I now learnt that the Baris of Gondokoro had imagined that the greater portion of the troops had gone to Belinian for an excursion of some days; they had accordingly beaten their big drums and gathered together from all quarters to attack the camp, but discretion overcame their valour when they found a large force still at head-quarters. On June 9, eight vessels of Agad's hove in sight, and with a fair breeze they arrived opposite the island at 2.30 p.m. Abou Saood was in one of these vessels. June 10, Abou Saood presented himself to me this morning. His vessels, being without cargoes, benefited much by our work in the sudd. He found all our cuttings open, therefore he had no difficulty until he arrived at the dam, through which his people cut a passage. The great rush of water scoured a deep channel, and his squadron of light vessels came on without difficulty. I ordered Abou Saood's people to camp on the west bank of the river, as I did not wish them to be in constant communication with my troops, who would quickly become contaminated by their morals. The news brought by Abou Saood from Khartoum informed me of the death of Agad; therefore the representation of the firm of Agad & Co. had now devolved upon Abou Saood, his son-in-law. I now heard that the people of Abou Saood, who numbered about 500 men, had brought with them a large herd of cattle which they had driven along the west bank of the river; thus in direct defiance of the government authority, he had made a razzia upon some tribe during his voyage, and he had not scrupled to present himself to me with the herd of stolen cattle staring me in the face on the other side of the water. On my way up from the Bahr Giraffe I had left a Turkish major, Achmet Rafik Effendi, with a corporal and five men, in the Shir tribe, about forty miles from Gondokoro, with a friendly sheik named Niambore. This sheik was the tallest and most powerful man that I ever saw in Africa, and he was a trustworthy and good fellow. He had promised to cultivate a farm for the government, therefore I had given him ten bushels of dhurra for seed, and I had left with him at his request the officer and soldiers, to represent the government and to superintend the cultivation. I now discovered that Abou Saood had attacked the natives without any provocation, and had carried off the cattle from the country adjoining Niambore's district. The natives would naturally imagine that my officer and six men were spies who had directed Abou Saood to their cattle, and there would be a great chance of a conflict between Niambore, their protector, and his neighbours who had been robbed.