By Captain H. Hodgson, February, 1903.

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
Selima——Track to river bears at first at 152°,and after ascending out of valley turns, and, bearing to point onroad 3 miles away, where the trees of Selima are last sighted, is118° (Magnetic). On top of rise, 6 miles out from well, a pair ofhills are sighted on horizon, at bearing of 124° (Magnetic), whichare close to the track and about half way to river. These twinhills of conical shape must not be confused with another pair lyingabout 80° or 90°. Track diverges northwards slightly, and runs atbearing of 119° to a conspicuous and isolated peak; best route liesclose to the N. of this peak. Country flat; a sandy plain, with fewland marks.
First halt38½38½Halted after going 2 miles past twinpeaks.
River Nile, opposite to Kosha4179½The regular track to the river goes toSagiet El Abd, and runs to S. of a mass of black rocky hills lyingin the centre of a sandy plain. These hills are spoken of as JebelEl Tult. I marched to the N. of these hills, and struck the riveropposite to Ginnis, the land mark being the hill marked Jebel Hamraon Kosha sheet. General direction 112°. Jebel Abri is, I am told,the mountain to march on when going to Sagiet El Abd.

107.—DONGOLA to LAGIA EL KEBIR (ARBAIN ROAD).

By Captain H. Hodgson, December 16 to December 31, 1901.

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
Dongola——From Dongola the route lies nearly due W.to Um Hellal; the chief landmark is Jebel Nosab. After leavingNosab there is a bad bit of going, entailing about ½ hour’swalking, descending into valley containing the wells. Camels cantrot the rest of the way.
Um Hellal Well2020Is good sweet water; the water lies about9 feet from the surface; plenty of grazing for camels. About sevenfamilies live here through the winter, and it is possible to getgoat’s milk and a few eggs and dates. A ruined fort, probably 100years old, with a well in the yard (water 12 feet from surface) isabout ¾ mile away; it is called El Gab, and the whole oasis seemsto take its name from it. Um Hellal is also called Gab ElTahtani.
El Sawani323El Sawani has three wells close together.A number of sunt trees give very good shade. There are more datepalms and it is a better camping-ground than either Shemsi or UmHellal. Water is good, and about 10 feet from the surface; thewells are in constant use. About eleven families live here throughthe winter, considerably more during the summer.
Gawit——Water reported near surface and easilyobtained; good browsing, very little shade; all dom palms burnt bydervishes.
Shemsi1033Water near surface, in clay soil andplentiful; one pan sufficient for my party (twenty camels andeighteen men) taking water for 4 days. Two or three good shadyclumps of trees and plenty of browsing for camels. It would bedifficult to pitch tents owing to deep sand. The landmark forShemsi is Jebel Bowarib, which is a double hill of two small peaksof black volcanic rock, standing solitary about 3 miles N.W.
Butta——I did not visit the well, as all theguides agreed the water was brackish and bad; the landmark fromShemsi is a low round hill, thus, nearly covered with yellow sand,distinctive, as surrounding hills are peaked and black rocky hills.There are apparently about five hills surrounding the water pans,each called Jebel Butta.
Jebel Fantoria942About 12 miles N.W. from Shemsi; standsout well, and can be seen at a long distance. Charles Neufeld wascaptured by the dervishes close to this hill.
Jebel Abiad5698Between Selem (18½ miles from Shemsi),where there are some bushes, and Lagia there is nothing for camelsto feed on, and forage must be carried. I did not see the track ofany living thing, either when going or on return. There are nospecial names for any hills except Jebel Abiad, the N. end of achalk range, which ends in an abrupt cliff and can be seen at along distance.
El Gir36134There was reported to be water last year.We dug a well to depth of 7 feet, without result. The Arabs statethe country is more dried up this year than it has been since thedate of the battle of Toski.
Lagia Amran19½153½Lagia the Less, also called Lagia Amran,from the colour of the ground, lies in a plain about 8 miles longby 5 miles wide, surrounded entirely by rocky hills; there are onlytwo entrances through encircling hills that are easy marching.Water lies within a foot of the surface, and is very plentiful.Ground consists of red clay with drifts of sand; the Arabs saythere was formerly no sand, and that during last few years it isgradually covering ground, probably owing to dry seasons.
My party dug a water pan out of the clay(3½ feet deep and 12 feet circumference). It was quite full of goodwater, with a certain amount of clay in solution, which settled onstanding, on our return 2 days later. Without this pan there was aplentiful supply of water from older diggings which the camel-mencleared of sand. There are some bushes and small trees, about ½mile from the water, which afford feeding for camels. We also foundwater about ½ mile to S.W. of old water holes.
Lagia Kebir12½166Or Lagia Agar. Some five or six pans ofwater; good and near the surface, springing from similar soil toLagia the Less, but not so abundant. We dug for water in threelikely places, about ¼ mile to the W., without result. The wellslie in an open plain; no vegetation near, except about six to tensmall trees about 3½ miles to W. giving a little feeding forcamels. To the N. the plain is shut in by a steep rocky ridge ofhills, and the road to Selima Wells lies across it; on reachingsummit of ridge there is only a stretch of rock and stones to beseen. Arabs state it is the road to Selima, and there is nograzing. To the S., the road to Sultan Well (the place where Natronis found) lies across an open plain, and is easy going. The tracksspread considerably and extend across a width of over a mile.
An oasis, called Tura, is reported to lie4 days’ journey in a S.W. direction, containing date trees, whichis visited at date harvest time by the Bedai tribe. Sheikh Fadl ElMula is the only one of the party who had been there, and he saidthe water is very bad. Except for the above, the guides say theyhave no knowledge of any water to the W. of Lagia, and that thereis no road with a direction of N. and S. lying to the W. ofLagia.

108.—DONGOLA to BIR SULTAN (ARBAIN ROAD).

By Captain H. Hodgson, February, 1903.

Place.Miles.Description.
Inter-mediate.Total.
Dongola, or Gharbi Dongola——After half an hour’s marching, reachedbuildings of former District, which stand 1 mile from mosque on E.bank by range-finder, and at an angle of 78° (magnetic). Left at 9a.m. Going easy over hard sand. Marched parallel with river untilnear Kheleiwa as marked on map (Debba Sheet 45, E.), then turned W.and marched about 2 hours to well.
At Kheleiwa on river there are old ruins.A legend has it that there is an underground passage from theseruins to the well in the desert to the W.
Kheleiwa Well (1st halt)19¾19¾Kheleiwa well stands in the centre of amound covered with broken burnt bricks; the first 6 or 8 feet fromthe surface is built with stone, then it is dug into solid rock; onlowering a candle to within 6 feet of the water, the sidesdisappear from view, and apparently there is a wide chamber atbottom of well; candle burnt freely, water 2½ feet deep, depth ofwell to water 96 feet.
Bir El Marghum (2nd halt)32¼52Marched at 2.30 a.m. The track is welldefined, being the main road from Debba to Wad El Gab, and is easygoing the whole way, direction about 330° (magnetic). About 24miles from Kheleiwa Well ground begins to fall, and the Wadi El Gabmay be said to begin.
El Marghum is the most southern well inEl Gab and one of the deepest, being about 20 feet deep beforereaching water, and is stone lined, water good, cool, and pleasantto drink, depth of water 3½ feet, and reported always plentiful.This well is said to be 6 hours from Khandak with an easy road.Near well are one or two good sayal trees and selem bushes, but nodate palms.
Awene——Marched at 7.30 a.m., track from ElMarghum to Um Hagar, direction 330°. After 1½ miles a trackbranches to Shoki at direction 295°. Sheikh Mohammed Awadalla, thehead of the Gunganab, one of the largest of the Kababishsub-tribes, lives at Awene. The water of this well is about 8 feetfrom surface and luke warm, it lies about 6 miles from Marghum;there are a number of fine sayal trees about, as well as date anddom palms; good shade.
El Agari——This is a small well without stonefacing, water cooler and pleasanter to drink than Awene, lies 1½miles from latter. Surrounded by selem bushes.
Id Wad Medawi——Dwelling of the former Sheikh ofGunganab, an old man, reported age 115 years, very feeble; a numberof date trees near here, and track to Millan passes a number oftukls used during date harvest season.
Bir Millan1466This well, about 14 miles from Marghum,is surrounded by about 20 big sayal trees giving good shade, thereis also a lot of littel shrub on dunes near; it is impossible toapproach well from S., owing to the shifting sand dunes; this wellis practically the limit of the Wadi El Gab. Water good andplentiful.
From Millan track runs nearly due W.,crossing a district called Imsinni, where a number of goats aregrazed, being watered every third day at Millan.
Um Hagar (3rd Halt)6½72½A stone-lined well, at present filledwith sand to within 6 feet of the mouth. Sand is damp and mighteasily be cleared. The Kababish do not use well for fear of theBedaiat, who raided this well and Matassi in 1902. Good grazing forcamels.
Matassi (4th halt)981½From Um Hagar track runs nearly due W.,the going is indifferent; a little grazing on hadr on the way.Matassi lies in a plain some 5 or 6 square miles in extent; wateris very plentiful and about 3 feet from surface; watered 70 or 80camels from the four or five pans that were open with ease; thewater is cool, pleasant to drink, and seems to have the property ofcooling very rapidly after boiling. Kababish captured camels fromBedaiat here two years ago. A few wild date palms, but practicallyno shelter from sun or wind.
Murrat586½General direction W. Murrat, about 5miles from Mutassi, is a low-lying plain, containing a few selembushes, and three or four groups of date and dom palms; watereasily found, but it is bitter and undrinkable; going fair; blackrock predominates.
El Hofra4½91A plain encircled on E. and S. by aridge, and on the N. by high sand dunes, some littel shrub, and afew dom palms. One dom palm which formerly had a well next it isnow buried in a sand dune which has moved a ¼ of a mile in last 10years. No shelter from N. wind or sun.
Sixth halt23½114½General direction 230° to 240°, goingeasy; about 12th or 13th mile from El Hofra found a few patches ofgrass, indicating rain here last season. About 17th mile goingbecomes more difficult and ground rises. At 20th mile a highconical (?) is reached, from which plateau of Jebel Abiad is to beseen; erected a pile of stones at this point. Ground then slopesdown, and track lies through a depression until at 23rd mile aplain is reached, extending 17 miles to bluff of Jebel Abiad. Herethere is some hadr grass, affording some grazing. The plain isscattered with lava-like stones.
Seventh halt (on plateau of J.Abiad)32½147General direction due W. to a ravine inJebel Abiad. The J. Abiad is a steep bluff of gypsum, running fromN. to S.; it is the same range as is skirted by track from Dongolato Lagia Wells. After ascending bluff direction is W.S.W., across aplateau with a very gentle slope down towards the W.; surface isshingle scattered with agates and flints. Could obtain no shelterto halt near.
Tundubi (8th halt)24171About 1 hour after leaving last haltpassed a rocky patch of ground, where the track is well defined,the only place where old lines of tracks are seen, being about 18miles from bluff. About 28 miles from bluff crossed a valleycontaining gottab grass and some other grazing. At Tundubi a wellhad been opened recently, and my party, after deepening it tonearly 30 feet, were able to water about six camels and fill upskins. Latest report is that the well has been filled inmaliciously. There is abundance of gottab, hadr, and akol, givinggood grazing, also some fine tundub trees and selem bushes. Aquantity of senna also grows here.
Ninth halt27198General direction W.S.W. (at 250° by P.compass), very easy undulating country.
Tenth halt12½210½About 31 miles from Tundubi met acaravan, on descending into a valley, along which the track lies.Easy going. No shelter. Saw ostrich tracks.
Eleventh halt28½239Easy going all day; general direction W.Jebel Raya is seen some 10 miles away to the S.; it lies on theroad from El Ain to Bir Sultan. Found a good place to halt, with afew tundub trees and some hadr scrub.
Twelfth halt23262Same general direction W. After 3 milesdescended into a deep sandy khor, containing some hadr scrub(difficult going), marched along it for an hour in direction 250°;then crossed a rocky ridge for 10 miles, then an open plain ofshingle for 5 miles, and down another khor of deep sand with clumpsof hadr scrub in it, direction 260°. Then direction changedconstantly to avoid conical hills. Halted on rocky ground.
Milani——Two hours’ easy marching and then 2 hoursacross an exposed plateau of rocky ground, before reaching a steepdescent down to Milani; a thick clump of selem trees in the Natronvalley. At Milani water is apparently very plentiful, the sandbetween the dunes being wet and brown. Did not try to obtain water,as, though drinkable, it is reported not to be so good as the waterfound at Sultan, 3 miles away.
Bir Sultan——Sultan, a low-lying area of about a ¼mile square of uneven ground covered with tussocks of halfa grass.Water easily obtained and plentiful. I found two or three pansopen, at which animals can get to the water themselves. There arefive or six date palms, also grasses such as tamam, halfa, taklis,but no shrubs, at Sultan. It lies nearly due S. of J. Kashaf.
Natron diggings (13th halt)21283The best natron bed lies about 2 milesaway from the water at Sultan by the shortest and most direct routeto the river, it is probably not more than 250 miles instead of the283 I travelled. The diggings have the appearance of a sandy saltpan, from which sea water has run off, the sand being encrustedwith a white salt-like substance. To obtain the natron the uppersurface of sand, about 2 inches to 4 inches, is cleared away, untilthe natron, a substance resembling rock salt, is reached. The toppart is usually bad, being half sand; then there is a seam of ½inch to 2 inches of good natron, again below a little bad natron,and below all sand again. Sometimes all the natron is spoilt bybeing mixed with sand. The whole place is scattered with scores andscores of oryx and addax horns, which seem to have been the tool,since time immemorial, with which to dig out the natron.
Jebel Kashaf——Jebel Kashaf lies 2,400 yards from thenatron diggings, and E. of them at direction 133°; it is a highconical hill centrally situated in the northern part of the valley,and from its summit the whole valley and various halting places areoverlooked. To the S. and S.W. is a level plain, reaching to thehorizon without landmarks.
The Arbain road runs S.S.W. apparently,to a place called Domi (1 day), where there are a few dom palms,and then from there branches to Meidob and to Zaghawa, which latteris reported to be 5 or 6 days from Natron valley in a S.W.direction.

109.—DEBBA to EL OBEID.

(Route during Rains).