ng of a
population, such as Amerade, Salug, Sehel. The granite threshold of
Nubia, is broken beyond Sehel, but its debris, massed m disorder against
the right bank, still seem to dispute the passage of the waters, dashing
turbulently and roaring as they flow along through tortuous channels,
where every streamlet is broken up into small cascades, ihe channel
running by the left bank is always navigable.

[Illustration: 015.jpg ENTRANCE TO NUBIA.]

During the inundation, the rocks and sandbanks of the right side are
completely under water, and their presence is only betrayed by eddies.
But on the river's reaching its lowest point a fall of some six feet is
established, and there big boats, hugging the shore, are hauled up by
means of ropes, or easily drift down with the current.

[Illustration: 016.jpg LEAGUE BEYOND LEAGUE, THE HILLS STKETCH ON IN LOW
IGNOBLE OUTLINE. 1]

1 From a drawing by Boudier, after a photograph by Insinger,
taken in 1881.

All kinds of granite are found together in this corner of Africa. There
are the pink and red Syenites, porphyritic granite, yellow granite, grey
granite, both black granite and white, and granites veined with black
and veined with white. As soon as these disappear behind us, various
sandstones begin to crop up, allied to the coarsest _calcaire grossier_.
The hill bristle with small split blocks, with peaks half overturned,
with rough and denuded mounds. League beyond league, they stretch in low
ignoble outline. Here and there a valley opens sharply into the desert,
revealing an infinite perspective of summits and escarpments in echelon
one behind another to the furthest plane of the horizon, like motionless
caravans. The now confined river rushes on with a low, deep murmur,
accompanied night and day by the croaking of frogs and the rhythmic
creak of the sakieh.[*]

* The sakieh is made of a notch-wheel fixed vertically on a
horizontal axle, and is actuated by various cog-wheels set
in continuous motion by oxen or asses. A long chain of
earthenware vessels brings up the water either from the
river itself, or from some little branch canal, and
empties it into a system of troughs and reservoirs.
Thence, it flows forth to be distributed over all the
neighbouring land.

Jetties of rough stone-work, made in unknown times by an unknown people,
run out like breakwaters into midstream.

[Illustration: 018.jpg THE ENTRANCE T