Along the margin of the exhausted river; innumerable doves, varying in
species, throng the trees and seek the shade of the dome-palms;
thousands of desert grouse arrive morning and evening to drink and to
depart; while birds in multitudes, of lovely plumage, escape from the
burning desert and colonize the poor but welcome bushes that fringe the
Atbara River.
After several days' journey along the bank of the Atbara we halted at a
spot called Collodabad, about one hundred and sixty miles from the Nile
junction. A sharp bend of the river had left a deep pool about a mile in
length, and here a number of Arabs were congregated, with their flocks
and herds.
On the evening of June 23d I was lying half asleep upon my bed by the
margin of the river, when I fancied that I heard a rumbling like distant
thunder. I had not heard such a sound for months, but a low,
uninterrupted roll appeared to increase in volume, although far distant.
Hardly had I raised my head to listen more attentively when a confusion
of voices arose from the Arabs' camp, with a sound of many feet, and in
a few minutes they rushed into my camp, shouting to my men in the
darkness, "El Bahr!
