Although Warned,
This Fellow Persisted In Leading The Heavily-Laden Animal Down
The Slippery And Dangerous Path.
Hardly had he gone a few paces,
when the camel's feet slipped, and it shot down the rapid
incline, and disappeared over the edge of the precipice.
I heard
the camel roar, and, hastening up the path, I looked over the
cliff, holding to a rope that Taher Noor fastened to a tree. I
perceived that the animal was fortunately caught upon a narrow
ledge of rock, and was prevented from falling to the bottom by a
tough bush that grew from a cleft; this alone supported it in
mid-air. My Arabs were wild and stupid. Abdoolahi had held on
like a leech, and, as we were well provided with strong ropes, we
soon hauled him up, but the Arabs declared their camel to be
dead, as no power on earth could save it. Having examined the
cliff, I felt sure that we could assist the camel, unless it had
already broken some bones by the fall; accordingly, I gave orders
to the Arabs, who obeyed implicitly, as they were so heart-broken
at the idea of losing their animal, that they had lost all
confidence in themselves. We lowered down Taher Noor by a rope to
the bush, and after some difficulty, he unfastened the load of
flesh, which he threw piece by piece to a platform of rock below,
about ten feet square, which formed a shelf a few inches above
the level of the water. The camel being relieved of both the load
and its saddle, I ordered the Arabs to fasten together all their
ropes; these, being made of twisted antelope's hide, were
immensely strong, and, as I had established a rule that seven
extra bundles should invariably accompany the water-camel, we had
a large supply. The camel was now secured by a rope passed round
the body beneath the forelegs, and the cloths of the Arabs were
wrapped around the cord to prevent it from cutting the skin. This
being arranged, I took a double turn of the rope round a tree, as
thick as a man's thigh, that grew in a cleft of the rock where we
stood, and throwing the honey axe to Taher Noor, I told him to
cut away the bushes that supported the camel, and I would lower
it gently down to the shelf by the water's edge. In a few minutes
the bushes were cut away, and the camel, roaring with fright,
swung in mid-air. Taher Noor held on to the rope, while I slacked
off the line from the tree, and lowered both man and beast safely
to the shelf, about seventy feet below. The camel was unhurt, and
the Arabs were delighted; two other men now descended. We threw
them down a quantity of dry wood to make a fire, and, as they
were well off for meat, we left them prisoners upon the ledge of
rock with the profoundly deep river before them, walled in by
abrupt precipices upon either side.* It was nearly dark, and,
having to find my way to the camp among dangerous ravines, I rode
fast ahead of my men to discover a ford, and to reach home before
complete darkness should increase the danger. Tetel was as
sure-footed and as nimble as a cat, but we very nearly ended our
days together, as the bank of a precipice gave way while we were
skirting the edge. I felt it sinking, but the horse sprang
forward and saved himself, as I heard the mass fall beneath.
* On the following morning the camel was safely
floated across the river, supported by the inflated
skins of the mehedehets.
That night we received a very audacious visit. I was asleep in my
tent, when I was suddenly awakened by a slight pull at my sleeve,
which was the signal always given by my wife if anything was
wrong; on such occasions, I never replied until I had gently
grasped my little Fletcher, which always slept with me beneath my
mat. She now whispered that a hyaena had been within the tent,
but that it had just bolted out, as these animals are so wary
that they detect the slightest movement or noise. As a rule, I
never shot at hyaenas, but, as I feared it might eat our saddles,
I lay in bed with the rifle to my shoulder, pointed towards the
tent door through which the moon was shining brightly. In a few
minutes, a grey-looking object stood like an apparition at the
entrance, peering into the tent to see if all were right before
it entered. I touched the trigger, and the hyaena fell dead, with
the bullet through its head. This was a regular veteran, as his
body was covered with old scars from continual conflicts with
other hyaenas. This was the first time that one of these animals
had taken such a liberty; they were generally contented with
eating the bones that were left from our dinner outside the tent
door, which they cleared away regularly every night.
We remained in this beautiful country from March 29th until April
14th, during which time I seldom remained for an hour in camp,
from sunrise to sunset; I was always in the saddle or on foot.
Two of my best Tokrooris, Hadji Ali and Hassan, usually
accompanied me on horseback, while Taher Noor and a couple of
Arabs rode upon camels with a good supply of water. In this
manner I traversed the entire country, into the base of the great
mountain chain, and thence down the course of the river towards
the Atbara junction. This district was entirely composed of the
most fertile soil, through which the great rivers Angrab and
Salaam had cut their way in a similar manner to the Atbara and
Settite. The Salaam, after the junction of the Angrab, was equal
in appearance to the Atbara, but the inclination of this great
mountain torrent is so rapid, that it quickly becomes exhausted
at the cessation of rain in the lofty mountains that form its
source.
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