J. TAGOI 23 



(native riflemen). He was an intelligent and cruel- 

 looking man of about 5 feet 8 inches, with true Nuba 

 features and very dark. He was reprimanded for 

 his misdeeds, and promised an "amaan" (pardon) 

 on the condition that he returned the slaves he had 

 taken from the neighbouring Meks, and also made 

 friends with the latter. This he at once promised 

 to do. Messengers were sent in all directions, but, 

 as all seemed so afraid of Tagoi, the venue was 

 changed to Mek Rashad's hill close by. 



I climbed up to Tagoi's place and made a rough 

 sketch of it in case negotiations came to nought. 

 A path, four feet wide, wound up from our camp, 

 passing a pool, where we watered our camels. The 

 far side of this pool was a solid sheet of rock, 

 twenty feet high, a waterfall in the rains. Overhung 

 as it was by trees, it made a lovely picture. Here 

 and there, where possible, were small terraces, from 

 two to thirty yards broad, for cultivation. After 

 passing between two huge isolated boulders we came 

 to the first village, and through it to the "keep." 

 The entrance to the latter was through a narrow 

 winding natural passage. When we knocked at the 

 gate the sentry did not know what to do, as the 

 Mek was in our camp. I had been joined by a 

 few men of my Company, and with them walked 

 in. In the centre of the place was a cave which 

 caught and kept all the water that fell. It held 

 enough for a long siege, I was told. Where the 

 rock was not itself a sheer wall (overlooking our 

 camp was a precipice of 100 feet) high walls had 



