The Northern End Of This Country Is Rich In
Forests Of The Acacia Arabica (Soont), A Wood That Is Invaluable As Fuel
For Steamers, And Is The Only Really Durable Wood For Ship-Building In
The Soudan.
The rains begin in May, and are regular throughout four
months, thus cotton may be cultivated without the expense of artificial
irrigation; at the same time the dry summer offers an inestimable
advantage for gathering the crop.
The Dinka country on the east bank would have been of equal value, but,
as I have already described, it has been depopulated.
There was an old blind sheik who frequently visited us from the other
side, and this poor old fellow came to an untimely end when returning
one day with his son from marketing at Tewfikeeyah. I was walking on the
quay, when I heard a great commotion, and I saw a splashing in the
river, the surface of which was covered with the ambatch fragments of a
native canoe. There were many canoes on the river, several of which
immediately went to the assistance of two men who were struggling in the
water. A hippopotamus had wantonly charged the canoe, and seizing it in
his mouth, together with the poor old blind sheik who could not avoid
the danger, crunched the frail boat to pieces, and so crushed and
lacerated the old man that, although he was rescued by his comrades, he
died during the night.
As peace and confidence had been thoroughly established among the
Shillooks, I determined to send for the governor of Fashoda, and to
introduce him personally to the old king, Quat Kare, whom he had
officially reported to be dead.
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