ABSTRACT
About So miles from Shendi begins the Sixth Cataract, commonly called the Shabluka Cataract; it begins at the north end. of Mernat Island, on which General Gordon's steamer, the" Bordein," was wrecked on January 31, 1885, and extends to Gebel Rawyan, a distance of II miles. At the entrance to the Shabluka gorge, the channel turns sharply to the east, and is only 200 yards wide; in July the rate of the current through tbis channel exceeds 10 miles per hour. The Dervishes guarded the north( rn end of the channel by five forts, four on the western, and one on the eastern bank. From this point to Omdurman there is little to be seen of general interest. The hills of Kerreri, seven miles from Omdurman on the east bank, mark the site of the great Battle of Omdurman, on Friday, September 2, 1898, when the Khalifi's army was practically annihilated; on the same day the Sirdar marched into the city of Omdurman, and the rule of the Khalifa was at an end.
