8 INTRODUCTORY Kordofan Nubas and the Barabras, who are thought to be the descendants of the original opponents of the ancients. That the negroid survives after centuries of ravage, spoUation, and intertribal warfare, speaks volumes for his persistence in living; his physique under trying cHmatic conditions is a proof of his vitality, for the feverstricken swamps of the Bahr-el-Ghazal appear less destructive of stature and strength than the factories of Europe.

Divided into a vast number of tribes, incohesive, fickle in their alliances except under extraordinary stimulus, the varied inhabitants of the Sudan yet exhibit cosmical characteristics, for their differing occupations render them considerably interdependent.

Particular tribes, such as those of Darfur and the nomads of the Bayuda desert, specialize in camel-breeding, the latter being famous for the swift hagin ; the Baggara are noted for their cattle and horses ; the Dongolese for their dates ; salt is produced in many localities, and iron, less important in these days of importation, is smelted by even such savage tribes as the Jur and Bongo, for the purpose of being manufactured into spearheads and hippo harpoons, considerable skill being shown.

Pacification and instruction are proceeding surely and with remarkable success. Sporadic outbursts, mainly fanatical or purely savage, occasionally occur, and in the less accessible districts it is