My Wanderings in the Soudan

Front matter

BY MRS. SPEEDY A iUAKIH PILOT IN f\VO VOLUMES— VOL. I LONDON RICHARD BENTLEY & SON, NEW BURLINGTON ST. publishers in ©minaro to ILift itfaitstg tljt Quccu 1S84 AU riglits icsirvctl. Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh. DEDICATION. To my husband, whose ?iever-failing help smoothed every difficulty of the way, I dedicate the following slight record of our tour through the Soudan in 1878; com piled during his absetice on the Mission to Abyssinia in the early part of the current year. August 1884.

Preface

. The following letters were not originally in tended for publication. They were addressed chiefly to my mother, and at the time I wrote them I had not the least idea that any but those in the immediate circle of my own family and intimate friends would ever read them. Until lately I was not even aware that they had been preserved. Soon, however, after the present difficulties in the Soudan arose, when it became apparent that interest would be aroused regarding that part of Africa, they were returned to me with urgent requests that I would put them into print. For a considerable time I hesitated, and it was only when the requests were reiterated that I ventured to commence selection and revision.

PREFACE.

. VIII The desire to comply with the wishes of my friends, and the fact that I am, I believe, with the exception of Lady Baker, the only lady who has as yet made a tour through the Soudan, are my apology for bringing to the light these slight imperfect sketches. In the beginning of the year 1878 I per suaded my husband to take me to Africa, but the short trip which began and ended in Egyptian territory was but part of that which at the outset I hoped might be feasible. My original wish was to go to Abyssinia — special interest regarding that country having been raised in my mind from Captain Speedy's residence there many years before, his connec tion with it during the Expedition of 1867 and 1868 under Lord Napier of Magdala, and his subsequent guardianship of the late Prince Alamayu, son of Theodore, King John's pre decessor.

I did not, however, get so far. Our plans resolved themselves, even before we set forth, into a shooting tour through that part of Nubia known as the Eastern Soudan. We

PREFACE.

. IX started for our trip from the Island of Penang in the Malay Straits, having resided in the neighbouring Malay Peninsula for some years previously. Our route was thence to Suez, and from there down the Red Sea to Suakin — a port at that time but little known, although it has since become one of much note. From Suakin we followed the caravan track to Kassala, from which town we went to the river Settit, the most southerly point of our wanderings ; and though we were within sight of the Abyssinian hills, we did not cross the border. I still, however, cherish a secret hope that the day may yet arrive when I shall find myself at the Court of King Johannes — my former wish to visit Abyssinia having been still further increased since my husband has been again called to that country to pioneer the Mission recently sent to it under Sir William Hewett. CORNELIA MARY SPEEDY. London, i 5/ 'h August 1884. CONTENTS.

Letter I

On the eve of starting — Suakin is our port — Our native staff— Englishman expected to join us — Our baggage — Home-made tents — Hospitality at Suez — Old acquaintances — Shivering with cold — Last packings Pages 1-9

Letter II

The border of the terrible land — On board the "Tor" — A storm gets up — Suakin Harbour — Hospitality of the Arab Governor — Our rooms in the Pasha's house — Writing under difficulties — No bathing possible — Dinner with the Pasha — Suakin — Our proposed route to Kassala — Plans for the future .... 10-25

Letter III

Everything ready for a start — My first acquaintance with Hadendoa Arabs — Our start from Suakin — Dinner by moonlight — Debus, the native hound — Skins for holding water — I meet three hundred camels — " Beni-Amer " Arabs — Afternoon tea under a mimosa bush — We sleep out of doors — Flora's midnight visit — We reach "Satrab" 26-39 CONTENTS. XII

Letter IV

Mail goes regularly to Cairo — A refreshing stream — The righteous wrath of my husband — We leave Satrab — Travelling in the dark — Fear of hyenas — The Malay on the black donkey — "Zaituna," "Elsie," and "Fairy" — Refractory camel drivers — I am famishing Pages 40-53

Letter V

Letters instead of diary — A cure for nervous invalids — Stones under my pillow — Wild asses in sight — A long shot — Bargains with myself — Cold mornings and evenings — The scorching wind — The sentry asleep — Retribution falls on the guide .... 54_66

Letter VI

Gentleness towards camel drivers thrown away — The natives not greedy — The new guide had deceived us — The kettle is lost — We lose our way in the dark — Hopeless search for the telegraph poles — Capabilities of the Soudanese — The patois of the natives — We smell wood smoke — A well-greased skin — The welcome "Diwan" — Sleep at last 67-83

Letter VII

Account of Lagua completed — The rough path to the gorge — Filling the water skins — The eagle overhead — The fatted sheep — A native delicacy — Ahmed is found — Warning to the camel drivers — Yes and no, by sounds — Amazement at my boots — Sympathy with my torn dress — Terror at my being able to write — Good-bye to Lagua .......... S4-99 CONTENTS. XIII

Letter VIII

How I write my letters— "A walking tour through the Soudan "—The dogs begin to get "done up "—"Flo " and the sulky Arab— The hyena hunt — Contrast between the dogs — Debus was dearly bought — The glittering prize — Gorge infested by lions — We march in single file — An unpleasant apprehension — A Job's comforter Pages 100-113

Letter IX

Encamped at Miteb — Cooking in spite of high gale — " Durra " — Coiffure of mutton fat — Curl papers of white grease — Tent tied closely down — Camel men hate early rising — Carrying cash in the Soudan — The treasure in sealed bags — Possible robbers and wild beasts — African heat — The flinty sand — The Khor, Karkoeb — Vegetable ivory — Dom palms . . . . . . .114-132

Letter X

Resaid or Resai — Nearing Wandik — Wretched mohatta — Lovely valley — Watering camels and goats — The patient waiters — The invaluable bath — My precious treasures — Soudan prices — Exquisite camping-ground — A note of discord — The guilty Hussein — Self-interested camel drivers — A friend in need 133-149

Letter XI

Journey to Bulak — Camping-grounds — Camel men deceive us — Noisy and excited — Cunning devices — Sweet revenge — Bright young Hadendoa hostess — Friendly memory — Goatherd pursued — Trust displayed by him —Ludicrous scene — Heat increasing . 150-162 CONTENTS. XIV

Letter XII

Arrival at Felik — Aradeb — Greek merchants — Two sheep for a dollar — The Indian "kukri" — Collecting tribute — Oppression of the Soudanese — A "zareeba" — My first sight of the mirage — An unpleasant circumstance — The perfidious traveller — The Swiss rifle Pages 163-174

Letter XIII

Togan — Immense flight of Guinea fowl — My wedding-trunk deserted — Alarm of lions — The tracks visible — Mirage again — The Felik station-master — Extraordinary costume of slave girls — My slumber is disturbed — Our host says his prayers — I exclaim aloud ! — A woman, a donkey, or a dog — Flattering ! . . . 175-1S7

Letter XIV

Arrival at Kassala — Halting for the night — Land full of lions — A hyena intrudes — Camp aroused at five o'clock — The pioneers start — Not a tree upon the plain — We don't know the way — Off the track — On into the heart of Kassala — Completely at a loss — The Italian lady — Scouts suggested — The Pasha and officers — Charlie walks in — The fiction of Hussein Kabiri ..... 188-204

Letter XV

Our host and hostess — A bountiful breakfast — Half-tamed young lions — All kinds of animals — Our hired house — Deep in dust — Cracks in the door — Inspected unawares — My new dog — The former threat — Camel-drivers punished — Arabian costumes — We explore Kassala — A "careless ordered " garden — The pauper burying-ground 205-220 CONTENTS. XV

Letter XVI

Arrival of home letters — Fete at commandant's house — Gorgeousness and barbarism — The lady of the house — Four hundred people feasted — Vaulting on to the dais — Dinner announced — Dipping into the tureen — "Fingers before forks" — We wash our hands — Oppressive hospitality — Finjans and zerfs — Arab coffee — Mode of grinding — Copper saucepans — Characteristic fraud . Pages 221-239 ILLUSTRATIONS. A Suakin Pilot Title-page Suakin Harbour Fage 14 Suakin Causeway ,,22 Our first Camping-Ground .... ,,29 Debus ,,32 Hadendoa Arab 51 Stalking Wild Asses .,60 Coiffure of Mutton Fat . . . . ,,119 Camping-Ground at Wandik .... ,, 137 Kassala ,, KEY MAP TO ILLUSTRATE THE ROUTE OF THE AUTHOR u Benilej A Sun, London

Letter I

On the eve of starting — Suakin is our port — Our native staff — Englishman expected to join us — Our baggage — Home-made tents — Hospitality at Suez — Old acquaintances — Shivering with cold — Last packings. Suez, yth February 1878. My dearest Mother — We are at last actually on the eve of starting for our African trip. The fortnight that has elapsed since we arrived from Penang has passed with wonderful rapidity, and we shall probably be off for the Soudan the day after to-morrow. Suakin is our port, and from there we shall begin our marches southwards towards Kassala. I am not at all surprised that you or any of the dear folk at home do not enter into the idea as enthusiastically as we do ! We feared you would all vote it a wild scheme, but we are ourselves so keen about the expedition that not even your kind advice can deter us, and we feel that no difficulties can daunt us !

Everything has so far seemed to favour us in the most vol. 1. marvellous manner. We could not have a more promising or more happily chosen little camp had we taken the utmost pains as to selection, yet every one has come to us, as it were, almost by chance, and without any special exertion on our part. You must, therefore, abandon your misgivings, and make up your mind to rejoice with us every step of our way. I must describe some of the principal mem bers of our staff. We have brought a Malay boy with us from Perak, who is a clever fellow in many ways. He was our servant for a year before we left the Straits, and latterly, with a view to this tour, I taught him to do all sorts of things, and I assure you he now far surpasses his instructor ! He is a good table servant — a housemaid (so to speak), valet, and lamp-man ; cleans glass and china to perfection ; and, in fact, is so willing and bright that he makes no objection to any sort of work.

He will be invaluable, I am sure ; and, besides the comfort we shall have from his services, I said before we started that I must have one servant with me to whom I could speak in a language that both he and I could understand. As I know Malay, and he is very anxious to learn English, we may have more than one ground on which ENGLISHMAN EXPECTED TO JOIN US. 3 to meet before long. Had I only Arab servants with me I should find it rather difficult to get on, at any rate until it is possible to achieve at least a smattering of the terrific Arabic gutturals. We have picked up a youth here who gives himself out as an Abyssinian, but we have our doubts on this point, as he knows little of Amharic, saying in explanation that the length of time he has been away from his country has caused him to forget it ; Arabic, however, he speaks fluently, and as he can cook, and is able to act in various capacities, he gives promise of being very useful.

He is strong and active, with a fine erect carriage, and a clear bright eye that looks one straight in the face, so we can but hope that he will prove as honest as he appears to be. In addition we expect by and by an Eng lishman, named Connolly, who was acting tem porarily as sailor on board the vessel we came in from the Malay Straits, but who wishes to leave the sea, and is ready to follow our for tunes. He went home to England with the ship, but has promised to come out to us when this voyage for which he was engaged is over, and I fancy he will keep his word. I think he will be the very man for such an enterprise, — hardy, accustomed to roughing it, clever, thoroughly good-natured, and very well educated ; he writes a hand like a gentleman's, and can keep accounts splendidly — far better than / can ; but then you'll laugh, and say, " That is not saying much !"

I am very anxious to take an Italian washer woman who is here, and who wants to come with me. She is an exquisite laundress, and as refined in appearance and manners as a lady ; and, besides washing for us, would make a nice personal attendant. Her husband would come too, and would do all sorts of odd jobs ; but I have doubts after all as to whether it would be a prudent step to take them, and hardly think we shall carry out the idea. And now I am sure you will wish to know what our baggage is. Clothes are the very least part of it ; all that we do not want we shall store in the hotel here in camphor-wood boxes, and all that we take go easily into two small leather portmanteaus and two little "cabin" Chinese boxes. Nevertheless we have three tons of luggage. This is made up of rifles, guns, tents, saddles, three great boxes of odds and ends — such as medicines, jars of arsenical paste for preserving skins of birds and beasts, HOME-MADE TENTS. 5 presents of gay cloths and ornaments for sheiks who may have to be propitiated with regard to the shooting, half a dozen camp chairs, forming in themselves a heavy bundle, and last, not least, our photographic apparatus, which is no light weight.

Besides this I ought to mention a heavy box containing all sorts of tools — axes, saws, files, chisels, hammers, etc. etc., which will be useful for a hundred things, and will help to build our houses for the rainy season, — for we have many thoughts of remaining a year in the country, so as to get plenty of sport and see the land in every aspect. We have three tents ; one of them is an Indian tent, which we were lucky enough to find at Penang ; it is thicker and stronger than the other two, which we made ourselves in Larut. By the bye, I have never told you about that. It was an achievement I was very proud of! We bought the cloth in the native bazaar — sub stantial "American drill" — and cut out the tents ourselves, making diminutive diagrams on paper first, and taking all the measurements by an inch rule to get the right proportions.

When this was done, and the material sliced up, I stitched it together with my sewing machine ! The little " Wilcox and Gibbs " behaved valiantly, and the long seams of doubled stuff were splendidly accomplished, thanks to its invaluable aid. Then we soaked the tents in soap-suds and alum to make them waterproof, and finally had them pitched in our "compound," that we might enjoy our handiwork to our hearts' con tent. The poles were cut from the neighbour ing jungle, and iron-bound and iron-tipped by native smiths, and promise to answer capitally. I am going to take a donkey with me from Cairo, as it will be some time before we get into that part of the country where good riding camels can be obtained, — and donkeys are hardier and better for rough travelling than horses, — and Charlie will probably get one of the immense mules, thirteen and fourteen hands high, that are to be had here. * * * Since writing so far we have been so strongly dissuaded from taking Europeans with us that we are more doubtful than ever about the Italians, and probably they will not be of the party.

Before I close this letter I must tell you of the great kindness we have met with in Suez during our stay here. I was quite in despair OLD ACQUAINTANCES. 7 on our arrival to find that we had just missed the Egyptian boat to Suakin, and that we could not get away for another fortnight, but now I am quite reluctant to leave. There is actually a small society here ! con sisting of five or six families, and every one has shown us the warmest hospitality. The Consul has a charming house, full of beautiful " curios " and interesting things from all parts of the world. Shortly after our arrival we dined with him and Mrs. West, and had a delightful evening. Everything was first-rate, and we met many nice people. Was it not curious that among the company there was a lady who reminded Charlie that she had known him when he was a boy of about fifteen, and she was a child some four years old ?

She said that he had, on the occasion of some large show in the town in which they both were staying, lifted her up in his arms, and even then held her far aloft above the heads of the surrounding crowd. He remembered the circumstance directly, and was delighted to renew the acquaintance of — we will not say how many years ago ! These pleasant recog nitions are constantly occurring. Wherever we go we are sure to come across people, or relations and friends of people, we have known before, and it is often a matter of speculation with me, in going down to a fresh table d'hote, whom we shall meet next or which of our former acquaintances we shall at least hear of. # # # * There is an admiral here, and also a naval captain, who look after the transport ships as they go to India. They have a first-rate lawn tennis ground on hard earth instead of grass, as that does not grow during the dry season, and asphalt courts have evidently not reached Suez yet.

Yesterday we had a splendid game or rather "set," and are just off again for another. I shall be glad of the walk, for I am simply freezing, and had no idea that Suez could ever be so cold. It is possible that we who have been living in a temperature of 89° and 90°, more or less, for the last five years, are more sensitive to it than most people would be, but we feel it terribly. I had a fire lighted in the saloon — the only room in the hotel that has a stove in it — directly we arrived, and have been cowering over one almost daily. The ther mometer was down to 48° when we first came, and it has fallen lower than that every nio-ht since. It once sank to 340. By nine o'clock SHIVERING WITH COLD. 9 in the morning it is only 52°, and never during the day gets up beyond 70° or 720. A sharp wind is blowing now from the sea, and I feel that I should like a fur cloak.

I have fortun ately been able to get a thick serge dress in the bazaar belonging to the hotel, but though I am delighting in it now it will not be very appropriate for the Soudan, and I suspect that it will be among the things left behind us here. At night I sleep under blankets and rugs, and am glad of all I can get. We have had a charming visit to Cairo during the last fortnight, but I must not linger now to give you a description of it, as there are still a thousand things to be done in preparation for our start. In two days more we shall say good-bye to Suez, and steam away in the little " Tor," down the Red Sea, on our way to the Soudan. The next boat will be bringing your letters to Suakin, and I shall get them, I hope, regularly, for I know you will never miss a mail, and posts go constantly down the country from Suakin to Kassala ; but of all such arrangements I will tell you in my next.

Letter II

The border of the terrible land— On board the " Tor " — A storm gets up — Suakin Harbour — Hospitality of the Arab Governor — Our rooms in the Pasha's house — Writing under difficulties — No bathing possible — Dinner with the Pasha — Suakin — Our proposed route to Kassala — Plans for the future. Steamship " Tor," off Suakin, 1 3 th February 1878. After a somewhat stormy passage we have reached the border of the terrible land ! and are really in sight of Suakin. We left Suez at 1 1 a.m. precisely on Saturday the 9th, and ought to have been in the harbour yesterday evening, but our Arab captain, with exemplary caution, would not enter at sundown, as there is much danger from shoals and sunken rocks, so kept out on the open sea all night, and early this morning "put about" to come round again.

Our last days at Suez were immensely busy. Rearranging our luggage to get it into as small a compass as possible for the coming travel, ON BOARD THE "TOR." 11 sorting everything, and rejecting every article that we thought it possible to do without ; making arrangements for the forwarding of letters and papers, and saying good-bye to all the kind friends who had shown us so much hospitality, — ran rapidly away with the hours, and scarcely left us time for all we wished to accomplish. It was a lovely morning when we steamed away from Suez, and to us who have already been so long in hotter climates it seemed very cold. I sat on the deck of the little gunboat, wrapped up in a great fur rug and all manner of cloaks and shawls, and shivered even then. The air was crisp and fresh — the sea sparkled and shone deliciously — no atmosphere could have been more inspiriting ; and if I had ever felt inclined for a moment to quake at the undertaking before me, that bright scene would have dispelled every doubt.

The " Tor " is one of the Khedive's gunboats, and, for an Egyptian steamer, far nicer than anything I could possibly have anticipated. It was, after all, a lucky thing that we were not in time for the steamer of the preceding fortnight, for that would have been merely one of the ordinary passenger boats, occupied probably by hosts of Arab travellers, many of them very likely pilgrims, and the results of such occupation are often, as you may imagine, most undesir able ! — whereas this boat, being reserved for Egyptian officials and the best class of the Khedive's employes, was tolerably clean ; and as we were the only Europeans on board we had the little saloon and cabins all to ourselves. Out of the saloon the cabins opened, as in any other steamer — small single -berth cabins, just big enough for one.

Had all the party whom we so fondly hoped would join us from home been there they would have found plenty of room, as there were six or seven of these cabins entirely at our disposal. No table d'hote or food of any kind was provided, the people on board being all Arabs, consequently Moham medans ; but our Abyssinian boy cooked for us, doing the mutton to a turn ! and making a curry by no means to be despised, though he had not learned that art in either an Indian or Malay kitchen ; but the equivalent to a Malay curry, with all the fresh cocoa-nut in it (in my opinion surpassing any Indian curry that was ever made), could not be expected or found anywhere out of the Straits Settlements. We had laid in at Suez a stock of live fowls, nearly half a sheep, a piece of beef, and a quantity of A STORM GETS UP. 13 tinned provisions, so we were not at a loss !

For the first two days we were as happy as if in a pleasure-boat ; all was delightful. The sea was as smooth as glass, and everything was prosperous, but alas ! on Sunday night the wind began to rise, a heavy sea came up, and the little " Tor " rolled horribly. Everybody suffered more or less, and I really had some apprehension as to what our fate might be ; for the creaky tub groaned and cracked so terrifically, and the big waves broke over her so alarmingly, that, in spite of all the bigger storms I had lived safely through in bigger vessels, I occasionally made up my mind that the final moment had come at last, and that the next staggering plunge would take us into the deep never to return. I lay in my berth and bore it as heroically as might be — for the most part in solitude and silence.

It is my firm conviction that Charlie suffered too in the depths of his own cabin (though he would not own to it !), not from " apprehension," but otherwise. However, as it was perfectly impossible for me to sit up, much less to go in and see how he was getting on, I can make no assertions. He roused himself at intervals in his unselfish way and brought me in an orange, or strawberries in syrup, or lemon wafers, or some such little delicacy, which his kind thoughtfulness had provided for an hour of need, and I always felt after his visits that we should certainly survive and live to £0 into the Soudan ; and we have survived, and here we are — and have been since nine o'clock this morning — in Suakin SUAKIN HARBOUR. harbour, feeling perfectly well and ready for any and everything. I am scribbling away on deck under the awning ; we have had a hasty breakfast off cold chicken and oranges, and our baggage is being now put into boats and taken on shore, and then a search is to be made for a house, where we shall be able to remain for the next few days while getting camels and guides and preparing for our start.

SUAKIN HARBOUR. 15 I must describe the town as it appears from a distance. It seems to be a little Arab sea port, full of white, flat-roofed, irregularly built houses. Here and there a minaret rises, and there are one or two houses with Arabesque or Saracenic shaped windows, giving the place a pretty picturesque air. Groups of swarthy Arabs congregate at the corners of the streets, and a few fishing -boats are dotted about the harbour. I have been watching one which seems to be particularly successful ; it contains but two men, or rather a man and a boy ; the boy holds the rudder, the man throws the line, and almost as fast as he flings it into the water he pulls it back again with a small fish at the end ; they always appear to be the same, and I should think are only about a pound in weight each. # # # # gp "7? tF Charlie has just returned from the shore ; he has been introduced by our captain to the Arab Governor of Suakin, who has very kindly offered us rooms in his house as long as we remain here ; but we shall not leave the vessel just yet, for the baggage is not quite all landed, and our live stock is still on board.

I hear my nice white donkey (such an aristocratic -looking donkey he is ! so slim and elegant— quite a pleasure to behold) braying ever and anon in the distance, though I have my doubts as to whether that is an aristocratic accomplishment, in spite of his elegant appear ance; and the two pointers which we bought at Suez bark now and then vociferously, as they get frightened perhaps, poor dogs, by a crowd of natives near them. Charlie did not get a mule, as he at one time intended to do, determining to ride a camel instead ; and we did not bring the Italians after all, so we are as yet but seven. "We are seven!" — Charlie, myself, Sher Ullah the Malay boy, Ahmed the Abyssinian, my donkey not yet named, and Shot and Flora the pointers. I must now wait till we get on shore, as the narrative of the ship seems to be pretty well exhausted, and the wind besides is blowing my paper to distraction, not to say destruction.