By Lieutenant Fell, R.N., April, 1904.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Chak Chak | — | — | Track lies nearly dueS. Very good going along broad road to village of Baraguei, on khorof same name; thence through straggling village to house of SheikhLimliffo (Kreich), 1 mile from river. Thence through forest tosmall Shat village, Sheikh Ramadan on Khor Mwelli. Road difficultto follow owing to numerous elephant roads. |
| Khor Baraguei | 6 | 6 | |
| Sheikh Limliffo (Resthouse) | 3 | 9 | |
| Khor Mwelli, Sheikh Ramadan(Rest house) | 20 | 29 | Good water in khor, but not very much ofit (April, 1904). |
| 5 | 34 | From here, track is better defined andlies through forest to rocky khor. Rain pools in rocks. Small hillto E. | |
| Khor Kobshum (Rest house) | 6½ | 40½ | Good going to Khor Kobshum. Water inlarge pool and again in several pools half hour further on, 1 mileW. of rocky hill with another hill further to the E. |
| Khor Kobshum (Rest house) | 1½ | 42 | From Kobshum, throughforest, to Khor Klippi. Road crosses this khor —no water, butstrikes it again after 1 mile. Water in pool. Thence throughundulating forest country, crossing many khors to Khor Agok, plentyof water, track difficult to follow owing to many elephant and gameroads. From Khor Agok, road crosses many khors, but none at present(April 13) holding water. |
| Khor Klippi | 3½ | 45½ | |
| Khor Agok (Rest house) | 8 | 53½ | |
| River Chel (Rest house) | 8 | 61½ | River 100 yards wide.W. bank steep and high. Plenty of water in pools above and belowthe road; leaving Chel river track passes through slightly moreopen country to 2 pools with plenty of water, 1 mile apart. |
| Pools in forest | 2½ | 64 | |
| River Biri (Rest house) | 11 | 75 | Thence through thick forest over highground, passing small rocky Jebel to E. of track to River Biri.Plenty of water. |
| Thence track is never far from bank ofriver. Bad going for animals. | |||
| River Biri | 7 | 87 | Road joins Kossinga road at Biri River, 5miles from Deim Zubeir. |
| Deim Zubeir | 5 | 92 | |
58.—DEIM ZUBEIR to KOSSINGA.
By Major W. A. Boulnois, 8th May, 1901.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Deim Zubeir | — | — | A track is followedN.N.W. down a spur of the ridge to River Biri, which is crossed atsome rocks in a shallow at a sharp bend, between two deep pools.Stream about 1 mile an hour (23.3.01); granite boulders in thebed—trees overhanging the banks. Banks 15 feet high, and steep,except at crossing; 40 yards bank to bank; very pretty scenery.Thence through forests, free from shrubs. Five and a-half miles onfrom the rocky spur Tuambu, a view of Hill Tokingaran about 6 milesW.N.W. is obtained; the track to Boko, where Zemio has an outpost,runs close under this hill. |
| Biri River | 5½ | 5½ | |
| Half a mile further the huts of SheikhMattar (Kreich) are passed, and many deleib palms stud the countryside. The district and a hill N.E. about 10 miles are calledDeleib. | |||
| Khor Jangwi | 8½ | 14 | Khor Jangwi is crossed running E. to Biririver, a small deep khor about 20 feet broad with pools; a grove ofdeleibs marks a good pool and camping site. |
| Khor Rogoko | 4½ | 18½ | Thick forest to poolRogoko, where there is a deserted village, thence no track throughforest past Odagombo, where there is always water, running east toBiri; ruins of village on N. side, and cross Khors Aparipi andAchon to River Sopo. Thick bushes on the edge of the bank impedethe crossing; 70 to 80 yards broad; granite bed in places. It iscrossed at a regular floor of granite rocks, stretching 200 yardsdown the river and damming the stream at low water, thus making afine pool above; deep drains and khors running down to the riverfrom gradually sloping ridges, on either bank. |
| Khor Odagombo | 5½ | 24 | |
| Sopo River | 19 | 43 | |
| Kaloka | 20 | 63 | Hence E. of N. acrossa bend of Sopo river, which is crossed at 12 miles and followed andrecrossed again at the cataract or falls of Kaloka, fine graniteboulders and a deep pool. Shortly after the river is crossed again,and the regular track from Deim Zubeir is joined at Khor Regaba, avillage of Mandallas on the left bank of Sopo river is passed. |
| Khor Regaba | 11½ | 74½ | |
| Hill Lutu | — | — | Thence Sopo is leftgradually a few miles E., and the Hill Lutu (a steep granite hillabout 500 feet high, shaped like half an egg) is passed at 7 miles.Thence an open valley across Khor Lutu where there isalways water in pools. Quarter mile further on the villageof Sultan Nasser of Telgona is reached, nestling under the rocks ofKossinga, three granite peaks from 200 to 400 feet high, with treesgrowing up to the summit. |
| Kossinga | 9½ | 84 | |
| Kossinga is a large village with about300 inhabitants, Mandallas being the Negro portion, but themajority being a breed half Arab (Baggaras and Jaalin) and halfMandalla. | |||
| Sultan Nasser lives here. The men arearmed with a certain amount of Remington rifles, and a lot ofuseless guns of sorts. I saw four or five Lebel rifles—altogetherabout 200 rifles, and no doubt the outlying districts and villageswould bring it up to 2,000 rifles. (?) | |||
| There is a market; dura semsem, salt,bamia, beans (ful Sudani or monkeynuts) can be bought, andoccasionally an Arab merchant makes his appearance and sells cloth,&c., generally coming from Omdurman. | |||
Note.—The regular track was not followed as the guide elected to try a short route and lost his way in the forest.
59.—KOSSINGA to WAU (FORT DESSAIX).
By Major W. A. Boulnois, May, 1901.
| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total. | ||
| Kossinga | — | — | Track runs due E.,passing through a small village of Shat people. At 5 miles, crossSopo river at a ford, now dry (30.3.01), to village of Lambe, alsoShat under Sultan Nasser. The Shat tribe is an off-shoot of Shilluktribe. The Luju khor joins the Sopo just S. of track. Marshy groundfor ¼ mile from each bank of latter. |
| Lambe | 8 | 8 | |
| Khor Angejok | 7½ | 15½ | Thence just S. of E. through forest,ground slightly undulating, pass well and Khor Angejok where thereis water. When pool dries, well is open. Bad going owing toelephant tracks across the khor; less than 3 miles further on, theold Government track from Deim Zubeir to Shakka is crossed, nowscarcely used. |
| Khor Lashirek | 6½ | 22 | Water is always foundin Khor Lashirek in pools, and in a pool ½ mile S. of track in KhorBabbi; always water. Hence the track runs slightly N. of E., and ismuch intercepted by trees and bushes in places for the next 8 or 10miles, then fairly open across Khors Enniar and Adda Tumia, bothdry (1.4.01), to a well at Khor Ayala, in which there is a littlewater. Good track, going scarcely impeded. The well here is onlyopened when the pool in khor dries up. |
| Khor Babbi | 5 | 27 | |
| Khor Ayala | 25 | 52 | |
| Abuia | 16 | 68 | Ironstone surface till Shat village Abuiais reached. This is in the district of the Dinka chief Chak Chak ofChamamui. |
| River Biri or Chel | 4 | 72 | Thence to River Biri,known as Chel here, open low ground for 1 mile before reaching theriver, which is 60 to 100 yards broad, sandy bottom, banks 10 to 15feet high, very little water (2.4.01), ankle deep at the ford,which is only 10 feet broad. Then up a gradual slope to high groundfor ¼ mile to house of Sheikh or Sultan Chak Chak (Dinka). A largevillage with fine situation on long hill sloping to the bank of theriver. Government post here. |
| Chamamui | — | — | |
| Khor Alalla | 14 | 86 | Track goes from ford slightly E. of S. toS.E. through much dura, and then E.S.E. past several huts toVillage Dambo at 2 miles and Akot at 4 miles, both inhabited byDinkas and Golos to high ground, ironstone surface to Khor Alallaor Mali where there is always water, 15 yards wide, broad banks 12feet high and very steep. This khor flows from N. of Deim Idris andempties into the Chel or Biri. |
| Half a mile further is the village ofAlalla (Dinkas) subject to Chak Chak. | |||
| Well Hadid | 7½ | 93½ | Hence track goes S.E.pass Well Hadid and well in Khor Babbai, where there are some hutsand cultivation, now deserted. |
| Khor Babbai | 4 | 97½ | |
| Khor Kum | 15 | 112½ | Thence to Khor andWell Kum, latter giving very little water (Sparkes says plentifuland good, and never dry, January, 1903). Good going past ironstoneridge, Ruku 60 feet high, no view obtainable across Khor Ungu atributary of Khor Ajak, which latter is crossed with somedifficulty in the rains, to village of Attah, close to right bankof Khor Ajak. Golos, Jurs and Dinkas under powerful Dinka chiefAgaka, brother of Chak Chak. The district is called Ajak. |
| Khor Ajak | 17½ | 130 | |
| Khor Atta | 2 | 132 | |
| River Bongo | — | — | Thence good trackunimpeded S.E. to S. to the marshes of the Bongo river, with woodson right bank 3 miles distant. The track skirts the marshes of theleft bank, going along the high ground and fringe of the forest.Khors Dengmelah and Akweya (running into the river from W.) arecrossed at 5 and 7 miles respectively; and 7 miles further on thetrack strikes E. across the marsh, ½ mile to Bongo river, which iscrossed and goes to the village of Lang (Jur) on right bank at theedge of the forest. |
| Lang | 15 | 147 | |
| Deimgnaui | 7 | 154 | Thence southerly along edge of forest andswamp, across Khor Wartum to Deimgnaui. The old zeriba is now inruins. |
| Many Golo, Bari and Ndogo villages arepassed, Khor Warur (with water being crossed 1 mile S. ofDeimgnaui). | |||
| Damuri | 13 | 167 | Track goes due S. tohouse of Sheikh Kayanga, with a fine zeriba and the British andEgyptian flags flying at Damuri, past more villages with much dura,crossing Khors Kambang and Akoli to Bukanda a village ofBaris. |
| Bukanda | 5 | 172 | |
| Khor Gitti | 16 | 188 | Thence S.E. through jungle for 12 milestill the house of Sheikh Salim Bari is passed, then 1 mile to KhorGitti, which is crossed 2 miles lower down; 1 mile further S.E. isthe village of Sheikh Ambua Indogo, where there is much dura. |
| Marhu | 7 | 195 | Thence over highground—no villages—passing ruins of old zeriba Marhu of which a fewbrick foundations only are visible, descending into the Jur andDinka village of Nuara, Sheikhs Melong and Mill respectively. |
| Nuara | 9 | 204 | |
| Wau Post | 6 | 210 | Thence the track is much intercepted bybushes in places to Wau Post, crossing Khor Ganna ¾ mile from thezeriba. |