I Had Previously Arranged With The
Sheik Of Sofi That, Whenever The Rifle Should Be Successful And
I Could Spare
Meat, I would hoist the English flag upon my
flagstaff; thus I could at any time summon a crowd of
Hungry
visitors, who were ever ready to swim the river and defy the
crocodiles in the hope of obtaining flesh. We were exceedingly
comfortable, having a large stock of supplies; in addition to our
servants we had acquired a treasure in a nice old slave woman,
whom we had hired from the sheik at a dollar per month to grind
the corn. Masara (Sarah) was a dear old creature, the most
willing and obliging specimen of a good slave; and she was one of
those bright exceptions of the negro race that would have driven
Exeter Hall frantic with enthusiasm. Poor old Masara! she had now
fallen into the hands of a kind mistress, and as we were
improving in Arabic, my wife used to converse with her upon the
past and present; future had never been suggested to her simple
mind. Masara had a weighty care; her daily bread was provided;
money she had none, neither did she require it; husband she could
not have had, as a slave has none, but is the common property of
all who purchase her: but poor Masara had a daughter, a charming
pretty girl of about seventeen, the offspring of one of the old
woman's Arab masters. Sometimes this girl came to see her mother,
and we arranged the bath on the inflated skins, and had her towed
across for a few days.
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