I Had Daily Shot Gazelles, Geese,
Pigeons, Desert Grouse, &C. But No Larger Game.
I was informed
that at this spot, Collodabad, I should be introduced for the
first time to the hippopotamus.
Owing to the total absence of nourishing food, the cattle
produced a scanty supply of milk; thus the Arabs, who depended
chiefly upon their flocks for their subsistence, were in great
distress, and men and beasts mutually suffered extreme hardship.
The Arabs that occupy the desert north of the Atbara are the
Bishareens; it was among a large concourse of these people that
we pitched our tents on the banks of the river at Collodabad.
This being the principal watering-place along the deserted bed of
the Atbara, the neighbourhood literally swarmed with doves, sand
grouse, and other birds, in addition to many geese and pelicans.
Early in the morning I procured an Arab guide to search for the
reported hippopotami. My tents were among a grove of dome palms
on the margin of the river; thus I had a clear view of the bed
for a distance of about half a mile on either side. This portion
of the Atbara was about 500 yards in width, the banks were about
thirty feet perpendicular depth; and the bend of the river had
caused the formation of the deep hollow on the opposite side
which now formed the pool, while every other part was dry. This
pool occupied about one-third the breadth of the river, bounded
by the sand upon one side, and by a perpendicular cliff upon the
other, upon which grew a fringe of green bushes similar to
willows.
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