CHAPTER XII.

Pl. 29.From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.SCULPTURE IN A PYRAMID AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.It is a circumstance, perhaps, worthy of remark, that some of the most perfect heads sculptured on the pyramids had almost a European profile. The Shageea—the brave tribe of Arabs who now possess the magnificently rich and fertile plain near Gibel el Birkel, and whose territory extends, on one side nearly to the fourth cataract, and on the other to Dongolah—have, notwithstanding the darkness of their complexion, nothing of the Negro features.CHAPTER XII.PRESENT INHABITANTS OF BIRKEL. — FUNERAL CEREMONIES IN THE MAHOMETAN BURIAL-GROUNDS. — NAME OF RAMESES II. OR SESOSTRIS. — DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE COUNTRY. — INDIGO MANUFACTORIES. — THE SHAGEEA TRIBE. — ONE OF THEIR MELEKS. — PYRAMIDS OF NOURI, DILAPIDATED STATE. — CURIOUS CONSTRUCTION OF ONE. — GENERAL DIMENSIONS. — ANTIQUITY. — COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ANCIENT AND MODERN BUILDINGS OF ETHIOPIA. — RETURN TO MEROUEH. — TURKISH MANNER OF BEING PAID FOR SERVICES. — VOYAGE DOWN THE NILE. — NUMEROUS VILLAGES. — SHAGEEA TRIBE. — INTOXICATION, LEARNING, ETC. — VARIOUS VILLAGES AND ISLANDS. — EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE AND OTHER PECULIARITIES OF THIS COUNTRY ON THE CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. — NOBLE MANNERS OF THE ARABS. — DONGOLAH AGOUS. — PROBABLE SITE OF NAPATA. — NEGRO SLAVES. — EFFECTS OF THE CRUELTY OF THEIR OWNERS. — ENCROACHMENTS OF THE DESERT. — CULTIVATION. — PEASANTS.Theinhabitants of the village of Birkel have their burying-place on the edge of the desert. Two women died while we were there. On such occasions the females of the village assemble in the house of the deceased, to cry and bewail her death. Generally, after two or three hours, they carry the body to the grave. On their arrival at the burial-ground, they assemble round the corpse, and make a low melancholy howl, and the nearest relations, with dishevelled hair and loud lamentations, perform a kind of lascivious but graceful dance; not very unlike that of the almæ in Lower Egypt, but the movements here are different. They do not, like the almæ, remain fixed to one spot, but move forward rather gracefully, bending their knees and back, and throwing up their bosoms, keeping time to the clapping of hands and their wildlululoo, of which there are two descriptions, one expressive of grief, and the other of joy. This dance is not so very indecentas the Egyptian dance. When the body is laid in the ground, stones are erected over the head and feet, between which they make a narrow channel, as I mentioned before, filled with small pebbles, generally of quartz, but invariably of one colour. I asked of several persons an explanation of this ceremony; but the only reply was, “It was the custom.” Burckhardt states (page 269.), that a fakeer told him that it was a mere meritorious custom; that there was no necessity for it, but that it was thought that the soul of the deceased, when hereafter visiting the tombs, might be glad to find these pebbles, in order to use them as beads, in addressing its prayers to the Creator.In the centre of the burying-ground is a large tomb of a saint: this is also built of stone. These stones are all taken from the temples, but they are generally without sculpture or hieroglyphics. On one stone, however, I discovered half of the name of Rameses II. or Sesostris. This is curious, and reminded me that Strabo[32]speaks of a sacred mountain in Ethiopia, where there was a temple of Isis, built by that conqueror; and Herodotus says that Sesostris, that is, Rameses II., was the only Egyptian king who made himself master of Ethiopia. My accidental discovery of this name, is, I think, strongly corroborative of the correctness of these two passages: this may be the mountain alluded to. That conqueror must have constructed some edifices, otherwise I should not have found his name. The temple of Isis may be the one excavated in the rock, and afterwards adorned with sculpture, by Tirhaka; and the statement of Herodotus, that he was the only king who subdued the Ethiopians, is, I think, proved by the fact, that, with the exception of the one whichmay bethat of Amunneith III., on the column of the great temple, this is the only name I have found of an Egyptian king either here or at the Island of Meroe. I begged the katshef who governed the districtto desire the peasants to take the stones that they required from the mountain, urging that, as strict Mahometans, they ought not to take them from Pagan ruins; but, unfortunately, there is no law in the Koran by which this is forbidden. Here, therefore, is another cause which will contribute to the speedy and utter destruction of what still remains of this interesting city.To give the reader an idea of the present state of fertility of this country, notwithstanding that the desert has enormously encroached on the cultivated land, the following particulars may not be uninteresting:—The katshef of Meroueh commands as far as Wanly, down the river, one day by land, about thirty miles; and up the river as far as Berber, two days by land. Within this small extent, over which only the banks of the Nile are cultivated, there are 1368 water-wheels, which pay to the government twenty dollars each, that is, 27,360 dollars; besides which, the government gain considerably by obliging the peasants to plant indigo, which they purchase from them at twelve piastres the cantar. They have calculated that they make 190 drachms of indigo from each cantar. Under the government of Dongolah, there are five manufactories of indigo,—Meroueh, Handek, Haffeer, Dongolah Agous, and El Ourde. The manufactory here produces 1846 okres[33]every year, and is now increasing. The peasants are unwilling to cultivate this plant, as the labour is very great; and they do not consider the price they receive a sufficient remuneration.The Shageea who cultivate this district are less oppressed than their neighbours: they are, as Burckhardt and Waddington have remarked, considered the bravest of the Arab tribes. This warlike race alone never bent their knees to the great Sultan of Sennaar. It is impossible to convey to the reader an adequate idea of the power these daring warriors once possessed. The name of aShageea was a host in itself. I have been repeatedly assured, that a single horseman has often been known to alight at a peasant’s hut, order the owner to hold his horse, whilst he entered into his very harem, ate with his wives, and often, it is said, still more shamefully abused his power. Death or slavery was the fate of the meleks of the neighbouring tribes who dared to offend them. Mounted on their dromedaries or horses, armed with lances, swords, and shields, they scoured the province, sweeping away the herds, massacring all who had the courage to resist, and carrying away men, women, and children into captivity. War was their sole delight; the cry to arms their most welcome sound. Mothers appeased the cries of their infants by the sight of a spear; and the lovely maiden only yielded her hand to the distinguished warrior. Their exploits are the theme of many a song; and other tribes seem to have forgotten their wrongs in admiration of the bravery of their oppressors. The blessings of peace, agriculture, and domestic repose were considered irksome by these proud warriors. They obstinately and gallantly resisted the invasion of the Pasha, till they found it vain, with their lances and sabres, to contend against fields of artillery and disciplined troops armed with the musket. Understanding that the Pasha was going to make war against Melek Nimr and the Shendyans, who were also their enemies, they joined his troops, and gradually came completely under subjection to him. The government, however, treats them with some respect. As I have stated before, a Shageea regiment is still in the Pasha’s service, and engaged in the war against the Negroes, at the southern extremity of his kingdom.Pl. 30.A MELEK OF THE SHAGEEA TRIBE.On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.The ancient race of the meleks still exists, but the fortunes of many are wofully changed. I took the portrait of one, an uncommonly fine-looking fellow, who was constantly in the temple where I resided, talking with my servants. (SeePlate XXX.) His long gown, or shirt, is called, in Arabic,e’tobe. The shawl, orel melayah, is always put on very gracefully. Their sandals, ornohel, are useful in walking on the sand, except when the latter is soft and heated by the sun: they then afford them little protection, as their feet constantly sink above the sole. As there was no barber in the village, and I was told he had some skill in shaving, I allowed him to officiate in that capacity; but most anxiously shall I avoid to have my head again shaved by the son of a king. Never did I endure such a scarification. His razor, one of the twopenny sort from Trieste, was blunter than even a French table-knife; and he had no means of sharpening it, but, according to the custom of the country, on his bare arm. He drew blood four times, and scraped my head in such a manner that it smarted for several hours afterwards; but it is impossible to endure the wearing of one’s hair in this climate after having once been accustomed to the luxury of having it shaved every week; and having lost my penknife, I have been obliged to take my own razor to cut my pencils. Travellers, in these unprovided regions, must often have recourse to strange means of supplying their necessities.Plate I.represents a Shageea with the dress of the desert—merely a cloth around his waist: his colour is darker than the other, which is accounted for from the life he leads, continually exposed to the scorching sun.[34]During our residence in the temple of Tirhaka we were often troubled with wolves, attracted, I presume, by the smell of the meat, and who made too free with our larder. Fatigued always by measuring and drawing all the day under this burning sun, we slept too soundly to detect the thief; indeed, the roaring of a lion would scarcely have roused our Arab servants: but we had a guardian of another description, whose instinctive vigilance proved fatal to the intruder. The little monkey the Mahmoor of Berber gave me was chained to, and had his bed among, a heap of stones in the corner of the sanctuary where Mr. B. and I slept. Thepoor little animal, frightened most desperately at the approach of so powerful an enemy as a wolf, and, besides his bodily fear, having, of course, an interest in the preservation of our larder, succeeded in rousing us by rolling down the stones that were near it. It did this three nights together: last night, one of my servants succeeded in shooting the thief.Pl. 1.On stone by W. Walton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.CAMEL MAN OF THE ABABDE TRIBE.SHAGEEA OF THE DESERT.April1. This afternoon we spent three hours in sailing eight miles to the pyramids of Nouri. They are situated in a slightly elevated part of the desert, a full half hour’s walk from the river. There are traces of thirty-five pyramids, of which about fifteen only are in any kind of preservation. These are not very interesting, except as tombs, and from their imposing appearance, not being ornamented with porticoes or hieroglyphic inscriptions. The pyramids are all at right angles, and their direction is generally nearly the same. Their size varies from 110 feet square to 20. (See plan,Plate XXXII., and picturesque view,Plate XXXI.) There are eight above 80 feet square, and four more above 70 feet square: their height is generally about the same as their diameter.Plate XXXI.is the most picturesque of three views which I made of these pyramids; but the most remarkable for size does not appear in this view. The plan will show that it measures at the base about 110 feet square. It consisted of three stages. Part of one having fallen, discovers another pyramid underneath. They seem to have added this second pyramid around the inner one, in order to increase its size, or, perhaps, to make the body underneath doubly difficult to get at. The Egyptian method of building pyramids with stages was, I think, by first erecting a pyramid with a very acute angle, and then building around it the first stage from the summit, and so on, in like manner, as many as were required.The pyramids are surrounded by the desert, which, I conceive, has already covered the remains of several others. The waves of the great Libyan ocean have probably swallowed up thetraces of the city and its temples, which, from the extent and imposing appearance of its cemetery, must have been considerable. The interior of some of the pyramids is of puddingstone, very much decomposed. The sandstone with which these monuments are covered, and often constructed, is rather soft, as is nearly all the sandstone in Ethiopia; which circumstance, and also their very great antiquity, may be the reason, perhaps, of the very dilapidated state of the ruins.Close to these pyramids, and almost surrounding them, are the traces of a canal from the Nile; which, according to my information, reaches for a considerable distance into the desert. This circumstance proves that the cultivated land extended much farther into the interior than at present. Cailliaud supposed this place to have been the cemetery of Gibel el Birkel; arguing that Thebes also had her tombs on the opposite side of the river. But those of Gournah, and in the Valley of the Kings, if not close to what formed part of the great city of Thebes,—which, however, is very probable, from the numerous splendid temples and palaces, of which there are still magnificent remains on that side,—were, at all events, in the suburb, and exactly opposite the great city, and not eight miles distant up the river, as these are from Gibel el Birkel. Moreover, the tombs at Thebes are on the western side, probably because the mountains on that side are nearer to the river, and afforded greater facilities for excavations than those of the eastern range. That the inhabitants of Gibel el Birkel, therefore, should have chosen this place for their necropolis, when they had space for hundreds on the spot where her pyramids are now standing, or, at all events, might have erected them, if they preferred it, immediately opposite on the western side of the river, is an idea which no person who reflects on the subject can entertain. They are most probably the tombs of another dynasty, and of a city whose name may be among the many we meet with in the itineraries. We may guess which ofthem it was; but such surmises, without any proofs to support them, are entirely useless.Pl. 31.On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDS OF NOURI.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.I could not help drawing a comparison between these pyramids and the celebrated ones at Geezah. The latter, although in a worse climate and more exposed situation, have evidently suffered far less from the ravages of time. There is scarcely one pyramid here which is not so dilapidated that its architectural beauty is almost entirely lost. The tropical rains seldom, if ever, reach so far north as this province; yet numbers of the pyramids are quite destroyed, and others are mere masses of shapeless ruins, without a vestige of their ornaments remaining. From their appearance I should conceive these to be the most ancient ruins in the valley of the Nile: but there are no hieroglyphics remaining, to give us the name of the city or its kings; and no sculpture, from the style of which we might have a better idea of the period when they were constructed. This necropolis is now more a place for the philosopher than the artist: the city and its people are gone. The splendid mausoleums of its kings are little better than piles of ruins: the histories which they recorded are lost for ever. The dreary terrible desert which surrounds them seems silently devouring its prey, and many ages will not elapse ere this, the real Typhon, will have swallowed up every vestige of its ancient grandeur.I conceive it not improbable that this is the site of the ancient capital of this province, which may have been destroyed in the wars between the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, perhaps by the great Sesostris; and the city at Gibel el Birkel may have dated from its ruin the increase of her magnificence. Succeeding generations may have found the site of Gibel el Birkel more advantageous, and the favour of a new dynasty of kings may have enabled the new capital to eclipse her rival on the southern bank. I mentioned, after crossing the Bahiouda Desert, and arriving at the Nile, that the peasants informed me of some ruins which arenow covered by the desert. I conceive the existence of these to afford further confirmation of the former opulence of this country. I cannot suppose, for a moment, that the city to which this necropolis belonged was so far distant.It is melancholy to see such numerous vestiges of imposing and splendid structures, demonstrating the power, magnificence, and knowledge of the former inhabitants of a province whose present possessors scarcely have sufficient ability to construct for themselves habitable mansions. The hovels of the peasants are miserable in the extreme. The castles of the sheakhs are better, but the rooms which they contain are extremely rude. This part of Africa was formerly harassed by continual wars of one tribe and nation against another. The necessity of guarding against surprise obliged them to fortify their habitations, and having models in their vicinity of ancient fortresses of the Ethiopians, the princes gave to their residences a somewhat more tolerable appearance.April3. We returned to Meroueh this morning, and I received a visit from the katshef and his suite. His professed object was to enquire whether he could be of any service to me, but his real aim was chiefly to receive half the pay of the boat (120 piastres) which he had procured for me, to take us to Nouri, and thence to Dongolah. I paid him the money as he desired, but he did not take the trouble of giving it to the rais (the captain of the vessel), who, poor fellow, of course, said that it was all right, as complaint would only have procured him the bastinado. This is the usual way in which the government remunerate themselves for any pains they bestow in making arrangements for travellers.We started at twelve, and passed, this evening, Kajjib, an old Arab village, picturesquely situated on a rock. We stopped for the night at the ruin of an old Saracenic castle, called Baheet, of considerable size, with towers and a citadel. It has evidently been of great strength, the walls being very thick; the inner part isbuilt of brick; the exterior of stones piled together, as roughly as the enclosing wall of a field in England. The rocks are of sandstone.Pl. 32.Drawn by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDSOFNOURI.London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.April4. We have this day passed the Island of Shenderab at half past seven; the Island of Manderab at eight, the village of Korti and islands of Ingolass and of Onato at half past eight; the small village on the western bank, called Ambicol, at ten; the Island of Sennat at one; the village of Defur at three P.M.; Genati at half past three, and stopped for the night at the small Island of Bishaba.[35]April 5.At seven we passed the village of Debba el Dolib; or, as it is generally called, Debba, the commencement of the road to Kordofan, and the last village of Dar Shageea. With all their faults, the Shageea are the most interesting of the Arab tribes I have seen. Their manly appearance, extreme valour, and open and frank and noble manners, are very engaging; but I am sorry to find that they are addicted to intoxication beyond any tribe I have met with, spending the greater portion of their earnings in bouza, and particularly in the strong spirit of the country distilled from dates. Burckhardt (page 70.) has justly extolled their courage and good faith, and hospitality to strangers that have friends among them: but his account of their schools and learning would scarcely be applicable to the Shageea of the present day, who are too much enamoured of the dance and the cup to submit to theennuiof study.At half past seven we passed the Island of Geri, and a village called Kutti, on the western bank. At half past four P.M. we passed a small island called Amduburgh, and stopped soon after at Tangus, another small island. The wind being invariably against us, we have scarcely made any progress, and that only by tacking. The river is about half a mile broad inthis part of the valley, and occasionally even wider. There is scarcely any cultivated land, except on the islands. The desert, generally, on each side of the river, presents not an object to cheer the eye or relieve the mind. When the banks of the river were sufficiently low to afford us an extensive view, we saw only immense tracts of waste bounded by the horizon. The peasants chiefly inhabit the islands, where they seem to have taken refuge from the encroachments of the desert, being seldom able, with their inadequate means, to resist its approach; but, as I have before mentioned, there are still some villages on the banks, like little oases, but not so beautiful. Notwithstanding some advantage of their situation, and their feeble efforts to protect their fields, year after year the Libyan and Nubian deserts are said to extend their sway.The gravity of the Arabs, who seldom laugh, and scarcely ever, even under the influence of intoxication, give way to boisterous mirth, must be in a great measure attributed to the character of their country. Considering these people as living under a sky which is ever the same, clear and beautiful, and accustomed to one uniform landscape, the river, its islands, and surrounding wastes; knowing few other nations, creeds, or customs; having ever before their eyes these dreadful wildernesses; experiencing their horrors, and feeling their destructive effects; it is not surprising that we find them more grave than the inhabitants of southern climes in general. Even boys have the carriage and demeanour of men. Neat in their dress and simple in their manners, there is no affectation, no dandyism. How ill-placed would such follies be in a region like this! Natural and easy in their address, erect in their carriage, they often display a calm and noble dignity of demeanour, which I have never seen surpassed in any civilised capital. They salute you courteously, and talk with gravity of your plans. There is no feverish anxiety to shine in conversation, nor any obligation to converse with you. After the first compliments,unless any of them have enquiries to make, they seldom speak. Every day is equally beautiful and unclouded, therefore the weather is rarely, if ever, the subject of conversation; and we have not, as in Europe, the bore of discussing its appearance twenty times a day.April6. At six A.M. we passed Ahmoor, a small village on the west bank of the river, and at nine we arrived at Dongolah Agous.Dongolah Agous.—After having seen that Shendy, Berber, and Metammah, though the capitals of provinces, are but miserable places, I did not expect to find Dongolah otherwise; still I could not have conceived that a town once so considerable, the metropolis of a large district, whose name so often occurs in history, would have presented now so wretched an aspect.Part of the town is in ruins. The desert has entered into its streets: many of the houses are entirely covered with sand, and scarcely an inhabitant is to be seen. One might have thought that some dreadful convulsion of nature, or some pestilential disease, had swept away the population. Part of the city is, indeed, remaining, but until I entered the houses not a human being did I meet with. I observed some houses in the town, of a superior appearance, having divisions of rooms, galleries, and courts, and evidently belonging to individuals once rich; but they are now almost all deserted. In some of them that we entered I saw some good-looking women: the men were idling away the day smoking and sleeping. Such is the scene of desolation and inactivity which now presents itself to the traveller at Dongolah. The mosque used by the inhabitants, until recently, was a large building, which tradition represents as very ancient, and as being built 200 years before the Hegira: but it is evidently of a much more modern date. It contains some granite columns, of bad workmanship, belonging to the early Christian age.I asked whether the residence of the Turkish government atEl Ourde was the cause why the city was so deserted, but was told that that circumstance had made little or no change. This was the proud reply of poverty. I have been informed by others, that, before the Pasha’s conquest, many of the inhabitants were in better circumstances, and the town more populous, but that they are now scattered elsewhere: many of them fled to Kordofan and Sennaar, on the approach of the Pasha.I conceive it not improbable that this is the site of Napata. Pliny so distinctly places that city 100 miles lower down the Nile than Gibel el Birkel, that I see no reason for supposing that immense extent of ruins to be the remains of a town which he describes as so very insignificant. Besides the distance agreeing so exactly with Pliny’s account, the position of Dongolah Agous, as a military station, to resist the arms of Petronius, would certainly be advantageous. The desert and the present city may have covered the vestiges of the temples Petronius destroyed.I left Dongolah Agous at three, without having made any drawings of the place, not conceiving it worth the delay. At half past three we passed the large Island of Gadar; at four, Ullow; and, after passing numerous villages and islands, we stopped for the night at Gemin, a very small village.April7. We passed this morning the village of Handak, situated on the western side near the base of the river, and the small Island of Marouerti, which resembles rather the ancient name of Meroe, and must, I think, be a corruption of it. Names analogous to that of the ancient capital of Ethiopia seem to be given indiscriminately to villages on the banks and the islands.I saw this evening a number of slaves going to Cairo. The manner in which they were clogged, to prevent their escaping or rebelling against their owners, was disgraceful and revolting in the extreme. Each slave wore a clog made of a wooden pole, four feet long, with a collar, of a triangular form, large enough to admit his head: this triangular collar rests upon their shoulders,and is so contrived with straps that it is impossible for them to throw it off. When they walk, they are obliged to carry it before them; and at night their hands are tied to the centre of the pole, and their feet to the bottom of it. The owners of the slaves showed me, with the malicious grin of fiends, the effects of the cords, and the weight of the machine on the hands, necks, and legs of their victims. They confessed that they were often obliged to free their slaves entirely from this torture, in order to preserve their lives: I saw several in this situation, who seemed to have suffered severely from being previously loaded with this machine.I attempted to reason with one of the owners; and urged, that, as he was obliged to leave them free occasionally, and run the risk of their escaping, he might as well do so always, and that he would find it his interest, as many actually died from this treatment. I told him he ought, as a good Mahometan, to adopt a more humane method of securing them. He told me, that he could not liberate them all at once; for they had recently threatened that, if ever they had the opportunity, they would kill him, and dye a redtarboush(Turkish cap) with his blood. The slaves understood this part of our discourse, and some laughed at this expression; but in general they appeared in a dreadful state of apathy and torpor, quite indifferent to the interest they saw me take in their situation.They were all negroes, with high cheek-bones, triangular faces, eyes sunk deep in the head, thick lips, complexion a cold bluish black colour, an expression heavy and unpleasing, and without a spark of talent in their countenances. They were continually demanding fire. After the extreme heat of the day, when the sun has set, there follows a degree of cold, which, though slight, and to me most agreeable, is no doubt felt severely by the slaves, who are quite naked, and accustomed to a hotter climate; and they feel it more sensitively, having been exposed the greater part of the day to theburning sun. We make very little progress, the wind being always strong against us.April8. We passed to-day the village of El Urub. Nothing can be more tedious and uninteresting than this voyage: we have scarcely seen any cultivated ground since we left the town of Meroueh, except the islands; the desert has almost entirely overspread the banks of the Nile; and where there was once, perhaps, a happy and numerous population, a people acquainted with the arts, rich cities and villages, now no other track is to be seen but that of the timid gazelle, which finds a secure pasture on the bushy acacias which on each side border the river. The glaring reddish yellow sands have supplanted the rich cultivation, and waves of sand have swallowed up the vestiges of the temples and palaces which adorned the cities. Where were the numerous towns whose names we read in the itineraries? Are there no monuments remaining of their magnificence, no traces of their habitations? The vessel buried in the fathomless deep leaves but fragments which are soon covered by the waters. Thus the Libyan and great Nubian deserts, ever active and incessant in their attacks, have concealed entirely from our view the little, perhaps, which the hand of time, and more destructive ravages of war and religious fanaticism, had spared.“No trace remains where once thy glory grew:The sapp’d foundations by thy force shall fall,And, whelm’d beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore—The ruin vanish’d, and the name no more.”—Pope’sIliad, book vii.The rocks are of sandstone. There are some in the centre of the river, whose channel, at this season, when the water is low, the barks dare not navigate during the night, which they would otherwise do, as there is then seldom any wind.Our cabin being only three feet high, we are obliged to lie onour beds day and night. I find this much more fatiguing than travelling on the camels. For myself, I should never have chosen this mode of conveyance; but my artist was in such a bad state of health, that he declared himself unequal to the exposure to the heat and the slow fatiguing pace of the caravan.April9. Wind still contrary: no variety in the scenery. I will not fatigue the reader with a mere list of names of villages, but must refer him to mymap,in which they are all marked down.April10. There was no wind this morning; and we should have arrived at Dongolah at nine, A.M., had we not received a visit from a French physician in the employ of the Pasha. To meet a European, in this country, is an occurrence so agreeable, that we could not resist spending half the day together.Some of the islands in this district are very rich. I remarked, on one, numerous sugar-canes; and, in several, a mode of irrigating the land unknown in Egypt, and displaying more skill than is usual in the Pasha’s dominions. The ground near the Persian wheels is very often uneven, and cannot be levelled without considerable labour: they, therefore, form aqueducts with stakes or pieces of wood from one to three feet high, as may be requisite, and place on them the conduit, which is made of earth. These aqueducts are extremely picturesque, as well as ingenious, being generally neatly constructed, and covered with grass. All the watercourses in this country are attended to with great care. The peasants are invariably well clothed, and appear in easy circumstances. I observe them occasionally assembled in an evening, under the palm trees, smoking, and sometimes drinking a cup of Abyssinian coffee, their greatest luxury.April11. The wind being still contrary, and my patience exhausted, I sent for camels from Dongolah, five miles distant. The governor there, understanding that we were travellers, immediately sent us some of his own dromedaries.CHAPTER XIII.VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR. — EXTENT OF HIS GOVERNMENT. — INDIGO. — WATER WHEELS. — POPULATION. — TAXES. — PRICES OF PRODUCE. — OASIS OF DONGOLAH, CALLED EL GAB. — ROUTE TO KORDOFAN. — INFORMATION ABOUT THAT COUNTRY. — BANEFUL CLIMATE. — CAPTAIN GORDON. — ARAB TRIBES OF KORDOFAN. — GENERAL APPEARANCE OF NEW DONGOLAH. — THE BAZAAR. — CURIOUS USE OF OINTMENT. — MERCHANDISE. — THE BAZAAR. — SLAVE MARKET. — COMMERCE CARRIED ON BY BARTER. — CURIOUS MANNER OF EFFECTING SALES. — DONGOLAH GOLDSMITH. — AUCTIONEERS. — VARIOUS ARAB TRIBES. — COSTUMES. — WOMEN, THE ELEGANCE OF THEIR ATTIRE. — BREAKING OF THERAT. — GIRAFFES. — HASSANYEH TRIBE. — ELEPHANTS.El Ourde, or New Dongolah.—April10-14. We arrived here at two o’clock, and immediately paid a visit to Ibrahim Effendi, the governor of this province. He is a man about fifty-five years of age, and of the most unprepossessing appearance: he stoops to such a degree, that his head nearly touches his knees. I am told that he has no talent, but has attained this important situation entirely through the intrigues of the harem. He has, however, the character of great probity—a rare virtue among Turks; and is disliked by the Copts, because he examines rigidly their accounts, and will not allow them to trade and speculate with the public money. He is despised by the Turks, because he does nothing for them, and lives in no style. He has only one Mameluke to give him his pipe and wait upon him. I saw no other servants, but observed that a few soldiers were brought in to make a show and line the walls. On his divan there were only a few officers, apparently of inferior rank, and certainly of a very shabby appearance.M. Martin, a French apothecary, stationed here in the employof the Pasha, very kindly pressed us to take up our abode in his house; and we were glad of the opportunity of enjoying, for a short time, a greater degree of comfort and cleanliness than we have been accustomed to for several months. He also assisted me in finding the persons best qualified to give me information.The Mahmoor, the day after our arrival, paid me a visit, was very communicative, and made himself agreeable, to the astonishment of Monsieur l’Apothicaire, and in the evening he sent me a roasted sheep; an attention, I understand, that he never was guilty of before to travellers or natives.This government extends from Abka[36]to Wady el Gamer, near Berber. There are 5000 sakkeas (water wheels), which generally irrigate from four to five feddans each when planted with grain. The indigo requires more water, for they calculate three quarters of a feddan of land to one wheel. They produce in this province, 10,000 okres of indigo. Each water-wheel requires four oxen, and four or five men and children. The population may, therefore, be calculated at about eight for each water-wheel; which would make 40,000 for this district; and I conceive 10,000 may be added for those who cultivate the land by the hand, merchants, servants, &c. Some of the islands have been planted this year, for the first time, with sugar-canes, which have proved to be excellent; but they planted them without reflecting that they had no machinery ready to manufacture sugar with, and no person who understood the business. As the sugarcane requires a water-wheel for each feddan, they do not intend to plant them again. The governor obliged the peasants and soldiers to purchase the sugar-canes at a certain price, in order that the revenue might not suffer from the experiment.There are some portions of the banks of the river, and particularly the islands, which are cultivated after the inundation, andirrigated, when necessary, by raising the water from the river with buckets and other simple processes. Land irrigated in this manner is taxed according to the quantity and description of produce. Each water-wheel pays to the government 20 dollars, 15 in money and 5 in produce; a heavy tax, when we consider that formerly, when under their native meleks, they only paid 1 dollar, a sheep, and two pieces of linen, value 6 piastres each; in all, little more than a tenth of the present tax.The revenue of this government, after paying the various expenses, salaries, and the troops of the garrison, is greatly absorbed by their having to furnish camels to convey the different species of produce, such as indigo and grain, and slaves, which are sent to Cairo. In particular, 2500 camels are loaded with gum, brought annually from Kordofan. It is purchased from the peasants there at the rate of 5 dollars the camel-load, which consists of three cantars of 150 rotles[37]each; and the government sell it in Cairo for 20 dollars the cantar; that is, 60 the load: deduct about 10 dollars for the expense of the journey, and also 5 for the purchase-money, there remain 45 dollars clear profit for the Pasha, which, on 2500 loads, is 112,500 dollars net. Elephants’ teeth are also purchased in Kordofan for 16 dollars the cantar, and sold in Cairo for 80 dollars, and often more.The government, as I have before stated, take part of the taxes in grain: the following is a list of the prices paid by them, compared to the current prices in the bazaar or market:—Government Prices.Prices in the Bazaar.s.d.s.d.Barley3930Dourah3930Wheat4346Maize3930The price of mutton (fat, for cooking) in the bazaar, is 1d.per rotle.s.d.s.d.The price of a sheep16to20The price of meat, per lb.00¾or01The linen cloths of the country, particularly of the district of Mahas, 24 piques in length, but very narrow20Cotton, best kind (Belloe) per lb.03The dourah is sown before the rising of the Nile, and is cut in four months; and afterwards they have another crop, but it is not so good. The barley is sown after the Nile has retired, and is reaped four or five months afterwards; wheat the same. The indigo plants remain in the ground three years, and are cut three times each year, with an interval of two months between each cutting. After dourah, maize is planted, and after maize other kinds of grain.Seven hours’ journey west of this place, amid the desert, is an oasis called El Gab (the Wood), consisting of a forest of doums, acacias, and some few date trees. It contains several springs, and the Arabs send their camels thither in the summer to pasture on the trees. This oasis has no antiquities nor traces of having ever been inhabited; it extends, parallel with the Nile, nearly as far as Debba, but, like all oases, is divided occasionally by the desert.The caravans from this place to Kordofan, and on to Darfour, enter the desert at Debba el Dolib, a village I mentioned in descending the river from Meroueh. From Debba to Shambrick, five days: the water there not always good; but on the road to Harazi, five days, and thence to the capital, on digging to the depth of two or three feet, and sometimes less, they never fail of finding good water. Zaagsouee, eleventh day; Kadjama, twelfth day; the residence of a katshef of Kordofan, Gouniah, thirteenthday; Mumat, fourteenth day; Sherian-Abousieh, fifteenth day; Borah, sixteenth day; Kordofan, or the capital, Ibazig, on the seventh day from Harazi, and the seventeenth from the Nile, or Debba el Dolib.I made repeated enquiries of both the Arabs and Turks, but did not hear of there being any antiquities there. This journey would be interesting for a naturalist, as they tell me that during the rainy season there is a very great variety of birds: but it is then very unhealthy. Ague and intermittent fevers are very prevalent. A French physician, who had been stationed there some time, informed me that during the rainy season he often took quinine in small quantities, and conceived that, by that means, he had preserved himself from a complaint which is so dangerous to Europeans.The enterprising but unfortunate Captain Gordon fell a victim to this climate.[38]I was told that he had visited several of the mountain regions of Kordofan, and, to use the expression of the Arabs, “had written down all the country.” He had commenced his journey with the intention of endeavouring to discover the sources of the Bahr el Abiad; but there was not the most remote chance of his succeeding. Roustan Bey, who was then, and is now, the governor of that country, would have allowed him to accompany his troops in hunting for slaves in the neighbourhood of the White River. He might have added something to our knowledge of the geography of the country on that river; but to discover its source was impossible.As a hint to future travellers, I should notice a mistake which he made, from not being acquainted with the customs of the country. Instead of making a handsome present to Roustan Bey of a gold watch, or fire-arms, which he should have done, considering the essential and extensive services he required, he gavehim some gilt ornaments for his wives: but the Turks having a great contempt for any article that is not genuine, the Bey was naturally vexed at a present which appeared to him so very insignificant. Captain Gordon was not to blame, I understand, but his dragoman, for this inauspicious commencement of their expedition. The Arabs and Turks say that Captain Gordon died on account of having taken too much physic. In a country where so much is left to nature, and the medical art so little known, it is not surprising that his frequent applications to his medicine chest, to relieve a severe attack of intermittent fever, should have given rise to this report.Before leaving Dongolah, this unfortunate traveller left a large sum of money with a Turkish aga in whose house he lodged. When his servant, after his death, returned to Dongolah, he called upon the aga, and demanded his master’s property. The Turk, a notorious scoundrel, proposed to the servant to divide the money and property, and thus induced him to sign a certificate that his master had left only a few old clothes, and no money. As soon as the Turk had received this document, he refused to give any portion of what he had promised to the servant; who, in revenge, accused him before the government. I was not able to learn with certainty whether the money, and, what was of far more consequence, his papers, ever reached his friends. I purchased at Dongolah a piece of Newman’s Indian ink, which formerly belonged to him.I obtained from authentic sources the following information of the different Arab tribes in the kingdom of Kordofan and its vicinity:—The Kababysh.These Arabs are also found in the Bahiouda Desert. They possess camels and horses, and transport merchandise to Sennaar, Darfour, and to this place. Their chief is called Melek Selim.The Buggara.They possess flocks, and are occupied in hunting the elephant and the giraffe. Moussa is their chief.The Benigerarhave great abundance of horses and camels. They are generally engaged in transporting merchandise, sometimes to Darfour. They are often at war with the Kababysh.The Hammerare chiefly cultivators of the ground. They possess also camels, and trade to Darfour, but do not come to this place. They are occupied also in tanning the skins of animals, and the government employs them in their hunting expeditions for slaves. Their arms resemble those of the other Arab tribes,—the oval spear, the lance, and sword. Hadji Merien is their chief or king, that is, melek.[39]The Hadowyehare cultivators, and join the expeditions of the government like the Hammer: they possess good dromedaries, and their melek is Uhmar, son of Dowel.Messabouee.Cultivators, and also assist the government in their slave expeditions: their melek is Uhmar, son of Hashim.Danaglih.Peasants of the country; cultivators.Konjarah.A tribe from Darfour: the masters of the country, under Magdum Selim, on the arrival of Roustan Bey, who killed their chief in battle[40]: their present chief is Sultan Tema.The province of Kordofan is exceedingly productive to the Pasha, and so also would Darfour be; and ere now that province would have been annexed to his kingdom, had not his ambitious views been turned towards Constantinople. A desert, I am told, of five days’ journey separates the two provinces. He might extend his conquests thither without any apprehension of interference from the European powers. If the peace in Syria continues, and Mohammed Ali lives, that country, notwithstandingthe warlike and powerful tribes who inhabit it, will soon form a part of the Pasha’s immense dominions; and Europeans will be enabled to explore it with greater advantage than our celebrated traveller Brown.Dongolah, or New Dongolah, as I should call it, has far more the appearance of a capital, than any place I have seen in Ethiopia. The citadel is fortified with walls and towers sufficient to defend it from the attacks of the Arabs, but not long against a European army. There are a few pieces of cannon brought here by Ismael Pasha, and there is generally a garrison of from 300 to 800 men, but most commonly from invalid regiments, that have suffered by the more unhealthy climates of Kordofan, Khartoun, and Sennaar, and are sent here as fit for no other service. They have built an hospital, but, although full of invalids, it is not yet finished,—the rooms are without roofs, and the beds of earth.There are severalcafésin the town, much better than I expected: one is very handsome; large, airy, and furnished with a divan covered with carpets. Here the lazy Turks kill the day: smoking, seeing the people pass by, playing draughts and other games, and drinking coffee and sherbet.The bazaar is superior to that of Assuan. The articles for sale consisted of different stuffs, silk, linen, and cotton; tarboushes (red Turkish caps), shoes, glassware, cures for ophthalmia (some of which seemed on examination to contain zinc); and a variety of pipes, from the handsome Persian anguilles and long Turkish pipes, with their amber mouthpieces, worth two or three pounds each, to the humble pipe of the peasant, value threepence: coarse thread and common needles; salt, from the mines of Selima, white and beautiful like crystal; a variety of cases for amulets, such as the women wear around their necks and the men on their arms (see the various plates of costumes); coffee from Mocha and Abyssinia; loaf sugar, white and brown; tamarinds from Sennaar and Kordofan; and a variety of arms, sabres,lances, daggers, and pistols; and in every shop on sale, spices and ginger, cloves, coriander seed, sandal wood, and a kind of kernels, seemingly of cherries, which are said to come from Italy; the natives extract oil from them. With the spices they make the ointment which both males and females, particularly the latter, use in this country to render their skin soft. I have seen them sometimes almost naked, and smeared with this substance as if they had been dipped in butter; and I have often seen the Arabs of the desert place two or three pounds of mutton fat on their heads, and walk on till the sun had melted it, when not only the head and face were covered with the liquid grease, but it flowed in streams down their backs. They consider their different ointments as particularly conducive to health, especially after fatigue. There is an old custom still kept up in the country. When an Arab or Turk arrives in a village after a fatiguing day’s journey, he generally gets some of the female slaves I have spoken of at Shendy, to rub him for half an hour all over with this ointment. It is very pleasant and refreshing, cooling and softening to the skin, which has been burnt and dried up by the scorching winds of the desert. I also observed in the bazaar common looking-glasses, and beads of glass and other materials.There were several separate markets for slaves, men, women, boys, girls, and eunuchs. Most of the latter are from Abyssinia. I am informed that they are generally the victims of the brutality of the Abyssinians of neighbouring states. Besides increasing the value of their slaves, they appear to wish to imitate the ancient Egyptians, whose cruelty in that respect is explained in the triumphant procession on the walls of Medenet Abou, at Thebes. I saw one extremely beautiful Abyssinian girl on sale for 150 dollars, and for another not remarkable for her beauty 80 were demanded.I observed a custom, which is peculiarly characteristic of this district: the peasant girls, and also the men, bring from the country small quantities of grain and other produce, which theyexchange for perfumes and spices for their hair and persons. This is conformable to our European idea of remote and uncivilised people, carrying on commerce simply by barter. They showed me in the bazaar some rudely shaped pieces of iron, said to be the money of Darfour.Some of the peasant girls buying spices in the bazaar were very pretty. I told one, that had she been a slave I would have purchased her. She laughed at my compliment, and replied, with greatnaïveté, that, upon her conscience, she was no slave.To make a purchase in the bazaar is sometimes rather difficult. I asked one of the merchants the price of a pipe, which I thought of buying. The man was confused, and could not make up his mind how much he ought to ask; but, seeking to enhance its value by praise, without replying to my question, he continued to extol its different excellencies. The other merchants pressed him to name a sum. The man was very much embarrassed, particularly as we had desired him to state the lowest at which he could sell it, otherwise we should not treat with him. It was only, however, when he saw me walking away, that he could resolve to ask only twice the value of the article. It is the custom here for the purchaser to bid, and not for the merchant to name the price. If the offer does not equal his expectations, he says,Eftah Allah!“May God open your eyes!” or, “May God improve your judgment!”I went into a shop in which there was a shabbily dressed common-looking fellow squatted on the ground, with a few miserably rude tools before him, on a board. I conceived he might be a joiner, and must confess I was rather surprised at finding that he was the first goldsmith in Dongolah. They cannot work European gold. They generally employ the gold of Sennaar, which is of a superior quality, being pliable and malleable, like lead. This man told me that my watch was not gold, for he had never seen gold so dark-coloured.They have a custom here, as well as at Cairo, of selling merchandise, such as clothes, &c. by auction in the street. The auctioneer walks about, calling aloud the price. One makes an offer, and the man walks on; another meets him, who likes the article, and bids higher. The owner promotes the sale by giving occasionally a bidding himself.The crowds in this bazaar, as compared with the deserted streets of Berber, Shendy, and Metammah, and the variety of costumes worn by Turks and Caireens, Fellaheen (or, as they are more properly called here, Dongoloue), Bishareen, Ababde, Shageea, and other tribes, formed a scene gay, and not unpleasing, particularly after the solitudes of the desert.The costumes of Dongolah are somewhat different, but, perhaps, less remarkable, than any I have seen in Ethiopia. The women, when they are married and have had children, have their hair dressed on each side of their face, in three rows of ringlets, or tresses, the lowest often reaching to their shoulder. The other females are only permitted to wear two rows. The head-dress of the women of Shendy is rather different: they wear their hair loosely projecting from each side and behind, while on the top of the head it is quite flat. But what is most extraordinary in the costumes of this country is the inimitable grace and elegance with which their robes are adjusted, often almost equalling the drapery of the ancients. Were it possible to collect correct drawings of their almost innumerable methods of folding theirmelayah, the large long piece of linen cloth which forms their chief, and often only, covering, I question if such drawings would be believed any thing else than copies of the Greek and Roman draperies, or studies of ancient costume. A sculptor would assuredly call them walking statues.The young girls, before being married or having arrived at the age of discretion, only wear the rat, the Nubian covering, composed, as already mentioned, of thin thongs of the hide of the hippopotamus,which reaches from the waist almost to the knee, and is coquettishly ornamented with masses of silver, and a variety of shells and beads. It is considered sufficiently modest in this country, where no consequence is attached to the exposure of the body and limbs; otherwise, so far as it extends, it forms an elegant and impenetrable skreen. (See girl inPlate XXXVII.) The changing of this costume, or breaking of their rat, upon their marriage, is rather a curious ceremony, which I will presently describe; but when the rat is torn merely on account of the advanced age of the girl, and not at her marriage, only a sheep is killed, and she and her relations receive the congratulations of their hungry friends.Skins of animals are often exposed for sale in the bazaar, but they are generally too ill prepared to be of any use for stuffing, often wanting the most essential parts, such as the feet, and even the head. Had I been half an hour earlier there, on the day of my arrival, I could have bought for four shillings the skin of a giraffe. This animal, only so recently known in Europe, is found in great numbers on the road from Debba to Kordofan, between Sabrian and Gibel el Arazi, and behind Kordofan, on the Bahr el Abiad, the territory of the Buggara tribe. The government do not encourage the Arabs to seek for them. On the contrary, without an express permission from the Pasha, no Arab, Turk, or traveller is allowed to purchase one. When the peasants catch them for the government, they receive a remuneration of twenty-five dollars, which is considered very handsome. Had I been provided with a permission from the Pasha, I was told that I should have had little difficulty in procuring one at that price. At the time of theharef(the rainy season), the Hassanyeh retire with their herds and camels into the mountains and valleys, which afford ample pasture for their cattle for three or four months. They protect themselves from the little rain that falls withshambries(tents made of goat skins). During this season the chase also contributes to their support. When there is no rain, which is veryoften the case, the sun, being then almost vertical, produces a heat so excessive that the gazelles, giraffes, ostriches, &c. are said to become much less capable of escaping pursuit than during winter. The Hassanyeh then on their swift horses catch them without much difficulty.This tribe (Hassanyeh) is very extensive, and trade to Kordofan; and great numbers of them in this neighbourhood convey merchandise to Assuan. They are very fine-looking fellows, more grave in their manners than even the Arabs in general. They wear their hair plaited, and tight behind; differing, in this respect, from any other tribe. (SeePlate XXXIX., in which they are represented straining the common bouza of the country through a straw funnel.) I have travelled with several of them, and liked them exceedingly. In the same tracts with the giraffe is found also the antelope, or, as it is called, the cow of the desert (buggera el Atmoor), with straight and twisted horns (seePlate XXXVII.); also gazelles in abundance. The elephant is found in Abyssinia, and, it is said, also above Sennaar, in the province of Fazoql, and in that of the Buggara, behind Kordofan. There are a great many of the gemet cat in this neighbourhood. They have small thin heads, long backs of a grey colour, with brown spots, and a black streak along the centre. Some of them are eighteen inches long, besides the tail, which measures twelve inches. The colour of the latter is alternately grey and black. Mr. M. had several in cages: when set at liberty in a room, they seemed to be very timid, and one of them was rather savage. Their velocity is extraordinary.

Pl. 29.From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.SCULPTURE IN A PYRAMID AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 29.From a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.SCULPTURE IN A PYRAMID AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 29.

SCULPTURE IN A PYRAMID AT GIBEL EL BIRKEL.

Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

It is a circumstance, perhaps, worthy of remark, that some of the most perfect heads sculptured on the pyramids had almost a European profile. The Shageea—the brave tribe of Arabs who now possess the magnificently rich and fertile plain near Gibel el Birkel, and whose territory extends, on one side nearly to the fourth cataract, and on the other to Dongolah—have, notwithstanding the darkness of their complexion, nothing of the Negro features.

PRESENT INHABITANTS OF BIRKEL. — FUNERAL CEREMONIES IN THE MAHOMETAN BURIAL-GROUNDS. — NAME OF RAMESES II. OR SESOSTRIS. — DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT STATE OF THE COUNTRY. — INDIGO MANUFACTORIES. — THE SHAGEEA TRIBE. — ONE OF THEIR MELEKS. — PYRAMIDS OF NOURI, DILAPIDATED STATE. — CURIOUS CONSTRUCTION OF ONE. — GENERAL DIMENSIONS. — ANTIQUITY. — COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ANCIENT AND MODERN BUILDINGS OF ETHIOPIA. — RETURN TO MEROUEH. — TURKISH MANNER OF BEING PAID FOR SERVICES. — VOYAGE DOWN THE NILE. — NUMEROUS VILLAGES. — SHAGEEA TRIBE. — INTOXICATION, LEARNING, ETC. — VARIOUS VILLAGES AND ISLANDS. — EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE AND OTHER PECULIARITIES OF THIS COUNTRY ON THE CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. — NOBLE MANNERS OF THE ARABS. — DONGOLAH AGOUS. — PROBABLE SITE OF NAPATA. — NEGRO SLAVES. — EFFECTS OF THE CRUELTY OF THEIR OWNERS. — ENCROACHMENTS OF THE DESERT. — CULTIVATION. — PEASANTS.

Theinhabitants of the village of Birkel have their burying-place on the edge of the desert. Two women died while we were there. On such occasions the females of the village assemble in the house of the deceased, to cry and bewail her death. Generally, after two or three hours, they carry the body to the grave. On their arrival at the burial-ground, they assemble round the corpse, and make a low melancholy howl, and the nearest relations, with dishevelled hair and loud lamentations, perform a kind of lascivious but graceful dance; not very unlike that of the almæ in Lower Egypt, but the movements here are different. They do not, like the almæ, remain fixed to one spot, but move forward rather gracefully, bending their knees and back, and throwing up their bosoms, keeping time to the clapping of hands and their wildlululoo, of which there are two descriptions, one expressive of grief, and the other of joy. This dance is not so very indecentas the Egyptian dance. When the body is laid in the ground, stones are erected over the head and feet, between which they make a narrow channel, as I mentioned before, filled with small pebbles, generally of quartz, but invariably of one colour. I asked of several persons an explanation of this ceremony; but the only reply was, “It was the custom.” Burckhardt states (page 269.), that a fakeer told him that it was a mere meritorious custom; that there was no necessity for it, but that it was thought that the soul of the deceased, when hereafter visiting the tombs, might be glad to find these pebbles, in order to use them as beads, in addressing its prayers to the Creator.

In the centre of the burying-ground is a large tomb of a saint: this is also built of stone. These stones are all taken from the temples, but they are generally without sculpture or hieroglyphics. On one stone, however, I discovered half of the name of Rameses II. or Sesostris. This is curious, and reminded me that Strabo[32]speaks of a sacred mountain in Ethiopia, where there was a temple of Isis, built by that conqueror; and Herodotus says that Sesostris, that is, Rameses II., was the only Egyptian king who made himself master of Ethiopia. My accidental discovery of this name, is, I think, strongly corroborative of the correctness of these two passages: this may be the mountain alluded to. That conqueror must have constructed some edifices, otherwise I should not have found his name. The temple of Isis may be the one excavated in the rock, and afterwards adorned with sculpture, by Tirhaka; and the statement of Herodotus, that he was the only king who subdued the Ethiopians, is, I think, proved by the fact, that, with the exception of the one whichmay bethat of Amunneith III., on the column of the great temple, this is the only name I have found of an Egyptian king either here or at the Island of Meroe. I begged the katshef who governed the districtto desire the peasants to take the stones that they required from the mountain, urging that, as strict Mahometans, they ought not to take them from Pagan ruins; but, unfortunately, there is no law in the Koran by which this is forbidden. Here, therefore, is another cause which will contribute to the speedy and utter destruction of what still remains of this interesting city.

To give the reader an idea of the present state of fertility of this country, notwithstanding that the desert has enormously encroached on the cultivated land, the following particulars may not be uninteresting:—The katshef of Meroueh commands as far as Wanly, down the river, one day by land, about thirty miles; and up the river as far as Berber, two days by land. Within this small extent, over which only the banks of the Nile are cultivated, there are 1368 water-wheels, which pay to the government twenty dollars each, that is, 27,360 dollars; besides which, the government gain considerably by obliging the peasants to plant indigo, which they purchase from them at twelve piastres the cantar. They have calculated that they make 190 drachms of indigo from each cantar. Under the government of Dongolah, there are five manufactories of indigo,—Meroueh, Handek, Haffeer, Dongolah Agous, and El Ourde. The manufactory here produces 1846 okres[33]every year, and is now increasing. The peasants are unwilling to cultivate this plant, as the labour is very great; and they do not consider the price they receive a sufficient remuneration.

The Shageea who cultivate this district are less oppressed than their neighbours: they are, as Burckhardt and Waddington have remarked, considered the bravest of the Arab tribes. This warlike race alone never bent their knees to the great Sultan of Sennaar. It is impossible to convey to the reader an adequate idea of the power these daring warriors once possessed. The name of aShageea was a host in itself. I have been repeatedly assured, that a single horseman has often been known to alight at a peasant’s hut, order the owner to hold his horse, whilst he entered into his very harem, ate with his wives, and often, it is said, still more shamefully abused his power. Death or slavery was the fate of the meleks of the neighbouring tribes who dared to offend them. Mounted on their dromedaries or horses, armed with lances, swords, and shields, they scoured the province, sweeping away the herds, massacring all who had the courage to resist, and carrying away men, women, and children into captivity. War was their sole delight; the cry to arms their most welcome sound. Mothers appeased the cries of their infants by the sight of a spear; and the lovely maiden only yielded her hand to the distinguished warrior. Their exploits are the theme of many a song; and other tribes seem to have forgotten their wrongs in admiration of the bravery of their oppressors. The blessings of peace, agriculture, and domestic repose were considered irksome by these proud warriors. They obstinately and gallantly resisted the invasion of the Pasha, till they found it vain, with their lances and sabres, to contend against fields of artillery and disciplined troops armed with the musket. Understanding that the Pasha was going to make war against Melek Nimr and the Shendyans, who were also their enemies, they joined his troops, and gradually came completely under subjection to him. The government, however, treats them with some respect. As I have stated before, a Shageea regiment is still in the Pasha’s service, and engaged in the war against the Negroes, at the southern extremity of his kingdom.

Pl. 30.A MELEK OF THE SHAGEEA TRIBE.On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 30.A MELEK OF THE SHAGEEA TRIBE.On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 30.

A MELEK OF THE SHAGEEA TRIBE.

On stone by W. Walton, from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.

Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

The ancient race of the meleks still exists, but the fortunes of many are wofully changed. I took the portrait of one, an uncommonly fine-looking fellow, who was constantly in the temple where I resided, talking with my servants. (SeePlate XXX.) His long gown, or shirt, is called, in Arabic,e’tobe. The shawl, orel melayah, is always put on very gracefully. Their sandals, ornohel, are useful in walking on the sand, except when the latter is soft and heated by the sun: they then afford them little protection, as their feet constantly sink above the sole. As there was no barber in the village, and I was told he had some skill in shaving, I allowed him to officiate in that capacity; but most anxiously shall I avoid to have my head again shaved by the son of a king. Never did I endure such a scarification. His razor, one of the twopenny sort from Trieste, was blunter than even a French table-knife; and he had no means of sharpening it, but, according to the custom of the country, on his bare arm. He drew blood four times, and scraped my head in such a manner that it smarted for several hours afterwards; but it is impossible to endure the wearing of one’s hair in this climate after having once been accustomed to the luxury of having it shaved every week; and having lost my penknife, I have been obliged to take my own razor to cut my pencils. Travellers, in these unprovided regions, must often have recourse to strange means of supplying their necessities.

Plate I.represents a Shageea with the dress of the desert—merely a cloth around his waist: his colour is darker than the other, which is accounted for from the life he leads, continually exposed to the scorching sun.[34]

During our residence in the temple of Tirhaka we were often troubled with wolves, attracted, I presume, by the smell of the meat, and who made too free with our larder. Fatigued always by measuring and drawing all the day under this burning sun, we slept too soundly to detect the thief; indeed, the roaring of a lion would scarcely have roused our Arab servants: but we had a guardian of another description, whose instinctive vigilance proved fatal to the intruder. The little monkey the Mahmoor of Berber gave me was chained to, and had his bed among, a heap of stones in the corner of the sanctuary where Mr. B. and I slept. Thepoor little animal, frightened most desperately at the approach of so powerful an enemy as a wolf, and, besides his bodily fear, having, of course, an interest in the preservation of our larder, succeeded in rousing us by rolling down the stones that were near it. It did this three nights together: last night, one of my servants succeeded in shooting the thief.

Pl. 1.On stone by W. Walton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.CAMEL MAN OF THE ABABDE TRIBE.SHAGEEA OF THE DESERT.

Pl. 1.On stone by W. Walton from a Drawing by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.CAMEL MAN OF THE ABABDE TRIBE.SHAGEEA OF THE DESERT.

Pl. 1.

Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

April1. This afternoon we spent three hours in sailing eight miles to the pyramids of Nouri. They are situated in a slightly elevated part of the desert, a full half hour’s walk from the river. There are traces of thirty-five pyramids, of which about fifteen only are in any kind of preservation. These are not very interesting, except as tombs, and from their imposing appearance, not being ornamented with porticoes or hieroglyphic inscriptions. The pyramids are all at right angles, and their direction is generally nearly the same. Their size varies from 110 feet square to 20. (See plan,Plate XXXII., and picturesque view,Plate XXXI.) There are eight above 80 feet square, and four more above 70 feet square: their height is generally about the same as their diameter.

Plate XXXI.is the most picturesque of three views which I made of these pyramids; but the most remarkable for size does not appear in this view. The plan will show that it measures at the base about 110 feet square. It consisted of three stages. Part of one having fallen, discovers another pyramid underneath. They seem to have added this second pyramid around the inner one, in order to increase its size, or, perhaps, to make the body underneath doubly difficult to get at. The Egyptian method of building pyramids with stages was, I think, by first erecting a pyramid with a very acute angle, and then building around it the first stage from the summit, and so on, in like manner, as many as were required.

The pyramids are surrounded by the desert, which, I conceive, has already covered the remains of several others. The waves of the great Libyan ocean have probably swallowed up thetraces of the city and its temples, which, from the extent and imposing appearance of its cemetery, must have been considerable. The interior of some of the pyramids is of puddingstone, very much decomposed. The sandstone with which these monuments are covered, and often constructed, is rather soft, as is nearly all the sandstone in Ethiopia; which circumstance, and also their very great antiquity, may be the reason, perhaps, of the very dilapidated state of the ruins.

Close to these pyramids, and almost surrounding them, are the traces of a canal from the Nile; which, according to my information, reaches for a considerable distance into the desert. This circumstance proves that the cultivated land extended much farther into the interior than at present. Cailliaud supposed this place to have been the cemetery of Gibel el Birkel; arguing that Thebes also had her tombs on the opposite side of the river. But those of Gournah, and in the Valley of the Kings, if not close to what formed part of the great city of Thebes,—which, however, is very probable, from the numerous splendid temples and palaces, of which there are still magnificent remains on that side,—were, at all events, in the suburb, and exactly opposite the great city, and not eight miles distant up the river, as these are from Gibel el Birkel. Moreover, the tombs at Thebes are on the western side, probably because the mountains on that side are nearer to the river, and afforded greater facilities for excavations than those of the eastern range. That the inhabitants of Gibel el Birkel, therefore, should have chosen this place for their necropolis, when they had space for hundreds on the spot where her pyramids are now standing, or, at all events, might have erected them, if they preferred it, immediately opposite on the western side of the river, is an idea which no person who reflects on the subject can entertain. They are most probably the tombs of another dynasty, and of a city whose name may be among the many we meet with in the itineraries. We may guess which ofthem it was; but such surmises, without any proofs to support them, are entirely useless.

Pl. 31.On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDS OF NOURI.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 31.On stone by W. P. Sherlock, from a Drawing by G. A. Hoskins Esqr.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDS OF NOURI.Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 31.

PYRAMIDS OF NOURI.

Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

I could not help drawing a comparison between these pyramids and the celebrated ones at Geezah. The latter, although in a worse climate and more exposed situation, have evidently suffered far less from the ravages of time. There is scarcely one pyramid here which is not so dilapidated that its architectural beauty is almost entirely lost. The tropical rains seldom, if ever, reach so far north as this province; yet numbers of the pyramids are quite destroyed, and others are mere masses of shapeless ruins, without a vestige of their ornaments remaining. From their appearance I should conceive these to be the most ancient ruins in the valley of the Nile: but there are no hieroglyphics remaining, to give us the name of the city or its kings; and no sculpture, from the style of which we might have a better idea of the period when they were constructed. This necropolis is now more a place for the philosopher than the artist: the city and its people are gone. The splendid mausoleums of its kings are little better than piles of ruins: the histories which they recorded are lost for ever. The dreary terrible desert which surrounds them seems silently devouring its prey, and many ages will not elapse ere this, the real Typhon, will have swallowed up every vestige of its ancient grandeur.

I conceive it not improbable that this is the site of the ancient capital of this province, which may have been destroyed in the wars between the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, perhaps by the great Sesostris; and the city at Gibel el Birkel may have dated from its ruin the increase of her magnificence. Succeeding generations may have found the site of Gibel el Birkel more advantageous, and the favour of a new dynasty of kings may have enabled the new capital to eclipse her rival on the southern bank. I mentioned, after crossing the Bahiouda Desert, and arriving at the Nile, that the peasants informed me of some ruins which arenow covered by the desert. I conceive the existence of these to afford further confirmation of the former opulence of this country. I cannot suppose, for a moment, that the city to which this necropolis belonged was so far distant.

It is melancholy to see such numerous vestiges of imposing and splendid structures, demonstrating the power, magnificence, and knowledge of the former inhabitants of a province whose present possessors scarcely have sufficient ability to construct for themselves habitable mansions. The hovels of the peasants are miserable in the extreme. The castles of the sheakhs are better, but the rooms which they contain are extremely rude. This part of Africa was formerly harassed by continual wars of one tribe and nation against another. The necessity of guarding against surprise obliged them to fortify their habitations, and having models in their vicinity of ancient fortresses of the Ethiopians, the princes gave to their residences a somewhat more tolerable appearance.

April3. We returned to Meroueh this morning, and I received a visit from the katshef and his suite. His professed object was to enquire whether he could be of any service to me, but his real aim was chiefly to receive half the pay of the boat (120 piastres) which he had procured for me, to take us to Nouri, and thence to Dongolah. I paid him the money as he desired, but he did not take the trouble of giving it to the rais (the captain of the vessel), who, poor fellow, of course, said that it was all right, as complaint would only have procured him the bastinado. This is the usual way in which the government remunerate themselves for any pains they bestow in making arrangements for travellers.

We started at twelve, and passed, this evening, Kajjib, an old Arab village, picturesquely situated on a rock. We stopped for the night at the ruin of an old Saracenic castle, called Baheet, of considerable size, with towers and a citadel. It has evidently been of great strength, the walls being very thick; the inner part isbuilt of brick; the exterior of stones piled together, as roughly as the enclosing wall of a field in England. The rocks are of sandstone.

Pl. 32.Drawn by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDSOFNOURI.London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 32.Drawn by L. Bandoni.Printed by C. Hullmandel.PYRAMIDSOFNOURI.London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

Pl. 32.

PYRAMIDSOFNOURI.

London. Published by Longman, Rees & Co. April 6th. 1835.

April4. We have this day passed the Island of Shenderab at half past seven; the Island of Manderab at eight, the village of Korti and islands of Ingolass and of Onato at half past eight; the small village on the western bank, called Ambicol, at ten; the Island of Sennat at one; the village of Defur at three P.M.; Genati at half past three, and stopped for the night at the small Island of Bishaba.[35]

April 5.At seven we passed the village of Debba el Dolib; or, as it is generally called, Debba, the commencement of the road to Kordofan, and the last village of Dar Shageea. With all their faults, the Shageea are the most interesting of the Arab tribes I have seen. Their manly appearance, extreme valour, and open and frank and noble manners, are very engaging; but I am sorry to find that they are addicted to intoxication beyond any tribe I have met with, spending the greater portion of their earnings in bouza, and particularly in the strong spirit of the country distilled from dates. Burckhardt (page 70.) has justly extolled their courage and good faith, and hospitality to strangers that have friends among them: but his account of their schools and learning would scarcely be applicable to the Shageea of the present day, who are too much enamoured of the dance and the cup to submit to theennuiof study.

At half past seven we passed the Island of Geri, and a village called Kutti, on the western bank. At half past four P.M. we passed a small island called Amduburgh, and stopped soon after at Tangus, another small island. The wind being invariably against us, we have scarcely made any progress, and that only by tacking. The river is about half a mile broad inthis part of the valley, and occasionally even wider. There is scarcely any cultivated land, except on the islands. The desert, generally, on each side of the river, presents not an object to cheer the eye or relieve the mind. When the banks of the river were sufficiently low to afford us an extensive view, we saw only immense tracts of waste bounded by the horizon. The peasants chiefly inhabit the islands, where they seem to have taken refuge from the encroachments of the desert, being seldom able, with their inadequate means, to resist its approach; but, as I have before mentioned, there are still some villages on the banks, like little oases, but not so beautiful. Notwithstanding some advantage of their situation, and their feeble efforts to protect their fields, year after year the Libyan and Nubian deserts are said to extend their sway.

The gravity of the Arabs, who seldom laugh, and scarcely ever, even under the influence of intoxication, give way to boisterous mirth, must be in a great measure attributed to the character of their country. Considering these people as living under a sky which is ever the same, clear and beautiful, and accustomed to one uniform landscape, the river, its islands, and surrounding wastes; knowing few other nations, creeds, or customs; having ever before their eyes these dreadful wildernesses; experiencing their horrors, and feeling their destructive effects; it is not surprising that we find them more grave than the inhabitants of southern climes in general. Even boys have the carriage and demeanour of men. Neat in their dress and simple in their manners, there is no affectation, no dandyism. How ill-placed would such follies be in a region like this! Natural and easy in their address, erect in their carriage, they often display a calm and noble dignity of demeanour, which I have never seen surpassed in any civilised capital. They salute you courteously, and talk with gravity of your plans. There is no feverish anxiety to shine in conversation, nor any obligation to converse with you. After the first compliments,unless any of them have enquiries to make, they seldom speak. Every day is equally beautiful and unclouded, therefore the weather is rarely, if ever, the subject of conversation; and we have not, as in Europe, the bore of discussing its appearance twenty times a day.

April6. At six A.M. we passed Ahmoor, a small village on the west bank of the river, and at nine we arrived at Dongolah Agous.

Dongolah Agous.—After having seen that Shendy, Berber, and Metammah, though the capitals of provinces, are but miserable places, I did not expect to find Dongolah otherwise; still I could not have conceived that a town once so considerable, the metropolis of a large district, whose name so often occurs in history, would have presented now so wretched an aspect.

Part of the town is in ruins. The desert has entered into its streets: many of the houses are entirely covered with sand, and scarcely an inhabitant is to be seen. One might have thought that some dreadful convulsion of nature, or some pestilential disease, had swept away the population. Part of the city is, indeed, remaining, but until I entered the houses not a human being did I meet with. I observed some houses in the town, of a superior appearance, having divisions of rooms, galleries, and courts, and evidently belonging to individuals once rich; but they are now almost all deserted. In some of them that we entered I saw some good-looking women: the men were idling away the day smoking and sleeping. Such is the scene of desolation and inactivity which now presents itself to the traveller at Dongolah. The mosque used by the inhabitants, until recently, was a large building, which tradition represents as very ancient, and as being built 200 years before the Hegira: but it is evidently of a much more modern date. It contains some granite columns, of bad workmanship, belonging to the early Christian age.

I asked whether the residence of the Turkish government atEl Ourde was the cause why the city was so deserted, but was told that that circumstance had made little or no change. This was the proud reply of poverty. I have been informed by others, that, before the Pasha’s conquest, many of the inhabitants were in better circumstances, and the town more populous, but that they are now scattered elsewhere: many of them fled to Kordofan and Sennaar, on the approach of the Pasha.

I conceive it not improbable that this is the site of Napata. Pliny so distinctly places that city 100 miles lower down the Nile than Gibel el Birkel, that I see no reason for supposing that immense extent of ruins to be the remains of a town which he describes as so very insignificant. Besides the distance agreeing so exactly with Pliny’s account, the position of Dongolah Agous, as a military station, to resist the arms of Petronius, would certainly be advantageous. The desert and the present city may have covered the vestiges of the temples Petronius destroyed.

I left Dongolah Agous at three, without having made any drawings of the place, not conceiving it worth the delay. At half past three we passed the large Island of Gadar; at four, Ullow; and, after passing numerous villages and islands, we stopped for the night at Gemin, a very small village.

April7. We passed this morning the village of Handak, situated on the western side near the base of the river, and the small Island of Marouerti, which resembles rather the ancient name of Meroe, and must, I think, be a corruption of it. Names analogous to that of the ancient capital of Ethiopia seem to be given indiscriminately to villages on the banks and the islands.

I saw this evening a number of slaves going to Cairo. The manner in which they were clogged, to prevent their escaping or rebelling against their owners, was disgraceful and revolting in the extreme. Each slave wore a clog made of a wooden pole, four feet long, with a collar, of a triangular form, large enough to admit his head: this triangular collar rests upon their shoulders,and is so contrived with straps that it is impossible for them to throw it off. When they walk, they are obliged to carry it before them; and at night their hands are tied to the centre of the pole, and their feet to the bottom of it. The owners of the slaves showed me, with the malicious grin of fiends, the effects of the cords, and the weight of the machine on the hands, necks, and legs of their victims. They confessed that they were often obliged to free their slaves entirely from this torture, in order to preserve their lives: I saw several in this situation, who seemed to have suffered severely from being previously loaded with this machine.

I attempted to reason with one of the owners; and urged, that, as he was obliged to leave them free occasionally, and run the risk of their escaping, he might as well do so always, and that he would find it his interest, as many actually died from this treatment. I told him he ought, as a good Mahometan, to adopt a more humane method of securing them. He told me, that he could not liberate them all at once; for they had recently threatened that, if ever they had the opportunity, they would kill him, and dye a redtarboush(Turkish cap) with his blood. The slaves understood this part of our discourse, and some laughed at this expression; but in general they appeared in a dreadful state of apathy and torpor, quite indifferent to the interest they saw me take in their situation.

They were all negroes, with high cheek-bones, triangular faces, eyes sunk deep in the head, thick lips, complexion a cold bluish black colour, an expression heavy and unpleasing, and without a spark of talent in their countenances. They were continually demanding fire. After the extreme heat of the day, when the sun has set, there follows a degree of cold, which, though slight, and to me most agreeable, is no doubt felt severely by the slaves, who are quite naked, and accustomed to a hotter climate; and they feel it more sensitively, having been exposed the greater part of the day to theburning sun. We make very little progress, the wind being always strong against us.

April8. We passed to-day the village of El Urub. Nothing can be more tedious and uninteresting than this voyage: we have scarcely seen any cultivated ground since we left the town of Meroueh, except the islands; the desert has almost entirely overspread the banks of the Nile; and where there was once, perhaps, a happy and numerous population, a people acquainted with the arts, rich cities and villages, now no other track is to be seen but that of the timid gazelle, which finds a secure pasture on the bushy acacias which on each side border the river. The glaring reddish yellow sands have supplanted the rich cultivation, and waves of sand have swallowed up the vestiges of the temples and palaces which adorned the cities. Where were the numerous towns whose names we read in the itineraries? Are there no monuments remaining of their magnificence, no traces of their habitations? The vessel buried in the fathomless deep leaves but fragments which are soon covered by the waters. Thus the Libyan and great Nubian deserts, ever active and incessant in their attacks, have concealed entirely from our view the little, perhaps, which the hand of time, and more destructive ravages of war and religious fanaticism, had spared.

“No trace remains where once thy glory grew:The sapp’d foundations by thy force shall fall,And, whelm’d beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore—The ruin vanish’d, and the name no more.”—Pope’sIliad, book vii.

“No trace remains where once thy glory grew:The sapp’d foundations by thy force shall fall,And, whelm’d beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore—The ruin vanish’d, and the name no more.”—Pope’sIliad, book vii.

“No trace remains where once thy glory grew:The sapp’d foundations by thy force shall fall,And, whelm’d beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore—The ruin vanish’d, and the name no more.”—Pope’sIliad, book vii.

“No trace remains where once thy glory grew:

The sapp’d foundations by thy force shall fall,

And, whelm’d beneath thy waves, drop the huge wall:

Vast drifts of sand shall change the former shore—

The ruin vanish’d, and the name no more.”—Pope’sIliad, book vii.

The rocks are of sandstone. There are some in the centre of the river, whose channel, at this season, when the water is low, the barks dare not navigate during the night, which they would otherwise do, as there is then seldom any wind.

Our cabin being only three feet high, we are obliged to lie onour beds day and night. I find this much more fatiguing than travelling on the camels. For myself, I should never have chosen this mode of conveyance; but my artist was in such a bad state of health, that he declared himself unequal to the exposure to the heat and the slow fatiguing pace of the caravan.

April9. Wind still contrary: no variety in the scenery. I will not fatigue the reader with a mere list of names of villages, but must refer him to mymap,in which they are all marked down.

April10. There was no wind this morning; and we should have arrived at Dongolah at nine, A.M., had we not received a visit from a French physician in the employ of the Pasha. To meet a European, in this country, is an occurrence so agreeable, that we could not resist spending half the day together.

Some of the islands in this district are very rich. I remarked, on one, numerous sugar-canes; and, in several, a mode of irrigating the land unknown in Egypt, and displaying more skill than is usual in the Pasha’s dominions. The ground near the Persian wheels is very often uneven, and cannot be levelled without considerable labour: they, therefore, form aqueducts with stakes or pieces of wood from one to three feet high, as may be requisite, and place on them the conduit, which is made of earth. These aqueducts are extremely picturesque, as well as ingenious, being generally neatly constructed, and covered with grass. All the watercourses in this country are attended to with great care. The peasants are invariably well clothed, and appear in easy circumstances. I observe them occasionally assembled in an evening, under the palm trees, smoking, and sometimes drinking a cup of Abyssinian coffee, their greatest luxury.

April11. The wind being still contrary, and my patience exhausted, I sent for camels from Dongolah, five miles distant. The governor there, understanding that we were travellers, immediately sent us some of his own dromedaries.

VISIT TO THE GOVERNOR. — EXTENT OF HIS GOVERNMENT. — INDIGO. — WATER WHEELS. — POPULATION. — TAXES. — PRICES OF PRODUCE. — OASIS OF DONGOLAH, CALLED EL GAB. — ROUTE TO KORDOFAN. — INFORMATION ABOUT THAT COUNTRY. — BANEFUL CLIMATE. — CAPTAIN GORDON. — ARAB TRIBES OF KORDOFAN. — GENERAL APPEARANCE OF NEW DONGOLAH. — THE BAZAAR. — CURIOUS USE OF OINTMENT. — MERCHANDISE. — THE BAZAAR. — SLAVE MARKET. — COMMERCE CARRIED ON BY BARTER. — CURIOUS MANNER OF EFFECTING SALES. — DONGOLAH GOLDSMITH. — AUCTIONEERS. — VARIOUS ARAB TRIBES. — COSTUMES. — WOMEN, THE ELEGANCE OF THEIR ATTIRE. — BREAKING OF THERAT. — GIRAFFES. — HASSANYEH TRIBE. — ELEPHANTS.

El Ourde, or New Dongolah.—April10-14. We arrived here at two o’clock, and immediately paid a visit to Ibrahim Effendi, the governor of this province. He is a man about fifty-five years of age, and of the most unprepossessing appearance: he stoops to such a degree, that his head nearly touches his knees. I am told that he has no talent, but has attained this important situation entirely through the intrigues of the harem. He has, however, the character of great probity—a rare virtue among Turks; and is disliked by the Copts, because he examines rigidly their accounts, and will not allow them to trade and speculate with the public money. He is despised by the Turks, because he does nothing for them, and lives in no style. He has only one Mameluke to give him his pipe and wait upon him. I saw no other servants, but observed that a few soldiers were brought in to make a show and line the walls. On his divan there were only a few officers, apparently of inferior rank, and certainly of a very shabby appearance.

M. Martin, a French apothecary, stationed here in the employof the Pasha, very kindly pressed us to take up our abode in his house; and we were glad of the opportunity of enjoying, for a short time, a greater degree of comfort and cleanliness than we have been accustomed to for several months. He also assisted me in finding the persons best qualified to give me information.

The Mahmoor, the day after our arrival, paid me a visit, was very communicative, and made himself agreeable, to the astonishment of Monsieur l’Apothicaire, and in the evening he sent me a roasted sheep; an attention, I understand, that he never was guilty of before to travellers or natives.

This government extends from Abka[36]to Wady el Gamer, near Berber. There are 5000 sakkeas (water wheels), which generally irrigate from four to five feddans each when planted with grain. The indigo requires more water, for they calculate three quarters of a feddan of land to one wheel. They produce in this province, 10,000 okres of indigo. Each water-wheel requires four oxen, and four or five men and children. The population may, therefore, be calculated at about eight for each water-wheel; which would make 40,000 for this district; and I conceive 10,000 may be added for those who cultivate the land by the hand, merchants, servants, &c. Some of the islands have been planted this year, for the first time, with sugar-canes, which have proved to be excellent; but they planted them without reflecting that they had no machinery ready to manufacture sugar with, and no person who understood the business. As the sugarcane requires a water-wheel for each feddan, they do not intend to plant them again. The governor obliged the peasants and soldiers to purchase the sugar-canes at a certain price, in order that the revenue might not suffer from the experiment.

There are some portions of the banks of the river, and particularly the islands, which are cultivated after the inundation, andirrigated, when necessary, by raising the water from the river with buckets and other simple processes. Land irrigated in this manner is taxed according to the quantity and description of produce. Each water-wheel pays to the government 20 dollars, 15 in money and 5 in produce; a heavy tax, when we consider that formerly, when under their native meleks, they only paid 1 dollar, a sheep, and two pieces of linen, value 6 piastres each; in all, little more than a tenth of the present tax.

The revenue of this government, after paying the various expenses, salaries, and the troops of the garrison, is greatly absorbed by their having to furnish camels to convey the different species of produce, such as indigo and grain, and slaves, which are sent to Cairo. In particular, 2500 camels are loaded with gum, brought annually from Kordofan. It is purchased from the peasants there at the rate of 5 dollars the camel-load, which consists of three cantars of 150 rotles[37]each; and the government sell it in Cairo for 20 dollars the cantar; that is, 60 the load: deduct about 10 dollars for the expense of the journey, and also 5 for the purchase-money, there remain 45 dollars clear profit for the Pasha, which, on 2500 loads, is 112,500 dollars net. Elephants’ teeth are also purchased in Kordofan for 16 dollars the cantar, and sold in Cairo for 80 dollars, and often more.

The government, as I have before stated, take part of the taxes in grain: the following is a list of the prices paid by them, compared to the current prices in the bazaar or market:—

The price of mutton (fat, for cooking) in the bazaar, is 1d.per rotle.

The dourah is sown before the rising of the Nile, and is cut in four months; and afterwards they have another crop, but it is not so good. The barley is sown after the Nile has retired, and is reaped four or five months afterwards; wheat the same. The indigo plants remain in the ground three years, and are cut three times each year, with an interval of two months between each cutting. After dourah, maize is planted, and after maize other kinds of grain.

Seven hours’ journey west of this place, amid the desert, is an oasis called El Gab (the Wood), consisting of a forest of doums, acacias, and some few date trees. It contains several springs, and the Arabs send their camels thither in the summer to pasture on the trees. This oasis has no antiquities nor traces of having ever been inhabited; it extends, parallel with the Nile, nearly as far as Debba, but, like all oases, is divided occasionally by the desert.

The caravans from this place to Kordofan, and on to Darfour, enter the desert at Debba el Dolib, a village I mentioned in descending the river from Meroueh. From Debba to Shambrick, five days: the water there not always good; but on the road to Harazi, five days, and thence to the capital, on digging to the depth of two or three feet, and sometimes less, they never fail of finding good water. Zaagsouee, eleventh day; Kadjama, twelfth day; the residence of a katshef of Kordofan, Gouniah, thirteenthday; Mumat, fourteenth day; Sherian-Abousieh, fifteenth day; Borah, sixteenth day; Kordofan, or the capital, Ibazig, on the seventh day from Harazi, and the seventeenth from the Nile, or Debba el Dolib.

I made repeated enquiries of both the Arabs and Turks, but did not hear of there being any antiquities there. This journey would be interesting for a naturalist, as they tell me that during the rainy season there is a very great variety of birds: but it is then very unhealthy. Ague and intermittent fevers are very prevalent. A French physician, who had been stationed there some time, informed me that during the rainy season he often took quinine in small quantities, and conceived that, by that means, he had preserved himself from a complaint which is so dangerous to Europeans.

The enterprising but unfortunate Captain Gordon fell a victim to this climate.[38]I was told that he had visited several of the mountain regions of Kordofan, and, to use the expression of the Arabs, “had written down all the country.” He had commenced his journey with the intention of endeavouring to discover the sources of the Bahr el Abiad; but there was not the most remote chance of his succeeding. Roustan Bey, who was then, and is now, the governor of that country, would have allowed him to accompany his troops in hunting for slaves in the neighbourhood of the White River. He might have added something to our knowledge of the geography of the country on that river; but to discover its source was impossible.

As a hint to future travellers, I should notice a mistake which he made, from not being acquainted with the customs of the country. Instead of making a handsome present to Roustan Bey of a gold watch, or fire-arms, which he should have done, considering the essential and extensive services he required, he gavehim some gilt ornaments for his wives: but the Turks having a great contempt for any article that is not genuine, the Bey was naturally vexed at a present which appeared to him so very insignificant. Captain Gordon was not to blame, I understand, but his dragoman, for this inauspicious commencement of their expedition. The Arabs and Turks say that Captain Gordon died on account of having taken too much physic. In a country where so much is left to nature, and the medical art so little known, it is not surprising that his frequent applications to his medicine chest, to relieve a severe attack of intermittent fever, should have given rise to this report.

Before leaving Dongolah, this unfortunate traveller left a large sum of money with a Turkish aga in whose house he lodged. When his servant, after his death, returned to Dongolah, he called upon the aga, and demanded his master’s property. The Turk, a notorious scoundrel, proposed to the servant to divide the money and property, and thus induced him to sign a certificate that his master had left only a few old clothes, and no money. As soon as the Turk had received this document, he refused to give any portion of what he had promised to the servant; who, in revenge, accused him before the government. I was not able to learn with certainty whether the money, and, what was of far more consequence, his papers, ever reached his friends. I purchased at Dongolah a piece of Newman’s Indian ink, which formerly belonged to him.

I obtained from authentic sources the following information of the different Arab tribes in the kingdom of Kordofan and its vicinity:—

The Kababysh.These Arabs are also found in the Bahiouda Desert. They possess camels and horses, and transport merchandise to Sennaar, Darfour, and to this place. Their chief is called Melek Selim.

The Buggara.They possess flocks, and are occupied in hunting the elephant and the giraffe. Moussa is their chief.

The Benigerarhave great abundance of horses and camels. They are generally engaged in transporting merchandise, sometimes to Darfour. They are often at war with the Kababysh.

The Hammerare chiefly cultivators of the ground. They possess also camels, and trade to Darfour, but do not come to this place. They are occupied also in tanning the skins of animals, and the government employs them in their hunting expeditions for slaves. Their arms resemble those of the other Arab tribes,—the oval spear, the lance, and sword. Hadji Merien is their chief or king, that is, melek.[39]

The Hadowyehare cultivators, and join the expeditions of the government like the Hammer: they possess good dromedaries, and their melek is Uhmar, son of Dowel.

Messabouee.Cultivators, and also assist the government in their slave expeditions: their melek is Uhmar, son of Hashim.

Danaglih.Peasants of the country; cultivators.

Konjarah.A tribe from Darfour: the masters of the country, under Magdum Selim, on the arrival of Roustan Bey, who killed their chief in battle[40]: their present chief is Sultan Tema.

The province of Kordofan is exceedingly productive to the Pasha, and so also would Darfour be; and ere now that province would have been annexed to his kingdom, had not his ambitious views been turned towards Constantinople. A desert, I am told, of five days’ journey separates the two provinces. He might extend his conquests thither without any apprehension of interference from the European powers. If the peace in Syria continues, and Mohammed Ali lives, that country, notwithstandingthe warlike and powerful tribes who inhabit it, will soon form a part of the Pasha’s immense dominions; and Europeans will be enabled to explore it with greater advantage than our celebrated traveller Brown.

Dongolah, or New Dongolah, as I should call it, has far more the appearance of a capital, than any place I have seen in Ethiopia. The citadel is fortified with walls and towers sufficient to defend it from the attacks of the Arabs, but not long against a European army. There are a few pieces of cannon brought here by Ismael Pasha, and there is generally a garrison of from 300 to 800 men, but most commonly from invalid regiments, that have suffered by the more unhealthy climates of Kordofan, Khartoun, and Sennaar, and are sent here as fit for no other service. They have built an hospital, but, although full of invalids, it is not yet finished,—the rooms are without roofs, and the beds of earth.

There are severalcafésin the town, much better than I expected: one is very handsome; large, airy, and furnished with a divan covered with carpets. Here the lazy Turks kill the day: smoking, seeing the people pass by, playing draughts and other games, and drinking coffee and sherbet.

The bazaar is superior to that of Assuan. The articles for sale consisted of different stuffs, silk, linen, and cotton; tarboushes (red Turkish caps), shoes, glassware, cures for ophthalmia (some of which seemed on examination to contain zinc); and a variety of pipes, from the handsome Persian anguilles and long Turkish pipes, with their amber mouthpieces, worth two or three pounds each, to the humble pipe of the peasant, value threepence: coarse thread and common needles; salt, from the mines of Selima, white and beautiful like crystal; a variety of cases for amulets, such as the women wear around their necks and the men on their arms (see the various plates of costumes); coffee from Mocha and Abyssinia; loaf sugar, white and brown; tamarinds from Sennaar and Kordofan; and a variety of arms, sabres,lances, daggers, and pistols; and in every shop on sale, spices and ginger, cloves, coriander seed, sandal wood, and a kind of kernels, seemingly of cherries, which are said to come from Italy; the natives extract oil from them. With the spices they make the ointment which both males and females, particularly the latter, use in this country to render their skin soft. I have seen them sometimes almost naked, and smeared with this substance as if they had been dipped in butter; and I have often seen the Arabs of the desert place two or three pounds of mutton fat on their heads, and walk on till the sun had melted it, when not only the head and face were covered with the liquid grease, but it flowed in streams down their backs. They consider their different ointments as particularly conducive to health, especially after fatigue. There is an old custom still kept up in the country. When an Arab or Turk arrives in a village after a fatiguing day’s journey, he generally gets some of the female slaves I have spoken of at Shendy, to rub him for half an hour all over with this ointment. It is very pleasant and refreshing, cooling and softening to the skin, which has been burnt and dried up by the scorching winds of the desert. I also observed in the bazaar common looking-glasses, and beads of glass and other materials.

There were several separate markets for slaves, men, women, boys, girls, and eunuchs. Most of the latter are from Abyssinia. I am informed that they are generally the victims of the brutality of the Abyssinians of neighbouring states. Besides increasing the value of their slaves, they appear to wish to imitate the ancient Egyptians, whose cruelty in that respect is explained in the triumphant procession on the walls of Medenet Abou, at Thebes. I saw one extremely beautiful Abyssinian girl on sale for 150 dollars, and for another not remarkable for her beauty 80 were demanded.

I observed a custom, which is peculiarly characteristic of this district: the peasant girls, and also the men, bring from the country small quantities of grain and other produce, which theyexchange for perfumes and spices for their hair and persons. This is conformable to our European idea of remote and uncivilised people, carrying on commerce simply by barter. They showed me in the bazaar some rudely shaped pieces of iron, said to be the money of Darfour.

Some of the peasant girls buying spices in the bazaar were very pretty. I told one, that had she been a slave I would have purchased her. She laughed at my compliment, and replied, with greatnaïveté, that, upon her conscience, she was no slave.

To make a purchase in the bazaar is sometimes rather difficult. I asked one of the merchants the price of a pipe, which I thought of buying. The man was confused, and could not make up his mind how much he ought to ask; but, seeking to enhance its value by praise, without replying to my question, he continued to extol its different excellencies. The other merchants pressed him to name a sum. The man was very much embarrassed, particularly as we had desired him to state the lowest at which he could sell it, otherwise we should not treat with him. It was only, however, when he saw me walking away, that he could resolve to ask only twice the value of the article. It is the custom here for the purchaser to bid, and not for the merchant to name the price. If the offer does not equal his expectations, he says,Eftah Allah!“May God open your eyes!” or, “May God improve your judgment!”

I went into a shop in which there was a shabbily dressed common-looking fellow squatted on the ground, with a few miserably rude tools before him, on a board. I conceived he might be a joiner, and must confess I was rather surprised at finding that he was the first goldsmith in Dongolah. They cannot work European gold. They generally employ the gold of Sennaar, which is of a superior quality, being pliable and malleable, like lead. This man told me that my watch was not gold, for he had never seen gold so dark-coloured.

They have a custom here, as well as at Cairo, of selling merchandise, such as clothes, &c. by auction in the street. The auctioneer walks about, calling aloud the price. One makes an offer, and the man walks on; another meets him, who likes the article, and bids higher. The owner promotes the sale by giving occasionally a bidding himself.

The crowds in this bazaar, as compared with the deserted streets of Berber, Shendy, and Metammah, and the variety of costumes worn by Turks and Caireens, Fellaheen (or, as they are more properly called here, Dongoloue), Bishareen, Ababde, Shageea, and other tribes, formed a scene gay, and not unpleasing, particularly after the solitudes of the desert.

The costumes of Dongolah are somewhat different, but, perhaps, less remarkable, than any I have seen in Ethiopia. The women, when they are married and have had children, have their hair dressed on each side of their face, in three rows of ringlets, or tresses, the lowest often reaching to their shoulder. The other females are only permitted to wear two rows. The head-dress of the women of Shendy is rather different: they wear their hair loosely projecting from each side and behind, while on the top of the head it is quite flat. But what is most extraordinary in the costumes of this country is the inimitable grace and elegance with which their robes are adjusted, often almost equalling the drapery of the ancients. Were it possible to collect correct drawings of their almost innumerable methods of folding theirmelayah, the large long piece of linen cloth which forms their chief, and often only, covering, I question if such drawings would be believed any thing else than copies of the Greek and Roman draperies, or studies of ancient costume. A sculptor would assuredly call them walking statues.

The young girls, before being married or having arrived at the age of discretion, only wear the rat, the Nubian covering, composed, as already mentioned, of thin thongs of the hide of the hippopotamus,which reaches from the waist almost to the knee, and is coquettishly ornamented with masses of silver, and a variety of shells and beads. It is considered sufficiently modest in this country, where no consequence is attached to the exposure of the body and limbs; otherwise, so far as it extends, it forms an elegant and impenetrable skreen. (See girl inPlate XXXVII.) The changing of this costume, or breaking of their rat, upon their marriage, is rather a curious ceremony, which I will presently describe; but when the rat is torn merely on account of the advanced age of the girl, and not at her marriage, only a sheep is killed, and she and her relations receive the congratulations of their hungry friends.

Skins of animals are often exposed for sale in the bazaar, but they are generally too ill prepared to be of any use for stuffing, often wanting the most essential parts, such as the feet, and even the head. Had I been half an hour earlier there, on the day of my arrival, I could have bought for four shillings the skin of a giraffe. This animal, only so recently known in Europe, is found in great numbers on the road from Debba to Kordofan, between Sabrian and Gibel el Arazi, and behind Kordofan, on the Bahr el Abiad, the territory of the Buggara tribe. The government do not encourage the Arabs to seek for them. On the contrary, without an express permission from the Pasha, no Arab, Turk, or traveller is allowed to purchase one. When the peasants catch them for the government, they receive a remuneration of twenty-five dollars, which is considered very handsome. Had I been provided with a permission from the Pasha, I was told that I should have had little difficulty in procuring one at that price. At the time of theharef(the rainy season), the Hassanyeh retire with their herds and camels into the mountains and valleys, which afford ample pasture for their cattle for three or four months. They protect themselves from the little rain that falls withshambries(tents made of goat skins). During this season the chase also contributes to their support. When there is no rain, which is veryoften the case, the sun, being then almost vertical, produces a heat so excessive that the gazelles, giraffes, ostriches, &c. are said to become much less capable of escaping pursuit than during winter. The Hassanyeh then on their swift horses catch them without much difficulty.

This tribe (Hassanyeh) is very extensive, and trade to Kordofan; and great numbers of them in this neighbourhood convey merchandise to Assuan. They are very fine-looking fellows, more grave in their manners than even the Arabs in general. They wear their hair plaited, and tight behind; differing, in this respect, from any other tribe. (SeePlate XXXIX., in which they are represented straining the common bouza of the country through a straw funnel.) I have travelled with several of them, and liked them exceedingly. In the same tracts with the giraffe is found also the antelope, or, as it is called, the cow of the desert (buggera el Atmoor), with straight and twisted horns (seePlate XXXVII.); also gazelles in abundance. The elephant is found in Abyssinia, and, it is said, also above Sennaar, in the province of Fazoql, and in that of the Buggara, behind Kordofan. There are a great many of the gemet cat in this neighbourhood. They have small thin heads, long backs of a grey colour, with brown spots, and a black streak along the centre. Some of them are eighteen inches long, besides the tail, which measures twelve inches. The colour of the latter is alternately grey and black. Mr. M. had several in cages: when set at liberty in a room, they seemed to be very timid, and one of them was rather savage. Their velocity is extraordinary.

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