IRRIGATION SANDSTORM. 287 river's brink there are either shadoofs or sakiyehs, which are employed in pumping up the water. The shadoof is a pole weighted at one end, which is slung over a cross-bar, while at the opposite end to the stones there is a line with a bucket at the end, and with this rude contrivance the water is laboriously raised to the required height and poured into the gullies. The sakiyeh is not so often seen, and is a far more complicated machine ; it is a large wheel on which water-pots are fixed, or else the wheel is covered by a circular band having pots attached to it at intervals. It is turned by oxen, and being very roughly made, it shrieks and groans in a terrible fashion ; and if perchance the stea&er is made fast near one of these machines, a sleepless night may be safely anticipated, as the work goes on day and night without ceasing. The reason that the sakiyehs are not more numerous is because of the heavy tax upon them. Instead of the people being encouraged to cultivate as much land as possible, a high tax on each new sakiyeh effectually prevents more cultivation than is absolutely necessary for bare existence.

Between Berber and Khartoum we experienced one of the terrible desert sand-storms; hearing a great confusion and noise on deck, we ran up to see what was the matter, and found that the crew were making the steamer fast to the bank as quickly as possible. "We asked the reason for another stoppage,