"I am sure I don't know, sir. I was not the chief, and if you will observe, in the Letter of Instructions you did not even mention my name."
"That is very true; I ask your pardon; but you surely did not remain silent because I omitted to mention your name, did you—you a salaried official of the Expedition?"
"No, sir. I did speak often."
"Did the others?"
"I don't know, sir."
I have never obtained further light from Mr. Bonny, though at every leisure hour it was a constant theme.
A year after this we were at Usambiro, south of the Victoria Nyanza, and I received a clipping of a newspaper wherein there was a copy of Major Barttelot's letter of October, 1887. There was a portion which said, "We shall be obliged to stay here until November." I know that they thought they were obliged to remain until June 11, 1888. I turn to Major Barttelot's letter of June 4th, 1888 (see Appendix), wherein he says, "I feel it my bounden duty to proceed on this business, in which I am fully upheld by both Mr. Jameson and Mr. Bonny; to wait longer would be both useless and culpable, as Tippu-Tib has not the remotest intention of helping us any more, and to withdraw would be pusillanimous, and, I am certain, entirely contrary to your wishes and those of the Committee."
I turned to my Letter of Instructions, and I find in Paragraph 10:
"It may happen that though Tippu-Tib has sent some men, he has not sent enough to carry the goods with your own force. In that case you will of course use your discretion as to what goods you can dispense with, to enable you to march."
Paragraph 11. "If you still cannot march, then it would be better to make marches of six miles twice over, if you prefer marching to staying for our arrival, than 1888.
Aug.
Banalya. throw too many things away." (See Letter of Instructions in a preceding chapter.)