I had left the station with a neat ditch and earthwork; the
environs had been clean. It was now a mass of filth. Bones and remnants
of old clothes, that would have been a fortune to a rag-and-bone shop,
lay scattered in all directions. The ditch was filled up with sand, and
the fallen bank washed in by the heavy rains, as it had never been
cleansed during my absence.
The guns fired a salute; Raouf Bey and the troops appeared in good
health; and I was shown into poor Higginbotham's house on the cliff
above the river.
A beautiful new steamer of 108 tons, built of steel, with twin screws,
was floating on the stream. This was the work of my Englishmen, who had
taken a pride in turning out the best results that Messrs. Samuda
Brothers and Messrs. Penn & Co. could produce.
I went on board to inspect the new vessel directly after breakfast. She
had been admirably constructed, and being devoid of paddles, she would
be able to glide through the narrow channels of the Bahr Giraffe like a
fish.
Although the station was dirty and neglected, I must do Raouf Bey
justice in acknowledging that he had paid much attention to the gardens
on the islands, which were producing so abundantly that the troops
received rations of vegetables daily.
Raouf Bey had also shown determination, and had accepted great
responsibility in shooting a soldier for desertion during my absence.
