Having given the necessary
instructions to the engineer in chief, Mr. Higginbotham, I had no
anxiety, as I felt sure that everything would be in order.
The carts were to be thoroughly examined, and the No. 3 steamer of 38
tons was to be divided in parcels; the small work secured in loads of
fifty pounds, each sewn up in raw hide, and the heavier portions divided
among the carts.
The officers were now perfectly resigned to their lot. The remnant of
the Egyptian force had been converted into artillery-men, and all the
Soudanis formed one regiment.
While Mr. Higginbotham was engaged in the work of arranging and packing,
my masons were busy in making bricks, as I wished eventually to build
the barracks of this solid material, instead of trusting to the
dangerously inflammable straw-huts. I had already written to England for
sufficient galvanized iron for 3,000 feet of building in actual length.
Although galvanized iron is hot in a tropical climate, it can easily be
protected from the sun by a light framework of canes slightly thatched.
My Soudanis were never overpowered by heat, as they had been born in a
high temperature.
On my return to Gondokoro, I found that Meri's natives had collected a
large quantity of stones, and they had sent to request a vessel to
transport them. I gave them a cow, and they had a general dance. This
reception seemed to delight them, and they returned to their villages,
accompanied by a noggur with an officer and twenty men. I gave strict
orders that no soldier should enter a native hut under any pretext.
The Bari war was over. Upon every side the natives had been thoroughly
subdued. I now heard from our Bari interpreters, Sherroom and Morgian,
that the Sheik Allorron was willing to sue for peace, and to declare his
allegiance to the government.
Abou Saood and his people had departed; thus the evil spirit was
withdrawn that had hitherto covertly incited the natives against the
government, and the effect of his absence was immediately apparent.
I devoted my attention to the final preparations for the start, and to
the necessary instructions for the command of the station during my
absence. The officers found that it was now impossible to resist their
destiny; and Raoul Bey, the colonel, who had, against orders, sent off
so many troops to Khartoum who were in good health, now discovered that
he would be left with a comparatively small force to hold the important
position at head-quarters.
The troops who had been employed under my personal command, were very
anxious to accompany me into the equatorial district.
There was no more fighting. All my hopes of peace were at length
realized. The nights were always undisturbed, and the sentries might
have indulged in sleep without the slightest danger. A dead calm had
succeeded to the excitement of constant watchfulness.
I now employed the "Forty Thieves" in making salt. There were peculiar
surface mines within a mile of my little station. These were situated
upon a sandy loam on the banks of a brackish lake, that swarmed with
crocodiles.
The salt always showed upon the surface after a shower of rain had been
evaporated by the sun. This efflorescence, together with sand and other
impurities, was scraped from the earth with large mussel shells. It was
then placed in earthen-ware vessels containing about five gallons. There
were pierced with holes in the bottom, which were covered with a wisp of
straw as a strainer. The jars, being full of salt and sand, were watered
occasionally, and the brine accordingly filtered through to a receiver.
The contents were boiled, and produced the finest chloride of sodium.
The natural productions of the neighbourhood were salt, iron, tamarinds,
the oil-nut tree; and the cultivation of the natives was principally
Hibiscus hemp, tobacco, varieties of beans, sesame, dhurra, and dochan
(millet). I endeavoured to persuade the Baris to cultivate and prepare
large quantities of the Hibiscus hemp, which would be extremely valuable
in the Soudan. The Baris used it for nets and fishing-lines.
The tamarinds were of two varieties, and were produced in extraordinary
quantities. About two miles from head-quarters, there was an extensive
portion of the forest composed almost exclusively of these magnificent
trees.
The forest was also rich in the tree known by the Arabs as "heglik" This
bears a fruit about the size of a date (lalobe), which is a combination
of sweet, bitter, and highly aromatic. My men collected several
hundredweight, as I wished to try an experiment in distilling. There was
an excellent copper still in the magazine, and I succeeded in producing
a delicious spirit somewhat resembling kirschenwasser.
My cotton was now ripe, and I cleaned it with a small hand gin that
could be worked by two men. This greatly interested the Bari visitors,
who, by my special invitation, had been residing for some time at
Gondokoro.
The dry season had been very unfavourable for cotton; nevertheless, the
quality was good, and proved that it would thrive in the locality. The
species that was indigenous grew to a great size, and seemed to defy the
drought. This bore a red blossom, and the pod was small. The native
cotton was of short staple, and adhered strongly to the seed.
On 29th November, two Arabs arrived from Abou Saood's Latooka station,
100 miles east of Gondokoro: they had travelled at night, and were
deserters from the vakeel. One of these fellows turned out to be my old
follower during my former journey, Mohammed the camel-driver, and he
literally cried with joy when he saw my wife and me again.
