My men had built themselves huts, and had formed a nice little camp, on
the hard, stony bank, close to the spot where my diahbeeah and other
vessels lay alongside. My horses were picketed in the centre, and we had
transported and erected a great number of granaries, which I had filled
with cleanly-thrashed corn, to await the arrival of the return vessels
from Gondokoro.
I was superintending the arrangements of the camp, when my attention was
attracted by exceedingly steady firing in single shots at a distance, in
the direction taken by my small party of "The Forty." Nothing could be
seen, owing to the high ground on the south.
I immediately ordered my horse, and accompanied by Monsoor and three
soldiers of "The Forty" I rode at a trot towards the direction of the
firing. I had left a small guard with the boats, as nearly all the men
were absent in the interior collecting the ` dhurra.
After riding for about a mile and a half over high ground covered with
fine turf, from the summit of which I had a beautiful view of the
undulating country before me, with the White Nile flowing through the
valley, and high mountains in the distance, I came suddenly upon a
village, where I observed two of my "Forty" mounted as sentries upon the
summits of the tallest huts. A little in advance of this position, I
found the remainder of my party. It appeared that they had been
suddenly, attacked, but the sentries on the house-tops had given timely
warning.
There could not have been a more suitable country for rifle-practice,
as it was completely open and almost devoid of trees. The fine, swelling
undulations were intersected with deep rocky ravines at right angles to
the river, which after heavy rains brought down the torrents from the
mountains.
My arrival on the summit, on a white horse, attended only by Monsoor and
three soldiers, was a signal for a great blowing of horns and beating of
drums. Immense numbers of natives were to be seen in all parts of the
view before us. They ran eagerly from their villages, and collected from
every quarter, evidently bent upon a fight with my little party.
I ordered my men to cease firing, as they were wasting their ammunition
uselessly, and destroying the prestige of the rifles by missing at long
ranges.
I ordered a general advance in open order, about four yards apart; thus
twenty men covered a line of about seventy-six paces. This front, with
the men in scarlet uniform, made a tolerable show. I rode at the lead on
a very beautiful Arab, "Greedy Grey," which was the most perfect of all
the horses I had brought from Egypt:
