The Nile Was Full And Unusually High; This Was In Favour Of The Voyage,
As Success Depended Upon Our Crossing
The shallows during the flood; it
was, therefore, necessary to push on with all speed so as to reach the
Shallows which had been impassable last April, before the river should
fall.
It will now be necessary to refer to my original journal, as it would be
difficult to convey an idea of the voyage by a general description. A
few hours after starting, on 11th December 1870, I find this
entry: - "Thank goodness, we are off, and in good time, as the river is
exceedingly high, although it has already fallen about five inches from
its maximum. Mr. Higginbotham has been ill for a long time.
Lieutenant-Colonel Abd-el-Kader, my first aide-de-camp, although an
excellent officer, is almost useless from ill-health; thus the whole
work falls on myself and Julian (Lieutenant Baker) personally, and had I
not driven the officers forward from sunrise to sunset, we should not
have been off for another two months. These miserable people do not
understand energy, and the Ramadan increases their incapacity.
"December 12. - At 2.30 A.M., we were hailed when ten minutes within the
Bahr Giraffe, by two noggurs (vessels) in distress. Stopped the steamer
immediately, and then heard that the No. 15 noggur, their consort, had
sunk in deep water, close to this spot.
"At day-break I searched the river, and discovered the wreck in eighteen
feet depth of water.
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