54 ( No. 98 HISTORY fertile and well watered . The wild Baggara , or cattle -owning Arabs, roam the plains of the west. The Masalit country, and the western districts generally, are rich in pasture lands, and maintain a large stock of cattle and sheep.

Here , as elsewhere in Africa where no permanent waterways exist, the economic and social progress of the country will largely depend upon the construction of railways ( see p . 84), which are obviously desirable also on strategic grounds .