By Major Stanton, October, 1898—Additions by Lieutenant-Colonel Sparkes, C.M.G., March, 1899.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| — | — | On entering the Bahr el Zeraf, thecurrent is strong[25]—3 miles an hour—the depth 20 feet, andchannel narrow at first; opens out from 30 yards to 80 yards acouple of miles up. Water is clear, and of a dark brown tinge.Jebel el Zeraf lies away to the south-east on R. bank 5 miles off;there are four distinct hills, all of volcanic rock, covered withbush. A broad open plain, marsh near the river, extends to the footof these hills R., while L. is wooded and scrub—open plain behind;here hippopotami, elephant, giraffe, water-buck, and reed-buck havebeen seen. | |
| 5½ | 5½ | Grass plain both banks, with a little lowscrub L. From here on to 30, flat marshy plain both banks. | |
| 24½ | 30 | Wood obtainable; some large trees L.bank, dry marsh R. | |
| 5 | 35 | Bush commences both banks; river bendsbackwards and forwards, banks wet and marshy, and landingdifficult. This continues till 60. | |
| 10 | 45 | Dry place L. | |
| 15 | 60 | Large open maya L. Water runs inland somedistance. River continues to make loops and bends; channel 80 to100 yards broad. | |
| 10 | 70 | Scrub ceases both banks, boundless marshextending to horizon opens up; several large sheets of open waterare passed. | |
| 8 | 78 | Farthest point reached by Major Peake,5.10.98. Egyptian flag hoisted L. 14¾ hours’ steam from mouth ofriver. River 80 yards wide; current 2 miles per hour. | |
| Kuchuk Ali (?) | 2 | 80 | River bends about a great deal; some ofthe curves are very sharp; patches of open water each side atintervals; open marsh both sides with 3 to 4 feet of water. Twentyhours’ steam from mouth. |
| 2 | 82 | Solitary small Dom palm passed on R. | |
| 3 | 85 | Clump of thick small trees R. in 3 feetof water close to channel; thousands of divers build in these trees(October, 1898). Wood for steamers could be cut here, but with somedifficulty, unless the water falls; scrub begins first beyond hereon L. bank. R. continues open. | |
| 12 | 97 | Large sheet of open water or maya about 1mile away R.; bush on horizon beyond. | |
| 3 | 100 | Low scrub ½ mile away R. Big trees onhorizon west L. | |
| Gauer (?) | 10 | 110 | Scattered Nuer houses seen on horizon 6miles away L.; village 2 miles farther on under trees believed tobe village of Gauer. Open plain R. Small clump of trees in water at107, where wood could be obtained if necessary. Shallows sometimesto 4 feet; generally 10 feet. |
| 10 | 120 | Trees close to channel L.; open patchesof water. | |
| 2 | 122 | Maya and stream comes in L.; this leavesthe proper channel at 130 higher up, and cuts across a cornerdirect. | |
| 5 | 127 | Thick trees L. and clump of trees R., allin water (October); sharp turn west. | |
| 3 | 130 | Channel turns again S. Maya and streamcome in L. Solitary palm visible S. R. bank open marsh, bush endsL. | |
| 5 | 135 | Solitary Dom palm passed on edge ofchannel L., marsh both banks, trees and scrub begin again L. | |
| 5 | 140 | River bends west. Dom palms visiblewest. | |
| 4 | 144 | Sparkes’ farthest point in steamer:aground. | |
| Kuchuk Ali | 4 | 148 | “Lotus” River comes in R.; channel 50yards, covered with large “Lotus Nymphæ.” Good wood station herejust inside the mouth of “Lotus” River, where dry land can bereached by steamer. Wood extends back in water for 2 or 3 miles,but sufficient can be cut on dry ground. This is the last placewhere steamers can wood, as all other wood seen, being either Domor Deleib palm, is useless for fuel. “Lotus” River dried up inMarch. |
| Zeraf turns west towards thick Dom palms; openwater seen N.W. From here on the channel goes through numerouslagoons; the water appears slightly discoloured by mud; the streamincreases in strength, and the channel in width. | |||
| 3 | 151 | Sharp bend S.; large volume of waterflows out of channel into marsh N., and makes open mayas seen about1 to 1½ miles away. Dom palms, close to river, dry ground 1 milefarther on L., thick Dom palms; channel 100 to 150 yards broad,numerous lagoons. Scrub and wood 1 mile away R. | |
| Kuek | 8 | 159 | Small village on edge of lagoons, largerone behind under Dom palms, known as Kuek; natives Dinkas, andfriendly. Egyptian flag left here with them; natives frightened bysteamer, but reassured afterwards. After passing their village theregular channel gets lost as it flows to the west of clump of Dombehind Kuek, where it gets blocked by sudd, the water finding itsway through the marsh and lagoons. The “Abu Klea” continued(October, 1898) in a southerly direction, and after crossing alagoon 11 feet deep, which shallowed down to 4 feet, the mainchannel again struck, 18 feet deep. |
| Wayo | — | — | Wayo village, Nuers, Sheikh Atar, closeby. No Dinkas round this way. Left here by a narrow passage throughthe reeds, and joined what is evidently the main river, 80 to 100yards broad and very deep channel. It comes in from other side ofvillages, and natives say it is blocked by sudd lower down. Thischannel through which neither steamer or gyassa could get isevidently that mentioned by Peake, between 150 and 160 miles, whichhe went through, and which was only 5 feet deep. It is now justover 2 feet deep. |
| Mogren el Buhur Zeraf | 3 | 161 | Junction of the rivers Zeraf. One channelcomes in from S.E., which ends 6 miles up in a large open lake 9feet deep, and with numerous villages scattered about on bits ofdry ground surrounded by a sea of marsh and sudd. |
| The Bahr el Jebel is stated to be only afew hours in a canoe (about 6) through the reeds in westerlydirection. It is stated to be blocked N. of this point. | |||
| The second channel comes in from asoutherly direction going up-stream, after bending a good deal,passes an old tree like an English elm near two small villages, andflows close by large village of Ajiung. Nuer tribe here; SultanDiu, the head of the Nuers in this locality, resides here. Largeclump of Deleib palms, 500 yards from channel. | |||
| Ajiung Lake | 14 | 175 | Ajiung village R. Large village underDeleib palms. Lat. 7° 48′ N. (approximate). Large straggling lake;sudd S., S.W., and S.E. |
| 13 | 188[26] | Channel goes on another 13 miles, thenends in 3 feet of water on large sudd-covered lake. A large mayagoes off N.E., which is declared closed about 5 miles up; thiswater probably forms the River “Lotus” farther down. If it isintended to go from the Bahr el Zeraf to the Bahr el Jebel, nativesshould be got from Ajiung to direct the course, which lies entirelythrough patches of sudd and open water. The direction marked on themap should be somewhat more towards the north. The channel atAjiung, which is broad and deep, soon narrows, and current becomesless as the head is reached, clearly showing that a great deal ofthe water in the channel at Ajiung flows through the reeds andsudd, where the depth appears to be about 4 feet. The whole countryS. and S.W. of Ajiung appears to be one vast sudd-covered lagoonthrough which the waters forming the Bahr el Zeraf flow until themain channel is formed; pieces of sudd measuring 40 yards by 30were met after a severe storm in the western branch. Such pieces ofsudd are liable at any time to block the present channel and causea fresh one to open out. | |
[24]Vide also [Route 134,] Goré to Abwong, Appendix.
[25]Even in March.
[26]Major G. E. Matthews steamed up about 30 miles beyond this point in August, 1904, but was then stopped by sudd.
CHAPTER VII.
(BAHR EL GHAZAL.)