The Houses And Walls Were
Of Unburnt Brick, Smeared With Clay And Cow-Dung.
As we rode
through the dusty streets, I sent off Mahomet with my firman to
the Mudir; and, not finding a suitable place inside the town, I
returned outside the walls, where I ordered the tents to be
pitched in a convenient spot among some wild fig-trees.
Hardly
were the tents pitched than Mahomet returned, accompanied by an
officer and ten soldiers as a guard, with a polite message from
the Mudir or governor, who had, as usual, kissed the potent
firman, and raised it to his forehead, with the declaration that
he was "my servant, and that all that I required should be
immediately attended to." Shortly after, we were called upon by
several Greeks, one of whom was the army doctor, Signor Georgis,
who, with great kindness, offered to supply all our wants. My
wife was dreadfully weak and exhausted, therefore an undisturbed
night's rest was all that was required, with the independence of
our own tent.
Cassala is rich in hyaenas, and the night was passed in the
discordant howling of these disgusting but useful animals: they
are the scavengers of the country, devouring every species of
filth, and clearing all carrion from the earth. Without the
hyaenas and vultures, the neighbourhood of a Nubian village would
be unbearable; it is the idle custom of the people to leave
unburied all animals that die. Thus, among the numerous flocks
and herds, the casualties would create a pestilence were it not
for the birds and beasts of prey.
On the following morning the fever had yielded to quinine, and we
were enabled to receive a round of visits--the governor and
suite, Elias Bey, the doctor and a friend, and, lastly, Malem
Georgis, an elderly Greek merchant, who, with great hospitality,
insisted upon our quitting the sultry tent and sharing his own
roof. We therefore became his guests in a most comfortable house
for some days. Our Turk, Hadji Achmet, returned on his way to
Berber; we discharged our camels, and prepared - to start afresh
from this point for the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia.
CHAPTER IV.
ROUTE FROM CASSALA TO SOUAKIM.
BY dead reckoning, Cassala is ninety-three miles S.S.E. of
Gozerajup, or about 340 miles from Berber. We had ridden about
710 miles from Korosko, 630 miles of which had been through
scorching deserts during the hottest season. We were, therefore,
thankful to exchange the intense heat of the tent for a solid
roof, and to rest for a short time in the picturesque country of
Taka.
The direct route to Cassala, the capital of Taka, should be from
Suez to Souakim, on the Red Sea, and from thence in sixteen days,
by camel. Thus, were there a line from Suez to Souakim by
steamers, similar to that already established to Jedda, Cassala
would be only twenty-two days' journey from Cairo. At present,
the arrival of steamers at Souakim is entirely uncertain;
therefore the trade of the country is paralysed by the apathy of
the Egyptian Government.
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