140 Niiers on Klwr Fihis.

only boughs of trees, grass, and native tools for tlieir building. The regular solidly-built villages are placed at var-ying distances from the khor, probably dependent on high ground and on the nature of the soil, if suitable for the dura crops or otherwise, which are always grown in the vicinity of the rainy season tukls. Another noticeable feature, differing from the Shilluk and Dinka customs, was that the villages are not compactly built. The Shilluks and Dinkas generally build their tukls in close proximity, each village being a thick cluster of huts, the dura being sown anywhere close by. In the Nuer case, the tukls are built in twos and threes, at great intervals, probably each family being separate ; the land around each homestead being sown and tilled by the dwellers therein. In the case of many Nuer villages, owing to the village being built in the woods, and the groups of tukls at intervals of 200 to 600 yards, it was impossible to estimate the size of the village without covering many square miles of country. Around the various large pools of water near Meinom, Fading, and Shit, were thick fringes of ' Ambach ' ; these pools, being the chief source of supply for men and cattle in the dry season, it- is only natural to have found the water so churned up and fouled by the cattle as to be nearly undrinkable. In places near these pools, where the adjacent soil was sandy, wells had been dug to obtain a cleaner supply of water. From Shit the khor continues in a southerly direction, being broad and shallow, and it is said, runs on to Bor. The expedition left the khor at Shit, and, relying on native assurances that water would be found in wells, pushed inland to the east, and marched through the main Nuer villages, which were in places very thickly dotted about, and well built. The country from Shit to the limit of the march was well wooded, chiefly with the heglig tree. The ground rose slightly, and as one got inland it became sandy and covered with fine grass, standing 2 to 4 feet high. The country also, here, struck one as being presumably fairly healthy in the rainy season, there being a complete absence of any rank vegetation. The dura crops in April were just appearing, the young shoots being about 6 inches high, and a very considerable extent of ground around each village was under cultivation.

" At Amwot-el-Sogheir, another fairly large khor was crossed ; it was, however, quite dry, and the expedition camped on the further side, alongside some wells, which it was learned were the only ones to be found in this part of the district. These wells were worth noticing : dug on the sandy banks of the khor, their depth varied from 20 to 30 feet, with a diameter of about 2 feet 6 inches. Owing to the solidity of the ground, the walls of the well stood without need of revetting, and great labour must have been expended in their construction. Steps were cut in the wells on opposite sides, to enable a man to descend and ascend. In one of the wells a calf was seen, standing in the water at the bottom, having evidently fallen in. It was rescued by one of the Dinka guides, who descended the well without difficulty, and brought up the animal unhurt. Denkur. " From the camp an expedition was made on the 22nd to the Nuer villages in this vicinity, which were stated to be the headquarters of the chief sheikh of the Nuers of the whole country under notice, by name of Denkur. Marching through a fairly thick forest of ' Abu Homera ' trees for an hour, and afterwards over an open grass plain for another hour-and-a-half, brought us up to the village, Keik. Standing in the centre of the village, and seen for about 3 miles off, was a conical mound of earth, well and solidly constructed by Denkur's people as a token that Denkur was a very big man in that part of the world. It was stated that the bones of innumerable oxen were buried in the body of the mound ; the cattle being slaughtered for the occasion. This act was to give greater value to the cone in the eyes of the surrounding tribes, as cattle are the most valued possessions of the tribes of the White Nile, and are practically all they live for ; in fact, what religion they possess is centred in the cow. The height of this conical mound was about 50 to 60 feet, many large elephant tusks being firmly planted round the base and on the summit. The largest tusk measured 7 feet 10 inches, but of poor quality, as long exposure to rain and sun had ruined the ivory.

" Having thus traversed as much of this country as was possible on account of water, the party returned to the Sobat by the same route, and arrived on the river bank on May 2. Owing to the extreme shyness of the Nuers, it was difficult to collect much information of their customs. Like all tribes of the Sobat, they are stark naked, and owing to their living in their own country, unmolested and out of all possibility of being in touch with civilization, it is only natural that they are sunk in barbarism and retain to the full all the inherited customs of their savage ancestors. Their hair is left to grow to a length of about 10 inches, and is stained red with the ammonia contained in the dung and water of their cattle. Their bodies (of the men) are covered with the white ash of burnt cow-dung, like the Dinka tribe. This results from the men always sleeping in separate tukls, the floor of which is several inches deep with this white ash, resulting from the perpetually burning or smouldering fire of cow-dung inside the tukl ; the men actually make their bed in the ashes. The women do not thus cover themselves, but sleep on mats made of dressed cow-hide, and keep their own skins oiled and clean. The young unmarried girls, like the men, wear no covering, but the married Weapons. women wear a loin cloth of whatever material is available, a leopard, gazelle, or sheep skin. The arms of the men consbt entirely of spears (throwing) and shields, with the universal knob-kerry ; bows and arrows are possessed by a very few — rifles they have none. It was reported that one of the big sheikhs possessed himself of a few at one time, but broke them up and made bracelets for his ladies. As I have mentioned above, the main wealth of the Nuers lies in their cattle and flocks of sheep. As the importance or otherwise of a man is gauged entirely by the number of his cattle, it follows that the quickest way to become powerful is for an individual or a village to appropriate the T)re88, hair,