reis Diabb tells me that tbe north wind always fails
between the Nuéhr and the upper portion of the
Kytch. I could not believe that so miserable a country
existed as the whole of this land. There is no
game to be seen at this season, few birds, and not even
crocodiles show themselves; all the water-animals are
hidden in the high grass; thus there is absolutely
nothing living to be seen, but day after day is passed
in winding slowly through the labyrinth of endless
marsh, through clouds of mosquitoes.
At 4.20 p .m . arrived at the Austrian mission-Station
of St. Croix, and I delivered a letter to the chief of
the establishment, Herr Moorlang.
Jan. 24 th.—Took observations of the sun, making
latitude 6° 39'.
The mission-station consists of about twenty grass
huts on a patch of dry ground close to the river. The
church is a small hut, but neatly arranged. Herr
Morlang acknowledged, with great feeling, that the
mission was absolutely useless among such savages;
that he had worked with much zeal for many years,
but that the natives were utterly impracticable. They
were far below the brutes, as the latter show signs of
affection to those who are kind to th em ; while the
natives, on the contrary, are utterly obtuse to all
feelings of gratitude. He described the people as
lying and deceitful to a superlative degree; the more
they receive the more they desire, but in return they
will do nothing.
Twenty or thirty of these disgusting, ash-smeared,
stark naked brutes, armed with dubs of hard wood
brought to a point, were lying idly about the station.
■The mission having given up the White Nile-as
a total failure, Herr Morlang sold the whole village
and mission-station to Koorshid Aga this morning for
3,000 piastres, ¿630 ! I purchased a horse of the
missionaries for 1,000 piastres, which I christened
“ Priest,” as coming from the mission; he is a good-
looking animal, and has been used to the gun, as the
unfortunate Baron Harnier rode him buffalo-hunting.
This good sportsman was a Prussian nobleman, who,
with two European attendants, had for some time
amused himself by collecting objects of natural history
and shooting in this neighbourhood. Both his Europeans
succumbed to marsh fever. The end of Baron
Harnier was exceedingly tragic. Having wounded a
buffalo, the animal charged a native attendant and
threw him to the ground; Baron Harnier was unloaded,
and with great courage he attacked the buffalo
with the butt-end of his rifle to rescue the man then
beneath the animars horns. The buffalo left the man
and turned upon his new assailant. The native, far