Water is of good quality, especially at Abu Deleig.
Inhabitants.From Goz Regeb to Hawad, Shukria; round Abu Deleig, Batahin; at Ladda, Ababda and Hassania.
Grazing.Very good grazing from Sheg to Shendi.
Cultivation.Large tracts and areas capable of growing good crops of dura if rains favourable.
Game.Nothing to shoot between Atbara and the Nile at this time of the year.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Atbara | — | — | Descending the bank by the hut on the E.bank the Atbara is crossed and the W. bank ascended ¼ mile S. |
| Elsewhere the banks are steep, but thebush is not very dense. Track leads to Goz Regeb. The ruined brickbuildings of the old Egyptian town are still standing, and amongstthem the decayed tukls of Osman Digna. A very few inhabitants,descendants of the ancient town of Goz are living there still. Thesite is on high ground, and light sandy soil, a few dom palms, andthe remains of an old garden and cemetery are still visible. | |||
| Goz Regeb | 1 | 1 | Counting from huts onthe E. bank, the distance to the town is 1 mile. The directiontaken, about 260° from the true north, leaves the town of Goz Regebon the N., and passes from sandy undulating ground to level richsoil with very little grass and trees, getting scarcer through ElUera district, leaving the two hills of El Darei on the north side;at about 9 miles the direction taken leads straight to Bewadda.Under the hills of El Darei are bushes and grass. |
| Bewadda | 15½ | 16½ | |
| Bearing from Bewadda to Sabaat 162°,Erembat 81°, Takallaareid 343°. Bewadda is a granite rock in themiddle of a bare tract. | |||
| At 20 miles a ridge about ¼ mile long,quite low, stands 1 mile to the N.; hence the ground is perfectlybare till about 50 miles. Wadis coming from south begin to empty onthe plain, then the going becomes bad in places, especially in thecracked soil near the Wadis. Grass gets more plentiful. | |||
| At 51 miles Wadi Royan is crossed, andshortly after Wadi El Doleb and Wadi Sangareh; dura is grown aboutthese wadis. | |||
| J. Ikhbeit | 36 | 52½ | Bearing to J. Ikhbeit 209°. |
| The broad Wadi El Abil is crossed at 59miles; there are bushes and firewood in it. Four miles further onthe ground becomes stony after crossing Wadi Wad Masuga, and risesgentle slope of stony ridge. | |||
| Shag El Walia | 13½ | 66 | Shag El Walia isreached after crossing a second ridge. It is generally calledsimply Shag, no connection with Sheikh. Four wells in use out of14; 120 feet deep, water constant; 200 camels could be watereddaily. A badly defined track leads over a valley with rich soilacross Wadi Baseyayi, then gently up another stony ridge andplateau down to Geleita where are 7 wells in use altogether, about120 feet deep, water constant. There are several wells unopened. Agood many flocks and inhabitants. |
| Geleita | 14½ | 80½ | |
| Isna Bir | 17½ | 98 | Leaving the main group of wells, a trackis followed down bed of khor to the foot of the ridge in N.W.direction, fairly free from stones, past two wells at ¾ mile, andone well at 1¼ miles. The track disappears and rich soil andpasture land is crossed to Isna Bir, where there are 2 wells givinga scanty supply of water, and a few people (Batahin); a few patchesof corn were noticed on the way. |
| Abu Deleig | 25 | 123 | Hence the direction taken is nearly W.,crossing a very fertile tract of country; many water tanks, nowdry, then over the rich land of Hawad, and rising a gentle slopetouches the Khor Girgegi, which waters the Hawad, about 1 mileshort of Abu Deleig. |
| Good shade all round. Large number ofwells. | |||
| 2 | 125 | The best place for asmall party is 2 miles higher up the Girgegi. A well defined track,starting N.W. across Wadi Shilha and leads over good pasture landwith many mimosa trees and sandy soil to Ladda. A large tank hewnout of the rock in the middle of a grass plain. Plenty of water,1/4/00, diameter about 100 feet, depth in middle 5 feet, said tolast all the year. Many flocks; Ababda and Hassania tribes. Tomb ofAtali close to the tank. The track leads past several stony ridgesand sandy soil, across 3 or 4 khors, notably Fehed, and is lostabout 7 miles from Shendi, which is reached descending a long verygradual slope from the high plateau at the foot of J. Girenat andNeheidat. Distance taken to Gubba Shendi. | |
| Ladda | 20 | 145 | |
| Shendi | 41 | 186 | |
16.—EL DAMER to FASHER (ATBARA).
By Major Bulkeley Johnson, Scots Greys, October, 1901.
General Remarks. Road.From El Damer to Goz Regeb the road is stony and sandy, with open desert or open bush. Going: good for horses in open formation but slightly heavy; for artillery, heavy, with a strain on the horses the whole journey. I should suggest some form of detachable broad sand tyre to prevent sinking of the wheels, as suggested in Journal of Artillery Institute, of, I think, September, 1901.
From Goz Regeb to Sofi the road is a single track through long grass on a high plateau, 2 or 3 miles from river, which is difficult of access owing to broken ground gradually sloping to river, which is cut up by innumerable khors, water courses, and bush.