The River Was In Flood, And
We Had A Three-Knot Current Against Us In Many Places.
These delays
kept us six months in the delta, instead of, as we anticipated, only
six days; for, finding
It impossible to carry the sections up to the
Ruo without great loss of time, it was thought best to land them at
Shupanga, and, putting the hull of the "Lady Nyassa" together there,
to tow her up to the foot of the Murchison Cataracts.
A few days before the "Pioneer" reached Shupanga, Captain Wilson,
seeing the hopeless state of affairs, generously resolved to hasten
with the Mission ladies up to those who, we thought, were anxiously
awaiting their arrival, and therefore started in his gig for the Ruo,
taking Miss Mackenzie, Mrs. Burrup, and his surgeon, Dr. Ramsay.
They were accompanied by Dr. Kirk and Mr. Sewell, paymaster of the
"Gorgon," in the whale-boat of the "Lady Nyassa." As our slow-paced-
launch, "Ma Robert," had formerly gone up to the foot of the
cataracts in nine days' steaming, it was supposed that the boats
might easily reach the expected meeting-place at the Ruo in a week;
but the Shire was now in flood, and in its most rapid state; and they
were longer in getting up about half the distance, than it was hoped
they would be in the whole navigable part of the river. They could
hear nothing of the Bishop from the chief of the island, Malo, at the
mouth of the Ruo.
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