•H.f .4* - n-^ "^^ im^ - -^ v: ^..wt- xkf^r ^,-^' LIBRARY Of THE "NiVFRSlTYoflLUNOIS. BISnARI CAJIEL-DRIVEE. THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS THE UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY By ELISEE RECLUS EDITED By a. H. KEANE, B.A. MEMB. OF COUNCIL, ANTHROP. INSTITUTE; COR. MEMB. ITALIAN AND WASHINGTON AXTHROP. SOC. PROFESSOR OF HINDUSTANI, UNIVERSITY COL. LONDON; AUTHOR OF "ASIA," ETC. VOL. X. NORTH-EAST AFRICA # NO*a>l T\^: II ".<' ■^, "^ iY^W¥)J5^Vi :j^\ 11 - * \4 VAJrFE8i/cajj^ 1 ll l\ A -4^? \ ^A — ^vS /.ffluS^^J^ ILLUSTRATED BY NUAIEROUS ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS LONDON J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD LOTS fON : FiiP-TED BT J. B. VIRTUE AND TO , LIMITED, CITT ttOAD. V. \0 ^ 1 l\u 1 i 1 s ^^^^^^^ :*^2^ fei >'^ ^^ — ^,C^ ?^rf* 3^ ^ ^^*S-^ -;^ ^ COXTEXTS. VOL. X. I. Gen^eral Svetey PAOS 1 II. Thb Nilb Basix 31 The River, p. 31. Lake Victoria Xyanza, p. 35. The Somerset Xile, p. 37. Lake Albert Nvanza, p. 39. The White Xile, p. 40. The Blue XUe, p. 47. The Atbara Eiver, p. 50. The Xuhian XUe, p. 52. The Lower Nile, p. 37. The Fayum Depression, p. 60. Periodi- cal Rising of the XUe, p. 69. m. Regiox op the Great Lakes 74 Climate, Flora, Fauna, p. 75. Inhabitants, p. 76. The Ruanda Country, p. S2. ITie Empire of U-Ganda, p. 82. Religion, Trade, Administration, p. 86. Topography, p. 88. The Kavirondo and Xanda Countries, p. 88. The U-Nyoro Territory, p. 91. IV. Region of thb TJppeb XrLB TiUBrTAHiES . 95 Inhabitants, p. 97. The Latuka Country, p. 102. Topography, p. 112. V. SoBAT AXD YaL EaSIXS 116 The GambU and Koma Tribes, p. 116. The ShUluks, p. 119. Topography, p. 122. VI. Aby.ssixia (Ethiopia) 123 Relief of the Land, Population, p. 123. Historic Retrospect, p. 124. Exploration, p. 126. The Abyssinian Plateau, p. 128. The KwaUas and River Gorges, p. 128. Orograpbic System, p. 131. The Xorthem Highlands, p. 131. Hamassen and Simeu Uplands, p. 133. The Eastern Border Range, p. 133. Central and Western Highlands, p. 136. The Abyssinian Se.iboard, p. 137. Late Alalbed, p. 137. Climate, p. 139. Flora, p. 142. Fauna, p. 144. lahabitants, p. 145. Agriculture, p. 134. Arts and Industries, p. 154. Religion and Education, p. 155. Government, p. 159. Topography, p. 161. Gondar, p. 161. Debra-Tabor, p. 163. Magdala, p. 168. Adua, p. 171. Aksum, p. 172. Mas- sawah, p. 178. Dafalak Islands, p. 180. Administrative Divisions, p. 183. VII. Shoa, Da^jakil, akd Xorth Galla States 184 The Shoa Highlands, p. 184. Volcanic Formations, p. 185. The Galla Highlands, p. 186. The Afar Country, p. 186. The Awash Basin, p. 187. Climate, Flora and Fauna, p. 188. Inhabitants, p. 190. The Somali, p. 193. The GaUas, p. 194. Topography, p. 200. Harrar and Zeilah, p. 202. Innarya, p. 213. Yangaro. p. 214. Kaffaland, p 214. VIII. Tppee Xvbia 216 Physical and Political Features, p. 217. Gumn, Berta, and Lega Highlands, p. 218. Climate, Flora, Fauna, p. 220. Inhabitants, p. 222. The Funj Race, p. 227. The Kunama and Barea, p. 229. The Bejas, p. 234. Topography, p. 239. Senar, p. 241. Khartum, p. 244. Xaga, lleroe, p. 246. Kassala, p. 249. Berber, p. 252. -X.-\ ;.'^Q iv CONTENTS. CHAT. MOB IX. KOEDOFAV 257 Physical Features, p. 257. Hydrographic System, p. 2.58. Climate, p. 259. Flora, p. 260. Inhabitants, p. 261. The Nubas, p. 263. Social Usages, p. 267. Topography: El-Obeid, p. 266. X. Dar-For 271 Progress of Discovery, p. 272. Physical Features, p. 272. Hydrographic System, p. 274. Flora,- p. 275. Fauna, p. 276. Inhabitants, p. 276. Commercial Eelations, p. 278. Topography : El-Fasher, p. 279. XI. Nubia 281 The Nubian Coast Range, p. 282. The Nubian Gold Mines, p. 2S3. The Central High- lands, p. 284. Geological Formations, p. 286. The Bayuda Steppe, p. 287. Climate, p. 289. Flora, p. 290. Fauna, p. 291. Inhabitants, p. 292. The Bisharin, p. 295. Topograph:/, p. 297. Dongola, p. 299. Wady- Haifa, p. 309. Korosko, Ibsambul, p. 309. XII. Egvpt 307 Historic Eetrospect, p. 307. Chronology, p. 308. Social Condition of the Ancient Egj-ptians, p. 309. Present Condition, p. 310. Geographical Exploration, p. 312. Extent and Population, p. 313. The Arabian Eange, p. 314. Geology, p. 317. The Libyan Plateau, p. 319. The Petrified Forests, p. 321. The Western Oases, p. 322. The Natron Lakes, p. 326. The Libyan Desert, p. 329. Climate, p. 331. EainfaU, p. 333. Climatic Changes, p. 334. Flora, p. 336. Fauna, p. 338. Inhabitants, p. 341. The Copts, p. 341. The Fellahin, p. 344. The Arabs of Egypt, p. 346. The Levantines, p. 350. Keligion, p. 353. Social Usages, p. 355. Slaverj-, p. 356. Land Tenure, p. 357. Irri- gation, p. 359. The Corvee, p. 361. Conservatism and Progress, p. 362. The Suez Canal, p. 363. Topography, p. 373. Philfe, p. 373. Edfu, p. 377. Thebes, Luxor, Karnak, p. 379. Denderah, p. 387. Thinis, p. 388. The Great and Little Oases, p. 391. Meidum, Saqqarah, p. 398. Memphis, p. 400. The Great Pyramids, p. 401. Cairo, p. 405. Barrage of the Nile, p. 413. Suez, p. 415. TeU-el-Kebir, Pithom, p. 417. Port Said, p. 419. Damietta, p. 423. Eosetta, p. 425. Abukir, p. 427. Alexandria, p. 428. Naucratis, p. 435. Agriculture, p. 436. Irrigation, p. 438. Industries, p. 439. Trade, Eailways, Telegraphs, p. 440. Government, p. 442. Prospects, p. 444. Administrative Divisions, p. 446. Appendix I. Statistical Tables 447 ,, II. Ethnology of North-East Africa 459 ,, III. Egyptian Chronology 474 Index , = . 489 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. MAPS PEINTED IN COLOURS PAfrE 1. North-Eaat Africa 16 2. Northern Abyssinia 128 3. The Egyptian Soudan 376 4. Cairo and its Environs. 5. The Delta and Suez Canal rAOB 400 421 PLATES. Bishari Camel-driver . . . Frontispiece The Nile — View taken from the Island of Phila3 .... To face page 6 Group of Nubian Women . . . .18 Bishari Gum-dealers at Korosko ... 22 View of Victoria Nyanza taken from Murchison Bay 36 General View of Khartum .... 4-1 The Nile at the Second Cataract ... 56 Colossal Statues of Memnon .... 68 Banks of the Nile— The Shaduf ... 72 Natives of U-Ganda 92 Alurchison Falls 94 Group of JIakrakas 106 General View of Dem Suleiman . . .112 Simen Highlands — View taken from the Lamal- mon Pass 134 Shaikieh Arah and Ethiopian Female Slaves at Khartum 150 The Gimp at Gondar 162 Adua, Capital of Tigre 172 General View of Massawah . To face page 180 Somali Man and Woman . . • 192 General A'iew of Ankober .... 200 Obok — View taken from the Roadstead . . 208 Primeval Forest at Fazogl .... 220 Kadi of Khartum and Hadendoa Sheikh . . 234 Pyramids of Mcroe — Southern Group . . 248 General View of Suakin 254 Jebel-Ain 274 Assuan, North Frontier of Nubia . . . 282 Entrance of the Korosko Route at Abu-Hamed 286 Second, Third, and Fourth Pyramids . . 312 Libyan Desert— Mirage on the Horizon . . 320 Cairo Arabs ....■■• 346 Sefi Canal at Fidemin-el-Fayum . . .360 Suez Canal at the Serapeum .... 368 Colossal Statues of the Ramesseum at Thebes . 384 A Street in the Old Town, Cairo . . .406 The Kait-Bey Mosque, Cairo . . • .410 Citadel of Cairo 412 General View of Alexandria .... 432 Yl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ILLUSTEATIONS IN TEXT. 1 . Highlands and Plateaux of Central Africa 2. Hydrography of Africa according t Mediasval Geographers 3. Outflow of Lake Nyanza, according to Spelie ..... 4. Isothermal Lines of Africa 6. Distribution of the Rainfall in Africa 6. Vegetable Zones in Africa 7. Languages of Africa .... 8. Religions of Africa .... 9. Chief Routes of Explorers in the Interior of Africa (18S3). 10. Sources of the Nile and Nyanza Plateau 11. From Dufile to Lado 12. Region of the " Sud " 13. The Nile at Khartum . 14. Meshra-er-Rek in the Zariba Region . 15. Basin of the Nile Affluents 16. Cataract of Hannek .... 17. Kaihar Cataract .... 18. The Keneh Valley on the Route to Koseir 19. Head of the Ibrabimieh Canal . 20. Entrance of the Fayum 21. Fayum ...... 22. Rosetta Mouth 23. Damietta Mouth .... 24. Branch of the Nile flowing to Lake Men- zaleh ...... 25. Yearly Oscillations of the Nile . 26. Section of the Nile Valley at Siut 27. U-Kerewe and U-Snknma . 28. Karagwe ...... 29. South U-Ganda 30. LF-Ganda : RuBAGA, Principal Residence OF M'Tesa .... 31. U-Nyoro 32. Water-parting between the Nile and Congo 33. Shuli JIusicians .... 34. Baui Smiths 35. Routes of Explorers East of the Bahrel- Jebel ...... 36. Chief Routes of Explorers in the Zarib.a Region ..... 37. Inhabitants of the Zariba Region 38. Confluence of the Sobat and Yal PAGE 4 7 10 11 14 21 24 28 35 42 43 44 46 51 S3 54 58 59 61 62 64 66 68 "0 72 78 80 90 92 96 100 102 103 110 114 118 FIO, 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 07. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. Shilluk Type ..... Chief Routes of Abyssinian Explorers Profile of Abyssinia from East to West Davezut Falls, near Samara (Debra Tabok) ..... Northern Spurs of the Abyssinian High lauds ... . . The Simen Highlands Lakes of East Abyssinia Lake of Alalbed .... Intermediate Abyssinian Plateaux and Valleys Inhabitants of Abyssinia . Gondar ...... Debra- Tabor Mahdera-Mariam .... Koarata and Southern Shore of Lake Tan; Magdala ...... Adua and Aksum .... Aksum ...... Kuma'ili Valley ..... Bogos Territory ..... Massawah Annesley Bay ..... Routes of the Chief Explorers in the Lower Awash Region .... Somali Girl ..... Routes of the Chief Explorers in South Abyssinia ..... Galla Gikl Populations of South Abyssinia Chief Towns of East Shoa . Harrar ..... Zeila Course of the Lower Awash Tajurah Bay and Lake Assal Obok Assab ...... Routes of the Chief Explorers in Takfl and Neighbouring Distritts The Lega Country .... Inhabitants of the Blue Nile Inhabitants of Taka and Neighbouring Districts Shukurieh Beja .... LIST OF ILLUSTRATION'S. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100 101. 102, 103. 104 105. 106 107 108 109 FAOB Fazogl Gold Mines 240 Senar .242 Confluence of the Two Niles .243 Khartum 245 Pyramicls of Meroe 247 Kiissala 251 Berber 253 Suakin in 1882 254 Suakin Uplands 255 Central Kordofan 262 El-Obeid 267 Central Region of Dar-For . . .273 JUneral Region of the Etbai Uplands . 282 Xubian Gold Jlines 284 Korosko Desert 285 Baynda Steppe 287 Dongola and the Third Cataract . . 301 The Temple of Abc-Sdibel, rs Xcbia . 305 Density of the Population of Egypt . . 315 ASSLAX : AXCIEXT QcaRKT, now AB.iX- DOSED ...... 317 Chains of Oases "West of Egypt . . .324 The Matron Lakes 327 Isothermfll Lines and Rainfall of Egypt . 335 EoTPTLiX TvPE : B.\s- Relief okxament- DJG THE Tomb of Sheikh Abd-el- GcRNAH, AT Thebes .... 343 Village Hcts 345 A Bedovim 347 Arab Tribes in Egypt . .348 , A Tillage Shelkh .... 349 Religions of Egypt 354 , Domains of the Dairah in the Delta . . 358 . Trajan's Canal ..... 365 . Suez in the year 1800 . .366 Proposed Freshwater Canal from Suez to Alexandria 3CS FIG. TAGE 110. Lake Timsah KTO 111. Great International Routes of the Old World 371 112 Assuan and the First Cataract before the Opening of the Railway . 376 113. Ruins of Thebes 380 114. RciNS OF Thebes: Proptlon, ob North- ern G.ITE 382 115. Entrance to the Valley of the Royal Tombs 384 116. Kosseir 386 117. Abydos : Bas-Relief ts the Temple of SeTI I., REPRESEXTING A ScENE OF Adoe.\tion 389 118. Red Pottery of Silt .... 391 119. Oases of Khargeh and Dakhel . 392 120. UXDERGROCND PASSAGE AT MeHENT)!, NEAR JIaUARRAKA, NvBIA 393 121. The Siwah Oases 394 122. Pyramid of Meidvm .... 399 123. Ascent of the Great Pyra.mid 402 124. The Sphinx 406 125. Mcsharabieh, with Screen in Frost TO conceal the Inmates from their Neighbours 408 126. Mosqce of Mohammed At.: 411 127. Barrage of the Nile . 414 128. Suez .... 415 129. Entrance to the Wady Tumi at, Tell-el- Kebir 417 130. Port Said 420 131. The San Morass 422 132. Damietta 424 133. Abukir and Alexandria . 429 134. Alexandria 431 135. Alexandria and Lake Mariut 433 136. Egyptian Railways . . 441 \ THE UNBT^RSAL GEOGRAPHY. NORTH-EAST AFRICA. CHAPTER I. GENERAL SURVEY. IROil tlie very name of Africa, it is evident that clown to a compara- tively recent period this continent still formed part of the unknown werld. It was the Libya of the Greeks, a region of undefined limits towards the south and the setting sun. Amongst other mytholo- gical or poetic titles, they also gave it the vague designations of Eskhate, or " The "World's End," and Hesperia, or " "Western Land," a term which was also applied to Italy, and then to Spain, and which, under the Arab form of Maghreb, has become the modem name of Mauritania. The tenu Africa itself, now applied to the whole continent, is of doubtful origin. Whether it designated the ancient Carthage in the sense of the " Separated," or " Colony," recalling the supremacy of the Phoenician Tyre, or whether it was a collective name of the Berbers, or only of a single tribe, that of the Auraghen or Aurigha, are questions that cannot now be solved. In any case Africa, already so named by Ennius before the second Punic war, was for the Pomans at first nothing more than the Libyan neighbour of Italy, the Tunisian Tell still called Friga, a name which became gradually extended to the whole continent, just as the Asia of the Cayster Yalley ultimatelj- embraced India, Siberia, and China. As now surveyed around its entire seaboard, Aii'ica stands out as the best- defined division of , the Old "World — a vast island, attached only by a narrow isthmus, VOL. X. B 2 NOETH-EAST APEICA. 90 miles troad, to tlie Asiatic mainland. Even this isthmus itself is an old marine and flu\-ial basin — Mediterranean alluyium in the north, a deposit of the Red Sea in the south ; between these two marine zones an ancient Nilotic delta, which, to judge from the allied faunas, probablj^ at one time commimicated with the Jordan. But although the Isthmus of Suez had no existence in Tertiary times, there were other stretches of land connecting Egypt with Cj'prus and Syria ; for nowhere else in the periphery of the globe are there found contiguous marine inlets presenting such differences in their fauna as do those of Suez and Gaza. But if the waters of the Indian Ocean have remained completely distinct from those of the Mediterranean since the Eocene epoch, with the exception perhaps of a shallow channel flooded in Quaternary times, the intervening barrier has at last been removed by the hand of man. Thanks to his industrj-, the two seas hence- forth mingle their waters in the inland basin of Lake Timsah, and the circumnavi- gation of Africa is open to the largest vessels afloat. Compared with this southern continent, whose contour is so clearly defined, the two other divisions of the Old World seem to merge in one continental mass. Certainly the dejjression skirting the Ural range from the Gulf of Ob to the Caspian, and the Manich isthmus between the Caspian and Euxine, cannot be regarded as such sharp geographical parting lines as the marine channel now flowing between Suez and Port Said. But however clearly severed at present from the rest of the Eastern hemisphere, Africa is not so entirely distinct from Europe and Asia as might at first sight be supposed. Parts of its seaboard were even formerly connected directl}' with the regions beyond the Mediterranean, and there was a time when the Atlas Mountains effected a junction across the present Strait of Gibraltar with the parallel Sierra Nevada range. Even down to the close of the Pliocene epoch, Tunisia was still united with Sicily and Italy through a broad zone, of which the only surviving fragments are the little Maltese group of islets. Greece also merged southwards in boundless jilaias watered by streams whose banks were frequented by the elephant and hippopotamus.* Although now detached from Spain and Italy, North-west Africa is still in its geology, natural history, and climate essentially a Mediterranean land, forming with the opposite European seaboard a distinct physical region. Along both coasts the same fossils occur on the old rocks, while similar floras and faunas are now in possession of the soil. The Mauritanian coastlands differ far more from Nigretia, from which they are separated by the Sahara, than they do from Provence, and as already remarked by Sallust, North Africa is physically a part of Europe. East- wards also the Ethiopian shore of the Red Sea belongs to the same formations as the opposite coast of Arabia, and a general resemblance characterises the climate, natural productions, and inhabitants on either side of Bab-el- Mandeb. In its massive outlines Africa presents the same monotonous aj^pearance as the two other southern divisions of the globe— South America and Australia. It is even less indented than the corresponding section of the New World ; nor is it supple- mented, like Australia, by a vast region of archipelagoes and islands, scattered over • Eamsay ; Zittal ; Neumayr. MO"C^n?AmS. 3 the northern and eastern seas. Its very size, estimated at nearly 12,000,000 square miles, or over three times that of Europe and four times that of Australia, contributes to its heavy uniform aspect. Notwithstanding its greater bulk, its coastline is considerably less than that of Europe. Exclusive of a thousand smaller inlets, such as the Scandinavian fjords and the firths of Scotland, the latter has a peripherv of about 19,000 miles, the former not more than 15,000, much of which is unbroken by a single creek or bay. Its general form is that of an eUipsoid, disposed in the direction from north to south, and bidgiag out westwards in a still less varied semi-eUiptical mass between Cape Bon and the Gulf of Guinea. The prevailing uniformity is modified on the east side chiefly by the sharp peninsida terminating at Cape Gardafui, on the west by the retreating curve of the coastline, by which the Atlantic basin is suddenly doubled in width. The eastern projection, which is separated by the Gulf of Aden from Hadramaut, follows the direction of the south-eastern extremity of Arabia, a region which in its climate and other respects forms a land of transition between the two continents. i[or>'TAi>"s. From its regular contour, Africa might seem to be built on a generally uniform and simple plan. But such is not the case. Europe, notwithstanding its countless indentations, may be compared to an organism furnished with a backbone and members ; Asia also groups its boundless plains and peninsulas around a culminat- ing nucleus, the Great Pamir, or " Roof of the World ; " while both Americas have their western Cordilleras, and in the east vast alluvial plains and river basins separated one from the other by scarcely perceptible parting lines. But Africa is comparatively speaking an almost shapeless mass, with a rudimentary organisation destitute alike of central uplands and regular watersheds. If evertheless the eastern coast ranges, running parallel with the Indian Ocean, may in some respects be regarded as forming, if not a backbone, at least the border chain of one great con- tinental highland system. Spite of the broad gaps pierced by the Limpopo, Zambezi, and Juba rivers, the broken fragments of a vast Cordillera may be recog- nised in the uplands stretching interruptedly from the Cape northwards to the Abyssinian highlands. In this zone of border ranges occur the culminating points of the continent, the extinct EiUma-njaro and Kenia volcanoes, perhaps the summits known to the ancients as the " Mountains of the iloon." TTest of these peaks the plateau is intersected by a parallel chain of other volcanoes, some of which are said still to emit smoke ; while beyond Victoria Xyanza a third range, dominated by ilfimibiro and Gambaragara, would seem to form a western border system or water-parting between the Upper Is'Ae and Congo basins. Here the plateau expands to a breadth of ooO miles, terminating northwards in the Abys- sinian highlands, a rocky citadel whose base exceeds those of all the other continen- tal orographic systems. These Ethiopian heights stand over against those of Yemen, and like them, are a remnant of the border range sweeping roim.d the Indian and B 2 4 KOETH-EAST APEICA. Pacific Oceans from tlie Cape of Good Hope to Cape ITom, and forming a vast semicircle of 2-4,000 miles, equal to the circumference of the globe. Although not yet thoroughlj' explored, Africa is already sufficiently kno'sra at least in the main features of its general relief. More compact and less indented than the other divisions of the globe, it also remains less accessible through the Fig. 1.— Highlands and Plateaux of Central Africa. Scale 1 : 20,000,000. -C. f-e rroa , 300 Miles. work of erosion. Its mean elevation exceeds that of Europe and Asia, although there are scarcely any mountains equal to the Alps and Caucasus, none comparable to the Ilimalayas. Considered as a solid mass with vertical scarps and horizontal surface, its altitude, according to Chevanne, is at least 1,900, possibly 2,200, feet. An oblique line drawn from Loanda on the Atlantic to a point on the Red Sea between Suakin and Massawah marks off a region which forms an almost continuous EIVEES. 5 tableland, intersected by mountain ranges resting on foundations of from 3,000 to 4,500 feet. The Congo and XLle basins confine on the north and west this region of plateaux, which comprises about a thii'd of the whole continent. On the other sides the border ranges are considerably less elevated and much more divided than those of South and East Africa. They are nowhere continuous, but rise in scattered fragments between the Congo and Niger, between the Xile and Lake Tsad, in the heart of the Sahara, which is broken by the two isolated masses of Tibesti and Ahaggar, in the extreme west, where the scarps of the plateaux run parallel with the coasts of Upper Guinea and Senegambia ; lastly in Mauritania, where the Atlas range constitutes a distinct orographic system, formerly connected with those of South Europe. South Fig. 2. — Hydrogkaphv of Aprica according to IIedueval Geographers. C Per of this system the continent may be roughly described as a vast plane inclined in a north-westerly direction. Rivers. The rudimentary character of its general relief is also reflected in its hydrographic system. The African rivers, still to a great part entangled in the intricacies of the plateau, have a somewhat irregular and unfinished course, often forcing their way through narrow rocky gorges, and obstructed by numerous falls and rapids. Even the more copious streams are relatively less accessible to navigation than those of the other continents. In this respect the contrast is specially striking between Africa and South America, the two divisions of the globe which are more frequently compared -n-ith each other. The " Dark Continent " is entii'ely destitute of the great estuaries and broad arteries gi^'ing access in the New World from the Atlantic seaboard almost to the foot of the Andes. The comparative absence of navigable waters, of islands and good harbours, combined with the great extent of desert wastes, has mainly contributed to exclude Africa from the general life of the com- mercial world. All the great rivers — Nile, Congo, and Niger — are interrupted by cataracts and 6 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. rapids, which cut off from outward intercourse populous regions whose fluvial systems ramify over many hundred millions of acres. The XHe and Congo rising amid the higher plateaux, where the slope is still undecided, traverse in their upper courses many great lakes, which according to a vague tradition once constituted a single lacustrine basin of enormous extent. In the sixteenth century the Portuguese explorers had some idea of this hydrographic system. But in tracing the outlines of the great equatorial lakes they seem to have rather copied older maps than relied on positive information. But, however this be, they appear to have believed in the existence of a single source for the Nile, Congo, and even the Zambesi. But the streams were also supposed to traverse extensive imderground regions, and an Italian map engraved in the middle of the fifteenth century represents a JSile with three heads, separated by a vast space from the emissaries of the chief fountain. This Nile is moreover made to flow in the direction from north to south, a small Egj-ptian delta corresponding to a much larger delta in South Africa. The first modern explorers of the same region were also influenced by these traditional ideas. Even Speke traced the course of four rivers issuing from various parts of Lake Nyanza to form the Nile, while Stanley made Tanganyka the source of two effluents, one flowing northwards to the NUe, the other westwards to the Congo. But although these great arteries do not rise in a common source, the water-parting between them is in some places so low and undecided that a slight disturbance of the surface would sufiice to change the direction of many affluents. It is even possible that on the dividing line of some basins there may exist lakes or swamps draining in both directions. The unfinished aspect of the central rivers, the cataracts interrupting their course, the lacustrine reservoirs scattered over the plateaux, produce a certain resem- blance between equatorial Africa and the Scandinavian peninsula. But in the northern region, still under ice within a comparatively recent geological epoch, the rivers have scarcely commenced their work of erosion. The climatic conditions are of course entirely different, and although the existence of an old glacial period may be suspected even in the torrid zone, the long ages that have elapsed since that remote epoch must have effaced nearly all trace of glaciers and moraines. Hence the rudimentary character of these fluvial basins is probably due to a different cause. The climate, which was formerly much more humid in the Sahara, may possibly have been correspondingly di-ier in the south-eastern region of the Nyanza plateau. In the absence of a copious rainfall the rocks would remain imeroded, and the now flooded cavities imfilled by the alluvia of running waters. During its long geolo- gical life the earth has witnessed many shiftings of the climatic zones. If the rains are more abundant in some places than formerly, in others they are more rare, and the Igharghar basin, for instance, in North-west Africa, belongs to one of these dried-up regions. East of the Nile and of the great lakes there is no space between the plateaux and the coast for the development of large streams. From the Egyptian uplands the Red Sea receives nothing but intermittent wadies, and along a seaboard of about 2,400 miles southwards to Mozambique the Indian Ocean is fed only by such LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY of ILLINOIS. EIVEES. 7 sluggisla rivers as the Juba, Tana, Lufiji, and Rovuma. But south of the great central lacustrine plateaux the Zambezi, whose furthest headstreams rise near the ■west coast, drains a vast tract of country estimated at about 750,000 square miles, or nearly three times the size of France. In volume it ranks third amongst African rivers, but in length fourth only. Still farther south the Limpopo has also a con- siderable discharge ; whereas the Orange, whose basin exceeds 400,000 square miles in extent, contributes to the South Atlantic very little of the rainfall collected in Fig. 3. — Outflow of Lake Nyanza, accordino to Speke. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. 4.' C P^rrop ISO Miles. the gorges of its upper course. The Kunene and Koanza, which follow from south to north, although more copious, have stiU but a slight volume compared with their respective areas of drainage. The same may be said of the Ogowe, which rises in the peninsular tract formed by the great bend of the Congo east of equatorial Guinea. The Niger, or " Nile of the Blacks," forms with the Nile, Congo, and Zambezi, one of the four great arteries of Africa. Even down to the beginning of this cen- tury many geographers still supposed that the Nile and the Niger mingled their 8 NOETH-EAST .VFEICA. waters across the continent. Some old maps represent the latter as rising in the same lake as the eastern Nile, whereas its main source lies, not in the centre of Africa, but at Mount Loma, on the slope of the Rokelle Moimtains, in the vicinity of the west coast. A space of at least 2,700 miles thus intervenes between the farthest headstreams of both rivers, whUe the nearest affluents are still separated by a dis- tance of some 720 miles. The Niger in fact belongs to a region wholly different from that of the Nile in the form and disposition of its plateaux. On the other side of the hills where it takes its rise, the Congo, Rio Grande, Gambia, and several other streams flow to independent estuaries on the west coast, while farther north the Senegal, rising on the same slope as the Niger, sweeps round the hills, forcing its way to the Atlantic through a series of rocky gorges and rapids. North of the Senegal no large river reaches the coast, and for a space of 4,800 miles from the bar of Saint Louis to the Nile delta nothing is met except a few wadies or small streams, such as the Draa, in the south of Morocco, the Moluya, Shelif , Mejerda, flowing to the Mediterranean. The Congo alone probably discharges as much water as all the other African rivers together. Next to it rank the Niger and Zambezi, the Nile in this respect taking only the fourth place. Of the inland basins either constantly or intermittently closed, the most impor- tant are Lakes Tsad in the north, and Makarakara-Ngami in the south, both Ijong at nearly equal distance from the middle Congo, and thus presenting a sjonmetrical disposition on either side of the equator. Tsad, much the largest of the two, is also situated in the northern or largest section of the continent, the extent of both thus corresponding with that of the surrounding regions draining to the oceans. But here all further analogy ceases, at least if it be true that Tsad has always been a closed basin ; for the Ngami reservoirs certainly communicated at some former geological epoch with the Limpopo and Zambezi. Besides these central depressions, each section of the continent has its deserts, strewn with secondary basins and oases, whose waters lose themselves in the sur- rounding sands. Altogether the area of inland drainage is estimated by Chavanne at nearly 3,000,000 square miles, of which 560,000, or less than a fifth, lie south of the equator.* Amongst the northern tracts without any outflow there are some depressions which at present lie below sea-level. These are probably the remains of straits and inlets formerly belonging to the Mediterranean and Red Sea. The largest are those which seem to form a continuation of the Tunisian Gulf of Cabes (Syrtis Minor), south of Algeria, which formerly received the discharge of the now dried up Igharghar, a river 780 miles long, and consequently longer than the * Closed hydrographic basins of the African continent : — NoHTH Africa. Sg. Miles. Basin of the Tsad, including the Fede 730,000 „ „ Igharghar 330,000 Olher basins and waterless spaces 1,315,000 South Africa. Basin of Lake Ngami 3H,000 Other basins and waterless spaceB 257,000 ISLAXDS. 9 Limpopo. Other cavities below sea-level follow in succession between tbe Great Syrtis and the Xile south of the plateau of Cyrenaica. At the foot of the Abys- sinian highlands on the Red Sea coast are also found deep troughs, the sui-face waters of which have sunk to a level far below that of the neighbouring inlets. In the southern section of the continent such maritime depressions do not occur. Islands. Africa is as poorly furnished with a complement of islands as it is with large inlets and orographic systems. In their submarine relief those in the Mediterranean belong rather to Europe than to this continent. Crete is connected with Asia Minor and with Greece ; Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia with Italy ; the Balearic group by a submarine bank with the coast of Yalentia ; Jerba alone and a few islets in the Gulf of Cabes and along the Mauritanian shores form parts of the northern seaboard. On the Atlantic side little occurs beyond some rocks and low-lying banks, such as the Bissagos or Bishlas Archipelago, which a slight allu^-ial deposit or up- heaval of the land would suffice to connect with the continent. The more distant groups of Madeira and Porto Santo, the Canaries and Cape Yerde Islands, are of volcanic origin, and separated from the mainland by abysses over 3,000 feet in depth. Of igneous formation are also the islets in the Gulf of Guinea, Annabom, Saint Thomas, Prince, Fernando-Po, which form a chain of volcanoes aU more recent than the neighbouring mainland. The small groups in the Eed Sea are mere coral reefs dominated here and there by a few volcanic peaks. Even in the Indian Ocean the only real African island is Socotra, the " spear-head " of the peninsula at present terminating at Cape Garda- fui, and farther south Pemba, Zanzibar, and Mafia, disposed parallel with the coast. The Comoro Group is of volcanic origin, and Madagascar too far removed from Mozambique to be regarded as a dependency of the continent. Its nearest headland is ISO miles distant, and even this space is doubled for ordinary craft by the velocity of the intervening marine currents. Its flora and fauna also show that this great island belongs to a distinct geological domain. Geoffrey de Saint-Hilaire looked on it as a world apart, and most subsequent zoologists have regarded it as a fragment of " Lemuria," a vanished continent, which also embraced the granite groups of the Seychelles and Rodriguez as well as Ceylon and the Maldives, and may have even reached as far as Celebes in the Eastern Archipelago. Climate. Above all the great divisions of the globe, Africa is distinguished by the general regularity of its climatic phenomena, a circumstance due to its massive form and to its equatorial position. In the region approaching nearest to the northern or southern lines of the equinoxes, rain falls throughout the year, thanks to the opposing trade winds, which by neutralising each other often preserve the stillness 10 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. of the atmospliere, and enable the local vapours to condense and precipitate them- selves on the spot. In the northern hemisphere a zone of two ■wet seasons stretches from the equator to the fifteenth degree of latitude. In summer, copious rains are caused by the moisture-bearing south-west winds ; in winter, those blowing from the north-west become in their turn the bearers of hca%y rain- charged clouds to the southern hemisphere. But on both sides of the torrid zone, which comprises about seven- tenths of the whole continent, the difference in the disposition of the winds Fig. 4. — Isothermal Lixes of Africa. Scale 1 : 75,000,000. C Porrjn 1,200 Miles. causes a corresponding contrast in the rainfall. Here the trade winds maintain their normal direction constantly, or with but slight temporary deviations ; blowing from the north-east in the northern, from the south-east in the southern hemisphere, they divert to the equator most of the vapours crossing their path, leaving else- where clear skies and arid lands. Thus it happens that Africa has two almost com- pletely barren zones of rocks, gravels, marls, clay and sand — the Sahara and Libyan desert in the north, Kalahari and other wastes in the south. This CLIMATE. 11 symmetrical disposition of the climates is completed by the regular alternation of winds and rains in the zones of Mam-itania and the Cape of Good Hope, both belonging to the region of sub-tropical rains, which fall in the respective winters of each hemisphere. Africa is thus disposed from north to south in successive grey and more or less intensely green belts, presenting to the inhabitants of the other Fig. 5. — Distribution op the Rainfall in Aprica. Scale 1 : 7,500,000. Meridian of Cr [X3 Under 4 Inches. 4 to 20 Inches. 20 to 40 Inches. 40 to 60 Inches. 60 to SO Inches. 80 Inches and upwards. 1,200 inies. planets an aspect perhaps analogous to that offered to om* gaze by the parallel cloudy zones round about Jupiter. These different zones of moisture, whose limits coincide in several places with the isothermal lines, are developed across the continent with sufficient regularity to enable M. Chavanne to map them out. Africa is more sharply distributed in distinct regions by its deserts than it could have been by broad arms of the sea, 12 NOETH-EAST iVTEICA. and the distribution of its inhabitants has also been determined almost exclusively by the climatic conditions, depending everywhere on the abundance of rain and vegetation. Flora axd Faixa. In its flora and fauna, as ■well as its climate and geology, North Africa belongs to the zone of transition between Europe and Asia. The apparent unity imparted to the continent by its compact form is not realised when we examine in detail the jjhenomena of life. Cyrenaica and the whole I\Iauritanian seaboard on the slope of the Atlas range belong to the vegetable domain of the Mediterranean, in which are also comprised Spain, Provence, Italy, the Ballvan peninsula, the shores of Asia Minor, and Syria. The zone of the Sahara, which stretches imder the Tropic of Cancer across the continent, is continued in Arabia to the Persian Gulf, and even through some of their rarer species embraces the Baluchistan coast, Thar, the Rann, and the Kathyawar peninsula in India. Lastly, the fl.oras of Yemen and Hadramaut resemble those of Sudan, the narrow Red Sea having been easily traversed bj' African species. For the whole continent, the characteristic vegetable zone is that of Sudan and the equatorial regions, which stretches from sea to sea, and from desert to desert, between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, between the Sahara and Kalahari. Speaking broadly, it is much poorer in distinct species than the other tropical regions, such as India and the Sunda Islands, and even than some sub-tropical lands, such as Asia Minor. Nevertheless certain central districts in Africa possess a remarkable variety of plants, as for instance, the territory watered by the Diur, not far from the dividing line between the Nile and Congo basins. Here Schweinfurth collected in five months nearly seven hundred flowering species, which it would be impossible to do in the richest European lands. Most of the African tropical domain is exposed to the periodical rains, wdth long intervening periods of dryness. Hence arborescent vegetation nowhere displays greater exuberance and vigour than on the jjlains between the Congo and Nile, where the streams often disa2Jpear amid dense masses of foliage, and in the neighbourhood of the Bight of Benin, which enjoys far more humidity than the interior. A large extent of the zone of the Sudan is occupied by prairies, although some tracts are so overgrown with graminaceous and other herbs that animals refuse to penetrate into them. In the Nile marsh lands, certain andropogonous varieties have non-woody stalks over twenty feet high, affording to the giraffe cover from the hunter. The various graminaceous plants of Central Africa are not intermingled like those of the European fields, and tracts several hundi-ed square miles in extent are sometimes occupied by a siogle species. Thorny plants are relatively very abundant in the forests of the Sudan, and after clearances the trees appear not to spring up so rapidly in this zone as in South America. Varieties of the j)alm famil}' are ten times more numerous in Asia and America than in Africa, which has consequently a wider range for its prevailing species. The equatorial regions of other continents have scarcely any cocoa-nut FLORA .AST) FAFXA. 13 forests except on tlie Malabar coast, in Ceylon, and aroimd tlie Caribbean seaboard, whereas in Xorth Afi'ica the dum palm Qiypho'ne thebaica^, and the deleb (borassiis flabelliforinis), as well as the date {jpJuenix dacti/Ufera) cover extensive tracts in the oases of the northern Sahara. Compared with the number of its species, the Nigretian flora possesses many trees with an abnormal development of stem, leaf, and fruits. The baobab is noted for the enormous size of its trunk, while the kigelia and some other bignoniacece have fruits two feet long, and the eiisefe, a variety of the musacese, displays the largest foKage in the entire vegetable kingdom. The Kalahari flora, south of the tropical domaia, resembles that of the Sahara, except that it forms no oases, nor are the few watered tracts anywhere shaded by palms. This flora is distinguished by its thorny acacias and mimosas, and, like that of Xorthern Xigretia, it abounds in gramiaaceous species. On its northern margin some almost rainless districts grow the wehcitschia, a remarkable plant, so flush with the ground as often to escape the notice of travellers. Burrowing downwards in the form of a reversed cone, it displays above ground nothing but a rough surface over a yard long, throwing off right and left two cotyledons of a leathery appearance, and occasionally exceeding 16 feet in length after a growth of one hundred years. On the east coast of Africa, the transition between the vegetable zones is more gradual than on the opposite side, where the tropical domain is abruptly limited by the Kalahari desert. Along the Indian Ocean the change takes place imper- ceptibly from north to south through the Limpopo basin and Xatal. On this seaboard, which is skirted by the warm Alozambique stream, the southern limit of the pabn lies 16 degrees lower down than on the Atlantic coast. But on the whole the vegetation south of the Orange River is clearly distinguished from that of the rest of the continent. Although the rainfall is limited and the geological formations far from varied, the Cape flora, consisting chiefly of grasses, shrubs, and bushes, is altogether unique for the multitude of its intermingled species. In this respect it is unrivalled even by the richest European coxmtries. Nowhere else do the motmtain slopes present more vegetable forms disposed in belts sharply separated from each other by the several zones of altitude. It may be asked whether this Cape flora is not a survival from far more extensive lands engulfed in the sea, most of whose vegetation has found a refuge in the relatively limited tract bounded northwards by the basin of the Orange River. In the same way the island of Madagascar appears to have preserved a great part of the flora of the vanished "Lemurian" continent. It still possesses over forty vegetable families peculiar to itself. The appearance of Europeans and Semites has been accompanied by the introduction of many new species, which in several districts have displaced and even extei-minated the indigenous forms. Elsewhere the range of certain plants appears to have been modified even without the intervention of man. Thus the papyrus, which three thousand years ago was characteristic of the Egyptian Xile, is now, according to Schweinfurth, found only on the Upper Xile near the equator. 14 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. The pink lotus also {^nehtmhium speciosum), whose flower symbolised the fertilising stream, the sun, and the sun-god, no longer flourishes on the Egj-ptian waters. On the mummies of the tombs in Upper Egypt are found floral wreaths containing Fig. 6. — Vegetable Zoxes of Africa. Scale 1 : 75,000,000. Meridian oT nreenwicn Mediterranean. Mazanderan. Steppes. Savannas. Ti-opical- forest tracts within the savannas. Cape. Madaguscar. Abya&iuian Ltesert. Plateaus. .,^ 1,200 Miles. Oasis, numerous species, such as the centaurea dcprcssa, which have since disappeared from the local flora, or at least no longer grow spontaneously. The zones of the African fauna are less clearly defined than those of the vegetable kingdom. Migrating more easily than the plants, the animals have crossed many frontiers within which the plants have been confined by the climatic conditions. Hence the same animal types prevail throughout Nigretia and the FLOEA AND FAUNA. 15 region north of Cape Colony. Numerous species of mammals and birds are met from the southern extremity of the continent to the banks of the Senegal ; nor are the plateaux and highlands anywhere lofty enough to prevent the migrations of animals, which in Africa are kept apart rather by the broad desert wastes than by mountain barriers. The Mascarenhas, and especially Madagascar, are centres of independent life, the latter containing over one hundred animal species not foimd elsewhere. But the immigrations of Arabs and Europeans have added several species to the African fauna, in exchange for those they have contributed to extirpate. The camel, without which it seems impossible for caravans to cross the Sahara in its present arid state, is nevertheless a comparatively recent arrival, its image occurring nowhere either on the old Egj-ptian monuments or on the "inscribed stones " of the ancient Berbers. Hence it is evident that the Sahara was not always a desert ; and valuable inscriptions, confirming the text of Herodotus, prove that the ox and the zebu were the first pack animals of the Garamantes on the route between Fezzan and Sudan. Now man has been followed by his ordinary companions, such as the horse and dog, at least wherever they have been able to adapt them- selves to the climate. "WTien the American Chaille-Long appeared on horseback at the court of the King of Uganda, north of the Victoria Nyanza, the natives fancied, like the Mexicans at the first appearance of the Spanish cavalry, that horse and man formed one animal, and when the stranger dismounted they ran o£E terror-stricken at the sight of this centaur dividing itself into two distinct beings. The greatest obstacle to the development of Africa is caused bj" the tsetse (^glossina morsitans), a simple fly, whose bite is fatal to horses, camels, oxen, and dogs, although harmless to man, the calf, goat, and wild beasts. This destructive insect, which is supposed, rightly or wrongly, to infuse anthrax virus into its victims, is very common in certain districts of South and Central Africa, but does not extend farther north than the Bahr-el-Ghazal and Senaar, and is unknown in the north-west. The donderoho, another two-winged pest observed to the south of the Eilima Xjaro, spares cattle, but attacks the ass, goat, and sheep. Africa is the home of the largest living quadrupeds, such as the elephant, various species of the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, giraffe, and other herbiferous animals. At the same time the African elephant is smaller, less vigorous, and more difficult to tame than its Indian congener, from which it differs in its convex frontal bone, large ears, and some other physical characteristics. The attempts made by Gordon to domesticate this animal and employ it in warfare were not successful, and in this respect Europeans have still to discover the secrets known not only to the Hindus, but even to the ancients, and, according to Duveyrier, to the tribes south of Mauritania, and to the Wakorays of the western Sahara. The lion of the Atlas highlands is fiercer than the Babylonian species; the gorilla is the strongest and most formidable of the ape family ; of all hoofed animals the zebra is the most indomitable ; neither the American caiman nor the Indian gavial approach the dimensions of the African crocodile, and of all 16 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. running birds the African ostrich is the most powerful. This continent excels not only in the number and size of its animal species, but also in the multitude of individuals. Thus on the central plateaux travellers have observed vast plains covered by countless herds of ruminants, and Livingstone tells us that he had to force his way through the dense troops of antelopes. But since then wide gaps have alreadj' been made amongst these teeming multitudes by destructive hunting expeditions in the Nile basin and in the southern plains. It is calculated that the 15,600 cwts. of ivory yearly imported into Europe cost the lives of 50,000 elephants. Whole species are threatening to disappear, as the small Mauritanian elephant and certain animal forms in the Mascarenhas Islands have already vanished. The range of the rhinoceros formerly comprised south-west Morocco, where it has not been seen in historic times. Inhabitants. During the first half of the present century European geographers, still unacquainted with the interior, were naturally iuclined to exaggerate the extent of the desert regions, and readily regarded as solitudes all spaces left blank on the maps. The continent was supposed to contain some fifty or sixty, or at the utmost a hundi-ed, million inhabitants. Siace that time more accurate statistics have been taken in some of the European colonies or possessions on the coast ; rough estimates have also a23proximately determined the population of some districts near the maritime ports, and travellers, yearly iacreasiag in nimibers, have brotight from the interior at least sufficient data to enable us to classify the inland regions according to the greater or less density of their populations. In some of these districts the people are as closely packed as in Belgium, while elsewhere village succeeds village for several leagues together. The basins of Lake Tsad and the Joliba (Niger), as well as most of Nigritia south of the Sahara, are thickly jDeopled, as are also the region of the great lakes, the Nile delta, the "White Nile in the Shilluk territory, and the lands watered by the Congo and its chief affluents. The population of the whole continent cannot be estimated at less than two himdred millions, or seven times more than the calculations of Pinkerton and Yolney nearl}' a century ago. More recently Balbi fixed the nimiber at sixty millions, which was long accepted as the most probable. The hypothetical element in all these rough estimates will doubtless be gradually diminished by the systematic work of modern explorers.* To Africa the expression " Dark Continent " is frequently applied, as if all its inhabitants were Negroes properly so called, analogous in type to the maritime populations in the west equatorial region. The term Beled-es-Sudan, or " Black Land," would thus be extended to the whole continent. But the true Negroes, although perhaps forming a majority of the inhabitants, occupy less than half of the land. The regions to the north, east, and south belong to tribes and peoijles of diverse physical appearance, and grouped in distinct races or sub-races. Some * Approximate estimate of the population of Africa by Behm and Wagner in 1882, 205,825,000. jiKiYnnilir j! ILLllXUii;', .■''3 t '4J^ ;»^ I I '<^ LISRAHV OF THE :RSITY of ILLINOIS r\ TTAB TTA\"rS 17 ethnologists have supposed that all the " Children of Ham," from the Berbers to the Hottentots, are descended from one original stock, and that their diverging types are due to gradual adaptation to different environments. But such a hypothesis is unsupported by any proof, and the observer is struck especially by the ethnical contrasts, whether fundamental or derived, which are presented by the various African populations, as he advances from north to south. Even within the strictly Xegro division the anatomy, muscular system, physiognomy, colour, and speech offer as great a diversity of forms as is found amongst the white peoples of Europe or the yellow Asiatics. At the same time the classifications hitherto proposed by anthropologists, and based on physical resemblances or linguistic affinities, are of a purely conventional or provisional character. Numer- ous communities, of which Kttle is known beyond their name, are grouped now in one, now in another division. VTe seem at times to be lost in the maze of names of tribes and races collected by travellers in the various regions of Africa, and the chaos is often intensified by the reckless use of these names, the same term being applied in one place to two distinct peoples, while in another the same group is indicated on the maps by several different appellations. The ifediterranean seaboard differs from the rest of the continent as much in its inhabitants as it does in its geological history, its physical features, its animal and vegetable species. The bulk of the ilaui-itanian population consists of the so-called Berbers (Imazighen, Imohagh), who approach the Eui-opean type more closclv than the other A fnV.in races. Amongst them are met several tribes in which blue eyes and fair or light chestnut hair are so common that they have often been wrongly regarded as of European descent. These Berber peoples seem to be allied to the ancient Egyptians. The whole of Xorth Afi-ica and Southern Europe may have even been peopled from one ethnical source in prehistoric times, the populations, Kke the animal and vegetable species, thus radiating from a common centre. The oases and upland valleys in the Sahara have also been occupied by the Berbers, some of whose tribes, designated by the name of "iloors," dwell even south of the desert along: the right bank of the Senegal. Some of the Berber communities, such as the Imohaghs or Tuaregs of Ahaggar, and the Imazighen or Kabyles, that is, " Tribes," and especially those of Morocco, appear to be of pure stock. But in the plains, and still more in the towns, endless crossings have modified the type in a thousand ways, and given rise to half-caste populations bearing a great variety of names. As in Europe " Moorish ' ' blood stiU flows in the veins of Andalusians, Mm-cians, Talentians, and Algarves, so in Africa Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, Spaniards, Provencals, Italians, Greeks, and Frenchmen have left some traces of their presence, either as slaves or conquerors. On the other hand, the dark aborigines of the Sahara and the Xegroes imported from the south into every part of Barbary have become diversely inter- mingled with the Berber tribes, whUe fresh elements have been introduced from the east by the Arabs. Under this term " Arab " were moreover comprised Syrians and Easterns of all kinds, and it has even been extended to a large part of VOL. X. c 18 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. the Mauritanian population, Arabs only in speech, traditions of conquest, religion and some doubtful genealogies. ■ In the Nile basin great mixture has also taken place, but in this intermingling the European and Turkish elements are but slightlj^ represented, whereas the Arabs and other Semites have had a preponderating influence in the formation of many communities in North-east Africa. Historians have often attempted to draw an absolute line between the Egj'ptians and the Nilotic peoples above the cataracts. They considered that the inhabitants of the three Egjqjtian provinces should be grouped either with the Semites or Aryans, or else regarded as a distinct race. The E,etu (Rotu), that is, the ancient inhabitants of the Lower Nile, have thus been afEliated to a so-called " Proto-Semite " stock, whence the Arabs also were supposed to be descended. Although arguments based on the element of speech have but a relative value, it is generally admitted that the " Hamitic " linguistic family, comprising Old Egyptian, Galla, and Berber, presents in its structure a remote affinity to the Semitic idioms. But Old Egyptian and its modern repre- sentative, the Coptic, is much more clearly related to the Berber dialects. The Retu tj^e itself, surviving in that of the modern Fellahin in spite of coimtless crossings and modifications, is by no means Semitic. Nor is it akin to that of the Negroes of the interior. Doubtless many Egyptians, as has been remarked by ChampoUion the younger, resemble the Barabra of Nubia, who themselves differ little from the Beja. Travellers ascending the Nile assure us that the tj'pe of the northern Fellahin merges by insensible transitions in that of the southern popula- tions. But this phenomenon is the inevitable result of racial interminglings. The original tj'pe has been modified in a thousand ways by crossings, migrations, conquests, the introduction of slaves, diet, and other social conditions. Thus have been developed numerous mixed races, and the most varied contrasts in figure, colour, habits, speech and j)olitical institutions between neighbouring populations. In the region of the great lakes and of the western affluents of the Upper Nile, the Negro nations, properly so-called, are represented by the Fung, the Shilluks, the Bari, Denka, and other dark communities. But the majority of these Negroes are far from being characterised by the black and shining skin, the pouting lips, the projecting jaws, flat features, broad nose, and woolly hair which are usually supposed to be characteristic of all Africans. Even the Monbutt.u, a nation dwelling to the south of the Niam-niam, between the Congo and Upper Nile basins, are distinguished by an almost light complexion, a tolerably full beard, a straight or aquiline nose, and amongst them are frequently' met persons with hair of an ashy blonde colour. Schweinfurth estimates these "fair negroes" at over a twentieth of the whole ]\Ionbuttu nation. Possibly their carnivorous diet, comprising even hmnan flesh, may contribute to some extent to give a relatively light comj^lexion to these aborigines. At least the observations of M. Antoine d' Abbadie on the Ethiopian tribes, observations confirmed by several other travellers, tend to show that flesh-eating peoples, even those of hot lowlands, have a much fairer complexion than those living on a vegetarian diet, even when the latter dwell at a higher elevation on lofty plateaus and mountain slopes. The Negroes GKOUP OF KCBIAN WOMEN. LIBRARY OF THE '•'^ -'ILLINOIS, INHABIT/USTTS. 19 ■fllio approach nearest to the traditional type as popularised on the stage are those of the Atlantic seaboard. Nowhere else has the slave-trade caused greater havoc than amongst these tribes, and the hatred of the white master for his slave has tended to exaggerate the repulsive tj-pe attributed to the slave races in general. According to phj'siologists, the blood of the Negro is thicker and less red tlian that of the whites. It coagulates more rapidly and flows more sluggishly. The Negro, like the yellow Asiastic Mongol, is of a less sensitive temperament than the European. He suffers less under surgical operations, and runs less danger from their consequences ; his nervous life is less intense, his pulsation less active, than that of Europeans. Several of the maladies common in Europe are unknown, or at least very rare, in Africa. Cancer, croup, dental caries, tj-phoid and marsh fevers, seldom attack the Negro, who on the other hand suffers more from bilious and cutaneous disorders. Tetanus also is much dreaded bj- them, and the least change of climate exposes them to pulmonary affections. T\Tiere the whites and blacks live side by side on the same plantations, the former fall victims to j-ellow fever, the latter to cholera. Home-sickness is also one of the most fatal affections of the African race. The portion of Africa lying in the southern hemisphere is mainly occupied by the Bantus, whose various communities present a somewhat analogous tj'pe, and speak languages derived from a common stock, as had ah-eady been observed by Lichtenstein at the beginning of the century. The Kafirs of Natal and Cape Colony are amongst the finest of this noble Bantu race, which rivals the Barabra of the Nile in its proud carriage and gracefiil attitudes. But in direct contact with these superb Africans are found other aborigines presenting a totally different and far less noble type. These are the Koikoin, or Hottentots, characterised by a yellowish complexion, low statui'e, and slightly developed muscular system. These commimities, as distinct from the Bantus as are the Chinese from the Arj'ans, may perhaps represent a vanquished race di-iven bj' the invaders gradually to the southernmost limits of the continent. But such a hypothesis seems much more justified in respect of certain " pigmy peoj)les " scattered over a great part of Africa. Such are the San, or Bosjesmen, that is " Bushmen," of South Africa, the Dokos of Kaffa, the Akka or Tikki-tikki of the "Welle River, the Obongo of the Ogowe basin. In connection with these dwarfish populations, and especially the Bushmen, anthropologists have observed that if Africa is the continent of the great anthropoid apes, such as the gorilla and chimpanzee, it is also the home of the most ape-like human races. In this region of the globe, they tell us, the two orders of primates approach nearest to each other. One is tempted to regard these pigmies as a remnant of the aboriginal element deprived of their lands by stronger intruding races. The inhabitants of Madagascar are only partly connected with those of the neighbouring continent, for a portion of the population is certainly of Malay origin. Like the local plants and animals, it bears witness to the geographical independence of the island. But in the adjacent Comoro group the prevailing speech is African. c 2 20 NORTH-EAST .IFEICA. National prejudice, for which historians fail to make due allowance, has given rise to the widespread impression that the Africans have, so to say, taken no part in the general work of civilisation. The first examjjle which presents itself to the mind is that of the king of Dahomey, celebrating the " great custom " by a general massacre and the flooding of a lake with human blood ; or else we conjure up the image of those armed Monbuttu hordes which rush to battle grinding their teeth and shouting " Meat ! Meat ! " But these frightful pictures are not an epitome of the history of Africa. On the contrary, we are irresistiblj' attracted by the study of our own social evolution to the Nile basin in North- East Africa. Looking back through the long perspective of the past, far beyond the heroic times of Greece, where was cradled our distinctly European culture, we ascend from century to century to the remote ages when the Pyramids were raised, when the first plough- share turned up the rich soil of the Nile delta. In Egypt are found the very oldest documents of authentic history. So well established was its claim to the foremost place in the development of civilisation, that the Greeks themselves regarded the Nilotic region as the common cradle of mankind. Whatever be the constituent ethnical elements of the nation to which we trace the germs of our intellectual life, it is certain that their civilisation was of African origin. It had its earliest seat in the narrow and fertile valley of the Nile, between the arid rock and the still more arid sands of the wildei-ness. Through this mysterious stream, flowing from the depths of the continent, were first established mutual intercourse and civilising influences amongst the various regions of the old world. The north African lands Ij'ing farther west were almost entirely excluded from any share in this movement, at least before the introduction of the camel into the Dark Continent, for till then they remained separated by the vast intervening desert from the thickly peopled regions of Sudan. From the remotest antiquity the Africans, even beyond Egypt, took part in the triumphs of mankind over nature. They were either stockbreeders or tillers of the land, and to them we are indebted for many valuable plants and domestic animals. From the African continent comes the variety of sorgho which, under the name of durra, is cultivated from the banks of the Nile to the shores of the southern ocean, and which is rivalled only by wheat and rice in its economic importance to mankind. From Africa we have also received the date, for the Berbers and Sudanese wore probably the first to study the habit of this jjalm, which grew spontaneously in their forests. According to Schweinfurth, the wild stock of the Ethiopian banana, known to botanists by the name of iniisa ensete, gave rise to the hundred varieties of the cultivated banana, whose fruit serves as a staple of food in many American lands. To these three important vegetable species must also be added the kaffa shrub, or cofl'ee plant, so highlj' prized by a third of mankind for the stimulating jjrojDcrties and delicious aroma of its berry. The civilised world is also indebted to the natives of Africa for several domestic animals. Certain varieties of the dog, the cat, the pig of Senaar, and the ferret, have been tamed by them ; the ass also is certainly of African origin, and to the same source should perhaps be traced the goat, the sheep, and the ox. In recent I^^HAB^^A^TS. 21 times the guinea-fowl was, so to say, rediscovered by the Portuguese in this continent, whence it had been originally obtained by the Greeks and Eomans, but liad again disappeared during niediteval times. Even in the sphere of industries, Africa has contributed a certain share to the common inheritance of mankind. The monuments of Egypt, her highways, canals. Fig. 7. — L.^xGiAGES OF Africa. Scale 1 : 75,000,000. "c'diap of Lf^ ^ ^e^TQn rrmi Semites Berbers (Arab and (Kabyles, Abyssinian). ToTiareg.) Hamites. Xuba. Fula. Xiam ■ Niam. Xe^i itues. Bauta San and Eoin-Soin Maiayo- (Kafirs, ^Hottentots, Polynesians. Zulus}. Buslimen}. Undassified Aryans. 1,200 Miles. Turks. embankments, her costly fabrics, gems, and fiimitiu'c, her carved -woods and wrought metals — in a word, the thousand objects foiind in her burial-grounds — cannot all have been the work of the Eetu alone. Amongst the products of the old Eg^-ptian industry are frequently recognised certain foims also recuiTing in 22 KOETH-EAST APEICA. Nubia, in Abyssinia, and even in Sudan. The smelting and working of iron, most useful of all metallurgic discoveries, has been attributed to the Negroes as 'svell as to the Chalybes of Asia Minor ; and the Bongos of the White Nile, as well as some other African tribes, have constructed furnaces of a very ingenious type. Their smelters and forgers are, for the most part, satisfied with rude and primitive implements, in the use of which they, however, display marvellous skill. The Fans of the Ogowe basin produce excellent iron, whose quality is scarcely equalled by Europeans themselves. In most of the native tribes the smiths constitute a special caste, much respected and even dreaded for their reputed knowledge of the magic arts. In Abyssinia and Senaar they are accused of changing themselves at night into hyaenas and other wild beasts, which prowl about the villages and disinter the bodies of the dead. In agriculture and industry the Africans so far co-operated in the development of human culture. But their direct influence in the trade of the world was felt only through Egj'pt and Mauritania along the Mediterranean seaboard. Com- mercial intercourse was doubtless carried on throughout the whole continent, but very slowly, and through a thousand intermediary tribes. The produce of Central Africa reached Europe long after all trace of its source had disappeared. In the same way the riverain populations along the banks of the Niger received their Manchester cottons and hardware from Bii-mingham without suspecting that their river flowed into the sea, or that there are other great divisions of the globe bej-ond the Dark Continent. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that for thousands of years an active trade has been carried on with the interior. Down to a recent epoch caravans were regarded as sacred, passing fearlessly through contending armies and across distiu-bed regions. The spirit of traffic prevails amongst numerous tribes in Mauritania, the Upper Nile, and Sudan, as amongst the Jews and Ai-menians elsewhere, and their dealers disjjlay all the shrewdness, tenacity, and inexhaustible obsequiousness everywhere characteristic of the mercantile classes. From time immemorial the cowries of the Maldive Islands [cyprcea moneta), gradually replacing other small objects, such as grains of durra and various seeds, have penetrated as a sjTubol of exchange as far as West Africa. Through the Calcutta, London, or Zanzibar routes, they are still imported to the Bight of Benin, whence they are forwarded to the markets of Lake Tsad.* But the natives now use them chieflj^ as ornaments. European travellers find that the Turkish piastres and Maria Theresa crowns have already ^jreceded them in most of the unknown regions of the interior. The Bongo tribe was even acqiiainted with the art of minting, and current coins are also the bits of iron four inches long which are in common use amongst the Ogowe Fans. But iu maritime commerce the Africans scarcely take any part. With the exception of Alexandiia, which, thanks to its position on the route between Europe and India is an essentially international point, Carthage was the only continental city that rose to power by its trade. But Carthage was itself a Phoenician colonj', foimded on a headland projecting into the Mediterranean iu the direction of • John E. Hertz, "Proceedings of the Hamburg Geographical Society," 1880-Sl. BISHAEI GUM-DEALEES AT KOEOSKO. MNIVERSl.roT ILLINOIS, RELIGION. 23 Europe. Seafaring commimities are rare aloug the African coasts. The list is almost exhausted h}- the mention of the Somali at the eastern " horn," and of the Kra or Kroomen on the Atlantic side. But the former scarcely get beyond the Gulf of Aden, passing with the shifting trade winds from shore to shore, while the latter seldom venture far from the coast lagoons and estuaries. Religiox. Siuce the fall of Carthage and the decadence of Egyptian culture, the most important event in African history has been the Moslem invasion. In the Dark Continent the zealous missionaries of Islam have reajDed the richest harvests. The simplicity of the Mussidman creed, which limits itself to proclaiming the unity, omnipotence, and goodness of God ; the clearness of its precepts, recommendiag above all prayer, and cleanliness as the outward symbol of purity ; the zeal of its preachers, the prestige of its victories over the " infidel," all combiaed to seduce the Egj-ptians, the Berbers, and Xegroes. From age to age the Mohammedan domain has grown La extent, until it now comprises nearly haK of the contiuent, from the Isthmus of Suez to the som-ces of the Xiger, and even to the Gulf of Guinea. During the first period of its triumphs, Islam, heir to the sciences received from the Byzantine world, infused new life, as it were, into Egj'pt and Mauritania, endowed them with a fresh civilization, and through the caravan trade with Morocco, abeady the emporium of Mussulman Spain, raised Timbuctu, on the Niger, into a srreat centre of commercial and intellectual movement. In K'igretia the propagation of Islam also coincides with important political and social changes. Large states were founded in regions hitherto a prey to a hundred mutually hostile and savage tribes. Manners were thus softened, and a sentiment of solidarity sprang up between communities formerly engaged iu ever- lasting warfare. Mohaimnedanism thus enjoys more material cohesion in Africa than iu Europe and Asia, where the faithful, scattered amid populations worship- ping at other altars, are often separated from each other by extensive wastes and arms of the sea. In the Dark Continent they occujjy a compact domain as large as all Europe, stretching uninterruj)tedly from the Red Sea to the Atlantic, and here their common belief tends everywhere to diffuse the social ideas, the habits, usages, and speech of the dominant Arab race. In recent times Christianity has attempted to dispute the field with its Moham- medan rival. Protestant missionaries have even obtaiued some little success, especially in South Africa. But compared with the apostles of Islam they stand at a great disadvantage, for they are unable, except in a figui-ative sense, to announce themselves as the brethren of their black proselytes. The " messenger of the good tidings" cannot give his daughter in marriage to his Christian Negro convert. Colour keeps them apart, and both remain men of different race and caste. Having become the inheritance of the faithful by the triumph of Islam, Africa has witnessed the birth of prophets powerful enough to declare the " holy war." 24 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. During the invasion of Egypt by the French under Buonaparte at the close of the hist century, a mahdi — that is, a " spiritual guide " foretold by old prophecies — summoned his followers to exterminate the stranger. Recently other m.ahdis have stirred up the tribes in the West against the French of Senegambia, in the East against the Turks and English in Egypt. In the North, also, fanatics are prepar- Fig. 8. — Reltoions of Africa. Scale 1 : 75,000,000. Meridian of breen Nature Mohammedans. Worshippers. mtmi Monophysites and Gnostics. liilli) jHgSa Protestants. Catholics. 1,200 Miles. Jews. ing emissaries in Algeria, Tripoli, and Senusiya, and sending them from mosque to mosque in order to excite the congregations against the intidel. In Mecca the most zealous pilgrims, that is, those subject to the most frequent fits of religious frenzy, are the Takrur or Takrarir, a term usually applied collectively to the "West African Negroes, but in a more special sen.se to those of Wadai and Boruu, and to the inhabitants of Metammch, in the north-west of Abyssinia. Notwithstanding SLAVEEY. 25 the difficulties of the journey, thousands of these Takrurs undertake the pilgrimage every year. In West Africa the propagators of Islam, although using the language of the Prophet, are not Arabs, but Negroes of various tribes. As traders or artisans, they visit the populations along the banks of the Gambia, and penetrate even as far as Ashanti and Dahomey, on the Gold Coast and Bight of Benin. In East Africa the propaganda is also very active on the shores of the Indian Ocean, although here the Ai'ab or Swahili dealers take no interest in the conversion of their wretched \dctims. On the contrary, they prefer to keep them pagan, in order to retain the right of persecuting and plundering them. Once converted, even by the mere initial rite of circumcision, the natives, of whatever race and colour, acquire the privilege of common fellowship with the rest of the faithful. Nor is there lack of honest Mohammedans, who zealously labour in the spirit of the precepts of the Koran for the emancipation of their slaves. In the jJrovince of Bahr-el-Ghazal Felkin met the sou of a slave-dealer, who tinding himself by his father's death the owner of several hundi-ed Negroes, immediately liberated all of them. Slavery. But like their Christian rivals, the Arab traders dealt tiU recently for the most part in human flesh rather than in elephants' tusks, cotton, ground-nuts, or palm oil. Unfortunately for themselves, the Negroes are the most docile and devoted of servants. Anthropologists have remarked on their essentially feminine type as compared with that of the whites. They are generally noted for their soft voice, scant beard, delicate articulation, pink nails, velvety skin, and rounded muscles.* However physically strong, in manners and demeanour they also approach the general type of woman. They are timid and inquisitive, jealous and coquettish, great gossips and scandal-mongers, quick to love, as quick to fall out and make up their quarrels again. Like so many women, they also delight in abject submission, even sacrificing themselves for those who despise and oppress them. Hence from the remotest times the blacks were most highly esteemed as slaves, and of the tributes or presents forwarded to the Asiatic and European sovereigns, those were most acceptable which were accompanied by African captives. In Africa itself almost every community has its slaves, and amongst many tribes one half of the popidation is enslaved to the other. Prisoners of war, considered as so much merchandise, are bartered or sold to the highest bidder, destined either to till the lands of their o'wner or to increase the number of retainers attached to some powerful chief ; or else, in some districts, to be immolated in honour of the gods or ancestors of some obscure potentate ; or lastly, as amongst the Monbuttu, to be roasted and served up at the great feasts. Nevertheless, the position of the slave is not generally one of great hardship. He often himself accepts this lot to escape from starvation in times of distress, and if badly treated by his owner he enjoys the prescriptive right of transferring his services elsewhere. By renouncing his * Winwood Reade ; G. d'Eichthal. 26 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. personal freedom he enters a new family, and the offspring of the free woman whom he marries are free like their mother. It must he confessed that the condition of the African slave has been aggra- vated mainly through the influence of European civilisation. Even long before the discovery of the Coast of Guinea by the white navigators, and before the foimda- tion of European colonies in the New "World, slave markets were held in Seville and Lisbon. But when Portugal had taken possession of the seaboard, and the Spaniards, Portuguese, English, French, and Dutch required robust hands to rejilace the exterminated natives on their remote western plantations, then a large part of Atrica was transformed to a vast hunting-groimd for hiunan quarry, and the name of " white " became sjTionymous with " cannibal," as it stiU is in the GaUa language. All round the coast stations sprang up as outports for this new merchandise. The Portuguese forwarded to Brazil the Xegroes captured in Angola ; Jamaica, Barbadoes, and Yirginia received their supplies from the Cape Coast ; Louisiana and the French Antilles from Senegal and the Slave Coast ; New Amsterdam from Elniina. Every American settlement thus had its corresponding emporium in Guinea. The horrors of the " middle passage " exceeded all descrip- tion. To save space the living freight was packed in the smallest compass on board ship, where large numbers were swept away by typhus, heat, thirst, and suicide. It would be impossible even roughly to estimate the multitude of human beings sacrificed by the slave-trade, through the wars it fomented aroimd the African seaboard, the epidemics it propagated, the revolts and massacres of which it was the consequence. Although the Africans removed to the New "World must be reckoned by many millions, the coloui'ed population, consisting almost exclusively of men, increased very slowly on the plantations. In the jDresent century, however, the equilibrium of the sexes has at least been established amongst the exiled race. At present the number of pure or half-caste Negroes in America exceeds twenty-five millions, and amongst them there are still about one miUion five hundred thousand imemanei- pated. But since the sanguinary civil war waged in the United States for the liberation of the blacks, this ancient form of servitude is finally condemned, and the number of slaves is daily diminishing in its last strongholds, Cuba and BrazQ. In Africa itself, the institution has received a fatal blow by the closing of the maritime outports, and whatever may at times be said to the contrary, very few of the Arab and other craft engaged in the traffic succeed in forcing the blockade along the shores of the Indian Ocean.* Many however still cross the Bed Sea, in defiance of the English at Aden, of the French at Obock, and of the Italians at Assab, while tens of thousands continue to fall victims to the Arab and other kidnajopers ui the interior of the continent. Dui'ing the heyday of the slave- traders the traffic cost the lives of at least half a miUion Negroes every j'ear. Compared with that already remote epoch, the present must be regarded as an age • Slavers captured and condemned on the east coast of Africa, 1876-7, 27 with 438 slaves ; 1877-8, 15 with 60 slaves. EXPLOEATION. 27 of progress. The outports on the coast are no longer crowded with captives, and, as in the New "World, the wars stirred up by the dealers in human flesh involve the ultimate ruin of their infamous traffic. EXPLOKATIOX. Henceforth supported by other produce than that of slaves, the commerce of Africa already finds the interior more accessible to its agents, and the continent thus becomes daily more closely connected with the rest of the world. Large numbers of explorers starting from various points round the coast are continually invading new or little - known regions, and amongst them are many brave volunteers ever ready to sacrifice their lives in the sole interest of science and humanity. It is one of the glories of our age to have produced so many heroes, some who have achieved fame, others whose very names are already forgotten, but all alike devoting themselves merely to fiU up the blank spaces on the map of the Dark Continent. A " necrological " ^Xlap of Africa has been prepared bj- il. Henri Duveyrier, showing the names of the chief European explorers who, between the years 1800 and 1874, have either been murdered by fanatical Mohammedans or fallen victims to the deadly climate and the hardships undergone in their efforts to advance geographical knowledge. Since then the list has been considerably augmented, and the names of Flatters and his associates — of Schuver, Sacconi, Keith Johnston and many others — have been enrolled amongst the martjTS of science. In the history of African discovery, as in that of all other human conquests, progress has not always been continuous. Until recently the work of exploration has rather been carried on interruptedly, and at times even discontinued for long intervals. Between the first voyage of circumnavigation, mentioned by Herodotus as having been accomplished under Pharaoh Xecho, and that of Yasco de Gama, there was an interval of twenty-one centuries, dm'iug which numerous discoveries already made had been forgotten. The geographers of the fifteenth century were acquainted with the resvdts of the older explorations only through Ptolemy's inaccm'ate statements, which were made still more confusing by the carelessness of cop}"ists and the imagination of commentators. The coasts already known to the Phoenicians had to be rediscovered, for Hanno's voyage to the south of the Senegal Eiver, accomplished nineteen hundred years before the Portuguese, had long ceased to be remembered. Even after Gama's " periplus," and the occupation of a large portion of the coast by the Portuguese, our knowledge of the regions ah-eady visited was more than once obscured, thanks mainly to the jealousy of rival nations anxious to keep for themselves the secret of their expeditions. At present learned writers are patriotically engaged in vindicating for their respective countries the honour of having been the first to explore many since- forgotten regions. It seems certain that long before the Portuguese, Italian navigators had surveyed most of the north-west seaboard, and even the islands and archipelagoes lying off the coast. A sketch by the Venetian Marco Pizzigani, 28 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. f dated 1807, and preserved in tlie library of Parma, lays down the African coast as far as Cape Bojador, iu a way generally in conformity with the results of the most careful modern sui-veys. The people of Dieppe on their part claim for their ancestors the glory of having foimded a " Little Dieppe " on the Guinea Coast in 1364, and of having in 1402 colonised the Canaries under the orders of Jean de Bethencourt.* The Portuguese also, whose navigators claimed to be the first to Fig. 9. — Chief Eol'tfs of Explorers in the Interior of Africa (1883). Scale 1 : 75,000,000. Meridian of G The courses of rivers and outlines of lakes are not shown on this map. n Pfrnon Well known countries of which acctirate maps Iiave already been made are shaded in grey. 1,200 Miles. sail into the waters of the " Impenetrable Sea " and open up the " Dark Ocean," regard their missionaries of the sixteenth century as the pioneers in the chief discoveries made in the interior of the continent. Yet long after the time of these missionaries, the maps of Africa continued to be disfigured by the names of peoples described as the " Tongueless," the "Noseless," the " Opistodactyles," with fingers grown backward, or of " Pygmies fighting the cranes for their food." • D'Avezac, "Esquisse generate do I'Afrique." EXPLOEATIOX. 29 In our days geographical results are so carefully recorded that there can be no doubt as to the routes followed by travellers in the interior, and we are enabled, at least roughly, to trace the network of the itineraries by which our knowledge of the continent has been enlarged. During the last hundred years — that is, since the foundation in 1788 of the English Societj^ for the exploration of Africa, whose first heroes and victims were Mungo Park and Hornemann — the whole continent has been several times crossed from sea to sea. Livingstone, Cameron, Stanley, Serpa Pinto, Massari, "Wissmann, Buonfanti, have all performed this exploit, while scores of other less distinguished explorers have penetrated in some directions thousands of miles from the seaboard. Nor is mere distance always a measure of the importance of these expeditions, and many trips of short duration deserve to find a place in the records of African discovery. Sufficient data have already been obtained to prepare complete maps of certain coastlands, such as the Cape, the Nile Delta, Tunis, Algeria, while the list of positions astronomically determined comprises several thousand names, and is daQy increasing. Scarcely a week passes without bringing the news of some fresh geographical conquest. The routes of explorers are so interlaced, and overlap each other at so many points, that few blank spaces of great extent remain to be filled up ; and even in the unexplored regions enough is known of the general trend of rivers, valleys, and mountain ranges to at least facilitate the work of future expeditions. At present the greatest extent of terra iiicoffiiita lies parallel with the equator north of the Ogowe and Congo, stretching from the Crystal Mountains and those of Mfumbiro and Gambaragara, between the Nile and Congo basins. It comprises an area of at least 400,000 square miles, or about the thirtieth part of the whole continent. But it is already being approached from several jjoints aroimd its peri- phery, and so recently as December, 1883, the last link was completed of the permanent stations reaching by the Congo route from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. The continent is now traversed from shore to shore by a continuous line of exploration. The whole of Africa might perhaps have already been discovered had aU the white explorers made the way easy for their successors by considerate treat- ment of the natives. By their humane conduct men like Speke, Livingstone, Barth, Piaggia, Gessi, Schweinfurth, Emin-Bej', ward off dangers from those following in their footsteps; but, on the other hand, many needless obstacles have been created by the threats and violence of less sympathetic pioneers. At the same time it must be confessed that whatever policy they may adopt, all alike are mistrusted by the aborigines, who have too often good reason for regarding them as forerunners of warlike expeditions. Thus even the best of Europeans are in some respects necessarily considered as hostile, their very success inviting the presence of less scrupulous followers. How often must the humane explorer, while accepting the hospitality of some native chief, reflect with feelings akin to remorse on the future which he is preparing for his generous hosts ! However unintentionallj-, he leads the way for the trader and the soldier, thereby insuring the ruin of his friendly entertainers. To justify himself in his own eyes, he is 30 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. fain to reflect that wars and conquests and violent annexations are the inevitable preliminaries of universal peace and brotherhood. Most of the African seaboard has already been seized by various European states, and every fresh discovery in the interior enables their officials, troops, and collectors to penetrate farther inland. Trade also expands from year to year, and the foreign exchanges of Egypt alone now exceed those of the whole continent during the last generation, which in 1860 were estimated at about £38,000,000. Highways are being constructed from the coasts towards the inland plateaux, whereby future expeditions must be greatly facilitated. Lines of railway have even begun to wind their way from a few seaports along the neighbouring valleys, here and there scaling the escarpments, and slowly moving towards the centre of the continent, where they must one day converge. To these first links, starting from the coasts of Egypt, Tunis, Algeria, Senegambia, the Cape, and Xatal, others will soon be added, resembling the trenches cut by a bosiegiag force round the ramparts of some formidable stronghold. The whole of Africa may thus be compared to a vast citadel, whose disunited garrison of some two hundred million men, acting without unity or concert, must sooner or later open their gates and capitulate to their European conquerors or patrons. For the possession of the interior must iaevitably fall ultimately to the masters of the sea and surrounding coastlands. Even were any of the central states temporarily to acquire command of the seaboard, they would be compelled to treat with some maritime European power, and thus prepare the way for the invasion of their territories. Thus, although not yet completely discovered, Africa is none the less, from the political standpoint, already a mere dependence of Europe. By the opening of the Suez Canal it has been doubly severed from Asia. To the European States thus belongs the exclusive privilege of introducing a new civilisation into the Dark Continent, and restoring to the inhabitants, under another form, the very culture which Europe herself received from the people of the Nile Yalley. CHAPTER II. THE NILE BASDf. TlIE RiVEK. ESCEXDIXG from the south to the north, and in its lower course traversing broad open plains, the Nile gives, as It were, a general inclination to the whole of Xorth-East Africa towards the ilediter- ranean basin. Notwithstanding a difference of outline, its delta corresponds to another opening at once maritime and fluvial, that of the Dardanelles and Bosphorus, through which the regions watered by the streams of East Europe also slope towards the ilediterranean. Thus like an inner within an outer circle, there is developed in the centre of the Old TVorld a zone of riverain lands, forming, so to say, a little world apart, and comprising such famous historical cities as ilemphis, Alexandria, Jerusalem, TjTe, Antioch, Ephesus, Jliletus, Smyrna, Athens, and Constantinople. In the length of its course the Xile is one of the great rivers of the world, and by manj- of the tribes along its banks the earth is supposed to be divided into two parts by this mysterious stream, coiled like a snake round the globe and grasping its tail in its mouth. It certainly exceeds all the other rivers of the eastern hemisphere, not excepting the Yangtze-Kiang or the three great Siberian arteries. In this respect it even surpasses the Amazon itself, and probably yields to the Missouri-ilississippi alone. Yet the chief river falling into the Victoria Xyanza, and thus forming the true upper course of the Xile, has not yet been determined with absolute certainty. It may even be larger than has been supposed, so that calculating from its farthest source south of the equator, the African river may possibly be superior in length to its Xorth American rival. But taking it from the Nyanza alone, it is at least 3,750 miles long, and in a straight line along the meridian from lake to sea the distance is thirty-one aud a half degrees of latitude, or about 2,100 miles.* But to reach the farthest headstreams of the XUe basin we • Length of the llissouri-Mississippi . ,, Xile, with the Xranza headstream ,, Amazon, with the Apurimac . Irtish-Oh ,, Selenga-Angara-Tenisei . ,, Yitim-Lena .... „ Tangtze-Kiang 4,230 miles. 4,200 ,, 3,600 ,, 3,410 „ 3,300 ., 3,280 „ 2,790 „ 32 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. should perhaps descend over five degrees to the south of the equator aud two to the east of the emissary from the great lake. The winding of its bed lengthens its whole course by over three-fourths. In superficial area the Nile basin is inferior both to the Amazon and the Mis- sissippi, aud apparently about equal to the Congo.* Except in its middle course, between the Makrara territory and Abyssinia, the lateral river valleys are of slight extent, and owing to the arid character of most of its basin, it cannot compare in volume to any of the other great rivers of the world. According to recent esti- mates, the Atrato, which falls into the Carribean Sea near the Isthmus of Panama, has a greater discharge, although its basin is nearly a hundred times smaller than that of the Nile. The general tilt of the land from the central plateaux to the shores of the Mediterranean coincides with the Nile Valley. Nevertheless to its main flu\-ial arteries the whole of this region is exclusively indebted for its geographical unity. The lacustrine uplands of the interior, the marshy tracts where its chief affluents join the White Nile from the south-west, the isolated Abyssinian highlands, the Kordofan uplands encircled hj solitudes, the Nubian deserts, the narrow winding valley of Upper Egypt, lastly the smiling plains through which the main stream ramifies as it approaches the Mediterranean, are all so many distinct geographical domains, which must have had a purely local development but for the unity imparted to them by the hj-drographic system of the Nile. Thanks to the facilities for communication afforded by this great water highway, its lower reaches were peopled by Nubian colonies from remote times; the old Eg}'ptian culture advanced uj) to Mcroe, aud even farther south ; frequent wars were waged between the Ethiopians and the lowlanders for the command of the stream ; and for centuries Egyptian viceroys have made incessant efforts to extend their possessions to the whole of the Tipper Nile basin as far as the equatorial lakes and the " Great Divide." Along this main highway of North-East Africa the natural divisions between the riverain populations are marked by the obstructing cataracts and the confluences of the great affluents. Hence the study of the stream to which the surrounding lands owe their historic evolution claims our first attention. The ancients asserted that the Nile had its source in the " Mountains of the Moon," and it is noteworthy that the southernmost affluents of the lacustrine system whence it escapes were met bj' Speke in the "Land of the Moon." But amongst these affluents is there one copious and large enough to be regarded as the main upper stream? This "head of the Nile " is still being sought, and as in the time of Lucan, no one can yet boast of having seen the farthest source of the Nile. According to the maps prepared from the itineraries of Stanley, Smith, Pearson, and the French missionaries, the Mwaru (Liwumba, Luwambe), which rises beyond the fifth degree of southern latitude, and flows north and north-west towards the * Approximate area of the great river basins: — Amazon 2,800,000 square miles. Mississippi 1,390,000 Nile 1,340,000 ,, Congo 1,280,000 „ „ THE NILE BASIN. 33 Nyanza, would appear to be the true " Nile of the Moon," at least iu the Icugth of its course. Eut if the barometric altitudes taken by Pearson can be trusted, this stream cannot possibly reach the lacustrine basin, for it flows at a lower level. On the other hand, it cannot trend westwards in the direction of Lake Tanganyka, from which it is se2)aratcd by ridges some 500 feet high.* Hence it probably runs out m some landlocked basin. Speke was informed by the natives that this region, comprised between the great lake and the lofty coast ranges, is studded with lakes and salines, like those heapd of bj^ Denhardt, Erhard, and "Wakefield as 13'ing farther north. Till recently copious streams might still be supposed to flow from the western slope of Kilima- Njaro, the giant of African mountains, whose two snowy peaks rise some 240 miles to the east of Nyanza. But the waters escajjing from the gorges of this volcano flow mainly east and south to the Indian Ocean, while the rivulets descend- ing from its west side lose themselves in the depressions of the plateau. None of the watercourses observed by Stanley and other travellers on the east side of Nyanza are of considerable size, and all of them rise at some distance from Kilima-Njaro. The water-parting between the Indian Ocean and the Nile is lower than the eastern ranges, and has rather the appearance of an elevated cliff terminating abruptly eastwards, and sloping gently towards the west. Above it at intervals rise volcanic cones, and the statement of the Arabs, that several of them still show signs of activity, has been recently confirmed by the evidence of the traveller Fischer. Erruptions are even said to occur, and two of the cones take the name of Dunye-M'buro, or "Smoky Mountain." Another is known as the Dunye-Ngai, or " Ileavenlj' Mountain," and copious thermal streams flow from the fissures. The foot of the eastern escarpments, some 4,320 feet high, is skirted by a thermal lake, which is continued by swampy tracts where soda is deposited. In this district the chain of volcanoes is separated by a deep depression from Kilima-Njaro, and the lake itself is little over 2,000 feet above sea-level. Of all the affluents of Lake Nyanza, the Kagera (Tangure or river of Kitaugule), which joins it from the west, has the best claim to be considered as the maiu head- stream of the basin, at least so far as regards its volume. This river, which by its first exjjlorers was named the Alexandra Nile, rises in a highland region some 60 miles south of the equator, and nearly 2,340 miles in a straight line from the Medi- terranean. After collecting the torrents from Moimt Mfunibiro it takes a normal north-easterly course towards Nyanza. Stanlej^ penetrated into the valley of this Upper Nile below its confluence with the emissary of Lake Akanyaru, which had also received the name of Lake Alexandra even before it had been actually visited hj any European. In the district exi^lored by Stanley the Kagera traverses several lakes and receives the overflow from other lacustriae basins, flooding the surround- ing depressions. It has a mean depth of fifty feet, and the horizon is completely shut out by the tall masses of papyrus fringing its banks. Speke and Grant, who were the first to visit this Upper Nile, crossed it much lower down, below the Morongo Fall, one or two days' march from its confluence with Nyanza. * E. G. EaYcnstein, "Map of Eastern Equatorial Africa." VOL. X. D 34 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. The Kagera is evidently a verj' copious stream, whicli during the rainy season overflows its banks for several miles, in a way that reminded Grant of the Hugli between Calcutta and Chandernagor. When Speke crossed it in January, 1862, that is, at low water, it was onl}^ 2o0 feet wide ; but here it resembled a canal cut through dense masses of reeds, and was too deep for the boatmen to emploj' their poles. Its current is very rapid, running at least 3| miles an hour and at its mouth forming a large estuary over 430 feet wide, and varying in depth from 80 to 130 feet. For several miles from the shore its dark gre}- stream continues to flow in a separate channel without intermingling with the blue waters of the lake. The natives have a great veneration for their river, and one of the titles they give it seems to justify the hypothesis that it is really the main headstream of the Nile. According to Stanley they call it the " mother " of the " Stony Current," that is, of the emissary of Lake Nyanza in Uganda, At its north-west angle the lake is joined by the Kalonga, another copious river rising in the west in the neigh- bourhood of Lake Mwutan-Nzige. Although it has a course of over 120 miles, its volume is certainly inferior to that of the Kagera. Lake Victoria Nyaxza. The Nyanza, that is " lake " in a pre-eminent sense, knoiSTi also as the Ukerewe, and now as the Victoria Nyanza, is the largest lacustrine basin in Africa. According to Stanley's provisional map, which will soon be superseded by the more matured work of Mackay, it is exceeded in superficial area only by one other lake — Superior, in North America.* Both Michigan and Huron are smaller by several thousand square miles ; and Aral itself, although generally designated by the name of " Sea," appears to yield in extent to Nyanza. In the depth of its waters also this vast basin rivals the great lacustrine cavities of the world. In the immediate neighbourhood of the east coast, and close to some islands and islets, the sounding line recorded a depth, of 590 feet, which may pro- bably be exceeded in the middle of the lake. Should this prove to be the case, Nyanza will take the first place amongst fresh-water basins for the volume of its liquid contents. Its altitude above the sea has been variously estimated by different observers, but 4,000 feet has been provisionally adopted as not far from the truth. By Speke, who discovered it in 1858, this great inland sea has been named the Victoria Nyanza, in honour of the Queen of England. But every tribe along its shores gives it a different name, while the Swaheli of Zanzibar know it as the Bahari-ya-Pila, or " Second Sea." Many other names also occur in history which evidently have reference to this sheet of water. The title of Kerewe is taken from Ukerewe, the largest island on the south coast, which is separated from the main- land by the narrow strait of Rugeshi, a mere ditch almost completely choked by * Area of the chief lakes of the world :— Superior, 33, .500 square miles ; Nyanza, 26,600 ; Ar.il, 20,300 ; Huron, 24,500 ; Michigan, 23,600 ; Eric, 11,300. LAKE YICTORLi. XTANZA. 35 the papyrus and other aquatic plants. But according to Wilson the most general appelation is simply Xranza, that is, the "lake" in a superlative sense. South of TTkerewe a large bay peneti-ating far inland has by Stanley been named after Speke, his precursor in the exploration of equatorial Africa. The stagnant pools and lagoons fringing this inlet are infested by crocodiles of enormous size. Others, which frequent the reedy banks of the Tangure, are by the natives regarded as demi-gods, personifying the tutelar deity of the stream. Some of the islands are in the imdisputed possession of fierce hippopotami, grouped in regular tribes and families, which tolerate the presence of no other large animals in their respec- Fig. 10. — SorKCES of the Xile axd Xyanza Plateau. Scale 1 : 7,200,000. .,4 f,' r.- -VZ-^-. i( £ A s^^c. •"■JONDQ' *^a»^ii 110 Miles. tive territories. For the capture of these monsters the natives have constructed boats of a peculiar bmld ; but such hunting expeditions are always attended with great risk. The coastlands, which apart from a thousand small indentations have a circum- ference of over 720 miles, present an endless variety of landscape. Along the rocky shores the prevailing formations are everywhere gneiss, granite, or basalts. But in some places the riverain tracts spread out in level, treeless plains, while elsewhere the margin of the lake is skirted by high hiUs and even mountains diversified with patches of verdure and enlivened by groups of villages. Between D 2 36 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. the Kiilonga and Tangure rivers the coast is generally low, and here the shallow water nowhere exceeds a few feet in dej^th for two or three miles from the land. But farther south the shore is fringed by bare cliffs, varied with strips of red or orano-c lichens, giving them the appearance of blocks of iron, and several have in fact been found to consist of ferruginous ores. The most charming prospects are displayed towards the north-west in the territory of U-Ganda. Here the inlets along the coast appear to be divided by the intervening wooded headlands into lakelets of imequal size. Limpid streams are everywhere seen sparkling amid the dense masses of verdure ; down every dell flows a silvery rivulet fringed with tall grasses or shrubs, above which are inter- laced the branches of forest trees. Probably no other region in Central Africa enjoys a more equable climate or a richer soil than this land of U-Ganda. The I^lants of the temperate zone recently introduced by Europeans thrive well. Off the coast of U-Ganda an archipelago of four himdred islands, of which the largest group bears the name of Sesse, stretches in a continuous chain between the hi"-h sea and the creeks along the shore. The scenery of this insular world is even more diversified and its vegetation more exuberant than on the opposite mainland. Here magnificent timber clothes the slopes of the hills down to the beach, which is everywhere bordered by masses of papyrus. Towards the west the basalt island of Bukerebe, Stanley's Alice Island, raises its blackish walls over 300 feet above the lake. But of all the insular masses lining the shores of Nyanza, the most remark- able is that to which Stanley has given the name of " Bridge Island." This rock, which lies not far from the north-east corner of the lake, consists of two basaltic columns connected by an irregular elliptical arch with a spring of about twenty- four and a depth of twelve feet. Trees have struck their roots deep into the interstices of the rocks, which, overgrown with brushwood and tall grass, leave nothing visible except two columnar masses of verdure hanging in graceful festoons down to the water. Through this archway of tropical vegetation a glimpse is afforded of the hazy coast-range bomiding the horizon on the opposite mainland. The beauty of the Nyanza scenery is enhanced bj' the native craft which en- liven its -waters, and which are at times grouped in large fleets. Some of the surrounding communities have sailing-boats ; the traders have launched vessels of considerable size, resembling the dhows of the Zanzibari Arabs, and the European missionaries have constructed sloops on the English model. But most of the skiffs are still of a primitive type, mere barges with round sterns sunk deep in the water, and sharp prows projecting clean above the surface and adorned with two antelope horns and a bunch of feathers. From a distance the}' present the apiDcarance of an animal raising its neck above the water in search of pre}'. These boats, manned by crews of from ten to forty-eight hands, carry neither mast nor sail, and are pro- pelled only by the paddle. Eudcly constructed of trunks of trees lashed together with flexible branches, and caulked with a mixture of bark and mud, the}- offer but a slight resistance to the waves ; hence accidents are frequent, although they seldom venture far from the shore. Before the ai'rival of the Eurojoeans the fleets of the king of U-Ganda seldom O a o c W t g LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY of ILUNOIS. THE SOMEBSET NILE. 37 dared to approach tlie island of U-"\'uma. The islanders, armed with nothing but a knife, would swim towards the boats, dive under the keels, and sever the connect- ing wooden ropes. Presentl_y the frail craft were swamped and their crews struijwlins: in the water. These and other dangers of the naviiyation insure for the diviaities of the lake the respect of all the surrounding populations. The water-gods, who dwell on the islands, condescend to communicate with mortals only through their envoys, who dare not be approached by empty-handed votaries. But the steam launches must ere long deprive these local deities of their prestige and reduce them to the level of ordinary mortals. AVheu the American Chaille- Long wanted to embark on the lake, the king of U-Ganda struck off the heads of seven wizards who had hitherto been both worshipped and hated as the evil genii of Xyanza. By this summary process he hojDed to ensure the safety of his guest. Storms and waterspouts are frequent on the lake. Wilson has also deter- mined the existence of a current, which sets steadily from Speke Bay parallel with the coast westwards. It is caused by the south-east trade winds, which prevail throughout the greater part of the year. The superfluous waters of the inland sea flow gently through a broad opening on the north coast over against the island of U-Yuma. This emissary, forming the head of the Nile properly so called, gradually narrows its banks to the proportions of a river, when its liquid contents are procij)itated over a tremendous cascade, to which Speke has given the name of the Rijjon Falls. A group of boulders, on which a few trees have taken root, stands nearly in the centre of the stream, which is here about 1,300 feet broad. Other less elevated blocks divide the current right and left, which lower down is studded with other reefs and rocks scarcely rising above the surface of the seething waters. Hence the expression Jiuja, or " Stones," applied by the natives to these falls. Although they have a vertical height of 13 feet, hundreds of fishes crowding the lower reach are able to leap the rapids and pass to the upper stream, which a short distance higher up is gentle enough to be crossed by a ferry. Here the view of the lake is to a great extent concealed by a wooded headland, while the line of separation between the gulf and the course of the river is marked by a low peninsula crowned with a clump of palms. The hills of the mainland merge farther on in the verdant isles of the lake. The Somerset Nile. According to Stanley, the Kivira, as the Nile is here called, is about a third larger than the Tangure, the chief afliuent of Nyanza. It flows with a mean breadth of 550 yards, at first towards the north-west, and after passing a few smaller rapids, spreads out right and left in vast reedy lagoons. But even here its normal depth is maintained, and some 60 miles below the falls it enters the Gita- Nzige, another lake, to which the name of Ibrahim has been given by Chaille- Long, who discovered it in 1875. Compared with the other equatorial basins, it is of small extent, having an area of probably not more than 200 square mUes. In this region the Nile receives a number of tributaries, including the Luajcrri, which 38 NOETH-EAST APEICA. rises in tlic U-Gaiula hills uear the shores of ^s^yauza, and which was suiDposed by Speke to flow from the lake itself. On his map he sketched a third emissary, the Kafu, which after a course of about 120 miles joined the Nile lower down. But such a phenomenon as three rivers flowing from the same lake and meeting again after traversing a hilly region would indeed be remarkable. In point of fact the Kafu, like the Luajerri, rises not in, but near the lake, with which it has no communication. Soon after leaving Lake Ibrahim the Nile is described by Chaille-Long as again expanding into a vast morass covered with vegetation, and with a mean depth of scarcely more than 10 or 12 feet. This is the Kioja or Kapeki lagoon, ■which was discovered by the Italian explorer Piaggia, and a short distance below which the Nile is joined bj- the navigable river Kafu. Farther on it describes a bend towards the east and north, after which it trends abruj^tly westwards to its confluence with the great lake Mwiitan-Nzige, or Albert Nyanza. Thi-oughout this section of its course the Nile is usually designated on English majjs by the name of Somerset. The river, which has here a mean breadth of over 1,300 feet, would be perfectly navigable but for its precipitous incline. According to the approximate measure- ments taken by travellers, the total fall in this distance of about 90 miles appears to be 2,310 feet, or about 1 in 205 feet. The Kuruma, the first fall occurring in this part of the Nile, is rather a rapid, where the water, confined between walls of syenite, escapes in sheets of foam down a total incline of about 10 feet. But this is followed by the Tada, Nakoni, Assaka, Kadia, Wade, and Ketutu Falls, forming the chief barriers to the Nile on its descent from the high plateaux. In a space of 18 miles it passes from gorge to gorge, rushing over rocky boulders, filling the atmosphere with vapours, which are precipitated as rain on the trees lining its banks. The action of the stream has, so to saj', sawn through its stony walls, while graduallj' lowering its level. On the south bank the cliffs rise to a vertical height of from 140 to 160 feet above the boiling waters. This boisterous course of the Somerset Nile terminates in a magnificent fall. For about 12 miles above it, the bed of the river is so steep that rapids follow in quick succession, with a mean incline of at least 10 in 1,000 yards. Suddenly the current, contracted to a width of scarcely more than 160 feet, is precipitated over a ledge between two black cliffs, plunging from a height of 115 feet into a cauldron of seething waters, above which floats an iridescent haze quivering in the breeze. Some 300 feet above the ever-restless flood the cliffs are fringed with the waving branches of the feathery jJalm. To this cataract Baker, its discoverer, gave the name of the Murchisou Falls, in honour of the learned jDresident of the English Geographical SocietJ^ Almost immediately below its last eddies the water becomes quite still, expanding to a breadth of from 500 to 800 feet without any perceptible current, and resembling a backwater of Lake Albert Nyanza rather than the continuation of a rapid stream. This phenomenon is said to be due to a lateral affluent flowing north-west to the Lower Nile without traversing the lake, and constituting the real main stream. LAEE ALBERT NYANZA. 39 Lake Albert Nyaxza. The lake discovered b}- Baker, and by him named the Albert Nyanza, is known to the people on its east bank as the Mwutan-Nzige, or " Grasshopper Sea." Others call it the " Great "\Yater," although far inferior in extent to the Victoria Nyanza. It stretches south-west and north-cast for a distance of about 90 miles, with a mean breadth of over 18 miles. According to Mason's rough sui-vej^ it has a superficial area of 1,850 square miles, and stands at an altitude of 2,800 feet. From the Victoria to this lower basin the Nile has consequently descended nearly half of the entire elevation of the continent between the plateaux and the Mediterranean. Like the Dead Sea, the Mwiitan-Nzigi? seems to fill a fissure in the earth's crust. It is enclosed right and left by steep mountains, whereas at its northern and southern extremities it terminates in gentlj' shoaling bays and low- lying beaches. The high cliffs on the east side, consisting of granite, gneiss, and red porphyry, form a first stage in the ascent towards the U-Nyoro and U-Gauda plateaux. The streams flowing from the swamps on these uplands have not yet completed their work of erosion by furrowing regular channels across the outer scarps of the plateau. Hence, like the Nile at Murchison Falls, they have all still to make their way through cataracts, where the volume of water is less but the fall much greater, being approximately estimated for most of them at about 320 feet. Livingstone and other explorers of Central Africa supposed that Lake Tanganyka belonged to the Nile basin, sending its overflow north-eastwards to the Albert Nyanza. But subsequent investigation has shown that the two lakes have no communication with each other. During their trips round the latter, both Gessi and Mason ascertained that from the south it receives no affluent except a shallow, sluggish stream, almost choked with vegetation. In this marshy district it is covered with a floating or half -submerged forest of ambach (ambaj), a leguminous i^lant {lierminiera ekiphroryloii), 18 or 20 feet high, with star-shaped leaves and golden yellow flowers like those of the broom. Its wood, which resembles cork in appearance, is the lightest knoT^Ti to botanists, so light that a raft strong enough to support eight persons forms the load of a single porter. It grows so densely that the native boats are imable to penetrate the tangled masses of vegetation springing from the muddy bottom of the lake. Beyond this aquatic forest Gessi beheld a vast prairie rolling away between two steep mountains, which formed a southern continuation of the coast ranges. Lake Albert, continually renewed by contributions from the Nile, is everywhere sweet and pure, except in the southern shallows, where the water is turbid and brackish, and in some places on the east side, where it mingles with saline si^rings, utilised by the people of U-Nyoro. Although no distinct imdercurrents have been observed, the navigation is rendered very dangerous by the sudden squalls sweejjing roimd the headlands and do^vn the moimtain gorges. "When embarking on their frail craft the natives never fail to cast some valued object into the lake as a propitiatory offering to the water-gods. A chief, one of Baker's friends, 40 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. obtained from him a quantity of glass trinkets for the purjjose of insuring the stranger's safety by employing them in this way. But since those first visits Lake Albert, already temporarily annexed to the Khedive's possessions, has been navigated in every direction by two steamers, which to pass the Xile cataracts had to be taken to pieces and put together again above the last portages. The transport of the Khcdice required no less than 4,800 hands, of which 600 were needed to haul the boiler across the swamps, through the woods, and over the hills. The escarpments along the east coast are far more elevated than those on the opposite side. It is sometimes asserted that the Nile traverses Lake Albert without mingling with the surrounding waters. But recent inquiry has shcmi that such is not the case. According to the varj'ing temj)eratures, the warmer fluvial current sjjreads in a thin layer over the surface of the lake, gradually blending with it under the influence of the winds. But when the stream is colder it descends to the lower depths of the lacustrine cavit}-, where it replaces the lighter fluid. Hence, although the inflow is distant scarcely 12 miles from the outflow, the Somerset Nile becomes lost in the great lake, whose superfluous waters must be regarded as the main feeder of the emissarj\ The "White Nile. This emissarj', variously known as the Kir, the Meri, the Bahr-el-Jebel, or " Mountain River," and by other names according to the dialects of the riverain j)opulations, flows normally north and north-east in a tranquil stream winding at a width of from 2,000 to 6,500 feet between its verdant banks. In the middle of the channel the depth varies from 16 to 40 feet, so that throughout the year it is accessible to large vessels for 120 miles below the lake. The shores are fringed with wooded islands and islets, while large masses of tangled vegetation drift with the current, especially at the beginning of the floods. These floating islands consist of a substratum of decomposed foliage and reeds strong enough to support an upper laj'er of living vegetation, by whose roots and tendrils the whole mass becomes solidly matted together. During the course of five or six years the flora becomes renewed, the surface growth decomposing in its turn, and causing the aquatic garden to break up and float away in smaller sections with the stream. But it often hajipens that the vegetable refuse accumulates in sufficiently large quantities to enable these floating islands to strike root here and there in the bed of the stream, and in the Nile basin whole rivers have sometimes been covered with such buoyant masses, firm enough to bear even the weight of caravans. Owing to the rapid development of this rank vegetation, the Nile has frequently been choked in its upper reaches and compelled to cut new channels in the surrounding alluvia. On the plains stretching west of the present Nile traces are seen in many places of these old beds, or " false rivers," as they are called. The low chain of hills skirting this plain on the west, and forming the water-parting between the Nile and Congo basins, might not inaptly be named the " Explorers' Range." The crests following : THE WHITE NILE. 41 from south to north bear the names of Schweinf urth, Junker, Chippendall, Speke, Emin, Baker, Gordon, and Gessi. The great bend described by the Nile below the Dufli station, at an elevation of about 2,100 feet above the sea, marks a very important point in the hydrography of its basin. Ilere it is joined by several copious afHuents, including the Asua or Asha, supposed hj some geographers to flow from Lake Mbaringo (Baringo, Bahr Ingo), which Speke at one time identified with a north-east inlet of Victoria Nyanza, and whose very existence has since been questioned. But the question has been practically settled by Thomson, who visited the district in 1884, and who determined the existence of Baringo and another large lake farther south. The Asua, however, rises not in a lake, but in a hilly region east of the Somerset Xile, while the JIbaringo is a landlocked basin without any outflow. At their junction both the Nile and the Asua, skirted right and left by hiUs, are obstructed by reefs, and even above the confluence the navigation of the main stream is completely obstructed by the Fola Rapids, which "Wilson has named the " Eighth " Cataract. Here all vessels on the T7pper Nile have to stop and tranship their cargoes, an inconvenience which has caused the Nile route to be almost abandoned above the rapids. After leaving the bend at Dufli, caravans for Victoria Nyanza strike south-eastwards, rejoining the Somerset Nile at Foweira, above the Karuma Rapids. This route, which has also been taken by the recent militarj^ expeditions from Egypt, is twice as short as that by the winding valley of the river. Below the Asua confluence the Nile is still obstructed here and there by rocky ledges, as at Yerbora, where it rushes between huge boulders, at Makedo, where it develops two falls over six feet high, and at Teremo-Garbo and Jenkoli-Garbo, where other rapids occur. But all of these impediments may be passed during the floods. Steamers freely ascend for nine months in the year as far as Ragat or Rejaf, and to the winding at Bedden below the falls forming the " Seventh " Cataract. But during low water they are unable to get beyond the famous station of Gondokoro, or IsmaUiya, which was long the capital of Upper Egyptian Sudan. The head of the navigation for large vessels is indicated by the sandstone eminence of Rejaf, a perfectly regular cone of volcanic appearance terminating in a tower- shaped rock, which rises over 330 feet above the surrounding plain. At this point the Nile, according to the estimates of Dovyak and Peney, has a normal discharge of about 20,000 cubic feet, oscillating between 10,000 at low and 30,000 at high water. During the floods it presents an imjDosing appearance at Gondokoro and Lado (Lardo), the new capital of the province of the equator. But flowing through an almost level plain, it soon ramifies into numerous lateral channels, while other secondary streams, intermingled with marshes and lagoons, wind right and left of the Bahr-el-Jebel, or Kir, as this section of the Nile is called by the Dinkas. The main stream itself branches off completely, the Nile proper continuing its north-westerly course, while the Bahr-ez-Zaraf, or " Giraffe River," winds for 180 miles through swamps and prairies northwards to a point where the two branches again unite. The Zaraf is described by ilarno not as a 42 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. Fig. 11.. -From Dufii,£ to Lado. Scale 1 : 1,500,000. river iii the proper sense, but merely a hhor or -svatereoui-se, whicli is becoming yearly less na^•igable, and already inaccessible to boats except for a short time during the floods. The whole low-lying region at jiresent intersected by the Bahr-el-Jebel, the Zaraf and all their countless affluents, channels, and branches was evidentlj' at one time a vast lake, that has been gradually filled u^j by the alluvia of these rivers. Its northern margin is indicated by the abrupt change in the coui'se of the ]Vile at the confluence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, or "Gazelle Eiver." At this point the whole system of waters is collected in a single channel, which is deflected eastwards along the escarpment of the upland Xordofan plains. A cavity of the old depression is still flooded by a remnant of the lake called the No, Ku, or Birket-el-Ghazal, which, however, under the action of the currents and periodical floods, is continually over- flowing its marshy banks, shifting its place and modifying its outlines. Ivowhere else is the Nile more obstructed by vegetable refuse as along this section of its course. The floating islands drifting with the current being arrested by the abrupt winding of the stream are collected together, and stretch at some points right across the channel, which thus becomes displaced. But the new channel is soon blocked by fresh masses of &cdd, as it is called, which in many places covers a space of twelve miles. This sedd often acquires great consistency^, supporting a den.se growth of papja-us, and even of arborescent vegetation, beneath which the main stream continues its sluggish course. Numerous families of the Nuer tribe pitch their tents on the verdant surface, living exclusively on fish caught by piercing the foundations of their dwellings, and on the grain of various species of nympha^acese. In certain places along the banks of the river and surrounding swamjjs are seen myriads of oarth-moxmds, all raised above the highest level of the inundations by their architects, the termites, who ascend and descend from story to story with the flowing and ebbing stream. One of the most 3l°30 32°I5- C Perron . 30 Miles. THE WHITE NILE. 43 remarkable inliabitants of this waterj' region is the halceniccps rcr, a curious loug- legged aquatic bird with grej' plumage, which when perched on a termite's hillock looks from a distance like a Nuer fisherman. From the time when the envoj's of Nero failed to penetrate the sea of floating vegetation, explorers of the Nile have been frequentlj' ar- Fig. 12.— Eegion of the "Sud." rested by this obstacle. Dur- sck i : 2,000,000. ing the latter half of the present century most of them have had to force their way through the tangled masses, and one of the channels thus formed by Miss Tinne's steamer still bears the name of Maya Signora. During the seven years from 1870 to 1877 the river was completely blocked, obliging all travellers to con- tinue their journey by the Bahr-ez-Zaraf . Many were de- tained for weeks and months on these pestiferous waters, over which hover dense clouds of mosquitoes. Here Gessi was arrested in 1880 with five hundred soldiers and a large number of liberated slaves, and three months elapsed before an Egyi^tian flotilla, under Marno, was able to rescue them by opening a passage from below. Devoured by the insects, wasted by fever, and reduced to live on wild herbs and the dead bodies of their unfortunate comrades, most of the captives found a grave in the surrounding swamj)s, and nearly all the survivors perished of exhaustion soon after. Gessi himself outlived the disaster only a few months. To the lajjoon of No must be attributed those " green waters " noticed at 30 Milea. Cairo during the early days of June, when the stream, charged with vegetable 44 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. cellules, acquires a marsliy taste and becomes unwholesome. But all this refuse is swept away or destroyed bj' the first floods from the Abyssinian rivers, which thus restore to the Nile water its excellent properties. The "Gazelle," which joins the main stream in the Xo basin, is a "bahr," that is, a considerable river, flowing from the west, and during the floods bringing sufficient water to sweep away the temjDorary obstructions. In its channel are collected a hundred other rivers, whose numbers and copiousness form a striking contrast to the poverty or total absence of running waters characteristic of the Nile basin farther north. Altogether the affluents of the great river are dis- ^ Fia;. 13. — The Nile at Khaktim. tributed very irregularly, thus illustrating, as it were, the discrepancies of the climate. In the region of the plateaux the Victoria Nyanza and Somerset Nile receive feeders both from east and west, for the rainfall is here sufficientlj' heavj' to cause watercourses to converge from all directions in the great lacustrine reservoir. But north of the Albert Nj'anza the aflluents occur alternately now on one now on the other bank of the Nile. In the section of its course terminating in the No lagoons it receives contributions oidj' from the west, and farther north only from the Abyssinian highlands lying to the east. Then for a distance of 1,500 miles no more permanent tributaries reach its banks either from the right or tlio loft. Even during the rainy season the gorges opening on its valley send t3 H o • . LIBRA;-; ^ OF THE DNlVtRSITY '" THE AVHITE NILE. 45 down very little water, and none at all for the rest of the year. Unique in this resjject among the great rivers of the globe, the Nile seems for the greater part of its course to be a river destitute of tributary basins. On its west bank nothing occurs for 2,200 miles from its mouth except some wadies flushed during the rains. But then follows a sudden and remarkable contrast, due to the changed climatic conditions. All the triangular region comprised between the Bahr-el-Jebcl, the Xile, and Congo water-parting, and the Dar-For uplands, is intersected by numerous perennial streams nearly converging in the direction of the old lacustrine basin now filled with alluvia and vegetable refuse. With their minor headstreams and aflluents they form a vast and intricate hydrographic system, extremely difficult accurately to survej^ esjieciallj- owing to the varied and shifting nomenclature. Like the Xile itself, ever}- secondarj- branch bears as manj- names as there are tribes in its valley or neighbourhood. The most important appear to be the Tei, which is lost in the swamps bordering the left bank of the Nile ; the Rol, flowing to the Bahr-el-Ghazal ; the Boa and Tonj, whose united waters form the Apabu ; the Dim-, which reaches the Bahr-el-Ghazal near Aleshra-er-Bek, and which is the most copious of its many affluents ; the Pango, a branch of the Diur ; lastly the Famikam, better known as the Bahr-el-Arab, which forms the northern limit of the whole region, and which, after its junction with the Ghazal, deflects the Xile eastwards. Most of these streams have a very gentle incline, the most rapid being those that take their rise in the mountains near lake Albert Nyanza. Some have their source altogether in the jjlains, offering an almost imperceptible transition to the basin of the Congo. In their lower course the Rol, Diur, and some others have too slight a fall to scour their beds of the vegetation constantly accumulating. The consequence is that, like the Xile, they overflow their banks, during the floods converting the whole country for some thousands of square miles into an impassable morass. A large portion of the rainfall in this part of the Xile basin evaporates before reaching the main stream. Here the annual rains represent a volume greater than the whole discharge of the Nile at Cairo. At the point where it resumes its normal northerly course beyond the region of sedd, the X'ile is joined on its east bank bj- the Sobat, which is also known by a great variety of names.* The Sobat, which drains a very large area, and which • Xomenclature of the Upper Nile and its affluents : — Kite : Kivira, Somerset (between lakes Victoria and Albert) ; Meri (in the Madi country) ; Karre (by the Bari people) ; Kir (by the Denkas) ; Yer (by the Nuer) ; Bahr-el-Jebel (by the Arabs between Lakes Albert and No) ; Bahr-el-Abiad, or ""White Kiver" (by the Arabs below the Sobat). Yei: Ayi, Doghurguru, Jemid, Eodi, Babr-Lau. Eol: Nam-Pol, Ferial, WeUi, Tabo, Nam-Gel. Roa : Meriddi, Bahr-jau. Tonj: Tondy, Lessi, Doggoru, Kuan. Diur : Here, Nyenam, Bahr-Wau, Ugul, Eelaba. Paiiffo : Ji, Dishi, TJgakaer, Bahr-el-Homr. Famikam : Bahr-el-Arab, Lialui, Lol. Lollo, Konikom. Sobat : Bahr-el-Mogate, 'Waik, Telfiu, Wah, or Tah (by the Shiluks), Pinyin, or Tilfi (by the Nuer), Biel, Kieti, Kidi, or Kiradid (by the Dinkas.) 46 NOETH-EAST APEICA. Russegger mistook for the Nile itself, is the first affluent that receives any contributions from the Ethiopian highlands. It frequently sends down a greater volume than the main stream, whose waters during the floods are stemmed and driven hack by its current. To judge from its whitish fluid contents, in which the blackish Xile water disappears, the Sobat has the best claim to the title of Bahr- el-Abiad, or " "White River." Some of its affluents rise on the low-lying plains stretching east of the Nile ; but the most important has its source much farther east, in the upland valleys of the Ghesha range, which forms the water-parting between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean basins. The Baro, which is one of the dozen different names of this affluent, on entering the plain traverses the Fig. U. — Meshra-er-Rek in the Zariba Eegiox. gcale 1 : ?,200,no0. • Mayendout i^9° E . of ureenwich C.Pe . 30 MUes. marshy Lake Behair of the Arabs, or " Sea of Haarlem," as it has been renamed by the Dutch explorer Schuver. During the rainy season the Sobat sends down a vast quantity of water, on June 15, 1862, estimated by Pruyssenaerc, 70 miles above the confluence, at 42,000 cubic feet per second. Hence during the floods the whole of its lower course is easily navigated ; but if large craft linger too long on its treacherous flood they run the risk of being landed high and diy on some shifting sandbank, as happened to the trader Andrea Debono, who was recently detained in the river for eleven months. It is below the Sobat that the Nile takes currently the Arab name of Bahr-el- Abiad, or " White River," by which it is generally known to Europeans above THE BLUE NILE. 47 Khartum, where it is joined b}' the other Nile, called the Bahr-el-Azraq, or " Blue River." The contrast is certainly striking between the two currents, the former being charged with organic remains, turbid, and muddy, while the latter, flowing from a rocky region, is generally much more limpid. But a greater contrast is presented bj- the variations in their respective volumes according to the seasons. The western branch, which is by far the longest, the distance from Khartum to its still undetermined source being even greater than from that place to the Mediter- ranean, has also the most uniform discharge. Begidated by the great equatorial lakes, and again by the swampy depressions about Lake No, its contents present comparatively less discrepancies from season to season. But the impetuous Bahr- el-Azraq partakes rather of the nature of a torrent. As soon as the tropical downpours begin to fall on the Abyssinian plateaux, the effect is felt m its rocky channel. Then its discharge exceeds that of its rival, and it was on this ground that Bruce and many subsequent explorers claimed the first rank for the Abyssinian branch. But since the discoveries of Speke, Grant and Baker, it can be regarded only as an important tributary of the Bahr-el-Abiad. Its mean volume is less considerable, nor is it navigable at low water. The Blue Nile. On the other hand, if it is the White Nile that maintains the perennial stream, to the Blue Nile is due its fertilising properties. Without the fii'st there would be no Egypt ; but for the second the soil of this region would lack its inexhaustible fertility. Not only do the Abyssinians send down their quickening waters to the Nile delta, but they also supply it with the sedimentary matter by which the land is incessantly renewed, and the never-failing return of bountiful harvests insured. In the Ethiopian highlands is solved the mystery of the Egyptian stream, yearly overflowing its banks without apparent cause, and then retiring to its bed after accomplishing its beneficent work. It is to be regretted that the discharge of both rivers has not been accurately determined, the Nilometer at Khartum serving to estimate that of the Blue Nile alone.* At the confluence we at once enter regions known to the ancients. The Bahr- el-Azraq is the Astapus of Ptolemy, whose source was possibly known to the Romans. At least they make it rise in a lake, the Coloe Palus, although placing this lake some twelve degrees south of its actual position. Lake Tana (Tsana) is regarded as the reservoir giving rise to the Abai, which is usually taken as the upper course of the Blue Nile. But if length of course alone be taken into con- sideration, this honour should rather be awarded to the Beshto, which has its origin some 150 miles farther east. The Tana emissary, however, has the advantage of being much more constant in its discharge, thanks to the controlling action of the * Approximate estimate of tie discharge of the two Kiles at Khartum per second : — Bahr-el-Abiad. High -water . . 175,000 cuhic feet. Low water . . 10,000 „ ,, Bahr-el-Azraq. High water . . 213,000 cubic feet. Low water . , o.oOO ,, ,, 48 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. lake, which rises slowly duriug the floods, and falls imperceptibly during the dry season. The j'early discrepancy between the levels of the lake scarcely exceeds forty inches. The Abai, its largest affluent, rises at Gisli Abai, near the north-east foot of Mount Denguiya, some GO miles from the lake. The Portuguese colonj' settled in this region towards the end of the sixteenth century certainly visited the sources of the Abai ; but they were first described by the Jesuit Paez, who tells us that the water, oozing from a marshj^ field, is collected in a limpid lake, supposed by the natives to be " unfathomable " because they cannot reach the bottom with their spears. Thence trickles a rivulet, whose course can be traced onlj- by a surface growth of waving grasses, but which over a mile lower down emerges in the open. This is the brook to which both the Portuguese and Bruce gave the name of the Nile. The fiery exhalations often seen flitting about its soui'ce, doubtless will-o'- the-wisps, have earned for the Abai the veneration of the natives, who still sacrifice animals to the local river genius. The stream has a width of over 30 feet where it reaches the south-west inlet of the lake, and where its turbid waters have developed an alluvial delta of considerable size. But the outlet, which retains the name of Abai, is a limpid blue current fully entitled to its Arabic designation of Bahr-el-Azraq. Like most other rivers which are at once affluents and emissaries of lacustrine basins, the Abai is constantly said to traverse lake Tsana without mingling with its water. But although such a phenomenon is well-nigh impossible, a perceptible current certainly appears to set steadily from the mouth of the affluent to that of the outflow. Tsana cannot be compared for size to the great equatorial lakes. According to Stecker's survey, it has a superficial area of scarcely 1,200 square miles, or less than the twentieth part of Victoria Nyanza. But it must have formerly been more extensive than at present, as is evident from some alluvial plains found especially on the north side. It has the general form of a crater, except towards the south, where it develops into a gulf in the direction of its outlet. Hence the hypothesis advanced by several authors that it maj' have originally been a vast volcanic cone, and certainly some of the rounded islets in the neighbouring waters look like extinct craters, while the surrounding shores are diversified with bold basaltic headlands. The central part of the basin is pi-obably very deep, for even in the southern inlet Stecker recorded a depth of 240 feet. The water is exti-emely pure, and as pleasant to the taste as that of the Nile. Towards the south-west the shore is fringed with dense masses of a long light reed (aruiido doiiax), with which the natives construct their tankuas, frail skiffs or rafts propelled by two or four oars, and provided with raised benches to keep the cargo dry. But very little traffic is carried on from coast to coast. Through the foliage which encircles this lovely sheet of water, little is visible except the distant hills and the conic islets rising above the sparkling surface. Herds of hippopotami are often seen on the shores, but there are no crocodiles in the lake, although the Abai below the cataract is infested by these reptiles. Nor has any European traveller seen the aila, a small sjoecies of manatee said by the natives to inhabit its waters ; which, however, abound THE BLUE XLLE. 49 in fish, chiefly cyprides of a different species from those of the Xile. A kind of bivalve also occurs, resembling the oyster in appearance and flavour. Issuing from the lake at an altitude of 6,200 feet, the Abai flows at first towards the south-east, foi-ming a first fall near "Woreb, 5 miles below the outlet. Expanding lower down to a width of about 650 feet, it winds along through shady fields to the Tis-Esat, or Alata Falls, where it is suddenly precipitated from a height of over 80 feet into a yawning chasm shrouded in vapour. In the centre of the cascade stands a pyramidal rock surmounted by a solitary tree constantly agitated by the breeze. Immediately below this spot the Abai plunges into a winding gorge, at one point scarcely 8 or 10 feet wide, crossed by a bridge of Portuguese construction. Some 30 miles farther on it is crossed by another bridge, the central arch of which has given wav, its broken fragments forming a reef amid the tumultuous waters under- neath. The whole distance between these two bridges is little more than a succes- sion of falls and rapids, with a total descent of at least 2,000 feet. Alpine masses tower to the right and left above the gorge, which seems to have no outlet. But after describing a complete semicircle rotmd the Abyssioian plateau, the Abai emerges on the plain in a north-westerly direction. The fall in this vast circuit is altogether over 4,000 feet, while throughout its lower course, terminating at the Khartum confluence, the incline is scarcely perceptible. Here it winds in gentle meanders between its alluvial banks, which are constantly yielding to the erosive action of the stream. During the dry season the Bahr-el-Azraq diminishes in volume downwards, and in many places may be easily forded. For more than half the year the Tabus and Tumat, its chief tributaries from the south, are apparently merely di"ied-up wadies, although the water still percolates beneath the sands. The Eahad, or Abu-Ahraz, also one of its large eastern affluents, which rises on the west slope of the Abyssinian border range, is completely exhausted for a long way above the confluence before the wet season. But from June to the middle of September, when the rain falls in torrents on the mountain slopes, its vast bed overflows its banks, supph-ing abimdant water to the cultivated riverain tracts. The Dender, however, another river rising in Abyssinia, appears to be perennial. Xowhere else would it be more useful or more easy to construct reservoirs and control the discharge than in this hydro- graphic basin, which at the confluence of the two great arteries at Khartum stands at an altitude variously estimated at from l,"2o0 to 1,450 feet above sea- level. The northern as well as the southern section of the Abyssinian plateau is also comprised in the Xile basin. . But here the affluents of the great river rise, not on the western slope, but in the very heart of the highlands, close to the range forming the water-parting between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Takkaze, main headstream of the whole Atbara hydi-ographic system, has its source at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet, and flows at first westwards, as if to fall into Lake Tsana. But the gorge through which it descends between its crystalline schist walls rapidly attains a level far lower than that of the Ethiopian uplands. At the point where the river trends northwards it has already fallen to an altitude of con- VOL. X. E 50 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. siderably less than 4,000 feet, and here its banks begin to be fringed by a tropical vegetation. On descending from the surrounding mountains, which are swept by cold winds, the sensation is like that felt on entering a hothouse. The Atbara. After its escajDe from the region of the plateaux, the Tukkaze resumes its westerly course, and at last reaches the plain through a series of rugged gorges. Here it takes the name of the Setit, and is joined by the Atbara, which is much less iu volume and hardly half its length ; but the mean direction of its valley, beginning immediately west of Lake Tsana, is the same as that of the united streams. The Atbara, IHie the Mississippi on joining the yellow and turbid waters of the powerful Missouri, gives its name to the hydrograi^hic system ; the Goang, one of the tributaries of the Takkaze, rises in the north in the depression of Lake Tsana, from which it is separated only by a ridge 165 feet high. Below the confluence the Atbara, which retains the ancient name given it by Ptolemy under the form of Astaboras, gradually diminishes in volume, as does also its former affluent, the Mareb, which in its iipper course describes one of those large semi- circular curves so characteristic of the Abyssinian rivers. In fact, the Mareb, or the " E,iver of the West," as it is called by the Ab}'ssinians from the direction of its course, may be said to have ceased to be an afiluent of the Atbara. Called the " Sona " in its middle and "Gash " in its lower course, where it is onlj^ an inter- mittent stream, it flows northwards parallel with the Atbara, and runs out in the alluvial lands before reaching its former outlet, called by the Hadendoa nomads " Gash-da," i.e. " Mouth of the Gash." On visiting the country in 1864, Mun- zinger found that its bed had not been once flooded for twenty years. Tliis change in the local hydrography doubtless arises from the irrigation works constructed on the left bank of the Gash. Embanked on this side, the river flows to the right, eating away its eastern and highest cliffs. Its course, formerly at right angles, now becomes parallel to the Atbara ; but as it flows northwards it finally runs dry in the sands. In 1840, Ahmed Pasha, the Egyptian conqueror, tried again to divert the Gash westwards into the Atbara, but his embankment was imdermined by the riverain population of the lower plain. Till recently the river Barka, or Baraka, flowing into the swamps on the Red Sea coast not far from Suakin, was also supposed to belong to the Nile basin through a branch of the Mareb. This tradition differs little from that related by Strabo, according to which a branch of the Astaboras flowed to the Red Sea. The hypothesis may perhaps be partly due to a confusion of names, for the plain stretching east of the Mareb towards the Atbara is called Barka, or Baraka, a term also applied to the channel flowing east- wards. However this be, the Axumite Ethiopians, and after them the Abyssinians, who long identified the true NUe with their Takkaze, fancied for centuries that it would be easy to divert their river into the sea and thus deprive Egypt of the water required for its crops. This illusion, however, was also entertained by foreigners, and is referred to by Ariosto in his "Orlando Furioso." Repeating the threat of THE ATBAEA. 51 Albuquerque, who asked the King of Portugal to send him workmen from Madeira to assist him in making a new bed for the HHe to the Red Sea, Theodore, " king of Fig:. 15. — Basix of the Xile AFFivE>"r3. Scae 1 : 1S,300.0CIO. O: o^eef^vv zn C Perron > Miles. kin 0-5," boasted that he would divert the llareb into the Barka, ia order to create a famine in Egypt and compel the Khedive to capitulate. During the dry season, the Atbara, unlike the Blue Xile, fails to reach the main stream. Its bed, 440 yards broad, is completely dry ; "a desert within a desert," it is merelv a waste of shimmering sands, to which the distant mirage gives the E 2 62 ' NOETH-EAST AFRICA. appearance of sparkling water. But in the lower bed of the Atbara a few pools are scattered here and there. They owe their existence partly to the hollows that the eddies have excavated many j'ards below the normal bed, and partly to the trees that line the bank preventing the water from evaporating. In these pools, some more than half a mile in length, others reduced to an extent of a few square yards, are crowded together, in a space much too small for their mutual ease and safety, all the river fauna — fishes, turtles, crocodiles, and even the hipjooj^otamus ; the wild animals resort likewise to these pools teeming with life, and every pabn and every thicket along the bank has its colony of birds. In most of the rivers on the plain the water brought back with the rainy season returns gently into its channel. Preceded by a current of air, which causes the foliage along its banks to thrill with life, it advances with a soimd like the rustling of silk. The first sheet of water is a mere mass of yellowish foam mixed with debris of all sorts ; following this mixture of mud and water comes a second wave, the true fluvial stream ; then appears the normal current, towards which the animals rush to quench their thirst. But the powerfid volume of the Atbara rushes on like an avalanche ; when it again fiUs its bed, it is not by a .slight and gradual advance, but by a sudden rush of water sweeping everything before it. The traveller sleeping on its sandy bed is suddenly awakened by the trembling of the earth, and by an approaching roar like that of thunder. " El Bahr ! el Bahr ! " shout the Arabs, and there is scarcely time to rush to the bank to escape the advancing flood, driving before it a mass of mud, and bearing on its first waves reeds, bamboos, and a thousand other spoils torn from its banks. Presently the river bed is completely flooded, a quarter of a mile broad, and from 18 to 40 feet deep, flowing on as calmly as if its current had never been rufiled. Lilce the Blue Nile, the Atbara, called also by the Arabs the Bahr-el- Oswad, or " Black River," flows into the Nile, and running with it from cataract to cataract, sends down to the lower reaches that muddy sediment by which the fertility of the soil is ever renewed. The Nubian Nile. Below the junction of the two Niles, north of Khartum, the river has no more visible affluents during the dry season, the lower bed of the Atbara itself being quite exhausted. But it probably receives hidden streams, for through evaporation, lateral filtrations, and the loss sustained in irrigating the riverain plains, the stream is diminished only b}' a seventh according to Lombardini, and by a fifth according to Gothberg, in the entire section of 1,620 miles between Khartum and Cairo. In the great bend that it describes in its course through Nubia it is diminished verj^ slowlj^ ; but to the ej^es of the traveller its volume does not appear to be modified dui'ing this long course over a considerable portion of the earth's circumference. As the Nile discharges a quantity of water equal to four times that of the Loire, or seven times that of the Seine, merchant vessels might penetrate through this highway to the centre of the continent, were it not obstructed at intervals by numerous rocky barriers. The Nubian Nile is thus divided h\ six natural barriers THE NUBIAN NILE. 53 into seven navigable reaches ; nor can vessels pass from one to the other except at high water, or without the aid of hundreds of hands to haul them over the rapids or check their downward course. Were the waters of the Nile not retained by these obstructions, and were the stream allowed to flow freely during the dry season, the question may be asked whether there would be sufficient water for the whole year ; would a delta have ever been developed or an Egypt created 'i Preceded, between Tamaniat and the Jebel Melekhat, by two steep rapids and Fig. 16. C.ITARACT OF H.AJSNEK. Scale 1 : 30,000. 50 i5 :5 ^ ^ O t . of Ij r l,liX) \axis. a gorge commanded by two basaltic columns, the sixth and most southern cataract between Khartum and the mouth of the Atbara would hardly be thought worthy of the name on such rivers as those of Canada and Scandinavia, where the still- undeveloped valleys have preserved theii* abrupt declivities notwithstanding the constant erosive action of the runnin» waters. This cataract of Garri is rather a rapid caused by the presence of granite reefs at this point ; still it suffices to interrupt the navigation for the greater part of the year. When the railway. 54 NOETH-EAST APEICA. destined to become the commercial outlet of the whole Ujiper Nile basin, shall connect the Red Sea coast with the Atbara and Nile confluence, this line will have to be extended up stream as far as the cataract of Garri to allow of uninterrupted traffic. The fifth cataract, which is followed by the rapids of Gerasheb, Mograt, and others between Berber and Abu-llamed, obstructs the navigation only at low water ; but farther down occur more serious natural impediments. Most travellers crossing Nubia between Sudan and Egji^t follow the land route from Abu-Hamed to Xorosko, not merely because of the vast semicircle described westwards by the Nile in this part of its course, but also because its bed is here obstructed by three Fig. 17. — Kaibae Cataract. Scale 1 : 19,000. .'9' --5 -0- 50*47 40' L . of iT-eenwich 50-4«-20.- C Perron ' 1,050 Yards. series of cataracts. One of these groups of -rapids, known as the "fourth cataract," is of considerable length, and is divided into many stages like a series of sluices. First comes Dulga Island, a high rock cro\vned by a ruined fortress ; then follow other granite boulders visible above the water, but without interrupting the navigation. This first barrier is succeeded bj- islands and sandbanks, followed by more rocks, dividing the river into steep channels, and the gorge ends near Gerendid, in a sort of gateway formed by two rocks covered with the ruins of fortresses. Here are no trees like those on the fifth or the third cataract situated below New Dongola, not a patch of verdure on the bank to soften the wild grandeur THE NUBIAN NILE. 55 of the sceneiy. Notliiug meets the gaze except water, rock, sand, and sky, until it is arrested farther down bj^ the hold headland of Mount Barkal. The " third " cataract, like the others, comprises several partial falls, below an ancient islaud-studded lake, where the river expands to a width of some seven miles between its two banks. At the first granite reef, that of Ilannek, so called from a Jfubian castle on its left bank, the stream, divided into a thousand foaming channels, presents a more decided fall. Here blackish rocks of hornblende and feldspar project from twenty-foiu' to twentj'-six feet above low water. The river- craft do not venture amid the openings of this irregular barrier ; but under the right bank runs a channel broad enough to allow two boats to pass abreast. At the entrance of the cataract a few trees festooned with creepers overhang, in dense arches, reefs which are carefully avoided on account of the venomous snakes which infest them. Lower down more islands are scattered in mid- stream, their verdure contrasting vividly with the black rocks. The Hannek rapids have a total length of 4 miles, and the difference of level between the two extreme points varies from 18 feet at low water to 10 feet dui-iag the floods. It is thus evident that the fall is here comparatively slight, as is the case in most of the other cataracts. Below Hannek the Nile trends sharjaly east and north towards the Kaibar or Kajbar bank, which dui-ing the drj' season seems to completely obstruct the stream. It has the appearance of an artificial dj-ke, which by a peculiar optical illusion, due to the contrast between the dark rock and the greyish water, seems to rise to a considerable height. The rock must be ai^proached quite closely to find the tortuous outlets through which the foaming channels of the NUe escape. During the floods the Kaibar barrier is entirelj^ concealed, leaving free passage to the stream between its banks. The "Wadi-Halfa, or " second cataract," is the point where most European and American travellers making the " tour of the Nile " bring their journey to a close. The rock of Abu-Sii-, which commands its tumultuous waters and aflords a magnificent uninterrupted \iew of the southern horizon, is scrawled aU over with the names of adventurous tourists, proud of having penetrated so far up the mysterious river. Although this cataract stretches over a space of more than fifteen miles, it forms merely the lower portion of the series of rapids known as the Batn-el-Hagar, which have a total length of about eighty miles. The river presents everywhere the same aspect throughout the whole of this section. Its broad bed is strewn with boulders, most of them rounded off like stones jDolished by glacial action ; whilst others are disposed vertically like basalt columns, or else cut up into jagged crests, bristling with sharp and needle-like sjjines. Between these reefs rush the winding channels, each forming a separate cascade ; elsewhere occur landlocked basins, in which the whirling waters seem completelj' arrested. To these succeed other rapids, faUs, and eddies, the cataract thus breaking up into a thousand partial falls. But at low water these minute thread-like streams are scarcely visible, being lost in the vast maze of shoals and channels. Excluding the reefs, the archipelago consists of three himdred and fifty-three islands and islets, each with its Nubian name, more than fifty of them being iahabited and 56 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. cultivated. Farther north the right bank is skirted by a chaos of extinct volcanoes forming a continuation to the rocks of the cataract. Cones, craters, rugged crags, mounds of indurated ashes, hillocks of lava, stand out with their thousand varied forms against the horizon of the Libyan desert. The " first " cataract, that of Asuuu, is neither so long nor so uniform as that of Wadi- Haifa, nor does it present the same desolate appearance, but it none the less deserves the name bequeathed to us bj' the ancients. It also consists of a series of rapids endlessly ramifying amid the granite rocks of divers forms and colours, mostly destitute of vegetation, but offering here and there grand or channiug pictures with their piled up rocks amid the foaming waters, and their picturesque groups of palms, tamarinds, or thickets festooned with lianas. The approaches of the cataract are guarded above hj the island of Philee, at once a temple and a garden ; and below by Elephantine, the " Island of Flowers," whose beauties are mirrored in the waters of the stream. Their historical memories and associations also contribute to render the sight of these rapids one of those spectacles that challenge the attention of the observer m the highest degree, and that leave an indelible impression on the memory. Here is the " gate " of Egypt ; here, since the commencement of recorded history, we trace, as it were, a visible boundary between two worlds. By a remarkable coincidence this boundary is almost indicated by the Tropic of Cancer, for it was close to Asuan that for the first time astronomers saw, at the summer solstice, the sundials deprived of their shadow and the wells pierced to the bottom by the solar rays. Another world began for them beyond this ideal line ; it seemed to them as if in the torrid everything must contrast with the phenomena of the temperate zone. Even at the present day we are easily led to exaggerate aU the local differences between the regions stretching on either side of the cataract and the populations inhabitiag them. At high water the navigation is not arrested along this so-called cataract. Boatmen pass with safety up and down ; but at low water the passage either way on the thousand arms of " Neptune's vast staircase" is only to be accomplished by the aid of the " chellala," or " men of the cataract," who tow or check the boats by means of hawsers. About fifty large dhahabiye, engaged by the tourists, yearly brave the dangers of the falls, and thanks to the experienced pilots emjjloyed, accidents are rare. The skill of the boatmen in descending the cataracts displays itself in keeping the boat on the central crest formed by the stream, at tunes rising six or even more feet above the maia body of water skirting the rocks ; from the top of this mo^'ing hUl the pilot commands the foaming rapids. The moment the boat swerves right or left from the crest of the wave the danger begins ; if the sailors are unable to redirect it into the cm-rent hj oar or rudder, it is inevitably dragged into the eddies at the sides and exposed to the rocks, compared by the Arabs to monsters who " bite " it to pieces as it is boi-ne along. At the sight of these rapids it may be asked, while allowing for the poetical exaggeration of the ancient descriptions, whether the obstructing reefs were not much higher two thousand years ago, and whether the Nile did not at that period form a veritable fall. In fact, it is probable that the river then fell in a cascade o o w m H H W ji'ilVLniHT Ot !LL1MU12. THE LOWER XILE. 57 over a lofty granite ledge. The desert east of the rapids is intersected by au old branch of the river running at several yards above the present high-water level. Even the most superficial observer of natural phenomena cannot fail to perceive that he is travelling in a now abandoned watercourse. He still perceives the windings of the stream between rocks covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions ; he observes its old cliffs and banks, and here and there the alluvia are still revealed imder the billows of sand drifting before the winds from the desert. The records deciphered by archfcologists describe the march of armies along this old river bed, from the times of Thotmes and Eameses down to the present day. According to the observations made by Lepsius at Semne above the second cataract, it is probable that, from the beginning of Egj'ptian history, this dried-up channel was once flooded by a branch of the Xile. During the reign of Amcnemha III., some 4,700 years ago, the watermarks engraved on the rocks at this place show that the flood level exceeded by many yards that of the present time : the highest water- mark exceeds by 25 feet, the lowest by 13 feet, the corresponding levels of modern days. On the right bank of the Hannek cataract also ^I. de Gottberg has found alluvial deposits 10 feet above the level of the highest modern floods. May not the waters have been thus arrested by the cataracts, and forced to flow into the now dried-up valley which serves as a highway between Egypt and Kubia ? Above the Batn-el-Hagar rapids are to be seen manj' tracts formerly cultivated but now quite sterile, since the waters of the floods no longer reach them. Like all river valleys whose beds are regulated by the action of rimning waters, that of the Nile establishes its equilibrium by falling in Xubia and again rising in Lower Egypt. M. de Gottberg accoimts for the lowering of the water- level in Nubia through the disappearance of cataracts formerly existing between Wadi- Haifa and Asuan, traces of which are still visible. The rocks forming these cataracts consist of schists, which, unlike the crystaUine reefs, yielded to the destructive force of the stream. The granite rocks themselves also yield to the same action, but much more gradual!}-. The Lower Nile. Below the granite ledge washed by the waters of the first cataract, the cliffs lining the river bank are composed of layers of sandstone, succeeded farther on by limestone rocks. Historic Egypt begins at the foot of this rocky barrier, which is covered on either side by tertiary deposits. North of Asuan the banks of the river are at first separated only by a space of from two to three miles. The fields and plants hemmed in between the escarpments and the stream present on either side nothing but a narrow strip of verdure winding along the foot of the grey or yellow rocks, which tjlitter like bm-nished sold in the sim. The cultivated zone lies chieflv to the west, along the so-called " Libyan " bank, which is most exposed to the solar rays. Like most other rivers of the northern hemisphere, the Nile bears chiefly towards its right bank, the current skirting the foot of the rocks, which at some points rise sheer above the stream. The towns stand mostly on the left bank, 58 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. although several left high and dry by the retreating waters have frequently had to shift their sites in order to maintain their communication with the river. At the defile of Silsile, or the " Chain," where the valley, 4,000 feet across, appears to have formerly been barred bj- an iron chain, the landing-stages adjoin the old quarries which sui^plied blocks of stoneaud statues for thepalacesof the Pharaohs. A sphinx's head is still to be seen here not yet detached from the rock. From this point the mountains begin to diverge on both sides, the river winding in a plain about 9 miles broad, the first below the cataract that affords sufficient space for the site of a large town. Here formerly stood Thebes of the hundred gates. Farther on the valley becomes wider, the distance from mountain to mountain varying from Fig. 18. — The Keneh Valley on the Eovte to Koseir. Scale 1 : 650.000. _tKENEH ""Sm '^H i^^^ 50- E of Greeniv ch i2°'^0 J?°IO C Fe 12 Miles. 12 to 15 miles ; but in this jjart of its course, as well as above Thebes, the river bears chiefly towards its right bank, eroding the base of the cliffs of the Arabian range. On the left side the hills are mere sandy dunes shifting and modifying their form with every gust of wind. The cultivated tracts are here invaded bj- the Libj-an desert, an extensive view of whose dreary wastes may be obtained from the crests of the western range. Near Keneh, 36 miles below Thebes, the Nile describes that great curve which brings it nearest to the Eed Sea. At this point it is distant from the coast, in a straight line, not more than 60 miles. Precisely in this direction the eastern range is broken by one of the deepest transverse ravines occurring throughout its whole course, and it may be asked whether, in some remote geological epoch, the Nile THE LOWER ^^I.E. 69 may not have flowed througli this breach towards the Eed Sea. Beaches of rolled pebbles, which could only haye been deposited by running waters, are found in this gorge both on the slope of the Jsile and on that of the sea. It is probably these traces of a former channel that haye suggested to the yiyid imagination of the Fig. 19. — Head of the iBRAHistrEH C.\xal. Scale 1 : 425 000. |P7- [40 of Ijreenw^c^ 5:=iO' 6 lliles. Arabs the idea that it would be easy to diyert the Xile into its former bed, always supposing that this rayine did once receiye the waters of the riyer. But if the course of the SJle cannot be deflected into this lateral gully, it would at least be easy to construct a railway through it, which would make the port of Koseir the 60 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. chief commercial outlet of all Upper Egypt. Over fifty years ago the English already sank wells at intervals along this gorge, with the view of utilising it for the overland route to India. After flowing westwards below the great bend of Keneh, the Xile trends north- west and north ; but in this part of its course it bifurcates, one arm branching off and flowing parallel with it on the west side at a mean distance of seven miles. This is the Bahr-Yusef, or " Elver of Joseph," so called in memory of Pharaoh's minister mentioned in the Jewish traditions, or rather of a certain Joseph, minister of the Fatimites in the twelfth century. But it does not appear to have been excavated by the hand of man, although it has been frequently embanked, deflected, and directed into lateral channels, like all the rimning waters of the valley. Eccently the point of derivation has been disjilaced, and the canal named Ibrahimieh has been raised to the level of the high banks in order more easily to regulate the discharge of the flood waters. In the part where it has not been canalised the Bahr-Yusef, skirted along its left bank by the dunes drifting before the desert wind, is a winding stream like the Nile, having, like it, its islands, sand- banks, eroded cliffs, and network of watercourses and false rivers. Its mean breadth is about 330 feet, but through it very little of the Nile waters are distributed. Feeders from the main stream, in traversing the intermediate plain, replenish the River of Joseph at intervals, thus making good the losses caused by evaporation. This phenomenon, of two parallel streams in one and the same vallej% one the main stream discharging nearly the whole liquid mass, the other a small current winding through an ancient river bed, recurs in nearly all those valleys whose hydrographic system has not j'ct been completely changed by canalisation and drainage works. Several rivers skirted by embankments have also their Bahr- Yusef, like the Nile. Such in France is the Loire, skirted by the Cisse, by the waters derived from the Cher, the Indre, and the Vienne ; lastly by the river Authion, with its numerous ramifications. The Fayum Depression. About 300 miles from the point of bifurcation, the Bahr-Yusef penetrates into a lateral valley, where it ramifies in its turn. The eastern branch, which con- tinues the river properly so-caUed, penetrates north-eastwards through a breach in the Libyan range, beyond which it rejoins the Nile above its delta. But the western branch trends abruptly north-westwards to a rocky gorge, at the entrance of which its coui'se is regulated by a three-arched bridge built in the thirteenth century, and furnished with flood-gates allowing the stream to pass, or diverting it to the surrounding plains. Beyond the barrage the canal winds through a ravine about 6 miles long in the Libyan range, at the outlet of which it suddenly debouches in a valley of amphitheatral form, and nearly 110 miles in circum- ference. This is the Fayum depression, which is watered by an intricate system of canals, rills, and rivulets, ramifying like the veins and arteries in a living organism. At its lowest point this hiU-encircled basin is estimated at from 86 to 116 feet THE FATUM DEPRESSION. 61 below the level of the Mediterranean. Although apparently quite flat, it has a sufficient incline for the waters of the canal derived from the Bahr-Yusef to circulate throughout the whole area, imparting to the Fayum a fertility rivalling that of the Xile delta itself. The superfluous water is collected towards the south in the small Lake Gara'a, or the "Hollow," whence it formerlj- penetrated far into the TVady Eeyan. Towards the west the system of canalisation converges iii a large lake about 30 miles long from south-west to north-east. This reservoir, Fig. 20. — E.vm.iNCE of the Faycm. Scale 1 : 150,000. L . of breerivv , 3 Miles. known as the Birket-el-Kerun, is but slightly brackish, and quite drinkable by animals when it floods the whole western depression of the valley. But when reduced by evaporation it becomes saline, and the margin is then covered with crystalline efllorescences resembling snow at a distance. In some places the muddy ground, clothed like the Algerian sehkhas with a slight incrustation of salt, forms treacherous quagmires, dangerous to man and beast. Till recently the superfluous waters were supposed to escape through a rocky gorge in the hills north of the Fayum Yalley, to the depression known as the 62 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. Batr-bela-ma, or "^Vaterless Sea." But this hypothesis has not been confirmed by the latest surveys, \\liich have failed to discover any alluvial deposits indicating the presence of the stream at this point. The planks and masts of Nile boats spoken of by the Arabs are the stems of petrified trees, such as occur in various parts of the desert. The Fayum, the Arslnoitidis of the ancients, has been the scene of some of the most remarkable hydraulic operations of the old Egj^ptian engineers. Before the Fig. 21.— Fayvm. Scale 1 : 475,000. 50'40- 5T L ■ cf breenwicK Rxiins of the dyke of Lake Moeris. 6 Miles. interference of man the whole depression, which received all the waters of the Bahr-Yusef, formed an extensive inland sea. Ou this point tradition is imani- mous, and in any case the continuous inflow must have flooded the cavity to a level suflnciently high to establish an equilibrium between the discharge and the loss by evaporation. The very name of Fayum (Pioin, Pha'iom), is said to mean " flooded land " in the old Egyptian language, although the Arabic word fayyum itself gives the appropriate sense of " corn-bearer." But after the Bahr-Yusef THE FATUM DEPEESSIOX. • 63 was dammed at its entrance into the gorge, the "sea" became gradually reduced to a semicircular morass, and would dry up altogether but for the sluices which admit the water required for irrigation purposes. It was no slight matter to have thus reclaimed an extensive district, where as many as one hxm^dred and fifty villages are said to have floui-ished. But according to the most j)robable supposition, supported by a careful survey of the whole region, the more elevated portion of the reclaimed land was converted into the famous Lake iloeris, which was one of the wonders of the old world, and which, centuries after its disappearance, must still be ranked amongst the most astounding works of man. The remains of embankments in some places 200 feet broad at their base, and 60 feet high, appear to represent on the east side the oiiter enclosures of the vast basin which during the floods received the discharge of the Bahr-Tusef, estimated at about the twenty-sixth part of the whole Xile. At the angles of the embankment are still visible the remains of pyramids recording the fame of Amenemha III., by whom this stupendous reservoir was created some forty- seven centuries before the opening of the Suez Canal. Herodotus, who may perhaps have seen though he did not measure it, gives it an enormous circumference, far greater in fact than that of the whole Fayum. According to Linant, it occupied an area of 120 square miles in the eastern portion of the Fayum, and at the end of the floods its volume must have exceeded 100,000,000 cubic feet. A small portion of this prodigious storage may have served to irrigate the western Fayum ; but nearly all the overflow taken from the Xile dxiring high water was distributed over the plains during the dry season, and sufficed to irrigate -150,000 acres of land. Xone of the great modern reservoirs can be compared with this great work, either for size or skiKul design, ilost of them are merely artificial lakes, which receive the whole fluvial discharge, and distribute the excess to the lower river basin. But the stream itself is continually sapping the foundations, and too often bursting the banks of its reservoir. It would, however, be difficult now to restore Lake Mceris, whose bed has been so greatly raised by alluvial deposits that the retain- ing walls and embankments would have to be carried several yards higher than formerly. The Bahr-Tusef is continued under diverse names to the delta, but in its lower course the discharge is very slight. Xearly all its feeders, as well as the other channels and watercourses, are gathered up by the main stream at the head of the delta, whence they again ramify in a thousand branches over the plains of Lower Egypt. Hence at this point the Xile presents much the same appearance as in Xubia, or stiU higher up at the Khartum confluence. It glides in a slow and regular current between its banks, reflecting in its stream the trees, gray mud villages, and here and there a few white buildings. Xothing sudden or abrupt in this vast and sleeping landscape, whose monotony is broken only by a few dhahahiye, or Xile boats, and above which is suspended an everlasting azure firmament. On either side the narrow plains, the cliffs, the ravines, and terraces succeed each other in endless im^iformity. In this land of simple outlines, little surprise is caused even by the regular forms of the pyramids skirting the western 64 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. edge of tlie plateau, at dawn pink and hazy cones, like flames of fire dimly seen in the brighter sunshine, at sunset gloomy triangular masses standing out against a brazen sky. The Nile Delta. Below Cairo the two ranges of hills, confining the Nile as in a ditch, gradually retire as they merge in the plains, leaving the river to ramify and flow through divergent branches into the Mediterranean. The triangular disposition of this alluvial plain has caused the term delta* to be apislied to the whole region, and by Fig. 22. — EoRETTA Mouth. Scale 1 : 200.000. 50'e5' L. . oT Greenwich 30" 5 5 otoie Feet 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet .ami upwards. 3 Miles. analogy to all districts of similar formation, however irregidar their contours. Spite of all the changes that have taken place in the local geography since it was first described by Herodotus two thousand five hundred j'ears ago, the Egyptian delta has remained a model of elegance in the harmonj^ of its divergent branches and the indentations of its contours. At the dawn of history the head of the delta lay more to the south, the hifurcation being situated some four miles below the present suburb of Bulak at Cairo. But the intermediate apex being unprotected by a sj'stem of embankments, • That is, the name of the triangular Greek letter A =: D. THE NILE DELTA. 65 it yielded from year to year, from centiuy to century, to the incessant action of the stream. The -whole delta thus becomes displaced fi-om south to north, according as the river beds are raised and the mouths extended seawards by the accumulation of allu%"ial deposits. At present the Batn-el-Bagara fork is oyer 12 miles from Cairo, following the windings of the island-studded stream, and has consequently been displaced at the annual rate of about 2-4 feet. Analogous changes have taken place throughout the whole of the delta, where the current has eaten its banks now to the right, now to the left, where simple channels have become broad watercourses, while copious streams have disappeared or shifted their beds. Under the influence of the mystic ideas prevalent regarding the value of numbers, the old ■m-iters imanimously agreed to reckon seven chief branches in the delta, all the others being regarded as " false mouths." At the same time the normal direction of the streams required for ii-rigation purposes was carefully maintained during peaceful epochs by incessant dredging, embankments, and works of canalisation. It is now, however, no longer possible to trace the coui-se of the seven ancient branches, which, left to themselves, resumed their erratic tendencies, shifting their beds with every fresh inimdation. But there is a general agree- ment regarding their main direction, and many doubtful points of the hydrolog}' of the Xile as described by Herodotus and Strabo have been cleared up bj- the naturalists of the French expedition to Egypt at the close of the last century. At present two main branches only are enumerated, and these are indicated on the convex curve of the seaboard by two points formed by the tongues of alluvial land advancing continuallj- seawards. They are the Eashid or Eosetta branch, identified with the Bolbitinis of the ancients, and that of Damietta, which formerly bore the names of Phatnetica and Bucolica. The Eosetta branch, some 14 mUes the shorter of the two, but flowing in a bed from 30 to 50 inches lower, carries off the largest quantity of water, leaving not more than four-ninths to that of Damietta and the intermediate Menufieh channel.* Nevertheless the Damietta Eiver, thanks to its greater elevation, is much more available for irrigation purposes. The two branches, diverging like the radii of a circle, flow respectively north-west and north-east, advancing at their mouths some 5 miles beyond the normal coast-line. But, like all rivers falling into the Mediterranean, both are half closed by mud and sandbanks, barring the passage to large vessels. The western or Eosetta Eiver has two channels from 7 to 8 feet deep, whUe that of Damietta, being less open, has a depth of scarcely 65 inches at its entrance. At high water, when there is a discharge of 470,000 cubic feet per second, the bar is reduced not more than 4 or 5 inches, its elevation depending more on the action • Discharge of the Xile at low water in 1875, according to All Pasha Mubarek : — Cubic feet. Eosetta branch .■ 6,370 Damietta , 8,-560 Menufieh channel 670 Total 1.5,600 Mean 166,000 VOL. X. F no NOETH-EAST AFEICA. of the marine currents than on the inland floods. But if its height is little modified, its position is often shifted several miles. During the inmidations the current of the Nile is felt 3 miles seawards, and at times is strong enough to perceptibly reduce the violence of the waves, thus offering a temporary refuge to storm- tossed vessels. The face of the delta is gradually encroaching on the sea, but at a much slower rate than might be expected from the quantity of sedimentary matter brought Fig. 23. — Damietta Molth. Scale 1 : 200,000. jS 5 L qT ureenwicn 59"I5' n to 16 Feet. !6 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. 3 Miles. down by the Nile. Even the estimate of 13 or 14 feet annually, as calculated by Elie de Beaimiont on a study of the old and mediaeval documents bearing on this point, seems to be excessive, slight though it be when compared with the growtli of even smaller deltas, such as those of the Rhine and Po. The charts prepared by the French expedition at the end of the last century, and by M. Larousse in 1860, after the comjjletion of the preliminary works for the Suez Canal, give a yearly increase of 130 feet for the Rosetta and 40 for the Damietta mouth. But these are merely local changes, and with the displacement of the channels the I THE NILE DELTA. 67 accunmlated allu^-ia are soon swept away and distributed along the coast by the marine cirrrents. In many places these encroachments of the sea have been clearly determined. A distinctly perceptible coast stream sets steadily from Alexandria eastwards to Port Said, here and there developing slight local counter currents, such as the ebb and flow between the Rosetta mouth and Abukir Point. The effect of this stream is to erode the headlands and fill in the intervening inlets, thus restoring the original parabolic curve of the coast. TVlierever an obstacle is met, it becomes attached to the mainland by a semicircidar strip of sand. Shoals have thus been accumulated at the western pier of Port Said, although not in sufiicient quantity to endanger the basins of the new port, especially as they may be easily reduced or removed by dredging. Altogether the annual growth of the delta cannot be estimated at more than 8 or 9 feet, so that since the time of Herodotus the mainland has encroached on the sea probably not much more than 31 miles. There may even be a complete equilibrium between the fluvial deposits and the erosions of the marine currents. At least the geological aspect of the coast is that of an ancient seaboard forming a continuation of the small limestone ridge at Alexandria, which at present terminates at Abukir Point. In the shallow waters the waves take advantage of every rocky projection, islet, or headland to deposit sandbanks, and thus gradually transform the irregular marine inlets into landlocked lagoons. Before advancing beyond the mainland the 2v'ile had to fill up these lagoons, separated by strips of sand from the Mediterranean, and this work is not yet accomplished. It would appear to have even been delayed by a general subsidence of the land, such as has been recorded in Holland, on the coast of North Germany, at the mouth of the Po, in the Amazon estuary, and in so many other alluvial districts. Thus the-artificial caves formerly excavated near Alexandria at a certain elevation above sea-level are now submerged. These are the tombs known by the name of " Cleopatra's Baths."* To the same phenomenon shoidd perhaps be attributed the restoration of certain depressions, which after having long remained dry have again been partly flooded. But however this be, the lacustrine basins of the delta are now so shallow that thej- might easily be filled up. The eastern extremity of Lake Menzaleh, which is separated from the XHe basin by the embankments of the Suez Canal, has already become dry land, while the old bed of the Pelusimn branch has disappeared. Since Andreossy's survey at the end of the last century, Menzaleh itself has been much reduced, and has now a mean depth of scarcelj- 40 inches, although covering a superficial area of aboiit 500 square miles during the floods, when it communicates bv temporary channels both with the Nile and the sea. At low water it is so beset with shoals and islets that most of the navigation is suspended. Lake Burlos, which lies east of the Rosetta branch in the northern part of the delta, is scarcely less extensive than ilenzaleh, and like it rises and falls with the periodical floods. A sweet- water basin when fed by the Nile, it becomes brackish at other times, and communicates through a single permanent opening with the * Sir Ch. LyeU, "Antiquity of Man." F 2 68 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. sea. Lake Mariut, close to Alexandria, has a circumference of at least 60 miles, and the steep cliffs towards the south and west give it the aspect of a true lake. Yet it was completely dry in 1799, when the English cut the emhankment separating it from the sea. Since then it is once more diminishing, the breach having again been repaired. "Whether the ancient Egj-ptians had also drained it by cutting off its seaward communications, or whether the mainland was then Fig. 24. — Branch of the Xile flowiko to Lake Mexzaleh. Scale 1 : 360,000. 5IM0- 51°50' L t Oi uneenwich . 9 Miles. more elevated than at present, Mareotis was certainlj' either altogether or partlj- dry at some remote epoch, for in its bed remains are found of old temples and statues. If it is difficult to estimate the encroachments of the Nile delta on the sea and the surrounding lakes, an equally intricate problem is presented by the gradual upheaval of the whole region subject to the annual inundations, for here account must also be taken of the sands brought by the wind, as well as of the sediment deposited by the stream. From the comparative observations made during the French expedition, Girard calculated that by the Nile alluvia the soil was raised on an average about 5 inches in a centurJ^ Hence, notwithstanding its slight encroachments seawards, the level of the delta would have been raised about ^0 feet during the last five thousand years, that is, since the Egyptians had already i •a o o IS o 1-1 o LISRAKY OF THE INIVERSITY of ILLINOIS. VOLUME AXD PEEIODICAL EISIXG OF THE NILE. 69 Lcgun their great works of canalisation. Doubtless most of the monuments erected near the river, such as the slabs of stone paring the great avenue of sphinxes at Kamak, the colossal statues of Memnon, and even a block bearing a comparatively recent Greek inscription, are now found bm-ied to some depth below the surface. But this is due not so much to change of level as to subsidence, such huge masses naturally sinking gradually in the alluvial soil of the riverain plains. In the same way the erratic boulders in Switzerland and the colonnades of the Eoman temples have sunk more and more below the surrounding surface. The kilometer discovered by Girard in Elephantine Island is perhaps one of those monuments whose foundations have thus given way. Hence although the present high-water mark may exceed the old measurement by 8 or 9 feet, it does not follow that the bed of the river and its banks have been raised to that extent. Such a phenomenon could not be reconciled with the drying up of the old bed east of Asuan, which has now been abandoned by the stream. YoLr^rE AXD Pekiodicai. Eisixg of the Xile. The yearly overflow of the Xile, which renews all nature, and which was celebrated by the Egyptians as the resurrection of a god, is of such regular occurrence that it was formerly compared with the revolutions of the heavenly orbs. How coidd the riverain populations refrain from worshipping this stream, " Creator of wheat and giver of barley," a stream but for which " the gods would fall prostrate and all men perish " ? " Hail, XUe ! " sang the priests of old, "Hail, thou that comest to give life to Egj-pt ! " According to its periodical return all things were and still are regulated — field operations, town work, civil and religious feasts. But at present it is easier to prepare for the rising waters, which are announced from Khartum thirty or forty days beforehand. They begin to appear nearly always on June 10th, at first " green " with vegetable refuse from the great lagoons of the upper basin. But the rise is very slight till about the middle of July, when the stream becomes suddenly swollen by the "red" waters from the Abyssinian highlands. Towards the end of August the Xile is nearly full, but continues to increase slightly tiU. October 7th, when it usually reaches its culminating point. After this date the subsidence sets in and continues very gradually till the return of the floods the following June. During the three months of high water the Xile sends seawards a liquid mass equal to about three-fourths of the whole annual discharge, or 3,150 billions cubic feet out of a total of 4,200 billions. High-water mark naturally diminishes down stream, falling from about 56 feet at Asuan to 24 or 25 at Cairo. Eelj-ing on some of the old texts, especially a much-disputed passage in Herodotus, some \^Titers suppose that the level of the floods has been considerably modified since the first centuries of Egyptian history, although sufiicient data are lacking to determine the point with certainty. In any case the mean elevation has under- gone no change since the end of the eighteenth century of the new era. The careful measurements taken at that time have since been maintained, and they are 70 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. found to coincide with those published by the naturalists of the French expedition, and with the uninterrupted series of modem observations. At the same time the floods oscillate ■within certain extreme limits. Sometimes there is insufficient water to supply all the canals, while in other years the overflow is excessive, and on these occasions the land does not dry soon enough to insure good harvests. The rate of the land-tax generally varies according to the height and volume of tlie river. Hence the public crier appointed to proclaim the state of the Fig;. 25. — Yeakly Oscillations of the Nile. inundations has often been compelled by the Government to make false reports on this point. The day when the Nile reaches the proper level for cutting the dykes separating it from the irrigation canals is a day of rejoicing for all the riverain populations. Formerly a yoimg maiden was on this occasion borne with great pomp to the river and cast into the seething waters, in order to obtain abundant crops from the local divinity. Now her place is taken by a di-essed-up doll, which IS still offered by the public executioner, a curious reminiscence of former human sacrifices. I VOLUME AND PERIODICAL RISING OF THE NILE. 71 The two zones of alluvial land skirting the Nile are intersected by numerous irrigation canals, which distribute the fecundating waters far and wide. Like those of other streams flowing through alluvial plains, the banks of the river are higher than the surrounding country. A cutting running transversely to the dii-ection of the valley woidd show that from cliff to cliff the plain presents the form of a convex curve, so that at high water the stream occupies the most elevated level between the ranges of hills bordering both sides of its valley. From this central elevation the surface of the current inclines right and left, and the slope is continued in both directions across the riverain plains. This disposition of the groimd is due to the greater quantity of sedimentary matter deposited along the banks of the stream. The waters have thus a double incline, that is, according to the general dii-ection of the river valley, and according to the lateral slope of its banks. If they met with no obstacle in the u-rigating canals, they would flow at once to the lowest level on either side, and convert the whole depression iato a vast lake. Hence they have to be retained at the higher elevation bj' means of a transverse dyke, -which is opened onlj- when the upper levels have been sufficiently submerged. The overflow is then arrested in a second section also confined by embankment works, and in this way the water is distributed to every part of the surrounding plains by a system of canals disposed at successive levels. Nevertheless the normal incline of the land has in many jilaces been modified by the local alluvial deposits, and by the action of opposing currents in the lateral channels. The shifting sands brought by the winds from the neighbouring escarpments have also here and there raised the low-lying plains to a level with, and even higher than, the banks of the XUe, thus obliging the cultivators to change the whole plan of their u-rigation works. Formerly, when the Nile was inhabited by five different species of the crocodile, the rising flood was preceded and heralded by the suk, a small and harmless variety, which was accordingly welcomed with much ceremony by the villagers, and even honoured with divine worship in many towns far removed from the Nile. Temples were dedicated to them, where they were kept alive, decked with armlets and pendants, and fed on the flesh of victims. But none of these saurians are now seen in the Egyptian Nile, even as high up as Thebes, although the canals iatersecting Cairo were still infested by them at the beginning of the present century. None appear to be met below Ombos, south of Asuan, and this region of the cataracts is also inhabited by electric fish. But the hippopotamus has retreated still higher up to the neighbourhood of the Atbara confluence. "When the flood begins to subside, the water iu the higher canals would at once flow back to the main stream were it not retained by sluices, and thus stored to meet the requirements of the following spring and summer. During the sub- sidence the level of the overflow is still maintained in the plains some 18 or 20 feet above the bed of the main stream. The peasantry also utilise the waters which filtrate laterally into the ground to a distance of some nules, but so slowly that the effect of the immdations is not felt for weeks and even months after the normal period of the rising. Even within 300 or 400 feet of the Nile the water in 72 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. the wells does not begin to rise for eight or ten daj's, while at the distance of half a mile it is delayed till the floods are actually subsiding. Hence the curious phenomenon that, when the Nile is at its lowest ebb, the water in wells at a distance from the stream rises some 10 or 12 feet higher than the river itself. The cultivators are thus enabled to continue the work of irrigation, which would otherwise be impossible. The canals and transverse ditches utilised as a means of communication between the villages cut up aU the cultivated lands into a vast "chessboard," whose parting lines are, so to say, alternately raised and sunk below the surface. The vivifying fluid circulates everywhere, like blood in the animal arterial system. But the maintenance of this intricate organism involves enormous care, the least disorder in these almost level plains often sufficing to cause crevasses and obstructions, and converting the flowing streams into stagnant waters. Worn out by ceaseless toil, Fig. 26. — Section of the Nile Yalley at SiCt. Scale 1 : 100,000. '■W!»m_ I 51 -. i II 1 1 a c a u 1 "5 c o I c c ) 1 J I 1 * I 1! 1 . 3,300 Yards. harassed and disheartened by ofiicial rapacity, the f ellahin sometimes lack the energy required to keep in good order the canals that are indispensable to feed the primitive appliances for irrigating their fields. On the large estates the water is raised by means of the sakiijeh, a system of revolving buckets like those of Syria, worked in Egj'pt by oxen and asses, in Nubia by camels. But most of the peasantry make use of the so-called shadiifs, vessels or baskets attached to both ends of a balanced lever, and by two men lowered and raised alternately, and discharging their contents into a distributing riU. A shaduf will thus raise the water to a height of 8 or 10 feet, a second and even a third contrivance of the same kind successively carrying it to the highest required level. But very little of the water that might be obtained for irrigation purposes is secured by this rudimentary apparatus. Of the 4,200 billions of cubic feet yearly discharged by the Nile, not more than 175 billions are thus utilised by the riverain populations, so that not more than halt, or perhaps a third, of the arable land is brought mider cultivation. Scarcely forty BANKS OF THE NILE— THE SHADUF. ! VOLUME AXD PERIODICAL EISING OP THE NILE. 73 millions of people dwell in the Nile basin, which might yield corn sufficient for a vastly larger population. The brown or blackish mud of the Jfile is the only manure required for the crops. In the sun it becomes solid and may be cut into bricks or vessels ; under the foot it is hard as stone, and in shrinking develops deep fissures in the ground. The old sandy or calcareous deposits, mingled at the foot of the hills with the rolled shingle washed down by floods anterior to the present geological epoch, are covered with a layer from 35 to 40 feet thick, forming an extremely rich arable soil which, if removed elsewhere, might suffice to fertilise a region a hundred times more extensive. In its chemical composition this Nile mud, from which Egypt has been created, differs fi'om that of all European rivers. Its analysis j'ields the most varied results according to its age, locality, and distance from the river. But it always contains a considerable proportion of carbonates of lime and magnesia, of oxide of iron and carbon, derived from decomposed organic substances. Palatable as it is, the Nile water nevertheless contains the refuse of aU the pro^-inces in its vast basin — the slime of the Atbara, animal remains from the Bahr-el-Azraq lagoons, sedge and other vegetable debris from the Kir and Gazelle rivers. Between the sands, argil- laceous clays, and rugged crags of both deserts there thus intervenes a narrow belt of verdure created by the miscellaneous sedimentary matter in the course of ages washed down from half the continent.* • Analysis of the Nile mud in Egypt, by Eegnault, " Description of Egypt," vol. xx. Water Carbon Oxides Silica 11 per cent. 9 )» »t 6 „ „ 4 „ „ Carbonate of Magnesia . 4 per cent Carbonate of Lime . 18 „ ., Almnina .... ■ 48 „ „ CHAPTER III. REGION OF THE GREAT LAKES. HE basin of the Victoria Nyanza, including that of the Upper Nile as far as its passage across the Albert jSTyanza (M'wutan Nzigeh), comprises a superficial area which may be estimated at some 170,000 square miles, although this estimate cannot claim to be more than a very rough approximation to the reality. Pending a more exact knowledge of the parting lines between the great river basins, we must be satisfied with rude calculations according to the spaces enclosed in the meshes of the intersecting lines of latitude and longitude. This vast region, which has a mean altitude of over 4,000 feet, forms part of the great continental divide. The waters it sends dovm to the Egyptian river bring it within the Mediterranean basin ; but it approaches far nearer to the Atlantic seaboard, while its southern extremity lies within 240 miles of the Indian Ocean. As regards its facilities of communication with the outer world, the Victoria Nyanza naturally gravitates towards the social and commercial sj'stem of which Zanzibar is the centre. Even after the water highway of the Nile is again opened, and intestine warfare has ceased to harass the riverain communities, European explorers will find it most convenient still to take the route, ascending from the Indian Ocean to the plateaux, which has ever been followed by the Arab traders. Although forming the water-parting between the Mediterranean, Indian, and Atlantic basins, the Nyanza region is far less elevated than some other parts of the continent. Except towards the sources of the Tangure, where SIfumbiro rises to a height of probably 10,000 feet, and farther north, where the stiU loftier Gam- baragara stretches parallel with the meridian, the plateau nowhere develops elevated highlands. The plains are broken only by hiUs and ridges rising a few hundred yards above the normal level, and presenting no insurmountable obstacles to the exploration of the interior. Amongst these Upper Nilotic lands those especially bordering the northern and western shores of Nyanza are almost imrivalled in Africa, and scarcely elsewhere surpassed, for the charm and variety of their scenery, their abundant waters, exuberant vegetation, and fertile soil. The inhabitants of U-Nyaniezi, south of the lake, are less faAoured in these respects. Here hill and CLIMATE— FLOEA— FAUNA. 75 dale alternate with the plateaux ; but during the rainy season the land is mostly flooded or changed to a swamp. All the villages and cultivated tracts have had to be distributed over the uplands, the intervening valleys being utilised only as grazing lands dui-iug the dry season. The hills consist of granites clothed here and there ^vith a thin layer of vegetable humus, sufficient to support a little brush- wood. East of the inland sea the soil, being less copiously watered, is strewn with brackish or saline depressions, while farther north a large space between the Victoria and Albert lakes is occupied by fresh water morasses, thickets of the nenuphar plant, sluggish streams flowing in broad winding beds. Climate — Flora — Favxa. Although the Victoria JTyanza is intersected by the equator, the normal heats are tempered by the elevation of the land, by the free passage it offers to every atmospheric cui-rent, and by the arborescent vegetation fostered by the tropical rains. Hence the high temperatm-es prevalent in Xubia, twenty degrees north of the equator, are unknown in this favoured region. Systematic observations made at Rubaga, capital of U-Ganda, just north of the line, show that the epithet of "torrid" is inapplicable to the climate of these countries. The glass never rose above 95^ F. or fell below 51", the mean between these extremes being about 79" for the whole year. This is the temperature of Canton, Tunis, and New Orleans, and is much lower than that of Caii-o, Bagdad, Havana, Rio de Janeiro, not to speak of such sultry places as Bushir, ilascat, Karachi, Bistra, or Murzuk, &c. The prevailing winds are from the south and south-east, attracted by the rarefied air of the Sahara. Storms, which nearly always take place about the same hour in the afternoon, are generally the result of a collision between these southern currents and others fi-om the north and north-west. In this region, which corresponds with that of the "Black Caiddrou " in the Atlantic, heavy rains prevail throughout the year, except perhaps in July, which is a comparatively diy month. The greatest downpoiirs are in September, October, and November, and again in April, although according to Wilson the mean annual rainfall does not exceed 50 inches in U-Ganda, where there are no lofty ranges to intercept the moisture-charged clouds. The months are here marked by no transitions of heat and cold, and as the rainy seasons of autumn and spring are the most conspicuous phenomena of the solar year, the people of U-Ganda have taken as the natural divisions of time these epochs, which also coincide with their agricultm-al divisions. Hence their years are only half the length of ours, each consisting of six months, the first of which is called the " sowing month," the five others the "eating months." Favoured by an abundant rainfall, the flora is very rich in the fertile regions encircling Lake Victoria, where the soil consists of vegetable himius resting on a red clay mixed with sand some 35 feet thick. In U-Ganda about the equator there is no break in the verdure which everywhere clothes the land. The banana and other plantations, forming extensive gardens in which the villages are embowered 7G KOETH-EAST AFRICA. in foliage, are succeeded by forest trees laden with parasitic plants and interlaced by festoons of huge creepers with the dense undergrowth. The brooks winding along the lowlands seem to flow in underground channels impenetrable to the solar rays. But however beautiful the flora of the upland plateaux, it does not appear to be distinguished by great variety. Of the seven himdred and fifty species collected by Grant between Zanzibar and the lower Xile, eighty, or at most a hundred, were new to botanists. The floras of the Cape, of Abyssinia and the Xile are intermingled on these uplands, where even some Indian species occur, and to these have recently been added a nimiber of European plants which here find a congenial home. Grant thinks that Karagwe especially would be admirably suited for the cultivation of the tea plant. The giant of these forests is the mpaffu, which distils an aromatic gum from its enormous trunk 24 to 26 feet in girth. Like the flora, the fauna of the plateaux is distinguished from that of the sur- rounding regions by but few indigenous species. The lake is inhabited, like the Nile and the Niger, by hippopotami and crocodiles, while multitudes of aquatic fowl swarm in the sedge or perch on the branches of the trees fringing its shores. From the cultivated tracts most wild beasts have been scared, although the neigh- bouring thickets are still infested by the much-dreaded panther. Hyajnas also prowl about the ^-illages ; the waj-f arer is often startled by the ill-omened yelp of the fox ; small game is hunted by the wild cat and other allied species ; squirrels spring from branch to branch of the forest trees, above which hover greyish parrots noted for their large size and shrill voice ; lower down the flowery mead is alive with all the brilliant world of smaller birds and butterflies. The wilder districts of U-Sui on the Karagwe frontier and of North U-Ganda, where forest trees and cereals are replaced by the wild palm and ferns, are inhabited by numerous species of the antelope, by the rhinoceros, elephant, and zebra. Here also the swampy lands are peopled by the buffalo, while the wild boar finds a lair in the dense brushwood. Several varieties of monkeys enliven the forests of the tableland, amongst them the coliibus guereza, noted for its rich white and black hair, and possibly also the chimpanzee.* The lion is very rare on the equatorial uplands, although his tremendous roar is occasionally heard, striking terror into the other denizens of the forest. Ostriches sweep over the open plains ; guinea-fowl in countless numbers find a shelter in the bush, and the victims of the battlefield or the executioner are removed by a small species of vulture, the scavenger of so many tropical lands. Inhabitants. — The Bantus. Certain parts of the Upper Nile region are amongst the most densely peopled lands in Africa. The descriptions of Speke and Grant, of Stanley, Long, De Linant, and Gessi, as well as the partial estimates of the missionaries, are all unanimous on this point. According to these witnesses, some ten or twelve millions of souls are * Emin-Bey, Peteimann's " Mittheilimgen," 1881. THE WA-SUKUMA AND WA-ZINZA. 77 couceutrated in the districts borderiag on the great lakes, which are drained by the headstreams of the XUe. In speech, and probably also in origin, the tribes and nations of the plateau are allied to the peoples of South Africa, whose ethnological domain encroaches at this point some 600 miles on the northern basin. AU the lacustrine communities belong to this Bantu stock, which is so remarkable for its harmonious and pliant speech. East of the Victoria J^yanza, however, there appear to dwell certain tribes sj^eaking idioms akin to that of the Kordofan Xubas ; at least, it is certain that the Masai and the Wa-Kwafi, whose language is not of Bantu origin, have some settlements in the neighbourhood of the lake. Amongst these lacustrine tribes there are some that have not yet been visited by European explorers. Pending more positive information, which cannot be much longer delayed, all these tribes have been pro\-isionally classed with the Bantu family. The "Wa-Sukuma and "Wa-Zinza. A section of the Wa-Xyamezi group of tribes has occupied the hilly district stretching south of the Speke Gulf, the largest inlet of Lake Nyanza. But no large state has been developed in this region, which is watered by the Simeyti and other streams flowing to the gulf. The inhabitants, collectiveh- known as Wa-Sukuma, are divided into a large number of small communities of Bantu origin, but greatly modified by mixtui-e with slaves from all quarters, and frequently displaced to escape the attacks of the ruga-ruga, or marauders. Most of these Wa-Sukuma tribes, although banded together in a sort of confederation, are distinguished from each other b}' their systems of tattooing and by the way the front teeth are filed do\\-n. Their chief ornament consists of iron wire wound rovmd the arms, legs, and neck, rendering quick action very difficult. Both sexes also attach Little bells to their legs, the tinkling of which acts as an accompaniment to their conversation. The tribal chiefs enjoy theoretically very little power, and are required on all im- portant occasions to consult the elders, the real depositaries of the national usages and traditions. Nevertheless the personal wealth acquired by these kin glets, constituting them the great proprietors of the country, often enables them to play the part of ii-responsible despots. "When the villagers brew their pomhe or native beer, the king di-inks and gets drunk at pleasure ; when the hunters slay an ele- jjhant he claims the best "joints," and appropriates the tusks ; all the skins of Hons, leopards, and zebras in the same way fall to his share. The itinerant dealer must show his wares to the king, who imposes a road-tax, fixed according to his caprice. Lastly, the tribal chief inherits the property of all his subjects who suffer capital pimishment on the charge of sorcery. Although the women generally speaking enjoy very little respect, the populous village of "Wama is governed by a queen. The magicians command great influence, and whenever any of their prophecies happen to come true, or their miracles prove successful, they dispose of the imlimited authority usually accorded to infallibilitj-. Their " di^-ining wand " is a cow's or antelope's horn, which when filled with a 78 NOETH-EAST APEICA. mao-ic powder and planted in the ground before a village, suffices to ward off the enemy- However, resort must often be had to charms of greater potency. When a battle is pending the wizard flays a child, placing the bleeding victim on the " war path," to be trampled by the warriors marching to victory. But a great blow was given to the power of the magicians by the arrival of the European missionaries, for thej- also are regarded as " medicine-men," and their potions are held to be more efficacious than those of the natives. A rain-gauge placed by them near a station on the shore of Lake Victoria had to be removed, in order not to destroy the spells concocted by the wizards to bring down rain. The Sukuma country enjoys a certain commercial advantage, due to its position Fig. 27. — U-Kerewe and U-Sikuma. Scale 1 : 1,600,000. WA HOVMa ^Walaswandi Wambwiiyf h' ■■■>^. .'^. '• -Lindyati ■ -...-■•■V'-OxT*?™'!^ '^ .Soma .; ?&>;:*•* namwamba* <^-^i» O t/ ff A L , of hreenwich 5-l= 30 JMiles. on the route of the slave-dealers between U-Xyamezi and U-Ganda. Since the days of Speke and Stanley it has been visited by several Europeans. The most popidous district is U-Eima, near the " Jordans' Nullah " of Speke, and the mo.^t frequented port is the village of Kagheyi (Kagei) on the left side of the lake, where was launched Stanley's Lady Alice, followed soon after by the Daisy and the Eleanor. The view towards the lake is interrupted b)^ the hills of U-Kerewe, a large island whose name has often been applied to the great inland sea itself. U-Kerewe, which is almost entirelj-^ covered with forests, f onns a separate state, whose capital, Bakindo, lies near the east side on a creek well sheltered by islets from the winds. A palisade of the trimks of trees in the centre of the town encloses the royal hut, those of the king's wives, the granaries, and the .shed where are deposited the THE WA-HTTMA. 79 war diuuis. Beyond the first enclosure is the court of justice, where the king, seated on a throne decorated with teeth, talons, and horns, settles the disputes of his subjects. A second palisade, less substantial than that of the royal palace, encircles the whole village, with its huts, winding lanes, and cultivated fields, where are cultivated tobacco, cereals, and various vegetables introduced bj- the Arabs. The south-east side of Lake Victoria is bordered by the U-Zinza (U-Zinja) country Iving west of the Isanga Eiver, which flows to a narrow fiord penetrating over 30 miles inland. This little-known region has been visited by Europeans only on its southern slope, which drains to Lake Tanganyka. Like the Wa-Sukuma, the Wa- Zinza are divided into several communities governed by chiefs and their wizards. Thev live in constant dread of the marauding Wa-Tuta tribe, who are said to be southern Bantus, perhaps Zulus penetrating from Lake Nyassa through the Tanganyka basin northwards, plundering and massacring along the route, like a horde of wild beasts. The "Wa-Zinza of the hilly sandstone districts in the north, who have less to fear from hostile inroads, are a finer and more vigorous race than those of the lowlands. They wear a skirt of tanned ox-hide, deck themselves with necklaces and amulets, and lard their bodies with rancid butter. Of all the Wa- Zinza tribes, the TVa-Sui branch is the most powerful. The Wa Hvma. In these regions the chief power belongs to families of the Wa-Huma, a race of pastors which is represented by one or more communities on all the upland plateaux round about Lake Victoria. According to Speke and Grant, these Wa- Huma are conquerors of Galla stock, originally from the Ethiopian highlands. In F-Xyamezi, and as far as the seventh degree of south latitude, kindred tribes are found, here known as Wa-Tusi, who closely resemble the "VTa-Hiuna in speech and usages. They are distinguished from their agricultui'al neighbours by a loftier figure and more regular features, oval face, straight and well-chiselled nose, and small mouth, without the pouting lips characteristic of the true Xegro. The Wa- Hinna women best represent this fine Ethiopian t^-pe ; hence they are readily pur- chased bj' the chiefs of other races for their harems. But while all the surrounding peoples become gradually modified by these crossings, the Wa-Huma preserve their original purity, keeping aloof from all contact with the aborigines. They are nearlv all stock-breeders, and as they mostly live in the jungle, far from villages, they are seldom met b}- travellers. Although they have given kings to most of the upland tribes, they are nevertheless regarded as barbarians by the Negro cultivators, just as in the " Middle Kingdom" the ilanchu conquerors are despised by their Chinese subjects. But in the midst of all these enslaved communities, who vaunt theii- industrial arts and agricultural pursuits, the Wa-Huma have at least the superiority acquired from a free and independent life. They tolerate no masters, and those amongst them who have failed to defend their liberties are no longer re- garded as belonging to their nation. Speke even tells us that captured and enslaved 80 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Wa-Huraa women are burnt alive ■whenever they again fall into the hands of their fellow-countrymen. The language of the Wa-Huma is unknown, and it is still uncertain whether they speak a Galla dialect mixed with Bantu words or a Bantu idiom affected by Galla elements. The Kingdom of KARAcwt. The kingdom of Karagwe occupies west of Lake Victoria an area of about 6,000 square miles, being limited southwards by U-Zinza, west and north by the Tangure Fig. 28. — Kakagwe. Scale I : 1,500,000. ; 7 ^v^;--;-: ■*»*•' \ KanCs J...i--, .>"•? v...--\ %f L . of (jreenwich 50' 120 Miles. merely attaching to the girdle a leafy branch or tufts of grass. Their ornaments consist of nails or metal plates, which they pass through the lower Up. Bongo women are often seen wearing, like the Botocudos of Brazil, inserted in the lip, a disc large enough to be used as a plate. The dandies also insert pegs into the sides of the lips, the nostrils, and other jirominent parts of the body. Persons are seen thus " pinned up " in a hundred different places. THE DIUE. Ill The Bongo are pei-haps one of the most kindly, gentle, and industrious people of Afi-ica. They are not possessed of the extraordinary passion for cattle which characterises the-Bari and Denka, but occupy themselves mostly with agriculture, men and women alike preparing the soil and cultivating their plants with the greatest care. The fertile red soil yields abxmdant crops of tobacco, sesame, dm-ra, and other alimentary plants ; but in spite of this variety of vegetable products, including -^-Qd roots and mushrooms, the Bongo despise no flesh, fresh or putrid, excepting that of the dog. They di-ive away the vulture to regale themselves on the remains of its meal of carrion, eat with relish the worms found in the entrails of the ox, devour scorpions, termite larvae, and all creeping and crawling insects. As amongst other tribes, earth-eating is also very common amongst them. The Bongo are the most skilled of African smiths, sujjplj-ing the Denka with their arms and ornaments. They build ingenious furnaces to direct a current of air across the iron ore, and manufacture with the aid of very simple tools articles equal in finish to the products of the Eui'opean workshops. Like the Logone people of the Tsad basiu, they have introduced the use of round pieces of this metal as money. They are also skilfid builders and carvers, erecting substantial dwellings with cii'Cidar ledges, which serve as terraces or balconies. Roimd the graves of their chiefs they carve stakes in the form of human beings, which bear a striking resemblance to the • divinities of the South-Sea Islanders. But these human figm-es of the Bongo are not gods, but merely symbols of the resurrection, a doctrine in which, together with metempsychosis, they are firm believers. The souls of old women are supposed to pass into the bodies of hyfenas, on which account these aniinals are regarded as possible family relations, and never killed. The Du-r. The Diur, that is to say, " Men of the Woods," " Savages," are so called by the Denka, who regard as inferior beings all tribes not possessing numerous herds of cattle. Their true name is Luoh or Lwo, and Kke the more southerly Belinda, who have encroached on the Niam-Xiam domain, they are immigrants of ShUluk stock. They still speak an almost pui-e Shilluk dialect, and some of the aged amongst them have preserved the traditional system of tattooing peculiar to that nation. The Diur occupy the last ferruginous terraces of the plateau between the Bongo and Dinka territories. Their domain is watered by several streams, the largest of which takes the name of this tribe. According to Schweinfurth, they number some 20,000, but increase rapidly in times of peace, because their families, remark- able for their mutual affection, are generally nimierous. The Dim-, much better proportioned than the Denka, are one of the naked peoples classed by the earlier explorers amongst the " tailed men," as they generally wear two attached to the girdle. Skilful smiths like the Bongo, they also manufacture rings for ornament- ing the arms and legs, but they no longer dress the hair after the complicated Shilluk fashion. Nearly all the men and women have very short hair. The ancient 112 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. customs are disappearing. Thus, amongst others, the Diur have ceased to spit upon each other as a mark of affection ; and the " tree of death," to whose trimk the heads of enemies were nailed, no longer stands at the side of each village. Topography. Diur Ghatfas, the principal zeriba of the country, is well placed at the junction of the Bongo, Denka, and Diur territories, and in the intermediate zone between the marshy plains and the hilly terraced lands, with their alternate woods and grass)- stepjjes. Sixty miles to the north-east, at the Diur and Momvil confluence, sur- rounded by a labyrinth of canals, and to the east of an immense forest, stands the village and the group of depots called Mcshra-er-Rek, or " Station of Rek." Here begins the navigation of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and here is the starting-point for all the caravans proceeding south, south-west, or west, into the region of the Upper Nile tributaries. Before the war which cut off this region from Khartum, a steamer ascended the Bahr-el-Ghazal periodically as far as Meshra-er-Rek. North-west of Diur Ghattas, other zeribas follow in the Diur territory. Such are JTuchuk-A/i, where Gessi gained a final victory over the slave-dealer Suleiman, and where are some fine banana, lemon, and orange groves, planted by Schweinfurth ; and Wau, on the left bank of the Diur, surrounded by extensive forests, which furnished the materials for the flotilla in which Gessi sailed down the Diur to the port of the Bahr-el-Ghazal. The Sereh, Golo, axd Krej Tribes. West of the Bongo are the Sereh and Golo, whose territories are both boimded by the Ji or Pango tribe. The Sereh greatly resemble their neighbours the Niam- Niam, to whom they were for some time subject. They are a well-built, stout, cleanly, and industrious people. They are of a cheerful disposition, enduring fatigue, himger, and thirst without complaint. Of all Africans, they possess the fewest domestic animals, rearing poultry alone in their villages. In general, the Golo resemble the Bongo in appearance and customs, although speaking an entirely different language. Their roimd huts have very large eaves supported on a circidar row of posts, thus forming a complete verandah roimd the dwelling. They erect exceedingly elegant granaries in the form of a vase resting on a stool, and surmounted by a movable cover tapering to a point ornamented with plumes. West of the Golo dwell the Kredi or Krej, who wander in small bands in the heart of the forests, and whom Schweinfurth describes as the most repulsive and least intelligent Negroes he ever met. This region, however, which di-ains through the Biri and other streams into the Bahr-el-Arab, is one of those where the popida- tions have become most mixed, not by free crossings, but by promiscuous intercourse, forced migrations, and the passage of troops and slave- dealers. The whole of Dar- Fertit, a name usually applied by the Arabs to this part of the country, was recently little more than a camp of slave-hunters. The alEx Dem or Dwem, meaning " town,"' joined to so many names of places, indicates the zeriba or fortified stations main- I m (mi IJ./,f I lil"'i'iiiiiiii[iMiiiiiiiiiiiiii[ii;iiii I TOPOGRAPHY. 113 tained by the slave-dealers. Don Idrix, the chief town of the Golo country, is one of the great centres of the ivory trade. "When Bohudorff , Juncker's fellow-traveller, escaped northwards towards the end of 1883, elephants' tusks were here heaped up in the stores. Had the river not been blocked by the revolt. Governor Lupton valued the merchandise that he could have forwarded to Khartum at 1"25 tons of ivory and 15 tons of indiarubber. Topography. Bern Zilcr, or Dem Suleiman, the chief town of the " Dwems," named after the two slave- dealers, father and son, whose power was overthrown by Gessi in 1878, is one of the largest places in the Xilotic basin above Khartum. The Egyptians have made it the capital of the province of Bahi--el-Ghazal. The king of Uganda's envoys on reaching this " great city " believed that they had arrived in England, of whose wealth and wonders they had heard so much. Its stores are stocked w^th European merchandise as well as with local produce, exotic fruits and vegetables accKmatised in the surrounding gardens. Here jewellers have estabKshed themselves, and sculptors here carve ivory tastefully as bracelets, sword and dagger hilts, and many other articles of vertu, and manage to keep within the law which claims elephants' tusks as the Khedive's property. Dem Suleiman is the only town of the riveraia countries possessing a mosque. To the north of Fertit, Gessi chose as the garrison station on the Arab frontier the town of Hiffi, situated iu the vicinity of large forests near the sources of the streams flowing towards the Bahr-el- Arab, but which run quite dry during a part of the year. The Togoi, one of the neighbouring tribes, belonging probably to the same race as the Krej, are savage, ugly, and debased ; whilst other peoples, such as the Inderi and Shir, have features which, according to Felkin, are almost " Euro- pean," and are distinguished for their high moral qualities. The village of Gondii, about 2-4 miles north of TTiffl, is a citadel of the Shir, perched on the top of a hill rising some 300 feet above the plain ; a rough path winds up the side of the hiU, which, however, the Arab invaders have vainly attempted to scale. The Shirs, with no other weapons than arrows and stones, have always repulsed their assailants. Having remained independent and retained their bravery, they have lost nothing of their good qualities. At the sight of a stranger they leave their work and rim for- ward, offering him refreshment and food. The Shir have little of the Negro type, their lips being thin and the nose shapely. They daub the body with oil and red ochre, which gives them a resemblance to their namesakes, the Shirs of the Xile Valley. Like the Madi and so many other peoples of the Upper Nile region, they pass a great part of their life in dressing their hair. Their favourite shape is that of a halo composed of long tresses. The Mandara, or ilandula, north of the Shirs in the direction of the Baggara Arabs, form the most advanced section of the Negro populations. According to Gessi, they are immigrants from Baghirmi, near Lake Tsad, who, fljTng from the slave-traders, took refuge in a country which, however, had been most devastated by VOL. X. I 114 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. the slavers. It was a hunting-ground where the Sultan of Darf iir formerly hunted human beings to pay his debts. The Mandaras are nearly all Mahommedans, like their neighbours on the banks of the Bahr-el-Arab. They have allied themselves with the Baggara and Nuer to attack the Egj-ptian garrisons in the riverain Fig. .37. — I.VHABITANTS OF THE ZaBIB.4 ReGIOV. Scale 1 : 6,000,000. C. Perron 120 MUes. countries, but they were repulsed many times by Governor Lupton near the village of Mayendut. The Fertit country forms the ethnological boundary between the clothed and naked populations. This contrast, combined with those of the physical features, impresses travellers, who here seem to enter a new world. To efJect its junction with the Bahr-el-Ghazal and Nile, the " River of the Arabs " in its lower course winds across Negro territories. Denka tribes and peoples of the great and warlike Nuer nation occupy the swampy plains along its banks. THE NTTEE. 115 The Nueij. Of all the African peoples, the Xuer best deserve the term of " stilted," applied to the inhabitants of frequently inundated districts. Resembling the Denka in this respect, they possess even longer legs and flatter feet, which they raise above the high grass and place cautiously on the boggy groimd. Like most Negroes of the riverain countries, they go naked ; clothes would greatly incommode them in these damp regions. But they take great pride in the beauty of their hair, giving it a yellowish tint by applying cinders and other substances. Those who have short hair wear wigs of cotton dyed red ; they make incisions on the forehead, while the young women pierce the upper lip, inserting rods two or three inches long encrusted with glass beads. Like the Denkas, the Nuer, whose fields are above the flood level, possess large herds of oxen ; their most binding oath is taken on the breed of their cattle. There are also a few Nuer communities living in the midst of swamjDs on the floating islets of grass and reeds brought down by the river during the floods. Like the aquatic birds, they eat fish as well as roots and nelumbo seeds. Still all travellers have wondered how these half amphibious beings can settle down and bring up their families in the midst of mud and deca}-ing vegetable substances. Their life must indeed be a hard one. They are in general very sullen, strangers rarely receiving a gracious reception from them. I 2 CHAPTER Y. SOBAT AXD TAL BASINS. HE Sobat, supposed by certain explorers to be the true "WTiite Nile, is occasionally even superior in volume to the main stream. It receives the drainage of an extensive basin, roughly estimated at 70,000 square miles. This vast space is still a blank on the map, or exhibits little more than the names of tribes inserted merely on the authority of the natives and of travellers who have penetrated farthest into the interior. Debono ascended the river in a boat for over 80 miles, while a steamer advanced 140 miles beyond the confluence. Antoine d'Abbadie, Beke, and recently Schuver, have explored several tributary valleys on the western watershed of the Abyssinian highlands, and have, moreover, collected information from the Arab dealers and natives. The Yal, or Jal, which rises in the Anam and Berta highlands under the names of the Yavash or Kishar, that is " Great River," is even less known in its middle and lower course than the Sobat. The Arab traders call it the Sobat, like the much larger river flowing farther south. Its mouth is blocked by sand only during exceptionally dry seasons, such as that of 1861. Between the Yal and the Blue Nile, for the space of more than five degrees of latitude, the White River receives only one perennial aflluent. The Nile and its two tributaries are fringed by deleb palms, tamarinds, ebony, and huge acacia forests, which though rich in gum are at present used only for the sake of the wood. One of these acacias is the " coftar " or flute-tree (^acacia fistula), whose ivory-like branches are drilled with holes by the insects living in the gall-nuts with which they are covered. The wind rushes through these openings, producing a soft mellow sound like that of the flute. These forests gradually disappear towards the mouth of the Yal, where the bare steppe stretches right and left, relieved only by the smoke of a few Arab camping-grounds. The Gambil and Koma Tribes. Most of the inhabitants of the Sobat basin are of Negro stock, the Gallas being met only in comparatively small isolated communities. The first plains watered by the Baro and Garreh afllucuts on leaving the Abyssinian mountains are occupied THE G.^MBIL AXD KO^L\ TEIBES. 117 by Denka and other tribes, wlio have sought refuge at the foot of the hills against the slavers of the lower Sobat. These fugitives have intermarried and formed new tribes differing little from the original stock. The level plains, watered by the Bako, are inhabited by the Yambo or Gambo, whom d'Abbadie believes to be a branch of the Shi links, while Schuver affiliates them to the Denkas. Farther on the land rises into plateaux inhabited by the Kii-ims, Malas, Ishings, and Matze ilaleas, said to be of Xegro origin. One of these tribes is said to consist of dwarfs not exceeding 4 feet 7 inches in height. A community of the warlike Gambil people recently occupied the skirts of the vast TTaUega forest fringing the western foot of the Abyssinian highlands, under the same latitude as the Nile and Sobat confluence. The chief river traversing their territory to join the Sobat, they named the Komanji, or " Cow River," because their herds, during the dry season, finding no pasturage except on its banks, crowded down to the water's edge. To call down rain the Gambil used to throw a flayed cow into the stream, believing that the farther the blood spread, the more copious would be the rainfall. They were one of the Nilotic Negro nations most remarkable for their bodilv strength. Their distinctive tiibal sitms were two gazelle or goat horns fastened to the forehead, and they were also accustomed to extract the two incisors of the lower jaw. But of this tribe there are now very few left, the exterminating wars created by the Egyptian "civilisers" having extended even to the plain of Komanji. Eobbed of their cattle by the Arab traders, the Denkas of the Nile fell upon their Gambil neighbours to restock their farms. A ruthless warfare, waged for the purpose of plunder, ensued between the two nations, in which the Gambil were defeated. Some fled eastwards to the upland Abyssinian valleys, and sought refuge with the Legas, a GaUa people, who received them merely to reduce them to slavery. Others escaped to the south, a few only still wandering about their native plains. Theii- capital, Komaujok, is nothing but a ruin, like their old market-town Kepiel, where the Legas bartered their metal wares and glass trinkets. Better protected by their mountains, the Komas, occupying the north-east portion of the former Gambil territory, south of the Upper Yal atiluents, still form a con- siderable nation. The Arabs have as yet visited them only in the character of merchants, and the " Turk " is not sufficiently known to be feared. The Komas are, moreover, a peaceful nation, having been imdistui'bed by wars for some centuries. Having no need to defend their coimtry, and never making slave raids against their neighbours, they are bad archers. But though they do not distinguish themselves as warriors, they are skilful agriculturists, and their fine crops of igname and cereals are more than sufficient to support the people. They barter the wild honey abvmdantly furnished by their forests for iron, salt, and other articles. The Koma mountains, about 6,660 feet high, are one of the most pleasant regions in the whole of Africa, enjoying an equable climate, not too warm, and never so cold as to necessitate the wearing of heavy garments. The sloping land is extremely healthy, and the picturesque hillocks, verdant valleys, and limpid streams on every side combine to form a charming landscape. The huts scattered 118 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. amongst the trees are a proof of the general security from the attacks of enemies or beasts of prey. In his many voyages across the world, Schuver nowhere found men whose simple pleasures, quiet life, and mutual kindness seemed to briag them more in harmony with the surrounding country. The Koma communities never quarrel with each other, and no jealous authority prevents the families from acting as they please ; the people are guided by the opinion, and in important matters by the decision, of a public meeting. The Komas extract the upper incisors. The men go naked, like most of their neighbours, but some wear a collar or necklace of teeth or pearls. From their Fig. 38. — Confluence of the Sobat and Yal. Scale 1 : 2,000,000. lo: ^ Fashoda ^ (DenabJ^iJ^ ri/T Toura' .10° ^^6*=^-?sk2isr- .•.y. Tew-flkTye ^■ •-f'-- . • -^^^J^^^^^^^ ^ 9°. ^ JVc^^eisn 9° jv a V £ Ji '%% -J of Greenw' ch 54°90' 55°?0 C Perron 30 Maes. childhood the women are clothed with bark or cloth ; engaged and married women mostly wear an apron embroidered with pearls and rounded pieces of broken ostrich eggs. The women, moreover, ornament themselves with red pigtails of hair or vegetable fibres, with which they scourge themselves when mourning for the dead. Their cries and sobs are heard almost every morning, even before cock-crow. The dead, men and women alike, are kept over a period of seven to ten years in special huts, built so as to protect them from the ants, the relatives and friends occasional!}' bringing them presents of salt or pearls. But when the bones are buried all these gifts are sold by auction to defray the expenses of a public feast. THE SHILLUKS. 119 The upland valleys of the Yal, north of the Koma, belong to the Amam, whom llateueci -nTonglv terms the African " Patagonians." Thej- are certainly tall, hut not so tall as the Xuer and Kij ; but they have so successfully repulsed the Eg^-ptians that they are described as giants and reputed cannibals. Their customs resemble those of the Komas. The Suro, -who roam on the border of Kaffa south of the Gambils, are said to be tributary to the latter state. They haye already been brought into the circle of Abyssinian political influences. Like all the tribes plundered by the Abyssinians, they are called " Shangalla " by the plateau populations ; but this designation implies no connection with the Shangalla of the north, such as the Bazeh. Although frequently visited by the Arab merchants, the Suro are still wild pastors, like the Shilluks. They go naked, excepting the women, who wear a narrow loin- cloth ; the chief alone wears garments, the insignia of power. Like several Nilotic Xegroes of the same race, the Suro extract two teeth from the lower jaw, and insert a disc of wood in the lower lip. They also pierce and thrust blades of grass through the lobe of the ear. Like theii' civilised neighbours of the plateau, they eat no other flesh but that of their herds. The riverain peoples of the lower Sobat, although bearing various tribal names, all belong either to the Xuer or Shilluk family. The formidable Gibhas, Bonjaks, and ilivaks are isolated Shilluk communities ; while the Baloks, settled more to the west, and the Xdiekens lower down, are Nuers. Lastly, the populations of the lower valley, near the confluence, are ShiUuks separated from the main body of the nation only by the breadth of the Xile. The Egyptian Government had formerly established the military post of I^asser on the Sobat, about 120 miles above the confluence ; but the expenses of maintaining it not being covered by the small trade, and the land being of little value, it was abandoned in 1876. At present the vast unexplored basin is claimed neither by Abyssinia nor Eg^-pt, and its political system is in the fragmentary and shifting state produced by the continual displace- ment of the tribes by emigration or by conquest. But these imexplored regions traversed by the Upper Sobat and its affluents, -n-ill doubtless become one of the most frequented parts of Africa, as it is here that the water-parting between the White yUe and the Indian Ocean can be most easily crossed. The border range between the Kaffa mountains and the volcanic highlands of the Masai country is partly interrupted by broad openings, at present occupied by fiei'ce Galla tribes, and forms a natural communication between the watersheds. The Shilluks. The Shilluks, who occupy the left bank of the Xile from below the Sobat junction to Abha Island for a distance of over 360 miles, are one of the largest Afi-ican races, and the only one on the banks of the Nile recognising a bando, or king, ruling aU the tribes, and selling as slaves those whom his anger or justice lights upon. The riverain zone inhabited by the Shilluks is only from ten to twelve miles broad, the plains of the interior bemg occujjied by the Baggara (Bagara), or " Cattle Arabs," pure or mixed, so called on account of their large herds of cattle. 120 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. They possess none of the gentleness of their animals, however, being wild and daring horsemen, much feared by their neighbours the Shilluks. According to the rough census taken by the Egyptian Government in 1871, after the reduction of the land, the ShUluk nation is one of the most numerous in the world in proiDortion to the surface of the cultivated land. It possesses about three thousand villages, each containing from fifty to two hundred families, and the whole nation comprises a total population of at least one million twelve hundred thousand, a density only to be equalled in the suburbs of European industrial towns and districts. There Fig. 39.— SHiLLt-K Type. are few other countries where nature provides so abundantly for all the wants of man. The towns on the bank follow in succession at intervals of less than half a mile, like one huge city. Seen from the river, these collections of huts, all similar in form, resemble clusters of mushrooms, the white C3'linder of the building topped by a spherical grey roof heightening the illusion. In the middle of each village is a circular open space, where the villagers assemble in the evening, and seated on mats or ox-hides, smoke native tobacco in large pipes with clay bowls, and inhale the fumes of the fires lighted to keep off the musquitoes. To the trunk of the tree standing in the middle of this square are himg the drums, so that the public THE SHILLUKS. 121 criers may immediately warn all the peoples of the surroimding towns in case of alarm. Hartmanu and most other explorers of this region of the Nile consider the Shilluks as the t}'pical representative of the group of Negro nations whose domain is bounded south by the Bantu, east by the Galla and other Ethiopian races, north by the Nubian and Arab tribes, and south-west by the Niam-Niam. The Shilluks are, moreover, by far the most numerous of these groups, and have migrated most frequently to all the surrounding regions. They are said to have come from the south-east plains watered by the Sobat affluents ; since the migration, the Luoh and Diur, a branch of the same stock, have occupied a portion of the south-west territory between the Bongos and Denkas. Other of their colonists have even crossed the Somerset Nile and settled in the U-Nyoro coimtry, imder the name of Chefalu ; they are now colonising along the right bank of the Nile below the Sobat, the districts of the Denka country wasted by the slavers. The population on both banks was described by Werne as " immense," " incredibly dense ; " even on the right bank, although the least crowded, hundreds of Denka villages followed each other at short intervals. But they were all delivered to the flames, this region ha\ing been completely wasted in 1862 by Mohammed Her, the chief of a band of adventurers, who had allied himself with the Abu-Rof Arab tribe occupjong, west of Senaar, a large tract between the two main streams. The Abu-Rof, stationed along the foot of the hills, drove the Denkas towards the Nile and Sobat, where the slave-boats were in readiness. The razzia was successful, not a soul escaping, and a district several thousand square miles in extent was thus depopulated. Gordon's regret at having contributed to spread the " benefits of civilisation " in these countries may easily be understood. " "We want neither your pearls, your friendship, nor your protection ; we only ask you to leave us," were the words addressed to him hj the delegates of a tribe he was annexing to Egj'pt. Although for some time in contact with the Arab Mussulmans, the ShiUuks have preserved their customs and religion. Like the Bari and Denka, they have refused the garments offered them by the Khartum merchants, accepting nothing but their glass or metal trinkets ; the women alone wear a calf-skin attached to their girdle. Instead of clothes, the poor besmear themselves with ashes, and are thus recognised at a distance by their grey colour, the real complexion of the tribe being ruddy. Like other riverain populations of the "White Nile, the Shilluks ornament their hair with grass and feathers in the most fantastic forms, such as that of a crest, a fan, a halo, a helmet, or even a broad-brimmed hat. At sight of Schweinfurth wearing a broad felt hat of the Panama type, the natives thought he was one of their tribe, and shouted with wonder when he took off his hat. The future form of the headdress depends mostly on the fancy of the mother. Before the children are weaned they fashion the hair with clay, gum, manure, and ashes, leaving its future care to the children themselves. The Shilluks are skilled hunters like the Baggara, not only chasing but even breeding the ostrich in their villages. The animal they fear the most is the buffalo. "When unable to evade the furious beast, they throw themselves face 122 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. downwards on the ground and sham death ; the buffalo snifis round the body for some minutes and then goes away without touching it. The Shilluks beKeve in the supernatiiral, but pay little attention to it. They worship an ancestor whom they consider to be both a god and the creator of all thuigs ; they invoke the spirits of the stream and wash in its holy water, but only in fear and trembling speak of the spirits of the dead, which hover in the air and pass iato the bodies of animals and trunks of trees. The throne does not pass ia direct descent from father to son, but to the sister's child or to some other relative on the female side. Until the new king has been proclaimed the corpse of his predecessor remains enclosed in his tokul ; his daughters are forbidden to marry, and confined in a village set apart for the purpose. Topography. The town of Fashoda, established by the Egyptian Government in 1867, as the capital of its province of Bahr-el-Abiad, is in Shilluk territory. Although the residence of the Shilluk king, it was at that time the village of Denah, a mere group of straw huts ; it is now an imposing square fortress surrounded by palings, depots, and enclosures ; but at the beginning of 1884 it was a city of the dead, the war having caused the people to quit theii- dwellings. Here the Egyptian Govern- ment used to send those condemned to perpetual exile. Fashoda occupies a good strategic position on the left bank of the Nile, at the great bend which it describes in its northern course beyond the Bahr-ez-Zaraf and Sobat junction. The conflu- ence itself is defended east by the post of Tahifikiyah, so-called in honour- of the Khedive, and west by the village of Sohat, established ofiicially with a view to overlook the Negro slave-dealers. KaJia, recently the chief slave market of the Upper Nile, is the most important place in the Shilluk country ; it lies on the left bank of the river, near the northern frontier. CHAPTER YI. ABYSSINIA (ETHIOPIA). HE name " Ethiopia," like so many other geographical terms, has changed in value during the lajjse of centui'ies. Like Libya, it was once applied to the whole of the African continent ; it even embraced a wider field, since it included India and all the southern lands of the Torrid zone occupied by the " men blackened by the Sim," for such is the exact meaning of the term. " The peoples of Ethiopia, the most remote in the world," saj's Homer, " dwell some towards the rising, others towards the setting sun." The " wise men " occupying the Upper Nile, of whom the Macrobians, or " Men of Long Life," are a branch, whose manners and customs pertain to the Golden Age, and " those virtuous mortals whose feasts and banquets are honoured by the presence of Jupiter himself," are called Ethiopians by Herodotus. But he apj^lies the same term to the western Negroes, whose culture was scarcely superior to that of irrational beasts. However, according as our knowledge of Africa increased, the term Ethiopia became less vague, and was applied to a region of smaller extent. Now it is restricted to the uplands forming the water-parting between the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the middle NUe. This is the region known to the Arabs by the name of Habesh, or Abyssinia, a term supposed to denote a mixed or mongrel population, hence reluctantly accepted bj- natives acquainted with Arabic. The people occupying the plateau traversed by the Blue Nile and other large Nilotic aiHuents, conscious of a glorious past, proudlj' designate themselves as " Itiopiavian," that is, Ethiopians. Nevertheless, the term Abyssinia, like that of Germany, and so many others that the people themsehes did not give to their country, has acquired amongst foreigners the force of custom, and must be employed to avoid misunderstandings. Relief, Extent, Population of Abyssinia. The shiftings of frontier caused by the fortunes of wars and conquests have long prevented, and still prevent, these teiTus, Ethiopia or Habesh, from conveying a clear political signification. Now applied merely to the lofty chain of mountains whose central depression is flooded by Lake Tana ; now extended to all the sur- 124 NORTH-EAST AERICA. rounding lands westwards to the Nilotic plains, and eastwards to tlie shores of the Red Sea, in its ordinary usage the term Abyssinia is specially employed in a political sense, its limits being indicated by the authority of the "King of Kings." The word Ethiopia has a still wider sense. From the geographical standpoint its natural frontiers are traced by the elevations, which at the same time serve as boundary lines between the surrounding floras, faunas, and populations. Speaking generally, the whole triangular space, rising to an elevation of over 3,000 feet, between the Red Sea and the Nde, may be called Ethiopia proper. On all sides the exterior escarpments of the plateau indicate the zone of transition between the Ethiopian and surroimdiug lands. To the north they consist of those spurs pro- jecting to the neighbourhood of the Red Sea, from which they are separated by a narrow strip of coastlands. Eastwards the rugged Tigre, Lasta, and Shoa high- lands are abruptly limited by uneven plains stretching seawards, which appear to have formerly been partly submerged. Wadies and marshes skirt the foot of the hills, like those channels which encircle the foot of recently upheaved rocks. To the west the declivities are less precipitous ; the highlands, breaking into ridges and headlands, fall in successive stages merging at last in the undulating plains, but reappearing here and there in isolated crags and masses in the midst of the alluvial strata. To the south the natural boundaries of Ethiopia are less distinctly defined, the plateau extending in this direction towards the uplands of the Masai country. Still, depressions are known to exist in this region affording easy com- munication from the Nile Valley through the Sobat to the lands draining through the Juba to the Indian Ocean. Until these little-known regions have been thoroughly explored, it wiU be impossible to accurately calculate the extent of Ethiopia in its wider sense. All we know is that, in their present political limits, Abyssinia and Shoa cover an area of about 80,000 square miles, or considerably less than half that of France. The KafFa coimtry and j)art of the region occupied by the Gallas and other tribes, as far as the water-parting between the Sobat and Juba, should be added to these countries as natural geographical dependencies. The lowlands, ancient political dependencies of the kingdom of Ethiopia, extend east of the Abyssinian mountains towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over an area nearly equal to that of Abyssinia properly so-called. The whole of the region comprised between the Nile, the Takka steppes, the seacoast from Suakin to Zeila, and the irregular water-parting between the basins of the Awash, the Blue Nile, the Sobat, and the tributaries of the Indian Ocean, has a superficial area exceeding 240,000 square miles. Its population may be approximately estimated at about 9,000,000. Historic Retrospect. Separated^from the surrounding countries by the relief of its plateaux and moun- tains, Ethiopia also differs from them in its climate, vegetation, faima, inhabitants, and history. In this vast continent, where the people elsewhere intermingle like the waters of the sea, it rises like a vast highland citadel, constituting a world apart. HISTORIC RETROSPECT. 125 The Abyssinians have had an historic evolution different from that of the nations surging round the foot of their highlands, like the waves dashing against the cliffs. AVars and revolutions have been developed below them without affecting them. But if Ethiopia seems to have lived an independent existence amid its African neigh- boiu's, it offers on the other hand a development singvdarlj' analogous to that of temperate Europe. It is very remarkable that the Abyssinians alone, of all other Afa'ican peoples, should have accepted and retained a religion which prevails under divers forms amongst European peoples. Not only its religious dogmas, but also its political institutions and usages, present a certain resemblance to those of mediaeval Europe. In certain respects Abyssinia is an African Eui'ope. But for many centm-ies the relations between Ethiopia and the countries north of Africa have been few and transitory. The Greeks were not brought into contact with the Abyssinian highlanders till the time of the Ptolemies, when the open ports on the neighbouring coast facilitated the exchange of merchandise and the propaga- tion of the Hellenic religion, as is attested by the inscriptions foiind by explorers in many parts of Ethiopia. Christianity and its predecessor, Judaism, were introduced into the country by the same routes. Numerous traditions have sirrvived from the period of Greek influence, and at the present day Ethiopians, the statements of travel- lers notwithstanding, are still inclined to believe that the Greeks are the most powerful nation in Europe. Shortly after their conversion, however, all relations ceased between them and the Byzantines, and it was through the Arabs that vague reports reached Europe of theii' African co-religionists. Even at the time of the Crusades a report was circulated that the King of Ethiopia was coming to the help of his Christian brethren. However, the statements made about these African Catholics were more legendary than historical, and Ethiopia, like the Mongolian plateaux, was supposed to have its "Prester John," rmder whom the happy populations were said to live in a second Golden Age. For nearly a thousand j-ears all direct intercourse between Europe and Ethiopia was suspended, and not resumed till about 1450, through the trade opened by the Italians with India. If Bruce is to be credited, the Venetian BrancaKone held theological discussions with the Abyssinian priests about the middle of the fifteenth century. Later on a Portuguese, Pedro Covillao, accompanied by a second BrancaUone, succeeded in reaching the plateau and the court of the Ethiopian king in 1487 ; but he was not permitted to return to his own country. At the same time Marcos, an Ethiopian pilgrim, journeyed from Jerusalem to Lisbon. In the following century the Portuguese penetrated to the plateau, where they foimded religious and military establishments in every direction. Relations with Europe, however, were not 3'et thoroughly cemented, when the Portuguese priests were accused of aspiring to political power and expelled from the country. They were no doubt followed in 1699 by the French physician, Poncet, invited by the King of Abyssinia to his court. 126 XOETH-EAST AFEICA. MoDERX Exploration. But seventy years passed between Poncet's short visit and that of the Scotch- man Bruce, with whom begins the era of modem exploration. Since his time the country has been traversed by many European travellers, naturalists, traders, adventurers, soldiers, and missionaries, and Eui'opean military expeditions have even been made into the heart of Abyssinia. Commercial relations are rapidly increasiag, and many of the plateau districts have already been pointed out by explorers as a future field of emigration for Em-opeans. But it might be doubted whether the two races would continue to live on friendly terms, without the conflicts and wars of extermination generally preceeding the fusion of different peoples. Certain parts of Ethiopia are already much better known than any other African region lying beyond the colonies and maritime regions under European influence. Since Bruce's visit, the country has been thoroughly studied by explorers, such as Salt, Riippel, Rochet, Ferret, and Galinier ; Beke, Sapeto, Krapf, Combes, and Tamisier ; Lejean, Munziager, RafPray, Rohlfs, and Heuglin, who have brought back maps, charts and observations of every description. Moreover Antoiae d'Abbadie, during his twelve years' stay in Ethiopia, made a geodetic survey of the country, by a rapid but accurate method, hardly inferior in precision to the lengthy and delicate system of triangulation usually adopted in Europe. On d'Abbadie's map the Red Sea coast is connected with the moun- tains of the plateau as far as Kafia by a continuous series of triangles, fixing the latitude and longitude of about nine hundred points. The map is covered with a close network of geodetic lines and routes, the names of many localities being inserted with considerable accuracy. Detailed surveys were also taken by the British staff officers during the expedition of 1868 from Adidis Bay to the highland fortress of Magdala. Abyssinia Proper. Most European explorers who have visited the Ethiopian ujolands have penetrated from the east, where these highlands present the most imposing aspect. Above the samhar or mudun, a naked plain separating the coast from the plateau, the outer terraces of the escarpment are seen piled up in domes and pyramids, barren rocks or verdant slopes, whose sharp hazy crests seem to merge in a single irregular range. At the mouth of the ravines which cleave the rocky masses with their parallel furrows, the argillaceous plains are succeeded by rolled stones and boulders, with here and there a solitar}' tree, or patches of scrub or herbage ■\-isible in the cavities occasionally flooded by the tropical rains. Still higher uji rise rocky or wooded slopes and steep precipices, round which wind narrow and dangerous paths. When the traveller at last reaches the summit he does not find himself on a ridge, as he might have expected, but on almost level pastui-e- lands interspersed with tall juniper-trees. At a height of from 7,000 to 9,000 feet the edge of the plateau stands out in relief, on one side overlooking the grey ABYSSINLV PROPER. 127 and naked plain, and on the other, the strange " chess-board " of the interior with Fig. 40. — Chief Routes of Abyssinian Exploreks. Scale t : 3,000,000.' C. Perron Itineraries of Antoine d'Abbadie, 60 Miles. its irregular terrace-lands OTertopped by jagged cliffs and cleft asunder by deep gorges. 128 XOETH-EAST AFEICA. The Abyssinian Plateau. On the whole, the Ethiopian plateau consists of numerous distinct table-lands, like the polyhedric prisms formed by the dessication of the clayey soil of plains exposed to the action of heat. These table-lands, intersected by precipices and surmounted by crags, stand at different elevations. Some of them form entire provinces, with towns and numerous populations; others, the so-called amha, are mere blocks or quadrangular masses some 800 or 1,000 feet high, similar to the drugs or " inaccessibles " of Southern India, or the isolated crags of Saxon Switzerland. In eastern Ethiopia the origin of these ambas is doubtless due to the disintegration of a thick layer of red or greyish sandstone, cleft into vertical masses, and revealing here and there stratas of lower schistose and crystaline formations. In the interior, and especially towards the west, where volcanic lands prevail, most of the natural cHifs consist, not of sandstone, like those of the eastern plateaux of India and of Saxony, but of lava, and terminate in basaltic columns, some disposed in converging clusters or else forming colonnades Kke the temples of the Acropolis. These crystaline rocks, whose upper terrace is large enough to contain arable tracts and form the source of rivers, have for the most part served as strongholds, where many a tribe or horde of robbers has remained for years besieged and cut off from the rest of the world. Other ambas have been chosen by the monks as the sites of their monasteries, and such holy places often serve as sanctuaries to those fleeing from justice or oppression. Lastly, the smaller basalt columns are frequently used as prisons for the great personages who have incurred the displeasure of the reigning sovereign. In Eastern Ethiopia the general face of the plateau is more broken and cut up into more secondary plateaux and crystaHne rocks than in the west. The escarp- ments of most^ of the isolated mountain masses slope more gradually westwards. They thus reproduce in miniature the general aspect of the whole region, which terminates abruptly towards the Red Sea, and slopes gradually towards the Nilotic plains. This general incline, however, can only be determined by accurate instru- ments, the aspect of the plateau and of the surrounding ranges being too irregular to enable the observer to detect its primitive outline. The ambas stand out at various elevations in bold relief against the blue sky like citadels and towers. Lower down, the verdant base of the plateau breaks into abrupt precipices, whose walls present from a distance the aspect of regular quadrangular lines. On these harder rocks rest the soft foundations, here scored by avalanches of falling rocks, elsewhere clothed with verdure. The Abyssinian landscapes, like those of the Rocky Mountains, consist of superimposed terrace-lands and vast strata of monumental aspect. Near Magdala the eastern edge of the Talanta plateau is said to terminate abruptly in a vertical wall of basaltic pillars over three thousand feet high. The Kwallas and River Gorges. The height of the Ethiopian plateaux varies greatly, presenting between the Simen range in the north and those of Lasta and Go jam in the south-east and NORTHERN ABYSSINIA. la Ui CPerran. • under "OOC m o r «? 5000 w o f^cr 5000 m. LONDON. J. S, VIRTU E TKE ABTSSrSTAN PLATEAU. 129 west, a mean altitude of about 8,000 feet. All the regions attaining or exceeding this height are called dcga, a term analogous to the Persian sarhad and Arab ncjd. Below the altitude of 6,000 feet, the intermediate valleys and gorges dividing the plateau, excavated by the mountain torrents to various depths, take the name of kiraUa, kolla, or kulla, a zone of " hot lands " corresponding to the ghermsir of Persia, or to the tehamas of Arabia. Between these two zones stretches the vdina- dega, or temperate region. In many jjlaces the rugged escarpments present a sudden conti-ast between the degas and the kwallas, the difference of their relief being heightened by that of their climate and vegetation. The cataracts, such as that of Davezut, near Debra-Tabor, fall either in a single sheet or through a suc- cession of rapids from one zone to another. Most of the partial granite or basalt masses of the plateau have outer walls formed of cliffs and superimposed talus, which give the hills the appearance of step-pyramids; but some of these kwallas are little more than fissiu-es or gorges, like the ITorth American canons. Such chasms appear to be but a stone's throw across ; their true size, however, can only Fig. 41. — Profile op Abyssinia from East to West. Scale 1 : 6,000,000. C Perron The scale of heights is 250 times larger than that of distances. ^^^^^^^—^^^^^^-^ 6 MileB. be seen on descending into the abj-ss, walking for hours on the edge of giddy precipices, crossing the torrents at the bottom, and then scaling their abrupt sides. The defiles are occasionally blocked by masses of rock swept down by the mountain torrents, and presenting serious obstacles to the local trafiSc. The most remark- able ravines occur along the eastern edge of the j)lateau, where the total fissure exceeds 6,500 feet, measured from the simimit of the degas down to the sea-level. Xowhere else can a more convincing proof be observed of the erosive action of running waters. The two walls of certain gorges, rising nearly vertically within a few feet of each other to a height of some hundi-eds of feet, represent an erosion of hard rock amoimting to at least ten thousand five hundred million cubic feet. Nevertheless, the waters have regulated the fall of the channel, which averages not more than one in forty yards. This incline is easily ascended, but several of the defiles remain blocked for months together by the mountain torrents ; every year new paths have to be formed across the debris, while some have had to be entirely abandoned. The route to KumaUi, through which the English army marched to the Abyssinian jilateau, had probably not been occupied by a military force since VOL. X. K 130 NOETH-EAST APEICA. Fig. 42.— Davezut Falls, xeak Samara (Debra-Tabor). the tuue of the Greeks. Ethiopia is thus divided by gorges into uumerous natural THE NOETHEEN HIGHLANDS. 131 sections. Instead of facilitating communication, as in the lowlands, the Abyssinian rivers become so many defiles difficult to traverse, and often completely cutting off two conterminous provinces for weeks and months at a time. Orographic System. From a geological point of view, the Ethiopian highlands present a striking resemblance to those of Arabia facing them. The rocky formations are identical, and consequently the mountains have much the same outlines, the same general aspect, and almost the same vegetation ; while the populations, of common origin on both plateaux, have been developed in almost identical surromidings. The back- bone of the whole Ethiopian plateau, still appearing on some old maps under the name of " Spina Mundi," is formed by the eastern edge of the mountains over- looking the low coastlands of the Red Sea. For a distance of about 600 miles this edge, precipitous on one side and developing a gentle incline on the other, runs north and south nearly in the direction of the meridian. West of this range, which also forms the water-parting, the whole of the plateaux gradually slope towards the Nile, as indicated by the kwallas through which flow the waters of the llareb, Takkazeh, Beshilo, Abai, Jemna, and their affluents. On the eastern slope the escarjjments are intersected at intervals by the deep valleys of the wadies rising on the plateau, which thus affords an accessible route to the heart of Ethiopia ; but one river alone, the Awash, rises far west of the chain. The valley of this watercourse describes a regular semicircle south of the Shoa highlands, thus forming a natural barrier between the Abyssinian and southern Galla territory. The Northern Highlands. In its northern section the axis of the range is scarcely sixty miles broad, including the spurs and the lateral ridges. Its lowest eminences overlook the plain of Tokar from the south, where the river Barka loses itself in a marshy delta. Rising in abrupt terraces, it presents a steep face to the coast-Une, which is here indented by inlets and broken into rugged headlands ; the jagged crests leave only a narrow passage at their base, blocked by rocks and interrupted by wadies interspersed with quagmires. This region would prove an Ethiopian ThermopyliB for an army endeavom-ing to reach the mountain regions on this side. Farther south the sea retires from the mountains, leaving a strip of lowlands known, as in Algeria, by the name of Sahel, which stretches at a mean breadth of twelve miles along the base of the gneiss, granite, and schist escarpments ; a few volcanic cones are scattered between the hills and the seacoast, while lava-streams here alternate with the sand and clay beds of the arid zone. The mountain range rises to a height of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above the Sahel. The Rora, as the parallel chains are here called, expand in some places into plateaux, which, from the abundant rainfal and fertility of the soil, would amply repay the laboui' of cultivation. Thus the Rora K 2 132 XOETH-EAST AFRICA. Azgedeh, miming parallel with the coast, is connected by ridges with the Rora Isallim, or " Black Mountain," which lies still nearer the coast. They jointlj' bound the upland plain of Nalcfa, about 5,000 feet above the sea, which drains into the Red Sea through one large torrent. At present a desolate district consisting of nothing but pasture lands, the Xakfa, " the most delightful region ia Abyssinia," appears to be suitable for the culture of coffee, cotton, mulberries, the vine, and tobacco. A few mountain masses project ia lofty headlands west of the Rora Azgedeh. Such is Hagar Abei Nejran, that is, " Capital of Nejran," over 8,000 feet in height, which is now covered with ruias, but which formerly contained the celebrated monastery frequented by pilgrims journeyiag from Aksimi to Jerusalem. Fig. 43. — XoRTQERN SpfKS OF THE AbTS.SIXIAX HiOHLANHS. Scnle 1 : 1,600,000. L . ot Ijreeow C Depths. to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet. 320 to 640 Feet. . 30 Miles. 640 Feet and upwardfi. Farther south the valley of the Anseba is dominated east by the Debr-Abi, or " Great Mountain," another almost solitary cliff, known also by the name of Tem- belleh. Bounded westwards by the valley of the Barka, the moimtain range, for min g a contiauation of the Rora Azgedeh, is intersected by numerous headstreams of that river. The most important of these affluents, notably of the Anseba and the Barka itself, rise west of Massawah on the plateau, 4,000 feet high, which forms the north-east corner of Abyssioia proper. On this base another group of superb granite mountains rises to an elevation of some 16,000 feet. Such is the famous Debra Sina, or "Mount Sinai," to the east of Keren, and capital of the Bogo country. THE HAMASEN AND SIMEN UPLANDS. 138 The crest of this mountain is a chaotic mass of rocks of all sizes, which misrht be supposed due to volcanic eruptions, hut which are indebted for their present form to slow meteoric action. These rocks, Ij'ing obliquely on each other, form the arched roofs of numerous caves, which have been artificially worked into dwellings and in many places connected by galleries. One has even been hewn into a monastery and a church, which is annuallj^ visited by thousands of pilgrims from every part of Abyssinia. South of Keren stands the Isad Amba, or " TVTiite Fortress," another rock famous in the religious annals of Abyssinia. This Fig. -44. — The Simen Highlaxds. Scale I: 1,000,000. CPer mountain rises almost verticallj^ about 4,000 feet above the Barka Valley, its sharp peak scarcely afEording sufficient space for the site of the convent waUs. The Hamasex axd Simen Uplands. In Abyssinia proper, commencing at the Hamasen plateau, the base of the uplands is at once broader and more elevated than in the Bogo (Bilen) country, its mean height exceeding 7,460 feet. Like most of the Ethiopian mountain masses, Hamasen is covered with trachytic or basaltic lavas, which are themselves overlaid by a reddish or yellowish earth. There can be little doubt that this ochrous soil covering the Abyssinia plateaux consists of decomposed lava, like the vast laterite masses stretching over the Dekkan and most of southern India. In various localities basaltic columns are found partially changed to masses of 134 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. Fig. 45. — L.^KES OF East Abyssinia. Scale 1 : 1,500,000. 12' 50' reddi.sh clay. Red is the normal colour of the Abyssinian rocks, the very veins of quartz being often of a pink hue, caused by the oxide of iron. According to Heuglin, at least one of the craters, from which were formerly ejected the Hamasen lavas, has been perfectly preserved. Rising midway between Keren and Adua to a height of about 400 feet, it is stated to present the appearance of a crater but recently extinct, although Rohlfs, follow- ing the same route, failed to discover it. To the south, on the eastern edge of the plateau, rise the isolated cones of other volcanoes. Some of the Tigre crests are veritable mountains, not merely in absolute altitude, but also in their eleva- tion relative to the surrounding plains. Thus east of Adua, the cleft cone of Sema- yata attains a height of 10,306 feet, or over 3,000 feet above the town occupying a depression of the plateau at its base. Eastwards, near the outer ledge of the uplands, are other lofty hills, one of which, Aleqwa, rises to a height of 11,250 feet. To the west, between the Mareb and Tak- kazeh, the plateau gradually falls, the relative heights of the mountains dimin- ishing in proportion. The loftiest headland of northern Abyssinia is separated from Tigre in the north and east by the semicircular gorge of the Takkazeh, while the affluents of this great river encircle the plateau on the south-west, thus isolating the Simen (Samen, Semen, Semien, or Semieneh), that is the " northern " or " cold region." The mean height of its escarpments ex- ceeds 10,000 feet, whilst the surrounding valleys of the Balagas to the south and of the Taldiazeh to the north, are respectively 5,000 and 6,000 feet lower. Hence the waters flowing from the snowy Simen uplands have a very rapid course, in many One of these cataracts Heufflin describes as fallins: some 51 [ ^f Gri'en^ ,.h 59°40 C Perron . 30 MUes. places broken by cascades. 1,500 feet into a chasm which appears to have been a crater partly destroyed by erosion. Like most of the other fragments of the Ab3'ssiQian plateau properly so- called, the Simen uplands consist entirely of volcanic, basaltic, trachytic, phonolithic. <: El > I THE EASTERN BOEDER RANGE. 135 rocks and piimice, although their snowy peaks contain no craters. Till recently the Ras Dajan, probably over 15,000 feet, was considered the highest point in this district, but this distinction belongs probably to that of Buahit, or Abba-Tared. The highest peaks of these two mountains, rivalHng Mont Rosa or Mont Blanc of the Eiu'opean Alps, are 'streaked with snow, and according to the natives, snow rests on them throughout the year. The aspect of the Simen highlands is scarcely so impo.sing as that of the Alps. They rise little more than from 1,500 to 2,500 feet above the base of the plateau ; but at the escarpments of the terrace lands, from which they are separated by deep gorges, these mountains, with their fantastic towers, peaks, and successive vegetations of every climate clothing their flanks, stand out in all their sublimity. From the pass of Lamalmon on the Gondar route, the traveller on turning a rock comes suddenlj^ on this amazing prospect, and utters an involuntary cry of admiration at the sight of the snowy peaks piercing the clouds. The Eastern Border Range. East of Tigre, the chain forming the eastern escarpment of Abyssinia is continued regularly north and south, interrupted by breaches some 8,000 or 10,000 feet high, which would facilitate commimication with the plains on the Red Sea coast were the country not occupied by the dreaded Afar tribes. This border chain maintains its normal elevation for a distance of about 180 miles, but at certain points it merges in a rugged upland plain whose depressions are flooded by lakes such as Ashangi, Haik, and Ardibbo. Eastwards the mountainous tableland of Zebul, some 3,000 feet high, and dominated by peaks rising from 1,000 to 2,000 feet higher, advances far into the country of the Somali. Although their escarp- ments are so precipitous, and so densely clothed with matted vegetation, as to render them almost inaccessible, the Zebul heights are not to be compared with the majestic Abyssinian mountains. The Bekenna, or Berkona, an afiluent of the Awash, rising in the watershed near the sources of the Takkazeh and Beshilo, separates the border chain from the Argobba, a lateral ridge which projects far into the lowlands, forming in the south-west the last spur of the Abyssinian highlands. The line of transverse depressions, indicated on the coast by the Gulf of Tajurah, and in the interior by the bed of Lake Tana, is well defined on the border terrace by a nucleus of diverging vaUeys constituting the main point of radiation of aU the Abj-ssinian rivers. Near the hot spring forming its source rise other tributary rivers of the Takkazeh ; the chief afliuents of the Beshilo or Beshlo, which with the Abai forms one of the main headstreams of the Blue Nile, also originate in these mountains, while their eastern slopes give birth to many tributaries of the Awash and of the Gwalinia, or Golima, which latter finally runs dry in the plains of the Afars. In the vicinitj- of Lake Haik, east of the fortress of Magdala, the range is crossed by a pass said to be considerably less than 7,000 feet high, thus forming the 130 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. lowest breach in the border chain of Eastern Abyssinia. But on this side, where the regions are broken up into distinct fragments by the deep river gorges, many mountains attain a height inferior only to those of the Simen and Gojam. Thus east of Lake Ashangi, on the almost isolated upland province of Lasta, which is almost surrounded by the Takkazeh and Tzellari rivers. Mounts Eiala and Gavzigivla exceed 12,600 feet ; while the heights of Abuna, Yosef, and Imaraha, not far from the source of the Takkazeh, attain an elevation of over 13,000 feet. South of the Takkazeh an irregular plateau stretches westwards, terminating in Mount Guna, one of the highest Abyssinian summits (14,000 feet). Its western spur, sloping towards Lake Tana, forms the famous Debra-Tabor, or " Mount Tabor," site of the present military capital of Abyssinia. To the north rise the Beg- hemeder Mountains, beyond which are the still little-kno^vn Belessa highlands, connected with those of Wagara and Kwalla Wagara, the whole series forming a successive series of terraces towards the Nilotic plains. Central and Western Highlands. West of the Galla Wollo plateau, supposed to be a vast lava 'field, the slopes incline gradually towards the Blue Nile, interrupted, however, by secondary chains. Abruptly intersected southwards by the deep semicircular gorge containing the waters of the Abai, or Blue NUe, the plateau reconmieuces more to the west, rising in terraces up to the Gojam Mountains, which, jointly with those of Simen and Lasta, form the culminating points of Abyssinia. The chief range of this moimtainous province extends in a semicircle, concentric to that described by the Blue Nile ; its highest crest, the Talba Waha, probably exceeds 12,000 feet. But although one of the peaks takes the name of Semayata, that is " Heaven-kissing," it does not appear to be ever covered with snow ; nor do any of the summits in this region, between 11° and 12° of latitude, seem to reach the snow-line. Like most other Abyssinian ranges, the Talba Waha Mountains fall in steep escarpments east and north, whilst on the west they slope gently towards the territory of the Gumis and Bertas. The rest of the plateau is broken in the north and north-west by watercourses into countless fragments, forming a suc- cession of steps overlooked by a few pyramids of a relatively slight elevation. The Waldebba height, in the north-west angle of Lake Tana, exceeds 7,000 feet. The whole of this region is of volcanic origin, terminating towards the lowlands in abrupt masses with vertical walls from 80 to 100 feet high, surmounted by basaltic columns. Beyond the promontory of Ras-el-Fil, that is, " Elephant Cape," skirted by the river Rahad on the south-west, the level steppe presents an extraordinary appearance, from the fantastic crags, peaks and needles covering it. The most advanced of these remarkable formations is the comjjletely isolated granite mass of Gana or Jebel Arang, whose sides and summit to a height of nearly 2,000 feet are clothed with large forest-trees, including the baobab, which here reaches its northern limit. THE ABYSSrSTAX SEABOAED.— LAEE AIALBED. 137 The Abtssixiax Seaboard. Beyond the Abyssinian plateaux in the vicinity of the Red Sea rise such pro- montories and isolated headlands as the Gadam, or Gedem, formerly an insular rock, but which now forms a promontory between the Gulf of Massawah and Adulis Bay, terminating in an abrupt incline. This granite mass, although visible from Massawah, has not yet been accurately measured, the estimates of travellers varying from 2,700 to 3,300 feet ; but d'Abbadie has geodetically determined its highest point at over 5,000 feet. The Buri headland, bounding Adulis Bay on the east, also terminates in the imposing volcanic cone of Awen, the Hurtow Peak of the English maps, which, although apparently extinct, is said by the natives still to emit steam and sulphureous vapours. Copious hot springs flow from its sides, while thousands of jets at a temperature of 168^ F. bubble up amidst the surf on the beach. South of the Bm-i peninsula are other ii-regular hills composed of volcanic rocks completely separated from the mountains of Abyssinia proper. But a still active volcano, known to the Afars under the name of Ai'tali, or Ortoaleh, that is, " Smoky Mountain," rises at the extremity of a spur of the Abyssinian plateaux, south-west of Hanfila (Hamfaleh) Bay, attesting the existence of imderground energy, of which so few examples still occur on the African coast. It is described by HUde- brandt, the only explorer who has approached its crater, as a cone of blackish lava seamed with crevasses, and ejecting dense volumes of whitish vapom-. In its vicinity stands another now quiescent sulphureous mountain, from the deposits in its crater known as Kibrealeh, or " Sidphur Mountain ; " whilst farther north, near the salt plains, are the isolated soKataras of Delol, or DaUol, whence the Abyssinian highlanders obtain the sulphur with which they manufacture their gunpowder. Finally, to the east, near the small harbour of Edd, a chaotic mass of solfataras and craters gives the district the appearance of a storm-tossed sea. Sea- farers speak of lavas ejected within "a day's march " of Edd, especially in 1861, but their origin is unknown, imless they proceed from the already mentioned Mount Ortoaleh, which lies, however, not at a day's journey, but fully sixty miles inland. These volcanoes are greatly feared by the natives, who believe them to be the abode of evil spiiits ; under the giiidance of their wizards they sacrifice a cow to them, but directly the animal is placed on the flaming pyre they run away, lest evil shoiild befall them if they saw the spirits devouring their prey. Lake Alalbed. Although Ortoaleh is not situated on the sea-coast, it rises above the district of Rahad, a lacustrine plain which was formerly a marine inlet. This depression, which Munzinger called Ansali, from an isolated mound rising in its midst, stretches over a superficial area of about 1,000 square miles at a mean level of some 200 feet below the Red Sea. This plain, a miniature " ghor " similar to that flooded by the Jordan and the Dead Sea, is almost entirely surrounded by a sinuous belt of 138 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. gypsum cliffs, here and there intersected by wadies. Their summits are crowned with feathery dum palms, and from their sides flow perennial springs. A verdant circle thus surrounds this desert waste, where nothing is visible but a few acacias and brushwood. At some distance from the cliffs are saline efflorescences, which become gradually solidified towards the middle of the plains, where they acquire the consistency of slabs some two feet thick. Here and there they present a greyish tcsselated appearance, the interstices being filled with dazzling white crystals. At the lowest level of the depression, between the Ansali promontorj^ and Mount Ortoaleh, are collected the waters of Lake Alalbed, or Allolebed, whose size varies according to the quantity of water brought down by the torrents. Its mean depth is said scarcely to exceed 40 inches. The dessication of the old bay of Fig. 46. — Lake of Alalmed. Scale 1 : 1,500,000. H^Wi^^ '""My^^ W^At, W iSiaty VA dQ'dO L V ot b'*een//ic''i J. . i8,- Lf 40°30' . 30 Miles. Ansali may be explained by a gradual upheaval of the coast west of the Hed Sea, as well as on the east side in Arabia. The coral banks and recent shells found at the north of the plain attest the presence of marine waters on the now upheaved depression between the plain of Ragad and Auwakil Bay. The rivers flowing from the Abyssinian chain are not sufficiently copious to repair the loss by evaporation, and thus the old lake, formerly of some extent, has gradually become a shallow swamp. The Taltals, who inhabit the surrounding district, assure the Abyssiuians, possibly to protect themselves from their visits, that the lake occasionally "walks away" from its old bed in search of a new one; and woe to the caravans overtaken by this sudden inimdation ! Besides, even at some distance from the lake, travellers run the risk of sinking into the treacherous soil, and whole conij)auies of men and beasts are said to have thus disappeared. DAHLAK ISLAND.— CLIMATE. 139 However, the banks of the lake are traversed in safetj' by hundreds of Taltals, vrho here procure nearly all the salt required for the Abyssinian market, and the little salt bricks used as a small currency in southern Abyssinia. According to Munzinger, they procure from the bed of this lake some thirty millions of bricks annually, equivalent at Antalo, on the plateau, to a sum of £320,000. Dahlak Island. The islands of the neighbouring coast, notably that of Dahlak, the largest in the Red Sea, which shelters Massawah Bay from the east, are partly of coral and partly of volcanic origin. They are skirted by headlands and lava streams, and in many places the land is intersected by deep crevices, apparently due to sub- terranean disturbances. The two walls of these chasms do not always stand at the same elevation, in some instances showing discrepancies of some fifty feet. During the rainy season the water collects in these hoUow.s, and when evaporated verdant meadows spring up from the damp soil, contrasting pleasantly with the bare rocks surrounding them. The island of Dahlak is subject to earthquakes, which the natives say are caused by the movements of the " buU who supports the world." Hot springs are found in the interior, in which fish are said to live, although their temperature exceeds 172" F. Clim.\te. Abyssinia, whose summits rise above the snow-line, while their base sinks to the level of the Torrid zone, naturally presents every diversity of climate according to the altitude and aspect of its uplands. On the slopes of the plateaux and moimtains, the seasons are diversely distributed, continually overlapping the net- work of isothermal lines so regularly placed on our climatological maps of Abyssinia. How often have travellers, facing the bitter cold wind of the plateaux, succumbed to that frosty sleep which ends in death ! On military expeditions whole battalions have been frozen whilst crossing these snowy passes, and d'Abbadie quotes a chronicle, which states that a whole army thus perished in Lasta. But at the bottom of the narrow amhas death is more frequently caused rather by the intense heat, for under the sxmimer sun these gorges become verit- able furnaces, the soil glowing at times with a heat of some 190^ to 200' F. The air is generally calm in these apparently closed ravines ; but if the equilibrium is suddenly disturbed, a raging tempest tears up the valley, the air soon returning to its former tranquillity. The absence of regular currents sweeping away the impuri- ties of the air, renders the amhns extremely dangerous to traverse. Before or after the rainy season they must be crossed rapidly, in order to reach the slopes above the fever zone. Although exposed to an aknost equal degree of heat, the plains bordering the Eed Sea are much more salubrious, and are dangerous only in those years when the rainfall is excessive. But these extremes of heat and cold are iminown in the central districts, where 110 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. nearly all the urban populations are concentrated, with the exception of the towns that have sprung up round the mountain strongholds, or places of pilgrimage. The inhabited zone — that is, the vo'ina-dega, or " wine region," between the degas and Fig. 47. — IxTEnMEDiATE Abyssixiax Plate.\lx and Valleys. Scale 1 : 3,500,000. L- . of breen KiKilla. i.^ J Voinft-dega. Uefc-a. . 60 Miles. kwallas — lies mainly at a height of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet. At these elevations the mean temperature corresponds to that of the ^Mediterranean sea-coast, with this difference, that the changes of season are much less noticeable. As the plateaux CLIMATE. 141 He within tlie tropics, tlie suu's rays maintain their intensity throughout the year, the discrepancies between winter and summer being very slight, and due mainly to the purity of the air and density of the clouds. As in the West Indies and in all countries subject to regular monsoons, the Abyssinian year is regulated by the appearance and disappearance of the rains. The rainy season varies in time and duration according to the height, latitude, and position of the various provinces. Some regions have even two rainy seasons, being lands of transition belonging at once to two meteorological domains. The southern Abyssinian uplands have two wiuters, the first commencing in July, when the sun is nearly vertical above the soil, and ending in September ; the second and shorter falling in Januarj^ Februarj', or March, when the belt of clouds formed at the zone of contact between the trade-winds and polar cui'rents is deflected south- wards. In the central region the winter, or azmara, commences usually in April, continuing, with a few interruptions, tiU the end of September ; but at the north- west base of the mouutaius, in the Bogos, Galabat, Gedaref, and Senaar j)rovinces, this rainy season is broken into two, one beginning ia April or May, the other, accompanied by tremendous downpours, lasting throughout the months of July, August, and Sei^tember. The rains, brought by the wind blowing from the Red Sea or Indian Ocean, fall nearly always in the afternoon, accompanied by tempests, but soon clear off, leaving the sky unclouded dm-ing the night and following morn- ing. On the eastern slope of the mountains, however, the seasons are reversed, the rains brought by the north wind falling in winter, which lasts from November to March. The African coast of the Red Sea lies within the zone of the Mediterranean winter rains, whilst those of Arabia,' the interior of Egypt, and Upper Abj-ssinia belong to a different climatic system. Certain mountains situated on the boundary of the two zones are alternately beaten by winter and summer rains, and the Abys- sinian shepherds have but to go round the mountain to find, according to the season, the herbage necessary for their flocks or land ready for culture. During this period the air enveloping the lowland plains is excessively damp, the hygro- meter never indicating a less proj)ortion than 60 per cent., while the air of the plateaux is, on the contrary, usually dry. In the districts where the annual rainfall has been roughly estimated, it is found to varj' from two to three inches yearly. But the discrepancy must be much greater in some upland vaUe3's, where the rainclouds are driven together by the winds. Here hailstorms are very frequent. Floodings are known to be extremelj^ dangerous in valleys surmounted by precipitous and barren rocks ; but on the eastern ledges of the Abyssinian border ranges these sudden deluges rushing through steeply inclined watercourses are even more dangerous than elsewhere. During the rainy season all communication ceases between the plateaux, which are divided one from the other by deep kwallas. In the plains of Samhar the caravans, journeying through sand, saline clays, and lavas, are occasionally stopped by the intolerable heat reflected from the earth or rocks, or else by the sandy whirlwinds of the kharif, or columns of red sand sweej^ing over the desert. 142 NORTH-EAST AFBICA. Flora. Thanks to its variety of climate, the flora of Abyssinia is extremely diversified. The two chief zones of vegetation are naturally those of the upland plateaux and lowland valleys ; but many of the species flourish in both regions. Each plant has its particular zone, differing in range and vertical height along the slopes. The shores of the Eed Sea have their special flora, characteristic of which are the kudel {cassijwurea africaiia') and the shora (^adcennia fomeiiiosa^, trees growing on the strip of coast which is alternately flooded by the tides. On the shores of Hawakil Bay these trees are similar in appearance and nearly as large as the European beech. At the foot of the range in the Sahel zone, often described as barren, the vegetation consists merely of scrub, except in the vicinity of the streams. The flora of the kwallas is distinguished especially by its wealth in deciduous trees, whose leaves fall in the drj- season. Here flourish the sycamore and the fig ; here the tamarind and acacia intertwine their thorny branches along the banks of the mountain torrents. Here and there the huge baobab, " giant of the vegetable kingdom," which, nevertheless, in many respects presents the appearance of a grass, raises its bulging stem, often hollow and filled with water, its tufted branches terminating in wi'eaths of foliage. When blown down bv the wind its huge trunk, some 60 to 80 feet in circumference, affords a refuge to the shepherds and their flocks. The palm scarcely penetrates into the kwallas, being confined mostly to the Red Sea coast. Hence the Abyssinians import theii- dates from Arabia. The cereals are of a particular species, or else of varieties very different from those of Europe, and flourish best in the middle zone, where nearly all the Abyssinian to\^Tis are concentrated. The Shoa and Amhara peasants are said to possess twenty-eight varieties of millet, twenty-four of wheat, sixteen of barley, and several kinds of rye and maize. The most general cereal is the dalmssa, an eleusina, which is now made into beer, but which formerly supplied bread exclusively for the royal family. The tef (tief), a species of poa, is also largely employed iu the manufactui'e of farinaceous foods. The potato, introduced by Schimper, after flourishing for some time, was attacked by blight, and its culture has now been almost completely abandoned. The miisa ensete, a species of banana growing in the kwallas, rarely bears fruit, probably because it comes originally from the Galla lowlands. The leaves are utilised for forage, and its roots taste like the potato when cooked. The European fruit-trees, or their corresponding varieties, generally produce excellent crops. The vine, doubtless introduced from Europe, as attested by its Greek name of voina (oi'nos), was formerly widely diffused throughout the whole intermediary zone, which was thence known as " vine-land." But this plant has almost dis- appeared, ha^-ing been destroyed \>y the oidiuiu. Some travellers have also accused King Theodore of having uprooted it, on the pretext that wine should be reserved for beings superior to mortals. Lastly, coffee does not appear to be indigenous, and is cidtivated only in Gojam, in the Gondar district, on the southern shore of Lake Tana, and in a few other regions of the plateau. FLORA. 143 One of the most characteristic wild plants of Abyssinian scenery is the kolkwal, or branching euphorbia, similar to the giant euphorbias of the Canaries and Azores. The fleshy branches of these trees interlock so tenaciously that they are trained round villages to protect them from sudden attacks. Many attain a height of over 40 feet. Their mQky sap is a rank poison, much employed in the Abyssinian pharmacopoeia, while the wood serves for the manufacture of gun- powder. Another plant, the jibara (vhijncliopeialum moiifainon^, an anniial similar in appearance to the palm, clothes the mountain sides to a height of some 11,000 feet. It is remarkable for a gorgeous display of lilac blossom clustering round a floral stem shooting from 10 to 16 feet above a topmost tuft of sword-like leaves. Another characteristic plant of the uplands is a giant thistle {echinops giijanteus^, with a stem like that of a forest-tree, and flowers the size of a man's head. Still larger are the furze-bushes, which attain a height of some 26 feet. On the upland terraces also flourishes the majestic kiisso (^Brayera ant/iehniiitica), whose dense foliage, interspersed with innumerable bunches of pink flowers, is employed in Abyssinia, and even in Europe, as an infusion, as recommended by Brayer, against the tape-worm ; the Jicus dara, a species of fig, resembles the Indian banian, with its aerial roots forming fresh stems and developing forests capable of shelteriug some himdreds of people. The wanzeh (^cordia Ahi/mnica), is a tufted tree usually planted round houses. The conifer family is represented on the ujjland plateaux by the yew, and especially by the juniper, whose huge trunk rises from 100 to 130 feet, and in Shoa even to 160 feet. Some regions of Abyssinia, especially the hiUy Zebul district east of the border range, are covered with vast juniper forests, which present an unique appearance, for in no other part of the globe are conifers resembling those of the northern zone to be found matted together with a network of tangled creepers resembling those of the tropical forests. But, on the whole, Abyssinia is a disafEorested country, the destruction of nearly all its upland woodlands being due to the common African practice of firing the prairie tracts. The landscape seen from the uplands is in many places relieved only by the green oases surrounding the ^-illages or the sacred groves of the churches. Besides, but few varieties of trees are included in the Abyssinian flora, merely some 235 known species, of which thirty belong to the voina-degas, and ten to the degas. But thanks to the variety of climates and vege- tation on the slopes and uplands, Abyssinia may possibly one day become a vast botanic garden for the cultivation of all European trees, alimentary and useful plants. A poor mineral comitry, containing little else but iron, salt, and sulphur in the volcanic regions, and some gold dust in Gojam and Damot, it is amply com- pensated by the abundant resources vielded by its diversified flora, Em-opean on the uplands and Indian on the lowlands. But these resources will be of little use till easy routes of communication are opened between the Abyssinian plateaux and the outer world. Even in the favourable season, when the rains have not swollen the torrents and converted the paths into quagmires, the traveller crossing Abyssinia from the Red Sea to the plains sloping to the Nile has a journey of some months before him. The stages and provisions are regulated by the king, and many a traveller has had to wait some weeks for the permission to continue his route. 144 XORTH-EAST AFRICA. Fauna. The tlivcrsity of climate and flora naturally gives rise to a corresponding variety in the animal kingdom. On the lowlands the fauna resembles that of Arabia or the Sahara, on the outer spurs that of Senegal, that of the Mediterranean on the plateaux, whilst it is almost European on the mountain summits. On the lower plains are foimd the giraffe, the zebra, the wild ass, and the ostrich. Of the nimierous sjjecies of antelopes inhabiting Abyssinia, few advance far up the plateaux, although the wild goat is found on the crests of the Simen range, at a height of over 13,000 feet. Numerous varieties of the monkey family, amongst others the coluhus guereza, noted for its beautiful black-and-white fur, are confined to the lowland forests of Shoa, Gojam, and Kwalla-Woggara. But a certain species of cynocephales are fovmd at an altitude of some 6,000 feet. The rhinoceros has also been met at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The elejjhant also frequents the moimtains, although he prefers the thickets of the valleys, where he commits extensive depredations on the plantations. But this pachyderm is disappearing before the attacks of the himter, who eagerly pursues it, as much for the sake of its ivory as to retaliate for the havoc it commits on the cultivated lands. Accord- ing to the Arab lowlanders, the elephant knows when to expect the caravans laden with diirra/i, attacks them from its ambuscades, and takes possession of the supplies. The hippopotamus is also forced by want of water as far into the interior as the foot of the cascades, and is also numerous in Lake Tana, where, however, it does not grow to such a size as those of the large African rivers. The lion is rarely found above the lowlands or beyond the Beni-Amer territory in the north. It differs from its Central African congeners by its deep black mane ; indeed, one variety, infesting the banks of the Takkazeh, is almost entirely black. A more dangerous animal is the leopard, which roams throughout the country to a height of 11,000 feet. Like the Indian tiger, these carnivora often become man-eaters, for when they have once tasted human flesh they prefer it to all other prey. A still more formidable beast is the irobo or abasambo, believed by Lefebvre to be a wolf, and said to partake of the qualities of the lion and the leopard. The spotted hyaena is also very common. The buffalo, which frequents chiefly the riverain kwallas, is of all other savage beasts the readiest to attack man ; it fears no enemy, and its furious rush is checked neither by quagmires, rocks, nor prickly thickets. The wild fauna also includes the wild boar, which, to sjjite the Mohammedans, is occasionally eaten by the Abyssinian Christians, although usually regarded as impure. The Abyssinians also reject the flesh of the tortoise, and of all animals show the greatest repugnance to the hare, in this latter respect strictly adhering to the law of ]\Ioses. It is usually stated that Africa possesses no song-birds, but Ab3'ssinia best shows how erroneous this state- ment is, as it possesses numerous varieties of these birds, nearly all of gorgeous plmnage. The sacred ibis (^geronticus wthiopieus), no longer seen on the banks of the Egyptian Nile, is still met in the Upland Abyssinian valleys. The branches of trees overhanging rivers and pools are covered with the nests of the tv.etor alvdo, INHABITANTS. 145 or ploceiis aureus ; Stecker has coimted as many as eight hmidred and seventy-two of these basket-nests on a single acacia. According to the altitude of the country that they inhabit, the Abyssinians rear different domestic animals. Camels are used only on the lowlands, never being found beyond a height of 5,000 feet. The Abyssinian horse, bred throughout all the inhabited regions, is evidently of Arab stock, but smaller and stouter, of dog-like fidelity, and almost as strong and surefooted in climbing rocks as the mule. The donkey has also been introduced into the plateau, but it is weak and useless as a pack animal, possessing none of the qualities of the European variety. Thaulvs to its immense and succulent pasture-lands, Abyssinia is an excellent cattle-breeding countrv, and some of its breeds, differing in stature, shape, length of horn and colour, abuost rival the finest European species. In many parts of the plateau are found the two kinds of sheep, the short and fat-tailed, besides an intermediate variety. The goat is also bred, its skin supplying the parchment on which most of the sacred books are written. There are neither pigs, pigeons, ducks, nor geese, but poidtry is found in every village, and in some churches cocks are kept to announce the hour of morning prayer. Excepting the sheep-dog, which is large and courageous, the domestic dog is small and of indifferent qualities. The Abyssinians occui^y themselves with apiculture in some districts, but the honey has poisonous properties whenever the bees obtain it from the flower of the branching euphorbia. An analogous phenomenon has been observed for ages in the Caucasian and Pontine mountains. Inhabitants. Elements of the most diverse origin have been blended in the present popula- tions of Abyssinia. Immigrants from the Arabian peninsida, the banks of the Kile, and the surroimding uplands and lowlands, have here become intermingled in divers proportions with the aborigines. Amongst those still regarded as of native origin are the Agau, that is " The Free," still forming the fundamental element of the Abyssinian nation, and found chiefly in the provinces of Lasta on the Upper Takkazeh, and in Agaumeder, west of Lake Tana. According to some Egj-ptologists, the Agau are the descendants of the Uaua, the Nubian people spoken of on ancient monuments who were gradually diiven towards the Upper Nile and neighboui-ing highlands. Manv of their sacred ceremonies are said to betraj' traces of the uninterrupted influence of the ancient Egyptian religion. The Agau hold feasts on the banks of the Blue Nile and Takkazeh in honour of these sacred rivers ; they Hkewise worship the serpent, which plays so important a part in primitive EgjqDtian mythology, and which is even still adored by numerous nations of the old and new worlds. They speak a peculiar dialect, the hamfeuga or hamca, which, however, is allied to the same stock as the amhariiia, the current si^eech of Abj'ssinia. VOL. X. L 146 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. The Felashas. The Fehi.t/iax, or " Jews of Abj'ssinia," variously estimated at from 10,000 to 20,000, are very probably of the same stock as tlic Agau. They are found throughout the plateaux, and even in Shoa and Gurageh, divided into three religious sects, each with its high priest. In southern Abyssinia they are called Fenjas, but are no longer found in the Simon mountains, where they still predominated towards the close of the sixteenth century. The national name, Felasha, signifies "exiles," and in point of fact they claim descent from the ten tribes banished from the Holy Land. On the other hand, they are fond of quoting legends to prove that their ancestor was Menelik, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Of the explorers who have visited them, several consider their type similar to that of the eastern Jews ; but observers have generally failed to notice any striking difference in features between them and their neighbours, except perhaps that their eyes are a little more oblique than those of the Agau. Their language, the kuara, hitara, or huaraza, said to be dying out, also resembles that of the Agau, and lends additional force to the hypothesis of the two peoples springing from a common stock. But their religious zeal connects them so closely with the Jews that it would not be surprising to find other Israelites regarding them as of kindred race. In any case, there was a complete religious cohesion between the numerous Jewish communities of Palestine and Ab}'ssinia at the period when uninterrupted communications existed between the Moriah of Jerusalem and the numerous "Moimt Sinai's" of the African plateaus. Intercourse was maintained chiefly by means of the power- ful Jewish republics then occupj-ing a large part of the Arabian peninsula. One of these states still existed in the Himyaritic country fifty years before the birth of Mohammed. Their religion was spread from the east beyond the Red Sea, and at the period of their decadence the " chosen people " held their groimd best in the west. The Felasha religion no longer predominates in Abyssinia, and their d3Tiasties survive only in the popular traditions ; still, unlike the Arabian Jews, they are not a hated race persecuted by the other sections of the commimity. In nearly all the provinces they hold themselves aloof from the Abyssinians, occupying separate villages or else separate quarters in the towns. The mosques are divided into three compartments of unequal sanctity, like the primitive Jewish tabernacles, and are recognised from a distance by an earthenware vessel placed on the highest pinnacle. Desirous of preserving the purity of their race, the Felashas never marry women of alien religions ; they are even forbidden to enter Christian dwellings, and when they have been polluted by such a visit, are bound to purify themselves before returning to their own homes. Pol}'gamy Is not practised, and marriage is much more respected by them than by the Abyssinians, although the women have more personal freedom. Early marriages, so common amongst the Christian families, are rare amongst them, the men marrying between the ages of twenty to thirty, and the women from fifteen to twenty. Like the Mohammedans, their morals are generally superior to those of their Christian masters, but unlike other Jews, they have no taste for trade. Thej'^ THE BOGOS. 147 are mostly artisans, smiths, masons, carpenters, potters, and weavers ; some also are farmers and cattle-breeders, but all mianimously reject the mercantile profes- sion as contrary to the laws of Moses. Their interpretation of the holy books does not correspond to that of the rabbis of Europe and Asia ; besides, however zealous they are to obey the precepts of the "law," many of their practices are intermingled with numerous ceremonies borrowed from the native Chi'istians. They are zealous in the strict observance of the Sabbath, in the sacrificial offerings on the holy stone of the temple, and adhering to the traditional rites in purifying themselves by frequent ablutions. Each family possesses a hut outside the village, where all sick persons must be removed for a stated term, a practice often causing the death of the aged, who are thus deprived of the services of their relations. But these religious customs will soon probably be but a memory of the past, as the Abyssinian Government considers that the subject should profess the same religion as the king. According to the reports of late travellers, a royal manifesto com- pelling the Felashas to become Christians was about to be issued. The caste of the Kamants, believed to be of Agau origin, are found in small commimities in the mountains surrounding Gondar, in the kwallas of the north- western slope of Abyssinia, as well as in Shoa. They speak the same language as the Felashas, whom they resemble in physical appearance ; their traditions are the same, and like them they claim descent fi-om the prophet Moses. If they do not celebrate the Sabbath, they at least abstain from work upon that day ; some are also said to do no work on Christian feast-days. However, they are considered as pagans by Jews and Christians alike, and are said to practise certain ceremonies in the recesses of the mountains. At the besinnine: of his reig'n Theodore intended to forcibly convert them to Christianity ; but he was ad^-ised that it would not be proper to treat as equals before God these despised people, the hewers of wood and drawers of water to the families of Gondar. The Kamants are far more indus- trious than the Abyssinians, who consider themselves their superiors, and Gondar and the sui'roimding towns are dependent for their daily supplies on the labour of this tribe. Like the Orejones of the New World, and Like the Wa-Kwafi of the Kilima N'jaro district and many other Bantu tribes, the Kamant women distend the lobe of the ears with wooden discs, causing the outer cartilage to reach the shoulders. The Woito, on the banks of Lake Tana, hippopotamus hunters and fishermen, who till recently still spoke the Agau dialect, belong also to the aboriginal populations. They do not circumcise their childi-en, and eat the flesh of animals clean or unclean. The Tsellans, in the same region, are wandering shepherds. The Bogos. The Mensa, and Bogos, or Bilens, who occupy the northern slope of the Abyssinian moimtains in the Senhit (Sennahe'it or "beautiful") coimtry, which separates the Sahel from the Barka Valley, are also said to be of Agau origin, although d'Abbadie connects them with the ancient Blemmyes. The Bogos, or L 2 148 NOETH-EAST APEICA. rather the Boasgors, that is "Sons of the Boas," say that their ancestor was an Agau of Lasta, who is said to have fled from his country towards the middle of the sixteenth century to escape the vendetta. Situated as they are, between the hostile lowland Mohammedans and upland Christians, the Bogos have been almost exterminated. In 1858 they numbered merely some 8,400, but this remnant have kept their Bilen language and a few of their Christian practices. Although reduced to a few faniilj' communities thej- have been studied most care- fully, their customs being taken as typical of those found among all the peoples of Northern Abyssinia. The community is divided into two classes, the Shumaglieh, or " elders," and the Ti(jre, or " clients ; " these latter probably conquered Abyssinians or immigrants that have been received into the tribe. The Tigre is the slave of the Shumaglieh, who, however, cannot sell him, though he may peld him with his lands to another master ; he is even bound to protect him and avenge his insults. The life of a Tigr^ is valued at that of another, or at ninety-three cows, whereas that of a Shumaglieh is worth another Shumaglieh, or one himdred and fifty-eight head of cattle. The eldest son of a Shumaglieh inherits his father's two-edged sword, white cows, lands, and slaves, but the paternal dwelling falls to the lot of the youngest son, the daughters recei\'ing nothing. Female virtue is highlj- esteemed, but women have no personal rights or responsibilities, being regarded merely as so much property, and are classed with the hyasna, the most despised animal through- out Abyssinia. The Bogo husband never sees the face or pronounces the name of his mother-in-law, whilst it is criminal for the wife to mention the name of her husband or father-in-law. According to tradition the picturesque country now occupied hy the Bogos was once the country of the Roms, who are still com- memorated in song as daring warriors, who " hurled their spears against heaven." These ancient Roms were, perhaps, the advanced pioneers of Byzantine civilisation, or else Adulitains driven into the interior by the Mussulman conquest. The Mexsas axd Mareas. North of the Bogos, and occuppug the same uplands, dwell the Takueh, also of Agau stock and speaking the Bilen language, whence their name of Bilen, some- times given to them by the Bogos. Like most of their neighbours, and probably with good reason, they pride themselves on being a nation of conquerors, but they have been aborigines of African extraction since time immemorial, and lands formerly belonging to their families are stiU shown in Hamassen. The Dambellas in the west are also Abyssinians, whilst the Mensa highlanders of the east and the Marea in the mountainous region bounded north by the Anseba river, claim to be of Arab origin, and even trace their descent from an uncle of the Prophet. Although peasants, they are half nomads dwelling in tents. Yet the Mensas and Mareas were formerly Christians like the Takueh and Bogos, and the work of converting them to Mohammedanism was not imdertaken till the first half of this centurj'. Since their conversion, in times of peril they still often pray to Ezgiabeher, their THE HABABS— THE BENI-AliIEES. 149 former god, instead of to Allali, and have also ceased to raise mounds over their dead, like the Bogos. They number about 16,000, and are divided into two tribes, the " Blacks " and the " Reds." These last, forming the southern division, by a strange contrast, cultivate a blackish soil, whilst the former, or northern division, occupy a reddish soil. Their language is identical with that of their slaves, the conquered Tigre, who possess no rights, in spite of the precepts of Mohammedanism, which confers the title of brothers on all the faithful. On the death of a Marea the head of every Tigre family is bound to present a cow to his heirs. The Mareas exceed all other races in aristocratic i^ride. Death without defence is the only punishment they will receive, for they refuse to humble themselves by appearing before any tribunal and offering any excuses for their conduct. If the blood of the tribe is sullied by an illegitimate birth, father, mother, and child are all destroyed. The Hababs. North of the ilensas and Mareas are the Az-Hibbehs or Hababs, pastors wandering over the mountainous plateaus bounded east by the Sahel plains of the Eed Sea, and west by the Barka Valley. These people also are connected with the Abyssinians by their language — which, like the Tigre, is a Ghez dialect — as well as by their traditions. They were Christians, at least in name, down to the middle of the nineteenth centurj^ but on adopting a nomad life they also conformed to the religion of the surroimding tribes. Divided into small republics, their only wealth consisting of cattle, the Hababs roam amongst the surrounding mountains and plains in search of water and pastures. During the winter the lonely Nafka jjlateau, which may be considered the centre of the Habab country, is completely abandoned to the wild beasts. Nevertheless, the remains of buildings and graves disposed in three or four circular stages prove that this region was once permanently occupied. These ruins are attributed to the Bet-Maliehs, or " People of the wealthy abode," a small tribe believed to be of aboriginal extraction. Like the Habab people, the elephant of this region is also nomad ; during the winter rains its herds frequent the eastern slopes of the plateau bordering the Sahel, in summer returning to the Nafka heights on their way westwards to the Barka Valley and the slopes of the Abyssinian moimtains. The Beni-Ameks. In the lowland districts north, west, and east of the Hababs dwell the Beni- Amers, who appear to be of mixed Abyssinian and Beja origin, speaking a dialect half Beja, " Bedouin," and half Tigre, locally known by the name of Hassa. Amongst the Nebtabs of the Sahel — all nobles, and recognised as such by their neighbour's — both languages are also current. The Abyssinian element is more strongly represented according as the Beni-Amer tribes approach the great plateau, and those living in the plains of Samhar, near the Mensas, speak Tigre almost 150 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. exclusively. They marry the women of the Bogos and other mountain tribes, but are too proud to give their daughters in marriage to the Abyssinians. In these regions of transition, as well as in the slave-markets surrounding the plateaux, strikingly different types are met, such as the broad faces and high cheekbones of the Agau, and the high forehead, hollow cheeks, delicate nose, and savage eye of the Arabs, or of those assimilated to the Arabs, such as the Hadendoas and Shaikiehs. The Sahos. The Sahos or Shohos, occupying the slope of the llama ssen plateau west of Massawah, live by cattle-breeding and acting as guides between the seaport and the highlands. Some authors look upon them as true Abyssinians, but most explorers connect them with the Afars, or even with the Gallas. Their dialects, of Afar origin, resemble those spoken throughout the southern region as far as the Awash River. Although very frugal, they have full features with a fresh and healthy complexion. Like all the other peoples of the coast, they are mostly Mohammedans ; nevertheless, near the plateau there are some who intermingle Christian traditions with their Mussulman faith, whilst a few villages, where the missionaries reside, have become Catholic. Although nominally subject to the " King of Kings," the Shohos are really independent, even the chiefs possessing merely a nominal authority over their subjects. All the members of the tribe have an equal voice in the assemblies, and anyone trying to dictate to another would be excluded or put to death. The observance of their hereditary customs and the respect of public opinion, unite the Shoho tribes in a compact nationality. The law of blood for blood is rigidly observed ; a murderer must either die or pay the price fixed for a life, and if the assassin has no relations to answer for him, his tribe draw lots for a substitute. In some instances, however, the family of the murderer consents to his execution, and in this case his parents and friends assist in putting him to death, so as to share in the responsibility of his punishment. The Shangallas. West of the Abyssinian plateaux, on the spurs facing the Atbara, the Rahad, the Dender, the Blue River and its affluent the Tumat, the Abyssinian peoples no longer intermingle with the Arabs and Afars, but with Negro elements. The name of Shangalla, or Shankalla, by which these natives occupying the western slope of the mountains are known, is indiscriminately applied to numerous tribes, differing in appearance, language, and origin, their only resemblance lying in their almost black skins, relatively barbarous condition, warlike aud slave-hunting pro- pensities. From time immemorial it has been and still continues to be the custom of the Abyssinian barons living near the Shangallas to descend into the forests with their marauding hordes, plundering and killing those who dare to defend themselves. -a; 'r-vr-r^V.'^V^ '■--.■%"■ ■T^-'rT^' » M o 3 O o w « M w -<1 -j.^'.'/imi _ J^J^~ ' LIBRARY THE SHANGALLAS. 151 and presenting their captives to their king, or selling them to the slave merchants. Near the plains the Shangallas have other enemies to fear, the Arabs, who have also reduced a considerable portion of the black population to slavery. Lastly, the Fig. 48. — Inhabitants op Abyssinia. Scale 1 : 3,500,(100. C.Pe . CO Miles. land has also been frequently wasted by the invasions of the Gallas or Ilm-Ormas from the south. Some of these Gallas, however, such as those west of the Abai River, and those in the province of Mecha, have settled in the districts depopulated by them. 152 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. The Tigre and Amharas. The ci^•ili.sed Abyssinian Highlanders are divided into two main groups, differ- in »■ from each other in speech and traditions — the Tigre nation, occupying the north-east highlands, and the Amharas and Shoas of the western and southern reo-ions. The features of the Tigre, who have given their name to their province, are perhaps somewhat more characteristic than those of the other Abyssinians, from whom, however, they cannot easily be distinguished. But they speak the Tigrina, a peculiar form of speech derived from the Ghez, the classical language, in which arc written all the religious works and liturgies of the Abyssinian nation. Like the Tigrie (Tigre, Tigrai), a kindred dialect current amongst the peoples of the northern slopes along the headstreams of the Barka, the Semitic roots of the Ghez are found more or less intermingled in the Tigrifia, with Galla and other elements of foreign origin. The " Bedouin " language of the Hababs is a well-jjreserved form of Ghez, and many Abyssinian theologians have resided amongst these humble highland shepherds in order to study the origin of their sacred language. The Hassa, another dialect of the same familj', differing slightly from Tigrie, has sur- vived amongst the Beni-Amers of the Samhar plains on the coast of the Red Sea. In this direction the Abyssinian linguistic domain is being gradually encroached upon by the Arab, just as the Christian religion itself has recently A'ielded to Mohammedanism . Of the two chief Abyssinian languages, the Tigrina and the Amharina, the latter, also derived from Ghez, predominates, thanks to the higher civilisation and political preponderance of the Amhara people. The Amharina is the language of trade, diplomacy, and literature, possessing a special alphabet of thirty-three letters, each with seven forms, or two hundred and fifty-one characters altogether, written from left to right, like the European languages. ^^Tiole libraries of books have been written in this tongue. The most important works are found in Europe, especially in the British Museum, which possesses as many as three hundred and forty-eight, obtained chiefly from the collections of King Theodore. Most of the Amharina books have been -WTitten for the edification of the faithful ; but magic, history, and grammar are also represented in the national literature. Science already possesses three dictionaries of the Amharina language, the last a philological work of great importance on which d'Abbadie spent more than twentj--five years. The Tigrina dialects possess no literature. The Abyssinians. The inhabitants of the various Tigre and Amhara provinces present striking contrasts according to their locality, trade, food, and racial crossings. But apart from the extremes, varying from the pure N'egro to the Em-opean tj'pe, the Abyssinian on the whole may be considered as possessing shapely limbs and regular features. They are mostly of middle height, broad-shoiddered, ^vith somewhat slender bodj-, and of very graceful action and carriage. They wear the shuma, a THE ABYSSESTAXS. 153 garment resembling the Roman toga, -which they fold gracefully round the body in divers fashions. In general the forehead is high, the nose straight, or even aquiline, the lips thick, the mouth somewhat pouting, and the chin pointed. The head is dolichocephalous, and covered with slightly frizzled, almost woolly, hair, often arranged in little tufts, which the ilussulman slave-dealers call " pepper- corns." Like most other Africans they are rarely bearded, but in common with them have the habit of lowering the eyelids, which often gives them a treacherous and deceitful appearance. The colour of the skin varies greatly, from the deep black of the Xegro to the pale complexion of the ilediterranean coast peoples, but is generally of a darkish yellow hue, clear enough to admit of blushes being observed. Most of the women when young are very graceful, but their beauty does not last long ; they are shorter than the men, their height, according to Hartmann, rarely exceeding from -1 feet 11 inches to 5 feet. The Abyssinians, both men and women, are subject to internal parasites, probably due to the practice of eating raw flesh, common to all the natives, excepting those of the northern province of Seraweh, whose diet consists almost exclusively of vegetables. In the last century Bruce's account of these feasts of Irondo, or steaks cut fi-om the living animal and eaten with pepper and pimento, were discredited ; but his statements have been confirmed by all subsequent explorers. To free themselves from these internal pests, the Abyssinians make decoctions of the kusso leaf, bitter barks, and various other herbs ; but they prefer to expose themselves to this disorder rather than abandon their savoury brondo. Leprosy, amongst other diseases, is very common in the kwallas, and more especially in the Felasha villages. Like those of Europe and South America, the Abyssinian highlanders, and especially the women, suffer much from goitre. According to Dr. Blanc, an Englishmen who was for some time a prisoner of King Theodore's, the women frequently die in pai'turition, whilst in the neighbouring countries they pass easily through this ti-ial. "Woimds heal slowly, the sKghtest contusion often causing bone diseases of long standing, although amputation of the arms and legs, and even the mutilations of eunuchs, are rarely mortal, and in general heal rapidly. The peoples of the upper plateaux dread the feverish atmosphere of the kwallas as much as Europeans, and rarely descend below a height of 3,000 feet during the rainy season. The danger these mountaineers run under the deleterious influence of this damp heat is the best safeguard of the lowlanders against the attacks of the Abyssinian marauders. W hen the " king of kings " has occasion to pimish one of these lowland peoples, he despatches a band of Galla warriors, accustomed to a similar climate in their forests of southern Abyssinia. However, the elephant hunters and slave dealers, whose pursuits bring them to these regions, are said to brave the miasmas with impunity, protecting themselves successfully against the marsh fever by daily fumigations of sulphur. ilost Eirropean observers describe the Amharas and Tigres as distinguished by their great intelligence, much natural gaiety, and easy address. Although imtutored in elocution, they express themselves with a remarkable fluency, rendered the more impressive by their commanding height and appropriate gestures. Tain, selfish. 154 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. and irritable, they are easilj' led into foolhardy enterprises. Their ambition is insatiable, but when unsuccessful they resignedly accept their ill luck. The sad political state of Abj-ssinia fully accounts for the xdces of its peoples. Continual wars put a stop to all peaceful labours ; the soldiers live by plunder, the monks by alms ; hence all work is despised and left to the women and slaves. Like the Egyptian fellahin, the haughty Abyssinians do not consider themselves degraded bj' asking for presents, remarking cynically, " God has given us speech for the purpose of begging." Amongst the Shohos the love of bakshish is pushed to such an extent that many of the chiefs are buried with the hand projecting from the grave, as if still soliciting from their tombs. Disregard of truth is another national vice, veracity being little respected in this coimtry of theological quib- blings, where each interpretation is based on a sacred text. " Lying gives a salt to speech which the p\u-e truth never does," said an Abyssinian to d'Abbadie. Agriculture. Although the Abyssinians rank as a " civilised people," their agriculture is stUl in a very rudimentary state ; many of the ploughs have merely a stick or iron lance for the share, which tears up the soil without turning it over. Aiter the seed is sown, the land is never touched tiU harvest time, whilst certain useful plants are left to grow ■wild. Even the harvest is neglected, and the gums, j'ielded abun- dantly by the acacias on the Sahal and Samhar slopes of the Abyssinian chains, are gathered only in the immediate vicinity of the trade routes between Massawah and the plateaus. However, numerous varieties of vegetables are known to have been introduced into the country, notably the vine, at the period of its trade with Byzantium. During the present century Schimper has spread the culture of the potato, the German missionaries have brought over the red cabbage, and Munzinger has introduced several new plants into the country of the Bogos. Were the arable lands cultivated, like those of the more flourishing European colonies, the Abyssinian highlands might supply the markets of the world with coffee and quinine, and the valleys of the advanced spurs might rival the United States in the production of cotton. The Arts and Ixdustrtes. The industries, properly so called, are in the same state of neglect as agriculture, although the Abyssinians themselves are sufficiently intelligent and skilful to utilise their own raw materials instead of exporting them to foreign maniifacturers. Incessant wars compelling all the able population to bear arms, and the contempt for labour and workmen existing in all feudal and slave countries, have prevented the Abyssinians from developing their natural skill and taste for the industries. All the masonrj', carpentering, and upholstering, as well as the manufacture of tools, weapons, and instruments, are left to the Felasha Jews, who are rewarded for their services by being hated and persecuted as hudus — that is, were- wolves — or else RELIGION AXD EDUCATION. 155 as sorcerers. A few families of Hindu extraction, and naturalised Armenians, ornament the shields, swords, and saddles ■with filigree work, make trinkets, and prepare the jewels, necklaces, and bracelets of the women ; whilst a few European workmen, residing at the court, also contribute somewhat to the industrial products of Abyssinia. The fine cotton tissues used for the sIkiduis and other articles of clothing are manufactured in the country, but the red and blue cotton fringes with ■which the borders are ornamented are usually imported. Like the Mohammedan peoples of the surrounding districts, the Abyssinians are yery skilful in the prepa- ration of all kinds of leatherware, such as shields, saddles, and amulets. Most of the people are their own tailors, and bleach their own cloth by means of endot seeds, which answer the purpose of soap. It is a point of honour amongst them on feast- days to wear clothes of spotless whiteness. Art, in the strict sense of the term, is ■wrongly supposed to be unknown to the Abyssinians. Most European explorers speak in yery contemptuous terms of the work of the natiye painters, and certain barbarous frescoes are doubtless of a character to justify their sneers. Nevertheless, the Abyssinian school, sprung from the Byzantine ecclesiastical art, has produced several works which show at least imagination and vigour. In the ruins of the palace of Koskoam, near Gondar, remains of Portuguese frescoes and native paintings are still to be seen side by side, and here the foreign artists, with their insipid saints, scarcely compare favourably with the natives. Nor are there lacking in Abyssinia innovating artists who protest by theii- bold conceptions against the stagnation of the traditional rules. They even treat historic subjects, and produce battle-scenes, painting the Abyssinians in full face, and their enemies, such as Mohammedans, Jews, and de^"ils, in profile. They also display much skill and taste in bookbinding, copying and illuminating manuscripts. As to the asmari, or stroUiug minstrels, they live on the bounty of the nobles, whose mighty deeds it is their duty to sing. Hence their poetry is a mere mixture of flattery and mendacity, except when they are inspired by the love of war. Abyssinian bards recite before the warriors, inspiring their friends and insulting their adversaries, whilst female poets mingle with the soldiers, encouraging them by word and deed. E.ELIGIOX AXD Education. In spite of the encroachments of Mohammedanism, which besieges the Abyssinian plateaux like the waves of the sea beating against the foot of the rocks, the old religion of " Prester John " is still professed. Introduced in the fourth century, at the period when the political preponderance belonged to Constantinople, and communications were easily established between Aksum and " Eastern Rome " by way of the Red Sea, the Arabian peninsula, and Syria, the doctrine of the Abyssinian Christians is one of those which at one time contended for the supremacy among the Churches of Asia Minor. The Abyssinian Christians, like the Copts of Eg\-pt, jointly forming the so-called " Alexandrian Church," are connected with these primitive communities through the sects condemned by the council of Chalcedon in the middle of the fifth century. The Abyssinian " Monophysites," following the doctrines of 156 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. Dioscorus and Eutyctiiis, differ from the Greek and Roman Catholics by recognis- ing one nature only in Jesus Christ, and in making the Holy Ghost proceed from God the Father alone. Christ, however, although he became man, is none the less considered as God, thanks to his double or triple birth, the manner and succession of which have given rise to so many endless disputes between theologians, and have even caused sanguinary wars. Gondar and Aksum have often had recourse to arms to settle the vexed question of the "double" or " trijile birth." Following the interpretations, the words, at one time taken in the proper sense, at another translated into a mystic language, completelj- change their value ; and European Catholic or Protestant missionaries have often been able to explain, to the applause of theii' hearers, that there was no essential difference between the Abyssinian faith and that which they wished to introduce. For the Roman Catholics especially the process is easy enough, for have they not, like the Abyssinians, the worship of Mary, the veneration of images, the intercession of the saints, fasts, purgatory, indidgences, and begging communities ? Received like a native, Bermudcz, the first Catholic missionary, who arrived in Abyssinia about 1525, caused himself to be consecrated by the Abyssinian jDrimate, and became for a time his successor. MeanwhUe the Mohammedan Gallas, led by Ahmed Graneh, that is, " the Left- handed," who possessed firearms, invaded Abj'ssinia, destroying its armies, sacking and burning its villages, and tlie empire would probablj' have been destroyed, had not 400 Portuguese, led by Christopher de Gama, son of the famous navigator, hastened to restore the balance of power. These events took place in 1541. The Gallas were beaten, but the Portuguese demanded as the price of their services a fief comprising a third part of the kingdom, and the conversion of all the Abys- sinians to the Catholic faith. Thus began the religious wars between the Alexan- drian and Roman sectaries. One of the first Jesuit missions was compelled to leave the countrj^ before securing the recognition of the Pope's authority ; but a second was more successful, and in 1624 the "king of kings" abjured the Monophj-site faith and issued an order for the universal adoption of Romanism. The Inquisition was introduced, and revolts, barbarously suppressed, stained the kingdom with blood. For eight years Abyssinia was officially a province of tlie Catholic world ; but after a terrible massacre of the jDcasauts, the Emperor Claudius, wearied of bloodshed, issued an edict of toleration, and all the Abyssinians soon returned to the old faith. The Catholic priests were exiled or died violent deaths, excepting the Patriarch, whom the Arabs captured, and for whom they obtained a heavy ransom from the Portuguese of Goa. During the present century the Catholic and Protestant missionaries have returned to Abyssinia, but being regarded with suspicion as strangers, have never been tolerated for any length of time. The Abyssinians are usually verj^ indifferent to religious matters, and would readily allow churches of divers denominations to be built by the side of their own, but they fear lest conversion might be the fore- runner of conquest. Prince Kassa, afterwards the famous King Theodore, is stated to have said, " The missionaries will be welcome in ra}' kingdom, on the condition that my subjects do not say, ' I am a Frenchman because I am a Catholic,' or ' I RELIGION AND EDUCATION. 157 am an Englishman because I am a Protestant.' " Later on he even forbade foreigners to preach, tolerating them only as artisans. His o^\^l fate justified the sentiment he so often repeated — " First the missionaries, then the consuls, and then the soldiers ! " Abyssinian territory is now interdicted to priests of foreign religious, and Europeans, like Schimper, dwelling in the country, have been obliged to adopt the national religion. Till recently the Mussulman propagandists seem to have been more successful than the European missionaries. Nearly all the frontier peoples had embraced Islam, retaining but a vague recollection of their Christian faith, and even in the interior the Mussulmans threatened to acquire the ascendancy. According to some writers, they already formed a third of the nation, and in the towns they prevailed throiigh their numbers, influence, and wealth, whilst all the trade was in their hands. In virtue of the fundamental law of the coixntry, they failed to attain j)olitical power only because rulers must profess the Christian religion ; but in the middle of the century the master of the country, Has Ali, was seen to abjure Mohammedanism only with his lips, whilst distributing offices and the plunder of the churches to the disciples of Islam. The reaction against Mohammedanism was principally caused by the invasion of the Egyptian armies, when the hatred of foreign enemies reflected upon those of the interior. An order for a general conversion was issued, and all the Abyssinian Mussulmans were obliged apparently to conform to the established Church, and to wear, imder pain of exile, the match, or " sky-blue " cord, the Christian badge. The Mohammedans who remained faithful to their religion fled to the frontier states, especially to Galabat, on the route to Khartum. Abyssinia, the refuge of Mohammed's disciples in the fifth year of persecution, has not, there- fore, justified the praise the Prophet awarded it in calling it "a country of upright- ness, where no man falls a victim to injustice." The abulia, that is " our father," head of the Abyssinian clergj', is not an Abj'ssinian, for since the reign of Lalibala, some seven centuries ago, this prelate has always been a foreigner. It was doubtless feared that he would acquire too much power in the coimtry were he a native of royal descent ; hence a Coptic priest is sent them by the Patriarch of Alexandria in return for a considerable sum of money. Thus his precious life is most carefully guarded to save further expense to the State, and on the death of an abuna the pontifical chair has often remained empty for many years. The duties of this high priest consists in ordaining priests and deacons, in consecrating altars, and in excommxuiicating criminals and blasphe- mers. For these services he possesses an entire quarter of Gondar, and receives the revenues of numerous fiefs, besides perquisites, regulated by a strict tariff. Although highty venerated by the natives, his power is not equal to that of the negus; and Theodore, when excommunicated by the abuna, was seen to coolly draw a pistol and cover the prelate, demanding a blessing, which it is needless to add " the holy father " hastened to grant him. The abuna's power is held in check by the king's political spies, as well as by the echagheh, the national priest and a religious rival, his equal in dignity and power of excommimication, although he cannot confer orders ; ho also j)ossesses a 158 NOETH-EAST APKICA. quarter of Gondar. The echagheh governs the numerous convents of Abyssinia, and rules over the numerous (lnhtard, or " literati," who form the best instructed and most influential class of the countrj'. They are laymen, but they usually possess more authority in the Church than the priest himself. The dabtara enjoys the usufruct of the ecclesiastical fiefs ; he hires by the month, pa^-s, reprimands, or dismisses the priest who celebrates mass, and often occupies the post of parish priest, which is quite a temporal office in Abyssinia. He composes the new hymns for each feast, and often introduces sarcastic remarks levelled against the bishops, and occasionally even warnings against the king. Exceptmg the high dignitaries, the Abyssinian priests are not bound to celibacy, but are forbidden to make a second marriage. There are also numerous religious orders, comprising about 12,000 monks, without counting the nuns, who are mostly aged women driven by domestic troubles to retire from the world. Deposed princes, disgraced oiRcials, and penniless soldiers also seek a home in the monasteries. A large part of the land belongs to the priests and monks, and would lie fallow were not the peasantry compelled to cultivate it. The churches and convents are the schools of the country, and with the excep- tion of those chosen from the dabtara class, all the teachers are priests or monks. They teach choral singing, grammar, poetry, and the recitation of the texts of their sacred books and commentaries, the classic lore of the Abyssinians being limited to these subjects. But although restricted, education is at least gratuitous, the teacher's duty being to give voluntarily to others the instruction imparted to him in the same way. It is also the duty of the ecclesiastics to give food and shelter to whomsoever asks it. Convents and even the ecclesiastical domains were formerly inviolable places of refuge ; but degrees of sanctity have been gradually established in these refuges, and at present there are very few from which the sovereign can- not tear his victim and deliver him up to the executioner. Many convents which formerly attracted crowds of pilgrims are now no longer visited. A few, however> are still visited for the combined purpose of worship and trade, every place of pilgrimage being at the same time a " camp-meeting." The Abyssinian theologians, more versed in the Old Testament than the New, are fond of justifying their surviving barbarous customs by the examples supplied by the lives of their pretended ancestors, David and Solomon. The bulk of the faithful, although far from zealous, and extremely ignorant of their tenets, rigidly observe the outward forms of their religion. They submit to the penances imposed by their confessors, purchase pardon for their sins by almsgi'S'ing to the Church, and observe the long fasts ordered them, unless indeed they can afford to pay for a substitute. They have two Lents, the most rigorous lasting forty-five days, besides two days of the week being set apart for the ordinary abstinence. As in Russia and Rumania, more than half of the year consists of days of feasts or fasts, apart from those set aside for the celebration of births, deaths, and marriages. Every man has a baptismal and ordinary name, the former taken from their national saints, the latter comjiosed of the first words spoken by his mother after his birth. The chiefs have a third name, consisting of their war-cry. Religious GOVERN}*IEXT. . 159 marriage rites, which are also celebrated by communion and regarded as indissoluble, are of rare occurrence, not one in a hundred unions being solemnised by a priest. Legally the husband or wife can only be divorced three times, but in reality they dissolve the marriage as often as they please, and in this case the father takes the sons, the daughters remaining with the mother. In the case of a single child, if under seven he goes to the mother, but if older to the father. Of all their reKgious practices the most important are the funeral rites. The most upright man would be thougbt unworthy to enter heaven did his relations not pay for masses to be said for his soul and for a splendid funeral banquet. The poor people pinch themselves during lifetime to save enough to acquit tbis sacred duty of the "teskar." As in Christian Europe, the enclosures surrounding the churches are used as cemeteries ; and the conifer trees, such, as the cedar, yew, and juniper, planted on the graves of the Abyssinians, are said to be also considered in the East as sepulchral trees. Go\'i:rxmext. The royal power is by right absolute, although in practice restrained by force of custom, and especially by the powers of a thousand restless vassals and feudal communities of landed proprietors armed with shields and javelins, whom the least change in the political equilibrium might league against the king. Until the plateaux are connected one with the other by easj- routes over the moimtains and through the gorges, the country will not obtain the cohesion that it lacks, and Abyssinia will be condemned to the feudal system. Each isolated mass covered with villages or hamlets, but cut off by deep ravines, constitutes a natural fief, held in awe by an amba, or "mountain fort," denoting the dwelling of the master. From this eyrie he overlooks the surrounding lands, calculating what retui-n the crops of the fields below will j'ield him, and watching for travellers, on whom he levies black-mail. However, the sovereign endeavours to grant these great military or ecclesiastical fiefs only to members of his family or to devoted servants. Besides, he surroim^ds himself with a permanent armv of wofioader or mercenaries, now armed with modem rifles, and " accustomed to stand fire," like the Egj-ptiau soldiers, which enables him to dispense with the support of the restless feudatories or the free landholders. He also endeavours to keep at his court the vassals he most mistrusts. However, the modern history of Abyssinia shows with what rapidity the power shifts from suzerain to vassal. Although these )>egus-»egest, that is, " kings of kings," these sovereigns of Israel, all endeavour to prove their descent from Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, n^other of ^lenelik, first king of Ethiopia, and bear on their standards "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," they have not sufficient time to impress their subjects with awe. In reality, the king of Abyssinia is master only of the ground on which his army is encamped, and of the more exposed towns, where his mounted troops can show themselves at the slightest alarm. Such is the reason why the present sovereign, like his predecessor Theodore, has no other capital than his camp, where the first stroke of the war- drum sufiices to put the whole army on the march. 160 NORTH-EAST APEICA. Administration of Justice. As the Abj'ssinian sovereigns are theoreticallj^ autocrats, so the governors of provinces, landholders, and the shum or " chiefs " of each village, have also the right to do as they please, being responsible only to their superiors. Nevertheless there is a code of laws, the " King's Guide," attributed to Constantino, and which certainly dates from the period when Byzantine influence preponderated in the Eastern world. According to this code, which contains many ordinances of the Pentateuch and extracts from the laws of Justinian, the father has the right of life or death over his children, as the king has over his subjects. The rebeUion of the son against the father, or of the vassal against his lord, is punished by blinding or death ; the blasphemer or liar, taking the name of God or of the king in vain, is punished with the loss of his tongue ; the thief loses his right hand ; the assassin is delivered up to the family of the murdered man and killed in the same way as be disposed of his victim, but if the crime was involuntary, blood-money must be accepted. The amputated limbs of prisoners are always baked imder their eyes and returned to them steeped in butter, so that they can preserve them to be buried with the rest of the body, and thus rise unmutilated on the last day. Smoking is forbidden, " because tobacco originated in the tomb of Arius," and fanatic chiefs have caused the lips of transgressors to be cut off. Chiefs rarely condemn anyone to prison, which consists of a chain with a strong ring at each end, one being fixed to the prisoner's right wrist, the other to the left hand of his gaoler, who thus becomes a captive himself ; accordingly he strives promptly to get rid of his unwelcome companion either by a compromise or by an absolute judgment. When one Abyssinian wishes to complain of another, he attaches his toga to that of his adversary, who cannot get released without pleading guilty. He must follow his accuser before the judge, and, both uncovering the back and shoulders so as to await the blows which will fall upon one or the other, beg for the magistrate's decision. Each conducts his own defence, as it is thought disgraceful to emploj' a third person to plead, the title of lawyer being considered an insult. The Abyssinians often aj^peal to a child to judge between them : being himself innocent, the child is held as the best judge of good and e^•il. After having gravely listened to the suitors and the witnesses, he pronounces sentence, which aU receive with the greatest deference, and which is occasionally accepted as a definite judgment between the parties. Slavery. Slavery still exists in Abyssinia, but it affects the blacks alone, who constitute but a small portion of the popidation. The master has not the right of life and death over his slave, and woidd even be liable to capital punishment by selling him. After some j'ears' service the slave usually recei^^es his liberty, together with sufficient implements and money necessary for his support. On becoming a freed- man he increases the importance of his former master. Before their enforced conversion all the tiaffic in human flesh was carried on by the Mussulmans. Like TOPOGE.VPHT— GOXDAE. 161 the Aniericau abolitionists, but for au eiitirelj' dift'erent purpose, they had established a " subteri-anean route," that is to say, a series of secret depots under- ground or in the woods, stretching between Gondar and Metamneh. The convoys of slaves were carefvdlj- imprisoned all day in these depots, passing from one to the other only under cover of night. Topography. The natural centre of Abyssinia, which has also at various epochs been the seat of empire, is the fertile basin whose central depression contains the waters of Lake Tana. The mean height of this favoured region exceeds 6,600 feet ; it forms the voina-dega zone, which corresponds to the temperate zone of Europe, although eujo}-tng a more equable cHmate and a richer vegetation. Thanks to these happy conditions, the land yields the most abundant and varied crops in Abyssinia, and here have been built the most populous towns, which in this feudal region are elsewhere estremelv rare. Another great advantage of this district is its relative facility of access. From Khartiim to Lake Tana the direct route rises gradually, crossing only one steep ridge, that of Wali-dabba, north-west of the great lake ; but it would be difficult to foUow the route made through the gorges of the Blue yUe, an immense semicircle described bv the river beyond Abyssinia into the country of the Ilm-Ormas and Bertas. G0XD.\E. One of the cities of the central Abyssinian basin is Gondar, or rather Gireiuhr, usually designated as the capital, although it is merely the chief religious centre. Gondar is not of ancient origin, dating onlv from the beginning of the seventeenth centTiry, although it has already more ruined buildings than houses in good condition. Most of the churches were destroyed by Theodore in a fit of rage, and on the rounded hUl overlooking the town from the north are the remains of a gimp, or " stronghold," which, ia spite of its dilapidated condition, is still the finest building in Abyssinia. Its reddish sandstone walls with basalt parapets, round towers, square keep, and lofty gateways in the Portuguese style, give it an impos- ing appearance ; but it is being gradually overgrown by trees and shrubs, while entire portions have been svstematicallv demolished. " Since we must no longer build moniunents," said a queen in the middle of this century, " why should we allow those of others to exist ? " Seen from afar at the foot of its picturesque ruins, commanded by churches, and dotted with clumps of trees, Gondar presents the appearance of a picturesque European town, with its amphitheatre of hills, its silvery ri^-ulets winding through the prairies of the Dembea, and the glittering surface of the neighbouring lake. Gondar is situated at a height variously estimated at from 6,300 to 6,800 feet, on the southern and western sides of a gently sloping hill. Its houses are built, not in groups so as to form a town properly so-called, but in separate quarters, between which intervene heaps of rubbish and waste spaces, where leopards and VOL. X. M 162 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. panthers occasionall_v venture at night-time. Although it could easily accommodate some 10,000 families, its present population is estimated at only from 4,000 to 7,000 Christians and Jews, each occupying a special quarter. The houses of the rich citizens are mostly one-storied round towers, with conic roofs thatched with reeds ; the domestic animals occupy the ground-floor, which also serves as a store for utensils and provisions. Being an ecclesiastical centre, Gondar has no foreign Fig. 49.— Gondar. Scale 1 : 65,000. r. - of ureenwich 5/'°5l C Perron 2,200 Yards. trade beyond what is required for the local wants. Most of the mechanics, smiths, masons, and carpenters are Kamants and Jews. For five months in the year Gondar would be completely cut off from the southern provinces, but for the bridge built by the Portuguese over the Magech, the chief river of the plain of Dembea, which has hitherto resisted all the inundations. South of Gondar are the villages of Fenj'a and Jenda, which lie in a well-cultivated district. CHELGA— AMBA-MAEL\M— IFAG— DEBEA-TABOR. 163 Chelga — Amha-Maktam— Ifag. Towards the north-western angle of the Dembea jDlain are the scattered hamlets forming the town of Chelga, which, though less famous than Gondar, is of more commercial importance. Lyiug near the water-parting between the Blue Nile and the Atbara, it is frequented by the Abyssinian merchants and the traders from Gulahat and Galavcf, who reach it from Wolini, the first station on the Abyssinian frontier. In the ujiper valley of the Goang, which flows to the Atbara, are beds of excellent coal, disposed in layers some two to three feet thick, and very easy to work. From the plateau which rises west of the town to a height of over 8,800 feet, a view is commanded of the vast circle of hills and valleys enclosing Lake Tana, the Tsaua of the Tigre. At the foot of the basalt crag of Gorgora, rising near the north-western shore of the lake, stands the large village of Changar, which possesses a port serving as the outlet for Gondar, Chelga, and other towns of the province. The only communication between the plaia of Dembea and the riverain districts east of the lake is by a defile, in which stands the custom-house of Ferka-her, much dreaded by travellers. Beyond this post the towns and villages belonging to this lacustriae region are built away from the banks at a considerable height above the bed of the streams. Amha-Mariam, or the " Fort of Mary," with its famous church, stands on a level and treeless table-land, at whose base the villages of the district of Etnfms nestle amongst the tufted vegetation. Ifag, or Eifag, forms a group of villages encii'cling the foot of a barren volcanic rock some 1,600 feet high, which commands from the north the abrupt plateau of Beghemeder. Situated at the northern extremity of a fertile plain watered by the copious rivers Reb and Gumara, and commanding the narrow passages which wind round the base of the mountains at the north-eastern angle of the lake, Ifag is an important commercial emporium with a central custoui-house. The caravans stop and reform at the town of Darita, farther east. The plains of Fogara, stretching southwards, are said to produce the finest tobacco in Abyssinia, while also yielding rich pasturages for the numerous herds. Like Koarafa, farther south, Ifag was formerly celebrated throughout Abyssinia for the excellence of its wine, obtained from plants introduced by the Portuguese ; but the vines, which generally grew to a gigantic size, nearly all perished in 1855 of o'idium, at the same time that the European vineyards were wasted by this destructive fungus. Debka-Tabor. South of the plains of Fogara stretches a ridge running east and west, and over- looked from the east by the cloud-caj)ped cone of Mount Guna. This broad ridge, covered with a thick la3'er of black earth and furrowed by the rivulets flowing from the marshy sides of Guna, is the plateau of Debra-Tabor, or " Mount Tabor," so-called from a church formerly a place of pilgrimage, but which, since the time of Theodore, has become the chief residence of the Abyssinian kings. From a M 2 164 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. strategical point of view the position has been admirably chosen. To the west stretch the riverain plains of Lake Tana, the most fertile in the kingdom. From the summit, exceeding 8,600 feet, on which his palace is perched, the sovereign overlooks the lands which furnish his army with supplies. From this point he can easily reach the Upper Takkazeh valley towards the east, or the vaUey of the Abai and the routes of Shoa to the south. The capital of a country engaged in perpetual warfare could not be more fortunately situated. But the royal camping- ground has often been shifted on the plateau of Debra-Tabor. The village of Debra-Tabor, where the " king of kings" often resides during the rainy season, bears the name of Samara ; some miles to the north-west is the village of Gafat, formerly inhabited by blacksmiths who were reputed sorcerers. Theodore had assigned it as a residence for a numerous colony of Protestant Fig. 50. — Debra-Taeor. Scale 1 : 350,000. 12' II r 55 ■ ^^00' TEBRA TABOR] _ -~^\ V .^'^ f .f. ^-^ f- "- t^f 38° L ^ oT breenvvich 38°I0' C Perron 6 Miles. missionaries, employed, not for the evangelisation of the inhabitants, but for the manufacture of harness, weapons, and materials for war. Gafat was at that time the arsenal of Abyssinia. The watercourses of Debra-Tabor flow to Lake Tana through the Eeb, which latter river, not far from Gafat, forms a superb cascade nearly 70 feet high. West of Debra-Tabor, on a lowland promontory of the plateau, are the ruins of the Castle of Arengo, the " Versailles of the Negus," built beneath some large trees, on the edge of a precipice over which falls a cascade, its waters disappearing in the ^'irgin forest below. Thermal springs from 100° to 107° F. abound in this region. The most frequented are those of Wanziglieh in the valley of southern Gumara. The neighbouring village is the only place in Abyssinia where vines have been introduced. MaHDERA-MaRI-VM — KOARATA. The basin of the Gumara, like that of the Reb, has also a town famous in the local records. Mahdera-Mariam, or " Mary's Rest," stands between two affluents MAHDERA-ilAELlM— KOAEATA. 165 of the Gumara on an enormous basalt rock, " grouping its garden -encircled houses around the clumps of junipers which mark the sites of churches." The town is surrounded on three sides by chasms, but connected with the neighbouring plateau on the fourth by a narrow isthmus which might be easily fortified. Mahdera- Mariam is no longer a royal residence, but its two churches — those of the " Mother " and the " Son " — are still much frequented by pilgrims, and nimierous merchants visit its fair. Two distinct quarters were till recently occupied by Mussulmans, Fig. 51. MAHUERA-i[.\RLVM. Scale 1 : 20,000. ' ' '-'.- ''i w^ -y^*_ 1;° '48 501 55°00 50- C Fe''»^on . 550 Yards. who differ from the other Abyssinians merely by their peacefid and business-like habits. The hot springs of Mahdera-Mariam are retailed by the priests, who also practise the medical art. The most important commercial town on the eastern bank of Lake Tana is Koarata, situated about six miles north-east of the spot where the Abai emerges from the lacustrine basin, and near the mouths of the Gumara and Eeb. TTere Abyssinia well provided with routes, this town would form the converging point for the routes of many river valleys. A rounded basalt hill stands in the middle of the plain, its western spur projecting into the lake. The town covers a con- 166 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. siderable extent ; the dwellings of the better classes are surroujided by large gardens ; the streets form shady avenues, whence are perceived the conic roofs of the houses amidst the dense foliage of cedars, sycamores, and fruit trees. Koarata, " the pleasantest town in Abyssinia," was till recently the most populous. At the time of D'Abbadie's visit it numbered some 12,000 inhabitants, which in 1864 were reduced to 2,000 according to Raffray, and from 800 to 1,000 according to Stecker, whilst in 1881 all the jSIussulmans were forcibly exiled. Nevertheless it is still the centre of a brisk trade, and the numerous fankuan hauled up on the beach attest a considerable movement between Koarata and the towns dotted round Fig. 52. — Koarata and Southern' Shore of Lake Tana. Scale 1 : 600,000. 37°i5- E ■ of Ureenv- ■toA:^...,HH^fei#-.^^fe:h < .' ;■' 37°4t C Parnjn 12 MUes. the lake. Koarata owes its importance as a commercial depot to a venerable church, which was formerly a place of sanctuary respected even by the sovereign. On the roads leading towards the sacred hill, large trees designate the boundaries of safety, into which the bishop and the emperor are the only persons who dare venture on horseback. In the vicinity of Koarata are the red sandstone quarries which supply the stone used for the palaces and churches of Gondar. The coffee of this town is exquisite, far superior to that of the hilly Zighch peninsula, which is visible on the other side of the lake about 6 miles to the south-west, and which is one vast plantation. The town of Zighch was destroyed by Theodore. DEBRA-MAELAJM— ISMALA— MOTA— DIMA— BISHAEA. 167 DeBRA-MaRIAM — IsMALA. At the point where the lake narrows to escape through the rapid current of the Abai, two towns face each other — JDebra-Mariam, or " Mountain of Mary," on the east, Bahrdar to the west. Several villages, neater and more cleanly than those of the interior, follow in succession along the southern shore of the lake. The islet of Dek, some 16 square miles in extent, forms a low volcanic rock covered with tufted vegetation, and skirted by conic hills. Here the priests of Koarata have deposited their treasures ; hence few explorers have received permission to visit this island, whilst that of Dcga, consecrated to St. Stephen, is holy soil, forbidden to all profane visitors. Mafraha, another holy island in Lake Tana, lies close to the north-eastern shore, and viewed from between branches of trees covered with the swinging nests of the weaver-bird, presents a most charming appearance. But the holiness of this island did not prevent Theodore from shutting up all its inhabi- tants in a monastery, which he then set on fire. To the south-east of Lake Tana, on one of its affluents, Ismala, the capital of Absha/er, is very much frequented for its hot springs and mineral waters. MOTA — DiMA BlSIIARA. Beyond the basin of Lake Tana the Abyssinian towns belonging to the watershed of the Abai or Blue Nile are mostly situated on the plateau or on the broad grassy terraces of the extensive plaias bordering the right bank of the river, and afford- ing pasturage for herds of large cattle and horses. Mota, one of the most important markets in the " kingdom " of Gojam, is situated on an elevation at the extremity of the plateaux which bound the northern base of the Talba Waha Mountains ; its regularly built houses are, like those of Mahdera-Mariam, surrounded by leafy trees, while a large park with long s}Tnmetrical avenues encircles the church. Below the terraces of Mota are the ruins of a bridge, which spanned the Abai River with nine arches, of which the central arch, some 66 feet broad, has been broken ; but the merchants have stretched a rope over the gap and manage to pass themselves and their commodities over this frail temporary substitute. Farther south, the village of Karaneo and a few neighbouring hamlets are peopled with Francis, or Francs, that is to say, the descendants of the Portuguese soldiers who arrived in the six- teenth century with Christopher de Gama. Martola-JIan'am, one of the local churches, the sculptures of whose interior are said by Beke to be of exquisite work- manship, is undoubtedly of Portuguese construction, although the people invest it with much greater antiquity. Facing the eastern curve of the Abai follow in succession the two religious towns of Debra- Werk and Bima, celebrated the former for its seminary, and the latter for the curious paintings in its church of St. George. Debra- Werk, buUt in amphitheatral form on the side of a hill, possesses the highest and best-built houses of any other Abyssinian towns. Bishara, some miles south of Dima, is a 168 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. market-town greatly frequented by the Gallas. The surrounding district is the richest and best cultivated in Gojam, whilst its mixed Abj-ssinian and Galla population presents the most remarkable types of female beauty. ASHFA — GUDARA — BaSSO. South of Mount Naba, highest peak of the Talba "Waha Mountains, Br/mbads/ia is much frequented by i\Iohamraedan caravans, and possesses a sanctuary like that of Dima. Close by to the south-east stands Monhorcr, the fortified residence of the King of Gojam, whilst farther to the north-west are the towns of Manhusa, Biiri, and Giidara, the last mentioned standing on a volcanic crag near an intermittent lake and the sources of the Abai. Anhfa, situated west of Gudara, in the midst of picturesque valleys, groves, and pasture lands, is the capital of the province of Agaumeder, which is peopled with Agau emigrants from Lasta. These populations, still half pagans although each village has its church, are the bravest, and the only Abyssinians who succeeded in evading the razzias ordered by the ruthless Theodore ; in no other region of Abyssinia are the people more distinguished for courage and honesty. South of Gojam, in tl^e vicinity of the Liben Gallas, are situated in two tributary valleys of the Aba'i, close to its southern bend, the two neighbouring com- mercial towTis of Yejibbeh and Basso, where Abyssinians and Ilm Ormas assemble to barter the products of their respective lands. The merchants of Damot and Kaffa bring a little gold-dust to Basso ; hence the country where this precious metal is foimd is looked upon as a land of marvels by its covetous neighbours. Arch- bishop Bermudez, formerly the Catholic Abuna of Abyssinia, tells us that the El Dorado of Damot is also in the popular estimation a land of unicorns and griffins, where amazons contend with fabulous monsters, and the phoenix springs again from its ashes. At the end of 1883, a bridge was constructed by an Italian engineer over the Abai, between Gojam and Gudru. Magdala. East of the Abai', on a promontor}' above the upper valley of the Beshilo, stands the famous fortress of Magdala, which was, like Debra-Tabor, one of Theodore's residences, where he preferred death at his own hands whilst still free, and defj'ing his English assailants. The amba of Magdala, rising to a height of 9,100 feet, or 3,300 feet above the Beshilo, resembles the rock of Mahdcra-Mariam, although higher, more difficidt of access, and of a more imposing aspect. Apparently insur- mountable, the basalt cliff terminates westwards in an almost vertical crescent-shaped wall sloping north-westwards, where it culminates in an isolated peak. The portion of the plateau on which the fortress is built is connected with the southern part, which is occupied by the Gallas of the WoUo tribe, merely by a narrow path, all the other approaches to Magdala being blocked by fortifications. The upper platform, some two square miles in extent, bears the arsenals, barracks, prisons, magazines for corn and other provisions, and blockhouses for the king's women DOBAEIK— L.\LIBALA. 169 aucl cliiiclreu ; cisterns and wells sunk in the soil sujjjily it with water, whilst the fertile neighbouring valleys furnish provisions in abundance. It was at Magdala that Theodore kept for two years the English prisoners, for whose rescue an Anglo- Indian Army was dispatched in 1868. The fortress of Magdala, destroyed by the English, and afterwards conquered by the King of Shoa from an independent chief, and ceded by him to his sovereign, the King of Abyssinia, has since been restored, on account of its great strategic importance. It forms an advanced outpost in the Galla country, which is traversed by the shortest route to the kingdom of Shoa. At the eastern base of the rocks of Magdala, in a gorge commanded eastwards by Fig. 63. — Magdala. Scale 1 ; 300,000. /. 39°I5 E . of br 59°2S C. Perron other basalt promontories, stands the village of Tunta, or Tenia, peopled by merchants who supply the citadel with provisions. DoB.illlK — Lai.ibala. The Abyssinian towns standing on plateaux intersected by the gorges of the Takkazeh and its affluents are, like those of the banks of the Blue Nile, mostly of military or religious origin. Besides, they are few and far between, and some of them, after enjoying a long period of prosperitj-, have been abandoned and now contain more ruins than inhabited houses. The least populous region of this slope is that whose waters flow eastwards into the Takkazeh between the Beghemeder and Simen uplands. This province of Belessa has been traversed by few explorers on account of the lack of resources and the imhealthiness of the kwalla, which must be crossed amid the various sections of the plateau. But in Simen the chief towns of this mountainous province, Inshatkah the capital, Fara-s-Saber and Dobarih\ near the Lamabnon Pass, have been frequently visited, thanks to their situation on 170 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. the route between Gondar and Massawah bj' way of Tigre. Dobarik is the place where Theodore caused two thousand persons to be massacred in cold blood in revenge for the death of his two English favourites, Bell and Plowden. North of Simen are scattered the ^nllages of the province of Waldebba, one of the " holy lands " of Abyssinia, the personal propertj' of the echaghe, and mainly peopled by monks. Lalihala, east of and not far from the sources of the Takkazeh, is another sacred region. This town stands on a basalt upland terrace, forming a spur of Mount Asheten, whose wooded slopes rise to the south-west. Seven irregularities in the soil serve as a pretext for its priests to boast that, like Rome and Byzan- tium, their city is built on seven hills ; like Jerusalem, it has its Mount of Olives, on which stand trees with huge trunks, brought from the Holy Land many centuries ago. The town and the churches are surrounded with trees which, together with the perpetual spring of this temperate region, combine to make this place a charming and salubrious residence. Still Lalibala is very sparsely popu- lated ; its old buildings are crumbling away amidst the rocks, while its under- ground galleries have no longer any outlets. The inhabitants consist almost exclusively of priests, monks, and their attendants. The churches of Lalibala are the most remarkable in Abyssinia, each being hewn out of a block of basalt, with altars, sculptures, and columns complete. Unfortunately the rock has been weathered in many places, and of the monolith peristyle of one of the finest churches nothing survives but four columns. The buildings of Lalibala evidently belong to various periods, but it seems certain that most of these monuments must be attributed to the king whose name is preserved by the city, the Abyssinian "St. Louis," who reigned at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The work- men who carved out these curious subterranean churches are traditionally stated to have been Christian refugees from Egypt. KOBBO — GUEA SOKOTA. East of Lalibala, the depressions of numerous passes, running over the Abyssi- nian border-chain into the Angot and Zebul countries, contain the waters of the picturesque lakes Ardibbo, Haib, and Ashango. In this region of alternate forests and pasture-lands are several large villages wherein the sovereigns of Abyssinia have often resided. A convent, formerly one of the richest in Abyssinia, stands on the woody " Island of Thunder " in Lake Hai'k. On the bank of this lake is the \'illage of Dehm-^Taruim, chiefly occupied by the priests' wives, who are not allowed to visit their husbands in the monastery. The waters of the lake were inhabited by a solitary hippopotamus at the time of Lefebvre's visit, respected by the natives and dreaded by navigators. Lower down, on the eastern slope of the Red Sea, stand the large markets of Kobho, G/ira, and Wahlia, frequented alike by Abyssiniaus and Gallas, and described by Lefebvre as veritable towns. Sokofri, capital of the province of Wag, stands at a height of 7,500 feet, north of the Lasta Mountains, on both banks of the River Bilbis, which flows to the Takkazeh through the Tsellari. Sokota is a commercial town, as till recentlv ADUA. 171 attested bj' its Mohammedan settlers. The Agau, who form the basis of the local population, are not sufficiently energetic to trade or work the coalfields in the neighbourhood. The market of Sokota, which lasts three days everj^ week, is mostly visited b}^ the merchants and dealers in salt which serves as the chief small currency of southern Abyssinia, whereas in northern Tigre bales of cloth are emploj-ed. The amoleh, or salt money, shaped like French whetstones, is procured from the salt lake Alalbed. The mean weight of each block is a pound and a quarter, and it naturally iacreases in value as it penetrates farther into the interior. Whilst the Danakil quarries of the Taltal tribe supply over a himdred of these amoleh for a Maria-Theresa talari, they are occasionally sold on the western banks of Lake Tana at tenpence a-piece. When Sarzec and Raffray crossed this country in 1873, they were worth at Sokota about threepence half- pennj' ; but eight j^ears afterwards, at the time of Rohlf s' visit, their value had diminished by three-fourths. When the means of communication shall have become more easy, they will entirely lose their conventional value in the barter trade, and will be exclusively used as a condiment. The Abyssinian proverb, " He eats salt," applied to prodigals and spendthrifts, will then have lost its point. The packers are very careful to protect the salt bricks from moisture ; they lay them in parallel rows on copper plates, made like cartridge boxes, which are placed ia layers on the back of a mule and covered with an awning. Sokota has recently been greatly impoverished ; devastated by epidemic fevers, it has lost three-fourths of its popiilation, which from 4,000 to 5,000 in 1868 had fallen to not more than 1,500 at the time of Rohlfs' visit in 1881. In the vicinity of Sokota a monolithic church, like those of Lasta, has been hewn in the granite ; its crypt contains the mummies of several kings of the country. The roads are bordered with dolmens similar to those of Brittany. One of the neighbouring Agau tribes bears the name of Kam, or Ham, after whom D'Abbadie applies this term to the whole group of "Hamitic " languages, of which the Ham, or Hamtenga, is regarded as typical. Adia. From Sokota to the country of the Bogos another caravan route, passing about 60 miles to the west of the Abyssinian border-range, traverses Abhi-Addi, capital of the province of Tembien, on the route to Adua, present capital of the Tigre, and next to Gondar and Basso, the largest market in all Abyssinia. This town stands nearly in the middle of the region of plateaux separating the two large curves described by the Takkazeh and the Upper Mareb. The River Assam, a tributary of the Takkazeh, winding through the naked but fertile plain of Adua, flows southwards, whilst to the north of the hill on whose side the town is built (6,500 feet), stands the isolated and precipitous Mount Shelota, or Sholoda, 9,000 feet high. Eastwards, overtopping the other summits, stands the lofty Semayata, 10,300 feet high. Adua, with its steep winding streets lined with small stone houses thatched with straw and encircled by slate terraces, scarcely presents the 172 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. appearance of a capital. Small churches surrounded by thickets stand here and there, and on the top of a hill a cathedral, a huge building with a conic roof like most of the civil residences, has been recently built by an Italian architect. In the gardens flourish numerous exotic plants imported from Egypt and Syria. Not far from Adua are the ruins of Fremona, the seminary of the Jesuits driven out of Abyssinia in the seventeenth century. These ruins are avoided by the peasantry, who believe them to be the abode of evil spirits. Xear the town Prince Kassai gained the decisive battle which made him the present Emperor of Abyssinia. Aksum. Adua is heir to a city which was the seat of an Abyssinian empire at one time stretching from the banks of the Nile to Cape Guardafui. Aksum, although Fig. 54. — Adla and Aksim. Scale 1 : 270,000. 58°45- IT . of L:'reenwich 58° 55 C Pe'ron . 6 Miles. fallen from its former state, is still regai-ded as holy ; it is the citj- where the coronation of the emperor takes place, and fugitives here find a sanctuary more respected than most of the convents. Its monasteries are inhabited by eight hun- dred priests, and by hundreds of youths who are being educated for the same profession. Aksum, the Aksemeh of the Abyssinians, lies some 12 miles from Adua on a romantic site 1,000 feet more elevated above the sea. Here its groups of houses and churches, each surrounded by groves and gardens which clothe the slope of the hill with verdure, are enframed on one side by dark basalt walls, forming a striking background to this charming picture. According to tradition, Aksum was founded by Abraham ; a dignitary of the church, hardly inferior in rank to the cchaghe or to the abuna, here claims to be the guardian of the " tables of LIBRARY ILLINOIS. AKSrM. 173 the law," aud of the holy ark of the Jews brought back from Jerusalem by Menelik, son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. But Aksum possesses some genuine antiquities, which the inhabitants watch over with jealous care. A column bears a Greek inscription, now almost illegible, which commemorates the ■\-ictims of a certain King Aeizanas, " son of the iuvincible Ai-es." Is this Ae'izanas identical with La San, the Christian king who lived in the middle of the foui-tb century of the vulgar era, or did he belong to the earlier pagan dj-nasty, as might be supposed from his claim to the title of the son of Mars ? Howsoever this Fig. 55. — Akscm. Scale 1 : 30,000. ^.'^oAat^''>':>''%, ¥?ii \ 1 . of Green.-, c^ ia°~b C Per.-uO l.inn Tards be, this precious inscription, reproduced for the first time by the explorer Salt, is a proof of the ancient relations existing between Abyssinia and the Greek world. Another column, discovered by Ferret and Galinier, is engraven with Himyaritic characters, also nearly effaced by time. According to D'Abbadie's reading it per- petuates the memory of the valiant " Halen, king of Aksxmi and of Hamer," that is to say, of the country of the ffimyarites. South-western Arabia and Ethiopia formerly constituted one empire. On the plateau of Aksum, near an enormous sycamore whose trimk is 50 feet in circumference, stands another curious monmuent, which has been appealed to in proof of an ancient Egyptian culture in Abyssinia. 174 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. It is a monolithic obelisk some 83 feet high, but of a style entirely difEereut from that of the Egj-ptian obelisks. Its ornamentation consists of a nine-storied tower pierced with windows and surmoimted with a small p}'ramid with fluted base, curved and spherical sides. About fifty other obelisks are scattered over the neighbouring space, some fallen down, others leaning against the trunks of the trees, with ancient altars still standing amidst these ruins. Not far off imfinished carvings are still to be seen in the trachytic quarry whence the workmen obtained the materials for these obelisks. Amongst its other buildings Aksum also possesses, in the enclosure of its gedem or sanctuary, a Portuguese church flanked by an embattled tower. An aqueduct is cut in the rock, and close to the town the side of a mountain is under- mined by catacombs which are said to be the tombs of the kings, and the place where " the great serpent, the ancient King of Abyssinia, is concealed." Antalo — Senafeh. Aiifalo, the former capital of Tigre, is situated at a height of some 8,000 feet, on an amba surrounded by deep gorges, where rise the afiluents of the Takkazeh. A higher plateau, crowned by the natural fortress of the Aradom amba, rises to the west, whilst to the south and east stretches the vast fertile plain on which the EngKsh established their head-quarters during the expedition of 18G8. Antalo has since been abandoned, and its quarters, separated from each other by deep ravines, are nearly all in ruins ; its inhabitants have migrated to Chalikut, about 6 miles to the north-east, one of the most charming towns in Abyssinia, its houses and churches surrounded by gardens and thick masses of trees. Situated on the border-chain of eastern Abyssinia, at the very fringe of the terrace-lands sloping to the plain of the Danakils, Antalo and Chalikut are of some importance as dejiots for the salt merchants passing from the coimtry of the Taltals to Sokota. Between this latter town and Chalikut the chief marts are Samreh, situated near the former lacustrine plain of Samra; then the lowland towns of Atshi, or Absehidera, and Fisho. The new town of Makaleh has been built by the present negus on the very crest of the Abyssinian chain, and like Debra-Tabor, Adua, and Magdala, occasionally serves as a temporary capital of the kingdom. Here an Italian engineer has erected a palace in the " European " style of architec- ture. From this commanding site King Johannes overlooks a large portion of the still unreduced Danakil territory. He has even made some conquests in these low- lands, and on one of the four terraces, which fall in a series of gigantic steppes down to the plain, he has founded the market of Sekct, much frequented by dealers in salt. North of Antalo and Chalikut, and parallel to the border chain of Abyssinia, several other commercial towns follow at long intervals on the main road which connects the uplands with the forts of Zidla and Massawah. Some of these miser- able collections of huts have acquired a certain importance in the history of Abys- sinian exploration as the camping-grounds and places of observation of European travellers. One of the most j)opulous of these villages is Hdiisscn, situated on a AXTALO— SENAFEH. 175 56. — KuMAi'Li Valley. Scale 1 : 650,000. plateau intersected by deep ravines. Farther on comes Addigrat (^Add' Igmt) or Attegra, standing in a fertile valley about 8,000 feet above tlie level of the sea, and commanded west and south-west by heights rising to a still farther elevation of over 3,000 feet. To the west, on a sandstone amba whose terminal escarpment, some 100 feet high, can be scaled only by means of ropes, lies the monastery of Debra-DciDio, one of the most celebrated in Abyssinia. Here Fig all the surrounding populations come to deposit their wealth on the least indication of war. The summit of this rock, covered with a vegetable soil and provided with one hundi-ed and fifty peren- nial wells, although carefully cul- tivated, 3'ields but an insuiEcient crop, so that the monks have to trust to the generosity of the faithful on the plains. Formerly the j'ounger members of the reigning house were banished to this amba. Seiiqfe/i, a town situated still farther north, occupies a sheltered position at the foot of precipitous rocks. As the first mountain sta- tion on the route followed by the Englisli army to rescue the pri- soners in the hands of Theodore, the camp of Senafeh, during the campaign of 1868, was one of the greatest strategic importance. When the English carriage road, from Adulis Bay to Senafeh through the gorges of Kumaili is repaired, this village will pro- bably become a flourishing city. To the west Hala'i, or the " ascent," which was till recently entirely Catholic, and Digsn (^Digsan^ are the first upland towns on either branch of the river Hadas, and have also gained a place in the history of Abyssinian exploration. The capital of Tigre is connected with the Red Sea coast by two routes. The shortest rims north-east towards Senafeh ; the other takes a northern direction, crossing the Mareb at an elevation of about 4,000 feet, and thence ascending the to 32 Feet. Depths. 32 to 64 Feet. 64 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. 176 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. valley of this river along the heights of the western slope. North of the point where the river is crossed, the escarpments of the plateau are broken into basalt headlands, columns, and peaks of fantastic shape. On these detached crags are the scattered villages belonging to Gundet, a district famous in African history. Here began the series of military disasters which, combined with financial loans and extortions, crushed the power of Eg3'pt, making the countrj' the sjjort of bankers and Eui'opean dij)lomatists. At this period (^1875) the Khedive of Cairo was one of the great potentates of the world so far as regarded the extent of his dominions. His captains had penetrated up the Nile as far as Lake Albert Nyanza and the watershed of the Congo. Egyptian garrisons had been stationed at the ports on the west coast of the Red Sea, and even farther south had gained a firm footing in the Harrar district and Somaliland. The invaders had already enclosed Abyssinia on the south, and thought the time had come to take possession of the plateau; biit they were utterly routed at the battle of Gudda-GiuhU, or Gundet. Nearly the whole of the invading army perished, together with its two leaders, Arakel Bey and the Dane Arendrup. The invasion, which was to have once for all reduced Abyssinia, restored its political unity from Hamassen to Shoa, and revived Christianity throughout the whole of this upland region, which seemed already a prey to Islam. In 1876 a second army, commanded by Hassan, son of the Khedive, again scaled the Hamassen plateau and occupied the strong strategic position of Gura, east of the Upper Mareb. But the lower part of their camp being surrounded by enemies, the Egj'ptian troops were almost entirely exter- minated. They left their cannons and small-arms on the battlefield, and Prince Hassan only succeeded in obtaining his liberty by paying a heavy ransom. Ac- cording to a report, which appears however to have been groimdless, circulated immediately after the battle, Hassan and all the other prisoners were tattooed on the arm with the sign of the cross, a symbol of victory over the crescent. Debaroa — Kasex — Arkii.o. The most populous and commercial town on the route from Adua to Massawah, by way of the western slope of the Upper Mareb, is Kodo Felassi (^Godo Felameh\ capital of the province of Seraweh. As a trading station it has replaced the town of Debaroa, farther to the north, which, although now of little importance, was formerly the residence of the Bahr-Nagash, or " Sea Kings," as the governors of the maritime provinces were called. Unlike the round houses of Central Abys- sinia, with their stone walls and thatched roofs, those of Debaroa are parti}' subterranean, resembling the dwellings in many districts of Caucasia and Kurdis- tan. The slope of the mountain is cut into steps, and the rectangidar space thus obtained is transformed into a house by means of a clay roof, which at the back rests on the ground, and in front is supported by pillars ; the smoke escapes by means of an aperture made in the roof, which is closed in rainy weather, excluding light and air, and converting the dwelling into a loathsome cavern. The houses of all the Hamassen villaa:es are constructed in this fashion. DEBAEOA— KASEN. 177 The camp of tlie ras, or chief, who governs the province of Tigre, is situated at Atsaga (9,460 feet), at the junction of the routes ascending from the coast at Massawah, and from the countries of the Bogos and Mensas. A short distance to the east stands the town of Asmara, present residence of a shum, or chief, who claims the title of " King of the Sea." Asmara lies on the extreme edse of the Abyssinian plateau, at the point where the route entering on the Red Sea water- shed winds down to the plain. Like Asmara, a few other hamlets serve as intermediary stations for the caravans on their arrival at the crest of the Tigre plateau. Kasen, standing on the last spur of the Hamassen uplands north-west of Asmara, also commands one of the routes leading to ilassawah. This post is occasionally dimly visible at a distance of 45 mUes in a straight line between the haze of the horizon and the marine vapours. Fig. 57. — Bogos Territory. Scale 1 : 500,000. 38°eO' h^., » of o reeg w i c h 38°40' CPer . 9 imes. From Kasen another caravan route runs north-west to the Senhit uplands, and to Keren, capital of the Bogos territory. This place, surrounded by olive-groves, ali-eady lies in the kwalla zone at a height of 4,800 feet above the sea. A fortress named Senhit, like the country itself, has been built by the Egyptians at the side of the town ; but in virtue of the treaty concluded with the English it is to be evacuated and surrendered to the King of Abyssinia. Keren was the centre of the Catholic missions in northern Abyssinia, and its large seminary supplied numerous native priests for the churches scattered throughout the provinces of the empire. Nearly all the inhabitants of the Bogos and Mensa territories have abandoned their Mahommedan practices to re-embrace the Christian religion as taught in its new form by the Lazarist missionaries. The route descending from Asmara to the Red Sea, encircles on the north a group of projecting uplands, on one of which stajads the famous monastery of Bijan VOL. X. N 178 NOETH-EAST APEICA. or Bizan, founded in tlic fourteentli century, and often mentioned by Portuguese authors under the name of the convent of the " Vision." It takes this name from a gilded cloud said to have been seen hovering in mid air by the traveller Poncet and other pilgrims in the year 1700. Nearly a thousand monks live in the convent and the adjacent buildings. At the foot of the mountains, but separated from the littoral plain bj' a chain of hills, stands the village of Ailef, in a lonely valley which would amply repay cultivation. In the neighbourhood, three miles farther south, are hot springs (138° F.) sufficiently copious to form a stream; the surrounding ground within a radius of 155 feet from the orifice is too hot to permit of its being traversed barefooted. When descending the plateau the Abyssinians are accustomed to plunge into the source of the river Ailet, and even occasiouall}' to wash their sheep in it. A poisonous beetle lives in a part of the hot spring where the temperature cools down to 118° F. Northwards in the Samhar district are many ancient ruins, chiefly tombs, some of which resemble the megalithic monuments of France. An ancient town, now abandoned, at one time covered a space of several miles in cir- cumference. Massawah. On the plain a few stations follow along the route to the coast at Massawah. Such are Saafi, or the " Fens," so-called from the pools of water which are usually found in the beds of the dried-up watercourses during the dry season ; M'Kidu, which the Europeans of Massawah have chosen as their health-resort, and have surrounded with groves of tamarinds and other trees ; Hotumlu, headquarters of the Swedish missionaries and their schools. To the south, nestled amidst mimosa-trees, is the town of Arkilo, a kind of capital, where resides the na'ib, a descendant of a dynasty of chiefs who, since the end of the sixteenth century, have negotiated all commercial transactions between Abj^ssinia and Massawah. The inhabitants of this territory owe a double allegiance to the traders of the neighbouring seg,port and to the Abyssinians of the plateau, whose claim to the ownership of the lowlands has been maintained from age to age, and annually renewed by raising winter crops in the district. The Turks, having conquered the uplands and the coast in 1557 attempted at first to govern the coast populations directly ; but finding themselves powerless against nomads ever on the move, they surrendered their authority to the chief of the Belaus, a branch of the Hababs who roamed over the neighbouring plains. Even the garrison of Massawah, mainly composed of Bosniaks, was gradually absorbed with the Hababs bj' marriage. Made na'ib, or " lieutenant," of the ^aceroys of Hejaz, the chief of the Belau received a regular subsidy from the Turkish Government conditionally on his protecting the Turkish or Abyssinian caravans against the attacks of the neighbouring tribes, remitting to the suzerain a portion of the taxes paid by the merchants, and supj^lying the island with the necessary water. Frequent quarrels arose between the naib and the Massawah islanders ; the aqueducts were often cut, and the naib himself, driven from Arkilo, was often MASSAWAH. 179 obliged to take refuge in the interior. It also happened that the Abyssinian sovereigns, in whose interests it is essential that the port of Massaicah should remain open to the outer world, have wasted the country to retaliate on the slave- dealers and corsairs. By virtue of recent treaties, the approach to Massawah, now an Italian port, although the Egyptian flag still flies on the walls, is to be made Fig. oS. — ^SLiSSAWAH. Scale 1 : lOO.COO. C Pe Depths. Oto3SFeet. 32 to SO Feet. SO Feet and npwards. -2i titles. completely free to the trade of Abyssinia. This port of the Eed Sea is therefore, if not politically at least commercially, more than ever a natm-al dependency of Abyssinia, and its importance, already considerable, cannot fail to increase rapidly if peace is maintained on the plateaux. Detached forts command the approaches of the town and mark the limits of an intrenched camp in which the Egj-ptian governor formerly maintained a corps of 3,000 troops. X ^ 180 XOETH-EAST AFEICA. The town of Massawah, the Arabian Medsawa, or Mussawah, and the Abyssinian Mutogna, occupies a coral islet about 3,300 feet long from east to west, but scarcely more than 1,000 feet broad from north to south. Stone houses of Arab con- struction, and branch huts, are crowded together on this rock, which is connected by a dyke with the still smaller island of Taulud. Taulud itself is attached to the mainland by means of a pier about 5,000 feet long, over which is carried the pipe by which the cisterns of Massawah are sujjplied with water from M'Kulu. But both aqueduct and pier, like the barraclcs, fortifications, and other buildings built some twenty years ago under the direction of Munzinger Pacha, are in a very dilapidated condition. As in their own country, the Egj'ptians imderstand the art of constructing, but neglect the duty of repairing, their public buildings. The Abyssinian trade with the Greek, Banian, and other foreign merchants settled at Massawah is conducted by means of caravans. These caravans, laden chiefly with the valuable products of the Galla coimtry — coffee, gold, and white wax — set out at the end of winter, so as to cross the Takkazeh before the floods. Thej' take two or three months to accomplish the journey, and return at the end of the autumn, resuming their annual journey the following spring. In 1861 the value of the Abyssinian exchanges, including slaves, through the port of Massawah, was estimated at £40,000, and twenty years thereafter, in 1881, they had risen to £280,000. The chief exports are skins and butter for Arabia, and mother-o'-pearl ; that of ivory has greatly fallen off. Mules of Abyssinian stock are also exported to the plantations of Mayotte and the Mascarenhas Islands. Early in the year 1885 Massawah and the surrounding district was occupied by the Italians, with the consent of the English and Egyptian Governments. The Dahlak Islands. The large coraline islands of Dahlak east of the Gulf of Massawah, the chief of which are Dahlak and Nora, have lost nearly all the commercial importance they enjoyed before the Turkish rule. At that time they were inhabited by a Christian population of Abyssinian origin, whose chapels are still to be seen, and whose dialect, although in a corrupt form, is still current in the archipelago, At present the people, all Mohammedans, number 1,500, whose only resource is the milk and flesh of their goats, and the products of their fisheries. The Persian and Indian traders make yearly voj^ages to these islands to purchase the pearl oysters from the fisheries of the surroimding bays ; the depot stands on the eastern shore of the larger island, at the village of Domolo. Like the pearl-divers of Bahrein, those of Dahlak never commence operations till after the rains, as they say that the pearlj' secretion is formed by the mixing of the fresh with the salt water. The natives also fish for the turtle, but neglect the sponges with which the bed of the sea is here thickly covered. The people of Dahlak and the surrounding archipelago possess large herds of camels, asses, and goats, which they allow to roam in a wild state over the island, or else confine to desert islands. On one of these islets are even found a few cows. iiailiiliiilliiili'SliBliiiiiiM mm 4^' 1^' J*^ Cii feM,^/l;Wil J LIBRARY I ADULIS— ZULLA— H-AINrFILA. 181 Adulis — ZuLLA — Haxfila. The long and narrow ba_v stretching from the north southwards some 30 miles inland, which the Disseh islanders call the " Gulf of Yelret " possibly on account of the calmness of its well-sheltered waters, is much nearer to the upland Abys- sinian plateaux than ilassawah, and the commercial exchanges have often taken this direction. This inlet of the seaboard, the Anneslej- Bay of the English, is more commonly known by the name of Adulis Bay, as it was called some two thousand years ago, when the fleets of the successors of Alexander rode at anchor in its waters. A Greek inscription, copied in the sixteenth century by the Egyptian monk Cosmas Indicopleustes, celebrates the great king Ptolemy, son of Ptolemy and " Arsinoe." A second, which relates the glorious expeditions of the Abyssinian king " Eb Aguda," is of the highest geographical importance, as it contains a series of twenty-three Abyssinian names, the first elements of the comparative geography of the country. Mariette has proved, by identifying many of the names engraved on the gates of Karnac with those of the Adulis inscription, that Egj-pt had certainly established relations with Abyssinia as far back as the time of Thotmes III., in the eighteenth century of the old era. A few capitals cut in the lava, and marbles sculptured by the Byzantine artists, are all that has been brought to light of the buildings of the ancient city, which now stands more than three miles inland, a fact probably due to an upheaval of the coast, or else to the gradual increase of the alluvial deposits. Its ancient name still exists under the form of ZuUa. To the south on the heights are the remains of a town, which was probably the sanitorium of Adidis. During the second half of this century Adulis has often been regarded as a future French colony, because the strip of land round the bay, together with the island of Disseh, was conceded to France in 1840 by a sovereign of Tigre ; but this written concession was followed by no act of occupa- tion, and England is the power which, under cover of the Egyptian flag, possesses this corner of Abyssinian territory. In no other region has Great Britain given a more striking proof of her widespread power than on this arid coast of the Red Sea. In this baj-, where are scarcely to be seen a few wi'etched boats or fishing rafts comj)osed of three boards nailed together, some hundreds of vessels rode at anchor in 1867 and 1868. A landing stage, of which a few traces still remain, stretched over half a mile into the sea; a railway ran southwards as far as the base of the escarpments ; and huge reservoirs, dug at the foot of the mountains, served as watering-places for the elephants and forty thousand beasts of burden. Zulla was the place where the British army landed and re-embarked, having brought to a happy conclusion an expedition without parallel in the history of England and modem times, not only for the justice of the cause and mathematical precision of the operations, but also for its complete success, almost without bloodshed, and the disinterested conduct of the victors. This march of an armed European force over the Abyssinian plateaux ended without conquest, and the traces of the passage of the English were soon effaced on the sands of Zulla. jSTevertheless with this passing visit of the stranger begins a new era in Abyssinian history. 182 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. The coast of the Red Sea, which is deflected in the direction of the south-east, is here and there indented by bays and creeks where sea-ports might be established, were the caravans unfortunately not compelled to traverse the burning and danger- Fig. .59. — Annesley Bav. Scale 1 : 600,000. L .of Greenwich 3g°50- C. Perron Depths. to 80 Feet. 80 to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet. 320 Feet and upwards. 12 MUes. ous Danakil territory before reaching the valleys of the Abyssinian watershed. The bay of Hawakil, explored by the English at the time of the Abyssinian expedition, is obstructed by volcanic cones surroxmded bj^ rocks and lavas very I ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS. 183 difficult to traverse. Ilaiifili, which is supposed to be the ancient port of Aiiti- pliyUm, is useless except for working the saline lake Alalbed and the neighbouring pearl fisheries. The little harbour of Edd, some 120 miles from the Abyssinian chain, is also surrounded, like Hawakil Bay, by volcanoes and rugged rocks which render the coimtry almost inaccessible. A trading company of Nantes had acquired possession of this port, but, being unable to derive any advantage from it, offered it to the French Government, which declined the costly present. The company ultimately ceded all its rights to the Khedive. Admikistkative Divisions. The political and administrative divisions of Abyssinia undergo endless changes according to the power of the vassals and the caprice of the sovereign. Certain chiefs rule over several provinces and even possess the title of king, like the ras of Gojam, who was crowned in 1881, whilst others are fain to rest satisfied with a simple canton. In 1882 the largest fiefs numbered twenty- four, of which foiu- were governed by ras (chiefs) of the first rank, five by those of the second rank, and fifteen administered bj' chiefs bearing the title of shum. But in spite of the political vicissi- tudes, most of the Abyssinian districts have retained their names and their general contours, as indicated by the very relief and nature of the geological formations themselves. Without including the vassal reahn of Shoa, the tributary states beyond the Abai, the Galla districts and the northern territories recently annexed, the Ayssinian empire at present comprises the four governments of Amhara, Gojam, Lasta, and Tigre, which, with theii- several proAonces, fluvial basins, and chief towns, will be found tabulated in the Appendix. CHAPTER VII. SHOA, COUNTRY OF THE DANAKILS, NORTHERN GALLA STATES. HOA or Shawa, and the hilly country of the northern Gallas, form a part of the Abyssinian plateaux. From a political point of view Shoa, after having been independent for some length of time, has again become attached and pays a regular tribute to the Abyssinian empire, the king of Shoa humbling himself before the " king of South of the Abai' most of the ci^■iHsed or barbarous tribes have been subjugated to Northern Abj-ssinia by victorious expeditions, and ambassadors bring to Debra-Tabor or Makaleh a yearly tribute of ivory or other valuable commodities. On this side the whole of southern Abyssinia even beyond Kaffa is thus bounded by fluctuating frontiers ; the area of Shoa has been increased threefold, and the king- dom of Gojam has been enlarged in the same proportion, although the Abai interrupts all commimications between Abyssinia and the coimtry of the Ilm- Onnas for seven or eight months in the year. The peoples of these countries, mostly differing in origin, speech, religion, and customs, should be studied apart. The lowland tribes, however, comprised between the main Abyssinian range, the Red Sea coast, the Gulf of Aden, and the water- shed south of the basin of the Awash, form a group clearly defined by the way of life the soil and the climate compel them to follow ; but as intermediaries of the trade between the plateaux and the sea, they are indispensable to the inhabitants of Shoa. Thus, however different the two coimtries may be, they form a part of the same social organization. The Shoa Highlands. South of the Angot and the Zebul the main Abyssinian range penetrates into Shoa, here diverging slightly from the line of the meridian towards the south-west, parallel with the course of the Awash. This part of the border-chain is called Shakka, or Amba-Shakka, and, according to Beke, attains a mean height of from 8,000 to 9,000 feet, several of the crests even considerably exceeding this elevation. The highest mountain, at least in the vicinity of Aukober, is Mount Metatiteh (11,000 feet), which overlooks the greater part of the kingdom of Shoa Ijing at \ VOLCANIC FORMATIONS. 185 its feet, and the lower terrace-lauds slojjing towards the Awash Valley and the affluents of the Abai. In no other region of Abyssinia is the land more cut up into distinct sections by the running waters. From some of the heights on the plateau the country seems at a distance like a vast and almost level plain, where the valleys are scarcely suggested by the interrupted vegetation, but on a nearer approach these valleys develop into vast chasms of enormous depth. One of these gorges, some 36 miles north-west of Ankober, is over 5,100 feet iu depth, with a breadth scarcely exceeding 2,000 feet. Amongst the abysses occurring in this rocky region are Tegulet-Wat, near the ancient capital of Shoa, a fissure some 600 feet long with a breadth of less than 3 feet. Stones dropped into this rent are never heard to strike the bottom. The rivers rising on the eastern slope of the Amba-Shakka, some of which have to descend from an altitude of about 6,600 feet ou their way to the Blue Nile, rush through these chasms in a series of foaming cascades or magnificent rapids. Voi.cAxic Formations. East of the main range, the base of Amba-Shakka is flanked by a collection of rounded hills, while parallel chains, such as the Argobba, rise in its immediate vicinity. Farther on an undulating plain stretches away towards the Gulf of Aden, here and there studded with volcanic cones which have ejected vast quantities of lava. One of these extinct craters, near the right bank of the Awash north-west of Ankober, forms a vast chasm many miles in circumference. Another much smaller crater still emits vapours from the summit of an isolated crag ; this is the Dofaneh volcano, which lies on the left bank of the Awash some 36 miles north-east of Ankober. Its state of activity may be compared to that of Volcano in the Lipari Islands. On its sides are deposited layers of sulphur, pre- senting everj^ shade from bright yellow to reddish brown. The group of Mintshar volcanoes, in the southern district of Fatigar, contains other craters in which the sulphur becomes sublimated. One of these igneous mouths, that of Winzegur, forms an enormous caldron, according to Harris nearly 6 miles in circumference, with walls rising to a height of from 800 to 1,000 feet ; two breaches in the enclosure have given vent to streams of molten lava and black scoriae which wind amid the surrounding vegetation. The pool of Burtshatta in the vicinity fills a circular bed of black and yellow lava surrounded by vertical cliffs ; the rock is honeycombed with hundreds of caves, whose entrances are half concealed by the climbing plants growing to its sides. Through one of the extinct craters the elephants and rhinoceroses have opened a passage to the brink of this lake. In the western district of Dembi, Antinori describes another volcanic group inter- spersed with niunerous lakelets, but their water being destitute of fish they are evidently of recent origin. Farther on to the south-west the isolated Zikwala peak, about 10,000 feet high, already mentioned on Fra Mauro's famous map, encloses a lake in its terminal crater, on the margin of which stands a monastery founded by a " vanquisher of demons." Many hot springs rise in these volcanic 186 NORTH-EAST APEICA. lands of Shoa, three of which in the country of the Finfini Gallas, close to the lofty and isolated Mount Entotto (9,956 feet), spout forth like geysers with a temperature of 170 F. To the action of these warm mineral waters are probably due the fossUised siliceous trees occurring in so many places on the plateau between Lasta aud Shoa. Like the " petrified forests " of Cairo, those of Abyssinia consist of trees belonging to the order of the sterculiaceae. The Galla Highlands. A ridge of uplands, curving to the south-west, and separating the Aba'i from the sources of the Awash, forms the natural boundary between Abyssioia proper and GaUalaud. This region is but slightly diversified, presenting no prominences except those of the cliffs fringing both sides of the torrents ; but to the south the mountains resume the appearance of a regular chain. They must be regarded, however, rather as a general swelling of the surface broken into distinct segments and isolated masses by the rivers flowing northwards towards the Blue Nile, and southwards to the large river known as the Gugsa, TJma, Abula, and by a thousand other names. By the action of the erosions which have broken up the plateau into its present shape, the axis of these heights has been directed from the north- west to the south-east. In this direction follow in succession Goro Chen, Belhella, Tulu Amara, Chillimo, Diriko, Kalo, aud Roggeh, all mountaras exceeding 10,000 feet in height. The highest point at the eastern extremity of this range is said to be Hamdo, with a reputed elevation of not less than 11,500 feet. In the same direction, but in the Gurageh district, occurs the isolated Mount "Wariro, to which Chiarini has assigned an altitude of 13,000 feet. The mountainous masses bounded north by the course of the Upper Gugu are considerably lower, having a mean elevation of scarcely more than 7,000 or 8,000 feet. Nevertheless a range in the Inarj'a district, running from the north-east to the south-west, rises here and there to 10,000 feet, culminating ia Mount Egan, 10,300 feet high. In the Kaffa country, another chain, bounded north by the river Gojeb, rivals the Gurageh Moimtains ia height ; and Mount Hotta, towards the eastern extremity of this chain, is said to have an altitude of about 12,200 feet. But the giant of the Ilm-Orma territory is said to be Mount Wosho, situated west of the river Uma, in the hitherto unexplored Waratta country. According to Antoine d'Abbadie, who saw it at a distance of twenty miles, towering above the valley of the Uma, this mountain exceeds 16,600 feet. The Afar Country. The country of Afars, east of the Abyssinian border-chain, usually designated as a plain in opposition to the plateaux, has however a very hilly aud even moun- tainous surface in some places. In the volcanic chain which boimds the depression of Lake Alalbed stand the Mount Ortoaleh of Munzinger, and another " Smoky Mountain" seen by Bianchi during his vain attempt to reach Assab by descending \ THE AWASH BASIN. 187 from Makaleh. South-west of the Bay of Assab, the irregular volcanic Mussali Mountain is stated to attain a height of more than 6,600 feet ; lastly a border range, skirting the north side of Tajurah Bay, is dominated bj' cones from which lavas have been erupted. Moimt Juda, one of these extinct volcanoes, attains a height of some 3,000 feet above sea-level ; it throws off a southern spiu", whose reefs have almost separated into two parts the bed of the gulf, which thus forms an inner lake rather than a part of the Indian Ocean. To the west other lava streams have entirely covered what was formerly the marine bed, and have thus cut off a portion of the bay, which has become Lake Assal, or as the Arabs ironi- cally call it, in spite of the saltness of its waters, " The Lake of Honey." It is also probable that the upheaval of the land has contributed somewhat to the isolation of this sheet of water, for the seaboard in the \-icinit}- of Tajiu-ah is largely com- posed of calcareous clays containing, to a height of fi-om 130 to 160 feet, fossil shells similar to those now living in the African seas. Lake Assal, at present separated from Tajurah Bay by a ledge some 12 miles long, has imdergone various changes analogous to those of Lake Alalbed. It has also become a saline reservoir, and the crust of salt surrounding the shallows is so thick that laden camels can traverse it for nearly a mile from the bank. Like that of Lake Alalbed, the salt of this lake is a source of wealth to the neighbouring tribes. All the Afar and Somali peoples of the country here procure the supplies for their own consumption and for south Abyssinia, which gives them in exchange coffee, ivory, musk, and slaves. Like Alalbed, this lake is gradually subsiding, the waters brought down by the wadies being insufficient to replace the loss by evaporation. A whitish mark some 50 feet above the present sui'face of the lake indicates a former water level. At the time of Rochet's first journey to Shoa in 1834 it stood 600 feet below that of Tajui-ah Bay ; siace then its level has been variously calculated at from 576 to 770 feet, with a probable depth of about 130 feet. According to Bianchi numerous other depressions are found in the country of the Afars, some 660 feet below the level of the sea. The Aavash Basin. South-west of Lake Assal, in a region similarly studded with volcanoes and lava beds, are other lakes, but of fluvial origin, belonging to the basia of the Awash or Awasi. Unlike the other rivers of the country, the Awash does not disappear in deep narrow gorges. AVhilst those watercourses sweep away the fertile soil along their banks, the Awash, which flows towards the Indian Ocean, waters its valley like the Egj-ptian Nile, without, however, reaching the coast. Like the Raguleh and other streams of the Afar country, it rims dry, notwithstanding the large volume of its middle course. The Awash rises south-west of the Shoa Alps, in the Fiafini district, which is separated from the Nilotic basin by a mountain range. Its soui'ces form several pools communicating with each other by several channels winding through a grassy district. Already broad and deep, the river sweeps round the mountains of Shoa, and after receiving a part of theii- di-ainage, it trends north- 188 NOETH-E-IST AFEICA. wards along the foot of the main Abyssinian mountain range. At this part of its course the stream is most copious even during the dry season, being everywhere over 160 feet broad, with a depth of more than 3 feet, and a very rapid course. During the floods the Awash overflows for many miles right and left of its bed, its level rising from 40 to 46, and even to 60 feet, above the usual watermark. It might possibly be available even for steam navigation in this part of its course. At the point where it is deflected from the mountaias, the river flows north-east- wards towards Taj urah Bay, audits volume is increased by its afiiuent, the Gennana, or Kasam, but afterwards gradually diminished, and at about 60 miles from the sea, after having traversed a distance of 480 miles, it loses itself in the marshy lake Bada, or Aussa, also called Abhelbad by many writers. This lacustrine basin, which probably lies below sea-level, rises and falls with the alternating rainy and dry seasons. Its waters are sweet, and deposit a fertilising mud, which repays a hundi-edfold the agricultural labour expended upon it by the Danakils of Aussa. The water necessary for the irrigation of the iields in summer is retained by a dam constructed at its northern end ; but when the lands are thoroughly watered the overflow is discharged into a basin called " Lake Natron " from the crvstallised chemical substances on its banks. Other lakes belonging to the Awash system, amongst others that of Leado, commanded by the Dofaneh volcano and Jebel-Kabret or "Sulphm- Moimtain," not far from the Abyssinian Alps, receive the overflow of this river during the flood season. Lake Zwai, Jilalu, Laki or Dambal, in the Gurageh country, probably belongs also to the same hydrographic system, and its surplus waters are said to flow into the Awash. Nevertheless, the natives informed AntoneUi and Cecchi, that this basin had no affluent ; hence its Ethiopian name of Zwai, or the "Motionless." Climate, Flora, and F.^una. The climate of this southern portion resembles that of the rest of Abyssinia, the only difference being that the air is more moist. The Shoa and GaUa uplands, being nearer to the equator, are much more affected by the rainy zone, which lying between the two trade winds, fluctuates alternately north and south of the equator. Whilst the mean rainfall on the Abyssinian plateaux may be calculated at 30 inches annually, it is said to be about 40 inches south of the Abai and Awash. Hence the vegetation is far more dense and exuberant in the southern than in the northern regions of Abyssinia. Whilst forests are rarely met in Abyssinia outside of the kwaUa districts, travellers in the mountains of Shoa and its tributar}- territories speak of the immense forests of conifers, wild olives, and other trees, imder the matted moss-grown branches of which they have travelled for hoiu's. The vegetable species of these countries have hitherto been studied but by few botanists ; but the climate is known to be favourable to the Abyssinian flora, and many other plants flourishing here are utilised for the sake of their leaves, gums, or seeds. This home of the coffee-plant could stiU supply the world with many other precious shrubs ; it already j-ields to commerce the so-called oggieh, or korarima, a fruit highly prized for its delicate flavour and aroma. CLIMATE, FLORA, AND FAUNA. 189 Like the flora, the fauna of this Abyssinian district also presents a great diver- sity, although on the whole the tj-pes are similar. Shoa appears to be the home of the coluhua yiiereza, an ape with a splendid black and white fur, M'hich gives it a monkish ajspearance. The superstitious natives regard these animals almost as hermits, in consequence of their shj'^ habits and the colour of their coats. In the Awash basin are also found oxen, distinguished beyond all others for the size of their horns, which attain a length of some six feet, with a thickness of six inches at the base. The upland prairies are overrun by a zebra, equm Greri/i, with Fig. 60. — Routes of the Chief Explorers in the Lower Awash Region. ScjUe 1 : 4,500,000. L .jof breenwich 45° C. Perrort . 60 Miles. extremely curious purple-black stripes. The GaUa horse, which dies if taken far from its native moimtains, has the thin legs, delicate head, full and shapely crupper, and the fire and obstinacy found amongst the pure Russian breeds. The animal most appreciated in Southern Abyssinia, from an economical poiat of view, is the civet cat {civetta viverra), whose musky secretion is monopolised by many of the sovereigns of the coimtry. The males, who alone furnish this essence, are kept in jDacks of from one to three hundred, each animal being enclosed in a long cage made so narrow as to prevent him turning round ; the 190 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. enclosures are kept at a uniform heat, so as to hasten the secretion, which amounts to from about eighty to one hundred grammes every fourth day. The animals are fed on an exclusively iiesh diet, consisting of choice morsels prepared in butter. To prevent the evil ej'e, strangers arc forbidden to enter these preserves. Inhabitants of Shoa. Like those of Gondar, the civilised Christian peoples of Shoa are mainly Amharinians, but they are separated from the body of the nation by lofty mountains. Whilst most of the Abyssinians live on the lands sloping towards the Blue Nile, those of Shoa occupy more especially the watershed of the Awash, a tributary of the Red Sea. Moreover, a large part of the plateau bounding Shoa towards the north is inhabited by peoples of Galla origin. Hence, from an ethnological point of view, Shoa consists of a sort of isolated promontorj'. The Abyssinians, properly so called, are here surrounded by the Ilm-Ormas, bj' far the most numerous, but divided into several tribes, the alliances between which are broken or formed according either to momentous interests or the caprices of the chiefs. The customs of the Shoa peoples are the same as those of the Amhari- nians, with this difference, that the entire population is more abjectly subject to the king's will. There are few slaves properly so called, and the Chi-isiians are for- bidden to sell the Negroes, although they themselves are little better than slaves whose property and lives are at the disposition of their masters. A few Felasha or Fenja communities are . scattered throughout Shoa, and amongst these Abj'ssinian Jews is usually classed the sect of the Tabiban, which possesses a monastery in the immediate vicinity of Ankober, in. the midst of the Emamret forests. They are greatly respected and feared by the surrounding peoples as wizards. As ia Abyssinia properly so-called, the Shoa Mahommedans have been forcibly converted. Tliej' were formerly very numerous, and the name of Jiberti, by which they are known throughout Abyssinia, is a reminiscence of their holy city of Jabarta in Ifat, which has since disappeared. Foreigners, more especially French and Italians, are relatively numerous in Shoa, and since the visits of Eochet, Lefebvre, Harris, Combes and Tamisier, Isenberg and Krapf, hundreds of missionaries, artisans, and merchants have presented themselves in the nomad court of the successors of Sehla Sellasieh ; but hitherto the natives have benefited little by the European inventions. Powder and arms manufactories and miUs have not succeeded, and the concessions made to strangers for the building of railways is merely a proof that the king of Shoa is desirous of entering into direct relations with his powerfid foreign allies. Scientific voyages of discovciy in the Galla country, interrupted since that of the missionary Fernandez in the seventeenth century till the time of Antoine d'Abbadie, are also becoming more fre(|ucnt, thanks to the extension of the Abyssinian power into these countries ; but it is still a dangerous undertaking, and of the two Italians, Chiarini and Cecchi, who recently penetrated as far as Bongo, one succumbed to fatigue, whilst the other was with difiiculty saved by the intervention of the chief of THE AFAES. 191 Gojam. The object of d'Abbadie's \-isit to these countries, which was to completely survey the course of the southern Abyssinian river, has not yet been accomplished. It is not known whether, after describing the large curve east of Kaffa, the water- coui-se which forms a continuation of the Gugsa and receives the Gojeb trends westwards to the Nile or is deflected towards the Indian Ocean, but it probably falls eastwards as the upper course of the Juba. In any case it is not the Nile, as d'Abbadie suj)posed. The Afars. In the triangular space comprised between the Abyssinian range, the Red Sea, and the course of the Awash, the bulk of the people, whether nomad or settled, constitute the Afar, or Afer, that is to say the " wanderers," more commonly called DanakUs by the Abyssinians. In the vicinity of the Awash they are known as Adel, or Adail, after the Ad-Ali, one of their most powerfid tribes ; but the various clans differ little in customs, dialects, and usages. The Danakils themselves claim to be Arabs, like so many other peoples of eastern Africa, and this pretension may be explained both by local crossings as well as by their nominal conversion to Islam. But there can be no doubt that the main body of the nation is connected with the Gallas of the west, the Shohos of the north, and the Somalis of the south. Their language is also of Hamitio origin, and their physical appearance is of an analogous type. They are still mainly addicted to fetish practices, in the sterile region of Lake Alalbed worshipping a solitary tree, the cacsalpinia, with splendid pink flowers, and elsewhere presenting their offerings to the sycamore. The men are usually handsome, extremely active and graceful dancers ; while the women, who go unveiled, are distinguished during their brief youth by exquisite forms. But their beauty is soon blighted by their laborious life in this country of lava and sand, under the hottest climate in the world. More scantily clothed than the Abyssinians or Gallas, the Danakils merelj' wear a waistcloth of a many-coloured material, with a toga or shamma, often replaced by a skin throTvn negligently over the shoidders. The men stick a porcupine-quill in their deftly arranged coiffure, and, like the Gallas, are extremely proud when they can ornament it ^-ith an ostrich feather, emblem of an enemy slain in battle. In the northern region, the huts of the Afars are very tastefully ornamented, the floor being covered with yellow mats, embroidered with red and violet designs. The Afars are an independent nation, divided into two main grouj^s, the Asahian (Asaimara) and the Adohian (Adoimara), and into upwards of one hundred and fifty Kabilet (Kabail) or sub-tribes, banded together or divided according to their several interests. They recognise hereditarj- chiefs, called sultans or ra^, according to the importance of the tribe. These chiefs, however, are by no means absolute masters, but merely the executors of the will of the people, expressed by a majority of votes in the general assemblies. All combine against the common enemy, and fight desperately in defence of their liberty. The most powerful sept are the Modaitos, occupying the whole of the region of the lower Awash, Lake Aussa, and the inland pasturages between Edd and Rahe'ita. No European traverses their 192 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. territory -without claiming the right of hospitality or the brotherhood of blood ; the two newly made brothers kill an ox and pour the blood over their foreheads, cutting its skin in strips, which they make into necklaces and bracelets. About 1840 the Zeila Arabs, reinforced by immigrants from Yemen, and Persian or Baluch mercenaries, penetrated into the Danakil country nearly as far as Aussa, but not one of the invaders returned. In 1875 an enemy more formidable than the coast Arabs attempted to force his way into their territory. At the head of 350 Egyptians armed with improved rifles and a train of artillery, Munzinger Pasha endeavoured to open a route towards Shoa, his intention probably being to reduce this kingdom under the sovereignty of Eg}'pt. But the same Modaito tribe who exterminated the first expedition fell upon the second with a like result. Munzinger, with the bulk of his troops, was slain by the lances of the Danakils, who say that " Guns are only useful to frighten cowards." As the mountain streams are lost amongst the sands and lavas before reaching the sea, the Danakils are unable to cultivate their lands, except along the banks of the Awash, where are a few garden-plots ; insufficient, however, for the local wants. But through commerce the Danakils are enabled to procure sufficient supplies from the seaports and the markets of Shoa. It is the custom for every caravan en route to pay a tax on encamping, in return being entitled to the protection of the tribe, and thanks to its guides and safe conducts they pass in safety between the mountains and the sea. The Abyssinian sovereigns have often desired to close certain trade routes across the desert in order to open up others for their ovra advantage ; but their power is arrested at the boundary of the plains, where the Danakils indicate the route to be followed with the points of their lances. In the northern part of the desert the Taltal tribe, who, according to Riippell, greatly resemble the Abyssinians in features, are chiefly employed in working the salt in the bed of Lake Alalbed, which they sell to the Abyssinians of the plateaux in square bricks. The Taoras and Saortas, dwelling south of Adulis Bay in the Buri peninsula, are also Afars, modified by crossings with the Abyssinians, and speaking a Tigre dialect mixed with a large proportion of Arab words. According to Rohlf s the Taora and Saorta women are of extremely small stature in comparison with the men. The redanto or chiefs of the northern Danakils are magicians, who hold commimication with the spirit- world, and are acquainted with the star presiding over the destinies of each individual. The rank of redanto is hereditary, providing that the son be without physical or moral blemish, for unless of soimd bodj' and mind he woidd be incapable of holding communion with the spu'its. On the Red Sea coast a few Afar families live by fishing, and venture far seawards in boats tapering to a point at the prow and stern, and carrying large square sails com- posed of mats. These boats were formerly greatly feared by navigators of the Red Sea. As bold on the sea as on the land, the Danakils often attacked and captured large merchant vessels ; but they have been compelled to abandon their piratical courses, since the steam gunboats are able to chase them into the small creeks and maze of coral islands along the coast. The descendants of these corsairs now turn their attention to fishing, and are the only sailors in the Red Sea who stiU pursue the dugong or lamentin. < o n THE SOMALI. 103 The Somali. The Somali race, akin to the Afars in features, speech, and origin, is represented in the Awash basin, between Tajurah Bay and the realm of Harrar, by the powerful tribe of the Issas, who even make incursions across the Awash into the plains of the Danakils. These temporary migrations are caused by the irregularitj' of the climate, the rains falling at different times on the coast of the Red Sea and the Gidf of Aden. Immediately after the rains, when the pasture-lands are covered with rich grass, the Issas demand hospitality from the Danakils, who in turn come Fisr. 61.— Somali Girl. over to the Somali country when their own pasturages are dj-ied up and the southern lands are renewed by the rains. Tliis reciprocal dependence maintains harmony between these two powerful and warlike nations. The Issa, although nominally tributaries of the Egyptian Government, were practically independent, as the chief of the tribe had to be subsidised to protect the caravans going between the mountains of Harrar and Zeila. The Issa camel-drivers are almost exclusively engaged in transporting merchandise to the mountains, where their loads are committed to other drivers. They are always accompanied by their wives, who lead the camels and bear on their backs the iirewood and cooking utensils, and, if VOL. X. O 194 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. mothers, their children. The hereditarj^ enemies of the Issas are the Gadibursis, also a Somali people, bold mounted marauders, who occasionally seize their flocks even in the neighbourhood of Zeila. The Gallas. In numbers and extent of territory occupied by them, the Gallas are one of the largest nations in Africa. Some of their communities are even settled on the frontiers of Tigre, along the eastern slope of the Abyssinian main range. Even as far as the equator, over a space of 600 miles from north to south, are scattered or grouped together tribes of the same race, whilst Gallas are met with from east to west throughout the region which stretches from the Upper Nile to the Somali coast. But it is not yet known where the national type is the best represented, or which is the most powerful tribe, the country of the southern Gallas being one which has been the least explored by European travellers. In this part of Africa an area larger than that of France is still unexplored, and everj'thing strengthens the belief that this region, stretching south of Kaffa, will be the last to be visited by travellers. The only Gallas we are well acquainted with are those of the northern region, who, since the middle of the sixth century, have dwelt in and about the Abyssinian states. It is therefore natural that these races should be studied after those of Abyssinia. According to Beke the Gallas were so named by the neighbouring peoples after a river of Gurageh near which they fought a great battle ; but this appellation is usually interpreted in the sense of " Land-hunters," a term denoting their nomad life and conquests. Thej^ call themselves Oromo, "Men," or Ilm-Orma, "Sons of Men," possibly "Brave Men ;" although according to D'Abbadie this name, like the Spanish hidalgo, is synonymous with " Nobles." The traditions of the tribes vary ; still the bulk of the Gallas, when asked whence their ancestors came, point to the south. Their original home is said to be towards the southern uplands, and the tribes near Mount Kenia are said still to go on a pilgrimage to this mountain, bringing ofEerings to it as if to their mother. It appears certain that towards the middle of the fifteenth century a great exodus took place among the peoples throughout all eastern Afi'ica, and that this movement continued during the following centuries ; it has even con- tinued till recently in a north-westerly direction. The Abyssinian Gallas, the Wa-Humas of the riverain states of Nyanza, were to the north and west the advance guard of this migration of the Oromo peoples, which according to Barth and Hartmann, was probably caused by some great eruption of Kenia and other volcanoes of equatorial Africa. In any case the " Sons of Men," whom some authors have termed Semites and even " Aryans," are Nigritians, connected by imperceptible transitions with the populations of Central Africa. In many points they resemble their northern neighbours, the Agau, and their eastern and irreconcilable enemies the Somalis. Both speak dialects of the same linguistic family, which has been provisionally classed in the " Hamitic " group. According to Krapf, all the Gallas, those living THE G.VLLAS. 195 in the vicinity of the equator as well as the Oromos of Abj'ssinia, speak languages so closely related that they can easily understand each other. The various dialects may be reduced to five, all beariug remote resemblance to the Semitic tongues, not in their vocabulary but in their phraseology, indicating a similar mental constitu- tion. D'Abbadie has called attention to a certain coincidence between a large number of roots and grammatical features in the Basque and Galla tongues. The Gallas are said by Bleek to possess clicks like those of the Hottentots, but the statement has not been confirmed by other observers. Ignorant of writing, the Oromos have no books except the Bible, iatroduced by the missionaries, and which, with a few dictionaries and a grammar by Tuschek, constitute the entire Galla Fig. 62. — RorTEs of the Chief Explokees in Sovth Abyssinia. Scale 1 : 6,000,000. Rentes of Antoine d'Abbadie. —^^—.^—^.^ 120 ISilea. literature. The Ilm-Orma country is also occupied by peoples of different stock speaking another dialect as yet not reduced to writing by the missionaries. They are evidently the remains of conquered peoples forming isolated ethnological groups amid the invading hordes of the Galla nation. In the open Oromo country still exist a few groups of Amharinians who have preserved the Abyssinian language. The Gallas are usually of middle height, or about 5 feet 4 inches, although men are found amongst them as tail as the Scandinavians. They are broad-shouldered and slender- waisted, the young men having chests which would delight a sculptor ; the legs are shapely, the feet small and always well arched. Strong, active, and o 2 196 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. slim, they resemble the Abyssinians, and more especially the Agau, to whom they are probably related ; but they are usually of a more attractive and open cast of countenance. The GaUas are extremely doHchocephalous, forehead high and rounded, the nose flat, the lips full but rarely pouting, the beard thin and the hair vravj and growing in separate tufts. The finest men are said to be found amongst the Limmus and Gudrus on the banks of the Abai', who, according to some authors, may be taken as types of the race. Like the bulk of the natives of the Upper Fig. 63. — Galla Girl. Nile, the " Sons of Men " are very skilful in dressing their hair in the shape of a crescent, a halo, or in long tresses ; but the right to these decorations is limited in many tribes to those who have killed a man, under penalty of having it shaved off every three months. The skin varies greatly in shade ; whilst that of the men is of a deep or reddish brown, that of the women is usually very light. The latter are all considered, even by white people, to be very handsome in their youth. According to Beke, the complexion of the Gallas along the Abai' or Blue Nile Valley is not darker than that of the Andalusian peasantry. It was due to their relatively fair THE GALLAS. 197 colour that the Jesuits derived their usual name from the Greek word gala, that is to say, "milk." The men and women are gracefully attired in the Abyssinian toga, and the hero who has distinguished himself by some famous exploit proudly plants an ostrich plume in his hair. The Gallas are armed with a lance, the two- edged knife, and a shield of buffalo or rhinoceros hide. Their dwellings, which resemble those of the Abyssinians, are circles of rough stones conicaily roofed with grass or reeds. They are nearly all built imder the shade of large trees, and the traveller traverses many villages which he scarcely perceives through the dense forest vegetation. The northern Ilm-Ormas, like their Abyssinian neighbours, are far more intel- ligent than those of the west, and acquire languages with remarkable facility. Like the civilised Abyssinians, they till the land and breed stock. They possess numerous varieties of cereals, good horses, the best mules to be found in Central Africa, and two varieties of oxen, the zebu and the sanka, with long horns which when sprouting are trained to grow in the shajoe of a lyre. In many districts all the villages are occupied with bee-farming. However, the Gallas have not all the peaceful virtues of the agriculturalist, and their warlike instinct is often aroused. The country is wasted by continual feuds, and in some tribes the able men have been reduced by more than two-thirds. Even in the familj' itself, end- less vendettas are carried on, unless blood-mone}^ has been accepted. But if the Gallas are with good reason feared by most of their neighbours, they are in their turn frequently threatened in the north by the Abyssinians of Go jam and Shoa, and to the east by the Somalis, whilst the slave-hunters often make successful razzias into their forests. The children, especially, have reason to dread these marauders, because the adult Galla will often starve himself rather than submit to slavery, whereas if taken young they can soon be trained for a life of bondage. In nearly all the petty Galla states the trade in these children is carried on to the profit of the chiefs themselves, some of whom imj)ose a direct " child-tax " on each family, whilst others accept human flesh in payment of imposts. Some Galla tribes are grouped into republican federations, but the bulk of them, engaged in interminable wars, have elected Itcyu or chiefs, who alone of all the Gallas practise polygamy. Amongst the southern Ilm-Ormas, these chiefs are always chosen from some noble family, and are invested with power merely for a term of years. Most of the Ilm-Ormas were converted to Abyssinian Christianity before the invasion of Mohammed Graiiheh, or the " Left-handed," who overthrew the power of the ancient Ethiopian kings. From this period they have preserved the names of a few saints, the celebration of Sunday or "the Great Sabbath," and some other feasts of Christian origin. At present the increasing influence of the Abyssinian sovereigns has compelled several Galla tribes to re-embrace the monophysitic religion ; some of the natives also have accepted the tenets of the Protestant and Catholic missionaries. The native priests, originally slaves purchased in their youth by the Capuchin friars from the parents or slave-dealers, and brought up in the French seminaries, do not appear to enjoy much influence with their feUow- 108 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. countrj-men. The Mahommedans have been more fortunate, and whole populations have fervently embraced the faith of Islam. The bulk of the nation has, however, remained faithful to their nature- worship. Nevertheless the Gallas believe in TTak, Ti'aka, or Wakayo, a supreme god whom they confound with the sky, and pray to for rain during the dry season, and for victory over their enemies. They have also other inferior gods, to judge from their names evidently of foreign origin. Such are Saltan, the spirit of evil; Boventicha, the tutelar genius of the race ; Oglieh, the god of generation, to whom sacrifices are offered at the commencement of the rainy season ; and Atetieh, the goddess of fertility, whose feast is celebrated at harvest time, which falls at the end of the winter. Moreover, they worship all living things and all formidable objects of nature, such as the forests, rivers, woods, mountains, thunder, and the winds ; each family has its protecting tree, often an oUve, which is named after the Virgin, St. Michael or some other saint, watered with the blood of sacrificial ■\-ictims reared on honey and beer. Of animals the serpent, "the father of the world," is the most worshipped, and many a cabin has its domestic snake. The northern Gallas have priests and sorcerers; these latter, called kalisha, greatly dreaded on account of their incantations, pretend that they can dispose of the future at their will, causing life or death, and conjuring the evil spirit. But still more terrible are the huda, or were-wolves, who transform themselves into wild beasts and cause death by a mere glance. Every person proved to be a "buda" is immediately butchered, and, as in mediaeval Europe, it is the old women who usually fall victims to these popular superstitions. In the case of persons merely " possessed," an incessant drumming and exorcising is kept up, so as to drive out the zar, or evil spirit, and thus effect a cure. Thieves are scented out by the medium of a magician, or heba-shidi, a high court functionary, who, according to Antinori, aided by the terror his shrewdness inspires, rarely fails to discover the culprit. The Ilra-Ormas seldom practise polygamy, haviog only one wife, too often a mere slave charged with all the domestic duties, but considered unworthy to till the land, water the cattle, or milk the cows. The marriage forms are very numerous, and that of abduction is still honoured amongst certain tribes, the suitor's friends undertaking the seizure. He who manages to seize the young girl and carry her off in spite of her cries, becomes merely bj^ this act her brother and protector ; he brings her to the lover's hut, a cow is quickly killed, and the young girl sprinlded with its blood, which she also drinks. The union is henceforth inviolable, because the Ilm-Ormas, unlike the Somalis, " a nation of traitors and perjurers," never break their pledged word. However this abduction is often a mere pretence, the parents themselves bringing the sacrificial cow to the lover's dwelling. Sometimes it is the young girl who takes the initiative. She runs away from the paternal mansion bearing in her hand a tuft of fresh grass, with which she crowns the head of her lover ; then kneeling down she strikes the ground to the right and to the left, as if to take possession of her chosen husband's residence. It even happens that the ugly or deformed girls, to whom no yomig man would be tempted to throw a necklet, the usual form of asking in marriage, are assisted by their parents at night THE GALL AS. 199 to climb OTer the enclosure round the house of the man of their choice. She stops at his door till morning, and if he does not succeed in driving her aTray by insults, she has conquered, and " as required by the laws of their ancestors," the young man is obKged to marry her, whether he desire it or not. TVhen a Galla falls seriously ill and there is no hope of saving his Hfe, to prevent him suffering useless pain, his friends stifle him by filling his mouth with clotted milk kept in place by a cloth. In some tribes the childi-en and relations also kill their aged parents, even when not ill. The funeral ceremonies are regulated according to custom. A trophy of branches is placed on the tomb, indicating the wealth, position, and entire history of the deceased. The hair of women floating over the grave Fig. 64. — PoPVLATIONS OF SoCTH AbVSSINI.1. Scale 1 : 6,000,000. ii°":^r^M:5i^T" ^^m^[ -r-r^-^ %^: ^, ^amtdaidi t . cT Greenwich ^0" C. Perran 120 Miles. expresses grief and puts the e'vil spirits to flight. The elder brother inherits the wife and children ; but if the deceased had no issue, his brother or relations must adopt or purchase an heir, who takes the dead man's name, and thus carries on the family. Children are frequently adopted by the Gallas ; the wife gives the child suck, the husband gives it his thumb to bite, and the ties of relationship are henceforth in^'iolable. The Galla communities, tribes or fractions of tribes, which bear a distinct name, differing according to their political siu-roundings and their upland or lowland place of habitation, may be reckoned by the hundred. Some of the clans have become Abyssinians by marriage and mode of life. Such are principally the ilechas of Gojam, the Jaggadas of Beghemeder, all nominally Christians ; the Wollo 200 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Mohammedans of the great plateau between Ankober and Magdala, and the heathen Borenas of the Abai kwalla. The dreaded Assebos, the Rayas, Ejus, and DawTis on the passes and eastern slo23es of the Abyssinian range, have for the most part preserved their primitive customs. The same is true of the independent or tributary Ilm-Ormas living to the west of Shea, towards the sources of the Awash, and on the waterparting between the Abai and the Gugsa, as well as the Jillis, Soddos, Iladas, Finfinis, Mettas, Nonnos, Gudrus, Horros, Jummas, and other tribes occupying the region formerly known as " Great Damot." A large tract of territory south and south-east of Shoa, towards Harrar, is inhabited by the Ittus and Arussis. Lastly, the Sidamas, peopling Itinari/a (Enarea), and Kaffa, in the south-western region of Abyssinia, are regarded as a branch of the Galla family. Amongst them Christianity had formerly the largest number of adherents and Abyssinian culture had made the greatest progress. Their colour is generally lighter than that of the other Ilm-Ormas, and the Arabs compare the complexion of the young Sidama girls to cinnamon. To the north some of the Sidama speak Gonga, a tongue related to the Agau, and current amongst the Damot Abyssinians north of the Blue Nile. TOPOGKAI'HY. The political centre of Shoa occupies the watershed on the two slopes of the Abyssinian range, eastwards towards the basin of the Awash, and westwards towards that of the Blue Nile. In this country, where the climate is temperate, and where the soil, better cultivated than in any other Abyssinian region, produces corn and fruits in abimdance, are grouped the civilised populations of Abj^ssinian origin, and here stood the cities successively chosen as capitals of the kingdom of Shoa. The palaces being merely large huts, it is easy to shift the site of the capitals, and the residence of the sovereign has changed several times during this century, according to the strategic advantages or the royal caprice. Licheh, the present capital, founded by King Menelik, and hence the greatest market in the country, stands on a terrace at the western base of the mountains culminating in Mount Metatiteh, between two ravines forming the beds of two headstreams of the Jemma, an affluent of the Blue Nile. To the east on an isolated rock still nearer to the range, and in the vicinity of Wat, or the " Abyss," are the ruins of Tegulet, the " Town of "Wolves," which became, after Aksum, the capital of Abyssinia, whilst its name was used for some time to designate the whole of Shoa. The fortress of Tegulet, which overawed the land, was taken by assault and destroyed in 1528 by Mohammed GraSheh, the conqueror of Abyssinia. A few miles to the south, on another terrace, over which auriferous streams fall in imposing cascades, lies Dehra-Berham, or "Mountain of Light^" which was the royal residence till the beginning of the eighteenth century. To the south-west, in the same river basin of the Jemma, two small wooded heights, surrounded hy formidable gorges, bear at an elevation of some 9,300 feet the houses of Angolakt, another abandoned capital, founded in 1830 by King Sehla Sellasieh. Lastly, there exists a fifth capital, TOPOGEAPHY. 201 historically more famous than the others, as a place where manj' European exftlorei's have rested, and as the point of departure or arrival for the Red Sea caravans. Ankober, the very name of which place recalls the fact that from the remotest times dues were here levied on foreign wares, is also the residence of the higher ecclesiastical functionaries. Ankober, a labyrinth of paths winding between the city huts, is delightfully situated on the ridges of a sphinx-shaped mountain which projects eastwards of the main chain, commanding a valley whence the waters drain south- wards to the Awash. Close by to the north is the station of Let-Marcfia, which the Italian explorers Cecchi, Chiarini, and Antonelli chose for their astronomical observations. Lct-Marefia lies at the bottom of an old crater, whence the lava-streams were discharged to the south-west. These lavas and adjacent terrace lands are encircled by an amphitheatre of hills, two of which, or rather two fragments of the Abyssinian plateau connected with the uplands by narrow ridges bordered with Fig. 6.5. — Chief Towns of East Shoa. Scale 1 : 630,000. [ . of Gr. C Perron 12]Miles. precipices, bear the two ambas of Emanhirt, or Emcmref, and Fekerch-Gemb, which are regarded by the Abyssinians as impregnable. The latter fort contains in its terminal tower the treasures of King Menelik and the supplies for his army. To the north, in the valleys of the spurs, the villages of Aramba, Kokfara, Datcch, Majettieh, and several others follow in succession as far as the country of the Eju Gallas. In the remote future, when the question of connecting southern Abyssinia with the Red Sea coast shall be seriously thought of, three natural routes indicated by running waters cannot fail to be explored : to the north that which descends from the plateau of southern Lasta by the river Golima, and is lost in a depression flooded by brackish waters ; and farther south, under the latitude of Magdala, that following the Melleh or Addifuah River valley as far as the confluence, and thence to the Awash and Lake Aussa, where it rejoins the caravan route towards Tajurah Bay. Another route, as yet unexplored by Europeans, descends from the Argobba 202 NOBTH-EAST AFRICA. towards the Awash by the market-towns of Daweh and Mejettieh. Abargues de Sosten claims to have explored these two northern routes in their upper part, in spite of the vicinity of the dreaded Dawri tribes. Bianchi has recently attempted to explore another and more northern route, from Makaleh to the port of Assab, by way of the country of the Taltals ; but he was compelled to retrace his steps. The presence of ferocious peoples on the spurs prevent traders from visiting this part of the Abyssinian watershed, whilst the caravans coming from the Red Sea coast or Tajurah Bay are compelled to make a complete detour from the direct route to reach the provinces of Shoa. From Tajurah to the town of Ankober, the usual caravan route is about 360 miles, some 120 to 150 miles longer than the direct route towards the plateau. At present the most frequented route between Ankober and the shores of the Indian Ocean is that which passes through the principality of Harrar, terminating in the port of Zeila. From the Shoa uplands, it descends at first to the town of AHu-Amha, inhabited, like the neighbouring village of Abderasul, by merchants, slave-dealers, hotel-keepers and muleteers of all races, nearly all of whom, how- ever, are zealous Mussulmans. After paying the custom-house duties, the caravans pass on to Farreh, or Farri, the last village of the province of Efat, built at a height of 5,560 feet on a projecting terrace ; then skirting the craters and lava-fields, they reach the Awash, which they cross to enter on the great plain of Mullii. Beyond this point the caravans proceed over the hills of a watershed, belonging to the country of the Ittus, thence redescending into the plain of Harrar. Some 24 miles west of this town is the little Lake Ilaramoya, near which the French explorer Lucereau was assassinated in 1881. Harrar akd Zeilah. The town of Hamn; also called Harrayheh by the Abj'ssinians, Ada or Adari by the Somalis, and Herrer by the Egyptians, is stated by travellers to be exactly midway between, or 170 miles from, Ankober and Zeila. Lpng at an altitude of 5,600 feet, Harrar enjoys a relatively temperate climate, from 54° to 59° F., and is surrounded by fertile fields and groves of diversified vegetation. A delightful and well-watered oasis situated on the border of the arid regions, Harrar could support itself, even if it had no commercial relations with the neighbouring countries. But it is moreover an important market-town, and its two ports, Zeila and Berbera on the Somali coast, keep up a brisk trade with Egypt and Arabia. In 1883 it had an European settlement of five persons. Said to have been founded three centuries ago, it is the most populous city in the whole of Abyssinia, and even one of the largest on the continent, for from Cairo to Zanzibar, a distance of 2,400 miles, its only rival is Khartum. Accordingly the Egyptian Government took possession of it in 1875, so as to protect this precious market from the attacks of the surroimding Somali and Galla tribes ; but the garrison of from four thousand to five thousand soldiers, more dangerous than the nomads in the ^acinity, has exhausted the country by oppression and plunder. The English, who as they HAJREAE A2yD ZEILAH. 203 possess the seaboard, are the heirs to Egypt, have already taken the necessary steps to secure this prize, which Burton was the first Englishman to visit, in 1855. On withdrawing the Egyptian garrison they hoisted the British flag on the walls. The king of Shoa, who was also desirous to obtain this town, had not sufficient strength to struggle against such rivals. Harrar, whose shape may be compared to that of a pear, Kes on a granite hill which gradually tapers to the west. To the south Moiint Hakim commands the town from a height of some 660 feet, giving birth to many streams, which water the gardens of Harrar and become lost in the marshes before reaching the Wabi, a tributary of the Indian Ocean. The numerous grottoes of Hakim are inhabited by long-tailed yellow monkeys, with thick manes. Contrasting with the scattered dwellings of other Abyssinian cities, the nine thousand five hundred terraced dwellings of Harrar, covering a space of only 120 acres, and built of calcareous rock full of vegetable fossUs, are crowded together within a rampart of stones flanked bv embattled towers. The houses have few openings on the narrow, winding, steep lanes, whilst the few irregular squares usuallj' open on the mosques ; the largest public space, called the Meidaii, occupies the summit of the hill. The Harrari, nearly all merchants, are fanatic Mussulmans of the Shiah sect, like the Persians and several tribes of Southern Ai'abia. From these countries probably came the missionaries who converted the Somalis and Gallas to their faith, and whose des- cendants constitute the present population of the city. When the Harrari meet together to chew the leaves of the kat (^cc/asfrus eclu/is), which is as highly prized by them as by the natives of Yemen as a stimulant, they begin and end the evening with readings from the Koran and acts of thanksgiving, " because this holy plant enables us to prolong our '\-igils longer into the night, in order to worship the Lord." The society of Harrar differs from the rest of the Mussulman world in the respect that is shown to women. Before the arrival of the Egj'ptians, the emir, alone of all the inhabitants of this country, had more than one wife, whilst divorces, so common in other Mohammedan countries, are here of rare occurrence. Besides, the women are unveiled, and sell the products of their gardens in the bazaar, the men taking on themselves aU the hard work ; and this town is also distinguished by its love of letters. According to Mohammed Mukhtar, all the children read and write Arabic, although it is a foreign language differing greatly from their own, which is either of GaUa origin, or according to Burton and Miiller, of Semitic stock. But they write the letters vertically, instead of from right to left. They have a certain literature, and their writers do not restrict themselves to mere comments on the Koran. One of the local industries is bookbinding. Although essentially a commercial town, Harrar has scarcely any industries, excepting that of its highly prized potteries, and its manufactories of togas, the black robes and mantiUas worn by the women, and the red garments reserved for the young girls. Most of the other manufactured articles are imported from Arabia, and the chaplets worn bj^ the Harrar people are made by immigrants from Hadramaut. Since the people have exchanged their independent state for the Egj-ptian rule, they have lost much of 204 NORTH-EAST APEICA. their propcrtj', the population has diminished, and hyaenas prowl around the town- walls. Coffee-growing is the principal occupation of the region around Harrar and in the plains tilled by the Gallas ; the berry, which is of a superior quality, is exported from Ilodcidah and Aden, under the name of " Mocha." Like the Yemen Arabs, the Harrari do not infuse the coffee, although they drink decoctions of bark and dried leaves. Tobacco, the opium poppy, bananas, oranges, and grapes are also produced on the plains of Harrar ; the potato has recently been introduced, and all the vegetables imported from Eurojje have thrived well. In its forests Fig. 66.— Harrar. Scale 1 : 9,500. L . oT b^eeflwlc^l 4r45'50' C Perron Cemeteries. . 1,000 feet. Giuletti has discovered the coffar, or musical acacia, which Schweinfurth describes on the banks of the Nile, at the confluence of the Sobat. Two routes, often blocked by the inroads of plundering hordes, lead from Harrar to Zeda. One crosses a ridge to the north of the towTi, thence redescending into the basin of the Awash by the Galdessa Pass and valley, and from this point running towards the sea through the Issa territory, which is crossed by a chain of trachytic rocks trending southwards. The other and more direct but more rugged route ascends north-eastwards towards the Darmi Pass, crossing the country of the Gadibursis or Gudabursis. The towTi of Zeila lies south of a small archipelago of islets and reefs on a point of the coast where it is hemmed in by the Gadibursi tribe. It has two ports, one frequented by boats but impracticable for ships, whilst the other, not far south of the town, although very narrow, is from 26 to 33 T A JTJEAH— OBOK— ASS AB . 205 feet deep, and affords safe shelter to large craft. According to Eochet d'Hericoiu-t, it is not of sufficient size to accommodate more than eight or nine vessels of from three to four hundred tons. In the vicinity of the town lies a large saline plain, whence the Issa camel-di-ivers obtaiu the salt which they sell to the Harrari at a high price. Zeila has no springs ; hence every morning a long string of camels is dispatched to seek the necessary water in the wadi of Tacosha. Three-fourths of the population consists of Issa GaUas, and every evening the village resounds with Fig. 6". — Zeii^. Scale 1 : 400,000. C-Perro.T Depths. 0tol6 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 to 80 Feet. SO Feet and upwanls. Eeet5. 6 Miles. their warlike or other national songs. A small Ens-Hsh ffarrison from Aden now occupies the town, so that there is some hope that the slave-trade may at last be suppressed, of which Zeila has hitherto been one of the principal centres. T.ijrR.iH, Obok, Assab. The route between Shoa and Tajurah Bay does not enjoy, like that of Zeila, the advantage of a midway station such as the city of Harrar; still the principal town of the Amsa district, situated near the southern bank of a fresh-water lake, which receives the waters of the Awash, may be regarded as a veritable town. It is a 206 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. collection of more than a thousand huts where are settled the merchants and camel- di'ivers of the Modaito Danakil tribe, and was once the capital of the Mussulman kingdom of Adel. From Aussa to Tajurah Bay follow in succession several other groups of cabins also belonging to the Afar tribes, and the northern shore of the bay is bordered by widely scattered hamlets and villages. Amongst others is that of Sangalo, which served till recently as the port whence the Galla slaves were shipped to Arabia, and which was annexed to France in 1882 by the French explorer Fig. 68. — Course of the Lower Awash. Scale 1 : 2,700,000. 40° L of u eenw ch . 60 Milea. C Perron Solelliet. Still farther east the hamlet of Ambabo stands on a beach whence slaves have also been frequently shipped in spite of the French or English cruisers which are stationed on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Beyond Ambabo stands the town of Tajurah, which has given its name to the great bay reaching some 36 miles into the interior. Like Sangalo, this village has been ceded to France by the chief of the Ad-Ali tribe, but neither of these hamlets were formally taken possession of till the year 1884. The beach of Tajm-ah is unfortunately almost level; the port is TAJURAH— OBOK— ASSAB. 207 badly sheltered, and not of sufficient depth to admit vessels of small tonnage. The only part of the coast where the French have at last founded a permanent station, after ha%-ing ignored the deed of concession, which was signed in 1862, for over twenty years, is on the eastern peninsula of the Danakil coimtry, between the Bay of Tajurah and the mouth of the Eed Sea. The hamlet of Obok, in the immediate A-icinity, has given its name to the whole of the annexed temtory, and here in 1881 the first commercial house was opened by Arnoux, a merchant who later on perished in a tribal feud. Obok offers great advantages as a port of call for steamers. Situated near the Fig. 69.— Tajurah Bat and Lake Assal. Scale 1 ; 900,000. Depths. C Perron to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet. 320 Feet and upwards. 15 Miles. Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, it commands the passage to much greater advantage than the town of Aden, and transports could here put in for coal without altering their course. Although this port cannot be compared to that of Aden, yet it possesses a good anchorage, which might be completely sheltered at small cost. It is separated from the high sea by coral reefs, in which are openings accessible to large ships ; the north and north-easterly winds, so feared by sailors, are deflected from the harbour by Eas-el-Bir, or "The Promontory of TTells," which projects into the sea north of Obok. The gradually widening valley, where the buildings of the growing village are beginning to replace the thickets of acacias and other trees, is commanded by a coraKne cliff about 60 feet high, the ravines by which it is 208 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. intersected serving as channels for the floods during the rare rainfalls. The upper terrace is itself separated from the plain of the Danakils by a second somewhat less elevated cliff. Although the station of Obok suffers greatly from drought, the district might be reclaimed, and travellers, comparing the vegetation of Obok with the naked and burning rocks of Aden, describe this new station as an oasis. On sinking wells in the vallej'^ water is everywhere found at a depth of from 3 to 5 feet, a little brackish near the shore, but perfectly sweet farther inland. King Menelik has granted a formal concession to a French explorer to build a narrow-gauge railway between Ankober and Obok. Many of the caravans coming Fig. 70.— Obok. Scale 1 : 54,000. 46°is L . OT L>reerivvich -5- 13' m Sands exposed at low water. to 32 Feet. Depths. 32 to 80 Feet. C Perron 80 to 160 Feet. . 2,200 Yards. 160 Feet and upwards. from Shoa have already commenced trading with this settlement. The extent of the lands on the northern shore of Tajurah Bay that have been conceded to France is estimated at 1,200 square miles. The commercial rivalry existing between the European nations, which has made Zeila an English city, and which now creates the French town of Obok on this coraline African coast, also caused an Italian colony to spring up on the same seaboard iu 1870. Southern Abyssinia, till recently almost cut off from the world, will thus possess for the exportation of its commodities three maritime ports belonging to as many different foreign jiowers. No serious attempts to utilise the town of Assnh were made till 1882. The new town, which already possesses several buildings in the European style, lies 72 miles directly north of Obok, and TAJTJEAH— OBOK— ASSAB. 209 36 miles from Bab-el-Mandeb, north of a long littoral indentation. Numerous islets scattered at the entrance of the harbour shut out the sea, excepting to the north-east, and are continued by reefs which the sand, mud, seaweed and coral are graduaUr causing to encroach on the bay, so that these islands must sooner or later become a peninsula of the mainland. The well-protected port, situated on Fig. "1. — AssAE. Scale 1: 2SO,O0O. C PeTon Depths. 0to32 Feet. 32toei Feet. 64 to SO Feet. 80 Feet and upwards. 6 Miles. the beach of Boiiia, about half a mile south of Assab, affords anchorage to the largest vessels within 500 feet of the coast. The territory of Assab is a shifting dune or hard rock nearly destitute of vegetation. Near the neighbouring village of Margahkh are a few pools of water fringed with verdure ; here and there the Afar huts are shaded by some clumps of palms, while along the intermittent streams the brushwood is matted together by a network of creeping plants. The VOL. X. p 210 NOBTH-EAST APEICA. town of Assiib, Laving to obtain puro water by distillation, and possessing no arable lands or agricultural industries, cannot expect a great commercial future ; its only product is salt, and even this cannot be worked in safety. But the few Italians in Assab, round whom are grouped some five hundred Arabs, Afars, and Somalis, are making great efforts to establish permanent relations between their station and the towns of Shoa. Although at a great distance from the rich countries of the interior, being at least twenty-two and usually twenty-five days' march from Ankober, Assab has begun to import some merchandise, such as coffee hides, and other products, thanks to the efforts of Antonelli, Bianchi, and other travellers. But this slight traffic can only be carried on under the guidance and protection of the natives. The explorer Giuletti and several companions, hoping to pass through under the safe conduct of the neighbouring tribes, were assassinated at seven or eight days' march into the interior. Nearly all the trade carried on with Aden and Hodeidah, is conducted bj' means of sambucs ranging from seven to ten tons burden, and the annual movement which takes place in the port numbers some four hundred vessels. The town of Raheita, situated farther south, is the residence of a sultan, who is also a wealthy dealer in mother-o'-pearl, ostrich- feathers, incense, myrrh, and other products of this coast region. The littoral town of Bdibvl, to the north, is the residence of another sultan under the protection of the Italian Government. Debka-Libanos, Rogeh, Dildilla, In the western region of Shoa, the most important place is the commercial town of Ficheh, built at the angle of a plateau, between deep kwallas. Near here stands the famous monastery of Debra-Libanos, or Mount Liban, built on a trachytic terrace from which runs a little riviilet, looked ujjon as holy by Christians, Pagans, and Mussubnans alike. Pilgrims come from all parts to bathe in these miraculous and healing waters, which were created by the voice of Tekla^Haimanot, the legendary saint of the Abyssinians. At the time of the voyage of Combes and Tamisier, the monastery' was occupied by three thousand monks, two-thirds of whom were old soldiers mutilated during their expeditions into the GaUa country. No other place of refuge is more respected than Debra-Libanos. Before crossing the escarj)ments of the sacred mountain the pilgrims must cleanse themselves from their sins in the waters of the Ziga Wodiem — that is, " flesh and blood " — which flows through a deep gorge. On a neighbouring height, whence a riew over the vaUey of the Aba'i can be had of the Gojam and Damot mountains, stands an ancient fortress which served as a place of refuge for one of the ancestors of MeneKk, at the time of the conquest of the country by the " Left-handed." Zena-Markos, another monastery situated north-west of Ficheh, on a plateau surrounded by ravines, is almost as opulent and as much frequented as that of Debra-Libanos. To the north the plateaux, as far as Magdala and the sources of the Takkazeli, are occupied by the Wollos and other Galla peoples. The Wollos, who are divided into seven tribes, are immigrants come from the south in the sixteenth century, at the I DEBEA-LIBANOS— ROGEH— DILDILLA. 211 time of the iuvasiou of Grafiheh. But on settKng dowa they adopted many of the customs of the Amharinians, whom they had dispossessed ; abandoning their nomad life they became agriculturists and adopted the toga, although they retained their Mohammedan faith. In the northern part of "Wolloland, on a rock possessing excellent natural defences, the King of Shoa has foimded the stronghold of Woreilla, near the confines of Abyssinia properly so called. This place has become a very important market for exchanges between the two reahn.s, and here the Emperor Johannes usually gives receptions to his vassals. All the territory south-west and west of Shoa belongs also to the Ilm-Ormas, and possesses large collections of buildings almost worthy the name of towns. The barren northern slopes of Mount Hierer, or Jerrer, are covered with the huts of the large Mussulman village of Rogeh, or Borjie/i, which, situated on one of the affluents of the Awash on the confines of Gurageh, in the territory of the Galla tribe of the Galen, has a large trade in coffee, and is still the chief slave-market in southern Abyssinia. This traffic is officially forbidden in the possessions of King Menelik, and the captives are not piibHcly exposed, but they are secretly sold and sent to the sea-ports, whence they are exported to Arabia or Egypt. In 1878, the explorers Chiarini and Cecchi foimd the " current price " of the Galla slave to vary from thirty or forty Maria-Theresa crown-pieces for a young and good-looking girl, to four for an old woman. All the inhabitants of Rogeh, nmnbering some 10,000, claim to be of Tigre stock, and are said to descend from two Mohammedans who immigrated some centuries ago. The plain of Finfini to the west, near the sources of the Awash, and at the mouth of a formidable gorge, is frequently selected by the sovereigns of Shoa as the rallying-point where the armies assemble for expeditions into the GaUa country. Hot springs, at which the cattle di-ink, spout forth in the plain, and the neighbouring mountains furnish an iron ore from which nearly all the Shoa hardware is manufactured. The rocks in the \'icinit}" are honeycombed with grottoes, one of which has several naves with elliptical vaults, separated from each other by square pillars which grow thinner towards the middle. These works of art, in a country now occupied by the miserable dwellings of the Katelo Gallas, are a standard by which the decadence of civilisation can be measured. On the solitary Moimt Endotto, west of the plain of Finfini, formerly stood a capital of the kingdom of Shoa, and here the tombs of its ancient kings are still to be seen. It is now the residence of a ras, or chief. In this region, one of the most fertile in Abyssinia, the French explorer, Arnoux, obtained from MeneUk a grant of 250,000 acres of land, on which he intended to establish a European colony. When easy routes through the valley of the Awash are opened between it and Tajurah Bay, this region ■«'ill doubtless become one of the most productive in Africa. Meanwhile the graftings of wild oHves and the ehinchona plantations are preparing the future wealth of the country. The King of Shoa has recently chosen as his residence the village of Dildilla, west of Fiafkii ; it is one of the temporary capitals of the kingdom, and is moreover placed in an excellent strategic position to watch over the Galla populations. Beyond the Awash stretch the Galla republican confederations and small p2 212 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. monarchical states, with imcertain frontiers, mostly divided from each other by desert tracts, or " hemes," as D'Abbadie calls them on his map. Gurageh, on the upper affluents of the Waisa and Wabi, is one of these states, an upland region separated from the Awash and the kingdom of Shoa by the Soddo country. This state is looked upon as holy by the Abyssinians, because, according to a legend, the five islets in Lake Zwai are said to be the only Christian land which was left unconquered by the terrible Graiiheh, whose soldiers were afraid to venture on the rafts built to transport them to the archipelago. On these islets are convents in which some ancient MSS. are preserved. All the people of Gurageh still claim to be Christians, although they have neither priests, churches, nor religious tenets. They content themselves with repeating the names of a few saints, and cursing the Pagans and Mohammedans. Although relapsed into barbarism, the people of Gurageh have still preserved the art of building far more elegant dweULngs than those of all other Abyssinians, excepting those of Gondar. In order to protect themselves against the Soddos and other nomad Gallas, the people of Gurageh have excavated pits here and there in which they conceal themselves on the approach of the enemy, whose passage they watch, often attacking them unawares, and even occasionally cutting off their retreat when in sufficient numbers. Gorieno is the capital of the country, and G/ichisso its chief market, although a less im- portant place than Mogcn; which lies farther westwards in the Kabena country. Gurageh and Kabena, often held as belonging to the same political group, differ entirely in manners, religion, and speech. The Kabena are fanatical Mussulmans, and were the King of Shoa not to keep good order, they would be continually warring against their Christian neighbours ; they are the chief slave-hunters for the markets of Rogeh and Abderasul. The Kabena country produces the best tobacco in all southern Abyssinia. The GaUa region, where the Awash rises, and which separates the two great curves of the Blue Nile and the Gugsa, is mainly occupied by Liben communities. Farther west the valleys overlooked by the lofty Jimma-Iiagiimara Alps are peopled by republican tribes, as are also the plains of Gudru, tributaries of the Blue NUe. Beyond this point, towards the region of the Bertas, follow in succes- sion the Alatus, Wobos, Washitis, and Wasas, all tribes of Oromo origin, concern- ing whom travellers have hitherto collected the most contradictory accounts. The Italian Cecchi is as yet the only traveller who has succeeded in crossing at this point the large river Ghibeh, a northern affluent of the Gugsa. This formid- able watercourse, some 4,000 feet broad after the rains, is crossed in narrow canoes hollowed out of tree-trimks. The portion of the country stretching westwards to the mountains of Jimma-Lagamara towards the sources of the Jabus, is covered with vast forests. To the south the two kingdoms of Guma and Limmu are still mainly in the basin of the Orghesa or Didesa, one of the largest but one of the least known rivers in the Abai system. The town of Chora, capital of Guma, is situated on an affluent of this watercourse ; whilst Saka, the great market of Limmu, stands on a rivulet flowing to the Indian Ocean. Similarly situated are the towns in Innarya \ 1 INXABYA. 213 or Ennarea, and all the other southern Galla states, Jimma-Kaka, or " Kingdom of Abba-Jifar," Gera, Yangaro, Sidama, Kullo, Ghimira, and the great state of Kafia, the largest country peopled by Gallas which recognises the suzerainty of Abys- sinia. Like the provinces of Abyssinia properly so called, all these states are variously divided into degas, voina-degas, and kwaUas ; but on the whole the intermediary zone is the most important, for in it are centred all the chief towns and market-places. In Jimma and Guraa the lands belong mainly to the zone of the upland plateaux, and barley is here chiefly cultivated ; the lowlands occupy a larger extent in Innarya, Limmu, and Kaffa. IxXARYA. The name of Innarya was formerly applied to a far more extensive region than that which has preserved this appellation. Like Abyssinia it was a Christian kingdom, and for centuries its Sidama inhabitants successfidly resisted the sur- rounding Pagans and Mohammedans. But the Limmu-Gallas, occupying the upper basin of the Orghesa, at laiit seized the country and, when they embraced Islam, forced their new religion upon the conquered Sidamas. The people of Innarya, now governed by a queen, are ^Mussulmans, although the name of Sidama, which has no longer any definite meaning, is still used as a general term for the Christians of the Abyssinian countries bounded north by the course of the Abai. Innarya, properly so called, no longer comprises more than the upper valley of the Gugsa, where this river still flows northwards. The lowlands and slopes of this valley are pre-eminently fitted for coffee culture, the shrubs being far finer than those of Kaffa, from which country the plant has received its name. Coffee-plants are said to be found in Innarya some 8 to 10 feet in circumference. Coffee is monopolised by the king, and his slaves alone have the right to gather and sell it for him in the market of Saka. The gold-dust, which was formerly the chief wealth of Innarya, is no longer found in sufficient quantities for exportation. Although they have lost their ancient civilisation, the people of Innarya are still said to be the most civilised nation of southern Abyssinia, and to excel even the Abyssinians as artisans. The market of Gondar can show nothing superior to their embroideries, or to their weapons with carved silver-mounted hilts. They manufactxire iron instruments, which are exported even as far as the tribes occupying the basin of the Sobat. A fortified custom-house defends from the north the approaches to Limmu from Abyssinia. Many of these upland states are almost entirely enclosed by a belt of double walls, moats, and drawbridges ; moreover a large moor, on which no one has the right to settle, spreads round the country, protecting it like the moat of a stronghold. Each kingdom resembles a besieged fortress. As can be well understood, communications in this country are a matter of great difficulty. Whilst a pedestrian could traverse in four days the forty miles between the great market of Basso, in Gojam, and that of Sal;a in Innarya, the caravans have even taken two years to accomplish this journey. 214 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Yangaro. Yangaro (Janjero, Zinjero), south-east of lunarya and east of Gimraa-Kaka, comprises a portion of the hilly slopes draining to the Gugsa. In no other country are the " rights " of the reigning house better safeguarded by legal guarantees. Excepting the king, his children, and the low-caste peoples who are too much despised to be feared, Beke was unanimously informed that all the males were partially mutilated, so as to incapacitate them for the throne. One of the king's thousand jjrivileges is the use of certain medicines which are forbidden to his subjects. The people having no other annual food than beef, all suffer from tape-worm like the northern Abyssioians ; but the king destroj's this parasite by the use of a decoction of kusso, while the common people, not daring to touch the "king's medicine," have to content themselves with bitter herbs. Amongst other strange stories told of this mysterious Yangaro country, the missionaries Isenberg, Krapf and Massaj'a, relate that hiunan sacrifices are ver}' common, a new-born child being frequently immolated to their divinities. Immediately after their birth the males are said to have their breasts cut off, so that the future warriors may in no way resemble the " soft sex." Wlien the slave merchants take captives of this country they never fail to throw the most beautiful into a lake, so as to render fate favour- able to their voji^age ; but they rarely succeed in capturing males, who usually commit suicide rather than accept slavery. The name of Yangaro has often been ironically confounded with that of Zinjero, which signifies "monkeys" in Amhari- nian ; hence the reports often heard of a race of enslaved monkeys existing in Africa. Jimma-Kaka, or Kingdom of Abba-Jifar, is one of the regions which supply most slaves to the merchants or jibberti. According to Beke, nearly all the slaves brought from the northern and eastern Galla territories are made eunuchs by dealers settled in the town of Folia. Kaffaland. The country of Kaffa is one of those whose people still claim to be Christians, although a long isolation has effected a marked change between their practices and those of the Abyssinians. There are said to be only six or eight churches in the country, centres of widely extended parishes and sanctuaries for the criminals and oppressed classes ; the kings are buried under one of these sanctuaries. According to Massaya, the Kaffa Christians are ignorant even of the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the three saints, George, Michael, and Gabriel. Exceedingly scrupulous in the observance of their customs, which chiefly apply to the nature of their food, the people of Kaffa never eat corn of any descrij)tion, and to call them " gramini- vorous" is considered an insult. Their only vegetable food consists of the stalk of the ensete banana, which is cultivated around all their villages. The ordinary grains, such as wheat, barley, and haricots, are used merely as food for cattle and the brewing of beer. They are no less exclusive as to meat-eating, the ox being the only quadruped whose flesh they are allowed to eat. But the men, more KAFFALAXD. 215 fortunate than those of Yangaro and other neighbouring states, are also allowed to eat poultry. According to custom, if the women eat this latter food they loose their liberty and are immediately sold as slaves, the traffic in human flesh not being for- bidden to the Christians of Kaffa, as it is to those of northern Abj'ssinia. Their clothing is also rigorously regulated, skins, tanned or imtanned, being forbidden ; their garments are made of cotton tissues or coarse stuffs woven from the fibres of the ensete. Although Bonga, the capital of Kaffa, may be " the largest town exist- ing in Abyssinia," and an active market, money was hardly kno-mi there in the middle of this century. The only mediums of exchange were glass beads and the salt imported from Sokota. To the south-west, in the Sheka or Siaka country, the natives collect gold-dust from the sands of the rivers. The sovereigns of Kaft'a maintain a ceremonious etiquette nearly as rigorous as that of the kings of Yan- garo. According to Soleillet, who has recently penetrated into this coimtry, the ministers and grandees of the kingdom cannot speak to their master imless covered with fetters Kke slaves, although they are separated from the royal presence by a curtain. To shun recognition the king himself goes out shabbily clothed and moimted on a miserable horse ; but his escort is observed from afar, and everyone hides so as to escape the consequences of meeting him. In this country of etiquette the formula of salutation is, " I hide mj-self under the earth." "When the Christian priests still resided in the coimtry, the faithful were boimd never to let them touch the ground between the mission-house and the church, so they were carried on the shoulders of strong men. It is related that these priests being unable to go to Gondar to receive consecration from the abuna, had brought to them by caravan a precious box which the "father" had filled ^\-ith his sacred breath. South of Kaffa, on the watershed of the Indian Ocean, stretch the forests peopled by the mysterious Dokos, that is to saj-, in Galla, the " Ignorant," or the " Savages." According to Krapf, Isenberg, and most other explorers, the Dokos are dwarfs, like the Akkas of the Welle River, whilst D'Abbadie asserts they are in no way different from their neighbours, the Swaheli. The King of Shoa, absolute in his kingdom, exercises only an indirect influence over the smaU. tributary Galla states, and the southern kingdoms have been induced to accept the suzerainty of the " king of kings," less through his influence than that of the ras of Gojam, who controls the trade routes leading from Gondar and Sokota to Kaffa. However, the material power of the King of Shoa over the .sur- rounding coxmtries has greatly increased during the last few years, thanks to the organisation of his army, which already comprises a body of permanent troops amounting to a thousand riflemen. In time of war, when the great nagarit, or war-drum, is beaten, this corps is followed by crowds of warriors and plunderers. According to Chiarini, the anned rabble occasionally amounts to nearly a hundred thousand persons. The tribute paid to the negus by the kings of Shoa and Gojam is very considerable. Besides a present of Maria- Theresa cro^Ti-pieces, the sovereign of Shoa is said to be obliged to supply his master with a hundred thousand oxen, two thousand horses, and two hundi-ed leopard skins. CHAPTER VIII. rPPER XUBIA. HE wliole of the northern and western watershed of Abyssinia, with the exception of the basin watered by the Barka, is kno\^Ti by its hydrography to belong to the Nilotic system. The region watered bj' the Blue Nile and the Atbara, with their affluents, is geogra- phically sharply defined westwards by the Bahr-el-Abiad, or Great Nile, and eastwards by the advanced promontories of the Abyssinian plateau. To the south the water-parting between the Tumat, a tributarj- of the Blue Nile, and the Sobat, one of the main branches of the White Nile, is partly composed of mountains or high hills which have not yet been crossed by European explorers. An unknown land, with an area equal to that of Belgium and Holland together, stretches beyond these limits, and here the frontiers are more effectually guarded by its savage, warlike, or wandering peoples than by a line of fortresses and custom-houses. The zone of separation between Upper and Lower Nubia is formed by the relatively small region which separates the Nile at its junction with the Atbara from the waters flowing to the Eed Sea. With these boundaries the whole of the plains between the Nile and Abyssinia constitute the region of Nubia, usually designated under the name of Eastern Sudan, although the term of Beled-es-Sudan, or " Land of the Blacks," should be restricted to lands inhabited by Negroes. The total superficial area of this region ma}' be approximately estimated at 224,000 square miles ; the population of the whole territory, extremely dense in the basins of the Tumat and Jabus, maj- perhaps number 3,000,000. Physical axd Political Features. For m ing a distinct domain to which the general slope of the soil gives a certain geographical unity, eastern Sudan consists of distinct basins verging slightly north- westwards along the Blue Nile and Atbara, and diverging northwards along the Mareb and Barka. It is cut up by isolated masses on the plains, by chains of hills and desert spaces, into natural provinces which the tribes engaged in war have converted into so many petty states, whose frontiers are changed according to the fortune of war and the constant inroads of the nomad peoples. The more scanty PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL FEATURES. 217 the population, the more they break up iuto independent groups, never communi- cating with each other except through the medium of occasional traders. Never- theless native states, become powerful by agriculture and commerce, have spruno- up in this region, gradually extending the sphere of their influence over the surrounding peoples. Thus was formerly founded, under the influence of the Egyptian civilisation, the kingdom of Meroe, which comprised not only " the island " bounded by the Astapus and Astaboras, but also the neighbouring countries. After the introduction of Mohammedanism the kingdom of Senaar was developed, which also exceeded the Kmits of its "island" or peninsula, between the White and Blue Niles. But the position of Upper Nubia between the plateaux Fig. 72. — Routes of the Chief Explorers in Tak\ and Neighboukino Districts. Scale 1 : 8,000,000. 18' 16' S'V^"T'7"''"M wwi^yv";;^ L of ureenwich tkM^ Itinerariea. Caravan Routes. Telegraph Lines. B. BarKharat, 1814. Rl. RuppeU, 1832. K. Katte, 1836. Ab. D'Abbadie, 1838-48. F. and G. Ferret and Galinier. W. Weme, 1840. Le. Lefebvie, 1842. Sa. Sapeto, 1861. Hn. Hamilton, 1854. M. Munzingcr, 1855-61-75. C. Courral, 1857. Hg. Heuglin, 1857-61-62-64-76. Be. Beurmann, 1860-63. HI. Hansal, 1861. Bk. Baker, 1861. St. Steudner, 1861-63. E. Ernst de Cobourg, 1862. L. Lejean, 1864. K. Krockow, 1865. 8. Schweinfurth, 1865-68. Ha. HalcSvy, 1868. 120 Miles. C Perron Ee. Reil, 1868. R. Rokeby, 1870-71. P. Prout, 1872. H. HUdebiandt, 1872. J. Junker, 1876. Mi. Mittchell, 1877. Mil. Muller, 1880. of Abyssinia and the banks of the Nile belonging to Egypt makes it a natural battlefield for the sovereigns of these two countries. For more than half a century the Egyptians have occupied the intermediary zone, and in spite of their disastrous conflicts with the Abyssinians, they appeared to have definitely conquered the Sudan. But a formidable revolt, brought on by their exactions, has left them only a few places in the country recently annexed to their vast domains, and they have now been supplanted by the English on the coast. By the construction of routes and railways the whole country will doubtless soon be restored to civilisation. In virtue of the official proclamations addressed to all the inhabitants of the country by the late General Gordon " in the name of the most high Khedive and the all- 218 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. powerful Britannia, Sudan is henceforth to enjoy full independence, and regulate its own affairs, -ndthout the undue interference of any foreign Government." At present the Mussulman states in this region of Sudan are entirely destitute of strategical routes, although at first sight the country seems to be completely open to the Abj'ssinians occupying the plateaux. They could easily descend by their riverain valleys, but as they cannot long breathe a mephitic atmosphere, the climate of the lowlands is a far more formidable enemy to them than the natives ; such conquests as they do effect are transitory, and by the verj' force of circumstances are again soon lost. On the other hand, if they are i^revented by nature itself from seizing these lowlands, they would still be a great obstacle to invaders of Upper Nubia wishing to penetrate along the route over the fertile slopes to Massawah and the countries of the Mensas and Bogos. The Egyptians learnt to their cost the dangers of venturing on this route, exposed, as they were, to the attacks on their flanks from the Abyssinian warriors. Farther north, from Suakin to the Xile, the water in the wells is barely sufficient for the nomad tribes, and owing to this cause the operations of the British troops in this region were greatly impeded during the campaigns of 1884 and 1885. Pending the opening of the railway from Suakin to Berber begun in 1885, the plains of the Blue Nile and Atbara can be reached only by the three traditional northern routes — that which follows the Nile fi-om cataract to cataract ; and those avoiding the great curves of the Nile by running across the desert of BajTida, between Debbeh and Khartum on the west; and through the Nubian wilderness between Korosko and Abu-Hamed on the east. These three routes were closed to the EgjiDtians by the late Mussulman insurrec- tion, and re-opened by the EugKsh under General Wolseley in 1884-5. The Gumu, Berta, axd Lega Mountaixs. Beyond the Abyssinian plateaux the East Sudanese provinces have also their isolated mountain masses, forming veritable archipelagos in the midst of the plain. Many of these lofty hills which are delineated on the maps as forming part of the orographic system of Abyssinia, are, in reality, separated from it by plaias. Such are the Gumu Mountains, commanding to the east the valley in which the Aba'i, or Blue Nile, in its upper course completes its semicircular bend before reaching the plain. A few escarpments close to the river form, together ■n'ith the projecting promontories of the opposite watershed, the last gorge of the Abyssinian Nile. Farther up the river, and near its confluence with the Jabus, stands an isolated rock, the Abu-Danab of the Arabs, the Tulu-Soghida of the Gallas, which is the " Mountain of Salt," whose abimdant resources have not yet been anah'sed by Europeans. Beyond this point to the south-west the Timiat and Jabus, two large afiluents of the Blue Nile, skirt the eastern base of other moim^tains or of an ancient plateau, which running waters have completely furrowed in every direction. These are the Berta Mountains, famous for their gold washings, which determined the Egyptian invasion. THE GtnsrU, BEETA, AND LEGA MOUNTAINS. 219 The Berta Mountains, followed by those of the Lega, whose highest tiilu or summits exceed 10,000 feet, although their mean height is said to be scarcely 5,000 feet, stretch southwards towards the sources of the Sobat affluents, rejoining the Kaffa plateau by intermediary ranges which have not yet been explored by European travellers. But to the north the heights gradually lessen ; the inter- mediary plains broaden out and imito, and the ranges are merely indicated by isolated rocks cropijiug out above the lowlands in continually decreasing numbers. "West of the Fazogl country one of these isolated heights, the lofty Jebel-Tabi, partlj' covered with forests, attains a height of over 4,330 feet. Still farther on the red granite cone of Jebel-Guleh, that is to say, " Mount of Woods," or " Mount of Ghouls," according to Marno, which the Fun] designate as the cradle of their race, attains a height of 2,820 feet. Still more to the west is a chain of rocks in the midst of the steppes which border the right bank of the White Nile. The highest is that of Defafaug, which was till recently an ethnical limit between the coimtrj' of the Denka Negroes and that of the Abu-Rof Arabs. The two riverain zones of the ^Vhite and Blue Nile, on each side of the Mesopotamia of Senaar, are extremely fertile, thanks to the rainfall and the alluvia brought down by these rivers. But the intermediary region, which forms the base of the scattered rocks, presents in man}^ jjlaces the api^earance of a steppe. The land is covered with tall grasses, from the midst of which spring mimosas with their slight and delicate foliage. The populations, sedentary on the river bank, are nearly all nomad in the grassy plains surrounding the mountains of the peninsula. East of the lower valley of the Blue Nile the plains are analogous in character. Wooded and fertile along the river banks, they become bleak and barren away from the watercourses. In the level region of Gedaref, between the Rahad and the Atbara, trees are rarely seen. The most remarkable of the isolated masses scattered amongst the steppes east of the Blue Nile is that of Abu-Ramleh, or " Father of the Sands," scarcely 1,660 feet high, but flanked by superb towers piled up in enormous masses. From the interstices of these rocks spriug baobabs, their branches waving over the abyss, whilst here and there some hut, to which cUstance gives the appearance of a bee-hive, nestles between the cliffs at the base of the gigantic tower. In the northern steppe, Jebel-Arang, the most advanced mountain, which attains an absolute height of but 2,000 feet not far from the right bank of the lower Rahad, is mainly covered by forests containing baobabs, which here reach their northern limit. On the eastern side the Jebel-Arang is followed by the Jebel-Abash ; then to the south the plain is studded with other heights, solitary or grouped, some of granite but nearly all of volcanic origin ; some are even topped by basalt columns affecting the divers forms of peristyles, pyres, or diverging facets. These heights in the midst of the steppes receive considerably more raia than the plains, and the water running rapidly over the slopes is absorbed by the sand and gravel surrounding the rocky escarpment. In order to obtain water during the dry season, the natives pierce the earth at the mouth of the ravines, and the pools thus formed, usually surrounded by trees, are named kharif from the rainy season which tills them. In the dried-up river beds the crocodiles 220 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. and certain species of fish, notably the siluroid sinodoiitm, lie torpid till reanimated by the returning waters of the rainy season. The water-parting between the Nile basin and the slope of the Red Sea consists of irregular cliffs of various heights, but none lower than 3,300 feet. Primitive rocks and volcanic formations alternate in this mountainous region, which in many places presents the appearance of a plateau scored with ra%-ines. At the mouth of the valle}'s sloping from the Abyssinian uplands, notably on the northern declivity of the Nakfa Mountains, are seen piles of debris, which Heuglin felt inclined to regard as the moraines of ancient glaciers, similar to those foimd by Fraas in the peninsula of Sinai. The granite rocks on both sides of the Red Sea, their slopes completely barren of vegetation and glittering with the many colours of their crystalline strata, resemble each other by their bold outlines and brilliant colours. One of the finest on the western side is the isolated Mount Shaba, rising above the marshy depression in which the waters of the Barka run dry. The vast peninsula of alluvial lands which at this point projects into the Red Sea basin shows that the river was formerly much more abimdant than it is now. Climate, Flora, Fauxa. The climate of Upper Nubia occupies a middle position between the humid zone of the equatorial lauds and that of the slight rainfall where the Nubian desert begins. Still there is no part of the country which does not possess a rainy season, more or less abundant. At Khartum, situated about the middle of Upper Nubia, the kharif occasionally commences in May, more frequently in Jime or July, terminating in September. Rain is brought down by the easterly or south-easterly winds — that is to say, the southern trade winds of the Indian Ocean ; but after the rains the dry north winds return, lasting tiU March, the period of the equinox. During this season the temperature occasionally falls to 50° F., and at this time of the year the mornings and evenings are so cold as to require warm clothing ; the daily oscillations of temperature average 60° F. During the kharif it is dangerous to remain on the frequently flooded river banks on accoxmt of the prevalent marsh fevers, and numerous tribes then withdraw to the upland regions of the interior. The black and the white ibis, very common in the valley of the Blue Nile during the season, also disappear before the rains, "for fear of the malaria," as the natives say. Upper Nubia is naturallj' divided into an agricultural and a grazing country, according to the abundance of the rains and running waters, the nature and eleva- tion of the land. In the Fazogl country and on the banks of the Upper Jabus the arborescent vegetation is almost as leafy as in the verdant valleys surrounding the great lakes. Beyond the forest zone, which encircles the Abyssinian plateaux throughout most of their extent and which is continued along the river banks, the mouths of the valleys and the hills are pre-eminently adapted for agriculture. Thanks to their fertile alluvia and splendid climate, these lands may one day become one of the richest cotton and tobacco producing countries in the world. The steppe, CLIMATE— FLORA— FAUXA. 221 or khalah, in which the waters are lost, could hardly be utilised except as a pasture- land. But there are many extensive tracts covered with baobabs, dum palms, tamarinds, and mimosas, whence a gum is obtained known as talc, far inferior to the gums of Kordofan. In Senaar, as in Kordofan and For, on the borders of the regions where water is scarce, the hollow baobab trunks, some of which are 86 feet in circxmif erence, are frequently utilised as natural cisterns. They are filled with water dui'ing the rainy season, some of the trunks containing a reserve of some 2,800 to 3,000 cubic feet of water ; the natives climb up and draw off the precious liquid from the tree by means of waterskins. In the northern part of Sudan some of the plains are veritable deserts, the sandhills undidating all aroxmd, wearing away the base of the rocks. On the route from Berber to Suakin, Abu-Odfa, an isolated granite block, has thus been eaten awaj' all round its base, and sooner or later the heavy rock will snap its slender pedestal and fall on the sand. All the cliffs and rocky slopes of this desert region of Upper Nubia are uniformly covered with a kind of blackish varnish, whose origin is imknown. These gloomy walls impart an aspect to the landscape more forbidding and solemn than that of other regions whose mountains are higher and escarpments more abrupt. The forests of the advanced chains, as well as the tall grass of the prairies, in certain spots rising to from 13 to 16 feet after the rainy season, are inhabited by monkeys, lions, leopards, buffaloes, giraffes, rhinoceroses, and elephants. Mostly nomads, the huge pachyderms from one season to another roam over regions of many hundi'eds of miles in extent. Like the Somali Gadibursi on the other side of the Abyssinian Mountains, the hxmters of the Hamran tribes, in Taka, attack these enormous animals in the boldest manner. Mounted on swift horses they fly before the elephant ; then, suddenly wheeling roimd, they spring to the ground behind the animal and hamstring it. The huge beast falls on the ground, and the himter awaits an opportunitj' to give the second and usually mortal blow. Since 1859, Taka and the conterminous provinces have been regidarly visited by hunters, mauily Italians and Germans, not only for the sake of the ivory, consisting usually of tusks much smaller than those of the Central African elephants, but also to capture wild animals for the European menageries. One of these hunters recently brought to the port of Hambui-g thirty-three giraffes, ten elephants, eight rhinoceroses, four lions, and several other animals of less value. At the time of the long siege which the Egyptian garrison had to sustain in Kassala, during the j-ears 188-4-85, their provisions were drawn largely from parks of wild animals. The Bejas and Abyssinians also himt the large animals on the borderlands of their respective territories, but when they meet they tui-n from the pursuit of the quarry and attack each other as hereditary enemies. The poisonous doboan, or surreta fly, swarms in the valley of the Mareb. Its bite, although it does not affect the wild fauna, kills camels, donkeys, oxen, and other domestic animals in a few weeks. Hunting is therefore a dangerous pursuit in these infested regions, where the men have to penetrate on foot into the gorges or high grass. The origin of this fly is unknown ; it may be either the Central African tsetse or the tzatzalia, which Bruce 222 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. speaks of as " the most dreaded of all animals," or it may be that insect which the ancients declared could put the lion to flight. East of the Blue Nile, in the Kuba country, another species of fly, smaller than the doboan, is fatal only to the ass, horse, dog, and camel. But the cause of the mortality of these animals may pos- sibl}^ be due, not so much to the sting of one single insect, as to the thousands of wounds inflicted daily by the swarms of gadflies which absolutely worry the animals to death. The live stock can be protected onh' by keeping them in the stables during the day, and letting them out at night, or else by burning pungent herbs. However, there are spots where these pests cannot enter, consequently the agricul- tural populations have there collected into compact groups, such as the Abu- Ramleh uplands south-east of Roseres, which is a region of this description. Inhabitants. — The Shangallas and Legas. The contrast between the Abj-ssiuian mountains and the hilly plains sloping towards the Nile consists not only in the relief, climate and agricultural produce, but also in the populations. The tribes, dialects, manners, and religions, all differ, and are bounded by an irregular zone, which encircles the side of the moim^tains. In many places, these regions are separated by tracts either deserted, or else peopled by savage tribes, always on the watch for prey. AH these communities are known by the collective name of Shangallas, which, however, is of no definite ethnological value, as all the non-Arab or non- Abyssinian blacks are indifferently called Shan- gallas by the people of the plateaux. The Upper Jabus Valley and the mountains commanded by the double peak of Tidu-Wallel (10,666 feet), whose southern face overlooks the Sobat basin, are peopled by the Legas, the most westerly of all the Galla peoples, unless the Latukas and Wa-Himaas may also be considered as belonging to the same race, from which they are now separated by so many diSerent nations. The type of the Legas is verj' pure and quite distinct from that of the Negroes, although they are suiToimded by the latter on the south, west, and north. Their complexion is very light, even more so than that of Europeans bronzed by the tropical sun. Tall and usiially thin, they have the " arms and legs of Yankees," a long and thin neck, narrow hoUow-cheeked face, but with strong features and expressive eyes, a smaU head, and a high, narrow, and conic forehead. The women are in proportion much shorter than the men, and also present a much greater contrast than is usually remarked between the sexes, being as plump as the latter are thin and scraggy, whilst their hands and feet are extremely small. The royal family, and those of the Lega chiefs, are of far less pure extraction than the bulk of the nation. They have received a strain of Negro blood ; but although the complexion is darker, the features are usually finer, and the body more fleshy. These mulattos are also of a livelier disposition, and have not the melancholy appearance of the other Legas, who are usually seen leaning on their lances with the head resting pensively on the right shoulder ; from this circumstance Schuver compared them to cranes. The Legas are one of the most numerous nations of the plateaux, comprising at least a hundred thousand LNILVBITANTS— THE SHANGAXLAS AND LEGAS. 223 persons. Although their king can put twentj' thousand warriors on the battlefield, without counting the Negro troops of his vassals, he never abuses his power to make conquests. A kind and peaceful people, the Legas allow the women great liberty, and permit their slaves to work in their own way. They themselves are laborious and enthusiastic agriculturists ; they till the red soil of their fertile valleys, and in the evening sit before their huts smoking narghilehs, whose globe consists of a Fig. 73. — Thk Leoa Covntry. Scale 1 : 760,000. 54-° 55 f breenwtch C. Pe 12 Miles. pumpkin, or else chewing coffee berries, roasted with salt, butter, and onions. They pay no taxes to the king, but the tribes altei'nately cultivate and reap the fields set apart for the support of the royal familJ^ The king decides upon the fines, when his subjects do not prefer to settle their disputes by the law of retaliation. The nation also recognises a high priest, who celebrates the sacred mysteries in a kinism, a local name apparently derived from the term "kilissa," or church, used by the Christian populations of the eastern plateaux. The sacriflcer, on killing an animal, always bathes his forehead in the blood, and allows it to dry on his cheeks in blackish clots. Bat their ancient religion seems to be on the decline, and the 224 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. zealous Mohammedan missionaries are making such great progress that in a few years all the Legas will probably have embraced Islam. In the midst of the Legas live a few thousand Denkas, who have sought protection amongst them and work as their slaves. Having no other means of escaping the slave-dealers in the wasted plains of the Sobat and Zal, which they formerly inhabited, they have been obliged to seek refuge in the mountains, offering themselves to the tribes as porters and mercenaries. These Denkas are distinguished from the other tribes by two or three horizontal marks, which they have made on the forehead by means of stalks of cereal plants, bound tightly round the head for several weeks. They do not marry the women of the country, and hence are obliged to practise polyandry, which has become an institution regulated by ceremonies. The capital of the Lega country is the town of Gumhall, situated at a height of 6,600 feet on one of the upper affluents of the Jabus. Gobo, the residence of their high priest, lies farther south at an elevation of 7,530 feet. The Bertas. The advanced chains west of the Damot Mountains are occupied by numerous Shangalla peoples ; but the most powerful nation is that inhabiting the two valleys of the Jabus and Tumat, tributaries of the Blue Nile, and the parting ranges between the two watersheds of the Bahr-el-Azraq and Bahr-el-Abiad. These Bertas, of Negro stock, who are said to number about 80,000, and whom the Arabs usually term Jebalain, or " mountaineers," a name also applied to other peoples, have kinky hair, pouting lips, and the face flat, although less so than that of their West African congeners. However, the figure is well-proportioned, the limbs supple and strong ; and the Berta warrior, armed with lance and shield, presents a commanding appearance. The women adorn the face by passing a silver or copper ring through the nostrils, and an iron one through the upper lobe of the left ear. The young men fasten the tusks of boars to their temples or necks, and on grand occasions both men and women paint the body red, like the Bari warriors. The women of some tribes tattoo the face in such a fashion as to produce numerous little pustules like those of small-pox. The warriors of other tribes expose the epidermis so as to produce very elegant arabesque designs ; but their customs allow those warriors alone who have cut off one or more heads to tattoo themselves in this way. The Bertas, like all the other Negro peoples of the Blue Nile, consist exclusively of agriculturists, which is the principal cause of their contrast with the Negroes of the White Nile, who are all cattle-breeders. The language of the Bertas belongs to the same family as that of the Shiluks, Nuers, and Denkas ; but since their country has been brought within the Mohammedan circle of attraction, first by the Egyptian conquest and then by the general development of the Nilotic populations, Arabic has become the cultivated language. The villages are administered, and the chief of the tribe chosen, by the Arabs. In each independent village resides an Arab merchant acting as a consul for the protection of his fellow-countrymen, and thanks to him the stranger is received THE BEETAS. 225 like a brother. A sheep or goat is killed and the blood received in a calabash, in which all the assistants dip their hands and then embrace. Henceforth the stranger is safe from all attack. The Bertas are great orators, and often hold councils, where each one addresses the assembly in turn, seconded by an applauder, who stands at his side. But he is never interrupted, as, more polite than the Westerns, the Bertas always await the end of a speech before replj-ing to the argument. Excepting the northern districts, where all natives claim to be Mohammedans, the religion of the Bertas is still mainly Animistic. At the period of the new moon they dance by the light of the stars, and terminate these feasts with orgies. Their amulets consist of certain roots, flowers, and the searabeus, a species of beetle, probably the ateuchus ^gi/ptorum. Thus Egyptian influence, after more than two thousand years, still survives amongst these obscure peoples of the Upper Nile basin. Like the Buruns and other tribes assimilated to the Ai'abs, they have also the tarambisli, a curved wooden " knuckle-duster," very similar in shape to the boomerang. According to some authors they do not throw this weapon, like the Australians, but carry it in the hand, using it when scaling the moimtains to hook on to the branches of the trees or projections in the rock. But the explorer llarno, who has traversed these countries, states that he has seen the natives use as a throwing-stick both the tarambish and the culdeba, a still more formidable iron weapon, curved in the form of a sickle. Schuver confirms this statement, but says that the Bertas cannot make the weapon return to the exact point whence it was thrown. There are no towns properly so-called in the Berta country ; but their most important village is Kirin, situated on the western slope of the mountains in a basin of the Yavash or Yal, and consisting of large huts scattered among enormous granite blocks. Xo other national assembly presents a more picturesque appear- ance than that of Elrin — each rock has its own group of men in the most varied attitudes, upright, hing down, .sitting, or holding on to the crags. Many of the Berta tribes have chiefs, who bear the title of king or meh, but their power is very precarious. Directly the mek no longer pleases his subjects, the men and women all collect together and tell him that they hate him, and that it is time for him to die ; then thej' hang him to the nearest tree. If the king is prevented by sick- ness from holding his daily court of justice, his influence becomes iU-omened instead of being favourable, and the gallows rids the people of him. A wife when unfaithful is always punished with death. To the north and north-west of the Bertas, the "no-man's-land" which separates the Blue Nile from the Abyssinian plateaux of Agaumeder, is occupied by numerous tribes of divers origin, and here are spoken five distinct languages, without including Arabic and Abyssinian. A sheikh residing at Kuba or Monkuis, a village perched on a mountain, is apparently a sovereign ; but the people of Kuba, the Gumus, the Sienetjos, the Kadalos, and the Berta immigrants, govern themselves and are frequently at war with each other. Some of the Grumus Kve in small independent or isolated groups, a space of a mile intervening between the dwelling of each family. On grand occasions they all carry parasols of honour of VOL. X. Q 226 NOETH-EAST APEICA. the form and size of umbrellas. In their eyes this emblem is the proof of the degree of civilisation that they have attained. The Kadalos, whose villages are built on impregnable rocks, ornamented with tufts of foliage in honour of the genius of the winds, boast that they are the true aborigines. According to Schuvcr, the}' resemble Fig. 74. — Inhabitants of the Blue Nile. Scale 1 : 4,300,000. .^"" ^' . ^ C Perron . 120 Miles. the Negroes of the White Nile much more than the Gmnus and Bertus ; they have large eyes, which distinguishes them more especially from the Gimius, whose eyes ai-e small, "like those of pigs." The Sienetjos, who pass for the remnant of a people formerly in possession of the country, and were almost entirely exterminated by the Negroes, are probably akin to other Sienetjos who live farther east amongst the populations of Damot and Gojam. The Sienetjos are not blacks, having a yellow skin, perceptibly clearer than that of Europeans who are exposed to climatic influences. The face is nearly THE FTJXJ RACE. 227 square, the forehead very broad, and the skull regular. A'ery careful of the purity of their race, they never allow their daughters to intermarry with the Arabs or Xegroes. Having good reasons to fear strangers, they live on inaccessible rocks, natural fortresses which the women scale daily, so as to provision the vUlage ; but the path is carefully forbidden to people of other tribes. The Sienetjos are the only weavers and smiths of the country, and it is due to this fact that they have hitherto managed to preserve their existence in the midst of so many enemies. Thev are also skilful jewellers, making extremely elegant copper ornaments, which they do not sell. These trinkets are reserved by them for their own women, who are very fond of finery, and who wear several rows of glass bead necklaces rotmd their necks. East of the Gimius, the plains covered with low hiUs which stretch towards the offshoots of Damot and Agaumeder, are beginning to be peopled by Agau immigrants, who, arriving in the country in isolated families, settle down ia the clearings, at a few miles distance from each other. They do not fear the hostility of the natives, as they know they are protected by the prestige of the great military Empire of Abyssinia, by which any wrong done to them would soon be revenged hv a war of extermination. Thus, the boundaries of Abyssinia are being yearly enlarged b}- the immigration of new colonies ; from an independent nation, the Gumus have almost changed into a tributary people. The Ginjar, who occupy the region of the Abyssinian spurs farther north as far as the frontiers of Galabat, have to pay tribute, often even in slaves. They are blacks mixed with Arabs and Bejas, probably refugees in their territory. They call themselves Mohammedans, and speak a corrupt form of Arabic. All their pride is centered in their hair, which is plaited like that of the Abyssiaians, and greased with butter. The Funj Race. The mountains of the region between the two Xiles are peopled by more or less mixed branches of the ancient Funj, or Fung, nation, which formerly ruled over all the country of Senaar. The Funj nearly all laid aside their national language on their conversion to Islam ; stOl some tribes have special dialects, greatly intermixed with Arabic words, and said to be connected with the group of Xuba languages, ^lohammedanism has not yet completely supplanted the ancient religion. On the Jebel-Guleh, which the Funj consider as their sacred mountain, the explorer Pruyssenaere has seen them stiU celebrate phallic rites around a clay altar on which stands a wooden statue representing a god. According to Beltrame, their conversion to Islam is so very superficial that the majority of them have not even been circumcised. Hartmann, taking iip the hypothesis of Bruce, believes that the Funj are aUied to the ShiUuks, and that all the region comprised between their territory and that of the Bertas is peopled by tribes of the same stock. The Hammej, who are now greatly mixed with the Arabs; the Burun, who are still cannibals, according to Marno ; and the haughty Ingassana, who occupy the valleys of ilount Tabi, and have valiantly repulsed the assaults of the "Turks," are all q2 228 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. said to belong to the Fuiij race. This very name, equivalent in meaning to " citizen," would indicate that the Funj consider themselves as civilised in a super- lative degree, in comparison with their still barbarous kindred. However this may be, the Funj were till recently one of the most powerfid African peoples. At the commencement of the sixteenth century they destroyed the kingdom of Aloa, whose centre stood near the confluence of the two Niles, and founded another State, that of Senaar, which existed till the beginning of this century, exercising control over all the neighbouring peoples of Sudan, Nubia, and even Kordofan, and holding in check the Abyssinian armies which occasionally attempted to descend from their plateaux. But the Arab viziers by degrees obtained the power, leaving an empty show of authority to the Funj sovereigns ; rivalries and revolutions disorganised the State, and when the troops of Mohammed Ali penetrated into Senaar in 1821, they had an easy triiun2:)h, thanks to their discipline and superior weapons. The conquest was not to the advantage of the Fimj, who soon became subjected to methodical slave-hunts, fusillades, the punishment of impaling, and other "benefits" of civilisation introduced by the Egyptians. At present the Funj, specially classed under this name, are not numerous, and even round Mount Guleh very few are met with who can be considered as typical representatives of the race ; the numerous crossings caused by war and slavery have so corrupted the population that it is a matter of great difiiculty to trace the predominating elements. Every Arab or semi- Arab tribe, especially the Baggara immigrants and the industrious Barbarins, come to seek a fortune in this country, and the Kordofan Nubas settled in military colonies around the towns, have all contributed to modify the Senaar populations. The Egj'ptians alone, whether Mussidman soldiers or Coptic scribes, have had but little influence on the race, nearly all having quickly succumbed to the climate. The varietj' of their origin and physical appearance is so great that the inhabitants of Senaar are usually classed according to their colour as " white, red, yellow, blue, green, and black." Nevertheless the fimdamental ethnical element appears to be that of the Funj. According to most authors they form an intermediate type between those of the Nubians, Negroes, and Gallas. The head is long, the face orthognathous, the features regular, the cheek-bones slightly prominent, the body slim and graceful, and like most other natives they spend much time in arranging their hair. They are affable, cheerful, and hospitable, and all the Senaar Egyptians prefer to dwell in Jebel-Guleh, in the Funj country, than in any other district. Infirm persons are almost imknown amongst the Funj, and their women retain their beauty and bodily elegance far beyond the period usually allotted to the women of other African tribes. The delka, which consists of rubbing the body, fumigating it with perfumes, and anointing it with grease, is a practice much in use amongst the Funj and the other civilised inhabitants of Upper Nubia. The people of Senaar are skilful surgeons, and many of them travel to the basin of the Nile in the exercise of their talents. They are known even in Egj-pt, and the feUahin give the name of Senaari to the persons who vaccinate, treat fractured limbs, or operate on those suffering from ophthalmic complaints. THE TAXEUEI— THE KUN^AMA AKD BAEEA. 229 The Takruri. To the north and north--vrest of the Ginjar, the zone of the spurs which separate the Abyssinian plateaux from the Nubian steppes is occupied by other immigrants, collectiTely known as Taki-iu-i, or Takarir, originally come fi-om Dar- For, Wadai, and the countries of Western Africa. Mostly pilgrims returned from Mecca, they have preferred to stop and settle down in a coxmtry where they found lands to cultivate and a relative independence, rather than return to their own territory, where they were certain to meet with oppression. Perfectly accli- matised to these lowlands, where most of the Abyssinians and European travellers succumb, they now occupy all Galabat and many of the valleys of the Kwarra, in Abyssinia. Ha'S'ing become fi'ee, they have, at the same time, acquired great prosperity as fanners and merchants ; but they have not always peacefully eujoj'ed their conquests, and civil war often broke out between the Takrur of Wadai, those of Dar-F6r, and the descendants of the immigrants long settled in the country. A large number of Jiberti Mussidmans, expelled from Abj'ssinia because they have refused to abjure their faith, have recently increased the population of the Takarir commimities and of the Dabaina Arabs. The Krx.\MA and B.uiea. The Kunama, Bazen, or Baza, who people the valleys of the Mareb and Takkazeh and the intermediary plateaux at the mouth of the Abyssinian kwallas to the number of some one hundred and fiftj- thousand, are " Shangallas," who have successfullj- kept aloof fi'om intermingling with the Arabs. They do not as yet speak the language of the northern invaders, and, except in the vicinitj' of the borderlands, have not adopted the Mohammedan religion ; but if they have suc- ceeded in maintaining their national independence, it is onlj' due to their continual and pitiless wars. An. implacable struggle exists between them and the nomads of the north, and the frontier populations are always on the alert to avoid surprise, and the massacre which would inevitably follow. The Kunama have also to defend themselves on the south from the attacks of the Abj^ssiuian highlauders. Like their neighbours, the Barea, ten times less numerous, who live to the north-west in the rocky region of the water-parting between the Mareb and the Barka, they are continually in danger of being crushed by the enemies who harass them on both sides. In one direction the Arabs assail them from the lowlands, on the other the Abyssinians swoop down from their plateaux, whence Munzinger compares them to the com, ground between two millstones. Nevertheless, these populations so threatened are amongst the most iateresting by their customs, the most sympathetic by their qualities, and the most worth}- of imitation ; peace exists between their different communities, and labour is respected by them. Although resembliag each other in their political and social institutions, the Kunama and the Barea are different in origin and physical type. The Kunama, established in the country since time immemorial, claim to be immigrants of Abys- 230 NOETH-EAST AFRICA . sinian origin, and the Abyssinians themselves look upon them as descendants of the ancient Aksumites. They are generally of a dark complexion, and individuals are often foimd amongst them nearly as black as the Nigritians of western Africa. "Well-proportioned, tall, strong, and broad-shouldered, the Kunama are one of the healthiest and most vigorous peoples of the continent. Sickly persons are un- known, and the disgracefiil diseases so common amongst the Abyssinian highlanders and the Arab lowlanders have not yet contaminated their race. Like the Nuers and Denkas of the Upper Nile, they often rest standing on one foot. They rarely suffer from the fevers so dangerous to strangers, and manj' of them attain an advanced age. However, thej' have a certain tendency to stoutness, and in this respect present a singular contrast to their neighbours, the Barea, and especially to the Arabs. The Kunama attribute their good health to the scars with which they cover the face and body — and which they look upon as signs of beauty — as well as a sacred writing proclaiming their origin. The Barea are not of such light complexion as the Kimama, and are usually weaker and less shapely ; many blind persons are found in their tribes, especially in the vicinity of the marshy shallows of the river Barka. Whilst nearly all the Kunama have a family likeness, the Barea present a great diversity of types, and, excepting the women, have rarelj' regular features. The languages of the two peoples are also different, although both may be classed provisionally in the " Hamitic " group, while in some respects they appear to be allied with the Xuba idiom. It will be possible to fix their position definitely when all the dialects of North-East Africa have been as carefully studied as the Bazena of the Kunama, and the Nerehe)ia of the Barea, have been by Munzinger, Edlund, Halevy, and Reinisch. The speech of the Kunama is unaccentuated, and without harsh consonants ; uniform and soft, it corresponds perfectly with the peaceful character of the nation. Very few of the Kunama speak any language than their own, whilst nearly all the Barea under- stand the Tigre of their Abj'ssinian neighbours. There is a rich treasure in the popular songs and melodies of the Kunama, which have not yet been collected by European explorers. The Kunama and Barea are pre-eminently agriculturists, all cultivating the land without distinction of sex, position, or fortune. During the rainy season the plough never rests, and, imlike their neighbours, thej^ have no idle days consecrated to religious feasts. All the domestic animals are used for work ; the camels, asses, and horned cattle are harnessed to the plough, and if these cannot be had, the men or women take their place. Everj^one has his farm, and plots of land are set apart even for the slaves, who are allowed sufficient time for its cultivation. The public domain, at the disposition of all, is of sufficient size to enable the labourer to select another piece of land, and thus replace the field exhausted by a long term of culti- vation ; but the rotation of these allotments is usual!}- made in a regular order around the scattered huts in which the families reside. Wherever the hills have a decided slope, they are cultivated in terraces sustained by stone walls. The Bazen are never daunted by any kind of work. Peaceful labourers engaged exclusively in tilling the laud, neither the Bazen nor the Barea are grouped in villages, as they THE KUNAMA AND BAEEA. 231 liave no need to defend tliemselves, except in tlie immediate vicinity of the Abys- sinians or Arabs. But there they often take the offensive. Collecting together in small bands, they set off to plunder distant villages, disappearing before time has been given to signal their attack, and enable the neighbouring tribes to pursue or cut off their retreat. The Abj'ssinians and Bejas speak of the Bazen and Barea with terror, and usually depict them as tribes of brigands. This reputation has been earned for them by the tactics these agricultural peoples have adopted ; they attack in order to protect themselves more effectually. Nevertheless, it appears positive that certain Barea mountaineers have very cruel customs. In some districts a young man cannot honourably marry until he has cut off a man's or woman's head in combat or by surjirise. Although so much di-eaded bj' their neighbours, the two iDeojjles have nevertheless no organised government ; they are divided into as many independent groups as the country offers natural divisions. Their astonishing power of resistance, which has been their safeguard for so many centuries, comes from their spirit of solidarity; the various communes all look upon each other as brothers, but without ever recognising superiors. Amongst the Bazen especially, who have been less encroached upon than the Bareas by the interference of strangers, the sentiment of equality is a prevailing feature ; in this respect they are perhaps not equalled bj- any other people in the world. The name of Barea, which the Abj-ssinians have given to the two groups of the Nere and Mogoreb, originally signified " slaves," yet this con- temptuous name has been quietly and even haughtily accepted by them. The Bazen and Barea consider themselves as "servants" of the community, no one amongst them aspiring to the title of "master." In the communes no one exercises the functions of a chief. The legislative and executive power belong equally to the assembly of the inhabitants, whatever their origin may be. From the moment a stranger settles amongst them he becomes the equal of the natives. The old men are listened to with the greatest resjpect, and their advice is that which is generally followed. Violent outbui-sts of anger, immannerly interruptions, and personal remarks are unkuowTi in these communal meetings, politeness being pre-emiuently the rule. They soon agree to the matters in hand, and when the decision has been arrived at it is immediately jjut into force. In the eyes of the commune a family has no other rights than those of the persons who compose it. They have no process to sustain or feuds to avenge, every debate being at once referred to the decision of the elders of the tribe. Marriage is not a family feast, but a common ceremony, in which everyone takes part. Equality is the rule in the household as well as in the commune, although in certain districts the bride lies down at the threshold of the hut, and the bridegroom steps over her, sKghtly touching her cheek with his foot, as a sign that she must henceforth be prepared to submit to any hardships. The morals of the Bazens are piu-e, but the public opinion is not severe. Children born out of wedlock are received into the tribes with the same rejoicings as legitimate infants, and like them inherit from their maternal uncle. The reason of this is that in this countrj' the matriarchal government prevails, which sets aside the real or putative father in favour of the uncle, who is the undoubted representative 232 NOETH-E^ST AFEICA. of the lineage. In the commune of the Kunamas there are very few acts which call down a general punishment ; a thief even escapes censure, being simply com- pelled to restore what he has taken, just as if it had been borrowed. The only punishment imposed by the community is exile. This sentence is carried out by young men who mount on the roof of the criminal's hut and scatter the thatch to the winds. This is the signal for the exile to depart, and he never can return to his native place. Munzinger has vainly sought La the Kimama country for traces of Christianity, such as those foimd to the east amongst the Bogos, and westwards in Senaar. Fig. 75. — Inhabitants of Taka and Neiohbouring Districts. Scale 1 : 7,500,000. C. Perron 120 Miles. There are seen no ruined churches, and the current religious ideas show no traces of the influence of the Christian or Jewi.sh dogmas. The religion of the Kunama consists in a belief in the evil eye, fear of sorcerers, wearing of amulets, veneration of the alfai, or "makers of raia," respect for old men, and especially the blind. They likewise have a great veneration for the dead, and bui'y them carefully, which seems to imply a belief in immortality. Nevertheless, a slow religious propaganda has already made considerable progress amongst the Bazen and Barea republics. Half of the Barea already call themselves Mohammedans, although they hardly follow out the precepts of the Koran. On the other hand, on the Abyssinian frontier a number of Bazen are reputed to belong to the Christian Church. THE HOTEM, ZABALAT, AND JALIN TRIBES. 233 Notwithstanding the efforts of the nation to avoid traders and foreigners, who are only allowed to penetrate into the country under the personal responsibility of a citizen, their customs are becoming modified, and they are on the eve of great social and political changes. The skin aprons are already being replaced by the Abyssinian toga and the Arabian shirt. Slavery even has been introduced into the Bazen country, although under a very mild form. If the slave either marries or runs awaj' he becomes free by right. Undoubtedly the communities of the Mareb and of the Takkazeh will soon have lost the iudepeudence of which thej^ are justly so jealous, and a new destinj- will then commence for them. Their initiation will doubtless be a hard one, and these popidations, who were till recently the happiest in Africa, will have to traverse a sea of blood before they can imite with their ueighboiirs, and thus constitute a great nation. The descriptions that James and other hunters give of the Kunama already differ greatly from those of Munzinger ; but far from civilising them, their neighbours have so far rendered these tribes more savage. The Hotem, Zabalat, and Jalix Tribes. Side by side with the Bazen, and other " Shangallas," live other peoples possibly of kindred origin, although even those whose physical type shows unmistakable signs of the liredoniinance of Negro blood call themselves AYold-el-Arab, or "Sons of Arabs." If only the chiefs, the descendants of conquering families from the Arabian peninsida, succeed in preserving their genealogy and their language, the tribes, although of native origin, claim Arab descent and are frequently taken for Arabs. Besides, there are imdovibtedly populations living west of the Red Sea who have come from the east, and who are known to have crossed the Red Sea within historic or recent times. Thus in the vicinity of Akiq, the Hotem Mohammedans, a tribe armed with guns, are of pure Arab blood. So recently as 1865 their niunbers were largely increased by fresh immigrants from the coast of Yemen. The voj^age from coast to coast presents little difficulty, and if the English vessels did not carefully watch all the ports, the relations between Arabia and the Sudan would be sufficientl)' frequent to rapidly modify the political equilibrium of these regions. Amongst the true Arab tribes of the Sudan, the missionary Beltrame mentions the Zabalat pastors, the " Handful of Men," or, as they are also called, the Abu-Jerid, or " Fathers of the Pabns," who live between the Dender and the Blue Nile, above Senaar. They are said to have come from Yemen before the conversion of their kinsmen to Islam, for they are not Mohammedans, and no traces of the Mussulman l^ractices are to be found in their cult. They are fire- worshippers, as were so many South Arabian tribes before the advent of Mohammed, and as were also the Blem- myes, who, according to Procopius, were in the habit of sacrificing men to the sun. Their complexion is lighter than that of the neighbouring populations, and betrays a reddish hue ; according to Lejean, they have blue eyes and light smooth hair. The gum obtaiaed from the sunt acacias enters largely into their diet. They jealously preserve the purity of their race, and they claim never to have intermarried with foreign tribes. They do not tolerate slavery, because the introduction of servants 234 NOBTH-EAST AFRICA. into the family cii'cle would have the fatul result of contaminating tlieir blood. Being an "elected" race, their chief ambition is to maintain their independence, and to live in peace. On this account their forefathers withdrew from the outei- world, and they themselves seek to live isolated, protected from the marauding tribes by desert zones. They recognise the existence of one God alone, who manifests himself in the stars, the sun, and fire. "\^Tien they pray they look towards the stars, or turn towards the rising or setting sun, or else light a great fire and watch the tongues of flame flashing up in the wind. Fire is to them a great purifier ; on burying their dead, the head turned towards the rising sun, thej' Hght a funeral pyre on the grave, as if to draw the soul of the departed into the fiery vortex. They also believe in the existence of a supreme demon, the god of darkness, and have recourse to sacrifices in order to conjure this dangerous enemy. The Zalabats are monogamists, but should a young girl fail to find a husband, or become a widow soon after marriage, it is the custom for her nearest relation to wed her ; thus it occasionally happens that a brother becomes the husband of his own sister. The government of the tribe is entirely regulated by their customs, which are interpreted by the elders ; by them also the chief is chosen, now in one family, now in another, no other obligation being imposed upon them than to choose the " best." The Jalins or Agalins of Senaar and the Atbara Valley are also looked upon as Arabs, and in this country no one doubts their noble descent ; the Arabic spoken by them is much purer than that of the other nomad tribes in Nubia. They are distinguished from all the other inhabitants of the country by their love of study, their commercial instincts, and their religious zeal, although they are not fanatics. The men and women on the banks of the Nile wear large hats of foliage to protect themselves from the sun. Many of the neighbouring populations who call them- selves Arabs, without probablj' being so, are in many respects really assimilated to the Arabs. The Be.jas. The Bejas, the Blemmyes of the ancients, perhaps the Bonkas or Bongas whose name is foimd on the inscriptions of Aksum, constitute one of the ethnical groups represented by the greatest number of tribes. North and south of the Bazen territory they occupy nearly all the region comprised between the Blue Nile and the northern Abyssinian advanced ranges. Still farther north the bulk of the nation, which appears to have preserved its ethnical name under the form of Bisharin, stretches far into Lower Nubia, occui^3'ing all the land comi:)rised between the great western bend of the Nile and the Red Sea coast ; besides, several Beja tribes also live west of the main stream in Kordofan and even in Dar-F6r. The " Nubians " recently exhibited at the Jardiu d'Acclimatation in Paris were nearly all Bejas from Kassala and the surrounding district. The southern peoples south of the caravan route between Berber and Suakin, have no national cohesion with the kindred tribes. Most of them are even mutually hostile to each other, and never cease their quarrels except to unite against a foreign invader. Thus the U, .-J KADI OF KHAETUM AND HADENDOA SHEIKH. THE BEJAS. 285 clans banded together at the time of the Turkish invasion ; but their confederation did not last long, and under the Egyptian nile the tribes have again become scattered into a multitude of communities without common concert. The Bejas, rather than the Abyssinians, are probably the " Ethiopians " of Herodotiis, the civilised people vrho built the city of ilerde and its pyramids. In the Middle Ages the Bejas also constituted a powerful state, whose capital was Aloa, on the Blue Xile, about 12 miles above Khartum. At this period the Bejas were Christians, at least in the vicinity of the confluence. TTlien their city was over- thrown by the Fimj and they returned to the steppes they also embraced the religion of the nomad pastors. All the Bejas are Mohammedans, although most of them, like the Bedouins of Syria and the Arabian peninsula, are only so in name, in spite of the ardour with which they have enrolled themselves amongst the followers of the Mahdi, xmder whose guidance they have regained a certain national unity. Of all the southern Beja tribes, the most powerful is that of the Hadendoas, who roam over the Taka steppes, between the Gash and the Atbara to the west, and the Barka to the east, although in their migrating and pillaging expeditions they often pass beyond these limits. According to Munzinger, they number about one million persons. Another numerous people are the Shukurieh or Shuk- rieh, a nation of pastors herding their flocks between the Xile and the Atbara, and cultivating the irrigable vaUevs in the neighboiu'hood of Kassala. The HaUengas occupy the narrow zone comprised between the Atbara and the Gash, while the Hamran dwell on the plains where the Atbara effects its junction with the Bahi'-Settit. Fai-ther to the west and south-west, some Dabeina hordes roam over the steppes watered by the Eahad. In the " Mesopotamia " of the two 2s iles the soil is disputed between the Abu-Eof, or Rufah, the Jalins, and the Hassanieh, that is to say the " Cavaliers " or " Horsemen." Lastly, to the east of the Hadendoas, the circmuference of the advanced plateau of Abyssinia between the Barka and the Bed Sea, nearly as far as the gates of Suakin, is occupied by the Beni-Amers. According to Hartmann the Hamrans, whom he calls Homrans, that is to say the " Reds," are related to the Agau. Nevertheless, all these populations call themselves Arabs, and are generally considered as such on account of the religion they profess, theii- pastoral and warlike habits, and also on account of the language henceforth adopted by them. Besides, it is certain that the Arab element is strongly represented in these nomad Beja tribes, as is proved by numerous families whose t%-pe is absolutely identical with that of the Arabs of the Asiatic peninsula. According to tradition they are descended from the tribe of the Uled- Abbas, in Hejaz. In the greatest part of the Beja countries, the original dialects are giving way before the language of the Koran ; but they still survive, at least in a state of patois, in the vicinity of the Abyssinian mountains. Almqvist, who has composed a general grammar of the Beja idioms, recognises four principal dialects, without counting the jargons which the hunters love to speak, probably because they are under the influence of the superstition, so common in many countries, that certain local words have the power of fascinating animals. The original 23G NOETH-EAST AFRICA. language spoken by the Hadendoas, the Bisharin, and half of the Beni-Amers, is " Bedouin " (Bedawieh, or Bejavi), which however, in spite of its name, is not an Arabic dialect, although in many respects connected with the Semitic group of languages. The Bejas, taken as a whole, and apart from the local varieties, are one of the African tribes most distinguished by their handsome features and elegant forms. The children are as a rule extremelj' pretty and vivacious, and young women are frequently met amongst them whose regiJar features and haughty carriage make 6.— Shvkvrieh Beja. them perfect models of physical beauty. In the families of some of the Beni- Amer chiefs, who have slaves to prei^are their meals, which are more choice than those of the ordinary nomads, stoutness is by no means rare. The complexion of the nobles is also much lighter than that of the people. Nearly all the Bejas are very swift runners, which they attribute to their frugal diet, consisting entirely of milk and farinaceous aliments. Their arms are \cv\ long in proportion to the rest of the bodj'. Explorers are struck with the similarity of type between the Bejas, the Afars, the Ilm-Ormas, and even the Bantus of Southern Africa. In spite of their pretension to the title of Arabs, several of the Beja tribes have preserved the customs of the Negro populations, as regards costume and the THE BEJAS. 237 scarring of the body. Their warriors have not yet completely ceased wearing coats of mail, while some of the tribes stUl use primitive weapons, amongst others a plain or spiked stick. The bulk of the Bejas wear their hair very thick as a protection against the sun. On a level with the eyes thej- di-aw a circle round the head, above vrhich the hair rises straight up like a huge mop, distinct tufts forming a crest at each side and at the back, which serve as a protection to the ears and the nape of the neck. A scratchcr, usually a jDorcupine quill, is stuck through this black headdress, which is often saturated with butter. Most of the Bejas are said in their youth to possess considerable intelligence, while their development is greatly arrested after puberty. They are said to be bounded in their ideas, obstinate, boastfid, rude, disrespectful to their parents, and careless of the welfare or safetj' of their guests. They give themselves up exclu- sively to cattle-breeding, and migrate from pasturage to pasturage, although one of their tsaga, or encampments, maj' be considered as the official residence. Custom forbids that anj-thing in this place shoidd be touched ; marauders may seize the flocks, but they respect the tents. The Hadendoas possess an excellent breed of camels, which enables them suddenly to appear at great distances from their usual camping-grounds, and escape with their booty before the warriors have had time to assemble so as to overtake them. The numerous Beja tribes also consider it a point of honour to breed war-horses, although in many places they are fain to be content with small wiry animals of Abyssinian extraction ; the larger and stronger Dongola steeds suffer greatly from the climate, and the chiefs are compelled to be constanth' renewing their studs. Some of the Beja peoples are agricultirrists, but they use very rudimentary instruments, a stick burnt to a point serving as a plough. Here and there certain industries have also survived, inherited from the Blemmyes, such as weaving, iron-smelting and forging, and making filigree work. The straight two-edged sword, the favourite weapon of the Bejas, is generally of German manufacture, but they also forge excellent weapons, swords and daggers ; the scabbards are of wood, covered with leather, and amongst the rich embellished with elephants' ears. The shields they use are made of rhinoceros hide, or the skiiis of other large animals. Commerce is actively carried on amongst all the tribes, and in this respect the Bejas contrast singularly with their neighbours the Bazen or Kunama. The customs of the Bejas, especially those which relate to marriage and the social position of women, are still verj' different from those of the Arabs ; the contrast is complete between the precepts of the Koran and the traditional prac- tices of divers origin. In certain respects the women are treated with unspeak- able cruelty. Parents are obliged to make theu- daughters undergo di-eadful surgical operations, without which they must renounce all hopes of obtaining a husband. But after marriage the wife is in no way imder the control of the husband. She can return to her mother's tent whenever she pleases, and after the birth of a child she has the right to repudiate her husband, who must make her a present in order to be accepted again. If he insults or speaks rudely to her he is driven from the tent, and can only obtain re-admittance by presenting her with 2.38 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. a cow or a camel. Women are mentioned wlio have thus obtained all the husband's possessions and then abandoned them after having effected their ruin. The Beja women, and especially those of the Beni-Amer, have generally a remark- able fellow-feeling ; directly one of them has a grievance they all share in her indignation. By virtue of the female customs, the wife should never show any apparent affection for the husband. She is boimd to treat him with contempt and to rule him with threats and severity, and should he interfere with the household arrangements without having consulted his wife, the offence is considered unpar- donable. It is frequently necessary to appeal to the "man of honour," whose duties as an intermediary have rendered him the " brother " of the wife, and his advice is always respectfully listened to. At the same time, although they have to complain of the control and often even of the violence of their wives, the husbands are after all the superiors in virtue of their love of work, bravery, and trustworthiness. The heuf)ecked man who seeks the assistance of a woman is sure of finding in her an indefatigable defender. The social status of the Beja woman evidently points to a former matriarchal government. The Arab authors who spoke of the Bejas of the tenth to the fourteenth century, relate that these people reckoned their genealogies from the side of the women, and that the inheritance passed from the son to the sister and from her to the daughter to the exclusion of the sons. The annals of the kingdom of Meroe, like those of Senaar, show what an important part woman has played in Upper Nubia, ever since the time of Queen Candace. Amongst the Hadendoas the women have never to undergo public accusation ; if a crime has been com- mitted by one of them everybody keeps silence, the men alone being answerable for the charge. Of all the " Arab " tribes that which is usually cited as imiver- sally practising the strange custom of the " fourth day free," doubted bj^ only one traveller, d'Escayrac de Laiitui-e, are the Hassanieh Bejas of the Nilotic Mesopo- tamia and Kordofan. By this custom, the women are only married for a certain number of days in the week, generally reserving every fourth day, on which she claims perfect fi-eedom to do just as she pleases. Under the Arab rule the Bejas have readily acquired aristocratic manners. The noble families of native or foreign origin, who can trace back their genealogy to a long line of ancestors, enjoy considerable personal authority over the body of the people, who support them and offer up sacrifices on their tombs. Moreover, it is they who owtq the slaves — captives or sons of captives, who have not yet entered into the community of free men by embracing Islam. The nobles frequently take to wife girls of inferior status, but a common man can never marry into a noble famUy, unless the holiness of his life, a miracle, or some prediction justified by the event, have enabled him to be classed amongst the sheikhs, also called fakih, and thus become the equal of the upper classes. In certain regions of Upjjcr Nubia there exist entire colonies of " saints," who, like the nobles, fatten at the expense of the tribe. In order to insure their power over the nomad popidations, the Egyptian governors had taken care to relj- upon the political and religious chiefs of the country, and it was by the intervention of these latter that the TOPOGRAPHY— FAZOGL, FAMATA. 289 tribute was raised ; but the heavy taxes at last exhausted the patience of the Beja nomads, and a general insurrection against the Khedive's power spread throughout Eastern Sudan. It has recently been seen with what courage and absolute con- tempt for death the Beni-Amers, the Hadendoas, and the Bisharins have hurled themselves against the English squares, opening a path of blood with their lances up to the cannon's mouth. ToPOGRArHY. Under the Egyptian rule. Upper Nubia was divided into jDrovinces which partially coincide with the natural divisions of the country. At the outlet of the Abyssinian mountains the riverain countries of the Blue Nile constituted FazorjI. Lower down this name has been preserved by the central part of the ancient kingdom of Senaar, beyond which follow the pro^•inces of Khartum and Berber. To the east Taka comprises the hills and the plains bounded on one side by the Atbara, and on the other by the Barka. The coast regions were divided between the provinces of !Massawah and Suakin, the former of which has been partly occupied by the Italians, the latter by the English. Lastly, a few independent states, republics, or chiefdoms stiU occupy the borderlands between Abyssinia and the Sudan. Fazogl, Fam.\ta. Fasogl, which has given its name to the upper province of the Blue NUe, and was, before the Egj-ptian rule, the residence of a powerful king, is now little more than a mere hamlet. As a capital it has been replaced by the town of Famaka, where ilohammed Ali had a palace built at the time of his visit to his southern possessions in 1839 ; a few scattered bricks are now aU that remains of it. Famaka would be well situated as a commercial town if slave-hunting had not driven all the surrounding peoples into the mountains. The houses, built on a gneiss rock, skirt the right bank of the Blue Nile, near the confluence of a khor and a little above the point where the river Tumat forms a junction with the Bahr-el-Azraq. Facing it to the south stands Mount Fazogl, the first high crest commanding the river to be met with on coming from Khartum ; hence it appears more imposing than many eminences of greater height, while the rich vegetation which clothes its slopes seems marvellous to those who come from the desolate northern wastes. The valley of the Tumat had already long ceased to be Egyptian territory before the great insurrection of the Sudan peoples burst forth. Nevertheless, Mohammed Ali considered that this province was one daj' destined to become the treasui-e of his empire ; he counted on the gold washed down with the sands of the Tumat and its affluents to pay his armies and to free himself from the galling suzerainty of the Padishah. In conseqiience of these ambitious views he caused the upper basin of the Tumat to be explored by the Europeans CaUHaud, Tremaux, Kovalevskiy, and Russegger. But the expenses of the occupation of the coimtry, 240 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. the wars tliat it was necessary to sustain against the tribes, the depopulation consequent on slave-hunting, and the surveillance of the convicts who washed the sand, cost the Viceroy much more than was covered bj' the product of the mines. Hence Said Pasha ordered them to be abandoned and the fortresses to be levelled, after which the towns were again reoccupied by their original inhabitants. Never- theless the native gold-miners found their fortunes where the Government had met with financial ruin. The grains, called tihr, and usually collected in the quills of vultures' feathers, are used as money to purchase the merchandise brought by the iellahi, or local traders. The principal gold-washing stations are on the western side of the mountains, in the valley sloping towards the "White Nile, and in the Fig. 77. — Fazogl Gold Mines. Scale 1 : 600,000. 54° 45 • 35° C - t-f Greenwich 12 Miles. C. Perron middle of which rises the pyramidal Jebel-Dul, in all of whose ravines gold is foimd. The amount annually obtained is valued by Schuver at £1,600, on which the Sheikh of Gomasha raises a tax of about a foxu'th. The soldiers he has collected round him are mostly slave-hunters, who have escaped from the disaster of Sidei- man in the zeriba region. The Gallas who come from the markets of Timiat prefer another medium of exchange to gold-dust, and will only receive the " salt bricks " imported from Eastern Abyssinia in exchange for their goods. According to Schuver, the inhabitants of the Tiunat Valley receive yearly over 75,000 pounds of salt money. Fadasi. Even after evacuating the country, the Egyptians compelled the riverain tribes of the Tumat Valley to pay them a tax of about £6,000 ; but beyond the district SEXAE. 241 of Fadasi, which stands in another fluvial basin, that of the Jahus, their authority completely ceased. Fadasi was the point where the travellers Marno, in 1830, Gessi and Mateucci in 1878, were compelled to stop, not being pei-mitted to advance beyond the hill to the south of the chief town, which has been named Bimbashi, after the Egyptian " captain of a thousand " stationed in this place. Schuver is the only traveller who has crossed the boundary of the Khedive's possessions at this point in 1881. Bimbashi, surrounded by numerous villages spread over the slopes of the mountain, commands a very extensive view from its upland terrace. It is a much frequented market-place, although not so well attended as that of Beni- Shongul, situated half-way to Famaka, in the vicinity of the gold washings and the ruins of SixjeJi, the ancient capital of the country. Still farther north, in a fertile district on the right bank of the Tumat, Kes the ^-iUage of GJtezan, also a place of assembly for the caravans. Here the huge sycamore-tree which shelters the square, covers on market days a motley crowd of Bertas, Ifubians, and Arabs, while the groves of lemon-trees scattered in the country recall the sojourn of the Egyptian garrisons. Senar. Below Famaka the town of Boseres, or Bosaires, whose houses are scattered amidst groves of diuu palms, is also situated on the right bank of the Bahr-el- Azraq ; it has given its name to a dar, or country, of considerable extent, governed by chiefs taking the title of king. Still lower down the village of KarkoJ, surrounded by large trees which contrast with the barren lands in the vicinitv, has now become somewhat important as a market for gums, and the converging point of several caravan routes coming from Gedaref, Galabat and Abyssinia. It has inherited part of the trade which was formerly carried on with the citv of Sendr, about 60 miles farther down on the left bank. This ancient capital of the Funj kingdom, built at the commencement of the fifteenth century, has lost greatly since the seat of government has been transferred to Khartum. Heaps of rubbish and waste spaces now intervene between the groups of cabins, and of what was once the palace the walls are all that remain ; the mosque, however, is still standing. It was in this city that Roule, the French Ambassador of Louis XIY., was assassinated in 1705, before he had reached the states of the sovereign to whom he was accredited. According to an Arab tradition he was suspected of intending to aid the Abyssinians to carry out their often- repeated threat to deflect the waters of the Nile southwards, far away from Nubia and Egypt. The inhabitants have scarcely any industry, except the manufacture of elegantly designed straw mats. Caravan routes run south-west towards the Blue Nile, leading to the two fords of Abu-Za'id and Kelb, formed by banks of shells. The Mesopotamian peninsula, as the Arabs call the " Island of Senar," is only sixty miles in breadth. According to tradition it was at the ford of Abu- Zaid that the Arabs, guided bj- the hero 'of this name, crossed the Nile for the first time in order to spread themselves throughout the Sudan. VOL. X. R 2i2 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. Wod-Medineh — Kamlin. Wod-Medineh, or Wold-Medi/ieh, which after Senar became the capital of the Egj-ptian provinces, was also a town densely populated in its double capacity as a garrison and trade centre. It is conveniently situated, standing nearly at the junction of the north-western Abyssinian rivers with the Bahr-el-Azraq, whilst Fig. 78.— Sexak. Scale 1 : 60,000.: Ii"_ o Bougro VOumShedire- '. ; ^/.^. Oum Hamad ^ .. SENAR «*■» ••' ■ TajSali OdiTuom »^ ,•4 el Haoua^a %^ 53°4a E . of Gr J5°44- C.Pe .2, 200 Yards. close above it is the mouth of the Dender, swollen by the waters of the Khor Mahara and the Khor El-Atshan; still nearer, but below the town, is the con- fluence of the Rahad, like the Dender navigable for eighty days in the year. The village, situated at the very mouth in the " Isle of Isles " (Jezirat el-Jeziret), has taken the name of Abu-Ahraz, or " Father of the Acacias," a term which is also frequentl}' given to the river Rahad itself, the Shimfah of the Abyssinians. At some distance from the river, near the ruins of the village of Arbaji, "WOD-MEDDTEH— KAMLm. 243 destroyed by the Funj, stands the town of Messalamieh, in the midst of fields of durra, a strong place -n-hich the insurgents took from the Egyptians after a long and murderoiis siege. Before the war it had become a considerable market, precisely because it was distant from the river, so that the nomads had here to fear the passage of armies less than in towns lying on the banks of the Xile. Below Abu-Ahraz, on the left bank of the main stream, a few ruins mark the site of Kamlin, or Kammin, where, under the protection of the Egyptian goyem- Fig. 79. — COSFLUBNCB OP THE Two Xlles. Scale 1 : 2^,000. C /v-^^-j^-^^^i r • f .<-,> ^o"/ /'e<»'«S>j£— -^ '"" ~ 15 "a; V X s ^**~s.^^T. ^^— ^' ^ =^Bk' ' .. s ^ — *^_ ^^^"■^ '^*' ^.^r^ ^"•^^^^^OaldtTman ^j^J^H|P^.«"(% :-..--» V, '■'[''■ r t1^^^ . ■■ ■'-■•" .MB Ife^'^^rAv '■.''.*' My^^^^^^^^. ^^^odj 15" t«t \^\^?yfcjj«jjj*- \' J" «lk ■ ■ 15- 15" / -^u \SI!5u^?^^£; 2me'«^". 15 i''-i?'.iQj!'ili- *=^^^^^ ^^ ~'^. ■' '-'-' ^ • ^ «ff '-"^ ' ~ , -" -y^S^ ^ T^ '" ~ ' ^W^^ffil^l-I^ c£-: 5£-5 r,,f G-esn«,cW C.Per: ment, some European merchants founded in 1840 large soap, indigo, sugar and distilling factories. For a long time these establishments were prosperous, thanks to the cheapness of coal and labour, but more especially thanks to the monopoly possessed by the manufacturers, whose products the officers and soldiers were obliged to take in part payment of their salaries. But the forests have been wasted, the country has been depopulated, and the monopoly has met its usual fate, poverty and ruin. B 2 2U NORTH-EAST APEIC'A. Khartlm. As far as we search back in the history of the upper regions of the Nile, an important town has always stood in the vicinity of the junction of the White and Blue Niles. A geographical position of such importance could not be neglected even in barbarous times ; but the vicissitudes of migrations and wars, perhaps aided by some changes in the course of the two rivers, have frequently compelled the town to shift its position. An ancient Christian city, Aloa, is known to have stood 10 or 12 miles above the " Elephant's Trunk " on the right bank of the Bahr-el-Azraq. Several remains of columns and sculptures have been found there, proving that the Bejas of Aloa possessed a civilisation superior to that of the states which succeeded them. All that now remains of this town are shapeless masses covered with brushwood, the building materials readj- to hand having been used for the structures of Khartum. The Arab village of " Old Sobat " stands near the ruins, and on the opposite bank are the tile and brick works of " Ifew Sobat." A few sites are pointed out as those of ancient churches, and bear the name of Kenisseh, a term evidently derived from the word " Kilissa " applied to Christian churches in the Turkish countries of Europe and Asia ; at Buri, near Khartum ItseH, stands one of these Kenisseh. Not far from Wod-Medineh, crypts of Christian origin have been discovered ; these ruins are the southernmost that have been hitherto found on the plains watered by the Blue Nile, beyond the Abyssinian frontier. After the destruction of the empire of the Bejas, the town at the confluence, hitherto comprised in the realm of the Eunj, stood farther north, some 7 miles below the present junction of the two rivers. This town, which still exists but in a very decayed condition, is Halfaya, the residence of the grand sheikh of the Jalons. An arm of the Nile, now dried up or filled only during the floods, joins the main channel west of Halfaya ; it is surrounded by a garden of palms, shelter- ing its houses. Opposite and not far from the left bank, a small group of hills shelter a few trees in their valleys, and in the rainy season give birth to rivulets which wind through the plain. After its capture in 1821 by the Egyptians, Halfaya for several years still preserved a certain importance as the strategical guardian and commercial depot of the junction ; but the very point of the two rivers, called the " End of the Trunk," or Ras-el-KJiartum, appeared to Mohammed Ali a much more suitable site for the capital of his vast possessions, and here he accordingly built the barracks and arsenal. In 1830, there was only one hut where, ten j-ears after, stood the first city of the Nilotic basin beyond Egypt. Khartum, protected to the north and west by the broad beds of its two rivers, is certainly v-ery well situated for defence, and its walls, flanked by bastions and skirted by a ditch, protect it from a surprise on the south and east ; besides, a fortified camp situated on the right bank of the Bahr-el-Abiad near the village of Omdurman, renders it easy for the garrison to cross over to the western bank of the river and commands the route to Kordofan. Thanks to the rivers, the steam-boats which ply below KTTARTTJM. '2U Ehartum command all the coimtry on one side as far as the Zeriha region, and on the other as far as Berber and Ahu-Hamed. Eecent events have proved the military importance of this position between the two X iles. From a commercial point of view, Khartum will not be so advantage- ously situated imtil a bridge is built over the Bahr-el-Azraq, so as to receive directly the caravans which come from Abyssinia, Kassala, and the shores of the Red Sea. Nevertheless, Khartum had become one of the great cities of the con- tinent, and the busy population which till recenth' crowded its narrow streets was a mixture of Turks, Dauaglas or people of Dongola, Arabs, and negroes of every shade of colour. Italian was becoming almost as much spoken as Arabic, and the exterior commerce was almost entirely in the hands of the French and Greeks. Khartum is the point where took place all the exchanges of Europe and Egyjjt Fig. 80. — Khartcm. Scale 1 : 75,000. Hodjai; •. .-. ^^— -=^-- \-^ of (jreenwic^t 52'50- Low Water. High Water. with the regions of the Upper Nile ; it was also the place whence emanated all the expeditions and the movements of military bodies, and where all the religious missions and commercial or scientific expeditions were prepared. A town of soldiers, merchants, and slaves, Khartum has no remarkable monu- ments, and it is surrounded on all sides by spaces which, if not absolute wastes, are, at least, uncultivated and treeless. At the period of the Beja ride, the banks of the two Niles were said to be shaded with an uninterrupted forest of palms festooned with vines. Khartum is not a health}- town, at least during the portion of the year when the moist winds blow, increasing the waters of the rivers. Typhus has often more than decimated the population ; but iu winter the atmosphere is purified by the north winds and the pubKc health is as good at Khartum as in any other African city. After a vigorous defence maintained for upwards of two years against overwhelming numbers, Khartum was betrayed to the JIahdi on 2i6 NOETH-EAST APEICA. January 26tli, 1885, wlien its heroic defender, General Gordon, and the Egj'ptian garrison, with nearly all the Christians stiU in the place, were massacred. This tragic event occurred only three days after the arrival at Metammeh of the advanced division of the British expedition, organized by General Wolseley for the relief of the place in the autumn of 1S8-1. Thus the primary object of the expedition was defeated, and Khartum became for some time the centre of the Mahdi's power in the Upper NUe regions. A few villages succeed Khartum and the town of Halfaya along the banks of the Nile. But for a distance of 120 miles no important jilace is met till we reach Shendi, in the Jalin territory, which is a collection of square-shaped houses, cover- ing a space of about half a square mile on the banks of the river. Shendi, situated below the sixth cataract, in times of peace has a considerable trade with the to\NTis on the Abyssinian frontier. Opposite it, on the western bank of the Nile, is the town of Metammeh, the depot of the products of northern Kordofan ; in the vicinity the desert sand is washed in order to extract the salt which is mixed with it. Shendi is the town where Ismail-pasha, the conqueror of Nubia and the banks of the Blue Nile as far as Fazogl, received the punishment he so justly merited for the massacres and devastations he had ordered ; having unsuspiciously come to a banquet to which he had been invited by the chief of the district, he was burnt alive with all his officers. But soon after his death was avenged by rivers of blood- shed by the terrible " defterdar," son-in-law of Mohammed AU. The village of Gubat, 2 miles south of Metammeh, was the extreme point reached by the British expedition sent to the relief of Khartum and General Gordon in 1884-5. Naga — Meroe. This region of Nubia is already comprised within the limits of the ancient Ethiof)ia, a region where lived nations directly influenced by the general progress of Egyptian civilisation. Numerous ruins attest the splendour of the ancient cities here erected, and, according to the statements of the Arabs, the Eui-opeans are still acquainted with but few of the monimients concealed in the desert. At a day's march south of Shendi, not far from the Jebel-Ardan, stand the two temples of Naga, covered with sculptures representing the \actories of a king who bears the titles of one of the Egyptian Pharaohs ; one of these buildings is approached by an avenue of sphinxes. At the time of CaiUiaud's visit no inscription revealed to him the precise age of the temples of Naga, but the ornaments of the Greco-Eoman style satisfied him that the town was still in existence at a relatively modern period. Since then, Lepsius discovered a Roman inscription, and several sculptm-es which apparently represented Jupiter and Christ. About 12 miles north of Naga, in a desert valley, is a labjTinth of ruined buildings and refuse which the Arabs have named Mcsaurat. The central building, whose ruins are still visible, is one of the largest known edifices, bemg 2,900 feet in circumference ; its columns, fiuted and sculptured, but without hieroglyphics, are evidently of Greek architecture, and whilst CaiUiaud thinks it was a priest's college, Hoskin imagines it to have been a royal country seat. NAGA— MEEOE. 247 The remains of the town in -which Cailliaud recognised in 1821 the ancient Meroe, " capital of Ethiopia," stand 30 miles helow Shendi, a few miles from the right bank of the Xile ; in the midst of these ruins are scattered a few villages, amongst others that of Es-Sur, which gives its name to the tarabil, or pyramids. The pylons, temples, colonnades, avenues of animals and statues are stiU standing ; but the sandstone of Meroe, excavated from the neighbouring quarries, is not so durable as that of Egypt. The pyramids, to the number of about eighty, are Fig. 81. — P- niAtrm a oP Ueboe. Scale 1 : 125,000. ' Onmjf// 1^'^S ;56' 55=50- L k oT tj'"een\A'ich 55=40- C PeTon 3 Miles. divided into three groups, and mostly stand on hills ; not ha-vrag been undermined by stagnant waters, these edifices have resisted the ravages of time better than the buildings on the plain. Still none of the pyramids are intact, most of them having been damaged by ciuiosity-hunters. "When accompanyiag a military expedition to this place, Lepsius with great difficulty prevented the systematic destruction of all the monuments of Meroe. In magnitude the Ethiopian pyramids -vrill not bear comparison -with those of Egvpt ; the largest are less than 66 feet square, and many do not exceed 13 feet in height. 248 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. The numerous inscriptions collected at Meroe have resulted in the discovery of the names of thirty sovereigns vrho were at once kings and high-priests, and the very name of the city has been identified as Meru, or Merua. At the period when these p}Tamids were built, hieroglyphics had become an obsolete form of writing, the exact sense of which was no longer understood, and which was reproduced by imitation ; hence many errors crept into the copy, so that their decipherment has been rendered very ditEcult and uncertain. Most of these inscriptions are in the Demotic Ethiopian character, derived from that of the Egyptians, but possessing only thirty letters. In these inscriptions, not yet completely deciphered, savants have attempted to trace the ancient language of the Blemmyes, the ancestors of the Bejas. Opposite Meroe, on the western bank of the Nile, was apparently situated the public cemetery of the great city ; considerable spaces are here covered with small pyramids, imitations in miniature of those of the great personages buried on the right bank of the river. Metammeh — Kamara — GalAbat. In the basin of the Atbara, which bounds on the east the peninsula called by the ancients the "Island of Meroe," there are at present very few towns, in spite of the general fertility of the valleys and the healthy climate enjoyed by so large a portion of this territory. Most of them are mere market-places, swarming with people during the fairs, the next day abandoned. Amongst these "towns" inserted on the maps of the Sudan, some are mere clearings in the forest or breaches on the banks of the rivers ; the largest are Gorgur and Domjur, situated to the west of the Abyssinian plateau, in the country of the Dabaina Arabs and the " ShangaUa " Negroes. Metammeh, capital of the territory of Galabat, and often called by the name of its province, is during the dry season the most active centre of the exchanges between the plains of the Bejas and the Abyssinian plateaux. To the south stand the abrupt escarpments of Ras-el-Fil, or the " Elephant's Head." As an emporium Metammeh has succeeded to Kamara, a village situated in the vicinity. Compared with the surrounding groups of huts, it is almost a large town ; with the "tokuls" scattered in the suburbs in the midst of tobacco, cotton, and durra plantations, it covers a space of about 40 square miles. Although plundered by the hordes of Theodore, it soon regained all its importance ; the hills skirting the Meshareh, an affluent of the Atbara, were again covered with huts in which the merchants warehoused their goods. The xVrabs, Funj, and Bejas, have retui-ned to the market, and brick houses, whoso ground floors are filled with merchandise, now sm-round the market-place. Some five or six thousand traders, mostly Arabs, assemble at Metanmaeh, and over a thousand Abj'ssinians, porters, wood-cutters, and retailers of mead descend from theii- mountains to coUect the crumbs of the feast. Many crocodiles sport in the waters of the Meshareh, and betray no fear of the vast , MaiiiiiiiaaitiiiBEiiiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiitJft^ -:'>n't.Ri;!i KASSAIA— SABDEEAT— ALGADEN-DOLKA. 249 crowds, whom they never attack, whilst their own lives are protected by the sheikh of Galabat. Most of the residents in ITetaniineh are Takruri, who set the example of work and industrial pui'suits to the neighbouring peoples. Is^ot only do the Takruri import skins, coffee, salt, some stuffs and beasts of burden fi'om Abyssinia, bartering them with the merchants of the Xile, but they also deal in the products of their own country, honey, wax, tobacco, maize, gum, incense, dyes, and drugs. They supply the Arabs with more than half of the cotton they use in weaving their togas. From the provinces of the Sudan they receive more especially glass trinkets, arms, and the talari, or Maria-Theresa crown-pieces, which are the exclusive currency in northern Abyssinia. The slave trade in this district, till recently more active than all the others, although officially forbidden at different times, has always been carried on. But it is no longer openly conducted in public ; in 1879, the sum obtained by the sale of slaves amoimted to more than £20,000. At the time of the Egyptian rule, the governor of Khartum maintained a garrison of two thousand men in Galabat. At present Galabat has become an independent principality, no longer paying tribute either to Egypt or Abyssinia. GeDAREF TOMAT. Doka, on the route from iletammeh to Abu-Ahraz, is a commercial outpost of Galabat situated at the confluence of the Eahad with the Blue IfUe. But in this lowland region the chief, if not permanent at least temporary, market is Suk-Abu- Sin, or " Market of Father Sin," also called Gedaref dher the province in which it is situated. During the rainy season Suk- Abu-Sin is Adsited only by the nomads in the vicinity ; but directly the kharif is over, when the Atbara and the other rivers of the plain are again fordable, and when the merchants have no longer to dread the attacks of the venomous flies on their camels, the caravans arrive from all parts, and as many as fifteen thousand persons are often assembled on the market-place. Before the war, gum, wax, salt, cereals and cattle were the chief wares in the market of Abu-Sin, and Greek merchants mingled with the crowds of Arabs and Bejas. Tomat, at the junction of the Settit with the Atbara, is also a town where a few exchanges take place ; Gos-Rejeh, on the left bank of the Atbara, lies on the caravan route between Shendi and the port of Massawah. The ruins pointed out by Burckhardt are a proof that the Egyptian merchants also passed through this region on their journey from Meroe to the coast at Adulis Bay. KaSS.U^ — S-iBDEKAT AlGADEX — DoLK_\. At the present time the most important town of the country is Kassala-el-Lus, capital of the province of Taka, and, since 18-10, the chief fortress of all the region comprised between the XUe and the Bed Sea ; it is also called Gash by the natives, after the stream whose right bank it skirts. After having served as a 250 NOETH-EAST APEICA. bulwark of Eg's-pt against the Abyssinians, Kassala, ■when evacuated by its Mussulman garrison, appears destined to serve as tbe Abj-ssinian outpost against the Mahom- medan lowlanders. Situated at a height of 1,900 feet at the western base of a " seven peaked" mass of granite rocks rising over 4,000 feet above the plain, and its forests of dum pabns, Kassala presents one of the most attractive prospects in Africa. It appears to have succeeded a still larger town, that of Faki Endoa, which stretched along the torrent at a distance of nearly 3 miles. Commanded by a strong castle, the remains of which are still to be seen on one of the " heads " of the neighbouring rock, this town was the capital of the Hallenga nation, then powerful, but now reduced to a few wretched communities of pastors and agricul- turists. The mountain is pierced with grottoes which are said to hold the waters of a subterranean lake, and whose labyrinths appear to have been formerly inhabited by man ; a few troglodytes are reported even still to live in the galleries of the rocks. By its position on the lower course of the Gash or Mareb, Kassala commands the distribution of the waters along the riverain lands. A Pasha even desired to become the absolute master over the fortunes of the tribes by damming up the river before Kassala, so as to deflect it westwards towards the Atbara, and thus force the Hadendoas to come and beg permission to purchase a little rividet to irrigate their fields. Under the direction of the European Werne, who lent himself to this iniquitous work, a dyke 5,430 feet long effectually dammed up the current of the Gash and caused it to overflow into the western stepjjes ; but the Hadendoas, who felt it was a matter of vital importance to them, attacked the dam with such fury, that in spite of the soldiers who defended it, they soon made a breach through which the water flowed back to its natural bed. Before the rising of the tribes who favour the Mahdi, Kassala had acquired great importance as a point of transition for forwarding cotton, and vast cotton gins are still to be seen where hxmdreds of workmen were assisted by steam-engines. Kassala also prepared leather and manufactui-ed mats and soap. The first attempt of the Egyptian government in 1865 to open telegraphic communications between Kassala, Berber, Suakin, and Massawah, did not succeed ; over eight thousand camels were lost in this enterprise. But a second attempt, in 1871, was more fortimate, and a network of telegraphs was finally constructed, the stations serving also in the capacity of caravanserais for travellers. From Kassala to Massawah the journey occupies sixteen days by the route followed by the telegraph, through the country of the Bogos. Wells have been dug by the side of each station, between Kassala and Abu-Ahraz. In the vicinity of Kassala are a few villages occupied by settled Hallenga, Hadendoa or Bazen populations, and during the dry season, temporary camps are pitched in the dried-up bed of the Gash. Eighteen mUes to the east is the town of Sahderat, whose artisans are occupied with weaving cloth and leather work. This place perpetuates the memory of the defterdar's atrocities, who massacred all the inhabitants and made pyramids of the bodies, so as to poison the air and thus prevent the repopxilation of the country. K^iSSALA— SABDEEAT— .^GADEN— DOLKA. 251 To the nortli succeed the two large Hadcndoa viUages of Miktinab and Filil;, which are of some importance as market-phices. To the south-east the Bazen lieasantry, half converted to Islam, people the Tillage of Elit, built at a height of 1,330 feet above the plain, on an almost inaccessible terrace half-way up the side of a granite mountain, scooped out at the top into a cultivated crater of quadi-an- Fig. 82. — Kassala. Scale 1 : 125.000. •'Gharbel-Gesh ^ • -..■■ ;• ^ L of Ijre 5b' 1-4 Ob ( C Perron gular shape. The " boiler " of EHt is probably a sinking of the soil, such as is frequently met with in rocks pierced with grottoes. North of Elit and ah-eady on the slope of the Xhor Barka, is the village of A/gaden or Alyeden, whose houses are scattered amidst the overtui-ned blocks on the sides of Mount Dablot or Doblut, which overlooks a vast horizon of hills and plains between the two rivers Mareb and Barka. Algaden lies on the route to Mecca taken by the Takruri pilgrims, who support themselves from village to 252 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. village by preacliing, praying, and selling amulets ; in this way they have con- verted the population of Algaden, who are mainl}' of Bazen origin. In a neigbour- ing plain, the people of Algadea and Sabderat in 1870 gained a sanguinary victory over an army of Abyssinians, 10,000 of whom were left on the battle-field. To the south-east of Algaden, in the Barea country, between the Gash and the Barka, the Egj'ptians have recentlj^ founded two military stations, Kujit and Amideh. The first was abandoned in 1875, but Amideb was still occupied at the general rising of the tribes ; it is one of the places that England has by treaty handed over to the Abyssinians. Dolha, on a rock which rises to the east of the valley of the Anseba, long resisted the attacks of the Khedive's troops. In the neighbour- hood are the ruins of a town and some Christian churches which bear a few Abyssinian or Himyaritic inscriptions. The principal town of the Habab country is Af- Abaci, or Tha-Mariam, situated in a circular plain, at the foot of a precipitous mountain pierced with grottoes. Ed-Damer — Berber. Below Kassala on the Gash, and Gos-Rejeb on the Atbara, there is only one to-RTi in the basin, Ed-Damer, lying south of the confluence in the southern peninsula formed by the Nile and the mouth of the Atbara. Here dwelt the Makaberab tribe, whom Schweinfurth and Lejean believe to be the somewhat legendary Macrobians of ancient writers. But this town, which was formerly a brisk market, has lost its commercial importance and become a cit}' of " saints and teachers." It has schools, formerly celebrated, hotbeds of the Mussulman propa- ganda, but it is no longer a rendezvous for caravans. Some 30 miles lower down on the same bank of the river, is the commercial centre of the great river and its north Abyssinian tributaries. Berber, till recently capital of an EgyjDtian province, is the largest mart between Khartum and the Egyi^tian frontier, properly so-called. Berber, so named from the Barabra people, who occupy this region of Nubia, is ofiiciaUy called El-Mekheir, El-Mukheiref, or El- Meshcrif. Before the present war, during which Berber has been almost entirely destroyed, the town skirted the river bank for a distance of several miles, its white terraced houses standing in the midst of acacia and palm groves. A few gardens surround the toAvn, beyond which immediately commence the uncultivated, almost desert, spaces, visited only by the Bisharin nomads. Berber is the starting point of the most frequented caravan route between the Middle Nile and the Red Sea. At this point, the distance which sej)arates the river from the sea is, following the winding desert route, only 250 miles. If well supplied with food and water, travellers can easily complete this journey in less than a week, although they usually take fifteen days ; sooner or later a few hours will suffice, thanks to a railway already commenced, and on which military trains were running in 1885 from Suakin, for a few miles inland, to Otao, the present terminus on the route to Berber. When this line is completed, Berber will become the port by SUAEIX— SINTKAT— T0E1:U1. 253 Fig. 83.— Bekeeb. Scale 1 : 62,000. vrMch all the produce of Upper Sudan will be exported, and the Xile will be the commercial affluent of the Eed Sea. The two caravan routes between Suakin and Berber traverse vast sandy tracts where the water in the wells is brackish. The route Kes over granite and porphyry heights, crossed by the pass of Haratri, the water-parting between the Nile basin and that of the Eed Sea, standing at a height of 3,000 feet, between mountains rising to twice that elevation. Before the war 20,000 camels, laden with gum, annually crossed the desert between the two towns, which will probably soon be connected by rail. SCAKIX SlXK.iT T0K.\K. Suakin, or Sawakin, is the safest port on the Eed Sea coast, and resembles that of Massawah in its geographical posi- tion. The riverain zone of coral banks is pierced by a winding channel which penetrates over 2 miles inland, termi- nating in an oval-shaped basin about 1 mile from north to south. To the west are sand-banks which contract the sheet of water, and are continued by shallows overgrown with reeds. Two round islands, partially friuged with rocks, exceed the level of the basin by several feet. One of these islands, that of Sheikh Ahdallah, is used exclusively as a cemetery ; the other, farther south, comprises the town of Suakin, properly so-called. The chief port lies between these two islands, but vessels of the heaviest tonnage can also anchor north of the island of Sheikh Abdallah ; in this species of lake, which seems to be surrounded by land on all sides, vessels are perfectly safe from the winds and surf. The port, opened in the midst of a beach rendered very dangerous by the multitude of reefs, is well worthy the name of the " harbour of the protecting gods,"' which many authors believe to have been given it during the time of the Ptolemies. Before the warlike events which have procured for Suakin a name famous iu contemporary history, the annual movement of the shipping was about 12 steamers . 2,200 Tarda. C. Perron 254 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. and 300 Arab vessels, which caiTied rice, dates, salt, cowries, and European mer- chandise, to be exchanged for slaves, mules, wild beasts, and the many products of the Abyssinian spurs, such as gum, ivory, ostrich feathers, skins, wax, musk, grains, and coffee. Suakin is the port where the pilgrims embark for Mecca, to the number of six or seven thousand annually ; the distance from here to Jeddah is about 20 miles including the deviations caused by the reefs. The slave merchants from the interior present themselves in the disguise of ordinary travellers, accompanied by their wives, concubines, and servants. But on their return from Arabia to Suakin, Fig. 84.— Suakin in 1882. Scale I : 50,000. 57-go j"F Ure&nwich 57"22 C Perrop Depths. to 32 Feet. 32 to 64 Feet. 64 Feet and upwards. ?.'fr'w>!i** Sands and coral reefs exposed at low water. I.IOO Yards. they have no longer wives or servants ; divorce, desertion, and unforeseen events being supposed to have relieved them of their families and followers. The town, overlooked by several minarets, consists of stone houses with wooden balconies and " musharabiehs " elegantly carved. It is a cosmopolitan city, where the trade is chiefly in the hands of the Arabs. Turks and Hedarmeh, or " Men of Hadramaut," here meet the Greek, Maltese, or European merchants. But the native popidation live in huts of branches covered with mats outside the town in the suburb of El-Kef. It is a far more extensive place than Suakin itself, with which it is connected by a low bridge some 330 feet long, and since 1884 by a railway v liiSliilllllilliiliililliilllittiiiteia^SA;^!^^ Xy-^ •\j^ I l-^PiPV SUAKIX— SES'XAT— TOKAE. 255 viaduct. The huts of El-Kef skirt the southern shore of the basin, opposite Suakin, and extend on both sides of the route to Berber. The Hadendoas who live in this suburb employ themselves in transporting and stowing the merchandise, and supply the town with coal, food, fowls, butter, fruits, vegetables, and driakiag water. In winter they are twice more nimierous than ia summer, when they retire to graze their flocks on the high mountains in the vicinity. Suakin, although it is well protected from pillaging raids by its insular position, depends entirely for its Fig. S.5. — SrAKIN rPLA>DS Scale I : 3,000,000. Deptlis. to SO Feet. 80 to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet, 320 to 1600 Feet. 1600 Feet and upwards. ^^^^^^^^^^_^_ 60 Miles. maintenance on the mainland suburb, and it has been foimd necessary to enclose the latter with fortifications, to protect it against the Bejas, who recently rose against the Egyptian Government. The vital importance of Suakin with regard to trade and political power is fully appreciated by the belligerents. The sanguinary battles which have taken place in its vicinity, to the west near the fortified camp of Sinkat and the wells of Tamanith and Hashin, to the south-east before the stronghold of Tokar and in the oasis of El- Teh, prove how essential it would be for the Mussulman world to establish free communications between Mecca, capital of Islam, and Africa, its largest province, populated with the most fanatic of the faithful. Great Britain watches closely this continental port of Africa and, under the name of Egypt, this power has definitely taken possession of it so as to bring the whole of the Upper Nile within its commercial and political influence. Hitherto the Beja insurgents 256 NOETH-EiLST AFEICA. have been able to maintain none but precarious relations with their co-religionists on the opposite coast by means of small craft escaping from the creeks along the coast under cover of night. Before Suakin was blocked by the rebels, the merchants of this to^-n withdrew during the hot season to the smiling valley of Siiikat, which, at a height of 870 feet, lies amid extinct volcanoes and cliffs of an extremely fertile reddish marl ; the slopes have been laid out in steep terraces planted with acacias and fruit trees. Tokar, a little fort situated in a fertile valley u-rigated by numerous small canals derived from the Barka, stands in the middle of the " granary " of this province. During the sowing and harvest seasons, more than twenty thousand labourers are employed in the fields of Tokar. Some of the marsa or mirsa, that is harbours, on the neighbouring coast may perhaps acquu-e some importance when the mountains of the interior become populated and cultivated. One of the most convenient, as a market of the Khor Barka Valley, will imdoubtedly be the port of Aldq, a vast and deep basin well protected, like that of Suakin, by islands and peninsiilas ; this port is without doubt one of the best ia the Red Sea. In the chief island of the roadway, a Beni- Amer tribe has foimded the little village of Baclur, before which vessels can cast anchor ia a depth of from 23 to 25 feet. On the coast of Suakin and Akiq the sea water teams with animal life. The surface of the sea is often covered for miles with ripplets which seem to be caused by the breeze, but are reallj' produced by the movement of a small fish of the sardine type, myriads of which play in the upper layers of the water. CHAPTER IX. KOEDOFAN. HIS country, which was till recently an Egyptian province, and which, at the commencement of 1883, became the centre of a new state destined probably to have but a short existence, is a perfectly distinct natural region, although without any clearly defined frontiers. On the whole its form is quadrilateral, inclined from the north to the south, parallel with the main stream between the Sobat and Blue Nile confluence. On the south and east Kordofan, or Kordofal, has for its natural frontiers low- lying tracts flooded by the Nile ; to the north and west it merges in the steppes roamed over by nomad tribes. The total area of the region, thus roughly defined, may be estimated at 100,000 square miles, or nearly half the size of France. This space is very sparsely populated ; in 1875, Prout, an American ofiicer in the Egyptian service, made an ofiicial return, according to which the inhabitants of the eight hundred and fifty-three towns and villages of Kordofan niunbered 164,740 persons. At the same period the nomad tribes amounted to a total of 114,000 persons, but the governor of the province had made no attempt to nimiber the turbulent momitaincers of the south. The total population of Kordofan can be provisionally estimated at 300,000, giving a density of about three persons to the square mile. Wars have frequently devastated the country, and it is supposed that the number of people has considerabl}' decreased since the massacres ordered b}^ Mohammed Bey, the terrible " Treasurer," who conquered this region for his father-in-law, Mohammed Ali. Fresh butcheries have again taken place since the Mahdi, or " Guide," has made Kordofan the centre of his empire, and proclaimed the holy war throughout his camps. Physical Features. By the general slope of the land Kordofan belongs to the Nilotic basins. If the rains were sufficiently abundant the wadies, which dry up at the mouth of the moimtain valleys, would reach as far as the "WTiite Nile ; even the waters rising on the western slope flow to the Nile intermittently, on the one side through the Ke'ilak and the Bahr-el-Ghazal, on the other through the Wady-Melek. In other VOL. X. s 258 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. respects the level of the laud, which varies from a mean height of 1,330 to 1,060 feet, varies hut slightly in a large portion of the country ; in many places the running M'aters are said to follow an uncertain course hefore excavating a regular channel towards the Nile. Throughout nearly the whole of its extent Kordofan is a gently undulating stei^pe, whose hills, seldom more than a few feet high, serve as landmarks during long hours of march. It would be easj' to drive vehicles here, and thus replace the use of camels as a means of transport. Isolated peaks rising from the middle of the plain present an imposing appearance, thanks to the general uniformity of the spaces which they command. One of them, the Jebel- Kordofan (2,830 feet), which has given its name to the country, rises about 12 miles east of the capital, El-Obeid ; near it is the almost regular pyramid of Jebel-el-Ain. The upper strata consist almost eutirelj' of granitic sand, the decomposed remains of mountains which contain in abundance particles of mica mixed with impure clays. At a depth varying from 100 to 166 feet are found rocks of mica schist. At a mean distance of 120 miles to the west of the Nile, the central region of Koi'dofan rises into mountainous masses, whose crests attain a height of many hundreds of feet above the jjlain. To the north-west the Jebel-Katul and the Jebel-Kaja are protected on the side of the plains b}' rocks sufficientl)'^ inac- cessible to afford the independent tribes a refuge against their neighbours. To the north some isolated granite cliiis, amongst others the Jebel-Haraza, command the winding caravan route between El-Obeid and Dongola. In the centre of Kordofan the Jebel-Deyer, covering a space of about 200 square miles, raises its crests to an altitude of over 2,660 feet, or 1,000 feet above the surrounding steppes. Its outer walls, pierced with a few breaches, form a complete rampart round it ; but inside, the natives say, there is a deep valley, a basin flowing with water and well wooded, which the surrounding nomads describe as an earthly paradise. To the south of this elevation the steppe no longer continues in monotonous undulat- ing hillocks, as in the north-west of Kordofan, having no other arborescent vegetation than a few groves of stunted acacias and here and there a baobab, whose twisted branches stand out against the horizon. It now becomes a level, fertile, and well- wooded plain, from which the bluish cones of Mounts Tagala are visible, girdled with verdure at the base and running southwards, towards the steppes inhabited by the Baggara, for a distance of at least 30 miles. Farther west, the other mountainous masses, also formed of granite rocks, have taken the general name of Jebel-Nuba, or Dar-Nuba, that is to say, " Country of the Nubas," after the people inhabiting them. IIydrographic System. The mountains of Southern Kordofan receive a much larger quantity of water than those of the north. The showers which fall in the Jebel-Nuba are sufficiently heavy to give birth to a khor, the Abu-Hableh, which flows to the east and north- east for a distance of over 180 miles before finally disappearing in the ground. It is even said that during certain very rainy years a little water from Kordofan has CLIMATE OF KORDOFIN. 259 reached the Nile through this fluvial channel. Throughout the course of the Ahu- Hableh the surplus waters form during the kharif season, that is to say from June to October, temporary sheets of Trater which are usually marked on the maps as El-Birket, or El-Rahad, that is, " Lakes," in a pre-eminent sense. But water rarely remains in this reservoir till the end of the dry season ; however, on digging in the sand to a depth of 8 or 10 feet, sufficient can be obtained to quench the thirst of both man and beast. Most of the other pools, generally called fttlahs, are flooded only during the rainy season. In the iahabited region of Northern Kordofan, estimated by Prout at 17,200 square miles, there are neither rivers nor ponds, but only funnel-shaped -wells sunk to a depth of 80 and even 160 feet, as far as the mica schist bed, which forms a layer through which the rain water, filtering through the light soO. on the surface, cannot penetrate. The water in these wells is reached by steps cut round the excavation. The scientific exploration of this country has proved the existence of eight himdred wells, but at least two hundred of these are completely dry for half of the year, and the water of many is brackish or even salt. According to Escayrac, Lauture, and Matteucci, the general dessication of the coimtry has been undoubted!}' going on for manj- generations, and several wells which formerly furnished water in abundance have had to be abandoned. The annual rainfall, which is on the average 9 inches at El-Obeid, somewhat more in the mountains of the south, and less in those of the north, is not sufiicient to fill all the wells sunk in the hollows. Hence entire ^-illages are abandoned during the dry season. As soon as the dokhn, the only kind of millet which flourishes in this dry climate, has been harvested, the cidtivators migrate to the wells which contain a little water throughout the year, and do not return to their fields till the com- mencement of the kharif. In the villages and towns water is a commercial article, and towards the end of the dry season it occasionally costs more than wine in wine- growing countries; in 1873 a measure of two or three gallons was sold for a dollar. Climate of Kordof.\n. In spite of the altitude of Kordofan, the temperature of this coimtry is one of the hottest in the world. The season of intense heats commences in March, when the thermometer frequently rises to 105° F. in the shade, and the air mixed with the desert sand is almost suffocating. After the three months of the sef, or dry season, dense clouds are collected in the southern horizon, announcing the approach of the kharif. The beginning of June is ushered in by hea^-y showers, very violent but of short duration, with intervals of fine weather. The rainy season usually commences with atmospheric disturbances, whirlwinds rushing over the steppes ; but soon the aerial currents regain their equilibrium, and the south-west wind, a continuation of the south-east trade wind in the southern hemisphere, prevails over this part of the north, following the direction of the sun. During this season the temperature is maintained with a remarkable uniformity between 77° F. and 92° F., the oscillations of the thermometer seldom exceeding 12° F. Such a climate woidd be very agreeable, but for the vapours and miasmas with which the air is saturated, s 2 260 NORTH-EAST APEICA. causing residence in Kordofan to be very dangerous to Arabs, Turks, and Europeans, who often fall victims to the endemic fevers. Towards the end of September, after three or four months of intermittent rains, the wind changes. The north-east trade winds, deflected south by the progress of the sun towards the tropic of Capricorn, now sets in, bringing cold weather in its train ; during the night the temperature occasionally faUs to 59° F. Flora. The flora of Kordofan is not very rich ; acacias, tamarisks, baobabs, and such- like trees give the landscape its characteristic appearance in the regions which are not barren or completely deforested. The acacias, which furnish the gum of com- merce, belong to various species. The grej'-barked variety, which yields the best quality of gum, is scattered in numerous thickets throughout the eastern part of the country. In the southern region the red-barked acacias, which furnish the least valuable kind of gum, extend in vast forests almost useless from an economi- cal point of view ; very few villagers or nomads take the trouble to collect the gum which exudes from these trees. The most important harvest throughout nearly the whole of Kordofan, is that of the dokhn (^penicilaria typhoides), which arrives at maturity four months after being sowm, a period corresponding to the kharif. This variety of millet requires so little moisture that it thrives better on the sandy dunes than in the hollows ; nine-tenths of the popvJation live on this dokhn. The durrah, or EgjqDtian millet, is cultivated only in the well-watered mountain valleys. Wheat, sesame, haricots, tobacco, and cotton are found in a few districts near the capital. Hemp is iised for interlacing the walls of the huts. Of all the vegetable products of Kordofan, gum is exported in the largest quantities ; the chase also contributes to the movement of the exchanges more than cattle-breeding. Ostrich feathers are the most valuable articles that the northern caravans obtain from the natives. But these latter have abnost exterminated the ostrich in the eastern plains of the country ; herds of ostriches are now met with only to the west of the Kaja Moimtains, and the frontier of Dar-For. The steppes of Kordofan would be admirably adapted for ostrich farms ; but at present this bird is not kept in captivitj', and the hunters kill it to such an extent that it is yearly diminishing in numbers. The ibis is very common in Kordofan, as many as fifty nests being found on one tree ; this bird like the stork, is considered sacred, and the natives do not permit strangers to kill it. The people of Kordofan have a few domestic animals, such as horses, asses, goats, and sheep ; but tlie pack-animals belong more especially to the nomad tribes. To the south the Baggaras possess at least one hundred thousand humped oxen, trained to bear burdens, but quite useless for field opera- tions ; the cows supply but little milk. The scarcity of water in the plains has modified the habits of the native breed of cattle, -which come to the troughs only every two or three daj's. Camels thrive only in northern Kordofan, amongst the Kababish nomads ; south of the thirteenth degree of latitude they perish under the attacks of swarms of gadflies and other venomous insects. INHABITANTS OF KOEDOFAN— THE MUSABATS AND ZOGHAWAS. 261 Inhabitants of Kordofan. Central Kordofan, in the Ticinity of El-Obeid, is one of the most densely inhabited regions of eastern Africa; in a radius of about 60 miles roimd the capital, the villages are on the average not more than 2 or 3 miles from each other. Each tokul, or circular hut of thatch with a conic roof, and occasionally the village itself, is surrounded by a belt of prickly hedges. The peoples who occupy these settled groups of houses are of a very mixed race, and the original type is very difficult to be recognised. Founded as commercial stations on the routes from the Nile to the countries of Central Africa, the towns of Kordofan are places of assembly for the merchants, who here come to rest from their march across the surrounding deserts. The soldiers and slaves of every tribe who accompanj' these traders tend to corrupt the race and destroy its primitive elements. The people who are the result of these crossings are intelligent, happy, talkative, and " given to dancing and amusements." In some vUlages the Ghodiats (Gilledats or Gowameh), supposed to be of more or less pure aboriginal descent, are stiU said to survive. According to Munzinger, who calls them Kadejat, they are related to the Funj. They dwell to the east and south of the moimtaius of Kordofan and Jebel-Ai'n or " Mountain of the Waters," and, in spite of the conquests and changes in the political regime they stiU constitute an independent group. Thej^ acknowledge one of their own people as a sheikh and pay tribute to him ; but if they are not satisfied with him they beseech a fakih to take oil his turban of investitui-e and place it on the head of another person. This ceremony is quite sufficient to effect a transfer of the authority. The Musabats and Zoghawas. By virtue of a long occupation, the descendants of those who invaded this country at an already distant period are considered as having the best right to the name of Kordofanese. Such are the Musabats, who say they are of For descent, and whose chief, residing at El-Obeid, still takes the name of sultan. Such are also the Kimjaras, likewise of For descent, who obtained possession of Kordofan at the end of the eighteenth century, but who were compelled to yield their power to the Egyptians in 1820, after theu- defeat at the battle of Bara. About one thousand of them still live isolated in a few vUlages near El-Obeid, and their chief takes the title of sultan, like that of the Musabats. Some twenty years ago a few Kimjara stiU. spoke their native For dialect ; but Arabic has now become generally employed by them as well as by the sons of the conquering Forians. The Zoghawas, the remains of the nation which in the twelfth century ruled over all the sjjace comprised between the moimtains of Dar-F6r and the Nile, are still to be foimd in the northern part of Kordofan. The other inhabitants of the country whose origin is known are the Jalin Arabs, who have nearly all the trade in their hands, and the people of Dongola, the Danageleh or Danagla, 202 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. who were charged by the Egyptian Government with collecting the taxes. Christian and Mussulman Syrians, Albanians and Greeks, are the non-African elements which are met with in Kordofan, and which contribute to the inter- mingling of the races. But the modification of the t^-pe is more especially due to the people of the neighbouring tribes brought in hy the dealers, such as the Nubas, Denkas, and Bongos. The Takruris, Fellatas, and other western immi- grants, travelling with the double object of selling their merchandise and propagating the doctrines of the Koran throughout the towns along their route, Fig. 86.— Central Kordofas. Scale 1 : 650,000. ■■<■- ...■-- Sanda Koura * ,Sha|Ia El Kama • *% e elobeTo *ElGela \ ( ' .15' 50°45' E : of Greenwich 5n5- ly Perron . 6 Miles. have also settled down in the country, and constitute new tribes by intermarrviug with the daughters of the Arabs. A great number of Takruri come to Kordofan to offer their services temporarily at the sowing or harvesting seasons, and when they are well received they settle down in the country. The islands of the White Nile, which however, are not considered as belonging to Kordofan, are nearly all inhabited by Arabs. One of them, the largest and best cultivated, is that of Altlia, in which the Mahdi, Mohammed- Ahmed, revealed his mission to his first disciples, and gained his first victory over the Egj'ptians in 1881. THE NirB.^5— THE TAGALAS. 203 The Nubas. The Xubas, yrho occupy the Jebel-Deyer, south of Kordofan, and a few of ■whom are still found on other uplands, have a language of their own ; but it can- not be positively asserted that they are related to the Nubians, from whom they are separated by a desert and by other populations. Driven from the plains and massed in the mountains, they lead a precarious life, being considered as wild beasts and himted as such. In Kordofan the name of Xubas is synonymous with slave, and when captured this is indeed the condition to which they are reduced. As their small republican communities have not been able to form a solid con- federation, they make no resistance to their enemies. Nevertheless there are a few Xuba villages which by payment of a tribute acquire the right to live unmolested near the plains, and are allowed to descend to the markets to dispose of their goods. The Xubas dress like the Arabs, but do not plait their hair. They are completely black, with the face very prognathous, nor do their features possess that peculiar sharpness which distinguishes the riverain Nubians of the Nile. According to ilunzinger, they are also amongst the least intelligent Nigritians ; as slaves they can be employed only in rude and monotonous labours, but they are good-natured, honest, and constant in friendship. When they are in the company of ilahommedans the Nubas call themselves servants of Allah ; but they do not appear to render him any kind of worship. Their only priests are the " makers of rain," and magicians who heal diseases by gestures and incantations. The rite of ciiTumcision was practised by them previous to the influences of Islam. The vocabularies collected by ilunzinger, Eussegger, Euppell, and Brugsch prove that the dialect of the Nubas differs little from that of the Nilotic Nubians, the principal diSerences bearing in certain portions of the language. To the west of the Nubas are said to live a stiU more savage people, the Gnumas, Negroes of tall stature who go naked, and of whom it is related that they kill the old men, the infirm, and those attacked by contagious diseases, so as to shorten their vovage to a better world ; by the side of the corpse in the grave they place food, a pipe of tobacco, weapons, and two pairs of sandals. The Tagalas. The Tagalas (Tegeleh, or Dogoleh) dwell in the mountains of the same name. Although neighbours of the Nubas, they speak a language entirely distinct in words and structure. They themselves say they are Funj, although they can no longer tmderstand their kindred of Senar. Their king wears the three-homed headdress which formerly served as a crown to the king of the Funj, and which has been borrowed from them by the deglel, or princes of the HaUengas, Hadendoas, and Beni-Amers. The Tagalas have not the flat nose and prognathous jaw so common amongst the bulk of the Nigritian tribes ; their features are regular, the expression animated, while their intelligence and skill are highly spoken of. As slaves the)' 2G4 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. are much more appreciated than the Nuhas, and unfortunately the occasion has often been had of comparing them from this point of view, because they are considered as the personal proper ty_ of the king. This potentate is regarded as a sort of deity, whom they approach only by crawling on the stomach and scratching the gromid with the left hand. No one marries without the permission of the king, and no one can remain free if it pleases the king to sell him as a slave. The father has also the legal right to get rid of his childi'cn, and in times of famine the slave-hunters go on purchasing expeditions from village to village. The Mohammedan religion, which has recently been adopted by the country, has not yet triumphed over the ancient customs. The Tagalas valiantly resisted the Egj'ptians, who would never have succeeded in taking the natural stronghold occupied by these mountaineers had not disputes as to the succession to the throne opened a way to the invaders. On the plateau of the Tagala here and there rise steep hills, each bearing on its crest a small \illage surrounded by walls and thorny shrubs. These villages form the acropolis of the commune ; subterranean routes, excavated in the rock and communicating with the outside by concealed passages, receive the provisions, and occasionally serve as i)laces of refuge to the inhabitants. In order to give an idea of the large number of fortified villages inhabited by the Tagalas, their country is said to possess no less than nine hundred and ninety moimtains, whilst one thousand are attributed to the more extensive country of the Nubas. The Tagala district might under a settled government become the richest in Kordofan ; its soil is fertile and relatively well- watered ; its iuhabitants are skilful, and almost the only people in Kordofan who have succeeded in cultivating the steep slopes by means of terraces sustained by walls of loose stones. The low moimtain range of Wadelka, to the south-east of the Tagala hUls, is also sur- roimded by regidar terraces, like the advanced spurs of the Alps, above the plain of Lombardy. The Tagalas, extremely skilful smiths, import iron to manufacture arms and implements ; but the deposits of cojjper which exist in their mountains are stiU less worked than the auriferous sands of the country of the Nubas. The gold of Kordofan is not so much appreciated as that of Fazogl, on account of its colour. The Kababisii and BagcIra Tribes. The cultivated regions of Kordofan are everjn\'here surroimded by nomad popidations, known under the general name of Bedouins, and divided into two main groups of tribes, to the north the Kababish or " Goatherds," to the south the Baggara or " Cowherds." These names, which merely indicate the pui'suits and the mode of life of the tribes, do not imply any difference of race, and perhaps both the Kababish and Baggara belong to one and the same ethnical stock ; according to Brun-Rollct, the Baggaras give themselves the name of Gema. The differences in soil and climate have had much to do with the difference in their THE KABABISH Als^D BAGGAEA TEIBES. 265 pursuits. The goat and the camel flourish iu the generally arid northern plains, ^vhile horned cattle can obtain sufficient water only in the southern steppes. All the " Bedouins " of Kordofan claim to be of Arab origin, and do in fact speak the language of the Prophet ; but, as ilunzinger remarks, " speech is merely of secondary importance in ethnology, it is the manner iu which it is spoken which makes it characteristic." K^ow of all the " Arabs " of the Zsilotic regions, the Baggara, and after them the Xababish, are those whose pronunciation differs the most fi'om that of the true Arabs. A large number of the usual sounds in the classical tongue are unknown and replaced by other sounds, possibly inherited from a now extinct language. The Kababish, who are more civilised, thanks to their geographical position, have other occupations besides goat and camel-breeding ; they also cultivate the soil in the lowlands which fringe the Xile, and found permanent vUlages there, and as they are careful purveyors, they accompany the caravans from El-Obeid to the stations on the 'Sile. Some of the Kababish tribes wear enormous hats, similar to those worn by the Kabyles of Tunis and Algeria. The employments of the Baggara consist of grazing theii" cattle, hunting the elephant, the buffalo, and other large game, and even occasionally man. Directly the pasturages no longer offer sufficient nourishment for their herds, or when the gadfly attacks the cattle, they strike their ftrgan or tents, load the oxen with the mats which form them, and, followed by a band of their ferocious little dogs, they migrate to another part of the steppe. Carlo Piaggia met one of these caravans of Baggara nomads which extended for a distance of two miles ; including men and animals, it com- prised at least iifty thousand individuals, whilst bii-ds, as if di-a^-n there by the column of air displaced by the caravan, wheeled in thousands round the animals, destroying the parasites with which they were infested. Most of the Baggara have a red skin like that of the American Indians, and in bodily beauty, athletic form of the chest and shoulders, elegance of their hands and feet, they have but few rivals in the world. Their costume is similar to that of the Kordofan villagers, their garment consisting of a kind of white shii-t striped with red, which leaves the right arm uncovered ; they adorn them- selves with glass trinkets, rings, and articles of ivory and horn. The women still dress their hair in the ancient fashion represented on the Egj-ptian monu- ments, and their tresses, which fall half-way down the forehead and on both sides down to the shoidders, are plastered with butter and aromatic pomades. The gilded ring which many women pass through the nostrils is often connected with a chain hung behind their hair. The men carry the lance, in the use of which they are very skilful, and the European weapons, Solingen swords and Liege rifles, have already become generally adopted by them. Few Arabs are so warlike, or so scrupulous in obser^-ing the duties of the vendetta, as the Baggara. The Baggara are amongst the most fervent of the faithful, and, under the direction of the ilahdi, they have eagerly thrown themselves into the holy war ; they have many times crossed the Bahr-el-Arab to attack the Xegro populations of the zeriba region, and towards the end of 1884, the date of the last news o 266 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. received, the result of the war was still uncertain. In any case Islam, whilst spreading from Kordofan towards the surrounding countries, is far from having accomplished its mission in Kordofan itself, where numerous practices forbidden by the Prophet are still observed. For the natives the principal difference between paganism and Mohammedanism is that, in the former case, the amulet is a morsel of horn or rag, whilst in the latter it consists of a pouch enclosing a verse from the Koran or a prayer written bj^ a fakih. Social Usages. Temporar}^ mai'riages are practised throughout Kordofan ; even at El-(jbeid the custom of the " fourth free," which is specially attributed to the Hassanieh, is said to exist amongst several families of other tribes. Polyandry, regulated for each of the husbands by a partial purchase of the women, would appear to be an extremely common institution. Amongst the Ghodiats of the plains and the Joama Arabs, no young girl has the right to marry till she has presented her brother or uncle with a child, the son of an unknown father, destined to serve as a slave to the head of the family. Amongst other tribes, the women belong only to the strongest or to the one who can endure the most. A day is fixed for the young men who dispute for the possession of the girl to assemble before the old men and the women armed with kurbashes, and those who bear the greatest number of blows without flinching are judged worthy to obtain the prize. At other times two of the rivals lie prostrate on the ground, one to the right the other to the left of the young girl, who, her elbows armed with knives, rests with all the weight of her body on the naked thighs of the young men. He who submits the most gallantly to these fearful wounds becomes the fortunate husband, and the wife's first care is to staunch the fearful gash that she has made. Several other customs bear witness to the barbarous energy of these "Arabs" of Kordofan and Dar-For. Often when an old man feels his end approaching he quits the dwelliag-place without telling his friends, makes his religious ablutions in the desert sand, excavates a pit, and wrapping himself in his shroud, lies down with his feet turned towards Mecca. He looks to the sun and then, veiling his face, waits till the evening breeze shall blow the sand over his grave. Perhaps the hyaenas commence to gnaw his limbs before he has breathed his last ; but he will die without complaining, for the object of his existence is accomplished. Topography— El-Oheid. El- Ohc'id, or Lohcit as it is called by all the natives, capital of the pro^ance of Kordofan, and the first Mahdi's residence till the beginning of 1885, occupies precisely a situation which presents all the conditions necessary for the establish- ment of a large city. Should it be again destroj'ed, as it was in 1821 at the period of the arrival of the Turks, it would spring up on the same site or in the TOPOGRAPHY— EL-iiBETD. 207 imiuediate vicinit}- with renewed life. El-Obeid is built iu one of the parts of Kordofaa where the rainfall is most abundant ; the heat there is also less over- Fig. 87.— El-Obeii). Scale 1 : 20,000. I 50" 59-50- L . of Gr 50-55-50" Arab dwellings. Wooden huts. Brick and stone bouses. ___^ 550 Yards. powering than elsewhere, since the town lies at a height of 2,030 feet, although there are no mountains to be scaled before reaching it.s basin. In this region the mountains, either isolated or disposed in parallel ridges, leave the way open in every direction, and the caravans converge there without meeting with any obstacles. To the west of the Xile El-Obeid is the first station where the caravans rest and reform on the wav to Dar-For, "Wadai, and Western 263 NORTH-EAST AFEICA. Africa. Its principal relations are not with Khartum, but with the villages situated at the end of the great bend which the river describes above Dongola. As the cataracts of the Nile greatly increase the cost of transjjort, it is in the interest of the caravans coining from Eg3'pt to follow the desert route south-east towards Khartum and south towards El-Obeid. In both of these towns, articles of European manufacture commanded the same market price before the rising of Kordofan. The trade of El-Obeid was then very considerable, especially the sale of slaves who, according to Munzinger, form three-fourths of the pojDulation of Kordofan. Like the European cottons consigned to the western countries, nearly all the ostrich feathers imported from For pass through El-Obeid. The exporta- tion of gums in 1880 was valued at 100,900 cwt., which is equivalent to a sum of £80,000.* Shoidd El-Obeid lose this trade, wherein lay its importance, what would become of this capital of Kordofan, even were it to be chosen as the capital of a new emjDire under any of the rival Mahdis ? However, ever since the destruction of the EgyjDtian army the isolation of the town has not been so great as might be supposed, and relations with Tripoli have been actively carried on through Wadai and Fezzan ; but the Europeans have not played their usual role as the inter- mediaries in this revived commerce. El-Obeid does not offer the aj^pearance of a compact city ; it is rather a collec- tion of villages relieved here and there by brick buildings erected in the " Christian style." Around the southern quarter, which is the town properly so-called, nearly all the dwellings are mere tokids, like those of the country hamlets — huts of earth, which collapse under a heavy shower of rain, or else cabins of mats or branches, surrounded by thorny hedges to prevent the camels from gnawing the cloths and ropes which are placed on the houses. The popidations of various origin are distributed throughout the different quarters accorduig to their ethnical affinities. Here are settled the Jalin or Danagla merchants ; farther on reside the Nubas, the Takruri, the immigrants of For and the Maugrabins, whilst before the war four or five hinidred Greeks had their shops in the centre of the southern quarter. A few gardens skirt the kheran, or sandy river-beds, which intersect the to-ivn, and which are sometimes flooded ; but nearly all the cabins are surrounded by fields of dokhn. During the dry seasons nothing but dusty spaces intervene between the huts, and the town presents a dreary appearance ; but towards the end of the kharif, when the vegetation is in its beauty, the outlying quarters of El-Obeid apjDcar like vast prairies, and the conic roofs of the tokuls are hardly visible above the floating sea of red-eared dokhn. Before the war the population of El-Obeid, including the suburban villages, was calculated at 30,000 persons. An Italian traveller even ventures to raise the number to 100,000 ; but it is probable that the capital of Kordofan has become almost abandoned since the fii'st Mahdi ordered the peojjle, under pain of death, to quit their brick houses and dwell either in the tent or in • TruJe of Kordofan, according to Prout, in IS'C: Imports, £50,000; Exports, £132,000. Total, £182,000. ^UiU-a^AZ— MELBEIS— BAEA— KAESIAE— EL-SAFI. 269 huts of brandies, so that no exterior signs might bear witness to inequality amongst the Mussuhnans, all " sons of the same father." In the spring of the year 1885 the report reached Europe that El-Obe'id had been burnt and plundered, the booty being carried away to Jebel-Dehr by Nowal, an Arab sheildi who had never submitted to the first Mahdi. Then came the news that a second or rival ITahdi, Muley Hassan AH, made a triumphant entrj' into the capital of Kordofan on March 12th, 1885. He bore a sword in his hand, rode on a white horse, and was followed by derwishes, by prisoners, and by his adherents with drawn swords. When he passed the people kissed the ground, and during his staj' in the mosque a large pile was made, upon which a copy of the other Mahdi's Koran was burnt. The new Mahdi told the assembled multitudes that Mahommed had given him a sword wherewith to extirpate the " false " Mahdi and all his followers. Since then it appears that the forces of the rival Mahdis have met on the battlefield, and that the original Mahdi was defeated with great slaughter and di'iven out of Kordofan. Abu-Haraz — Melbeis. To the south-west of El-Obei'd is Ahu-Haraz, a somewhat important group of hamlets, situated in a large wooded valley, in the midst of gardens sui'rounded by quickset hedges. McUie'is, another town, is built in a depression near a morass occasionally flooded by the torrents which descend from Mount Kordofan. In the vicinity of this town, on the banks of the Khor Kashgil, a tributary of the Abu- Hableh, is the spot where was fought in 1883 the decisive battle which put an end to the Egyptian rule by exterminating an army of eleven thousand men. At the same time the Europeans lost much of their prestige in the ej'es of the natives, because the commander of the Egyjitian troops was General Hicks, an Englishman, and the bulk of his ofhcers had been selected from the British army. Throughout the whole of the Nile basin it was repeated from tribe to tribe that England had been conquered by the Mahdi, and that the cannons of the " Infidels " had thundered in vain against the warriors sent by God. Bara — Kaimar — El-Safi. The main caravan routes In Kordofan were till recently skirted by the tele- graph, which was much dreaded by the natives ; many of them hardly dared to speak when near the wires, lest their voices might be heard at Khartum or in Egypt. To the north of El-Obeid, the principal town, situated on the caravan route between Kordofan and the bend described by the Nile at Dabbeh, is Bara, foimded by the Danagla merchants. Under the rule of the Dar-F6r people before the invasion of the Egyptians, this market-town was very prosperous ; at that time, according to tradition, " all the Bara women wore earrings of gold and bracelets and hair-pins of gold and silver." Near Bara was fought in 1821 the battle 270 NOETH-EAST AFRICA. which procured Kordofan for the Egyptians, and which revenged, after a coui'se of two generations, the still more terrible battle of KashgQ. One of the stations on the route between Bara and Dabbeh is the oasis of Knintar, or Kajmar, where there is a small intermittent lake full of salt water ; but the wells in the vicinity furnish fresh water nearly as good as that of the Nile. In the vicinity, on the Jebel-IIaraza, Lejean has seen a rock covered with curious paintings, which probably rejjresent a razzia. One of the figures is represented of a gigantic stature, the beard cut to a point, and wearing a costume similar to that used by the Franks during the First Crusade. Beyond this point, on the route to Dabbeh, lies the oasis of Es-Safi, which, thanks to its magnificent vegetation, is one of the most beautiful in all Africa. Although not permanently inhabited it may be considered as the centre of the Kababish nation, who cultivate the soil and water their cattle at its streams. At the period of Cuny's visit, at least fiiteen thousand camels were grazed in the district surrounding Lake Es-Safi. The water, which probably filters from the Nile through the sand or subterranean rocks, covers a vast space, and is dotted with islands. During the rainy season the trees on the banks are partly submerged by the rising waters. Flocks of ducks and geese swim on the sui'face of the lake, whilst its banks are lined with waterfowl — storks, herons, ibis, secretaries, and pelicans. CHAPTER X. DAE-FOK. ^7^1 AR-FOR, or the " Country of For," more commonly called Darfur, by fusing the two words in a similar fashion to that in which the French say " Angleterre," instead of "Pays des Anglais," is the •region which stretches west of Kordofan on the route to the river Niger. Dar-For does not entirely belong to the Nile basin. Its western slope, which has as yet been explored but by few travellers, appears to lose its waters in depressions with no outlet ; but if the rainfall were sufficiently abundant the wadies of this region, changed into permanent watercourses, would ultimately reach Lake Tsad. The streams draining in the direction of the Xile also run dry in the plains, except in the season of the kharif, when the streamlets rising in the southern part of Motint ilarrah fall into the Bahr-el-Arab. Wady-ilelek, or Wed-el-Mek, that is to say the " Royal Valley," also called "Wady-Mas-Sul, which rims to the north-east of Dar-For towards the great bond of the Xile, is also flooded with water during rainy years, possibly for ten or fifteen days together ; but it never reaches the Xile, its mouth being blocked by shifting sands. The enormous fluvial bed, nearly always dry, might roll down a volume equal to that of the Rhone or the Rhine. Its sandstone or limestone cliffs, here and there interrupted by lava streams, are from 3 to 30 miles apart, whilst the hollows are filled with trees, which form a continuous line like a band of verdure in the midst of the desert. The eastern half of Dar-For, belonging to the Nile basin, is the most important part from a political point of view, probablj^ on account of the commercial attraction exercised by the Nilotic towns, and because, in the neighbourhood of the moimtains, where water is more plentiftil, the people naturally settle down in larger nmnbers. In this respect Dar-For is a second Kordofan, but on a much larger scale. Around a central district dotted with settled ^•illages stretches the zone of the wilderness and grassy savannahs. A country of this description can scarcely have any fixed boundaries ; here camps, wells, clumps of acacias or brushwood, and bleached bones are the signs by which the traveller knows he is crossing from one district into another. As far as 272 NOETH EAST .VPEICA. can. be judged, without attempting an at present impossible approximation, tbe area of Dar-F6r and its dependencies may be estimated at 200,000 square miles. This extent of country is bounded to the north by the desert, east by Kordofan, south by the Bahr-el-Arab, and west by Wadai, whilst its total populations, according to Xachtigal, amounts to at least 4,000,000. Mason, however, who has also visited this country, thinks that the population does not exceed one million and a half. PuoGREss OF Discovery. Dar-F6r, whose capital is more than 360 miles from the NQe in a straight line, is too far removed from this great commercial route to have been frequently visited. It was not known even at the end of the last century except by name, and it was then that it entered for the first time into the history of geographj', thanks to the voyage of the Englishman, Brown, who remained in the coimtry three years, although rather as a captive than a free man.* An Arab, Mohammed el Tunsy, or the " Tunisian," dwelt still longer in Dar-F6r, and wrote a very interesting work upon it, which has since been translated into French. It is still the only book which contains the fullest and most valuable account of the history, manners, and customs of the Dar-Forians. The Frenchman Cuny in 18-58 presented himself at the court of El-Fasher, but he mysteriously died there a few daj's after his arrival, and not even his diary from El-Obeid to El-Fasher has been preserved. The sovereign of Dar-F6r had doubtless wished to act up to the name bestowed on his coimtr^^ " the mouse- traj) of Infidels," who, it is said, "can easily come in, but never get out again." It was to Nachtigal, the third European visitor, that fell the honour of describing, for the first time during this century, the interior of a country hitherto so little known. This explorer was still in Dar-F6r when the slave-dealer Zibehr commenced its conquest, which was soon afterwards achieved in the name of the Egyptian Government. The country was opened to travellers, and the European staff ofiioers were able to draw up a map of it ; but the Egyptian occupation has not even lasted ten j'ears. The governor nominated by the Khedive is a prisoner of the insurgent Mussulmans, and the frontier of Dar-F6r is again forbidden to explorers for a time. Physical Features. More truthfully than to most other countries the expression " backbone " may be applied to the mountain system of Dar-F6r. Here almost more than elsewhere the whole living organism — streams, plants, animals, man himself and his history — are attached to the main ranges as to the bones of a skeleton. "Without the mountains of Marrah there would be no Dar-F6r. This chain of lavas and granites, whose general shape is that of a crescent, commences north of the fourteenth degree of latitude, and after running southwards for a distance of about 120 miles, sweeps round to the west. At the point where Nachtigal crossed it, towards its northern * AV. G. Brown, " Travels in Africa," 1799. PHYSICAL FEATURES. 273 extremity, it bears the name of Kerakeri, which signifies "rubbish," or " rabbit- burrow,' ' which term has been procured for it by the thousands of crumbling blocks covering its slopes. At the highest point, which is crossed by the route from Wada'i to El-Fasher, Nachtigal determined an approximate height of 3,553 feet, which the neighbour- ing summits exceed by from 500 to 1,000 feet. During their short occupation of the country the officers of the Egyptian army, notably Mason, Purdy, and Messe- daglia, partially explored the interior of the uplands, measuring some of the crests which overlook the rest of the lofty granite masses. One of them, that of Tura, Fig. 8S.— Central Region or Dae-F6h. Scnle 1 : 4,400,000. rt^**'-> / afc' , •i'^°''° 15" C/-: ^DAH ELt'-GHARB A A^^— <^/:^ ■rO'^'^f^i 4> ,d); 1 M, A ,,L.l ^, I \Toia5K ■Vf^ V-;' r '^ ^' E - of G reen .v'ch Q. FerrQn . 00 Miles. in the northern part of the chain, rises to a height of 4,800 feet. According to Mason, the culminating point of the Marrah range attains an altitude of 6,100 feet, or about 2,660 feet above the low-lying plains of Dar-F6r. The rocks of Marrah contain numerous caverns, several of which formerly served as pri.sons, some for the sons of princes, othcis for the viziers. To the north and south are secondary chains and isolated masses lOce those of Kordofan. Such are the superb Gurger Mountains to the north-west, and the Jebel-Si, standing quite alone in the plain and terminated by an enormous crag in the shape of a throne. A village is perched round these escarpments, protected by VOL. x. T 274 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. a circular enclosure. In "the more remote regions of central Dar-F6r are also a few isolated ujilands. The confines of Wadai, towards the north-west angle of Dar-F6r, are indicated from afar by the Jebel-Abu-Ahraz, or the " Mountain of the Father of the Acacias." A second height, better known, as it commands the caravan route from Kobeh to Siut to the west, develops its peaks, such as the Jebel-Dor and the Jebel-Anka, in a lino with the northern continuation of the main axis of the Marrah range. To the north-east of Dar-For, the Jebel-Medob lifts its sandstone ^-alls and granite cupolas, here and there broken by lava streams, to a height of nearly 4,000 feet. Beyond this point extends the plateau of the Jebel-Ain, skirted by the "Wady-Melek. To the east the Jebel-el-Hillet, which is skirted by the route from El-Fasher to El-Obeid, and to the south, in the hydrographic basin of the Bahr-el- Arab, are stiU several other isolated uplands, connected by no intermediate ridges with the Marrah highlands. The Jebel-Hadid, one of these groups of hills, is very rich in iron ores. Some 30 miles to the south-west of the Jebel-Dango, another mountain mass rising above a plain, are the copper-mines of Hofrah, celebrated throughout the whole of central Africa. The mineral vein which is now being worked lies on the right bank of the Bahr-el-Fertit, an affluent of the Bahr-el-Arab. An excavation, 500 feet long by 50 feet broad, with a mean depth of 10 feet, has been dug out by the miners, and shafts, now abandoned, have been sunk in all directions within a radius of 1,660 feet from the pit. It was mainly with a view to obtain these copper-mines that the Khedive caused Dar-For to be occupied. Few other regions have been the cause of more wars between the African populations than these now valueless mineral beds. Hydrographic System. The rainfall and the waters of the wadies are regulated by the atmospheric currents, as in Kordofan; however, it would appear that the higher mean elevation and the greater extent of the Dar-For highlands cause more of the rain-bearing winds to be arrested, thus securing a more copious rainfall for this region. Near the centre of this mountainous district, in a closed amphitheatre, lies a lake which has never yet been visited by European travellers. The rains are more abimdant in the western region of Dar-For ; and as the concave side of the crescent-shaped Marrah range faces westwards, the water- courses of this watershed all converge on the main branch, the Wady-Azum, a relativel}' copious stream, although its bed is dry for a portion of the j^ear. On the convex slope of the Marrah Mountains the running waters, diverging east and southwards, become lost in the desert, and hence are unable to unite their sandy beds in one common hydrographic sj'stem. On the southern slope alone, where the rains fall more frequently, the rivers have a longer course and constitute veritable fluvial basins. Thus, during the rainy season, the Wady-Amor and the "Wady-el-Ko combine to fill a rahad or lake of some considerable size, at which the Rizegat Baggaras water their cattle. jiNivttisrrvoi iLLiiv.. FLORA. 275 Farther westwards, other wadies send down during the kharif a sufficient volume to cause the floods to spread out into vast temporary lakes, in which the I dunes and argilaceous hills appear like islands. Here and there are even some lakes in the steppe, such as Lake Taimo, in which water is found at the height of the dry season. Xeverlheless "Wilson and Felkin state that at S/it'kka, during the diy months, the people use the juice of the water-melon instead of water for household purposes, and that the cattle have scarcely any other liquid to drink. The upper Bahr-el-Arah, which receives the surplus of all the wadies of southern Dar-F6r, is flooded throughout the year, and in the Bahr-el-Fcrtit, a northern afiluent of the Bahr-el-Ai-ab, water is always to be obtained at a depth of a few inches below the surface. The fish take refuge in the deep pools excavated by the cuiTent at the base of the rocks, and the river is said to be navigable during the kharif. The southern region, which is often flooded, is the least healthy, whilst that of the north, being drier, and at the same time lying at a higher elevation, is generally salubrious. Flora. The flora of Dar-For is identical with that of Kordofan, at least in the region which is not watered by the afiluents of the Bahr-el-Arab. The plants and wild beasts, as well as the cultivated species of the domestic animals, differ in no respect in the two regions. The same living forms and products are to be found in the corresponding climatic zones ; however, the western region of Dar-For, where water is more abundant, and the layer of vegetable humus thicker, is by far the richest in variety of species. In both coimtries, woods and groves are found only on the banks of the wadies, the intermediary tracts presenting the appearance of a steppe or even a desert. Acacias, tamarisks and sycamores are the commonest varieties of trees. The baobab, which in Dar-For is also used as a reservoir' dm-ing the dry season, finds its northern limit towards the middle of the country. In the moimtains the branching euphorbias recall the flora of the Abyssinian plateau ; here are also foimd cedars, orange-trees, citrons and pomegranates, which reminded the Italian ilessedaglia of his country. Before the war, the fruit of the tamarisk, kneaded into small cakes, was exported to Xubia and Egypt. One of the most valuable trees is the higlik (halaniies uSiji/ptiacaJ, whose fruit, neglected in the zeriba region, is used as an ahment by the Forians. The fruit, made into a paste with pounded roots, is also used as soap, whilst the young leaves and shoots make an excellent seasoning. The ashes yield a kind of pickle, also employed in their diet, and its wood bums without giving out smoke. Thus the higlik is to the Forians what the date is to the Egj-ptians. The palm is rarely seen, although the western districts possess the wine palm (raj)/iia viuifera). Dar-For and Kordofan are comprised between two zones of vegetation, to the north that of the date, and to the south that of the deleb palm. ■r 2 276 NORTH-EAST AJ?EICA. Fauxa. The southern part of Dar-F6r also forms the northern boundary of the forest zone, which, however, thanks to the rains, encroaches towards the north on the basin of the Bahr-el- Arab. Here stretch the dense forests of El-Hallah, frequented by the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, and buffalo, which are chased by the Baggara hvmters of the Kambanieh or Habanieh tribe. The ostrich, and various species of antelope, are also found in large numbers in the surrounding steppes ; but the plains of the northern provinces are the favourite resort of the ostrich hunters, and the finest feathers are procured from this region. In the vast steppes which intervene between Kordofan and Dar-For, the nomad pastors engage twice yearly, before and after the rainy season, in a general battue. All the domestic animals of the tribe, such as the camels, horses and oxen, used as mounts or beasts of burden, are brought into requisition and driven to the hunting- ground, where the beaters spread out into a circle so as to drive the game towards the entrance of a narrow passage strewn with traps and well guarded at the outlet. Horsemen then fall upon the captive animals and massacre them before they have time to destroy or free themselves from the traps. Occasionally as many as three hundred large animals — antelopes, gnus, and buffaloes — are thus obtained in one day, and the tribe are in this way enabled to pay the arrears of their taxes. In the southern region of Dar-For, the ardha, or white ants, exist in such numerous colonies that whole forests are destroyed by them. In times of want the natives eat these termites, mixed with the fruit of the tamarind. After sunset they light fires before the pyramidal hills of the " white ants," who rush out in thousands, and thus whole boxes are packed with them " like the boxes of currants in Greece." Inhabitants of Dar-Fok. The race of "pure Forians," as Mohammed the Tunisian called them, occujjy the mountainous region in the centre of the countr}% As far as can be judged by the meagre reports on the tribes that have been studied by travellers, thej' are Nigritians of a dark brown complexion, the nose flat and the forehead low and receding. They are divided into several groups, of which the most important are the Kunjara, who till recently ruled over the countr)', and governed Kordofan before the arrival of the Egyptians. Although considered as Nas-el-Belid, or a " stupid jjeople," the Forians have at least this advantage, that they lack the cruelty and avarice of their neighbours. Under their rule the people of Kordofan increased and prospered, whereas they have become impoverished and have decreased since the departure of the Kunjaras. The Kimjara language, which after Arabic is that most generalh' spoken in Dar-For, is said probably to belong to the Nubian group. But Lepsius has discovered that there are essential differences between the speech of the Nubas and that of the Kunjaras. The Massabat nomads, who are found in the plains between Dar-For and Kordofan, are also said to be of Forian race, although thev are now assimilated to THE AEABS OF DAR-FOR— SOCIAI. USAGES. 277 the Arabs in speech. There are moreover numerous other communities, who.se classification is a matter of great difficulty. All call themselves Arabs, so as to appear of more noble extraction ; but the bulk of them arc probably allied to the Forians. The powerful Massalit tribes, several of which live in complete inde- pendence on the western frontiers of Dar-F6r and in Wadai, are amongst those tribes believed to be of aboriginal descent. Till recently they were in constant feud with the Habanieh tribe, who occupy more especially the southern region of Par-For ; but peace has now been restored. According to Xachtigal, some of these people are still addicted to anthropophagy. The Arabs of Dar-F6r. The northern part of the country, on the verge of the desert between Kordofan and Wadai, is peopled by Barabra immigrants, Zogawahs, Bideyats, and many others, and even by Bisharins from Eastern Nubia. There are numerous Wadai colonies in Dar-For which, like the other natives of the western countries, are generall)' known by the name of Takrur or Takarir. Dar-For has also been colonised by Fulas, belonging to the same race as those of Western Africa, and by Homrs, Hamrs, or Beni-Hamrans, who possess many camels, and who claim to have come from Marocco. They live principally to the north-east of the Marrah ^loun- tains, in the Om-Bedr oasis, and to the west in the Wady-Bareh, where they practice sorcery ; some of their families have even penetrated as far as Kordofan. According to Ensor, the Homrs are distinguished from the other inhabitants of Dar-For by the respect which they show to their wives. The majority of the strangers consist of Arabs, or of " peoples assimilated to the Arabs," who have come from the north and east. Already some centuries ago, and probably even at a period anterior to the Hegira, nomads from the Ai'abian peninsula had penetrated into Dar-For. The Tuujur or Tunzer, who governed the coimtry and whose descendants still live in the mountains and plains situated south of El-Fasher, claim to be Arabs and are considered as such, although they are not Mohammedans, and although the peoples in these countries are usually classed according to their religion. In the opinion of Lejean they are not Arabs, but Tubbu tribes who have migrated from the north-west. The Mussulman " Arabs" also, who roam in the plains, di^-ided into numerous groups, are evidently of mixed origin, like those of Kordofan, whom they resemble in customs and speech. In southern Dar-For all the tribes belong to the great Baggara family. According to Mohammed the Timisian, children born of mixed Arab and For parents die at an early age, whilst those born of parents of the same race are usually of sound and vigoroiis constitu- tion. Consumption is extremely rare amongst them, and this malady is almost unknown elsewhere in Dar-For. Social Usages. The civilisation of the Forians is of Mussulman origin, and the Arabs have evidentlv been the instructors of the nation. Literature and science, if these two 278 NORTH-EAST APEICxV. terras can be used in connection with a people who have scarcely emerged from barbarism, are reduced to a study of the Koran. A few magical practices, probably of African origin, are mingled with the Arab traditions; and even dui-ing this century human sacrifices were made at the chief royal ceremonies. On the accession of every sovereign, and on other occasions, two young brothers were sacrificed with great pomp, and the king with his high functionaries feasted on their flesh. Agriculture is still in a very rudimentary state, their plough consisting of a kind of hoe which a man drags after him. But this occupation is, nevertheless, highly honoured. Formerly the sultan of Dar-F6r, like the king of the Funj in Senar, the emperor of China, and other sovereigns, was extremely proud of being the first sower in his kingdom. After the rains he went forth in great pomp, accompanied by the State dignitaries and a hundred young and handsome women, and cast the seed into a prepared field, all the courtiers imitating him. Then the people sowed in their turn each in his own field, and when the harvest recom- pensed his toil, the faithful subject offered up his homage to the " royal farmer." Nearly all the mountain region is jDerfectly cultivated in terraces, and produces cereals and cotton. But according to Ensor, at most a hundredth part of the arable lands on the plains has been reclaimed. Industries in Dar-F6r are still in a very undeveloped state, except those of brickwork and pottery. But the cotton stuffs that are woven in the tents are verj' durable and much sought after. By the natives they are even preferred to those sold by the Dongola merchants, which are of European or American manufacture. These latter are generally iised as money, but salt bricks are also employed as a means of exchange. Commercial Relations. Since the annexation of Dar-F6r to the vast Egyptian possessions, commercial relations had become frequent with the Nile. The caravans frequently journeyed between the river and El-Fasher by the market-towns of Kordofan, or else directly towards Dabbeh, on the great bend of the river. Since 1875 the Egj-ptian Government has even projected a future line of railway foUowing the natural route offered by the bed of the Wady-Melek, which is generally shunned by the caravans on account of the danger of attack from marauders. Before the Egyptian conquest, nearly all the traffic of Dar-F6r with the rest of the world was conducted by the mediimi of the " great caravan," which was increased by numerous smaller " kafilahs," setting out from the banks of the Tsad and Niger. Every year, or else every two or three years, according to the political situation and the state of the markets, the Takrur pilgrims banded themselves together into a kafilah in northern Dar-F6r, and the merchants combined with them in order to take part at once in this pious duty and in a profitable work. The great caravan consisted occasionally of some thousands of persons and fifteen thousand camels. This moving army, which none of the pillaging steppe tribes dared to attack, did TOPOGRAPHY— EL-FASHEE—KOBEH— TOE A . 279 not take the dii-ection of Ktartum, or even that of the Xuhian Xile. Guided by the stars, the sun, and old beaten paths, it marched from station to station in a northerly direction, attaining the Nile at Siut. Like the caravan of Kordofan, it had its particular route, wells, and oases, and hence did not run the risk of having to fight for the possession of the water gushing forth here and there in the desert. Moreover it was split up into several sections, which followed each other at a few days' interval, so as to give the water time to collect again at the bottom of the wells. Some caravans, compelled to move rapidly, completed the journey in forty- five days ; but they usually rested at the stations and in the oases, and did not arrive in the valley of the Xile till after a journey of two or three months. Bearing the valuable products of central Africa — ivory, ostrich feathers, gum, tamarinds, skins of wild beasts, and rhinoceros horns, to which were added slaves, eunuchs and the bulk of the camels of the caravan — the merchants usually remained about sis months in Egypt, awaiting the return of the pilgrims from Mecca. They then set out on their return journey to Dar-For laden with woollen goods, pearls, glass trinkets, and chased weapons, articles light of weight but of great value, for the transport of which they did not require such a long convoy of animals. At the time of the French expedition into Egypt, General Bonaparte, desiring to open up relations with the Sultan of Dar-For by means of these caravans, asked him to send in exchange for his merchandise, " two thousand black slaves, over sixteen years of age, strong and vigorous." Topography. Dar-For is naturally divided into a central pro^-ince, that of the moimtainous region, from which the watercourses descend, and where the masters of the country have nearly always resided, and into the provinces of the surrounding lands, including the region of the steppes. The clar or central region, which comprises the highlands, is kno■^^■n by the name of Torra ; the others are termed according to their geographical situation, Dar-Tokonavi or "the north," Dali or "the east," Uma or "the south," Dima or "the south-west," and El-Gharb or " the west." Moreover, aU the well-defined geographical regions bear the name of dar or " country," independently of the political or administrative divisions. El-FaSHER KOBEH TORA. The present Fasher, that is to say the " Residence," is situated at a height of 2,4.56 feet on the eastern slope of Dar-For, between two sandy hills, and on the edge of the Tendelti lakelet, which is fed by a wady descending from the northern Marrah lulls. Its current, being retained by a dyke, supplies the inhabitants with water for more than half of the year ; however, before the rainy season the bed of the lake has to be excavated to a depth of over 30 feet before drinking water can be procui-ed. El-Fasher lies nearly midway between the capitals of 280 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. Kordofun and Wadai, on the regular caravan route. It is not the largest town in the country, being merely a group of clay huts thatched with straw, with, accord- ing to Eusor, a population in 1875 of merely 2,650 persons. The principal city, which was also the "residence" towards the end of the last century, is KoheJi, also lying on the caravan route some 30 miles to the north- west. Of all the towns of Dar-F6r, it is the onlj^ place which boasts of a few stone houses, a proof of the influence of a remote civilisation. These houses belong to the merchants or the heads of the caravans, and are surrounded by huts similar to those which are found in all other towns and villages of this country. Towards the end of last century, Brown estimated its population at 6,000 persons. Omshanga, situated nearly midway between El-Fasher and El-Obeid, at the junction of the Shekka route, is also a large town, provided with an abundance of excellent water, which is contained in wells 130 feet deep. South-west of El- Fasher, in an upland mountain valley, the town of Tora, Torra, or Toran, which has given its name to the central province of For, is also said to be regarded as a kind of capital, and here are all the royal tombs. Since the Egyptians have obtained possession of the country, new towns have been founded, the most important of which is Fojeh or Foja, the arrival station of the Egjqjtian caravans. The oasis of Om-Bcdr, about 60 miles to the north, has no settled villages, although it is the centre of the Homr populations. At times over six thousand persons and fifty thousand camels assemble together on the temporary camping-ground. Dara — Shekka — Tiesiia. Dara, in the northern region of the province, till recently enjoyed some little distinction as the residence of an Egyptian niudir or governor, and as the caravan station between Dom-Suleiman and El-Obeid. A mere group of tokuls, it lies near the left bank of the Wadj'-Amur, on which also stands the village of Menovachi, about 60 miles farther north. Near here in 1874 was fought the decisive battle which cost King Brahim his life, and converted Dar-F6r into an Egyptian province. To the south-east the town of Shekka or Shakka, which still lies within the limits of the ancient kingdom of For, was the chief town of the province of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, under the khedival rule. It is peopled with Jellabis or "mer- chants," as is also the case with a small group of villages, bearing the general name of Kobesh, but which is usually termed Kahika, like the surrounding country. Midway between Shekka and El-Fasher, the principal caravan station is Tuesha, a second group of villages whose name is but too well known throughout the Mussulman world. It is a depot for slaves, who are here generallj- made eunuchs before being forwarded to Egypt. The routes converging on Tuesha are covered with the bleaching bones of these unfortunate people, whom no one thinks it worth while to burj\ In its western division, beyond the Marrah Mountains, Dar-F6r appears to DAEA— SHEIvKA— TUESIL\.. 281 possess no groups of settled habitations deserving the name of town or village. Here it is everywhere conterminous with the powerful Mahommedan kingdom of Wadai, with which it is connected by only one known militarj' or caravan highway. The drainage also lies in the same direction, all the streams rising on the western slopes of the Alarrah range flowing intermittently through the Batha and the Bahr-es-Salamat westwards to the basin of Lake Tsad. CHAPTER XI. XUBIA. HE torm Niihia, applied to the country wliicli lies beyond Egypt, has no precise geographical sense; nor can any meaning be attached to it from a political or administrative point of view. It probably had once a real ethnological value, at a period when the Xubas, not yet driven back by other populations, were the onlj- dwellers on the banks of the Nile throughout a great part of its course. But wars and invasions have for a long time modified these former conditions. At the present time the term Nubia is variously employed in current language. At one time it is applied merely to the region of the Wady-Nuba, which comprises that part of the river's course which is broken up by the thousand rapids of the second cataract, whilst at another it is used to designate the whole of the region bounded north by the rapids of Assuan, south by the junction of the two Niles, east by the Red Sea, and west by the trackless desert. The natural geographical limits of Nubia, on the southern side, seem to be formed by the junction of the Nile and Atbara, and by the route from Berber to Suakin. Nubia, thus bounded in the direction of the Abyssinian plateaux, does not include any of those regions which are connected with Abyssinia, properly so-called, by their mountains, hydrographic system, or populations. Its approximate area within these limits and on the western side as far as the twentj'-seventh degree of cast longitude, is estimated at 100,000 square miles, with a population of about 1,000,000. According to Riippell, the arable land of Nubia, limited by the desert, is not more than 1,300 square miles in extent, and all the inhabitants are concen- trated within this fertile riverain tract. The region, some himdreds of miles broad, which north of the Atbara and Barka separates the valley of the Nile from the Red Sea coast, is commanded by chains of heights, similar to those traversing the territory of the Hadendoas, Hallengas, and Bazens ; but these chains, separated from the Abyssinian spurs by the deep breaches and by the nearly always dried-up beds of numerous wadies, constitute a special orthographic sj'stem. Whilst the Abyssinian chain, although abruptly terminated by the deep bed of the Red Sea, reappears as it were in Arabia as the Yemen uplands, the mountains of the Bisharin country develop tlicir axis THE NUBIAN COAST RANGE. 283 parallel with the shores of the Arabian Sea. Besides, kno^Ti mider different names at each of their several sections, they extend for a distance of over 600 miles to the very gates of Cairo. It is the Egj^ptian part of this long ridge which takes the name of the " Arabian " range, because the riverain Nile populations see it standing out against the skj- in the direction of Arabia. The Nubian Mountains, east of the Nile, are also sometimes coUectively termed Etbai, a name which is more especially reserved for a hill which rises near the coast opposite Jedda. The Ncbiax Coast Raxge. The coast or border chain of Nubia between Suakin and the Ras-Benas, north of the ancient port of Berenice, consists, like its Egyptian extension, almost entirely Fig. 89. — Mineral Region of the Etbai Ui'Lands. Scale 1 : 3,000,000. Cferron 60 Miles. of primitive rocks, such as granite, gneiss, and crystalline schist ; towards the south alone the system presents extensive limestone formations. Rising gradually from the south to the north, it cidminates in the Jebel-Olba, which, according to TVellsted, exceeds a height of 8,000 feet. Connected at this point with the mountains of the interior by lateral offshoots, the chain again falls in a north- westerly direction. At Moxmt Irba (Soturba) it attains a height of 7,010 feet, and at Mount Elba, the Etbai properly so-called, it rises to more than 4,080 feet, that is, about the same height as the Jebel-Farageh, the Pentodactyle of the ancients, lying farther north, and which Schweinfurth vainly attempted to scale. In certain places the base of these escarpments is washed by the waters of the Red Sea, 284 NORTH-EAST AFBICA. ■whilst at other points the sahcl or Ichama of the coast is occupied liy the low hills of the tertiary epoch, moving sand-hills, and coraline reefs. The pyramid-shaped islet of Zcmerjil, which lies GO miles o£P the coast in a line with the Eas-Benas headland, serves as a landmark to the vessels entering the dangerous waters of the Arabian Sea. The NiiiiAN Gold Mixes. The Elba Mountains merge in the interior with other heights of divers forma- tions, in which the ancient Pharaohs worked gold and silver mines. It is certain that, during its long period of splendour, Egypt was very rich in precious metals ; in this resjjcct the monuments are in harmony with the statements of the Greek authors. Nubia appears to have furnished the greater part of the gold, and accord- ing to a tradition, to which weight is added b}' the heaps of rubbish and galleries hewn in the auriferous rocks and formerly inhabited caves, the principal mining centre was at Wady-AUaki, which is a series of ravines stretching away to the west of the Elba Mountains. These ravines were worked till the middle of the twelfth century of the Christian era. The Pharaohs, Ptolemies, Greek emperors, and Arab caliphs were obliged to protect their colonies of miners against the attacks of the surrounding nomad peojjles, successively termed Blemmyes, Bejas, and Bisharins ; but the difficulties of obtaining sufficient wood to light the mines or water for the miners were probabl}^ the greatest obstacle in the way of profitabh' working the mines. All the supplies from the springs of the district had been carefully husbanded, and along the ancient desert routes, above the springs, crosses sur- mounted by a circle are still to be seen, indicating the presence of water. The description given by Diodorus Siculus, as well as the appearance of the galleries, shows that the gold was not collected in the sands, but extracted from the rock itself by the crushing process. This method was extremely costly, and could not now be adopted unless the mines were extremely rich, like certain Californian " placers." But the first exploration, undertaken by Linant de Bellefonds for Mohammed Ali, followed b}' numerous visits made by various geologists, have proved that the ancient mines of Nubia are no longer sufficient!}'- rich to be profitably worked. Hitherto no inscriptions or sculptures have been discovered in the mining region ; however, a column found at Kuban, on the right bank of the Nile between Korosko and Assuan, and the texts of the Egyptian temple of Eadesieh, built on the riverain route to the mines of Akito, shed much light on the resources of the Pharaohs. Moreover, there is in the nmsemn of Turin a fragment of an Egj^tian map, which represents a mining station with its shafts, depots, galleries, reservoirs, and temple of Ammon. This precious document, the oldest of its kind, siuce it dates from the time of Ramses II., is disposed in a way inversely to that of our maps, the east side, which is that of the Red Sea, being to the left of the sheet. It is as yet uncertain what mining district it is intended to represent. THE CENTE^VL HIGHLANDS. 285 The Centual Highlands. To the west of the border chain which skirts the lied Sea, the mountainous ridges run transversely either from the east to the west, or fron\ the north-east to the south-west, in the same direction as the portion of the Nile comprised between Abu-IIamed and Dabbeh. Some of these ridges are continuous ; such, for instance, as that of the " Cataracts," which forms the natural barrier between Nubia and Fis;. 90. — Nim.\x Gold Mines. From the Tmin Papyrus, rein-oduced by Chabas. A. The Amiferous hills are colomed red on the plan. B. Gold Mountdu. C. Shrine of Ammon on the Holy Mountain. D. Eoad to Ta Menat-ti. E. Face of the Mountain. F. Abode of Amnion. H. Houses for Storing the Gold. I. King Kamanem's Stele. C. Pen-on. K. Cistern. L. Wells. M. Road to the Coa&t. N. Another Road to the Coast. 0. Road to Tapimat. Egypt, west of Assuan ; such also is the range whose culminating point is the Jebel-Shikr, north-east of Abii-Hamed. Other ridges are intersected at intervals by broad breaches, and from a distance present the appearance of walls partially crumbling away. Like the mountains of the border chain, those of the highest transversal chains consist of crj'stalliue rocks, granites, gneiss, porphyries, syenites, diorites, and volcanic formations. In many parts of the desert occur metamorphic sandstones, which have overflowed into the crevasses in the soil. But between the mountains, which form the backbone of Eastern Nubia, are other projections of less height, nearly all isolated, although 286 NOETH-EAST AFBICA. Fip 91. — KoROSKO Desert. Scale 1 : 2,800,000. SS' *^*'"-; gg. Bab-el-Korosko 9 . scattered by iboiisands in the desert. The}' are small sandstone hills merely rising some 60 feet above the i^lain, but at some points attaining a relative elevation of 060 feet, or from 1,630 to 2,000 feet above the sea. The granite heights in the interior reach an altitude of over 2,160 feet, some of the peaks even rising to nearly 3,300 feet. The sandstone rocks of Nubia present the most diverse forms. .Some stand out like regular towers, others in the form of pj^ramids, whilst others again, whose central portion has disappeared, re- semble volcanic cones. Consisting of horizontal layers of quartzose sandstone of varying density, they offer more or less resistance in different places. In one place the summit crumbles awaj', elsewhere the base leaving the crest crowned as if with a table ; several rocks are also pierced with openings through which light is visible. The very names that the nomads and caravan leaders give to these sandstone heights are a proof of the variety of their forms. They imagine they see in them palaces, animals, and processions of warriors. Thanks to these fantastic outlines, the guides of the caravans can always de- termine their whereabouts in these endless labyrinths of breaches wiuding between the rocks. The various colours of the stone also assist them in finding their way. Certain strata are shaded with green, yellow, pink, or blue ; whilst others, in which ferruginous sands pre- dominate, are of a brilliant red. Jasper, chalcedony, and siliceous crystals are embedded in the walls. But on each journey the guide finds some changes. The sands produced by the disinte- gration of the rocks shift their position according to the direction of the wind, which carries it in a cloud aboA'e the crests, and scatters it now on one side, now on another, forming rounded heaps which blend in graceful curves with the coarser sands at the base. Shifting dunes of sand, some of which are as much as 166 feet high, move here and there through- 50' DJebe/ DJsr^'^^i r.S-"'"'' Abdu-In^eH-Chourrout ■'■■■' -'^-■;;.-'; .■■ ■■'■ yii'/!'-/';'-:-' ■ '— ' — .•.\>^'. Hamed 20' 5?" *L V of Greenwich 55 C.l^crron , GO Miles. -■'Ki^ife GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 287 out tlie open plain. They are all in the form of a crescent, the horns turning to the south under the influence of the north wind. Geologic.\l Forjiatioxs. Nearlj' all the sandstone rocks and dunes are destitute of vegetation ; but few shrubs are found on the sIojjcs of the crystalline mountains, which are embellished bj' these verdant thickets. Hitherto no fossils of animals have been discovered in the sands of the desert of Korosko, but only some petrified trees, like those in the Bayuda steppe, in Egypt, and several other countries of Eastern Africa. According to Russegger, these Nubian sandstones have been deposited since the chalk jDeriod. One of the most extraordinary products of this geological formation consists of spheroidal stones of all sizes, resembling balls, shot, and bullets. They are so thickly scattered over the soil that travellers had seriousl}' proposed to Mohammed Ali that he should suppl}^ his artillery parks from this source. These stone bullets, similar to those found in Himgary in the mountains near Koloszvar, are formed of concentric beds of variously coloured sands, hollow in the middle, or else filled with loose sand, and with a very hard ferruginous exterior. The cir- cumference of the stone is frequently marked by a ridge similar to that which the moulds leave on the bullets at their point of contact. The great caravan route which traverses the Nubian desert, to the east of the Nile, from Abu-Hamed to Korosko, extends over a space of about 300 miles, which comprises some of the most remarkable localities, offering examples of all the geological formations of the country. This region is speciall)' termed atmur, a name probably of Berber origin, for in the language of the Tuaregs termira means a " tract of country." After having ascended the trachyte-crested hills, and surmounted the granite escarpments, the caravan route winds from breach to breach between the sandstone hills, and even crosses a plain which, according to the Arabs, is an ancient lacustrine basin, the Bahr-bela-ma, or " Waterless River." Nevertheless there are no indications which point to the jjresence of running or still waters having ever been in this place. One well only, that of Morad, yields a scanty supplj^ of fresh water to travellers crossing the atmur. But there are resions in this desert where the sand contains abundance of saline substances which doubtless proceed from ancient evaporated lakes. In the vicinity of the river the natives extract this salt and sell it to the caravans. The largest of the dry valleys which wind through the desert of Nubia is that of Wady-AUaki. Taking its origin in the mountains of the Etbai, it follows a north-westerly course and falls into the Nile below Korosko ; its basin is more than 10,000 square miles in extent. It has occasionally happened that the "Wady-Allaki, suddenly filled by heavj' showers, has for some hours suddenly become a powerful affluent of the Nile, the force of its cuiTent completely barring the main-stream. But the valley of the wady and the tributar}' gorges are nearly always dry ; nevertheless, the concealed moisture is revealed by the trees, under which the Bisharin tribes are accustomed to encamp. 288 NOETH-EAST AFEICA. The Bayuda Steppe. To the west of the Nile, whose long silver band, skirted with green, stretches in two great curves across Nubia, rise mountains similar in formation to those of the east — primitive rocks, sandstone cliffs, and volcanic lavas and scoriae. The Fig. 92. — Bayuda .Steppe. Scale 1 : 3.4m,