i66 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



narrow, sunken, ascetic face, full of cunning and 

 ferocity. In height 5 feet 7 inches, he had the 

 cringing manners of the mulazimen of the Khalifa. 

 His eldest son was a fine-looking young fellow, who, 

 however, got into trouble. The various members of 

 the Dardug family were superior to the natives around. 

 His territory used to cover 4400 (no by 40) square 

 miles, which held close on 2000 inhabitants. It used 

 to be divided into two by that of Said Baldas. 



No police came to greet us from the town. As I 

 entered it, however, the Anglo-Egyptian flags were 

 hoisted on two poles outside the ex-Sultan's "palace," 

 and his brother, followed by a lot of people carrying 

 food for my party, hurried out, apologising for the 

 small show of hospitality, and assuring us that, till I 

 rode into his village, he was unaware (sic) of my 

 presence in the district. His rest-house was scrupu- 

 lously clean, the ground of the village square well 

 swept. 



When crossing the spurs of J. Giyawa I was struck 

 by the huge peninsula of hills that stretches eastwards 

 to Tearan, and forms the Bahr el Arab-Boru water- 

 shed. The highest hills were in the Nile-Congo water- 

 shed, west of my route. From them descended a 

 number of the Bahr el Arab tributaries. The Reikei, 

 the largest we crossed on our way north, was about 

 10 yards broad, with banks 12 feet high. 



We reached Kafiakingi, Sultan Murad Ibrahim's 

 capital, after a few long marches. Four miles south of 

 it hes Duku, where his principal sheikhs used to live. 

 When passing through it, on this occasion, the sheikhs 



