CHAP. LIV. SACRED SITE OF GA'BATA'. 63 tion were to be seen. The sun was very powerful; and as we marched during the hottest hours of the day, I felt very unwell, and was obliged to sit down. for a while. After having traversed the plain, we again had the mountain-chain on our left; and in a recess or amphitheatre which is formed by the eminences, we obtained a sight of Gábatá, the old residence of the Múniyóma, but at present exhibiting nothing but a heap of unsightly ruins, encompassed towards the road side by a wall built of different kinds of stone, but at present entirely in decay, while in the very angle of the recess at the foot of the mountains a stone dwelling is seen, where it was the custom, in olden times, for every ruler of the country, upon his accession to the throne, to remain in retirement for seven days. It had been my intention to visit this spot; but the present governor had urgently requested me to abstain from such a profane undertaking, the place being (as he said) haunted by spirits: and my sudden indisposition prevented me from accomplishing my design. The natives say that there are caves leading from the stone dwelling into the rock. Our left being bordered by the mountain-slope, which is beautifully varied, and having on our right a fine grove of magnificent trees and cultivated fields, we reached, at three o'clock in the afternoon, the well situated in a recess of the mountains, but had great difficulty in choosing a spot tolerably free from ants. Here I felt so weak that I did not care either about the ruins of Gábatá or anything else except the most profound repose. Tuesday, The night was very cold, and disagreeDecember 21st. able, a heavy north-easterly gale not only bringing cold, but likewise covering us with clouds of the feathery prickle Pennisetum distichum ; and we started in a condition anything but cheerful. The mountain-chain on our left now receded, and the country exhibited a rich abundance of timber and herbage, the forest being agreeably broken by a large extent of stubble-fields where millet and beans. were grown; and distinguished among the cultivated grounds by the appearance of a certain degree of industry, were the fields of Chégchegá or Gámmachak, the oldest estate of the family of Múniyóma, which we had on our left.* In the intervening tracts of forest the úm-el-barka or kégo (Mimosa Nilotica) was very cominon, but it was at present leafless. Granite protrudes now and then; and further on the whole country became clothed with retem or broom. Close to the village of Baratáwa, we crossed a narrow but beautiful and regular vale adorned with the finest tamarind trees I ever saw, which were not only developing their domelike umbrageous crowns in full splendour, but which were the more beautiful as the fruit was just beginning to ripen. Close to the well a group of slender dúm palms were starting * I am a little uncertain, at present, whether this is the old residence, or the Gámmazak near Wúshek. |