At times he had to cut
channels for his ships; the men lost heart; and, had the leader not
been firm and steadfast, he would never have reached his destination.
On one occasion he found his thirty vessels stranded, the river having
almost dried up. Nothing daunted, he cut his way through a marsh,
making a progress of only twelve miles in about a fortnight. At the
end of this time he found it was impossible to proceed further along
that course, and had to return to the place he had left and begin
again.
Still, in spite of all obstacles, he made steady progress.
At Sobat, situated on the Nile above Khartoum, he established a
station, and had a watch kept on passing ships to see that no slaves
were conveyed down the river.
One day a vessel came in sight, and keeping in the middle of the river
would have passed by without stopping. But Sir Samuel, having his
suspicions aroused, sent to inspect it.
The captain declared stoutly he had no slaves aboard. He stated that
his cargo consisted simply of corn and ivory. The inspector was not
convinced, and determined to test the truth of this statement. Taking
a ramrod, he drove it into the corn.
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