The Life and Adventures of Bruce, the African Traveller Part 23

"On the 27th, at half past five in the morning, we attempted to raise our camels at Saffieha by every method that we could devise, but all in vain; only one of them could get upon his legs, and that one did not stand two minutes till he kneeled down, and could never be raised afterward. This the Arabs all declared to be the effects of cold; and yet Fahrenheit's thermometer, an hour before day, stood at 42. Every way we turned ourselves death now stared us in the face. We had neither time nor strength to waste, nor provisions to support us. We then took the small skins that had contained our water, and filled them as far as we thought a man could carry them with ease; but, after all these shifts, there was not enough to serve us three days, at which I had estimated our journey to Syene, which still, however, was uncertain.

Finding, therefore, the camels would not rise, we killed two of them, and took as much flesh as might serve for the deficiency of bread, and from the stomach of each of the camels got about four gallons of water, which the Bishareen Arab managed with great dexterity." It is well known that the camel has within him reservoirs, in which he can preserve water for a very considerable time. In caravans making long journeys from the Niger across the desert of Selima, it has been said that each camel lays in a store of water sufficient to support him for forty days. This statement is probably exaggerated; but fourteen or sixteen days, it is well known, an ordinary camel will live, though he have no fresh supply of water; for when he eats, one constantly sees him throw from his repository mouthfuls of water to dilute his food; and nature has contrived this vessel with such properties, that the water within it never putrefies nor turns unwholesome.

The spirits of Bruce's companions now began completely to fail them. The miserable stock of black bread on which they had hitherto subsisted was nearly exhausted, and though they had extracted water from the carca.s.ses or stomachs of the camels, and, like vampires, were thus sucking a horrid nourishment from the bodies of the dead, yet the difficulties which opposed them seemed greater than their strength, and they began to abandon even the hope of ever getting out of the desert. "We were surrounded," says Bruce, "with those terrible and unusual phenomena of nature which Providence, in mercy to the weakness of his creatures, has concealed far from their sight, in deserts almost inaccessible to them.

Nothing but death was before our eyes; and, in these dreadful moments of pain, suffering, and despair, honour, instead of relieving me, suggested still what was to be an augmentation to my misfortune; the feeling this produced fell directly upon me alone, and every other individual of the company was unconscious of it.

"The drawings made at Palmyra and Baalbec for the king were, in many parts of them, not advanced farther than the outlines, which I had carried with me, that, if leisure or confinement should happen, I might finish them during my travels, in the case of failure of other employment, so far, at least, that, on my return to Italy, they might be in a state of receiving farther improvement, which might carry them to that perfection I have since been enabled to conduct them. These were all to be thrown away, with other not less valuable papers, and, with my quadrant, telescopes, and timekeeper, abandoned to the rude and ignorant hands of robbers, or to be buried in the sands. Every memorandum, every description, sketch, or observation since I departed from Badjoura and pa.s.sed the desert to Cosseir, till I reached the present spot, were left in an undigested heap, with our carrion camels, at Saffieha, while there remained with me, in lieu of all my memoranda, but this mournful consideration, that I was now to maintain the reality of these my tedious perils with those who either did, or might affect, from malice and envy, to doubt my veracity upon my ipse dixit alone, or abandon the reputation of the travels which I had made with so much courage, labour, danger, and difficulty, and which had been considered as desperate and impracticable to accomplish for more than two thousand years."

On the 28th, at half past seven in the morning, they left Waadi el Arab and entered a narrow defile, with rugged but not high mountains on each side. About twelve o'clock they came to a few trees in the bed of a torrent. Ill as Bruce was, after refreshing himself with his last bread and water, he set out in the afternoon to gain a rising ground, that he might see, if possible, what was to the westward; for the mountains seemed now rocky and high, like those of the Kennouss near Syene. He arrived, with great difficulty and pain, on the top of a moderate hill, but was exceedingly disappointed at not seeing the river to the west: the vicinity of the Nile, however, was very evident, from the high, uniform mountains that confine its torrent when it comes out of Nubia.

The evening was still; and sitting down and covering his eyes with his hands, not to be diverted by external objects, he listened and heard distinctly the noise of waters, which he supposed to be the cataract, although it seemed to the southward, as if he had pa.s.sed it.

The party now proceeded, and continued their course for two days; when, on the 28th, Bruce saw a flock of birds, which he recognised as belonging to the Nile. Satisfied that they should soon arrive at or below Syene, he returned to his companions, to whom he communicated this important news, which was confirmed by Idris. A cry of joy followed this annunciation. Christians, Moors, and Turks all burst into floods of tears, kissing and embracing one another, and thanking G.o.d for his infinite mercy in this deliverance.

On the 29th, at seven o'clock in the morning, they left Abou Seielat; at about nine they saw before them the palm-trees of a.s.souan, and very shortly afterward reached a grove of palm-trees on the north of that city.

In justice to Bruce's character, it is our duty to state, that we have given but a very imperfect idea of the real fatigue of this journey to a.s.souan; for, however weary the reader may have been with the desert from which he has just returned, however he may rejoice to quit the deep, heavy sand, and once more behold the fresh-flowing waters of the Nile, yet, in a _short half hour_, he has travelled from Gondar, a distance which it took Bruce _eleven months_ to perform--twelve weeks of which were spent in coming from Sennaar to Syene. Not only is it impossible adequately to describe, from the report of others, real sufferings and dangers, but those who have actually undergone either soon find it impossible to bring back an unfaded picture of them to the mind; of which there can be no stronger proof than the everyday occurrence of people cheerfully returning to difficulties which, while actually felt, they had firmly resolved never again to encounter.

FOOTNOTE:

[36] The appearance and effects of this "wind of the desert" are more fully described in the following account. "The sky, at other times serene and cloudless, appears lurid and heavy; the sun loses his splendour, and appears of a violet colour. The air, saturated with particles of the finest sand, becomes thick, fiery, and unfit for respiration. The coldest substances change their natural qualities; marble, iron, and water are hot, and deceive the hand which touches them. Every kind of moisture is absorbed; the skin is parched and shrivelled; paper cracks as if it were in the mouth of an oven. When inhaled by men or animals, the simoom produces a painful feeling, as of suffocation. The lungs are too rarefied for breathing, and the body is consumed by an internal heat, which often terminates in convulsions and death. The carca.s.ses of the dead exhibit symptoms of immediate putrefaction, similar to what is observed to take place in bodies deprived of life by thunder, or the effect of electricity," &c. See _Crichton's History of Arabia_, vol. i., p. 63, _et seq._, Harpers'

Family Library.--_Am. Ed._

CHAPTER XVII.

Kind Reception at a.s.souan.--Arrival at Cairo.--Transactions with the Bey there.--Lands at Ma.r.s.eilles

Without stopping to congratulate each other on their escape and safe arrival, Bruce's companions, with one accord, ran eagerly to the Nile to drink, notwithstanding that, in the course of the journey, they had witnessed the dreadful consequences of such imprudence. Bruce himself sat down under the shade of some palm-trees. It was very hot, and he fell into a profound sleep. But Hagi Ismael, who, neither sleepy nor thirsty, was exceedingly hungry, had gone into the town in search of food. He had not proceeded far before his green turban and ragged appearance struck some brother janisaries who met him, one of whom asked him what he was doing and where he had come from. Ismael, in a violent pa.s.sion and broken Arabic, exclaimed that he was a janisary of Cairo; had come last from Tophet, and had walked through a desert of fire and flames.

The soldier, hearing him talk in this incoherent, raving tone, insisted that he should accompany him to the aga--the very thing that Ismael wanted. He only desired time to acquaint his companions. "Have you companions," says the soldier, "from such a country?" "Companions!" says Ismael; "what! do you imagine that I came this journey alone?" "Go,"

says Ismael, "to the palm-trees; and when you find the tallest man you ever saw in your life, more ragged and dirty than I am, call him Yagoube, and desire him to come along with you to the aga."

The soldier obeyed, and accordingly found Bruce still reclining at the root of the palm-tree. "A dulness and insensibility," says Bruce, "a universal relaxation of spirits which I cannot describe, a kind of stupor or palsy of mind had overtaken me, almost to a deprivation of understanding. I found in myself a kind of stupidity, and want of power to reflect upon what had pa.s.sed. I seemed to be as if awakened from a dream, when the senses are yet half asleep, and we only begin to doubt whether what has before pa.s.sed in thought is real or not. The dangers that I was just now delivered from made no impression upon my mind; and, what more and more convinces me I was for a time not in my perfect senses, is, that I found in myself a hard-heartedness, without the least inclination to be thankful for that signal deliverance which I had just now experienced."

From this stupor he was awakened by the arrival of the soldier, who cried out, at some distance, "You must come to the aga, to the castle, as fast as you can; the Turk is gone before you." "It will not be very fast, if we even should do that," said Bruce; "the Turk has ridden two days on a camel, and I have walked on foot, and do not know at present if I can walk at all." He then endeavoured to rise and stand upright, but it was with great pain and difficulty.

The Turk and Greeks were clothed no better than Bruce; Ismael and Michael had in their hands two monstrous blunderbuses, and the whole town crowded after them while they walked to the castle. The aga was struck dumb on their entering the room, and observed to Bruce that he thought him full a foot taller than any man he had ever seen in his life.

After a short conversation, the aga asked for his letters and firman.

Bruce told him that he had left them with his baggage and dead camels at Saffieha, and he asked the favour of fresh camels that he might go and fetch his papers. "G.o.d forbid," said the aga, "I should ever suffer you to do so mad an action! You are come hither by a thousand miracles, and after this, will you tempt G.o.d and go back? We shall take it for granted what those papers contain. You will have no need of a firman between this and Cairo." "I am," replied Bruce, "a servant of the King of England, travelling by his order, and for my own and my countrymen's information; and I had rather risk my life twenty times than lose the papers I have left in the desert." "Go in peace," said the aga, "eat and sleep. Carry them," he said, speaking to his attendants, "to the house of the schourbatchie."

They very shortly received from the aga about fifty loaves of fine wheat bread, and several large dishes of dressed meat; but the smell of these last no sooner reached Bruce than he fainted and fell upon the floor. He made several trials afterward, with no better success, the first two days; for his stomach was so weakened by excessive heat and fatigue, that he could not reconcile himself to any sort of food but toasted bread and coffee.

After staying at Syene six days, Bruce obtained dromedaries, and, resolutely retracing his steps into the desert for forty miles, had at last the indescribable satisfaction to find his quadrant and the whole of his baggage. By them lay the bodies of the slaughtered camels, a small part of one of them having been torn by the haddaya or kite.

Bruce now closed his travels through the desert by discharging the debts he had contracted in it. In order to recompense Idris Welled Hamran, the Hybeer, for his faithful services, he made him choose for himself a good camel, clothed him, and gave him dresses for his two wives, with a load of dora. The poor fellow, thus enriched, departed with tears in his eyes, offering to go back and deliver up what Bruce had given him to his family, and then return and follow him as a servant wherever he should go. Bruce, however, had no longer any occasion for his services; indeed, he could have well reached Syene without him; yet, had any accident happened in the desert to his other guide, his prudent precaution in securing this man would have been very evident. But it was his system always to provide against accidents; and by this means, and his intimate knowledge of human nature, he had been enabled to reach Syene in safety.

To raise Bruce's character by undervaluing that of other travellers would be an unworthy jealousy, in which we should be very sorry to indulge; yet the proper mode of penetrating Africa is a problem of such vital importance to those who may hereafter attempt it, that we cannot refrain from observing what a very remarkable difference there is between the manner in which Bruce and Burckhardt travelled between Egypt and Nubia. The former possessed the magic art of commanding, at all times, respect; and the reader has seen what was his behaviour, and the treatment which he received during this perilous undertaking.

Burckhardt's resolution was unconquerable, and his patience in the desert almost equal to that of the camel. Science had never a more faithful servant; but then he neglected to seek information by giving it, and the disguise under which he travelled concealed not only his person, but his mind. All civilized men, from the philosopher down to the mountebank, carry with them a fund either of instruction or amus.e.m.e.nt; and the old fable of the basket-maker explains how possible it is for any one to make himself, at least, useful to uncivilized tribes; but of this Burckhardt neglected to avail himself, and a few brief extracts from his travels will show the consequences.

"I gave out," he says, "I was in search of a cousin." "The son of my old friend of Daraoa, to whom I had been most particularly recommended by his father, went so far as once to spit in my face in the public market-place." "Indeed, I never met any of these Egyptians in the streets without receiving some insulting language from them, of which, had I taken notice, they would, no doubt, have carried me before the mek." "One of the slaves of Edris, to whom I had already made some little presents, tore my shirt to pieces because I refused to give it to him." "Called me boy." "I cooked my own victuals." "Was pelted with stones." "I was often driven from the coolest and most comfortable berth into the burning sun, and generally pa.s.sed the midday hour in great distress." "I was afraid to take any notes." "I hid myself to do it,"

&c., &c., &c....

On the 11th of December Bruce embarked at Syene, and without masts being shipped or any sails set, the vessel or canja floated down the Nile.

There is no greater trial to the const.i.tution than sudden change from an active to a sedentary life: the human frame seems made for hardship; and in the army it has been constantly remarked, that troops which have been long exposed to a bivouac become unhealthy as soon as they go into quarters.

"On the 10th of January, 1773, we arrived," says Bruce, "at the Convent of St. George at Cairo; all of us, as I thought, worse in health and spirits than the day we came out of the desert. n.o.body knew us at the convent, either by our face or our language, and it was by a kind of force that we entered. Ismael and the Copht went straight to the bey; and I, with great difficulty, had interest enough to send to the patriarch and my merchants at Cairo, by employing the only two piastres I had in my pocket. It was half by violence that we got admittance into the convent. But this difficulty was to be but of short duration: the morning was to end it and give us a sight of our friends, and in the mean time we were to sleep soundly."

Bruce had scarcely enjoyed an hour's repose, when he was awakened by a number of strange voices, which called upon him to come immediately before the bey; he insisted, however, on being allowed a few moments to arrange his toilet.

"I had no shirt on," he says, "nor had I been master of one for fourteen months past. I had a waistcoat of coa.r.s.e brown woollen blanket, trousers of the same, and an upper blanket of the same wrapped about me, and in these I was lying. I had cut off my long beard at Furshoot, but still wore prodigious mustaches. I had a thin white muslin cloth round a red Turkish cap, which served me for a night-cap, a girdle of coa.r.s.e woollen cloth, that wrapped round my waist eight or ten times, and swaddled me up from the middle to the pit of my stomach, but without either shoes or stockings. In the left of my girdle I had two English pistols mounted with silver, and on the right hand a common crooked Abyssinian knife, with a handle of rhinoceros horn. Thus equipped, I was ushered by the banditti, in a dark and very windy night, to the door of the convent."

The sarach or commander of the party rode on a mule, and, as a mark of extreme consideration, he had brought an a.s.s for Bruce, the only animal that a Christian was suffered to ride on in Cairo. As the beast had no saddle nor stirrups, Bruce's feet would have touched the ground had he not held them up, which he did with the utmost pain and difficulty, as they were inflamed and dreadfully sore from the march in the desert.

"n.o.body," says Bruce, "can ever know, from a more particular description, the hundredth part of the pain I suffered that night. I was happy that it was all external. I had hardened my heart; it was strong, vigorous, and whole, from the near prospect I had of leaving this most accursed country, and being again restored to the conversation of men."

He was now introduced to Mohammed Bey. Two large sofas, furnished with cushions, took up a great part of a s.p.a.cious saloon. These cushions were of the richest crimson and gold, excepting a small yellow and gold one like a pillow, upon which the bey was leaning, supporting his head with his left hand, and sitting in the corner of the two sofas. Though it was late, he was in full dress; his girdle, turban, and the handle of his dagger all shining with the finest brilliants, and a magnificent sprig of diamonds was in his turban. "The rooms," says Bruce, "were light as day with a number of wax torches or candles. I found myself humbled at the sight of so much greatness and affluence. My bare feet were so dirty, I had a scruple to set them upon the rich Persian carpets with which the whole floor was covered; and the pain that walking at all occasioned gave me altogether so crouching and cringing a look, that the bey, upon seeing me come in, cried out, 'What's that? Who is that? From whence is he come?' His secretary told him, and immediately upon that I said to him in Arabic, with a low bow, 'Mohammed Bey, I am Yagoube, an Englishman; very unfit to appear before you in the condition I am in, having been forced out of my bed by your soldiers in the middle of the only sound sleep I have had for many years.'"

After a short conversation, Bruce showed the bey the dreadful state of his feet: the effect, he told him, of pa.s.sing the desert. He immediately desired him to sit down on the cushion. "It is the coldness of the night and hanging upon the a.s.s," said Bruce, "which occasions this; the pain will be over presently." Bruce soon left, and was accompanied by a slave, who presented to him a basket of oranges, which he said were given by order of the bey.

"In that country," says Bruce, "it is not the value of the present, but the character and power of the person that sends it, that creates the value; twenty thousand men that slept in Cairo that night would have thought the day on which the bey gave them, at an audience, the worst orange in that basket, the happiest one in their life. It is a mark of friendship and protection, and the best of all a.s.surances. Well accustomed to ceremonies of this kind, I took a single orange, bowing low to the man that gave it me, who whispered me, 'Put your hand to the bottom, the best fruit is there; the whole is for you: it is from the bey.' A purse was exceedingly visible. I lifted it out; there were a considerable number of sequins in it; I put it in my mouth, kissed it, and said to the young man, 'This is, indeed the best fruit--at least commonly thought so--but it is forbidden fruit for me. The bey's protection and favour are more agreeable to me than a thousand such purses would be.'"

The servant showed prodigious surprise. Nothing appears more incredible to a Turk, whatever his rank may be, than that any man should refuse money! The slave therefore insisted that Bruce should return to the bey, who, having heard of his behaviour, observed that it was evident, from his dress and appearance, he was in want of money. "Sir," said Bruce (who had a very important object which he was desirous to gain), "may I beg leave to say two words to you? There is not a man to whom you ever gave money more grateful or more sensible of your generosity than I am at present. The reason of my waiting upon you in this dress was because it is only a few hours ago since I left the boat. I am not, however, a needy man, or one that is distressed for money: that being the case, and as you have already my prayers for your charity, I would not deprive you of those of the widow and the orphan, whom that money may very materially relieve. Julian and Rosa, the first house in Cairo, will furnish me with what money I require; besides, I am in the service of the greatest king in Europe, who would not fail to supply me abundantly if my necessities required it, as I am travelling for his service."

"This being so," said the bey, with great looks of complacency, "what is it in my power to do for you? You are a stranger now where I command; you are my father's stranger likewise, and this is a double obligation upon me: what shall I do?" "There are," said I, "things that you could do, and you only, if it were not too great presumption for me to name them." "By no means; if I can, I will do it; if not, I will tell you so."

Bruce saw, by the bey's manner of speaking, that he had risen considerably in character in his estimation since his refusal of the money. "I have, sir," said Bruce, "a number of countrymen, brave, rich, and honest, that trade in India, where my king has great dominions. Now there are many of these that come to Jidda. I left there eleven large ships belonging to them, who, according to treaty, pay high duties to the custom-house, and, from the dictates of their own generosity and munificence, give large presents to the prince and to his servants for protection; but the Sherriffe of Mecca has of late laid duty upon duty, and extortion upon extortion, till the English are at the point of giving up the trade altogether." Bruce had two other audiences with Mohammed Bey on this important subject; and, faithful to the interests of his country, he at last succeeded in concluding an agreement in favour of the English merchants, by which, instead of paying fourteen per cent. and an enormous present, the bey agreed to be satisfied with eight per cent. and no present at all; and, at his own expense, our traveller had the pleasure of sending the following firman to Mocha:

_Translation of the Firman procured by Mr. Bruce from Mohammed Bey Aboudahab, for the East India Company. 1773._

"We give thanks to the G.o.d of the whole world, wishing a good end to those who have good conduct, and the contrary to the unjust. G.o.d shall salute the most famous among his creatures and his followers. Next, let this order be obeyed with the a.s.sistance of G.o.d in all parts, which is written from the Divan of Cairo the fortified, and which contains an agreement with the esteemed Captains and Christian merchants, who are famed for their honesty: may they have a good end! Be it known to you all, as many of you as this reaches, that the honoured Yagoube el Hakim has come to us, and has given us to understand the injustice commonly practised by his majesty the Sherriffe of Mecca, and by his dependants in the place of Jidda, and that you wish to come into the port of Suez, but want security. It is very agreeable that you should enjoy this in the time of our king,[37] servant of the two holy places, and lord of the two lands and the two seas; may G.o.d always give him strength and victory! I make you sure, therefore, that you may come to Suez with your ships, with good profit, under the shadow of G.o.d and of our Prophet, and under our own both far and near; and that you shall not be molested, neither by us nor our servants, our soldiers nor our subjects; and that you shall not pay aught but eight per cent. of the said merchandise, or its value; and fifty pataka for each ship to the commandant of Suez, in name of anchorage; and that you may come to Cairo itself, and trade for money or barter, as suits you best, without restraint from any one; and if it suits you better to trade at Suez, we will order the merchants thither, without anybody's incommoding or troubling you. So you shall have repose more than you desired; and these promises are good and binding, and will not be changed to the contrary, so that you shall not pay any other expenses to us or to our soldiers. And may the blessing of G.o.d rest on him that follows the right way! The 15th of the month Zilkaade, 1186 (February, 1773)."

Mohammed Bey being about to leave Cairo to visit his father-in-law in Syria, now pressed Bruce very much to accompany him; but he naturally enough says, "I was sufficiently cured of any more Don Quixote undertakings." He therefore proceeded to Alexandria, where he arrived in the beginning of March. With as little delay as possible, he embarked on board a small vessel, the crew of which, during some heavy weather, proposed to throw his baggage overboard, conceiving that such large cases must contain dead men, which all sailors consider as unlucky guests. Bruce, however, manfully protected his hard-earned treasure, and, after a tedious pa.s.sage of three weeks, landed safely at Ma.r.s.eilles.

FOOTNOTE:

[37] The Grand Seignior.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Bruce returns to Europe.--Visits Paris--Italy.--Returns to England.--Quarrels with the Writers of the Day.--Retires to Scotland.--Marries.--At last publishes his Travels.--The Incredulity of the Credulous.--Bruce's Disappointment--Sorrow--Death.