und to each man and teach him to row. Neither understanding one
word of the other's language, this was a terrible task. I had however,
been long enough in contact with English military discipline by this
time, to know that there was no backing out. We loaded at Sarras and
proceeded up with Lieut. C. R. Orde as Commander of this convoy, who
had an interpreter with him. Without the latter it would have been
impossible to get along; as it was, some accidents could not be avoided.
Our new commander being an experienced boatman as well as a good
carpenter, and a gentleman we managed to keep up with the other fleets.
To give an idea of the trouble we had, I need only say that these
Dongolese generally understood just the contrary of what they were
ordered to do. They would pull hard when asked to stop or stop pulling
at some critical place when hard pulling was required. Lieut. Orde as
well as myself were continually patching boats on account of these
fellows. We made the nine miles from Sarras to Semnah in just six days,
whereas we had travelled before at the rate of seventy miles in five
days. At Semnah Lieut. Orde reported to Commander Hammill, R. N., in
charge of Semnah cataract, Commander Hammill informed me that my plan of
ascending Semnah gate was adopted by all the others, he also asked me if
I thought I should be able to make boatmen of the Dongolese, I told him
I was discouraged and the only consolation I had was that my Dongolese
convoy was still travelling as fast as the other fleets in spite of my
strict orders always to give the right of way to boats manned by
soldiers and to avoid retarding them in the cataracts.

Reaching Ambigol November 19th, during this day I was requested to
assist in pulling off a steam pinnace which had run on the rocks and
filled, blocking the small channel for steamers to ascend. I having 175
Dongolese with my Caughnawaga boys and about 200 Egyptian soldiers they
parted the hawser on the first pull, while getting another hawser Col.
Butler arrived in a whaler from Sarras with a crew of Kroomen, with
Chief Prince of Manitoba as captain. Col. Butler ordered us to abandon
the wreck and explore another channel on the opposite side of the river,
I unloaded my boat manned by Caughnawagas and with Lieut. Orde, went
across, after half a day's search found a very crooked channel which
afterwards 4 or 5 steamers ascended successfully.

At Tangur it was found advisable to split the convoy, Major