Great Mortality throtigh Famine.

399 from Meshra-el-Rek, lias reappeared witli great violence. Jinan Bey came on board to beg me to remove to his nugger, where I should be quieter.

He also had exhausted his provisions, but had many servants who went out and collected sufficient sutep to keep them all alive. I accepted his offer. But it was high time to put an end to this state of things, so I determined to break up a boat for firewood. At the same time I ordered crews to take care of the slep and the nugger, and thus the steamer, rid of the labour of tugging, would be able to go more quickly to Fashoda to obtain men and help. While the captain broke up the boat I and Jinau worked at the bars.

Noremher SOih. — For many days I only see the steamer at a great distance, but never lose sight of its mast. We are already at the end of November. The steamer made but little progress, getting about two miles in advance of us, when it found itself again blocked. It then turned back to join us.

December 12th. — The steamer has been able to approach us. During this terrible interval, soldiers, women, children, and Congolese have died. The steamer has now very few men. The captain came on board to ask us to send him assistance. He had again consumed all the fuel, and had not enough people to do the work. Later on, my servant with the engineer and others came to tell us that, for the second time, the captain had neglected to load a large part of the fuel obtained by breaking up the boat ; that some men had gone ashore to gather sutep, and the captain had started without waiting for them, thus leaving forty- three persons at the mercy of the savages. The men on land with great trouble had returned to the river bank, but the captain refused to send a boat to take them. Among the forty-three men there were four of my boys, and it may be imagined how furious I am at the inhuman conduct of this faithless and lawless man.