第65章 CHAPTER IX.(6)
thus they have no fear of our party, but with perfect confidence they approach within thirty or forty yards of the tents, sitting upon the rocks and trees, and curiously watching all that takes place in the camp. I have only seen one species of monkey in this neighbourhood--a handsome dark grey animal with white whiskers.
The baboons are also of one species, the great dog-faced ape (Cynocephalus); these grow to a very large size, and old Masara fully expects to be carried off and become the wife of an old baboon, if they are allowed to become so bold.
"This afternoon I took a stroll with the rifle, but saw nothing except a young crocodile about six feet long; this was on the dry summit of a hill, far from water. I shot it and took the skin. Ican only conclude that the small stream in which he had wandered from the river-bed had become dry, and the creature had lost its way in searching for other water.
"September 27.--I started from the tent at 6 A.M. and made a circuit of about eighteen miles, seeing nothing but tetel and gazelles, but I had no luck. Hot and disgusted, I returned home, and took the rod, hoping for better luck in the river. I hooked, but lost, a small fish, and I began to think that the fates were against me by land and water, when I suddenly had a tremendous run, and about a hundred and fifty yards rushed off the reel without the possibility of stopping the fish. The river was very low; thus I followed along the bank, holding hard, and after about half an hour of difference of opinion, the fish began to show itself, and I coaxed it into the shallows; here it was cleverly managed by Bacheet, who lugged it out by the tail. It was an ugly monster, of about fifty pounds, a species of silurus, known by the Arabs as the 'coor;' it differed from the silurus of Europe by haviimg a dorsal fin, like a fringe, that extended along the back to the tail. This fish had lungs resembling delicate branches of red coral, and, if kept moist, it would exist upon the land for many hours like an eel. It smelt strongly of musk, but it was gladly accepted by the Sheik of Sofi, who immediately answered to the flag.
"While shooting this morning I came suddenly upon a small species of leopard that had just killed a snake about five feet in length; the head was neatly bitten off and lay upon the ground near the body; the animal was commencing a meal off the snake when it was disturbed, and I lost sight of it immediately in the high grass.
"September 28.--The heat is most oppressive: even the nights are hot, until about 2 A.M., at which hour a cool breeze springs up.
The wind now blows from the south until about 1 P.M., when it changes suddenly to the north, and then varies between these two points during the rest of the day; this leads me to hope that the north wind will shortly set in. September, as in England, is the autumn of this land; the wild fruits are ripe, some of which are not unpleasant, but they are generally too sweet,--they lack the acidity that would be agreeable in this burning climate. There is an orange-coloured berry that has a pleasant flavour, but it is extremely oily; this has a peculiarly disagreeable effect upon the system, if eaten in any quantity. Several varieties of excellent wild vegetables grow in great abundance throughout this country: beans, three kinds of spinach; the juicy, brittle plant cultivated in Lower Egypt, and known as the 'regle;' and lastly, that main-stay of Arab cookery, 'waker,' well known in Ceylon and India under the names of 'Barmian' and 'Bandikai.' This grows to the height of thirteen or fourteen feet in the rich soil of the table lands: the Arabs gather the pods and cut them into thin slices; these are dried in the sun, and then packed in large sacks for market. The harvest of waker is most important, as no Arab dish would be perfect without the admixture of this agreeable vegetable. The dried waker is ground into powder between two stones; this, if boiled with a little gravy, produces a gelatinous and highly-flavoured soup.