| | |descent of 90 feet ensues. | | | _Sofi_ (Rest | 3 | 35 |A straggling village of a hundred house) | | |men (Jaalin) on spurs running down | | |to the Atbara 400 yards away. At | | |date the river is easily fordable, | | |the water not being knee deep and | | |20 yards broad near the village. | | |From this point the track as far | | |as El Fasher follows the course of | | |the river on the left bank, and | | |distant from it 1 to 5 miles. The | | |bush and jungle prevent approach | | |from the track, except at the | | |watering places in use. From Sofi | | |the track winds up to the plateau | | |in a N.W. direction along and in | | |khors. On reaching this plateau, | | |after a mile, the track bears | | |generally due N. Quarter of a mile | | |of dura cultivation is passed | | |through, then the path runs along | | |the flat top of a watershed | | |draining into the Atbara on the | | |right, and into the Khor Tomat on | | |the left. | | | | | |One and a half miles E. of the | | |Atbara the Setit runs parallel | | |with the river and the khor until | | |its junction with the former. | | |Going is now very bad, kittr, | | |laot, talh and sant close to the | | |path; cracked cotton soil. At the | | |43rd mile the track descends with | | |twists and turns towards the | | |river, and just before reaching | | |Khor Tomat some salt workings are | | |passed through. | | | _Khor Tomat_ | 9½ | 44½ |The khor near its junction with