Sir Samuel White Baker
Ismailia

PREFACE

An interval of five years has elapsed since the termination of my engagement in the service of His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, "to suppress the slave-hunters of Central Africa, and to annex the countries constituting the Nile Basin, with the object of opening those savage regions to legitimate commerce and establishing a permanent government."

This volume—"Ismailia"—gives an accurate description of the salient points of the expedition. My thanks are due to the public for the kind reception of the work, and for the general appreciation of the spirit which prompted me to undertake a mission so utterly opposed to the Egyptian ideas of 1869-1873; at a time when no Englishman had held a high command, when rival consulates were struggling for paramount influence, when the native officials were jealous of foreign interference, and it appeared that slavery and the slave trade of the White Nile were institutions almost necessary to the existence of Egyptian society.

It was obvious to all observers that an attack upon the slave-dealing and slave-hunting establishments of Egypt by a foreigner—an Englishman—would be equal to a raid upon a hornets' nest, that all efforts to suppress the old-established traffic in negro slaves would be encountered with a determined opposition, and that the prime agent and leader of such an expedition must be regarded "with hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness." At that period (1869) the highest authorities were adverse to the attempt. An official notice was despatched from the British Foreign Office to the Consul-General of Egypt that British subjects belonging to Sir Samuel Baker's expedition must not expect the support of their government in the event of complications. The enterprise was generally regarded as chimerical in Europe, with hostility in Egypt, but with sympathy in America.

Those who have read "Ismailia" may have felt some despondency. Although the slave-hunters were driven out of the territory under my command, there were nevertheless vast tracts of country through which new routes could be opened for the slave caravans to avoid the cruising steamers on the White Nile, and thus defeat the government. The Sultan of Darfur offered an asylum and a secure passage for all slaves and their captors who could no longer venture within the new boundaries of Egypt. It was evident that the result of the expedition under my command was a death-blow to the slave trade, if the Khedive was determined to persist in its destruction. I had simply achieved the success of a foundation for a radical reform in the so-called commerce of the White Nile. The government had been established throughout the newly-acquired territories, which were occupied by military positions garrisoned with regular troops, and all those districts were absolutely purged from the slave-hunters. In this condition I resigned my command, as the first act was accomplished. The future would depend upon the sincerity of the Khedive, and upon the ability and integrity of my successor.

It pleased many people and some members of the press in England to disbelieve the sincerity of the Khedive. He was accused of annexation under the pretext of suppressing the vast organization of the White Nile slave-trade. It was freely stated that an Englishman was placed in command because an Egyptian could not be relied upon to succeed, but that the greed of new territory was the actual and sole object of the expedition, and that the slave-trade would reappear in stupendous activity when the English personal influence should be withdrawn. Such unsympathetic expressions must have been a poor reward to the Khedive for his efforts to win the esteem of the civilized world by the destruction of the slave-trade in his own dominions.

Few persons have considered the position of the Egyptian ruler when attacking the institution most cherished by his people. The employment of an European to overthrow the slave-trade in deference to the opinion of the civilized world was a direct challenge and attack upon the assumed rights and necessities of his own subjects. The magnitude of the operation cannot be understood by the general public in Europe. Every household in Upper Egypt and in the Delta was dependent upon slave service; the fields in the Soudan were cultivated by slaves; the women in the harems of both rich and middle class were attended by slaves; the poorer Arab woman's ambition was to possess a slave; in fact, Egyptian society without slaves would be like a carriage devoid of wheels—it could not proceed.

The slaves were generally well treated by their owners; the brutality lay in their capture, with the attendant lawlessness and murders; but that was far away, and the slave proprietors of Egypt had not witnessed the miseries of the weary marches of the distant caravans. They purchased slaves, taught them their duties, fed and clothed them—they were happy; why should the Khedive of Egypt prohibit the traffic and thus disturb every household in his territory?

There is no Hyde Park or Trafalgar Square in Egypt, there are no agitators nor open-air meetings, fortunately for the modern ruler, or he would have had an unpleasant expression of the popular sentiment at the close of my administration. The break-up of the White Nile slave-trade involved the depression of trade in Khartoum, as the market had supplied the large bands of slave-hunters. The ivory of the numerous adventurers still remained in the White Nile stations, as they feared confiscation should their vessels be captured with the ever accompanying slave cargo. Thus little ivory arrived at Khartoum to meet the debts of the traders to the merchants in Cairo and Alexandria. These owed Manchester and Liverpool for calicoes supplied, which had been forwarded to the Soudan.

The direct blow at the White Nile slave-trade was an indirect attack upon the commerce of the country, which was inseparably connected with the demand of the Soudan employers of brigands.

This slight outline of the situation will exhibit the difficulties of the Khedive in his thankless and Herculean task of cleansing the Augean stables. He incurred the wrath of general discontent; his own officials accused him of deserting the Mahommedan cause for the sake of European Kudos, and while he sacrificed his popularity in Egypt, his policy was misconstrued by the powers he had sought to gratify. He was accused of civilizing "through the medium of fire and sword" by the same English journals which are now extolling the prowess of the British arms in Caffraria and the newly-annexed Transvaal!

In this equivocal position it would have been natural either to have abandoned the enterprise at the termination of my own engagement, or to have placed a Mahommedan officer in charge of the new provinces. Instead of this, His Highness adhered most strictly to his original determination, and to prove his sincerity he entrusted the command to an English officer of high reputation, not only for military capacity, but for a peculiar attribute of self-sacrifice and devotion. Colonel C. E. Gordon, R.E., C.B., was appointed Governor-General of the Soudan and equatorial districts, with supreme power.

This appointment extinguished the delusions which had been nourished by the Soudan authorities, "that at the expiration of Baker Pacha's rule the good old times of slavery and lawlessness would return." There was no longer any hope; the slave-trade was suppressed, and the foundation was laid for the introduction of European ideas and civilization. It will now be interesting to trace an outline of the advance of Egypt during the last five years.

The main difficulty in my original enterprise was the obstruction of the White Nile by the accumulation of matted vegetation, which impeded navigation, and actually closed the river. Upon arrival at Gondokoro, after the tedious process of cutting through 50 miles of swamp and vegetable matter, via the Bahr Giraffe, I had requested the Khedive to issue an order that the Governor of Khartoum should immediately commence the great work of re-opening the White Nile.

His Highness without delay forwarded the necessary instructions, and in two years the work was completed by Ismail Ayoob Pacha, with the loss of several vessels which had been overwhelmed by the sudden bursting of vast masses of floating swamps and entangled reeds. It had been necessary to commence operations below stream, to enable the blocks of vegetation to escape when detached by cutting from the main body.

The White Nile was restored to navigation a few months after my return to England, and was clear for large vessels by the time that Colonel Gordon arrived in Khartoum.

I had originally sent up six steamers from Cairo to ply between Khartoum and Gondokoro; these had been simply employed as far as Fashoda station, but as the Nile was now open, they at once established a rapid and regular communication with the equatorial provinces. The terrible difficulty had vanished, and Gondokoro was linked with the outer world from which it had been excluded. The appliances which had been prepared with much care could now be utilized. With the river open, supplies and reinforcements could be immediately forwarded, and the ivory which had accumulated in the government stations could be brought to market. In addition to the physical advantages of restored communication, a great moral change was effected throughout the officers and troops; they felt no longer banished from the world, but accepted their position as garrisons in Egyptian territory.

At Gondokoro I had constructed a steel steamer of 108 tons, and I had left ready packed for land transport a steamer of the same metal 38 tons, in addition to two steel life-boats of each 10 tons, for conveyance to the Albert N'yanza. At Khartoum I had left in sections a steamer of 251 tons. All these vessels had been brought from England and conveyed with incredible trouble upon camels across the deserts to Khartoum.

Before my arrival in the Soudan the entire river force of steamers upon the Blue and White Niles was represented by four very inferior vessels. I had added six from Cairo, and built a seventh; thus I left a force of eleven steamers working on the river, exclusive of two in sections.

The stations garrisoned by regular troops were— 1. Gondokoro, N. lat. 4 degrees 54 minutes. 2. Fatiko, N. lat. 3 degrees 2 minutes. 3. Foweera, N. lat. 2 degrees 6 minutes. 4. Fabbo, N. lat. 3 degrees 8 minutes.

By the newly-raised irregulars— 5. Farragenia. 6. Faloro.

In this position of affairs Colonel Gordon succeeded to the command in the spring of 1874. Although the Bari tribe, which had been subdued, was nominally at peace, it was hardly safe to travel through the country without an armed escort.

Colonel Gordon's first effort was in favour of conciliation, with the hope of inspiring a friendly spirit among the chiefs. At the same time he resolved to offer a chance for reform to the slave-hunter Abou Saood, who he considered might amend his ways, and from his knowledge of the people become a useful officer to the government. Unfortunately, the leopard could not change his spots, and the man, to whom every opportunity had been given, was dismissed and punished. It was impossible to have discovered an officer more thoroughly qualified for the command than Colonel Gordon. By profession a military engineer, he combined the knowledge especially required for carrying on the enterprise. He had extended the hand of friendship to the natives, but when rejected with contempt and opposed by hostility, he was prompt in chastisement. The wet seasons and attendant high flood of two years were employed in dragging the 108-ton steel steamer up the various cataracts which intervened between Gondokoro and Duflli (N. lat. 3 degrees 34 minutes). This portion of the river formed a series of steps caused by a succession of cataracts at intervals of about 25 miles; between the obstacles the stream was navigable. The natives of Moogi treacherously attacked and killed the whole of a detachment, including the French officer in command, during the absence of Colonel Gordon, who was engaged in the operation of towing the steamer through the rapids only a few miles distant. This open hostility necessitated the subjugation of the tribe, and the establishment of a line of military posts along the course of the river.

After much trouble, at the expiration of two years the steamer was dragged to an utterly impassable series of cataracts south of Lobore. This line of obstruction extended for the short distance of about twelve miles, beyond which the river was navigable into the Albert N'yanza.

Several vessels had been towed up together with the steamer from Gondokoro, and the 38-ton steel steamer and two life-boats which had been thus conveyed, were now carried in sections to the spot above the last cataracts at Duffli, where they could be permanently reconstructed.

Signor Gessi was entrusted with the command of the two life-boats upon their completion, and had the honour of first entering the Albert N'yanza from the north by the river Nile.

The 38-ton steamer was put together, and the 108-ton (Khedive), which had been left a few miles distant from Duffli, below the cataracts, was taken to pieces and reconstructed on the navigable portion of the Nile in N. lat. 3 degrees 34 minutes.

The plan of connecting the equatorial Lake Albert with Khartoum by steam communication which I had originated, was now completed by the untiring energy and patience of my successor. The large steamer of 251 tons was put together at Khartoum, to add to the river flotilla, thus increasing the steam power from four vessels, when I had arrived in 1870, to THIRTEEN, which in 1877 were plying between the capital of the Soudan and the equator. The names of Messrs. Samuda Brothers and Messrs. Penn and Co. upon the three steel steamers and engines which they had constructed for the expedition are now evidences of the civilizing power of the naval and mechanical engineers of Great Britain, which has linked with the great world countries that were hitherto excluded from all intercourse.

There is still some mystery attached to the Albert N'yanza. It has been circumnavigated by Signor Gessi, in the steel life-boats, and subsequently by Colonel Mason of the American army, who was employed under Colonel Gordon. Both of these officers agree that the southern end of the lake is closed by a mass of "ambatch," and that a large river reported as 400 yards in width flows INTO the Albert N'yanza. On the other hand, the well-known African explorer Mr. Stanley visited the lake SOUTH of the ambatch limit, to which he was guided by orders of the King M'tese;. At that spot it was called the "M'woota N'zige;," the same name which the lake bears throughout Unyoro, therefore there can be no reasonable doubt that it is the same water. The description of the ambatch block and the river flowing into the lake explains the information that was given to me by native traders, who declared they had come by canoe from Karagwe;, via the Albert N'yanza, but that it would be difficult without a guide to discover the passage where the lake was extremely narrow and the channel tortuous into the next broad water.

Colonel Gordon has continued the amicable relations established by myself with the Unyoro chief Rionga, and with M'tese;, King of Uganda.

The commercial aspect of the equatorial provinces is improving, but our recent experience in South Africa must teach the most sanguine that very many years must elapse before the negro tribes become amenable to the customs and improvements of civilized communities.

The expedition of 1869 which His Highness the Khedive entrusted to my command laid the foundation for reforms which at that time would have appeared incredible in Egypt. The slave-trade has been suppressed through the agency of British influence, persistently supported by the Khedive; Darfur, the hot-bed of slave-hunting, has been conquered and annexed; Colonel Gordon has the supreme command of the entire Soudan; Malcolm Pacha is commissioned to sweep the slave traffic from the Red Sea.

With this determination to adopt the ideas of Europe, the Khedive has passed through the trying ordeal of unpopularity in his own country, but, by a cool disregard for the hostility of the ignorant, he has adhered to a policy which has gained him the esteem of all civilized communities. He has witnessed the bloody struggle between Russia and Turkey, and though compelled as a vassal state to render military assistance to the Sultan, he has profited by the lesson, and has determined by a wise reform to avoid the errors which have resulted in anarchy and desolation throughout the Ottoman Empire.

In the year 1870 the slave-hunting of Central Africa was condemned. Since that time Englishmen have been honoured with the special attention of the Khedive, and have been appointed to posts of the highest confidence. European tribunals were established in the place of consular jurisdiction, British government officials have been invited to reform the financial administration, and Mr. Rivers Wilson has been induced to accept the responsible office of Minister of Finance. Nubar Pacha has been recalled to office, and he must regard with pride the general confidence occasioned throughout Europe by his reappointment. The absolute despotism hitherto inseparable from Oriental ideas of government has been spontaneously abrogated by the Khedive, who has publicly announced his determination that the future administration shall be conducted by a council of responsible ministers.

England has become the great shareholder in the Suez Canal, which is the important link with our Indian Empire. At the alarm of war we have already seen the fleet of steam transports hurrying through the isthmus, and carrying native troops to join the British forces in the Mediterranean. We have learnt to know, and the Khedive has wisdom to understand, that the bonds between Egypt and Great Britain are inseparable. At the same time we have been aided by the cordial alliance of France in promoting the advance of free institutions and the growth of European influence in the administration of the country. England and France, who struggled in hostile rivalry upon the sands and seas of Egypt, are now joined in the firm determination to uphold the integrity of the great canal of Suez, and these powers and leaders of civilization will become the guides and guardians of Egyptian interests. The reforms already sanctioned with a new era of justice and economy will insure the confidence of British capitalists; the resources of Egypt will be developed by engineering skill that will control the impetuosity of the Nile and protect the Delta alike from the scarcity of drought, and from the risk of inundation. The Nile sources, which from the earliest times had remained a mystery, have been discovered by the patience and industry of Englishmen; the Nile will at no distant period be rendered navigable throughout its course, and Egypt, which for actual existence depends alone upon that mighty river, will be restored by British enterprise, supported by the intelligence and good-will of its ruler, to the position which it held in the pages of Eastern history.

1878.

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY

In the present work I shall describe the history of the Khedive of Egypt's expedition, which I have had the honour to command, as the first practical step that has been taken to suppress the slave trade of Central Africa.

I shall not repeat, beyond what may be absolutely necessary, that which has already been published in my former works on Africa, "The Albert N'yanza" and "The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia," but I shall adhere to the simple path taken by the expedition. This enterprise was the natural result of my original explorations, in which I had been an eye-witness to the horrors of the slave trade, which I determined, if possible, to suppress.

In my former journey I had traversed countries of extreme fertility in Central Africa, with a healthy climate favourable for the settlement of Europeans, at a mean altitude of 4,000 feet above the sea level. This large and almost boundless extent of country was well peopled by a race who only required the protection of a strong but paternal government to become of considerable importance, and to eventually develop the great resources of the soil.

I found lands varying in natural capabilities according to their position and altitudes—where sugar, cotton, coffee, rice, spices, and all tropical produce might be successfully cultivated; but those lands were without any civilized form of government, and "every man did what seemed right in his own eyes."

In this dislocated state of society, the slave trade prospered to the detriment of all improvement. Rich and well-populated countries were rendered desolate; the women and children were carried into captivity; villages were burnt, and crops were destroyed or pillaged; the population was driven out; a terrestrial paradise was converted into an infernal region; the natives who were originally friendly were rendered hostile to all strangers, and the general result of the slave trade could only be expressed in one word—"ruin."

The slave hunters and traders who had caused this desolation were for the most part Arabs, subjects of the Egyptian government.

These people had deserted their agricultural occupations in the Soudan and had formed companies of brigands in the pay of various merchants of Khartoum. The largest trader had about 2,500 Arabs in his pay, employed as pirates or brigands, in Central Africa. These men were organized after a rude military fashion, and armed with muskets; they were divided into companies, and were officered in many cases by soldiers who had deserted from their regiments in Egypt or the Soudan.

It is supposed that about 15,000 of the Khedive's subjects who should have been industriously working and paying their taxes in Egypt were engaged in the so-called ivory trade and slave-hunting of the White Nile.

Each trader occupied a special district, where, by a division of his forces in a chain of stations, each of which represented about 300 men, he could exercise a right of possession over a certain amount of assumed territory.

In this manner enormous tracts of country were occupied by the armed bands from Khartoum, who could make alliances with the native tribes to attack and destroy their neighbours, and to carry off their women and children, together with vast herds of sheep and cattle.

I have already fully described this system in "The Albert N'yanza," therefore it will be unnecessary to enter into minute details in the present work. It will be sufficient, to convey an idea of the extended scale of the slave-hunting operations, to explain that an individual trader named Agad assumed the right over nearly NINETY THOUSAND SQUARE MILES of territory. Thus his companies of brigands could pillage at discretion, massacre, take, burn, or destroy throughout this enormous area, or even beyond this broad limit, if they had the power.

It is impossible to know the actual number of slaves taken from Central Africa annually; but I should imagine that at least fifty thousand are positively either captured and held in the various zareebas (or camps) or are sent via the White Nile and the various routes overland by Darfur and Kordofan. The loss of life attendant upon the capture and subsequent treatment of the slaves is frightful. The result of this forced emigration, combined with the insecurity of life and property, is the withdrawal of the population from the infested districts. The natives have the option of submission to every insult, to the violation of their women and the pillage of their crops, or they must either desert their homes and seek independence in distant districts, or ally themselves with their oppressors to assist in the oppression of other tribes. Thus the seeds of anarchy are sown throughout Africa, which fall among tribes naturally prone to discord. The result is horrible confusion,—distrust on all sides,—treachery, devastation, and ruin.

This was the state of Central Africa and the White Nile when I was first honoured with the notice of Ismail Pacha, the present Khedive of Egypt.

I had received certain intimations from the Foreign Minister, Nubar Pacha, concerning the Khedive's intentions, a short time previous to an invitation with which I was honoured by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to accompany their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess during their tour in Egypt.

It is almost needless to add that, upon arrival in Egypt, the Prince of Wales, who represented at heart the principles of Great Britain, took the warmest interest in the suppression of the slave trade.

The Khedive, thus supported and encouraged in his ideas of reform, concluded his arrangements for the total abolition of the slave trade, not only throughout his dominions, but he determined to attack that moral cancer by actual cautery at the very root of the evil.

I was accordingly requested to draw up a plan for the proposed expedition to Central Africa.

After some slight modifications, I received from the Khedive the following firman:—

"We, Ismail, Khedive of Egypt, considering the savage condition of the tribes which inhabit the Nile Basin;

"Considering that neither government, nor laws, nor security exists in those countries;

"Considering that humanity enforces the suppression of the slave-hunters who occupy those countries in great numbers;

"Considering that the establishment of legitimate commerce throughout those countries will be a great stride towards future civilization, and will result in the opening to steam navigation of the great equatorial lakes of Central Africa, and in the establishing a permanent government . . . . We have decreed and now decree as follows:—

"An expedition is organized to subdue to our authority the countries situated to the south of Gondokoro;

"To suppress the slave trade; to introduce a system of regular commerce;

"To open to navigation the great lakes of the equator;

"And to establish a chain of military stations and commercial depots, distant at intervals of three days' march, throughout Central Africa, accepting Gondokoro as the base of operations.

"The supreme command of this expedition is confided to Sir Samuel White Baker, for four years, commencing from 1st April, 1869; to whom also we confer the most absolute and supreme power, even that of death, over all those who may compose the expedition.

"We confer upon him the same absolute and supreme authority over all those countries belonging to the Nile Basin south of Gondokoro."

It was thus that the Khedive determined at the risk of his popularity among his own subjects to strike a direct blow at the slave trade in its distant nest. To insure the fulfilment of this difficult enterprise, he selected an Englishman, armed with a despotic power such as had never been intrusted by a Mohammedan to a Christian.

The slave trade was to be suppressed; legitimate commerce was to be introduced, and protection was to be afforded to the natives by the establishment of a government.

The suppression of the slave trade was a compliment to the European Powers which would denote the superiority of Egypt, and would lay the first stone in the foundation of a new civilization; and a population that was rapidly disappearing would be saved to Africa.

To effect this grand reform it would be necessary to annex the Nile Basin, and to establish a government in countries that had been hitherto without protection, and a prey to the adventurers from the Soudan. To convey steel steamers from England, and to launch them upon the Albert Lake, and thus open the resources of Central Africa; to establish legitimate trade in a vast country which had hitherto been a field of rapine and of murder; to protect the weak and to punish the evil-doer, and to open the road to a great future, where the past had been all darkness and the present reckless spoliation—this was the grand object which Ismail, the Khedive of Egypt, determined to accomplish.

In this humane enterprise he was firmly supported by his two Ministers, Nubar Pacha and Cherif Pacha (an Armenian and a Circassian). The young princes his sons, who are well-educated and enlightened men, took the greatest interest in the undertaking; but beyond these and a few others, the object of the expedition was regarded with ill-concealed disgust.

Having received full powers from the Khedive, I gave orders for the following vessels to be built of steel by Messrs. Samuda Brothers:—

No. 1. A paddle steamer of 251 tons, 32-horse power.

No. 2. A twin screw high-pressure steamer of 20-horse power, 108 tons.

No. 3. A twin screw high-pressure steamer of 10-horse power, 38 tons.

Nos. 4, 5. Two steel lifeboats, each 30 ft. by 9—10 tons each.

These vessels were fitted with engines of the best construction by Messrs. Pond & Co., and were to be carried across the Nubian desert in plates and sections.

In addition to the steamers were steam saw mills, with a boiler that weighed 8 cwt. in one piece—all of which would have to be transported by camels for several hundred miles across the Nubian desert, and by boats and camels alternately from Alexandria to Gondokoro, a distance of about THREE THOUSAND MILES.

In the description of this enterprise, which terminated in the suppression of the slave trade of the White Nile and the annexation of a large equatorial territory to Egypt, I shall be compelled to expose many abuses which were the result of misgovernment in the distant provinces of Upper Egypt. It must be distinctly understood that his Highness the Khedive was ignorant of such abuses, and that he took prompt and vigorous measures to reform the administration of the Soudan immediately upon receiving information of the misgovernment of that extensive territory. Throughout the expedition his Highness has exhibited a determination to succeed in the suppression of the slave trade in spite of the adverse opinion of the public; therefore, when I expose the abuses that existed, it must be accepted without hesitation that the Khedive would have been the foremost in punishing the authors and in rectifying such abuses had he been aware of their existence.

As a duty to the Khedive, and in justice to myself, I shall describe the principal incidents as they occurred throughout the expedition. The civilized world will form both judge and jury; if their verdict be favourable, I shall have my reward. I can only assure my fellow-men that I have sought earnestly the guidance of the Almighty in the use of the great power committed to me, and I trust that I have been permitted to lay a firm foundation for a good work hereafter.

CHAPTER II
ENGLISH PARTY

The success of an expedition depends mainly upon organization. From my former experience in Central Africa, I knew exactly the requirements of the natives, and all the material that would be necessary for the enterprise. I also knew that the old adage of "out of sight out of mind" might be adopted as the Egyptian motto, therefore it would be indispensable to supply myself with everything at the outset, so as to be independent of support hereafter.

The English party consisted of myself and Lady Baker; Lieutenant Julian Alleyne Baker, R.N.; Mr. Edwin Higginbotham, civil engineer; Mr. Wood, secretary; Dr. Joseph Gedge, physician; Mr. Marcopolo, chief storekeeper and interpreter; Mr. McWilliam, chief engineer of steamers; Mr. Jarvis, chief shipwright; together with Messrs. Whitfield, Samson, Hitchman, and Ramsall, shipwrights, boiler-makers, &c. In addition to the above were two servants.

I laid in stores sufficient to last the European party four years.

I provided four galvanized iron magazines, each eighty feet long by twenty in width, to protect all material.

Before I left England I personally selected every article that was necessary for the expedition; thus an expenditure of about 9,000 pounds was sufficient for the purchase of the almost innumerable items that formed the outfit for the enterprise. This included an admirable selection of Manchester goods, such as cotton sheeting, grey calico, cotton and also woollen blankets, white, scarlet, and blue; Indian scarfs, red and yellow; handkerchiefs of gaudy colours, chintz printed; scarlet flannel shirts, serge of colours (blue, red), linen trowsers, &c., &c.

Tools of all sorts—axes, small hatchets, harness bells, brass and copper rods, combs, zinc mirrors, knives, crockery, tin plates, fish-hooks, musical boxes, coloured prints, finger-rings, razors, tinned spoons, cheap watches, &c., &c.

All these things were purchased through Messrs. Silber & Fleming, of Wood Street, Cheapside.

I thus had sufficient clothing for a considerable body of troops if necessary, while the magazines could produce anything from a needle to a crowbar, or from a handkerchief to a boat's sail. It will be seen hereafter that these careful arrangements assured the success of the expedition, as the troops, when left without pay, could procure all they required from the apparently inexhaustible stores of the magazines.

In addition to the merchandise and general supplies, I had several large musical boxes with bells and drums, an excellent magic lantern, a magnetic battery, wheels of life, and an assortment of toys. The greatest wonder to the natives were two large girandoles; also the silvered balls, about six inches in diameter, that, suspended from the branch of a tree, reflected the scene beneath.

In every expedition the principal difficulty is the transport.

"Travel light, if possible," is the best advice for all countries; but in this instance it was simply impossible, as the object of the expedition was not only to convey steamers to Central Africa, but to establish legitimate trade in the place of the nefarious system of pillage hitherto adopted by the so-called White Nile traders. It was therefore absolutely necessary to possess a large stock of goods of all kinds, in addition to the machinery and steel sections of steamers.

I arranged that the expedition should start in three divisions.

Six steamers, varying from 40 to 80-horse power, were ordered to leave Cairo in June, together with fifteen sloops and fifteen diahbeeahs— total, thirty-six vessels—to ascend the cataracts of the Nile to Khartoum, a distance by river of about 1,450 miles. These vessels were to convey the whole of the merchandise.

Twenty-five vessels were ordered to be in readiness at Khartoum, together with three steamers. The governor-general (Djiaffer Pacha) was to provide these vessels by a certain date, together with the camels and horses necessary for the land transport.

Thus when the fleet should arrive at Khartoum from Cairo, the total force of vessels would be nine steamers and fifty-five sailing vessels, the latter averaging about fifty tons each.

Mr. Higginbotham had the command of the desert transport from Korosko to Khartoum, and to that admirable officer I intrusted the charge of the steamer sections and machinery, together with the command of the English engineers and mechanics.

I arranged to bring up the rear by another route, via Souakim on the Red Sea, from which the desert journey to Berber, on the Nile, N. lat. 17 degrees 37 minutes, is 275 statute miles.

My reason for this division of routes was to insure a quick supply of camels, as much delay would have been occasioned had the great mass of transport been conveyed by one road.

The military arrangements comprised a force of 1,645 troops, including a corps of 200 irregular cavalry, and two batteries of artillery. The infantry were two regiments, supposed to be well selected. The black or Soudani regiment included many officers and men who had served for some years in Mexico with the French army under Marshal Bazaine. The Egyptian regiment turned out to be for the most part convicted felons who had been transported for various crimes from Egypt to the Soudan.

The artillery were rifled mountain guns of bronze, the barrel weighing 230 lbs., and throwing shells of 8-1/4 lbs. The authorities at Woolwich had kindly supplied the expedition with 200 Hale's rockets—three-pounders—and fifty snider rifles, together with 50,000 rounds of snider ammunition. The military force and supplies were to be massed in Khartoum ready to meet me upon my arrival.

I had taken extra precautions in the packing of ammunition and all perishable goods. The teak boxes for snider ammunition, also the boxes of Hale's rockets, were lined and hermetically sealed with soldered tin. The light Manchester goods and smaller articles were packed in strong, useful, painted tin boxes, with locks and hinges, &c. Each box was numbered, and when the lid was opened, a tin plate was soldered over the open face, so that the lid, when closed, locked above an hermetically sealed case. Each tin box was packed in a deal case, with a number to correspond with the box within.

By this arrangement the tin boxes arrived at their destination as good as new, and were quite invaluable for travelling, as they each formed a handy load, and were alike proof against the attacks of insects and bad weather.

I had long waterproof cloaks for the night sentries in rainy climates, and sou'-wester caps; these proved of great service during active operations in the wet season, as the rifles were kept dry beneath the cloaks, and the men were protected from wet and cold when on guard.

All medicines and drugs were procured from Apothecaries' Hall, and were accordingly of the best quality.

The provisions for the troops were dhurra (sorghum vulgare), wheat, rice, and lentils. The supplies from England, and in fact the general arrangements, had been so carefully attended to, that throughout the expedition I could not feel a want, neither could I either regret or wish to have changed any plan that I had originally determined.

For the transport of the heavy machinery across the desert I employed gun carriages drawn by two camels each. The two sections of steamers and of lifeboats were slung upon long poles of fir from Trieste, arranged between two camels in the manner of shafts. Many hundred poles served this purpose, and subsequently, were used at head-quarters as rafters for magazines and various buildings.

The No. 1 steamer of 250 tons had not arrived from England. I therefore left instructions that she was to be forwarded across the desert upon the same principles as adopted for the transport of the other vessels.

I had thrown my whole heart into the expedition; but I quickly perceived the difficulties that I should encounter in the passive resistance of those whose interests would be affected by the suppression of the slave trade. The arrangements that I had made would have insured success, if carried out according to the dates specified. The six steamers and the sailing flotilla from Cairo should have started on 10th June, in order to have ascended the cataracts of Wady Halfah at the period of high water. Instead of this, the vessels were delayed, in the absence of the Khedive in Europe, until 29th August; thus, by the time they reached the second cataract, the river had fallen, and it was impossible to drag the `steamers through the passage until the next season. Thus twelve months were wasted, and I was at once deprived of the invaluable aid of six steamers.

In addition to this difficulty was the fact of inevitable delay necessitated by the festivities attending the opening of the Suez Canal. The Khedive, with his accustomed hospitality, had made immense preparations for the reception of visitors, and every available vessel had been prepared for the occasion.

A train of forty-one railway waggons laden with sections of steamers, machinery, boiler-plates, &c., &c., arrived at Cairo, and were embarked on board eleven hired vessels. With the greatest difficulty I procured a steamer of 140-horse power to tow this flotilla to Korosko, from which spot the desert journey would commence. I obtained this steamer only by personal application to the Khedive.

At length I witnessed the start of the entire English party of engineers and mechanics, together with Mr. Higginbotham and Dr. J. Gedge. The steamer Minieh, towed the lone line of eleven vessels against the powerful stream of the Nile. One of the tow-ropes snipped at the commencement of the voyage, which created some confusion, but when righted they quickly steamed. out of view. This mass of heavy material, including two steamers, and two steel lifeboats of ten tons each, was to be transported for a distance of about 3,000 miles, 400 of which would be across the scorching Nubian deserts!

The first division of the heavy baggage had started on 29th August, 1869, with the sloops, to ascend the cataracts direct by river to Khartoum. I dared, not trust any portions of the steamers by this dangerous route, lest by the loss of one vessel with sections I might destroy all hope of success.

It was a relief to have started the main branches of the expedition, after the various delays that had already seriously endangered the chances of the White Nile voyage. For that river all vessels should leave Khartoum early in November.

On 5th December, 1869, we brought up the rear, and left Suez on board an Egyptian sloop of war, the Senaar. In four days and a half we reached Souakim, after an escape from wreck on the reef of Shadwan, and a close acquaintance with a large barque, with which we nearly came into collision.

The captain of our sloop was a most respectable man, apparently about eighty years of age. The first lieutenant appeared to be somewhat his senior, and neither could see, even with the assistance of a very greasy and dirty binocular. The various officers appeared to be vestiges from Noah's ark in point of antiquity; thus a close shave with a reef and a near rub with a strange vessel were little incidents that might be expected in the Red Sea.

We anchored safely in the harbour of Souakim; and landed my twenty-one horses without accident.

I was met by the governor, my old friend Moomtazz Bey, a highly intelligent Circassian officer, who had shown me much kindness on my former expedition.

A week's delay in Souakim was necessary to obtain camels. In fourteen days we crossed the desert 275 miles to Berber on the Nile, and found a steamer and diahbeeah in readiness. We arrived at Khartoum, a distance of 200 miles by river, in three days, having accomplished the voyage from Suez in the short space of thirty-two days, including stoppages.

Khartoum was not changed externally; but I had observed with dismay a frightful change in the features of the country between Berber and the capital since my former visit. The rich soil on the banks of the river, which had a few years since been highly cultivated, was abandoned. Now and then a tuft of neglected date-palms might be seen, but the river's banks, formerly verdant with heavy crops, had become a wilderness. Villages once crowded had entirely disappeared; the population was gone. Irrigation had ceased. The night, formerly discordant with the creaking of countless water-wheels, was now silent as death. There was not a dog to howl for a lost master. Industry had vanished; oppression had driven the inhabitants from the soil.

This terrible desolation was caused by the governor general of the Soudan, who, although himself an honest man, trusted too much to the honesty of others, who preyed upon the inhabitants. As a good and true Mohammedan, he left his territory to the care of God, and thus, trusting in Providence, he simply increased the taxes. In one year he sent to the Khedive his master 100,000 pounds in hard dollars, wrung from the poor peasantry, who must have lost an equal amount in the pillage that accompanies the collection.

The population of the richest province of the Soudan fled from oppression, and abandoned the country; and the greater portion betook themselves to the slave trade of the White Nile, where, in their turn, they might trample upon the rights of others; where, as they had been plundered, they would be able to plunder; where they could reap the harvest of another's labour; and where, free from the restrictions of a government, they might indulge in the exciting and lucrative enterprise of slave-hunting. Thousands had forsaken their homes, and commenced a life of brigandage on the White Nile.

This was the state of the country when I arrived at Khartoum. The population of this town, which was about 30,000 during my former visit, was now reduced to half the number. The European residents had all disappeared, with the exception of the Austrian Mission, and Mr. Hansall the Austrian Consul; also an extremely tough German tailor, who was proof against the climate that had carried off his companions.

I had given the necessary orders for vessels and supplies six months previous; thus, I naturally expected to find a fleet ready for departure, with the troops and stores waiting for instructions. To my surprise, I discovered that my orders had been so far neglected, that although the troops were at hand, there were no vessels prepared for transport. I was coolly informed by the governor-general that "it was impossible to procure the number of vessels required, therefore he had purchased a house for me, as he expected that I should remain that year at Khartoum, and start in the following season."

There literally was not one vessel ready for the voyage, in spite of the positive instructions that had been given. At the same time I found that the governor-general had just prepared a squadron of eleven vessels, with several companies of regular troops, for an expedition to the Bahr Gazal, where it was intended to form a settlement at the copper-mines on the frontier of Darfur. This expedition had been placed under the command of one of the most notorious ruffians and slave-hunters of the White Nile. This man, Kutchuk Ali, originally of low extraction, had made a fortune in his abominable traffic, and had accordingly received promotion from the governor; thus, at the same time that the Khedive of Egypt had employed me to suppress the slave trade of the Nile, a government expedition had been intrusted to the command of one of the most notorious slave-hunters.

I at once perceived that not only was my expedition unpopular, but that it would be seriously opposed by all parties. The troops had been quartered for some months at Khartoum; during this time the officers had been intimate with the principal slave-traders of the country. All were Mohammedans—thus a coalition would be natural against a Christian who commanded an expedition avowedly to annihilate the slave trade upon which Khartoum subsisted.

It was a "house divided against itself;" the Khedive in the north issued orders that would be neutralized in the distant south by his own authorities.

As in the United States of America the opinion of the South upon the question of emancipation was opposed to that of the North,—the opposition in Soudan was openly avowed to the reform believed to have been suggested to the Khedive by England.

The season was already far advanced. There is no weapon so fatal as delay in the hands of Egyptians. I knew the intentions of the authorities were to procrastinate until the departure of the expedition would become impossible. It was necessary to insist upon the immediate purchase of vessels which should have been prepared months before.

None of the steamers from Cairo had passed the cataracts. The fifteen large sloops upon which I had depended for the transport of camels had actually given up the attempt and returned to Cairo. Only the smaller vessels had mounted the cataracts, and they could not arrive at Khartoum for some months.

The first division, consisting of all merchandise that I had sent from Cairo, had arrived in Khartoum under the charge of a Syrian to whom I had given the command. I heard that Mr. Higginbotham, accompanied by Dr. Gedge and the English party, together with all the Egyptian mechanics, was on his way across the desert in charge of the steamers and machinery, carried by some thousand camels. The third division, brought up by Mr. Marcopolo, arrived from Souakim a few days later than ourselves, thus every arrangement that had been intrusted to my own officers was well executed.

After some pressure, the governor began to purchase the vessels. It may be imagined that a sudden necessity gave a welcome opportunity to certain officials. Old vessels were purchased at the price of new, and the government agent received a bribe from the owners to pass the vessels on survey. We were now fitting out under difficulties, and working at a task that should have been accomplished months before. Sailcloth was scarce; hempen ropes were rarities in Khartoum, where the wretched cordage was usually obtained from the leaves of the date-palm. The highest prices were paid for everything; thus a prearranged delay caused an immense expense for the expedition. I studiously avoided any purchases personally, but simply gave the necessary instructions to be executed by the governor. It is only fair to admit that he now worked hard, and took great interest in the outfit of the flotilla. This governor-general, Djiaffer Pacha, had formerly shown me much kindness on my arrival at Souakim, during my first journey in Africa. I had therefore reckoned upon him as a friend; but no personal considerations could palliate the secret hatred to the object of the expedition.

From morning till night I was occupied in pushing on the work; in this I was ably assisted by Lieutenant J. A. Baker, R.N., whose professional experience was of much service. A new spirit seemed to move in Khartoum; hundreds of men were at work; a row of masts and yards rose up before the government house; and in a few weeks we had thirty-three vessels of fifty or sixty tons each, caulked, rigged, and ready for the voyage of 1,450 miles to Gondokoro.

If the same energy had been shown some months ago, I should have found a fleet of fifty ships awaiting me. I had lost a month at Khartoum at a season when every day was precious.

I reviewed the troops, about 1,400 infantry, and two batteries of artillery. The men were in fine condition, but I had no means of transport for the entire force. I therefore instructed Djiaffer Pacha to continue his exertions in preparing vessels, so that on Dr. Higginbotham's arrival he might follow with the remaining detachment.

I reviewed the irregular cavalry, about 250 horse. These were certainly VERY irregular. Each man was horsed and armed according to his individual notion of a trooper's requirements. There were lank, half-starved horses; round short horses; very small ponies; horses that were all legs; others that were all heads; horses that had been groomed; horses that had never gone through that operation. The saddles and bridles were only fit for an old curiosity shop. There were some with faded strips of gold and silver lace adhering here and there; others that resembled the horse in skeleton appearance, which had been strengthened by strips of raw crocodile skin. The unseemly huge shovel-stirrups were rusty; the bits were filthy. Some of the men had swords and pistols; others had short blunderbusses with brass barrels; many had guns of various patterns, from the long old-fashioned Arab to the commonest double-barrelled French gun that was imported. The costumes varied in a like manner to the arms and animals.

Having formed in line, they now executed a brilliant charge at a supposed enemy, and performed many feats of valour in dense clouds of dust, and having quickly got into inconceivable confusion, they at length rallied and returned to their original position.

I complimented their officer;—and having asked the governor if these brave troops represented my cavalry force, and being assured of the fact, I dismissed them; and requested Djiaffer Pacha to inform them that "I regretted the want of transport would not permit me the advantage of their services. `Inshallah!' (Please God!) at some future time," &c., &c.

I thus got rid of my cavalry, which I never wished to see again. I had twenty-one good horses that I had brought from Cairo, and these together with the horses belonging to the various officers were as much as we could convey.

The flotilla was ready for the voyage. We had engaged sailors with the greatest difficulty, as a general stampede of boatmen had taken place. Every one ran from Khartoum to avoid the expedition.

This was a dodge of the slave-traders, who had incited the people to escape from any connection with such an enterprise. It was supposed that without boatmen we should be unable to start.

The police authorities were employed, and by degrees the necessary crews were secured,—all unwilling, and composed of the worst material.

I had taken the precaution of selecting from the two regiments a body-guard of forty-six men. Their numbers were equal black and white, as I considered this arrangement might excite an esprit de corps, and would in the event of discontent prevent a coalition.

The men having been well chosen were fine examples of physique, and being armed with the snider rifle and carefully drilled, such a body of picked troops would form a nucleus for further development, and might become a dependable support in any emergency. This corps was commanded by an excellent officer, my aide-de-camp, Lieut.-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, but owing to the peculiar light-fingered character of the men, I gave it the name of "The Forty Thieves."

Eventually the corps became a model of morality, and was distinguished for valour and fidelity throughout the expedition.

Six months' rations were on board for all hands, in addition to the general stores of corn, and cases, bales, &c., innumerable.

On the 8th February, 1870, the bugles announced the departure. The troops hurried on board their respective transports according to the numbers painted on their sides and sails. The official parting was accomplished. I had had to embrace the governor, then a black pacha, a rara avis in terris, and a whole host of beys, concluding the affecting ceremony with a very fat colonel whom my arms could not properly encircle.

A couple of battalions lined the shore; the guns fired the usual salute as we started on our voyage; the flotilla, composed of two steamers, respectively of thirty-two and twenty-four horsepower, and thirty-one sailing vessels, with a military force of about 800 men, got away in tolerable order. The powerful current of the Blue Nile quickly swept us past Khartoum, and having rounded the point, we steamed up the grand White Nile. The wind blew very strong from the north, thus the entire fleet kept pace with the steamers, one of which was towing my diahbeeah, and the other that of the colonel, Raouf Bey. Thank God we were off; thus all intrigues were left behind, and the future would be under my own command.

On reference to my journal, I find the following entry upon 8th February, 1870:—

"Mr. Higginbotham, who has safely arrived at Berber with the steel steamers in sections for the Albert N'yanza, will, I trust, be provided with vessels at Khartoum, according to my orders, so as to follow me to Gondokoro with supplies, and about 350 troops with four guns.

"My original programme—agreed to by his Highness the Khedive, who ordered the execution of my orders by the authorities—arranged that six steamers, fifteen sloops, and fifteen diahbeeahs, should leave Cairo on 10th June, to ascend the cataracts to Khartoum, at which place Djiaffer Pacha was to prepare three steamers and twenty-five vessels to convey 1,650 troops, together with transport animals and supplies.

"The usual Egyptian delays have entirely thwarted my plans. No vessels have arrived from Cairo, as they only started on 29th August. Thus, rather than turn back, I start with a mutilated expedition, without a SINGLE TRANSPORT ANIMAL."

Having minutely described the White Nile in a former work, "The Albert N'yanza," I shall not repeat the description. In 103 hours and ten minutes' steaming we reached Fashoda, the government station in the Shillook country, N. lat. 9 degrees 52 minutes, 618 miles by river from Khartoum.

This town had been fortified by a wall and flanking towers since I had last visited the White Nile, and it was garrisoned by a regiment of Egyptian soldiers. Ali Bey, the governor, was a remarkably handsome old man, a Kurd. He assured me that the Shillook country was in excellent order; and that according to the instructions received from the Khedive he had exerted himself against the slave trade, so that it was impossible for vessels to pass the station.

Fashoda was well situated for this purpose, as it completely dominated the river; but I much doubted my friend's veracity.

Having taken on board a month's rations for all hands, we started; and, with a strong breeze in our favour, we reached the Sobat junction on 16th February, at 12.30 p.m.

There we took in fresh water, as that of the Sobat is superior to the White Nile. At this season the river was about eight feet below the level of the bank. The water of the Sobat is yellowish, and it colours that of the White Nile for a great distance. By dead reckoning I made the Sobat junction 684 miles by river from Khartoum.

When I saw the Sobat, in the first week of January 1863, it was bank-full. The current is very powerful, and when I sounded in various places during my former voyage, I found a depth of twenty-six to twenty-eight feet. The volume of water brought to the Nile by this river is immense, and the power of the stream is so superior to that of the White Nile, that as it arrives at right angles, the waters of the Nile are banked up. The yellow water of the Sobat forms a distinct line as it cuts through the clear water of the main river, and the floating rafts of vegetation brought down by the White Nile, instead of continuing their voyage, are headed back, and remain helplessly in the backwater. The sources of the Sobat are still a mystery; but there can be no doubt that the principal volume must be water of mountain origin, as it is coloured by earthy matter, and is quite unlike the marsh water of the White Nile. The expeditions of the slave-hunters have ascended the river as far as it is navigable. At that point seven different streams converge into one channel, which forms the great river Sobat. It is my opinion that some of these streams are torrents from the Galla country, while others are the continuation of those southern rivers which have lately been crossed by the slave-hunters between the second and third degrees of N. latitude.

The White Nile is a grand river between the Sobat junction and Khartoum, and after passing to the south of the great affluent the difference in the character is quickly perceived. We now enter upon the region of immense flats and boundless marshes, through which the river winds in a labyrinth-like course for about 750 miles to Gondokoro.

Having left the Sobat, we arrived at the junction of the Bahr Giraffe, thirty-eight miles distant, at 11 a.m. on 17th February. We turned into the river, and waited for the arrival of the fleet.

The Bahr Giraffe was to be our new passage instead of the original White Nile. That river, which had become so curiously obstructed by masses of vegetation that had formed a solid dam, already described by me in "The Albert N'yanza," had been entirely neglected by the Egyptian authorities. In consequence of this neglect an extraordinary change had taken place. The immense number of floating islands which are constantly passing down the stream of the White Nile had no exit, thus they were sucked under the original obstruction by the force of the stream, which passed through some mysterious channel, until the subterranean passage became choked with a wondrous accumulation of vegetable matter. The entire river became a marsh, beneath which, by the great pressure of water, the stream oozed through innumerable small channels. In fact, the White Nile had disappeared. A vessel arriving from Khartoum in her passage to Gondokoro would find, after passing through a broad river of clear water, that her bow would suddenly strike against a bank of solid compressed vegetation—this was the natural dam that had been formed to an unknown extent: the river ceased to exist.

It may readily be imagined that a dense spongy mass which completely closed the river would act as a filter: thus, as the water charged with muddy particles arrived at the dam where the stream was suddenly checked, it would deposit all impurities as it oozed and percolated slowly through the tangled but compressed mass of vegetation. This deposit quickly created mud-banks and shoals, which effectually blocked the original bed of the river. The reedy vegetation of the country immediately took root upon these favourable conditions, and the rapid growth in a tropical climate may be imagined. That which had been the river bed was converted into a solid marsh.

This terrible accumulation had been increasing for five or six years, therefore it is impossible to ascertain or even to speculate upon the distance to which it might extend. The slave-traders had been obliged to seek another rout, which they had found via the Bahr Giraffe, which river had proved to be merely a branch of the White Nile, as I had suggested in my former work, and not an independent river.

I was rather anxious about this new route, as I had heard conflicting accounts in Khartoum concerning the possibility of navigating such large vessels as the steamers of thirty-two horse-power and a hundred feet length of deck. I was provided with guides who professed to be thoroughly acquainted with the river; these people were captains of trading vessels, who had made the voyage frequently.

On 18th February, at 10 A.M., the rear vessels of the fleet arrived, and at 11.40 A.M., the steamers worked up against the strong current independently. Towing was difficult, owing to the sharp turns of the river. The Bahr Giraffe was about seventy yards in width, and at this season the banks were high and dry. Throughout the voyage on the White Nile we had had excellent wild-fowl shooting whenever we had halted to cut fuel for the steamers. One afternoon I killed a hippopotamus, two crocodiles, and two pelicans, with the rifle. At the mouth of the Bahr Giraffe I bagged twenty-two ducks at a right and left shot with a No. 10-shot gun.

As the fleet now slowly sailed against the strong, current of the Bahr Giraffe, I walked along the hank with Lieutenant Baker, and shot ten of the large francolin partridge, which in this dry season were very numerous. The country was as usual flat, but bearing due south of the Bahr Giraffe junction, about twelve miles distant, is a low granite hill, partially covered with trees; this is the first of four similar low hills that are the only rising points above the vast prairie of flat plain.

As we were walking along the bank I perceived an animal ascending from the river, about two hundred yards distant, where it had evidently been drinking: we immediately endeavoured to cut off its retreat, when it suddenly emerged from the grass and discovered a fine lion with large shaggy mane. The king of beasts, as usual, would not stand to show fight in the open, but bounded off in the direction of the rocky hills.

It will be necessary to give a few extracts from my journal to convey an exact idea of the Bahr Giraffe. The river was very deep, averaging about nineteen feet, and it flowed in a winding course, through a perfectly flat country of prairie, diversified with forest all of which, although now dry, had the appearance of being flooded during the rainy season:—

"February 23.—Steamed from 6 A.M. till 7 P.M. Vast treeless marshes in wet season—now teeming with waterfowl: say fifty miles accomplished to-day through the ever-winding river. The wood from the last forest is inferior, and we have only sufficient fuel for five hours left upon the steamer. The diahbeeah in tow carries about twenty hours' fuel: thus, should we not arrive at some forest in twenty-five hours, we shall be helpless.

"The river was exceedingly narrow about fifteen miles from our starting point this morning. The stream was strong but deep, flowing through the usual tangled grass, but divided into numerous small channels and backwaters that render the navigation difficult.

"In this spot the river is quite bank-full, and the scattered native villages in the distance are in swamps. The innumerable high white ant-hills are the only dry spots.

"February 24.—Started at 6 A.M. Everybody eaten up by mosquitoes. At 9 A.M. the steamer smashed her starboard paddle: the whole day occupied in repairing. Saw a bull elephant in the marshes at a distance. Horrible treeless swamps swarming with mosquitoes.

"February 25.—Started at 7 A.M. At 10 A.M. arrived at a very narrow and shallow portion of this chaotic river completely choked by drift vegetation. All hands worked hard to clear a passage through this obstruction until 2.30, when we passed ahead. At 4 P.M. we arrived at a similar obstacle; the water very shallow; and to-morrow we shall have to cut a passage through the high grass, beneath which there is deeper water. I ordered fifty swords to be sharpened for the work. We counted seventy elephants in the distance, but there is no possibility of reaching them through the immense area, of floating vegetation.

"February 26.—Hard at work with forty men cutting a canal about 150 yards long through the dense mass of compressed vegetation.

"February 27.—Working hard at canal. The fleet has not arrived; thus we are short-handed.

"February 28.—The canal progresses, the men having worked well. It is a curious collection of trash that seriously impedes navigation. The grass resembles sugar-canes; this grows from twenty to thirty feet in length, and throws out roots at every joint; thus, when matted together, its roots still increase, and render the mass a complete tangle. During the wet season the rush of water tears off large rafts of this floating water-grass, which accumulate in any favourable locality. The difficulty of clearing a passage is extreme. After cutting out a large mass with swords, a rope is made fast, and the raft is towed out by hauling with thirty or forty men until it is detached and floated down the stream. Yesterday I cut a narrow channel from above stream in the hope that the rush of water would loosen the mass of vegetation. After much labour, at 12.30 p.m. the whole obstruction appeared to heave. There was soon no doubt that it was moving, and suddenly the entire dam broke up. Immense masses were carried away by the rush of water and floated down the river; these will, I fear, cause an obstruction lower down the stream.

"We got up steam, served out grog to all the men, and started at 2 P.M. In half-an-hour's steaming we arrived at another block vegetation. In one hour and three-quarters we cleared a passage, and almost immediately afterwards we arrived at the first piece of dry ground that we have seen for days. This piece of firm land was a few feet higher than the maximum rise of the river, and afforded about half an acre. We stopped for the night.

"March 1.—Started at 6.30 A.M., the river narrowing immediately, and after a run of half a mile we found ourselves caught in a trap. The river, although fourteen feet deep, had entirely disappeared in a boundless sea of high grass, which resembled sugar-canes. There was no possibility of progress. I returned to our halting-place of last night in a small rowing-boat, and examined it thoroughly. I found marks of occupation by the slave-traders, about three months old. Among the vestiges were the remains of fires, a piece of a lucifer-match box, a number of cartridge cases—they had been fired—and a piece of raw hide pierced with bullets, that had evidently been used as a target.

"I shot two geese and five plover, and returned to our vessel. My opinion is that the slave-hunters have made a razzia inland from this spot, but that our guide, Bedawi, has led us into a wrong channel.

"I attempted to seek a passage ahead, but it was quite impossible for the smallest rowing boat to penetrate the dense vegetation.

"An advance being impossible, I ordered the steamer and two diahbeeahs to return down the river about eighty miles to our old wooding-place at the last forest, as we are nearly out of fuel. We thus lose time and trouble, but there is no help for it. For some days there has been no wind, except uncertain breaths from the south. Unless a change shall take place, I have no idea how the fleet will be able to come up against the stream.

"March 2.—At 6.30 a.m. we got under way and ran down stream at eight miles an hour towards our old wooding-place. Saw a few buffaloes. At 1 p.m. we passed on left bank a branch of the river. At 3.30 sighted the tall yards of the fleet in the distance. At 4.30 we arrived at the extreme southern limit of the forest, and met Raouf Bey with the steamer and twenty-five vessels, with a good supply of wood. The troops were in good health, but one unfortunate man had been carried off by a crocodile while sitting on the vessel with his legs hanging over the side.

"March 3.—Filling up with wood from the forest.

"March 4.—Sent the steamer back to the station of Kutchuk Ali, the trader, to procure some cattle for the troops. In this neighbourhood there is dry land with many villages, but the entire country has been pillaged by Kutchuk Ali's people—the natives murdered, the women carried off, &c.

"Raouf Bey counted the bodies of eighteen natives who had been shot near the trader's camp. Yesterday I went to a native village, and made friends with the people, some of whom came down to our boats; they complained bitterly that they were subject to pillage and massacre by the traders. These so-called traders are the people of Kutchuk Ali, THE OFFICER EMPLOYED BY THE GOVENOR-GENERAL OF THE SOUDAN to command his expedition to the Bahr Gazal!

"Filled up with a large supply of wood ready to start tomorrow.

"March 5.—Great good fortune! A fine north wind for the first time during many days. All the vessels sailing well. We started at 7 a.m. Saw a Baleniceps Rex¹; this is the second of these rare birds that I have seen.

"At 1 p.m., as we were steaming easily, I happened to be asleep on the poop-deck, when I was suddenly awakened by a shock, succeeded almost immediately by the cry, `The ship's sinking!' A hippopotamus had charged the steamer from the bottom, and had smashed several floats off her starboard paddle. A few seconds later he charged our diahbeeah, and striking her bottom about ten feet from the bow, he cut two holes through the iron plates with his tusks. There was no time to lose, as the water was rushing in with great force. Fortunately, in this land of marsh and floating grass, there were a few feet of tolerably firm ground rising from the deep water. Running alongside, all hands were hard at work discharging cargo with great rapidity, and baling out with every conceivable utensil, until we obtained assistance from the steamer, whose large hand pump and numerous buckets at length so far overcame the rush of water, that we could discover the leaks.

"We now found two clean holes punched through the iron as though driven by a sharp pickaxe. Some hours were occupied in repairing the damage by plastering white lead upon some thick felt; this was placed over the holes, and small pieces of plank being laid over the felt, they were secured by an upright piece of timber tightened with wedges from a cross-beam. The leaks were thus effectually and permanently stopped.

"By sunset all was completed and the vessel reloaded; but I sent twenty-eight boxes of snider ammunition on board the tender. This miserable wood tender has sprung her yard so that she cannot carry sail. The day was entirely lost together with a fine north wind.

"March, 6.—Brisk wind from the north. Started at 5.45 a.m., but at 7 a.m. something happened to the engine, and the steamer stopped until eight. After frequent stoppages, owing to the sharp bends in the narrow river, we arrived at the spot where we had formerly opened the dam; there the current ran like a rapid.

"March 7.—Much difficulty in ascending the river, but upon arrival at the dry ground (called the 'dubba'), we found the No. 8 steamer and the whole fleet assembled, with the exception of six that are in sight.

"March 8.—The other vessels arrived; I have thus thirty-four sail, including the two steamers. The entire country is swamp, covered with immensely high water-grass, beneath which the depth is considerable. The reputed main channel of the river is supposed to come from S.W., this is only denoted by a stream three or four feet broad, concealed by high grass, and in places choked by the Pistia Stratiotes. These surface plants, which resemble floating cabbages with fine thready roots, like a human beard of sixteen inches in length, form dense masses which are very difficult to clear

"Our guides are useless, as we cannot depend upon their contradictory statements. We are in a deplorable position—the whole fleet in a cul-de-sac; the river has disappeared; an unknown distance of apparently boundless marsh lies before us; there is no wood, and there is no possibility of moving without cutting a channel.

"I have ordered thirty vessels to form in line, single file, and to cut a canal.

"March. 9.—The men worked famously, but I much fear they will be laid up with fever if kept at such an unhealthy task. To-day a force of 700 men cut about a mile and a half. They are obliged to slash through with swords and knives, and then to pull out the greater portion of the grass and vegetable trash; this is piled like artificial banks on either side upon the thick floating surface of vegetation. I took a small boat and pushed on for a mile and a half. I found a very narrow stream, like a small brook, which gave hopes of lighter labour for to-morrow. I shall therefore try to force the steamer through. Thirty-two men reported on the sick list this evening.

"March 10.—A fine north wind for about half an hour, when it suddenly chopped round to the S.E. We cut on far ahead, so that I was able to push on the steamers and the whole fleet for a distance of about five miles. I had a touch of fever.

"March 11.—Frightful stinking morass. All stopped at a black muddy pond in the swamp. The river is altogether lost. We have to cut a passage through the morass. Hard work throughout the day. One soldier died of sunstroke. No ground in which to bury him.

"It is a curious but most painful fact that the entire White Nile has ceased to be a navigable river. The boundless plains of marsh are formed of floating rafts of vegetation compressed into firm masses by the pressure of water during floods. So serious is this obstacle to navigation, that unless a new channel can be discovered, or the original Nile be reopened, the centre of Africa will be entirely shut out from communication, and all my projects for the improvement of the country will be ruined by this extraordinary impediment.

"March 12.—I think I can trace by telescope the fringe of tall papyrus rush that should be the border of the White Nile; but this may be a delusion. The wind is S.W., dead against us. Many men are sick owing to the daily work of clearing a channel through the poisonous marsh. This is the Mahommedan festival of the Hadj, therefore there is little work to-day.

"March 13.—Measured 460 yards of apparently firm marsh, through which we plumbed the depth by long poles thrust to the bottom.

"Flowing water being found beneath, I ordered the entire force to turn out and cut a channel, which I myself superintended in the advance boat.

"By 6 p.m. the canal was completed, and the wind having come round to the north, we sailed through the channel and entered a fine lake about half a mile wide, followed by the whole fleet with bugles and drums sounding the advance, the troops vainly hoping that their work was over. The steamers are about a mile behind, and I have ordered their paddles to be dismounted to enable them to be towed through the high grass in the narrow channel.

"March 14.—At 6 a.m. I started and surveyed the lake in a small rowing boat, and found it entirely shut in and separated from another small lake by a mass of dense rotten vegetation about eighty yards in width. I called all hands, and cleared it in fifty-five minutes sufficiently to allow the fleet to pass through. Upon an examination of the next lake, I found, to my intense disappointment, that not only was it closed in, but there was no outlet visible even from the mast-head. Not a drop of water was to be seen ahead, and the entire country was a perfect chaos, where the spirit of God apparently had not yet moved upon the waters. There was neither earth nor clear water, nor any solid resting-place for a human foot. Now and then a solitary bittern rose from the marsh, but, beyond a few water-rails, there were no other birds. The grass was swarming with snakes, and also with poisonous ants that attacked the men, and greatly interfered with the work.

"It is easier to clear a passage through the green grass than through the rotten vegetation. The former can be rolled in heaps so as to form banks, it is then secured by tying it to the strong grass growing behind it; the rotten stuff has no adherence, and a channel closes up almost as fast as it is made, thus our labour does no permanent good. I am in great anxiety about Mr. Higginbotham; it will be impossible for him to proceed by this route, should he arrive with a comparatively small force and heavily-laden vessels.

"As the channel closes so rapidly, I must wait until the steamers can form a compact line with the fleet.

"The black troops have more spirit than the Egyptians, but they are not so useful in clearing channels, as they are bad swimmers. They discovered to-day a muddy spot where they had a great hunt for fish, and succeeded in capturing with their hands about 500 pounds weight of the Prolypterus, some of which were above four pounds. We caught for ourselves a number of very delicious boulti (Perca Nilotica) with a casting-net.

"March 15.—Having probed the marsh with long poles, I found deep water beneath, which denoted the course of the sub-vegetal stream. All hands at work, and by the evening we had cut a channel 300 yards in length. The marsh swarms with snakes, one of which managed to enter the cabin window of the diahbeeah. The two steamers, now far astern, have become choked by a general break up and alteration of their portion of the world. The small lake in which I left them is no longer open water, but has become a dense maps of compressed vegetable rafts, in which the steamers are jammed as though frozen in an ice-drift in the Arctic regions! There is much work required to clear them. The only chance of progress will be to keep the entire fleet in compact line so as to push through a new channel as quickly as it is made. I shall send back the wood tender, if possible, from this spot with a letter to stop Mr. Higginbotham should he be south of the Sobat, as it will be impossible for him to proceed until next season. Many of the men are sick with fever, and if this horrible country should continue, they will all sicken.

"March 16.—I went back in a rowing boat, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker, to the two steamers which we found stuck fast in the drift rafts, that had closed in upon then. Many men are sick—all are dispirited; and they worked badly. Having worked all day, we returned at 6.30 p.m., to my diahbeeah, having the good fortune to shoot seven ducks by a family shot upon a mud bank on the way home.

"I found that the main body under the colonel, Raouf Bey, had completed the channel about 900 yards long to lake No. 3. I ordered sail to be made immediately, and after five hours' hard work, as the channel was already beginning to close, we arrived in the open lake at 11.15 p.m., in which we found the fleet at anchor.

"March 17.—The lake is about 2 1/2 miles long, and varies from 150 to 300 yards in width, with a mean depth of ten feet. I sent men ahead in the boat to explore the exit; they now report it to be closed by a small dam, after which we shall enter another lake. Thunder and clouds threatening in the southeast.

"About half-an-hour before sunset I observed the head of a hippopotamus emerge from the bank of high grass that fringed the lake. My troops had no meat—thus I would not lose the opportunity of procuring, if possible, a supply of hippopotamus beef. I took a Reilly No. 8 breechloader, and started in the little dingy belonging to the diahbeeah. Having paddled quietly along the edge of the grass for a couple of hundred yards, I arrived near the spot from which the hippopotamus had emerged.

"It is the general habit of the hippopotami in these marsh districts to lie in the high grass swamps during the day, and to swim or amuse themselves in the open water at sunset.

"I had not waited long before I heard a snort, and I perceived the hippopotamus had risen to the surface about fifty yards from me. This distance was a little too great for the accurate firing necessary to reach the brain, especially when the shot must be taken from a boat, in which there is always some movement. I therefore allowed the animal to disappear, after which I immediately ordered the boat forward, to remain exactly over the spot where he had sunk. A few minutes elapsed, when the great ugly head of the hippopotamus appeared about thirty paces from the boat, and having blown the water from his nostrils, and snorted loudly, he turned round and seemed astonished to find the solitary little boat so near him. Telling the two boatmen to sit perfectly quiet, so as to allow a good sight, I aimed just below the eye, and fired a heavy shell, which contained a bursting charge of three drachms of fine-grained powder. The head disappeared. A little smoke hung over the water, and I could not observe other effects. The lake was deep, and after vain sounding for the body with a boathook, I returned to the diahbeeah just as it became dark.

"March 18.—A heavy shower of rain fell, which lasted for an hour and a half. When the rain ceased, the day continued cloudy with variable wind. The body of the hippopotamus was discovered at daybreak floating near us, therefore all hands turned out to cut him up, delighted at the idea of fresh meat. There was about an acre of high and dry ground that bordered the marsh in one spot; to this the carcase of the hippopotamus was towed. I was anxious to observe the effects of the explosive shell, as it was an invention of my own that had been manufactured by Mr. Reilly,² the gunmaker, of London. This shell was composed of iron, covered with lead. The interior was a cast-iron bottle (similar in shape to a stoneware Seltzer water bottle); the neck formed a nipple to receive a percussion-cap. The entire bottle was concealed by a leaden coating, which was cast in a mould to fit a No. 8, or two-ounce rifle. The iron bottle contained three drachms of the strongest gunpowder, and a simple cap pressed down upon the nipple prepared the shell for service.

"On an examination of the head of the hippopotamus, I found that the shell had struck exactly beneath the eye, where the bone plate is thin. It had traversed the skull, and had apparently exploded in the brain, as it had entirely carried away the massive bone that formed the back of the skull. The velocity of the projectile had carried the fragments of the shell onwards after the explosion, and had formed a sort of tunnel which was blackened with burnt powder for a considerable distance along the flesh of the neck. I was quite satisfied with my explosive shell.

"The hippopotamus having been divided among the men, I sent Raouf Bey with a large force to assist the steamers, which still remain fixed in the same spot.

"At 2 p.m. it poured with rain until 9 p.m. Everything is soaking; and I have great anxiety about our large stores of corn.

"March 19.—Fine day, but all cargo, stores, &c., are wet. The miserable vessels of the Soudan are without decks, thus one heavy shower creates much damage. The men are busy drying their clothes, &c. Two soldiers died. Steamers far astern in the sudd, regularly fixed.

"March 20.—A boy died. I sent fresh men to the assistance of the steamers, which have to be literally dug out.

"March 21.—Yesterday as the men were digging out the steamers, which had become blocked by the floating rafts, they felt something struggling beneath their feet. They immediately scrambled away in time to avoid the large head of a crocodile that broke its way through the tangled mass in which it had been jammed and held prisoner by the rafts. The black soldiers, armed with swords and bill-hooks, immediately attacked the crocodile, who, although freed from imprisonment, had not exactly fallen into the hands of the Royal Humane Society. He was quickly despatched, and that evening his flesh gladdened the cooking pots of the Soudani regiment.

"I was amused with the account of this adventure given by various officers who were eye-witnesses. One stated in reply to my question as to the length of the animal, `Well, sir, I should not like to exaggerate, but I should say it was forty-five feet long from snout to tail!' Another witness declared it to be at least twenty feet; but by rigid cross-examination I came to the conclusion that it did not exceed ten.

"The steamers and tender, having been released, arrived this morning. At 1 p.m. we started with a light air from the northeast, and travelled till 3.30 p.m. along the lake, which narrowed to the dimensions of a moderate river. We at length arrived at a sudd which the advance boats had cleared for about sixty yards. Having emerged, we were introduced to a deep but extremely narrow channel flowing through the usual enormous grass.

"The whole fleet ranged in single line to widen the passage. We are now about twelve miles from the dubba, or raised dry ground, near to which we first commenced clearing. We have actually cut away about six miles of vegetation. No dependence whatever can be placed upon the guides: no place answers to their descriptions. We have now been hard at work for thirteen days with a thousand men, during which time we have travelled only twelve miles!

"March 22.—Wind S.W.—foul. The people are all lazy and despairing. Cleared a sudd. I explored ahead in a small boat. As usual, the country is a succession of sudds and small open patches of water. The work is frightful, and great numbers of my men are laid down with fever; thus my force is physically diminished daily, while morally the men are heart-broken. Another soldier died; but there is no dry spot to bury him. We live in a world of swamp and slush. Lieutenant Baker shot a Baleniceps Rex. This day we opened about 600 yards.

"March 23.—We have been throughout the day employed in tugging the vessels through the channel. The Egyptians have quite lost heart. The Soudanis are far more valuable as soldiers; none of them are ill, and they work with a good will. I serve them out a glass of grog in the evening. The fanatical fellahs will not touch spirits, thus they succumb to fever and nervousness when exhausted by the chill occasioned by working throughout the day in mud and water.

"March 24.—Wind fresh from the S.W. All the vessels assembled last evening in a small lake. Before us there is as usual simply a narrow stream closed in by vegetation. I observed marks of the traders' parties having broken through a few months ago. These people travel without merchandise, but with a large force of men: thus their vessels are of light draught of water. My steamers and many of the boats require four feet six inches. Every vessel is heavily laden, thus they are difficult to manage unless in open and deep water.

"There is to-day a forest on the east, about two miles distant, beyond the swamp. After a hard day's work we made about 1,400 yards.

"March 25.—Wind fair and fresh from the N.E. This helped us to make about a mile through the narrow channel, hemmed in by thick and high grass. Another soldier died. As usual, this poor fellow was an artilleryman. These men came direct from Cairo with their guns, and not being acclimatized, they cannot resist the fever. The Egyptian troops give in and lose all heart; but there is much allowance to be made for them, as it is a fearful country, and far beyond my worst experience. There is no apparent break to the boundless marsh before and behind us, this is about fifteen miles wide, as forest trees and the tall dolape palms can sometimes be distinguished upon the horizon.

"What the unfortunate Higginbotham will do I cannot conceive, as there is no possibility of communicating with him, and he will get into the rainy season.

"Another soldier died this evening; he was an excellent man, who had been employed at the arsenal at Cairo. His friend and bosom companion was a fellow workman, and he was so grieved at the loss that he declared he should not live beyond a few days. There was no dry ground in which to dig a grave; it was therefore necessary to cut a hole in the base of a white ant-hill, as these Babel-like towers were the only dry spots that rose above the flood.

"This death is the sixth within the last few days, exclusive of one boy. I think our black doctor assists them in departing from this life, as they die very suddenly when he attends them. Like Dr. Sangrado, he is very fond of the lancet, which is usually fatal in this climate. We made about half a mile today.

"March 26.—Wind fresh from the S.E. The ditch is completely blocked up with vegetation: thus we made only 250 yards. Before us, as usual, is the hopeless sea of high grass, along which is a dark streak which marks the course of the ditch through which we slowly clear a passage. How many days or months we may require to reach the White Nile is a problem. One hundred and fifty men are on the sick list; nearly all of them are fellahs. Upon my own diahbeeah six soldiers out of ten are down with fever, in addition to two of the sailors. I gave them all a shock with the magnetic battery, which appeared to have a wonderful effect; one fellow, who had been groaning with severe pains in his back and limbs, declared that he was instantly relieved. I made a good shot with the Dutchman at a Baleniceps Rex, at a distance of upwards of 200 yards.

"There is no rest by night or day for our people, who are preyed upon by clouds of mosquitoes, which attack like bulldogs.

"March 27.—All hands hard at work clearing the ditch. Wind S.E.—fresh. The diahbeeah, as usual, leads the way, followed by No. 10 steamer, and the whole fleet in close line. Most of the men suffer from headache; this is owing to the absurd covering, the fez, or tarboosh, which is no protection against the sun.

"In the evening I took a small boat, and in forty-one minutes' poling and tugging through the narrow channel, I succeeded in reaching a long narrow lake resembling a river, about 110 yards wide. The mouth of our effluent was, for a wonder, clear from obstruction; I returned with the joyful news to the fleet after sunset.

"March 28.—At 7.30 a.m. all hands turned out to clear the channel to the lake; this was about 500 yards long, and the diahbeeah, leading the way, entered the lake at 11.30 a.m. Unfortunately a shallow channel near the entrance prevented the steamers from entering, thus a passage had to be dug in the tough clay beneath them. The wind strong from the south. I am afraid the north wind has deserted us for the season.

"Having entered the lake, I went about a mile and a half ahead in my diahbeeah, and anchored for the night in a broad and shallow portion of the water, a forest being about a mile distant on the east bank: this was a good sign of terra firma, but there was no dry spot upon which we could land.

"The river winds to the S.E., and apparently then turns to the west. The effluent through which we joined this lake or river meets it at right angles, and the river continues its course to the N.N.W., as though it were the main channel of a far more important stream than the horrible ditch by which we arrived. The guide, however, assures me that it is blocked up, and loses itself in boundless grass and reeds.

"In the evening I spied a hippopotamus which had just come out of the high grass into the open river. It snorted loudly at the strange sight of the handsomely-painted diahbeeah. I took the boat, and upon my near approach it was foolish enough to swim towards us angrily. A shot from the Reilly No. 8, with one of my explosive shells, created a lively dance, as the hippopotamus received the message under the eye. Rolling over and over, with the legs frequently in the air, it raised waves that rocked my little boat and made shooting difficult; but upon a close approach, taking good care to keep out of the reach of its struggles, I gave it a quietus with a hardened spherical ball from the same rifle, which passed right through the head. By sounding with the long boat-hook, I found the body at the bottom in about ten feet of water. My excellent captain of the diahbeeah, Faddul-Moolah, dived to the bottom, and secured the leg of the hippopotamus by a rope. We towed it to the diahbeeah, from the deck of which my wife had had a capital view of the sport. This is a fine feast for the people. My explosive shell is frightful in its effects.

"March 29.—Wind strong from the south; the steamer is not yet out of difficulty. My men are busy cutting up the hippopotamus. I sent off the iron boat with three quarters of the animal to the troops astern. During the night a crocodile took away all the offal from the stern of the diahbeeah. The weather is much cooler, owing to the south wind and the clear space in which we are now anchored.

"March 30.-The river is now clear and unmistakable. We travelled about ten miles by poling; this is the best day's work that we have made since we entered this chaotic region. Lieutenant Baker came on board my diahbeeah, having brought up the steamers.

"The country began to look more hopeful. A forest at a few miles' distance on both the right and left bank of the river betokened dry land. The river flowed between actual honest banks, which although only a few inches above the water were positive boundaries. The flat plain was covered with large white ant-hills, and the ground was evidently firm in the distance, as we could distinguish a herd of antelopes.

"As we were quietly poling the diahbeeah against the sluggish stream, we observed wild buffaloes that, at a distance of about 400 yards, appeared to be close to the bank of the river. I accordingly stopped the diahbeeah, and, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker, I approached them in the small boat, rowed by two men. A fortunate bend of the river, and several clumps of high rushes, concealed the boat until by a sudden turn we came within sixty yards of two bull buffaloes. Having told Mr. Baker to take the first shot, he sent a spherical No. 8 through the shoulder of the nearest bull, which, after a few plunges, fell dead. The other, startled at the shot, dashed off; at the same time he received a shell from my rifle in the flank, and a shot from the left-hand barrel in the rear. With these shots he went off about three hundred paces, and lay down, as we thought, to die. I intended to stalk him from behind the white ant-hills, but my sailors, in intense excitement, rushed forward, supposing that his beef was their own, and although badly hit, he again rose and cantered off till lost in high rushes.

"March 31.-As we proceeded, the banks became drier. The two steamers had arrived during the night, and the whole fleet is coming up astern. The river is now about fifty yards wide, but I am getting nervous about the depth; the water is very shallow in some of the bends, and I fear there will be great difficulty in getting through with the steamers and heavy vessels. My diahbeeah, which is of iron, although roomy, is exceedingly light, and only requires two feet three inches of water. We have been fifty-one days from Khartoum. Never have I known so miserable a voyage. Wind fresh from the south."

CHAPTER III
THE RETREAT

"April 1.—All the vessels are stuck fast for want of water! This is terrible. I went on in advance with my diahbeeah, accompanied by Mr. Baker, for about three miles to explore. Throughout this distance the greatest depth was about four feet, and the average was under three feet. At length the diahbeeah, which drew only two feet three inches, was fast aground! This was at a point where two raised mounds, or dubbas, were on opposite sides of the river. I left the vessel, and with Mr. Baker, I explored in the rowing boat for about two miles in advance. After the first mile, the boat grounded in about six inches of water upon firm sand. The river, after having deepened for a short space, was suddenly divided into three separate channels, all of which were too shallow for the passage of the diahbeeah, and two were even too shallow to admit the small boat. The boatmen jumped out, and we hauled her up the shallows until we reached the main stream, above the three channels, which ran from the S.S.E., but having no greater mean depth than about two feet six inches.

"We continued for some distance up the stream with the same unfortunate results. The banks, although flooded during the wet season, were now dry, and a forest was about a mile distant. Having left the boat and ascended a white ant-hill, about eight feet high, in order to take a view of the country, I observed a herd of very beautiful antelopes, of a kind that were quite un known to me.

"By careful stalking on the flat plain from one ant-hill to another, I obtained a fair shot at about 140 yards, and killed. Both male and female have horns, therefore I found it difficult to distinguish the sex at that distance. I was delighted with my prize; it was a female, weighing, I should estimate, about twenty stone, clean. The hide was a deep reddish yellow, with black shoulders and legs, also black from the hind quarters down the hind legs. It belonged to the species hippotragus, and had horns that curved backwards, something similar to the hippotragus niger, but much shorter.³

"We soon cut it into quarters, and carried it to the boat. This little success in sport had cheered me for the moment; but the happy excitement quickly passed away, and we returned to the diahbeeah quite disheartened. It is simply impossible to continue the voyage, as there is no means of floating the vessels.

"To-morrow I shall explore the channel No. 3, which runs from the W.S.W.

"April 2.—I explored the west channel. This is very narrow, and overgrown with grass. After about a mile we arrived at a shallow place only two feet deep. The whole river is absolutely impracticable at this season. During the rains, and even to the end of December, when the river is full, the vessels could pass, but at no other time. All my labour has been useless, but it would be utterly absurd to attempt a further advance. I have therefore determined to return at once to the Shillook country, and establish a station. Mr. Higginbotham and party will then unite with us, and I will collect the entire force from Khartoum, and start with the expedition complete in the end of November. Although I am grievously disappointed, I am convinced that this is the wisest course. During the rainy season the troops shall cultivate corn, and I shall explore the old White Nile in a steamer, and endeavour to discover a navigable channel via the original route by the Bahr Gazal.

"I was obliged with a heavy heart to give the sad order to turn back; at 3 p.m. we arrived at the assembled fleet.

"I summoned all the officers, and in the presence of Raouf Bey I explained the necessity. The vessels immediately commenced the return voyage, all the officers and men being delighted at the idea of a retreat which they imagined would take them to Khartoum, and terminate the expedition; thus I had little sympathy.—However, I determined to make arrangements for the following season that would enable me to cut through every difficulty. I kept these intentions to myself, or only shared them with my wife and Lieutenant Baker.

"April 3.—Washed decks early, and sent off three soldiers, thus reducing the escort on the diahbeeah to seven men.

"The entire fleet was in full retreat with wind and stream in favour. I would not permit the diahbeeah that had always led the advance to accompany them in the retreat; therefore I allowed them to push on ahead.

"A shower of rain fell to-day; also yesterday.

"A few minutes after starting, both the steamers stuck fast. As I was walking the poop of the diahbeeah, I noticed with the telescope an antelope standing on the summit of an ant-hill about a mile and a quarter distant. There is no change so delightful as a little sport if you are in low spirits; thus, taking the rifle, I rowed up the river for about half a mile in the small boat, and then landing, I obtained the right wind. It was exceedingly difficult to approach game in these extensive treeless flats, and it would have been quite impossible, had it not been for the innumerable hills of the white ants; these are the peculiar features of these swampy countries, and the intelligence of the insects directs their architecture to a height far above the level of the highest floods. The earth used in their construction is the subsoil, brought up from a considerable depth, as the ant-hills are yellow, while the surface soil is black. The earth is first swallowed by the insect and thus it becomes mixed with some albuminous matter which converts it into a cement that resists the action of rain. These hills were generally about eight feet high in the swampy districts, but I have frequently seen them above ten feet. The antelopes make use of such ant-hills as watch towers, from which lofty position they can observe an enemy at a great distance. It is the custom of several varieties to place sentries while the herd is grazing, and upon this occasion, although the sentry was alone visible, I felt sure that the herd was somewhere in his neighbourhood. I have noticed that the sentries are generally bulls. On this occasion I resolved, if possible, to stalk the watchman. I was shooting with a very accurate express rifle, a No. 70 bore of Purdey's, belonging to my friend, Sir Edward Kerrison, who had kindly lent it to me as a favourite weapon when I left England. The grass was very low, and quite green, as it had been fired by the wandering natives some time since; thus, in places there were patches of the tall withered herbage that had been only partially consumed by the fire while unripe: these patches were an assistance in stalking.

"It was, of course, necessary to keep several tall ant-hills in a line with that upon which the antelope was standing, and to stoop so low that I could only see the horns of the animal upon the sky-line. In some places it was necessary to crawl upon the ground; this was trying work, on account of the sharp stumps of the burnt herbage which punished the hands and knees. The fine charcoal dust from the recent fire was also a trouble, as the wind blew it into the eyes. The watermark upon the ant-hills was about eighteen inches above the base, proving the height of the annual floods; and a vast number of the large water helix, the size of a man's fist, lay scattered over the ground, destroyed and partially calcined by the late prairie fire.

"The sun was very hot, and I found crawling so great a distance a laborious operation; my eyes were nearly blinded with perspiration and charcoal dust; but every now and then, as I carefully raised my head, I could distinguish the horns of the antelope in the original position. At length I arrived at the base of the last ant-hill from which I must take my shot.

"There were a few tufts of low scrub growing on the summit; to these I climbed, and digging my toes firmly into an inequality in the side of the hill, I planted my elbows well on the surface, my cap being concealed by the small bushes and tufts of withered grass. The antelope was standing unconsciously about 170 yards, or, as I then considered, about 180 yards from me, perfectly motionless, and much resembling a figure fixed upon a pedestal. The broadside was exposed, thus it would have been impossible to have had a more perfect opportunity after a long stalk. Having waited in a position for a minute or two, to become cool and to clear my eyes, I aimed at his shoulder. Almost as I touched the trigger, the antelope sank suddenly upon its knees, in which position it remained for some seconds on the summit of the ant-hill, and then rolled down to the base, dead. I stepped the exact distance, 169 paces. I had fired rather high, as the bullet had broken the spine a little in front of the shoulder-blade. It was a very beautiful animal, a fine bull, of the same kind that I had killed on 1st April. This antelope was about thirteen hands high at the shoulder, the head long, the face and ears black, also the top of the head; the body bright bay, with a stripe of black about fifteen inches in width extending obliquely across the shoulder, down both the fore and the hind legs, and meeting at the rump. The tail was long, with a tuft of long black hair at the extremity. The horns were deeply annulated, and curved backwards towards the shoulders.

"This was a very large animal, that would have weighed quite thirty stone when gralloched. My boatman, who had been watching the sport, immediately despatched a man for assistance to the diahbeeah. I enjoyed the beauty of this animal: the hide glistened like the coat of a well-groomed horse.

"I did not reach the diahbeeah until 6 p.m.; we then started without delay, and reached the fleet at midnight, at the junction of the ditch through which we had previously arrived at the main river.

"April 4.—The vessels are passing with great difficulty over the shallow entrance of the ditch.

"April 5.—All the vessels have passed. At 6 p.m. we succeeded, after much labour, in getting the last of the steamers through. This accomplished, and having the stream in our favour, we passed along in a compact line for about a mile and a half, the ditch that we had opened being clear and in good order.

"April 6.—Another soldier died. This poor man was the companion of him who, a few days ago, prophesied his own end when he lost his friend. Curiously enough, he died as he was passing the spot where his friend was buried, and we had to bury him in the same ant-hill. The Egyptian troops are very unhealthy. When they first joined the expedition, they were an exceedingly powerful body of men, whose PHYSIQUE I much admired, although their MORALE was of the worst type. I think that every man has lost at least a stone in weight since we commenced this dreadful voyage in chaos, or the Slough of Despond.

"The boats reached the small lake, and continued their voyage through the channel, and anchored for the night at the northern extremity of the five-mile lake. We catch delicious fish daily with the casting-net; the best are the Nile perch, that runs from a pound to four or five pounds, and a species of carp. One of my boatmen is a professional fisherman who understands the casting-net, but he is the only man who can use it.

"April 7.—The channel is again blocked up; all hands clearing into the next lake. Another soldier died—making a total of nine; with two sailors and a boy—total twelve.

"April 8.—Passed into lake No. 2, and by the afternoon reached lake No. 3, where we found our old channel blocked up. I set men to work to open the passage, but there is no chance of its completion until about noon to-morrow. Since we passed this lake a change has taken place, the obstruction through which we cut a channel has entirely broken up. Large rafts of about two acres each have drifted asunder, and have floated to the end of the lake. It is thus impossible to predict what the future may effect. There can be no doubt that the whole of this country was at some former period a lake, which has gradually filled up with vegetation. The dry land, which is only exposed during the hot season, is the result of the decay of vegetable matter. The ashes of the grass that is annually burnt, by degrees form a soil. We are even now witnessing the operation that has formed, and is still increasing, the vast tract of alluvial soil through which we have passed. There is not a stone nor even a small pebble for a distance of two hundred miles; the country is simple mud.

"April 9.—Passed the old channel at 11.45 a.m., after much labour, and we found the long five-mile cutting pretty clear, with the exception of two or three small obstructions. At 5.30 p.m. we reached the Bahr Giraffe, from which extremely narrow channel we had first commenced our difficult work of cutting through many miles of country.

"Who could believe the change? Some evil spirit appears to rule in this horrible region of everlasting swamp. A wave of the demon's wand, and an incredible change appears! The narrow and choked Bahr Giraffe has disappeared; instead of which a river of a hundred yards' width of clear running water meets us at the junction of our cutting. As far as the eye can reach to the E.S.E., there is a succession of large open sheets of water where a few days ago we saw nothing but a boundless plain of marsh grass, without one drop of water visible. These sheets of water mark the course of a river, but each lake is separated by a dam of floating vegetation. The volume of water is very important, and a stream is running at the rate of three miles an hour. Nevertheless, although in open water, we now find ourselves prisoners in a species of lake, as we are completely shut in by a serious dam of dense rafts of vegetation that have been borne forward and tightly compressed by the great force of this new river. It is simply ridiculous to suppose that this river can ever be rendered navigable. One or two vessels, if alone, would be utterly helpless, and might be entirely destroyed with their crews by a sudden change that would break up the country and inclose them in a trap from which they could never escape.

"We passed the night at anchor. Many hippopotami are snorting and splashing in the new lakes.

"April 10.—After a hard day's labour, a portion of the fleet succeeded in cutting through the most serious dam, and we descended our old river to the dubba, or dry mound, where we had first discovered vestiges of the traders. The No. 10 steamer arrived in the evening. The river is wider than when we last saw it, but is much obstructed by small islands, formed of rafts of vegetation that have grounded in their descent. I fear we may find the river choked in many places below stream. No dependence can ever be placed upon this accursed river. The fabulous Styx must be a sweet rippling brook, compared to this horrible creation. A violent wind acting upon the high waving plain of sugar-cane grass may suddenly create a change; sometimes islands are detached by the gambols of a herd of hippopotami, whose rude rambles during the night, break narrow lanes through the floating plains of water-grass, and separate large masses from the main body.

"The water being pent up by enormous dams of vegetation, mixed with mud and half-decayed matter, forms a chain of lakes at slightly-varying levels. The sudden breaking of one dam would thus cause an impetuous rush of stream that might tear away miles of country, and entirely change the equilibrium of the floating masses.

"April 11.—I sent a sailing vessel ahead to examine the river, with orders that she should dip her ensign in case she met with an obstruction. Thank God, all is clear. I therefore ordered the steamers to remount their paddles.

"We started at 10 p.m.

"April 12.—At 11.30 p.m. we met five of Ghatta's⁴ boats bound for the White Nile. These people declared their intention of returning, when they heard the deplorable account of the river.

"At 2 a.m. we arrived at our old position, close to our former wood station in the forest.

"April 13.—Started at 11.30 a.m. The river has fallen three feet since we were here, and the country is now dry. Mr. Baker and I therefore walked a portion of the way upon the banks as the diahbeeah slowly descended the stream. There were great numbers of wild fowl; also hippopotami, and being provided with both shot guns and heavy rifles we made a very curious bag during the afternoon, that in England or Scotland would have been difficult to carry home; we shot and secured two hippopotami, one crocodile, twenty-two geese, and twenty ducks.

"At 7 p.m. we arrived at the station of Kutchuk Ali. I sent for the vakeel, or agent, commanding the company, to whom I thoroughly explained the system and suppression of the slave trade. He seemed very incredulous that it would actually be enforced; but I recommended him not to make the experiment of sending cargoes of slaves down to Khartoum, as he had done in previous years. He appeared to be very confident that because his employer, Kutchuk Ali, had been promoted to the rank of sandjak, with the command of a government expedition, no inquiry would be made concerning the acts of his people. No greater proof could be given of the insincerity of the Soudan authorities in professing to suppress the slave trade, than the fact that Djiaffer Pacha, the governor-general of the Soudan, had given the command of an expedition to this same Kutchuk Ali, who was known as one of the principal slave-traders of the White Nile.

"April 14.—One of my black soldiers deserted, but was captured. We also caught a sailor who had deserted to the slave-hunters during our passage up the river, but as we returned unexpectedly he was discovered. The colonel, Raouf Bey, reported this morning that several officers and soldiers had actually purchased slaves to-day from Kutchuk Ali's station; thus, the Khedive's troops, who are employed under my command to suppress the slave trade, would quickly convert the expedition into a slave market. I at once ordered the slaves to be returned, and issued stringent instructions to the officers.

"I saw this afternoon a number of newly-captured slave women and girls fetching water under the guard of a scoundrel with a loaded musket. I know that the station is full of slaves; but there is much diplomacy necessary, and at present I do not intend to visit their camp.

"April 15.—To prevent further desertions, it was necessary to offer an example to the troops. I therefore condemned the deserter who was captured yesterday to be shot at noon.

"At the bugle call, the troops mustered on parade in full uniform. The prisoner in irons was brought forward and marched round the hollow square, accompanied by muffled drums.

"The sentence having been declared, after a short address to the men, the prisoner was led out, and the firing party advanced. He was a fine young man of about twenty years of age, a native of Pongo, who had been taken as a slave, and had become a soldier against his will.

"There was much allowance for desertion under the circumstances, and I was moved by the manly way in which he prepared for death. He cast his eye around, but he found neither sympathy nor friends in the hard features of the officers and men. The slave-trader's people had turned out in great numbers, dressed in their best clothes, to enjoy the fun of a military execution. The firing party was ready; the prisoner knelt down with his back towards them, at about five paces distant. At that moment he turned his face with a beseeching expression towards me; but he was ordered immediately to look straight before him.

"The order, 'Present,' was given, and the sharp clicking of the locks, as the muskets were brought on full cock and presented, left but another moment . . . . .

"At that instant I ordered the firing party to retire, and I summoned the prisoner, who was brought up in charge of the guard. In the presence of all the troops I then explained to him the necessity of strict discipline, and that the punishment of death must certainly follow desertion, at the same time I made such allowance for his youth and ignorance that I determined to reduce the punishment to that of flogging, which I trusted would be a warning to him and all others. I assured him, and the troops generally, that although I should never flinch from administering severe punishment when necessary, I should be much happier in rewarding those who should do their duty. The prisoner was flogged and kept in irons. The troops formed into sections of companies and marched past with band playing; each company cheering as they passed before me; but the crowd of slave-hunters slunk back to their station, disappointed that no blood had been spilt for their amusement.⁵

"No person except Lieutenant Baker and the colonel, Raouf Bey, had been in the secret that I HAD NEVER INTENDED TO SHOOT THE MAN. I had merely arranged an impressive scene as a coup de theatre, that I trusted might benefit the MORALE of the men.

"We were now in the fine clear stream of the Bahr Giraffe, which, having received numerous affluents from the marsh regions, was united in one volume. We got up steam and started at 4.30 p.m., and the diahbeeah, towed by the steamer down stream, travelled at about nine miles an hour until 8 a.m., making a run of 125 miles.

"We then stopped at a large forest on the west bank to cut wood for the steamer.

"April 16.—Went out shooting with Mr. Baker, and shot two Ellipsyprymna antelopes. The country is beautiful, but game is scarce. The forest is much broken by elephants, which appear to frequent it during the wet season. These animals are very useful in preparing wood for the steamers' fires. They break down the green trees, which dry and become good fuel. Were it not for the elephants, we should only find dead wood, which is nearly all either hollow or rotten, and of little use as firewood. Today we met four vessels from Khartoum that had followed me with a reinforcement of one company of troops, with letters from Djiaffer Pacha and Mr. Higginbotham.

"April 17.—We steamed about thirty-seven miles and then halted at a good forest to fill up our supply of wood. The forest on the left bank is about thirty-seven miles in length, but it is merely a few hundred yards in width, beyond which the country is prairie. On the east bank, where there is no forest, we saw giraffes, buffaloes, and antelopes in considerable numbers during the day.

"April 18.—Filling up wood in the morning. We then travelled three hours, and halted eleven miles from the White Nile junction. During the voyage we saw a lion and lioness with five cubs running off alarmed at the steamer.

"In the afternoon I went out and shot seven geese and two fine black bucks.

"Lieutenant Baker was unfortunately ill with fever. Here we met four more vessels with a company of soldiers from Khartoum. They of course remained with us.

"April 19:—In an hour and a half we arrived at the White Nile, and twenty minutes later we saw three vessels belonging to the mudir, or governor, of Fashoda. We heard from the people on these boats that the governor (Ali Bey, the Koordi) was making a razzia on the Shillook tribe. The banks of the river were crowded with natives running away in all directions; women were carrying off all their little household goods, and children were following their parents, each with a basket on their heads containing either food or something too valuable to be left behind. I immediately went off in a rowing boat, and, after much difficulty, I succeeded in inducing some of the natives who could speak Arabic to stop and converse with me. They declared that the Turks had attacked them without provocation, and that the Koordi (as the governor of Fashoda was called) had stolen many of their women and children, and had killed their people, as he was generally plundering the country. I begged the natives not to fly from their district, but to wait until I should make inquiries on the following day; and I promised to restore the women and children, should they have been kidnapped.

"I halted at a forest about nine miles from the junction of the Bahr Giraffe, where a bend of the river concealed the steamers and diahbeeah.

"Late at night, when most people were asleep, I sent orders to the chief engineer of the No. 10 steamer to have the steam up at five on the following morning.

"April 20.—We started punctually at the appointed hour; my diahbeeah, as usual, being towed by the steamer. As we rounded the point and quickly came in sight of the governor's vessels, I watched them with a powerful telescope. For some time we appeared to be unobserved. I knew that the troops were not celebrated for keeping a sharp lookout, and we arrived within three-quarters of a mile before the sound of our paddles attracted their attention. The telescope now disclosed some of the mysteries of the expedition. I perceived a considerable excitement among the troops on shore. I made out one tent, and I distinguished men hurrying to and fro apparently busy and excited. During this time we were rapidly approaching, and as the distance lessened, I could distinctly see a number of people being driven from the shore on board a vessel that was lying alongside the bank. I felt convinced that these were slaves, as I could distinguish the difference in size between the children and adults. In the mean time we were travelling at full speed (about eight miles an hour) in the broad but slack current of that portion of the White Nile.

"At 6.35 we ranged up alongside the bank opposite the tent which belonged to the Koordi governor of Fashoda. We had passed close to the three vessels, but no person was visible except their crews. My arrival was evidently quite unexpected, and not very agreeable.

"The governor shortly appeared, and was invited on the poop deck of my diahbeeah; this was always furnished with carpets and sofas so as to form a divan.

"After a pipe and coffee, I commenced the conversation by describing the impossibility of an advance at this season via the Bahr Giraffe, therefore I had found it necessary to return. He simply replied, `God is great! and, please God, you will succeed next year.'

"I now asked him how many troops he had with him, as I noticed two brass guns, and a number of irregular cavalry, in addition to some companies of infantry. He replied that he had five companies in addition to the cavalry and mounted Baggara Arabs; and that he was `collecting the taxes.'

"I begged him to explain to me his system of taxation; and to inform me whether he had established a poll, or a house tax, or in what special form the dues were represented. This seemed to be a great puzzle to the mind of the governor, and after applying to my colonel, to whom he spoke in Turkish, he replied that the people were very averse to taxation, therefore he made one annual tour throughout the country, and collected what he thought just.

"I asked him whether he captured women and children in the same way in which he annexed the natives' cattle. To this he replied by a distinct negative, at the same time assuming an expression of horror at such an idea.

"I immediately ordered my aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, to visit the vessels that were lying a few yards astern. This was a very excellent and trustworthy officer, and he immediately started upon an examination. In the mean while the Koordi governor sat rigidly upon the sofa, puffing away at his long pipe, but evidently thinking that the affair would not end in simple smoke.

"In a few minutes I heard the voice of my colonel angrily expostulating with the crew of the vessel, who had denied that any slaves were on board. Almost at the same time a crowd of unfortunate captives emerged from below, where they had been concealed, and walked singly along the plank to the shore; being counted by the officer according to sex as they disembarked. The Koordi governor looked uncomfortable, as this happened before our eyes. I made no remark, but simply expressed a wish to walk round his encampment.

"Having passed through the place of bivouac, where the foulest smells attacked us from all sides, I thoroughly examined the spot, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker and a few officers of my staff. There was no military order, but the place was occupied by a crowd of soldiers, mingled with many native allies, under the command of an extremely blackguard-looking savage, dressed in a long scarlet cloak made of woollen cloth. This was belted round his waist, to which was suspended a crooked Turkish sabre; he wore a large brass medal upon his breast, which somewhat resembled those ornaments that undertakers use for giving a lively appearance to coffins. This fellow was introduced to me by the Koordi as the `king of the Shillooks.'

"In the rear of the party, to which spot I had penetrated while the Koordi was engaged in giving orders to certain officers, I came suddenly upon a mass of slaves, who were squatted upon the ground, and surrounded by dirty clothes, arranged like a fence, by the support of lances, pieces of stick, camel saddles, &c. These people were guarded by a number of soldiers, who at first seemed to think that my visit was one of simple curiosity.

"Many of the women were secured to each other by ropes passed from neck to neck. A crowd of children, including very young infants, squatted among the mass, and all kept a profound silence, and regarded me with great curiosity. Having sent for my notebook, I divided the slaves into classes, and counted them as follows:—

Concealed in the boat we had discovered, 71 Those on shore guarded by sentries were 84 – 155

including 65 girls and women, 80 children, and 10 men. The governor of Fashoda, whom I thus had caught in the act of kidnapping slaves, was the person who, a few weeks before, had assured me that the slave trade was suppressed, as the traders dared not pass his station of Fashoda. The real fact was, that this excellent example of the Soudan made a considerable fortune by levying a toll upon every slave which the traders' boats brought down the river; this he put into his own pocket.

"I immediately informed him that I should report him to the Khedive, at the same time I insisted upon the liberation of every slave.

"At first he questioned my authority, saying that he held the rank of bey, and was governor of the district. I simply told him that `if he refused to liberate the slaves, he must give me that refusal in writing.' This was an awkward fix, and he altered his tone by attempting to explain that they were not slaves, but only held as hostages until the people should pay their taxes. At the same time he was obliged to confess that there was no established tax. I heard that he had received from one native ten cows for the ransom of his child, thus the stolen child was sold back to the father for ten cows! and this was the Soudan method of collecting taxes! If the unfortunate father had been shot dead in the razzia, his unransomed child would have been carried away and sold as a slave; or should the panic-stricken natives be afraid to approach with a ransom for fear of being kidnapped themselves, the women and children would be lost to them for ever.

"I was thoroughly disgusted. I knew that what I had happened to discover was the rule of the Soudan, and that the protestations of innocence of governors was simply dust thrown into the eyes. It was true that the Shillook country was not in my jurisdiction; but I was determined to interfere in behalf of the slaves, although I should not meddle with the general affairs of the country. I therefore told the Koordi that I had the list of the captives, and he must send for some responsible native to receive them and take them to their homes. In the mean time I should remain in the neighbourhood. I then returned to the fleet that I had left at the forest. In the evening we were joined by most of the rear vessels.

"April 21.—At 9.30 a.m. we sighted eleven vessels in full sail, approaching from Khartoum, with a strong N.E. wind, and shortly afterwards we were delighted by the arrival of Mr. Higginbotham, Dr. Gedge, and the six English engineers, shipwrights, &c., all in good health.

"April 22.—I paid a visit to the Koordi's camp, accompanied by Mr. Baker and Mr. Higginbotham, as I wished to have European witnesses to the fact. Upon arrival, I explained to the governor that he had compromised the Egyptian Government by his act, and as I had received general instructions from the Khedive to suppress all slave-hunters, I could only regard him in that category, as I had actually found him in the act. I must, therefore, insist upon the immediate and unconditional release of all the slaves. After an attempt at evasion, he consented, and I at once determined to liberate them personally, which would establish confidence among the natives.

"Accompanied by Lieutenant Baker and Mr. Higginbotham, and the various officers of the staff, I ordered the ropes, irons, and other accompaniments of slavery to be detached; and I explained through an interpreter to the astonished crowd of captives, that the Khedive had abolished slavery, therefore they were at liberty to return to their own homes. At first, they appeared astounded, and evidently could not realize the fact; but upon my asking them where their homes were, they pointed to the boundless rows of villages in the distance, and said, `Those are our homes, but many of our men are killed, and all our cattle and corn are carried off.' I could only advise them to pack off as quickly as possible, now that they had the chance of freedom.

"The women immediately took up their little infants (one had been born during the night), others led the very small children by the hand, and with a general concert, they burst into the long, quavering, and shrill yell that denotes rejoicing. I watched them as they retreated over the plain to their deserted homes, and I took a coldly polite farewell of the Koordi. The looks of astonishment of the Koordi's troops as I passed through their camp were almost comic. I shall report this affair to the Khedive direct; but I feel sure that the exposure of the governor of Fashoda will not add to the popularity of the expedition among the lower officials.

"April 23.—I started with two steamers and two diahbeeahs to explore a favourable spot for a permanent station. We reached the Sobat junction in three hours and a quarter, about twenty-five miles. From the Sobat, down stream, we steamed for forty minutes, arriving at a forest, on a high bank to the east, where some extraordinary high dome palms (palma Thebaica), together with dolape palms (Borassus Ethiopicus), gave an air of tropical beauty to a desolate and otherwise uninviting spot.

"I fixed upon this place for a station as the ground was hard, the position far above the level of high floods, and the forest afforded a supply of wood for building purposes and fuel.

"April 24.—We steamed for half-an-hour down stream to a large village on the west bank, named Wat-a-jook. Thence I went down stream for one hour to the grove of dolape palms and gigantic India rubber trees. This was formerly a large village, known as Hillet-el-dolape, but it has been entirely destroyed by the governor of Fashoda. After much difficulty, I induced some natives to come to me, with whom I at length made friends: they all joined in accusing the Koordi governor of wanton atrocities.

"In the afternoon, not having discovered a spot superior to that I had already selected for a station, we returned; but we had not travelled more than an hour and a half when the engine of the No. 10 steamer broke down. On examination, it appeared that the air pump was broken. Fortunately the accident occurred close to the spot selected for a station.

"April 25.—At 12.30 p.m. I sent back the No. 8 steamer to call the fleet to the station. I soon made friends with the natives, great numbers of whom congregated on the west bank of the river. All these people had heard that I had liberated the women and children.

"April 26.—The steamer and entire fleet arrived in the afternoon.

"The natives brought a bullock and a Pongo slave as a present from the chief. I freed the slave, and sent a piece of cloth as an introduction to the chief.

"April 27.—This was a busy day passed in measuring out the camp. I set several companies at work to fell the forest and to prepare timber for building.

"April 28.—Pouring rain. No work possible.

"April 29.—The Englishmen set up their forge and anvil; and we commenced unloading corrugated iron sheets to form our magazines. Fortunately, I had a number of wall-plates, rafters, &c., that I had brought from Egypt for this purpose, as there is no straight wood in the country.

"The sheik or head of the Shillook tribe sent envoys with a present of four bullocks and two small tusks, with a message that he wished to see me, but he was afraid to come. I accordingly sent the messengers back in the No. 8 steamer with ten soldiers as an escort to bring him to my station.

"April 30.—We commenced erecting the iron magazines. Lieutenant Baker, Mr. Higginbotham, and the Englishmen all actively employed, while Raouf Bey and his officers, instead of attending to the pressing work of forming the permanent camp, sit under a tree and smoke and drink coffee throughout the day.

"The artillerymen are nearly all ill; likewise many of the Egyptian regiment, while the black troops are well and in excellent spirits. There is no doubt that for this service the blacks are very superior to the Egyptians: these are full of religious prejudices combined with extreme ignorance, and they fall sick when deprived of the vegetable diet to which they are accustomed in Egypt.

"In the evening the steamer returned with the true Shillook king, accompanied by two of his wives, four daughters, and a retinue of about seventy people."

CHAPTER IV
THE CAMP AT TEWFIKEEYAH

"May 1.—The camp is beginning to look civilized. Already the underwood has been cleared, and the large trees which border the river have their separate proprietors. There is no home like a shady tree in a tropical climate; here we are fortunate in having the finest mimosas, which form a cool screen. I have apportioned the largest trees among the higher officers. The English quarter of the camp is already arranged, and the whole force is under canvas. A few days ago this was a wilderness; now there are some hundred new tents arranged in perfectly straight rows so as to form streets. This extensive plot of white tents, occupying a frontage of four hundred yards, and backed by the bright green forest, looks very imposing from the river.

"The English quarter was swept clean, and as the surface soil on the margin of the river was a hard white sand, the place quickly assumed a neat and homely appearance. I had a sofa, a few chairs, and a carpet arranged beneath a beautiful shady mimosa, where I waited the arrival of the true king of the Shillooks—Quat Kare.

"In a few minutes he was introduced by an aide-de-camp, accompanied by two wives, four daughters, and a large retinue. Like all the Shillooks, he was very tall and thin. As his wardrobe looked scanty and old, I at once gave him a long blue shirt which nearly reached to his ankles, together with an Indian red scarf to wear as a waistband. When thus attired I presented him with a tarboosh (fez); all of which presents he received without a smile or the slightest acknowledgment. When dressed with the assistance of two or three of the soldiers who had volunteered to act as valets, he sat down on the carpet, upon which he invited his family to sit near him. There was a profound silence. The king appeared to have no power of speech; he simply fixed his eyes upon myself and my wife; then slowly turned them upon Lieutenant Baker and the officers in attendance. The crowd was perfectly silent.

"I was obliged to commence the conversation by asking him `whether he was really Quat Kare, the old king of the Shillooks? as I had heard his death reported.'

"Instead of replying, he conferred with one of his wives, a woman of about sixty, who appeared to act as prime minister and adviser. This old lady immediately took up the discourse, and very deliberately related the intrigues of the Koordi governor of Fashoda, which had ended in the ruin of her husband. It appeared that the Koordi did not wish that peace should reign throughout the land. The Shillooks were a powerful tribe, numbering upwards of a million, therefore it was advisable to sow dissension amongst them, and thus destroy their unity. Quat Kare was a powerful king, who had ruled the country for more than fifty years. He was the direct descendant of a long line of kings; therefore he was a man whose influence was to be dreaded. The policy of the Koordi determined that he would overthrow the power of Quat Kare, and after having vainly laid snares for his capture, the old king fled from the governor of Fashoda as David fled from Saul and hid in the cave of Adullam. The Koordi was clever and cunning in intrigue; thus, he wrote to Djiaffer Pacha, the governor-general of the Soudan, and declared that Quat Kare the king of the Shillooks was DEAD; it was therefore necessary to elect the next heir, Jangy for whom he requested the firman of the Khedive. The firman of the Khedive arrived in due course for the pretender Jangy, who was a distant connexion of Quat Kare, and in no way entitled to the succession. This intrigue threw the country into confusion. Jangy was proclaimed king by the Koordi, and was dressed in a scarlet robe with belt and sabre. The pretender got together a large band of adherents who were ready for any adventure that might yield them plunder. These natives, who knew the paths and the places where the vast herds of cattle were concealed, acted as guides to the Koordi; and the faithful adherents of the old king, Quat Kare, were plundered, oppressed, and enslaved without mercy, until the day that I had fortunately arrived in the Shillook country, and caught the Koordi in the very act of kidnapping.

"I had heard this story a few days before, and I was much struck with the clear and forcible manner in which the old wife described the history.

"Here we have an average picture of Soudan rule. In a country blessed with the most productive soil and favourable climate, with a population estimated at above a million, the only step towards improvement, after seven years of possession, is a system of plunder and massacre. Instead of peace, a series of intrigues have thrown the country into hopeless anarchy. With a good government, this fertile land might produce enormous wealth in the cultivation of corn and cotton. I arranged with the king that he should wait patiently, and that I would bring the affair before the proper authority; in the mean time, his people should return to their villages.

"After a feast upon an ox, and the entertainment of the magnetic battery and the wheel of life, I gave Quat Kare, and the various members of his family, an assortment of presents, and sent them back rejoicing in the No. 8 steamer. I had been amused by the stoical countenance of the king while undergoing a severe shock from the battery. Although every muscle of his arms was quivering, he never altered the expression of his features. One of his wives followed his example, and resisted a shock with great determination, and after many attempts she succeeded in extracting a necklace from a basin of water so highly charged, that her hand was completely cramped and paralysed.

"I have thoroughly gained the confidence of the natives, as vast herds of cattle are now fearlessly brought to graze on the large island opposite the camp. The natives assure me that all the male children that may be born this year will be called the `Pacha,' in commemoration of the release given to the captives.

"A soldier was caught this afternoon in the act of stealing a fowl from a native. I had him flogged and secured in irons for five days. I have determined upon the strictest discipline, in spite of the old prejudice. As the greater portion of the Egyptian regiment is composed of felons, convicted of offences in Cairo, and transported to the White Nile, my task is rather difficult in establishing a reformation. The good taste of the authorities might be questioned for supplying me with a regiment of convicts to carry out an enterprise where a high state of discipline and good conduct are essential to success."

I gave the name Tewfikeeyah⁶ to the new station, which rapidly grew into a place of importance. It was totally unlike an Egyptian camp, as all the lines were straight. Deep ditches, cut in every necessary direction, drained the station to the river. I made a quay about 500 yards in length, on the bank of the river, by which the whole fleet could lie, and embark or disembark cargo. A large stable contained the twenty horses, which by great care had kept their condition. It was absolutely necessary to keep them in a dark stable on account of the flies, which attacked all animals in swarms. Even within the darkened building it was necessary to light fires composed of dried horse-dung, to drive away the these persecuting insects. The hair fell completely off the ears and legs of the donkeys (which were allowed to ramble about), owing to the swarms of flies that irritated the skin; but in spite of the comparative comfort of a stable, the donkeys preferred a life of out-door independence, and fell off in condition if confined to a house. The worst flies were the small grey species, with a long proboscis, similar to those that are often seen in houses in England.

In an incredibly short time the station fell into shape. I constructed three magazines of galvanized iron, each eighty feet in length, and the head storekeeper, Mr. Marcopolo, at last completed his arduous task of storing the immense amount of supplies that had been contained in the fleet of vessels.

This introduced us to the White Nile rats, which volunteered their services in thousands, and quickly took possession of the magazines by tunneling beneath, and appearing in the midst of a rat's paradise, among thousands of bushels of rice, biscuits, lentils, &c. The destruction caused by these animals was frightful. They gnawed holes in the sacks, and the contents poured upon the ground like sand from an hour-glass, to be immediately attacked and destroyed by white ants. There was no lime in the country, nor stone of any kind, thus it was absolutely impossible to stop the ravages of white ants except by the constant labour of turning over the vast masses of boxes and stores, to cleanse them from the earthen galleries which denote their presence.

I had European vegetable seeds of all kinds, and having cleared and grubbed up a portion of forest, we quickly established gardens. The English quarter was particularly neat. The various plots were separated by fences, and the ground was under cultivation for about two acres extending to the margin of the river. I did not build a house for myself, as we preferred our comfortable diahbeeah, which was moored alongside the garden, from the entrance of which, a walk led to a couple of large shady mimosas that formed my public divan, where all visitors were received.

In a short time we had above ground sweet melons, watermelons, pumpkins, cabbages, tomatoes, cauliflowers, beet-root, parsley, lettuce, celery, &c., but all the peas, beans, and a very choice selection of maize that I had received from England, were destroyed during the voyage. Against my express orders, the box had been hermetically sealed, and the vitality of the larger seeds was entirely gone. Seeds should be simply packed in brown paper bags and secured in a basket.

The neighbouring country was, as usual in the White Nile districts, flat and uninteresting. Forest and bush clothed the banks of the river, but this formed a mere fringe for a depth of about half a mile, beyond which all was open prairie.

Although there was a considerable extent of forest, there was a dearth of useful timber for building purposes. The only large trees were a species of mimosa, named by the Arabs "kook." We were very short of small rowing boats, those belonging to the steamers were large and clumsy, and I wished to build a few handy dingies that would be extremely useful for the next voyage up the obstructions of the Bahr Giraffe. I therefore instructed the English shipwrights to take the job in hand, and during a ramble through the forest they selected several trees. These were quickly felled, and the sawyers were soon at work cutting planks, keels, and all the necessary wood for boat-building. It is a pleasure to see English mechanics at work in a wild country; they finish a job while an Egyptian workman is considering how to do it. In a very short time Mr. Jarvis, the head shipwright, had constructed an impromptu workshop, with an iron roof, within the forest; several sets of sawyers were at work, and in a few days the keel of a new boat was laid down.

The chief mechanical engineer, Mr. McWilliam, was engaged in setting up the steam saw-mills, and in a few weeks after our first arrival in this uninhabited wilderness, the change appeared magical. In addition to the long rows of white tents, and the permanent iron magazines, were hundreds of neat huts arranged in exact lines; a large iron workshop containing lathes, drilling machines, and small vertical saw machine; next to this the blacksmith's bellows roared; and the constant sound of the hammer and anvil betokened a new life in the silent forests of the White Nile. There were several good men who had received a European mechanical education among those I had brought from Egypt; these were now engaged with the English engineers in repairing the engine of the No. 10 steamer, which required a new piston. I ordered a number of very crooked bill-hooks to be prepared for cutting the tangled vegetation during our next voyage. The first boat, about sixteen feet long, was progressing, and the entire station was a field of industry. The gardens were green with vegetables, and everything would have been flourishing had the troops been in good health. Those miserable Egyptians appeared to be in a hopeless condition morally. It was impossible to instil any spirit into them, and if sick, they at once made up their minds to die. It is to be hoped that my regiment of convicts was not a fair sample of the spirit and intelligence of the Egyptian fellah. Some of them DESERTED.

There is an absurd prejudice among the men that the grinding of flour upon the usual flat millstone is an unmanly task that should always be performed by a woman. This is a very ancient prejudice, if we may judge by the symbols found upon the flat millstones of the ancient Egyptians. We also hear in the Testament, "two women shall be grinding together; one shall be taken, the other left." There was a scarcity of women in our station, and the grinding of the corn would have given rise to much discontent had I not experienced this difficulty in a former voyage, and provided myself with steel corn-mills. I had one of these erected for each company of troops, and in addition to the usual labour, I always sentenced men under punishment to so many hours at the mill.

Although this country was exceedingly rich in soil, it was entirely uninhabited on our side (the east) of the river. This had formerly been the Dinka country, but it had been quite depopulated by razzias made for slaves by the former and present governors of Fashoda. These raids had been made on a large scale, with several thousand troops, in addition to the sharp slave-hunters, the Baggara Arabs, as allies. The result was almost the extermination of the Dinka tribe. It seemed incomprehensible to the Shillook natives that a government that had only lately made slave-hunting a profession should suddenly turn against the slave-hunters.

I frequently rode on horseback about the country, and wherever I found a spot slightly raised above the general level, I was sure to discover quantities of broken pottery, the vestiges of villages, which had at a former time been numerous. There was very little game, but now and then ostriches were seen stalking about the yellow plains of withered grass. On one occasion I was riding with Lieutenant Baker, accompanied by a few orderlies, when I distinguished the forms of several ostriches at a great distance. They were feeding on the flat plain where it was hopeless to attempt an approach. I was just replacing my telescope, when I observed an ostrich emerge from behind some bushes, about 400 yards' distance. This was a male bird, by the black colour, and it appeared to be feeding towards the scattered bush on my left. We were at the moment partially concealed by the green foliage. I immediately dismounted, and leaving the party behind the bushes, I ran quickly forward, always concealed by the thick thorns, until I thought I must be somewhere within shot, unless the bird had discovered me and escaped without my knowledge. I now went cautiously and slowly forward, stooping under the bushes when necessary, and keeping a good look out on all sides, as I expected that the ostrich must be somewhere in the jungle. At length, as I turned round a clump of thick thorns, I sighted the bird racing away with immense speed straight from me at about 130 yards. I raised the 150-yard sight of the Dutchman, and taking him very steadily, as the bird kept a perfectly straight course, I fired. The ostrich at once fell with so great a shock upon the hard, parched ground, that the air was full of feathers. I stepped 130 long paces, and found that the bullet had struck the bird in the centre of the back, killing it instantly. My party came up to my whistle, and I despatched a mounted orderly to camp to bring men and donkeys.

Although I have been many years in Africa, this was the first and the last ostrich that I have ever bagged. It was a very fine male, and the two thighs and legs were a very fair load for a strong donkey.

I have seen erroneous accounts of ostriches designated as two varieties, the black and the grey. The black, with white feathers in the wings and tail, is simply the male, and the grey the female. The feathers of this bird were old and in bad order. The fat is much esteemed by the Arabs as an external application for rheumatism. I found the stomach rich in scorpions, beetles, leaves of trees, and white rounded quartz pebbles. The bird must have come from a considerable distance as there was neither rock nor pebble in the neighbourhood.

On my return to camp I carved an artificial ostrich head from a piece of wood, and made false eyes with the neck of a wine bottle. I intended to stick this head upon a pole, concealed in a linen fishing rod case, and to dress up my cap with thick plumes of ostrich feathers. I have no doubt that it would be possible to approach ostriches in grass by this imitation, as the pole would be carried in the left hand, and all the movements of the ostriches might be easily imitated. The pole in the left hand rested on the ground would make a good rest for the rifle when the moment arrived for the shot.

Heavy rains set in, and the hitherto dry plains became flooded and swampy, thus I never had an opportunity to try my false ostrich.

The Shillooks were now become our fast friends. The camp was crowded daily with natives who came by water from a considerable distance to traffic with the soldiers. Like all negroes, they were sharp traders, with a Jewish tendency in their bargains. They brought raw cotton and provisions of all kinds in exchange for cotton manufactures and iron. Their country consists simply of rich alluvial soil, therefore all iron must be imported, and it is of great value. The best articles of exchange for this country would be pieces of wrought iron of about four ounces in weight and six inches long, and pieces of eight ounces, and eight inches in length. Also cotton cloth, known as grey calico, together with white calico, and other cheap manufactures. The cotton that is indigenous to the country is short in staple, but it grows perfectly wild. The Shillooks are very industrious, and cultivate large quantities of dhurra and some maize, but the latter is only used to eat in a green state, roasted on the ashes. The grain of maize is too hard to grind on the common flat millstones of the natives, thus it is seldom cultivated in any portion of Central Africa on an extended scale. I gave some good Egyptian cotton-seed to the natives, also the seed of various European vegetables. Tobacco was in great demand by the troops, and I considered the quality supplied by the Shillooks superior to that cultivated in the Soudan.

Although the camp was visited by hundreds of natives, including their women, daily, there were seldom any quarrels over the marketing, and when a disagreement took place it was generally the fault of a soldier, who took something on credit, and pleaded inability to pay. I administered a rough-and-ready justice, and appointed an officer to superintend the bazaar to prevent squabbles.

I was much struck with the honesty of the natives, who appeared thoroughly to appreciate the protection afforded them, and the fair dealing insisted upon on the part of the troops. The river was about 700 yards wide, but the land on the west shore was only a large island, through which several small streams cut deep channels. This island was separated from the main western shore by a branch of the White Nile. The west bank was thickly lined with villages for about 200 miles of river frontage throughout the Shillook country, thus affording admirable opportunities for direct trade with vessels from Khartoum. It was a tedious journey for the natives to visit us daily, as they had to cross first their western branch of the Nile, then to carry their canoes across the island for about a mile, and again to cross the main river to arrive at our camp. The Shillook canoe has often been described. It is formed of long pieces of the ambatch-wood, which is lighter than cork. These curious trees, which grow in the swamps of the White Nile, are thick at the base, and taper to a point, thus a number are lashed securely together, and the points are tied tightly with cord, so as to form a bow. These canoes or rafts generally convey two persons, and they are especially adapted for the marshy navigation of the river, as they can be carried on the head without difficulty, when it may be necessary to cross an island or morass.

Our native traders arrived daily in fleets of ambatch canoes from a considerable distance. The soldiers trusted them with their rations of corn to grind, rather than take the trouble to prepare it themselves. The natives took the corn to their homes, and invariably returned with the honest complement of flour. I never had a complaint brought before me of dishonesty when a Shillook had been trusted. I have great hopes of these people, they simply require all assurance of good faith and protection to become a valuable race.

From the Shillook country to Khartoum the river is superb and can be navigated at all seasons. The northern end of this country is rich in forests of the Acacia Arabica (Soont), a wood that is invaluable as fuel for steamers, and is the only really durable wood for ship-building in the Soudan. The rains begin in May, and are regular throughout four months, thus cotton may be cultivated without the expense of artificial irrigation; at the same time the dry summer offers an inestimable advantage for gathering the crop.

The Dinka country on the east bank would have been of equal value, but, as I have already described, it has been depopulated.

There was an old blind sheik who frequently visited us from the other side, and this poor old fellow came to an untimely end when returning one day with his son from marketing at Tewfikeeyah. I was walking on the quay, when I heard a great commotion, and I saw a splashing in the river, the surface of which was covered with the ambatch fragments of a native canoe. There were many canoes on the river, several of which immediately went to the assistance of two men who were struggling in the water. A hippopotamus had wantonly charged the canoe, and seizing it in his mouth, together with the poor old blind sheik who could not avoid the danger, crunched the frail boat to pieces, and so crushed and lacerated the old man that, although he was rescued by his comrades, he died during the night.

As peace and confidence had been thoroughly established among the Shillooks, I determined to send for the governor of Fashoda, and to introduce him personally to the old king, Quat Kare, whom he had officially reported to be dead. I therefore summoned Quat Kare, and having informed him of my intention, I sent the steamer to Fashoda (sixty-five miles), and invited the Koordi to pay me a visit.

When he arrived, I received him beneath the tree which formed my divan, and after a preliminary pipe and coffee, we proceeded to business. I told him that he must have been in error when he reported the death of the old king, as I had proved him to be still alive. He replied that he did not believe the real Quat Kare was in existence, as he had heard on the best authority that he was dead. I gave an order to an aide-de-camp, and in a few minutes the tall and stately figure of the old king was seen approaching, accompanied by his wives, ministers, and a crowd of most orderly retainers, including several of his sons. The king sat down upon a carpet in a dignified manner, without taking the slightest notice of the Koordi governor. His two wives sat down by him, but his sons stood with his followers a few yards distant.

The Koordi, who was a remarkably handsome old man, with a snow-white beard, sat equally unmoved, smoking the long chibook, without apparently regarding the king or his people. The chibook is a most useful instrument for a diplomat. If the situation is difficult, he can puff, puff, puff, and the incorrigible pipe will not draw; in the mean time, he considers a reply. At length the pipe draws, a cloud of smoke issues from the mouth. "I beg your pardon," says the embarrassed diplomat, evidently relieved by the little unreal difficulty with his pipe, "what were we talking about?" and having considered his reply, he is ready for argument. The pipe then draws leisurely, the smoke ascends in steady clouds, while he listens to the arguments of the other side. There is no necessity for a too sudden reply. Even if the conversation has ceased, the pipe may be calmly smoked, while the facts of the case are arranged in the owner's mind before he commits himself to an answer.

In the present instance nobody spoke, but the Koordi governor of Fashoda smoked steadily. Presently Quat Kare fixed his eyes upon him with a steady and determined stare, but with his usual immovable features, and he thus silently regarded him during several minutes. "Have I found thee, O mine enemy?" might have been the Shillook king's idea, but he kept silence.

How long this tableau vivant would have continued it is impossible to say, therefore I proceeded to business by asking the governor if he knew Quat Kare by sight? He only replied "yes."

At this reply, the king, without altering his position or expression, said, "Then who am I?"

The Koordi raised his eyes for the first time, and looked at Quat Kare, but said nothing; he only puffed—the pipe did not seem to draw well. At length a fair volume of smoke was emitted, and the Koordi answered by a question: "If you are Quat Kare, why did you hide yourself? why did you not present yourself before me at Fashoda? then I should have known that you were alive."

Quat Kare regarded him fixedly, and he replied slowly, "Where are all my cattle that you stole? where are the women and children that you kidnapped? I considered that if you took my cattle and captured my people, you might probably take ME, therefore I declined the opportunity."

The Koordi puffed and puffed vigorously, but the long pipe did not draw; something had evidently choked the tube.

It would be tedious to describe the whole dialogue, but there was no question that the old Shillook king had the best of the argument; therefore, after a long discussion, during which the king was continually prompted by his favourite wife, in excited whispers that every one could hear, I examined both the governor and the king upon various points; and came to the conclusion that the governor was a great scoundrel, and the king a very cunning fellow; at the same time he had been shamefully treated. The Koordi had reported him as dead, and obtained a firman conferring the title of Sheik of the Shillooks upon an impostor, who had been a brand enemy of Quat Kare. Since that time the adherents of Quat Kare had been subject to constant raids and pillage, and the old king was a fugitive, who, if caught by the Koordi, would assuredly have been quietly put OUT OF THE WAY.⁷

I decided that the affair must be settled in the following manner:—I explained that I had no jurisdiction in the Shillook country, which was under the government of Ali Bey, the Koordi; but as I held the positive and special orders of the Khedive to suppress the slave trade, I had been compelled to interfere and to release those captives who had been thus shamelessly kidnapped.

With regard to the general pillage of the country instead of direct taxation, the governor would explain his conduct to the Khedive.

With regard to the false report of Quat Kare's death, there could be no doubt that the firman for his rival Jangy had been obtained from the Khedive under false pretences.

I therefore recommended Quat Kare and his sons to go direct to Khartoum, and plead his cause at the divan of Djiaffer Pacha, who was the governor-general of the Soudan, which included the Shillook country; thus the whole affair was within his jurisdiction. I also explained that I should send an official despatch to the Khedive of Egypt, and also to Djiaffer Pacha, describing the general state of the Shillook country and the special case of Quat Kare, with a direct report upon the kidnapping of slaves by the government's representative.

At the same time, I assured Quat Kare and his people that the Khedive had only one object in forming a government: this was to protect the natives and to develop the resources of the country. I persuaded the Koordi and Quat Kare to become friends and at once to declare peace; thus, all hostilities having ceased, the responsibility for further disturbance would rest with him who should recommence a breach of the peace.

I advised the Shillook king to forget the past, where there had evidently been a mistake, and he should trust to his application to Djiaffer Pacha, who would speedily give him justice. The Shillook king then replied, without moving a muscle of his features, "If I forget the past, what is to become of all my cattle that the Koordi has stolen from me? Is he going to return them, or keep them himself, and forget the past? I can't forget my cows."

This practical question was difficult to answer. The Koordi's pipe was out: he therefore rose from his seat and retired, leaving the stoical Quat Kare master of his position, but not of his cattle. I advised him to say nothing more until he should see Djiaffer Pacha, and he would receive a direct reply from the Khedive.

Quat Kare, with his wives and daughters and general retinue, determined to pass the night in our station.

I therefore ordered an ox to be killed for their entertainment. I gave the king a large Cashmere scarf, also one of red printed cotton, and a dozen small harness bells, which he immediately arranged as anklets. His usually unchangeable countenance relaxed into a smile of satisfaction as he took leave, and the bells tinkled at every footstep as he departed.

Quat Kare never eats or drinks in the presence of his people, but his food is taken to him either within a hut or to a lonely tree.

On the following morning both the governor of Fashoda and the old king returned to their respective homes.

On the 10th May, a sail was reported by the sentries in the south. None of the slave-traders had any intelligence of my station at Tewfikeeyah. The people of Kutchuk Ali, on the Bahr Giraffe, were under the impression that we had returned direct to Khartoum. I was rather curious to know whether they would presume to send slaves down the White Nile during this season, knowing that the Khedive had sent me expressly to suppress the trade. I could not believe that the Koordi governor of Fashoda would have the audacity to allow the free passage of slave vessels after the stringent orders that had been given. Although I had heard that this governor had amassed a considerable fortune by the establishment of a toll per head for every slave that passed Fashoda, I imagined that he would this year make up his mind that the rich harvest was over.

If any vessels should attempt to descend with slave cargoes, they must pass my new station, of which they were ignorant, and the fact would prove the complicity of the governor of Fashoda, as it would substantiate all the reports that I had heard concerning his connivance with the slave-traders. The strange sail now reported was rapidly approaching on her route to Khartoum, without the slightest suspicion that a large military station was established within four miles of the Sobat junction. If guilty, she was thus approaching the jaws of the lion.

As she neared the station, she must have discovered the long row of masts and yards of the fleet moored alongside the quay. Of these she appeared to take no notice, and keeping well in the middle of the river, she would have passed the station, and continued on her voyage. This looked very suspicious, and I at once sent a boat to order her to halt.

When she was brought alongside, I sent my trusty aide-de-camp, Colonel Abd-el-Kader, on board to make the necessary inquiries. She was quite innocent. The captain and the vakeel (agent and commander of station) were amazed at my thinking it necessary to search their vessel. She had a quantity of corn on board, stowed in bulk. There was not a person beside the crew and a few soldiers from Kutchuk Ali's station.

The vakeel was the same whom I had seen at the station at the Bahr Giraffe, to whom I had given advice that he should not attempt to send slaves down the river again. All was in order. The vessel belonged to Kutchuk Ali, who now commanded the government expedition sent by Djiaffer Pacha to the Bahr Gazal. She was laden with ivory beneath the corn, which was for the supply of the crew and soldiers.

Colonel Abd-el-Kader was an excellent officer; he was one of the exceptions who took a great interest in the expedition, and he always served me faithfully. He was a fine powerful man, upwards of six feet high, and not only active, but extremely determined. He was generally called "the Englishman" by his brother officers, as a bitter compliment reflecting on his debased taste for Christian society. This officer was not the man to neglect a search because the agent of Kutchuk Ali protested his innocence, and exhibited the apparently naked character of his vessel. She appeared suspiciously full of corn for a boat homeward bound. There was an awkward smell about the closely-boarded forecastle which resembled that of unwashed negroes. Abd-el-Kader drew a steel ramrod from a soldier's rifle, and probed sharply through the corn.

A smothered cry from beneath, and a wriggling among the corn, was succeeded by a woolly head, as the strong Abd-el-Kader, having thrust his long arm into the grain, dragged forth by the wrist a negro woman. The corn was at once removed; the planks which boarded up the forecastle and the stern were broken down, and there was a mass of humanity exposed, boys, girls, and women, closely packed like herrings in a barrel; who under the fear of threats had remained perfectly silent until thus discovered. The sail attached to the mainyard of the vessel appeared full and heavy in the lower part; this was examined, and upon unpacking, it yielded a young woman who had thus been sewn up to avoid discovery.

The case was immediately reported to me. I at once ordered the vessel to be unloaded. We discovered one hundred and fifty slaves stowed away in a most inconceivably small area. The stench was horrible when they began to move. Many were in irons; these were quickly released by the blacksmiths, to the astonishment of the captives, who did not appear to understand the proceeding.

I ordered the vakeel, and the reis or captain of the vessel, to be put in irons. The slaves began to comprehend that their captors were now captives. They now began to speak, and many declared that the greater portion of the men of their villages had been killed by the slave-hunters.

Having weighed the ivory and counted the tusks, I had the vessel reloaded; and having placed an officer with a guard on board, I sent her to Khartoum to be confiscated as a slaver.

I ordered the slaves to wash, and issued clothes from the magazine for the naked women.

On the following day I inspected the captives, and I explained to them their exact position. They were free people, and if their homes were at a reasonable distance they should be returned. If not they must make themselves generally useful, in return for which they would be fed and clothed.

If any of the women wished to marry, there were many fine young men in the regiments who would make capital husbands. I gave each person a paper of freedom, signed by myself. This was contained in a hollow reed and suspended round their necks. Their names, approximate age, sex, and country were registered in a book corresponding with the numbers on their papers.

These arrangements occupied the whole morning. In the afternoon I again inspected them. Having asked the officer whether any of the negresses would wish to be married, he replied that all the women wished to marry, and that they had already selected their husbands!

This was wholesale matrimony, that required a church as large as Westminster Abbey, and a whole company of clergy!

Fortunately, matters are briefly arrranged in Africa. I saw the loving couples standing hand in hand. Some of the girls were pretty, and my black troops had shown good taste in their selection. Unfortunately, however, for the Egyptian regiment, the black ladies had a strong antipathy to brown men, and the suitors were all refused. This was a very awkward affair. The ladies having received their freedom, at once asserted "woman's rights."

I was obliged to limit the matrimonial engagements, and those who were for a time condemned to single blessedness were placed in charge of certain officers to perform the cooking for the troops and other domestic work. I divided the boys into classes; some I gave to the English workmen to be instructed in carpenter's and blacksmith's work; others were apprenticed to tailors, shoemakers, &c., in the regiment, while the best looking were selected as domestic servants. A nice little girl, of about three years old, without parents, was taken care of by my wife.

When slaves are liberated in large numbers there is always a difficulty in providing for them. We feel this dilemma when our cruisers capture Arab dhows on the east coast of Africa, and our government becomes responsible for an influx of foundlings. It is generally quite impossible to return them to their own homes, therefore all that can be done is to instruct them in some useful work by which they can earn their livelihood. If the boys have their choice, they invariably desire a military life; and I believe it is the best school for any young savage, as he is at once placed under strict discipline, which teaches him habits of order and obedience. The girls, like those of other countries, prefer marriage to regular domestic work; nevertheless, if kindly treated, with a due amount of authority, they make fair servants for any rough employment.

When female children are about five years old they are most esteemed by the slave-dealers, as they can be more easily taught, and they grow up with an attachment to their possessors, and in fact become members of the family.

Little Mostoora, the child taken by my wife, was an exceedingly clever specimen of her race, and although she was certainly not more than three years old, she was quicker than most children of double her age. With an ugly little face, she bad a beautifully shaped figure, and possessed a power of muscle that I have never seen in a white child of that age. Her lot had fallen in pleasant quarters; she was soon dressed in convenient clothes and became the pet of the family.

On June 17, 1 sent the No. 9 steamer to Khartoum with the post, together with three sons of Quat Kare, who were to represent their father at the divan of Djiaffer Pacha. The old man declined the voyage, pleading his age as an excuse. Mr. Wood also returned, as his health required an immediate change to Egypt. On the 25th, four vessels arrived from the south, two belonging to Kutchuk Ali, one to Agad, and one to a trader named Assaballa, from the Bahr Gazal. The latter had thirty-five slaves on board. The others had heard, by some vessels that had gone up from Khartoum, that I had formed a station near the Sobat, and had captured the vessel and slaves of Kutchuk Ali, thus they had landed their slaves at the Bahr Giraffe station. The Bahr Gazal vessel having arrived from a different direction had not received the information. I seized the boat and cargo, and liberated the slaves.

On board the diahbeeah of Kutchuk Ali were four musicians, natives of Pongo, on the river Djoor. Their band consisted of two iron bells, a flageolet and an instrument made of hard wood that was arranged like the musical glasses of Europe. The latter was formed of ten pieces of a metallic sounding-wood suspended above long narrow gourd shells. Each piece of wood produced a separate note, and the instrument was played by four sticks, the ends of which were covered with india-rubber. The general effect, although a savage kind of harmony, was superior to most native attempts at music.

The station of Tewfikeeyah had now assumed an important aspect, and I much regretted that when the time should arrive for our departure to the south it would be abandoned: however, I determined to keep all hands employed, as there is nothing so demoralizing to troops as inaction. At the same time there was a general dislike to the expedition, and all trusted that something might happen that would prevent another attempt to penetrate the marshes of the Bahr Giraffe. There was much allowance to be made for this feeling. The seeds of dangerous disorders, that had been sown by the malaria of the swamps, had now exhibited themselves in fatal attacks of dysentery, that quickly formed a cemetery at Tewfikeeyah.

The Egyptian troops were generally sickly and dispirited, and went to their daily work in a slouching, dogged manner, that showed their passive hatred of the employment.

I arranged that the sailors should cultivate a piece of ground with corn, while the soldiers should be employed in a similar manner in another position. The sailors were all Nubians, or the natives of Dongola, Berber, and the countries bordering the Nile in the Soudan. These people were of the same class as the slave-hunter companies, men who hated work and preferred a life of indolence, lounging sleepily about their vessels. I quickly got these fellows into order by dividing them into gangs, over which I placed separate headmen, the captains of vessels; one superior officer commanded, and was responsible for the whole.

They only worked six hours daily, but by this simple organization I soon had thirty acres of land cleaned. The grass and roots were burnt in piles, the ashes spread, and the entire field was dug over and sown with barley, wheat, and dhurra. There is a civilizing influence in cultivation, and nothing is so cheering in a wild country as the sight of well-arranged green fields that are flourishing in the centre of the neglected wilderness. I had now a promising little farm of about thirty acres belonging to our naval brigade; and a very unpromising farm, that had been managed by my Colonel, Raouf Bey. The soldiers had never even cleared the rough native grass from the surface, but had turned up the soil in small lots at intervals of about a foot, into which they had carelessly dropped a few grains of corn.

We now found agricultural enemies that were unexpected. Guinea-fowl recognized the importance of cultivation, and created terrible damage. Small birds of the sparrow tribe infested the newly-sown land in clouds, but worse than these enemies were the vast armies of great ants.

These industrious insects, ever providing for the future, discovered the newly sown barley and wheat, and considering that such an opportunity should not be neglected, they literally marched off with the greater portion of the seed that was exposed. I saw them on many occasions returning in countless numbers from a foray, each carrying in its mouth a grain of barley or wheat. I tracked them to their subterranean nests, in one of which I found about a peck of corn which had been conveyed by separate grains; and patches of land had been left nearly barren of seed.

The large crimson-headed goose of the White Nile quickly discovered that barley was a food well adapted for the physical constitution of geese, and great numbers flocked to the new farm. The guinea-fowl were too wild to approach successfully; however, we shot them daily. I set little boys to scream from daylight till sunset to scare the clouds of small birds; but the boys screamed themselves to sleep, and the sparrows quickly discovered the incapacity of the watchers. Wild fowl were so numerous on an island opposite the farm that we not only shot them as we required, but on one occasion Lieutenant Baker and myself bagged in about two hours sixty-eight ducks and geese, most of which were single shots in flight overhead.

I found the necessity of re-sowing the land so thickly that there should be sufficient grain to allow for the depredations of our enemies. I set vermin traps and caught the guinea-fowl. Then the natural enemy appeared in the wild cats, who took the guinea-fowls out of the traps. At first the men were suspected of stealing the birds, but the unmistakable tracks of the wild cats were found close to the traps, and shortly after the wily cats themselves became victims. These were generally of the genus Herpestris.

When the crops, having resisted many enemies, appeared above ground, they were attacked by the mole crickets in formidable numbers. These destructive insects lived beneath the small solid clods of earth, and issuing forth at night, they bit the young shoot clean off close to the parent grain at the point of extreme sweetness. The garden suffered terribly from these insects, which destroyed whole rows of cucumber plants.

I had brought ploughs from Cairo. These were the native implements that are used throughout Egypt. There is always a difficulty in the first commencement of agricultural enterprise in a wild country, and much patience is required.

Some of my Egyptian soldiers were good ploughmen, to which employment they had been formerly accustomed; but the bullocks of the country were pigheaded creatures that for a long time resisted all attempts at conversion to the civilized labour of Egyptian cattle. They steadily refused to draw the ploughs, and they determined upon an "agricultural strike." They had not considered that we could strike also, and tolerably hard, with the hippopotamus hide whips, which were a more forcible appeal to their feelings than a "lock-out." However, this contest ended in the bullocks lying down, and thus offering a passive resistance that could not be overcome. There is nothing like arbitration to obtain pure justice, and as I was the arbitrator, I ordered all refractory bullocks to be eaten as rations by the troops. A few animals at length became fairly tractable; and we had a couple of ploughs at work, but the result was a series of zigzag furrows that more resembled the indiscriminate ploughings of a herd of wild boar than the effect of an agricultural implement. Nothing will ever go straight at the commencement, therefore the ploughs naturally went crooked; but the whole affair forcibly reminded me of my first agricultural enterprise on the mountains of Ceylon twenty-five years earlier.⁸

The mean temperature at the station of Tewfikeeyah had been:

In the month of May, at 6 a.m. 73 degrees Fahrenheit

" at Noon 92 degrees "

" June, at 6 a.m. 72 degrees "

" at Noon 86 degrees "

" July, at 6 a.m. 71 degrees "

" at Noon 81 degrees "

During May we had heavy rain during 3 days.

" " light " " 4 " 7 days.

During June we had heavy rain during 5 days.

" " light " " 6 " 11 days

" July heavy " " 10 "

" " light " " 4 " 14 days

Sickness increased proportionately with the increase of rain, owing to the sudden chills occasioned by the heavy showers. The thermometer would sometimes fall rapidly to 68 degrees Fahr. during a storm of rain, accompanied by a cold rush of air from the cloud. Fortunately I had provided the troops with blankets, which had not been included in their kit by the authorities at Khartoum.

CHAPTER V
EXPLORATION OF THE OLD WHITE NILE

I had long since determined to explore the sudd, or obstructions of the main Nile, in the hope of discovering some new passage which the stream might have forced through the vegetation. A Shillook, named Abdullah, closely connected with Quat Kare, had promised to accompany me, and to supply the necessary guides. The river was full—thus I started on 11th August, 1870.

The engines of the No. 10 steamer had been thoroughly repaired during our stay at Tewfikeeyah. I had loaded her to the maximum with well-cut "Soont" (Acacia Arabicce), which is the best fuel; and knowing, by the experience of former years, that a scarcity of wood existed near the Bahr Gazal, I had loaded one of the largest vessels (about seventy tons) with a supply, to accompany us as a tender. I had also filled my diahbeeah with selected fuel.

We steamed thirteen hours from Tewfikeeyah, with the tender and diahbeeah in tow, and reached the old sudd about twelve miles beyond the Bahr Giraffe junction. The water below the sudd was quite clear from floating vegetation, as it had been filtered through this extraordinary obstruction.

I will not fatigue the reader by a description of this voyage. We were as usual in a chaos of marshes. We found a small channel, which took us to the Bahr Gazal. This swampy and stagnant lacustine river was much changed since I had last seen it in 1865. It was now a succession of lakes, through which we steamed for several hours, but without discovering any exit, except the main passage coming from the west, which is the actual Bahr Gazal.

This was the third time that I had visited this river. Upon the former occasions I had remarked the total absence of current; this was even still more remarkable at the present time, as the river was not only full, but the surface, formerly clogged and choked with dense rafts of vegetation, was now clear. I sounded the depth of the lakes and main channel, which gave a remarkable mean of seven feet throughout, showing that the bottom was remarkably flat, and had not been subjected to the action of any stream that would have caused inequalities in the surface of the ground.

When the vessels lay at anchor, the filth of the ships remained alongside, thus proving the total absence of stream. It has always appeared to me that some western outlet concealed by the marsh grass must exist, which carries away the water brought down by the Djour, and other streams, into the lacustrine regions of the Bahr Gazal. There is no doubt that the evaporation, and also the absorption of water by the immense area of spongy vegetation, is a great drain upon the volume subscribed by the affluents from the south-west; nevertheless, I should have expected some stream, however slight, at the junction with the Nile. My experience of the Bahr Gazal assures me that little or no water is given to the White Nile by the extraordinary series of lakes and swamps, which change the appearance of the surface from year to year, like the shifting phases of a dream.

Our lamented traveller, Livingstone, was completely in error when he conjectured that the large river Lualaba that he had discovered south-west of the Tanganyika lake was an affluent of the Bahr Gazal. The Lualaba is far to the west of the Nile Basin, and may possibly flow to the Congo. I have shown in former works, in describing the system of the Nile, that the great affluents of that river invariably flow from the south-east—vide, the Atbara, Blue Nile, Sobat; and the Asua, which is very inferior so the three great rivers named.

We have lastly the Victoria Nile of the Victoria N'yanza, following the same principle, and flowing from the south-east to the Albert N'yanza. This proves that the direct drainage of the Nile Basin is from the south-east to the north-west; it is therefore probable that, as the inclination of the country is towards the west, there may be some escape from the lake marshes of the Bahr Gazal in the same direction.

On 21st August, having been absent ten days, during which we had been very hard at work, exploring in the unhealthy marshes of the Bahr Gaza], we returned hopelessly to Tewfikeeyah.

The great river Nile was entirely lost, and had become a swamp, similar to the condition of the Bahr Giraffe. It was impossible to guess the extent of the obstruction; but I was confident that it would be simply a question of time and labour to clear the original channel by working from below the stream. The great power of the current would assist the work, and with proper management this formerly beautiful river might be restored to its original condition. It would be impossible to clear the Bahr Giraffe permanently, as there was not sufficient breadth of channel to permit the escape of huge rafts of vegetation occupying the surface of perhaps an acre; but the great width of the Nile, if once opened, together with the immense power of the stream, would, with a little annual inspection, assure the permanency of the work.

I came to the conclusion that a special expedition must be sent from Khartoum to take this important work in hand, as it would be quite useless to annex and attempt to civilize Central Africa, unless a free communication existed with the outer world by which a commercial channel could be opened. My exploration, in which I had been ably assisted by Lieutenant Baker and Mr. Higginbotham, had proved that for the present it was impossible to penetrate south by the main river, therefore I must make all preparations for an advance by the Bahr Giraffe, where I hoped that our past labour might have in some degree improved the channel.

The close of August showed a mean temperature of 73 6/10 degrees at 6 a.m., and 85 degrees Fahrenheit at noon, with seven days of heavy and seven of light rain. Although the station was admirably drained, the climate acted unfavourably upon the people. On 9th September it was necessary for the unfortunate Dr. Gedge, my chief medical officer, to return to Khartoum, as his state of health required immediate change.

Just as the diahbeeah was leaving the station, a vessel arrived from the Bahr Gazal, by which I received a letter from the German traveller, Dr. Schweinfurth. This gentleman, to whom I was quite unknown personally, had the extreme courtesy and generosity to intrust me with all the details of his geographical observations, collected in his journey in the Western Nile Basin.

It was necessary for me to return personally to Khartoum to assure myself that my arrangements should be carried out without delay. I had determined that the expedition should start for the south from Tewfikeeyah on 1st Dec., at which time the Nile would be full, and the wind strong from the north. As Tewfikeeyah was nearly half way in actual distance from Khartoum to Gondokoro, I trusted that we should have time to accomplish the work of cutting through the marshes, and be enabled to pass the shallows before the river should begin to fall. I therefore sent Mr. Higginbotham to Khartoum to engage vessels; I followed on 15th September, with the No. 10 steamer towing my diahbeeah—and ten empty vessels to bring up a supply of corn.

We reached Khartoum on the 21st Sept. at 9.30 a.m., to the astonishment of the governor and population, who could not understand why I had returned. I now met for the first time the Vicomte de Bizemont, who was to accompany the expedition. This gentleman had been intrusted by the Empress of the French with a very gracious token of her interest in the expedition, which he presented as a gift from her Majesty to my wife. I now heard for the first time the startling news of the war between France and Prussia. I found Dr. Gedge alive, but in a deplorable state of health. It was impossible for him to travel north, therefore he was carefully attended by the Greek physician to the forces, Dr. Georgis. I at once saw that there was no hope of recovery. Mr. Higginbotham had been exceedingly kind and attentive to his wants.

I was very well received by my old friend, Djiaffer Pacha, the governor-general, but as usual the work was all behind-hand, and Mr. Higginbotham had been in despair until my arrival. Only seven vessels were forthcoming. I had expected thirty! Thus, it would again be impossible to transport the camels that were indispensable for the transport of the steamers from Gondokoro. This was very heart-breaking. Instead of completing the expedition by a general direct move south with all material, transport animals, store, &c., in travelling order, the operation would extend over some years, for the simple reason that the government had not the means of transport. Even now the steamers had not arrived from Cairo. The fifteen large sloops had failed to pass the cataract; thus, I was reduced to the miserable open vessels of Khartoum, and even these were of an inferior description and few in number. Fortunately I had brought ten empty vessels with me from Tewfikeeyah, otherwise we should not have had sufficient transport for the necessary supply of corn. However, now that I had arrived, things began to move a little faster. I find this entry in my journal, dated "1st October, 1870. Thermometer, 6 a.m., 80 degrees; noon, 94 degrees. Wind, north. The fact of my having captured the boats of Kutchuk Ali and Agad with slaves on board, has determined a passive, but stubborn, resistance in Khartoum to the expedition. This is shared by the officials.

"Although I wrote to Djiaffer Pacha months ago requesting him to send me thirty vessels, there is not one actually ready, neither are there more than seven to be obtained. Even these are not prepared for the journey. The object appears to be to cause such delay as shall throw me back until the river shall be too low for the passage of the Bahr Giraffe.

"October 2.—I wrote an official letter to Djiaffer Pacha, protesting against delay, and reminding him of the Khedive's instructions."

The only authority who, I believe, takes a real interest in the expedition is Ismail Bey, who is a highly intellectual and clever man. This Bey is the President of the Council, and I have known him during many years. He speaks excellent French, and is more European in his ideas than any of my acquaintances.⁹

The action that I had taken against the proceedings of the governor of Fashoda was very distasteful to the Khartoum public. I much regretted the necessity, but I could not have acted otherwise. This complication placed my friend, Djiaffer Pacha, in a most unpleasant position, as the Koordi of Fashoda was his employee; it would therefore appear that no great vigilance had been exercised by the governor-general at Khartoum, and suspicions might be aroused that the character and acts of the Fashoda governor must have been previously known to the Khartoum authorities.

The curtain began to rise, and disclosed certain facts of which I ought to have been informed many months ago, when I first arrived at Khartoum. I heard from Mr. Higginbotham that the principal trader of the White Nile (Agad) had a contract with the government, which gave him the exclusive right of trading throughout certain distant countries. This area comprised about NINETY THOUSAND SQUARE MILES! Thus, at the same time that I was employed by the Khedive to suppress the slave trade, to establish commerce, and to annex the Nile Basin, the White Nile countries that were to be annexed had already been leased by the governor-general of the Soudan for several thousand pounds sterling per annum, together with the monopoly of the ivory trade.

A country that was in no way connected with Egypt, and over which Egypt had no more authority than England has over China, had actually been leased-out to adventurers of the class known as merchants at Khartoum, but thoroughly well known to the authorities as slave-hunters.

It was hardly credible that such dust should be thrown in the eyes of the Khedive, after the stringent orders he had given; but Egypt is celebrated for dust; the Soudan is little else but dust, therefore we must make some allowance for the blindness of the authorities. My eyes had evidently been filled with Khartoum dust, for it was only now upon my return from Tewfikeeyah that I discovered that which should have been made known to me upon my first arrival from Cairo to command the expedition. It was the trader and lessee, Achmet Sheik Agad, who had applied to Mr. Higginbotham as a mediator, and he stated clearly a case of great hardship. He had paid annually about 3000L for the sole right of trading. Thus, if he paid rent for a monopoly of the ivory, and the government then started as traders in ivory in the country leased to him, he would be in the same position as a man who rented a cow at a fixed sum per week, but the owner, nevertheless, insisted upon a right to her milk.

It would be a hard case upon the traders at any rate, even should they trade with equal rights to the government.

There was no actual bartering of merchandise for ivory, neither was any merchandise shipped from Khartoum, except that required as clothing for the people who belonged to the slave-hunters' companies. If an honest, legitimate trade were commenced by the government, and law and order thoroughly established, it would become impossible for the slave hunters to exist in the White Nile districts. Their so-called trade consisted in harrying one country to procure cattle and slaves, which they exchanged for ivory in other districts. If a government were established, such razzias must cease at once—and the Khartoum traders would be without an occupation.

I had originally proposed that the districts of the White Nile south of latitude 14 degrees N. should be placed under my command; this, for some unexplained reason, was reduced to latitude 5 degrees N., thus leaving the whole navigable river free from Gondokoro to Khartoum, unless I should assume the responsibility of liberating slaves and seizing the slavers wherever I might find them. This power I at once assumed and exercised, although I purposely avoided landing and visiting the slave-hunters' stations that were not within my jurisdiction. I regarded the river as we regard the high seas.

It was clearly contrary to all ideas of equity that the government should purchase ivory in countries that had been leased to the traders. I was therefore compelled to investigate the matter with the assistance of Djiaffer Pacha, who had made the contract in the name of the government. It was then explained that the entire White Nile was rented by the traders. The government had assumed the right and monopoly of the river, and in fact of any part of Africa that could be reached, south of Khartoum; thus no trader was permitted to establish himself, or even to start from Khartoum for the interior, until he should have obtained a lease from the government. If Central Africa had been already annexed, and the Egyptian government had been established throughout the country, I should not have complained; but I now found that my mission from the Khedive placed me within "a house divided against itself." I was to annex a country that was already leased out by the government.

My task was to suppress the slave trade, when the Khartoum authorities well knew that their tenants were slave-hunters; to establish legitimate commerce where the monopoly of trade had already been leased to traders; and to build up a government upon sound and just principles, that must of necessity ruin the slave-hunting and ivory-collecting parties of Khartoum.

It was easy to conceive that my mission was regarded as fatal to the interests of the Soudan. Although the actual wording of the contracts was pure, and the lessees bound themselves to abstain from slave-hunting, and to behave in a becoming manner, it was thoroughly understood that they were simply to pay a good round sum per annum punctually, and that no questions would be asked. There were no authorities of the government in those distant countries, neither consular agents to send home unpleasant reports; thus, when fairly away from all restraint, the traders could act as they pleased. It appears hardly credible that although the wording of the contracts was almost holy, no examination of the vessels was made before their departure from Khartoum. Had the Soudan government been sincere in a determination to lease out the White Nile for the purpose of benefiting the country by the establishment of legitimate commerce, surely the authorities would have convinced themselves that the traders' vessels contained cargoes of suitable merchandise, instead of being loaded with ammunition, and manned by bands of armed pirates.

If the owner of a pack of wolves were to send them on a commission to gather wool from a flock of sheep, with the simple protection of such parting advice as "Begone, good wolves, behave yourselves like lambs, and do not hurt the mutton!" the proprietor of the pack would be held responsible for the acts of his wolves. This was the situation in the Soudan. The entire country was leased out to piratical slave-hunters, under the name of traders, by the Khartoum government; and although the rent, in the shape of large sums of money, had been received for years into the treasury of the Soudan, my expedition was to explode like a shell among the traders, and would at once annihilate the trade. I now understood the reason for the alteration in my proposed territorial limit from the 14 degrees N. lat. to the 5 degrees. Khartoum is in lat. 15 degrees 35' N. Gondokoro is N. lat. 4 degrees 54', thus, if my jurisdiction should be reduced to the south of Gondokoro, the usual traffic of the White Nile might continue in the north during my absence in the south, and the original contracts would be undisturbed.

It is a duty that I owe to the Khedive of Egypt to explain these details. It would at first sight appear that the expedition to suppress the slave-trade was merely a theatrical announcement to court the sympathy of Europe, but which, in reality, had no solidity. I am perfectly convinced that the Khedive was thoroughly sincere in his declared purpose of suppressing the slave-trade, not only as a humanitarian, but as an enlightened man of the world, who knew, from the example of the great Powers of Europe, that the time had arrived when civilization demanded the extinction of such horrors as were the necessary adjuncts of slave-hunting. The Khedive had thus determined to annex the Nile Basin, and establish his government, which would afford protection, and open an immense country to the advantages of commerce. This reform must be the death-blow to the so-called traders of Khartoum, who were positively the tenants of the governor-general of the Soudan.

The expedition of the Khedive, launched with admirable determination on his part, was thus inimical to every local interest, and was in direct opposition to public opinion. It was therefore a natural consequence that pressure should be exerted by every interest against the governor-general of the Soudan. Djiaffer Pacha was an old friend of mine, for whom I had a great personal regard, and I regretted the false position in which both he and I were placed. My title and position as governor-general of Central Africa to a certain extent weakened his authority.

He had by the force of circumstances, and according to former usages, so far tolerated the acts of the White Nile traders as to acknowledge them as contracting parties with his own government. The most important lessee had no less than ten stations situated within the territory under my jurisdiction, for which he was paying a large annual rent. I knew, and the lessee, Achmet Sheik Agad, well knew, that his so-called trade was simply brigandage. My former travels, as described in "The Albert N'yanza," had led me behind the curtain, and the traders were well aware that I knew every secret of their atrocities; thus my reappearance upon the scene with rank of pacha and major-general, at the head of a small army, together with the possession of absolute and supreme power, threw the entire population into a state of consternation. The traders, as Mohammedans and subjects, trusted to the protection of their own governor-general. Already I had captured their vessels, imprisoned their agents, liberated their slaves, and confiscated the ivory, subject to the decision of the Khedive. Already I had caught the governor himself (Ali Bey of Fashoda) in the act of kidnapping helpless women and children, whom I had immediately insisted upon liberating, although I had no legal jurisdiction in his province. I simply depended upon the personal support of the Khedive, whose sincerity I never doubted; thus I acted as I firmly believed the Khedive would have desired me to act under the circumstances. The Khedive proved that my confidence in his sincerity was well founded. He at once dismissed from his service and disgraced the governor of Fashoda. These facts cast shadows of coming events. The Soudan authorities were compromised; my interference in the Shillook country was naturally distasteful to the governor-general. Both the government of the Soudan and the traders at Khartoum perceived that I should act in strict accordance with the instructions I had received from the Khedive. There was no hope left, except in delays, that might render an advance impossible with a heavily-laden fleet through the obstructions of the river.

It was necessary to modify the terms of the contract entered into between the governor-general and Sheik Achmet Agad. This trader represented his case to me as one of considerable injustice, which I was forced to acknowledge. As a mark of respect to Djiaffer Pacha, who had originally entered into the contract, I requested him to arrange the terms of the new agreement together with myself in the public divan. It was argued by Sheik Achmet Agad that the fact of the government being established in countries where he had been independent would cause a great loss to his trade, as it would upset the confidence of the natives, and they would cease to bring ivory for sale. In reality, this argument should be interpreted: "If the government is established, there will be an end to our razzias, and we shall have neither slaves nor cattle to offer in exchange for ivory."

He also justly argued that "it would be unfair should the government purchase ivory from countries already leased for trading purposes to the merchant."

I therefore arranged that, until the expiration of his original contract, no ivory should be purchased by the government.

Also, that instead of the money payment now annually made to the government, the rent should be paid in ivory, at the rate of two-fifths of the amount collected. The ivory was to be delivered and weighed in Gondokoro, at which place the rent was to be paid to the government in tusks.

The original contract would expire on April 9, 1872.

My hands were to a certain extent tied by these engagements, but I resolved that at the expiration of the term I should assume a monopoly of the ivory trade for the government, on the principle of the fur trade of the Hudson's Bay Company; as it would be impossible to permit the acts of the Khartoum traders, who, I was convinced, would never deal honestly with the natives.

The working representative of Achmet Sheik Agad was his son-in-law—a man named Abou Saood: I had seen this person when at Tewfikeeyah; he had arrived in charge of several vessels from Gondokoro during the rainy season, when the flooded river and strong south wind had allowed the passage of his boats. At that time he had no slaves on board, but I subsequently discovered that upon hearing that I had formed a station near the Soba, he had discharged a large cargo of slaves at the station of Kutchuk Ali on the Bahr Giraffe, so as to pass Tewfikeeyah in a state of innocence and purity, and thus save the confiscation of his ivory. This man was present at the divan when the final agreement was signed by myself and his principal. He vowed fidelity in so forcible a manner that I entertained serious doubts of his sincerity. An arrangement was entered into, that he was to supply the government troops with beef, mutton, butter, &c., together with the native carriers for the transport of baggage, stores, &c., at an established rate then agreed upon; the provisions were to be delivered from the resources at his command at his various stations. In the event of any native war, he was to furnish assistance when called upon by the government for irregular troops, of which he had about 1,800 in the districts included in my territory.

I did not admire the personal appearance of Abou Saood. A judge of physiognomy would have objected to the downcast look of humility, the un-certain squint of one eye, the furtive expression of countenance, added to the ultra-holiness of his ejaculations when called upon for an answer, and the pious cant of his protestation against all wrong-doings. At the same time that he was acting the part of saint, I knew him to be a bird of the same feather as the rest of the White Nile slave-hunters.

Some little diplomacy was necessary to smooth the troubled waters of Khartoum. I made every allowance for the passive obstructiveness of the authorities; it was perfectly natural under the circumstances of a sudden reform that affected materially the interests of the entire population, both high and low. At the same time, it was necessary to win the game. I was much attached to Djiaffer Pacha in his unofficial capacity, as I could never forget the kindness that I had received from him at Souakim when he welcomed my wife and myself on our return from a long and arduous expedition. He was a perfectly honest man in his dealings, and most generous to all around him. His great desire was to earn a good reputation, thus he was not sufficiently vigilant or severe with the sub-officials throughout the vast territory which he governed.

He had formerly been an admiral in the Egyptian navy, and he had visited England, where he had learnt to respect the English name of "gentleman."

To be considered a "gentleman" (which he pronounced in English), was in his estimation a great honour.

I was delighted with the lasting impression that had been made by the manners of our country; and certainly, in courtesy and hospitality, Djiaffer Pacha thoroughly represented the qualities of the name he coveted. Whenever we differed in opinion upon official matters, we were always cordial in our private capacity.

On 6th October the post arrived from Cairo with the astounding news of the battle of Sedan; the capture of the Emperor Napoleon; the revolution in Paris; and the fall of the Napoleon dynasty! Never were so many grave events condensed in one despatch. I felt much for de Bizemont: he had become a general favourite, and I had received him con amore as one of our party. This was a blow too terrible even for his high spirit. He had received the greatest kindness from the emperor and empress, and his loyalty was shown by the deepest grief, and an immediate resolve to give up the expedition, and to return to share the trembling fortunes of his country. We had ourselves received much kindness from the empress. Only a few days before this grave news arrived, my wife had received a token from her Majesty, graciously bestowed when she was in power and prosperity; this was now more deeply prized since adversity had fallen so heavily upon her.

De Bizemont had vigorously commenced his work as a member of the expedition by accompanying the sections of the third steamer from Cairo to Berber. The desert journey was intrusted to the great sheik of the Arabs, Hussein Halifa, who had already so notably distinguished himself in the transport of the two steamers that had arrived with Mr. Higginbotham. I was very sorry to say good-bye, and I parted with de Bizemont and his companion, Le Blanc, with sincere regret.

I had now set everything in order; the vessels were loaded.

On 10th October, 1870, I find this entry in my journal:-

"Started for Tewfikeeyah. Thankful to be free from that hateful spot, Khartoum. Nothing can exceed the misery of the place at this season. No drainage—mud—dense population, with exaggerated stench. These enemies to civilization have at length vanquished the European settlers.

"Djiaffer Pacha, accompanied by all the big people, came on board to take an official farewell: embracing—bands of music—salutes of cannon—steam up, and off, thank God!—I with a horrid cold and Julian with nasty fever."

We were short of hands for wood-cutting, thus we only arrived at Tewfikeeyah on 22d October. The river was now at its maximum, and had risen at this spot from the lowest level of the dry season, fourteen feet and one inch.

We were now busily employed, as I had arranged to start the first division of the fleet for Gondokoro on the 1st December.

On 25th October several vessels attempted to pass the station with slaves. All were captured and the slaves liberated.

"Many of the women slaves who were released from the slave vessels at the first capture seemed thoroughly to realize the principle of 'liberte, fraternite, egalite,' as they ran away during the night, not only with their new clothes recently given them by the government, but they also stole some of the soldiers' kit. It is very difficult to manage these people. The fact of their having been kidnapped by the slave-hunters destroys all confidence, and they cannot understand their true position. It is difficult to persuade them that the government has interfered in their behalf simply with a view to their welfare; they imagine that we have some ulterior object in their release; and many have a strong suspicion that they may at some future time be transported to some distant country and sold. They have been so often deceived that they cannot understand the truth; and having been accustomed to brutal treatment, they cannot comprehend the intention of kindness, which they attribute to a wish to deceive them. This is a dreadful state of moral degradation, which nothing but time and patience will overcome."

On the 23rd November the wind began steadily from the north. I was nearly ready. Every vessel had been thoroughly repaired, but many were so rotten that the caulking was considered by the English shipwrights as quite unreliable for a long voyage. I had dragged the iron diahbeeah out of the water, and had substituted new plates in many places where the metal was honeycombed with rust. The plate that had been pierced by the tusks of the hippopotamus was removed, as it proved to be very defective, and could be broken through with the blow of a heavy hammer, therefore it was not astonishing that it had been easily penetrated by the sharp ivory of so powerful an animal.

When the diahbeeah was re-launched, I had her thoroughly painted inside and out. In the mean time, I had formed a Robinson-Crusoe-like house, comprising two small rooms, open on the river-side, but secured at night and morning by simple Venetian blinds. The three sides were closed with planks. I had paved the floor with the cast-iron plates of the steamer's engine room, thus it was both level and proof against the white ants. The two rooms were separated by a partition with a doorway, but no door.

I had not resided in a house since I first occupied the diahbeeah, ten months ago, as the vessel was more convenient.

On the 29th November, at about four A.M., I was awakened by a noise in the adjoining room. My bedstead was exactly opposite the partition doorway; that of my wife was on the other side of the room. At first I thought the sound proceeded from rats scampering over the tin boxes; but upon listening attentively, I distinctly heard the lid of a metal box opened by some person, and again carefully closed.

After a few moments, I heard another box open, and a sound as though some one was searching among the contents.

Unfortunately my bedstead was the most horrible creaker, in which it was impossible to turn without producing a noise that would create an alarm, should a thief be on the alert.

I always slept with a pistol under my pillow, therefore, I gently grasped the revolver in my hand, and endeavoured quietly to get out of my noisy bed.

The wretched piece of furniture gave the most alarming creak; this was immediately succeeded by a sound in the next room of the sudden closing of a box, and the movement of some person. I could not be sure that it was not Lady Baker, who had perhaps required something from a box, and did not wish to disturb me. This was not likely, and I felt that no time must be lost, as my bedstead had given the alarm. I therefore sprang out of bed and rushed through the open doorway, just in time to see some person jump through the Venetian blinds on the river side of the house.

To cry out "Who's there?" and to fire a shot was the work of an instant, and jumping after him in pursuit I found myself in darkness, and no one visible outside my house. Where was the sentry? Nowhere!

At the cry of "Guard!" not a soul appeared; the sentry was not to be found. At length, after a search, he turned up in the wrong place, looking confused, and confessed that he had been asleep, but awakened by the sound of a shot. By this time a number of non-commissioned officers had arrived, who had been alarmed by the pistol-shot and the cry of "Guard!" The sentry was put under arrest. A search was made everywhere, but no trace of the thief could be found. On making an examination of the premises, we found a dirty shirt that the thief had in his hurry left behind him; this was evidently intended to receive the spoil in lieu of a bag. I could not find the trace of a bullet-mark either upon the planks or upon the Venetian blinds, therefore, I considered that the thief must have been hit, or if missed, the ball must have passed out as he pushed the blinds aside when in the act of springing through.

I suspected the sentry, who was an Egyptian belonging to the "Forty Thieves." He was stripped and examined, but there was no wound. All the shirts were alike, therefore the shirt in my possession was no clue. My wife had been startled, but she quickly recovered herself; the sentry was flogged, and there the matter ended; we had no London detectives.

CHAPTER VI
THE START

December 11.—The first division of the fleet, composed of eight vessels, had started, according to my previous arrangement, on 1st inst. Every third or fourth day another division followed the advance, until on the 11th I brought up the rear, and completed the departure with twenty-six vessels, including the No. 10 steamer and my diahbeeah. The wind was fair from the north.

The extensive and neat station of Tewfikeeyah was completely dismantled. The iron magazines and their contents were now safely stowed in the various ships, and were already on their voyage towards Gondokoro. The horses were shipped and the stables had been pulled down, and the wood cut up for fuel. The long rows of white tents had vanished, and little remained of the station except a few rows of deserted huts. It seemed extraordinary that so large a place could be packed up and stowed away among the fifty-nine vessels of the fleet.

The English shipwrights had constructed three very useful boats, each exactly the same size, about 16 ft. x 5 ft.; thus we had a total of seven small boats to assist in the explorations of the obstructed river.

I left the Shillook country at peace. Djiaffer Pacha had paid much attention to the sons of Quat Kare at Khartoum, and the Khedive, in reply to my representations, had appointed him chief of the country in place of the pretender Jangy. The governor of Fashoda had been condemned to disgrace. I left a handsome present for the old king Quat Kare, and we departed excellent friends. The English party had been reduced by the departure of Mr. Wood, Dr. Gedge, and two servants.

We had been deeply grieved by the sad news of the death of Dr. Gedge, at Khartoum, a few days before we broke up the station of Tewfikeeyah. This unfortunate gentleman was a great loss to the expedition, as he was not only my chief medical officer, but combined the scientific attainments of a botanist and naturalist.

I had made every preparation for cutting through the sudd, and we were well prepared with many hundred sharp bill-hooks, switching-hooks, bean-hooks, sabres, &c. I had also some hundred miners' spades, shovels, &c., in case it might be necessary to deepen the shallows. While the whole English party were full of spirit and determined to succeed, I regret to say there was a general feeling of disappointment among the Egyptian troops (including officers) that the expedition was once again in full sail towards the south. Their hearts were either at Khartoum, or sighing for the flesh-pots of Egypt. I had lost many men from sickness during our sojourn at Tewfikeeyah, and the men were disheartened and depressed. This feeling was increased by the unfortunate recurrence of the fast of Ramadan, during which month the Mohammedans will neither eat, drink, nor smoke from sunrise till sunset. The Koran exempts them from the observance of this pernicious fast when on a long journey, but my people preferred to keep it religiously, as it would be a plausible excuse for neglecting work.

The Nile was full and unusually high; this was in favour of the voyage, as success depended upon our crossing the shallows during the flood; it was, therefore, necessary to push on with all speed so as to reach the shallows which had been impassable last April, before the river should fall.

It will now be necessary to refer to my original journal, as it would be difficult to convey an idea of the voyage by a general description. A few hours after starting, on 11th December 1870, I find this entry:—"Thank goodness, we are off, and in good time, as the river is exceedingly high, although it has already fallen about five inches from its maximum. Mr. Higginbotham has been ill for a long time. Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, my first aide-de-camp, although an excellent officer, is almost useless from ill-health; thus the whole work falls on myself and Julian (Lieutenant Baker) personally, and had I not driven the officers forward from sunrise to sunset, we should not have been off for another two months. These miserable people do not understand energy, and the Ramadan increases their incapacity.

"December 12.—At 2.30 A.M., we were hailed when ten minutes within the Bahr Giraffe, by two noggurs (vessels) in distress. Stopped the steamer immediately, and then heard that the No. 15 noggur, their consort, had sunk in deep water, close to this spot.

"At day-break I searched the river, and discovered the wreck in eighteen feet depth of water. Two good divers worked for about two hours, and recovered three muskets and several copper cooking pots belonging to the soldiers. The story of the reis (captain) is, that she sprang a plank at about 4 A.M., six days ago, while under sail with a light wind, and she filled and sank immediately, the men having barely time to save themselves. Unfortunately, she had on board, in addition to one hundred urdeps of corn (450 bushels), a section of one of Samuda's steel lifeboats; this was placed upon the corn, before the mast, but having an air-tight compartment, it must have floated away in the dark without being noticed.

"The story of the reis is false; there can be no doubt that the crew and soldiers were fast asleep, and the vessel was run into by one of her consorts. Had the people been awake, the least movement of the helm would have run the vessel high and dry in this narrow river, as the banks are flooded, and she was close to the side. As the collision occurred, the people, suddenly awakened from sleep, were seized with panic, and only thought of saving themselves; thus the noggur lies in three-fathom water, and the invaluable section of a lifeboat is lost. The worry and disappointment, together with the loss of property, occasioned by these people, is beyond all description. Every man detests the expedition. The boats are nearly all old and rotten, and with such wretched material I have to conduct this fleet with 30,000l. worth of property. I dread the probable loss of some vessel laden with sections of the lake steamers, in which case the expedition would be ruined in spite of all my care. I trust that the floating portion of the life boat may be picked up by some of Agad's vessels in the rear.

"Leaving the hopeless wreck, we continued the voyage at 10.50 A.M., in company with the two noggurs, with a brisk north wind. At 5.20 P.M., we stopped at a forest to collect firewood.

"December 14.—Started at 7.30 A.M. Thermometer, Fahrenheit, at 6 A.M., 67 degrees; noon, 85 degrees. This is the lowest temperature we have had.

"Passed a number of our vessels, one having broken her yard. At 12.5 stopped at a forest to fill up with wood. While looking for wood, a soldier found a dead elephant with tusks that weighed about 120 lbs. I gave him a present of five dollars, also one dollar to Saat for having recovered from the sunken vessel the cooking pots and muskets.

"Wind very strong from north. The north wind always commences at about 7 A.M. and increases in power as the sun rises. It sinks together with the setting sun. Although the country is all that we could wish, there is no game. The water-marks upon the trees show that the maximum of the river has been a foot above its present level.

"December 16.—Suleiman Effendi's diahbeeah with six horses passed this morning; he left in company with us, as did also the new noggur that passed us yesterday morning; thus there must be gross negligence on the part of the twenty-one vessels still remaining in the rear. Thermometer, 6 A.M., 69 degrees; noon, 88 degrees. We shot seven guinea-fowl.

"December 17.—I see four vessels about six miles ahead that are only now making sail! thus they have been stopping for two days. In the afternoon the two diahbeeahs of the Englishmen came up, and gave us the terrible news that one of the vessels had sunk near the mouth of the river Sobat on the day of our departure from Tewfikeeyah; this vessel was laden with portions of the 38-ton steamer.

"I immediately ordered steam to be got up, and at 4.20 P.M. we started to return 120 miles to the wreck. It appears that Raouf Bey, with many other vessels, was in company with the lost noggur. To work in this country is simply heart-breaking; the material is utterly worthless, boats, officers, and men are all alike. The loss of invaluable time is ruinous, and the ignorance of the people is such that they can do nothing by themselves; thus I must be everywhere and superintend everything personally.

"The boatmen say the rats drag out the rags with which the vessels are caulked from within, thus occasioning sudden and dangerous leaks; but in such a case, why does not the captain run his vessel ashore to prevent sinking?

"Before starting, I despatched a letter by a vessel to Suleiman Effendi at the sudd, with orders to commence clearing the channel without loss of time.

"At 7.40 P.M. made out a light ahead, and shortly afterwards we met Raouf Bey's diahbeeah tied to the bank alongside of Achmet Effendi, the bimbashi's vessel. Raouf Bey came on board and confirmed the bad news. They describe the sunken vessel as lying with her stem about a foot below the surface, but her stern is in very deep water. I gave orders for steam to be up at daylight, and we halted for the night, as it is dangerous to travel down stream with a steamer in this narrow winding river.

"December 18.—Started at 6.25 A.M. Then, 68 degrees; noon, 81 degrees. At noon we met Colonel Tayib Agha and twelve vessels. I ordered three of these vessels to turn back immediately to the wreck, as I am determined to raise her, if possible.

"At 12.37 P.M. we reached the spot where we had passed the first wreck in the Bahr Giraffe. At exactly 2 P.M. we reached the Nile junction. At 6.50 P.M. we distinguished the mast of the wreck above water, almost opposite the Sobat junction, on the west side of the river. Having passed the wreck we reached our old station Tewfikeeyah at 7.30 P.M. Here we found a number of Shillooks, with Quat Kare's counsellor, Abdullah, who were guarding a quantity of corn that I had left in the king's charge, as our vessels were too heavily laden to carry it.

"December 19.—Thermometer, 6 A.M., 64 degrees; noon, 79 degrees. I sent Abdullah with orders to the king, Quat Kare, to collect all his people with their ambatch canoes to assist us in raising the wreck.

"The Shillooks have already taken possession of our old station, and have divided it into lots for planting.

"December 20.—Thermometer at 6 A.M. 66 degrees; noon, 78 degrees; the water in the goolah (cooler), 59 degrees. The wind blows a gale from the north daily.

"I have just heard that Raouf Bey and the two colonels, Tayib Agha and Achmet Effendi, together with about 400 men, actually abandoned, not only the wrecked vessel and her invaluable cargo, but they also left a section of one of the lifeboats upon the mud bank of the river and forsook it. Such conduct is incredible, and could only be found in this country.

"At 3.15 P.M., the steamer having replenished her wood, we started and arrived at the wreck at 4.35 P.M. After a careful examination we passed the night at the high ground near the Sobat junction.

"The section of the lifeboat is no longer on the mud, but I have no doubt it has been secured by the governor of Fashoda, together with the yard and sail. This entails the necessity of my sending him a letter seventy miles distant to order the return of the boat section immediately.

"December 21.—Thermometer at 6 A.M., 63 degrees; water in goolah, 52 degrees. I sent Abdullah Uz Bashi to Tewfikeeyah with a letter to the governor of Fashoda, which the Shillooks were to forward immediately. The letter demands eight oxen, ten sheep, the section of lifeboat saved from the wreck, together with the yard and sail.

"I shot two small antelopes, also some guinea-fowl, francolin partridge, and five pelicans.

"December 22.—Waiting for the arrival of Quat Kare and his Shillooks. Shot two geese and knocked over a large antelope, but lost him in the high grass. The country is all flooded, except for a space of about a mile from our little camp on the Sobat dubba, which is the highest ground for a great distance, being about fourteen feet above the maximum level of the river. A few Shillooks started off after my wounded antelope, and quickly brought me the head: it was a fine specimen of the new species of Hippotragus.

"December 23.—I sent the steamer up the White Nile to bring down the wind-bound kyassas (vessels). When she returned with them, all hands were immediately employed in discharging cargo and taking down masts and yards in readiness for operations on the sunken vessel.

"December 21.—Thermometer, 6 A.M., 67 degrees; noon, 82 degrees. Abdullah, the Shillook, arrived. The natives have not forwarded my letter to the governor of Fashoda, as they fear to pass certain villages with which they have been lately quarrelling. To-day is the close of the Ramadan fast, and the first of the Bairam, therefore it is kept as a holiday. All my people have turned out in new clothes.

"December 25.—Christmas Day. Thermometer, 6 A.M., 65 degrees. We began work at the sunken vessel. By filling the barges with water and sinking them within a foot of the surface, and then securing them by chains to the wreck, we obtained a firm hold. The water having been baled out of the barges, they gradually rose and lifted the vessel several feet. Having thus raised her, we hauled her a few feet nearer the bank, and the day's work concluded by proving that with care and additional force we shall be able to manage her.

"December 26.—We continued the same operations as those of yesterday. Having lashed the masts of the barges transversely across the gun-wales, to these we attached chains secured by divers beneath the bottom of the wreck. This was not possible yesterday until we had lifted her from the ground. At the same time that we were thus engaged, the men, by diving; secured ropes to the heavier pieces of iron sections, and we saved several tons of her cargo, which we placed upon the steamer and upon my diahbeeah. This lightened the wreck, and we then prepared a bed for her by cutting away the abrupt bank, and forming a shelf on the flooded shore in a depth of three feet of water, upon which we might be able to haul her when floated to the surface. We laid out the steamer's purchase with an anchor secured upon the shore, and the day ended successfully by hauling the wreck exactly parallel to the bank, with her stem and stern-post above the surface. As the current was very powerful, the bow of the wreck had throughout the operation been firmly secured by two anchors laid out up stream. It is very hard work, as we are in the sun from early morning till night. Julian (Lieutenant Baker), being a sailor, is just the fellow for this sort of work, and no other person knows how to make fast the ropes and chains so that they shall not slip. Higginbotham, as usual, is very energetic. Colonel Abd-el-Kader, who is my only reliable Egyptian officer, has been diving all day like a wild duck, and bringing up heavy boxes of rivets which few men but himself can lift. Altogether the men have worked famously, especially the black soldiers.

"December 27.—Julian is laid up with fever to-day; this is the effect of daily exposure to the sun. I laid out the steamer's second purchase at right angles fastened to the bow of the wreck; we thus had her bow and stern secured in the same manner. Having manned both purchases, we could manage her as she became lighter. About 250 Shillooks came to assist us under the command of old Quat Kare, who sat in his canoe and directed his people. Having lightened the vessel by taking out more cargo, I divided the labour; Higginbotham sinking two kyassas and making them fast as lifters, while other men cut away the flooded bank with spades and improved the shelf.

"After breakfast, the sunken kyassas being well-secured to the wreck with chains, we baled them out for the last time, and the vessel thus supported came bodily to the surface. All hands now hauled on the purchases, while the Shillooks, with screams and yells, tugged at four ropes fastened amidships, and we succeeded in dragging the vessel from the river's bed, and placing her upon the new shelf that we had prepared for her in little more than three feet of water. During this time many men had been baling out with large buckets, and now that she was safe, a general rush was made on board to empty the water with every conceivable utensil—gourd-shells, basins, cooking pots, &c.

"When baled out, we discovered and stopped the leaks, and floated her. She was one of the largest and finest vessels of the fleet, perfectly new, and was laden with steamer sections and machinery, the loss of which would have been fatal to the object of the expedition.

"I ran a flag up the mast as a signal to those at the station that she was safe. I then ordered the steamer to light her fires, and the wreck, together with the two kyassas and my diahbeeah, were taken in tow, and delivered at the bank that we had made our head-quarters. Thus we have happily saved the vessel and cargo that had been so disgracefully abandoned, when a large force was at hand to have assisted her.

"During the morning, a vessel arrived from Khartoum, laden with goods on speculation, from a French trader of my acquaintance, Monsieur Jules Poncet. She also brought the section of the lifeboat which my officers had neglected on the wreck, and which the governor had taken to Fashoda.

"December 28.—I sent the steamer to Fashoda for the sail and yard of the wrecked vessel. All hands are engaged in caulking ship, re-hoisting yards, rigging, &c., and refitting. Thermometer, 6 A.M., 66 degrees; noon, 81 degrees.

"December 29.-Thermometer, 6 A.M., 66 degrees; noon, 81 degrees. Julian and Higginbotham both ill with fever. Vessels progressing.

"December 30.—I shot a water-buck at daybreak (Redunca Ellipsyprimna). Yesterday evening, Quat Kare and his two favourite wives came to take leave. I gave him a musical box and a meerschaum pipe, with a lovely woman's face carved on the bowl. He was very much amused with the idea of the smoke issuing from the head. I also gave his wives some grey calico, red handkerchiefs, and gaudy ear-rings. They went away delighted.

"At 9 P.M., the steamer's boat came up to report her arrival at Tewfikeeyah. I immediately sent off a kyassa to join her for a cargo of wood.

"December 31.—The steamer arrived with the kyassa in tow at 11 A.M., with an immense supply of wood, together with ten oxen and ten sheep from Fashoda. The wreck will be taken in tow by the steamer, as her yard was taken on the day of the accident by Colonel Tayib Agha. She is now the most valuable vessel in the fleet. The new year 1871 commences well.

"January 1st, 1871.—At 1.30 P.M., I started the kyassas, having kept back twenty men from their complement of troops to man the vessel we have saved. Abdullah, the Shillook, came, and I gave him an order to receive half the corn that I left at Tewfikeeyah. This is a reward for Quat Kare, for having assisted to raise the sunken vessel with his people. The extraordinary rise in the river this season has destroyed a large portion of the Shillook crops, therefore the present of corn will be most acceptable to the old king.

"January 2.—At 8.35 A.M., we started in tow of the steamer. Wind fresh from the north. At 2.40 P.M. we passed the second of the three noggurs that sailed yesterday, and at 3 P.M. we passed the third exactly at the Giraffe junction. We have thus been six hours and twenty-five minutes from the Sobat to the Giraffe junction. Thermometer, 6 A.M., 66 degrees; noon, 86 degrees.

"January 3.—Last midnight stopped at a forest cutting wood; we started at 3.50 P.M. One of the rear boats came in sight at 11 A.M., which reached us at 3.40 P.M.

"January 4.—At 5.50 A.M. we actually overtook the nine vessels with Tayib Agha that we had left seventeen days ago; these miserable people have thus been wasting their time. The trading vessel of Jules Poncet, that left the Sobat only six days ago, is in sight ahead; thus she has in six days passed the boats that have been twenty-four days from the same starting-point. I took the sail belonging to the wrecked noggur from one, and passed ahead of all, except one that I kept back for repairs while we cut wood at the forest.

"January 5.—Arrived at Kutchuk Ali's station at 10.30 A.M., and took in wood. The country is all flooded, and both the natives and the traders are without corn, the crops having been destroyed by the extraordinary rise of the river. The people have no other grain than the scanty supply yielded by the seeds of the lotus, which they collect from the river. I met several men who had formerly served under Ibrahim, when we accompanied Khoorshood Agha's party to Unyoro many years ago.

"January 6.—Cutting wood. I wrote to Colonel Tayib Agha, desiring him to take in as much fuel as his vessels can stow, as there is no wood ahead. The vakeel of the station supplied five cows and six goats. I gave him five urdeps of dhurra (22 bushels). We started at 4 P.M.

"January 7.—During the night, at 12.40 A.M., to my intense disgust, we passed a great number of our vessels with Raouf Bey. Shortly after, we passed others, together with the boat of Achmet Effendi, bimbashi. These officers and people are incorrigible; they have idled their time on the road to such an extent that I can only conclude it is done purposely. We wasted about an hour during the night in stopping to make inquiries.

"At 11.30 A.M., we passed the solitary ambatch bush on the west bank where the steamer smashed her paddle last year. The wind is strong from the north. Last year we were five hours from the ambatch bush to the dubba. We shall therefore arrive to-day at about 4 P.M. We have been exactly 19 1/2 hours steaming from Kutchuk Ali's station to the ambatch. We left Tewfikeeyah at 11 o'clock; we have therefore been twenty-seven days to the spot at the dubba that we should reach this evening. Last year we left Khartoum on 8th February, and we arrived at the station in the following order:—

"February 15th—Fashoda. 16th—Sobat junction. 18th—Bahr Giraffe junction. March 2nd—arrived at the forest beyond Kutchuk Ali's station. This is the same spot where we overtook Raouf Bey last night, he having left Tewfikeeyah on 11th December. Thus he has been twenty-six days from Tewfikeeyah in reaching the spot this year which he arrived at from the great distance of Khartoum in our former voyage in twenty-two days! Last year the fleet was fourteen days on the voyage from the Sobat to the above spot; this year they have been twenty-six days! I believe thoroughly that they delay purposely, in the hope of thwarting the expedition.

"Last year the whole fleet assembled at the dubba in twenty days from Fashoda.

"We arrived at the dubba at 5.30 P.M., having been delayed two hours by obstructions and rapids.

"January 8.—We cut through a horrid accumulation of floating rafts that have filled the open space of last year between the dubba and the mouth of our old channel. This being completed, I ordered the boats to keep in close line until the arrival of the main body, otherwise the floating rafts would again block up the channel should the boats proceed.

"January 9.—Hauled the dingy over the marsh, and explored the old channel for a distance of fifty minutes. Thank goodness, this was clear to that point, a distance of about two miles; but at length we were stopped by vegetation. The latter is of a light character, and can be easily removed. Clouds of mosquitoes; the dew very heavy at night.

"Shot a Baleniceps Rex, with rifle.

"January 10.—At day-break we distinguished eight sail on the northern horizon.

"January 11.—Brisk north wind. Raouf Bey arrived in the evening.

"January 12.—Started and passed the choked river with much difficulty, and entered the channel of last year's clearing.

"January 13.—We only made about two miles yesterday and to-day, being stopped by vegetation.

"January 14.—Cutting partially, but the channel is much improved since last year. Made two and a half miles.

"January 15.—Made three-quarters of a mile, and having reached the lake Timsah (crocodile lake) we found the river blocked up; we therefore cut our way into an open but shallow channel which last year was impassable from want of depth.

"January 16.-The diahbeeah went ahead, but the steamer and heavy vessels were much delayed by shallows. I went on and determined upon the passage, the open lake being visible about 600 yards distant.

"January 17.-Made about 300 yards of heavy cutting through rafts of vegetation. The lake of last year nearly choked up; about 100 acres of rafts having completely destroyed it.

"January 18.-Cut about 350 yards, and at 3.30 p.m. we entered the lake. From the mast-head it appears that an unbroken sheet of water now exists for some miles. I trust this may be true, and that no mirage deceives us.

"January 19.-Sailed four miles, at which place we found a new channel coming from the south, while our channel of last year from south-east appeared to be closed at half a mile distance. Explored the new channel for about two miles; in appearance it was a river of 200 or 300 yards wide. At length we arrived at a sudd of small dimensions with open water beyond. We returned to the junction, and passed the night at a sudd half a mile up our old channel.

"January 20.-At 7 a.m. I took the dingy, and with much difficulty pushed about a mile through the grass until I found the whole country closed by vegetation. I think the river has opened a new channel, and that the passage of yesterday will take us to nearly the same spot above the sudd that we reached by another route last year.

"Many vessels having arrived, I visited the Englishmen and physicked Ramsall and Mr. Higginbotham. At 4.15 p.m. we started, poling round the angle to enter the new channel discovered yesterday. In the evening we all sailed with a light breeze, and found the river open for three and a half miles ahead. Halted for the night.

"January 21.-The river being closed ahead, I took the dingy, and after much trouble succeeded in reaching our old channel in the clear river. Having started at 7 a.m., I returned at 1 p.m. I had sounded the channel the whole distance, and I have determined to cut a passage through to-morrow.

"January 22.-Cut 350 yards through heavy sudd. Last year this piece was 600 yards. We at length reached the small lake where we last year buried the two artillerymen in an ant-hill.

"January 23.-I took the diahbeeah a mile and a quarter up the river, while the fleet was being squeezed through our spongy channel.

"January 24.-Yesterday the five vessels that were left behind by Raouf

Bey arrived, and the fleet assembled.

"I am in great anxiety about Tayib Agha who has twelve vessels with him, none of which are yet in sight.

"This black colonel is not clever, and should an accident occur, he will be at a loss how to act. Julian is unwell with fever, but Higginbotham is better.

"I went a long way in the dingy, and succeeded in finding the true channel of the stream by probing with the twelve-foot pole through the grass. To-morrow we shall begin cutting, as the whole country is closed.

"The tree that marks the open water of last year is about a mile and a half distant. There is a solitary dry spot near this, the heart of desolation—a tumulus of about half an acre, like the back of a huge tortoise, is raised about five feet above the highest water level. Upon this crocodiles love to bask in undisturbed sleep.

"January 25.-The men cut about 300 yards.

"January 26.-We again accomplished about 300 yards, and pushed the vessels within the channel.

"January 27.-We are thankful for a comparatively open ditch, deep, but covered with grass, through which the diahbeeah cut her path by sailing before a strong breeze, and we entered the lake at 11.20 a.m. There is no change here since last year. The steamer and fleet are close up, but there is a little deepening necessary at the mouth of the channel. The diahbeeah went ahead for six miles along the lake and broad river, and anchored for the night.

"January 28.-With a light breeze, the diahbeeah sailed four miles, and stopped at the three dubbas, whence we turned back last year. Even now there is only three feet and a half of water, and we shall have great trouble. Our fisherman, Howarti, caught a great haul of fine boulti with the casting-net.

"January 29.-I shot some ducks and geese. A slight shower fell in early morning. I explored about seven miles of the river in advance. The depth is very unsatisfactory, varying from shallows to deep channels.

"January 30.-The fleet joined in sections during last night and to-day. Set to work with the long-handled hoes, and cut a channel through the shallows for fifty yards, and took the vessels forward.

"January 31.-Cut a channel through the shallows, but we could not get the steamer along.

"February 1.-About 1,200 men at work cutting a channel and towing the steamer and noggurs through. The diahbeeah and two noggurs passed ahead for about a mile. We then stopped to await the steamer and other vessels that were delayed by the powerful current.

"February 2.-Stopped all day waiting for the steamer about a mile ahead of the noggurs. When we left the dubba, I had left a letter in a bottle, addressed to Tayib Agha, to order him to come on without delay, and deepen the channels we have cut, should it be necessary.

"February 3.-The steamer came up at 10 a.m. At 10.45 the diahbeeah made sail, and after two miles was delayed by a small sudd. Care must be taken to sail by the west branch of the two streams, as there is no water in the east channel.

"For six miles we have had nothing but shallows. Even at this season there is only a depth of four feet in many places, and a month hence the river will be impassable.

"Tayib Agha's boats are in sight, about four miles distance, bearing north. We cut through the small sudd, and in a quarter of a mile, we arrived at an open water, very shallow: in many places only three feet deep. Stopped for the fleet, and upon arrival of the steamer and others, I had marked out the channel to be cleared. The men set to work immediately. I then passed ahead with the diahbeeah for about a mile and a half, the depth of water, as usual, varying, but often as low as four feet. We were at length stopped at the confluence of two channels, each shallow. The sun was setting, therefore we halted for the night. A buffalo crossed the river about 200 yards ahead.

"February 4.-I took the dingy early in the morning and explored both channels; that on the right has no water beyond a depth of about two feet. The left is the true stream, but the depth in some places is only three feet; thus there is more work for the men upon their arrival. Had we arrived here a month earlier, we could have just passed the shallows, as our vessels draw an average of a little over four feet. No vessels should arrive here later than 1st of January; the entire river is a ridiculous imposition; a month later, the bed will be nearly dry. A mile ahead, both channels are closed by a sudd of vegetation, we must thus await until the boats arrive. Altogether the entire journey by the Bahr Giraffe is a painful absurdity, and my expedition will be fruitless in all but geographical results unless the authorities of the Soudan will clear the main channel of the White Nile.

"February 5.-None of the vessels arrived yesterday. I went back and found them in a terrible fix, as the water is leaving us rapidly, and we must cut a fresh channel through the sand, about one hundred yards long.

"February 6.-I took the diahbeeah a mile and a quarter ahead to a sudd, passing over several shallows of only two feet eight inches, and three feet, which will again cause great delay and labour. I returned to the fleet and assisted in the tedious work of dragging the vessels over the shallows. In the evening I returned to the diahbeeah, and having dragged the dingy across the sudd, I explored the channel ahead for an hour, for about three miles; passed over distressing shallows for a space of a quarter of a mile ahead of the diahbeeah, after which I entered a deep, narrow channel with very rapid current.

"It is quite impossible to say where we are as the professed guides seem to know nothing of this horrible chaos, which changes its appearance constantly. It is most harassing.

"February 7.-Last evening I brought the diahbeeah back to the fleet, so as to push the work forward personally. The soldiers and officers hope we shall return as failures, in the same manner as last year. I have, therefore, informed them and Raouf Bey officially, that no boats shall retreat, but that should the river run dry, they shall remain here until the rise of the water during the next wet season, when they shall go on to Wat-el-Shambi. This decision has frightened them, and they are working to-day with better spirit.

"I unpacked and served out a hundred spades for digging channels; and I have ordered them to commence to-morrow morning and dig out a straight passage for the thirty one vessels that still remain in the shallows.

"February 8.-This is the date of departure last year from Khartoum; an inconceivable madness had any one known the character of the river. All hands as usual tugging, hauling, and deepening the river with spades and hoes; but the more we dig, the faster the water runs out of the bed, which threatens to leave us high and dry.

"February 9-The work as usual. All hands thoroughly disgusted. I am obliged to lighten the vessels by discharging cargo in the mud. Our waggons make excellent platforms for the luggage. Even with this assistance we only drew seven vessels through the shallows into the true river channel.

"To-morrow we must discharge more cargo.

"The anxiety of leading 1,600 men, and fifty-eight vessels with heavy cargoes, through this horrible country is very distressing.

"When I shall have succeeded in dragging the vessels into the true channel, I shall construct a dam in the rear, so as to retain the water at a higher level. I have no doubt that a series of such dams will be required to enable us to reach the Nile. Should it be impossible to proceed with the heavy vessels, I shall leave them thatched over as floating stores, with a small guard, until the next wet season shall raise the river level.

"February 10.-I gave orders to discharge all cargoes, so that no vessel should draw more than three feet. All hands are now employed at this work, as it is impossible to cut a channel through the sand, which fills in as fast as it is deepened.

"February 11.-Twenty-seven vessels passed the diahbeeah, having lightened their cargoes; these vessels must discharge everything at Khor, one and a half mile ahead, and return to fetch the remaining baggage. The work is tremendous, and the risk great. The damage of stores is certain, and should a heavy shower fall, which the cloudy state of the weather renders probable, the whole of our stores, now lying on the soft mud, will be destroyed.

"To-day I cut a deeper channel near the diahbeeah, and divided the men into gangs on the various shallow spots, to tow each boat past as she may arrive. The steamer is hard and fast, although she has discharged everything, and she must be literally dug out of the passage."

March 9.-From Feb. 11 to this date we had toiled through every species of difficulty. The men had cut one straight line of canal through a stiff clay for a distance of 600 yards. Many were sick, some had died; there appeared to be no hope. It was in vain that I endeavoured to cheer both officers and men with tales and assurances of the promised land before them, should they only reach the Nile. They had worked like slaves in these fetid marshes until their spirits were entirely broken,—the Egyptians had ceased to care whether they lived or died.

The enormous quantity of machinery, iron sections of steamers, supplies, &c., had actually been discharged from fifty-eight vessels. The river had fallen still lower, and upon the quickly sun-baked surface I made a road, and having set up my waggons, I conveyed the great mass of cargo across the land by a short cut, and thus reached my long line of vessels, and reloaded them after great labour. The waggons were then taken to pieces and re-shipped. It would be wearying to give the journal of every incident during this trying period, but from the description already given, the fatigue and anxiety may be imagined. Thank God, I seemed to bear a charmed life. From morning till night I was exploring in a small boat through mud and marsh, but I was completely fever-proof. My wife was also well. Lieutenant Baker and Mr. Higginbotham had suffered frequently from fever, but these energetic officers rendered me most important service. While I was ahead exploring, sounding, and planning out the route, Lieutenant Baker was commanding and directing the steamer, which appeared more like a huge stranded whale among the rushes than an object adapted for the navigation of this horrible country. I had a first-rate crew on my diahbeeah, and some picked men of the "Forty Thieves" who always accompanied me. The best and most devoted man that I have ever seen was a corporal of the "Forty Thieves" named Monsoor. This man was a Copt (Christian descendant of the true Egyptians); he was rather short, but exceedingly powerful; he swam and dived like an otter, and never seemed to feel fatigue. He was always in good health, very courageous, and he accompanied me like my own shadow; he seemed to watch over me as a mother would regard an only child. In fact, this excellent man appeared to have only one thought and object.

I had been as usual exploring far ahead of the toiling and labouring fleet, when, after pulling our little boat with the aid of fourteen men for several hours over a great mass of high floating grass, we suddenly emerged upon open water. We at once took to our boat, and hoisted the sprit-sail. The men stowed themselves as ballast in the bottom. The wind was strong from the north, and we travelled at about five miles per hour, the lake expanding as we rounded a promontory until it attained a width of about half a mile. Following the course of the lake for about five miles, we found a river flowing directly into the long-sought channel. Only one mile and a quarter from the lake, by this small river, we entered the great White Nile! I cannot describe my joy and thankfulness. My men shared my feelings. We all drank water from the turbid river, so unlike the marsh-filtered water of the swamps; and as each man washed his hands and face in the noble stream, he ejaculated from his heart, "El hambd el Illah!" ("Thank God!") I also thanked God. It was an hour after dark when we returned that night, after much difficulty, to my diahbeeah, to which we were guided by a lantern at the mast-head, thoughtfully placed there by my wife's orders. The good news made all happy. We had actually that day drunk water from the White Nile!

The great difficulty remained of bringing the larger vessels into the lake that communicated with the river. After all the labour of the last two months, I had succeeded in assembling the entire fleet in a sort of shallow pond, from which there was actually no exit. I had certainly escaped from this place by dragging the little dingy over about a mile of frightful sudd; but although this sudd covered deep water, it appeared to be shut out from us by solid mud, through which numerous streams percolated, the largest of which was about three feet broad and six inches deep. These small drains concentrated in a narrow ditch, which was the principal feeder of the pond, in which, with such infinite trouble, the fleet had been assembled. It was an anxious moment, as it would be necessary to cut a canal through solid mud for a great distance before we could reach the lake; and as we had made a free exit for the water behind us, while it only slowly oozed through before us, we stood a fair chance of being left helplessly around.

On the following morning, the good news of the discovery of the White Nile flew through the expedition. Many did not believe it, but considered it was a dodge to induce them to extra exertion. I immediately gave orders for a channel to be opened through the mud and large obstruction into the lake. After some days' hard work, a passage was completed that was sufficiently deep to admit the diahbeeah. It required a whole day to force her through this narrow channel, and in the evening we entered the lake, and hoisted the flag at the end of the tall yard, as a signal to the fleet that we had accomplished the passage.

It was now only necessary to work hard and improve the channel sufficiently to admit the passage of the steamer and heavier vessels.

Unfortunately my fears had proved correct; the fleet was hard and fast aground! The steamer was so helplessly deserted by the water, that she would have served for a Nilometer upon which to mark the level, like the rock at Assouan. It was simply impossible to move her, as she was as solidly fixed as a church. Every other vessel of the fleet stood high out of the water, which had run out by the clear channel we had opened in the rear.

The officers and men were in consternation. With the prize within our grasp, it would be physically impossible to proceed Those sort of people are soon disheartened, and I made great allowance for them, as the work of the last two months had been sufficient to destroy all energy.

I at once determined to make a dam behind the vessels so as to inclose the position in which we lay like a mill pond. Common sense assured me that this must succeed in raising the level, provided we could construct a dam of sufficient strength to bear the pressure of water.

I had a great quantity of fir timber in the shape of beams and rafters for building purposes. I therefore instructed Mr. Higginbotham to prepare two rows of piles which were to be driven across the river. This able engineer set to work with his usual energy, assisted by Lieutenant J. A. Baker and the Englishmen, together with all the mechanics that had been brought from Cairo.

The piles were driven with some difficulty, and diagonal struts were fastened from the top of the front row to the base of the rear. Horizontal beams then secured the entire line of skeleton bridge.

For two days 1,500 men were employed in making fascines of long, thick reeds tied in large bundles, in the centre of which was concealed a mass of about fifty pounds of stiff clap. These bundles were firmly lashed with twisted rushes. I had 500 corn sacks filled with sand and clay, these were to form the foundation of the dam, and to prevent the water from burrowing beneath.

Every company of troops had to prepare a certain number of fascines, which were piled on the side of the river, which had now exposed solid banks overgrown with the high reedy grass. This immensely long and thick grass, resembling sugar-canes, was exactly the material that we required. It was this gratis that created natural obstructions, and would therefore assist us in our artificial obstruction or dam. The sailors of the fleet worked in divisions under separate officers.

On March 13, all the preparations were completed for the work of filling in the dam. Great piles of solid balls of clay, of about 40 lbs. each, had been arranged in convenient places to stop up any leaks that should occur.

I stood on one of the stranded boats only a few yards from the row of piles. The men were all in their places. The buglers and drummers stood upon another vessel ready to give the signal.

At the first bugle, every two men lifted the sacks of sand and clay. At once all the drums and bugles then sounded the advance, and 500 heavy sacks were dropped into the row of piles, and firmly stamped down by the men. The troops now worked with intense energy. It was a race between the Soudanis and the Egyptians; this was labour to which the latter were accustomed in their own country. The sailors worked as vigorously as the troops; piles of fascines and clay balls were laid with extraordinary rapidity, while some stamped frantically and danced upon the entangled mass, all screaming and shouting in great excitement, and the bugles and drums kept up an incessant din. A long double line of men formed a transport corps, and passed a never-failing supply of fascines to the workers who stood in the water and kneaded firmly the adhesive mass.

At 2.15 P.M. the river was completely shut in, and the people with increased energy worked at the superstructure of the dam, which now rose like a causeway for about one hundred and ten yards from shore to shore.

At 3.30 the water had risen to an extent that obliged the men in some places to swim. The steamer that had been hopelessly stranded, and the entire fleet, were floating merrily in the pond. Thank God, I had forgotten nothing in the preparatory arrangements for the expedition. Without the spades, hoes, grass-knives, bill-hooks, timber, &c., &c., we never could have succeeded in this journey.

My diahbeeah was in the lake waiting for the fleet to accomplish the passage. I had made an excursion one day in the dingy to examine the south end of the lake, which I found to be about eight miles in length. On returning, I was rather anxious for the small boat, as a bull hippopotamus made a hostile demonstration. The water was not more than five feet six inches deep; thus as the hippo, after having snorted and sunk, continued to approach the boat, I could distinguish the path of his advance by the slight wave raised upon the surface. He presently raised his head about twenty yards from the boat, but at the same time he received a Reilly explosive shell under the eye which ended his worldly cares.

There were many hippopotami in this lake, and, very shortly after I had killed the first, I shot a second much in the same manner. I always carried a harpoon in the boat with the rope and ambatch float. The latter was painted red, so that it could be easily observed. I therefore, stuck the harpoon in the dead hippopotamus as a mark, and hastened back to my diahbeeah for assistance, as the flesh of two hippopotami would be very welcome to the people, who had not received rations of butcher's meat for many weeks. On arrival at the diahbeeah we quickly made sail, and soon returned to the hippopotamus. By the time we had cut up this large animal and secured the flesh, the sun was so low that I considered it would be better to fasten the other hippo by a rope attached to the hind legs, and tow it bodily astern of the diahbeeah. It could then be divided on the following day.

In this manner we returned to our anchorage at the tail of the lake, close to the entrance of the new channel. By the time we arrived, the moon was up. The diahbeeah was close to a mud-bank covered with high grass, and about thirty yards astern of her was a shallow part of the lake about three feet deep. A light boat of zinc was full of strips of hippopotamus' flesh, and the dingy was fastened alongside.

After dinner and a pipe, the usual arrangements were made for the night. There were many servants, male and female, on board; these began to suspend their mosquito curtains to the rigging and to creep beneath; the sailors, after chatting for a considerable time, dropped off to sleep—until the sentry was the only man on board who was on the alert. I always slept on the poop-deck, which was comfortably arranged with sofas and carpets.

The night was cold, and the moon clear and bright. Every one was wrapped up in warm blankets, and I was so sound asleep, that I cannot describe more until I was suddenly awoke by a tremendous splashing quite close to the diahbeeah, accompanied by the hoarse wild snorting of a furious hippopotamus. I jumped up, and immediately perceived a hippo which was apparently about to attack the vessel. The main deck being crowded with people sleeping beneath their thick mosquito curtains, attached to the stairs of the poop-deck, and to the rigging in all directions, rendered it impossible to descend. I at once tore away some of the ties, and awakened the sleepy people. My servant, Suleiman, was sleeping next to the cabin door. I called to him for a rifle. Before the affrighted Suleiman could bring the rifle, the hippopotamus dashed at us with indescribable fury. With one blow he capsized and sank the zinc boat with its cargo of flesh. In another instant he seized the dingy in his immense jaws, and the crash of splintered wood betokened the complete destruction of my favourite boat. By this time Suleiman appeared from the cabin with an unloaded gun in his hand and without ammunition. This was a very good man, but he was never overburdened with presence of mind; he was shaking so fearfully with nervousness, that his senses had entirely abandoned him. All the people were shouting and endeavouring to scare the hippo, which attacked us without ceasing with a blind fury that I have never witnessed in any animal except a bull-dog.

By this time I had procured a rifle from the cabin, where they were always kept fixed in a row, loaded and ready for action, with bags of breechloading ammunition on the same shelf.

The movements of the animal were so rapid as he charged and plunged alternately beneath the water in a cloud of foam and wave, that it was impossible to aim correctly at the small but fatal spot upon the head.

The moon was extremely bright, and presently, as he charged straight at the diahbeeah, I stopped him with a No. 8 Reilly shell. To my surprise, he soon recovered, and again commenced the attack.

I fired shot after shot at him without apparent effect. The diahbeeah rocked about upon the waves raised by the efforts of so large an animal; this movement rendered the aim uncertain. At length, apparently badly wounded, he retired to the high grass; there he lay by the bank, at about twenty-five yards' distance, snorting and blowing.

I could not distinguish him, as merely the head was above water, and this was concealed by the deep shadow thrown by the high grass. Thinking that he would die, I went to bed; but before this I took the precaution to arrange a white paper sight upon the muzzle of my rifle, without which, night shooting is very uncertain.

We had fallen asleep; but in about half an hour we were awoke by another tremendous splash, and once more this mad beast came charging directly at us as though unhurt. In another instant he was at the diahbeeah; but I met him with a ball in the top of his head which sent him rolling over and over, sometimes on his back, kicking with his four legs above the surface, and again producing waves which rocked the diahbeeah. In this helpless manner he rolled for about fifty yards down the stream, and we all thought him killed.

To our amazement he recovered, and we heard him splashing as he moved slowly along the river through the high grass by the left bank. There he remained snorting and blowing, and as the light of the moon was of no service in the dark shadows of the high grass, we waited for a considerable time and then went to bed, with the rifle placed in readiness on deck.

In a short time I heard louder splashing. I again got up, and I perceived him about eighty yards distant, walking slowly across the river in the shallows. Having a fair shot at the shoulder, I fired right and left with the No. 8 Reilly rifle, and I distinctly heard the bullets strike. He nevertheless reached the right bank, when he presently turned round and attempted to re-cross the shallow. This gave me a good chance at the shoulder, as his body was entirely exposed. He staggered forward at the shot, and fell dead in the shallow flat of the river.

He was now past recovery. It was very cold: the thermometer was 54 degrees Fahrenheit, and the blankets were very agreeable, as once more all hands turned in to sleep.

On the following morning I made a post-mortem examination. He had received three shots in the flank and shoulder; four in the head, one of which had broken his lower jaw; another through his nose had passed downward and cut off one of his large tusks. I never witnessed such determined and unprovoked fury as was exhibited by this animal—he appeared to be raving mad. His body was a mass of frightful scars, the result of continual conflicts with bulls of his own species; some of these wounds were still unhealed. There was one scar about two feet in length, and about two inches below the level of the surface skin, upon the flank. He was evidently a character of the worst description, but whose madness rendered him callous to all punishment. I can only suppose that the attack upon the vessels was induced by the smell of the raw hippopotamus flesh, which was hung in long strips about the rigging, and with which the zinc boat was filled. The dead hippopotamus that was floating astern lashed to the diahbeeah had not been molested.

We raised the zinc boat, which was fortunately unhurt. The dingy had lost a mouthful, as the hippopotamus had bitten out a portion of the side, including the gunwale of hard wood; he had munched out a piece like the port of a small vessel, which he had accomplished with the same ease as though it had been a slice of toast.

I sent the boat to the English shipwrights for repair, and these capital workmen turned it out in a few days nearly as good as new.

The success of the dam was most complete. The river rose so as to overflow the marshes, which enabled us to push all the vessels up the channel without the necessity of deepening it by spade labour.

"March 14.—Should we succeed in reaching Gondokoro without serious loss, it will be the greatest possible triumph over difficulties, which no one can understand who has not witnessed the necessities of the journey.

"A diahbeeah arrived in the lake, breaking her yard in a sudden shift of wind, and giving a man a fall from aloft, which was fatal.

"The steamer and fleet are coming through the sudd as fast as the troops clear the channel.

"March 15.—The steamer arrived in the lake at 3.30 P.M.

"March 16.—Thermometer, 6 A.M., 61 degrees; noon, 82 degrees. Eleven vessels entered the lake last night. The wind has been very variable for the last few days, and the true north wind appears to have deserted us; the absence of a fair breeze delays us sadly in pushing through the narrow channels against the stream.

"Dysentery and scurvy are prevalent among the Egyptians. Four Egyptian soldiers and two Soudanis have deserted. Where these wretched fools intend to wander is quite a speculation;—they appear to have yielded to a temptation to run away upon the first dry land that they have seen for months.

"The fleet assembled in the lake. The Egyptian troops cut a passage for fifty yards through a sudd in a channel through which the fleet must pass, as there is a shallow that will prevent them from taking the main course of the lake.

"To-morrow the whole force will turn out and cut the remaining portion of about 300 yards; there will then be no difficulty except a sudd of about three quarters of a mile between the lake and the White Nile.

"March 17.—We cut through the sudd, and all the vessels entered the broad waters of the lake and anchored in the evening opposite some native huts, close to the channel that we must open to-morrow. These huts are the first habitations that we have seen for more than two months;—they are now deserted by the frightened fishermen who had occupied them.

"March 18.—The diahbeeah led the way at 7.30 A.M. through the channel that is closed by grass and the Pistia Stratiotes. At 10.15 we arrived in the White Nile. There is plenty of water throughout the closed channel, but there was some heavy work to clear the vegetation.

"March 19.—All the vessels came through into the White Nile, and there was great rejoicing throughout the fleet. At length the men really believed that a country of dry land might lie before them, and that they were delivered from the horrible chaos or 'Slough of Despond' in which they had now laboured for sixty days.

"I served out new tow-ropes to the fleet, and ordered No. 13 transport to discharge and divide her cargo among other vessels, and to take on board thirty soldiers to accompany the steamer to-morrow. We remounted the steamer's paddles and tautened all the rigging of the diahbeeah; mended sails, and thoroughly repaired for a start to-morrow. No. 31 being a rotten vessel, I ordered her cargo to be divided among the lighter boats. I gave stringent orders to the officers to protect all ammunition and bales of goods with galvanized iron plates in case of rain.

"March 20.—All the vessels got away by 9 A.M. with a rattling breeze. The steamer started at 10.8 A.M., but was delayed one hour and twenty minutes by her stupidly dragging the nogger ashore in rounding a sharp corner.

"At 5.15 P.M. we arrived at a forest on the west bank. At 6.45 P.M. we stopped, as I was afraid we might pass the station of Wat-el-Shambi in the dark.

"March 21.—At 8.25 A.M. we started. Three natives came to the vessel and reported the zareeba to be close ahead.

"I served out fifteen rounds of snider ammunition per man to the 'Forty Thieves,' thus filling up their pouches to thirty rounds. The banks are now dry, and about two feet six inches above the river's level. The country is as usual flat, but covered with forest on the west. Cattle numerous, and bellowing in all directions.

"At 9.15 A.M. we arrived at Wat-el-Shambi. The forest is distant from the river, therefore at 10 we started with light south-east wind, and at 10.30 we returned to a good station for cutting fuel in the forest about four miles below Wat-el-Shambi.

"The few representatives of Ali Amouri, the trader at the latter station, declared that they could not supply us with cattle, they being hard up for provisions themselves. Their looks belied the excuse. Wind south all day, but changed to north at 6.30 P.M. The boat of the French trader, Jules Poncet, that had accompanied the fleet, arrived in the evening.

"A number of natives, stark naked, and smeared with wood ashes, came as usual to beg for corn. I have given strict orders that on no account shall corn be exchanged in purchases from the natives—otherwise our supply will be stolen wholesale. This order was broken through by Mustapha Ali, who therefore received a hundred lashes, as I was determined to enforce obedience.

"March 22.—Much lightning and wind from the south during the night. I fear rain. At daybreak we found Raouf Bey's vessel close up, and many others near. The north wind of last night must have aided them. The natives came in some numbers.

"March 23.—All hands yesterday and to-day busied in cutting wood for steamer.

"March 24.—Poor Jusef, one of the horsekeepers, died.

"March 25.—Started, with the steamer towing a noggur and my diahbeeah with about fifty hours' fuel on board, at 12.50 P.M.

"There has been wholesale theft of stores on No. 50 noggur. I caught and punished the captain in the act of selling our ammunition to the slave traders' people in their zareeba.

"March 26.—We travelled throughout last night; the stream is nearly three miles per hour. We lost an hour last evening in taking wood from the noggur in tow, as she leaks dangerously. I took six men and their effects from her, and placed them on the steamer, as she is quite unsafe.

"Arrived at the station of Abou Kookah at 10.25 A.M., having travelled badly against the strong south wind, and our bottom dirty. At 3.10 P.M. we left Abou Kookah, and at 9.50 P.M. we arrived at the forest, close to the deserted mission station of St. Croix, where we halted for the night. There were vast herds of cattle and many natives on the east bank."

CHAPTER VII
ARRIVAL AT GONDOKORO

After the usual voyage upon the White Nile, during which we passed the Bohr and the Shir tribes, and had excellent sport in antelope shooting when the steamer stopped at forests to cut fuel, we arrived opposite the old mission station at Gondokoro on April 15, 1871.

I found a great change in the river since my last visit. The old channel, which had been of great depth where it swept beneath the cliffs, was choked with sand-banks. New islands had formed in many places, and it was impossible for the vessels to approach the old landing-place. We therefore dropped down the stream to a spot where high ground and a few trees invited us to the east bank. At this place the traders had founded a new settlement that was now without in habitants, and was represented by half-a-dozen broken-down old huts.

"The country is sadly changed; formerly, pretty native villages in great numbers were dotted over the landscape, beneath shady clumps of trees, and the land was thickly populated. Now, all is desolate: not a village exists on the mainland; they have all been destroyed, and the inhabitants have been driven for refuge on the numerous low islands of the river; these are thronged with villages, and the people are busily cultivating the soil.

"I sent for the chief, Allorron, who, upon arrival with some other natives, explained that his country had been destroyed by the attacks of the people of Loquia at the instigation of the traders. I promised him protection if he and his people would return to the mainland and become true subjects to the Khedive. At the same time I informed him that, in return for protection, his people must cultivate corn, and build the huts required for the troops upon arrival. This he promised to do, and I arranged that he should summon a general meeting of the headmen and their people to-morrow, or as soon as possible.

"I at once cleared a small plot of ground and sowed some garden seeds on the new soil now annexed to Egypt. My soldiers took a great interest in the operation, and as we covered the seeds with light earth, we concluded the sowing with the usual ejaculation-'Biamillah!' (in the name of God).

"I walked up to the old mission station. Not one brick remains upon another—all is totally destroyed. The few fruit-trees planted by the pious hands of the Austrian Missionaries remain in a tangled wilderness by the river's bank. The beautiful avenue of large lemon trees has been defaced by the destruction of many boughs, while the ground beneath is literally covered by many thousands of withered lemons that have fallen neglected from the branches without a hand to gather them. The natives will not eat them, thus the delicious fruit has been wasted; perhaps sixty or eighty bushels have rotted on the earth. I trust that the seeds I have already sown will have a more useful result than the lost labour of the unfortunate missionaries. It would be heartbreaking to them could they see the miserable termination of all their good works.

April 16. —The mileage from the junction of the Bahr Giraffe I have calculated at 364 to this point (Gondokoro); but I deduct 10 per cent., as we took several wrong turns of the river. The distance may be about 330 miles.

From Bahr Giraffe, junction to Gondokoro 330 miles

Upper Nile junction to Dubba on Bahr Giraffe 48 miles

Dubba to Lower Nile junction 300 miles

Lower Nile junction to Sobat 38 miles

Sobat to Khartoum 693 miles

1,409 miles to Gondokoro."

The chief Allorron arrived with a number of his people, and asked for "araki and cognac!" He is a big and savage-looking naked brute of the lowest description, his natural vices having been increased by constant associations with the slave-hunters. This man declared that his people could not prepare materials for the camp, as the neighbouring tribes were hostile; and he could not venture to collect bamboos.

I told him that if my orders were not obeyed, the troops would be obliged to be sheltered in his villages upon arrival, as I could not allow them to be exposed to the rains.

Both Allorron and his people looked extremely sullen, and although I always knew the Baris to be the worst tribe in the Nile basin, I was not prepared for such a morose welcome. I explained to him the object of the expedition. He seemed quite incredulous, and made some remark to his followers in his own language with a contemptuous smile. He rather approved of the idea that slave-taking would be suppressed in his own tribe, but he could not sympathize with the general principle, and he asked "What will the slave-traders do?" Colonel Abd-el-Kader replied to the question by explaining to him my exact position, and the relative position of the traders. At this he burst out laughing in the rudest manner. He had seen me and my wife on our former voyage, and he well remembered that in those days we had been not only helpless in Gondokoro, but that the traders had spoken of all Europeans with contempt. He had already hoard from Abou¹⁰ Saood's people of my expected arrival, by whom he had been incited against the expedition. It had been explained to him, that if baffled, we should soon become disgusted, and return to Khartoum. He also remembered that many Europeans had visited Gondokoro like myself, but none had remained. It was therefore natural that a brutal savage, whose people were allied with the slave-traders, to attack and pillage outlying countries, should not regard with favour a new government that would establish law and order. For many years Allorron's tribe had been associated with the slavers, and now that the entire country had been leased to one man, Abou Saood, he had become the vakeel, or representative of this individual, by whom he had been thoroughly prepared for our arrival. We had been expected long ago, but, as already described, the delays attending the opening of the Suez canal had prevented us from starting.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

1

The whale-headed stork, or Baleniceps Rex, is only met with in the immense swamps of the White Nile. This bird feeds generally upon water shellfish, for which nature has provided a most powerful beak armed with a hook at the extremity.

Back

2

Mr. Reilly, of 502 New Oxford Street, has been most successful in heavy rifles, with which he has supplied me in both my African expeditions.

Back

3

Vide Appendix. This antelope, which I considered to be a new species, proved to be the Damalis Senegalensis of Western Africa.

Back

4

one of the principal Khartoum ivory and slave-traders

Back

5

It was satisfactory to me that this young man, who was pardoned and punished as described, became one of the best and most thoroughly trustworthy soldiers of my body-guard; and having at length been raised to the rank of corporal, he was at the close of the expedition promoted to that of sergeant. His name was Ferritch Ajoke.

Back

6

After the Khedive's eldest son, Mahomed Tewfik Pacha

Back

7

Eventually the old king, Quat Kare, was imprisoned at Fashoda, and died in a mysterious manner. There are no coroners' inquests in Central Africa.

Back

8

See "Eight Years' Wanderings in Ceylon," published by Longman & Co.

Back

9

Since this was written Ismail Bey has become Pacha, and is governor of the Khartoum province.

Back

10

The agent of the great company of Agad & Co., who farmed the district from the government.

Back