people. There were a series of small marshy, pools
scattered over the country near the stream that ran
through the valley; these were the resort of numerous
ducks, which afforded excellent sport.
The town of Tarrangolle is situated, at the foot
of the mountain, about a mile from the stream, which
is about eighty yards wide, but shallow. In the
dry weather, water is obtained by wells dug in the
sandy bed, but during the rains it is a simple torrent
not exceeding three feet in depth. The bed being
sandy, the numerous banks, left dry by the fluctuations
of the stream, are most inviting spots for ducks; and
it was only necessary to wait under a tree, on the
river’s bank, to obtain thirty or forty shots in one
morning as the ducks flew down the course of the
stream. I found two varieties : the small brown duck
with a grey head; and a magnificent variety, as large
as the Muscovy, having a copper-and-blue coloured
tinselled back and wings, with a white but speckled
head and neck. This, duck had a curious peculiarity
in a fleshy protuberance on the beak about as large as
a half-crown. . This stands erect, like a cock’s comb.
Both this, and the smaller variety, were delicious eating.
There were two varieties of geese—the only two
that I have ever seen on the White Nile—the common
Egyptian grey goose, and a large black and white bird
with a crimson head and neck, and * a red and yellow
horny protuberance on the top of the head. This
variety has a sharp spur upon the wing an inch long,
and exceedingly powerful; it is used as a weapon of
defence for . striking, like the spurred wing of the
plover.
I frequently shot ten or twelve ducks, and as many
cranes, before breakfast; among others the beautiful-
crested crane, called by the Arabs “ garranook.” The
black velvet head of this crane, surrounded by a golden
crest, was a favourite ornament of the Latookas, and
they were immediately arranged as crests for their
helmets. The neighbourhood of my camp would have
made a fortune for a feather-dealer; it was literally
strewn with down and plumes. I was always attended
every morning by a number of Latooka boys, who were
eager sportsmen, and returned to camp daily laden
with ducks and geese. No sooner did we arrive in
camp that a number of boys volunteered to pluck the
birds, which they did for the sake of the longest
feathers, with which they immediately decked their
woolly heads. Crowds of boys were to be Seen with
heads like cauliflowers, all dressed with the feathers
of cranes and wild ducks. I t appears to be accepted,
both by the savage and civilized, that birds’ feathers
are. specially intended for ornamenting the human head.