"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.
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