The Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and the sword hunters of the Hamran arabs by Sir Samuel White Baker (best e reader for epub txt) 📖

them through. These stones were inserted from the inside of the sack; they were then grasped by the hand from the outside, and pulled forward, while a tight ligature was made behind each stone, which effectually stopped the holes. The skin of the tetel was thus converted into a waterproof bag, into which was packed a quantity of flesh sufficient to fill two-thirds of its capacity; the edges of the mouth were then carefully drawn together, and secured by tying. Thus carefully packed, one of the foreleg ligatures was untied, and the whole skin was inflated by blowing through the tube formed by the skin of the limb; the inflation completed, this was suddenly twisted round and tied. The skin thus filled looked like an exaggerated water-skin; the power of flotation was so great, that about a dozen men hung on to the legs of the tetel, and to each other's shoulders, when we launched it in the river. This plan is well worthy of the attention of military men; troops, when on service, are seldom without bullocks; in the absence of boats or rafts, not only can the men be thus safely conveyed across the river, but the ammunition can be packed within the skins, wrapped up in straw, and will be kept perfectly dry.

"The Arabs were much afraid of crocodiles this night, as it was perfectly dark when we had completed our preparations, and they feared that the snmell of so large a quantity of raw flesh, more especially the hide of the giraffe, which must be towed, would attract these beasts to the party; accordingly I fired several shots to alarm them, and the men plunged into the river, amidst the usual yelling of the women on the opposite side. Fires had been lighted to direct us, and all passed safely across.

"The sport upon the Abyssinian side of the river had been most satisfactory, and I resolved upon the first opportunity to change my quarters, and to form an encampment upon that bank of the Atbara until the proper season should arrive for travelling. I had killed three giraffes and two tetel in only two excursions. Florian, who was ill, had not been able to accompany me; although he had been shooting in this neighbourhood for two years he had never killed a giraffe. This want of success was owing to the inferiority of his weapons, that were not adapted to correct shooting at a range exceeding a hundred yards.

"On the following morning about fifty Arabs crossed the river with the intention of bringing the flesh of the giraffe, but they returned crestfallen in the evening, as again the lions and hyaenas had been before them, and nothing was left. I therefore resolved not to shoot again until I should be settled in my new camp on the other side of the river, as it was a wasteful expenditure of these beautiful animals unless the flesh could be preserved.

"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. Perched nervously in the centre of the bath, and holding on tight by either side, he was towed across with his travelling bag of clothes, while Achmet remained in charge of his best clothes and sundry other personal effects, that were to form the last cargo across the ferry. It appeared that Achmet, the dearly beloved and affectionate relative of Mahomet, who had engaged to serve him for simple love instead of money, was suddenly tempted by Satan, and seeing that Mahomet and the entire party were divided from him and the property in his charge, by a river two hundred yards wide, about forty feet deep, with a powerful current, he made up his mind to bolt with the valuables; therefore while Mahomet, in a nervous state in the ferry-bath, was being towed towards the east, Achmet turned in another direction and fled towards the west. Mahomet having been much frightened by the nautical effort he had been forced to make, was in an exceedingly bad temper upon the arrival on the opposite bank, and having at length succeeded in climbing up the steep ascent, in shoes that were about four sizes too large for him, he arrived on the lofty plateau of our camp, and doubtless would like ourselves have been charmed with the view of the noble river rushing between the cliffs of white sandstone, had he only seen Achmet his fond relative with his effects on the opposite bank. Mahomet strained his eyes, but the blank was no optical delusion; neither Achmet nor his effects were there. The Arabs, who hated the unfortunate Mahomet for his general overbearing conduct, now comforted him with the suggestion that Achmet had run away, and that his only chance was to re-cross the river and give chase. Mahomet would not have ventured upon another voyage to the other side and back again, for the world, and as to giving chase in boots (highlows) four sizes too big, and without strings, that would have been as absurd as to employ a donkey to catch a horse. Mahomet could do nothing but rush frantically to the very edge of the cliff, and scream and gesticulate to a crowd of Arab women who had passed the day beneath the shady trees by the Faky's grave, watching our passage of the Atbara. Beating his own head and tearing his hair were always the safety valves of Mahomet's rage, but as hair is not of that mushroom growth that reappears in a night, he had patches upon his cranium as bald as a pumpkin shell, from the constant plucking, attendant upon losses of temper; he now not only tore a few extra locks from his head, but he shouted out a tirade of abuse towards the far-distant Achmet, calling him a "son of a dog," cursing his father, and paying