CHAPTER I.

THE MERCHANT.

"In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Origin and Family. I am Zubeir, son of Rahmat, son of Mansur, son of Ali, son of Mohammed, son of Suliman, son of Na-am, son of Suliman, son of Bakr, son of Shahin, son of Gnmia son of Gamua, son of Ghanim el Abbassi. My ancestors, the Abbassides, fled from Baghdad in the year 1278 A. D. after the attack on them of the Tartars. They came to Egypt where they found the Fatimites in possession and, as they could not tolerate their rule, they departed for the Sudan where some settled on the White Nile, while others made their way to Dar Fur and Wadai. Among the many families that were scattered along the Nile was that from which is descended the well known tribe of Gumiab, who trace their origin to an ancestor Gumiab, These people established themselves on the main Nile between Jebel Gerri and Jebel el Sheikh el Tayib, and became famous throughout the Sudan for their bravery and their devotion to hearth and home. When Ismail Pasha, in 1820, conquered the Sudan, our chiefs gave him a hearty