Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/445

 THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 417

Sennaar, feparating Abyllinia from Nubia, and making, with the river Atbara, the Allaboras or Tacazze, and the Nile, a perfedl ifland, whereas before it was only a peninfula. It feems to intercept all the fprings that would go down to the middle of the peninfula, frorn the high country of Abyffinia, and is probably the reafon of the great dearth of water there. While it is in Abyffinia it is called Shimfa. It falls into the Nile at Habharras, about thirty-eight miles north of Sennaar.

The quarrel between our two conductors was fo little made up, that the king's fervant would not travel with us, but always went half a day before, and we joined him when we encamped in the evening. We did not pay him the compliment of afking him why he did this, but allowed him to take his own way, which he feemed not to be plea- fed with, giving many hints at night, that he had, all his life, been averfe to the having any thing to do with white people.

We fet out at five in the afternoon from Kumar, and in the clofe of the evening met feveral men, on horfcback and on foot, coming out from among the bufhes, who en- deavoured to carry off one of our camels. We indeed were foraewhat alarmed, and were going to prepare for refift- ance. The camel they had taken a way had on it the king's and Shekh Adelan's prefents, and fome other things for our fu- ture need. Our clothes too, books, and papers, were upon the fame camel. Adelan's fervant, though he was at firfl furprifed, did not lofe his prefence of mind ; he foon knew thefe Arabs could not be robbers, and gueffed it to be a piece of malice of the king's fervant to frighten us, and ex- tort money from us, in order to obtain reftitution of the camel. He therefore rode up to one of the villages of the

Vol. IV. 3 G Arabs