454 THE GIANT ELAND [ch. xv 



at the foot of a tree in which a fish eagle was perched ; 

 and one evening Dr. Mearns saw some guinea-fowl go 

 to roost in a bush in which two kites had already settled 

 themselves for the night, the kites and the guineas 

 perching amiably side by side, 



We stopped at the mouth of the Sobat to visit the 

 American Mission, and were most warmly and hos- 

 pitably received by the missionaries, and were genuinely 

 impressed by the faithful work they are doing, under 

 such great difliculties and with such cheerfulness and 

 courage. The Medical Mission was especially interest- 

 ing. It formed an important part of the mission work ; 

 and not only were the natives round about treated, but 

 those from far away also came in numbers. At the 

 time of our visit there were about thirty patients, 

 taking courses of treatment, who had come from 

 distances varying from twenty-five miles to a hundred 

 and fifty. 



We steamed steadily down the Nile. Where the 

 great river bent to the east we v.ould sit in the shade 

 on the forward deck during the late afternoon and look 

 down the long glistening water-street in front of us, 

 with its fringe of reed- bed and marshy grassland and 

 papyrus swamp, and the slightly higher dry land on 

 Avhich grew acacias and scattered palms. Along the 

 river banks and inland were villages of Shilluks and 

 other tribes, mostly cattle owners ; some showing slight 

 traces of improvement, others utter savages, tall, naked 

 men, bearing bows and arrows. 



Our Egyptian and Nubian crew recalled to my mind 

 the crew of the dahabiah on which as a boy I had gone 

 up the Egyptian Nile thirty- seven years before ; 

 especially when some piece of work was being done by 

 the crew as they chanted in grunting chorus " Ya Allah, 



