New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-06-18
probably frontier forts Of the Kings Of Ei-MshAss,
to prevent ineursions from the s,dc Of 0oagola.

| To prevent incursions IRON the sidc OF Uongotas
eamped in a very wild and rugged spot, which
afforded little grass for my oamels. | fancied
there was already taste Of Egypt in the noun
tain air. and hattered myself that had breashed
the last Of the lsnguid atmosphere Of Soudan.
The next morning led us deeper INTO the rocky
chaos. The bed of the Nile was properly gorge,
so deep il sunk among the stony hills, and
confined within such narrow limits. The ridges
/ oflOose blocks of granite and porphyry roll after
each other Ike waves aud their erests assume the
most fantastic variety Of forms. They are piled
in heaps and balanced on each other, topped with
round boulders or thrown together in twos and
threes, as if some brood Of Titan chldrea had been
at play in those regions and were frightened away
m the midst Of their employment. IL is impossible
to lose the impression that some freak of human
or superhuman fancy gave the stones their quaint
grouping. Between the ridges are shallow holows,
| terminating toward the west in deep, rock cleffs,
and opening onthe river in crescent like coves, be-
tween the jaggy headlands which tumble their
boulders into it's bed High peaks, or rather conf
cal piles of porphyry rock rise here and thore out
Of this sterile chaos. Toward the east, where the
| Nile winds away in a long chain Of may curves,
! they form ranges and show compact walls and
pinnacles. The few palms aud the little eddes OF
wheat sprinkled along both banks of the riyer ere
Of glorious depth and richness of hue, by con-
trast with the gray and purple wastes Of the hills.
In the sweet clear air of the morning, the scenery
was truly inspiring, and rode over the high ridges
in mood the very opposite of that had felt the
days previous.
The Nile makes great curve through the land
of Mdhass, to avoid which the road passes through
an akGba about forty miles in length. At the
| corner, where the river curves at Il right angle
from north to east is a small ruined place called
Fakir Bender. The high bank is little less steep
here than at other places and its sides are planted
with lupns. At the end of the village is an inn
mense sont tree, apparently very old. large
earthem water-jar, with gourd beside it, stood
in the shade. The fakeer, or holy man, from whom
the place is named, was soon in attendance, and
as our camels knelt under the tree, presented me
with gourd of cool water, sin the name Of God"
gave him ten paras before we left, but he did not
| appear to be satisfied, for these holy men have
| great expectations. | ordered two water-skins
filed, and after an hours delay, entered on the
akaba. Over rough and stony ridges, which made
rolling plain, bounded in the distance by chain of
hills, which we reached by the middle of the after
noon. The path, instead Of seeking pass or
gorge, led directly up the side, which, though not
very high, was exceedingly steep and covered with
loose sand up which the camels could scarcely
climb. The top stratum Of red porphyry,
cropping out of the sand in immense masses.
| Crossing the summit ridge, we entered a narrow
plateau, surrounded by naked black peaks--a most
savage and Internal landscape. The northern slope
was completely covered with immense porphyry
boulders among which our path wound. Nearly
every rock had pile of small stones heaped upon
it, as guide to caravans, and merely for descend
ing this ridge there were at least two hundred of
them.
The rest of that day and the next morning we
toiled along through the drear and stony desert till
near noon, when the double line of palms appeared
| in the northeast The river came from the east,
out of the black mountain Wilderness The valley
is very narrow, and cultivation is only possible in
the coyes of soil embayed among the hills. came
| down on one Of them-a meadow OF halfeh, back
of the little village Of Koyee-and stopped an hour
TO rest the camels. A caravan Of merchants, bound
| for Kordofan and DarFur, had just eneamped
| there. Among them were some hadji, or pilgrims
from Oar. Fur, on their way home from Mecca, aud
a negro from Fazogl, who had belonged to a Eu-
ropean, and had lived in Naples. Hewas now free
and gong home, wearing shabby Frank dress,
but without money, as he came at once to beg of
| mo,
set the camels in motion again, and we en-
tered shut akaba, in order to crosse broad stony
ridge. which advanced quite to the rivers edge.
The path was up and down the sides OF steep hol-
lows. over terrible waste Of stones. Down these
hoIlows, which shelved toward the river, we saw
the palms of the opposite bank-a single dark
green line, backed by another wilderness, equally
savage Through all this country Of Mdhass ths
Desert makes desperate effort to cut of the glo
rious old River. 1t filings rocks into his bed,
soreezes him between iron mountains, compels
him to turn and twist through hundred lasy-
rinths to find passage, but he pushes and winds
hi. way through all, and carries his bright waters
in triumph down to his beloved Egypt. There
WAS TO me. something touching in watching his
course through that fragment of the pre-Adamte
chaos-in seeing the type OF Beauty and Lie
stealing quietly through the heart of region OF
D,solation and Death. From the stony slopes
oft the hills looked down his everlasting palms
with the same old JOY new-created 10 my heart.
After passing the aksba, | came to village
which took to be SOleb, but on nquiring, the
people pointed ahead. rode on, around slight
curve of the trees, and startled by landscape
Of most unexpected interest and beauty. Before
me. over the crest of black, rocky ridge, clus-
ter of shattered pillars stood around the falling
doorway Of temple, the whole forming Pictur-
e.que group, cut clear against the sky it, tint
of sOft.yeIow.gray was finely relieved by the dark
Green of the palms and the pure violet Of some
distant Jagged peaks on the eastern bank. Be-