AN OLD RIVER-CHANNEL. 161 people at once fled, and it cost us much trouble to pacify them. When I requested their chief, a young man of about eighteen, to guide me to the khor, he expressed his willingness, on condition that I accompanied him unarmed. This I agreed to, but unfortunately it had become too late for our expedition. After walking for about a couple of miles through a tall grass jungle, we saw, at about two miles distance, a swampy bed about three-quarters of a mile to one mile broad, and over-_ grown with plants, extending in a great curve from E.N.E. to W.S.W. On either side of it were enormous barriers of papyrus; grasses and reeds covered it almost entirely, and water was only visible here and there. ‘The chief told me that this watercourse ran far into the country, where at last it could be forded. ‘The impression that I received was, that it was either an old river-bed or a dead arm of the Nile converted into a swamp. The, Madi call it ‘“ Larogoi.” We returned to the steamer exactly as the sun set. ‘The fields here were all surrounded by straw hedges, to protect them from wild animals. Elephants were said to be very numerous. Very large fish were hanging upon frames to dry. After steaming for rather more than a quarter of an hour we arrived at Meshra-es-Seid, where, to give my people a rest, we remained for the night. The next morning we reached Dufilé at II AM., our voyage having been greatly delayed by a very strong wind.

I occupied my short stay at Dufilé by compiling a vocabulary of the Madi language, which is quite different from the other languages spoken in this neighbourhood, but has a definite relationship to the Makraka language. There was not much to collect, for the grass had been burnt down near the station. There is, too, no forest here; only a few solitary tall trees exist. Chief Abu Nakhra, who lives to the west of the river, gave me some interesting notes on the Madi tribe, and confirmed my opinion that Khor Larogoi was in very fact an old river-channel.

In order to complete some previous itineraries, I took a new route from Dufilé to Fatiko and Fauvera, across Jebel Labilla, which route I have mentioned elsewhere. Communications had already been opened up between Fatiko and our new L