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.
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