Thus
men and beasts thrive, especially horses, which acquire an
excellent condition.
The neighbourhood of Cassala is well adapted for the presence of
a large town and military station, as the fertile soil produces
the necessary supplies, while the river Gash affords excellent
water. In the rainy season this should be filtered, as it brings
down many impurities from the torrents of Abyssinia, but in the
heat of summer the river is entirely dry, and clear and wholesome
water is procured from wells in the sandy bed. The south and
south-east of Cassala is wild and mountainous, affording
excellent localities for hill stations during the unhealthy rainy
season; but such sanitary arrangements for the preservation of
troops are about as much heeded by the Egyptian Government as by
our own, and regiments are left in unwholesome climates to take
their chance, although the means of safety are at hand.
The Taka country being the extreme frontier of Egypt, constant
raids are made by the Egyptians upon their neighbours--the
hostile Base, through which country the river Gash or Mareb
descends. I was anxious to procure all the information possible
concerning the Base, as it would be necessary to traverse the
greater portion in exploring the Settite river, which is the
principal tributary of the Atbara, and which is in fact the main
and parent stream, although bearing a different name. I heard but
one opinion of the Base--it was a wild and independent country,
inhabited by a ferocious race, whose hand was against every man,
and who in return were the enemies of all by whom they were
surrounded--Egyptians, Abyssinians, Arabs, and Mek Nimmur;
nevertheless, secure in their mountainous stronghold, they defied
all adversaries.
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