”Iattemptedtoseekapassageahead，butitwasquiteimpossibleforthesmallestrowingboattopenetratethedensevegetation。”Anadvancebeingimpossible，Iorderedthesteamerandtwodiahbeeahstoreturndowntheriverabouteightymilestoouroldwooding-placeatthelastforest，aswearenearlyoutoffuel。Wethuslosetimeandtrouble，butthereisnohelpforit。Forsomedaystherehasbeennowind，exceptuncertainbreathsfromthesouth。Unlessachangeshalltakeplace，Ihavenoideahowthefleetwillbeabletocomeupagainstthestream。”March2——At6。30a。m。wegotunderwayandrandownstreamateightmilesanhourtowardsouroldwooding-place。Sawafewbuffaloes。At1p。m。wepassedonleftbankabranchoftheriver。At3。30sightedthetallyardsofthefleetinthedistance。At4。30wearrivedattheextremesouthernlimitoftheforest，andmetRaoufBeywiththesteamerandtwenty-fivevessels，withagoodsupplyofwood。Thetroopswereingoodhealth，butoneunfortunatemanhadbeencarriedoffbyacrocodilewhilesittingonthevesselwithhislegshangingovertheside。”March3——Fillingupwithwoodfromtheforest。”March4——SentthesteamerbacktothestationofKutchukAli，thetrader，toprocuresomecattleforthetroops。Inthisneighbourhoodthereisdrylandwithmanyvillages，buttheentirecountryhasbeenpillagedbyKutchukAli’speople——thenativesmurdered，thewomencarriedoff，&c。”RaoufBeycountedthebodiesofeighteennativeswhohadbeenshotnearthetrader’scamp。YesterdayIwenttoanativevillage，andmadefriendswiththepeople，someofwhomcamedowntoourboats；theycomplainedbitterlythattheyweresubjecttopillageandmassacrebythetraders。Theseso-calledtradersarethepeopleofKutchukAli，THE
OFFICEREMPLOYEDBYTHEGOVENOR-GENERALOFTHESOUDANtocommandhisexpeditiontotheBahrGazal！”Filledupwithalargesupplyofwoodreadytostarttomorrow。”March5——Greatgoodfortune！Afinenorthwindforthefirsttimeduringmanydays。Allthevesselssailingwell。Westartedat7a。m。SawaBalenicepsRex[*]；thisisthesecondoftheserarebirdsthatIhaveseen。
[*Footnote：Thewhale-headedstork，orBalenicepsRex，isonlymetwithintheimmenseswampsoftheWhiteNile。Thisbirdfeedsgenerallyuponwatershellfish，forwhichnaturehasprovidedamostpowerfulbeakarmedwithahookattheextremity。”At1p。m。，asweweresteamingeasily，Ihappenedtobeasleeponthepoop-deck，whenIwassuddenlyawakenedbyashock，succeededalmostimmediatelybythecry，`Theship’ssinking！’Ahippopotamushadchargedthesteamerfromthebottom，andhadsmashedseveralfloatsoffherstarboardpaddle。Afewsecondslaterhechargedourdiahbeeah，andstrikingherbottomabouttenfeetfromthebow，hecuttwoholesthroughtheironplateswithhistusks。Therewasnotimetolose，asthewaterwasrushinginwithgreatforce。Fortunately，inthislandofmarshandfloatinggrass，therewereafewfeetoftolerablyfirmgroundrisingfromthedeepwater。Runningalongside，allhandswerehardatworkdischargingcargowithgreatrapidity，andbalingoutwitheveryconceivableutensil，untilweobtainedassistancefromthesteamer，whoselargehandpumpandnumerousbucketsatlengthsofarovercametherushofwater，thatwecoulddiscovertheleaks。”Wenowfoundtwocleanholespunchedthroughtheironasthoughdrivenbyasharppickaxe。Somehourswereoccupiedinrepairingthedamagebyplasteringwhiteleaduponsomethickfelt；thiswasplacedovertheholes，andsmallpiecesofplankbeinglaidoverthefelt，theyweresecuredbyanuprightpieceoftimbertightenedwithwedgesfromacross-beam。Theleakswerethuseffectuallyandpermanentlystopped。”Bysunsetallwascompletedandthevesselreloaded；butIsenttwenty-eightboxesofsniderammunitiononboardthetender。Thismiserablewoodtenderhassprungheryardsothatshecannotcarrysail。
Thedaywasentirelylosttogetherwithafinenorthwind。”March，6——Briskwindfromthenorth。Startedat5。45a。m。，butat7
a。m。somethinghappenedtotheengine，andthesteamerstoppeduntileight。Afterfrequentstoppages，owingtothesharpbendsinthenarrowriver，wearrivedatthespotwherewehadformerlyopenedthedam；