The chief of
the Nuehr village, Joctian, with his wife and daughter, paid me a visit,
and asked for all they saw in the shape of beads and bracelets, but
declined a knife as useless. They went away delighted with their
presents. The women perforate the upper lip, and wear an ornament about
four inches long of beads upon an iron wire; this projects like the horn
of a rhinoceros; they are very ugly. The men are tall and powerful,
armed with lances. They carry pipes that contain nearly a quarter of a
pound of tobacco, in which they smoke simple charcoal should the loved
tobacco fail. The carbonic acid gas of the charcoal produces a slight
feeling of intoxication, which is the effect desired. Koorshid Aga
returned them a girl from Khartoum who had been captured by a
slave-hunter; this delighted the people, and they immediately brought an
ox as an offering. The "Clumsy's" yard broke in two pieces, thus I was
obliged to seek a dry spot for the necessary repairs. I left the village
Nuehr Eliab, and in the evening lowered the "Clumsy's" yard; taking her
in tow, we are, this moment, 8.30 P.M., slowly sailing through clouds of
mosquitoes looking out for a landing-place in this world of marshes. I
took the chief of the Nuehrs' portrait, as he sat in my cabin on the
divan; of course he was delighted.
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