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While they were gone, I took a few men to beat the low jungle within the forest for francolin partridge, numbers of which I had seen running through the covert. I went up the dry bed of the river at the junction of the Hor Gubba, while they drove towards me, and I was compelled to fire as fast as I could load, as these beautiful birds flew across the ravine. I shot five brace almost immediately.
Since our departure from the Egyptian territory his country had been invaded by a large force, according to orders sent from the Governor-General of the Soudan. Mek Nimmur as usual retreated to the mountains, but Mai Gubba and a number of his villages were utterly destroyed by the Egyptians. He would under these circumstances be doubly suspicious of strangers.
His principal head-quarters were about seventy miles from Tomat, at a village named Mai Gubba, from which country he made successful razzias upon the Egyptian territory, which compelled a vigilant look-out during the dry season. During the rains there was no danger, as the river was immensely deep, and impassable from the total absence of boats.
Our course now was directed up this stream, and at the junction of the Hor Mai Gubba, or Habbuk River, some of my Arabs, observing fresh tracks of horses on the sand, went in search of the aggageers of Taher Sherrif's party, whom they had expected to meet at this point. Soon after, they returned with the aggageers, whose camp was but a quarter of a mile distant.
I EXTRACT a few notes from my journal: "March 25, 1862. Mai Gubba is about twelve miles E.N.E. of our camp. "March 27. We started for the Bahr Salaam, and said good-bye to Mek Nimmur, as we passed his position on our march; he had given us a guide; an awful-looking scoundrel.
We disturbed many nellut and tetel upon the banks, and after having marched about four miles along the river's bed, we halted at a beautiful open forest of large trees at the junction of Hor Mai Gubba. This was a considerable torrent, which is tributary to the Royan; at this spot it had cut through a white sandstone cliff, about eighty feet perpendicular: thus upon either side it was walled in.
The word Gubba is Abyssinian for the nabbuk, therefore the torrent was the Nabbuk River: this flowed past the village of Mai Gubba, which is the head-quarters of Mek Nimmur, from which we were not twenty-five miles distant.
Mek Nimmur as usual retreated to the mountains, but Mai Gubba and a number of his villages were utterly destroyed by the Egyptians. He would, under these circumstances, be doubly suspicious of strangers.
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