bited by these people. They considered me to be a
Turk, to whom their natural hatred had been increased
by the chastisement they had lately received
from the Egyptians. It was in vain that my two lads,
Wat Gamma and Bacheet, assured them that I was an
Englishman : they had never heard of such a country as
England; in their opinion, a white man must be a
Turk. Not contented with refusing all supplies, they
assembled in large numbers and commenced a quarrel
with my men, several of whom were Tokrooris that
I had hired to accompany us to Khartoum. These
men, being newly engaged and entirely strange, were
of little service; but, having joined in the quarrel, like
true Tokrooris who are always ready for a row, the
altercation grew so hot that it became rather serious.
The natives determined that we should not remain in
their village, and, having expressed a threat to turn us.
out, they assembled around us in a large crowd with
their lances and trombashes. My wife was sitting by
me upon an angarep, when the people closed around
my men, and one very tall specimen of a Tokroori
came forward, and, snatching a knife from its sheath
that was worn upon the arm of my servant, he challenged
him to fight. As Tokrooris are always more or
less under the influence of drink, their fights are generally
the effect of some sudden impulse. ; It was necessary
to do something, as the crowd were determined
upon a row; this was now commenced by their
leader, who was eyeing me from head to foot with
most determined insolence, holding the knife in his.
hand that he had taken from my man. I therefore
rose quietly from my seat, and, approaching him to
within a convenient distance for striking, if necessary,
I begged him very politely to leave my people to themselves,
as we should depart on the following morning.
He replied with great impertinence, and insisted upon
fighfing one or all of our party. I accommodated him
without a moment’s delay, as, stepping half a pace
backwards, I came in with a left and right as fast as a
rapid double-hit could be delivered, with both blows
upon his impudent mouth. In an instant he was on
his back, with his heels in the air ; and, as I prepared
to operate upon his backer, or upon any bystander who
might have a penchant for fighting, the crowd gave
way, and immediately devoted themselves to their
fallen companion, who lay upon the ground in stupid
astonishment, with his fingers down his throat searching
for a tooth; his eyes were fixed upon my hands
to discover the weapon with which he had been
wounded. His friends began to wipe the blood from
his face and clothes, and at this juncture, the sheik of
the village appeared for the first time.
To my astonishment he was extremely civil ; a
sudden reaction had taken place, the Tokrooris had had
their row, and were apparently satisfied. The sheik
begged me not to kill his people by hitting them,
<e as they were mere chickens, who would at once die
if I were to strike them with my fist.” I begged him
to keep his “ chickens ” in better order, and at once to
order them away from our immediate neighbourhood.