STEAMING THROUGH THE LAND OF CUSH The steamer Ibis, on which I have been travelling, is one of the little vessels of the Sudan government which go twice a week from Shellal, just above the Aswan Dam, to Wady Haifa, where the railroad across the desert begins. The ship is a sternwheeler, much like those on some of our rivers. It is about twenty feet wide, one hundred and fifty feet long, and draws only six inches. We make about six miles per hour, and our pilot, a dark-faced, shortbearded Nubian in turban and gown, corkscrews his course from one side of the river to the other as we wind our way up the stream.

We fly the Egyptian and Sudanese flags, but the steamer belongs to the government of the Sudan which means it is British. The captain, however, is a German, and the rest of the crew are Nubians, most of whom are as black as your shoes. The captain speaks German, French, English, and Arabic. He attends to everything connected with the steamer, even to the meals and the proper table service. Our waiters are black-faced Nubians in long white gowns and sashes of bright red. They wear white turbans, and their feet are either bare or shod in red slippers.

I find the steamer comfortable and the company agree¬ able. The boat has two decks. On the lower one are thirty cabins and the dining room, where our meals are served table d’hote. Over the upper deck an awning is stretched, so that we can sit and watch the scenery as as we go up the river.

Our party consists of several commercial travellers, bound for the Sudan and Central Africa; two missionaries who are going up the Sobat River; a capitalist, largely interested in land development enterprises about Khartum, 143