GORDON AND THE MAHDI. 119 onNovember 23 to select anew spot some twenty miles southward.

whom wereleft at Dal, and the remainingone at Hannek cataract. The voyage,beginning at Jamai and ending at Debbeh, a distance of 313miles, commencedonNovember 1, andconcludedonDecember 7, a period of thirty-seven days. Thegreatest distance covered ina giventime was forty-twomilesinforty-eight hours. At the rapids the stores were either wholly or partlyremoved and portaged on camel-back, whilethe boats were pulled through the rapids or impelled by sail and oar. They certainly reachedDongola,but so badly damaged that some fears were entertained about the expediencyof bringing the greaterpart of theexpeditionup the river inboats. To providefor the wants and the relief of the men on the way,a series of stations hadbeenestablished at Muhrat Wells, Ambigol, Akasha, Tangour,Sarka-Matto(or Dal), Absaret, Kaibar, and Abu Fatmeh, there being on an average one for every thirty-three miles of the river's course between Sarras and Dongola. Each station was commanded by an officer, whoserank wasgenerally that of acolonel withstaff degree, and whohad adetachment of Egyptian soldiers under him, with a commissariat depot to supply the wants of the different corpsproceeding to the front.

All the remaining troops destined to take partin the expeditionreached Wady Haifaby the end ofNovember, with the exceptionof the 1st battalionof the Cameron Highlanders, which remained at Korosko. The decisive moment was now fast approaching. On November 25 Lord Wolseley gave orders for the formation of a navalbrigade, to be commandedby LordCharlesBeresford, his naval aide-de-camp; and five days later he issued a stirringgeneralorder, whichran as follows :— "To the Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines op the Nile Expedition.— The relief of General Gordon and his garrison, so long besieged in Khartoum, is the glorious mission which the Queen has entrusted to us. Itis an enterprise that will stir the heart of every soldier and sailor fortunate enough to have been selected to share in it, and the very magnitude of its difficulty only stimulates us to increased exertions. We are all proud of General Gordon an.l his gallant and self-sacrificing defence of Khartoum, which has added, if possible, to his already high reputation. He cannot hold out many months longer, and he now calls upon us to save his garrison. His heroism and his patriotism are household words wherever our language is spoken ;and not only has his safety become a matter of national importance, but the knowledge that our brave comrade needs help urgesus to push forward with redoubled energy. Neither he nor his garrison can be allowed to meet the sad fate which befell his gallant eompanion-in-arms, Colonel Stewart, who, whenendeavouring to carry out anenterprise of unusual danger, was foully and treacherously murdered by his captors. We can— and with God's help will— save General Gordon from such a death. The labour of working up this river is immense, and to bearituncomplainingly demands the highest soldierlike qualities, that contempt for danger, and that determination to overcomedifficulty which inprevious campaigns havesodistinguished all ranks of her Majesty's army and navy- The physical obstacles that impede our rapidprogress are considerable, but who cares for them whenitis remembered that General Gordon andhis garrison are in danger? Under God their safety is nowin our hands, and come whatmay, wemust save them. Itis needless to say more to British soldiers and sailors.— (Signed) "Wolseley."

It appearsthatin the monthofNovember the voyage, innative boats or nuggars from Sarras to the north end of the Hannek rapid, a distance of 150 miles, occupied but twenty-eight days— relays of nuggars being used betweentherapids, past which the baggage was portaged on camels. The passage of the native boats was greatly facilitatedby the fierce andoftenbitternorth wind which constantlyblowsup theNile. "Inascendingthe river," says the writer in The Times whom we have already quoted,"the traveller may be certain of the north wind to wafthim, canvas spread; andinmovingdownhe may equallybe certain of the current to carryhim, with the sailfurled. The current, which variesaccordingtoseason and to place,is greatestin August and Septemberat the rapids, and least in March in the reaches betweenthe cataracts. The descent of the river is more difficult and dangerousthan the ascent,for inthe latter case, it iseasy to stop the boat'swayby loweringthe sail. The current will then sweep her away from anydanger ahead. In descending,however,the current constantly tendstocarry the boaton to the rocks or sand banks beforeit. The nuggar descends in a manner peculiarlyher own. She goes stern foremost, with the sail either closely furled or slightly unfurled to deflect her from danger, or to carry her into the strongestdownwardcurrent. She is steered partly by her greatrudder acting on contrary currents, and partlyby the wind acting on the sail. The skill shownby the nativesin managing one of these boats is somethingsurprising*. Oneinstantthetravelleranticipates his destruction on a rock towards which thetorrentis sweeping him; but the next he is in safety, how, he canscarcely say."

In reference to the whaler boats the same writer observes, that " on the whole they were well enough suited for their work. The chief defect about them was the smallnessof the rudder, whichshouldhave been unusuallylarge. Owingto itsdiminutiveproportionsithad tobe increased in size by attaching to it pieces of plank." At a later period the descent of these whalersby oars, became as sure as the ascent, save that greater care in steering wasrequired, and that the rapids, in whole or part, hadtobe shot instead of tracked. A course downa rapid being chosen, the men rowed as strongly as they could in order to get good steerageway on the boat. Slack rowing wouldhave led to disaster, for a man upset in the fairway course of a rapid, must inevitably be This order was received with the greatest enthusiasm by the troops, whose emulation was increased by Lord Wolseley offering a prize of £100 to the battalionwhich made the best passage up the Nile to Debbeh, where it hadnow been decided to concentrate the force.

The start of the South Staffordshire was followed by thatof the Cornwall regiment, the West Kent,theRoyal Irish,the GordonHighlanders,and such portions of the CamelCorps, Artillery, and Transport Service as hadnot yet moved forward. While the mounted detachments proceededbyroad along the western bank of the Nile, the foot soldiers rowed lustily up the river in one or another of the 800 whale-boats sent out from England. Thelattercollectively wereprovided with seventeenmiles of cotton rope, two inches in circumference, and with nearly nine tons of charcoal, sufficient for two years' supply. The boats, moreover,contained a great quantity of stores.* Thefirst practical attempt to ascendthe river from Wady Haifa in these whaler boats was made in Novemberby a detachment of the 26th company Royal Engineers in fiveboats. The party numbered fifty-seven, and included an Arabic interpreter, a servant, a Rais to act as a guide up therapids, and five Canadians, four of * In each boat there were ordered to be placed the following articles, thoughit is impossible to say with certainty that they were all actually furnished:—A charcoal stove, a foot deep;three nets, :-i6 feet inlength;50 cases of stores for boatmen ;410 eases of stores for soldiers;a sponge bath;six sacks, for stores by the way *, a spring balance, for rations ;alampbox, with two gallons of oil and6 feet of cotton wick;and the medical box, containing three bottles of port wine eight bottles of brandy, Jib. of mustard, lib. of yellow soap, 1lb. of candles, \ lb. of salt, \ lb. of compressed tea, twelve tins of Liebi"'s extractcim carnis, four tins of milk, six tins of cocoa and milk two boxes of matches, corkserew, and tin cutter.— " The Nile Route to Khartoum."— The Times, April 8, 18S5.

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