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By a dexterous jerk of the main line the float was now placed between the two ropes, and it was immediately secured in the acute angle by bringing together the ends of these ropes on our side. The men on the opposite bank now dropped their line, and our men hauled in upon the ambatch float that was held fast between the ropes.
This afforded me a good chance, and I fired a steady shot behind the ear, at about seventy yards, with a single-barrelled rifle. As usual with hippopotami, whether dead or alive, he disappeared beneath the water at the shot. The crack of the ball and the absence of any splash from the bullet told me that he was hit; the ambatch float remained perfectly stationary upon the surface.
The natives navigate the river in two kinds of canoes-one of which is a curious combination of raft and canoe formed of the Ambatch wood, which is so light, that the whole affair is portable. 3d Jan. The "Clumsy's" yard having been lashed with rhinoceros' hide, fortunately holds together, although sprung. Stopped this morning on the east bank, and gathered a supply of wood.
The bull was in the greatest fury, and rose to the surface, snorting and blowing in his impotent rage; but as the ambatch float was exceedingly large, and this naturally accompanied his movements, he tried to escape from his imaginary persecutor, and dived constantly, only to find his pertinacious attendant close to him upon regaining the surface.
Every person in the village had had a good view of the stalk; therefore, as two giraffes had been seen to fall, the Arabs were waiting on the bank in expectation of meat. "September 3. This morning I crossed the river with about twenty men, some swimming with inflated skins, and others supported by logs of ambatch.
It has been circumnavigated by Signor Gessi, in the steel life-boats, and subsequently by Colonel Mason of the American army, who was employed under Colonel Gordon. Both of these officers agree that the southern end of the lake is closed by a mass of "ambatch," and that a large river reported as 400 yards in width flows INTO the Albert N'yanza.
On the other hand, the well-known African explorer Mr. Stanley visited the lake SOUTH of the ambatch limit, to which he was guided by orders of the King M'tese;. At that spot it was called the "M'woota N'zige;," the same name which the lake bears throughout Unyoro, therefore there can be no reasonable doubt that it is the same water.
By a dexterous jerk of the main line, the float was now placed between the two ropes, and it was immediately secured in the acute angle by bringing together the ends of these ropes on our side. The men on the opposite bank now dropped their line, and our men hauled in upon the ambatch float that was held fast between the ropes.
We shall therefore arrive to-day at about 4 P.M. We have been exactly 19 1/2 hours steaming from Kutchuk Ali's station to the ambatch. We left Tewfikeeyah at 11 o'clock; we have therefore been twenty-seven days to the spot at the dubba that we should reach this evening. Last year we left Khartoum on 8th February, and we arrived at the station in the following order:
Having secured the vessel by carrying out an anchor astern and burying it on the marsh, while a rope fastened from the bow to the high reeds kept her stern to the stream, all hands jumped into the canal and commenced dragging out the entangled masses of weeds, reeds, ambatch wood, grass, and mud that had choked the entrance.
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