DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12664#0080
A HURRICANE ON THE NILE. 73
gale at sea, bringing with it the light sands of the
desert, and at times covering the river with a thick
cloud which prevented my seeing across it. A
clearing up for a moment showed a boat of the
largest class, heavily laden, and coming down
with astonishing velocity; it was like the flight of
an enormous bird. She was under bare poles, but
small portions of the sail had got loose, and the
Arabs were out on the very ends of the long spars
getting them in. One of the boatmen, with a rope
under his arm, had plunged into the river, and
with strong swimming reached the bank, where a
hundred men ran to his assistance. Their united
strength turned her bows around, up stream, but
nothing could stop her; stern foremost, she dragged
the whole posse of Arabs to the bank, and broke
away from them perfectly ungovernable ; whirling
around, her bows pitched into our fleet with a loud
crash, tore away several of the boats, and carrying
one off, fast locked as in a death-grasp, she resumed
her headlong course down the river. They had
gone but a few rods, when the stranger pitched
her bows under and went down in a moment,
bearing her helpless companion also to the bot-
tom. It was the most exciting incident I had seen
upon the river. The violence of the wind, the
swift movement of the boat, the crash, the wild
figures of the Arabs on shore and on board, one in
a red dress almost on the top of the long spar, his
turban loose and streaming in the wind, all formed
a novel and most animating scene. I need scarcely
VOL. I.-G
gale at sea, bringing with it the light sands of the
desert, and at times covering the river with a thick
cloud which prevented my seeing across it. A
clearing up for a moment showed a boat of the
largest class, heavily laden, and coming down
with astonishing velocity; it was like the flight of
an enormous bird. She was under bare poles, but
small portions of the sail had got loose, and the
Arabs were out on the very ends of the long spars
getting them in. One of the boatmen, with a rope
under his arm, had plunged into the river, and
with strong swimming reached the bank, where a
hundred men ran to his assistance. Their united
strength turned her bows around, up stream, but
nothing could stop her; stern foremost, she dragged
the whole posse of Arabs to the bank, and broke
away from them perfectly ungovernable ; whirling
around, her bows pitched into our fleet with a loud
crash, tore away several of the boats, and carrying
one off, fast locked as in a death-grasp, she resumed
her headlong course down the river. They had
gone but a few rods, when the stranger pitched
her bows under and went down in a moment,
bearing her helpless companion also to the bot-
tom. It was the most exciting incident I had seen
upon the river. The violence of the wind, the
swift movement of the boat, the crash, the wild
figures of the Arabs on shore and on board, one in
a red dress almost on the top of the long spar, his
turban loose and streaming in the wind, all formed
a novel and most animating scene. I need scarcely
VOL. I.-G