292 



NATURE 



yj an. 24, i. 



into African geograpliical nomenclature, for we sliall tlien 

 have tliree political subdivisions of Egyptian Sudan bear- 

 ing the same names as the three above described physical 

 subdivisions of the whole region. 



These however are matters of detail, with which states- 

 men do not usually concern themselves, and apart from 

 the terminology the projected arrangement in this in- 

 stance really recommends itself both on geographical and 

 ethnological grounds. Thus the provinces of Darfur, 

 Kordofan, and Dongola, forming the bulk of " Central 

 Sudan," present a certain physical uniformity in the 

 somewhat steppe-like character of the land, destitute of 

 forest timber and covered mostly with prickly grass, 

 scrub, gum trees, mimosas, and other thorny plants. It 

 is intersected by no large streams, and generally open 



except towards the west, where the Marrah range forms 

 a water-parting between the few rivers and intermittent 

 torrents flowing south-east to the Nile and south-west 

 through the Bahres-Salamat to the Shari. The inhabitants 

 also are of a somewhat homogeneous character, the 

 aborigines belonging mainly to the old Nuba stock almost 

 everywhere interspersed with nomad and slave-hunting 

 Arab tribes. This region communicates with the Nile 

 through two historical caravan routes, one running from 

 El Obeid north-north-east to Khartum, the other from 

 Fasher north-east to El Dabbeh above Old Dongola. 

 Through these outlets the produce of the land — gums, 

 ivory, ostrich-feathers, and slaves — have for ages been 

 forwarded down the Nile to Egypt, the natural emporium 

 of East Central Africa. 



Ethnological Map of ihe Eastern Sjdar 



The Nile itself imparts a distinct geographical unity 

 to the more fertile and better watered provinces of 

 Khartum, Senaar, Berber, Fashoda, and the Equator, 

 forming the second division of " Central Sudan." Here 

 the great artery forms a broad, so^newhat sluggish stream, 

 often choked with " sudd," or floating masses of tangled 

 vegetable matter, but nevertheless generally navigable 

 from the confluence of the White and Blue Niles at 

 Khartum nearly to Lake Albert Nyanzi. The Bahr-el- 

 Jebel, as its upper course is called from the lake to the ' 

 Sobat junction, is thickly peopled on both sides and along 

 the tributary valleys by numerous tribes and even great 

 nations (Dinka, Shilluk, I\Iittu, &c.) of pure Negro 

 and Negroid stock. Lower down the White Nile, that i 

 is, the section from the Sobat to the Azrek confluence, ' 



is held mainly by intruding " Baggara " and other cattle- 

 breeding Arab tribes, interspersed with isolated groups 

 of Nuba, Funj, and other peoples now mostly assimilated 

 to them in speech, usages, and religion. 



Although more varied in aspect, the third division of 

 " Eastern Sudan " enjoys a certain unity at least in its 

 outlines, its three provinces of Suakin,Taka,and Massowah 

 being comprised between the middle course of the Nile 

 and the Red Sea, and stretching from the Egyptian fron- 

 tier southwards to Abyssinia. Here the main stream 

 from Khartum to Asuan (Syene), where it enters Egypt, 

 is essentially a mountain torrent, describing great bends 

 to the right and left while forcing its way over si.K catar- 

 acts and other obstacles through the sandstone and 

 granitic ridges intersecting the Nubian wilderness on the 



