“Once these territories were placed under direct French control, M. Liotard proceeded to carry out the initial programme of penetrating towards the Nile, and began to push forward the occupation of the Bahr El Ghazal Province, the rights over which, acquired by their treaty with England of 12th May, 1894, had been ceded to France by the Belgian Congolese.
“In February, 1896, M. Liotard, accompanied by Captain Hossinger, arrived at Tembura, where he was warmly received by the Azande Sultan. A post was established, and Captain Hossinger put in command. He was assassinated some months afterwards, 6th July, by a Senegalee belonging to the garrison. This did not modify in the least the political situation. M. Liotard had gained such an ascendency over the natives, that French authority was as firmly established as if it had been preceded by a vigorous military campaign.
“Moreover the personal influence of the Lieutenant-Governor impressed itself equally on his white fellow-workers.
In the Bahr El Ghazal Province—Marchand Mission.“It was thus that at the beginning of 1896, French political action had penetrated beyond the ridge of the Congo Basin, and had made itself felt in the Bahr El Ghazal Province, that is, in the Basin of the Nile. Captain Marchand therefore had had nothing to do with this, as it was only on the 25th June, 1896, practically four months after the occupation of Tembura, that this officer embarked at Marseilles. With him were Captains Baratier, Germain, Mangin, Lieutenant Largeau, Naval-Lieutenant Morin, Midshipman Dyé, Landerouin, interpreter Dr. Emily, 12 French non-commissioned officers, and 150 Senegalese tirailleurs. He had at his disposition two small steamers, the ‘Faidherbe’ and the ‘Duc d’Uzés,’ and three barges made of aluminium, the ‘Pleigneur,’ ‘Crampel,’ and the ‘Lauzière.’
“On the 23rd July, 1896, Marchand disembarked at Loango, and set to work to send forward the members of his staff and his material. The task was difficult, as the tribes between Loango and Brazzaville were in rebellion.
“On the 27th September, the head of the Mission arrived at Loudima, 155 miles from Brazzaville, in a dying condition. However, he pulled through, and on the 19th October he was on his feet again. The country had been pacified, and transports were able to get through, so that by the 1st March, 1897, Captain Marchand was able to leave Brazzaville and to reach the Upper Ubangi.
“Everything here was prepared for his forward march. M. Liotard having opened up on the east the road from Zemio to Tembura, had also freed the road to the north. To effect this, he had taken possession of Deim Zubeir, in June, 1897, formerly the residence of Lupton Bey when he commanded the Bahr El Ghazal. Thus Captain Marchand had the choice of two roads for reaching the Nile—the way by Zemio—Tembura, with the River Sueh for his flotilla, or the way of Zemio—Deim Zubeir, with the Bahr El Homr. Captain Marchand chose the first, and by tremendous exertions, lasting over eight months, all the material (boats, stores and ammunition) was concentrated near Tembura, in Fort Hossinger on the banks of the Sueh. This was in the last days of 1897.
“Marchand then chose Kojali as his point of embarkation. It is situated on the Sueh (about 50 miles N.N.E. from Fort Hossinger), and he connected it with Méré[207] by a road over 16 feet wide and 99 miles in length—a gigantic work. He built a dockyard at Kojali, with slips, for repairing his boats; then, 4 miles above the confluence of the Wau and the Sueh, he built Fort Desaix,[208] near the old Kuchuk Ali, and, in order to connect this with Kojali, he established the ‘Rapides’ station (Rafili), latitude N. 6° 52″.
“In the month of November, 1897, the whole mission was established on this solid base of operations, with the two gunboats ‘Faidherbe’ and ‘Nil,’ and ten barges built of steel and aluminium.
“Marchand, from his headquarters, Fort Desaix, set himself to convert the pronounced hostility of the Dinkas (estimated at 5,000,000 (?)) into a more amicable attitude, by making them understand that he had not come to raid them in the name of the Sultan Tembura.