38 
SAVAGE SUDAN 
best with the breeze right astern, or at least on the 
quarter. Often on that section we have to undergo the 
laborious work of towing from the bank, or warping to 
windward by kedges. 
Beyond Lake No (627 miles) the main Nile resumes 
its southerly direction ; but at this point commences the 
region of “ Sudd,” and here, for upwards of 300 miles, the 
irregular course of the stream, winding through papyrus- 
barriers, precludes navigation by sail. The “Sudd” can 
only be negotiated by aid of towage. Once, however, 
its southern limit has been reached, there opens out 
another beautiful stretch of some 200 miles, which is 
navigable by sail. This brings the voyager not only to 
the limits of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, but also to 
those of all Nile navigation; since above Rejaf (1200 
miles south of Khartoum) cataracts forbid further progress 
afloat. 
It remains to add that the North Wind, so favourable 
when voyaging southwards, absolutely precludes all hope 
of returning by sail. From whatever point the traveller 
may have reached, he must rely upon steam to find his 
way back—that is, in winter. 
Such, in bare outline, is the itinerary of a voyage on 
White Nile. It was on December 18th, 1862, that Sir 
Samuel Baker set sail from Khartoum on his memorable 
voyage of discovery. Exactly half a century later, from 
the same spot, our little gyassa cast off her moorings 
to follow in his wake. But how changed were all the 
conditions! The Sudan, as Baker found it, was a 
vortex of savagery; and that savagery accentuated by 
the corrupt and hypocritical power that then held it in 
thrall—a power more loathsome than savagery itself. 
Slave-raiding, rapine, murder—■ those were the staple 
industries of an Egyptian Sudan. Baker’s masterly 
undertaking seemed to inaugurate the dawn of happier 
days. His foundations were well and truly laid—fore- 
