124 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



I sailed up the Nile from Cairo. The wind blev/ fair and strong 

 from the north, and we flew towards the south against the 

 stream, watching those mysterious waters with a firm resolve to 

 track them to their distant fountain." 



When Baker arrived at Berber, he found that a knowledge of 

 Arabic was essential to his success, and therefore devoted the 

 first year to exploring affluents of the Nile from the Abyssinian 

 range of mountains, which gave him a very excellent means for 

 acquiring the language, as association is a better school than 

 study. 



STARTING FOR THE NILE SOURCE. 



HAVING made himself familiar with Arabic, as did also his 

 wife, Baker prepared, in December, 1862, to proceed with his 

 original purpose. The principal requirement now was a force of 

 arms-bearers and sailors. This preparation had to be made at 

 Khartoum, where many men could be had, but they were gener- 

 ally of a dissolute and perfidious character. However, he enlisted 

 ninety-six men, forty of whom he armed with double-barreled 

 guns and rifles, forty others were sailors, and the remainder 

 servants. He had three boats specially built, which he loaded 

 with twenty-one donkeys, four camels and four horses, hoping 

 these would render him independent of porters, who are so given 

 to desertion. Each man received five months' wages in advance, 

 and just before starting they were treated to an entertainment, 

 at which they had an abundance to eat and drink. 



Everything was now ready for the departure, all the supplies 

 and animals having been taken on board, and the men at their 

 several posts, when an officer arrived from Divan to demand a 

 poll-tax from Baker for each of his men, equal to one month's 

 wages per head, threatening to detain the boats if it was not 

 paid forthwith. Baker ordered his captain to hoist the British 

 flag upon each of the boats, and then answered the demand by 

 declaring that he was neither a Turk nor a trader, but an English 

 explorer, and therefore not responsible for the tax, and that if 

 any officialattempted to board his boats he would take pleasure, 

 in the name of Great Britain, in throwing him overboard. The 



