Thinly populated, and
now without the means of subsisting large communities, Upper Egypt can
never become what it was when, as we are taught, the walls of Thebes
inclosed 4,000,000 of people, and the Nile was bridged from shore to
shore. Turning from this strange land, I encamped on the border of the
Nubian Desert, and prepared to set out on camel-back toward the sources
of the Nile.
In conjunction with the local officials I began the necessary
preparations, which involved the selection of forty-two camels, three
donkeys, and nineteen servants. My ample provision and preparation
consisted of the camels' feed--durah and barley, stowed in plaited
saddle-bags; filling the goatskins with water, each containing an
average of five gallons. Eighty were required for the journey. Three
sheep, a coup-full of chickens, a desert range, a wall-tent, with the
other supplies, made up over 10,000 pounds of baggage as our caravan,
entering the northern door of the barren and dreary steppe, felt its way
through a deep ravine paved with boulders, shifting sands, and dead
camels. We soon left the bluffs and crags which form the barrier between
the Nile and the desolate land beyond, and then indeed the real journey
began.
Our camp apparatus was quite simple, consisting of a few plates, knives
and forks, blankets and rugs, a kitchen-tent, and a pine table; and this
outfit formed the nucleus of our nomadic village, not omitting the rough
cooking-utensils.
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