We left Rufaar, and continued
our march along the banks of the Blue Nile, towards Khartoum. It
was intensely hot; whenever we felt a breeze it was accompanied
with a suffocating dust, but the sight of the broad river was
cool and refreshing. During the dry season the water of the Blue
Nile is clear, as its broad surface reflects the colour of the
blue sky; hence the appellation, but at that time it was
extremely shallow, and in many places it is fordable at a depth
of about three feet, which renders it unnavigable for large
boats, which, laden with corn, supply Khartoum from the fertile
provinces of the south. The river had now begun to rise, although
it was still low, and the water was muddy, as the swelling
torrents of Abyssinia brought impurities into the main channel.
It was at this same time last year, when at Berber, that we had
noticed the sudden increase and equally sudden fall of the Nile,
that was influenced by the fluctuations of the Blue Nile, at a
time when the Atbara was dry.
From Abou Harraz throughout the route to Khartoum there is no
object of interest; it is the same vast flat, decreasing rapidly
in fertility until it mingles with the desert; and once more, as
we journey to the north, we leave the fertile lands behind, and
enter upon sterility.
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