Ismailia

Ismail Ayoub Pacha had been working with a large force, and he had succeeded in clearing, according to his calculations, one half of the obstruction, which extended for many miles.

There was no engineering difficulty in the undertaking, which was simply a matter of time and steady labour.

The immense force of the main stream, thus confined by matted and tangled vegetation, would materially assist the work, as the clearing was commenced from below the current.

The work would become lighter as the head of the sudd would be neared.

A curious accident had happened to Ismail Pacha by the sudden break-up of a large portion of the sudd, that had been weakened by cutting a long but narrow channel.

The prodigious rafts of vegetation were hurried before the stream like ice-floes, and these masses having struck against a line of six noggurs, the vessels were literally swept away and buried beneath the great rafts, until they capsized and disappeared for ever in the deep channel.

Late in the evening Ismail Pacha took leave and returned in his steamer to Khartoum. We had enjoyed a long conversation, and I felt sure that the Soudan and Central Africa would quickly feel the benefit of Ismail Ayoub Pacha's administration, as he combined great energy and determination with nine years' experience of the requirements of his province.

On 29th June the new steamer, the Khedive, rounded the point at full speed with our diahbeeah in tow.

All the population of Khartoum thronged to the banks and the new quay to witness the arrival of the extraordinary steamer that travelled without paddles, and which had been constructed by the Englishmen at Ismailia (Gondokoro).

The troops were in order, and as the Khedive drew alongside the quay we were warmly welcomed by Ismail Ayoub Pacha with the usual formalities.

A few days latter, a steamer arrived from Fashoda with the three vessels in tow belonging to Abou Saood, which had attempted to pass the government station with more than 600 slaves on board, about 100 having died of the small-pox since I had left the Bahr Giraffe. The small-pox was still raging on board, therefore the vessels were taken to the north bank of the Blue Nile and placed in quarantine.

As the guard passed by with prisoners, I recognized my friend the vakeel, Wat Hojoly, in irons. The unfortunate man had found a new governor at Fashoda instead of his old acquaintance; thus he did NOT pass free; as I had anticipated.

Walking next to the vakeel, heavily chained, with his wrists secured in a block of wood similar to stocks, came the cream of ruffians, Salim-Wat-Howah, nailed at last.

This villainous-looking fellow was afterwards tried before the medjeldis, or tribunal, and by overpowering evidence he was found guilty of having first threatened to attack Major Abdullah in the government camp of Fatiko; and secondly, with having actually given the orders to fire, and having fired himself, on 2nd August, 1872, when we had been treacherously attacked by Abou Saood's company.

I spoke in favour of Wat Hojoly, as he had otherwise behaved well towards the government, and he was simply carrying out the orders of his master, Abou Saood.

It had been the usual custom in the Soudan to spare the employers, who were the most responsible parties, but to punish the small fry, such as vakeels, and the reis, or captains of vessels.

Ismail Pacha had made great improvements in Khartoum, and he had completed the new government house that had been commenced by his predecessor, Moomtazz Pacha, who was also a most intelligent Circassian. He had likewise made a great change by converting a large open space into a public garden, where it was his intention that the military band should play every evening for the amusement of the people.

Steam irrigation works were also commenced on the north side of the Blue Nile for the cultivation of cotton.

After a few days at Khartoum we took leave of our good friend, Ismail Ayoub Pacha, and started for Cairo by steamer.

I had left my two boys, Saat and Bellaal, with Ismail Pacha, to be instructed either as musicians or soldiers, the latter profession being their great ambition. There was already a school established for the education of the more intelligent negro boys that might be liberated from the slave-traders.

Upon our arrival at Berber, I found a considerable improvement in the country. The Arabs were beginning to return to the fertile banks of the river, and to rebuild their sakeeyahs or water-wheels. This change was the result of a wise reform instituted by the Khedive, in dividing the Soudan into provinces, each of which would be governed by a responsible and independent official, instead of serving under a governor-general at the distance of Khartoum.

Hussein Khalifah was now the governor of Berber. He was the great Arab sheik of the desert who had so ably assisted Mr. Higginbotham in transporting the machinery and steamer sections by camels from Korosko to Berber across the great Nubian desert, for a distance of about 400 miles. The Arabs were much pleased at his appointment as governor, as he was one of their race.

In starting from Berber for Souakim, I had the great misfortune to lose by death one of my excellent Englishmen, David Samson. He had been ailing for some time, and the intense heat of July was more than he could endure in riding across the desert. Poor Samson died on the first day's march, and I had his body conveyed to Berber, where it was buried in the Coptic cemetery with every mark of respect.

This was a sad termination after a journey of nearly four years and a half, when he was on the hopeful road towards home.

We were nearly wrecked during the voyage from Souakim to Suez, as the engine of the sloop-of-war was out of repair. We then changed to another steamer, which carried away the cap of her rudder during a heavy sea and fresh northerly gale. Fortunately our English shipwrights were on board, and Lieutenant Baker, R.N., knew his work; thus we escaped drowning on a coral reef, which would assuredly have been our fate had we been left to the ignorance of the officers and crew.

We reached Cairo on 24th August at 4.30 P.M. On 25th I had the honour of presenting myself to his Highness the Khedive, to explain the large chart of his new territory that I had annexed in Central Africa.

I received from his Highness the Imperial order of the Osmanie, 2nd class, as a token of his approbation of my services. I had already had the honour to accept from his hands the order of the Medjidie, 2nd class, before I had started upon my mission. His Highness the Khedive now conferred upon Lieutenant Baker the order of the Medjidie, 3rd class.

I handed the botanical collection to his Highness the Khedive, which had been carefully prepared throughout the journey by Lady Baker. Unfortunately more than 300 specimens of plants had been destroyed by the conflagration at Masindi. The botanical specimens, together with samples of the fibres, skins, and the salt of the new territory, were ordered to be forwarded to the Vienna Exhibition.

The Khedive expressed his determination to judge Abou Saood by a special tribunal, composed of Cherif Pacha, Nubar Pacha, and Ismail Pacha, the Minister of Finance. I handed seventeen documents to Nubar Pacha, with evidence sworn to upon the Koran before witnesses, and properly sealed by Wat-el-Mek, Suleiman, the sheiks of the country, Major Abdullah, and others, against Abou Saood, charging him with various crimes, including treason in having given the orders that his Fatiko company should fire at me and the government troops. I took a receipt for these important documents.

I had also brought up several of the "Forty Thieves" as viva-voce witnesses, in addition to Lieutenant Baker, R.N., Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, Captain Mohammed Deii, and two servants, Suleiman and Mohammed Haroon. Thus all the evidence was in official order:—

I 26th Jumay Owal, 1289, report of Major Abdullah (commandant of Fatiko): threatening conduct of Abou Saood's vakeels during my absence.

2. 28th Jumay Owal, 1289, the declaration of the regimental officers of Fort Fatiko.

3. 6th October, 1872, 1st Shaban, 1289, the declaration of the vakeels of Abou Saood (Wat-el-Mek and Suleiman), that they had acted according to orders received from Abou Saood.

4. 26th Jumay Owal, 1289, Major Abdullah's declaration against Abou Saood and his company at Fatiko.

5. 12th Jumay Ocher, 1289, declaration of the chiefs of the country, complaining of the kidnapping of women and children, massacres, &c., committed by Abou Saood and his companies.

6. Declaration of Abou Saood's men, containing declarations of Mohammed, Wat-el-Mek, and Besheer Achmet, that Abou Saood gave the order to fire at the Pacha and the government troops. Two large papers.

7. 29th Jumay Owal, 1289, letter from Abou Saood from Fabbo.

8. 29th Rebi Owal, 1289, Major Abdullah's reasons for not detaining Suleiman, and for not arresting Abou Saood.

9. 2nd Jumay Acher, 1289, letter from Abou Saood, Fatiko.

10. 29th Jumay Owal, 1289, order for confiscation of Fatiko after the attack made upon the troops.

11. Letter from officers of Fabbo.

12. 4th Regeb, 1289, report of Abou Saood's escape with government guns, &c.

13. 22nd Jumay Acher, 1289, letter from vakeel Suleiman, Fabbo.

14. 3rd November, 1872, proces-verbal; declaration of Suleiman and Abou Saood's people.

15. 1st Shaban, 6th October, 1873, copy of orders to Wat-el-Mek.

16. Mohammed the dragoman's declaration.

17. Wat-el-Mek's declaration that he and his people were always paid by Abou Saood in slaves, and that the conduct of the stations was according to his orders. Also that he had obeyed Abou Saood's orders in attacking me at Fatiko.

His Highness the Khedive had the kindness to confer promotion upon my faithful officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, to the rank of kaimakam; and Captain Mohammed Deii to the rank of saccolassi. He also granted a reward to the soldiers who had fought the battle of Masindi, and marched through eight days of ambuscades to Foweera.

A gratuity of a month's pay was given to every English engineer and mechanic, and they started for England.

After a delay of about six weeks in Egypt, his Highness afforded us a gracious and hospitable occasion of taking leave of himself and the young princes, to all of whom I am indebted for much courtesy and kindness.

CHAPTER XXVII

CONCLUSION

The foregoing chapters will have afforded a sufficiently distinct view of the expedition to enable the public to form their own opinion of the position of the slave trade.

It will have been seen that I had acted directly against that infamous traffic from the commencement of the work, according to the explicit instructions of my firman; at the same time I had made due allowances for the ambiguous position of the traders upon the White Nile, who were actual tenants of the government. Thus I never visited the interior of their camps, nor had I disturbed their stations in any way, but I had passed them as without the pale of my jurisdiction; at the same time I gave the vakeels due warning, and entirely prevented them from making use of the river as the highway of the slave trade.

In 1870, while I was camped at Tewfikeeyah, I entirely suppressed the river traffic; but the fact of my leaving over-taken three vessels with 700 slaves belonging to Abou Saood at the close of the expedition, on my return towards Khartoum, must be a damning proof of complicity on the part of certain government officials.

Thus it is plain that, while I was endeavouring to do my duty, others who should have been supporting me were actually supporting the slave-hunters. No people could have had the absurd audacity to attempt the passage of the river in front of Fashoda—a government station, garrisoned by two regiments, and provided with two steamers—unless they were in league with the officials.

My personal interference has rendered the slave trade of the White Nile impossible so long as the government is determined that it shall be impossible. At the close of the expedition, the higher officials had been changed, and the country appeared to be in good hands. The governor of Fashoda, Jusef Effendi, had captured the slave vessels of Abou Saood according to my instructions. Ismail Ayoub Pacha had been appointed governor of Khartoum. Hussein Khalifah, the Arab desert sheik, was governor of Berber, and various important changes had been made among the higher authorities throughout the Soudan, which proved that the Khedive was determined upon reform.

One grand and sweeping reform was absolutely necessary to extinguish the slave trade of Central Africa, and this I lead the honour to suggest:– "That all the present existing traders or tenants of the White Nile should be expelled from the country, precisely as I had expelled them from the territory under my command." The government would then assume the monopoly of the ivory trade of the White Nile, and the natives would in a few years be restored to confidence.

So long as the so-called traders of Khartoum should be permitted to establish themselves as independent piratical societies in the Nile Basin, the slave trade would continue, and the road through Darfur and Kordofan would be adopted in place of the tabooed White Nile.

Should the White Nile companies be totally disbanded, the people now engaged must return to their original agricultural pursuits in the Soudan, and their labour would tend to an increase of the revenue, and to the general prosperity of the country.

I have already published so much on the subject of the slave trade in "The Albert N'yanza," that I fear to repeat what I have before so forcibly expressed. I have never changed my original opinions on this question, and I can only refer the public to page 313, vol. ii., of that work, whence I take the following extract:—"Stop the White Nile trade; prohibit the departure of any vessels from Khartoum to the south, and let the Egyptian government grant a concession to a company for the White Nile, subject to certain conditions, and to a special supervision . . . .

. . . "Should the slave trade be suppressed, there will be a, good opening for the ivory trade; the conflicting trading parties being withdrawn, and the interest of the trade exhibited by a single company, the natives would no longer be able to barter ivory for cattle; thus they would be forced to accept other goods in exchange. The newly-discovered Albert Lake opens the centre of Africa to navigation. Steamers ascend from Khartoum to Gondokoro in lat. 4 degrees 55'. Seven days' march south of that station the navigable portion of the Nile is reached, whence vessels can ascend direct to the Albert Lake; thus an enormous extent of country is opened to navigation, and Manchester goods and various other articles would find a ready market in exchange for ivory at a prodigious profit, as in those newly-discovered regions ivory has a merely nominal value.

"Beyond this commencement of honest trade I cannot offer a suggestion, as no produce of the country except ivory could afford the expense of transport to Europe. (The proposed railway from Cairo to Khartoum will overcome this obstacle.)

"If Africa is to be civilized, it must be effected by commerce, which, once established, will open the way for missionary labour; but all ideas of commerce, improvement, and the advancement of the African race that philanthropy can suggest, must be discarded until the traffic in slaves shall have ceased to exist.

"Should the slave trade be suppressed, a field would be opened, the extent of which I will not attempt to suggest, as the future would depend upon the good government of countries now devoted to savage anarchy and confusion." . . . .

"Difficult and almost impossible is the task before the missionary. The Austrian mission has failed, and their stations have been forsaken; their pious labour was hopeless, and the devoted priests died upon their barren field."

By a reference to that work also—"The Albert N'yanza"—it will be seen that in the present expedition I carried out the plans that I had proposed at the termination of my first journey.

I have no doubt that missionaries will take advantage of the chance that has resulted from the suppression of the slave trade and the establishment of a government. At the same time, should they attempt a settlement in the neighbourhood of Gondokoro, they must be prepared with an inexhaustible stock of patience when dealing with the Baris.

The Madi and Shooli tribes would be found tractable and more capable of religious instruction. It is my opinion that the time has not yet arrived for missionary enterprise in those countries; but at the same time a sensible man might do good service by living among the natives, and proving to their material minds that persons do exist whose happiness consists in doing good to others. The personal qualifications and outfit for a single man who would thus settle among the natives should be various. If he wished to secure their attention and admiration, he should excel as a rifle shot and sportsman. If musical, he should play ` the Highland bagpipes. He should be clever as a conjurer, and be well provided with conjuring tricks, together with a magic lantern, magnetic battery, dissolving views, photographic apparatus, coloured pictorial illustrations, &c., &c. He should be a good surgeon and general doctor, &c.; and be well supplied with drugs, remembering that natives have a profound admiration for medical skill.

A man who in full Highland dress could at any time collect an audience by playing a lively air with the bagpipes, would be regarded with great veneration by the natives, and would be listened to when an archbishop by his side would be totally disregarded. He should set all psalms to lively tunes, and the natives would learn to sing them immediately.

Devotional exercises should be chiefly musical.

In this manner a man would become a general favourite; and if he had a never-failing supply of beads, copper rods, brass rings for arms, fingers, and ears, gaudy cotton handkerchiefs, red or blue blankets, zinc mirrors, red cotton shirts, &c., to give to his parishioners, and expected nothing in return, he would be considered a great man, whose opinion would carry a considerable weight, provided that he only spoke of subjects which he thoroughly understood.

A knowledge of agriculture, with a good stock of seeds of useful vegetables and cereals, iron hoes, carpenter's and blacksmith's tools, and the power of instructing others in their use, together with a plentiful supply of very small axes, would be an immense recommendation to a lay missionary who should determine to devote some years of his life to the improvement of the natives.

In the magnificent equatorial portions of Africa there is a great field for British enterprise, and much might be accomplished by lay missionaries, who would at the commencement avoid theological teaching, until by other means they should have gained an ascendency over the minds of the natives. By slow degrees confidence might be established; and much may be effected by good example. . . .

The geography of Central Africa, that has made great strides within the last few years, will now be rapidly extended. The fact of an established government under the direction of my able successor, Colonel Gordon, R.E., is sufficient to assure the most sceptical that the future will be rich in geographical discoveries.

It is hoped that the steamer which I carried up to Gondokoro will be transported to the Albert N'yanza early in the year 1875. It is impossible to foretell the result of steam communication on the great inland sea M'wootan N'zige.

I do not love to dwell upon geographical theories, as I believe in nothing but actual observation; but I cannot quite disbelieve my native informants, who assured me that they had travelled to Ujiji by canoe from Chibero on the Albert N'yanza.

By the latest intelligence from Lieutenant Cameron, dated Ujiji, 28th February, 1874, the mean of many observations for altitude of the Tanganyika Lake taken with mercurial barometer, aneroids, and boiling water thermometers, gives 2,573 feet above the sea-level.

The corrected altitude of the Albert N'yanza, taken by me at Vacovia, N. lat. 1 degree 14', March 14, 1864, is 2,720. The uncorrected or the absolute observation of the instrument was 2,448.

Whenever Lieutenant Cameron shall return home, it will be interesting to observe the results of his corrected observations, as they already so closely approach the level of the Albert N'yanza.

As the Khedive's expedition under Colonel Gordon will shortly have the advantage of a steamer on the Albert Lake or M'wootan N'zige, the question of a connection between the two lakes will be definitely settled.

When that question shall have been resolved, geographers must turn their attention to the great river Sobat, which is by far the most important affluent of the Nile.

Although during my recent expedition I have not travelled over much new ground, the advantages to geography are considerable, owing to the professional observations of Lieutenant Baker, R.N., to whom I confided the entire charge of the topographical department. Some slight corrections have been made in observations for longitude taken during my first expedition; and as every place is now rigidly attested on the map, that portion of Central Africa is most thoroughly investigated, and the astronomical positions of all principal points and stations are incontestable.

The fact of this thorough exploration, and the establishment of the Egyptian government, now afford a firm base for all future travellers. The good work of one man can be carried on by his successor. Formerly it was impossible to render the necessary support to an explorer in Central Africa. A distant country cannot plunge into war with a savage potentate of the equatorial Nile Basin because he has either captured an explorer or devoured a missionary.

There was only one step practicable if the improvement of Africa were to be attempted. Egypt was the only country that could form a government by the extension of her frontier to the equator. This would insure the safety of future travellers where hitherto the life of an individual had no guarantee.

This annexation is now effected, and our relations with the Khedive assure us that the heart of Africa will be thrown open to the civilizing influence of the North.

When the railway shall be completed from Cairo to Khartoum, there will be direct communication by rail and river. Countries that are eminently adapted for the cultivation of cotton, coffee, sugar, and other tropical productions will be brought within the influence of the commercial world, and the natives, no longer kidnapped and torn from their homes, will feel the benefits of industry, as they now feel the blessings of protection.

It is well known that the greatest difficulties lie in the first footsteps of a great enterprise; but those difficulties are overcome, and patience and perseverance will at length perfect the good work. The impression of civilization must be gradually and slowly engraved upon Central Africa, and those who work in this apparently hopeless undertaking must not be appalled by the difficulties of the task.

In the share that I have taken during nine years passed in Africa, I have simply represented one of those atoms of which Great Britain is composed. I deeply regret that personally I have not had the honour of serving my Queen, but I trust that indirectly I have worked out that principle, which England was the first to initiate, expressed in the word "Freedom," which, we maintain, is the natural inheritance of man.

Mingled with the regret that I was not in the service of Her Majesty, is the pleasure that I feel in testifying to the able manner in which the Royal Navy was represented, throughout a long and trying expedition, by Lieutenant Julian Alleyne Baker, R.N. This energetic young officer rendered me the greatest assistance, and has left a vivid impression on the minds of the natives, and of the Egyptian troops, of the activity, and the straightforward, manly character that has always distinguished British sailors in whatever duty they have had to perform, whether on sea or land.

I return my acknowledgments of the faithful and courageous services of Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, and other officers who accompanied me through every difficulty with patience and devotion.