"The Rainy Season Was Drawing To A Close, And I Longed To Quit
The Dulness Of Sofi.
"September 12.--The river has fallen nearly eighteen feet, as the
amount of rain has much decreased during the last week.
Immense
crocodiles are now to be seen daily, basking upon the muddy
banks. One monster in particular, who is well known to the Arabs
as having devoured a woman a few months ago, invariably sleeps
upon a small island up the river.
"This evening I counted seven elephants on the east side of the
river on the table lands.
"To-day the Arabs kept one of their holy feasts; accordingly, a
sheep was slaughtered as a sacrifice, with an accompaniment of
music and singing, i.e. howling to several guitars.
"The Arab system of an offering is peculiar. Should a friend be
dangerously ill, or rain be demanded, or should any calamity
befall them, they slaughter an ox if they possess it, or a sheep
or goat in the absence of a larger animal, but the owner of the
beast SELLS the meat in small portions to the assembled party,
and the whole affair of sacrifice resolves itself into a feast;
thus having filled thenmselves with good meat, they feel
satisfied that they have made a religious sacrifice, and they
expect the beneficial results. The guitar music and singing that
attend the occasion are simply abominable. Music, although
beloved like dancing by both the savage and civilized, varies in
character according to the civilization of the race; that which
is agreeable to the uneducated ear is discord to the refined
nerves of the educated. The uutuned ear of the savage can no more
enjoy the tones of civilized music than his palate would relish
the elaborate dishes of a French chef de cuisine. As the stomach
of the Arab prefers the raw meat and reeking liver taken hot from
the animal, so does his ear prefer his equally coarse and
discordant music to all other. The guitar most common is made of
either the shell of a large gourd, or that of a turtle; over this
is stretched an untanned skin, that of a large fish being
preferred; through this two sticks are fixed about two feet three
inches in length; the ends of these are fastened to a cross piece
upon which are secured the strings; these are stretched over a
bridge similar to those of a violin, and are either tightened or
relaxed by rings of waxed rag fastened upon the cross
piece--these rings are turned by the hand, and retain their
position in spite of the strain upon the strings. Nothing
delights an Arab more than to sit idly in his hut and strum this
wretched instrument from morning until night."
I was thoroughly tired of Sofi, and I determined to move my party
across the river to camp on the uninhabited side; the rains had
almost ceased, therefore we should be able to live in the tent at
night, and to form a shady nook beneath some mimosas by day;
accordingly we busily prepared for a move.
CHAPTER IX.
FORM A RAFT WITH THE SPONGING BATH.
ON the 15th September the entire male population of Sofi turned
out to assist us in crossing the river, as I had promised them a
certain sum should the move be effected without the loss or
destruction of baggage. I had arranged a very superior raft to
that I had formerly used, as I now had eight inflated skins
attached to the bedstead, upon which I lashed our large circular
sponging bath, which, being three feet eight inches in diameter,
and of the best description, would be perfectly safe for my wife,
and dry and commodious for the luggage. In a very short time the
whole of our effects were carried to the water's edge, and the
passage of the river commenced. The rifles were the first to
cross with Bacheet, while the water-tight iron box that contained
the gunpowder was towed like a pinnace behind the raft. Four
hippopotami hunters were harnessed as tug steamers, while a
change of swimmers waited to relieve them every alternate voyage.
The raft answered admirably, and would easily support about three
hundred pounds. The power of flotation of the sponging bath alone
I had proved would support a hundred and ninety pounds, thus the
only danger in crossing was the chance of a crocodile making a
dash either at the inflated skins in mistake for the body of a
man, or at the swimmers themselves. All the usual necessaries
were safely transported, with the tents and personal baggage,
before I crossed myself, with a number of Arabs. We quickly
cleared the grass from the hard pebbly soil of a beautiful
plateau on the summit of a craggy sandstone cliff, about eighty
feet above the river; here we pitched the tents, close to some
mimosas of dense foliage, and all being in order, I went down to
the river to receive the next arrival. My wife now came across
the ferry, and so perfectly had this means of transport
succeeded, that by the evening, the whole of our stores and
baggage had been delivered without the slightest damage, with the
exception of a very heavy load of corn, that had caused the
sponging bath to ship a sea during a strong squall of wind. The
only person who had shown the least nervousness in trusting his
precious body to my ferry-boat was Mahomet the dragoman, who,
having been simply accustomed to the grand vessels of the Nile,
was not prepared to risk himself in a voyage across the Atbara in
a sponging bath. He put off the desperate attempt until the last
moment, when every other person of my party had crossed; I
believe he hoped that a wreck would take place before his turn
should arrive, and thus spare him the painful necessity, but when
at length the awful moment arrived, he was assisted carefully
imito the bath by his servant Achmet and a number of Arabs, all
of whom were delighted at his imbecility.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 55 of 149
Words from 55121 to 56143
of 151461
