Expedition to discover the sources of the White Nile, in the years 1840, 1841, Vol. 1 (of 2)Werne, Ferdinand
History
Expedition to discover the sources of the White Nile, in the years 1840, 1841, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Werne, Ferdinand
Nile River
These great Lords of the Isles, such as Edris Wud Adlàn, and Edris
Kantòr, nephew of old Suliman, possess villages wherein 3000 or 4000
slaves live at their ease, with their wives and children, who are
faithful and require only a hint from their protector. These Sheikhs,
who are the issue of the marriages between the Funghs and Hammeghs,
have besides a body-guard which they have furnished for themselves,
being their own or perhaps not their own children. Thus Kantòr has
more than 100 wives, Edris somewhat less, none of whom must be barren,
if they do not wish to be displaced by others.
The old policy, which unfortunately still holds good, of chiefs being
at variance with one another, bears its fruit also here. Kantòr
as Sheikh of the Divàn, fears the lawful heirs, the children of
Sheikh Suliman and Nasr, and has already murdered seven of them,
without being called to account for it. Two sons, however, fled to
the Sheikh Wud Abrish, on the confines of Makàda.
There died besides, in confinement, whilst I was in the country,
the great Sheikh Mohammed-Din, a martyr for his Haddendas;—also
Sheikh Hademer, highly esteemed in Mahass, who some years before
had prophesied from his old books, that the Inglés (English) would
free them from the Turks; wherefore, as soon as the intelligence
was received of the taking of St. Jean d’Acre, he was seized in
order to be, like Mohammed-Din, for ever set aside.
A man of consideration, on whom the Basha had forced the post of Muder
of Dongola, for a considerable sum of money, died the day before he
was about to set out for Dongola. My brother said to Suliman Effendi,
that the unfortunate man was poisoned. “_Pare cosi ma ben pagato
la sua morte da Muder_,” answered the renegade, and then abused
the avaricious Basha, because, instead of paying his debts, he had
required him to reduce them himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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