This She
Did With Extreme Difficulty, And We Hurried Toward Cassala, From
Which Town We Were Only A Few Miles Distant.
For the last fifty or sixty miles we had seen the Cassala
mountain--at first a blue speck above the horizon.
It now rose in
all the beauty of a smooth and bare block of granite, about 3,500
feet above the level of the country with the town of Cassala at
the base, and the roaring torrent Gash flowing at our feet. When
we reached the end of the day's march, it was between 5 and 6
P.M. The walled town was almost washed by the river, which was at
least 500 yards wide. However, our guides assured us that it was
fordable, although dangerous on account of the strength of the
current. Camels are most stupid and nervous animals in water;
that ridden by my wife was fortunately better than the
generality. I sent two Arabs with poles, ahead of my camel, and
carefully led the way. After considerable difficulty, we forded
the river safely; the water was nowhere above four feet deep,
and, in most places, it did not exceed three; but the great
rapidity of the stream would have rendered it impossible for the
me to cross without the assistance of poles. One of our camels
lost its footing, and was carried helplessly down the river for
some hundred yards, until it stranded upon a bank.
The sun had sunk when we entered Cassala.
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