Game.See under “Country between Blue Nile and Rahad,” [p. 109.]
Tributaries of Blue Nile.With the exception of the Dinder and the Rahad, there are in the Sudan no other important affluents of the Blue Nile, with the exception of perhaps the Khor Tomat, which joins the main stream near Famaka. This is dry, except during and shortly after the rainy season. Water, however, is easily obtained by digging in its bed.
Dinder. General.The River Dinder rises in the Abyssinian mountains to the south-west of Dunkur, and after flowing for about 50 miles through very mountainous country it enters the plains of the Sudan and flows for about 200 miles in a north-westerly direction until it joins the Blue Nile (right bank) about 40 miles above the town of Wad Medani.
Bed.Its bed near Dunkur, where it leaves the mountains, is rocky and stony, and about 100 yards wide. It was here found (June, 1901) to be 3 feet deep, with a rapid current, and for several months in the rainy season it must be difficult to ford.
Throughout its course in the Sudan its bed, which is sandy and free from rocks a few miles below where it crosses the frontier, is much less winding than that of the Rahad and rarely exceeds 200 yards in width. Its tendency is to become narrower in its lower reaches, and at its mouth it is not more than 120 yards wide.
Upstream of the old site of El Haj the river is wider and shallower and banks lower than in the inhabited area. Even in the old days there were few or no permanent villages above El Haj, but only temporary grazing encampments.
Banks.Its banks are steep and generally about 15 feet high. They are, as a rule, rather higher than the adjacent country, which, when the river is full, becomes flooded and marshy. These marshes were formerly extensively planted with cotton, which is said to have been of good quality; its cultivation is now being encouraged as far as the limited population admits.
Forests.The forests along the banks of the Dinder are of better quality and less dense than those of the Rahad; sunt, kakamut, haraz, sidr, hashab, talh, babanus, etc., are plentiful.
Navigability.The Dinder has been navigated by steamer as far up-stream as Deberki, about 120 miles from its mouth. Large sailing boats ascend it as far as El Safra. Of course, this is only possible whilst the river is in flood during, perhaps, three months in the year, and owing to the wooded banks and southerly wind it is very difficult for sailing boats. In the dry season water stands in pools. There is little doubt, however, that like the Rahad it is navigable in flood to the Abyssinian border.
Flood.The flood arrives at the junction with the Blue Nile about the last week in June. This is rather earlier than the Rahad flood, owing to the later commencement of the rains in Northern Abyssinia, and possibly partly due to the Dinder not being so excessively tortuous as the Rahad. Both Dinder and Rahad bring down large quantities of fertilising matter.