In dust, leaving the
earth so utterly naked and bare that it is rendered a complete
desert.
In the rainy season, the whole of this country, from the south to
Gozerajup, is covered with excellent pasturage, and, far from
resembling a desert, it becomes a mass of bright green herbage.
The Arabs and their flocks are driven from the south by the flies
and by the heavy rains, and Gozerajup offers a paradise to both
men and beasts; thousands of camels with their young, hundreds of
thousands of goats, sheep, and cattle, are accompanied by the
Arabs and their families, who encamp on the happy pastures during
the season of plenty.
We had now passed the hunts occupied by the Bishareens, and we
had entered upon the country of the Hadendowa Arabs. These are an
exceedingly bad tribe, and, together with their neighbours, the
Hallonga Arabs, they fought determinedly against the Egyptians,
until finally conquered during the reign of the famous Mehemet
Ala Pasha, when the provinces of Nubia submitted unconditionally,
and became a portion of Upper Egypt.
Upon arrival at Soojalup we came upon the principal encampment of
the Hadendowa during the dry season. Within a few miles of this
spot the scene had changed: instead of the bare earth denuded of
vegetation, the country was covered with jungle, already nearly
green, while the vast plains of grass, enlivened by beautiful
herds of antelopes, proved not only the fertility of the soil,
but the presence of moisture.
