a serious accident by the bursting, of one of the
wretched guns that formed his sporting battery; this
had blown away his thumb from- the wrist joint, and
had so shattered his hand that it would most likely
have suffered amputation had he enjoyed the advantage
of European surgical assistance; but with the
simple aid of his young black lad, Bicharn, who cut
off the dangling thumb and flesh with his knife, he
had preserved his hand, minus one portion.
Florian had had considerable experience in some
parts of the country that I was about to visit, and he
gave me much valuable information that was of great
assistance in directing my first operations. The close
of the rainy season would be about the middle of
September, but travelling would be impossible until
November, as the fly would not quit the country
until the grass should become dry, therefore the Arabs
would not return with their camels until that period.
It appeared that this peculiar fly, which tortured,
all domestic animals, invaded the country shortly after
the commencement of the rains, when the grass was
•about two feet high ; a few had already been seen, but
Sofi was a favoured spot, that was generally exempt
from this plague, which clung more particularly to
the flat and rich table-lands, where the quality of
grass was totally different to that produced upon the
pebbly and denuded soil of the sandstone slopes of
the valley. The grass of the slopes was exceedingly
fine, and would not exceed a height of about two feet,
while that of the table-lands would exceed nine feet,
and become impassable, until sufficiently dry to be
cleared by fire. In November, the entire country
would become a vast prairie of dried straw, the
burning of which would then render travelling and
hunting possible.
Florian had hunted for some distance along: the
-Settite river with his companions, and had killed
.fifty-three hippopotami during the last season. I
therefore agreed that he should accompany me until
I should have sufficiently explored that river, after
which I proposed to examine the rivers Salaam and
Angrab, of which great tributaries of the Atbara
nothing definite was known, except that they joined
that river about fifty miles south of Sofi.
Florian described the country as very healthy
during the dry season, but extremely dangerous
during the rains, especially in the month of October,
when, on the cessation of rain, the sun evaporated the
moisture from the sodden ground and rank vegetation.
I accordingly determined to arrange our winter
quarters as comfortably as possible at Sofi, for three
•months, during which holiday I should have ample
time for gaining information and completing my
•arrangements for the future. Violent storms were
now of daily occurrence; they had first commenced
at about 2 p .m ., but they had gradually altered the
-hour of their arrival to between 3 and 4. This
night, 29th July, we were visited at about 11 p .m .
with the most tremendous tempest that we had yet
experienced, which lasted until the morning. For-
L 2