Where is the Soudan?

Manawatu Standard, Volume VIII, Issue 146, 1 December 1884, Page 2

Where is the Soudan?

.•>^ftil#WrkPsf W e iSou4ap may be said to comprise all .tlmfc portion of Africa lying between Egypt on th,? ,iiortli and tha fake Victoria. %aps4 on v t)ie smith, and, -bej-wepn the jßed §oft cih''tfcie. east 'and Central Africa on ; the west — leaving out, of course; thi kingdom of- Abyssinia. ' ltd i Vester|boundary iff the" most difficult to dej- ■ fine. ' [ It can )ohl7 t b^ i ide l ritffied With the ill-defined limitsdf the jiVotifices of Dougola, Darfpuv, and EaJ# Gazelle. It- will give'^oiflp idea, ojf thevaßtftrea of thi^ tevritbry.if *!b Bay ijbat thp''S6udan fe-of ! about thje Ufre extent' as 1 Tndiß—^th© meaSui'oinieittr ■'.' lieingi from north to'about 1600 nses, ; -aUd fiotn^st tiv 'wesl^boqt 4Boo inilesi • ■■'•' "y "■ ' ;' ; "j; 'A Very general' -opinion is tnat'tlie Soudan 1 is 'almost' entirely a desert, but Ibis is strictly correct j i fei^r Sananel Baker; the celebrated eiplWer, who 1 wsk forinevly Odyefnp^

General of the Spiidan, speaks of it indued as " the Granary of the World,?' the whole of which i» " traversed from end to end by two great hi^bWayJ*,: know.n as the Blue and White Niles, along which you can Btea«n, without interruption, for hue dredK of miles. Many a time," says Sir Samuel, " 1 have ridden through deserted districts m which the corn, or dhurra, was growing literally high enough to cover an elephant, and that without almost the slightest cultivati6ii~» •'-&' Jsfid -CBSrfteßff ''ISSFk description <$n lordly; fberthnracterlsed as_a desert. ThiTdesctiiirtwn, howe^SCappKes as a rule to the Nile galley, for m many of the: provinces the land has been to a large extent devastated by the slave-dealer*, and, save along; the river bankß/ is very feaxlly water- ; cd. The population is abotft 2",500,000 and consists of Arabs, nomadic and | settled, and .negroes. of the devestatioiW of" tfie' sla^SadteS^ Sir Samuel Baker, whose glowing; description of one p^v| of the country we have quoted, says of another, " All is wilderness^ The population has fled.. Not. a single. village is to fee?e§n.f ; Mva4^is|rip^thißr(|iai are lined with sculls and bones of ' slaves who have sujjcflmbed, to!; the horrors of the march io the market. Tn -<Wv R r W*se of.slavery as almost acl^untedj^^riiyjle , nf faith ; with a Targe andjilnjjuentiai portion l«reat difficulty. tf, jpverning the j Soudan on a ciiniised^basis: 1 Many eminent, HUtljoi^ti&.ai^ o f Opiaioir that the Mahdi's rising was prompted by the slave-tradert. .' ,^ 01 ' P ur P?^s of '.'a^minwtra^on the Soudan has hitherto been divided "into several provinces, the most northerly of .wtiich,is Bongola, Further up the Nile^aiid- Oikfe. ©oogola havjing terntory ; . on, both sides ,oC the river, •dre' ißeroey and Khhrtoilin. 1 At jthe icjWjn.qf Khartoum, the. capital of the province of tlfcit naT6eV'it' l 'tfce junction of the ,Bluft^nd White Niles the east of the Blue 4 Nile and the province of provinces of Senaar and Kassaia^'and to the of thes^i^t^ding^W the Red Sea littoral^, are the province*^ qf Saukiijj, v^asnow»hj,, an& Geila, of which the^wo last are se l |>aiated from Seifaar^anH^S&ssala by the kingdom of Aby^sina. To the west? of the 1 White 111 Nile £& He Xfflf£ vinoes of KortfofadV'#ashoda, and •■: the Equatorial province" ! and ' to tKe^ west of these, DarifoM Jtliß Bahv GazeUe. {^i, .^^? i..-/w?T---.sChe «hief town ni- the SdAdk"^'' Knartoum, a strongly-irQ/rtffiea i< io / w'nl i lot-some 50,000 mhabftattlS; %s&&■ ■t6\\m is about 1 100' or' 120 d! iffl& Wdta the Mediterane^tjj- 400 : foiled iweat of Suakim f 'and ; Mass<owahon ffi^' (Be* Sea, about SOOnrfles from the jwestern boundary L} of 0 Darfour I , tiJ aiii^ ! 1100 . miles from Lake Victoria iNyatiza, the southern boundary of .the Soudan. , Descending the rivef {frtim 'Khartoum;- TthV flrat imfeor^^t' [town lS'Shendy 1 ,- ulffilftett } atf a d^noe ifrpm jt of .about ;'BO~ niUes. Berber. 'Bp^a,^ H^mfrbii-. tier» town^iie fesp^tiyere.at'distanoes ipr ab P ut;;i2s. i f vr jth" er ( ; down .. , jthej. .stream, ; ; JLbpai* i 50 ' j' miles; south \ of 'Dqngpla an|l .$,()(? jsouth' ;I wea^.o^^.iKiiartou^ is ?£ l Q%&s£. '■ fate .present . •'iead-qiiartera' lof!^ ■ iS« ■Maji4i,' while .Tip ''^nffi^&B'M 1 '. Duem, 100 ' mues'j pFap^jfa/ ' ©00 tmifies; f> %ndokoroj ia 8()0 miltes 0 ifrom J X)n the^ Blue'^e, is Senaa,r,'abbut l 2ob 'milea %Oni ilatter, town. In the 'Wr^ v i^ welUs El Teb. and Tarnasl, 'i^j^Mr of ihe recent' campaign luiw^Sir Gerald Graham! ' ' *' ■ ot this va^t district wliich »' now so PSft^^en^ S^l^ i $$¥& "W remains only to aad°thit '^ere'^re n^ jraUway s^or canals m Jtie'&tfixt&ft 1 andlit' is almost enii^ely dependent on the' Nile for irng^ti6n.;' t; Thi' inhabit-' ants are nearly "all , MohW'm^H^ but ihe various tribes ar6 : oft^n^nosxile to one^anpth'er/ |^e, rojtds are mere camelitracks, and the heat throueh m SE^- , W>h ol < # e :y««r;;w.'iniense — Exchange. ' " v' l