Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 3.djvu/671

 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 047-

other means of palling are in fmall rafts, placed upon two- {kirn filled with wind; or, twilling their hands round the horfe's tail, they are drawn over by them ; this laft is the way that the women, who follow the armies of *byffima, crofs unfordable rivers, a cafe that always occurs in late campaigns. Crocodiles abound exceedingly in this part of the Nile ; but the people, who live on the banks of the ri- ver, have or pretend to have charms which- defend them from the moll voracious of thefe animals.

Adjoining to the Gongas, and bounding them on the north arifes a vail chain of very high mountains ; the fouth'fide of this is inhabited by tribes of Gongas and o- thers but on the north-eaft fide, nearell Abyffinia, is a na- tion of perfed blacks, called Cuba. The Nile feems to have forced its way through a gap in this prodigious barrier, and falls down a catarafl of about 280 feet. This is imme- diately followed by two others- in the fame ridge of moun- tains, both very confiderable, if not compared with the firft, This high ridge runs weft far into the continent of Africa, where it is called Dyre and Tegla ; the caft end (that is eaft of the Nile) joins the mountainous country of Kuara, and is there called the Mountains of Fazuclo. Thefe mountains, as far as 1 could learn, are all very fully inhabit- ed throughout by many powerful clans, or nations, moftly Pagans. It is, however, a country the lead known of any in Africa, but a very large quantity of gold is brought from thence, as well as many ilaves ; the gold is warned down by the torrents in the time of the tropical rains, and, upon thefe ceafing, they fearch after that metal found in fmall pellets entangled amongroots, branches, tufts of grafs,

hollows,