56 ENGAGING ADDITIONAL HELP.

name of Alkai, and was a Jalyn Arab who had settled in Cassala for many years. As a rule, they are a lazy, good-for-nothing set of fellows ; but he proved an exception to the rule, and was a very hard-working man, though without sufficient authority over those we had placed under him. Having fixed on a head man, the next thing to be done was to find others to serve under him. I found three, and engaged them at the rate of five dollars a month each, they finding their own food : with this arrangement they expressed themselves as perfectly satisfied. We then gave out that we wanted more men in the same capacity ; and the next morning a whole array of men of all denominations presented themselves, and expressed their willingness to go with us. We placed them all in a row, and selected the best-looking of them, making the number up to fourteen with those we had previously engaged.

We thought the whole business was settled, as we had promised them the same pay as the others ; when back they came in a body, to say they could not go without higher wages. After a long discussion, we arranged between ourselves to give them four dollars a month each, and feed them as well ; instead of five, and they to provide their own food. It seemed, after all, best to feed them ourselves : we were going into a country of the resources of which we knew nothing, and, whatever terms we made at the commencement, it seemed almost certain that it would end in our having to cater for them.

Having decided on making them this offer (a very good one for the country), we had all those whom we had previously engaged up in a line, and called over their names, which we wrote down, — a ceremony that much impressed them. To begin with, we decided to have nothing further to do with one of those we had selected, — a tall, powerful-looking. White Nile negro, who we thought was trying to make the others discon-