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The National Geographic Magazine 



THE SIZE OF THE SUDAN 



The true significance of Great Britain's 

 peaceful conquest might more readily be 

 appreciated if the size of the Sudan were 

 considered. True, its boundaries are not 

 altogether determinate and irrevocable ; 

 one or two rebellious sheikhs on the west 

 are awaiting the return of reason or the 

 arrival of a punitive expedition — the 

 option is largely theirs. Questions of ad- 

 ministration have pushed the northern 

 boundary to Shellal, at the head of the 

 first or lowest cataract of the Nile, but in 

 a general way the Sudan extends from 

 the Red Sea 20 degrees of longitude west 

 to the Sahara, and from Egypt 20 south 

 to the Equator. Various exceptions and 

 re-entering angles should be cut in this 

 parallelogram, but it is roughly accurate 

 and will serve for the purposes of com- 

 parison. 



Reduced to the simplest terms of 

 American geography, it may be said that 

 if Khartum, the Sudan capital, were 

 placed on St Louis, the northern bound- 

 ary would fall near Saint Paul and Min- 

 neapolis ; the southern would be about on 

 the parallel of Memphis, Tennessee, 

 while its Red Sea port, Suakin, and its 

 yet to be fixed Saharan outpost would 

 find counterparts in Cincinnati, Ohio, and 

 Denver, Colorado, respectively. When it 

 comes to comparison of areas, only the 

 largest of our American states has any 

 show; a dozen of the smaller Atlantic 

 coast states could be readily accommo- 

 dated in the Sudan. 



Of course, the resources of this inland 

 empire are as yet hardly guessed at. It 

 is certain that as an agricultural field it is 

 in some parts along the thousands of 

 miles of the Nile valley peerless, inex- 

 haustible. Cotton, wheat, and cane are 

 staple and give every promise of prolific 

 crops, while further afield there are all 

 the indications of excellent stock ranges 

 and cattle-raising. Rubber and many of 

 the tropical fruits promise in the Nile 

 districts to afford satisfactory results, 

 while the specialties which have com- 

 posed the greater part of the Sudan com- 

 merce from the dawn of recorded time — 



ivory, gum, and ostrich feathers — all 

 worth almost their weight in gold, and 

 which can bear the cost of transportation, 

 are absolutely without fear of competi- 

 tion. 



THE POEITICAE SITUATION 



Without entering on the complex and 

 unique relations and functions of the 

 English chief official in the Nile Valley, 

 it may be worth while to tell you an 

 anecdote of an actual incident which 

 will perhaps make the situation fairly 

 clear to the average republican and un- 

 diplomatic understanding. Upon one oc- 

 casion negotiations had progressed to a 

 point where Lord Cromer required, as a 

 matter of form, the Khedive's signature 

 to a state paper. Waiting upon him for 

 that purpose in the khedivial palace, Lord 

 Cromer was more surprised than annoyed 

 to observe a certain querulousness and 

 quibbling over small matters in the young 

 monarch, which betokened a rather crit- 

 ical, not to say rebellious, mood. Finally 

 screwing his courage to the sticking point 

 and giving rather free rein to his im- 

 agination : 



"But what if I don't choose to sign?" 



"Then, Your Highness, Ceylon," 

 blandly observed Lord Cromer. 



"Ceylon?" asked the young monarch, 

 as he recalled Arabi Pasha and his exile. 



"Yes," replied the imperturbable Eng- 

 lishman. 



"But suppose I ignore your threat and 

 still refuse to sign," persisted the Egyp- 

 tian. 



"Perhaps Your Highness will do me 

 the favor to look from this window a 

 moment," proposed the viceroy. 



The Khedive rose, crossed the room, 

 and side by side with Lord Cromer looked 

 down on a full battalion of Highlanders, 

 drawn up, under arms, in the palace yard 

 below. Not a word was said, but he 

 resumed his seat and affixed his auto- 

 graph with no further remark on that 

 or any subsequent occasion. 



Like the fabled Phcenix of ancient 

 Lydia, neighbor of the Sudan, Khartum 

 has risen from its ashes, from its years of 

 war and desolation, and it is difficult to 



