Thenatives，smartingundertheunprovokedattack，visitedNiambore，anddesiredhimtosendmymenoutofthecountry，astheywereevidentlyleaguedwiththoseofAbouSaood。ThesheikNiamborerefused，anddeclaredthatheshouldprotectthemuntilhereceivedfurtherordersfromme。ThisimplicatedNiambore，andtheneighbourstheninsisteduponthesacrificeofAchmetRafikandhisfewsoldiersinrevengefortheirlostcattle。Niambore，withachivalrythatisrareamongnegroes，declaredhisdeterminationofshelteringmypeopleuntilheshouldcommunicatewithme。Hewasattackedatnightbytheneighbouringsheiks；andmysoldiersassistedhiminthedefence。Theattackwasrepulsed，andhedeterminedtoreturnthecomplimentonthefollowingday，withtheassistanceofthesoldiers。Afteralongmarchacrossmanydeepchannels，thebattlewentagainsthim，andinaprecipitateretreat，thesoldierscouldnotswimthedeepchannelslikeNiambore’speople；theywereaccordinglyovertakenandkilled，withthelossoftheirarmsandaccoutrements，nowinpossessionofthenatives。
MajorAchmetRafikandacorporalweresafe，astheywerebothill，andhadthereforenotaccompaniedthefivesoldiersintheattack。Niamborehadfaithfullyexposedhimselftogreatdangerinordertosecuretheirprotection，andtheywerenowinhiskeeping，concealedinaforestaboutaday’smarchfromthevillagewhichhadbeentheirstation。
OnthefollowingdayIsentthesteameroffat9p。m。withNiamboreandtwentymen，themoonbeingfull。Theriverhadrisenaboutfourfeetsixinches，thereforetherewasnofearofhertouchingasand-bank。AtthesametimeIwrotetoAbouSaood，givinghimnoticeofhisresponsibilityforthelossofthegovernmenttroops，causedbyhisunprovokedandunjustifiableaggression。Fromthattime，IofcoursegaveupallideasofreturningthecattlethathadbeencapturedbyAbouSaood，asI
hadoriginallyintended。Suchanact，afterthedestructionofmymen，wouldhavebeenreceivedbytheShirasaproofoffear。
Allmyanticipationsofsuccessfulcultivationhadbeenfruitless。Thedroughtofthisyearhadcausedageneralscarcity。ThemonthsofJulyandAugustshouldhavetheheaviestrainfall；Julyhadjustexpiredwitharainfallofonly1。13inch。Themeantemperaturehadbeen71degreesF
at6a。m。；atnoon，84degreesF。
Iwasveryanxiousaboutoursupplyofdhurra，whichwouldnotlastmuchlonger。On1stAugustIorderedthetroopstoreceivefifteendays’
rationsofrice，soastosavethesmallstockofdhurrauntilthecropsshouldberipeupontheisland。Thesewereguardedbyacompanyoftroops。Iextractthefollowingentryfrommyjournal：-”August2，1871——TheSoudanisoldiersarediscontentedwiththeirrationsofdhurra；andto-dayIwasaddressedbyanunreasonablemob，demandinganincreaseofcornwhichdoesnotexist。Thesepeopleneverthinkofto-morrow，andduringthelongvoyagefromTewfikeeyahtheyhavebeenstealingthecorn，anddrinkingmerissaheedlessofthefuture。”Theblackcolonel，TayibAgha，ismuchtoblameforthediscontent，ashehas，uponseveraloccasions，inTHEPRESENCEOFTHETROOPS，toldMr。
Higginbothamandmyselfthat’themencouldnotworkwellbecausetheywerehungry。’Thisfoolishremark，madebeforethesoldiersbytheirownlieutenant-colonel，iscertaintocreatebadfeeling。”Iwentacrosstotheislandtoexaminethecorn：thegreaterportionofthecropwillbereadyinabouteightdays，buttheBaris，inspiteoftheguards，arestealinglargequantitiesduringthenight。”Theterribledifficultyinthiscountryisthewantofcorn；andnowthatalldirectcommunicationwithKhartoumiscutoffbytheobstructionsintheNile，theaffairismostserious。Thenativesareallhostile，thusapowerfulforceisabsolutelynecessary，butthedifficultyistofeedthisforce。”IwroteanofficiallettertoRaoufBeytocautionLieutenant-ColonelTayibAghaagainstmakingremarksinthepresenceofhistroops。”
OnAugust3thesteamerreturned，bringingAchmetRafikandthesolesurvivingsoldierfromtheShir。Thisofficerdeclaredhismentohavebeeninsubordinate，andthattheyjoinedthenativesagainsthisorderstomakeanattackupontheirenemiesinreturnforattacksontheirpart。
Twowitnesses，thesurvivingsoldierandthewifeofonethatwaskilled，declaredthatAchmetRafikhimselfgavethemenorderstofightthetribe，incompanywiththepeopleofNiambore；butfearingresponsibilityfortheresult，henowlaidtheonusoffailureupontheinsubordinationofthemen。ThefactremainedthatinconsequenceoftherazziamadebyAbouSaood’sordersthenativesattackedNiamboreandmypeople。Inself-defence，Niamboreandmyfewmenreturnedtheattack，andmysoldierswerekilled。TheShirwerethusrenderedhostilewiththeexceptionofNiambore。
Mypeopleweresoobtusethattheycouldnotunderstandthetruepositionofaffairs。Theharvestwascommencing。Ihadjealouslyguardedthecornupontheisland，whichshouldhaveproducedatleast500
urdeps；buttheofficersandmendidnotwishtoseethegranariesfilled，asthatfactwoulddestroytheexcuseforareturntoKhartoum；
thus，insteadoflabouringwithheartandsoultogathertheharvest，theyworkedsolazily，thatinninedaystheyonlyreaped237urdeps，ornotonehalfthatwasactuallyuponthefields。Theypermittedthenativestostealbynight，andtheswarmsofsmallbirdsdestroyedanincrediblequantitybyday。Theseinnumerableandruinouspestsdonotconsumetheentiregrain，buttheynibblethesoftsweetportionfromthejointofeachseed，neatlypickingouttheheart；thusthegroundbeneathisstrewedwiththeirremnantsofdestruction。
IhadnotvisitedBeliniansincetheirunprovokedattack，fortworeasons。First，wewereengagedinfortifyingthestation；and，secondly，IdidnotwishtoraisethesuspicionamongtheBaristhatI
mightcomedownsuddenlyupontheircrops。Uptothepresenttimewehadactedmainlyonthedefensive，andthenativeshadnofearfortheirharvest。Iknewthatabout2，000acresofdhurrawouldbeatourservicebyasuddenattackonBelinian，ifthetroopswouldworkearnestlytosecureit。AtthesametimeIwasafraidtomentionthesubject，lestsomeintriguemightdestroythepossibilityofsuccess。
IfAbouSaoodorhispeoplehadpossessedaknowledgeofmyintentions，theywouldatoncehavegivenwarningtoourenemies，andwouldhavedestroyedmyplans。BothAbouSaoodandthegreaternumberoftheofficerswereanxiouslywatchingthecloseofthedrama，astheyimaginedthatwiththedisappearanceofsupplies，thecurtainwouldfalluponthelastact。
IpossessedinformationthatwouldrendermeindependentofcornfromKhartoum，ifthetroopswouldonlyworkhonestly。WewereatopenwarwiththeBaris，andwehadbeenconstantlysubjectedtotheirattacks。I
hadarrangedmyplanstocompletemyfortssoastobereadyforacampaignatthecommencementoftheharvest，whenthecountrywouldbefullofcorn。MytworichharvestswouldbeBelinian——twelvemilesdistantandthefruitfulislandsbeyondthemountainRegiaf，aboutfourteenmilessouthofGondokoro。Thelatterwouldbeeasilycollected，asthevesselscouldloadattheislands，andconveythecargoesdownstreamdirecttohead-quarters。
Everythingdependedupontheofficersandmen。RaoufBey，whocommandedthetroops，wasindailycommunicationwithAbouSaood，whowasexertinghimselftotheutmosttoruintheexpeditionbypromotingdiscontent，andpersuadingtheofficersthattheywoulddieofstarvation，andthattheBarisweremostdangerousenemies，whowouldexterminatethetroopsshouldIweakentheforcebytakingadetachmenttoformstationsintheinterior。
Itwasthuspre-arrangedbymyownpeoplethat，evenifinthemidstofplenty，thecornshouldnotbecollectedinanylargerquantitythanwouldsufficetofeedtheexpeditionduringthereturnvoyagefromGondokorotoKhartoum。
Inthatcase，theexpeditionwouldbebrokenupandabandoned。Theauthoritieswouldpiouslyejaculate，”ElhambdelAllah！”ThanksbetoGod！ThecountrywouldoncemorefallintothehandsofAbouSaoodbycontractwiththegovernmentoftheSoudan。Thegoodoldtimesofslave-huntingwouldreturnandremainundisturbed。TheChristianwouldhavebeengotridofbyanignominiousfailure。AbouSaoodwouldhaveboastedofthesuccessofhisdiplomacy；andAllorronandhisBaris，oncefreedfromtherestraintofagovernment，wouldhavefraternizedagainwiththeiralliestheslave-hunters，topillage，kidnap，anddesolatetheproductivecountriesofCentralAfrica。
Ideterminedthattheexpeditionshouldsucceed，and，withGod’shelp，I
wouldovercomeeveryopposition。
Thefortswerecompleted。Gondokoro，or，asIhadnamedit，Ismailia，wasprotectedbyaditchandearthwork，withbastionsmountingtenguns。
Mylittlestationwasalsofortified；thusIcouldcommenceacampaignagainstthewholeBaritribe，withoutfearingforthesafetyofmybase。
OnAugust30，1871，Istartedwithaforceof450men，withonegun，andonerocket-troughforHale’sthree-pounderrockets。
Ilefttwentyofthe”FortyThieves”atmylittlestation，togetherwithareinforcementofthirtymen。Ihadorderedthecaptainofthediahbeeah，uponwhichmywiferesided，topushthevesseloffthebankandtoanchorinthestreameverynight。
TheBarisoftheBelinianMountainwerewellprovidedwithgunsandammunition，whichtheyhadtakeninvariousmassacresoftheslave-traders’partiessomeyearsbefore。Ononeoccasiontheyhadkilled126ofthetradersinoneday，andhadpossessedthemselvesoftheirarms，withmanycasesofcartridges。
Onseveraloccasionstheyhaddestroyedsmallerpartieswiththesameresult，andtheyhadneverbeenatpeacewithAbouSaoodsincehehadtreacherouslymurderedtheirSheikandhisfamily。RecentlyhavingalliedwithAbouSaood’sfriendstheBarisofGondokoro，againstthegovernment，someoftheBelinianpeoplehadventuredtotrade，andhadestablishedacommunicationwithAbouSaood’speople，fromwhomtheypurchasedammunitioninexchangefortobacco。
Havinggivenordersonthepreviouseveningthatthemenweretobeunderarmsreadyforthemarchat1a。m。，IwasannoyedtofindthatneitherofficersnormenwerepreparedwhenIarrivedpunctuallyatthehourappointedathead-quarters。Thecolonel，RaoufBey，wasfastasleep，andhadtoberousedbythesentry。ThiswasabreachofdisciplinethatcostMajorAchmetRafikhislife。AftersomeannoyingdelayIstartedforBelinian。Atthattime，inthedarknight，IwasnotawarethatAchmetRafikwasabsent。Thisofficerwasathorough-bredTurk，andhehadseenmuchservice，havingbeenthroughtheCrimeanwar，andalsointhatofArabia，underAbbasPacha。Heoughttohaveknownbetter，buthesharedtheprevalentfeelingofdiscontent；thus，insteadofbeingonthealertandathispost，hewasasleepwhenthetroopsstartedontheirnightmarch。
Whenawakened，hehastilydressed，buckledonhisswordandrevolver，andtakingadouble-barrelledguninhishandheendeavouredtofollowthetroops，butmistookthedirection，andlosthiswayinthedark。
WearrivedattheopenvalleyofBelinianatday-break，butnativescoutshadalreadygiventhealarmofourapproach。Thereweresomehundredvillagessituatedinthevaleandontheheightsalongthebaseofthemountain；butatthisseasononlythetopsofthehutswerevisibleabovethehighdhurra，whichwasjustripened，althoughthegeneralharvesthadnotyetcommenced。
Thereisnocovertsomuchinfavourofnativewarfareasthehighdhurra，whichperfectlyconcealstheirmovements，atthesametimethatitiseasilypassedthroughatspeed。
TheBaridrumswerebeatingthroughoutthecountry，andtheirhornsweresoundinginalldirections。Clearingthewaywithskirmishers，wemarchedalongagoodpathforaboutfourmilesparallelwiththebaseofthemountain，untilwearrivedataplainorbottom，whichborethemarksofcattle-hoofsingreatnumbers。Thisspotwasaboutthirteenmilesfromhead-quartersatGondokoro。
Therewasnodhurracultivationontheright，nearthebaseofthemountain，asthesoilwaspoorandsandy：wethushadaclearviewofthecountry。Thecattlehadbeendrivenoff，andwewereonlyintimetoseethemdisappearingoverthedistanthighground。Thenativeshadcollectedinlargenumbers，andseemeddisposedtodisputetheadvanceofthetroops。
Thegroundwasperfectlyclean，asthecattlehadfedoffthegrassuntilitwasassmoothasagardenlawn。Fromthepositionweoccupied，thecountryinclinedupwardstowardsthebaseofthemountain，aboutamileandahalfdistant；thisintervalaboundedinvillages，allofwhichweredefendedbystockades。Atthebaseofthemountainwerebrokenhills，composedofhugegraniterocks，thefoundationsofmountainsthathadlongsincedecayed。Uponallthesestrongpositionsweretheusualstockadedvillages。