Page:Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile - In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773 volume 4.djvu/552

 5,24^ TRAVELS TO DISCOVER

lecT:ioii when the objeft is out of my fight. This hone's name was El Fudda, the meaning of which I will not pre- tend to explain. In Egypt this is the name of a fmall piece of money clipped into points, otherwife called a parat ; but, very probably, the name of horfes in Nubia may have as little allufion to the quality of the animal as the name- which our race-horfes have in England ; they are, how- ever, very jealous in keeping up their pedigree. All noble horfes in Nubia are faid to be defcended of one of the five upon which Mahomet and his four immediate fuc- ceffors, Abou Beer, Omar, Atman, and Ali, fled from Mecca^ to Medina, the night of the Hegira. From which of thefe El Fudda was defcended I did not inquire; Shekh Adelan,. armed, as he fought, with his coat of mail and war faddle, iron-chained bridle, brafs cheek-plates, front-plate, breaft- plate, large broad-fv/ord, and battle-ax, did not weigh lefs upon the horfe than 26 ftone, horfeman's weight. This horfe kneeled to receive his mailer, anued as he was, when he mounted, and he kneeled to let him difmount armed' Hkewife, fo that no advantage could be taken of him in thofe helplefs times when a man is obliged to arm and difarm himfelf piece by piece on horfeback. Adelan, in war, was a fair-player, and gave every body his chance. He was the firll man always that entered among the ene- my, and the lafl to leave them, and never changed this horfe,. The horfes of Halfaia and Gerri do not arrive at thcfize of thofe in Dongola, where few are lower than 16 hands. They areblackor white, but a vail proportion of the former to the latter. I never faw the colour we call grey, that is, dappled, but there are fome bright bays, or inclining to forcl. They are ali kept monflrouily fat upon dora, eat nothing green but

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