Crofton
taking 10 boats and Lieut. Orde the rest. Going up some minor cataract
with eight Dongolese on the line, and one young fellow, a little
brighter than the rest, in the boat with me and having just passed the
worst place, a couple of the men ashore got to fighting and the rest let
go the line either to part them or to join and I was left at the mercy
of the rapid for a variety. These men were, as I said before, entirely
unused to boats. They are all excellent swimmers and able to cross the
river at almost any place. When making long distances they make use of
the goat skin bottles they have for carrying water, scolding was of no
use, they neither understood nor cared. I may here mention another
peculiarity of theirs. I had noticed many scars on their bodies, but
could not account for it, until one of them fell sick when the other cut
his skin to bleed him, and filled the cut with sand.

This convoy carried about sixty tons of freight, all of which was
brought safely to the foot of Dal cataract and the convoy was ordered
downwards again as far as the head of Ambigol cataract for reloading. As
I could not trust the Dongolese in shooting the rapids I manned the
boats with my Iroquois and made trips at each cataract, letting the
Dongolese walk. It was a grand sight to see so many boats on their way
up, some sailing, some rowing, some tracking and some on shore patching
up.

We reached the head of Ambigol, loaded up and started up stream. We made
the foot of Dal with less trouble on this trip, the Dongolese having
learned a great deal as well as I and my men knowing now some words of
their language.

On arriving at Dal, I found that this place had become a very busy
scene. Many tents were pitched among which were a commissariat, a post
office and a number of officers tents. Lord Avonmore had come down from
the middle of the Dal cataract, next to his tent was that of Colonel
Burnaby, then Major Mann, near the beach was Sir George Arthur, who had
arrived that day from below, commanding a convoy of boats. On the south
end of the little colony were Lord Charles Beresford, Col. Alleyne and
Major Spaight. Col. Alleyne congratulated me on my success with the
Dongolese.

I returned for another trip, arriving back here on the 19th of December.
The same officers were still here. The next morning Col. Alleyne ordered
me to camp on the beach with my men and said we had done enough of
lower cataract service. At the same time t