But This Most
Necessary Ammunition Required Much Nursing During A Long
Exploration.
I had a good supply, four hundredweight of the most
useful sizes, No.
6 for general shooting, and B B. for geese,
&c.; also a bag of No. 10, for firing into dense flocks of small
birds. On the following morning we left Soojalup; for several
miles on our route were Arab camps and wells, with immense herds
of goats, sheep, and cattle. Antelopes were very numerous, and it
was exceedingly interesting to observe the new varieties as we
increased our distance from the north. I shot two from my camel
(G. Dorcas); they were about the size of a fine roebuck;--the
horns were like those of the gazelle, but the animals were larger
and darker in colour, with a distinguishing mark in a jet black
stripe longitudinally dividing the white of the belly from the
reddish colour of the flank. These antelopes were exceedingly
wild, and without the aid of a camel it would have been
impossible to approach them. I had exchanged my donkey for Hadji
Achmet's dromedary; thus mounted, I could generally succeed in
stalking to within ninety or a hundred yards, by allowing the
animal to feed upon the various bushes, as though I had mounted
it for the purpose of leading it to graze. This deceived the
antelopes, and by carefully ascertaining the correct wind, I
obtained several shots, some of which failed, owing to the
unsteadiness of my steed, which had a strong objection to the
rifle.
The entire country from Gozerajup to Cassala is a dead flat, upon
which there is not one tree sufficiently large to shade a
full-sized tent: there is no real timber in the country, but the
vast level extent of soil is a series of open plains and low bush
of thorny mimosa: there is no drainage upon this perfect level;
thus, during the rainy season, the soakage actually melts the
soil, and forms deep holes throughout the country, which then
becomes an impracticable slough, bearing grass and jungle. Upon
this fertile tract of land, cotton might be cultivated to a large
extent, and sent to Berber, via Atbara, from Gozerajup, during
the season of flood. At the present time, the growth is
restricted to the supply required by the Arabs for the
manufacture of their cloths. These are woven by themselves, the
weaver sitting in a hole excavated in the ground before his rude
loom, shaded by a rough thatch about ten feet square, supported
upon poles. There is a uniformity in dress throughout all the
Nubian tribes of Arabs, the simple toga of the Romans this is
worn in many ways, as occasion may suggest, very similar to the
Scotch plaid. The quality of cotton produced is the same as that
of Lower Egypt, and the cloths manufactured by the Arabs,
although coarse, are remarkably soft. The toga or tope is
generally ornamented with a few red stripes at either extremity,
and is terminated by a fringe.
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