feet3inchesfromsnouttoendoftail。
Thestomachcontainedaboutfivepounds’weightofpebbles，asthoughithadfeduponfleshrestinguponagravelbank，andhadswallowedthepebblesthathadadhered。Mixedwiththepebbleswasagreenish，slimymatterthatappearedwoolly。Inthemidstofthiswerethreeundeniablewitnessesthatconvictedthecrocodileofwilfulmurder。Anecklaceandtwoarmlets，suchasarewornbythenegrogirls，weretakenfromthestomach！Thegirlhadbeendigested。Thiswasanoldmalefactorthatwasagoodriddance。
Ihavefrequentlyseencrocodilesupwardsofeighteenfeetinlength，andtherecanbelittledoubtthattheysometimesexceedtwenty；butaverysmallcreatureofthisspeciesmaycarryawayamanwhileswimming。
Thecrocodiledoesnotattempttoswallowananimalatonce，buthavingcarriedittoafavouritefeeding-place，generallyinsomedeephole，ittearsitlimbfromlimbwithteethandclawsanddevoursitatleisure。
Thecampofthe”FortyThieves”hadbeenfinishedsometimesince：thegardenswereflourishing，andIerecteda”shadoof，”orEgyptiandoublebucketandleverforirrigation。Twomencouldliftandthrowout3，600
gallonsperhour。Imadethecalculationasnearlyaspossible：theironbucketscontainedslightlymorethanfourgallonseach；thus，twomenwiththedoubleshadoofliftedeightgallonseveryeightsecondsoroneliftineightseconds：agallonpersecondgave3，600perhour。
Ineverallowedthe”FortyThieves”toworkatthegeneralhead-quarters，butkeptthemasmypersonalescort。WhenatTewfikeeyahIhadbeenparticularintheirdrill，andIhadendeavouredtoteachthemtoshootaccurately。TheEgyptiansbecamebettershotsthantheSoudanis，butImuchpreferredthelatter；bydegreesIdraftedoutalltheEgyptiansexceptingfour，andfilledtheirplaceswithwell-selectedblacks，mostlytakenfromthegrenadiercompanyoftheregiment。
Atthecommencementoftheexpeditionthissmallbodyofmenhadwellearnedthetitleofthe”FortyTHIEVES”bywhichtheywerealwaysknownamongtheEnglishparty，althoughpubliclyinthecamptheywereonlydesignatedas”TheForty。”
Ihadtakengreatpersonalcareofthislittlecorps，andtheresultwasmostsatisfactory。Thethieveshadbeengotridof。Ineverforgaveafaultuntilafterpunishmenthadbeenreceived；Ineverallowedthedoctortoattendthemwhenill，butinvariablyattendedtothemmyself。
Ihadendeavouredtoinstilafeelingofprideamongthem，andencouragedthemwithanideaoftheirsuperioritytotheotherregiments。Iactuallysucceededinestablishingacodeofhonourthroughoutthecorps，untilitwasconsideredadisgraceto”TheForty”
thatatheftshouldbecommitted。”Ishenotoneof’TheForty’?”wastheusualexclamationifanydoubtwasthrownonthecharacterofasoldier。Thefactofhisbelongingto”TheForty”wasasufficientcertificate。
Theregimentalarrangementsathead-quartershadbeensadlyneglected，asthemenwerenecessarilysomuchengagedinotherworkthattheyhadnotimefordrillexceptonFridays。The”FortyThieves”werewellofficered，havingtheadvantageofalieutenant-colonelandacaptain，togetherwithtwomostactiveandcourageouslieutenants，whohadlatelyreceivedtheirpromotionforgoodconduct：theseweremyfaithfulMonsoorAgha，andFerritchAgba。Theyoungsoldier，whohadbeencondemnedtobeshotfordesertionthepreviousyear，hadshownsuchdevotionandactivitythathewaspromisedthenextvacancyintherankofcorporal。Thenon-commissionedofficersweresoldierswhohadseenmuchservice，andthecorpswasinahighlyefficientstatewiththeexceptionoftheriflepractice。
WhileatTewfikeeyah，havingpaidmuchattentiontothisall-importantpoint，Ihadinstructedtheofficersandmenpersonally，andIhadestablishedprize-shootingtogiveanadditionalinteresttothework。
Bothofficersandmennowtookanimmensepleasureinriflepractice，butitappearedalmostimpossibletomakethemgoodshots。Outofforty-eightofficersandmen，Ihadonlyfifteenwhocouldbecalledrealhitters；theotherswereonlyshooters。
Thegreatdifficultywastoinstructthemindistances。Ifrequentlytookthemawayfromcampandmadethemguessthedistanceinpacesfromsomeparticularobject，suchasatree，orwhite-anthill。Veryfewofthemenhadtheslightestideaofthisimportantsubject；butatthecommencement，eventheofficerswereperfectlyignorant。Atlength，byconstantpracticeatthetarget，varyingtherangefrom100to300
yards，aboutathirdofthecorpsbecamefairshots，andthesefewweretolerablygoodjudgesofdistanceupto400yards。Thecolonel，Abd-el-
Kader，becameanexcellentshot，ashewasanofficerwhotookgreatinterestinhisprofession。Theremainderofthecorpsshotaswellastheycould，andtookgreatpains；butalthoughtheywereconsideredcrackmarksmenbytheline-regiments，theirreputationwouldhavesufferediftheirdeficiencieshadbeenexposed。Atanyrate，theywereverydangerouswithsuchaweaponasthesnider，whenfiringintomassesoftheenemy。
Idistinguished”TheForty”fromthelineregimentbyascarletuniform；
thiswasasimpleredflannelshirt，wornoutsidetheirZouavetrouser，andsecuredbyabelt，withammunition-pouches，roundthewaist。Thisuniform，withlinengaiters，andwithahead-dressofthescarletfez，boundbyaturbanofcobaltblue，lookedremarkablywell。
Inactiveservice，theofficerscarriedsniders；thus，thecorpscompleteconsistedofforty-eightsniders；buttogetherwithLieutenantBakerandmyself，itcomprisedfiftyrifles。
Thehighstateofdisciplineandthefinemoraleofthislittleforcewasagoodexampleofwhatmaybeeffected，evenwithamaterialofsolowareputationasthenegro。MymenwerenativesofvarioustribesscatteredoveranimmenseextentofCentralAfrica。Eachhadacertainloveofthecountryfromwhichhehadbeenoriginallystolenbytheslave-traderswhenaboy，beforehefoundhiswayintogovernmentservice。Ialwaysendeavouredtokeepupthisfeeling，andtocreateemulationamongthemenofdifferenttribes；thus，anativeofPongowouldassumeasuperiorityoveraDinka，althoughtheDinkaconsideredhimselfofahigherclassthanaPongo。ANobaregardedhimselfassuperiortoallothers。ButbydegreesIestablishedaprinciplethatwasgenerallyacceptedbythemall——thatanoldsoldierwithagoodreputationshouldtakeprecedenceofallothers，withoutreferencetocasteortribe。Thus，theaimofallyoungprivateswouldbetobecomeoldsoldiers，andtoriseinrankaccordingtotheirmerits。Therewereseveralexcellentexamplesofgoodsoldiersin”TheForty，”amongwhomstoodfirstMohammed-el-Feel，sergeantofthebody-guard。Thelattercomprisedtenmen，selectedfrom”TheForty”ascremedelacreme；
thesemenwereexemptedfromalllabour，andtheyformedtheguardoftwosentriesbynight，andonebyday。
Thedisciplineofthispickedcorps——”Abd-el-KaderandtheFortyThieves”——wasthecommencementofagreatmoralreform，thatresultedinanimprovedtonethroughouttheforce，whichultimatelydidthegreatworkoftheexpedition。
Theefficiencyof”TheForty”wasanestablishedfactofwhatcouldbeaccomplishedwhereofficersandmenweregovernedbythatpeculiarconfidencethatboundthemtogetherasoneman。Throughouttheexpedition，afterthisconfidencehadbeenonceestablished，Ineverforaninstantdoubtedthefidelityofmymen；theywouldhavefollowedmethroughfireorwater，withouttheslightesthesitation。Inaction，”TheForty”werealwaysinadvance，andtheywerewatchedwitheagernessandevenpridebytheotherregiments：whenthrownoutasskirmisherstheyclimbedrocks，pushedthroughjungles，andclearedtheenemyfromthecountrywithirresistibleactivity。Promotionfromthelineto”TheForty”wasconsideredasanhonour，andsoperfectwastheespritdecorps，thatintheeventofavacancybeingcausedbysickness，orothercause，themenreportedtomethecharacterofthenew-comerbeforehewasadmitted，andrespectfullydeclinedtoreceivehimifheboreadoubtfulreputation；virtuallyhewas”black-balled。”
Acorpsofthischaracterwasanucleusforanextensionofmilitarymorality。The”FortyThieves”wouldnotadmitathief；andtheybecamegenerallyacceptedasamodelofwhatgovernmentsoldiersshouldbecome。
IbelievethatifitwerepossibletoconvertthegreaterportionofAfricansavagesintodisciplinedsoldiers，itwouldbethemostrapidstridetowardstheirfuturecivilization。Thefactofobediencebeingenforced，andthenecessityoforder，industry，anddiscipline，togetherwithclothingandcleanliness，isallthatisabsolutelyrequiredtobringasavagewithintheboundsofgoodmanagement。Asavagewhohasledawildanduncontrolledlifemustfirstlearntoobeyauthoritybeforeanygreatimprovementcanbeexpected。Asoldiermustobey，andhelearnstorespecthisofficersashissuperiors；thus，asavagewhohaslearntallthatheknowsfromhisofficers，whomheadmitsashissuperiors，willquicklyadopttheirreligion，ashehasbeenobligedtoadopttheirmilitaryrules。MysoldierswereallMohammedans，simplybecausetheyhadbeentaughtbytheirofficersthatgoodsoldiersshouldbetruebelievers。
AsIhavealreadydescribed，mystationwasamileandahalfdistantfromhead-quarters，andthearrangementsundermypersonalinspectionwereverydifferentfromthelaxdisciplineoftheofficersatGondokoro。
ThenativesofBelinianhaddisregardedthewarningtheyhadreceived，andnow，havingleaguedthemselveswiththeBarisofGondokoro，theywereconstantlyonthewatchforanopportunityofsurprisingthecattleguards。Concealingthemselvesbehindthickfoliage，theystalkedthecarelesssentrieswiththeadroitnessofAmericanIndians，andsometimessucceededinmakingadashanddrivingoffafewheadofcattle。
Iwasobligedtotakeextraprecautionsduringthenight，asmylittlestationwasdependentonlyupon”TheForty，”whilethecampathead-quarterswasoccupiedby1，100men，inadditiontoabout400
sailors，andthesixEnglishmen。
Thenativesdisturbeduseverynight，andwereconstantlyfiredatbythesentries。Iservedoutcartridgescontainingeight-mouldshot，eachtoberammeddownovertheballinthemusketsforthenightsentries：
thesewouldbemorelikelytohitathiefinthedarkthanasinglebullet。Themusketsweregiventothesentriesinadditiontotheirrifles。
Iplacedmymeneverynight，concealedbycoversoastocommandthevariousapproaches。Thestationwasconvenientlysituated，asalargeanddeeplakecompletelydefendedthenorthflankforadistanceofabout400yards。Theriverdefendedtheeastface：thuswewereonlyopenontwosides，oneofwhichwascommandedbythecampof”TheForty。”
On28thJuneitrainedsteadilyduringthenight。TheBarisconsideredthatoursentrieswouldbeundercover，orwouldmostlikelynotexpectanattack；theythereforeresolvedtoattemptasurprise。Theiradvancedscoutsapproachedwarilyinthedark，butlongbeforetheyhadreachedthesentries，theypassedwithinafewfeetofapartyofguardsconcealedbehindawhite-anthill。AshotfromamusketstretchedoneBaridead。Theguardspounceduponanotherandseizedhimbythethroat。
ThiswasanativeofBelinian；hewasaccordinglyhangedonthefollowingmorningtoatreeinthepathwaybywhichtheBelinianBarisarrivedthroughtheforesttoattackthecamp。Thisitwashopedwouldbeawarningthatmightdeterothers。Throughouttheexpeditionthiswastheonlynativewhowashanged。Neitherwasanynativeshotorotherwiseexecutedwhentakenprisoner，exceptaspyatBelinian。
On5thJulythenativesmadeanattemptonthecattle，andshotasentrywithanarrow。
On7thJulytheBarisattackedthecampduringthenight。
On8thJulyIsentacompanytotakepossessionandtoholdtheisland。
Theymetthenatives；andMonsoorandAchmetBashChoushhadanarrowescapefromlances。TheBarislostthreekilledandtwoprisoners。
Onthatdaytheriverrosefourfeetsix，whichwasthehighestfloodduringthewetseason。