the 
 nearest village, which the huntsmen endeavour to 
 reach as quickly as they possibly can. A she-camel 
 should stand in readiness there to give the young 
 giraffe milk, with which it is fed before being wean- 
 ed to grass or hay. This treatment must be sub- 
 sequently followed, and even full grown giraffes 
 should receive milk daily as drink, if it be in any 
 way possible. 
 
 When the young animal has rested for some time, 
 it is furthered, without delay, to Dongola, but on 
 this occasion great attention is again required. A 
 kind of head-stall is put on the animal's head, 
 to which four stout cords are fastened. Two men, 
 each holding the end of one of the ropes in his 
 hand, walk in front, and two follow, to keep its 
 gait steady, a task requiring during the first few 
 days extraordinary exertion. A she-camel must ac- 
 company the young giraffe to give it the neces- 
 sary nourishment on the road. Arrived at Don- 
 gola, a certain time is again devoted to rest, and 
 the animal is here accustomed to the milk of the 
 cow and to grass. It is incredible what difficulties 
 
 
PRODUCTS. 243 
 
 the Arabs have to contend with in preserving a 
 giraffe alive, and it is, consequently, not to be 
 wondered at that their price is so enormous. In 
 Egypt, for example, at Cairo or Alexandria, a living 
 specimen always costs from five to six hundred 
 dollars. 
 
 There are not many leopards in this province ; 
 the stragglers merely from the interior of Africa 
 si low themselves occasionally in Kordofan. They 
 will sometimes approach the villages, but instances 
 of their having done an injury to man are very 
 rare. They mostly steal their prey from one 
 of the herds, but immediately withdraw with it 
 to their covert, but are by no means as bold as 
 they may be in the more internal tracts of this 
 and another quarter of the globe. They are not 
 hunted, partly from want of fire-arms, partly be- 
 cause the skin, the only portion of value about 
 them, is not much in request, and a leopard is very 
 rarely, indeed, known to have been killed in any 
 district. Hyaenas, of which there are said to l>e 
 three varieties, are far more numerous. The striped 
 <lecies is the most common in Egypt and Syria; 
 but the tiger-skinned hyivna is far larger, and if 
 the third variety exist it has never come under my 
 own observation. They form herds of ten or 
 t wrnty animals, secrete themselves during the day 
 in the cave* and ravines of the neighbouring moun- 
 tain*, which they merely quit at night, when they 
 go in quest of |re\. and on these occasion* they 
 
 B 2 
 
244 PRODUCTS. 
 
 gradually separate. Dead bodies, which they dig 
 out of the graves, are their favourite food, and 
 they immediately scent out where a corpse has 
 been interred, whether in the desert or in the 
 burial-ground. They are also fond of picking out 
 the young sheep from a flock, although these are 
 enclosed during the night within a dense fence of 
 thorn-hedging. The hyaena, however, understands 
 mining, digs beneath the fence, and frequently 
 breaks in upon a flock. They never do any harm to 
 man, and there is scarcely a single instance on 
 record of a hysena having seized upon a man, and 
 those, indeed, known, were only occasions where 
 they had been greatly irritated or wounded. In 
 Europe, this animal is very much calumniated as 
 being the most ferocious and most cruel of all 
 wild beasts, thus, at least, it is described in nearly 
 all the books on natural history ; one author, in 
 fact, copies the error from the other, without investi- 
 gating his subject more closely ; hence the opinion 
 first gained ground and subsequently became pre- 
 valent in the whole of Europe, that the hysena is 
 the most formidable of all quadrupeds. I and 
 several other Europeans have convinced ourselves, 
 that it is not only not feared, but totally disregard- 
 ed by the natives. It is timid, may be cowed by 
 blows, and rather endeavours to secrete itself than 
 to attack. The circumstance of its disinterring 
 dead bodies and devouring them is no proof of 
 its being the most formidable or ferocious animal ; 
 
PRODUCTS. 245 
 
 for if it can surprise sheep or gazelles, it prefers 
 them, but hunger oftentimes forces it to dig up 
 a corpse, and feed off it. Its forepaws are cer- 
 tainly adapted by nature for digging in the earth, 
 but there are sufficient instances of dogs having 
 scratched out the bodies of the dead and eaten 
 them. In Hungary, Poland, and Russia, examples 
 of wolves attacking men are very numerous ; in 
 Africa, the instances of the hyaena having done the 
 same are very scarce. Ten hyaenas may, in fact, be. 
 sooner tamed than one jackal. Thus, in the court 
 of a house at Lobeid, I saw a hyaena running about 
 quite domesticated : the children of the proprietor 
 teased it, took the meat thrown to it for food out 
 of its jaws, and put their hands even into its throat, 
 without receiving the least injury. When we took 
 our meals in the open air, to enjoy the breeze, as 
 was our general custom during the hot season, this 
 animal approached the table without fear, snapped 
 up the pieces that were thrown to it like a dog. and 
 did not evince the slightest symptom of timidity. 
 A full grown hyaena, and her two cubs, were, on an- 
 other occasion, brought to me for sale : the latter 
 were carried in arms, as you might carry a lamb, and 
 were not even muzzled. The old one, it is true, had 
 a rope round its snout, but it ha<l been KM! a distance 
 bf twelve miles by one single man, without having 
 oilered the slightest resistance. The Africans do not 
 e\en reckon the livaMia among the wild beast- of their 
 country, for they arc' not afraid of it. The rhiimce- 
 
 
246 PRODUCTS. 
 
 ros passes among them as the most vicious of all 
 quadrupeds. They say the lion, and other beasts of 
 prey, merely attack man when they are wounded or 
 irritated, or when goaded on by hunger; and as 
 there are sheep and goats everywhere, and numbers 
 of antelopes and other animals, in the desert, and 
 they suffer no want of food, man need not fear 
 them. Widely different is the case with the rhino- 
 ceros, for although it is a graminivorous animal, 
 neither man nor beast are safe from its wanton 
 cruelty. Without having been disturbed or irri- 
 tated in the least, it will immediately attack a man 
 or animal, be it ever so large even the elephant or 
 lion. It endeavours in the first charge to pierce its 
 adversary with its powerful horn, which is situated, 
 as is well known, superiorly on the nasal bone, taking 
 a curved direction upwards. If the first blow 
 take effect, the animal attacked, even if it be the 
 elephant, is lost; should he, or the lion, however, avoid 
 the blow, the rhinoceros generally succumbs, and 
 notwithstanding this risk it is always the aggressor. 
 Fortunately there are said to be but very few rhino- 
 ceroses ; and it is indeed a great rarity if one of them 
 happen to stray into Kordofan. The haunts of these 
 animals are in the vicinity of rivers and lakes, their 
 horns may be met with in commerce, and are em- 
 ployed in the manufacture of the handles of the 
 Turkish swords. The lighter the colour of the horn 
 the greater is its value ; but the black variety is not 
 in request, and is regarded as useless for sabre hilts. 
 
PRODUCTS. 247 
 
 'he quality of the horns cannot be judged of by 
 their outward appearance, for externally they are all 
 black. Those which are met with in commerce in 
 Kordofan are imported from the countries tributary 
 to Darfour, situated on a river, probably the White 
 Nile, of which I shall speak more fully in a subse- 
 quent chapter. 
 
 The number of lions in this province is not very 
 considerable, but they frequently enter villages for 
 prey, and carry away a head of cattle before their 
 visit is even suspected. In the day time they are 
 neither heard nor seen, for they generally lie 
 crouching in a dense covert, or sleeping beneath 
 a shady tree. But early in the morning, as soon 
 as the sun begins to cast its rays on the sandy ^ 
 billows of the desert, the royal animal rises 
 from his lair to sally forth in quest of prey. 
 His voice may then be heard in the distance; it 
 commences with a low murmuring, which gradually 
 increases, until it at last becomes a fearful and ter- 
 rific roar, like the rolling of thunder, and is audible 
 at a distance of two miles. The whole animal 
 kingdom trembles, and evinces the greatest fear 
 when the king of the beasts is heard; the sheep 
 tremble as if attacked with ague, place their heads 
 together, and endeavour to hide themselves; the 
 horses break out into a sweat with fear; and the 
 dogs hurry away as fast as they can to find a place 
 of refuge. In fine, all the beasts are seized with 
 the most unequivocal terror when the lion mak< - 
 
248 PRODUCTS. 
 
 his approach known. Should a caravan happen to 
 be near the spot, it is impossible to keep the camels 
 together, they leap about in all directions, and are 
 scattered abroad under the influence of fear. I 
 myself once had the opportunity of witnessing a 
 scene of this kind. On arriving in my travels at 
 the wells of Semmeria, we suddenly heard a 
 murmuring noise afar, resembling the rolling of 
 balls in an empty barrel; but we were soon ac- 
 quainted with its true cause when it gradually 
 increased to that terrible thunder-like roar. With 
 the first perception of this noise, the camels be- 
 longing to our caravan suddenly took fright, and in- 
 stantly separated in all directions. The men and the 
 cases were thrown off, and if one of the riders hap- 
 pened to keep his seat at the first alarm, he was sub- 
 sequently necessitated to leap down, to avoid being 
 felled by the branches of the trees ; for we were un- 
 fortunately near a forest of mimosas, and every one 
 was in danger of being torn by their large spines. 
 This confusion, however, did not last long, for the 
 lion took quite an opposite direction to the route of 
 our caravan ; but a whole day was lost in collecting 
 the goods that had been thrown off, or torn down by 
 the trees, and one of the camels strayed to a great 
 distance. Lions are seldom hunted in this country ; 
 for there are very few of them, as I have before- 
 mentioned, and they do so little damage that it 
 would not be worth while to incur the danger 
 attending the sport. The flesh of the lord of the 
 
PRODUCTS. 249 
 
 forest is very tough and tendinous, and is not 
 readily devoured by any other animal. A dog will 
 sneak away as soon as he smells it. 
 
 A few panthers may be met with in the country, 
 but they are not as large as those of Asia. I have 
 been assured that there are no tigers in Kordofan. 
 Antelopes may be seen browsing in large numbers, 
 and, indeed, in great variety ; like the camels, they 
 are able to bear thirst for eight days. I have 
 myself observed them in places situated at a dis- 
 tance of twenty-six miles from any water, so that it 
 would have been impossible for them to perform 
 this journey daily, or even on every other day. 
 
 Besides the animals mentioned, there are a num- 
 ber of quadrupeds, the names of which are not even 
 known in Europe ; for Kordofan has only been 
 visited, up to the present day, by two naturalists, 
 viz., by Dr. Rueppell and Dr. Kotschy, who remained 
 too short a time in the country to have been able 
 to traverse it, and explore it in all directions. A 
 residence of a few years would at least be required 
 to investigate everything thoroughly; and all those 
 who have resided in the country hitherto have suffer- 
 ed so much by the unhealthy climate, that they have 
 been obliged to leave it as quickly as possible, to avoid 
 the danger threatening the life of every European. 
 
 The various species of birds arriving in this coun- 
 try at the different seasons of the year, and leaving it 
 again at others, arc' very numerous, and vary from the' 
 little colibri to the gigantic ostrich. As they are 
 
250 PRODUCTS. 
 
 not often frightened by the noise of fire-arms they 
 are not timid and may be easily shot; but if the 
 traveller sojourn for some days in one spot and 
 pursue them with his gun, they then of course 
 soon become as shy here as in other places. Seve- 
 ral of the birds, and this applies more especially to 
 the varieties of pigeons, are so little accustomed to 
 fire-arms that, although many will fall at one shot, 
 those which are not hit will remain quietly perched 
 on the tree. I must also draw the attention of all 
 travellers who may be sportsmen to the fact that 
 the birds become very shy if they observe a Turkish 
 attire and a red cap or turboosh, whereas if the 
 sportsman wear a blue shirt and brown cap, after the 
 fashion of Upper-Egypt, he may be sure of killing 
 double the number he would in the dress above- 
 mentioned. The black storks occupy nearly every 
 house in the villages ; each hut is furnished with a 
 basket, which forms the apex of its roof, and serves 
 these birds as a nest, thus saving them the trouble 
 of building for themselves. He who might venture 
 to do an injury to a stork would expose himself to 
 the greatest abuse from the natives ; and were the 
 dread of the white men not overawing, he might 
 even subject himself to sensible proofs of their dis- 
 pleasure; for, as regards these birds, they &re as 
 superstitious as the people in some parts of Europe 
 about the white stork. They are in consequence 
 so tame that they run about the villages like 
 geese, and I frequently had to throw my stick at 
 
PRODUCTS. 251 
 
 them when collecting insects in their company in 
 a meadow, for they were far quicker in picking 
 them up than I w r as, and would frequently snatch 
 a beetle away from me when I had my hand upon 
 it. The sacred ibis, of the ancient Egyptians, appears 
 to l)e a native of Kordofan : it builds its nest on trees 
 in the villages, and I have often counted from twenty 
 to fifty of them on one tree. I have altogether 
 seldom seen animals living as peacably among them- 
 selves as these birds. They hatch their young, two 
 in number, rarely three, during the rainy season; 
 they enjoy the same good opinion of men as the 
 storks, but even to a greater degree; for when I 
 was about to kill a few, near the house of Sultan 
 Teme, at Lobeid, he said very solemnly : " Rather 
 shoot all the fowls in my court, than one of these 
 ibises, which have come to my trees to build their 
 nests, and sought my protection." When the young 
 birds are full grown, the old ones migrate, and re- 
 turn with the first fall of rain. I could not find out 
 where they resort to during the dry season ; in the 
 time of the ancient Egyptians, they evidently went 
 to Kgypt, as the many thousands of ibis-vases met 
 with at Sakara and in other situations would prove; 
 but at present they are never to be seen in that coun- 
 try. T have, indeed, occasionally observed a single 
 bird of this species on the White River, as late as 
 the month of April; but I suppose these to have 
 been invalids incapable of following the flight. 
 The ostrich may be reckoned among the most 
 
252 PRODUCTS. 
 
 useful birds ; for its flesh is eaten, and that of the 
 young birds is of very pleasant flavour. The price 
 of a young ostrich is five piasters (Is. 5^c?. sterling). 
 The eggs are also eaten, one of them is sufficient to 
 satisfy four persons. The egg-shells are exported as 
 an article of commerce, but the feathers return the 
 largest profits. A full-grown ostrich will always 
 yield three rottoli of black feathers, and half a rot- 
 tolo of white plumes. The greater number of 
 these birds are caught in Caccie in snares, placed 
 on a plate, matted from the wood of a species of 
 willow, perforated with holes, and buried in the 
 sand. The gin itself, which is laid upon this plate, 
 is bound to the nearest tree, or to a piece of wood. 
 As many as fifty of these are laid in a certain 
 spot. If an ostrich, or a gazelle, happen to stray 
 into these parts, and set its foot on one of the 
 plates, the snare opens ; and as soon as the leg is 
 withdrawn, it closes again, and the animal is caught. 
 It would, indeed, be almost impossible to capture 
 one of these birds in any other way, for they are 
 exceedingly cautious, and very quick of sight; 
 as soon, therefore, as they descry a man approaching 
 them, they immediately take to flight. To overtake 
 the bird, even with the fleetest steed, would be a 
 matter of great difficulty, for, scarcely touching the 
 ground with its feet, it runs so fast, that it appears 
 almost to fly ; and the illusion is still greater when 
 the motion of its short wings is observed, which it 
 uses as propellers. 
 
PRODUCTS. 253 
 
 The natives of Kordofan draw but little profit 
 from ;ill these products of the animal and vegetable 
 kingdoms; for, independently of their not under- 
 standing how to turn the various articles to advantage, 
 or rather to perfect them by art or industry, they 
 arc too lazy to do any thing more, than is necessary 
 for their absolute maintenance. Very few artisans 
 are, consequently, to be found among them : they 
 consist of a few weavers of calicos, smiths, tanners, 
 and potters. The cottons the natives produce are 
 not sufficient for the supply of the country, hence 
 the greater part of the consumption is imported 
 from Dongola, Egypt, and Europe. Not that there is 
 a deficiency of the necessary means for cultivating 
 a larger quantity of raw cotton, or for manufacturing 
 it; but they will not take the slightest trouble 
 about it, because all their labour would be purchas- 
 ed by the government at an arbitrary price, which 
 would not repay the workman for his trouble, and 
 they, therefore, prefer to lie about idle all the day 
 long, or to pass their time with useless games. It 
 is really an interesting sight to watch a weaver at 
 his work ; and I know not which is more astonish- 
 ing. tin 1 simplicity of the implements with which he 
 toils, or the patience he displays in his occupation. 
 The weavers can only work in the dry season, be- 
 cause their houses are too small to allow them to fit 
 up a loom in them ; they consequently place the 
 frames close to the door of their huts, and work in 
 that situation. An European weaver, even the 
 
254 PRODUCTS. 
 
 most expert in his art, would be greatly puzzled if 
 put to one of these looms, and would scarcely know 
 how to begin his work, so primitive are they in 
 construction. Four stout sticks, are driven into 
 the ground, to which the reed and other parts of 
 the apparatus are attached ; the weft is expanded 
 at a distance of scarcely one span from the ground, 
 bound to a pole to which a stone is attached, and 
 then drawn along with it. The frame is of the 
 dimensions the piece manufactured is required to 
 have, and is sometimes twenty ells in length. The 
 weaver stands in a pit before his loom, and casts 
 his shuttle at a venture. With every second throw 
 his thread breaks, and then it takes him double the 
 time to tie it again ; but nothing disturbs the equa- 
 nimity of the weaver, he ties his knot with the 
 greatest patience, and again throws his shuttle, again 
 breaks his thread, and again readjusts it. Thus it 
 is impossible to conceive the space of time required 
 to finish a piece about twenty ells in length. They 
 do not understand how to manufacture woven goods 
 from goats' hair. 
 
 The smiths are the most industrious workmen ; 
 they fabricate all the necessary household and agri- 
 cultural implements, are at the same time miners, 
 and smelters of ore ; for they dig the iron from the 
 bowels of the earth themselves, and melt it after a 
 very simple process ; but they do not understand 
 how to harden it. They have no fixed workshops, 
 but arrange them wheresoever they may happen to 
 
PRODUCTS. 255 
 
 find work ; the fitting up of the forge costs them 
 but little trouble, for a large stone is soon found on 
 which they place a piece of iron, this serves them 
 then as an anvil ; close to this essential instrument, 
 they construct a small furnace, to which a leather 
 sack, answering the purpose of bellows, is attached. 
 They make no heavy objects, for, beyond spear-heads, 
 hashiash, (an agricultural implement,) double-edged, 
 and arrow-pointed knives of various sizes, they can- 
 not produce any other article. Their work is not 
 well rewarded ; for the minerals, such as the iron or 
 charcoal cost them scarcely anything, and thus they 
 can only bring their manual labour into calculation. 
 Their tools are not particularly complicated, and con- 
 sist merely of a few hammers and of a pair of pincers. 
 
 The potters manufacture one single kind of ves- 
 sel (Bursha) in form of a bomb, but with rather 
 a wider neck, and this is used as a receptacle for 
 water, for boiling, roasting, and for keeping merissa 
 in ; they make, further, a round and rather deep- 
 ened plate (Doga) for baking bread, and pipe-heads 
 more of a German shape than like the Turkish 
 bowls ; all these articles are, however, perfectly 
 plain without the slightest attempt even at ornament. 
 
 There are many tanners in the province who tan 
 the leather by a most simple process, in which 
 they employ the da rut,* the pod of a tree. They 
 uKo manufacture the water-holders, the larger of 
 which, ure termed Rai, the smaller Ckir'beh :f 
 
 * Of the Acacia, according to Burckhardt's Travels in Nubia, 
 p. 2G4. TR. f Girbe. TR. 
 
256 PRODUCTS. 
 
 the latter are generally made of goats' hides, as 
 in Egypt ; the goats being skinned for this pur- 
 pose like hares ; the interior of the skin is 
 merely tanned, whilst the hair is left externally ; 
 leathern bags are also fabricated to serve the office 
 of churns. Of leather they produce further sandals, 
 shoes, rahads, and, lastly, shields. The rahad is a 
 girdle fringed by many thousands of small straps, 
 and is generally one, or half a span in length ; the 
 girls wear these fringes round their loins, and they 
 are usually decorated with agates and small shells. 
 Shields are mostly manufactured from the hide of 
 the large antelopes ; they are of an ovoid shape, 
 furnished with a protuberance in the centre. On 
 the inner surface, a piece of wood bisects them lon- 
 gitudinally, to which two straps are attached to 
 receive the arm ; they are very stout, for a thrust 
 with a spear or a sabre-cut scarcely ever penetrates 
 them. The sheep-skins they tan very neatly, and 
 impart to them a red, yellow, green, or other opti- 
 onal colour, by means of the juice of certain plants ; 
 the natives bind their shoes, ornament their sandals, 
 or sew up charms with this coloured leather ; they 
 also prepare sheaths for knives and other articles 
 from it. 
 
 The women plait some very ornamental articles 
 from the foliage of the Palma Thebaica, further, 
 bread-baskets named Tabak, covers for dishes, mats, 
 &c. They dye the leaves in different colours, and 
 decorate them with patterns that are really astonish- 
 
PRODUCTS. 257 
 
 iii. They also manufacture funnels for straining 
 mrrissa, and baskets for keeping milk. The latter 
 so densely worked that, when the fluid has once 
 permeated them, they do not even leak. Every de- 
 scription of work performed in this country is very 
 simple, and it is only to be wondered at, that the 
 natives are able to produce thus much, as they labour 
 under a deficiency of implements of all kinds. 
 
258 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN,, LOBEID. 
 
 LOBEID, or Labayet, as it is also termed, is a 
 town composed of several villages, from one of 
 which it neither differs in its external appearance 
 nor internal arrangements, excepting, perhaps, in 
 being of greater extent. The houses, like those of 
 the villages, are mere huts of straw, some few of 
 them are, indeed, built of clay, but not one single 
 house is of stone. The former town of the same 
 name was totally destroyed by the Turks when they 
 took possession of Kordofan, and the six villages, 
 of which the capital of this province now consists, 
 were subsequently built on the same site. Although 
 these villages are not separated from each other by 
 the intervention of a large space, yet each of them 
 forms a separate quarter, and is inhabited by a 
 distinct class of men. Wady Naghele, the first of 
 these, is entirely inhabited by the Dongolavi and 
 foreign merchants ; El-Orta, the camp, also named 
 the town of the Turks, is the quarter in which the 
 government buildings are situated, consisting of two 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 259 
 
 Barracks, the arsenal, the hospital and the residences 
 of the officers, and of many married soldiers living 
 out of barrack; in this quarter of the town the 
 Bazaar is also seen. Wady Soffie is the place of 
 abode of the negroes who immigrated with the 
 Melik-Moussalem ; Takarir or Takruri, is the 
 village of the pilgrims, where the greater part of the 
 negroes from Pergu and other districts reside. In 
 this part of the town the straw-huts of Abumedina, 
 the brother of the Sultan of Darfur,* are also situate. 
 In Kongeri those emigrants from Darfur dwell, who 
 have become residents, and remained after the con- 
 quest of the country by the Egyptian troops. The 
 sixth village includes the new buildings of the 
 Mogghrebeen, who are not provided with barracks, 
 and have themselves built their own dwellings. 
 These six villages collectively form the town of 
 Lobeid. I estimate the number of inhabitants, 
 exclusively of the military, at 12,000 souls. The 
 houses named in the language of the country, 
 Tukkoli, are mostly huts, similar to those described 
 on a former occasion. The town does not present 
 a very pleasing appearance, and is, on the whole, 
 exceedingly dull and dismal, for very few large 
 houses are to be seen, and not even one minaret, 
 met with in nearly every village in Egypt, which, 
 with the date-trees planted around them, give those 
 villages at least a more cheerful aspect. 
 
 Nothing can be more monotonous than the ap- 
 
 * Vid. Chapter xix. 
 
 s 2 
 
260 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 
 
 pearance of the town during the dry season, when 
 the detached houses present themselves with all 
 their defects and meanness, and the scanty trees 
 and gardens offer no diversification of scenery ; for 
 the former then stand as bald as brooms, and the 
 latter are not even thought of. The burning sand, 
 moreover, serves to remind the traveller that he is in 
 a desert, and there is not the slightest object to be 
 seen that might delight his eye. 
 
 How marked is the contrast in the rainy season ! 
 It is difficult to persuade yourself that it is the 
 same place you have shortly before seen standing 
 in barren nakedness. All those spots, where no- 
 thing but sand was to be observed before, are now 
 clad with a most luxuriant verdure, interspersed 
 with the most beautiful flowers. The hedges round 
 the houses are interlaced with a variety of creepers 
 and twining plants, whose variegated flowers afford a 
 most pleasing spectacle. The environs of the houses 
 are cultivated with dockn, which stands so high 
 that the tops of the roofs are only to be seen pro- 
 jecting beyond it ; not a single house can be descried 
 at a distance, and the whole country appears like 
 one large forest. The entire town then resembles 
 a park intersected by mazes, rendering it difficult 
 for a stranger to extricate himself, or to find out a 
 particular house. His embarrassment is greatly aug- 
 mented by the circumstance of there being several 
 thousands of small straw huts, and by the close resem- 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEI1). 
 
 blanre of the houses to each other for all are built 
 alike so that the stranger experiences much trouble 
 in even recognising the house he may be lodging 
 in. But all this is in its way unique, and diverts the 
 eye. The traveller wanders with pleasure through 
 these thousands and thousands of intricate paths, 
 and is delighted at every step with the beautiful 
 variations in the scene. At this time, however, 
 the tropical showers set in, bringing a number of 
 disagreeables in their train; for the rain falls so 
 suddenly, and in such abundance, that the soil in 
 some places cannot absorb the water with sufficient 
 rapidity ; and thus streams are formed, or the ground 
 is ploughed up into beds, which fill in an instant, 
 rendering the intercourse between one quarter and 
 the other, or even from house to house, very diffi- 
 cult, if they do not totally impede all communication. 
 There are no bridges, not even as much as boards 
 laid down to facilitate the passage over these 
 brooks, and he who is obliged by business to go 
 out immediately after the rain, has no alternative 
 but to Made through all these streams and puddles 
 barefooted. It would be impracticable at this 
 period to ride a donkey even, for notwithstanding 
 their sureness of foot, the ground is so uneven that 
 they must tread into holes, and both man and beaM 
 would run the risk of being drowned. Nearly every 
 year there are instances of hs of life from men 
 venturing to go from hut to hut by night, and it N 
 
262 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 
 
 really advisable to remain confined to the house 
 until these torrents are lost in the sand, as is very 
 soon the case. 
 
 As soon as the harvest is concluded, and the 
 stubble is quite dry, the natives proceed to burn 
 the remaining herbage. This occupation offers a 
 very singular spectacle. The grass is in part col- 
 lected into heaps, and old and young congregate 
 around them to witness the exhibition which ensues : 
 the pile is ignited, and a dense smoke issues from it. 
 Disturbed by the fumes, and frightened by the noise 
 of the multitude, thousands of locusts, which had 
 lain concealed in the grass, fly up, but are quickly 
 seized upon by the bystanders, impaled and roasted, 
 and offered for sale in the market-place, at the price 
 of five for one para or hassasch ; they constitute a 
 favourite dish with the natives, by whom they are 
 greedily devoured. After this act of purification the 
 place again presents itself to view in all its naked- 
 ness, and many other matters come to light, which had 
 hitherto been hidden by the grass : bones of men and 
 animals lie scattered about in all the roads, for no 
 one thinks it worth his trouble to inter them. The 
 cause of this barbarity will be readily understood 
 when it is known that, as soon as a slave dies, a rope 
 is bound round his foot, by which he is dragged out 
 of the hut with as little ceremony as a dead beast, 
 and scraped into the sand anywhere, or even left to 
 decompose in the grass until the hyaenas come to 
 gnaw his bones in the night ; the remains are de- 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 2G3 
 
 voured in the morning by the dogs, two or more 
 of which may not unfrequently be seen fighting over 
 a human arm or foot. The hyaenas are really in 
 some respects a blessing to these countries, they 
 are, in fact, the scavengers, consume all the dead 
 bodies and garbage, and thus prevent the air from 
 being poisoned with miasmata and nauseous vapours. 
 A fallen animal is treated in the same manner as a 
 dead slave; it is thrown on to the neighbours' 
 territory, and is likewise devoured in the night by 
 the beasts of prey ; whilst the remainder is enjoyed 
 during the day by the hungry dogs, in company 
 with greedy vultures, eagles, and other rapacious 
 birds. The places of sepulture are not held sacred by 
 these uninvited guests ; for the dead bodies being 
 generally very superficially covered over with earth, 
 they are disinterred at night by the hyaenas and 
 ravenous dogs, and totally consumed, or the remains 
 are left exposed in the high roads. 
 
 Lobeid counts five mosques, only one of which is 
 a brick building. This is situated in the quarter of 
 Wady-Naghele ; it is quite a plain edifice, without 
 that decoration so generally observed about the places 
 of worship in Egypt. All the other public buildings, 
 as also the houses belonging to the chief Turks, are 
 si m pie huts of clay, differing from the others merely in 
 their internal arrangements, which consist, however, 
 only in the construction of a few divans. There are 
 three barracks at Lobeid, constituted by a series of 
 stra \v-huts, likewise about fifty in number, which 
 
264 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 are enclosed by a fence, furnished with an en- 
 trance, the gate of which is represented by a large 
 branch of a tree. The hospital, that terror of all 
 the soldiery, is also erected of clay. One of the 
 largest buildings in Lobeid is the governor's 
 residence. It is distinguished from the other 
 houses only by its magnitude, and a rather more 
 comfortable arrangement of its interior, for in con- 
 struction it resembles all the other buildings. There 
 is, in fact, no choice of material ; thus the palaces 
 of the great, and the hovels of the lower orders, are 
 raised of clay, and their outer walls covered with a 
 coating of cow-dung. Besides a large saloon and 
 court, the government-house has an orangery. In 
 the court, at the back of the house, the divan, or 
 chamber of audience, is situated, where public busi- 
 ness is transacted, and the visits are received of 
 foreigners and natives, as also of all subordinates, 
 who, according to Eastern custom, are obliged to do 
 honour to the governor periodically. To the left of 
 this saloon is the lesser divan, as it is called, in 
 which a captain disposes of the less important 
 matters, or arranges disputes, and other trifling 
 affairs, that the governor may not be unnecessarily 
 troubled. The scriptoria of the Coptic secretaries, 
 met with in all Mehemed Ali's divans are situate on 
 the left of the court. During my residence in Kor- 
 dofan, Mahommed Bey, colonel of the first regiment 
 of the line, was at the same time civil and military 
 governor of the province. This man, a Circassian 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 265 
 
 by birth, who was brought as a slave to Egypt, be- 
 came a mameluke of Mehemed All's, and in a short 
 time rose to his present high station. He is a man 
 of very limited capacity, without the slightest 
 education, and is entirely governed by his depen- 
 dants and flatterers. Besides his ignorance, he pos- 
 sessed a very large share of pride, and knew how to 
 keep up the appearance of great importance and dig- 
 nity ; he passed, however, the greater part of his time 
 in conversation with a fakeer, to whom he paid far 
 more attention than to his other subordinates, and 
 whose visits were far more agreeable to him than those 
 of his officers. He could not write at all, could read 
 but little, and only understood how to make the 
 impression of his kashef* (seal). If instructions, or 
 other orders, arrived from Cairo, his secretary, 
 a copt, was obliged to read them aloud, and when 
 he came to a passage which was to be kept secret, 
 lie stopped him, and ordered him to finish it in his 
 private room; the reports for Egypt were then laid 
 before him to seal with his kashef : the remainder of 
 his time he passed in smoking, and drinking coffee ; 
 he very rarely walked in the open air, or rode. To 
 drink twenty or thirty cups of coffee daily was to 
 him a trifle, for as soon as a visitor arrived, he 
 
 * The Kashef, or impression of the seal, is customary over the 
 whole of the East, and a signature, although in the handwriting of 
 the individual, does not render a document, or other paper, valid 
 unless it be at the same time sealed with the Kashef, or initials of 
 
 the writer. 
 
266 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 merely looked at the attendants in the apartment, 
 who understood his meaning instantly, and brought 
 coffee and pipes, the former was kept in an adjacent 
 room continually on the fire. It is a rule and 
 should be made general to pay the governor visits of 
 etiquette, as they are termed, at certain times, for the 
 Turks attach great importance to this custom, and a 
 neglect of this mark of respect might give offence. 
 Very often visitors arrive, who, after a mute saluta- 
 tion, sit down, as soon as invited to do so, drink the 
 coffee presented to them, and in a short time rise, 
 taking their departure as mutely as they came, with 
 a silent greeting. 
 
 The ammunition, and other military stores, are 
 contained in an appropriate building, enclosed by a 
 mud wall, and surrounded by a fosse, which is, 
 however, scantily supplied with water during three 
 months, and remains empty for the remainder of 
 the year. The wall is constructed of clay, and 
 might easily be breached by stones. It may be 
 imagined what superintendence is there prevalent ; 
 and it is really astonishing that an invasion is not 
 undertaken on the part of the natives of Darfour to 
 revenge themselves for the loss of their stolen camels, 
 more especially at the time of the slave-hunts, when 
 nearly the whole of the military force is absent, 
 and the entire garrison of Kordofan does not con- 
 sist of six hundred men. They might very soon, 
 and with but little trouble at that time, capture or 
 destroy all the military supplies, and before a rein- 
 
t] 
 
 \ 
 
 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 267 
 
 forcement could be despatched from the Nuba 
 mountains, the enemy might plunder and sack 
 everything without meeting with the slightest re- 
 sistance. 
 
 Opposite the .government buildings the gallows 
 is erected. Thi$ engine of civilization is composed 
 of two posts driven vertically into the ground, 
 and surmounted by a cross-beam, to which the 
 victims of a rigid penal law are suspended, with- 
 out further ceremony. Not far from the fatal 
 scaffold is an elevation, or clay mound, furnished 
 with a few steps, where the priest reads a prayer 
 on high-feasts, the service being only attended by 
 the male population of the town. The Soock, or 
 proper market-place, is contiguous to this mound, 
 t would be an egregious fallacy to imagine that 
 order reigned here predominant, as in other towns 
 in the equally uncivilized East ; for not only are 
 all objects intended for sale jumbled pell-mell to- 
 gether, and exposed without consideration to the 
 inclemencies of the weather, and other destructive 
 influence, but it costs, moreover, indescribable trou- 
 ble to obtain even such articles as you may be willing 
 to purchase. Close to this market-place on the 
 right, stands the only coffee-house in the whole 
 province of Kordofan. In the year 1838 it was 
 closed, and no tenant was to be found for a consi- 
 derable time on account of the high rent demanded 
 by the government ; the price of coffee had aNo 
 at thi> period to eighteen piafltei* (five shillings 
 
268 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 and threepence) the rottolo (about three quarters of 
 a pound), as none had arrived from Abyssinia. In 
 the year 1839 the establishment was again opened 
 by the new governor Yussuff-Bey, in consideration 
 of this beverage being so indispensable to the 
 Turkish officers. 
 
 The remaining store-houses consist of three walls 
 of clay covered in by a thatched roof; the goods 
 are here laid down on the sand and exposed, as 
 I before mentioned, to all weathers. The upper 
 part of the market-place is appropriated to the sale 
 of dockn, camels, cows, sheep, goats, asses, and 
 other domestic animals ; next to these may be seen 
 the djelabi with the commodity they have brought 
 from Cairo lying on the sand ; then come the water- 
 dealers, and lastly, at either side of the soock, the 
 women exhibit themselves, sitting down in four 
 or six rows, to sell sour milk, butter, lard, garden 
 and wild fruits ; they bring also in addition to the 
 articles mentioned, tobacco pipe-bowls, eggs, etc., for 
 sale; the stands of the dealers in wood and grass 
 are contiguous to these, and occupy a large extent 
 of the market-place, for as wood and grass may 
 be collected by any one, there is considerable com- 
 petition in this branch of trade. The portion of 
 the market occupied by the women, affords a most 
 singular sight, for they sit crowded together with- 
 out order or regard for personal comfort, and the 
 small vacant space is densely filled with buyers, 
 who will not budge an inch to make room for each 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 2G9 
 
 other; thus, in order to move from place to place, 
 you have, literally speaking, to walk over the heads 
 of the women, cowering down on the ground, and 
 they allow this want of gallantry without a murmur. 
 Altogether, that quarrelling, so common in Egyp- 
 tian markets, is never to be heard here. Beside 
 the 4 retailers and venders, the public criers must 
 be mentioned; these people deal in old clothes and 
 other articles, and have no permanent stand, but 
 holding the object for sale high up in their hands, 
 dispose of it according to the custom in other towns 
 in Egypt, to the highest bidder. This descrip- 
 tion of auction is not carried on at a fixed place, 
 for the auctioneer, bawling out the price last bid, 
 presses through the crowd of human beings, and 
 runs from place to place until an advance is made, 
 whereupon he is obliged to return to the former 
 bidder, and inform him that his offer has been su- 
 perseded. It is very remarkable that these criers 
 can always accurately find out the man who has 
 made a bid for the article in question, and thus 
 expressed a wished to become a purchaser, in 
 the immense crowd. If no one advance on the 
 last offer the article put up for sale is delivered 
 after several perambulations to the highest bidder. 
 This species of auction is the public sale in common 
 vogue in Egypt. If an European die leaving many 
 effects, a formal auction is advertised by his respec- 
 tive consul, and the chattels are publicly sold in 
 the same manner as in Europe ; inconsiderable 
 
270 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 
 
 relics are, however, disposed of by the criers above- 
 mentioned. Market lasts at Lobeid generally from 
 three o'clock in the afternoon until sunset ; for the 
 heat during- the day being insupportable, no one 
 leaves his house without cogent reasons, before 
 three in the afternoon, and it would thus be useless 
 for the merchants and dealers to congregate in the 
 market-place at an early hour. 
 
 Provisions and articles of domestic economy pro- 
 duced in the country are, generally speaking, cheap ; 
 but in Lobeid, as in all other capitals, they are more 
 expensive than in the environs, where they may be 
 procured at a distance of eight or twelve miles from 
 the town, at two-thirds of their cost in the market- 
 place. A large sheep, the price of which is from 
 fifteen to eighteen piasters in Lobeid, may be bought 
 in the villages, at a distance of not quite twelve 
 miles from the town, for six piasters at the utmost, 
 and the same observation applies proportionately to 
 all other provisions. The price of the finest camels 
 is on an average one hundred and fifty piasters, that 
 of ordinary animals from forty to eighty piasters 
 (from eight to sixteen shillings). The most revolt- 
 ing scene on the Soock, is the sale of slaves, which 
 takes place every day throughout the year. The 
 unfortunate being offered for sale is led about like 
 any other commodity by the crier, who expatiates 
 upon the beauty, or other characteristics of the 
 slave, and walking before him, bawls out the price. 
 If a purchaser present himself, he enters upon an ex- 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 271 
 
 animation of his fellow creature, as we should examine 
 a head of cattle, in Europe ; he looks at his teeth, 
 eyes, hands, and feet, and inquires into his age, place 
 of birth, and in short, into every circumstance which 
 might influence his price while the unfortunate wretch 
 follows the crier like a dog, anxiously awaiting his 
 future fate. A mother may not be separated from 
 the infant at her breast, but children of three or 
 four years of age may be disposed of separately ; the 
 latter are very reasonable; their price varies only from 
 thirty to sixty piasters (eight and sixpence to seven- 
 teen shillings). Full-grown slaves fluctuate accord- 
 ing to the supply of the market ; girls and boys 
 from ten to fifteen years of age, are in the greatest 
 request, and cost from one hundred to three hun- 
 dred piasters; if there be few for sale, and many 
 Djelabi are about to travel to Cairo, the price, 
 of course, rises. There are certain conditions 
 under which a slave may be returned to the ven- 
 der, e. g. if he have offensive breath, or snore in his 
 sleep, or be troubled with incontinence of urine, 
 for any one of these vices he may be sent back 
 at the expiration of the third day ; should a female 
 slave be pregnant, the term is somewhat prolonged. 
 The slave-trade is not always carried on in retail, 
 for the Djelabi buy slaves in lots ; on these occa- 
 sions, however, the individuals are singly examined, 
 and the aged and infirm are separated from the flock. 
 The chief object is to have as many young girl* and 
 boys as possible in a lot, and to be able- to transport 
 
272 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 
 
 them safely to Egypt ; thus every one in purchasing 
 a male or female slave, looks chiefly to their age, 
 and a boy or girl, beyond the thirteenth or fifteenth 
 year, is seldom sold in the bazaar of Cairo or Alex- 
 andria ; every one, in fact, prefers bringing them up 
 according to his own taste, and for this purpose 
 selects the youngest. The older women and men 
 exposed for sale in the bazaar, of the towns above 
 named, are mostly such as are resold by their mas- 
 ters for some particular defect, and it is by no 
 means, therefore, advisable to purchase them. 
 
 The soock, or market is the only place of diversion 
 for the European or stranger in general, at Lobeid. 
 Besides the pleasing spectacle afforded by the bustle 
 of the place, the crowd, and various groups of deal- 
 ers and Djelabs, all the Turkish officers, Coptic 
 secretaries, and the few foreign merchants collect in 
 the market-place, around the single coffee-house we 
 have before mentioned, where each man endeavours 
 to surpass the other in retailing news. Although deep 
 in the interior of Africa, there is no lack of news 
 from the most distant parts of the world ; and even 
 when at the time of the heavy rains the communi- 
 cation with Egypt is interrupted, intelligence may be 
 heard every day from that quarter ; sometimes it 
 consists of a most palpable tissue of lies ; yet it 
 is greedily devoured by many a patient ear, because 
 agreeable to the majority of the audience. The re- 
 port usually circulates that Mehemed Ali is at war 
 with the Turks in Syria, and carrying on warfare at 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 273 
 
 the same time in Arabia, and is beaten everywhere ; 
 then it is generally added, that the regiment quar- 
 tered at Lobeid would receive orders by the next 
 dromedary to march to Egypt. This is, of course, 
 most pleasing intelligence to the Turkish officers, 
 who are ardently longing for a release, and is bruit- 
 ed about with innumerable variations and additions. 
 Then they talk about England, Germany, Russia, 
 and France, these being the only countries in Europe 
 with which the Turks are acquainted. In one or the 
 other of these states there is sure to be always war 
 declared by the Grand Sultan, because the sultan of 
 the country which happens to form the topic of 
 conversation has failed to pay the tribute due to 
 Constantinople ; for the majority of the Turks still 
 uphold the absurd opinion that these four countries 
 are tributary to the Grand Sultan of Constantinople. 
 Thus the conversation turns upon these political 
 questions.- If a sudden shower should happen to 
 come on when least expected ; for the rain, as in 
 all tropical countries, generally falls in torrents, and, 
 indeed, without the slightest premonitory sign, so 
 that it is difficult even to reach a place of shelter, 
 the confusion thus created would excite the most 
 hypochondriacal person to laughter. The mass of 
 human beings who stood, or sat, crowded together 
 like a swarm of locusts, are in an instant scattered 
 in all directions. The screams of the women, 
 afraid of losing their goods in the crowd or of 
 seeing them spoiled by the rain ; the cries of the 
 
 T 
 
274 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBE1D. 
 
 children who have lost their way, and are in search 
 of their parents ; the alertness of the men, who like 
 all the rest dread the rain more than blows, and 
 endeavour to escape as quickly as they can, all tend 
 to render the scene of confusion so ludicrous, that 
 the most stern spectator would be involuntarily 
 disposed to laugh. It is not the fear of ruining 
 their garments that induces them to scamper away 
 so fast from the rain, for the most of them have 
 no clothes to spoil, and the Djelabi merely wear a 
 shirt, which the contact of a little pure water, more- 
 over, could not harm ; and the Turks and foreigners 
 who are entirely dressed wear linen clothing, which 
 water cannot injure ; and yet they stand in as much 
 awe of every drop of rain as if burning sparks were 
 falling among them. They are impressed with the 
 absurd idea that to get once a little wet is sufficient 
 to produce a fever. Their apprehension is, strictly 
 speaking, not so very erroneous, for the slightest 
 cold during the rainy season is sufficient to stretch 
 the most healthy man on a bed of sickness, from 
 which it will be very doubtful whether he recover. 
 High feasts and festivals create no variation in 
 the ordinary scene, as a general rule, and none of 
 those fantasias* so common in Egypt are seen on 
 Sundays and holidays at Lobeid ; the only amuse- 
 
 * An expression in use among the natives of Egypt, Syria, and 
 Arabia, to denote an amusement and every description of orna- 
 ment or pomp; thus the women are said to have a. fantasia on their 
 heads or dress, as they go out to witness & fantasia. 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 275 
 
 in cut, as I have before observed, consists in the 
 dances and songs of the women and girls, after sun- 
 set, when every one returns to his house. 
 
 In the quarter of the town named Kongeri, which 
 N inhabited by the men of Darfour, dwells the 
 sheikh Sultan Tehme, a descendant of the sultans 
 of Darfour. His present occupation is very ill- 
 suited to his illustrious birth, for he is the mutilator 
 of those poor boys who subsequently serve as guards 
 in the various harems. This sheikh possesses two 
 of the largest copper kettle-drums I ever saw in my 
 life ; they were presented to him by Mehemed Ali, 
 as a mark of distinction. These drums are beaten 
 all day long on every Friday and festival ; but their 
 sound is by no means very agreeable to those who 
 are not over fond of music. This sheikh presents a 
 very imposing appearance, for though black as the 
 night, he has a very luxuriant beard, not very gene- 
 ral among the negroes, which he dies with a poma- 
 tum of a bright red colour; it forms a striking con- 
 trast with his black shining face. When he rides 
 into the country his horse is preceded by two musi- 
 cians blowing during the whole march on a leathern 
 pipe with eight holes. 
 
 When 1 arrived at Lobeid I only found one sin. 
 <rle Kurnpean living. Dr. I ken, whom I have before 
 mentioned, a native of Hanover, who, like most of 
 the Europeans, after a short residence there paid 
 his tribute 1 to the climate. He is buried in the 
 court of his own house, which is situated in the 
 
 T 2 
 
276 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 quarter or village of Takarir, near the residence of 
 the sultan Abumedina of Darfur. The govern- 
 ment has appropriated his house to themselves, and 
 converted it into a magazine for leather. Seven 
 other Europeans, besides Dr. Iken, breathed their 
 last at Lobeid, and are buried on the north side 
 of the hospital square. I planted a tree on each 
 grave, and had already fixed upon a place of rest 
 near them. After I had recovered from my dan- 
 gerous illness in a slight measure, and was just able 
 to creep along with the assistance of a stick, my 
 favourite promenade was to those graves ; they were 
 the only relics of Europeans I could find in that 
 distant country, and I was under the influence of a 
 peculiar feeling when arriving at those hillocks ; I 
 knew myself in the company of Europeans, although 
 departed from this world ; I fancied myself in reality 
 in their presence, and I could have believed that 
 they were listening with sympathy to my soft com- 
 plaints, heard my longing voice for my distant 
 fatherland, and were congratulating me on my re- 
 covery and speedy departure from this country, so 
 fatal to Europeans. When I paid my last visit to 
 this spot I was overpowered by that same feeling 
 we experience when parting with our friends. 
 
 Taking a summary view of Lobeid it appears 
 only to be a large village ; the barren country 
 around it presents a slightly excavated surface, and 
 the rain-water flowing towards the village forms a 
 torrent which runs towards the north, but soon dis- 
 
CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN ; LOBEID. 277 
 
 appears in the sand. The environs are cultivated 
 with dockn. Lobeid offers many spectacles render- 
 ing it interesting to the traveller, the chief of which 
 is the concourse of men from the most distant parts 
 of Africa, even from Timbuctoo, and other negro 
 states as yet totally unknown to Europeans. Before 
 the first rays of the sun emerge from the sea of desert 
 sand, the whole of the population is on foot, and 
 each man begins the business of the day; with the 
 majority, however, this only consists in lying on 
 the sand, or visiting his neighbour when the same 
 interesting occupation is performed in company. 
 The flocks are driven to their pasture by a shepherd 
 riding on his ox, the slaves are led to work with 
 chains on their feet, caravans are passing and re- 
 passing, and all this affords an unique exhibition. 
 In the streets songs are heard everywhere, even the 
 female slave at the Morale sings her plaintive ditty 
 of attachment to her home, whilst grinding the 
 corn ; in fact all is life and motion as in a beehive ; 
 but from 11 o'clock A.M. till 3 o'clock P.M., during 
 the hot months, quietude and silence reign in the 
 streets, and the whole town resembles a city of the 
 dead ; every one seeks shelter from the fierce rays 
 of a vertical sun in his own hut, and there enjoys his 
 rest, for it is impossible to exist out of the shade ; 
 onlv a few hungry dogs may then be seen running 
 about in the street-, and even they do not remain 
 long in the open air, but seek a shady place with all 
 speed, where they may protect themselves fnmi the 
 
278 CAPITAL OF KORDOFAN; LOBEID. 
 
 burning heat. This recess lasts until 3 o'clock, 
 when every one, refreshed by his siesta, returns to 
 his occupations. The streets now become again as 
 animated as they were at sunrise, but the most lively 
 scene is then in the market-place ; this state of ac- 
 tivity lasts until the sun sets, when the inhabitants 
 all retire again to their houses to recover from the 
 fatigues of the day. The streets become suddenly 
 empty, for with sunset night closes in ; there is 
 no twilight, and every one is anxious for repose. 
 This silence continues until they have all finished 
 their frugal meal, for the poorest man finds the ne- 
 cessaries of life in his hut, or should he really suffer 
 want, goes to his nearest neighbour, where his 
 wants are willingly supplied. As soon as the repast 
 is over, large fires may be seen burning before the 
 huts far and near ; drums, beating of hands, and 
 songs resound in all directions, and the girls and 
 young men congregate for the merry dance, which 
 is kept up until midnight ; and then the whole 
 town once more becomes as suddenly silent, for 
 each man, with but few exceptions, betakes him- 
 self again to rest. The streets are now, indeed, 
 wrapped in the silence of the grave, save that the 
 stillness of the night is occasionally interrupted by 
 the howl of a hyaena, or the yelling of the timid 
 dogs. This mode of life is repeated daily, and but 
 rarely undergoes even the slightest variation. 
 
COMMERCE. 279 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 COMMERCE. 
 
 THE monopoly enjoyed by the Egyptian govern- 
 ment in this province totally impedes trade in 
 general. The chief articles of commerce are not 
 only all bought by the authorities, who are, more- 
 over, protected by a law prohibiting any private 
 person from bringing them into the market ; but 
 the immense duties levied on the goods render it 
 impossible to transport them to Egypt; this rule 
 especially applies to ivory. Every one is, therefore, 
 forced to sell to the government, the most arbitrary 
 species of monopoly, or rather worse, inasmuch as 
 the individual suffers an outlay in capital, freight, 
 and duty. The country might produce indigo, 
 opium, sugar, and many other articles, which would 
 yield an immense profit, both to private persons 
 and to the administration, for the soil requires but 
 little cultivation, and brings forth every plant in 
 great luxuriance; but the onus placed upon the 
 province by the despotic government discourages 
 the individual from attempting more than trusting 
 
280 COMMERCE. 
 
 entirely to nature. The whole population live in 
 fear, and are not one day sure of their property ; thus 
 every one looks only to the moment, and troubles 
 himself very little about his successor. All the 
 produce met with in commerce is in its natural 
 state, and few manufactured goods are ever seen 
 beyond some solitary cottons, and objects in leather. 
 The articles of export are : gum, hides, senna- 
 leaves, ivory, rhinoceros'- horns, cattle, tamarinds, 
 ostrich-feathers, ostrich-eggs, gold in rings and in 
 grain, water-bags, salt, tobacco, sim-sim, cisme, and 
 slaves. The first three articles named are the most 
 lucrative in a commercial point of view, and mono- 
 polized, of course, by the government. The gum 
 Arabic is collected in the forests a few months after 
 the expiration of the rainy season, and we may say by 
 force ; for the government pays the cantaro of forty- 
 four oock'ckahs, equivalent to one hundred and ten 
 pounds, with fifteen piasters (four shillings and four- 
 pence) only. They might greatly increase their profits 
 if they were to remunerate the labour better, and to 
 pay more attention to this branch of trade, although 
 it must be allowed to a certain extent to rest under 
 the influence of the weather, for if much rain fall, 
 the trees are the more prolific ; but the collection 
 itself is performed with the utmost carelessness, as 
 the people employed are driven to this work by 
 force, and receive but small wages. Add to this, 
 that whole forests are being annually hewn down, 
 and converted into arable land, whilst no one 
 
COMMERCE. 281 
 
 dreams of replanting trees, a provision considered 
 a work of supererogation, and left entirely to na- 
 ture. 
 
 If the export of gum and ivory to Europe should 
 ever become a free-trade, merely subjected to duty, 
 these two articles will yield a very considerable profit 
 to those who may have the good fortune to benefit 
 first by this alteration, and who take the trouble 
 to repair to the spot. The gathering takes place, 
 as I have before-mentioned, at the close of the 
 rainy season, in the months of November, Decem- 
 ber, and January ; the gum obtained is of the finest 
 quality, and is erroneously named gum Arabic. 
 Kordofan yields, in average years, from three thou- 
 sand five hundred to four thousand loads of this 
 product, or from ten to fourteen thousand hundred- 
 weight, at forty-four oock'ckahs. I have been as- 
 sured by many persons that an addition of six 
 thousand hundred-weight might be made to this 
 quantity, if the labour of the persons employed in 
 the collection were but better remunerated. Before 
 the introduction of the monopoly, it was sold in the 
 following manner, a plan which will be again pur- 
 sued as soon as the present statutes are repealed. 
 A number of men, women, and children, gather the 
 raw gum in the forest into baskets, (Capable of con- 
 taining twelve rottoli (the rottolo about three quar- 
 ters of a pound). Forty of these baskets constitute 
 a camel-load, which weighs four hundred and eiglity 
 rottoli, and reckoning the taiv of the cases at h'vr 
 
282 COMMERCE. 
 
 hundred rottoli ; the cost of this quantity would vary 
 from five and a half to six Spanish dollars. These 
 five hundred rottoli* cannot be transported by 
 Camel across the desert to Debba, on the Nile, be- 
 cause the load would be too heavy ; for three to 
 four contari, at one hundred rottoli, form the 
 average load of each camel. Another expedient, 
 which might be turned to very good account, would 
 be to pack the gum in ox-hides instead of cases; 
 for the government buys dry hides at three piasters 
 (ten pence halfpenny), and at Alexandria they are 
 sold at thirty piasters (six shillings and sixpence). 
 It would be imperatively necessary to employ the 
 natives in the purchase of gum, sending them out 
 in all directions into the various villages; but I 
 would advise every one to be on his guard against 
 the Dongolavi, and it should be a rule in general 
 not to trust any native with much money, for it 
 would stand a very good chance of being totally 
 lost. Those who are furnished with articles in con- 
 sumption in the country may effect one-third of 
 their outlay in goods, and will thus realize an 
 average profit of fifty per cent. 
 
 The place best adapted for the purchase of gum 
 would be Bara, and I adjoin a list of the expenses of 
 freightage and duties thence to Cairo, as defrayed 
 before the introduction of the monopoly : 
 
 * Wind and heat cause a diminution in the weight of the gum 
 before it reaches Cairo. 
 
COMMERCE. 283 
 
 .. s. (/. 
 
 To outlay for four hundred and eighty rottoli (about 
 three and a half hundred-weight), at forty-four 
 oock'ckahs . . . . . . .100 
 
 Freight to Dongola 100 
 
 from Dongola to Wady Chalfa . . . 14 
 
 per boat to Cairo 048 
 
 Duty in Kordofan 089 
 
 Darawi 11 
 
 Cairo . 050 
 
 435 
 
 As the export duty is, according to the existing 
 laws, only twelve shillings, ad valorem, the customs 
 would amount only to sixteen shillings per hundred- 
 weight to Alexandria. 
 
 In the countries bordering on Kordofan, as Nuba, 
 Takele, Kodero, etc., the gum rots every year, be- 
 cause Mehemed Ali makes no use of it, but is too 
 avaricious to allow any other person to derive 
 benefit from it. The purchase might in those 
 places be effected by barter. 
 
 IVORY. Many of the merchants at Trieste, Mar- 
 seilles, and Livorno, are even at the present day of 
 the opinion that the ivory imported, via the Cape of 
 Good Hope, is found in the East Indies, and have, 
 therefore, given it the name of Asiatic ivory ; that, 
 on the other hand, brought by way of Tripoli and 
 Alexandria, they have termed African ivory; where- 
 as I can assure them, that more than one-third, if 
 not the half of the former, is, properly speaking, 
 African. During nineteen months of my travels in 
 (he interior of Africa. I endeavoured to collect 
 
284 COMMERCE. 
 
 accurate information concerning this article of com- 
 merce, and I think that my experience will prove of 
 sufficient interest to entitle me to give it at length. 
 Mehemed Ali monopolizes the trade in ivory, and 
 thinks that he receives all the ivory imported into 
 his states from the centre of Africa ; but he is very 
 much mistaken in this respect, for only that brought 
 by the caravans from Darfour, which usually reach 
 Siut, in Upper Egypt, in the months of February and 
 March, is sold to the Viceroy, and this merely from 
 necessity, in order to enable the vendor to purchase 
 other articles with the net proceeds. In Kordofan, 
 the very centre of the ivory trade, he has thrown the 
 trade open, but at the same time very cunningly cal- 
 culated that it must eventually come into his hands, 
 for, after the djelabi (merchants) have bought the 
 ivory in Kordofan, and defrayed all the expenses of its 
 transport to Cairo, he is the first to make them 
 an offer for their stock, and, indeed, at so low a 
 price that they can hardly gain a small interest 
 on the capital laid out; hence very little ivory 
 is brought to him now-a-days through that source. 
 Darfour, which receives ivory from its tributary 
 provinces, Runga, Kulla, Shala, Binga, Gimir, Sa- 
 chana, Yambusa, Dama, etc., as contribution, sells 
 it in the country to the merchants of Kobbe and El- 
 Fasher. That which is collected at Pergu, Ba- 
 chermi, Kugo, and Niro, is annually forwarded to 
 Tripoli. The market price at Kobbe and El-Fash er, 
 where large stores are always kept, is 3/. 2s. 6d. 
 
COMMERCE. 285 
 
 the cantaro of 12 rottoli (== 88 Ibs). The pur- 
 chase is likewise effected by barter against cottons 
 from Dongola, or articles of trade from Germany, 
 viz., double-edged swords, red cloth, amber, glass- 
 beads, spikenard, wire, etc. From Darfour the 
 ivory is brought to Lobeid, the capital of Kordofan, 
 and to Bara, a commercial town in the same pro- 
 vince, but the greater quantity passes through the 
 country to the shores of the Red Sea. In Kor- 
 dofan, the cantaro costs already 10/. 18s., including 
 the duty. A great deal is brought from Shabun 
 and the Shilluk country to Kordofan, where the 
 djelabi of Lobeid and Bara become the possessors 
 of it by barter ; the Bakkara (a nomadic tribe) also 
 trade in ivory, and barter it away to the djelabi 
 above mentioned ; to the Shilluks they give, at 
 the most, cottons from Dongola, glass beads, salt, 
 and tobacco, in exchange for it. All the ivory 
 which passes through Kordofan, whether directly 
 or indirectly obtained, is forwarded to Suakim, a 
 sea-port on the Red Sea, under the 19 of northern 
 latitude, where it is received by Englishmen who 
 have been quietly awaiting its arrival, and have 
 cast their net over sixteen hundred or two thou- 
 sand miles of the interior of Africa. The English- 
 man pays well and promptly, hence he commands 
 the market without any trouble ; whilst for Mehe- 
 med Ali remains only that which, for want of time, 
 or owing to some other circumstance, was not for- 
 warded to Suakim. The English have done all 
 
286 COMMERCE. 
 
 in their power, for a long time, to keep secret the 
 sources, whence they derive so large a quantity of 
 this commodity ; thus they remained perfectly 
 quiet at Suakim, where this article of commerce 
 was brought to thorn, avoiding the necessity of 
 exposing themselves to the unhealthy climate of 
 the interior of Africa, or rather of Kordofan. They 
 have appointed agents at Suakim, Indians by birth, 
 who manage the business for two, or at the most 
 three, English houses established in India. In the 
 year 1840, an Englishman was stationed there 
 transacting business, and he was by no means 
 pleased at finding the secret, which had stood the 
 test of so many years, at last discovered. The can- 
 taro costs from 10/. to 12/., and scarcely a fourth 
 part of it pays duty at the customhouse in Suakim. 
 Small coasting vessels act as lighters to convey 
 the cargo to the larger Arabian and Indian ships 
 lying off in readiness to receive it, which then sail 
 for India directly. 
 
 At a distance of half a league from the shore 
 of Abyssinia, and two leagues from Arkiko, is an 
 island in the possession of the Viceroy of Egypt, 
 named Massauwa, which forms, as it were, the 
 key of Abyssinia ; for all the ivory brought from 
 Abyssinia, the Galla country, and the south-west 
 and southern parts of Africa, must pass through 
 this island The cargoes from Shoa (in southern 
 Abyssinia) and the neighbouring states, are dis- 
 charged at Berbera and Zeila, a town on the Af- 
 
COMMERCE. 287 
 
 rican coast. From these few remarks, it may be 
 easily deduced that the ivory passing from Africa 
 to India, and by the Cape, is not all Asiatic, 
 although a large share of it is certainly obtained 
 in India. In conclusion, I must observe that, when 
 Mehemed Ali throws the trade open, the first 
 buyers in Kordofan will realize a very handsome 
 profit ; but they should rather pay the cantaro of 
 one hundred and fourteen rottoli, with seven hun- 
 dred and fifty piasters at Lobeid, than venture 
 into the country of the Shilluks, or to Shabun, 
 Runga, or Darfour, where they might certainly 
 purchase it at half the price, but would incur a 
 risk which would decidedly overbalance the ad- 
 vantage. It would be no less hazardous to send 
 a native of Kordofan into these countries to effect 
 the purchase, for they are such infamous liars, more 
 especially the Dongolavi, that they will rather allow 
 themselves to be murdered than speak one word 
 of truth : the goods, moreover, or the money with 
 which they might be intrusted, would be certainly 
 lost, as they will leave their wives and children 
 for so favourable an opportunity of cheating. 
 
 The djelabi, would, in like manner, raise the price 
 of the ivorv con>i<leral>lv, as soon as they had an 
 idea that the demand for this commodity increased ; 
 hence it would probably be the most judicious plan 
 to come to an understanding with a Turkish officer 
 quartered in Kordofan, and to ett'ect the ar<|iii>i- 
 tion in his name; the officers would willingly lend 
 
288 COMMERCE. 
 
 themselves to this undertaking 1 , without any pre- 
 tensions to a share in the profits, if they were only 
 treated to a few bottles of wine or good brandy ; 
 many honourable men are, moreover, to be met 
 with among the Turks, to whom the business might 
 fearlessly be intrusted. There would be no diffi- 
 culty in entering into Darfour or in reaching Kobbe, 
 which is not the capital, but merely the chief com- 
 mercial town in the kingdom ; nor would it be 
 impracticable to obtain ivory by purchase or barter 
 there, or, indeed, at El-Fasher, the capital, where 
 large stores are kept; but no one could answer 
 for his return as long as Sultan Mohammed 
 Fadels is on the throne. Should the government 
 ever devolve upon his brother, Abumedina, Euro- 
 peans would then have free ingress and egress to 
 the country, for he is favourably disposed towards 
 the Franks, and would willingly serve them. For 
 this assertion I can vouch, as I received the most 
 unequivocal proofs of the kindness of his disposi- 
 tion, at a time when my life was at stake. The 
 further expenses contingent upon this undertaking 
 would be as follows : 
 
 Piasters. 
 To freight of one camel-load of three to three 
 
 and a half cantari of one hundred rottoli, 
 
 from Lobeid to Debba on the Nile . 60 
 
 To boat-hire thence to New Dongola for one 
 
 boat 30 60 
 
 To freight from New Dongola, across the 
 
 desert to Wady Chalfa . . . 30 50 
 
 Day's 
 
 jour- 
 ney. 
 
 16 
 
 46 
 
 14-16 
 
COMMERCE. 289 
 
 Piasters. 
 
 ney. 
 To freight from Wady Chalfa to the Isle of 
 
 Phylae on the first cataract . . GO-150 
 
 To freight to Assuan (the ancient Syene), a 
 
 distance of one and a half hour's march, per 
 
 camel 3-4 
 
 To freight per boat from Assuan to Cairo 400-1000 
 To freight, per boat, from Cairo to Atfe . 150-400 
 To freight, per boat, from Atfe on the canal 
 
 ofMahmudie . 30-80 
 
 Day's 
 
 jour- 
 
 8-10 
 
 20-30 
 4-8 
 
 It must be mentioned in giving this estimate, 
 that the boat-hire would vary according to the size 
 of the vessel employed, nor can the time of the 
 journey by water be accurately calculated, as it 
 depends in a great measure on the wind and the 
 height of the water of the Nile. As a general 
 rule three months and a half may be reckoned as the 
 time required to reach Alexandria from Lobeid in 
 travelling with goods. 
 
 Tamarinds are an article to which the govern- 
 ment attaches no value, it consequently permits the 
 export. In the years 1837, 1838, and 1839, when, 
 from some cause unknown to me, the inflorescence 
 dropped off and no pods were formed, the rottolo 
 cost on the spot three-quarters of a penny; and this 
 was at a time when the natives were compelled to 
 import tamarinds from Darfour, as the soil did not 
 produce the necessary quantity for the consumption 
 of the country. In other years, taking an average 
 harvest, a camel load of three cantari will sell at one 
 
290 COMMERCE. 
 
 pound. The duty on this article is trifling. I found 
 the flowers taken in the form of tea, a very excellent 
 remedy, and am only astonished that this whole- 
 some beverage is not in more general use in Europe. 
 Ostrich feathers may be reckoned among the most 
 profitable articles of commerce, when in demand in 
 Europe. The inhabitants of Caccie, a town on the 
 borders of Darfour, and of Haraza, and many other 
 villages, occupy themselves with the capture of 
 these birds. An ostrich's skin yields usually about 
 three rottoli of black feathers, and half a rottolo of 
 white plumes. Several sorts are parted off for sale, 
 e.g. : two-thirds blacks, one-third whites, at 10s 6d 
 to 13s 6d the rottolo; greys at 5s 3d; blacks at 
 2^ to 3 piasters ; white plumes, not of the best quality, 
 from 21 2s to 21 12s. The duty on the feathers is 
 one pound on the value in Kordofan, Darauve, and 
 Cairo. They are made up into small packages en- 
 closed in the skin of the bird ; but great attention 
 is required in the packing, for it is almost incredi- 
 ble how the moth attacks these goods, it is, there- 
 fore, indispensably necessary to air the feathers oc- 
 casionally, and to pepper them in the packing. 
 
 The government purchases all the oxhides and 
 consigns them to Egypt ; it pays three piasters for 
 each hide. There are no calf-skins in commerce, as 
 it is contrary to the koran to slaughter calves. Sheep 
 and goat skins for water-bags (Ckirbeh) constitute an 
 article of export trade; these water-bags are also 
 manufactured from ox leather, two of them generally 
 form a camel load. Salt and tobacco are articles 
 
COMMERCE. 291 
 
 of export to tlu? Shilluks and Yaenky. and arc 
 considered favourable objects for barter. 
 
 Sini-sim, whence an oil is expressed, is exported 
 to Sennaar; Cisme,* which grows in Kordofan, al- 
 though that of a superior quality comes fromTakele, 
 is i' x ported to Egypt and the Levant. The price is 
 very low ; about twenty paras (two-pence) the rot- 
 tolo, the same quantity is, however, paid in Cairo with 
 four piasters (one shilling). It is used as a remedy 
 in diseases of the eye, but great caution is necessary 
 in purchasing this article; and it should indeed be 
 always subjected to close examination, for there are 
 several varieties in commerce, the fine grained speci- 
 mens being the best, and the coarse grained the 
 inferior varieties. 
 
 Gold is a very important article of export, but 
 not very profitable at present, since the price has 
 risen considerably. I am told that the oock'ckah 
 \vas sold at two hundred piasters before the Turks 
 entered the country; whereas the same quantity 
 now costs three hundred and seventy or four 
 hundred piasters; at this price, from ten to fifteen 
 per cent, may be realized ; the oock'ckah of Kordo- 
 fan is rather heavier than that of Sennaar. Gold is 
 met with in commerce*, in rings varying in si/e, and 
 also in grains; the latter variety is enclosed in the 
 
 * Cisme, or shishme, a small grain of the size and shape oft IK- 
 smallest lentil of a deep black shining colour is imported from 
 Dart'our. It is pulverized and rubbed into the eyelids for com- 
 plaints of the oy<\ llmrkhunlt'}* Trctrch /// .V ;//>/</, p. '?(i.'. TK. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 COMMERCE. 
 
 quills of large birds of prey, and is generally preferred 
 to that in rings, which the natives have already 
 began to adulterate. The greatest quantity of this 
 metal is brought from the neighbourhood of Shabun, 
 and from other southern provinces. 
 
 Horned cattle forms one of the chief exports, and 
 is transported by the government to Egypt in large 
 droves, of which more than the half perish on the 
 road from want of proper care. Private individuals 
 cannot engage in this speculation, for it would be 
 injudicious to transport large herds, like those of the 
 government, because attended with enormous ex- 
 pense, as it would require magazines to be erected 
 at each day's march between Debba and Cairo. 
 Smaller droves are forwarded to Sennaar and 
 Dongola by private parties. The government have 
 even given up their large transports to Cairo. 
 Camels are also exported to Cairo, because the 
 price of these animals is very low in Kordofan. 
 
 The chief trade, before all the articles enumerated, 
 is, unfortunately, in slaves. The government and 
 the Djelabi emulate each other in doing all in their 
 power to gain possession of these unhappy beings 
 by every possible method. The former, who are 
 wholesale dealers, resort to the most cruel practices 
 to seize upon slaves in large bodies;* whilst the 
 Djelabi imitate them on a smaller scale, and consider 
 every species of cunning and deception fair, where 
 the object is to gain possession of these poor 
 * Vide the following chapters. 
 
COMMERCE. 293 
 
 wretches. The slaves of the Djelabi, however, are 
 always treated with more forbearance than those 
 of the government, who are not very particular about 
 losing several hundred of their unfortunate victims 
 by positive ill-treatment, or no less blameable 
 neglect ; whereas the Djelabi are compelled to use 
 them more leniently, as the death of each slave 
 entails the loss of a small capital. Lobeid is the 
 centre of the slave trade, and market is, con- 
 sequently, held there daily. To this place slaves are 
 brought, not only from the neighbouring countries, 
 but even from Kulla, Banda, Wuanga, Bachermi, 
 Bergu, Pegu, and more distant states, but not in 
 such large numbers as from the borders. It is 
 absolutely revolting to hear how these poor creatures 
 have oftentimes fallen into captivity, and it would 
 be, indeed, incredible were not the opportunity for 
 conviction of the truth of so frequent occurrence. 
 The Djelabi proceed into the neighbouring countries 
 with goods, which they barter away for slaves who 
 have become prisoners of war or captives by stealth. 
 They stand in connexion with a species of kidnap- 
 pers, who think very little of stealing the children of 
 their own countrymen for a trifle, and bringing them 
 to a preconcerted spot for barter. The greater part 
 of those bought up by the Djelabi are thus collect- 
 ed by the marauding Bakkara. The price of these 
 unhappy beings varies according to their age, health, 
 and beauty, as also according to the country they 
 may call their fatherland. Children born in Kordo- 
 
294 COMMERCE. 
 
 tan of captive parents are generally of the highest 
 price, because already accustomed to some species of 
 work and more especially because acquainted with 
 the Arabic language, for the owner of a married slave, 
 or of a girl who brings a child into the world, is at 
 the same time proprietor of the latter, and is per- 
 mitted to sell it ; masters even who have children by 
 their female slaves may dispose of their offspring, 
 and examples of this unnatural proceeding are by no 
 means uncommon. In short whatever is considered 
 most cruel and revolting by all civilized nations, is 
 treated with the utmost levity in this country, so 
 that it is, indeed, impossible to find words to give 
 full vent to your feelings of indignation and horror. 
 The human being, deprived of his liberty, is here 
 regarded as a commodity, or ready money, passes from 
 hand to hand as in circulation or in commerce, 
 and must think himself fortunate if he ultimately 
 chance to become the denizen of a house where 
 he may find rest for the sole of his foot, or may 
 reckon on the treatment due to him as a portion 
 of humanity. No single house is to be found 
 among the more opulent part of the community 
 which is not provided at least with one slave, 
 either male or female, for the performance of the 
 menial offices, for it is, as it were, comme il faut 
 to fill the house with captives, and to keep a se- 
 parate slave appropriated to each separate office. 
 The greater number, however, is hence exported, 
 in larger or smaller convoys, to Egypt and the 
 Levant. 
 
COMMERCE. 295 
 
 Senna-leaves are found in many parts of Kor- 
 < lot an in abundance, but the government makes no 
 iiM' of them, and others are prevented from turn- 
 ing them to advantage by the existing monopoly. 
 They are equal in quality to those of Dongola, which 
 the administration thence imports and sells under 
 the denomination of Alexandrian or Egyptian Sen- 
 na. Not the fiftieth part of these leaves, however, 
 are natives of Egypt, for they are first met with 
 at Assuan, and are erroneously called Egyptian 
 leaves ; their true native country is the province 
 of Dongola. The government draws its entire sup- 
 ply from that province. The inhabitants of the 
 deserts in those parts collect them, and receive 
 from two hundred to four hundred piasters, ac- 
 cording to the state of the market, for the camel- 
 load of three cantari, at forty-four oock'ckahs, de- 
 livered in New Dongola. As the government 
 would have to pay an addition of sixty to eighty 
 piasters 011 the freight of each camel-load they 
 might draw from Kordofan, they naturally do not 
 obtain any leaves from that province, and they are 
 left to rot unused. 
 
 These are then the chief articles produced in 
 the country, or received transito from the border- 
 ing states. 
 
 The importation of articles for home consumption, 
 or for trade with other countries, is ellected by cara- 
 vans, the majority of which arrive from Cairo, a far 
 less number comes from Sennaar, and yet less from 
 Suakim ; they return laden with a few inconsiderable 
 
296 COMMERCE. 
 
 objects from Araby and India to Lobeid and Bara. 
 Commerce is carried on in a very dilatory manner, 
 and the return of profits is attended with a consider- 
 able loss of time. In the month of Ramadan, the 
 great Turkish fast, the most home-business is trans- 
 acted. During the rainy season all communication 
 with other countries is cut off, and it is a rare 
 occurrence if a small caravan ever arrive during 
 that period, for every merchant is justly under the 
 apprehension of a loss, by the damage his goods might 
 sustain from the heavy showers ; and the streams are, 
 moreover, so overflowing that frequently many days 
 transpire before a caravan can cross them. The 
 immense journey of three or four months duration, 
 and the freightage by camel and boat, render the 
 price of all imported articles very high in Kordo- 
 fan. This outlay would, however, be but of slight 
 importance in a commercial point of view, were it 
 not for the exorbitant duty, which so materially 
 augments the price of the goods ; such absurdity 
 and despotism could, in fact, only exist under the 
 government of Mehemed Ali ; even if his realms 
 were to extend to the assumed range of moun- 
 tains of the moon, the merchandize would have 
 to pay customs in each province it might pass 
 through before reaching the place of its destination. 
 All goods on their arrival at Alexandria are sub- 
 jected to a moderate import duty, which, however, 
 only franks them to Cairo. The same goods shipped 
 in Old Cairo to be conveyed up the Nile must 
 
COMMERCE. 297 
 
 again pay as follows : in Old Cairo on an average 
 twelve shillings, in Dongola thirty piasters per 
 camel-load, in Lobeid three hundred piasters for 
 a load of cottons, whether fine or of inferior quality, 
 without distinction. A camel-load of rice pays 
 one hundred and fifty piasters, wine one hundred 
 piasters, brandy, rosoglio, and rum fifty shillings ad 
 valorem. The states of Austria furnish the greater 
 quantity of articles for Kordofan, the majority of 
 which are again exported into the negro states. 
 England yields only white calicos ; common Bohe- 
 mian linen was formerly imported, but the more 
 reasonable prices of cottons have quite ousted it 
 from the market. The following are the articles 
 of import trade to Kordofan : cloves, pepper, sugar, 
 coffee, sulphur, rice, soap, chintz and cotton prints, 
 red and blue sackcloth, linen from Cairo (named here 
 shouter melanie), ready-made clothes for Turks, 
 red shoes, wine, brandy, rosoglio, vinegar, oil, green 
 olives, cheese, amber from Prussia (Nos. 3 to 6), 
 opaque coral, and a few other inconsiderable ob- 
 jects. The imports from the Austrian dominions 
 are the following : spikenard,* shot, dogas,f ra- 
 
 * Spikenard, from Carinthia, is as indispensable as bread in this 
 country, it is employed, as before-mentioned, in the preparation of 
 telka, which every woman must possess, or she has the right of 
 divorce. The rottolo of one pound is sold at four or five piasters 
 (one shilling and twopence to one shilling and sixpence). This 
 article is already in demand in the negro states, and the consump- 
 tion will greatly increase in the space of a few years. 
 
 t Dogas, manufactured in Carniola and Styria, are iron plates 
 
298 COMMERCE. 
 
 zors,* double-edged swords,f camel-bells, antimony^ 
 arsenic, $ iron and brass wire,|| lucifers, Bohemian 
 products, ordinary cloths,^j looking-glasses in paper 
 cases, finger-rings set with stones, glass beads of 
 every colour,** that of lapis lazuli, is the most 
 
 of various sizes, furnished with a ring and hook, and employed for 
 the purpose of baking bread. They are indispensable to the 
 caravans. 
 
 * The razors (the commonest sort manufactured in the capital 
 of Styria,) are not used for shaving the beard ; some few natives 
 employ them for the hair of the head, but the greater number for 
 shaving the hair of the pudenda. They are also put into use in 
 the circumcision of girls and in the mutilation of boys. 
 
 f Two-edged swords, of Austrian manufacture, are thirty-six 
 inches and a half in length, and one inch and three-quarters in 
 breadth, of equal diameter throughout, and rounded off inferiorly. 
 Seven inches and a quarter in the curve, and marked : with a 
 lion. The scabbards and hilts are made in the country. They 
 are in most request in Darfour. The sale is attended with con- 
 siderable profit, but those marked with a death's-head from the 
 workshops of Peter Knell, in Solingen, are preferred. 
 
 J Antimony from various mines in the province of Austria, 
 and reduced to a powder, is used as a cosmetic by the women and 
 girls, who cover their eyelids with it. 
 
 Arsenic from different parts of Austria is bought in those 
 negro states where gold is found. It is transmitted from Kordo- 
 fan as far as Bunda. 
 
 || Iron wire and brass wire from the Tyrol and the province 
 of Austria, is in great request in all parts of Africa for the deco- 
 ration of lances and tobacco-pipes, and also for ear-rings. In some 
 districts the natives wear as many as ten brass rings in one ear. 
 
 IT Common cloths from Bohemia termed technically Londerin 
 seconds. The scarlet colours are preferred in Darfour. 
 
 ** Glass beads from Bohemia play a very prominent part in 
 the commerce of Africa. In some places the red are in demand, 
 in others again the blue or yellow beads, but where a particular 
 
coMMERci;. 299 
 
 fashionable in Kordofan, card -counters.* The sale 
 of glass will increase considerably in time, the 
 \vhole sum expended in this commodity at Cairo 
 does not at present amount to more than twenty- 
 five pounds at the utmost. The Levantine articles 
 are in chief request, such as narghile,f brick,:]: mas- 
 trapa,j syringes, and common tumblers. From Ve- 
 nice the natives obtain glass beads, and paper 
 dressed in the Turkish fashion. Austrian manu- 
 factures finding so ready a market in a large por- 
 tion of Africa and Asia, and Cairo being the most 
 suitable depot, it is very astonishing that only two 
 Austrian commercial houses should be established in 
 that town : the one is a Bohemian house for the 
 sale of glass beads and looking-glasses, the other 
 a Venetian for the sale of Venetian beads. The 
 Austrian trade thus suffers a great loss, for the 
 Asiatic and African merchant is forced to pur- 
 chase the imperial produce after it has passed 
 tli rough many hands, and as each agent must make 
 at least a small profit, it is evident that the price 
 of the articles is in this manner considerably raised. 
 
 colour does not happen to be fashionable, there is no sale for them 
 even at the cost price. 
 
 * Card counters are in request in most of the negro states, they 
 are worn by the women as an ornament in the head-dress. 
 
 f Narghile, the glass water- reservoirs of the Persian pipes. TR. 
 
 J Brick or ebrigh ablution vases, in the form of a coffee biggin ; 
 those in general use in the East are made of copper, but those of 
 glass are also frequently to be met with. TR. 
 
 $ Drinking-cups of glass, shaped like our tea-cups. TK. 
 
 
300 COMMERCE. 
 
 All these goods pass through Cairo, but few of 
 them by way of Suakim and Sennaar. I was the 
 first Austrian subject who made an attempt to 
 traffic with this country, I had not the idea of 
 establishing myself, for my capital was too in- 
 considerable for that purpose, and, in fact, only in- 
 tended to defray the expenses of my journey, but 
 I believe that the experience I made may be of 
 great service to others. I caution every one, how- 
 ever, who may intend visiting this country with 
 goods to be on his guard against the white ants, 
 and never to neglect placing his cases on stones, 
 for I have myself unfortunately been a sufferer by 
 the ubiquity of these destructive beasts. During 
 my illness I was incapable of looking after my lug- 
 gage, and as a consequence found, on my recovery, 
 all my cottons in a perfectly unsaleable state, and 
 this when on my flight at a time when I had moneys 
 to reclaim. The Termites became the cause why 
 I was compelled to return without a servant, and 
 to march during two days on foot through the De- 
 sert of Krusko. The prices of goods vary with 
 the seasons ; thus, during the rains, when no cara- 
 van can arrive from Egypt, and goods are conse- 
 quently scarce, the prices increase by fifty shillings 
 of their usual cost. 
 
 Coffee is imported from Abyssinia, and the ordi- 
 nary price of the rottolo is three piasters; but in 
 the year 1838, it rose to eighteen piasters (5s. Id.). 
 During the rainy season sugar stood at nine piasters 
 
COMMERCE. 301 
 
 per rottolo (lib. English); rice at twelve piasters 
 per oock'ckah ; vinegar at fifteen piasters the bottle: 
 soap at nine piasters the rottolo ; pepper at twelve 
 piasters; the prices of all goods, however fall with 
 the arrival of fresh supplies. -Many of the articles 
 of importation are bought up by Djelabi, who trade 
 with the interior of the country, and barter them 
 away for slaves and other commodity. The com- 
 merce with the interior even requires some expe- 
 rience, e. g. in respect to glass-beads ; for, on some 
 of the hills, the white specimens are in request ; on 
 others the red or blue beads are preferred, and the 
 same rule applies to many other articles. A great 
 deal of salt and tobacco is imported into the coun- 
 try of the Shilluks. The Djelabi, in whose hands 
 the entire trade may be said to rest, might turn it 
 to far better advantage, if they had more talent for 
 business, and were less careless in its transaction. 
 Thus they pay no attention to the demands of the 
 market, but purchase, year after year, the same 
 articles, sit themselves down in a sook, and will not 
 quit that spot in quest of fresh supplies until they 
 have sold the very last " article, be it ever so trifling. 
 The value of time is totally unknown to them, and as 
 for leaving the remainder nf their unsold goods with 
 an agent on commission, a son would not trust his 
 own father, but rather lose the most valuable time for 
 travelling for two or three pounds of soap, and a few 
 trumpery glass-beads. These Djelabi are Dongolavi, 
 and have remained true to the character of their 
 
302 COMMERCE. 
 
 original parents in Dongola. They will rather allow 
 their goods to spoil than part with them below their 
 standard ; they sell one article at the same rate as 
 one hundred articles, and make very little difference 
 in price as regards quality ; for common or damaged 
 cottons, rusty or intact wire, are all sold at the same 
 price. The merchandize which is not damaged on 
 the road is spoiled in the market-place, where every- 
 thing is thrown down on the sand in one large heap, 
 and no one troubles himself whether a person in the 
 crowd walk over his goods with dirty feet, or a 
 shower drench them thoroughly. He who first 
 comes selects the best articles, and he who is forced 
 to wait until the greater part is disposed of, takes 
 whatever he may happen to lay his hands on, pays 
 the same price, or sometimes even more, considering 
 the scarcity, but walks away equally contented. 
 
 I have convinced myself that the very commonest 
 goods only should be brought to this market, for 
 every man may form an opinion of the manner of 
 transacting business, and of the mode in which the 
 merchandize is treated. I am certain that an Euro- 
 pean, accustomed to the climate at an early age, and 
 acquainted with the demands of the country, who 
 might establish a commercial-house at Lobeid, and 
 carry on his business with moderate caution, would 
 realize a handsome fortune. But, as I have before 
 said, an European would meet with difficulties, and 
 irksome trials in this undertaking, unknown to the 
 natives. The time for engaging in a speculation of 
 
COMMERCE. :in:j 
 
 this description is now at hand, for Mehemed Ali is 
 about to throw the trade open. 
 
 The currency of the country is that of Egypt, a 
 | naster being equal to three-pence-halfpenny English. 
 The Maria Theresia dollar, column-dollars, and five 
 franc pieces, of which there are three varieties, are 
 taken at an estimate of twenty piasters each, al- 
 though they virtually differ in value. The dollais. 
 however, when in request for purchases in Darfour, 
 are paid with twenty-two, twenty-three, and even 
 twenty-four piasters ; in examining them, the natives 
 do not look to the seven points in the clasp, or the 
 nine points in the diadem, nor to the letters " S. F." 
 as is the case in Abyssinia. No copper circulates, 
 and very few silver piasters, so that, indeed, in pur- 
 chasing single piasters, one piaster, agio, is paid for 
 nine pieces. In addition to this coin, there is a 
 small coin of iron, named hashias, in circulation, 
 struck during the reign of the sultan of Darfur, 
 which has continued in currency since that period : 
 it is a small piece of iron, from two to three inches 
 in length, and of the form of an obtuse bibrachial 
 anchor. 150 of these pieces were formerly considered 
 equivalent to one dollar ; they subsequently fell in 
 value to 250, and their present currency is 800 to 
 the dollar, or one para each. The weight is the 
 same as in Egypt, viz. 1 cantaro, equal to 100, or to 
 112 rottoli, or to forty-four oockVkah's. The rottolo 
 is=144oz., the oock'ckah equal to 400 dir'henis. 
 Forty-four norkVkah* constitute about one hundred 
 
304 COMMERCE. 
 
 weight. The measure for corn is the ardeb of 
 twenty-four mith, two ardebs are equivalent to three 
 stajo of Trieste. 
 
 Common cottons will pass from hand to hand as 
 currency, and in small dealings half a gourd of 
 dockn, or two handfulls may be substituted for cash. 
 The yard-measure in use among the natives, is the 
 distance from the elbow to the index-finger, adding 
 four finger breadths. 
 
MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 305 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MEHEMED ALl's SLAVE-HUNTS IN GENERAL.* 
 
 MANY travellers who have visited the East, and 
 more especially Egypt, justly mention the humanity 
 with which slaves are treated in these countries, but 
 few persons are probably acquainted with the in- 
 human manner in which these miserable beings are 
 ICM! into captivity. The treatment they meet with 
 among the Turks, Arabs, and other eastern nations, 
 certainly is an indemnification, although a very frail 
 one, for the loss of their liberty ; but unfortunately 
 only a small number of these poor wretches live to 
 enjoy even this slight benefit, for more than one 
 
 * I furnished Dr. Madden, who was sent by the English " So- 
 ciety for the Abolishment of the Slave Trade," to Egypt, with the 
 body of the matter of this and the following chapter at his urgent 
 request, and that of several other gentlemen who were totally 
 at a loss for correct information on the slave-hunts annually 
 taking place in the provinces of the Pasha of Egypt. I was the 
 more willing to assist him in this undertaking, as it was the in- 
 tention of the Society to make representations to Mehemed AH on 
 this subject, and thus to endeavour to save thousands of unfortu- 
 nate victims. This and the subsequent chapter have appeared in 
 the second volume of the " British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Re- 
 porter," No. 28, Jan. 13th, 1841. 
 
 X 
 
306 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 half of them fall victims to barbarous and cruel 
 treatment before they reach the place of their 
 destination. The Viceroy of Egypt institutes an- 
 nually, once or twice in the course of the year, an 
 actual hunt in the mountains of Nuba, and in the 
 bordering countries, and seizes upon a certain num- 
 ber of the negroes by stratagem or force, in order 
 either to pay the arrears due to his troops in Kor- 
 dofan with these unfortunate men, instead of with 
 ready money, or to increase his revenue by the sale 
 of his fellow creatures. I must leave it to the 
 kind judgment of my readers whether an apology 
 for such a proceeding is to be found, and abstain 
 myself from any observation on the subject, as 
 the object of my sketch is simply to give a correct 
 description of the slave-hunts as conducted by 
 Mehemed Ali. Several European journals have 
 stated that these marauding expeditions were put an 
 end to by command of the viceroy on the occasion 
 of his visit to Sennaar, but I can assure the reader 
 that the order was " vow et prceterea nihil" and that 
 these robberies take place as before even at the 
 present day. No pen can describe the acts of 
 deliberate cruelty perpetrated on these occasions, 
 revolting atrocities which I am sure that Mehemed 
 Ali, were he acquainted with the particulars, 
 would visit on the heads of his officers, notwith- 
 standing that they are committed in his interest 
 and in his service ; unfortunately, however, the dis- 
 tance of this ill-fated province is too great from the 
 
MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 307 
 
 seat of justice for the cries of the afflicted to reach 
 his ear, and those whose duty it would be to report 
 these inhuman deeds, are too deeply criminated 
 themselves. The burden of this sanguinary fate falls 
 most heavily upon the miserable inhabitants of the 
 Nuba mountains. In the year 1825, four years, there- 
 fore, after the conquest, the number of slaves which 
 had been led away into captivity was estimated 
 at forty thousand ; and in the year 1839 the total 
 number amounted at least to two hundred thousand, 
 without reckoning the thousands stolen by the Bak- 
 kara and bought by the Djelabi. As soon as the 
 rainy season is concluded, the arrangements for the 
 marauding excursion called gasua* are made, and the 
 necessary number of camels are pressed into service. 
 Of the multitude of animals required an estimate 
 may be formed, by considering that every infantry 
 soldier is provided with a camel to mount, and that 
 their total amount is nearly doubled by those em- 
 ployed in the transport of arms, ammunition, tents, 
 and other military stores. The outfit of the expe- 
 dition causes the commanding officer, however, not 
 the least care, for everything being considered in 
 the countries subject to Egypt as property of the 
 government, he experiences very little trouble in 
 obtaining his supplies. The soldiers steal whatever 
 they can find, and thus in a few days the most 
 
 * Gasua originally means a campaign against the infidels, and 
 is the same word as razzia so often heard in Algiers, merely 
 differing in pronunciation. 
 
 x 2 
 
308 MEHEMED AEl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 necessary articles are furnished. To provisions very 
 little attention is paid, for the harvest terminates 
 with the rainy season, and the soldiers well know by 
 many years experience where to find the supplies 
 of the poor negroes, gained absolutely by the sweat 
 of their brow, but vainly hidden from the rapacious 
 hands of these avaricious barbarians. The province 
 of Dar Hammer is more especially oppressed for 
 the purpose of obtaining camels ; but as the majo- 
 rity consists of young animals which have never 
 borne a weight upon their backs, and must there- 
 fore be taught to bend to receive their load or for 
 the convenience of their rider, each soldier is pro- 
 vided with his camel ten to fourteen days before 
 the march, during which interval they are daily ex- 
 ercised in the morning and afternoon. It is really 
 a very imposing sight to behold these hundreds of 
 camels collected together on one spot, where the ob- 
 stinate animals are being broken in to kneel down. 
 A well-taught camel always exhibits evident signs 
 of displeasure and utters a piercing cry whenever 
 it bends down ; imagine therefore in addition, an 
 immense number of wild unbroken beasts who are 
 frequently obliged to be pulled down on their knees 
 by ropes, and you will be able to form a slight 
 idea of the exercising ground. It frequently hap- 
 pens that a clumsy rider is thrown in mounting, 
 or rather as the animal rises, and receives a severe 
 injury. But even on this occasion we have proof 
 the animal must succumb to the will of man, 
 
MEIIEMED ALI'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 309 
 
 for in the course of a few days the same beasts we 
 had seen so refractory and dull before, obey their 
 riders at a mere wink. The complement of the 
 brigade employed in a slave-hunt consists ordinarily 
 of from one thousand to two thousand men regular 
 troops of infantry ; from four hundred to eight hun- 
 dred Mogghrebeen armed with guns and pistols ; 
 from three hundred to one thousand native troops 
 on foot, with shields and spears, each man carrying 
 from three to five javelins in a small leathern 
 quiver attached to his shoulder by a cord ; and from 
 three hundred to five hundred natives mounted on 
 dromedaries, armed with shield and spear. The 
 dromedary riders present a very military appear- 
 ance ; they are quite naked, with the exception of 
 a small piece of calico round their loins, and ex- 
 hibit an alacrity which is almost incredible; they 
 also exercise for a certain time before the march, 
 and their shouts in a charge, which is always made 
 in a body and at the full speed of the dromedary, 
 the whistling of their lances in the air, whilst 
 their shaggy locks float in the wind, and the oblong 
 shields covering their entire bodies, give the riders 
 a very fearful appearance, sufficient to overawe the 
 most courageous man. I was always present at 
 their mana'uvres, and can assure my readers, that 
 it took a long time before I accustomed inv>elf to 
 the sight of these men without feeling a secret 
 horror, although I lived among them, and had 
 absolutely nothing to fear. At these moment- 
 
310 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 these people appear as if deranged, and it is very 
 difficult to recognise those with whom you may 
 be well acquainted, they so distort their features 
 in their shout. 
 
 As soon as the preparations are concluded, the 
 expedition sets out upon its march. Two to four 
 field-pieces accompany it, and it is provided with a 
 sufficient supply of bread for eight days. The oxen, 
 sheep, and other beasts for slaughter, which may be 
 required, are seized on in Kordofan, although the 
 province may have already paid its contribution. 
 If they meet a herd at pasture or at a well, the 
 cattle is stolen ; no one asks whether it belong to 
 one person or to several, the contribution is not 
 effected in shares ; whoever meets with the loss must 
 bear it with patience ; no objection, no remonstrance 
 is of avail ; no complaint is ever listened to, for the 
 governor is present in person. 
 
 On the arrival of the forces at the nearest hills of 
 the Nubas, the natives are challenged to contribute 
 a stipulated number of slaves. This demand is gene- 
 rally acceded to willingly, because the poor creatures 
 know they are too close to the confines of Kordofan, 
 and that they would expose themselves to a far 
 more obdurate fate if they offered resistance. If 
 then the slaves are voluntarily contributed, that hill 
 is spared. But about this time a scarcity of bread 
 generally begins to be felt ; the troops, therefore, 
 are not content with slaves alone but must be pro- 
 vided with grain, nor do they ever for one moment 
 
MEIIEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 311 
 
 consider whether the harvest has been successful, or 
 the reverse with these poor people ; but whatever 
 their wants maybe, they must be supplied either spon- 
 taneously, or by force ; and on these occasions the 
 soldiers show vast experience in detecting the hidden 
 stores of the unfortunate natives, whom they frequent- 
 ly leave barely enough bread for the ensuing day. 
 The march is now continued to the next hill. The 
 skirmishers already consider themselves on hostile 
 ground, and they halt in the vicinity of that hill 
 they intend to storm on the next day, or if time 
 admit it, on that very day. Before the actual charge 
 takes place, they endeavour to arrange the affair 
 amicably, and dispatch a herald to the sheikh of the 
 hill, commanding him to descend into camp, and 
 bring the number of slaves ordered by the command- 
 ing officer with him. If he have already come to an 
 understanding with his subjects, or feel his inequality 
 to the Turkish troops, and will not offer resistance, 
 the stipulated number of slaves is furnished, and 
 the claim is thus cancelled, in order to avoid un- 
 necessary bloodshed. Then comes the conscription. 
 The slaves are generally volunteers, who sacrifice 
 themselves, or who to free their brethren from a hard 
 fate subject themselves to a yet more painful lot. 
 Scenes may at these times be witnessed that would 
 rend the heart of a man of feeling. Who is ever 
 willing to quit his home, to separate himself for 
 ever from his parents, his blood-relations, and 
 friends? \\lio leaves the roof willingly that has 
 
312 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 covered him from the day of his birth, under which 
 he has passed happy hours in the circle of those that 
 are dear to him ? Who can boldly face a frightful 
 future, entailing permanent captivity, promising no- 
 thing but misery, cruel treatment, and, what becomes 
 even desirable, pallid death ? Yet the necessity is 
 there some one must be victimized, some one must 
 volunteer to sacrifice his liberty ; and for this privi- 
 lege the father will contend with the son, and the 
 brother with the brother, for each man is anxious to 
 save the other at the expense of his own life. Over- 
 powering, indeed, must be the knowledge that they 
 are about to fall into the hands of the heartless 
 Turks, where nothing but misery and torture awaits 
 them, to which they must ultimately succumb ; but 
 yet more heart-rending must be the feeling of leav- 
 ing all that is nearest and dearest to them, for ever ; 
 this must be wretchedness, indeed. In sorrow and 
 tears they part press the last kiss on the cheek of 
 their relations, and descend into the camp of their 
 heartless and ruthless tormentors ; nay, they are even 
 frequently torn by force from the arms of their 
 friends. The sheikh generally receives a present of 
 a dress in remuneration for the readiness with which 
 he has performed his services. Very few hills, how- 
 ever, submit to the voice of power thus tacitly on a 
 mere challenge; for the majority of the villages, 
 advantageously situated on steep declivities or inac- 
 cessible heights, and only to be scaled with the ut- 
 most difficulty, defend themselves most sturdily, and 
 

 MEIIEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 313 
 
 fight for their liberty with a courage, perseverance, 
 and resolution equalled by few instances we find re- 
 corded in histoiy. A very small portion of the negroes 
 only fly before the approach of their persecutors, 
 although they might save themselves AN 1th all their 
 property, by a retreat into the neighbouring hills, 
 for they always receive timely intimation of the ad- 
 vance of the enemy ; but they look upon escape by 
 flight as disgraceful, and prefer death in the struggle 
 for their freedom. If, therefore, the sheikh will 
 not listen to the claim made upon him, the village 
 must stand a storm. The cavalry and lance-bearers 
 surround the whole hill, whilst the infantry endea- 
 vour to scale the heights. In former days, the 
 villages and places where the negroes were con- 
 gregated together, were cannonaded, but with the 
 inefficiency of the Egyptian artillery scarcely one 
 shot ever took effect ; and thus the negroes paid no 
 attention to this prelude, but it appeared on the 
 contrary rather to encourage them to a more obsti- 
 nate resistance. 
 
 The roaring of the cannon certainly caused them 
 at first more alarm than the effect, but they sub- 
 sequently became accustomed to the noise, and to- 
 tally disregarded it. Every access to the hill is 
 barricaded with stones and other impediments, and 
 tin- village supplied with water for two days, for 
 few hills can boast of springs, the water, there- 
 fore, must he fetched from the foot of the hill. 
 All the cattle and other property is carried up into 
 
314 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 the fortified height, in short, every arrangement is 
 made for an obstinate defence. The men, armed 
 with spears, occupy every point of importance, while 
 the women even do not remain idle spectators, but 
 either participate in the fight, or encourage their 
 husbands by their lamentations and war-cry, and 
 hand them their arms ; in fact, every one is in 
 activity except the aged and infirm. The points 
 of their wooden arrows are dipped into poison which 
 stands in an earthen vessel beside them. It is the 
 juice of a plant, and appears white like curdled 
 milk, but of what plant it may be the juice I could 
 never learn, for this is a secret imparted only to 
 a few persons in the village. I am told that there 
 are many hills where this secret is totally unknown. 
 As soon as the officer gives the word of command 
 to attack, the infantry beat to arms and storm the 
 hill. Thousands of spears, large stones, and im- 
 mense beams of wood are instantly hurled at the 
 storming party, every stone is an ambush to a wary 
 negro, who either throws his poisoned dart at the 
 enemy, or, waiting his opportunity, thrusts his spear 
 into the body of his unsuspecting foe on his ap- 
 proach. The soldiers, who experience the greatest 
 difficulty in scaling the steep acclivities, are obliged 
 to sling their muskets to their backs to facilitate 
 their ascent with their hands, and frequently fall 
 victims before they have even seen the enemy. 
 But nothing deters these marauders when bent on 
 prey, goaded on by cupidity and the desire of re- 
 
MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 315 
 
 venge they heed no impediment, not even deatli 
 itself; over the dead body of his fallen comrade 
 the successor marches with impetuosity, his mind 
 totally engrossed by ideas of plunder and murder ; 
 and thus the village is at last captured in spite of 
 the most resolute defence. But now, indeed, is 
 vengeance terrific : neither aged men nor the in- 
 firm, neither helpless women and children, nor, in- 
 deed, the babe unborn are spared ; every hut is 
 plundered, the property of the unfortunate be- 
 sieged either pillaged or destroyed, and whoso- 
 ever falls into the hands of the destroyer with 
 kis life is carried down into the camp as cap- 
 tive. When the negroes see that resistance is 
 no longer of avail, they frequently prefer suicide, 
 unless prevented, to slavery ; and thus it often 
 occurs that a father rips up the abdomen of his 
 wife, then of his children, and lastly murders him- 
 self, to avoid falling alive into the hands of the 
 enemy. Others endeavour to escape captivity by 
 secreting themselves in caverns, where they pass 
 many days without food ; they there lie upon their 
 backs, and will remain in this position sometimes 
 for an entire week. I have been informed that a 
 man can very well bear the whole of the eight <!:ivx 
 without nourish ment, if he have only surmounted 
 the difficulty of the first three days. But even in 
 this covert they are not safe, as the monsters either 
 hunt them up or destroy them in their places of 
 refuge ; for the soldiers light fires with pitch, sal- 
 
316 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 phur, and other combustibles before the entrance, 
 and endeavour to drive the irritating fumes into 
 the caves, when the poor wretches are forced to 
 creep out and deliver themselves to their enemies, 
 or perish by suffocation in the smoke. After every 
 means have been resorted to for gaining possession 
 of the living, the unfortunate beings are escorted 
 to the camp, the houses are plundered, and the cat- 
 tle is driven away, and a detachment of several hun- 
 dred soldiers then examines the hill in every direc- 
 tion to pillage the hidden grain, in order that the 
 survivors who may have been fortunate enough to 
 save their lives by flight, or by secreting themselves 
 in inaccessible caverns, may not find anything on 
 their return wherewith to maintain their dearly 
 purchased existence. 
 
 The experience of many years has made the 
 troops employed in these expeditions gradually 
 wiser; in former times one-third of the number 
 at least, and on some occasions even one half of 
 them lost their lives in these attacks, at present 
 they confine themselves to a simple blockade, and 
 storm merely in extreme cases. Very few hills 
 are, as I before said, provided with springs, when, 
 therefore, all communication is impeded, the poor 
 negroes are forced to surrender, but not before 
 they have suffered the most horrible tortures ; 
 for they never provide themselves with a sup- 
 ply of water for longer than two days, partly from 
 want of vessels or reservoirs, partly because they 
 

 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 317 
 
 do not expect to be besieged for a longer period, 
 thus the scarcity of water is generally felt on the 
 third day of the blockade. Nothing can be more 
 frightful than the position of these unhappy men 
 at this time. The fear of falling into the hands 
 of the Turks on the one hand, and the certainty 
 of death from thirst on the other, drives the poor 
 wretches to the very verge of despair. This scarcity 
 is immediately known in camp, for the screams of 
 the children and the groans of the cattle betray 
 the melancholy position of the village. The cattle 
 runs about as if wild, and on the third day becomes 
 so dangerous that the negroes are obliged to slay 
 it. The human being struggles in despair with 
 death, to find a mode of escape, but, alas ! in vain : 
 the blood-thirsty huntsmen have surrounded their 
 game too securely, thus not one soul can escape 
 with his life. Many of the unhappy victims prefer 
 death for themselves and their families to captivity, 
 whilst others endeavour to conceal themselves in 
 caverns, and thus to spare themselves the awful 
 miseries of slavery. The remainder call a meet- 
 ing to concert upon the surrender of their village 
 and their children. The calamity makes not the 
 slightest impression upon their persecutors, who re- 
 main quiet be 'holders of all these horrors, impa- 
 tiently awaiting the moment when they shall receive 
 their victims. The scarcity of water does not ap- 
 ply to all the hills without exception, for several of 
 them are well supplied with water, and are not 
 
318 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 so easily to be taken. In such cases force becomes 
 necessary, but it frequently happens that populous 
 villages or such as are favoured by the ground, are 
 able to repel the storming party several times with 
 considerable carnage, so that the expedition frequently 
 will not venture on an attack for fear of heavy losses, 
 as was the case with Mount " Deyer," * situated at 
 a distance of two day's march from Lobeid, which 
 was thrice attacked without success, and where 
 the troops suffered severely. But even in such 
 cases they know how to ensure the certain fall of 
 their victims by demoniacal deceit. Thus, after 
 Kurshid Pasha, governor of the Belled-Soodan, had 
 made several fruitless attempts at storming a hill in 
 the country of the Shilluks, in which he had been, 
 moreover, always repulsed with considerable car- 
 nage, and at last had made up his mind that every 
 further attack would be in vain, and his loss too 
 frightful, he thought of the following ruse, which 
 would never have succeeded with any other people 
 than this good-natured tribe ; in this case, how- 
 ever, it proved successful. He encamped himself, 
 namely, at the foot of the hill, without surrounding 
 it, where he quietly remained for several days ; he 
 then despatched one of his soldiers into the village 
 with the request to the inhabitants to send down 
 four hundred dishes of food to his people in camp, 
 and assured them at the same time that they need 
 be under no further apprehension about him, 
 
 * Dire. TB. 
 
MEIIEMED ALI'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 319 
 
 a^ lie would not make another attack on their 
 village, but would march his troops off imme- 
 diately on receipt of the provisions. The good- 
 natured negroes, suspecting no harm, forgot all 
 animosity towards their enemy in consideration of 
 their pretended unfortunate position, and instantly 
 shewed their readiness to accede to the request, 
 by furnishing the provisions required. The articles 
 of food were duly prepared, and four hundred grown 
 persons carried the number of dishes demanded 
 clown into the camp of their persecutors, How 
 were they, however, now deceived ! for no sooner 
 had they placed the dishes on the ground at the 
 order of Kursh id-Pasha, than they were, on a signal 
 he gave, surrounded on all sides and made pri- 
 soners, without the necessity of pulling a trigger, or 
 without the possibility of their offering resistance. 
 
 The inhabitants of those hills which may have 
 been forced into a surrender by cutting off their 
 supplies, and more especially by depriving them 
 of water, are compelled to deliver themselves 
 up as captives in the camp, as soon as they have 
 capitulated ; but the condition of those who have 
 defended themselves, or stood the blockade for 
 some time, is far more dreadful. Worn out with 
 the fatigues of the conflict, or totally exhausted by 
 the want of water, they can scarcely stand, and are 
 literally speaking, dragged down into cam]), where 
 they are certainly regaled with the absolute neces- 
 of life, but are allowed only a short time to 
 
320 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 
 
 recover themselves. The Turks have, indeed, suffi- 
 cient compassion to send the necessary quantity of 
 water up to those poor wretches on the hill, who 
 are too weak even to be brought down ; they are 
 obliged to pour water over their heads first, and 
 to allow them to drink only in small quantities, 
 and gradually, for indulgence would prove fatal to 
 them. 
 
 The greatest sufferings are not yet surmounted, 
 and many of these unhappy men would prefer death 
 inflicted by their own hands to the dreadful fate which 
 awaits them, if they were acquainted with their lot 
 beforehand. They now have to suffer every descrip- 
 tion of ill-treatment from their tormentors ; blows 
 with the butt-end of the musket, bayonet wounds, 
 and stripes with the whip, are the ordinary modes 
 of encouragement adopted to arouse the energies 
 of those miserable beings, who, exhausted by physi- 
 cal or moral suffering, may happen to sink. Pity 
 is unheard of in these transports ; and as per- 
 sonal interest is not engaged for the preservation of 
 one of those unhappy wretches, or to prove it an 
 advantage, the only consideration is to render their 
 escape impossible. The Djelabi treat their slaves 
 with more humanity, because their personal interests 
 are implicated, for each slave may be considered a 
 capital to them, and they, consequently, do all in their 
 power to preserve life, at least, and thus to avert a 
 loss. The Turks, on the other hand, who have no 
 considerations of this description to attend to, treat 
 
MF.HKMKD ALI'S SLAVE-HUNT- 321 
 
 their prisoners far woise than they would beasts. 
 As soon as they have collected from three to six 
 hundred, or perhaps a thousand slaves, the convoy 
 is sent with an escort of native troops, and of about 
 fifty men, regulars, under the command of an officer 
 to Lobeid. 
 
 To prevent flight, a Sheba is hung round the 
 neck of the full-grown slaves ; it consists of a 
 young tree about six or eight feet in length, and 
 two inches in thickness, forming a fork in front ; 
 this is bound round the neck of the victim so that 
 the stem of the tree presents anteriorly, the fork 
 is closed at the back of the neck by a cross-bar, and 
 faMencd in situ by straps cut from a raw hide; thus 
 the slave, in order to be able to w r alk, is forced to 
 take the tree in his hands, and carry it before him. 
 No individual could, however, bear this position 
 for any length of time ; to relieve each other, there- 
 fore, the man in front takes the log of his successor 
 on his shoulder, and this measure is repeated in 
 succession. It amounts to an impossibility to with- 
 draw the head, but the whole neck is always excori- 
 ated, an injury leading often to inflammatory ac- 
 tion, which occasionally terminates in death. Bo\s 
 from ten to fifteen years of age, who could not carry 
 the sheba, are hand-culled together by wooden ma- 
 nacles. The instruments are applied to the right 
 hand of the one and the left of the other, above the 
 wri>t<. when* they are fastened by straps; they are 
 somewhat excavated to admit the hand, but gene- 
 
 Y 
 
322 MEHEMED ALl's SLAVE -HUNTS. 
 
 rally fit so closely that the skin is excoriated, and 
 malignant ulcers are the result ; but even if the 
 hand were to mortify, or drop off, no alleviation of 
 the sufferings of the individual would ensue, for the 
 fetters are not taken off before the -arrival of the 
 convoy at Lobeid. Some of the boys are fastened 
 together in couples by straps applied round the 
 upper part of their arms. It may, therefore, easily 
 be imagined how difficult progression is rendered to 
 these poor sufferers, and what tortures they have to 
 endure on this march. In addition to these trials, 
 they have to bear with most miserable fare, and 
 further ill-treatment, should their strength fail them, 
 or should they become too weak to proceed. Chil- 
 dren under the age before-mentioned, women, and 
 old men, are marched singly, and unfettered. Many 
 a mother carries her infant, born but a few days 
 before, at her breast, and must even take two or 
 three of her children, who may be too young or 
 too weak to walk alone, in her arms, or on her 
 back. Old and infirm men who can scarcely creep 
 along with the aid of a stick, the sick, and the 
 wounded, are taken in the middle, between their 
 daughters, wives, or relations, and thus slowly drag- 
 ged onwards, or even carried by turns. If one of 
 these unfortunate beings happen to remain behind 
 the ranks, he is immediately stimulated to increased 
 activity by blows with the butt-end of the musket, 
 or flogged on with the whip. Should even this 
 encouragement fail, and when several of these poor 
 
MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE-HUNTS. 323 
 
 wretches cannot possibly proceed any furthor, ten 
 or twenty of them are bound by the hand with 
 a rope, the one end of which is attached to the 
 saddle-bow of a camel, and thus those who are half 
 dead are dragged onwards; even if one of them 
 happen to sink no mercy is shown, but the fallen 
 man is trailed along the ground and not liberated, 
 even should lie breathe his last, before his arrival at 
 the stated place of rest. Before the caravan halts 
 there is no idea of offering any refreshment whatever 
 in the way of food to the exhausted ; the hearties* 
 Turk feels no compassion, knows no pity ; even if 
 a drop of water might revive a weary wretch, none 
 is given him no, he may perish from want. 
 
 When the caravan reaches the place of rest, those 
 who have been dragged along are liberated; whilst 
 the dead and the exhausted are thrown without 
 mercy on the sand, and the latter left to their fate. 
 No prayers, no entreaties can soften the obdurate 
 hearts of their torturers. They do not even allow a 
 wife to take leave of her husband, or a child to 
 press the parting kiss upon the lips of its expiring 
 parent. No one is permitted to approach these 
 unfortunate wretches, they are given over to their 
 fate. Not even as much as a piece of bread, or a 
 drop of water is left behind for them. The dis- 
 carded wretch is given up to his doom to linger out 
 his existence, add to which the misery of the full 
 consciousness of certain death. In six or fourteen 
 days, the transport reaches Lobeid, and it is no won- 
 
324 MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE -HUNTS. 
 
 der, considering the inhuman treatment the captives 
 have had to endure, that on its arrival more than 
 one-tenth of the number is found wanting. No no- 
 tice, however, is taken of this frightful loss on the 
 road, for it is government property, and personal 
 interest is not concerned. 
 
 In Lobeid the slaves remain together until all 
 the transports arrive, and then the distribution 
 takes place. The men best adapted for the pur- 
 pose are drafted into the regiments as recruits, 
 and the remainder of the full-grown slaves are 
 delivered over to the troops, quartered in Kordofan, 
 in liquidation of their arrears of pay, at an estimate 
 of three hundred piasters a head; younger slaves 
 are valued at various prices. The soldiers are com- 
 pelled to re-sell them to the merchants for ready 
 money, or for money's worth ; sometimes the slave 
 dies of over-fatigue, or excess of torture, or does 
 not realize the full sum on account of his age or in- 
 firmities, and then the soldier suffers the loss, who, 
 moreover, generally receives but half his pay, al- 
 though he has had to wait for several months, or 
 more frequently a whole twelvemonth for this por- 
 tion of his arrears. 
 
 It is not an uncommon occurrence for a son 
 to find his own father, or a father his son, as- 
 signed to him, or for a brother to become the 
 possessor of his brother ; but he is forced in de- 
 fiance of the feelings of nature to sell him, in 
 orcjer to share the proceeds with a comrade who 
 
MEHEMED ALl'S SLAVE -HUNTS. 325 
 
 is co-proprietor of the slave with him. Officers 
 and privates are obliged to receive these slaves 
 at a certain valuation in lieu of money, and gene- 
 rally sell them at a loss to the Djelabi. The re- 
 mainder is disposed of by public auction, in the 
 market-place, to the highest bidder. 
 
326 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DESCBIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 
 
 TOWARDS the end of the year 1838 the Viceroy 
 commanded the province of Kordofan to contribute 
 five thousand slaves. The corps under orders for 
 this purpose, consisting of two thousand four hun- 
 dred infantry, seven hundred and fifty Mogghrebeen 
 (Bedouin horsemen), two hundred men irregular 
 cavalry, three hundred dromedary riders, and twelve 
 hundred natives armed with spear and shield, and 
 attended by three guns, set out upon the march 
 towards the close of the month of November 1838. 
 On this occasion every two men of infantry were 
 furnished with one camel, as they could not collect 
 the complement very soon, and an immense number 
 was, moreover, required for the transport of the 
 baggage, water, tents, etc., for the troops. Provi- 
 sions and forage for the cattle, both for service and 
 for slaughter, were only added to the transport suf- 
 ficient for a few days, for they hoped to be able to 
 obtain the necessary supply in a short time by 
 plunder and pillage. A hill, one of the nearest on 
 the borders of the free Nuba, which had already 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 327 
 
 suffered by the troops of Mehemed Ali, and by 
 the marauding "Bakkara, and was in consequence 
 greatly depopulated, was the first challenged to sur- 
 render. The sheikh instantly came into camp and 
 delivered himself with all his subjects, consisting of 
 one hundred and ninety-six souls, into the hands of 
 the Turks ; he received his liberty and a present of 
 a dress, but the sheba was put on the young men, 
 and the whole number forwarded on the next 
 day to Lobeid. This sheikh himself told me that 
 when the Turks first entered his village eighteen 
 years before, the population consisted of three thou- 
 sand souls, but the annual contribution of slaves, 
 augmented by the insatiable Turks to ten times the 
 number, had reduced them to one hundred and 
 ninety-six souls. The prisoners of this hill were 
 treated with some humanity, and not one instance 
 of suicide took place among them, for they had 
 seen the futility of resistance, and voluntarily sur- 
 rendered to their dismal fate. The troops, however, 
 were now in want of bread, and as they found but a 
 very slight supply of dockn among this impoverished 
 people, they were necessitated to advance. The 
 next hill was attacked, but how were the soldiers 
 disappointed in their expectations when they found 
 the place evacuated ! The inhabitants, apprized 
 of the approach of the corps, had fled, taking 
 all their property and cattle away with them, and 
 had left nothing but the empty huts, which were 
 instantly fired and burnt to the ground. And now 
 
328 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT 
 
 the march was continued to the third hill. The 
 inhabitants of this village had formed the firm reso- 
 lution of defending their freedom to the uttermost ; 
 and, determined to suffer death rather than the 
 horror of Turkish captivity, had prepared for a most 
 obstinate resistance. The hill was charged, but 
 the troops were several times repulsed ; the attacks, 
 however, were renewed, and the village was ultimately 
 taken by storm. The scene which now presented 
 itself to view was frightful in the extreme. Of five 
 hundred souls who had been the peaceful inhabitants 
 of the village, one hundred and eighty-eight only 
 were found living. Every hut was filled w T ith the 
 bodies of the aged and the young indiscriminately, 
 for those who had not fallen by the sword in battle, 
 had put themselves to death to elude the dreadful fate 
 of captivity. The prisoners were led away ; and the 
 place was given up to the soldiery for plunder, but 
 the dead were left disinterred. What a fearful scene 
 for the few who were fortunate enough to escape 
 the carnage by flight ! Nothing but the dead 
 bodies of their friends and the ashes of their homes 
 met their eye on th eir return ! 
 
 In order to recruit the troops, a camp was now 
 formed, and a detachment sent out in search of 
 forage. An encampment of this description, which 
 is always erected on the plains, consists of an irregu- 
 lar quadrangle, surrounded by a hedge of thorns or 
 bushes, or sometimes even by a stone fence, in which 
 the regular infantry, the guns, and baggage are en- 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 329 
 
 , whilst the cavalry and spear-bearers encamp 
 without the enclosure. Of setting outposts, or of other 
 judicious military movements they have no idea, but 
 confine themselves merely to preparations for defence 
 in case of a surprise, as the negroes frequently ven- 
 ture' by night on an attack, which might prove very 
 destructive to the troops, considering their careless- 
 ness. Generally speaking a camp is soon broken up, 
 and this was the case on the present occasion ; for 
 no sooner had the soldiers recovered somewhat from 
 their fatigues, and furnished a scanty supply of pro- 
 visions, than the tents were struck, and the march 
 commanded for the next hill destined for attack. 
 The cavalry was sent about two miles in advance to 
 surround the hill. On its arrival, however, in the 
 vicinity of the village, it was suddenly surprised by 
 the inhabitants, who had received intelligence of the 
 movements, of the troops and was attacked with vi- 
 gour. The negroes in a very large body, and only 
 armed with spears and shields, broke with impetu- 
 osity from their covert, and with a fearful war-cry, aug- 
 mented by the shouts of the women accompanying 
 them, (resembling the Lu, Iu 9 lul of the Arab women,) 
 tli re w themselves headlong upon the enemy. Sur- 
 prised by this sudden movement, yet too discreet to 
 sustain the attack of the negroes, the cavalry turned 
 and took to flight. One of the Bedouin chiefs, who 
 was mounted on a restive lioixr. and could not keep 
 up with his troop, wa- surrounded; he sei/ed his 
 gun to discharge it at the first man who might 
 
330 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT 
 
 attack him, but it refused fire, and before he could 
 make use of his pistols and sabre, or put himself in 
 any other way on his defence, he was torn off his 
 horse and instantly slain. None of his corps made the 
 slightest attempt to save their officer, for each man 
 was intent on his own escape. This flight must not 
 be ascribed to cowardice on the part of the Bedouins ; 
 for they generally fight well, provided their interest is 
 not at stake. By fraud, or promises destined never 
 to be fulfilled, these nomadic people are enticed 
 away from their native plains and employed in these 
 frightful slave-hunts. With the exception of very 
 trifling pay, they can expect nothing beyond what 
 they may be able to gain themselves by robbery and 
 plunder ; if by any chance, and without fault on 
 their part, they happen' to lose a horse, which is 
 their personal property even on actual service, they 
 cannot reckon upon any indemnification from the 
 government ; for should they not have the means of 
 purchasing a fresh animal, they are indeed mounted 
 by the government, but the price of the horse is 
 deducted from their pay, which is always on the very 
 lowest scale, and thus they have to serve for several 
 years gratuitously. Their sheikh, or commanding 
 officer, told me this himself, and assured me that' 
 his Bedouins, - (erroneously termed Mogghrebeen) 
 would act very unwisely in risking their horses on 
 an attack whence nothing was to be gained ; for 
 the negroes, in encountering cavalry, are well aware 
 of the advantage of injuring the horse rather than 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 331 
 
 the rider, as the latter falls a certain victim to them 
 when the animal is slain. After the cavalry had 
 again formed in the rear of the infantry, the officer 
 in command ordered a charge by the foot for the 
 following day. If the attack had succeeded, the 
 carnage would, indeed, have been terrific, for the 
 troops were all eager to revenge the death of the 
 Bedouin sheikh. But it was differently recorded in 
 the book of fate. With the first dawn of morning 
 the infantry were put in marching order for the 
 ensuing storm, and the cavalry placed in reserve. 
 The advance was now made, on the word of com- 
 mand, with the utmost caution, a few cannon balls 
 having been first sent into the village without effect. 
 All remained perfectly quiet, until the advance- 
 guard of the storming party had reached the foot of 
 the hill and prepared for action, when the negroes 
 suddenly broke forth endeavouring to surround the 
 enemy. The position of the Egyptians became now 
 very critical, for bent upon the capture of this hill, 
 they had overlooked two other villages flanking the 
 one attacked, which were densely populated by ne- 
 groes, who joined the besieged, and threw themselves 
 with the whole strength of their united forces upon 
 the troops. Not one man would have escaped, for 
 enclosed in a narrow valley, and Mirrounded by hills, 
 the infantry could scarcely move, and no assistance 
 could l>e expected from the cavalry. The win tie 
 brigade, in fact, would have been lost, a> the 
 
 gathered like a black cloud upon the hilk w 
 
332 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE -HUNT 
 
 and poured down by hundreds upon the enemy ; no 
 troops could withstand their attack, for they rushed 
 into battle with unparalleled frenzy, regardless of shot 
 or bayonet, and used their spears with great dexte- 
 rity. The commander of the Egyptian forces, how- 
 ever, betimes recognized the danger threatening his 
 troops, and ordered a retreat ; when the whole body 
 fled in wild confusion from the vale of death. The 
 cavalry was not behindhand in this movement, and 
 thus the brigade never halted until it was fairly 
 out of the dominions of the foe. Of a renewal of 
 the attack there was now no idea ; for nothing in 
 the world can induce these heroes to repeat an 
 advance where they have once been beaten. They 
 know further that the negroes become almost in- 
 vincible with success ; while the musket and bayonet 
 afford but slight advantage over the weapons of the 
 blacks, for the wild inhabitants of the hills rush 
 blindly to the charge, heedless of every wound. I 
 myself had opportunities of convincing myself of the 
 intrepidity of these men. 
 
 After the troops had again collected, order was 
 once more restored, and the march was continued ; 
 in the course of a few days several hills were taken, 
 and the prisoners duly forwarded to Lobeid. The ex- 
 pedition now moved in a southern direction from the 
 Xuba mountains, towards a country inhabited by a 
 different race of men. The tribe now attacked dif- 
 fers from the natives of Xuba, both in language and 
 manners ; they are easily recognized by the number 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 333 
 
 of brass ear-rings, which they do not pass through the 
 appendix of the ear, but wear in the upper part of 
 the cartilage, by which means the whole ear is dis- 
 torted, so that the superior portion covers the ineatus. 
 Almost all the men wear the tooth of some animal, 
 one inch and a half to two inches in length, above 
 their chin; it is passed through a hole in the under 
 lip when they are very young, and acquires a firm 
 adhesion with the integument. In their habits 
 they differ but little from the other negro tribes, 
 but it is rather remarkable that they do not, like 
 the negroes, Turks, or Arabs, convey food to 
 their mouths with their fingers, but make use of a 
 she'll, or piece of wood, shaped like a spoon, for this 
 purpose. The dwell ing place of this tribe was very 
 advantageously situated on the summit of a hill, 
 and very difficult of access ; the commanding officer, 
 therefore, on hearing that it was not supplied with 
 water, to avoid a loss, decided upon surrounding 
 the hill, and forcing the negroes by thirst to sur- 
 render. The siege lasted eight days, and the poor 
 creatures, who felt themselves too weak for a sortie, 
 had not a drop of water left on the fourth day. as was 
 subsequently heard. The cattle was slain in the 
 early part of the blockade to diminish the consump- 
 tion of water: on the sixth day, several children 
 and old people had perished of thirst: and on the 
 seventh day the mortality became so frightful, that 
 they determined to surrender. Several of them 
 advised a silly, but exhausted as they were, they 
 
334 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT 
 
 saw the futility of this movement ; and when, on 
 the eighth day, hundreds had fallen in the most 
 fearful torments of unsatisfied thirst, and many of 
 the negroes, in the horrors of despair, had put an 
 end to their miseries by ripping open their abdo- 
 mina with their double-edged knives, the small 
 body of survivors delivered itself up to the enemy. 
 Of more than two thousand souls, one thousand 
 and forty-nine were only found living, the rest 
 had all perished by thirst, or had committed suicide. 
 On entering the village, the huts were seen filled 
 with the dead, and the few unfortunate survivors 
 were so exhausted by fatigue, and overpowered by 
 thirst, that they could scarcely stand upon their 
 feet ; yet with blows with the butt-end of the mus- 
 ket, or with the whip, these poor wretches were 
 driven from the huts, dragged into camp, with 
 every description of cruelty, and thence despatched 
 for Lobeid, on which march more than one hundred 
 and fifty souls perished from ill-usage. 
 
 On the fourth day of the march of this transport, 
 after the caravan had halted, and whilst the pri- 
 soners were forming detachments to take up their 
 quarters for the night, it so happened that an aged 
 woman, worn out with the fatigues of the long 
 march, or overcome by the mental sufferings she had 
 endured, was incapable of reaching the spot assigned 
 to her with sufficient alacrity, and a barbarous Turk 
 dealt her a blow with the butt end of his musket, 
 which laid her nearly lifeless on the sand. Her 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 335 
 
 son, who witnessed this gratuitous act of cruelty, no 
 longer master of his feelings, rushed with fury 
 toAvards the soldier, struck him a blow with the 
 sheba round his neck, and felled him to the 
 ground. This was the signal for attack; all the 
 slaves, who bore a sheba, threw themselves upon 
 the troops, and knocked them down, before they 
 could take to their arms, or fix their bayonets; thus 
 fifty-six negroes took to flight during the confusion 
 in the camp, and aided by the darkness of night, 
 succeeded in effecting their escape. The natives, 
 attached to this transport, remained quiet spectators 
 of the fray, a proof of the interest they feel in these 
 sanguinary hunts. 
 
 The body of the expedition had, in the meantime, 
 continued its inarch and taken another hill by storm, 
 but not without loss. This village was situated 
 on a steep declivity, accessible only on the one side, 
 and so well supplied with water that a blockade 
 was out of the question. A storm was, therefore, 
 commanded. On both sides, the men fought with 
 desperate bravery. The storming party purchased 
 dearly with their blood every inch of ground they ad- 
 vanced. The negroes had barricaded every arcr->i- 
 ble spot ; each tree and every stone formed an 
 ambush whence they rushed forth upon their ene- 
 mies, who were scaling the heights under severe 
 difficulties. The muskets were of no avail, for the 
 soldiers were forced to creep upon their hands and 
 feet and could not use their arms ; thus, many were 
 
336 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT. 
 
 stabbed by the spears of the natives, before they 
 could rise on their feet, and, in their fall, tore se- 
 veral of their advancing comrades down with them 
 into the precipice and ravines below. The cannonade 
 employed against the village was ineffective, and 
 forced to be silenced to avoid injuring their own 
 men. The struggle was fearful, and the event 
 for some time doubtful, the soldiers, however, at 
 last succeeded in obtaining a footing on the heights, 
 and were able to employ their arms ; the bay- 
 onet now decided the victory in their favour, and 
 the village was soon taken, in spite of the most 
 obstinate resistance on the part of the negroes. 
 The havoc became frightful : everyone who of- 
 fered the slightest resistance was cut down, chil- 
 dren, women, and old men were put to the bayonet, 
 the huts were fired, and the whole place was 
 pillaged ; in short, every species of cruelty was per- 
 petrated on these ill-fated victims. Those who fell 
 into the hands of the victorious enemy were imme- 
 diately dragged down into the camp ; whilst those 
 who endeavoured to escape, by concealing them- 
 selves in caverns and ravines, were either hunted 
 out by fire and smoke, or suffocated in their place of 
 shelter ; every description of atrocity was practised, 
 nor did the carnage cease until the very last man of 
 this ill-starred tribe was exterminated or led away in 
 captivity. All the inconsiderable property of the 
 natives which the troops could not carry away 
 with them as plunder was destroyed, and the whole 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 337 
 
 village sacked and levelled with the ground. These 
 were not all the sufferings which fell to the lot of 
 these unfortunate men, for severer tortures awaited 
 them during their march to Kordofan. I was un- 
 fortunately, during some few days, an eye-witness 
 of the misery these poor prisoners endured. No pen 
 can describe the cruelties these miserable men were 
 made to suffer, in addition to the mental torment 
 consequent on their loss of freedom ; for laden with 
 the heavy sheba round their necks, or bound to- 
 gether with tight straps or handcuffs, the poor 
 negroes were driven on like cattle, but treated 
 with far less care or forbearance. The greater 
 number of them, covered with the wounds they 
 had received in battle, or excoriated by the sheba, 
 or the straps, and handcuffs, were put to yet severer 
 trials on the road, and, if too exhausted to keep 
 pace with the transport, the most cruel punishment 
 awaited them ; the piercing cry of complaint of 
 these unfortunate beings, and the tears and sobs 
 of the children who had either lost their parents 
 in the capture of the village, or were too tired to 
 follow their exhausted mothers, would have melted 
 a heart of stone to pity. On these ruthless execu- 
 tioners, however, even this scene of misery produces 
 no effect ; they march with unconcern by the side 
 of the prisoners, and are only anxious to further 
 the progress of the convoy, by urging on those who 
 may be so weak that they cannot follow the rest 
 with blows and stripes. As they dragged every- 
 
338 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT 
 
 one away with them whom they found living, there 
 was, of course, a large number of lame, blind, and old 
 men, and persons afflicted with other infirmities, 
 among the complement of slaves, who were sure to 
 perish on the road, or who would be of no value 
 on their arrival in Lobeid. But, even this circum- 
 stance was not deemed worthy of consideration ; with- 
 out mercy all were driven from their homes, and de- 
 livered up to their fate ; for the sole object is, to fur- 
 nish the number of slaves demanded by the govern- 
 ment. Every morning, at about ten o'clock, a halt 
 was ordered, whereupon the prisoners were formed 
 according to their age into divisions, to receive their 
 rations, consisting of boiled dokn. Salt was out 
 of the question, and the dokn so hard that the full- 
 grown men experienced difficulty in masticating 
 it. Children, who are too weak in the jaw to re- 
 duce the grain, swallow it as they would pills, and are 
 frequently put to the most excruciating agony in 
 consequence ; for, not being able to digest the 
 food, their bodies swell, and they suffer from flatu- 
 lence and spasm. I have seen mothers chewing 
 the victuals for their children, and then offering it 
 to them. In forming these detachments according 
 to age, children who anxiously cling to their parents 
 are torn by force from their arms, that they may 
 eat alone. The condition of sick and wounded was 
 not considered ; their wounds were not even dressed, 
 and they received the same allowance ; many of 
 them threw themselves on the sand, and, refusing 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 339 
 
 all food, preferred to rest their weary liml)^. When 
 one of these poor wretches was so debilitated that 
 it became a matter of doubt whether he could be 
 dragged on any further, or when he was drawing his 
 last breath, he was thrown, like a piece of wood, 
 aside, either to languish in despair, or to be torn 
 to pieces by the wild beasts. Bread is unheard 
 of on these marches, although they have every 
 convenience for baking; this would be too great 
 a luxury, however, for the poor slaves, who must 
 content themselves with food not even good enough 
 for cattle. 
 
 As soon as the signal for the march was given, 
 the slaves were forced to join their detachments, 
 and, in case of delay for one minute only, the whip 
 and butt-end of the musket were again at work. Old 
 men and infirm women, bent down with the weight 
 of years and care, who could scarcely creep along, 
 suffered like treatment, and when too weak to 
 move on were left to perish on the sand. Children 
 were not allowed to take leave of their nearest 
 relatives ; a tear and a look of sorrow was "the only 
 tribute they could pay to the unfortunate beings 
 delivered over to their doom. To prevent a father 
 or a mother from perishing in this miserable man- 
 ner, their wives or daughters, who were unfettered, 
 would take one of these wretches between two of 
 them, who, passing hi* arms round the neck of 
 both, was thus dragged on, or even at tim;- 
 carried. Children above MX year^ <f age, or even 
 
 z 2 
 
340 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT 
 
 at the age of four, were forced to walk ; they also 
 generally succumb to the fatigues of the march, and 
 are then carried by their mothers or sisters. I have 
 seen a mother with an infant on one arm, and a 
 child of two years of age on the other, at last 
 charge herself with a grown boy on her back, 
 until she sank herself exhausted under this triple 
 load. 
 
 The officers commanding on these expeditions 
 are more especially to blame for the cruelty of the 
 troops, for, riding at a distance in front, or in the 
 rear of the transport, they do not trouble them- 
 selves about the condition of their prisoners, but 
 leave them entirely to the mercy of a ruthless 
 soldiery. If an officer of more feeling should hap- 
 pen to be in command, the circumstance is instantly 
 known by the diminished mortality on the road. I 
 once met with one of them who feelingly attended 
 to the children and the sick ; who ordered them to 
 be mounted on the beasts of burden when too weak 
 to proceed, and I saw him even take one or even 
 two of the children on his own horse. This man 
 may lay his head on his pillow in peace, free from 
 the reproach of having augmented the sufferings 
 of his unfortunate fellow-creatures, whilst many 
 of his comrades must quail under the pangs of a 
 guilty conscience for the fearful death of hundreds 
 of human beings. 
 
 An hour before sunset a halt was again ordered, 
 and rations of boiled dokn were once more served. 
 
 
IN THE YEARS 1838 AND 1839. 341 
 
 But in the night the misery of the slaves reached 
 its very climax. In the month of January, when 
 the changes of temperature are ordinarily very per- 
 ceptible, and the thermometer generally falls be- 
 low 4 Reaumur (41 Fahrenheit), the cold is felt as 
 severely as when at 4 or 5 below of Reaumur (23 
 to 20, 75 Fahrenheit), in the northern parts of Ger- 
 many. Imagine, now, the poor negroes in a state 
 of absolute nudity, without the means of covering 
 themselves, and debilitated by hunger and fatigue, 
 when some idea may be formed of the sufferings 
 they had to endure ; fires were certainly lighted, 
 but the scanty supply of wood rendered it impos- 
 sible to defend these poor wretches from the ef- 
 fects of cold. The shrieks and sobs of the children, 
 the cries of the wounded, and the groans of the sick, 
 were perfectly horrifying, and in the morning an 
 infant was once found dead and stiff with the cold 
 at its mother's breast. It is true that the negroes 
 have no covering in their own villages beyond 
 a girdle or a piece of linen passed round their 
 loins, but then they lie at night in their huts, or 
 cover themselves with the skins of animals, none 
 of which they can find on their march. Those who 
 wore the sheba could not sleep at night for 
 [)ain, as it so severely compresses the neck that 
 it impede* every movement, and thus not one man 
 was free from suffering. A woman far advanced in 
 pregnancy was delivered in the night without a^- 
 1 gave the poor mother a >hirt. in which 
 
342 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT 
 
 she wrapped her infant, and thus safely carried it 
 to Lobeid, and in compassion for her weak state 
 I lent her my ass to ride. I am unequal to the 
 task of narrating all the horrors I witnessed during 
 the few days I attached myself to the convoy ; no 
 words are sufficiently expressive to describe the 
 sufferings of the slaves, and no tongue can tell the 
 painful sensations of a man of feeling who wit- 
 nesses these atrocities. I did all in my power, with 
 entreaties and presents, to make the troops, and 
 the irregular natives forming the escort, more com- 
 passionate, and thus many a man was induced to 
 take a child who could not move its jaded feet 
 along the burning sand upon his back, or to relieve 
 a mother exhausted by its weight, and carry it dur- 
 ing the whole of the day. Unfortunately, however, 
 I was not able to put a stop to all acts of cruelty, 
 and was forced on one occasion to see an unfeel- 
 ing soldier fell a man to the ground with the butt- 
 end of his musket because unable to keep pace 
 with the rest : his feet, in fact, refused their office : 
 he had been wounded in that part during the siege, 
 the wound had inflamed, and the pain had quite 
 overpowered him. I lost all command of my feel- 
 ings on witnessing this brutal act, drew my sword, 
 and should have cut down the inhuman barbarian, if 
 my servant had not seized my arm and wrested 
 my sword and pistols from my hand ; nor did he 
 return my arms to me before he saw that my pas- 
 sion had cooled. On the eighth day the expedition 
 
IN THE YEARS 183.S AM) I S.'W. 343 
 
 arrived at Lobeid. The di*trilmtioii, described in the 
 former chapter, now took place, and this is, properly 
 speaking, the chief cause of the harsh and merci- 
 less behaviour of the soldiery towards the slave ^ ; 
 for they know, that they will be compelled to re- 
 ceive them in liquidation of their arrears of pay, 
 at a value far above the price they will obtain 
 from the slave-merchants ; that the slaves, more- 
 over, frequently die before they can dispose of 
 them, in which case the loss falls upon them, and 
 they must serve the government for months gra- 
 tuitously. Hence they do all in their power to 
 rid themselves of the old and infirm slaves before 
 they reach Lobeid, in order to avoid the incon- 
 venience of being forced to take one of these men 
 in lieu of their pay. If the payment of the troops 
 in the Belled-Soodan were effected in cash, as it 
 is in the other provinces, I am convinced that the 
 unfortunate slaves would meet with more humane 
 treatment. But thanks to the noble Queen Victoria 
 of England, whose eye of compassion has penetrated 
 into these distant realms, and cheered the hearts of 
 the dejected and oppressed inhabitants, at whose 
 earnest representations, in fine, these slave-hunts 
 have been put an end to by Mehemed Ali himself, 
 thousands of these poor negroes, who from year 
 to year trembled under the fear of a similar fate, 
 may now live in peace and tranquillity; and the 
 prayers of the emancipated, offered up to the throne 
 of the Almightly for this truly great monarch can- 
 
344 DESCRIPTION OF A SLAVE-HUNT. 
 
 not fail to reward her humanity by a prosperous 
 and happy reign. According to reports from Kor- 
 dofan, no expedition for kidnapping slaves was or- 
 dered in the year 1839, and the troops were paid 
 in cash ; but those, unfortunately, of 1840 and 
 1841 sound very differently, for Mehemed Ali, in 
 spite of his solemn promise to put an end to all 
 further slave-hunts, had again commenced these 
 revolting expeditions. 
 
THE COURSE OF THE WHITE NILE. 345 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 INFORMATION CONCERNING THE COURSE OP THE BAHR-ABIAD (WHITB 
 NILE). ANTIQUITIES OF KORDOFAN. BANDANIANIAM.* 
 
 DURING my residence in Kordofan, I enjoyed 
 the opportunity of coming in contact with persons 
 who had travelled over the greater part of the 
 South-east and South-west of Africa, and who were 
 able to give me information on many points hitherto 
 subjected to doubt. These were in part Djelabi 
 (merchants), in part Takruri (pilgrims). My chief 
 object in making these inquiries, was to obtain an 
 authentic account of the course of the White Nile, 
 but I was unable to gain satisfactory information 
 for a length of time, and nearly despaired of ever 
 arriving at my end ; for the men who travelled in 
 the countries through which this river flows, were 
 
 * The information I was able to collect was communicated to 
 the celebrated French traveller, Antoine d'Abbadie, who laid it 
 before the Academy in Paris and the Geographical Society in 
 London; by the latter it was subsequently published in the 
 Athenaeum, of 18th January 1840. As regards the White 
 Nile, more accurate information may now have been obtained 
 through the expedition sent in the year 1810, for the third time, 
 }>v .M'lH'MH''l AH, to trace the river to its source. 
 
346 INFORMATION CONCERNING 
 
 partly too deeply engaged in their own business 
 to attend to matters of little or no importance to 
 them, or were such from whose statements no 
 certain conclusions could be deduced. At last, 
 however, I became acquainted with a negro from 
 Runga, who had spent three years of his life 
 in Europe, and then returned to his native coun- 
 try. A lengthened intercourse with this man 
 convinced me that he had enjoyed the opportunity 
 of learning more than his countrymen, and had 
 profited by it, and was, moreover, not addicted to 
 falsehood, as the natives are, almost without excep- 
 tion. He had visited his fatherland after three 
 years of absence, and had made various journeys 
 into other countries. I thought, therefore, that he 
 would be the best man to apply to for information 
 on the course of the White Nile ; I found him both 
 intelligent and willing, and obtained the following 
 description, which appears to me most worthy of 
 credence : 
 
 The Bahr-Abiad, or White Nile, flows through 
 Runga, a country situated to the south of Darfour, 
 to which kingdom it is tributary. The river is said 
 to be very broad, but by no means deep, and even 
 fordable by men or cattle. During the dry season, 
 it is not navigable throughout, for in certain spots 
 there is not enough water to float a boat, and the 
 natives are only in few places provided with rafts. 
 From Runga its course is directed towards Bakkara, 
 then towards the country of the Jenky, Dynke, or 
 
 
THE COURSE OF THE WHITE NILE. 347 
 
 Denkani, where it is said to receive a tributary 
 stream, of whose course I could obtain no further 
 information. After flowing through the country of 
 the Jenky and Shilluks, the Bahr-Abiad is said to 
 enter Sennaar, where it unites with the Blue Nile, 
 near Khartoom. As I was more anxious to know 
 the course of the river before it reaches Runga, my 
 friend, the negro, introduced me to several of his 
 acquaintances, natives of those countries, which are 
 watered by this stream, and from this source I 
 learnt that it flows through Binga, Wuanga, 
 Gulla, and Banda. I conversed with two or three 
 persons on this subject, two of them natives of 
 Bornu, and the third a native of Binga, who had 
 resided during five years in the former state, and 
 they all coincided in that statement, that a river 
 flows through the country, named in their language 
 the Gazelle-stream, because its water is as pure and 
 transparent as that of springs. They could not tell 
 me its source ; but all agreed that it takes its 
 course towards Banda, where it is named the White 
 River, from the colour it assumes, dependent on the 
 nature of the soil through which it flows. I aN<> 
 received intelligence of certain Egyptian anti- 
 quities, standing in the desert, between Kordo- 
 fan and Darfour, at Cab-Belull,* a place situated at 
 a distance of two days' march from Caccie, on the 
 borders of Kordofan. Douni-pahns ^row by the 
 
 * In the Athenceum this place is erroneously called Bab-Belull, 
 its correct name is Cab-Belull. 
 
348 INFORMATION CONCERNING 
 
 side of the ruins, and in the dry season water is to 
 be found at a distance of eight miles from the spot. 
 This place is very little known in Kordofan even, 
 for no road passes through the neighbourhood. My 
 informant was a Djelabi (merchant), who, on his 
 return from Darfour, had been compelled to make a 
 considerable circuit to avoid a horde of robbers, and 
 had encamped at Cab-Belull. His camel-drivers, 
 who were Kubbabeesh, were acquainted with this 
 spot, and had frequently, on their former journeys, 
 driven their beasts to this place, for pasture. I con- 
 clude the ruins to be Egyptian antiquities, as the 
 merchant compared them with those at Luxor, with 
 which he was also acquainted. They are said to 
 consist of large portals, and high walls; some few 
 colossal figures in stone are also reported to be there 
 met with, but the greater part of them is buried in 
 the sands. The Djelabi brought a few camel- 
 drivers to me, who had a knowledge of that neigh- 
 bourhood, for I had made up my mind to visit the 
 place, but unforeseen circumstances subsequently 
 prevented me from carrying this design into effect. 
 On the hills, in the neighbourhood of Banda, a 
 race of people dwell, quite uncivilized in manner, 
 warlike and predatory in habit : the enemy, and even 
 the terror, of all the bordering negro tribes. They 
 are of a white complexion, like the Arabs in Egypt, 
 of regular feature, well-grown, and have large blue 
 eyes. They are called by the negroes, Bandaniaiiiain 
 
THE COURSE OF THE WHITE NILE. 349 
 
 (Anthropophagi), and are said to be of Jewish ex- 
 traction. The Sultan of Banda institutes hunts to 
 kidnap the girls of this tribe, and Sultan Moham- 
 med Fadel, of Darfour, has a few of them in his 
 harem. 
 
350 ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR.* 
 
 THE realms of Darfour, one of the most exten- 
 sive dominions of central Africa, and totally un- 
 known in its interior, consist of the following 
 countries, partly provinces of the kingdom, and 
 partly tributaries to that throne : Darfur, Runga,f 
 
 * I consider myself justified in annexing these few remarks on 
 Darfour to the description of Kordofan, although somewhat irrele- 
 vant to the subject, as so little is yet known of that kingdom, and 
 the source of my information may be considered very authentic ; 
 for I had it from no less a person than Sultan Abumedina, the 
 brother of the Sultan of Darfour, and I am, moreover, of opinion 
 that it will not be altogether useless in a geographical point of view. 
 
 f Runga is situated on a river, believed to be the White Nile, 
 and is said to be a fertile country, with a very healthy climate. 
 Bananas, wild grapes, lemons, and three sorts of potatoes, grow in 
 the country ; the first is a small and curved variety, which grows 
 without cultivation in the sand ; the second variety resembles the 
 European potatoe in shape and flavour, and is planted; the third, 
 which is also cultivated, is a giant potatoe, said to attain the weight 
 of twelve oock'ckahs, equal to twenty-seven pounds. The country is 
 supposed to be very rich in silver ore, of which but little use is made, 
 as the smelting costs the natives too much trouble. Darfour draws a 
 great deal of ivory and rhinoceros' horn from this country, but it has 
 no camels. Islamism has made great progress there within the last 
 few years. The religion of the natives is exceedingly simple ; they 
 
ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOl II. 351 
 
 Simla, Gulla, Binga,* Bergu,f the latter was; oon- 
 quered by the Sultan of Darfour, in the year 1833, 
 and includes the small provinces of Bachermi,:): 
 Kugo, and Niero ; and further, the small, but inde- 
 pendent states of Berti, Domurky, Birget, Gimmer, 
 Fellata, Forga, and Bandala. Gimir, Sachaua, 
 Bego, Yambusa, Dama, Masalit, and Midol, are 
 small republics, which formerly had no superiors 
 beyond a magistrate, or sheikh, in each village, who 
 exerted no executive power, but was obeyed as 
 the head of a family. 
 
 All these states were subjected to Darfour by 
 force of arms. Their respective sultans inherit 
 the right of throne as heretofore, but are now 
 tributaries to that country ; the contribution con- 
 believe in the existence of an invisible deity who produces water, 
 namely rain, and makes their fruit to grow. They pay, further, great 
 respect to persons afflicted with fatuity, and believe them to be 
 prophets of the invisible God. They build peculiar huts for these 
 beings, more like birdcages than houses, where they are confined, 
 and provided with food. Before sunset the populace visits them to 
 consult them for advice, and every answer, be it ever so nonsen- 
 sical, is regarded as an oracle, and firmly believed. The same 
 ideas are said to prevail m Banda, Wuanga, Binga, and Gulla. 
 
 * In Binga a large quantity of copper ore is found, which is met 
 with in commerce in Kordofan, and converted into anklets for the 
 women, weighing about one pound each ; it has not the same charac- 
 teristics as the European copper, but bears a nearer resemblance to 
 brass ; its colour is pale yellow. 
 
 f A caravan leaves Bergu annually for Tripoli. The distance 
 from Bergu to Kobbe, the chief commercial town of Darfour, is 
 twenty days' march. Since Bergu has become tributary to Dar- 
 four, European goods have found their way into the latter country 
 from Tripoli by way of Bergu. 
 
 ^ Bagermi. TR. 
 
352 ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR. 
 
 sists of ivory, rhinoceros' horns, white copper, gold, 
 and slaves. The seraskier, or general, who resides 
 at Shata or Deleb, is forced to levy the tribute ; and 
 detachments of troops are continually on foot in the 
 various districts, engaged in collecting the taxation, 
 for which purpose they are always obliged to resort 
 to coercive measures. The army consists of irre- 
 gular troops armed with shield and spear, and some 
 few with bows and arrows. The cavalry are pro- 
 vided with very hardy horses, and armed with 
 double-edged sabres, which they obtain from Ger- 
 many ; they are, in part, clad like the old Numi- 
 dian horse in shirts of mail, purchased at large 
 sums in Arabia ; so high, indeed, is the price 
 of this armour, that it might be manufactured in 
 Germany at one fourth of the cost. There are 
 only about four hundred muskets, of various shapes 
 and sizes, in the whole army ; their balls they cast 
 of copper. At El Fasher, the capital of Darfour, 
 four iron cannons are mounted. Dar-Marra, a large 
 hill, situated at a distance of two short days' journey 
 from El Fasher, is considered the fort of Darfour, 
 and is believed to be impregnable, as it has a never- 
 failing supply of water, and if besieged, might grow 
 sufficient corn for the consumption of the garrison. 
 The army of Darfour, has, at various times, ventured 
 as far as Banda,* Wuanga, and Pegu, but was 
 always beaten back with considerable loss. Mo- 
 
 * Banda has been vaunted to me as a country rich in gold ; 
 it is also said to possess a large quantity of white copper. 
 
ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR. 
 
 hummed Fadel, Sultan of Darfour, is the present 
 despotic monarch reigning over all these countri 
 he is an exceedingly barbarous man, greatly dreaded 
 by all his subjects, and has merely kept himself in 
 power by his considerable irregular army. His young- 
 er brothers, Abumedina and Achmet, who are both 
 beloved by the people, he, on that account, bitterly 
 hates, and consequently treats them more harshly 
 than slaves. When his oppressive cruelty became 
 too severe to be endured, they determined, with 
 the aid of a few trustworthy friends, to effect their 
 escape to Kordofan, their flight was, however, dis- 
 covered, and Sultan Fadel had them pursued ; they 
 \\ere overtaken on the borders of Kordofan, and 
 the youngest was, after some slight resistance, seized 
 and carried before his brother Fadel, who instantly 
 had his eyes put out. A fleet horse saved Abume- 
 dina, and he readied Kordofan, after having re- 
 ceived a severe sabre wound across his head in his 
 defence : he now placed himself under the protec- 
 tion of Mehemed Ali, who instantly made him a 
 monthly allowance. On his la>t journey to the 
 gold-mines of Fazoglo, in Sennaar, Mehemed Ali 
 summoned Abmnedina into his presence, and pro- 
 mised to place him on the throne of Darfour, as 
 Boon a^ his own affairs with the Porte were settled : 
 for which kind oflice Abmnedina is to pay an an- 
 nual tribute to Kgypt of a thousand hordes, ivory, 
 and white copper; the exact quantity of the latter 
 articles was not determined, but he is \*> keep the 
 
 2 A 
 
354 ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR. 
 
 Egyptian auxiliaries in his pay as long as he may 
 deem their services necessary. 
 
 Should his wishes of rising to the throne of Dar- 
 fur be fulfilled, as he confidently hopes, Europeans 
 would gain considerably by this change in the govern- 
 ment, for it would open a new path into the unex- 
 plored portions of Central Africa ; and much good 
 may be, moreover, expected from his very excellent 
 character. He has often told me himself, that he 
 would receive an European, who would occupy him- 
 self with the civilization of his people, with open 
 arms.* 
 
 The following short anecdote may serve as a 
 proof of the kindness of his disposition, and of the 
 nobleness of his character. 
 
 During my sojourn in Lobeid, I had the oppor- 
 tunity of an introduction to Abumedina: he re- 
 ceived my visit with great kindness and attention, 
 and I passed for a considerable time some hours 
 daily in his company .f Among my effects there 
 happened to be a gun in the form of a walking* 
 
 * At present any traveller might reach Darfour, but he would 
 never return, because the reigning Sultan looks upon every white 
 man as a spy of Mehemed Ali's. Mohammed Fadel's chief wish 
 is to have some European settlers in his country ; he even invited 
 me through a Djelabi, to come ; for he is well aware that Mehe- 
 med Ali has set his eye upon Darfour. An European died eight 
 years ago in that kingdom : he was a renegade, and stood very high 
 in the favour of the Court. He has left two full-grown sons ; but 
 I could neither discover his name, nor the country he came from. 
 
 t I have frequently dined at his table, and when I, on one of 
 these occasions, observed no bread, and asked the reason, he an- 
 
 
ON TI1K KINGDOM OF DAKFOl K. :i.V> 
 
 stick, which Abumedina very much wished to j> 
 sess, when he learned the use of it. At his request, 
 but rather as a mark of my esteem, I gave it to 
 him, with instructions as to the treatment of it, in 
 loading, &c., and I more especially drew his attention 
 to the quantity of powder necessary for the char 
 A short time after this, Abumedina went out shoot- 
 ing, at his country-seat, and overcharged the gun, 
 which of course burst and in the explosion very 
 much shattered his left hand. His attendants laid 
 the blame of this accident upon me, and requested 
 the sultan to punish me for it. Apprehensive of 
 the consequences, I fled, and concealed myself in 
 the house of a fake6r, who was my friend, and from 
 whom I had no treachery to fear. I there heard 
 that the Divan at Lobeid had instituted proceedings 
 at law against me, but that Abumedina had taken 
 my defence upon himself, and torn the papers, say- 
 ing, " Pallme is my friend ! he cautioned me ; he is 
 innocent ; it was the will of God." After passing ten 
 days in a dark and damp straw hut, in the greatest 
 anxiety, I preferred continuing my flight, although 
 I had nothing further to fear from Abumedina. I 
 consequently proceeded straightway to the White 
 Nile, and thence to Sennaar, whence I travelled ov. r 
 Berber, and the desert, to Kgypt. By the time 1 
 had pa^ed the first cataract, all my cares were dis- 
 sipated, and I was walking one day on the bank* of 
 
 swered : bread is only for sn\uiu> and sla\v> . hut that it had 
 nevei h.m a custom of tlu i Sultans of |>arf<>ur t> cat l>read. 
 
356 ON THE KINGDOM OF DARFOUR. 
 
 the Nile, at Sijuth, when I suddenly heard a negro 
 calling me by my name, at a short distance from me. 
 I turned round, and immediately recognized Abume- 
 dina's eunuch. This rencontre appeared to me, at 
 the moment, rather suspicious ; I quickened my 
 pace, therefore, towards my boat, to reach my arms, 
 and defend myself, if necessary; nor could the 
 eunuch induce me to follow him ; but then came one 
 of the Sultan's mamelukes, in whom I could place 
 more confidence ; I consequently accompanied him 
 to the boat belonging to the prince, where I was most 
 cordially welcomed. The Sultan had all my luggage 
 removed to his boat, and I travelled in his company 
 to Cairo, where he waits for the twelve thousand men, 
 which Mehemed Ali has promised to lend him, for 
 the purpose of conquering Darfour,* as soon as cir- 
 cumstances will permit him to spare as many troops. 
 
 * It need scarcely be mentioned that this change of government 
 has not yet taken place. TR. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LONDON : _/- /y 
 
 Printed by S. & J. BENTLEY, WILSON, and FLEY. 
 
 Ban go r House, Shoe Lane. 
 
RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 University of California Library 
 or to the 
 
 NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station 
 University of California 
 Richmond, CA 94804-4698 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 2-month loans may be renewed by calling 
 
 90 (4t5f642-6753 
 
 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books 
 
 to NRLF 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days 
 
 prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 AUG 1 2 1991 
 
 DUE 
 
 MAR 6 1993 JUN 
 
 SuBJbCI TO Ht'JALL 
 
 APR 1 2 '04 -b oo PM 
 
 9. 1996 
 
 APR 2 2 2000 
 
 SENT ON ILL 
 
 AU6 2 3 2000 
 
 U. C. BERKELEY 
 
A -i 
 
 H /o<i4 
 
 ,, 
 
 I 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY