In a few days he returned with two deserters. These men were tried by
court-martial, and having been found guilty, they were shot in the
presence of the regiment.
Order and discipline were at once restored among the troops.
Now that I had returned with the "Forty Thieves," the natives of
Belinian no longer visited the camp at night, but the country shortly
became quiet and peaceful.
Wat-el-Mek, who had accompanied me from Fatiko, returned with
reinforcements and a herd of cattle to his district. I parted with
regret with my good men Shooli and Gimoro, to whom I gave some useful
presents.
On 10th April I commenced a new fort with ditch and earthwork around the
magazines, but the sandy nature of the soil will cause much trouble
during the heavy rains.
I ordered Mr. Marcopolo to take stock, together with an Egyptian officer
(Foad Effendi), of everything that remained within the magazine, and to
take a receipt for his stores. This task occupied nearly a month.
The Englishmen had carefully packed everything that belonged to the No.
3 steamer and machinery, and had stowed her in a magazine that was given
in charge of an officer, who gave a receipt for the contents.
Everything was ready by the 25th May for our return homewards. I erected
a monument of red brick coated with pitch over my poor friend
Higginbotham's grave, within my garden, near the spot where the
missionaries were formerly buried.
We started on the 26th, having taken a farewell of my gallant "Forty
Thieves," many of whom showed much emotion at parting. As I walked down
the line of troops when I took official leave, my old soldiers broke the
bounds of discipline by shouting: "May God give you a long life! and may
you meet your family in good health at home!"
I felt a choking sensation in saying good-bye; but we were soon on
board, and the steam was up.
The new steamer, the Khedive, took us in tow, and we travelled rapidly
down the stream towards home in old England.
Although I had written the most important letters to the Khedive and to
his minister in October 1871, I had, to my amazement, NOT RECEIVED ONE
WORD IN REPLY by the post that had arrived from Egypt. I had apparently
been looked upon as a dead man that did not require a letter. It
appeared that my existence was utterly ignored by the Egyptian
government, although I had received my letters in due course from
England.
On arrival at the Bahr Giraffe, we found that the canals which I had
formerly cut were much improved by the force of the stream. Although
these passages were narrow, they had become deep, and we progressed with
comparatively little trouble.
On 7th June, three sails were reported ahead on the horizon. We pushed
forward with some curiosity, but unfortunately a sudd of vegetable rafts
had closed the passage for a short distance, which required about an
hour to clean; this delayed the chase.
That evening, as we had stopped for the night at a spot known as the
"Three Dubbas," we heard a woman's voice from the high grass addressing
us in an imploring tone. I immediately sent a boat to make inquiries, as
one of our native girls understood the language.
It appeared that the woman had the small-pox, and she had been therefore
thrown into the high grass, and abandoned by the vakeel of the three
vessels that we had observed in the distance. She described these
vessels as being crowded with slaves.
I gave the unfortunate creature a supply of six days' food, together
with a cooking-pot and some firewood, but I dared not introduce so
horrible a disease as the small-pox among our party. She was thus left
alone upon the dubba. (At this season native fishermen visited the
dubba, therefore she was most probably discovered on the following
morning.)
On 8th June we steamed along, towards the tall masts and yards of the
three vessels which we perceived upon the horizon.
The intricacies of the narrow channel were such that we did not overtake
the slavers until sunset.
We then anchored for the night in a lake, while I sent a boat forward
into the canal occupied by the three vessels to order the vakeel of the
company to visit me immediately.
In a short time the boat returned with my old acquaintance Wat Hojoly,
the vakeel of the Bohr station belonging to Abou Saood.
I had always liked this man, as he was generally straightforward in his
manner. He now told me, without the slightest reserve, that during my
absence in the south, several cargoes of slaves had passed the
government station at Fashoda by bribing the governor; and that he would
certainly have no difficulty, provided that I did not seize him. He
confessed that he had 700 slaves on board the three vessels, and
according to orders that he had received from his master, Abou Saood, he
was conveying them to their destination, a few days south of Khartoum,
on the White Nile; at which point they could either march overland to
the west via Kordofan, or to the east via Sennaar; whence they could
pass unmolested to the Red Sea or to other markets.
The small-pox had broken out among the slaves, several of whom had died.
I was most thoroughly disgusted and sick at heart. After all the trouble
and difficulties that we had gone through for the suppression of the
slave trade, there could be no question of the fact that Abou Saood, the
great slave-hunter of the White Nile, was supported by some high
authority behind the scenes, upon whom he could depend for protection.
