yoke his fate; hut 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 Bubtdis) 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 mimo&as (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 uged 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.
F 2