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32X

.7=>

g«

of
th
th

^Wt

narrative of what was seen and

accomplished by the Contingent
of North American Indian Voya-
geurswho led the British Boat
Expedition for the Relief
of KHARTOUM up
the Cataracts of
the NILE.

LOUIS JACKSON

CAPTAIN OF THE CONTINGENT,

With an Intradiictary PrefacB

I3y T. S. BROWN, Esq.

ill!''

•Hmill^ltmn

Wiyi. DRYSDALE & CO.,
PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS,
.:;:■: Sr. James Street,

P^.

iiijy^

<JL*a£l^lk§ffi4^

Fntcrtd .uxording to Act of I'niliament, in tlie year one thousand tight hundred and eighty-five

B? LOUIS JACK.SON,
in the Office of the Minister of Agnciihiire and Statistics at Ottawa.

ty-five

LOUIS JACKSON, Car tain of the Contingent.

ODR Cfl

MRCAS

IN EGYPT:

A Narrative of what was ssan and accnmplishsd by tha

CantlngBnt of North American Indian Vayagaurs who

lad the British Boat Expaditicn for tha Raliaf of

KhartDum up the Cataracts of tha Nile,

By LnUIS JACKSON, of Caughnawaga,
Captain nf the Cantlngant,

With an intraductory prafaca by T, S. Brawn.

^tttrntreal :

W. DRYSDALE & CO.,

PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS,

232 St. James Street.

i8«5.

^Sp«*^esaEQBif!qK«t^R«dlT?e

PRKFACB.

The Indians of Caughnawaga are an offshoot from the Mohiwks,
one of the divisions of the Six Nations, formerly in pseudo occu-
pation of western New York, and known to the French b ' the
general name of Iroquois. Long before the cession of this Pro /ince
to Great Britain, they were settled at the head of the rapids of the
St. Lawrence opposite Lachine, on a tract of land ten miles square,
or 64,000 acres held in common, but lately separated into lots c be
divided among the people as individual property.

Contrary to what has been the too common fate of aborigines
brought into close contact with foreigners, the Caughnawagas, with
some mixture of white blood, have maintained throughout, their
Indian customs, manners and language, with the manhood oi their
ancestors, in an alertness, strength and power of endurance where-
ever these qualities have been required : in the boating or rafting
on our larger rivers and the hardships of Voyagenrs in the Ntrth-
West.

As a high tribute to this known excellence, the call for Canadian «
Voyageurs to assist in the boat navigation of the Nile was accom-
panied by a special requirement that there should be a contingent of
fifty Caughnawagas. They responded quickly to the call, performed
the task committed to them in a manner most satisfactory as descri-
bed in these pages, and returned to I heir homes at the end of six
months, after a voyage of more than 12,000 miles, sound and resolute
as when they started, with the loss of but two men.

There is something unique in the idea of the aborigines of the
New World being sent for to teach the Egyptians how to pass the
Cataracts of the Nile, which has been navigated in some way by
them for thousands of years, that should make this little book
attractive to all readers, especially as it is written by one born and
bred in Caughnawaga, who, with the quick eye of an Indian, has
noticed many things unnoticed by ordinary tourists and travellers.

It =s written in a most excellent spirit that might wisely be imitated
by c ler travellers. The writer finds no faults, blames nobody, and
always content, is generous in his acknowledgments for every act of
kindness and proper consideration shown to him and his party, by
Her Majesty's Officers of all ranks in command of the expedition.
It was written off-hand and goes forth to the public as it came
from the pen of the writer, to be judged in its style and the matter
contained, by no standard but its own.

Montreal, April, 1885.

OUR GAUGHNAWAGAS IN EGYPT.

When it was made known by Lord Melgund in the
early part of September, 1884, that it was the ex-
press desire of General Lord Wolseley to have Caugh-
nawaga Indians form part of the Canadian Contingent,
the required number was soon obtained, in spite of
discouraging talk and groundless fears. Having been
introduced to Lord Melgund, I agreed to go and look
after the Caughnawaga boys, although then busily
engaged in securing my crops. 1, with a number of
others reached the '' Ocean King " at Quebec,
having been left behind in Montreal through incorrect
information given me by one of the ship's officers as
to the time of sailing. We received the farewell of
the Governor General on board the " Ocean King,**
and His Excellency's very kind words had an es-
pecially encouraging effect upon my boys.

On reaching Sidney, C. B., and while taking in
coal, some funny tricks were played by voyageurs
which I must not omit. To get ashore in spite of the
officers who kept watch on the wharf, some daring
fellows jumped from the vessel's rigging into the
empty coal cars returning to the wharf, coming back
in the dark and the vessel being a few feet off the
wharf, the men had to climb aboard by a rope. Now
it happened, that of two friends, one was able to get
up, the other was not, neither could his friend help
him, they however, contrived a plan, which they

:U^M,aL ' U'j gg

carried out to perfection. The one on the wharf laid
quietly down, while his friend climbed aboard and
there informed our officers that a man had hurt him-
self by falling off the coal shoot, immediately there
was great alarm, lamps were hung over the side and
the man discovered by his clothes to be one of the
voyageurs, a plank was shoved out over the ship's
rail, standing nearly upright and a line hove, (some
suggested to put the line around his neck.) However,
he was hoisted aboard and carried towards the cabin.
While being carried, the apparently lifeless one was
seen to open his eyes three or four times, but too
many hands evidently had hold of him and so he was
brought before the doctor, who eagerly examined
him, but soon prono- need him dead, " dead drunk " and
ordered him to be taken to his bunk, where he soon
sat up laughing and feeling good, to escape so easily.

On arriving in Alexandria, after a fine passage and
good treatment we saw our boats, which at the first
sight and from a distance, were condemned by the
boys^ but later experience changed our first impression.

We left the wharf at Alexandria on the 8th of Oct-
ober, at 11 a. m. by train. The first-class carriages
were after the English style, but the troop cars in
which we were transported were less comfortable,
tiiey had four benches placed fore and aft, two in the
centre back to back and one on each side with back to
outside, lacking the usual conveniences of our Canadian
cars. The sides of the car were about four feet
high, then open to the roof. We were fifty-
six in a car which made it uncomfortably crov/ded.
^fter leaving Alexandria I was surprised to see

people standing up to their necks in the swamps,
cutting some kind of grass. I saw also catth; lying per-
fectly still in the water with just their heads out.
This sight scared my boys as to what the heat would
be further south. Beyond the swamps on the east
side of the road I saw nice gardens, and, what was
still more interesting, groves of palm trees with fruit
After two hours' ride we reached the desert, where
nothing but sand was to be seen. The whistle went
all the time to warn camel drivers, who also use the
roadbed, and I did not see any other road for them to
travel. Another curiosity was the protective fencing
for the road, made of cornstalks to keep back the sand,
as we make board fences against the snow. At all
the stations, which were far apart, all hands rushed
out for a drink of water. We did not meet many
trains. During the afternoon we came close to the
Nile, which there appeared to be about the same
width as the St. Lawrence opposite Caughnawaga.
We soon reached a regular Egyptian settlement, with
people living in small mud huts^ and with chickens,
goats, sheep and dogs coming out with the children.
The ground appeared to be clay and in the road every
three or four feet there was a rat hole and rats dodg-
ing in all directions. I saw more rats at a glance than
I had e'^^er seen before in all my life. We also saw
some ship yards with some boats on the stocks and
some on the mud. The boats v/ere about twenty feet
long, and one afloat appeared to be wood to within
about four inches above water with gunwales of mud
and a peculiar sail ,

The gunwales were three or four feet high and

five or six inches thick. They appeared to be baked
hard by the sun, and were water proof, as I afterwards
saw several of them loaded so heavily that a great
part of the mud gunwales were under water. I sup-
pose mud is used in preference to wood, because wood
is very scarce in Egypt and mud is very plentilul.
They make the most of the mud which the Nile
brings down in such quantities every year. They
build houses with it as well as boats and it is this
mud which manures and fertilizes the whole land of
Egypt.

We soon sighted the pyramids and came to Bulac
Station three miles from Cairo at 7 o'clock. It being
dark, supper was served which we took into the cars,
it consisted of canned meat, bread and tea. We left at
eight for Assiout. The sand became very trouble-
some entering the open cars and I concluded as we
were travelling through the night to give my eyes a
rest and went to sleep sitting up. Next morning at
eight o'clock we reached Assiout about 240 miles
from Alexandria, there we saw some Nubian prisoners,
black, ugly and desperate looking fellows chained
together with large rusty chains round their necks.
They were sitting on the ground. We were marched
about a quarter of a mile to the river, where there
were fleets of steamers and barges, one fleet waiting
for us. We were marched on b rd two barges tied
together and after washing abou half an inch of mud
oft' our faces with Nile river wai^r, went to breakfast
prepared by our own cooks who had left Alexandria
twelve hours in advance. After breakfast I went
ashore, I noticed in one little mud hut, goats, sheep,

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THE PYRAMIDS OF GHIZEH.

THE GREAT SPHINX.

dogs and children on the ground and there were flies
in the children's faces and eyes beyond description. I
got my first near view of a date tree here with its
rough bark which 1 cut with my knife.

The next sight was a ship yard where four or five
whip saws were kept goii:g ; their whip saw is rigged
like a bucksaw only the i>aw instead of the stick, is
in the centre. There is a stick on each side of the
saw and a string outside each stick. They had to
back the saw the whole length of the wood to get it
out. Messrs. Cook and Son the great tourist agents
had just commenced to build a large hotel, which
when returning home I found already finished. I
noticed a sign over a mud house door " Egyptian
Bank." A track runs from the depot straight down
to the river and there were a number of flat cars
loaded with boats, of which I took a nearer look, I also
saw oars and poles. I was well pleaded Avith all and
at the same time made up my mind, that we had
carried paddles across the ocean for very little use. I
asked permission to go and see the catacombs, but was
told that we must get under way. I received for my
men cooking utensils, such as kettles, tin-plates, knives,
forks and spoons, for the whole campaign, which I
delivered up again, when returning. We stia'ted at
11 a. ra., the fleet consisting of two barges side by side
in tow of a side-wheel steamer. At the stern of each
barge a trough, built of mud bricks, formed the cook-
ing range, and it amused me to see that they had put
on about half a cord of wood for cooking purposes, to
last during the trip to Assouan, (twelve days) and this
at once impressed me with the difference between the

1 '

value of fuel in this country and in our own. There
were thirteen gangs with their foremen on the barges
and three gangs with foremen on the steamer. We
found the Nile river water of good taste but muddy
and we generally left it standing for an hour to settle.
A funny sight was presented by a cow and a small
camel harnessed to a plough. A. stick crooked suitably
by nature was laid over both necks and tied round
each and a native rope was run from the yoke
to a stick, also crooked to suit the purpose by nature,
used as plough, scratching about two inches deep and
three inches wide, at a speed as I judged of one acre
per week. Another unusual thing was to see the
crops in several stages of growth at the same time in
adjoining patches, from sowing to quarter grown half
grown and ripe crops. This is one of the consequen-
ces of the Nubians depending upon the overflow of
the Nile to fertilize their soil. Directly the river
begins to fall they commence to sow their seed in the
mud, it leaves behind, and as the water recedes they
follow it up with the sowing. The crop farthest from
the river of course gets the start.

The next novel sight was the irrigation of the
fields. To lift the water from the river, a frame is
made by putting some cornstalks into the ground and
putting clay round them to make posts, which are
placed about six feet apart ; the posts support a small
stick, across which is laid a crooked pole, with about
a dozen bends in it, that balances a mud basket on
one end against a leather bucket on the other. The
bucket holds about as much as our common well bucket,
a man is continually filling from the river and empty-

^vl

RAISING WATER ON THE NILE.

^ip

ing into a mud spout between the posts. The water
is led off in a small mud conduit over the farm which
is divided into sections, when one section is filled
with water the stream is turned into another one.
These waterworks are kept going day and night. Once
in a while one may see cattle power used for irriga-
tion of the following old fashioned kind, the yoke is
hitched to a primative cog-wheel of about twelve feet
in diameter, which works into a smaller wheel placed
underneath it, the cattle walking over a bridge. The
cogs are simply pins driven into the outside of each
wheel. The shaft of the smaller wheel runs out over
a ditch cut from the river and carries a large reel
about eighteen feet in diameter over which two native
ropes are laid to which are attached about forty earth-
en jars. The cattle here are about the same size as
ours, but they have a lump on their back and their
horns run straight back. The colour.of most of these
cattle is blueish. Where the fertile strip of land
is wide, canals are dug in curves to bring
the water back near, to the sand mountains. The
cattle feed along the river bank, which is left uncul-
tivated for about twent;' feet from the water, and I
have seen a number of them of all kinds, feeding on
this poor strip and never touch the rich crops along-
side, although left to themselves and I was told that
they were taught that way. The sheep look
like dogs dragging long tails on the ground and the
dogs look much like the Esquimaux dogs I have seen
in Manitoba.

After seven or eight days travel we left the sand
mountains aud begap to see rock on both sides^ more

particularly on the east bank the ro«'k looked to me
like plaster of Paris. The natives quarried it and
loaded it into small dibeers. *' Dibeere " are sailing
crafts with a small cabin aft, whilst, "Nuggars" are
plain barges, with a very peculiar sail, the boom of
which is rolled into the sail by way of furling the lat-
ter. I heard one blast go off and this being Sunday,
the 19th October, I mj'deup my mind that the people
here have no Sundays. We passed some ruins on both
shores, some appeared to be cut into the solid rock,
which here is of a brownish colour. I could not tell
what kind of rock but the courses varied from four to
twenty feet as seen between the temples and they
laid very even The perpendicular seams were per-
fectly straight. The temples all faced the river. We
also passed some immense figures, some standing, some
sitting on chairs, some looking towards the river,
some showing their profile, the highest of these I
judged to be 66 feet high. It was a pity that we
could not get the slightest information from the
Egyptian crew with us, who seemed very averse to
us, so much so, that I could not even learn their names
far less any of their language. About this time some
of the boys gave out that we would be shown the
exact spot, where Moses was picked up, but nobody
knew exactly. Our fleet did not run at nights, and it
always happened that we halted in some uninhabited
place, where nothing could be learned. Some of the
cities we passed presented a beautiful appearance
from the distance, temples, high towers and so forth
all looking very white, some mud houses were two
or three stories high and of blue mud color.

to me

it and
sailing
•rt' are
K)in of
the lat-
Hinday,

people
on both
id rock,
not tell

four to
id they
ere per-
er. We
ig, some
le river,
these I
that we
rom the
averse to
jir names
ime some
own the
; nobody
its, and it
inhabited
e of the
jpearance
so forth
were two

At one place, the only one point where we stopped in
the day time, I went ashore to see what was called a
sacred tree. A young Christian Egyptian of about
sixteen years, whose acquaintance 1 made here told me
that the sacred tree had great healing power, and sick
people would come and ask its help, and when cured
would drive a nail into the tree as a memorial. The
tree showed a great number of nails of all patterns,
and it must not be forgotten that nails here are even
scarcer than money. It is a live tree and nothing nice
to look at, it rises from the ground about four feet
straight and then lays over horizontally for about
thirty feet, after which it turns up and throws out
branches. The trunk is about one foot through and
the bark is similar to that of our large thorn tree.
Returning to the fleet I saw a young man lying in the
dust on the side of the road, with his mouth open, his
tongue out and his eyes, in fact his whole face a mass
of flies, a horrible sight. A little girl bent over him,
pointed to the sick and looked at me. My voung
Christian bade me come away saying it was a case of
leprosy. My friend showed me a mosque and a bazaar.
Coming out of the bazaar I noticed three men acting
very queerly, walking around in front of a mud hut,
talking dolefully or murmuring and constantly looking
to the ground, and was told that there was a death in
the family. My guide saw me back to the fleet and
on the road asked me for a book, and I gave him one.
His people lived in the place. The fertile strips along
the river here are much narrower than in Lower Egypt,
sometimes one-eighth of a mile wide sometimes only
about two hundred feet, but to judge from the crops

1 1

as well as tho cattle and the food the latter find, the
Hoil must be better.

I should say the river is from a third of a mile to
half a mile wide on the averajj;e from Assiout to As-
souan, and very shallow, as the steamer, which drew
about live feet of water, {i;ot aground often. We
reached Assouan at 10 a. m. on the 21st, not without
regret at having had to pass such famous places as
Thebes and Luxor. We camped quite close to Thebes
and there were guides waiting with candles to
show us over the place but we had no time to spare
and so were not permitted to wander about.

We landed two miles below the city at Assouan the
lower end of the track of the seven mile railway to
Shellal passing behind Assouan. This railway is built
to portage over the first cataract. Opposite Assouan,
we passed the camp of the Black Watch. At Shellal,
a steamer with forty whalers in tow received us and
started at once towards Wady Haifa. We camped
two or three miles above Shellal and were therefore
deprived of any sight of the first cataract. Our fifty-
six Caughnawaga Indians were given eight boats,
which were towed four abreast and ten long, this was
the first time we got into the boats. We soon made
. use of the awning provided for each. The country
along the river here i» all rock and as I was told, back
of the rock all sand. Doctor Neilson informed me
that we were now about crossing into the tropics.
The natives here are considerably darker than the
Egyptians and better built men. They were dressed
similarly to the P-gyptians. A navy pinnace over
hauled us here bringing Abbe Bouchard who had

ir>

rid, the

nile to
to As-
1 drew
. We
without
laces as
ThebeH
[lies to

spare

laii the
way to
is built
ssouaii,
Shellal,
us and
camped
lerelbre
ir iifty-
boats,
his was

1 made
:!ountry
Id, back
led me
tropics,
an the
dressed
|e over
tio had

stayed behind in Cairo. We wont a good distance
before we again met cultivated land and then only in
strips, some of which were not twenty feet wide and
they were utilized ev^ery inch. The natives tollow
the falling river with cultivation, as I discovered when
coming back a little over three months afterwards,
when I found crops of beans from one inch to a foot
long, growing where there had been water. We
passed miles of barren ro(!k and then again nar-
row strips and altogether the country was poorer
than Upper Egypt. Occasionally we would see a
few date trees along the river and now and then
a small mud-built village. Irrigation was going on
the same as below, both by hand and by
ox-power. We reached Korosko on the 24th of Octo-
ber the steamer was run with the bow on the shore, but
the boats towed too far from shore for us to get out.

Korosko is a small fort occupied by both English
and Egyptian soldiers The river banks around
are fifteen to twenty feet high. From my whaler
I could see a small building near the beach
with a sign over tlje door marked '* poste Keden "
Post office. We left Korosko after an hour's stoppage
and beached in good season, to give us a chanc to
cook supper. At every night's camp we unavoidably
did more or less damage to the crops, which must have
caused serious loss to these poor people by whom, as I
said before, every inch of the spare soil is utilized.
We got under way at sunrise. The river up this far
from Assouan is a series of very straight stretches from
five to fifteen miles in length with no difficult bends
and good for navigation everywhere. The current

\(\

During this

varys from three to five miles an hour,
dav I noticed a small screw tug beariroj a foresail
coming after us and trying hard to reach us It proved
to be a press steamer having on board the correspond-
ent of an English paper, an engineer and a native pilot.
They ran short of coal and wanted a tow, and all the
coal they had left when reaching us, a man could
have put in his vest pocket We beached this night
on the west side close to a temple, cut, as it ap-
peared to me into the solid rock. Being called to receive
stores and cholera belts for the men I was prevented
from joining an exploring party, that set out,
and was told, when the boys came back, that
1 had missed something worth seeing. I learnt
afterwards that this place was Abu-Simbel, where
there are two temples cut out of the rock which
are said to be the oldest specimens of architec-
ture in the world. The boys said they had seen"
stone figures of men with toes three feet long and I
dare say they were not far out, as I learnt there are
four seated figures in front of the largest temple sup-
posed to represent Rameses the Great, which are sixty
five feet in height. I was sorry that I had to stay
behind to look after the stores. Talking about cholera
belts, everybody engaged in the British service in
Egypt had to wear these belts, soldiers and voyageurs
were supplied with them and required to wear them.
They are strips of flannel twelve or fifteen inches
wide, and I was told by soldiers who had served in
Egypt some time, that they are very effective in pre-
venting cholera and dysentery.

Next day, Sunday the 26th at 5 p. m. we arrived at

■Fl

ing this
foresail
t proved
respond-
ve pilot,
d all the
m could
lis night
IS it ap-
,0 receive
revented
set out,
ik, that
I learnt
si, where
;k whic^
architec-
had seen'
)ng and I
there are
mple sup-
are sixty
d to stay
ut cholera
ervice in
voyageurs
^ear them,
en inches
served in
7e in pre-

arrived at

BOAT FOB THE NILE EXPEDITION UNDER SAIL.

BOAT FOR THE NILE EXPEDITION SHOWING AWNINQ.

Wady Haifa. The weather was still the same as ever
since we landed at Alexandria, not a cloud, not un-
comforiably warm, but warm enough. A steam tug
came out from Wady Haifa and brought orders for us
to proceed as far as the river was navigable for the
steamer. This brought us about four miles above
Wady Haifa where the tow was disbanded. The
boats then proceeded another mile and we camped.
During this mile we had the first opportunity to work
the boats, (still all light) and that evening the opinions
about them varied greatly.

No sooner were oar tents pitched than Lord
Wolseley arrived He shook hands with some, ex-
changed a few words with our commander, Colonel
Denison, and was off again. We found here about a
hundred whalers waiting for us. We were at the foot
of the second cataract and the following morning were
ordered to take the light boats up the cataract to the
first naval camp, about three miles distant, to make
one trip and if possible two. iSeven men took one
boat and ail the crews made two trips, some getting
through early, some late.

The first trip I made, I took a diffisrent channel
from those who started before, I stepped the two masts
with which the boat was provided and used the sails
and the six oa^ ,s only, the wind being as usual from the
north. We needed all our resources but we reached
the camp in good time. We walked back the three
miles took another boat and tried the channel gener-
ally taken, it being apparently the shortest route I
had to use the tow-line at one place where there was a
'' gate " or channel, as we say in Canada, with about

!— ■

II'

three feet of a fall, about eighteen feet wide and a good
standing place to tow from. Right thei3 was stationed
our acquaintance, the reporter, in his little tug moored
above the gate. One of the voyageurs while wading
must have stepped into some seam, he jumped quickly
back into his boat, leaving behind his moccasin and
said he was bitten by a crocodile, which all ot us were
kind enough to believe and we advised him not to wade
any more. All had accomplished their task in the even-
ing and come back to our camp. iSoon afterwards Gen-
eral Sir Evelyn Wood arrived and went towards
Colonel Denison's tent, I heard my name called by
my ofificer and went before the General who demanded
the number of my men and wanted to see them.
Getting the men in line, the General asked me if they
spoke English and I said they spoke enough for boating
purposes, but no more. The General then left. After
supper I was informed by my officer that I had to
take thirty-five men with me and go about a hundred
miles up the river.

Here <;ommencesthe second railway of the river route,
about thirty miles long, and the first train on the fol-
lowing morning brought Lord Wolseley on his way to
the front. The second train had on board, Col.
Alleyne, Lord A von more, Capt. Moore, Lieut. Perry
and Lieut C. R. Orde. This train took me and my
men on and stopped at Gemai where we found several
boats which had been portaged on cars. We pitched
tents and did not leave until 10 o'clock the next mor-
ning, October 29th, I picked crews as nearly equal
as I could, with a captain to each and started with six
boats, nearly light, only the five officers and their iugg-

tioned
loored
rading
uickly
in and
IS were
wade
i even-
Is Gen-
owards
lied by
aanded

them.

if they

boating

After

had to
lundred

r route,
the fol-
way to
[, Col.
Perry
and iny
several
pitched
;xi mor-
ly equal
vith six
eir iugg-

age on board. I had the honor to start in boat No' 1
with Col. AUeyne on board, the officers taking a boat
each of different numbers, reached Sarras about 5 p. m.
a distance of eighteen miles. The river here is very
narrow, in some places about a thousand feet and the
current very swift. I had to get ti line out only once.
At Sarras each boat took on nearly two tons of ammu-
nition and stores, also additional passengers. We
proceeded two miles up and camped. There were
many islands and rocks both in sight and sunken, but
room enough to go anywhere. The shores are barren
rock. Starting next da}'^ with a light breeze, 1 soon
found that I wanted more wind to proceed under sail
as the current grew swifter and my boat had now on
board, besides Col. Alleyne, his servant, his interpreter
one corporal and one native swimmer, then myself
with five men and about two tons of freight. This
was the time to find out what we could do with our
boats, the north wind had freshened, which gave us
more speed and with the help of five good oars we
dodged the swift currents, catching eddies and after
two hours trial the captains congratulated each other
upon being masters of the situation. We soon began
to race, each captain using his own judgment as to
which channel to take, which gave each a chance to
be ahead or behind according to his luck. When I
signalled for dinner nil headed for shore and it was
here that Louis Capitaine was so unaccountably lost,
within sixty feet from shore. Louis had the bow oar
in Peter January's boat and he rose when nearing
shore. While standing in the bow he fell over, the
headway of the boat made the distance a hundred

■*.s

feet before he was seen to rise. Lieut. Perrv threw a
liie-preserver and ordered the Arab swiniiner, which
this boat carried, to assist him, the sAvimmcr jumped
immediately and swam towards the spot but Louis
disappeared before assistance reached him. My
boat was about sixtv yards beliind Peter's boat
coming up in the eddy behind a rock. When striking
tJie current I noticed Louis' helmet and the Arab
swimmer. We went ashore to prepare dinner and I
really believe that Colonel AUeyne, the officer in
charge of this convoy, felt so badly about this accident,
that he did not take anything. He hired natives to
search for the body and give it decent burial, if found.
After dinner we proceeded with one man short. The
water not being so bad we made the Semnah cataract
that afternoon. This cataract was thought the worst
in the whole route. Colonel AUeyne showed me up to
the gate and said " now everything is yours." It
must be understood that this gate does by no means
reach across the river. The river is about lUOO feet
wide here and the gate situated between the east
shore and an island is about twenty feet wide. Not
being sLire of the water I tried a light boat first. I
took boat No. 1 through without any trouble, but
would not trust the lull load on any boat. We all
lightened somewhat and passed the six boats through
Avith tow lines inside of an hour. The freight we
had left was portaged by camels. We reloaded and
started under sail four miles up in smooth water and
camped. Colonel Alleyne held an inquest that night
on Louis Oapitaine's death and despatched a man to the
nearest telegraph station with the news of his death.

*'t-'

hrew a
which
jumped
; Louis
My
's boat
jtviking
le Arab
;r and I
ficer in
iccident,
itives to
f found,
t. The
cutaract
:ie worst
me up to
rs." It
) means
JOG feet
the east
le. Not
first. I
ble, but
We all
through
ight we
,ded and
ater and
:at night
[in to the
is death.

n
»

si
wi

cal

H
O

A few weeks after this despatch was sent, Colonel
Kennedy showed me a copy of the Ottawa Free Press,
in which the Free Pre9s made free indeed reporting
Captain Louis Jiickson as drowned. All the captains
appeared pleased with their boats, talking about who
made the best run and each boasting to have the best
boat From this cataract to the next one above, at
Ambigol, is counted seventeen miles, which stretch
proved much the same as below Semnah cataract ;
plenty of dodging and crossing the stream to get the
side of the river with the lesser current, the boats
being such good travellers and answering their helms
so well with a stiff breeze, we found ourselves in a
genuine boatman's paradise. In spite of the free wind
we had all day, we had to get lines out and track
several times. We camped on an island abont a
mile below Ambigol cataract In the evening the
captains argued as to which of them had run the
most on sandbanks. These sand shoals are formed
behind large rocks in a manner never seen in our
own waters, and it was strange ' to notice that like
situated rocks would not alike accumulate sand, some
had shoals behind theui and some had none, still all
showed the same eddy on the water surface, and the
water being muddy we could not tell which to trust
and so gave them all wider berths in future.

The following day, the 1st of November we reached
the post of Ambigol about 8 a. m. We found this
cataract different from Semnah cataract, This has no
" gate " but a very crooked channel, swift current and
very bad tracking. It required the combined force of
thirty-five men to pull one boat with its lull load.

The cataract is one mile long and the roughest part
is at the foot and at the head. It was in this mile of
trie route that afterwards three white men were lost.
We got through this cataract about noon and cooked
dinner just above it. Ft must be remembered that
the route was entirely unknown to us all and that
we had to find our channels and often did not take
the best one. From this out I ordered my captains
to take a different channel each, there being so many,
so as to find the best one for future purposes. The
boats being so equally matched, we could easily tell
who had the wrong channel, for he was soon left as-
tern. The officer in charge, Col. AUeyne, who is
himself an experienced boatman, was so well pleased
with our progress that he never interfered but left
it all to us. It must also not be forgotten that the
boys had been forty days travelling, doing no hard
work, before we took the boats and by this time their
hands were very sore. The rocky shores were so
bold that poles could only be of use in kec^pingoiT and
it was impossible to assist by shoving ahead.

To say a word about the boats now, we all h^d come
to the conclusion that the boats and outfit were well
devised for the service so far. We aad tried them
now in various ways ; we had sailed against a swift
current with a beam wind, where a flat bottom would
have had to be towed with lines, and the more this
towing could be avoided the better it was on account
of the fearful track along the shore. The boats
were sufficiently strong for all necessary handling
and in case of accident, the}' were light enough
to be brought ashore and turned over for repairs with-

part
lie of

loBt.
Doked
i that
i that
t take
ptains
many,
The
ly tell
left as-
ivho is
^leased
lut lelt
lat the
10 hard
le their
rere .«o
off ai^d

id come
re well
d them
a swift
1 would
ore this
account
le boats
landliug
enough
rs with-

out extra help. More difficult it was to find a good
place on the shore where to haul a boat out. The
boats were provided with two sails each, a sample of
which (sails) I have brought home with me.

We camped next on Tangur island and the following
day the 2nd of November, we started to face the
Tangur cataract. The wind being very strong in our
favor we tried to dodge behind the many islands, but
had to give up sailing in many places and get the lines
out We overcame this cataract without much difficulty.
Above the cataract it was considered smooth water for
about one mile when a very bad stretch was met with
about lialf a mile long. The river here is about
quarter of a mile wide, and full of large rocks between
which the water came down very " wicked " in
channels of about sixty feet wide and some wider. I
again ordered each captain to pick his own channel,
and having a strong breeze and all oars working we
managed to get above. In this place I discovered by
experience that what we had found to be the best
channel on that day, was the worst a few days after.
The water falling six inches to a foot every day, con-
tinually changed the rapids, making a bad place better
and a good place bad. Above this cataract we had
thirteen miles of what we called smooth water with a
current of from three to five miles an hour. I had
noticed in coming up that the country was inhabited,
having seen a few Arabs now and then. We reached
the foot of Akaska cataract that evening. On landing,
the boat, which carried Lord Avonmore, got stove in
when His I^ordship took the tools and proved himself
quite a carpenter. Here also were seen some useful

fltretclies of beach under cultivation, but thcfle were
getting few and far between.

Next day, the 3rd November, we faced the Akaska
cataract, we were getting used to the river and there-
fore this cataract proved to be the easiest so far. Be-
tween Akaska and the foot of Dal cataract there are
nine miles of good navigation, and the greater part of
the beach is useful, this stretch looking altogether
better and less wild. We reached the foot of Dal
about noon. Dal cataract is said to be five miles long
In this cataract I saw for the first time, small willow
trees on the islands. We went about half a mile up
with sails and oars, when we had to track for quite a
distance. In this rapid it happened for the first time
that we came to a halt, not knowing how to proceed.
We had crossed on to an island not having water
enough in the little channel between this island and
the shore, but found at the head of the island the
water rough and the current too strong to pull against
and could not proceed without a line to the mainshore.
It was here that the foresight of Colonel Alleyne,
proved of value. Our Arab swimmer managed to
carry the tow line to the shore, where he made fast
and we pulled ourselves up, carrying the end of the
tow line of the next boat, which carried the next line
and so on until the six boats were up. Half a mile
further on we came to a place where it was impossible
to proceed on this side of the river, there being no
place for the men to stand and pull, the water made
a kind of a fall, and it was altogether a singular
place. We had to try the other side of the river.
In crossing we met with manv rocks and one island

e were

A. k ask a
I there-
r. Be-
lere are
part of
ogether
of Dal
ies long
willow
mile up
quite a
rst time
proceed.
ig water
and and
land the
1 against
inshore.
Mleyne,
aged to
lade fast
d of the
ext line
f a mile
[possible
Dei Tig no
er made
singular
e river,
e island

which offered so many favorable eddies, that wo rather
gained than lost ground. The river here is about
three-quarters of a mile wide. On the west shore we
found good trac' ing for about a quarter of a mile,
when again the services of our swimmer were required.
Finding ourselves on an island, Colonel Alleyne being
an experienced boatman said we had done enough for
that day and we camped.

On Tuesday, November 4th, we sta-ted again with
sails and oars. The river being full of islands we had
not the same ditliculty as the day before, and we
reached Sarkametto about 10 a. m , well pleased to find
ourselves at the head of these last four cataracts and
congratulated ourselves on having brought the first six
boats of the Expedition so far.

Next morning I recoived orders to go down with
four boats, which order rather disappointed me, as 1
had expected to go throiiL i to Dongola. I found out
that our trip was a trial !y. I took all hands into
the four boats, the officers also coming aboard, and left
at 9 a. m:

Now came the tug of war, the shooting of all the
cataracts. Coming up we used all eddies, now we had
to avoid them, coming up also if unable to proceed
we could draw back and try another channel, now,
everything depended on quick judgment and prompt
action, the more so as keel boats are not considered tit
for rapid work. I ordered my captains to follow at
such distances as to ^ive them time to avoid following
should the leading boat err in the choice of channel.
After shooting the Dal cataract all safe I asked mv
captains how the boats behaved. All agreed that they

were slow in answering their helm and required dome
watching. Travelling between the cataracts against
a strong headwind was slow work and we longed for
the next one to get along faster. Shooting the Dal,
there had been much dodging of rocks and islands,
which gave some excitement. In Akaska cataract we
discovered a smooth, straight channel in the middle
of the river and not very long.

This shooting of the rapids was a surprise to the
Egyptian soldiers, a number of whom were stationed
at every cataract. The natives came rushing out of
their huts with their children, goats and dogs and
stood on the beach to see the North American Indian
boatmen. I had more leisure now to look round. I
have not seen the place yet where I would care to
settle down.

The next cataract is Tangur, which I considered the
most dangerous of all for shooting. The river is wide
and there are many islands and rocks, the rocks are
high, and there are many channels to choose from, and
as I had noticed coming up, many of these channels are
too crooked for shooting especially with a keel boat,
all of which makes this rapid, a dangerous one to shoot.
The rocks hide each other and if vou clear the first
one you find yourself close on the other. A narrow
escape I had on the east side of Tangur island. The
boai, following me had taken a sheer and was obliged to
take another channel, which having a swifter current
than the one I had taken, brought this boat up with
me below the rock so close as nearly to cause a disaster.

Colonel Alleyne ordered lunch near the place, where
the steamer Gizeh was wrecked. We could see her

red clof*e
5 against
nged for
the Dal,
i islands,
aract we
e middle

se to the
stationed
ig out of
logs and
,n Indian
ound. I
d care to

dered the
jr is wide
rocks are
from, and
nnels are
keel boat,
3 to fcihoot.
' the first
A narrow
nd. The
obliged to
3r current
t up with
a disaster.
Lce, where
Id see her

high and dry on the rock, where she had laid some
time as I was told. After lunch we started for
Ambigol cataract. On our way we met several large
puggars with their peculiar sails, going at good speed.
These nuggers ncxrer track but go up with a strong
breeze. We shot Ambigol cataract between three and
four o'clock and met five whalers at the foot of it.
Colonel Alleyne ordered me to go ashore to speak to
them. They were manned by Royal Engineers with
foreman Graham and his voyageurs. We started again
downwards and made Semnah cataract after sunset
shortly before dark. Shooting Semnah gate, finished
our day's work and we camped. We had made this
day 61 miles.

Dal cataract 5 miles.

From the foot of Dal to the head of Akaska 9 "

Akaska cataract 1 "

From the foot of Akaska to Tangur 14 "

Taugur cataract 3 '•

From the foot of Tangur to Ambigol 9 "

Ambigol cataract i "

From the foot of Ambigol to Semneh 17 "

Semneh cataract • 2 "

61
This day's experience decided my opinion about the
boats. Many of my men had been portaging on the
Ottawa for difierent lumber firms and all agreed with
me, that whilst the JS'ile river boats would have been
of no use on the Ottawa, they could not be improved
upon for the Nile service on account of the nature of
the river. For the ascents of the river as well as the
cataracts, the sailing qualities of the boats were all
important, and when towed by line the keel would

ffive a chance to shoot out into the current to "rot round
rocks, where a flat bottom would have followed the line
broadside and fetched up against the rock. In shoot-
ing the cataracts the boats did not answer tha helm as
quickly as would flat bottoms, but this drawback was
not sufficient to condemn the keel.

Next day, Thursday, November 6th, we ran some
more swift water to Sarras, nine miles below foot of
Semnah. We met there thirty whalers with troops
and stores ready to ascend. Colonel Denison asked
me to give him one man to act as pilot, so I gave him
Mathias Hill, an Iroquois. Colonel Denison went up
with this fleet.

Most of the Canadian voyageurs asked me how I
found the Rapids. I told them that I had no trouble,
considering it unadvisable to give a minute descrip-
tion, as I had already discovered how the fast falling
water daily changed the appearance of the river, and
what was a good place for me to go up, would be bad
now, whilst a bad place might be better. I was well
aware that these voyageurs would have more trouble
than I had. They had not only larger loads but sol-
dier crews, whilst I had my Caughnawaga boys with
whom I had worked fromycuth up and who promptly
caught at a sign from me, whil ^ the soldiers had to be
talked to, and, although havir the best of will, could
not always comprehend the situation.

After thirty whalers had started, I was informed by
Lord Avonmore of the order to camp. Next day the
7th November, another fleet of twenty-eight boats
started, for which Lord Avonmore asked me a pilot.
I gave him John Bruce of St. Regis.

ffot round

ed the line

In r«lioot-

li8 helm as

tvback was

ran some
o\v toot of
ith troops
ison asked
; gave him
n went up

me how I
no trouble,
be descrip-
iast falling
river, and
nld be bad
; was well
ore trouble
is but sol-
boys with
o promptly
i had to be
will, could

[iformed by
jct day the
ight boats
ne a pilot.

The following day, the 8th, Lord Avonmore re-
quested of me seven men and a foreman, to go with
him up to the Dal cataract to be stationed there, ow-
ing probably, as 1 thought to myself, that Col. Alleyne
considered the Dal the most difficult. 1 pointed out
Peter Canoe as the most experienced boatman I iiad.
and as he does not speak English, James Deer went
as their interpreter. I received orders for myself to
go down with the reft of my men to Gemai. At
Gemai I found twenty -three light boats manned by
Dongolese. Placing a('a[)tain in each boat we started,
but, were disappointed to lind that these men had never
seen a boat nor used an oar. With the help of the usual
north wind we managed to ascend in good time to
hiarras. On the way n.p we had to teach one man to
steer and then go round to each man and teach him to
row. Neither understanding one word of the other's
language this was a terrible task. I had how-
ever, been long enough in contact with English
military discipline by^this time, to know that there
was no backing out We loaded at tSarras and pro-
ceeded up with Lieut. C. E. 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 avoid-
ed. Our new commander being an experienced
boatman as well as a good carpenter, and a gentleman
we managed to keep up with the other tieets. 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 Surras to Semnah in just six days, whereas
we had travelled before at the rate of sevent}- .alles
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 Congolese, 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
1 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 hav-
ing 175 Dongolese with my Caughnawaga boys and
about 200 Egyptian soldiers they parted the hawser
on the first pull, while getting another hav;ser Col.
Butler arrived in a whaler from Sarras Mdth a crew of
Kroomen, with Chief Prince of Manitoba as captain.
Col. Butler ordered us to abandon 'he wreck and explore
another channel on the opposite side of the river, I
unloaded my boat manned by Cauglinawagas and with
Lieut. Orde, went across, after half a day's search
found a very crooked channel which afterwards 4 or 5
steamers ascended succesfully.

At Tangur it was found advisable to split the con-

required.
y patching
e the nine
s, whereas
nty .iiiitje*
jported to
f Semiiah
5 that my
by all the
aid be able
him I was
i was that

as fast as
s always to
oldiers and

ag this day
am pinnace
d, blocking
d. I hav-
a bovs and
the hawser
lawser Col.
1 a crew of
as captain,
and explore
le river, I
as and with
ay'tj search
vards 4 or 5

lit the con-

voy, Major 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 1 said
before, entirely unused to boats. They are all excel-
lent 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 Avas brought safely to the foot of Dal catar-
act 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 loot of Dal with
less trouble on this trip, th(j Dongolese having
learned a great deal us well as \ and my men

I'll

knowing now some words of their language.

On arriving at Dal, I found that this place had be-
come H very busy scene. Many tents were pitched
among which were a commissariat, a post office and a
number of officers tentf . Lord Avonmorc 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 SirGeorg.: 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 batk here on
the l*Jth 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
had done enough of lower cataract service. , At the
same time the Dongolese, that had been with me still
in charge of Major Grolton, were sent down to try a
trip by themselves. It proved lucky for these men
that the Nile does not scare them, for they had to
swim for it on more than one occasion. However,
X they proved efficient in the end to the satisfaction of
the officers.

While lying on my oars 1 had an opportunity to
admire the passing army, both officers and men, and
their discipline, i did not see one private soldier who
looked more than thirty years of age. The soldiers
showed signs of the hard work they had done in
getting up the Nile. Their hands were blistered
and their clothes worn out, but they were as

mguage.
had be-

pitched
»e and a
id come
»ct to his
•r Mann,

arrived
:>f boats.
re Lord
Spaight.
iss with

here on

are still

id me to

we had

.At the

me still

,o try a

ese men

had to

lowever,

iction of

unity to

nen, and

dier who

soldiers

done in

blistered

were as

cheerful and enthusiastic as ever My orders now were
to assist the officer in charge with my Iroquois in
passing boats up the Dal cataract, until the last boat
was passed. 1 had all my men collected here except
four who were stationed above. During tliis time I
saw Colonel Burnaby depart on his camels, Lord
A vonmore in his boat, my old commander Col. Alleyne
in his boat and afterwards Sir Evelyn Wood on horse-
back, also our Canadian officer Col. Kennedy, Surgeon,
Major Neilson. and Col. Grove. The river had now
fallen so much that there were hundreds of rocks in
sight, in front of this station^ and crocodiles could be
seen by the dozen, sunning themselves on the rocks,
Major Mann and Abbe Bouchard with the help of a
powerful glass, pronounced one brute to be twenty-
live feet long.

The last boat that I assisted in passing was on the
14th of January aiid on the 15th I received orders to
start for Wady Haifa, which brought my active ser-
vice in the Egyptian Expedition to a close.

We arrived at Wady Haifa on the 18th of January
where I found Captains Aumond and McRae and nearly
two hundred voyageurs. At Wady Haifa 1 witnessed
the military funeral of a Gordon Highlander, which

was a novel sight to me

One dark night, long after the retiring bugle had
sounded, an alarm gun was fired. I went out of my
tent and to my astonishment I found the soldiers al-
ready prepared to fight. No lights had been used and it
was a mystery to me how the men could get ready in so
short a time. I could see that in a real attack, the
enemy would not get much advantage over these men.

I must mention here a curioun sight I witnessed at
the funeral of an Egyptian, before lowering the body
into the grave they put a small coin into his mouth,
and I found out, that their belief is, that the dead
have to cross a river to get into the '' happy hunting
grounds" and 1 concluded that the ferryman, not ferry-
ing on " tick" they had provided their comrade with
liis fare- Before leaving Wady Haifa, 1 had the
satisfaction to see two of my Iroquois carry oft' the
first prizes for running at the United Service Sports,
held under tlie patronage of the Station Commandant
Col. Duncan and the cflicers.

We left Wady Haifa on the 21)tli January, arriving
at Cairo, February 5th, where an opportunity was
given u.s to visit the following places of interest :
Kass el-Nil Bridge, Kass-el-Ni I Barracks, Abdin Square
and Palace, The Mosque Sultan-Hassan, the Citadel,
the Mosque Mohamet-Ali, the Native Bazaar, the
Esbediah Gardens, and finally Gizeh and the Pyramids.

We sailed from Alexandria on February 6th, 1885,
well pleased with what we had seen in the land of the
Pharos and proud to have shown the world that the
dwellers on the banks of the Nile, after navigating it
for centuries, could still learn something of the craft
from the Iroquois Indians of North America and the
Canadian voyageurs of many races.

I cannot conclude without expressiog my satisfac-
tion at the handsome treatment accorded us by the
British Government, and should our services be of
assistance in the proposed Fall campaign in Egypt,
they will be freely given. We were allowed j u«t double
the amount of clothing stipulated in the contract, the

iiessed at
the body
i mouth,
ihe dead

hunting
lot ferry -
rade with

had the
y oft' the
e Sports,
imandant

, arriving
niity was

interest :
in Square
e Citadel,
zaar, the
Pyramids.
5th, 1885,
md of the
1 that the
'igating it

the craft
la and the

y satisfac-
us by the
ices be of
in Egypt,
u«t double
itract, the

overcoats being given to us at Malta on our way home.

Judging by the stores we conveyed up the Nile the
army will not fare badly, we carried Armour's beef,
bacon, preserved meat, mutton, vegetables, Ebswurt's
crushed peas for soup, pickles, pepper, salt, vinegar,
hard biscuit, cabin biscuit, flour, oatmeal, rice, sugar,
tea, coff'ee, cheese, jam, medicine, lime juice, soap,
matches, tobacco.

Whoever designed the boats struck the right dimen-
sions perfectly. Each boat was made to carry ten
days' lations, including" everything in the above list,
for a hundred men, ten men with kits and accoutre-
ments, and about a half ton of ammunition.

— o^'^Jn^^I^o.^