DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4669#0305
274 THE LAND OF THE MONUMENTS
cotton plant, which grows to the size of a large shrub,
was in full flower, bearing its delicate yellow blossoms
and opening pods, showing the beautiful white silky
fibre. The castor-oil plant is universally cultivated
and attains a height of ten to twelve feet. This species
has a deep red stem, splendid large deeply cut leaves,
and large bunches of fruit. The oil is used by all the
natives, to anoint their heads and their bodies to
prevent the sun from scorching and blistering the
skin. Within the tropics the temperature is frequently
thirty degrees above that of the blood circulating in
the veins. When death takes place the temperature
of the body rises, and the corpse becomes sensibly
warmer than the living individual! We Europeans
are accustomed to the reverse of this, the hod)- bc-
coming as cold as marble in our latitudes after
death.
The neighbourhood of Derr is the most densely
populated of the whole of Nubia, and presents a very
strong contrast to the rest, where the natives are seen
in twos or threes cultivating the soil; the numbers thus
occupied in this district reminded us of the fellaliin
of Egypt
Beyond this fertile region the river becomes lake-
like, and is divided by sandbanks. Upon one of tin ;e
we saw our first crocodile, a large one, basking in the
sun. apparently asleep, but his ears were open, for no
sooner did the sound of the steamer reach them, than
he waddled ofl to the water and plunged in. His
length was estimated at ten feet. The only other
living creatures visible were vultures, which settled
on sandbanks or soared aloft overhead.
During the afternoon a steamer was observed
approaching us on her way down the Nile. Signals
cotton plant, which grows to the size of a large shrub,
was in full flower, bearing its delicate yellow blossoms
and opening pods, showing the beautiful white silky
fibre. The castor-oil plant is universally cultivated
and attains a height of ten to twelve feet. This species
has a deep red stem, splendid large deeply cut leaves,
and large bunches of fruit. The oil is used by all the
natives, to anoint their heads and their bodies to
prevent the sun from scorching and blistering the
skin. Within the tropics the temperature is frequently
thirty degrees above that of the blood circulating in
the veins. When death takes place the temperature
of the body rises, and the corpse becomes sensibly
warmer than the living individual! We Europeans
are accustomed to the reverse of this, the hod)- bc-
coming as cold as marble in our latitudes after
death.
The neighbourhood of Derr is the most densely
populated of the whole of Nubia, and presents a very
strong contrast to the rest, where the natives are seen
in twos or threes cultivating the soil; the numbers thus
occupied in this district reminded us of the fellaliin
of Egypt
Beyond this fertile region the river becomes lake-
like, and is divided by sandbanks. Upon one of tin ;e
we saw our first crocodile, a large one, basking in the
sun. apparently asleep, but his ears were open, for no
sooner did the sound of the steamer reach them, than
he waddled ofl to the water and plunged in. His
length was estimated at ten feet. The only other
living creatures visible were vultures, which settled
on sandbanks or soared aloft overhead.
During the afternoon a steamer was observed
approaching us on her way down the Nile. Signals