It was easy to perceive by the manner of the chief, Allorron, and his people that they had been incited by Abou Saood and his companies against the expedition. My delay in starting from Egypt had been of immense advantage to the slave-traders, as it had given them time to organize a resistance to the expedition. The negroes are easily misled; naturally vicious and treacherous, they are ready to believe any tales of evil: and as a young child may be frightened by a ghost story, they also may by a few words be rendered suspicious of their best friend. Their interests were the same as those of the slave-traders. My "Forty Thieves" [*] were excellent fellows, and all the men who were constantly about me were very different from those who formed the bulk of the military force. I now commenced a small station and a large garden. [*Footnote: The bodyguard of picked men, armed with snider rifles.] I had chosen a pretty spot for my station, as I did not intend to reside at head-quarters, which would be the site originally occupied by the Austrian mission, and was well adapted for a large town. My position was a rising knoll of about six acres upon which grew a few shady trees. This spot had been the station of a missionary known by the natives under the name of "Suleiman;" his was the only name remembered by the Baris, and his body had been buried here, but nothing marked the spot. He had passed away, like all the rest of these good and self-sacrificing people, without leaving one trace of good works among this barbarous tribe except the lemon-trees; theirs was the only seed that appeared to have fallen on good ground. In a few days my men had made a large garden, in which I sowed onions, radishes, beans, spinach, four varieties of water melons, sweet melons, cucumbers, oranges, custard apples, Indian corn, garlic, barmian, tobacco, cabbages, tomatoes, chilis, long capsicums, carrots, parsley, celery. I arranged the daily labour so that the soldiers and sailors should work at the cultivation from 6 A.M. till 11; after which they might have the day to themselves, to construct their own huts. At this season, 20th April 1871, the river was extremely low; I therefore fixed a pole with marked inches to register the rise of floods.