chap, xv.] ARRIVAL OF IBRAHIM WITH REINFORCEMENTS. 431 
On the evening of the 19th September, a few days 
after this occurrence, intelligence was brought into 
camp that Ibrahim and a hundred men had arrived at 
Karuma Falls at the ferry by which we had formerly 
crossed the river to Atada. I immediately despatched 
ten men to investigate the truth of the report. In 
about two hours they returned in high spirits, having 
exchanged greeting with Ibrahim and his party across 
the river. Kamrasi had despatched boats to another 
ferry above the Falls to facilitate the passage "of the 
entire party on the following morning, as he wished 
them to attack the MVa immediately. 
Not being desirous of such an encounter, the MVa, 
who had witnessed the arrival of this powerful rein¬ 
forcement, immediately retreated, and by sunrise they 
had fallen back about twenty miles on the road to 
Mrooli. 
On the morning of the 20th Ibrahim arrived, bring¬ 
ing with him the post from England; that being 
addressed to the consul at Khartoum had been for¬ 
warded to Gondokoro by the annual boats, and taken 
charge of by Ibrahim on his arrival at that station 
last April with ivory from the interior. My letters 
were of very'old dates, none under two years, with the 
exception of one from Speke, who had sent me the 
Illustrated London News , containing his portrait and 
that of Grant; also Punch , with an illustration of 
Punch's discovery of the Nile sources. For a whole 
day I revelled in the luxury of letters and newspapers. 
Ibrahim had very kindly thought of our necessities 
when at Gondokoro, and had brought me a piece of 
coarse cotton cloth of Arab manufacture (darmoor) for 
clothes for myself, and a piece of cotton print for a 
dress for Mrs. Baker, in addition to a large jar of honey, 
and some rice and coffee—the latter being the balance 
of my old stock that I had been obliged to forsake for 
want of porters at Shooa. He told me that all my 
effects that I had left at Obbo had been returned to 
Gondokoro, and that my two men, whom I had left in 
