UP THE NILE. ii 



beadwork (aprons, &c.) such as is so often found, especially 

 amongst the upper Bari and the Makraka Nyam-Nyam. 

 The blacksmiths, who are seen in almost every village, con- 

 fine themselves to the manufacture of lances, arrows, and the 

 above-named ornaments, as well as a kind of shovel (Arabic, 

 malat) for cultivating the soil. These shovels form also a unit 

 of value, by means of which porters, &c, are paid and oxen 

 and brides are bought. The Madi language is totally different 

 from the Bari, and is more akin to the Makraka language. 

 There is nothing specially noteworthy in the Madi customs. 



The day for our departure arrived, and in beautifully cool 

 weather the little screw-steamer Nyanza started up-stream 

 towards the south. At an almost regular speed of about four 

 English miles an hour, we steamed up the broad and beautiful 

 river, which unfortunately was full of floating vegetation. The 

 screw of the steamer was, to begin with, small, and rotating 

 amongst the floating grasses, it kept getting entangled with 

 plants, so that the steamer was often compelled to stop for 

 a time, so as to allow a man to get down and clean the screw. 

 The west bank above Dufile was adorned by a long row of 

 Doleb palms, which looked very beautiful as they waved 

 against the dark-blue hills in the background. I had not 

 seen so great a number of these palms since leaving the Shiluk 

 country between Fashoda and the Sobat, near the northern 

 limit of their distribution ; and I may mention here that they 

 become more and more rare towards the Equator. In Mtesa's 

 country I did not see a single one. 



Rising from the low east bank of the river, the hills of 

 Jeifi are seen from a long distance ; they gradually advance 

 towards the river, into which they gently slope. Short grass 

 and isolated tall trees adorn the otherwise bare flanks, the red 

 colour of which is very striking. Papyrus and yellow flower- 

 ing ambaj (Herminiera) deeply fringe both banks. On the 

 east bank wild rocks, towering one above another, form a 

 kind of chain, which gradually sinks, in the neighbour- 

 hood • of the perennial Unyama, in order to give room to 

 the plain which gradually slopes to the east. The west bank, 

 on the contrary, presents a plain, evidently exposed to floods, 

 while rather high and well-marked columnar mountains form 



