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Updated: June 12, 2025
When the news arrived from Foweera that I had punished Suleiman for the murder of the prisoner, both Abou Saood and his people had declared, that they "would secure Major Abdullah in a forked pole, or sheba, and treat hiin in a similar manner." They had also threatened to attack the government camp.
I resolved that, if hostilities should continue, I would proclaim Rionga representative of the government, as vassal-chief of Unyoro, in the room of Kabba Rega, deposed. Rionga would send a letter to warn Major Abdullah at Fatiko; but how was I to convey my baggage and ammunition from Masindi to Foweera, without a single carrier, or even a guide?
My wife was so exhausted with the long march, rendered doubly fatiguing by the dew that had added additional weight to her clothes, that she could hardly ascend the hill we had just commenced. For the last hour our guide had declared that Foweera was close to us; but experienced in natives' descriptions of distance, we were quite uncertain as to the hour at which we should arrive.
Once in the interminable sea of grass that was almost impenetrable, he wandered for two days without water: hearing the distant roar of the Nile, he at length reached it when nearly exhausted with thirst and fatigue; he then followed up the stream to Karuma, avoided the M'was, and knowing the road thence to M'rooli that we had formerly travelled, he arrived at Foweera.
I told them that it was my intention to hoist the Ottoman flag, and to officially annex the country in the presence of Kabba Rega and his people, therefore I did not wish any subjects of the Khedive to be in disgrace upon such an occasion, excepting only Suleiman, who would be sent to Cairo on the first opportunity, to answer for the murder of the prisoner at Foweera.
He also granted a reward to the soldiers who had fought the battle of Masindi, and marched through eight days of ambuscades to Foweera. A gratuity of a month's pay was given to every English engineer and mechanic, and they started for England.
We had now enough flour for the march of seven days to Foweera, at which place there were regular forests of plantains. My herd of cattle had been reduced to seventy, and I much doubted the possibility of driving them in a high grass country, as they would scatter and make a stampede should we be attacked; they would be scared by the guns.
This was our first attempt at walking a distance since many months, and being dreadfully out of condition, I much feared that one of us might be attacked by fever before we should have accomplished the march; at all events, there was no alternative but to push ahead until we should reach Foweera, however distant.
On 24th June we started at 6.5 A.M., and after a march of seven miles, during which we were undisturbed, we arrived at the old camp of Suleiman's company at Foweera on the Victoria Nile, where we had expected to find shelter and good houses. Everything had been destroyed by fire! Nothing remained but blackened ashes. MY losses from the 8th June to the 24th had been ten killed and eleven wounded.
This man never forgot a path if he had ever travelled upon the same route. I also depended upon my Baris and Molodi; although they had not long experience of the path by which we had arrived from Foweera with the cattle, they were clever as guides. Unfortunately, the country had changed terribly by the immense growth of the grass and tangled creepers.
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