| Place. | Miles. | Description. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter-mediate. | Total from Assiut. | ||
| Lagia | — | 580 | On leaving Lagia the going is fair. |
| 47 | 627 | Low rocky mounds; dozens of emptyparaffin tins lying about; place where caravans leave store andforage. Easy going, hard sand. | |
| 35 | 662 | Sand dunes to E. of track, continue for 5miles. Road slopes slightly down hill, direction 210°. | |
| 37 | 699 | Large black stone 10 feet high byroadside, 18 inches wide and 9 inches thick. Landmark visible forlong way from N. Marching becomes difficult. | |
| 10 | 709 | Low hill, distinctive landmark; blackrock with white gypsum top, with pile of black rocks on top. | |
| J. Kashaf, Bir Sultan | 28 | 737 | Hilly rocky country, with gradual descentto J. Kashaf, which lies a short distance N.W. of Bir Sultan. |
Bir Sultan, otherwise known as Wadi Natrun (the Natron Valley), Bir el Melha, or Bir Zaghawa, lies in the centre of a plain, bounded by hills to the N.W., N., and E. Three or four pans of good water; ground below the sand being white clay. A little N.W. lie the natron diggings, the natron being in a seam 2 inches deep, a few inches below the sandy surface. One and a half miles E. of the natron is J. Kashaf. Plenty of scrub and grazing. At Melani, under the eastern slope, the soil is quite damp.
Bir Sultan lies 10 days due W. of Old Dongola.
Zaghawa, which is marked on some maps as a definite place, is the name of the district inhabited by the nomad Arab tribe of that name. It is full of khors and wells, and is stated to be 4 days to S.W. of Bir Sultan. There is a little-used track from Lagia which passes through Zaghawa district and proceeds towards El Fasher, but it is not the Arbaïn Road. The Zaghawa people often come to the Bir Sultan.
From Bir Sultan to El Fasher the accounts of the road are contradictory. One account states that it is 10 days hard travelling, without water on the road, and that camels have to be specially trained for the journey. Other accounts say that from Bir Sultan to J. Meidob,[39] or to Bir Maharia (water at either place), the journey takes 4 to 5 days; on to Toma, in the midst of a cultivated populous district, 3 days; and on to El Fasher 1 day more. Another road appears to lead viâ Anka, 7 days from Fasher, and is said to take 15 days altogether; this is the one said to be generally used.
(Browne, in 1793, went from Bir El Melha (Sultan), viâ Medwa (?), S.W. to Wadi Mazruk and then S.E. to Kobe, but left a very meagre description of the actual journey.)
Recapitulation, showing approximate distances and days’ journey.
| Place. | Miles. | Days. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assiut | — | — | |
| Kharga | 126 | 5 | |
| Bulak | 15 | ½ | |
| Beris | 38 | 1½ | |
| Maks | 9 | ⎱ ⎰ | 3 |
| Bir Murra | 78 | ||
| Kassaba | 67 | 2½ | |
| Sheb | 25 | 1 | |
| Selima | 82 | 3 | |
| Lagia | 140 | 5 | |
| Bir Sultan | 157 | 6 | |
| J. Meidob (J. Anka 270) | 190 | 7 | |
| El Fasher (El Fasher 110) | 140 | 5½ | |
| 1,067 | 40 | ||
123.—ASWAN to DERAHEIB.
Compiled from a Report by Mr. Jennings-Bramly (1902).