On the borders of the province of Kordofan properly so called, towards the south-east, live the Shilluk, and the Denky, or Jenky, as they are also termed; the latter inhabit the eastern shore of the White Nile. The country of the Shilluk occupies a very large tract of land extending considerably into the interior towards the west of the White River. Both tribes, the Shilluk as well as the Denky, seem to be one and the same people, as far as their outward appearance, their build, habits and customs are concerned, but their language differs. The sultans of the Shilluk were formerly very potent: even Sennaar, the realms of which extended to the borders of Dongola, they had conquered; and the latter country was governed by one of the sultan’s family as late as the year 1821, when it was rendered tributary to Mehemed Ali by the superior force of the Egyptian troops. The son of the last king of Sennaar is at present living in a miserable village. Mehemed Ali, with peculiar consideration, has made him magistrate of this village, where he lives in very straitened circumstances. The Shilluks and Denky are easily distinguished from among a concourse of other nations, for they have oblong heads, and are more especially known by the want of the four lower incisor teeth, which are extracted when they are ten or twelve years of age, a kind of religious ceremony, as I was told, similar to that of circumcision or baptism. They are of muscular build, and very merry, but are not much prized as slaves, and are indeed always at a lower price than other captives in Kordofan and Sennaar. The chief reason of this discrepancy is that they are stupid, lazy, and childish, and cannot be confidently entrusted with any duty. They are to be seen running about all day long, or engaged in games which could only please children. They are very treacherous, and can never be left to themselves, but must, in fact, always be placed under the inspection of other slaves. Those only who leave home at a very early age form the exception to this rule. With such deficiences they are, consequently, only used for the very lowest class of labour, and treated not much better than beasts of burden. Mehemed Ali, who formed his first regiment of foot entirely of negroes, has latterly given orders not to enlist any more recruits from this tribe; he found, indeed, that their services were not only of no avail, but that their excessive stupidity was likely to lead to ulterior consequences; for there have been instances known of soldiers from this tribe whilst on duty, giving their musket without hesitation, and the charge into the bargain, to any casual passer-by who happened to offer them a small present for it. In fact, the officers were always obliged to keep these men under strict inspection, for they were never to be trusted alone.