The Luta N'zige, if it existed in the form
assumed, must have an important position in the basin of the Nile.
My expedition had naturally been rather costly, and being in excellent
order it would have been heartbreaking to return fruitlessly. I
therefore arranged immediately for my departure, and Speke most kindly
wrote in my journal such instructions as might be useful.
On the 26th of February Speke and Grant sailed from Gondokoro. Our
hearts were too full to say more than a short "God bless you!" They had
won their victory; my work lay all before me. I watched their boat until
it turned the corner, and wished them in my heart all honor for their
great achievement. I trusted to sustain the name they had won for
English perseverance, and I looked forward to meeting them again in dear
old England, when I should have completed the work we had so warmly
planned together.
I now weighed all my baggage, and found that I had fifty-four cantars
(100 lbs. each). The beads, copper, and ammunition were the terrible
onus. I therefore applied to Mahommed, the vakeel of Andrea Debono, who
had escorted Speke and Grant, and I begged his co-operation in the
expedition. Mahommed promised to accompany me, not only to his camp at
Faloro, but throughout the whole of my expedition, provided that I would
assist him in procuring ivory, and that I would give him a handsome
present.
