Water.Is very scarce. All the khors are now (December) dry, but water can be obtained from holes scraped in the bed. The supply is rapidly decreasing, and in two or three places where water was obtainable on our way out to Gezan, no water could be obtained on our way back, only three days later.
Between the Khor Sumba and the Khor Karri, however, water appears to be plentiful, and in the Khor Tumat itself there seems to be an ample supply just below the surface.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Fazogli, Mek’s House | — | — | The road leaves the village in asoutherly direction and runs straight to the foot of J. Fazogli, onreaching which it follows the S.E. spur, but without ascending it.At first it runs through patches of cultivation, but after about ½mile this gives place to thin bush. The road is for the most partgood, except where it crosses numerous small khors, tributaries ofthe Khor Akluli, which also follows the foot of the ridge, as arule between the road and the high ground. The ascent on the rightof the road is very steep, and the hill side consists of bouldersand loose stones and is covered with scrub. |
| Kukuru | 6¾ | 6¾ | Whilst still W. of J. Kukuru, a few tuklsare passed, and shortly afterwards the road bends eastwards andenters the village of Kukuru, which consists of some 50 or 60tukls. There is a considerable amount of cultivation here, but mostof it lies S. of the khor on the Kira road. At the end of December,1899, water was only obtainable from holes in the bed of the khor,and appears to be very bad and scarce. |
| After crossing the khor the road runsstraight through the bush to J. Taza, and thence to Khor Baba. Upto J. Taza the surrounding country is flat and the bush thick, andnothing can be seen from the road, except an occasional glimpse ofa distant hill. A very small quantity of water was obtained bydigging in the bed of the Khor Daru on the 24th December,1899, but four days later on returning this had dried up. | |||
| Beyond J. Taza the country is moreundulating, but still covered with bush, and for the last ½ milebefore Khor Baba it is somewhat rough. | |||
| Khor Baba | 8¾ | 15½ | Camped here 25thDecember, 1899. A tributary of the Khor Tumat about 25 yards broadwhere crossed by the road. Good water obtainable, but gettingscarce now. Road beyond somewhat rough and uneven, which is causedby the spurs of J. Agaro, &c., all of which hills are left onright. Bush, with no traces of water, until Khor Sumba is reached,but J. Agaro is inhabited by Jebelawin. |
| J. Agaro | 4½ | 20 | |
| Khor Sumba | 5 | 25 | Crossed three times in the space of about½ mile. Probably due to an S curve in the river and not threedistinct channels. Breadth of each about 35 yards, but extremelyshallow. Banks very fertile and a good deal of cultivation,principally dura. Good water obtainable here. |
| Khor Tumat | 1 | 26 | Road just enters khor, where it is joinedby Khor Kari, but leaves it again without crossing it. Khor about60 yards broad here. No water visible, but could probably beobtained by digging, as there is any quantity just below thesurface about 5 miles further south. From here to the Khor El Dahab(Adaba), trees are bigger and water evidently more plentiful, withmany traces of all sorts of game. |
| Khor El Dahab | 2¾ | 28¾ | Crossed by the road about ½ mile from itsjunction with the Khor Tumat. Water obtainable at present, but verylittle and bad. Road crosses east of J. Farbau, passing over someof the low spurs; ground broken and stony. All traces of water nowdisappear and the ordinary bush begins again. Numerous small khorsare crossed, but all completely dry. J. Gumbûk is left to the E.,and about 1 mile further on signs of water are again visible andcultivation recommences, also two or three tukls. Henceforwardcultivation is continuous, and about ¾ mile further on at some moretukls the road turns abruptly to the right and runs straight downto the Khor Tumat. |
| Gezan (Water pool in KhorTumat) | 8 | 36¾ | Camp here in bed of khor 26th December,1899. Water good and plentiful but below surface. |
| Milk and other supplies only obtainedwith great difficulty. | |||
39.—GEZAN to KURMUK, viâ SUDE and M’NZILA.
By Major Gwynn, D.S.O., R.E.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Khor Tumat | — | — | Track passes underthe northern foot of J. Gezan. Before reaching J. Sude, water isfound in Khor Durin and Khor Gaza. A certain amount of gold washingis carried on in both these water courses. |
| J. Ghezan | 3 | 3 | |
| J. Sude | 12 | 15 | Sude was the site of an old EgyptianMamuria. The present Mek is a Berta and very few of the nativesknow Arabic. There is a good deal of cultivation and plenty ofwater is obtainable. |
| M’Nzila | 8½ | 23½ | M’Nzila is a large scattered village tothe south, and south of J. M’Nzila a great deal of ground is undercultivation. The leading men, most of whom are Jaalin whoestablished themselves there in the Dervish time, are prosperous.Road from Sude to M’Nzila very rough and bad, good water in theKhor Goga near its source. |
| From M’Nzila there is a fair, though veryhilly, road leading west over the north shoulder of J. M’Nzila andsouth of J. Tone. A very deep ravine runs along the south side ofJ. M’Nzila into the valley between Dul and Kurmuk. | |||
| The descent into the valley just north ofJ. Tone is very steep. | |||
| Sh. Adingam’s Village | 5½ | 29 | At the bottom of the valley is Sh.Adingam’s village, where there is a good water supply. |
| Crossing the valley to J. Kurmuk severalgold washings are passed near the foot of J. Dish. | |||
| The Kurmuk village is very small andthere is little cultivation. | |||
| The road from Sh. Adingam’s is very badand stony till clear of the hills. Then there is flat, thicklywooded country. | |||
40.—GULE to RENK.
By Captain H. H. S. Morant, February, 1902.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Gule (Rest house) | — | — | The track to Renk leaves Gule in aneasterly direction and for the first mile traverses cultivation,two small Selim Arab encampments are passed on the right hand;thick forest at once begins, composed chiefly of 30 feet high talh,hashab, nagba, kadad, soffar, &c., and there is a large amountof the (to camels) deadly poisonous hekabit. At this time of yearthe grass and undergrowth is burnt, but the trees are sothick[23] that they prohibit marching at night unlesswith a good moon. Riding a horse or mule one is far lessinconvenienced than if on a camel. There are fairly frequent openspaces suitable for camping grounds. |
| 21 | 21 | The dense forest ceases and more or lessscattered and much lower bush takes its place. | |
| 5 | 26 | The country through which the track leadsbecomes practically open. | |
| 1½ | 27½ | A broad, ill-defined depression, probablya marsh in rains. | |
| 5 | 32½ | Tall and rather close kittr commencesinterfering somewhat with progress. | |
| 2½ | 35 | The tall kittr ceases and country becomesopen. | |
| Khor Deleib or El Sunt | 2 | 37 | A khor, 15 yards wide and 10 feet deep iscrossed, also known as Deleib. |
| 1 | 38 | Kittr bush commences and continues forabout 2 miles, not very dense. | |
| 4½ | 42½ | Dense tall kittr commences, considerablyretarding progress, and lasts for 2½ miles. | |
| 2½ | 45 | Country becomes open and cultivation ispassed on left. | |
| 1 | 46 | Sheikh Bakhit’s (Dinka) rain village ispassed and the road now runs along the side of a low, sandy ridgedotted with heglig trees, cultivation, and several Dinkavillages. | |
| 1 | 47 | Dinka village on right. | |
| 1 | 48 | Dinka village on left. | |
| Khor Deleib or El Sunt | 4½ | 52½ | Khor El Sunt is recrossed in twobranches. |
| Sheikh’s village | ½ | 53 | Sheikh Aweir Wad El Rung head Sheikh atRenk. |
| Village | 1½ | 54½ | Village. |
| Meshra Renk | 1 | 55½ | Inspector’s and police houses on bank ofWhite Nile. Headquarters of District. P.T.O. |