84 Fever and I stayed there for two days. On Saturday, September 22, 1883, I was somewhat ill. On Sunday, September 23, 1883, at 4 PM, His Excellency Hicks Pasha arrived for consultation with His Excellency the Governor-General regarding the easiest route for the army to pass through to Kordofan and that the 4th [Battalion] would proceed tomorrow, Monday, towards Shaa (1) to scout for water and submit the necessary report, under the command of His Excellency Rajab Bey, who had taken command. He was accompanied by the necessary artillery and cavalry. An agreement was reached to establish six military posts, each with four hundred soldiers, a mix of Bashi-bazouks and regular troops, and a mountain gun [and gravel] (2). He was given the names of the places the army would pass through, the sufficiency of water in the wells, in addition to the existence of pools, i.e., fulas (3), from the rains, which could be relied upon due to the strength of the army, numbering twenty thousand souls, including men, camels, and others, who would drink the water. The names of the places were from Duwaim to Shaa, to Zariga (4), to Suragana, to Ana Rabi, to Al-Uqla, to Juhan, to Abli, to Al-Bilab, to Umm Sheikh, to Ar-Rahad (5), to Al-Qazqil, to Al-Milibis, to El Obeid. On blessed Monday, September 24, 1883, at 11 AM, I was informed that in the morning His Excellency Rajab Bey had set out with the Fourth Battalion, accompanied by two Krupp guns, four mountain guns, and two meter guns, heading to Shaa. On Tuesday, a report arrived from His Excellency Rajab Bey in Shaa regarding the water. It indicated that there were fifty wells, each four to five fathoms deep, and the water level was only about a meter and a half deep. He also saw a fula, i.e., a pool of water, midway. On blessed Wednesday, September 26, 1883, another report arrived from him. (1) Shaa or Shat is located twenty miles west of El Kowa and southwest of Duwaim. (2) This word is unclear in the original. (3) Fula refers to small water springs in Kordofan or a pool. (4) Zariga is a village located southwest of Shaa. (5) Ar-Rahad is located in a depression in the plain where heavy rainwater collects in July and remains during the winter.