Ismailia. Samuel White Baker
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