Ismailia. Samuel White Baker

ammunition, and manned by bands of armed pirates.

      If the owner of a pack of wolves were to send them on a commission to gather wool from a flock of sheep, with the simple protection of such parting advice as "Begone, good wolves, behave yourselves like lambs, and do not hurt the mutton!" the proprietor of the pack would be held responsible for the acts of his wolves. This was the situation in the Soudan. The entire country was leased out to piratical slave-hunters, under the name of traders, by the Khartoum government; and although the rent, in the shape of large sums of money, had been received for years into the treasury of the Soudan, my expedition was to explode like a shell among the traders, and would at once annihilate the trade. I now understood the reason for the alteration in my proposed territorial limit from the 14 degrees N. lat. to the 5 degrees. Khartoum is in lat. 15 degrees 35' N. Gondokoro is N. lat. 4 degrees 54', thus, if my jurisdiction should be reduced to the south of Gondokoro, the usual traffic of the White Nile might continue in the north during my absence in the south, and the original contracts would be undisturbed.

      It is a duty that I owe to the Khedive of Egypt to explain these details. It would at first sight appear that the expedition to suppress the slave-trade was merely a theatrical announcement to court the sympathy of Europe, but which, in reality, had no solidity. I am perfectly convinced that the Khedive was thoroughly sincere in his declared purpose of suppressing the slave-trade, not only as a humanitarian, but as an enlightened man of the world, who knew, from the example of the great Powers of Europe, that the time had arrived when civilization demanded the extinction of such horrors as were the necessary adjuncts of slave-hunting. The Khedive had thus determined to annex the Nile Basin, and establish his government, which would afford protection, and open an immense country to the advantages of commerce. This reform must be the death-blow to the so-called traders of Khartoum, who were positively the tenants of the governor-general of the Soudan.

      The expedition of the Khedive, launched with admirable determination on his part, was thus inimical to every local interest, and was in direct opposition to public opinion. It was therefore a natural consequence that pressure should be exerted by every interest against the governor-general of the Soudan. Djiaffer Pacha was an old friend of mine, for whom I had a great personal regard, and I regretted the false position in which both he and I were placed. My title and position as governor-general of Central Africa to a certain extent weakened his authority.

      He had by the force of circumstances, and according to former usages, so far tolerated the acts of the White Nile traders as to acknowledge them as contracting parties with his own government. The most important lessee had no less than ten stations situated within the territory under my jurisdiction, for which he was paying a large annual rent. I knew, and the lessee, Achmet Sheik Agad, well knew, that his so-called trade was simply brigandage. My former travels, as described in "The Albert N'yanza," had led me behind the curtain, and the traders were well aware that I knew every secret of their atrocities; thus my reappearance upon the scene with rank of pacha and major-general, at the head of a small army, together with the possession of absolute and supreme power, threw the entire population into a state of consternation. The traders, as Mohammedans and subjects, trusted to the protection of their own governor-general. Already I had captured their vessels, imprisoned their agents, liberated their slaves, and confiscated the ivory, subject to the decision of the Khedive. Already I had caught the governor himself (Ali Bey of Fashoda) in the act of kidnapping helpless women and children, whom I had immediately insisted upon liberating, although I had no legal jurisdiction in his province. I simply depended upon the personal support of the Khedive, whose sincerity I never doubted; thus I acted as I firmly believed the Khedive would have desired me to act under the circumstances. The Khedive proved that my confidence in his sincerity was well founded. He at once dismissed from his service and disgraced the governor of Fashoda. These facts cast shadows of coming events. The Soudan authorities were compromised; my interference in the Shillook country was naturally distasteful to the governor-general. Both the government of the Soudan and the traders at Khartoum perceived that I should act in strict accordance with the instructions I had received from the Khedive. There was no hope left, except in delays, that might render an advance impossible with a heavily-laden fleet through the obstructions of the river.

      It was necessary to modify the terms of the contract entered into between the governor-general and Sheik Achmet Agad. This trader represented his case to me as one of considerable injustice, which I was forced to acknowledge. As a mark of respect to Djiaffer Pacha, who had originally entered into the contract, I requested him to arrange the terms of the new agreement together with myself in the public divan. It was argued by Sheik Achmet Agad that the fact of the government being established in countries where he had been independent would cause a great loss to his trade, as it would upset the confidence of the natives, and they would cease to bring ivory for sale. In reality, this argument should be interpreted: "If the government is established, there will be an end to our razzias, and we shall have neither slaves nor cattle to offer in exchange for ivory."

      He also justly argued that "it would be unfair should the government purchase ivory from countries already leased for trading purposes to the merchant."

      I therefore arranged that, until the expiration of his original contract, no ivory should be purchased by the government.

      Also, that instead of the money payment now annually made to the government, the rent should be paid in ivory, at the rate of two-fifths of the amount collected. The ivory was to be delivered and weighed in Gondokoro, at which place the rent was to be paid to the government in tusks.

      The original contract would expire on April 9, 1872.

      My hands were to a certain extent tied by these engagements, but I resolved that at the expiration of the term I should assume a monopoly of the ivory trade for the government, on the principle of the fur trade of the Hudson's Bay Company; as it would be impossible to permit the acts of the Khartoum traders, who, I was convinced, would never deal honestly with the natives.

      The working representative of Achmet Sheik Agad was his son-in-law—a man named Abou Saood: I had seen this person when at Tewfikeeyah; he had arrived in charge of several vessels from Gondokoro during the rainy season, when the flooded river and strong south wind had allowed the passage of his boats. At that time he had no slaves on board, but I subsequently discovered that upon hearing that I had formed a station near the Soba, he had discharged a large cargo of slaves at the station of Kutchuk Ali on the Bahr Giraffe, so as to pass Tewfikeeyah in a state of innocence and purity, and thus save the confiscation of his ivory. This man was present at the divan when the final agreement was signed by myself and his principal. He vowed fidelity in so forcible a manner that I entertained serious doubts of his sincerity. An arrangement was entered into, that he was to supply the government troops with beef, mutton, butter, &c., together with the native carriers for the transport of baggage, stores, &c., at an established rate then agreed upon; the provisions were to be delivered from the resources at his command at his various stations. In the event of any native war, he was to furnish assistance when called upon by the government for irregular troops, of which he had about 1,800 in the districts included in my territory.

      I did not admire the personal appearance of Abou Saood. A judge of physiognomy would have objected to the downcast look of humility, the un-certain squint of one eye, the furtive expression of countenance, added to the ultra-holiness of his ejaculations when called upon for an answer, and the pious cant of his protestation against all wrong-doings. At the same time that he was acting the part of saint, I knew him to be a bird of the same feather as the rest of the White Nile slave-hunters.

      Some little diplomacy was necessary to smooth the troubled waters of Khartoum. I made every allowance for the passive obstructiveness of the authorities; it was perfectly natural under the circumstances of a sudden reform that affected materially the interests of the entire population, both high and low. At the same time, it was necessary to win the game. I was much attached to Djiaffer Pacha in his unofficial capacity, as I could never forget the kindness that I had received from him at Souakim when he welcomed my wife and myself on our return from a long and arduous expedition. He was a perfectly honest man in his dealings, and most generous to all around him. His great desire was to earn a good reputation, thus he was not sufficiently vigilant or severe with the sub-officials throughout the vast territory which he governed.

      He had formerly been an