to cook supper. At every night's camp we unavoidably did more or less damage to the crops, which must have caused serious loss to these poor people by whom, as I said before, every inch of the spare soil is utilized. We got under way at sunrise. The river up this far from Assouan is a series of very straight stretches from five to fifteen miles in length with no difficult bends and good for navigation everywhere. The current varys from three to five miles an hour. During this day I noticed a small screw tug bearing a foresail coming after us and trying hard to reach us. It proved to be a press steamer having on board the correspondent of an English paper, an engineer and a native pilot. They ran short of coal and wanted a tow, and all the coal they had left when reaching us, a man could have put in his vest pocket. We beached this night on the west side close to a temple, cut, as it appeared to me into the solid rock. Being called to receive stores and cholera belts for the men I was prevented from joining an exploring party, that set out, and was told, when the boys came back, that I had missed something worth seeing. I learnt afterwards that this place was Abu-Simbel, where there are two temples cut out of the rock which are said to be the oldest specimens of architecture in the world. The boys said they had seen stone figures of men with toes three feet long and I dare say they were not far out, as I learnt there are four seated figures in front of the largest temple supposed to represent Rameses the Great, which are sixty five feet in height. I was sorry that I had to stay behind to look after the stores. Talking about cholera belts, everybody engaged in the British service in Egypt had to wear these belts, soldiers and voyageurs were supplied with them and required to wear them. They are strips of flannel twelve or fifteen inches wide, and I was told by soldiers who had served in Egypt some time, that they are very effective in preventing cholera and dysentery.

BOAT FOR THE NILE EXPEDITION UNDER SAIL.

BOAT FOR THE NILE EXPEDITION SHOWING AWNING.

Next day, Sunday the 26th at 5 p. m. we arrived at Wady Halfa. The weather was still the same as ever since we landed at Alexandria, not a cloud, not uncomfortably warm, but warm enough. A steam tug came out from Wady Halfa and brought orders for us to proceed as far as the river was navigable for the steamer. This brought us about four miles above Wady Halfa where the tow was disbanded. The boats then proceeded another mile and we camped. During this mile we had the first opportunity to work the boats, (still all light) and that evening the opinions about them varied greatly.

No sooner were our tents pitched than Lord Wolseley arrived. He shook hands with some, exchanged a few words with our commander, Colonel Denison, and was off again. We found here about a hundred whalers waiting for us. We were at the foot of the second cataract and the following morning were ordered to take the light boats up the cataract to the first naval camp, about three miles distant, to make one trip and if possible two. Seven men took one boat and all the crews made two trips, some getting through early, some late.

The first trip I made, I took a different channel from those who started before. I stepped the two masts with which the boat was provided and used the sails and the six oars only, the wind being as usual from the north. We needed all our resources but we reached the camp in good time. We walked back the three miles took another boat and tried the channel generally taken, it being apparently the shortest route. I had to use the tow-line at one place where there was a "gate" or channel, as we say in Canada, with about three feet of a fall, about eighteen feet wide and a good standing place to tow from. Right there was stationed our acquaintance, the reporter, in his little tug moored above the gate. One of the voyageurs while wading must have stepped into some seam, he jumped quickly back into his boat, leaving behind his moccasin and said he was bitten by a crocodile, which all of us were kind enough to believe and we advised him not to wade any more. All had accomplished their task in the evening and come back to our camp. Soon afterwards General Sir Evelyn Wood arrived and went towards Colonel Denison's tent. I heard my name called by my officer and went before the General who demanded the number of my men and wanted to see them. Getting the men in line, the General asked me if they spoke English and I said they spoke enough for boating purposes, but no more. The General then left. After supper I was informed by my officer that I had to take thirty-five men with me and go about a hundred miles up the river.

Here commences the second railway of the river route, about thirty miles long, and the first train on the following morning brought Lord Wolseley on his way to the front. The second train had on board, Col. Alleyne, Lord Avonmore, Capt. Moore, Lieut. Perry and Lieut. C. R. Orde. This train took me and my men on and stopped at Gemai where we found several boats which had been portaged on cars. We pitched tents and did not leave until 10 o'clock the next morning, October 29th. I picked crews as nearly equal as I could, with a captain to each and started with six boats, nearly light, only the five officers and their luggage on board. I had the honor to start in boat No. 1 with Col. Alleyne on board, the officers taking a boat each of different numbers, reached Sarras about 5 p. m. a distance of eighteen miles. The river here is very narrow, in some places about a thousand feet and the current very swift. I had to get a line out only once. At Sarras each boat took on nearly two tons of ammunition and stores, also additional passengers. We proceeded two miles up and camped. There were many islands and rocks both in sight and sunken, but room enough to go anywhere. The shores are barren rock. Starting next day with a light breeze, I soon found that I wanted more wind to proceed under sail as the current grew swifter and my boat had now on board, besides Col. Alleyne, his servant, his interpreter, one corporal and one native swimmer, then myself with five men and about two tons of freight. This was the time to find out what we could do with our boats, the north wind had freshened, which gave us more speed and with the help of five good oars we dodged the swift currents, catching eddies and after two hours trial the captains congratulated each other upon being masters of the situation. We soon began to race, each captain using his own judgment as to which channel to take, which gave each a chance to be ahead or behind according to his luck. When I signalled for dinner all headed for shore and it was here that Louis Capitaine was so unaccountably lost, within sixty feet from shore. Louis had the bow oar in Peter January's boat and he rose when nearing shore. While standing in the bow he fell over, the headway of the boat made the distance a hundred feet before he was seen to rise. Lieut. Perry threw a life-preserver and ordered the Arab swimmer, which this boat carried, to assist him, the swimmer jumped immediately and swam towards the spot but Louis