108 Gallabat.

Town.

Historical.

Inhabitants. Takruri.

Trade.

Cultivation.

frontier, comprises the district of Gallabat. Practically the whole of this region is thickly wooded with talh, sofEar, ebony, silag, ardeib, hashab, baobab, bamboo, and other trees, of which some attain considerable size ; the central and south eastern portions are hilly, as is Gadabi and some of the country to the east of the Atbara.* In the vicinity of the town of Gallabat there are perennial streams of running water, but the greater part of the province is dependent on wells for its water supply.

Gallabat town, called by the Abyssinians Matemma, is situated at the foot of a steep slope on the left bank of the Khor Abnaheir, which here constitutes the boundary with Abyssinia, and is about 5 miles from the Atbara which flows to the north and north-east.

The town has for a very long time been considered as forming an important trade centre on the Sudan- Abyssinian frontier, and the latter people used to lay claim to it. It was in consequence an almost constant source of feuds and fighting during the greater part of the last century between the Abyssinians and the Turks, and later with the Dervishes. It was formerly celebrated for its slave mart, and drove a prosperous trade. {Vide " Cradle of the Blue Nile," vol. 2, p. 168.)

It was attacked by the Dervishes under Zeki Tumal in 1886, and sacked. Three years later King John of Abyssinia, burning with fury at the sack of Gondar by the Mahdists, collected his warriors and fought a tremendous battle here, with, it is asserted, 80,000 to 100,000 on either side, on 9th March, 1889. The Abyssinians, who outnumbered the Dervishes, at first were successful, but just as the Dervishes, on the following day, were giving way on all sides a stray shot wounded and subsequently killed King John. This completely reversed the situation, and the Abyssinians turned and fled {vide p. 258.)

Its occupation by the Dervishes naturally resulted in the ruin of its trade, and this is only now beginning to revive. Robbers are, however, rife inside the Abyssinian frontier, and owing to that and other reasons, the revival is slow. The Anglo-Egyptian flags were hoisted at Gallabat on 7th December, 1898, by Colonel CoUinson, C.B. The Abyssinian flag was then already fl)ang on the fort.

Gallabat is said, before the Mahdia, to have been a comparatively large and busy trade centre. Looking at it now, it is difficult to believe that it can ever regain its pristine wealth and importance. The town, such as it is, with the exception of the Zabtia, etc., is built entirely of grass tukls. On the top of the slope overlooking the town there still remains the old Dervish fort built by Zeki Tumal. From here a very fine view is obtained away to the hills beyond the Atbara, and on a clear day one can see the mountains surrounding Lake Tsana. The hill pointed out as that on which King John was wounded lies 3 miles south-east, and that near which his body was captured is visible 10 miles further off.

The inhabitants are almost entirely Takruris,f originally from Darfur. The ancestors of these people, on arrival at Gallabat on their way back to Darfur after visiting Mecca in the 18th century, realised they had found a better land and settled here, where they have remained ever since. They possess curious jagged throwing-knives, which their ancestors are said to have brought from the Upper Congo.

In 1899 the population of the province, which was carefully assessed, numbered 2,200 souls, of which about 700 were living in the town itself. In 1901, it was estimated to be 2,670, and it has since increased to 3,800 in 1904.

These Takruris are as a rule poor, but industrious and fairly good cultivators. They also collect a good deal of honey. This they find with great dexterity by means of a bird, whose note they are exceedingly quick at detecting.

Honey and water is always proffered to the thirsty traveller, though a liquor called " Asalia," a kind of " Um Bilbil " or " Merissa," is the drink they prefer themselves.

Neither the import nor export trade with Abyssinia has as yet attained much importance. Coffee is one of the chief imports ; this is about PT.70 per 100 lbs., and is of very good quality. The remainder are mostly unimportant native requirements, such as bees-wax, shatta (red pepper), tobacco, etc., which are brought in in small quantities ; also a good many cattle, horses, mules and donkeys. This import of live-stock constitutes the bulk of the trade.

There is a growing export trade both in raw locally-grown cotton as well as in Manchester goods. Half the customs receipts go to Abyssinia. In 1902 the total amounted to £E.720 and in 1903 to £E.805. Most of this district is fertile, but there is little land cultivated around the town of Gallabat, as the natives have discovered other spots in the forest where, owing to the particular kind of grass that grows, less labour is necessary to prepare the land for sowing.

Most of the cultivation lies about 15 miles north-west of Gallabat, where there are a good many villages, chief of which are Wallak and Basunda. Though, as a rule, the grass is almost everywhere burnt as soon as dry (November and December), yet the grass on a piece of land which it is intended to cultivate is most carefully preserved until the arrival of the ensuing rains. Then, and not till then, when the young grass has sprouted, the dry grass is * For description of country east of Atbara, vide pp. 99-101. t The Takruris .sjteak of the Abyssinians as " .Makatla "—this is a name generally used for tliem throufjhout the Sudan and means "slaves." The Abyssinians naturally resent the appellation and have complained officially aI)out it. They retaliate by calling the Takruris, who origioally came from Darfur, " Far," i.e. Eats, the real name of jjeople of Darfur being, of course. For.