One may be sure that the disappointment of not reaching Khartoum, and the sudden cessation of their active efforts, had a depressing effect upon the whole force. Lord Wolseley, in his message to the Nile Column ordering it to return, sought to soften the disappointment in some measure by judicious praise. 'Please,' said he, 'express to the troops Lord Wolseley's high appreciation of their gallant conduct in action, and of the military spirit they have displayed in overcoming the great difficulties presented by the river. Having punished the Monassir people for Colonel Stewart's murder, it is not intended to undertake any further military operations until after the approaching hot season.' [Sidenote: The Soudan abandoned] When once more the expedition headed down-stream, difficult as they had found it to ascend, the return movement was even more risky and dangerous. The eighty-five Canadian steersmen were now found to be invaluable, or, as one has remarked, 'were worth their weight in gold.' Boat after boat with their loads of troops came down at lightning speed in order of two fathoms' length between each boat. It required a quick eye and steady steering to avoid collision or being thrown on the rocks, for half a second was as good as a wreck when shooting madly between the sunken rocks of the cataracts. A few boats came to grief, but only one belonging to the Black Watch. And so Wauchope and the other wounded were steered down the great river--perhaps the most wonderful stream {105} in this world of ours--to Meraivi. Rochefoucauld has said that strong minds suffer without complaining, while weak ones complain without suffering. Wauchope's exemplary patience under such trying and painful circumstances, we have been told, was extraordinary. He was ever cheerful, and not a murmur escaped his lips. At Meraivi the regiment erected huts and an hospital, and remained for two months, but were always on the alert night and day against threatened attacks by unfriendly Arabs. The Government ultimately abandoned the idea of the reconquest of the Soudan at that time. It was left to its fate in the hands of the victorious Mahdi, all the troops being recalled. Leaving the boats at Akasheh on 8th June, the Black Watch took train for Wady Halfa, thence to Assouan, then by steamers and _diabehas_ to Assiout, and thereafter by train to Cairo, which was safely reached on the morning of the 27th June, Lord Wolseley telegraphing to London, 'The Black Watch has arrived in splendid condition, and looking the picture of military efficiency.' Colonel Wauchope's services in the Nile Expedition of 1884-85 were acknowledged by two clasps to his Egyptian medal, inscribed Nile and Kirbekan.