Our Caughnawagas in Egypt a narrative of what was seen and accomplished by the contingent of North American Indian voyageurs who led the British boat Expedition for — Story, Setting & Ideas

A Commander's Eye on the River

Jackson writes as a working boatman, not a tourist. He records specific tactics: ordering each captain to 'pick his own channel,' using a strong breeze with all oars working, and relying on an Arab swimmer to carry tow lines ashore when tracking was impossible. The narrative follows the sequence of cataracts—Tangur, Akaska, Dal—with precise distances and observations of the river's width, islands, and current speeds. At Dal cataract, the party faced a 'singular place' where the water formed a kind of fall, forcing a crossing to the opposite shore. Jackson's frustration is palpable when orders came to return with four boats instead of proceeding to Dongola: 'I had expected to go through.'

Evidence of Indigenous Skill and Authority

The catalog subjects list 'Mohawk Indians — Boats — Nile River — History' and 'Mohawk Indians — Sudan — History,' but the excerpts show Jackson acting as a commissioned captain, not a laborer. He gives orders, assesses channels, and makes command decisions. The preface emphasizes that the call for Canadian voyageurs 'was accompanied by a special requirement that there should be a contingent of fifty Caughnawagas,' indicating their reputation was known at the highest levels. Jackson's own authority is underscored by his title on the title page: 'Captain of the Contingent.' The narrative also records moments of shared work, as when Lord Avonmore 'took the tools and proved himself quite a carpenter' after his boat was stove in.

Landscape and Logistics Beyond the Rapids

Jackson's observations extend beyond navigation. He notes the inhabited country, seeing 'a few Arabs now and then,' and remarks on stretches of beach under cultivation that became 'few and far between' as they ascended. At Dal cataract, he saw 'for the first time, small willow trees on the islands,' a detail that signals a shift in the river's character. The preface claims Jackson, 'with the quick eye of an Indian, has noticed many things unnoticed by ordinary tourists,' and the excerpts bear this out: he tracks the changing riverbed, the availability of tracking ground, and the strategic use of eddies around islands. These details ground the expedition in a specific, observed geography rather than a generic adventure.

Readers should approach this book as a primary source on Indigenous participation in a British military expedition, not as a general history of the Gordon Relief Expedition. Jackson's voice is that of a skilled practitioner, and his narrative rewards attention to the technical decisions and environmental cues he records. The preface by T. S. Brown provides useful context on the Caughnawaga community's origins and reputation, but Jackson's own chapters are where the work's value lies.

Reading about those voyageurs hauling boats up the Nile, I remembered my grandfather’s quiet pride in his own river work, and then a dusty copy of An Artilleryman's Diary — Story, Setting & Ideas I once found. That soldier’s plain, weary notes on mud and distance felt the same—far from home, just getting on with it, one difficult day at a time.