Although
Beautiful, These Girls Are Useless For Hard Labor; They Quickly Fade
Away, And Die Unless Kindly Treated.
They are the Venuses of that
country, and not only are their faces and figures perfection, but they
become extremely attached to those who show them kindness, and they make
good and faithful wives.
There is something peculiarly captivating in
the natural grace and softness of these young beauties, whose hearts
quickly respond to those warmer feelings of love that are seldom known
among the sterner and coarser tribes. Their forms are peculiarly elegant
and graceful; the hands and feet are exquisitely delicate; the nose is
generally slightly aquiline, the nostrils large and finely shaped; the
hair is black and glossy, reaching to about the middle of the back, but
rather coarse in texture. These girls, although natives of Galla,
invariably call themselves Abyssinians, and are generally known under
that name. They are exceedingly proud and high-spirited, and are
remarkably quick at learning. At Khartoum several of the Europeans of
high standing have married these charming ladies, who have invariably
rewarded their husbands by great affection and devotion. The price of
one of these beauties of nature at Gallabat was from twenty-five to
forty dollars!
On the march from Gallabat to the Rahad River I was so unfortunate as to
lose my two horses, Gazelle and Aggahr. The sudden change of food from
dry grass to the young herbage which had appeared after a few showers,
brought on inflammation of the bowels, which carried them off in a few
hours.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 164 of 337
Words from 43719 to 43978
of 90207
