Ismailia | Page 6

I had originally sent up six steamers from Cairo to ply between
Khartoum and Gondokoro; these had been simply employed as far as
Fashoda station, but as the Nile was now open, they at once established

a rapid and regular communication with the equatorial provinces. The
terrible difficulty had vanished, and Gondokoro was linked with the
outer world from which it had been excluded. The appliances which
had been prepared with much care could now be utilized. With the river
open, supplies and reinforcements could be immediately forwarded,
and the ivory which had accumulated in the government stations could
be brought to market. In addition to the physical advantages of restored
communication, a great moral change was effected throughout the
officers and troops; they felt no longer banished from the world, but
accepted their position as garrisons in Egyptian territory.
At Gondokoro I had constructed a steel steamer of 108 tons, and I had
left ready packed for land transport a steamer of the same metal 38 tons,
in addition to two steel life-boats of each 10 tons, for conveyance to the
Albert N'yanza. At Khartoum I had left in sections a steamer of 251
tons. All these vessels had been brought from England and conveyed
with incredible trouble upon camels across the deserts to Khartoum.
Before my arrival in the Soudan the entire river force of steamers upon
the Blue and White Niles was represented by four very inferior vessels.
I had added six from Cairo, and built a seventh; thus I left a force of
eleven steamers working on the river, exclusive of two in sections.
The stations garrisoned by regular troops were-- 1. Gondokoro, N. lat. 4
degrees 54 minutes. 2. Fatiko, N. lat. 3 degrees 2 minutes. 3. Foweera,
N. lat. 2 degrees 6 minutes. 4. Fabbo, N. lat. 3 degrees 8 minutes.
By the newly-raised irregulars-- 5. Farragenia. 6. Faloro.
In this position of affairs Colonel Gordon succeeded to the command in
the spring of 1874. Although the Bari tribe, which had been subdued,
was nominally at peace, it was hardly safe to travel through the country
without an armed escort.
Colonel Gordon's first effort was in favour of conciliation, with the
hope of inspiring a friendly spirit among the chiefs. At the same time
he resolved to offer a chance for reform to the slave-hunter Abou
Saood, who he considered might amend his ways, and from his
knowledge of the people become a useful officer to the government.
Unfortunately, the leopard could not change his spots, and the man, to
whom every opportunity had been given, was dismissed and punished.
It was impossible to have discovered an officer more thoroughly
qualified for the command than Colonel Gordon. By profession a

military engineer, he combined the knowledge especially required for
carrying on the enterprise. He had extended the hand of friendship to
the natives, but when rejected with contempt and opposed by hostility,
he was prompt in chastisement. The wet seasons and attendant high
flood of two years were employed in dragging the 108-ton steel steamer
up the various cataracts which intervened between Gondokoro and
Duflli (N. lat. 3 degrees 34 minutes). This portion of the river formed a
series of steps caused by a succession of cataracts at intervals of about
25 miles; between the obstacles the stream was navigable. The natives
of Moogi treacherously attacked and killed the whole of a detachment,
including the French officer in command, during the absence of
Colonel Gordon, who was engaged in the operation of towing the
steamer through the rapids only a few miles distant. This open hostility
necessitated the subjugation of the tribe, and the establishment of a line
of military posts along the course of the river.
After much trouble, at the expiration of two years the steamer was
dragged to an utterly impassable series of cataracts south of Lobore.
This line of obstruction extended for the short distance of about twelve
miles, beyond which the river was navigable into the Albert N'yanza.
Several vessels had been towed up together with the steamer from
Gondokoro, and the 38-ton steel steamer and two life-boats which had
been thus conveyed, were now carried in sections to the spot above the
last cataracts at Duffli, where they could be permanently reconstructed.
Signor Gessi was entrusted with the command of the two life-boats
upon their completion, and had the honour of first entering the Albert
N'yanza from the north by the river Nile.
The 38-ton steamer was put together, and the 108-ton (Khedive), which
had been left a few miles distant from Duffli, below the cataracts, was
taken to pieces and reconstructed on the navigable portion of the Nile
in N. lat. 3 degrees 34 minutes.
The plan of connecting the equatorial Lake Albert with Khartoum by
steam communication which