Darfur.

185 As might be expected the general direction of the drainage is east and west. In the north the country is so arid and the rains so meagre that the water draining eastwards towards the Wadi Melh soon sinks into the sandy soil and disappears. Similarly, further south the Wadis, chief of which is Wadi Ko, draining the east and south-east of the Marra group and which flow generally in a south-easterly direction towards the Bahr El Arab, an affluent of the ]>hr El Ghazal, seldom if ever discharge water into that river. The Wadis Bulbul, Gendi, and Ibra, however, which spring from the more southern slopes of the watershed and also trend south-east, are believed to convey a considerable quantity of water into the Bahr El Arab during the rainy season.

To the west of the watershed the general trend of the wadis is south-west, the Wadi Sonet and Kia in the north, with their affluents draining the hills of Dar Tama, and most important of all the Wadi Azum which carries the drainage from the western slopes of Jebel Marra are thought to unite near Dar Sula and to flow, under the name of Bahr El Salamat, towards Lake Iro, though it is doubtful if their waters ever reach this marshy swamp which, in turn, drains into the Shari.

The drainage of the south-west of Darfur flows towards the Eiver Mamun, a perennial stream, also an affluent of the Shari, which, of course, empties into the southern end of Lake Chad.

Broadly it may be said that the country to the north and east of the Marra range resembles that of Kordofan in Water its character and usual dearth of water, whilst to the west, south-west, and south it is much better watered and more "PP'j'-fertile. During the rains water is here everywhere plentiful, whilst at this season much of Southern Darfur becomes marshy and difficult to travel over. In the rainy season too the principal wadis, especially those in the south and south-west, are perfect torrents, and, although their beds are dry soon after the cessation of the rains, water is generally to be found in abundance held up by the clayey strata at a few feet below the surface. In Eastern Darfur the weUs are of considerable depth and at great distances from each other, especially south of Dara and Taweisha, and the people are dependent to a great extent on water melons (batikh) and to a less extent on Tebeldi trees (Adansonia digitata) which are such a feature of Dar Hamar, the adjoining district of Kordofan.

The deepest wells are at Karnak, where water is only obtained at 250 feet. At Burush on the Fasher-Obeid road and on the road to Taweisha, and at Taweisha itself, the wells, which pass through strata of chalk and marl, average from 100 to 130 feet in depth.

At El Fasher the wells are of no great depth and at the end of the dry season water is obtainable at 35 feet. The nearer one approaches the central group of mountains the depth at which water is found diminishes. At 3,200 feet above the sea it is found by excavating in the sandy beds of khors, but at 4,000 feet there is running water which becomes more abimdant still further to the west of Jebel Marra.

The geological formation is very varied ; in the west the mountains show a volcanic origin ; in the north Geology, and south granite and sandstone are the prevailing rocks ; in the east the soil is sandy and contains a quantity of iron, which is worked to a small extent.

In the east and north-east, granite predominates, with the exception of a strip between Foga and El Fasher, where red and white sandstone crops out.

In the north, Wadi Melit and the hills in its neighbourhood are of gneiss. To the north-east of this, granite again predominates at Saya, whilst still further north, Jebel Tagabo is of sandstone.

Jebel Meidob contains both sandstone and granite ; this group has been much distorted by volcanic agency, and beds of lava are to be seen in all directions. To its south-west lies Bir El Melh,* an extinct crater, which to outward appearance is an insignificant hill, but has a depth of about 150 feet. Here is a small lake strongly impregnated with alkaline matter, while sweet water springs issue from the sandstone and granite declivities.

The Jebel Marra group is also of volcanic origin ; lava and granite are to be found everywhere, but there is no sandstone ; small peaks of pink granite crop up here and there between these mountains and El Fasher.

Stretching from the main group in a westerly direction for a distance of 30 or 40 miles is a huge dyke of white quartz witil a sandstone plateau raised some 300 feet above the plain which is itself about 3,200 feet above sea level.

The inhabitants report a large lake of brackish water, from which salt can be obtained, on the north-eastern part of the mountain; while, at a day's journey to the west, salt is also found at Karunga, and the Wadi Burka is strongly impregnated with soda.

In all the depressions sand rich in iron is met with. In a southerly direction from Jebel Marra, there stretches a broad alluvial plain which is dotted, all over with peaks of granite, giving the imjjression of a range of mountains, buried all but its highest points.

The original tribes of the country are the FoRS and the Dago ; the latter ruled for centuries over the entire Inhabitants, district from their inaccessible strongholds in Jebel Marra. Tradition relatesf that about the 14th century the TuNGUR Arabs, emigrating south from Tunis, scattered throughout Bornu and Wadai, and eventually reached Darfur, ♦ Not to lie confused with Bir El Mellia on the Arbain road west of Jjebbat Taken from " Fire and Sword in the. Sudan," •■'■"-