i6 DHURRA,

place was well supplied with meat. Greeks are to be found

everywhere : there is no place too out-of-the-way for them to

thrive in, and they make money wherever they go. A great many of them, besides selling bad spirits, beer, and groceries,

add considerably to their incomes by lending money to the

natives, of course at usurious rates of interest. No vegetables are grown, and the whole of the surrounding

country is desert. The nearest village is Tokar on Khor Baraka,

two days' journey away; and there, after the rains, a little

dhurra is grown. Dhurra (the sorghum viilgare of Linnaeus)

is the staple article of food throughout the Soudan : it contains

a great deal of starch, and is said to be more nourishing than

wheat-flour. The natives cook it in a variety of ways, and

add beans or onions, when obtainable, to it. Horses will not

thrive unless they get a daily supply of it, and a small quantity

is of great use in keeping the riding-camels in good condition.

In crossing, too, such a desert as that between Korosko and Abou Hamed, it is necessary to carry some for the baggage-

camels as well : it is wonderful on how little food they can do, when pushed to it. A Greek has set up a small shanty, which he dignifies by the

title, " Hotel du Soudan," and advertises hot and cold baths.

Fortunately we had no occasion to try its merits, otherwise

than by sending some clothes to his wife to be washed : for

these she charged us at the rate of two dollars per dozen,

counting a pair of socks as two articles ; so that what they

lacked in custom, they evidently tried to make up in their

prices, when, as they say in America, a stranger happened to

come along."

Beyond the island on which the town is built, Souakim con-

tinues for some distance in suburbs, containing a somewhat

extensive if not very inviting bazaar.