The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-06-01

required for irrigation. The Blue Nile
is very much inferior in length and vol
ume of water. but it becomes charged,
among the Abyssinian mountains, with
the sediment which gives fertility to the
heIds of lower Egypt. Thus the White
and the Blue Niles supplement one an
other and it is of vital Importance to
Egypt to have both the floods of the
White Nile and the rich muds of the
Blue Nile.
The gunboats assembled both the Blue
Nile and the White Nile and also sew
eral of their tributaries The Blue Nile
was assembled for 200 miles above ON
durham until the boat was stopped by
the low stage of the water. Then the
White Nile was assembled for 600 miles,
the Sobat for PIP miles and the Bahr-el-
Zeraf for a distance of 1876 miles from
its mouth. Eventually the gunboats
reached Lake No, where the waters of
the Bahr-el-Ghazel and the Bahr-el-
Jebel mingle and issue from the lake as
the White Nile. The main river above
that point is known as the Bahr-el-
Jebel.
The gunboats might easily have gone
much further south if it had not been
for the sud-, the well known barrier of
vegetation, which has often made navi-
cation impossible in the regions where
the waters come together to form the
While Nile The sudd never impedes
the main channel of the river below the
junction of the Sobat, but the Bahr-el-
Jebel, or main stream coming from the
Victoria Nyanza is reported by the gun
boats to be closed by the sud- for about
100 miles below Lake No. The waters
filter through, but navigation is impos-
sible. The Bahr-el-GhaZaI is also closed
by the sud- for sixty miles from it's
mouth
The sirdar's explorers describe the
sud- they saw it in different places.
They say that in some places the vege-
tation is rooted in the bed of the river.
At other points it is found floating in
large patches and hangs loosely to-
gether. 1t is possible for a steamer to
pass through sudd of these descriptions,
though with difficulty. In many places,
however. the fibrous roots of the float
ing sud- adhere so closely together as
to form an insuperab1e obstacle to the
passage of any boat. When this oc-
ours the only recourse is to cut a pas
sage with knives, billhooks, etc, as was
done many years ago by Sir Samuel
Baker.
1t will be recalled that the ENJOYS whom
Nero sent out to visit Central Africa fail
ed to penetrate this floating vegetation.
stopped by this obstacle. though many OF
them have forced way on their steam
Pasha with 500 soldiers was caught in the
sud- in 1880 and three months elapsed be-
the party by ascending the river and open
ing a passage. Africa has seldom been
men were devo1red by Insects. wasted
by fever and nd reduced reduce to live upon Wild
rades. Most of them found graves in the
survived the disaster only a few months.
Sometimes the growth is so dense that
their tents on the verdant surface and
live on the fish which they catch by
dwellings.
Kitchener's explorers describe the White
N mi as aIaWiipg PEoad channel and very
both sides of the river two or three miles
ern shore is Impossible for a distance of
several hundred miles. Very different
steep slopes. The land in the region be-
and it would be easy to construct WORKS
to irrigate the land on either side of the
and until the population increases it
works. Both the White and Blue Nile
regions are malarious and unhealthful and
in the autumn it may be impossible for
the river. The Blue Nile forests may
prove valuable, as they contain ebony and
fine timber.
Immediately after Fashoda was oecu-
pied in September last gunboat was sent
distance of Meshra-el-Rek making the
had BEEN mast marsh into bo
floods. Six weeks later, on a second visit.
channel was found to be completely 1 chok
The trip up the sobat river was note
worthy because so little is known of that
stream and its headwaters are stiIl involV-
as far as the gunboats assembled. A forti-
fed post was established at Nasser, $50
miles up the Sobat
The tribes of the Upper Nile. do not
know exactly in what light to regard the
whites who so long have been absent
from their country. The Shilluks and
Dinkas are showing a very friendly dis
position toward the government, but the
powerful Nuer tribe is reported to be still
very shy and .apprehensive- 1t is believ-
ed. however, Lord Cromer says, that their
fears viii wear off when they are con-
WINGED that there is nothing in common
between the Anglo Egyptian forces and
the slave raiders who formerly desoIated
their country.
If you have piles, cure them No usa
undergoing horrible operations that
simply remove the results of the dis
ease without disturbing the disease IL
self. Place your confidence in DeWitf's
Witch Hazel Salve. 1t has never failed