第129章 CHAPTER XVII.(9)
I commenced the conversation by referring to the hospitality shown by his father to my countryman, Mr. Mansfield Parkyns, and I assured him that such kind attentions were never forgotten by an Englishman, therefore I had determined to visit him, although the Egyptian authorities had cautioned me not to trust myself within his territory. I explained that I was bound towards an unknown point, in search of the sources of the White Nile, which might occupy some years, but that I wished to perfect the exploration by the examination of all the Abyssinian Nile affluents: and I concluded by asking for his assistance in my journey to the Bahr Angrab and the Salaam. He replied very politely, and gave me much local information; he said that the Egyptians gave him no peace, that he was obliged to fight in self-defence; but that, if I could make overtures on his part to the Egyptian authorities, he would engage never to cross the Atbara, provided they observed a similar condition. I promised to represent his offer to the Governor-General on my arrival at Khartoum. He agreed to give me a guide to the rivers Angrab and Salaam, that were not far distant, and he at once pointed out to me the two dark gorges, about twelve and sixteen miles distant, in the chain of precipitous mountains from which they flowed. He described the country upon the other side of the mountains to be the elevated plateau of Abyssinia, and he advised me to visit the king before my departure from his territory; this I could not conveniently accomplish, as my route lay in an opposite direction. He begged me for a telescope, so that he should be able to see the approach of the Turks (Egyptians) from a great distance, as he explained that he had spies upon all the mountain tops, so that no stranger could enter his country without his knowledge. He confessed that my movements while in the Base country had been watched by his spies, until he had felt assured that I had no sinister motive. I laughed at the idea; he replied, that we were most fortunate to have escaped an attack from the natives, as they were far worse than wild beasts, and he immediately pointed out several Base slaves who were present in the crowd, who had been captured when children; they appeared to be the same as the woolly-headed natives of the south bank of the Blue Nile, and not at all peculiar in appearance. He cautioned me against bathing in the stream, or drinking the water in the neighbourhood of our camp, as it was extremely poisonous, and would produce an irritation of the skin. I told him that I had discovered copper, and that I attributed the poisonous quality of the water to the presence of that mineral. This announcement was received with a general expression of approbation. "That is very curious," he said, "that we who live in this country are ignorant, and that you, a stranger, should at once explain the cause of the poison." He at once agreed to the suggestion, as he said, that during the rains, when the torrents were full, the water was not unwholesome, but in the dry weather, when the supply was scanty, and the stream feeble, the strength of the poison was necessarily increased. He assured me that, although the pasturage was excellent, all cattle that drank in that hor or stream became as thin as skeletons.
Mek Nimmur had been ignorant of the existence of copper, but he informed me that gold dust was common in the sand of most of the ravines, and that, if I would remain in his country, I might discover considerable quantities. I informed him that I had already discovered the existence of both gold and lead. He requested me to give him every information respecting the lead, as he should prefer it to gold, as he could manufacture bullets to shoot the Turks (as the Egyptians are called by the neighbouring tribes). After a long and satisfactory conversation, I made my salaam, and retired. Immediately on my arrival at the camp, I despatched Wat Gamma on horseback with Taher Noor, in charge of a pair of beautiful double-barrelled pistols, with the name of Tatham as the manufacturer; these were loaded, and I sent a polite message, begging Mek Nimmur's acceptance of the present;they were accompanied by a supply of ammunition.
In the evening Wat Gamma returned with the pistols; --they had BURST! Mek Nimmur had requested him to fire at a mark, and one barrel of each pistol had given way; thus, the double rifle and the pistols of the same name "Tatham" had all failed; fortunately no one was injured. I was afraid that this would lead to some complication, and I was much annoyed; I had never used these pistols, but I had considered that they were first rate; thus Ihad given them to Mek Nimmur as a valuable present, and they had proved their utter worthlessness. I immediately mounted my horse, and with my revolver in my belt, and my beautiful single Beattie rifle in my hand, I galloped off to Mek Nimmur; he was seated in the same spot, watching the harvest of dhurra, enormous piles of which were being thrashed by a number of Abyssinians. The instant that I arrived, I went straight to him, and explained my regret and disappointment at the failure of the pistols, and I begged him to take his choice between my rifle and revolver. He behaved remarkably well; he had begged my messenger to leave the broken pistols with him, and not to mention the circumstance to me, as he felt sure that I should feel even more annoyed than himself;he now declined my offer, as he said I should require the weapons during my proposed journey up the White Nile, and he could not deprive me of their use. He was afraid of the revolver, as it was too complicated, but I tore from my note-book a small piece of paper, which I requested one of his people to stick upon a rock about ninety yards distant. I took a steady shot with the single rifle, and was fortunate enough to hit the paper exactly. This elicited general applause, and Mek Nimmur called one of his people, an Abyssinian, who he declared to be a celebrated shot, and he requested that he might be allowed to fire the rifle. Iplaced a similar mark upon the rock, and the Abyssinian fired from a rest, and struck the stone, in a good line, about six inches below the paper. The crowd were in raptures with the rifle, which I at once insisted upon Mek Nimmur accepting. I then made my salaam, and mounted my horse amidst general expressions of approval.
On the following morning, Mek Nimmur sent us two camel-loads of corn; a large gourd of honey, weighing about fifty pounds; and four cows that must have been a detachment of Pharaoh's lean kine, with a polite message that I was to select the FATTEST.
These cattle were specimens of the poisonous qualities of the water; but, although disappointed in the substance of the present, my people were delighted with the acquisition, and they immediately selected a cow; but just as they were licking their lips at the prospect of fresh meat, which they had not tasted for some days, the cow broke away and made off across country. In despair at the loss, my men followed in hot pursuit, and two of the Tokrooris overtook her, and held on to her tail like bull-dogs, although dragged for some distance, at full gallop through thorns and ruts, until the other men arrived and overpowered the thin, but wiry animal. When slaughtered, there was a great squabble between my men and the Abyssinians, who endeavoured to steal the meat.