Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
Homra——Small Gowama village. Two good wells 125feet deep. Good rest house, and fair shade near. Little dura forsale as a rule. Good track S. of telegraph line. Good shade forfirst 13 miles, then nothing but marakh bush, good grazing.
Sakra21½21½Small village S. of road. Well 100 feetdeep on N. side of telegraph line. Water for 100 men. Rest house;no shade.
Shatib12½34Small village; one well; no shade.
Old Well5½39½In middle of track. Much cultivation nearbelonging to Gafala; a Maganin village visible 1½ miles S.
Shegeila645½Large Gowama village; two good wells 140feet deep. Can water 200 camels. Rest house. From here there aretwo roads to Baharia viâ Wad Abu Suleiman and viâZereiga. The latter is the better.
Viâ ZEREIGA.
Track follows telegraph line. Very littleshade.
Zereiga550½Two wells 125 feet deep. Small village;little shade, and bad grazing near wells.
Country open; little shade.
Baharia13½64Two wells 80 feet deep. Rest house. LargeGowama village. Fair shade near village. Water very plentiful.
Viâ WAD ABU SULEIMAN.
Road goes nearly S. at first; much gumand sayal bush, thick in places.
Wad Abu Suleiman954½Small village; one well 90 feet deep.There is another village with well a mile to the S. on the UmSemeima-Um Dam road.
Um Semeima2½57Two small villages; each has a well. Roadfrom Um Dam comes in here. Track leads due W.; marakh bush; noshade.
Baharia6½63½See above.
The country is now quite open.Marakh bush; no shade.
Shereim1781A small Gowama village on the N. side ofthe road. One well. A mile before reaching it gum, sayal and harazbush appear. Road winds a good deal, and bush is thicker to within1 mile of Bara when cultivation commences.
Bara586Large village with mosque and small suk.Good rest house. Wells from 6 to 20 feet deep, water practicallyunlimited. Good grazing near.
Leaving the S. end of the town there is awide track E. of the telegraph line. Heavy going to 5 miles beyondUm Sot.
Daragai Well995One well on road. Fair shade near, butground much soiled by camels and cattle.
Um Sot398One well on road 85 feet deep; goodsupply of water. Good shade under large haraz trees near village 3miles S.E. Next 5 miles heavy going, then road improves.
Fula Faragalla12½110½One hundred yards in diameter, generallydry by end of October. Good shade and grazing near. J. Kurbag isseen in front. Road passes to W. of jebel.
Fula Kurbag9119½S.W. of jebel; 100 by 80 yards, usuallydry by mid-October. Good shade.
From here to El Obeid there is no shade.The track passes through dukhn cultivation. Good going.
El Obeid5124½Main track goes to the town. For theMudiria follow the telegraph line when struck. At night be carefulto avoid the wire stays to the poles.

72.—EL DUEIM to EL OBEID, viâ HASHABA.

By Captain W. Lloyd, Scot. Rifles (March, 1900), and Mr. R. E. More (1903).

This is the shortest route between the river and El Obeid. There is good grazing throughout, though shade is sometimes wanting. After Hashaba, there are two routes to Um Sedeira, one viâ Um Dam, the other viâ Abu Areish. The former is the better, as there is plenty of water at Um Dam.

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
El Dueim——Leaving the town in a westerly directionthe track goes over black soil which, during the rains, forms aserious obstacle to transport. Bush never bad, but several khorshave to be crossed, which, at times, hold a good deal ofwater.
Id El Ud11½11½Small Kurtan village; many wells, waterpractically unlimited. The Agaba is now entered. Track hard to pickup at first. During the rains it is often necessary to go some wayto the N., as the ground W. of wells is liable to floods.Mosquitoes are then very bad. No shade.
J. Shwei (Rest house)2435½Rest house. Low isolated hill S. oftrack. Country becomes more undulating and bush increases. Goodgrazing, but no shade. Well now being dug, but water not yetreached at 180 feet (September, 1904).
Hashaba El Murad (Resthouse)2762½Maganin village. Three wells 140 feetdeep. Rest house. Dôm palms near village form good land mark. Takethe western road; after leaving the cultivation little but marakhbush is seen. Good grazing.
Shegela8½71A small Maganin village. No well; waterfrom Hashaba. Good track; slightly undulating country. Hashab treescommence and continue to within a few miles of Um Dam. Directionnearly due W.
Um Dam (Rest house)2394Head Quarters of Khursi District. Resthouse and 3 good wells 130 feet deep. Much cultivation all roundand several small villages near. Leaving in a south-westerlydirection, good track; gum and sayal bush. Gowama.
Um Basira397Small village off road to N.; oftencalled Fiki Taha; well. Good track; gum and sial bush, thick inplaces.
Wad Kamuri5½102½Two villages. One good well. Plenty ofgrazing and shade off road to S.
Goz El Hagiz3105½A low sandy ridge running nearly N. andS. Country now becomes more undulating, and continues so to within10 miles of El Obeid.
Um Sedeira (Rest house)3½109Three villages, with one good well 80feet deep; can water 30 camels. Good shade and grazing.
Adara5114One well 80 feet deep; good water. Goodtrack, but heavy going.
Um Heim8½122½One well 100 feet deep; can water 15camels. Um Beida, 6 miles S.E., has a similar well.
Um Busha (Rest house)3125½Two wells 120 feet deep. Good shade andgrazing near wells. Many haraz trees. Road now bears S. W. J. Gleitand J. Kurbag are left to the N. Well marked track all the way.Some bush, but cultivation for last 5 miles.
El Obeid33158½
The following is an alternativeroute. There is, however, less water, and the road is much lessfrequented.
Hashaba El Murad—62½Leaving in a S.W. direction there islittle bush at first. Good track.
Bagera2577½Three small Gowama villages. One bad well140 feet deep, not to be depended on. Good track; sayal bush.
Abu Areish1693½Small village. One well 120 feet deep.Can water 15 camels with difficulty. The road from Taiara to Um Damcrosses here. Good track over red sandy soil.
Goz El Hagiz497½Low sandy hill.
Um Shidera3½101As above.
El Obeid49½150½As above.

73.—GEDID to EL DUEIM, viâ UM DEISIS.

By Captain W. Lloyd, the Scottish Rifles, February, 1901, and Colonel the Hon. M. G. Talbot, R.E., December, 1901.

The whole of this road is over black cotton soil, and is occasionally impassable during the rains, at which time tracks east and west leading from one patch of cultivation to another along the red sandy ridges are more generally used. There is practically no bush near the road and very little shade.

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
Gedid Wells——The road goes almost due N. from thewells. A few small villages are seen west of the road, inhabitedonly during the rains.
Selia2525A Gimma village on a hill, belonging toSheikh Nur Hussein, and four other Ahamda villages. Thirty wells, 8feet deep, 1½ miles N.E. Good water, but they soon run dry. Thereare roads from here to Fachi Shoya and J. Kon.
Um Deisis732About 40 wells, 30 feet deep. Plenty ofwater, This is a Kurtan village. The gum gardens and cultivationbelong to them, but the Beni Jerar water their cattle here, andtheir camping places are frequently seen.
Abu Sela1850A Shanabla village situated on a hill.The country all round is very open, and firewood scarce. The wells(not seen) are 2½ miles S.E. of the village. The country nowbecomes more desert-like, but during the rains all the ridges arecultivated. A few miles before reaching Um Bueira many villages areseen to the east of the road. These belong to Um Bueira.
Um Bueira1161Some 20 very good wells, 28 to 30 feetdeep. The villages and cultivation to the E. of the road belong tothe Mesellemia, to the W. of the road chiefly to the Shanabla.There is no bush about, and at this time of year (Feb.) very littlegrass. Hundreds of sheep and goats water daily.
Shat2½63½A large place with suk and manymerchants. The wells are numerous; about 30 feet deep, and give apractically unlimited amount of water. No shade and little grassnear wells, as it is eaten down by the cattle, sheep, and goats,who come to water. Many villages about, Mesellemia and Shanabla,and in the rains much cultivation. In rains water stands, andmosquitoes are bad.
Three miles on the bush commences, but isnever very dense and generally grows in patches.
Um Sunta1073½A small pool.
The bush now consists of kittr, heglig,and talh, but is never an obstacle to transport.
The ground is a good deal cracked and isat intervals impassable in the rains.
El Dueim881½For description, see Part I,[p. 66.]

74.—SHAT WELLS to EL OBEID, viâ J. KON.[28]