Several Beautiful
Rivers Descend From The Mountain Ranges, Which Ultimately Flow
Into The Atbara; These, Unlike The Latter River, Are
Never dry:
thus, with a constant supply of water, in a country of forest and
herbage, the Base abounds in
Elephants, rhinoceroses,
hippopotami, giraffes, buffaloes, lions, leopards, and great
numbers of the antelope tribe.
Cassala, thus situated on the confines of the Taka country, is an
important military point in the event of war between Egypt and
Abyssinia, as the Base would be invaluable as allies to the
Egyptians; their country commands the very heart of Abyssinia,
and their knowledge of the roads would be an incalculable
advantage to an invading force. On the 14th July I had concluded
my arrangements for the start; there had been some difficulty in
procuring camels, but the all-powerful firman was a never-failing
talisman, and, as the Arabs had declined to let their animals for
hire, the Governor despatched a number of soldiers and seized the
required number, including their owners. I engaged two wild young
Arabs of eighteen and twenty years of age, named Bacheet and Wat
Gamma: the latter being interpreted signifies "Son of the Moon."
This in no way suggests lunacy, but the young Arab had happened
to enter this world on the day of the new moon, which was
considered to be a particularly fortunate and brilliant omen at
his birth. Whether the climax of his good fortune had arrived at
the moment he entered my service I know not, but, if so, there
was a cloud over his happiness in his subjection to Mahomet the
dragoman, who rejoiced in the opportunity of bullying the two
inferiors.
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