n the 28th of November, 1881, and reached Delen in Dar
Nuba on the 5th of December. I was most favourably impressed with the
Nuba country. Whilst Kordofan is merely an extensive plain with little
change of scenery, Dar Nuba presents an entirely different aspect. Here
chains of picturesque hills, running in various directions, rise out of
the plain, interspersed with numerous watercourses. Jebel Delen, on
which our Mission station was situated, is one of the smallest of the
hills. The other principal groups are Naima, Kurun, Dobab, Dair, Kedaro,
Tagalla, Gedir, and Tira, in which gold is found, besides a number of
smaller hills. It is estimated that in all there are upwards of one
hundred inhabited mountains.

The intervening plains and valleys are rich in vegetation of every
description; trees of colossal dimensions are found, more especially in
the khors (the beds of perennial streams), and the thick luxuriant
growth is so dense that the rays of the sun cannot penetrate. The soil
is exceptionally fertile and rain abundant, consequently for six months
in the year the density of the undergrowth makes it almost impossible to
traverse these rich valleys; but when the rains are over and the grass
becomes dry, it is generally fired, and thus the plains and valleys
become passable again. A quantity of the rain from these hills flows
into Lake Birket, some passes also into the Khor Abu Habl, which becomes
lost in the sand before it reaches the White Nile. The rain from the
southern Nuba hills finds its way into the Bahr el Arab. The plains
abound with quantities of deer, giraffe, antelope, and wild boar, whilst
the woods contain myriads of birds of lovely plumage, and apes and
monkeys of every description. During the winter season, elephants were
frequently to be seen in the neighbourhood of Delen, which also abounds
with snakes, amongst which the boa-constrictor is not uncommon.

The population of Dar Nuba, which at one time was considerable, does not
now exceed 50,000; the scattered sub-tribes of Baggara, who roam the
plains with the Bederieh and Ghodiat Arabs, have decimated the Nubas,
and forced those that are left to fly to their mountain recesses, where
they eke out a wretched existence, their protection being the
inaccessible nature of their retreats.

I found the Nubas a pleasant and well-disposed people; indeed, they have
the reputation in the Sudan of being the best of all the negroid races;
they cultivate only suf