Three days were employed in ferrying the slaves across the river in the
two noggurs, or barges, as they must be returned to their respective
stations. I rejoiced at the total discomfiture of the traders, and,
observing a cloud of smoke far distant to the north, I spread the alarm
that a steamer was approaching from Khartoum! Such was the consternation
of the traders' parties at the bare idea of such an occurrence that they
prepared for immediate flight into the interior, as they expected to be
captured by Government troops sent from Khartoum to suppress the
slave-trade. Profiting by this nervous state of affairs, I induced them
to allow the boat to start immediately, and we concluded all our
arrangements, contracting for the diahbiah at 4,000 piastres (40
pounds). The plague having broken out at Gondokoro, the victims among
the natives were dragged to the edge of the cliff and thrown into the
river;--it is impossible to describe the horrible effluvium produced by
the crowds of slaves that had been confined upon the limited area of the
station. At length the happy moment arrived that we were to quit the
miserable spot. The boat was ready to start--we were all on board, and
Ibrahim and his people came to say good-bye. It is only justice to
Ibrahim to say, that, although he had been my great enemy when at
Gondokoro in 1863, he had always behaved well since peace was
established at Ellyria; and, although by nature and profession a
slave-hunter, like others of the White Nile, he had frequently yielded
to my interference to save the lives of natives who would otherwise have
been massacred without pity.
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