CHAP. I.] 
ARRIVAL AT KHARTOUM . 
11 
The principal affluents of the Blue Nile are the 
Rahad and Binder, flowing, like all others, from 
Abyssinia. The Rahad is entirely dry during the 
dry season, and the Dinder is reduced to a succession 
of deep pools, divided by sandbanks, the bed of the 
river being exposed. These pools are the resort of 
numerous hippopotami and the natural inhabitants of 
the river. 
Having completed the exploration of the various 
affluents to the Nile from Abyssinia, passing through 
the Base country and the portion of Abyssinia occupied 
by Mek Nimmur, I arrived at Khartoum, the capital 
of the Soudan provinces, on the 11th June, 1862. 
Khartoum is situated in lat. 15° 29', on a point 
of land forming the angle between the White and 
Blue Niles at their junction. A more miserable,: 
filthy, and unhealthy spot can hardly be imagined. 
Far as the eye can reach, upon all sides, is a sandy 
desert. The town, chiefly composed of huts of un¬ 
burnt brick, extends over a flat hardly above the level 
of the river at high-water, and is occasionally flooded. 
Although containing about 30,000 inhabitants, and 
densely crowded, there are neither drains nor cesspools : 
the streets are redolent with inconceivable nuisances ; 
should animals die, they remain where they fall, to 
create pestilence and disgust. There are, nevertheless, 
