AND THE XILE 



119 



Em ID, First came tlie invasion of the Dervishes, following on the Mahdi's 

 revolt, and these Dervishes carried fire and sword up the Nile, thouf^li 

 they could not venture far from its banks. Then came that awful out- 

 break of rinderpest of some fifteen years ago. This destroyed the cattle 

 of the Kari, and, deprived of their cattle, they, not being agriculturists, 

 sickened and died in numbers. The Dervishes destroyed Emin's stations 



lATlNG ISLANDS ANM) WATEK-LILIES ON THI 



and did not continue the cultivation he had begun. The land, therefore, 

 near the Nile is now very desolate, though rapidly recovering under the 

 influence of constant steamer coninumication with Khartum and the 

 trading intercourse with Kgypt which has followed on the cutting of 

 the sudd. 



The sudd (which should really be spelt " sadd "' *— Scliweiufurth first 



* It is an Arabic word pronounced like the "sud" in "soapsuds"; but this is 

 really a short sound of the vowel '"a" in phonetic spelling. 



