WE SEE GONDOKORO IN THE DISTANCE. 365 
shrill voices sounded loud amidst the bargoma and 
other horns. Overcome at last by sleep we lay down 
again, and at daybreak awoke to find the rest of the 
night had passed without further disturbance. This 
was very fortunate, as had the maps, journals, and 
collections of our expedition perished on this occasion, 
the loss to us would have been irreparable. During 
the night, Captain Mahomed was asked to send them 
by a bearer to Consul Petherick at Gondokoro, but he 
replied that no one dare travel at night, and that the 
fires and dancing we saw were only an intimation that 
we would be attacked in the morning. Twice the 
enemy had come up to our camp, but the click of the 
sentries' gunlocks frightened them away. 
We all moved off in a compact mass by daylight of 
the 15th February, and were not molested, though we 
passed villages, outcropping rocks, and jungle of low 
trees, all favouring attack. After proceeding seven 
miles the features of the country completely changed 
from highland to lowland. As far as the eye could 
reach, there was to the north a dreary plain, dotted 
with the Punjab madar, growing upon firm and heavy 
sand. As we approached Gondokoro, a white speck 
was pointed out to us as the keneessa, or church, the 
spot where the Austrian mission-house stood. After- 
wards we could see the masts of Nile boats, the ap- 
pearance of which increased our excitement — I could 
have flown to them ; and when our band of Toorkees 
drew up a mile from them to form line and fire a feu- 
de-joie, I had great difficulty in submitting to the de- 
lay. However, Speke was tolerably cool, and we all 
marched in together. Entering the first respectable 
hut we reached, we inquired for our friend Petherick, 
