170 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



thirty yards across and ten to twenty feet deep. I 

 should say they covered an area of about half a mile 

 square. A little geological knowledge would have 

 made my visit a useful one. I bought a huge ingot 

 of horseshoe shape, seven inches across by two thick, 

 but later, when my belongings were sent to me from 

 Dem Zubeir, this interesting relic was mislaid. 



From the copper bed to the river Umbelacha was 

 only a few steps. The river was a fine one about seventy 

 yards or more across, with banks of twelve to fifteen 

 feet high. The bed was sandy, with huge, flat bars of 

 rock running across it here and there. The country to 

 the north and west appeared much less hilly than to 

 the south. In the vicinity on both sides of the river 

 were the tangled scrub over the areas formerly under 

 cultivation, and the ruins of huts. The Sultan asked 

 to be allowed to — and subsequently did — remove his 

 capital to this place, its old site. 



We rejoined our party after a short halt, and found 

 a little water ; even following the tracks of monkeys 

 failed to reveal a pool. When eventually we reached 

 the Barada, having drunk at one inadequate pool on 

 the way, two men had dropped out (they rejoined us 

 during the night). Though it was night when we 

 reached the river, we were well lighted by the grass, 

 which was now on fire. It took us some zigzagging 

 about to reach the river. When we crossed, the right 

 bank not being alight, our guide chose, as a cheerful 

 subject of conversation, the probability of putting up a 

 lion as we pushed through the high grass. I breathed 

 more freely when we reached the open forest. 



