We Passed Numerous Villages And
Extensive Plantations Of Dhurra That Were Deserted By The Arabs,
As The Soldiers Had Arrived To Collect The Taxes.
I measured the
depths of the wells, seventy-five feet and a half, from the
surface to the bottom; the alluvial soil appeared to continue the
whole distance, until the water was discovered resting upon hard
sand, full of small particles of mica.
During the march over a
portion of the country that had been cleared by burning, we met
a remarkably curious hunting-party. A number of the common black
and white stork were hunting for grasshoppers and other insects,
but mounted upon the back of each stork was a large
copper-coloured flycatcher, which, perched like a rider on his
horse, kept a bright look-out for insects, which from its
elevated position it could easily discover upon the ground. I
watched them for some time: whenever the storks perceived a
grasshopper or other winged insect, they chased it on foot, but
if they missed their game, the flycatchers darted from their
backs and flew after the insects like falcons, catching them in
their beaks, and then returning to their steeds to look out for
another opportunity.
On the evening of the 23d May we arrived at the Rahad close to
its junction with the Blue Nile: it was still dry, although the
Dinder was rising. I accounted for this, from the fact of the
extreme length of the Rahad's bed, which, from its extraordinary
tortuous course, must absorb a vast amount of water in the dry
sand, before the advancing stream can reach the Nile. Both the
Rahad and Dinder rise in the mountains of Abyssinia, at no great
distance from each other, and during the rains they convey a
large volume of water to the Blue Nile. Upon arrival at Abou
Harraz, four miles to the north of the Rahad junction, we had
marched, by careful dead reckoning, two hundred and eighty miles
from Gallabat. We were now about a hundred and fifteen miles from
Khartoum, and we stood upon the banks of the magnificent Blue
Nile, the last of the Abyssinian affluents.
About six miles above this spot, on the south bank of the river,
is the large town of Wat Medene, which is the principal
trading-place upon the river. Abou Harraz was a miserable spot,
and was only important as the turning point upon the road to
Katariff from Khartoum. The entire country upon both sides of the
river is one vast unbroken level of rich soil, wlich on the north
and east sides is bounded by the Atbara. The entire surface of
this fertile country might be cultivated with cotton. All that is
required to insure productiveness, is a regular supply of water,
which might be artificially arranged without much difficulty. The
character of all the Abyssinian rivers is to rise and fall
suddenly; thus at one season there is an abundance of water, to
be followed by a scarcity: but in all the fertile provinces
adjacent to the Settite and the upper portion of the Atbara, the
periodical rains can be absolutely depended upon, from June to
the middle of September; thus, they are peculiarly adapted for
cotton, as a dry season is insured for gathering the crop. As we
advance to the north, and reach Abou Harraz, we leave the rainy
zone. When we had left Gallabat, the grass had sprung several
inches, owing to the recent showers; but as we had proceeded
rapidly towards the north, we had entered upon vast dusty plains
devoid of a green blade; the rainy season between Abou Harraz and
Khartoum consisted of mere occasional storms, that, descending
with great violence, quickly passed away. Nothing would be more
simple than to form a succession of weirs across the Rahad and
Dinder, that would enable the entire country to be irrigated at
any season of the year, but there is not an engineering work of
any description throughout Upper Egypt, beyond the sageer or
water-wheel of the Nile. Opposite Abou Harraz, the Blue Nile was
a grand river, about five hundred yards in width; the banks upon
the north side were the usual perpendicular cliffs of alluvial
soil, but perfectly bare of trees; while, on the south, the banks
were ornamented with nabbuk bushes and beautiful palms. The
latter are a peculiar species known by the Arabs as "dolape"
(Borassus AEthiopicus): the stem is long, and of considerable
thickness, but in about the centre of its length it swells to
nearly half its diameter in excess, and after a few feet of extra
thickness it continues its original size to the summit, which is
crowned by a handsome crest of leaves shaped like those of the
palmyra. The fruit of this palm is about the size of a cocoa-nut,
and when ripe it is of a bright yellow, with an exceedingly rich
perfume of apricots; it is very stringy, and, although eaten by
the natives, it is beyond the teeth of a European. The Arabs cut
it into slices, and boil it with water until they obtain a strong
syrup. Subsequently I found this palm in great quantities near
the equator.
At Abou Harraz I discharged my camels, and endeavoured to engage
a boat to convey us to Khartoum, thus to avoid the dusty and
uninteresting ride of upwards of a hundred miles along its flat
and melancholy banks; but there was not a vessel of any kind to
be seen upon the river, except one miserable, dirty affair, for
which the owner demanded fourteen hundred piastres for a passage.
We accordingly procured camels, and started, intending to march
as rapidly as possible.
"June 2, 1862.--We packed the camels in the morning and started
them off to Rufaar. We followed at 2.30 P.M. as the natives
declared it was half a day's journey; but we did not arrive until
8.30 P.M. having marched about twenty-one miles.
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