126 UGANDA AND THE EGYPTIAN SOUDAN.

dangerous custom, and many accidents occur ; but it is useless to remonstrate with the men, for their fatalistic ideas do not permit them to listen to reason. Ye were conducted to a very large and cool divan, built in an Vjblong shape, and a good meal was ready for us i our arrival, which after our long, hot march was*¥ery welcome. Ten years ago this station was very strongly fortified, and many a hard fight took place there between the slave-dealers and the natives ; now the neighbourhood is almost depopulated, owing to the number of natives who have been captured and sent as slaves to Khartoum.

A quick and pleasant march from Kederu brought us to the river Eodi ; the road was very good, and not far from the river we passed through a splendid grove of doleb palms, which was inhabited by a large number of black-and-yellow finches. We crossed eight streams of considerable size, all flowing towards the river ; the ground was almost entirely a mass of ironstone, and we saw here and there huge boulders of granite, and near the streams a great deal of bright shining sand, which was probably ilmenite. The river Eodi is very fine, having great trees overhanging its high banks ; it is 200 yards broad, was over ten feet deep at this season ; the current is a knot and a half an hour, and about 9000 cubic feet of water is sent down a second. The only information about it I could