Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-01-17

regions as Kordofan, Seminar. the Blue
and White Niles, the Bahr:el- Ghazal
and the wild hills fringing the Red
sea. 4 y. y,
4 South Of Khartoum the railways has
now been extended through Wad Me.
DAM to Seminar, where it turns from
the Blue Nile and cuts across coun-
try to the westward to Kosti on the
White Nile. This extension will short.
" reach Ell Obeid, at one time the
Headquarters Of the Mahdi. in the cen.
tier Of a region from which already
vast quantities of grain, gum, cattle
and foodstuffs are being exported.
sThe towns and markets of these wild
and little known regions are extra
ordinarily interesting; yet the latter:
day tourist is brought easily, cheaply
and expeditiously to these places, and
may contemplate as safely as If he
was in Cairo the manners and modes
Of life of savage peoples to whom less
than a score of years ago the white
man was utterly unknown. For those
who wish to push yet further into the
heart Of Africa, the Sudan government
steamers now ply far, up the White
Nile until Rejaf, in the Uganda coun-
try, is reached. On this expedition,
which is made on roomy, comfort
able boat, carrying a chef and fitted
with electric light, baths, mosquito
shelters and SO forth, an infinite va:
riety OF wild life and savage scenery
Is to be met with. After reaching
Eoz Abu- Guma. one hundred and sew.
enty-five miles from Khartoum. the
land of the pastoral Arabs and cult
vators is left behind. and the country
Of negroid races is entered upon,
Forests creep right up to the Nile,
and game is plentiful. Hippos. croco.
diles and antelope are often seen, and
further on giraffes, elephants and 9th.
er interesting beasts may frequently
be noted Waterfowl of innumerable
varieties give life and charm to the.
sriverscape, and strange and huge
fishes, for which Father Nile has al.
ways been famous, will be observed
among the native fisher-folk. The
Dinkas and Shilluks live mainly by
fishing and hunting. and pursue their
business In long. narrow "dug-outs"
or small ambach RATS. equally as rick
ETY. as the canoes. Accidents to
these wild sportsmen often hap
pen, their most troublesome neigh
;bors being the hippos, which are very
numerous. Passing Kodok, once ia.
nous as Fashoda in Major Marchand's
time, Tanfikia, the headquarters Of
the troops on the Upper Nile, is reach
ed, at Ave hundred and thirty miles
distance from Khartoum. Four
miles further, the Sobat, which has
found its way from the highlands of
.Abyssinia. joins the Nile. Presently
the Bahr-el-Zeraf Give hundred and
sixty-five miles) is reached Here
elephants, buffalo, hartebeest, water
buck and reedbuck are plentiful, and
the rare and beautiful Mrs. Gray's wa.
,terbuck is to be heard OF for the f-st
time. At six hundred and fifteen
miles from Khartoum, Lake No is en-.
tered, and turning sharply to the
south the steamer bears into the Bahr-
el-Jebel, the main stream Of the Upper
White Nile system. This stream,
once choked with "sudd," is now
cleared Of that obstacle; the sud- it.
self Is being specially treated and
turned into a valuable and marketa.
BILE commodity in the shape Of fuel.
On through the sudd regions speeds
the steamer; lakes and lagoons
abound, and papyrrs reeds form the
chief vegetation. From Kiech, on the
Shambe lagoon, route lies to Wau,
the tiny capital Of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
province. Beyond the old site of
Kenissa, once an Austria mission sta
ton, the scenery changes. the vege-
tation becomes more tropical, and the
Bari negroes are to be observed. The
Lado Enclave is reached at one thou.
sand and seventy-two miles, and pres
emily Gondokoro and a garrison OF
Uganda rifles. The next and last stop
ping place is Rejaf, whence the steam.
er returns to Khartoum. The whole
Of this interesting White Nile expe.
dition. including the return journey,
can now be made in round trip of
twenty-four days. As revelation. of
savage Africa there is nothing to com.
pare with 1t in modern travel. OF
shorter expeditions. one of the most
interesting is the round trip from
Cairo to Khartoum, returning by Port
Sudan, on the Red Sea-
sssss@ !,
Adam spoke, SO ancient and difficult