Evening star., 1907-11-16
IN OMDURMAN


the sun in order that | might photograph
them and they kindly complied
A little ia ther on we entered th' sho'
bazaar where scores OF m rchahIs We're
selling red leather slippers turned up
at the toes and in a court not far away
found merchants selling hides and leather
fresh from the tam hrieS. Ih We're sall-
ing the hides in the equare and laying
them out in the sun to dry.
In the Manchester bazaar | found them
selling cottons OF many kinds and cali
Goes of gay patterns. Tn re- Were put
few American goods among them, ana
the chief importatiuns were from Ing
land and Germany. | saw American
sowing machines in the bazaar OF The
tailors and | und rstand tina; they are
generally used throughout the Nile val
ley
During nv stay in this section 1 bought
some ostrich feathers of a merchant who
sold nothing else. He had a large stock
and his prices were fixed My feathers
cost me about s. apiece. but they are the
long white plumes of the Wild ostrich.
and are far finer than any from south
Africa, where the birds are reared upon
farms.
In the Grain Markets.
large part of the grain of the Upper
Sudan comes down the Blue and White
Niles to Omdurman. The grain markets
are close to the river and they run for
some distance along it. There is no rain
here at this time of the year, and hence
there Is no ned for warehouses or sheds.
The grain is poured out on the hard
ground in piles and left there un-
til sold. If you will imagine several
hundred little mountains Of white or
red sand with wooden measures of va
rious sizes lying at their feet or stuck
into their slopng sides, you may nave
some idea of this central African gram
market. You must add the tents OF can
vas or mat shelters. in which the ebony
merchants stay while waiting for their
customers, and must make a crowd OF
black-skinned, white gown men ana
women moving about sampling the wares
and buying or selling.
The merchants watch the gram all DAY.
and If they are forced to go away at
nishtfalI they smooth the hills out ana
make cabalistic marks upon them. so
that they can easily know If their prop
erty is disturbed during their ABSENCE
The most common grains sold here are
wheat barley and durra. The latter is
kind of sorghum seed which forms the
bread of the Sudan. 1t Is ground 10 moor
either in hand mills or between stones
moved about by bullocks or camels' ana
is eaten in the shape of round ioaVes VI
about the circumference of tea piaIe
and perhaps two inches thick. Ihe "heat
is of the macaroni variety. which grows
we'll in these dry regions wherever lrri-
cation is possible.
Mills of the Sudan.
Sneaktnp of the -four of the Sudan,
visited one of the largest milling estao-
lishments of the country during my stay
in Omdurman. The owner is one OF the
richests and most influential of the Su-
danese natives. He is an emir, ana as
such is one of the leading men Of the
town. His mills were in great mud
walled compound, which contained also
his garden and home. The garden was ir-
rigated by a we'll, and upon entering II
saw two black slave girls turning the
wheels which furnished the water supply
The mills were three in number Each
was in a mud stable-like. one-story build
ing. Just large enough to hold the mill
stones and the track for the animals VINO
turned them. The stones were similar TO
the old-fashioned grinding machines or
our own country. They rested one upon
the other and were SO made that the
grain flowed from a hopper into the top
stone The motive power for each mill
was a. blindfolded camel who moved
around in circle, turning the top stone
Each of the animals was driven by
black boy, who sat on the bar of the
mill and rode there as he whipped them
along The flour so ground was fine.
picked UP a handful and tasted 1t and
found it quite good. -
FRANK G. CARPENTER.