362 BEDEN TO KAKUAK. 



in Bari, to first and second born male twins. A buffalo herd 

 emerged from the thick brushwood near Khor Kinda, a tribu- 

 tary of Khor Yei, and crossed our road, but fortunately did no 

 damage. 



This khor used to form the boundary between the Makraka, 

 who were pressing forward from the south-west, and the Fajehi, 

 who were retreating towards the east. The latter, being in 

 great difficulty, sought the aid of the Danagla, under command 

 of Ahmed Atrush, and were then able to drive back the canni- 

 bals ; they had, however, to pay a heavy price to their deliverers. 

 About an hour from the other side of Khor Kongoro is the 

 boundary between the Fajehi and their relations the Kakuak, 

 in whose district several of our stations are situated. The 

 district of Kakuak is very mountainous, and the lofty summits 

 of Korobe and Kurja served us as landmarks. The road 

 makes a great bend round these mountains, which appear to 

 stretch out in a long line towards the south ; the torrents 

 rushing down from the heights glisten like silver threads, and 

 joining form the important Khor Lunn, which we passed before 

 reaching the cultivated region where sesame, Hyptis,Vigna, eleu- 

 sine, and tobacco grow. White blossoming Tephrosias, on the 

 borders of the fields, are probably grown for use in fishing. 

 Zeribas and fields alternated with steppe and bush ; in the 

 latter the large-leaved Anona were conspicuous, while in the 

 steppe there were groves of Amomum, and sedges and gigantic 

 reeds grew in the muddy bottoms of depressions in the ground. 

 Upon the slope of Jebel Kurja, near some doleb palms, was a 

 small village ruled over by a young woman. From this place 

 we climbed up the steep black, bare granite rocks, over which 

 small watercourses murmured. The splendid deep blue Sal- 

 vias formed a great contrast to the dark red Ipomce'as, which 

 twined about everywhere ; cushions of moss and Selaginellas 

 grew along the water. 



I was reluctant to leave the very beautiful view here which 

 included the mountains of Kalika in the south and those of 

 Ndirfi in the north. We descended between rocks and over 

 rubble to the level plain, through which many swampy khors 

 run, and in which we had twice to ford Khor Lunn before we 

 reached the small station of Korobe. This station is situated 



