The record-union., 1896-05-10
Aside from the political aspects of ths


case, however, the Egyptian Soudan is
well worth conquering for it's own sake.
The opponents of the British Govern
ment's policy have loudly proclaimed
the worthlessness Of the region and de-
clared that the whole country is not
worth the blood that was shed for 1t
during the campaigns already made
there, but this is merely the talk of an
opposition party, which considers Itself
under obligations to object to what
ever the Government proposes. no mat
ter how obvious may be its expediency.
During the Egyptian occupancy of the
region the exports from the Soudan
down the Nile and by means OF cara
vans to Cairo amounted to about S9,-
0U0,000 a year, besides as much more
that went abroad through the Red
Sea ports and from the Somali coast.
"A district that can export SlS,OOU,OUO
worth of goods every year is certainly
worth having, for country from which
this amount of surplus wealth can be
annually spared for export, under so
bad a Government as that OF Egypt,
would certainly prove of almost 1ncal-
culable wealth if its affairs were prop
erly administered and the people given
an equitable system of taxation. The
Egyptian domain comprised Kordofan,
Nubia, Senaar, Taxa and some prov
inces still further south, an area esti-
mated at little less than 1,OUO0OO
square miles, with an unknown popu-
lation.
The country is as different from
Egypt proper as can easily be conceived.
Instead of the arid sands and braZen
skies, from which rain never fails, there
are forests and SwampS, long stretches
of what are called prairie land and
frequent plateaus, considerably elevat-
| ed above the river, which furnish eX-
cellent pasturage for wild antelope and
the tlOckS and herds of the inhabitants.
| Here and there are arid spots, even
along the river bank, where the shad-
| oof, or curious mechanical contrivance
| which answers the farmers instead or
| pump, is put into practical opera
| ton, in order to secure for the growing
| crops the amount of water necessary
| to their proper growth, but as rule
| the rainfall is sufficient for all purpo-
| ses, and little artificial irrigation is
practiced. The soil is so fertile that
anything which can be raised in trop-
| ical or sub-tropical climate will grow
| with luxuriance in the Egyptian Sou
| dan. 1t is the native home of the sweet
! potato, the yam and the watermelon,
and in the hot sunshine of the Upper
| Nile Valley and in the clearings made
| by the natives in the great forests or
| equatorial these vegetables grow to
size and with an abundance unknown
| in other parts of the world. traveller
| in that region some years ago said that
ali the tables of Europe could be sup
| piled with fruits and vegetables from
| the Egyptian Soudan, and when this
region is pierced by railroads, the time
may come when oranges, bananas and
| pineapples, figs, dates and melons,
| from the heart of Africa, may be seen
| on the tables of Paris and London.
| That day is yet far away, however, the
| exports Of that region being at present
| limited to such articles as will bear the
! long, hot journey to the markets OF
| Cairo or the Red Sea coast. Ostrich
| feathers have for many years formed
| the greater part, in value, pf the Sou
| dan exports, while wax, coffee, large
| variety of gum, and an enormous guam
| tity of fine skins and hides make up
| the remainder. 1t is plain that under
| proper conditions the region can be
| made enormously productive, and those
| conditions Will be attained when the
| land has been reconQuered for civiliZa-
| tion by the Anglo-Egyptian troops.
/ So far as the towns are concerned,
| they are, at present, hardly worthy Of
| the name Khartoum and Omdurman,
Berber and the rest are all alike in their
main features, the leading difference be-
| ing found in the fact that some are
larger than others. The striking SINH
larity is even carried down the Nile, for
Edfour, on the borders Of the present
Egyptian frontier, is Of the same class.
A few buildings of stone, where live the
wealthy and important personages OF
the town, great many houses with
mud walls and thatched roofs where
dwell the canaille. Narrow streets, or
rather passways, lead between the
houses, and these miserable alleys serve
alike for entry and exit and as recep-
tacles for all the filth and Offal of the
houses If it were not for the vultures
and dogs and hyenas and jackals, every
town in Soudan would be depopulated
in year by pestilence, but by day the
vultures eat all they can hold, and after
nightfall the other animals prowl about
and devour the remainder, so that the
towns of the Upper Nile Valley are as
healthy as those of any tropical coun-
try.
Intelligence from the Egyptian Sou
dan has been scarce since the death of
Gordon and the fall of Khartoum, but
from all accounts the power of the
Mahdfs successor is waning. The orig
ipal Mahdi has been dead for several
years, and a splendid tomb, that is,
splendid for this part of Africa, has
been erected over his remains, but his
mantle has fallen on an Arab Sheik who
seems quite able to rouse the fanaticism
Of the native Arabs and blacks to the
point of fury. The Anglo-Egyptian ex-
pedition will probably meet with oppo-
sition ere it's arrives at Dongola, and if
it is true that the successor of the
Mahdi has proclaimed holy war
against all infide1s and promised para
disc to all who fall in the conflict, the
end will be a difficult one to forsee
Such war, once begun, may rage all
over the Soudan, for in that region Is
lam is the strongest form Of religion,
and should it do so, the French infiu-
ence may be completely destroyed even
as far as the Congo. Taking all the
circumstances into consideration, it is
evident that for some time to come this
hitherto little regarded region will prob
ably furnish a good deal of news to the
press of Christendom.-St. Louis Globe
Democrat.
written for the Record -Union')
MARGARET.