The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs

"Auqust 16.—Great failure! We launched the canoe, but although it was carefully hollowed out, the wood was so heavy that it would only carry one person, and even then it threatened to become a bathing-machine; thus nine days' hard work are lost. Florian is in despair, but 'Nil desperandum!' I shall set to work instanter, and make a raft. Counted twenty-eight giraffes on the opposite side of the river.

"August 17.—I set to work at daybreak to make a raft of bamboo and inflated skins. There is a wood called ambatch (Anemone mirabilis) that is brought down by the river from the upper country; this is lighter than cork, and I have obtained four large pieces for my raft. Mahomet has been very saucy to-day; he has been offensively impertinent for a long time, so this morning I punched his head.

"August 18.—Launched the raft; it carries four persons safely; but the current is too strong, and it is therefore unmanageable. In the afternoon I shot a large crocodile on the other side of the river (about two hundred yards) with the little Fletcher rifle, and after struggling for some time upon the steep bank it rolled into the water.

"The large tamarind trees on the opposite bank are generally full of the dog-faced baboons (Cynocephalus) in the evening, at their drinking-hour. I watched a large crocodile creep slyly out of the water, and lie in waiting among the rocks at the usual drinking-place before they arrived, but the baboons were too wide awake to be taken in so easily. A young fellow was the first to discover the enemy; he had accompanied several wise and experienced old hands, to the extremity of the bough that at a considerable height overhung the river; from this post they had a bird's-eye view, and reconnoitred before one of the numerous party descended to drink. The sharp eyes of the young one at once detected the crocodile, who matched in colour so well with the rocks, that most probably a man would not have noticed it until too late. At once the young one commenced shaking the bough and screaming with all his might to attract the attention of the crocodile, and to induce it to move. In this he was immediately joined by the whole party, who yelled in chorus, while the large old males bellowed defiance, and descended to the lowest branches within eight or ten feet of the crocodile. It was of no use—the pretender never stirred, and I watched it until dark; it remained still inn the same place, waiting for some unfortunate baboon whose thirst might provoke his fate; but not one was sufficiently foolish, although the perpendicular banks prevented them from drinking except at that particular spot.

"The birds in this country moult twice during the year, and those of the most brilliant colours exchange their gaudy hues for a sober grey or brown. Several varieties sing beautifully; the swallow also sings, although in Europe I have never heard it attempt more than its well-known twitter.

"One of the mimosas yields an excellent fibre for rope-making, in which my people are busily engaged; the bark is as tough as leather, and forms an admirable material for the manufacture of sacks. This business is carried to a considerable extent by the Arabs, as there is a large demand for sacks of sufficient size to contain two hundred and fifty or three hundred pounds of gum arabic (half a camel load). Thus one sack slung upon each side can be packed easily to the animal.

"August 19.—A dead elephant floated down the river to-day: this is the second that has passed within the last few days; they have been most probably drowned in attempting to cross some powerful torrent tributary to the Atbara. As usual, upon the fact becoming known, the entire village rushed out, and, despite the crocodiles, a crowd of men plunged into the river about a quarter of a mile below Sofi, and swimming out they intercepted the swollen carcase, which was quickly covered with people; they were carried several miles down the river before they could tow the body to shore, by ropes fastened to the swimmers. Afterwards, there was a general quarrel over the division of the spoil: the skin, in sections, and the tusks, were brought home in triumph.

"The country being now bright green, the antelopes are distinctly visible on the opposite side. Three tetel (Antelopus Bubalis) graze regularly together in the same place daily. This antelope is a variety of the hartebeest of South Africa; it is a reddish-chestnut colour, and is about the size of an Alderney cow.

"One of the mimosas (Acacia Arabica) produces a fruit in appearance resembling a tamarind: this is a powerful astringent and a valuable medicine in cases of fever and diarrhoea; it is generally used by the Arabs for preparing hides; when dry and broken it is rich in a hard gum, which appears to be almost pure tannin.

"August 20.—Close, hot, and damp weather; violent rain about sixteen hours out of the twenty-four. When the hot season sets in, the country will almost boil. This morning I counted 154 giraffes in one herd on the other side of the river; there were many more, but they passed each other so rapidly that I could not reckon the entire troop.

"August 21.—I counted 103 giraffes. There is literally no game upon this side (west) of the Atbara, as the country for twelve hours' journey from Sofi is thronged with Arabs during the dry season.

"All my people are more or less ill; I am not very well myself; but I have staved off an attack of fever by preventive measures.

"August 25.—Such a magnificent sunset I have never seen! From all quarters were gathering storms of the blackest description, each cloud emitting lightning without intermission, and as the sun touched the horizon upon the only clear point, it illumined like a fire the pitch-black clouds, producing the most extraordinary effect of vivid colouring, combined with lightning, and a rainbow.

"Rain in torrents throughout the night. It is now impossible to walk on the flat table land, as the soil is so saturated that it clings to the feet like birdlime, in masses that will pull the shoes off unless they fit tight. All this immense tract of rich land would grow any amount of cotton, or wheat, as in this country the rain falls with great regularity—this might be sent to Berber by boats during the season of flood.

"August 27.—My antelope skins are just completed and are thoroughly tanned. Each skin required a double handful of the 'garra,' or fruit of the Acacia Arabica. The process is simple: the skin being thoroughly wetted, the garra is pounded into a paste; this is rubbed into the hide with a rough piece of sandstone, until it becomes perfectly clean, and free from impurities; it is then wrapped up with a quantity of the paste, and is deposited in a trough and kept in the shade for twenty-four hours. It should undergo a similar rubbing daily, and be kept in the trough to soak in the garra for four or five days. After this process it should be well rubbed with fat, if required to keep soft and pliable when wetted. If soaked in milk after tanning, the leather will become waterproof. The large tanned ox-hides used by the Arabs as coverlets are perfectly waterproof, and are simply prepared with milk. These are made in Abyssinia, and can be purchased at from ten piastres to a dollar each. The Arabs thoroughly appreciate the value of leather, as they are entirely dependent upon such material for coverlets, watersacks, travelling bags, &c. &c. The sac de voyage is a simple skin of either goat or sheep drawn off the animal as a stocking is drawn from the leg; this is very neatly ornamented, and arranged with loops which close the mouth, secured by a padlock. Very large sacks, capable of containing three hundred pounds of corn, are made in the same manner by drawing off entire the skins of the larger antelopes—that of the tetel is considered the most valuable for this purpose. The hide of the wild ass is the finest of all leather, and is so close in the grain that before tanning, when dry and hardened in the sun, it resembles horn in transparency. I have made excellent mocassins with this skin, which are admirable if kept wetted.

"August 28.—Sofi being upon the frontier, the laws are merely nominal; accordingly there is an interesting mixture in the society. Should any man commit a crime in Abyssinia, he takes refuge over the border; thus criminals of the blackest character are at large. One fellow who has paid us daily visits killed his brother with a knife a few months since. I have excluded this gentleman from the select circle of our acquaintance.

"The Arab women are very clever in basket-work and matting—they carry their milk in baskets that are so closely fitted as to be completely water-tight; these are made of the leaves of the dome palm, shred into fine strips. In addition to the coarse matting required for their tents, they manufacture very fine sleeping mats, curiously arranged in various coloured patterns; these are to cover the angareps, or native bedsteads, which are simple frameworks upon legs, covered with a network of raw hide worked in a soft state, after which it hardens to the tightness of a drum when thoroughly dry. No bed is more comfortable for a warm climate than a native angarep with a simple mat covering; it is beautifully elastic, and is always cool, as free ventilation is permitted from below. I have employed the Arab women to make me a hunting-cap of the basket-work of dome palm, to my old pattern.

"August 28.—I have been busily employed in putting new soles to my shoes, having cut up the leather cover of a gun-case for material. No person can walk barefooted in this country, as the grass is armed with thorns. A peculiar species, that resembles a vetch, bears a circular pod as large as a horse-bean; the exterior of the pod is armed with long and sharp spikes like the head of an ancient mace; these pods when ripe are exceedingly hard, and falling to the ground in great numbers, the spikes will pierce the sole of any shoe unless of a stout substance.

"August 29.—Florian is very ill with fever. The mosquitoes are so troublesome that the Arabs cannot sleep in their huts, but are forced to arrange platforms about six feet high, upon which the whole family rest until they are awakened by a sudden thunderstorm, and are compelled to rush into their huts;—this has been the case nightly for some time past.

"I find that the whole village has been trying on my new hunting-cap, that an Arab woman has just completed; this was brought to me to-day, thick with butter and dirt from their greasy pates. This is a trifle: yesterday Florian was ill and required some tea; his servant tried the degree of heat by plunging his dirty black finger to the bottom.

"Shortly after our wild Arab lad, Bacheet, was engaged, we drilled him as table servant. The flies were very troublesome, and continually committed suicide by drowning themselves in the tea. One morning during breakfast there were many cases of felo de se, or 'temporary insanity,' and my wife's tea-cup was full of victims; Bacheet, wishing to be attentive, picked out the bodies with his finger and thumb!—'Now, my good fellow, Bacheet,' I exclaimed, 'you really must not put your dirty fingers in the tea: you should take them out with the tea-spoon. Look here,' and I performed the operation, and safely landed several flies that were still kicking. 'But mind, Bacheet,' I continued, 'that you wipe the tea-spoon first, to be sure that it is clean!' On the following morning at breakfast we covered up the cups with saucers to prevent accidents; but to our astonishment Bacheet, who was in waiting, suddenly took a tea-spoon from the table, wiped it carefully with a corner of the table-cloth, and stooping down beneath the bed, most carefully saved from drowning, with the tea-spoon, several flies that were in the last extremity within a vessel by no means adapted for a spoon. Perfectly satisfied with the result, he carefully rewiped the tea-spoon upon the table-cloth, and replaced it in its proper position. 'Oh Bacheet! Bacheet! you ignoramus, you extraordinary and impossible animal!' However, there was no help for it—the boy thought he was doing the right thing exactly.

"September 1.—The animals are worried almost to death by the countless flies, especially by that species that drives the camels from the country. This peculiar fly is about the size of a wasp, with an orange-coloured body, with black and white rings; the proboscis is terrific; it is double, and appears to be disproportioned, being two-thirds the length of the entire insect. When this fly attacks an animal, or man, it pierces the skin instantaneously, like the prick of a red-hot needle driven deep into the flesh, at the same time the insect exerts every muscle of its body by buzzing with its wings as it buries the instrument to its greatest depth. The blood starts from the wound immediately, and continues to flow for a considerable time; this is an attraction to other flies in great numbers, many of which would lay their eggs upon the wound.

"I much prefer the intense heat of summer to the damp of the rainy season, which breeds all kinds of vermin. During the hot season the nights are cool and delightful, there is not one drop of dew, and we live entirely in the open air beneath the shade of a tree in the day, and under a roof of glittering stars at night. The guns never rust, although lying upon the ground, and we are as independent as the antelopes of the desert, any bush affording a home within its limit of shadow. During the rainy season hunting and travelling would be equally impossible; the rifles would constantly miss fire. The mud is in most places knee-deep, and a malignant fever would shortly settle the hunter. The rains cease early in September, after which we are to expect a complete vapour-bath until the end of October, by which time the fiery sun will have evaporated the moisture from the sodden earth; that interval will be the most unhealthy season.

"As this fertile country can depend upon three months' periodical rain, from the middle of June until September there is no reason for unproductiveness; it would produce a large revenue if in industrious hands.

"September 2.—For many days past we have seen large herds of giraffes and many antelopes on the opposite side of the river, about two miles distant, on the borders of the Atbara, into which valley the giraffes apparently dared not descend but remained on the table land, although the antelopes appearmed to prefer the harder soil of the valley slopes. This day a herd of twenty-eight giraffes tantalized me by descending a short distance below the level flats, and I was tempted at all hazards across the river. Accordingly preparations were immediately made for a start. The sheik of the village and several of the Arabs were hippopotami hunters by profession; these fellows could swim like otters, and, despite the crocodiles, they seemed as much at home in the water as on land. We prepared an impromptu raft. My angarep (bedstead) was quickly inverted; six water-skins were inflated, and lashed, three on either side. A shallow packing-case, lined with tin, containing my gun, was fastened in the centre of the angarep, and two tow-lines were attached to the front part of the raft, by which swimmers were to draw it across the river. Two men were to hang on behind, and, if possible, keep it straight in the rapid current.

"The Arabs were full of mettle, as their minds were fixed upon giraffe venison. A number of people, including my wife, climbed upon the mosquito platforms, to obtain a good view of the projected hunt, and we quickly carried our raft to the edge of the river. There was not much delay in the launch. I stepped carefully into my coffin-shaped case, and squatted down, with a rifle on either side, and my ammunition at the bottom of the tin-lined water-proof case; thus, in case of an upset, I was ready for a swim. Off we went! The current, running at nearly five miles an hour, carried us away at a great pace, and the whirlpools caused us much trouble, as we several times waltzed round when we should have preferred a straight course, but the towing swimmers being well mounted upon logs of light ambatch-wood, swam across in fine style, and after some difficulty we arrived at the opposite bank, and scrambled through thick bushes, upon our hands and knees, to the summit.

"For about two miles' breadth on this side of the river the valley is rough broken ground, full of gullies and ravines sixty or seventy feet deep, beds of torrents, bare sandstone rocks, bushy crags, fine grassy knolls, and long strips of mimosa covert, forming a most perfect locality for shooting.

"I had observed by the telescope that the giraffes were standing as usual upon an elevated position, from whence they could keep a good look-out. I knew it would be useless to ascend the slope direct, as their long necks give these animals an advantage similar to that of the man at the mast-head; therefore, although we had the wind in our favour, we should have been observed. I therefore determined to make a great circuit of about five miles, and thus to approach them from above, with the advantage of the broken ground for stalking. It was the perfection of uneven country: by clambering broken cliff, wading shoulder-deep through muddy gullies, sliding down the steep ravines, and winding through narrow bottoms of high grass and mimosas for about two hours, during which we disturbed many superb nellut (Ant. strepsiceros) and tetel (Ant. Bubalis), we at length arrived at the point of the high table land upon the verge of which I had first noticed the giraffes with the telescope. Almost immediately I distinguished the tall neck of one of these splendid animals about half a mile distant upon my left, a little below the table land; it was feeding on the bushes, and I quickly discovered several others near the leader of the herd. I was not far enough advanced in the circuit that I had intended to bring me exactly above them, therefore I turned sharp to my right, intending to make a short half circle, and to arrive on the leeward side of the herd, as I was now to windward: this I fortunately completed, but I had marked a thick bush as my point of cover, and upon arrival I found that the herd had fed down wind, and that I was within two hundred yards of the great bull sentinel that, having moved from his former position, was now standing directly before me. I lay down quietly behind the bush with my two followers, and anxiously watched the great leader, momentarily expecting that it would get my wind. It was shortly joined by two others, and I perceived the heads of several giraffes lower down the incline, that were now feeding on their way to the higher ground. The seroot fly was teasing them, and I remarked that several birds were fluttering about their heads, sometimes perching upon their noses and catching the fly that attacked their nostrils, while the giraffes appeared relieved by their attentions: these were a peculiar species of bird that attacks the domestic animals, and not only relieves them of vermin, but eats into the flesh, and establishes dangerous sores. A puff of wind now gently fanned the back of my neck; it was cool and delightful, but no sooner did I feel the refreshing breeze than I knew it would convey our scent direct to the giraffes. A few seconds afterwards, the three grand obelisks threw their heads still higher in the air, and fixing their great black eyes upon the spot from which the danger came, they remained as motionless as though carved from stone. From their great height they could see over the bush behind which we were lying at some paces distant, and although I do not think they could distinguish us to be men, they could see enough to convince them of hidden enemies.

"The attitude of fixed attention and surprise of the three giraffes was sufficient warning for the rest of the herd, who immediately filed up from the lower ground, and joined their comrades. All now halted, and gazed steadfastly in our direction, forming a superb tableau; their beautiful mottled skins glancing like the summer coat of a thoroughbred horse, the orange-coloured statues standing out in high relief from a background of dark-green mimosas.

"This beautiful picture soon changed; I knew that my chance of a close shot was hopeless, as they would presently make a rush, and be off; thus I determined to get the first start. I had previously studied the ground, and I concluded that they would push forward at right angles with my position, as they had thus ascended the hill, and that, on reaching the higher ground, they would turn to the right, in order to reach an immense tract of high grass, as level as a billiard-table, from which no danger could approach them unobserved.

"I accordingly with a gentle movement of my hand directed my people to follow me, and I made a sudden rush forward at full speed. Off went the herd; shambling along at a tremendous pace, whisking their long tails above their hind quarters, and taking exactly the direction I had anticipated, they offered me a shoulder shot at a little within two hundred yards' distance. Unfortunately, I fell into a deep hole concealed by the high grass, and by the time that I resumed the hunt they had increased their distance, but I observed the leader turned sharp to the right, through some low mimosa bush, to make direct for the open table land. I made a short cut oblquely at my best speed, and only halted when I saw that I should lose ground by altering my position. Stopping short, I was exactiy opposite the herd as they filed by me at right angles in full speed, within about a hundred and eighty yards. I had my old Ceylon No. 10 double rifle, and I took a steady shot at a large dark-coloured bull: the satisfactory sound of the ball upon his hide was followed almost immediately by his blundering forward for about twenty yards, and falling heavily in the low bush. I heard the crack of the ball of my left-hand barrel upon another fine beast, but no effects followed. Bacheet quickly gave me the single 2-ounce Manton rifle, and I singled out a fine dark-coloured bull, who fell on his knees to the shot, but recovering, hobbled off disabled, apart from the herd, with a foreleg broken just below the shoulder. Reloading immediately, I ran up to the spot, where I found my first giraffe lying dead, with the ball clean through both shoulders: the second was standing about one hundred paces distant; upon my approach he attempted to move, but immediately fell, and was despatched by my eager Arabs. I followed the herd for about a mile to no purpose, through deep clammy ground and high grass, and I returned to our game.

"These were my first giraffes, and I admired them as they lay before me with a hunter's pride and satisfaction, but mingled with a feeling of pity for such beautiful and utterly helpless creatures. The giraffe, although from sixteen to twenty feet in height, is perfectly defenceless, and can only trust to the swiftness of its pace, and the extraordinary power of vision, for its means of protection. The eye of this animal is the most beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle, while the colour of the reddish-orange hide, mottled with darker spots, changes the tints of the skin with the differing rays of light, according to the muscular movenment of the body. No one who has merely seen the giraffe in a cold climate can form the least idea of its beauty in its native land. By the time that we had skinned one of the aninmals, it was nearly six o'clock, and it was necessary to hurry forward to reach the river before night; we therefore arranged some thorny boughs over the bodies, to which we intended to return on the following morning.

"When about half-way to the river, as we were passing through grass about four feet high, three tetel bounded from a ravine, and, passing directly before us, gave me a splendid shot at about sixty yards. The Ceylon No. 10 struck the foremost through the shoulder, and it fell dead after running a few yards. This was also my first tetel (Antelopus Bubalis); it was in splendid condition, the red coat was like satin, and the animal would weigh about five hundred pounds live weight.

"I had made very successful shots, having bagged three out of four large game; this perfectly delighted the Arabs, and was very satisfactory to myself, as I was quite aware that my men would be only too willing to accompany me upon future excursions.

"It was quite dark before we reached the river; we had been much delayed by repeated falls into deep holes, and over hidden stones; thus I was well satisfied to find myself once more at home after having crossed the river, in pitchy darkness, in a similar manner as before. Every person in the village had had a good view of the stalk; therefore, as two giraffes had been seen to fall, the Arabs were waiting on the bank in expectation of meat.