THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN he determined to go and see them. He crossed over to the Island of Dakarti, and thence to Hannek, and, proceeding by way of Koka and Sesha, arrived at Sulb (Soleb) and Gebel Dosha, which marks the frontier of the province of Siikkot. It was not, however, until he reached the Island of Sai that he was able to obtain a guide to the Oasis of Selima. Here he found that the province contained many natives who knew Selima well, for they were in the habit of travelling there in the winter and of bringing back with thetn rock salt. Leaving the greater part of his baggage at Bir Daffer, and taking with him his companion, M. Letorzec, and two Arabs, he set out for Selima, As he journeyed on he questioned his guides closely about the antiquities which were said to be at Selima, and began to feel some doubt as to their existence, especially as the two travellers, Browne and Hornemann, had made no mention of any such things. The extremes of heat and cold were very trying, for at 5 a.m. the thermometer registered 16° centigrade, and at 2 p.m. it marked 48° ! On the road Cailliaud passed a number of petrified tree trunks, some being 15 ft. long, and after thirty hours of hard riding he arrived at the Oasis. The restful green of the palms was very comforting to the weary-eyed traveller, but look where he would he could see no trace of ruins which resembled those of the temple at Kharga. The palm trees stood in two groups, one of which was about 750 metres in circumference, and the other 1,000 metres ; between the two groups was a marsh filled with reeds. The palm trees were in number three or four hundred, and there were with them several diun palms and tamarisks.

The only ruin in the Oasis was that of a small stone hut, on the walls of which were some Greek or Coptic letters, and native tradition asserted that it had once been the dwelling of a princess called Selima, who by means of a band of warriors succeeded in terrifying Nubia. Selima was, as we have already seen, a halting-place for the caravans which travelled between Egypt and Dar Fur, and so long as the slave trade flourished might be termed an important place. To all intents and purposes it was under the rule of the king of Dar Fur, who in Cailliaud's time was called Muhammad al-Fadl, and who marched at the head of an army containing from 20,000 to 25,000 warriors, 52