Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/84

 destined to become the commercial outlet of the whole Upper Nile basin, shall connect the Red Sea coast with the Atbara and Nile confluence, this line will have to be extended up stream as far as the cataract of Garri to allow of uninterrupted traffic. The fifth cataract, which is followed by the rapids of Gerasheb, Mograt, and others between Berber and Abu-Hamed, obstructs the navigation only at low water; but farther down occur more serious natural impediments. Most travellers crossing Nubia between Sudan and Egypt follow the land route from Abu-Hamed to Korosko, not merely because of the vast semicircle described westwards by the Nile in this part of its course, but also because its bed is here obstructed by three

series of cataracts. One of these groups of rapids, known as the "fourth cataract," is of considerable length, and is divided into many stages like a series of sluices. First comes Dulga Island, a high rock crowned by a ruined fortress; then follow other granite boulders visible above the water, but without interrupting the navigation. This first barrier is succeeded by islands and sandbanks, followed by more rocks, dividing the river into steep channels, and the gorge ends near Gerendid, in a sort of gateway formed by two rocks covered with the ruins of fortresses. Here are no trees like those on the fifth or the third cataract situated below New Dongola, not a patch of verdure on the bank to soften the wild grandeur