is left even for a fly to feed upon, when an
animal either dies a natural death, or is killed. I
never pitied poor creatures more than these utterly
destitute savages; their method, of returning thanks
is by holding your hand and affecting to spit upon i t ;
which operation they do not actually perform, as I have
THE BOYS WHO HAVE BEGGED.
seen stated in works upon the White Nile. Their
domestic arrangements are peculiar. Polygamy is of
course allowed, as in all other hot climates and savage
countries; but when a man becomes too old to pay
sufficient attention to his numerous young wives, the
eldest son takes the place of his father and becomes
his substitute. To every herd of cattle there is anothing
sacred bull who is supposed to exert an influence over
the prosperity of the flocks ; his horns are ornamented
with tufts of feathers, and frequently with small bells,
and he invariably leads the great herd to pasture.
On starting in the early morning from the cattle kraal
the natives address the bull, telling him “ to watch over
the herd; to keep the cows from straying j and to lead
them to the sweetest pastures, so that they shall give
abundance of milk,” &c.
Jan. 21 sill—Last night 'a sudden squall carried
away Koorshid Aga’s mast by the deck, leaving him a
complete wreck. The weather to-day is dull, oppressive,
and dead calm. As usual, endless marshes, and mosquitoes.
I never either saw or heard of so disgusting
a country as that bordering the White Nile from Khartoum
to this point. Course S.E. as nearly as I can
judge, but the endless windings, and the absence of any
mark as a point, make it difficult to give an accurate
course—the river about a hundred yards in width of
clear water; alive with floating vegetation, with a
current of about two miles per hour.
Jan. 22d. The luxuries of the country as usual—
malaria, marshes, mosquitoes, misery; far as the eye
can reach, vast treeless marshes perfectly lifeless. At
times progressing slowly by towing, the men struggling
through the water with the rope ; at other times by