The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1924-09-03


Prepared by the National Geographic Sc
siety. Washington. d. c.
The suggestion, pleasing to tn
Egyptians no doubt, that Great Brit
ain abandon the Sudan as she hat
given up claims to Egypt, has brough
forth the British statement that sh,
will continue to consider the SudaI
one of her important African protec
torates.
The Sudan has for long time beer
looked upon by the outside world as
sort Of appendage Of Egypt. Such
conceptions have had to be somewhat
revamped since the British apron
strings were cut from the old land OF
the Pharaohs and the Sudan has stood
forth to greater extent on its own
responsibility. This in a thinly PEG
pied land Of amazing distances. You
tier six hundred miles by rail before
you get to Khartum. From there
south, you can 60 another thousand
miles on a flat-bottomed, paddle-wheel
Nile steamer before you reach the
southern boundary of the Sudan,
which Is almost on the edge of the
great lakes and third of the way
to the Cape Of Good Hope.
Unless you refresh your memory by
a look at map Of Africa you are
likely to overlook the fact that the
Sudan has a seacoast South Of Egypt
1t cuts across eastward to the Red
sea and extends along that body Of
water for some 400 miles. Britain is
by no means dependent on Egypt to
furnish door to this huge African
realm. Two ports have been devel-
oped on the Red sea, Port Sudan and
Suakin, and both are connected by
modern railway facilities with hun
dreds of miles of the rich Nile valley
Khartum.
The White Nile splits the Sudan for
nearly 1000 miles from south to north
and Is navigable the year round above
Khartum.
The Blue Nile runs down from the
byssinian hills and joins the main
liver at Khartum, forming an apex
,alled the Gezireh or island" This
yast fiat island is the granary of the
Sudan.
1t is In the northern part Of this |
,ezireh that the new irrigation prof. !
cts are being undertaken. Engineers
ay land is the cheapest thing in the
sudan Water Is abundant. but labor
5 scarce.
Supplies Egypt With Food.
Egypt depends mainly on the Sudan
or its meat supply. and thousands of
cres of land have been put under
imp irrigation to provide food crops
or Egypt, whose people, as one inves-
gator said, cannot subsist on bank
otes and cotton.
Slavery, once so common along the
PIPER Nile, has been largely put down,
xcept, perhaps, In the remoter re-
ons. The country is almost treeless,
specially north Of Khartum; the few
ees found are mostly species of
,acia, known locally as the samr.
South of Khartum, to about IL de- !
.ees north, narrow belts Of stunt trees
mother sort of acacia) line the banks
rivers. This sunt-wood Is priced |
r bodybuilding, for tanning purposes. {
Id is much used for fuel. IL
Farther south, on the White Nile
here there Is more rain, forest r
owths inci ease, and over in the Blue
lie country the giant baobabs (Adan- t
MIA digitata) and the Sudan ebony I
melanoxylon) are found. v
The Nile, of course, saves this re- 1
on also from becoming an empty S
lste. Historic and important as this o
rer is, its sources were for centuries !.
rouded in mystery. Early geogra- t
ers advanced various odd theories S
me said the Nile and the Gauges I
se In the frozen mountains of north n
ia, and other imaginative folk de-
red it came from 'the Mountains of IL
, Moon" q
On it's course through the Sudan the c.
lie Is Joined by the Bahr-el-Ghazal, y
, Sobat, the Blue Nile and the At !,
n. Tha Bahx-sl- Ghaxal flows out Of q