196

ADVENTURE ON THE NILE.

where huge masses of earth were ready to fall upon our heads. But the strength of the current was quite irresistible. It was in vain that he exerted himself: indeed, three feet from the land he could find no bottom, and his pole became useless. The kandjia, yielding to the force of the stream, now pulled back the trackers, and went down the river, striking against the bank in the most fearful manner. In a few minutes, the poor Arabs, recovering breath, again came to the charge, again dragged her along, -until she was just turning the point, where the might of the river once more prevailed, and down the stream we went a second time. Monro's people, who were out of danger, stood looking on, though our reis several times called upon them for help. Their master not being present, they would not stir.

CXXVIII. Mohammed was not, however, to be discouraged his passions, though engaged in a struggle with the elements, beginning to be excited, in a tone of anger and fierce reproach he commanded the trackers to exert themselves like men. They obeyed; and, dashing desperately forward, our gallant bark, in the midst of foaming whirlpools, had already turned the promontory, when the strength of the poor fellows again failed, and compelled them to yield to the stream. In a moment the kandjia was hurled furiously against the cliff; and a large superincumbent mass of earth giving way, came thundering down upon the cabin: the vessel was in an instant

ADVENTURE ON THE NILE.

197

on her beam-ends, and one of the crew pitched overboard. The crash of the kandjia's side, in striking against the land, made me think that all was over; and she at once began to fill with water. Throwing off my cloak, therefore, I prepared to swim for my life; though, owing to the severity of the cold, the violence of the whirlpools, and the inaccessible steepness of the bank for miles down the river, the chances, had it come to that, would have been greatly against me. However, the sharp despairing cry of the reis and sailors, the extreme dismay of Suleiman, and the terrific appearance of the whole scene, confirmed me in the notion that the boat, at all events, was lost.

CXXIX. At this stage of the adventure, Monro's men, thinking we were drowning, came running to lend their aid. The kandjia, in fact, was filling rapidly. Observing, as she floated down along the shore, a small projecting ledge of earth, I therefore leaped upon it, without pausing to consider whether it would bear my weight or not. Before the Arabs could follow my example, she had already passed the ledge, and it was too late. But, though standing on terra firma, my position was by no means an enviable one; for the bank projected so far over my head, and was so soft and crumbling, that another fall of earth seemed likely to be produced by the slightest motion. However, the Arabs on shore, quitting the tracking-line, ran to my assistance; and, at the hazard of being themselves plunged into the river below, leaned their bodies over

198

QUARREL WITH THE NATIVES.

the brink, and, giving me their hands, enabled me to reach the summit. Meanwhile, a portion of the earth had fallen from the top of the cabin into the river, and the kandjia began to right herself. I now seized the cord; and, in a short time, we succeeded in keeping her steady: while the reis, Suleiman, and the other two Arabs (the man who had fallen overboard having been taken up), cleared off the rest of the earth. Monro and his servant, Abuzaid, returning from some distant village, found us thus engaged; and with their aid (for the trackers were worn out) I at length drew my unfortunate bark, soiled and shattered as she was, round the point which had so long defied our utmost exertions.

CXXX. We now proceeded tranquilly, until we arrived in front of the village of El Kotoreh, where we saw a large party of people at work in a field gathering cotton. I was walking along alone, a little behind the trackers, having left Monro, Suleiman, and Abuzaid considerably farther in the rear. In a moment I observed the crew of Monro's kandjia engaged in a violent quarrel with these cotton-gatherers; who had seized upon an old man, the father of the reis, and were, as they pretended, dragging him away across the fields for a soldier. One of these ruffians, who afterwards proved to be the kiasheff of El Kotoreh, had a musket in his hand; and another,

*

Being past the age of service, this was a mere pretext: the object was to extort from him a few piastres.

QUARREL WITH THE NATIVES.

199

after the manner of barbarians, was ostentatiously loaded with pistols. I had unfortunately left my own arms on board; but, provoked at their audacious insolence, I pushed through the crowd, and ran across the field in pursuit of the kiasheff, who was dragging away the old man. Upon my coming near, and speaking in a loud and

angry tone, he let go his hold (though he knew not what I said); but appeared to assume an air of authority, presuming, I imagine, upon his musket, and the strength of his party. Having no one near to interpret for me, I walked close up to the kiasheff, and, pronouncing the words Pasha and Firman, took the old man by the arm, and led him back towards the river; no person attempting to interrupt me, though they all followed at a few paces' distance. My dragoman, and the rest of the party, now came running up, and, through them, I inquired into the affair, at the same time threatening the kiasheff that I would immediately write to the Pasha, and have him disgraced. Upon this he grew very civil and humble; said he was merely in jest ; and, upon our inquiring why he carried a musket, pretended it was merely to protect from robbers his own people while at work in the fields. However, we learned in his village, in the afternoon, that, having received an order from the mamoor of the district to furnish a certain number of men for the army, he had, to spare his own people, actually set out in the morning on a kidnapping expedition about the banks of the river.

CXXXI. Having proceeded, in advance of the boats, a short distance beyond this village, we noticed a very remarkable appearance in the sky, which seemed to portend the approach of a sand-storm; the whole horizon, on the edge of the Libyan desert, being obscured by a dense cloud of a black and lurid colour, flushed with a deep blood-red. Excepting during a typhoon*, in the Messenian Gulf, near Cape Matapan, I have never witnessed so awful an atmospheric phenomenon. The wind as yet blew but faintly; still no one could doubt, from the whole aspect of nature, that a hurricane was at hand; and in a few minutes, those big heavy drops, which usually precede a tempest, began to fall. We were out on a bare open country, like a heath ; but, at the distance of about half a league, towards the south, there stood a small grove of mimosa trees, towards which we proceeded in all haste for shelter; but had not advanced many paces before the rain descended with great violence; so that, ere we could have reached the wood, we should have been drenched to the skin. In this dilemma (our boats being far behind), nothing was left us but to crouch down beneath the low shelving sand-bank which marked the last rise of the inundation. After remaining a few moments in this position, on lifting up my head, I beheld a spectacle of terrific grandeur: thick driving rain obscured the landscape towards

* This term is usually applied to the storms of the Indian Ocean, but is equally applicable to those which vex the narrow and dangerous seas of Greece.