Preface. 9 



very quickly, and had it not been for the courteous and 

 generous aid and advice of the Sirdar, Sir F. Eeginald 

 Wingate, and the officials in Omdurman, a great deal of 

 time would have been wasted in getting together a 

 caravan. 



The great dry heat which we encountered played sad 

 havoc with photographing apparatus, and all my own 

 exposures were complete failures. 



Mr. C. F. Camburn, who accompanied me as a 

 taxidermist, was more fortunate, and he has very kindly 

 allowed me to make use of his photographs. Eepro- 

 ductions from these have provided the book with most 

 of its illustrations, but I am much indebted also to 

 Mr. A. F. E. Wollaston, who visited the Soudan in 

 1901, for the photograph reproduced in the frontispiece, 

 and for those appearing on pages 25, 29 and 106. For 

 the several wash drawings I have to thank my father, 

 Mr. H. Forbes Witherby, who copied them with great 

 care from my photographs. 



The several chapters composing the book are re- 

 printed, with slight alteration from Knowledge, in which 

 journal they appeared as a series of articles in 1901, 

 while two appendices and some illustrations have been 



added. 



H. F. W. 



LONDON, January, 1902. 



