54 
TEAVELS IN CENTEAL AFEICA. 
half s hard rowing with a dozen sweeps, we got into a long tranquil 
reach; not a ripple on the water, over a mile in breadth. 
At four p.m. we entered a western branch of the Nile, called Chor 
Aboo Simoon; between it and the main channel is the island of 
Bagaer, several miles in length. The object was to avoid a danger- 
ous cataract, named Aboo Simoon, that obstructs the navigation 
of the principal stream. The island is beautifully wooded with 
mimosa and palm trees ; and the passage we were gliding along, 
divided as it was with islands, bearing the most charming varieties 
of foliage and rich in pretty rocky and secluded nooks, where 
ever and anon a creaking Sakyeh, suspended one knew not how, 
formed a most pleasing change from the bleak and stern scenery 
we had just left. At five p.m. made fast alongside one of the 
most bewitching little islands I ever saw : the sides of the banks, 
high above the flooded water, were covered with the richest of 
grass, then such a host of entangled and voluptuous shrubs and 
evergreens clothed the surface, that it appeared a wonder how the 
tall date-palms could have won their way through the thicket that 
surrounded them ; a little zig-zag pathway led up the bank, through 
the thicket, and on to a piece of cultivated land of one hundred 
acres in extent. In the centre of it were a few huts, and the kind 
old Arab proprietor bid us a cheerful welcome. Hadji Ahmed bade 
his healthful boys, that issued from the Indian corn and cotton- 
fields, get mats, angeribs, and I know not what, to make the most 
of us : the fatted calf^^ was killed in the form of a kid, and the 
men were bid to climb the tall trees, and pick as much fruit as they 
chose. For all this kindness to utter strangers in all but name, it 
was with difficulty, when we left in the morning, that I could in- 
duce him to accept of a matemma, red bordered scarf. 
Two hours^ stiff pulling to evade many rocks that lay studded 
