Practically  every  known  form  of  transport,  from
human  porterage  to  modern  railway,  is  in  daily  use
in  Egypt  and  the  Sudan.  The  native  negro  carriers
in  the  southern  forests  follow  beaten  tracks,  marching
in  single  file  with  bundles  of  rubber,  ivory,  etc.,  upon
their  heads,  down  to  the  nearest  point  on  a  navigable
waterway,    where    Government   steamers    are   ready


214  EGYPT   AND   THE   SUDAN

to  transport  the  produce  to  the  nearest  market
town.  The  porters  can  travel  about  fifteen  miles
a  day.  Further  north  long  lines  of  camels,  with
bundles  of  dates  or  gum  strapped  to  their  backs,
wind  across  the  desert,  bringing  the  oases  into  touch
with  the  Nile,  which  is  the  great  highway  of  the
country's  commerce.  Fashoda,  at  the  confluence
of  the  Sobat,  is  an  important  collecting  centre  for
all  these  products.  Flat-bottomed  paddle-steamers
of  shallow  draught,  owned  by  the  Government,
keep  up  regular  communication  between  all  places
on  the  navigable  stretches  of  the  Nile  and  its
tributaries,  about  3000  miles  of  navigation  being
used  in  this  way.  The  graceful  native  dahabeah,
or  one-sailed  boat,  is  also  a  familiar  feature  on  the
river.  From  Khartum  to  Wadi  Haifa  and  from
Aswan  to  Cairo  the  waterway  and  camel  road  are
supplemented  by  railway.  This  line  is  State  pro-
perty and,  with  branches,  totals  a  length  of  about
3000  miles.  Most  of  it  is  on  the  4'  8J"  gauge,  but
parts  are  still  only  8'  6''.  There  are  several  hundred
miles  of  privately-owned  railways  of  a  light  nature,
mainly  used  for  agricultural  purposes.  Most  of
these  are  in  the  Delta.  The  railway  has  been  ex-
tended from  Khartum,  the  capital  of  the  Sudan,
up  the  Blue  Nile  to  the  cotton-growing  district  of
Sennar,  and  thence  back  to  the  White  Nile  and  west-
ward to  El  Obeid,  the  centre  of  the  cattle-rearing,
gum  and  date  producing  region  of  Kordofan.  An
exceedingly  important  branch  runs  from  Berber,  at
the  confluence  of  the  Atbara,  to  Port  Sudan  on  the
Red  Sea,  and  as  this  is  the  shortest  outlet  for  the
produce  of  the  Sudan  its  importance  will  probably
increase.  Another  branch  runs  from  Abu  Hamed,
along  the  river  towards  Old  Dongola.  Cairo  is
connected  by  rail  with  Alexandria,  the  great  outlet
of  the  Nile  Valley,  and  with  the  Suez  Canal  at
Ismailia,  whence  lines  run  north  and  south  along
the  Canal.
