228 TRAVELS IN AFRICA, 
croffed the road, (it was the middle of the Harif^ or wet 
feafon,) they were fearful of pafling it, and returned, after 
endeavouring in vain to perfuade me to do the fame. I was 
obliged to abandon the camel, which belonged to the Melek, 
and purfue my journey on foot. 
The time I was conftrained to devote to this patient afforded 
me an opportunity of remarking the True believer s pra&ice of 
phyfic. No mummery, that ever was invented by human im- 
becility to banifli the puny fears of mortality, was forgotten to 
be put in pradice. The difeafe was fometimes exorcifed as a 
malignant fpirit, at others deprecated as the juft vifitation of the 
Deity : two or three thoufand fathas were to be uttered, and 
numbered at the fame moment on a chaplet ; and fentences of 
the Koran were then written on a board, which being waflied 
off, the inky water was offered to the fick man to drink, when 
he was no longer able to open his mouth. But though this 
puerile anxiety prevailed fo long as the man remained alive, 
the moment he was dead, all funk into undifturbed compofure, 
except a few of the women, who ofhcioufly difquieted the 
living, with vociferations of affeded forrow for the dead. 
Near the end of the year 1 795, a body of troops was muf- 
tered and reviewed, who were to replace thofe that had died of 
the fmall-pox in Kordofan, which it was faid amounted to more 
than half the army. The fpoils which had been taken from 
Hafhem, were alfo on this occafion oftentatioufly difplayed. 
They confifled of eighty flaves, male and female, but the 
greater proportion of the latter, many of them were very 
beautiful, 
