Wadai

WADAI, a country of north central Africa, bounded north by the Sahara and east by Darfur province of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. West and south-west it extended to Kanem and Bagirmi and south-east to Dar Runga. Formerly an independent Mo hammedan sultanate, it was conquered by the French in 1909-10 and now forms part of the Chad colony of French Equatorial Africa. By the French it has been divided into the circumscrip tions of Wadai and Batha. Total area about 8o,000 sq.m. Pop. (1926 estimates) Wadai, 265,362; Batha, 187,836.

Physical Features.

Wadai is for the most part a flat, dreary plain, some 1,5oo ft. in altitude, part of the clay zone which covers much of the basin of Lake Chad. It is, however, traversed by ranges of hills which rise another i,000 ft., and east and north is encircled by mountains—part of the ranges which stretch in a rough semi-circle from Tibesti to Darfur. In the north-east Dar Tama rises to a plateau of 2,500 to 3,00o ft., with the peak of Niere reaching 4,700 ft. The plains are mostly bush covered, but in places this gives way to long grass, with park-like regions in the west. The surface is often sandy, but there are considerable areas of black-cotton soil. To the south and east the land rises, and there are large forests, which, northward along the Darfur fron tier, thin down to scrub. The northern region, bordering the Sahara is semi-arid, though much of it, watered by intermittent streams, affords good pasturage. Here, on the north-west confines of Wadai, are remarkable sand-ridges of fantastic shape—hollow mounds, pyramids, crosses, etc., which are characteristic of the Libyan desert. There are also sandstone rocks of varying colours —red, blue, pink, white, black—presenting the aspect of ruined castles, ramparts and churches. In the extreme north-east are some intermittent streams, with an easterly flow. Here the Wadi Homr, in 16° N., marks the limit of vegetation—beyond, north ward, is absolute desert. South of it are many similar wadis, their banks covered with thick thorn bush. And 75 m. S. of Wadi Homr

is a lake, 2 m. long by Soo yd. wide, called Undur. This desert lake dries up for half the year. Apart from this north-east region, the country forms part of the Chad drainage area. The supposi tion that the Bahr-el-Ghazal (of the Chad system) might afford a connection with the Nile, owing to the remarkably even level of the country for a great distance, was disproved by the investiga tions of Col. Jean Tilho in 1914-15. The streams which rise on the western side of the divide in the north-eastern districts, of which the Batha (over 30o m. long) is the largest, flow west, the Batha ending in a depression, some 200 m. east of Lake Chad, called Fittri. Another stream, the Wadi Rime, with a more north erly course than the Batha, goes in the direction of Chad, but ends in swamps in the clayey soil. These rivers are intermittent, and after seasons of drought Fittri is completely dry. In the dry season, water is obtained from wells 25o to 30o ft. deep. The rivers of Dar Runga—a forested district south of Wadai proper— flow westward towards the Shari, but, save the Bahr Salamat, none reaches it. They only contain water in the rainy season. About ioo m. above the Salamat-Shari confluence is Lake Iro, joined to the Salamat by a short channel.

The flora includes timber trees, numerous dum palms, mimosa, acacia, the tamarind, and many kinds of grasses. The cotton plant grows wild, and a species of wild coffee tree reaches so to 6o ft. and yields excellent berries. Among animals are large herds of gazelle; baboons are common, and elephants are found in the forest. Ostriches are found in the north, where the lion is also occasionally seen. Of birds, the most conspicuous are cranes (white, black and crested) ; storks are also common in some re gions. Of domestic animals, the camel is common in the northern district, elsewhere the bull is used for transport. Horses, cattle, sheep and goats are numerous. Caterpillars are sometimes a plague, and there are visitations of locusts.