When
they did so, a very black man, named Mahamed, in full Egyptian
regimentals, with a curved sword, ordered his regiment to halt,
and threw himself into my arms, endeavouring to hug and kiss me.
Rather staggered at this unexpected manifestation of affection,
which was like a conjunction of the two hemispheres, I gave him a
squeeze in return for his hug, but raised my head above the reach
of his lips, and asked who was his master? "Petrik," was the
reply. "And where is Petherick now?" "Oh, he is coming." "How
is it you have not got English colours, then?" "The colours are
Debono's." "Who is Debono?" "The same as Petrik; but come along
into my camp, and let us talk it out there;" saying which,
Mahamed ordered his regiment (a ragamuffin mixture of Nubians,
Egyptians, and slaves of all sorts, about two hundred in number)
to rightabout, and we were guided by him, whilst his men kept up
an incessant drumming and fifing, presenting arms and firing,
until we reached his huts, situated in a village kept exactly in
the same order as that of the natives. Mahamed then gave us two
beds to sit upon, and ordered his wives to advance on their knees
and give us coffee, whilst other men brought pombe, and prepared
us a dinner of bread and honey and mutton.
A large shed was cleared for Grant and myself, and all my men
were ordered to disperse, and chum in ones and twos with
Mahamed's men; for Mahamed said, now we had come there, his work
was finished. "If that is the case," I said, "tell us your
orders; there must be some letters." He said, "No, I have no
letters or written orders; though I have directions to take you
to Gondokoro as soon as you come. I am Debono's Vakil, and am
glad you are come, for we are all tired of waiting for you. Our
business has been to collect ivory whilst waiting for you." I
said, "How is it Petherick has not come here to meet me? is he
married?" "Yes, he is married; and both he and his wife ride
fore-and-aft on one animal at Khartum." "Well, then, where is the
tree you told Bombay you would point out to us with Petherick's
name on it?" "Oh, that is on the way to Gondokoro. It was not
Petherick who wrote, but some one else, who told me to look out
for your coming this way. We don't know his name, but he said if
we pointed it out to you, you would know at once."
4th. - After spending the night as Mahamed's guest, I strolled
round the place to see what it was like, and found the Turks were
all married to the women of the country, whom they had dressed in
clothes and beads. Their children were many, with a prospect of
more. Temporary marriages, however, were more common than
others - as, in addition to their slaves, they hired the
daughters of the villagers, who remained with them whilst they
were trading here, but went back to their parents when they
marched to Gondokoro.
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