Angrab, although much reduced, are nevertheless perennial streams,
flowing into the Atbara from the lofty Abyssinian mountains; but the
parched, sandy bed of the latter river absorbs the entire supply, nor
does one drop of water reach the Nile from the Atbara during the dry
season. The wonderful absorption by the sand of that river is an
illustration of the impotence of the Blue Nile to contend unaided with
the Nubian deserts, which, were it not for the steady volume of the
White Nile, would drink every drop of water before the river could pass
the twenty-fifth degree of latitude.

The principal affluents of the Blue Nile are the Rahad and Dinder,
flowing, like all others, from Abyssinia. The Rahad is entirely dry
during the dry season, and the Dinder is reduced to a succession of deep
pools, divided by sandbanks, the bed of the river being exposed. These
pools are the resort of numerous hippopotami and the natural inhabitants
of the river.

Having completed the exploration of the various affluents to the Nile
from Abyssinia, passing through the Base country and the portion of
Abyssinia occupied by Mek Nimmur, I arrived at Khartoum, the capital of
the Soudan provinces, on the 11th June, 1862.

Khartoum is situated in lat. 15 degrees 29 minutes, on a point of land
forming the angle between the White and Blue Niles at their junction. A
more miserable, filthy, and unhealthy spot can hardly be imagined. Far
as the eye can reach, upon all sides, is a sandy desert. The town,
chiefly composed of huts of unburnt brick, extends over a flat hardly
above the level of the river at high water, and is occasionally flooded.
Although containing about 30,000 inhabitants, and densely crowded, there
are neither drains nor cesspools: the streets are redolent with