obtain a hygeen from the great Sbeik Abou Sinn,
who was encamped upon the road we were about
to take along the valley of the Atbara ; we arranged
to leave Goorashee on the following day.
Upon arriving at the highest point of' the valley,
we found ourselves upon the vast table-land that
stretches from the Atbara to the Nile. At this season
the entire surface had a faint tint of green, as
the young shoots of grass had replied to the late
showers of rain ; so perfect a level was this great
tract of fertile country, that within a mile of the
valley of the Atbara there was neither furrow nor
water-course, but the escape of the rainfall was by
¡simple soakage. As usual, the land was dotted with
mimosas, all of which were now bursting into leaf.
The thorns of the different varieties of these trees
are an extraordinary freak of Nature, as she appears
to have exhausted all her art in producing an apparently
useless arrangement of defence. The mimosas
that are most common in the Soudan provinces are
mere bushes, seldom exceeding sixteen feet in height,
these spread out towards the top like mushrooms,
but the branches commence within two feet of the
ground; they are armed with thorns in the shape
of fish-hooks, which they resemble in sharpness and
strength. A thick jungle composed of such bushes
is perfectly impenetrable to any animals but elephants,
rhinoceros, and buffaloes, and should the
clothes of a man become entangled in such thorns,
either they must give way, or he must remain a
prisoner. The mimosa that is known among the
Arabs as the Kittar, is one of the worst species,
and is probably similar to that which caught Absalom
by the hair; this differs from the well-known
“ Wait-a-bit,” of South Africa, as no milder nickname
could be applied than P Dead-stop.” Were the clothes
of strong material, it would be perfectly impossible
to break through a kittar-bush.
A magnificent specimen of a kittar, with a wide-
spreading head in the young glory of green leaf,
tempted my hungry camel during our march; it -
was determined to procure a mouthful, and I was
equally determined that it should keep to the straight
path, and avoid the attraction of the green food.
After some strong remonstrance upon my part, the
perverse beast shook its ugly head, gave a roar, and
started off in full trot straight at the thorny bush.
I had not the slightest control over the animal, and
in a few seconds it charged the bush with the mad
intention of rushing either through or beneath it. To
m y disgust I perceived that the wide-spreading
branches were only just sufficiently high to permit
the back of the camel to. pass underneath. There
was no time for further consideration; we charged
the bush; I held my head doubled up between my
arms, and the next moment I was on my back
half stunned by the fall. The camel-saddle lay
upon the ground, my rifle, that had been slung behind,
my coffee-pot, the water-skin burst, and a host
of other impedimenta lay around me in all directions ;