88 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



the latter, however many " resolutions " he might 

 pass over the dung fire in his village. 



I saw numbers of spears made from the split shin- 

 bones of giraffe, of the horns of various antelope, and 

 Sharpies had a couple made of small elephant tusks 

 and of rhinoceros horn filed down to the necessary 

 thickness. The ivory armlets were exceedingly fine, 

 some an inch thick by three broad. 



At Koratong a Nuer chieftainess asked for a passage, 

 and got it for as far as she wished to go. 



Near the mouth of the Akobo, whence I intended 

 to make my start, I got out on the left bank of the 

 Pibor, and found it untenanted by (visible) game 

 and under several inches of water. From here to 

 the mouth of the Agwei, a parallel stream to the 

 Akobo, the waterway was about twenty-five yards 

 broad, and near the former the left bank was quite 

 ten feet above the water level, and covered by what 

 appeared to be lulu-trees. The few natives we saw 

 ran away, leaving craft and cargo. On our way 

 back, however, they were very friendly. 



At noon, leaving the Agwei River on our left, a 

 few beats of the stern-wheel brought us into the 

 sudd-covered lake of former reports. It appeared to 

 be 600 by 1000 yards, bound by half -submerged 

 bushes, and covered by tJiln sudd. The rais, 

 who had accompanied a previous expedition, now 

 came to me and asked whether we should, as 

 others had done, return. Allah had been kind, said 

 he, to allow us to come so far with but one sudd 

 barrier to negotiate. I sounded and found the water 



