TRAVEL IN THE EASTERN SUDAN 15 



of far inferior carrying capacity. My Hadendowa 

 camel-men flatly refused to carry loads exceeding 

 300 Ib. across the desert, and this though their head- 

 man had signed an agreement in Souakin to carry 

 400 Ib. per camel. They were supported in their 

 contention by the Mamur of Sinkat, and the final 

 result was that I had to readjust all my loads, and 

 send superfluous articles back by rail from Sinkat to 

 Souakin. However, from Kassala on, I made each 

 of my own camels carry 400 Ib., and these animals 

 were as fit at the close of my expedition as when I 

 started, though the donkeys lost condition con- 

 siderably. Consequently, if the traveller proposes 

 to cross the desert, I advise him to make up his 

 baggage into 150-lb. packages, but if he evades the 

 desert by using the railway to Atbara or Khartoum, 

 he should make up 200-lb. packages. The owners of 

 hired camels provide ropes for tying on the loads. 

 It will, however, save considerable trouble if as many 

 packages as possible are provided with hooks and 

 chains ; and when one provides one's own rope, the 

 wear and tear is considerable. Every camel should 

 have a stout head-rope of 6 yards, and every baggage- 

 camel two stout saddle-ropes of about 5 yards apiece. 

 The strain on these ropes is severe when a camel lies 

 down or rises up, and they frequently give way, 

 to the detriment of one's effects. The Arab riding- 

 camel saddle is a curious affair of wood and leather, 



