WADY HALFA. 23

across) ; besides this, two formidable cataracts and

many other smaller ones. The land journey on

camels was also very tedious, taking eleven days

or more to do the 235 miles, whereas a railway would have shot troops and stores across in a couple

of days at the outside. It was a great pity. The first few days at Wady Haifa we spent in

pitching our camp, drilling on foot a la Mounted

Infantry (all by sections), taking over equipments and

saddles, mending and strengthening ditto, and lastly

taking over our camels. There were two patterns

of saddles, one the knifeboard, and the other the

Mounted Infantry pattern. The authorities couldn't

make up their minds which to serve us out with, so

after issuing and recalling the saddles two or three

times, they compromised matters by giving the men

the knifeboard, and the officers the other pattern. The knifeboard pattern is constructed thus : Imagine

framework composed of two wooden frames

ibout 24 in. by 15, transversely strengthened, and

ished together along one long side so as to

>rm an angle of 60 with each other. No ; it