FORESTS.

In the Sudan, north of Khartoum, forests are scarce and of little extent. Scattered trees of “Samr” (Acacia tortilis) reach right into the desert, while on the occasionally flooded “Karu” land, between the desert and cultivation, is an open growth of the above with “Selem” (Acacia Ehrenbergii), “Sayal” (Acacia spirocarpa), “Hashab” (Acacia Verek), “Tundub” (Capparis aphylla), “Marakh” (Leptadenia Spartium), etc.

South of Khartoum till about parallel 12° N. the forests consist mostly of belts, usually not of very great width, lining the banks of the rivers and khors. In these belts the most valuable tree is the “Sant” or “Sunt” (Acacia arabica), known not only for the strength of its wood, but for the tanning properties of its bark and seed pod, and also for its excellence as fuel, as well as for its value for boat building.

Inland, there are open woods of “Heglig” (Balanites ægyptiaca), “Talh,” and “Hashab,” or dense thickets of “Kittr” (Acacia mellifera) and “Laot” (Acacia nubica).

It is in this zone that the open woods of “Hashab” (Acacia verek), in Kordofan, are carefully tended and preserved against fire for the sake of their gum which is exported as “Hashab Geneina”; the gum from the unprotected forests fetching a lower price as “Hashab Gezira,” or “Gezira,” while that from other acacias is known as “Talh,” as the Talh tree is the chief producer.

South of 12° N., where the rainfall is more abundant, the forest on the White Nile is, as far as the northern limits of the Sudd, of similar character, only large tracts have been cleared near the river by the Shilluks, and Sant has completely disappeared and is not replaced by trees of equivalent value.

On the Blue Nile the forest changes in character. Not far from the river are numerous gigantic Baobabs (“Tebeldi,” Adansonia digitata) and “Tarfa” (Sterculia cinerea), while the most abundant trees are the graceful “Silag” (Anogeissus leiocarpus) and the Sudan ebony (“Babanus,” Dalbergia melanoxylon).

In these two species, as well as in some others, these forests are like those on the higher lands of the Bahr El Ghazal province and parts of Southern Kordofan. The Bahr El Ghazal forests cover the larger portion of the ironstone deposits in that province, and, as far as quality goes, are probably the finest found in the Sudan, many trees of great height and girth being found there, one of them, the African mahogany (“Homraya,” Khaya senegalensis), having a beautiful timber, already known to commerce. It is in these forests that rubber-producing lianas are most abundant, the best of them being “Ndala” or “Odilo” (Landolphia owariensis), vide [Chapter VII.]

The forests on the Bahr El Jebel and the woodlands of the Bahr El Ghazal province are more like those on the Upper White Nile, but some other trees appear, and the forests are not only in belts, but cover large areas. Near Mongalla the ironstone appears, and the forests partake of the same character as those of the Upper Bahr El Ghazal.

The forests on the Abyssinian and Eritrean frontiers have not yet been explored by an expert.

All over the Sudan the forests suffer greatly from fires which are set alight by the natives either for purposes of sport, or to clear the paths, or for grazing after the rains. Owing to these fires numbers of trees get killed or mutilated, and it is hopeless to think of developing fine forests until they can be kept under control.

Fuel.One of the great economic questions of the Sudan, which gives rise to a certain anxiety, is the future supply of fuel. Although the felling of trees is under control, those alongside the river necessarily suffer greatly from the demand for steamer fuel, and there is not an unlimited supply. So far, no coal or petroleum has been found in the Sudan; it is believed that there are beds of lignite in the Dongola Province, but up till now they have not been thoroughly explored. Imported coal now costs from £E.4 to £E.6, and petroleum £E.6, a ton at Khartoum. (Vide also [p. 20.])

Concessions.A certain part of the Sudan—chiefly to the north and north-east and south-east—has been leased to concessionaires for the purpose of prospecting for minerals and exploiting them when found. There are traces of gold and other minerals in most of these areas.

Survey.The Sudan is being surveyed (commenced in 1898) on a scale of 1250000. So far, over 50 sheets out of 139 projected have been published, and the work of surveying is proceeding steadily. Vide [p. 349.]

Sanitary.The population is very gradually being trained in sanitary methods, but it is a slow process. Efforts are also being made to stamp out malaria,[16] etc., by the latest scientific methods, but the size of most of the malarial districts is vastly in excess of the means so far available to deal with them. At Khartoum and at some of the other chief towns the steps taken have proved most effectual.

[4]Temporarily occupied by the Congo Free State.

[5]Full particulars of Conditions of Service, etc., of Government Civil Officials in the Sudan may be obtained from the Secretary to Selection Board, Finance Ministry, Cairo.

[6]This Department is under the Egyptian Government.

[7]Except the Inspector-General.

[8]Detachments of Medical Corps, Supply, Transport, Stores, Works, and Veterinary Departments are at all stations where necessary.

[9]Estimate only.

[10]Trade in india-rubber is at present prohibited (December, 1904).

[11]See [Appendix A.]

[12]The above observations on Justice are extracted from Lord Cromer’s Report, Egypt No. 1. (1904), p. 88.

[13]The Laboratory is the generous gift of Mr. Wellcome.

[14]Sir W. Mather, M.P.

[15]The figures for 1904 are:—

July1·338
August2·592
September·787

only. Vide “The Rains of the Nile Basin, 1904,” by Capt. H. Lyons, Survey Dept., Egypt, just published.

[16]Vide Report on the Wellcome Research Laboratories—Gordon College—1904.

By kind permission of][Dittrich, Cairo.

THE EARL OF CROMER.

By kind permission of][Maull & Fox, London.

SIR WM. GARSTIN.

(To face page 15.)

CHAPTER II.

THE WHITE NILE.

[The reader who wishes to study in detail the whole question of the Nile Basin, its floods, discharges of rivers, schemes of irrigation, etc., etc., is referred to Sir William Garstin’s invaluable “Report on the Basin of the Upper Nile,” F.O. Bluebook, Egypt No. 2 (1904). Price 17s.]

(i.)—INTRODUCTORY.

General.The White Nile and its tributaries form the life blood of the Sudan. The great river traverses it for 2,029 miles from south to north, receiving on its course through the country the Bahr El Ghazal, the Sobat, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara.

Of these four tributaries the Bahr El Ghazal joins the Nile out of the swamps from the west, whilst the other three join it from the east, bringing down the fertilizing matter from the Abyssinian hills.

Flood.The rise of the Nile takes place during the summer, but the dates naturally vary largely at different points.

The causes of the flood are, briefly, as follows:—The rains in southern Abyssinia cause the Sobat to rise about the middle or end of April. The yellowish-white water caused by this flood reaches Kodok the last week in April. The equatorial rains cause the Bahr El Zeraf and White Nile, above the Sobat, to rise about the end of May. The effect of the first rise is felt at Halfa about the 20th May. The Blue Nile begins to rise about this time, and brings the red fertilizing flood down to Khartoum about the 20th June, and to Halfa about the middle of July. The muddy Atbara flood (June to August) rises very rapidly after the Blue Nile, and causes the flood to attain its maximum about the end of August; at this period the river is muddiest. The White Nile continues to rise slowly, and its effects (clear white water) are felt at Halfa till October, when it falls very slowly. The Blue Nile falls rapidly after the middle of September, and the Atbara has generally disappeared by October. The Sobat begins to fall at Nasser early in December.

The Bahr El Ghazal rivers rise slightly in May. These soon subside, and the main floods take place in July and August.

The above is a description of an average year. An early maximum (i.e., about the middle of August) generally means a low summer flood, and vice versâ. The flood at its height moves at about 100 miles a day (below the Atbara).[17]

The above dates vary largely in accordance with the time and amount of rainfall in the upper valleys of the rivers.

Of the flood water annually brought down by the rivers, about half now runs to waste into the Mediterranean sea. The Aswan dam regulates and utilizes this to a certain extent, but a large proportion remains over. This it is proposed to utilize in the future for irrigating the Sudan by means of flood and catchment basins; but the time is still distant when this surplus will be entirely devoted to this purpose.

Historical.Up to comparatively recent times the sources of the Nile were involved in mystery.[18] In ancient days many guesses were hazarded at their origin, some geographers maintaining that the Nile rose in the Atlas Mountains of Marocco; others were positive that the Niger formed the upper portion of the great river. During the 17th and 18th centuries it was held that the sources were to be found in the “Mountains of the Moon.” These have since been speculatively identified with the Ruwenzori Mountains between Lakes Albert and Albert Edward, and, if this theory is correct, the ancient geographers were not so far out.

It was left for Speke and Grant, in 1862, on a journey from the east coast, to discover that the great lake, now known as the Victoria Nyanza, was the main source of the White Nile. Sir Samuel Baker, in March, 1863, working up stream, discovered the Albert Nyanza; but it was not till some time afterwards that the actual course of that portion of the river, now known as the Bahr El Jebel, was mapped and traversed, Lieutenants Watson and Chippendall, R.E., being the first, under Gordon in 1874, to lay down the actual course. During the ensuing years, this, the upper portion of the river, was several times blocked with sudd, and at the re-conquest of the Sudan from the Dervishes in 1898, it was permanently blocked. An expedition under Major Peake, however, succeeded in clearing a channel in 1899-1900, and there is no likelihood of the clear channel now existing being, except quite temporarily, blocked again.

The sources of the Blue Nile, which for long was considered as the main river, were, as early as 1770, discovered by Bruce to be near Lake Tsana (Abyssinia), but to this day the actual course of the Blue Nile between Lake Tsana and Famaka (Abyssinian-Sudan border) has never been accurately laid down.

The course of the Atbara, as far up as the junction with it of the Setit, was roughly known before 1864, when Sir S. Baker made a more thorough exploration of these rivers, but the courses of the Atbara and Setit lying within the Sudan have only recently been fairly accurately laid down. The Atbara rises in the Abyssinian hills, near Chelga, where it is known as the Goang.

The Sobat was explored by Marno and Junker in the “Seventies” as far as Nasser, where there was then an Egyptian post. It was left for British officers, after 1898, headed by Captain Gamble, to explore the various narrow rivers such as the Baro, Pibor, Akobo, etc., which join the main stream from South-West Abyssinia, east of Nasser. The course of the Upper Pibor was explored by Lieut. Comyn in September, 1904, vide [p. 151.]

The course of the comparatively short Bahr El Ghazal river, known to the slave-traders of old times, was laid down by Petherick, Gessi, etc., in 1864-78; but the courses of the western rivers which flow into it, such as the Bahr El Arab[19] or El Homr, have not yet been even roughly determined. Those of the more southerly affluents, such as the Suei or Jur, etc., though not yet accurately fixed, have been sketched in by Junker, Marchand, etc., and the British officers in the Bahr El Ghazal since 1900.

(ii.)—GENERAL DESCRIPTION (DOWN STREAM).

Albert Nyanza to Khartoum, Bahr el Jebel.After leaving the Albert Nyanza, the White Nile (or as it is there called the Bahr El Jebel) flows for 110 miles in a deep broad arm, with scarcely any velocity or slope, past Wadelai and Dufile to Nimule, and then, after a short and troubled course, between high mountain ranges, tosses over the Fola Rapids in a channel only 50 yards broad. From here it continues in a torrent to about Rejaf. Here the river is 7 feet deep at low Nile and 15 feet at flood time, discharging between 18,000 to 60,000 cubic feet per second. The regulating effects of the great lakes are well felt here. It is here at its lowest in winter; begins to rise about 15th April, with a minimum about the end of August.

From Rejaf to Bor, 112 miles, the river is mainly in one channel with a rapid fall. From Bor to the junction with Lake No, 384 miles, the river meanders along in numerous marshy channels with a very gentle slope. The main channel always used is known as the Bahr El Jebel. In this reach are the dams of living vegetation, known as the “Sudd” (for description see [Appendix B]). On one stretch the true channel is still blocked with sudd, and a “false” channel, a little to the westwards, has to be used for about 20 miles.

Lake No.At the junction of the Bahr El Ghazal and the Nile in north lat. 9° 29′ is Lake No, or Moghren El Buhur,[20] a shallow expanse of water surrounded on all sides by reedy marsh and varying in size according to season, but in summer probably about 60 square miles. It forms a reservoir for the sluggish streams that drain the extensive plateau forming the water-shed between the Nile and Congo. In summer the lake and its swampy surroundings act as an evaporating basin, and the loss of water is consequently considerable. The waters here also become polluted with decaying green vegetable matter.

The Bahr El Ghazal enters Lake No at its western extremity, and the Bahr El Jebel passes through its eastern end. The Bahr El Ghazal has a feeble discharge and has no effect at any time on the volume of the White Nile.

In the stretch between Lake No and the Sobat, 81 miles, the current is slow and the channel occasionally blocked by sudd.

Sobat.During flood, the Sobat has a discharge nearly equal to that of the Bahr El Jebel above the junction. In the spring the discharge from the Sobat is feeble, and the river is then unnavigable. The soil brought down by the Sobat is light and friable.

White Nile.At the Sobat confluence the river changes its name[21] and now becomes the Bahr El Abiad or White Nile.

From this point down to Omdurman, 530 miles, it receives no more perennial affluents, but several large khors join it on the east bank between Kodok and Renk—chief of which are Khor Adar and Khor Rau.

The White Nile flows sluggishly along with a low velocity and gentle slope; its course is generally straight and its section wide and shallow, banks low, supply very constant; the colour and limpidity of its water show very little change throughout the year, and the variations between the level of high and low supply are very small, being not more than 2 to 6 feet. The depth of the river in this stretch ranges from 15 feet at low Nile to 21 feet in flood. In parts, the channel in flood time is often of immense width.

The result of 94 measurements made in June, 1862, show the mean width of the river in flood to be 1,870 yards. In many places, however, the channel is more than 2 miles wide, and in its general appearance it resembles a lake rather than a river. Its banks, more particularly the western shore, are very low, and its waters in flood spread for several miles over them. Their average height is not more than 8 to 10 feet above low water level, and the maximum difference between high and low supply is not more than 6 feet.

The river is at its lowest by the beginning or middle of April; the rainfall in the south then causes a constant and gradual rise, but the flood does not reach its maximum before the beginning of September.

The velocity of the current when in full flood is not more than 2½ to 3 miles an hour, whilst in winter this is reduced to 1½ miles an hour. The water is of an olive green or yellowish brown tinge. It owes most of its colour to the creamy-white waters of the Sobat River, called by the Arabs the Bahr El Asfar, or Yellow River.

Green water.An odd phenomenon, the source of which has not been satisfactorily explained, is the “green water,” which makes its appearance at Dueim about the middle of May. The colour is owing to the mass of minute algæ in the water, which subsequently putrify and stink, but the origin of the water has not been definitely traced. It is believed to come from the upper Sobat, or Bahr El Ghazal, and not from the Bahr El Jebel. This green water reaches Cairo towards the end of June.

Junction of the Niles at Khartoum.At Omdurman, half Nile usually occurs about the middle of July, high Nile at end of August or beginning of September, lasting about a month; half Nile end of November, lowest Nile end of April. The Blue Nile is at its lowest in May, and highest about the end of August. The result of careful measurements during the last 3 years has been to prove that when the Blue Nile is in flood, and generally when its discharge exceeds 5,000 metres cube per second, its waters hold back those of the White Nile and, owing to the increased depth in this river, due to the rise in the water levels, the volume coming from the south floods the Sudd marshes right and left of the channel and thus reduces the discharge of the White Nile by about 50 per cent.

The average difference between low and high Nile here is 22 feet (17½ to 26 feet).

Below Khartoum.The river below Khartoum flows steadily along till it reaches the 6th or Shabluka cataract (see [p. 47]). Below this it is not disturbed, except for the rapids of the so-called 5th or El Homar and Bagara cataracts, till it passes Abu Hamed and enters the 4th or Belal cataract some way below this point. This cataract, forming the most complicated and dangerous rapids on the Nile, is for ordinary purposes unnavigable (see [p. 36]). Below it there is an open stretch past Dongola to the 3rd or Hannek cataract, shortly followed by the Kajbar rapids (see [p. 26]). A rocky channel full of small islands and small rapids, increasing in size and importance as the river proceeds, is entered some 80 miles below Kajbar, and through the Batn El Hagar the river rumbles along till, after passing the 2nd or Amka cataract, it emerges past Halfa in a broad and steady stream which lasts till it arrives at the dam and 1st cataract (Shellal) of Aswan. From here onwards there are no further obstacles (except sand-banks and canals) till, viâ the Delta of Egypt, the Mediterranean Sea is gained.

(iii.)—RIVER DISCHARGES.

The following, taken from Sir W. Garstin’s Report above mentioned, gives a summary of results respecting discharges in the basin of the Upper Nile:—

1. The Victoria Nile.

The discharge at the Ripon Falls varies between 500 and 650 metres cube per second with a range of 1·1 metres. Downstream of the Murchison Falls the range is probably 1 metre, and the maximum and minimum discharges 1,000 and 400 metres cube per second respectively. The increase in flood is due to the rainfall throughout the catchment area of the river between these two points, while the decrease during the low season is due to the Choga Lake, which undoubtedly has a regulating effect upon the supply issuing from Lake Victoria. Lastly, the volume which enters Lake Albert by this river is generally, in flood, greater than that which leaves it by the Bahr El Jebel.

2. The Bahr El Jebel.

At Wadelai, the first discharge site, the range of the river is about 1·11 metres while the discharge varies from 550 to 950 metres cube per second. The increase brought in by the streams which feed this river between Lake Albert and Wadelai is compensated by the loss of water due to a portion of the discharge of the Victoria Nile passing south up the lake during the flood season.

At Lado, 381 kilometres, the range is 2·30 metres, and the discharge in summer averages from 600 to 700 metres cube per second. The maximum (generally attained in September) varies between 1,000 metres cube per second in a low flood, and 2,000 metres cube per second in a high one. This increase in the flood supply is due to the rainfall throughout the river valley, and to the volume added by the many important tributaries, such as the Asua, the Kit, etc., which feed the Bahr El Jebel between Wadelai and Lado.

At Bor, 559 kilometres, the loss of water in flood is some 50 per cent. of the amount passing Lado, and the discharge here can rarely, if ever, exceed 1,000 metres cube per second. This loss is due to the filling up of the entire river valley, which thus forms an immense basin or reservoir, and reduces the discharge passing to the north. This reservoir extends from Lado to the head of the Bahr El Zeraf, a distance of some 378 kilometres. As the river falls the water of this basin, with the exception of the large amount lost by evaporation, slowly filters back through the marshes into the river during the winter months, and thus maintains the constancy of supply.

Throughout the “Sudd” region the loss of water in the Bahr El Jebel, both in summer and in flood, is very considerable. By the time that Lake No (1,156 kilometres from Lake Albert, and 749 kilometres from Lado) is reached, 85 per cent. of the discharge at Lado has been lost in a high flood, and 70 per cent. in a low one. During the summer months the loss at this point varies between 50 and 60 per cent. Lastly, the discharge which enters the White Nile from the Bahr El Jebel is nearly constant at all seasons of the year, and never even in the highest flood exceeds 300 or 320 metres cube per second. The regulating effect of the great marshes is thus very apparent.

3. The Bahr El Ghazal.

The discharge of this river, as a feeder of the White Nile, may be neglected entirely. Its summer volume entering Lake No varies from 20 to 30 metres cube per second, while its flood discharge is even less, equalling from 12 to 20 metres cube per second. None of this water enters the White Nile, merely increasing the flooded area of Lake No. It, however, helps to augment the reservoir area of the main stream.

4. The Bahr El Zeraf.

This branch of the Bahr El Jebel adds to the volume of the White Nile by an amount varying from 30 to 60 metres cube per second in summer, and from 80 to 160 metres cube per second when in flood. If, however, the Bahr El Jebel is closed by “Sudd” then the discharge of the Bahr El Zaraf increases, possibly to from 300 to 400 metres cube per second during the flood season.

5. The Sobat.

This river is the main supply of the White Nile during the period of flood. The first effects of its waters are felt in May and June, while, as it does not reach its maximum until October and November, the volume of the Blue Nile having then been largely reduced, it maintains the discharge passing Khartoum to a very considerable figure. In years of good flood the discharge of the Sobat varies from 900 to 1,000 metres cube per second. In the early months of the year its discharge shrinks to very low limits, its waters being held back by those of the White Nile. When in flood the reverse is the case. The volume of the Sobat being at that time more than double that of the White Nile causes a rise in the levels of the latter upstream of the junction and holds back its water as far as Lake No.

6. The White Nile.

The discharge of this river below the Bahr El Zeraf junction varies from 300 to 500 metres cube per second according to the season of the year and the nature of the flood. It is probable that the last figure is a maximum and is never surpassed.[22] At El Dueim, 637 kilometres below the Sobat junction, the summer supply varies between 350 and 500 metres cube per second. The minimum levels are generally attained in the month of April and the first half of May. The discharge, owing to the Sobat water, gradually increases until the Blue Nile flood exceeds the volume of 5,000 metres cube per second at Khartoum. As soon as this figure is passed the discharge of the White Nile is reduced by an amount varying from 30 to 60 per cent., and this holding back continues until the Blue Nile falls again below the figure above given. This reduction of the White Nile discharge takes place in the months of August and September. As soon as the Blue Nile discharge has fallen below 5,000 metres cube per second that of the White Nile rises very rapidly, attaining its maximum in the months of November and December, when as much as from 1,500 to 1,700 metres cube per second have been recorded. This increased discharge is, of course, partly due to the Sobat, but also to the draining off of the water which has been ponded up for so long a period. It seems safe to assume that the White Nile discharge at Khartoum never under any circumstances exceeds 1,800 cubic metres per second.

To sum up:—The White Nile is at its lowest from March to May. It rises in June, is checked again in August and September, and attains its maximum during the months of November and December. Its limits in a low year are from 300 to 1,500 metres cube per second, and in one of high flood from 400 or 500 to 1,700 metres cube per second.[23]

7. The Blue Nile.

The supply of this river is chiefly derived from the drainage of the basin through which it runs and from the large tributaries which enter it downstream of the point where it issues from the Abyssinian hills. The Tsana lake has but a small influence upon its supply at any period of the year. It is at its lowest in May, when its discharge at times shrinks to nothing. It begins to rise in June and attains its maximum about the end of August. Its discharge in a year of good flood is as much as 10,000 metres cube per second, and it seems probable that in a year of exceptional flood 12,000 metres cube may pass Khartoum. In September it falls very rapidly, and during the winter months rarely discharges more than from 200 to 400 metres cube per second. The Khartoum gauges prove that a higher reading is recorded for a given flood discharge when the river is falling than is the case when the river is rising. This is probably due to the filling of the valley between Khartoum and the Shabluka Pass.

8. The Atbara.

The first water from this river reaches the Nile in the last week of June, and the maximum is usually reached in the last days of August, or in the first week of September. The Atbara generally attains its maximum before the full flood from Khartoum has arrived at the junction of the two rivers. After the maximum has been reached, the fall of the Atbara is rapid, and by the end of the year the river reverts to its summer state of a series of pools. The maximum discharge of the Atbara, measured in 1903, was 3,088 metres cube per second, but this is probably surpassed in a year of very high flood.

9. The Nile north of Khartoum.

The discharges of 1903 record a maximum of 10,500 metres cube per second in an average year. If to this be added the volume of the Atbara, a total of nearly 14,000 cubic metres per second is reached. As in 1903 the levels at both Halfa and at Cairo did not pass those of a very ordinary flood supply, it would seem probable that in very high flood a volume of quite 16,000 metres cube per second must pass Berber.

In conclusion it may be stated with confidence that the White Nile contributes practically nothing to the flood which reaches Egypt. This is entirely derived from the Blue Nile and from the Atbara. On the other hand, the supply passing Aswan during the spring and early summer is due, almost entirely, to the water of the great lakes brought down by the White Nile.

The following are the water-slopes of the two rivers, as worked out from the discharges:—

Bahr El Jebel—
At Wadelai127000dry season.
At Bor112100flood season.
At 830 kilometres from Lake Albert122500flood season.
At Hellet-el-Nuer140000flood season.
At „ „ 116500dry season.
At Lake No187500flood season.
At „ 154000dry season.
White Nile—
Above Sobat120000dry season.
At Dueim1100000when Blue Nile has fallen and the While Nileis at its maximum.
At Dueim150000dry season.
Blue Nile
At Khartoum111200flood season.
(See also footnote on [p. 111,] giving a short table of comparativedischarges.)

(iv.)—NAVIGABILITY (UP STREAM).

Between Halfa and Khartoum (880 miles) the river may be said to be navigable throughout at high Nile.

Details are given below as to the various cataracts to be encountered, but it may be broadly said that, although difficult, it is not impossible to get boats and steamers through in the time of the flood. At low Nile most, if not all, of the cataracts are unnavigable.

Before the Nile Expedition of 1884-85 steamers and boats were taken over the 2nd cataract. During the expedition both were taken over the 3rd cataract and intervening rapids, and boats (whalers) successfully surmounted the 4th cataract. In 1897 gunboats and other steamers were hauled over the latter place, and the rocks of the 5th and 6th cataracts have never, when there was enough water, offered serious resistance to the passage of boats or steamers.

From Khartoum to Gondokoro, practically 1,100 miles, the only obstacles to navigation at any time of the year are:—

2. Fuel.—One of the great economic questions of the Sudan which would give rise to anxiety were not the Nile-Red Sea Railway already in course of construction is the future supply of fuel. Imported coal now costs £E.4 to £E.6 per ton, and petroleum £6 to £E.11·500 per ton at Khartoum. Though a bed of lignitic coal has been discovered at Dongola, no other coal, nor even lignite, has so far been located within our boundaries. Wood therefore, is and will for some time remain the chief source of fuel supply. The large demand which arose with the development of Khartoum has caused the destruction of forest belts along the White and Blue Niles to a considerable distance from Khartoum, and although the Forest Department has now control of the fellings, the enormous demand is making inroads into the forests from which subsequent fires preclude recovery.

Wood stations for steamers are established at different points along the banks, at distances usually sufficiently near to obviate steamers taking too heavy a load, but there is a long gap between Khor Attar wood station and Kanisa (about 380 miles), which necessitates steamers carrying a large amount of firewood to enable them to cross the sudd region. As there is a heavy tax on the forests at these wood stations, the fellings are getting farther and farther away from the bank, and tramways are necessary to work the more remote portions of the forest.

3. The Sudd.—A full description of the formation of and methods of dealing with the sudd are given in [Appendix B.] The Nile was blocked by the sudd from 1870-4, 1878-81, in 1884, and from 1895 to 1900.

The Nile, before it flows into Lake No, appears to be a channel varying from 100 yards to a mile in width, but, from the masthead of a steamer, it would be seen that there is a sea of papyrus grass, bulrushes, and reeds on either side of this water channel, and that the real banks of the river are 4, 8, or even 12 miles distant on either side. Under all this vegetation is water, which is slowly making its way down to fill up the void caused by the absorption of the water by plants and sun. The matted vegetation which floats on the top of the water is so thick that it is possible to walk on it; and, were it not for this covering, the evaporation over such a vast area would greatly diminish the supply of water to Lower Egypt.

A considerable part of the Nuer tribe actually live on the floating mass of vegetation, fish and the stalks of a water-lily forming their only food. The surface of the water is covered by a dense tangled mass of papyrus, ambach, and other water plants, which in places grow to a height of from 15 to 30 feet.

At the rise and fall of the Nile, quantities of the grass get torn away and float down stream. If the season is unusually wet, the stream increases in bulk and rapidity, and innumerable large masses of the grass, hurried and packed by the wind, are sent floating down; these jamb in the channels and form the sudd blocks.

The channel of the river is very tortuous; at Lake No, for instance, where the Bahr El Ghazal flows into the Nile, there is a sharp turn to the east. If the water contributed simultaneously by the Bahr El Ghazal happens to be insignificant and incapable of sweeping away the floating masses, a block is the result at this point.

4. Sandbanks.—They are not as a rule any considerable obstacle, but are, of course, more troublesome at low than at high Nile, and shift about every year.

Steamers with no encumbrances, and with fuel ready cut for them to pick up, take about 12 days up stream from Khartoum to Gondokoro, and about 8 days down stream. (Record journey in 1903: 11 days up and 7 down).

The navigation up to the mouth of the Sobat is at all times easy, the Abu Zeid Ford and occasional rocks and sandbanks forming the only difficulties. The deepest channels lie usually towards the east bank. From the Sobat to Gondokoro a perfect and recent knowledge of the route is required, in order not to deviate into any of the lateral branches which are frequently met with, and which, varying from year to year, are chiefly in evidence during and after the rainy season.

There are also many sandbanks on this stretch. Between Gondokoro and Rejaf the river is rather difficult when low on account of shifting sandbanks and islands. There are a few rocks, but not dangerous, except at one point.

Between Rejaf and Bedden there is the same difficulty of shifting sandbanks and sunken rocks, which are, however, isolated and few in number, and might be blasted away. The current here is about 1½ miles an hour. At Bedden there is a bad rapid necessitating a transhipment; but from there boats can go to Kiri.

From Kiri to Labore there are awkward rapids, but the river might be utilised to a great extent. The river continues of much the same character till the junction of the Asua, when the rapids become more serious, terminating in the Fola Rapids.

The last 15 miles before reaching Nimule are quite impassable to any steamers or boats.

From here on, the river is free of any obstacles up to Lake Albert.

Between Dufile and Lake Albert the Nile is very sluggish, and papyrus islands abound in it. Breadth of channel varies.

Boats and Steamers.

The usual Nile boats are the “Nugger” and “Gayassa,” varying in capacity from 5 to 400 ardebs. The latter solidly built, with high bows, and free board, and lateen-rigged, is the Egyptian boat, whilst the former, which is found from the 2nd cataract southward, is flat, with low free board, and is roughly though solidly built without ribs. Rafts, canoes, inflated waterskins and water-tight pots are also used for individual navigation. Further up stream “dugouts” and ambach canoes are seen. Of steamers there are 10 gunboats, 21 other steamers, and 6 launches on the river, mostly stern-wheel; a few are screw, and one or two paddle. (Vide [Chap. X,] Part I.)

Landing Places.

From Halfa to Khartoum and from Khartoum up to Goz Abu Guma it is possible to land almost anywhere on either bank. From there up to Kodok, owing to the broad reed fringe on either bank, landing is difficult except at the following places, viz.:—Jebelein, Um Ashrin, Karshawal, Renk, Meshra Leungtom or Domaia, Meshra Zeraf, Meshra Rom, Kaka, Kaka Wood Station, Melut and Demtemma. All these, except Kaka and Um Ashrin, are on the right bank.

As Gordon states, in the stretch between Kodok and 100 miles north of it, “People do land, but it is over your knees in the rainy season,” and even if a landing is effected, progress inland is always liable to be arrested by wide and deep khors which are really branches or overspills from the main stream: these obstacles are encountered even in the dry season.

There are easy landing places in many spots between Kodok and Lake No, then nothing except Hellet Nuer, Shambe, Abu Kuka, and Kanisa for 360 miles till Bor; south of Bor the best known ones are at Kiro, Lado, Mongalla, Gondokoro and Rejaf, though elsewhere a landing can generally be effected, especially on the left bank of the western channel, which leaves the main river near N. Lat. 5° 30′. Above Rejaf one can land anywhere up to the Fola Rapids. Between Dufile and Magunga (on Lake Albert) there are five landing places.

(v.)—CLIMATE.

The rains on the Upper Nile in the equatorial regions from the Albert Nyanza to the Bahr El Ghazal last from February or March to October or the middle of November.

As one proceeds northwards the heavy rains come later; the “Kherif,” or rainy season, in the neighbourhood of Kodok, lasts, as a rule, from the middle of May to the end of October, whilst at Khartoum it may be said to be during July, August, and September. At Halfa there is no rainy season.

At Gondokoro the hot weather commences middle of November and lasts till the end of March.

Colonel Stewart states (1883):—“The rains are very heavy, lasting 10 to 12 hours at a time. From Gondokoro south to the Equator, rainy seasons increase in length, till on the Equator it may be said that rain and sunshine succeed each other in rapid succession all the year round.”

Heavy thunderstorms and rains occur at intervals during the rest of the year, especially from October to January in the hilly regions round Rejaf and the Sudd district to the north of it.

Winds.

During late autumn winds are very variable, blowing from all points of the compass. East and south-east winds at this period predominate, especially in the upper reaches. During the rest of the year the north wind, varying from north-west to north-east, is fairly constant, except during the summer rains, when the wind shifts to the south and south-east.

Temperature.

The average maximum and minimum shade temperatures on the Upper Nile during the hot months are 99° and 85° respectively, and during the rest of the year 88° and 74°. Between Khartoum and Halfa the maximum average is a good deal higher, and the minimum rather lower.

In the Sudd region and south the maximum averages about 85°, but, owing to the dampness of the district, from April to December fevers are rife, and the heat and mosquitos are difficult to bear with equanimity.