206 



PHYSICAL HISTORY OF MAN. 



Dongola servant expressed surprise at this statement, having sup- 

 posed that ostrich eggs were at present procured altogether from Kor- 

 dofan ; and he asserted, that there were "none now in Dongola, and 

 that Sennaar had been likewise exhausted." 



In returning down the river, I fell in with the Shekh of the Abab- 

 deh ; who was reported to hold authority likewise over the Bishareen. 

 His personal appearance was indicative of mixed Arab descent, but I 

 did not learn the history of his family. He wore a turban, in conse- 

 quence as he said, of being on his way to Cairo; but he intended on 

 his return, to dress his hair after the fashion of his own country. He 

 was well acquainted with Soakin, where he had seen some of the 

 Somali ; and he spoke of the Kostan, as being an extremely trouble- 

 some and ferocious people. He was particularly desirous of ascer- 

 taining why Europeans came so far to look at antiquities; and on 

 learning that hieroglyphic characters could be read, he considered 

 himself in possession of the secret. 



The Bishareen, dwell in the district to the southward of the Abab- 

 deh, and situated in like manner eastward of the Nile. Two indivi- 

 duals seen at Assouan, enabled me to identify the physical race. One 

 of them, wore a pin for dressing the hair, similar to the Feejeean, but 

 shorter and curved. 



The Ababdeh and Bishareen, do not mix with their hair any foreign 

 substance except ghee or butter ; which in this climate is entirely 

 fluid, and is an effectual safeguard against vermin. The curved club, 

 which these tribes have been accustomed to use from remote anti- 

 quity, is small and light in comparison with that of the Feejeeans. 



I could hear nothing in Egypt of the TiBBOOof the central Sahara; 

 and it is possible that they may have no communication with the 

 Egyptian Oases. Herodotus seems to allude to these people under 

 the name of the 'Ethiopian Troglodytes;' and they are probably to 

 be regarded as the proper aboriginals of the Desert. According to 

 Horneman and others, the Tibboo continue in part Pagan; and they 

 hold their flocks about the widely separated wells and Oases, some 

 of which are perhaps known only to themselves; yet in their track- 

 less solitudes, they are not altogether free from the depredations of the 

 Tuarick and Arab. Some points in their history, present unexpected 

 analogy to the customs of the Australians ; as their use of a curved 

 missile; and their counterfeiting a lump of black basalt in order to 

 elude observation, as the Australians counterfeit a burned stump. 



