Facsimile · p. 120
THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN hours to cover thirty-five miles ! The current ran very strong in the " Gate of Kalabsha," and boats floating down stream passed swiftly and were soon out of sight. Dendur, Garf Hussen, Dakka (Pselcis), Kubban, Wadi Sabua, and other sites of ancient Egyptian towns, were passed in due course, but the monotony of the journey was only broken by the steamer stopping for a few minutes here and there to let some passenger alight, or to enable the soldiers to buy a few eggs or vegetables. An idea was prevalent among the natives on board that we should receive KOROSKO (southern END).
some startling war news at Korosko, and every one was, therefore, most anxious to arrive there. At length we turned the bend of the river a httle to the north of that town, and then steamed up the reach to the landing-place, where rumours of the most fantastic kind abounded, but few facts. The telegraph clerk, by virtue of his office, was supposed to be a mine of information as to the intentions of the authorities and the progress of the war in the south, but the Sirdar's telegraphic arrangements were such that leakage among his clerks was impossible.
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