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"I was about two hundred yards distant, and for the moment I was
afraid of shooting the horse, but I fired one of the Reilly No.
10 rifles; the bullet, missing the rhinoceros, dashed the sand
and stones into his face, as it struck the ground exactly before
his nose, when he appeared to be just into the unfortunate Tetel.
The horse in the same instant reared, and, breaking the bridle,
it dashed away in the direction of the camp, while the
rhinoceros, astonished at the shot, and most likely half blinded
by the sand and splinters of rock, threw up his head, turned
round, and trotted back upon the track by which he had arrived.
He passed me at about a hundred yards distance, as I had run
forward to a bush, by which he trotted with his head raised,
seeking for the cause of his discomfiture. Crack! went a bullet
against his hide, as I fired my remaining barrel at his shoulder;
he cocked his tail, and for a few yards he charged towards the
shot; but he suddenly changed his course, and ran round several
times in a small circle; he then halted, and reeling to and fro,
he retreated very slowly, and lay down about a hundred yards off.
Well done, Reilly! I knew that he had his quietus, but I was
determined to bag his companion, who in alarm had now joined him,
and stood looking in all quarters for the source of danger; but
we were well concealed behind the bush. Presently, the wounded
rhinoceros stood up, and walking very slowly, followed by his
comrade, he crossed a portion of rising ground at the base of the
hill, and both animals disappeared. I at once started off Hassan,
who could run like an antelope, in search of Tetel, while I
despatched another man to the summit of the peak to see if the
rhinoceros were in view; if not, I knew they must be among the
small trees and bushes at the foot of the hill. I thus waited for
a long time, until at length the two greys, Aggahr and Gazelle,
arrived with my messenger from the camp. I tightened the girths
of the Arab saddle upon Aggahr, and I had just mounted, cursing
all Arab stirrups, that are only made for the naked big toe, when
my eyes were gladdened by the sight of Hassan cantering towards
me upon Tetel, but from the exact direction the rhinoceros had
taken. 'Quick! quick!' he cried, 'come along! One rhinoceros is
lying dead close by, and the other is standing beneath a tree not
far off.'

"I immediately jumped on Tetel, and, taking the little Fletcher
rifle, as lighter and handier than the heavy No. 10, I ordered
Taher Noor and Hassan to mount the other horses, and to follow me
with spare rifles. I found the rhinoceros lying dead about two
hundred yards from the spot where he had received the shot, and
I immediately perceived the companion, that was standing beneath
a small tree. The ground was firm and stony, all the grass had
been burnt off, except in a few small patches; the trees were not
so thick together as to form a regular jungle.

"The rhinoceros saw us directly, and he valiantly stood and faced
me as I rode up within fifty yards of him. Tetel is worth his
weight in gold as a shooting horse: he stands like a rock, and
would face the devil. I was unable to take a shot in this
position, therefore I ordered the men to ride round a
half-circle, as I knew the rhinoceros would turn towards the
white horses, and thus expose his flank; this he did immediately,
aud firing well, exactly at the shoulder, I dropped him as though
stone dead. Taher Noor shouted, 'Samme durrupto!' (well shot);
the rhinoceros lay kicking upon the ground, and I thought he was
bagged. Not a bit of it! the No. 24 bullet had not force to break
the massive shoulder bone, but had merely paralysed it for the
moment; up he jumped and started off in full gallop. Now for a
hunt! up the hill he started, then obliquely he chose a regular
rhinoceros path, and scudded away, Tetel answering to the spur
and closing with him; through the trees; now down the hill over
the loose rocks, where he gained considerably upon the horse.
'Easy down the hill, gently over the stones, Tetel,' and I took
a pull at the reins until I reached the level ground beneath,
which was firm and first-rate. I saw the rhinoceros pelting away
about a hundred and twenty yards ahead, and spurring hard, I shot
up to him at full speed until within twenty yards, when round he
came with astonishing quickness and charged straight at the
horse. I was prepared for this, as was my horse also; we avoided
him by a quick turn, and again renewed the chase, and regained
our position within a few yards of the game. Thus the hunt
continued for about a mile and a half, the rhinoceros
occasionally charging, but always cleverly avoided by the horse.
Tetel seemed to enjoy the fun, and hunted like a greyhound.
Nevertheless I had not been able to pass the rhinoceros, who had
thundered along at a tremendous pace whenever I had attempted to
close; however, the pace began to tell upon his wounded shoulder;
he evidently went lame, and, as I observed at some distance
before us the commencement of the dark-coloured rotten ground I
felt sure that it would shortly be a case of 'stand still.' In
this I was correct, and, upon reaching the deep and crumbling
soil, he turned sharp round, made a clumsy charge that I easily
avoided, and he stood panting at bay. Taher Noor was riding
Gazelle; this was a very timid horse and was utterly useless as
a hunter, but, as it reared and plunged upon seeing the
rhinoceros, that animal immediately turned towards it with the
intention of charging. Riding Tetel close to his flank, I fired
both barrels of the little Fletcher into the shoulder; he fell to
the shots, and, stretching out his legs convulsively, he died
immediately."

This was a capital termination to the hunt; as I had expected the
death of my good horse Tetel, when the first rhinoceros had so
nearly horned him. The sun was like a furnace, therefore I rode
straight to camp, and sent men and camels for the hides and
flesh. As I passed the body of the first rhinoceros, I found a
regiment of vultures already collected around it, while fresh
arrivals took place every minute, as they gathered from all
quarters; they had already torn out the eyes, and dragged a
portion of flesh from the bullet-wound in the shoulder; but the
tough hide of the rhinoceros was proof against their greedy
beaks. A number of Marabou storks had also arrived, and were
standing proudly among the crowd of vultures, preparing to
perform the duty of sextons, when the skin should become
sufficiently decomposed. Throughout all the countries that I had
traversed, these birds were in enormous numbers. The question has
been frequently discussed whether the vulture is directed to his
prey by the sense of smell, or by keenness of vision; I have paid
much attention to their habits, and, although there can be no
question that their power of scent is great, I feel convinced
that all birds of prey are attracted to their food principally by
their acuteness of sight. If a vulture were blind, it would
starve; but were the nostrils plugged up with some foreign
substance to destroy its power of smell, it would not materially
interfere with its usual mode of hunting. Scent is always
stronger near the surface of the ground; thus hyaenas, lions, and
other beasts of prey will scent a carcase from a great distance,
provided they are to leeward; but the same animals would be
unaware of the presence of the body if they were but a short
distance to windward.

If birds of prey trusted to their nostrils, they would keep as
near the ground as possible, like the carrion crow, which I
believe is the exception that proves the rule. It is an
astonishing sight to witness the sudden arrival of vultures at
the death of an animal, when a few moments before not a bird has
been in sight in the cloudless sky. I have frequently laid down
beneath a bush after having shot an animal, to watch the arrival
of the various species of birds in regular succession; they
invariably appear in the following order:--

No. 1, the black and white crow: this knowing individual is most
industrious in seeking for his food, and is generally to be seen
either perched upon rocks or upon trees; I believe he trusts much
to his sense of smell, as he is never far from the ground, at the
same time he keeps a vigilant look-out with a very sharp pair of
eyes.

No. 2 is the common buzzard: this bird, so well known for its
extreme daring, is omnipresent, and trusts generally to sight, as
it will stoop at a piece of red cloth in mistake for flesh; thus
proving that it depends more upon vision than smell.

No. 3 is the red-faced small vulture.

No. 4 is the large bare-throated vulture.

No. 5, the Marabou stork, sometimes accompanied by the adjutant.

When employed in watching the habits of these birds, it is
interesting to make the experiment of concealing a dead animal
beneath a dense bush. This I have frequently done; in which case
the vultures never find it unless they have witnessed its death;
if so, they will already have pounced in their descent while you
have been engaged in concealing the body: they will then upon
near approach discover it by the smell. But, if an animal is
killed in thick grass, eight or ten feet high, the vultures will
seldom discover it. I have frequently known the bodies of large
animals, such as elephants and buffaloes, to lie for days beneath
the shade of the dense nabbuk bushes, unattended by a single
vulture; whereas, if visible, they would have been visited by
these birds in thousands.

Vultures and the Marabou stork fly at enormous altitudes. I
believe that every species keeps to its own particular elevation,
and that the atmosphere contains regular strata of birds of prey,
who, invisible to the human eye at their enormous height, are
constantly resting upon their wide-spread wings, and soaring in
circles, watching with telescopic sight the world beneath. At
that great elevation they are in an exceedingly cool temperature,
therefore they require no water; but some birds that make long
flights over arid deserts, such as the Marabou stork, and the
buzzard, are provided with water-sacks; the former in an external
bag a little below the throat, the latter in an internal sack,
both of which carry a large supply. As the birds of prey that I
have enumerated, invariably appear at a carcase in their regular
succession, I can only suggest that they travel from different
distances or altitudes. Thus, the Marabou stork would be farthest
from the earth; the large bare-necked vulture would be the next
below him, followed by the red-faced vulture, the buzzard, and
the crow that is generally about the surface. From their immense
elevation, the birds of prey possess an extraordinary field of
vision; and, although they are invisible from the earth, there
can be no doubt that they are perpetually hunting in circles
within sight of each other. Thus, should one bird discover some
object upon the surface of the earth below, his sudden pounce
would be at once observed and imitated by every vulture in
succession. Should one vulture nearest the earth perceive a body,
or even should he notice the buzzards collecting at a given
point, he would at once become aware of a prey; his rush towards
the spot would act like a telegraphic signal to others, that
would be rapidly communicated to every vulture at successive airy
stations.

If any animal be skinned, the red surface will attract the
vultures in an instant; this proves that their sight, and not
their scent, has been attracted by an object that suggests blood.
I have frequently watched them when I have shot an animal, and my
people have commenced the process of skinning. At first, not a
bird has been in sight, as I have lain on my back and gazed into
the spotless blue sky; but hardly has the skin been half
withdrawn, than specks have appeared in the heavens, rapidly
increasing. "Caw, caw," has been heard several times from the
neighbouring bushes; the buzzards have swept down close to my
people, and have snatched a morsel of clotted blood from the
ground. The specks have increased to winged creatures, at the
great height resembling flies, when presently a rushing sound
behind me, like a whirlwind, has been followed by the pounce of
a red-faced vulture, that has fallen from the heavens in haste
with closed wings to the bloody feast, followed quickly by many
of his brethren. The sky has become alive with black specks in
the far-distant blue, with wings hurrying from all quarters. At
length a coronet of steady, soaring vultures, forms a wide circle
far above, as they hesitate to descend, but continue to revolve
around the object of attraction. The great bare-necked vulture
suddenly appears. The animal has been skinned, and the required
flesh secured by the men; we withdraw a hundred paces from the
scene. A general rush and descent takes place; hundreds of hungry
beaks are tearing at the offal. The great bare-necked vulture
claims respect among the crowd; but another form has appeared in
the blue sky, and rapidly descends. A pair of long, ungainly
legs, hanging down beneath the enormous wings, now touch the
ground, and Abou Seen (father of the teeth or beak, the Arab name
for the Marabou) has arrived, and he stalks proudly towards the
crowds, pecking his way with his long bill through the struggling
vultures, and swallowing the lion's share of the repast. Abou
Seen, last but not least, had arrived from the highest region,
while others had the advantage of the start. This bird is very
numerous through the Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and may
generally be seen perched upon the rocks of the water-side,
watching for small fish, or any reptile that may chance to come
within his reach. The well-known feathers are situated in a plume
beneath the tail.

On 14th April we left our camp in the afternoon, and, after
marching nine miles, during which we passed two small streams,
flowing, like all others, from this point, west to the Atbara, we
slept by a large pool in a third stream of considerable size. A
waterfall flowed over a row of perpendicular basalt columns that
surrounded a deep basin, resembling piles of ebony artificially
arranged. On the following morning we started before sunrise, and
rode over the usual pathless burnt prairies, until we reached the
base of Nahoot Guddabi, the mountain for which we had been
steering. Eight miles farther, we arrived at Metemma, a Tokroori
village, in the heart of the mountains, twenty-seven miles from
our last resting-place, and fifty-one miles from our camp on the
Salaam river. From this point to the river Salaam, the entire
country slopes perceptibly to the west--the drainage being
carried to the Atbara by numerous streams. The country that we
had now entered, was inhabited exclusively by Tokrooris, although
belonging to Abyssinia. They came out to meet us upon our arrival
at the village, and immediately fraternised with those of our
people that belonged to their tribe, from whom they quickly
learnt all about us. They brought us a he-goat, together with
milk and honey. The latter we had revelled in for some months
past, as the countries through which we travelled abounded with
a supply in the rocks and hollow trees; but the milk was a
luxury, as our goats were nearly dry. The he-goat was a regular
old patriarch of the flock, and, for those who are fond of
savoury food, it might have been a temptation, but as it exhaled
a perfume that rendered its presence unbearable, we were obliged
to hand it over as a present to our Tokrooris--even they turned
up their noses at the offer. A crowd of natives surrounded us,
and the account of our travels was related with the usual
excitement, amidst the ejaculations of the hearers, when they
heard that we had been in the country of the Base, and had
trusted ourselves in the power of Mek Nimmur.

On the following morning we were off before sunrise, and marched
rapidly over a good path through low forest, at the foot of a
range of hills; and after a journey of twenty miles, during which
we had passed several small villages, and many brooks that flowed
from the mountains, we arrived at our old friend, the Atbara
river, at the sharp angle as it issues from the mountains. At
this place it was in its infancy. The noble Atbara whose course
we had tracked for hundreds of weary miles, and whose tributaries
we had so carefully examined, was a second-class mountam torrent,
about equal to the Royan, and not to be named in comparison with
the Salaam or Angrab. The power of the Atbara depended entirely
upon the western drainage of the Abyssinian Alps: of itself it
was insignificant, until aided by the great arteries of the
mountain chain. The junction of the Salaam at once changed its
character; and the Settite or Taccazzy completed its importance
as the great river of Abyssinia, that has washed down the fertile
soil of those regions to create the Delta of Lower Egypt; and to
perpetuate that Delta by annual deposits, that ARE NOW FORMING A
NEW EGYPT BENEATH THE WATERS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. We had seen
the Atbara a bed of glaring sand--a mere continuation of the
burning desert that surrounded its course, fringed by a belt of
withered trees, like a monument sacred to the memory of a dead
river. We had seen the sudden rush of waters when, in the still
night, the mysterious stream had invaded the dry bed, and swept
all before it like an awakened giant; we knew at that moment "the
rains were falling in Abyssinia," although the sky above us was
without a cloud. We had subsequently witnessed that tremendous
rainfall, and seen the Atbara at its grandest flood. We had
traced each river, and crossed each tiny stream, that fed the
mighty Atbara from the mountain chain, and we now, after our long
journey, forded the Atlara in its infancy, hardly knee deep, over
its rocky bed of about sixty yards width, and camped in the
little village of Toganai, on the rising ground upon the opposite
side. It was evening, and we sat upon an angarep among the lovely
hills that surrounded us, and looked down upon the Atbara for the
last time, as the sun sank behind the rugged mountain of Ras el
Feel (the elephant's head). Once more I thought of that wonderful
river Nile, that could flow for ever through the exhausting
deserts of sand, while the Atbara, during the summer months,
shrank to a dry skeleton, although the powerful affluents, the
Salaam and the Settite, never ceased to flow, every drop of their
waters was evaporated by the air and absorbed by the desert sand
in the bed of the Atbara, two hundred miles above its junction
with the Nile!

The Atbara exploration was completed; and I looked forward to the
fresh enterprise of new rivers and lower latitudes, that should
unravel the mystery of the Nile!

CHAPTER XX.

ARRIVAL AT METEMMA, OR GALLABAT.

WE left the village of Toganai at 5 A.M. and, after a rapid march
of sixteen miles, we came in view of Metemma, or Gallabat, in the
bottom of a valley surrounded by hills, and backed on the east by
the range of mountains of which Nahoot Guddabi formed the
extremity of a spur. As we descended the valley, we perceived
great crowds of people in and about the town, which, in
appearance, was merely a repetition of Katariff. It was
market-day, and as we descended the hill and arrived in the scene
below, with our nine camels heavily laden with the heads and
horns of a multitude of different beasts, from the gaping jaws of
hippopotami to the vicious-looking heads of rhinoceros and
buffalo, while the skins of lions and various antelopes were
piled above masses of the much-prized hide of the rhinoceros, we
were beset by crowds of people who were curious to know whence so
strange a party had appeared. We formed a regular procession
through the market, our Tokrooris feeling quite at home among so
many of their brethren. Upon our arrival at the extremity of the
valley, we were horribly disgusted at the appearance of the
water. A trifling stream of about two inches in depth trickled
over a bed of sand, shaded by a grove of trees. The putrefying
bodies of about half a dozen donkeys, three or four camels, and
the remains of a number of horses, lay in and about the margin of
the water. Nevertheless, the natives had scraped small holes in
the sand, as filters, and thus they were satisfied with this
poisonous fluid; in some of these holes, the women were washing
their filthy clothes. I immediately determined to follow up
stream, until I should arrive at some clear spot above these
horrible impurities, that were sufficient to create a pestilence.
Ascending the rising ground, I found on the summit, at about half
a mile distant, an immense sycamore (Ficus sycamorus), whose
green and wide-spreading branches afforded a tempting shade. Not
far from this spot, I found the bed of a dry torrent that flowed
into the poisoned stream of Gallabat. I ordered my men to dig a
deep hole in the sand, which fortunately discovered clear and
good-flavoured water. We immediately pitched tents close to the
sycamore. From this elevation, about a hundred and fifty feet
above Gallabat, we had a beautiful view of the amphitheatre of
hills and mountains, while the crowded town lay below, as in the
bottom of a basin. The Atbara was not far distant in the ravine
between the hill ranges, as it had made a sharp angle at Toganai,
and altered its direction to the north.

Our arrival had made some stir in Gallabat, and many people had
followed us, and stared with much curiosity at the collection of
hunting trophies. Among our visitors was an Abyssinian merchant,
Jusef, whose acquaintance I had formerly made at Cassala; he was
an agreeable and well-informed man, who had been in Paris and
London and spoke French and English tolerably. I accompanied him
for a stroll through the market, and was introduced by him to a
number of the principal Abyssinian merchants. The principal trade
of Gallabat, which is the market-place for all commerce between
Abyssinia and the Egyptian provinces, is in cotton, coffee,
bees'-wax, and hides. Coffee is brought in large quantities by
the Abyssinian merchants, who buy cotton in exchange, for the
manufacture of clothes according to their own fashion. I bought
a quantity of excellent coffee at the rate of two dollars for
thirty-five pounds, equal to about two and three-quarters pence
a pound. Sheds were arranged in lines; these were occupied by the
coffee merchants with their stores, while a great stock of cotton
in bales, to the number of some thousand, were piled in rows in
an open space. Not far from the mass of goods was a confusion of
camels, asses, and mules that had formed the means of transport.
I now met an Italian merchant, with whom I subsequently became
intimately acquainted, Signor Angelo Bolognesi--he had arrived
from Khartoum to purchase coffee and bees'-wax. We were delighted
to meet a civilized European after so long an absence. For some
months we had had little intercourse with any human beings beyond
the hunters that had composed our party, in countries that were
so wild and savage, that the print of a naked foot upon the sand
had instinctively brought the rifle upon full cock. Our European
society was quickly increased: two German missionaries had
arrived, en ronte for an establishment that had been set on foot
in the heart of Abyssinia, under the very nose of the King
Theodore, who regarded missionaries as an unsavoury odour. Both
were suffering from fever, having foolishly located themselves in
a hut close to the foul stench of dead animals on the margin of
the polluted stream, the water of which they drank. One of these
preachers was a blacksmith, whose iron constitution had entirely
given way, and the little strength that remained, he exhausted in
endless quotations of texts from the Bible, which he considered
applicable to every trifling event or expression. I regretted
that I could not agree with him in the propriety of invading
Abyssinia with Bible extracts, as the natives attached as great
importance to their own particular form of Christianity, as any
other of the numerous sects that unhappily divide that beautiful
religion into schisms; any fresh dogma introduced by strangers
might destroy the union of the Abyssinian Church, and would be
not only a source of annoyance to the priesthood, but would most
probably influence them and the king against all Europeans.

The blacksmith assured me that the special mission upon which he
was employed was the conversion of the Abyssinian Jews. I
suggested that we had a few Jews in England, that might offer a
fair field for an experiment at home, before we commenced at so
distant a country as Abyssinia; but I could not persuade the
blacksmith, whose head was as hard as his anvil; he had fully
persuaded himself that the word of God (according to HIS OWN
translation of it) was the hammer with which, selon son metier,
he was to drive his views of the truth into the thick skulls of
the people. If he could twist iron, and hammer a ploughshare into
a sword, or reverse the form, why should he be unable to effect
a change in their opinions? It was perfectly useless to continue
the argument; but I prophesied trouble, as the king was already
discontented, and an influx of missionaries would not improve his
humour. I advised him to stick to his trade, which would obtain
for him far more respect than preaching. He replied, that "the
word of God must be preached in all countries; that the Apostle
Paul had encountered dangers and difficulties, but, nevertheless,
he preached to, and converted the heathen," &c.

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