SPOET IN 

 THE EASTEKN SUDAN 



CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTION 



MY original object in visiting the Sudan was to 

 cover the ground described by Sir Samuel Baker in 

 " The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia," and for this 

 purpose I endeavoured to secure an Abyssinian pass- 

 port. However, although my application was very 

 kindly supported by the Secretary of State for 

 Foreign Affairs, and notice of my intention was 

 given to the Government of Abyssinia more than a 

 year ahead, my negotiations with the Charge 

 d' Affaires at Adis Abeba proved futile, though the 

 final decision of the Abyssinian Government was not 

 communicated to me until after my arrival at 

 Souakin. In my opinion two causes contributed to 

 this result. The first was of course the matter of the 

 Abyssinian succession, when the death of Menelik 

 might at any time reopen in an acute form the stand- 

 B 



