The Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and the sword hunters of the Hamran arabs, Sir Samuel White Baker [open ebook TXT] 📗

driven off large numbers of cattle and camels, after having killed a considerable number of people. No doubt the reports were somewhat exaggerated, but the inhabitants of the district were flying from their villages, with their herds, and were flocking to Katariff. We arrived at Wat el Negur on the 3d of December, and we now felt the advantage of our friendship with the good Sheik Achmet, who, being a friend of Mek Nimmur, had saved our effects during our absence; these would otherwise have been plundered, as the robbers had paid him a visit;--he had removed our tents and baggage to his own house for protection. Not only had he thus protected our effects, but he had taken the opportunity of delivering the polite message to Mek Nimmur that I had entrusted to his charge--expressing a wish to pay him a visit as a countryman and friend of Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, who had formerly been so well received by his father.

In a few days the whole country was up. Troops of the Dabaina Arabs, under the command of Mahmoud Wat Said (who had now assumed the chieftainship of the tribe after the death of his brother Atalan), gathered on the frontier, while about 2,000 Egyptian regulars marched against Gellabat, and attacked the Abyssinians and Tokrooris, who had united. Several hundreds of the Tokrooris were killed, and the Abyssinians retreated to the mountains. Large bodies of Egyptian irregulars threatened Mek Nimmur's country, but the wily Mek was too much for them. The Jalyn Arabs were his friends; and, although they paid tribute to the Egyptian Government from their frontier villages, they acted as spies, and kept Mek Nimmur au courant of the enemy's movements. The Hamran Arabs, those mighty hunters with the sword, were thorough Ishmaelites, and although nominally subject to Egypt, they were well known as secret friends to Mek Nimmur; and it was believed that they conveyed information of the localities where the Dabaina and Shookeryha Arabs had collected their herds. Upon these Mek Nimmur had a knack of pouncing unexpectedly, when he was supposed to be a hundred miles in an opposite direction.

The dry weather had introduced a season of anarchy along the whole frontier. The Atbara was fordable in many places, and it no longer formed the impassable barrier that necessitated peace. Mek Nimmur (the Leopard King) showed the cunning and ability of his namesake by pouncing upon his prey without a moment's warning, and retreating with equal dexterity. This frontier warfare, skilfully conducted by Mek Nimmur, was most advantageous to Theodorus, the King of Abyssinia, as the defence of the boundary was maintained against Egypt by a constant guerilla warfare. Upon several occasions, expeditions on a large scale had been organized against Mek Nimmur by the Governor-General of the Soudan; but they had invariably failed, as he retreated to the inaccessible mountains, where he had beaten them with loss, and they had simply wreaked their vengeance by burning the deserted villages of straw huts in the low lands, that a few dollars would quickly rebuild. Mek Nimmur was a most unpleasant neighbour to the Egyptian Government, and accordingly he was a great friend of the King Theodorus; he was, in fact, a shield that protected the heart of Abyssinia.

As I have already described, the Base were always at war with everybody; and as Mek Nimmur and the Abyssinians were constantly fighting with the Egyptians, the passage of the Atbara to the east bank was the commencement of a territory where the sword and lance represented the only law. The Hamran Arabs dared not venture with their flocks farther east than Geera, on the Settite, about twenty-five miles from Wat el Negur. From the point of junction of the Settite with the Atbara opposite Tomat to Geera, they were now encamped with their herds upon the borders of the river for the dry season. I sent a messenger to their sheik, Owat, accompanied by Mahomet, with the firman of the Viceroy, and I requested him to supply me with elephant-hunters (aggageers) and guides to accompany me into the Base and Mek Nimmur's country.

My intention was to thoroughly examine all the great rivers of Abyssinia that were tributaries to the Nile. These were the Settite, Royan, Angrab, Salaam, Rahad, Dinder, and the Blue Nile. If possible, I should traverse the Galla country, and crossing the Blue Nile, I should endeavour to reach the White Nile. But this latter idea I subsequently found impracticable, as it would have interfered with the proper season for my projected journey up the White Nile in search of the sources.

During the absence of Mahomet, I received a very polite message from Mek Nimmur, accompanied by a present of twenty pounds of coffee, with an invitation to pay him a visit. His country lay between the Settite river and the Bahr Salaam; thus without his invitation I might have found it difficult to traverse his territory;--so far, all went well. I returned my salaams, and sent word that we intended to hunt through the Base country, after which we should have the honour of passing a few days with him on our road to the river Salaam, at which place we intended to hunt elephants and rhinoceros. Mahomet returned, accompanied by a large party of Hamran Arabs, including several hunters, one of whom was Sheik Abou Do Roussoul, the nephew of Sheik Owat; as his name in full was too long, he generally went by the abbreviation "Abou Do." He was a splendid fellow, a little above six feet one, with a light active figure, but exceedingly well developed muscles: his face was strikingly handsome; his eyes were like those of a giraffe, but the sudden glance of an eagle lighted them up with a flash during the excitement of conversation, which showed little of the giraffe's gentle character. Abou Do was the only tall man of the party, the others were of middle height, with the exception of a little fellow named Jali, who was not above five feet four inches, but wonderfully muscular, and in expression a regular daredevil. There were two parties of hunters, one under Abou Do, and the other consisting of four brothers Sherrif. The latter were the most celebrated aggageers among the renowned tribe of the Hamran; their father and grandfather had been mighty Nimrods, and the broadswords wielded by their strong arms had descended to the men who now upheld the prestige of the ancient blades. The eldest was Taher Sherrif; his second brother, Roder Sherrif, was a very small, active-looking man, with a withered left arm. An elephant had at one time killed his horse, and on the same occasion had driven its sharp tusk through the arm of the rider, completely splitting the limb, and splintering the bone from the elbow-joint to the wrist to such an extent, that by degrees the fragments had sloughed away, and the arm had become shrivelled and withered. It now resembled a mass of dried leather, twisted into a deformity, without the slightest shape of an arm; this was about fourteen inches in length from the shoulder; the stiff and crippled hand, with contracted fingers, resembled the claw of a vulture.

In spite of his maimed condition, Roder Sherrif was the most celebrated leader in the elephant hunt. His was the dangerous post to ride close to the head of the infuriated animal and provoke the charge, and then to lead the elephant in pursuit, while the aggageers attacked it from behind; it was in the performance of this duty that he had met with the accident, as his horse had fallen over some hidden obstacle, and was immediately caught. Being an exceedingly light weight he had continued to occupy this important position in the hunt, and the rigid fingers of the left hand served as a hook, upon which he could hang the reins.

My battery of rifles was now laid upon a mat for examination; they were in beautiful condition, and they excited the admiration of the entire party. The perfection of workmanship did not appear to interest them so much as the size of the bores; they thrust their fingers down each muzzle, until they at last came to the "Baby," when, finding that two fingers could be easily introduced, they at once fell in love with that rifle in particular. My men explained that it was a "Jenna el Mootfah" (child of a cannon). "Sahe, Jenna el Mootfah kabeer," they replied (it is true, it is the child of a very big cannon). Their delight was made perfect by the exhibition of the half-pound explosive shell, the effects of which were duly explained. I told them that I was an old elephant hunter, but that I did not hunt for the sake of the ivory, as I wished to explore the country to discover the cause of the Nile inundations, therefore I wished to examine carefully the various Abyssinian rivers; but as I had heard they were wonderful sportsmen, I should like them to join my party, and we could both hunt and explore together. They replied that they knew every nook and corner of the entire country as far as Mek Nimmur's and the Base, but that in the latter country we must be prepared to fight, as they made a practice of showing no quarter to the Base, because they received none from them; thus we should require a strong party. I pointed to my rifles, which I explained were odds against the Base, who were without fire-arms; and we arranged to start together on the 17th of December.

In the interval I was busily engaged in making bullets for the journey, with an admixture of one pound of quicksilver to twelve of lead. This hardens the bullet at the same time that it increases the weight, but great caution must be observed in the manufacture, as the mercury, being heavier than the lead, will sink to the bottom, unless stirred with a red-hot iron when mixed. The admixture must take place in small quantities, otherwise the quicksilver will evaporate if exposed to a great heat. Thus the molten lead should be kept upon the fire in a large reservoir, while a portion of quicksilver should be added regularly to every ladleful taken for immediate use. This should be well stirred before it is poured into the mould. Bullets formed of this mixture of metals are far superior to any others.

My preparations for the journey were soon completed. We had passed a most agreeable time at Wat el Negur. Although I had not had much shooting, I gained much experienee in the country, having made several extensive journeys in the neighbourhood, and our constant conversations with the sheik had somewhat improved my Arabic. I had discovered several plants hitherto unknown to me,--among others, a peculiar bulb, from which I had prepared excellent arrowroot. This produced several tubers resembling sweet potatoes, but exceedingly long and thin; it was known by the Arabs as "baboon." I pierced with a nail a sheet of tin from the lining of a packing case, and I quickly improvised a grater, upon which I reduced the bulb to pulp. This I washed in water, and when strained through cotton cloth, it was allowed to settle for several hours. The clear water was then poured off; and the thick sediment, when dried in the sun, became arrowroot of the best quality. The Arabs had no idea of this preparation, but simply roasted the roots on the embers.

On the 17th of August, 1861, accompanied by the German Florian, we started from Wat el Negur, and said good-bye to our very kind friend, Sheik Achmet, who insisted upon presenting us with a strong but exceedingly light angarep (bedstead), suitable for camel travelling, and an excellent water-skin, that we should be constantly reminded of him,