by saying,—“Your Turks are the cause of my beard turning grey; for they oppress and torment me in every possible way, and make me grow old before my time!” Mehemed Ali consoled him, and took leave of him with that flattering language so peculiar to him on these occasions. The government, in fact, well understands the necessity of keeping on good terms with these good people; for the services they perform are invaluable, and nothing is, moreover, to be effected by force with this tribe; for if they had the slightest idea that coercive measures were to be employed against them, they would soon disappear out of Kordofan. To emigrate into Darfour would certainly be too hazardous an experiment; to the south and south-east the murderous fly, so destructive to the camels, is to be met with, and helps materially to compel them to remain in the country. Notwithstanding these impediments, however, they know very well how to secure themselves when force is employed against them, for the following facts were related to me by an officer, who was himself an eye-witness of the affair. The government was about to expedite several hundred camel-loads of goods, and sent couriers to the Kubbabeesh with orders to furnish the necessary quantity of camels, and bring them to Lobeid; the latter, however, refused to obey. A considerable military detachment was now sent to force them to submission, but the government was very much deceived in its expectations of the result; for the Kubbabeesh, acquainted with their intentions, collected all their camels, and fled to the desert, where it was impossible to overtake them. They always kept half a day’s march in advance of the troops, could even frequently be descried at a distance, but all attempts to overtake them were in vain; for, thoroughly acquainted with all the roads and various localities, they were enabled easily to deceive their pursuers, and thus to effect their escape. Arrived on the third day at a spring, they watered their camels, supplied themselves with the quantity of water they required, filled up the well, and continued their march. The soldiers, in their turn, arriving with their camels at the well, found it destroyed, and were forced, for want of water, to return, and give up the chase of the victorious Kubbabeesh. Thus the government was obliged to wait patiently until they returned of their own accord.