246 EXTRACTS FROM 
Berbers of the Libyan desert, dark brown, much darker than 
those of Lower Egypt, generally tall and slight in figure, and 
with features less noble and handsome than those of the more 
northerly Bedouin tribes. They show an evident admixture 
of southern and even of negro blood; and among them are 
some real negroes, perfectly black fellows, with curly hair. 
These men have in their childhood been carried off from the 
interior of Africa as slaves, have regained their freedom 
among the tribes, and have adopted the language, costume, 
and habits of the Bedouins, forgetting their origin and even 
the country of their birth. Such individuals I found among 
all the tribes with which I became acquainted, both in Africa 
and Asia. Even the agricultural labourers at Abouksor struck 
me as differing from the type of the fellaheen inhabiting the 
valley of the Lower Nile ; for they were bigger and generally 
darker, a sort of mixed race, with a good many negroes among 
them, and more like the Bedouins, with whom, in these 
isolated oases, they are much thrown together. 
Our caravan had hardly been formed when shooting began. 
In the garden near the factory we found a flock of the striking 
and truly African Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, a lovely green bird 
with a long tail and blue cheek-stripes, and succeeded in killing 
some of them. It isa native of the interior of Africa, and 
very common in Upper Egypt, but never reaches Cairo, which 
seems to be too far north for it. The pretty Spur-winged 
Plovers, those characteristic Hgyptian birds, were also running 
about the fields, together with flocks of Buft-backed Herons ; 
for here, as throughout Africa, the rich fauna is congregated 
within the well-watered and verdant districts in astonishing 
numbers. Altogether the first look of things seemed to 
promise some good days of sport. 
We were soon blazing away, and a number of birds were 
well retrieved from the wet fields by our Arabs. Sportsmen 
seldom come out as far as this part of the country, so we had 
