"March 16.—Thermometer, 6 A.M., 61 degrees; noon, 82 degrees. Eleven vessels entered the lake last night. The wind has been very variable for the last few days, and the true north wind appears to have deserted us; the absence of a fair breeze delays us sadly in pushing through the narrow channels against the stream.
"Dysentery and scurvy are prevalent among the Egyptians. Four Egyptian soldiers and two Soudanis have deserted. Where these wretched fools intend to wander is quite a speculation;—they appear to have yielded to a temptation to run away upon the first dry land that they have seen for months.
"The fleet assembled in the lake. The Egyptian troops cut a passage for fifty yards through a sudd in a channel through which the fleet must pass, as there is a shallow that will prevent them from taking the main course of the lake.
"To-morrow the whole force will turn out and cut the remaining portion of about 300 yards; there will then be no difficulty except a sudd of about three quarters of a mile between the lake and the White Nile.
"March 17.—We cut through the sudd, and all the vessels entered the broad waters of the lake and anchored in the evening opposite some native huts, close to the channel that we must open to-morrow. These huts are the first habitations that we have seen for more than two months;—they are now deserted by the frightened fishermen who had occupied them.
"March 18.—The diahbeeah led the way at 7.30 A.M. through the channel that is closed by grass and the Pistia Stratiotes. At 10.15 we arrived in the White Nile. There is plenty of water throughout the closed channel, but there was some heavy work to clear the vegetation.
"March 19.—All the vessels came through into the White Nile, and there was great rejoicing throughout the fleet. At length the men really believed that a country of dry land might lie before them, and that they were delivered from the horrible chaos or 'Slough of Despond' in which they had now laboured for sixty days.
"I served out new tow-ropes to the fleet, and ordered No. 13 transport to discharge and divide her cargo among other vessels, and to take on board thirty soldiers to accompany the steamer to-morrow. We remounted the steamer's paddles and tautened all the rigging of the diahbeeah; mended sails, and thoroughly repaired for a start to-morrow. No. 31 being a rotten vessel, I ordered her cargo to be divided among the lighter boats. I gave stringent orders to the officers to protect all ammunition and bales of goods with galvanized iron plates in case of rain.
"March 20.—All the vessels got away by 9 A.M. with a rattling breeze. The steamer started at 10.8 A.M., but was delayed one hour and twenty minutes by her stupidly dragging the nogger ashore in rounding a sharp corner.
"At 5.15 P.M. we arrived at a forest on the west bank. At 6.45 P.M. we stopped, as I was afraid we might pass the station of Wat-el-Shambi in the dark.