THE STORM.
A v io l en t thunderstorm, witli a deluge of rain,
broke upon our camp upon the banks of the Atbara,
fortunately just after the tents were pitched. Wfe
thus had an example of the extraordinary effects
of the heavy rain in tearing away the soil of the
valley. Trifling watercourses were swollen to torrents
; banks of earth became loosened and fell in,
and the rush of mud and water upon all sides
swept forward into the river with a rapidity which
threatened the destruction of the country, could
such a tempest endure for a few days. In a couple
of hours all was over. The river was narrower
fba.u in its passage through the desert, but was
proportionately deeper. The name of the village
on the opposite bank was Goorashee, with which a
means of communication had been established by
a ferry-boat belonging to our friend and late host,
Malem Georgis, the Greek merchant of Cassala.
He had much trouble in obtaining permission from
the authorities to introduce this novelty, which was
looked upon as an innovation, as such a convenience
had never before existed. The enterprising proprietor
had likewise established a cotton farm at
Goorashee, which appeared to succeed admirably,
and was an undeniable example of what could be
produced in this fertile country wefe the spirit of
improvement awakened. Notwithstanding the advantage
of the ferry-boat, many of the Arabs preferred
to swim their camels across the river to
paying a trifle to the ferryman. A camel either
cannot or wall not swim unless it is supported by
inflated skins: thus the passage of the broad river
Atbara (at this spot about 300 yards wide) is an
affair of great difficulty. Two water-skins are inflated,
and attached to the camel by a band passed
like a girth beneath the belly. Thus arranged, a
man sits upon its back, while one or two swim by
the side as guides. The current of the Atbara runs
at a rapid rate: thus the camel is generally carried
at least half a mile down the river before it can
gain the opposite bank. A few days before our
arrival, a man had been snatched from the back of
his camel while crossing, and was carried off by a
crocodile. Another man had been taken during the
last week while swimming the river upon a log. It
was supposed that these accidents were due to the
same crocodile, who was accustomed to bask upon a
mud bank at the foot of the cotton plantation. On
the day following our arrival at the Atbara, we found
that our camel-drivers had absconded during the