my men 'were ordered to disperse, and clrum in ones and
twos with. Mahamed’s men; for Mahamed said, now we
had come there, his work was finished- “ If that is the
case,” I said, “ tell us your orders; there must be some
letters.” He said, “ No, I have no letters or written
orders; though I have directions to take you to Gondokoro
as soon as you come. I am Debono’s Vakil, and am glad
you are come, for we are all tired of waiting here for you.
Our business has been to collect ivory whilst waiting for
you.” I said, “ How is it Petherick has not come here to
meet me? is he married?” “ Yes, he is married; and
both he and his wife ride fore-and-aft on one animal at
Khartum.” “ Well, then, where is the tree you told Bombay
you would point out to us with Petherick’s name on
it?” “ Oh, that is on the way to Gondokoro. I t was not
Petherick who wrote, but some one else, who told me to
look out for your coming this way. We don’t know his
name, but he said if we pointed it out to you, you would
know at once.”
4th.— After spending the night as Mahamed’s guest, I
strolled round the place to see what it was like, and found
the Turks were all married to the women of the country,
whom they had dressed in clothes and beads. Their
children were many, with a prospect of more. Temporary
marriages, however, were more common than others;—as,
in addition to their slaves, they hired the daughters of
the villagers, who remained with them whilst they were
trading here, but went back to their parents when they
marched to Gondokoro. They had also many hundreds
of cattle, which it was said they had plundered from the
natives, and now used for food, or to exchange for ivory,
or other purposes. The scenery and situation were perfect
for health and beauty. The settlement lay at the foot of
smalls well-wooded granitic hills, even prettier than the outcrops
of Unyamudzi, and was intersected by clear streams.
At noon, all the rear troops arrived with Bombay and
Pidjoko in person. This good creature had treated Bombay
very handsomely on his former journey. He said he
Turks* Wives a n d C hildren.
felt greatly disappointed at my pushing past him yesterday,
as he wished to give me a cow, but still hoped I
would go over and make friends with him. I gave him
some beads, and off he walked. Old Chongi’s “ children,”
who had escorted us all the way from Kamrasi’s, then
took some beads and cast-off clothes for themselves and
their father, and left us in good-humour.
This reduced the expedition establishment to my men
and Kidgwiga’s. With these, now, as there was no letter
from Petherick, I ordered a march for the next morning,
but at once met with opposition. Mahamed told me that
there were no vessels at Gondokoro; we must wait two
months, by which time he expected they would arrive
there, and some one would come to meet him with beads.
I said in answer, that Petherick had promised to have
boats there all the year round, so 1 would not wait.
“ Then,” said Mahamed, “ we cannot go with you, for
there is a famine at this season at Gondokoro.” I said,