great value; the soles were exceedingly thick, and
they have resisted, until now, the intensely hard and
coarse-grained sandstone which grinds through all
leather. My soles are at length worn out, and I
have repaired them with the tanned hide of giraffe.
Much of the sandstone is white, and soft and friable ;
but this appears to have been decomposed by time
and exposure, as the generality is hard, and would
make excellent grindstones.
“ October 25.—Three elephant-hunters arrived today
with horses for sale. I purchased three—a bay
and two greys. They are all of Abyssinian breed, and
are handsome animals, although none exceed fourteen
hands and a half. The prices were high for this
part of the world, where dollars are scarce; but to
me, they appeared to be absurdly cheap. The bay
horse was a regular strong-built cob; for him I paid
nineteen dollars—about 41, including a native saddle
and bridle; for the greys, I paid fifteen and thirteen
dollars, saddles and bridles also included. The bay
I named Tdtel (hartebeest), the greys Aggahr* and
Gazelle. Tetel was a trained hunter, as was Aggahr
likewise. Gazelle was quite inexperienced, but remarkably
handsome. None of these horses had ever
been shod, but their hoofs were beautifully shaped,
and as hard as ivory. The saddles had no stuffing
on the seats, but were simple wooden frames, with
high backs and pommels, the various pieces being
* Aggahr is the designation of a hunter with the sword.
sewn together with raw hide, and the front and back
covered with crocodile skin. The stirrups were
simple iron rings, sufficiently large to admit the
great toe of the rider, according to Arab fashion
in these parts. The bits were dreadfully severe;
but perhaps not unnecessarily, as the sword allows
only one bridle-hand to a pulling horse. Each
horse was furnished with a leather nose-bag, and a
long leathern thong as a picket strap. All these
horses and saddlery I had purchased for forty-seven
dollars, or 91. 10s. Fortunately, both my wife and
I were well provided with the best English saddles,
bridles, &c. or the ‘ big toe ’ stirrup would have been
an awkward necessity.
“ October 26.—We left our camp this morning for
a few days’, reconnaissance of the country, accompanied
by Florian, prior to commencing our regular
expedition. Nine miles S.E, of Ehdtilla we passed
through a village called Wat el Negur, after which
we continued along a great tract of table-land, on
the eastern side of the Atbara valley, bounded by a
mimosa forest about four miles on the east. Very
large quantities of dhurra {Sorghum vulgare) are grown
upon this fertile soil; it is now higher than a man’s
head when mounted upon a camel. Far as the eye
can reach, the great table-lands, extend on either
side the broad valley of the Atbara. The cotton
that was planted many years ago by, the inhabitants
who have vanished, still flourishes, although choked
with grass six or seven feet high. At 4 p .m . we
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