Chapter XXVI: Conclusion

Some time ago a small detachment of Egyptian troops was passing through a village in a remote and primitive part of Kordofan. A soldier of the party, going to draw water at the well, there met, like Jacob, one of the daughters of the people, who helped him in his task. Out of gratitude for her assistance or admiration for her charms, he gave her one of the few things he had to offer, a large red cotton handkerchief. Attired in it, the damsel excited the admiration and envy of all her fellows, and from this chance seed arose a demand for Manchester cotton goods. But as the desired articles could not be purchased for nothing, the supply of charitable soldiers being limited, the inhabitants had to apply themselves to the collection of gum in order to be able to satisfy their wants. And thus the exports improved as well as the imports.

In different forms the same process is going on all over the Soudan, and the sternest admirer of Arcadian simplicity could hardly deny that the people are happier and better because of it. The country is not such an El Dorado that they are likely to be corrupted by excessive wealth. Their awakening needs can only be satisfied by means of habits of industry. Thanks to good government they are able on the one hand securely to enjoy the fruits of their labour, and on the other hand, they are prevented from taking any short-cuts to fortune by raiding their neighbours and selling them into slavery.

If it were necessary to justify British interference in the Soudan, the fact of the repression of slavery would alone be sufficient. If the slave-trade does still exist, it does so only precariously in a few remote holes and corners. The markets of Khartoum and Omdurman and other centres are greater and more various than they have ever been before, but this one traffic, once their principal feature, is absent and gone for ever. No change could be greater or eventually more beneficial in its effects on the whole life and character alike of the slave-owners, the slave-dealers, and those unhappy tribes who involuntarily furnished their material.

The establishment of personal liberty and of security for life and property, elsewhere the commonplaces of government, is not always the result of civilization in Africa. They are new, at any rate, in the Soudan. But it would ill become the English rulers of the Soudan to take any credit to themselves if their five years’ record had no more to show than this. They must not be content to be judged by comparison with any former rulers. After the Khalifa’s tyranny, almost any government would seem mild and beneficent. It is not enough merely to have stanched the wounds by which the patient was bleeding to death; the foundations must be laid for his complete restoration to health and vigour. Judged by this test, however, they need not fear the verdict.

The chief difficulty is the universal ignorance and superstition that prevail. But these ancient fortresses are being directly assaulted every day by the extension of a sound system of education. The strong administration of equal justice, and the increasing growth of trade and commerce, work powerfully in the same direction. All three agents are stimulated by the improvement of communications by river, road, and railway. There is hope in the fact that, though the people start from a very low level, their past has not been one of complete barbarism. Although Egyptian and dervish rule repressed all habits of industry and culture, the people of the country which was once the kingdom of Sennar had considerable repute as weavers, goldsmiths, curriers, and potters. They still practise a native form of inoculation for small-pox. And, to take their traditions still further back, it is said that in some places, in the elaborate dressing of their hair and the use of ornamental sandals on great occasions, they reproduce the fashions of ancient Egypt. Ed Damer, near the junction of the Atbara and the Nile, now a paltry village, had once a university of its own no less than Sennar.

Time, of course, must be allowed for these influences to work. Not in five years and not in one generation can the evils deep-rooted in the past be swept away. Though all the reforms have been introduced most cautiously, and with great regard for the prejudices and traditions of the people, it is still sometimes necessary to teach a sharper lesson, and to clearly advertise the fact that if the Government is benign and merciful it is not because it is weak. When such occasions do arise, as in the case of the last in the succession of Mahdis, suppressed a few months ago in Southern Kordofan, there is no fumbling and delay. The blow is struck at once and decisively. There is a wonderful difference between a prophet with a divine mission to regenerate Islam by force of arms slaughtering a rabble of ill-led Egyptian peasants, and an impostor unable to free himself from prison, or dangling from a gallows in El Obeid after being captured in the field and fairly tried with all the forms of law.

Such incidents, when properly handled, are only ripples on the general calm. There have been rumours from time to time of troubles likely to arise from the action of the Sheikh-es-Senussi. There were internal troubles in the kingdom of Wadai, which lies to the west of Darfur, and it was thought that these might force him to abandon his peaceful attitude, for his influence is predominant in that country. It would undoubtedly be dangerous if he were to proclaim a holy war, for he has many adherents in the Soudan as well as in Egypt. But until now his sect has been founded on rules of conduct, and he and his predecessors have steadily refused to adopt a militant attitude. The Mahdi was a good deal afraid of him, and nominated him as one of his Khalifas, but he refused to accept the position. It is now announced that the French have occupied Wadai; we have every reason to welcome them as neighbours. Wadai was one of the few remaining strongholds of the slave-trade, and its suppression there will facilitate the operations of the Slavery Department in Western Kordofan. And should any trouble arise from the followers of the Sheikh-es-Senussi or any other sect in that quarter, it will be a great advantage to have the co-operation of the French, who would have the same interest as ourselves in speedily putting it down. On the other side, now that the frontier is settled, there is not likely to be trouble with the Abyssinians, and the Italians in Eritrea and Massowah are the best of neighbours.

It may some day be necessary to interfere in Darfur, though not during the reign of the present Sultan, Ali Dinar. Ali Dinar has seen something of the world; he is a vigorous ruler, and he understands very plainly that his interests lie in keeping on good terms with the Soudan Government. But some day Ali Dinar will be gathered to his fathers, and possibly some Rehoboam will succeed him, who will cause internal dissensions, or someone afflicted with Napoleonic ideas, who will have to be chastised. Sooner or later, something of the kind is bound to happen, but it is to be hoped that a country so remote from the Nile will continue under its native rulers as long as possible.

What the future political status of the Soudan will be depends upon the course of events in Egypt. As long as Lord Cromer is there—and long may it be—everyone may feel easy. But when some lesser man has to stand as buffer between Egypt and the Foreign Office, it may make a great difference whether Egypt takes her place as definitely a part of the British Empire or not. Every year the number of British civilians in the Soudan service is growing. Great as have been the services of the officers of the Egyptian army, their employment has this disadvantage, that they are liable to be called away just when they are most required, and when they have thoroughly learned the business of administration. It has been good for the Soudan to have the choice of some of the most capable officers in the British Army for her civil work, and a spell of civil administration is excellent training for the soldier. But a glance at the names of the governors and inspectors of provinces year by year shows what a number of changes there are under the system. Some of them will probably throw in their lot definitely with the Soudan; but this can only be counted upon in exceptional cases. As administration becomes more complicated, it will be less possible for the soldier to take up the reins as he can now. Specially trained men will be more and more necessary. But at present the Soudan civil service is a water-tight compartment. Its members are in a doubtful sort of position. They are not in the Egyptian service, nor in the British Colonial Service, nor are they definitely under the Foreign Office. Up till now there has been no difficulty in recruiting the small number of capable civilians required. But as the number increases there may be some difficulty in obtaining sufficient candidates of the right stamp. Unless the country becomes very much more wealthy, it has no great prizes to offer. But if the whole Nile Valley were in practice regarded as one country, which it really is, and all under one head, with one combined civil service, there would be much more scope for able men, and each part of it would benefit by the possibilities of interchange.

It would be a great piece of organization; but, with Indian experience before us, there is no reason why it should not be a success. Direct administration ought not to be in the hands of the Foreign Office, which has plenty of diplomatic business of its own to look after. In one department, and that a very important one, the whole of Nileland will, indeed, be so organized in practice. When the great schemes for the final binding of the Nile are put in hand, they must be all under one control, and that control will be exercised from Cairo. It would be intolerable and impossible that every time it was thought desirable to open the Reservoir gates, say of Lake Albert, there should have to be negotiations between district governments or departments. The water of the Nile has made its powerful political influence felt throughout the Soudan; in time it will play its part in Uganda.

But such semi-continental speculations are unprofitable except for those who have some power to realize them. For the present the horizon of Soudan politics is bounded by the railway. From its completion all immediate plans of progress must take their start. It would be foolish to take too sanguine a view. Railway communication between Khartoum and the Red Sea will not smooth away all the difficulties of administration. There will still be years of low Nile and scanty rainfall. There will still be an abominable climate during a large portion of the year. Mosquitoes, sand-flies, and other insects will still ply their uncomfortable occupations. Dhurra will still suffer from curious and unique parasites. Cattle will be subject to murrain. Perhaps cotton, free from ‘worm’ and ‘hog,’ will discover some new foe to combat. Locusts and white ants will still occasionally devour what they ought not, and possibly develop fresh objectionable tastes. New Mahdis, unconvinced by the doom of their predecessors, may still require to be put down from time to time. Economic laws cannot be expected to work with the same certainty and freedom from cross-currents as they do in Egypt. In other words, the Soudan is a tropical country, subject to surprises: it will have its ups and downs like other places. These and similar difficulties it would have to face, railway or no railway. But beyond question, once the line is open, it will be in a far better position to grapple with them all, and to reap the benefits of the sound foundations which are now being solidly and patiently laid by the handful of Englishmen to whose charge its destinies have been entrusted by Fate. And whatever else of good or evil the future may have in store, the Soudan has one treasure which makes it certain that it will never again be allowed to lapse from the pale of civilization, and that is not the gold which attracted the attention of its former invaders, with such disastrous consequences both to conquerors and conquered, but the inestimable possession of the Nile.

INDEX

Abbas Pasha, 30

Abd-el-Kader, 160

Abd-el-Rahman the Just, 151

Abu Hamed, 168, 175, 176, 229

Abu Simbel, temple of, 174

Abu Zeid, 125

Abyssinia:

Bonchamps Expedition from, 170

coffee from, 239, 241

Egypt—

annexations by, 153

defeat by, 144

defeat of, 154

frontier settlement with, 193, 232, 274

gold district in, 245

Gordon’s arrangement with, 155

Khalifa at war with, 166

Nile, treaty regarding (1902), 113

scenery and climate on frontier of, 189

Sennar triumph over, 140, 141

slave-raiding on frontier of, 211

trade with—

cotton in demand for, 242

railway suggested to open up, 232

Sobat as route for, 233

Achmet Bey, 143

Acre, 24, 28

Adlan, King, 140, 144

Agricultural Banks, 105, 234

Ahmed Hamad, 207

Aird and Co., 81

Akobo River, 187

Albert Edward Lake, 121

Albert Nyanza:

Baker’s discovery of, 149

circumnavigation of, 151, 157

dam on, scheme for, 118-123

regulator at, suggestion of, 132, 133

Alexandria, journey from, to Khartoum, 173-177

Ali Dinar, Sultan of Darfur, 190, 192, 193, 274

Amara Dunkas, 140

Ambadi, Lake, 126

American Medical Mission, 223

Angarebs, 182

‘Antiquos,’ 182

Arabia, slave demand in, 212

Arabic, 198, 224

Arabs:

as engineers, 29

characteristics of, 223, 225

intermixture with negroes, 140

misrule by, 19

slave-trade carried on by, 140, 142

Soudanese settlements of (A.D. 700), 139

Training College for, 204, 222, 223

views on slavery, 213

Ardrup, 154

Argin, 166

Assiout Barrage:

beneficial effect of, 89

construction of, 85, 86

cost of, 88, 89

Assouan:

granite outcrop at, 73, 81, 93; quarries, 93, 94

journey to, from Luxor, 174

maximum flood at, variations in, 11

Nile discharges at, 6-10, 75, 89

prosperity of, 91

‘red’ water at, 8

site of, 92

Assouan Dam:

appearance of, 95-98

Barrage in relation to, 28

beneficial effects of, 82-84

compensation cases arising from, 103, 104

construction of—

difficulties of, 82

numbers employed in, 82

time allowed for, 81

cost of, 88

dimensions of, 82

distribution of water stored by, 82, 83, 85

financial arrangements regarding, 79, 84

inauguration of, 92, 98-102

locks on west side of, 82, 96

nature of, 74, 75

Philæ champions’ effect on, 76

suggestion of, 72, 73

volume of water to be provided by, if raised to full height, 114

Atbara, Battle of the, 168, 176

Atbara River:

basin irrigation on, suggested, 236

disappearance of, 6, 10

flood-water on, date of, 8

intercepting of, suggested, 133

junction of, with Nile, 5

railway to cross, project of, 230

soil in district of, 189

Austrian R.C. Mission, 223

Azande (Niam-Niams), 145, 194

Baadi, King, 140, 141

Babu class non-existent, 224

Baggara tribes, 190

Bahr el Gebel. See Nile, White

Bahr el Ghazal:

Kitchener’s gunboats on, 168

sudd in, 126, 131

waste of, 5, 124, 125

Bahr el Ghazal Province:

finances of, 259

French advance into, 169, 170

Gessi’s exploits in, 157

iron in, 244

nature of country, 189

rubber from, 239, 244

situation of, 191

slave-trade in, 145, 150

Suleiman’s revolt in, 156

tribes in, 194

waterways in, 189, 233

Bahr el Homr, 169

Bahr el Zeraf. See under Nile

Bahr Yusuf, 29, 31, 85

Baker, Sir Benjamin, 70

Baker, Sir Samuel: dam suggested by (1867), 73; travels of (1863 and
1870), 128; Ismail’s employment of, 148, 149

Baker, Valentine, 164

Baksheesh, 103

Bari tribe, 180

Baring, Sir E. See Cromer

Baro River, 187

Barrage, nature of, 46. See also Damietta and Rosetta

Barun negroes, 211

Basin irrigation. See under Irrigation

Belgians, advance of, 169

Lado Enclave leased to, 188

Beni Gerrar, 190

Beni Omr, 139

Beni Shangul, 142, 245

Berber:

colony at, a failure, 227

fakir suspected of murder in, 210

Kitchener’s occupation of, 168

kuttab, model, established at, 222

railway from Suakin to, project of, 165, 230, 231, 244, 256,
267-269, 277

rebuilding of, 177

situation of, 191

telegraph from, to Suakin, 256, 257

Berber Province:

cotton in, 242; prospects of investment in, 244

finances of, 259

irrigation needed in, 235

sakiehs, derelict, in (1881), 148

sugar-cane cultivated in, 241

taxation in, remission of, 249; incidence of, formerly, 250

Berea, 20

Berms, nature of, 16; irrigation of, 32, 37

Bersine (Egyptian clover), 36, 39-41

Blackwater fever, 194

Blue Nile. See under Nile

Bonchamps Expedition, 170

Bongo tribe, 145, 180, 194

Bor, 119, 124, 191

Borillos, Lake, 20

Boulé, M., 73

British rule, native attitude towards, 107-109, 263

Brooke, Mr., 55

Brown, Sir Hanbury, 44, 53, 55

Cadi, office of, 203, 204

Cairo:

journey from, to Luxor, 174

Mohammedan University of, 109

Nile at—

discharges of, 16, 17

‘red’ water, 8

view of, 4

Caisse de la Dette, 78

Camels—breeding of, 190, 233; employment of, 232, 233

Cassel, Sir E., 79

Cattle-breeding, 190

Chak Chak, 194

Chaltin, 169

Channurmin, 194

Cholera, 144

Clover (bersine), 36, 39-41

Coal, price of, 228, 255; absence of, 245

Coast lands, sinking of, 21

Coffee, 239, 241

Commerce. See Soudan, trade

Congo Free State, 169, 187

Copper-mines, 152, 245

Corruption, 103, 197

Corvée:

abolition of, 64, 105

floods, during, 65, 66

Government right regarding, maintained, 65

hardship of, formerly, 44, 59-63

liability to serve in, 63

Mehemet Ali’s use of, 24, 27

periods of demand for, 62

remains of, 18

Cotton crop:

diseases of—‘worm’ and ‘hog’ non-existent, 244, 276

experimental farm at Shendi, 243

hardiness of, 84

irrigation of, 40-42; perennial, required, 24

seasons of, 40, 41

Soudan suitable for, 237, 241, 242;

quality produced, 243

value of, 39

Cotton goods:

Soudanese imports of, 237, 238; demand in Kordofan, 270

Cotton, raw:

Soudanese exports of, 239, 241

Cotton, Sir Arthur, 74

Cromer, Lord (Sir Evelyn Baring): Lord Lawrence compared with, 43,
44; on the Barrage, 58; arranges financial difficulties of Reservoir
scheme, 78, 79, 82; importance of work represented by, 100; insight
of, 105; promise of, regarding education, 225; confidence in, 274;
Report of, quoted, 205, 267, 268

Dabik, 21

Dam. See Assouan Dam

Damietta Barrage:

construction of, 47, 49-53

cost of repairs to, 51

effect of, in 1884, 50

useless condition of, formerly, 30, 43

Damirah, 21

Danagla tribe, 167

Dar Nuba, 180

D’Arnaud, 127

Darfur:

Belgian advance to, 169

disturbance on borders of, 192

feathers from, 180, 239, 241

founding of sultanate of, 140

independence of, 190, 274

Ismail’s annexation of, 151, 152

Khalifa from, 165

nature of country, 188

rebellion in (1877), 155, 156; revolt against the Khalifa, 166

Sultan of, 190, 192, 193, 274

Dates, Dongola varieties of, 229

tax on, 39, 252

Dem Zubehr, 169, 194

Dembo tribe, 146

Dervishes, 165, 166, 186, 191

Dinder River, 187, 242

Dinka tribe, 145, 180, 194

Diseases:

blackwater fever, 194

cholera, 144

malaria, 189, 234

research connected with, 225

Dhurra, 236, 276

Dongola:

colony at, a failure, 227

dervish occupation of, 165

fakir charged with poisoning in, 208-210

Kitchener’s occupation of, 168

kuttab, model, established at, 222

situation of, 191

Dongola Expedition (1896), 166

Dongola Province:

climate of, 229

cotton in, 242; prospects of investment in, 244

dates in, 229

irrigation needed in, 235

Land Commission in, 202

land-tax, proportion contributed by, 259

language of, 190

Mahdi, the, a native of, 160

population of, 230

profits of, 258, 259

railway in, 229, 230

sakiehs, derelict, in (1881), 148

sugar-cane cultivated in, 241

taxation in, remission of, 249; incidence of, formerly, 250

trade of, 230

Drainage, 87, 88

Duem:

district near, 235

gum from, 240

railway from, suggested, 232

telegraph at, 257

Duffile, 5, 119, 169

Ed Damer, 272

Edka, Lake, 20

Education. See under Soudan

Egypt:

Abyssinia, relations with. See under Abyssinia

Agricultural Bank, 105

cultivable land in, situation of, 13; amount of, 37

finances of—

Agricultural Bank, 105

Caisse de la Dette, 78

international complications of, 78

reproductive expenditure, 88, 104

government of, 261

irrigation. See Irrigation

Egypt, Lower:

crops, table of, 38

irrigation improvement in, due to Dam, 83

Egypt, Upper:

basin irrigation in, 16

characteristics of, 68, 69

crops in—

cotton, 41

rice, 42

summer, 39; increase in, due to Barrage, 50, 51, 55

table of, 38

cultivable land in, 13, 37

Egyptians:

Arab attitude towards, 223

army—

fellaheen’s dislike to service in, 33, 265

officers, grievances of, 108, 109

British rule, attitude towards, 107-109

characteristics of, 106, 109; physical, 33, 180

slave-trade encouraged by, 145, 154, 155

Soudan—

Government posts in, held by, 197, 198, 266

misrule of, 144-148

El Fasher, 164

El Nemr, 143

El Obeid:

gum from, 181, 240

Mahdi’s victory over, 162

railway to, from Omdurman, suggested, 232

slave-trade suppression inspector at, 212

Soudanese Cadi appointed to, 204

telegraph at, 257

El Teb, 164

Emin Bey, 151, 156

Equatoria:

Baker’s expedition to, 128

Emin’s rule of, 156

Gordon appointed Governor-General of, 150

Eritrea, 187, 191, 274

Fakirs, 208-210

Famaka, 168, 187

Fashoda:

French advance to, 169, 170

Shilluk rising at, 157

telegraph to, 257

Fashoda Province:

cotton wild in, 241

finances of, 259

natives of, 193

situation of, 191

tobacco in, 241

Fatiko, 150

Fayoum:

exceptional character of, 13

irrigated lands in, 31; increase of, due to Dam, 83

Mœris, Lake, in, 29

water-wheels in, 34

Fazokhl:

British and Egyptian advance to, 168

Fungs at, 140

Ismail’s advance to, 142

tobacco produced at, 241

Feathers, exports of, from Soudan, 180, 239, 241; tax on, 253

Fellaheen. See Egyptians

Finance. See under Egypt and Soudan

Football, 220

Foster, E. W. P., 44

French:

engineers, work of, 29. See also Mougel

Fashoda, advance of, 169, 170

Wadai occupied by, 273

French Congoland, 187

Fuel, price of, 228, 255

Fungs, 140, 141

Gallabat:

cotton grown at, 242

railway to, suggested, 232

telegraph at, 257

Garstin, Sir W.: surveys by, 44, 115, 123, 126; quoted, 114, 121,
122, 130; cited, 119, 122

Gash. See Khor Gash

Gedaref:

colony at, 228

cotton grown at, 242

Mahdi’s success at, 164

railway to, suggested, 232

telegraph at, 257

Gessi, 129, 157, 158

Gharbia, 45, 64

Ghazal River. See Bahr el Ghazal

Ghezireh (Island of Sennar):

profits of, 259

railway in, suggested, 232

situation of, 191

soil of, 191, 235, 236, 242

Ginnis, 165

Gizeh, irrigation improvement in, 83

Pyramids of, 63, 94

Godavery Dam, 74

Gold:

Nile Valley Gold Mining Company, 232

prospecting licenses for, 245

undesirability of, for Soudan, 245

Golo tribe, 146, 194

Gondokoro (Ismailia):

Baker’s arrival at (1871), 150

boats plying to, 233

position of, 187

Gordon, General: Ismail’s employment of, 148; Governor-General of
Equatoria, 150; attitude of, towards slave trade, 150, 151; advises
occupation of Mombasa, 153; recalled to the Soudan, 155; quells
Darfur rebellion, 155, 156; tours of, 156; returns to England, 157;
sent to evacuate the Soudan, 163; death of, 165

Gordon College:

bacteriological research laboratory at, 217, 224

buildings and situation of, 178, 214-217

character of, 217, 224

funds of, 216, 217

technical workshop apparatus at, 217, 221

Goz Abu Goma, 257

Graham, General, 164, 165

Granite at Assouan, 73, 81, 93; in the Atbara region, 189

Greek traders, 245, 246

Grenfell, General Lord, 166

Guinea worm, 234

Gum:

exports of, from Soudan (1879-1881), 239; (1899-1900), 240

price of, 240

sorting of, 180

substitutes for, 240

tax on, 253

uses of, 239

Guttapercha (rubber), 239, 244; tax on, 253

Halfa (see also Wadi Halfa):

British appearance of, 175

primary school at, 218, 222

situation of, 191

Halfa Province, profits of, 259

Halfaya:

characteristics of, 177

industrial school to be removed to, 220

Hamegs, 140, 141, 143

Harrar, 152, 153, 156

Harûn, 156

Hashab, 239, 240

Hashin, 165

Hellet Abbas, 227

Herodotus, 70, 134

Hicks Pasha, 162

Hofrat-en-Nahas, 152, 169, 245

Hunter, General, 176

Ibrahim, 142

Ibrahimiyah Canal, 30, 63, 85, 89

India:

administrators from, 43

Soudanese trade with, formerly, 231, 237, 238

Indian corn (maize), 40, 55

Iron, 146, 244

Irrigation:

basin—

extent of system in Upper Egypt, 16

improvements in, 15

invention of, 13

method of, 13-15

expenditure on, in twenty years, 88

perennial—

advantages and disadvantages of, 25, 26

Corvée hardships incidental to, 61

high flood in relation to, 132

Mehemet Ali’s schemes of, 23-26

pumping-engines, 35; system of rotations, 56

responsibilities connected with, 111, 112

Soudan, in, need and scope for, 234-236, 242, 243

Islam, 160, 161

Ismail, Khedive: corvée employed by, 30, 31, 62; characteristics of,
31, 71; Soudan under, 139, 148; annexations by, 149, 169; slave
policy of, 149; impending ruin of, 151

Ismail Pasha Ayoub, 128

Ismail (son of Mehemet Ali), 142, 143

Ismailia (Gondokoro), 150

Italians, Massowah under, 169, 274

stone-cutters, 82

Ivory, 180, 239, 253

Jaaffer Pasha, 147

Jaalin tribe, 167, 186

John, King of Abyssinia, 154

Juba River Expedition, 153, 154

Jur River, 131, 194, 233

Jur tribe, 146, 194

Justice, idea of, 205, 206

Kabbabish tribe, 166, 190

Kantar, equivalent of, 84

Karnak, 174

Kassala:

colony at, 227, 228

cotton factory formerly at, 242

railway branch to, suggested, 232

situation of, 191

sugar-cane and tobacco cultivated at, 241

telegraph at, 257

Kassala Province (Taka):

coffee from, 239

cotton from, 241

educational facilities non-existent in, 223

Egyptian tyranny over, 144

finances of, 259

Kerma, 229

Kerreri, 168, 183

Khalifa Abdullah: Mahdi succeeded by, 165; advance of, 166; tyranny
of, 167, 186; fall of, 168; house of, 180; carriage of, 181;
learning suppressed by, 216

Khanoon Humayoum, 201

Khartoum:

British battalion at, maintenance of, 263

climate of, 179

court of appeal at, 202

fall of, to the Mahdi, 165

football at, 220

gardens at, 235

Gordon besieged in, 164

Gordon College at. See Gordon College

Greek traders in, 246

gum sorting at, 240

journey to, from Alexandria, 173-177

mudirieh of, 191

mutiny at, 192

Nile, discharges of, 6, 8; view of, 179

primary school at, 218, 219, 222

quarters and condition of, 178, 179

situation of, 5, 177

slave-trade centre at, 144

Suakin, railway connection with, project of, 230, 231, 244, 256,
267-269, 277

telegraph to Duem from, 257

Khartoumers, 145, 149

Khor Baraka, 242

Khor Gash, 187, 228; alluvial deposits of, 241, 242

Kind, payment in, 252

Kitchener, Lord: advance of, blocked by sudd, 129; successes of,
168; interest of, in Gordon College, 216-218

Koran, study of, 221, 222

Kordofan:

Achmet’s conquest of, 143

cotton goods, demand for, in, 270

Egyptian tyranny over, 144

feathers from, 239, 241

gum from, 180

iron in, 245

Mahdi, a, captured in, 162, 195, 272

mixed race in, 190

nature of country, 188

Nuba settlers in, 140; raiding by, 193

profits of, 258

rising in (1878), 156

situation of, 191

tobacco and sugar-cane in 241

Korosko, 174; desert, 168

Korti, 165, 176

Kosheh, 165

Kurshid, 144

Kuttabs, 221-223

Lado, Nile discharges at, 6, 8

Lado Enclave, 188, 261

Lakes, 20, 21

Lawrence, Lord, 44

Linant Pasha, 27, 46

Liotard, M., 169

Lupton Bey, 164

Luxor, 174

McKillop Pasha, 153

Mahdi, the (Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed): rising of, 160-165; death of,
165; tomb of, 181; attitude of, towards Sheikh-es-Senussi, 273

Mahdis, various, 195, 272, 276

Maize (Indian corn), 40, 55

Malaria, 189, 234

Mamurs, 192, 202

Manures, 36, 37

Marchand, Captain, 169, 170

Mareotis, Lake, 20

Marno, 129

Martial law, 200

Martyr, Colonel, 129

Massowah:

Egyptian army’s retreat to, 154

Ismail’s purchase of, 149

Italian possession of, 169, 274

Mather, Sir W., 217, 221

Mehemet Ali: career and works of, 23-29; scientific expedition
despatched by, 127; Soudanese Empire founded by, 139, 141, 142;
otherwise mentioned, 70, 71

Mekhemeh Sharia, 203

Menelik, King, 154, 193

Menes, King, 4, 13

Menoufia, 45, 64

Menzalah, Lake, 20, 21

Merowe, 165, 168

Meshra el Rek, 168, 194

Messalamia, 257

Metemmeh:

Achmet’s massacre at, 143

Jaalin massacred at, 186

relief expedition to, 165

Military government, nature of, 198

Missionaries, sphere of, 223

Mœris, Lake, 29, 70

Mohamed Pasha Said, 162

Mohammed Ahmed, Sheikh. See Mahdi

Mohammedan law, sacred, 203, 204

Universities, 215

Moncrieff, Sir Colin Scott. See Scott-Moncrieff

Mongalla, 187

Mombasa, Gordon’s advice regarding, 153; railway, 118

Mosque el Azhar, 109

Mosquitoes, 126, 132, 234, 276

Mougel Bey, 29, 30, 46, 58

M’tesa, King, 150, 151

Mukhtar Pasha, 102

Mudirs, 191, 192, 258

Napoleon, 27, 28; letter of, to Abd-el-Rahman, 151

Navigation of canals, freedom of, 45

Negroes:

Arabian intermixture with, 140, 189, 190

Barun, 211

Nejumi, 166

Neufeld, Charles, 181

Niam-Niams (Azande), 145, 194

Nile River:

Bahr el Zeraf—

course of, 126-128

scheme regarding, 120

slave stations on, 150

Blue-

course of, between Lake Tsana and Khartoum, 116

exploration of (1902-1903), 115 flood on, date of, 8; suggestion
of intercepting, 133

height of banks of, above Khartoum, 235

irrigation works on, arguments for, 117, 236

junction of, with White Nile, 184

Khartoum, discharges at, 6, 8; viewed from, 179

traffic on, 233

cataracts of, 6

course of, 5

Dam. See Assouan Dam

Damietta branch of—

Barrage on. See Damietta Barrage

Mehemet Ali’s plan regarding, 27

Zifta Barrage on, 87

deflection of, by ancient enemies of Egypt, 112, 113

discharges of, 6-10, 75, 89

‘green’ water, 7

floods, corvée during, 65, 66

gauges of, 66

importance of, 4, 112, 113, 184, 277

low, period of recurrence of, 83, 84

‘red’ water, 8

Reservoir. See Assouan Dam

rise of, dates of, 7-9

Rosetta branch of, Barrage on. See Rosetta Barrage

Somerset, 5, 120, 121

special measures regarding, in 1900, 56, 57

sudd in. See Sudd

sunsets on, 76

weirs on, to relieve Barrage, 54

White-

Austrian R.C. Mission on, 223

Bahr el Gebel—

Baker’s ascent of, 128

channel of, 119, 124

course of, 125

danger from excessive flood in, 132

sudd in, 126, 129

Baker’s expedition up (1861), 149

bed of, 119

discharge of, maximum, 8

garrisons on, 151

‘green’ water in, 7

importance of, 9

islands in, irrigation on, 235

junction of, with Blue Nile, 184

Mehemet Ali’s scientific expedition sent to, 127

name of, 5

population on, 119

slave-trade along, 145

traffic on, 233

Valley of, 118

Zero, meaning of, 11

Nile Valley—

Administration of, varieties in, 261

trade route by, 231, 237, 254, 268

Nile Valley Gold Mining Company, 232

Nileland, one authority for, 135, 275, 276

Nili, 11

No, Lake, 119, 120, 193; origin of, 124, 125

Nubas, 140, 193

Nubia:

antiquities of, 174

Gold Mining Company in, 232

native boatmen in, 175

Nubian Desert, 135, 175

Nuers, 193

Omdurman:

buildings, etc., in, 181, 182

characteristics of, 179, 180

Government factories at, 177

Greek traders in, 245, 246

growth of population of, under Khalifa, 167

industrial school at, 220, 221

Kitchener’s capture of, 168

market of, 168, 181, 182, 271

primary school at, 218, 219; training college in connection with,
204, 222, 223; kuttab in connection with, 222

railway to El Obeid from, suggested, 232

situation of, 180

Taaisha tribe settled at, 167

Osman Digna, 165, 166

Ostrich-farming, 241. See also Feathers

Papyrus, 125

Peel, Captain Sir William, quoted, 135, 136

Perfumeries, 183, 230, 237, 238

Philæ, 75-77, 94, 174

Pibor River, 187

Portland cement, 52, 53, 82

Pumping. See under Irrigation

Pyramids, 27, 63, 94

Rahad River, 6, 187, 242

Ramadan, 93

Raouf Pasha, 152, 153, 159

Rayah Behera, 45

Rayah Menoufia, 45

Rayah Tewfiki, 45

Reform, native attitude towards, 106

Reid, Mr., 44, 50

Rejaf, 119, 169

Reproductive works, 88, 104

Reservoir, ancient, 70, 71, 95

modern. See Assouan Dam

Rhodes, Cecil, 257

Rice, cultivation of, 41, 42; imports of, 237, 238

‘Ride across the Nubian Desert, A,’ 135, 136

Ripon Falls, 133

Rosaires:

cataracts of, 117

slave-trade suppression inspector at, 212

steamer communication with, 233

Rosetta Barrage:

appearance of, 96, 97

cement used in, amount of, 53

construction of, 46, 47, 50-53

cost of repairs to, 51

effect of, in 1884, 49, 50

Mehemet Ali’s scheme for, 27

structure of, 44

subsidence in, 30, 43, 47

weir to relieve, 54, 55

Ross, Colonel, 44, 89

Rubber (guttapercha), 239, 244; tax on, 253

Rumbek, 194

Ruwenzori, 135

Sabaini, 41

Said Pasha: corvée employed by, 62; desirous of evacuating Soudan,
146; reforms of, 147

Sakiehs (water-wheels):

numbers of, between Khartoum and Berber, 234, 235

structure of, 34

taxation of, 147, 250

Salt, injurious effect of, 19, 40

Scents, 183, 230, 237, 238

Scott-Moncrieff, Sir Colin: Baring’s support of, 44; decision of, on
pumping-stations, 48; intercedes for Mougel Bey, 58

Seasons, 10, 11, 35

Setit River, 187

Semliki River, 121

Senna, 239

Sennar:

Arabian settlements in (A.D. 700), 139

civilization, former, 140, 141, 272

cotton formerly grown in, 242

Egyptian tyranny over, 144

finances of, 259

kuttab at capital of, 222

Mahdi in, 162

murder case from, 207

situation of, 191

telegraph in, 257

University formerly in, 272

Sennar, Island of. See Ghezireh

Serut fly, 233, 234

Shadoofs, 32-34

Shambe, 120, 126, 194

Sharaki lands, 14, 15, 89, 249

Shilluks:

cotton neglected by, 241

King of, tax-collecting emulated by, 193

Omdurman, at, 180

slaves raided from, 140

Sheikh-es-Senussi, 273

Shellal, 174

Shendi:

climate and soil of, 188

cotton farm at, 243

Crewe of the Soudan, 177

Ismail murdered at, 143

Sinkat, 164, 230

Slatin, Sir Rudolf von, 164, 181; cited, 167; quoted, 226

Slave-trade:

Abyssinian frontier, raiding on, 211

Arabian occupation in, 140, 142; Arabian market for, 212

British measures against, 212, 271

Egyptian responsibility for, 145, 154, 155

Gordon’s suppression of, 150, 151

Ismail’s policy regarding, 149

Khalifa, under, 168

Khartoum a centre of, 144

Soudan, prevalence in, 142, 155; fostered by overtaxation, 250

Wadai, at, 273

Slavery, Arab view of, 213

Small-pox, inoculation for, 272

Soap, manufacture of, 238

Sobat River:

Abyssinian agreement regarding, 113

American Medical Mission on, 223

district south of, 189

garrisons on, 151

‘green’ water from tributaries of, 7

importance of, 5, 119

trade possibilities of, 233

white sediment in, 5

Sobat Valley, rainfall in, 8

Sohagia Canal, 16

Somaliland, 153

Sorghum crops, 41

Soudan (for special towns and districts, see their titles):

agriculture in, importance of, 234, 245

loans for, 234

area of, 188

boundaries of, 171, 175, 186-188

British administration of, 186; native attitude towards, 196

capital of, 173

climates of, 188

colonization in, 227

Convention of 1899, 262

Customs receipts. See Soudan, finances

depopulation of, 185; increase of population, 227, 230

diseases. See Diseases

education—

Cromer, Lord, on, 225

Department of, 201, 217

elementary character of, required, 216

English, teaching of, 224

expenditure on, in three years, 218

Gordon College. See Gordon College

kuttabs, 221-223

primary schools established, 218, 219; kuttabs, 221-223

technical, 217, 220, 221

training college for Sheikhs, 222, 223

Egypt—

army of occupation from, maintenance of, 255, 264

financial relations with. See Soudan, finances

importance of Soudan to, 114, 115, 265

rule of, 144-148

evacuation of, contemplated, 163

finances (see also Soudan, taxation)—

Budget, 247, 249, 250; for 1902, 253; estimates for 1903, 257

capital, dearth of, 234, 266

Customs duties on land side retained by Egypt, 253, 254, 263

Egyptian control of, 247; contribution, amount of, 259, 260,
266; expenditure, 1899-1903, 263

public works, expenditure on, 258

revenue, sources of, 247, 248

sound condition of, 260

flood-gauges in, 66

gold in, rumours of, 141, 142; undesirability of, 245

government of—

British officials, versatility required of, 195, 196, 198, 199;
keenness of, 196; age of, 197; changes among, 275; status of, 275

Egyptian officials, 197, 198, 266

methods of, 190-192

nature of, 261-263

investments in cotton in, prospects for, 244

irrigation. See Irrigation

justice, administration of, 201-203, 206-211

kidnapping in, 212

land-measuring, instruction in, 219

land-ownership in, 198, 202; Government the admitted owner, 249

land-tax. See Soudan, taxation

legal administration in, 201-203, 206, 207

legal adviser in, 201; cited, 207

manufactures of, 242

Mehemet Ali’s influence on, 139, 141

nomad tribes in, 192, 250, 251

penal code of, 201

petitions to Governor-General in, 211, 249

population of, increasing, 227, 230

post and telegraphs, 254, 256, 257

provinces of, 191

railways in—

capital expenditure on, 256, 260, 264

Halfa-Kerma, 229

Halfa-Khartoum, 228

Suakin-Berber, project of, 165, 230, 231, 244, 256, 267-269, 277

takings of, 254, 255

various, suggestion of, 232

skilled labour, dearth of, 220

slave-trade. See Slave-trade

Steamer and Boats Department, 255

Stewart’s report on (1883), 159, 171, 237

taxation in—

amount raised by, annually, 251

date-tax, 252

gum, etc., on, 253

land-tax—

amounts of, 252

assessment of, 219

Dongola, contribution from, 259

proportion of taxation raised by, 252

lightness of, 253, 267

tribute, 192, 250, 251

Ushur, 252

various items in Budget of 1902, 253

telegraphs in, 254, 256, 257

trade in—

Greeks engaged in, 245, 246

Indian, former, 231, 237, 238

Nile Valley route for, 231, 237, 254, 268

obstacles to, 226, 227

returns of imports and exports, 237-239

water-ways for, 233

transport in, difficulties of, 227, 228; improvements in, 232

Turk, native attitude towards, 142, 193

war in, cost of, 263

reservoir project affected by, 78

Soudanese:

Arab, 189, 190

illiteracy of, 216

negro, 189, 190

women—

appearance of, 183

coiffure of, 183

employments of, 178, 180

Mahdi, woman as, 195

military honour regarded by, 176

mutiny at Khartoum concerning, 192

Stewart, Colonel D. H.: report by, on the Soudan, 159, 171, 237;
death of, 171; list of tribes by, 185, 186

Suakin:

Customs receipts at, decrease in, 254

Ismail’s purchase of, 149

primary school at, 218, 222

railway to Berber from, project of, 165, 230, 231, 244, 256,
267-269, 277

situation of, 191

telegraphs from, 257

trade returns at, 237-239

Sudd:

clearing of, 129-132, 233

nature of, 126

obstructions caused by, 127-129, 158

Sueh River, 169

Suez Canal, 62, 149

Sugar, Soudanese imports of, 238, 241, 265

Sugar-cane, 39, 41, 241

Suleiman (son of Zubehr), 152, 155-157

Sultâni, 41

Taaisha tribe, 165, 167

Taboot, 34

Taha Ali, 207, 208

Taiara, 239

Taka. See Kassala

Tamai, 164, 165

Tamarinds, 239

Taufikieh, 223

Taxation:

collection of taxes—

extortion formerly connected with, 159, 160, 248, 250

Shilluk King’s attempts at, 193

time of, 105, 248

principles of, 248, 249

reduction of, 105

remission of, 249

sakiehs, of, 147, 250

slave trade fostered by excessive, 250

Soudan, in. See Soudan, taxation in

Tembura, 169

Tewfik, Khedive, 157

Thames, discharges of, at Teddington, 9 note

Thebes, Plain of, 174

Timbuctoo, fakir from, 208-210

Tinnis, 21

Tobacco, 237, 238, 241

Tokar:

cotton produced at, 242

garrison at (1883), 164

recapture of (1891), 166

telegraph at, 257

Tonj, 194

Torricelli, Signor, 73

Toski, 166

‘Track of the forty days,’ 142

Trade. See Soudan, trade in

Transvaal War, 186, 200

Tribute, 192, 250, 251

Tsana, Lake:

dam at, scheme of, 116-118

exploration of (1902-1903), 115

site of, 116

treaty regarding (1902), 113

Tunah, 21

Tuti Island, 143, 177

Turkey:

Commissioner from, for proposed British evacuation, 102

Soudanese attitude towards, 142, 193

Suakin and Massowah purchased from, 149

suzerainty of, over Egypt, but not over Soudan, 261

Zeila purchased from, 153

Uganda:

administration of, 261

Baker’s relations with, 150

British protectorate over, declared, 169

dams on lakes in, scheme of, 118-123

Gordon’s treaty with, 151

railway along Abyssinian frontier to, suggested, 232

Soudanese boundary of, 187

swamps in, 6

telegraph tariff to obtain in, 257

‘Um soof,’ 126, 129

Umbrellas, imports of, 238

Unyoro, 150, 169

Ushur, 252

Vansleb, F., quoted, 71, 112

Victoria Nyanza, dam on, scheme for, 118-123

regulator at, suggested, 132, 133

Wad Medani;

district from, to Duem, 235

flour-mills at, 234

kuttab, model, at, 222

railway to, suggested, 232

telegraph at, 257

Wadai, 273

Wadi Halfa (see also Halfa):

railway from, 168

voyage to, from Shellal, 174

Wages, increase in, 109

Wau, 131, 194, 233

Water-wheels. See Sakiehs

Wellcome, Mr., 217, 224

Western, Colonel, 44, 50

Whale-headed stork, 5

White ants, 256, 276

White Nile. See under Nile

Whitehouse, Cope, 72

Willcocks, Sir William: work of, on Rosetta Barrage, 48, 49; report
of, on Nile Dam, 73; cited, 128; otherwise mentioned, 44, 64

Wingate, Sir Reginald: position of, 185; age of, 197; quoted on
possibilities of irrigation, 235, 236

Wodehouse, General, 166

Yusuf Pasha, 162

Zeila, 153

Zifta Barrage, 87, 88

Zubehr, 150, 152, 155, 157, 163

THE END

* * * * *
BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD

_London: Stanford’s Geogl. Estabt._

London: Edward Arnold.]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: 1 metre = about 39 inches.]

[Footnote 2: A cubic metre of water equals, roughly, 1 ton.]

[Footnote 3: For the purpose of illustration, it is interesting to compare the discharge of the Thames at Teddington:

_Cubic Metres per Second._

During June the average discharge for the
twenty years ending 1902 was 35

The average in June, 1903, was 178

The discharge on June 21, 1903, was 387

On February 21, 1900, it was 533

And on November 18, 1894 (greatest on
record), it was 1,065

I have given the discharge in cubic metres per second, the unit generally in use on the Nile. On the Thames the figures are usually given in gallons per day, which sounds much more imposing. If the number of cubic metres per second is multiplied by about 1,900,000, it gives approximately the number of gallons per day. But, after all, the discharge of the Thames in June, 1903, was not so very far below that of the Nile during the same month.]

[Footnote 4: The Egyptian peasant, however, refuses to accept the prosaic evidence of his eyes about these rats, and, like the stout conservative he is, prefers to believe the old tradition that they turn to mud during the flood season. Many a man will gravely assert that he has himself observed the transformation actually in progress.]

[Footnote 5: 1 Kantar = nearly 100 lbs.]

[Footnote 6: _Cf._ p. 71.]

[Footnote 7: Estimated. £E1 = £1 0s. 6d.]

[Footnote 8: Estimated.]