At 1 P.M. Passed Gebel Ouli, A Small
Hill On South Bank - Course S.W. 1/2 S. At 8.30 P.M. Reached Cetene, A
Village Of Mixed Arabs On The East Bank - Anchored.
21st Dec.
- All day busy clearing decks, caulking ship, and making room
for the camels on the noggurs, as this is the village to which I had
previously sent two men to select camels and to have them in readiness
for my arrival. The men have been selecting sweethearts instead; thus I
must wait here tomorrow, that being the "Soog" or market day, when I
shall purchase my camels and milch goats. The banks of the river very
uninteresting - flat, desert, and mimosa bush. The soil is not so rich
as on the banks of the Blue Nile - the dhurra (grain) is small. The Nile
is quite two miles wide up to this point, and the high-water mark is not
more than five feet above the present level. The banks shelve gradually
like the sands at low tide in England, and quite unlike the
perpendicular banks of the Blue Nile. Busy at gunsmith's work. The
nights and mornings are now cold, from 60 degrees to 62 degrees F.
Johann makes me very anxious: I much fear he cannot last long, unless
some sudden change for the better takes place.
22d Dec. - Selected two fine camels and shipped them in slings with some
difficulty. Bought four oxen at nine herias each (l5s.); the men
delighted at the work of slaughtering, and jerking the meat for the
voyage.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 47 of 662
Words from 13063 to 13325
of 178435
