(Rest house) | | |place of the nomad Arabs. The | | |river is 12 miles from the track. | | |Several large islands in the | | |Atbara here, the water in the dry | | |season passing down by the left | | |bank. Lions are plentiful here. | | | | | |Here the direct road from Gedaref | | |comes in. From this point the road | | |improves considerably. Troops can | | |move on a broader front, and the | | |soil, though still cotton, is not | | |so cracked; the earth has a | | |slightly red tinge. Occasionally | | |belts of bush are traversed. At | | |the 92nd mile the track descends, | | |and the ground becomes very | | |broken. The remains of an old | | |Dervish post on a spur are seen | | |400 yards to right. | | | _M. Khashm El | 23½ | 93½ |Track here meets the river; a Girba_ | | |tributary, or branch of the | | |Atbara, comes in here on the | | |opposite bank, with water still in | | |it. Broken country is again | | |traversed, and many knolls and | | |khors are passed until the plateau | | |is again reached. Trees are | | |larger, and ground covered with | | |gau grass, excellent for grazing | | |cattle and sheep. | | | Dervish earth | 3 | 96½ |A square Dervish earthwork, each work | | |side about 80 yards long, is | | |passed on right. This was the site | | |of El Fasher village when it | | |existed. | | | _El Fasher | 4 | 100½ |At date, river was 50 yards broad, ford_ (Rest | | |18 inches deep at the most at the