p DULGO Haifa and Atbara for use on the Atbara and Sawakin Railway. Between Kosha and Dulgo the railway is carried over the beds of summer torrents by good bridges, which must have cost the builders much anxious thought and care. The embankments are well made, with generous side-slopes, and it is regrettable that so much good work must be abandoned. Rather more than half-way to Dulgo we passed a tent on the right of the line, and soon after saw a young Royal Engineer officer, Lieut. Micklem, I think, engaged in taking levels and inspecting portions of the line. The appearance of this solitary officer in the heart of the desert was a convincing proof of the constant vigilance with which the Sirdar caused his line of communication to be watched.

At Dulgo another long halt was made, for the train had to be re-made, the engine fire had to be thoroughly cleaned, and a certain amount of overhauling of parts had to be gone through. Whilst these important works were going on, the soldiers left the trucks and lighted fires and made coffee, for the morning was relatively cold, and every one was glad to gather his cloak about him. The most prominent feature of Dulgo is a large mountain on the east side of the plain whereon the village is built ; in the early hours of the day it obstructs the sun's rays, and casts a long shadow, which the natives who seek warmth avoid. At mid-day the plain becomes a veritable sun-trap, and the flat stony side of the mountain sends out heat like a furnace. Under the rays of the setting sun the appearance of the mountain is a thing of beauty, for the tints and colours of the various layers of stone in it vary from moment to moment, changing in the after-glow from bright orange to a warm deep red. On the west bank of the river, about two miles from Dulgo, stand clearly against the sky the few remaining pillars of the temple built by Seti I., in the fourteenth century before Christ. The village of Dulgo played no part in the rebellion of the Mahdi and Khalifa, but in November, 1885, the plain close by served as the place of concentration of the eight thousand Dervishes who were sent to cut the Haifa railway at Khanak, and invade Egypt.

Between Dulgo and Kerma the line passed through a very wild tract of country, and it is easy to understand what an almost insuperable barrier it must have proved to the invading host of VOL. I. 97 H