trCmity o f the rainsj was a place p roperly. chofen for this
piirpofe by the Arab prince before the conqueft o f the
Funge, (for his troops tliere cut them off, either from the
lands, dr the fertile country, as he pleafed), yet many o f
them hiight have remained behind at Shaddly, and to the
wetl ward, free from the terror o f the fly, and confequently
without any neceffity o f advancing fo far north as Gerri,
and there fubjedling themfelves to contribution-
In this, exifcnflve plain, near Shaddly^ arife two mountainous
diftriifts, the one called Jibbel Moia, or theiMoiuntain o f
Water, which is a ridge o f confiderable hills nearLy o f th e
fame he ight, clofely un ited ; and' the other Jibbel Segud,,
or the Cold Mountain, a broken ridge compofed o f parts,
fome h ig h and feme low, without any regular form. Both
thefe enjoy a fine climate,; and are fu ll o f inhabitants, but of
ho confiderable 'extent.. They ferv.e for a proteftion to the
Paheera, or farms o f Shaddly and Wed Aboud., They are
alfo fortrclll-s iri the w ay o f the Arabs, to detain and force
them, to payment in their flight from the- cultivated country
and rains to. the dry lands o f Atbara. Each o f th e ie dif-
tridfs is governed by the defcendant o# their ancient and native
princes, who long refilled all the power o f the Arabs,,
h a vin g both horfe and foot; They continued to be Pagans
till the conqueft o f the Funge. Bloody and unnatural fa-
■cfifices were faid to have been in: ufie in' tnefe mountainous,
ft ate s , with horrid circumftances o f cruelty, till Abdefcader,,
fon o f Amru, the third o f the kings o f Sennaar, about the-
year 1554, befieged, firft the one and then, the other o f thefe;
princes in their mountain, and forced them to furrender;
and, ha vin g faftened a. chain o f gold to each, o f their ears,,
be.
he expoTe,d them in tljfi:public market-place at Sennaar in
that fituation, and foid .them to the higheft bidder, at tlye
vile price o f fomething like a fartning each. After this
degradation, being circumcifed, and converted to the Mahometan
religion, they were reftored e.ich ;to their, government,
as flaves o f Sennaar, upon very eaiy conditions o f tribute,
and have been faithful ever fince.
N o t h i n g is morepleafantthantheiountry aroundSennaar,
in the end o f Auguft and beginning o f September, I; m ean fo
far as the eye is concerned j inftead o f that barren, hare wafte,
w hich it appeared on our arrival in May, the corn now
fprung up, and covering the ground, made the whole o f
this immenfe plain appear a level, green land, interfperfed
with great lakes o f water, and ornamented at certain intervals
with groups o f villages, the conical tops o f the houfes
prefenting, at a diftance, the appearance o f fmall encampments.
Through this immenfe, yxtenfive plain, winds the
Nil6, a delightful river there, above a mile broad, fu ll tp
t h e ' v e r y brim, but never overflowing. Every where on
thefe banks are feen numerous herds: o f the moft beautifu
l cattle o f various kinds, the tribute recently extorted
from the Arabs, who, freed from all their Vexations, return
home with the remainder.: o f 1 their; fjbnks in .peace, at as
great a diftance from the town, country, and their opprellors,
as they poffibly can.
T he banks o f the Nile about Sennaar refemhle the plea*
fanteft parts of Holland in the fummer: feafon ; but foon
a f t e r , w h e n the rains ceafe, and the fun exerts'his utmoft
influence, the dora begins to ripen, the leaves to turn yellow
and to rot, the lakes to putrify, fmell, and be- fu ll o f
3 O a ? vermin.