Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/158

 the slavers. It was a hunting-ground where the Sultan of Darfur formerly hunted human beings to pay his debts. The Mandaras are nearly all Mahommedans, like their neighbours on the banks of the Bahr-el-Arab. They have allied themselves with the Baggara and Nuer to attack the Egyptian garrisons in the riverain

countries, but they were repulsed many times by Governor Lupton near the village of Mayendut.

The Fertit country forms the ethnological boundary between the clothed and naked populations. This contrast, combined with those of the physical features, impresses travellers, who here seem to enter anew world. To effect its junction with the Bahr-el-Ghazal and Nile, the "River of the Arabs" in its lower course winds across Negro territories. Denka tribes and peoples of the great and warlike Nuer nation occupy the swampy plains along its banks.