THE PEOPLE OF SHILLOOK. 
385 
The canoes of the natives are small, and made of 
planks, with pointed bows and sterns. Rafts of grass 
or ambadj are used for ferrying the Nile, the natives 
standing up to their knees in water while paddling or 
propelling them with a stick. After coming out of this 
raft, they place it on end to dry on the shore. The 
Shillook men, residing in a large tract of country about 
10° N. lat., are nude, and, looking at them from be- 
hind, the hair is so trained that it resembles a black 
fan. We took one of the men as a guide to conduct 
us in searching for our two rear boats that had not 
come up, as we believed, and had caused us some un- 
easiness and alarm. Sailing up stream, he landed to 
speak with the people of Shillook, who immediately 
flew away in fear of us, commencing to drive off 
their cattle. Our boats had passed us during the 
night unobserved, and we found they had preceded us 
twenty miles. This may give some idea of the size of 
the river. The guide was not satisfied with two yards 
of calico, saying, " If I were not alone, you dared not 
offer me so little f he was very impertinent, and before 
leaving the boat exchanged his calico for a spear. We 
had now got to about 11-^° N. lat., where the territory 
of the true original Shillook race ends, and that of the 
mongrel Shillook and Bagara horsemen begins. On the 
left bank was an Arab station called Kaka, its two hun- 
dred huts being fenced and ditched against the hostile 
natives. For the first time we came upon irrigation in 
the true Egyptian form — a large pole weighted at one 
end, with a leather bucket at the other. Indian corn, 
tomato, onions, and plantain were grown here in great 
luxuriance. The native who commanded at this post 
was carried on board of our boat to be treated for a 
