The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-01-29 00:00:00

ACCOUNT OF T4K4.

... ,~. .

Ten is as celebrated for its herds of cattle as for its
ihoorra ; they are very numeroos; the tows are par-
ticularly handsome, and have all bumps on their back.
like those on the Nile; they serer, as in Datfour and
llerelatan, for a mediens el exchange. The price of a
large fat cow was fain al*. of earnuieur, or ninety-
•:'a acids of dbourra, is equisaleut to shout two
ea dribs, or 30 buil:els. The price of a strong camel is
sito-tearth more. As it was now the hottest part of the
tear, just before the period of the rains, when thegreand
is quite perched up, I saw few cattle. According to
the annual custom, the herds had beet sent several
months before to the *listens desert, where they feed
in the mountains and fertile valleys, and it here springs
or water are found. After the inundation they are
brought back to the plain. The camels of Taka are
104134 prized, from en idea that the yowl shoots of the
yetis trees, on which they feed in the woods render
them stronger than camels fed with other food., The
people as* the skin of the long neck of the camel, sowed
up on one side, and left open on the other, as sacks to
transport their grain in when travelling : their form is
very convenient for loading. The 9uantitv of cattle
would be even greater than it is, were it not for the wild
beasts which inhabit the forests, and destroy great num-
bers of them ; the most common of these are lions, and
what they call tigers, but wltirh I suppose to be leopards
or panthers. I never saw any of these animals, but I
beard their howling. every night. The flocks of the
encampment. near which a few sheep are always kept,
are driven in the evening into the area within the circle
of the teats, and the openings in the thorny enclosure
already described, are filled up with a heap of thorns.
No one dares stir out of this entrenchment during the
night ;* it is sufficiently strong to be impenetrable to
the wild beasts, which prowl about it the whole of the
night, filling the air with their dismal howls, which
are answered by the incessant barking of the dogs with-
in. It rarely happens that either lions or tigers are
killed in these countries: when such au occurrence hap-
pens, it is in self-defence; for the inhabitants, having
no other weapons than swords or lances,* have little
chance of conquering the king of the forest, of which
this district appears to be a favourite haunt. SOON of
fhe Shikhs, but very few, have lion skins in their tents;
they appear to be of middling size ; but if the testimony
of the Iladendos may be credited, a lion here sometimes
reaches the size of a cow. Persons are frequently killed
be them. In the woods, wolves, gazelles, and hares
aiound ; and the Bedouins relate stories of serpents
of immense size, which often devour a sheep entire.
The fiercest animals, however, that inhabit these woods.
are the Bedjawy, or inhabitants of Betlja, themselves.
gnat numbers of seise are kept by all these Bedouitts.
In the mountains of Negeyb, the giraffe is said to be
vary numerous. I saw a piece of the skin of one in the
tent of a Hadeodea. Locusts are always seen in Take,
which seems to be their breeding-Place, from whence
they spread over other parts of Nubia. However innu-
merable their host may be, they appear incapable of de-
stroying the verdure of this country, as sometimes hap-
in Egypt and Syria. Those I saw were of tie
ritiar:est size, with the upper wings of a red, and the
lower of a yellow colour. The trees are full of pigeons,
and crows in large flocks. I do net remember having
seen any. birds remarkable for their plumage. From
the. acacia trees gam arabic is collected, which is sold
at Bottakie to the Ltpdds merchants ; from Djidda it
dints its way to Egypt ;bet it is of an indifferent quality,
aides, probably, to the moisture of the soil; for the
best gam is produced is the driest deserts.
An *nous t oilers we remained imasistod of
ffrilkomo 46ft to two kindred tents. di:
flied into (oat dosses, et circles; these were sepainted
from each other by knees lower thee thegenetal thorny
eielosare, by which the whole were surrounded. In
every eettlesenst is Take, as at Shied, and Advert', there
are several Sousa huts. and many public women, with
some duteous seen the mom respectable of the lioushin
naesehants took sip their quarten. These women seem-
ed to me to be sore docent is their behaviour than those
of the same description in the countries on the Nile; at
kid they seldom appeared abroad during the day,
whereas the others waggon' walkisgaboat at all hours.
/)foils sexes wear the samisen Nubian dress, a ilammour
shirt, and a cloak of the same staff thrown ever their
shonkiers. I observed one peculiarity amongst the wo-
'went that of wearing braes or silver nngs en their toes;
auk, of them wear leathers aprons, instead of the dem-
eanor cloth which the Nubian women generally wrap
ronad the middle ; the same custom prevails amongst
the Bedouins of the Hedjas. In their tents they suspend
vaginas ornaments of white shells (weds), from the Red
Res, intermixed with black ostrich feathers. All the
wgiseg go unveiled. and the most respectable think it
takshanie whatever to receive a man in their tent, and
to be seen chatting with him daring the husband's
score. This, however, never happened tome, for when-
ever I presented myself before • tent, the ladies greeted
me iiith loud screams, sad waved with their hands for
me to depart instantly. Nothing astonished them more
than my beard and mustachios; for the beards of the
Bedouins never grew long or thick, and they rut their
mustachios very short. it being a disgrace amongst them
to wear them long, and considered as great a mark of
slorenliisess as an onshore beard among Europese*.
• • • •
Iseschety is not considered here as criminal or
greenest, and the Hademdoa is not ashamed to boast of
his bad faith, whenever it has led to the attainment of
hiatElject. The Souakin people assured me that se
oath tan bind a man of Take t that which alone they
beelenW to -honk is when tier swear " By jig own
health." A Hadendoe seldom scruples to kill his cols
pain on the road in order to himself of the
moatilleifiing article of value, If possess himself
a hope of
dttit wick impunity; but tbe retaliation of blood ex-
a fall force. Among the Hallenp, who draw their
origin from Abyssinia, a horrible custom is said to at-.
tens the revenge of blood ; when the slayer his been
seised by the relatives of the deceased, a family feast is
proidelmed, at which the murderer is brought into the
=Wit of them, hound epee an angareyg, and while his
throat is slowly cat with a razor, the blood is caught in
a book end headed round amongst the gnests, every one
of whom. is Weed to drink of it, at the moment dio
vic dm. iweathes his last. I usage vouch fur the truth
of this, although wend persons asserted it to be a fact,
and d beard no one meatradiet it.
••. • •
I:bsir ewe quarrels, and their national enmity to tine
Biennia, with whom they are never kuowe to be sk
peaerW leave rendered the pospb
0_ Takes a warlike me
tiow, They see the sameweepteas at the inhabitants It,
the Nile countries; bows sad arrows are unknown
them..-Thelr chiefs keep horse*, mid moo themselves
with vests of mail. They are said to be brave. hut 11.1
neeileasee scan of nay pert of their bodies except the
back. Arlie SSW remark applies to all the people of
Nubia, where I have never seen any individuals with'
srars upon their breasts, while the backs of most of the
ineo- hear the work. of wounds, in whist they
teens to pride themseleee.large shield is said to protect
the 'ides frees blows. I fiend a custom here, which in
my journey towards Dongola I bad been told of, as ex-
•' erudite ameelheals are equally wooed to Ere-arms.
A feitlinahhos somedaies peso this vay armed with match-
;odor% with the nosh** 'arenas, on fiett road
to Shinty Or•