ailable. Frequent cataracts obstruct its course for many miles.
Other long reaches are only navigable when the river is in flood. To
join the navigable reaches, and thus preserve the continuity of the
communications, a complex system of railways and caravans was necessary.

In the expedition to Dongola a line of railway was required to connect
the two navigable reaches of the Nile which extend from Assuan to Wady
Halfa, and from Kerma to Merawi. Before the capture of Dongola, however,
this distance was shortened by the fact that the river at high Nile is
navigable between the Third Cataract and Kerma. In consequence it was at
first only necessary to construct the stretch of 108 miles between Wady
Halfa and Kosheh. During the years when Wady Halfa was the southernmost
garrison of the Egyptian forces a strong post had been maintained at
Sarras. In the Nile expeditions of 1885 the railway from Halfa had been
completed through Sarras and as far as Akasha, a distance of eighty-six
miles. After the abandonment of the Soudan the Dervishes destroyed the
line as far north as Sarras. The old embankments were still standing,
but the sleepers had been burnt and the rails torn up, and in many cases
bent or twisted. The position in 1896 may, in fact, be summed up as
follows: The section of thirty-three miles from Wady Halfa to Sarras was
immediately available and in working order. The section of fifty-three
miles from Sarras to Akasha required partial reconstruction. The section
of thirty-two miles from Akasha to Kosheh must, with the exception of
ten miles of embankment completed in 1885, at once be newly made. And,
finally, the section from Kosheh to Kerma must be completed before the
Nile flood subsided.

The first duty, therefore, which the Engineer officers had to perform
was the reconstruction of the line from Sarras to Akasha. No trained
staff or skilled workmen were available. The lack of men with technical
knowledge was doubtfully supplied by the enlistment of a 'Railway
Battalion' 800 strong. These men were drawn from many tribes and
classes. Their only qualification was capacity and willingness for work.
They presented a motley appearance. Dervish prisoners, released but
still wearing their jibbas, assisted stalwart Egyptians in unloading
rails and sleepers. Dinkas, Shillooks, Jaalin, and Barabras shovelled
contentedly together at the embankments. One hundred civilian
Soudanese--chiefly time-expired soldiers--were also emp