CHAP. I.] 
THE BULL OF THE HERD. 
75 
sacred bull who is supposed to exert an influence over 
the prosperity of the flocks ; his horns are ornamented 
with tufts of feathers, and frequently with small bells, 
and he invariably leads the great herd to pasture. 
On starting in the early morning from the cattle kraal 
the natives address the bull, telling him “to watch over 
the herd; to keep the cows from straying; and to lead 
them to the sweetest pastures, so that they shall give 
abundance of milk,” See. 
Jan. 21 st .—Last night a sudden squall carried 
away Koorshid Aga’s mast by the deck, leaving him a 
complete wreck. The weather to-day is dull, oppressive, 
and dead calm. As usual, endless marshes, and mos¬ 
quitoes. I never either saw or heard of so disgusting 
a country as that bordering the White Nile from Khar¬ 
toum to this point. Course S.E. as nearly as I can 
judge, but the endless windings, and the absence of any 
mark as a point, make it difficult to give an accurate 
course—the river about a hundred yards in width of 
clear water; alive with floating vegetation, with a 
current of about two miles per hour. 
Jan. 22 d .—The luxuries of the country as usual— 
malaria, marshes, mosquitoes, misery ; far as the eye 
can reach, vast treeless marshes perfectly lifeless. At 
times progressing slowly by towing, the men struggling 
through the water with the rope ; at other times by 
