at thirty-five minutes paft three we arrived at Halifoon,',
about five miles from the ferry on the eaft fide o f the Nilet
One mark o f the boatmen’s attention I cannot but mention;
The weather was very hot, and we had plenty o f time 1 the
water being clear and tempting, I propofed fwimming over to
the other fide for thepleafure o f b a th in g ; but they, on e an d :
all, oppofed my defign with great violence,.and would not
fuffer me to undrefs. They faid there was a multitude o f
crocodiles in the river near that place, and although they
were not large enough- to kill, or carry off a camel, they 1
very often wounded them, and it would be a wonder i f
we palled without feeing them ; indeed . the laft boat had
not reached the ihore before two o f them, rofe in the middle
o f the ftream. I made what hafte I could to get a gun,
and fired at the largeft, but, as far as I could judge, withou t,
effeft.
On the 22d, at threeo’clock in the afternoon-we left Ha --
lifoon, and by ten at night came to Halfaia, a: large, hand-
fbme, and pleafant town, although built w ith clay. The
houfes are terraffed at the tops, their inhabitants being no
longer afraid o f the rains, which have been for fome time
here very inconfiderable. The Battaheen were encamped
near Umdoom, a.large villageon.the fide o f the river, about
feven miles from Halifoon. They are a thievifh, pilfering
fet, and we paffed them early in the morning, before it was
light. The road is very pleafant, through woods o f acacia-
trees, interfperfed with large fields covered with bent grafs.
At Umdoom we found’ troops o f women going to their
morning occupation, that o f gathering, feeds to make bread.
T he
T he command of Mahomet Wed Ageeb is very extenfive.
i t reaches from this paffage o f the river at Halifoon on the
fouth, as far as Wed Baal a Nagga on the north, and to the
eaft as far as the Red Sea, though a great part o f thofe Arabs
have been in rebellion, and have not paid their tax for fome
years. His command on the weftward o f the river reaches
to Korti, all over the defert o f Bahiouda, though lately the
Beni Gerar, Beni Faifara, and Cubba-beelh, have expelled the
ancient Arabs o f Bahiouda, who pretend now only to be the
fubjed s o f Kordofan. He has alfo the charge o f levying the
tribute o f horfes from Dongola, in which confifts the great
ftrength o f Sennaar.
H a l f a i a is the limit o f the rains, and is'fituated upon
a large circular peninfula furrounded by the Nile from S.
W. to N. W. that is, at all the points o f W. It is h a lf a mile,
or fomething more, from the river. This peninfula contains
all their fown land, and is not watered by the river,
but by what is raifedfrom the ftream b y wheels turned by
oxen. Halfaia confifts o f about three hundred houfes ; their
principal gain is from a manufa.i5t.urc o f very coarfe cotton
cloth, called Dimour, which ferves for fmall money through
all the lower parts o f Atbara. There are palm-trees at Halfaia,
but they produce no dates. The people here eat cats,
alfo the river-horfe and the crocodile, both o f which are
in great plenty. . Halfaia, b y many altitudes o f the fun and
ftars, was found to be in lat. 15° 45' 54 > and in long. 32
49' 15" eaft from the meridian o f Greenwich.
On the 29th, at fix o’clock in the morning we left Halfaia,
and continued our journey about 3 miles and a h a lf
-further, when we came to two villages, a fmall one to the
3 T 3 north