Geographical Society, was to be my guide in the
important exploration resolved upon. I am particular
in publishing these details, in order to show the perfect
freedom from jealousy of both Captains Speke and
Grant. Unfortunately, in most affairs of life, there is
not only fair emulation, but ambition is too often
combined with intense jealousy of others. Had this
miserable feeling existed in the minds of Speke and
Grant, they would have returned to England with the
sole honour of discovering the source of the Nile; but
in their true devotion to geographical science, and
especially to the specific object of their expedition,
they gave me all information to assist in the completion
of the great problem—the “ Nile Sources.”
We were all ready to start. Speke and Grant, and
their party of twenty-two people, for Egypt, and I in
the opposite direction. At this season there were many
boats at Gondokoro belonging to the traders’ parties,
among which were four belonging to Mr. Petherick,
three of which were open cargo boats, and one remarkably
nice diahbiah, named the “ Kathleen,” that was
waiting for Mrs. Petherick and her husband, who were
supposed to be at their trading station, the Niambara,
about seventy miles west of Gondokoro ; but no accounts
had been heard of them. On the 20th February they
suddenly arrived from the Niambara, with their people
and ivory, and were surprised at seeing so large a party
of English in so desolate a spot. 'It is a curious circumstance,
that although many Europeans had been as
far south as Gondokoro, I was the first Englishman
that had ever reached it. We now formed a party
of four.
Gondokoro has a poor and sandy soil, so unproductive,
that corn is in the greatest scarcity, and is
always brought from Khartoum by the annual boats
tor the supply of the traders’ people, who congregate
there from the interior, in the months of January and
February, to deliver the ivory for shipment to Khartoum.
Corn is seldom or never less than eight times
the price of Khartoum; this is a great drawback to the
country, as each trading party that arrives with ivory
from the interior brings with it five or six hundred
native porters, all of whom have to be fed during their
stay at Gondokoro, and in many cases, in times of
scarcity, they starve. This famine has given a bad
name to the locality, and it is accordingly difficult
to procure porters from the interior, who naturally
fear starvation.
I was thus extremely sorry that I was obliged to
refuse a supply of corn to Mr. Petherick upon his application
an act of necessity, but not of ill-nature upon
my part, as I was obliged to leave a certain quantity