Profiting By This Nervous State Of Affairs, I Induced Them
To Allow The Boat To Start Immediately, And We Concluded All Our
Arrangements, Contracting For The Diahbiah At 4,000 Piastres (40
Pounds).
The plague having broken out at Gondokoro, the victims among
the natives were dragged to the edge of the cliff and thrown into the
river; - it is impossible to describe the horrible effluvium produced by
the crowds of slaves that had been confined upon the limited area of the
station.
At length the happy moment arrived that we were to quit the
miserable spot. The boat was ready to start - we were all on board, and
Ibrahim and his people came to say good-bye. It is only justice to
Ibrahim to say, that, although he had been my great enemy when at
Gondokoro in 1863, he had always behaved well since peace was
established at Ellyria; and, although by nature and profession a
slave-hunter, like others of the White Nile, he had frequently yielded
to my interference to save the lives of natives who would otherwise have
been massacred without pity.
I had gained an extraordinary influence over all these ruffianly people.
Everything that I had promised them had been more than performed; all
that I had foretold had been curiously realized. They now acknowledged
how often I had assured them that the slave-trade would be suppressed by
the interference of European powers, and the present ruin of their trade
was the result; they all believed that I was the cause, by having
written from Gondokoro to the Consul-general of Egypt in 1863, when the
traders had threatened to drive me back. Far from retaliating upon me,
they were completely cowed. The report had been spread throughout
Gondokoro by Ibrahim and his people that their wonderful success in
ivory hunting was chiefly due to me; that their sick had been cured;
that good luck had attended their party; that disaster had befallen all
who had been against me; and that no one had suffered wrong at our
hands. With the resignation of Mahommedans they yielded to their
destiny, apparently without any ill-feeling against us. Crowds lined the
cliff and the high ground by the old ruins of the mission station to see
us depart. We pushed off from shore into the powerful current; the
English flag that had accompanied us all through our wanderings now
fluttered proudly from the masthead unsullied by defeat, and amidst the
rattle of musketry we glided rapidly down the river, and soon lost sight
of Gondokoro.
What were our feelings at that moment? Overflowing with gratitude to a
Divine Providence that had supported us in sickness, and guided us
through all dangers. There had been moments of hopelessness and despair;
days of misery, when the future had appeared dark and fatal; but we had
been strengthened in our weakness, and led, when apparently lost, by an
unseen hand. I felt no triumph, but with a feeling of calm contentment
and satisfaction we floated down the Nile. My great joy was in the
meeting that I contemplated with Speke in England, I had so thoroughly
completed the task we had agreed upon.
Silently and easily we floated down the river; the oars keeping us in
midstream. The endless marshes no longer looked so mournful as we glided
rapidly past, and descended the current against which we had so
arduously laboured on our ascent to Gondokoro. As we thus proceeded on
our voyage through the monotonous marshes and vast herds of hippopotami
that at this season thronged the river, I had ample leisure to write my
letters for England, to be posted on arrival at Khartoum, and to look
back upon the results of the last few years. The Nile, cleared of its
mystery, resolves itself into comparative simplicity. The actual basin
of the Nile is included between about the 22 degree and 39 degree East
longitude, and from 3 degrees South to 13 degrees North latitude. The
drainage of that vast area is monopolized by the Egyptian river. The
Victoria and Albert lakes, the two great equatorial reservoirs, are the
recipients of all affluents south of the Equator; the Albert lake being
the grand reservoir in which are concentrated the entire waters from the
south, in addition to tributaries from the Blue Mountains from the north
of the Equator. The Albert N'yanza is the great basin of the Nile: the
distinction between that and the Victoria N'yanza is, that the Victoria
is a reservoir receiving the eastern affluents, and it becomes a
starting point or the most elevated SOURCE at the point where the river
issues from it at the Ripon Falls: the Albert is a reservoir not only
receiving the western and southern affluents direct from the Blue
Mountains, but it also receives the supply from the Victoria and from
the entire equatorial Nile basin. The Nile as it issues from the Albert
N'yanza is the ENTIRE Nile; prior to its birth from the Albert lake it
is NOT the entire Nile. A glance at the map will at once exemplify the
relative value of the two great lakes. The Victoria gathers all the
waters on the eastern side and sheds them into the northern extremity of
the Albert: while the latter, from its character and position, is the
direct channel of the Nile that receives all waters that belong to the
equatorial Nile basin. Thus the Victoria is the first SOURCE; but from
the Albert the river issues at once as the great White Nile.
It is not my intention to claim a higher value for my discovery than is
justly due, neither would I diminish in any way the lustre of the
achievements of Speke and Grant; it has ever been my object to confirm
and support their discoveries, and to add my voice to the chorus of
praise that they have so justly merited. A great geographical fact has
through our joint labours been most thoroughly established by the
discovery of the sources of the Nile.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 162 of 175
Words from 164517 to 165528
of 178435
