330 Seven Years in the Soudan.

God had assisted us. Who knows what misfortunes woukl have taken place had the rebels, favoured by fortune, succeeded in reaching the mountains I Our past sufferings were forgotten ; I now thought only of organizing the country, and rendering return to the old system impossible in tlie future. Copious rains had inundated all the country. AVe walked in the water, which, though not dee]), ])revented us from moving rapidly. After six days I arrived at Kalaka, where I met with the troops coming from Shakka.

I took a few da3s in organizing this province, confided to me by His Excellency Gordon Pasha. From Kalaka I went to the Bahr-el- Arab, the banks of which we reached in four days. The water was deep, the breadth of the river about seven hundred feet. Both shores were covered with thick forest, containing many dulep trees. AVe set to work to make zattere flight boats), with dried canes, and, pushed by good swimmers, we were transported to the opposite shore. Those who could not swim clung to the sides of the boat, which in this way carried across ten persons at a time. Other boats were destined to transport baggage, ammunition, etc. Though the work Avas carried on without interruption, we took four dajs to get across, and set forward on our march into the country of Bahr-el-Ghazal.

Our route led through Farague, inhabited by an Arab race, half-pagan, half-mussulman. It is rich in grain and especially in maize. The population had fouofht for Suleiman till the last minute. Lvinoon the principal route for slave caravans the tribe had made friends with the Jelabbas, making, one may say, common cause with them. The Sultan, a certain Rashid, pretended, on our arrival, to have no provisions for us, and sent us some pumpkins ; but the next da}' I learned that he had more than fifty magazines full of doora which belonged to Suleiman.

The behaviour of this chief enraged me ; I gave him