800 The Sudd.

Inhabitants.

The tnic Sudd.

Formatiun of Smld. (Sir W. GiarBtio.)

eater, an occasional heron, fish-eagle, or " anvil bird," the ubiquitous crocodile, and, of course, the insects — disappear ; but in the more southerly parts are found many varieties of game.

On the Bahr El Jebel, for the first 150 miles south of Lake No there are no human inhabitants visible. Thereafter occasional Dinkas and their villages are seen up to about Bor (384 miles) ; whilst beyond this the Bari country commences, the population as the Lado Enclave is approached being considerably thicker on the east than on the west bank. The Bahr el Ghazal swamps and banks are almost uninhabited.

Of the larger species of game, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, and many sorts of antelope, including waterbuck, Leucotis, Cobus Maria, etc., etc., are seen towards the south, whilst the hippopotamus is excessively numerous almost throughout.* From the reeds and mudbanks arise clouds of wildfowl, crane, geese, (black and white, and brown), storks (saddleback, black, open-billed and marabou), herons (white, grey, egret, purple, " squacco," and " Gohath "), bustard, and the quaint Ixilaemeeps rex (whale-headed stork), besides pelican, spoonbill, ibis, and duck of every description ; and of insect life the supply is unnecessarily large throughout. This latter includes several varieties of persistent and poisonous mosquitos (from the large scarlet one to the tiny anopheles), the trumpet-headed sudd insect and other kindred grasshopper-like creatures, millions of midges and mayflies, the serut fly, moths, spiders, fireflies, etc., etc. The sudd also swarms with coarse fish, some running to a considerable size.

Some confusion has been caused by the word " sudd " being applied to the whole of these marshes. As a matter of fact, the reed sudd is only the obstructive floating vegetation, originated in the lagoons as described below, which is driven by force of circumstances into the river channels and there forms the block or sudd. By far the greater portion of the marshes are covered by standing reeds, papyrus and the like, which, although they cover and assist in the formation of the floating vegetation and even, when uprooted, form part of it, yet are not, strictly speaking, sudd in their original state.

Thus, the traveller who proceeds along the cleared channel from Lake No to Gondokoro will, in all probability, although in the middle of the " sudd," see little, if any, genuine sudd at all.

In the Bahr El Jebel the main factors in forming sudd are the papyrus and the " um suf." These two, with the earth adhering to their roots, form the real obstruction. Many of the smaller swimming plants, such as the " Azolla," the " Ufricidano." and the " Otel/ia VaUisncria " are mingled with the others, but they certainly do not play an important part in the formation of the obstacle. The ambach, too, has been unjustly accused of assisting in forming this barrier. This is not the case. This plant does not grow in any great quantity in the vicinity of the Bahr El Jebel, and its stem is so light and brittle that it would break when subjected to great pressure.

On the Bahr El Ghazal, on the contrary, the sudd is chiefly composed of the swimming plants above-mentioned. Their breeding places are Lake Ambadi and the other shallow lakes to the south.

The Ghazal sudd is much lighter in texture than that of the Jebel, and is consequently much easier to remove. At the same time, even in the former river, the sudd is at times dangerous, especially if it forms down-stream of a vessel, and if the latter has to work upon it from its up-stream end. The accident to Gessi Pasha's expedition in 1880 proves that even the Bahr El Ghazal sudd can be an impassable obstacle under such circumstances.

Before alluding to the work done in removing the sudd, it may be as well to say a few words as to the principal causes of this remarkable barrier.

The Bahr El Jebel traverses the marshes between Bor and Lake No for some .380 miles of its course. South of Shambe the river has never been known to be blocked. On either side of the channel, in these immense swamps, extend large shallow lagoons, some of them covering a square mile or more of area. These lagoons are surrounded on every side by a luxuriant growth of aquatic plants, consisting chiefly of the papyrus and the grass known to the Arabs as the " um suf " (the mother of wool). Both these plants grow in water, but not in any great depth. The papyrus attains a height of from 15 to 20 feet, with fibrous roots which strike deep into the ground. The " um suf " rarely exceeds 5 feet in height, and its roots do not extend so deeply as do those of the papyrus. They are, however, very tough and difficult to break or cut through. These roots are bedded in the soil below the water, but the strong gales which blow in these regions loosen their hold to a large extent. If such a storm be accompanied by any rise of the water surface, large masses of these plants are set free from their original position, and begin to float on the surface of the lagoons. Their roots form such a tangled mass that large quantities of the earth in which they are embedded remain clinging to them. These act as ballast, and when the island of papyrus or reeds is detached and, under the influence of the wind, is set drifting about the lagoon, the weight of the earth retains the plants in their vertical position. Their roots, the moment they reach a shallow, act as anchors, and speedily strike down again into the muddy bottom of the lake.

Large masses constantly change their position in this way. If the storm cease, they rema'n where they are. Unfortunately, at the commencement and end of the rainy season, stormy weather is the rule rather than the exception. At such seasons large areas of the marsh vegetation are in motion, driven hither and thither by the wind.

The Bahr El Jebel, where it passes through the fcwamps, has no banks whatever, and is, as a rule, separated from the lagoons merely by a narrow belt of papyrus. In many places it is in connection with them, and the water of the lakes * The writer counted 72 in one lagoon at Shambe.