114 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



of the place, and was most relieved, as I finished, to 

 see his head and hear his ciy of " Ya Said ! " as he, a 

 magnificent swimmer, floundered on the surface like a 

 beginner. I got him on board, and found his thigh 

 pierced with several deep holes. I went on after this, 

 but it was ludicrous to see the precautions of the 

 ra'is when he had to go overboard to clear the screw 

 of sudd. 



At last we came to a belt of sudd between solid 

 banks, nine feet above water level. Further advance 

 was impossible — would almost have been so in the 

 Abii Klea. Just before we reached this spot I landed 

 within fifty yards of a small herd of giraffe which, after 

 a first look, continued their love-making among the 

 old, and gambolling among the young. 



I think the Agwei will turn out to be one of the 

 Ruzi's mentioned by the explorers Captain Welby 

 and Major Austin. When I stopped, it ran in a plain 

 with a few tiny bushes sparsely scattered along the 

 banks. On the horizon were large trees, probably 

 gemeiza. It was eighteen feet deep. 



We turned about at sunset. The rain, hitherto almost 

 continuous, had stopped, so we determined to go all 

 night. We dashed past the side (right bank) of the 

 last belt passed. The next one, which had caused us 

 so much trouble before, almost stopped us. Every 

 one, even the engineer, who left his engines throbbing 

 madly, seized a pole, and after a moment's suspense 

 the launch slid into deep water. At midnight we 

 reached the first belt. But, alas, our channel was 

 blocked by the sudd we had seen floating down. 



