I went to the mud huts at the back to look in at the weavers. They were black boys and men, who sat before rude looms on the edge of holes in the ground. The looms were so made that they could be worked with the feet, the shuttles being thrown back and forth by hand. The latter moved through the cloth with a whistling noise, which was about the only sound to be heard. The cloth turned out is very good. It is well woven and soft, and brings good prices. Its wearing qualities are better than those of the Manchester and American cottons. I asked what wages the boy weavers received, and was told ten cents a day. A large part of the grain of the Upper Sudan comes down the Blue and White Niles to Omdurman. The grain markets are close to the river and since there is no rain here at this time of the year, there is no need for warehouses or sheds. The grain is poured out on the hard ground in great piles and left there until sold. If you will imagine several hundred little mountains of white or red sand with wooden measures of various sizes lying at their feet or stuck into their sloping sides, you may have some idea of this Central African grain market. You must add the tents of canvas or the mat shelters in which the native merchants stay while waiting for their customers, as well as a crowd of black-skinned, white-gowned men and women moving about sampling the wares and buying or selling. The merchants watch the grain all day, and if they are forced to go away at nightfall they smooth the hills out and make cabalistic marks upon them so that they can easily tell if their property has been disturbed during their absence. The most common grains sold here are wheat, barley, and dura. The last named is ground to a flour either in hand mills or between stones moved about by bullocks or camels, and is eaten in the shape of round loaves of about the circumference of a tea plate and perhaps two inches thick. The wheat is of the macaroni variety, which grows well in these dry regions wherever irrigation is possible. Speaking of the flour of the Sudan, I visited one of the largest milling establishments of the country during my stay in Omdurman. The owner is among the richest and most influential of the Sudanese. He is an emir, and as such is a leading citizen of the town. His mills were in a great mud-walled compound, which contained also his garden and home. The garden was irrigated by a well, and upon entering it I saw two black slave girls turning the wheels which furnished the water supply.