98 . Knssala.

Sheikh £1 MorghaiiL Population.

Water supply. Cultivation.

Bains.

Climate.

Trade.

Transport aninuus.

Posts and telegraphs.

Serut fly.

Ctame.

Hadendoas, and Abj'ssiniaiis. In consists of 200 men, all of whom are mounted on either camels or mules. This battalion rendered good service during the late campaign, and, in peace time at any rate, are by far the most suitable troops for this part of the country. They are natural scouts and exceedingly mobile. A considerable number of irregulars could be raised here at any time.

Said AH El Morghani, the youthful head of the Morghani sect whose home is the Khatmia under the northwest end of J. Kassala, has now taken up his abode at Omdurman, where, however, he is by no means so generally revered as in the Eastern Sudan. Said Ahmed, an elder brother, who was a prisoner during the Mahdia, now acts as his representative at Kassala. Said All's ancestors were Ashraf at Mecca, and settled at Kassala at the beginning of the last centurj'.

The popidation of Kassala town in 1900 was 12,000 ; and the whole of the Nomad Arabs in the district were then estimated to number 6,000. In 1904, the total population of the town and the Nomads was computed to be 46,000. The townspeople are chiefly Halenga Arabs, who are excellent cultivators, also a mixture of Beni Anier, Shukria, Takruris, etc.

The water supph', which is from wells varying from 15 to 30 feet deep, is good and plentiful. The principal cultivation is the dura crop, raised on the land flooded* by the Gash. This dura is a large white species called " Taidib," and is harvested about January ; it ranks in quality with the best " Mugad " dura of the Nile. At present the system of irrigation on the Gash is very primitive and wasteful. An improved scheme in accordance with modern ideas is under consideration. f A subsidiary rain crop (Naggad), harvested at the end of October, is also raised, but is not of much account. Crops are very liable to the attacks of extraordinary flights of very voracious small birds and also locusts. A very destructive species of " blight " occasionally devastates the crops. It is known as "El Asal" {Aphis Sorghi, vide "Report of Wellcome Research Laboratories — Gordon College — 1904"). The rains are often barely sufficient to raise those crops dependent on them. Gardens irrigated by sagias and wells are numerous.

The rainfall of an average year is very meagre. J During the Kharif, the period from June to October, rain of any kind rarely falls on more than 20 to 30 days. On perhaps half a dozen of these there may be very heavy thunderstorms. Rain, which almost invariably comes from the east, generally falls between 6 and 8 p.m., and is preceded by a wind of hurricane force, which usually brings with it a phenomenal wall of dust several thousand feet high and many miles in extent, which often takes an hour or more to blow past, during which time the obscurity and colour of the atmosphere reminds one strangely of the thickest of London fogs.

The climate for eight months of the year, though hot in March, April, and May, when the thermometer not infrequently registers over 112° Fahr., is healthy. From July to October there is a good deal of malaria, especially during a favourable rainy season. This has been reduced a good deal recently by draining, and precautions against mosquitoes.

The trade at present is not to be compared with that before the Mahdia, but is increasing ; what export trade there is, comes from Gedaref. The imports vid Suakin and Massawa are not of much importance at present ; they are sugar and Manchester goods principally. By far the largest proportion of imports now comes vid Suakin.

The camel is the best animal for this district, both for riding and transport purposes. A good camel costs from £E.7 to £E.10. They are nearly always available for sale or hire, though in the rains they are not to be found in the immediate vicinity of Kassala.

Horses or mules, which are imported in small numbers from Eritrea or Abyssinia, cannot usually be hired or purchased. Horses are liable to be attacked by a species of horse sickness, which often ends fatally. The Abyssinian and Dongolawi breeds do best. A good riding mule costs from £E.6 to £E.8.

There is a weekly camel post for both letters and parcels to and from Berber, also a weekly mail to and from Keren and Massawa, also a fortnightly mail to and from Suakin, and a weekly mail to Gedaref and Gallabat. Telegraph lines connect with Suakin, Gedaref, Gallabat, Massaua, and Addis Ababa. Communication is liable to occasional interruptions during the rains.

During the "Kharif" the whole country south of the line Kassala-Asubri swarms with a wasp-like "Serut" fly, which bursts into Ufe as soon as the young grass has sprouted and dies as the vegetation dries up at the end of the rains. This fly is most vehement in its attacks on all animals, including game, but camels suffer the most, and if exposed for any length of time to their bites, they rajidly lose condition, and will probably die from the effects.

In various parts of the districts, described in Section 4, the following varieties are found : — Elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, giraffe, roan-antelope, kudu, waterbuck, tora hartebeeste, ibex, wild sheep (?), bushbuck (two (?) varieties), reedbuck (scarce) ; Abyssinian duiker, oribi, dig-dig, and the following gazelles : — Sommering's, Dorcas, Heuglin's, * In 1903, under 2,000 feddans of cultivation were irrigated by the Gasli flood. + Vide Sir W. Oarstiii's " Report on the Basin of the Upper Nile." Foreign Office Blue Book, Kgypt No. 2, 1904. I 12-4 inches (1904).