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"The Rahad does not exceed eighty or ninety yards in breadth. The
rain that had recently fallen in the mountain had sent a
considerable stream down the hitherto dry bed, although the
bottom was not entirely covered. By dead reckoning, this point of
the river is fifty-five miles due west from Gallabat or Metemma;
throughout this distance we had seen no game, neither the tracks
of any animals except giraffes. We were rather hard up for
provisions, therefore I took my rod, and tried for a fish in a
deep pool below the spot where we had pitched the tent. I only
had one run, but I fortunately landed a handsome little baggar
about twelve pounds weight, which afforded us a good dinner. The
river Dinder is between fifty and sixty miles from the Rahad at
this point, but towards the north the two rivers approximate
closely, and keep a course almost parallel. The banks of the
Rahad are in many places perpendicular, and are about forty-five
feet above the bed. This river flows through rich alluvial soil;
the country is a vast level plane, with so trifling a fall that
the current of the river is gentle; the course is extremely
circuitous, and although, when bank full, the Rahad possesses a
considerable volume, it is very inferior as a Nile tributary to
any river that I have visited to the east of Gallabat."

CHAPTER XXI.

FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRY ON THE BANKS OF THE RAHAD.

WE daily followed the banks of the Rahad, the monotony of which
I will not inflict upon the public. This country was a vast tract
of wonderfully fertile prairie, that nearly formed an island,
surrounded by the Rahad, Blue Nile, Great Nile, and Atbara; it
was peopled by various tribes of Arabs, who cultivated a
considerable extent upon the banks of the Rahad, which for
upwards of a hundred miles to the north were bordered with
villages at short intervals. Cotton and tobacco were produced
largely, and we daily met droves of camels laden with these
goods, en route for the Abyssinian market. We had now fairly
quitted Abyssinian territory, and upon our arrival at the Rahad
we were upon the soil of Upper Egypt. I was much struck with the
extraordinary size and condition of the cattle. Corn (dhurra) was
so plentiful that it was to be purchased in any quantity for
eight piastres the rachel, or about 1s. 8d. for 500 pounds;
pumpkins were in great quantities, with a description of gourd
with an exceedingly strong shell, which is grown especially for
bowls and other utensils; camel-loads of these gourd-basins
packed in conical crates were also journeying on the road towards
Gallabat. Throughout the course of the Rahad the banks are high,
and, when full, the river would average forty feet in depth, with
a gentle stream, the course free from rocks and shoals, and
admirably adapted for small steamers.

The entire country would be a mine of wealth were it planted with
cotton, which could be transported by camels to Katariff, and
thence direct to Souakim. We travelled for upwards of a hundred
miles along the river, through the unvarying scene of flat
alluvial soil; the south bank was generally covered with low
jungle. The Arabs were always civil, and formed a marked contrast
to the Tokrooris; they were mostly of the Roofar tribe. Although
there had been a considerable volume of water in the river at the
point where we had first met it, the bed was perfectly dry about
fifty miles farther north, proving the great power of absorption
by the sand. The Arabs obtained water from deep pools in the
river, similar to those in the Atbara, but on a small scale, of
not sufficient importance to contain hippopotami, which at this
season retired to the river Dinder. Wherever we slept we were
besieged by gaping crowds of Arabs: these people were quite
unaccustomed to strangers, as the route we had chosen along the
banks of the Rahad was entirely out of the line adopted by the
native merchants and traders of Khartoum, who travelled via Abou
Harraz and Katariff to Gallabat. These Arabs were, as usual,
perfectly wild, and ignorant of everything that did not
immediately concern them. My compass had always been a source of
wonder to the natives, and I was asked whether by looking into it
I rould distinguish the "market days" of the different villages.
My own Tokrooris continually referred to me for information on
various topics, and, if I declined to reply, they invariably
begged me to examine my moondera (mirror), as they termed the
compass, and see what it would say. This country swarmed with
Arabs, and abounded in supplies: superb fat oxen were seven
dollars each; large fowls were a penny; and eggs were at the rate
of nine for a penny farthing.

We arrived at a large village, Sherrem, on May 11, having marched
118 miles in a straight line along the course of the Rahad. The
heat was extreme, but I had become so thoroughly accustomed to
the sun that I did not feel it so much as my men, whose heads
were covered with a thin cap of cotton (the tageea). My camel-men
had expected to find their families at a village that we had
passed about six miles from Sherrem, and they had been rejoicing
in anticipation, but on arrival we found it deserted,--"family
out of town;" the men were quite dejected; but upon arrival at
Sherrem they found all their people, who had migrated for water,
as the river was dry. We waited at Sherrem for a couple of days
to rest the men, whose feet were much swollen with marching on
the burning soil. Although frequent showers had fallen at
Gallabat, we had quickly entered the dry country upon steering
north, where neither dew nor rain had moistened the ground for
many months. The country was treeless on the north bank of the
Rahad, and the rich alluvial soil was free from a single stone or
pebble for many miles. Although for 118 miles we had travelled
along the course of the Rahad, throughout this distance only one
small brook furrowed the level surface and added its waters
during the rainy season to the river; the earth absorbed the
entire rainfall. Our camels were nearly driven mad by the flies
which swarmed throughout the fertile districts.

On the 15th of May we arrived at Kook, a small village on the
banks of the Rahad, and on the following morning we started to
the west for the river Dinder. The country was the usual rich
soil, but covered with high grass and bush; it was uninhabited,
except by wandering Arabs and their flocks, that migrate at the
commencement of the rainy season, when this land becomes a mere
swamp, and swarms with the seroot fly. At 6.30 we halted, and
slept on the road. This was the main route to Sennaar, from which
place strings of camels were passing to the Rahad, to purchase
corn. On the 16th of May, we started by moonlight at 4.30 A.M.
due west, and at 7.30 A.M. we arrived at the river Dinder, which,
at this point, was eighteen miles from the village of Kook, on
the Rahad.

We joined a camp of the Kunana Arabs, who at this season throng
the banks of the Dinder. This river is similar in character to
the Rahad, but larger: the average breadth is about a hundred and
ten yards: the banks are about fifty feet high, and the immediate
vicinity is covered with thick jungle of nabbuk and thorny
acacias, with a great quantity of the Acacia Arabica, that
produces the garra, already described as valuable for tanning
leather. I made ink with this fruit, pounded and boiled, to which
I added a few rusty nails, and allowed it to stand for about
twenty-four hours. The Dinder was exceedingly deep in many
places, although in others the bed was dry, with the exception of
a most trifling stream that flowed through a narrow channel in
the sand, about an inch in depth. The Arabs assured me that the
crocodiles in this river were more dangerous than in any other,
and their flocks of goats and sheep were attended by a great
number of boys, to prevent the animals from descending to the
water to drink, except in such places as had been prepared for
them by digging small holes in the sand. I saw many of these
creatures, of very large size; and, as I strolled along the banks
of the river, I found a herd of hippopotami, of which I shot two,
to the great delight of my people, who had been much disappointed
at the absence of game throughout our journey from Gallabat. We
had travelled upwards of 200 miles without having seen so much as
a gazelle, neither had we passed any tracks of large game,
except, upon one occasion, those of a few giraffes. I had been
told that the Dinder country was rich in game, but, at this
season, it was swarming with Arabs, and was so much disturbed
that everything had left the country, and the elephants merely
drank during the night, and retreated to distant and impenetrable
jungles. At night we heard a lion roar, but this, instead of
being our constant nightingale, as upon the Settite river, was
now an uncommon sound. The maneless lion is found on the banks of
the Dinder; all that I saw, in the shape of game, in the
neighbourhood of that river and the Rahad, were a few hippopotami
and crocodiles. The stream of the Dinder is obstructed with many
snags and trunks of fallen trees that would be serious obstacles
to rapid navigation: these are the large stems of the soont
(Acacia Arabica), that, growing close to the edge, have fallen
into the river when the banks have given way. I was astonished at
the absence of elephants in such favourable ground; for some
miles I walked along the margin of the river without seeing a
track of any date. Throughout this country, these animals are so
continually hunted that they have become exceedingly wary, and
there can be little doubt that their numbers are much reduced.
Even in the beautiful shooting country comprised between the
river Gash and Gallabat, although we had excellent sport, I had
been disappointed at the number of elephants, which I had
expected to find in herds of many hundreds, instead of forty or
fifty, which was the largest number that I had seen together. The
habits of all animals generally depend upon the nature of the
localities they inhabit. Thus, as these countries were subject to
long drought and scarcity of water, the elephants were, in some
places, contented with drinking every alternate day. Where they
were much hunted by the aggageers, they would seldom drink twice
consecutively in the same river; but, after a long draught in the
Settite, they would march from twenty-five to thirty miles, and
remain for a day between that river and the Mareb or Gash, to
which they would hurry on the following night. At other times,
these wily animals would drink in the Settite, and retire to the
south; feeding upon Mek Nimmur's corn-fields, they would hurry
forward to the river Salaam, about thirty miles distant, and from
thence, in a similar manner, either to the Atbara on one side, or
into the Abyssinian mountains, where, at all times, they could
procure a supply of water. I have frequently discovered fresh
grains of dhurra in their dung, at a great distance from the
nearest corn-field; when the rapid digestion of the elephant is
considered, it must be allowed that the fresh dung found in the
morning bore witness to the theft of corn during the past night;
thus the elephant had marched many miles after feeding. In the
"Rifle and Hound in Ceylon," published in 1854, I gave a detailed
description of the elephants of that country, which, although
peculiar in the general absence of tusks, are the same as the
Indian species.

Although the elephant is found throughout many countries,
extending over an enormous area, there are only two species at
present in existence,--the Indian and African; these are totally
different in their habits, and are distinguished by peculiarities
of form. The most striking difference is in the shape of the head
and spine. The head of the Indian species is perfectly distinct;
the forehead, when held in the natural position of inaction, is
perpendicular; and above the slight convexity at the root of the
trunk there is a depression, in shape like a herald's shield: a
bullet in the lower portion of that shield would reach the brain
in a direct line. The head of the African elephant is completely
convex from the commencement of the trunk to the back of the
skull, and the brain is situated much lower than in that of the
Indian species; the bone is of a denser quality, and the cases
for the reception of the tusks are so closely parallel, that
there is barely room for a bullet to find a chance of penetrating
to the brain; it must be delivered in the exact centre, and
extremely low, in the very root of the trunk; even then it will
frequently pass above the brain, as the animal generally carries
his head high, and thrown slightly back. The teeth of the African
elephant differ materially from those of the Indian, by
containing a lesser number of laminae or plates, the surfaces of
which, instead of exhibiting straight and parallel lines like
those of the Indian, are shaped in slight curves, which increase
the power of grinding. The ears of the African species are
enormous, and when thrown back they completely cover the
shoulders; they are also entirely different in shape from those
of the Indian species. When an African bull elephant advances in
full charge with his ears cocked, his head measures about
fourteen feet from the tip of one ear to that of the other, in a
direct line across the forehead. I have frequently cut off the
ear to form a mat, upon which I have slept beneath the shade of
a tree, while my people divided the animal.

The back of the Indian elephant is exceedingly convex; that of
the African is exactly the reverse, and the concavity behind the
shoulders is succeeded by a peculiarity in the sudden rise of the
spine above the hips. The two species are not only distinct in
certain peculiarities of form, but they differ in their habits.
The Indian elephant dislikes the sun, and invariably retreats to
thick shady forests at sunrise; but I have constantly found the
African species enjoying themselves in the burning sun in the
hottest hours of the day, among plains of withered grass, many
miles from a jungle. The African is more active than the Indian,
and not only is faster in his movements, but is more capable of
enduring long marches, as proved by the great distances through
which it travels to seek its food in the native's corn-fields. In
all countries, the bulls are fiercer than the females. I cannot
see much difference in character between the Indian and the
African species; it is the fashion for some people to assert that
the elephant is an innocent and harmless creature, that, like the
giraffe it is almost a sin to destroy. I can only say that,
during eight years' experience in Ceylon, and nearly five years'
in Africa, I have found that elephants are the most formidable
animals with which a sportsman has to contend. The African
species is far more dangerous than the Indian, as the forehead
shot can never be trusted; therefore the hunter must await the
charge with a conviction that his bullet will fail to kill.

The African elephant is about a foot higher than the average of
the Indian species. The bulls of the former are about ten feet
six inches at the shoulder; the females are between nine feet and
nine feet six. Of course there are many bulls that exceed this
height, and I have seen some few of both species that might equal
twelve feet, but those are the exceptional Goliaths.

The tusks of elephants vary considerably, and there appears to be
no rule to determine a reason for their size and quality. In
Abyssinia and Taka, a single tusk of a bull elephant seldom
exceeds forty pounds, nor do they average more than twenty-five,
but in Central Africa they average about forty, and I have seen
them upwards of one hundred and fifty pounds. The largest that I
have had the good fortune to bag was eighty pounds; the
fellow-tusk was slightly below seventy. Elephants invariably use
one tusk in preference, as we use the right hand; thus it is
difficult to obtain an exact pair, as the Hadam (or servant), as
the Arabs call the working tusk, is generally much worn. The
African elephant is a more decided tree-feeder than the Indian,
and the destruction committed by a large herd of such animals
when feeding in a mimosa forest is extraordinary; they
deliberately march forward, and uproot or break down every tree
that excites their appetite. The mimosas are generally from
sixteen to twenty feet high, and, having no tap-root, they are
easily overturned by the tusks of the elephants, which are driven
like crowbars beneath the roots, and used as levers, in which
rough labour they are frequently broken. Upon the overthrow of a
tree, the elephants eat the roots and leaves, and strip the bark
from the branches by grasping them with their rough trunks.

The African elephant is equally docile as the Indian, when
domesticated, but we have no account of a negro tribe that has
ever tamed one of these sagacious animals: their only maxim is
"kill and eat." Although the flesh of the elephant is extremely
coarse, the foot and trunk are excellent, if properly cooked. A
hole should be dug in the earth, about four feet deep, and two
feet six inches in diameter, the sides of which should be
perpendicular; in this a large fire should be lighted, and kept
burning for four or five hours with a continual supply of wood,
so that the walls become red-hot. At the expiration of the blaze,
the foot should be laid upon the glowing embers, and the hole
covered closely with thick pieces of green wood laid parallel
together to form a ceiling; this should be covered with wet
grass, and the whole plastered with mud, and stamped tightly down
to retain the heat. Upon the mud, a quantity of earth should be
heaped, and the oven should not be opened for thirty hours, or
more. At the expiration of that time, the foot will be perfectly
baked, and the sole will separate like a shoe, and expose a
delicate substance that, with a little oil and vinegar, together
with an allowance of pepper and salt, is a delicious dish that
will feed about fifty men.

The Arabs are particularly fond of elephant's flesh, as it is
generally fat and juicy. I have frequently used the fat of the
animal for cooking, but it should be taken from the body without
delay; as, if left for a few hours, it partakes of the peculiar
smell of the elephant, which no amount of boiling will overcome.
The boiling of fat for preservation requires much care, as it
should attain so great a heat that a few drops of water thrown
upon the surface will hiss and evaporate as though cast upon
molten metal; it should then be strained, and, when tolerably
cool, be poured into vessels, and secured. No salt is necessary,
provided it is thoroughly boiled. When an animal is killed, the
flesh should be properly dried, before boiling down, otherwise
the fat will not melt thoroughly, as it will be combined with the
water contained in the body. The fat should be separated as well
as possible from the meat; it should then be hung in long strips
upon a line and exposed in the sun to dry; when nearly dried, it
should be cut into pieces of about two inches in length, and
placed in a large vessel over a brisk fire, and kept constantly
stirred. As the fat boils out from the meat, the residue should
be taken out with a pierced ladle; this, when cool, should be
carefully preserved in leathern bags. This is called by the Arabs
"reveet," a supply of which is most valuable, as a quantity can
be served out to each man during a long march when there is no
time to halt; it can be eaten without bread, and it is extremely
nourishing. With a good supply of reveet in store, the traveller
need not be nervous about his dinner. Dried meat should also be
kept in large quantities; the best is that of the giraffe and
hippopotamus, but there is some care required in preparing the
first quality. It should be cut from portions of the animals as
free as possible from sinews, and should be arranged in long thin
strips of the diameter of about an inch and a quarter; these
ribbon-like morsels should be hung in the shade. When nearly dry,
they should be taken down, and laid upon a flat rock, upon which
they should be well beaten with a stone, or club of hard wood;
this breaks the fibre; after which they should be hung up and
thoroughly dried, care being taken that the flesh is not exposed
to the sun. If many flies are present, the flesh should be
protected by the smoke of fires lighted to windward.

When meat is thus carefully prepared, it can be used in various
ways, and is exceedingly palatable; if pounded into small pieces
like coarse sawdust, it forms an admirable material for curry and
rice. The Arabs make a first-class dish of melach, by mixing a
quantity of pounded dried meat with a thick porridge of dhurra
meal, floating in a soup of barmian (waker), with onions, salt,
and red peppers; this is an admirable thing if the party is
pressed for time (if not too hot, as a large quantity can be
eaten with great expedition. As the Arabs are nomadic, they have
a few simple but effective arrangements for food during the
journey. For a fortnight preparatory to an expedition, the women
are busily engaged in manufacturing a supply of abrey. This is
made in several methods: there is the sour, and the sweet abrey;
the former is made of highly-fermented dhurra paste that has
turned intensely acid; this is formed into thin wafers, about
sixteen inches in diameter, upon the doka or hearth, and dried in
the sun until the abrey has become perfectly crisp; the wafers
are then broken up with the hands, and packed in bags. There is
no drink more refreshing than water poured over a handful of sour
abrey, and allowed to stand for half an hour; it becomes
pleasantly acid, and is superior to lemonade. The residue is
eaten by the Arabs: thus the abrey supplies both meat and drink.
The finest quality of sweet abrey is a very delicate affair; the
flour of dhurra must be well sifted; it is then mixed with milk
instead of water, and, without fermenting, it is formed into thin
wafers similar to those eaten with ice-creams in this country,
but extremely large; these are dried in the sun, and crushed like
the sour abrey; they will keep for months if kept dry in a
leathern bag. A handful of sweet abrey steeped in a bowl of hot
milk, with a little honey, is a luxurious breakfast; nothing can
be more delicious, and it can be prepared in a few minutes during
the short halt upon a journey. With a good supply of abrey and
dried meat, the commissariat arrangements are wonderfully
simplified, and a party can march a great distance without much
heavy baggage to impede their movements.

The flesh that is the least adapted for drying is that of the
buffalo (Bos Caffer), which is exceedingly tough and coarse.
There are two species of the Bos Caffer in Abyssinia and Central
Africa, which, similar in general appearance, differ in the
horns; that which resembles the true Bos Caffer of South Africa
has very massive convex horns that unite in front, and completely
cover the forehead as with a shield; the other variety has
massive, but perfectly flat horns of great breadth, that do not
quite unite over the os frontis, although nearly so; the flatness
of the horns continues in a rough surface, somewhat resembling
the bark of a tree, for about twelve inches; the horns then
become round, and curve gracefully inwards, like those of the
convex species. Buffaloes are very dangerous and determined
animals; but, although more accidents occur in hunting these than
any other variety of game, I cannot admit that they are such
formidable opponents as the elephant and black rhinoceros; they
are so much more numerous than the latter, that they are more
frequently encountered: hence the casualties.

A buffalo can always be killed with a No. 10 rifle and six
drachms of powder when charging, if the hunter will only wait
coolly until it is so close that he cannot miss the forehead; but
the same rifle will fail against an African elephant, or a black
rhinoceros, as the horns of the latter animal effectually protect
the brain from a front shot. I have killed some hundreds of
buffaloes, and, although in many cases they have been
unpleasantly near, the rifle has always won the day. There cannot
be a more convenient size than No. 10 for a double rifle, for
large game. This will throw a conical projectile of three ounces,
with seven drachms of powder. Although a breechloader is a
luxury, I would not have more than a pair of such rifles in an
expedition in a wild country, as they would require more care in
a damp climate than the servants would be likely to bestow upon
them, and the ammunition would be a great drawback. This should
be divided into packets of ten cartridges each, which should be
rolled up in flannel and hermetically sealed in separate tin
canisters. Thus arranged, they would be impervious to damp, and
might be carried conveniently. But I should decidedly provide
myself with four double-barrelled muzzle-loading No. 10's as my
regular battery; that, if first class, would never get out of
order. Nothing gives such confidence to the gun-bearers as the
fact of their rifles being good slayers, and they quickly learn
to take a pride in their weapons, and to strive in the race to
hand the spare rifles. Dust storms, such as I have constantly
witnessed in Africa, would be terrible enemies to breech-loaders,
as the hard sand, by grating in the joints, would wear away the
metal, and destroy the exactness of the fittings.

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