”IimmediatelyinformedhimthatIshouldreporthimtotheKhedive，atthesametimeIinsistedupontheliberationofeveryslave。”Atfirsthequestionedmyauthority，sayingthatheheldtherankofbey，andwasgovernorofthedistrict。Isimplytoldhimthat`ifherefusedtoliberatetheslaves，hemustgivemethatrefusalinwriting。’Thiswasanawkwardfix，andhealteredhistonebyattemptingtoexplainthattheywerenotslaves，butonlyheldashostagesuntilthepeopleshouldpaytheirtaxes。Atthesametimehewasobligedtoconfessthattherewasnoestablishedtax。Iheardthathehadreceivedfromonenativetencowsfortheransomofhischild，thusthestolenchildwassoldbacktothefatherfortencows！andthiswastheSoudanmethodofcollectingtaxes！Iftheunfortunatefatherhadbeenshotdeadintherazzia，hisunransomedchildwouldhavebeencarriedawayandsoldasaslave；orshouldthepanic-strickennativesbeafraidtoapproachwitharansomforfearofbeingkidnappedthemselves，thewomenandchildrenwouldbelosttothemforever。”Iwasthoroughlydisgusted。IknewthatwhatIhadhappenedtodiscoverwastheruleoftheSoudan，andthattheprotestationsofinnocenceofgovernorswassimplydustthrownintotheeyes。ItwastruethattheShillookcountrywasnotinmyjurisdiction；butIwasdeterminedtointerfereinbehalfoftheslaves，althoughIshouldnotmeddlewiththegeneralaffairsofthecountry。IthereforetoldtheKoordithatIhadthelistofthecaptives，andhemustsendforsomeresponsiblenativetoreceivethemandtakethemtotheirhomes。InthemeantimeIshouldremainintheneighbourhood。IthenreturnedtothefleetthatIhadleftattheforest。Intheeveningwewerejoinedbymostoftherearvessels。”April21——At9。30a。m。wesightedelevenvesselsinfullsail，approachingfromKhartoum，withastrongN。E。wind，andshortlyafterwardsweweredelightedbythearrivalofMr。Higginbotham，Dr。Gedge，andthesixEnglishengineers，shipwrights，&c。，allingoodhealth。”April22——IpaidavisittotheKoordi’scamp，accompaniedbyMr。
BakerandMr。Higginbotham，asIwishedtohaveEuropeanwitnessestothefact。Uponarrival，IexplainedtothegovernorthathehadcompromisedtheEgyptianGovernmentbyhisact，andasIhadreceivedgeneralinstructionsfromtheKhedivetosuppressallslave-hunters，I
couldonlyregardhiminthatcategory，asIhadactuallyfoundhimintheact。Imust，therefore，insistupontheimmediateandunconditionalreleaseofalltheslaves。Afteranattemptatevasion，heconsented，andIatoncedeterminedtoliberatethempersonally，whichwouldestablishconfidenceamongthenatives。”AccompaniedbyLieutenantBakerandMr。Higginbotham，andthevariousofficersofthestaff，Iorderedtheropes，irons，andotheraccompanimentsofslaverytobedetached；andIexplainedthroughaninterpretertotheastonishedcrowdofcaptives，thattheKhedivehadabolishedslavery，thereforetheywereatlibertytoreturntotheirownhomes。Atfirst，theyappearedastounded，andevidentlycouldnotrealizethefact；butuponmyaskingthemwheretheirhomeswere，theypointedtotheboundlessrowsofvillagesinthedistance，andsaid，`Thoseareourhomes，butmanyofourmenarekilled，andallourcattleandcornarecarriedoff。’Icouldonlyadvisethemtopackoffasquicklyaspossible，nowthattheyhadthechanceoffreedom。”Thewomenimmediatelytookuptheirlittleinfantsonehadbeenbornduringthenight，othersledtheverysmallchildrenbythehand，andwithageneralconcert，theyburstintothelong，quavering，andshrillyellthatdenotesrejoicing。Iwatchedthemastheyretreatedovertheplaintotheirdesertedhomes，andItookacoldlypolitefarewelloftheKoordi。ThelooksofastonishmentoftheKoordi’stroopsasIpassedthroughtheircampwerealmostcomic。IshallreportthisaffairtotheKhedivedirect；butIfeelsurethattheexposureofthegovernorofFashodawillnotaddtothepopularityoftheexpeditionamongthelowerofficials。”April23——Istartedwithtwosteamersandtwodiahbeeahstoexploreafavourablespotforapermanentstation。WereachedtheSobatjunctioninthreehoursandaquarter，abouttwenty-fivemiles。FromtheSobat，downstream，westeamedforfortyminutes，arrivingataforest，onahighbanktotheeast，wheresomeextraordinaryhighdomepalmspalmaThebaica，togetherwithdolapepalmsBorassusEthiopicus，gaveanairoftropicalbeautytoadesolateandotherwiseuninvitingspot。”Ifixeduponthisplaceforastationasthegroundwashard，thepositionfarabovethelevelofhighfloods，andtheforestaffordedasupplyofwoodforbuildingpurposesandfuel。”April24——Westeamedforhalf-an-hourdownstreamtoalargevillageonthewestbank，namedWat-a-jook。ThenceIwentdownstreamforonehourtothegroveofdolapepalmsandgiganticIndiarubbertrees。Thiswasformerlyalargevillage，knownasHillet-el-dolape，butithasbeenentirelydestroyedbythegovernorofFashoda。Aftermuchdifficulty，I
inducedsomenativestocometome，withwhomIatlengthmadefriends：
theyalljoinedinaccusingtheKoordigovernorofwantonatrocities。”Intheafternoon，nothavingdiscoveredaspotsuperiortothatIhadalreadyselectedforastation，wereturned；butwehadnottravelledmorethananhourandahalfwhentheengineoftheNo。10steamerbrokedown。Onexamination，itappearedthattheairpumpwasbroken。