I threw out skirmishers, as we shortly entered a bad piece of country. At this moment wo heard shots fired at the tail of the island, about two miles in our front.
We pushed on at the double, until stopped by a deep channel of the river about thirty yards wide. On the other side we now heard the horns of the natives and the lowing of cattle. It was necessary to skirt the banks of the channel through thick forest; thus, following the stream, we shortly arrived at the main river, just in time to see the natives at a distance of a quarter of a mile swimming a large herd of cattle across the stream to the east shore, where they landed and safely gained the forest. They were quickly pursued by the troops who, having landed at the tail of the island, were in chase; and being supplied with boats, they crossed over the river and followed hard upon the track of the retreating cattle.
The Baris did not suspect that they would be followed to the main shore; thus upon reaching the forest they continued their retreat leisurely. My black troops were wonderful runners; thus, when once upon the track of the herd, they went along like hounds and overtook the Baris, who had no idea of the pursuit until the soldiers were among them. The affair ended by the capture of a portion of the herd, and the return to camp at 5.30 P.M. We had eaten nothing since the previous evening, as the boat containing our breakfast had not yet appeared. We had been on our legs in the sun for fourteen hours, thus we were ready for dinner on the return to camp. I was anxious about the missing boat. On the following day, June 6, at 4.40 P.M., the lost dingy arrived with her crew all safe. They had missed their way by taking a wrong channel of the river, which led them into a labyrinth of high reeds, where they were obliged to pass the night among clouds of mosquitoes.
On the following day they began the tedious journey by rowing homeward against the stream. They came suddenly upon a large body of natives, who immediately attacked them with arrows, one of which went through the trousers of a soldier. My men told a long story, and made themselves out to be perfect heroes; but my servants and the boatmen told a very different tale, and declared that they had thrown themselves down in the bottom of the boat to avoid the arrows, and my servant, Mohammed Haroon, had himself fired my heavy gun loaded with mould shot at the enemy.
On 7th June I discovered that the Baris of Gondokoro had leagued themselves with the natives of Belinian against us.
They had attacked conjointly on several occasions. On this day the natives in force having, as usual, crept stealthily from bush to tree without being perceived by the soldiers, made a sudden rush upon the cattle guards, and shot one soldier with an arrow and wounded another with a lance. I immediately gave orders for an attack on Belinian that night. At 12.30 A.M. I left my station on horseback, accompanied by Lieutenant Baker and Mr. Higginbotham, together with Lieutenant-Colonel Abdel-Kader and twenty men of the "Forty Thieves." Not a word was spoken, as it was important to march without the slightest noise that might alarm the native scouts who were generally prowling about throughout the night. We arrived at head-quarters, a mile and a half distant, where four companies with one gun had been ordered to be in readiness. (My little station, Hellet-et-Sit, was a mile and a half north from the camp of Gondokoro, on the river's bank.) At 1 A.M. We started with a Bari guide named Sherroom, who had volunteered to serve me, together with his friend Morgian, at the commencement of the war. These men spoke Arabic, and since the flight of Tomby, the interpreter (who had joined our enemies), these two Baris were our invaluable allies.
The route to Belinian lay for the first two miles through open park-like country. We then entered the forest, where the darkness made it difficult to drag the gun, the wheels of which constantly stuck in the stumps and roots of trees. Several times we had to halt, for the rear to come up with this unmanageable gun, and I feared the delay might destroy our chance of taking the enemy by surprise.
To make matters worse, the route became swampy. Sometimes the horses sank nearly hock-deep in mud, which in the pitch darkness they could not avoid. In such places it required the force of thirty men to drag the gun, and the delays became serious. Lieutenant-Colonel Tayib Agha commanded the three companies of Soudani troops who escorted the field-piece, and took it in turns to assist the artillerymen in the weary work of dragging the gun through swamps and bush.
The night wore on; it began to rain. I was riding in advance with Lieutenant Baker, Mr. Higginbotham, and twenty of the "Forty Thieves," while Raouf Bey followed me with fifty Egyptian troops. It was absolutely necessary to push on. Tayib Agha had a native guide, therefore he and his gun could take care of themselves. Accordingly I pushed on ahead as an advanced guard, delighted to be quit of the impediment of artillery.
In about an hour we arrived at firm ground, and the country became more open and undulating. The clouds began to break and the rain ceased. We pushed briskly forward until, after marching at the pace of four miles per hour, the guide, Sherroom, suddenly halted. We were now in a clear space where a few large trees grew in a clump upon our right. Sherroom, who evidently knew every inch of the country, whispered that we must wait here in silence, as there were villages not far off, and the stockade that we were to attack was in the immediate neighbourhood. It was nearly 5 A.M., and although we had marched since one o'clock, we were not more than nine miles from Gondokoro. I trusted that our halt would allow the rear to join us with the gun which had caused so much delay.