304 JOURNEY TO CENTRAL AFRICA.

or Bedjuda. A few degrees further north, it would be a barren desert, but here it is an alternation of wadys, or valleys, with ranges of porphyry mountains, affording water, trees, and sumeient grass for the herds of the wandering Arabs. It is inhabited by two tribes — the Kababish and the Howoweet, who differ strongly from the Arabs east of the Nile, in their appearance and habits. The latter, by their superior intelligence and their remarkable personal beauty, still attest their descent from the tribes of Hedjaz and Yemen. The tribes in the western desert are more allied to the Tibboos, and other tenants of the Great Zahara. The caravans on this road are exposed to the danger of attacks from the negroes of Dar-Eur, who frequently waylay small parties, murder the individuals and carry off the camels and goods.

The great kingdom of Dar-Eur offers a rich field for some future explorer. The extensive regions it incloses are supposed to furnish the key to the system of rivers and mountainchains of Central Africa. Through the fear and jealousy of its rulers, no stranger has been allowed to pass its borders, since the visit of Mr. Browne, half a century ago. Of late, however, the relations between the Egyptian rulers in Soudan and the Sultan of Dar-Eur have been quite amicable, and if nothing occurs to disturb this harmony there is some hope that the ban will be removed. Lattif Pasha informed me that he had written to the Sultan on behalf of Capt. Peel, who wished to pass through Dar-Eur and reach Bornou. He had at that time received no answer, but it had been intimated, unofficially, that the Sultan would reply, giving Capt. Peel permission to enter the country and travel in it, but not to pass beyond ifc.

There is an almost continual war between the Sultans of Bar-