Part 2 — CHAP. XVIII.

DAR-FÛR.

On the mode of travelling in Africa — Seasons in Dar-Fûr — Animals — Quadrupeds — Birds — Reptiles and Insects — Metals and Minerals — Plants.

One mode of travelling, with small variations, obtains through all the north of Africa. I mean by caravans (from قرو Karu, to wander from place to place). When the inhabitants have occasion to pass the boundaries of their respective states, they form themselves into a larger or smaller body, united under one head. Their association is produced by considerations of mutual convenience and security, as even the most easy and safest of the roads they are to pass, would yet be difficult and dangerous for a single traveller.

Three distinct caravans are employed in bringing slaves, and other commodities, from the interior of Africa to Kahira. One of them comes straight from Murzûk, the capital of Fezzân, another from Sennaar, and the third from Fûr. They do not arrive at fixed periods, but after a greater or less interval, according to the success they may have had in procuring slaves, and such other articles as are fitted to the market, the orders of their respective rulers, and various other accidental circumstances.

The Fezzân caravan is under the best regulations. The merchants from that place employ about fifty days in their passage from Murzûk to Kahira; which city they as often as possible contrive to reach a little before the commencement of Ramadan, that such as find themselves inclined to perform the pilgrimage, may be prepared to accompany the Emîr of Misr. The sale of their goods seldom employs them in the city much more than two months; after the expiration of which, those who have no design of visiting Mecca return to their native country. The arrival of this caravan is generally annual.

The other two are extremely various in their motions; sometimes not appearing in Egypt for the space of two or even three years, sometimes two or more distinct caravans arriving in the same year. The perpetual changes in their several governments, and the caprices of their despots, are in a great degree the occasion of this irregularity. The road also between these two places and Kahira, is often infested by bodies of independent Arabs, as that of Sennaar, by the Ababdé and Shaikié, and that of Fûr by the Cubba-Beesh and Bedeiât: the latter is however for the most part much safer than the former. The departure of a caravan from Dar-Fûr forms an important event. It engages the attention of the whole country for a time, and even serves as a kind of chronological epocha.

The period of their arrival in Kahira is as uncertain as that of their departure; for they travel indifferently either in winter or summer. The journey from Assûan to Sennaar requires much less time than that from Assiût to Dar-Fûr.

Many obstacles exist to the erection of any permanent marks by which the roads of the desert might be distinguished. Yet I have observed that the people of our caravan, in such places as afforded stones for the purpose, used to collect four or five large ones, thus raising small heaps at proper distances from each other. This affords them some satisfaction at their return; but in many places, where the sand is loose and deep, it becomes impracticable. They are then obliged to rely on the facility acquired by habit, of distinguishing the outline and characteristic features of certain rocks, as they are perfectly ignorant of the compass, and very little informed as to the fixed stars. Though the names of the constellations be little known to them, yet they distinguish such as may guide them in their course during the night. With all these aids however their deviations from the true line are not infrequent. Three times, in the course of our journey, the whole caravan was quite at a loss for the road, though some of the members of it had made ten or twelve different journies to and from Dar-Fûr. During the whole of my route I had reason to suspect that the accounts in books of travels, which have generated such terrific notions of the moving sands of Africa, are greatly exaggerated. While we remained at Leghea, indeed, a violent gale sprang from the North-west, and raised a cloud of sand. At that time I placed a wooden bowl, capable of containing about two gallons, in the open air. Thirty minutes had elapsed when it appeared completely filled with sand. Our companions indeed affected to relate various stories of caravans that had been overwhelmed. But as neither time nor place were adduced, it would seem not unreasonable to doubt the truth of the assertion.

If caravans have been thus buried on their road, it may be presumed that accident can only have happened after they have been deprived of the power of moving, by the influence of a hot wind, want of water, and other causes. A number of men, and other animals, found dead, and covered with sand, would be sufficient ground for succeeding native travellers to believe, as they are strangers to ratiocination, or, though not entirely persuaded, to relate, as they delight in the marvellous, that the persons they had found had been overwhelmed on their march; when in fact this accumulation had not happened till they were already dead. But perhaps the matter scarcely merits this discussion.

Our company consisted of nearly five hundred camels. This exceeds the number usually employed by the Jelabs on their return from Egypt, which is often not more than two hundred. In passing from Dar-Fûr to Egypt, they esteem two thousand camels, and a thousand head of slaves, a large caravan. Of persons of other countries, but particularly Egyptians, trading for themselves, there were not more than fifty, including five or six Coptic Christians, whose admittance in Dar-Fûr the monarch of that country has since forbidden. Several of this number were Muggrebines, or Occidental Arabs; the remainder, amounting to one hundred and fifty or two hundred, including the chabîr, or leader, were subjects of Fûr. Few particulars of other caravans are known to me but by report.

The Arabs and Jelabs find the camel too indispensable to their long and fatiguing voyages, not to employ much care in nourishing him. This ship of the land, (مركب البر,) as he is called, is exclusively the bearer of their fortunes, and the companion of their toils. Much care is observed in rearing him, and not unfrequently the merchant pays nearly as much for the camels to carry his merchandize, as he did for the commodities themselves; what then must be the profit that covers his expenses, his fatigue, indemnifies him for accidental losses, and yet leaves him a gainer? But if this patient and enduring animal be thus rendered subservient to their wants, or their avarice, he is not at least tortured for their caprice.

Horses are very little used by the Jelabs. They generally furnish themselves with Egyptian asses, which alleviate the fatigue of the way, and are afterwards sold in Soudân at an advanced price. The strength and spirits of this animal are recruited with a small quantity of straw and water; the horse has not the same recommendation; and these people, though not averse from parade in cities, find the labour and hazard of these voyages too enormous, not to augment their profits by all possible economy.

The provisions they use are scanty and indifferent, and by no means testify any foresight for the necessities of the sick, or for the procrastination of the voyage by those innumerable accidents that may befal them.

I did not observe that any of them were furnished with dried meat, as is common with the Fezzanners. But few used coffee and tobacco, and the rest contented themselves with a leathern bag of flour, another of bread baked hard, a leathern vessel of honey or treacle, and another of butter. The quantity of each was regulated by the number of persons, and seldom exceeded what is absolutely necessary. In travelling from Dar-Fûr to Egypt another article is much in use, especially for the slaves, which Egypt itself does not afford, or produces in no quantity. The grain chiefly in use among the Fûrians is the small kassob, called among them dokn (millet). Of this, after it has been coarsely ground, they take a quantity, and having caused it to undergo a slight fermentation, make a kind of paste. This will keep a long time, and when about to be used, water is added to it; if properly made, it becomes a tolerably palatable food. But the natives are not very delicate. From its acidity they esteem it a preventive of thirst. The fermentation gives it also a slight power of inebriating, and it has a narcotic tendency. The substance so prepared is called ginseia. The want of materials for fire on the road prevents the use of rice, and other articles that would require cookery.

Experienced travellers, among every ten camels laden with merchandize, charge one with beans, and straw chopped small, which, sparingly given, serves them during the greater part of the voyage. Those with whom I travelled were not so provided, these articles being then very dear in Egypt; and in consequence numbers of camels perished. In coming from Dar-Fûr, they use for the same purpose the dokn, and coarse hay of the country, but not altogether with the same salutary effect.

The water, in leaving Egypt, is commonly conveyed in goat skins artificially prepared; but no skill can entirely prevent evaporation. On their march from Soudân to Egypt, the Jelabs oftener use ox-hides, formed into capacious sacks and properly seasoned with tar or oil. A pair of these is a camel’s load. They keep the water in a better state for drinking than the smaller; and these sacks are sold to great advantage throughout Egypt, a pair of the best kind being sometimes worth thirty piasters. They are the common instruments for conveying water from the river to different parts of each town. The camels are not allowed to partake of this store, which, after all the care that can be taken of it, is often very nauseous, from the tar, the mud which accompanies the water in drawing, heat, &c. Six of the smaller skins, or two of the larger, are generally esteemed sufficient for four persons for as many days.

The Cubba-Beesh, and the Bedeiât, the latter of whom seem to me not of Arab origin, when they make any attempt on the caravans, commonly shew themselves between Leghea and the Bîr-el-Malha. But this road is so ill provided with any thing that is necessary for the sustenance of man or beast, that neither the wandering tribes, nor the ferocious animals, which infest other parts of the continent, are commonly found there. The Egyptians and other whites therefore, though they commonly carry fire-arms with them from the North, generally take advantage of the market of Fûr, and return without any. The natives of Soudân are furnished with a light spear, or spears, the head of which is made of unhardened iron of their country. They have also a shield of about three feet long, and one foot and a half or three-quarters broad, composed of the hide of the elephant or hippopotamus, very simple in its construction.

Intercourse with Mecca.

No regular caravan of Hadgîs leaves Dar-Fûr, but a number of the natives make their way to Mecca, either with the caravan of merchants trading to Egypt, or by way of Suakem and Jidda. The present king was about to establish his attorney (waquîl) at Mecca, but some obstacles had prevented his reaching that place, when I came away. Fear of the sea, or I know not what other cause, prevents them from choosing the route by Suakem, though it be so much shorter and less expensive than that by the way of Egypt; but the territory between Fûr and Suakem is not subject to any settled government, and those who have travelled with property have frequently been plundered there. The Tocrûri however, who come from various parts, and somewhat resemble the Derwishes of the North, travelling as paupers, with a bowl to drink out of, and a leathern bag of bread, frequently take that route and pass in safety.

Seasons, &c.

The perennial rains, which fall in Dar-Fûr, from the middle of June till the middle of September, in greater or less quantity, but generally both frequent and violent, suddenly invest the face of the country, till then dry and steril, with a delightful verdure. Except where the rocky nature of the soil absolutely impedes vegetation, wood is found in great quantity, nor are the natives assiduous completely to clear the ground, even where it is designed for the cultivation of grain.

As soon as the rains begin, the proprietor, and all the assistants that he can collect, go out to the field, and having made holes at about two feet distance from each other, with a kind of hoe, over all the ground he occupies, the dokn is thrown into them, and covered with the foot, for their husbandry requires not many instruments. The time for sowing the wheat is nearly the same. The dokn remains scarcely two months before it is ripe; the wheat about three. Wheat is cultivated only in small quantities; and the present Sultan having forbidden the sale of it, till the portion wanted for his domestic use be supplied, it is with difficulty to be procured by purchase. The Mahriek, or greater kassob, which is a larger grain than the dokn, is also common, and a small supply of sesamum, (Simsim in Arabic,) is sown. What they term beans is a species of legumen different from our bean. In what are called gardens are Bamea, Meluchîa, lentils, (adis,) kidney beans, (lubi,) and some others. The water melon, and that called in Kahira Abd-el-awi, together with some other kinds, abound during the wet season, and indeed before, if they be watered. Sultan Teraub was solicitous to procure every thing the gardens of Egypt produce, and caused much care to be taken of the culture of each article brought: but the present prince does not turn his thoughts to that kind of improvement, and little of the effect of his predecessor’s laudable anxiety is at this moment distinguishable. There are several species of trees, but none that produces fruit worth gathering, unless it be the Tamarind (Tummara[44] Hindi). The date trees are in very small number, and their fruit diminutive, dry, and destitute of flavour. That tree seems not indigenous in the country, but to have been transported from the neighbourhood of the Nile, Dongola, Sennaar, &c. The inhabitants appear not well to understand the management of this useful production; and perhaps the great drought will never admit of its flourishing, whatever diligence or care may be used to increase the number or improve the kind.

ANIMALS.

Quadrupeds.

Of animals the list found in Dar-Fûr with which my own knowlege furnishes me, is not very extensive; nor will it be interesting so much as containing any thing new, but as it will shew the peculiar circumstances of the country, as distinguished from other neighbouring regions, and somewhat indicate the present state of the people.

The horse is used, but not in great number, nor are the natives very solicitous as to the breed. The only good horses they possess are bred in the country of Dongola, and by the Arabs to the East of the Nile. These are generally larger than we are accustomed to find the Egyptian horses. They are perfectly well formed, and full of fire, yet tractable. Their action is grand beyond what I have observed in any other species; but it is said they are not remarkable for bearing fatigue. The Arabs, who breed them, are in the habit of feeding them with milk. They rarely, if ever, castrate them. Horses and mares are indiscriminately used for the saddle. The horses of Soudân are none of them shod.

Two or three distinct breeds of sheep, Ovis aries, exist in Soudân, not however very materially differing from each other. The large-tailed sheep, which are found elsewhere, I believe are here unknown. The meat is inferior to that of the Egyptian sheep. They are covered with coarse wool, resembling hair, and apparently wholly unfit for any manufacture. The goats, capræ cervicapræ, are much more numerous than the sheep, and the flesh of the former is somewhat cheaper than that of the latter. The goats grow perhaps rather larger, but otherwise differ not from those of Egypt. It is not uncommon to castrate both these animals, but neither is it a very general practice.

The ass here is of the same appearance, and the same indocile nature, with that of Great Britain. The only good ones are what the Jelabs bring with them from Egypt: yet the animal is much used for riding; indeed few persons mount an horse but the military, and those who are in immediate attendance at court. An Egyptian ass fetches from the value of one to that of three slaves, according to the weight he is able to bear. A slave will purchase three or four of the ordinary breed; yet they are not anxious to improve them. Perhaps the animal degenerates: but it is certain that his external appearance undergoes a great change.

The bull is sometimes castrated. Yet of the animals slaughtered in the market I have generally observed that the emasculated are fewest in number; nor is any preference given to the one over the other for food. Indeed, the character of animals in the entire state appears materially to differ from what is remarked of the same animals with us. The horned cattle, fed by the tribes in the vicinity of the rivers, amounts to a very considerable number, and the tribute paid out of them to the monarch forms a valuable part of his revenue. Thence they are brought to the several towns for slaughter. The beef is good: the Egyptians dislike it, but with the natives it is a constant article of food. Cows are also in abundance, but their milk is not very palatable: some of the settlers make it into a kind of cheese, but the inhabitants are not generally acquainted with that process; they have, however, a mode of giving it an acescent taste, and in that state it may be kept a few days, and is neither disagreeable nor insalubrious.

The camels of Fûr are of a mixed breed, and they are found of all colours and sizes. Those which come directly from the West or South are large, smooth-haired, and most frequently of a colour approaching to white, or light brown. Those which are brought from Kordofân are many of them black, and are remarked to be less docile than the others. There are few countries where the animal abounds more than in Dar-Fûr. They are remarkable for enduring thirst, but not for bearing great burthens. The camels in this country are particularly subject to the mange, (Gerab,) which attacks them chiefly in winter, and in some pastures much more than in others. This malady is very contagious. It is cured by the application of a kind of tar, procured by distillation per deliquium, from the seeds of the water-melon. When the male camel is found unruly, they sometimes deprive him of one or both testicles. It is a cruel operation, as immediately after having incided with an ordinary knife, they sear the wound with an hot iron till the hemorrhage be stopped. It may be doubted whether this practice be permitted by the law of the Prophet; but, however bigoted their minds, where advantage is hoped for, their faith is ductile. The flesh of the camel, particularly of the female, (naka,) which is fattened for the purpose, is here much used for food. It is insipid, but easily digested, and no way unpleasant. The milk also is much in esteem. The camels bred in Fezzân, and other countries to the West, as well as those of Arabia, are for labour reckoned superior to those of Fûr, and fetch an higher price. The former are larger and able to carry an heavier burthen, but not so capable of enduring thirst. In Soudân they seldom carry above five hundred weight, and oftener three or three and a half: while in Egypt they are frequently obliged to toil under eight, ten, or even more. From these are selected the camels which bear the sacred treasure to the tomb of the Prophet. Soudân affords many fine dromedaries, but those of Sennaar are most celebrated. Incredible stories are told of the long and rapid journies performed by them; as that they will hold out for four-and-twenty hours, travelling constantly at the rate of ten miles per hour: however this be, they are indisputably swift, and perform long journeys almost without refreshment.

The dogs of Dar-Fûr are of the same kind as those of Egypt, and live on the public like the latter. I have understood that there is in some parts of the country a species of dog, used in hunting the antelope, (ghazâl, Ar.) and another sort to guard the sheep; of the sagacity of the latter wonderful tales are told, as well as of the courage and fidelity of both. Experience has not enabled me to confirm the report. The common house-cat is scarce; and if I am rightly informed, there are none but what have been originally brought from Egypt. They are of the same kind as with us.

The wild or ferocious animals are, principally, the lion, the leopard, the hyena, (Fûr. murfaîn, dubba, Ar.) the wolf, the jackal, canis aureus, the wild buffaloe: but they are not commonly seen within the more cultivated part of the empire, at least that which I have visited, excepting the hyena and the jackal; the former come in herds of six, eight, and often more, into all the villages at night, and carry off with them whatever they are able to master. They will kill dogs, and asses, even within the inclosure of the houses, and fail not to assemble wherever a dead camel or other animal is thrown, which, acting in concert, they sometimes drag to a prodigious distance; nor are they greatly alarmed at the sight of a man, or the report of fire-arms, which I have often discharged at them, and occasionally with effect. It is related, that upon one of them being wounded, his companions instantly tear him to pieces and devour him; but I have had no opportunity of ascertaining this fact. The people of the country dig pits for them, and lying in ambuscade, when one is entrapped, stun him with clubs, or pierce him with their spears. The jackal is harmless, but his uncouth cry is heard far off, and wherever there are rocks to shelter them, their howling community dwells undisturbed.

In the countries bordering on the empire of Fûr, where water is in greater abundance, the other animals mentioned are very numerous, and much dreaded by travellers, particularly on the banks of the Bahr-el-Ada. To those already enumerated, may be added, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the camelopardalis, the hippopotamus, and the crocodile.

The elephant is seen, in the places he frequents, in large herds of four or five hundred, according to report. It is even said that two thousand are sometimes found together; but I do not suspect the Arabs of extreme accuracy in counting. These people hunt him on horseback, having singled out a straggler from the herd; or aim at him with spears from the trees; or make pits into which he falls. His hide is applied to many useful purposes. The African elephant is smaller than the Asiatic, and probably of a different species. The meat is an article of food in great esteem with them. The fat forms a valuable unguent, and the teeth, as is well known, supply the merchants with immense profits.

The buffaloe is not found tame in Soudân. The wild one is hunted by the Arabs, and serves them for food. The hippopotamus is killed for his skin, (which being remarkably tough, makes excellent shields, and whips not wholly unlike our horse-whips) and for his teeth, which are much superior to ivory. The horn of the rhinoceros, to which animal the Arabs have applied a term somewhat less appropriate than the Greek, but still characteristic, (Abu-kurn, father of the one horn,) makes a valuable article of trade, and is carried to Egypt, where it is sold at an high price, being used for sabre-hilts, and various other purposes. The more credulous attribute to it some efficacy as an antidote against poison.

The antelope and the ostrich are extremely common throughout the empire. The civet-cat is not seen wild in the quarter which I visited, but is frequent enough farther to the South. Many are preserved in cages in the houses of the rich. The women apply the odour extracted from them to add to their personal allurements; and what is not thus disposed of becomes an article of trade.

The lion and leopard, though common in a certain district, are not found near the seat of government. The Arabs hunt them, strip off the skin, which they sell, and often eat the flesh, which they conceive generates courage and a warlike disposition. They occasionally take them young, and bring them for sale to the Jelabs, who sometimes carry them as presents to the great men in Egypt. I purchased two lions: the one was only four months old when I bought him. By degrees, having little else to employ me, I had rendered him so tame, that he had acquired most of the habits of a dog. He satiated himself twice a week with the offal of the butchers, and then commonly slept for several hours successively. When food was given them they both grew ferocious towards each other, and towards any one who approached them. Except at that time, though both were males, I never saw them disagree, nor shew any sign of ferocity towards the human race. Even lambs passed them unmolested. The largest had grown to the height of thirty inches and a half over the shoulders.

The ennui of a painful detention, devoid of books and rational society, was softened by the company of these animals; and the satisfaction was not small, even from this species of diversion. At length, towards the end of my stay, after they had been with me more than two years, finding it impossible, under the circumstances I then was, to carry them with me, I shot the one; and the other, either from disease or the loss of his companion, died a few days afterwards. The Sultan had also two tame lions, which, with their attendant, came into the market to feed.

The remaining quadrupeds may be classed more briefly; for being all known, they will require no particular description.

Ar.

Mus Jaculus—Jerboa.

Simia Æthiops—Abelang.

Histria ciestria— Porcupine.

Simia cynamolgos—kurd Ar.

BIRDS.

1. Charadrius Kerwan—Oriental dotterel.

2. Numida Meleagris—Guinea fowl.

3. Tetrao Coturnix—Egyptian quail.

4. Vultur Percnopterus—White-headed vulture.

5. Psittacus Alexandri—Green peroquet.

6. Columba domestica—Common pigeon.

7. Tetrao rufus—Red partridge.

8. Owls (not common).

9. Columba Turtur, very common.

No. 4. This bird is of surprising strength, and is said by the natives to be very long-lived, sed fides penes auctores. I have lodged a complete charge of large shot, at about fifty yards distance, in the body of this bird: it seemed to have no effect on him, as he flew to a considerable distance, and continued walking afterwards. I then discharged the second barrel, which was loaded with ball: this broke his wing, but on my advancing to seize him, he fought with great fury with the other. There are many thousands of them in the inhabited district. They divide the field with the hyena: what carrion the latter leaves at night, the former come in crowds to feed on in the day. Near the extremity of each wing is a horny substance, not unlike the spur of an old cock. It is strong and sharp; and a formidable instrument of attack. Some fluid exsudes from this bird that smells likes musk, but from what part of him I am uncertain.

No. 2. This beautiful bird is found in great numbers in Fûr, of which the common fowl, though it now abounds, is not a native. The voice of the Guinea fowl, when apparently elated, is very peculiar. No external difference, even in this their native climate, is to be observed between the male and female of this bird. They are carried as a profitable commodity to Kahira, where however, in a domestic state, it is said they seldom or never breed.

5. These birds, in the beginning of summer, fill the trees in the vicinity of the town I lived in. They are caught unfledged, and brought up in the houses, till they become quite domestic; are then carried to Egypt, and taught a kind of speech, which being acquired, they are sold at a high price.

Of fish I saw none but what were too much disguised by drying to be recognised.

The fish in the river Ada, I am told, consist of nearly the same species as those of the Nile in Upper Egypt. They are caught in wicker baskets, and used for food.—The natives have also a way of drying them, but it does not prevent their being so offensive to the smell, as to be useless to any but themselves. Numerous huts built of reeds are found on the bank of the river, as well for the use of the fishermen, as of those who ensnare the ferocious animals that come to drink its waters.

The Chameleon abounds in Dar-Fûr; the viverra Ichneumon, nims, and almost all the species of lizard are also seen there.

Of Serpents, the Coluber Hayé of Egypt, the Coluber vipera, and the anguis Colubrina, were the only ones I saw: and no more than one or two of each; though it was represented to me that in some places they are numerous. The Fûrians have not the art of charming them, like the Egyptians and Indians. I exposed myself to much ridicule by collecting a number of chameleons in my apartment, to observe their character and changes; the people there think them impure, and relate many foolish stories concerning them.

A great number of insects and reptiles, which I had taken care to conserve, accident has deprived me of, and I cannot now furnish a catalogue. The scorpion is small, of a brown hue, and his venom not extremely violent. The natives cure the sting by immediately applying to the part a bruised onion, which is renewed till the pain subsides.

The white ant, or Termites, is found in vast numbers, and is exceedingly destructive, eating through every thing within its reach, whether vegetables, cloth, leather, paper, provisions, &c. A bull’s hide, if not newly covered with tar, is no defence against it. The Apis mellifera (common bee) abounds; but they have no hives, and the wild honey is commonly of a dark colour, and unpleasant taste. I have observed a beetle, not very large, which is characterized by burying its eggs in a small ball of horse’s or other dung, and then rolling the ball from place to place in the sand or clay, till it attains a size greatly exceeding that of the animal itself. Great quantities of cochineal are visible; which, if the natives, or the Egyptians who visit them, had any reflection or spirit, it might be thought would be applied to some useful purpose.

The locust of Arabia, Gryllus, is very common, and is frequently roasted and eaten, particularly by the slaves. The Scarabeus Ceratoniæ; the Culex Egypti, namûs in Ar. (mosquito), is particularly vexatious in the rainy season.

METALS AND MINERALS.

Of metals, the number found in the district known to me, is small. But in its neighbourhood, to the South and West, if I have been rightly informed, almost all descriptions are to be met with. The copper brought by the merchants from the territories of certain idolatrous tribes bordering on Fûr, is of the finest quality, in colour resembling that of China, and appears to contain a portion of zink, being of the same pale hue. The large rings into which it is formed (of ten or twelve pounds weight each) are very malleable: of the ore I never was able to procure a specimen. Iron is to be found in abundance, and the Pagan negroes, on whom the Mohammedans look with contempt, are the artists that extract it from the ore; an art of which the former, as far as I have seen, are ignorant. Though their iron, through the stupidity of the inhabitants, never acquire the more useful character of steel, its effects in the form of knives and javelins are yet commensurate with the malign dispositions of mankind. And though soft and perishable, with increased trouble in renewing the edge, the tools formed of it answer all the purposes of their rude workmanship.

The method by which I observed a workman supply the defect of a furnace for fusing metals appeared worth noticing. He had a leathern bag, which, on compression, forced the air through a wooden pipe for bellows, and placed over the fire, made in a small hole in the earth, the remains of a water jar, with which simple apparatus the effect was rapid and not inconsiderable.

Silver, lead, and tin, I have never heard mentioned here, but as coming from Egypt. Of gold, in the countries to the East and West, the supply is abundant. Little comes to Dar-Fûr, except by accident. What is produced in the West reaches the northern markets by means of other caravans. The monarch occasionally obtains a small quantity for his own use from the East.

Alabaster, and various kinds of marble, exist within the limits of Fûr. The rocks chiefly consist of grey granite. But of stone adapted to building, or convertible into lime, either there is none, or the quantity must be extremely small. The granite serves for hand-mills without being cut, for the metal of which their tools are composed is too soft to be employed for that purpose.

Fossile salt is common within a certain district: and there is a sufficient supply of nitre, of which however no use is made. A quantity of sulphur is brought by the Arabs, who feed oxen (Bukkara) from the South and West. But of the place where it is found I have heard no description. It must also exist on the mountain called Gebel Marra; as it is related there are hot springs there; which animals, particularly birds, are observed not to approach; this, if true, may be the effect of sulphureous vapours.

PLANTS.

Though my residence in Dar-Fûr was so much protracted, I feel myself able to furnish only a very imperfect catalogue of its vegetable productions. These are to be sought chiefly in the districts to the South, where water abounds, and where the extreme restraint under which I found myself prevented me from seeking them.

During seven or eight months in the year the whole surface of the earth to the North is dried up by the sun, and the minute plants which spring and flourish during the Harîf[45], are mingled in the general marcescence, as soon as that season is passed. Even the trees, whose fibres pierce more deeply into the substance of their parent soil, lose the distinctive marks of their proper foliage, and exhibit to the distant observer only the sharp outline of their grosser ramifications.

Of the trees which shade our forests or adorn our gardens in Europe, very few exist in Dar-Fûr. The characteristic marks of those species which most abound there, are their sharp thorns, and the solid and unperishable quality of their substance. 1. The Tamarind is not very common in the quarter I frequented; but those which were visible to me were of great height and bulk, and bore a copious supply of fruit.

2. The Plane, platanus Orientalis, Deleib, is found, but seems rather to have been brought from Egypt, than indigenous.

3. Sycamore of Egypt, Ficus Sycomorus, Gimmeiz, a few near Cobbé; said to be much more common to the southward. I did not observe that it produced any fruit.

4. Nebbek Ar. Paliurus Athenæi. Of this there are two species in Dar-Fûr. They term the largest Nebbek-el-arab. There is a difference in their fruit, as well as in their external appearance. The one is a bush, with leaves of dark green, not very different from those of the ivy, but much thinner. It appeared to be the same I had seen in the gardens of Alexandria. The other a tree, growing to considerable size, but having both the leaves and fruit smaller, and the fruit of darker colour, and somewhat different flavour. Both of them equally thorny. The natives eat the fruit fresh or dry; for it dries on the tree, and so remains great part of the winter months. In that state it is formed into a paste of not unpleasant flavour, and is a portable provision on journies.

5. Heglîg or Hejlij, Ar. This tree is about the same size as the one last mentioned, and is said to be a native of Arabia, though I have seen it only in Fûr.—The leaf is small, and the fruit it bears is of an oblong form, about the size of a date. Colour brown, tinctured with orange; dry, and of a viscous quality. The nucleus is large in proportion to the fruit, which adheres to it with great tenacity. This is also formed into a paste, but of no agreeable flavour. It is however eaten by the Arabs, and by some esteemed efficacious as a remedy for certain diseases. It seems a slight diuretic. The wood is hard, and of a yellowish colour; it grows in great abundance, and is very thorny. This, together with the Nebbek, chiefly furnish thorns for the fences.

6. Enneb, a small tree, to the fruit of which they have given the name of grapes. It bears leaves of light green hue, and the fruit, which is of a purple colour, is attached, not in bunches, but singly to the smaller branches, and interspersed among the leaves. The internal structure of the fruit is not very unlike the grape, which it also resembles in size. But the pulp is of a red hue, and the taste is strongly astringent.

7. Shaw, Ar. a shrub about the size of the Arbutus, having, like it, a leaf of strong texture, of oval form, pale green, wider at the lower, and narrower at the upper extremity than the arbutus.—The leaf has the pungency and very much the taste of mustard. This shrub I saw chiefly in Wadi Shaw, a place we passed in going and returning, between Sweini and Bîr-el-malha. The natives cut off the smaller branches, which they use to rub their teeth, alleging that the acrid juice of this plant has the property of whitening them.

From an exact correspondence as to the place of its growth, viz. near the salt springs, the camels not eating it, and some other circumstances, I take this to be the Rack of Bruce, vol. v. p. 44. though unable to recognize it in the figure there given.

8. Ceratonia Siliqua, Charôb.

9. Solanum sanctum, nightshade, Beidinjan, or Melingân, brought originally from Egypt, and used for food.

10. El Henne, from Egypt, growing into use.

11. Sophar, Ar. Cassia sophera, wild senna, native, and grows in plenty after the rains.

12. Sûnt, Mimosa Nilotica, in great quantity.—It is from this tree, which is also called Seiâl, that the gum, brought to Egypt by the caravans, is chiefly gathered. There are also found the trees called by Bruce Ergett Dimmo, and Ergett-el-Kurûn, and the Farek, Bauhinia Acuminata of the same writer.

13. A kind of legumen called Fûl, bean. It is not much used for food, but as an ornament by the women, being strung in the form of beads, when quite dry, at which time it is very hard. It is also used as a weight of four or five grains.

14. A beautiful legumen, of a scarlet colour, with a black spot at the point of attachment to its cyst. It is called in Dar-Fûr Shûsh; is about the size of a small pea, hard and polished; grows on a plant resembling tares; is strung and used as an ornament by the women.

15. The common onion, Allium cepe, Bassal, Ar. is abundantly supplied in Dar-Fûr, but inferior in size, taste, and colour, to that of Egypt.

16. Garlick, Allium sativum, Tûm Ar. cultivated and used for food.

17. Water-melon, Cucurbita citrullus, Butteik Ar. This grows wild over almost all the cultivable lands, and ripens as the corn is removed. In this state it does not attain a large size. The inside is of a pale hue, and has little flavour. As it ripens, the camels, asses, &c. are turned to feed on it, and it is said to fatten them. The seeds, as they grow blackish, are collected to make a kind of tar, Kutrân. Those plants of the melon which receive artificial culture grow to a large size, and are of exquisite flavour.

18. Common melon, Cucumis melo, Kawûn Ar. is occasionally cultivated, but rarely brought to perfection.

19. Cucumbers, Cucumis sativus, Cheiar Ar. of which the Jelabs have introduced the culture, as well as of the preceding.

20. Gourd, Cucurbita Lagenaria, Karra Ar. This serves for drinking-vessels and other purposes. It is found in abundance. When fresh, it is used for food, and being properly dressed with meat, is very palatable. Grows to a large size.

21. Cœlocynthis, Handal Ar. very common.

22. Momordica Elaterium, Adjûr Ar. also very common.

23. Ushar. This plant abounds so much as to cover whole plains. No other use is made of it than to spread its branches and leaves under mats and goods, which it is said guards them from the Termis or white ant.

24. Nightshade, Solanum foliis hirsutis, Enneb-el-dîb.

25. Hemp, Cannabis vulgaris, Hashîsh, Ar. is now become an article of regular culture, being used in various ways as an aphrodisiac, and in different proportion as a narcotic. Hashîsh is a general name for green herbs, but chiefly appropriated to this: it is chewed in its crude state, inhaled by means of a pipe, or formed, with other ingredients, into an electuary, maijun. In Egypt the consumption of this article is much greater than in Dar-Fûr, but the best is that of Antioch in Syria.

26. Rice, Oryza, Oruzz Ar. is brought in small quantities by the wandering Arabs, who find it growing wild in the places they frequent. It is little used or esteemed, and indeed has no quality to recommend it.

27. Cayenne pepper, chetti or Tchetti, in the language of the country, is extremely common in one district, whence it is dispersed over the country and used with food.

28. Kidney-bean, Lubi Ar.

29. Meluchia.

30. Bamêa, in great abundance.

31. A plant of the same size with the Meluchia, of very dark green, strong smell and taste. It grows in great quantity, and with the natives forms a principal article of food. They call it Cowel.

32. Sesamum, Simsim, Ar. From this an oil is extracted. It is also bruised in a mortar, and mixed with the food. It is even used by the great to fatten their horses.

33. Mahreik, and Dokn, the holcus dochna, of Forskal, as has been already mentioned, are the basis of their provision, but chiefly the latter.

34. Tobacco is produced in abundance in Fertît and Dar Fungaro. It seems to be unquestionably of native growth.