THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 47% 
the great officers have all houfes of two. They have para- 
pet roofs, which is a fingular conftruction; for in other 
places; within the rains, the roofs are all conical. The houfes 
are all built of clay, with very little flraw mixed with it, 
which fufficiently fhews the rains here mutt be lefs violent 
than to the fouthward, probably from the diftance of the 
mountains. However, when I was there, a week of con- 
ftant rain happened, and on the joth of July the Nile increa- 
fed violently, after loud thunder, and a great darknefs to the 
fouth. The whole itream was covered with wreck of houfes, 
canes, wooden bowls, and platters, living camels and cat- 
tle, and feveral dead ones pafied Sennaar, hurried along by 
the current with great velocity. Ahyzna, endeavouring to 
erofs before the town, was furrounded and killed by the in- 
hhabitants.' The water got into the houfes that ftand upon 
its banks, and, by rifing feveral feet high, the walls melt- 
ed, being clay, which occafioned feveral of them to fall. It 
feemed, by the floating wreck of houfes that appeared in 
the ftream, to have deftroyed a great many villages to the 
fouthward towards Fazuclo. 
Tue foil of Sennaar, as I have already faid, is very unfa- 
vourable both to man and beaft, and particularly adverfe to. 
their propagation. This feems to me to be owing to fome 
noxious quality of the fat earth with which it is every way 
furrounded, and nothing may be depended upon more fure- 
ly than the fact already mentioned, that no mare, or fhe- 
beaft of burden, ever foaled in the town, or in any village 
within feveral miles round it. This remarkable quality 
ceafes upon removing from the fertile country to the fands. 
Aira, between three and four miles from Sennaar, with no 
water near it but the Nile; furrounded with white barren 
fand,. 
