78 
ARRANGEMENT WITH MAHOMMED. [chap. hi. 
and could not rise from the ground. After several 
days’ endeavours to cure him, I was obliged to shoot 
him, as the poor animal could not eat. 
I now weighed all my baggage, and found that I had 
fifty-four cantars (100 lbs. each). The beads, copper, and 
ammunition were the terrible onus. I therefore applied 
to Mahommed, the vakeel of Andrea Debono, who had 
escorted Speke and Grant, and I begged his co-operation 
in the expedition. These people had brought dowm a 
large quantity of ivory from the interior, and had 
therefore a number of porters who would return empty- 
handed ; I accordingly arranged with Mahommed for 
fifty porters, who would much relieve the backs of 
my animals from Gondokoro to the station at Faloro, 
about twelve days’ march. At Faloro I intended to 
leave my heavy baggage in depot, and to proceed 
direct to Kamrasi’s country. I promised Mahommed 
that I would use my influence in all new countries that 
I might discover, to open a road for his ivory trade, 
provided that he would agree to conduct it by legiti¬ 
mate purchase, and I gave him a list of the quality of 
beads most desirable for Kamrasi’s country, according 
to the description I had received from Speke. 
Mahommed promised to accompany me, not only to 
his camp at Faloro, but throughout the whole of my 
expedition, provided that I would assist him in pro¬ 
curing ivory, and that I would give him a handsome 
present. All was agreed upon, and my own men 
appeared in high spirits’ at the prospect of joining so 
large a party as that of Mahommed, which mustered 
about two hundred men. 
At that time I really placed dependence upon the 
professions of Mahommed and his people ; they had just 
brought Speke and Grant with them, and had received 
from them presents of a first-class double-barrelled gun 
and several valuable rifles. I had promised not only 
to assist them in their ivory expeditions, but to give 
them something very handsome in addition, and the 
fact of my having upwards of forty men as escort was 
