Two men could lift and throw out 3,600
gallons per hour. I made the calculation as nearly as possible: the iron
buckets contained slightly more than four gallons each; thus, two men
with the double shadoof lifted eight gallons every eight seconds (or one
lift in eight seconds): a gallon per second gave 3,600 per hour.
I never allowed the "Forty Thieves" to work at the general
head-quarters, but kept them as my personal escort. When at Tewfikeeyah
I had been particular in their drill, and I had endeavoured to teach
them to shoot accurately. The Egyptians became better shots than the
Soudanis, but I much preferred the latter; by degrees I drafted out all
the Egyptians excepting four, and filled their places with well-selected
blacks, mostly taken from the grenadier company of the regiment.
At the commencement of the expedition this small body of men had well
earned the title of the "Forty THIEVES" by which they were always known
among the English party, although publicly in the camp they were only
designated as "The Forty."
I had taken great personal care of this little corps, and the result was
most satisfactory. The thieves had been got rid of. I never forgave a
fault until after punishment had been received; I never allowed the
doctor to attend them when ill, but invariably attended to them myself.
I had endeavoured to instil a feeling of pride among them, and
encouraged them with an idea of their superiority to the other
regiments.
