We Quickly
Cleared The Grass From The Hard Pebbly Soil Of A Beautiful
Plateau On The Summit Of A Craggy
Sandstone cliff, about eighty
feet above the river; here we pitched the tents, close to some
mimosas of dense foliage,
And all being in order, I went down to
the river to receive the next arrival. My wife now came across
the ferry, and so perfectly had this means of transport
succeeded, that by the evening, the whole of our stores and
baggage had been delivered without the slightest damage, with the
exception of a very heavy load of corn, that had caused the
sponging bath to ship a sea during a strong squall of wind. The
only person who had shown the least nervousness in trusting his
precious body to my ferry-boat was Mahomet the dragoman, who,
having been simply accustomed to the grand vessels of the Nile,
was not prepared to risk himself in a voyage across the Atbara in
a sponging bath. He put off the desperate attempt until the last
moment, when every other person of my party had crossed; I
believe he hoped that a wreck would take place before his turn
should arrive, and thus spare him the painful necessity, but when
at length the awful moment arrived, he was assisted carefully
imito the bath by his servant Achmet and a number of Arabs, all
of whom were delighted at his imbecility. Perched nervously in
the centre of the bath, and holding on tight by either side, he
was towed across with his travelling bag of clothes, while Achmet
remained in charge of his best clothes and sundry other personal
effects, that were to form the last cargo across the ferry.
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