228 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



gourd, big as a wash-basin. I thought of Gunga 

 Din's draught, " It was crawhn' and it stunk," as he 

 guided a trickle of it into my mouth by letting it flow 

 between his two forefingers laid along the side of the 

 vessel, tips a quarter of an inch apart. I had been 

 parched. 



That afternoon about twenty Rizeghat sheikhs 

 (minor) turned up — fine manly men, who reminded 

 me of my favourite N.C.O. of that tribe in the 

 Hagana. 



The conversation turned on all subjects — the might 

 of their head sheikh, Musa Madibu, in whose forearm 

 the radius and ulna were joined in one bone, and a 

 blow from whose fist felled an ox. They asked why 

 we paid tribute to the Sultan of Darfur ! Told me 

 that one of their tribe had been excused paying tribute 

 by Gordon in this wise. Hearing that the Governor- 

 General was fond of eggs, he collected thousands, and 

 had them ready in large baskets for him when he 

 arrived in his village. They described their method 

 of riding down giraffe, which is the same as that of 

 the Selim Baggara with buffalo : the only difference 

 being that, in one case, they watch the hindquarters 

 to avoid a cow-kick ; in the other, the fore to avoid 

 being gored. 



My questions related to the river we were on : 

 whence it came, where it flowed, &c. The route to 

 Shakka — or, to be more correct, to Abu Gabra, where 

 the wells are — was minutely described, as also that 

 to Kalaka. I subsequently verified the information 

 1 then received by questioning the emirs (political 



