I Only
Had One Run, But I Fortunately Landed A Handsome Little Baggar
About Twelve Pounds Weight, Which Afforded Us A Good Dinner.
The
river Dinder is between fifty and sixty miles from the Rahad at
this point, but towards the north the two rivers approximate
closely, and keep a course almost parallel.
The banks of the
Rahad are in many places perpendicular, and are about forty-five
feet above the bed. This river flows through rich alluvial soil;
the country is a vast level plane, with so trifling a fall that
the current of the river is gentle; the course is extremely
circuitous, and although, when bank full, the Rahad possesses a
considerable volume, it is very inferior as a Nile tributary to
any river that I have visited to the east of Gallabat."
CHAPTER XXI.
FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRY ON THE BANKS OF THE RAHAD.
WE daily followed the banks of the Rahad, the monotony of which
I will not inflict upon the public. This country was a vast tract
of wonderfully fertile prairie, that nearly formed an island,
surrounded by the Rahad, Blue Nile, Great Nile, and Atbara; it
was peopled by various tribes of Arabs, who cultivated a
considerable extent upon the banks of the Rahad, which for
upwards of a hundred miles to the north were bordered with
villages at short intervals. Cotton and tobacco were produced
largely, and we daily met droves of camels laden with these
goods, en route for the Abyssinian market. We had now fairly
quitted Abyssinian territory, and upon our arrival at the Rahad
we were upon the soil of Upper Egypt. I was much struck with the
extraordinary size and condition of the cattle. Corn (dhurra) was
so plentiful that it was to be purchased in any quantity for
eight piastres the rachel, or about 1s. 8d. for 500 pounds;
pumpkins were in great quantities, with a description of gourd
with an exceedingly strong shell, which is grown especially for
bowls and other utensils; camel-loads of these gourd-basins
packed in conical crates were also journeying on the road towards
Gallabat. Throughout the course of the Rahad the banks are high,
and, when full, the river would average forty feet in depth, with
a gentle stream, the course free from rocks and shoals, and
admirably adapted for small steamers.
The entire country would be a mine of wealth were it planted with
cotton, which could be transported by camels to Katariff, and
thence direct to Souakim. We travelled for upwards of a hundred
miles along the river, through the unvarying scene of flat
alluvial soil; the south bank was generally covered with low
jungle. The Arabs were always civil, and formed a marked contrast
to the Tokrooris; they were mostly of the Roofar tribe. Although
there had been a considerable volume of water in the river at the
point where we had first met it, the bed was perfectly dry about
fifty miles farther north, proving the great power of absorption
by the sand.
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