March9-FromFeb。11tothisdatewehadtoiledthrougheveryspeciesofdifficulty。Themenhadcutonestraightlineofcanalthroughastiffclayforadistanceof600yards。Manyweresick，somehaddied；
thereappearedtobenohope。ItwasinvainthatIendeavouredtocheerbothofficersandmenwithtalesandassurancesofthepromisedlandbeforethem，shouldtheyonlyreachtheNile。Theyhadworkedlikeslavesinthesefetidmarshesuntiltheirspiritswereentirelybroken，——theEgyptianshadceasedtocarewhethertheylivedordied。
Theenormousquantityofmachinery，ironsectionsofsteamers，supplies，&c。，hadactuallybeendischargedfromfifty-eightvessels。Theriverhadfallenstilllower，anduponthequicklysun-bakedsurfaceImadearoad，andhavingsetupmywaggons，Iconveyedthegreatmassofcargoacrossthelandbyashortcut，andthusreachedmylonglineofvessels，andreloadedthemaftergreatlabour。Thewaggonswerethentakentopiecesandre-shipped。Itwouldbewearyingtogivethejournalofeveryincidentduringthistryingperiod，butfromthedescriptionalreadygiven，thefatigueandanxietymaybeimagined。ThankGod，I
seemedtobearacharmedlife。FrommorningtillnightIwasexploringinasmallboatthroughmudandmarsh，butIwascompletelyfever-proof。
Mywifewasalsowell。LieutenantBakerandMr。Higginbothamhadsufferedfrequentlyfromfever，buttheseenergeticofficersrenderedmemostimportantservice。WhileIwasaheadexploring，sounding，andplanningouttheroute，LieutenantBakerwascommandinganddirectingthesteamer，whichappearedmorelikeahugestrandedwhaleamongtherushesthananobjectadaptedforthenavigationofthishorriblecountry。Ihadafirst-ratecrewonmydiahbeeah，andsomepickedmenofthe”FortyThieves”whoalwaysaccompaniedme。ThebestandmostdevotedmanthatIhaveeverseenwasacorporalofthe”FortyThieves”namedMonsoor。ThismanwasaCoptChristiandescendantofthetrueEgyptians；hewasrathershort，butexceedinglypowerful；heswamanddivedlikeanotter，andneverseemedtofeelfatigue。Hewasalwaysingoodhealth，verycourageous，andheaccompaniedmelikemyownshadow；
heseemedtowatchovermeasamotherwouldregardanonlychild。Infact，thisexcellentmanappearedtohaveonlyonethoughtandobject。
Ihadbeenasusualexploringfaraheadofthetoilingandlabouringfleet，when，afterpullingourlittleboatwiththeaidoffourteenmenforseveralhoursoveragreatmassofhighfloatinggrass，wesuddenlyemergeduponopenwater。Weatoncetooktoourboat，andhoistedthesprit-sail。Themenstowedthemselvesasballastinthebottom。Thewindwasstrongfromthenorth，andwetravelledataboutfivemilesperhour，thelakeexpandingasweroundedapromontoryuntilitattainedawidthofabouthalfamile。Followingthecourseofthelakeforaboutfivemiles，wefoundariverflowingdirectlyintothelong-soughtchannel。Onlyonemileandaquarterfromthelake，bythissmallriver，weenteredthegreatWhiteNile！Icannotdescribemyjoyandthankfulness。Mymensharedmyfeelings。Wealldrankwaterfromtheturbidriver，sounlikethemarsh-filteredwateroftheswamps；andaseachmanwashedhishandsandfaceinthenoblestream，heejaculatedfromhisheart，”ElhambdelIllah！””ThankGod！”IalsothankedGod。
Itwasanhourafterdarkwhenwereturnedthatnight，aftermuchdifficulty，tomydiahbeeah，towhichwewereguidedbyalanternatthemast-head，thoughtfullyplacedtherebymywife’sorders。Thegoodnewsmadeallhappy。WehadactuallythatdaydrunkwaterfromtheWhiteNile！
Thegreatdifficultyremainedofbringingthelargervesselsintothelakethatcommunicatedwiththeriver。Afterallthelabourofthelasttwomonths，Ihadsucceededinassemblingtheentirefleetinasortofshallowpond，fromwhichtherewasactuallynoexit。Ihadcertainlyescapedfromthisplacebydraggingthelittledingyoveraboutamileoffrightfulsudd；butalthoughthissuddcovereddeepwater，itappearedtobeshutoutfromusbysolidmud，throughwhichnumerousstreamspercolated，thelargestofwhichwasaboutthreefeetbroadandsixinchesdeep。Thesesmalldrainsconcentratedinanarrowditch，whichwastheprincipalfeederofthepond，inwhich，withsuchinfinitetrouble，thefleethadbeenassembled。Itwasananxiousmoment，asitwouldbenecessarytocutacanalthroughsolidmudforagreatdistancebeforewecouldreachthelake；andaswehadmadeafreeexitforthewaterbehindus，whileitonlyslowlyoozedthroughbeforeus，westoodafairchanceofbeinglefthelplesslyaround。
Onthefollowingmorning，thegoodnewsofthediscoveryoftheWhiteNileflewthroughtheexpedition。Manydidnotbelieveit，butconsidereditwasadodgetoinducethemtoextraexertion。I
immediatelygaveordersforachanneltobeopenedthroughthemudandlargeobstructionintothelake。Aftersomedays’hardwork，apassagewascompletedthatwassufficientlydeeptoadmitthediahbeeah。Itrequiredawholedaytoforceherthroughthisnarrowchannel，andintheeveningweenteredthelake，andhoistedtheflagattheendofthetallyard，asasignaltothefleetthatwehadaccomplishedthepassage。
Itwasnowonlynecessarytoworkhardandimprovethechannelsufficientlytoadmitthepassageofthesteamerandheaviervessels。
Unfortunatelymyfearshadprovedcorrect；thefleetwashardandfastaground！Thesteamerwassohelplesslydesertedbythewater，thatshewouldhaveservedforaNilometeruponwhichtomarkthelevel，liketherockatAssouan。Itwassimplyimpossibletomoveher，asshewasassolidlyfixedasachurch。Everyothervesselofthefleetstoodhighoutofthewater，whichhadrunoutbytheclearchannelwehadopenedintherear。
Theofficersandmenwereinconsternation。Withtheprizewithinourgrasp，itwouldbephysicallyimpossibletoproceedThosesortofpeoplearesoondisheartened，andImadegreatallowanceforthem，astheworkofthelasttwomonthshadbeensufficienttodestroyallenergy。
Iatoncedeterminedtomakeadambehindthevesselssoastoinclosethepositioninwhichwelaylikeamillpond。Commonsenseassuredmethatthismustsucceedinraisingthelevel，providedwecouldconstructadamofsufficientstrengthtobearthepressureofwater。
Ihadagreatquantityoffirtimberintheshapeofbeamsandraftersforbuildingpurposes。IthereforeinstructedMr。Higginbothamtopreparetworowsofpileswhichweretobedrivenacrosstheriver。Thisableengineersettoworkwithhisusualenergy，assistedbyLieutenantJ。A。BakerandtheEnglishmen，togetherwithallthemechanicsthathadbeenbroughtfromCairo。
Thepilesweredrivenwithsomedifficulty，anddiagonalstrutswerefastenedfromthetopofthefrontrowtothebaseoftherear。
Horizontalbeamsthensecuredtheentirelineofskeletonbridge。
Fortwodays1，500menwereemployedinmakingfascinesoflong，thickreedstiedinlargebundles，inthecentreofwhichwasconcealedamassofaboutfiftypoundsofstiffclap。Thesebundleswerefirmlylashedwithtwistedrushes。Ihad500cornsacksfilledwithsandandclay，theseweretoformthefoundationofthedam，andtopreventthewaterfromburrowingbeneath。
Everycompanyoftroopshadtoprepareacertainnumberoffascines，whichwerepiledonthesideoftheriver，whichhadnowexposedsolidbanksovergrownwiththehighreedygrass。Thisimmenselylongandthickgrass，resemblingsugar-canes，wasexactlythematerialthatwerequired。Itwasthisgratisthatcreatednaturalobstructions，andwouldthereforeassistusinourartificialobstructionordam。Thesailorsofthefleetworkedindivisionsunderseparateofficers。
OnMarch13，allthepreparationswerecompletedfortheworkoffillinginthedam。Greatpilesofsolidballsofclay，ofabout40lbs。each，hadbeenarrangedinconvenientplacestostopupanyleaksthatshouldoccur。
Istoodononeofthestrandedboatsonlyafewyardsfromtherowofpiles。Themenwereallintheirplaces。Thebuglersanddrummersstooduponanothervesselreadytogivethesignal。
Atthefirstbugle，everytwomenliftedthesacksofsandandclay。Atonceallthedrumsandbuglesthensoundedtheadvance，and500heavysacksweredroppedintotherowofpiles，andfirmlystampeddownbythemen。Thetroopsnowworkedwithintenseenergy。ItwasaracebetweentheSoudanisandtheEgyptians；thiswaslabourtowhichthelatterwereaccustomedintheirowncountry。Thesailorsworkedasvigorouslyasthetroops；pilesoffascinesandclayballswerelaidwithextraordinaryrapidity，whilesomestampedfranticallyanddancedupontheentangledmass，allscreamingandshoutingingreatexcitement，andthebuglesanddrumskeptupanincessantdin。Alongdoublelineofmenformedatransportcorps，andpassedanever-failingsupplyoffascinestotheworkerswhostoodinthewaterandkneadedfirmlytheadhesivemass。
At2。15P。M。theriverwascompletelyshutin，andthepeoplewithincreasedenergyworkedatthesuperstructureofthedam，whichnowroselikeacausewayforaboutonehundredandtenyardsfromshoretoshore。
At3。30thewaterhadrisentoanextentthatobligedthemeninsomeplacestoswim。Thesteamerthathadbeenhopelesslystranded，andtheentirefleet，werefloatingmerrilyinthepond。ThankGod，Ihadforgottennothinginthepreparatoryarrangementsfortheexpedition。
Withoutthespades，hoes，grass-knives，bill-hooks，timber，&c。，&c。，wenevercouldhavesucceededinthisjourney。
Mydiahbeeahwasinthelakewaitingforthefleettoaccomplishthepassage。Ihadmadeanexcursiononedayinthedingytoexaminethesouthendofthelake，whichIfoundtobeabouteightmilesinlength。
Onreturning，Iwasratheranxiousforthesmallboat，asabullhippopotamusmadeahostiledemonstration。Thewaterwasnotmorethanfivefeetsixinchesdeep；thusasthehippo，afterhavingsnortedandsunk，continuedtoapproachtheboat，Icoulddistinguishthepathofhisadvancebytheslightwaveraiseduponthesurface。Hepresentlyraisedhisheadabouttwentyyardsfromtheboat，butatthesametimehereceivedaReillyexplosiveshellundertheeyewhichendedhisworldlycares。
Thereweremanyhippopotamiinthislake，and，veryshortlyafterIhadkilledthefirst，Ishotasecondmuchinthesamemanner。Ialwayscarriedaharpoonintheboatwiththeropeandambatchfloat。Thelatterwaspaintedred，sothatitcouldbeeasilyobserved。I
therefore，stucktheharpooninthedeadhippopotamusasamark，andhastenedbacktomydiahbeeahforassistance，asthefleshoftwohippopotamiwouldbeverywelcometothepeople，whohadnotreceivedrationsofbutcher’smeatformanyweeks。Onarrivalatthediahbeeahwequicklymadesail，andsoonreturnedtothehippopotamus。Bythetimewehadcutupthislargeanimalandsecuredtheflesh，thesunwassolowthatIconsidereditwouldbebettertofastentheotherhippobyaropeattachedtothehindlegs，andtowitbodilyasternofthediahbeeah。Itcouldthenbedividedonthefollowingday。
Inthismannerwereturnedtoouranchorageatthetailofthelake，closetotheentranceofthenewchannel。Bythetimewearrived，themoonwasup。Thediahbeeahwasclosetoamud-bankcoveredwithhighgrass，andaboutthirtyyardsasternofherwasashallowpartofthelakeaboutthreefeetdeep。Alightboatofzincwasfullofstripsofhippopotamus’flesh，andthedingywasfastenedalongside。
Afterdinnerandapipe，theusualarrangementsweremadeforthenight。
Thereweremanyservants，maleandfemale，onboard；thesebegantosuspendtheirmosquitocurtainstotheriggingandtocreepbeneath；thesailors，afterchattingforaconsiderabletime，droppedofftosleep——untilthesentrywastheonlymanonboardwhowasonthealert。
Ialwayssleptonthepoop-deck，whichwascomfortablyarrangedwithsofasandcarpets。