{"id":362,"date":"2025-11-13T07:33:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/word\/?p=362"},"modified":"2025-11-13T07:33:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T07:33:14","slug":"the-day-arrived-for-our-departure-the-oxen-were-saddled-and-we-were-ready-to-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/the-day-arrived-for-our-departure-the-oxen-were-saddled-and-we-were-ready-to-start\/","title":{"rendered":"The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start. Crowds of people cane to say &#8220;good-by;&#8221; but, dispensing with the hand-kissing of the Turks who were to remain in camp, we prepared for our journey toward HOME. Far away though it was, every step would bring us nearer. Nevertheless there were ties even in this wild spot, where all was savage and unfeeling&#8211;ties that were painful to sever, and that caused a sincere regret to both of us when we saw our little flock of unfortunate slave children crying at the idea of separation. In this moral desert, where all humanized feelings were withered and parched like the sands of the Soudan, the guilelessness of the children had been welcomed like springs of water, as the only refreshing feature in a land of sin and darkness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start. Crowds of people cane to say &#8220;good-by;&#8221; but, dispensing with the hand-kissing of the Turks who were to remain in camp, we prepared for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[4],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v18.4.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start - Samuel White Baker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/the-day-arrived-for-our-departure-the-oxen-were-saddled-and-we-were-ready-to-start\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start - Samuel White Baker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The day arrived for our departure; the oxen were saddled, and we were ready to start. 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They replied, \"We are children; ask the old people who know the country.\" Never was freemasonry more secret than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nile&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":323,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/the-zigzag-path-to-descend-to-the-lake-was-so-steep-and-dangerous-that-we-were-forced-to-leave-our-oxen-with-a-guide-who-was-to-take-them-to-magungo-and-wait-for-our-arrival\/","url_meta":{"origin":362,"position":3},"title":"The zigzag path to descend to the lake was so steep and dangerous that we were forced to leave our oxen with a guide, who was to take them to Magungo and wait for our arrival","date":"March 2, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The zigzag path to descend to the lake was so steep and dangerous that we were forced to leave our oxen with a guide, who was to take them to Magungo and wait for our arrival. We commenced the descent of the steep pass on foot. I led the way,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nile&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":331,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/the-fall-of-water-was-snow-white-which-had-a-superb-effect-as-it-contrasted-with-the-dark-cliffs-that-walled-the-river-while-the-graceful-palms-of-the-tropics-and-wild-plantains-perfected-the-beauty\/","url_meta":{"origin":362,"position":4},"title":"The fall of water was snow-white, which had a superb effect as it contrasted with the dark cliffs that walled the river, while the graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of the view","date":"December 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The fall of water was snow-white, which had a superb effect as it contrasted with the dark cliffs that walled the river, while the graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains perfected the beauty of the view. 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