We Had Now Fairly
Quitted Abyssinian Territory, And Upon Our Arrival At The Rahad
We Were Upon The Soil Of Upper Egypt.
I was much struck with the
extraordinary size and condition of the cattle.
Corn (dhurra) was
so plentiful that it was to be purchased in any quantity for
eight piastres the rachel, or about 1s. 8d. for 500 pounds;
pumpkins were in great quantities, with a description of gourd
with an exceedingly strong shell, which is grown especially for
bowls and other utensils; camel-loads of these gourd-basins
packed in conical crates were also journeying on the road towards
Gallabat. Throughout the course of the Rahad the banks are high,
and, when full, the river would average forty feet in depth, with
a gentle stream, the course free from rocks and shoals, and
admirably adapted for small steamers.
The entire country would be a mine of wealth were it planted with
cotton, which could be transported by camels to Katariff, and
thence direct to Souakim. We travelled for upwards of a hundred
miles along the river, through the unvarying scene of flat
alluvial soil; the south bank was generally covered with low
jungle. The Arabs were always civil, and formed a marked contrast
to the Tokrooris; they were mostly of the Roofar tribe. Although
there had been a considerable volume of water in the river at the
point where we had first met it, the bed was perfectly dry about
fifty miles farther north, proving the great power of absorption
by the sand.
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