Ismailia

ives, 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 a

tary; Dr. Joseph Gedge, physician; Mr. Marcopolo, chief storekeeper and interpreter; Mr. McWilliam, chief engineer of steamers; Mr. Jarvis, chief sh

cient to last the Euro

zines, each eighty feet long by twen

nnumerable 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 blanke

combs, zinc mirrors, knives, crockery, tin plates, fish-hooks, musical boxes,

purchased through Mess

reet, C

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

antern, a magnetic battery, wheels of life, and an assortment of toys. The greatest wonder to the natives were two large girandol

the principal diffic

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

xpedition should star

een sloops and fifteen diahbeeahs- total, thirty-six vessels-to ascend the cataracts of the Nile to Khar

e steamers. The governor-general (Djiaffer Pacha) was to provide these vessels by a

total force of vessels would be nine steamers and fifty-five

m, and to that admirable officer I intrusted the charge of the steamer sections

on the Red Sea, from which the desert journey to Berber, on

supply of camels, as much delay would have been occasioned

iments, 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 un

s at Woolwich had kindly supplied the expedition with 200 Hale's rockets-three-pounders-and fifty snider rifles, together with 50

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

new, and were quite invaluable for travelling, as they each formed a handy

; these proved of great service during active operations in the wet season, as the rifles w

red from Apothecaries' Hall, and w

and in fact the general arrangements, had been so carefully attended to, that throughout the expedition I could

steamers and of lifeboats were slung upon long poles of fir from Trieste, arranged between two camels in the manner of shafts. M

e left instructions that she was to be forwarded across the desert upo

rried 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

ing the opening of the Suez Canal. The Khedive, with his accustomed hospitality, had made immense prep

e embarked on board eleven hired vessels. With the greatest difficulty I procured a steamer of 140-horse power to tow this flotilla

inst 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 h

d the cataracts direct by river to Khartoum. I dared, not trust any portions of the steamers by thi

various delays that had already seriously endangered the chances of the White N

the Senaar. In four days and a half we reached Souakim, after an escape from wreck on the reef o

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 i

ur of Souakim; and landed my tw

Bey, a highly intelligent Circassian officer, who

on the Nile, and found a steamer and diahbeeah in readiness. We arrived at Khartoum, a distance of 200 miles by river

ighly 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.

he 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 sen

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 th

, was now reduced to half the number. The European residents had all disappeared, with the exception of the Austrian Mission, and Mr. Ha

y 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 th

l, 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 i

for some months at Khartoum; during this time the officers had been intimate with the principal slave-traders of the country. All were Mohammedans-t

ve in the north issued orders that would be neutra

emancipation was opposed to that of the North,-the opposition in Soudan was openl

ntentions of the authorities were to procrastinate until the departure of the expedition would become impossible.

depended for the transport of camels had actually given up the attempt and returned to Cairo. Only t

, 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 ca

ed 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 go

ce 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 h

have found a fleet of fifty ships awaiting me. I had lost

t I had no means of transport for the entire force. I therefore instructed Djiaffer Pacha to continue his exert

oomed; 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 h

performed many feats of valour in dense clouds of dust, and having quickly got into i

ing assured of the fact, I dismissed them; and requested Djiaffer Pacha to inform them that "I regretted the want of t

ty-one good horses that I had brought from Cairo, and these together with t

th the greatest difficulty, as a general stampede of boatmen had

ple to escape from any connection with such an enterprise. It

degrees the necessary crews were secured,-all

ix men. Their numbers were equal black and white, as I considered this arrangement mig

s would form a nucleus for further development, and might become a dependable support in any emergency. This corps was commanded by an excellent officer

orality, and was distinguished for valou

hands, in addition to the general stores o

ers painted on their sides and sails. The official parting was accomplished. I had had to embrace the governor, then a black pacha, a rara a

itary 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, t

urnal, I find the fol

ary,

r the Albert N'yanza, will, I trust, be provided with vessels at Khartoum, according to my

steamers, fifteen sloops, and fifteen diahbeeahs, should leave Cairo on 10th June, to ascend the cataracts to Khartoum, at which place D

rived from Cairo, as they only started on 29th August. Thus, rather than turn

peat the description. In 103 hours and ten minutes' steaming we reached Fashoda, the government

ers. 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

se, as it completely dominated the river

e started; and, with a strong breeze in our favour, we r

about eight feet below the level of the bank. The water of the Sobat is yellowish, and it colours that of the

he 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

eat affluent the difference in the character is quickly perceived. We now enter upon the region of immense flats

raffe, thirty-eight miles distant, at 11 a.m. on 17th February.

ng 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, th

ld 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 distance to which it might extend. The slave-traders had been obliged to seek another rout, which they had found via the Bahr Gira

such large vessels as the steamers of thirty-two horse-power and a hundred feet length of deck. I was provided with guides who pro

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

rtridge, 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,

en drinking: we immediately endeavoured to cut off its retreat, when it suddenly emerged from the grass and discovered a fine lion with larg

very deep, averaging about nineteen feet, and it flowed in a winding course, through a perfectly flat country of prairi

y 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 steam

ning. The stream was strong but deep, flowing through the usual tangled grass, but div

tered native villages in the distance are in swamps. The

er smashed her starboard paddle: the whole day occupied in repairing. Saw a bull elep

struction 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 d

cutting a canal about 150 yards long throu

canal. The fleet has not arr

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 st

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

ss, 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 thr

pinion is that the slave-hunters have made a razzia inland from thi

t was quite impossible for the smallest row

e 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, ex

ver. 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 vesse

ng up with wood

le for the troops. In this neighbourhood there is dry land with many villages, but the entire c

ith 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 s

ge supply of wood rea

g many days. All the vessels sailing well. We started at 7 a.m. Saw a Ba

ense swamps of the White Nile. This bird feeds generally upon water shellfish, for

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 f

e 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 w

snider ammunition on board the tender. This miserable wood tender has sprung her yard s

ne, and the steamer stopped until eight. After frequent stoppages, owing to the sharp bends in the narro

the dry ground (called the 'dubba'), we found the No. 8 steamer and

siderable. 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 Pis

sition-the whole fleet in a cul-de-sac; the river has disappeared; an unknown distance of apparently boundl

sels to form in line, sing

d 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

ound to the S.E. We cut on far ahead, so that I was able to push on the steamer

. The river is altogether lost. We have to cut a passage through the morass. Hard wo

pressed 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 r

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

y firm marsh, through which we plumbed the

he entire force to turn out and cut a channel,

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

n 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. T

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 a

I must wait until the steamers can

ered 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 Pro

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 co

ft rafts, that had closed in upon then. Many men are sick-all are dispirited; and they worked badly. Having worked all day, we ret

o lake No. 3. I ordered sail to be made immediately, and after five hours' hard work, as the channel was a

depth of ten feet. I sent men ahead in the boat to explore the exit; they now report it to be closed b

d 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

districts to lie in the high grass swamps during the day, a

ly 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 q

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, [*] the gunmaker, of London. This shell was composed of iron, covered with lead. The interior was a cast-iron bottle (similar in shape

as been most successful in heavy rifles, with which

xploded 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

, I sent Raouf Bey with a large force to assist the

m. Everything is soaking; and I have grea

udan are without decks, thus one heavy shower creates much damage. The men are busy dryin

men to the assistance of the steamer

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 crocod

o 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!'

ll 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 cl

rst commenced clearing. We have actually cut away about six miles of vegetation. No dependence whatever can be placed upon the guides: no place answ

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-brok

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

ed 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

two miles distant, beyond the swamp. After

me 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 f

conceive, as there is no possibility of communicat

w 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; i

ts them in departing from this life, as they die very suddenly when he attends them. Like Dr. Sangrado,

w 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

r people, who are preyed upon by clouds

he way, followed by No. 10 steamer, and the whole fleet in close line. Most of the men suffer from head

l, I succeeded in reaching a long narrow lake resembling a river, about 110 yards wide. The mouth of our ef

he way, entered the lake at 11.30 a.m. Unfortunately a shallow channel near the entrance prevented the steamers from entering, thus a pass

he night in a broad and shallow portion of the water, a forest being about a mile distant on the e

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 th

ived 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 l

t off the iron boat with three quarters of the animal to the troops astern. During the night a crocodile took away all the offal fr

poling; this is the best day's work that we have made since we entered this chaotic

d. The river flowed between actual honest banks, which although only a few inches above the water were positive boundaries. The flat plai

gh 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

rvous 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,