It is called (Mashra' al-Riq) on the west bank of the Nile. There, the passage of ships is hindered by the dense forests that block the river in many places. We then proceeded to the Mashra' station, which is a wide plain, and we pitched our tents there, made of thorns and ribs. We set up our tents and raised the government flag over them, announcing the opening of this region. Then we sent messengers to the sheikhs of the tribes, and they showed submission and joy, and exchanged buying and selling with the companies. Then we wrote a proclamation to all the tribes and inhabitants, informing them that they were subjects of the Egyptian government, and that these agents and notables should come to Mashra' al-Riq. After a few days, Qanawi Bey, the Amir of Umur, and his nazirs (agents) and sheikhs of the tribes came, all of them. Also present were the agents of the Coptic merchant Ghabbas, who was one of the famous carpenters and owner of large companies. Thus, the heads of the merchants came one after another, showing their obedience and their joy at the extension of the Egyptian government's authority over them. We took weapons from their men and the government's share of the monopolized goods, such as gum arabic, gum, and senna. The share of these goods was two-fifths, but they showed distress from the scarcity of what the government left them. In return, they asked the government to exempt them from the fees for their goods between the Nile and Khartoum. The situation necessitated our going to the locations of these trading companies, one by one, to specifically assess and regulate the government's share from them. We obtained orders from the Governor-General of Sudan to comply with the requests of these merchants, and the orders were issued accordingly. During this time, it became clear to me that Idris Abu Tair was a dishonest man.