SKETCHES IN THE SOUDAN 39 



sword, the others spear and shield. The sheikhs of these villages 

 are placed between two fires ; they have to pay tribute not only 

 to Egypt but also to Abyssinia. The former cannot, or at all 

 events does not, protect them, and the latter threatens, in 

 default of payment, immediate descent upon them. In fact, 

 during our stay two envoys from the Abyssinian general com- 

 manding on the frontier arrived with the order that the village 

 sheikh must either leave the country at once or go with them to 

 Abyssinia and pay tribute. Kather than give up the pastures 

 for his numerous flocks and seek others further inland, he chose 

 the latter alternative and accompanied the envoys. 



The head sheikhs squeeze what they can out of the minor ones, 

 these again out of those below them. In this part of the country 

 again tribute had to be paid to two governments, while to add 

 still further to the distress, now and then the principal sheikh of 

 the whole tribe, the Beni Amer, swooped down to collect what 

 he could for his own personal expenses : 



"Big sheikhs have smaller sheikhs 



Upon their backs to bite 'em, 

 Little sheikhs have lesser sheikhs, 

 And so on ad infinitum." 



Here it seems best to be a poor man, for directly he gets on a 

 little, and owns a few cows or sheep, or a camel or two,' the 

 sheikh is down upon him at once, and makes him pay for every- 

 thing he has. People are naturally afraid to grow dhurra, or 

 make any attempt at agriculture, knowing well that they would 

 not be gainers by it, but have all the proceeds of their labour 

 taken from them. When a boy becomes a man he or his 

 parents pay to the sheikh, and the sheikh to government, five 

 dollars. The annual government tax on every ten goats or sheep 

 is one dollar, on every cow three, and on every camel four 

 dollars. The sheikh, however, extorts a good deal more from 

 the owners of live stock, and annexes the cattle altogether if 

 his demands cannot be satisfied. If the sheikh, on the other 

 hand, fails to pay the government tax, he and his cattle are 

 marched off to the nearest garrison town, and there the latter 

 are sold by auction or straightway appropriated by the ruling 

 power. 



The sheikhs are well-to-do, and live on the best of the land, 



