LANDING RAILWAY PLANT AT WAIlY HALFA.

CHAPTER IX THE RAILWAY THE MAKING 01 betweenMeroweandAbuHamed. Islands,rocks and reefs, with the waterrunning like a millrace between them, and the river banks often rising abruptly from the water'-edge,so thatthetorrent roars between perpendicular walls of rock : this ma)' be taken as a general description of the almost impassable reach of the Nile knownas the Fourth Cataract. In 1885 the boats of the river column had been worked up by the Canadian voyageurs,not withoutlossoflife. It wasthought by many that to get the steamers up it wouldbe impossible, but the Siidar meant to try at the high Nile of lSqy, andas a necessarypreliminary intended that Abu Hamed should be captured about the beginning of the river's rise, which comes in July, But he had further settled with th r.ritish Government that two powerful and armoured river-gunboats building in England shouldbeplaced at hisdisposal for the advance on Khartoum. They were to be conveyedby rail to thebank of the upper reach of the river and there launched on the open water above the obstacles presented by the Fourth Cataract.

The railway from Wady Haifa reached Aim Fatmeh.at the head of the Third Cataract, early in May, 1897. As there was open navigation from thatpoint to Dongola and Merowe all the year round this secured the communications and supplies of thegarrisons in theDongola province.

THE treaty of friendship with Abyssinia removed one possible obstacle to the advance on the Nile. The way for it was being further smoothed by the extensive preparations carried out in the Soudan itself during the openingmonths of i8qy.

The temporary Indian garrison had been withdrawn from Suakin and replaced by Egyptian troops. It would be necessary later on toprovide a garrison for Kassala, which Italyhadundertaken tohandover toEgypt. Further, the garrisons of the Dongola province had to be maintained in sufficient strength to deal with any attempt of the Dervishes to raid the I Nile by the tracks of the Bayuda desert, and these garrisons would have to be kept up even while the new expedition was marchingon Abu Hamed and Berber. To meet all these demands an increase of the army was necessary, and three new battalions of infantry, a battery of artillery, two squadrons of cavalry, and two companies of the Camel Corps were added to its effective strength.

further arrangementsweremade to strengthen lerably the Nile gunboat flotilla. Dining the Dongola campaign it had been got up to the reach of open water between the Third andFourthCataracts. What we call the Fourth Cataract is really a series ofcataractsextendingin allfor some sixty or seventymiles in the