There was a great change in my officers and troops;
they had fallen into my ways and obeyed every order with alacrity. They
had learned to place thorough reliance upon any plans that were
arranged; and, now that they knew the necessity of obedience and
discipline, they had, imperceptibly to themselves, changed from ruffians
into very orderly soldiers.
On the march homewards, upon arrival at the foot of a mountain, I made
an excursion inland, as this was a portion of the country that I had not
yet visited, though only six miles from Gondokoro. The natives were very
shy, but I at length succeeded in obtaining an interview with their
sheik, a tall powerful fellow, named Meri. I explained that I required
no corn, nor any supplies, except stone. (This sheik Meri and his
people always remained faithful to the government from that day.)
The country abounded with pieces of gneiss with a very straight
cleavage, that suited them admirably for building purposes. All the
granaries of this country were supported upon pillars formed of single
stones, about three feet long. The houses were also protected by large
flat stones arranged like tiles around the base, and thus securing the
sides from the driven storms of rain.
On 19th November, I returned to Gondokoro highly satisfied with the
result of the campaign. Not only were my magazines all filled with more
than twelve months' supply of corn, but I had established peace
throughout a large and powerful district, and I had received promises of
assistance, and an assurance of allegiance to the government.
Abou Saood, who had received permission to go to Khartoum, had only gone
down the river as far as his station at the Bohr. There he had made
arrangements with his people that the ivory from Latooka station, 100
miles east of Gondokoro, should avoid my head-quarters, and be conveyed
by an oblique course to the Bohr. By this swindle, the government would
be cheated out of the share of two-fifths of the ivory which belonged to
them by contract with Agad & Co.
Abou Saood having personally witnessed the departure of the troops to
Khartoum, considered his game as won, and that the expedition, now
reduced to only 502 officers and men, would be compelled to centralize
at Gondokoro, without the possibility of penetrating the interior. He
had thus started for his stations in the distant south, where he
intended to incite the natives against the government, to prevent me
from following out my plans with the small force at my disposal.
This was the first time in the career of Abou Saood that he had ever
travelled inland. He had for many years been in the habit of arriving at
Gondokoro from Khartoum with the annual vessels from Agad & Co.,
bringing new levies of brigands together with fresh supplies of arms and
ammunition.
