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diff --git a/41035-0.txt b/41035-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..969b6b9 --- /dev/null +++ b/41035-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22364 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41035 *** + + FIRE AND SWORD + IN + THE SUDAN. + + + + +[Illustration: Lemerciergravure +Printed in Paris +Rudolph C. Slatin] + + + + + FIRE AND SWORD + IN + THE SUDAN + + _A PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF FIGHTING AND + SERVING THE DERVISHES._ + + 1879-1895. + + BY + RUDOLF C. SLATIN PASHA, C.B. + COLONEL IN THE EGYPTIAN ARMY (INTELLIGENCE DEPT.); + FORMERLY GOVERNOR AND COMMANDANT OF THE TROOPS IN DARFUR. + + _TRANSLATED BY_ + MAJOR F. R. WINGATE, C.B., D.S.O., R.A. + _Director of Military Intelligence, Egyptian Army_; + AUTHOR OF "MAHDISM AND THE EGYPTIAN SUDAN," "TEN YEARS' + CAPTIVITY IN THE MAHDI'S CAMP," ETC. + + ILLUSTRATED BY R. TALBOT KELLY, R.B.A. + + EDWARD ARNOLD. + LONDON: NEW YORK: + 37, BEDFORD STREET. 70, FIFTH AVENUE. + 1896. + + + + + _Copyright, 1896_, + BY EDWARD ARNOLD. + + University Press: + JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. + + + + + TO + Her Most Gracious Majesty + THE QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND + AND + EMPRESS OF INDIA + + WHO HAS EVER SHOWN DEEP SOLICITUDE FOR AND GRACIOUS + SYMPATHY WITH THE EUROPEAN PRISONERS + IN THE SUDAN + + _THIS RECORD OF HIS LIFE IN CAPTIVITY_ + + IS BY PERMISSION HUMBLY DEDICATED BY HER MAJESTY'S + MOST DEVOTED AND GRATEFUL + + RUDOLF C. SLATIN + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Prompted by the earnest entreaties of my friends rather than by any wish +of my own to relate my experiences, I have written these chapters. + +The few months which have elapsed since my escape have been so much +occupied in resuming my official duties, compiling reports, and +satisfying the kindly interest displayed by a large number of people in +my strange fate, that any attempt at quiet and steady literary work has +been almost impossible. + +During my captivity I was unable to make any notes or keep any diaries; +in writing, therefore, the following pages, I have been dependent +entirely on my memory, whilst the whirl of the busy European world and +the constant interruptions to which I have alluded, have given me little +time to collect my scattered thoughts. + +When, therefore, after having been debarred for so many years from +intercourse with outside affairs, and entirely out of practice in +writing down my ideas, I find myself urged to lose no time in +publishing an account of my adventures, I must beg my readers to excuse +the many defects they may notice. + +My experiences have no pretence to being of any literary or scientific +value, and the personal episodes I have described can lay claim to +little importance; I have merely attempted to give to those interested +in Sudan affairs a true and faithful account of my life whilst fighting +and serving the Mahdists. + + RUDOLF SLATIN. + LONDON, _October, 1895_. + + + + + INTRODUCTORY NOTE + BY + FATHER DON JOSEPH OHRWALDER, + + LATE PRIEST OF THE AUSTRIAN MISSION STATION AT DELEN, IN + KORDOFAN, AND FOR TEN YEARS A CAPTIVE IN + THE MAHDI'S CAMP. + + +The joy at meeting my dear friend and former comrade in captivity, +Slatin Pasha, in Cairo, after his miraculous escape, was indeed great; +and it is with extreme gratification that I comply with the wishes of +those friends who are interested in his experiences, to preface them +with a few remarks. + +To have been a fellow-sufferer with him for many years, during which the +closest friendship existed between us,--a friendship which, owing to the +circumstances of our captivity, was necessarily of a surreptitious +nature, but which, interrupted as it was, mutually helped to alleviate +our sad lot,--is I think a sufficiently good reason for my friends to +urge that I should comply with their wishes. + +Apart, however, from these purely personal motives, I need only refer to +the fact that the small scraps of information which from time to time +reached the outside world regarding Slatin Pasha, excited the deepest +sympathy for his sad fate; what wonder, then, that there should have +been a genuine outburst of rejoicing when he at length escaped from the +clutches of the tyrannical Khalifa, and emerged safely from the dark +Sudan? + +It is most natural that all those interested in the weal and woe of +Africa should await with deep interest all that Slatin Pasha can tell +them of affairs in the former Egyptian Sudan, which only a few short +years ago was considered the starting point for the civilisation of the +Dark Continent, and which now, fallen, alas! under the despotic rule of +a barbarous tyrant, forms the chief impediment to the civilising +influences so vigorously at work in all other parts of Africa. + +Slatin Pasha pleads with perfect justice that, deprived all these years +of intellectual intercourse, he cannot do justice to the subject; +nevertheless, I consider that it is his bounden duty to describe without +delay his strange experiences, and I do not doubt that--whatever +literary defects there may be in his work--the story of his life cannot +fail to be both of interest and of value in helping those concerned in +the future of this vast country to realise accurately its present +situation. + +It should be remembered that Slatin Pasha held high posts in the Sudan, +he has travelled throughout the length and breadth of the country and--a +perfect master of the language--he has had opportunities which few +others have had to accurately describe affairs such as they were in the +last days of the Egyptian Administration; whilst his experiences during +his cruel captivity place him in a perfectly unique position as the +highest authority on the rise, progress, and wane of that great +religious movement which wrenched the country from its conquerors, and +dragged it back into an almost indescribable condition of religious and +moral decadence. + +Thrown into contact with the principal leaders of the revolt, +unwillingly forced to appear and live as one of them, he has been in the +position of following in the closest manner every step taken by the +Mahdi and his successor, the Khalifa, in the administration of their +newly founded empire. + +Sad fate, it is true, threw me also into the swirl of this great +movement; but I was merely a captive missionary, whose very existence +was almost forgotten by the rulers of the country, whilst Slatin Pasha +was in the vortex itself of this mighty whirlpool which swamped one by +one the Egyptian garrisons, and spread far and wide over the entire +Sudan. + +If, therefore, there should be any discrepancies between the account +published some three years ago of my captivity and the present work, the +reader may safely accept Slatin Pasha's conclusions as more correct and +accurate than my own; the opinions I expressed of the Khalifa's motives +and intentions, and of the principal events which occurred, are rather +those of an outsider when compared to the intimate knowledge which +Slatin Pasha was enabled to acquire, by reason of his position in +continuous and close proximity to Abdullahi. + +In concluding, therefore, these remarks, I will add an earnest hope that +this book will arouse a deep and wide-spread interest in the fate of the +unhappy Sudan, and will help those concerned to come to a right and just +decision as to the steps which should be taken to restore to +civilisation this once happy and prosperous country. + +That the return of Slatin Pasha from, so to speak, a living grave should +bring about this restoration, is the fervent prayer of his old comrade +in captivity and devoted friend, + + DON JOSEPH OHRWALDER. + SUAKIN, _June, 1895_. + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. + + +In preparing the edition in English of Slatin Pasha's experiences in the +Sudan, I have followed the system adopted in Father Ohrwalder's "Ten +Years' Captivity in the Mahdi's Camp." + + F. R. WINGATE. + LONDON, _October, 1895_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + INTRODUCTORY. + + PAGE + My First Journey to the Sudan--Return to Austria--My Second + Journey--Corruption in the Sudan--Appointed Governor of + Dara--Gordon in Darfur--He suppresses the Slave-trade--Zubeir + Pasha and his Son Suleiman--The Gellabas, Jaalin, and + Danagla--Retrospect of the First Causes of the Revolt in Bahr el + Ghazal--Gessi's Campaigns--The Flight of Rabeh--Execution + of Suleiman Zubeir--Effect of the Campaign on the Local Arabs 1 + + + CHAPTER II. + + RESIDENCE IN DARFUR, AND EARLY HISTORY OF + THE PROVINCE. + + Arrival at Om Shanga--Matrimonial Difficulties--A Sudanese + Falstaff--Description of El Fasher--The Furs and the Tago--A Tale + of Love and Perfidy--Founding of the Tungur Dynasty--Conquest of + Darfur by Zubeir Pasha--The Rizighat Tribe--Quarrel between + Zubeir Pasha and the Governor-General--Both recalled to + Cairo--Gordon Governor-General of the Sudan--I take up my Duties + at Dara--Zogal Bey the Sub-Governor--I undertake a Campaign + against Sultan Harun--Niurnia, Harun's Stronghold in Jebel + Marra--I defeat the Sultan at Rahad en Nabak--Death of Harun--My + Meeting with Dr. Felkin and the Rev. Wilson--My Boy + Kapsun--Gordon's Letter from Abyssinia 30 + + + CHAPTER III. + + THE GOVERNMENT OF DARFUR. + + Government Administration in Dara--My Difficulties with the + Gellabas--Manners and Customs of the Arabs--Arrival at + Shakka--Madibbo Bey Sheikh of the Rizighat--My Visit to + Khartum--Arrival of Gessi in Khartum--I return West with Bishop + Comboin and Father Ohrwalder--Am appointed Governor-General of + Darfur--Hostilities between the Maharia and Bedeyat Arabs--I + proceed to the Bedeyat Country--Strange Manners and Customs of + the Bedeyat--Saleh Donkusa and Heglik Tree--The Ceremony of + Taking the Oath of Fidelity--Return to El Fasher--Troubles at + Shakka and Death of Emiliani--I leave for Dara 90 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE KHALIFA'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE RISE + OF THE MAHDI. + + Early Life of Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi--The Religious + Tarikas--Mohammed Ahmed quarrels with his Religious Superior--He + is refused Forgiveness, and joins a Rival Sheikh--He is joined + by Abdullahi et Taaishi--The Mahdi secretly tells Abdullahi of + his Divine Mission--The Failure to seize Mohammed Ahmed + on Abba Island--The Mahdi's Hejra to Jebel Gedir--He nominates + his Khalifas--The Defeat of Rashed Bey and Yusef Pasha + Shellali--Effect of the Mahdi's Victories in Kordofan--The + Mahdi's Intrigues with the Inhabitants of El Obeid--Futility of + the Steps taken by the Government to cope with the Revolt 122 + + + CHAPTER V. + + SPREAD OF THE REVOLT IN SOUTHERN DARFUR. + + I arrive at Dara--Despatch of an Officer to Shakka--Character of + Zogal Bey--Return to El Fasher--Causes of my Unpopularity + with the Officers--Disturbances at Om Shanga--The Southern + Tribes join the Revolt--I make Dara my Headquarters--The + Power of a Woman's Tongue--Immorality of the Maalia Tribe--Sheikh + Madibbo threatens Shakka--Cowardly Conduct of Mansur + Helmi--I proceed to his Assistance--I commence my Campaign + against the Southern Arab Tribes--The Night Attack on + Madibbo's Camp--Mansur Helmi's Cowardly Retreat from Shakka--He + deserts his own Men--Courageous Conduct of Ali Agha + Juma--I decide to retake Dara at all Costs--Difficulty of + enforcing my Orders 148 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE SIEGE AND FALL OF EL OBEID. + + Said Pasha, Governor-General of Kordofan, prepares to defend El + Obeid--The Mahdi attacks the Town, but is repulsed with Great + Loss--The Missionaries at Delen fall into the Mahdi's Hands--The + Siege and Fall of Bara--The Horrors of the Siege of El + Obeid--Said Pasha is forced to surrender--His Interview with the + Mahdi--The Search for Treasure--The Mahdi's Miracles--Effect + of the Fall of El Obeid on the General Situation 171 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + VAIN EFFORTS TO STEM THE TIDE OF MAHDISM + IN DARFUR. + + I advance on Shakka--The Battle of Om Waragat--Besieged in + the Zariba--My Retreat on Dara through the Enemy's Country--The + Illness and Death of Gottfried Rott--I despatch Secret Emissaries + to Kordofan--My Difficulties with the El Fasher Garrison--The + Revolt of the Mima Arabs--I learn of the Fall of El Obeid--The + Death of Sheikh Afifi--My Campaign against the Mima and + Khawabir Arabs--Discovery of a Plot amongst the Troops in Dara--My + Officers and Men ascribe our Defeats to the Fact that I am + a Christian--I decide to nominally adopt the Mohammedan Religion--I + decide to send Zogal Bey to El Obeid--My Campaign against the + Beni Helba--Beshari Bey seeks Death and finds it--Gravity of the + Situation in Darfur 181 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + HICKS PASHA'S EXPEDITION. + + The Execution of Said Pasha and the Brave Defender of El + Obeid--Spread of Belief in the Mahdi's Divinity--Sheikh Sennusi is + offered, but refuses, the Position of Mahdi's Khalifa--The Mahdi + begins to organise his Government--The Spread of the Revolt in + the Gezira--Criticisms on the Attitude of the Egyptian + Government--The Despatch of Osman Digna to the Eastern + Sudan--Hicks Pasha's Expedition enters Kordofan--Incidents on + the March--Gallantry of Colonel Farquhar--The Diaries of Farquhar + and Vizetelly--The Desertion of Gustav Klootz--The + Mahdists harass the Expedition--The Final Attack on the + Doomed Square--Incidents after the Battle--Extracts from + O'Donovan's Diary--The Mahdi's Triumphal Entry into El Obeid 228 + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE FALL OF DARFUR. + + Dara besieged by Madibbo--I make a Successful Counter-Attack--The + Overthrow of Darho--I decide to remain at Dara--The Defeat of + Kuku Agha--A Strange Expedient for concealing Letters--An + Armistice proposed and accepted between Myself and the + Besiegers--I resort to Stratagem to gain Time--Zogal writes from + El Obeid, and describes the Annihilation of the Relief + Expedition--I review the Situation and decide to + surrender--Interview with Zogal at Shieria--The Mahdists enter + Dara--Madibbo and his War-drums--Horrible Tortures inflicted on + the Inhabitants who had concealed Money--The Siege and Fall of El + Fasher--Letters from Egypt--The Dreadful Fate of Major + Hamada--The Fall of Bahr el Ghazal--I leave for El Obeid 244 + + + CHAPTER X. + + THE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM. + + Gordon returns to the Sudan--The Siege of Khartum--I join the + Mahdi at Rahad--Interviews and first Impressions of the + Mahdi--The Oath of Allegiance--Description of the Khalifa--The + Arrival of Hussein Pasha--Criticisms on Gordon's Mission--The + Abandonment of the Sudan proclaimed--Incidents in Various Parts + of the Sudan--The Arrival of Olivier Pain--His Mission, Illness, + and Death--Arrival outside Khartum--I write to Gordon--I am + arrested and thrown into Chains--Incidents during my + Imprisonment--The Surrender of Omdurman--The Delay of the British + Expedition--Khartum is attacked and taken--Gordon's Head is + brought to me--Account of the last Days of Khartum--Massacres and + Atrocities after the Fall--The Retreat of the British + Expedition--The Rigours of my Imprisonment increased--My Comrade + in Captivity, Frank Lupton--We are both released--I enter the + Khalifa's Body-guard--Illness and Death of the Mahdi--Khalifa + Abdullahi succeeds him--The Rules and Ordinances of the Mahdi 279 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + EARLY RULE OF KHALIFA ABDULLAHI. + + Success of Khaled's Stratagem to entrap Darho--Execution of + Darho--Sieges of Sennar and Kassala--Fall of Ahmed Wad + Suleiman--The Khalifa and the Black Troops--Execution of the + Mudir of Kassala--My Journey to Abu Haraz--My Plans of Escape + impracticable--The Khalifa presents me with a Wife--Mutiny of + Black Soldiers at El Obeid--Death of the Emir Mahmud--Abu Anga + seizes Khaled and throws him into Chains--Campaign in the Nuba + Mountains--Lupton in Difficulties--He works in the Khartum + Dockyard--Revolt of the Kababish--Difficulties begin with + Abyssinia--Death of Klootz--Organisation of the Beit el + Mal--The Khalifa's System of Jurisdiction 376 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + EVENTS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SUDAN. + + Karamalla's Expedition to the Bahr el Ghazal--Madibbo's Quarrel + with Karamalla--Affairs in Darfur--Execution of Madibbo--Defeat + and Death of Sheikh Saleh el Kabbashi--Capture of Charles + Neufeld--My Interview with him--Arrival of Abu Anga's Army in + Omdurman--Destruction of the Gehéna Tribe--The Conspiracy of + "Saidna Isa"--Abu Anga's Campaign in Abyssinia--Sack of + Gondar--Terrible Fate of the Captives--Osman Adam's Campaign in + Darfur--Death of Sultan Yusef--Instances of the Khalifa's + Tyranny--Building of the Mahdi's Tomb--Letters from Home--Death + of my Mother--Death of Lupton--Nejumi ordered to invade Egypt 411 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + THE ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN. + + Battle of Gallabat--Death of King John--The Revolt of Abu + Gemmaiza--Defeats of the Mahdists--Death of Abu + Gemmaiza--Preparations for the Invasion of Egypt--Execution of + Sixty-seven Batahin Arabs--More Letters from Home--My Family send + the Khalifa a Dressing-bag from Vienna--Immigration of the + Taaisha Tribe--They settle in the Nile Valley--Nejumi advances + into Egypt--Battle of Toski--Incidents during the Great + Famine--The Fall of Ibrahim Adlan--His Execution--The Khalifa + mistrusts me--I fall into Serious Danger--I become the Unwilling + Recipient of the Khalifa's Favours 439 + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + MAHDIST OCCUPATION OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES. + + The Mahdist Expedition to Equatoria--The Fate of the Remnant of + Emin's Garrison--The Campaign against the Shilluks--Tokar + re-captured--Death of Osman Wad Adam--Dissensions in Dongola--The + Fall of Khaled 468 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + DISSENSION AND DISCORD. + + The Revolt of the Ashraf--Flight of Father Ohrwalder and the Two + Sisters--The Khalifa revenges himself on the Ashraf--The Seizure + and Execution of the Mahdi's Uncles--Zeki Tummal's Return to + Omdurman laden with Booty--Khalifa Sherif arrested--"Where there + is no Fire there is no Smoke"--I change my Quarters--Sad News + from Austria--The Khalifa falls ill--The Story of the + Bird-messenger--The Fall of Zeki Tummal--The Battle of + Agordat--The Capture of Kassala--The Fate of Kadi Ahmed--The + Congo Free State in Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal--I refuse to + marry the Khalifa's Cousin 479 + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS. + + The Person and Characteristics of Khalifa Abdullahi--The + Fate of the Mahdist Chronicler--The Princesses of Darfur--The + Khalifa's Family Life--His Harem--The Organisation of his + Body-guard--Enforced Attendance at the Mosque--The Postal + System--Military Parades--Elevation of the Western Arabs and + Oppression of the River Tribes--The Military Situation and + Strength--Guns and Ammunition--Revenue and Expenditure--Courage 514 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS (_continued_). + + Administration of Justice--The Kadi el Islam--Religion + in the Sudan--The Khalifa's Sermons--Enforced Pilgrimage + to the Mahdi's Tomb--Limits of the Mahdist Empire--Natural + Produce--Caravan Roads--Ostrich Hunting--Trade and Commerce--The + Slave-trade--The Slave Market--Industries--Immorality--Unpopularity + of the Khalifa--His Ignorance and Cruelty--His Private + Apartments--Principal Buildings in Omdurman--Description of the + City--The Prison and its Horrors--Death of Zeki Tummal and Kadi + Ahmed 544 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + PLANS FOR ESCAPE. + + European Captives in Omdurman--Artin, the Watchmaker--Friends in + Cairo--Efforts of my Family to help me--Difficulties of + Communication--Babakr Abu Sebiba's failure--Efforts of Baron + Heidler and the Egyptian Intelligence Department--Constant + Failures--Osheikh Karrar--Abderrahman matures his Plans--Hopes + and Fears--My Plan to gain Time--I quit my Hut never to return 576 + + + CHAPTER XIX. + + MY FLIGHT. + + I escape from the Town by Night--My Guides Zeki Belal and + Mohammed--A Scare--130 Miles in 24 Hours--Our Camels break + down--Hiding in the Gilif Mountains--Precautions against + Surprise--Arrival of Fresh Camels--Our Journey to the Nile--The + Crossing--Friendly Sheikhs--Narrow Escape from a Large Armed + Party of Mahdists--Difficulties with my Guides--Hamed Garhosh the + Amrabi--Out of Danger--Assuan at last--Congratulations and + Welcome--Arrival in Cairo--Meeting with Old Friends 591 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + CONCLUSION. + + Africa, Past and Present--The Sudan, Past and Present--Rise, + Progress, and Wane of Mahdism--How long will it last?--The + Khalifa's Present Position--European Encroachment--"Whites" in + the Bahr el Ghazal--Important Strategical Position of the + Province--Time and Tide wait for no Man--I recover my Long-lost + Sword--A Last Word 620 + + + INDEX 631 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + PAGE + Slatin Pasha _Frontispiece_ + Gessi Pasha's Troops advancing to the Attack on} + "Dem Suleiman" } To face 18 + Zubeir Pasha " 48 + A Rizighat Warrior " 52 + Bedayat praying to the Sacred Tree " 114 + Surrender of the Bedayat to Slatin " 116 + Fight between the Rizighat and Egyptian Troops " 188 + A Dervish Emir " 238 + The Death of Hicks Pasha " 240 + Bringing Gordon's Head to Slatin " 340 + An Abyssinian Scout " 424 + A Slave Dhow on the Nile " 430 + The Mahdi's Tomb, Omdurman " 432 + The Execution of the "Batahin" " 446 + Famine-stricken " 454 + The Khalifa inciting his Troops to attack Kassala " 504 + The Khalifa and Kadis in Council " 528 + In the Slave Market, Omdurman " 558 + Coming from Market, Omdurman " 570 + Slatin Pasha's flying from Omdurman " 592 + Slatin in hiding in the hills " 598 + A Camel Corps Scout " 616 + Plan of Khartum and Omdurman. + Map showing Extent of Mahdist Influence in 1895. + + + + +FIRE AND SWORD IN THE SUDAN. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +INTRODUCTORY. + + My First Journey to the Sudan--Return to Austria--My Second + Journey--Corruption in the Sudan--Appointed Governor of + Dara--Gordon in Darfur--He suppresses the Slave-Trade--Zubeir + Pasha and his Son Suleiman--The Gellabas, Jaalin, and + Danagla--Retrospect of the First Causes of the Revolt in Bahr el + Ghazal--Gessi's Campaigns--The Flight of Rabeh--Execution of + Suleiman Zubeir--Effect of the Campaign on the Local Arabs. + + +In July, 1878, when serving as lieutenant in H. I. H. the Crown Prince +Rudolph's regiment, the 19th Foot, on the Bosnian frontier, I received a +letter from General Gordon, inviting me to come to the Sudan and take +service with the Egyptian Government, under his direction. + +I had previously, in 1874, undertaken a journey to the Sudan, travelling +by Assuan, Korosko, and Berber, and had reached Khartum in the month of +October of that year; thence I had visited the Nuba mountains, and had +remained a short time at Delen, where a station of the Austrian Roman +Catholic Mission had just been established. From here I explored the +Golfan Naïma and Kadero mountains, and would have made a longer stay in +these interesting districts, but the revolt of the Hawazma Arabs broke +out, and, being merely a traveller, I received a summons to return +forthwith to El Obeid, the chief town of Kordofan. The Arab revolt, +which had arisen over the collection of the excessively high taxes +imposed by the Government, was soon suppressed; but, under the +circumstances, I did not think it worth while returning to the Nuba +districts, and therefore decided to travel in Darfur. + +At that time the Governor-General of the Sudan, Ismail Pasha Ayub, was +staying at El Fasher, the capital of Darfur; and on reaching Kaga and +Katul, I found, to my great disappointment, that an order had just been +issued prohibiting strangers from entering the country, as it had been +only recently subjugated, and was considered unsafe for travellers. I +returned therefore, without further delay, to Khartum; where I made the +acquaintance of Emin Pasha (then Dr. Emin), who had arrived a few days +previously from Egypt in company with a certain Karl von Grimm. + +At that time General Gordon was Governor-General of the Equatorial +Provinces, and was residing at Lado; so to him we wrote asking for +instructions. Two months afterwards the reply came inviting us to visit +Lado; but in the meantime letters had reached me from my family in +Vienna urging me to return to Europe. I had been suffering considerably +from fever, and besides I was under the obligation of completing my +military service the following year. I therefore decided to comply with +the wishes of my family. + +Dr. Emin, however, accepted Gordon's invitation, and he started soon +afterwards for the south, while I left for the north. Before parting, I +begged Emin to recommend me to General Gordon, which he did; and this +introduction eventually resulted in my receiving the letter to which I +have already referred, three years later. + +Emin, it will be remembered, was, soon after his arrival at Lado, +granted the rank of Bey, and appointed Governor of Lado; and on Gordon's +departure he was nominated Governor-General of Equatoria, in which +position he remained until relieved by Mr. Stanley, in 1889. + +I returned to Egypt by the Bayuda Desert, Dongola, and Wadi Haifa, and +reached Austria towards the close of 1875. + +Gordon's letter, received in the midst of the Bosnian campaign, +delighted me; I longed to return to the Sudan in some official capacity; +but it was not till December, 1878, when the campaign was over and my +battalion had gone into quarters at Pressburg, that I received +permission, as an officer of the Reserve, to set out once more for +Africa. + +My brother Henry was still in Herzegovina; so, remaining only eight days +in Vienna, to bid the rest of my family farewell, I left for Trieste on +21st December, 1878, little dreaming that nearly seventeen years would +elapse, and that I should experience such strange and terrible +adventures, before I should see my home again. I was then twenty-two +years of age. + +On arrival in Cairo, I received a telegram from Giegler Pasha, from +Suez; he had just been appointed Inspector-General of Sudan Telegraphs, +and was on his way to Massawa, to inspect the line between that place +and Khartum; he invited me to travel with him as far as Suakin, and I +gladly availed myself of his kind offer. We parted at Suakin, he +proceeding by steamer to Massawa, while I made preparations to cross the +desert to Berber on camels. I received every assistance from Ala ed Din +Pasha, who was then Governor, and who subsequently, as Governor-General +of the Sudan, accompanied Hicks Pasha, and was killed with him when the +entire Egyptian force was annihilated at Shekan, in November, 1883. + +On reaching Berber, I found a dahabia awaiting me there by General +Gordon's orders, and, embarking immediately, I arrived at Khartum on +15th January, 1879. Here I was shown every kindness and consideration; +Gordon placed at my disposal a house situated not far from the palace, +and a certain Ali Effendi was directed to attend to all my wants. In the +course of our daily meetings, General Gordon used often to talk of the +Austrian officers whom he had met at Tultcha, when on the Danube +Commission, and for whom he entertained a genuine friendship. I remember +his saying to me that he thought it was such a mistake to have changed +our smart white jackets for the blue uniform we now wear. + +Early in February, Gordon appointed me Financial Inspector, and I was +instructed to travel about the country and examine into the complaints +of the Sudanese who objected to the payment of the taxes, which were not +considered unreasonably heavy. In compliance with these orders, I +proceeded _via_ Mesallamia to Sennar and Fazogl, whence I visited the +mountain districts of Kukeli, Regreg, and Kashankero, in the +neighbourhood of Beni Shangul; and then I submitted my report to General +Gordon. + +In this report I pointed out that, in my opinion, the distribution of +taxes was unjust, and resulted in the bulk of taxation falling on the +poorer landed proprietors, whilst those who were better off had no +difficulty in bribing the tax-gatherers, for a comparatively small sum, +to secure exemption. Thus enormous quantities of land and property +entirely escaped taxation, whilst the poorer classes were mercilessly +ground down, in order to make up the heavy deficit which was the result +of this most nefarious system. + +I further pointed out that much of the present discontent was due to the +oppressive and tyrannical methods of the tax-gatherers, who were for the +most part soldiers, Bashi-Bozuks, and Shaigias. These unscrupulous +officials thought only of how to enrich themselves as quickly as +possible at the expense of the unfortunate populations, over whom they +exercised a cruel and brutal authority. + +In the course of my journey, I frequently observed that the property of +the Sudan officials--for the most part Shaigias and Turks--was almost +invariably exempted from taxation; and, on inquiry, I was always told +that this privilege had been procured, owing to the special services +they had rendered the Government. When I remarked that they received pay +for their services, they appeared greatly offended and annoyed. However, +on my arresting some of the principal delinquents, they admitted that +their taxes were justly due. In Mesallamia, which is a large town +situated between the Blue and White Niles, and a considerable trade +centre, I found an immense collection of young women, the property of +the wealthiest and most respected merchants, who had procured them and +sold them for immoral purposes, at high prices. This was evidently a +most lucrative trade; but how were the establishments of these merchants +to be taxed, and what action was I to take? I confess that ideas and +experience on this point quite failed me; and feeling my utter inability +under these circumstances to effect any reform, and having at the same +time little or no financial experience, I felt it was useless to +continue, and therefore sent in my resignation. Meanwhile, Gordon had +gone off to Darfur, with the object of inquiring into the circumstances +connected with the campaign against Suleiman, the son of Zubeir Pasha; +but before leaving he had promoted Giegler to the rank of Pasha, +intrusting him with the position of acting Governor-General during his +absence. I therefore took the occasion to send him my report and +resignation by the same post, and soon afterwards received a telegram +from Gordon, approving my resignation of the position of Financial +Inspector. + +It was an immense relief to me to be free from this hateful task; I had +no qualms of conscience, for I felt my utter inability to cope with the +situation, such as I found it,--radically wrong, and corrupt through and +through. + +A few days later, I received a telegram from Gordon, appointing me Mudir +of Dara, comprising the southwestern districts of Darfur, and ordering +me to start at once, as I was required to conduct military operations +against Sultan Harun, the son of a former Sultan, and who was bent on +endeavouring to wrest back his country from its Egyptian conquerors. +Gordon further instructed me to meet him, on his return journey, +somewhere between El Obeid and Tura el Hadra, on the White Nile. Having +despatched my camels to this spot, where Gordon's steamer was waiting +for him, I embarked without further delay, and on landing at Tura el +Hadra, I proceeded west, and after two hours' ride reached the +telegraph station of Abu Garad, where I learnt that Gordon was only four +or five hours distant, and was on his way to the Nile. I therefore +started off again, and in a few hours found him halted under a large +tree. He was evidently very tired and exhausted after his long ride, and +was suffering from sores on his legs. I had fortunately brought some +brandy with me from the stock on board his own steamer, and he was soon +sufficiently revived to continue his journey. He asked me to come back +with him to Tura el Hadra, to discuss the Darfur situation with him, and +to give me the necessary instructions. He also introduced me to two +members of his suite, Hassan Pasha Helmi el Juwaizer, formerly +Governor-General of Kordofan and Darfur, and to Yusef Pasha esh +Shellali, who was the last to join Gessi in his campaign against +Suleiman Zubeir and the slave hunters. We were soon in the saddle; but +Gordon shot far ahead of us, and we found it impossible to keep up with +his rapid pace. We soon reached Tura el Hadra, where the baggage camels, +which had previously been sent on ahead, had already arrived. As the +steamers were anchored in mid-stream, we were rowed out in a boat. I +found myself sitting in the stern, next Yusef Pasha esh Shellali, and, +as a drinking-cup was near him and I was thirsty, I begged him to dip it +into the river, and give me a drink. Gordon, noticing this, turned to +me, smiling, and said, in French, "Are you not aware that Yusef Pasha, +in spite of his black face, is very much your senior in rank? You are +only the Mudir of Dara, and you should not have asked him to give you a +drink." I at once apologised in Arabic to Yusef Pasha, adding that I had +asked him for the water in a moment of forgetfulness; to which he +replied that he was only too pleased to oblige me or any one else to +whom he could be of service. + +On reaching the steamers, Gordon and I went on board the "Ismaïlia," +while Yusef Pasha and Hassan Pasha went on the "Bordein." Gordon +explained to me in the fullest detail the state of Darfur, saying that +he hoped most sincerely the campaign against Sultan Harun would be +brought to a successful close, for the country for years past had been +the scene of continuous fighting and bloodshed, and was sorely in need +of rest. He also told me that he believed Gessi's campaign against +Suleiman Zubeir would soon be over; before long, he must be finally +defeated or killed, for he had lost most of his Bazinger troops +(rifle-bearing Blacks), and it was impossible for him to sustain the +continual losses which Gessi had inflicted on him. It was past ten +o'clock when he bade me "Good-bye." He had previously ordered the fires +to be lighted, as he was starting that night for Khartum, and, as I +stepped over the side, he said, in French, "Good-bye, my dear Slatin, +and God bless you; I am sure you will do your best under any +circumstances. Perhaps I am going back to England, and if so, I hope we +may meet there." These were the last words I ever heard him utter; but +who could have imagined the fate that was in store for both of us? I +thanked him heartily for his great kindness and help, and on reaching +the river-bank, I stopped there for an hour, waiting for the steamer to +start. Then I heard the shrill whistle, and the anchor being weighed, +and in a few minutes Gordon was out of sight--gone for ever! + +On the following morning, mounted on the pony which Gordon had given me, +and which carried me continuously for upwards of four years, I started +off for Abu Garad, and, travelling thence by Abu Shoka and Khussi, +reached El Obeid, where I found Dr. Zurbuchen, the Sanitary Inspector. +He was about to start for Darfur, and we agreed to keep each other +company as far as Dara. We hired baggage camels through the assistance +of Ali Bey Sherif, the Governor of Kordofan; and just as we were about +to set out, he handed me a telegram which had been sent from Foga, +situated on the eastern frontier of Darfur; it was from Gessi, +announcing that Suleiman Zubeir had fallen at Gara on 15th July, 1879: +thus was Gordon's prediction verified that Suleiman must soon submit or +fall. + +It may not be out of place here to give a brief account of this +campaign; its principal features are probably well known, but it is +possible I may be able to throw fresh light on some details which, +though almost twenty years have now elapsed, still possess an interest, +inasmuch as it was this campaign which was the means of bringing to the +front a man whose strange exploits in the far west of Africa are now +exercising the various European Powers who are pressing in from the west +coast, towards the Lake Chad regions. I refer to Rabeh, or, as I find he +is now called, Rabeh Zubeir. + +After the conquest of Darfur, Zubeir, who had by this time been +appointed Pasha, was instructed by the then Governor of the Sudan, +Ismail Pasha, to reside in the Dara and Shakka districts. At this +particular period relations between Ismail and Zubeir were strained; the +latter had complained of the unnecessarily heavy taxation, and had +begged the Khedive's permission to be allowed to come to Cairo to +personally assure His Highness of his loyalty and devotion. Permission +had been granted, and he had left for Cairo. Soon afterwards Ismail +Pasha Ayub also left Darfur, and Hassan Pasha el Juwaizer succeeded him +as Governor; while Suleiman, the son of Zubeir, was nominated as his +father's representative, and was instructed to proceed to Shakka. +Gordon, it will be remembered, had also succeeded Ismail Ayub as +Governor-General, and had paid a visit of inspection to Darfur with the +object of quieting the country, and introducing, by his presence and +supervision, a more stable form of government. + +On 7th June, 1878, Gordon arrived at Foga, and from there sent +instructions to Suleiman Zubeir to meet him at Dara. Previous to this, +information had reached him that Suleiman was not satisfied with his +position, and was much disturbed by the news that his father was +detained in Cairo by order of the Government. + +It is said that Zubeir had sent letters to his son urging on him and his +followers that, under any circumstances, they should be independent of +the Egyptian Government; and as it was well known that Suleiman's object +was to maintain his father's authority in the country, his discontent +was a factor which it was not possible to ignore. + +From Foga, Gordon proceeded by Om Shanga to El Fasher, where he +inspected the district and gave instructions for a fort to be built; and +after a few days' stay there he came on to Dara, where Suleiman, with +upwards of four thousand well-armed Bazingers, had already arrived, and +was encamped in the open plain lying to the south of the fort. +Conflicting opinions prevailed in Suleiman's camp in regard to the order +that they were to move to Shakka. Most of his men had taken part in the +conquest of Darfur, and consequently imagined that they had a sort of +prescriptive right to the country, and they did not at all fancy handing +over these fertile districts to the Turkish and Egyptian officials; +moreover, Suleiman and his own immediate household were incensed against +what they considered the unjust detention of Zubeir Pasha in Cairo, and +it was evident they were doing all in their power to secure his return. +It must also be borne in mind that most of Zubeir's chiefs were of his +own tribe--the Jaalin--and had formerly been slave-hunters. By a +combination of bravery and good luck they had succeeded in taking +possession of immense tracts of land in the Bahr el Ghazal province, and +here they had exercised an almost independent and arbitrary authority; +nor was this a matter of surprise when the uncivilised condition of both +the country and its inhabitants is taken into consideration. They had +acquired their position by plundering and violence, and their authority +was maintained by the same methods. When, therefore, they learnt that +Gordon was coming, they discussed amongst themselves what line of action +they should take. Some of the more turbulent members were for at once +attacking Dara, which would have been a matter of no difficulty for +them; others advised seizing Gordon and his escort, and then exchanging +him for Zubeir: should he resist and be killed in consequence, then so +much the better. A few, however, counselled submission and compliance +with the orders of the Government. + +In the midst of all this discussion and difference of opinion, Gordon, +travelling by Keriut and Shieria, had halted at a spot about four hours' +march from Dara, and, having instructed his escort to follow him as +usual, he and his secretaries, Tohami and Busati Bey, started in advance +on camels. Hearing of his approach, Suleiman had given instructions to +his troops to deploy in three lines between the camp and the fort; and +while this operation was being carried out, Gordon, coming from the rear +of the troops, passed rapidly through the lines, riding at a smart trot, +and, saluting the troops right and left, reached the fort. + +The suddenness of Gordon's arrival left the leaders no time to make +their plans. They therefore ordered the general salute; but even before +the thunder of the guns was heard, Gordon had already sent orders to +Suleiman and his chiefs to appear instantly before him. The first to +comply with this peremptory summons was Nur Angara; he was quickly +followed by Said Hussein and Suleiman. The latter was not slow to +perceive that the favourable moment had passed, and, therefore, at the +head of a number of his leaders, presented himself before the ubiquitous +Governor-General. After the usual compliments, Gordon ordered cigarettes +and coffee to be handed round, and he then inquired after their affairs, +and promised that he would do all in his power to satisfy every one; he +then dismissed them, and told them to return to their men. But he +motioned Suleiman to remain; and when alone, told him that he had heard +there was some idea amongst his men of opposing the Government: he +therefore urged him not to listen to evil counsellors. He gave him +clearly to understand that it would be infinitely more to his advantage +to comply with the orders of Government than to attempt offensive +measures, which must eventually end in his ruin; and after some further +conversation, in which Gordon to some extent excused the enormity of +Suleiman's offence on account of his extreme youth, he forgave him, and +allowed him to return to his troops, with the injunction that he should +strictly obey all orders in the future. + +Meanwhile the escort which had been following behind from El Fasher +arrived at the fort, and Gordon, after a short rest, sent for one of +Suleiman's leaders, Said Hussein, with whom he discussed the situation. +The latter declared that his chief, in spite of pardon, was even then +ready to fight in order to secure his father's return and to get back +his own power and authority. Gordon now appointed Said Hussein Governor +of Shakka, and ordered him to start the following day with the troops he +required; but he asked him to say nothing about his nomination for a few +hours. + +No sooner had he left Gordon than Nur Angara was summoned; and on being +upbraided for the want of loyalty that evidently existed amongst the +men, he replied that Suleiman was surrounded by bad advisers, who were +driving him to his ruin, and that whenever he ventured to express a +contrary opinion, Suleiman took not the smallest heed of what he might +say. Gordon, convinced of his loyalty, appointed him Governor of Sirga +and Arebu, in western Darfur, and instructed him to start the following +day with Said Hussein and to take any men he liked with him. + +When it came to Suleiman's ears that his two chiefs had been made +governors by Gordon, he reproached them bitterly, and called to their +minds how they owed all they possessed to his father's generosity; to +this they replied that had it not been for their faithful services to +his father, he would never have become so celebrated and successful. +With these mutual recriminations the two new Governors quitted Suleiman, +and started at daybreak the following morning for their destination. + +When they had gone, Gordon again sent for Suleiman and his chiefs. He at +first refused to come; but on the earnest entreaties of the others, who +urged that further resistance to Gordon's orders was out of the +question, he yielded with a bad grace, and once more found himself face +to face with him. On this occasion Gordon treated him with the greatest +consideration, pointing out that he had come expressly to advise +Suleiman against the folly of thinking that he could attempt to thwart +the Government by trusting in the bravery and loyalty of his Bazingers; +he assured him that loyal service under Government would bring him into +a position which could not fail to satisfy his ambitions, and, that, +further he had no reason to be concerned about his father's detention in +Cairo, that he was treated with the greatest respect and honour there, +and that he had only to exercise a little patience. Finally Gordon +instructed him to proceed to Shakka with his men, and await his arrival +there. + +The following morning Suleiman received orders that on his arrival at +Shakka the new Governor had been instructed to make all provision for +the troops, and that therefore he should start without delay,--an order +which he at once carried into effect. Thus had Gordon, by his amazing +rapidity and quick grasp of the situation, arrived in two days at the +settlement of a question which literally bristled with dangers and +difficulties. Had Suleiman offered resistance at a time when Darfur was +in a disturbed state, Gordon's position and the maintenance of Egyptian +authority in these districts would have been precarious in the extreme. + +Gordon then returned to El Fasher and Kebkebia; already the disturbances +which had been so rife in the country showed signs of abatement, and by +his personal influence he succeeded in still further quieting the +districts and establishing a settled form of government. Leaving El +Fasher in September, 1877, he again visited Dara and Shakka, where he +found that Suleiman had quite accepted the situation and was prepared to +act loyally; he therefore appointed him Governor of the Bahr el Ghazal +province, which had been conquered by his father; he further gave him +the rank of Bey, with which Suleiman appeared much gratified, and +expressed great satisfaction at Gordon's confidence in him. A number of +slaves, with their masters, who, when Suleiman was in disgrace at Dara, +had deserted him, and had gone over to Said Hussein, now returned to +him; and thus, with a considerable acquisition to his strength, he left +for Dem Zubeir, the chief town of his new province, which had been +founded by his father. + +Arrived here, he issued circulars to all parts of the country to the +effect that he had been appointed Governor; and at the same time he sent +a summons to a certain Idris Bey Ebtar to present himself forthwith +before him. This Idris Bey Ebtar had, on Zubeir Pasha's departure for +Cairo, been appointed by him as his agent in the Bahr el Ghazal. He was +a native of Dongola, and in this fact lies, I think, the secret of the +subsequent deplorable events. + +The Bahr el Ghazal province is inhabited by an immense variety of negro +tribes, who were more or less independent of each other until the +Danagla and Jaalin Arabs, advancing from the Nile valley in their +slave-hunting expeditions, gradually settled in the country and took +possession of it. The Jaalin trace their descent back to Abbas, the +uncle of the Prophet. They are very proud of it, and look down with the +greatest contempt and scorn on the Danagla, whom they regard as +descended from the slave Dangal. According to tradition, this man, +although a slave, rose to be the ruler of Nubia, though he paid tribute +to Bahnesa, the Coptic Bishop of the entire district lying between the +present Sarras and Debba. This Dangal founded a town after his own name, +Dangala (Dongola), and gradually the inhabitants of the district were +known as Danagla. They are, for the most part, of Arab descent, but, +having mixed freely with the natives of the country, have somewhat lost +caste. Of course they too insist on their Arab descent, but the Jaalin +continually refer to their Dangal origin, and treat them with contempt +and derision. The relations between these two tribes must be fully +recognised in order to understand what follows. + +The friends of Idris Ebtar, who were for the most part Danagla, strongly +urged him to disobey Suleiman's summons; and, in consequence, a +situation arose which was entirely after the slave-hunter's own heart. +To play off one chief against another, and thereby serve his own +interest and derive personal benefit, is the Arab's delight; and in +this instance it was not long before Idris Ebtar's defiance of +Suleiman's authority developed into terror of being taken prisoner, and +he fled the country to Khartum. Arrived here, he reported that Suleiman +was now acting as if the country were entirely his own; that instead of +performing his duties as a governor, he had usurped the position of his +father, who was rather a king than a governor; that he had given the +best positions to his own Jaalin followers, to the exclusion of all the +other tribes, more especially the Danagla, who were being tyrannized +over and oppressed in every possible way,--indeed, according to Idris +Ebtar's story, Suleiman was about to declare himself an independent +ruler; and in support of his statement he produced quantities of +petitions, purporting to have been received from merchants, +slave-dealers, and others in the Bahr el Ghazal, all urging the +Government to dismiss Suleiman at once, and replace him by another +governor. Assisted by his numerous relatives, Idris Ebtar made such a +good case of it to the Khartum authorities that they offered him the +post of governor in succession to Suleiman, on condition that he would +supply a regular annual revenue of ivory and india-rubber, and that he +would also provide annually a contingent of Bazinger recruits, trained +to the use of fire-arms, for incorporation in the Egyptian army. + +In order to give full effect to his new appointment, he was given an +escort of two hundred regular troops under a certain Awad es Sid +Effendi, to whom instructions were given to comply absolutely with his +orders. + +Idris, leaving Khartum, proceeded by steamer up the White Nile, and +thence by the Bahr el Ghazal to Meshra er Rek, eventually reaching +Ganda, whence he wrote to Suleiman informing him that he had been +dismissed. The receipt of this document was naturally the signal for a +general commotion. Suleiman instantly summoned his relatives and friends +to his side, and informed them in the most resolute manner that he would +utterly refuse to comply with such an unfair order, pointing out with a +certain amount of justice that since his arrival in Bahr el Ghazal he +had had practically no dealings with the Government, and that it was +very unjust of them to act on mere suspicion, without giving him a +chance of defending himself. He urged, moreover, that Government was not +dealing fairly in discharging him from a position which was his by +right. But here Suleiman was to a certain extent incorrect in claiming +territory which, though conquered by his father, was now the actual +property of the Government. The meeting over, he wrote a letter in the +above sense to Idris Ebtar, protesting in the strongest terms against +his interference, accusing him of base ingratitude, and of acting in +defiance of every law of honour and justice in having recourse to such +means to gratify his personal ambitions. He further reminded him of the +assistance and support ever accorded to him by his absent father, +Zubeir, who, on being obliged to leave Darfur, had appointed him his +agent; and he finally upbraided him for having gone to Khartum as he did +and intrigued to be made governor, instead of coming and seeing him as +he had ordered, after Gordon had appointed him (Suleiman) governor; and +he wound up his letter by an emphatic refusal to pay the smallest +attention to Idris Bey's summons. + +In answer to this letter, Idris sent Suleiman an ultimatum, calling on +him to either submit instantly, or take the consequences of being +proceeded against as a rebel; to which Suleiman replied that he was +quite prepared to let the sword decide between them. + +It was now clear that war must inevitably result, and the merchants +began to be alarmed for their lives and property. The Jaalin, of course, +wished Suleiman to remain their chief, whilst the other tribes, +considerably in the minority, sided with Idris, who, on assuring himself +that a resort to arms was inevitable, despatched his brother, Osman +Ebtar, with two hundred regulars and a number of Bazingers under Awad es +Sid Effendi, to garrison Ganda, whilst he himself, with a small party of +Bazingers, proceeded to collect some followers, with a view to making a +sudden onslaught on Suleiman. The latter, however, incited by the +intense hatred of his tribe for their Danagla enemies, did not hesitate +to risk arbitration by the sword. Secretly collecting a number of his +followers at Dem Zubeir, he made a sudden attack on the zariba at Ganda; +and although Osman Ebtar and his men made a gallant stand, the zariba +was soon reduced to ashes, the houses and huts, in accordance with +Suleiman's orders, being completely destroyed, and the dead and wounded +thrown into the flames. After this bloody encounter, all attempts at +arriving at a peaceful settlement were out of the question; it was now +war to the knife between Suleiman and Idris, and the latter, learning of +the disaster at Ganda, lost no time in returning to Khartum and +reporting that Suleiman had revolted in the Bahr el Ghazal, and had +declared his independence, which was, in fact, the case. Indeed, no time +was lost by Suleiman in informing the principal Bahr el Ghazal +merchants, such as Genawi Abu Amuri, Zubeir Wad el Fahl, and others, +that he had resolved to take up arms against the Government, and he +begged them to co-operate with him. It was thus quite clear that +Suleiman did not doubt the Government would not give up a province like +Bahr el Ghazal without making a final effort to hold it. The Danagla +also, knowing that they had no mercy to expect from the Jaalin, set to +work to strengthen their own positions; but the principal merchants, +such as Ali Amuri and Zubeir Wad el Fahl, who were very anxious to do +nothing which would jeopardise their relations with the Government, +stood aloof. + +Meanwhile the news came that Romolo Gessi had reached Khartum, and had +been appointed commander of the expedition against Suleiman and the +slave-hunters. Accompanied by Yusef Pasha esh Shellali and forty +officers and men, he proceeded in the first instance to Fashoda, where +he secured the services of two companies of troops and further +reinforcements of regulars and irregulars from Lado and Makaraka. At +Gaba Shamba he found a considerable store of Remington rifles and +ammunition and a number of Bazingers, which raised his force to upwards +of two thousand five hundred rifles. + +It was now (July, 1878) the rainy season, and operations against +Suleiman were for the moment impossible. Gessi, therefore, proceeded to +Rumbek, and from thence sent a summons to Genawi and Wad el Fahl to join +him. With this order they at once complied, bringing with them a further +reinforcement of some two thousand five hundred men, while Gessi +received continual additions to his strength from the smaller merchants +and others, so that when the wet season was over he found himself at the +head of upwards of seven thousand men, besides two guns and a number of +rockets, with which he prepared to march to Ganda. Meanwhile, doubts +being entertained of Said Hussein's loyalty, Gordon despatched Mustafa +Bey Abu Kheiran to replace him; and on the arrival of the latter at +Shakka, Said Hussein was sent to Khartum under escort. His arrest was +the signal for all Zubeir Pasha's old chiefs, such as Osman Wad Tayalla, +Musa Wad el Haj, and others, to join Suleiman, who had in the meantime +been concentrating his troops, and had been joined by thousands of minor +slave-hunters, mostly Rizighat and Habbania Arabs, who were ever ready +to side with the winners, in the hope of plunder. Thus Suleiman's force +was numerically far superior to that of Gessi Pasha, who by this time +had reached Ganda. + +Arrived here, he at once proceeded to construct a zariba and entrench +himself. Yusef Pasha and the others who had no knowledge of +fortification, laughed at Gessi's precautions; but it was not long +before they were fully convinced of their efficacy. Suleiman advanced to +attack Ganda, on 25th December, 1878; and after a terrific onslaught, in +which both sides lost heavily, he was forced to retire. In spite of this +heavy defeat, Suleiman, in the course of the next three months, made +four other unsuccessful attacks on Ganda; and at length, in March, 1879, +Gessi, having procured ammunition and reinforcements, prepared to take +the offensive against Suleiman, who had by this time suffered heavily, +and had lost many of his best leaders. + +On 1st May an action was fought, which was, comparatively speaking, +insignificant in regard to losses, but resulted in Suleiman being forced +to beat a precipitate retreat from Dem Zubeir; the large stock of slaves +and booty falling into the hands of Gessi's Danagla followers, who, +apparently without his knowledge, shared the plunder amongst themselves. + +Suleiman's power was thoroughly broken, and he had now to decide between +unconditional surrender to Government, or flight into the interior of +Africa. The Danagla had become possessors of all his property, including +his enormous harem of some eight hundred women, besides those of his +various chiefs, whose respective households could not have numbered less +than one hundred women each,--indeed, every Bazinger, who was +practically a slave, was also the possessor of one or two wives; and now +all this immense amount of human loot had fallen into the hands of his +enemies. Moreover, his scattered forces, which were now roaming about +the country in search of work, made no secret of the quantities of gold +and silver treasure which Suleiman had amassed, and which were now, no +doubt, in the hands of Gessi's men. When it is remembered that +Suleiman's treasury included the masses of gold and silver jewellery +captured by his father at Dara, at Manawashi,--where Sultan Ibrahim had +ruled, and had fallen on the capture of Darfur,--at El Fasher, at +Kebkebia, etc., it can be readily understood what riches must have +fallen into the hands of the Government levies, and--perhaps unknown to +their commander, who was ignorant of the language--had been divided up +amongst them. + +Gessi now quartered the bulk of his troops in the entrenched camp +vacated by Suleiman, and with a comparatively small force proceeded to +follow him up in pursuit. In order to conceal his whereabouts, Suleiman +had scattered his men throughout the western districts; but Gessi came +across one of his armed bands, under Rabeh, and dispersed it without +much difficulty. Rabeh, however, escaped, and just at this period Gessi +received orders from Gordon to meet him in Darfur; he therefore +collected all his troops in Dem Suleiman, where they rested after their +fatiguing campaign, whilst he himself, accompanied by some of his +officers, amongst whom was Yusef Pasha esh Shellali, proceeded to Et +Toweisha, where the caravan routes from Om Shanga, El Obeid, and Dara +join, and here he met Gordon. + +[Illustration: Gessi Pasha's Troops advancing to the attack on "Dem +Suleiman."] + +In this his second visit to Darfur, Gordon had ascertained that the +Sudanese merchants of El Obeid had been selling arms and powder to the +rebel Suleiman, with whom they naturally sympathised for their own +selfish purposes; this contraband of war had been secretly despatched to +Bahr el Ghazal through the intermediary of the Gellabas (petty traders), +who obtained enormous prices from Suleiman: for instance, six to eight +slaves would be exchanged for a double-barrelled gun, and one or two +slaves was the price of a box of caps. The officials at El Obeid made +some attempt to check this trade, but the difficulties were great. The +districts between Kordofan and Bahr el Ghazal were inhabited principally +by nomad Arab tribes such as the Rizighat, Hawazma, Homr, and Messeiria; +it was, moreover, an easy matter for small parties of Gellabas to +traverse, without fear of detection, the almost uninhabited forests, +with which the country abounds; and even if an Egyptian official came +across them, he was, as a rule, quite amenable to a small bribe. + +Gordon was fully cognisant of all this, and therefore gave the order +that trade of every description was to be stopped between El Obeid and +Bahr el Ghazal. The merchants were, in consequence, ordered to quit all +districts lying to the south of the El Obeid, Et Toweisha, and Dara +caravan road, and to confine their trade entirely to the northern and +western countries, whilst active operations were going on in Bahr el +Ghazal. But, in spite of the strictness with which these orders were +enforced, the chances of gain were so enormous and so enticing that the +merchants grew almost insensible to the risk of discovery; and, in fact, +the Government had not at hand the means of checking the trade in an +adequate manner,--indeed, in spite of the Government restrictions, the +trade rather increased than decreased. Gordon, therefore, had to resort +to very drastic measures. He ordered the Sheikhs of the Arab tribes to +seize all Gellabas in their districts, and forcibly drive them to Dara, +Toweisha, Om Shanga, and El Obeid, and at the same time held them +responsible for any Gellabas found in their countries, after a certain +date. This order was welcomed by the greedy Arabs, who seized the +occasion to pillage, not only the wandering traders, but even those who +had been settled amongst them for years, and who had nothing to do with +this illicit commerce; they gathered the wheat and the tares together, +and cast out both indiscriminately, making considerable profit over the +transaction. Gordon's order was now the signal for a wholesale campaign +against the traders, who not only lost their goods, but almost every +stitch of clothing they possessed, and were driven like wild animals in +hundreds, almost naked, towards Dara, Toweisha, and Om Shanga. It was a +terrible punishment for their unlawful communication with the enemies of +the Government. + +Many of these traders had been residing amongst the Arabs for years. +They had got wives, children, concubines, and considerable quantities of +property, which in turn fell into the hands of the Arabs. The fates, +indeed, wreaked all their fury on these wretched slave-hunters, and the +retribution--merited as it undoubtedly was, on the principle of an eye +for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth--was painful enough to witness, and +had consequences which were more far-reaching; for it must be remembered +that the majority of these petty traders were Jaalin from the Nile +valley, and between them and their Arab oppressors there now arose the +most implacable hatred, which has continued up to the present time, and +which shows signs of increase rather than of diminution. + +In point of humanity, this attack on the Gellabas may be open to +question; but on closer investigation it will be apparent to all that +it was not possible to deal with an anomalous situation, such as then +existed, by political or philanthropic methods,--drastic and violent +measures could alone be effective. The Arab himself says, "Nar el ghaba +yelzamha el harika" (Against a prairie-fire, fire must be used); and the +proverb was peculiarly applicable in this case. + +Now, these traders being for the most part Jaalin, Shaigias and Danagla +had, of course, relations and friends in the Nile valley; and, indeed, +many of the latter were their intermediaries in the commercial and slave +transactions which took place. Gordon's orders, therefore, were scarcely +less unpopular amongst these Nile-dwellers, who could not understand why +such severe measures were necessary, merely to prevent Gessi from being +defeated in Bahr el Ghazal. + +But to return to Gessi's movements. Having met Gordon at Toweisha, and +explained the situation to him, he was instructed to proceed to Dara, +while Gordon returned to Khartum, and with him Yusef Pasha Shellali, who +during the entire campaign had served Gessi most loyally, but who had +been told, by some of the numerous intriguers, that his chief was +against him; he therefore begged Gordon to allow him to return with him +to Khartum,--a request which was at once granted, while his services +were further recognised by his promotion to the rank of Pasha. + +On his arrival at Dara, Gessi received information that Suleiman had +quitted Bahr el Ghazal, and, having collected his forces, was somewhere +in the southwest of Darfur. It was thought that he intended to unite +with Sultan ben Seif ed Din, a direct descendant of the old Darfur +kings, who was said to have collected a force with the object of +opposing the Government and driving out the foreigners. It is impossible +to say whether this was really Suleiman's intention; but there is no +doubt that Sultan Harun had never concluded an alliance with Suleiman, +who, being the son of the conqueror of Darfur, by whom the dynasty had +been destroyed, was hated by the Darfur people even more than were the +Egyptians; the latter, in comparison with Zubeir's lawless gangs of +Bazingers, had a slightly higher reputation, but both seemed to consider +the Darfurians their legitimate prey, and both were guilty of acts of +cruelty and oppression. + +At this time the principal Government official at Dara was Zogal Bey +(Mohammed Bey Khaled); and Gessi, having left almost all his troops in +Bahr el Ghazal, now begged him to place at his disposal two companies of +regular troops, under the command of Saghkolaghasi Mansur Effendi Helmi; +with these, and a certain Ismail Wad el Barnu,--an Egyptian born in +Darfur, and well known for his bravery, and knowledge of the +country,--Gessi set off for Kalaka, the headquarters of the Habbania +Arabs. Here he was joined by Arifi Wad Ahmed, head Sheikh of the +Habbania, and by Madibbo Bey, chief of the Rizighat, who was loyal to +Government, and could place several hundred horsemen in the field. + +Suleiman's star was now declining. Abandoned by most of his own +tribesmen, who had secretly made off through the forests to the Nile +valley; deserted by the greater part of his trusted Bazingers, whom +hunger, fatigue, and aimless wandering in pathless regions had +hopelessly scattered; his footsteps dogged by Gessi, who was kept +informed of his every movement,--he was, indeed, in sorry plight when +Ismail Wad Barnu, despatched by Gessi with a summons to surrender, +appeared before him at Gharra. + +Ismail was well known to Suleiman, and had been instructed by Gessi to +inform him that, should he submit, his life and the lives of his chiefs +would be spared, and his women and children should not be touched, on +condition that he handed over to him his Bazingers, with their arms, and +made a solemn vow of loyalty to the Egyptian Government. Ismail pointed +out to Suleiman that all hope of successful resistance was now at an +end, and, as a native of the country, he gave it as his private opinion +that Sultan Harun would never be induced to enter into alliance with +him. + +Suleiman now convened a meeting of his principal men to discuss the +terms of peace offered by Gessi. Most of them were heartily tired of +this constant fighting, in which they had been almost invariably +defeated, but there were some who doubted the sincerity of the +conditions proposed; Ismail, however, asserted in the strongest terms +that he would guarantee the sincerity of Gessi, who himself longed to +put an end to this useless bloodshed, and further stated that he had +been authorised by him to take a solemn oath in his name that the +conditions of surrender would be faithfully observed. + +Suleiman and all his chiefs, with the exception of Rabeh, agreed to +accept; but the latter pointed out, with a prescience, which subsequent +events justified, that Suleiman had been warned, before he took up arms, +of the danger he was incurring, and that once in the hands of his +captors he could not hope for mercy. As regards himself, Rabeh declared +that it would be pain and grief to him to separate from men who had been +his companions in joy and sorrow all these years, but he gave them +distinctly to understand that he would never place himself in the power +of Gessi, whose success had been due to the Danagla, and who, though an +European, was really in their hands. He begged his companions to +remember the bitter animosity which existed between the Jaalin and +Danagla, and recalled the merciless manner in which the former had +treated the latter when Osman Ebtar had been defeated at Ganda. He +therefore had two proposals to make, viz., to collect their entire force +and march west into the Banda countries, which had hitherto been +untouched by foreign intruders, and which could offer no resistance to +the thousands of well-armed Bazingers they still had at their command. +He then went on to say, that once the Black tribes had been subjugated, +they could enter into relations with the kingdoms of Wadai, Baghirmi, +and Bornu, and that it was most unlikely that Gessi and his men, who +were tired of fighting, would follow them into distant and unknown +regions, over which the Government had no control, and from which it was +not likely they could reap any benefit. + +Should this proposal not meet with their approbation, then he would +suggest that as they wished now to lead quiet lives with their +fellow-tribesmen in the Nile valley, they should send a special +deputation either to His Highness the Khedive or to Gordon Pasha, +begging for pardon and peace; but that they should never do so through +Gessi, whose only object was to secure their arms and Bazingers, and +who, at the capture of Dem Suleiman, had unhesitatingly taken everything +they possessed. If, therefore, they wished to save their lives and avoid +the intrigues of the Danagla, all they had to do was to leave the +Bazingers with their arms behind, and themselves proceed by Kalaka and +Shakka and through the uninhabited forests of Dar Hamar to Foga, the +western telegraph station on the Darfur frontier, whence they could wire +their submission and ask for pardon, which would undoubtedly be granted. +Or they might, added Rabeh, proceed from Shakka through Dar Homr, and, +skirting the northern Janghé country, reach El Obeid, where they could +make their submission through the intermediary of the Governor and their +relative, Elias Pasha Wad Um Bereir. He concluded his speech by saying +that should none of these proposals meet with approval, then he was +prepared, with the greatest reluctance, to quit his lifelong friends, +and, taking those who wished to join him, he would march west and take +his chance; but, he added most emphatically, he would never place +himself in the hands of Gessi and his Danagla. + +These proposals were made by Rabeh to Suleiman and the others in the +presence of Ismail Wad Barnu, who again urged that they should submit to +Gessi, arguing that as the latter had been originally entrusted with the +campaign, it would naturally be a point of honour with him to see to +Suleiman's safety and to write favourably to Government in regard to +him; but, on the other hand, added Ismail, should Suleiman attempt to +obtain pardon without Gessi's intermediary, then the latter would +naturally be very angry, and would probably be the means of injuring him +in the eyes of the Government. + +Musa Wad el Haj, one of Suleiman's best leaders, and who also had some +influence with Gessi, now addressed Rabeh as follows: "You have made +certain proposals in the hearing of Ismail Wad Barnu, who is Gessi's +messenger. Should we concur with your proposals, what do you consider we +should do with him?" To this question Rabeh answered, "Ismail is our +friend, and was trusted by Zubeir; far be it from me to wish him any +harm. Should we decide on flight, then, in self-preservation, we must +take him with us a certain distance and when we are out of reach of +pursuit, let him go." A long discussion now ensued, which resulted in a +division of opinions: Suleiman, Hassan Wad Degeil (Zubeir's uncle), Musa +Wad el Haj, Ibrahim Wad Hussein (the brother of Saleh Wad Hussein, the +former Governor of Shakka, who had been arrested and sent to Khartum), +Suleiman Wad Mohammed, Ahmed Wad Idris, Abdel Kader Wad el Imam, and +Babakr Wad Mansur, all of the Gemiab section of the Jaalin tribe; also +Arbab Mohammed Wad Diab of the Saadab section, agreed to accept Gessi's +conditions and submit. But Rabeh, Abu el Kasim (of the Magazib section), +Musa Wad el Jaali, Idris Wad es Sultan, and Mohammed Wad Fadlalla, of +the Gemiab section, and Abdel Bayin, a former slave of Zubeir Pasha, +decided not to submit under any circumstances, but to march west. +Ismail, being of course most anxious to inform Gessi of Suleiman's +submission, urged him to break up the meeting and to give him a written +document that the conditions were acceptable. Suleiman complied, and +with eight of his chiefs signed the compact and handed it to Ismail, who +at once returned to Gessi at Kalaka with presents of several male and +female slaves. + +No sooner had he gone than Rabeh again came to Suleiman, and in the most +earnest terms begged him to reconsider the matter; but Suleiman was +obdurate, and Rabeh, therefore, retired heart-broken, beat his war-drums +to collect his Bazingers and followers, sorrowfully bade his old +companions farewell, and marched off in a southwesterly direction, to +the sound of the ombeÿa, or elephant's tusk (the Sudan war-horn, which +can be heard at an immense distance). + +Several of Suleiman's men, seeing that Rabeh was determined not to +submit, joined him, preferring the uncertainty of a life of adventure in +the pathless forests to the risk of giving themselves up to the hated +Danagla. But the five chiefs who had been his main supporters took the +occasion to desert him at his first camping-station, intending to +conceal themselves by the help of the Arab chiefs whom they knew, and +eventually to make their way back to the Nile when all danger was over. + +On receipt of Suleiman's letter of submission, Gessi set out with all +speed for Gharra, accompanied by Ismail, who feared that Rabeh's +counsels might after all prevail and that they had no time to lose; they +took with them a considerable number of men, and were reinforced by +contingents supplied by the Rizighat and Habbania chiefs. Arrived near +Gharra, Gessi sent on Ismail to tell Suleiman that he had received the +signed conditions, with which he was satisfied, and that he had come to +personally accept his submission. In a short time Ismail returned, +reporting Rabeh's flight with a considerable number of Bazingers and +arms, and that Suleiman was quite prepared to surrender. Gessi therefore +advanced to Gharra with his troops and met Suleiman, whose men had piled +their arms. He verbally gave them the pardon for which they asked, and +then ordered the Bazingers to be distributed between Sheikh Arifi and +Madibbo Bey, while instructions were given to put the chiefs under a +guard until the Government officials appointed to take charge of them +should have been selected. + +These orders were executed with great promptitude, and in two hours, out +of the entire camp, only Suleiman and the chiefs, with their wives and +families, remained, and over these a small guard was placed. + +Now, as Rabeh had truly foretold, the intrigues of the Danagla against +Suleiman began. They told Gessi that Suleiman's servants had reported +that he already regretted having submitted, and that had he known that +he was to be received in such a way, he would rather have died fighting. +Gessi, although a man of an open and honourable disposition, was +somewhat susceptible to such insinuations; he trusted his own men, and +as they had risked their lives for him, he did not doubt their words. +But he neither knew nor realised that his men were bent on Suleiman's +destruction. The loot which they had taken in Dem Suleiman and in many +other engagements was enormous, besides male and female slaves, gold and +silver jewellery, and an immense amount of cash, all of which they had +distributed amongst themselves, unknown to Gessi. What they now feared +was that Suleiman, being admitted to Gessi's favour, would inform him of +what had occurred, and that he would enter a claim against the +Government. Moreover, it will be remembered how Idris Ebtar had by his +intrigues given the authorities the impression that the Bahr el Ghazal +revolt was entirely due to the Zubeir faction, while they showed +themselves in the light of faithful adherents and martyrs to the +Government cause. They dreaded lest Suleiman might be sent to Khartum, +whence he would probably obtain permission to visit his father in Cairo, +and they knew that Zubeir possessed sufficient influence to institute +claims against them for the seizure of his property, and would moreover +do his utmost to show that Suleiman was not responsible for the revolt. + +The Danagla, therefore, now resorted to the following base expedient: +they informed Gessi that Suleiman had sent messengers to recall Rabeh, +that he had given him instructions to make an attack on Gessi, who had +only an insignificant force, and to whom they had surrendered under the +impression that his force was much larger, but that Rabeh was +sufficiently strong to easily overcome him, and thus completely turn the +tables. + +Mansur Effendi Helmi also came forward and corroborated these tales, +adding that he was convinced Suleiman was just as hostile as before, and +that on the smallest chance being given him he would not hesitate to +revolt once more against the Government. + +Gessi was now fully convinced that their statements were true, and in +consequence of their urgent declamations against Suleiman he went back +on the promise he had made that their lives should be safe. In the +course of the day he had Suleiman and the nine chiefs brought into his +tent, and reproached them very severely for their traitorous conduct. To +proud and uncivilised men these reproaches were unbearable, and they +replied in an equally abrupt tone. Gessi, stung to anger, quitted the +tent and ordered the Danagla, who were lurking about, to shoot them. In +a moment the tent was pulled down over their heads, they were secured, +their hands were tied behind their backs, and they were driven to the +place of execution. With the most bitter imprecations on their lips +against the treacherous Danagla, they fell, shot through the back by the +rifles of a firing party of Mansur Helmi's regulars, on the 15th July, +1879. Thus did fate overtake Suleiman and his friends. Death had come +upon them treacherously, it is true; but they had abused the authority +with which they had been vested, by their cruelty and ambition they had +wrecked the provinces of Bahr el Ghazal and Darfur, and had reduced the +inhabitants to an unparalleled state of misery and wretchedness. + +Gessi lost no time in sending a telegram to the station at Foga +reporting Suleiman's death and the conclusion of the campaign to Gordon. +This news, as already related, reached me through Ali Bey Sherif the day +I left El Obeid for Darfur. + +Gessi now called on the Shaigias to hand over the Bazingers in their +charge; but they reported that owing to an insufficient guard they had +escaped; and as the story seemed credible, Gessi collected the remainder +of his men, with the intention of proceeding to Bahr el Ghazal, where he +wished to establish a settled form of government, in place of the +constant warfare which had decimated this fertile province. Just before +leaving, he received information that the five chiefs who had left +Rabeh, viz., Abdel Kasim, Musa Jaali, Idris Wad es Sultan, Mohammed +Fadlalla, and Abdel Bayin; were in hiding amongst the Arabs; he +therefore left orders for the Shaigia to search for them, and when +found, to bring them for punishment before the Governor of El Fasher. +Zogal Bey, the Governor of Shakka, was also ordered to do his utmost to +catch these men, with the result that they were discovered without much +difficulty, and brought, with shebas round their necks, to El Fasher, +where Messedaglia Bey, without further ado, had them instantly shot. +Thus, with the exception of Rabeh, the entire Zubeir gang was destroyed, +and the power of the slave-hunters crippled. + +The campaign had resulted in a considerable loss to Government of arms +and ammunition, and in a corresponding acquisition of strength to the +great southern Arab tribes, such as the Baggara, Taisha, Habbania, and +Rizighat, who both before and after the fall of Suleiman had captured +numbers of Bazingers and immense quantities of loot; the subsequent +effects of which were not long in showing themselves. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +RESIDENCE IN DARFUR, AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE. + + Arrival at Om Shanga--Matrimonial Difficulties--A Sudanese + Falstaff--Description of El Fasher--The Furs and the Tago--A + Tale of Love and Perfidy--Founding of the Tungur + Dynasty--Conquest of Darfur by Zubeir Pasha--The Rizighat + Tribe--Quarrel between Zubeir Pasha and the + Governor-General--Both recalled to Cairo--Gordon + Governor-General of the Sudan--I take up my Duties at + Dara--Zogal Bey the Sub-Governor--I undertake a Campaign against + Sultan Harun--Niurnia, Harun's Stronghold in Jebel Mara--I + defeat the Sultan at Rahad en Nabak--Death of Harun--My Meeting + with Dr. Felkin and the Rev. Wilson--My Boy Kapsun--Gordon's + Letter from Abyssinia. + + +I left El Obeid early in July, 1879, in company with Dr. Zurbuchen, the +Sanitary Inspector-General, whom I had met in Cairo; our route took us +through Foga, the telegraph terminus, and here I found a telegram from +Gordon, telling me that he was proceeding on a Mission to King John of +Abyssinia. + +We reached Om Shanga to find it crowded with Gellabas who had been +turned out of the southern districts, and were really in a pitiable +condition. Curiously enough, the news had spread far and wide that I was +Gordon's nephew (I suppose on account of my blue eyes and shaven chin), +and in consequence I was looked upon with some apprehension by these +people, who considered him as the cause of all the troubles which they +were now justly suffering. I was overwhelmed with petitions for support; +but I told them that as Om Shanga was not in my district, I could do +nothing for them,--and even if I could have spared them something from +my private purse, I had neither the desire nor inclination to do so. + +In one case, however, I confess to having broken the rule; but before +relating this little episode, I should explain that my action must not +be judged from the standpoint of purely Christian morality. In this case +I admit to being guilty of even greater moral laxity in regard to the +Moslem marriage law, than is enjoined in the Sharia, or religious law; +but when my readers have finished the story, I think they will perhaps +share the feelings which prompted me to act as I did. Several of the +merchants who had travelled from the Nile called upon me and begged me +to interest myself in the case of an unfortunate youth, a native of +Khartum and only nineteen years of age. They related that before +quitting Khartum he had been betrothed to his beautiful but very poor +young cousin; the parents had consented to the marriage, but he was to +first take a journey and try to make some money. On his arrival at Om +Shanga a very rich old woman took a violent fancy to him. Whether the +youth had been overcome by her riches, my informants did not say, but +the old woman would have her way and had married him; and now, finding +himself comparatively wealthy, he had no particular desire to give her +up. The sad news had reached Khartum, the poor girl was distracted, and +now I was asked to solve the difficulty. What was I to do? I called up +the youth, who was unusually good-looking, and, taking him aside, I +spoke to him with as serious a countenance as I could preserve; I +pointed out how very wrong it was of him, a foreigner, to have married a +strange old woman while his poor _fiancée_ was crying her eyes out at +home, and that even if his cousin's dowry was small, still, in honour +bound, he should keep his promise. He hesitated for a long time, but at +length decided to go before the Kadi (judge of the religious law) and +get a divorce. I had previously seen the Kadi, and had instructed him +that should the youth seek a divorce, it was his duty to break the news +as gently as he could to the old wife, as I was most anxious the +separation should be carried out with as little commotion as possible; +and, taking a guarantee from the young man's relatives that they would +be responsible that he should go direct to Khartum, I warned the +Government official of Om Shanga that the youth was to be banished at +two days' notice! I also told him that he might say what he liked about +me to the old woman, and that I was quite ready to bear the blame, +provided he could get her to give him some money for the journey. Little +did I imagine what a storm I had brought on my devoted head! It was +about four o'clock in the afternoon, and I was lying on my angareb +(native couch) in the little brick hut, when I heard the voice of an +angry woman demanding to see me instantly. I guessed at once who it was, +and, bracing my nerves for the fray, told the orderly to let her in. Dr. +Zurbuchen, who was in the room with me, and whose knowledge of Arabic +was very limited, was most desirous to leave me; but I was by no means +anxious to be left alone with an angry woman, and at length persuaded +him to stay. No sooner was the divorced wife admitted than she rushed up +angrily to Dr. Zurbuchen, whom she mistook for me, and shrieked in a +tone of frantic excitement, "I shall never agree to a divorce. He is my +husband, and I am his wife; he married me in accordance with the +religious law, and I refuse to let him divorce me." Dr. Zurbuchen, +thoroughly startled, muttered in broken Arabic that he had nothing to do +with the case, and meekly pointed to me as the hard-hearted Governor. I +could not help being amused at the extraordinary figure before me. She +was a great strong woman, with evidently a will of her own; and so +furious was she that she had quite disregarded all the rules which +usually apply when Eastern ladies address the opposite sex. Her long +white muslin veil had got twisted round and round her dress, exposing +her particoloured silk headdress, which had fallen on her shoulders; she +had a yellowish complexion, and her face was covered with wrinkles, +while her cheeks were marked by the three tribal slits, about half an +inch apart; in her nose she wore a piece of red coral, massive gold +earrings in her ears, and her greasy hair was twisted into innumerable +little ringlets, which were growing gray with advancing age. I thought I +had never seen a more appalling looking old creature; but my +contemplations were cut short by her screeching voice, which was now +directed on me with renewed fury, and I was confronted with the same +question she had addressed to the terrified doctor. Giving her time to +recover her breath, I replied, "I quite understand what you say, but you +must submit to the inevitable: your husband must leave; and as you are a +native, I cannot permit you to go with him. You appear undesirous of +having a divorce; but you must remember that, in accordance with the +Moslem law, it is for the man to give the woman her divorce papers, and +not the woman the man." + +"Had you not interfered," she shrieked, "he would never have left me. +Cursed be the day you came here!" + +"I beg of you, do not say that," I answered; "you are a woman of means, +and I should not think you would have any difficulty in securing another +and perhaps older husband." + +"I want no other," she literally screamed. + +"Silence!" I said somewhat sharply. "The relatives of your former +husband wish him to leave you; they complained that it was only your +money which bound him to you; and now, whatever you may say, he is to +leave to-morrow. Besides, do you not think it is outrageous that an old +woman like you should have married a young lad who might have been your +grandson?" These last words drove her into a state of perfect frenzy; +and, losing all control over herself, she threw up her hands, tore off +her veil, and what else might have happened I know not, but my kavass +(orderly), hearing the noise, rushed in and quietly but forcibly removed +her from the room, cautioning her that her conduct was disgraceful, and +that she had made a laughing-stock of herself. The following day her +husband left, and I do not doubt her grief was considerable; but some +years later I had the satisfaction of meeting the youth, married to his +early _fiancée_, and already the father of a family; he thanked me +profusely for having got him out of the clutches of the old woman and +brought him to his present happy state. It is needless to relate that I +slept soundly that night, convinced that I had done a good piece of +work, and that it had cost me nothing. + +Two days later we left Om Shanga, and halted for the night at Jebel el +Hella, where we were met by Hassan Bey Om Kadok, the Sheikh of the +northern Berti tribes, who had shown great loyalty and had been granted +by Gordon the rank of Bey. He was a middle-aged man, very stout, with +great broad shoulders and a round, smiling face; he might well have been +called the Sudan "Falstaff." Some years later, when the tables were +turned, and masters became servants, he and I found ourselves together +as orderlies in the Khalifa's body-guard, where his cheerful disposition +and genial nature brightened an existence which at times was almost +unbearable. His brother Ismail was exactly the opposite,--tall, thin, +and serious; and the two brothers never by any chance agreed, except on +one point, and that was their inveterate love of marissa (Sudan beer): +to have each a large jar (made of pottery, and known in Darfur as the +_Dulang asslia_ or _Um bilbil_) of this marissa, and to vie with one +another in emptying it first, was to them the greatest pleasure in life. + +They invited us to sup with them, and for our evening meal an entire +sheep, baked on charcoal, was served up, besides a quantity of roast +fowls and a dish of asida (the latter is somewhat like the Italian +polenta, and is eaten with all the courses); there were also several +jars of marissa. We thoroughly enjoyed the food, leaving the marissa to +our hosts, and substituting for it some of our own red wine. Hassan and +Ismail, however, freely regaled themselves with wine as well as marissa; +the effect on the former being to make him extremely talkative, while +the latter became more and more silent. Hassan related many little +incidents about Gordon, for whom he had the greatest admiration and +regard. He was much grieved to hear he was going to Abyssinia. +"Perhaps," said he, sadly, "he will go back to his own country, and +never return to the Sudan again." Curiously enough, he was partially +correct. He then left the room and returned almost at once, carrying a +magnificent saddle and sword. "Look," said he, "these are the last +presents General Gordon gave me when I accompanied him to El Fasher; he +was most kind and generous." Then Ismail showed us a rich gold +embroidered robe which Gordon had presented to him. "Pride," said +Hassan, "was unknown to Gordon. One day, on our way to El Fasher, one of +the attendants shot a bustard; and when we halted at noon, the cook at +once boiled some water and threw the bird into the pot, so as to take +off its feathers. Gordon, seeing this, went and sat himself down by the +cook and began helping him to pull out the feathers. I at once rushed up +and begged him to allow me to do this for him, but he answered, 'Why +should I be ashamed of doing work? I am quite able to wait on myself, +and certainly do not require a Bey to do my kitchen work for me.'" + +Hassan continued chatting till a late hour. He related his experiences +during Zubeir's conquest of Darfur, then of the subsequent revolts and +the present situation, frequently reverting to Gordon, whom he held in +great honour. "Once, travelling with Gordon," he remarked, "I fell ill, +and Gordon came to see me in my tent. In the course of our conversation +I told him that I was addicted to alcoholic drinks, and that I put down +my present indisposition to being obliged to do without them for the +last few days. This was really my indirect way of asking Gordon to give +me something; but I was mightily disappointed, and, instead, received a +very severe rebuke. 'You a Moslem,' said he, 'and forbidden by your +religion to drink wines and spirits! I am indeed surprised. You should +give up this habit altogether; every one should follow the precepts of +his religion.' I replied, 'Having been accustomed to them all my life, +if I now gave them up my health must suffer; but I will try and be more +moderate in future.' Gordon seemed satisfied, got up, shook hands with +me, and bade me good-bye. The following morning, before leaving, he +sent me three bottles of brandy, with injunctions that I should use them +in moderation." + +Meanwhile Hassan's lanky brother sat in complete silence, leaning on his +elbows and solemnly filling up and swallowing glass after glass of +marissa, with an almost clockwork regularity. When we had stopped +talking, he got up in a very deliberate manner, solemnly wiped his mouth +with his hand, and said in a melancholy tone, "Yes, brandy is very good; +it is not an alcoholic drink, it is medicine. Gordon is a great and +benevolent man; we shall never see him again." + +It was very late before our hosts left us, and, having ordered our +baggage camels to start before daybreak, we had a few hours' sleep. The +next morning at sunrise our riding camels were ready, and Dr. Zurbuchen +and I looked about for our hosts to wish them good-bye. At length we saw +Ismail hurrying towards us; his head was evidently suffering from the +effects of the previous night. "Masters," he shouted, "we have always +been told that in your country justice exists; I am sure that there +guests never wrong their hosts. Last night, when your baggage camels +started, your people carried off my best rug, which I had laid out for +you to lie down on yesterday." I made inquiries, and had no doubt that +one of my men must have made off with the precious rug; so, ordering one +of my kavasses to mount his camel and overtake the caravan, I patiently +awaited his return. In due time he came back with the stolen rug, and, +tied on behind him, one of my eight Black soldiers who belonged to our +escort. On being interrogated, the man said he had taken it by mistake; +but as I had no doubt of his guilt I had him flogged and sent back a +prisoner to the nearest military post at Om Shanga. I was much upset by +the occurrence, for I knew that these people were apt to conclude that +as the master is, so is the servant; and had I not acted with severity +on this occasion I should probably have had a frequent recurrence of +such thefts. + +With profuse apologies to our hosts, we set off for El Fasher, and, +passing through Brush, Abiat, and Ergud, reached there after five days' +march. + +For the last century El Fasher had been chosen as the capital of Darfur. +It is built on two sandy hills running north and south, and separated by +a valley some four hundred yards across, known as the Wadi Tendelti. The +fort is situated on the western hill, and consists of a square mud-brick +enclosure about three feet thick built on the slope, and surrounded with +a ditch fifteen feet deep; at the corners were four small towers, manned +with guns which fired from embrasures. + +This enclosure embraces the Government buildings, Governor's house, +officers' quarters, and men's barracks; but the quarters of the +irregular cavalry are outside. The wells are down in the valley, about +one hundred and fifty yards distant from the walls of the fort. + +At this time Messedaglia Bey, an Italian, was Governor of El Fasher; he +gave Dr. Zurbuchen and myself a cordial welcome, and allotted us +quarters in the Government buildings. We had both suffered somewhat from +fever during our wet march, and therefore decided to rest here for a few +days. + +Darfur was formerly one of the line of ancient Central African kingdoms, +stretching across the continent from west to east. Up to the early part +of the seventeenth century the kings of Darfur had dominion over the +country as far east as the Atbara; but the warlike Fungs, who at that +time were one of the most powerful tribes of the Sudan, gradually drove +the Darfurians back, and established their own authority up to the banks +of the White Nile. In 1770 they wrested the province of Kordofan from +the Darfur kings, but five years later it was retaken by the latter, and +remained under their control until conquered in 1822 by Mohammed Bey +Dafterdar, the brother-in-law of Ismail Pasha, who, it will be +remembered, was burnt alive at Shendi. History has already described the +heroic bravery of the Darfur troops led by Musallem, the Viceroy of +Kordofan, who, with almost all his men, utterly ignorant of the effect +of fire-arms, dashed up to the muzzles of the Turks' guns, and were +annihilated almost to a man. Kordofan thus remained under Egyptian rule +until, in 1883, it fell under the sway of the Mahdi. + +Meanwhile, after the loss of Kordofan the Darfurians retired further to +the west, and the kings now governed only a circumscribed area, of which +Jebel Marra was the centre. The roads through these almost inaccessible +mountains are few and very difficult, and in consequence the place is +one of great strength. Many of the peaks are between six and seven +thousand feet high, and separated from each other by deep and fertile +valleys gradually descending to the plains below. During the rains the +rivulets in these valleys become rushing torrents, and, flowing south +into the main valleys of Wadi Asum and Wadi Ibra, convert them into two +gigantic rivers, the latter emptying into the Bahr el Arab, which +eventually joins the Bahr el Ghazal, and forms the main western +tributary of the White Nile. The streams flowing north from Jebel Marra +have a less rapid descent, and are quickly absorbed in the sandy soil of +the desert. + +In the valleys of Jebel Marra, barley, Turkish wheat, and dukhn are +planted; but in the plains of Darfur only the latter can be grown, and +it is therefore the ordinary food of the inhabitants. In the southern +district it comes to maturity from ninety to a hundred days after being +planted, but in some of the northern districts it ripens even twenty +days earlier. + +The original tribes of the country were the Furs and the Tago, the +latter ruling for centuries over the entire district from their +inaccessible strongholds in Jebel Marra. Tradition relates that about +the fourteenth century, the Tungur Arabs, emigrating south from Tunis, +scattered throughout Bornu and Wadai, and eventually reached Darfur, the +first arrivals being two brothers, Ali and Ahmed, who, with their +flocks, settled on the western slopes of Jebel Marra. Ali, who was older +and better off than his brother, had recently married a beautiful young +girl of his own tribe, and she, in turn, being constantly thrown with +her brother-in-law, who was celebrated for his bravery, conceived a +great fancy for him. One day, when her husband was away, she confessed +her feelings to Ahmed, and implored him to help her out of her misery; +but Ahmed's sentiments of right and honour in regard to his brother's +wife could not be overcome by this appeal, though he promised that her +secret should never be divulged. The girl fell ill, and in her jealous +love determined that her brother-in-law should never marry another; she +therefore called her husband to her side and bade him swear, under a +solemn oath, that he would never disclose what she was about to tell +him, and then she whispered that his brother never ceased making love to +her. Ali, horror-stricken at the thought of the deception of Ahmed, whom +he dearly loved, and to whom he confided everything, was beside himself +with grief; but he could not bring himself to believe entirely in his +brother's perfidy, though the seeds of mistrust were sown. Meanwhile +Ahmed, knowing that his sister-in-law's jealousy was aroused, did all he +could by kindness and sympathy to pacify her and to treat her as if +nothing had happened; the result, of course, being that Ali's suspicion +grew into certainty, and he determined on revenge. He could not bear the +thought of killing him, but wanted to inflict on him some lasting +injury. Two days later, he determined to move camp, and, sending on all +his people with their flocks and herds, he remained behind with his +brother, and began talking to him about ordinary matters. From this they +got into a discussion on arms, and Ali, playfully drawing out his sword, +in an unguarded moment struck Ahmed a blow on his right leg, severing +the tendon Achilles; and then, making off as quickly as he could, he +left his unfortunate brother weltering in his blood, who, too proud to +cry out, calmly awaited death. This Ahmed el Makur (signifies one who is +wounded, applying more especially to the sort of wound he received) was +destined to become the founder of a new dynasty in Darfur, and this is +how it came about. + +Ali, whose love for his brother was not altogether extinguished, sent +two of his slaves, Zayed and Birged (the forefathers of the great +Zayedia and Birged tribes), with two camels, two she-camels, and a few +necessaries, in search of Ahmed, but at the same time he told them that +on no account were they to bring him back. He himself returned to the +west, and, as the story goes, separated soon afterwards from his wife, +as he could not bear the thought of his brother's supposed perfidy. The +slaves, finding Ahmed unconscious from loss of blood, revived him, and +at his request brought him to the nearest native settlement, where he +was well received, and King Kor (the last of the Tago dynasty) was +informed that a foreigner, who had been wounded in the leg by his +brother, was in their village. The king ordered Ahmed to be brought +before him, in order to hear from his own lips the account of this +strange event. Ahmed, however, refused to explain, and the matter +remained a mystery; but he was taken care of and permitted to stay in +the king's household. King Kor, like all his predecessors, was a +heathen; he had become ruler by violence, was utterly ignorant of the +outside world, and did not even know of the existence of any country +outside his own immediate dominions; beyond making occasional raids from +his mountain strongholds on the dwellers in the plains, he seldom left +his hills. This savage old king took a fancy to the stranger, made him +director of his household, and consulted him on all occasions. Gradually +Ahmed rose to power. By judicious management he brought the unruly Tago +chiefs into subjection, and portioned out the land amongst the poorer +inhabitants, thus putting a stop to the constant internal raiding, and +introducing a feeling of security and contentment hitherto quite +unknown. Ahmed during his long journey from Tunis had passed through +many distant kingdoms, and, being a man of sense, he was able to apply +his knowledge in introducing a number of reforms. One of those, still +quoted, is the wonderful change he effected in the king's household. It +had been the custom for centuries for any retainer to take his food at +the time it pleased him, quite regardless of the wants of others. It +therefore frequently happened that, "first come, first served," nothing +remained for the later arrivals, who, in their anger, would fall on +their comrades, and as often as not blood would be shed. Ahmed reformed +all this by establishing a fixed hour for meals, at which all must be +present, with the happy result that peace and tranquillity prevailed. + +In this and a hundred other ways did Ahmed show his capacity, and became +much beloved by the king, who, having no successors, gave him his +favourite daughter as a wife, and before his death nominated him as his +successor to the throne. + +Almost all the inhabitants had a great respect for Ahmed, and on Kor's +death they made him their king. The news spread far and wide, and on it +becoming known to the Tungurs in Bornu and Wadai, they flocked into the +country in such numbers as to partially displace the Tago; and now the +only small settlements left of the former rulers are near Dara, where +there is a Tago Sheikh, and also at Dar Sula, a long way to the west, +where there is a semi-independent ruler called "Sultan Abu Risha et +Tagawi," who is also known as "El Jamus el asfar," or the yellow +buffalo. + +Ahmed el Makur ruled happily for a long period, and a regular male +succession was established. His great grandson was the celebrated Sultan +"Dali," whose mother belonged to the Kera-Fur tribe, and thus +consanguinity was established between the Blacks and the Tungur dynasty. +Dali was a very enlightened ruler; he travelled a great deal, and +collected round him many men who could read and write; he divided the +country into provinces and districts, and wrote the celebrated +"Kitab-Dali," or penal code. The system of government inaugurated by +Dali was carefully followed by his successors, and continued in use up +to the middle of the present century. One of the most noted of the +Darfur rulers was Suleiman, who, being the son of an Arab mother, and +having himself married an Arab woman, took the title of Solong, which +is generally applied to those who consider themselves of Arab descent. +It was through him that the country was definitely moslemised; and his +descendants, up to 1875, proudly boast of their Arab descent, and +entirely ignore the Black element, which undoubtedly is there, and which +may be said to show itself in the bitter hatred which has always existed +between the ruling Darfur family and the nomad Arabs. + +In accordance with Dali's code, the descent should devolve on the eldest +son; but gradually the custom obtained of selecting one of the sons +(provided he was in the direct line) who happened to be the most popular +in the estimation of the court dignitaries, and especially in that of +the "Abu Sheikh," the name given to the principal eunuch of the royal +household. A rigorous exclusion was exercised over all sons who were +addicted to alcohol or marissa. + +Suleiman was succeeded by his son Musa, and the latter by his son Ahmed +Bakr, who did all in his power to introduce foreigners into the country, +as he hoped thereby to benefit his people. He was succeeded by his son +Mohammed Dura, who is said to have had over a hundred brothers, of whom +he caused fifty to be killed on coming to the throne; he is also +credited with having killed his eldest son, whom he suspected of having +pretensions to make himself king. + +On his death his son Omar Leila succeeded, and he also was as unpopular +as his father. He took command of the Darfur army which invaded Wadai, +and was killed, being succeeded by his uncle, Abu el Kasem, who, with +his brothers Mohammed Terab and Abderrahman, was amongst those who had +escaped the slaughter when Mohammed Dura came to the throne. Abu el +Kasem showed a great inclination to the Blacks, and incurred, in +consequence, the hostility of his relations, who urged him to take the +field against Wadai, and, having advanced, suddenly deserted him with +the army, leaving him the Blacks only. It is said by some that he was at +once killed in the battle which ensued, while others state that he +remained for some time in Wadai, and then returned to attack his +brother, Mohammed Terab, by whom he had been succeeded. The latter +proved himself a capable and energetic ruler, but towards the close of +his reign he conceived the idea of enlarging his dominions and restoring +the country to its early limits, which, it will be remembered, extended +as far as the Atbara. He therefore issued a decree declaring war against +the Fungs, and advanced with his brother Abderrahman and a mass of +warriors, both horsemen and spearmen, in an easterly direction. +Eventually they arrived at Omdurman, the present Dervish capital of the +Sudan, and, to their surprise, found their further progress stopped by +the Nile. The inhabitants had removed all the boats, so the construction +of a bridge was attempted; but to cross a rapid river six hundred yards +broad, was a task beyond the powers of the Darfur king, who remained +stationary for months at Omdurman, vainly making attempt after attempt +to overcome this impassable obstacle. At length the chiefs, despairing +of success, approached the king, and urged that the army should return +to Kordofan and Darfur; but the latter, furious at his failure, +threatened any one with death who should show any inclination to +retreat. The leaders, however, were not to be baffled; secretly +arranging with the king's favourite wife, Khadija, they convinced her +that she would be performing a public service by poisoning her husband's +food, which she did, nothing loath, and Abderrahman succeeded to the +throne. + +The stone walls erected by Sultan Mohammed Terab are to be seen to this +day at the south end of Omdurman. His body was embalmed, taken to Bara, +and conveyed thence to Tura, in Jebel Marra, some thirty-five miles west +of El Fasher, the burial-place of the old Darfur sultans. + +Abderrahman and the army returned to Darfur to find that Mohammed +Terab's son, Ishaak, who had been appointed regent, refused to +acknowledge his authority; with the result that a battle took place, in +which Ishaak was killed. + +Abderrahman's favourite wife was a certain Umbusa, of the Begu tribe. +This tribe had emigrated from Bahr el Ghazal many years before, had +settled in Darfur, and had been granted lands by the kings, on condition +that they should annually supply a beautiful girl for the royal harem. +The Begus are a purely African race, descended from the Monolké family, +and Umbusa, besides being a great beauty, was endowed with exceptionally +high qualities, which induced Abderrahman to raise her to the status of +a legal wife; and in his advanced age she bore him a son, who was named +Mohammed el Fadl. + +It was during Abderrahman's reign that the traveller Browne visited +Darfur, and it was this Sultan who in 1799 sent an address of +congratulation to Napoleon, then campaigning in Lower Egypt, and +received from him in return a present of two thousand Black slaves. +During his reign also the nominal capital of Kobbé was abandoned for El +Fasher, which henceforth became the royal residence. + +Abderrahman, before his death, placed his son in charge of the chief +eunuch, Abu Sheikh Kura, who had originally been a slave, but had risen +to a high position in the royal household; and at the age of thirteen, +the youth succeeded to the throne. It is related that when Abderrahman +died, Umbusa's father, Omar, was tending the flocks in Dar Begu, some +fifty miles southwest of El Fasher, when suddenly a messenger was seen +galloping a horse covered with foam, which fell dead before reaching +him: the messenger, rushing forward, cried, "I bring you the glad +tidings that the son of your noble daughter Umbusa was made Sultan of +Darfur five days ago." Without saying a word, Omar broke with his foot +the wall of the dabarek,[1] and caused the water to flow over the sand, +and then shouted, "No more shall the flocks of my family water at this +well, for the great and merciful God has chosen my grandson to be ruler +over Darfur;" and, saying this, he at once distributed his herds amongst +those present, and then without delay proceeded to his grandson at El +Fasher. + +Mohammed el Fadl's first step as Sultan was to declare his mother's +tribe as free for ever, the annual tribute of a girl was no longer to be +exacted, and buying and selling of Begus was made a crime punishable by +death. For some four years the young king, under the guidance of Kura, +ruled with energy and justice; but now intrigues crept in: it was +whispered by some that Kura aimed at supreme power, while others +asserted that the king was doing his utmost to deprive him of his +authority; mutual mistrust, resulting in an open quarrel, prevailed, and +in a fight which took place on the Rahad River, Kura was defeated, taken +prisoner, and instantly executed. + +After this, Mohammed el Fadl determined to coerce the proud Arab tribes +who hesitated to comply with his orders and who frequently attempted to +shake off the Darfurian yoke. His first step was to despatch the +official in charge of Dara to the Beni Helba Arabs, who had refused to +pay tribute; these were speedily coerced, and almost all their property +confiscated; he then turned to the Ereikat tribe,--one of the most +powerful in Darfur,--and these also were soon reduced to complete +submission; but to subjugate the great Rizighat tribe was a more +difficult matter. This was the most warlike and powerful tribe in the +country. Several centuries ago an Arab from the far west named Ruzeik +and his three sons, Mahmud, Maher, and Nueib, with their families, +flocks, and herds, emigrated to the southern districts of Darfur; here +in the vast forests they found abundance of food for themselves, and in +these dense and pathless regions they were safe from intrusion. As time +went on their numbers rapidly increased, and, being joined by numerous +smaller tribes, they became a power in the land, and the Sultans of +Darfur were unable to gain their entire submission. Moreover, the +districts they peopled were infested in winter by the Um Bogone (a kind +of insect somewhat resembling the tsetse fly), which killed off the +cattle. + +Mohammed Fadl now decided that the only way to deal with the Rizighat +was to completely surround them; by degrees their forests were encircled +by myriads of Darfurians, and gradually the human chain closed in on the +luckless tribesmen, who were slaughtered wholesale. At length some +captives, being brought before the Sultan, were asked where the main +body of the Rizighat was to be found. "Sire," they answered, "we have +all been separated and dispersed amongst your own army;" whereupon the +Sultan issued orders to his chiefs that all men of over thirty years of +age wearing beards were to be slain; and after this order had been +carried out, the survivors, who were all young men, and some thousands +in number, were brought before him. These he classified according to +their original families, and divided them into two sections: the first +section were allowed to take back their captured wives and children and +a proportion of their cattle, and were permitted to remain in their +country; also to each widow whose husband had been killed in battle a +milch-cow and an ox were given. + +The second division, which was composed principally of the descendants +of the families of Mohammed, Maher, and Nueib, were ordered to move into +the northern districts of Darfur, and to occupy the lands formerly owned +by the now almost exterminated Ereikat tribe. This section eventually +developed into the powerful tribes now known as the Mahamid, Maheria, +and Nueiba, who are, of course, the blood-relatives of the Rizighat, who +are, in their turn, a division of the Baggara, or cattle-owning Arabs of +the Western Sudan. + +Mohammed el Fadl died early in 1838, and was succeeded by his son, +Mohammed Hussein, who did his utmost to recover the popularity which his +father had lost; about the year 1856, however, he became blind, and +delegated most of his official work to his eldest sister, Iya Basi +Zemzem,--it being an ancient Darfur custom that the eldest sister of the +reigning Sultan should receive the title of Iya Basi, and exercise a +certain political influence. This worthy lady was both extravagant and +immoral; the conduct of her court was notorious, and absorbed most of +the state revenues. At this period the provinces of Bahr el Ghazal were +subject to Darfur, and the Black tribes paid tribute of slaves and ivory +to the Sultans. It often happened that the payment of this tribute was +delayed, and this at once offered a pretext for a raid, in which the +Darfurians invariably obtained large quantities of spoil. The ivory and +many of the slaves were sold to the Egyptian merchants who travelled +along the Arbaïn road between Assiut and Darfur, and for these, Turkish +and European wares were exchanged. This trade was most lucrative on both +sides, and gradually quantities of gold-brocaded stuffs, richly +caparisoned saddles, silk embroideries, and other articles of luxury +found their way into Darfur, besides quantities of jewellery as well as +arms and ammunition. + +And now we come to the period when the famous Zubeir Pasha enters on the +scenes. A member of the Gemiab section of the Jaalin tribe, he quitted +Khartum as a young man, and went south in search of a fortune. Already +several merchants and slave-traders were established in the White Nile +and Bahr el Ghazal districts, and the young Zubeir became the assistant +of the well-known Ali Abu Amuri, so often mentioned by Sir Samuel Baker. +Affairs prospered with him, and eventually he was able to set up an +independent establishment, or zariba, of his own,--his labours lay, so +to speak, in virgin soil; with well-armed bands of natives he gradually +succeeded in annexing territories and amassing quantities of ivory and +slaves, which he exchanged with the Nile merchants for arms and +ammunition. I do not think Zubeir Pasha was any worse or any better than +the hundreds of other merchants occupied in a traffic which at that time +was considered perfectly legitimate; but there is no doubt that he was a +man of iron will, and of an energy and intelligence far above the +average; and to these qualities may be attributed his ultimate success +as an ivory and slave dealer. It is not my intention to describe the +various steps by which he became practically ruler of the Bahr el +Ghazal; it will be sufficient for my present purpose to say that at the +time of which I write he had become one of the most powerful men in the +Sudan, and it was not long before the tottering kingdom of Darfur fell +bodily into his hands; and this is how it came about. + +Zubeir, gradually extending his conquests into the northern districts of +Bahr el Ghazal, began to encroach on those regions which were tributary +to the Sultan of Darfur, and, anxious to avoid a quarrel, he wrote to +Sultan Hussein to the effect that Blacks who had no masters, and were +heathens, were, in accordance with the law of the Prophet, the fair +spoil of the Moslems; to which Hussein replied that he, too, being a +descendant of the ancient line, claimed similar rights to deal with +Black slaves and horse-dealers. By this latter epithet he referred to +Zubeir, whom he classed amongst the other Jaalin known to the Darfurians +as vendors of Dongola horses. + +Zubeir, however, was not to be thwarted, and year by year his influence +increased, until he had complete possession of all the Bahr el Ghazal +districts which had paid tribute to Darfur. The effect of this on the +luxury-loving Darfurians was painfully evident. They saw their main +source of ivory and slave supplies cut off, and to meet the Government +expenditure increased taxation was enforced, which resulted in +widespread discontent. + +At this time there lived in Sultan Hussein's palace a certain Mohammed +Belali of the Belalia tribe, which is settled partly in Wadai and partly +in Bornu. This man was a fiki, or religious teacher, and claimed noble +descent, thereby ingratiating himself with Hussein, much to the +annoyance of Iya Basi and the Vizir Ahmed Shata, who resented his +interference, and eventually induced the Sultan to drive him out of the +country. + +[Illustration: Zubeir Pasha.] + +Breathing threats of vengeance, he proceeded to Khartum and informed the +Government of the immense riches and fertility of the province of Bahr +el Ghazal and the Hofret en Nahas district, which no longer belonged to +Darfur, and were now without a ruler. The astute Belali, whose sole +object was to injure Sultan Hussein for having driven him out of the +country, conceived this plot, which was destined to bring about a war +with Darfur. Thoroughly trusted by the ignorant Khartum authorities, he +was despatched, in company with Kutshuk Ali, who commanded some +bashi-bozuks and two hundred regulars, to take possession of those +supposed rulerless regions. As may be imagined, Zubeir looked with no +friendly eye on the intrigues of this upstart; but, with his far-seeing +astuteness, he watched and waited patiently for the further development +of his rival's plans. Meanwhile Kutshuk Ali died suddenly, and was +replaced by Haj Ali Abu Nurein; and, at the instigation of the latter, +Belali, emboldened by Zubeir's inaction, proceeded to seize some large +stores of grain which he had prepared for his Bazingers. Zubeir did not +hesitate to seize this chance, and, falling on him suddenly, drove him +and his men off with some loss. Belali now collected as many men as he +could, and made a determined attack on Zubeir's zariba, but was again +repulsed. Severely wounded himself, he fled to Ganda, where he was +pursued, captured by Zubeir's men, and taken back to the zariba, where +he died. + +Zubeir, however, was not slow to perceive that his action in this matter +might have serious consequences. He therefore did all in his power to +show that Belali was entirely to blame for what had occurred, and, by +making valuable presents to Belali's men as well as to those in +authority, he succeeded in having the matter reported to Khartum in its +most favourable aspect, with the result that he received a full pardon, +and was appointed Governor of Bahr el Ghazal. + +Soon afterwards he confidentially pointed out to the Governor-General +that great discontent prevailed in the neighbouring State of Darfur, and +that he had relations with some of the principal dignitaries who would +gladly see the country annexed to Egypt; and he also volunteered to +carry this out without further assistance from the Government. After +much deliberation his proposal was at length agreed to, and early in +1873 he made preparations to seize Shakka. + +Let us turn now for a moment to the Rizighat. For years following on the +terrible treatment they had received at the hands of the Darfur Sultan, +they remained quiet and submissive, but gradually, as the governing +power in Darfur grew weak, they recovered in proportion, and again +assumed a semi-independent position between Darfur and Bahr el Ghazal. +Attempts were made to collect taxes from them, but they almost +invariably drove off the tax-gatherers, and in one of these raids the +Vizir Adam Tarbush, one of the principal Darfur commanders, lost his +life,--curiously enough at the very spot where, some years later, I was +destined to suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of the Dervishes. + +On another occasion the Rizighat had fallen on a large caravan coming +from the Nile and Kordofan to Bahr el Ghazal, with which were a number +of Zubeir's relatives, almost all of whom were killed. Zubeir, rightly +considering that the Rizighat owed allegiance to the Sultan of Darfur, +called on the latter for compensation for the losses he had sustained; +but the Sultan either would not or could not give it, and Zubeir now +openly gave out that, being unable to obtain satisfaction, he had +determined to punish the Rizighat,--being well aware that this must lead +to the fulfilment of the project to annex Darfur. + +Meanwhile early in 1873 Sultan Hussein had died and had been succeeded +by his son, who was nicknamed by the Darfurians Ibrahim Kuiko. I may +here mention that some years later, when residing at El Fasher as +Governor, I made the acquaintance of the celebrated Fiki Mohammed el +Heliki, who, though a Fellata by race, had been born there, and was +infinitely the best authority on the former history of Darfur. It +greatly interested one to talk to this man, and I made a mass of notes +which, with many other interesting records, fell subsequently into the +hands of the Mahdists, and were burnt. I well remember Fiki Mohammed one +day telling me the following story: "Three years," he began, "before +the death of my master, Sultan Hussein,--may God give him peace,--I was +talking to him about the present and future of the country. Bowing down +his head and supporting it in his hand,--for the poor man had been blind +for the last thirteen years,--he said, 'I feel that my country and the +throne of my ancestors are about to be overthrown; God grant I may not +live to see that day! Already I seem to hear the trumpets of the Turks +and the distant sound of the ombeÿa blown by the Bahhara.[2] May God +have mercy on my son Ibrahim and on my unfortunate descendants!'" The +fiki then went on to tell me that in spite of his old age and blindness, +Sultan Hussein well knew the state of corruption of his country, and how +impossible it was for him to check it; he realised the growing desire of +the Egyptians to increase their conquests, and he instinctively knew +that Zubeir and his Bazingers would be their instruments. He was a wise +man, he said, and though God had deprived him of sight, He had sharpened +his intellect. + +Zubeir now lost no time in beginning operations. Quitting his fortified +post of Dem Zubeir with a considerable force, he advanced towards +Shakka, and on reaching the southern frontiers of Darfur he was joined +by some of the principal chiefs of the Rizighat, such as Madibbo, Egeil +Wad el Jangawi, and several of their men, who, being well acquainted +with the districts, acted as his spies and scouts, and considerably +facilitated his advance through their country, which was hostile. + +Attacked incessantly by the Arabs, and suffering greatly from sickness +and privations, Zubeir's force advanced steadily, and at length reached +Abu Sigan, which is the centre of the Shakka district. There he learnt +that Sultan Ibrahim had despatched a strong force against him, under his +Vizir (and father-in-law, Ahmed Shata, Ibrahim having married his +daughter, Um Giddein). The latter, since the accession of his +son-in-law, had grown discontented, and showed much reluctance in +taking command of the expedition against Zubeir. He had told his friends +he did not seek victory, but preferred to die honourably in the field +rather than continue to live under the new rule. Zubeir meanwhile +strengthened his position at Shakka, and made all preparations for the +impending attack. He now received from the Rizighat a truly +characteristic Arab message: "The army of the Sultan of Darfur is +advancing. You and they are our enemies. When you begin fighting, we +shall remain neutral. If you are defeated, we shall harass you on your +retreat, and shall kill you all. If you conquer, then shall we mount our +swift horses, follow up the Darfurians, and share with you the booty." +Zubeir was quite satisfied with this arrangement, and patiently awaited +events. In the early dawn his outposts saw in the far distance the great +Darfur army advancing, led by the warriors in coats of mail, wearing +chain helmets, and mounted on richly caparisoned horses, whose gold and +silver trappings glittered in the morning sun. In front of all, advanced +the Vizir Ahmed Shata, as if seeking death. Zubeir withdrew all his men +within the intrenchments, and when the Darfur host had approached +sufficiently near, he opened a deadly fire on them. The Vizir's horse +was instantly shot; but, mounting another, he continued to advance until +he fell, riddled with bullets; and with him many of his relations and +members of his household, including Melek Sad en Nur and Melek en Nahas +(the chief of the copper drums), whom the Sultan had placed as his +second in command. + +Deprived of their leaders, the troops retired, and Zubeir seized the +opportunity to make a counter attack on their flank, which broke up the +army, and caused it to disperse in all directions. Instantly, from +behind the trees, dashed clouds of Rizighat horsemen, who slaughtered +the flying Darfurians, capturing immense quantities of valuable loot, +and now they entirely threw in their lot with the conquerors, with the +certainty that they would reap considerable benefit. + +[Illustration: A Rizighat Warrior.] + +The few who succeeded in escaping the massacre fled to Dara, while +Zubeir sent messages to El Obeid and Khartum, announcing the victory, +and asking for the reinforcements of troops and guns which, in the event +of his success, the authorities had agreed to place at his disposal. In +due time these arrived, and he continued his advance towards Dara, his +flank being covered by the advance of the Governor-General from El Obeid +to Om Shanga, at the head of three thousand regulars and a number of +irregular horsemen. + +With the exception of one small skirmish, Zubeir entered Dara unopposed, +to find it completely deserted. Erecting a small fort on the sand-hill, +he awaited the attack of Sultan Ibrahim's sons; but the latter, at the +head of a considerable force, merely reconnoitred the position, and, +returning to their father at El Fasher, urged him to lead his troops +against Zubeir. Ibrahim now collected every available man; but large as +were his hosts, there were few amongst them ready to lay down their +lives for their ruler. At the head of his army, the Sultan advanced to +some houses which had belonged to the late Vizir, and which were almost +within range of the sand-hill, while Zubeir withdrew his troops into +Dara, where he had made all preparations for a siege, and had collected +a large store of grain. + +Wishing to make a close inspection of Zubeir's position, Ibrahim, with a +portion of his force, approached the town, and was met by a storm of +bullets which killed several of his men, and forced him to retire. The +remainder of his force, seeing what appeared to them to have been an +attack by the Sultan on Zubeir's position, which had failed, made some +mocking remarks within his hearing. Burning with anger, he ordered some +of his riflemen to advance and fire on his own troops, who were retiring +on the camp, with the result that several were killed and wounded, and +the remainder dispersed, while many of those within the camp took +advantage of the confusion to desert to their homes. + +Thus was Sultan Ibrahim the means of the destruction of his own army. +And this incident subsequently lost him his kingdom and his life. + +He now ordered what remained of his army to retire to Manawashi, making +his chiefs believe that by this movement Zubeir would be drawn out of +Dara, and he would be able to attack him in the open; but his men had +now lost all confidence in him, and his army was still further reduced +by numerous desertions. Zubeir, who had full information from his spies +of what was going on in the Sultan's camp, now followed him to +Manawashi, and formed up in battle array, awaiting attack. His arrival +was the signal for a general scuttle; men, women, and children fled in +all directions; and Ibrahim, knowing that all was lost, determined to +die an honourable death. Donning his coat of mail and helmet, and +accompanied by his sons, the Kadi, and a few servants, all mounted on +their magnificently trapped steeds, they sallied forth, and with drawn +swords dashed at the enemy. Cutting his way through the first line of +Bazingers, Ibrahim shouted, "Fein sidkum ez Zubeir?" (Where is your +master, Zubeir?), and then made for the spot where Zubeir, dressed like +his own men, was directing a gun against the assailants; but he had only +gone forward a few steps when he and his little party fell, riddled with +bullets. Thus perished the last of the long line of kings of Darfur, who +had ruled this vast country and its millions of inhabitants +uninterruptedly for centuries. + +Zubeir ordered the dead Sultan to be treated with the greatest respect. +The fikis of Manawashi were directed to wash the body in accordance with +the religious rites; and, wrapped in a costly shroud, it was buried with +all honour in the mosque of the town. + +He now lost no time in informing the Governor-General, then at Om +Shanga, of the victory; and the latter, anxious that the rich plunder of +the province should not fall into Zubeir's hands, hurried forward +without delay. + +Meanwhile, Zubeir, advancing rapidly, arrived at El Fasher in two days, +and took possession of the royal treasures, as well as quantities of +silver-embossed saddles, arms, jewellery, and thousands of female +slaves, whom he distributed amongst his men. + +A few days afterwards, Ismail Pasha, the Governor-General, arrived, but +he was too late; the greater quantity of treasure had already been +distributed, though Zubeir, by offering him costly presents, did all he +could to secure his friendship. There is no doubt, however, that this +episode was the commencement of the quarrel between the two men, which +eventually developed into mutual deadly hatred. + +The work of subduing the remainder of the country now began. Hasaballa, +the old uncle of Sultan Ibrahim, had taken refuge in Jebel Marra, and +Ismail Pasha ordered Zubeir to advance against him. It was not long +before he succeeded in obtaining the submission of both him and the late +Sultan's brother, Abderrahman Shattut, both of whom were subsequently +sent to Cairo,--and they died there; but their families are residing at +the present time in Upper Egypt, and are in receipt of a liberal pension +from the Government. Several of their adherents, however, still held out +in Jebel Marra, and, electing two younger brothers of Sultan Hussein, +viz., Bosh and Seif ed Din, as their leaders, they showed a +determination to resist. Bosh's first step was to send a certain +Gabralla, of the Fur tribe, as a spy to Zubeir's camp. This man enjoyed +the entire confidence of his chief, who had given him in marriage his +beautiful daughter, Um Selima, in spite of the opposition of the family. +Gabralla, on reaching Zubeir's camp, fell an easy prey to that astute +warrior. The promise of pardon and a high position under the Government +were quite sufficient inducements to him to betray his father-in-law and +give the fullest information as to his position and strength. He then +returned to Bosh, whom he advised to remain where he was, as Zubeir's +troops were suffering much from the cold and disease, and he had no +intention to attack. Zubeir was, however, following in Gabralla's +footsteps, and on a given signal, previously arranged between them, +Bosh's camp was suddenly surprised, and easily fell into his hands, +though Bosh and Seif ed Din succeeded in escaping to Kebkebia, where +they again collected a force. Zubeir, however, followed them up, and in +the pitched battle which ensued, both leaders were killed, and the last +remnant of the Darfur force finally dispersed, leaving the country +entirely in the hands of the Egyptian Government. + +Zubeir, now promoted to the rank of Pasha, returned to El Fasher, where +Ismail Pasha was occupied in regulating the administration of the +country and freely levying taxes; and it was not long before serious +differences between the two men arose. + +Zubeir, having conquered the country, was somewhat resentful that its +government had not been confided to him, while Ismail, anxious to free +himself from the incubus of Zubeir, ordered him to occupy Dara and +Shakka with his troops; but the latter, angry at the treatment he had +received, despatched a message from Dara, _via_ El Obeid, to H. H. the +Khedive, Ismail Pasha, begging to be allowed to come to Cairo. +Permission was immediately accorded to him and any others who wished to +proceed; and Zubeir, having appointed his son Suleiman as his agent, +started without delay, taking with him numbers of male and female slaves +and valuable presents. Travelling by Khartum and Korosko, he at length +reached Cairo, where he was cordially received, and lost no time in +laying before the Khedive his grounds of complaint against Ismail Pasha +Ayub. The latter was, in consequence, summoned to Egypt, and made +several charges against Zubeir, with the result that both were kept in +Cairo. + +Meanwhile, Hassan Pasha Helmi el Juwaizer had been appointed the +representative of the Government in Darfur, and it was not long before +the inhabitants began to settle down under the new system. They were +tired of the arbitrary rule of the Sultans, and longed for change; but +they soon discovered that if their kings had chastised them with whips, +their new rulers, in the shape of Zubeir's Bazingers and the crowds of +irregular Shaigias and dishonest Egyptian officials, who swarmed into +the country, chastised them with scorpions. + +It was not long before the most bitter discontent prevailed throughout +the country, and already there appeared signs of revolt. Electing Harun +er Reshid, the son of Seif ed Din, as their Sultan, they secretly +planned the massacre of several of the small outlying garrisons, and in +an incredibly short space of time the larger towns of Dara, El Fasher, +Kebkebia, and Kulkul were closely invested. At El Fasher, the fort was +twice almost successfully stormed, and on one occasion the Governor, +feeling that it must fall, had made all preparations to blow up the +powder magazine and destroy himself and his garrison; but fortunately +the troops, after a desperate encounter, succeeded in driving the enemy +out of the position. + +Meanwhile the Khartum authorities lost no time in sending a relieving +force under Abd er Razzak Pasha, which, reinforced at El Obeid, advanced +to Darfur by forced marches, and at a place called Brush, midway between +Om Shanga and El Fasher, they inflicted a heavy defeat on the rebels. +Pushing on rapidly, El Fasher was relieved a few days later, +reinforcements were sent to Kebkebia and Kulkul, and the country was +once more made subject to the Egyptian Government. + +On the recall of Ismail Pasha Ayub, Gordon was appointed +Governor-General of the Sudan, and, as I have already related, he +thought it expedient to visit Darfur without delay. In fact, when he +reached El Fasher, Kebkebia, and Kulkul, the revolt was only partially +suppressed; but, utterly fearless, he rode with only a small escort all +over the country, and frequently placed himself in positions of extreme +danger, from which his pluck and presence of mind alone saved him. From +El Fasher he visited Dara, and by his kindness and sympathy with the +people he succeeded in a large measure in quieting the districts; with a +mere handful of men and the assistance of a few Rizighat Arabs he +completely quelled the Mima and Khawabir Arabs, who were the most +restless and independent tribes in the country, and gradually through +his efforts peace was once more established throughout the land. + +Sultan Harun with a few followers had taken refuge in the wilds of Jebel +Marra, where they had been followed by Hassan Pasha Helmi, who twice +defeated them, at Murtal and Murtafal, and had pursued the survivors as +far as Niurnia. + +Gordon now turned his attention to the establishment of a Government +administration; his first step was to remit the greater part of the +taxes, which, owing to the war, could not possibly have been paid, and +he gave strict injunctions to the officials to deal leniently with the +people, warning them that any disregard of his orders in this respect +would be dealt with very severely. In order to equalise revenue and +expenditure as far as possible, he reduced the Darfur garrison +considerably, sending back to El Obeid and Khartum a large number of the +regular infantry and cavalry who had been despatched to quell the late +revolt. These economical measures, although undoubtedly very necessary +in the interests of the new province, had subsequently a most disastrous +effect. + +Official business obliged him to return to Khartum, leaving Hassan Pasha +Helmi as Governor; and the latter, four months before my arrival, was +relieved by Messedaglia Bey, who had been Governor of Dara for a few +months. + +Harun, meanwhile, had somewhat recovered himself, and established a +species of independent rule in Niurnia, which had been in early times +the capital of the Tago princes; from thence he would occasionally +descend to the plains and raid the villages which had submitted to +Government, returning laden with booty to his stronghold. + +Such was briefly the state of the province of Darfur when I arrived at +El Fasher. The garrison of this town consisted of two battalions of +regulars, two batteries of field artillery, and two hundred and fifty +irregular Shaigia horsemen, under Omar Wad Darho; at Dara there was one +battalion of regulars, one field battery, fifty irregular horsemen, and +two hundred irregular riflemen, or Bazingers; while in Kebkebia and +Kulkul there were six companies of regulars, four hundred Bazingers, and +twenty-five horsemen. + +After a few days' rest at El Fasher, Dr. Zurbuchen and I continued our +journey to Dara, and were accompanied a short distance along the road by +Messedaglia Bey, who told us that his wife was coming to Khartum, and +that he was asking for leave of absence to go and meet her there and +bring her to El Fasher. I suggested that it would be advisable to wait +till Sultan Harun had been dealt with before bringing his wife so far; +but Messedaglia replied there was not the least cause for fear, and that +there were now quite sufficient troops in the country to suppress any +local difficulties. I had heard, however, that Harun's influence was +considerable, and that there was some apprehension that the now reduced +Government forces might be hard pressed. Having only just come to the +country and having had no previous experience, it was of course +impossible for me to judge; I therefore accepted Messedaglia's views on +the situation, and, bidding him and Said Bey Guma, the commandant, +farewell, we hurried on towards Dara, our road taking us through Keriut, +Ras el Fil, and Shieria. + +Zurbuchen was a very much older-looking man than myself, with a long +black beard and spectacles, whilst I looked perhaps even younger than I +was. The hair on my upper lip had scarcely begun to sprout, and +altogether I had a most boyish face; consequently wherever we went he +was invariably taken for the Governor, and I for the doctor or +apothecary. As we approached the end of our journey, the doctor, who was +suffering from fever, had to ride slowly, and to save time for official +work, I rode on slightly ahead, and happened to reach the village of +Shieria (a day's march from Dara) a little before the appointed time. I +found the villagers busily preparing for our reception, the houses were +being swept out, straw mats laid down, and the Kadi and Sheikh had +spread out their carpets, on which the new Governor was to repose. +Making my camel kneel down, I got off, and to inquiries as to who I was, +I answered, "One of the new Governor's escort;" having previously warned +the rest of my escort to say nothing. The inquisitive villagers now +assailed me with innumerable questions. "What sort of man is the new +Governor?" said one. "Oh," I replied, "I think he will do his best, and +I believe he is inclined to be just and easy going." "But is he brave +and kind-hearted," said another. This was rather a puzzling question to +answer, so I replied guardedly, "He does not look as if he were afraid, +but I haven't yet heard much about his courage; he has a manly +appearance, and I believe he is kind-hearted; but of course it is +impossible for him to satisfy every one." "Ah!" said another, "if we +only had a governor like Gordon Pasha, then the country would indeed be +contented; he never ceased to distribute money and presents, and never +sent the poor and needy away without giving them something. I only once +heard him say some harsh words, and that was when Suleiman Zubeir was at +Dara, and when he turned to the Kadi, saying that there were several bad +characters amongst the Sudanese, and that it did not always do to treat +them leniently." "Yes," chimed in the Kadi, "I heard him say so myself; +but he referred only to the Gellabas and traders who came from the Nile, +and who were implicated with Zubeir and his son in every description of +unlawful trade by which they could benefit themselves." + +"Gordon was indeed a brave man," said the Sheikh of the village, who +introduced himself as Muslem Wad Kabbashi, "I was one of his chiefs in +the fight against the Mima and Khawabir Arabs: it was in the plain of +Fafa and a very hot day. The enemy had charged us and had forced back +the first line, and their spears were falling thick around us; one came +within a hair's breadth of Gordon, but he did not seem to mind it at +all, and the victory we won was entirely due to him and his reserve of +one hundred men. When the fight was at its worst, he found time to light +a cigarette. Never in my life did I see such a thing; and then the +following day, when he divided the spoil, no one was forgotten, and he +kept nothing for himself. He was very tender-hearted about women and +children, and never allowed them to be distributed, as is our custom in +war; but he fed and clothed them at his own expense, and had them sent +to their homes as soon as the war was over. One day," continued the +Sheikh, "without letting him know, we put some women aside; but if he +had found us out, we should have had a bad time of it." + +After a short pause, I inquired about affairs in Dara and about the +qualifications of the various officials; for I had already heard that +they were very unreliable, and I was now told that they looked on my +advent with no friendly eye. + +Meanwhile Dr. Zurbuchen and the rest of the caravan had arrived, and at +once the Sheikh, Kadi, and other village dignitaries lined up in a +semi-circle to receive him, while I, concealing myself as much as +possible, awaited with amusement to hear what Muslem Wad Kabbashi would +say; he began with warm welcome to the new Governor, praised his +qualifications, and eloquently described the joy of all his people at +his arrival. Poor Dr. Zurbuchen, whose comprehension of Arabic was very +slight, became more and more perplexed. "Indeed I am not the Governor," +he urged, "I am only the Sanitary Inspector. The Governor must have +arrived long ago; but as he had only a few people with him, perhaps he +has been mistaken for some one else." I now thought it time to step +forward, and laughingly thanked the villagers for their kind reception, +assuring them that I would do all in my power to satisfy their wants, +and that at the same time I looked to them to assist me in seeing my +orders carried out. Of course they made the most profuse apologies for +the mistake; but I assured them there was not the least necessity for +their doing so. I was anxious, I said, to be on the most intimate and +friendly terms with all of them, and I hoped they would allow the same +friendly relations to continue. From that day forth, Sheikh Muslem Wad +Kabbashi became one of my most faithful friends, and continued to be +so, in times of joy and sorrow, until I left the country. + +This little episode had given us all a hearty appetite, and we sat down +to an excellent meal of roast mutton; and that over, we were again in +the saddle, bivouacking for the night under a large tree about two +hours' march from Dara. At sunrise the next morning I sent on a +messenger to announce our approach, and on reaching the outskirts we +were given a great military reception, the garrison was drawn up in line +and a salute of seven guns fired, after which the troops filed off to +their barracks, and, accompanied by Major Hassan Helmi, the commandant, +Zogal Bey, the Sub-Governor, the Kadi, and some of the principal +merchants, we proceeded to the fort in which the Government buildings +are situated. The inspection lasted about half an hour, and I then went +to my own quarters, in which I had ordered rooms to be prepared for Dr. +Zurbuchen, who was to be my guest for a few days. + +Dara, which is the capital of Southern Darfur, is built in the midst of +a large plain of partly sand and partly clay soil, the fort itself being +on the top of a low sand-hill,--in fact, on the same spot in which +Zubeir Pasha had entrenched himself when invading the country. It was a +rectangular stone enclosure twelve feet high, about five hundred yards +long and three hundred yards broad, with flanking towers at each corner, +and surrounded by a broad ditch twelve feet deep. The troops were +quartered in huts built along the inside of the enclosure, and in the +centre were the Government buildings, consisting of the Governor's +house, divan, and the various offices and courts of justice, as well as +the arms, grain-store, and prison. Some distance east of the fort was +the old mosque built by Sultan Mohammed el Fadl, which the former +Governor had converted into a powder-magazine, but which Gordon had +restored to the town for its proper purpose. Close to the southern gate +were the houses of Zogal Bey, the Kadi, and the commandant, built mostly +of burnt brick and enclosed by walls. + +The town of Dara, consisting chiefly of straw and mud huts, lay a few +hundred yards to the east of the fort, while upwards of half a mile to +the west was situated the village of Goz en Naam, and beyond it again +the hamlet of Khummi. + +Inclusive of the garrison, the population of Dara numbered between seven +and eight thousand, most of whom belonged to the local tribes; but there +were also a considerable number of Nile merchants and traders. + +It being the month of Ramadan, which is the great fast, a meal of +roasted meat, bread, dates, and lemonade had been prepared for us; but +the officials sent a message to say they regretted they could not join +us. I confess to being only too glad of this respite, for we were +thoroughly tired. Our things unpacked, I now sat down to consider how to +make myself as comfortable as I could. + +At sunset, the gun boomed out the signal that one day more of Ramadan +had gone; and now the hungry and thirsty inhabitants, their daily fast +over, hurried to their evening meal. Zogal Bey, Hassan Effendi Rifki, +Kadi el Beshir, and the chief merchant, Mohammed Ali, now came to see +us, and asked us to dine with them; they were followed by a host of +servants bearing roast mutton, fowls, milk, and rice,--which is usually +eaten with hot melted butter and honey,--and dishes of asida (meat +spread over with a thin layer of very fine dukhn flour, over which sauce +is poured, and on the top of all is a thin layer of paste, sprinkled +with sugar); this completed the menu. In a few minutes the ground just +outside the house, which had been sprinkled with fine sand, was spread +with carpets and palm mats, and on these the dishes were laid. Zogal Bey +began distributing the viands amongst those who had come to welcome me, +including the servants, but keeping, of course, the best dishes for the +more select company. We now sat down, and the tearing and rending of the +roast sheep began with a vengeance; of course, knives and forks were out +of the question. Scarcely had we settled down to the feast, when a great +hubbub arose amongst the servants, who were evidently trying to prevent +two men from pushing their way into our circle. I begged Zogal Bey to +inquire what was the matter. Licking his greasy fingers, he got up, and +returned in a few minutes, carrying a document which proved to be a +letter from Ahmed Katong and Gabralla, the two chiefs of an irregular +corps which garrisoned the station of Bir Gowi, some three days' march +southwest of Dara: this was to say they had just received information +that Sultan Harun was going to attack them, and that as they had only a +small force, they proposed to evacuate their station, unless +reinforcements could be sent at once; but they said that if they left +the district, all the villages would be plundered. + +There was no time to be lost, so I ordered Hassan Effendi Rifki to +select two hundred regulars and twenty horsemen, to be ready to start +with me at once for Bir Gowi. Zogal and Hassan both urged that it was +unnecessary for me to go, as I wanted rest after the long journey; but I +said that as my principal object in coming to Darfur was to fight Sultan +Harun,--in accordance with Gordon Pasha's orders,--I intended to take +the earliest possible opportunity of doing so. Seeing that I was not to +be stopped, and secretly rejoicing that neither of them had been saddled +with the responsibility of taking command, they now hurried on with the +preparations. + +The pony which Gordon had given me was too tired to be taken, so I asked +if any one present could lend or sell me a good horse. Zogal happened to +have just bought a large white Syrian horse, and at once sent for it; he +was a strong, well-made animal, quite suitable for the fatigues of a +campaign, and as he had formerly been owned by an officer, was used to +the noise of firing. Seeing that I liked the look of the horse, Zogal +immediately begged my acceptance of it by way of diafa (hospitality); +but I went to some pains to explain to him that it was not customary in +my country to accept such presents, and that here in the Sudan, he being +my subordinate, I could not think of it. Unfortunately, I had previously +mentioned Gordon's gift of a pony to me, and of course Zogal brought +this up as a parallel case; but I replied that there was no objection to +accepting a present from a high official given entirely by way of +friendship. After considerable discussion, I at length succeeded in +making him accept one hundred and eighty dollars; but he did so under +great protest. + +By midnight all was ready, and, bidding Dr. Zurbuchen good-bye, I +started off for the southwest, saying that I hoped to see him again in +four or five days. + +I was young, strong, and keen to have some fighting experience, and I +well remember my delight at the thought of a brush with Sultan Harun. +The idea of difficulties and fatigue never crossed my mind; all I longed +for was a chance of showing my men that I could lead them. At sunrise I +halted my little party, which consisted of two hundred Blacks,--the +officers also being Sudanese,--and the horsemen Turks and Egyptians, and +addressed them in a short speech, saying that at present I was an entire +stranger to them, but they should see I was ready to share fatigue and +discomfort with them on all occasions, and that I hoped we should march +rapidly forward with a good heart. Simple as my harangue undoubtedly +was, I saw that it had made an impression, and when I had finished, they +raised their rifles above their heads, in Sudanese fashion, and shouted +that they were ready to conquer or die. + +At noon we halted near a village, and I then carefully inspected the +men. They were all well armed, and had a plentiful supply of ammunition; +each man was also provided with a water-bottle made out of goat or +gazelle skin, known as "sen" (pl. siun); but they had brought no rations +with them. On inquiry, I was told, "Wherever you go in Darfur you will +always find something to eat." I therefore made my way to the Sheikh of +the village, and asked him to supply some dukhn. This corn is generally +soaked in water, then pressed, mixed with tamarind fruit, and eaten in +this condition; the bitter-sweet water being an excellent +thirst-quencher. This food Europeans usually find indigestible; but it +is very nourishing, and is eaten almost exclusively by the Sudanese +soldiers when campaigning. I gradually got accustomed to it, taking it +almost invariably when out on such expeditions; but I found that unless +one was feeling very well, it generally brought on most painful +indigestion. The Sheikh now brought us the corn, and also a large dish +of asida, which was divided amongst the men; and whilst they were having +their meal, I asked the officers to share with me a tin of preserved +meat, which they admitted was much superior to the asida and dukhn. I +then called up my clerk, and told him to write out a receipt for the +corn, which he was to give the Sheikh, to be his voucher for the +remission of taxation equivalent to the value of the dukhn supplied. But +the good man, when he understood my orders, refused to accept the +receipt, adding that it was not only his duty to give the corn, but that +the rights of hospitality demanded it. I told him, however, that I was +well aware the natives of Darfur were most generous; but to impose the +feeding of two hundred men on him quite exceeded the bounds of +hospitality, and that it was only just he should receive payment. He at +length agreed, and this conversation appeared to give him confidence; +for he admitted that if this principle were always carried out, the +natives would greatly appreciate it; but, unfortunately, it was the +usual custom for troops arriving at a village to enter the houses, and +take anything and everything they wanted, with the result that the +inhabitants dreaded their approach, and at once tried to hide all they +had. I thanked the Sheikh for telling me this, and promised I would do +all I could to rectify the evil. We moved on again at three o'clock, +loaded with the blessings of this good man and his people, and after a +quick march of four hours halted in a small plantation of trees. Our +route had led us across a country overgrown with dense bush, and +intersected by innumerable dry gullies; and here and there we passed a +village buried amongst the trees. From our halting-place I sent off two +horsemen to Bir Gowi to announce our approach; and, after a refreshing +rest of five hours under the wild fig-trees and tamarisks, we started +off again, and marched almost uninterruptedly till noon the following +day. We once or twice had to ask for corn, and always had the same +difficulty in getting the Sheikhs to accept the receipt; but as I +insisted, they generally ended by gladly taking it. I was anxious, if +possible, to reach Bir Gowi before dark, so pushed on; we passed on the +way a large plantation of deleb palms, and had to be careful not to be +struck by the heavy fruit, which, weighing from two to three pounds, and +falling from a height of some forty feet, was a positive danger. Woe to +the unfortunate traveller who thoughtlessly halts for the night in one +of these palm-groves! The natives, however, are very careful, and +generally warn the unsuspecting of the risk of sleeping anywhere near +these trees when bearing fruit. + +At sunset we reached Bir Gowi, which was situated in the centre of a +large clearing; and to reach the station we had to pass between the +stumps of trees, which considerably impeded the march. It was surrounded +by a square zariba, each side of which measured about one hundred and +eighty paces, and consisted of a thorn barricade about twelve feet thick +and six feet high; on the inside, the ground was raised to enable the +men to fire over it from a platform, and the whole was surrounded by a +ditch nine feet wide, and about nine feet deep. + +The garrison, consisting of some hundred and twenty men armed with +rifles, was drawn up outside, with their officers, ready to salute. I +halted the men, and, riding forward, saluted the garrison, and was +welcomed by the vigorous beating of the nahas (copper war-drums) and +noggaras (other drums, made from the hollow trunk of a tree, covered on +both sides with skin), the blowing of bugles and antelope horns, and the +rattling of dry skins filled with pebbles,--a very effective, but by no +means melodious band, diversified by the occasional crack of rifles +fired off in a promiscuous manner, and which could not exactly be +compared to a _feu de joie_, though no doubt the intention was the same. +After inspecting the garrison, I ordered my men to file into the fort. +The interior of the zariba was filled with straw huts, those of the +chiefs being surrounded by high straw enclosures; but there was +sufficient room for us all, and I was given a good-sized hut, standing +in almost the only open place visible. + +The object of the Bir Gowi military post was to protect the surrounding +villages from raids; but the strength of the garrison to take the +offensive was insufficient, and it would probably have been of little +use. Dismounting from my horse, I sat on an angareb, and sent for Ahmed +Katong and Gabralla to discuss the situation, and obtain the latest news +about Harun's movements. Katong soon arrived, hobbling along on a +crutch. He belonged to the Fung tribe, his forefathers having been +captured by the Furs, after the conquest of Kordofan, and he had been +made Hakem Khot, or chief of the district; his duty being to collect +taxes, and at the same time to be responsible for the security of the +country. In reply to my question as to how he had become lame, he told +me that some years before he had been struck in the knee by a bullet. +"Since that date," said Ahmed, "I always have a saddled horse near me. +In the zariba, of course, it does not matter; but when travelling in +these unsettled times, and when one is liable to be attacked at any +moment, I lie down to sleep holding the bridle in my hand. Those with +good legs can easily get away in case of danger; but with a stump like +mine I cannot run, so I have taught myself to mount my horse quickly, +with one leg." + +I now begged them to give me the latest news about Harun. "Gabralla," +said Ahmed, "sent out spies, who returned this afternoon, and who state +that Harun has collected his men, but has not yet come down from the +mountains;" and Gabralla, chiming in, said, "Yes, I did so, and have +sent off others to watch his movements; if he comes here I don't think +we shall run away now." + +I could not help scanning this man with some curiosity. He was tall, and +of the usual black complexion of the Fur tribe; he possessed also--which +is very unusual--a well-shaped aquiline nose and a small mouth; he had +a slight beard, was about forty years of age, and had a very pleasant +expression. Yet this was the villain who had betrayed the father of his +own beautiful wife! Was I to trust him, or not? He had certainly every +inducement to be loyal, for should he fall into the hands of Harun, he +would doubtless pay with his life for the death of his uncle and his +father-in-law. + +Naturally I gave him no occasion to discover my thoughts, and we chatted +about former times, agreeing they were very different from the present; +he then began to talk of himself, and told me how he was employed as a +spy to bring the news of Harun's movements to Dara, and thence to El +Fasher. He had between thirty and forty of his old slaves, who were +armed, and whose duty it was to guard and serve him, whilst the older +male servants and female slaves had to work in the fields and keep the +household supplied with corn. Being in the pay of the Government, he was +quite content, but told me that he wanted to do something which would +qualify him for the rank of Bey. "Zogal, who is a friend of mine," he +said, "is a Bey." + +By this time I was so thoroughly tired and sleepy after my long journey, +followed by the two days' hard marching, that I went to bed; but my head +ached, and the incessant beating of drums in my honour kept me awake all +night, and the following morning I felt really unwell. Ahmed Katong came +to see me, and I told him I had a bad headache. "We can easily cure +that," said Ahmed, cheerfully. "I have a man here who can stop headaches +at once; he is a much better man than the doctor at Dara,--indeed there +is no doctor at Dara; he is really only an apothecary, with the courtesy +title of doctor." + +"All right," said I, "but how is he going to cure me?" "Oh! it is very +simple," he answered; "he places both his hands on your head, and +repeats something; then you get perfectly well,--in fact, better than +you were before." "Then let him come at once," I cried. I was young and +ignorant in those days, and I thought that possibly one of these +wandering Arabs might have visited Europe and learned something of the +magnetic cure, and had given up the pleasures of life in order to make +himself useful to mankind. I confess to feeling a little mistrustful +when I thought of what Ahmed had said; but then, after all, doctors in +Europe speak, so why should not he? In a few minutes Ahmed ushered into +my presence a tall dark man with a white beard, who appeared to be a +native of Bornu, and introduced him as "the doctor who will cure your +headache." Without a moment's hesitation, the doctor placed his hand on +my head, pressed my temples with his thumb and forefinger, and, +muttering a few words I could not understand, to my horror, spat in my +face. In a moment I had jumped up and knocked him down; but Ahmed, who +was standing by, leaning on his crutch, begged me not to take it in this +way. "It was not really meant for rudeness," he said; "it is merely a +part of the cure, and will do you much good." But the poor doctor, whose +confidence had been somewhat shaken, and was still standing at a +distance, muttered, "Headache is the work of the devil, and I must drive +it out; several passages from the Kuran and the sayings of holy men +direct that it should be chased away by spitting, and thus his evil work +in your head will cease!" In spite of my annoyance, I could not help +laughing. "So I am supposed to be possessed of a devil," I said; "I +trust he was only a little one, and that you have really driven him +out." I did not, however, let him make a second experiment, and, giving +him a dollar as compensation, I bade him good-bye, and he left me, +calling down the blessings of Heaven on my poor head, which was still +aching sadly. + +All day we awaited news of Sultan Harun's movements, and as there was +nothing to be done I kept to my bed. I was just dozing off, when my +servant announced that Katong and Gabralla wished to see me. They were +admitted, for I thought that no doubt they brought news of Harun; but it +was only to say that it was the custom of the country, and one of the +claims of hospitality, that, having only one horse, I should accept from +each of them a fine country bred animal as a mark of their loyalty and +respect. I replied to them much in the same terms as I had answered +Zogal, adding that I had no doubt we should remain equally good friends +without giving and taking presents, provided they continued to carry out +their duties faithfully. + +Although they appeared greatly distressed at my refusal to accept the +horses, I have no doubt they went home rejoicing secretly that I had +refused their gifts. However, before many minutes had passed, Gabralla +came back and asked to say just a few words. He had been much pained, he +said, by my refusal to take the horse, and now, as I was quite alone and +very unwell, he took the liberty of offering me one of his +maid-servants. "She is young and pretty," he said, "and has been well +brought up in my house; she knows how to prepare native food, is good at +housework, and is above all a good and careful nurse, and thoroughly +understands all the ailments of the country." Again I was obliged to +refuse this proffered kindness; so poor Gabralla went away somewhat +downcast with his failure. But having already had a rather painful +experience at the hands of the doctor, I was not particularly anxious to +intrust myself to the tender mercies of even a dusky maiden, however +proficient a nurse she might be. + +The next morning I arose feeling quite myself again; and when I met +Ahmed and told him that I had recovered, he at once answered, "Of +course, I knew you would get quite well; Isa (the name of my doctor) has +never yet put his hands on any one and failed to cure him." + +Another day passed, and still no news of Harun. Accompanied by Katong +and Gabralla, I visited the market, which was about a hundred yards +outside the zariba, and was held specially for the benefit of the +surrounding villagers, who purchased here all they required. Sometimes +the Beni Helba Arabs, who reside in this part of the country, are seen +here. Women sitting on the ground expose palm mats for sale, as well as +giraffe, antelope, and cow meat; salt is also an important commodity, +besides a great variety of native vegetables which are used as +ingredients in making sauces for the asida dish. Men are to be seen +selling takaki, or native woven linen and cotton cloth, thread, natron, +and sulphur, which the Arabs buy freely to grind, and mix with the +grease with which they rub their heads. The women are usually the +marissa vendors; and here and there a young female slave is exposed for +sale. I thought I must buy something, so invested in a few palm mats. + +On the following day, about noon, one of Gabralla's messengers returned +with the news that Sultan Harun had collected his men, but still had not +moved down from his summer resort in the hills. On the fourth day after +our arrival at Bir Gowi, a second messenger came in and stated that when +Sultan Harun heard from the natives that I had left Dara for Bir Gowi +with the intention of fighting him, he had at once disbanded his men, +who had dispersed over Jebel Marra. + +Thoroughly disappointed with my first failure, I returned crestfallen to +Dara, but before doing so visited the sulphur spring from which the +station of Bir Gowi (or the strong well) is named. The warm water spouts +up from the centre of a sandy depression, and is cooled by two small +streams artificially led into it. Natives affected with rheumatism or +diseases of the blood bathe in this spring, and are said to derive great +benefit from its strengthening properties. + +Nine days after leaving Dara I was back there again, and by that time +Dr. Zurbuchen had gone, leaving behind him a letter in which he wished +me all success. I also found that during my absence my unfortunate Arab +clerk who had accompanied me when I was Financial Inspector, and had +come with me to Dara, had become crazy: they had put him into a house +next my own, and when I went to see him, he sprang forward to embrace +me, crying out, "Thank God! Sultan Harun has done no harm to you; but +Zogal Bey is a traitor, beware of him. I have ordered the fires in the +engine to be lighted, in order that the train may take you to Europe, +where you will be able to see your relations again. I shall come with +you; but we must be careful about Zogal, he is a scoundrel!" Evidently +the poor man's mind was quite unhinged; nevertheless, crazy people +sometimes speak the truth. I quieted the poor old man, and induced him +to lie down till he heard the engine's whistle warning us to be off; +and, commending him to the care of the servants, I went away. Five days +later, the whistle had sounded, and the poor man had been carried off to +his long home,--his death was, I suppose, due to a rush of blood to the +brain. + +I now busied myself with the administrative affairs of the province of +Dara, which, exclusive of the districts of Kalaka and Shakka, comprised +five divisions, or kisms, viz., Toweisha, Kershu, Giga, Sirga, and +Arebu, each of which was supposed to pay taxes at a fixed rate; but I +found that the officials conducted affairs just as they pleased. It was +thought impossible to take regular taxes from Arabs who had no settled +places of abode, and whose wealth in cattle was continually increasing; +a system had, therefore, been arrived at by which each tribe was +assessed at a fixed sum, for the payment of which the head-Sheikh was +made responsible, and he, in turn, assessed the various sub-tribes by a +mutual arrangement with which the Government did not interfere. I now +ordered each district to forward lists to me showing the name and number +of the villages and the names of the landowners and traders in every +village. When these came in, it would be an easy matter to lay down +definitely the rates to be paid by every individual. It was also my +intention to make an inspection of every district, in order to see for +myself the quality of soil, and assess the value locally; and at the +same time my inspections would enable me to see for myself the strength +of the Arab tribes, and thus acquire some real data for laying down the +tribute which they should pay. + +About a month after my return from Bir Gowi, I received a letter in +French from Messedaglia, telling me that he had determined to put an end +to the Harun trouble; and for this purpose he ordered me to move +secretly _via_ Manawashi and Kobbé, with a division of regular troops, +towards Jebel Marra, and attack Niurnia, the Sultan's residence. At the +same time, he wrote, he was despatching troops from El Fasher, _via_ +Tura, and from Kulkul, _via_ Abu Haraz, to rendezvous at a certain spot +and co-operate in the attack. + +In compliance with this order, I left Dara with two hundred and twenty +regulars and sixty Bazingers; but as the horses were unshod, and not +used to hill work, I took only six of them. It was then the month of +February, and extremely cold. We marched _via_ Manawashi, where I +visited the tomb of the last Sultan of the Fur dynasty, and on the +following day we bivouacked near Kobbé, close to the defile which leads +to Jebel Marra. Being now fairly near the enemy, I increased the +outposts; but we passed the night without being disturbed. Early the +next morning we began our march through the defile, carefully protecting +the flanks by sending parties up the hills on both sides. In an hour and +a half we had traversed the valley and reached the village of Abdel +Gelil, who was one of Harun's chiefs. He had quitted the village only +the day before; and, dividing amongst the men the corn we found, we +continued our march over most rugged country, alternate steep hills and +deep valleys, and here and there a stony plain. My men, being unused to +climbing of this description, got very tired. The country was completely +forsaken; not a human being was to be seen. Occasionally, close to the +track, we came across small deserted huts with stone walls and thatched +roofs; and now and then were to be seen little patches of ground, either +at the bottom of the valleys or on the slopes of the hills, planted with +various sorts of wheat; and there were wild fig-trees in abundance. + +That night we bivouacked on a small plateau; but, fearing to expose our +position, we did not dare to light fires, though we could have procured +plenty of wood from the huts. In spite of our warm clothing, the cold +was bitter; but it was better to bear that than make ourselves a target +for the enemy, who, armed with Remington rifles, were in all probability +prowling about on the heights. At sunrise we marched on again, and +halted in the afternoon on an open plain called by the natives Dem es +Sakat (the cold camp); so named because Zubeir Pasha, in his Darfur +campaign, had stayed here and had lost many men from the cold. The next +day, although I had ordered a large fire to be lit, several of the men +were reported to me as being unable to move, owing to the cold; but we +mounted them on the donkeys and mules, and so brought them along with +us. At noon we reached the highest point of Jebel Marra, and had a +magnificent view over the whole country; and far in the distance could +be seen Niurnia, the objective of our expedition. This ancient capital +of the Fur Sultans lay far down the valley, where it began to open out +into the plain, and was almost buried in a mass of wild fig-trees. With +my glasses I could just descry people apparently hurriedly quitting the +village and leading their horses. We pushed on, but it took us four +hours to climb down the mountain side; and it was not till sunset that, +preceded by a line of skirmishers, we entered the town to find it +completely evacuated. + +Sultan Harun's mosque lay to the west of the town, and was enclosed by a +stone wall four and a half feet high and a hundred yards square. The +mosque itself was in the centre of the enclosure, and was a stone +building about forty feet square, with a straw-thatch roof. Some three +hundred yards from the mosque lay the houses of the Sultan, built of mud +and stone; and one of them was furnished with a second story. They were +all surrounded by straw fences, and near them were the huts of the +personal retainers and armed men. The open space between the mosque and +house was divided by a silvery stream of beautifully clear water. The +mosque being empty, I turned my men into it, as I thought it the safest +place to be in in case of attack. + +The same evening a mountaineer was caught creeping into the village; and +on assuring him that I meant him no harm, he told me, through an +interpreter (he did not speak Arabic), that Sultan Harun, with all his +men, had left Niurnia that morning, and had gone west in the direction +of Abu Haraz, but that he had sent all the young slaves and those not +strong enough to march, to a safe place in the mountains, about an +hour's distance from the town. As I had to wait for the troops from +Kebkebia and Kulkul, which should have already arrived, it was +impossible for me to pursue Harun. I therefore proposed to the spy, +under promise of a good reward, that he should lead me to the +hiding-place in the hills. Accordingly, we started the next morning at +an early hour, with one hundred men and a couple of horses, and had not +been out more than half an hour when, from the direction from which we +had just come, I heard some shots, and then a series of volleys. Was it +possible Sultan Harun had suddenly returned and was attacking my men? I +instantly turned back, and, galloping on in front, reached an open +space, in which I saw soldiers firing at each other. My trumpeter, whom +I had mounted behind me, now jumped down, and I shouted to him to sound +the "Cease fire;" but for a few minutes I could not get them to take any +notice. Still riding on, I came within range, and a bullet passed +through the cloak I had thrown over my shoulders to keep out the cold, +and my horse was slightly struck in the hind leg. At last I managed to +stop the firing, and summoned the officers to find out what had +occurred. It now transpired that the troops advancing from El Fasher +under Kasem Effendi and his assistant, Mohammed Bey Khalil, had been +informed that Sultan Harun was in Niurnia. They had marched all night, +and, concealing themselves behind the huts, had crept in unawares close +to the big fire round which my men were sleeping, and had suddenly fired +on them. The latter, alarmed, had jumped up and begun firing, believing +that they were attacked by Harun's men. My chief officer, Hassan Rifki +(who was one of those who had been present at the death of Suleiman +Zubeir), had done his utmost to check the firing by repeated +bugle-signals; but the Fasher troops, who had been told that Sultan +Harun also had buglers who wore the fez, could not be induced to stop. +Curiously enough, during the late revolt several of the soldiers had +deserted and joined Sultan Harun. It was only when I appeared on the +scene that the contending parties realised what had happened. Both sides +had suffered: three of my men had been killed and four wounded, while +the Fasher troops had lost four killed and seven wounded. I had a small +field dispensary, and dressed the wounds as best I could; and then +ordered a statement of what had occurred to be taken down and sent to +the authority concerned. + +The horse which I had bought from Zogal, and which I had left at the +mosque, was struck in the neck by a bullet, which had slightly +penetrated, and he almost died from loss of blood; but fortunately the +ball had not lodged in a vital part, and after some days he recovered. + +We remained ten days at Niurnia, and still the troops coming from Kulkul +had not arrived; while communication by letter-carriers between us and +Dara and Fasher was interrupted by the mountaineers, who would not allow +the messengers through. + +During this waiting time I made a small expedition to the village of +Abderrahman Kusa, one of Harun's principal men. But it was deserted, +though I knew that the villagers were concealing themselves amongst the +rocks and were watching our movements; they had always early +information, and were able to make off in good time. During this march +we came across some trees to which curious clay vessels had been +attached, and which I learnt were beehives. On the advice of Sheikh +Taher we did not go near the trees, as he said the bees would probably +attack us, but halted some two miles away. That evening Sheikh Taher, +taking some wood and straw, smoked out one of the hives and brought us a +quantity of excellent honey; but his servants, who accompanied him, +carried in a dying Bazinger on a stretcher. He was one of my men; and +when he saw the hives, he had fallen out of the ranks, and, tying some +cloth round his hands and face, had attempted to procure some honey. The +bees had attacked him, and he had fallen off the tree unconscious, where +he lay until picked up by the others; and I do not think I ever saw a +more terrible sight. His face was swollen beyond all recognition, and +his tongue protruded to an enormous size from his widely distended +mouth. The poor man never regained consciousness, and died in an hour or +two. + +We had to start off before sunrise the next morning, as the Sheikh told +us that when the sun was up the bees would probably attack us. + +On our return to Niurnia I gave orders to start back the following day, +marching _via_ Dar Omongawi, Murtal, and Murtafal. On our way we passed +through several villages and took the people entirely by surprise, for +they had not expected us from the west. Most of the men had been +collected by Sultan Harun, and those who could escape to the hills did +so; but my men captured about thirty women, whom we took along with us +for a short distance. In one village the people were so completely +surprised that few of them had time to fly; and, seeing that they were +only women, I sounded the halt, in order to give them a chance of +getting away. I then formed up the men on the road, so as to prevent +them scattering through the village, and in this formation we marched +on. One poor woman, I noticed, in her hurry to escape, had left her two +children on a rock, while she herself fled like a gazelle up the +mountain side. Going to the rock, I found two pretty little babies, +quite naked, but with strings of coral round their waists and necks. +They were as black as ravens, and probably twins about eighteen months +old. Dismounting, I went up to them, and they began to cry and cling to +each other; so, taking them in my arms, I told my servant to bring me +some sugar from my travelling-bag. This pacified them at once; and, +smiling through their tears, they munched what to them was probably the +nicest thing they had ever tasted in their little lives. Then, taking +two of the red handkerchiefs (a supply of which I generally carried +about to offer as presents), I wrapped the babies up in them, laid them +down on the rock again, and moved on some distance. Looking back, I saw +a human being, evidently the mother, creeping down the rocks. Then, +joyfully seizing her little ones, whom she thought perhaps she had lost +for ever, she fondled them most lovingly. She had got back her naked +treasures clothed in lovely garments, and licking their little black +lips all sticky with their feast of sugar. + +After a three days' march we reached Murtafal; and from here I sent the +Fasher troops back to their station, whilst we continued on to Dara. But +before leaving, I had all the women whom we had picked up on the march +to carry corn, collected together, and then set them free. I told them +that next time I hoped their husbands would be more submissive, and in +that case wives, husbands, and children need never be separated. A +shriek of joy, a mutter of gratitude, and they were off like gazelles +released from a cage. + +I had now been away from Dara about three weeks, and had heard no news +whatever. At the noon halt, the following day, my men brought before me +some of the Beni Mansur tribe, who told me that Sultan Harun had +attacked Dara, and, on being repulsed, had turned to Manawashi, which +was about a day's march from where we were. They told me he had looted +the place, and also burnt the village of Tanera, which belonged to +Sheikh Maki el Mansuri, and was about six hours' march from us. This +Sheikh, whom I knew well, had lost everything, they said, and had barely +escaped with his life. + +Telling my informants to lose no time in bringing Sheikh Mansuri to me, +I marched on at once towards Manawashi, and by the evening we had made +good progress. I now ordered the halt for the night, and soon afterwards +the Sheikh arrived, in a very destitute condition. He had lost all his +property, and had nothing left but the clothes in which he stood; and +they were torn to shreds by thorns during his flight. Seating himself, +he briefly related what had occurred. Sultan Harun, it appeared, on +quitting Niurnia, had collected a considerable force, and had descended +to the plains in the direction of Abu Haraz. Here he had a collision +with the Kulkul troops, who had suffered slight loss, and had retired on +Kebkebia; and that was the reason they had failed to come up to the +rendezvous at Niurnia. Harun had advanced immediately on Dara, and the +news of his approach had only reached the garrison two hours before he +had made his night attack on the town, in which many of the inhabitants, +including Khater, a brother of Vizir Ahmed Shata, had been killed, and +several women captured. Eventually driven out, he had retired to +Manawashi, which he had partially destroyed; and detaching some of his +men to Tanera, they had burnt the village and taken almost all the +women. The unfortunate Sheikh Maki had been wounded in the leg, and had +only escaped death by a miracle. It appeared that Harun was now in a +position about four hours' march from me in a westerly direction, and +was being followed up by Ahmed Katong and Gabralla, who, when Harun had +passed through the Beni Helba country, had not been sufficiently strong +to attack him, but were now doing their best to keep in touch with him, +and send news of his movements to Dara and Fasher. + +I at once despatched messengers with instructions to them to join me +during the night, and to send spies to ascertain exactly where Harun was +encamped. At dawn the following morning, Katong and Gabralla arrived, +with about a hundred Bazingers. They reported that Harun had struck his +camp, and was marching west with his entire force. A woman they brought +with them, and who belonged to Sheikh Maki's village, also stated that +Harun had collected all the women he had captured at Dara and Manawashi, +and had addressed them as follows: "I was not told that the unbeliever +Slatin had liberated the women he had captured; but as I am a believer +and the Sultan, it is not fitting that I should keep you captive; you +are therefore free; but my blood relatives I will keep with me, for I am +the head of the family, and, therefore, their master." + +The woman also stated that amongst those Harun had captured at Dara were +some of the princesses of the royal house of Darfur, as well as Sheikh +Maki's wife, who belonged to the late Sultan's family. This sad news +greatly distressed poor Sheikh Maki, whose cup of sorrow was indeed full +to overflowing. + +I now made preparations to march off at once in pursuit of Harun; but my +little expedition into Jebel Marra had considerably reduced my numbers. +The cold had been fatal to many of the Blacks, and I remarked that those +who were accustomed to eat meat and drink marissa stood the cold and +hardships well; whilst those whose duties lay chiefly in tax-gathering +amongst the nomad Arabs, and who consequently existed principally on +milk, succumbed in large numbers. + +Including Katong's and Gabralla's reinforcements, my little detachment +consisted only of a hundred and seventy-five regulars and a hundred and +forty Bazingers. The horses had all been lamed by the rough ground, +except the gray which I rode. I had sent messengers to Dara to say that +I was on my way back, and had arrived near Manawashi, where I wished the +chiefs of the Beni Helba and Messeria Arabs to meet me, with their men; +and starting off at a rapid pace, after a few hours' march, we reached +the camp Sultan Harun had just quitted. It was completely deserted, and +we made out from the tracks that the force had moved off at least nine +or ten hours before; and, following them up, we found ourselves marching +in a northwesterly direction towards El Fasher. From the tracks, we +gathered that Harun's force numbered about four hundred rifles, some +hundreds of sword and spear men, and about sixty horsemen. With so few, +it would be impossible for him to attack Fasher. What, therefore, could +be his intentions? + +By sunset the troops were thoroughly exhausted, and darkness forced us +to halt. Besides, there was no moon, and we could no longer make out the +tracks. At the first streak of dawn, however, we continued our advance, +and, to encourage the men, I walked the whole way. They had suffered +considerably in Jebel Marra, and were thoroughly tired out; and had +there been time, I would have relieved them by fresh troops from Dara. +But there was not a moment to be lost; so we pushed on as best we could, +making short halts every now and then. We had had no time to take in +provisions, and, indeed, most of the corn in the villages had already +been seized by Harun. My men were, therefore, getting famished; and when +we reached Jebel Abu Haraz (about two days' march from El Fasher), I +promised them that if we did not come up with the enemy on the following +day, steps would then be taken to procure provisions at any cost. At +sunrise the next morning we reached the Abu Haraz wells, which we found +deserted. We had had no water since the previous day; so we were obliged +to halt for a short time, and we found a woman who had concealed +herself, thinking we were the enemy. She reported that, the previous +day, Harun had attacked Hillet Omar, the village of the Sultan of the +Massabat (about four hours' march further on), which he had plundered, +and killed a number of the inhabitants; but that she and other survivors +had hidden in the forest, and so had escaped detection. Harun, she said, +had moved on that morning, and could not be far off. She therefore +offered to lead us along his tracks, which we had been obliged to leave +the previous evening, owing to want of water. The news that before long +we should come up with the enemy was hailed with delight, and, with the +woman as our guide, we hurried forward, and were soon on their quite +fresh tracks. Inspired with the prospect of a successful action, a +speedy return to their wives and families, and a long rest, my men now +moved on very cheerfully and at a good pace. + +Our direction lay nearly due east, and about an hour before noon we +came in sight of two small hills. Just then, some of Katong's and +Gabralla's men, who were scouting out in front, brought in a wounded +man, who stated that he had been taken prisoner at Hillet Omar, and had +just escaped, having seen our red flag a long way off and knowing that +he would be safe. Sultan Harun, he said, was halted a short distance +beyond the small hills at Rahad en Nabak. We now increased the pace, +and, galloping forward, I could see from the hills the position of the +enemy. They were encamped on a grassy slope about two thousand five +hundred yards away, and through my glass I could see the horses being +saddled up, and much commotion, as if the camp were about to move on. + +There was not a moment to be lost. Taking, therefore, a hundred and +thirty regulars with me, I pushed straight on, my left flank being +covered, at a distance of about half a mile, by forty-five regulars and +forty Bazingers under Wad el Abbas, while Katong and Gabralla were +ordered to remain as a reserve, concealed behind the rising ground. + +The enemy had now discovered us. I therefore advanced at the double +between the two hills, Wad el Abbas circling round the hill on the left; +and once through, we deployed for attack. Half a mile further on, we +came under a heavy rifle-fire; and my gray horse, which had only just +recovered from his wound, got restive, and neither spurs nor whip were +of any avail to make him move on. I therefore jumped off, and we +continued advancing till within six hundred yards of Harun's line, when +we halted and fired a volley. Then, ordering Wad el Abbas to double +forward and wheel up to the right, we caught the enemy between a cross +fire, under which they were soon forced to retire. I now lost no time in +sending orders to the reserve to make a flank attack on the retreating +enemy, which had the effect of turning Harun's retirement into a +headlong flight, in which the Sultan's horse was shot dead under him, +and he himself only just eluded us. + +If we had had cavalry, none could have escaped. As it was, our men +pursued till nightfall, and inflicted great loss on the enemy. We halted +that night at the Abu Haraz well, and collected our spoil, which +consisted of a hundred and sixty rifles, four large copper war-drums, +four flags, and two horses, the riders of which had both been killed. +Our losses consisted of fourteen killed and twenty wounded. The women +captured by Harun were all saved, and returned to their husbands. + +Amongst our wounded was Babakr, the chief of Katong's Bazingers, who had +personally attacked Harun, and was on the point of taking him prisoner, +when he was shot by one of the Sultan's guard. Some of the prisoners +informed me that it had been Harun's intention to ally himself with the +Mima Arabs, who had agreed to revolt against the Government as soon as +he could come to them; but he was now, after this defeat, forced to +retire once more to Jebel Marra, whilst I and my exhausted troops +marched back to Dara. On our way, we came across some four hundred Beni +Helba and Messeria horsemen, who had come to join us, but were +unfortunately too late for the fight. + +At Dara, I found everything in the greatest confusion. When the enemy +had attacked, the principal merchants, terrified of their lives, had +fled to the fort, leaving their property at the mercy of Harun's men. +The fort was still crowded with these people, who did not dare to return +to their houses until the result of the fight between Harun and myself +was known. My appearance on the scene was, therefore, the signal for +general rejoicing, and the refugees now all returned to their own homes. + +Meanwhile, Sultan Harun, who had recovered his defeat, again collected a +force, and proceeded to Dar Gimmer, in the Kulkul district; and here he +made a raid on the Arabs, captured their cattle and camels, and killed +some merchants. On the news reaching Nur Bey Angara, the Governor of the +district, he advanced rapidly, covering the usual two days' march in +twenty-six hours, and, early the following morning, he surprised Sultan +Harun in his camp. In great haste, Harun's horse was saddled, but in +mounting the stirrup-leather broke. Another horse was brought, and just +as he was about to put his foot into the stirrup, a bullet hit him full +in the chest, and he fell dead (March, 1880). His fall was the signal +for a wild flight, and Nur Angara took possession of his camp without +any further difficulty. Sultan Harun's head was cut off and sent to El +Fasher, and there was general rejoicing at his death. The few adherents, +however, who had fled, now collected in Jebel Marra, and selected as +their ruler Abdullahi Dudbenga, the son of Harun's uncle Abakir; but +henceforth their raids became insignificant, and peace was once more +restored to the country. + +Three days after my return to Dara, I received a letter from Gessi +Pasha, in Bahr el Ghazal, informing me that Dr. R. W. Felkin and the +Rev. C. T. Wilson, of the English Church Missionary Society, were on +their way from Uganda to Khartum, _via_ Dara, and with them were some +Waganda envoys sent by King Mtesa to Her Majesty the Queen of England. +Gessi begged me to give them all help on their journey, and said that +they were leaving for Dara on the date he was writing. I calculated, +therefore, they would arrive in a few days, so I despatched mounted +messengers to the Mamur and Sheikh of Kalaka, directing him to have the +necessary food and provisions ready for them on their arrival, and to +send them, with a strong escort, to Dara. It was not until fourteen days +after the receipt of Gessi's letter that news reached me they had passed +Kalaka, and were not far from Dara. At the head of about forty horsemen +I started off to welcome them, and met them, after a ride of two hours, +in a small wood. Our meeting took place under a large tree, and the two +travellers seemed to me to be very tired after their long journey. I had +brought some breakfast with me, and, laying our rugs on the ground, we +sat down and had a good meal. They had heard in the southern Kalaka +district that I had gone off to fight Sultan Harun; and as the roads +were considered unsafe, they had not ventured to come on, and that was +the cause of the delay. Dr. Felkin, who had studied in Jena, spoke +German well; but I had great difficulty in making myself intelligible in +my broken English to the Rev. Mr. Wilson. After breakfast we rode on to +Dara, where the garrison had turned out to welcome them. I then led them +to the house prepared for their reception, where Zogal, the commandant, +the Kadi and chief merchant, came to pay their respects; and after the +usual lemonade and talk, I told them that my guests were greatly in need +of rest, on which they withdrew. + +Having ascertained, through an interpreter, that Mtesa's envoys were +fond of meat, I gave them a fattened ox, which they killed themselves, +skinned, and then roasted on a wood fire; and with several draughts of +marissa, to which beverage they had been introduced by an old _habitué_, +they appeared to have had a thoroughly enjoyable feast. Indeed, so much +did they relish this native drink that I was obliged to commission Zogal +Bey to supply them daily with a considerable quantity. + +Meanwhile our dinner-party consisted of the two travellers, Zogal and +Rifki, and, as usual, we dined off roasted mutton; after dinner I gave +our two native friends a hint to retire, and then Dr. Felkin and the +Rev. Mr. Wilson began to relate their experiences in Uganda, as well as +amongst the various tribes through which they had passed. I was +immensely interested in all they told me, and could not help wishing I +were at the great lakes instead of in Darfur. Outside, the singing and +beating of drums was getting louder and more boisterous, and from +curiosity we went out to look on. The company was a very cheerful one: +men and women shouting and dancing round a big fire, on which huge +pieces of meat were roasting, whilst close by stood the half-empty +pitchers of beer. + +We remained till late talking over our travels and the future of these +countries. All they told me was of immense interest, and I, too, was +able to give them the latest information from Europe, which, though +months old, was news to them. At length, towards midnight we turned in, +having come to the mutual conclusion that in the Sudan, as well as in +Europe, matters seemed very unsettled. + +Next morning we were up early, and had a two hours' ride, in which I +showed my guests the surroundings of Dara, which were far from +interesting; and on our return was told, much to my amusement, that the +sight of a camel had caused Mtesa's envoys such alarm that they had +fled. "Well," said I to Dr. Felkin, "as you have to make the rest of +your journey on camel-back, it is advisable your men should get into the +way of it; so if you will get them together I will send for a camel and +put their courage to the test." He went off, and I sent for a camel +belonging to one of the merchants, which was very big and fat. By this +time the envoys and others had arrived and the camel, appearing suddenly +round a corner, caused almost a stampede. It was only the sight of the +unconcern of Dr. Felkin and myself which kept them from bolting as hard +as their legs could carry them. Dr. Felkin explained to them that the +camel was a most patient and docile animal, on which they would have to +make the remainder of their journey to Egypt, and that there was no +cause for fear; still, they kept a respectful distance from the alarming +beast, and when I told my kavass to mount and make it get up and sit +down, their astonishment was boundless. At length one, more courageous +than the rest, volunteered to mount; timorously approaching the animal, +he was assisted into the saddle, and, having safely got through the +operation of rising, with a beaming countenance he surveyed his friends +from his lofty seat, and proceeded to make a speech to them on the +pleasures of camel-riding. Apparently he had invited them to share these +pleasures with him, for suddenly, without a moment's warning, they +rushed at the poor animal in a body, and began swarming up it. Some +tried to mount by the neck, others by the tail, and half a dozen or so +clung to the saddle trappings. For a moment the camel seemed stupefied +by this sudden attack; but, recovering its presence of mind, it now +lashed out in all directions, and in a moment had freed itself +completely from every unfortunate Waganda who had been bold enough to +approach it. I do not think I ever laughed so much in my life. These +people evidently took the poor animal for a mountain; but the shocks +they experienced when the mountain began to heave so terrified them that +for long they would not come near it. However, first one and then +another summoned up courage to mount, and by the time they left Dara +they were all fairly proficient in the art of camel-riding. + +I had in my household several young boys who had been taken from the +slave-traders; and as Dr. Felkin had no servant to attend on him +personally, I suggested he should take one of them. He accepted the +offer gladly; so I handed over to him a bright little Fertit boy called +Kapsun, whom he agreed to bring up in Europe. Two years and a half +later, I received at El Fasher a letter written in English by little +Kapsun, thanking me for allowing him to go with Dr. Felkin "to a country +where every one was so good and so kind," and saying that he had adopted +the Christian religion, and was "the happiest boy in the world;" he also +sent me his photograph in European clothes. + +The time for the departure of my two friends came all too soon for me; +but they were anxious to get on, and, mounted on their camels, they left +for Khartum _via_ Toweisha. + +Some time later I received a letter from Messedaglia telling me that he +was leaving for Khartum to fetch his wife. No sooner had he reached that +place than he got into some difficulty with the authorities and was +discharged, and his place as Governor-General of Darfur was taken by Ali +Bey Sherif, formerly Governor-General of Kordofan. + +It was about the close of 1879 or early in 1880 that I received a letter +from General Gordon, written in French some two months previously from +near Debra Tabor, in Abyssinia. Although this letter was destroyed many +years ago, I can remember almost the exact words, which were as +follows:-- + + DEAR SLATIN,--Having finished my mission to King John, I wanted + to return the same way that I came; but when near Gallabat I was + overtaken by some of Ras Adal's people, who forced me to go back, + and I am to be taken under escort to Kassala and thence to + Massawa. I have burnt all the compromising documents. King John + will be disappointed when he finds he is not master of his own + house. + + Your friend, + C. GORDON. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE GOVERNMENT OF DARFUR. + + Government Administration in Dara--My Difficulties with the + Gellabas--Manners and Customs of the Arabs--Arrival at + Shakka--Madibbo Bey Sheikh of the Rizighat--My Visit to + Khartum--Arrival of Gessi in Khartum--I return West with Bishop + Comboni and Father Ohrwalder--Am appointed Governor-General of + Darfur--Hostilities between the Maheria and Bedeyat Arabs--I + proceed to the Bedeyat Country--Strange Manners and Customs of + the Bedeyat--Saleh Donkusa and the Heglik Tree--The Ceremony of + Taking the Oath of Fidelity--Return to El Fasher--Troubles at + Shakka and Death of Emiliani--I leave for Dara. + + +I now busied myself with the administrative affairs of the province of +Dara. The returns which I had called for, showing the names and numbers +of villages, their population, etc., were duly submitted to me, and I +now resolved to travel over the entire district and personally inquire +into the state of affairs. + +There is very little money in cash in Darfur. The northern Arab tribes +who act as camel-men, and who supply transport for the great caravan +road between Assiut and Darfur, have a small amount of gold and silver +coin; but in all other parts of the province payments are made +principally in "takia," a sort of native-made cotton fabric, or in +European gray cotton cloth, cut in various lengths; but it can be +readily understood that such material, continually passing from hand to +hand, greatly loses in value, and eventually will not even pass for its +cost price. + +Taxes were always paid in kind, such as corn, honey, camels, cows, +sheep, and native-made cloth, and a certain fixed tariff being arranged, +it became a simple matter to assess the taxation in Egyptian piastres. +There were always merchants ready to purchase the various products and +animals for which payment was generally made to Government in corn, and +in this latter commodity the salaries were paid to officers, soldiers, +and officials. As the price of corn varied, it happened as often as not +that the cash value of the salaries was in excess; but on the whole I +think the system was not an unfair one. + +My first tour of inspection took me to Toweisha and Dar el Khawabir, and +back to Dara _via_ Shieria. I then went to Shakka, _via_ Kershu, and +everywhere I assessed the exact amounts to be paid by all Sheikhs and +chiefs. At Shakka, Kalaka, and in Dar Beni Helba, by personal inspection +and by inquiry, I did all I could to find out what the Arab tribes +really possessed; and at the same time I was anxious to collect the +Bazingers who had formed part of Suleiman Zubeir's army, but who were +now scattered amongst the Rizighat, Habbania, and Taaisha Arabs. I +therefore issued orders to all Sheikhs, both great and small, to hand +over the Bazingers to me; and though it was of course impossible to +collect all, I nevertheless succeeded in getting some four hundred men +capable of bearing arms, and these I at once sent under escort to +Khartum. I was anxious also to increase the number of troops in my own +district; but I hesitated somewhat to introduce into the ranks these +Bazingers, who, accustomed to a life of liberty and freedom, might have +a bad effect on the discipline of the men; and I also knew that if kept +under very strict control they would be likely to desert, and, with +their knowledge of the country and people, might prove an eventual +source of danger. + +On my return to Dara I learnt that General Gordon had left Abyssinia, +had resigned his appointment as Governor-General, and had been succeeded +by Rauf Pasha, who was so well known in connection with Sir Samuel +Baker's work in the Sudan. + +The Gellabas and merchants whom Gordon had turned out of Kalaka and +Shakka at the time of Suleiman Zubeir's revolt, now seized this +opportunity to proceed to Khartum, and, relying on the ignorance of the +new Governor-General of the real state of affairs, they submitted +petitions to the effect that the Arabs had plundered them of their +wives, children, and property, and that they now sought the protection +of the Government. Rauf Pasha forwarded these petitions to me, with a +covering letter to the effect that I was to deal justly with these +people, restore to them their property, and do what I could to unite +them with their families. Hundreds of Gellabas now came to Dara and +submitted petitions of every description, enumerating, with the grossest +exaggeration, the various articles for which they claimed compensation. +I went to the trouble of having all these claims totalled up in one +list,--ivory, ostrich feathers, gold and silver ornaments, etc., etc.; +and I found that if all the property at present in the hands of the Arab +tribes were confiscated and sold, it would not nearly cover the claims +of the Gellabas. + +I was obliged, however, to comply with my orders from Khartum; I +therefore summoned the Sheikhs of the various Arab tribes to Dara, and +informed them of the claims of the merchants against them. Naturally +they at once denied having taken anything whatever from them, and they +told me privately that if Government persisted in the payment of these +claims, there would be no other course open to them than to emigrate to +Wadai and Bornu. Some of them, however, agreed that if permitted they +would endeavour to come to a mutual understanding with the merchants as +regards the restoration of their wives and children; but they absolutely +declined to do this if Government interfered. These latter were about +twenty in number; all the others, who had been turned out by General +Gordon's orders, and who now amounted to some hundreds, I ordered back +to Khartum, as it was quite impossible to come to any sort of +arrangement which would satisfy them and the Arabs. + +I reported fully the steps I had taken to Rauf Pasha, and urged him to +pay no further heed to these claims. Soon after this, several of the +Habbania Sheikhs came and informed me that the Gellabas whom I had +ordered back to Khartum had--instead of going there--proceeded to +Kalaka, where they had concluded a private arrangement with Ali Wad +Fadlalla, the official tax-gatherer and a relative of Zogal Bey, to +ignore my orders and, through his assistance, to force the Arabs to +return the property, on condition that they (the Gellabas) and Fadlalla +should share the proceeds between them. + +As for various other reasons I wished to again inspect the southern +districts, I took the Sheikhs with me and set off for Kalaka, travelling +_via_ Nimr and Deain, where Madibbo Bey, head-Sheikh of the Rizighat, +resided. Here I promised Madibbo that on my way back I would endeavour +to effect a reconciliation between him and Egeil Wad el Jangawi, with +whom he was in continual dispute. Two days later, accompanied by forty +horsemen, I reached Dawila, which is almost in the centre of the Kalaka +district, and surprised my friend Fadlalla, who was quite ignorant of my +approach. Questioned before the Sheikhs, he could not deny that he had +given orders for some of the property taken from the Gellabas to be +returned to them; without delay I ordered the Arab Sheikhs to bring +before me all Gellabas in the district who had not special permits to +trade, and in a few days one hundred and twenty-four of them were +collected, and I found them to be the actual men whom I had ordered to +Khartum. When I asked them why they had disobeyed orders, they told me +frankly that they had no intention of returning as poor men to their own +country. I then told them to explain how, having no capital whatever, +they proposed to enrich themselves,--especially as I had given orders +that their claims, which were in the majority of cases utterly false, +were not to be considered; and to my repeated questions they refused to +give any answer. I therefore gave instructions to Fadlalla's assistant +to take all the Gellabas as prisoners, under an escort of fifteen +soldiers, to Hassan Agha, the Mamur of Shakka, to whom I gave orders to +send them to El Obeid; and Fadlalla himself I placed under arrest, and +gave instructions that he should be taken with me to Dara, to be tried +for disobedience of orders. + +Several of the merchants who were living with the Arabs came and thanked +me for having helped them, saying the Arabs had voluntarily returned to +them their concubines, children, and some of their property, and that +they were living in peace and harmony with the natives of the country. I +now appointed another Mamur in place of Fadlalla, and, according to my +promise, returned to Madibbo, who was expecting me. + +As we were riding through the woods in the early morning we passed a +place which smelt very strongly of the civet cat; and in reply to my +question as to whether such animals were to be found there, the Habbania +Sheikh replied, "Yes; but you surely do not want one, it will poison +your whole house." "Poison?" said I, in a tone of feigned surprise, for +I well knew that the Arabs detest the civet cat. "Yes," said he, "the +civet of this cat has such a strong smell that you cannot get rid of +it;" and he held his nose as we passed through the wood. I answered, +"Well, now, in my opinion sulphur has a much more disagreeable smell +than civet." "On the contrary," he replied, "sulphur is one of the +choice perfumes of the country; we are used to it, and we enjoy +it."--"Perhaps you are right," said I; "I have seen how mothers of the +southern tribes mix together sulphur and fat and smear the bodies of +their new-born children, as well as their own breasts, with it. Why +should I wonder that you, who have lain on your mother's lap, drunk her +milk, and gazed lovingly into her eyes, should think the sulphur smell +pleasant? You have been bred and brought up in it, and so it happens +that habit makes us used to everything." + +The manners and customs of these wild Arabs always interested me, and +the journey passed quickly enough in chatting with my companions. We +frequently passed settlements of nomad Arabs, who always insisted on our +partaking of their hospitality. The post which caught me up on the way +brought me instructions from the Governor-General that Dar Janghé, +which up till recently had formed part of the province of Dara, was in +future to be attached to Bahr el Ghazal, to which it really belonged. +This new arrangement appeared to me to be a very satisfactory one, as +the Janghé tribe were cattle-owners, and I had already a surplus of +cattle tribute from the numerous Baggara tribes in Darfur, and was not +at all desirous of adding to this stock, which fetched an exceptionally +low price in the market. On the other hand, Gessi was delighted, for the +Janghé were the only cattle-owners in his district, and the payment of +taxes in kind suited his requirements, as it supplied meat for his +troops. + +After four days' march we reached Shakka, and halted at the station of +Abu Segan, in which there was a small fort or enclosure surrounding a +few mud-huts and tukuls, which served as quarters for the small garrison +of between thirty and forty men and the Mamur. Surrounding the fort, but +at some distance from it, were the huts of the merchants who had +immigrated from Darfur, and who practically formed the entire +population. It was a well-known market for the district, the principal +days being Friday and Monday, when numbers of Arabs came in to make +their purchases. + +I found Madibbo Bey here at the head of several hundred horsemen, and he +informed me that Egeil Wad el Jangawi had gone to Khartum a month ago to +make an official complaint about his discharge from the Sheikhdom. I +therefore pushed on to Dara, and a few days after my return received a +letter from Marcopoli Bey, Rauf Pasha's secretary, to the effect that +Egeil had arrived in Khartum and had lodged a complaint against Madibbo +Bey, whom he characterised as in league with me, and through whose +intrigues he had been deprived of the office of Sheikh, and had even +been threatened with death. The letter went on to say that every effort +had been made to induce Egeil to return to Dara with a letter of +recommendation to me, but he had refused to come, as he was convinced I +was in Madibbo's hands. In order, therefore, to get rid of the man, the +case had been handed over to Ali Bey Sherif, acting Mudir of El Fasher, +who had been instructed to settle it. In reply, I wrote that I had +repeatedly written to Egeil ordering him to come to me, but that he had +persistently refused, and that in consequence I must decline to employ +any man as Sheikh in my district who had objected to coming to see me +when ordered to do so; and I added that as I had been suffering +considerably from fever, and besides had several matters to place before +the Governor-General regarding the administration of the country, I +requested permission to come to Khartum. + +A few days later Ali Bey Sherif wrote from El Fasher that, having been +charged to inquire into the Egeil matter, and being unable at present to +come to Dara and examine into the case on the spot, he had in +consequence delegated the Shaigia Sanjak, Omar Wad Darho, to represent +him. + +About a month after I had written for leave to go to Khartum, I received +a reply approving, and two days before I started, Omar Wad Darho +arrived, with an escort of one hundred horsemen. It was quite clear to +me that as the country was perfectly tranquil, he had brought these men +simply to plunder. He assured me that it was his intention to act in the +matter under consideration entirely in accordance with my wishes; but I +did not hesitate to tell him that it was his duty to inquire most +carefully into the whole of the facts of the case, and to act justly in +the interests of the Government. At the same time he should not ignore +the interests and wishes of the tribe in selecting as Sheikh a man whom +the tribe would accept, and who would at the same time have sufficient +power to uphold the Government authority. I then appointed Zogal Bey as +my representative, and ordered him not to interfere in the conduct of +the case, and to report the matter fully to Khartum. + +I left Dara at the end of January, 1881, and, marching _via_ Toweisha +and Dar Homr, I reached El Obeid in nine days, and proceeded at once to +the Mudiria to pay my respects to Mohammed Pasha Said, the Governor. He +gave me a very kind reception, and asked me to be his guest; but as I +had previously known Ahmed Bey Dafalla, who had a horse ready to take me +to the quarters he had specially prepared for me, I thanked the Governor +and proceeded to Dafalla's house, which was close to the gate. Here I +found everything most comfortable. I was ushered into a large room hung +with richly embroidered curtains, whilst laid out on two tables were all +sorts of pleasant drinks and eatables, cigars, cigarettes, etc.; in +fact, I could see that my host had done everything that was possible to +make my stay pleasant. + +Mohammed Pasha Said now came to return my call, and invited us both to +dinner; and after he had gone I had visits from all the notables of the +town. That evening at dinner he told me that he was coming to see me the +following morning on official business. He duly arrived the next day, +and, seeing my three Black boys at the door, his first question was, +"Are these boys free, or slaves?" I at once replied "free," and that +they were in my service of their own free will and accord; they then +showed him their manumission papers, which they kept in little brass +boxes. The Pasha now turned to me and said, "My friend, you are a more +careful man than I. I only wanted to take a rise out of you; but +unfortunately you have turned the tables on me." This little episode +brought us into a discussion on the slave question, and I remarked that +in general terms I agreed with him that from the standpoint of morality +no doubt the abolition of slavery was by all means to be recommended, +but that in actually bringing these measures into effect we should do so +with the greatest circumspection, and should not hurry matters, +otherwise we should deprive the country of its means of obtaining +labour, and we should also place the slave-owners in great difficulties +by any sudden enforcement of the law. Gradual and resolute action was +what was required. Mohammed Pasha Said quite concurred in these views, +pointing out that everything should be done to improve the relations +between the natives and the Egyptians and Turks, by whom they were +governed, but that the sudden abolition of a system which had been a +national custom from remotest times would most certainly lead to +estrangement and difficulties. + +I did not make a long stay in El Obeid, and the following morning I +started off on camels, accompanied by two Maalia Sheikhs who had caught +me up on the road from Darfur. I had already telegraphed to Dr. +Zurbuchen to get a room ready for me, and Said Pasha had officially +reported my departure. + +On the third day after leaving El Obeid we passed the station of Abu +Garad, where I found a telegram from Zurbuchen begging me to be his +guest; and the following day we crossed the Nile at Tura el Hadra at the +spot where I had said good-bye to Gordon, and whose last words I +remembered had been verified,--"I shall perhaps go to Europe." + +The camel I was riding was a young one which Ahmed Dey Dafalla had +bought for me, and they had forgotten to tell me that he should be +ridden with both halter and nose-rein; consequently when we set off in +the dark and I found he would not go on, I drove him, with the result +that he set off at a gallop, and no amount of tugging at the nose-ring +had the smallest effect in stopping him. He ran out of the track +straight for some trees, and in an instant one of the branches, striking +me in the chest, hurled me to the ground some yards away. I fell on my +back with such a thump that it seemed to me as if two pillars of fire +had shot out of my eyes up to the heavens, and for a few minutes I lost +consciousness; but my kavass, who had rushed after me, picked me up, +pulled at my joints, and turned my neck about, and in ten minutes I had +come to and was able to mount the camel, which, when I had fallen, had +patiently stood beside me. We rode till midnight; but the pain in my +chest and spitting of blood obliged me to halt; after a few hours, +however, I was able to move on again, and at length, bruised and sore, +we reached Khartum seven days after leaving El Obeid. + +Here I found Zurbuchen, who welcomed me heartily, and carried me off as +his guest to a house near the Roman Catholic Mission, which had belonged +to the late Latif Debono, a Maltese and a well-known slave-dealer. + +The Governor-General had sent his kavass to meet me with a message that +I was to call on him during the afternoon; after a short rest, +therefore, I presented myself at the palace, where I was well received +by Rauf Pasha and his secretary, Marcopoli Bey, whom I had known before +as Gordon's interpreter. I soon noticed that Rauf Pasha's cordiality had +somewhat cooled down; and to my utter astonishment he announced that the +leave of absence for which I had asked, in order to proceed to Cairo, +had been granted me, and that Riaz Pasha had just telegraphed to that +effect. "But," said I, "I never wrote to Cairo for leave of absence." +"Then what does this telegram mean?" said he. "I think that you, as a +soldier, should have known better than to have acted in this irregular +manner. You should have applied for your leave through me, and not +direct to Cairo; and now you say you never asked for any!" Marcopoli +then read out the telegram, which ran as follows: "To the +Governor-General of the Sudan: Three months leave on full pay has been +granted to R. Slatin, Mudir of western Darfur." + +I was at a complete loss to understand what had occurred, and all I +could do was to repeat that I had not asked for leave. I could see +perfectly well that Rauf Pasha felt insulted at my apparent disregard +for his position, and in this I fully sympathised with him. The next +day, however, light was thrown on the matter. Some time previously I had +written home saying that I had been suffering lately from fever, and my +dear mother, who is now dead, in her loving concern for her absent son, +at once thought that I was concealing from her some terrible malady; she +had, therefore, written to the authorities in Egypt, urging that I +should be recalled to Cairo for medical treatment, and she was thus the +innocent cause of this estrangement between Rauf Pasha and myself. The +matter explained, the Governor-General at once apologised for having +wrongfully accused me of irregularity, and was touched by my dear +mother's love for me, saying that such affection can alone be returned +by the deepest love and obedience on the part of the children. "I +myself," said he, "love my mother with all my heart; though she is only +a poor Abyssinian, and formerly a slave. At all times I am ready to ask +her advice, and follow it in all matters relating to the family and +home." Since this conversation I have often had occasion to notice the +genuine love and affection which exists between parents and children of +this race. + +During my stay in Khartum I had frequent talks with Rauf Pasha on the +state of my province, and I suggested that a more just and lenient form +of taxation should be introduced in the Fasher and Kebkebia districts. I +also asked him to allow me to order the Arab tribes to supply annually a +certain number of young slaves, who should form a contingent from which +the vacancies caused by sickness, deaths, and other casualties amongst +the troops could be filled up; and I further proposed that the Arabs +should be allowed to pay their tribute in slaves instead of cattle, as +by this means I hoped to win back Suleiman Zubeir's Bazingers, who were +scattered amongst the tribes, and whose knowledge of the use of +fire-arms was, in my opinion, a continual source of danger to the +Government. Rauf Pasha concurred in all these suggestions, and gave me +written orders to this effect. + +When I arrived in Khartum, a certain Darfuri named Hassan Wad Saad en +Nur, whose father had been killed with Vizir Ahmed Shata in Shakka, came +to me, and begged me to intercede for him to be permitted to return to +his country; meeting Rauf Pasha shortly afterwards, I begged him to +allow this, and he gave instructions for his discharge to be at once +made out. A few days later, however, he sent for me and explained that +after further inquiry he had decided to cancel Nur's discharge. I +explained that he had only acted like the rest during the revolt, and +that now it was not possible for him to do any further harm. Rauf +Pasha, however, remained resolute, and I, feeling annoyed, retorted that +as I had given Nur my word that he should return with me, it remained +for Rauf Pasha to decide whether he would let him go or whether he would +discharge me, and, bidding him good-bye, I marched off. Two days later +he again sent for me, and said that I was wrong in having given Nur my +word so quickly. I fully admitted the justice of this censure, and to my +surprise he then said that he had reconsidered the matter, and had +decided to let Nur go; and as regards myself he thought me a stubborn +but capable official, and had in consequence requested His Highness the +Khedive, Mohammed Tewfik Pasha, to appoint me Governor-General of +Darfur, with the title of Bey. I thanked him for his kind words, and +assured him that I should do my utmost to justify his confidence in me. + +Rauf Pasha now asked me to state in writing that I would be responsible +for the future good behaviour of Nur; and this I did gladly, feeling +convinced that after all my trouble on his behalf the man would prove +loyal and faithful. On returning to my house I sent for Nur, who had +spent two days of suspense, dreading that his discharge would be +refused; and when I told him the good news, he fell at my feet and +poured out his gratitude in the most voluble terms. I felt that he was a +man of honour, and that I could trust him: little did I know that I had +taken a snake into my bosom. + +My short stay in Khartum passed rapidly in the company of my many +friends. Bishop Comboni and Fathers Ohrwalder and Dichtl had arrived +from Cairo towards the end of January, 1881, as well as Hassan Pasha, +the chief of the Financial Department, Busati Bey, Consul Hansal, and +others. Ohrwalder and Dichtl put up in my quarters; and many a long talk +used we to have over our own beloved country. + +On 25th January, 1881, Gessi arrived at Khartum very seriously ill. +During his journey from Meshra er Rek he had been hemmed in by the +"Suds," or barriers of floating vegetation through which travellers must +at times cut their way with axes. For three months and more he had +struggled hopelessly to make his way through them, and the terrible +sufferings undergone by him and his men through famine and sickness are +almost indescribable. He lost the majority of his men and crew, and acts +of cannibalism were of daily occurrence. He was at length rescued by +Marno in the steamer "Bordein," and brought to Khartum, where he was +most carefully tended by the Mission sisters; but the shock to his +system had been so great that he could not recover his strength, despite +every effort made by Dr. Zurbuchen. It was at length decided to try and +send him to Egypt, and we made all arrangements to make his journey as +comfortable as possible. He was particularly anxious to take with him +his servant Almas, who happened to be a eunuch; but Rauf Pasha, fearing +that it might create a scandal, and that strictures might be passed on +his government of the Sudan, for a long time refused permission for him +to go. Yielding, however, to the persistence of Zurbuchen and myself, he +at length authorised it, and on 11th March we carried poor Gessi in a +sort of litter to the Governor's dahabia, in which he was towed to +Berber, thence he was carried across to Suakin, where he arrived on 10th +April, and, embarking a fortnight later, reached Suez on 28th, too weak +almost to move. He was taken to the French hospital, where he expired +two days later. + +Meanwhile matters in Darfur had not been progressing very +satisfactorily. Zogal Bey wrote that Omar Wad Darho had been conducting +himself very badly at Shakka, and I showed the report to Rauf Pasha, who +telegraphed that he was to return at once to El Fasher. + +Having now thoroughly recovered, I decided to return and take up my new +duties as soon as possible. Rauf Pasha placed a steamer at my disposal, +and, accompanied by Bishop Comboni and Father Ohrwalder, whom I promised +to mount on my camels as far as El Obeid, we quitted Khartum on 29th +March. Consul Hansal, Marcopoli Bey, Zurbuchen, and Marquet travelled +with us in the steamer as far as Tura el Hadra, and here we bade them +good-bye. Little did I think that one only of that company should I +ever meet again, and under what strange circumstances I was once more to +return to the capital of the Sudan. I was very young, the heavy +responsibilities of my new and important position occupied all my +thoughts, and I was full of high hopes for the future; but fate had a +strange and terrible destiny in store for me. + +After five days' march we reached El Obeid, and from here the Bishop +made a tour through Jebel Nuba, while Father Ohrwalder remained at El +Obeid, and was eventually sent to the mission station of Delen, in +southern Kordofan. I stayed in El Obeid a few days only, and, having +received telegraphic orders to proceed to Foga, I bid my two friends +farewell. One of them--the good Bishop--I was destined never to see +again; he died in Khartum on 10th October, 1881. The other,--my dear +friend Ohrwalder,--like myself, was soon to go through many strange and +horrible experiences before we were again to meet as fellow-captives of +the as yet unknown Mahdi, who was shortly to overthrow every vestige of +Government authority in the Sudan. + +Two days later I quitted El Obeid, and, travelling _via_ Abu Haraz and +Shallota, reached Foga, where I found a telegram from His Highness the +Khedive, officially appointing me Governor-General of Darfur, and +directing me to proceed forthwith to El Fasher, to take over the duties +from Ali Bey Sherif. I had some urgent business to do in Dara, and +several private letters to attend to; but I thought it advisable to +proceed at once to El Fasher, where I arrived on 20th April. Here I +found much intriguing going on, from the Mudir down to the lowest clerk +in the office; the Kadi and his employés were all at variance, and even +the clerks of the law-courts had sued each other for contempt. Several +petitions had been filed against officials; there were all sorts of +charges pending against false witnesses; cases regarding breaches of +morality abounded; in fact, it would have required years to settle the +mass of suits and petitions brought before me for decision. A few I +managed to settle, but I regret to say that I had to leave the greater +number pending. The most important case was that against Nur Angara, his +sanjak, and the Kulkul officials, who, with their complainants, had all +been summoned to El Fasher, whence, after freely bribing the officials +with money and slaves, they were sent back to Kulkul without any +decision having been given. There was a large box full of correspondence +on this subject, most of which was not worth the paper it was written +on; I therefore sent instructions to Nur Angara, his officials, and the +complainants, who were all living at Kulkul without work, to come to El +Fasher; and, pending his arrival, I endeavoured to establish some sort +of order in regard to tributes, taxation, etc. Several cases had also +been filed against the late Mudir, Said Bey Guma,--who was at the same +time commander of the troops,--but it was impossible to prove them; and +as it was imperative that I should have an assistant, I reinstated him +as Mudir of El Fasher. There was no doubt he was an intriguer; besides +being excessively parsimonious, he was not liked by the officers, and +was famed for his vocabulary of bad language; but at the same time he +was a brave soldier in the field, and this quality,--especially amongst +Egyptians,--was excessively rare in these distant regions. I therefore +re-employed him, on condition that he would amend his ways; and I +frankly told him that if he gave me the slightest trouble I should +discharge him, and pack him off to Khartum. I knew this would be a +terrible punishment; for, though an Egyptian, he had become greatly +attached to Darfur. + +Major Hassan Effendi Rifki, commanding at Dara, I transferred to the +command of a battalion at El Fasher, under Ali Bey Sherif, as he was +constantly drunk; but no sooner had he come under my observation than he +appeared before me twice in a state of intoxication, and I was obliged +to discharge him and send him to Khartum. Meanwhile, Nur Angara and the +host of defendants and complainants duly arrived, and I very soon found +out that the latter had been for the most part his friends, through +whose help he had become Mudir; but as he had abandoned them, they were +anxious to revenge themselves by plotting against him. On the other +hand, Nur Angara himself was a most resolute villain; without rhyme or +reason, and often merely to satisfy his own brutal pleasure, he shed +blood; and as for his views in regard to the property of his fellow +creatures, they were beyond the conception of the most advanced Social +Democrat in the world. As he was a Bey, and held the rank of colonel, I +ordered the proper salute to be fired when he entered the fort, gave him +a hearty welcome, and ordered his attendants to be lodged in one of Omar +Wad Darho's houses, lying to the north of the town. He was a tall, +beardless man, with a dark copper-coloured complexion, and the usual +three slits on his cheeks; he had an energetic and wild look, but when +talking he appeared to be a perfectly harmless individual. He was a +Dongolawi, and had been brought up by the Shaigi, Melek Tumbal, who was +formally a sanjak, and claimed descent from the Shaigia kings. When +quite a boy he had come to Cairo, and, owing to his connection with +Zubeir and his son, he had acquired to some extent the good-will of the +Government. He had an old mother of about sixty years of age living in +Dongola, and in spite of his wild character she had the same affection +and care for her son which Rauf Pasha's mother had for him. It is said +that when Gordon was in Dongola, an old woman asked to see him, and on +entering, said: "I am Nur Angara's mother, and have come to seek your +help." "But," said Gordon, "you have a good-for-nothing son, who passes +his time in riotous living instead of looking after his old mother." +"Ah!" said the old woman, "may he be always happy! I forgive him, but I +want you to help me." Gordon presented her with £50 from his own pocket, +and she returned home heaping blessings on his head and on that of her +undutiful son. + +After speaking some time to Nur Angara about his province, I referred +quite casually to his great case, saying that I had had no time to +examine carefully into the matter, and that when he and his traducers +had rested sufficiently, I proposed sending them on to El Obeid. The +next day happened to be the first of Ramadan, and all the people were +fasting except Nur Angara, who did little else but drink araki and om +bilbil, and listen to the music of antelope-horns and noggaras played by +his attendants, and every now and then he ordered the big war-drum to be +beaten. So irritated was I by this constant noise that I sent orders to +him to stop it, telling him at the same time that it was a matter of no +concern to me whether he fasted or not; but I declined to allow him--a +Moslem, and an Egyptian official--to cause public annoyance, and I told +him he had no right to disregard public opinion. "I shall comply with +your orders," said he, "and stop my noisy amusements; but I never did +care for Ramadan, and never shall. I shall continue to drink as much as +I like, and I don't care a brass farthing what people say or think of +me." I could see that he was then under the influence of drink, so I +ordered him to go to his house and prepare to leave. Two days later he +quitted El Fasher for El Obeid, and on arrival there was at once +discharged from the Government service. Ali Bey Sherif also left when he +had finally handed over the province to me, and I now proposed going on +a tour of inspection through the entire country, with the administration +of which I had been intrusted. + +Just as I was making preparations to start, news arrived that a fight +had occurred between the Maheria and Bedeyat Arabs at Bir el Malha; and +a few days afterwards Hasaballa, the head-Sheikh of the Maheria, with +many of the chiefs, arrived to represent the case. It appeared that the +Maheria Arabs had gone, as usual, to the natron fields at Bir el Malha +on the Arbaïn road, ten days' march north of El Fasher, to procure +natron to sell in Darfur; here they had been surprised and attacked by +their deadly enemies, the Bedeyat, who lived in the northeast portion of +Wadai, and who captured some fifteen hundred camels, and took upwards of +one hundred and sixty men prisoners. These tribes had been at war with +each other from remotest times, and men captured were generally ransomed +at the rate of ten to fifteen camels a head. It was usually considered +that the Bedeyat belonged to Darfur, though they never paid tribute; and +that, I suppose, was the reason for the Maheria Sheikhs coming to me to +ask for the forcible return of the captured men and camels. + +The road between Assiut and Darfur had been formerly much used by +merchants, and large caravans used to pass along it; but it had been +discovered that it was also used as a slave route, and several merchants +had been caught in this traffic and had been exiled; consequently, the +Egyptian Government had given orders for the road to be closed. From the +first day I arrived in El Fasher, I had heard nothing but complaints +about the stoppage of trade along this road, and I had already +represented to the Government that this was the direct trade route with +Egypt, and would serve as an outlet for the ivory, feathers, skins, and +tamarisk fruit with which the country abounded, instead of sending it in +a roundabout way to Khartum, and thence down the Nile, involving the +merchants in heavy transport expenses as well as long delays. Government +now approved of my reopening trade by this road, but held me responsible +that no slaves should be sent along it. No sooner had I received this +permission than I ordered a caravan to be prepared, and, under the +guarantee and guidance of Sheikh Mohammed Wad Idris, some eight hundred +camels started for Egypt, and in less than seven weeks I received a +telegram _via_ Khartum announcing their safe arrival at Assiut. + +As I was very anxious to inspect the northern and western frontiers of +Darfur, the complaint of the Maheria afforded me a pretext for doing so, +and for settling their affairs as well. I therefore ordered them to +supply, without delay, one hundred and fifty baggage-camels, and one +hundred "suga," or large water-skins made of bullock's hide; this they +readily agreed to do, and we named the village of Melek Hagger (the +chief of the Zaghawa Arabs), lying to the north of Kebkebia, as the +rendezvous. + +About the middle of December, 1881, I left El Fasher with two hundred +infantry and some irregular Shaigia cavalry, under Omar Wad Darho. This +individual, it will be remembered, had been sent by Ali Bey Sherif to +settle the Madibbo-Egeil differences, and having found on my return to +Darfur that he had acted unjustly, I had discharged him; but he had +subsequently told me that he had been ordered by Ali Bey Sherif to +collect a considerable sum of money for him, and that, therefore, he +could not act otherwise. I pardoned and reinstated him; moreover, most +of the Shaigia horsemen in El Fasher were his relatives, and he was the +only man who appeared to be able to exercise any degree of authority +over them. + +The first night after leaving El Fasher we camped near the Migdob wells, +about half way to Kobbé; and when it was dark, I happened to stroll +towards the wells, accompanied by one of my attendants. I was dressed in +much the same way as the soldiers, and it was too dark for me to be +recognised; I therefore came close to the well, and watched the women +drawing water. Some Shaigia now came up to water their horses, and asked +the women for their buckets, which they refused to give. "We shall first +fill our jars," they said, "and then you can use the buckets." "Your +words are as a punishment sent from God," replied one of the Shaigia; +"this is the result of bringing liberty into the country. By Allah! were +it not so, and were not Slatin with us, you and your vessels would very +soon be our property." "God grant him a long life!" was the retort; and +I strolled quietly away, thoroughly pleased to have heard with my own +ears an admission from the mouths of Sudanese that they were thankful to +the Europeans for having released them from the oppression and violence +which had hitherto characterised the system of government in this +country. + +At 11 A. M. the next day we reached Kobbé, the old trade capital of +Darfur, which was now inhabited principally by Jaalin, whose fathers and +grandfathers, immigrating from the Nile valley, had intermarried with +the local people. The Mamur of this place was a certain Emiliani dei +Danziger, of a Venetian family of Austrian origin. He had been given +this position by Gordon, and I now sent him to act as Mudir of Dara. The +people seemed sorry to say good-bye to him; they said he was a good man, +and when slaves and masters disagreed, and the former wanted to leave +the latter, he had often been able, by quiet words, to effect a +reconciliation. Fortunately, I was not called upon to give any immediate +decisions here on the slave question, and the following morning, leaving +Kobbé, we marched, _via_ Sanied el Kebir and Bir el Gidar, to Kebkebia, +where we arrived in two days. Kebkebia is situated on a rocky plateau, +and just at the edge of a deep khor. In the centre of the town was a +square, loopholed enclosure about nine feet high, constructed of rough +stones and mud, smeared with whitewash, in which were the huts of the +officers and the small garrison. Formerly the Mudir and troops were +quartered at Kulkul, but had been transferred here about a year and a +half before. The buildings had not been completed, and, in consequence, +the houses of Nur Angara and the other officials were situated outside +the enclosure. The khor contained some good gardens and some very high +palm-trees, which gave the town a most picturesque appearance. + +After inspecting the garrison under Major Adam Omar, I proceeded to my +quarters in the fort; and scarcely had I arrived there when I heard a +great noise and commotion, which I was told proceeded from the houses +occupied by Nur Angara's women. The noise increased to such an extent +that I sent for Nur Angara's brother Idris, and asked him what was the +cause. He began by making excuses, saying that it was only a little +domestic dispute; but when I pressed him, he admitted that all these +women knew that I had sent their lord and master to El Obeid, and they +wished to attract my attention. I now sent my chief clerk, Ahmed Effendi +Riad, the Kadi of the Mudiria, and Idris to make a full inquiry, and +report. They returned shortly, and stated that several of the women +complained before Idris of being kept by force in the house, and a few +of them said that they had not the necessary means of living. I now +sent the same deputation back again, and instructed the Kadi to give the +legal wives and their slave-girls injunctions to remain in the house and +await their master's orders; and at the same time he was to legally +nominate some one to look after them, while Idris was ordered to deduct +any expenses incurred in the maintenance of the family, from Nur +Angara's pay. A list was then to be made of the remaining women, who +were ordered to be sent to their relatives or tribes against receipts; +and I further instructed the delegates to remain quite neutral, and +force no one to leave the house who did not wish to do so, or who wished +to stay until their master's return; I added that I would be responsible +that such as wished to remain should be provided for. It is needless for +me to add that women's affairs take quite as long a time to settle in +the Sudan as they do in Europe; I was not, therefore, surprised that my +delegates remained absent two hours, and in the lists which they brought +back I found the names of no less than sixty young girls who pleaded for +liberty. They had all been captured in the various campaigns, and their +tribes were now the loyal subjects of the Government. Their detention by +force was, therefore, quite illegal, and I ordered them to be at once +sent back to their relatives. Of the remaining thirty, some, owing to +family matters, and others for various reasons, expressed a wish to +remain, and I gave instructions for them to be supplied with the +necessary means for living. As for Idris, I told him that I held him +responsible for his brother's household, and that he must either look +after the women or release them. + +I also found the Bazingers and their wives in this station very +discontented, and I did what I could to place matters on a better +footing. Several of the neighbouring Sheikhs came to see me here, +amongst them Hegam of the Dar Massalit, Sultan Idris of Dar Gimr, El +Mahi of Dar Jebel, and Hamad Tor Jok of the Beni Hussein. I had a most +interesting conversation with these men, especially with the Massalit +Sheikh, who was constantly at war with the tribes on the Wadai +frontier. He told me it was their custom to go to battle with their +wives and children, who always carried the om bilbil. "This drink," said +he, "encourages one for the fight; and as for our wives and children, +why should we leave them for our enemies? We always go out to conquer or +die." I told him that I had heard it was the custom in their tribe to +use the skins of their slain enemies as water-skins, in their natural +form, and that if he had some of these skins, I hoped he would give me a +male and female as specimens. The Sheikh at once denied it; but the +other Sheikhs said that it was so, and Hegam admitted that it had been a +tribal custom long ago. I begged him to search among his old +war-trophies, and he promised he would do so; but he evidently failed to +procure one, for he never again mentioned the subject. These Sheikhs +afterwards asked to see me privately, and each of them in turn offered +me a horse, which, they said, was the custom of their country; but I +persistently refused to accept one, much to their chagrin. + +After inspecting the books, I left Kebkebia, accompanied by Omar Wad +Darho, and directed the infantry to follow us to the village of Melek +Hagger, where we had arranged to meet the Maheria Sheikhs. The road now +became practically a desert; but as it was winter time, and we were +mounted, the journey was not a trying one. About half a day's march +beyond Kebkebia, we reached the Ogelli wells, where our horsemen filled +their water-bottles, and we started on again at midnight, so as to get +over the distance as quickly as possible. In the early morning we were +overtaken by some mounted messengers, despatched by Adam Omar with a +French cypher message from Marcopoli Bey, in the Governor-General's +name, which had been sent to Foga, whence it had been posted on to +Kebkebia _via_ El Fasher. It ran as follows: "A Dervish named Mohammed +Ahmed has, without just cause, attacked Rashed Bey near Gedir. Rashed +Bey and his troops have been annihilated. This revolt is very serious. +Take the necessary steps to prevent malcontents in your province from +joining this Dervish." I sent an immediate answer, as follows: "Your +message received. I shall take the necessary steps to comply with your +orders." + +Some time previously, I had been told privately that a religious Sheikh +had been causing difficulty to the Government by calling on the natives +to resist authority. As, however, I had heard nothing of the matter +officially, I concluded it had been satisfactorily settled; but now this +annihilation of the Mudir Rashed Bey and his troops was evidently a +matter of grave import. The movement must have suddenly assumed large +dimensions; but who would have dreamt the results would have been so +terrible and so widespread! + +Having started on this expedition, I could not now well give it up +without exciting mistrust; but I determined to bring it to a successful +issue with the least possible delay. That evening we came across a herd +of giraffe, which abound in this desert. Catching sight of us, they at +once scattered; and as I was mounted on the fast little pony Gordon had +given me, I galloped after one, and in a few minutes caught it up, and +could with ease have killed it; but I knew that to cut it up and +distribute the flesh would have taken hours, and the thought of this +alarming telegram induced me to let the animal go. That night we halted +at an ostrich hunter's settlement, and lost no time in lighting a fire +to keep ourselves warm. We found these great desert tracts bitterly +cold, and the Shaigia were so numbed they could scarcely sit on their +horses. These districts contain quantities of ostriches, which are +hunted by the Arabs and Gellabas. A party of them, taking a supply of +water on camels sufficient to last them for weeks, usually settle in +some spot in the desert frequented by ostriches, where they build little +straw huts just large enough to contain one man; and in these they +patiently wait, on the chance of a stray shot. Of course, if a man is +fortunate enough to discover where an ostrich has laid eggs and buried +them in the sand, he will patiently watch until the eggs are hatched, +when he seizes the little birds, puts them in the cage he has ready, and +takes them off to the nearest market, where he invariably gets a good +price for them. + +We marched the whole of the next day, and at eleven o'clock the +following morning reached the village of Melek Hagger, and were welcomed +by the great Zaghawa Sheikh, who begged us to come to his village; but I +preferred to camp under an enormous nabak-tree which stood in the centre +of the khor, and was large enough to accommodate a hundred people under +its shade. Hasaballa, Sheikh of the Maheria, was also there, and told me +that he had collected the water-skins, and a hundred and fifty camels +which were grazing close by. Adjutant-Major Suleiman Basyuni, at the +head of two hundred infantry, also marched in that evening; and, having +procured from the village the quantity of corn required, as well as two +oxen which were offered by the Sheikhs and specially killed for the +troops, we were able to continue our march the next morning. Two days +later we reached Kama, the market town of the district ruled by Melek +Saleh Donkusa. This Donkusa's sister, Khadiga by name, when quite a +young girl, had been presented by her parents to Sultan Hussein, and had +eventually entered his harem, while her brother, who had also come to El +Fasher, obtained, owing to his superior ability, a high position in the +palace. Khadiga eventually bore Sultan Hussein a son, who died; and the +latter had then liberated both Khadiga and Saleh, and had appointed him +Emir of the portion of the Zaghawa tribe to which he belonged. Now it +happened that the mother of Saleh and Khadiga was a Bedeyat maiden, and +the present Bedeyat rulers were their uncles. All this I knew +beforehand, and had already taken steps to use Donkusa as an +intermediary between the Maheria and the Bedeyat, in order to induce the +latter to give up the stolen camels without being obliged to have +recourse to force. + +Saleh informed me that, in accordance with my instructions, he had +already sent word to the Bedeyat chiefs, and that he expected them to +arrive in a few days to make their submission to me. He therefore begged +I would wait at his village. I was much gratified with this news, for I +was most anxious to settle matters quickly and get back to El Fasher. I +told Saleh to let the Bedeyat chiefs know that I did not intend to be +very severe, and that if they were really anxious to avoid a conflict, +they should come at once; but at the same time I told him to warn them +that I was very strong, and would not be tampered with. + +It is a strange fact that the Bedeyat, although completely surrounded by +Moslem states and peoples, are almost the only tribe in this part of +Central Africa who still adhere to their old heathen customs. If their +chiefs are asked by Mohammedans to repeat the creed, they can say, +"There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Prophet." But beyond this +they know nothing; they are utterly ignorant of the precepts of the +Kuran, and never pray as Moslems. + +Under the widespreading branches of an enormous heglik-tree, and on a +spot kept beautifully clean and sprinkled with fine sand, the Bedeyat +beseech an unknown god to direct them in their undertakings, and to +protect them from danger. They have also religious feasts at uncertain +dates, when they ascend the hills, and on the extreme summits, which are +whitewashed, they offer sacrifices of animals. They are a fine, stalwart +race, very dark in colour, with straight features, a thin nose and small +mouth, and resemble Arabs more than Negroes. The women are famed for +their long flowing hair, and there are some great beauties amongst them, +as one often finds amongst the free Arab tribes. They generally wear +skins of animals round their waists and loins; but the higher class and +their women dress in long flowing robes made of white Darfur cotton +cloth. Their food is very plain. Corn does not grow in their country, +and is almost unknown to them. They take the seeds of the wild pumpkin, +which grows there in abundance, and they soak them in wooden vessels +made from the bark of trees. After taking the outer shells off, they +leave the seeds to steep until they lose their bitterness, and then, +straining them off and mixing them with dates, they grind them into a +sort of flour, which is cooked with meat, and forms the principal food +of the country. + +[Illustration: Bedayat praying to the Sacred Tree.] + +They have also most strange customs as regards inheritance and +succession. The cemeteries are generally situated at some distance from +the villages; and when a father dies, the body is taken by all the +relatives to be buried. The ceremony over, on a given signal they all +rush together at the top of their speed to the deceased's house; and he +who arrives first and fixes his spear or arrow in it is considered the +rightful heir, and not only becomes possessor of all the cattle, but +also of his father's wives and other women, with the exception of his +own mother. He is at perfect liberty to marry them if he wishes, or he +can set them free. A man's female household is entirely regulated by his +financial position. It is great or small according as the lord and +master is rich or poor. + +As I before remarked, most of the people still adhered to their pagan +customs, and it amused me greatly when Saleh Donkusa, who was by way of +being a good Moslem himself, denied to me, in the most emphatic manner, +that such customs were still in vogue in his tribe. I asked him what the +great heglik-tree was which I had passed the previous day when riding +through the khor, and why the ground underneath was sprinkled with fine +sand. The question surprised him, and for a moment, he was silent; he +then answered that it was the usual meeting-place in which tribal +matters were discussed. "The Maheria Arabs," said I, "wanted to graze +their cattle near the tree; but when I saw that it was dedicated for +some special purpose, I prevented them from doing so." He thanked me +most heartily, and I could see that, though a fanatical Moslem himself, +he was determined to uphold the ancient manners and customs of his +tribe, and so retain his hold over them. I subsequently learned that it +was entirely through him that the holy tree was preserved; and as my +work was not that of a missionary, I had no desire to interfere in their +religious matters, and possibly bring about difficulties with the +Bedeyat, who had never seen a white man before. + +I was beginning to lose patience, owing to the delay of the chiefs in +coming, when a certain Ali Wad el Abiad arrived; he had been Sub-Kadi of +Shakka, and had just been discharged by Emiliani, against whom he made +the most bitter complaints, charging him with allowing the clerks to do +exactly as they pleased, because he was so ignorant of the Arabic +language. He then told me he had heard in Shakka that a Dervish had been +preaching a Jehad (religious war) against the Turks (Government), and +had already fought several successful actions. I immediately wrote off +to Emiliani, telling him of the Kadi's complaint, and urging him to do +all in his power to prevent the Arabs communicating with the rebels, and +to endeavour to do his utmost to keep the country tranquil. I also told +him to lose no time in reporting to me fully on the general state of +affairs. + +At length, after a stay of six days at Kamo, Saleh came to me with the +satisfactory news that the Bedeyat chiefs would arrive the next day. In +concert with him, I selected the heglik-tree as the place of meeting, +which was to be held one hour after sunrise and in which he was to act +as the intermediary between myself and the Bedeyat. I then ordered our +tents to be moved to within less than half a mile of the tree, and early +the next morning I had the troops drawn up in line ready to receive the +Bedeyat chiefs, whose approach Saleh now announced. Standing with my +officers and sanjak, Omar Wad Darho, about one hundred yards in front of +the line, with our servants holding the horses, we prepared to receive +our distinguished visitors, who, guided by Saleh, were now seen +advancing, with their hands crossed on their chests and heads bowed low. +They had brought an interpreter with them, and through him we exchanged +mutual greeting. I then ordered carpets to be spread on the ground, and +asked them to be seated, whilst I and my officers sat on small field +chairs; and, having partaken of sugar and water and dates, we began our +palaver. + +[Illustration: Surrender of the Bedayat to Slatin.] + +The four Bedeyat Sheikhs were tall, fine-looking middle-aged men, with +good features and dressed in long white robes which no doubt our friend +Saleh had prepared for them; they also wore the usual straight Arab +sword. Their names were Gar en Nebbi, Bosh, Omar, and Kurukuru; but I am +not quite sure that these high-sounding Arab names were not assumed for +the occasion. Their attendants, numbering between sixty and seventy men, +dressed in shirts and skins, stood some way behind, while Saleh Donkusa +seated himself close to the Sheikhs and the interpreter. The spokesman, +Gar en Nebbi, now addressed the interpreter with the words "Kursi +Sellem," to which the latter answered "Sellem," indicating that he was +ready to translate; and he then began: "We belong to the Bedeyat tribe, +and our fathers and grandfathers have paid tribute to the Sultans of +Darfur every two or three years when an officer was sent to collect it. +You Turks have now subdued the Furs and have conquered the country, and +you have never before asked us to pay tribute. You [Slatin]--as our +friend and brother Saleh Donkusa has informed us--are the ruler of this +country, and in token of submission we have brought you ten horses, ten +camels, and forty cows. Do you, therefore, fix the amount of tribute to +be paid by us." + +It was now my turn to speak; so, repeating the "Kursi Sellem," I began: +"I thank you for your submission, and I am only going to demand a small +tribute; but I have specially come here to call on you to return the +camels you stole from the Maheria, and release the prisoners you +captured." Gar en Nebbi, after a short pause, replied: "Since the time +of our forefathers we have been in constant feud with the various Arab +tribes. If we fight and take prisoners, it is our custom to allow them +to be ransomed. We have often before released Maheria captives." I +referred to Sheikh Hasaballa to ask if this was so, and he answered in +the affirmative; and then I asked whether he had ever done so since the +Egyptian Government had taken possession of the country, or whether he +referred to the period in which they were ruled by the Darfur Sultans. +"Before you conquered the country," he answered, "but only two years +ago, the Maheria invaded our country; we repulsed them and drove them +out, so that they returned empty-handed." I looked at Hasaballa, and saw +from his silence that the Bedeyat was telling the truth. "That may be +so," I answered, "but at that time I was not governing this country. I +am well aware that in those days you did what you thought was right, and +I do not in any way blame you for it; but as I am now your master, I +wish you to act in accordance with my orders. You should, therefore, +hand over your prisoners; but as the Maheria previously attacked you, +then I order that instead of returning them all the camels you took, you +can retain half, as a reward for your bravery in having prevented them +from pillaging your country." A long pause now took place, and the four +Sheikhs discussed the matter between themselves. Gar en Nebbi then +answered, "We shall comply with your orders; but as it will take a long +time to collect the camels, which are scattered throughout the country, +it will be easier for us to release the captives." "Then look sharp," +said I, "and carry out these orders as soon as possible; and when you +have done so, I will release you from the payment of this year's +tribute. I can quite understand that it may cause you some difficulty to +return the camels and pay your taxes as well." + +This arrangement apparently quite satisfied them, and they thanked me +profusely; so I asked them to stay with us till the following day, and +Saleh would look after all their wants. Then, mounting our horses, I +gave the command to the troops to fire three volleys, which terrified +the poor Bedeyat, who had scarcely ever seen fire-arms. Telling Saleh to +bring the Sheikhs before me the next morning at the same hour, I +galloped off with my escort to the camp. + +During the day I busied myself in considering how best to get back to +El Fasher without endangering the success of my present expedition; I +could not wait until the Bedeyat had collected and handed over their +captives; moreover, I was disturbed about the condition of the +water-skins supplied by the Maheria, and blamed Hasaballa severely for +furnishing such bad equipment. Next morning, when the Sheikhs arrived, I +asked them if they had yet despatched men to collect the prisoners and +camels; and when they answered no, I replied in an irritated tone that I +could not possibly wait to see my orders carried out. To this Gar en +Nebbi answered, "Master, we are here to carry out your orders; you can +return, and we shall deliver over the men and animals to Saleh Donkusa +and Hasaballa, who is remaining as his guest." "I have another proposal +to make," said I. "I do not doubt your sincerity and loyalty, but I am +anxious to know you better personally; I wish, therefore, you and any +others you may desire to bring with you should accompany me to El +Fasher, and at the same time tell your representatives to collect the +men and animals and hand them over to Hasaballa, who is staying with +Donkusa. When I hear at El Fasher that this has been done, I shall then +send you back to your country laden with rich presents. You have never +visited El Fasher yet, and you will be interested to see the seat of +Government and understand its power, and I sincerely trust that you and +Saleh will concur with my proposal; you will be so pleased with all you +will see that in future I know you will always comply most readily with +my orders." + +Saleh at once answered that he thought the proposal a very good one, and +that he was content to stay behind, as he had already seen El Fasher. I +saw by the faces of the Bedeyat that the idea pleased them, and after a +long palaver amongst themselves they made up their minds to accompany +me. Knowing that the sooner they carried out my orders about the return +of the captives and camels the sooner they would start, they lost no +time in nominating good men as their representatives with the tribe, +and, selecting six men as their attendants, they announced they were +ready to leave; but before starting they wished to swear the oath of +fidelity, in which, of course, I readily acquiesced. The ceremony was +performed as follows: A horse's saddle was brought and placed in the +midst of the assembly, and on this was laid a large earthenware dish +filled with burning charcoal; a lance was then fixed to the saddle, and +the head-Sheikhs, with their attendants, now came forward and, +stretching out their hands over the lance and burning charcoal, they +recited the following words with great solemnity, "May my leg never +touch the saddle, may my body be smitten with the lance that kills, and +may I be consumed by the burning fire, if I ever break the solemn oath +of fidelity which I now make to you." + +After this solemn declaration I had now no doubt of the loyalty and +honesty of these people. + +That afternoon I gave the order to start, and, accompanied by the four +Bedeyat chiefs and their attendants, we left Kamo, having given Saleh +and Hasaballa most strict injunctions to inform me without delay when +the tribe had complied with my instructions. Anxious to reach El Fasher +without further delay, I left the Sheikhs in charge of the infantry, +telling the officers to do all that was possible to make their journey +comfortable; and then, accompanied by Omar Wad Darho and my Shaigia +escort, I set off at a rapid pace. + +The first information I received on arrival at El Fasher was the sad +news of the sudden death of Emiliani at Shakka. He had been suffering +from heart disease for years, and at last it had carried him off; his +officials, who did not understand the suddenness of the disease, thought +they might be suspected of poisoning him, and had at once brought his +body on a camel to Dara, where the apothecary held a rough post-mortem +examination, and certified that death had occurred from natural causes. +His body was buried at Dara, and I afterwards had a stone erected to +commemorate my poor countryman who had died in this distant land. + +I next learnt that some trouble had arisen at Shakka which would oblige +me to go to Dara for a few days. Disquieting rumours also reached us of +the state of affairs in Kordofan and Khartum; however, it was generally +thought in Government circles that the revolt would be speedily crushed +by the military expedition despatched for this purpose. + +A few days later the troops with the Bedeyat Sheikhs arrived, and in +order to impress them, I ordered out all the garrison, and in the +evening we had a grand firework display in their honour. I intrusted the +Mudir with looking after the comfort of my guests, but unfortunately I +was not able to stay long with them; as soon as the horses were +sufficiently rested, I started off again for Dara, accompanied by Darho +and his two hundred Shaigias, leaving Said Bey Guma as commandant and +representative of the Government during my absence. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE KHALIFA'S PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF THE RISE OF THE MAHDI. + + Early Life of Mohammed Ahmed, the Mahdi--The Religious + Tarikas--Mohammed Ahmed quarrels with his Religious Superior--He + is refused Forgiveness, and joins a Rival Sheikh--He is joined + by Abdullahi et Taaishi--The Mahdi secretly tells Abdullahi of + his Divine Mission--The Failure to seize Mohammed Ahmed on Abba + Island--The Mahdi's Hejira to Jebel Gedir--He nominates his + Khalifas--The Defeat of Rashed Bey and Yusef Pasha + Shellali--Effect of the Mahdi's Victories in Kordofan--The + Mahdi's Intrigues with the Inhabitants of El Obeid--Futility of + the Steps taken by the Government to cope with the Revolt. + + +The revolt raised by the so-called Dervish proved to be of a very +serious nature. + +This man, Mohammed Ahmed, was born near the Island of Argo, in Dongola, +and was of a poor and obscure family, but who claimed to be "Ashraf," or +descendants of the "Prophet." Their claims to this dignity, however, +were not inquired into or acknowledged by any one. In general he was +known as a Dongolawi. His father was an ordinary fiki, or religious +teacher, and had given him his early instruction in reading the Kuran +and in writing, and when still a child had taken him to Khartum; but he +himself had died on his journey, near Kerreri, and here his son +subsequently erected a tomb to him, known as the "Kubbet es Sayed +Abdullahi" (the dome of Sayed Abdullahi). + +Young Mohammed Ahmed was now left entirely to his own resources. He +studied assiduously, and, being of a deeply religious disposition, he +became a great favourite with his master, who taught him to learn the +Kuran by heart, and gave him his early instruction in theology; he +subsequently went to Berber, and became the pupil of the well-known +Mohammed el Kheir (formerly Mohammed ed Dekkeir), who completed his +religious education. He remained for several years in Berber continually +studying, and his unassuming nature, intelligence, and religious zeal +made him a great favourite with his instructors. When he arrived at +manhood he quitted Berber and went to Khartum, where he became a +disciple of the celebrated and highly revered Sheikh Mohammed Sherif, +whose father, Nur ed Dayem, and grandfather, Et Tayeb, had been the +principal exponents of the Sammania Tarika, or doctrine. + +The meaning of the word "tarika" is literally "way"; hence "Sheikh et +Tarika" signifies "the guide to the way." The duties of these holy +personages consist in writing a certain number of prayers and texts of +the Prophet, which the devotees are called upon to repeat a certain +number of times, and thus facilitate the "way" to those heavenly +mansions which are the goal of all true believers. The Sheikhs et Tarika +are therefore exponents of various doctrines, and each one bears the +name of the original founder of the order; such as the "Khatmia," the +"Khadria," the "Tegania," the "Sammania," etc. They are held in high +respect by their disciples, who are their most devoted and obedient +adherents. + +Mohammed Ahmed soon showed himself a most zealous and ardent supporter +of the Sammania tarika, and became very devoted to its head, Sheikh +Mohammed Sherif. He now went to live on the Island of Abba, on the White +Nile, near Kawa, surrounded by several devoted disciples. They earned a +livelihood by cultivating the lands, and received frequent gifts from +religious persons who passed up or down the Nile. Mohammed Ahmed's +grand-uncle, Mohammed Sharfi, had resided on the island for some years, +and the young zealot had married his daughter. His two brothers, +Mohammed and Hamed, also lived there, drove a good trade in +boat-building, and supported the young fiki, who had hollowed out for +himself a cave in the mud bank, and lived here in almost entire +seclusion, fasting often for days, and occasionally paying a visit to +the head of the order to assure him of his devotion and obedience. + +One day it fell out that Mohammed Sherif, as is the custom on such +occasions, had gathered together his Sheikhs and disciples to celebrate +the feast of the circumcision of his sons; he had also given out that +his guests might amuse themselves by singing and dancing as they liked, +and that as such feasts were occasions of rejoicing, he would pardon, in +God's name, any sins that might be committed during the festivities +which were contrary to the religious law. But the godly fiki, Mohammed +Ahmed, pointed out to his friends that singing, dancing, and playing +were transgressions against the laws of God, and that no man, be he even +Sheikh et Tarika, could forgive such sins. These views reached the ears +of Mohammed Sherif, who, entirely disagreeing with Mohammed Ahmed's +arguments, and being withal very angry at this assumption on the part of +his disciple, called on him to justify himself. Consequently Mohammed +Ahmed, in the presence of all the inferior Sheikhs and fikis, came in +the most humble manner before Mohammed Sherif and besought his +forgiveness. Sherif, however, abused him roundly, called him a traitor +and a sedition-monger who had broken his vow of obedience and fidelity, +and ignominiously struck him off the list of disciples of the Sammania +order. + +Thoroughly humbled and subdued, Mohammed Ahmed now went to one of his +relatives and asked him to make a sheba;[3] and with this on his neck, +and his head besprinkled with ashes, he again returned in deep +repentance to Mohammed Sherif, begging his forgiveness. The latter, +however, utterly refused to have anything further to say to him, and, in +despair, Mohammed Ahmed returned to his family in Abba. He held the +founders of the Sammania order, Sheikhs Nur ed Dayem and et Tayeb, in +the greatest respect, and to be removed with ignominy from his beloved +tarika was a disgrace too hard to be borne. Shortly afterwards Mohammed +Sherif happened to be in the neighbourhood, and again Mohammed Ahmed +appeared before him in the sheba and ashes, and once more implored +forgiveness. "Be off, you traitor!" shouted Mohammed Sherif. "Get away, +you wretched Dongolawi, who fears not God and opposes his master and +teacher! You have verified the words of the saying, 'Ed Dongolawi +Shaitan mugalled bigild el insan' [The Dongolawi is the devil in the +skin of a man]. By your words you try to spread dissension amongst the +people. Be off with you! I shall never forgive you!" + +Kneeling in silence, his head bowed low, Mohammed Ahmed listened to +these scathing words; then, rising, he went sadly away. Tears streamed +down his cheeks; but they were not now tears of repentance. Rage and +anger burned within him, and these feelings were heightened by the +knowledge of his powerlessness to do anything by which to wipe out this +disgrace and insult. Boiling over with indignation, he returned to his +home and announced to his faithful disciples that he had been finally +abandoned by Mohammed Sherif, and that he now intended to apply to +Sheikh el Koreishi, who lived near Mesallamia, to receive him into his +order. This Sheikh had succeeded the holy Sheikh et Tayeb, the +grandfather of Mohammed Sherif, and was one of those authorised to +maintain and teach the Sammania doctrines as he considered right; and on +this account there was considerable jealousy between him and Mohammed +Sherif. + +In due time Sheikh el Koreishi's reply was received, saying that he +would accept him gladly. Mohammed Ahmed and his disciples now made all +preparations to proceed to Mesallamia, and were on the point of +starting, when a message was received from Mohammed Sherif, directing +him to appear before him, when he would give him a full pardon, and +permit him to resume his old functions; but to this Mohammed Ahmed sent +back a dignified answer that he felt perfectly innocent of any crime, +and sought no forgiveness from him; and that moreover he had no desire +to lower him in the eyes of the world by bringing about a meeting +between him and "a wretched Dongolawi." + +Sheikh Koreishi now received him with open arms; and the incident +between the godly but cunning Mohammed Ahmed and his late spiritual +guide spread far and wide in the Sudan. That an inferior in a religious +order should have refused the forgiveness of his superior was an +unheard-of proceeding; but Mohammed Ahmed did not hesitate now to +proclaim openly that he had left his late superior because he could no +longer have any respect for a master who acted contrary to the religious +law. And in this way he secured an immense amount of public sympathy, +which brought his name prominently forward, and added considerably to +his prestige. Even in distant Darfur the matter was the principal topic +of conversation, and his refusal to accept forgiveness made him the hero +of the hour. + +He obtained Sheikh Koreishi's permission to return to Abba, where he +received visitors from all parts, who sought the blessing of this holy +man; and common people now crowded to the island, seeing in him a +sympathetic leader who was bold enough to openly defy his superiors. He +received quantities of gifts, and these he openly distributed amongst +the poor, thus earning the epithet of "Zahed" (the renouncer, or one who +has renounced the good things of this life). He then made a journey +through Kordofan, where the towns and villages abound with religious +fikis of the most ignorant and superstitious description. Amongst them +he had an enormous success. He also wrote a pamphlet, which he +distributed amongst his specially trusted adherents, summoning them as +true believers to do all in their power to purify the religion, which +was becoming debased and insulted by the corruption of the Government +and the utter disregard of the officials for the tenets of the true +faith. + +A few months later the Sheikh el Koreishi died, and Mohammed Ahmed and +his disciples lost no time in going at once to Mesallamia, where they +erected a tomb, or dome, to his memory. + +It was while here that a certain Abdullahi bin Mohammed, of the Taaisha +section of the Baggara (cattle-owning) tribe of southwestern Darfur, +presented himself to Mohammed Ahmed and sought permission to be admitted +into the Sammania Tarika; his request was granted, and Abdullahi swore +eternal fidelity to his new master. This man was the eldest of the four +sons of Mohammed et Taki, of the Juberat division of the Taaisha tribe, +which in its turn was descended from the "Aulad um Sura." His three +other brothers were Yakub, Yusef, and Sammani; he also had a sister +named Fatma. The father was on bad terms with his relatives, and +determined to proceed on pilgrimage with his whole family to Mecca, +where he resolved to settle, and end his days in close proximity to the +birthplace of his Prophet. Those who knew Et Taki described him as a +good man, scrupulous in his attendance to his religious duties, and +capable of curing diseases and insanity by means of heggabs, or +religious charms; he was also a teacher of the Kuran. Of his sons, +Abdullahi and Yusef were the most unmanageable, and the father had the +greatest difficulty in making them learn by heart even the few passages +from the Kuran necessary for the ordinary prayers. Yakub and Sammani, on +the other hand, had more of their father's quiet disposition, and, +having learnt their verses and commentaries, were able to help him in +his religious duties. + +The family had, it appears, joined the Furs in combating Zubeir's entry +to Darfur, and the latter relates how, during the fight at Shakka, he +took Abdullahi prisoner, and was about to have him shot, when some of +the Ulema craved pardon for him, which he granted. Abdullahi, in his +gratitude, subsequently sought out Zubeir secretly, and announced to him +that he had had a dream, in which it had been shown to him that he was +the expected Mahdi, and that he (Abdullahi) was to be one of his +faithful followers. "I told him," relates Zubeir, "that I was not the +Mahdi; but that when I became aware of the wickedness of the Arabs, and +how they blocked the roads, I came to open them and establish trade." + +Et Taki and the family quitted their home when Zubeir had concluded +peace, and, travelling _via_ Kalaka to Shakka, they had remained there +two years, and had proceeded thence _via_ Dar Homr and El Obeid to Dar +Gimr, where they remained the guests of the head-Sheikh for some months, +and where Et Taki died, and was buried by the head-Sheikh, Asaker Abu +Kalam, at Sherkéla. Before his death he urged on his eldest son, +Abdullahi to take refuge with some religious Sheikh on the Nile, then +immigrate to Mecca, and never return again to their country. + +Leaving his brothers and sister under the care of Sheikh Asaker Abu +Kalam, in accordance with the dying wishes of his father, Abdullahi set +out for the Nile valley; and when making inquiries along the road, he +heard of the dissension between Mohammed Ahmed and his Sheikh, Mohammed +Sherif, and he resolved to go to the former and ask him to allow him to +join the order. "It was a very troublesome journey," said Abdullahi bin +Sayed Mohammed, Khalifat el Mahdi (his full name), to me some years +later, when he first became ruler of the Sudan; for at that time he used +to talk openly to me, and had not learnt to mistrust me, as he did +latterly. In those days, as I shall subsequently relate, he would send +for me and chat with me alone by the hour, seated on his beautifully +made angareb, over which a palm-mat was spread, whilst I sat beside him +on the ground, with my legs tucked up under me. "Yes, indeed, it was a +very troublesome journey," he repeated. "At that time my entire property +consisted of one donkey, and he had a gall on his back, so that I could +not ride him; but I made him carry my water-skin and a bag of corn, over +which I spread my rough cotton garment, and drove him along in front of +me. At that time I wore the wide cotton shirt, like the rest of my +tribe. You remember it, do you not, Abdel Kader? For you have only +recently come from my beautiful country [he always used to call me +"Abdel Kader," unless there happened to be present another man of the +same name, when he would call me "Abdel Kader Saladin," _i. e._, +Slatin]. My clothes and my dialect at once marked me out as a stranger +wherever I went; and when I crossed the Nile, I was frequently greeted +with 'What do you want? Go back to your country; there is nothing to +steal here.' The Nile people do not think well of us," he continued, +"because the merchants going west to Zubeir, in Bahr el Ghazal and to +our countries, were frequently maltreated by the Arabs; and when I asked +them where the Mahdi, who was known as Mohammed Ahmed, lived, they gazed +at me incredulously, saying, 'What are you going to him for? He would +not soil his lips by even mentioning the name of your race.' Every one, +however, did not treat me in this way; some would take pity on me and +direct me. Once, when passing through a village, the people wanted to +take my donkey away, saying that it had been stolen from them the year +before; and they would have succeeded, had not an elderly and +God-fearing man interposed and allowed me to pursue my way. I was +continually mocked and hooted at during my long journey; and had not a +few people out of sheer pity occasionally given me some food, I must +have starved. At length I reached Mesallamia, and here I found the Mahdi +busily engaged in building the tomb of the late Sheikh el Koreishi. On +seeing him I entirely forgot all the troubles I had suffered on my +journey, and was content to simply look at him and listen to his +teaching. For several hours I was too timid to dare to speak to him; but +at length I plucked up courage, and in a few words told him my story, +and about the sad condition of my brothers and sister, and I begged him, +for the sake of God and His Prophet, to allow me to become one of his +disciples. He did so, and gave me his hand, which I kissed most +fervently, and I swore entire submission to him as long as I lived. This +oath I kept most scrupulously until the angel of death overtook him; and +some day he will overtake us, and therefore we should ever be ready to +meet him." + +Pausing for a moment, he gazed at me, and I at once said, "Yes, indeed, +sire, you have faithfully kept your promise; and the Lord God Almighty +has rewarded you; for you, who at one time were despised and rejected, +have now become absolute lord and sovereign of this land. Those who +insulted you at that time should indeed be thankful that you have not +wreaked vengeance on their heads. A man capable of such restraint must +indeed be the successor of the Prophet." Abdullahi, I knew, loved praise +and flattery, and on this occasion I perhaps almost exceeded the limits; +but I was most anxious that he should continue to tell me his story. + +"When I had taken the oath," continued Abdullahi, "the Mahdi called one +of his disciples, named Ali, and said to him, 'You are brethren from +this day; give each other your mutual support, trust in God, and do you, +Abdullahi, obey the orders of your brother.' Ali was very good to me; he +was as poor as myself, but when the Mahdi sent him any food he always +shared it fairly with me. During the day we carried bricks required for +building the tomb, and at night we slept side by side. In a month the +dome was complete. At this time the Mahdi received hundreds of visitors, +and had little time to look at or think of me; still, I knew that I had +found a place in his heart, and he appointed me one of his +flag-bearers.[4] When we left Mesallamia, people flocked around us to +gaze at the Mahdi, whom they at that time called only Mohammed Ahmed, +and listen to his teachings and seek his blessing. + +"It was in this way that we marched to the Island of Abba. My sandals +were worn out, and I had to give my donkey to a Mukaddum [superior +disciple] to carry a sick man; but at length we reached the Mahdi's +house, and now I fell very ill with dysentery. My brother Ali took me to +his little straw hut, which was scarcely large enough to hold two +people, looked after my food, and, as I was in bed, he used to fetch +water from the river to enable me to perform my 'wadu' [religious +ablution]. + +"One evening he went to fetch the water, but did not return; and the +next day I was told that he had been attacked and killed by a +crocodile,--Allah yerhamu! Allah yeghfurlu! [May God be merciful, may +God forgive him his sins!]" I repeated these words after the Khalifa, +adding, "Sire, how great is your patience! and therefore has God exalted +you. Now may I ask you if, during your illness, the Mahdi paid any +attention to you?" "No," replied Khalifa Abdullahi, "the Mahdi wished to +try me. It was not till after Ali's death, and when I lay helpless in +the hut, that he was told I was ill. One evening he came to see me. I +was too weak to get up, so he sat beside me, and gave me some warm +medida [a sort of meal pap which, mixed with melted butter, is used as a +stimulant] out of my pumpkin gourd, saying, 'Drink that, it will do you +good; trust in God.' He then left me, and shortly afterwards some of the +brethren arrived, and took me, by his order, to a cottage near his own +hut. He himself lived in a simple tukul [straw hut]. From the moment I +had taken the medida which he had given me I felt better; he had said it +would do me good, and the Mahdi always speaks the truth, and cannot +lie." "Yes, indeed," I interposed; "the Mahdi is faithful and true, and +you as his successor have followed exactly in his footsteps." "Once near +him," continued the Khalifa, "I recovered rapidly, for I saw the Mahdi +daily; he was as the light of my eyes, and my mind was at rest. He used +to ask about my family, and said they had better remain in Kordofan for +the present. 'Trust in God' was always the last thing he said to me. He +now used often to come and talk privately with me, and one day he +intrusted me with the secret of his divine mission. He was appointed as +Mahdi by God, he said, and had been taken by the Prophet into the +presence of the apostles and saints. But long before he intrusted me +with his secret--indeed from the first moment I beheld his face--I knew +that he was the messenger of God,--el Mahdi el Muntazer [the expected +guide]. Yes, these were indeed happy days, and we had then no cares or +troubles; and now, Abdel Kader, as it is getting late, you had better go +to bed." "May God grant you a long life, and may He strengthen you to +lead the true believers into the right path," said I; and I quitted his +presence with the usual salute. + +In Abdullahi, the Mahdi had a ready instrument at hand for his great +work. It is strange to think that this man might never have risen to any +importance, had he not quarrelled with Mohammed Sherif; but now the +reputation he had already gained amongst the inhabitants of the Gezira +(the country lying between the Blue and White Niles) raised hopes in his +mind that he was destined for a high position. He now began to secretly +tell his special adherents that the time had come when religion must be +purified, that this was to be his work, and that those of them who +wished might join him in it. But he always called himself the slave of +God, and made believe that he was acting entirely on inspiration from +above. Abdullahi was able to give him full information about the western +tribes, who, he said, being powerful and courageous, would gladly seize +an occasion to fight for the religion of God and his Prophet, and to +conquer or die. To secure their adherence he advised Mohammed Ahmed to +make a tour through Kordofan; and, setting out, they proceeded to Dar +Gimr, where Abdullahi's family immediately joined them and became his +faithful adherents. He told them, however, that the time had not yet +come for them to leave their homes; for the present they would be more +useful in inciting the local inhabitants. + +From Dar Gimr he proceeded to El Obeid, where he visited all the +principal chiefs and Sheikhs, religious and other, and by inquiring +carefully into their views and opinions, he gradually laid the +foundations for his great design. In the strictest secrecy he told those +of whose fidelity he was assured that he had a divine mission to cleanse +and purify the religion, already polluted and debased by corrupt +officials. In El Obeid his most trusted confidant was the Sayed el +Mekki, the head of the religious Sheikhs; but he advised that for the +present no active steps should be taken, as the Government was very +powerful, and the tribes were too split up and disunited to be able to +raise a revolt. Mohammed Ahmed took a more sanguine view, and between +them it was agreed that Mekki should observe absolute secrecy, and +should take no steps until Mohammed Ahmed should begin the movement, +when he promised him his entire support. + +After leaving El Obeid, he proceeded to Tagalla, where he interviewed +Mek Adam Um Daballo, the ruler of the district, who received him very +kindly, but who, on the advice of his Kadi, refused to make any promises +of assistance. He now returned to Abba, _via_ Sherkéla. + +During this tour Mohammed Ahmed had full opportunities of seeing for +himself the state of the country, and he was soon convinced that there +was a spirit of the most bitter hostility against the authorities on the +part of the poorer population, who, as I have already pointed out, were +taxed out of all proportion to their property, and who suffered terrible +oppression and tyranny at the hands of the self-seeking and unscrupulous +tax-gatherers who infested the country. Amongst the latter, there were +now a considerable number of Sudanese, who lost no opportunity of +enriching themselves and of putting their relatives in positions of +secondary importance, to help them to this end. As a case in point, +Gordon's nomination of the wealthy Sudanese merchant Elias as Pasha and +Governor-General of Kordofan created an immense amount of ill-feeling in +the country; and the same might be said of his assistant, Abderrahman +ben Naga, also a wealthy Kordofan merchant. Both of them were capable +men, and understood the management of the people; but they worked +entirely for their interests and those of their relatives. Moreover, a +spirit of jealousy became rampant amongst other Sudanese of high rank, +who considered themselves quite as capable of filling high positions as +those who had been selected in preference to them. Consequently, when +Elias Pasha sent orders to Mek Adam to pay his taxes, he refused point +blank, as he was of royal descent. "I pay for goods I buy from +merchants, but I do not pay tribute to them," said Mek Adam proudly to +the officials who had been sent to him. At the same time he sent to El +Obeid to inquire if all the Turks and other "Whites" had died, as the +Government had now given high positions to men who were merely +merchants, instead of to persons of high descent. These were the reasons +for the subsequent discharge of Elias Pasha and Abderrahman from their +official positions, and their substitution by Turks and Egyptians. + +As regards the Europeans, there were very few of us; but as a rule we +were liked and respected, because the people trusted our word; but I do +not doubt that we also gave them cause at times to be dissatisfied with +us. With probably the best intentions in the world, we would issue rules +and regulations entirely at variance with the manners, customs, and +traditions of the Sudanese. There is also no doubt that our attitude in +regard to the slave question caused wide-spread discontent. The religion +permitted slavery, and from time immemorial the ground had been +cultivated and the cattle tended by slaves. That slave-hunting and +slave-driving led to the perpetration of the most horrible cruelties and +bloodshed, I do not for a moment hesitate to admit; but this was a +matter of very little concern to the slave-buyers, who as a rule did not +ill-treat their slaves. Now we, by our activity and energy, had not only +made the export of slaves from the Black countries almost impossible, +but we listened to the complaints of slaves against their masters, and +invariably set them free. + +Mohammed Ahmed cleverly seized the occasion of all this discontent to +act; he was well aware that religion was the only possible means of +uniting all these discordant elements and widely diversified tribes who +were at continual feud with each other; he therefore declared himself +the "Mahdi el Muntazer"; thus at once creating himself a personality +which must be superior to all others, and hoping by this means to drive +out of the country the hated Turks, Egyptians, and Europeans. But still +he thought the time for an open declaration was not yet ripe; he +therefore continued to increase the number of his trusted adherents, +till at length the nature of his divine mission became an open secret. + +Some time previous to this, Rauf Pasha, Governor-General at Khartum, had +been secretly told by Mohammed Sherif of Mohammed Ahmed's intentions; +but it was known that the early differences between the two religious +Sheikhs had greatly embittered Sherif, and consequently the authorities +did not lay much store by his statements, and merely concluded that +Mohammed Ahmed was a holy man who had obtained a certain hold over the +people, owing to his superior sanctity. + +But now the Government learnt from quite another source that this man +was a danger to the public peace, and therefore they determined to put +an end to the matter, once and for all. + +For this purpose Rauf Pasha sent for Mohammed Bey Abu es Saud, who was +known to Mohammed Ahmed, and despatched him in a steamer to Abba with +orders to bring the Sheikh to Khartum. Mohammed Ahmed's friends, +however, gave him timely warning, and told him that if he came to +Khartum he would in all likelihood be kept there, through the intrigues +of Mohammed Sherif. When, therefore, Saud appeared at Abba, he was +welcomed by Abdullahi and Mohammed Ahmed's brother, who conducted him to +the Sheikh. Abu Saud now informed him of the reports--false he +admitted--which had been circulated about him, and strongly advised him +to come to Khartum and justify himself before his master, the +Governor-General. "What!" shouted Mohammed Ahmed, rising suddenly, and +striking his chest with his hand, "by the grace of God and his Prophet I +am the master of this country, and never shall I go to Khartum to +justify myself." + +Abu Saud drew back terrified; he then tried to calm him by soft words; +but Mohammed Ahmed, who had previously planned this scene with Abdullahi +and his brother, continued to talk vehemently, and urged Abu Saud to +believe in the truth of what he said. + +Abu Saud was now, however, much concerned about the safety of his own +person, and as soon as he could beat a safe retreat, he did so, and +returned to Khartum to inform the astonished Governor-General of the +failure of his mission. + +Mohammed Ahmed now realised that there was no time to be lost; his +future depended entirely on his own immediate exertions, and he did not +hesitate to instantly write to his adherents throughout the length and +breadth of the Sudan, stirring them up against the Government, while he +directed his own immediate followers to prepare forthwith for the Jehad. + +In the meantime, Rauf Pasha was not idle; realising, after his interview +with Abu Saud, that the matter was very serious, he resolved to despatch +two companies, each under the command of an adjutant-major, to seize +this fanatic; and thinking to create emulation between them, he promised +that the officer who succeeded in capturing him should be promoted at +once to the rank of major. But this plan only ended in creating discord, +and the consequences were direful in the extreme. The troops, under the +chief command of Abu Saud, were embarked in the steamer, "Ismaïlia," +which had been armed with a gun, and, quitting Khartum early in August, +1881, they proceeded to Abba; but on the journey discussions arose +between the two officers and Abu Saud. Meanwhile Mohammed Ahmed, who had +news of the despatch of the steamer, collected his people, and, +obtaining help from the Degheim and Kenana tribes near him, whom he +summoned to join in a Jehad, he made all preparations to offer +resistance, stirring up religious enthusiasm by declaring that the +Prophet had appeared to him and announced that all persons taking part +in this religious war should earn the title of "Sheikh Abdel Kader el +Gilani" and "Emir el Aulia,"[5] titles highly prized amongst Moslems. +Now, however, that matters had become really serious, those who came +forward and offered to give up their property and lay down their lives +for the great cause were not numerous. + +The steamers arrived off Abba at sunset, and, in spite of Abu Saud's +appeals, the two officers determined to disembark at once. But the +commander, into whose heart fear had entered when he heard Mohammed +Ahmed declaring that he was "master of the land," remained on board with +his gun, and anchored in mid-stream. Both officers, entirely ignorant of +the locality, and each jealous of the other winning the tempting reward, +advanced by different paths in the dead of night along the muddy banks +towards Mohammed Ahmed's settlement. The latter with his adherents had +quitted the huts, and, armed with swords, lances, and clubs, had hidden +themselves in the high grass, whilst the troops, arriving from opposite +directions, now opened a hot fire on the empty village, with the result +that each inflicted considerable loss on the other; and in the midst of +this hopeless confusion the villagers leapt from their ambush and +created terrible havoc amongst the already demoralised men, who fled in +all directions. A few only succeeded in reaching the bank and swimming +out to the steamer; and Abu Saud, now thoroughly terrified, wished to +return instantly to Khartum, but was at last induced by the captain to +stay till the following morning, in the hope of picking up fugitives. +None, however, came, and at dawn he steamed back at full speed, with his +direful news. + +The effect of this success on Mohammed Ahmed and his adherents can be +readily understood; they had suffered little or no loss, though he +himself had been slightly wounded in the arm, and Abdullahi, who dressed +the wound, counselled that this little accident should be kept secret +from the rest. Still, the number of his followers was not largely +increased, as the local people were convinced that Government would take +strong measures to suppress the revolt, and they would not risk the +losses which they felt certain would ensue. + +Mohammed Ahmed, strongly urged by Abdullahi and his brothers to +increase the distance between himself and the Khartum authorities, now +resolved to retreat to southern Kordofan; and to avoid this move being +considered a flight, he announced to his adherents that he had received +an inspiration to proceed to Jebel Masa,[6] and there await further +Divine instructions. Before quitting Abba, he appointed, also in +accordance with the Divine Will, his four Khalifas. The first of these +was Abdullahi, who (the precedent of the Prophet being adopted) +represented the Khalifa Abu Bakr es Sadik; Ali Wad Helu, of the Degheim +tribe (White Nile), was chosen to represent the Khalifa Omar ibn el +Khattab; and the representative of the fourth Khalifa, Ali el Karrar, +was Mohammed esh Sherif, one of Mohammed Ahmed's relatives, who was then +only a boy. The chair of the third Khalifa, Osman ibn Affan, was not +filled for the moment, but was subsequently offered to and refused by +the great Sheikh Es Sennusi, of Northern Africa. + +To move this large following across the river was now a matter of some +difficulty, for the people who owned boats, fearing that they might be +accused of complicity, at first refused; but at length all--including a +large contingent of Degheim and Kenana Arabs, who joined at the last +moment--were transferred to the west bank; and, advancing into the Dar +Gimr country, Mohammed Ahmed summoned the inhabitants of the districts +through which he passed to follow him to Jebel Masa. The greatest +enthusiasm now prevailed amongst his followers, who lost no opportunity +of telling the credulous and superstitious populations through which +they passed, of the wonderful miracles performed by the Mahdi. On one +occasion, quite ignorant of any danger, he halted with only a few +followers in close proximity to the camp of a certain adjutant-major +named Mohammed Guma, who, with a party of sixty soldiers, was collecting +taxes. The latter, fearing the responsibility he might incur by +attacking him without orders, referred to El Obeid for instructions; but +long before they arrived the Mahdi had rejoined the bulk of his people +and had continued his march; so this golden opportunity was lost. Years +afterwards I met the unfortunate Guma in a sad and miserable plight in +Omdurman. "Ah!" said he, "if I had only known then that I should be +reduced to walking about barefoot, and begging my bread, I should not +have asked for instructions, and so allowed that wretched Dongolawi to +escape; it would have been better to have been killed than to have +endured the miseries of this wretched existence." + +Another excellent opportunity of capturing him was also lost. It +happened that Giegler Pasha had been ordered to come to El Obeid to +represent the Governor-General in connection with a case of embezzlement +by a district inspector and wealthy Sudan merchant named Abdel Hadi; +hearing that the so-called Mahdi was in the neighbourhood, he +despatched, towards the end of September, Mohammed Said Pasha with four +companies to arrest him and bring him to El Obeid. But either by design +or through carelessness the expedition failed in its object; the troops, +apparently, halted during the day at the place in which the rebels had +slept the previous night, and after thus uselessly wasting three days, +they returned to El Obeid, the result being that they were discredited +as being afraid to attack, and the Mahdi's prestige rose +proportionately. + +It had been Mohammed Ahmed's intention to stay for a time at Jebel +Tagalla; but Mek Adam, learning of this, sent one of his sons to him +with a gift of corn and sheep, bearing a message that he thought he had +better retire further into the interior. He was therefore obliged to +continue his journey, and after a long and troublesome march at length +reached Jebel Gedir, where, in addition to the local inhabitants, a +section of the Kenana tribe now resided. + +At this time Rashed Bey was Governor of Fashoda; and, being fully +informed of the Mahdi's movements, resolved to attack him before he +became more powerful. A German named Berghof was also in Fashoda. He was +formerly a photographer in Khartum, but Rauf Pasha had sent him up the +river as an inspector for the suppression of slavery. Rashed now +advanced, accompanied by Berghof and Kaiku Bey, king of the Shilluks, +towards Gedir. Entirely underrating the enemy with whom he had to deal, +he marched with no military precautions, fell into a carefully prepared +ambush, and some fourteen hundred of his men were annihilated. So sudden +was the attack that there was not even time to fire a rocket. Rashed and +a few of his personal attendants made a gallant defence, but were soon +overpowered by superior numbers and killed. + +This defeat occurred on 9th December, and Mohammed Ahmed no longer +hesitated to call himself the Mahdi. His prestige, especially in the +eyes of the Arabs, rose enormously; nevertheless, his relations with his +immediate neighbours were not of the best. Khalifa Abdullahi, in +subsequent conversations with me in Omdurman, referred to this period, +as far as I can recollect, in the following words: "We arrived at last +at Gedir, thoroughly tired out after our long and troublesome journey. +The Mahdi had only one horse, and that of the inferior Abyssinian breed, +while I had to walk almost the whole distance; but God grants strength +to those true believers who are ready to lay down their lives for the +faith. My brothers, Yakub, Yusef, and Sammani had joined us with their +families, also my stepmother, who was nursing my baby at her breast. My +brother Harun, too, would not stay behind, so he also joined us. I was +always greatly concerned about my wife, stepmother, and child, who is +Osman Sheikh ed Din, whom you now see before you. It did not so much +matter for us men; troubles and afflictions are sent us by God, and we +bear them, only too thankful that we should be chosen by Him to raise +the faith which had been trodden down to the dust, and to teach our +brethren. But," said he, smiling, "teaching won't bring us food for our +women and children. People flocked to us in crowds, it is true; but most +of them were even more destitute than ourselves, and came to us for +support. Those who were well off shunned us,--riches are the curse of +this world,--and those who have them will be deprived of the joys of +Paradise. The people whose countries we crossed did not give us much +help; but the little he got the Mahdi graciously offered to the +pilgrims, whom he considered as his guests. When I heard the women and +children weeping, I felt sometimes that my heart would break; but when I +gazed at the Mahdi's face I trusted in God and became at rest. Patience, +Abdel Kader, is the highest virtue. Practise that, and God will reward +you." + +The defeat of Rashed Bey awakened the Government to a sense of the +serious nature of the revolt, and an expedition was at once organised +and placed under the command of Yusef Pasha Shellali, who had greatly +distinguished himself in Gessi's campaign in Bahr el Ghazal, and was +noted for his courage and resource. A reinforcement of a battalion of +infantry and some volunteers, under the command of Abdalla Wad Dafalla +(the brother of Ahmed Wad Dafalla), with Abd el Hadi and Sultan Dima, +was also to be sent from Kordofan. + +Meanwhile the Mahdi despatched letters in all directions, proclaiming +his victories and his Divine mission. He summoned all to join the Jehad, +giving the name of Ansar[7] to his followers, and promising them +four-fifths of the booty taken in war (the remaining fifth he reserved +for himself), while to those who should fall fighting for God and His +religion he held out the certainty of the fullest enjoyment of the +pleasures of Paradise. Thus did he pander to the main characteristics of +the Sudanese, viz., fanaticism and greed. + +Yusef Pasha Shellali's force, which numbered some four thousand men, was +composed of regular infantry under Mohammed Bey Suleiman and Hassan +Effendi Rifki, whom I had previously discharged; the irregular cavalry +were placed under the courageous Shaigia Melek, Taha Abu Sidr, and +leaving Khartum on 15th March, 1882, they proceeded to Kowa, where they +awaited the reinforcements expected from El Obeid. + +Abdalla Wad Dafalla, however, found it no easy matter to collect +volunteers. There was a general feeling that it was wrong to fight +against a man of piety, and, moreover, as the Mahdi and his followers +were little else than beggars, there was no enticement of rich plunder +to allure them. Besides all this, Elias Pasha, the richest merchant in +Kordofan and the ex-Governor, was the deadly enemy of the Dafalla +family, and exercised all his influence, which was still considerable, +in preventing men joining him. However, Abdalla had agreed with the +authorities to proceed, and, including regulars, the force with which he +left El Obeid numbered some two thousand men; and joining with the +remainder at Kowa, the entire expedition of six thousand strong +proceeded to Fashoda, which was reached in the middle of May. + +After a short rest, Yusef Pasha advanced west, and camped, on the +evening of 6th June, at Mesat, near Jebel Gedir, confident of success. +Why should such men as Yusef Pasha, Mohammed Bey, and Abu Sidr fear a +starving crowd of sickly, half-famished, and almost naked Arabs? Had +they not won victories on the White Nile at Duffilé? Had they not +conquered Bahr el Ghazal, and brought the proud Sultans of Darfur to +submission? What could this ill-armed and ignorant fiki do? Abdalla Wad +Dafalla alone raised a note of warning that they should not underrate +the danger. He had had a fall from his horse when marching out of El +Obeid, which is considered a bad omen in the Sudan; but who was going to +listen to this preacher in the wilderness? They did not even think it +worth while to cut down a few thorn bushes to make a zariba, but merely +picked up a little of the scrub lying close by, and formed a rough +enclosure, utterly inadequate for defence; so the Mahdi's sickly, +half-famished, and almost naked Arabs fell on Yusef Pasha's army in the +early dawn of the 7th June. Dashing through the slight inclosure, they +were on the sleeping soldiers in a moment, and made short work of them. +Yusef Pasha and Abu Sidr were killed in their night-shirts at the doors +of their tents, and in a few minutes there was scarcely a man left +alive. Abu Sidr's concubine rushed at her master's murderers, and shot +two of them with a revolver; but she fell prone over his body, stabbed +to the heart. Abdalla Wad Dafalla, with a few of his attendants, alone +made a short stand; but they soon shared the fate of their companions. + +When anything unusual happens in uncivilised countries, it is always +considered by the natives as supernatural; and this was exactly the +effect of Yusef Pasha's disaster on the credulous and superstitious +minds of the Sudanese. For sixty years the country had been governed by +the Turks and Egyptians. If the tribes refused to pay their taxes, they +were invariably punished; and no one dared to question for a moment the +right of the authorities to do so. Now this holy fiki, Mohammed Ahmed, +had suddenly appeared on the scene. With a crowd of ill-armed and +undisciplined men he had inflicted several crushing defeats on the +well-armed and well-equipped Government troops. There could now be no +doubt he was the "Mahdi el Muntazer," the expected Mahdi! + +The defeat of Yusef Pasha placed the whole of southern Kordofan in his +hands, and now he was in a position to make good his deficiencies. He +had gained money, arms, horses, and loot of all sorts; and these he +distributed amongst the chiefs of tribes who now flocked to him. They +believed most firmly that he was the true Mahdi, whose only intention +was to uphold the faith, and who had no regard for wealth and property. + +The news of the Mahdi's victories now spread far and wide; and, amongst +an uneducated population such as that of Kordofan, the accounts were +exaggerated to a quite ridiculous extent. Roused by the spirit of +fanaticism, numbers of them quitted their homes, and marched to Jebel +Gedir, which was now openly re-named Jebel Masa, while others, gathering +round the local chiefs, prepared to fight against the various Government +posts and stations scattered throughout the country. + +This condition of affairs was eminently favourable to the ruling +passions of the nomad Arabs. Under the cloak of a religious war, which +owed its existence to them, they massacred, plundered, and robbed the +natives who, they said, were loyal to the hated Turks; and at the same +time they shook themselves free from the taxation imposed on them by a +Government they detested. + +The Mahdi now placed himself in communication with the merchants of El +Obeid, who, through their wealth and connection with the people, +virtually ruled the town and a considerable part of the country. They +thoroughly understood the situation. None knew better the weakness and +effeteness of the Government, and many were prepared to side with the +Mahdi. Elias Pasha was the chief amongst these malcontents, and detested +Ahmed Bey Dafalla, who was a great friend of Mohammed Pasha Said. He was +well aware that these two would, in the event of the defeat of the +rebels, do him all the harm they could. Elias Pasha, therefore, employed +himself actively in secretly collecting adherents for the Mahdi. Many of +the less wealthy merchants anticipated better times should the +Government be overthrown, whilst there were not a few who, though +disinclined to the Mahdi, were driven to espouse his cause by the fear +that, should he prove successful, their wives and property would fall +into the hands of his victorious followers. + +As for the religious Sheikhs, this movement was one which held out the +highest prospects of promotion for them. They prided themselves that one +of their number had successfully dared to proclaim himself a Mahdi, and +they looked to the time when he or his sons should drive out the hated +Turk, and rule the land. A few--only a very few--sensible people foresaw +the danger which would threaten the country should the Mahdi prove +successful, and these did all they could to prepare the Government for +the coming storm; but their numbers were too small to have any effect. + +Elias Pasha now sent his son Omar to acquaint the Mahdi with the +situation, and to beg him to come forthwith to El Obeid; while Mohammed +Pasha Said, realising that this would undoubtedly be the next step, and +deluded with the idea that the people would be prepared to stand a siege +with him, began to dig an enormous ditch round the town, and, at the +suggestion of Ahmed Bey Dafalla, he put the Government buildings in a +state of defence, and built a parapet around them. His parsimonious +ideas, however, led him into a grave error. Instead of laying in large +stores of corn, which the merchants, seeking only their own interests, +were perfectly ready to provide, he refused to pay more than peace +prices. It was, in consequence, rapidly bought up at a higher rate by +those who were already beginning to feel the effects of the disturbed +state of the country; and so he lost the favourable moment to buy. + +Meanwhile, massacres in the districts were of almost daily occurrence. +Tax-collectors, detached military posts, and Government officials fell +an easy prey to the bloodthirsty Arabs. The Bederia tribe attacked and +almost annihilated the inhabitants of Abu Haraz, which was a day's march +distant from El Obeid, and only a few men, women, and children succeeded +in reaching the capital; the rest were all killed or taken prisoners +during the flight along the waterless track. Young girls were, of +course, looked upon as valuable booty, and were given water by their +captors; but the older women suffered the most horrible mutilation. Arms +and legs were ruthlessly cut off merely to gain possession of the +bracelets and anklets they wore. A few days later, the town of Ashaf, in +northern Kordofan, was attacked and plundered by the Arabs, though a +defence was made by Nur Angara, who was living there at the time, and +who assisted Sanjak Mohammed Agha Japo, formerly one of Gordon's +kavasses. They were, however, eventually forced to retire on Bara. This +Japo was an old Kurdi, and during the retreat he performed prodigies of +valour. Collecting all the women and young girls in the centre of his +square, he bade them sing songs of victory, saying that such music drove +fear out of all hearts; and, making constant counter-attacks, he +succeeded in bringing almost all the fugitives in safety to Bara. + +This town was now attacked, and the Arabs repulsed; but, collecting in +greater numbers under Sheikh Rahma, they completely invested it, and cut +off all supplies. + +A mass of Arabs had also collected at Kashgeil; and against these +Mohammed Pasha Said despatched a battalion of regulars, who succeeded in +temporarily dispersing them; but, in doing so, the troops lost so +heavily that virtually it was little short of defeat; and, collecting +again, these Arabs attacked Birket, where the entire garrison of two +thousand men was put to the sword. A similar disaster overtook the +troops at Shatt, on the White Nile, where two hundred were massacred; +but their subsequent attack on Duem was repulsed, with a loss of two +thousand men. + +Meanwhile, the emissaries sent by the Mahdi to the Gezira had not been +idle. The Gehéna, Agaliyin, Hawazma, and Hammada Arabs, under Abu Rof, +had attacked and invested Sennar; but the town had been subsequently +relieved by Sanjak Saleh Wad el Mek, who had been despatched thence with +a large force of Shaigia. + +The town of Abu Haraz, on the Blue Nile, had been invested by Sherif +Ahmed Taha; and Giegler Pasha, who was acting Governor-General in place +of Rauf Pasha, had arrived in the neighbourhood, and had directed Melek +Yusef of the Shaigia to attack the rebels with an inferior force, which +was defeated. Melek Yusef, disdaining flight had got off his horse, and, +seating himself cross-legged on his farwa (sheepskin), had ordered one +of his slaves to kill him. Giegler had at once proceeded to Khartum, +and, procuring reinforcements, had returned and attacked Ahmed Taha, +who had been killed, and his head sent to Khartum. He had then cleared +the neighbourhood of Sennar of rebels without suffering any serious +loss. In spite, however, of these temporary successes, troubles +increased, and the Government daily received alarming accounts of the +disasters which had overtaken troops and inhabitants in various parts of +the country. In consequence, Abdel Kader Pasha had been despatched to +the Sudan as Governor-General. He had arrived at Khartum on 11th May, +1882, and had busily set to work to place the town in a state of +defence. These measures had some effect on the natives, and it was +evident to them that the Government intended to act resolutely; but, at +the same time, it was perfectly clear to them that these steps were not +merely precautionary, but were rendered absolutely necessary by the very +serious position of affairs. The arsenal and dockyard, ammunition +stores, magazines, and Government archives must be safeguarded against +all eventualities. Besides, one of the first acts of the new +Governor-General was to withdraw to Khartum a portion of the garrisons +of Gallabat, Senhit, and Gera, in which districts there was at present +complete tranquillity. + +Meanwhile, Mohammed Ahmed fully realised that to kindle the smouldering +fire into a blazing flame his presence was absolutely necessary. He +therefore accepted Elias Pasha's invitation to come to El Obeid, and, +leaving his uncle, Mahmud Sherif, with a few followers, to look after +his wives and children in Jebel Masa, he descended into the plains, and +marched with his forces towards the wealthy capital of Kordofan. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +SPREAD OF THE REVOLT IN SOUTHERN DARFUR. + + I arrive at Dara--Despatch of an Officer to Shakka--Character of + Zogal Bey--Return to El Fasher--Causes of my Unpopularity with + the Officers--Disturbances at Om Shanga--The Southern Tribes + join the Revolt--I make Dara my Headquarters--The Power of a + Woman's Tongue--Immorality of the Maalia Tribe--Sheikh Madibbo + threatens Shakka--Cowardly Conduct of Mansur Helmi--I proceed to + his Assistance--I commence my Campaign against the Southern Arab + Tribes--The Night Attack on Madibbo's Camp--Mansur Helmi's + Cowardly Retreat from Shakka--He deserts his own Men--Courageous + Conduct of Ali Agha Juma--I decide to retake Shakka at all + Costs--Difficulty of enforcing my Orders. + + +When I quitted El Fasher for Dara, early in 1882, I was accompanied by +three hundred and fifty mounted men under Omar Wad Darho. This large +escort was quite unnecessary, but I thought it advisable to show the +Arabs that the Government had plenty of troops at its disposal to +suppress any trouble on their part. + +On arrival at Dara I visited poor Emiliani's grave, and put up a stone +to his memory. Zogal Bey was administering affairs here as +Acting-Governor in his place, and the general aspect looked very +troubled. The southern Arab tribes--the Rizighat, Habbania, and +Maalia--were in revolt; they held constant meetings, in which it was +declared that Dervishes were flocking to the standards of the Mahdi, who +had been sent by God to raise the Faith, and remove the oppression and +tyranny of the hated officials; it was said that, armed merely with +sticks, they had gained victory after victory over the Government +troops. Emiliani, whom I had previously sent to Shakka to report on +affairs there, had been driven to distraction by the constant quarrels +between Madibbo and Egeil Wad el Jangawi of the Rizighat tribe, and had +ended by discharging Madibbo and replacing him by Munzel, who had +previously acted for many years as principal Sheikh. Madibbo, enraged at +this insult, had joined his own section, the Aulad Mohammed, who had +immigrated at that time towards the Bahr el Arab for pasture. + +I now sent letters to both Madibbo and Egeil, ordering them to keep +their Arabs well in hand and stop these meetings which were being held, +and at the same time I instructed Madibbo to come and see me and talk +over his personal and tribal affairs. Just at the time I was despatching +these letters, news arrived that, owing to the disturbed state of +Shakka, the forty soldiers previously sent by Emiliani to assist the +Sheikh in collecting the taxes had been obliged to turn back, and were +now within two days' march of Dara. I therefore ordered Mansur Effendi +Helmi to proceed at once to restore order with two hundred and fifty +regulars and twenty-five horsemen, and instructed Ismail Wad Barnu, who, +it will be remembered, had been the intermediary between Gessi and +Suleiman Zubeir, to accompany him. At the same time I sent word to +Abakr, Sultan of the Begu tribe, who was thoroughly loyal, and +particularly well acquainted with the Rizighat country, to join the +expedition. + +My instructions to Mansur Helmi were to act leniently with the Arabs, +but at the same time with such discretion that the interests of the +Government should not suffer. I gave him, however, full powers to put +down disturbances by force if other means failed. He marched off _via_ +Kalaka, whilst I returned forthwith to El Fasher to collect the various +detachments of troops which were out in the district gathering taxes, +and prepare for all eventualities. Before leaving Dara, I had a long and +serious interview with Zogal. I had known this man well when I had been +Governor here, and it had come to my ears that he and Omar Wad Darho had +had several talks about the Mahdi and his doings, and had agreed that +should he continue to be victorious they would join him. These two men +were the richest officials in Darfur, and exercised great influence in +the country: their secession would have been very serious; I therefore +thought my best plan was to show them great friendliness, and do all +that was possible to avoid a breach occurring between us. In my +conversation with him I therefore made no allusion to his meetings with +Darho, but confined myself to pointing out that he, being a relative of +the Mahdi and at the same time a high Government official, it behoved +him to support lawfully constituted authority to his utmost. I reminded +him that he had been born in Darfur and had been only an ordinary +merchant, but that Government had recognised his capacity and had given +him one position after another, which he certainly could not hope his +cousin the Mahdi would be able to confer on him. I urged him not to be +deluded by the exaggerated rumours he heard of the Mahdi's prestige, and +above all begged him to put aside all idea of his being credited with a +Divine mission. Sooner or later, I said, the Government must be +victorious, and all those who had failed to support it in times of +difficulty must expect severe punishment. I urged him to think of his +women and children, who, by an ill-considered and thoughtless step on +his part, might be placed in great difficulties; and I wound up by +saying that I did not speak to him now as his official superior, but as +to a friend who had worked together with me for long, and whose true +interests I had at heart. + +I think Zogal was favourably impressed by what I said; he admitted that +as a relative of the Mahdi he could not help being struck by all that +was going on, but at the same time he was most grateful for the favours +bestowed on him by Government, and he would seize every opportunity to +prove that he was truly loyal. When I asked him point blank whether he +was in personal communication with the Mahdi, he denied it, but showed +me letters which the Mahdi had written to several of the religious +Sheikhs, inciting them to revolt, which he had intercepted. On inquiry, +I found that the bearer of these letters had confessed to the battalion +commander that he had received them from the Mahdi for distribution; I +therefore ordered him to be tried by court-martial (the country being +now subject to martial law). He was condemned to be shot, and in the +interests of discipline I ordered the sentence to be carried out. + +In saying good-bye to the officers and officials, I pointed out the +absolute necessity of strict attention to their duties, and told them I +would return from El Fasher as soon as possible; and, leaving the +mounted troops in Dara, I departed for the capital, where I arrived +after three days' march. The first news received was that the +telegraph-station at Foga had been destroyed by the Homr Arabs, that the +entire country in the neighbourhood of Om Shanga was unsettled, and that +several people who were out in these districts collecting wood had been +captured and enslaved by the Arabs. + +Om Shanga was an important trade centre between El Obeid and El Fasher; +it had a garrison of only sixty men, and as it contained some wealth, +the Arabs would in all likelihood attack it. I therefore ordered Major +Hussein Effendi Maher to proceed thither with reinforcements of two +hundred men and fortify the place, and I also instructed Omar Wad Darho +to advance towards it with three hundred horsemen, but at the same time +I particularly warned him that the object of this expedition was to +chastise the Arabs, and that I considered their conduct sufficiently bad +to warrant their being freely plundered. I thoroughly understood Darho's +disposition, and I was most anxious to create hostility between him and +his men and the Arabs, who were now the firm adherents of the Mahdi, and +thus by every means in my power prevent a coalition between them, which +was the principal danger I feared. + +The postal system was now completely interrupted, and I was obliged to +send any communications to El Obeid and Khartum concealed in +hollowed-out lance-staves, between the soles of boots or sandals, or +sewn into the bearer's clothing. The extra ammunition I had ordered +when in Khartum had, owing to the negligence of the officials, been +delayed; it had reached El Obeid late, and now, the roads being cut, it +could be sent no further. The man despatched in charge of this +ammunition was a certain Mohammed Pasha Wad el Imam, the wealthiest +merchant in Darfur, whom Gordon had turned out of the country, together +with his brothers, for malpractices; and no sooner did he arrive at El +Obeid than he joined the Mahdi. Also of the four hundred cavalry, mostly +Turks and Egyptians, under the command of Mohammed Agha Abu Bala, +destined for Darfur, one hundred only had been sent on, and the +remainder were retained at El Obeid. I had therefore to make up my mind +to do the best I could with the forces originally at my disposal in +Darfur. + +From the beginning I had enforced very strict discipline, and in +consequence was not popular amongst the officers; they were inclined to +pay little attention to the training of their men, and much preferred +being sent to collect taxes, which, for them, was a very lucrative +employment. In garrison they occupied themselves principally in building +their houses and laying out their gardens, for which work they utilised +the men under their command. I had at once put a stop to all this, and +they had in consequence sent a petition to Cairo, signed by almost all +of them, complaining that I was in the habit of removing powder from the +magazines, that I taxed their houses and gardens, and had appointed as +police inspector a Turkish sergeant in place of the officer I had +discharged. But when the reply came from Cairo to say that as +Governor-General of Darfur I was responsible for all such matters, and +had the authority to do what I thought just and right, they found they +were powerless, and had to put as good a face as they could on what they +were pleased to call my innovations. + +Meanwhile Major Hussein Maher and Omar Wad Darho sent in messages that +the rebels were collected near Om Shanga and I at once despatched orders +to them to attack. + +From Dara I learnt that Madibbo on receiving my letter had refused to +come, and had gone off to the Mahdi at Gedir instead; Egeil, who was +with his cattle on the Bahr el Arab, also refused to come. Moreover, a +certain Thiran of the Rizighat tribe and a relative of Madibbo, who had +formerly been employed as a Government tax-collector, had murdered in +cold blood two soldiers who happened to have gone to him; he had also +attempted to seize by force some of Sultan Begu's cattle, but had been +wounded in the fray, taken prisoner, and sent to El Fasher for trial. He +was found guilty, and I ordered his execution in the public +market-place. + +There was now no doubt that all the southern tribes were in a state of +active revolt, and had every intention of joining the Mahdi; I therefore +thought my headquarters should now be at Dara; so, taking two hundred +infantry and seventy-five of the newly arrived cavalry, I proceeded +thither. On my arrival I heard some interesting details regarding the +progress of Mansur Helmi's expedition. It appeared that on his way he +had come across the Om Sureir section of the Rizighat tribe, who had +been implicated in a number of raids, had stolen a quantity of cattle, +and had shown themselves generally hostile to Government. Mansur had +seized the Sheikhs; but the latter had offered him a large bribe, which +he had unhesitatingly accepted, and in consequence had released them, +and returned them the greater part of their cattle. On his arrival at +Shakka he had been attacked by some Rizighat and Maalia Arabs, and +though he had driven them off with ease, he had lost Ali Agha Kanké, +Omar Wad Darho's uncle, a most courageous man. He now officially +informed me that an extensive revolt on the part of the Arabs was out of +the question, and they were quite ready to serve the Government loyally, +if they received a full pardon for past offences. + +An incident, however, had occurred which, though in itself +insignificant, led to very serious consequences. I previously mentioned +that on my way to Khartum I had been met by Sheikh Ali Wad Hegeir, of +the Maalia tribe, who had accompanied me there. He had proved loyal and +faithful to the Government, and I had appointed him chief of the +southern Maalia Arabs. Hearing that a meeting of the Rizighat Arabs +under Sheikh Belal Nagur, with a view to joining the Mahdi, was about to +be held, he resolved to attend the meeting and arrest this +sedition-monger. Accompanied by his father-in-law and a few of his +friends, he presented himself at the meeting, and, seeing some of his +own tribe amongst the number, he called on them to separate themselves +from the rest and come to him. His summons was left unheeded, and a +disturbance took place, in which Hegeir and his friends, being far in +the minority, were severely handled, and barely escaped with their +lives. The news of the fray had, however, preceded them and had been +distorted, so that on reaching their home Hegeir was greeted by his wife +with the words, "Rageli hidlim wa Abuyi Rabta; Safar yomein sawuhum fi +Gabta" (My husband is a male ostrich, and my father a female ostrich; +they made a two days' journey in a moment). Belal Nagur, however, +pursued the fugitives, and, joined by the Maalia, attacked Hegeir's +house. The latter was urged by his friends to flee for protection to +Mansur at Shakka; but, smarting under his wife's sarcastic verses he +refused, saying, "I shall never fly to save my life. Better is it to +fall under the sword than to be laughed at by a woman." And, true to his +word, he defended himself against fearful odds until a spear split his +head in twain, and he sank down to die, repeating his creed with his +last breath. His father-in-law fell dead close to him; and his wife, who +was the cause of this sad catastrophe, and had thus lost husband and +father, was captured and enslaved. + +Mansur Helmi, being now anxious to conclude arrangements with the +tribes, begged that I should come to Shakka, as, being the +representative of Government and well known to the Arabs, I would have +greater weight with them; he also expressed his opinion that a strong +fort should be made in Shakka, and manned with a couple of guns. As it +was most important to conclude terms with the Arabs, I resolved to +comply with his request, and, taking one hundred and fifty regulars, +twenty-five horsemen, and one gun, I started for Shakka. + +Meanwhile, I had received news from Major Hussein Maher at Om Shanga +that the new fort was nearing completion; and he enclosed a report from +Omar Wad Darho, in which the latter stated that he had attacked the +Arabs collected at El Esefer, two days distant from Om Shanga, had +defeated them after a hard fight, and had captured a few horses. The +bearers of these letters, however, stated that he had captured a very +large number; and this news gave me considerable satisfaction, for I +knew that he would be now more anxious to fight against the rebels, +since he had the prospect of taking possession of captured loot. I at +once wrote back, congratulating him on his successful action, and +telling him to do what he liked with the horses; but at the same time I +gave him strict orders not to proceed further east than Serna, and +further south than El Esefer, both of which places were within the +Kordofan frontier. I also gave him permission to fill up any casualties +amongst his men by fresh recruits, if he could get them, provided he +could depend on their loyalty; and I told him that if he continued to +perform his duties satisfactorily I should not fail to recommend him to +Government for reward. + +On arrival at Kalaka I was met by Mohammed Bey Abu Salama, one of the +northern Maalia Sheikhs, who had been given the title of Bey by Gordon, +and who was waiting to receive me with an escort of forty armed +Bazingers. He gave me the fullest information regarding the state of +affairs in various parts of the country, and I knew I could implicitly +rely on the statements of this faithful Government servant. The southern +Maalia tribes are perhaps the most drunken and immoral people of those +districts; they are held in the greatest contempt by the Rizighat, +Habbania, Messeria, and Homr Arabs, who are exceptionally moral and +abstemious, and who never touch intoxicating drinks. The following +anecdote relating to Sheikh Salama will best describe the peculiarities +of these Arabs: One day, happening to return home unexpectedly, he found +his sister had admitted her lover to his angareb. He had her instantly +put in chains; and when his friends expostulated with him for this +treatment, which in their estimation was excessively harsh for so +trivial an offence, he replied that he had no objection to his sister +having a lover, but he protested against her making her brother's +angareb the place of assignation, and thereby detract from his dignity +as Sheikh. + +Abu Salama with his Bazingers and about fifty horsemen accompanied me as +far as Dem Madibbo, which was this Sheikh's usual summer resort; but it +was now completely deserted, with the exception of a few slaves, who ran +away at our approach. I camped within about a mile of this place, and +made a zariba, having resolved to remain here until I received news from +Mansur Helmi. I had not long to wait. He had told me that there was no +prospect of trouble with the Arabs, but that was when Madibbo was +absent; he had now returned from a visit to the Mahdi in Jebel Gedir, +laden with trophies and proofs of the success of the new prophet. He had +been present when Yusef Pasha Shellali had been annihilated, and he +brought with him quantities of arms, ammunition, horses, and female +slaves, with which the Mahdi had presented him; he had also received +from him a flag, which he had been told was accompanied by invisible +angels, who would lead him to victory wherever he went. Besides this, he +brought numbers of proclamations, which he distributed broadcast. His +tribe had no longer the slightest doubt that the Government troops had +been defeated, and he now summoned them to join in the Jehad. Obedient +to his call, the Rizighat tribes to the northeast and southeast of +Shakka flocked to the holy standard. But Egeil still stood aloof; he +could not forgive his quarrel with his rival, and resolved to remain +neutral. + +In a few days Madibbo had collected a force sufficiently strong to +attack Mansur. The latter had made a zariba at Murrai, about half a +day's march from Shakka, and thither most of the merchants, with their +wives and families, had fled for protection. Early one Friday morning +Madibbo with his hosts approached the zariba, and Mansur, instead of +waiting to be attacked, foolishly sent out Rashed Agha with one hundred +and fifty regulars and two hundred of Ismail Wad Barnu's, Sultan +Abakr's, and the merchants' Bazingers,--the whole under Abder Rasul +Agha, who had just joined from Kalaka. He himself stayed behind in the +zariba with the rest of the troops. Rashed Agha advanced boldly without +any scouts to the place where Madibbo was supposed to be, and the +latter, dividing his men into three sections, ordered them to conceal +themselves in the depressions of the ground and in the thick grass. The +luckless troops saw too late the trap that had been laid for them. On a +given signal the enemy attacked them in flank; they had only time to +fire one volley, and the Arabs were amongst them. A pitiless massacre +ensued. Sultan Abakr and Abder Rasul alone escaped, through the +fleetness of their horses, back to the zariba, and all the rest +perished. + +Mansur Helmi, terrified at this sudden disaster, now completely lost +hope; but Wad Barnu and Abakr encouraged the troops not to despair, with +the result that when the victorious Madibbo attacked the zariba he was +driven off with considerable loss. A messenger despatched by Mansur +under cover of darkness, brought me the sad news of the catastrophe. In +his alarm he had greatly exaggerated Madibbo's strength, and, consulting +two of my most trusted officers, we decided that the best plan would be +to send one hundred and fifty men and the gun to Murrai, while the +remainder of the troops should proceed to Salama Bey's settlement, +whither reinforcements from Dara would be instantly despatched, and from +which place an advance on Murrai could then be made. + +Madibbo, who had originally a few hundred rifles, had now captured three +hundred more, as well as a quantity of ammunition. I had at my disposal +only one hundred and fifty regulars, and, despatching these with the gun +and a further supply of ammunition loaded on twenty camels, to guard +which I detailed forty men, I left myself with only one hundred and ten +men. I wrote to Mansur, instructing him that on the arrival of these +reinforcements he should strengthen his position at Murrai as much as +possible, and await my arrival with the reinforcements ordered from +Dara. I thought it very unlikely that, having had one unfortunate +experience outside the zariba, he would again risk leaving it; besides, +I knew he had sufficient corn for some days. In my letter to Zogal, +ordering him to send more troops, I merely mentioned that Mansur had +suffered a slight reverse, as I greatly feared the effect of this bad +news in Dara; and I told him we were all well, and hoped to make a +successful attack without delay. + +While at my zariba at Deain, Sheikh Afifi Wad Ahmed of the Habbania, +accompanied by Sheikhs Khamis Wad Nenya and Khudr Wad Girba, arrived +with twenty horsemen, and gave me assurances of their loyalty to +Government. The subsequent exploits of Afifi proved how true he was to +his word. He told me frankly that the whole country was unsettled, and +that almost all the tribes in the Kalaka neighbourhood wished to join +the Mahdi. + +Madibbo's prestige was no doubt greatly increased by his success against +Mansur; constant contact for years with the Government had taught him a +great deal and he was as capable as he was brave. Learning that I was +encamped with only a small force at Deain, he very rightly decided to +leave Mansur alone and turn on me. + +One evening just before sunset, when my men were out collecting wood, we +were suddenly attacked by Madibbo's horsemen, who were seen in hundreds +some distance off galloping towards the zariba. Sheikh Afifi instantly +saddled his horse, mounted, and, standing before me with poised spear, +shouted, "Arifni zen! ana thor et tokash, abu galb min adem, ana bidaur +el mot!" (You know me well! I am the pushing ox, the man who has a heart +of bone. I seek death!) and with this he dashed out of the zariba, and, +disappearing amongst the trees, returned in a few minutes, his spear +dripping with blood, and leading after him a captured horse; the two +other Sheikhs and their men also had a slight skirmish, losing one horse +and capturing another. In a few moments we heard some rifle shots, and +fearing that Madibbo's main body had arrived, I called the mounted Arabs +into the zariba and prepared for defence. However, I soon ascertained +that a small party only had come, and had taken up a position in a clump +of trees; I therefore sent fifty men to drive them out, and they +retired, leaving behind them three killed. + +As it was now sunset, I summoned the Sheikhs and officers, and explained +that it was impossible to retreat now, as the camels carrying the +ammunition would probably get frightened if we were attacked in the +dark, and we should run the risk of losing them. It was better, I said, +to wait till daylight, when we should in all probability be attacked, +and that in view of Madibbo's great superiority in numbers it was +advisable for us to remain entirely on the defensive, and await a +favourable opportunity to retire on Dara. "Under these circumstances," I +said, "we shall not require the horses. Do you, therefore, Afifi, and +your men leave us under cover of darkness, and return to your country, +which you should be able to reach in safety. You will be more use to us +there than cooped up in this zariba." After a short pause, Afifi +replied, "My life is in God's hands, and man cannot escape his destiny. +If it is God's will that I should die here to-morrow, so be it; but this +might equally happen on my way back, for God is almighty. I think it a +shame to leave you, and I prefer death to a life of shame. This is my +opinion, and I have spoken it." No sooner had Afifi concluded, than the +Habbania Arabs, in one voice, shouted that they were all of the same +opinion; and such a noise did they make that I was obliged to tell them +the enemy would probably hear them. Being quite unable to make them +change their minds, I agreed that they should remain till the following +day. I now ordered the ditch inside the zariba to be deepened, to give +more cover from the bullets, and the men worked hard all night. At dawn +the next morning, the outposts reported a man in the distance waving a +white flag, and on giving orders that he should be allowed to approach, +I found him to be Sheikh Ishak el Abd, of the Rizighat tribe, and I went +outside the zariba to confer with him. Saluting, he handed me a letter +from Madibbo, which my Arabic clerk now read to me; it was very long and +bombastic, but not unfriendly in tone. He summoned me to submit, gave a +full account of the defeat and death of Yusef Pasha Shellali, of which +he himself had been an eye-witness, and then told me how he had been +victorious over Mansur Helmi. He urged me, on his word as a former +official and my friend, to believe in the truth of what he said, and +then declared that, having seen the Mahdi with his own eyes, he had now +not the smallest doubt that he was a man sent from God, and that all who +resisted him must perish miserably. + +Turning to my old friend Ishak, I laughingly asked him what he thought +about it. "Master," said he, "I have eaten bread and salt with you, and +therefore I will not deceive you: the whole country is in revolt, and +every one says he is the true Mahdi. If you intend to submit to Madibbo, +I can guarantee that you need have nothing to fear." "Never!" was my +short reply. "I shall never lay down my arms to an Arab. Go to Madibbo, +and tell him that battle must decide between us!" "Master," answered +Ishak, "I will not deceive you; every word I have said is true. I, +personally, shall not fight against you; but my tribe is no longer under +control." "It is all the same to me," I replied, "whether you fight +against me or not; one man alone cannot make much difference one way or +the other." I then shook hands with him, and bade him good-bye. Pressing +my hand, he said, "If one day I am forced to fight you, I will let you +know," and, mounting his horse, he was in a few minutes out of sight. + +Returning to the zariba, I now made all preparations for the impending +struggle. Amongst the refugees with us was a Greek named Alexander, who +had come to Shakka with two camel-loads of spirits and clothing, which +he expected to sell at an enormous profit at Shakka: also a certain Ali +Wad Fadlalla, with ten Bazingers, had joined us. He was a man I had long +since discharged from the mamurship of Kalaka; but he expected in this +way to re-establish himself in my good graces. Seeing the plight we were +in, these two worthies did nothing but bemoan the ill luck which had +brought them to my zariba. + +Scarcely two hours had elapsed since Ishak had left, when, through my +field-glasses I saw the enemy advancing. I at once sounded the "alarm," +and every one went to his post. The attack came from the northwest, +where there was a small wood which gave considerable cover. In the +centre of our zariba was a mound, on the top of which I placed an old +bench found in one of Madibbo's huts, and which an Egyptian had turned +into a chair. Seated in this position, I obtained a good view of the +surrounding country, as well as of all that was going on in the zariba. +The enemy now advanced within rifle-range, and the bullets began to +whistle about our ears. Getting up from the chair to give some order and +have a better view, a shot whizzed past and struck the back of the chair +in which I had just been sitting, and shivered it to pieces. After this, +I thought it advisable to take up a less-exposed position. The enemy's +fire now became very hot, but the men were well protected in the +trenches, and our loss was trifling. The horses and camels, however, +suffered severely; and feeling that if kept huddled up in the zariba we +might lose them all, I selected fifty men and, making a sortie from the +southern entrance, we turned west, and, opening suddenly on the enemy's +flank, inflicted considerable loss on him by a murderous cross-fire, +eventually driving him from the position. However, we did not secure +this success without paying for it. As far as I can recollect, we lost +twelve killed, including Fadlalla, and the Greek Alexander was amongst +the wounded. + +Discussing the situation with my officers, it was decided that if the +enemy attacked us the following day and we succeeded in repulsing him, +we should be prepared to act offensively. We had some suspicion, too, +that Sheikh Abu Salama was inclined to revolt; his conduct had +undoubtedly altered considerably of late. + +The day's experience had the effect of making the men deepen their +trenches and heighten their breastworks, thus affording better +protection to themselves and the animals. By the evening, thoroughly +tired out, most of them had dropped off to sleep, and we anticipated a +quiet night. But at about eleven o'clock we were startled by a brisk +rifle-fire. Fortunately it was a very dark night, and the fire was +ill-directed. So I ordered the men not to reply, and in consequence it +slackened, and eventually ceased altogether. + +Summoning Sheikh Afifi, I now asked him to send out some of his men to +discover Madibbo's position, promising them they would be well rewarded +if they brought back reliable information. In about two hours they +returned, and reported that Madibbo was in his village with his +Bazingers, while the Arabs were encamped to the south and west of it. +They were in considerable force, but had taken no precautions for +defence, and our spies, who had crept up quite close to their +camp-fires, had overheard them laughing and joking at our not having +replied to their fire, saying we must have been too frightened to do so. + +Waiting for half an hour, I called up seventy men, and told them, before +the officers, I wanted them to surprise Madibbo's camp; that if we +fought an action in the open against superior numbers, we should +probably lose heavily; but we had now ascertained the Arabs were quite +unprepared, and a sudden night attack might completely demoralise them, +and give us a chance of returning to Dara for reinforcements. The plan +was thoroughly approved, and all the officers at once volunteered to +join; but this I could not permit. So, leaving behind two officers, +four buglers, and seventy men, I quitted the zariba, accompanied by +Afifi, who refused to leave me. Suspecting that possibly some of Abu +Salama's people might get out and betray us, I gave the officers who +remained behind strict injunctions that during our absence no one should +leave the zariba, and that a most careful lookout should be kept; and +advancing cautiously, guided by the spies, in the space of about an hour +we found ourselves close to the enemy's camp. Our spies proved +thoroughly trusty; and, besides, I had previously travelled in these +districts, and knew the country well. Dividing up, therefore, into two +parties, I placed one under the command of a very brave officer named +Mohammed Agha Suleiman, a native of Bornu, and leading the other party +myself, we crept up to within six or seven hundred yards of the +unsuspecting foe, when I ordered the bugler to sound "Commence firing." +The confusion in the enemy's camp was now indescribable. Madibbo's +Bazingers, leaving their arms, fled. The horses, terrified by this +sudden commotion in the dead of night, became restive, broke their +ropes, and bolted in all directions, chased by the Arabs. In a few +minutes every one of Madibbo's huts was deserted, and in the distance +could be heard the sounds of the terrified crowds, fleeing from our +little band of seventy men. We had been completely successful, and it +took Madibbo some days before he could collect his men again. I burnt +his village, and the blazing flames, shooting to the sky, lighted up the +deserted camp. Only two of my men had been wounded by thrown spears. We +captured a large number of saddles, which I ordered to be thrown into +the flames, as well as a quantity of old guns and matchlocks; but we +kept the forty Remington rifles taken, and now marched back to the +zariba, where we had a most enthusiastic welcome from the others, who +had been awaiting our return with great anxiety. + +I gave the order to move at sunrise the next morning. The entire +neighbourhood was deserted, and during our five hours' march to Bir +Delwei we met no one. Here, however, we were caught up by some Rizighat +horsemen, who had followed us with the evident intention of finding out +if we were really quitting the district. Afifi, catching sight of them, +was after them in a moment, and, severely wounding Madibbo's cousin, Isa +Feisal, he captured his horse. We now continued to march forward as +rapidly as possible, hoping soon to meet the reinforcements which should +have started by this time from Dara for the relief of Mansur Helmi. At +midnight we reached Kelekle, where I resolved to give the exhausted men +a good rest. Here, under the pretext of telling his tribe to drive their +cattle out of the Rizighat districts towards the north, Sheikh Abu +Salama left us; but as he did not return the next morning, and as it was +reported by some men I had sent out after him that he and his family, +taking all their property with them, had left for the south, I had no +doubt he had gone to join the rebels. Having still no news from Dara, I +did not deem it advisable to wait longer, so continued my march north, +and reached that town by noon the following day. I found the +reinforcements and ammunition all ready to leave, and as the men I had +brought back were tired, I determined to change them also, and return +with a completely fresh force to help Mansur Helmi; but to my surprise, +at daybreak the next morning, I received a letter from Ismail Wad Barnu, +saying that he and Mansur were on their way to Dara, and would arrive +the following day. This was to me most unsatisfactory news, for it meant +that my difficulties in re-occupying Shakka would be considerably +increased. The next morning they arrived, accompanied by a few slaves, +who were ready to drop down with fatigue. Calling up Mansur before a +council of officers, I asked him officially, in writing, why he quitted +his post without orders, and he replied that he was too tired to answer. +I then called on Ismail Wad Barnu for a full explanation, and he stated +as follows: "Having despatched the messenger to you with the news of our +disaster, we hourly expected you to arrive. When the messenger returned, +reporting that you were retiring on Dara for reinforcements, and that +Madibbo was on the point of attacking you, we gave way to despair. Our +corn was finished, and we had no means of procuring any more supplies. +We therefore made up our minds to take to flight." "But," said I, "where +are the camels carrying ammunition and rockets? and where are all the +merchants and their families who came to you for protection? There were +some hundreds of you; and now you are only fifteen." "We loaded the +ammunition and rockets on the camels," replied Mansur, nervously, "and +they and the merchants started the same time as we did; but we got +separated on the march." "What!" said I, in a tone of wonder, "how could +heavily laden camels become separated from horsemen? Only in one way: +they move slowly, and you have deserted them in your terror. How long +did you take to come here?" By this time Mansur had worked himself into +such a state of nervous excitement that he had become incoherent. I +therefore again called on Wad Barnu to complete this painful narrative. +"We left the zariba three days ago," said he. "Three days!" I said. "And +yet you say that the camels separated from you. It is a seven days' +march between Murrai and Dara. You are a civil official, Ismail, and +joined this expedition by my orders. You need not be afraid. Tell me +now, truthfully, why you left the others?" "Master," said Ismail, who +had by this time regained confidence, "when we heard that you were +waiting for reinforcements from Dara, we held a consultation, and +decided that, as we had only a small quantity of supplies left, we +should abandon the position and come here. Mansur Effendi, being our +chief, gave the order to march three hours before sunset. We loaded up +the camels, and, with the merchants, their wives and children, all left +the zariba together. The marching of so many of us made a great noise; +and fearing that the enemy would hear it, Mansur called me up, and +suggested that we should go on ahead, and that Ali Agha Guma, who was in +command of the fifty men escorting the ammunition, should follow on and +catch us up. At dawn the next morning we halted for some time, and at +length Abder Rasul Agha arrived, reporting that he too had got separated +from the caravan during the night. Master, where is the heart without +fear? As the merciful and almighty God had delivered us, so we believed +He would deliver the others; therefore we hurried on. Master, make +allowance for us. Remember that we lost relatives and slaves in the +battle, and that I am married and the father of children!" + +Mansur listened to this confession in silence. I frequently called upon +him to say anything which would justify his conduct; but his only excuse +was that the ammunition column did not arrive at the appointed +rendezvous, and that as he himself had so few men, he did not think it +wise to go in search of them, and had therefore continued his march. I +now directed the senior officer present to take Mansur's sword from him, +to keep him in close arrest at the headquarter guard, and to take down +in writing a full deposition of what had occurred. + +Meanwhile I sent off spies in all directions to discover the whereabouts +of the column, and for the moment abandoned all idea of an expedition to +Shakka. Seven days later I received the joyful news that the column had +safely arrived at Toweisha with almost all the merchants and their +families, and as, up to the present, no disturbances had taken place in +that district, the latter had asked permission to remain there. Three +days afterwards the column was reported to be within an hour's march of +Dara. I therefore rode out at the head of the whole garrison to meet +them, and marched them in with all honours. On their arrival they were +publicly entertained, and I gave all the non-commissioned officers a +step, and promoted fifteen of them, who were specially recommended by +Ali Agha Guma, to the rank of officer. Ali Agha now related the +following. "In accordance with Mansur Effendi's orders, we loaded up the +camels and started; the merchants, with their women and children, who +had not been informed, now made a great commotion, and insisted on +coming with us; the poor people well knew that if they remained behind +they could expect no mercy from the Arabs. Mansur Effendi, alarmed at +the noise, and fearing that the enemy might come down on us, was chiefly +concerned about the safety of his own person, and therefore started off, +directing me to catch him up the following morning. Now, how was it +possible for me in a bushy, trackless region, with heavily laden camels, +to catch up a man flying on a horse? I hurriedly collected the soldiers +and the merchants, and told them that I proposed to march towards Goz el +Maalia, and in this roundabout way, please God, we should avoid the +enemy and reach home safely. I knew that the country round Goz el Maalia +was open, and that if attacked we should be able to defend ourselves +better than in the enclosed country through which we were now marching. +I knew that we were quite strong enough to force our way through the +Maalia tribe, and therefore, repeating the 'Fatha' [the Moslem creed] +and asking the Almighty to protect us, we marched in a northeasterly +direction, camels and women in the centre. Thank God, the darkness of +the night helped us to pass through the enemy's country unobserved, and +by sunrise we had reached the southwestern boundary of the Maalia +country. Here we made a short halt, but did not dare to stay long. We +made the merchants' wives act as camel-drivers, and those who were ill +and the children we mounted on camel-back on the top of the +ammunition-boxes; in this way we managed to have about one hundred men +with rifles as escort. We had sufficient corn for three or four days, +and instead of water we quenched our thirst with the juice of the +water-melons, which grew in abundance. At noon we were attacked by some +Rizighat horsemen who had been joined by some Maalia; but by God's help, +who forsakes not those in distress and danger, we drove them off, +killing a few horses and men. Although utterly exhausted, we did not +dare to halt till sunset; and, surrounding ourselves with a light +zariba, we passed a quiet night, and started off again at sunrise the +next morning. The enemy, being joined by some revolted villagers, again +attacked us; but God gave us strength and courage, and we drove them +off, and at length, after eight days' hard marching, we reached Toweisha +safe and sound. The merchants and their wives and children left us there +full of gratitude, and we thank the merciful God who has brought us +unhurt out of all these dangers." + +"I also thank God," said I, "that you are safe; I was greatly concerned +about you. But tell me how goes it at Toweisha? How is the chief of the +district, Abo Bey el Bartawi?" "He himself seems loyal to Government," +he replied, "but his people have begun to get disaffected, and sooner or +later, if good news is not received from Kordofan, he will join the +rebels; at present, however, the Om Shanga garrison keeps him quiet." + +I now publicly thanked Ali Agha Guma for his valuable services and for +his forethought and bravery, and ordered his promotion from second to +first lieutenant, writing to Cairo for confirmation. This plucky officer +was a native of the Tagalla mountains, and had been trained as a soldier +in Cairo. + +As there was no officer of Mansur Helmi's rank in Dara, I sent him under +escort to Fasher, with instructions to Said Bey Guma to deal with his +case in accordance with the written depositions; at the same time I told +him to send me two hundred infantry, also some ammunition and lead. + +Meanwhile, I ascertained that Madibbo had returned to Deain, rebuilt his +village, and concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Sheikh +Abu Salama. On the day I arrived in Dara I sent back the faithful and +brave Afifi to Kalaka. He was very anxious not to go; but I told him +that should his tribe revolt, he had permission to bring his wife and +children to Dara; in the meantime he had better be with his people. + +In order to dissipate any idea on the part of the rebels that I intended +to sit down quietly and watch events, I despatched Ali Effendi Esmet +with one hundred and eighty regulars to Hashaba, two days' march south +of Dara,--one of Abu Salama's villages,--with orders to wait there till +I had collected my forces. The news from the Om Shanga district was +satisfactory. Omar Wad Darho, with his four hundred horsemen, succeeded +in keeping the Arabs under; he had several skirmishes, and once or twice +some losses, but on the whole he was successful. The continual strides +now made by the revolt in Kordofan made postal communication more +difficult than ever; all I could do was to send short cypher messages, +very few of which ever reached their destination. One of my principal +objects in keeping Darho at Om Shanga was that, in the event of the +troops in Kordofan being successful, he could advance east, and, +combining with them, reopen the post-road. + +Zogal Bey, who was with me in Dara at this period, was performing his +duties in a satisfactory manner. He was opposed to my getting +reinforcements from El Fasher, saying I need not be so mistrustful; +however, there was no doubt he had received letters from his relative, +the Mahdi, but I do not think he answered them in writing: in fact, +affairs in Darfur were not altogether unsatisfactory, and he was now +certainly more careful and attentive to his duties. + +During my stay here I did my utmost to collect Bazingers, and by +promises to the Gellabas I succeeded in getting many of them to place +their servants at the disposal of the Government. I also utilised the +services of an old officer named Abdel Kader Wad Asi, who had formerly +commanded the irregular cavalry in Dara, to collect as many horses as he +could; and in a few days he got together upwards of one hundred and +fifty. Meanwhile I had written to Sultan Abakr el Begawi--head-Sheikh of +Berket--and to the Messeria and other tribes, to get ready and follow me +to Shakka. Some of these readily obeyed the call; and as to those who +hesitated, I did all I could, by working up tribal jealousies, to +increase the ill-feeling between them and our enemies. Abder Rasul Agha, +who had fled from Murrai with Mansur Helmi, I had imprisoned; but as he +had on previous occasions shown capacity, and as my available officers +were getting scarce, I released him, and put him in command of the +Bazingers who were to remain behind in Dara, and told him to do all he +could to procure more. Most of the arms in store at Dara were old +double-barrelled guns, flintlocks, and a few damaged Remingtons; these I +had roughly repaired, and distributed to the Bazinger recruits. I had +not much ammunition, and urgently ordered more to be sent from El +Fasher. About a fortnight later, one hundred regulars duly arrived under +Said Bey el Fula, a brave Sudanese, who brought me letters from Said Bey +Guma. In these, my representative at the capital informed me that he +could not send the ammunition, as he had no camels, and if he took them +by force from the people, he feared the result; as soon as he could +procure camels he would send me the ammunition and the other hundred +men. In reply to this I wrote back somewhat shortly that the despatch of +the ammunition was an urgent necessity, and that if he could not obtain +the camels from the Arabs, he must get them from the officers and +employés on payment; I told him that I had to do this in Dara, as there +were no other camels available in southern Darfur. It was perfectly +clear to me that orders sent to El Fasher were not carried out with +expedition. It was useless to waste more time; I therefore quitted +Dara,--leaving behind an adequate garrison,--and set off for Hashaba, +where it had been arranged the various friendly tribes would meet me. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SIEGE AND FALL OF EL OBEID. + + Said Pasha, Governor-General of Kordofan, prepares to defend El + Obeid--The Mahdi attacks the Town, but is repulsed with Great + Loss--The Missionaries at Delen fall into the Mahdi's Hands--The + Siege and Fall of Bara--The Horrors of the Siege of El + Obeid--Said Pasha is forced to surrender--His Interview with the + Mahdi--The Search for Treasure--The Mahdi's Miracles--Effect of + the Fall of El Obeid on the General Situation. + + +Inspired by his numerous victories, and encouraged by Elias Pasha's +urgent appeal that he should proceed to El Obeid, the Mahdi left Gedir, +and, joined by thousands upon thousands of fanatical Arabs and +slave-hunters, he advanced to Kaba, a village on the outskirts of the +town. + +From here he despatched horsemen to reconnoitre and summon all those who +were willing to join his banners. He also wrote to Mohammed Pasha Said, +calling on him to submit. His letter was read out before the officers; +and at the suggestion of Mohammed Bey Skander and the majority of the +officers the bearers of the letters were sentenced to be shot. Said +Pasha himself was averse to this decision, but eventually gave way and +confirmed the sentence, which was immediately carried out. + +The secret emissaries were more successful; they had an easier task +amongst the local population many of whom really believed in the Mahdi, +and those who did not, well knew the weakness of the Government and the +very critical state of affairs. Besides, as I have already related, the +hostility of Elias Pasha to Said Pasha and Ahmed Bey Dafalla had the +effect of bringing over to the rebels the majority of the civil +officials and principal merchants,--consequently, in a few days the bulk +of the population moved bodily out of the town and joined the Mahdi. +The latter had previously written to them that they had only to shut up +their houses and leave all their property as it was, and when he entered +the town he would guarantee that nothing should be touched. These +injunctions they obeyed implicitly, taking with them, or burying in the +ground, their money only. + +On Ahmed Bey's advice, Said Pasha had divided up the town in such a +manner that the evacuation of a large part of it by the merchants and +others would not seriously affect the question of its defence; and he at +once ordered the soldiers to collect all the corn they could find in the +houses and store it in the citadel,--an operation which was carried out +with considerable alacrity, and full advantage was taken of the occasion +to freely loot the dwellings of the trustful populace, who had counted +somewhat prematurely on the Mahdi's protective powers. Minni, of the +Gowama Arabs, also freely pillaged the deserted town. + +Mohammed Ahmed now spared no effort to rouse the fanatical spirit of the +masses by whom he was surrounded. He preached day and night to a rapt +audience on the heavenly joys in store for all those who joined the +Jehad, and on Friday morning, September the 8th, this seething mass of +human beings, armed only with swords and spears, rolled like the waves +of the sea towards the town. All the arms taken in Rashed's and +Shellali's expeditions had been left behind at Jebel Gedir, and the +rifle fire of the defenders soon began to play with deadly effect on the +crowd, who, utterly undeterred, and seeking only for blood and plunder, +continued their advance, swarming into the ditches and up the parapet, +and entering the deserted town. At this critical moment Major Nesim +Effendi told his bugler to sound the advance; and the signal being taken +up by the other buglers, the soldiers, clambering up on to the tops of +the walls and houses, brought a murderous fire to bear on the +assailants. Slowly the surging mass, under this hail of lead, was driven +back, leaving behind them thousands of killed and wounded. Once more +they rallied and attempted again to storm; but again were they driven +back with still greater slaughter, till at length the survivors retired +out of range, and the gallant garrison was completely victorious. + +In this assault the Mahdi's brother Mohammed, Khalifa Abdullahi's +brother Yusef, the Kadi, and a host of Emirs were killed. The Mahdi +himself, during the attack, took up a position out of range, behind a +small house; and had Said Pasha taken Ahmed Bey Dafalla's advice to +pursue after the Dervishes had been routed, in all probability he would +have been taken, and the subsequent bloodshed and horrors thus avoided. + +But Said Pasha contented himself with this temporary success, believing +that the Mahdi was too crushed to again attempt an attack, and that this +defeat would probably destroy his influence. The Mahdi's relatives and +near friends also realised this, and on their advice he removed his camp +to Gianzara, a hill lying beyond range to the northeast of the town; and +in this position maintained an open investment, while awaiting the +arrival of the arms and ammunition for which he had sent to Jebel Gedir. + +The mission station at Delen, which had been founded some eight years +before, and which was guarded by eighty men of the slave guard, had long +been in a critical position. Whilst on his way to El Obeid, the Mahdi +had sent one of his adherents, Mek Omar, with instructions either to +capture or kill all persons found there. The missionary Fathers, Joseph +Ohrwalder and Luigi Bonomi, had arranged to flee with the troops and all +the mission to Fashoda; but their plan fell through, owing to the +cowardice of the captain commanding the troops. They were eventually +obliged to submit, were robbed of all they had, and were marched as +prisoners to El Obeid. Here the Mahdi and Khalifa Abdullahi made every +effort to convert them and the sisters who were with them; but they +remained firm. The following day they were taken, accompanied by +thousands of howling Dervishes, to an open space where a great review +was held. After momentarily expecting death, they were at length told +their lives were spared, and they were handed over to the care of a +Syrian named George Stambuli, who had joined the Mahdi from El Obeid. + +At this time a most wonderful comet appeared, which was taken by the +Sudanese as a sign from Heaven that the Government was about to be +overthrown, and that the true Mahdi had appeared on earth. + +An expedition sent under Ali Bey Lutfi to relieve Bara and El Obeid, +when on the march and suffering from thirst, was attacked by the Gowama +Arabs under Fiki Rahma, and of the two thousand men of which it was +composed, two hundred only succeeded in escaping to Bara. Soon after +this Tayara was attacked, and its little garrison, after resisting +manfully, was obliged to submit at the end of September. + +Bara fell next, after a long and well-sustained siege. The garrison had +inflicted considerable loss on the rebels, but a fire had broken out and +burnt up almost all the corn. Hunger and disease had done their work, +and, hopeless of any succour, Surur Effendi, the commandant, Nur Angara, +and Mohammed Agha Japo, at the urgent request of the garrison, were +forced to submit early in January, 1883, to Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi, +and were conducted by him to Gianzara. On arrival here they received the +Mahdi's pardon, and Surur Effendi, who was an Abyssinian by birth, but a +particularly religious Moslem, was allowed by the Mahdi to have back a +portion of his confiscated property; Nur Angara, being a Dongolawi, was +also well received; and Japo, whose exploits during the retreat from +Ashaf had reached the Mahdi's ears, was given back one of his own +horses. The troops, who were all Blacks, were made over to Khalifa +Abdullahi, who subsequently transferred them to Hamdan Abu Anga, who was +made Emir of the force. + +The astute Japo was not slow to show devotion to his new master, and +begged for his blessing and for permission to get married, as hitherto +he had lived a single life. The Mahdi, flattered that an old and +irreligious man like Japo should show such complete submissiveness to +his will, at once granted his request. A few days later, however, Japo +came before the Mahdi with a very sorrowful face, and told him that the +money he had given him for his marriage had been spent to no purpose, as +he had divorced his wife. "What!" said the Mahdi, "why should you have +done this? Is she not pretty, or has she a bad character?" "No," said +Japo, "she has a far more serious fault: when I tell her to say her +prayers, she refuses to do so; and a wife who does not pray is an +abomination to me." So delighted was the Mahdi with his supposed +conversion that he gave Japo a large sum of money to get married again, +and presented him with sufficient means to keep him from want for a long +time. Some years later, after the Mahdi's death, I met Mohammed Japo in +Omdurman, and I laughingly reminded him of this story. "Yes," said he, +"in spite of all the harm and evil done by the Mahdi, he was not, after +all, such a bad man,--one could get something out of him; but I pity the +man who relies on Khalifa Abdullahi's benevolence." Japo was quite +right. + +The Mahdi celebrated the capture of Bara with a salute of one hundred +guns, and the unfortunate garrison of El Obeid, hearing the sounds, +thought that a relieving army was approaching; but when they learnt that +Bara had fallen, they became greatly disheartened. For months they had +been suffering all the horrors of famine; food had risen to fabulous +prices; no steps had been taken to lay in a stock of provisions, and +there was a great scarcity of corn. A month before the capitulation +dukhn had risen to four hundred dollars the ardeb; only the most wealthy +could supply themselves with a little meat. The price of a camel rose to +fifteen hundred dollars, a chicken might be had for thirty or forty +dollars, and an egg for a dollar to a dollar and a half. But my comrades +in captivity, Fathers Ohrwalder and Rosignoli, have already described +the horrors of that long and terrible time, and I need not repeat them +here; suffice it to say that after a five months' siege, during which +the most terrible privations were endured, and in which a very large +proportion of the remaining population and garrison died of starvation, +Mohammed Pasha Said was at last forced to capitulate. He wished to blow +up the powder magazine; but the officers begged that their wives and +children might be spared, and he was obliged to give way. He therefore +wrote to the Mahdi that he was prepared to surrender the town. The Mahdi +replied that he and his officers need have no fear, and the following +morning sent a deputation of leading merchants, under Mohammed Wad el +Areik to Said Pasha, with instructions that he, the superior officers of +the garrison, and the chief merchants should present themselves before +him. The deputation had brought with them jibbas (the patched shirt +adopted as a uniform by the followers of the Mahdi), which had now to be +worn, and, mounting on horses, the sad cavalcade, led by Said Pasha, +filed out of the fort which they had defended so long and bravely. With +him were Mohammed Bey Skander, the commandant, Major Nesim Effendi, +Ahmed Bey Dafalla, Mohammed Bey Yasin, and several other officers. +Seated on his angareb, on which a goat's skin was spread, the Mahdi +received them kindly, gave them his hand to be kissed, and pardoned +them. He told them that he of course understood they had been deceived +in regard to him, having doubted his Divine mission; but that he forgave +them, and now required them to take the solemn oath of allegiance, and +complete submission to him and the cause. This formality over, he gave +them dates and water, and urged them to renounce the pleasures of this +world, and think only of the world to come. Turning to Said Pasha, he +then said: "I do not blame you as a Turk for having done all you could +to defend the post confided to you; but you did not do well to kill my +messengers, for it is not right that messengers should be punished." +Before Said Pasha could reply, Skander Bey quickly answered, "Master and +Mahdi, Said Pasha did not do this, but it was I, in my capacity as +commandant of the fort, who ordered the execution, as I considered them +rebels, and in this I did not do well, as you truly say." "I did not +mean by my question to ask you to justify yourself," said the Mahdi. "My +messengers have obtained what they most desired; when they took the +letters from me they sought the death of martyrs, and their wish was +fulfilled. The merciful God has granted them their hearts' desire, and +now they are in the enjoyment of all the pleasures of Paradise. May God +grant that we may follow in their footsteps." + +During this conversation, according to a plan prepared beforehand, Abu +Anga and his men had occupied the fort, powder-magazine, and Government +buildings, whilst the Emirs installed themselves in the officers' +quarters. The Mahdi now told Wad el Areik, who happened to be a personal +friend of Said Pasha, to take him and his officers back to their houses; +but on their return they found them occupied, and were given to +understand that their property had now been confiscated. Soon afterwards +the Mahdi himself entered the town to inspect it, and ordered the +garrison to quit the entrenchments. The women and children, who had so +patiently waited for relief, were now ordered out to the Mahdi's camp, +and were allowed to take nothing with them. Even the women were searched +to the skin, in a most revolting manner, and anything found was +instantly taken off to the Beit el Mal (Mahdi's treasury), where the +property was subsequently distributed amongst the Emirs and other high +personages. In searching for gold and treasure the most heart-rending +scenes were enacted, and weeping and wailing was heard on all sides, as +the unfortunates were flogged to make them disgorge. + +Said Pasha himself was called upon by Ahmed Wad Suleiman, the Mahdi's +Emin Beit el Mal (or treasurer), to hand over all his money; but he +replied that he had none. It was well known that he was a very wealthy +man, but he obstinately denied he had anything. When the Mahdi heard +this, he instructed Wad Suleiman to make every inquiry of Said Pasha's +servants; and while he was occupied in doing this, the Mahdi continued +conversing with Said Pasha on the precepts of religion, and frequently +asked him, before the assembled masses, why he refused to disclose the +hiding-place of his treasure, and Said Pasha as persistently denied that +he had any money whatever. In this way some time passed, and at length +Wad Suleiman, who had meanwhile succeeded in getting one of the female +servants to admit that her master had concealed the treasure in the +wall, returned to the Mahdi, and whispered in his ear that they had +found it. The latter, beckoning him to sit down, continued to talk of +the vanities of this world, and the great necessity of renouncing them; +and then, turning suddenly to Said Pasha, he said, "You swore a most +solemn oath of allegiance; why, then, do you refuse to say where your +money is? Money is the root of all evil. Do you now expect to gather +more riches?" "Oh, sire," replied Said Pasha, "I have neither money made +honestly, nor money made dishonestly; do with me what you like." "Do you +take me for an ordinary man?" replied the Mahdi. "Do you not understand +that I am truly the 'Mahdi el Muntazer,' and that the Prophet has +revealed to me the hiding-place of your treasure, which you have +concealed in the wall of your house? Go, Ahmed Wad Suleiman, to his +house. Enter his room, and on the left side, near the door, remove the +plaster from the wall, and there you will find the Turk's treasure. +Bring it here." During Wad Suleiman's absence Said Pasha sat +disconsolately, close to the Mahdi, frowning deeply. He knew his +treasure had been discovered, but he was too proud to admit that he had +told an untruth, and he refused to join in the conversation. In a few +minutes Suleiman returned, dragging behind him a large tin box, which he +placed before the Mahdi, who opened it, and found it full of gold, +packed up in small bags. Over £7,000 was counted out. "Mohammed Said," +said the Mahdi, "you have told a lie; but I will forgive you. Ahmed, +take the money to the Beit el Mal, and distribute it amongst the poor +and needy." "You, who preach renunciation, have now got my money; do +what you like with it," said Said Pasha, turning on his heel and +marching off. The Mahdi, frowning darkly, muttered, "Di ma biyenfa +maana" (This man won't do for us). + +Said Pasha turned to Ahmed Bey Dafalla, who had witnessed this scene, +and the Mahdi then addressed the latter in the following words: "Do not +follow in the footsteps of your old friend; he has an obstinate +disposition. Be honest and true to me, and I will give you all you +require. I secretly warned your brother Abdalla, but it was God's will +he should be overthrown. He blindly espoused the cause of God's enemies, +the Turks, and fought against me. The merciful God has destroyed them. +They were blown like chaff before the wind, and are now suffering all +the torments of hell-fire. Ahmed, save your soul while you may. Be +faithful to me, and when this life is over you shall enjoy the +everlasting pleasures of Paradise, and God will receive you into His +heavenly kingdom." + +"Oh, Mahdi," said Ahmed Wad Dafalla, "I shall certainly not enter the +heaven in which my brother Abdalla is not." And with that he rose and +left the meeting. + +Not a word did the Mahdi say, but it seemed to be quite understood that +his sentence had been pronounced. Signing to his followers that the +meeting was over, the latter now lost no time in complying with their +master's wishes, which, though unexpressed, they well understood. In a +few minutes it was known far and wide that the cursed Turk, Mohammed +Said, had refused to disclose the hiding-place of his treasure, but that +the Prophet had revealed it to the Mahdi. For some days tongues never +ceased talking of this wonderful miracle; and far and wide spread +Mohammed Ahmed's repute as the true Mahdi, sent from heaven to destroy +the hated Turk. + +Directions were now given to supply Said Pasha, Ahmed Bey, Ali Sherif, +and the other officers with their beds, cooking-pots, clothing, and some +money, until the Prophet further revealed to the Mahdi what he should do +with his prisoners. + +Mohammed Ahmed now occupied himself in writing letters and proclamations +to all parts of the Sudan, announcing the capture of El Obeid, and +enjoining on all the necessity of activity and endurance in the great +religious war which had now spread over the country. He called on the +faithful to renounce the pomps and vanities of this world, and to think +and work only for the joys to come. He also issued very stringent +regulations against smoking and drinking, imposing terrible penalties on +any one found wilfully disobeying. Special instructions were also issued +regarding marriage ceremonies, dowries, etc., and every effort was made +by the Mahdi to follow the example set by the Prophet in his early +wars. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +VAIN EFFORTS TO STEM THE TIDE OF MAHDISM IN DARFUR. + + I advance on Shakka--The Battle of Om Waragat--Besieged in the + Zariba--My Retreat on Dara through the Enemy's Country--The + Illness and Death of Gottfried Rott--I despatch Secret + Emissaries to Kordofan--My Difficulties with the El Fasher + Garrison--The Revolt of the Mima Arabs--I learn of the Fall of + El Obeid--The Death of Sheikh Afifi--My Campaign against the + Mima and Khawabir Arabs--Discovery of a Plot amongst the Troops + in Dara--My Officers and Men ascribe our Defeats to the Fact + that I am a Christian--I decide to nominally adopt the + Mohammedan Religion--I decide to send Zogal Bey to El Obeid--My + Campaign against the Beni Helba--Beshari Bey seeks Death and + finds it--Gravity of the Situation in Darfur. + + +Having reached Hashaba, I now did my utmost to organise a force capable +of operating successfully against Madibbo. I had succeeded in getting +the Gellabas either to join me themselves or give me their Bazingers. I +called on Zogal Bey and his brother for help, and between them they +collected two hundred of their Bazingers. I myself had also collected a +number of Blacks, some of whom I had freed, and others I employed at a +regular rate of pay. I had re-engaged Sharaf ed Din, formerly major and +commandant of Bazingers at Kulkul, but who had been discharged by Nur +Angara, as well as a number of Jaalin officers who had previously served +with Zubeir Pasha. And now the tribes I had summoned to aid the +Government had arrived, and my force consisted approximately of the +following:-- + + Regulars, armed with Remingtons 550 + Gellabas 200 + Armed Bazingers under Sharaf ed Din, amongst whom, as + leaders, were Abder Rasul, Sheikhs Khudr, Umbatti, + Mungid Madani, Hassan Wad Sattarat, Sultan Begu, + Suleiman Wad Farah, Muslem Wad Kabbashi, and + others 1,300 + Various 100 + ----- + Total guns (of which about 600 were Remington rifles) 2,150 + ===== + Also a muzzle-loading mountain gun and thirteen artillerymen. + +The friendly tribes consisted of contingents from the Begu, Berket, +Zagawa (of southern Darfur), Messeria, Tagu, and some of the Maalia who +were hostile to Sheikh Abu Salama; numbering in all some seven thousand +spearmen and four hundred horses. + +The garrison I had left behind at Dara consisted of four hundred +regulars, seven guns and the gunners required for their service, thirty +horses, and two hundred and fifty Bazingers; all under the command of +Zogal Bey, who was carrying on the duties of Acting-Governor, in +Emiliani's place. With him I had also left a certain Gottfried Rott, a +Swiss, and begged him to keep me fully informed of all that occurred. +This Rott had been a schoolmaster at Assiut, and had discovered, some +years previously, a quantity of slaves who were being smuggled along the +Arbaïn road, for sale in Egypt. In consequence of this service, Mr. +Gladstone had written him a complimentary letter. He had also received +an expression of approbation from the Anti-Slavery Society, and had been +appointed by the Egyptian Government an inspector for the suppression of +the slave-trade. He had been sent to me in Darfur, with instructions to +proceed to Shakka, which was to be his district; but he arrived just as +the troubles began, and I was obliged to keep him in Dara; he thoroughly +understood our position, and I had requested him to abandon for the +moment his anti-slavery work, which if persisted in would certainly have +increased our difficulties. He was a good Arabic scholar, and in a very +confidential talk I had with him, I confided to him my suspicions about +Zogal, and asked him to find out all he could from his relatives, and +keep me fully informed. + +At the end of October I moved south, from Hashaba, with my entire force. +The Rizighat country, through which we advanced, was covered with dense +bush and forests; and, being constantly exposed to attack, I had to +march in such a way as to avoid confusion in the event of an ambush or +surprise. + +The Bazingers on the flanks were well provided with buglers, in order to +give timely warning of an alarm. The rear guard I made stronger than the +flank guards because the Arabs generally attack from the rear, and I +considered that in case of a flank attack I should have ample time to +reinforce from the main body in case of necessity. The rear guard had, +of course, the most troublesome duty to perform, as they had to look +after any camels that broke down, and keep a careful lookout for men who +fell out or attempted to desert; I therefore gave orders that it should +be relieved daily by the flank guards in rotation from the left: thus +the left flank guard would become rear guard, the relieved rear guard +would become the right flank guard, and the latter would become the left +flank guard. I also relieved the three hundred Bazingers and sixty +regulars daily from the main body. + +In this manner I hoped to reach Shakka without any serious loss; and on +arriving there it was my intention to build a fort where I should mount +the gun, and, leaving a small garrison there, make expeditions in light +marching order to the various disturbed districts, where my Arab +spearmen, if fortunate, would have ample opportunities of capturing any +quantity of Rizighat cattle. + +On arrival at Deain, we found quantities of corn stored in the new +village just built by Madibbo; the guard he had left behind made a +slight resistance, but were soon put to flight, and we encamped on the +site of our old zariba. We found that Ali Wad Fadlalla's grave had been +opened, and a skull and some bones lying close by were evidently his. We +had covered the grave with a heap of thorns, and it was evident the +Arabs had committed this sacrilege; they had taken off the shroud in +which the body had been wrapped, and the hyenas had devoured all but +the skull and bones. + +I distributed the corn found in Madibbo's village amongst the men, and +they had now sufficient supplies to last them some days. It was my +intention to march direct on Shakka; but as there was some doubt about +the water on the roads and the whereabouts of Madibbo, I sent two +Rizighat spies--who were on bad terms with the remainder of the tribe, +and had immigrated to Dara--to obtain the information I required. The +day after they left, our camp was reconnoitred by Arab horsemen, but +they kept at a respectful distance. Three days later the men returned, +reporting that there was sufficient water on the road, and that Madibbo +had driven all his cattle south of Shakka, where his force was probably +collected; but they said they could procure no more definite +information. We therefore marched off; the men and Arabs all in the best +possible spirits, laughing, joking, and discussing amongst themselves +how they intended distributing the plunder they expected to get, and how +they proposed dividing amongst themselves the wives and households of +Madibbo and his Sheikhs, on exactly the same plan as that adopted by the +Mahdi. I had little fear as to the eventual result of our operations, +but at the same time I was anxious to get to Shakka before being +attacked. + +As I was suffering from a heavy bout of fever, I handed over the command +of the troops temporarily to Sharaf ed Din, but ordered him to remain +close to me. The following day, having left the village of Kindiri on +our flank, and having made a short halt, there was an alarm that +horsemen were advancing to attack us. Immediately every one was in his +place, and, in spite of my fever, I joined the rear guard, whence the +alarm had come; and from this position I could see numbers of +horsemen--there might have been some hundreds, but owing to the +intervening trees it was impossible to estimate accurately. Signalling +to the flank guards to join me, I advanced with the cavalry and Arab +horsemen, and a skirmish ensued amongst the trees, in which the enemy +were driven back with some loss, and we captured six horses; our own +losses were seven horses killed, two men missing, and several wounded. +Having pursued for some distance, we returned, and as it was still +early, the march was continued till nightfall, when we encamped at a +place called Om Waragat. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF OM WARAGAT-- +Disposition of Troops on the March to Shakka] + +Still suffering from fever, I told Sharaf ed Din to make exactly similar +dispositions (see plan); and starting off the following morning, after a +march of two hours we reached some more or less open but boggy moorland, +at the southeast end of which were visible a few huts such as are +erected by the Rizighat slaves who work in the fields. The vanguard had +already cleared the soft ground; I had gone forward with it to examine +the huts, whilst the men in the square were occupied in trying to help +out the animals whose feet had sunk into the mire, when suddenly from +the rear guard the alarm was sounded twice, followed almost immediately +by some rifle-shots. Ordering the vanguard to hold the huts, I +immediately galloped towards the left flank of the square, and, sounding +for the reserve of ninety regulars, I proceeded towards the rear guard; +but it was too late. The Bazingers and regulars of the rear guard, +having fired a volley, had no time to reload before the enemy was on +them; and, overpowered by thousands of half-naked Arabs, they were being +forced back on to the rear face of the square, the men composing which, +fearing to fire on friend and foe alike, did nothing to stop the rush, +and already several of the enemy had penetrated. Without a moment's +hesitation, I ordered my bugler to sound "lie down" for those in the +square, and, firing on the Arabs who had broken in, as well as on those +still pushing on from behind, I checked the rush, and caused them to +split up into two parties, who, trending off right and left, made for +the flank guards already engaged with other parties of Arabs who were +attacking them in front. + +The confusion was now indescribable; within the square the Arabs who had +already penetrated, although suffering heavily from the fire from my +small party, were creating frightful havoc amongst the almost +defenceless Bazingers, who, armed only with muzzle-loaders, could do +nothing, whilst the regulars--so sudden had been the rush--had not even +time to draw their bayonets; eventually, however, those who had entered +were all killed. The flank guards, taken in front and rear, suffered +even more heavily than the square, and, breaking up entirely, they fled +in all directions, hundreds being killed by the Rizighat horsemen +concealed in the forest. + +The action had lasted only twenty minutes, but in that short space of +time our losses were terrible. Fortunately, on the dispersion of the +flanking parties the enemy had pursued them hotly. My fire, it is true, +had driven them away from the square, but at what sacrifice! Amongst the +regulars who had obeyed my signal to lie down, the losses had not been +so severe; but the untrained Bazingers had suffered terribly, and many +of our camels had also been killed. + +In the midst of the confusion, I saw one of the enemy, who passed close +to us, carrying off a red bag containing the fuses for the gun. He +evidently thought he had some very special loot; and so indeed it was, +as without the fuses our gun was useless. "Kir," said I to my young +Black attendant, who seldom left me, "let me see if you are as brave as +you always say you are; go and fetch the red bag,--here is my horse;" +and, jumping off, I gave it to him. He mounted, and taking only a spear +in his hand, dashed off, returning in a few minutes with the red bag and +a still redder spear. + +The last horseman had disappeared in the distance, and I now sounded the +"assembly." Only a few hundred responded to the call, and dividing these +up into parties, I detailed half as guards, while the others were +employed in collecting together the ammunition and arms of those who had +fallen, packing them on the camels and depositing them in the little +village, which, standing on a small sandy plain, afforded us a fairly +clear field of view; then, collecting a quantity of thorn-bushes, we +constructed a zariba as quickly as possible, fearing that at any moment +the enemy might return. This done, our next thought was for the wounded; +those only slightly hurt had already crawled to the zariba, and the +severely wounded we now carried in, and did what was possible to +alleviate their sufferings. + +As far as the eye could reach, the ground was strewn with dead bodies, +and what numbers too lay in the forest out of view! Curiously enough, +this disaster had taken place on the actual spot where, years before, +Adam Tarbush, the Vizir of Sultan Hussein, had suffered a similar defeat +and lost his life. + +Now came the terribly sad duty of calling the roll. Of my fourteen +infantry officers, ten had fallen, and one was wounded. The Gellaba +chiefs, Sheikh Khidr, Mangel Medani, Hassan Wad Sattarat, and Suleiman +Wad Fatah had been killed, as well as Fiki Ahmed, Hassib, and Shekelub. +Of the thirteen artillerymen, one only remained alive. The Greek +Alexander, too, who had previously been wounded at Deain, and who had +not yet recovered, had been killed. Sorrowfully we collected the dead, +to pay them the last honours. Amongst a heap of bodies we found Sharaf +ed Din, stabbed to the heart. In the soft damp ground we hurriedly dug +rough graves, and officers and chiefs we buried in twos and threes,--a +terribly sad task. + +As for the poor wounded, there was little we could do for them. Those +only slightly hurt were already dressing their own wounds; but for the +severe cases, we had no means of dressing them, and a few comforting +words was all the small help we could give them. It was indeed painful +to see such suffering, and feel how utterly incapable one was of +alleviating it. Catching sight of one of my boys, who was carrying my +satchel with a few bandages in it, I took it from him and began dressing +one or two cases, when it suddenly occurred to me that I had not seen my +other boy, Morgan Hosan, who was leading one of my horses. He was a +fine, intelligent young fellow, scarcely sixteen years old, honest, +quiet, and brave. "Isa," said I to the boy carrying the satchel, "where +is Morgan, who was leading my horse Mubarak [on which were my note-books +and sketches in the saddle-bags]; he is an active fellow, and perhaps +mounted the horse, and has managed to escape." Sad and broken-hearted, +poor Isa shook his head, and, his eyes filling with tears, he handed me +a bit of my horse's bridle. "What is this?" I asked. "Master," said he, +"I did not want to make you more sorry than you are. I found him not far +from here, lying on the ground with a spear-wound in his chest. When he +saw me he smiled and whispered, 'I knew you would come and look for me. +Say good-bye to my master, and tell him I was not a coward. I did not +let go his horse, and it was only when I fell down stabbed in the chest +that they cut the bridle to which I clung, and took him; show my master +the bit of the bridle that is still in my hand, and tell him that Morgan +was faithful. Take the knife out of my pocket,--it belongs to my master; +give it to him, and say many salams to him from me.'" Isa, his voice +choked with sobbing, handed me the knife, and I, too, now quite broke +down. Poor Morgan, so young and so true! Poor master, to have lost so +faithful a servant and so true a friend! "Tell me, Isa, what was the +end?" I said. "He was thirsty," he replied, "and I took his head in my +hands, and in a few seconds he was dead. I then got up and left him; I +had other things to do, and there was no time to cry." + +[Illustration: Fight between the Rizighat and Egyptian Troops.] + +Ordering the zariba to be strengthened, and trenches to be dug inside, I +then had the drums beaten, bugles blown, and some rifle shots fired, so +that any who might still be fleeing, or stopped by the swampy ground +slightly wounded, might know that a place of refuge was at hand. During +the day, a considerable number came in, and, calling over the roll in +the evening, I found we mustered in all nine hundred men, including +regulars and Bazingers,--a sad and broken remnant out of a force of +eighty-five hundred men, but still something for which to be thankful. +Of our horsemen and cavalry, thirty only were left,--the enemy had +probably captured a large number, and some had perhaps escaped and +returned to Dara or to their own homes; but of arms and ammunition of +those who had fallen we had abundance. + +At sunset the Rizighat Arabs returned from the pursuit, and, to their +astonishment, found us in an entrenched position, ready to fight them. +Madibbo now sent forward his Bazingers to attack us; but after a short +struggle we drove them back, and darkness coming on, all firing ceased. +Whilst sitting talking to my officers, Sheikhs Abder Rasul, Muslim Wad +Kabbashi, and Sultan Begu approached, and asked whether it would not be +better to retreat from our present position under cover of night, as +after our heavy defeat and losses we had no chance now against the +enemy. "Well," said I, "you wish to retreat during the night; but what +will you do with all our wounded comrades and brothers? Do you want to +leave them to the tender mercies of our enemies?" Shamefaced, they were +silent and did not reply. "No," said I, "your proposal is not a good +one; I have been talking over the matter with my officers, and we have +resolved to remain where we are for a few days. We have now nothing to +fear but hunger; the wounded and tired camels can be killed for food for +the soldiers. Besides, we can exist somehow or other for a few days. We +shall most certainly be attacked, as we have already been, but we shall +equally surely drive off the enemy. In this way the men will regain +confidence after the terrible shock we have all suffered. I know the +Rizighat; they will not stay here and watch us. I feel confident we +shall settle accounts with Madibbo, his Bazingers, and Sheikh Jango, who +fled once before to the Bahr el Ghazal. Our wounded comrades will have +time to recover their strength a little; those only suffering slightly +will be able to march in a few days, and the others we can mount on our +horses. I think my proposal is a much better one than yours." + +Whilst I had been talking I had overheard Sultan Abakr making remarks of +approval, and by the time I had finished all had agreed to stay. + +Speaking generally to all present, I said to them, "Can any of you +understand how it was we were defeated to-day?" "No," they all answered. +"Well, I will tell you," I replied. "This evening I saw amongst the +wounded the assistant of Hassan Wad Sattarat, commander of the rear +guard. He said, 'Sharaf ed Din did not carry out your instructions to +relieve the rear guard, as on the previous days; the regulars were +annoyed, and joined their companies without permission, and no fresh men +were sent in their places. At the same time the friendly Arabs joined +the flank guards, and when we were attacked, Hassan Wad Sattarat had at +his disposal only about two hundred and fifty Bazingers armed with old +percussion-guns.' Sharaf ed Din has paid for his negligence with his +life, and we have all suffered as well. It is too late for recrimination +now; let us think of something else. Go and cheer up your men; get some +sleep, so that you may be fit for what to-morrow may bring. But you, +Said Agha Fula, as you are wounded, will probably not be able to sleep; +so we will put an angareb for you to lie down on at the gate of the +zariba, and, should any one attempt to go out without my permission, you +have my orders to shoot him." + +Now that I was alone, I had time to think over the situation. It was +very probable we should succeed in retiring on Dara, we had over eight +hundred rifles and guns. But I bitterly deplored the losses; all my best +officers and advisers were killed, and I dreaded lest the news of our +disaster should reach Dara before I could communicate, as, in the event +of this, the effect might be most serious both on the garrison and +amongst the inhabitants. I therefore woke up my clerk and ordered him to +write two short notes,--one to Zogal, and the other to the commandant, +Adjutant-Major Mohammed Farag, informing them that, in spite of heavy +losses, we were well, and that we hoped to return to Dara in about a +fortnight; but should fugitives come in and spread false and alarming +news about our situation, they were to be arrested and kept under guard +till I returned. I myself wrote a few lines to Gottfried Rott, +describing the situation, and informing him that I hoped to return to +Dara before long with the remainder of the troops; that he must not be +down-hearted, but should do his utmost to keep up the spirits of all. I +enclosed also a note to my mother, brothers, and sisters, bidding them +farewell, as it was impossible to foresee what would be the end of all +this trouble. In case I should fall, I begged Rott to send these on to +my dear ones at home. + +Taking the letters in my hand, I now went to Abdulla Om Dramo, Sheikh of +the Messeria Arabs, who resided near Dara, and, waking him up, I said, +"Where is your brother Salama?" "There he is," said he, pointing to the +man lying beside him, and waking him up also. "Salama," said I, "you can +render me a great service, which will also be of much advantage to +yourself. You see these letters, you must take them to Dara and hand +them over to the European Rott, whom you have often seen with me; I +shall give you my own horse, which you always say is such a good one, +for this mission. You must leave at once, and when you get near the line +of the enemy encircling us, ride sharply through, for they are all +asleep, and you will have disappeared in the dark before they can get +their horses ready; once through their lines you will be safe, and in +two days you should be in Dara. As a reward, I, will give you my black +mare, which is in my stable." Whilst I was talking, Salama had tightened +up the cloth round his chest and loins, and merely said, "Where are the +letters?" I gave them to him, and, taking them, he said, "Please God and +with the help of the Almighty I shall take these letters to their +destination. But I prefer to ride my own horse; he may not be so swift +as yours, but he is quite strong enough to take me home on his back. I +know my horse, and he knows me. Mutual acquaintances are always an +advantage on such expeditions." Whilst he was girthing up his saddle, I +scribbled a line to Rott, telling him to give the bearer of these +letters my black mare, and, handing it to him, I told him what I had +written; then, leading his horse to the gate, we came to Said Agha Fula, +who was lying restlessly and in pain on his angareb: he was wounded in +the right leg and left arm. I told him about Salama's mission, and he +then ordered the gate to be opened. In a moment Salama had mounted, and, +holding in his right hand his long spear, and in his left his bundle of +small spears, he started off. "I commit you to God's keeping," I cried. +"I trust in God," was his reply. Going slowly at first, he approached +the lines cautiously; then I heard the rapid clatter of hoofs, in a few +minutes one or two rifle-shots rang out in the still night, then all was +as silent again as death. "May God go with him!" we all ejaculated, and +then re-entered the zariba. Exhausted nature now claimed me, and, +utterly tired out, I was soon fast asleep. + +When I woke up at early dawn I found the men already at work +strengthening the breastworks, and, as I had anticipated, the enemy +renewed their attack at sunrise. For some time a very brisk fire was +kept up on both sides; but, owing to our dominating position the Arabs +were at length forced to retire, after suffering considerable loss. On +our side there were a few killed and wounded; amongst the former being +Ali Wad Hegaz, a Jaali, and one of the best and bravest of his tribe. As +it was our intention to remain here four or five days, the men busied +themselves in strengthening the zariba, and we also buried the bodies of +friends and foes in the immediate vicinity, as already the air was +contaminated with the fetid smell of decaying corpses. + +Amongst my men were two Bazingers whom on a former occasion I had +employed to carry messages to my friend Lupton, who had succeeded Gessi +as Governor-General of Bahr el Ghazal. It now occurred to me that it +would be advisable to let him know the situation in Darfur, and ask him, +should he be not otherwise occupied, to make an expedition against the +Rizighat and Habbania Arabs, who in the wet season took their cattle +into his province. I had ascertained that trouble had broken out in the +Bahr el Ghazal as well, from a wounded Rizighat slave-hunter who had +fallen into our hands; and he had told me that the Janghé tribe had +revolted. Sheikh Janghé had attached Telgauna and sacked it; but having +been subsequently defeated, he had joined Madibbo, and had been present +with two hundred men in yesterday's action. However, I had no doubt that +Lupton was better off than I was; and, provided the Government officials +were loyal, I knew he had nothing to fear, for the tribes were too +disunited to join in common action against the Government. Besides, the +religious factor, which was the bond of union amongst the northern +tribes, did not enter into the Bahr el Ghazal situation, where the +majority of the Black tribes were pagans. + +In the Bahr el Ghazal the most important tribes, who are principally +negroes and negroids, are the Janghé, Farogé, Kâra, Runga, Fertit, +Kraitsh, Baya, Tega, Banda, Niam Niam, Bongo, Mombuttu, etc.; all these +were entirely distinct from one another, having their kings or rulers, +and there were continual feuds between them. It was this fact which +enabled the Nile Arabs to enter the country with comparative ease, as +Zubeir Pasha had done; it was a very simple operation to collect a +number of the inhabitants, train them to the use of fire-arms, and +utilise their services to invade a neighbouring tribe. These savage +chiefs were too ignorant to understand that by combining in their +opposition to foreign intrusion they would probably have been able to +preserve their own integrity; but it is contrary to the traditions of +these tribes to be ruled by any but their own chiefs, unless it be by +Arabs or Europeans; and this fact accounts for the ease with which the +slave-hunters pursued their nefarious traffic, almost unopposed, +throughout the length and breadth of this vast province, which is +peopled by the most warlike races in the Sudan, and who are capable of +making excellent soldiers. + +To Lupton, therefore, I decided to write, requesting him to advance +against the Arabs on the Bahr el Ghazal frontier,--an operation which +would certainly weaken the latter, or at least prevent them from +entering Darfur. These few lines I concealed in a dry pumpkin gourd, and +despatched by the hands of the two Bazingers. + +We passed five days in the zariba, attacked once, if not twice, every +day. During the action fought on the third day Koreina Nur, the +commander of Madibbo's gun-bearers, and the bravest and boldest of his +Arabs, was killed; and henceforth the enemy's attacks diminished greatly +in vigour. + +But now we had a new enemy to contend against,--famine. Almost +everything eatable in the camp had been consumed; the camel meat, which +had amply sufficed for the men, was now finished; there was not a grain +of dhurra left; my officers and I had lived for some time on some old +crusts of dhurra bread, which we had cooked with the leaves of a plant +called kawal, and stirred up into a sort of tasteless porridge. We had +no prospect of being relieved, to stay longer where we were was +impossible, and already we were weakened by want of food; I therefore +assembled the entire force,--consisting of nine hundred men, almost all +of whom were armed with rifles and guns, except a few Arabs, who, being +ignorant of fire-arms, prepared to trust to their lances,--and, +addressing them in a few words, I told them that the blood of their dead +officers and chiefs cried to them for vengeance; that their wives and +children anxiously awaited their return, but that it was impossible to +reach them without enduring troubles with patience, and facing +difficulties with courage and endurance; and I closed my harangue by +saying that those in whose hearts was fear had left us in the day of +battle, but those now before me had bravely stood their ground against +overwhelming odds, and that I had no doubt they would do so again, and +that God would crown our efforts by victory. + +A shout, and the shaking of rifles and guns over their heads, which is +their usual method of signifying their obedience and courage, was their +reply; and I then dismissed them, with orders to prepare to march the +following day. I now took out the hammers from the percussion guns +belonging to the killed, which lay heaped up in the middle of the +zariba, and threw them into a rain pool; but of the stocks I made a +bonfire. The filled shells for the gun I threw into the water, and as +much ammunition as possible was distributed amongst the soldiers, each +man carrying from sixteen to eighteen dozen rounds; but all the +percussion gun ammunition I was obliged to destroy, in case it should +fall into the hands of the enemy; the lead in the cartridges was +removed, and some of the very severely wounded having just died, I +placed it in the open graves, over which we laid the bodies of our poor +comrades, as guardians of our precious metal. + +It was on a Saturday, the seventh day after our disaster, and just after +sunrise, that we marched out of the zariba, and, forming up in square +with flank and rear guards, we began our retreat. The only two camels +remaining drew the gun in the middle of the square, and I sent out two +Arab horsemen as far as possible on each side to scout. We had one +hundred and sixty wounded inside the square, and as many of them as +could march did so; but the most severe cases we mounted on the few +remaining horses, each horse carrying two or three men. I myself was +prepared to walk; but, at the urgent request of my officers, I mounted, +so as to obtain a better view over the country. We all knew that when we +had marched some distance from the zariba we should most certainly be +attacked; I therefore had the gun loaded, and we resolved to sell our +lives dearly. We well understood the Arab mode of fighting, and were +confident that if we succeeded in driving back the first two or three +attacks, we should not be further molested. It was decided the line of +direction should be northeast, as the ground was more open; but we were +ignorant of the whereabouts of the rain-pools, as our guides were either +killed or had deserted. + +Before we had been on the march an hour, we were attacked in the rear by +horsemen, and I knew the decisive moment had come. Halting instantly, I +called in the flank guards closer to the square, and, accompanied by my +own escort of fifty men, proceeded to the rear guard, distant about two +hundred yards. The gun was run out to the rear face of the square, and +several of the slightly wounded held the cartridges and shell ready to +reload without delay. Before the enemy's footmen were in sight we could +hear the sound of their advance; and when they did appear, a few +well-directed volleys from the rear guard had the effect of slightly +checking them; but, encouraged by those coming up behind, they rushed +towards us, waving their great lances in their right hands, and carrying +in their left bundles of small throwing spears. They succeeded in coming +so close that several of our men were wounded by thrown spears; but our +fire created havoc amongst their ranks, and the gun played on them +freely from the square. Their spearmen now gave way to Madibbo's and +Jangho's Bazingers, and a very brisk fire was maintained on both sides; +but, getting reinforcements from the square, we succeeded, after twenty +minutes' hard struggle, in driving back the attack. On the first shots +being fired, I had at once jumped off my horse, which is always +understood in the Sudan to mean that, abandoning his chance of flight in +case of a reverse, the commander has determined to conquer or die with +his troops; and now that the action was over, the men came round me, and +we had a great mutual hand-shaking over this, our first success. + +Whilst we had been engaged in combating the attack on the rear, the left +flank guard had also become engaged, and, though the enemy had been +driven off, nevertheless it had suffered somewhat, and my best remaining +officer, Zeidan Agha, was dangerously wounded. He was a Nubian by birth, +and during the Darfur campaign had shown conspicuous gallantry in +recapturing, at the head of only twelve men, a gun which had been taken +by the enemy. For this service he had been promoted to the rank of an +officer; and now he lay with a bullet through his right lung. I asked +him how he was, and, giving me his hand, he murmured, "Now that we have +conquered, we are all right;" and, pressing my hand, in a few minutes he +was dead. Besides him we had lost twenty men killed, and several +wounded. Our dead we buried roughly, as there was no time to dig +graves; but we covered them sufficiently to avoid the reproach that we +had left our dead unburied, and then continued our march with the same +precautions, but with considerably increased confidence. + +About three o'clock another attack on the rear was signalled; but this +time it was not pressed home, and we drove off the enemy without +suffering any loss ourselves. We now halted and formed a zariba, +momentarily expecting another attack. But, to our surprise, we passed +the night undisturbed, and the next morning at sunrise, having finished +all our water, we resumed our march. Again we were subjected to an +attack; but on this occasion it was even weaker than that of the +previous afternoon, and was driven off without any trouble. We continued +our march till midday, without finding any water; but got a little rest +under the shady trees, and found a quantity of "fayo," a sort of native +radish and very juicy. Three small leaves springing from the ground +denote its presence, and it was sucked with avidity by our parched +troops, and in some measure assuaged our thirst; but still it was +absolutely necessary to find water. After a short halt we pushed on +again, and by good fortune accidentally came across a Rizighat shepherd, +driving before him a flock of sheep. In an instant the men had seized +the sheep, while the unfortunate shepherd, taken completely by surprise, +did not attempt to escape, and would certainly have been killed, had I +not rushed forward and prevented the men from harming him. I now had all +the sheep driven inside the square; and meanwhile, my boys, having tied +the Arab's hands behind his back, brought him before me. But before +interrogating him, I gave orders for the sheep, of which there were over +two hundred, to be distributed amongst the famished men, to every five +men one sheep, and we kept a few for ourselves. What a godsend to us was +this food! Turning now to the Arab, I told him that his life would be +spared if he would guide us to a rain pool; and that if he proved +faithful I should give him a good reward, and let him go to his own +home. He agreed, but said that there were only a few small pools in +this neighbourhood, and that if we went on some distance further, and +then halted, he would guarantee to bring us to the "fula el beida" (the +white rain-pool) early the next morning, where there was sufficient +water to last us for months. I was somewhat suspicious of him, and, +therefore, ordered a non-commissioned officer and eight men to keep +guard over him, and not to allow him to go far from me. We then resumed +the march, halted at sunset, and made our zariba as usual. We came +across a few pools, but they were quite insufficient; and as we were +still suffering considerably from thirst, I started on again at earliest +dawn, having passed a miserable and sleepless night. About midday the +guide pointed out some large trees, under which he said the pool lay. +Halting, therefore, at once, I ordered the gun to be dismounted and +loaded, and all preparations made to resist. It seemed to me very +probable that the enemy, knowing that we should be suffering from +thirst, would be in concealment somewhere near the water, and would +charge us as we were approaching. I now called on the men to strictly +obey all orders, and on no account to become undisciplined. But as soon +as the water came in view, the poor thirsty troops could contain +themselves no longer, and rushed pell-mell towards it. I managed to +restrain the forty men I had as escort, and there were about the same +number with the rear guard; and although I sounded the "assembly" again +and again, the men were now completely out of hand, plunging up to their +waists in the water, in their frenzy of delight. But, as I had +anticipated, the enemy were concealed behind the trees--fortunately, at +some distance off--and, seeing our disorder, they now made a general +attack from all sides. Galloping to the front, followed by the escort, +we opened fire; while Mohammed Suleiman did the same as regards the +rear. Our demoralised men, seeing the situation, at once fell in, and +after some heavy firing we drove off the enemy, losing in this mêlée +only one horse. We now selected a suitable position near the water, and +set to work to make a zariba; and that finished, the men killed their +sheep, fires were lighted, and in an hour they were enjoying the first +solid meal they had had for many a day. As we were all sadly in need of +a rest, I decided to remain in this position till the following day. + +That evening a report came in from the outposts that a man was seen +waving a piece of white calico and asking to be allowed to see me. I did +not wish him to enter the zariba and see all our wounded; I therefore +went out, and found that he was one of Madibbo's slaves, bearing a +letter for me from his master. In this letter Madibbo called on me to +surrender and hand over my arms. He further wrote that the Mahdi was now +encamped before El Obeid, which he expected to capture shortly. He +promised to treat me with all respect, and to send me, under safe +escort, to the Mahdi. I now ordered this letter to be read aloud to the +men, who greeted it with jeers, and asked the slave if his master was +mad; to which the terror-stricken man replied that he did not really +know. I then turned to him seriously, and, speaking loud enough for all +to hear, I said, "Tell Madibbo it was God's will we should have suffered +losses, but we are not defeated. We are wandering about in his country, +and if he does not like us to do so, he must accept the situation, as he +has neither the power nor the courage to stop us. If he is really an +adherent of the Mahdi, and desires to enjoy the pleasures of Paradise +promised him, then let him come here to-morrow morning. We shall wait +for him, and for his sake we shall not march to-morrow." + +Most of the men had now gathered round us, and were listening to this +speech and laughing; and when I bade the messenger good-bye, some of the +wits begged him to give Madibbo their compliments, and tell him they +hoped soon to have the pleasure of his personal acquaintance. The men +were now in the highest spirits; they really did wish to make Madibbo's +acquaintance, and wipe out, if possible, the defeat they had suffered at +Om Waragat. + +That evening I presented our guide with a piece of red cloth, a pair of +silver bangles, and a few dollars, which I borrowed from the surviving +merchants, and he quitted the zariba full of gratitude. At the same time +I told him that should he come to Dara I would repay him the value of +his sheep. + +The next morning we ascertained in various ways that Madibbo was not far +off, and after our boasting it behoved us to be very cautious. However, +we were not attacked. Some of the men outside the zariba were amusing +themselves by making small caps of twisted palm-leaves, like those worn +by some of the Arabs we had killed, when a Rizighat horseman, who had +evidently lost his way, came galloping towards us, thinking we were +Madibbo's people. My men at once stopped him, and, making him dismount, +brought him before me. Suddenly realising his mistake, he cried out, +"Allahu Akbar! ana kataltu nafsi" (God is most great! I have killed +myself). However, I consoled him, and handed him over to Mohammed +Suleiman to be watched, and gave his horse to Mohammed Khalil, who had +lost his in yesterday's action. That night I sent in a letter, by a +runner to Dara, informing Zogal and Gottfried Rott that we were all +well, and hoped soon to be with them. + +The next morning I gave orders to march, and sent for the Arab who had +come in yesterday, to speak to him about the road, but was told that +some of the men, infuriated at the death of their comrades, had split +open his head with an axe. Mohammed Suleiman denied all knowledge of the +perpetrators of this crime, and knowing in what condition my men were, I +thought it better to let this incident of brutality pass. During this +day's march, as if to bid us farewell, we were once more attacked, but +the enemy was again driven off. We picked up a wounded Arab, who told us +that Mohammed Abu Salama and several Habbania Sheikhs were still with +Madibbo, but that Sheikh Jango, owing to the heavy losses he had +suffered at Om Waragat, had returned to the Bahr el Ghazal. I had no +doubt the man would be picked up by his own friends, so I left him, and +that evening reached a place some distance southeast of Deain. On the +following day we reached Bir Dilwei, and thence we continued our march +without interruption to Dara. + +On the road letters reached me saying that Salama, whom I had sent off +from Om Waragat, had arrived safely; they reported rumours that the Mima +intended to revolt; and Rott, in a letter of which the handwriting was +scarcely legible, told me that he had been taken ill the previous +Saturday, and was very anxious to see me. I also received a report from +Omar Wad Darho, stating that he had heard El Obeid was besieged, and +that he did not think the Homr Arabs would dare to attack Om Shanga +again, after their constant defeats. The reports of the Mudir of El +Fasher were in general satisfactory, except as regards the Mima Arabs. +News from Kebkebia and Kulkul was also good. + +At length we reached Dara, and our entry was by no means a cheerful one. +Many, of course, were happy to see their husbands, fathers, and brothers +again; but how many more wept and wailed for their dead, lying on the +distant battle-field! + +It behoved me now to look after my own bruises. In the various fights I +had been wounded three times. A bullet had shattered the ring-finger of +my right hand, which had to be amputated almost to the root; the fingers +on either side were also damaged. Another bullet had struck me in the +upper part of my leg, and, flattening against the bone, made it +protrude. A thrown lance had also struck me in the right knee. In spite +of these wounds, I had been able to go through the campaign without much +suffering; but I felt weak and overdone, and was very glad of a few +days' rest. + +I found poor Gottfried Rott very seriously ill. He wanted to move to +Fasher for change of air; and having again heard from Said Bey Guma that +it was impossible to get camels to send the remainder of the ammunition +for which I had asked, I now hired all the camels I could in Dara,--the +property of officers, officials, and merchants, about fifty in all,--and +sent them under escort of one hundred regulars to El Fasher, ordering +Said Bey to load them up with ammunition, send them back without delay, +and with them as many other beasts of burden as he could procure. I +wrote also to Adam Amer, the commandant, ordering him to send me a +reinforcement of two hundred men (one hundred regulars and one hundred +Bazingers) from Kebkebia direct to Dara. With this caravan I sent +Gottfried Rott in charge of an officer, who was ordered to take him to +my house in El Fasher, and at the same time I wrote to a Greek merchant +named Dimitri Zigada, and asked him to do all he could for the patient. + +The news from Kordofan being very contradictory,--though at the same +time the general tenor was unsatisfactory,--I set to work to try and +procure some reliable information. I therefore sent Khaled Wad Imam and +Mohammed Wad Asi--the latter a most faithful man--to that province, with +instructions either to send me news with the least possible delay, or +return with it themselves. Khaled Wad Imam had been brought up with +Zogal, and although they were not related to each other, they were +generally looked upon as brothers. My reason for sending him with Asi +was that he should protect him in El Obeid, and the plan succeeded +admirably; for Khaled was naturally anxious to do nothing which would +jeopardise Zogal, who, of course, remained with me at Dara. At the same +time I cautioned Asi to remain on as friendly terms as possible with +Khaled, and to try and find out if Zogal was in communication with the +Mahdi, and, under any circumstances, to return to me as quickly as +possible. + +The day after my return to Dara, I sent orders to Omar Wad Darho to go +back at once with all his men to El Fasher, leaving one of his officers, +El Ata Wad Melek Usul, of the Shaigia royal blood, as commander of the +newly recruited horsemen at Om Shanga. I also learnt that Abo Bey el +Bartawi, the official in charge of the Toweisha district, was in +communication with the Mima, and was inclined to revolt,--a rumour which +was subsequently confirmed, as he refused to obey my summons to him to +come to Dara, and he did not explain his reasons for not doing so. + +In twelve days the caravan returned from El Fasher with the fifty +camels, a hundred boxes of Remington ammunition, and ten kantars of +lead. Said Bey made the usual excuses that he could hire no camels from +the employés, and Adam Amer wrote that, owing to the disturbed aspect of +affairs in the Fasher district, it was impossible to send me the +reinforcements I had ordered. + +I now thoroughly understood the situation. The officers were undoubtedly +hostile to me. They had talked amongst themselves, and had spread +rumours all through the country that Ahmed Pasha Arabi had turned his +master, the Khedive, out of Egypt, because he was friendly to +Christians, and admitted them into his service; that Arabi was now +master of the country, and had turned out all who were not Egyptians, +such as Turks and Circassians, and had confiscated their property, which +had been turned over to the Government. They had further declared that I +had been discharged from my position, but that, owing to the roads being +cut, the authority for my dismissal had not come to hand. Of course the +more sensible people placed no credence in these idle tales; but there +was no doubt my authority was distinctly impaired, and this state of +things was taken full advantage of by those who bore me a grudge. +Hitherto there had been no overt act of disobedience to my orders; but +excuses were being continually made, as there was evident inclination +not to comply with them. However, such was the situation, and I had to +put up with it and be as cheerful as I could under the circumstances. I +was reminded of the Arab proverb, "El kalb yenbah wa el gamal mashi" +(The dog barks, whilst the camel _unheeding_ passes by); in other words, +I thought it better to take no notice of all this cackling. + +Beshari Bey Wad Bekir, head-Sheikh of the Beni Helba Arabs, whom I had +summoned to Dara, pleaded sickness; but anxious not to break off +entirely with me, he sent me two horses and thirty oxen, which he begged +me to accept as a token of submission, adding that as soon as the state +of his health permitted he would certainly come. I gave the horses to +the officers who had lost theirs in battle, and the thirty oxen I gave +to the men. + +By the same post which brought me news of Omar Wad Darho's arrival at El +Fasher I heard of poor Gottfried Rott's death. In spite of most careful +nursing and attention, he gradually sank, and was buried at El Fasher, +beside Dr. Pfund and Friedrich Rosset, who had died there some years +before. + +The Mima were now in a state of open revolt. They had killed one of the +Government mounted postmen, and had turned out their own Sultan Daud, +who was peaceably inclined to Government, and replaced him by another. I +therefore sent instructions to Omar Wad Darho to proceed with two +hundred regulars and two hundred horsemen into their country, to +chastise them; and at the same time I decided to operate against the +Khawabir, who were acting in conjunction with the Mima. Darho started +off, and had a successful little campaign, defeating the Mima at Fafa +and Woda, whilst I proceeded, with a hundred and fifty regulars and +fifty horsemen, _via_ Shieria, to Bir Om Lawai, where the Khawabir, +apprised of my approach, were waiting to attack me. After a short fight +they were defeated and dispersed, and we captured a considerable number +of sheep and oxen. + +When these operations were over, I instructed Darho to leave a +sufficiently strong force at Fasher, and to join me at Bir Om Lawai with +the remainder of his men. In a few days he arrived, and gave me a full +account of all his doings, and further details of the Mahdi's successes +in Kordofan, which to me were excessively disquieting. Abo Bey having +now openly joined in the Mima revolt, I decided to send Omar Agha with a +sufficiently strong force to Toweisha, with instructions to destroy his +residence, distant two days, whilst I despatched Omar Wad Darho and his +men to again worry the Khawabir, who had retired to their sand-hills. +He, however, met with no very signal success. The Khawabir country, +except at Bir Om Lawai, is a sandy tract, destitute of trees and +vegetation; but the rain, which lies for some months in the depressions +of the ground, enables the Arabs to live here; and when it dries up they +drink the contents of the water-melons, which grow in abundance near the +pools, and which, when pressed, yield a somewhat sour but +pleasant-tasting juice. + +On the evening in which I was writing out Darho's instructions for his +expedition against the Khawabir, a certain Abderrahman Wad Sherif came +and urgently begged to speak to me. He was a well-known Dara merchant, +and had previously travelled to Khartum. He began by saying that as I +had always treated him with kindness, he thought it his duty to inform +me that El Obeid had capitulated, adding that the early news of this sad +event might enable me to take the measures I considered necessary. This +was a terrible blow; but I thanked him for his melancholy news, and he +then described to me in detail what had taken place. He was present at +the time of the surrender and had left three days afterwards to visit +his family in Dara; but hearing at Toweisha that I was at Bir Om Lawai, +he had come straight to me, as he was most anxious that this news should +reach me first through a friend. + +As I knew it was useless to try and keep this secret, I summoned Darho +and Suleiman Basyuni, and told them what I had heard, and we talked over +the steps which we should now take. It was very evident that this news +would prove an immense incentive to those hostilely inclined to the +Government, and there was no doubt my presence in Dara was an urgent +necessity. As the Mima and Khawabir had been chastised, the next thing +in order of importance was to send an expedition to Toweisha, and on the +following day I wrote to Said Bey Guma that Om Shanga should be +evacuated, and that the garrison, merchants, and any who wished should +withdraw to El Fasher. I explained that as El Obeid had fallen, it was +more than probable the Arabs would now turn on Om Shanga, and if +invested, it would be quite impossible to send relief; and that, under +any circumstances, it was imperative that the principal fighting forces +in the province should be concentrated at Fasher. I also ordered him to +establish a strong post at Fafa and Woda, in the Mima country, in order +to keep open communication between Fasher and Dara. Omar Wad Darho and +his men I instructed to return forthwith to El Fasher, adding that any +booty taken from the Mima should be distributed amongst his men and the +Fasher garrison, whilst that taken from the Khawabir should go to the +Dara troops. On the following day we separated,--Darho to Fasher, and I +back to Dara. + +In a few days the news of the fall of El Obeid had spread far and wide, +and the effect on the Arab tribes became immediately apparent: meetings +were held in all parts of the country, and it was decided almost +unanimously to rise against the Government. + +The day I arrived at Dara, I ordered all the dhurra I could find to be +bought up; we had a considerable amount now in store, but more would +certainly be advantageous. Sheikh Afifi now sent me news that his tribe +had revolted and had joined the Rizighat, but he himself, true to his +promise, was leaving his own country with his family and relatives and +was coming to me _via_ Dar Helba, and that he had sent his brother Ali +with a message to Beshari Bey Wad Bekir, the head-Sheikh of the Beni +Helba, with whom solemn oaths had been exchanged, agreeing to his safe +conduct through his country, and therefore he hoped to be with me in a +few days. + +I was awaiting his arrival when the sad news came that he had been +killed. In him I lost my most faithful Arab Sheikh. It transpired that +the Beni Helba, who had been ordered by their Sheikh to let him through, +wanted to take from him his numerous sheep and oxen, and, having +refused, a fight had ensued; he had performed prodigies of valour, but +had been slain by some spearmen concealed amongst the trees, when in +pursuit of the mounted Arabs, whom he had twice successfully driven off. + +Mohammed Wad Asi, whom I had sent with Khaled Wad Imam, now returned +from Kordofan, and gave me the fullest particulars regarding the +situation there. He brought me the good news that Government was +collecting a large force in Khartum for the re-conquest of Kordofan, but +that no doubt a considerable time must elapse before the expedition +could start. I told him to spread this news in all directions, and then +inquired as to Zogal's relations with the Mahdi. He replied that in +spite of the most careful investigation, he could not ascertain +definitely if any direct correspondence took place between them, but he +had no doubt that Zogal received verbal messages from the Mahdi, brought +by itinerant merchants; he however shared my views, that Zogal, being a +man of position and education, must be well aware of the actual motives +of the revolt, and would not be likely to embark on any foolish +undertaking. No doubt the capitulation of El Obeid had greatly weakened +our position, and with the whole of Kordofan in the hands of the enemy, +it behoved us to act with the greatest caution and circumspection. Wad +Asi's news about the expedition preparing in Khartum would probably have +the effect on the Mahdi of making him keep his forces together so as to +offer a united resistance; it was not, therefore, likely he would turn +to us just at present. We must give all our attention to the revolt of +the Arab tribes, who, now thoroughly inflamed by the news of the +capitulation of El Obeid, and stirred up by fanatical proclamations, +were ready to proceed to all extremities. As the operations of the +intended expedition to Kordofan would not probably be finished till the +winter, it was imperative that we should try and hold out by some means +till then. + +In spite of the formation of the military post at Fafa and Woda, the Bir +Om Lawai Khawabir Arabs had again collected, and, joined by a number of +Mima who had been irritated by the roads to their country being cut, +and stimulated by the fall of El Obeid, were now stirring up the entire +country between Fasher and Dara, whilst the troops at Fafa were not in +sufficient force to attack them. I therefore decided on another +expedition against them, as I was resolved to show them that the fall of +El Obeid had not discouraged us. Selecting two hundred and fifty old +soldiers, well inured to war, I had them trained in bayonet-exercise for +a few days preparatory to my departure, the date of which I kept +strictly secret. + +Taking with me all the horses I could muster at the time, some seventy +in number, and instructing Wad Asi to keep me informed of events in Dara +during my absence, I advanced rapidly; and in two days reached the +neighbourhood of Bir Om Lawai, where both the Mima and Khawabir were +collected. We took with us only our arms and ammunition, as our +intention was to attack them, and then return. The instant, therefore, +the enemy came in view I gave the order to "fix bayonets," and, in spite +of the Bazingers and their guns, after a sharp fight of twenty minutes +we drove them off and dispersed them. A few of the Mima Arabs had got +amongst my men, but had all been bayoneted. I now ordered the horsemen +to take up behind them the regulars and pursue, and do their utmost to +discover where the water-melons were stored, as they would undoubtedly +make for them to quench their thirst. This order was well carried out, +the water-melons were destroyed, and a number of women and children +captured; whilst the tribesmen were scattered over the country in search +of water, and many died of thirst. The next day the enemy's camp was +burnt, and the women and children, who would otherwise have perished, I +ordered to be brought to Bir Om Lawai, which I now attacked. The enemy +here made a most determined defence, and I lost sixteen men killed, and +twenty wounded. This loss brought home the fact to me that I had very +few good regulars left, whilst the enemy, even if defeated, were daily +increasing in number. + +The women and children brought from Bir Om Lawai I handed over to +Muslem Wad Kabbashi with directions that he should take them to Hilla +Shieria, and thence to their homes at Fafa and Woda. The trees at Bir Om +Lawai I ordered to be cut down and thrown into the wells, which I then +filled up with earth, and returned to Dara. + +Being the solitary European in a foreign country, and in the midst of an +intriguing and unfriendly population, I had to resort to all sorts of +means to discover the plots and designs of those by whom I was +surrounded; and sometimes by money, or by gifts distributed in secret, I +was able to learn beforehand what was likely to occur, and take measures +accordingly. Through the help of my servants I utilised the services of +some of the profligate women of the town, who, as was the custom of the +country, prepared the native beer, or marissa, which is consumed in +large quantities by the lower classes in the brothels. These houses were +the rendezvous for every description of loafer, grumbler, and tattler +who wished to let his tongue wag without restraint, under the influence +of drink. My servants had told me that during these drinking-bouts they +frequently talked of the great religious rising of the Mahdi, for which, +it may be readily imagined, those present had not much sympathy. It was, +however, generally agreed that the Government, having placed so many +Christians and unbelievers in high positions, in which they were +employed in combating this religious reformer, the result must be bad. +The soldiers who frequented these houses of ill-fame often remarked, I +was told, that although they liked me, they attributed the losses we had +suffered in action to the fact of my being a Christian. I was perfectly +well aware that these views were not the outcome of the brain of the +Black soldier, who, as a rule, cares little about religion, but were +instigated by those who were doing their utmost to upset and nullify my +authority and make me unpopular with the men. + +Now, on my return from Bir Om Lawai still more serious news awaited me. +My servants told me that in one of the brothels belonging to a woman in +my secret pay, daily meetings were held, in which the soldiers +discussed the project of wholesale desertion. On inquiry I found that +the principal instigators of these seditious meetings were +non-commissioned officers and men of the Fur tribe, who were reported to +be tired of this constant fighting, and who declared that the days of +Turkish authority were numbered. Their plan was to desert to Sultan Dud +Benga, the successor of Sultan Harun, who resided on the western slopes +of Jebel Marra. As the Fur section was the most numerous and powerful in +the battalion, the matter was a most serious one; I therefore sent for +the battalion commander, Adjutant-Major Mohammed Effendi Farag, and told +him what I had heard. He appeared greatly surprised, and assured me he +knew nothing of the matter, and that he should not fail to unearth the +plot and bring the ringleaders to justice. I ordered him to maintain the +strictest secrecy, and do nothing which would raise the slightest +suspicion. Whilst he was with me I sent for my servant and handed him a +bag full of money, telling him to take it to the woman and instruct her +to invite the various persons concerned to her house the next day, and +give them an exceptionally good entertainment at her own expense; at the +same time I told my servant to induce her to let him hide somewhere in +the house where he could overhear what was said; and that if she could +carry out these directions to my satisfaction I should reward her +handsomely. Soon after, my servant returned, telling me he had arranged +everything. + +The day following the entertainment I again sent for the adjutant-major, +and was now able to communicate to him the names of six of the +ringleaders, whom I ordered him to instantly arrest; moreover I was able +to give him the details of the design and the actual date of its +intended execution. In half an hour he returned with the six prisoners, +whose hands were tied behind their backs. They comprised one sergeant, +three corporals, and two lance-corporals,--all of the Fur tribe. They +were accompanied by a crowd of kavasses and spectators, whom I sent off; +and then, in the presence of their commanding officer, I asked them +what instigated them to revolt against the Government. They absolutely +denied having any such intention, and assured me of their innocence. +"But," said I, "I know perfectly well you have been holding meetings in +the house of your compatriot Khadiga. I gave you plenty of time to come +to reason, but you grew daily more rebellious. Yesterday you were all +with Khadiga, drinking marissa, and you agreed that the day after +to-morrow you would execute your plan. Your object was to join with your +friends in the third, fourth, and fifth companies, take your arms, open +the western gate of the fort, and desert to Sultan Abdullahi, and, if +necessary, to have recourse to force to carry out your design. Did you +not assert yesterday, Sergeant Mohammed, that you had almost two hundred +men at your disposal? You see now I know everything, and it is useless +to deny it." + +They listened in silence; they knew they had been discovered, and now +they freely confessed and asked for my pardon. "That is out of my +hands," I replied. "Go now with your commandant and confess openly that +you are guilty in the presence of the other officers of the battalion; +the law shall then decide." I then instructed the commandant to assemble +a court-martial, and to arrange that all the non-commissioned officers +should be present whilst the evidence was being taken; but at the same +time I warned him to let it be understood by all (as I was afraid that +some of the men might desert through fear) that other men implicated in +the case should not be punished, as I held the non-commissioned officers +alone responsible. The same afternoon the proceedings of the case, with +the full confessions, were brought to me, but without the sentence. I +therefore returned them to the court to give sentence, and soon +afterwards the commandant returned. The court had sentenced them to +death, but recommended them to mercy. In my opinion an example was +absolutely necessary, and though it was pain and grief to me, I +confirmed the sentence of death, which was ordered to be carried out at +once. + +The regulars and irregulars were marched to an open space outside the +zariba; six graves were dug, and the condemned men, who showed no signs +of fear, after saying two rakas (short prayers), were led to the brinks +of the graves, and there shot dead by the six detachments. I spoke to +the assembled men, warning them that any one again found guilty of +mutinous or seditious conduct would undoubtedly suffer the same penalty, +and I sincerely trusted this would be the first and last case of the +kind that should ever be brought to my notice. I hoped we should all be +better friends in the future, and that times would improve. I then +ordered the garrison to march back to the fort. + +I was upset and sad. I thought of the number of good men lost in our +fights, and now I was forced to take the most extreme measures to +maintain discipline. On all sides intriguers were doing their utmost to +impair my authority, quite ignoring the fact that should they succeed +they would be no better off,--indeed, times were to come when they would +be only too glad to obey the orders of the European they now so +detested. That evening I sent for Mohammed Effendi Farag, and questioned +him about the day's proceedings, and whether the men had been impressed +by the execution; remarking at the same time that the soldiers must +thoroughly understand their non-commissioned officers fully deserved the +punishment they received, and moreover that it was an act of great +leniency on my part not to take action against the other men implicated +in the plot. "Now, Farag Effendi," said I, "I want you to be thoroughly +true and straightforward with me. I know that you are friendly-minded +towards me, otherwise I should not certainly have asked you to come and +speak with me alone. Tell me, how am I regarded personally by the men +and the officers, excepting, of course, those who are selfishly seeking +their own interests?" "Although not accustomed to such severe +discipline," he answered, "they are fond of you, and you are beloved by +the men because you pay them regularly, which was not formerly the case. +Besides, they much appreciate your custom of distributing the plunder +amongst them. But this year we have had very heavy losses, and the men +are getting tired of continual fighting." + +"But," said I, "we have to fight. I do not go out on expeditions to make +conquests or gain honour and glory; personally, I would much prefer rest +and peace." "Of course I quite understand that," said Farag Effendi, +"still, these losses, which might have been avoided, have greatly +affected the men. One man has lost his father; another his brother; many +have lost friends and relatives; and if this goes on they will become +disinclined to fight." + +"I also quite understand that," I replied. "Although I have not lost a +father or brother, still I have lost friends; and I risk my precious +life equally with my officers and men. I am always with them, and am +just as liable to be struck by bullets and spears as they are." "They +are well aware of that," he answered, "and you should give them credit +for their obedience to foreigners, with whom they are always ready to +risk their lives." "Certainly I am a foreigner and a European," I said; +"and I have no reason to make a secret of it, or be ashamed of it. Is +this what they object to? Now, tell me truly?" + +Mohammed Farag was one of my best-educated officers. He had studied in +various schools in Cairo, but had been taken as a conscript; he was one +of those rare men who acknowledge others' merits, and was always ready +to learn from those he thought better educated than himself. He was +neither fanatical nor religious, but he was a grumbler, and rather +hot-tempered. These were, I think, his only bad qualities, and they had +led him to commit some crime, for which he had been banished to the +Sudan. + +When I now called upon him to tell me the truth he threw up his head and +looked straight at me and said, "Well, you wish me to tell you the +truth, then here it is: they do not object to you on account of your +nationality, but on account of your faith." At last I had drawn out of +him what I was so anxious to know. + +"Why on account of my faith?" I asked. "During all these years that I +have been in Darfur they knew that I was a Christian, and yet no one +ever said a word to me." "Ah!" said he, "the times were very different +then, and much better; but now that this rascally Dongolawi has made a +cloak of religion, he has adherents everywhere who purposely incite the +people so as to attain their own evil ends. The idea has got about in +the battalion (I do not know who started it) that in this religious war +you will never be able to gain a victory, and that in every battle you +fight you will suffer great losses, till at length you yourself will be +killed. You can perfectly understand how an ignorant soldier would +credit all this, and how he would impute it to the fact of your being a +Christian. Our men are far too stupid to realise that our losses are due +to the vastly superior strength of the rebels, and that as we have no +chance of being relieved, so we must go on suffering defeat." + +"Suppose that I now turned Mohammedan," said I, "would my men believe in +me and hope for victory? and would that give them more confidence in +me?" "Of course the men would believe you," said he,--"at least the +majority of them; have you not taken every opportunity of showing +respect to our religion, and even caused it to be respected by others? +They will trust you implicitly; but will you change your faith from +conviction?" he asked, smiling. + +"Mohammed Effendi," said I, "you are an intelligent and well-educated +man; here conviction has nothing to do with the case. In this life one +has often to do things which are contrary to one's persuasions, either +by compulsion or from some other cause. I shall be quite content if the +soldiers believe me and abandon their silly superstitions. Whether +others believe me or not, is a matter of indifference to me. I thank you +most sincerely; keep our conversation entirely to yourself. Good night!" + +Mohammed Effendi Farag now left, and after a few minutes' deliberation I +resolved to present myself to the troops the following morning as a +Mohammedan. I was perfectly well aware that in taking this step I +should be placing myself in a curious position, which could not fail to +be condemned by some. However, I made up my mind to do it, knowing that +I should thereby cut the ground from under the feet of these intriguers, +and should have a better chance of preserving the province with which +the Government had intrusted me. In my early youth my religious ideas +were somewhat lax; but at the same time I believed myself to be by +conviction as well as by education a good Christian, though I was always +inclined to let people take their own way to salvation. The simple fact +was that I had not been sent to the Sudan as a missionary, but as an +official of the Egyptian Government. + +At sunrise the next morning, I sent for the adjutant-major, and ordered +him to have all the troops paraded and to wait for me; I then sent word +to Zogal to summon before me the Kadi, Ahmed Wad Beshir, and the chief +merchant, Mohammed Ahmed. When they came I talked to them on general +matters, and then told them to come on parade with me inside the fort, +only a few hundred paces from my door. Taking command of the parade, I +ordered the troops to form square, and, mounted on horseback, I then +entered it, accompanied by the officers, attendants, and officials. +"Soldiers!" said I, "we have passed through many hard times together; +the presence of danger shows what a man is made of. You have fought and +endured bravely, and I am certain you will continue to do so. We fight +for our master the Khedive, the ruler of this country, and for our +lives. I have shared with you your joys and your sorrows. Where danger +was to be faced I was there with you, and that shall ever be my place. +Although I am your chief, my life at such times is of no more value than +yours." "Allah yetawel umrak! Allah yekhallik!" (May God give you long +life! May God preserve you!) shouted most of the men. I then continued, +"I hear that I am considered a foreigner and an unbeliever. You also all +belong to different tribes; my birth-place is far away, it is true, but +I am not a foreigner. I am not an unbeliever; I am as much a believer +as you. Ashhadu inna la ilaha illallah wa inna Mohammed rasul Allah!" (I +bear witness that there is no God but God, and Mohammed is His Prophet). +On my uttering these words the soldiers raised their rifles, shook their +lances, and shouted out congratulations to me, whilst the officers and +officials advanced and shook hands with me. When order was restored, I +told them that I should openly attend prayers with them, and, ordering +the men to re-form, Farag Effendi gave the "present arms," and the men +then marched off to their quarters. + +When everything was over, I invited Zogal Bey, my former companion, and +the officers to remain and partake of food and coffee with me; they then +bade me good-bye, assuring me of their delight, fidelity, and obedience. +They made as if they credited me with my convictions, and I gave them +equally to understand that I believed in the reality of their feelings +and sentiments (though I well knew how little they were really worth). +When they left I told Farag Effendi to select twenty of the best oxen +from our stock and distribute them amongst the men as "karama" +(sacrificial offerings), as well as one ox for each officer, at my own +expense. + +The effect on the men of the step I had now taken was much greater than +I expected; there was no longer any reluctance to be sent on +expeditions, although our enemies were increasing daily in number and +strength. + +It will be remembered that I had sent Gabralla and Ahmed Katong some +time before to Sirga and Arebu--a country which had been desolated by +war and was peopled by the ignorant Fur tribe--with instructions to +collect a force of his own people in these districts, and uphold the +Government authority there. Instead of doing so, however, he had sold +them as slaves to the Gellabas after a peculiar method of his own. +Despatching messengers to the Gellabas with orders to come to him at +once under pain of punishment, he then insisted on each of them marrying +three or four women, and instructed the latter to depart with their new +husbands, accompanied by their brothers and sisters. Many of the former +husbands having been killed in the wars, it happened that most of the +women thus disposed of were widows; but should any of them happen to +have husbands, the latter Gabralla threw into chains and compelled them +to work in the fields. For each human being thus made over to the +Gellabas he received a small sum of money. When these extraordinary +proceedings had been brought to my notice, I had ordered the roads to be +watched, and it was not long before a batch of newly married women and +their relatives was seized; I had sent for Gabralla and put him in +chains, and about twenty months later I had released him on bail; but +shortly afterwards he had disappeared, together with his guarantor, and +had joined the Beni Helba, who, after the murder of Afifi, had actively +joined in the revolt. + +Next to the Rizighat, the Beni Helba was the most powerful tribe in +Darfur, and they soon began worrying the Tagu and Messeria Arabs, who +had up to now remained faithful, and lived in the neighbourhood of Dara. +I therefore resolved to attack them, but before doing so sent a message +to Beshari Bey Wad Bekir, warning him that he must make no more +incursions. Although my letter remained unanswered, it seemed that my +threatening attitude had had some effect, for the neighbouring tribes +were not further molested. + +Merchants whom I paid to send me news from Kordofan informed me that +reinforcements were daily arriving at Khartum from Cairo, and that the +Government was hurrying on preparations for the despatch of the +expedition, under European officers, to retake Kordofan; whilst the +entire population without exception had joined the Mahdi, and were +determined to offer a powerful resistance. + +In Darfur all the southern tribes were now in open revolt; but thanks to +our military posts and to the fact that the northern tribes had been in +contact with Egypt, from which they had derived considerable benefit +through the caravan routes, they had hitherto shown no hostility. Of +course it had been for long impossible to gather taxes in any part of +the country; I had, therefore, paid the troops out of our reserve +stores. + +The Mahdi's continual victories were at last beginning to tell openly on +Zogal Bey, and I noticed a distinct change in his conduct, though he +still appeared loyal and submissive. It was abundantly clear to me that +in his heart he wished all success to his cousin, the Mahdi, because he +knew that, in that eventuality, he would be one of the first to reap +tangible benefits. He was a man much liked by the officials under him; +fairly well educated for a Sudanese, he was ever ready to do a favour +when his own pocket was not thereby touched, and he got the character of +being liberal. He was very wealthy, and kept up an enormous household in +great state. He kept an open table, and his popularity amongst the +officials was, I think, in a large measure due to the fact that, as +Acting Governor, he had freely pardoned past offences, and took no steps +to prevent them enriching themselves in all sorts of illicit ways. +Through his influence, most of his relatives had secured good positions +and become wealthy. He was, therefore, a man with whom I had to reckon +somewhat circumspectly. His popularity, coupled with the fact that he +generally concurred in and executed my orders, rendered an open split +with him undesirable, and would have certainly led to a diminution of my +authority; I was therefore inclined to let him alone for the present. +"Ebed en nar an el kotn wa enta tertah" (Keep fire away from cotton, and +you will be at ease), as the Arabs say, seemed to me to thoroughly apply +in this case, and to that principle I adhered. + +Summoning Farag Effendi, Wad Asi, and Kadi el Beshir, all of whom were +loyal to Government, and prayed from their hearts for its success, I +communicated my plans to them, in the strictest secrecy, and obtained +their full concurrence. When they had left me I summoned Zogal, and now +conversed with him quite alone. "Zogal," I began, "you and I are +perfectly alone here, and God is our witness. For years we have eaten +bread and salt together, and although from the day I arrived I have +been your superior, our relations with each other have been rather those +of a friendly than of an official nature. I now ask you to do two things +for me,--trust me and render me a service." + +"Well, Mudir umum" (Governor-General), he replied, "you are my superior; +tell me what you want and I shall obey." "Your cousin the Mahdi," said +I, "has now conquered Kordofan, El Obeid has fallen, and the entire +population has joined him. The country between us and Government is in +his hands. His extraordinary success has inclined your heart to him; +have you forgotten all the favours you have reaped from Government? Are +you unmindful of the distinction bestowed upon you by the Khedive, in +the shape of a decoration and rank obtained for you through the good +offices of the Government? Have you forgotten the duties required of you +from your position? Speak, is it not so?" "It is so," replied Zogal, +quickly; "the Mahdi is my cousin, and I cannot deny that our +blood-relationship has inclined me to him. Still, hitherto I have +faithfully performed my duties, and I trust I shall continue to do so in +the future." + +"Speaking generally," I replied, "you have performed your duties well; +but I am told you are in communication with the Mahdi; why should you +hide this from me?" + +"I do not communicate directly," replied Zogal, quickly; "but merchants +coming from Kordofan give me verbal messages from him, and I have sworn +to the bearers of these messages that I would not tell you; that is why +I kept it secret. But I assure you that they only referred to news from +Kordofan, and no attempt has been made to win me to his cause." + +"Well, let it be," said I, "I do not want you to justify yourself; but, +tell me, what have you heard about this expedition which the Government +is preparing to send to retake Kordofan?" "I have heard," replied he, +"that a large expedition has arrived at Khartum, and that they are going +to try and reconquer the country." "Not only will they try, but they +will effect the reconquest of the country," I answered. "Now, Zogal, +you are a man of sense and intelligence: it must be perfectly clear to +you that, if compelled by circumstances, I am still sufficiently +powerful to make you harmless; but I do not think this would be an +advantageous step to take, and it would pain me deeply to take action +against a man like yourself, who has served the Government loyally for +many years, and has always befriended me. I will therefore discharge you +for the present, and you may now go to Kordofan with my full consent. +Religious movements, such as that now going on, have a certain amount of +glamour from a distance, and induce sympathy; but when examined more +closely, they are neither so seductive nor so alarming. I shall intrust +you with letters to the Government which I want you to send secretly to +Khartum, and which will inform them of the nature of your mission. As +the expedition will probably start for Kordofan next month, I want you +to do your utmost to prevent the Mahdi sending a force into Darfur or +despatching proclamations to the tribes inciting them to revolt. If you +can arrange this, it will be of advantage both to him and to you. Should +the expedition succeed, I will take all responsibility for your conduct +on my shoulders, and you need have no fear; but if the Mahdi is +successful,--which God forbid,--then we shall be entirely cut off from +all hope of relief, and will probably be compelled to submit, in which +case it shall be of advantage to him to have the country handed over in +fairly good condition. As a guarantee for the loyal conduct of your +undertaking, I shall keep your wives, children, and households in the +fort here. The Mahdi will respect this, and for your sake will not run +the risk of endangering their lives." + +"I shall carry out your instructions," said Zogal, "and prove to you +that I am loyal. Are you going to write a letter to the Mahdi?" + +"No," I replied, "because I do not want to have any dealings with him. I +know perfectly well that you will repeat the whole of this conversation +to him. Your cousin is very cunning, and, privately, will give me credit +for having spoken the truth, and he will, no doubt, make as much +capital as he can out of your mission; but as long as you hold loyally +to your promise, I shall take every care of your family, and although +you are nominally discharged, I shall continue to issue your pay in +full; but should you fail to keep to the conditions of this arrangement, +the guarantee will no longer hold good. I should like you to start as +soon as possible, and in three days I shall expect you to be ready; I +think that should be sufficient time." + +"I would prefer to stay here with my own people," said Zogal; "but as +you wish me to perform this mission, and to put my loyalty to the test, +I shall carry it out, but with a sorrowful heart." + +Sending now for Farag Effendi, Wad Asi, and the Kadi, in Zogal's +presence I told them of the arrangement we had made; they showed much +apparent surprise and excitement, and summoned Zogal to swear a solemn +oath of loyalty. He swore on the Kuran by the oath of divorce[8] that he +would adhere truly and faithfully to the agreement made between us. + +I now wrote the necessary letters to the Government, giving a brief +account of the situation in Darfur; and three days later, Zogal, +accompanied by three servants, left Dara for El Obeid, _via_ Toweisha. +It was well known he was a relative of the Mahdi; he had therefore +nothing to fear, and I subsequently learnt he was received everywhere +with open arms. + +I now set to work to build fresh batteries at the angles of the fort, +and collected all the corn I could find; but this short period of +tranquillity did not last long. Beshari Bey Wad Bekir, chief of the Beni +Helba Arabs, instigated by his father-in-law, Sheikh Taher et Tegawi, +planned a raid on Dara. In spite of my threatening letter, he had +attacked the Tagu and Messeria Arabs, killing a number of them, and +capturing many women and children. In consequence, I placed two hundred +and fifty regulars and one hundred Bazingers under the command of +Mattar, one of Zogal's relatives,--but I could only take twenty-five +horses, as most of them had been attacked by some sort of disease,--and +with this force I quitted Dara. + +After three days' march we arrived at Amaké, where I was attacked by the +Beni Helba, under Beshari Bey, with whom was my old friend Gabralla; +they were in considerable force, but had few fire-arms, and we succeeded +in beating them off and dispersing them without much difficulty. The +next day they attacked us again at Kalambasi,--a march of a day and a +half from Amaké; but here again we put them to flight with equal ease. +Our insignificant losses on both occasions were ascribed by my men to +the efficacy of my Friday prayers with them, and not to the small number +of fire-arms possessed by our enemies. We now advanced on Hashaba which +was the head-Sheikh's village, turned him out, and then offered to +conclude peace with him. In reply to my letter, one of Beshari Bey's +relatives, named Fiki Nurein, arrived, asking my terms. I demanded two +hundred horses and two thousand oxen. He returned to his people, and +came back to me the following day, saying that they were prepared to +conclude peace, but thought my terms very hard; and as I was anxious to +settle matters without delay, I agreed to accept half the original +demand, on condition that they absolutely refrained from further +aggression, and agreed to send back the women and children captured from +the friendly tribes. I now returned to Dara; but Fiki Nurein arrived two +days later, and said that, to the great regret of Beshari Bey, his Arabs +had rejected the terms of peace, though he himself was perfectly +prepared to accept them. This change of front had been brought about by +Sheikh Tegawi's daughter, who had called her husband a coward for making +peace, and therefore, in honour bound, he was obliged to continue +fighting. Fiki Nurein told me he had been commissioned by Beshari Bey to +offer me his best thanks for having sent him some barley cakes covered +with sugar, when I had been obliged to turn him out of his house. It +happened that just before starting on my last expedition, Zogal's wife +had sent me some exactly similar cakes, which I had handed over to my +servants; as they were still untouched, I gave them to Fiki Nurein to +take to Beshari Bey with my compliments, and he left with a sorrowful +heart, feeling convinced that in the next fight he must be defeated. + +I now left for Hashaba, and proceeded thence to Guru, about half a day's +march further on. On the way, the twelve mounted scouts in advance were +suddenly attacked by Beshari Bey alone, who broke through their line, +wounded one of them slightly, and then, turning to the left, he drew his +horse up between the scouts and my main body, at the edge of the forest +and about eight hundred yards from us. Advancing some three hundred +paces closer, I recognised him, but purposely did not shoot; instead, I +sent one of my boys, unarmed, to him, saying, "Isa, give my compliments +to Beshari Bey, and tell him that if he wants to show his wife how brave +he is, he should set about it in a different way; if he repeats this +manoeuvre he will certainly be killed." The road was fairly open, with +trees only here and there; and as we marched on I could see my servant +standing for a few seconds before Beshari Bey, and then returning +towards us; on reaching us, he said, "Beshari Bey sends you his +compliments; he says he has no wish to live any longer, and seeks +death." Deluded man, he soon found it! + +Arriving at Guru, we constructed a zariba, and the owner of the village, +which was close by, now came forward and asked us for peace and +protection, which was of course given him. He was a Gellaba named Ahmed +Wad Serug, who had settled here many years before. He now told me that +Beshari's nephew Rahmatalla had, since yesterday, been seeking an +opportunity to come in and ask for pardon, but had been afraid to do so, +and was concealed in the forest close by. I told Ahmed to go out and +offer him pardon and peace and bring him in. That evening at sunset he +arrived, bare-headed and barefooted, and made the most profuse promises +of fidelity, saying he would do his utmost to induce his tribe to stop +fighting. He admitted that the majority of the Arabs were not anxious to +prolong the war, but were continually incited by Sheikh Tegawi. + +Nothing happened the next day, but that evening Rahmatalla brought in +two Arabs with the news that Sheikh Beshari had collected all the +available horse and spear men, and intended attacking us in the morning. +Mohammed Bey Tia and Sultan Abakr el Begawi had just joined me with +forty horsemen; I had now, therefore, at my disposal some seventy +irregular cavalry. My zariba lay close to the wells in an open spot with +a good view in all directions. At sunrise the following morning I saw +the first signs of the enemy at the edge of the forest to the south. +Feeling sure that Beshari's ill-considered dash would make him attack +the zariba, I ordered the troops to move out about three hundred paces, +whilst I posted the cavalry on the flank and sent forward about twenty +horsemen to try and decoy the Arabs out of the wood. The latter had +barely started when I saw two mounted Arabs dashing at them full speed, +with lances lowered; they were Beshari Bey and his attendant. Before he +reached my men his horse stumbled and fell; and while his companion was +holding his horse to enable him to mount, my horsemen seized the +occasion to attack him, and, a thrown spear striking him full in the +eye, he fell, whilst his attendant was struck by a spear in the back and +killed. Meanwhile I had galloped up to the spot, and there I found +Beshari Bey lying dead: my men had twice plunged a huge spear into his +body. His son Abo, who had dashed out to his aid, was also wounded, but +succeeded in escaping, though two other Sheikhs who had accompanied +him--Shartia Habiballa and Et Tom--were killed. Seizing their horses, I +now called out to the regulars to advance; and on their arrival I +ordered each of the horsemen to take up an infantryman behind him and +pursue the Arabs, who I felt sure would not attempt to stand after the +death of their leaders. After a gallop of about two miles we came up +with the flying Arabs, and, ordering the regulars to dismount and fire, +I turned the horsemen against the mounted Beni Helbas. No quarter was +given, as my men were determined to avenge the death of Sheikh Afifi, +who had been killed near here. + +After a few hours the rout was complete, and we now returned to the +zariba. On our way back we stumbled across Beshari's body, beside which +sadly sat his nephew, Rahmatalla. My officers at once asked to be +allowed to cut off his head and send it to Dara; but out of respect to +his nephew, who had pleaded yesterday for peace, I prevented them from +doing this, giving over the body to him, with a piece of calico in which +to enshroud it, and I myself attended the burial of my old friend who +had fought against us,--contrary to his own convictions,--and who, +seeking death, had now found it. In this engagement we lost two killed +and several wounded, amongst whom was the faithful Salama, who had taken +my letter from Om Waragat to Dara, and who was ever foremost in pursuit. + +The following day I sent spies to Roro, Sheikh Tegawi's village, and +hearing he was there, I resolved to surprise him that night. I arrived +in the early morning, but found the nest empty,--my bird had flown: he +had evidently got wind of my coming; my men, however, seized all the +portable things they could find in his house, and then set it and the +village on fire. + +I now returned to Guru. The disease of _filaria medenensis_ +(guinea-worm) had broken out in the upper part of my leg and in both +feet, and caused me such excruciating pain that I could scarcely remain +in the saddle. Having crushed the Beni Helbas, it was useless for me to +remain out any longer; I therefore handed over the command to Mohammed +Bey Tia, and told him to take every occasion to chastise the Arabs, but +on no account to penetrate into the Taaisha country. The latter had +previously written to me expressing loyalty to the Government, and, +curious to relate, this tribe, to which Khalifa Abdullahi belonged, was +one of the few in the whole of the Egyptian Sudan which, in spite of +tribes revolting all around them, remained neutral. I now wrote to them +that should the Beni Helba attempt to take refuge in their country, they +might seize their flocks and herds, and I should not ask them to give +them back. Accompanied by ten men, I now returned to Dara. + +Up to the present, Fasher had been left undisturbed, and hitherto the +tribes in the neighbourhood had not shown any open signs of hostility; +but the chief of the station at Om Shanga had refused to attend to my +order to return to Dara, having been bribed by the merchants to remain, +and had been attacked by the Arabs; he had succeeded, however, in +repulsing them, though the road was still cut, and one of my faithful +Sheikhs, Hassan Bey Om Haj, had passed over to the enemy. + +About a fortnight later, Mohammed Bey Tia returned to Dara with a large +amount of plunder: exclusive of the quantities he had distributed on his +own account, he brought with him no less than three thousand oxen and a +few horses. The latter I made over to the men, and also divided between +them and the loyal Arabs a thousand oxen; another thousand I handed over +to Farag Effendi to keep with the general reserve; and the remaining +thousand I exchanged for corn and cotton stuffs. + +In spite, however, of our success against the Beni Helba, our situation +was anything but satisfactory. All eyes were directed to the Mahdi, in +Kordofan; he had representatives and agents everywhere, who were +inciting the people to revolt. In the province of Dara, besides the +Taaisha, Messeria, and Tagu Arabs, those in the districts of Bringel and +Shieria were also quiet; but I ascribed this fact to the proximity of +the fort, for they were well aware that should they revolt, they would +be in the greatest danger. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +HICKS PASHA'S EXPEDITION. + + The Execution of Said Pasha and the Brave Defenders of El + Obeid--Spread of Belief in the Mahdi's Divinity--Sheikh Sennusi + is offered, but refuses, the Position of Mahdi's Khalifa--The + Mahdi begins to organise his Government--The Spread of the + Revolt in the Gezira--Criticisms on the Attitude of the Egyptian + Government--The Despatch of Osman Digna to the Eastern + Sudan--Hicks Pasha's Expedition enters Kordofan--Incidents on + the March--Gallantry of Colonel Farquhar--The Diaries of + Farquhar and Vizetelly--The Desertion of Gustav Klootz--The + Mahdists harass the Expedition--The Final Attack on the Doomed + Square--Incidents after the Battle--Extracts from O'Donovan's + Diary--The Mahdi's Triumphal Entry into El Obeid. + + +After the capture of El Obeid the Mahdi turned all his attention to +increasing his power. His adherents on the river kept him very fully +informed of all that passed. He was aware that Abdel Kader had applied +to Cairo for reinforcements, which had arrived, and he did not doubt the +Government would do all in its power to reconquer its lost provinces; +that was his reason for so constantly preaching the Jehad, and reminding +his followers that a great war was impending, in which they would be +victorious. + +Giegler Pasha had been successful at Duem in November, 1882, and at the +end of January, 1883, Abdel Kader Pasha had scored a signal success at +Maatuk. But the Mahdi paid little attention to these defeats; he was +principally concerned with the news that an expedition was being +prepared in Khartum, under European officers, for the reconquest of +Kordofan. + +Meanwhile Mohammed Pasha Said thought it his duty to draw up a report +justifying the surrender of El Obeid, which he intended to send to +Khartum. He exposed the courage and endurance of the garrison who had +been at length obliged to capitulate, after having been more than +decimated by famine and disease, and he explained that they were still +thoroughly loyal, and longed for the success of the Government arms. +This document was signed and sealed by all the officers, Said Pasha and +Ali Bey Sherif heading the list, and also by Ahmed Bey Dafalla and +Mohammed Yasin; it was then given to an Arab, who was promised a large +reward if he took it to Khartum. Amongst the officers who signed was a +certain Yusef Mansur, formerly police officer at El Obeid, but who had +been dismissed by Gordon, sent to Khartum, and afterwards allowed to +return to El Obeid, where he had settled. Fearing that the report might +be intercepted, and that he might suffer with the others, he, to show +his fidelity and submission to the Mahdi, fell at Khalifa Abdullahi's +feet, confessed everything, and earnestly entreated for pardon, which +was granted. On his way home he met another officer, named Mohammed Bey +Skander, whom he also urged to seek the Khalifa's pardon; and the +latter, although he cursed his friend for his cowardice, thought that +now the secret was out he had better save himself, so he, too, begged +the Khalifa's forgiveness. The Arab letter-carrier was intercepted and +thrown into chains, and of course the occasion was taken advantage of to +spread far and wide the story that the Mahdi had discovered this plot by +direct inspiration from the Prophet. This gave him a ready pretext to +make away with his enemies. All those who signed the document were +seized, and, after consultation between the Mahdi and his Khalifas, it +was decided they should be banished. Said Pasha was sent to Aluba, where +he was handed over to the tender mercies of Ismail Delendok; Ali Bey +Sherif was sent to Nawai, Sheikh of the Hawazma; while Ahmed Bey Dafalla +and Yasin were sent to Madibbo at Shakka. Of the other officers, some +were exiled to the Nuba mountains, and others to Dar Homr. Yusef Mansur +and Mohammed Bey Skander were the only officers allowed to remain at El +Obeid, and the former, in order to mark his fidelity to the cause, was +made commandant of the Mahdi's artillery. + +Soon afterwards, in accordance with his orders, Said Pasha was killed +with axes, and Ali Bey Sherif was beheaded, while Abdullahi, who had, on +the day after Ahmed Bey Dafalla's departure, taken his wife as his +concubine, despatched one of his relatives, Yunes Wad ed Dekeim, to +Shakka with orders to have both Dafalla and Yasin executed in the +presence of Madibbo. Such was the end of the four men who had so bravely +defended El Obeid, and in truth they deserved a better fate! + +It was about this time that Fiki Minna, of the powerful Gowama Arabs, +having quarrelled with Abdullahi, thought to make himself independent; +but the Mahdi, knowing how serious would be a split, did not hesitate to +send a large force against him under Abu Anga, Abdulla Wad Nur and +Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi. Fiki Minna was surprised, seized, and +instantly executed, and the Mahdi lost no time in at once despatching +proclamations ordering the tribes to leave their districts and join him. +To these assembled multitudes he now preached more fervently than ever, +urging them to renounce the pleasures of this life, and think only of +the life to come. "Ana akhreb ed dunya wa ammer el akhera" (I destroy +this world, and I construct the world to come), was his endless theme. +To those who were obedient he promised pleasures in Paradise beyond all +the heart could conceive; but the disobedient he threatened with condign +punishment and hell-fire. Circulars written in this sense were +despatched far and wide, and the Emirs were enjoined to allow only those +to remain in their districts whose services were absolutely necessary +for the cultivation of the lands, but that all others must forthwith +immigrate to him and range themselves under his banners. + +Men, women, and children now flocked in hundreds of thousands to El +Obeid to see this holy man and catch even a word of his inspired +doctrine; and the ignorant multitudes saw in his face and person what +they believed to be truly "a man sent from God." + +Dressed only in a jibba and sirual (drawers), with a belt of gus, or +straw, round his waist, and wearing a Mecca takia (skull-cap), round +which was bound a muslin turban, he stood with all humility before his +followers, preaching of love to God and the cause, and of the necessity +of renouncing the vanities of this world. But once in his house it was +quite another matter; here he lived in a state of grandeur and luxury, +and became a slave to those passions for food and women to which the +Sudanese are so addicted. Should any women, young girls, and slaves be +captured, they were brought before him, and all the prettiest and the +best found a home in his harem; whilst the maid-servants, who were +versed in all the arts of the most approved Sudan cooking, were +relegated to his kitchen. + +After the siege of El Obeid he considered whom he should appoint as his +fourth Khalifa, and decided that Mohammed es Sennusi, the most +influential religious Sheikh in North Africa, should be nominated; he +therefore despatched Taher Wad Ishak, of the Zaghawa tribe, with a +letter to him to that effect; but Sennusi treated the offer with scorn, +and left the letter unanswered. + +The Mahdi now set to work to regulate his government. His administration +was based on very simple lines. First of all he established the Beit el +Mal, or treasury, over which he placed his faithful friend Ahmed Wad +Suleiman. In this treasury were deposited the tithes (ushr) and the +fitra and zeka (alms for the poor, two and a half per cent) on all booty +taken in war as well as confiscated property, and fines for theft, +drinking, and smoking. There was no system to regulate the revenue and +expenditure. Ahmed Wad Suleiman was, therefore, free to give what he +liked to whom he pleased. + +Jurisdiction was placed in the hands of the Kadi, who was called by the +Mahdi "Kadi el Islam," and several assistants. Ahmed Wad Ali, who had +formerly been Kadi at Shakka under me, and who had been one of the +foremost in the storming of El Obeid, was the first to hold this high +position. Of course the Mahdi and his Khalifas reserved to themselves +the right to punish all crime--more especially anything connected with +doubt or suspicion as to the Divine nature of the Mahdi--with death. As +such judgments were in entire opposition to the sharia (or Moslem +religious law) as taught, the Mahdi strictly forbade the study of +theology, and ordered all books of this description to be burnt; the +Kuran alone being allowed to be read, though even this he did not permit +to be openly expounded. + +Communication between the Mahdi and the inhabitants of the Gezira, who +now looked upon themselves as his most devoted adherents, was of course +frequent and detailed. He learnt of Abdel Kader's departure for Kawa and +Sennar with a large force in February. That town had been besieged by +Ahmed el Makashef; but the Pasha inflicted a defeat on him at Meshra ed +Dai, and had raised the siege. Saleh Bey had pursued the rebels as far +as Jebel Sekhedi, and had driven them into the waterless plain between +that place and Kawa, where numbers perished from thirst. This district +is still called by the local people, "Tibki wa teskut" (You cry and are +silent). + +These defeats, however, in no way diminished the Mahdi's popularity; +they relieved the situation for the soldiers and officials, it is true, +but they only put off the evil day which was surely to come. Had +attention been paid to Abdel Kader Pasha's advice, the whole situation +in the Sudan might have been changed. He was against the despatch of a +large expedition to reconquer Kordofan, but recommended the +reinforcements coming from Cairo should be garrisoned in strong +defensive positions along the White Nile, and that for the time being +the rebels should be left to themselves. The military forces at his +disposal were quite sufficient to stamp out the revolt in the Gezira +(Island) between the Blue and White Niles, and to check the advance of +the Mahdists from the west. Had this plan been adopted, and the rebels +been left to themselves, it is more than probable the complete absence +of any regulated system of administration would have soon resulted in +discord breaking out, and gradually, at a later period, Government would +have been able to recover the ground it had lost. I certainly could not +have preserved authority in Darfur until that time; but even if that +province were lost, it would undoubtedly have been the lesser of two +evils. However, those at the head of the Government in Cairo thought +otherwise. The edict went forth that the prestige of the Government was +to be restored at all costs, and this was to be effected by an army +despatched under the English General Hicks, assisted by other European +officers; Abel Kader Pasha was recalled, and relieved by Ala ed Din +Pasha, formerly Governor-General of the Eastern Sudan. All these facts +were known almost at once to the Mahdi, and he took good account of +them. + +Meanwhile Zogal had arrived at El Obeid, where he had received an +enthusiastic reception; one hundred guns were ordered to be fired in his +honour, and it was reported far and wide that Darfur had surrendered to +the ever-victorious Mahdi. Zogal's return to Darfur was considered quite +a sufficient guarantee for the preservation of the province as a +possession of the new ruler; consequently no force was despatched, and +the Mahdi now directed all all his attention to events on the Nile. + +General Hicks shortly after his arrival proceeded with a portion of his +force to Kawa, inflicted a defeat on the rebels at Marabia (29 April, +1883), and killed Ahmed el Makashef. + +Amongst the various emissaries despatched to different parts of the +country was Osman Digna, the former Suakin slave-dealer, who was +enjoined to raise the Jehad in the neighbourhood of his own town. The +Mahdi showed much astuteness in selecting this man, who subsequently +became so celebrated; and he rightly judged that a local revolt in the +Eastern Sudan would in all probability seriously embarrass the Khartum +Government, and delay, or perhaps put off altogether, the expedition +about to be sent to Kordofan. The details of the various encounters +between this redoubtable Emir and the Government troops are too well +known to require more than a mere passing reference here; suffice it to +say that the operations in the eastern districts, although successful to +the Mahdists, did not have the effect of causing the Government to alter +their intention in regard to the Kordofan expedition, and early in +September, 1883, the ill-fated Hicks left Khartum for Duem, on the White +Nile, where he joined Ala ed Din Pasha, who had been instructed to +accompany the expedition. + +Surely the situation in Kordofan must have been misunderstood by the +Cairo authorities if they imagined that, by the despatch of this +expedition, they would succeed in overturning the Mahdi, who was then +supreme ruler of these western districts in which every man was his most +devoted adherent. Did they not realise that the annihilation of Rashed, +Shellali, and Lutfi, as well as the fall of Bara, El Obeid, and a host +of other towns had placed the Mahdi in possession of a far larger number +of rifles than those disposed of amongst Hicks's force of ten thousand +men? Were they not aware that these rifles were now in the hands of men +who thoroughly understood how to use them,--men who had been owners of +Bazingers, who were elephant and ostrich hunters, and had now at their +command contingents of reliable fighting material? Besides, were there +not now enrolled under the Mahdi's banners thousands of regulars and +irregulars who had been formerly in the Government service? Did they +imagine for a moment that all these men, when the chance came, intended +to desert and join Hicks? No; they seemed to realise nothing of this, +and, on completely wrong presumptions, they risked the lives of +thousands. Surely there were those amongst the Government advisers who +had sufficient knowledge of the Sudan to realise how fully the negro +proverb applied in this matter: "Illi beyakhud ummi hua abuya" (He who +marries my mother is my father). The Mahdi had conquered the country, +and had thus metaphorically married their mother; him, therefore, they +had fully accepted as their lord and master. What do those people care +about good actions and kindnesses previously done to them? I do not, of +course, deny that to this general rule there are not exceptions; yet +unquestionably my remarks, severe as they are, apply to the majority. + +Ten thousand men in square formation, with six thousand camels in their +midst, were to march through districts overgrown with vegetation and +grass taller than a man's height; at most they could not see more than +two hundred or three hundred yards to their front, in the little open +patches where the sparse population had cultivated small clearings. They +must be ready at any moment for the attack of an enemy far more numerous +and as well armed as themselves, besides being infinitely better +fighters, and who to this day pride themselves on their bravery and +headlong dash. Along almost the entire route by which the army was to +march there were scarcely any wells, though plenty of stagnant +rain-pools; and when they had drunk up the water in them, what were they +then to do? + +Had they adopted the northern road, _via_ Gebra and Bara, they would at +least have had the advantage of open ground and a good supply of water +at certain places, which, if insufficient, could, with modern +appliances, have been made amply sufficient for the whole force. At the +same time the support of the powerful Kababish tribe against the +Mahdists would have been assured, and the enormous train accompanying +the force could thus have been greatly diminished. + +Six thousand camels, huddled together in the centre of a square, +presented a perfect forest of heads and necks; it was impossible for a +bullet fired by one of the enemy from behind a tree to altogether miss +this gigantic target: if it failed to strike in front, it would most +certainly have its billet in the centre or rear. Then again an advance +might have been made by detachments, and the great baggage-train left +under strong guard at either Duem or Shatt, the men merely advancing in +light marching order, clearing the road north, south, and west, and +establishing a military post whenever they had subdued a district. Of +course this plan would have taken some time--perhaps a year--to execute; +but there was no hurry. Then internal dissensions were rife,--Hicks and +his European officers on the one side; Ala ed Din Pasha, his officials, +and most of the Egyptian officers on the other. + +And were not the troops composed mostly of the disbanded rabble of Arabi +Pasha's army, which had just been defeated by the British? General Hicks +no doubt fully understood matters; and, replying to a question put to +him by one of his friends at Duem as to what he thought of the +situation, he replied quietly, "I am like Jesus Christ in the midst of +the Jews." Still, he marched off; perhaps he thought that if he refused +to advance, his honour might be impugned. + +Slowly moved the great mass of men and animals onward; the few +inhabitants who lived in this part of the country had long since fled. +Now and then in the far distance Arabs were seen watching the advance, +and then disappearing from view. On one occasion Hicks, looking through +his glasses, observed some horsemen amongst the trees; halting the +square, he ordered a division of irregular cavalry to advance and attack +them. A few minutes later they returned in hopeless confusion; they had +lost some killed and many wounded, and reported they had been attacked +by a greatly superior force. Hicks then despatched Colonel Farquhar with +half a battalion of regulars to examine the spot where the skirmish had +taken place. He reported that he found six cavalrymen lying dead, shot +in the back; they had been completely stripped, but nothing was to be +seen of the "powerful enemy;" there were the hoof-marks of at most ten +horses, and no doubt by these the cavalry division had been put to +flight. + +The following day three horsemen again appeared in sight, when Colonel +Farquhar, accompanied only by his servants, galloped at them, killing +two, and bringing in the third a prisoner. I was told of both these +episodes by the survivors of the expedition, and they related how the +huge square crawled forward like a tortoise. Under the circumstances it +was impossible to send out the camels to graze; they had to eat anything +they could pick up in the square, and that was very little; of course +they died in quantities. They used to eat even the straw pads of their +saddles, and consequently the hard wood came down on their haunches and +galled them till they became in a truly pitiable condition; still they +dragged along, carrying not only their own loads, but those of their +broken-down companions in misery. + +No doubt Colonel Farquhar, Baron Seckendorff, Major Herlth, the other +European, and some of the principal Egyptian officers did all they could +to help General Hicks in this critical situation, but the bulk of the +army appeared to be utterly regardless of the impending catastrophe. +Poor Vizetelly made his sketches, and O'Donovan wrote his diary; but who +was to send them home to those who were so anxiously awaiting them? + +No sooner did the Mahdi learn that the expedition had started than he +again sent proclamations to all the tribes, summoning them instantly to +the Jehad, with the usual promises of reward to those who obeyed, and of +punishment to those who hung back. Quitting El Obeid himself, he +encamped under an enormous Adansonia tree near the town, and there he +awaited the approach of the Egyptians; his Khalifas and Emirs followed +his example, and soon a gigantic camp of tukuls (straw huts) was formed. +Reviews were held daily, war-drums beaten, guns fired, and men and +horses trained in all sorts of exercises, in preparation for the great +battle. The Emirs Haggi Mohammed Abu Girga, Omar Wad Elias Pasha, and +Abdel Halim Mussaid had already been sent to Duem to watch the enemy's +advance and cut their communications; but they were strictly forbidden +to attack the main body of the army. Before leaving, the real condition +of the advancing force was known, and they begged the Mahdi's permission +to attack it, but it was refused. + +Shortly before the expedition reached Rahad, Gustav Klootz, a German +non-commissioned officer, formerly Baron Seckendorff's, and latterly Mr. +O'Donovan's, servant, foreseeing the almost certain annihilation of the +force, deserted, with the intention of joining the Mahdi. Ignorant of +the country, he wandered about, and the next morning was found by a +small party of Mahdists, who were about to kill him; but he endeavoured +to make them understand, in his broken Arabic, that he wanted to be +taken to the Mahdi, and, after robbing him of all he possessed, he was +sent under escort to El Obeid, three days distant. Although clothed only +as a servant, thousands of people crowded round to see this English +general who had come to ask for terms of peace. He was brought before +the Mahdi, and, through the other Europeans present, was questioned +about the state of the expedition. Gustav did not hesitate to say that +it could not be worse, and that neither courage nor harmony existed +amongst its ranks. Naturally this news greatly pleased the Mahdi; but +Gustav added that the army would not submit without a fight, and that in +all probability it would be annihilated. Immensely cheered by this +information, the Mahdi now summoned Gustav to be converted to Islam, in +which he of course readily acquiesced, and he was then handed over for +further care to Osman Wad el Haj Khaled. + +So confident of victory had the Mahdi become after Gustav's statement +that he had hundreds of summonses written out and distributed along the +road, calling on Hicks and his officers to surrender. Of course they +were left unanswered; but at the same time they had their effect on many +who were concerned about their own safety. Others, on the contrary, used +these papers in a manner which so irritated the Mahdi that for long he +visited his wrath on the unfortunate survivors who had dared to put to +such contemptuous uses documents in which divinely inspired words were +written. + +[Illustration: A Dervish Emir.] + +Prior to his departure from Duem, Hicks had been informed by the +Government that he would be joined _en route_ by six thousand men from +Jebel Tagalla, as well as some hundreds of Habbania Arabs; and he daily +expected to meet these, and thus revive the flagging courage of his +demoralised men. But he waited in vain,--not a man came to him, nor did +he ascertain a word of news. On quitting Rahad he advanced to Aluba in +Dar Ghodayat, in the hope of obtaining an abundant supply of water +there; and on the 3rd November he reached Kashgeil, some thirty miles +southeast of El Obeid. + +Meanwhile the Mahdi had worked up his fanatical followers to a pitch of +the wildest enthusiasm, and had told them the Prophet had announced to +him that on the day of battle they would be accompanied by twenty +thousand angels, who would attack the unbelievers. On 1st of November he +quitted El Obeid for Birket, where his followers, uniting with the force +previously despatched to watch the square, now worried the tired and +thirsty Egyptians incessantly. On the 3rd November Abu Anga and his +Black Jehadia, concealed in the thick forest and broken ground, poured a +continuous fire on the square, which was forced to halt and zariba; and +here human beings and animals, huddled together, offered a target which +none could fail to hit. Every moment a weary man, horse, camel, or mule +would fall to the bullet of an invisible enemy; and for hours this +decimation continued, whilst the wretched troops suffered agonies from +thirst, and were unable to move in any direction. It was not till the +afternoon that the enemy drew off just out of rifle range, and from this +position kept careful watch on the square, as a cat would play with a +mouse. Their losses had been insignificant; one or two Emirs, amongst +them the son of Elias Pasha, had fallen,--and no wonder! his fanaticism +had induced him to dash up almost alone to within a yard of the zariba. +How terrible must have been the feelings of poor Hicks! Instead of +water, his wretched men received a hail of lead,--yet only a mile off +there was a large pool of rain water; but none in that doomed square +knew the country, and even had they known, it was now too late to reach +it. Abu Anga and his men, under cover of darkness, crept close up to the +zariba, and all night long poured an incessant fire into this seething +mass of men and animals. Utterly demoralised, poor Hicks's troops +moaned, "Masr fein, ya Sitti Zenab dilwakti waktek!" (Where is Egypt! +Oh, our Lady Zenab, now is your time to help us!) while the hardy +Blacks, lying flat on the ground within a few yards of the zariba, +unharmed by the shower of bullets which passed overhead, would answer +back "Di el Mahdi el muntazer" (This is the expected Mahdi). + +The next morning (4th November), Hicks continued the advance, leaving +behind him a heap of dead and dying and a few guns, the teams of which +had been killed; but ere he had proceeded a mile, he was attacked by at +least one hundred thousand wild fanatics concealed amongst the trees. In +a moment the square was broken, and a wholesale massacre took place. The +European officers, with a few Turkish cavalry, alone attempted to make a +stand under the wide-spreading branches of a large Adansonia tree; but, +attacked on all sides, they were eventually killed almost to a man. The +heads of Baron Seckendorff (who wore a full, light-coloured beard) and +General Hicks were cut off and sent to the Mahdi, who at once summoned +Klootz (now known as Mustafa) to identify them; but this seemed hardly +necessary, as it was well known they had been killed. + +With the exception of two or three hundred who had escaped death by +hiding themselves under the heaps of dead bodies, the entire force had +been annihilated. Little mercy was shown; a few of the survivors were +pardoned, but the majority of them were subsequently executed. Ahmed ed +Dalia, the Mahdi's executioner, told me that he and Yakub, Khalifa +Abdullahi's brother, with a few hundred horsemen, came across a party of +about one hundred Egyptians who showed fight. Through Dalia, Yakub sent +them a message that their lives would be spared if they gave up their +arms; but no sooner had they done so than he and his men, calling them +unfaithful dogs, charged, and killed every one. One Egyptian owed his +life entirely to his presence of mind; becoming separated from the rest, +he fled, but was followed by some Gellabas, who caught him up. "Do not +kill me, O friends of the Mahdi," he cried, "I know an art which will +make you all wealthy men." Their cupidity now aroused, they spared him, +and promised to do him no harm if he would tell them his secret. +"Certainly I shall do so," he answered. "You have spared my life, you +deserve to know my secret; but I am too exhausted to tell you now, take +me before your master the Mahdi, whom I long to behold; let me seek his +pardon, and then I shall have rest and be able to make myself useful to +you." Taking him in their midst, they brought him before the Mahdi, to +whom they explained he was a man who had long since been convinced of +his Divine mission, but had not succeeded in coming to him before; he +was pardoned, and swore to become henceforth his most devoted adherent. +No sooner was he dismissed from the presence of the Mahdi, than his +captors surrounded him, and insisted on knowing his secret. Sitting on +the ground, he now said quite simply, "I used to be a cook, and know how +to make very good sausages." Irritated and insulted to a degree, the men +would now have killed him; but he at once made his way to the Mahdi, +told him what had occurred, and begged for his protection. The Mahdi +laughingly called his would-be persecutors his compatriots, and ordered +them to take every care of their fellow-countryman. + +[Illustration: The Death of Hicks Pasha.] + +After this immense victory, the Mahdi and his Khalifas now returned with +their troops to Birket, literally drunk with success. + +Several Emirs and their men had been left on the battle-field to collect +the plunder and bring it to the Beit el Mal. The thousands upon +thousands of dead bodies which lay piled up in heaps, were divested of +every stitch of clothing. Some time later the note-books of Colonel +Farquhar and Mr. O'Donovan were sent to me. I read all they contained +most carefully, and terribly sad reading it was! They both wrote much +about the discord that existed, and of the quarrel between General Hicks +and Ala ed Din Pasha. Farquhar attacked his chief somewhat severely for +his military mistakes. Both had foreseen what had now occurred, and +Farquhar reproached him bitterly for having ever started with a force +whose condition and _morale_ were such as to warrant certain disaster. +The European officers got little assistance; apparently one of the few +Egyptian officers who helped them was a certain Abbas Bey. One passage +in Colonel Farquhar's diary I well remember; he wrote, "I spoke to Mr. +O'Donovan to-day, and asked him where he thought we should be eight days +hence? 'In Kingdom-Come,' was his reply." O'Donovan's journal was also +written in much the same strain; he was greatly annoyed about Klootz's +flight, and quoted it as an instance of the general feeling existing in +the force. "What must be the condition of an army," he remarked, "when +even a European servant deserts to the enemy?" In another passage he +wrote, "I make my notes and write my reports, but who is going to take +them home?" + +Some fifteen days afterwards, when all the plunder had been deposited in +the Beit el Mal, the Mahdi returned to El Obeid. Besides the guns, +machine-guns, and rifles, a considerable sum of money had been found; +but quantities of loot were carried off by the Arabs, in spite of the +barbarous punishments for theft enacted by Ahmed Wad Suleiman: it was no +uncommon thing for a thief to have both his right hand and left foot cut +off. The cunning Blacks had secreted quantities of arms and ammunition +in the forests and in their own camps, which at a later period proved +very useful to them. + +Nothing could have exceeded the savage grandeur of the Mahdi's triumphal +entry into El Obeid after the battle. As he passed along, the people +threw themselves on the ground and literally worshipped him. There is +not the slightest doubt that by his victory at Shekan, the Mahdi had now +the entire Sudan at his feet. From the Nile to the Red Sea, from +Kordofan to the frontiers of Wadai, all looked to this holy man who had +performed such wonders, and they eagerly awaited his next move. Those +who had been already convinced of his divine mission were now of course +more than ever his ardent supporters, and spread his fame far and wide; +those who had doubted, doubted no longer; and the few who in their +hearts understood the imposture, decided amongst themselves that if +Government was not strong enough to send a force sufficient to uphold +its authority even in the Nile districts, they must, against their own +convictions, side with the stronger. + +Several Europeans and some Egyptians living in the large cities and +towns now realised the seriousness of the situation, and lost no time in +making the best of their way out of the doomed country, or at any rate +despatched north as much as they could of their portable property, well +knowing that it was impossible to stay any longer in the Sudan, across +which the Mahdi's hands now stretched from east to west. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE FALL OF DARFUR. + + Dara besieged by Madibbo--I make a Successful + Counter-Attack--The Overthrow of Darho--I decide to remain at + Dara--The Defeat of Kuku Agha--A Strange Expedient for + concealing Letters--An Armistice proposed and accepted between + Myself and the Besiegers--I resort to Stratagem to gain + Time--Zogal writes from El Obeid, and describes the Annihilation + of the Relief Expedition--I review the Situation and decide to + surrender--Interview with Zogal at Shieria--The Mahdists enter + Dara--Madibbo and his War-drums--Horrible Tortures inflicted on + the Inhabitants who had concealed Money--The Siege and Fall of + El Fasher--Letters from Egypt--The dreadful Fate of Major + Hamada--The Fall of Bahr el Ghazal--I leave for El Obeid. + + +By this time I had recovered from my disease (_filaria medenensis_), and +felt strong enough to undertake another expedition; but the number of my +trusted followers had sadly diminished, and our stock of rifle +ammunition was getting very low. Said Bey Guma still affirmed that it +was impossible for him to send me any from Fasher, owing to the fact +that the Zayedia and Maheria Arabs had begun to show signs of defection, +and had been raiding cattle in the neighbourhood of the town, which they +had refused to restore. + +All my hopes were now centred in the success of the Hicks expedition. +Fortunately at that time I knew nothing of the route they had chosen, +nor of the demoralised condition of the force. For almost a year I had +received no news direct from Khartum, and latterly, in order to keep up +the spirits of the men, I had to have recourse to stratagem, by +asserting that I had received news of great victories for the Government +forces. These scraps of news I of course concocted myself, and wrote out +in the form of messages, which when received were read out with great +_éclat_ before the assembled troops, and were greeted by the salute of +guns and general rejoicings. As a matter of fact, about this time I did +receive a little slip of paper from Ala ed Din Pasha, informing me that +His Highness the Khedive had officially appointed me commandant of the +troops in Darfur, and that it was the intention of the Government to +send a strong force to chastise the rebels and re-establish authority. I +despatched copies of this note to Fasher and Kebkebia, with orders that +it should be read publicly and salutes fired. I gave the bearer of the +letter a public reception, and loaded him with presents; he announced +that when he left Khartum the expedition was being prepared, and +described the force as certain to be victorious. Those who really knew, +hesitated to credit the glowing accounts of the appearance of the +troops; but at the same time their hearts were full of glad expectation. + +A few days later, Khaled Wad Imam, whom I had sent to Kordofan to +collect news, returned, and gave me a verbal message from Zogal, as the +latter thought it inadvisable to write; he sent me his best regards, and +confirmed the news just received as to the intention of the Government +to despatch an expedition against the Mahdi. Khaled, however, told me +privately that many refugees had reached El Obeid from Khartum, and had +reported that several vultures had been seen hovering over the troops +when they were out practising manoeuvres; and that this was a most +unlucky omen for their success. He then proceeded to give me a detailed +account of the Mahdi and his doings, and after a time I had little doubt +that at heart he had become one of his adherents; but I took good care +not to let him see what I had discovered, and thanked him for his +loyalty and good service; at the same time I gave secret instructions +that he should be carefully watched. A few days afterwards a man was +intercepted wandering off to Shakka, bearing a letter from Khaled to +Madibbo, in which he told him to be prepared to meet him shortly, in +order to aid him in his enterprise. I was also informed by my servants, +who were friendly with Zogal's household, and to whom I gave money, in +order to give the latter presents, that Khaled was really Zogal's secret +and confidential agent, and was always at his house in the fort, where +he made himself completely at his ease; that he had privately warned +Zogal's wives to be ready to fly with him, as the people in Dara were +soon to endure hard times; but that the women had refused to obey the +summons, and had made a great commotion. + +I now ordered Khaled to be seized and brought before me, he admitted he +had received Zogal's orders to take his wives away to some safe refuge +beyond my jurisdiction, and his two special ones he had ordered to be +brought to him in Kordofan. It was on this account he had written to +Madibbo. + +It was now abundantly clear to me that Zogal, influenced by his +relative's enormous successes, had definitely decided to join him, and +had thus broken the solemn agreement between him and myself. I now sent +for Zogal's brother, Fiki Nur, and some of his relatives, and in the +presence of the Kadi, the commandant and officers, I openly explained +the situation, telling them that their relative was now disloyal to +Government and had broken his promise, and that therefore I considered +they were all of his opinion and in consequence quite untrustworthy. Of +course they denied it; but I had them all arrested, placed Khaled in +chains, and had his and Zogal's property confiscated and removed to the +Beit el Mal, while that of the other persons arrested was sequestrated. + +Sending the Kadi to Zogal's house, I told him to inform the women that +they should stay where they were, and I should have them cared for as +before; his Bazingers, however, I incorporated with the Government +forces. Amongst those arrested was Zogal's son-in-law, Idris, who, being +of a different tribe, I proposed releasing; but he refused, and said he +preferred to go to prison with his relatives. Before being marched off, +he asked to be allowed to speak to me privately, and then told me that, +according to the custom of the country, it would be most dishonourable +for him not to go to prison with the rest of the family, but he wished +to assure me of his absolute loyalty. He then informed me that Zogal, +before his departure, had secretly assembled the three officers whom I +imagined to be most loyal to me, and they had sworn to him that should +he send them news that Mohammed Ahmed was really the Mahdi, they would +all join him. I thanked him for this most important information, the +truth of which I had little reason to doubt, and at his own request I +allowed him to go to prison with the rest. + +My difficulties were now increasing daily, one might almost say hourly. +Zogal's disloyalty did not disturb me very much, as I had long suspected +it; but I was greatly put about by the unsatisfactory news of the state +of the expeditionary force. Zogal was, I knew, an astute man; had the +news from Khartum been really disquieting to the Mahdi, I felt sure that +he would have stayed at El Obeid, according to our arrangement, to watch +events; but now he had intentionally broken faith with me. Could it be +that he had been befooled by the Mahdi's doctrines and preaching? I wish +I could have thought this possible, but I knew him too well. He was, so +to speak, playing his cards, with the absolute conviction that he would +win; and so he did. + +Madibbo now collected a force of horsemen and Bazingers, and advanced to +Karshu, a day's journey south of Dara, where he desolated the country +and derided the Beni Helba for their timidity. Taking fifty horsemen and +one hundred and fifty regulars, I marched out from Dara at night and +surprised Madibbo at sunrise. He was completely unprepared for this +sudden attack, and barely escaped with his life on a horse which he +mounted barebacked; but his entire camp fell into my hands, and we +captured his well-known copper drums. Unfortunately Mohammed Bey Tia, +one of my best and most faithful officers, and who was ever to the front +in pursuit, was shot dead by some Bazingers hidden behind the trees; I +had also a few men killed and several wounded. But although we had +scored a success, we could not be said to have inflicted a heavy defeat +on our enemies; we had brushed them off as one drives flies off meat, +only to let them settle again. + +A few days after my return to Dara news arrived that the Mima Arabs had +attacked the military post on the road to Fasher, the garrison of which +had been reduced by Said Bey Guma to thirty men, all of whom had been +killed. Said Bey informed me that he had despatched three hundred and +fifty regulars and four hundred horsemen under Omar Wad Darho to +chastise them and re-occupy the post; but the messenger who brought this +letter, and who had the greatest difficulty in reaching me, reported +that the Arabs were collected in considerable force, and were ready to +attack the expedition on its arrival. + +A few days later, the faithful Muslem Wad Kabbashi, Sheikh of Hilla +Shieria, brought me the mournful news of the complete overthrow of Darho +and his men. It appeared that Darho had advanced against the Mima at +Woda, where they had been joined by the Khawabir, Birket, and Manasera +Arabs. He had begun the attack with his horsemen, who, driven back, +retired in headlong flight on the infantry square, followed by an +overwhelming number of Arabs; the regulars, firing alike on friend and +foe, were scattered by this living avalanche, and twelve only had +escaped the slaughter, while of the four hundred horsemen, one hundred +and eighty were saved; the gun, arms, and ammunition were all lost, and +the road between Fasher and Dara was now completely cut. + +It was of immediate necessity to communicate with Fasher; but I had the +greatest difficulty in procuring messengers to take a letter to Said Bey +Guma, ordering him--if he had not already done so--to at once make all +preparations for defence, buy up all the available corn in the town, +and, if possible, carry out my previous instructions to withdraw the Om +Shanga garrison. + +About a month previous to this event I had proposed to my officers to +abandon Dara and retire on Fasher; but my suggestion had been +unanimously vetoed. The question had of course two sides to it, and as I +clung ardently to the hope that the expedition from Khartum would +succeed in relieving us, I did not force the project. Should the +Egyptian army defeat the Mahdi, then the whole of Darfur would be saved; +if, on the other hand, it should fail, then how could we at Fasher stand +against the whole Sudan? My ammunition was running very low, and I was +puzzled as to how to replenish my waning stock. I had sufficient powder +and shells, but lead was my difficulty. However, I refilled the empty +Remington cases, by melting down the bullets for the percussion guns and +muskets, of which a small quantity still remained, and I also made +copper bullets out of the supply of that metal which was in store from +the mines of Hofret en Nahas, and which I augmented by buying up the +bracelets and anklets of the Black women who much affected copper +ornaments. + +Muslem Wad Kabbashi now brought in news that Abo Bey, at the head of +some Mima and Khawabir Arabs, was encamped near Shieria. I was +unfortunately at this time suffering from fever, and was too weak to sit +on a horse; but I could think of no one to whom I could intrust a large +command, and therefore decided to send Kuku Agha, a brave Sudanese, with +only eighty men to attack Abo Bey, then only eight hours distant from +Dara. Muslem Wad Kabbashi offered his services as guide, and they left +that evening at sunset with our best wishes for their success. The +following evening Wad Kabbashi returned wounded, accompanied by only ten +men. "Where are Kuku Agha and the soldiers?" said I, in a state of +considerable agitation. "Scattered or killed," he calmly answered. "But +do not distress yourself, several are following after me; I left in all +haste to bring you the news." "But how did it occur? Tell me," I said. + +He now seated himself on the edge of my carpet, so as not to soil it +with his blood, and began: "We marched all night with only one short +halt; but Abo Bey, who had been largely reinforced the previous day, got +news of our coming, and, ordering his camp-fires to be lighted, he went +into ambush on our line of march. Towards dawn he attacked us suddenly, +when we were quite unprepared. In the dark I became separated from Kuku +Agha, who was making for some rising ground to the north, whilst I began +retiring to the south, with a few soldiers who had collected around me. +Alternately fighting and retiring, I at last reached here, and I hope +that Kuku Agha is following with the remainder of the men." + +Two days passed in anxious expectancy; only four men came in, and there +was now no doubt that the rest had perished. + +Omar Wad Darho's defeat, followed by this last disaster now greatly +encouraged the rebels; and those who had been previously held back by +fear, joined _en masse_. Muslem Wad Kabbashi brought his family into +Dara, saying he preferred to conquer or die with us. Hassan Wad Saad +Nur, whose pardon, it will be remembered, I had procured in Khartum, and +whom I had brought with me on my own guarantee to Dara, to whom I had +given a house just outside the fort, and, when his horse died of +disease, I had given him another, and who, being a native of the place, +I had intrusted with procuring news, now sadly disappointed me. +Unmindful of all the benefits I had bestowed on him, under the pretence +of visiting a relative he mounted the horse I had given him, and rode +straight to El Obeid, where he became one of the Mahdi's faithful +followers. + +Madibbo, enraged at the loss of his precious war-drums, which in the +Sudan counts as a disgraceful defeat, now collected all his Arabs, and +sent word to his neighbours to join him in laying siege to Dara. For a +long time past, communication with Khartum had become impossible, the +Mahdists were fully on the alert, and any men I attempted to send with +letters were invariably intercepted. On one occasion, when fighting +against the Beni Helba Arabs, I managed to send a letter to Egypt by a +caravan marching along the Arbaïn road to Assiut. But now the various +methods of concealment which I had successfully employed, such as fixing +letters between the soles of shoes or sandals, soldering them into the +inside of ablution water-bottles, or placing them in hollow spear +staves, had all been discovered. One morning, whilst inspecting the +fort, I noticed some soldiers giving a donkey medical treatment. It was +lame in the fore-leg; and, having thrown it on the ground, they +proceeded to make an incision in the shoulder, in which they placed a +small piece of wood, so as to tighten the skin, across which they made +several transverse slits, and then, taking out the stick, poured in +powdered natron. The idea at once struck me that I might conceal a +letter in this way under the skin. I therefore procured a good-sized +donkey, and, in the privacy of my own house, I repeated the operation I +had just seen performed, inserting in the first cut a small note +describing the situation, which I enclosed in a goat's bladder. The +entire size of the communication in its cover did not exceed that of a +postage stamp. I then sewed up the wound with silk thread, and the +donkey walked without the smallest difficulty. The man to whom I +intrusted this mission subsequently told me that he had delivered the +packet to Ala ed Din Pasha at Shatt a day or two before the expedition +started for El Obeid, and the latter had told the messenger a reply was +unnecessary, but that he should accompany the force to El Obeid, whence +he would despatch him to me with a letter. + +The various tribes, obedient to Madibbo's summons, had now collected a +day's march from Dara. Abdullahi Om Dramo, Sheikh of the Messeria Arabs, +alarmed that he should lose his property, had unwillingly joined +Madibbo, and it was through him I received this information. Ismail Wad +Barnu and Bakr el Begawi had also come to Dara with their families for +protection, and had constructed a small zariba for themselves about six +hundred yards from the fort, which the rebels had attempted one night to +attack, but had been driven off, with the assistance of some soldiers. +I was now, however, in a sorry plight as regards ammunition. The total +in charge of the men and in the magazines amounted to twelve packets per +rifle; and if I had attempted to risk a fight, at least half would have +been at once expended. Relief I knew was still far off, and the question +was how to hold out till then with this slender quantity of cartridges. +In order to gain time, I now had recourse to the following stratagem. +Taking aside Om Dramo, whom I knew to be loyal to me, I told him to go +to the rebels, and as it were on his own initiative, and without my +knowledge, suggest to them they should propose an armistice. The same +evening Om Dramo returned, and informed me that the enemy were in great +strength, that the Mahdi had summoned them to the Jehad, and they called +upon me to surrender. I told him to return to them and say that I was +prepared to capitulate; but I would not agree to my life or that of my +soldiers being intrusted to the hands of Arabs against whom I had been +continuously fighting for more than a year. I said, however, that should +the Mahdi despatch a special delegate to me, I was ready to make the +necessary conditions of peace. Om Dramo left me with the promise that he +would do his utmost to induce them to accept my proposition, and I also +agreed that should a parley be necessary, I was prepared to meet them +under the large Adansonia tree, a few hundred yards from the fort. Some +hours later Om Dramo returned radiant, and told me that the Arab chiefs, +who had now been appointed Emirs, fully concurred in my proposal, and +were ready to meet me under the tree; Madibbo had alone dissented, and +urged the siege to be continued until I should be forced to surrender. + +I arranged for the meeting to take place at sunrise the following +morning, and made a solemn oath to Om Dramo that should we not arrive at +an understanding, the lives of all the Emirs would be perfectly safe, +and they should be allowed to return unmolested; as an equivalent I +demanded that the Emirs should come to the meeting quite alone. + +Early the next morning my faithful intermediary arrived, and told me the +chiefs had come; I therefore at once went out, accompanied only by my +two servants. The Kadi and Farag Effendi begged to be allowed to go with +me; but I thought it would give the Arabs greater confidence if I went +alone. I therefore told them to wait in one of the batteries about four +hundred yards from the tree. + +On arrival at the rendezvous, Om Dramo brought forward his friends Abo +Bey, of the Berti tribe, Mohammed Bey Abu Salama, of the Maalia, Helu +Wad Gona, of the Beni Helba, and Hamed Wad Nuer, of the Habbania. All of +them shook hands with me cordially, and we took our seats just as if +nothing had happened between us. I now ordered my boys to hand round +dates, not alone with the object of showing them hospitality, but also I +wished them to know that I still indulged in these luxuries, in spite of +the hard times. I then inquired for Madibbo, and they replied that he +had refused to come to the meeting, but perhaps if we arrived at some +definite arrangement, he might join the majority. I explained that I was +ready to submit to the Mahdi, but I had no intention of surrendering +myself and my people to the Arab tribes. "Tell me now," said I, well +knowing how jealous they were of each other, "to which of you should I +hand over my arms and my horses?" They replied that they were just as +before; that is to say, each one head of his own tribe, independent of +the other, but at the same time all fighting in the common cause of the +Mahdi. After a long palaver, it was at last agreed that I should send a +letter to the Mahdi, announcing my submission, by the hands of one of my +own people, who should be accompanied by two of their delegates. All +should proceed together to El Obeid. On Abo Bey's suggestion, +hostilities at Om Shanga were to cease, and it was further agreed that +the delegate sent by me should be either a Turk or an Egyptian. I +suggested a certain Mohammed el Gretli, who was well known to them. He +had formerly been a kavass, and later a leader of twenty-five horsemen; +he had a light complexion, long fair moustache, and had also been +employed as tax-collector; in him the Arabs concluded they had secured +an influential man. Pending the Mahdi's reply, it was agreed there +should be an armistice, during which the various tribes should retire to +their districts, and all hostilities should cease, while the ground in +front of the fort should be utilised as before as the market-place, in +which all business transactions could be conducted without let or +hindrance. By this arrangement I hoped to gain time to gather a +considerable supply of corn, cattle, etc. We both solemnly swore on the +Kuran to each adhere faithfully to our respective pledges, and then +separated, to meet again at two o'clock to read the letter to the Mahdi +and despatch it forthwith. + +When I returned, the Kadi and Farag Effendi were greatly pleased with +the agreement; and, directing Gretli to be ready to start, I proceeded +to write two letters, one to the Mahdi, and the other to the garrison of +Om Shanga. + +At the appointed time we again met under the tree; but Madibbo was still +absent, and on inquiry I was told that he entirely disagreed with the +arrangement, and charged me with merely attempting to delude and cheat +them. All the other Emirs, however, declared they were perfectly ready +to adhere to the conditions to which we had sworn, and that if Madibbo +did not care to join, he was free to stay away. My letter to the Mahdi +ran as follows:-- + + In the name of the Most Merciful God. From the slave of his God, + Abdel Kader Salatin [Slatin] to Sayed Mohammed el Mahdi. May God + protect him and confound his enemies! Amen! For a long time I + have been defending the province which the Government confided + to my care, but God's will cannot be fought against. I therefore + hereby declare that I submit to it (God's will) and to you, + under the condition that you send one of your relatives, with + the necessary authority to rule this country, and to whom I + shall hand it over. I demand a pledge from you that all men, + women, and children within the fort shall be spared. Everything + else I leave to your generosity. + +My letter to the Om Shanga garrison, demanded by Abo Bey, ran thus:-- + + _To the Commander of the Garrison at Om Shanga_: + + Circumstances have compelled me to write to the Mahdi regarding + the surrender of Darfur, under certain conditions. Abo Bey, who + takes this letter to you, will raise the siege; and you are + hereby instructed to cease from all hostilities. I forbid you, + in my capacity as commandant of the troops, to hand over to the + enemy any war material, except in my presence. + + (Signed) _Governor-General of Darfur + and Commandant of the Troops_, + + SLATIN. + +Abo Bey objected to this last sentence; but when I explained to him that +the main point was that I submitted to the Mahdi only, he was satisfied. +Before Gretli left, I told him to point out to the Mahdi that the +surrender of Darfur before the impending battle was fought would +probably bring upon him a number of difficulties from which, at such a +time, he would prefer to be free, and I also warned him to tell Zogal. +As a last request, Abo Bey and Mohammed Abu Salama asked me to liberate +Zogal's relations from prison; but this I told them the Mahdi's deputy +alone could do. Our palaver having ended to the complete satisfaction of +all parties, the meeting broke up, and we separated. + +Gretli now proceeded to the Emir's camp; at sunset we heard the beating +of the war-drums announcing his departure, and soon afterwards the +besiegers quitted the neighbourhood of Dara. I sent spies to see if +Madibbo was still staying behind; but they returned, and reported that +he had gone with the rest. It appeared that he had only decided to go at +the last moment. + +Communication with Fasher was still interrupted; but sometime afterwards +I received a letter from Said Bey Guma to the effect that although the +tribes were in revolt, they had not attacked the town, but had prevented +all communications with the outside world. + +The days which now passed were for me full of anxious expectancy. I knew +that by this time Hicks's force must have almost reached El Obeid, and +that the decisive battle, on the result of which hung all our hopes and +fears, was about to be fought. I used to frequent the market and chat +with the people on all the topics of the day. Every one was aware that a +large army was advancing on El Obeid, but none yet knew how it was +progressing. + +At length, towards the end of November, to my unutterable grief, rumours +began to circulate that the army had been defeated, and although they +sounded suspiciously near the truth, still we could not absolutely +credit them; but a day or two later, definite news was received that the +expedition had been annihilated. Gloom settled down on us all. After so +many hardships and such constant trouble to at length fall into the +hands of the enemy, without the smallest chance of escape! Yet could it +be possible the news was grossly exaggerated? A flicker of hope still +remained, only to disappear finally when information was received that +Zogal had arrived at Om Shanga, and that the garrison had surrendered to +him as Mudir Umum el Gharb (Governor-General of the West), appointed by +the Mahdi. + +On the 20th of December, 1883, Mohammed el Gretli arrived at the gate of +the fort dressed in a jibba, and was brought in to me. He related to me +in full detail the heart-rending news of the complete overthrow of the +expedition, of which he himself had been a witness; he also brought me a +letter from Zogal, calling on me to surrender; and to prove the disaster +which had overtaken the Egyptians, he sent me several of the principal +officers' commissions, a number of reports on the situation, and the +journals of Colonel Farquhar and Mr. O'Donovan. At the same time Gretli +informed me that Om Shanga had surrendered, and that Zogal was staying +in Bringel; with him were Abderrahman Wad Ahmed Sharfi and Said Abd es +Samad, both relatives of the Mahdi, besides the Emirs, Omar Wad Elias +Pasha, Gabr Wad et Tayeb, Hassan Wad en Nejumi, and several others, +accompanied by their rayas (flags). + +To keep this news secret was quite out of the question; I therefore +summoned the Kadi and the leading merchants, and directed Gretli to +repeat to them what he had just told me. This over, I sent for the +officers in whom I trusted, and told them to talk over the matter +between themselves, and come to a decision without my interference, as I +should reserve to myself the right of accepting or rejecting their +proposals as I thought best. + +That evening Farag Effendi and Ali Effendi Tobgi, the commandant of the +artillery, told me that the officers had decided to surrender to the +Mahdi but not to Zogal Bey. They stated their reasons for coming to this +decision very simply: every one, from the highest to the lowest, was now +absolutely convinced that we had not the smallest chance of relief; the +total force of regulars in Dara amounted to five hundred and ten men, of +whom a large number were quite useless; the spirit of the troops was +such as to render all idea of eventual success quite out of the +question; the ammunition was scarcely sufficient to last out one fight +if we were attacked or if we took the offensive. Both the officers +pointed out that I should never succeed in getting the men to fight any +longer; they had made up their minds to surrender, and they urged that +there was now no other course open. I told them I would carefully +consider the matter, and would give them an answer the following +morning. + +That night I did not close my eyes. To think that after all the dangers +and difficulties through which we had passed, there was no other course +now open but to submit! And after that what was to be our fate? + +I reviewed the situation from beginning to end during those sleepless +hours. For four years I had struggled alone to uphold the Government's +authority in the province which had been intrusted to my care,--first +against the local revolts, which I had suppressed; and latterly against +the great fanatical movement which had attacked the very roots of my +administration, and whose canker-worm had spread into the branches, till +at length the leaves withering one by one, the tree was all but dead. + +In short, this strange fanaticism had thoroughly taken possession of my +officers and men; they had openly held out against it as long as it was +possible for me to dangle before their eyes the prospect of an immediate +reassertion of Government authority, through the anticipated success of +the Egyptian expedition under Hicks, and the consequent advantages which +would accrue to one and all of those who had loyally served the +Government. By every means in my power I had striven to prove to my +officers and men that the Government must eventually succeed; but at +length the crash had come, and all prospect of relief was absolutely and +entirely gone. I had struggled against intrigues from within and +without, with what success the reader can judge. With the small amount +of ammunition that remained, I might have made a vain struggle for a few +hours; but would my officers and men have obeyed my orders? They had no +wish and no heart to fight; they knew as well as I did the futility of +it; and why should I call on them to sacrifice themselves, and perhaps +their wives and children, to a cause to which they were no longer +attached? + +Looking at the matter entirely from a general point of view, I had no +doubt in my own mind that capitulation was not only the right course, +but was practically inevitable. Having arrived at this conclusion, I had +now to turn to the personal aspect; and the solution of this problem was +to me beset with the greatest difficulties. As an officer, the idea of +surrender to such an enemy was repulsive in the extreme. I had no fear +of my own life; I had risked it sufficiently during the past four years +to effectually dispose of any notion that my surrender was occasioned by +any want of personal courage,--on that point I felt sure that, if +spared, I could without the smallest difficulty vindicate my action to +my military superiors; but the very word "surrender" was repellant to +me, and doubly so when I thought over the consequences which must +follow to me--a European and a Christian--alone amongst thousands and +thousands of fanatical Sudanese and others, the meanest among whom would +consider himself superior to me. It is true I had nominally adopted the +religion of the country; but this I had done merely as a means of +stifling the injurious opinions which I knew existed in the minds of +officers and men, that the cause of my defeat lay in my being a +Christian. My ruse had succeeded to a greater extent than I had +expected, but the proceeding had been a distasteful one to me. I had no +pretensions to holding very strict religious views on the expediency or +otherwise of the step I had taken; nevertheless, at heart I was, I +believe, as good a Christian as the majority of young men of my +acquaintance, and that being so, a continuance of the life of religious +deception I was then living was by no means a prospect which I +appreciated. Moreover, I was well aware that my surrender would place me +absolutely and entirely in the hands of this mock-religious reformer, +and that not only should I have to show myself to be a Moslem in the +ordinary sense of the term, but to carry out the rôle surrender would +entail on me, I must be prepared to pursue this religious deception to +its fullest extent,--I must become a devotee, and henceforth I must show +myself heart and soul a Mahdist! + +Can any one imagine that this was a pleasing prospect? Nevertheless, I +confess that the religious considerations involved in the step I +contemplated--although they weighed with me to no small extent--did not +occupy my mind so fully as the considerations in regard to my duty. +Generally speaking, I felt it to be my duty to surrender, and make no +further sacrifice of life in a cause which could not now, by any +possibility, succeed. There was no particular reason, however, why I +should voluntarily submit to the indignities and practical slavery which +must follow on my personal surrender; to be accessory to my own death +occurred to me more than once, but my nature revolted against this +thought. I was young, my life during the past four years had been one +of anxious responsibility, but of stirring adventure as well, and I had +no particular desire to bring it to a close, even with the dark prospect +in front of me. God in His mercy had spared me almost miraculously in +this constant fighting, and perhaps He would still spare me to be of use +to the Government I had tried to serve most loyally. + +These were the thoughts which were uppermost in my mind when the dark +hours of anxious meditation gave place to the first streaks of the dawn +of perhaps the most memorable day of my life. Yes, I concluded, there is +nothing for it now but submission; I must become, so to speak, the slave +of those whom I have governed, I must be obedient to those who in every +respect are my inferiors, and I must, above all, be patient: if by a +careful practice of these I should succeed in saving my life and +eventually recovering my liberty, no doubt the experience which I should +gain would be valuable to the Government in whose service I still was. +With this determination and resolution I rose, and dressed for the last +time for many a long year in the uniform, the honour of which I had done +my utmost to uphold, now to be discarded for the Mahdist garb, in which +I was to play an entirely new part in life; but beneath it would beat a +heart as truly loyal as ever to Government, and filled with a +determination that, come what might, if it were God's will I should be +eventually restored to liberty, the strange experiences which it would +now be my fate to undergo might be turned to useful account. It was now +to be a case of my wits against those of my new masters,--who would win? +I did not quail from the contest, though I should have had no little +excuse for doing so, could I have scanned the future, and seen before me +the long years of servitude, and the double life which I should be +compelled to lead, in order to carry through the resolution at which I +had now arrived. + +The next morning, the two officers arrived; I showed them Zogal's +letter, calling on me to surrender peacefully, and to meet him on the +23rd of December at Hilla Shieria, where he would personally hand me the +Mahdi's letter; he further wrote that, in accordance with his present +instructions, my life and those of all the men, women, and children in +the fort should be spared, and we should be afforded all protection. + +Whilst we were talking over the matter, the orderly officer reported +that Abder Rasul Agha, with all the Bazingers, as well as the chief +merchant with his family, had deserted the town during the night, with +the evident intention of joining the enemy. + +This was the last straw. It was absolutely clear to me that further +resistance was impossible. I therefore sent for my clerk and dictated to +him a letter to Zogal, giving in my submission and that of the garrison, +and agreeing to meet him at Hilla Shieria on the 23rd of December; this +I handed to Gretli, with instructions to take it to Zogal, who was now +to be called Sayed Mohammed Ibn Khaled. + +The following day, in the afternoon, I assembled all the officers, and +told them that, as further resistance was not possible, I had concurred +in their proposals; that I was leaving Dara that evening in order to +meet Zogal the next day at Hilla Shieria, and that I would take the Kadi +with me, but would leave the officers to look after the garrison during +my absence. In a few words, which seemed to stick in my throat, I +thanked them for their loyalty, their readiness to sacrifice their lives +in the service of the Government, and their adherence to me; then, +warmly shaking each of them by the hand, and taking a general leave of +the civil officials, I departed. + +At midnight, accompanied by my kavasses, Kadi Wad el Beshir, Sultan +Abakr el Begawi, Ismail Wad Barnu, and Muslem Wad Kabbashi, who remained +faithful to the last, I quitted Dara. During my service in Darfur I had +had many disagreeable experiences, but this journey was quite the +hardest. Not a word passed. We were all fully occupied with our +miserable thoughts. At sunset we made a short halt, but the food put +before us by the servants remained untouched. Our appetites had gone, +so we rode on. As we approached Hilla Shieria, I sent an orderly ahead +to see if Zogal had arrived, and he soon returned, stating he had been +there since yesterday, and was waiting for me. In a few moments we +reached the spot where he was standing, and, jumping off my horse, I +advanced to salute him; he pressed me to his heart, and assured me of +his entire friendliness, begged me to be seated, and then handed me the +Mahdi's letter. It merely stated that he had appointed Sayed Mohammed +Khaled as Emir of the West, had granted me pardon, that he had +commissioned his nephew to treat me with the respect to which my rank +entitled me, and to act with leniency and forbearance to all those who +were formerly Government officials. After I had finished reading the +letter, Zogal informed me that it was entirely owing to his good offices +on my behalf that the Mahdi had pardoned me, and that he would, of +course, do his utmost to help me. I thanked him for his kind sympathy. +The Emirs were then introduced to me: Elias, Tayeb, and Hassan Nejumi I +had met before. After partaking of food, Zogal discussed his intended +journey to Dara; whilst we were talking, one of my officers, Mohammed +Agha Suleiman, arrived, and, without taking the smallest notice of me, +went up and greeted Zogal most effusively; I at once recognised him as +one of the three officers whom I had been told were "Black Zogal's" (as +he was called) secret agents. Mohammed Khaled, as I must call him in +future, now took me aside, and spoke to me about his relatives and his +family. I told him that I had left them all well, and that the former +were still in arrest. He at once said he quite concurred in the steps I +had taken, which of course were in the interests of self-preservation, +and best for us both. We then started off, and encamped the same evening +near Dara. Several of the inhabitants and officials came out to greet +the new governor, already dressed in their Dervish clothes. + +During my absence, Mohammed Khaled had directed Abd es Samad, who was at +Bringel with the Dervish troops, to move down towards Dara and occupy +the buildings to the south of the town, which had formerly belonged to +the Vizir Ahmed Shatta. Joined on his march by most of the country +people, he had arrived at the appointed place, had established friendly +relations with the townspeople and garrison, and had distributed +quantities of the new clothing in presents. + +That night I again passed almost without closing my eyes. It was +Christmas Eve. I thought of home and of the beautiful Church festival +which was being celebrated there, whilst I, alone and defeated, was +handing over my men and arms to the enemy. In those still hours--they +were the saddest in my life--I passed in review all that had happened. +More fortunate by far were those who had fallen on the field of honour! + +The next morning, Zogal officially received all those who had come out +to pay homage to him, and then ordered them and the troops under Abd es +Samad to march past. This over, he dismissed his relatives who had come +out to greet him, regretting the discomfort they had suffered under +arrest, and he then proceeded to his house outside the fort, having, +meanwhile, ordered my men to hand over their arms by companies,--a duty +which was performed with very scant regard for our feelings. The fort +was now garrisoned by Dervish troops, and this completed his occupation +of the country. The inhabitants flocked to him to give their oaths of +allegiance to the Mahdi, and later in the day the troops were paraded by +his order, to go through the same ceremony. + +Madibbo, who had joined Abd es Samad at Bringel, and had come to Dara +with him, followed me home. We shook hands, and I begged him to be +seated; he then began: "You seem to be annoyed with me, and accuse me of +having broken faith with you: but now listen to me. I was discharged +from my position of head Sheikh by Emiliani, and proceeded to the Bahr +el Arab, where the Mahdi's summons reached me. I am a good Moslem, and +therefore I followed him; I beheld the Mahdi's divine nature, and +listened to his doctrines; I was also present at the marvellous +destruction of Yusef Shellali. I therefore believed in him, and am still +a believer. You of course trusted in your strength, and did not wish to +submit without fighting. We both fought, each seeking his own advantage: +I fought against the Government, but not against you personally. God +knows, I have never forgotten that you were friendly minded to me, +therefore let anger depart from your heart and be a brother to me!" + +"I am not at all angry at what you have done," I answered, "you are but +one among many: and should I have been annoyed with you, your words have +quite reconciled me." "I thank you," said Madibbo. "May God strengthen +you, and as He has protected you hitherto, may He continue to protect +you!" "In truth," I replied, "I put my trust in Him. Still it is hard to +have to bear all that has now happened; but I suppose it must be!" "Not +so," he answered; "I am only an Arab, but listen to me. Be obedient and +patient; practise this virtue, for it is written, 'Allah ma es saberin' +[God is with the patient]. However, I have come to ask you something, +and my request is this: If you are really a brother to me, then, in +token of our friendship, I wish you to accept my favourite horse. You +knew him before; he is the Sakr ed Dijaj [the Chicken-hawk]." Before I +could reply, he had got up and gone outside, and in a few minutes +returned, leading his horse, which was the finest and most handsome +animal owned by the tribe; he then handed me the leading-rope. "I do not +wish to insult you," I replied, "by refusing to accept your present, but +I do not require it; I shall not want to ride much now." "Who knows?" +said the Sheikh. "Illi umru tawil bishuf ketir [He who lives long sees +much]. You are still young, and may often ride yet,--if not on this +horse, then on another." "You may be right, Madibbo, but now do you +accept from me this token of friendship," said I, pointing to his +precious war-drums, which my servants took up and handed to him; these +drums, it will be remembered, I had taken in the night attack on +Kershu. On the drums I also laid a sword which I had taken down from +the wall. "To-day," said I, "these are mine, and I can offer them to +you; to-morrow they may be another's." "I thank you, and accept them +gladly," said the Sheikh. "Only a short time ago your men captured my +war-drums; but, as the Arabs say, 'Er rigal sharrada urrada' [A man runs +away and comes back again],[9] and I may truly say I have fought many +times in my life, and sometimes I have run away, then I have returned +and have succeeded." Madibbo now ordered his men to carry off his drums, +and departed in great delight. His conversation had affected me +considerably. So I was now to be "obedient and patient; for he who lives +long sees much." + +Mohammed Khaled soon sent for me, and informed me that on his arrival at +Shieria he had despatched a letter by one of Wad Darho's relatives to +Said Bey Guma, summoning him to surrender, and had at the same time sent +a certain Abderrahman as his representative. He now called upon me to +write officially to him to hand over Fasher and summon every one to +submit. I replied that the clerks were no longer in my service, and that +the document could be made out, should he think it necessary, and I +would sign it. The orders to this effect were given, I signed them, and +Khaled, addressing the letter to the commander of the Fasher garrison, +despatched it at once. + +The following morning the new Governor began his seizure of the state +moneys. The inhabitants of Dara, with the exception of all troops below +the rank of officer, and myself, being considered as Ghanima,[10] were +ordered out of their houses; they were only permitted to take with them +a few necessary cooking utensils and the clothes they wore, and were +ordered to collect in front of the police-station near the market, +whilst their dwellings were ransacked and the contents carried off to +the Beit el Mal which was opened in the Mudiria. As no money or +jewellery was found, all those suspected of having any were brought +before the Emirs, who ordered them to instantly produce it; and in +carrying out the search disgusting cruelties were perpetrated: they +flogged mercilessly, beat them with sticks or tied them by the legs head +downwards in wells until the rush of blood to the head rendered them +unconscious. Amongst those who exercised more cruelty than the rest was +my old Khartum friend Hassan Wad Saad en Nur, whom I reported, in his +presence, to Khaled. Hassan instantly turned to me, saying, "Do you +still think you are Governor-General of Darfur and can say what you +like?" I replied that he should be careful not to go too far, and +reminded him that it was I who secured his release from prison, and that +the horse he was then riding was mine. To this he answered impudently, +"It was God who released me, and it is God, and not you, who has given +me your horse to ride." Khaled, who heard these remarks, angrily ordered +him off, and said to me, "Take no notice of him, his father, Saad en +Nur, was the Sultan's slave, and slave-blood always shows itself." + +As we were now alone, I complained to Khaled of the ill-treatment +visited on those who had shown complete submission, and I reminded him +of his pledge to protect all men, women, and children. "I am not going +to put any one to death," answered he, sharply, "but they have no right +to the money they are concealing; it is contrary to the arrangement, and +it must be taken from them by force." My experiences were beginning. I +went home, and here several of the poor people who had been turned out +of their houses came and begged me to give them something. I furnished +them with a little corn; but since our troubles began I had received no +pay, so had no money to offer them. + +The male and female servants of the former officials were now +distributed amongst the Mahdists, but all the good-looking young girls +were put aside for the Mahdi himself. + +Seven days after our surrender Khaled informed me that Said Bey Guma had +sent the principal officials to make their submission, and that he +himself was in the neighbourhood of the town awaiting further orders; he +therefore collected his forces and prepared to march out to meet him. +The delegates sent by Said Bey Guma were Omar Wad Darho and some of his +officers, Hanafi el Koreishi the grand Kadi, and Ali Bey Khabir. Khaled +received them with great satisfaction, and one of the clerks, coming +forward, presented the documents relating to the transfer of the +Government to Abderrahman; in these were included the lists of arms and +ammunition in store, the number of guns, etc. Khaled now took his guests +into the town and entertained them with the best of everything, pledging +himself to preserve, not only their lives and the lives of all the women +and children in Fasher, but also, when all the money and valuables were +collected, he promised that half would be returned to the owners. The +following day, however, it was rumoured that the Fasher garrison had +decided not to surrender after all, and in the evening news arrived that +Fiki Abderrahman had been warned to leave the city, which he had done, +and that all preparations were being made for defence. Khaled now +anxiously inquired of the messengers what had occurred to cause this +sudden change in Said Bey's intentions; but they replied it was not the +doing of Said Bey, but of some of the officers, who had been told by +refugees from Dara that their comrades had been badly treated, and they +had, therefore, decided to fight to the end. + +Khaled now gave orders that all his people should prepare to advance at +once on Fasher, including the entire garrison, with their arms and +ammunition, with the exception of the officers, whom he ordered to +remain behind and to be carefully watched. He waited, however, two days +longer, in the hope that he might get different news; but as the first +account was further corroborated by some of Darho's men and Ali Khabir's +servant, who came in that evening from Fasher, he set out on 3rd January +to lay siege to the town, followed by large numbers of men marching by +various roads. + +On 7th January he, his Emirs, and the Dara troops under Mohammed Agha +Suleiman, reached Wad Beraj, on the outskirts of the town, where they +pitched camp. The next day a letter was written which I was obliged to +sign, reminding Said Bey Guma and the officers of the agreement they had +made to surrender through Omar Wad Darho, Kadi Hanafi, and others. +My--or rather Khaled's--letter remained unanswered; for it was quite +understood in Fasher that, being now under Khaled, I had no other course +open than to obey his orders. The messenger who took the letter was told +to warn all those who complained of ill-treatment to come and state to +Khaled what they required; and this becoming known to the Fasher +garrison, several who had no desire to fight left the fort, and were +accepted in the Mahdist camp. Wad Darho's men, who lived outside the +fort, also came over to Khaled immediately, and orders were given to +begin the siege forthwith; the operations being intrusted to Darho. + +I now asked Khaled to be allowed to talk to him privately, and I told +him plainly that this opposition on the part of the Fasher garrison was +entirely due to their fear of suffering in the same way as the Dara +people. This he quite admitted. I then told him I was very unwilling to +fight against those who had formerly been under my rule, and, as he was +well aware, the events of the last few days had considerably affected my +health; I therefore begged to be allowed to return to Dara. In reply to +my request he said that were it not that he liked me, he would most +certainly have punished me severely for the words I had just uttered; +nevertheless, he would allow me to return to Dara, on condition that I +pledged myself to abstain from any acts of hostility; at the same time +he showed me some letters which had been addressed to me, but which he +had opened. One of them was a reply to my report sent from the Beni +Helba country to Cairo regarding the desert road to Assiut. They had +been given to some Magharba Arabs to bring to me, and on their entry +into the country they had been arrested by the Saidia Arabs and kept as +prisoners, and on Khaled's arrival at El Fasher they had been sent on to +him. He allowed me to make notes of their contents. The letters were all +of old dates. One was from His Highness the Khedive Tewfik Pasha, +expressing his complete satisfaction with the services I had rendered, +urging me to continue to fulfil with diligence the duties of my +position, and telling me that he was despatching an army under Hicks +Pasha to subdue the rebels in Kordofan and restore peace. Another was +from H. E. Nubar Pasha, Prime Minister, who also expressed satisfaction +with my services, and repeated the information about the Hicks +expedition. The third was from Zubeir Pasha, who sent me his kind +regards, and asked me to make inquiries about the family of his son +Suleiman. As far as I knew, Suleiman had left only one child, who with +his mother I had handed over to the care of Omar Wad Darho with +instructions to take an early opportunity to send them to Zubeir's +relatives on the Nile. The mother, however, preferred to marry one of +Darho's relations, and she was charged with bringing up the child. The +feelings which I underwent on reading these letters can be better +imagined than described. How we had placed all our hopes on the success +of the Hicks expedition, and how rudely had those hopes been dashed to +the ground! However, I did my best to master my feelings, and handed the +letters back to Khaled, who was contentedly smiling at my agitation. +"Your Effendina [the Khedive] thought he would defeat the Mahdi," said +he, "but the 'expected one' has turned the tables on him; there are +still harder times in store for these deluded Turks and Egyptians." I +smothered the retort which hung on my lips, and said nothing. "Be +obedient and patient" was Madibbo's advice; but how difficult it was to +follow it! + +I then got up and took leave of Khaled, who lost no opportunity of +showing me that he was my superior, and then proceeded to Dara without +delay. I was really ill, and on my arrival there kept to my house for +some days; but the weeping and wailing of the unfortunate people gave +me no rest: they had been robbed of all their means of livelihood, and +now eked out a miserable and wretched existence as best they could. + +Meanwhile the Mahdists were besieging Fasher, and had taken up their +position on the hill to the east of the fort, from which they were +separated by the Khor Tendelti; they had taken possession of all the +wells, both near the hill, as well as those in the valley. Said Bey Guma +was the actual commandant, though the preliminary success of the +garrison was principally due to the energy of the two officers, Said +Agha el Fula and Ibrahim Agha et Tagalawi. The former had been wounded +with me at Shakka, and I had sent him to his family at Fasher to +recover; the latter was an exceptionally brave officer, and had +considerable influence with the troops. As there was no water in the +fort, the continuance of the siege depended on the possession of the +wells. Said Bey Guma disposed of eight hundred and fifty rifles, which +were more than were required for the size of the fort; but Khaled was +still better off. Nevertheless, the Fasher garrison succeeded, after a +sharp contest, in regaining the wells, and the Mahdists were forced to +retire to Wadi Baraj; here, however, they were reinforced by a portion +of the Kebkebia garrison. Adam Amer had surrendered, and had despatched +a large party of Bazingers, under Babakr Wad el Haj, with several +regulars to Khaled's support; and with this addition to their strength +another attack was made, which resulted in the garrison losing the +wells. + +Several heroic sorties were made; but after a seven days' siege the +garrison was obliged to submit, on the 15th of January, and Khaled, the +conqueror, entered the ancient capital of his new kingdom. After the +arms had been handed over and the fort occupied, the seizure of property +began, as at Dara, and similar, if not worse, cruelties were perpetrated +on the luckless inhabitants. Said Bey himself was, comparatively +speaking, more fortunate than other commanders; the greater part of his +property was confiscated, it is true, but he was not maltreated nor +insulted, and for the time being he and his family were banished to +Kobbé, where he was given a house, and was thus saved the misery of +seeing his comrades and inferiors being tormented. + +Amongst the latter was a certain Major Hamada Effendi, who, in spite of +every effort to make him confess, persisted in declaring that he had no +money. One of his female slaves, however, told his persecutors that he +had a quantity of gold and silver, but she did not know where he had +concealed it. Consequently he was brought before Khaled, who called him +an unbelieving dog. Hamada Effendi, losing control of himself, retorted +that he was a wretched Dongolawi; and Khaled, furious at this insult, +ordered the unfortunate man to be flogged until he confessed the +hiding-place of his treasure. For three days in succession he received a +thousand lashes a day, but it was all in vain; had he been a block of +wood or stone, he could not have stood this awful flogging more +doggedly. To the repeated questions of his tormentors as to where his +money was, he merely answered, "Yes, I have concealed money, but it will +remain buried in the ground with me." Khaled now ordered the flogging to +be stopped, and the poor mangled man was handed over to the Mima Arabs, +who were told to guard him; and even they were struck with the +resolution of this officer, from whom no amount of torture could wring a +confession. Ibrahim Tegalawi, who had been called a "slave" by one of +the Emirs, deliberately shot dead his own wife, his brother, and then +himself; Said Agha Fula also preferred to commit suicide than undergo +torture. After these occurrences, Khaled gave orders to stop the +flogging, and banished the Egyptian officers to various places in the +neighbourhood. + +Shortly after the fall of Fasher I received a summons from Khaled to +join him, and I arrived there early in February; he gave me Said Bey +Guma's house to live in, and told me that I might send to Dara for my +horses and servants, but as regards the house furniture, that must be +passed into the Beit el Mal as an "act of renunciation." I carried out +these instructions, and handed over all the property in my house in +Fasher to the treasurer of the Beit el Mal, Gaber Wad et Taib, only +retaining such things as were absolutely necessary for daily life. I had +heard on my arrival here of Hamada's heroism, and sought out the poor +old Major, whom I found in a truly terrible state. The gaping wounds +from his shoulders to his knees were mortifying rapidly, and his +tormentors used to pour over them daily a strong solution of salt and +water well seasoned with Sudan pepper, thus hoping to wring a confession +from him during the awful pain which ensued. But it was useless; he +absolutely refused to utter a word. In desperation I went to Khaled, +told him of the poor man's horrible condition, and begged him to allow +me to take him to my own house and treat him there. "He is dishonest," +said Khaled; "he has concealed money and has publicly insulted me: for +this he must die a miserable death." "For the sake of our old +friendship," said I, "I beg and pray you will forgive him and hand him +over to me." "Well," said he at last, "I will if you will prostrate +yourself before me." In the Sudan this is considered a terrible +humiliation. The blood rushed to my face: to save my own life I would +never do such a thing; but if by this self-sacrifice I could rescue the +poor wretched man from his awful sufferings, I ought surely to do so. +For a moment I hesitated; then, with a fearful effort of self-control, I +knelt down, and laid my hands on his bare feet. He drew them back, +raised me up, and, apparently ashamed of having asked such a sacrifice +of me, said, "It is only for your sake that I shall liberate Hamada; but +you must promise that, should you find out where his treasure is, you +will let me know." I promised to do so, and he then sent a man with me +to Hamada. Calling up my servants I had him carried on an angareb, as +tenderly as I could, to my house, and washed his wounds, spreading over +them fresh butter to deaden the pain. It was quite impossible he could +live much longer. I gave him a little soup, and in a low voice he called +down all the curses of Heaven on his enemies. He lay in my house four +days, and then, calling me to his bedside, he motioned to the servants +to leave us; he now whispered, in words which were scarcely audible, "My +hour has come. May the Lord reward you for all your kindness to me! I +cannot do so, but I will show you that I am grateful. I have buried my +money--" "Stop!" said I. "Are you going to tell me where you have hidden +your treasure?" "Yes," he murmured; "it may be of some use to you." +"No," I answered, "I will not and cannot use it; I secured your release +from your tormentors on the one condition that, should I learn where +your money was hidden, I should tell Khaled your enemy. You have +suffered greatly, and are paying with your life for your determination +not to let your treasure fall into your enemy's hands; let it lie +unknown in the ground, it will keep silence!" Whilst I was talking, +Hamada held my hand; with a supreme effort he murmured, "I thank you; +may you became fortunate without my money! Allah Karim [God is +merciful!];" then, stretching out his limbs, and raising his forefinger, +he slowly muttered, "La ilaha illallah, Mohammed Rasul Allah," closed +his eyes, and died. + +As I gazed at his poor mangled corpse my eyes filled with tears. How +much was I still to suffer before it came to my turn to enter into +everlasting rest? Calling my servants, I bade them bring in two good men +to wash the body, and wrap it in some linen I had procured; meanwhile, I +went to Khaled to inform him of his death. "Did he not tell you where +his money was buried?" said he, sharply. "No," said I, "the man was too +stubborn to betray his secret." "Then may God curse him!" said the Emir, +turning to me. "However, as he died in your house, you may bury him; he +really deserves to be thrown out like a dog on the dunghill." Quitting +him, I went home and buried poor Hamada, with the usual form of prayer, +just in front of my house. + +Khaled was a very cunning man, excessively strict with the former +Government officials, and unnecessarily lenient in his transactions with +the local population. He filled all important positions by his own +relatives, and although he strove by every means in his power to squeeze +all he could out of the country, he was specially careful to avoid the +risk of incurring popular discontent. He appropriated to himself the +greater part of the revenues, and every now and then he sent as presents +to the Mahdi and his Khalifas a batch of pretty girls, some good horses, +or some exceptionally fine camels, so as to retain his good reputation +in the household of his lord and master. He kept up great state, and +surrounded himself with an enormous household. He married Mariam Isa +Basi, the sister of the Sultan of Darfur, although she was over fifty +years old. This good lady had hundreds of male and female slaves, and +kept up her state in true Sudanese fashion. It did not seem to occur to +Khaled that any self-abnegation, as required by the Mahdi creed, should +be demanded of him. Every evening he caused a hundred dishes, plates, +and twisted mats, full of every variety of food, to be distributed +amongst his followers, who, seated at their ease under the palm-trees, +would sing the praises of the Mahdi, coupling every now and then his +name with that of their benefactor and Emir, Khaled. + +At about this time a long letter, sent from Cairo to me, through the +Mudir of Dongola, by the hands of a trusty Arab, arrived. In it I was +ordered to concentrate the troops at Fasher, hand over the province to +Abd es Shakur bin Abderrahman Shattut, a descendant of the Darfur +Sultans, and move with all troops and war _matériel_ to Dongola. The +king's son in question was, however, still in Dongola, unable to find +means to come to Darfur; and I greatly doubt if his arrival would have +made the smallest difference in the situation. Concentration at Fasher +would have been rendered impossible by the defection of the officers and +men; and had I been able to collect sufficient troops ready to obey my +orders, and had I been able to march out with them and the war +_matériel_ unmolested, I could equally well have been able to stay in +the country and maintain my position; in which case the Egyptian +Government would have had in me a vassal of equivalent, if not greater, +fidelity than the powerless Abd es Shakur. Khaled showed me these +letters, and also gave me permission to write a few lines to my family +at home, which he allowed the Arab who brought the letters to take back; +but I do not think my letter ever reached its destination. + +During all this time I remained quietly at my house, awaiting the +instructions of the Mahdi as to my movements. About the middle of May, +Khaled informed me that, owing to scarcity of water, the Mahdi had +quitted El Obeid and marched to Rahad, that he wished to know me +personally, and that, therefore, I should make preparations to start at +once. + +News now reached us of the fall of Bahr el Ghazal, under Lupton Bey, and +of the despatch of the Emir Karamalla, as Mahdist Governor of the +Province. This Karamalla had formerly lived with his brother Kerkesawi, +who was commander of Lupton's Bazingers, and on the outbreak of the +revolt had proceeded with his brother's permission to El Obeid, where he +had been well received by the Mahdi. Appointed Emir, he was sent back, +and was immediately joined by all the Bazingers and most of Lupton's +officials, including finally his sub-governor, Arbab ez Zubeir, who had +hitherto served the Government most loyally. Thus deserted by all his +people, Lupton had no other course open than to capitulate, which he +did, without fighting, on 28th April 1884. Had it not been for the +defection of his own men and officials, Lupton, by a judicious +management of the Negro tribes, could have held his province against all +comers for years; but deserted by all, and by them sold over to the +Mahdists, he could not do otherwise than surrender. + +Khaled wished Said Bey Guma to accompany me as well; he was still living +at Kobbé, and, in spite of his former intrigues against me, I agreed to +the proposal; also a certain Greek merchant named Dimitri Zigada asked +to accompany me, and Khaled gave him permission to do so. This man had +been long resident in Darfur, and had been a meat contractor for the +troops at Fasher and Kebkebia. Previous to my capitulation, he had +presented to me claims for £8,000 for meat supplied, which I had +granted, and my signature to that effect he sewed into his clothes. + +Procuring the necessary camels, and confining ourselves to as few +servants as possible, as at that time of the year water was very scarce +along the road, we prepared for the journey. + +Hearing that I could sell horses at a good price in Kordofan, I took +four of mine with me, hoping in this way to obtain sufficient money to +cover our daily expenses. At Khaled's express wish, I gave him the bay +pony which Gordon had presented to me. Said Bey had now arrived from +Kobbé, bringing with him only one wife; the remainder and his seven +children he had, to his great regret, been obliged to leave behind him. +About the middle of June, Zigada and I quitted Fasher, heartily glad to +leave the place where we had suffered so many hardships and bitter +experiences. Khaled supplied us with an escort of ten men under Fiki +Shakir, of the Berti tribe, and no doubt the latter was instructed to +keep a careful watch over us. In bidding him good-bye, I thanked Khaled +for his friendship, and begged him to be kind to the few remaining male +and female servants I had left behind me. + +Our route lay through Toweisha _via_ Woda and Fafa; on the way we were +constantly exposed to the inquisitive importunity of the country people, +and had to submit to many an insulting remark regarding our present +situation, which they invariably said was much better than we deserved. +To save our horses, we marched slow, and on the fifth day reached +Toweisha, where, being our guide's native place, we stayed a few days; +during this time he treated us as his guests, and did all he could to +make us comfortable. On leaving, I gave his little daughters a few +ivory bracelets, which are much prized in Darfur, and which I had +brought with me in lieu of money; I also obtained a few dollars, which I +gave to our host in order to secure his friendship. + +He told me confidentially that Khaled had particularly instructed him to +note carefully all we said to each other on the journey, and, should we +make disparaging remarks about the Mahdi and his doings, he was at once +to let Khalifa Abdullahi know; he asked me to tell my companions this, +so that they might take heed not to allow any ill-advised expressions to +drop which might be made fatal use of by those evilly-disposed to us. I +thanked him heartily for this confidence, and we took special pains to +say nothing of a compromising nature during the rest of the journey. + +Passing through Dar Homr, we were subjected to the insulting curiosity +of the Messeria Arabs, and, continuing our journey towards El Obeid, we +procured water from the Baobab reservoir-trees, for which we had to pay +heavily, and at length reached that city. The Mahdi had left here as +Governor a most dissolute old relative of his named Sayed Mahmud; we +found him sitting on the ground in hot dispute with some merchants. I +told him who I was, and he had already been warned of our approach; but +he took not the slightest notice of us, keeping us standing for some +minutes. Eventually, he gave us a discourteous greeting, and sent one of +his men to take us to a house which was to serve as our lodging. An hour +later, they brought us a sheep, and a sack of corn as food for the +camels and horses, and directed us to attend public prayers. Dimitri +Zigada pretended to be ill; but Said Bey and I went and stayed in the +open court of the mosque from noon till sunset; during the whole of this +time, Sayed Mahmud and his staff instructed the congregation on the +beauties and high importance of the Mahdi's doctrine, and, turning to +us, urged us to serve him honestly and faithfully, or we should suffer +unheard-of punishments in this world, and hell-fire in the world to +come. At last, pleading fatigue after our long journey, we were allowed +to withdraw; and Mahmud directed us to proceed the next day to Rahad, +where the Mahdi was now encamped. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE SIEGE AND FALL OF KHARTUM. + + Gordon returns to the Sudan--The Siege of Khartum--I join the + Mahdi at Rahad--Interviews and first Impressions of the + Mahdi--The Oath of Allegiance--Description of the Khalifa--The + Arrival of Hussein Pasha--Criticisms on Gordon's Mission--The + Abandonment of the Sudan proclaimed--Incidents in Various Parts + of the Sudan--The Arrival of Olivier Pain--His Mission, Illness, + and Death--Arrival outside Khartum--I write to Gordon--I am + arrested and thrown into Chains--Incidents during my + Imprisonment--The Surrender of Omdurman--The Delay of the + British Expedition--Khartum is attacked and taken--Gordon's Head + is brought to me--Account of the last Days of Khartum--Massacres + and Atrocities after the Fall--The Retreat of the British + Expedition--The Rigours of my Imprisonment increased--My Comrade + in Captivity, Frank Lupton--We are both released--I enter the + Khalifa's Body-guard--Illness and Death of the Mahdi--Khalifa + Abdullahi succeeds him--The Rules and Ordinances of the Mahdi. + + +After the destruction of Hicks Pasha's expedition, the Mahdi well knew +that the whole Sudan was at his feet; to take possession of it was +merely a question of time. His first step was the despatch of his cousin +Khaled to Darfur, where he knew no resistance was possible. Through the +influence of Karamalla, he was able to acquire possession of the Bahr el +Ghazal, the employés having merely transferred their allegiance from the +Khedive to the Mahdi. Already Mek Adam of Tagalla had submitted, and had +come to El Obeid with his family. Mahdism had seized a firm hold of the +Eastern Sudan, and found a ready home amongst the brave Arabs of those +regions; Egyptian troops had been annihilated at Sinkat and Tamanib; +General Baker's disaster at Teb had given the tribes great confidence; +and Mustafa Hadal was besieging Kassala. In the Gezira, between the +Blue and White Niles, the Mahdi's brother-in-law, Wad el Basir of the +Halawin tribe, had scored successes against the Government; and such was +briefly the condition of the country when Gordon reached Berber, on 11th +February 1884. + +The Egyptian Government, in accord with the British Government, thought +that by the despatch of Gordon, who had special knowledge of the Sudan, +the agitation would be stopped; but neither these Governments, nor +Gordon himself, seemed to realise how serious the situation really was. +Did they imagine for a moment that Gordon, who had had occasion to show +considerable personal bravery, who had gained a name for charity and +benevolence amongst the lower classes of the Darfur population, and had +suppressed a number of revolts in the Equatorial Negro lands, was +capable of checking the blazing flames of fanaticism? The Jaalin between +Berber and Khartum, and throughout the Gezira, had become restive and +dissatisfied; and was the personal influence of Gordon going to pacify +them? On the contrary, these same tribes had every reason to remember +with little satisfaction the name of the Governor-General who had issued +the ejection edict against the Gellabas of the southern districts, +during the Suleiman Zubeir war against the Arabs. In the events which +followed on this drastic measure, and which I have described elsewhere, +many of these people had lost fathers, brothers, and sons, and had been +reduced to beggary; were they likely to forgive Gordon this? + +On the 18th February, he reached Khartum, and received a warm welcome +from the officials and inhabitants. Those who were in immediate contact +with him, and anticipating for themselves much personal benefit, were +convinced that the Government would never leave a man like Gordon in the +lurch. Almost his first step was to issue a proclamation appointing the +Mahdi Sultan of Kordofan, permitting the slave-trade, and proposing to +enter into relations with him; in his letter he also asked for the +release of the prisoners, and sent the Mahdi some very fine clothes. +Gordon's letter would have been all very well if he had had a force at +his back with which to march into Kordofan; but the Mahdi had been told +that he had arrived at Khartum with merely a small body-guard. Naturally +he thought it an extraordinary proceeding for Gordon to give him what he +had already taken by force of arms, and which it was most improbable any +troops at Gordon's disposal could have wrenched from him; and it was in +this frame of mind that the Mahdi couched his reply advising Gordon to +surrender and save his life. + +Meanwhile, the immense crowds which had collected round El Obeid began +to exhaust the water supply; and, to reduce the pressure, the Mahdi +despatched Abu Anga, with a large force, against Jebel Daïr, where the +Nuba tribes were offering a stubborn resistance to his rule. + +In all these matters, Khalifa Abdullahi was the Mahdi's principal +adviser, and, consequently, he was detested by the immediate relatives +of the Prophet, who did all in their power to frustrate his designs, and +intrigue against him. He was, however, well aware that the Mahdi could +not get on without him; he therefore retaliated by complaining against +these intrigues, and asked the Mahdi to take an occasion to openly +acknowledge his services. This led to the issue of a proclamation which, +to this day, is referred to whenever any exceptionally severe measure or +important change is contemplated by his successor. It runs as follows:-- + + A PROCLAMATION + FROM MOHAMMED EL MAHDI TO ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. + + In the name of God, etc., Know ye, O my followers, that the + representative of the righteous [Abu Bakr], and the Emir of the + Mahdi army, referred to in the Prophet's vision, is Es Sayed + Abdullahi Ibn es Sayed Hamadalla. He is of me, and I am of him. + Behave with all reverence to him, as you do to me; submit to him + as you submit to me, and believe in him as you believe in me; + rely on all he says, and never question any of his proceedings. + All that he does is by order of the Prophet, or by my + permission. He is my agent in carrying out the will of the + Prophet. If God and His Prophet desire to do anything, we must + submit to their will; and if any one shows the slightest + disinclination, he is not a believer, and has no faith in God. + The Khalifa Abdullahi is the representative of the righteous. + You are well aware of the love of God and His apostle for the + righteous; therefore, you can readily understand the honourable + position which should be held by His representative. He is + guarded by the "Khudr," and is strengthened by God and His + Prophet. If any one of you speak or think ill of him, you will + suffer destruction, and will lose this world and the world to + come. + + Know, therefore, that all his sayings and actions must never be + questioned; for he has been given wisdom and a right judgment in + all things. If he sentence any of you to death, or confiscate + your property, it is for your good; therefore do not disobey + him. The Prophet says that, in next degree to the Prophet, Abu + Bakr was the greatest living man under the sun, and also the + most righteous. The Khalifa Abdullahi is his representative; + and, by order of the Prophet, he is my Khalifa. All those who + believe in God and in me must also believe in him; and, should + any one notice anything apparently wrong in him, they should + attribute it to a mystery which they cannot understand, and + that, therefore, it must be right. Let those who are present + tell those who are absent, so that all may submit to him, and + attribute to him no wrong. Beware of doing any harm to the + friends of God; for God and His Prophet curse those that behave + or think badly of His friends. + + The Khalifa Abdullahi is the commander of the faithful, and is + my Khalifa and agent in all religious matters. Therefore, I + leave off as I have begun,--"Believe in him; obey his orders; + never doubt what he says, but give all your confidence to him, + and trust him in all your affairs." And may God be with you all. + Amen. + +As the water was daily becoming more scarce, the Mahdi resolved to move +his entire camp to Rahad, about one day's journey from El Obeid; and, +about the middle of April, the transfer of this immense mass of men, +women, and children to the new position was completed. He had left his +old relative, Sayed Mahmud, at El Obeid with very strict orders that any +persons found remaining in the town, without his permission, were to be +sent to Rahad by force; and he sent further reinforcements to Jebel +Daïr, which was only a day's march distant, and where the plucky Nubas +were defending themselves most gallantly. + +The camp at Rahad soon became a perfect sea of straw huts, or tokuls, +stretching as far as the eye could reach; and, all day long, the Mahdi +occupied himself in his religious duties, preaching and praying +incessantly. Mohammed Abu Girga, he nominated Emir of the Gezira, and +despatched him, with a considerable following, to the Nile, with +instructions to head the revolt in these districts, and besiege Khartum. + +Such was the state of affairs when, towards sunset, Said Bey Guma, +Dimitri Zigada, and I approached Rahad. We stopped for the night at some +huts on the outskirts; and it was not long before a considerable number +of people became aware of our arrival, and we received several visits +from those who were anxious to know the situation in Darfur when we had +left. At sunrise, having donned our new jibbas, we took leave of our +hosts, and proceeded towards the camp where we were expected in two +hours time; my servants, who knew something of tailoring, had made me a +jibba with broad black patches sewn on with such evenness and regularity +that, at a short distance, I must have looked exactly like a lady in a +fancy bathing costume, whilst Said Bey and Zigada wore party-coloured +patches which gave them the appearance of harlequins. I now sent on one +of my servants to apprise the much-feared Khalifa of our approach; but, +as he delayed returning, we rode on along the broad road leading to the +market-place. As we approached, we heard the dismal sound of the ombeÿa, +which was the signal that the Khalifa had gone out on his horse. By +chance, I came across a Darfuri who, when I asked him what the ombeÿa +was being sounded for, replied, "Very probably Khalifa Abdullahi is +giving orders for some one's head to be cut off, and this is a summons +to the people to witness the execution." Had I been superstitious, I +should certainly have taken this as a bad omen,--an execution the moment +I entered the camp! However, we rode on, and soon came in sight of a +large open place where we saw my servant and another man hastening +towards us. "Stay where you are," cried he, "and come no further; the +Khalifa, with his escort, has gone out to meet you; he thought you were +still outside the camp." We halted while the other man returned to let +the Khalifa know we had arrived. A few minutes later, we saw hundreds of +horsemen surrounded by numbers of armed footmen approaching us, and +marching to the sound of the ombeÿa. At the farther end of the open +space was the Khalifa himself; he had halted, and several horsemen, +ranging up to his right and left, stood awaiting his instructions. He +now ordered them to begin their horse exercise, which consisted of +batches of four men abreast, with poised lances, galloping at full speed +towards some point, then suddenly pulling up, turning round and +galloping back again; this useless sort of drill continued until men and +horses became utterly exhausted. Sometimes I was the objective of their +charge, and, as they galloped up, they shook their spears close to my +face, shouting, "Fi shan Allah wa Rasulahu" (For God and His Prophet), +and then galloped back again. After repeating this operation for upwards +of half an hour, one of the Khalifa's servants at length approached me +on foot, and told me that the Khalifa wished me also to gallop towards +him. I did so, shook my lance in his face, shouted, "Fi shan Allah wa +Rasulahu!" and then returned to my place. He now sent word to me to ride +behind him, and in a few minutes we reached his quarters. He was +assisted to dismount by a special attendant, the remainder keeping at a +respectful distance; and he disappeared behind the fence. In a few +moments, he sent out a message to us to come in; and we were conducted +to a spot fenced off from the rest of the enclosure, which is +designated the rekuba; it was merely a small, square apartment with +straw walls and a thatch roof. In it were several angarebs and +palm-mats; we were told to seat ourselves on these, and were served with +a mixture of honey and water in a pumpkin gourd, and some dates. Having +partaken of this, we patiently awaited the appearance of our hospitable +host and master. He soon came in, and we at once rose; seizing my hand, +he pressed me to his heart, saying, "God be praised, we are at last +united! How do you feel after your long and tiring journey?" "Yes, +indeed," I replied, "God be praised for having granted me to live to see +this day! When I beheld your countenance, my fatigue at once left me!" I +well knew that, to win his favour, I must flatter him as much as +possible; he now gave his hand to Said Bey and Dimitri to kiss, and +asked how they were. I scrutinised him very carefully; he had a +light-brown complexion, a sympathetic Arab face, on which the marks of +small-pox were still traceable, an aquiline nose, a well-shaped mouth, +slight moustache, and a fringe of hair on his cheeks, but rather thicker +on his chin; he was about middle height, neither thin nor stout, was +wearing a jibba covered with small square patches of different colours, +and a Mecca takia, or skull cap, round which was bound a cotton turban; +he generally spoke with a smile, and showed a row of glistening white +teeth. Having greeted us, he told us to be seated; and we at once sat on +the palm-mats on the ground, whilst he sat cross-legged on an angareb. +Once more he inquired after our health, and expressed his great delight +that we had at last reached the Mahdi. On a sign to one of his servants, +a dish of asida, and another of meat, were laid before us, and, sitting +beside us, he told us to help ourselves; he himself ate heartily, +seeming to thoroughly enjoy his food, and, during the meal, he asked +several questions. "Why," said he, smiling, "did you not wait for me +outside the camp, instead of entering without permission? You know you +are not supposed to enter a friend's house without his permission." +"Pardon," said I, "my servant kept us waiting so long, and none of us +thought you would take the trouble to come out and meet us; then, as we +reached the entrance of the camp, we heard the beating of war-drums and +the sound of your ombeÿa, and, when we inquired what that meant, we were +told that you had ridden out to witness the execution of a criminal; we +therefore intended following the sound of your ombeÿa, when your order +reached us." "Am I then known as a tyrant amongst the people," said he, +"that the sound of my ombeÿa should always mean the death of some one?" +"No, indeed, sir," said I, "you are generally known to be strict, but +just." "Yes, I am strict," he replied; "but this must be so, and you +will understand the reasons as you prolong your stay with me." + +One of the Khalifa's slaves now entered, and said that several people +were waiting outside, and sought his permission to greet me. The Khalifa +at once asked if I was not too fatigued after my journey; and when I +said no, he allowed them to come in. The first to enter was Ahmed Wad +Ali (the Kadi el Islam), who was formerly one of my Government +officials, but had deserted from Shakka; then followed Abderrahman ben +Naga, who had come with the Hicks expedition, in the course of which he +had lost an eye, and had been wounded in several places, but had been +rescued by some of his slaves who were with the Mahdists; Ahmed Wad +Suleiman, the Treasurer of the Beit el Mal, Sayed Abdel Kader, the +Mahdi's uncle, Sayed Abdel Karim, and several others followed. All of +them kissed the Khalifa's hand with deep reverence, and, after asking +his permission, greeted me. The usual complimentary speeches passed +between us; and, after reciprocal congratulations that we had lived to +see the glorious time of the Mahdi, they withdrew; Abderrahman alone +gave me a wink with his one eye as he said good-bye, from which I knew +he had something to say to me, so I walked forward a few steps with him, +and, in a low quick tone, he muttered: "Be very careful; hold your +tongue, and trust no one." I took his warning to heart. + +The Khalifa then departed, recommending us to take some rest, as he +would present us to the Mahdi at noon-day prayers. We now inquired about +our servants, and were told that they had been taken in and given food. +Once alone, and convinced that there were no eavesdroppers near, we +spoke of our excellent reception, and I warned the others to be most +careful about what they said. Dimitri Zigada was now getting quite +pleased with himself, and began searching about in his pockets for a +piece of tobacco to chew; he produced some from under his jibba, and at +once put it in his mouth. I begged him to be careful, as such practices +were entirely forbidden by the Mahdi; he replied by saying he intended +asking the Khalifa to allow him to go and live with his compatriots, of +whom there were a considerable number in camp. "I am only a common +merchant," said he, "and have lost all my money; the Khalifa won't take +any further notice of me; but you will have to keep a sharp lookout +yourselves, for you are former Government officials and military men, so +he will watch you very carefully." + +About two o'clock in the afternoon a message reached us from the +Khalifa, to perform our ablutions, and prepare to go to the Mesjed +(place of worship); a few minutes later he arrived himself, and told us +to follow him. He was on foot, as the mosque, which was close to the +Mahdi's hut, was only about three hundred yards off. On arrival, we +found the place crowded with devotees, ranged in closely packed lines; +and, when the Khalifa entered, they made way for him with great respect. +A sheepskin was spread on the ground for us, and he directed us to take +our places beside him. The Mahdi's quarters, consisting of several large +straw huts fenced off by a thorn zariba, were situated at the southwest +end of the mosque. A gigantic tree afforded shade to a number of the +worshippers, but those beyond had no protection from the burning sun. A +few paces from the front line, and to the right, lay a small hut which +was reserved for those with whom the Mahdi wished to converse in +private. The Khalifa now rose and entered this hut, probably to inform +his master of our arrival; for, in a few moments, he returned, again +seated himself beside me, and almost immediately the Mahdi himself came +out. The Khalifa at once arose, and with him Said Bey, Dimitri, and I, +who were just behind him, whilst the others quietly remained in their +places. The Mahdi being the Imam, or leader of prayers, his sheepskin +was spread out in front; and he then stepped towards us. I had advanced +slightly, and he greeted me with "Salam aleikum," which we at once +returned by "Aleikum es salam." He then presented his hand for me to +kiss, which I did several times, and Said Bey and Dimitri followed my +example. Motioning us to be seated, he welcomed us, and, turning to me, +said, "Are you satisfied?" "Indeed I am," I replied, readily; "on coming +so near to you I am most happy." "God bless you and your brethren!" +(meaning Said Bey and Dimitri) said he; "when news reached us of your +battles against my followers, I used to pray to God for your conversion. +God and His Prophet have heard my prayers, and as you have faithfully +served your former master for perishable money, so now you should serve +me; for he who serves me, and hears my words, serves God and His +religion, and shall have happiness in this world and joy in the world to +come." We of course all made professions of fidelity; and as I had been +previously warned to ask him to give me the "beia," or oath of +allegiance, I now besought this honour. Calling us up beside him, he +bade us kneel on the edge of his sheepskin, and, placing our hands in +his, he told us to repeat after him as follows:-- + +"Bism Illahi er Rahman er Rahim, bayana Allaha wa Rasulahu wa bayanaka +ala tauhid Illahi, wala nushrek billahi shayan, wala nasrek, wala nazni, +wala nati bi buhtan, wala nasak fil maruf, bayanaka ala tark ed dunya +wal akhera, wala naferru min el jehad" (In the name of God the most +compassionate and merciful, in the name of the unity of God, we pay God, +His Prophet, and you our allegiance; (we swear) that we shall not +associate anything else with God, that we shall not steal, nor commit +adultery, nor lead any one into deception, nor disobey you in your +goodness; we swear to renounce this world and (look only) to the world +to come, and that we shall not flee from the religious war). + +This over, we kissed his hand, and were now enrolled amongst his most +devoted adherents; but at the same time we were liable to suffer their +punishments. The muazzen (prayer caller) now gave the first signal to +begin prayers, and we repeated the usual formulæ after the Mahdi. When +they were over, all those present raised their hands to Heaven, and +besought God to grant victory to the faithful. The Mahdi now began his +sermon. An immense circle was formed around him, and he spoke of the +vanity and nothingness of this life, urging all to renounce the world, +and to think only of their religious duties, and of the Jehad; he +painted, in most glowing terms, the delights of Paradise, and the +heavenly joys which awaited those who paid heed to his doctrine. Every +now and then he was interrupted by the shouts of some fanatic in an +ecstasy; and, indeed, I am convinced every one present, except +ourselves, really believed in him. The Khalifa, having something to do, +had left the mosque, but had ordered his mulazemia (body-guard), who +remained, to tell us to stay with the Mahdi till sunset. I had now a +good opportunity of making a careful survey of Mohammed Ahmed; he was a +tall, broad-shouldered man of light-brown colour, and powerfully built; +he had a large head and sparkling black eyes; he wore a black beard, and +had the usual three slits on each cheek; his nose and mouth were well +shaped, and he had the habit of always smiling, showing his white teeth +and exposing the V-shaped aperture between the two front ones which is +always considered a sign of good luck in the Sudan, and is known as +"falja." This was one of the principal causes which made the Mahdi so +popular with the fair sex, by whom he was dubbed "Abu falja" (the man +with the separated teeth). He wore a short quilted jibba, beautifully +washed, and perfumed with sandal-wood, musk, and attar of roses; this +perfume was celebrated amongst his disciples as Rihet el Mahdi (the +odour of the Mahdi), and was supposed to equal, if not surpass, that of +the dwellers in Paradise. + +We remained exactly on the same spot, with our legs tucked away behind, +until the time for evening prayers came. Meanwhile the Mahdi had +frequently gone to and fro between his house and the mosque; and, +prayers over, I begged leave to depart, as the Khalifa had told me to +return to him at that hour. He gave me permission, and took the +opportunity of saying that I must adhere closely to the Khalifa, and +devote myself entirely to his service. Of course I promised to obey him +to the letter, and Dimitri, Said Bey, and I, covering the Mahdi's hand +with kisses, quitted the mosque. My legs were so cramped by the posture +in which I had been sitting for hours together that I could scarcely +walk; but, in spite of the pain, I was obliged to keep as cheerful a +face as possible in the Mahdi's presence. Said Bey was more used to it, +and did not seem to suffer so much; but poor Dimitri limped behind, +muttering Greek in an undertone, which I have no doubt conveyed the most +frightful imprecations,--at any rate I can vouch that they were not +songs of praise of the Mahdi. A mulazem returned with us to the +Khalifa's house, where he was waiting for us to sit down to supper with +him. + +He told us that since he had seen us in the morning, Sheikh Hamed en Nil +of the Arakin Arabs, and one of the principal Sheikhs of the Gezira, had +arrived, and that his relatives had begged him to ride out and meet him; +but he refused, as he preferred spending the evening with us. We of +course thanked him profusely for his good-will and kindness; and we were +loud in the praises of the Mahdi, which evidently much pleased the +Khalifa. He now left us to attend evening prayers, and, on his return, +talked to us about Darfur; he also mentioned that Hussein Khalifa, +formerly Mudir of Berber, was expected within the next few days. So it +was true Berber had fallen; we had heard rumours to this effect, on the +Darfur frontier, but met no one whom we could ask confidentially about +it. The town must have fallen through the Jaalin; and now communication +with Egypt must be entirely cut off. This was terribly bad news. I +anxiously looked out for Hussein Khalifa's arrival; he would be able to +give us all the facts. + +The Khalifa now left us for the night; and, utterly tired out, we +stretched out our weary limbs on the angarebs, and gave ourselves up to +our own thoughts. There were of course no lights; but in the dark I +heard Dimitri's mouth at work, and I had no doubt the man was again +chewing tobacco. Once more I spoke seriously to him, and warned him that +he would fare badly if discovered; to which he sleepily replied, that +his little stock of tobacco was now done, and that the bit in his mouth +was positively his very last piece. + +Early the next day, after morning prayers, the Khalifa again came to see +us, and asked how we were getting on. Soon after Sheikh Hamed en Nil's +relatives arrived, and begged the Khalifa to allow them to present their +Sheikh to him; he was admitted into his presence as a penitent, his neck +in a sheba, his head sprinkled with ashes, and a sheepskin bound about +his loins. On entering, he knelt down, saying, "El afu ya sidi!" +(Pardon, sire!). Standing up, the Khalifa directed one of his servants +to remove the sheba, and take the ashes off his head, and then told him +to put on his clothes, which were being carried for him. This done, he +asked him to be seated; and the Sheikh, repeatedly begging pardon, +expressed his deep regret that his visit to the Mahdi had been so long +delayed. The Khalifa pardoned him, and promised to present him to the +Mahdi in the afternoon, when he also would, in all probability, forgive +him. "Master," said Hamed en Nil, "since you have pardoned me, I am now +happy, and at ease. I consider that your forgiveness is the same as the +Mahdi's; for you are of him, and he is of you," and saying these words, +he kissed the Khalifa's hand (he had cleverly repeated the words in the +proclamation already referred to). + +After partaking of a breakfast of asida and milk, we separated; the +blowing of the ombeÿa, and the beating of drums, announced that the +Khalifa was about to ride; and horses were at once saddled. Directing my +servants to get two horses ready,--one for myself and the other for Said +Bey,--we mounted and soon caught up the Khalifa, who had gone on ahead. +He was riding for pleasure round the camp, accompanied by some twenty +footmen; on his right walked an enormous Black of the Dinka tribe, and +on his left, a very tall Arab named Abu Tsheka, whose duty it was to +help the Khalifa in and out of the saddle. When he came again to the +open space, he directed the horsemen to repeat yesterday's exercises; +and, after watching this for some time, we rode on to the end of the +camp, where he showed me the remains of an immense zariba and small +tumbled-in trench, which he told me had been one of Hicks's last halting +places before his annihilation, and where he had awaited reinforcements +from Tagalla. The trench had been made for his Krupp guns. The sight of +this awakened very sad memories; to think of the thousands, who but a +short time before had been camped in this great zariba having been +killed almost to a man, and that this disaster was the cause of my being +where I now was! + +On our way back, the Khalifa took me to pay a visit to his brother +Yakub, whose huts were close to his own, the fences being merely +separated by a narrow passage. Yakub received me very kindly, and +appeared as pleased to see me as Abdullahi had been; he warned me to +serve him faithfully, which I of course promised to do. Yakub is a +somewhat shorter man than the Khalifa, broad-shouldered, with a round +face deeply pitted with small-pox; he has a small turned-up nose, and +slight moustache and beard; he is distinctly more ugly than handsome, +but has the art of talking in a curiously sympathetic way. He, too, like +the Mahdi and the Khalifa, smiled continually; and what wonder, when +their affairs were progressing so very satisfactorily! Yakub reads and +writes, and knows the Kuran by heart, whilst Abdullahi is comparatively +very ignorant. He is some years the Khalifa's junior, and is his trusted +and most powerful adviser. Woe to the unfortunate man who differs in +opinion with Yakub, or who is suspected of intriguing against him, he is +infallibly lost! + +Partaking of some of the dates he offered me, I took leave of him and +returned to the rekuba, whence, in accordance with the Khalifa's order, +we proceeded to the mosque, and stayed till sunset, as we did the +previous day. Again the Mahdi preached renunciation, urging his hearers +to be ready for the Jehad, so as to enter into the future joys of +Paradise. Again and again, the faithful devotees, half intoxicated with +fanaticism, shouted his praises; whilst we poor wretches, enduring +agonies in our cramped position, imprecated in our hearts Mahdi, +Khalifa, and his whole crew of base hypocrites. + +The next day, the Khalifa summoned us, and asked if we wished to return +to Darfur. I knew the question had only been put to us as a test; and we +at once answered with one voice, that we should deeply regret leaving +the Mahdi. I saw that he anticipated this answer, and, smiling, he +commended us for our wise decision. The Khalifa now, of his own accord, +suggested that a longer stay in the rekuba was probably distasteful to +us; he, therefore, sent Dimitri with a mulazem to the house of his +future Emir, who was a Greek, and he also gave instructions to Ahmed Wad +Suleiman to issue twenty dollars to him. After he had gone, he turned to +Said Bey, saying, "Said Guma, you are an Egyptian, and every one likes +his own compatriots best; we have with us several Egyptians, many of +proved fidelity. You are brave and I know I can count on you; you will +therefore join the Emir of all the Egyptians, Hassan Hussein, and he +will give you a house, and see to your requirements. I shall also do +what is necessary on my side." Said Bey was of course much pleased with +the arrangement. Then, turning to me, he said, "Abdel Kader, you are a +stranger here, and have no one else but me. You know well the Arabs of +Southern Darfur; therefore, in accordance with the Mahdi's orders, you +are to remain with me as a mulazem." "That is the very wish of my +heart," I answered readily; "I call myself fortunate to be able to serve +you, and you can rely on my obedience and fidelity." "I knew that," said +he; "may God protect you and strengthen your faith; you will no doubt be +of much use to both the Mahdi and myself." + +Soon afterwards, the Emir Hassan Hussein came in; the Khalifa had +summoned him, and now recommended to his care Said Guma, who promised he +would do all he could for him. He also instructed him to send for Said +Bey's family, which had been left behind at Kobbé; and the latter, +taking a grateful leave of the Khalifa, proceeded, in company of a +mulazem, to Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who had been authorised to supply him +with forty dollars and a female slave. + +Once more I was alone with the Khalifa, and again he repeated how +gratified he was to have me in his service, and always beside him; at +the same time he warned me not to associate with his near relatives, +whose jealous feelings might lead to an estrangement between us. He also +gave orders for some straw huts to be erected in the zariba next his +own, belonging to Abu Anga, who was now absent, fighting against the +Nubas; meanwhile he said I was to stay in the rekuba, and without fail +attend the Mahdi's noon-day and evening prayers. Thanking him profusely +for all these favours, I promised to do my utmost to please him and +continue in his good graces. + +At supper the same evening, the Khalifa told me with delight that +Hussein Khalifa had arrived, and was to be presented the next day. +Consequently, at noon, the Khalifa received him with his relatives, in +ashes and sheba, just as he had received Sheikh Hamed en Nil. Knowing +what his feelings were as regards the Mahdists, I realised it must have +been a terrible humiliation for him to come in this way; but some of his +old friends who were now in high favour with the Mahdi, advised him to +do so, and he had consented. The Khalifa had the sheba and ashes +removed, pardoned him, and then presented me to him, and asked me to be +seated. Being a mulazem of the Khalifa, I was practically in the +position of a sort of servant, and as such I always stood up behind him, +and of course did my best to carry out my new rôle satisfactorily. +Abdullahi began the conversation by inquiring after the health of the +late Governor of Berber; and, receiving the usual replies, he then +turned to the situation on the river, and Hussein described the whole +country between Berber and Fashoda as being entirely with the Mahdi, and +communication between Egypt and the Sudan quite interrupted, whilst +Khartum, which was defended by Gordon, was invested by the Gezira +tribes. He naturally coloured the situation in the way which he knew +would be most acceptable to the Mahdi; and that he was favourably +impressing the Khalifa, was evident from the expressions of satisfaction +which escaped the latter as the narrative proceeded. Abdullahi promised +that at noon-day prayers he would present Hussein Khalifa to the Mahdi, +of whose forgiveness he might rest assured; in the meantime he was to +rest in the rekuba. + +The Khalifa, having something to do, now left us together; but as there +were several of his relatives there whom I did not know, we could only +talk about our personal concerns, and congratulate each other on our +good fortune in becoming followers of the Mahdi. At noon, the Khalifa +returned, and took dinner with Hussein Khalifa, I also being invited to +partake of the meal. In the course of conversation, the Khalifa asked, +"Did you happen to see Mohammed Sherif, the former Sheikh of the Mahdi; +you must have passed his house on your way here? Is he still possessed +of that evil spirit which urges him to fight against the will of God, +and to refuse to acknowledge the Mahdi as his lord and master?" + +"I spent a night at his house," replied Hussein Khalifa; "he has now +repented of his infidelity to God, and it is illness alone that prevents +him from coming here. Most of his former followers have joined those +besieging Khartum." + +"It is better for him to serve the Mahdi," said Abdullahi; "now get +ready, and I shall present you to him." + +Before prayers began, the Khalifa conducted him, as he had conducted me +a few days before, to the mosque, and bade him be seated; but I, being a +mulazem, now took up my position in the second line. On the Mahdi +approaching, the Khalifa and his guest stood up; and the latter, on +being presented, craved his pardon for the blindness of heart which had +hitherto prevented him from becoming one of his faithful adherents. He +was pardoned, and, on taking the oath of allegiance, was enjoined to +uphold faithfully the new doctrine, and attend prayers without fail. The +Mahdi, seeing me in the second line, directed me to come forward and +take up my position beside the Khalifa. "Drink of the river of my +words," said he, "and that will be of inestimable benefit to you." I +excused myself by saying that as mulazem of the Khalifa I did not think +it my place to stand beside my master, and had therefore joined the +second line. I was now praised for this act of self-abnegation; the +Mahdi added, however, that in future this should always be my position, +"For in the place of worship we are all alike." + +After prayers, the Khalifa disappeared as usual, whilst Hussein Khalifa +and I remained in the mosque till sunset. My uncomfortable posture +brought more curses than prayers to my lips; but I had to put as good a +face as I could on the matter. That evening, we supped with the Khalifa, +and talked on general subjects, being continually warned to be honest +and sincere. To my great delight, Hussein Khalifa was directed to spend +that night in the rekuba; but his relatives were allowed to go home. The +Khalifa had left us, and the servants had retired, so we were quite +alone, and took this long-looked-for occasion to greet each other most +heartily, and to mutually bemoan the sad fate which brought us together +to this wretched position. "Hussein Pasha," said I, "I trust you and +yours may rest assured of my silence. Tell me what is the present +condition of Khartum, and what are the population doing?" "Alas!" he +replied, "it is exactly as I have already described it to the Khalifa. +Gordon's reading at Metemmeh of the proclamation abandoning the Sudan, +upset the situation entirely, and was indirectly the cause of the fall +of Berber. No doubt, it would have been lost later on; but this action +of Gordon's greatly precipitated it. At Berber, I stopped him from +taking this fatal step; and I cannot think what induced him to disregard +my advice almost immediately afterwards." We talked so long about the +situation and the various events that Hussein Pasha, who was old and +tired, fell asleep; but this conversation had banished all sleep from my +eyes. So this is to be the end, I thought, of all Gordon's efforts to +settle the country; and is all the blood and treasure expended in past +years to go for nothing? Now the Government wanted to abandon this great +country which, though hitherto it had not proved a financial benefit to +Egypt, was a land of great prospects, and could at least produce +thousands of splendid Black recruits with whom to fill the ranks of its +army. So the Government was to leave this country to its own people, and +yet to remain on friendly terms with it; it was to withdraw the +garrisons and war _matériel_, and to establish a form of local +Government, when a form of such Government had already sprung into +existence by the most violent of means,--namely, by the wholesale +overturning of every vestige of the authority which it was to replace, +and the massacre or capture of almost every individual representative of +the ousted ruling power. + +To carry out this plan, they had sent Gordon in the hope that his +personal influence with the people, and their regard for him,--which he +was inclined to estimate somewhat highly,--would enable him to succeed +in this herculean task. Gordon, it is true, was popular with some of the +Western and Equatorial tribes, whom he had won over by his munificence +and his benevolent nature. During his stay in these districts, he had +constantly travelled about; and his noted courage and fearlessness in +action had won him the sympathy of those tribes whose greatest pride it +is to possess such qualities. Yes, there is no doubt he had been popular +with the Western Arabs: but they had now a Mahdi whom they adored; they +had almost forgotten Gordon. The Sudanese, it must be remembered, are +not Europeans; they are Arabs and Blacks, and are little given over to +sentimental feelings. But, in this particular case of the reading of the +proclamation, the people concerned were river tribes; and, of all +others, the Jaalin were perhaps the most hostile to Gordon, for they had +not forgotten the eviction of the Gellabas. + +The mere fact that Gordon had come to Khartum without a force at his +back, proved to these people that he depended on his personal influence +to carry out his task; but, to those who understood the situation, it +was abundantly clear that personal influence at this stage was as a drop +in the ocean. Then what could have induced him to read that fatal +notice, proclaiming far and wide that the Government intended to abandon +the Sudan? At Hussein Pasha's advice, he had not read it at Berber; but +at Metemmeh, he had proclaimed it before all the people. Had Gordon +never been informed of the Mahdi's proclamations, sent to all the tribes +after the fall of El Obeid? Was he not aware that these proclamations +enjoined all the people to unite in a religious war against the +Government authority, and that those who disobeyed the summons, and were +found giving assistance to the hated Turk, were guilty of betraying the +faith, and as such would not only lose their money and property, but +their wives and children would become the slaves of the Mahdi and his +followers? Gordon's idea was to obtain the assistance of these tribes, +in order to facilitate the withdrawal of the garrisons; and he would +have come to terms with them to effect this object: but how could he +expect them to help him, when, in the words of that fatal proclamation, +it was decreed they were to be abandoned to their fate, and what would, +in this eventuality, have been their fate? Could they have opposed the +Mahdi, his forty thousand rifles, and his hosts of wild fanatics panting +for blood and plunder? No, indeed, these tribes were sensible enough to +understand that assistance given to Gordon to retreat, meant the +annihilation of themselves and the enslavement of their families; why +should they commit this self-sacrifice? How could Gordon's personal +influence avail him for an instant against the personal interests of +every man, woman, and child in the now abandoned Sudan? + +If, for political or other reasons, it was impossible for the Government +to maintain the Sudan, or to re-conquer it by degrees, it was an equally +useless step to have sent Gordon there to sacrifice him. It did not +require a person of any special military capacity to remove the +garrisons and war _matériel_ by the steamers to Berber, under pretext of +relieving that town, and thus the whole or a considerable portion of the +Sudan garrisons might have been successfully withdrawn, though it would +have been necessary to do this without delay, and it could not have been +feasible after the fall of Berber; but Berber, it must be remembered, +did not fall till the 19th of May,--three months after Gordon's arrival +in Khartum. However, under any circumstances, the reading of that fatal +proclamation precipitated matters to an alarming extent; the intention +of the Government was openly declared to the Sudanese, and they +naturally, from that moment, looked to their own immediate interests, +which were now directly opposed to those of the Government so hopelessly +overturned by their victorious compatriot the Mahdi. + +How could Gordon's qualities of personal bravery and energy, great as +they undoubtedly were, arrest the progress of events after that most +grave political error? + +Perplexed and worried with such thoughts as these, I was tossing about +on my angareb, whilst Hussein Khalifa was snoring. There was no small +advantage in being a fatalist; but as yet I was too European to have +arrived at this stage, though gradually I learnt to look at such matters +with more equanimity, and my experiences in the Sudan have undoubtedly +taught me to practise that great virtue--patience. + +The next morning, the Khalifa honoured us with a visit, and asked me why +my eyes were so red; I answered that, owing to a severe attack of fever, +I had passed a sleepless night, on which he advised me to take care of +myself and not to go into the sun; and he also excused me from attending +the Mahdi's prayers. However, when prayer-time came, I performed them +under the shade of the rekuba, and in the sight of the servants; as it +was my object to appear to them as devout as possible, well-knowing they +would report my every action to their master. The following day my huts +were ready, and, with the Khalifa's permission, I entered into +occupation. Hussein Khalifa had already been allowed to live with one of +his relatives; and he made a point of going through all five prayers +daily, in order to secure the good-will of the Mahdi and Khalifa, hoping +in this way to obtain their leave to go back to his own country. I +decided to remain as near the Khalifa as possible, and to only go +occasionally to the Mahdi when he recommended me to do so. + +A few days afterwards, a rumour was spread through the camp that Abu +Girga had been attacked by Gordon, and had been wounded; his forces, +which were then investing Khartum, were reported to have been repulsed, +and the siege raised. This news filled my heart with delight, though +openly, I was obliged to appear quite unconcerned. + +Saleh Wad el Mek now arrived in the camp; he had been obliged to submit +at Fedasi, and had been sent on by Abu Girga. He received the pardon of +the Khalifa and Mahdi, and confirmed the above news; he also privately +gave me much interesting information about Gordon. That evening, the +Khalifa summoned me to supper with him; and no sooner had we set to work +to tear the huge piece of meat before us, than he asked, "Have you heard +the news to-day about Hajji Mohammed Abu Girga?" "No," I replied, +hypocritically, "I did not leave your door the whole day, and have met +no one." + +"Gordon," continued the Khalifa, "made a sudden attack on Hajji Mohammed +from both the river and the land, when the Blue Nile was in flood; and +he has built structures on the steamers which stop the bullets of our +faithful Ansar. The unbeliever is a cunning man; but he will reap God's +punishment. Hajji Mohammed's men, who have suffered, have been obliged +to retire before superior force. Gordon is now rejoicing in his victory; +but he is deceived. God will grant victory only to those who believe in +Him; and, in a few days, God's vengeance will fall upon him suddenly. +Hajji Mohammed is not man enough to conquer the country; the Mahdi is +therefore sending Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi to besiege Khartum." + +"I hope," said I, "that Hajji Mohammed has not suffered serious loss?" +meaning in my heart exactly the reverse. + +"Battles cannot be fought without loss," said the Khalifa, with some +truth; "but I have not heard the full details yet." He was anything but +affable to-day. Gordon's victory had thoroughly upset him; and he +evidently anticipated that the effect would be serious. When I returned +to my hut, I sent my servant to ask Saleh Wad el Mek if he could come +and see me secretly; he was only a few huts off, and arrived some +minutes afterwards. I told him the Khalifa's corroboration of the news; +but he had already heard it from his relatives; and we continued talking +over past and present till a late hour. This victory had raised my +spirits enormously, and I found myself chatting quite hopefully of the +future; but Saleh looked on the success as only temporary, and his +reasons for this view were, I felt, fully justifiable. + +He explained that, very soon after Gordon's arrival at Khartum, the +effect of the fatal proclamation began to be felt, and his difficulties +increased. The Jaalin had begun to collect, and had chosen as their +chief, Haj Ali Wad Saad, who soon had at his disposal a considerable +force; but, for personal reasons, he was secretly inclined to the +Government, and therefore delayed actually fighting as long as possible. +The Consuls of the various nationalities at Khartum, seeing the +situation getting worse, had applied to Gordon to send them to Berber; +but it was doubtful if it would have been safe to let them go, and, at +Gordon's suggestion, they decided to remain. The inhabitants of Khartum +had themselves begun to look with mistrust on Gordon; for they realised, +from the proclamation of which they had heard, that Gordon had only come +to withdraw the garrison, though, later on, they thoroughly understood +that Gordon himself had come to conquer with them or to die. The Sheikh +El Obeid, one of the great religious Sheikhs of the Sudan, had collected +together his followers at Halfaya to besiege Khartum. Gordon had sent +troops under Hassan Pasha and Said Pasha Hussein, who had been formerly +Governor of Shakka, to drive the rebels out of their position; and, +watching the operations through a telescope from the top of the Palace, +he had seen his trusted officers endeavouring to make over his troops to +the enemy, whilst they themselves were retreating to Khartum. He had +tried these traitorous officers by general court-martial, and had had +them shot. In spite of this disaster, he had succeeded in relieving the +Shaigias, who were loyal to Government, and had brought them, under +their commander Sanjak Abdel Hamid Wad Mohammed, to Khartum. + +Saleh Wad el Mek, himself invested by the rebels at Fedasi, had begged +Gordon to relieve him; but it was impossible to do so, and he had been +obliged to surrender with one thousand four hundred irregulars and +cavalry, with all their arms. In consequence of this success, Hajji +Mohammed Abu Girga had collected all the inhabitants of the Gezira to +besiege Khartum. Whilst these events were happening in the neighbourhood +of that town, the Mahdi's former teacher, Sheikh Mohammed el Kheir +(formerly Mohammed ed Diker), had come to the river, and had been +appointed by his early pupil Emir of Berber; he had placed all the +tribes in the province under his orders, and the latter, collecting +adherents from his own tribe, the Jaalin, and reinforced by the Barabra, +Bisharia, and other Arabs, had laid siege to Berber, which had fallen in +a few days. + +The province of Dongola had hitherto held out, owing principally to its +crafty Mudir, Mustafa Bey Yawer, who had twice written to the Mahdi, +offering him his submission; but the latter, fearing to trust one of the +hated Turks, had sent his relative, Sayed Mahmud Ali, to join the +Shaigia Emir Sheikh el Heddai, who had already headed a disturbance in +the province, to take possession. But Mustafa Bey, secretly learning +that he was not acceptable, had fallen suddenly on Heddai at Debba, and, +encouraged by the presence of a British officer[11] in his province, had +followed up this success by inflicting a crushing defeat on the Mahdists +at Korti, in which both the Emirs Mahmud and Heddai were killed. + +At Sennar, matters were not so satisfactory; it was closely invested, +but had large reserve supplies of corn. Communication with the outside +was, however, completely stopped, though Nur Bey, the brave commander, +had made a successful sortie which had driven off the rebels to some +distance, and enabled the town to breathe again. + +Appeals now reached the Mahdi, from all parts, to come down to the +river; but he was in no particular hurry, for he knew that the country +was securely in his hands, and that it would require a large Egyptian or +foreign army to re-conquer it from him. Every Friday, he held a review +of his troops, at which he himself was always present. His force was +divided into three portions, each under the command of a Khalifa, +though, in addition, Khalifa Abdullahi was entitled "Reis el Gesh" +(Commander-in-chief of the Army). His own special division was known as +the Raya ez Zarga, or blue flag, and his brother Yakub represented him +as its commander. The Raya el Khadra, or green flag, was under the +command of the Khalifa Ali Wad Helu; while the red flag, the Raya el +Ashraf (flag of the nobles), was placed under Khalifa Mohammed Sherif. +Under each principal flag were grouped the flags of the various Emirs. + +When the reviews took place, the Emirs of the Raya ez Zarga deployed +into line with their banners facing east; those of the green flag were +drawn up opposite to them, facing west; and, connecting these two lines, +and facing north, were the Emirs and flags of the Ashraf. The numbers of +the Mahdi's followers being now enormous, an immense square was thus +formed, open on one side; and the Mahdi and his staff, advancing to the +centre, would receive the salute, and would then ride along the lines, +welcoming his faithful adherents with the words, "Allah yebarek fikum!" +(May God bless you!) + +During these Friday reviews, called Arda or Tarr, extraordinary +occurrences were said to take place. One would assert that he saw the +Prophet riding beside the Mahdi, and talking with him; others would say +they heard voices from Heaven, shouting blessings on the Ansar, and +promises of victory. They would even affirm that a passing cloud was +formed by angels' wings in order to give shade and refreshment to the +faithful. + +About three days after the news had been received of Abu Girga's defeat, +an Italian named Joseph Cuzzi arrived at Rahad from Khartum; he had been +residing in Berber at the time of its fall, having been left behind by +A. Marquet, the agent of Debourg and Company, to wind up some of their +affairs. Mohammed el Kheir had sent him, as a prisoner, to Abu Girga, +and he had despatched him with a letter to Gordon; but the latter had +refused to see him, and had sent him back to the enemy's post, on the +east bank of the Blue Nile, opposite Khartum. The Mahdi now sent Cuzzi +back in company with a Greek named George Calamatino, with letters to +Gordon summoning him to submit. By the hands of this Greek, I also sent +secretly a few lines to Gordon Pasha. The Greek was permitted to enter +the lines; but Cuzzi was kept at a place some distance off, as, on the +first occasion on which he had come, he was reported by the officers to +have personally summoned them to surrender. + +When the fast of Ramadan was over, Abu Anga and his entire fighting +force were recalled from Jebel Daïr; and the Mahdi then publicly +announced that the Prophet had directed him to proceed to Khartum and +lay siege to it. Every Emir was enjoined to collect his men, and order +them to prepare for the march; whilst any who remained behind were +declared lawful prey, and liable to total confiscation of all they +possessed. However, there was no hanging back on the part of the people, +whose fanaticism knew no bounds, and who were well aware that treasure +and plunder generally fell to the share of the faithful followers. The +consequence was that the Mahdi's summons brought about a wholesale +immigration of the entire population, such as had never before been seen +in the Sudan. + +We left Rahad on 22nd August, the Mahdist forces marching by three +separate roads: the northern one, _via_ Khursi, Helba, and Tura el +Hadra, was selected by the camel-owning tribes; the central road, _via_ +Tayara, Sherkéla, Shatt, and Duem, was taken by the Mahdi, Khalifas, and +the majority of the Emirs; whilst the Baggaras and cattle-owning tribes +adopted the southern route, which was well supplied with water, owing to +the frequent rain pools which served as drinking places for the cattle. +I, of course, in my capacity as mulazem of the Khalifa, followed my +master; but, as a rule, when halted in camp, I used to send my horses +and servants to Saleh Wad el Mek, who had joined the Mahdi's suite. The +Khalifa, however, for some unknown reason, had a particular aversion to +him, and ordered me in future to remain with my servants near him, and +charged his cousin, Osman Wad Adam, to look after me. Nevertheless, +every now and then, I used to see Saleh Wad el Mek, who was kept +informed of all that was happening in the Nile districts. + +Just before arriving at Sherkéla, strange rumours were spread about +that an Egyptian who was a Christian had arrived at El Obeid, and was +now on his way to overtake the Mahdi. Some believed him to be the +Emperor of France; others affirmed that he was closely related to the +Queen of England. However, there was no doubt a European was coming, and +I was naturally most anxious to know who he could be. That evening, the +Khalifa told me a Frenchman had arrived at El Obeid, and that he had +sent orders for him to be brought to the Mahdi. "Do you belong to the +French race?" said he to me, "or are there different tribes in your +country, as there are here with us in the Sudan?"--he had not, of +course, the slightest knowledge of Europe and the European nations, and +I enlightened him as far as I thought necessary. "But what should a +Frenchman want with us, that he should come all that long distance?" +asked the Khalifa, inquiringly; "possibly God has converted him, and has +led him to the right way." "Perhaps," said I, "he is seeking your and +the Mahdi's friendship." The Khalifa looked at me incredulously, and +said curtly, "We shall see." + +At length, we reached Sherkéla; and, scarcely had we halted, when my +master sent for me, and said, "Abdel Kader, the French traveller has +arrived; I have now ordered him to be brought before me. You had better +wait and listen to what he has to say; I may want you--" Almost +immediately afterwards, Hussein Pasha came in, and he too had evidently +been summoned by the Khalifa. After waiting some little time longer, a +mulazem announced that the stranger was waiting outside the hut; and he +was at once admitted. He was a tall, young-looking man, about thirty +years of age, I should say, and his face was much bronzed by the sun; he +had a fair beard and moustache, and wore a jibba and turban. He greeted +the Khalifa with "Salam aleikum;" and the latter, who did not rise from +his angareb, merely motioned him to be seated. "Why have you come here; +and what do you want from us?" were the Khalifa's first words to him; he +replied, in such broken Arabic that it was difficult to understand, +that he was a Frenchman, and had come from France. "Speak in your own +language with Abdel Kader," interrupted the Khalifa, "and he will +explain to me what you want." The stranger now turned and looked at me +distrustfully, saying, in English, "Good day, sir." "Do you speak +French?" said I, "my name is Slatin. Stick to business entirely now, +and, later on, we can speak privately." "What are you talking about +together," muttered the Khalifa, in an annoyed tone, "I wish to know +what he wants." + +"I only told him my name," said I, "and urged him to speak openly to +you, as both you and the Mahdi are men to whom God has granted the power +to read the thoughts of others." Hussein Khalifa, who was sitting beside +me, now broke in, "That is true, indeed! May God prolong the Khalifa's +life;" and then, turning to me, he said, "you did well to call this +stranger's attention to the fact." The Khalifa, appeased and flattered, +now said, "Well, try and find out the truth." + +"My name is Olivier Pain," said the stranger, whom I had now told to +talk in French, "and I am a Frenchman. Since I was quite a boy I was +interested in the Sudan, and sympathised with its people; it is not only +I, but all my compatriots, who feel the same. In Europe there are +nations with whom we are at feud; one of these is the English nation +which has now settled in Egypt, and one of whose generals, Gordon, is +now commanding in Khartum. I have therefore come to offer you my +assistance, and that of my nation." + +"What assistance?" interrupted the Khalifa, to whom I was translating +word for word Olivier Pain's statement. + +"I can only offer you advice," said Pain; "but my nation, which is +anxious to gain your friendship, is ready to help you practically with +arms and money, under certain conditions." + +"Are you a Mohammedan?" asked the Khalifa, as if he had not heard what +he had said. + +"Yes, certainly," said he; "I have been of this faith for a long time, +and at El Obeid I openly acknowledged it." + +"Well," said the Khalifa, "you and Hussein can stay here with the +Frenchman, whilst I will go and let the Mahdi know, and I shall then +come back to you." + +When the Khalifa had gone, I shook hands with Olivier Pain, and +introduced him to Hussein Khalifa; but I confess to feeling considerably +prejudiced against him by his offer to assist our enemies. However, I +urged him to be most careful, and to say that he had been induced to +come here rather out of love for religion than for political motives. +Even Hussein Pasha, who was evidently very much annoyed, said in Arabic +to me, "Is that what you call politics,--to offer money and arms to +people whose only object is to kill others, rob them of their property, +and enslave their wives and daughters? Yet if one of us, no matter how +poor he may be, buys a Black slave who is really little better than an +animal, except that he can till the ground, you call it wicked and +cruel, and punish us most severely." + +"Malaish!" (Never mind!) said I, "he who lives long sees much." + +We were now occupied with our own thoughts, whilst waiting for the +Khalifa's return; and at length he arrived, ordered us to make our +ablutions and prepare to attend the Mahdi's prayers. Having done so, the +Khalifa leading, we went to the place of worship, where there was an +immense concourse of people who, having heard of Olivier Pain's arrival, +were indulging in the wildest speculations about him. After we had taken +our places, Pain was directed to the second row, and the Mahdi now +arrived. He was dressed in his speckless and beautifully perfumed jibba; +his turban was more carefully folded than usual, and his eyes were well +painted with antimony, which gave them a more fiery expression. He had +evidently done his utmost to appear to the greatest possible advantage. +No doubt he was pleased and flattered that a man should have come from +so far to offer him assistance. He now sat himself down on his +prayer-carpet, and, calling up Olivier Pain before him, greeted him +with a very beaming smile, but did not shake hands with him, and, using +me as an interpreter, asked him to explain why he had come here. + +Pain reiterated the same story as before, which the Mahdi told me to +repeat in a sufficiently loud voice for every one to hear; and, when I +had finished, he said, in an equally loud tone, "I have heard your +intentions, and have understood them; but I do not count on human +support, I rely on God and His Prophet. Your nation are unbelievers, and +I shall never ally myself with them. With God's help, I shall defeat my +enemies through my brave Ansar, and the hosts of angels sent to me by +the Prophet." Shouts of acclamation from thousands upon thousands of +throats greeted this speech; and, when order had been restored, the +Mahdi said to Pain, "You affirm that you love our faith, and acknowledge +that it is the true one; are you a Mohammedan?" + +"Certainly," answered he, repeating the creed, "La ilaha illallah, +Mohammed Rasul Allah," in a loud voice. The Mahdi after this gave him +his hand to kiss, but did not administer the oath of allegiance. + +We now took up our positions in the ranks of the faithful, and repeated +prayers with the Mahdi; and, that over, the Divine Master gave us one of +his usual sermons on salvation and renunciation. We then departed with +the Khalifa, who directed me to take Olivier Pain to my tent, and there +await further instructions. + +Once alone with Pain in my tent, I could talk to him without fear of +interruption. I had the strongest aversion to his mission; but I pitied +the man who, if he thought to succeed in such an enterprise in this +country, was the victim of so absurd a delusion. I again greeted him +heartily, saying, "Now, my dear Mr. Olivier Pain, we shall be quite +undisturbed for a few minutes; let us speak frankly. Although I do not +agree with your mission, I assure you, on my word as an officer, I will +do all in my power to secure your personal safety. I have now been for +years an exile from the civilised world; tell me something about outside +affairs." + +"I trust you thoroughly," he replied; "I know you well by name, and have +often heard of you, and I thank my good fortune which has brought me to +you. There is a great deal to tell you; but for the present I will +confine myself to Egypt, which must interest us most." + +"Tell me then," said I, "all about the revolt of Ahmed Arabi Pasha, +about the massacres, about the intervention of the Powers, and about +England, which has just occupied Egypt." + +"I," said he, "am working for the 'Indépendence' with Rochefort, of whom +you must have heard. England and France are politically antagonistic; +and we do what we can to put as many difficulties as possible in +England's way. I have not come here as a representative of my nation, +but as a private individual with, however, the knowledge and concurrence +of my nation. The English authorities, discovering my intentions, issued +a warrant of arrest against me, and I was sent back from Wadi Halfa; but +on my way down the river at Esna I agreed secretly with some Alighat +Arabs to bring me here by the road running west of Dongola, through El +Kaab, to El Obeid. To-day the Mahdi has received me most kindly, and I +hope for the best." + +"Do you think that your proposal will be accepted?" said I. + +"Should my proposal be refused," he answered, "I still hope the Mahdi +will be induced to enter into friendly relations with France; for the +present that will be quite sufficient, and, as I have come here of my +own free will, I trust the Mahdi will not make my return impossible." + +"That is very questionable," said I; "but have you left a family at +home?" + +"Oh, yes," answered Pain, "I have left my wife and two children in +Paris; I often think of them, and hope to see them soon again. But tell +me, sir, frankly, why should I be detained?" + +"My dear sir," I replied, "as far as I know these people, I do not think +you need at present have any fear for your own safety; but when and how +you are going to get away from them, it is beyond my power to say. What +I sincerely hope is, that your proposals, which may be advantageous to +the enemy,--and I admit these Mahdists are my most bitter enemies,--will +not be accepted, and I also hope they will allow you to return +unmolested to your wife and children, who must be anxiously awaiting +you." + +Meanwhile I had told my servants to get us something to eat; and I had +sent for Gustav Klootz, O'Donovan's former servant, to share our meal +with us. We had scarcely begun, when two of the Khalifa's mulazemin +entered, and told Olivier Pain to follow them. He was much taken aback +at being called off alone, and, in a whisper, commended himself to me. +It also struck me as curious, for Pain's Arabic was quite +unintelligible. I was talking about this to Mustafa (Klootz), when I +also received a summons, and, on entering the Khalifa's hut, I found him +quite alone; he motioned to me to be seated, and I sat on the ground +beside him. + +"Abdel Kader," said he, confidentially, "I look on you as one of us; +tell me what do you think of this Frenchman?" + +"I believe he is sincere and means well," said I; "but he did not know +the Mahdi nor you; he did not understand that you trusted only in God, +and sought no support from other powers, and that this is the cause of +your continual victories, because God is with those who put their trust +in Him!" + +"You heard the Mahdi's words," continued the Khalifa, "when he said to +the Frenchman that he wished to have nothing to do with unbelievers, and +that he could defeat his enemies without their help?" + +"Most certainly I did," I replied; "and therefore the man is useless +here, and may as well return to his nation, and tell them about the +victories of the Mahdi and his commander-in-chief, the Khalifa." + +"Perhaps later," said the Khalifa; "for the present, I have ordered him +to stay with Zeki Tummal, who will take all care of him, and attend to +his wants." + +"But it will be very difficult for him to make himself understood in +Arabic," I pleaded; "he is by no means a good Arabic scholar yet." + +"He has been able to get here without an interpreter," answered the +Khalifa; "however, you have my permission to visit him." He then talked +about other things, and showed me the horses Zogal had sent him from +Darfur, some of which I knew very well. After leaving my master, I went +in search of Pain, whom I found sitting under the shade of a very +battered old tent, his head resting on his hands, and evidently in deep +thought; when he saw me, he at once rose, saying, "I don't know what to +think about it all. I have been ordered to stay here; my baggage has +been brought, and I am told that a certain Zeki has been ordered to look +after me. Why don't they let me stay with you?" + +"It is the Mahdi's nature; and the Khalifa is even worse in working his +will in contrariety to every human being under the sun. You are going +through a course of what they call 'putting one to the test in patience, +submission, and faith,'" said I, by way of sympathy; "but you need have +no fear. The Khalifa suspects us both, and is anxious to keep us apart, +so that we should not criticise his actions. Here comes Zeki Tummal. He +was with me in many a fight; I will strongly commend you to him." I had +now advanced to meet Zeki, who shook hands with me, and asked how I was. +"My friend," said I to him, "this is a stranger and your guest. I +recommend him to your kind care; be forbearing with him for old +acquaintance sake." + +"I shall let him want for nothing as far as it is in my power to do so," +he replied; and then, more slowly, he said, "but the Khalifa has told me +not to let him have any intercourse with others, and I therefore beg you +will come here only very occasionally." + +"These orders do not apply to me," said I; "just this moment I left our +master's hut, and he has given me special permission to visit your +guest. So again I beg you to treat this poor man with all +consideration." + +I then returned to Pain and tried to cheer him up, telling him that the +Khalifa had given orders he was not to be allowed to see other people; +but this, I said, was no disadvantage, for they would probably have used +the occasion to intrigue against him, and so put him in danger. As +regards myself, however, I said I would come to see him as often as +possible. + +The next morning, the Khalifa's great war-drum, called "El Mansura" (the +victorious), was beaten; this was the signal for the march to begin +again, and off we started. We generally marched from early morning till +noon only, and thus our progress was not rapid. When we halted at +midday, I went to look for Pain, and found him sitting under his tent as +before; he appeared in good health, but complained about the bad food. +Zeki, who was present whilst we were speaking, said that he had twice +sent him some asida, but he would not touch it. I explained that he was +not, of course, accustomed to native food yet, and that therefore I +proposed getting my servant to prepare some food specially for him; and, +returning at once, I ordered him to make some soup and boil some rice, +and take it to Olivier Pain. That evening the Khalifa asked me if I had +seen him. I told him I had; but that, as he was not accustomed yet to +native food, I had ordered my servant to prepare something else. I +explained that if he were forced to eat the native food he might get +ill; and that therefore, with his permission, I proposed sending him, +every now and then, something special. The Khalifa assented. "But," said +he, "you eat of our food; it would therefore be better he should get +used to it as soon as possible. By-the-bye where is Mustafa? I have not +seen him since we left Rahad?" + +"He is staying with me, and helps my servants to look after the horses +and camels," said I. + +"Then send for him," said the Khalifa. I did so; and in a few minutes he +entered and stood before us. "Where have you been? I have not seen you +for weeks," said the Khalifa, angrily. "Have you forgotten that I am +your master?" + +"With your permission I went to Abdel Kader, whom I help in his work. +You do not care for me now, and have left me alone," replied Klootz, in +an annoyed tone. + +"Then I will take good care of you in the future," cried the Khalifa, +still more angrily; and, calling in a mulazem, he ordered him to take +Mustafa to his clerk, Ben Naga, who should put him in chains. Mustafa, +without uttering a word, followed his guard. + +"Mustafa and you," continued the Khalifa, "have servants enough; and you +can quite well do without him. I took him for myself; but he left me +without any cause. I then ordered that he should serve my brother Yakub; +but he complained and left him too; and now that he is with you, he +thinks he can dispense with us altogether." + +"Pardon him," said I, "he is merciful who forgives. Let him stay with +your brother; perhaps he will improve." + +"He must remain a few days in chains," he answered, "so that he may know +I am his master; he is not the same as you, who come every day to my +door;" this he evidently said to quiet me, as he thought I was getting +annoyed. He then ordered supper to be brought in; and I ate more than +usual, so that he should not imagine I was doing anything contrary to +his orders. He talked very little during the meal, and seemed out of +spirits. After supper he made an attempt to say something kind; but I +felt that his words belied him. We then separated, and, as I returned to +my tent, I thought over the situation. I had resolved to remain on as +good terms as I could with the Khalifa, until the hour of my deliverance +should come; but his imperious character, want of consideration, and +immense self-conceit made my task a most difficult one. I had daily +before my eyes the examples of several mulazemin whom he had thrown into +chains, flogged, and deprived of their property (known as "tegrid") on +the slightest provocation. He judged very quickly, being actuated +entirely by his feelings at the moment, and loved to show that he was +master. I will now give an example of the sort of man I had to deal +with. + +Abu Anga, the commander of the Black troops (Jehadia), and his brother, +Fadl Maula, who was his assistant, were both sons of a liberated slave +who had borne them to one of the Khalifa's relatives. Fadl Maula had a +great friend and adviser in Ahmed Wad Yunes of the Shaigia tribe, and +these two presented themselves before the Khalifa one day, when Fadl +Maula asked his master's permission for Yunes to marry a certain girl, +and give him his blessing. It happened, however, that the Khalifa was in +a bad humour, and wished to show his authority; so he immediately +ordered the girl's father to be brought before him, and asked him, in +the presence of the others, if he wished to give his daughter in +marriage to Yunes; and, on the man answering in the affirmative, the +Khalifa said, "I have decided, and consider it to the girl's advantage +that she should marry Fadl Maula. Have you any objection?" Of course the +girl's father had to assent, and, without a moment's hesitation, the +Khalifa, turning to his attendants, ordered them to read the marriage +"Fatha," or form of prayer and blessing on marriage. This was done, and +dates were partaken of. The Khalifa then dismissed all those present, +and Fadl Maula departed one wife to the good, whilst Yunes was one hope +the poorer; but what the girl said about the new arrangement, I cannot +tell. + +With a master of this character, one had to be very careful. + +After five days' march, we reached Shatt, where most of the wells were +filled up, and had to be reopened, and several straw huts erected; for +the Mahdi had decided to halt here for some days. During the march, I +frequently visited Pain, who daily grew more and more disheartened about +the situation. He knew very little Arabic, and was not permitted to talk +to any one but the slaves charged with looking after him. In a few +days, the object of his mission had vanished from his mind, and he +thought now only of his wife and children. I urged him to look more +hopefully on the future, and not to give way to depressing thoughts +which would only make him more miserable. The Khalifa seemed to have +almost forgotten his existence, and scarcely ever asked for him. + +The day after our arrival at Shatt, the Mahdi's former Sheikh, Mohammed +Sherif, who had been expected for so long, at length arrived. He also +had been forced by his friends, and by fear, to come to the Mahdi as a +penitent; but the latter received him most honourably, and himself led +him to the tents he had specially pitched for him, and also presented +him with two exceptionally pretty Abyssinian girls, horses, etc. By this +generous treatment, the Mahdi attracted to himself almost all Mohammed +Sherif's secret adherents. + +In the course of time, the Khalifa forgave Mustafa, allowed him to live +with his clerk Ben Naga, and permitted him to talk to me. + +Just at the time we left Sherkéla, news arrived that Gordon's troops had +suffered a severe reverse; and now in Shatt we received the detailed +accounts of the overthrow of Mohammed Ali Pasha at Om Debban by the +Sheikh El Obeid. + +It appeared that when Gordon had defeated the Halfaya rebels at Buri, he +despatched Mohammed Ali with two thousand men to disperse the Mahdists +collected at Om Debban, the village of the Sheikh El Obeid. Mohammed +Ali's career had been very rapid: at his own request he had left me in +Darfur with the rank of adjutant-major; Gordon had promoted him to +major; and, during the siege, he had risen to the rank of colonel, and +soon afterwards to that of general. The force which he commanded against +the Sheikh El Obeid was composed mostly of irregulars, and he was +accompanied by crowds of women and slaves seeking for plunder. When on +the march between El Eilafun and Om Debban, he was attacked suddenly +from all sides, and his force was almost entirely annihilated; only a +few escaped to bring the sad news to Khartum, where the grief was +intense, and to Gordon it must have indeed been a terrible blow. + +This success had encouraged the rebels to press the siege more closely; +and now, reinforced as they were by Wad en Nejumi and his hosts, Gordon +found himself not strong enough to make a successful attack on the +Mahdists. + +From Shatt we now advanced to Duem, where the Mahdi held an enormous +review; and, pointing to the Nile, he said, "God has created this river; +He will give you its waters to drink, and you shall become the +possessors of all the lands along its banks." This speech was greeted +with shouts of joy by these wild fanatics, who at once believed that the +wonderful land of Egypt was to be their prey. + +From Duem we proceeded to Tura el Hadra, where we spent the Feast of +Great Bairam; Olivier Pain was suffering from fever, and was growing +more and more depressed. "I have tried many ventures in my life," said +he, "without thinking much beforehand of the consequences; but my coming +here was a fatal mistake. It would have been very much better for me if +the English had succeeded in preventing me from carrying out my design." +I did my best to comfort him, but he only shook his head. + +At the Feast of Bairam, the Mahdi repeated prayers in an unusually loud +voice; and when he read the "Khutba," he wept long and bitterly. We +unbelievers well knew that this weeping was hypocrisy, and boded no +good; but it had the desired effect on the fanatical crowds who had +flocked to his banners from the river tribes, and who were roused by +this touching sermon to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. + +After a halt of two days, we again moved on, creeping forward like a +great tortoise, so swelled were we by the thousands upon thousands who +were now joining daily from every part of the Sudan. Poor Olivier had +grown considerably worse; his fever had turned to typhus. He begged me +to induce the Mahdi to let him have some money, as he was so pestered by +the begging appeals of his attendants. I went to him, and explained +Pain's condition; and the Mahdi at once sent to the Beit el Mal for £5, +and wished the sick man a speedy recovery. I had also told the Khalifa +of Pain's serious illness, and that the Mahdi had given him £5; but he +blamed me for having asked for it without his permission, adding, "If he +dies here, he is a happy man. God in His goodness and omnipotence has +converted him from an unbeliever to a believer." + +Early in the morning, at the end of the first week in October, I was +sent for by Pain, and found him so weak that he could not stand up. For +two days he had not touched the food I had sent him; and, placing his +hand in mine, he said, "My last hour has come; I thank you for your +great kindness and care of me. The last favour I have to ask of you is +this: when you escape from the hands of these barbarous people, and you +happen to go to Paris, tell my unfortunate wife and children my dying +thoughts were for them." As he said these words, tears rolled down the +poor man's hollow and sunken cheeks. Again I tried to comfort him, +saying that it was too soon to give up hope; and as the war-drum was +beating for the advance, I had to hurry away and leave him. It was the +last time I saw him alive. I left behind with him one of my servants +named "Atrun" (Natron), and during the march I told the Khalifa of +Pain's condition, urging him to leave the poor man behind at some +village where he might have a few days' rest; he told me to remind him +of it that evening. The evening came, but no sick man arrived; Atrun +came alone. "Where is Yusef?" (this was Pain's Mohammedan name), said I, +for the boy seemed much agitated. "My master is dead," he answered; "and +that is the reason we are so late." "Dead!" said I. "Yes, dead and +buried," replied Atrun. + +"Tell me at once what has happened," I asked. "My master Yusef was so +weak," said he, "that he could not ride; but we had to go on marching. +Every now and then he lost consciousness; then he would come to again +and talk words we could not understand. So we tied an angareb on to the +saddle, and laid him on it; but he was too weak to hold on, and he fell +down suddenly and very heavily. After this he did not come to again, and +he was soon dead; so we wrapped him up in his farda [cotton shawl], and +buried him, and all his effects were taken to Zeki by his slaves." + +Olivier Pain was undoubtedly very seriously ill; but the fall was +probably the immediate cause of his sudden death. Poor man! with what a +high sounding mission he had come; and now this was the end of it all! I +immediately went to the Khalifa, and reported his death to him. "He is a +happy man," was his curt remark; he then despatched a mulazem to warn +Zeki to have all his effects carefully kept, and he sent me to the Mahdi +to apprise him of his end. The latter took it to heart much more than +the Khalifa, said several sympathetic words, and repeated the prayers +for the dead. + +After three days, we reached the neighbourhood of Khartum, and halted at +a place about one day's journey from the city. On our way, we had seen +Gordon's steamers in the distance; they had come up evidently to watch +our movements, and had returned again without firing. + +It was evening, and we had just finished pitching camp, when a mulazem +of the Mahdi arrived, and directed me to follow him; I went at once, and +found him sitting with Abdel Kader Wad Om Mariam, formerly Kadi of +Kalakla, and a man who exercised a great influence on the people of the +White Nile. Hussein Khalifa was also there; and I formed the fourth of +the party. + +"I have sent for you," said the Mahdi, "to tell you to write to Gordon +to save himself from certain defeat. Tell him that I am the true Mahdi, +and that he ought to surrender with his garrison, and thus save himself +and his soul. Tell him also, that if he refuses to obey, we shall every +one of us fight against him. Say that you yourself will fight against +him with your own hands. Say that victory will be ours, and that you +merely tell him this in order to avoid useless bloodshed." + +I remained silent till Hussein Khalifa called on me to answer. "O +Mahdi!" said I, "listen, I beg of you, to my words. I will be honest and +faithful; and I pray you to forgive me, if what I say is not pleasing to +you. If I write to Gordon that you are the true Mahdi, he will not +believe me; and if I threaten to fight against him with my own hands, he +will not be afraid of that. Now as you desire, under any circumstances, +to avoid shedding blood, I shall simply summon him to surrender. I shall +say that he is not strong enough to attempt to fight against you who are +ever-victorious, as he has no hope of help from outside; and, finally, I +shall say that I will be the intermediary between you and him." + +"I accept your sincere proposal," said the Mahdi; "go now and write the +letters, and to-morrow they shall be despatched to Gordon." + +I now returned to my quarters. My tent, owing to the difficulties of +transport, had been torn to shreds, and I had made a present of the rags +to some one; I had in place of it stretched some strips of cloth on +sticks, and thus provided a slight shade for myself during the daytime, +whilst at night I slept in the open. Searching about for a lantern, I +wrote the letters seated on an angareb under the open sky. First I wrote +a few lines to Gordon in French, explaining that I was writing to him +fully in German because, my French Dictionary having been burnt by the +Mahdists, who thought it was a Prayer Book, I did not feel capable of +expressing myself as I wished in that language. I said that I hoped I +should soon have an opportunity of joining him; and I prayed God that he +might be successful. I also mentioned that some of the Shaigias who had +recently joined the Mahdi did so to save their wives and children, and +not because they entertained any feelings of hostility towards Gordon. + +I then wrote a long letter to him in German, saying that I had learnt +through George Calamatino that he was annoyed at my capitulation, and +that therefore I took the liberty of placing the facts of the case +before him, begging him to form his opinion accordingly. I began by +recalling my campaigns against Sultan Harun and Dud Benga, and +explaining how, on the outbreak of the Mahdi revolt, the few officers +left, believing that Arabi Pasha had succeeded in driving the Europeans +out of the country, had spread reports that my recent defeats lay in the +fact that I was a Christian; how I had stifled the injurious effects of +these intrigues by giving out that I was a Mohammedan; and how I had, by +this means, been subsequently successful until the annihilation of +Hicks' army had cut off all hope of relief. I told him how my constant +fights had reduced my available force to some seven hundred men; that my +stock of ammunition was well-nigh exhausted; that both officers and men +desired capitulation: and what therefore could I do--a European and +alone--but submit. I told him how this surrender had been one of the +hardest acts of my life; but that as an Austrian officer I felt that I +had not acted in a dishonourable manner. I then went on to say that by +obedient and submissive behaviour I had in some measure gained the +confidence of the Mahdi and the Khalifa, and had obtained their +permission to write to him, on the pretext that I was asking him to +surrender; but that, instead, I availed myself of this opportunity to +offer him my services in order to assure him that I was ready to +conquer, or die with him, if God willed, an honourable death. Should he +agree to be an accessory to my escape to Khartum, I begged him to write +me a few lines in French to that effect; but, in order to carry through +the ruse, I suggested that he should also write me a few lines in +Arabic, asking me to obtain the Mahdi's permission to come to Omdurman, +in order to discuss with him the conditions of surrender. I went on to +tell him that Saleh Bey and several of the Sheikhs wished to express +their loyalty and devotion to him; but that, under the circumstances, +it was impossible for them to come to him, as, by so doing, they would +necessarily sacrifice their wives and children. + +I now wrote a third letter, in German, to Consul Hansal, asking him to +do his utmost to arrange that I should re-enter Khartum, as, being +thoroughly cognisant of the Mahdi's plans, intentions, strength, etc., I +believed I could be of great service to General Gordon; but, at the same +time, as rumours had been in circulation in the Mahdi's camp that, if +relief should not soon come, Gordon intended to surrender the town, and +as at that time I was quite ignorant of Gordon's prospects of relief, I +begged Consul Hansal to inform me of this, as, in the event of the town +being surrendered subsequent to my having entered Khartum, I should +naturally be the Mahdi's lawful victim on which to vent all his anger at +my escape and my efforts to aid his enemies. + +It seemed to me that it was quite reasonable on my part to seek some +such assurance. At the same time, rumours being current in the camp that +the Khartum garrison were much out of heart and wished to surrender, I +strongly urged Hansal in my letter not to feel discouraged, pointing out +that the Mahdi's forces were not so numerous as he imagined, and that it +only required energy and perseverance on the part of the Egyptian troops +to be eventually successful, and I urged that they should wait at least +six weeks, or two months, longer before submitting, so as to give the +relief expedition a chance of saving them.[12] + +I also told him there was a rumour in camp that the small steamer which +had been sent to Dongola had been wrecked at Wadi Gamr; but that I was +not at present in a position to say whether it was true or not. + +Early the next morning, the 15th October, I took these letters to the +Mahdi and he told me to send them by one of my boys to Omdurman. I at +once went and fetched Morgan Fur, a boy of about fifteen years of age, +and handed him the letters in the Mahdi's presence; and the latter +ordered Wad Suleiman to give him a donkey and some money. Before sending +him off, I gave him the most strict injunctions to speak to no one in +Khartum except to Gordon Pasha and Consul Hansal, and to assure them +that I wished to come to them. + +At midday, some horsemen arrived from Berber, confirming the news of the +wreck of the steamer, and of the murder of Colonel Stewart, and those +with him. The men brought with them all the papers and documents found +on board; and I was ordered by the Khalifa to examine those written in +European languages in Ahmed Wad Suleiman's office. Amongst them, I found +several private letters from people in Khartum, as well as official +documents and records. The most important of these was, of course, the +military report describing the daily occurrences in Khartum; it was +unsigned, but I had no doubt it was General Gordon's. A portion only of +the correspondence, etc., was shown to me; and before I had had time to +peruse it fully, I was again summoned before the Mahdi, who asked me +what the contents were. I replied, that most of them were private +letters, and that there was a military report, which I did not +understand. Unfortunately amongst the captured correspondence were +numbers of Arabic letters and reports, from which the Mahdi and the +Khalifa were able to thoroughly grasp the situation in Khartum. There +was also a half-cyphered Arabic telegram from General Gordon to His +Highness the Khedive, which Abdel Halim Effendi, formerly head clerk in +Kordofan, was able to decypher. Amongst the consular reports, I found a +notice of the death in Khartum of my old friend Ernst Marno, who had +succumbed to fever. + +The Mahdi now discussed, in my presence, what papers should be sent to +Gordon, in order to convince him that the steamer had been wrecked, and +Colonel Stewart and the others killed, thinking that this would force +Gordon to surrender. I pointed out that the only document likely to +convince Gordon, was his military report, which I suggested should be +returned; and, after a long discussion, it was decided to send it. + +The crowds accompanying the Mahdi were now complaining greatly of the +want of corn and dhurra; the price of an ardeb had risen to eighteen +medjidie dollars, which were then equivalent to about nine pounds +sterling. This extraordinary rate of exchange had been brought about by +the scarcity of dollars, in consequence of which the treasurer had +ordered the money captured at Berber--some £70,000 to £80,000 in +gold--to be sent to the Mahdi's camp; and this had been distributed. At +times, a sovereign valued even as little as a dollar and a half. Though +dhurra was so expensive, the prices of sheep and cattle were unusually +low,--a good ox or cow could be purchased for a dollar and a half or two +dollars, and a calf for half a dollar. This arose from the fact that an +immense number of cattle-owning Arabs had immigrated with the Mahdi from +the west, and had brought their flocks and herds with them to the river; +here the pasturage was quite insufficient for such quantities of +animals. The Mahdi had therefore preached a sermon to the herdsmen, to +the effect that tending flocks and herds, at the present time, was a +useless occupation, and that all their attention should now be centred +on fighting the religious war; consequently these ignorant people +followed his advice, and sold their cattle at these absurdly low rates. + +The next evening, my boy Morgan returned from his mission, but brought +no reply. When I inquired how this was, he said, he had reached Omdurman +fort, had delivered his letters, and, after waiting for a short time, +the commandant had told him to return, as there was no answer. I at once +took the boy to the Mahdi, to whom he repeated what had occurred; and +afterwards I went and informed the Khalifa. That same evening, the Mahdi +again summoned me, and ordered me to write another letter, which he said +Gordon would be sure to answer, when he heard of the loss of the +steamer. I at once expressed myself ready to carry out his wishes; and +he directed that my boy Morgan should again act as messenger. Once more +I betook myself to my angareb, and, by the flickering light of an old +lantern, scribbled another letter, reporting the loss of the steamer, +the death of Stewart, and repeating much of what I had said in my first +letters, adding that if, in his opinion, I had done anything contrary to +the honour of an officer, and if that had hindered him from writing to +me, I begged he would give me a chance of defending myself, and thus +give himself an opportunity of coming to a correct judgment. + +Early the next morning, I went again with Morgan to the Mahdi; the +latter ordered Ahmed Wad Suleiman to supply him with a donkey, and, +taking my letter, he went off, returning the following morning with a +reply from Consul Hansal, written in German, with an Arabic translation; +it ran as follows:-- + + DEAR FRIEND SLATIN BEY,--Your letters have been duly received, + and I request you will come to Tabia Ragheb Bey [Omdurman fort]. + I wish to speak to you about the steps to be taken for our + rescue; you may then return unmolested to your friend. + + Yours very truly, + (Signed) HANSAL. + +This letter puzzled me somewhat; I could not be sure if it was written +with the object merely of deceiving the Mahdi, in which case the Arabic +was amply sufficient for the purpose; but I thought he might have +written more clearly in German, though perhaps he conceived there might +have been some one else with the Mahdi who understood that language, and +I might have been thereby endangered. Then, taking the letter literally, +he seemed to hint at joining us himself,--indeed we had already heard +rumours that he, becoming alarmed at the probable fall of the town, +wished to submit with the other Austrian subjects to the Mahdi; but it +was of course quite impossible to say if he meant this or not. Then +again, as regards my joining Gordon in Khartum, could he really mean +that the latter had refused to listen to my request, or was his +expression that I "may then return unmolested to my friend" merely meant +as a blind to the Mahdi?--I confess I was utterly perplexed; my +suspense, however, was not of long duration. + +I at once took the letter to the Mahdi, and explained to him that the +Arabic text exactly corresponded with the German original. When he had +finished reading it, he asked me if I wished to go, and I replied that I +was ready to comply with his orders, and that my services were always at +his disposal. + +"I am rather afraid," said he, "that if you go to Omdurman to speak to +your Consul, Gordon may arrest or kill you. Why did he not write to you +himself, if he thinks well of you?" + +"I do not know why he is so silent," said I; "perhaps it is contrary to +his orders to enter into communication with us; however, when I meet +Hansal I may be able to arrange matters. You say you are afraid Gordon +might arrest me; but I am not, and even if he did I am quite sure you +could release me; but as to his killing me, that is altogether out of +the question." + +"Well," said the Mahdi, "get yourself ready to go, and I will let you +know." + +On my way to the Mahdi's hut, I had heard of Lupton Bey's arrival from +Bahr el Ghazal; and now, on my way back, I went in search of him, and +found him outside the Khalifa's door waiting to be received. Although it +was against rules to speak to any one before he had received the Mahdi's +pardon, I could not resist greeting him heartily, and, in a few words, +told him about the letters; and he said he earnestly hoped I might be +allowed to go to Khartum. He told me he had left his servants and the +rest of his people at some hours' distance, and he asked me to obtain +the Khalifa's permission for them to come in. A few minutes afterwards, +he was summoned before the Khalifa, obtained his pardon, was told that +he might go and bring in his people, and that he would be presented to +the Mahdi on his return. + +Meanwhile, I went back to my quarters, and lay on my angareb impatiently +awaiting my orders to be allowed to go to Omdurman; or had the Mahdi, +perhaps, changed his mind, and decided not to let me go? At length, one +of my boys came and told me that a mulazem of the Khalifa's wished to +see me, and, getting up, he told me to follow him to Yakub's camp, where +his master was waiting for me. Without a moment's delay, I bound my +turban round my head, put on my hizam (belt), and followed. At Yakub's +camp, we were told that the Khalifa had gone on to Abu Anga's zariba, +where he was waiting for us. I was beginning to get suspicious; all this +wandering about at night was very unusual. I knew how deceitful these +people were, and I was therefore prepared for any eventuality. Arrived +at Abu Anga's zariba, we were admitted by the sentry. It was an immense +enclosure filled with little shelters made of strips of cotton fixed on +poles, and separated from each other by small dhurra-stalk fences. We +were directed to one of these shelters, and there, by the dim light of a +lantern, I saw Yakub, Abu Anga, Fadl el Maula, Zeki Tummal, and Hajji +Zubeir seated round in a circle talking earnestly; behind them stood +several armed men; but no trace was to be seen of the Khalifa who, I had +been told, had sent for me. I was now almost certain in my own mind that +foul play was intended. The mulazem advanced and spoke to Yakub, and I +was then summoned to enter, and to place myself between Hajji Zubeir and +Fadl el Maula, while opposite to me sat Abu Anga. + +"Abdel Kader," began Abu Anga, "you have promised to be faithful to the +Mahdi; and it is your duty to keep your word; it is also your duty to +obey orders, even should you suffer thereby. Is not this so?" + +"Certainly," said I, "and you, Abu Anga, if you give me any orders from +the Mahdi or the Khalifa, you will see that I know how to obey them." + +"I received orders to make you a prisoner; but I do not know the +reason," said he; and, as he spoke, Hajji Zubeir snatched away my sword, +which, as was customary, I had laid across my knees whilst speaking, +and, handing it to Zeki Tummal, he seized my right arm with both hands. + +"I did not come here to fight," said I to Hajji Zubeir; "why should you +seize my arm; but you, Abu Anga, of course you must do as you are +bidden." + +What I had often inflicted on others, I was now about to undergo myself. +Abu Anga then stood up, and also Hajji Zubeir and myself, when the +latter let go my arm. + +"Go to that tent," said Abu Anga, pointing to a shelter which, in the +dark, I could scarcely see, "and you, Hajji Zubeir and the rest, go with +him." + +Accompanied by my gaoler, and some eight others, I went to the tent, +where I was directed to sit on the ground, and chains were now brought +out. Two large iron rings, bound together by a thick iron bar, were +slipped over my feet, and then hammered close; an iron ring was placed +round my neck, and to this was attached a long iron chain with the links +so arranged that I had the greatest difficulty in moving my head. I +endured all this in perfect silence; Hajji Zubeir then left, and I was +told, by the two soldiers who were guarding me, to lie down on the +palm-mat close by. + +Left to myself, I had now time to collect my thoughts; and, first of +all, I bitterly regretted not having attempted to escape on my horse to +Khartum; but who could tell if Gordon would have received me? Now, in +accordance with the Mahdi's orders, I was out of harm's way; but what +was to be my fate? Was it to be that of Mohammed Pasha Said and Ali Bey +Sherif? I was not in the habit of worrying about my personal concerns, +and making life miserable. What had Madibbo told me, "Be obedient and +patient; for he who lives long sees much." I had been obedient; it was +now my turn to practise patience; and as for a long life, that was +entirely in God's hands. + +About an hour later, during which, as may be imagined, I had not slept, +I saw several mulazemin approaching, carrying lanterns, and, as they +neared the tent, I made out Khalifa Abdullahi walking in the middle. I +stood up and waited for him. + +"Abdel Kader," said he, when he saw me standing in front of him, "are +you submitting with resignation to your fate?" + +"Since my childhood," I replied quietly, "I have been accustomed to be +obedient; now I must be obedient whether I like it or no." + +"Your friendship with Saleh Wad el Mek," said he, "and your +correspondence with Gordon, have cast suspicion on you, and we doubt if +your heart is still inclined to us; that is the reason I have ordered +you to be forcibly directed in the right way." + +"I made no secret of my friendship with Saleh Wad el Mek," said I; "he +is a friend of mine, and I believe he is loyal to you. As regards my +correspondence with Gordon, the Mahdi ordered me to write the letters." + +"Did he also order you to write what you did?" interrupted the Khalifa. +"I think I wrote what the Mahdi required," I replied; "and no one knows +the contents except myself and the person who received the letters. All +I require, sire, is justice; and I beg that you will pay no heed to +lying intriguers." + +I was again alone, and tried to sleep, but was too excited. All sorts of +strange thoughts and ideas coursed through my brain; the iron round my +feet and neck too pained me considerably, and I could get no rest. I +scarcely got a wink of sleep that night; and, at sunrise, Abu Anga came, +followed by servants carrying some dishes of food. Seating himself +beside me on the palm-mat, the food was placed before us; it was quite a +feast, composed of meal, chickens, rice and milk, honey, roast meat and +asida. But when I told him I had absolutely no appetite, he said, "I +think, Abdel Kader, you are afraid; and that is why you do not eat." + +"No," I replied, "it is not fear, but want of appetite. However, to +please you, I will try and eat something;" and I managed to swallow a +few mouthfuls, whilst Abu Anga did all he could to show that I was his +honoured guest. + +"The Khalifa," said he, "was rather disappointed yesterday, when he saw +you were not humbled; and remarked you were strong-headed, and that, he +supposed, was the reason you were not afraid." + +"How could I throw myself at his feet," said I, "and crave his pardon +for a crime I never committed? I am in his hands, and he can do as he +likes with me." + +"To-morrow, we shall advance," said Abu Anga, "and draw nearer to +Khartum; we shall press the siege more closely, and then make a sudden +attack. I shall ask the Khalifa to let you stay with me; that will be +less hard for you than going to the common prison." + +I thanked him for his kindness, and he then left. + +All that day, I was quite alone, but went through my prayers most +carefully in the sight of the bystanders, holding in my hand the rosary +which all good Mohammedans carry; but in reality I was repeating over +and over again the Lord's prayer. In the far distance, near Abu Anga's +tent, I caught sight of my servants and horses and the little baggage I +had. One of my boys also came and told me he had been ordered to attach +himself to Abu Anga. + +Early the next morning, the great war-drum sounded the advance; tents +were struck, baggage packed and loaded on camels, and the whole camp was +in movement. The weight of iron on my feet prevented me from walking, so +they brought me a donkey; the long neck-chain--the number of +figure-of-eight links of which I had amused myself in counting, and +which amounted to eighty-three, each about a span long--I wrapped round +and round my body, and in this iron casing I was lifted on to the +donkey, and held in position by a man on each side, otherwise my weight +would have made me overbalance and fall. On the march, several of my old +friends passed, but dared do nothing but pity me in silence. We halted +on some rising ground in the afternoon, and from here I could see the +palm-trees in Khartum; how I longed, as one of its garrison, to join in +its defence! + +The order was now given to make a temporary camp in this position, under +Khalifa Abdullahi, whilst the principal Emirs went forward to select the +site for a permanent camp. By this time, the pangs of hunger had seized +me, and I longed for some of the food which Abu Anga had offered me +yesterday; but the latter was now with the Khalifa, and had evidently +forgotten all about us. However, the wife of one of my guards found him +out, and brought him some stale dhurra-bread, which he shared with me. +Next morning, we were again ordered to advance, and halted about an hour +further on, at the spot selected for the main camp. As Abu Anga had +promised, it was now arranged that I should definitely remain under his +charge; a tattered old tent was pitched for me, and around it, close to +the tent ropes, a thorn zariba was made. I was put in here, and the +entrance, which was guarded by soldiers, was blocked by a large +thorn-bush. + +The Mahdi now ordered the siege to be vigorously pressed; that evening +several Emirs were sent over to the east bank of the White Nile to +reinforce Wad en Nejumi and Abu Girga; and all the local people were +summoned to join in the investment. Abu Anga and Fadl el Maula were told +off to besiege Omdurman fort, which was situated about five hundred +yards from the river, on the west bank, and was defended by Faragalla +Pasha,--a Sudanese officer who, in the space of one year, had been +promoted from the rank of captain to that of general officer, by Gordon. +Abu Anga succeeded in establishing himself between the fort and the +river; and, by digging deep trenches, he obtained sufficient shelter to +hold this advanced position in spite of the heavy fire from both the +fort and the steamers; one of the latter he succeeded in sinking by +shells fired from a gun he had placed in position; but the crew managed +to escape to Khartum.[13] + +During the siege, I was quite neglected; my guards were changed every +day, and my welfare entirely depended on their treatment of me. If they +happened to be slaves who had been captured, I was most carefully +watched, and permitted to have no intercourse with any one; but if they +happened to be old soldiers who knew me, I was not so closely +restrained, and they often did me little services, though they prevented +me from speaking to any one. My food was of the very worst description; +and, Abu Anga being always occupied in the siege, I was left to the +tender mercies of his wives, to whom he had given orders to feed me. + +On one occasion, one of my former soldiers happened to be on guard over +me, and I sent him with a message to Abu Anga's chief wife, complaining +that I had been kept without food for two days; and I got back the +answer, "Well, does Abdel Kader think we are going to fatten him up +here, whilst his uncle, Gordon Pasha, does nothing but fire shells all +day at our master, whose life is always in danger through his fault? If +he had made his uncle submit, he would not now be in chains." From her +own standpoint, the woman's views were perfectly justifiable. + +Occasionally, some of the Greeks were allowed to come and see me, and +they used to tell me the news. + +On the day we arrived here, poor Lupton Bey was also thrown into chains, +as he was suspected of attempting to join Gordon; besides, when his +effects were searched, a document was found, signed by all the officers +of his regular troops, stating that he had been forced to surrender his +province. His wife and little daughter of five years old were sent to +live at the Beit el Mal. The former had been brought up as a Black +servant girl in the house of Rosset, formerly German Consul at Khartum, +and, on his being appointed Governor of Darfur, she had accompanied him +there; on his death at El Fasher, she went with Lupton to Equatoria and +Bahr el Ghazal. By the Khalifa's orders, all Lupton's property was +confiscated; but he allowed his wife and child the services of a Black +female slave to help them in their daily work. + +One day, George Calamatino brought me the news that the English army, +under Lord Wolseley, was advancing slowly, and had reached Dongola; but +they had delayed too long in Upper Egypt, and now that Khartum was in +the greatest danger, their advanced guard was no further south than +Dongola: under these circumstances, when could their main body arrive? + +Some time after the proclamation of the abandonment of the Sudan had +been made known, Gordon had given the Khartum people to understand that +an English army was coming up to relieve them; and he had thus inspired +the garrison and inhabitants with hope and courage. They had been, so to +speak, given a new lease of life, and all eyes were anxiously turned to +the north, from whence the expected help was to come. Would it come in +time?--that was the question. + +These days passed in my tattered tent were full of hopes and fears. It +was not that I was concerned about my own safety, but I could not help +anticipating coming events with the greatest anxiety; how would it all +end, and what was to be my future? + +Poor Lupton, in company with some Dervishes, was forced to work a gun +which had been placed in position opposite Tuti Island. He had been +promised that, in recompense for this work, the condition of his wife +and child would be improved, and they would be given better means of +subsistence. + +Abdalla Wad Ibrahim also came to me, and said it was the Mahdi's earnest +wish that I should take charge of a gun; and, if I worked it faithfully, +he would give me my liberty. I replied that I was too ill and weak to +work laden with these chains; and, besides, I had no idea how guns were +worked; and that therefore it was impossible for me to buy my liberty at +this price. + +"Perhaps," said Wad Ibrahim, "you are unwilling to fire on Gordon, who +is said to be your uncle, and that is your reason for making these +excuses?" + +"I have neither uncle nor any other relatives in Khartum," said I; "and +my shells alone would certainly not force Khartum to surrender; however, +my present state of health will not admit of my undertaking this work." + +Abdalla rose and left me; and, a few hours later, some of the Khalifa's +mulazemin came and forged on to my ankles another set of iron rings and +a bar,--to humble me I suppose; but as the weight I already bore +prevented me from standing upright, and I was obliged to remain lying +down day and night, an iron more or less did not make much difference. + +The next few days passed without anything noteworthy occurring. +Occasionally I heard the crack of the rifles and the booming of the guns +of besieger and besieged; but the Greeks were not allowed to come and +see me now, and I was in complete ignorance of what was going on. + +One night about four hours after sunset, when blessed sleep, which makes +one forget all one's troubles, was gradually stealing over me, I was +suddenly roused by the sentry, and ordered to get up at once; as I did +so, I saw one of the Khalifa's mulazemin, who announced that his master +was just coming; and, as he spoke, I saw men approaching carrying +lanterns. What could the Khalifa want of me at such an hour? I asked +myself in great perplexity. + +"Abdel Kader," said he, in a kindly tone, as he approached, "sit down;" +and, his servants having stretched out his sheepskin, he sat on it +beside me. "I have here," he continued, "a piece of paper; and I want +you to tell me what is written on it, and so prove to me your fidelity." + +"Certainly, if I can do so," said I, taking the paper. It was about half +the size of a cigarette paper, and there was plain writing in black ink +on both sides of it. I at once recognised Gordon's handwriting and +signature; I held the paper close to the lantern, and saw the following +words written in French:-- + + I have about 10,000 men; can hold Khartum at the outside till + the end of January. Elias Pasha wrote to me; he was forced to do + so. He is old and incapable; I forgive him. Try Hajji Mohammed + Abu Girga, or sing another song. GORDON. + +There was nothing to show for whom it was intended. I was certain there +was no one in the camp who knew French, and that was the reason the +Khalifa had come to me. + +"Now, then," said the Khalifa, impatiently, "have you made out what it +means?" + +"The note is from Gordon," said I, "and it is written with his own hand, +in French cypher language, which I cannot understand." + +"What do you say?" said the Khalifa, now evidently much agitated; +"explain yourself better." + +"There are some words written here the sense of which I cannot make +out," said I; "every word has its own special meaning, and can only be +understood by those accustomed to the use of cyphers; if you ask any of +the old officials, they will confirm what I say." + +"I was told that the names of Elias Pasha and Hajji Mohammed Abu Girga +are mentioned; is this so?" roared the Khalifa, now thoroughly angry. + +"The man who said that told you the truth, and I also can read their +names; but it is impossible for me to understand the reference. Perhaps +the man who told you their names were there can make out the rest of the +letter," said I, somewhat ironically; "besides I can also make out +10,000 in figures; but whether it means soldiers, or something else, it +is quite impossible for me to say." + +He now seized the paper from my hand, and stood up. + +"Pardon me," said I, "I would with pleasure have proved my fidelity to +you, and have thus regained your gracious favour; but it is out of my +power. I think your clerks understand about cyphers better than I do." + +"Even if I do not know what this paper contains," said the Khalifa, +"still Gordon shall fall, and Khartum will be ours;" and then he +departed, leaving me alone with my guards. + +Gordon had said in his little note that he could hold Khartum at the +outside till the end of January; we were now nearly at the end of +December. Could the rescuing army possibly arrive in time? But why +should I worry myself with such thoughts? Here am I in chains, and +utterly useless to any one, and nothing I can do can change the course +of things. + +The next morning, I had a visit from a Greek, now called Abdullahi, who +had been appointed Emir of the Muslimania (Christians who had become +Moslems.) Without letting him know that the Khalifa had come to me the +previous night, I asked him what was the news, and whether anything was +known of the English expedition. He told me that the advanced guard had +reached Debbeh, and was about to advance to Metemmeh; that the Mahdi +knew all about this, and had ordered all the Barabra and Jaalin to +collect at Metemmeh under Mohammed el Kheir, and await the enemy. He +told me that the siege was drawn more closely round Khartum, and that, +the previous day, the garrison had attempted to make a sortie, but had +been forced back; that Sanjak Mohammed Kafr Jod, the brother of the +imprisoned Saleh Wad el Mek, had been killed, that his head had been cut +off and sent to the Khalifa, who had ordered it to be thrown at the feet +of Saleh, who was gazing at the ground. Recognising instantly his +brother's head, but without the slightest change of countenance, Saleh +said, "Di gizahu, di kismathu" (This is his punishment, this is his +fate); then, turning to the saier (commander of the prison), he said to +him, "Did you mean by this to startle me, or inspire me with fear?" What +nerves and self-control the man must have had! + +The next day, one of my guards told me that Mohammed Khaled had sent +reinforcements of men and some ammunition from Darfur to the Mahdi; also +that some of the Emirs of Khalifa Ali Wad Helu's flag had received +orders to leave for Metemmeh, under the command of his brother, Musa Wad +Helu. No doubt there was something in the wind. + +It was now the beginning of January, and Gordon had said he could hold +out till the end of the month; so the decisive moment was drawing closer +and closer. + +During the next few days, there was very heavy firing between the +Dervishes and Omdurman fort. Faragalla Pasha was doing his utmost; and, +in spite of the small number of his men, he attempted a sortie, but was +driven back. The supplies in the fort were finished, and negotiations +were now going on for its surrender. Faragalla had signalled to Gordon +for instructions; but the latter, being unable to support him, had told +him to capitulate. The entire garrison received the Mahdi's pardon. The +men had nothing but the clothes in which they stood, and their wives and +children were all in Khartum. As they marched out, the Mahdists marched +in, but were almost immediately driven out again by the artillery fire +from Khartum; in the fort itself there were two breech-loading guns, but +their range did not extend as far as the town. The surrender took place +on 15th January, 1885. + +Although Omdurman had now fallen, the Mahdi did not send any +reinforcements to the besiegers south and east of Khartum; he well knew +that the number of his followers collected there was quite sufficient +for the purpose. Both he and the garrison of Khartum now looked, with +the most intense anxiety, towards the north from whence the final +decision must be awaited. + +Gordon Pasha had sent five steamers to Metemmeh some time ago, under +Khashm el Mus and Abdel Hamid Wad Mohammed, in order to await the +arrival of the English, and bring some of them, with the necessary +supplies, to Khartum as soon as possible. No doubt he was expecting +their arrival with the greatest anxiety. He had staked everything on +this; and no one knew what had become of them. + +At the beginning of the month, Gordon had allowed several of the +families to leave Khartum. Up to that time, he could not bear to +forcibly drive them out of the town; and, in consequence, he had been +obliged to make a daily distribution of hundreds of okes of biscuit and +dhurra amongst these destitute people; and for that he had, no doubt, +God's reward, but he thereby ruined himself and his valuable men. Every +one was crying out for bread, and the stores were almost empty! He now +did all he could to induce the people to leave the town. Had he only +done so two or three months earlier, there would have been ample +supplies to last the troops a long time; but Gordon, thinking that help +was coming so soon to him, to the troops, and to the inhabitants, did +not provide for possible detentions. Did he think that it was out of the +question for an English expedition to be delayed? + +Six days after the fall of Omdurman, loud weeping and wailing filled our +camp; since I had left Darfur I had not heard anything like it. The +Mahdi's doctrine forbade the display of sorrow and grief for those who +died, or were killed, because they had entered into the joys of +Paradise. Something very unusual must therefore have happened to make +the people dare to transgress the Mahdi's regulations. My guards, who +were old soldiers, were so curious to know the cause that they left me +to make inquiries, and, in a few minutes, brought back the startling +news, that the English advanced guard had met the combined force of +Barabra, Jaalin, Degheim, and Kenana, under Musa Wad Helu at Abu Teleh +(Abu Klea), and had utterly defeated them; thousands had fallen, and the +few who had survived had returned, many of them wounded. The Degheim and +Kenana had been almost annihilated; Musa Wad Helu, and most of the +Emirs, had fallen. + +What news!--my heart was literally thumping with joyous excitement. +After all these long years, a crowning victory at last! The Mahdi and +Khalifa at once gave orders that all this noise should cease; but for +hours the weeping and wailing of the women continued. Instructions were +now given to Nur Angara to start off with troops towards Metemmeh; but +what good would this do, even if he had had the will, which he had not, +what could he do with a few troops when thousands and thousands of wild +fanatics had failed? Within the next two or three days, came the news of +other defeats at Abu Kru and Kubba (Gubat), and of the erection of a +fort on the Nile close to Metemmeh. The Mahdi and his principal Emirs +now held a consultation. All the wonderful victories they had gained up +to the present were at stake; for those besieging Khartum were terrified +and had retired. It was now the question of a few days only, and the +Mahdi was done. They must risk everything. Consequently, orders were +sent out to the besiegers to collect and make all preparations. Why did +the long expected steamers with the English troops not come? Did their +commanders not know Khartum, and the lives of all in it, were hanging by +a thread? In vain did I, and thousands of others, wait for the shrill +whistle of the steamer, and for the booming of the guns announcing that +the English had arrived, and were passing the entrenchments made by the +Dervishes to oppose them. Yes, in vain! The delay was inexplicable; what +could it mean? Had new difficulties arisen? + +It was now Sunday, the 25th of January,--a day I shall never forget as +long as I live. That evening, when it was dark, the Mahdi and his +Khalifas crossed over in a boat to where their warriors were all +collected ready for the fight. It was known during the day that Khartum +would be attacked the next morning; and the Mahdi had now gone to brace +up his followers for the fray by preaching to them the glories of Jehad, +and urging them to fight till death. Pray Heaven Gordon may have got the +news, and made his preparations to resist in time! + +On this occasion, the Mahdi and his Khalifas had most strictly enjoined +their followers to restrain their feelings, and receive the last +injunctions in silence, instead of with the usual shouts and +acclamations, which might awaken the suspicions of the exhausted and +hungry garrison. His solemn harangue over, the Mahdi recrossed, and +returned to the camp at dawn, leaving with the storming party only +Khalifa Sherif, who had begged to be allowed to join in the holy battle. + +That night was for me the most excitingly anxious one in my life. If +only the attack were repulsed, Khartum would be saved; otherwise, all +would be lost. Utterly exhausted, I was just dropping off to sleep at +early dawn, when I was startled by the deafening discharge of thousands +of rifles and guns; this lasted for a few minutes, then only occasional +rifle-shots were heard, and now all was quiet again. It was scarcely +light, and I could barely distinguish objects. Could this possibly be +the great attack on Khartum? A wild discharge of fire-arms and cannon, +and in a few minutes complete stillness? + +The sun was now rising red over the horizon; what would this day bring +forth? Excited and agitated, I awaited the result with intense +impatience. Soon shouts of rejoicing and victory were heard in the +distance; and my guards ran off to find out the news. In a few minutes, +they were back again, excitedly relating how Khartum had been taken by +storm, and was now in the hands of the Mahdists. Was it possible the +news was false? I crawled out of my tent, and scanned the camp; a great +crowd had collected before the quarters of the Mahdi and Khalifa, which +were not far off; then there was a movement in the direction of my tent; +and I could see plainly they were coming towards me. In front, marched +three Black soldiers; one named Shatta, formerly belonging to Ahmed Bey +Dafalla's slave body-guard, carried in his hands a bloody cloth in which +something was wrapped up, and behind him followed a crowd of people +weeping. The slaves had now approached my tent, and stood before me with +insulting gestures; Shatta undid the cloth and showed me the head of +General Gordon! + +The blood rushed to my head, and my heart seemed to stop beating; but, +with a tremendous effort of self-control, I gazed silently at this +ghastly spectacle. His blue eyes were half-opened; the mouth was +perfectly natural; the hair of his head, and his short whiskers, were +almost quite white. + +"Is not this the head of your uncle the unbeliever?" said Shatta, +holding the head up before me. + +"What of it?" said I, quietly. "A brave soldier who fell at his post; +happy is he to have fallen; his sufferings are over." + +[Illustration: Bringing Gordon's Head to Slatin.] + +"Ha, ha!" said Shatta, "so you still praise the unbeliever; but you will +soon see the result;" and, leaving me, he went off to the Mahdi, bearing +his terrible token of victory; behind him followed the crowd, still +weeping. + +I re-entered my tent. I was now utterly broken-hearted: Khartum fallen, +and Gordon dead! And this was the end of the brave soldier who had +fallen at his post,--the end of a man whose courage and utter disregard +of fear were remarkable, and whose personal characteristics had given +him a celebrity in the world which was quite exceptional. + +Of what use was the English army now? How fatal had been the delay at +Metemmeh! The English advanced guard had reached Gubat on the Nile, on +the 20th of January, at 10 A. M.; on the 21st, Gordon's four steamers +had arrived. Then why did they not send some Englishmen on board, no +matter how few, and despatch them instantly to Khartum? If they could +only have been seen in the town, the garrison would have taken fresh +hope, and would have fought tooth and nail against the enemy; whilst the +inhabitants, who had lost all confidence in Gordon's promises, would +have joined most heartily in resisting the Dervish attack, knowing that +the relief expedition was now certain to reach them. Gordon, of course, +had done his utmost to hold the town: he had announced that an English +army was coming; he had made a paper currency; had distributed +decorations and honours almost daily, in order to keep up the hearts of +the garrison; and, as the position had become more desperate, he had +made almost superhuman efforts to induce the troops to hold out; but +despair had taken possession of them. What was the use of all these +decorations now; what good were all their ranks and honours? And as for +the paper money, perhaps there were one or two still hopeful people who +would buy a pound note for a couple of piastres,[14] on the chance that, +by some stroke of luck, the Government might yet be victorious; but +gradually even these slender hopes disappeared. Gordon's promises were +no longer credited; if but one steamer with a few English officers had +reached the town, to bring the news that they had won a victory, and had +reached the Nile, the troops and inhabitants would have doubted no +longer, and they would have been convinced that Gordon's words were +true. An English officer would at once have noticed that part of the +lines which had been damaged by the overflow of the White Nile, and +could have ordered its repair. But what could Gordon do single-handed, +and without the assistance of any European officers; it was impossible +for him to look to everything, nor had he the means of seeing that his +orders were carried out to his satisfaction. How was it possible for a +commander who could not give his troops food, to expect these starving +men to carry out with precision and energy the instructions he issued? + +On the unfortunate night of the 25th of January, Gordon was told that +the Mahdists had decided to make an attack; and he had issued his orders +accordingly. Perhaps he himself doubted if they would attack so early in +the morning. At the time the Mahdi was crossing the river, Gordon, to +stimulate his followers, had made a display of fireworks in the town; +various coloured rockets were fired, and the band played, with the +object of reviving the flagging spirits of the famished garrison. The +display was over, the music had ceased, and Khartum was asleep, whilst +the enemy crept cautiously and silently forward to the attack. They knew +all the weak and strong points of the lines of defence; they knew also +that the regulars were stationed at the strong points, and that the +broken-down parapet and tumbled-in ditch near the White Nile were weakly +defended by the feeble inhabitants. This particular part of the lines +was sadly out of repair; it had never been actually completed, and, when +damaged by the water, no steps had been taken to re-make it. Every day +the Nile became lower, and every day exposed a broader strip of +undefended wet mud, which the hungry and hopeless people merely made a +show of defending. It was opposite to this open space that, at early +dawn, the bulk of the attacking force had collected, whilst the other +portion of the Mahdist army faced the main position. At a given signal, +the attack began. Those holding the White Nile flank, after firing a few +shots, fled precipitately; and, while the troops were occupied in +repelling the storming parties in their immediate front, thousands and +thousands of wild Arabs, dashing through the mud and water which was +only up to their knees, poured into the town, and, to their dismay, the +defenders on the lines found themselves attacked from the rear. Very +slight resistance was made, and most of the troops laid down their arms. +Numbers of the Egyptians were massacred; but, of the Blacks, few were +killed, whilst the enemy's losses within the lines did not exceed eighty +to one hundred men. Soon afterwards, the gates were opened by the +Dervishes, and the troops were permitted to march out to the Mahdist +camp. + +Once the line of the White Nile was crossed, the great mass of the enemy +rushed towards the town. "Lil Saraya! lil Kenisa!" (To the Palace! to +the Church!) was the cry; for it was here they expected to find the +treasure and Gordon, who had so long defended the city against them, and +had up to that day defied all their efforts. Amongst the leaders in the +attack on the Palace were the followers of Makin Wad en Nur, who was +afterwards killed at the battle of Toski, and belonged to the Arakin +tribe; Makin's brother Abdalla Wad en Nur, their beloved leader, had +been killed during the siege, and they were now seeking to avenge his +death. Many of Abu Girga's men were also forward in the rush to the +Palace; they wanted to wipe out the defeat they had suffered when Gordon +had driven them out of Burri. The Palace servants who lived in the +basement were instantly massacred; and Gordon himself, standing on the +top of the steps leading to the divan, awaited the approach of the +Arabs. Taking no notice of his question, "Where is your master the +Mahdi?" the first man up the steps plunged his huge spear into his body; +he fell forward on his face, without uttering a word. His murderers +dragged him down the steps to the Palace entrance; and here his head +was cut off, and at once sent over to the Mahdi at Omdurman, whilst his +body was left to the mercy of those wild fanatics. Thousands of these +inhuman creatures pressed forward merely to stain their swords and +spears with his blood; and soon all that remained was a heap of mangled +flesh. For a long time, stains of blood marked the spot where this +atrocity took place; and the steps, from top to bottom, for weeks bore +the same sad traces, until they were at last washed off when the Khalifa +decided to make the Palace an abode for his former and his future wives. + +When Gordon's head was brought to the Mahdi, he remarked he would have +been better pleased had they taken him alive; for it was his intention +to convert him, and then hand him over to the English Government in +exchange for Ahmed Arabi Pasha, as he had hoped that the latter would +have been of assistance to him in helping him to conquer Egypt. My own +opinion, however, is that this regret on the part of the Mahdi was +merely assumed; for had he expressed any wish that Gordon's life should +be spared, no one would have dared to disobey his orders. + +Gordon had done his utmost to save the lives of the Europeans who were +with him. Colonel Stewart, with some of the Consuls and many of the +Europeans, he had allowed to go to Dongola; but unfortunately the +incapable and disaffected crew of their steamer, the "Abbas," had run +her on to a rock in the cataracts, and had thus given up him and his +companions to the treacherous death which had been prepared for them. On +the pretext that the Greeks were good men on boats, Gordon had offered +them a steamer, on which it was arranged they should make a visit of +inspection on the White Nile, thus intending to give them an opportunity +to escape south to join Emin Pasha; but they had refused to accept. +Being much concerned as to their safety, Gordon now made another +proposal: he ordered all roads leading towards the Blue Nile to be +placed out of bounds after ten o'clock at night; and he charged the +Greeks with watching them, so that they might have a chance of escaping +to a steamer moored close by, in which it was arranged they should +escape; but, owing to a disagreement between themselves as to the +details of the plan, it fell through. I have little doubt in my own mind +that these Greeks did not really wish to leave the town. In their own +homes and in Egypt most of them had been very poor, and had held merely +subordinate positions; but here in the Sudan many had made their +fortunes, and were therefore by no means anxious to quit a country from +which they had reaped so great advantages. + +Gordon seemed anxious about the safety of every one but himself. Why did +he neglect to make a redoubt, or keep within the fortifications, the +central point of which might well have been the Palace? From a military +point of view I think this is a fair criticism; but probably Gordon did +not do so, lest he should be suspected of being concerned for his own +safety; and it was probably a similar idea which influenced him in his +decision not to have a strong guard at the Palace. He might well have +employed a company of soldiers for this purpose; and who would have +thought of questioning the advantage of protecting himself? With a guard +of this strength, he could easily have reached the steamer "Ismaïlia," +which was lying close to the Palace, scarcely three hundred yards from +the gate. Fagarli, the captain, saw the enemy rushing to the Palace. In +vain he waited for Gordon; and it was only when the latter was killed, +and he saw the Dervishes making for his boat, that he steamed off into +mid-stream, and moved backwards and forwards along the front of the town +until he received a message from the Mahdi offering him pardon. As his +wife and family and some of his crew were in the city, he accepted the +offer and landed; but how sadly had he been deluded. Rushing to his +home, he found his son--a boy of ten years old--lying dead on the +doorstep, whilst his wife, in her agony, had thrown herself on her +child's body, and lay pierced with several lances. + +The cruelties and atrocities perpetrated in the terrible massacre which +followed Gordon's death are beyond description. Male and female slaves, +and young, good-looking women of the free tribes, alone were spared; and +if some others succeeded in escaping, they had only to thank a lucky +chance which saved them from the merciless bloodshed of that awful day. +Not a few resolved to put an end to their own lives; amongst these was +Mohammed Pasha Hussein, the head of the Finance, who, standing beside +the dead bodies of his only daughter and her husband, was urged by some +friends to fly with them, and let them save him; but he refused. They +tried to take him by force; but, in a loud voice, he heaped curses on +the Mahdi and his followers, and some fanatics passing by soon +despatched him. Several people were killed by their former servants and +slaves, who, having previously joined the enemy, now acted as guides to +the wild hordes thirsting for blood, plunder, and rapine. + +Fathalla Gehami, a wealthy Syrian (whose wife was the daughter of the +wholesale French dealer Contarini, and to whom, on her father's death +some years ago, I had given a lodging with her little child in my +house), had buried all his money in a corner of his house, with the +assistance of his servant, a Dongola boy whom he had brought up from +quite a child. None but he, his wife Lisa, and his boy knew the secret +hiding-place; and when the situation became so serious in the town, he +called up the lad and, in his wife's presence, said to him, "Mohammed, I +have taken care of you since you were quite a child, and I trust you; +you know where the money is hidden. Our condition is gradually growing +worse. You have relatives with the Mahdi; you can go to them, and if the +Government is victorious you can return to me without fear of +punishment. But should the Mahdi conquer, then you can repay me for my +kindness to you." Obedient to his master's wishes, the boy left the +town, and, on the morning of the attack, he, with some of his relatives, +rushed to his employer's house. "Open, open!" he shouted at the top of +his voice; "I am your child, your servant Mohammed." Fathalla Gehami +joyfully opened the great iron gate which had been so strengthened and +barred that it defied entry; and in an instant his faithless servant had +plunged his spear into his body. Dashing with his friends over his +master's prostrate form, he made for the hiding-place of the money, and +instantly seized it; on his way out of the house, he rushed at +Fathalla's wife, who had seen the whole proceedings of this ungrateful +young bloodhound, and would have killed her too, but she threw herself +on the body of her husband, who was in his death-agony; and Mohammed's +friends with difficulty drew him off before he had time to plunge his +knife into the poor woman who had been his kind protectress for so many +years. + +The Greek Consul Leontides was called out of his house by a crowd of +fanatics who had been worked up into a state of excitement by a man who +owed him money; and, on his appearance, he was instantly killed. Consul +Hansal was murdered by one of his own kavasses, who afterwards tied his +hands together, dragged the body out of the house, poured spirits over +it, heaped on it all the tobacco he could find, set it on fire, and, +when it was reduced to cinders, threw the remains into the river. Butros +Bulos, a clerk in the finance office, was perhaps the only man who came +well out of that awful day. He lived in a detached house, and had +collected round him his relatives; for some time they defended +themselves most successfully against all comers, and killed a number of +them. When summoned at last to surrender, he said he would only do so if +he were promised the Mahdi's pardon, and a guarantee that he should not +be separated from his family; as it was impossible to turn him out +without bringing up guns to bombard the house, Khalifa Sherif gave him +the pardon he required, which, curiously enough, was subsequently +ratified by the Mahdi. + +The Shaigia post on Tuti Island surrendered after Khartum had fallen; +and the garrison were brought across to Omdurman in boats. + +One could fill a volume with the details of the terrible atrocities +committed on that memorable day; yet I doubt if the fate of the +survivors was very much better. When all the houses were occupied, the +search for treasure began, and no excuse or denial was accepted; whoever +was suspected of having concealed money (and the majority of the +inhabitants had done so) was tortured until the secret was disclosed, or +until he succeeded in convincing his tormentors that he had nothing. +There was no sparing of the lash; the unfortunate people were flogged +until their flesh hung down in shreds from their bodies. Another torture +was to tie men up by their thumbs to a beam, and leave them dangling in +the air till they became unconscious; or two small pliant slips of +bamboo were tied horizontally to their temples, and the two ends, before +and behind, being joined together and twisted as tightly as possible, +were struck with vibrating sticks which produced agony inexpressible. +Even women of an advanced age were tormented in this way; and the +most sensitive parts of their bodies were subjected to a species of +torture which it is impossible for me to describe here. Suffice it to +say that the most appalling methods were resorted to in order to +discover hidden treasure. Young women and girls only were exempted from +these abominable tortures, for no other reason than that such atrocities +might interfere in some manner with the object for which they had been +reserved. All such were put aside for the harem of the Mahdi, who, on +the actual day of the conquest, made his selections, and turned over the +rejected ones to his Khalifas and principal Emirs. This picking and +choosing continued for weeks together, until the households of these +libidinous and inhuman scoundrels were stocked to overflowing with all +the unfortunate youth and beauty of the fallen city. + +The next day, a general amnesty was given to all, with the exception of +the Shaigia, who were still considered outlaws; but, in spite of this, +murders and atrocities continued for many days subsequent to the fall of +Khartum. + +The Emir Abu Girga made every effort to discover the hiding-place of the +sons of Saleh Wad el Mek; but for three days he was unsuccessful. They +were at last found, brought before him, and instantly beheaded. It +behoved also all Egyptians to look to themselves during these days of +massacre; for, if met alone by these fanatics, they were mercilessly +slaughtered. A merchant was making inquiries one day about the bazaar +prices in Omdurman, and asked what were at present the cheapest articles +and the greatest drug in the market; the man questioned, being evidently +a wag, answered: "The yellow-skinned Egyptian, the Shaigia, and the +dog," which, being considered an impure animal, was always killed when +found. This saying obtained great notoriety amongst the Dervishes, and +gives a very fair idea of the estimation in which they held the former +ruling class. + +The plunder taken in Khartum was carried off to the Beit el Mal; but of +course large quantities were made away with. The principal houses were +distributed amongst the Emirs; and, on the day after the town fell, the +Mahdi and Khalifa Abdullahi crossed over from Omdurman in the steamer +"Ismaïlia" to view the scene of their bloody victory and massacre; +without a sign of pity or regret, they occupied the houses selected for +them, and, addressing their followers, described the disaster which had +overtaken Khartum as the just judgment of Heaven on the godless +inhabitants of the city, who had repeatedly rejected the Mahdi's summons +to them to surrender and become his faithful followers in the true +religion. + +The first few days were spent in the wildest debauchery and excesses; +and it was not until the Mahdi and his followers had to some extent +satiated their vicious passions, that they turned their attention to the +dangers which threatened them from without. To oppose the English +expedition, the renowned Emir Abderrahman Wad Nejumi was ordered to +collect a large force and proceed forthwith to Metemmeh, to drive out +the infidels, who were known to have reached the Nile near this town. + +On Wednesday morning, two days after Khartum had fallen, at about eleven +o'clock, the thunder of guns and the sharp crack of rifles were heard +in the direction of the north end of Tuti Island; and soon two steamers +came in view,--these were the "Telahawia" and "Bordein," carrying Sir +Charles Wilson and some English officers and men who had come up to +assist General Gordon. Sanjak Kashm el Mus and Abdel Hamid Mohammed, +whom Gordon had despatched in command of the Shaigias, were also on +board; they had already heard of Gordon's death, and of the cruel fate +which had overtaken the town and its inhabitants. Although those on the +steamer had little doubt of the accuracy of the sad news, they wished to +see with their own eyes, and reached a point midway between Tuti Island +and the left bank of the White Nile; here they were heavily fired on by +the Dervishes from an entrenched position, situated northeast of +Omdurman Fort, and having seen Khartum in the distance, and been +convinced, they turned about and steamed away. + +I subsequently heard from some of the crew of these steamers, that both +they and the Englishmen on board were deeply affected by the fall of the +city; they now knew that the entire Sudan was in the Mahdi's hands. It +was the talk on board, they said, that the English expedition had only +come up to save Gordon; and, now that he was killed, the object of the +expedition had failed, and they naturally concluded that it would retire +to Dongola, and that they would be called upon to accompany it. +Consequently the chief pilot of the "Telahawia" and the captain Abdel +Hamid agreed together to run the steamer on to a rock, and then escape +during the night. This plan was successfully carried out; and the +steamer stuck so hard and fast that the cargo had to be at once +transferred to the "Bordein." During the confusion, these two +conspirators escaped; and, through the intermediary of their friends, +they succeeded in securing the Mahdi's pardon, and returned subsequently +to Khartum. Here they were well received and publicly commended by the +Mahdi for having inflicted loss on their enemies, the British; Abdel +Hamid, in spite of being a hated Shaigia, and a relative of Saleh Wad +el Mek, was presented by the Mahdi with his own jibba, as a mark of +honour, and, moreover, several of his female relatives who, after the +sack of the town, had been distributed amongst the Emirs, were given +back to him. + +Meanwhile, the "Bordein," on its return journey towards Metemmeh, struck +on a sand-bank, and, being heavily laden, could not be floated off. Sir +Charles Wilson's position was now very critical; with his small force he +could not have attempted to land on the west bank and attack the enemy, +which was entrenched at Wad Habeshi, between him and the British camp at +Gubat. It is true that the courage of this body of Dervishes had been +considerably shaken by the defeat at Abu Klea; but the fall of Khartum, +and the knowledge that Wad en Nejumi with a large force was advancing +north to their support, now transformed them into a formidable enemy. A +third steamer, the "Safia," was still at Gubat. Sir Charles Wilson +therefore sent an officer down stream in a small boat to ask for help; +the appeal was promptly responded to, the "Safia" starting, without +delay, to the relief of the "Bordein." The enemy hearing of this, at +once threw up entrenchments to oppose its progress, and, on its +approach, poured on the unfortunate steamer a perfect hail of rifle and +cannon shot; but those on board, determined to relieve their comrades in +distress, fought most bravely until a shot, penetrating the boiler, +disabled the steamer and placed it in the greatest danger. Undismayed, +however, the commander set to work, under a heavy fire, to repair the +damage; the work was continued during the night, and early the next +morning the "Safia" was able to continue her running fight with the +Dervishes, eventually succeeding in silencing the guns, and killing the +principal Emir, Ahmed Wad Faid, and a considerable number of subordinate +Emirs and men. The passage was forced; and Sir Charles Wilson and his +men relieved. + +This daring exploit, which resulted in the rescue of the little band of +Englishmen who had ventured to Khartum, also had a very important, +though indirect, effect on the subsequent fate of the small British +column near Metemmeh. The advance of Nejumi, which, under any +circumstances, was not rapid, owing to the difficulty of collecting the +men, was still further delayed by the news of the death of Ahmed Wad +Faid, and the defeat of the strong body of Dervishes at Wad Habeshi by +one steamer. I was informed that on hearing of the success of the +"Safia" (whose able commander I learnt on my return to Egypt was Lord +Charles Beresford), Nejumi addressed his men, and pointed out to them, +that if the English advanced with the intention of taking the Sudan, +they must of course oppose them; but if, on the other hand, they retired +towards Dongola, then he and his men would be able to occupy the country +they had abandoned without the risk of further fighting. And it was this +latter course which he eventually took. Delaying his advance, he reached +Metemmeh only after the British had retired from Gubat; and, although he +pursued them as far as Abu Klea, he hesitated somewhat to attack unless +quite assured of success. + +It was only when the Mahdi learnt of the final retirement of the British +advanced guard that he was convinced the Sudan had at last been +completely won; and now his delight knew no bounds. He announced the +news in the mosque and drew a striking picture of the flight of the +unbelievers, embellishing it further by a revelation from the Prophet to +the effect that their water-skins had all been pierced, through Divine +intervention, and that all those who had taken part in the expedition +had died of thirst. + +On the fifth day after the fall of Khartum, a small band of soldiers +suddenly appeared in my tattered tent; and, placing me, still shackled +and bound, on a donkey, they carried me off to the general prison, where +they hammered on to my ankles a third and exceptionally heavy iron bar +and rings (nicknamed the Hajji Fatma); it weighed about eighteen pounds, +and was only put on those who were considered exceptionally obstinate or +dangerous prisoners. I was quite ignorant of the reasons which caused me +to fall still lower in the Khalifa's disfavour; but I found out later +that Gordon, when he had ascertained from my letters to him that the +Mahdist force advancing on Khartum was not a strong one, that many of +the Mahdi's adherents were discontented, and that there was considerable +scarcity of ammunition, had written to this effect to several of the +principal officers on the lines; one of his letters containing this +information was discovered in the loot handed over to Ahmed Wad Suleiman +in the Beit el Mal, by whom it had been passed to the Mahdi and Khalifa. +Thus were their suspicions regarding my behaviour confirmed, and my +schemes to escape and join Gordon laid bare. + +I was deposited in one corner of the immense zariba, where I was ordered +to stay, and to hold no converse with any one without permission, on +pain of instant flogging. At sunset, I, a number of slaves who were +under sentence for having murdered their masters, and other gentlemen of +this description were bound together by a long chain passing round our +feet and fastened to the trunk of a tree; and at sunrise the next +morning, we were unfastened, and I was sent back to my corner again. I +could just see Lupton, in the distance, in another corner of the +enclosure. He had been in here for some time, and had become used to it; +he had permission to speak to others, but was under strict orders of the +saier, or gaoler, not, on any account, to speak to me. On the day that I +had been brought to the prison, Saleh Wad el Mek had been discharged; +his brother, sons, and almost all his relatives had been killed, and he +was now allowed to go and search for the survivors. As regards food, I +now fared considerably worse; I had, in this respect, fallen out of the +frying pan into the fire. I used to complain of being occasionally +hungry; but now I received only uncooked dhurra, getting the same share +as the slaves, and a very small share it was. Fortunately, the wife of +one of my warders, a Darfur woman, took pity upon me, and used to take +the corn away, boil it, and bring it back to me; but she was not allowed +to bring me any other food, as her husband feared the principal gaoler +might find out, and he, in his turn, was afraid of incurring the +Khalifa's displeasure. I lay on the bare ground, with a stone for my +pillow, the hardness of which gave me a continual headache; but, one day +whilst we were being driven to the river--one hundred and fifty yards +distant--to wash, I picked up the lining of a donkey saddle, which the +owner had evidently thrown away as old and useless; and, hiding it under +my arm, I bore it off in triumph, and that night I slept like a king on +his pillow of down. + +Gradually, my position improved somewhat. The principal gaoler, who was +not really disinclined towards me, allowed me to converse occasionally +with the other prisoners, and removed my lightest foot-irons; but the +Hajji Fatma and her sister still remained, and I cannot say this pair of +worthies conduced much to my personal comfort during those long and +weary months of imprisonment. + +One day, a Black woman came in with her child--a nice little girl--to +visit her poor husband and the child's father, Lupton. The poor little +thing wept bitterly, for, young as she was, she was old enough to +understand the miserable plight of her father, who, before they left, +sent them to say a few words to me. The poor woman looked at me for a +few moments, and then, taking my hand, wept aloud. I remembered I had +often seen her before; and, between her sobs, she reminded me that she +had come to Khartum as a young girl, and had been brought up in +Frederick Rosset's house, where, during my first journey to the Sudan, I +had stayed for some weeks. Poor Zenoba! she reminded me of many little +incidents which had happened in the old days; and, as she related them, +she often broke down, comparing her former happiness with her present +misery. I tried to console her, urging her to keep up hope, and that +perhaps everything would end well. "Besides," I said, "it was never +intended that human beings should always live well and comfortably." +Little Fatma, whom we called Fanny, flung herself into my arms, calling +me, ammi (my uncle); and it seemed as if her heart told her +instinctively that, amongst all this crowd, I was next to her father in +her affections. I then begged the poor woman to leave me, as I feared +taking advantage of the gaoler's patience. + +At this time, there was some difficulty in supplying food to the Black +soldiers under Abu Anga, whose number had been further increased by the +Khartum garrison. As there was no immediate fear of any movement on the +part of the Government towards Khartum, it was decided to despatch Abu +Anga to Southern Kordofan on a punitive expedition against the Nubas, +and to procure slaves and send them to Omdurman. Shortly after the fall +of Khartum, the Mahdi had moved his camp north; and the fort known as +Tabia Ragheb Bey, and the ground in the vicinity, had been told off for +Abu Anga's camp. When he was ordered off, and his place taken by his +brother, Fadl el Maula, all my servants, male and female, left with him; +and, although the latter were not permitted to visit me, I felt that, +with Abu Anga's departure, yet another link was severed. + +I now received news of the other servants I had left behind at El +Fasher. On my arrival at Rahad, I had told the Khalifa I had left behind +two horses, which were almost the best in Darfur, and which I hinted he +might have if he wished; but, it being summer, and as they would +probably have suffered from the long and hot journey, I had not brought +them with me. Subsequently, I had requested him to give orders that not +only the horses, but also my male and female servants who had been left +behind, should also be sent on. He consequently had written to Mohammed +Khaled to this effect; but, on the day on which I had been made a +prisoner, he had written to Sayed Mahmud of El Obeid to seize my people +as soon as they came from Darfur, but to send on the two horses. The +latter had now arrived in Omdurman; and the soldier who had been in +charge came to tell me that the Khalifa was much pleased with them, +having taken one for himself and given the other to his brother Yakub. + +A few days later, there was considerable commotion amongst the warders; +and the saier told me privately that the Khalifa was coming to visit the +prison. I asked him to advise me how I should behave; and he recommended +me to answer all questions promptly, on no account to make any +complaints, and to remain submissively in my corner. About midday, the +Khalifa arrived, accompanied by his brothers and mulazemin, and began to +walk round and view these victims of his justice. It seemed that the +saier had given the same advice to all the prisoners that he had given +to me, for they all behaved quietly; some were ordered to have their +chains removed, and to be discharged. At length, the Khalifa approached +my corner, and, with a friendly nod, said, "Abdel Kader, enta tayeb?" +(Abdel Kader, are you well?). To which I replied, "Ana tayeb, Sidi" (I +am well, sire); and with that he moved on. Yunes Wad Dekeim, the present +Emir of Dongola, and a near relative of the Khalifa, pressed my hand, +and whispered, "Keep up your spirits; don't be downhearted; everything +will come right." + +From that day my condition distinctly improved. Zenoba, the mother of +Fanny, was allowed every now and then to send me a little food. I was +also allowed to spend the day with a former head-Sheikh of the Hawara +Arabs, who was suspected of having been friendly with the Turks, and had +been thrown into chains; as our hatred for the Mahdists was mutual, we +spent most of our time in talking about them, and criticising their +rules and ordinances. Sheikh Mohammed Wad et Taka, for such was his +name, was fed by his elderly wife, who, for his sake, had remained in +Omdurman, and used to bring us meals. She may have had some good +qualities, but she was a veritable Xantippe who by her sharp tongue made +bitter every mouthful her husband swallowed. Carrying a large dish of +baked dhurra-bread and some mulakh (a sort of sauce made with milk and +other ingredients), she would place it before us, and then, sitting on +the ground beside us, she would begin the battle. "Yes, indeed," she +would say, "old women are quite good enough to cook, and do all the hard +work; but when men have their freedom, they can do as they like; and +then they always turn their eyes to the young and pretty girls." The +Sheikh had the fortune, or rather the temporary misfortune, of having +two young wives as well as this old one; but they stayed in the country +with the herds; and this fact greatly annoyed the old lady, who +exercised her ingenuity in making these sallies against her good man, +who, famished by hunger, silently consumed the food she had prepared for +him. She frequently related some piquant family details in which her +husband's conduct in relation to herself, as compared with his more +youthful helpmeets, was invariably open to severe criticism. I used to +greatly enjoy these skirmishes, and generally took upon myself the task +of mediator, telling her that when she was away, her husband had nothing +but good words for her. This used to appease her; and she would affirm +that she was doing her utmost to alleviate our condition. I thoroughly +appreciated how valuable she was to me, and how her homely meals +lessened my long hours of enforced fasting. All my efforts were +therefore directed to pacifying her husband, who, goaded by her sharp +tongue, would heap curses on her devoted head. His nature was very +changeable: when he was hungry, and saw his old wife coming along +carrying his food, no words of praise were sufficient for her; but once +satisfied, and stung to the quick by her sarcasm, he would heap insults +on her, and some such expressions as, "You who neither fear God nor man, +leave me, and let me starve. Some women, as they grow old, instead of +becoming more intelligent, gradually get silly; this is the case with +you, I think you are possessed of the devil. Get away, and never come +near me again; I never want to see you more." Then off she would go; but +the next day, when he was famished, he would long to have his old wife +back again. Not the least alarmed, she would almost invariably return +with her dish full of food; he would be pacified, eat a hearty meal, and +then the insults would begin again. + +Thus the days slowly passed away. Small-pox had broken out in Omdurman, +and every day the disease swept off hundreds,--indeed, whole families +disappeared; and I believe that the loss from this disease was greater +than that suffered in many battles. Curiously enough, almost all the +nomad Arabs were attacked; and several of our own warders went down, and +not a few of them died. We prisoners, however, entirely escaped; and, +during the whole period of my imprisonment, I do not recollect having +seen one of us unfortunates attacked, though most of us were much +alarmed. Perhaps God in His mercy thought our punishment already more +than we could bear, and spared us a further visitation. + +I had now many opportunities of talking to Lupton, who daily grew more +and more impatient; indeed, so furious was he at times, that I used to +get alarmed, for he would complain most bitterly, and in a loud tone, of +our miserable treatment. I did all in my power to pacify him; but the +wretched life we were living had affected him to such a degree that I +seriously feared for his health. Through constantly speaking to him, I +succeeded to some extent in quieting him; but, although scarcely thirty +years of age, the hair of his head and beard had, during our +imprisonment, grown almost white. Nature, however, had treated me more +kindly. I submitted to my fate with a better grace; and the thoroughly +practical lesson I had received from my old friend Madibbo, entirely +suited my character. I was still young; and, except for occasional +slight ailments, I was endowed with a strong and healthy constitution. +My fate was a cruel one it is true; but I felt I could gather from it +many a useful experience. I kept on hoping against hope, that, sooner or +later, I should return to the civilised world, though, when I thought +over my chances of escape, the time seemed very far away. + +In order to occupy the prisoners, the saier employed them in building a +square house for their own habitation; they were therefore ordered to +fetch stones which were found near the river; and Lupton and I were the +only prisoners who were permitted to pass the day without work. Every +now and then, however, we used to accompany them to the place where +they got the stones; but my heavy ankle-irons, and my long neck-chain, +impeded my progress so much when walking, that I preferred to act as the +architect of the building, which now rapidly advanced towards +completion. The walls were very thick, and about thirty feet square, +and, in the centre, a pillar was erected which served as a support to +the crossbeams. + +This house was intended for the incarceration of the most dangerous +prisoners; and the wood required for the roofing was brought from the +now ruined houses of Khartum. + +It was about this time that an old friend of mine named Esh Sheikh, a +relative of Ismail Wad Shaggar el Kheiri, and who was in the Mahdi's +favour, informed me confidentially that both the Mahdi and the Khalifa +were friendly-minded towards myself and Lupton, and that in a few days +we should probably be liberated. He added that should the Khalifa speak +to me, I should not humble myself very much, but merely be careful not +to oppose anything he said; then, recommending me to God, he went away. +I instantly went off to share this good news with Lupton, who at that +time happened to be in one of his most dangerous moods; but I begged him +to believe that it was true, and to do nothing which might compromise +matters. + +A few days later, it was rumoured that the Khalifa was coming. I had +carefully prepared my speech, and Lupton had done the same; but it was +more than likely he would speak to me first. At length the critical +moment came: the Khalifa, entering the prisoners' yard, instead of, as +was his usual custom, sending for the prisoners one by one, ordered an +angareb to be brought and placed in the shade; he then directed all the +prisoners to be led out, and to sit down before him in a semi-circle. He +spoke to several, set a few free who had been imprisoned by his own +personal orders, and promised others, who complained against the +sentences pronounced by the Kadi, to inquire into their cases; of Lupton +and myself, however, he appeared to have taken no notice. Lupton +glanced at me, and shook his head; but I put my finger to my lips to +warn him against doing anything foolish. "Have I anything else to do?" +asked the Khalifa of the saier who was standing behind his angareb. +"Sire! I am at your service," replied the head gaoler; and the Khalifa +sat down again. He now turned his eyes on me, and repeated the same +words he had used on the previous occasion. "Abdel Kader," said he, "are +you well?" "Sire," said I, "if you will allow me to speak, I shall tell +you of my condition." He was then sitting at his ease, and he gave me +the required permission. + +"Master," I began, "I belong to a foreign tribe; I came to you seeking +protection, and you gave it to me. It is natural for man to err, and to +sin against God and against each other. I have sinned; but I now repent, +and regret all my misdeeds. I repent before God and His Prophet. Behold +me in irons before you! See! I am naked and hungry; and I lie here +patiently on the bare ground waiting for the time to come when I may +receive pardon. Master, should you think it well to let me continue in +this sad plight, then I pray God for strength to enable me to bear His +will; but now I beg of you to give me my freedom." + +I had studied this speech very carefully, and had delivered it as +effectively as I could; and I saw that it had made a favourable +impression on the Khalifa. Turning then to Lupton, he said, "And you, +Abdullahi?" "I can add nothing to what Abdel Kader has said," replied +Lupton. "Pardon me, and grant me liberty." + +The Khalifa now turned to me, and said, "Well, from the day you came +from Darfur, I have done everything I possibly could for you; but your +heart has been far from us: you wanted to join Gordon the infidel, and +fight against us. As you are a foreigner, I spared your life; otherwise +you would not be alive now. However, if your repentance is real and +true, I will pardon both you and Abdullahi. Saier, take off their +irons." + +We were then removed by the warders, who, after long and hard work, and +by making use of ropes, at last succeeded in opening my foot-irons. We +were then again brought before the Khalifa, who was patiently sitting on +his angareb waiting for us. He ordered the saier to bring the Kuran, +which he laid on a furwa (sheepskin), and called on us to swear eternal +allegiance to him. Placing our hands on the Kuran, we swore to serve him +honestly in the future. He then rose and directed us to follow him; and +we, almost beside ourselves with delight at our release after this long +imprisonment, joyfully followed in his footsteps. + +My friend the Sheikh of the Hawara was also liberated at the same time. +The Khalifa, having been assisted on to his donkey by his servants, +ordered us to walk by his side; but we could scarcely keep up with him, +for our eight months' imprisonment in chains had so cramped our legs and +feet that we found we had lost the habit of stepping out. When we +reached his house, he directed us to wait in a rekuba in one of the +outside enclosures, and left us. He returned again a few minutes later, +and, seating himself beside us, warned us most seriously to adhere to +all his orders. He then went on to say that he had received letters from +the Commander of the Army in Egypt, stating that he had seized and +imprisoned all the Mahdi's relatives in Dongola, and that he demanded in +exchange all the captives who had formerly been Christians. "We have +decided to reply," said he, "that you are now all Mohammedans, that you +are one with us, and that you are not willing to be exchanged for people +who, though the relatives of the Mahdi, are far from us in thought and +deed; and that they can do as they like with their captives; or," added +he, "perhaps you would like to go back to the Christians?" With these +words he ended his speech. + +Lupton and I assured him that we should never leave him of our own +free-will; that all the pleasures of the world would never tear us from +his side; and that it was only by being constantly in his presence that +we learnt to act in such a way as would lead to our salvation. +Thoroughly taken in by our mendacity, he promised to present us to the +Mahdi, who had arranged to come to the Khalifa's house that afternoon, +and then he left us. + +The rekuba being in one of the outer enclosures, into which people were +admitted, several friends who had heard of our release came to +congratulate us, amongst them Dimitri Zigada, but this time without his +usual quid of tobacco. My friend Esh Sheikh also came; and when I told +him that we were to be presented to the Mahdi, he again gave me the +benefit of his good advice, and instructed me how to behave when the +momentous occasion arrived. It was almost evening when the Khalifa came; +and, directing us to follow him, he led us to an inner enclosure, where +we saw the Mahdi sitting on an angareb. He had become so stout that I +scarcely knew him. Kneeling down, we repeatedly kissed the hand he held +out to us. He now assured us that his only wish was for our good, that +when men are placed in chains, it exercises a lasting and beneficial +influence on them; by this he meant to say that when a man is timid, +this punishment makes him avoid committing offences in the future. He +then turned the conversation to his relatives who had been captured by +the British, and about the exchange they had proposed, but which he had +refused, adding, with a hypocritical smile, "I love you better than my +own brethren; and therefore I refused to exchange." In reply, I assured +him of our love and sincerity to him, saying, "Sire, the man who does +not love you more than himself, how can his love proceed truly from his +heart." (This was a paraphrase of the Prophet's own words which my +friend the Sheikh had suggested I should repeat.) "Say that again," said +the Mahdi; and, turning to the Khalifa, he said, "Listen." When I +repeated the words, he took my hand in his and said, "You have spoken +the truth; love me more than yourself." Summoning Lupton as well, he +took his hand, and made us repeat the oath of allegiance, saying, that +as we had proved unfaithful to our first oath, it must be renewed. This +over, the Khalifa signed to us to retire; and, again kissing the Mahdi's +hand, we thanked him for his beneficence, and returned to our rekuba to +await his further instructions. + +It was some time before the Khalifa returned; and when he did, he +permitted Lupton, without further ado, to join his family, who were +still located in a tent in the Beit el Mal, and, sending with him a +mulazem to show the way, assured him that he would take every care of +him. I was now alone with the Khalifa. "And you," said he, "where do you +wish to go; have you any one to take care of you?" And I felt him gazing +at me, whilst I cast my eyes to the ground, knowing that was what he +wished me to do. "Besides God and yourself," I replied, "I have no one, +sire; deal with me as you think best for my future." + +"I had hoped and expected this answer from you," said the Khalifa; "from +this day you may consider yourself a member of my household. I shall +care for you, and shall never allow you to want for anything; and you +will have the benefit of being brought up under my eye, on condition +that, from this day forth, you absolutely sever your connection with all +your former friends and acquaintances, and associate only with my +relatives and servants; you must, moreover, obey implicitly every order +you receive from me. During the day, your duty will be to stay with the +mulazemin employed on my personal service at the door of my house; and +at night, when I retire, you will be permitted to go to the house which +I shall assign to you. When I go out, you must always accompany me: if I +ride, you must walk beside me, until the time comes when, should I see +fit, I will provide you with an animal to ride. Do you agree to these +conditions, and do you promise to put them into full effect?" + +"Master," I replied, "I agree with pleasure to your conditions. In me, +you will find a willing and obedient servant; and I hope I may have +strength to enter upon my new duties." + +"God will strengthen you," he replied, "and bring you to all good." He +then rose, and added, "Sleep here to-night; may God protect you till I +see you again to-morrow." + +I was now quite alone. So I had gone from one prison to another! I fully +grasped the Khalifa's intentions: he had no real wish for my services, +for he had not the slightest confidence in me; nor did he wish to +utilise me against the Government and against the civilised world. He +merely wanted to keep me always under control; probably it flattered his +vanity to know he could point to me, his slave, once a high official of +the Government, who had commanded his own tribe, which was now the +foundation on which his power rested, and show them and the other +western tribes that I was now his humble servant. Nevertheless, said I +to myself, I shall take good care not to displease him, or give him a +chance of putting his evil purposes into effect. I thoroughly understood +my master; his smiles and friendly looks were not worth a jot, indeed +one day he had told me as much himself. "Abdel Kader," he had said to me +in the course of conversation, "a man who wants to command must neither +betray his purpose by gesture, nor by his countenance; otherwise his +enemies or his subjects will discover some means of frustrating his +designs." + +The next morning, he came to me, and, summoning his brother Yakub, he +directed him to show me some spot in the neighbourhood where I might +build my huts, adding that it must be as near his house as possible. As, +however, most of the vacant spots in the vicinity had been already +occupied by the Khalifa's relatives, a piece of ground, about six +hundred yards from the Khalifa's house, and not far from Yakub's +residence, was given to me. + +The Khalifa now summoned his secretary, and showed me a document +addressed to the commander of the English army, to the effect, that all +the European prisoners had, of their own free-will, become Mohammedans, +and that they had no wish to return to their countries. This document he +desired me to sign. + +All my servants, horses, and baggage had been taken off by Abu Anga, +with the exception of an old lame Nubawi who, when he heard of my +release, came to see me from Fadl el Maula's house. I at once informed +the Khalifa, and obtained permission to take this man back into my +service. I also spoke to him about Abu Anga and my servants; and he +asked if the effects were going to be returned to me,--a strange +question indeed! When one's possessions have been seized by violence and +carried off, are they likely to be given back? I replied much in the +same style, that I was sure, that as now I belonged to his household, I +could well do without these little trifles, and that I thought it quite +unnecessary for him to write to his field-marshal about so trivial a +matter. What was I to do with horses, when I was not allowed to ride +them? Had not my education with the Khalifa begun by being forced to +walk barefoot! + +All the same, I was really very anxious to have my old servants back +again, though I did not actually require their services very much; but I +knew, that had I attempted to claim them, I should only have aroused the +Khalifa's opposition. The latter was, therefore, greatly pleased with my +reply, and began chatting to me about Abu Anga. He then asked me, +abruptly, "Are you not a Mohammedan; where then did you leave your +wives?" This was, indeed, an ugly question. "Master," said I, "I have +only one, and I left her in Darfur; and I am told that she was arrested +with all my other servants by Said Mahmud, and is now in the Beit el Mal +at El Obeid." + +"Is your wife of your own race?" asked the Khalifa, inquiringly. "No," I +replied, "she is a Darfurian; and her parents and relatives were killed +in the battle with Sultan Harun. She and several others had been +captured by my men; and I gave most of them to my servants and soldiers +to marry. This orphan alone was left; and she is now my wife." + +"Have you any children?" asked he; and, when I replied in the negative, +he said, "A man without offspring is like a thorn-tree without fruit; +as you now belong to my household, I shall give you some wives, so that +you may live happily." + +I thanked him for his kindness, but begged that he would postpone his +present until I had at least erected my huts; because, I remarked, this +exceptional mark of his favour must not be exposed to the public gaze. +To recompense me for my property which had been taken by Abu Anga, the +Khalifa instructed Fadl el Maula to hand over the effects of the +unfortunate Olivier Pain, which were at once sent to me. They consisted +of an old jibba, a well-worn Arab cloak, and a Kuran printed in the +French language. Fadl el Maula had sent word to me that, during the time +which had elapsed, his other effects had been lost. At the same time, +the Khalifa directed that the money which had been taken from me when I +was imprisoned, and had been deposited in the Beit el Mal, should be +returned to me. It amounted to £40, a few sequins, and a few gold +nose-rings which I had collected as curios; all these were handed back +to me by Ahmed Wad Suleiman. + +I was now able to set to work to build my huts; but whilst they were +being put up I lived in the Khalifa's house. I entrusted my old servant +Saadalla, the Nubawi, who was the most competent of all my attendants, +with the construction of my residence, which was to consist for the +present of three huts and a fence. I myself, from early morning till +late at night, was always in attendance at the door of my master. +Whenever he went for a short walk or a long ride, I was always obliged +to accompany him, barefooted. During the first few days, as my feet got +cut and bruised, he allowed me to have some light Arabic sandals made, +which, though they gave me some protection against the stones, were so +hard and rough that they rubbed off all the skin. Occasionally, the +Khalifa used to call me in to eat with him, and frequently sent for what +was over of his own food to be consumed by the principal mulazemin, of +whom I was now reckoned as one. When he retired at night, I was at +liberty to return to my huts; and there, stretching my weary limbs on an +angareb, I slept till early dawn, when I was again obliged to await the +Khalifa at his door, and accompany him to morning prayers. + +Meanwhile, the Khalifa had been informed that my huts were erected, and, +returning home late one night, my old servant Saadalla informed me that +a female slave, closely muffled up, had been brought to my house, and +was now installed within. Directing Saadalla to light a lantern and show +the way, I followed, and found the poor thing huddled up on a palm-mat. +When I spoke to her about her past life, she answered, in a deep voice +which did not presage well for the future, that she was a Nubawi, and +had formerly belonged to an Arab tribe in Southern Kordofan, but had +been captured, and sent to the Beit el Mal, from whence she had just +been despatched to me by Ahmed Wad Suleiman. Whilst speaking, she +removed her scented white drapery from her head, as slaves always do +when talking to their masters, and exposed her bare shoulders and part +of her bosom. I signed to Saadalla to bring the light nearer; and then I +had to summon all my presence of mind so as not to be terrified and fall +off my angareb. Out of her ugly black face, peered two little eyes; a +great flat nose, below which were two enormous blubber-shaped lips +which, when she laughed, were in danger of coming in contact with her +ears, completed one of the most unpleasant physiognomies I had ever +beheld. Her head was joined to her enormously fat body by a +bull-dog-like neck; and this creature had the audacity to call herself +Maryam (Mary). I at once directed Saadalla to remove his compatriot to +another hut, and give her an angareb. + +So this was the Khalifa's first gift to me: he had not given me a horse, +a donkey, or even a little money, which would have been of some use to +me, but had presented me with a female slave, for whom, even had she +been fair, he knew well I should not have cared, as, let alone her +disagreeable presence, her food and dress were items of expense which I +by no means relished. When he saw me the next day, after morning +prayers, he asked me if Ahmed Wad Suleiman had satisfactorily carried +out his wishes. I replied, "Yes; your order was most promptly carried +out," and then gave him an exact description of my new acquisition. The +Khalifa was furious with Ahmed Wad Suleiman, who, he asserted, not only +did not comply with his order, but had made him unfaithful to the +Mahdi's ordinances. My candour in describing exactly the class of slave +given me, re-acted somewhat unpleasantly on my head; for, the following +evening, a young and somewhat less ugly girl, selected by the Khalifa +himself, was sent to me, and her also I handed over to the tender +mercies of the faithful Saadalla. + +The Mahdi, his Khalifas, and their relatives, having now no longer any +fear from external enemies, began to build houses suitable to their new +positions and requirements. The numbers of young women and girls who had +been seized and distributed on the fall of Khartum were now hurried off +into the seclusion of these new residences; and their masters, no longer +disturbed by the jealous and envious looks of their friends, were able +to enjoy their pleasures undisturbed. + +Naturally, the Mahdi, the Khalifas, and, more especially, the relatives +of the former were most anxious that it should not be known that the +greater part of the loot taken in Khartum was in their own hands; it was +a striking contradiction of the doctrine of the Divine master, who +forever preached renunciation and abandonment of the pleasures of life. +They set to work to enlarge their habitations and enclosures, +anticipating that they would fill them still further with the rich spoil +which was expected from the provinces that still remained to be +conquered. + +But the Mahdi fell suddenly ill; for a few days he did not appear at the +mosque for prayers. No particular attention, however, was paid to his +absence at first, for he had asserted, over and over again, that the +Prophet had revealed to him that he should conquer Mecca, Medina, and +Jerusalem, and, after a long and glorious life, should expire at Kufa. +But the Mahdi was attacked by no ordinary indisposition: the fatal +typhus fever had fallen upon him; and, six days after he had sickened, +his relatives in attendance began to despair of saving his life. My +master, the Khalifa, was, of course, watching with the most intense +interest the outcome of the disease, and did not leave the Mahdi's +bedside day or night, whilst I and the other members of the body-guard +aimlessly waited for our master at his door. On the evening of the sixth +day, the multitudes collected before the Mahdi's house, and in the +mosque, were commanded to join together in prayer for the recovery of +the Divine patient, who was now in the greatest danger; and this was the +first occasion on which the malignant disease from which the Mahdi was +suffering was announced to the public. On the morning of the seventh +day, he was reported to be worse; and there was now little doubt that he +was dying. In the early stages, he had been treated by his wives and by +Sudanese quacks with the usual domestic remedies; and it was only at the +last moment that Hassan Zeki, one of the detested Egyptians, formerly +medical officer of the Khartum hospital, who, by a lucky chance, had +been saved on the day of the attack, was called in. Asked to prescribe, +he affirmed that the complaint had now reached such a stage that it was +not advisable to use any medicines, and that the only hope lay in the +resistance of his powerful constitution, which, with God's help, might +drive out this terribly malignant disease. Hassan Zeki, indisposed as he +was to render any assistance, was perfectly well aware that the Mahdi +was now beyond the reach of medicines; he also knew that if he had +prescribed, and the Mahdi had subsequently died, he would undoubtedly +have been credited with the cause of his death, and his life would have +been in the greatest danger. From all these considerations, he therefore +wisely refrained from interference. + +The disease had now reached its crisis. By the Mahdi's angareb stood the +three Khalifas, his near relations, Ahmed Wad Suleiman, Mohammed Wad +Beshir (one of the principal employés of the Beit el Mal in charge of +the Mahdi's household), Osman Wad Ahmed, Said el Mekki (formerly one of +the most renowned religious Sheikhs of Kordofan), and a few of his +principal and most faithful adherents, to whom special permission had +been granted to enter the sick-room. From time to time, he lost +consciousness; and, feeling that his end was drawing near, he said, in a +low voice, to those around him, "Khalifa Abdullahi Khalifat es Sadik has +been appointed by the Prophet as my successor. He is of me and I am of +him; as you have obeyed me and have carried out my orders, so should you +deal with him. May God have mercy upon me!" Then gathering up all his +strength, with one final effort, he repeated a few times the Mohammedan +creed (La Illaha illallah, Mohammed Rasul Allah), crossed his hands over +his chest, stretched out his limbs, and passed away. + +Around the body, which was not yet cold, the late Mahdi's adherents +swore fidelity to Khalifa Abdullahi, Said el Mekki being the first to +take the Khalifa's hand, own his allegiance, and praise his name. His +example was immediately followed by the two Khalifas and the remainder +of those assembled. It was impossible to keep the Mahdi's death secret; +and the crowds waiting outside were informed about it: but, at the same +time, strict injunctions were given that no weeping and lamentation +should be made; and it was further announced that the Khalifa +(successor) of the Mahdi should demand the oath of allegiance from the +entire populace. The Mahdi's principal wife, named Sittina Aisha Um el +Muminin (Our Lady Aisha, Mother of the Believers), who lay huddled up +and closely veiled in a corner, and who had been a witness of the death +of her master and husband, now arose and proceeded to the Mahdi's house, +bearing to the other wives the sad news of his death. Her office was to +comfort them, and prevent them from making loud lamentation. Most of +these good women rejoiced secretly in their hearts at the death of their +husband and master, who had brought such terrible distress upon the +land, and whom, even before he had fully enjoyed the fruits of his +success, Almighty God had summoned to appear before the Supreme Seat of +Judgment. + +In spite of the strict and oft-repeated injunctions against loud +lamentation, weeping and wailing arose from almost every house on the +death of the Mahdi el Muntazer, who, it was reported, had voluntarily +departed from his earthly abode to God, his master whom he longed to +see. + +Some of those now present began to wash the body, and then wrap it in +several linen cloths; whilst others dug the grave in the room in which +he had died, and which, after two hour's hard work, was finished. The +three Khalifas, together with Ahmed Wad Suleiman and Wad Beshir, now +placed the body in the grave, built it over with bricks, and then filled +it up with earth, on which they poured water. This over, lifting up +their hands, they recited the prayers for the dead; then, leaving the +room, they proceeded to pacify the impatient crowd awaiting the news +without. + +We mulazemin were the first to be summoned before the new ruler, who, +henceforth, was called Khalifat el Mahdi (successor of the Mahdi); and +he gave us the oath of allegiance, directing us at the same time to move +the Mahdi's pulpit to the entrance door of the mosque, and to inform the +populace that he was about to appear before them. Informed that this had +been completed, he left his late master's grave, and, for the first +time, ascended the pulpit as ruler. He was in a state of intense +excitement. Great tears rolled down his cheeks as, with a trembling +voice, he began to address the multitude. "Friends of the Mahdi," he +shouted, "God's will cannot be changed. The Mahdi has left us, and has +entered into heaven, where everlasting joys await him. It is for us to +obey his precepts, and to support one another, just as the stones and +walls of a house go to make a building. The good things of this life are +not lasting. Seize, therefore, with both hands the good fortune which is +yours, of having been the friends and adherents of the Mahdi, and never +deviate in the slightest degree from the path which he has shown you. +You are the friends of the Mahdi, and I am his Khalifa. Swear that you +will be faithful to me." + +This short address over, all those present now repeated the well-known +oath of allegiance; but the Khalifa altered the first sentence of it as +follows: "Bayana Allah wa Rasulahu wa Mahdina wa bayanaka ala +tauhidillahi, etc." + +As only a certain number could take the oath of allegiance at one time, +those who had finished made way for others; and the crowd was so +enormous that many were in danger of being trodden to death. The +ceremony went on till nightfall. The Khalifa had now long since ceased +weeping, and was rejoiced to see the crowds who thronged to him to swear +him eternal allegiance. From continual talking, he had become quite +exhausted; and, descending from the pulpit, he took a draught of water +to moisten his parched throat. But the thought that he was now the +assured ruler of the enormous masses before him seemed to keep him up; +and it was only when darkness actually supervened that some of his +principal men urged him to desist, and leave the pulpit. Before doing +so, however, he summoned all the Emirs of the Black Flag, and called +upon them to take a special oath of allegiance, admonishing them to +adhere faithfully to him and to his brother Yakub, and calling their +attention to the fact that, being strangers and foreigners, they should +endeavour to live in harmony with each other as long as they were in the +valley of the Nile, for they would require union in order to +successfully oppose the intrigues of the local inhabitants; and once +again he impressed upon them the all-important necessity of adhering +most strictly to the doctrines of the Mahdi. By this time it was past +midnight; but it was out of the question to think of going home. Utterly +exhausted, I lay on the ground and heard the passers-by loud in their +praises of the late Mahdi, and assuring each other of their firm resolve +to support his successor in carrying out their late master's precepts. + +Now what had the Mahdi done, and wherein lay his power to revive a +religion which had become so debased? What was the nature of his +teachings? He had preached renunciation; he had inveighed against +earthly vanities and pleasures; he had broken down both social and +official ranks; he had made rich and poor alike; he had selected as +clothing a jibba, which became the universal dress of his adherents. As +a regenerator of religion, he had united the four distinct Moslem sects: +the Malaki, the Shafai, the Hanafi, and the Hambali, which differ from +each other only in minor details,--such as the method of performing +ablution, the method of standing or kneeling down in prayers, the manner +of conducting marriage ceremonies; and, by astutely making certain much +needed reforms, he had succeeded in combining these four great +divisions. He had made a collection of certain specially selected verses +from the Kuran, which he called the Rateb, and which he enjoined should +be recited by the entire congregation after morning and afternoon +prayers,--a ceremony which lasted at least forty minutes. He had +facilitated the method of performing prayer ablutions, and had strictly +forbidden the drinking bouts which were an invariable accompaniment of +marriage ceremonies in the Sudan; he had reduced the amount of the +"Mahr" (the present usually given by the bridegroom to the bride) to ten +dollars and two dresses for unmarried girls, and to five dollars and two +dresses for widows. Whoever sought for more or gave more was considered +to have performed an act of disobedience, and was punished by +deprivation of all property. A simple meal of dates and milk took the +place of the costly marriage feast. By these innovations, the Mahdi had +sought to facilitate the ceremony of matrimony, and had strictly +enjoined on parents and guardians to see that their daughters and wards +were married early. + +At the same time, he had forbidden dancing and playing, which he +classified as "earthly pleasures;" and those found disobeying this order +were punished by flogging and confiscation of all property. The use of +bad language was punished with eighty lashes for every insulting word +used, and seven days' imprisonment. The use of intoxicating drinks, such +as marissa or date wine, and smoking were most strictly prohibited. +Offences of this description were punishable by flogging, eight days' +imprisonment, and confiscation of goods. A thief suffered the severance +of his right hand; and should he be convicted of a second offence, he +lost his left foot also. As it was the general custom amongst the male +population of the Sudan, and especially amongst the nomad Arabs, to let +their hair grow, the Mahdi had directed that henceforth all heads should +be shaved. Wailing for the dead and feasts for the dead were punishable +by deprivation of property. + +In order, however, that the strength of his army should not be decreased +and endangered by desertion, owing to the severe mode of life he had +prescribed, and fearful that his doctrines which were considered +unorthodox should be made known in the various foreign countries by +which he was surrounded, he practically made a cordon round the +countries he had already conquered, and absolutely prohibited passage of +persons through these districts for the purpose of performing a +pilgrimage to Mecca. Should any one cast the slightest doubt on the +Divine nature of his mission, or should there be the slightest +hesitation to comply with his orders, on the evidence of two witnesses, +the delinquent was invariably punished by the loss of the right hand and +left foot. On some occasions, witnesses were dispensed with,--a +revelation from the Prophet was even more efficacious in proving the +guilt of the offender. + +As, however, most of these dispositions and ordinances were entirely at +variance with the Moslem law, he therefore issued most strict +injunctions that the study of theology and all public commentaries +thereon should cease, and ordered, moreover, that any books or +manuscripts dealing with these subjects should be instantly burnt or +thrown into the river. + +Such were the teachings of the expected Mahdi; and he had left no stone +unturned to carry into the fullest effect the ordinances he had made. +Openly, he showed himself a most strict observer of his own teachings; +but, within their houses, he, his Khalifas, and their relatives entered +into the wildest excesses, drunkenness, riotous living, and debauchery +of every sort, and they satisfied to their fullest extent the vicious +passions which are so prevalent amongst the Sudanese. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +EARLY RULE OF KHALIFA ABDULLAHI. + + Success of Khaled's Stratagem to entrap Darho--Execution of + Darho--Sieges of Sennar and Kassala--Fall of Ahmed Wad + Suleiman--The Khalifa and the Black Troops--Execution of the + Mudir of Kassala--My Journey to Abu Haraz--My Plans of Escape + impracticable--The Khalifa presents me with a Wife--Mutiny of + Black Soldiers at El Obeid--Death of the Emir Mahmud--Abu Anga + seizes Khaled and throws him into Chains--Campaign in the Nuba + Mountains--Lupton in Difficulties--He works in the Khartum + Dockyard--Revolt of the Kababish--Difficulties begin with + Abyssinia--Death of Klootz--Organisation of the Beit el Mal--The + Khalifa's System of Jurisdiction. + + +From the date of the Mahdi's departure from Rahad, up to the time of his +death, nothing of importance had happened in the various provinces of +the Sudan which could be calculated to change the course of events. + +Mohammed Khaled had settled in El Fasher, and had despatched his Emirs +in various directions. Instead of meeting with resistance, they were +received everywhere with open arms by the deluded inhabitants, who vied +with one another in their anxiety to become subjects of the Mahdi. The +western districts of Dar Gimr, Massalit, and Dar Tama, as far as the +frontier of Wadai, all sent in their submission, and a number of +valuable presents; Saleh Donkusa too, and his friends the Bedeyat, also +anxious not to expose themselves to new dangers, sent in a deputation +conveying their salutations and gifts. Mohammed Khaled had also sent one +of his friends, a merchant named Hajji Karar, from Kobbé, with presents +to Sultan Yusef, of Wadai. On his arrival, Sultan Yusef had received him +kindly, and had sent him back to Khaled with a present of several horses +and female slaves, and with the assurance that he might consider him an +adherent of the Mahdi, whose rules and ordinances he was at all times +ready to obey. + +Abdullahi Dudbenga, on the other hand, Sultan Harun's successor in Jebel +Marra, paid no heed to the summons calling him to El Fasher; he had a +personal quarrel with Khaled, and had no desire to put himself within +his reach. However, finally, when he received an ultimatum to either +come at once, or to risk a war, he submitted and came in; but a few days +later fled, fearing that he was about to be placed in chains, and his +money and property confiscated. Instead, however, of returning to the +Jebel Marra, he proceeded to Omdurman, where he was well received by +Khalifa Abdullahi, who gave orders that his family and effects should be +brought from Darfur to Omdurman. Meanwhile, Khaled, furious at his +flight, had him pursued as far as the Kordofan frontier, and ordered +that all villages which gave refuge to the fugitive should become the +property of the Government, and that the village Sheikhs should be shot. +He also despatched Omar Wad Darho with a considerable force to Jebel +Marra, with instructions to announce to the inhabitants that, having +hitherto failed to make their submission, or to give presents, they +should in consequence be considered "Ghanima" (booty). Omar Wad Darho, +anticipating quantities of loot, proceeded to his destination; whilst +Khaled thought the present occasion a fitting one to send some of his +best horses and his fairest women to the Mahdi and his Khalifas. Darho +met with little resistance in Jebel Marra. The villagers fled to the +hills; but, having procured good guides, he pursued them into the most +inaccessible places, and succeeded in putting numbers of them to the +sword. Their women and children he divided up amongst his men, selecting +and sending to Khaled all the best. His men, however, unused to this +continual hill marching, became exhausted, and his horses were, for the +most part, without shoes; nevertheless he succeeded in collecting a +quantity of loot, and returned to El Fasher on the actual day that the +terrible and unexpected news of the Mahdi's death had arrived there. + +Darho, anticipating important changes owing to this untoward event, did +not hesitate to take advantage of the situation; and, proceeding +forthwith to Kobbé, he declared himself independent, stating he would no +longer serve under Khaled's orders; indeed, he made preparations to +fight him, and make himself eventually ruler of Darfur. He went so far +as to propose to the Emirs who had accompanied him to Jebel Marra, that +he would divide amongst them the lands of Darfur; but the latter, +deeming Darho's action ill-considered, argued that they were not likely +to get more from him than they did from Khaled. They therefore urged him +to desist, declaring that in the event of his refusal, they would make +full report of the circumstances to Khaled. Darho's party daily +diminished in numbers; and it was not long before he recognised the +rashness of his act. Meanwhile, Khaled, alarmed by Darho's pluck and +resolution, determined to entrap his old friend by stratagem: he +despatched his acquaintance Ali Bey Khabir to him with a message to the +effect that he solemnly swore to do Darho no harm, should he return, and +that he would at once forget the matter which, after all, would never +have happened had it not been for the perfectly comprehensible +excitement occasioned by the Mahdi's sudden death. In order, however, to +satisfy public opinion, he enjoined that Darho should come to El Fasher +as a penitent, and publicly acknowledge his error, promising that +henceforth he would faithfully serve the Mahdi's successor. + +Ali Khabir succeeded in convincing Darho of Khaled's sincerity. At this +time the hostile party consisted only of a few soldiers, the Shaigia, +and some local tribesmen, and was quite incapable of any sustained +resistance; accompanied therefore by these, he proceeded to El Fasher, +and, before entering the town, they placed iron chains about their +necks, and followed Khabir to the meeting place designated by Khaled. On +their way, they were insulted by the populace, who had collected in +crowds to jeer at them; Darho was infuriated, and, on reaching Khaled's +presence, cried out that had he had any notion he was to be received in +this insulting manner, he would never have come. Khaled, seizing on +Darho's words as a pretext, instantly ordered him and his officers to be +arrested and thrown into chains; Darho, now losing all control of +himself, insulted Khaled in the most open manner, and, in consequence, +they were hurried off to the prison, their numbers being increased by +three former officials, _viz_., Ibrahim Seian and Hassan Sharkassi, both +Egyptian officers, and Yakub Ramzi, chief clerk of the Court of Justice, +who were accused of having been in secret correspondence with Darho. +These latter, pleading that they had been former Government officials, +and had not now sufficient to live upon, admitted that they had written +a letter to Darho, though only regarding the death of the Mahdi; but it +was affirmed that they had instigated him to revolt. In spite of their +undoubted innocence, Khaled ordered them, as well as Darho and his +friends, to be shot dead at sunrise the following morning; but this +sentence was not allowed to be publicly known. Khabir Ali, however, +learning what was intended, rushed to Khaled's house, and endeavoured to +dissuade him from his purpose; but this was not till the following +morning, and on his way he stumbled across the bodies of his decapitated +friends. Raising his voice, he declared before the bystanders that, had +he thought for a moment such measures would have been taken, nothing +would have induced him to act as a mediator; and he deplored most +bitterly the death of his old friends who had been slain in so +treacherous a manner. + +Abu Anga was now in Kordofan. This province had submitted entirely to +the Mahdi, with the exception of the southern mountainous regions, the +inhabitants of which were looked upon as slaves who had objected to pay +tribute, and who were consequently ordered to emigrate to Omdurman. As +they had refused to comply with these demands, Abu Anga had been +despatched south, with injunctions not only to enforce their subjection, +but also to quarter his enormous force of Jehadia on them, and to +procure plenty of slaves. After losing a considerable number of men, and +a quantity of ammunition, he succeeded in carrying out these orders to +some extent; but a large proportion of the inhabitants still continued +to defend themselves most bravely in their mountain fastnesses, and +remained independent. Thus, with the exception of this small proportion +of the natives, the entire Western Sudan, from the banks of the White +Nile to the frontiers of Wadai, acknowledged the sway of the Mahdi. + +In the eastern districts, however, the Governors of Sennar and Kassala +continued to defend their posts. Whilst Khartum was being besieged, +steamers had been sent under Subhi Pasha to Sennar, and, after +replenishing the posts, had returned to the capital. But when the local +tribes had been summoned by the Mahdi to join in the holy war, they, +collecting under their head Sheikh, Merdi Abu Rof of the Gehéna tribe, +laid siege to the town. Surrounded for several months, the brave but +famishing garrison at length made a sortie, drove off the besiegers, and +captured in their camp a quantity of stores and grain which lasted them +for some time. The Mahdi, believing that the local tribes were somewhat +lukewarm in their efforts, reinforced them by his cousin Abdel Kerim, +with a considerable force from Khartum. The latter, learning that the +garrison was now suffering severely from famine, determined to take the +town by storm; but he was forced back, and the garrison, making a +counter attack, drove him out of his position. In spite of this victory, +however, the condition of Sennar became hopeless; constant fighting, +famine, and the impossibility of relief began to tell at last. + +Meanwhile, Kassala had been closely besieged; and, although the garrison +had made several successful sorties, they had gained no really decisive +victory, and had not been able to replenish their store of provisions. + +The Egyptian Government, learning the critical situation of the +garrisons in the Eastern Sudan, now appealed to King John of Abyssinia +to co-operate in relieving the posts of Gallabat, Gira, Senhit, and +Kassala, and bring their garrisons to Massawa. The Governor of Kassala, +however, declared that as the garrison of the town was composed for the +most part of local people, he could not induce them to leave the +country. The Mahdi now sent Idris Wad Abder Rahim and El Hussein Wad +Sahra with reinforcements to hasten the fall of the town. Meanwhile, +King John had succeeded in relieving the garrisons of Senhit, Gira, and +Gallabat, and removing them to Massawa; thus all the Arab tribes lying +within the Suakin-Berber-Kassala triangle became fanatical adherents of +the Mahdi. Osman Digna had already been appointed Emir of this district; +whilst Mohammed Kheir was ordered to proceed from Berber with +instructions to occupy Dongola with the Jaalin and Barabra, after the +retirement of the British army. + +Such was briefly the situation in the Sudan when Khalifa Abdullahi +became its ruler. It was not, therefore, without reason that he summoned +the western Arab tribes to unite together, and seriously called their +attention to the fact that they were strangers and foreigners in the +Nile valley. It can be readily understood that the Aulad-Belad, or local +population, more especially the Barabra, Jaalin, and the inhabitants of +the Gezira, did not appreciate the advent of the Khalifa and his western +Arabs, from whom they entirely differed in ideas and character; they saw +with dread the new ruler seizing the reins of government, and relying +entirely for the execution of his orders on his western compatriots. One +of the Khalifa's first steps was to expel from his position Ahmed Wad +Suleiman, whom he detested, and whom he knew to have given a large share +of the booty to the Ashraf (Mahdi's relatives), who looked on him with +no friendly eye. The unfortunate Ahmed was ordered to give an account of +the funds which had passed through his hands during the previous year; +Abdullahi well knew that the Mahdi had trusted Ahmed entirely, and had +never called on him to keep full and accurate accounts, because the +money he issued was almost invariably given under the Mahdi's verbal +orders, and he held no receipts. It was, of course, impossible for Ahmed +to produce the account; and his expulsion from the Beit el Mal, and the +confiscation of his property, and that of several of his assistants, was +looked upon by the populace as an act of justice. The Khalifa appointed +in his place Ibrahim Wad Adlan, who was of the Kawahla tribe located on +the Blue Nile, but had spent many years of his life as a merchant in +Kordofan, and was in favour with the Khalifa. + +Adlan was now ordered to open ledgers showing the revenue and +expenditure, and to keep his books in such a manner that at any moment, +on the demand of the Khalifa, he should be able to give an exact +statement of the financial situation. He also ordered him to keep a +careful list of those to whom money was issued, or who were in receipt +of pensions. + +Almost simultaneously with the death of the Mahdi, came the news of the +failure of the attack on Sennar, and of the repulse of Abdel Kerim. The +Khalifa, therefore, at once despatched Abderrahman en Nejumi to take +supreme command; and, in August, 1885, the garrison surrendered to that +redoubtable warrior. As usual, the fall of the town was the signal for a +series of brutal atrocities and cruelties. A number of the inhabitants +were sent to the Khalifa, amongst them, all the good-looking young +girls, and the daughters of the former Government officials, of whom the +Khalifa kept some for himself, and distributed the remainder amongst his +Emirs. + +Abdullahi entertained a particular aversion for the Mahdi's cousin Abdel +Kerim, and he now summoned him and his followers to Omdurman. Abdel +Kerim, being Khalifa Sherif's assistant, had taken with him when he went +to Sennar the Black soldiers of Sherif's flag; it was rumoured at the +time, that he had said that, if supported by his own adherents, as well +as by those of Khalifa Sherif, he would be sufficiently powerful to +force Khalifa Abdullahi to hand over his authority to Sherif, who, being +a relative of the Mahdi, and a Khalifa, had every right to succeed. It +was not known if Abdel Kerim was really serious in his intentions, or if +these were mere idle tales; but Abdullahi prepared himself, and all his +relatives, and directed his brother Yakub to hold his men in readiness +when Abdel Kerim came. On the same day that he arrived in Khartum, his +men were ordered to be transferred to Omdurman, and he himself received +instructions to parade for the Khalifa's inspection. Accordingly, on the +following day, at the head of six hundred men, he took up his position +by the flag; and Abdullahi arrived accompanied by the force prepared by +his brother, and by several thousands of others. He heartily greeted +Abdel Kerim and his troops, praised them for their courage in the siege +of Sennar, and then dismissed them. On his return to his house, he +ordered the two Khalifas and all the Mahdi's relatives to come to his +residence immediately after evening prayers. + +At sunset, we mulazemin were ordered to hold ourselves in readiness to +introduce the expected visitors to the Khalifa. On their arrival, they +were taken to the inner part of the house, and directed to seat +themselves on the ground; the two Khalifas only were given sheepskins to +sit upon, while Abdullahi seated himself on a small angareb. From his +elevated position, the Khalifa now ordered his secretary to read the +document which had been written by the late Mahdi in his favour. This +done, he informed the assembled people that Abdel Kerim was unfaithful. +The latter of course denied it; nevertheless, he was found guilty, and +Khalifa Ali Wad Helu seized the occasion to declare, in the most +vehement terms, that he was a most faithful adherent of the Mahdi, and +Khalifa Abdullahi's slave. He based this declaration on the contents of +the statement just read, and on the Mahdi's last words as he lay on his +death-bed. Abdullahi, not wishing to appear too much concerned about +Abdel Kerim's conduct, gave him a full pardon, but ordered that his +Black soldiers should be at once handed over. Khalifa Sherif and his +relatives were obliged to accept this condition; and Ali Wad Helu, on a +wink from Abdullahi, suggested that they should all renew the oath of +allegiance. The proposal was accepted; the Holy Kuran was brought in; +and those present, placing their hands on the sacred volume, swore that +it was their duty to hand over to the Khalifa all their Black soldiers +and arms. By way of encouragement, Khalifa Ali was the first to swear, +and in this respect aided and abetted his master at a critical moment to +no inconsiderable extent. Khalifa Sherif and his relatives, however, +swore very unwillingly; and, after Abdullahi himself had administered +the oath, they were permitted to leave. This was the Khalifa's first +blow to his antagonists; and he thus crippled their power, and reduced +them to a harmless position. + +Now Mohammed Khaled alone was left; and, being one of the Mahdi's near +relatives, he had for long been a thorn in Abdullahi's side. + +That evening, I happened to be alone with the Khalifa, and he talked +over the events of the day, remarking that, "A regent cannot share +authority;" by this he inferred that the action of the two other +Khalifas had placed him in the position of an absolute ruler. + +On the following morning, Abdel Kerim and Ahmed Wad Suleiman, +representing Khalifa Sherif, handed over all their Black soldiers, arms, +and ammunition to the Khalifa's brother Yakub, who received them in the +open space in front of his house. Khalifa Ali also made over the +soldiers in his charge; and the united force of Blacks was now placed +under the command of Abu Anga's brother, Fadl el Maula, who, in order to +exercise control, took up his residence temporarily in the barracks. Not +content with these measures, Abdullahi now sent for the war-drums in +charge of the other Khalifas; and they were at once handed over, without +further ado, to his deputy. Still not satisfied, he ordered the flags, +which hitherto were always planted in front of the residences of the +respective Khalifas, to be collected and placed all together in front +of Yakub's residence. The previous day he had, by kind words, won over +Khalifa Ali to his side; and now the latter was the first to plant his +flags in their new positions. Khalifa Sherif was powerless to do +anything; all his Black soldiers, his flags, and his war-drums, which +are always known as signs of authority in the Sudan, were safely +deposited in Yakub's hands; and the populace were not slow to recognise +that Abdullahi meant to be the one and only ruler, and was resolved to +have his commands obeyed. + +Whilst all these important matters were transpiring in the capital, the +news arrived that Kassala had surrendered, and that Osman Digna was +fighting against the Abyssinians under the leadership of Ras Alula. +Although the Abyssinians had been victorious, and had driven Digna back +to Kassala, they did not pursue him, but returned to their own country. + +Osman Digna now accused the former Governor, Ahmed Bey Effat, of having +incited the Abyssinians to take up arms against him, and of having been +in communication with them. There were no grounds for this suspicion; +but, nevertheless, he and six former officials of Kassala had their +hands tied behind their backs like criminals, and were shot dead. + +Idris Wad Ibrahim, who, it will be remembered, had been despatched to +Kassala, was now ordered to return to Omdurman with all his men, +ammunition, loot, and women that he had captured, and to leave the +country in the hands of Osman Digna. + +Abdullahi fully realised that his action in regard to the other Khalifas +would naturally rouse the ire of the Mahdi's relatives, with whom he was +already on bad terms; but this was a matter of little concern to him. He +was determined, by all the means in his power, and, if necessary, by +recourse to violence, to enforce his commands, whatever they might be. +But, on the other hand, he did not wish to entirely alienate public +opinion, nor to give grounds to the numerous Mahdists, who, owing to +their love for the Mahdi, entertained a certain affection for his +relatives, for bringing against him accusations of injustice or +hostility; he therefore presented them with numbers of female slaves, +and to Khalifa Sherif he gave some very fine horses and mules, and +distributed quantities of slaves amongst his retainers. He took good +care to make these gifts widely known; and the populace, in their turn, +praised him for his magnanimity, and went so far as to extol his justice +and liberality in songs. Still bent on improving his position, he +despatched his relative and my friend, Yunes Wad ed Dekeim, and his +cousin Osman Wad Adam to Kordofan, and, in order to remove from Omdurman +the Black troops he had taken away from the Khalifas, he despatched them +also to the west. Yunes was instructed to bring into subjection the +Gimeh tribe, which was both rich and strong, but which had shown some +lukewarmness in obeying the Khalifa's summons to immigrate to Omdurman. +Osman Wad Adam was ordered to join Abu Anga, and await further +instructions. To both, however, he gave strict injunctions to collect as +many male and female slaves as possible, and instruct the former in the +use of fire-arms. Previous to the arrival of Yunes in Gimeh, the head +Sheikh, Asaker Wad Abu Kalam, had already been summoned to Omdurman, and +had been imprisoned there; but his cousin, unwilling to submit to the +rule of Yunes, had, while endeavouring to escape, been overtaken and +killed, while his tribe was now deprived of the greater part of its +property, and forced to proceed to Omdurman. Yunes, having crossed the +river at Goz Abu Guma, had established a settlement there, and now +returned to the Khalifa for further orders. He had already despatched +thousands of cattle to Khartum, and, in consequence, received a very +warm welcome. The Khalifa now instructed him to remove the tribe to Wad +el Abbas, opposite Sennar, where he would send him further orders. Yunes +had a considerable attachment for me, and asked the Khalifa's permission +to take me with him, in order to assist in the transport arrangements, +as the Gimeh people were peculiarly unmanageable. At first, the Khalifa +refused the request, but eventually acceded to Yunes's pressing demand. +I had already taken possession of my new quarters the previous month, +and my servant, with his three wives, who had been detained at El Obeid +when on his way from Darfur, was now brought here by the Khalifa's +orders. Three other male servants and their wives also arrived; but as +they did not appear anxious to remain in my service, I handed them over +to Fadl el Maula, who, in accordance with the Khalifa's orders, took +them into the ranks. My household now consisted of four male servants +with their wives; and I asked the Khalifa's permission to take three of +them with me to Sennar. "There is no necessity for you to take any of +your servants with you," said the Khalifa. "Leave them here, and I will +see that they are looked after; while Yunes will be responsible for your +comfort during the journey. I hope you will justify my confidence in +you. Carry out the orders of Yunes, and you will regain my regard; go +now to him, and tell him that I permit you to accompany him on his +journey." + +Yunes, delighted at the Khalifa's permission, said that he would do all +he could to make my journey pleasant, and talked so quickly and +incessantly that I scarcely understood half of what he said. I was +delighted at the thought of leaving Omdurman, and being away from the +tyrant whom I was obliged to serve day and night; I secretly cherished a +hope that during the journey I might find some occasion to escape from +the hands of my tormentors. + +One of the mulazemin now summoned me again to the Khalifa's presence. +"Did you inform Yunes," said he, "that you are going to accompany him?" +and when I replied in the affirmative, he ordered me to sit down, and +again began to give me the benefit of his advice. "I urge you," said he, +"to serve me faithfully; I look upon you as my son and my heart is +inclined toward you. God's holy word, the Kuran, promises rewards to the +faithful, but threatens the traitor with the Divine wrath. Yunes is your +well-wisher, and will attend to what you may say to him. Should he +attempt to undertake anything which is not likely to lead to his +advantage, you should warn him, for he is your master; but I have told +him that I look upon you as my son, and he will take heed of what you +say." "I will always endeavour," said I, "to act in accordance with your +instructions; but Yunes is my master, and will naturally do what he +thinks right. Do not therefore attribute ill-will to me; and I beg you +will not make me responsible for anything which may happen contrary to +your wishes." + +"You are only in a position to offer an opinion," said he; "but you have +no power to act. Should he pay heed to you, well and good; if not, it +will be his own lookout if matters go wrong." He then turned the +conversation to affairs in Darfur, and told me that he had written some +time ago to Mahmud Sherif to return with all available troops to +Kordofan, leaving in Darfur a commander who, in his opinion, would be +equal to the position. He had replied that amongst his relatives there +was no one capable of representing their interests; and he recommended +the selection of some one who could not only see after the public +affairs of the province, but also his private business as well. In +reply, the Khalifa had assured him of his favour, urged him not to +listen to intriguers, but to come as soon as possible to Kordofan, and +thence to Omdurman. The last news he had received was to the effect that +Mahmud was on the point of coming with all his forces, and that he was +already on the road. "Do you think," said the Khalifa, "that he will +comply implicitly with my orders, and will come? You know him better +than the others." + +"Undoubtedly he will come," I replied; "for he does not dare to act +contrary to your instructions." "I hope that this is so," replied he; "a +timid subject is always more easy to rule than one who is not afraid to +act disobediently." + +The conversation had already lasted some time; and I was about to ask +permission to retire, when he beckoned to one of his eunuchs who was +standing close by, and whispered a few words in his ear. I knew my +master well, and had a foreboding of ill. + +"I have already instructed you," said he, "to leave behind all the +members of your household; for, having only just arrived from a long +journey, they must be fatigued, and I do not wish to expose them +further. Yunes will give you a servant; but I am giving you a wife, so +that, in case of indisposition or illness, you may have some one to +attend on you. She is pretty, and not plain like the one Ahmed Wad +Suleiman sent you," he said with a smile; and now beckoning to the woman +who had just entered, to come nearer, the latter approached and threw +off her veil. I glanced at her, and, in spite of her dark colour, she +really was very pretty. "She was my wife," added the Khalifa; "she is +very good, and patient; but I have so many, I therefore gave her her +freedom; but you may now call her your own." + +I was much embarrassed, and all the time had been casting over in my +mind how I could refuse this gift without offending the giver. + +"Sir, allow me to speak candidly," said I. + +"Certainly," said he, "here you are at home. Speak!" + +"I am at home where I need fear nothing," I began, hastily; "this woman +was your wife, and has in consequence a right to be treated with +consideration for your sake; this of course is an easy matter. But, +sire, how can I, your servant, take your own wife for myself? Moreover, +you said yourself that you look upon me as your son." Having said this, +I dropped my head, and fixed my eyes on the ground, continuing, "I +cannot accept this gift;" and then I awaited his answer with anxiety. + +"Your words are good, and I pardon you," said he, signing to the woman, +who was standing near us, to withdraw. "Almas!" said he, to the eunuch, +"bring my white jibba!" and when the servant brought it, he handed it to +me, saying, "Take this jibba, which I have often worn myself, and which +was specially blessed by the Mahdi for me.[15] Hundreds and thousands +of people will envy you this; guard it carefully, for it will bring you +blessings." + +I was delighted with this present, and fervently kissed his hand, which +he extended to me; but inwardly I rejoiced to be rid of the woman, who +would have been a useless encumbrance to me, besides an additional +expense; and I thought the jibba an excellent exchange. I then begged +leave to withdraw, and carried off with me my valuable present. + +Yunes had fixed his departure for that day; but, before leaving, I was +summoned once more to the Khalifa, who, in the presence of Yunes, again +reminded me to be faithful and submissive. + +That evening, we left Omdurman on board the steamer "Bordein," which had +been floated off the place where it had gone aground; and, on the second +day, we reached Goz Abu Guma. In accordance with the Khalifa's +instructions, we were to hurry on the Gimeh people to Wad el Abbas as +quickly as possible; and we called on the Beni Hussein tribe to supply +us with camels to carry the water-skins. Yunes was specially kind and +considerate to me; he gave me one of his horses and three female slaves, +and instructed two old soldiers to wait on me as servants. His total +force numbered ten thousand combatants, of whom seven thousand belonged +to the Gimeh tribe, who were encumbered with a mass of women and +children. I distributed the camels and water-skins amongst them; and we +now prepared for the journey. Our road led through Sekedi Moya, across a +plain which, as I remarked before, had been named Tibki Teskut (You weep +and are silent); and as I crossed it, I recalled all the bloodshed and +fighting which had taken place in the Sudan. In the houses which lay +close to the track, we saw innumerable skeletons of the rebels who had +been driven away from the wells by Saleh, and had succumbed to thirst. + +On the third day, we reached the banks of the Blue Nile, and saw Sennar +in the distance; the Khalifa had issued strict orders that we should on +no account proceed to this city, which was now lying half ruined, and +which, as it had held out until after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa +said, would bring us no luck. We found several boats in readiness, and +in them crossed the Blue Nile, which is here about four hundred yards +broad; but this operation took us several days. Just north of Wad el +Abbas, there is a strip of high sandy ground; and this was selected as +the position of the camp, because the land in the vicinity is low-lying, +and unfit for habitation during the rainy season. All my thoughts were +now bent on flight; but, as most of the people entirely sympathised with +the Khalifa's government, it required the greatest care on my part to +select any one in whom to place confidence. Very soon after our arrival +at Wad el Abbas, I received a letter from the Khalifa, which ran as +follows:-- + + "In the name of God, the All-bountiful and Merciful, from the + noble Sayed Abdullahi Ibn Sayed Mahmud, by the grace of God, + Khalifat el Mahdi, on whom be peace, to our brother in God, + Abdel Kader Saladin. + + "After this greeting of peace, this is to inform you that I have + not received any letter from you since your departure; but I + hope that, by the grace of God, you are in good health. You know + my instructions, and you have drunk from the river of my + eloquence; I have urged you to remain faithful, and I know that + you will uphold your promise. This day, I received a letter from + one of the Mahdi's friends, who tells me that your wife, coming + from the land of the unbelievers, has reached Korosko, and is at + this moment endeavouring to bribe people to induce them to fly + with you, in order to bring you to her; and I have been told + that you know all about this. I therefore again urge you to + adhere steadfastly to the faith of the Prophet, and to perform + with honesty the duties upon which you have entered; but I wish + to add that no doubt has entered into my heart of your fidelity. + I only wish you peace, and I greet you." + +At the same time, a letter arrived for Yunes to the effect--so his +secretary told me in confidence--that news had come from Berber, and +that a very strict watch was to be kept over me. Under these +circumstances, I could not conceive why the Khalifa had written to me. +Yunes did not tell me that he had received these instructions, and, +outwardly, was more friendly than ever with me; but I was guarded very +closely both by day and night, and when, a few days later, some hundreds +of the Gimeh Arabs were, in accordance with the Khalifa's orders, +embarked on a steamer to proceed to Omdurman, Yunes instructed me to +return with them in order, he said, to give the Khalifa a verbal account +of the situation. I perfectly understood what was meant, and realised +that he wished to avoid the responsibility of having me with him. + +When all the people were embarked, I went to say good-bye to Yunes, who +gave me orders to inform the Khalifa on a number of points. I said that +when this duty was over, I presumed I should return to him, to which he +replied, "Perhaps you wish to remain with our master the Khalifa, or +possibly he may require your presence in Omdurman. Had I better send the +horse I gave you after you, or shall I keep it here?" I assured him that +I looked upon the horse as his, and not mine; for I was well aware that +once back in Omdurman, I should again have to walk barefoot. As a token +of his friendship, Yunes gave me a hundred hides, and a letter of +recommendation to the Khalifa. The second day after leaving Wad el +Abbas, I reached Omdurman, handed over the Gimeh under my charge to +Yakub, and was then received by the Khalifa. He affected great surprise +at seeing me, saying that he thought I should have some difficulty in +leaving Yunes even for an hour. These were of course mere empty words; +for I knew perfectly well that this was a plan arranged between them to +get me back without my suspecting it. Meanwhile, he gave me permission +to go and visit my household, after which I was to return to him for +further orders. + +In the evening, we were once more alone, and he began to talk of the +letter which had come from Berber. I assured him that if the letter had +really come, it must have been written with an intention to do me harm, +or that there was some mistake; and, in proof of this, I told him that I +had never been married, and that, in consequence, there could be no +pining wife to come and look for me. Should any one, however, come to +Omdurman and try to induce me to fly, my first step would be at once to +inform the Khalifa. He assured me that he did not believe the rumour, +and then asked me if I preferred to stay with him or return to Yunes. +Guessing his intention, I told him that nothing in the world would +induce me to leave him again, and that I considered the time spent with +him as the happiest in my life. Although pleased at my flattering words, +he took occasion to remind me, in a very serious tone of voice, to be +faithful and true, and to have nothing whatever to do with people other +than his own household; and he then ordered me to take my place as usual +before the gate. + +On withdrawing from his presence, and thinking the matter over, I had no +doubt now that his suspicions against me had not only taken root, but +had begun to grow. + +At this time the force in El Obeid included about two hundred Blacks, +mostly old soldiers, whose numbers had been increased by the arrival of +a portion of the former garrison of Dara. Many of them were inhabitants +of Jebel Daïr, who were in constant enmity with the Mahdists, and who +had been captured by them and utilised as slaves to build their huts. +Indignant at this treatment, they resolved to regain freedom by force. +Fadl el Maula Bekhit, one of my servants who had been detained in El +Obeid, and Beshir, a former lieutenant, were the ringleaders of this +conspiracy; and it is always a wonder to me that the Mahdists did not +succeed in discovering the plot. Sayed Mahmud, it will be remembered, +had been summoned to Omdurman; and the mutineers now thought the +favourable moment had arrived to put their plans into execution. +Suddenly, at midday, the inhabitants of El Obeid were startled by the +firing of rifles; the soldiers had seized the isolated building which +was used as a storehouse for the arms and ammunition, and were firing on +the Dervishes, who had attacked them in this position. The latter were +driven back; and the former then succeeded in collecting their wives and +children. The Dervishes, having only a few fire-arms, had retreated to +the Government buildings, and had barricaded the doors. The soldiers, +encouraged by their success, now attempted to take these buildings by +storm; but were forced to retire. In this attack, Abder Rahman el +Borusi, formerly one of my best and bravest subalterns, was killed; +while the Dervishes lost Abdel Hashmi, Sayed Mahmud's representative, +who was greatly detested by the soldiers on account of his overbearing +ways. If the soldiers had only had a good leader, El Obeid would +certainly have fallen into their hands; but, under the circumstances, +they had no special desire to take this post, and were merely bent on +regaining their freedom. That night they spent in the powder magazine, +where they were joined by quantities of male and female slaves, who took +this opportunity to run away from their masters. Early the next morning, +the inhabitants and the Dervishes attempted an attack on the soldiers, +but were utterly defeated, and lost a large number in killed and +wounded. The soldiers, longing for freedom, now left El Obeid, and +marched in a southerly direction towards the Nuba mountains; but, before +leaving, they plundered a number of houses, and, seizing the women they +found there, made them their slaves. The Dervishes now attempted to +pursue them; but the soldiers, elated by their freedom, again utterly +routed them. Unfortunately, the Emir of the soldiers, a certain Wad +Abdulla, a native of Wad Medina, and who had also been one of my +officers at Dara, knew of the plot, but did not join in time, fearing +it might fail; he was now seized by the Gellabas, and, in spite of his +innocence, was beheaded. + +The news of this mutiny was at once sent to Sayed Mahmud in Omdurman; +and the Khalifa, no longer requiring his services there, permitted him +to return to El Obeid, with instructions to come back as soon as +possible to Omdurman with his family, and with all the other relatives +of the late Mahdi, but forbade him to pursue the mutineers. When, +however, he arrived at El Obeid, moved either by feelings of revenge, or +thinking perhaps that by killing the mutineers he should obtain favour, +he disregarded the Khalifa's orders, and, collecting all the able-bodied +inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, advanced against the +soldiers. The latter had taken up a strong position in the Golfan and +Naïma hills, and had established there a sort of military republic, +nominating as their chief Beshir, who was formerly a sergeant. He gave +careful instructions that the ammunition was not to be wasted; and he +forbade the mention of the name of the Mahdi under pain of punishment. +They acknowledged the Khedive as their master, and swore in his name; +and the neighbourhood supplied them with abundant food. + +Sayed Mahmud, on his arrival at El Obeid, had despatched secret agents +to assure the mutineers that he loved them as his own children, and that +he would give them a full and free pardon should they submit to him. The +soldiers jeeringly replied, that he should first of all convince himself +of their affection for him. Thereupon, Mahmud resolved to storm the +mountain, and, carrying his own banner at the head of his troops, he was +shot dead while leading the assault. Several of his adherents who +attempted to recover his body met with a like fate, whilst the remainder +of his following dispersed, and fled in all directions, pursued by the +Nuba mountaineers, who inflicted heavy loss on them. + +Hamdan Abu Anga, who at this time was only a few days distant from the +scene of operations, at once reported this occurrence to the Khalifa, +and asked to be allowed to punish the victorious mutineers; but he was +instructed to take no further action, as his master had more important +duties for him to perform; he had now to deal with Mohammed Khaled. + +In Omdurman, however, the Khalifa declared publicly, that Sayed Mahmud +had been justly punished by God for his disobedience; and that instead +of coming to him as ordered, he had sought fame and revenge, in +attacking the rebels contrary to his wishes. + +For some time back, Khaled had received letters from the Khalifa, asking +him to come to Omdurman, and offering him a high position and honours. +The latter had made all preparations for his departure, and was on the +point of starting, when the news came of the action taken by the Khalifa +in regard to Khalifa Sherif, and the relatives of the late Mahdi. Khaled +now received further letters from Abdullahi, telling him how the action +of these relatives had forced him to take this unfortunate step; he +begged him, in consequence, to come with all speed, as he had no doubt +that his practical common sense would assist him in bringing about a +reconciliation with all parties. Khaled, believing in these assurances, +and anxious to be of assistance to his relative, hastened his journey +and camped at Bara. He had under his command a very considerable force, +which was augmented by a large number of the local population of Darfur +who had been unwillingly compelled to immigrate. He had at his disposal +upwards of a thousand cavalry, and three thousand rifles, whilst his +followers could not have numbered less than twenty thousand persons. + +Previous, however, to Khaled's arrival, Abu Anga, who had with him over +five thousand rifles, had received secret instructions to move to Bara, +and now advanced thither by forced marches. At sunrise one morning, +Khaled found his camp completely encircled by Abu Anga's troops, who +were prepared to carry out his instructions, should the slightest +opposition be made. Abu Anga now summoned Khaled to appear before him; +and the order was at once obeyed. On his arrival the Khalifa's +instructions were handed to him, which were to the effect that, as a +token of his submission and fidelity, he should at once make over to Abu +Anga all his soldiers and cavalry, as the latter was considered +commander-in-chief of the army; Khaled complied with this order without +demur, and, being detained by Abu Anga, who obliged him to give the +necessary instructions, in a short time the whole of the Darfur troops +were placed under the command of subordinates nominated by Abu Anga. +This over, Abu Anga now summoned all the Emirs who accompanied him from +Darfur, and read out to them a very flattering document from the +Khalifa, in which they were given the option of remaining with him, or +returning to Omdurman. + +Khaled and his relatives, however, were arrested; their property +confiscated; and all the treasure accumulated in the Beit el Mal was +taken possession of by Abu Anga. Said Bey Guma, who, for a considerable +time, had acted as chief of Abu Anga's artillery, also reaped +considerable benefit from this episode, by obtaining permission to +re-annex all his slaves, wives, and property which had been confiscated +in Darfur, and which Khaled had brought along with him. + +Khaled himself was placed in irons, and sent to El Obeid; where he had +leisure to think over the Khalifa's letter, and to recognise that there +is a wide difference between making a promise, and carrying that promise +into effect. + +The Khalifa, however, was completely satisfied with the result of his +plan. Once more he had inflicted a crushing blow on his opponents, who +had counted greatly on Khaled's return, but who now saw Abu Anga's army +augmented by the very men they had thought to utilise for their own +purposes. Abu Anga's force now numbered several thousands; he soon +acquired an influence over the Darfur Emirs and their subjects, whom he +considered his compatriots, and several of them proceeded to Omdurman, +where they were received by the Khalifa with the highest honours. Thus +were the fears of the inhabitants of the Nile valley increased, owing to +the growing prestige and power acquired by the western Arabs; and they +realised that for them a reign of despotic tyranny was approaching. + +Abu Anga now received instructions to attack and destroy the rebels in +the Golfan mountains, who, after the death of Mahmud, considered +themselves masters of the situation, and began to treat the inhabitants +of the district tyrannically, the result being that internal dissensions +arose amongst the various tribes, and they began to scatter and return +to their own homes. On the approach of Abu Anga, my old servant with his +wife, feeling that he could not count on success, went over to him, +saying he was tired of fighting, and was ready to submit to such +punishment as his crime merited, all he begged was permission to defend +himself. He represented that he had been my servant in Darfur, and that +he, with several others, had been forcibly prevented by Mahmud from +continuing his journey, that owing to the constant insults he had +received, he had become angry and disgusted, had joined the mutineers, +and had taken an active part in the fighting; but that now he had come +to beg forgiveness, and ask permission to join me, or suffer the +punishment to which he was justly entitled. Abu Anga, whose father had +been a slave, and who always had compassion on his own tribesmen, and +detested the Gellabas (a name which the western Arabs used generally for +all inhabitants of the Nile valley), knew perfectly well that the +soldiers had been driven into revolt by the unjust treatment they had +received, and, consequently, generously pardoned my servant for the +sake, he said, of his old friendship for me, and to do me honour in my +position as mulazem of the Khalifa. He thereupon gave him a letter to +me, announcing that he had great pleasure in returning to me my old +servant, and that he rejoiced we were again united. + +Beshir, who had refused the offer of submission, was attacked by Abu +Anga's troops the following day, and, after making a magnificent stand, +was killed, together with Fadl el Maula, and several soldiers who had +remained true to him to the end. On the night previous to this action, +several of his men had deserted secretly, and had hidden themselves in +various parts of the country; but one after the other they were forced +to surrender and accept the pardon offered them. Abu Anga himself, +however, took advantage of his success only in so far as to requisition +the inhabitants to supply his army with food, and to acquire male and +female slaves; whilst he left his cousin Osman Wad Adam as his +representative in El Obeid. An order now arrived that the latter should +take over the command of Darfur, where Sultan Yusef, a son of Sultan +Ibrahim, who had been killed in Zubeir's time, was in revolt. + +I ascertained, from a merchant who had recently arrived from Kordofan, +that my friend Joseph Ohrwalder had quitted El Obeid, and would shortly +arrive in Omdurman. Although I knew that I should have considerable +difficulty in meeting him, I rejoiced to think that one of my old +countrymen would be near me. I sat at my master's gate, ready at all +times to obey his orders. Occasionally, I was spoken to kindly, and +commanded to dine with him; at other times, without rhyme or reason as +far as I knew, I was taken no notice of for days, receiving from my +master only the blackest and most disdainful looks; but this was due to +the extraordinary changeability of his character, and I knew I must put +up with it. I suppose this was part of my education. To my comrades, I +showed myself absolutely callous to everything that happened in the +country, so that they should have no reason to increase the distrust +felt by the Khalifa, who, I knew, frequently inquired as to my conduct. +As a matter of fact, however, I watched all the occurrences as closely +as my position would allow, and endeavoured to impress them on my mind; +for I was, of course, prohibited from writing a single line. The Khalifa +contributed very little towards the support of my household, and only +occasionally gave orders for me to be supplied with a few ardebs of +dhurra, or a sheep, or a cow. + +Ibrahim Adlan, whom I had known in the time of the Government, used to +send me monthly from ten to twenty dollars; and a few of the officials +and merchants who were in better circumstances than myself, used +secretly to send me small sums of money. Thus, though by no means well +off, I did not lack the absolute necessaries of life, and only +occasionally felt the actual pinch of want; anyhow I was better off than +my friend Lupton, whom the Khalifa had promised to assist, but paid +absolutely no attention to his wants. Lupton, it is true, enjoyed a +certain amount of freedom: he was allowed to wander about in Omdurman, +and to talk to the people; nor was he obliged to attend the five prayers +daily at the mosque; but, in spite of this, life to him was full of +trouble and sorrow. I begged Ibrahim Adlan to interest himself in +Lupton, and to give a kind thought to him occasionally, by helping him +with small sums of money; but this was not sufficient to keep him, and, +though ignorant of any trade, he had perforce to earn a livelihood by +mending old arms. Having been an officer in the English merchant +service, I thought he might know something about machinery. Meeting him +one day in the mosque, he complained bitterly of his wretched position; +and I suggested to him that if he could secure an appointment in the +Khartum dock-yard, it might improve his condition. He jumped at the +idea; and I promised that I would do my best to help him. A few days +later, it happened that the Khalifa was in a good temper, and showed a +friendly disposition towards me, as Abu Anga had sent him a present of a +young horse, some money, and some of Khaled's slaves. I was commanded to +dine with him; and, in the course of conversation, succeeded in turning +the subject to the steamers and their machinery, which, up to that day, +had been an absolute mystery to him. "The steamers," said I, "require +competent men to look after them and repair damages. As most of the +workmen in the dock-yard were killed during the siege of Khartum, I +suppose you have had some difficulty in replacing them?" + +"But what is to be done?" said the Khalifa. "These steamers are of the +greatest value to me; and I must do all I can to preserve them." + +"Abdullahi Lupton," said I, "was formerly engineer on a steamer; if he +received a good monthly salary from the Beit el Mal, I believe he would +be really useful for this work." + +"Then will you speak to him," said he, apparently much pleased; "if he +undertook this work of his own free-will and accord, without being +forced into it, I believe he would be of some use in these matters, of +which, I admit, I know absolutely nothing. I will order Ibrahim Adlan to +pay him well." + +"I do not even know his whereabouts," said I. "I have not seen him for a +long time; but I will make inquiries. I feel confident that he will be +only too glad to serve you." + +The following day, I sent for Lupton, told him of the conversation, but +begged him to do as little as he possibly could for our enemies. + +He assured me that the steamers, of the machinery of which he had only a +superficial knowledge, would, under his charge, grow worse instead of +better, and that it was only his unfortunate circumstances which obliged +him to accept the position. The Khalifa had also spoken to Ibrahim +Adlan; and that evening, Lupton sent me word that he was now appointed +an employé in the arsenal, with pay at the rate of forty dollars a +month, which would be just sufficient to save him from absolute want. +The Khalifa took this occasion to dismiss from the arsenal a certain +Sayed Taher, an uncle of the Mahdi, by whom he had been appointed +director. He had been formerly a carpenter in Kordofan, was excessively +ignorant, but excelled in every description of dishonesty, and freely +sold iron and other material; he was replaced by an Egyptian who had +been born in London, and was of such a timorous nature that he did not +dare to be dishonest. + +The Khalifa now found that the Kababish, who inhabited the northern +portion of Kordofan as far as Dongola, and whose herds pastured down to +Omdurman, were not sufficiently submissive for his purpose; he therefore +gave instructions to Ibrahim Adlan to confiscate everything they had, +under the pretext that they had been frequently ordered to undertake a +pilgrimage, and that they had refused to comply. Ibrahim Adlan +accordingly sent off a a party, who confiscated the Kababish flocks. + +This tribe used to do all the carrying trade of gum from Kordofan, and +possessed considerable sums of money, which, in accordance with the +usual Arab custom, they buried in some out-of-the-way place in the +desert known only to themselves; they were now maltreated and tortured +in order to make them disgorge, with the result that large amounts +reached the Beit el Mal. The tribe as a whole submitted without much +fighting; but Saleh Bey, the head Sheikh, and a brother of Sheikh et +Tom, who had been beheaded by the Mahdi, collected his nearest +relatives, and, together with them, proceeded to the wells of Om Badr, +where nobody dared to follow them. The Khalifa thereupon despatched two +well-known Sheikhs, Wad Nubawi of the Beni Jerrar and Wad Atir of the +Maalia, to ask him to come to Omdurman, not only promising him full +pardon, but also his nomination as Emir of the Kababish. Saleh Bey +listened quietly to the proposition, and, to the astonishment of the +messengers, took some tobacco, which is detested by the Mahdists, and, +putting it into his mouth, said, "I have well understood what you have +said; the Khalifa forgives me entirely, and desires me to come to +Omdurman. Supposing now that on my arrival the Prophet should appear to +the Khalifa--for we all know that the Khalifa acts altogether on the +inspirations of the Prophet--and instructs him not to forgive me; what +then?" The messengers were not able to answer this question, and, each +having received a present of a camel, returned to the Khalifa and +related exactly what had occurred. Several of the Kababish who had been +deprived of their property, now deserted to Sheikh Saleh at Om Badr; +and, in a very short time, although not a very powerful enemy, he was +sufficiently so to prove of considerable annoyance to the Khalifa. + +In Omdurman, the Kababish camels and sheep were sold by auction in the +Beit el Mal, and the price of meat fell considerably in consequence, but +the price of grain rose in proportion: the reason of this being that +Yunes permitted his men in the Gezira to do just as they liked. These +districts were the granary of Omdurman; and Yunes, having introduced +into them thousands of the Gimeh tribe, with their wives and children, +who had been deprived of all they possessed, these now organised +themselves into bands of brigands who not only seized all the grain they +could lay their hands on, but terrorised the inhabitants who cultivated +the land. Thus the store of grain diminished daily; whilst the army of +Yunes, to his great delight, grew in numbers, being augmented by runaway +slaves and a large supply of independent individuals. It was the +Khalifa's intention to weaken the power of the Gezira people, who +belonged, for the most part, to Khalifa Sherif's party; but now the +paucity of grain somewhat alarmed him, and he therefore sent orders to +Yunes to return to Omdurman with his entire force. In accordance with +these instructions, this great mass of people swept towards Omdurman, +seizing everything they could lay their hands on; and Yunes entered the +capital, as it were, at the head of a conquering army laden with loot of +every description. He was ordered to take up a position towards the +south end of the city, near the forts; and to this day the place is +known as Dem Yunes. + +Shortly after his arrival, it was rumoured in Omdurman that the +Abyssinians intended attacking Gallabat. It was said that a certain +Hajji Ali Wad Salem, of the Kawahla, who resided in Gallabat, and who +had formerly had some trading transactions with the Abyssinians, was +travelling in their country, had been made an Emir of a portion of his +tribe, had invaded Abyssinian territory, and had destroyed the Church of +Gabta. + +A certain Takruri named Saleh Shanga, who had resided at Gallabat, and +had held a position of some importance under Government, had quitted +that town on its evacuation by the Egyptian troops, and had settled down +in Abyssinia; but his cousin Ahmed Wad Arbab had been made Dervish Emir +of the district. Ras Adal, Governor of the province of Amhara, now +called on Arbab to deliver up Hajji Ali, who had been disturbing the +peace; and as this demand was refused, he had collected a considerable +force, and had invaded Gallabat. Meanwhile, Arbab, who had received +warning of Ras Adal's approach, now collected his followers, amounting +to some six thousand men, and awaited his arrival outside the town. The +rush of the Abyssinian force, which was ten times as strong as that of +Arbab, was terrible: in a few minutes, the Mahdi's forces were +completely surrounded; Arbab himself killed, and almost all his troops +massacred, only a very few escaping. The Abyssinians mutilated the +bodies of all, except that of Arbab, which, out of consideration for +Saleh Shanga, was untouched. The Dervishes had stored their spare +ammunition in an isolated house, and had placed it in charge of an +Egyptian, who, being called upon after the battle to surrender, refused +to do so; and on the Abyssinians attempting to storm it, he blew it up, +thus destroying himself and his enemies. The wives and children of those +who had been killed, were now carried off into captivity by the +Abyssinians. Gallabat itself was burnt to the ground; and, for a long +time, its site was little else than a great open cemetery, the abode of +nothing save hyenas. + +When the news of the destruction of Wad Arbab's army reached the +Khalifa, he sent a letter to King John requesting him to release the +captive wives and children in exchange for a sum of money which he asked +him to fix; but, at the same time, he ordered Yunes to quit Omdurman +with his entire force, and proceed to Gallabat, where he was to await +further orders. On the departure of the army of Yunes, the Khalifa +himself, with a number of his followers, crossed to the west in a +steamer, and, after staying with them three days, he gave the warriors +his parting blessing, and then returned to Omdurman. + +Some time since, Gustav Klootz, who had failed to make a living in +Omdurman, had disappeared, and I thought he must have escaped out of the +country; but I now learnt, from some merchants who had just arrived from +Gedaref, that he had reached that place, but had succumbed to the +fatigues of the journey, and had died just before the Abyssinian +invasion. + +Nejumi and Abu Girga were now ordered, the former to Dongola, and the +latter to Kassala, with instructions to occupy the country with their +troops, whilst Osman Digna was appointed ruler of the Arab tribes +between Kassala and Suakin. The Khalifa, however, in order to keep +himself fully informed of the actions and intentions of Nejumi and Abu +Girga, who, with their men, originally belonged to the Nile valley, and +did not, in consequence, possess his entire confidence, nominated two of +his own relatives, Mussaid Wad Gaidum and Osman Wad Ali, as his +representatives, with instructions that they should on all occasions be +consulted. In this manner, not only did Mussaid and Ali obtain a certain +amount of control, but the arrangement also tended to give them a +species of authority amongst the Nile Arabs. Thus, gradually, he +extended his power over the entire Sudan, by lessening the authority of +the local inhabitants, and placing his own relatives and tribesmen in +positions of importance. He and his Emirs enlarged their households +almost daily, and their luxurious mode of life required the expenditure +of considerable sums of money; it was therefore necessary to acquire a +thorough hold over the revenues of the country. The number of his +personal followers, and especially his armed mulazemin, increased +rapidly, and it was necessary to arrange for their maintenance. Money +was required for them, as well as for those who were secretly hostile to +him, and whom he wished to gain over to his side without an open +rupture. + +Ibrahim Adlan was now called upon to regulate the finances. The revenues +consisted of fitra (poll-tax), which every living man was obliged to pay +at the end of the great fast of Ramadan; its payment was usually made in +grain,--approximately eight rotls,--but it might also be paid in cash. +No one was exempt from this obligation; and parents were compelled to +pay not only for their children under age, but even for their newly-born +babes. Another source of income was the zeka (or two-and-a-half-per-cent +"alms for the poor") which was paid in grain, cattle, or money in +accordance with the Moslem Law. The officials appointed to gather this +tax were nominated by Yakub and Ibrahim; and it was presented by them to +the Khalifa. They were obliged to keep a strict account of all receipts, +which they had to render to the Beit et Mal, supported by vouchers. + +An attempt was also made to regulate the expenditure, that is to say, +Ibrahim Adlan was forbidden to pay away money as he thought proper. Of +course, certain persons,--such as the Kadi, his clerks, the chiefs of +the mulazemin, etc.,--whose services were absolutely necessary to the +Khalifa, were granted certain specified sums, which were paid monthly, +but which were so small that they were scarcely sufficient to provide +for the bare necessaries of life; for instance, the chief Kadi, who bore +the title of Kadi Islam, received only forty dollars a month; the +Khalifa's secretary, thirty; and so on. Khalifa Sherif and his relatives +received a certain sum in accordance with the Khalifa's special orders; +but Khalifa Ali Wad Helu, owing to his submission and obedience, was in +the Khalifa's favour, and obtained a somewhat larger amount. The +principal share, however, of the Sudan revenue was absorbed by the +Khalifa and his relatives; and he and his brother Yakub utilised it in +satisfying the demands of the western tribes, whose adherence to his +cause was most necessary, and who, having left their own country, were +occasionally in considerable straits. + +Another means of increasing the revenue was by the hiring out of ferries +along the whole extent of the river; and Ibrahim Adlan also started a +soap-boiling establishment, which was made a Government monopoly. One +day, the Khalifa, riding through the city, entered a district which he +did not usually visit, and there his olfactory nerves were greeted with +an odour which he well knew; he at once ordered search to be made to +discover from whence it came, and, in a few minutes, a poor half-naked +individual was brought before him, holding in his hand a stewpan in +which he had been attempting to boil soap. The Khalifa at once gave +orders that he should be thrown into prison, and his property, +consisting of a stewpan and an angareb, should be confiscated. + +An immense stock of silver trinkets, captured in the various campaigns, +lay stored up in the Beit el Mal; and quantities of these had been sold +for much below their value and had been secretly taken, from time to +time, by dealers to Egypt. In order to put a stop to this, the Khalifa +now decided to make his own coinage. After the fall of Khartum, Ahmed +Wad Suleiman had attempted to coin silver dollars and gold guineas; but, +on the Mahdi's express wish, he had abandoned it. Ibrahim Adlan, +however, now began to strike half, quarter, and whole dollars; and it +was arranged that the new dollar, which weighed eight drachms, should +consist of six drachms of silver and two of copper, but should have the +same value as the Medjidi dollar. The merchants, however, refused to +accept these; and, as a punishment, the Khalifa confiscated their goods +and closed their shops. This brought them to reason; and, on agreeing to +accept them at their whole value, their property was restored; but they +were warned that, if they made any further difficulties, they would be +punished by the loss of the right hand and left foot. The natural +outcome of these arbitrary measures was an immediate rise of prices to +compensate for the difference in value between the new and old dollars; +of course, all the Khalifa knew was that the dollar had been accepted, +and with that he was satisfied. + +Another source of income realised by Ibrahim Adlan was the organisation +of the sale of slaves; it was now arranged that slaves of both sexes +should be sold at a certain specified place near the Beit el Mal. The +vendor was obliged to make out a bill, endorsed by the Beit el Mal, +admitting that the object of negotiation was absolutely and entirely the +property of the purchaser; and for this bill a tax was levied. + +The Beit el Mal was now arranged in the most comfortable manner +possible; it was removed from the vicinity of the mosque, and located in +a large walled enclosure near the river. Adlan had special buildings +erected for his own clerk, for counting-houses, and for drug-stores +where the old medicines which had escaped destruction in the sack of +Khartum, were now deposited; he also erected large grain stores. In +fact, Ibrahim Adlan was ambitious enough to endeavour to make his +position rank next to that of the Khalifa in importance; and, while +doing all he could to remain in his good graces, he did not forget that +the latter was also to a large extent in the hands of the Kadis, or +religious judges, of whom the chief was Ahmed Wad Ali, Kadi of Islam. + +All lawsuits and quarrels of a public or private nature, as well as +Government litigation, were brought before the Court of Kadis to be +decided; and, in accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, they were +supposed to execute judgment as laid down in the Sheria Mohammedia +(Religious Law), the Manshur el Mahdi (Instructions of the Mahdi), and +El Ishara (Signs and Commands of the Khalifa). The natural result of +this was, that, instead of upholding the law, they became the prime +abusers of it. It frequently happened that the "instructions" of the +Mahdi differed entirely with the religious law; and then, besides this, +the "signs and commands" of the Khalifa had also to be observed,--that +is to say, each case was judged in accordance with the Khalifa's wishes; +and it invariably happened that judgment was given in favour of the +Mahdi or Khalifa, even in private quarrels in which, in order to obtain +some personal advantage, the Khalifa frequently and most unjustifiably +interfered. In the Kadi el Islam, the Khalifa had a most faithful +servant, ever ready to obey his master's wishes to the letter, no matter +how grossly the law was misapplied. Human life was of no account; and +the Kadi and his colleagues would, without the smallest hesitation, give +a judgment utterly opposed to right and truth, and which would have the +most direful consequence on perfectly innocent persons. In order to +qualify the grossest miscarriages of justice, he would publicly announce +from his pulpit, that he himself would be perfectly prepared to submit +to this jurisdiction, and that should any one consider himself in the +smallest degree oppressed by the judgment just given, he had only to +appeal to the Court of Kadis. On one occasion, a dweller on the White +Nile, who had been recently, and very unjustly, dismissed from his +position as Emir, believing in the genuineness of the Khalifa's +statement, summoned him to appear before the Kadis. He complied with the +summons, and entered the mosque where the judges were sitting in an +attitude of complete submission; and, the news having got about that the +Khalifa had been invited to appear before a Court of Justice, an immense +crowd collected to hear the proceedings. The plaintiff, Abdel Minem, +stated that he had been wronged by the Khalifa, having been dismissed by +him from his position as Emir, which he had held during the whole period +of the Mahdi's rule, and that he was popular with his own tribe, who did +not wish him removed. The Khalifa, having dismissed him because he +suspected him of leanings to the party of Khalifa Sherif, defended +himself by saying that he had summoned him on several occasions, in +order to give him some important instructions, but that he was never to +be found either in his house or in a place of worship, which was a proof +that he was neglectful in matters of religion, and that it was on this +account he had dismissed him. Without the slightest hesitation, the +court gave judgment in favour of the Khalifa; and the plaintiff was +flogged until he bled, carried off to prison, and, on his way there, was +almost lynched by the mob. + +The whole country, however, rang with the praises of the Khalifat el +Mahdi and representative of the Prophet, who, so great was his sense of +justice, did not fear to appear in the court, side by side with his own +subjects, and submissively await the judgment of the Kadis. But in order +to delude the public with the idea that he was of a most kind and +forgiving nature, he released his antagonist the following day, and +presented him with a new jibba and a wife. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +EVENTS IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SUDAN. + + Karamalla's Expedition to the Bahr el Ghazal--Madibbo's Quarrel + with Karamalla--Affairs in Darfur--Execution of Madibbo--Defeat + and Death of Sheikh Saleh el Kabbashi--Capture of Charles + Neufeld--My Interview with Him--Arrival of Abu Anga's Army in + Omdurman--Destruction of the Gehéna Tribe--The Conspiracy of + "Saidna Isa"--Abu Anga's Campaign in Abyssinia--Sack of + Gondar--Terrible Fate of the Captives--Osman Wad Adam's Campaign + in Darfur--Death of Sultan Yusef--Instances of the Khalifa's + Tyranny--Building of the Mahdi's Tomb--Letters from Home--Death + of my Mother--Death of Lupton--Nejumi ordered to invade Egypt. + + +Mohammed Khaled had left Sultan Yusef, the son of Sultan Ibrahim, and +the legitimate successor, as chief Emir of Darfur. He was quite a young +man, and endeavoured to strengthen his position by soliciting the +good-will of Abu Anga and his assistant, Osman Wad Adam, who then +resided at El Obeid. Every now and then he sent them quantities of +horses and slaves; and they, in their turn, sent what they thought +advisable to the Khalifa. Khaled, on leaving Darfur, had taken with him +almost all the Mahdists who were inhabitants of the Nile valley; Yusef, +therefore, found himself governing the land of his forefathers +principally by means of his own subjects; and the latter, in their turn, +assuming that his government would be mild, fully appreciated the +change. + +Shortly after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa had sent messengers to +Karamalla, in the Bahr el Ghazal, instructing him to leave the country, +and come, with all his troops, to Shakka. Karamalla, after Lupton had +surrendered the country, had taken possession of the province, and had +proceeded to Suda, and forced the mutinous Sultan Zemio to quit his +residence, which he had fortified under the directions of Dr. Junker. +Zemio had barely escaped with his life, and, taking with him some of his +wives, had left most of his treasures of ivory in Karamalla's hands. +After this success, Karamalla had moved in a southeasterly direction +into the Equatorial Provinces, which were then under the rule of Emin +Pasha, and was just approaching the Nile, when he received the orders to +turn back. + +Had it not been that he had the full support of his own countrymen, +Karamalla could not have obeyed the Khalifa's command; for it was an +operation of great difficulty to induce the Bazingers to leave their own +homes and go to Shakka. However, after the evacuation of the Bahr el +Ghazal, several of the Gellabas had hurried from Darfur and Kordofan to +join Karamalla, and procure ivory and slaves for themselves. In +consequence, the riverain element, consisting principally of Jaalin and +Danagla, represented a considerable portion of the force, and it was +impossible for the Bazingers to refuse to return. Thus, partly of his +own free-will, and partly from stress of circumstances, Karamalla +returned, bringing with him an immense number of female slaves, whom he +had kidnapped from the districts through which he passed. In spite of +all his precautions, several of his Bazingers managed to escape on the +march with their arms; but he had still at his disposal over three +thousand rifles on his arrival at Shakka, where he sold his enormous +quantities of male and female slaves to the dealers, who paid him in +ready money. + +Like a sensible man, he sent some of the money and the pick of the +slaves, by his brother Suleiman, to the Khalifa; and the latter, much +pleased with his present, ordered him to remain at Shakka. Both Abu +Anga, and Osman Wad Adam also came in for a fair share of the spoil. + +At Shakka, however, Karamalla conducted himself as if he were ruler of +the whole country, and perpetrated every description of tyranny and +extortion. Madibbo, the Emir and ruler of this part of these districts, +reproached him bitterly; but Karamalla, who had seized a number of +horses and slaves from the Rizighat Arabs, told him to mind his own +business. Several of the malcontents now rallied round Madibbo, and this +was exactly what Karamalla wanted. He sought an excuse for a quarrel; +and when Madibbo, who had been ordered to appear before him, refused to +obey the summons, he proceeded against him as a rebel. A fight took +place; Madibbo was defeated, and fled towards Darfur; while Karamalla +followed him up through Dara as far as the neighbourhood of El Fasher, +and had thus an opportunity of seeing for himself the richness of the +country. He now requested Sultan Yusef to follow up and capture Madibbo; +whilst he himself returned to Dara, where he settled down, much to the +annoyance and disgust of Sultan Yusef's officials. Madibbo was captured +by Zaguna at about two days' distance from Fasher, and was handed over +to Sultan Yusef; and the latter sent him, under escort, to Abu Anga in +Kordofan, and at the same time took occasion to complain of Karamalla's +conduct. The latter, however, had written direct to the Khalifa in +Omdurman, informing him that the Furs were trying to revive the dynasty, +and that Sultan Yusef was only a Mahdist in outward appearance. Abu Anga +had also forwarded the letters he had received from Sultan Yusef; and +now the Khalifa had to choose between Karamalla and Yusef; but, with his +usual astuteness, he did neither. + +Abdullahi rightly concluded that Yusef, being the direct descendant of +the old dynasty, would, if permitted to remain, endeavour to strengthen +his own position to such an extent that he might eventually struggle to +regain his independence. On the other hand, Karamalla, being a +Dongolawi, and a relative of the Mahdi, was undoubtedly a partisan of +Khalifa Sherif; moreover, most of the Bazingers belonged either to the +Danagla or Jaalin, and it was not to the interest of the Khalifa to +strengthen either of these parties, although they were at present openly +disposed towards him. He therefore wrote to Sultan Yusef that he was +lord of the country, that he did not entertain the slightest doubt as to +his fidelity, and many similar phrases; but instead of instructing +Karamalla to quit Dara, he sent orders for Abu Anga to officially occupy +the district. Yusef, imagining that the Khalifa had fully confirmed him +in his position, and finding that Karamalla was now in occupation of +Hillet Shieria and Toweisha, as well as Dara, determined to drive him +out of the country; an army was collected. His chief, Magdum Said Bros, +attacked the posts of Shieria and Toweisha, which were completely +destroyed; and Karamalla, after suffering very heavy losses, was forced +to retire on Shakka. In this engagement, Karamalla lost most of his best +fighting Sheikhs, amongst them Hassan Abu Taher, Ali Mohammed, and +others--all Danagla--who had fought under Yusef Shellali and Gessi Pasha +in the Bahr el Ghazal; but the Khalifa had so many enemies the less. + +Madibbo was brought to Kordofan, and handed over to Abu Anga, who had an +old account to settle with him. When serving under Suleiman Wad Zubeir, +he fell, on one occasion, into the hands of Madibbo, who was very +hostile to him, and forced him to carry a huge box of ammunition on his +head during several days' march, and, when he complained about it, +mercilessly flogged and abused him. When Madibbo was brought before Abu +Anga, he had little hope of his life; but he determined to try and +obtain justice, affirming that he had not fought against the Mahdi, but +had been forced to take up arms by Karamalla. But of what use were all +his excuses and proofs of innocence, or his fidelity?--the only answer +he received from Abu Anga was: "And yet I will kill you." Madibbo, now +convinced of the uselessness of his pleading, resigned himself to his +fate, and, despairing of his life, said, "It is not you who will kill +me, but God. I have not asked for mercy, but for justice; however, a +slave like you can never become noble. The traces of the lashes of my +whip, which may still be seen on your back, were well deserved. In +whatever form death may come upon me, it will always find me calm and a +man. I am Madibbo, and the tribes know me." Abu Anga ordered him to be +sent back to prison, but forbore to have him flogged; and, the +following morning, he had him executed in front of his whole army. +Madibbo was true to his word. Standing in an open space, with a chain +round his neck, he sneered at the soldiers who galloped up to him, +shaking their lances over his head. When told to kneel down to receive +the death-blow, he called on the people who stood round to report +faithfully after his death how he had borne himself; a moment afterwards +all was over. Thus ended Madibbo, one of the ablest Arab Sheikhs in the +Sudan. + +When his head was brought into Omdurman, there was general mourning +amongst the Rizighat Arabs, who had years before quitted their country +as pilgrims. Even the Khalifa himself regretted his death; but as the +deed had been done, he would not blame his greatest Emir. He therefore +concealed his indignation; but to me he remarked that had Abu Anga not +killed him, Madibbo might have done him many a valuable service. + +Yunes was now apparently quite happy. He had gone from Abu Haraz to +Gedaref and Gallabat, where he had settled down; and, as his authority +was an extended one, and the people over whom he ruled were turbulent, +he asked the Khalifa's permission to undertake a campaign against the +Abyssinians, and Abdullahi, having received no answer from King John to +his peaceful letters, gave his consent. His troops, under Arabi Dafalla, +now attacked the villages along the frontier, destroyed several of them, +killing the men and carrying off their wives and children as captives. +By the rapidity of their movements, committing wholesale robberies one +day, and making murderous raids twenty miles distant the next, they had +become a perfect scourge to the Abyssinians; but, in spite of all this, +the latter still continued their commercial relations with Yunes, who, +by his amicable treatment of them in Gallabat, had induced them to come +in larger numbers to sell the produce of their country, such as coffee, +honey, wax, tomatoes, ostriches, etc., as well as horses, mules, and +slaves. The market-place lay just beyond the town; and when one day an +exceptionally large caravan of merchants, consisting of Gebertas +(Abyssinian Moslems) and Makada (Abyssinian Christians) arrived at +Gallabat, the rapacity of Yunes could not be controlled, and, on the +pretext that they had come as spies of Ras Adal, he threw them into +chains, and seized all their goods. They were then sent under escort to +Omdurman, where the ignorant mob imagined them to be the spoil of a +great victory; while the Khalifa, ever ready to increase his and his +people's prestige, publicly dubbed Yunes "Afrit el Mushrikin" (The Devil +of the Polytheists), and Mismar ed Din (The Nail of the Faith). Yunes +had been careful to send him all the prettiest of the Abyssinian girls +taken in the various raids, as well as a number of horses and mules; +thus, greedy of more victories, he decided to unite the army of Yunes +and Abu Anga, and attack King John, who, by not answering his letters, +had mortally offended him. In the meantime Yunes was instructed to +remain strictly on the defensive. + +Abu Anga now received instructions to despatch fifteen hundred of his +men, all armed with Remington rifles, to Osman Wad Adam, who had been +appointed Emir of Kordofan and Darfur; but he himself was ordered to +come to Omdurman with the remainder of his troops. + +Latterly, Sheikh Saleh el Kabbashi had been left undisturbed at the +wells of Om Badr; but, knowing that he would be attacked sooner or +later, he despatched to Wadi Halfa fifty of his most faithful slaves +with letters begging the support of the Egyptian Government; and the +faithful Saleh's agent obtained two hundred Remington rifles, forty +boxes of ammunition, £200 in cash, and some beautifully embossed +revolvers. + +At this time, there resided at Assuan a German merchant named Charles +Neufeld, who had previously made the acquaintance of Dafalla Egail, a +brother of Elias Pasha who had recently escaped from the Sudan; from him +he learnt that in Northern Kordofan there was a large quantity of gum +which the merchants had been unable to dispose of, in consequence of the +rebellion, and which could easily be brought to Wadi Halfa with the +assistance of Sheikh Saleh. Enticed by this pleasant prospect of making +money, and filled with a love of adventure, he resolved to join Saleh's +people, in order to travel with them to their Sheikh. He had apparently +no difficulty in obtaining permission from the Government to proceed on +his journey, promising that he would send detailed accounts of the +situation in the Sudan; and, early in April, 1887, he left Wadi Halfa +with the caravan. + +Nejumi, who had full information of the departure of the caravan, now +had all the roads carefully watched; and, to add to their misfortunes, +their guide lost his way, and the caravan suffered considerably from +thirst. When, at length, they approached some wells near El Kab, they +found them in possession of a party of Dervishes who were on the lookout +for them. A fight ensued in which Saleh's people, exhausted and thirsty, +were utterly defeated; most of them were killed by rifle fire, and the +remainder, Neufeld amongst them, were captured. At the beginning of the +action, Neufeld had seized a rifle, and, with his Abyssinian female +attendant, had taken up a position a short distance from the caravan; +and here, on some rising ground, he had determined to sell his life +dearly; but he was not attacked. When the fighting was over, they +offered him pardon, which he accepted, and was then taken off to Nejumi +in Dongola. The latter had all the captives beheaded, with the exception +of Neufeld, who was spared in order that he might be sent to Omdurman. I +had heard privately that an European captive was about to arrive; and, +consequently, I was not surprised when, one day in May, 1887, I saw a +crowd of people approaching the Khalifa's house, and, in their midst, +under escort, rode an European on a camel. It was generally rumoured +that he was the Pasha of Wadi Halfa. At that period, the buildings in +Omdurman were not very far advanced, and between the wall of the +Khalifa's house and the wall of the mosque was a large rekuba built of +straw, which served as a house for the mulazemin; and into this +Neufeld, after dismounting, was ushered. I held aloof, as I well +understood the nature of my master and his spies; and I pretended to be +quite indifferent to what was going on. The Khalifa, on Neufeld's +arrival, had sent for the two Khalifas and the Kadis, Taher el Magzub, +the Emir Bekhit, and Nur Angara, who had just arrived in Omdurman from +Kordofan, where he had been fighting under Abu Anga; Yakub had also been +summoned. As they entered, I whispered to Nur Angara, "Do your utmost to +save the man." To my delight, the Khalifa now summoned me, and ordered +me to sit with his advisers. He informed us that the man had been +brought in as an English spy; and he instructed Sheik el Taher Magzub to +question him. I at once asked to be allowed to speak to him in European +language; and, the request being granted, I went with Taher into the +rekuba. + +When my name was mentioned, Neufeld shook my hand with great delight. I +at once drew his attention to the fact that he must address himself to +Sheikh Taher, who was the principal personage to judge him, and that he +should behave as submissively as possible. He spoke Arabic very well; +and his extreme readiness to talk made a bad impression on those +present, who ordered me to take him before the Khalifa, their general +opinion being, "He is a spy, and should be killed." Once in the presence +of the Khalifa, the latter said to me, "And what is your opinion?" "All +I know is," I replied, "that he is a German, and, consequently, belongs +to a nation which takes no interest in Egypt." I could see the Khalifa +watching me very carefully as he handed me some papers, and ordered me +to look through them: they included a list of medicines written in +German, and a letter to Neufeld in English, regarding news received in +the Sudan; also a long letter from General Stephenson, in which he was +granted permission to proceed to the Sudan with the caravan, and, at the +same time, requested to give the fullest accounts of the state of +affairs in the country. I translated this letter, but omitted the +general's request for information. "Sire," I said, "this letter shows +that he has asked permission of the Government to make this journey, and +that he is a merchant, as he told Sheikh Taher." Again the Khalifa +looked suspiciously at me, and then ordered us to withdraw and await his +further commands outside the house. An immense crowd had by this time +collected near the rekuba to see the English Pasha; and, in a few +moments, some of the Black mulazemin whom the Khalifa had summoned, came +out, and, having tied his wrists together, ordered Neufeld to leave the +rekuba. The Kadi, Nur Angara, and I had climbed up on a heap of bricks, +and from this position could see exactly what was going on. Neufeld, who +evidently thought his last hour had come, raised his eyes to heaven, and +knelt down, without having received any order to do so, and was at once +ordered to get up. Meanwhile, a man arrived, carrying an ombeÿa, and +began to make its melancholy notes resound over Neufeld's head; I was +delighted to see that this did not appear to disturb him in the least; +his poor servant, in her devotion to her master, now rushed out of the +rekuba, and begged to be killed with him; but she was at once driven +back. The Kadi and I quite realised that the Khalifa was playing with +Neufeld, just as a cat plays with a mouse; and, as sentence had not yet +been given, I endeavoured to signal to him; but he did not appear to +quite understand me. In a few moments, we were again summoned before the +Khalifa. "Then you are for having the man killed?" said the Khalifa to +Sheikh Taher, who replied in the affirmative. "And you?" he said, +turning to Nur Angara, who, in a few brief words, recalled Neufeld's +bravery, and begged to have him pardoned. "And now, Abdel Kader, what +have you to say?" he said, turning to me. "Sire," I replied, "the man +deserves to be killed, and any other ruler but yourself would have had +him killed; but, of your magnanimity and mercy, you will spare him; for +he says he has turned Mohammedan, and your mercy will strengthen his +faith." Kadi Ahmed was also for pardoning him; and now the Khalifa, +who, I saw from the first moment, had no intention of killing Neufeld, +ordered his fetters to be removed, and that he should be taken back to +the rekuba; but, that afternoon, he said to the Kadi, "Let him be shown +to the crowd beneath the scaffold, and then imprison him till further +orders; and as for you," he said, turning to me, "you will have no more +intercourse with him." We now all withdrew, but took occasion to tell +Neufeld that, although he had been pardoned, he was to be shown to the +populace that afternoon under the scaffold. The Kadi carried out his +instructions; and, to the delight of the mob, Neufeld's head was placed +in the noose by the saier. + +The following day, the Khalifa summoned me before him, and informed me +that Nejumi had reported that Neufeld had been induced by the Government +to go and join Sheikh Saleh el Kabbashi, and assist him in fighting the +Mahdists. I explained that this could not possibly be true, and that +Neufeld's papers were all in order. Moreover, I said that the Government +would never have taken upon itself to do such a thing. For the time +being, I think he credited my explanation; but he revenged himself by +showing the most marked mistrust and contempt for me for some time. + +A few days afterwards, the Khalifa held a great review; and Neufeld, +whose feet were in irons, was mounted on a camel, and taken to see it. +The Khalifa asked him what he thought of his troops; and he replied +that, although they were very numerous, they were not well trained, and +that the discipline in the Egyptian army was much better. The Khalifa, +who did not appreciate candid speaking, at once had him sent back to +prison. + +Osman Wad Adam, who had received the Khalifa's orders either to capture +or kill Saleh Kabbashi, now sent an expedition under Fadlalla Aglan; and +Greger, Sheikh of the Hamada Arabs, was given to him as a guide. The +latter was well known to be Saleh's mortal enemy. The Kababish had +quitted the wells of the Hamada, and had moved eastward into the desert, +in order to await the arrival of the caravan sent to Wadi Halfa; and +now, when the disaster which had overtaken it became known, several of +the tribesmen whom Saleh had collected dispersed, and many returned to +Omdurman. Saleh, now deprived of all hope of assistance from his own +countrymen, was no longer able to make any determined opposition. He +therefore fled, with his family and near relatives, but was overtaken at +a well and killed. On the approach of his enemies, he bowed to his +destiny; and, seated on a sheepskin which had been spread on the ground +for him by his slaves, he patiently awaited death. His enemy, Greger, +jumping off his horse, approached him, and blew out his brains with his +pistol. Thus ended the last of the Sheikhs faithful to Government. + +About the middle of June, news arrived that Abu Anga had reached the +Nile at Tura el Hadra with an army of between nine and ten thousand men, +all armed with rifles, and about an equal number of cavalry. It was +expected that he would be at Omdurman about the end of the month. The +Khalifa used frequently to ride out to the lines near Tabia Regeb Bey, +and employ himself pointing out the limits which the camp should occupy; +and, on these occasions, I used to accompany him on foot. During one of +these excursions, I cut my foot when walking by the Khalifa's side, and +could scarcely proceed. Seeing me limping, and my foot bleeding +profusely, he dismounted at Fadl el Maula's house, and called me up +before him, praised me for my perseverance, and gave me the horse which +Fadl el Maula himself had presented to him, telling me that in any +future rides I could mount it, and, as usual, remain near him. + +Towards the end of June, Abu Anga arrived, and, when about two hours +distant from Omdurman, pitched his camp. That night, the Khalifa +received him alone in his house, no witnesses being present. The +conference lasted till long past midnight; and then Abu Anga returned +to his camp. At dawn the next morning, the beating of war-drums and the +sound of the ombeÿa proclaimed that the Khalifa intended to be present +on the entry of Abu Anga's army into Omdurman. Just after sunrise, he +rode out, accompanied by all his Emirs and an immense crowd, to the +parade ground, at the east end of which a tent had been pitched. Khalifa +Abdullahi, the other Khalifas, and the Kadis now entered this tent; and, +soon after, the approach of Abu Anga and his army was heralded by the +sound of trumpets and drums. The entire force passed the Khalifa twice +in review; and he was delighted with the immense number of the troops. +Summoning the Emirs before him, he called down God's blessing on their +heads, and then ordered them to take their troops to the allotted +camping ground. Now followed a period of the wildest debauchery, in +which his soldiers and subjects squandered the booty taken in Kordofan +at weddings and banquets; in so doing, they deviated widely from the +stringent orders of the Mahdi in such matters; but this did not seem to +displease the Khalifa. + +Abu Anga himself, who had brought considerable sums of money, as well as +quantities of male and female slaves, for his master and his brother +Yakub, now distributed presents freely amongst his friends and +acquaintances. He sent me my old servant and his wife; but he did not +return my other servants, horses, and effects which had been taken from +me during my imprisonment. + +A few weeks afterwards, the Khalifa celebrated the Feast of Bairam on +the largest scale I have ever seen. Hundreds of thousands of the +faithful repeated prayers with the Khalifa on the parade ground; and he +then returned in state to his house, under the thunder of guns and the +wildest acclamations of his subjects, who crowded through the streets in +such numbers that several were killed and trampled under foot by the +horses. + +The Emir Merdi Abu Rof, of the Gehéna tribe, now received instructions +to come with all his tribe and cattle to Omdurman; but, having refused +to obey the summons, it was decided that he should be punished, and +made an example to others. A large portion of Abu Anga's army, under the +orders of Zeki Tummal, Abdalla Wad Ibrahim, and Ismail Delendok, was +ordered to march against them and destroy them. The Gehéna tribe, +generally called by the Arabs the Abu Rof, and celebrated for their +thoroughbred horses and camels, were also known to possess very fine +male and female slaves. The well known proverb, "Gehéna el Ol--Ashra fi +Sol" (There are ten Gehéna children to every man), faithfully +represented the tribe. In the fighting which ensued, their Emirs, Merdi +Abu Rof and Mohammed Wad Melek, fell, as well as their former Sheikh, +and the greater part of the tribe was annihilated. The finest of the +young women and children captured were selected and sent as presents to +the Khalifa; but the remainder were brought to Omdurman, where they eked +out a miserable existence by becoming water-carriers, or makers of straw +mats. Their great herds of cattle went for almost nothing in the +bazaars; and the price of an ox or a camel, which formerly varied +between forty and sixty dollars, fell to two or three dollars. + +After the destruction of this tribe, Abu Anga received orders to proceed +from Omdurman to Gallabat, and take the command of the troops there. +Collecting the forces from the southern districts at Abu Haraz, he +proceeded to his destination, and arrived just in time to save Yunes. + +One of Yunes's postmen had asserted that he was Saidna Isa (Jesus +Christ), and obtained a numerous following; many really believed in him, +whilst others were extremely dissatisfied with Yunes, who had become so +mercenary that he began to rob even his own people. Eleven of the +principal Emirs, amongst them the keeper of the ammunition stores, now +sided with Isa, and made a plot to assassinate Yunes; the day for +carrying it into execution had been actually arranged, when Abu Anga +suddenly arrived. His generous nature had given him many friends; and, +in a few days, he was fully informed of the whole affair, and instantly +arrested the conspirators. Yunes, utterly ignorant that any plot was +hatching, complained to Abu Anga about the arrest of his Emirs, and +asked for an explanation of his proceedings. "Because they intended to +murder you," was Abu Anga's simple reply. When the assassins were +brought before the Kadi, they did not deny their intentions; and their +leader declared most firmly that he was Jesus Christ, and that, in a +short time, this fact would be revealed to the world. + +Abu Anga now despatched a special messenger to Omdurman for orders; and +the Khalifa, greatly alarmed, wished to keep the whole matter secret. He +summoned Yakub and Kadi Ahmed to consult with him; and it was agreed +that all the conspirators should be executed. I heard all about the +matter from Mohammed Wad esh Shertier, who had been forbidden the +Khalifa's house, and had orders to leave the same day for Gallabat. The +following day, however, the Khalifa changed his mind, having realised +that of the eleven Emirs, ten belonged to the powerful western tribes; +and not only would their loss to him be considerable, but he feared +their relatives and friends might turn against him. He therefore sent +camel-men, in hot haste, with a reprieve, and with orders that the +prisoners should be brought to Omdurman under escort. The camel-men, +however, failed to overtake Shertier who had had two days' start; and +they arrived in Gallabat to find the eleven bodies hanging on the +scaffold; all had died faithful to their Jesus Christ. Yunes, being a +relative of the Khalifa, only submitted to Abu Anga owing to his +superior force, but always looked upon him as his slave, though, as a +matter of fact, he was infinitely braver and more courageous. Yunes now +reproached him for having been precipitate, and from this episode arose +an estrangement between the two men, which ended in Yunes being recalled +to Omdurman, where he was commanded to perform his devotions daily in +the front row in the mosque. + +[Illustration: An Abyssinian Scout.] + +Abu Anga now collected all his forces, in order to revenge the defeat +of Wad Arbab. He had at his disposal the largest force which had ever +been collected by Khalifa Abdullahi: according to the rolls brought in, +he had upwards of fifteen thousand rifles, forty-five thousand spearmen, +and eight hundred cavalry; and quitting Gallabat with this force, he +marched through the Mintik (pass) towards Ras Adal. Up to this day, I +have failed to understand why the Abyssinians did not attack their enemy +whilst crossing the narrow passes and deep valleys, in which it would +have been most difficult to use fire-arms with effect; if they had not +succeeded in checking the advance in this manner, they would have at +least inflicted very heavy losses on the Dervishes. I can only conceive +that the Abyssinians made certain of their ultimate success, and +purposely enticed their enemies far into the country, with the object of +cutting off their retreat, and utterly annihilating them. Fighting began +on the plain of Debra Sin. Ras Adal had about two thousand rifles, and +had taken up a position threatening Abu Anga's left; but the latter had +sufficient time to clear the hills, and arrange his troops in battle +array. Attacked over and over again by the Abyssinians, the Dervishes +drove them off with frightful loss; and Abu Anga, taking the offensive, +succeeded in gaining a complete victory. So sure were the Abyssinians of +gaining the day, that they had taken up a position in front of a river; +and now many of them, in their flight, were drowned while attempting to +cross it. For a short time, the Abyssinian cavalry was to some extent +successful; but, after suffering considerable loss, they fled with Ras +Adal. The entire Abyssinian camp, consisting of quantities of tents, +fell into the hands of Abu Anga, who captured Ras Adal's wife and +grown-up daughter, and in this victory practically conquered the whole +of the Amhara Province. He advanced without delay on Gondar, where he +expected to find great treasures, but was disappointed; for, with the +exception of some goods belonging to the Geberta, and some large stores +of coffee, honey, and wax, which were of no value to him, as he had no +means of transport, he got practically nothing. In the large and lofty +stone building said to have been erected by the Portuguese, they found +one poor old Coptic priest, who was thrown out of the highest story into +the street below. Staying here only one day, Abu Anga ordered the town +to be fired, and, on his way back, attacked and looted villages right +and left, killing the men and seizing the women and children as +captives; the Geberta, and some little boys alone, were spared and +carried off as booty. In this manner thousands of Abyssinian women and +girls were driven in front of the army, urged on by the lash. On arrival +at Gallabat, a fifth of the loot was sent to the Khalifa, and several +hundred women were despatched to the Beit el Mal in Omdurman, where they +were sold to the highest bidders. The road between Gallabat and Abu +Haraz was strewn with corpses, and amongst them the daughter and young +son of Ras Adal. + +Abu Anga, in accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, now began to +put Gallabat into a state of defence; for, in spite of the success just +gained, they knew that the Abyssinians would seek revenge. But he did +not long survive his victory; although only fifty-two years of age, he +suffered from constant illness, and was always trying to cure himself. +He had grown immensely stout, owing to the good living in which he +indulged, which contrasted greatly with what he had been formerly +accustomed to; he suffered much from indigestion, and used to treat +himself with a poisonous root which came from Dar Fertit. One day, +however, he took an overdose, and in the morning was found dead in his +bed. In him, the Khalifa lost his best Emir, who, though by descent a +slave, had, through his liberality and kindness, gained the affection of +all who knew him, as well as the esteem and regard of his subjects, who +admired his personal courage and sense of justice. He was mourned by his +entire force,--by Arabs as well as by Blacks,--who recognised in him a +strict though just master, and one who, though he punished very severely +any offences against his orders, was ever ready to help those in need. +He was buried in his red-brick house; and many of his servants and +slaves worshipped him as a saint. + +At the same time that Abu Anga had left Omdurman for Gallabat, Osman Wad +Adam had received instructions to move with his whole force towards +Shakka and Darfur. At this time, a garrison was not required in +Kordofan: for Sheikh Saleh had been killed, and the land of the Gimeh +was deserted; the Gowama had been ordered to immigrate to Omdurman; and +the resistance of the southern mountains had been broken down by Abu +Anga. Karamalla, after having been driven back to Shakka, had +persistently demanded tribute from the Rizighat Arabs, who, however, +recognising that he was not all-powerful, rose as one man in mutiny +against him, and with such success that at length both Kerkesawi and +Karamalla, who were in want of ammunition, were practically besieged at +Shakka and Injileila. They now begged the Khalifa's help; and though the +latter had originally intended not to assist them, he was by no means +anxious to lose all his armed slaves. This was the reason for Osman Wad +Adam's despatch to Shakka. On arrival, he wrote letters to the Rizighat, +who were fighting rather personally against Karamalla than against the +Mahdist rule, ordering them to suspend hostilities, and promising that +he would give them justice. Fearful of Osman's power, they reluctantly +complied; but Karamalla, under the pretext of making peace negotiations, +enticed their Sheikh into his zariba, and there executed him. Osman now +moved forward by forced marches, not only on account of Karamalla, but +in fear of a mutiny on the part of Sultan Yusef, who, for a long time, +had sent no consignments of horses and slaves, and was evidently +beginning to feel himself sufficiently powerful to overturn the +Khalifa's authority. + +Osman's arrival at Shakka relieved Karamalla and his garrison from a +very dangerous position; he then assured the Arabs, who were clamouring +for justice, that he would settle their case as soon as he had subdued +Darfur. His total force, including Karamalla's men, now numbered some +five thousand rifles, and with these he marched against Dara. He had +previously written to Sultan Yusef, ordering him to join him, and +informing him that in the event of his refusal, he would treat him as a +rebel. To this summons he received a reply that, as he had joined his +sworn enemy, Karamalla, it was impossible to come; at the same time, +news reached him that Sultan Yusef was concentrating his forces at +Fasher. On his arrival at Dara, Osman found the place deserted; but, on +the following day, he was attacked by Said Mudda, and only succeeded in +driving him off after a very closely contested fight. A week later, he +was again attacked by the Sultan's old vizir, Hussein Ibrahim, and Rahma +Gamo, who had collected Said Mudda's people, and had received +reinforcements as well; but these also were forced to retire. Osman now +marched on El Fasher. Had Sultan Yusef attacked him with his entire +force at Dara, he would in all probability have defeated him, and Darfur +would thus have been freed forever; but he had previously divided his +army, his vizirs were hated, and his own people had lost heart after +their recent defeats. A fight took place near Wad Berag, south of +Fasher; and Osman gained an easy victory. Sultan Yusef fled, but was +overtaken at Kebkebia and killed; whilst Fasher, in which all his wives +and relations had been collected, as well as a quantity of goods +belonging to Fezzan and Wadai merchants, also numbers of women and +children, fell into Osman's hands. Thus Darfur, which had been +practically lost to the Mahdists, was re-taken by them in the same month +(January, 1888), just at the time that Abu Anga had gained his great +victory over the Abyssinians. In this short campaign the Darfurians had +shown great fidelity to their native ruler; and Osman, fearing to expose +himself to continual difficulties by supporting their dynastic +sentiments, determined that all males of royal blood should either be +put in irons, executed, or sent to Omdurman, where they were placed +amongst the Khalifa's mulazemin, and treated as slaves. + +All female members of the royal family were declared to be "Khums" (a +fifth of the booty), and put at the Khalifa's disposal. Some of these he +took into his own harem; and the remainder he distributed as "Suria" +(concubines) amongst his followers. He liberated, however, the two old +sisters of Sultan Ibrahim, namely, Miriam Isa Basi and Miriam Bakhita; +the latter was the wife of Kadi Ali, who was then in Omdurman. + +Whilst these momentous events were transpiring in the east and west of +the Sudan Empire, the Khalifa governed the country at Omdurman in a most +tyrannical and despotic manner. He mistrusted every one. Numbers of +spies were employed by his brother Yakub; and their duty was to tell him +of everything that went on in the city. He was kept fully informed of +the general temper of the people; and should any persons express doubt +about the truth of the Mahdi's Divine mission, they were punished with +special severity. It happened, one day, that a sailor used some +irreverent expression regarding Mahdism, and was reported to the +Khalifa. The plaintiff, who was a fanatical Baggari, had, however, no +witnesses, those who were present at the time admitting to the Khalifa +that they were too far off to hear what passed; but the latter +determined to make an example. He therefore summoned the Kadi, and +ordered him to force a confession out of the accused, at the same time +advising him how to set about it. Two persons were then sent to the +prisoner, to apprise him that witnesses had been found; but that if he +made a confession of his own free-will, and admitted that he was sorry, +before the witnesses had been questioned, the Khalifa would mitigate his +sentence, and would probably pardon him. The poor man failed to see the +trap that had been laid for him, made a confession, and begged the +Khalifa's pardon. The confession was taken down in writing, and +submitted to Abdullahi, who ordered the sentence--which was +execution--to be carried out in accordance with the Mahdi's code. The +Khalifa, in giving sentence, said that had the insult been against his +own person, he would have forgiven him; but the prisoner, having sinned +against the Mahdi, he would be committing a crime if he mitigated it in +the slightest degree. + +That afternoon, the Khalifa gave orders for the ombeÿa to be sounded, +while the dull beats of the great Mansura (war-drum) boomed through the +city, and he himself rode with an immense escort to the parade ground. +On his arrival, his sheepskin was spread on the ground; and on this he +sat, facing the east, whilst the Kadi and others stood behind him in a +semi-circle. He then ordered the accused to be brought before him. +Already his hands had been tied behind his back; but he showed not the +slightest signs of fear. When within a hundred paces of the Khalifa, he +was decapitated by Ahmed Dalia, the chief executioner. + +Soon after this, a certain Fiki called Nur en Nebi (The Light of the +Prophet), who had collected a considerable number of disciples, preached +to them about the necessity for religious zeal, and urged them not to be +led away by innovations. Yakub reported this to the Khalifa, with the +result that the Fiki was at once arrested, and brought before the Kadi. +The necessary witnesses were procured; and the Fiki openly declared +before them that he was a good Mohammedan, but not a follower of the +Mahdi. By command of the Khalifa, the judges ordered him to be laden +with chains; his hands tied behind his back; and, under the deafening +shouts of the mob, he was dragged to the market-place, where he was +hanged on the scaffold erected there. I remember looking at the body, +whilst suspended from the gallows, and was struck by the calm and +smiling expression on the face of this man who had died for his +convictions. Several hundred houses, surrounding the abode of the +murdered man, were confiscated; their inmates arrested, bound, and +carried off to prison; but, through the intervention of Adlan, they were +subsequently liberated. The Khalifa now issued a proclamation to the +effect that all the inhabitants of the city were responsible for the +actions of their neighbours; and persons found involved in political or +religious intrigues were threatened with the most condign punishment. +On mere suspicion, several of the natives of the Nile valley were thrown +into chains, and deprived of all they possessed. Thus did he deal with +all suspected persons, and at the same time considerably enriched his +treasury. + +[Illustration: A Slave Dhow on the Nile.] + +On another occasion, he had a meeting of the Kadis, and told them, in +confidence, that, in his opinion, all vessels on the Nile were really +"Ghanima" (booty); for, as he truthfully remarked, whilst he was in +Kordofan, the owners had, in spite of his frequent appeals, invariably +refused to assist the Mahdi's cause. They had not only failed to attack +the Government steamers on the river, but had also frequently provided +the Government stations with grain and wood. Of course the Kadis fully +concurred in his opinion; and, the following morning, they received a +letter from Ibrahim Adlan, asking them whether all vessels were not +state property. The all-powerful judges replied in the affirmative, +supporting their answer by extracts from the Mahdi's code, according to +which the owners were to be considered Mukhalafin (obstinate persons). +This pamphlet was read publicly, in the presence of the Khalifa, who +remarked, in conclusion, that those vessels alone were exempt which did +not float, or which were not built of the wood of the forests, which +were all the property of the state. These vessels, numbering upwards of +nine hundred, of from twenty to five hundred ardebs carrying capacity, +now all passed into the possession of the Beit el Mal; and, as they were +almost without exception the property of Jaalin and Danagla, who lived +on the river, the means of support of these unfortunate people was +entirely gone. The boats were now utilised by Ibrahim Adlan to carry +cargoes of grain to the Beit el Mal; or they were hired out annually at +a high rate, to persons who were considered worthy of this confidence. + +In order to show his veneration for the Mahdi, the Khalifa decided to +erect a monument to him, as is the custom in Egypt; but this he did +rather to satisfy his own vanity, than out of respect for his late +master. A square building was erected, some thirty feet high, and +thirty-six feet each way; and the stone for this construction, of which +the walls were upwards of six feet thick, had to be brought all the way +from Khartum. Above this a hexagonal wall fifteen feet high was built, +from which rose a dome forty feet high. On the corners of the main +building were four smaller domes. This was called Kubbet el Mahdi +(Mahdi's dome). It was furnished with ten large arched windows, and two +doors; and in the hexagonal portion were six skylights. It was +whitewashed all over, and surrounded by a trellis-work fence; the +windows and doors were made by the workmen in the Khartum arsenal; while +directly beneath the dome, and over the Mahdi's grave, a wooden +sarcophagus was erected, covered with black cloth. On the sides of the +walls, candelabra were hung; while, suspended by a long chain from the +centre of the dome, was an immense chandelier taken from the Government +palace in Khartum. The sombre appearance of the inside of the building +was relieved by some gaudy painting on the walls. A few yards from the +building is a small cistern, built of red bricks cemented together; and +this is used by the visitors for their religious ablutions. The plans +for this building were devised by an old Government official who had +been formerly employed as an architect; but, of course, public opinion +dutifully attributed the design to the Khalifa. + +The ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of this building was +conducted with great unction by the Khalifa, who "turned the first sod." +Accompanied by a crowd of upwards of thirty thousand people, he +proceeded to the river bank, where the stones were heaped up, and, +lifting one of them on his shoulder, carried it to the spot, his example +being followed by every individual person in this vast assemblage; the +noise and confusion were perfectly indescribable. Numbers of accidents +happened; but those injured thought it fortunate to suffer on such an +occasion. The building was not completed till the following year, and +entailed a considerable amount of labour, though little expense; and, +during its construction, the Khalifa frequently asserted that angels +lent their assistance. An Egyptian, hearing this, and aware that many of +his compatriots were masons, was constrained to remark to them, "You are +probably the Khalifa's angels, and require neither food, drink, nor +payment." Had the Khalifa heard this, he would undoubtedly have removed +this wag's head. + +[Illustration: The Mahdi's Tomb.] + +As usual, I was always in close attendance on the Khalifa; and, as a +token of his good-will, he presented me with one of the Abyssinian girls +sent by Abu Anga. Her mother and brother had been killed before her +eyes; and the poor creature had been torn from their bodies, and driven +into captivity at the end of the lash. Although not treated as a slave +by my people, who did all they could to lighten her sad lot, she never +seemed bright or happy; she continually brooded over her losses and her +home, until, at length, death released her from her sufferings. +Occasionally Father Ohrwalder used to visit me secretly; but, as the +Khalifa did not approve of our meeting, his visits were few and far +between. We used to talk of our home, and of our present wretched +existence; but we never lost hope that, sooner or later, our captivity +would come to an end. + +Abu Girga, who commanded at Kassala, was now ordered to proceed to Osman +Digna, and assist him in his fighting; leaving Ahmed Wad Ali as his +representative at Kassala, he was summoned to Omdurman to report to the +Khalifa on the state of the Arab tribes in the Eastern Sudan. He arrived +late one evening, and was at once received in long private audience by +the Khalifa; and, on withdrawing, hurriedly told me that he had given +him a letter from my family in Europe. A few minutes later, I was called +in, and informed that the Governor of Suakin has sent a letter to Osman +Digna, which was supposed to be from my family, and which he had sent +on. In handing me this letter, the Khalifa ordered me to open it at +once, and acquaint him with its contents. I glanced through it +hurriedly, and, to my intense grief and sorrow, saw that it was an +announcement from my brothers and sisters that my poor mother had died, +and that, on her death-bed, she had expressed an earnest hope that we +should all be re-united. The Khalifa, impatient that I took so long to +read it, again asked me who had written it, and what were its contents. +"It is from my brothers and sisters," I replied; "and I will translate +it to you." I had no reason to conceal its contents; it was merely a few +lines from distressed brothers and sisters to their distant brother. I +told him how disturbed they were about me; and how they were ready to +make any sacrifice in order that I should regain my liberty. When I came +to the part about my mother, it required all my self-control; I told him +that, owing to my absence, her death was not so peaceful as it might +have been, and that during her long illness, her constant prayer to God +had been that she might see me again. Her prayer, alas, had not been +answered; and now this letter had brought me her last greeting, and her +tender hopes for my welfare. My throat felt parched and dry, and had not +the Khalifa suddenly interrupted me, I must have broken down. "Your +mother was not aware that I honour you more than any one else," said he; +"otherwise she certainly would not have been in such trouble about you; +but I forbid you to mourn for her. She died as a Christian and an +unbeliever in the Prophet and the Mahdi, and cannot therefore expect +God's mercy." The blood rushed to my head; and, for a moment, I could +say nothing; but gradually regaining my self-control, I continued to +read on that my brother Henry was now married, and that Adolf and my +sisters were quite well. Finally, they begged me to let them know how I +could obtain my liberty, and urged me to write to them. "Write and tell +one at least of your brothers to come here," said the Khalifa, when I +had finished the letter. "I would honour him, and he should want for +nothing; but I will talk to you about this another time." He then signed +to me with his hand; and I withdrew. + +My comrades, who had already heard that a letter had arrived for me, +were very inquisitive, and asked me all manner of questions; but I +answered them only briefly, and, as soon as the Khalifa had retired to +rest, I went home. I flung myself down on my angareb, and my servants, +much concerned, asked me what was the matter; but I told them to leave +me. "Poor mother, then it was I who made your last hours so unhappy!" My +brothers and sisters had written her last words: "I am ready to die; but +I should have loved to see and embrace my Rudolf once more. The thought +that he is in the hands of his enemies makes my departure from this +world very difficult for me." How well I remembered her words when I +left for the Sudan: "My son, my Rudolf, your restless spirit drives you +out into the world! You are going to distant and almost unknown lands. A +time, perhaps, will come when you will long for us, and a quiet life." +How true had been her words,--poor mother! How much trouble I must have +given her! And then I cried and cried,--not about my position, but for +my dear mother, who could never be replaced. + +The next morning, the Khalifa sent for me, and again made me translate +the letter to him; and he ordered me to reply at once that I was +perfectly happy in my present position. I did as I was told, and wrote a +letter praising the Khalifa, and saying how happy I was to be near him; +but I put inverted commas against many words and sentences, and points +of exclamation, and wrote at the bottom of the letter that all words and +sentences thus marked should be read in exactly the opposite sense. At +the same time, I asked my brothers and sisters to write a letter of +thanks to the Khalifa in Arabic, and to send him a travelling-bag, and +to me two hundred pounds, and twelve common watches, suitable for +presents; as, on certain seasons of the year, the Emirs attended the +feasts in Omdurman, and would greatly appreciate them. I also asked them +to send me a translation of the Kuran in German, and advised them not to +worry for the present; but that I hoped to find some means of being +re-united to them. I told them to send the things, through the Austrian +Consul-General in Cairo, to the Governor of Suakin, by whom they would +be forwarded to Osman Digna. I handed this letter to the Khalifa, who +gave it to some postmen who were going to Osman Digna with instructions +to send it to Suakin. + +About a month before I received the sad news of my mother's death, I had +to deplore the loss of one of my comrades in captivity, Lupton. He had +been working in the dock-yard at Khartum until recently; but the feeble +state of his health had obliged him to ask to be relieved from this +position. He had then returned to Omdurman, and had suffered great want; +but, to his relief, Saleh Wad Haj Ali, with whom he was on very friendly +terms, returned from Cairo, and brought him some money which he had +received from Lupton's family. Haj Ali naturally tried to make as much +money out of the transaction as he could. He had advanced a sum of a +hundred dollars to Lupton as a loan, receiving from him, in return, a +bill on his brother for two hundred pounds, which had been cashed on his +arrival in Cairo; and, returning again to Omdurman, had paid Lupton two +hundred dollars, keeping the remainder, about eight hundred dollars, for +himself. In spite of this robbery, this small sum delighted poor Lupton, +and helped him, for a short period, to stave off the miseries of living +like a beggar. He also rejoiced that a medium of communication had been +found with his relatives, whereby he eventually hoped to regain his +freedom. These hopes, alas, were not to be realised. + +He had come home one Tuesday morning from the mosque with me, and was +consulting me as to whom he should entrust what remained of his two +hundred dollars, so as to obtain small sums when he required them, as it +was necessary for him to be most careful not to attract attention to +himself by spending large sums, and thus endanger his communication with +Egypt. We talked of home and of our present situation; and he seemed +more cheerful than usual, but complained of pains in his back, and of a +general feeling of indisposition. I left him about midday; and, on the +following Tuesday, he sent his servant to me, begging me to go and see +him, as he felt very ill. In reply to my question, the man told me that +his master was in a high fever, and had been in bed for three days. I +promised to come as quickly as possible, and, that evening, asked the +Khalifa's permission to go and see him. The next morning, having +obtained leave to spend that day with the invalid, I at once went to his +house, and found him in a dying condition. He was suffering from typhus +fever; and already the illness had reached such a stage that he scarcely +recognised me, and, in a few broken words, begged me to take care of his +daughter. He then said something about his father and mother; but he was +almost incoherent, and, at times, became quite unconscious. I +understood, however, that he was begging me to be the bearer of his +dying messages, should I ever succeed in escaping. On Wednesday, the 8th +May, 1888, he passed away at midday, without having recovered +consciousness. We washed him, wrapped him in a shroud, and, according to +the usual custom, carried him to the mosque, where the prayers for the +dead were recited; and then we buried him in a cemetery near the Beit el +Mal. Father Ohrwalder, the majority of the Greek colony, and a number of +natives who had learnt to love and respect his noble and unassuming +character, were present. + +I obtained the Khalifa's permission to see to his household, and handed +over his money to a Greek merchant to take charge of for his daughter +Fanny, and thus save her from want. I also succeeded in getting a +situation at the arsenal for one of his Black boys whom he had educated, +and who receives pay up to the present time. Fanny's mother, Zenoba, +married, two years later, an Egyptian doctor named Haasan Zeki; and, +although I made frequent efforts to send her daughter to Europe to be +educated, my plans were always frustrated by the reluctance of mother +and daughter to separate. Under such circumstances, it can readily be +understood that the girl fell into a thoroughly Sudanese mode of life, +adopting their ways and customs, and looking upon herself as a native. +Had she gone to Europe,--and she could only have been sent there by +force,--the effort to lead a life to which she was utterly unsuited, and +away from her Black mother, would have made her miserable. + +At this period of my narrative, the Khalifa was in a peculiarly good +humour. After the re-conquest of Darfur, he had given orders that +everything should be done to induce the Arab tribes to undertake +pilgrimages to Omdurman, and, if necessary, to force them to do so. +Osman Wad Adam had sent notice that the Khalifa's entire tribe,--the +Taaisha,--consisting of upwards of twenty-four thousand warriors, with +their wives and families, had decided to immigrate to Omdurman, and that +several of them had already reached El Fasher. Thus, at length, the +ardent wish of his heart--to gather his own tribe and relatives about +him, and make them masters of the situation--was accomplished. + +Nejumi was now in Dongola with instructions to undertake offensive +operations against Egypt; but the final orders to move forward with the +main body were frequently postponed. His army, however, was increased, +from time to time, by the arrival of Emirs whom the Khalifa was anxious +to remove from Omdurman; and thus a fairly considerable force was +gradually accumulating on the northern frontier of the Mahdist Empire. + +Osman Wad ed Dekeim, the brother of Yunes, was now sent to Berber, which +had hitherto been administered by a representative of the late Mohammed +Kheir; and, reinforced by six hundred cavalry, he took over the reins of +government. Thus another district fell under the sway of one of the +Khalifa's own relatives. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE ABYSSINIAN CAMPAIGN. + + Battle of Gallabat--Death of King John--The Revolt of Abu + Gemmaiza--Defeats of the Mahdists--Death of Abu + Gemmaiza--Preparations for the Invasion of Egypt--Execution of + Sixty-seven Batahin Arabs--More Letters from Home--My Family + send the Khalifa a Dressing-bag from Vienna--Immigration of the + Taaisha Tribe--They settle in the Nile Valley--Nejumi advances + into Egypt--Battle of Toski--Incidents during the Great + Famine--The Fall of Ibrahim Adlan--His Execution--The Khalifa + mistrusts me--I fall into Serious Danger--I become the Unwilling + Recipient of the Khalifa's Favours. + + +It was not, however, to be supposed that the Mahdist victories in the +east and west would remain entirely undisputed. King John, who had been +carrying on a war in the interior, now determined to avenge the attack +on Gondar, and therefore resolved to march against Gallabat, and utterly +destroy the enemies of his country and religion. On Abu Anga's death, +the Khalifa appointed one of his former subordinates, Zeki Tummal of the +Taaisha tribe, to take the command and to complete the fortifications of +Gallabat, which had already been begun. During Abu Anga's lifetime, his +army had been divided into five parts, under the respective commands of +Ahmed Wad Ali, Abdalla Ibrahim, Hamdan (one of Abu Anga's brothers), +while Zeki himself commanded some two thousand five hundred mulazemin. +The force of Yunes still remained under the command of Ibrahim Dafalla. + +King John now collected an immense army, and moved towards Gallabat. The +Dervishes were in great consternation, and did all they could to +strengthen their fortifications. King John's army was divided into two +portions: one division was made up of his own tribe, the Tigré, and +King Menelek's troops, under the command of Ras Alula; whilst the other +portion consisted of the Amhara legions under Ras Barambaras. Arriving +almost within range of Gallabat, they pitched their camp, and began the +attack the following morning. The lines of Gallabat, which were some +fifteen miles in circumference, were defended only at intervals by +Zeki's troops; and the Amhara leader, being well informed by spies, made +a determined attack on the western side, which was weakly held. After a +short resistance, they succeeded in penetrating; and the remainder of +the garrison were in the unpleasant position of having to defend +themselves from the outside, whilst, within, the enemy was pillaging the +town. Had the Amhara, instead of looting, attacked the garrison from the +rear, they would no doubt have succeeded in capturing the position; but +they concerned themselves only with pillaging and driving out of the +town thousands of women and children. King John, who was in his tent, +having received news that the Amhara, whom he had frequently accused of +cowardice, had succeeded in entering the lines, whilst his own tribe, +the Tigré, had failed, fell into a passion; and, ordering his followers +to carry him on his seat--a small gold angareb covered with cushions and +carpets--he was brought into the midst of the fighting line. The +defenders, noticing a crowd of followers clothed in velvet and gold, +directed their fire on them; and when King John had almost reached the +defences, he was struck by a bullet, which, breaking his right arm above +the elbow, entered his body. The courageous man, declaring that his +injury was of no consequence, continued urging on his men, but soon fell +back unconscious on his couch, and was carried to the rear by his +followers, who had suffered great loss. The news that he was wounded +spread amongst his troops like wildfire; and, though on the point of +success, they retired. On the evening of the 9th March, 1889, King John +expired in his tent. An effort was made to keep his death secret; but +the news gradually leaked out, and the Amhara, deserting the camp in +the night with all their loot, returned to their homes. + +Ras Alula, being the most important of the Tigré chiefs, nominated Hailo +Mariam as their temporary ruler; but fearing the possibility of +dissensions breaking out amongst his unruly troops, he thought he had +better return to his country, and therefore ordered a retreat. + +In fear and trembling, the Mahdists awaited the renewal of the +Abyssinian attack the next morning; but when the sun rose, they found, +to their surprise, that the white tents which had been visible the +previous day had disappeared. Zeki Tummal now sent out troops to +reconnoitre; and they returned with the joyful news that the Abyssinians +had retired. They had also learnt from the wounded that King John was +dead. A council was immediately held, and, as the enemy had carried off +a number of the Mahdist women and cattle,--amongst them much of the late +Abu Anga's property,--it was agreed that they should be pursued. The +Abyssinians had pitched their camp about half a day's journey from +Gallabat; already half the army was on the move; and Ras Alula, Hailo +Mariam, the temporary Negus, and other chiefs were on the point of +breaking up the camp, when they were suddenly attacked by the Dervishes. +Hailo Mariam was killed at the tent-door, within which lay King John's +body, already partly embalmed, in a wooden coffin. Ras Alula beat a +hurried retreat, leaving the camp in the hands of his enemies. The +Dervishes captured an immense amount of booty, including horses, mules, +arms, tents, coffee, etc.; they did not, however, succeed in +re-capturing the women, who had already been carried on ahead. In Hailo +Mariam's tent King John's crown was found. It is doubtful whether this +was the imperial Abyssinian crown, as it was made of silver gilt; his +sword also was taken, as well as a letter to him from Her Majesty the +Queen of England. + +Neither the attack on Gallabat, nor the Dervish defeat of the rear-guard +the following day, had by any means broken the Abyssinian army; but, +owing to the accidental death of their king, the Dervish victory had +been most complete. The country now fell into a state of internecine +warfare; there were several aspirants for the throne, and dissensions +and quarrels put a stop to combined action. The Italians had been in +occupation of Massawa since the beginning of 1885, and had occupied some +of the adjacent country. This fact re-acted satisfactorily on the +Dervish occupation of Gallabat; for they were well aware that the +Abyssinians would be fully occupied with their European enemies; and +once more they began raiding the Amhara frontier. + +Whilst the garrison of Gallabat was in danger of destruction at the +hands of King John, Osman Wad Adam was in considerable peril in the +west. On the death of Sultan Yusef, his troops raided the country in all +directions, and his Emirs were guilty of the greatest oppression and +cruelty. Thousands of women and children were declared to be ghanima +(booty), and dragged to Fasher by main force. The people were in +despair; and the distress and anguish extended to the limits of Dar +Tama. Here a youth resided who hailed from Omdurman, and probably +belonged to one of the riverain tribes, but had been driven from his own +home, and, under the shade of a wide spreading Gemmaiza (wild fig) tree, +sat and read the Kuran. He had intended proceeding to Bornu and the +Fellata country,--as far away as possible from the tyrannical +Sudan,--when some of the unfortunate people who had been robbed of all +they possessed, came and told him of their misfortunes. A party of +Dervishes, they said, had arrived at the neighbouring village, had +seized their cattle, and were about to carry them off, together with the +women and girls of the village, under the pretext that they had been +ordered to undertake a pilgrimage to Fasher, and had not done so. "If +you do not wish to fight for your wives and children, for what then will +you fight?" asked the young man. "Do you not know that he who falls +fighting for his women and children goes straight to Paradise?" The +effect of these words on the people resembled a spark falling into a +barrel of gunpowder. Hastening back to their village, they demanded the +instant liberation of their families; and when this was refused, they +fought for it. The Mahdists were annihilated; and the infuriated +villagers mutilated their bodies. Their example was followed by other +villages with equal success; and, in a few days, Dar Tama had shaken +itself free from its enemies. But who was the originator of this +movement which had already been so successful? It was the young man +under the Gemmaiza tree, who lived there as a hermit, subsisting only on +some dry bread and a little grain. A pilgrimage to see him was at once +organised; the people called him Abu Gemmaiza, adored him as a saint, +and looked upon him as the liberator of the fatherland. + +The Emir Abdel Kader Wad Delil, who was then residing at Kebkebia, and +had heard of the massacre of his men, now advanced on Dar Tama, +determined to avenge it; but he was defeated, and barely escaped with +his life. Khatem Musa, on his way from Fasher, suffered a like fate. +Osman Wad Adam, furious at the losses he had sustained, resolved to +annihilate his enemies, and, with this object in view, despatched his +assistant, Mohammed Wad Bishara, and a large number of his mulazemin to +Kebkebia, to unite with Wad Delil and Khatem; but scarcely had he +arrived, when he was attacked by the hosts of Abu Gemmaiza, who were +marching on Fasher. Defeated with great loss, he fell back on that town. +Adam now fully realised the seriousness of the situation, and summoned a +council; several of the Emirs were for evacuating the province at once, +when the news suddenly arrived that Abu Gemmaiza was dead. As a matter +of fact, to the great good fortune of Fasher, he had been taken +seriously ill of small-pox at Kebkebia. The excited multitudes refused +either to return or disperse; and, electing his assistant as his +successor, they continued their advance on Fasher; but, in spite of +their former victories, their belief in their leader's success had waned +when he had fallen ill, and when he died, it vanished altogether. + +Osman Wad Adam had taken up a position in the south end of the city; and +when the rebels advanced to the attack, they were driven back to Rahad +Tendelti with fearful loss. Abu Gemmaiza's successor was killed, and his +troops, dispersing in all directions, were pursued and slaughtered. The +whole country seemed covered with dead bodies; but Fasher and Darfur +were saved. There is a curious coincidence in the dates of these +momentous occurrences in the East and West Sudan: the previous year, +both armies had advanced--the one to Darfur and the other to Abyssinia; +both had been attacked by their enemies in their fortifications--the one +by King John, and the other by Abu Gemmaiza, in the same month; and both +had been unexpectedly successful. + +Previous, however, to these occurrences, the Khalifa had again directed +his attention towards Egypt. He had questioned several persons regarding +the country; and they had excited in him an avaricious longing for the +grand palaces, large gardens, and immense harems of white women (he +himself had Black in abundance). Of course the most suitable man to +undertake operations against Egypt was Nejumi. He was an exceptionally +brave man, and, when a simple merchant, had travelled a great deal, knew +the country well, and, moreover, was an ardent devotee to the cause of +Mahdism, to which he had won over great numbers. The greater part of his +force consisted of tribesmen of the Nile valley; many had seen Egypt, +and had until recently much intercourse with the frontier tribes of +Upper Egypt. Such were the outward and visible reasons which the Khalifa +brought forward when selecting the chief; but, in reality, he was well +aware that a campaign against Egypt was a serious undertaking; and, on +this account, he was anxious not to involve in it his own relatives, and +the western tribes who were his special adherents. Nejumi, therefore, +with his Jaalin and Danagla, and a proportion of Baggaras, formed the +expedition; but the two former, being followers of the Khalifa Sherif, +Abdullahi always looked upon as his secret enemies. Should the campaign +be successful,--and he never for a moment doubted the capacity and +devotion of its leader,--then so much the better, he would have +conquered a new country; but should the Egyptian troops succeed in +repelling the invasion, then the remnant of his defeated forces would +retire on Dongola, with heavy loss, and would be so far weakened as to +be unworthy of further consideration. + +He therefore despatched Yunes Wad ed Dekeim as Emir of the Dongola +Province, and to hold the country, whilst Nejumi was to receive his +orders from Yunes, and proceed with the advanced troops. The Dongola +Province, at this period, it must be remembered, was entirely under +Baggara domination. Amongst the reinforcements despatched thence were +Ahmed Wad Gar en Nebbi and some of the Batahin tribesmen, who came from +the country north of the Blue Nile, between the Shukria district and the +river. Many of this tribe had been previously despatched to Dongola and +Berber; and now the few who were left refused to comply with the +Khalifa's orders, in consequence of which Gar en Nebbi had deserted, +and, being pursued, had wounded one of the Khalifa's men. Abdullahi, +indignant at this disregard of his orders, had despatched Abdel Baki, +accompanied by Taher Wad el Obeid, to seize by force all the Batahin; +the latter now fled in all directions, but, with the exception of a very +few, were captured. During the pursuit Abdel Baki, guided by Wad el +Obeid, suffered severely from thirst; and this he imputed to the +ill-will of the latter, who, in consequence, was deprived of his +position and thrown into chains at Omdurman. Abdel Baki now brought in +sixty-seven men of the Batahin, with their wives and children. This +tribe was celebrated for its bravery during the Government days; and now +the Khalifa, who had already privately given his views on the matter to +the judges, ordered them to be summoned before the Court. It was +unanimously decided that the Batahin were mukhalefin (disobedient). "And +what is the punishment for disobedience?" asked the Khalifa. "Death," +was the reply of the judges. They were sent back to prison, and the +Khalifa busied himself with carrying the sentence into execution. In +accordance with his orders, three scaffolds were immediately erected in +the market-place, and, after midday prayers, the ombeÿa was sounded and +the great war-drum was beaten, summoning all the Khalifa's subjects to +follow him. Riding to the parade ground, he dismounted and seated +himself on a small angareb, whilst his followers collected around him, +some sitting and some standing. The sixty-seven Batahin were now brought +before him, with their hands tied behind their backs, escorted by Abdel +Baki's men, whilst their unfortunate wives and children ran after them +crying and screaming. The Khalifa gave instructions that the women and +children were to be separated from the men, and, summoning Ahmed ed +Dalia, Taher Wad el Jaali, and Hassan Wad Khabir, consulted them in an +undertone; the latter then went forward to the Batahin, and instructed +the escort and prisoners to follow them to the market-place. After a +delay of a quarter of an hour, the Khalifa got up, and we all walked on +behind him. Arrived at the market-place, a terrible scene awaited us. + +The unfortunate Batahin had been divided into three parties, one of +which had been hanged, a second had been decapitated, and a third had +lost their right hands and left feet. The Khalifa himself stopped in +front of the three scaffolds, which were almost broken by the weights of +the bodies, whilst close at hand lay a heap of mutilated people, their +hands and feet lying scattered on the ground; it was a shocking +spectacle. They did not utter a sound, but gazed in front of them, and +tried to hide from the eyes of the crowd the terrible sufferings they +were enduring. The Khalifa now summoned Osman Wad Ahmed, one of the +Kadis, who was an intimate friend of Khalifa Ali, and a member of the +Batahin tribe; and pointing to the mutilated bodies, he said to Osman, +"You may now take what remains of your tribe home with you." The poor +man was too shocked and horrified to be able to answer. + +[Illustration: The Execution of the "Batahin."] + +After riding round the scaffolds, the Khalifa proceeded along the street +leading to the mosque; and here Ahmed ed Dalia had been continuing his +bloody work; twenty-three decapitated bodies lay stretched along the +roadside; these unfortunates had calmly met their death, submitting to +the inevitable. Several of them, as is the custom amongst the Arabs, had +given proof of their courage by uttering a few sentences, such as: +"Death is ordained for every one." "See! to-day is my holy day." "He who +has not seen a brave man die, let him come and look here." Each one of +these sixty-seven men had met his death heroically. The Khalifa's work +was done; he was satisfied with it, and rode home. On his arrival there, +by way of an act of clemency, he sent one of his orderlies with +instructions that the women and children of the murdered men should be +set free; he might just as well have distributed them as slaves. + +In spite of all these horrors, I was secretly rejoicing, for I had heard +that letters from home were on their way; not only were there letters, +but I had also been told, confidentially, by some merchants who had come +from Berber, that there were two boxes of money for me. I scarcely dared +think about it, and to wait patiently was no easy matter. One morning, +whilst I was sitting at the door, a camel laden with two boxes was +brought up; and the man asked to be taken before the Khalifa, saying +that he had arrived with letters and goods from Osman Digna. The +Khalifa, being apprised of this, ordered the boxes to be sent to the +Beit el Mal, and the letters to be given to his clerks. I was wild with +impatience; but it was the Khalifa's pleasure not to summon me till +after sunset, and then he handed me the letters. They were, as I +expected, from my brothers and sisters, expressing their great delight +at having at last received news direct from me. One letter was written +in Arabic, and addressed to the Khalifa, and contained profuse thanks to +him for his kindness to me, recommending me to him for further +assurances of his good-will, for which they sent many expressions of +gratitude. This letter, which had been written by Professor Dahrmund, +was composed in such flattering terms that the Khalifa had it read aloud +the same evening in the mosque; and so gratified was he, that he ordered +the boxes to be made over to me. Meanwhile, I translated to him my +letters, which contained only private and personal information, and in +which my brothers and sisters told me they had sent a travelling-bag for +the Khalifa in token of their devotion to him, begging him to accept +this trifling present, which was quite unworthy of his exalted position. +He expressed his readiness to accept it, and ordered me to bring it to +him the next morning. He then sent two of his people, so that the boxes +might be opened in their presence; and, late that night, we went to the +Beit el Mal, and there opened them. They contained £200, twelve ordinary +watches, some razors and looking-glasses, some newspapers, a German +translation of the Kuran, and the Khalifa's present. These things were +all handed over to me; and, having read my letters once again, I +literally devoured the newspapers. News from home! + +There were only a few numbers of the "Neue Freie Presse," but quite +sufficient to afford me, who had had no news for six years, the pleasure +of reading at night-time for months. I gradually got to know them by +heart, from the political leader down to the last advertisement, in +which an elderly maiden lady advertised that she was anxious to find a +kindred spirit with a view to matrimony. Father Ohrwalder came to me +secretly by night to borrow the papers, and studied them just as +conscientiously as I did,--only I do not suppose that he paid quite so +much attention to the last advertisement! + +Early the next morning, taking the present with me, I went to the +Khalifa; he told me to open it, and when he saw all the little crystal +boxes, silver-topped bottles, brushes, razors, scissors, etc., etc., he +was greatly surprised. I had to explain to him their various uses; and +he then sent for the Kadis, who, in duty bound, were obliged to express +even greater astonishment than he, though I had no doubt that several of +them had seen such things before. Then, without any further delay, he +sent for his clerk, and ordered him to write a letter to my brothers and +sisters, in which he himself informed them of the honourable position I +held in his service; he invited them to come to Omdurman and visit me, +and gave them the assurance that they would be free to return. He also +ordered me to write in the same strain; and, although I knew perfectly +well that my people would never avail themselves of such an invitation, +which was merely a spontaneous outburst of delight, I took good care to +warn them fully against thinking of it for an instant. The letters were +then returned by the man who had been sent by Osman Digna; and the +latter was instructed by letter to forward them. The real reason, +however, for the Khalifa's good-humour lay in the fact that his own +tribe, the Taaisha, had arrived in Omdurman. They had marched through +Kordofan to the White Nile at Tura el Hadra. The Khalifa had written to +them that they should come to take possession of the countries which the +Lord their God had ordained to be theirs; and on their arrival they +certainly behaved as if they were sole masters. They appropriated +everything they could lay their hands on: camels, cows, and donkeys were +forcibly carried off from their owners; men and women who had the +misfortune to cross their path, were robbed of their clothing and +jewellery; and the populations of the countries through which they +passed bitterly rued the day which had made a western Arab their ruler. +For their convenience, the Khalifa erected immense grain depôts all +along the roads by which they travelled; and, on their arrival at the +river, ships and steamers were ready to transport them to Omdurman. But, +before they reached the city, the Khalifa ordered them to halt on the +right bank of the river; and, dividing them into two sections, he had +all the men and women freshly clothed at the expense of the Beit el Mal; +and they then were brought in detachments, at intervals of two or three +days, to Omdurman. In order to make the populace thoroughly understand +that the new masters of the country had arrived, Abdullahi drove out of +their houses all the inhabitants of that portion of the city lying +between the mosque and Omdurman Fort, and handed it over to the Taaisha +as their residence. Other ground was allotted to those who had been +forced to give up their houses, and they were promised assistance from +the Beit el Mal in order to rebuild; but, of course, this was mere empty +form, and resulted in their having to shift entirely for themselves. + +In order to facilitate the maintenance of his tribe, and as grain began +to rise in price, the Khalifa issued an order for all grain stored in +the houses to be taken to the meshra el minarata (grain docks), under +pain of confiscation; and, having obtained the services of some of his +own myrmidons, he ordered them to sell this grain at the lowest possible +rate to the Taaisha; and the money thus obtained he divided amongst the +original owners, who, in their turn, were obliged to re-purchase at the +high rates from other sources. This wholesale robbery can be better +understood, when I explain that the money paid by the Taaisha for ten +ardebs of grain would scarcely pay for two ardebs purchased in the +ordinary manner. + +When the supply of grain at Omdurman was diminishing, he despatched +messengers to the Gezira to confiscate what was still there; and, in +this manner, by publicly showing his preference for his own tribe, he +completely estranged himself from his former followers. This, however, +was a matter of little concern to him, as, by the advent of the Taaisha +Arabs, he had acquired a reinforcement of several thousands of warriors. + +After the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa had sent four messengers to Cairo +with letters addressed to Her Majesty the Queen of England, His Majesty +the Sultan, and His Highness the Khedive, in which he summoned them to +submit to his rule and to adopt Mahdism. The messengers returned from +Cairo, where due note had been made of this insolent demand, without any +answer; and the Khalifa was greatly offended. Early in 1889, however, +when he had decided to send Nejumi to invade Egypt, he again despatched +four messengers to Egypt, conveying his final warning; but these were +kept for a time at Assuan, and again sent back without any answer. + +The campaigns in the east and west having been successfully concluded, +the revolt of Abu Gemmaiza having been suppressed, and King John of +Abyssinia having been killed, and his head despatched with others to +Omdurman, the Khalifa now sent it to Yunes at Dongola to be forwarded by +him to Wadi Halfa, as a warning, and as a proof of his victory over all +those who refused to believe in the Mahdi. Having overcome his +difficulties, and being strengthened by the arrival of fresh contingents +of Arabs, the Khalifa now considered that the time had come when he +might venture an attack on Egypt, and conquer it. Consequently, Nejumi +received special instructions to start forthwith, with all under his +command; and, avoiding Wadi Halfa, to capture Assuan, and there await +further orders. In addition to his own followers, Nejumi had been +reinforced by the Batahin, the Homr, and other Arabs of whom the Khalifa +was anxious to rid himself; and with these he quitted Dongola early in +May, 1889. Meanwhile, the Egyptian Government had been kept well +informed of the advance of this ill-equipped force, and had taken all +precautions; whilst Nejumi, instead of material support, received +continual orders from Yunes to hurry on; and it was not till he had +arrived within the Egyptian frontier that some reinforcements of Jaalin, +under Haj Ali, reached him. At the village of Argin, a portion of his +troops, contrary to his orders, had descended from the desert high +ground to the river, and, coming in contact with the troops of the Wadi +Halfa garrison under Wodehouse Pasha, sustained considerable loss. + +Meanwhile, Grenfell Pasha, Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, having started +with a force from Assuan, wrote a letter to Nejumi, in which he pointed +out the danger of the situation, and how impossible it was for him to +hope to be successful. He therefore summoned him to surrender; but this +Nejumi stubbornly refused to do; and a battle ensued at Toski, in which +General Grenfell and the Egyptian army utterly annihilated the Mahdists. +Nejumi and almost all of his Emirs were killed; thousands were taken +prisoners; and only a very few succeeded in escaping back to Dongola. + +The Khalifa had ridden to the Beit el Mal, and was praying on the banks +of the Nile, when mounted men arrived in hot haste from Dongola, and +handed letters to his secretary, who, for the moment, suppressed the +news, and only read it to him when he returned home. The letters +described the death of Nejumi and the destruction of his army; and the +effect on the Khalifa was terrible. He had no great confidence, it is +true, in the tribes who had gone forward to invade Egypt; but, at the +same time, their annihilation was a frightful blow to him. He had hoped +that they would either have been victorious, or would have beaten a safe +retreat; but now he had lost upwards of sixteen thousand of his men; and +he at once thought the Government would advance and re-occupy Dongola. +For three days he did not go near his harem; and, day and night, I was +obliged to stay at his door and pretend to sympathise with him in these +occurrences, though secretly I was rejoicing. He at once despatched +reinforcements to Yunes; but, at the same time, sent him instructions +that, should the Government advance, he should not attempt to oppose the +army, but was to retreat with his entire force to Sannum, in Dar +Shaigia. + +But disasters never come singly: grain rose daily in price. No rain had +fallen the previous year, and the crops in consequence had been very +bad; the parties who had been sent to the Gezira had orders to procure +grain by force at the rate fixed by the Khalifa. Of course those who had +any at once hid it, and denied having anything; but in truth there was +really very little in the land. Famine first broke out in the Province +of Berber, which was entirely dependent on the Gezira for supplies; and +here Osman Wad ed Dekeim was obliged to disperse his men and horses +throughout various parts of the country. + +The irrigation of this province is carried on by water-wheels at +intervals along the river banks; and even in prosperous times the supply +of grain is scarcely sufficient to meet the wants of the local +inhabitants; there was therefore now considerable difficulty in +maintaining all Osman's people as well. Several of the inhabitants +wandered to Omdurman, which was already over-populated; and here the +situation became most critical: the price of grain rose at first to +forty dollars, and subsequently to sixty dollars, the ardeb. The rich +could purchase grain; but the poor died wholesale. Those were terrible +months at the close of 1889; the people had become so thin that they +scarcely resembled human beings,--they were veritably but skin and bone. +These poor wretches would eat anything, no matter how disgusting,--skins +of animals which had long since dried and become decayed, were roasted +and eaten; the strips of leather which form the angareb (native +bedstead) were cut off, boiled, and made into soup. Those who had any +strength left went out and robbed; like hawks they pounced down on the +bakers and butchers, and cared nothing for the blows of the kurbash, +which invariably fell on their attenuated backs. + +On one occasion, I remember seeing a man who had seized a piece of +tallow, and had crammed it into his mouth before its owner could stop +him. The latter jumped at his throat, closed his hands round it, and +pressed it till the man's eyes protruded; but he kept his mouth tightly +closed until he fell down insensible. In the market-places, the +incessant cry was heard of "Gayekum! Gayekum!" (He is coming to you!), +which meant that famished creatures were stealthily creeping round the +places where the women had their few articles for sale, to protect which +they were frequently obliged to lie upon them, and defend them with +their hands and feet. The space between the Khalifa's and Yakub's houses +was generally crowded at night with these wretched people, who cried +aloud most piteously for bread. I dreaded going home; for I was +generally followed by several of these famished beggars, who often +attempted to forcibly enter my house; and at that time I had scarcely +enough for my own slender wants, besides having to help my own household +and my friends, who had now become wretchedly poor. + +One night,--it was full moon,--I was going home at about twelve o'clock, +when, near the Beit el Amana (ammunition and arms stores), I saw +something moving on the ground, and went near to see what it was. As I +approached, I saw three almost naked women, with their long tangled hair +hanging about their shoulders; they were squatting round a quite young +donkey, which was lying on the ground, and had probably strayed from its +mother, or been stolen by them. They had torn open its body with their +teeth, and were devouring its intestines, whilst the poor animal was +still breathing. I shuddered at this terrible sight, whilst the poor +women, infuriated by hunger, gazed at me like maniacs. The beggars by +whom I was followed, now fell upon them, and attempted to wrest from +them their prey; and I fled from this uncanny spectacle. + +On another occasion, I saw a poor woman who must formerly have been +beautiful, but on whose emaciated face the death-struggle was visible, +lying on her back in the street, whilst her little baby, scarcely a year +old, was vainly trying to get some nourishment from its mother's already +cold breasts. Another woman, passing by, took compassion on the little +orphan, and carried it off. + +One day, a woman of the Jaalin, who are perhaps the most moral tribe in +the Sudan, accompanied by her only daughter, a lovely young girl, +dragged herself wearily to my house; both were at death's door from +starvation, and begged me to help them. I gave them what little I could; +and the woman then said, "Take this, my only daughter, as your slave; +save her from death by starvation!" and, as she said this, the tears +streamed down her poor wan cheeks, whilst in her weak, scarcely audible +voice, she continued, "Do not fear that I shall molest you any further; +only save her; do not let her perish!" I gave them all I could spare, +and then asked them to leave me, telling them to return when they were +in great want; but I never saw them again,--perhaps some charitable +person took pity on them. Another woman was actually accused of eating +her own child, and was brought to the police station for trial; but of +what use was this?--in two days the poor creature died, a raving maniac! + +[Illustration: Famine Stricken.] + +Several sold their own children, both boys and girls, pretending they +were their slaves,--this they did not to obtain money, but simply to +save their lives; and, when this year of misery was over, some parents +bought them back again at even higher prices. The dead lay in the +streets in hundreds; and none could be found to bury them. The Khalifa +issued orders that people were responsible for burying those who were +found dead near their houses; and that, should they refuse to do so, +their property would be confiscated. This had some effect; but, to save +themselves trouble, they used to drag the bodies near their neighbours' +houses; and this gave rise to frequent quarrels and brawls. Every day, +the waters of the Blue and White Niles swept past Omdurman, carrying +along hundreds of bodies of the wretched peasantry who had died along +the banks,--a terrible proof of the awful condition of the country. + +In Omdurman itself, the majority of those who died belonged rather to +the moving population, than to the actual inhabitants of the town; for +the latter had managed to secrete a certain amount of grain, and the +different tribes invariably assisted each other; but, in other parts of +the Sudan, the state of affairs was considerably worse. I think the +Jaalin, who are most independent, as well as the proudest tribe in the +Sudan, suffered more severely than the rest; several fathers of +families, seeing that escape from death was impossible, bricked up the +doors of their houses, and, united with their children, patiently +awaited death. I have no hesitation in saying that in this way entire +villages died out. + +The inhabitants of Dongola, though they suffered considerably, were +somewhat better off; and for this they had to thank Nejumi, whose +departure had considerably reduced the population of the province. +Between Abu Haraz, Gedaref, and Gallabat, the situation was worst of +all. Zeki Tummal, at the commencement of the famine, had given orders to +some of his myrmidons to forcibly collect all the grain in the +neighbourhood; and this he stored for his soldiers, thus saving the bulk +of his force, with the result that an immense proportion of the local +inhabitants died of starvation. After a time, no one dared to go out +into the streets without an escort; for they feared being attacked and +eaten up; the inhabitants had become animals,--cannibals! One of the +Emirs of the Homr tribe,--who, in spite of the terrible year, still +preserved a fairly healthy appearance,--notwithstanding constant +warning, insisted on going to visit a friend after sunset; but he never +reached his friend, nor returned to his abode; the next morning, his +head was found outside the city, and I presume his body had already been +consumed. + +The Hassania, Shukria, Aggaliun, Hammada, and other tribes had +completely died out; and the once thickly populated country had become a +desert waste. Zeki Tummal sent a detachment of his force to the southern +districts of the Blue Nile, towards the Tabi, Begreg, Kukeli, +Kashankero, and Beni Shangul mountains, the inhabitants of which, +although they paid tribute to the Khalifa, refused to make a pilgrimage +or provide warlike contingents. This he had done not so much with the +idea of military operations, as to provide some means of maintaining his +troops; but the commander, Abder Rasul, succeeded in capturing a number +of slaves, as well as a quantity of money. + +The situation in Darfur was little better than that in Gedaref and +Gallabat; the western provinces, such as Dar Gimr, Dar Tama, and +Massalit, had no need of grain; but not being in complete subjection, +they prevented its export to Fasher. Indeed, it seemed as if this famine +had come as Heaven's punishment on all districts owning subjection to +the Khalifa, whilst the neighbouring countries, which had had sufficient +rest to cultivate their fields, had acquired enough grain for their +maintenance. A few Omdurman merchants hired some vessels, and proceeded +to Fashoda, where they exchanged beads, copper rods, and money for +dhurra; the undertaking succeeded, and now crowds of others followed +their example, proceeding sometimes as far as the Sobat, whence they +imported quantities of grain, thus enriching themselves, and saving +their fellow-countrymen from terrible want. Had the King of Fashoda, who +was not then subject to the Khalifa, forbidden the export, half Omdurman +would have perished. At length, the rain fell; the thirsty land was +refreshed; the crops sprang up; harvest was near; and the whole country +once more rejoiced at the prospect of help and deliverance. But now the +atmosphere became obscure with swarms of locusts of an unusual size, and +the prospect of a rich harvest vanished; everything, however, was not +destroyed by this plague, which, from that date, has become one of +annual occurrence. The Khalifa, anxious for the welfare of his own +tribe, now forced the natives to sell the little grain they had +collected, at an absurdly low price, to his agents; but small as this +was, in comparison with the price he ought to have paid, he determined +to still further economise, and, consequently, ordered Ibrahim Adlan to +proceed personally to the Gezira, and induce the inhabitants to give up +their dhurra of their own free-will, and without payment. Adlan, who +thoroughly disapproved of this measure, now left; and his enemies, +seizing the occasion of his absence, did all they could to bring about +his fall. This able official had, by his thoroughness and sagacity, +risen high in the Khalifa's favour; but ambition induced him to strive +for the first place. He frequently made use of his position to upset the +plans of others; but, in reality, Abdullahi sought nobody's advice, and +discussed state affairs with his brother Yakub only, whose animosity +Adlan had incurred, though Yakub was too clever to show it. + +As natives go, Adlan's character was good: he did not care to lend +himself to evil designs, and, far from oppressing people, was often the +means of lightening the burdens of others; he was most liberal and +well-disposed to those who were submissive to his will; but he was +bitterly hostile to those he suspected of finding fault with his +actions, or who endeavoured to obtain appointments and positions without +his intervention. Like all Sudanese, he was bent on making money by fair +means or foul; and as he was head of the Beit el Mal, through whose +hands all the taxes passed, this was not a matter of difficulty. He was +suspected, and not without reason, of having made an immense fortune, +and of this the Khalifa was not ignorant; consequently, during his +absence, Yakub and several of his confidants informed the Khalifa that +Adlan's influence in the country was almost as great as his own, and +that he had frequently spoken disparagingly of his master and his system +of government; they even went as far as to say that Adlan had attributed +the famine entirely to the Khalifa's treatment of his own tribe. + +Adlan, who was somewhat slow in carrying out the Khalifa's instructions +in the Gezira, and against whom the Taaisha were clamouring bitterly, +was recalled by the Khalifa, who, for the first few days after his +arrival, did not show his hand; but when the Taaisha, instigated by +Yakub, continued clamouring, the Khalifa summoned him, and accused him +in harsh terms of infidelity and abuse of confidence. Furious at this +treatment, and trusting to the confidential nature of his position, +Adlan, for a moment, forgot that after all he was merely the Khalifa's +slave, and retorted in equally sharp terms, "You reproach me now," said +he,--"I who have served you all these years; and now I do not fear to +speak my mind to you. Through preference for your own tribe, and your +love of evil-doing, you have estranged the hearts of all those who have +hitherto been faithful to you. I have ever been mindful of your +interests; but as you now listen to my enemies, and to your brother +Yakub, who is ill-disposed towards me, I cannot serve you any longer." + +The Khalifa, alarmed and shocked by such language, which no one had +ever dared before to use in his presence, was furious. If Adlan had not +had such power in the country, he would never have dared to speak like +this; and if he had not accumulated considerable wealth, he would never +have risked giving up so lucrative a position. Abdullahi, however, +controlled himself, and replied, "I have taken note of what you have +said, and will think it over; leave me now, and I will give you an +answer to-morrow." He went out; but ere he had reached the door the +Khalifa had made up his mind. After sunset the next day, the two +Khalifas, all the Kadis, and Yakub were summoned to a council; and, +shortly afterwards, Adlan was called before them. In a few words, +similar to those he had used the previous day, the Khalifa spoke to him +about his attitude, adding, "You spoke against Yakub, and said that I +had estranged myself from the hearts of my partisans; do you not know +that my brother Yakub is my eye and my right hand? It is you who have +estranged the hearts of my friends from me; and now you dare to do the +same with my brother; but the Almighty God is righteous, and you shall +not escape your punishment." He then made a sign to the mulazemin, who +had been kept in readiness, to seize him and carry him off to prison. +Without uttering a word of reproach, with a firm step, and holding his +head high in the air, he submitted to his fate, determined that his +enemies should not have the satisfaction of seeing him downhearted or +afraid. + +The Khalifa at once gave instructions that Adlan's house should be +confiscated, and the Beit el Mal property seized. A careful search of +the former was ordered; and the employés of the latter were instructed +to render immediate and complete accounts. In Adlan's pocket was found a +piece of paper inscribed all over with mysterious writing, in which the +name of the Khalifa frequently appeared; it had been written with a +solution of saffron, which is supposed to possess some secret power; and +the unfortunate Adlan was not less superstitious than the majority of +the Sudanese. The paper was declared to be sorcery, which is punishable +most severely; Adlan was pronounced to be mukhalef (disobedient) in not +carrying out his orders, and a traitor, because he had attempted to sow +dissension between the Khalifa and his brother Yakub, and, in the +endeavour to effect this, had been guilty of the use of sorcery. The +verdict was mutilation, or death, and he was allowed to make his choice; +he selected the latter. + +With his hands tied across his chest, and to the strains of the +melancholy ombeÿa, he was led forth to the market-place, accompanied by +an immense crowd. Calmly mounting the angareb beneath the scaffold, he +himself placed his head in the noose, and, refusing to drink the water +offered to him, told the hangman to complete his work; the rope was +pulled taut, the angareb was removed, and there Ibrahim swung like a +marble statue, until his soul left his body, the outstretched index +finger alone indicating that he died in the true faith of Islam. In +spite of the interdiction, wails of sorrow filled the city; but the +Khalifa rejoiced that he had rid himself of so dangerous an enemy, and +refrained from punishing this disobedience to his orders. He sent his +brother Yakub to the funeral, as if to show to the world that Adlan had +merely been punished in accordance with the law, and that the well-known +animosity between the two had nothing to do with the matter. + +His successor as Emin Beit el Mal was a certain Nur Wad Ibrahim whose +grandfather was a Takruri. He did not, therefore, belong to the tribes +of the Nile valley, and thus had a greater claim on the Khalifa's +confidence and consideration. + +As regards myself, the Khalifa seemed to grow daily more suspicious. +Previous to Ibrahim Adlan's departure for the Gezira, the answer to my +letter, which had been sent to my family through Osman Digna, had +arrived. It contained only news of a private nature, and expressed the +great delight of my family that they had succeeded in at last getting +into communication with me. At the same time, they wrote to the Khalifa +in submissive words, expressing their gratitude for the kind and +honourable treatment which I received at his hands. They also assured +him of their great devotion to him, and thanked him for the high honour +he had conferred upon them by inviting them to come to Omdurman; but my +brother regretted his inability to accept, as he was at that time a +secretary in the office of the High Chamberlain of His Majesty the +Emperor of Austria, whilst the other brother was a lawyer and lieutenant +in the Artillery Reserve; they were therefore both unable, in virtue of +their positions, to undertake so long a journey. My master had called me +up, and, on handing me the letters, had ordered me to translate them to +him; then, considering for a few moments, he said to me, "It was my +intention to induce one of your brothers to come here and see me; and I +did what I had never done before,--wrote a letter to them. As they make +excuses and refuse to come, and as they now know that you are well, I +forbid you to have any more correspondence with them. Further +communications would only make you unhappy. Do you understand what I +mean?" "Certainly," I replied, "your orders shall be obeyed; and I also +think that further communication with my relatives is not necessary." +"Where is the Gospel that has been sent to you?" asked he, looking at me +fixedly. "I am a Moslem," I answered, for I was now on my guard; "and I +have no Gospel in my house. They sent me a translation of the Kuran, the +Holy Book, which your secretary saw when the box was opened, and which +is still in my possession." "Then bring it to me to-morrow," he said, +and signed to me to withdraw. + +It was perfectly clear to me that he no longer trusted me; and I knew +that after Nejumi's defeat he had several times spoken in this sense to +the Kadis. I had already spent almost all the money I had received in +gifts amongst my comrades; and now some of these began to murmur, and +were disappointed that the sum was so small; and I knew that they were +intriguing against me. Who could have induced him to believe that the +Kuran which had been sent to me was the Gospel? The next day, I gave it +to him. The translation was by Ullman. He examined it carefully, and +then said: "You say that this is the Kuran; it is in the language of +unbelievers, and perhaps they have made alterations." "It is a literal +translation into my own language," I replied, calmly, "and its object is +to make me understand the Holy Book which has come from God, and was +made known to mankind by the Prophet, in the Arabic language. If you +wish, you can send it to Neufeld, who is in captivity in the prison, and +with whom I have no intercourse; and you can ascertain from him if my +assertion is correct." "I do not mistrust you, and I believe what you +say," he replied, in a somewhat more amiable tone; "but people have +spoken to me about it, and you had better destroy the book." When I had +told him that I was perfectly willing to do this, he continued, "Also I +wish you to return the present your brothers and sisters sent me; I can +make no use of it, and it will be a proof to them that I place no value +on worldly possessions." + +He now had his secretary summoned, and ordered him to write a letter in +my name to my family, to the effect that it was not necessary to +correspond any more; and, after I had signed it, it was sent, together +with the travelling-bag, to the Beit el Mal, to be despatched to Suakin. +From that day, I was more careful than ever to do nothing to increase +the mistrust which I saw had sprung up in Abdullahi's mind. After +Adlan's death, however, he thought it necessary to warn me again, and +cautioned me most seriously against becoming mixed up in any sort of +conspiracy. Assembling all his mulazemin, he asserted, in the most +forcible language, that I was suspected of being a spy; that he had been +told I invariably questioned the camel postmen who arrived, about the +situation; that I received visitors in my house at night who were known +to be out of favour with him; and that I had gone so far as to inquire +in what part of his house his bedroom was situated. "I am afraid," he +continued, "that if you do not change your line of conduct, you will +follow in the footsteps of my old enemy Adlan." + +This was rather a blow to me; but I knew that now, more than ever, I had +need of being calm and collected. "Sire!" said I, in a loud voice, "I +cannot defend myself against unknown enemies; but I am perfectly +innocent of all they have told you. I leave my detractors in the hands +of God. For more than six years, in sunshine and rain, I have stood at +your door, ever ready to receive and carry out your orders. At your +command, I have given up all my old friends, and have no communication +with any one. I have even given up all connection with my relatives, and +that without the slightest remonstrance. Such a thing as conspiracy has +never even entered my heart. During all these long years, I have never +made a complaint. Sire, what have I done? All that I do is not done out +of fear of you, but out of love for you; and I cannot do more. Should +God still have further trials in store for me, I shall calmly and +willingly submit to my fate; but I have full reliance in your sense of +justice." + +"What have you to say to his words?" he said to the assembled mulazemin, +after a moment's silence. All, without exception, admitted that they had +never noticed anything in my behaviour which could give rise to such a +suspicion; my enemies also--and I well knew who they were, and who were +responsible for getting me into this dangerous position--were obliged to +admit this. "I forgive you," said he; "but avoid for the future giving +further cause for complaint," and, holding out his hand for me to kiss, +he signed to me to withdraw. He must have felt that he had wronged me; +for the next day he summoned me, spoke to me kindly, and warned me +against my enemies, who, he said, were as a thorn in my flesh. I +professed affection and confidence in him; and he then said, in quite a +confidential tone, "Do not make enemies, for you know that Mahdia is +conducted in accordance with the Moslem law: should you be accused +before the Kadi of treason, and two witnesses make good the accusation, +you are lost; for I cannot go against the law to save you." + +What an existence in a country where one's very life hung on the +evidence of two witnesses! Thanking him for his advice, I promised to +follow it, and said I would, of course, do all in my power to deserve +his confidence. When I returned home at midnight, tired and worn out by +this constant strain, my devoted Saadalla informed me, to my great +annoyance, that, only a few minutes before, one of the Khalifa's eunuchs +had brought a closely-veiled female, who was now in my house. + +I ought to have been greatly pleased about this, for it was a proof that +the Khalifa had forgiven me; but my first thought was, how to rid myself +of this present without creating suspicion. Saadalla and I now entered +the house; and, to my horror, I found that underneath the veil was an +Egyptian who had been born at Khartum, and who was, consequently, from a +Sudanese point of view, a lady of a comparatively fair complexion. She +was seated on the carpet; and, after we had exchanged greetings, she +replied to my query as to her nationality with such rapidity of speech +that I, who spoke Arabic fairly well, had the greatest difficulty in +following the romantic history of her life. + +She was the daughter, she said, of an Egyptian officer who, I afterwards +learnt, had only been a private soldier, and who had fallen in the fight +against the Shilluks, under Yusef Bey. As this had taken place upwards +of twenty years before, I could, without any great effort of +calculation, estimate fairly accurately that this good lady was well out +of her teens; and as she admitted that her first husband had been killed +during the capture of Khartum, that her mother was an Abyssinian who had +been educated in Khartum, and was still alive, and that she had an +enormous number of relatives, I really believe that, had my head not +been clean-shaven, my hair would veritably have stood on end. This +far-travelled and widely-experienced lady informed me that she had been +one of the many hundreds of Abu Anga's wives, and I had now been chosen +as the happy successor of this old slave. After his death, she had been +captured, with several of her rivals, by the Abyssinians, when King John +attacked Gallabat, but had been subsequently liberated by Zeki Tummal; +and she knew so many details of all the fights in this neighbourhood, +that, had my memory been only capable of retaining them, they would have +now been of great interest to my readers. A short time ago, the Khalifa +had ordered Abu Anga's remaining widows to be brought to Omdurman, for +distribution amongst his followers; she then went on to say that the +Khalifa himself had specially selected her as my wife, and she added, in +a subdued tone, that she rejoiced to have fallen into the hands of a +fellow-countryman. I explained to her that I was not an Egyptian, but an +European. As, however, my skin was somewhat tanned, and the +circumstances in which I lived gave her a pretext for claiming me as a +compatriot, I was obliged to say that I would provide as far as possible +for her maintenance and comfort; and, as the night was well advanced, I +bade her follow my servant Saadalla, who would make arrangements for +her. + +Such were the Khalifa's presents: instead of allocating a small sum of +money from the Beit el Mal, by means of which I could have procured for +myself a few comforts, he kept on sending me wives, who were not only a +source of considerable expense to me, but also a cause of much anxiety +and worry, inasmuch as I was continually struggling to free myself from +their unwelcome presence. The next morning, the Khalifa laughingly asked +me if I had received his present, and if I liked it. With the lesson of +two days ago still fresh in my mind, I assured him that I was only too +happy to receive this fresh proof of his affection, and that, please +God, I should always live in the enjoyment of his favour. When I +returned to my house before midday prayer, I found it full of females, +who, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Saadalla, and jeering at his +wrath, had entered by main force, and now introduced themselves to me +as the nearest relatives of Fatma el Beida (The White Fatma), as the +Khalifa's present was called. + +A decrepid old Abyssinian lady introduced herself as my future +mother-in-law; from her loquacity, I should instantly have recognised +her as the mother of Fatma el Beida; and I could not help wondering how +so small and fragile a body could contain so noisy and voluble a tongue. +She assured me of her pleasure that her daughter had been confided to my +care, adding that she was convinced that I would accord to her her +rightful position in my household. Here was I, the slave of a tyrant, +and obliged to submit to the most wretched of circumstances; and now she +talked to me of the position due to her daughter! I assured her that I +would of course treat her daughter well; and, apologising that my time +was so fully occupied, I fled. Before leaving, however, I ordered +Saadalla to entertain them as well as he could, according to the custom +of the country, and then to turn them all out, neck and crop, and, if +necessary, to call the other servants to his assistance. + +A few days afterwards, the Khalifa again inquired about Fatma; and as I +knew that he was most anxious that I should lead as quiet and secluded a +life as possible, I told him that, for the present, I had no objection +to her person; but as her numerous relatives might possibly come in +contact with people whose acquaintance neither he, my master, nor I +should consider desirable, and that as in my efforts to prevent this I +frequently came into collision with both sides, it was naturally my +earnest wish to prevent such disturbances. And I then went on to say +that, should she not submit to my arrangements, I proposed surrendering +Fatma entirely to her relatives; and with this proposition the Khalifa +appeared perfectly satisfied. + +There was, however, no truth in this statement, for since Saadalla had +entertained and turned out his visitors I had seen no one; fearing to +betray my intentions to the Khalifa, I waited some time longer, and then +sent Fatma el Beida to her mother, whose whereabouts Saadalla had at +length discovered, and I instructed the lady to stay with her mother +until I should send for her. A few days afterwards, I sent a few clothes +to mother and daughter, and a small sum of money, with a message that +she was free, and no longer under any obligations to me. Of course I +told the Khalifa what I had done, reiterating that I was most anxious to +have nothing to do with people who were strangers to him and to me; and +in this he saw an additional proof of my anxiety to obey his orders. +About a month later, the mother came to see me, and asked my permission +to marry her daughter to one of her relatives. I agreed to this +proposition with the greatest alacrity; and I left Fatma el Beida the +mother of a happy family in Omdurman. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +MAHDIST OCCUPATION OF THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES. + + The Mahdist Expedition to Equatoria--The Fate of the Remnant of + Emin's Garrison--The Campaign against the Shilluks--Tokar + re-captured--Death of Osman Wad Adam--Dissensions in + Dongola--The Fall of Khaled. + + +Karamalla, from whom Osman Wad Adam had taken away all his Bazingers and +female slaves, and who was now in a state of poverty in Omdurman, had, +whilst Emir of the Bahr el Ghazal Province, advanced to the vicinity of +the White Nile, and had worried Emin Pasha. Fortunately for the latter, +Karamalla had been recalled; and the Bahr el Ghazal Province having been +abandoned, no news had been received from Equatoria for a long time, and +those merchants who were engaged in the grain trade brought little +information from any of the countries south of Fashoda. The Khalifa, who +was always turning over in his mind how he could increase his revenue, +had heard of the richness of these countries in ivory and slaves, and, +in consequence, had decided to organise an expedition to attack and take +possession of them; but, as the undertaking was a risky one and success +doubtful, he hesitated to involve in it his relatives or his tribe; he +therefore nominated Omar Saleh, who had been educated amongst the +Taaisha tribe, as chief of the expedition, which was composed for the +most part of tribes of the Nile valley,--Jaalin and Danagla. Three +steamers were now manned, as well as eight sailing-vessels filled with +cargo, consisting principally of Manchester goods, beads, etc.; and Omar +Saleh was given a force of some rifles and five hundred spearmen. The +Khalifa sent letters to Emin Pasha, including one which I was obliged to +sign, in which I called upon him to surrender; George Stambuli, who had +formerly been Emin Pasha's private agent in Khartum, was also obliged to +write a letter. At this time, the Shilluks were in considerable force; +and as they did not owe allegiance to the Khalifa, Omar Saleh was +instructed to pass by Fashoda as quickly as possible, and only to defend +himself in case of attack. The expedition quitted Omdurman in July, +1890, passed Fashoda without difficulty; and after that Omar had no +further opportunity of reporting on his position. It was not till a year +had elapsed, and the Khalifa was beginning to get uneasy, and was +considering how he could procure information, that a steamer arrived +with some ivory and a quantity of slaves, the captain of which gave a +full account of the progress and position of the expedition. The +Egyptian garrison of Reggaf had surrendered, and some of the officers of +that place had been sent to Duffilé, with orders to seize Emin Pasha, +whose soldiers had mutinied, and hand him over to Omar Saleh. After the +departure of the party from Reggaf, a rumour had been circulated amongst +the Mahdists that they had been deceived by the officers, and that it +was the intention of the latter, on their arrival at Duffilé, to join +with the garrison of that place and attack Omar Saleh; he therefore +seized the officers and men who had remained behind, threw them into +chains, and distributed their property and slaves amongst his followers. +The officers who had gone to Duffilé had really intended to capture +Emin, who had in the meantime left with Stanley; and, hearing of what +had happened to their wives and property, they now collected the +soldiers who, on Emin's departure had created a sort of military +republic, and with them marched towards Reggaf. The Mahdists, getting +information of this, met them on the road; and a fight ensued, in which +Omar Saleh was victorious. The officers were killed; but most of the men +succeeded in beating a retreat towards Duffilé followed by the Mahdists, +who attacked the position, but were driven off and forced to retire. In +spite of this victory, great dissensions prevailed amongst the men; +and, eventually, they dispersed in bands throughout the province, in +order to gain their own livelihood. The Khalifa, rejoicing at Omar +Saleh's success, and his cupidity excited by the exaggerated accounts of +Wad Badai, who had arrived on the steamer, now gave instructions for +another expedition to be equipped, with which he despatched Hassib Wad +Ahmed and Elias Wad Kanuna, and took advantage of the occasion to rid +himself of many characters which were obnoxious to him. From that date, +Reggaf became a colony for the deportation of convicts, and of persons +whose presence in Omdurman was considered dangerous to the state. +Several persons who had been accused of theft, and incarcerated in the +Saier, were handed over to Wad Kanuna, who, at the same time, had all +persons suspected of leading an immoral life seized, thrown into chains, +and sent up to Reggaf; the opportunity was made the most of by several +of the Emirs and other influential people to rid themselves of any +persons whom they thought dangerous or disagreeable to them. The two +chiefs also took advantage of the occasion to visit all the villages on +the river bank between Omdurman and Kawa, and ruthlessly seize the +people, under the pretext that they belonged to this category, and had +been sentenced by the Khalifa to transportation; they could only regain +their freedom by the payment of a considerable sum of money to the two +Emirs, who continued their depredations until they reached the Shilluk +and Dinka country, the inhabitants of which they feared too much to +attempt such outrages on them. + +From merchants who had gone to Fashoda in the years 1889 and 1890 to +obtain grain, we had heard a good deal about the people who lived in +these countries. The districts in close proximity to the river were +mostly inhabited by the Shilluks and Dinkas, who, untrammelled by the +despotic tyranny of the Khalifa, lived a quiet and undisturbed life in +the midst of their families. They were ruled over by a descendant of the +Mek (King) of the old Shilluk royal family, who had certain restrictive +rights over his subjects, and, with his own interest always to the +fore, permitted commercial relations with the Mahdists, avoiding at the +same time any actual allegiance to the Khalifa, to whom he did not pay +tribute. Wad Badai, who had had sufficient opportunities of seeing the +wealth of the country between Fashoda and Reggaf, now gave it as his +opinion that the Khalifa would considerably profit by its acquisition. +At this time, Zeki Tummal was at Gallabat with his army, which, owing to +famine, had considerably decreased in numbers, though he had done his +best to maintain it at the expense of the local population; he had, +moreover, made constant raids on the Amhara country. But now the +condition of the district had become so poor that he had great +difficulties in finding sufficient supplies for his men, with whom he +was unusually strict, punishing them most rigorously for the most +trivial offences; and on this account he was not only unpopular amongst +them, but also amongst his Emirs. He now received instructions from the +Khalifa to proceed to the Shilluk country; and, marching to Kawa, where +he embarked, he went direct to Fashoda. The King of the Shilluks, being +under the impression that Zeki's steamers were on their way to Reggaf, +was much surprised when the Emir suddenly landed; the Mek fled, was +pursued, captured, and, having refused to disclose the hiding-place of +the money he had received in exchange for the grain, was promptly +executed. The Shilluks, however, who are the finest and bravest of the +Sudanese Black tribes, collected both north and south of Fashoda, and +defended their liberty and their homes with magnificent courage and +resolution; but Zeki's men, used to constant fighting, and armed with +Remington rifles, were almost invariably victorious. It was not, +however, until after many bloody fights, in which the Shilluks, armed +only with their lances, frequently broke the squares and inflicted +considerable loss on the soldiers, that they had at last to admit they +were beaten. They dispersed, with their families, throughout the +country, but were pursued in all directions by Zeki, who captured large +numbers of them. The men he invariably put to the sword; but the women, +young girls, and children were embarked on the steamers, and despatched +to Omdurman. Here the Khalifa ordered the young boys to be taken charge +of by his mulazemin, by whom they were to be brought up, whilst most of +the girls he kept for himself, or distributed amongst his followers and +special adherents. The remainder were sent to the Beit el Mal, where +they were publicly sold; but thousands of these poor creatures succumbed +to fatigue, want, and the change of climate. Unused to life in this +squalid city, these wild Blacks were huddled together in wretched +quarters, and eventually found homes amongst the poorest class of the +population. It was no uncommon occurrence for a girl to be sold as a +slave at the rate of from eight to twenty dollars (Omdurman currency). + +When Zeki left Gallabat, the Emir Ahmed Wad Ali took his place, and his +brother Hamed Wad Ali was nominated Emir of Kassala. Avaricious to a +degree, he mercilessly robbed the people of their property and cattle, +with the result that the eastern Arab tribes, such as the Hadendoa, +Halenga, Beni Amer, etc., who had really captured Kassala for the Mahdi, +now revolted, and, wandering eastwards in the direction of Massawa, +placed themselves under the protection of the Italians. Thus it was that +this once thickly populated country became almost denuded of +inhabitants. Amongst others, the once powerful Shukria tribe, which had +suffered terribly during the famine year, was now almost extinct; whilst +the fertile district of Kassala was almost completely deserted, and the +garrison there had the greatest difficulty in maintaining itself. + +The Khalifa, alarmed at the progress of the Italians from Massawa, now +looked upon Kassala as the mainstay of his authority in these districts. +He was furious with his cousin, Hamed Wad Ali, whom he accused of having +ruined the country, and recalled him to Omdurman, where he was ordered +to attend prayers in the mosque five times daily; and he replaced him at +Kassala by Abu Girga, who had hitherto been with Osman Digna. + +Osman Digna, who had been made responsible for the government of the +Eastern Sudan, had been successful in subjugating most of the Arab +tribes; and, through them, he had for several years been a menace to +Suakin. He had had several engagements with the Government troops; and, +on one occasion, Sir Herbert Kitchener, the present Sirdar of the +Egyptian Army, had been severely wounded whilst making an attack on his +camp at Handub. Eventually, the Government sent an expedition which +drove him out of the position he had taken up to besiege Suakin; and he +now made his headquarters at Tokar, where he remained for some years, +making constant incursions in the vicinity of Suakin, and harrying the +friendly tribes of which the Amarar was the principal; but, tired of +this constant fighting, and irritated by Osman's undue severity, the +local tribes began to desert the cause, and not a few of them became +actually hostile to the Khalifa's authority. Informed of this state of +things Abdullahi, more anxious to defend his newly acquired realm than +to occupy himself in propagating the Mahdist doctrine, instructed Osman +Digna not to go too far, and sent Mohammed Wad Khaled to him with this +message. The latter, after the confiscation of his property at Bara, had +been kept for more than a year in chains in Kordofan; he had then been +brought to Omdurman, had received the Khalifa's pardon, and had received +back a small portion of his property. For years, he had said his prayers +daily in the mosque under the Khalifa's eye, and had apparently broken +off all relations with his relatives, whom he accused of unfairness and +ingratitude; but, as usual, his astuteness had not failed him: he was +well aware of the Khalifa's hostility to all the Mahdi's relatives, and +that was the reason he so studiously avoided all contact with them; +hence his nomination as the Khalifa's personal representative with Osman +Digna. In this mission he was most successful; and, having completed it, +he was instructed to proceed to Abu Hamed, and report on the general +condition of the Ababda tribes, who were subject to the Egyptian +Government, but who were at the same time in close relationship with +the Mahdist tribes of the Berber Province. Khaled's mission, however, +did not have any lasting effect on Osman Digna; for, a few weeks after +his departure, the Egyptian troops, under Holled Smith Pasha, attacked +Tokar, and utterly routed Osman, who fled to the Atbara. The Khalifa, +who had been informed by Osman that he was about to be attacked, awaited +the result with the greatest anxiety; but he openly declared to his +followers that he had not the slightest doubt that victory was insured; +when, therefore, the news came of Osman's utter defeat and flight, he +was greatly upset. Councils of war were at once held, for it was feared +the Government troops would advance towards Kassala and Berber, both of +which places were only weakly held; consequently, instructions were +issued to the commanders of these places that, should the troops +advance, they should fall back on Metemmeh, where it was his intention +to make a fortified camp. Great, however, was his relief when he +received news that the Government had contented itself with the +re-capture of Tokar. The loss of this district was undoubtedly a very +heavy blow to him, and left open to the tribes friendly to the +Government the roads leading to both Kassala and Berber. A few months +later, Osman Digna, who had taken up a position on the high ground south +of Berber, with the remnant of his force, suffered greatly from want of +food, and was obliged to disperse his men over the country; he therefore +received orders to proceed to Berber with his Emirs, and, having +obtained new clothing, he and the newly nominated Emir of Berber, Zeki +Osman, were summoned to Omdurman. Here he was received in a friendly +manner by the Khalifa, who, convinced of his fidelity and +trustworthiness, consoled him about his defeat, and, after treating him +honourably for a few weeks, sent him back with some horses, camels, and +women to the Atbara, where he was instructed to make a camp and +agricultural settlement, and collect his scattered forces. + +At this time, only Eastern Darfur remained subject to Osman Wad Adam. +The country had been almost depopulated by famine, and this Emir now +decided to advance against Dar Tama and Massalit; but, on the frontier, +he encountered such severe opposition that he began to think the +undertaking too dangerous. He was attacked in his zariba by the natives, +who, armed only with small spears, forced their way in; and he had to +thank his Remington rifles and the Sheikhs who were with him, for a +dearly earned victory; had he been attacked on the line of march, he +would almost certainly have been annihilated. His heavy losses +considerably delayed his march; and, ere he could obtain reinforcements, +a severe epidemic of typhoid fever broke out amongst his men, and he was +forced to retire; falling ill himself on the march, he died two days +after his arrival at Fasher. His loss was a great blow to the Khalifa, +who looked on his young cousin (he was barely twenty years of age) as a +courageous leader who paid careful attention to the wants of his men, +and had done much to increase the strength and number of the Mahdist +forces; he invariably sent to the Khalifa the fair share of the booty, +and disinterestedly divided the remainder amongst his people, keeping +only for himself what sufficed for his immediate wants. He was a +magnificent rider, was most popular with every one, and avoided leading +an effeminate and enervating existence; for long after his death he was +looked upon as a fine example of a bold and courageous Arab. He was +succeeded in the command of Darfur by another of the Khalifa's youthful +relatives, Mahmud Wad Ahmed, who was a great contrast to his +predecessor: he thought only of enriching himself; his sole pleasure +consisted in leading a life of debauchery with women of evil repute, +dancers, and singers, and he took a special delight in all their +unseemly ways. A mutiny soon broke out amongst his men, which was +suppressed with the utmost severity, and resulted in a considerable +weakening of his forces. + +Yunes, who, since his despatch to Dongola, had always been considered +Nejumi's superior, now attached to his councils Arabi Wad Dafalla and +Mussaid; but, as each one was bent entirely on enriching himself as +rapidly as possible, differences soon broke out, for the country was +quite unable to sustain the strain of overburdened taxation. Mussaid and +Arabi complained to the Khalifa that Yunes allowed his Emirs to govern +the country entirely according to their own ideas, with the result that +prices were continually rising; and, in consequence of this report, he +was recalled from Dongola. + +This province being adjacent to the Egyptian frontier, large numbers of +the inhabitants had emigrated to Egypt; and, as the Egyptian garrison at +Wadi Haifa was being constantly reinforced, the Khalifa, dreading an +attack, insisted on a more lenient treatment of the people. He therefore +appointed Khaled as Yunes's successor, as he was convinced that his +character and capabilities exactly suited him for this post, and +instructed him that he should tax the people in accordance with the +number of the sakias (water-wheels) and date-palms; but not being +entirely without suspicion of Khaled's behaviour, he ordered a +detachment of his own men, armed with rifles, to be placed under Arabi +Wad Dafalla, whilst the spearmen of his own tribe were made over to +Mussaid. + +The natural outcome of these arrangements was renewed dissension. +Khaled, anxious to increase the revenue of the country without +augmenting taxation, began filling up vacant posts with men of his own +choice, whilst Arabi and Mussaid did their utmost to nominate their own +relatives and friends; failing to arrange matters with Khaled, they now +began to make the most exorbitant demands, with which he could not +possibly comply, and, from dissensions, they came to insults, and very +nearly to blows, the two parties being actually drawn up facing each +other with arms in their hands. Khaled's party was composed principally +of inhabitants of the Nile valley,--Jaalin and Danagla,--whilst that of +Arabi and Mussaid was composed of Jehadia and western Arabs. Message +after message was despatched to the Khalifa by both sides, whilst +actual conflict was prevented by intermediaries and peacefully disposed +persons. Abdullahi immediately sent Yunes to take the place of Arabi and +Mussaid, who were recalled; and, immediately after they had arrived, he +sent instructions to Khaled to appear before him in Omdurman, to be +present, he said, at the punishment of Arabi and Mussaid; but no sooner +had he reached the capital than he was arraigned in court with his +antagonists. The judges consisted of the Khalifa as President, and a +number of Kadis and devoted Emirs as members; Khaled was accused of +having spoken disparagingly of his master and relatives, by saying that +they had been the cause of the ruin of the country. The Khalifa's +brother Yakub was as usual at the bottom of this intrigue, and there is +no doubt the Khalifa himself regretted having given Khaled so +influential a position; he therefore gladly seized this opportunity of +getting rid of him. During the proceedings a letter arrived from Yunes +(who had beforehand received Yakub's private instructions) to the effect +that whilst the parties were mediating, Khaled had clandestinely +concealed six boxes of ammunition, which he intended to send to his +relatives in Omdurman. Before the arraignment, the Khalifa had privately +arranged the verdict, and of course no one dared to take the part of the +accused; he was found guilty, sentenced to imprisonment for an +indefinite period, and was hurried off to the Saier, where he was kept +in solitary confinement. Curiously enough, an explanation of the +Khalifa's action appeared in an Arabic newspaper published in Cairo, in +which an extract from the Italian paper "La Riforma" had been published +to the effect that Khaled had been in communication with the Egyptian +Government for the surrender of the province with which he had been +entrusted. In consequence of this, the Khalifa again assembled the +judges, showed them the newspaper as a proof of Khaled's treachery; and +he was at once condemned to be executed. The Khalifa, however, declared +that he was most anxious not to cause the death of one of the Mahdi's +relatives and a descendant of the Prophet, he therefore commuted the +sentence to imprisonment for life. His magnanimity on this occasion was +of course praised on all sides, whilst he himself rejoiced that he had +for ever ridden himself of the only one of the Mahdi's relatives of +whose knowledge and astuteness he was justly in considerable awe. He now +used Khaled's treachery as a handle by which to irritate the Ashraf in +general; and lost no opportunity of doing all he could to weaken their +cause, and reduce them to a position of impotence, with the result that +an insurrection eventually broke out in Omdurman, which ended in the +complete success of the plans which Abdullahi had long since prepared. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +DISSENSION AND DISCORD. + + The Revolt of the Ashraf--Flight of Father Ohrwalder and the Two + Sisters--The Khalifa revenges himself on the Ashraf--The Seizure + and Execution of the Mahdi's Uncles--Zeki Tummal's return to + Omdurman laden with Booty--Khalifa Sherif Arrested--"Where there + is no Fire, there is no Smoke"--I change my Quarters--Sad News + from Austria--The Khalifa falls Ill--The Story of the + Bird-messenger--The Fall of Zeki Tummal--The Battle of + Agordat--The Capture of Kassala--The Fate of Kadi Ahmed--The + Congo Free State in Equatoria and Bahr el Ghazal--I refuse to + marry the Khalifa's Cousin. + + +The Khalifa Mohammed Sherif, in conjunction with two of the Mahdi's +sons, who were scarcely twenty years of age, and many of his relatives, +now agreed amongst themselves to shake off the hated yoke of Khalifa +Abdullahi and seize the reins of government. They secretly elaborated +their plans in Omdurman, and gradually took into their confidence +several of their friends and fellow-tribesmen. They also despatched +letters to the Danagla living in the Gezira, whom they invited to come +to Omdurman and join them; but one of the Jaalin Emirs betrayed them. He +had been bound over by an oath to tell only his brother or best friends; +and he at once informed the Khalifa, saying that he considered him his +best friend. Apprised of the conspiracy, Abdullahi at once made counter +arrangements; but the Ashraf, warned by their spies of the Khalifa's +secret orders and doings, realised that their plot had been discovered, +and immediately collected in that part of the town just north of the +Khalifa's house, prepared for the fray. All the Ashraf and Danagla in +Omdurman assembled in the houses in the vicinity of the Mahdi's tomb; +and the sailors and most of the boats' crews joined them, saying that +they were ready to fight and conquer for the sake of the religion which +the Khalifa had abused. The arms which had been secretly hidden were now +brought out and distributed. They numbered scarcely a hundred Remington +rifles, a small quantity of ammunition, and a few elephant guns. Ahmed +Wad Suleiman behaved like one demented. He declared that he had seen the +Prophet and the Mahdi, who assured him of the victory of his party; and +he urged forward the commencement of hostilities. Even the Mahdi's +widows, who, after his death, had been kept strictly locked up in their +houses by the Khalifa, were not allowed to see any one, and were given +scarcely sufficient food to keep them alive, longed for the conflict, +hoping that their position would be ameliorated. Indeed the Um el +Muminin (The Mother of the Believers), the Mahdi's principal widow, +girded a sword round her waist, with the intention of taking a part in +this Holy War. Whilst all this was going on at night, and within +scarcely a hundred yards of the Khalifa's house, he himself was quietly +taking his precautions. + +It was on a Monday evening, after prayers, that the Khalifa summoned his +special mulazemin, and, in a few words, informed us of the intentions of +the Ashraf. He instructed us to arm ourselves as best we could, and on +no account to quit our posts in front of the gate. Ammunition was served +out to the Black mulazemin Jehadia, and they were ordered to take up +positions in the streets leading to the houses of the rebels, and cut +off any reinforcements which might attempt to join them. Upwards of a +thousand rifles were distributed amongst the Taaisha Arabs, who were +posted in the open space between the Mahdi's tomb and the Khalifa's +house, and also along the enclosure of the latter. The Black troops, +under the command of Ahmed Fedil, took up a position in the middle of +the mosque, and there awaited further orders; and here also were posted +the infantry spearmen and cavalry under the command of Yakub. Khalifa +Ali, whose people were suspected of sympathising with the rebels, was +ordered to occupy the northern portion of the city, and cut off all +communication in that direction. + +When the sun arose, the mutineers were completely surrounded; and they +had now to choose between fighting and surrendering. Before, however, +any blows were exchanged, the Khalifa despatched his Kadi, accompanied +by Sayed Mekki, to Khalifa Sherif and the Mahdi's sons, reminding them +of their late father's proclamation, and of the words he had spoken +before his death. At the same time, he instructed the Kadi to inquire +into their grievances, which he promised to rectify, if it was possible +for him to do so. The curt answer to the Khalifa was that they preferred +to fight. Abdullahi had given strict injunctions to all his Emirs to +abstain, as far as possible, from blows, and only to defend themselves +in the event of a sudden attack. He was most anxious to quell the +insurrection by conciliatory measures, as he fully realised that, if a +fight ensued in which there was little doubt he would be victorious, +Omdurman would almost certainly be sacked and ruined. He was well aware +that the western Arab tribes would gladly seize the occasion to satisfy +their ruling passion for murder and plunder; their one desire would be +to obtain all the loot they could, and to this end to spare neither +friend nor foe, with the result that, in all probability, they would +fight amongst themselves, and then go off to their own country, which +they had quitted with considerable reluctance. Once more he sent the +Kadi to the insurgents, who returned with a similar reply. + +Personally, I longed for the fight, for I had only my life to lose, and +that was in daily peril. I had before me the example of Ibrahim Adlan; +and I knew that Abdullahi had no regard for the lives of his best and +truest friends. Internal fighting must result in the weakening of my +enemies, and that alone would have been a source of satisfaction to me; +moreover, in the confusion which must arise, I might find an occasion to +regain my liberty, and possibly I might be able to exercise some +influence over the former Government troops, who I knew were much +dissatisfied with their present treatment. Under such abnormal +circumstances, it was impossible to frame any distinct plan of action. +My desire was that a fight should take place, and that I should make as +much capital out of it as I could for my own personal benefit. + +Some of the most excited of the mutineers now began firing, and some of +those on our side, contrary to orders, replied; but it was by no means a +fight,--merely a few stray shots. The insurgents did not seem to know +what they wanted; their party was undecided, their weapons were bad and +out of repair, and so also was the courage of the Ashraf and their +followers. After a short time, the firing ceased, and on our side the +total loss was five killed. Again the Khalifa sent out a proclamation, +which was borne this time by Khalifa Ali Wad Helu, and to this summons +the reply was more favourable; they wished to know, they said, the +conditions of reconciliation; and they were then told to name their +proposals. The negotiations continued all that day and far into the +night. They began again the following day, and, to my great regret, a +clear understanding was arrived at, and was agreed to by the Khalifa +under a solemn oath: he promised complete forgiveness to all who had +taken part in the insurrection, to give to Khalifa Mohammed Sherif a +position worthy of his dignity, and a seat in Council, to allow him to +again take possession of the standards which, after Nejumi's death, had +been laid aside, and to collect volunteers under them, and promised +pecuniary support from the Beit el Mal to the Mahdi's relatives, in +accordance with Sherif's proposals. In return for these concessions, the +insurgents agreed to give up all their arms, and submit unconditionally +to the Khalifa's orders. The agreement was now ratified, and the terms +of peace concluded by the delegates on both sides; but somehow no one +seemed in any hurry to execute them. On the following Friday morning, +the leaders of the insurgents came themselves before the Khalifa, and +obtained a renewal of the promises he had made, in return for which they +gave fresh attestations of loyalty; and, on the same afternoon, Khalifa +Sherif and the Mahdi's sons approached Abdullahi. Peace was now fully +concluded, and the cavalry and infantry, which had been with us day and +night since the disturbances began, were permitted to leave the mosque +and return to their quarters; but, as the arms had not yet been handed +over, the jehadia and mulazemin were ordered to remain at their posts. + +On Sunday afternoon, I had sent one of my servants to the Missionary +Father, Joseph Ohrwalder, to inquire after him, and he had found his +door closed; I had thoughtlessly made inquiries about him of his +neighbours, the Greeks and some of the former merchants who, as my +servant told me, had made a most careful search for him, but had been +unable to trace him or the Missionary Sisters who had been with him. It +at once flashed through my mind that possibly, during the disturbances, +he might have found some trusty persons who had undertaken to effect his +escape; and so it eventually transpired. Before evening prayer, the Emir +of the Muslemania (Europeans who had been forcibly made to adopt +Mohammedanism), and the Syrian George Stambuli anxiously came and asked +to be taken before the Khalifa, as they had something of considerable +importance to tell him. The Khalifa, fully occupied with matters which +he considered of great importance, ordered them to wait at the mosque; +and, after night prayers, he asked them what they wanted. With trembling +voices, they informed him that Yusef el Gasis (Joseph the Priest) was +missing since yesterday, also the women who were with him. Very much +annoyed, the Khalifa at once summoned Nur el Gereifawi, the Emin Beit el +Mal, and Mohammed Wahbi, the Prefect of the Police, and commanded them +to do all in their power to overtake the fugitives and bring them back +to Omdurman, dead or alive. It was fortunate for the poor Greeks that +the Khalifa was so much occupied with other matters or he would--as +Ohrwalder had lived amongst them--have arrested many and confiscated +their property. Luckily, however, on the day of the outbreak, all the +camels had been sent into the districts in order to bring in the troops; +and Gereifawi and Wahbi could only procure three camels for the pursuit +of Ohrwalder, who knew that the success of his flight depended on its +rapidity. From the depth of my heart I hoped he might succeed. He had +suffered a great deal, and had borne it with Christian fortitude and +patience. I now felt completely deserted; he was the only man with whom +I was intellectually on a par, and with whom I could--though very +rarely--talk a few words in my mother tongue. + +The following day, I was summoned before the Khalifa, who angrily +reproached me for Ohrwalder's flight. "He is one of your own race, and +is in communication with you; why did you not draw my attention to its +possibility, so that I might have taken precautions? I am positive you +knew of his intention to escape," said he. "Sire, pardon me!" said I; +"how could I know of his intention to escape, and how could I tell you +that he had done so? Since the outbreak of the revolt attempted by your +God-forsaken enemies, and which, thanks to the Almighty, you have now +defeated by your wisdom, I have not moved day or night from my post. Had +I known that he was a traitor, I should have at once told you of it." To +this he angrily replied, "No doubt your Consul arranged for him to be +taken away from here." + +Amongst the last letters which I had received, was one written in Arabic +from the Austro-Hungarian Consul-General, Von Rosty, to the Khalifa, in +which he thanked him for the kind treatment of the members of the former +Catholic Mission, and, at the same time, asked his permission to send +them a messenger, for whom he begged a free pass, as they were under +Austrian protection, and as His Majesty the Emperor had a special regard +for them. The Khalifa had shown me the letter, which he had left +unanswered; but from that day he had looked upon the members of the +Mission as my compatriots, and was now convinced that they had been +assisted to escape by the aid of the Consul-General. I now remarked to +the Khalifa that possibly merchants belonging to the frontier tribes, +and who often came to Omdurman, might have taken advantage of the +disturbances in order to help Ohrwalder and the Sisters to escape, so as +to obtain some pecuniary reward for themselves. Abdullahi, who was still +much pre-occupied with the revolt, came round to my opinion; and, after +admonishing me to remain perfectly loyal, he dismissed me. + +In spite of the reluctance of the Ashraf to surrender their arms, they +were gradually obliged to give them all up; and, having achieved this +much, the Khalifa now set to work to mature his scheme of revenge. +Twenty days perhaps had passed since the beginning of the outbreak, but +we were still kept in constant readiness, watching day and night over +our master. He now summoned the two Khalifas, the Kadis, and the chiefs +of the Ashraf and Danagla to a meeting. He reproached the latter +severely, saying, that in spite of his previous pardon, they had shown +great reluctance in obeying his orders, they seldom attended prayers, +and were scarcely ever present at the Friday morning parades; he also +had the Mahdi's proclamation read out to them. Then, true to the system +adopted by his predecessor, of acting entirely in accordance with +prophetic inspiration, he announced to the meeting that the Prophet had +appeared to him, and had commanded him to mete out punishment to the +disobedient, whom he had mentioned by name. Thirteen persons in all were +included in this category: Ahmed Wad Suleiman, whom he detested, headed +the list; then followed Shenudi, one of the Khalifa's secretaries, a +Dongolawi who was under suspicion of sympathising with the rebels and +giving them information of the Khalifa's plans. One by one, as each name +was called, the unfortunate wretches had their hands tied behind their +backs, were carried off to the prison, and thrown into chains; a few +days later, the Khalifa sent them by boat, under a strong escort, to +Fashoda, where Zeki Tummal had them closely confined for eight days in a +zariba with scarcely any food or water, giving them only just +sufficient to keep them alive; then, in accordance with the secret +instructions he had received, he had them beaten to death with freshly +cut sticks from thorny trees. The execution took place in front of the +whole army, and, before this cruel operation began, their clothing was +ruthlessly torn from their emaciated bodies. + +Immediately the insurrection was over, the Khalifa despatched two of his +relatives, Ibrahim Wad Melek and Saleh Hamedo,--the former to the Blue +and the latter to the White Nile,--to arrest all the followers and +relatives of the Ashraf, who, being absent, were not included in the +general amnesty. In compliance with these orders, upwards of a thousand +men were sent in shebas to Omdurman, where they were accused by the +Khalifa of having taken part in the conspiracy. For many days, they were +kept in close confinement, huddled together in the prison-yard, and in +hourly dread of execution; but at length the Khalifa pardoned them, on +condition that they should share all they possessed with him; and of +course the poor wretches had to agree to these conditions. Orders were +issued to carry out the distribution in accordance with the curious +arithmetical rules instituted by the Khalifa, who, of course, received +the lion's share; on their return to their villages, they found +themselves divested of almost everything they possessed. Those who had +been well off were left with a mere pittance; and the poorer members had +nothing, whilst they found their daughters had been dishonoured, and +their wives abused. Deprived of all their arms, they had to submit to +the inevitable; but in their hearts they longed for some opportunity of +revenge. The Khalifa, after having taken all he required of their +property for himself and his brother, distributed the remainder amongst +the western Arabs, and of these, the Jubarat section, to which he +belonged, was given the largest share. This roused the discontent of the +other tribes, to whom the Taaisha had for some considerable time been a +constant source of annoyance; not only were they given the preference in +almost every case; but they were over-bearingly insolent, and whenever +complaints were made to the Khalifa or Yakub, the petitioners were +invariably sharply rebuked. During all these disturbances, the natives +in the provinces and the various garrisons had remained quiet; and their +commanders had received secret instructions to gradually disarm the +Danagla, of whose disloyalty there was no longer any doubt. + +Abdullahi now turned his attention to the Mahdi's two uncles, Mohammed +Abdel Kerim and Abdel Kader Wad Sati Ali. He affirmed he had received +information that they were indignant about his actions, and had been +guilty of instigating others against him; they utterly denied the +charge, but were sentenced by Kadi Ali to imprisonment. The Khalifa +ordered them to be put in chains, and sent on to Zeki Tummal, who, as +usual, was provided with secret instructions. + +Zeki's forces had dispersed all the Shilluk gatherings throughout the +country, and destroyed their villages; but, an epidemic of typhus having +broken out amongst the men, the Khalifa ordered him to quit Fashoda and +come with his entire army to Omdurman, but, before doing so, to raid the +Dinka tribe, who had already made their submission without fighting, +seize their cattle and enslave their wives and children. These +unsuspecting Blacks were summoned together under the pretext of a great +feast; and, when all had assembled, they were massacred almost to a man, +and their wives, children, and cattle carried off. Whilst on this +expedition he met, near Gebel Ahmed Agha, the boat conveying the Mahdi's +uncles; and, having perused the letters from Omdurman, he ordered the +prisoners to be landed after sunset. The wretched captives, knowing the +fate that was in store for them, besought pardon, but were only jeered +at by Zeki Tummal; they were taken inland, and their heads were split +open with the small axes which are used in the Sudan for lopping off +branches of trees. + +Zeki Tummal now returned to Omdurman laden with booty; he brought with +him thousands of female slaves, and immense herds of cattle, the sale +of which brought in a large sum of ready money. Most of Zeki's Emirs +indignantly complained of his tyranny, and even asserted to the Khalifa +that, if he could obtain sufficient followers, he would not hesitate to +make himself independent; but the latter, by making rich presents of +female slaves, money, and cattle to the Khalifa and his brother, +succeeded in remaining in their good graces. + +Whilst Zeki Tummal was in Omdurman, the Khalifa carried out a series of +manoeuvres between his forces and those quartered in Omdurman, and +personally took the command; but as he had absolutely no idea of +military science, and as the thirty thousand troops of whom he disposed +were entirely without discipline, the manoeuvres resulted in the most +hopeless confusion and disorder; and the blame for this invariably fell +on my devoted head, for the Khalifa employed me as a sort of +aide-de-camp, and when he became inextricably muddled up he hurled abuse +at me, and said I had purposely perverted his orders to make mischief. +Of course, I did not dare remonstrate with him, and quietly continued to +carry out his orders. At length he declared the exercises over, ordered +Zeki Tummal off to Gallabat, and, as was usually the case, commended me +for my services, and presented me with two Black young ladies as a proof +of his good-will. + +Meanwhile, Khalifa Sherif had heard of the murder of his two relatives, +and openly protested against this tyrannical proceeding; thus giving +Abdullahi an opportunity of taking the revenge for which he had so +patiently waited. He declared him to be guilty of disobedience to the +instructions which the Mahdi had so strictly enforced, and of +inattention to the Divine inspiration of the Prophet. He therefore +ordered Khalifa Ali and the Kadis to take him to task for the manner in +which he had expressed himself, and to point out to him that the +entirely false impression he had of his own rights as Khalifa had +brought about the death of his own relatives and followers. Promptly +assembling all the Kadis and principal Emirs, they decided that Khalifa +Sherif should be immediately arrested; on the following day, the +mulazemin being formed up in square on the open space between +Abdullahi's house and the Mahdi's tomb, they went in a body to him, +informed him that he was to be arrested, counselled submission, and +advised him to come with them of his own free-will. Too late, he now +realised what he had brought upon himself by his careless and +ill-considered talking. Going outside, he was received by the mulazemin +under the command of Arabi Dafalla; when he asked for his shoes, they +were refused him; and, on coming out of the mosque, he was driven and +pushed along at such a rate that he twice fell to the ground from pure +exhaustion, arriving at length at the Saier in a deplorable condition. +Here six irons were hammered on to his legs, so that he could scarcely +move; and a small straw hut was allotted to him as his abode. Cut off +from all intercourse with his fellow-creatures, and with only the bare +ground to lie upon, he had ample time to realise that the sacred +promises given by a Khalifa were of no avail when it was a question of +upholding his authority, or satisfying his thirst for vengeance. The +Mahdi's two young sons were sent to their grandfather, Ahmed Sharfi, who +was ordered to keep them closely locked up in his house, and allow no +one to see them. This Ahmed was an old man, and had made an immense +fortune by robbery; fearing to lose it, he was as submissive as a slave +to the Khalifa, and had thus to some extent gained his affection. + +Soon after this occurrence, I passed through a period of considerable +excitement. Yunes had sent on a man from Dongola to the Khalifa; he had +come from Cairo, and was charged with important information from the +Government. He was received personally by the Khalifa in the presence of +all the Kadis. I had a foreboding that the man's arrival was somehow +connected with me, and I endeavoured to discover from one of the Kadis, +who was a friend of mine, what had happened; he hurriedly told me that I +had nothing to fear, and advised me not to show the slightest interest +in the matter, lest I might be suspected. After prayers, the Kadis and +the messenger were again summoned before the Khalifa, and, to my great +relief, I saw the man soon afterwards tied hand and foot and carried off +to prison. My comrades were quarrelling amongst themselves as to the +cause of the man's imprisonment; but, mindful of the advice I had +received, I was careful to abstain from any interference. The following +day, when I had gone to my house for a short time, I was suddenly +summoned by the Khalifa, and found several of the Kadis with him. In +compliance with his orders, I seated myself down with them, and he began +to speak. Turning to the assembly, he informed them that he had +continually urged me to be loyal, that he cared for me as a father cared +for his son, and that he had steadily refused to believe the numerous +accusations which were, from time to time, brought up against me; and +then, turning to me, he completed his speech with the Arabic proverb, +"Where there is no fire, there is no smoke," adding, "but with you there +is a great deal of smoke. The messenger said yesterday that you are a +Government spy, and that your monthly salary is paid to your +representative in Cairo, who forwards it to you here. He affirms that he +has seen your signature in the Government office in Egypt, and that you +assisted Yusef el Gasis to escape; he adds, moreover, that you are +pledged to the English, in the event of an attack on Omdurman, to seize +the powder and ammunition stores, which they know are situated opposite +to your house. We have at once had the man imprisoned, for he formerly +escaped from here; what have you to say in your defence?" + +"Sire!" I replied, "God is merciful, and you are just. I am no spy: I +have never had any communication with the Government; and it is +absolutely untrue that I receive a salary which is forwarded to me here. +My brothers, your mulazemin, who go in and out of my house, know that I +am often in the greatest want, and it is only my deep respect for you +which prevents me from complaining; but if he states that he has seen my +signature, then he is guilty of a second lie, for I am certain that he +is quite unable to read any European language. I will, if you wish, +write on a paper several names, and amongst them my own; if he can +discover it, then it will be a proof that he can read our language; but +that will not necessarily prove that I am a spy." "And what else have +you against the man?" asked the Khalifa. "What service has the man +rendered to Government," I continued; "that, supposing I am a spy, I +should trust this fugitive with my secrets. As far as Yusef el Gasis is +concerned, you, my master, well know that he escaped at a time when it +was absolutely impossible for me to have any communication with him. I, +who am always near you, have no intercourse with people who assist +others to fly; and even supposing I had, and that I were a traitor, it +would certainly be much more natural that I should have escaped myself. +It is quite possible the English may know that my house is opposite to +the powder magazine; for the man who, with your kind permission, brought +me the letters from my brothers and sisters knew it, and, in all +probability, told them about it. It is also possible that my relatives +with whom, at your express command, I have ceased to have any +communication, should make inquiries about my welfare through the +Government clerks and merchants who sometimes go from here to Cairo, and +who probably know the position of my house; but the assertion that, in +case of war, I had engaged myself to seize your ammunition stores, is +quite ridiculous. As far as I can judge, the Government would never dare +to attack you, who are the ever victorious and unconquerable Khalifa, in +your own country; and if this well-nigh impossible event should take +place, how do I know that I shall be in my present house at that time? +Moreover, at such a critical period, my hope and desire is to stand in +the front rank of your victorious troops, and there seek an opportunity +of proving my loyalty and devotion by shedding my blood in your cause. +Sire, I rely upon your justice, which is well known to all; will you +sacrifice one who has been for so many years your devoted servant, to +the whim of a Dongolawi who is one of your enemies?" "How do you know +that the man who has given evidence against you is a Dongolawi?" asked +the Khalifa, quickly. "Some time ago I saw the man at your gate with +Abderrahman Wad en Nejumi esh Shahid ("the martyr," as he was called +after his death),[16] and owing to his forwardness and impudence I had +to call on your mulazemin to remove him by main force; no doubt he now +wishes to revenge himself, and at the same time curry favour with you, +by casting suspicion on me. You to whom God has given wisdom to govern +your subjects, will also judge me righteously and fairly." + +"I have summoned you here," said the Khalifa, after a long pause, "not +to judge you, but to show you that, in spite of the frequent attempts to +cast suspicion on you, I have in no way withdrawn my confidence in you. +Had I believed what the man said, I should not have imprisoned him; no +doubt you have enemies here, and there are probably envious people who +are jealous of your being near me. But beware! where there is no fire, +there is no smoke." He then signed to me to withdraw, and soon +afterwards the assembly broke up. + +That night I asked one of my comrades whom I knew I could trust, to tell +me what the Khalifa had said after I had left. He told me that Abdullahi +admitted the man was a liar, but that there might be some truth in his +statement; he had also said I might possibly have enemies in Cairo who +were intriguing against me. This had also occurred to me whilst I was +speaking, but I did not mention it, as I hesitated to throw down all my +cards; now that he had thought of it himself, my silence had stood me in +good stead, for I could bring forward this argument in my defence, +should some fresh accusation be brought against me. But how long was I +to continue in this wretched position? How long was I to keep up this +constant strain of always standing on the defensive; how much longer +could my present relations with the Khalifa last? I knew he was only +waiting for an opportunity to make me harmless, for he was perfectly +well aware that I was at heart his enemy; but in truth I thanked God +most fervently that he treated me with greater leniency than he did the +rest. How difficult it was to carry out Madibbo's advice; but how true +it was that he who lives long sees much! + +The following morning, after prayers, as I was on my way home, I was +overtaken by Gereifawi, who had succeeded Adlan and was on friendly +terms with me. "You are a rare visitor," said I, shaking hands with him; +"please God you have good reasons for it!" "Yes," said he; "but I am +come to disturb you. I require your house; and I must ask you to leave +it to-day. I will give you one in place of it which lies to the +southeast of the mosque, and in which the Khalifa's guests are usually +housed; it is somewhat smaller than your own, but you have only the road +between it and the mosque, and this will thoroughly suit a pious man +like you!" "All right," said I; "but tell me privately who sent you +here, the Khalifa or Yakub?" "Ah, that is a secret!" said he, laughing; +"but after your conversation yesterday with the Khalifa, you can surely +understand the reason; probably," he continued ironically, "our master, +out of his great love for you, wishes to have you in close proximity to +himself; your house is scarcely two hundred paces from his own. When may +I come and take over your old house?" "I shall have finished moving by +the evening," said I; "it will take me some little time to remove the +fodder for my horse and mule. Is the house I am to have uninhabited?" +"Of course it is. I have given orders for it to be cleaned, and will now +return to make the necessary arrangements; but you had better begin +moving at once, and I hope your new house will bring better luck than +your old one," said Gereifawi, leaving me. + +Undoubtedly this was a very clear case of want of confidence in me on +the Khalifa's part. He was anxious to remove me from the neighbourhood +of the ammunition stores and powder magazine, which, in case of war, I +was supposed to seize. I now called together my household, and told them +to begin moving at once. They cursed the Khalifa freely, and called down +all the punishments of Heaven on his head. Little by little, year by +year, they had gone on building. They had dug wells fifty feet deep, had +planted lemon and pomegranate trees, which were just about to bear +fruit, and had, so to speak, made themselves comfortable. For me, the +move was quite immaterial. How I had prayed to leave this house, though +not in this way! However, as Gereifawi had said, perhaps the new house +would bring me better luck; and I was by no means the only man who had +been turned out of his abode at short notice. The whole portion of the +city lying north of the Khalifa's house had been vacated at a moment's +notice by the Ashraf and their relatives; and they had not even been +allowed to remove their furniture, nor had they received the smallest +compensation. They had been given a patch of stony ground to the west of +the town, where they had been ordered to build fresh houses. After all, +I was better off than they. Recent events had depressed me considerably, +and I saw that the situation was now becoming almost unbearable; but +more trouble was in store for me which was to throw completely into the +background that of which I now complained. + +One of my acquaintances, a Darfur merchant who had frequently travelled +backwards and forwards to Egypt, Alexandria, and Syria, and who had +gradually understood the various nationalities, realised that I was an +Austrian. He had surmised correctly that, although a captive for many +years, and shut off from all communication with my own people, I still +took an intense interest in all that concerned my native land. He spoke +to me in the mosque, told me hurriedly about affairs in Egypt, and then +handed me an Egyptian newspaper of old date which, he said, had +accidentally come into his hands in Alexandria, and which contained an +article about Austrian affairs. Hurrying home, I opened the paper, and +found, to my dismay, the news of the death of our Crown Prince Rudolf. I +cannot describe the distress which this news caused me. I had served in +his regiment; and I had never given up hope that some day I should +return home, and have the pleasure of assuring him that, under all the +strange and sad circumstances of my eventful life, I had always +endeavoured to uphold the honour of an officer belonging to the Imperial +regiment. But what were the trials and troubles of one obscure +individual in comparison with this great national calamity,--nothing! + +Again and again my mind turned to the grief of our beloved Emperor, to +whom we Austrians look up as to a father. What must he have felt and +suffered! + +Here in the midst of this unsympathetic crowd my mind was filled with +these sad thoughts; but I did not dare show that I was affected. It +required all my self-control to hide from the rude gaze of the Mahdists +the expressions of distress which came over my face when I thought of my +beloved home; and, in the internal struggle which was going on almost +continuously, I sometimes longed for the time when an end should be put +to my wretched existence. To-day all the old sores had broken out +afresh. The man would have done me a far greater service had he kept +back the newspaper. It had only brought fresh trouble upon me, and +depressed me more than ever. My comrades at the Khalifa's door--ignorant +of the real cause of my sorrow--advised me to appear as cheerful as +possible, and to show no displeasure about my enforced removal to +another house, as the Khalifa was sure to have instructed his spies to +watch me carefully, and see how I took his unwelcome order. I therefore +tried to look as unconcerned as possible, and, to account for my +depression, I pretended to be unwell,--what a life of dissimulation! +Fortunately the Khalifa was busied with other matters. A letter had +reached him from Ahmed Wad Ali at Gallabat, complaining of the treatment +he received at the hands of his superior, Zeki Tummal; and, a few days +afterwards, he arrived, in order to make his complaint personally. He +said that in his own name, and in the name of all the other Emirs, he +refused to put up with the continual insults and arbitrary confiscation +of property on the part of Zeki, whom he also accused of conspiring to +make himself independent. The Khalifa knew perfectly well that most of +these complaints arose from Zeki's unpopularity with his assistants. He +therefore wrote to him to at once refund all the confiscated property, +and to accord to his Emirs the treatment to which their position +entitled them. At the same time, he instructed Ahmed Wad Ali to return +forthwith to Gallabat, and gave him secret orders to watch closely his +chief's movements, and personally report to him. + +Abu Girga, who by this time had been recalled from Kassala, and had been +replaced there by Mussaid, being a Dongolawi, was considered by the +Khalifa to be a source of danger in Omdurman. Under the pretext, +therefore, of sending reinforcements to Reggaf, he despatched him with +two steamers up the White Nile, and, at the same time, Omar Saleh was +recalled to give a report of affairs in Equatoria. Abu Girga was +nominated Emir of the whole country, and commander of all the rifle and +spear men; but, at the same time, Mukhtar Wad Abaker, one of the +Khalifa's relatives, was appointed to superintend him. + +A few days after the steamers had left, the Khalifa fell seriously ill +with an attack of typhus fever. All Omdurman watched the course of the +illness with the most intense anxiety, for his death would have been the +signal for a complete change in the administration of the country. +Khalifa Ali Wad Helu, who, according to Mahdist law, should be the +successor, watched the illness with almost breathless interest; and his +followers and tribe showed such deep concern that they fell under the +suspicion of wishing to seize the reins of government. The Khalifa's +powerful constitution, however, got the better of the malady; and it +seemed as if the wretched inhabitants of the Sudan had not been +sufficiently punished, and that God did not yet intend to remove from +them this terrible scourge. After an illness of about three weeks, +Abdullahi took the first possible opportunity of appearing before his +followers, who greeted him with frantic acclamations,--the outcome, in +the majority of cases, of a desire merely to make a noise. Only his own +relatives and some of the western Arabs really rejoiced at his recovery. +But the Khalifa had no delusions about the imaginary sentiment to which +his followers had given vent during his illness. He knew perfectly well +that in showing the preference to his own tribe, he had given umbrage to +many of the western Arabs, who, being strangers in the land, it was most +necessary to retain on his side. The inhabitants of the Nile valley and +of the Gezira, the majority of whom were Jaalin and Danagla, were his +enemies; but, disarmed, and their property confiscated, he had made them +powerless, and every now and then he sent considerable detachments of +them to reinforce Darfur, Gallabat, and Reggaf. He did not hide from +himself that Khalifa Ali and his followers were anxious to step into his +shoes; but he knew that they would never be foolish enough to attempt to +carry out their plans by main force, as the Ashraf had done. + +Now that I had my abode close to him, he was more suspicious than ever +of me. He continually inquired of my comrades if this strict supervision +did not make me indignant, and he did all he could to find fault with my +conduct; but, fortunately, the mulazemin were on friendly terms with me, +and always reported favourably of me. At the same time, they secretly +warned me that the Khalifa's dislike of me was increasing, and that I +must be most careful. + +One day, in the month of December, 1892, when I had just left the +Khalifa's door to take a short rest, one of the mulazemin summoned me to +the Khalifa's presence. I found him in the reception room, surrounded by +his Kadis, and the threats and reprimands which I had received on the +occasion of Taib Haj Ali's calumny were still fresh in my mind. I was +therefore considerably dismayed when the Khalifa, without returning my +salute, ordered me to take my seat amongst the judges. "Take this +thing," said he, after a short pause, and in a very severe tone, "and +see what it contains." I at once arose and took in both hands the object +he gave me, and then sat down again. It consisted of a brass ring of +about four centimetres in diameter, attached to which was a small metal +case about the size and shape of a revolver cartridge. An attempt had +been made to open it, and I could plainly see that it contained a paper. +This was indeed an anxious moment for me. Could it be a letter from my +relations, or from the Egyptian Government; and had the messenger who +brought it been captured? Whilst I was engaged in opening the case with +the knife which had been given me, I turned over in my mind how I should +act, and what I should say; and, as good luck would have it, I had not +on this occasion to have recourse to dissimulation. Pulling out two +small papers, and opening them, I found inscribed on them, in minute but +legible handwriting, in German, French, English, and Russian languages +the following:-- + + This crane has been bred and brought up on my estate at Ascania + Nova, in the Province of Tauride, in South Russia. Whoever + catches or kills this bird is requested to communicate with me, + and inform me where it occurred. + + (Signed) F. R. FALZ-FEIN. + September, 1892. + +I now raised my head, which hitherto I had kept closely bent down; and +the Khalifa asked, "Well, what do the papers contain?" "Sire," I +replied, "this case must have been fastened to the neck of a bird which +has been killed. Its owner, who lives in Europe, has requested that any +one who finds the bird should let him know where it was caught or +killed." "You have spoken the truth," said the Khalifa, in a somewhat +more amiable tone; "the bird was killed by a Shaigi near Dongola, and +the cartridge case was found attached to its neck. He took it to the +Emir Yunes, whose secretary was unable to decipher the writing of the +Christian, and he therefore forwarded it to me. Tell me now what is +written on the paper?" I translated the message, word for word, and, at +the Khalifa's command also tried to describe the geographical position +of the country from which the bird had come, and the distance it had +travelled before it was killed. "This is one of the many devilries of +those unbelievers," he said, at last, "who waste their time in such +useless nonsense. A Mohammedan would never have attempted to do such a +thing." + +He then ordered me to hand over the case to his secretary, and signed to +me to withdraw; but I managed to take one more hurried glance at the +paper,--Ascania Nova, Tauride, South Russia, I repeated over and over +again to imprint it on my memory. The mulazemin at the door anxiously +awaited my return; and when I came out from the presence of my +tyrannical master with a placid countenance, they seemed greatly +pleased. On my way to my house, I continued to repeat to myself the name +of the writer and his residence, and determined, that should Providence +ever grant me my freedom, I should not fail to let him know what had +happened to his bird. + +In accordance with orders, Mahmud Ahmed now returned to Omdurman with +all his available troops (about five thousand) from Darfur, leaving +there only sufficient men for the garrison. He pitched his camp at Dem +Yunes on the south side of the city. + +Once more I underwent a period of considerable trial. The Khalifa again +instituted a series of military manoeuvres for all the troops in +Omdurman; and, as usual, they resulted in the wildest confusion. I had +to perform the duties of aide-de-camp, and invariably had to bear the +blame for everything that went wrong; but all things come to an end, and +at last Mahmud Ahmed was ordered back to Gallabat, after his troops had +renewed their oath of allegiance, in return for which they received some +new jibbas. + +The Khalifa now turned his attention to the Equatorial regions, where +Abu Girga resided as nominal Governor, and despatched two steamers with +three hundred men, under the command of his relative Arabi Dafalla, to +Reggaf with instructions to depose Abu Girga, and throw him into chains. +It was abundantly clear that the latter had only been sent to Reggaf to +get him out of the way. Dafalla's departure was also taken advantage of +to exile Khaled, who had been lying heavily chained in the Saier. + +Dafalla was instructed to extend the Mahdist territory as far as +possible in all directions, and to send back to Omdurman as many slaves +and as much ivory as he could obtain. Whilst the expedition was being +got ready, the Khalifa, under the pretext of giving Zeki Tummal special +verbal instructions regarding an intended campaign against the Italians, +recalled him to Omdurman. Ahmed Wad Ali had faithfully carried out his +secret instructions, which had resulted in the recall of his chief. A +few days after the steamers had left, Zeki arrived at Omdurman +accompanied by some of the Emirs whom he looked upon as friendly. During +his absence, he had nominated Ahmed Wad Ali as his representative, and +had ordered him to await his return at Gedaref. The Khalifa, to all +outward appearance, received Zeki in the most friendly manner possible; +and, a few days after his arrival, in spite of their orders, Ahmed Wad +Ali and the other Emirs arrived at Omdurman, and were frequently +received in secret audience by Abdullahi. They brought proofs of Zeki's +duplicity and disobedience to the Khalifa's commands in not restoring +the property which he had confiscated; and they showed how he had +subverted his instructions by inducing his men to become participators +in a conspiracy by which he should become independent. The Khalifa and +his brother Yakub took counsel together, and agreed to make him harmless +once and for all. They thought that if they merely removed him from his +position, dissensions might arise amongst his men. On the following +morning, therefore, the unsuspecting Zeki, relying on the former +services he had rendered, and anticipating merely a reprimand, was +enticed into Yakub's house, where he was immediately seized from behind +by four men, his sword wrenched from him, and his hands tied behind his +back. He had frequently spoken disrespectfully of Yakub and Kadi Ahmed, +saying that, in comparison with a brave warrior like himself, they were +little better than women, and were only happy in receiving presents and +leading comfortable and voluptuous lives. Disarmed and bound, he was now +brought, a miserable captive, before his master, who awaited him in an +adjoining court. + +"Well, my fine hero, where is your courage now?" said Yakub. "You owed +your promotion to me," said Kadi Ahmed, who, when Zeki had been +nominated to the supreme command, had conveyed the news to him in +Gallabat; "and now you have to thank me for your present humiliation. +Praise be to God, who has preserved me to this day in order that I may +see you standing thus before me." + +Livid with rage, and grinding his teeth, Zeki answered, "I have been +surprised and betrayed. Were I in an open field, not a hundred men like +you would terrify me. I know I am lost; but after my death you will try +to find men like me to take my place, and you will not find them." At a +signal from Yakub, he was hurried off to the general prison, where his +body was covered with as much weight of iron as it could possibly bear. +He was then removed to a small detached stone hut, deprived of all +communication with others, and not even allowed sufficient bread and +water to sustain life, and consequently, after an imprisonment of twenty +days, he succumbed to hunger and thirst. + +On his arrest, his house was sequestrated, and in it were found fifty +thousand Maria Theresa and Medjidi dollars, and quantities of gold rings +and other jewellery looted from the Abyssinians. Some of the Black +soldiers who were devoted to him, and had accompanied him from Gallabat, +were also thrown into chains and died of starvation. + +Ahmed Wad Ali now succeeded Zeki in the supreme command, and at once +returned to Gedaref, whither, in the meantime, the entire army had moved +from Gallabat. In accordance with the Khalifa's instructions, he +confiscated the whole of his predecessor's property, consisting of +horses, camels, cattle, and slaves, which he despatched, together with +all his wives (numbering one hundred and sixty-four), and twenty-seven +children, to Omdurman. The Khalifa kept the cattle and slaves for +himself, and distributed the childless widows amongst his followers; but +he married the mothers to his slaves, so that the children, whose father +had been a slave, should be brought up as slaves. Seven of Zeki's +brothers and near relatives were cruelly murdered by Ahmed Wad Ali; and +one of his sisters was flogged to death on the pretext that she had +concealed money. + +Wad Ali, now in supreme command, was anxious to refute any idea of +timidity, and sought to gain military renown. He obtained the Khalifa's +permission to undertake operations against the Arab tribes living +between Kassala and the Red Sea, who were subject to the Italians; but +he received distinct orders not to attack any troops quartered in forts. +He was allowed to utilise the services of the Kassala garrison under +Mussaid Gaidum, and now made all preparations for a campaign. Leaving +Gedaref with his army, early in November, 1893, he joined the Kassala +troops, and his force numbered in all some four thousand five hundred +riflemen, four thousand spearmen, and two hundred and fifty horsemen, +and advanced against the eastern Arab tribes,--the Beni Amer, Hadendoa, +and others. The latter, apprised of his intention, drove off their +cattle and retired before him; but at Agordat he came up with the +Italian troops, who were in an entrenched position. As they were in such +small numbers, he resolved, in spite of the Khalifa's instructions, to +attack them; but he was heavily defeated, and himself killed, together +with his two principal leaders, Abdalla Wad Ibrahim and Abder Rasul, and +a number of Emirs. The loss in killed and missing was estimated at +about two thousand, and these belonged, almost without exception, to the +Gedaref force, because Mussaid and the Kassala troops did not come to +Ahmed Wad Ali's assistance. Had the Italian troops been in a position to +pursue the Mahdists, who were retreating in wild disorder on Kassala, +there is little doubt the latter would have been almost entirely +annihilated. + +The news of the defeat and death of Ahmed Wad Ali caused the greatest +consternation in Omdurman, though in public the Khalifa tried to appear +unconcerned. He affirmed that the losses sustained by the Italians were +infinitely greater than those suffered by his troops, and that he +thanked God, Ahmed Wad Ali and some of his leaders had died the death of +martyrs on the field of battle, fighting against the cursed Christians. +In reality, however, he spent many sleepless nights; for he feared that +the Italians, encouraged by their victory, would be induced to advance +on Kassala, and he fully realised that, in view of the panic which +prevailed, they would have no difficulty in seizing and occupying it. It +was not till some days had elapsed, and he had received news that the +enemy had not quitted its position, that he calmed down somewhat, and +began to consider whom he should nominate as Wad Ali's successor. The +army of the latter had been dispersed throughout the Gedaref districts; +and it was necessary to despatch reinforcements without delay. The +inhabitants of Omdurman, however, saw in the defeat of Wad Ali, Heaven's +just retribution for the death of Zeki Tummal, who, though he had been +guilty of cruelty and oppression, had been the victim of intrigue and +false evidence. They were justly enraged against the Khalifa, who in his +vengeance had not been satisfied with Zeki Tummal's murder, but had also +massacred his relatives and seized his women and children. + +The Khalifa now nominated his cousin Ahmed Fedil as commander of the +Gedaref army, and gave him strict injunctions to remain entirely on the +defensive. He proceeded to his post by way of Kassala, in order to +collect the scattered troops, who, after the defeat at Agordat, had +forced themselves on the villagers, and were harrying the country for +food. Once again the Khalifa's equanimity was upset by a rumour that the +Italians now intended advancing on Kassala; but this news was followed +soon afterwards by a contradiction, and he became pacified. Indeed, he +had publicly announced his intention of avenging Ahmed Wad Ali's defeat, +though in reality he had not the slightest idea of doing so; but, in his +ignorance, he believed that these false threats would prevent his +enemies from assuming the offensive. He also sent small detachments of +horse and spear men to Gedaref. + +A few months had elapsed since this catastrophe, when one day, just +after morning prayers, three men presented themselves at the door of the +Khalifa's house, and urgently demanded to be taken before him. I at once +recognised them as Baggara Emirs, who had been stationed at Kassala, and +from the expression of their faces I could see that the news they +brought would not be welcome to the Khalifa. In a few minutes, they were +admitted, and soon afterwards a considerable disturbance took place +round the Khalifa's door. Khalifa Ali Wad Helu, Yakub, as well as all +the Kadis, received a sudden summons to attend at a council. The +Khalifa's suspicions had been verified, and Kassala, after a short +fight, had been captured by the Italians. + +[Illustration: The Khalifa inciting his troops to attack Kassala.] + +It was impossible to withhold this news from the public. The ombeija +was sounded, the great war-drums were beaten, the horses were saddled, +and the Khalifa, accompanied by all his mulazemin and an immense number +of horse and spear men, solemnly rode down to the banks of the Nile. +Arrived here, he forced his horse into the river till the water reached +its knees; and, drawing out his sword, and pointing towards the east, he +shouted out in a loud voice, "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" (God is most +great!). Each time the cry was taken up by the immense crowd; but the +majority were inwardly rejoicing at the Khalifa's discomfiture. They +longed for him to receive fresh humiliation, thinking thereby to lighten +the terrible yoke they bore. After this display, the Khalifa turned his +horse about, came back to the river bank, dismounted, and sat down on +his sheepskin. A great crowd now collected round him; and he informed +them of the fall of Kassala, declaring that his followers had been taken +unawares by enormous numbers of the enemy, just after morning prayers, +and had been forced to retire. He stated, however, that all the war +material, women, and children had been saved, that the losses had been +insignificant, whilst the enemy had suffered so heavily that they now +bitterly regretted having taken the town. Even his most devoted +adherents well knew that these words were a mere pretext for covering a +disgraceful defeat. Almost immediately after the three Emirs had arrived +in Omdurman, it was known far and wide that the garrison had been +surprised, that partly from fear, and partly owing to the unpopularity +of Mussaid, they had refused to fight; and, almost without offering any +resistance, they had retired towards Goz Regeb. The Khalifa now realised +that his capital was more fully exposed than ever to a successful +advance on the part of his enemies; but he had not yet learnt all; and +when it eventually came to his ears that his faithful followers, instead +of gladly laying down their lives for the cause, had lost the fanatical +spirit which had for so many years made them the terror of their +enemies, he understood that not only in Kassala had public opinion +changed, but that throughout the whole country his popularity had waned. +He now took occasion to announce publicly that Kassala was merely a +minor position of no special importance; but that in a short time he +meant to retake it, as well as the entire country up to the shores of +the Red Sea. He returned home late that evening, and held a council with +his brother Yakub and the Kadis, regarding the precautions which should +now be taken. He must have bitterly regretted the absence of his chief +Kadi, Ahmed Wad Ali, who, though he neither sought nor took his advice, +had been his faithful friend and servant for the last ten years. As +chief judge, he had acquired an immense influence in the country; and, +considering the circumstances, he had during that time collected very +considerable wealth. Upwards of a thousand slaves worked on his immense +estates. He employed merchants to take the produce, such as India-rubber +and ostrich feathers, to Egypt. He possessed immense herds of cattle, +and quantities of camels and magnificent horses; but his most coveted +possession was his harem, in which were collected a large number of +lovely women and female slaves. All this had roused the cupidity of +Yakub and of the Khalifa's young son. The former was intensely irritated +against Ahmed, as he seldom paid the smallest attention to his opinions +or proposals. Even the Khalifa had become jealous of his influence, and +lent a willing ear to Yakub's insinuations that he abused his power, and +made use of his position to increase his own wealth. Under the pretext +that Ahmed had acted contrary to the instructions which the Khalifa had +specially laid down, he himself, as President of the Court of Kadis, had +sentenced him to perpetual imprisonment. Thus a just retribution had at +length fallen on the head of this unscrupulous judge, who had ruthlessly +condemned numbers of innocent persons, had robbed them of all they +possessed, had turned wives and children into widows and orphans, and +had perpetrated every description of injustice. He had been seized by +the Black soldiers, thrown into prison, and lost all his wealth, whilst +the Khalifa, his son, and his brother Yakub had rifled his harem of the +best and prettiest women, and distributed the remainder amongst their +followers. + +The Khalifa knew perfectly well the difficulties of re-capturing +Kassala; but, in order to make a show of doing something, he sent +instructions to Osman Digna, who was at Adarama on the Atbara, some +three days' march from Berber, to join Mussaid at Goz Regeb with all his +available forces. At the same time, he ordered Ahmed Fedil to make a +military post of a thousand rifles at El Fasher on the Atbara, about one +and a half days' journey from Kassala. He also sent detachments of +troops from Omdurman to Asubri on the Atbara, midway between El Fasher +and Goz Regeb. He continued to assert most resolutely that he intended +shortly to advance on Kassala; but all these arrangements were made +entirely with a view to establishing a series of defensive posts along +the line of the Atbara, whilst the troops he was constantly collecting +were intended to oppose the advance of the enemy towards Omdurman. + +In the midst of all this disturbance and excitement, the satisfactory +news arrived that a messenger sent by Arabi from Reggaf had arrived at +Omdurman from Katena, a town on the White Nile. Two steamers soon +followed, bringing cargoes of ivory and slaves; and, in a day or two, +four hundred male slaves were marched with great pomp and ceremony +through the city, as proof of Dafalla's successes in the Equatorial +regions. As a matter of fact, the latter had attacked and defeated a +detachment of Emin Pasha's troops who had separated from the main body, +and had been living independently, and at their own risk, in a track of +country governed by Fadl el Maula, one of Emin's subalterns. On the +Pasha's departure, this man had entered into communication with the +advanced agents of the Congo Free State, and had agreed with them that, +if they should assist him to re-occupy the Equatorial Province, he would +enter their service. His real intentions, however, were to remain +independent, and though nominally a servant of the Congo Free State, to +derive from them as much profit as he could for his own personal +benefit. Misled by false information, Fadl el Maula had ventured close +to the station of Reggaf, which he believed to be only lightly held by +the Mahdists; but he discovered his mistake too late. He beat a rapid +retreat, but was followed up and overtaken, after several days' march, +by Arabi Dafalla, who surprised his camp whilst most of the men were out +on a foray. Fadl el Maula himself was killed, with most of the men in +camp, whilst defending their wives and children; and Arabi captured a +quantity of loot, all the women and children, and a number of rifles. +Amongst the trophies he sent to Omdurman were four Congo Free State +flags made of blue bunting, with a five-pointed yellow star in the +centre, also two suits of black uniform with buttons, on which the words +"Travail et Progrès" were engraved. This was the first time I had seen +the badge of the Congo Free State, of the existence of which I had +heard; but I had no notion of its size or the extent of its boundaries. +Several European letters had also been found in Fadl el Maula's camp; +but the Khalifa did not show them to me. He preferred to remain in +ignorance of their contents, rather than that I should gain some insight +into affairs in those regions. The brilliance of this last success of +his arms was, however, considerably dimmed by the news which came soon +afterwards, that Christian agents from the south and west were advancing +towards the Equatorial Provinces. Arabi had received information that a +force was in Uganda, and that Christian troops were advancing from the +western districts of Central Africa; and he appealed for instructions as +to how to act. A reinforcement of four hundred men was at once +despatched to Reggaf; and orders were sent to him to withdraw all +outlying posts, should he be threatened, but under no circumstances to +abandon Reggaf. + +When the expedition had been sent against Emin Pasha, it was the +Khalifa's intention not to acquire more territory in this direction, but +to make a station from which raids could be made on the Black countries, +in order to procure ivory and slaves. + +After the steamer had left with reinforcements, the Khalifa again turned +his attention to affairs in the east. He ordered all the Jaalin in +Omdurman to proceed to Asubri, and nominated Hamed Wad Ali, the brother +of Ahmed Wad Ali, to the command of this post. He subsequently +despatched thither the Danagla, as well as a number of Arab horsemen to +Gedaref; and the camel-owning Arabs were instructed to supply three +thousand camels, of which a thousand were incorporated with the mounted +corps at Gedaref, whilst the remainder were used to transport grain from +Rufaa and Abu Haraz on the Blue Nile to Asubri, which, having been +abandoned by its former inhabitants, was now left entirely uncultivated; +and in consequence the troops there were suffering great privations. By +these measures, the Khalifa imagined that he had turned the line of the +Atbara into a sort of wall, by which he hoped to block the enemy's +advance; but it seemed as if he were likely to have no rest this year. + +Mahmud Ahmed now reported that Christians had entered the Bahr el Ghazal +districts, and were attempting to win over the native tribes, with whom +they had already made treaties. They had arrived, he said, at Hofret en +Nahas (the copper mines near Kalaka on the southwestern Darfur +frontier). This news was of the greatest importance; and the Khalifa had +every reason to feel alarmed and uneasy. + +When Egypt governed the Sudan, it was from the Bahr el Ghazal Provinces +that they recruited the men for the Sudanese battalions, who had come +either of their own free-will or had been forcibly impressed. Owing to +the climate and plenteous rainfall, the country is more highly +cultivated than any portion of the Nile valley lying between Kowa and +Reggaf. Besides, the majority of the tribes who inhabit these districts +are, owing to internal dissensions, incapable of uniting, and would thus +rather facilitate than retard the advance of any foreign power wishing +to make itself master of the province. For the Khalifa, however, the +possession of this country is of vital importance. Its ruler, he knows, +virtually holds the Sudan in his hands. These various Black tribes have +no love for the Arab slave-hunters, and would aid any power which would +guarantee their protection. The recruitment of four or five thousand +local levies, possessing fighting qualities of a high order, would, for +such a power, be a matter of no difficulty; and in the space of four or +five years an army of from fifteen to twenty thousand men might be +raised, by which not only Darfur and Kordofan, but indeed the whole +Sudan, could be conquered. + +Abdullahi, therefore, was not slow to realise the situation; and he at +once gave orders to Mahmud Ahmed to despatch a force from Southern +Darfur into these districts, and drive out the strangers who had dared +to penetrate the Bahr el Ghazal Province. + +In compliance with these instructions, the Emir Khatem Musa, with a +considerable force, was sent south from Shakka into the northern Bahr el +Ghazal districts, and the Faroghé, Kâra, Bongo, and other frontier +tribes with whom the Europeans had made treaties, being left without +support, at once submitted to the Mahdists who occupied their countries. + +One day, I was summoned before the Khalifa, who handed to me several +documents written in French, which he ordered me to translate. They +included two letters from Lieutenant de La Kéthulle to his assistants, +containing various orders and instructions. They had been originally in +the hands of the Sheikh of Faroghé, who had handed them over to Khatem +Musa. In addition to these, the Khalifa showed me a treaty which had +been drawn up between Sultan Hamed Wad Musa of the Faroghé and the +representative of the Congo Free State, which was to the effect that,-- + +1. Sultan Hamed Wad Musa, chief of the Faroghé tribe, acknowledged the +suzerainty of the Congo Free State, and placed himself under its +protection. + +2. Sultan Hamed Wad Musa bound himself to enter into commercial +relations with the Congo Free State, and establish intercourse between +it and the Darfur frontier districts, and agreed to give protection to +all officials of that State travelling in his country. + +3. The Congo Free State bound itself to assist Sultan Hamed Wad Musa in +all his undertakings, and uphold his authority in the country. + +This treaty was signed in August, 1894, by Hamed Wad Musa and the +representative of the Congo Free State; and was witnessed by Sultan +Zemio and the Sultan of Tiga, the names of the two latter being written +in European characters. + +I hurriedly translated these papers verbally to the Khalifa, and was +much interested in seeing how, on this occasion, his curiosity got the +better of his suspicions; though he did all he could to prevent me from +noticing this. + +"I did not summon you," he said, "merely to translate these letters, +which, after all, are of not the smallest importance to me, though I +have instructed Mahmud Ahmed to drive out these Christians, who are only +travellers, and in small numbers, from the Bahr el Ghazal Province; but +I have also a proposal to make to you. I look upon you as one of us,--as +my friend and faithful adherent,--and I have decided to publicly make +known this fact by giving to you as a wife one of my cousins,--one of my +next of kin. What have you to say to this?" This offer did not greatly +surprise me; for he had several times hinted as much. I was perfectly +well aware that his object was not to publicly show appreciation of me, +but to have me carefully watched in my own house. He wished to place me +under surveillance in order to discover if I had any secret relations +with outside countries. Through trusty friends, I had ascertained that +he earnestly sought some plausible grounds for making me, as he called +it, "harmless;" but in doing so he wished to justify his action before +the public, by showing me more consideration as a foreigner than if I +had been a native. I knew too well, however, that a man of his +unscrupulous determination, who had not spared his best friends, such as +Ibrahim Adlan and Kadi Ahmed, would not hesitate to take full advantage +of the slightest proof of my disloyalty in order to rid himself of me. + +"Sire," I replied, "may God bless you, and give you victory over all +your enemies. I feel highly honoured by your magnanimous offer; but hear +of me, I pray you, the truth. Your relative is not merely descended +from royalty, but from the Prophet himself. She therefore deserves to +be treated with every consideration. Unfortunately, I have a very quick +temper, and at times have great difficulty in controlling myself. +Domestic quarrels would undoubtedly arise, which might be the cause of +estrangement between you, my master, and myself. My only desire is to +remain in your greatest favour. I pray God this may ever be so; for I +dread the occurrence of anything which might cause me to fall into +disfavour." + +"I have known you now intimately for ten years," said the Khalifa; "and +I have never known you to be thoughtless or quick-tempered. I have often +presented you with wives, and they have never complained to me of +domestic quarrels. It is true, however, that I have heard you have +either made presents of them to your servants, or have given them their +liberty. It seems to me that although you pretend to be one of us, you +really wish to adhere to the manners and customs of your tribe. [He did +not refer to religion, as I suppose he thought that might hurt my +feelings.] I mean that you wish to have only one wife." + +"Sire," I replied, "you have often honoured me with presents of slaves; +but you surely do not wish me to be their slave. If I have married them +to my servants, or sent them away, it is because they have been +disobedient, or have behaved badly. You have been misinformed, if you +think that I wish to adhere to the custom of my country to have only one +wife; for I have already three." + +"Very well," he said, "I believe you; and so you refuse to marry my +cousin?" + +"Sire," I replied, "I do not refuse; but I merely inform you of my +uncertain temper, so that I may prevent unpleasantness in the future. +Indeed, I am highly honoured by your kind offer; and I beg you to try +and see if I am worthy of it." He understood perfectly well that what I +had said was tantamount to a refusal; and he closed the conversation by +making a sign to me to withdraw. This offer had placed me in a most +difficult position. I thoroughly understood the Khalifa. By not joyfully +accepting his offer, I had hurt his pride; and now I longed more than +ever for liberty. Some months before, I had sent a Sudanese merchant to +Cairo, and had begged the Austrian Consul-General to place, through him, +the necessary means at my disposal to effect my escape. But how often +had I attempted negotiations of this sort through merchants and others, +and how often had I been doomed to disappointment and failure. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS. + + The Person and Characteristics of Khalifa Abdullahi--The Fate of + the Mahdist Chronicler--The Princesses of Darfur--The Khalifa's + Family Life--His Harem--The Organisation of his + Body-guard--Enforced Attendance at the Mosque--The Postal + System--Military Parades--Elevation of the Western Arabs and + Oppression of the River Tribes--The Military Situation and + Strength--Guns and Ammunition--Revenue and Expenditure--Courage. + + +I will now say a few words regarding the Khalifa's person and his +characteristics. + +Sayed Abdullahi Ibn Sayed Mohammed belongs to the Taaisha section of the +Baggaras (as all cattle-owning nomad Arabs are called). This section +inhabits the country in the southwestern portion of Darfur; and the +Khalifa himself is descended from the Aulad Om Sura of the Jubarat +family. I have already referred to Abdullahi's early life, and how he +had established a connection with the slave-hunting Arabs, when still +quite a youth. He joined the Mahdi at the age of thirty-five, and was +then a slim and active, though powerfully built man; but latterly he has +become very stout, and his lightness of gait has long since disappeared. +He is now forty-nine years of age, but looks considerably older; and the +hair of his beard is almost white. At times, the expression of his face +is one of charming amiability, but more generally it is one of dark +sternness, in which tyranny and unscrupulous resolution are unmistakably +visible. He is rash and quick-tempered, acting often without a moment's +consideration; and when in this mood, even his own brother dares not +approach him. His nature is suspicious to a degree to every one, his +nearest relatives and members of his household included. He admits that +loyalty and fidelity are rare qualities, and that those who have to deal +with him invariably conceal their real feelings in order to gain their +own ends. He is most susceptible to flattery, and consequently receives +an inordinate amount from every one. No one dares to speak to him +without referring, in the most fulsome terms, to his wisdom, power, +justice, courage, generosity, and truthfulness. He accepts this absurd +adulation with the greatest pleasure and satisfaction; but woe to him +who in the slightest degree offends his dignity. + +The following episode will give the reader a fair idea of his arbitrary +nature:-- + +A certain Kadi named Ismail Wad Abdel Kader, who had been well educated +in Cairo, had gained great favour with the Mahdi by having written a +laudatory account of his early victories. This had so fully gratified +the great religious reformer that he instructed Abdel Kader to continue +to chronicle the various important events as they happened, and further +instructed his principal Emirs to forward to him detailed histories of +all that occurred within their respective commands. In time, these +chronicles grew into an elaborate historical and inflated statement of +Mahdist rule in the Sudan; and, after the Mahdi's death, the Khalifa, +who had installed Abdel Kader as state chronicler, ordered the +continuance of the work. One day, however, during a pleasure-party, the +historian had been overheard to say that present affairs in the Sudan, +as compared with those in Egypt, might be described by the following +simile: The Khalifa might be considered as the Khedive Ismail Pasha, +whilst, in the same proportion, he, Abdel Kader, might be likened to +Ismail Pasha el Mofettish, who had been the Viceroy's principal adviser +and friend. This thoughtless statement was immediately reported to +Abdullahi, who, furious at such a comparison, at once ordered the judges +to assemble and make a full inquiry into the matter; and if Abdel Kader +had actually made such a statement, he should be at once condemned. To +the Kadis, he argued thus: "The Mahdi is the representative of the +Prophet Mohammed, and I am his successor. Who, therefore, in the whole +world holds so high a position as I? Who can be nobler than the direct +descendant of the Prophet?" The inquiry proved the guilt of Abdel Kader, +who, at the Khalifa's command, was thrown into chains and transported to +Reggaf. "What business has he to compare affairs here with those of +Egypt?" said the pompous Khalifa. "If he wishes to compare himself to a +Pasha, then I, the descendant of the Prophet, will never demean myself +to be put on a par with the Khedive,--a mere Turk." I suppose by these +assertions he thought to impress the populace. The stupid man too, in +his offended dignity, did not stop here. He at once ordered all the +chronicles (of which several copies had been made) to be instantly +burnt; but I heard privately that his secretary, who was being +frequently referred to by the Khalifa on the subject of the early events +of his reign, secreted one copy for private reference; and if these +strange chronicles could only be procured and translated into European +languages, they would expose to the civilised world the methods of +Mahdism in all its barefaced mendacity. + +Abdullahi's pride and confidence in his own powers are indescribable. He +firmly believes that he is capable of doing anything and everything; and +as he pretends to act under Divine inspiration, he never hesitates to +appropriate the merits of others as his own. For example, he stated that +the Mahdi's tomb, which had been built with immense labour and trouble +by the former Government architect Ismail, had been designed by himself +entirely in accordance with Divinely inspired plans. He ascribed Osman +Wad Adam's victory over Abu Gemmaiza, as well as Zeki Tummal's over King +John of Abyssinia, to the inspired orders which he pretended he had +issued. His character is a strange mixture of malice and cruelty. He +delights to annoy and cause disappointment; and he is never happier than +when he has brought people to complete destitution by confiscating +their property, throwing them into chains, robbing families wholesale, +seizing and executing all persons of tribal influence and authority, and +reducing entire races to a condition of powerless impotence. + +During the Mahdi's lifetime, he was entirely responsible for the +severity of the proceedings enacted in his name, and for the merciless +manner in which he treated his defeated enemies. It was Abdullahi who +gave the order for no quarter at the storming of Khartum; and it was he +who subsequently authorised the wholesale massacre of the men, women, +and children. After the fall of that city, it was he who, for the period +of four days, declared the whole Shaigia tribe to be outlaws. When +distributing the captured women and children, he was utterly regardless +of their feelings. To separate children from their mothers, and to make +their re-union practically impossible by scattering them amongst +different tribes, was his principal delight. When Osman Wad Adam sent to +Omdurman the sisters of the late Sultan of Darfur, the Princesses Miriam +Isa Basi and Miriam Bakhita, he gave them their liberty, but took most +of their female relatives into his own harem, and distributed the +remainder amongst his followers; and, hearing that some Darfur people +who were residing in Omdurman had called on the Princesses, and offered +them presents, he had the latter arrested and made over as slaves to his +two Emirs, Hassib and Kanuna, who were on the point of starting for +Reggaf. In vain poor Bakhita's blind mother implored to be allowed to +accompany her daughter; but she was forcibly prevented by the Khalifa's +special orders, and died a few days later of a broken heart. Her +daughter threw herself into the river as the boat started. She was +saved, but subsequently died on the journey from fatigue and misery. +Ahmed Gurab, an Egyptian born in Khartum, who had quitted the city as a +merchant before the destruction of Hicks Pasha's army, had left behind +him his wife, who was a Sudanese, and his daughter. He eventually +returned to see them; and, on the day he arrived in Omdurman, he was +brought before the Khalifa, to whom he explained the reasons of his +return, and expressed a wish to enter his service. "I accept your +offer," said the Khalifa. "You will at once proceed to Reggaf, and fight +in the Holy Cause against the heathen." In vain the unfortunate man +begged and implored to remain with his wife and daughter, or at least to +be allowed to see them; but the Khalifa ordered his mulazemin to take +him at once on board the steamer, and guard him carefully, and on no +account permit him to see his family. With a smile of fiendish delight, +he said: "His fellow-passengers are Isa Basi and Bakhita. He may enjoy +their society as much as he likes, if their masters will allow him." + +Without the smallest rhyme or reason, he has caused the death of +thousands of innocent people. He had the right hand and left foot of a +certain Omar publicly cut off in the market-place, because he had failed +to make lead, which he had said he could do, and for which purpose he +had received a small sum of money in advance. During the horrible +execution and mutilation of the Batahin, he had been present, and had +looked with pleasure on the slaughter of his victims. I have described +how his best friends and most faithful servants were victimised through +his caprice, and how he had ruthlessly seized for himself their wives +and daughters. Then what could be more cruel than his punishment of the +Ashraf? No doubt they were guilty of mutiny; but he might have exiled or +imprisoned them, instead of killing them with clubs and axes as if they +had been dogs; and yet these were the near relatives of his former lord +and master, the Mahdi. + +In all intercourse with him, he demands the most complete humility and +submission. Persons entering his presence stand in front of him with +their hands crossed over their breasts and their eyes lowered to the +ground, awaiting his permission to be seated. In his audience chamber, +he is generally seated on an angareb, over which a palm-mat is spread, +and his sheepskin stretched out on it, whilst he leans against a large +roll of cotton cloth which forms a pillow. When those brought before +him are allowed to be seated, they take up a position as in prayers, +with their eyes fixed on the ground; and in this posture they answer the +questions put to them, and dare not move until permission is given them +to withdraw. + +Even in the mosque, when prayers are over, and he converses on general +subjects, those in close proximity to him invariably maintain this +attitude. He is most particular that all persons brought before him +should keep their eyes downcast, whilst he himself scrutinises them most +carefully. Some years ago a Syrian named Mohammed Said, who had the +misfortune to have only one eye, happened to be near him when he was +delivering a religious lecture, and unintentionally cast his blind eye +in the direction of the Khalifa. The latter at once called me up, and +told me to tell the Syrian never to come near him again, and if he did +never to dare to look at him. At the same time he told me that every one +should be most careful to guard themselves against the evil eye. "For," +said he, "nothing can resist the human eye. Illness and misfortunes are +generally caused by the evil eye." + +In spite of his tyrannical nature, the Khalifa shows to greater +advantage in his private life. He is devoted to his eldest son Osman, +who is now twenty-one years of age, and who has been instructed in all +the commentaries of the Kuran by able Mohammedan teachers; but his +father never hesitated to change the teachers as often as his son +wished; and when Osman affirmed to his father that he was sufficiently +instructed, the latter at once withdrew his teachers. When he reached +his seventeenth year, he was married to his cousin, the daughter of his +uncle Yakub; and on this occasion the Khalifa departed from the strict +observances as regards marriage enjoined by the Mahdi, and arranged a +series of banquets extending over a period of eight days, to which +almost every inhabitant in Omdurman was invited. He had a large red +brick house built for his son in the space lying opposite to Yakub's +residence, and had it furnished with all the comfort available in the +Sudan. An attempt was even made to lay out a garden on the stony ground +within the enclosure. Shortly afterwards, he gave his son two more of +his female relatives in marriage, and innumerable concubines, which he +himself selected; but he declared, in the most emphatic manner, that he +would never permit him to marry a woman from any of the Nile valley +tribes. He watches over his son's intercourse with strangers with the +greatest jealousy, and considers it a most dangerous proceeding; and +when he heard that, in the perversity of youth, his son entirely +disregarded his injunctions, and held nightly orgies in his house, he +had a new residence built for him within the Omdurman wall close to his +own, so as to exercise greater supervision, and handed over his old +house to Yakub. + +He married his own daughter to the Mahdi's son Mohammed, to whom he bore +no good will; whilst the latter was anxious to marry one of his own +relations, and had no love for the Khalifa's daughter. Abdullahi, +however, as father-in-law, guardian, and master, absolutely forbade him +to enter into any such alliance, and tried to insist on his affection +for his daughter, with the result that a complete estrangement was +brought about between man and wife, ending in a divorce; but the Khalifa +was so annoyed that, out of pure fear, Mohammed had to take her back, +and swear entire devotion to her for the rest of his life. + +The Khalifa thought it incumbent on his position to maintain a large +establishment; and as this was also entirely in conformity with his own +inclinations, he gradually became possessor of a harem of over four +hundred wives. In accordance with the Mohammedan law, he has four legal +wives, who belong to free tribes; but, being a lover of change, he never +hesitates to divorce them at will, and take others in their places. The +other women of the household consist for the most part of young girls, +many of whom belong to tribes which have been forced to accept Mahdism, +and whose husbands and fathers fought against him. They are therefore +regarded as booty, and have only the rights and claims of concubines, +or, in some cases, of slaves. This large assortment of ladies varies in +colour from light brown to the deepest black, and comprises almost every +tribe in the Sudan. They are divided into groups of from fifteen to +twenty, presided over by a superior; and two or three of these groups +are placed under the orders of a free woman, who is generally a +concubine specially selected by the Khalifa. A certain amount of grain +and money is granted monthly to these superiors for the maintenance of +their charges; and they also receive means to purchase the necessary +cosmetics, consisting of various sorts of oils, grease, and scent. The +value of their clothing is regulated entirely by the comparative beauty, +position, and character of the wearers, and consists for the most part +of native-woven cotton cloth with particoloured borders, or of bright +silk or woollen shawls imported from Egypt. These are always distributed +by the Khalifa himself or by his chief eunuch. As the wearing of silver +jewellery was strictly prohibited by the Mahdi, mother-of-pearl buttons +and oblong strips of red coral and onyx, threaded together, are worn +round the wrists, ankles, and head. The hair is usually worn in +innumerable small plaits, which are arranged in all sorts of different +ways, and bedaubed with a quantity of oily and greasy scents; and to +European olfactory nerves the odour emanating from a Sudanese lady "en +grande toilette" is repulsive in the extreme. For the last few years the +wives of the upper classes have again taken to wearing gold and silver +jewellery; and the Khalifa's principal women indulge in these luxuries +to a greater extent than the rest. The latter live in a series of large +detached houses, something like barracks, surrounded by courts encircled +with high walls. Special women are maintained to watch over their state +of health; and they are obliged to report it to their master, the +Khalifa, from time to time. When he wishes to summon any lady in +particular to share his affections, he communicates his desire by means +of little boy eunuchs. Occasionally, he holds an inspection of his +entire household, and makes use of such opportunities to rid himself of +those of whom he is weary, in order to make room for new attractions. +Those disposed of in this way he generally passes on to his near +relatives, his special favourites, or his servants. The harem courts are +carefully guarded by eunuchs and the Black mulazemin. The women are +almost entirely cut off from intercourse with the outer world; and +perhaps once a year their female relations are allowed to converse with +them for only a short time. + +The Khalifa's principal wife is called Sahra, and belongs to his own +tribe. She has shared with him from earliest days all his joys and +sorrows, and is the mother of his oldest children Osman and Kadija. +During the early years of his reign, he would only eat the simplest +food, cooked by her or under her superintendence. It consisted, as a +rule, merely of asida, roast meat, and chickens; but as his household +increased, he began to try the various sorts of cookery known to his new +wives, many of whom were acquainted with the Turkish and Egyptian +methods; and now, in place of the simple food, he indulges in far more +luxurious fare, though to outward appearance he still pretends to lead a +life of simplicity and abstinence. These innovations brought about a +quarrel between him and his wife Sahra, who pointed out that the new +dishes might be bewitched or poisoned, and might end in his death, with +the result that he twice sent her letters of separation; but, on the +strong representations of his brother Yakub and the other members of the +family, he was induced to cancel them. + +He has in his service in all some twenty eunuchs, chief of whom is a +certain Abdel Gayum, who is also charged with the superintendence of +large quantities of land which are cultivated by slaves for the use of +the household; and it is his duty to purchase the necessary supplies of +grain, and have in readiness the sheep and cattle required for domestic +purposes. He also draws from the Beit el Mal the necessary amounts +required for the payment of the women and servants of the harem. He has +also charge of considerable sums of private money with which the Khalifa +purchases the presents he secretly makes to his Emirs and other +influential persons. To assist him in carrying out his multifarious +duties, he has a staff of clerks and servants, who are always eunuchs or +slaves, as the Khalifa will on no account allow any stranger to get an +insight into his harem. + +Abdullahi's dress consists of a jibba made of superfine white cotton +cloth with a coloured border, loose cotton drawers, and on his head a +beautifully made Mecca silk skull-cap, around which a small white turban +is wound. Around his body a narrow strip of cotton, about five yards +long, called wassan, is worn, and a light shawl of the same material is +thrown across his shoulders. He formerly wore sandals; but latterly he +has taken to wearing soft leather stockings of a light brown colour, and +yellow shoes. When walking, he carries a sword in his left hand, and in +his right a beautifully worked Hadendoa spear, which he uses as a +walking-stick. He is invariably accompanied by twelve or fifteen little +boy-slaves as his personal attendants. Many of these are children of +Abyssinian Christians seized by Abu Anga and Zeki Tummal. Their duty is +to remain always near him, and act as his messengers to various parts of +the town. They usher into his presence all visitors, and must be ready +day and night to carry his orders. When they reach the age of seventeen +or eighteen, they are drafted into the ranks of the mulazemin, and their +places taken by others. The Khalifa thinks that by employing young boys, +his secrets are less likely to be betrayed; and in this he is not far +wrong, when one considers the extraordinary amount of bribery and +corruption which prevails amongst the older classes. Within the house, +into which these young boys are never admitted, he employs young +eunuchs, who wait upon him, whilst the more advanced in age of this +unfortunate class are relegated to the outer dependencies of the +household. Even these juvenile domestics suffer considerable brutality +at his hands. The slightest mistakes are punished by flogging, or the +offenders are thrown into chains and starved. + +Upwards of three years ago, he conceived the idea of augmenting his +mulazemin by a species of body-guard; and for this purpose he selected a +number of Jehadia from Mahmud Ahmed's and Zeki Tummal's armies. In +addition to these, he called on the Emirs of the western tribes to +provide a number of recruits for his mulazemin; but his orders were only +partially obeyed. He selected a few of the sons of the best Jaalin +families for incorporation in the body-guard; but he rigorously excluded +all Danaglas and Egyptians, in whom he has no confidence. In this +manner, he created a force of from eleven to twelve thousand men, who, +with their wives and children, are all quartered close to his and his +son's houses, and within the newly erected wall. This force is +subdivided into three corps, under the respective commands of his son +Osman, the Khalifa's young brother Harun Abu Mohammed, who is barely +eighteen years of age, and his cousin Ibrahim Khalil, who has been +recently replaced by an Abyssinian named Rabeh, who has been brought up +in the Khalifa's household. + +Osman, in all matters regarding the mulazemin, is looked upon as the +Khalifa's representative. The corps are subdivided again into sections +of one hundred men, over each of which an officer called Ras Miya (head +of the hundred), who has several assistants, has command. Over every +five or six Ras Miya an Emir presides, who is also provided with an +assistant. The Black soldiers, or Jehadia, are incorporated in the +subdivisions, not with the free Arabs, but under the special command of +the Emirs, who have therefore under their respective orders two or three +hundred Jehadia, and the remainder Arabs. Almost all these are armed +with Remington rifles, which, however, are kept in store, and are only +issued on special feasts. The monthly pay of the mulazemin consists of +half a Dervish dollar, and, every fortnight, one-eighth of an ardeb of +dhurra. The grain is received fairly regularly; but the cash payment is +merely a nominal one, and is very seldom issued. The salaries of the +Ras Miya and Emirs are proportionately higher; and they receive frequent +gifts of women and slaves from the Khalifa. The duty of the mulazemin +and body-guard is to protect the person of the Khalifa; and all must +accompany him when he rides out or holds reviews. Even when making a +comparatively small expedition into the town they must proceed with him. +They have always to remain in readiness in the open square in front of +his house. Although the Khalifa has forbidden all Egyptian music, he has +collected the former Black buglers, two of whom invariably accompany +him. The call for a Ras Miya is that of captain; for Emir that of major; +and for commander that of colonel. Abdullahi frequently inspects the +mulazemin at night, in order to see that they are in occupation of the +posts allotted to them; and he pays special attention to the outposts. +Owing to this unusually hard service, the Ras Miya and Emirs, under the +pretext of illness, frequently go secretly to their houses, and great +discontent prevails amongst them. + +The Khalifa's public duties consist in saying the five prayers daily in +the large mosque. At early dawn, he begins with the morning prayers, +after which the Rateb is read in various groups, as enjoined by the +Mahdi. This consists of a selection of verses and special prayers from +the Kuran, and occupies about an hour. The Khalifa then returns, as a +rule, to his private apartments, but sometimes walks about in the mosque +in order to see for himself whether the inhabitants of Omdurman comply +with his orders to attend prayers regularly. He holds midday prayers at +about two o'clock, and two hours later follows the Asr, or evening +prayer, after which the Rateb is repeated. Prayers are said again at +sunset, and, three hours later, night prayers are held. On all these +occasions, the Khalifa attends in his mihrab (niche), which has been +erected immediately in front of the lines of believers. It is a +square-shaped structure, consisting of a series of columns connected by +open iron-work, through which he can see all that is going on around +him. Immediately behind him are the seats of his son, the Kadis, and a +few persons specially selected by himself. The mulazemin take up a +position to the right and left, whilst the Black soldiers occupy large +open enclosures which are separated from the mosque by a wall. On the +right of the mulazemin are the places of Yakub, the Emirs, and most of +the western tribes, whilst to the left are some of Yakub's followers, a +few of Khalifa Ali Wad Helu's Arabs, and the Jaalin and Danagla. Behind +these, the people are seated in ten or twelve rows, and repeat the +prayers in unison after the Khalifa. On all occasions there are several +thousand persons present; and the Khalifa is most particular that all +the principal Emirs and influential people should assist him. If he +bears any special dislike or ill-will to any persons, he invariably +condemns them to regularly attend the five daily prayers in the mosque, +under the supervision of people specially selected for this purpose. In +making these strict regulations regarding prayers, the Khalifa is by no +means actuated by devotional ideas, but utilises these occasions to keep +his followers together under his own personal control. As several of the +people live a considerable distance away from the mosque, they are +generally so tired and exhausted, after these frequent journeys to and +fro, that they do not collect in the evening in each others' houses,--a +practice which the Khalifa specially abhors, for his object is to +destroy, as far as possible, what he is pleased to call "social life;" +that is to say, social gatherings, for he is perfectly well aware that +his deeds and actions on such occasions are invariably discussed and +criticised, and not generally very favourably. + +If, for any reason, such as illness, he is prevented from attending +prayers, his place is taken by one of his Kadis, or by a very pious +mulazem of the Takruri tribe; but on such occasions the substitute Imam +is never allowed to occupy the mihrab, but stands outside. Khalifa Ali +Wad Helu, who, in accordance with the religious law, should, on such +occasions, represent the Khalifa, is scarcely ever permitted to do so. + +In the afternoon, or between afternoon and evening prayers, he receives +reports, news, and letters, and interviews the Kadis and Emirs whose +names have been previously submitted to him, as well as any other +persons whom he specially wishes to see. + +His postal arrangements are very primitive. He keeps up from sixty to +eighty riding camels, with a specially selected staff of postmen; and +these he despatches to different parts of his Empire with orders and +instructions. Ibrahim Adlan had suggested to him that he should make +special stations for the posts along the various main roads, and +establish a more regular and less expensive system; but he utterly +refused to entertain the idea, saying that he placed special value on +the verbal accounts of the postmen who were despatched direct, and he +frequently obtained from them important information concerning the +attitude and behaviour of his Governors. The Emirs of the various +districts also have a similar postal system of their own, and despatch +camel-men with important information to Omdurman. There is no system of +postal communication for private persons, though sometimes the +camel-postmen convey letters secretly. The Khalifa being intensely +suspicious of all intercourse with strangers, any communications between +his subordinates and the outside must be carried out with the greatest +circumspection and secrecy. Utterly ignorant of reading and writing, the +Khalifa orders all letters that arrive to be handed over to his +secretaries, Abu el Gasem and Mudasser, who are obliged to explain the +contents, and write replies in accordance with his orders. These two +individuals lead a wretched life; for they know that he will not forgive +the slightest mistake, and should he have the least suspicion of their +having revealed any of his secrets, even through carelessness, he would +not hesitate to treat them as he treated their comrades Ahmedi and his +four brothers, who, having been accused of communicating with the +Ashraf, were executed. + +He converses principally with his Kadis, who are, for the most part, +willing tools in his hands, and serve to give a veneer of justice to +his despotic actions. These myrmidons, submissively seated in a +semi-circle on the bare floor, their heads bowed down, listen to his +orders, which are generally given in an undertone; and rarely any one of +them dares to open his mouth or make a suggestion, no matter how +necessary he may think it. In addition to the Kadis, he occasionally +interviews Emirs and other influential persons, from whom he ascertains +the condition of the country and tribes; but he invariably stirs up +intrigue, and tries to pit one against the other. He generally consults, +immediately after night prayers, with Yakub and some of his near +relatives; and these meetings often last till long past midnight. They +are usually convened for discussing the ways and means of ridding +themselves of persons who are objectionable, or who are in the smallest +degree a menace to their authority. + +Occasionally, he makes short riding excursions to various parts of the +town, or visits his houses in the north or south of Omdurman. The +melancholy notes of the ombeija and the beating of war-drums announce to +the inhabitants that their master is about to appear in public. Horses +are at once saddled in the large thatched enclosure immediately behind +the mosque. The doors are thrown open, and the mulazemin stream out from +all directions, and, last of all, follows the Khalifa, mounted, as a +rule, on horseback. A square is immediately formed around him; and the +men advance in front of him in detachments, ten or twelve abreast. +Behind them follow the horse and foot men of the town population, while +on the Khalifa's left walks an immensely powerful and well-built Arab +named Ahmed Abu Dukheka, who has the honour of lifting his master in and +out of the saddle. On his right is a strongly-made young Black, who is +chief of the slaves in the royal stables. The Khalifa is immediately +preceded by six men, who alternately blow the ombeija by his orders. +Behind him follow the buglers, who sound the advance or halt, or summon, +at his wish, the chiefs of the mulazemin. Just behind these follow his +small personal attendants, who carry the Rekwa (a leather vessel used +for religious ablutions), the sheepskin prayer-carpet, and several +spears. Sometimes, either in front or rear, as the case may be, follows +the musical band, composed of about fifty Black slaves, whose +instruments comprise antelope-horns, and drums made of the hollow trunks +of trees covered with skin. The strange African tunes they play are +remarkable rather for the hideously discordant noise they make than for +their melody. These rides are generally undertaken after midday prayer; +and the Khalifa returns at sunset. Whilst he is advancing in this solemn +state, the mulazemin generally indulge in displays of horsemanship. +Galloping four abreast, with their spears poised high in the air, they +dash up towards him at full speed, drawing up their horses almost on to +their haunches. They then slowly retire to repeat the operation. + +[Illustration: The Khalifa and Cadis in Council.] + +During the early years of his rule, the Khalifa was present every Friday +on the large parade ground where the ceremony of trooping the colours is +performed; but now he attends only four times a year, viz., on the +birthday of the Prophet, on the Feast of Miraj, the Feast of Bairam, and +the Feast of Kurbam Bairam; on this last date all the troops in the +neighbourhood, as well as the Darfur and Gedaref armies, are assembled +during peaceful times. On the first day of the Feast of Bairam, the +Khalifa holds prayers on the parade ground, and retires himself within a +zariba in which a small mud-brick house has been built. A few special +favourites, and a number of mulazemin, remain with him; but the rest of +the troops and populace range themselves in long lines; and when the +prayer is over he mounts a wooden pulpit, and delivers a sermon, which +is generally specially prepared for him by his secretaries. This over, a +salute of seven guns is fired, and all those who can afford it kill the +sacrificial lambs prescribed by the religion; but, owing to the +prevailing distress and poverty of the inhabitants, very few of them are +in a position to bear this expense, and are obliged to content +themselves with a sort of porridge which takes the place of a +sacrificial dish. During the three following days, a review is held. +Long before sunrise, the Emirs, with their flags and followers, collect +and march to their allotted positions on the parade ground, which is an +almost perfectly flat sandy plain, with a few stones here and there. The +troops are marshalled in long lines in rear of each other, facing east. + +Yakub has the principal flag,--an immense piece of black cloth, which is +hoisted exactly opposite the Khalifa's zariba, and about four hundred +yards from it. To the right and left are ranged those of the different +Emirs, while on the north side flies the green flag of the Khalifa Ali +Wad Helu, on either side of which are the flags of his Emirs. On the +left flank, the horse and camel-men are drawn up, while on the right +flank are ranged the riflemen, consisting partly of Jehadia, and partly +of men belonging to the various Emirs, who are only specially provided +with arms for the time being. Immediately after sunrise, the Khalifa +comes out of the zariba, and, mounted on his horse, stands surrounded by +his mulazemin and body-guard, whilst the entire army passes in review +before him, the troops being generally provided with new jibbas and +turbans in honour of the feast. Sometimes the Khalifa mounts on a camel; +and, on one occasion, he drove in the carriage of one of the former +Governors-General which had been captured in Khartum, and which was kept +stored away in the Beit el Mal. Two horses were specially trained to +draw this vehicle, which the Khalifa ordered to be driven at a foot +pace, as he feared being upset; but, latterly, he has given up this +plan, and generally rides on horseback direct from the mosque along the +road leading due west towards the black flag, and, on reaching it, he +solemnly contemplates it for a few moments, and then rides to the +zariba, at the south front of which a small shelter, consisting of +trunks of trees lashed together and covered with palm-mats, has been +erected. Here he dismounts and reclines on an angareb, surrounded by his +Kadis, whilst the troops file past. Occasionally, he starts from his +own house, and, taking a southern road, marches out of the town, then +turns west and rides along the front alignment of his troops, after +which the usual march past takes place. At these reviews the horsemen +are generally clad in coats of mail, of European or Asiatic origin, +whilst on their heads they wear heavy iron helmets and curious cotton +caps of various colours and the most grotesque shapes, round which a +small turban is wound. The horses are clothed in large padded patchwork +quilts, somewhat resembling those worn by the knights of old at +tournaments; and one might almost imagine one was gazing at one of those +old mediæval displays. These reviews terminate at the end of the third +day; and the troops brought from beyond Omdurman are permitted to return +to their respective garrisons. + +I propose now to briefly consider the Khalifa's political intentions and +ideas. + +As I have already stated, when the Mahdi first declared himself, he +nominated three Khalifas, viz., Abdullahi, Ali Wad Helu, and Mohammed +Sherif, who were to succeed him in this order, if they survived. On his +death, Abdullahi succeeded as arranged; but, from the moment he took +over the reins of government, he did everything in his power to increase +his personal ascendancy, and make it hereditary in the family. The +mutinous Ashraf, who prided themselves on their relationship to the +Mahdi, afforded him a welcome pretext for compassing their downfall; and +he did not hesitate to possess himself of the Black troops belonging to +both his rival Khalifas. An obscure member of a western tribe, he was a +complete stranger in the country; and he knew that he could not reckon +on the Jaalin, Danagla, inhabitants of the Gezira, and other Nile valley +tribes to support his authority. He therefore sent secret emissaries to +the western Arabs to induce them to make a pilgrimage to the Mahdi's +tomb, and emigrate to the Nile valley. His agents drew a tempting +picture of the magnificent country to which they had been invited, +telling them that they were the Lord's chosen people, and that they +should go out to possess the land, the inhabitants of which were rich in +cattle and slaves, which should be theirs. Tempted by these glowing +accounts, many of these tribes emigrated of their own free-will to +Omdurman; but as this contingent was not sufficient, the Khalifa +instructed his Emirs in Darfur and Kordofan to enforce his orders; and, +in consequence of this, an immense emigration took place, and continues, +on a reduced scale, down to the present day. By this means the Khalifa +has surrounded himself with hordes of strangers who have ousted the +rightful owners of the soil, and have made themselves absolute masters +of the situation. All offices and important situations are filled by +them, and by his own relatives, the majority belonging to the Taaisha +section. Almost the only one of the old Emirs left is Osman Digna; and +the reason for this is that the eastern Arab tribes he governs speak a +language which is unknown to the western Arabs. Besides many of these +tribes are gradually coming under Egyptian and Italian influence, and +the few that are left are merely attached to Osman Digna because he is +one of them. Thus the Taaisha tribe has acquired all the power and +authority in the land; and they fill their pockets with the waning +revenues of the impoverished Sudan. + +Years ago, the Emirs of Dongola and Berber had been instructed by the +Khalifa to weaken the local population as much as possible; and, in +consequence, fire-arms and weapons of all descriptions were taken from +them, and they were reduced to a condition of complete harmlessness. +Moreover, in the actions of Toski and Tokar numbers of Jaalin and +Danagla were killed, whilst large contingents of them had been sent to +Darfur and Gallabat in the hope that they may be eventually +exterminated. In this manner the Khalifa has secured their countries, +and rendered any attempt to oppose his authority almost impossible. The +same may be said of the inhabitants of the Gezira, who have also been +drafted off into various remote parts of the country, or have been +forced to come to Omdurman with their families, where they have endured +the greatest hardships and privations. Moreover, they were called upon +to give up more than half their cultivated lands, which were distributed +amongst the western Arabs; and all their best fields are now possessed +by the Khalifa's own relatives and favourites. The former owners are +often obliged to till the soil for their new masters, who have annexed +their servants, slaves, and cattle. Thus the cultivable area of the +Gezira, which, in former times, was the most populous and prosperous +part of the Sudan, has been reduced by at least a half; and such +commotion prevailed in the districts that the Khalifa was himself +obliged to intervene on behalf of the inhabitants, who were ill-treated, +tyrannised over, and oppressed to an incredible extent. + +As I have before stated, his own tribes are preferred on all occasions. +Not only do they hold all the best positions and posts, but the greater +part of the money and spoil which passes into the Beit el Mal from the +provincial treasuries at Darfur, Gallabat, and Reggaf finds its way into +their hands. For their special benefit he has imposed a horse tax, which +must be paid in kind; and in this manner he has provided the majority of +the Taaisha with chargers. His own section, the Jubarat, of course gets +the lion's share of everything. + +He never hesitates to make use of every description of intrigue in order +to strengthen his own side and weaken the other. For example, on the +defeat and death of Nejumi, whose flags belonged to those of Khalifa +Sherif, and from whom Abdullahi had withdrawn all power of command over +other Emirs, the remnant of the defeated force was placed under the +direction of the Emir Yunes, and, in order to replace those who had been +killed, he appointed fresh Jaalin and Emirs as well as men from +Omdurman. These he first placed under the command of their compatriot +Bedawi Wad el Ereik; but, instead of sending them to Dongola, they were +despatched to Gedaref, and as an unavoidable delay occurred in their +departure, he made out that this was a proof of disobedience, and +condemned Bedawi, with six of his Emirs, to be banished to Reggaf; and +in their place he nominated other Emirs, whom he placed under the direct +command of his cousin Hamed Wad Ali. + +It is human nature to seek the protection of the most powerful; and now, +instead of being desirous to serve under their own Emirs, the greater +number of the so-called opposition party vie with one another in their +efforts to be placed under the direct command of the Khalifa or of +Yakub; even the adherents of Ali Wad Helu come under this category. As +an instance of this, I will quote the case of Hamed Wad Gar en Nebbi, +who was the principal cause of the destruction of the Batahin. He +belonged to the Hassanab tribe, which was commanded by Ali Wad Helu. +Recognising how matters stood, he wished to place himself and his tribe +under Yakub's command; but he was short-sighted enough to tell Khalifa +Ali's relatives of his plans. He even went so far as to state in public +that on the death of Abdullahi he would be succeeded by his brother +Yakub or his son Osman, and that, as they had all the power in their +hands, Khalifa Ali could expect nothing, and was, moreover, a weak man +without energy. Several of the bystanders retorted that the Mahdi had +nominated Khalifa Ali to be Abdullahi's successor, to which he replied +that times had changed, that Abdullahi was all-powerful, and that the +Mahdi's commands were never attended to or taken into consideration. +When this interview came to the ears of Khalifa Ali, he charged Gar en +Nebbi before the Kadi; and it was proved beyond a doubt that the latter +had actually made these statements. He was consequently convicted of +being "irreligious," having doubted the maintenance of the Mahdi's +doctrines and instructions. Abdullahi could not therefore publicly +interfere. Had he done so, he would have revealed his own intentions, +which were in reality well known, and would have corroborated Gar en +Nebbi's assertions. The judges sentenced him to death; and although +Abdullahi did all in his power to induce Ali Wad Helu to grant a +reprieve, the latter insisted that the sentence should be carried out; +and Gar en Nebbi was publicly executed in the market-place as an +unbeliever and a disturber of public tranquillity. All the tribes under +the command of Yakub, as well as the Khalifa's immediate followers, +received instructions to show general dissatisfaction with the execution +by openly absenting themselves from it. + +Whenever it is a question between himself and his opponents, the Khalifa +invariably relies upon his arms, which are far more than sufficient to +overcome with ease any attempt to dispute his authority, whether it be +in Omdurman itself or in any other part of the country. Within the +Sudan, therefore, he is all-powerful; but he is not in a position to +offer determined resistance to outside enemies. His leaders are neither +capable nor sufficiently instructed to ensure victory. His men are not +now loyal enough to fight with that determination which early fanaticism +had inspired. They have little or no faith in the cause for which they +are supposed to be fighting; and there is little doubt that the +Khalifa's forces could not resist the advance of a foreign power bent on +re-occupying the Sudan. + +The table on the next page shows approximately the forces at present at +the Khalifa's disposal. Of the forty thousand rifles shown in the table, +there are not more than twenty-two thousand Remingtons in good +condition. The remainder consist of single and double barrel +smoothbores, and other guns of a variety of pattern. Several of the +Remington barrels, however, have been cut short with the object of +lessening the weight, and with entire disregard to the altered +trajectory thus occasioned. Of the sixty-four thousand swords and spear +men, at least twenty-five per cent are either too old or too young to be +considered effective for a campaign. The seventy-five guns comprise six +Krupps of large calibre, and for which there is only a very small amount +of ammunition, eight machine guns of various patterns, and sixty-one +brass muzzle-loading guns of various shapes and sizes, the ammunition +for which is manufactured principally in Omdurman, and is of a very +inferior quality, the range being little over six or seven hundred +yards. + +-----------------+-------------+---------------------------+----+-------- + | | Armed Strength. | |Rifles +Position and | Emirs. +--------+--------+---------+Guns| and +Garrisons. | | | | Swords. | | Smooth + | |Jehadia.|Cavalry.|Spearmen.| | Bores. +-----------------+-------------+--------+--------+---------+----+-------- +Omdurman |Osman Sheikh | | | | | + (mulazemin) | ed Din | 11,000 | | | | 11,000 + " |Yakub | 4,000 | 3,500 | 45,000 | 46 | 4,000 + " (in store) | | | | | | 6,000 + | | | | | | +Reggaf |Arabi Wad | 1,800 | | 4,500 | 3 | 1,800 + | Dafalla | | | | | +Western Sudan: | | | | | | + El Fasher } | | | | | | + El Obeid } |Mahmud, etc. | 6,000 | 350 | 2,500 | 4 | 6,000 + Shakka, etc. } | | | | | | + Berber |Zeki Osman | 1,600 | 500 | 1,300 | 6 | 1,600 + Abu Hamed |Nur en Nau | 400 | 100 | 700 | 4 | 400 + | | | | | | +Eastern Sudan: | | | | | | + Adarama |Osman Digna | 450 | 350 | 1,000 | | 450 + Gedaref |Ahmed Fedil | 4,500 | 600 | 1,000 | 4 | 4,500 + El Fasher | | 1,000 | 200 | 500 | | 1,000 + Asubri |Hamed Wad Ali| 900 | 400 | 1,400 | | 900 + Gallabat |En Nur | 50 | | 200 | | 50 + Dongola |Yunes ed | | | | | + | Degheim | 2.400 | 500 | 5.000 | 8 | 2,400 + Suarda |Hammuda | 250 | 100 | 1,000 | | 250 +-----------------+-------------+--------+--------+---------+----+-------- + Total | | 34,350 | 6,600 | 64,000 | 75 | 40,350 +-----------------+-------------+--------+--------+---------+----+-------- + +Let us now consider for a few moments the present limits of the +Khalifa's influence. + +Until a few years ago, Dervish authority extended from near Wadi Halfa +in a southeasterly direction towards Abu Hamed, thence eastwards to the +Suakin neighbourhood, including Tokar and the Khor Baraka, thence in a +southerly direction, including Kassala, Gallabat, and the southeastern +slopes of the Beni Shangul and Gulli mountains, and from here it trended +in a southwesterly direction towards the White Nile, and included +Fashoda, Bohr, and Reggaf. On the west, it extended in a southwesterly +direction through the southern Libyan desert, including Selima, the +Dongola, Kordofan, and Darfur Provinces, up to the Wadai frontier, and +thence southward across the Bahr el Arab through Dar Runga, and included +Dar Fertit, the Bahr el Ghazal, and a portion of Equatoria. + +The defeat of Nejumi obliged the Mahdists to evacuate the northern +portion of the Dongola Province; and their most northerly outpost is now +Suarda, some three days' march from Dongola. The Egyptian victories at +Tokar and Handub gave back to the local tribes the districts in the +immediate neighbourhood of Suakin and Tokar, whilst the capture of +Kassala threw into the hands of the Italians all districts lying east of +that town, in consequence of which the river Atbara may now be +considered the Khalifa's eastern frontier. The main force originally +stationed at Gallabat under Ahmed Fedil has been moved to Gedaref, and +only an insignificant force is maintained at the former station. The +chief of the Beni Shangul districts--Tur el Guri--and many of the +neighbouring Sheikhs have declared themselves independent. + +In the extreme west, the Massalit, Tama, Beni Hussein, and Gimr tribes, +who formerly paid tribute, have now revolted against the Mahdi's +government, and until lately were independent. They entered into an +offensive and defensive alliance with Sultan Yusef of Wadai; and the +Khalifa was about to despatch an expedition with the object of bringing +them into subjection, when the alarming news, to which I have already +referred, regarding the appearance of Europeans in the Bahr el Ghazal +induced him to alter the destination of Khatem Musa's force to that +neighbourhood. After the retirement of the Dervishes, orders were sent +to Khatem Musa not to proceed further south until he had received +reinforcements from Omdurman. + +The Shilluks and Dinkas were, as I have already stated, reduced to +subjection by Zeki Tummal, and the route opened to Reggaf, which +continues to be the most southerly of the Dervish garrisons; in +consequence of the disquieting news of European movements in these +districts, the strength of the force there is by no means +inconsiderable. The Khalifa's object in retaining these districts is to +replenish his supplies of slaves and ivory; and, under the energetic +command of Arabi Wad Dafalla, frequent expeditions are despatched south +and west, some of which have collided with the forces of the Congo Free +State; but, as I quitted the Sudan before the result of these +expeditions was known, I am not in a position to state which side was +victorious. + +The Khalifa's revenue and expenditure is worked entirely on the Beit el +Mal system. + +The following are the principal:-- + + Beit el Mal el Umumi (General Treasury). + Beit el Mal el Mulazemin (the Mulazemin Treasury). + Beit el Mal Khums el Khalifa (or the Treasury of the + Khalifa's fifth tithes). + Beit el Mal Warshat el Harbia (Treasury of the War Department). + Beit el Mal Zabtia es Suk (Treasury of the Bazaar Police). + +The following are the sources of revenue of the General Treasury, +viz.:-- + + 1. The "Zeka" and "fitra" as laid down in the Moslem Law. + 2. Confiscated property. + 3. The ushr (or tenth) tax paid by merchants and traders on goods. + 4. The gum-tax. + 5. The boat-tax. + 6. Loans from merchants (which are never repaid). + 7. The ferry or "meshra" tax (_i. e._ the farming out of ferries). + 8. The produce of all lands on the east of the Blue Nile and the + west of the White Nile, as far south as Karkoj and Fashoda, + and as far north as Haggar el Asal. + 9. A percentage of the revenues of the principal Beit el Mals. + +The following are the main expenses borne by the Treasury:-- + + 1. Transport of troops and supplies to the different provinces. + 2. Pay of the troops (Jehadia). + 3. Pay of the various officials. + 4. Alms. + +The revenues of the Mulazemin Treasury come from the Gezira lands; and +the main item of expenditure is the pay of the mulazemin. + +The revenues of the Treasury of the Khalifa's fifth tithes are:-- + + 1. The greater part of the balance revenues of the Provincial + Treasuries. + 2. The revenues of all islands, including Tuti Island, and all + "Ghenima" lands, including the Halfaya and Kemlin districts, + which formerly belonged to His Highness, the Khedive. + 3. The ushr on all goods coming from Berber to Omdurman. + 4. All slaves sent from the provinces. + 5. Revenues of the majority of steamers and boats. + +The expenditure of this Treasury is devoted to the Khalifa's household. + +The War Department Revenues are:-- + + 1. The produce of the Khartum gardens. + 2. The revenue of some "sakias" (water-wheels) in the vicinity + of Khartum. + 3. Ivory from Equatoria. + +Expenditure:-- + + 1. Dockyard expenses. + 2. Beit el Amana (arsenal) expenses. + 3. Saltpetre refining. + 4. Expenses in connection with the manufacture of arms and + ammunition. + +Revenue of the Police Treasury:-- + + 1. Confiscated property of drunkards and gamblers. + 2. Shop-tax. + +Expenditure:-- + + 1. Pay of police officers and men. + 2. Expenses connected with Yakub's guest-house. + 3. Expenses in connection with the building of the great wall. + +It will be readily understood, that the above system produces a +considerable revenue for the Khalifa's private treasury; and I know that +a very large sum of money has been hoarded by him, and is stored in +ammunition boxes, kept in his house; but I am unable to state, even +approximately, what the amount may be. He has also several boxes, made +of skins in which are quantities of gold and silver ornaments, collected +from all parts. + +As I have stated, a show is made of keeping correct accounts; but the +system in vogue admits of endless peculation, and any persons having +business in the Beit el Mal invariably acquire considerable fortunes. +The Khalifa, however, is aware of this, and makes up for it by wholesale +confiscations of property. + +When the Mahdi first acquired possession of the Sudan, he naturally +obtained considerable quantities of gold and silver money; and, with +the assistance of Ahmed Wad Suleiman, he began to make his own coinage: +he struck gold sovereigns which resembled the Egyptian sovereign; but, +as he did not understand the exact amount of alloy which should be mixed +with the gold, the weights and values varied considerably, and, as the +amount of gold in the Sudan was small, the coining of sovereigns had +soon to be suspended. Silver coining was then carried on with some +vigour; and the following table, showing the various descriptions of +dollars coined during the last ten years, is an interesting indication +of the decline of Dervish power and government; for instance, the first +dollar coined by the Mahdi was made up of seven parts silver and one +part copper, whereas, the last dollar, coined by the Khalifa about a +year ago, is composed of two parts silver and five parts +copper,--indeed, the present dollar is merely a heavy copper coin +covered over with a thin layer of silver. + ++-----------------------------------------------------+---------------+ +| | Weight in | +| | Dirhems. | +| +-------+-------+ +| |Silver.|Copper.| ++-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+ +| 1. The Mahdi dollar | 7 | 1 | +| 2. The first dollar made by Ibrahim Adlan | 6 | 2 | +| 3. The second dollar made by Ibrahim Adlan | 5 | 3 | +| 4. The first dollar of Nur el Gereifawi (this is | 4 | 4 | +| known as the Makbul dollar) | | | +| 5. The second dollar of Nur el Gereifawi (this is | 3 | 4 | +| known as the Abu Sidr or Makbul) | | | +| 6. The dollar of Suleiman Abdulla (this is known | 2½ | 4½ | +| as the Abu Kibs or "crossed-spear" dollar) | | | +| 7. The first dollar of Abdel Mejid (also called the | 2½ | 4½ | +| Makbul) | | | +| 8. The dollar of Weki Alla | 2½ | 4½ | +| 9. The dollar of Omla Gedida (new money) | 2 | 5 | ++-----------------------------------------------------+-------+-------+ + +Coining money is a lucrative trade; and, at present, the Mint is +presided over by two individuals, who pay six thousand dollars a month +each, for the privilege. All money issued by them must be accepted as +good money. The merchants, of course, object most strongly to these +arbitrary measures; but wholesale confiscation of their property, +accompanied by flogging and imprisonment, has forced them to realise the +futility of attempting to go contrary to the Khalifa's will. Maria +Theresa dollars and Medjidi dollars were the principal currency when the +Egyptian Government occupied the Sudan; and the present rate of exchange +is:-- + + One Maria Theresa dollar = five Omla Gedida dollars. + One Medjidi dollar = eight Omla Gedida dollars. + +In consequence of this introduction of base coinage, the prices of +certain articles have risen enormously: for instance, blue cotton stuff, +which is principally used for women's dresses, and which cost formerly +three-quarters of a dollar the piece, has now risen to six dollars, +whilst ordinary linen, which was sold at a dollar for twelve yards, has +risen to eight dollars for the same amount. Half a pound of sugar costs +a dollar, and so on. In fact, all goods which come from Egypt have risen +in price, whilst local produce, such as grain and cattle, has +proportionately diminished in value: for instance,-- + + Dervish Dollars. + A baggage camel costs from 60 to 80 + Riding camel " " 200 " 400 + Abyssinian horse " " 60 " 120 + Country bred horse " " 200 " 600 + Ordinary cow " " 100 " 160 + A calf " " 30 " 50 + Milch cow " " 100 " 120 + A sheep " " 5 " 20 + An ardeb of dhurra " " 6 " 8 + An ardeb of wheat " " 30 " 40 + +If the above rates were calculated in the former currency, it will be +seen that the price of these articles is less now than it was in the +days of the Egyptian Government; and it is evident that this state of +things is brought about by bad sales, depression of trade, and general +poverty. The unfortunate natives, who, at most, own only a few acres of +ground, and a small stock of domestic animals, are obliged to sell them +in order to obtain the bare necessaries of life, and pay the oppressive +taxes. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS (_continued_). + + Administration of Justice--The Kadi el Islam--Religion in the + Sudan--The Khalifa's Sermons--Enforced Pilgrimage to the Mahdi's + Tomb--Limits of the Mahdist Empire--Natural Produce--Caravan + Roads--Ostrich Hunting--Trade and Commerce--The Slave-trade--The + Slave Market--Industries--Immorality--Unpopularity of the + Khalifa--His Ignorance and Cruelty--His Private + Apartments--Principal Buildings in Omdurman--Description of the + City--The Prison and its Horrors--Death of Zeki Tummal and Kadi + Ahmed. + + +Throughout the preceding pages, I have frequently referred in general +terms to the Khalifa's system of administering justice. The Kadis, or +judges, are ready tools in the hands of their astute master. They are +only permitted to act independently in trivial cases, such as family +disputes, questions of property, and the like; but in all matters of +importance, they must invariably refer to the Khalifa for final +decision, in giving which the latter invariably consults his own +immediate interests; but at the same time his earnest endeavour is to +appear before the public to be within the bounds of justice. The judges +therefore, have a somewhat difficult task to perform: that is to say, +they must invariably carry out the Khalifa's wishes, and give them the +appearance of being legally correct; whereas, in nine cases out of ten, +they are entirely contrary to the first elements of justice and right. + +The nominal codes of justice are the Moslem religious law and the +"Instructions" of the Mahdi,--the latter being supposed to regenerate +the former, which, through abuse and corruption, had been misapplied +and, metaphorically speaking, trodden under foot. The main principle +governing the "Instructions" is the necessity for absolute belief in +the Mahdi's Divine mission,--to doubt this is considered an act of +apostasy punishable by death, confiscation of property, or imprisonment +for life. The Khalifa's object being to seize all power, the +"Instructions" are applied on every possible occasion; and he generally +takes council with Yakub as to the means to be employed to secure his +end; and as Yakub is the embodiment of every description of base +intrigue and violence, the application of these laws results in the +grossest injustice, oppression, and brutality. + +The following comprise the Court of Justice of the two principal Kadis: +Hussein Wad Sahra, Jaali; Suleiman Wad el Hejaz, Gehemabi; Hussein Wad +Gisu, Homri; Ahmed Wad Hamdan, Arakini; Osman Wad Ahmed, Batahini; and +Abdel Kader Wad Om Mariam, who was formerly Kadi of Kalakla and Prefect +of Khartum; also Mohammed Wad el Mufti, who is the judge of petty +disputes amongst the mulazemin. In addition to these, there are several +Kadis of the western tribes; but they are not permitted to give +judgment, and merely give their votes to their higher colleagues. + +Hussein Wad Sahra, whom the Khalifa recently appointed to succeed the +Kadi el Islam, Ahmed Wad Ali, completed his studies at the Azhar Mosque +in Cairo, and is known as the most learned man in the Sudan. In spite, +however, of his erudition, he made the fatal mistake of writing a small +pamphlet in favour of the claims of Mohammed Ahmed to be the true Mahdi; +and, having realised his error, he inwardly became his most bitter +antagonist. Having now been summoned by the Khalifa to fill this +important position, he was unwillingly obliged to accept it; his sense +of justice has occasionally got the better of his fear, and, in several +instances, he has given just judgments contrary to the Khalifa's wishes; +consequently, he is not at present in favour with his master. He still +nominally holds the post, but is seldom called to the councils. If fear +of his life does not eventually get the upper hand, he will undoubtedly +be shortly numbered amongst those who are to be got rid of. + +Whenever the grand Council of Kadis assembles, it is always understood +that they are about to pronounce some special judgment in accordance +with the Khalifa's wishes, which have been previously communicated to +them. As a Kadi's salary is not large,--from twenty to forty Dervish +dollars a month,--it may be readily understood that venality enters +largely into the minor judgments with which the Khalifa does not +interfere. + +In accordance with the "Instructions," the evidence of witnesses is +inviolable: it is not permitted to the accused to protest; and, +consequently, it is the judges' prerogative to accept or refuse +witnesses at will, and such a system naturally gives them ample +opportunities of increasing their incomes. + +The Kadi of the Mulazemin has special instructions that any case between +one of the body-guard and natives of the country--even if they be the +highest in the land--shall invariably be given in favour of the former; +and so rigorously is this rule enforced, that it is now never thought +worth while to enter into a lawsuit with one of the body-guard. + +Attached to the Beit el Mal are two Kadis whose special duty is to keep +up connection with the Mehekema (Law Courts); they also issue the papers +which must be signed when slaves are bought and sold, and on which they +collect a small tax. There are also Kadis in the market, police +stations, and at the ferries who are charged with settling disputes and +carrying out the duties of the Court of Small Causes. + +The following brief notes on the state of religion, education, +agriculture, commerce, and slave-trade may be of some interest. + +Religion in the Sudan, as far as my experience goes, is governed by the +principle that the end justifies the means. Proclamations and pamphlets +enjoining strict attention to the performance of religious duties, and +urging the abandonment of all earthly pleasures, are despatched to the +remotest parts of Africa and Arabia, to Bornu, Dar Fellata, Mecca, and +Medina. The Khalifa, if his health permits it, attends the five daily +prayers most regularly; and yet, at heart, no man could be more +irreligious. During all the years in which I have been in the closest +communication with him, I have never once seen or heard him say a prayer +in his own house. Should any religious rite or ceremony interfere in the +smallest degree with his wishes or ambitions, it is instantly abolished; +but in doing so he is careful that the proposition for its abolition +should emanate in the first instance from his Kadis, who declare it +necessary for the "maintenance of the faith;" and the astuteness with +which these obsequious myrmidons twist and turn matters in order to suit +the Khalifa's will is deserving of a better cause. Whenever it is quite +impossible to create some pretext for the execution of an unusually +gross piece of injustice, Divine interposition and inspiration is +invariably called to the rescue. + +Abdullahi often addresses his followers from the pulpit in the mosque; +but as he is entirely ignorant of theology, and knows little or nothing +about the rudiments of religion, the scope of his sermons is excessively +limited, and consists of a repetition of stereotyped phrases. On first +mounting the pulpit, he greets the multitude with the words, "Salam +Aleikum ya ashab el Mahdi!" (Peace be upon you, O friends of the +Mahdi!). To this the congregation shout in one voice, "Aleik es Salam ya +Khalifat el Mahdi!" (Peace be with thee, O Khalifa of the Mahdi!). The +Khalifa then adds, "God bless you! God preserve you! May God lead the +Mahdi's followers to victory!" and between each sentence the +congregation shout, "Amin" (Amen). + +He then goes on to say, "See, O friends of the Mahdi, how evil is the +world! Think for how short a time we live in it! Were it not so the +Prophet and his follower, the Mahdi, would still be with us. We shall +surely follow them. Prepare, therefore, for your journey to the next +world. Do not seek earthly joys; say the five prayers daily. Read the +Mahdi's Rateb; and be ever ready to fight against the unbelievers. Obey +my orders [this sentence he frequently repeats], and the joys of +Paradise will be yours. Those who are disobedient, and do not take heed +of my words, are lost; for them, as for the unbeliever, eternal +damnation and hell fire is prepared. I am the shepherd, and you are the +sheep. As you tend your cattle and see that they do not eat what will +harm them, so I watch over you and see that you do not get into evil +ways. Think always of the Almightiness of God. Think of the cow, which +is made of flesh and blood and skin and bones; and yet you can obtain +sweet white milk from her. Do you not recognise God's power in this?[17] +Remain faithful to your vows to the Mahdi and to myself. Obey my +commands, which will give you peace on earth and joy in the world to +come. As the stones of a building go to make the structure complete, so +should you support one another. Forgive one another. Love each other as +the sons of one mother [and the crowd shouts, "We forgive each other!"]. +May God bless you! May He lead you to victory! May He ever preserve and +keep you! Depart now in peace; but, before we separate, shout in one +voice, 'La Illaha ilalaha Mohammed Rasul Allah.' This will enlighten +your hearts and strengthen your faith." The congregation then disperses +with loud shouts of "Amin, la illaha, etc." All his sermons vary very +little from the above. + +The repetition of the five prayers, and the reading of the Kuran, on +which no commentaries are permitted to be made, make up the sum total of +religion, interspersed now and then with the reading of the Mahdi's +instructions and the repetition, twice a day, of the Rateb. If any +person says prayers at home, instead of at the mosque, without just +cause or reason, he is adjudged by the Khalifa as "disobedient;" and +such prayers are, he says, not acceptable to God. From his point of +view, true religion consists of servile obedience to his commands; and +by this means alone can the soul enter into everlasting joys. + +He has forbidden pilgrimage to Mecca, having substituted for it +pilgrimage to the tomb of the Mahdi, who is the Prophet's +representative. Although the Sudanese intensely dislike this innovation, +they are perforce obliged to accept it; and as it is now impossible for +them to return to the orthodox faith, which they so unwittingly cast +aside, they now accept the situation, and carry out their mock religious +duties in the most businesslike manner, but without the smallest belief +in their efficacy. + +Education and religious instruction are practically non-existent. Some +boys, and occasionally a few girls, are taught to recite the Kuran and +the Rateb in the mesjids (religious schools attached to the mosques), of +which a few are allowed to be privately kept up. A small percentage of +these children, when they have completed their course in the mesjids, +are sent to the Beit el Mal, where they become apprentices to the old +Government clerks, and learn a certain amount of business +correspondence. The system of theological instruction which obtains in +most Moslem countries, but which was never much in vogue in the Sudan, +has now ceased to exist altogether. + +Cultivation of the land south of Berber is carried on during the rainy +season, which in the northern districts begins in July, and in the +southern at the end of May, or early in June, and lasts till the end of +October; but there are now immense tracts of once fertile soil which, +through want of cultivation and depopulation, have become tracts of +desert or a tangled wilderness. The staple grain of the Sudan is dhurra, +and if there is a plentiful rainfall, the supply is generally good; but +if there is a scarcity of rain, a famine almost invariably ensues, and +the poorer classes of the population undergo terrible privations. On +these occasions, they generally have to proceed to Karkoj on the Blue +Nile, or some distance up the White Nile, and bring dhurra to Omdurman +in boats. + +From Wadi Haifa to Fashoda on the White Nile, or to Famaka on the Blue +Nile, narrow strips of river bank are cultivated by sakias +(water-wheels) or shadufs (hand-buckets); and, in addition to dhurra, +Turkish maize, beans, lentils, peas, and pumpkins are cultivated. Owners +of water-wheels in the vicinity of the larger towns cultivate small +quantities of sugar-cane, water-melons, radishes, sweet cucumbers, and +various kinds of vegetables, which find a ready market; and when the +rainy season is over cotton is planted. The most productive land is, of +course, on the islands, which, during high Nile, are often completely +submerged; and as the river sinks they are sown almost without labour, +and produce excellent crops. Oranges and lemons are grown in the +neighbourhood of Khartum; but they are very small, and contain little +juice. A few pomegranates, grapes, and figs are also to be had; but they +are all of a very inferior quality. There are, of course, quantities of +date-palms, of which the fruit forms one of the principal items of food; +but the supply is barely sufficient for the consumption. In the Dar +Mahass and Sukkot districts of the Dongola Province the supply of dates +is very considerable; and they are brought from thence to various parts +of the Sudan, the drying process being carried on principally in the +Berber and Robatab districts. + +Gum-arabic is collected in the forests of Southern Kordofan, and at one +time constituted the principal wealth of this province. It was gathered +principally by the Gimeh and Gowama Arabs; but the former have been +forced to emigrate, and the latter, through constant tyranny and +oppression, have been so reduced that scarcely a sixth remains of their +original numbers. In the days of the Egyptian Government, from eight +hundred thousand to one million kantars of gum-arabic were gathered +annually; but at present at most thirty thousand kantars are produced, +and were it not that one of the former chiefs of the Beit el Mal had +represented to the Khalifa the increase which would accrue to his +private treasury by allowing the collection of gum, it is probable the +custom of gum picking would have fallen into entire disuse. + +The cultivation of tobacco was formerly one of the principal pursuits +of the native population; but as smoking is strictly prohibited by the +Mahdist code, this product has entirely died out, though occasionally +small quantities are smuggled in from the Tagalla and Nuba mountains, +and fetch large prices; but any persons guilty of infringing the +regulations in this respect suffer very heavy penalties. + +The once extensive commerce of the Sudan has now sunk down to +comparatively nothing; and the roads which were formerly traversed by +numberless caravans are now deserted, obliterated by sand, or overgrown +with rank vegetation. The principal routes were,-- + +1. The Arbaïn or forty days' road, from Darfur to Assiut, or from +Kordofan through the Bayuda desert to Dongola and Wadi Halfa. + +2. From Khartum, _via_ Berber, to Assuan, or _via_ Abu Hamed, to +Korosko. + +3. From Khartum, _via_ Berber or Kassala, to Suakin. + +4. From Gallabat, Gedaref, and Kassala to Massawa. + +At present the only roads used by occasional caravans are from Berber to +Assuan and Suakin. Shortly after the capture of Khartum, the Sudan +merchants imported to Assuan considerable quantities of the captured +gold and silver ornaments; and, partly owing to this fact, and partly to +the amount of spoil accumulated in the Khalifa's private treasury, the +supply of these metals has become so reduced that Abdullahi has given +strict orders to the merchants that they should on no account take with +them to Egypt any gold or silver except what was absolutely necessary +for the expenses of the journey. This amount was fixed by the Beit el +Mal, and had to be taken in old currency, the value of which was +inserted in the passport. + +As the sadly diminished trade with Egypt began to revive, natural +products, which had been the former wealth of the Sudan, were again made +the medium of commerce. Gum, ostrich feathers, tamarinds, senna-leaves, +etc. were collected in the Beit el Mal, as well as ivory, and were sold +by auction at local currency rates; but as the majority of these +products came from the western districts, which, owing to war, famine, +and disease had become almost depopulated, the supply was scanty. In +exchange for these, the merchants brought from Egypt Manchester goods, +which are greatly in demand in the Sudan. Gum is a monopoly, and the +price paid for it varies greatly. The Beit el Mal purchases at the rate +of twenty to thirty dollars (Omla Gedida), and sells to the merchants at +the rate of thirty to forty dollars. The purchaser generally receives +permission to take it to Egypt, and is taxed at the rate of a dollar a +hundred weight at Berber, where the amount is carefully checked with the +bill of lading. If he wishes to take it to Suakin or Assuan, he is +obliged to pay a tax of a further dollar a hundred weight; but in this +case it is a Maria Theresa dollar, which is equivalent to five Omla +Gedidas; and thus already a sixth of the original cost has been added in +taxation. + +Ostrich-hunting has now become almost impossible, as the Arabs have +practically no guns, and it is most difficult to procure any ammunition. +An attempt was made to hunt ostriches on horseback; but this also was +forbidden by the Khalifa, and, consequently, very few feathers are +brought into the market. The Arabs then tried ostrich-breeding, and +caught some young birds; but this again was forbidden on the grounds +that it was not allowed by religion, and the plucking of birds was made +an offence which was most severely punished. The Khalifa's object in +imposing these absurd strictures was merely to appear in the eyes of the +public as a very religious Moslem. In consequence, ostrich-breeders had +no other course but to kill their birds, and for some days Omdurman was +flooded with ostrich meat. I have heard that attempts are made by some +of the desert Arabs to rear ostriches in a species of cage made of the +branches of trees; but the feathers obtained in this way are so few as +to make the trade in this commodity almost unappreciable. + +Ivory comes from the Equatorial regions in considerable quantities about +once a year, and generally finds its way to Suakin; and as these +districts appear to be gradually passing out of Mahdist control, it is +hardly probable that the amount will increase in future years. +Occasionally, a few tusks are brought from the Southern Darfur +districts; but unless the Dervishes re-occupy the Bahr el Ghazal in +force, their ivory trade stands in danger of dying out altogether. + +Goods can only be imported from Egypt by the Assuan and Suakin roads. +Formerly, a certain amount of trade was carried on between Suakin and +Kassala, and Kassala and Massawa; but since the occupation of the +Eastern Sudan by the Italians, it has almost entirely ceased. The goods +imported are generally of an inferior quality, and consist mostly of +material for women's dresses and men's jibbas; but to the inhabitants of +the Sudan this is a matter of little consequence, for they much prefer +gaudy and tawdry material to the more durable fabrics. Indeed, it would +be very difficult, if not impossible, to find purchasers for a better +class of goods in the Sudan. + +One of the principal imports is scent of every variety, such as +sandal-wood oil, cloves, scented seeds, etc., for all of which the +Sudanese ladies have a strong predilection. A certain amount of sugar, +rice, inferior jams, and dried fruit also find purchasers amongst the +more wealthy of the population. The importation of all articles made of +iron, brass, tin, copper, etc. has, for some time past, been rigorously +prohibited by the Egyptian Government, and now it is almost impossible +to obtain a pair of scissors or a razor. Copper cooking-utensils have +risen to an enormous price; and most of those which previously existed +have been bought up by the arsenal for the manufacture of cartridges. +Consequently, food is now cooked almost entirely in earthenware vessels. + +The tax of ushr (a tenth) is levied on all goods imported to the Sudan. +It must be paid in either money or kind, and is frequently taken more +than once along the road. All goods on arrival in Omdurman are taken to +the Beit el Mal and stamped; and here the ushr is again taken. +Merchants, therefore, owing to the heavy taxes imposed, in addition to +the presents they have to make to the various chiefs, have generally +paid half as much again over and above the value of their goods. They +are therefore obliged to considerably raise the price; and even then the +total profit is by no means a large one. Several of the more wealthy +inhabitants of the Sudan have taken to trading with Egypt, not so much +with a view to making money, as to spending a few months away from the +atmosphere of the Khalifa's authority. It is by means of trade alone +that any of the unfortunate inhabitants of the Sudan can temporarily +escape from the hands of that tyrant, whose rule is more detested than +ever. Most of the merchants, having their wives, families, and relatives +in the Sudan, are obliged eventually to return; and, were it not for +these ties, I think that few men who have the chance of leaving the +Sudan would ever return. + +But if trade in general is in a state of depression, there is one trade +to which the advent of the Mahdi and Khalifa has given a great impulse. +I refer, of course, to the slave-trade. As, however, the export of +slaves to Egypt is strictly prohibited, this trade is confined entirely +to the provinces under the Khalifa's control. In prohibiting the export +of slaves, the Khalifa acts on the wise principle that he should not +increase the power of his adversaries at his own expense. It is, of +course, quite impossible for him to absolutely prevent slaves being +taken occasionally to Egypt or Arabia; but the slave-caravans which were +formerly sent from the Sudan have now almost completely stopped. A few +years ago quantities of slaves were sent from Abyssinia by Abu Anga, and +from Fashoda by Zeki Tummal, as well as from Darfur and the Nuba +mountains by Osman Wad Adam, and were generally sold by public auction +for the benefit of the Beit el Mal, or the Khalifa's private treasury. +The transport of slaves is carried on with the same execrable and +heartless cruelty which characterises their capture. Of the thousands of +Abyssinian Christians seized by Abu Anga, the majority were women and +children; and under the cruel lash of the whip they were forced to march +on foot the whole distance from Abyssinia to Omdurman; wrenched from +their families, provided with scarcely enough food to keep body and soul +together, barefooted, and almost naked, they were driven through the +country like herds of cattle. The greater number of them perished on the +road; and those who arrived in Omdurman were in so pitiable a condition +that purchasers could scarcely be found for them, whilst numbers were +given away for nothing by the Khalifa. After the defeat of the Shilluks, +Zeki Tummal packed thousands of these wretched creatures into the small +barges used for the transport of his troops, and despatched them to +Omdurman. Hundreds died from suffocation and overcrowding on the +journey; and, on the arrival of the remnant, the Khalifa appropriated +most of the young men as recruits for his body-guard, whilst the women +and young girls were sold by public auction, which lasted several days. +Hungry, and in many cases naked, these unfortunate creatures lay huddled +together in front of the Beit el Mal. For food, they were given an +utterly inadequate quantity of uncooked dhurra. Hundreds fell ill; and +for these poor wretches it was also impossible to find purchasers. +Wearily they dragged their emaciated bodies to the river bank, where +they died; and as nobody would take the trouble to bury them, the +corpses were pushed into the river and swept away. + +But a worse fate than this befell the slaves who had the misfortune to +be sent from Darfur along the broad stretches of waterless desert which +lie between that province and Omdurman. These miserable creatures were +mercilessly driven forward day and night; and it would be impossible for +me to describe here the execrable measures adopted by these brutal +slave-drivers to force on their prey to their destination. When the poor +wretches could go no further, their ears were cut off as a proof to the +owner that his property had died on the road. Some of my friends told me +that on one occasion they had found an unfortunate woman whose ears had +been cut off, but who was still alive. Taking pity on her, they brought +her to El Fasher, where she eventually recovered, whilst her ears had +been duly exposed in Omdurman as proof of her death. + +Latterly, no large caravans of slaves have arrived in Omdurman, because +the majority of the slave-producing districts, such as Darfur, have +become depopulated, or, in some cases, the tribes, such as the Tama, +Massalit, etc., have thrown off allegiance to the Khalifa. Consignments, +however, still come from Reggaf; but, owing to the long and tedious +journey, numbers of them perish on the way. As the supplies from +Gallabat, Kordofan, and Darfur have considerably diminished, the Khalifa +now allows the Emirs to sell slaves to the itinerant Gellabas; and the +latter are obliged to sign a paper giving a descriptive return of their +purchase, and the amount paid. They are permitted to re-sell on the same +conditions. + +There is of course a daily sale of slaves in Omdurman; but the purchase +of male slaves is forbidden, as they are looked upon as the Khalifa's +monopoly, and are generally turned into soldiers. Any one wishing to +dispose of a male slave must send him to the Beit el Mal, where a purely +nominal price is paid for him; and he is then, if likely to make a good +soldier, recruited for the mulazemin, but if unsuitable, he is sent off +to work as a labourer in his master's fields. The sale of women and +girls is permissible everywhere, with the proviso that a paper must be +signed by two witnesses of the sale, one of whom, if possible, should be +a Kadi, certifying that the slave sold is the actual property of the +vendor. This system was brought into force because slaves frequently ran +away from their masters, were caught and sold by other persons as their +own property, and thus theft of slaves was a very common practice in +Omdurman. They were frequently enticed into other people's houses, or +secretly induced to leave the fields, then thrown into chains and +carried off to distant parts of the country, where they were sold at +very low rates. In accordance with the Mohammedan Law, slaves cannot be +witnesses; and, being well aware of their inferior position, these +stolen creatures, as long as they are kindly treated, are not +dissatisfied with their lot. + +In Omdurman itself, in an open space a short distance to the southeast +of the Beit el Mal, stands a house roughly built of mud-bricks, which is +known as the Suk er Rekik (slave-market). Under the pretext that I +wanted to buy or exchange slaves, I several times received the Khalifa's +permission to visit it, and found ample opportunity for closely +observing the conduct of the business. Here professional slave-dealers +assemble to offer their wares for sale. Round the walls of the house +numbers of women and girls stand or sit. They vary from the decrepit and +aged half-clad slaves of the working-class, to the gaily-decked Surya +(concubine); and as the trade is looked upon as a perfectly natural and +lawful business, those put up for sale are carefully examined from head +to foot, without the least restriction, just as if they were animals. +The mouth is opened to see if the teeth are in good condition. The upper +part of the body and the back are laid bare; and the arms carefully +looked at. They are then told to take a few steps backward or forward in +order that their movements and gait may be examined. A series of +questions are put to them to test their knowledge of Arabic. In fact, +they have to submit to any examination the intending purchaser may wish +to make. Suryas, of course, vary considerably in price; but the whole +matter is treated by the slaves without the smallest concern. They +consider it perfectly natural, and have no notion of being treated +otherwise. Only occasionally one can see by the expression of a woman or +girl that she feels this close scrutiny; possibly her position with her +former master was rather that of a servant than a slave, or she may have +been looked upon almost as a member of the family, and may have been +brought to this unhappy position by force of circumstances, or through +some hateful inhumanity on the part of her former master. When the +intending purchaser has completed his scrutiny, he then refers to the +dealer, asks him what he paid for her, or if he has any other better +wares for sale. He will probably complain that her face is not pretty +enough, that her body is not sufficiently developed, that she does not +speak Arabic, and so on, with the object of reducing the price as much +as possible; whilst, on the other hand, the owner will do his utmost to +show up her good qualities, charms, etc., into the detail of which it is +not necessary to enter here. Amongst the various "secret defects" which +oblige the dealer to reduce his price are snoring, bad qualities of +character, such as thieving, and many others; but when at last the sale +has been finally arranged, the paper is drawn out and signed, the money +paid, and the slave becomes the property of her new master. Payment is +always made in local currency (Omla Gedida dollars), and runs +approximately as follows:-- + +For an aged working slave, fifty to eighty dollars; for a middle aged +woman eighty to one hundred and twenty dollars; for young girls between +eight and eleven years of age, according to looks, one hundred and ten +to one hundred and sixty dollars; and for suryas (concubines), according +to looks, one hundred and eighty to seven hundred dollars. These rates, +of course, vary also according to market value, or special demand for a +particular race. + +There are practically no industries in the Sudan, as, with the exception +of the articles I have already mentioned, there are no exports. +Formerly, gold and silver filigree work was sent to Egypt; but, owing to +the scarcity of these metals, and to the Mahdi's edict against wearing +jewellery, this export has altogether ceased. There is a considerable +manufacture and trade in long and short spears of various shapes, +stirrup-irons, horse and donkey bits, knives for fastening on the arm, +as well as agricultural implements. Wooden saddles for horses, camels, +and mules, angarebs, boxes for carrying clothes, and doors, windows, and +shutters of a primitive description are also made. Formerly, +boat-building was extensively carried on; but, owing to the Khalifa's +confiscation of all boats on the Nile, it ceased almost entirely, till +about a year ago, when, with the Khalifa's permission, it re-commenced. +As, however, all new boats are taxed highly by the Beit el Mal, there +is little inducement to the builders to undertake such profitless work. + +[Illustration: In the Slave Market, Omdurman.] + +There is a certain amount of leather-work in red and yellow shoes, +sandals, saddles of different sorts, harness, amulets, sword scabbards, +and knife sheaths, etc., whilst whips in large quantities are made from +the hide of the hippopotamus. There is also a considerable cotton +industry. Every woman or girl spins for her own use or for sale; and in +every village there are numbers of weavers who work the spun-yarn into a +variety of materials. In the Gezira are woven common cotton +stuffs,--such as tobs, damur, and genj (names of cloths) in lengths of +about ten yards. These are brought to the market in large quantities, +and are principally used for the clothing of the commoner classes. The +finest yarns are spun in the province of Berber. Strips of coloured silk +are frequently interwoven in the material, which is used principally for +turbans and hazams (the strips of cotton which are used to bind round +the body), as well as coverings of various sorts, and shawls. A certain +amount of cotton stuff is made in the Dongola province; but that +district is chiefly noted for the manufacture of sail-cloth. Materials +from Kordofan are noted for their durability rather than for their +beauty. + +In addition to spinning, the women occupy themselves largely in plaiting +mats of various shapes and sizes from the leaves of the dom palm, which +are sold largely in all parts of the Sudan. The best quality of these +mats is made from the narrow strips of the palm leaves, barley straw, +and thin pieces of leather. Mats of a similar description are also made +for placing under dishes on the dinner-table. The workmanship of some of +these is so fine and good that a certain quantity find their way to +Egypt, where they are sold as curiosities. The Darfur women are +specially clever in making these mats, into which are interwoven various +sorts of glass beads, and the result is sometimes extremely pretty. + +In the preceding pages, I have endeavoured to give a brief outline of +the Khalifa's life, and the existing state of affairs in the country; +but this would not be complete without a few remarks regarding the moral +condition of the people. The attempted regeneration of the faith by the +Mahdi, who disregarded the former religious teaching and customs, has +resulted in a deterioration of morals, which, even at the best of times, +were very lax in the Sudan. Partly from fear of the Khalifa, and partly +for their own personal interests and advantage, the people have made +religion a mere profession; and this has now become their second nature, +and has brought with it a condition of immorality which is almost +indescribable. The majority of the inhabitants, unhappy and discontented +with the existing state of affairs, and fearing that their personal +freedom may become even more restricted than it is, seem to have +determined to enjoy their life as much as their means will allow, and to +lose no time about it. As there is practically no social life or +spiritual intercourse, they seem to have resolved to make up for this +want by indulging their passion for women to an abnormal extent. Their +object is to obtain as many of these in marriage as possible, as well as +concubines; and the Mahdi's tenets allow them the fullest scope in this +direction. For instance, the expenses in connection with marriage have +been greatly diminished. The dowry for a girl has been reduced from ten +to five dollars; and for a widow, five dollars, a common dress, a pair +of shoes or sandals, and a few scents. Should a man desire to marry a +girl, her father or guardian must consent, unless there are some very +cogent reasons for not doing so. Under any circumstances, they are held +responsible that their daughters or wards become wives as soon as they +reach a convenient age. The acquisition, therefore, of four wives--which +is the number authorised by the Kuran--has become a very simple matter, +and in most cases is considered merely a means of acquiring a small +amount of personal property. Moreover, a large proportion of the women +are quite agreeable to this arrangement, and enter into matrimony either +with the object of obtaining some clothes and a little money, or +temporarily changing their mode of life, being well aware that, in +accordance with the law, they can dissolve marriage ties without +difficulty. If a woman seeks a divorce, she retains her dowry, unless +the separation rises from aversion to her husband, in which case the +dowry is returned if the man wishes it. I know many men who, in the +space of ten years, have been married forty or fifty times at least; and +there are also many women who, during the same period, have had fifteen +or twenty husbands, and in their case the law enjoins that between each +divorce they must wait three months at least. As a rule, concubines, of +whom a man may legally have as many as he likes, lead a most immoral +life. They rarely live in the same house as their master, unless they +have children by him, in which case they cannot be sold; but in the +majority of cases they are bought with the object of being retained +merely for a very short time, and subsequently sold again at a profit. +This constant changing of hands leads to great moral deterioration. +Their youth and beauty quickly fade; and, as a rule, they age +prematurely, and then enter upon a life of hardship and moral +degradation which it is almost impossible to conceive. + +It is a common practice for merchants to make pecuniary profit out of +the immorality of their slaves. They buy young girls, permit them to +enjoy a certain amount of freedom by seeking a shelter and livelihood in +the manner which suits them best; and for this privilege they refund to +their masters a percentage of their gains. + +The greatest vice exists amongst the slaves of the mulazemin. The latter +entice women to their quarters, where they remain a short time with them +as their wives; but the freest interchange takes place between them. The +Khalifa does not seem to think it worth while to check this immorality, +as he imagines that by allowing them to please themselves, his own +slaves will become more attached to him, and will not wish to leave him. +It may be readily conceived that the result of this moral laxity has +led to the prevalence of the worst sort of disease, which has taken such +a hold of all classes of the population, both free and slaves, that were +it not for the warm and dry climate, the ravages would be terrible. As +it is, the general state of health is very unsatisfactory, and is +considerably aggravated by the complete absence of medicines necessary +to check the malady. + +A certain number of people also indulge in unnatural love: and at first +the Khalifa made some attempt to check this by banishment to Reggaf; but +latterly he has given up doing so. He has come to the conclusion that it +is much easier to rule by despotism and tyranny, a degraded nation than +one which possesses a high standard of morality. For this reason, he +both hates and fears the Jaalin, who inhabit the Nile banks between +Hagger el Asal and Berber, because they are almost the only Arabs in the +Sudan who maintain a well-regulated family life, and hold morality in +high esteem as a necessary condition for a healthy and contented +existence. + +The widows of the Mahdi are forcibly prevented from leading a corrupt +life; as, immediately after his master's death, the Khalifa, in honour +of his memory, confined these women in houses surrounded by high walls, +in the immediate vicinity of his tomb, where they are strictly guarded +by eunuchs. Much against their will, not only the wives and concubines, +but also many of the young girls,--most of whom were daughters of former +Government officials, and who were taken into the harem when quite +young, in order to become his future wives,--have been thus forcibly +deprived of the possibility of re-marrying, and are so closely guarded +that they are only permitted to see their female relatives once a year. +They are supplied merely with the bare necessaries of life, and long for +their freedom. Let us hope that before very long it may come! + +In spite of his despotism, the Khalifa is in considerable fear of his +life. He ruthlessly evicted all the local inhabitants of those portions +of the town in the immediate neighbourhood of his own residence; and +their places have been taken by his enormous body-guard, whose numbers +he daily seeks to increase. These he has surrounded by an immense wall, +within which he and his relatives live, while all persons of whom he is +in the slightest degree suspicious are forced to reside without the +enclosure. Within, however, all is not peace and contentment. The +constant duties he imposes on his body-guard have produced a feeling of +irritation. They grumble at the small pay they receive, and do not +appreciate the restrictions imposed on their social life. Thousands of +these who belong to the free Arab tribes are prevented from having any +intercourse whatever with their relations. They are scarcely ever +permitted to quit the enclosure; and their smallest offences are +punished with appalling severity. Abdullahi is surrounded day and night +by his own specially appointed guard, and by numbers of faithful +servants; and no persons--not even his nearest relatives--are permitted +to approach him with arms in their hands. Should any one be commanded to +see the Khalifa, his sword and knife, which he invariably wears, are +taken from him, and he is generally searched before being admitted to +the audience-chamber. This general mistrust has added to his +unpopularity; and, even amongst his most devoted adherents, remarks are +frequently let fall in an undertone, commenting on his despotism and his +personal fears. + +In spite, however, of all this undue severity, the Khalifa has not +succeeded in keeping his own tribe in hand. On their first arrival in +the Nile valley, they indulged in wholesale raids on the local +population, seizing their grain, ravishing their women, and carrying off +their children. Indeed affairs became so serious that the Khalifa was +obliged to issue an order that no Taaisha Arab would be permitted to +leave the town without special permission; but his instructions were +practically ignored, and lawlessness is even more rife than before. The +conduct of these Arabs is unbearable. They openly boast that their +relationship with the Khalifa has made them masters of the country, and +that they intend to assert themselves. They have seized all the best +pastures for their cattle and horses; and they live on the fat of the +land,--a state of affairs which has caused considerable jealousy amongst +the other western tribes, who view the Taaisha with no very friendly +feelings. Of all this the Khalifa is well aware; but I do not think he +realises how unpopular he really is, and his constant effort is to +retain the sympathy of his Emirs by frequently sending them secretly by +night presents of money and slaves. The latter do not hesitate to accept +these gifts, which they know have been unfairly gained; and their +opinion of the Khalifa, instead of being improved, remains as it was +before. He imagined that the learned and educated element of the +population--which is exceedingly small--was on his side, because he +allowed Kadi Hussein to give lectures in the mosque after noon and +evening prayers on the subject of the Moslem rights of inheritance. As +all such re-unions were forbidden by the Mahdi, some of the Ulema +(learned men) were stupid enough to think that this new departure was a +sign of progress. The Khalifa himself attended these lectures; and, +noticing one day that some of the Ulema, in order to rest themselves, +sat cross-legged instead of in a submissive attitude of prayer, he +openly reprimanded them, and declared in a loud voice that all persons, +whether learned or ignorant, must in his presence pay him the respect +due to him. A few days later, Kadi Hussein inadvertently quoted in his +lecture a chapter to the effect that learning was a high virtue, and +that kings and princes should realise this, and accept the advice of +learned men. The Khalifa, who is utterly ignorant of reading and +writing, got up and left the mosque in a rage; and, a few days later, he +issued an order that the meetings should be discontinued for the future. +Kadi Hussein immediately fell in favour, and soon afterwards had the +further misfortune to disagree with the Khalifa on a question respecting +slaves. The latter had called upon the Kadis for an opinion as to +whether all male and female slaves who might have taken refuge with the +mulazemin, and were not claimed by their rightful owners within twenty +days, should not become the actual property of their new masters; but as +no persons living outside the wall are under any circumstances permitted +to enter the enclosure, it stands to reason that masters of runaway +slaves have no possibility of searching the quarters of the mulazemin. +On these grounds the Kadi suggested that runaway slaves should be +publicly exposed in the market-place for a short time, and that if no +one appeared to claim them within a specified period, they should then +become the property of the Beit el Mal. As the Khalifa had previously +given private instructions to his mulazemin to retain all slaves +belonging to the Nile valley tribes, and to return only those who +belonged to the western Arabs, the Kadi's proposition did not at all +suit him, whilst the other Kadis, to whom he had referred the matter, +concurred with him against Kadi Hussein. The friends of the latter now +trembled for his life; but the Khalifa allowed it to pass for the +moment, and is only waiting for some other opportunity to involve him +more deeply in what he is pleased to term "an act of disobedience." + +The Khalifa has not moved out of Omdurman for upwards of ten years. Here +he has centralised all power, stored up all ammunition, and gathered +under his personal surveillance all those whom he suspects, obliging +them to say the five prayers daily in his presence, and listen to his +sermons. He has declared Omdurman to be the sacred city of the Mahdi. It +is strange to think that ten years ago this great town was merely a +little village lying opposite to Khartum, and inhabited by a few +brigands. It was not for some time after the fall of Khartum that the +Mahdi decided to settle there. Mimosa-trees filled up the space now +occupied by the mosque and the residences of the three Khalifas. +Abdullahi took as his own property all ground lying south of the mosque, +whilst that on the north side was divided between Khalifa Sherif and +Khalifa Ali Wad Helu. During his lifetime, the Mahdi had declared that +Omdurman was merely a temporary camp, as the Prophet had revealed to him +that he should depart this life in Syria, after conquering Egypt and +Arabia; but his early death had shattered all his plans and the hopes of +his followers. + +From north to south, the new city covers a length of about six English +miles. The southern extremity lies almost exactly opposite the southwest +end of Khartum. At first, every one wanted to live as near the river +banks as possible, in order to facilitate the drawing of water, +consequently the breadth of the city is considerably less than its +length; and it is in no place over three miles in width. At first, it +consisted of thousands and thousands of straw huts; and the mosque was +originally an oblong enclosure surrounded by a mud wall four hundred and +sixty yards long and three hundred and fifty yards broad; but this has +now been replaced by one made of burnt brick, and then whitewashed over. +After this, the Khalifa began building brick houses for himself and his +brother, then for his relatives, whilst the Emirs and most of the +wealthy people followed his example. I have already described the +construction of the Mahdi's tomb; but before I left Omdurman much of the +whitewash had been knocked off by the weather, which spoilt its general +appearance. Above the apex of the dome are three hollow brass balls, one +above the other, connected together by a lance, the head of which forms +the top ornament of the structure. I have often heard people say that +the Khalifa erected this spear to show that he is perfectly prepared to +declare war against the heavens if his wishes are not carried out. +Occasionally Abdullahi shuts himself up for hours in this mausoleum, +probably with the object of obtaining some special inspiration; but +since the execution of the Mahdi's relatives, his visits are much less +frequent; and it is generally supposed he dreads to be alone with the +body of his dead master, whose tenets and influence he has, not in words +but in deeds, so persistently overturned. Every Friday, the large doors +in the surrounding enclosure are opened to admit the pilgrims; and as +every Mahdist is ordered to attend on these days to repeat the prayers +for the dead, thousands are to be seen in the various attitudes of +prayer, beseeching the protection of the Almighty through the +intermediary of the Saint (?) who lies buried there; but I doubt not +that many fervent prayers ascend to the throne of God for relief from +the terrible oppression and tyranny of his despotic successor. + +South of the tomb, and adjoining the great mosque, lies the enormous +enclosure of the Khalifa. It consists of a high wall built of red +bricks, which is subdivided into several smaller courts, all of which +are in communication with each other; and nearest to the mosque are his +own private apartments, to the east of which are those of his wives, the +stables, store-houses, quarters of the eunuchs, etc., etc. In the centre +of the eastern face of the mosque is a large wooden door (the other +entrances to the mosque have no doors) through which admission is +obtained to the Khalifa's private apartments and reception chambers. On +entering the main gate, one passes through a sort of porch, leading into +a small court, in which are two rooms, one side of each of which is left +completely open; and it is here that the Khalifa receives his guests. A +door leads out of this court into the private apartments; and the +youthful attendants are the only persons allowed to enter. The various +houses within the enclosure are constructed in the shape of large +detached halls, on one or both sides of which are verandahs. On the roof +of one of these buildings a second story has been added, on all four +sides of which are windows, from which a complete view of the town can +be obtained. + +The reception chambers are furnished with the greatest simplicity. An +angareb, over which a palm-mat is spread, is the only article of +furniture; but his interior apartments are provided with all the +luxuries it is possible to procure in the Sudan. Brass and iron +bedsteads with mosquito curtains,--the spoil of Khartum,--carpets, +silk-covered cushions, door and window curtains of every variety of +colour and texture, are the principal articles of furniture, while the +verandahs are provided with the universal angareb and palm-mat. Compared +with the Khalifa's early mode of life, these articles constitute the +most extreme luxuries. + +To the east of the Khalifa's enclosure lies the house of his son, which +is furnished much in the same style as that of his father, but with even +greater luxury. Several large brass chandeliers from Khartum are +suspended from the ceilings; and there is an immense garden made from +earth transported from the banks of the Nile, and in which hundreds of +slaves are employed daily. The latter are justly irritated with the +great love of show which is the distinguishing characteristic of their +young master, whilst they themselves are provided with scarcely enough +food for their maintenance. + +The Khalifa and his son spend much of their time in building and +furnishing new apartments, and in making their lives as pleasant and +comfortable as possible. Yakub follows their example; and every day +numbers of workmen are to be seen streaming towards these two houses, +carrying beams, stone, mortar, and other requisite building-material. +Khalifa Ali Wad Helu's house is very much smaller, and is furnished with +great simplicity. + +In addition to his principal residence, Abdullahi possesses houses in +the northern and southern districts of the city; but they are built and +furnished on much simpler lines, and are merely used by him as +rest-houses when he despatches troops on expeditions from the capital, +or goes out to inspect freshly arrived detachments from the provinces. +He seldom stays in these houses more than a day or two at a time. He has +also built a house near the river, and close to the old Government fort, +the ditches of which have now been filled in. He generally goes to this +house when steamers are about to start for Reggaf, in order that he may +personally superintend embarkations. + +The Beit el Amana, or arsenal, is separated from Yakub's house by a +broad open space. It consists of a large building enclosed by stone +walls, and here are stored the guns, rifles, ammunition, and other +warlike material, as well as the five carriages belonging to the +Governor-Generals and to the Catholic Mission. At intervals of every few +paces sentries are posted in small sentry boxes; and they are charged to +allow no unauthorised persons to enter the building. Just north of the +arsenal lies a building in which are stored the flags of all the Emirs +residing in Omdurman; and beside it is a semi-circular building about +twenty feet high, provided with stairs, where the Khalifa's war-drums +are kept. A little further to the east is the cartridge and small-arms +manufactory. + +On the north side of the city, and close to the river, is the Beit el +Mal, which is an enormous walled-in enclosure subdivided into a variety +of courts in which are stored goods coming from all parts of the Sudan +and from Egypt, as well as grain stores and slave courts. A little to +the south of the Beit el Mal lies the public slave-market, and, in close +proximity, the Beit el Mal of the Mulazemin has been erected. + +The town of Omdurman is built for the most part on fairly level ground, +but here and there are a few small hills. The soil consists mostly of +hard red clay, and is very stony, with occasional patches of sand. For +his own convenience, the Khalifa has driven large straight roads through +various parts of the town; and to make way for these numbers of houses +were levelled, but no compensation was given to their owners. A glance +at the rough plan attached to the end of the book will give the reader +an approximate idea of the extent and general situation of the town and +principal buildings, and its relative position with reference to +Khartum, which is now a complete ruin, the dock-yard alone being kept +up, and communication between it and Omdurman maintained by a submarine +cable worked by some of the former Government telegraph officials. +Outside the large unfinished wall built along the road leading to the +Beit el Mal are a number of shops belonging to the various trades, all +of which are kept quite distinct,--such as carpenters, barbers, +tailors, butchers, etc., etc. The Mehekemet es Suk (market police) are +charged with maintaining order in the town; and the gallows erected in +various parts of the city are a very evident indication of the system of +government of the country. + +The population of the city is located entirely according to tribes. The +western Arabs live for the most part in the southern quarters, whilst +the northern portion has been allotted to the Nile valley people; and in +addition to the market police, the various sections of the populace are +obliged to supply a number of watchmen for the preservation of public +security in their respective quarters, and they must report any +disturbances to the night patrols. + +With the exception of the few broad roads which the Khalifa has made for +his own convenience, the only communications between the various +quarters consist of numbers of narrow winding lanes; and in these all +the filth of the city is collected. Their wretched condition, and the +smells which emanate from these pestilential by-paths are beyond +description. Dead horses, camels, donkeys, and goats block the way; and +the foulest refuse lies scattered about. Before certain feast-days, the +Khalifa issues orders that the city is to be cleaned; but, beyond +sweeping all these carcases and refuse into corners, nothing further is +done; and when the rainy season begins the fetid air exhaling from these +decaying rubbish heaps generally produces some fatal epidemic, which +sweeps off the inhabitants by hundreds. + +Formerly, there were cemeteries within the city; but now all the dead +must be buried in the desert north of the parade ground. + +Fever and dysentery are the prevailing maladies in Omdurman, and between +the months of November and March an almost continuous epidemic of typhus +fever rages. + +Of late years numbers of new wells have been made. Those north of the +mosque give good water; but those in the southern quarters of the city +are mostly brackish. They vary in depth from thirty to ninety feet, and +are generally dug by the prisoners under the direction of the saier. + +[Illustration: Coming from Market, Omdurman.] + +"He has been taken to the Saier," is an expression one frequently hears; +and it means that some wretched creature has been carried off to the +prison. The mere mention of this word awakens feelings of horror and +dread in the minds of all who hear it. The prison is situated in the +southeastern quarter of the city, near the river, and is surrounded by a +high wall. A gate, strongly guarded day and night by armed Blacks, gives +access to an inner court, in which several small mud and stone huts have +been erected. During the day-time, the unhappy prisoners, most of them +heavily chained and manacled, lie about in the shade of the buildings. +Complete silence prevails, broken only by the clanking of the chains, +the hoarse orders of the hard-hearted warders, or the cries of some poor +wretch who is being mercilessly flogged. Some of the prisoners who may +have specially incurred the Khalifa's displeasure, are loaded with +heavier chains and manacles than the rest, and are interned in the small +huts and debarred from all intercourse with their fellow-prisoners. They +generally receive only sufficient nourishment to keep them alive. + +Ordinary prisoners receive no regular supply of food; but their +relatives are allowed to provide for them. It often happens that long +before a meal reaches the person for whom it is intended, a very large +portion of it has been consumed by the rapacious and unscrupulous +warders; and sometimes the prisoner gets nothing whatever. At night, the +wretched creatures are driven like sheep into the stone huts, which are +not provided with windows, and are consequently quite unventilated. +Regardless of prayers and entreaties, they are pushed pell-mell into +these living graves, which are generally so tightly packed that it is +quite impossible to lie down. The weaker are trampled down by the +stronger; and not infrequently the warder opens the door in the morning +to find that some of his victims have succumbed to suffocation and +ill-usage in these horrible cells. It is a painful sight to see scores +of half-suffocated individuals pouring out of these dens, bathed in +perspiration, and utterly exhausted by the turmoil of the long and +sleepless night. Once emerged, they sink down, more dead than alive, +under the shade of the walls, and spend the remainder of the day in +trying to recover from the effects of the previous night, and gain +sufficient strength to undergo the horrors of that which is to follow. + +One would think that death was preferable to such an existence. Still +these unfortunates cling to life, and pray to God to relieve them from +their sufferings. In spite of the prison being invariably overcrowded, +and notwithstanding the horrors of prison life, I do not ever remember +having heard of a case of suicide amongst the unfortunate inmates. + +Charles Neufeld has spent some years in the Saier, often ill, subject to +the greatest privations, and merely kept alive by the occasional +supplies which reached him through the Black servant he brought with him +from Egypt, and who, in turn, was assisted by the other Europeans in +Omdurman. He managed to survive, though heavily chained by the neck, and +wearing two large irons round his feet. On one occasion, he refused to +spend the night in one of the stone huts, which he aptly described as +"the last station on the way to Hell," and for this act of disobedience +he was severely flogged; but he bore it without a murmur, until his +tormentors--amazed at his powers of endurance--cried out, "Why do you +not complain? Why do you not ask for mercy?" "That is for others to do, +not for me," was the strong-hearted reply which gained for him the +respect of even his gaolers. After enduring three years of imprisonment, +his irons were lightened; and, with only a chain joining his ankles, he +was removed to Khartum, where he was ordered to refine saltpetre for the +manufacture of gunpowder, under the superintendence of Wad Hamednalla. +Here his condition was much improved; and he received a small monthly +remuneration for his work, which sufficed to provide him with the bare +necessaries of life. As the saltpetre refinery adjoins the old church of +the Mission, the latter has thus been saved from destruction. After his +daily hard work is over, Neufeld is allowed to rest in the Mission +gardens; and here, no doubt, his thoughts often revert to his family at +home, and he must in his heart curse the evil day which induced him to +quit Egypt, and thoughtlessly venture into the clutches of the Khalifa. +For him fate has indeed been cruel; and most fervently do I hope that +ere long he may be reunited with his relatives, who have not abandoned +all hope of seeing him again. In Europe, there is no lack of friends who +are ready to do all in their power to help him; but it rests with God +alone to release this poor captive from his misery. + +It makes my heart ache to think of all the horrors that have been +enacted in that dreadful prison. There was the sad case of poor Sheikh +Khalil, who had been despatched from Cairo with letters to the Khalifa, +informing him of the number and names of the prisoners who had been +captured at the battle of Toski, all of whom, he was assured, were being +well cared for, and would eventually be set free; and he was requested +to hand over to the Sheikh the sword and medals of General Gordon, +which, it was assumed, were in his possession. Khalil's companion, +Beshara, was sent back with the letters unanswered, whilst the +unfortunate emissary, who was an Egyptian by birth, was thrown into +chains, under the pretext that he had been sent as a spy. Ill-treated +and deprived of nourishment, he became so weak that he could not rise +from the ground. His tormentors even refused him water to drink; and at +last death came to him as a happy release from his sufferings. + +Malech, a Jewish merchant of Tunis, who had come to Kassala with Abu +Girga's permission, was seized by the Khalifa's orders, and brought to +Omdurman, where he remains in captivity in the Saier to this day. He is +as thin as a skeleton, and is driven almost to despair. He is kept +alive by the efforts of his own community, who have been forced to +become Moslems, and who succeed in providing him with small quantities +of food. + +Two Ababda Arabs, arrested on suspicion of carrying letters to Europeans +in Omdurman, were seized and imprisoned, and died soon after of +starvation. The alarm in the European colony was great; but fortunately +it transpired that the letters were for a Copt from his relations in +Cairo. + +The great Sheikh of the Gimeh tribe, Asakr Abu Kalam, who had shown such +friendship and hospitality to the Khalifa and his father in early days, +was ruthlessly seized and thrown into chains, because it came to the +Khalifa's ears that he had spoken disparagingly of the present condition +of the Sudan, and had expressed regret at having taken up arms against +the Government. He was eventually exiled to Reggaf, whilst his wife, who +was a well-known beauty in the Sudan, was torn from the arms of her +husband at the hour of his departure, and carried off to the Khalifa's +harem. + +The well-known Emir, Zeki Tummal, on being seized, was thrown into a +small stone building the shape of a coffin, the door of which was built +up. He was given no food whatever; but a small amount of water was +handed to him through an aperture in the wall. For twenty-three days, he +suffered all the horrors of starvation; but no sound or complaint was +heard to issue from that living grave. Too proud to beg, and well aware +of the futility of doing so, he lingered on till the twenty-fourth day, +when death carried him out of reach of his tormentors. The saier and his +warders watched, through the aperture, the death agonies of the wretched +man; and when at length he had ceased to struggle, they hurried off to +give their lord and master the joyful news. That night Zeki's body was +removed to the western quarter of the city, and there buried amongst a +heap of old ruins, with his back turned towards Mecca.[18] The Khalifa, +not content with having tormented him in life, thought thus to deprive +him of peace in the world to come. + +I have already described how the Khalifa disposed of his most trusted +adherent, the Kadi Ahmed. On reaching the Saier, he was thrown into the +hut in which Zeki had been interned; and, a few days after, he was +visited, at the command of the Khalifa, by two other Kadis, who asked +where he had hidden his money. "Tell your master, the Khalifa," said he, +"that I have settled my account with this world; and I know of no place +where gold or silver can be found." To their further inquiries he +remained perfectly silent; and the two myrmidons returned, crestfallen, +to their master. This happened only a few days before I quitted +Omdurman. Since my return to Egypt, I have ascertained that he died +shortly afterwards, under similar circumstances to those of Zeki. + +One could fill a volume with descriptions of the horrors and cruelties +enacted in the terrible Saier; but it is useless to weary the reader +with further accounts of the atrocities committed by order of that +merciless tyrant, the Khalifa. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +PLANS FOR ESCAPE. + + European Captives in Omdurman--Artin, the Watchmaker--Friends in + Cairo--Efforts of my Family to help me--Difficulties of + Communication--Babakr Abu Sebiba's Failure--Efforts of Baron + Heidler and the Egyptian Intelligence Department--Constant + Failures--Osheikh Karrar--Abderrahman matures his Plans--Hopes + and Fears--My Plan to gain Time--I quit my Hut never to return. + + +In keeping me constantly close to his person, the Khalifa had a twofold +object. He knew that I was the only remaining high Egyptian official who +had a thorough knowledge of the Sudan, had traversed almost the entire +country, and was complete master of the language. Utterly ignorant of +the political situation, he imagined that if I succeeded in escaping, I +should induce the Egyptian Government, or some European power, to enter +the Sudan; and he well knew that in that case I should form a link +between it and the principal tribal chiefs who were disaffected to him, +and longed for the return of a settled form of Government. On the other +hand, it flattered his vanity to have practically as his slave the man +who had formerly governed the whole of the great province of Darfur, +including his own country and tribe. He never attempted to conceal his +feelings in this respect, and frequently said to the western Arabs, +"See, this is the man who was formerly our master, and under whose +arbitrary rule we suffered. Now he is my servant, and must obey my +commands at all times. See, this is the man who formerly indulged in the +pleasures and vices of the world, and now he has to wear an unwashed +jibba and walk barefooted. God indeed is merciful and gracious!" He paid +much less attention to the other European captives, who gained a small +livelihood by working at various trades in a quarter near the +market-place, where they had built their own huts, and were left almost +undisturbed by the other inhabitants of the city. Father Ohrwalder lived +by weaving. Father Rosignoli and Beppo Rognotto (a former Mission +brother) kept a cookshop in the market-place, and the Sisters lived with +them until--with the exception of Sister Theresa Grigolini--they +succeeded in escaping. Then there is Giuseppe Cuzzi, one of A. Marquet's +former clerks, and a number of Greeks, Syrian Christians, and Copts,--in +all some forty-five men who have married either Christians born in the +country or Egyptians. The entire colony is termed the Muslimania[19] +quarter, and they have elected from amongst themselves an Emir, under +whose orders they agree to live, and who is responsible to the Khalifa +for every member of the colony. The present Emir is a certain Greek +called Nicola, whose Arabic name is Abdullahi. No one is on any account +allowed to quit Omdurman; and they are obliged to guarantee each other. +Consequently when Father Rosignoli escaped, his companion Beppo was +thrown into prison, and was in chains when I left the town. After Father +Ohrwalder's flight a much stricter surveillance was exercised over all +these unfortunates. A place has been allotted to them in the +northeastern portion of the mosque, where they have to attend prayers +daily; but not being under special control, they take it in turns to be +present, so that, in case of inquiry, the colony shall always be +represented. Their huts are built adjoining each other, and in this way +they can communicate without difficulty, and thus derive some +alleviation of their sad lot by mutual sympathy; but their children are +obliged to live in the various tekias (religious rest-houses), where +they are taught the Kuran. + +I have already described my own surroundings and mode of life; and it +now remains for me to add that I was only permitted to converse with a +few of the body-guard who were, like myself, either under surveillance +or specially employed as spies by the Khalifa to watch and report our +every action and word. I was seldom permitted to enter the town; and I +was strictly forbidden to make any visits. + +The Khalifa is very fond of watches and clocks; and one of my many +duties was to wind them up, and generally look after them. I availed +myself of this privilege to occasionally visit an Armenian watchmaker +named Artin, on the pretext that a clock or watch required repair. His +house was situated near the market-place; and here I used to arrange +meetings with some of the people I particularly wished to see. I never +confided in Artin, and those who came to the shop invariably made some +small purchases; and in doing so we succeeded in exchanging, as it were +quite casually, a few words. Most of my time was spent at the Khalifa's +gate reading the Kuran. I was not permitted to write, as Abdullahi +thought it unnecessary for me to practise an art of which he himself was +ignorant. I invariably accompanied my master to the mosque, or when he +appeared in public, and on these occasions my duties were somewhat those +of an aide-de-camp. Being in receipt of no salary, my food was of the +simplest, and consisted generally of asida, various sorts of sauces, and +occasionally a little meat purchased in the market. + +Abdullahi knew perfectly that I longed for freedom; and, in spite of all +my efforts to conceal it, I could not overcome his very rational +suspicion of me. By constant gifts of slaves, by offers of marriage with +his family, and various other expedients, he did all he could to make +ties which he thought would hold me down; but my continued refusal of +these very questionable benefits only confirmed his suspicions that I +intended to escape on the first possible occasion. After the fall of +Khartum, my family had done all in their power to obtain news of me; but +fortunately they realised how careful they must be. Herr Von Gsiller, +the Austro-Hungarian Consul-General in Egypt, spared no pains to get +news of me, and his efforts were heartily seconded by the officers +attached to the Egyptian army, and other officials. It was at his +suggestion that my relatives had communicated with me through the +Governor of Suakin, in 1888; and I have described in the preceding pages +how I was eventually forbidden by the Khalifa to hold any further +intercourse with the outside world. Already my relations with the +Khalifa had become much strained, owing to these events; and they became +much more so when a letter reached the Khalifa from Herr Von Rosty (who +had succeeded Herr Von Gsiller), asking his permission to send a priest +to minister to the members of the Mission, who, he stated, were Austrian +subjects. At the same time, he had written to me asking for information +on the present situation in the Sudan. The Khalifa, of course, took no +notice of Herr Von Rosty's letter, and accused me of duplicity and +disloyalty, because I had previously informed him that the members of +the Mission, with the exception of Father Ohrwalder, were Italians. I +had deliberately done this, as I feared that Abdullahi, in one of his +sudden outbursts of passion against me, might vent his rage on those +whom he believed to be my compatriots, and whom I was anxious to save; +but now this letter, stating directly the contrary, was a heavy blow. It +was quite beyond the Khalifa's capacity to understand that members of +various nationalities could be, for the purpose of the Mission, under +Austrian protection; and for a long time he incessantly upbraided me for +having deceived him. + +My family had placed a considerable sum of money at the disposal of the +Austrian Consul-General, with the object of assisting me; and they, +through the kind intervention of the various Sirdars of the Egyptian +army, and of Major Wingate, the Director of Military Intelligence, +succeeded in sending me occasional sums by the hands of trustworthy +Arabs. Of course I invariably received considerably smaller sums than +those which had been originally confided to them, though I was obliged +to give receipts for the full amounts. However, I was truly thankful +for what I received; and by the system which was established I was +enabled to send my relatives scraps of information about myself and my +affairs. I was obliged to exercise the most extreme caution in spending +the money thus received, lest suspicion should be aroused; and therefore +I continued to live as simply as possible, and expended all I could +spare in cementing my various friendships. + +My friends in Cairo had fully realised that, after I had been prevented +from holding any communication with the outside, it was quite impossible +for them to secure my release from the Khalifa's hands by ordinary +methods. They therefore spared no efforts to afford me the means of +affecting my escape should an opportunity occur. From the earliest days +of my captivity, I had realised that my only hope of freedom lay in +flight; and although the rise and development of this great movement +interested me considerably,--especially as I had exceptional means of +watching it,--I never for an instant abandoned the idea of succeeding in +my object, though I little dreamt that twelve long years of hardship, +misery, and humiliation must elapse before it could be accomplished. + +For years, I did not confide my secret to a soul; but eventually I told +Ibrahim Adlan of my intentions; and he promised to assist me to the best +of his ability. Unfortunately, the Khalifa executed him soon afterwards; +and in him I lost a true and kind friend and protector. On his death, I +confided my secret to two influential individuals on whose silence I +could rely; and though I knew that partly owing to their liking for me, +and partly owing to their hatred of the Khalifa, they would have +willingly assisted me in the accomplishment of my object, our +negotiations came to nothing. The money required would, I knew, be +forthcoming; but they dreaded that after my escape their names might be +eventually divulged; and as they were tied by their families to live in +the Sudan, they knew that, in the event of discovery, the Khalifa would +wreak his vengeance on their defenceless wives and children. + +Meanwhile, my family had not been idle; and no sacrifice was too great +for their love. Living in Vienna, ignorant of the real state of affairs +in the Sudan, and not aware of how they could best help me, they +trustfully continued to place considerable sums of money at the disposal +of the Austrian Agency in Cairo, the representative of which received +instructions from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to utilise it to the +best of his ability. His Excellency Baron Heidler von Egeregg--now +Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary, and who has been for some years +Consul-General in Cairo--took a personal interest in my affairs, and did +everything in his power to facilitate my escape. But it is only possible +to secure the services of reliable persons through the intermediary of +Government officials; and with this object in view, he enlisted the +sympathies, first of Colonel Schaeffer Bey, and subsequently of Major +Wingate, who had on several previous occasions endeavoured to assist me; +and it is to his and to Baron Heidler's incessant efforts that I owe my +freedom. Without their intervention, it would not have been possible to +procure reliable Arabs to bring me occasional sums of money; and I owe +to them my heartiest thanks for their frequent attempts to effect my +rescue; and although, with the exception of the last, they all failed, +the arrangements were such that the Khalifa and his myrmidons never had +the slightest suspicion of them. + +Early in February, 1892, the former chief of the Dongola camel postmen, +Babakr Abu Sebiba, arrived in Omdurman from Egypt. He was an Ababda +Arab; and when brought before the Khalifa, he asserted that he had +escaped from Assuan, that he sought the Khalifa's pardon, and begged to +be allowed to settle down in Berber. As he had letters of introduction +to the Emir of Berber, Zeki Osman, permission was accorded to him; and +when going out at the door of the mosque, he nudged me, and whispered, +"I have come for you; arrange for an interview." "To-morrow after +evening prayers, here in the mosque," was my reply; and he then +disappeared. Although I had not given up hope of escape, I never dared +to be very sanguine; for I had had much experience of these Arabs and +Sudanese, and knew that often their words go for nought, and their +promises are more frequently broken than kept. I therefore spent the +following day much as usual, though I could not help wondering what +would be the upshot of the interview. + +After evening prayers, and when all the people had left the mosque, +Babakr passed the door at which I had seen him the previous day. + +Cautiously I followed him; and together we entered the thatched portion +of the building, which was in deep shade. Out of sight, and out of +hearing, Babakr now handed me a small tin box, which, from the smell, +seemed to contain coffee, saying, "This box has a double bottom. Open +and read the papers enclosed in it; and I shall be here again to-morrow +at the same hour." Concealing the box under my jibba, I returned to my +place, and, as chance fell out, was summoned that evening to sup with +the Khalifa. Imagine my feelings: for the box was sufficiently large to +be seen under my clothes; and here was I seated opposite my master with +his lynx eyes fixed on me. Fortunately he was rather tired, and only +talked on general subjects; though he did not fail to caution me to be +loyal, or he would punish me unmercifully. Of course I assured him of my +fidelity and affection for him; and, after having partaken of a little +meat and dhurra, I feigned sudden illness, and obtained permission to +withdraw. Hurrying home with all speed, I lit my little oil lamp, tore +open the box with my knife, and there found a small piece of paper, on +which the following words were written in French: + + Babakr Wad Abu Sebiba is a trustworthy man. + + (Signed.) SCHAEFFER, COLONEL. + +On the other side of the paper were a few lines from the Austrian Agency +confirming this. The writers had wisely omitted my name, fearing that it +might fall into the hands of enemies; and now I had to exercise more +patience until the following evening. + +As agreed, I met Babakr as before; and he briefly informed me that he +had come to arrange my escape, and that, having seen me, he would return +to Berber to complete his preparations. As the Emir Zeki Osman had been +ordered to come to Omdurman in July for the manoeuvres, he proposed to +accompany him, in order to carry out his object. I assured him that I +was ready at any time to make the attempt; and, after imploring him to +do all in his power to help me, we parted. He returned, as arranged, in +July with Zeki Osman; and, in a secret meeting, he told me that, in +order to disarm suspicion, he had got married in Berber; that he had +brought four camels with him, but that he had not yet arranged about our +crossing the river. Should I, however, decide to risk flight, he would +guide me through the Bayuda desert and by El Kaab (west of Dongola) to +Wadi Halfa; but I knew that the camels could not possibly perform such a +journey in the height of summer. I soon saw that the man wanted to spend +a few more months in the Sudan, probably with his newly acquired bride; +and so we agreed to postpone the attempt till the month of December, +when the long nights would be more favourable to the enterprise. Months +passed; and I heard from secret sources that Babakr was still at Berber. +December went by, and the year 1893 had begun. Still no sign of my +friend. At length he returned in July, and told me that the messenger +whom I had despatched to Cairo asking for £100 had been delayed on the +road; and that as he had arrived there at a time of year when the +journey would have been impossible, the authorities had refused to +supply him with the funds. He added, however, that he had brought two +camels, and that if I would risk flight, he would try to procure a +third. I saw that the man had been making inquiries, and had ascertained +that at most it would only be possible for me to obtain a few hours' +start, which would not be sufficient to insure success; besides he knew +that it was out of the question starting in July. When, therefore, I +proposed again postponing flight till the beginning of the winter, he +readily acquiesced merely for form's sake. His constant visits to +Omdurman had aroused the Khalifa's suspicions; and one of the Kadis +notified him that he must attend the mosque five times daily, and should +not leave Omdurman without the Khalifa's permission. Alarmed probably at +the turn affairs had taken, he escaped and returned to Egypt. Three days +after he had left, his absence was discovered. On his arrival in Cairo, +as I subsequently learnt, he informed those who had sent him that he had +frequently come to Omdurman; but that I had persistently refused to risk +flight with him. Baron Heidler and Major Wingate, however, realised that +the man's statement was untrue; and some time later I had an opportunity +of informing them, through a trusty agent, of the man's behaviour. + +These gentlemen subsequently made an agreement with a merchant named +Musa Wad Abderrahman, promising him £1000 if he succeeded in effecting +my escape, while at the same time he was furnished with what was +necessary for the undertaking. In the winter I received information of +this fresh enterprise; but it was not till June, 1894, that one of +Musa's relatives, named Ahmed, told me that some Arabs had been secured +who would arrive in a few days, and would attempt to fly with me. He +also told me that a station had been prepared in the desert, where a +change of camels would be in readiness, and that, in spite of the great +heat, there was every prospect of the success of the undertaking. + +On 1st July, Ahmed warned me that the camels had arrived, and that I +should be ready to start the next night. That evening, I told my +servants that one of my friends was dangerously ill, and that I had +obtained the Khalifa's permission to visit him, that I would probably +stay the night, and that, therefore, they need not be uneasy if I did +not return. That night, when my master had retired to rest, accompanied +by Ahmed, I quitted the mosque; and, with bare feet and armed only with +a sword, we hurried along the road leading towards the parade ground, +and then turned off in a northeasterly direction. + +The night was dark. During the day the first showers announcing the +beginning of the rainy season had fallen; and, as we crossed the +cemetery, I put my foot into an old grave, which had been washed out by +the rain, and my foot got twisted in the bones of the skeleton on which +I had stepped. It seemed as if the dead as well as the living were +conspiring to throw difficulties in my path; but, in spite of the pain, +I struggled on, and reached Khor Shambat. We crossed to the other side, +where it was arranged the camels would await us. We searched up and down +the banks. Ahmed even called out in a low tone; but not a sign of them +was to be seen. The night was cool; but our efforts had bathed us in +perspiration, and, after wandering to and fro for hours, in our vain +search, we were at length obliged to give up and retrace our steps. What +could have happened to our men? Could they have been noticed by some +Dervishes who had perhaps arrested them on suspicion? Full of doubts and +fears, we reached our homes in safety. I had parted from Ahmed on the +parade ground; and I had begged him to let me know in the evening what +had happened. At the same time, I repeated that I was prepared to renew +the attempt at any time. The dawn was just breaking as I reached the +threshold of my hut, which I had quitted a few hours before, as I +thought for the last time, and my feelings can be better imagined than +described I had scarcely been back more than a few minutes, when one of +my fellow mulazemin, named Abdel Kerim, arrived with a message from the +Khalifa to inquire the reason of my absence from morning prayers. I +replied that I had been ill; and indeed my wretched appearance almost +warranted such an assertion. + +In vain I waited that evening for news from Ahmed; but I did not learn +from him till two days afterwards, that the Arabs had reconsidered the +matter, and had come to the conclusion that the risk of recapture was +too great, and had returned to their homes instead of coming to the +place of rendezvous. So we had completely failed, and considered +ourselves lucky to have returned unnoticed from our midnight ramble. + +Again I informed my Cairo friends of what had happened. They were +unsparing in their efforts, and had now the valuable aid of Father +Ohrwalder, who, when in Vienna, had visited my family, and had obtained +from them some ether pills, which are very strengthening on a journey, +and ward off sleep. They had been prepared by Professor Ottokar Chiari, +and had reached me safely. They were in a small bottle which I had +buried carefully in the ground. + +I now made a confidant of Abderrahman Wad Harun, whom I despatched to +Cairo with a message to Baron Heidler to place at his disposal the +requisite means for my escape. Again an agreement was made between this +merchant and the Austrian Agency, with the concurrence of Major Wingate, +and the assistance of Milhem Shakkur Bey and Naum Effendi Shukeir of the +Intelligence Department. If successful, Abderrahman was to receive +£1000; and he was also given the necessary outfit and £200 in advance. + +Meanwhile, Major Wingate, who had been despatched to Suakin as acting +Governor, fearing another failure, made a similar agreement with a local +Arab named Osheikh Karrar, who, it was arranged, should attempt my +rescue _via_ Tokar or Kassala. One day, a Suakin merchant in Omdurman +handed me a small slip of paper, on which was written,-- + + We are sending you Osheikh Karrar, who will hand you some + needles, by which you will recognise him. He is a faithful and + brave man. You can trust him. Kind regards from Wingate. + + (Signed.) OHRWALDER. + +Soon afterwards I heard from one of Abderrahman Wad Harun's relatives +that the latter had arrived at Berber from Cairo, and was making +preparations for my escape; but in order to avoid being suspected, he +had decided not to come to Omdurman, and in this I fully concurred. + +The 1st of January, 1895, had dawned. How many weary years of +deprivation and humiliation I had spent in closest proximity to my +tyrannical master! And would this year come and go like the rest, +leaving me still in his clutches? No. I felt sure that the time was at +length approaching when my friends would be able to break asunder the +bonds which held me down, and that I should once more see my relatives, +fatherland, and the friends of my youth. + +One evening, about the middle of January, a man I had never seen before +passed me in the street, and made a sign to me to follow him; and as I +brushed up against him, he whispered, "I am the man with the needles." +Joyfully I led him in the dark to a little niche in the outside wall of +my hut, and begged him to tell me his plans quickly. He first presented +me with three needles and a small slip of paper, and then, to my dismay, +told me that at present flight was impossible. "I came," said he, "with +the full intention of taking you to Kassala; but now that military posts +have been formed at El Fasher, Asubri, and Goz Regeb on the Atbara, +which are in constant communication with each other, flight in this +direction is not possible." He added further that one of his camels had +died, and that he had lost money, owing to bad trade; and, in +consequence, he had not sufficient means to arrange for the escape. He +therefore begged that I would give him a letter to Major Wingate, asking +for a further sum of money, and promising to return again in two months. +I felt sure that the man did not really mean to risk his life for me; +and, as he informed me he wished to leave without delay, I told him to +meet me the following evening at the mosque. We then separated; and I +returned once more to my post at the Khalifa's door. The note from +Suakin contained a few lines of recommendation from Father Ohrwalder, to +which I wrote a reply, briefly describing what had taken place; and the +next night when we met, I handed to Osheikh the letter, which he +hurriedly thrust into his pocket, hoping that it would be the means of +obtaining more money. + +Bitterly disappointed, I was returning disconsolately to my house, when +I suddenly came across Mohammed, the cousin of my friend Abderrahman. As +if by mere chance I found him walking at my side; and, in a whisper, he +said to me, "We are ready. The camels are bought; the guides are +engaged. The time arranged for your escape is during the moon's last +quarter next month. Be ready!" and without another word he left me. + +This time I felt convinced that I was not to be doomed to +disappointment. Towards the end of January, Hussein Wad Mohammed, who +had also been engaged by Baron Heidler and Major Wingate, arrived in +Omdurman, and secretly told me that he was ready to help me to escape. +He begged me to let my friends in Cairo know what I had decided to do, +and said that one of his brothers, who was about to proceed to Egypt, +would be the bearer of the letter. As I was bound to Abderrahman, I +decided to wait and see if his efforts would succeed, and, should they +fail, I decided I would try Hussein; but I merely told the latter that +at present I was not well enough to attempt so long a journey, and that +at the end of February I would let him know definitely my decision. At +the same time, I gave him a letter to my friends telling them that I +intended to attempt escape with the assistance of Abderrahman; and, in +case of failure, from which I prayed the Almighty to preserve me, I +would seek the help of Hussein. I was now in some alarm that, so many +people being in the secret, the Khalifa might suspect something. Had he +obtained the slightest clue to what was going on, I should have +certainly paid for it with my life. + +On Sunday, the 17th of February, Mohammed, in a few hurried words, told +me that the camels would arrive the next day, that they would rest two +days, and that the attempt would be made on the night of the 20th. He +said that on Tuesday evening he would communicate with me by a sign by +which I should know that everything was ready; and that I should then +do all in my power to arrange that we should have as long a start as +possible. + +At last Tuesday night arrived, and I found Mohammed waiting for me at +the door of the mosque. In a hurried whisper he told me that all was +ready; and, after arranging a rendezvous for the following night, when +the Khalifa had retired to rest, we separated. + +I confess that I passed the greater part of that night in a state of +fevered excitement. Would this attempt also fail like the others? Would +some unforeseen event frustrate this effort too? These thoughts kept me +awake and restless; and it was not till towards morning that sleep, +which was so necessary to keep up my strength during the journey, came +at length, and I had two or three hours of sound repose. + +The next morning, when before the Khalifa's door, I feigned sickness, +and asked the chief of the mulazemin for permission to absent myself +from morning prayers, as I proposed taking a dose of senna tea and +tamarind, and remaining quietly at home the following day. The necessary +permission was accorded, and Abdel Kerim promised to make my excuses to +the Khalifa should he inquire for me. I felt sure that my master, when +he knew that I was not present, would, under the pretext of solicitude +for my health, send to my house to see if I was really there; but I +could think of no other way of accounting for my absence. + +Before sunset, I assembled my servants, and, after making them promise +to keep secret what I was about to say, I told them that the brother of +the man who had brought me letters, money, and watches from my relatives +seven years before, had arrived with a further consignment, and that, as +he had come entirely without the Khalifa's knowledge, I had decided to +keep his arrival secret. I told them that I intended visiting him that +night, as I wished to arrange with him without delay, and let him return +at once. My good domestics, of course, believed the story implicitly; +and I knew the thought that they would share some of the good things +which were supposed to have come, would make them keep the secret. In +continuation of my imaginary scheme, I ordered my servant Ahmed to meet +me the next day at sunrise at the north end of the city, near the Fur +quarter, with my mule. I told him not to be impatient if I happened to +be late, as the business in hand was important, and might take some time +to arrange; but that on no account was he to leave the rendezvous, as I +intended to give him the money I received to take home. I impressed upon +the others the necessity of maintaining perfect silence, as I ran a +great risk of being discovered. Should any of the mulazemin ask for me, +I told them to reply that I had been very unwell during the night, and +had ridden off, accompanied by my servant Ahmed, to seek advice of some +man whose whereabouts they did not know, but that they supposed he was +some one who could cure illness. To make my story appear more real, I +gave my servants to understand that I should receive a considerable sum +of money the next day, and, in anticipation, I presented them with +several dollars apiece. My object in making these arrangements was to +secure a few hours' delay before the hue and cry that I had escaped +should be raised. My servant Ahmed would probably wait for some hours +with the mule, while those in the household would anxiously expect my +return with the money. I naturally concluded that, should the Khalifa +send to inquire for me, the reply which my servants were to give, would +avert suspicion for a time; and then it would take more time for them to +find Ahmed, and his story of the arrival of the supposed messenger would +still further perplex them. Of course they must eventually find out the +deception; but to me every moment's delay in sending out search parties +was of the utmost importance. After afternoon prayers, I once more +returned to my house, again impressed on all my servants the immense +importance of keeping the secret, and with repeated promises of reward, +I stepped across the threshold, praying fervently to God that I might +never set foot within my hut again. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +MY FLIGHT. + + I escape from the Town by Night--My Guides Zeki Belal and + Mohammed--A Scare--130 Miles in 21 Hours--Our Camels break + down--Hiding in the Gilif Mountains--Precautions against + Surprise--Arrival of Fresh Camels--Our Journey to the Nile--The + Crossing--Friendly Sheikhs--Narrow Escape from a Large Armed + Party of Mahdists--Difficulties with my Guides--Hamed Garhosh + the Amrabi--Out of Danger--Assuan at last--Congratulations and + Welcome--Arrival in Cairo--Meeting with Old Friends. + + +It was three hours after sunset. We had offered the evening prayer with +the Khalifa, and he had withdrawn to his apartment. Another hour passed +without interruption. My lord and master had retired to rest. I rose, +took the farwa (the rug on which we pray) and the farda (a light woollen +cloth for protection against the cold) on my shoulders, and went across +the mosque to the road that leads north. I heard a low cough, the signal +of Mohammed, the intermediary in my escape, and I stood still. He had +brought a donkey. I mounted, and was off. The night was dark. The cold, +northerly wind had driven the people into their huts and houses. Without +meeting a soul we reached the end of the town where a small ruined house +stands obliquely to the road, from which a man led out a saddled camel. +"This is your guide. His name is Zeki Belal," said Mohammed. "He will +guide you to the riding camels that are waiting concealed in the desert. +Make haste. A happy journey, and God protect you." + +The man sprang into the saddle, and I got up and sat behind him. After +about an hour's ride, we arrived at the spot where the camels were +hidden among some low trees. All was ready, and I mounted the animal +assigned to me. + +"Zeki," said I, "did Mohammed give you the medicine?" + +"No; what medicine?" + +"They call them ether pills. They keep off sleep and strengthen you on +the journey." + +He laughed. "Sleep!" said he. "Have no fear on that account. Fear is the +child of good folk, and will keep sleep from our eyes, and God in his +mercy will fortify us." The man was right enough. We rode in a northerly +direction. The halfa grass and the mimosa-trees, which in places grew +rather close together, prevented the camels from making rapid progress +in the darkness. At sunrise we reached Wadi Bishara, a valley extending +here to a breadth of about three miles, which is sown in the rainy +season with millet by the Jaalin tribes who live along the Nile. + +With daylight I was now able to see my guides. Zeki Belal was a young +fellow, with his beard still downy; Hamed Ibn Hussein, a man in the +prime of life. + +"Of what race are you?" + +"We are from the Gilif mountains, master; and if God will, you will be +satisfied with us." + +"How long a start have we got from our enemies? When will they miss +you?" the elder one asked me. + +"They will look for me after the morning prayer; but before all doubt is +over as to my escape, and before the men and the beasts are found with +which to pursue me, some time must elapse. We may at least reckon on +twelve or fourteen hours' start." + +"That is not very much," answered Hamed. "But if the animals are up to +their work, we shall have left a good bit of ground behind us." + +"Don't you know our animals? Have they not been tried?" I asked. + +"No. Two of them are stallions of the Anafi breed, and the third a +Bisharin mare, bought expressly for your flight from friends," was the +answer. "We must hope the best of them." + +[Illustration: Slatin Pasha flying from Omdurman.] + +We drove the creatures at their swiftest pace. The country in these +parts was flat, broken now and then by solitary shrubs, with here and +there small stony hillocks. We rode without stopping until near midday, +when suddenly my guide called out,-- + +"Halt! Let the camels kneel down at once. Be quick!" + +I stopped. The camels knelt. + +"Why?" + +"I see camels a long way off and two led horses, and fear we have been +seen." + +I loaded my Remington to be prepared for any issue. "But if we have been +seen," I said, "it is better to ride quietly on. Our making the animals +lie down will excite their suspicion. In what direction are they going?" + +"You are right," said Hamed Ibn Hussein. "They are marching northwest." + +We rose and changed our line of march to the northeast, and were almost +confident that we had passed unobserved when, to our despair, we +perceived one of the party, which was about two thousand metres away +from us, jump on his horse and gallop swiftly towards us. + +"Hamed," said I, "I will go slowly on with Zeki. Do you stop the man, +and answer his questions, and in any case prevent him from seeing me +close. You have the money on you?" + +"Good; but march slowly!" + +I rode on quietly with Zeki, hiding my face with my farda, so as not to +be recognised as a white man. + +"Hamed is greeting the man, and has made his camel kneel," said Zeki, +looking back. After about twenty minutes, we saw the man remount his +horse, and Hamed urging his camel on to rejoin us. + +"You must thank God for our safety," he cried, as he came up. "The man +is a friend of mine, Mukhal, a Sheikh, on his way to Dongola with camels +to bring dates to Omdurman. He asked me where I was going with the +'white Egyptian.' The man has the eyes of a hawk." + +"And what did you answer?" + +"I adjured him as my friend to keep our secret, and gave him twenty +Maria Theresa dollars. We Arabs are all a little avaricious. The man +swore a sacred oath to me to hold his tongue if he happened to fall in +with our pursuers; and his people are too far off to tell black from +white. Urge the camels on; we have lost time." + +At sunset, we passed the hills of Hobegi, and camped nearly an hour +later in the open country about a day's journey west of the Nile, so as +to give our exhausted animals some rest. We had been riding twenty-one +hours without stopping, had eaten nothing all day, and only once drunk +water. In spite of fatigue we ate bread and dates with a good appetite. + +"We will feed our beasts and then get on," said my guide. "You are not +tired?" + +"No," I replied. "In Europe we say time is money. Here one might say +time is life. Make haste." + +But to our despair the beasts refused the food which was placed before +them. Hamed made a little fire, took a piece of burning wood and a +little resin, which he laid on the wood, then walked round the camels +muttering some words which I could not understand. + +"What are you doing?" I asked him, with some surprise. + +"I fear the fikis of the Khalifa have bewitched our camels, and am +trying the Arab's antidote." + +"For my part," I replied, "I fear that they are second-rate market +camels, or are sick. Let us give them a little more rest. Perhaps they +will pick up." + +As, after another half-hour's rest, the beasts still refused food, and +longer delay was out of the question, we tightened up the saddle-girths +again and mounted. The tired animals refused to trot, would only walk at +a good pace, and as the sun rose we found ourselves on the high ground +to the northwest of Metemmeh. The diminishing strength of our mounts +filled us with anxiety, and it became clear to us that they would never +hold out till the spot, about a day's journey north of Berber, on the +edge of the desert, where we were to change camels. Towards afternoon, +we let the exhausted animals rest in the shade of a tree, and agreed to +make for the Gilif range, distant a good day's journey to the northwest, +where I should remain concealed in the uninhabited hills until my guides +could succeed in securing other mounts. + +About sunset we struck camp. The animals had so far recovered that they +could walk at a good pace, and we reached, in the early morning, the +foot of the Gilif mountain, which at this spot is quite uninhabited. We +dismounted, driving our camels before us after an extremely difficult +march of about three hours in a valley hemmed in by sheer rocks. + +My guides, Zeki Ibn Belal, as well as Hamed Ibn Hussein, both belong to +the Kababish tribe. The Gilif mountain is their own country; and they +were familiar with every path. We unsaddled the camels, and concealed +the saddles among the boulders. + +"We have come into our own country; and she will protect her son," said +Hamed Hussein. "Have no fear; as long as we live you need have no +misgiving. Remain quietly concealed here. A little way off there is a +cleft in the rocks containing water. I will water the animals there. +Zeki will bring you a water-skin full. I will also hide the beasts +elsewhere, that our halting-place may not be betrayed by the vultures +circling above. Wait for me here; and we will see what our next step +must be." + +I was alone and somewhat depressed. I had hoped to make a straight dash +for the Egyptian frontier, and to out-distance my pursuers by speed; and +now a crowd of unexpected obstacles was gathering round me. About two +hours later, Zeki arrived with the water-skin on his shoulders. + +"Taste the water of my native land," he cried. "See how fresh and pure +it is. Take confidence. God, if He will, will bring our enterprise to a +happy end." + +I drank a deep draught. It was delicious indeed. + +"I am full of confidence," I said to Zeki; "but a little put out by the +delay." + +"Malaish kullu shai bi iradet Illahi (It matters not. All happens as God +ordains), and perhaps this delay has its good side too. Let us wait for +Hamed Hussein." + +Soon after midday Hamed came. We ate our frugal meal of bread and dates, +and while doing so arranged that Zeki should ride to the friends who +were privy to my escape, a brief two days' journey, and fetch new +animals. + +"I will ride the Bisharin mare," said Zeki. "She is strong, and has not +yet got to the end of her tether. This is Saturday evening. I shall ride +all night and to-morrow, Sunday. Monday morning early, please God, I +shall reach our friends. We must allow one to two days there; because, +it may be, no animals will be ready. But, Thursday or Friday, I should +get here with fresh camels if no misfortune happens to me." + +"It is better to put it a little later," I answered. "We will wait for +you here till Saturday. If you arrive sooner, all the better; but +remember that our life is in your hand. Above all, be cautious in +bringing the animals, that you arouse no suspicion." + +"Trust in our good fortune and my good-will," and he grasped my hand in +farewell. + +"God protect you, and bring you back right soon." + +He tied a few dates up in a cloth as provision for the journey, and took +the saddle on his shoulders. Hamed described the spot accurately to him +where he would find the mare. As he turned, he enjoined us to be careful +not to be seen; and in a few moments he was lost to sight. We cleared +the ground which was to serve as our night's resting-place, of stones, +and were in the best of spirits as to our success. + +"I have a proposal to make to you," said Hamed to me after a long +interval. "A relation of mine, Ibrahim Masa, is Sheikh of this district, +and has his house at the foot of the hill, about four hours' distance +from here. Now though, as I hope, no one has seen us, still it would be +better to warn him of our arrival, so that he may be prepared for any +eventuality. I will describe our situation to him without mentioning +your name. As my kinsman, he is bound to give us asylum, and would warn +us in time of pursuit, if it should be that our track is followed to the +base of the hills, though indeed this is scarcely to be feared. If you +agree, I will go during the night, so as to see him without being +observed by other people, and will be back with you early in the +morning." + +"The plan is good; but take twenty more dollars with you, and offer them +as a small contribution to his house, and, as you have said, do not +mention my name." + +Hamed left me at sunset; and I was alone with my thoughts. I thought of +my housefolk and companions, to whom, in spite of the difference of race +and of many unattractive qualities, I had grown accustomed in the long +course of years, and whom I had just left behind me in the hands of the +enemy. I thought of the dear ones I was now on my way to meet, of my +sisters, my friends and well-wishers. If only my adventures have a +successful issue! Exhausted with fatigue, I fell asleep on my hard bed. +I woke while the dawn was gray, and shortly afterwards heard the sound +of approaching footsteps. I knew it must be my guide. + +"All goes well," said he as he came up. "The Sheikh, my kinsman, greets +his unknown guest, and bids God protect you. Fortify yourself with +patience. For the present, we have nothing else to do." + +He sat down between two blocks of stone, from which his dark skin was +hardly distinguishable, and kept watch. I sat a short distance below in +the shade of a little tree which struggled for existence among the +rocks; and we talked in low tones of the present and the former +condition of the country. It was past midday when I suddenly heard +behind the noise of footsteps, and, turning round, I saw, to my disgust, +a man about one hundred and fifty yards off, climbing the slope opposite +me, trying to draw the end of his farda, which was twisted round his +loins, over his head. Judging from the direction he had come from, he +must have seen us. + +"In any case it is a fellow-countryman," said Hamed, who had heard the +sound, and had perceived him. "Anyhow it will be better that I should +overtake him and speak with him. Or do you not agree?" + +"Certainly, make haste, and if necessary, give him a small present," I +answered. + +My companion left his seat, and followed the man at a swift pace. He had +now reached the crest of the hill and passed out of my sight. A few +minutes later, I saw them both approaching me with smiling faces. + +"We are in luck," Hamed cried from a distance. "He is one of my numerous +relations. Our mothers are children of two sisters." + +The man came up to me and offered his hand in greeting. + +"The peace of God be with you. From me you run no danger," he said as he +sat down on the stone at my side. + +I gave him a few dates, and bade him taste our travelling fare. "Who are +you?" + +"They call me Ali Wad Feid," he replied; "and, to be honest with you, my +intentions were not well disposed to you. I was changing my pasture +ground, and arrived a few days ago with my flocks at the foot of those +hills which you see from here to the south. I went to the cleft in the +rocks to see if there were much water there, because we might need it, +although we also get drinking-water in the plain. There I found traces +of a camel, and followed them up. When, in the distance, I saw the white +skin of your feet which were sticking out of your hiding-place, I +realised that a stranger was concealed here, and tried to get away again +unobserved, so that," said he, smiling, "I might return again with a few +comrades by night, and make your further journey easier by removing your +superfluous luggage. I thank God that my cousin here caught me up. By +night I should not, perhaps, have recognised him." + +[Illustration: Slatin in hiding in the hills.] + +"Ali Wad Feid," said my guide, who had listened in silence, "I will +tell you a little story. Listen! Many years ago, when I was a little +fellow, in the days when the Turks ruled in the land, my father was +Sheikh of these mountains, which then were thickly peopled. One night +there came a man, a fugitive, who sought asylum with my father. He was +closely pursued by Government troops, under suspicion of being a highway +brigand who had murdered some merchants. His women fell into the hands +of his pursuers; but he himself sought and found protection with my +father, who kept him in concealment. A long while after, my father went +to the seat of Government at Berber, and by money and fair words +succeeded in obtaining pardon for the man, against whom there existed no +definite proofs of guilt. He went bail for him, and set free his women, +who were in prison. That man's name was Feid --" + +"And he was my father," interrupted Ali, whose face had grown grave +during his narrative. "I was born later, and heard the story from my +dead mother, on whom God have mercy. My brother, let me give you good +tidings. What your father did for mine, his son will do for your +father's son. In peace or in peril I am with you. But, follow me, and I +will show you a better hiding-place." + +We went some two thousand yards back round the hill towards the south, +and reached a sort of little grotto formed of rock slabs, large enough +to hold two men. + +"When evening comes bring your baggage here, although there is nothing +to fear, since the hills are uninhabited; but under the cover of +darkness you can choose some other spot in the neighbourhood to sleep +in. It is impossible to be quite sure that some one may not have +perceived you, and have the intention which I confessed to have had, of +returning after dark. I have lost time, and my road is a long one. I +will go, pick up what news I can, and return to-morrow when it is dark, +announcing my presence by a low whistle. Farewell till then!" + +As Ali Wad Feid had advised us, we selected a place to sleep in, and +early in the morning, before the sun rose, retired again to our cave. +Throughout the day Hamed Hussein kept watch from a high point of +vantage, like a sentry on a tower, and only came to me when driven in +by hunger. Our bread came to an end this day, and we had only dates to +eat. + +In the evening, two hours maybe after sunset, we heard a low whistle. It +was Ali Wad Feid, who, faithful to his promise, had come to visit us. He +brought some milk in a small vessel of gazelle-skin (the skin of young +gazelles is tanned by the Arabs, and now much used for carrying milk +in), and had rolled up some bread (millet cakes) in his farda. + +"I pretended to my wife that I was going to visit the caravan folk, and +show them hospitality," he said, after greeting us. "I cannot trust her +with the truth, she is such a chatterbox." + +"A feminine quality which many married men complain about in our country +at home," I remarked with a smile, delighted at the prospect of such a +grateful meal. + +"I made inquiries at the well," he continued, "and heard of nothing to +cause you uneasiness. Eat and drink your fill. I have every confidence +in your good luck." + +After we had done honour to his good fare, I begged him to return so as +not to awake suspicion with his own folk by remaining out unduly long, +and whispered to Hamed to give him a present of five dollars before he +went. + +"Do not return," I said to him in taking leave. "Your comings and goings +may excite suspicion among your people, and your footsteps may perhaps +leave traces on the ground which would betray our hiding-place to +others, unless, of course, you hear any really disquieting news. +Farewell. I thank you for your loyal friendship." + +Hamed Hussein accompanied his kinsman some little way. + +"Ali would not take the money," he said, when he returned. "I had to +press him very hard; and it was only the fear of offending you which +induced him at last to accept it." + +We once more selected our couches, and rested undisturbed till the +morning, when we returned to the cave, or rather I did, for my +companion had to go back to his post as watchman. This day went by +equally without event, but how slowly the time seemed to pass! The hours +grew to days, and thoughts succeeded thoughts in weary sequence. My +patience was severely tried, but there was no help for it, and nothing +to do but to bear it. + +As our water supply threatened to fall short, Hamed Hussein went with +the skin to the cleft in the rocks. At the same time, he intended to +look up the camels, which had been hobbled, and were getting what food +they could from trees and bushes. + +"I shall return in about four hours. Meanwhile, remain quiet in the +cave," he said to me, "and should any one appear,--which God forbid!--it +could only be one of my own countrymen, for no stranger gets so far as +this, detain him, and tell him that Hamed Wad Sheikh Hussein is coming +in a little while. But do not yourself enter into any negotiation, and +above all do not spill blood." + +"I will follow your counsel whatever happens," I replied; "but I trust +you will find me here undisturbed when you return." + +My guide returned with the water-skin full even before the time he had +indicated. + +"I found the camels somewhat recovered, at any rate in appearance," he +said, with evident satisfaction. "Give me a few dates. I am hungry, and +must return to my watch tower." + +The rest of the day passed slowly, but without episode. At night we +betook ourselves to our sleeping-place, talked for a while in a low +voice, and prayed that our patience might not be put to too hard a +trial. + +On Thursday morning, Hamed had gone as usual to his post of observation; +and it must have been about midday when I suddenly saw him climb down +from his seat I clutched my rifle. + +"What is the matter?" + +"I see a man running in the direction of our former hiding-place. It +must mean news. Remain here till I come back." + +I sat down and waited for what seemed an eternity. Then I rose with +caution to have a look out, and saw, a long way off, two people +approaching me. My eyes could make out Hamed, and with him was Zeki +Belal. As I stepped from my hiding-place, he perceived me, and ran up. + +"God give you greeting, master. Here is good news for you," said he, +shaking my hand. "I have arrived with two fresh camels, and have hidden +them some way behind. I will be off and fetch them." And he hurried back +again. + +About an hour later, he arrived with the new animals. + +"You have been quick," I cried with delight. "Now tell your story." + +"It was Saturday evening when I left you," he replied. "I rode all night +and all day. My Bisharin mare went splendidly over the ground, which was +tolerably level, and on Monday morning I reached our friends. They sent +immediately for the beasts you now see, which were at a considerable +distance. They came in early on Tuesday. I started at midday. I rode +slowly so as not to wear them out, and now we can start at once. And, +oh, I had almost forgotten to tell you that your friends, after +discussing it with me, went off to the camp on the edge of the desert, +to warn their people there to be ready. I promised we would reach the +tryst on Friday, or at latest on Saturday after sunset." + +"Did you bring bread?" I asked the youth, who was talking away in high +spirits. "We have got nothing but dates to eat." + +"Good heavens! I forgot that in my haste." + +"No matter," I replied, seeing him look rather crestfallen. "Even +without dates we could hold out for this short ride." + +"Zeki," said Hamed, "saddle the light-coloured camel, go with our friend +and brother to the hollow rock, and give the camels water. Wait for me +there. I will take the other saddle and follow with my own camel, which +has recovered sufficiently to stand this comparatively short march. But +it will be better," he added, turning to me, "that you should not go +right up to the spring, but remain hidden in some suitable spot near +till we fetch you. One never can be too sure. There are so many thirsty +folk in the wide world." + +I went with Zeki, leading one of the camels, towards the cleft where the +water was, and hid myself in a place my guide suggested, among the +boulders of rock. + +About two hours before sunset, Hamed and Zeki came with the three camels +that had just been watered, and the skins all filled. We mounted and +rode east northeast across hills, which at times were very steep to +climb, till, as darkness gathered round us, we arrived in the plain +without having been observed. + +Throughout the night, we rode without a halt at a slow trot or a walk, +and at daybreak Hamed calculated we had left half the road behind us. + +"This is the most critical day of our journey," said my guide. "We come +into the neighbourhood of the river, and cross pasture grounds of the +river tribes. God grant we reach our destination unobserved." + +The aspect of the country does not change. The veldt, as one may call +it, is covered with a thin mat of grass, with here and there clumps of +half-dried mimosa bushes. The ground is sandy, and at times covered with +stones. We rode on without stopping, and ate our frugal meal, which +consisted of nothing but dates, as we rode. When the sun was at the +zenith, we saw in the distance a flock of sheep with its shepherds. We +turned a little aside from our straight course, and Zeki rode off to +them to ask for news; but when he rejoined us he said he had learned +nothing of interest. Though we came upon constant tracks of camels, +donkeys, sheep, eta, in the soil, our eyes detected nothing which caused +us concern, and the country had become quite flat again. + +"Do you see the broad, gray band in front crossing from south to +northwest?" Hamed asked me. "That is the great caravan track which leads +from Berber to Wadi Gammer and Dar Shaigia. If we pass that without +being seen, we have nothing more to fear, for between this and the river +there is only stony ground, without a vestige of vegetation, and quite +uninhabited. But now you must follow my directions closely. Let the +camels advance at a slow pace, and each some five hundred paces from the +next till we reach the big track. When we get there we will turn into +the road and proceed for a few minutes in the direction of Berber. Then +we will leave it again, and march in an easterly direction. Do you see +that stone hillock about three miles away? There we will join again. +This is the only way to put any one who may be pursuing us off our +track." + +We did as he had instructed us, crossed the caravan road, which is at +most times tolerably frequented, without seeing a trace of any one, and +met again at the spot indicated. + +"And now urge the animals on. Don't spare them. Let them do us their +last service," said Hamed, with a merry laugh. "All has gone well." + +Since I left Omdurman I had not seen a laugh upon his face, and I knew +that on this side of the river we had nothing more to fear. + +So on we went, driving the weary camels forward with the stick without +much mercy, till, leaving a range of hills on our right, we reached the +Kerraba. + +The Kerraba is a plateau with a sandy soil. The surface is covered with +black stones, ranging from the size of a man's fist to that of his head, +packed closely together. Single blocks of rock are seen at a certain +distance one from another. The animals could scarcely make any progress +over the rolling level. It was a break-neck march. Towards evening, we +saw the Nile in the far, far distance, like a silver streak across the +landscape. Climbing down from the plateau in the darkness we reached a +valley lying between stony hills. We halted and took the saddles off. +The river was about two hours' march away. + +"Our mission is near its end," said Hamed and Zeki, as they sat on the +ground munching dates. "Stay here with the animals. We will go to a spot +we know near the river; and there we shall find your friends, who will +escort you on." + +I was left alone, looking forward in the highest spirits to the future. +Already in imagination I saw my own people, saw my fatherland. I awoke +after midnight. No one had come, and I began to feel somewhat concerned +at the delay, for if they did not soon return I could not cross the +river that night. It was not till some two hours before dawn that I +heard footsteps. It was Hamed. + +"What news?" I asked impatiently. + +"None!" was the despairing answer. "We could not find your friends at +the place indicated. I returned because you cannot remain here after +daybreak. You are too near human habitations, and exposed to the risk of +being seen. I left Zeki behind to look for your people. Take the +water-skin on your shoulders and some dates. I am too exhausted to carry +anything. We must go back on to the Kerraba. There you must stay till +the day is over, hidden among the stones." + +I did as I was bidden, and reached the plateau in about an hour. After +we had marched a little further in the darkness, Hamed stood still. + +"Stop here," he said. "Make a ring of stones as camel-herds do in winter +to protect themselves from the cold, and lie down between them. You know +how to do it. You are just as much an Arab as one of us. In the evening, +I will come again to fetch you. I go back to the camels. The people of +these parts know me, and I have nothing to fear. If they ask me any +questions I shall say I have come from Dar Shaigia to look up some +people who are settled here. Luckily, I have some relations here also." +He went back. I stood upon the rolling plain alone--abandoned. + +I piled the stones on top of one another to a height of about half a +metre, leaving just room enough between for myself, my water-skin, and +my gun. Morning began to grow gray, and I crept into my hiding-place. +The ground beneath was sandy. I dug it up with a flat, pointed stone, +and heaped up sufficient between the piles of slabs to prevent my being +seen from without. I flung myself on my back in weariness, and stretched +out my limbs. Again reflection came and thoughts thronged past. I looked +back again to the past, and pictured to myself the Khalifa's anger at my +flight. My imagination sped once more towards my dear ones. I longed to +be united to them again, and, unanticipated, almost insuperable +obstacles seemed to be springing up round me. What change has come over +me? Where is my motto of "Never despair?" However desperate the +circumstances in which I may have found myself, I have never lost +courage, never abandoned confidence in my ultimate good fortune. To-day +a sense of fear is pressing on me. Perhaps it is that I am already lying +in what will be my grave. But that is, after all, the end of every man. +Be his days long or short, he can go no other way. And yet to die in a +strange land forsaken! God, up there in heaven, have mercy on me, have +mercy on a miserable man who, if he has sinned, has surely bitterly +atoned for his transgressions. God have mercy on me! Let me see my +friends and dear ones, my fatherland again! + +Then I grew calm once more. After all, I thought, in spite of a few +little delays, affairs are not so bad. To-night, I shall cross the +river. To-morrow, I reach the desert. In two or three days, I shall be +beyond the reach of danger, and fly towards those I crave to see. I +smiled once more, and grew full of confidence and hope. The sun was +burning hot. I had brought my farda, and held it up over me to keep my +face in the shade, waiting in patience for what would follow. + +A little after midday, I heard a low whistle, and raised myself to look +out over the stones. It was Hamed, who approached me smiling. + +"Good news," he cried. "We have found your people." + +A sense of joy possessed me as I caught his words, and my lucky star +was once more in the ascendant. When he came up to me, he sat down +outside the stones. + +"You may make yourself more comfortable," he said. "I have kept a good +lookout all round. You have nothing to fear. Zeki found your people +before daybreak, and just now one of them came over to us to find out +where we were. They are ready. In the evening, they will come to fetch +you. But you will have to take great care, for your flight is known in +this part of the country. Come with me now, or, better still, wait till +darkness comes on. I am going now. Can you find the way alone, or shall +I come back for you?" + +"It is not necessary for you to go over the ground again. I know the +place, and will join you in the evening." + +The sun had disappeared from the horizon when, with gun and water-skin +slung upon my back, I left the spot which had cost me such bitter hours +of reflection. When I reached my companions, I found myself in the +presence of two men who were strangers to me. + +They greeted me, saying, "We are sent by your friend Ahmed Wad Abdalla, +and are of the Gihemab tribe. We will take you down to the river. He +himself will cross the stream with you. On the other side, the camels +are waiting ready to take you across the desert. Take leave of your +guides. Their task is done." + +I shook my old friends by the hand, and thanked them with words which +came from the heart for their devotion. "Farewell, and may we meet again +in better times of peace." + +We saddled two camels and left the third to my former guides. I mounted, +and one of the new-comers got up behind me. + +"What is your name?" I asked him. + +"They call me Mohammed, sir, and my companion's name is Ishaak." + +"Do you go with me across the desert?" + +"No, there are others told off for that. Let the camel walk slowly; and +it will be better to cover your face in spite of the darkness. Orders +came from Berber three days ago to have all the roads closely watched; +and the ferries have been put under observation. Still, in our country, +you have nothing to fear." + +After proceeding for about two hours in an east northeast direction, we +approached the river. We could hear the groaning of the water-wheel, the +cries and laughter of the slaves and their women at work. As we came up +to a small clump of bushes, Mohammed, who was riding behind me, sprang +down and said, "Make the camel kneel down, slowly--gently, that he may +not grunt, and so attract attention." + +They knelt down without a sound. + +Bidding me remain there till they returned with Ahmed, they disappeared +into the darkness. I waited about an hour, and then saw four men +approaching. The tallest of them came up and embraced me. Pressing me to +his breast, he said in a low voice,-- + +"God be praised. Welcome to the land of my fathers. I am your brother +Ahmed Ibn Abdalla, of the tribe of Gihemab. Believe my words, you are +saved. Mohammed, Ishaak, take the saddles off the camels quietly. Make +no noise. Ride a good way on along the stream. Blow the water-skins full +of air, and tie them round the camels' necks. Then cross the river at +different spots, and to-morrow await my orders near the stones of the +'Fighting Bull.' Meantime, do you follow me," he said, turning to me. + +He himself, with the fourth man, took the saddles on their backs, and I +followed. A few minutes later, we reached the shore of the sacred Nile, +and found, in a little hollow washed out by the current, a tiny boat +constructed by my friends themselves, scarcely large enough to hold us. +We climbed down the steep bank, got into the boat, and pushed off. It +took us more than an hour to cross the stream. When we reached the far +side, the other man, who had remained in the little boat, guided it back +into the river, and bored a hole in the bottom, swimming to the land +while the boat sank in the stream, and with it disappeared all traces of +our crossing. We marched for about half an hour, and then Ahmed Abdalla +bade me wait there while he went away, to return soon after with a dish +of milk and bread. + +"Eat and drink," said he, "and have no more fears as to the success of +your flight, for I swear to you by God and the Prophet you are saved. I +had intended that you should start to-night; but the hour is already too +late. It will be better that you should wait till to-morrow evening. +Besides, to-morrow is the day when your camels should be watered. As we +are here too near to human habitations, my nephew, Ibrahim Ali, will +conduct you to a place some distance off which is difficult of access. +Wait for me there. I will bring you an animal to ride, or do you feel +strong enough to go on foot?" + +"I am strong, and can walk," I replied. "Where is Ibrahim Ali?" + +"He is here; and he will be your guide through the desert." + +It was a black night. Ibrahim went first with an empty water-skin in his +hand along the caravan track leading beside the river to Abu Hamed, and +I followed. After proceeding about three English miles, he went down to +the river, filled the skin half full, and then changed the direction, +turning inland. The march was very difficult. The big stones with which +the hills were covered hindered one's progress. I was dead beat, and +staggered about to right and left like a drunken man. At last we halted +by a hollow in the ground. + +"This is the spot which my uncle indicated," said Ibrahim, who had kept +silence up till now. "Remain quietly here without misgiving. To-morrow +evening, I shall bring the camels, and we will start. Here is water and +bread. I will return now to make my preparations." + +Once more I was alone. Once more I was exposed for a long day to the +scorching sun; but now it was easy for me to bear, for I was near to the +goal I had longed for so wildly. At last the sun disappeared from the +horizon; and, after waiting about an hour more, I heard the sound of +hoofs moving quickly over the stones. I rose, and recognised Ahmed +Abdalla, accompanied by two men on donkeys. + +Springing off in haste, he pressed me warmly to his breast. "God be +thanked that you are safe! These two men," pointing to his companions, +"are my brothers, and have come with me to wish you luck." + +I pressed their hands in greeting, and, turning to Ahmed, said, "But I +do not understand you--your tremendous spirits--" + +"Of course not," he replied, "for you do not know the great danger you +have escaped. Listen! Three days ago, the Emir of Berber, Zeki Osman, +learned, we know not how, that the Egyptian garrison at Murrat had +received important reinforcements, and intended to attack the Mahdist +station at Abu Hamed. Zeki Osman is sending reinforcements, and to-day +at noon sixty horsemen and about three hundred foot soldiers passed our +dwellings. You know these wild bands who call themselves Ansar +[defenders of the faith]. We had killed a sheep, and were busy preparing +a portion for you to take with you on the road, when they suddenly came +upon us by surprise. They consumed what was intended for your provision, +and then scattered in search of loot. We were in terrible anxiety on +your account, fearing one of these wild fellows might find his way to +your hiding-place. Now they have marched on. The curse of God go with +them! Thanks be to Him, who has protected you!" + +And I also humbly thanked my Creator, who had saved me from this great +and unexpected danger. As I learned later, the Commander-in-chief of the +Egyptian army, General Kitchener Pasha, had come to Wadi Haifa to +conduct the usual manoeuvres. Captain Machell Bey marched with the +Twelfth Sudanese Battalion and two hundred of the Camel Corps from Wadi +Haifa to Korosko by Murrat, and this accounted for the rumour of a +strengthening of the garrison at Murrat, and the contemplated attack on +Abu Hamed. + +"The camels will be a little late," said Ahmed, continuing. "I sent them +hastily away into the interior when the Dervishes came in, for fear they +might press them into service to carry their ammunition or other +baggage. If, however, you feel inclined to rest in patience till +to-morrow, we should be able to procure fresh provisions." + +"No. I want at all hazards to start at once, and want of provisions will +not alter my resolve," I replied. "I trust the camels will come soon." + +It was towards midnight when they brought in the three animals. Ahmed +Abdalla presented my two guides to me. "Ibrahim Ali, the son of my +brother, and Yakub Hassan, also a near relative of mine. They will +conduct you to Sheikh Hamed Fedai, the head of the Amrab Arabs, who are +subject to the Egyptian Government. He will assist you in getting on to +Assuan." + +We filled the water-skins and took our leave. + +"Forgive the failure of provision for your journey," said Ahmed Ibn +Abdalla. "It is not my fault. You have meal and dates, enough to keep +hunger off, though there are no luxuries." + +We rode three hours and a half east northeast before the sun rose, and +as the dawn grew gray found ourselves east of Wadi el Homar (the Vale of +Asses), which, though called after the wild asses which inhabit it, is +in a great measure devoid of vegetation. As we proceeded, the country +assumed the genuine characteristics of the desert,--wide stretches of +sand, with here and there, at long intervals, ridges of hills, but never +a tree or trace of grass. After riding for two days, almost without a +halt, we reached the hills of Nuranai, formerly occupied by the Bisharin +Arabs. The valley, running in a northeasterly direction for the most +part, between ridges with very steep walls, grows mimosa-trees along +either side, and in one lateral valley are trees which take their name +from the hills. + +Ibrahim Ali got off and took an observation from the heights, and, +finding that the valley was quite unoccupied, we entered it, hastily +watered our camels, and partially filled our water-skins. + +The well lies in a hollow some twenty-five yards across, and some +eighteen feet deep, dug out with a sharp decline towards the centre. +Down this sloping plane there are slabs of rock and stones, serving as +steps, by which one descends to the water-hole in the middle. As wells +are always places where people are apt to collect, we left the spot and +rested in the plain, after crossing the hills of Nuranai in about three +hours. + +There was a great difference between my former and my present guides. +The first were brave, devoted fellows, ready even to sacrifice their +lives for me, whereas these new ones were just the contrary. They +grumbled at the service which it seems their relative Ahmed Abdalla had +forced upon them, and were forever complaining of want of sleep and +hunger, and at the danger of the enterprise, the reward for which would +go to others. Through their carelessness they had dropped my sandals and +tinder-box on the road; and the loss of the former was destined to cause +me much trouble later on. + +The next day, a Thursday, we reached the groves of Abu Hamed an hour +before noon, and though the tribes who at present live in these parts +are hostile to the Mahdists, I preferred to remain hidden. Ibrahim Ali +and Yakub Hassan had been ordered by Ahmed Abdalla to guide me to Sheikh +Hamed Fadai; but this did not suit their views. + +They came to me in the afternoon and represented to me the risk they +would incur if their people missed them for many days. Since it was +certain everything would come to the Khalifa's ears which was calculated +to throw light on the question of who had helped me in my flight, and +since their tribe was already under suspicion of being friendly to the +Egyptian Government, there was danger not only for them but also for my +friend Ahmed Abdalla. In conclusion, they begged to be allowed to go and +look for a man who was well known to them both, and living in these +parts, who would conduct me further. I saw that their reluctance would +prove of more harm than service to me as I proceeded further, and agreed +to their proposal, almost with alacrity, so distasteful had both my +guides become to me, and bade them settle the matter as quickly as +possible according to the best of their powers. + +It was not yet sunset when they brought back the man in question. He was +an Amrab Arab named Hamed Garhosh, and considerably the wrong side of +fifty in years. + +"Every man looks to his own advantage and profit," he said curtly to me +after the greeting. "Your guides, whom I know well, wish me to show you +the way from here to Assuan. I am ready to do so, but what shall I earn +by the job?" + +"On the day of my arrival, I will pay you there one hundred and twenty +Maria Theresa dollars, and in addition a present, which I shall +calculate according to the manner in which your duties are +accomplished." + +"I accept," said he, giving me his hand. "God and the Prophet are my +witnesses, that I trust you. I know your race. A white man does not lie. +I will bring you to your own folk, across untrodden mountain ways, known +only to the fowls of the air. Be ready. After the sun is down we start." + +I selected the strongest of the three camels for the remainder of my +journey, took two water-skins, the greater part of the dates, and a +portion of dhurra for my provision. As the darkness closed in Hamed +Garhosh arrived. + +His son had gone away on the only camel which he possessed, to the +country of Robatab near the river, to fetch grain, and he was therefore +obliged to perform his functions as guide on foot. Since the road was +most of it mountainous, however, and the camel could only go at a foot's +pace, he would not be any the worse off on that account. It was merely a +question of good-will and stout legs. I took leave of Ibrahim and Yakub +with few words; and, there was no doubt about it, we were mutually glad +to part company. + +After a march of more than two days, crossing for the most part bare +ridges and stony hills, we reached, on Sunday morning, a small well, +nearly dried up, called "Shof el Ain;" and though presumably it was not +likely to be visited by any one, I waited for my guide, as he desired, +at a spot an hour's distance from it. + +Our food consisted of dates and bread which we baked ourselves. That is +to say, an apology for bread, for I am convinced, though my guide prided +himself particularly on his talent, that the stuff which he produced +would give our European bakers a proper sense of disgust, both on +account of its appearance and its taste. To prepare it, my guide piled +together a lot of stones about the size of pigeon's eggs, and laid dry +wood on top of them. Then he kneaded dhurra mixed with water in a wooden +vessel, and lighted his pile of fuel with flint and tinder. When the +wood had burned out, he removed the embers from the glowing stones, +poured his dough over them, and then replaced the embers on the top of +that again. A few minutes after he rescued his work of art from its +fiery grave, beat it severely with a stick, to remove the superfluous +ashes and stones which stuck to it, and served it up. This abortive +production we ate, if not quite with pleasure, at any rate with hearty +appetite, and realised the truth of the proverb. After resting a little +while, we left the neighbourhood of the fountain, and, in a few hours, +reached the first slopes of the Etbai mountains. + +These mountains (El Etbai), stretching between the Red Sea and the Nile, +are inhabited in the southern portion by Bisharin and Amrab Arabs, and +in the north by the Ababda tribe. Between lofty black cliffs, absolutely +bare of vegetation, rising in sheer perpendicular, stretch broad valleys +well wooded, which the camel-breeders of these tribes pasture in. We +traversed a well-nigh impassable road, moving on without resting, +impelled by my desire to see my own folk and to finish the weary +journey as quickly as possible. Though we had nothing more to fear, for +we were by now out of the power of the Mahdists and on Egyptian +territory, my guide insisted on the importance of not being seen. He was +afraid of being recognised by the people, who have commercial relations +with the Sudan. Since his home lay on the border, and he was often +obliged for various reasons to go to Berber, the knowledge that he had +served me in my flight might be fraught with most serious consequences +for him. + +But with him the spirit was willing though the flesh was weak. Being +already advanced in years, the want of proper food and the overtaxing +march had their effect on his health. In addition to this, he felt the +cold, which was often severe, so much that he fell ill, although I had +made over to him my jibba, and had nothing myself upon my body but the +farda and hezam (a strip of woollen cloth to wind round the body, eight +to nine yards in length). In order to get on I made over the camel to +him for the last four days, and walked behind him with my bare feet over +the stones; for my former guides had lost my sandals, and this was +therefore for me, from the physical point of view, the hardest part of +my journey. + +Even our camel seemed to be going to leave us in the lurch. He had got a +raw place on his off fore-foot, and had besides injured it so severely +with a pointed stone that the unfortunate beast could hardly walk on it. +I was obliged to sacrifice one of my hezamin, with which, by binding it +in quadruple fold, I made a kind of shoe for him, which had, however, to +be renewed every twenty-four hours. I had seen this done by camel-herds +in Darfur, though they use leather for the purpose, and the old +experience now stood me in good stead. + +At last, on Saturday, the 16th of March, in the morning at sunrise, +descending from the heights, I saw the river Nile and the town of Assuan +along its shore. I cannot describe the feelings of joy which possessed +me. My woes were at an end; saved from the hands of fanatical +barbarians, my eyes beheld for the first time the dwellings of +civilised people, in a country governed with law and justice by its +ruler. My heart went out to my Creator in thankfulness for His +protection and His guiding hand. + +I was received in the most friendly manner at their quarters by the +English officers in His Highness the Khedive's service, and the Egyptian +officers, who only just then learned the surprising news of my arrival; +and each vied with the other to do all that was in his power to help me +to forget the miseries I had gone through. + +The commanding officer and Governor of the frontier, who happened to +have arrived almost at the same moment in Assuan, Colonel Hunter Pasha, +as well as his officers, Majors Jackson, Sidney, and Machell Bey, with +Bimbashi Watson, and others whose names I cannot at this moment call to +mind, generously placed their wardrobes at my disposal; and I availed +myself of their kindness for what was strictly indispensable. Before, +however, I changed my clothes, my excellent friend Watson, who is a +capital artist, asked leave to make a sketch of me, a request to which I +was delighted to accede. + +As to my guide, Hamed Garhosh, with the assistance of a former +acquaintance, Butros Bey Serkis, who is now British Vice-Consul in +Assuan, I at once paid him the one hundred and twenty Maria Theresa +dollars. He also received from me a present of money, clothes, and arms, +while over and above this Hunter Pasha presented him with a gift of £10 +as a token of joy at my safe arrival; and so, having suddenly become a +"man of means," he took a touching farewell of me and departed. + +A short time afterwards, telegrams of congratulation arrived. The first +was from Major Lewis Bey on behalf of himself and the garrison of Wadi +Halfa. The second, from the chief of the Austrian Diplomatic Agency in +Egypt, Baron Heidler von Egeregg, who has been so indefatigable on my +behalf. Then from my devoted friend, Major Wingate Bey. Baron Victor +Herring and his sons, who were travelling on the Nile, were the first of +my own countrymen to greet me. + +[Illustration: A Camel Corps Scout, Wadi Halfa.] + +As it happened that the postal steamer was starting that afternoon, I +was recommended to avail myself of it to continue my journey. Escorted +by all the officers, to the tune of the Austrian national hymn (played +by the band of the Sudanese battalion), which it brought the tears into +my eyes to hear, I went on board the steamer, amid the hurrahs of a +number of tourists of all nations assembled on the bank. + +I was deeply moved. Though I have ever tried to live up to my standard +of honour in whatever circumstances I have been placed, which, indeed, +any officer in a similar position would surely do, I had done nothing to +prepare me for, still less to deserve, this public expression of +sympathy, and it made me feel very humble. + +I travelled in company with Machell Bey, who commands the Twelfth +Sudanese Battalion, and whose march during the manoeuvres from Wadi +Halfa by Murrat to Korosko had been the cause of my provisions being +eaten up, and of the short commons I had to put up with in the desert. I +took a terrible vengeance. He had to submit unconditionally to all my +whims in food and drink, and endured his martyrdom with extraordinary +good-nature and soldierly fortitude. + +When I arrived on Sunday evening in Luxor, I was again the object of a +lively demonstration of sympathy from the European travellers, and here +received, through Baron Heidler, a telegram from my dear sisters, and +from my native city of Vienna. Sisters and native city! How sweet the +words sound! + +On Monday, at five in the afternoon, we reached Girga, the southernmost +station on the Egyptian State railway, and proceeded to Cairo, which I +reached at six in the morning, on Tuesday, the 19th of March. In spite +of this early hour, Baron Heidler von Egeregg, with his staff, and the +Austrian Consul, Dr. Carl Ritter von Goracuchi, had come to the station +to meet me; and there, too, was my dear friend Wingate Bey, to whom I +can never sufficiently show my gratitude in word or deed. The "Times" +correspondent was also there; and Father Rosignoli, with a number of +others, and, of course, a photographer taking snap-shots. + +We drove to the Austrian diplomatic agency, where I was for a long time +the guest of the warm-hearted Baron Heidler, who had worked so hard for +my freedom, and whose actions were prompted, not only by a desire to do +his duty as a representative of the Government, but who was actuated by +a deep sympathy for the sufferings of a fellow-creature held down in +miserable bondage. + +On arrival, I found my rooms adorned with the flags of my dear +fatherland, and decked with roses and flowers, whilst above the door was +written, "A hearty welcome home." On the same day, I received telegrams +of congratulations from my family, friends, fellow-students, and from +several newspapers. I also met with a hearty welcome from His Royal +Highness, Duke Wilhelm of Würtemberg, and His Serene Highness, General +Prince Louis Esterhazy, both of whom had been in the Bosnian campaign +when I had served there with my regiment, and who greatly honoured me by +their expressions of genuine sympathy with me in the hardships I had +undergone, and in the joy I now experienced at having escaped at last +from the tyrannical thraldom of the Khalifa. I was received in audience, +soon after my arrival, by His Highness the Khedive of Egypt, who +conferred upon me the title of Pasha. I had entered the Sudan sixteen +years before as a first lieutenant of the Austrian army, and, whilst +Governor of Darfur, had been granted the Egyptian military grade of +lieutenant-colonel, and now, on my return, I was promoted to the rank of +colonel, and posted to the Egyptian Intelligence Department. + +A few days after my arrival, when seated on the balcony of the Agency, +and looking down on the garden all fresh with the verdure of spring, I +espied a tame heron stalking across the flower-beds. Instantly I thought +of Falz-Fein of Ascania Nova, in Tauride, South Russia, and I hurried to +my room, and then and there wrote to him a full account of the crane +which he had released in 1892, and which had been killed in Dar Shaigia. +It was the greatest pleasure to feel myself in a position to give the +former owner of the bird an accurate account of what had happened; and, +soon afterwards, I received a reply from Mr. Falz-Fein, who possesses a +large estate in the Crimea, thanking me warmly for my letter, and +inviting me to pay him a visit, which, unfortunately, the numerous calls +on my time have hitherto prevented me from accepting. + +A series of official and private calls, numerous invitations, and other +social duties so occupied my time that some weeks elapsed before I could +undertake any serious work. My first duty was, of course, to submit a +detailed official report to my military superiors; and it was not till +some time later, that I began to describe the story of my life during +the last sixteen years. + +My old friend and comrade in captivity, Father Ohrwalder, who is now a +missionary at Suakin, took an early opportunity of coming to Cairo to +welcome me. Our meeting was indeed a happy one, and I rejoiced to be +able to thank him personally for all the assistance he had given in +arranging for my escape. + +The contrast between my past and present life, the influence of fresh +impressions, the many changes I see around me, sometimes make my head +feel heavy,--heavy, as though I had just woke up from an evil +dream,--twelve years' captivity, a long dream indeed! + +It was long before my excitement subsided, but gradually I began to +settle down and collect my thoughts. Now again in the midst of civilised +society, once more a man among men, my thoughts often turn back to the +fanatical barbarians with whom I had to live so long, to my perils and +sufferings amongst them, to my unfortunate companions still in +captivity, and to the enslaved nations of those remote territories. My +thanks are due to God, whose protecting hand has led me safely through +all the dangers behind me. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +CONCLUSION. + + + Africa, Past and Present--The Sudan, Past and Present--Rise, + Progress, and Wane of Mahdism--How long will it last?--The + Khalifa's Present Position--European Encroachment--"Whites" in + the Bahr et Ghazal--Important Strategical Position of the + Province--Time and Tide wait for no Man--I recover my Long-lost + Sword--A Last Word. + + +After more than sixteen years in Africa, including twelve years of +captivity, during which I was cut off from all communication with the +civilised world, I have at length had the good fortune to return to +Europe. How Africa has changed within this period! Regions in the +exploration of which Livingstone, Speke, Grant, Baker, Stanley, Cameron, +Brazza, Junker, Schweinfurth, Holub, Lenz, and hundreds of others risked +their lives, are now accessible to civilisation. In most of these, in +which the explorer had formerly to encounter the greatest dangers, there +are now military posts and stations to afford security and facilitate +the trade which is constantly becoming more active. From the east, +Italy, England, Germany, from the west, the Congo State, France, and +England, are daily enlarging their spheres of influence, and are now on +the point of joining hands in Central Africa. Wild tribes, who in their +modes of life are nearer to beast than to man, are beginning to know new +wants, beginning to understand that there are beings mentally superior +to themselves, and who, through the appliances of modern civilisation, +are unconquerable even in foreign lands. The more northerly of the still +independent Mohammedan States--Wadai, Bornu, and the Fellata +Kingdoms--will doubtless sooner or later be compelled to conclude +alliances with some of the advancing powers, perceiving that only in +this way their hereditary rule can be secured. + +In the middle of Africa, between the lands just mentioned and the powers +advancing from east, south, and west, lies the former Egyptian Sudan, +now under the rule of the Khalifa Abdullahi, the despotic head of the +Mahdists. No European can venture to cross the limits of this land, cut +off from civilisation, extending in the south along the Nile to Reggaf, +and east to west from Kassala to near Wadai; death, or lifelong +captivity, would be his lot. Yet it is only within the short period of +ten years that the land has been subjected to these miserable +conditions. For more than seventy years, since the time of Mohammed Ali, +it remained under the rule of Egypt, and was open to civilisation. In +the chief towns were found Egyptian and European merchants. In Khartum +itself, the foreign powers had their representatives. Travellers of all +nations could pass through the land unharmed, and found protection and +help through their aid. Telegraphs and a regular postal service +facilitated intercourse with the most distant countries. Mohammedan +mosques, Christian churches, and mission schools looked after the +religious and moral education of the young. The land was inhabited by +the most diverse tribes, many of which lived in hostility with one +another, but were compelled by the strength of the Government to keep +the peace. + +Discontent, no doubt, prevailed in the land; and in the preceding pages +I have shown how the avarice and misgovernment of the officials brought +about a condition of affairs which rendered the country ripe for revolt. +I have endeavoured to explain how Mohammed Ahmed took advantage of the +mood of the people, and, well knowing that only a religious factor could +unite the hostile tribes, he maintained that he was the Mahdi sent by +God to deliver the country from foreign yoke, and to regenerate +religion, thus bringing into existence that element of fanaticism which +throws such a lurid glow over those dark episodes with which the +history of the past twelve years of the Sudan has been so replete. +Without fanaticism, the revolt could never have been successful, while +with it one is brought face to face with a condition of warfare and +religious enthusiasm, to find a parallel to which one must go back to +mediæval history and even further. + +In the preceding account of my life and adventures, in the vortex itself +of this mighty religious movement, I have endeavoured to briefly trace, +step by step, the principal causes which have led to the present +situation,--changed greatly, it is true, from the time in which the +Mahdi and his successor were in the zenith of their power, but +nevertheless a situation requiring careful handling and a thorough +knowledge of details, in order that those concerned may be enabled to +grasp accurately the conditions necessary to restore to civilisation +this vast expanse of country which has now fallen into an almost +indescribable state of moral and religious decadence. + +In the Sudan, we have before us a terrible example of a nascent and +somewhat crude civilisation suddenly shattered by wild, ignorant, and +almost savage tribes who have built over the scattered remnants a form +of government based, to some extent, on the lines they found existing, +but from which they have eradicated almost every symbol of right, +justice, and morality, and for which they have substituted a rule of +injustice, ruthless barbarity, and immorality. Nor can I recall any +other instance in modern times of a country in which a semblance of +civilisation has existed for upwards of half a century, falling back +into a state so little removed from absolute barbarism. + +But let us consider for a moment what is this new power which has +suddenly grown up, and which seems to the European world to block so +completely all their civilising efforts, which have during recent years +made such startling strides in almost every other part of the vast +continent of Africa. + +I have endeavoured to show how, on the Mahdi's first rise to power, the +entire country was with him heart and soul. How, on his death, real +fanaticism gradually waned, and gave place to a temporary power wielded, +under the cloak of religion, with reckless severity by the Khalifa and +his western Arabs, who, taking the place of the Egyptian garrisons they +had destroyed, ruled the unfortunate populations with a rod of iron, and +with such oppression and tyranny as to make them long for a return to +any form of government which would give them rest and peace. It is +needless for me to recapitulate the horrors and cruelties which have +been enacted by the Khalifa and his followers in order to maintain their +position of ascendancy; but it will be sufficient for my purpose to +recall here that at least seventy-five per cent of the total population +has succumbed to war, famine, and disease, while of the remainder the +majority are little better than slaves; and that terrible scourge, the +slave-trade with all its attendant horrors, is rampant in the land, and +includes amongst its victims numbers of Abyssinian Christians, Syrians, +Copts, and Egyptians. + +The extent of country now governed by the Khalifa is little altered, it +is true, from that occupied originally by the Egyptian Government, but +with what a difference! Prosperous districts with a teeming population +have been reduced to desert wastes. The great plains over which the +western Arabs roamed are deserted, and their places taken by wild +animals, while the homesteads of the Nile dwellers are now occupied by +those nomad tribes who have driven out the rightful owners of the soil, +or enslaved them to till the land for the benefit of their new masters. +Deprived of the means of self-defence, reduced by oppression and tyranny +to a condition of hopelessness of relief from their foreign +task-masters, their powers of resistance crippled, the comparatively +small river populations which are left are little better than slaves. +What can they do of themselves against their despotic rulers? It is +folly to imagine that the country can right itself by internal revolt. +The helping hand must come from without; and the local populations must +realise that the first step to re-establish Government authority having +been taken, there will be no drawing back. They must be convinced that +the Khalifa's power is doomed, and that the bright era of civilisation +is assuredly returning. Then, and not till then, will they heartily +throw in their lot with the advancing forces, and lend their aid in +breaking down the power of the now waning Mahdist Empire. Let it not, +however, be supposed that, although I describe this power as declining, +it is likely of itself to become extinct within a comparatively short +period. A careful perusal of the last few chapters will, I think, make +it clear to all that the means taken by the Khalifa to render his +position secure against his internal enemies has been most thoroughly +effective, and, assuming that his authority is not threatened by +external influences, I see no cause why, as long as he is alive, he +should not maintain his ascendancy. With his death, it is more than +probable some internal revulsion will take place, which might, under +certain circumstances, displace the dynasty he has attempted to found, +but which would not necessarily bring that unfortunate country much +nearer to civilising influences than it is at present. Considered, +therefore, from this point of view, the necessary palliative still lies +in the introduction of external aid. + +The above hypothesis does not, however, entirely meet the conditions of +the case. Those who wish to study the present situation in the Sudan +must not think of that country as it was in the days of Ismail Pasha, +when the civilising influence was represented by the Egyptian +Government, and when the various countries lying immediately beyond the +Egyptian sphere were barbarous or Pagan states, in which Europeans were +almost unknown, and the Arab slave-hunter had barely penetrated; that +condition has been little else than reversed. The Mahdist authority, as +I have already shown, is at once intolerably obstructive and dangerously +insecure. The once comparatively civilised Sudan is now occupied by a +barbaric power hostile to both European and Ottoman influence. It +blocks the way from the central plateaus along the Nile valley to the +Mediterranean; it seals up districts which were at one time fairly +tranquil, and open to the influences of commerce and civilisation, while +the various countries by which it is bordered are now being gradually +opened up. Intercourse between them and the outside world is becoming +easier; trade is pushing obstacles out of the way; risk to life is +lessened by the protective action of European governments; and the +savage races by which they are peopled, are beginning to learn the folly +of fighting against the resources of civilisation. + +To turn from generalisation to details, what do we find to be the +present situation? On the east, Egyptian influence is slowly--very +slowly--recovering its lost ground in the vicinity of Suakin and Tokar. +To the southeast, the Italians have captured Kassala, and have forced +the Mahdists to take up a strong line of defence on the west bank of the +Atbara River. Further south, the Abyssinians show no present intention +of altering the relations which have previously existed between them and +the Dervishes. In the mountainous districts of Fazoglu and the Blue +Nile, the inhabitants have thrown off allegiance to the Khalifa. Far +away to the south, at the sources of the Nile, British influence is +beginning to make itself felt in those regions where Speke, Grant, +Baker, and others gained imperishable renown by their magnificent +explorations, and by their efforts against slavery and the +slave-trade,--regions which will ere long be connected with the coast by +a railway which will open up not only the country it traverses, but will +also give an exit to the trade of Southern Equatoria and the adjacent +countries. Next to these British possessions comes the Congo Free State, +which within the last few years has made such gigantic strides in +bringing under its influence large tracts of country, not only in the +vicinity of the Mbomu and Ubangi, but in many districts of the Bahr el +Ghazal Province and in Equatoria, almost to within striking distance of +the Dervish advanced post at Reggaf in the Nile valley, while behind +them, in the Haute Ubangi, or even in juxtaposition with them, the +enterprising French pioneers are striving to give effect to their +colonial dreams, which have of late years been so fully realised in +various parts of Africa. Still further to the northwest, the Khalifa's +authority in those districts is menaced by hostile tribesmen who may, +sooner or later, become subject to the guidance of European influence +penetrating from the west and north of Africa; and, on the extreme +north, lies the Egyptian power, which Abdullahi is gradually learning to +dread, as being that most likely to be the first to interfere with the +uncertain tenure of his empire. + +Such, then, is briefly the present defensive and offensive position of +the Mahdist Sudan. All-powerful within his dominions, but threatened +from all sides from without, there is little doubt that before the +onward march of civilising forces the whole empire of the Khalifa must +crumble and collapse,--and what then? Will Egypt once more become the +actual possessor of the country of which she was the legitimate owner? +Will all those civilising powers who are marching forward unselfishly +realise that should they establish themselves on the banks of the +navigable Nile, they must not attempt to cut off or minimise the +life-giving water supply of Egypt by introducing skilled irrigation +within the territories they may have acquired? Will they unselfishly +abandon the advantages which they may have secured through the +expenditure of blood and treasure, in order that the legitimate rights +of Egypt may not be interfered with? All these questions enter into the +domain of practical and current politics, with which it is not my +province to deal. I am merely in the position of expressing my views on +the importance and value of the Sudan to Egypt; and on this subject I +hold a strong opinion. The reasons which first prompted Mohammed Ali, +three quarters of a century ago, to take possession of the Sudan, still +hold good. As the Nile is the life of Egypt, so every effort must be +made to preserve the Nile valley from intrusion. Any advance, +therefore, of civilising influences towards that gigantic waterway must +naturally be viewed with alarm by those authorities who are fully alive +to the danger which would arise by the creation, on the banks of the +river, of colonies whose personal interests would predominate over their +regard for the preservation and advancement of Egyptian welfare and +prosperity. + +Here and there, in the preceding pages, I have referred to the immense +importance of the Bahr el Ghazal; and it is perhaps not out of place +here to recapitulate once again the peculiar position which this +province holds in regard to the remainder of the Sudan. It is a most +fertile district, extending over an enormous area, watered by a +labyrinth of streams, and covered with mountains and forests in which +elephants abound, while the low valleys are subject to inundations. The +soil is exceptionally good, producing quantities of cotton and +India-rubber. There are cattle in abundance; and I estimate the +population at between five and six millions. They are capable of making +excellent soldiers. Moreover, the continual feuds between the various +tribes prevent any combination of the inhabitants as a whole; hence the +ease with which foreigners can obtain an ascendancy in the province, and +create an efficient local army. + +The port of the Bahr el Ghazal was Meshra er Rek. To this place steamers +periodically ascended from Khartum, but were often stopped by the +floating vegetation which from time to time blocks the passage of the +Upper Nile. Just south of Fashoda, the river emerges from what may have +been the bed of an ancient lake. Into this wide marsh trickle a great +number of winding streams which are often completely blocked by the +suds; and through these dense barriers travellers must at times cut +their way with swords and axes. Sir Samuel Baker's expedition, +1870-1874, was delayed a year from this cause. + +The geographical and strategical position of the province, therefore, +with reference to the rest of the Sudan, renders its possession of the +greatest importance. The presence of foreigners, unconcerned in the +preservation of Egyptian interests, having at their command the vast +resources of this great country, which are estimated at a much higher +value in both men and materials than those of any portion of the Nile +valley, would place them in such a predominating position as to endanger +any occupation by Egypt of her lost provinces. + +In the preceding pages, I have described all I know of the movements of +Europeans in these districts; and it is possible an attempt in force on +their part to reach the Nile _via_ Meshra er Rek, or the Bahr el Homr, +or Bahr el Arab, might meet with some opposition from the Mahdists, but +if well-conducted it would, in all probability, result in their losing +their province. + +If, therefore, the Khalifa were to learn that the "Whites" in the Bahr +el Ghazal were in greater force than his present information leads him +to suppose, he might engage in a campaign against them; and in this case +he would be obliged to send reinforcements from Omdurman,--a matter of +some difficulty, as the drain on his resources caused by the maintenance +of large forces at the threatened points on the Atbara opposite Kassala, +and in the Dongola province, is considerable. + +Reverting to the Dervish situation in Darfur and Kordofan, it should be +noted that the present force of the Emir Mahmud amounts to some +thousands of rifle and spear men, scattered in garrisons at El Fasher, +Shakka, and El Obeid. Mahmud himself resides at El Fasher with the bulk +of this force, and is constantly at war with the Dar Gimr, Massalit, +Tama, Beni Hussein, Hotir, and other tribes of the Kebkebia and Kulkul +districts. Recently, one of Mahmud's lieutenants, Fadlalla, was killed, +and his force of six hundred men heavily defeated in a contest with +these revolted tribes; and, just at the time I left Omdurman, permission +had been given to Mahmud to send out a punitive expedition from El +Fasher, which appears to have been partially successful. These tribes, +although nominally independent, owe a certain allegiance to the Wadai +Sultanate. It is, therefore, erroneous to suppose that they are acting +under the direction of Rabeh Zubeir, whose hostility to Wadai is well +known, and whose authority does not extend so far to the east, and now +appears to be centred in the districts lying south and southwest of Lake +Tchad. + +Such, then, was the state of affairs in these southern and western +districts when I left the Sudan; and, since my arrival in the midst of +civilisation, I have frequently seen many strange and conflicting +reports in the press as to the situation in these distant regions, and +although concurring with the view that the onward march of civilising +forces must eventually cause the collapse of the Mahdist Empire, I feel +that my unique position in the centre of Dervish authority entitles me +to give a word of warning to the country whose interests I endeavoured +for long years to uphold, and whose eventual welfare and prosperity, in +a recovered Egyptian Sudan, I earnestly long to see. I would merely +impress upon her the fact that time and tide wait for no man; that +whilst she is contemplating with longing eyes the recovery of her lost +provinces, there is always the possibility that they may fall into the +hands of others who may prove more difficult to dislodge than the +Khalifa, and who, by bringing engineering skill on the life-giving +waters of Egypt, may endanger its very existence, and who would--though +it is undoubtedly the lesser of two evils--deprive that country of the +rich blessings of trade and commerce which, under a beneficent +administration in the Sudan, would give wealth and prosperity both to +the parent Egypt and her recovered Nile provinces. + +With these few words of friendly advice to the country to whose services +I rejoice to have returned after twelve long years of captivity, I now +end this narrative. But ere I close, I will relate yet one more incident +which, were I superstitious, I would consider presaged well for the +recovery of what has been lost. In December, 1883, when force of +circumstances obliged me to surrender to the Mahdi, the sword of +Austrian pattern which I had received on entering the Austrian army, and +on which I had had my name engraved in Arabic characters, was taken from +me. In August, 1895, when I came to London to attend the Geographical +Congress, it was returned to me by Mr. John Cook, Sen., of the firm of +Thomas Cook & Son, at his office in Ludgate Circus. It appears that Mr. +John Cook had, in 1890, purchased this sword from a native of Luxor, on +the banks of the Nile, his attention having been attracted by the Arabic +inscription on the blade, from which my friend, Major Wingate, whom he +met shortly afterwards, was able to decipher my name. It is, I think, +likely the Mahdi had presented my sword to one of his followers who had +taken part in the invasion of Egypt by Nejumi, in 1889; and when that +redoubtable Emir was overthrown by General Sir Francis Grenfell on the +field of Toski, it is probable that the wearer of my sword fell too, and +the long-lost weapon was taken from the field by a villager, from whom +Mr. Cook purchased it. To have lost my much-prized first sword in the +wilds of Darfur, and to find it again in the heart of London, is almost +more than a coincidence. + +During the last sixteen years, I have led a life of strange +vicissitudes; and I have endeavoured to narrate as simply as I could my +unique experiences, in the hope that my story may not only prove of +interest to those who have shown sympathy with the hard fate of the +European captives in the Sudan, but with the most earnest desire that +these my experiences may prove of some value when the time for action +may arise, and when, if God wills, my services may be utilised in +helping to abolish the rule of my tyrannical master and lifelong enemy, +the Khalifa Abdullahi, and re-establish in that country the Government +authority I struggled with some measure of success, but alas vainly, to +uphold. + +[Illustration: KHARTUM AND OMDURMAN +Edward Arnold; London & New York +STANDFORD'S GEOG^{L} ESTAB^{T}, LONDON + +MAP SHOWING EXTENT OF MAHDIST INFLUENCE IN 1895. +Edward Arnold; London & New York +STANDFORD'S GEOG^{L} ESTAB^{T}, LONDON] + + + + +INDEX. + + + The following letters appended to names of persons signify: _A._ + Ashraf, descended from the Prophet; _C._ Commander; _D._ Danagla + or Dongolawi; _E._ Emir; _G._ Governor; _J._ Jaalin; _K._ King; + _Kfa._ Khalifa; _M._ Mahdi; _P._ Pasha; _S._ Sultan; _Sh._ + Sheikh. + + + Abakr, S., Begu, 149, 157, 190, 225 251, 261. + + Abba, Island of, Mahdi's home, 123, 126, 136. + + Abd el Kader, Mahdi's uncle, 286; + _P._, _G._ Gen. Sudan, 147; + his advice, 232. + + Abderrahman, _K._ Darfur, 43; + and Napoleon, 44; + Abderrahman ben Naga's warning, 286. + + Abdul Kerim, Mahdi's cousin, 286; + to Sennar, 380, 383. + + Abdullahi bin Sayd Mohammed, Khalifa el Mahdi, _W. Arab_, + early history, 127, 514; + proclaimed Khalifa, 281; + appearance, 285; + commands "blue flag," 303; + succeeds Mahdi, 370; + coinage, 407; + "signs and commands," 409; + tyranny, 429; + seizes Nile boats, 431; + Mahdi's Dome, 432; + Dr. Wahrmund's letter, 447; + brethren arrive, 449; + writes to Queen, etc., 450; + illness, 496; + fortifies Atbara, 507; + fiendish character, 516; + harem, 520; + postal service, 527; + how he rides abroad, 528; + reviews, 530; + present army, etc., 535; + frontiers, 537; + treasuries, 538; + timidity, 562; + house at Omdurman, 567; + his "blackholes," 571. + + Abdullahi Dudbenga, Harun's cousin, _S._, 85, 211, 377. + + Abdullahi om Dramo, _Sh._ Messeria, 192; + joins Madibbo, 251. + + Abo Bey, _C._ Toweisha, disloyal, 204; + moves on Dara, 249. + + Abu Anga, _E._ of Blacks, 174; + befriends Slatin, 329; + reduces Kordofan, 355, 397; + marches to Omdurman, 422; + beats Abyssinians, 426; + dies much lamented, 426. + + Abu es Saud, attacks Abba, 136. + + Abu "Falja" (Mahdi), 289. + + Abu Gemmaisa, his rebellion, 442. + + Abu Girga, _D. E._ Gezira, 283; + besieges Khartum, 302; + repulsed, 300; + to Kassala, 405; + joins Osman Digna, 433; + at Kassala, 472; + sent to Reggaf, 496. + + Abyssinians take Gallabat, 404; + beaten by Abu Anga, 426; + King John's death, 439. + + Adam Amer, _C._ El Fasher, 203. + + Adlan, Ibrahim, in charge of Beit el Mal, 382, 407; + his new offices, 408; + hung, 463. + + Afifi Wad Ahmed, _Sh._ Habbania, 158; + killed, 207. + + Agordat, battle of, 502. + + Ahmed ed Dalia, executioner, 240, 430, 447. + + Ahmed el Makur, _K._ Darfur, 41. + + Ahmed Fedil, Khalifa's cousin, commands Blacks, 480; + to Gedarif, 503. + + Ahmed Katong, lame Arab, 68. + + Ahmed Wad Ali, at Kassala, 433; + _E._, 472; + comes to Omdurman, 495; + back to Gallabat, 496, 500; + routed by Italians, and killed, 502. + + Ahmed Wad Ali, "Kadi el Islam," 231; + with Khalifa, 286, 505; + starved, 575. + + Ahmed Wad Suleiman, _E._ Beit el Mal, 177, 231; + with Khalifa, 286; + discharged, 381, 480; + condemned, 485. + + Ala ed Din, _P._, _G._ Gen. Sudan, 3. + + Ali Bey Sherif, _G._ Kordofan, 7; + _G._ Darfur, 88; + at El Fasher, 96; + Slatin succeeds, 103, 108; + submissive, 383, 406. + + Ansar, "helpers," 141, 309. + + Arab clothes, 114; + courage, 146, 154, 159, 208, 223, 414, 447; + customs, 114; + food, 34, 114; + greed of gain, 20; + oath of fealty, 120; + tactics, 52, 196, 198; + treachery, 240. + + Arabs, _Baggara_, 29, 46; + _Batahin_, 446; + _Bedeyat_, 107, 117; + _Beni Helba_, 45; + country, 71, 205, 218; + revolt, 218; + chastised, 222; + _Ereikat_, 45; + _Gehéna_, 146; + destroyed, 423; + _Gimeh_, transported, 386; + _Gowama_, 230, 427; + _Habbania_, join Suleiman, 17; + against him, 26; + rise, 148; + _Hawazma_, 19, 146; + _Homr_, 19; + _Kababish_, plundered, 402; + _Khawabir_, restless, 58, 205; + _Maalia_, rise, 148, 154, 155, 182; + _Maheria_, 46; + rise, 244; + _Massalit_, 110; + _Mima_, restless, 58, 84, 205, 209, 248; + _Misseria_, 19, 182, 218; + _Rizighat_, 19; + from Ruzeik, 45; + independence of, 45; + rise, 148; + decimated and divided, 46; + join Suleiman, 17; + against him, 26; + rise, 148, 427; + _Shaigi_, loyal, 146; + to Khartum, 302; + _Tago_, 182, 218; + _Taaisha_, 29, 438; + masters, 563; + _Zaghawa_, 113, 182; + _Zayedia_, 244. + + Arabs, animosity between E. and W. tribes, 129, 381, 476. + + Arifi Wad Ahmed, _Sh._ Habbania, 22. + + Artin, Armenian watchmaker, 578. + + Ashraf, 478; + starved and beaten to death, 485; + property confiscated, 486, 494. + + Atbara River, 625. + + + Babakr Abu Sebiba, 581. + + Bahr el Ghazal, subject to Darfur, 47; + Black population, 13, 194; + recruiting ground, 509; + penetrated by Congo State, 510; + its importance to Egypt, 626. + + Bairam, 317, 422, 529; + trooping colours at, 529. + + Bara, captured by Mahdi, 174. + + Barnu, Ismail Wad, 22, 149, 251, 261. + + Batahin, execution of, 446. + + Bazingers, 7. + + Bee-keeping in Sudan, 77. + + Begu, tribe of Bahr el Ghazal, 44; + _S._, 190. + + Beit el Mal, 231, 241, 431, 538. + + Berber, fall of, 290. + + Beresford, Lord Charles, 352. + + Beshari Bey, 218, 223. + + Black babies, 78. + + + Calamatino, George, Gordon's messenger, 304, 321, 333. + + Camel besieged by Waganda, 87; + runaway, 98. + + Caravan road re-opened, 107. + + Coinage, 541. + + Comboni, R. C. Bishop, 101. + + Congo State, flags, 508; + treaties, 510. + + Corruption, 104. + + Crane, Russian in Dongola, 498. + + + Dafalla, Ahmed Bey, 97; + at El Obeid, 145; + surrenders, 176; + interviews Mahdi, 179; + killed, 230. + + Dafalla, Arabi, in Dongola, 476; + to Reggaf, 500; + defeats Fadl el Maula, 507. + + Dali, _S._, 41. + + Dali, Kitab, or penal code, 41. + + Danagla, descendants of slave Dangal, 13. + + Dara, capital of S. Darfur, 62; + the Doctor of, 69. + + Darfur, kingdom of, once reached Atbara, 37; + Egyptians conquer, 56; + _S._ in revolt, 218. + + Darho, Omar Wad, _C._ Shaigia, 58; + arbitrator, 96; + accused by Zogal, 102, 108; + disloyal, 149; + chastises Arabs, 151, 205; + back to El Fasher, 207; + joins Zogal, 268; + attacks Jebel Marra, 377; + revolts against Khalifa, 378; + shot by Zogal, 379. + + Deain, Madibbo's village, 93, 183. + + Delen, R. C. Mission Station, 173. + + Dinkas, 470. + + Divorce, oath of, 222. + + Dongola, 303. + + Donkey postman, 251. + + Duem, on White Nile, 234. + + + Ebtar Idris Bey, _D._ Zubeir's agent, 13; + accuses Suleiman at Khartum, 14; + _G._ Bahr el Ghazal, 14. + + Ebtar, Osman, Idris' brother, killed at Ganda, 16. + + Egeil Wad el Jangawi, Madibbo's enemy, 93. + + El Fasher, capital of Darfur, 37; + taken by Zubeir, 55; + besieged by Harun, 57; + Slatin at, 58; + taken by Zogal, 270. + + El Koreishi, _Sh._, 359, 362. + + El Obeid, siege of, 173; + starved out, 176; + mutiny at, 393. + + Elias Pasha, _G._ Gen. Kordofan, 133, 142; + invites Mahdi to El Obeid, 144; + at Duem, 237. + + Emiliani dei Danziger, of Kobbé, 108; + Mudir of Dara, 109; + dies, 120. + + Emin Bey, 2. + + Esh Sheikh's advice, 359, 362. + + Evil Eye, the, 519. + + + Fadlalla, Ali Wad, arrested, 93, 191; + his grave rifled, 183. + + Fadl el Maula, _C._ of _all_ Blacks, 384. + + Fadl el Maula Bekhit, mutinies, 393. + + Famine, 453, _et seq._ + + Farag, Mohammed Effendi, 211, 213. + + Faragalla, _P._ defends Omdurman Fort, 337. + + Farquhar, Col., 236; + his note-book, 241. + + Fayo, native radish, 198. + + Fealty, Arab oath of, 120. + + Felkin, Dr. R. W., at Dara, 85. + + Fiki Mohammed el Heliki, 50. + + French and English, 310. + + Fungs, 37, 68. + + Furs, 37; + only stopped by Nile, 41; + Niurnia, 75. + + + Gabralla, 55, 68; + slave-dealer, 217. + + Gallabat, destroyed by Abyssinians, 404; + almost taken again, 440. + + Gellabas (_J._ and _D._), traders from Nile, 60; + Gordon's order ruins, 20, 30; + claims of, 92, 169; + revenge on Gordon, 280. + + Gessi, Romolo, and Shellali attack Suleiman, 16; + sick at Khartum, 101; + dies at Suez, 102. + + Gezira, Island (_J._ and _D._), between Blue and White Niles, + espouse Mahdi's cause, 132, 232. + + Ghanima, "plunder," 265 note, 377, 431, 442; + granary of Khartum, 403. + + Giegler Pasha, 3, 5, 139, 146, 228. + + Gilif mountains, 595. + + Gordon, his kindness, 35, 60, 61; + coolness, 60; + meets Suleiman, 10; + succeeds Ismail Pasha, 57; + marched out of Abyssinia, 89; + leaves Sudan, 91; + returns, 280; + popular with W. Arabs, 298; + his letter, 334; + despatches and awaits steamers, 337, 341; + his death, 343. + + Gowl, Bir, hot spring, 64, 72. + + Gretli, Mohammed el, 253, 256. + + Gsiller, Herr Von, Egyptian consul, 579. + + Guma, Ali Agha, conducts retreat, 166; + goes to Mima country, 207. + + Guma, Mohammed, lets Mahdi escape, 138. + + Guma, Said Bey, 59, 104; + _C._ El Fasher, 121, 244, 267; + defends El Fasher, 270; + with Mahdi, 289. + + Guru, village, 224. + + + Hamada Effendi, tortured, 271. + + Hamed Wad All, Khalifa's cousin, _E._ Kassala, 472; + commands Jaalin, 508, 534. + + Hansal, Austrian Consul, writes to Slatin, 325; + killed at Khartum, 347. + + Harun, _S._ Darfur, heads a revolt, 57; + at Niurnia, 58; + threatening, 64; + raids Dara, 80; + pursued, 81; + defeated, 83. + + Hasaballa, _Sh._ Maheria, 117, 120. + + Hashaba, _Sh._ Salama's village, 170; + number of force collected at, 181. + + Hassan Bey om Kadok (Berti), and his brother Ismail, 34. + + Hassan Hussein, _E._ of Egyptians, 293. + + Hassan Wad Saad Nur, 100; + joins Mahdi, 250, 266. + + Helmi, Hassan Pasha, 6; + _G._ Darfur, 8, 56, 58. + + Helmi, Mansur Effendi, 22; + accuses Suleiman, 28; + sent to Shakka, 149; + false, 153; + at Murrai, 157; + runs away, 165. + + Helu, Ali Wad, Degheim, _Kfa._, 138; + commands "green flag," 304; + sides with Khalifa, 383; + well paid, 406; + in Ashraf insurrection, 480, 482, 496. + + Helu, Musa Wad, to Metemmeh, 336; + killed at Abu Klea, 338. + + Hicks Pasha, 233; + his expedition a mistake, 234; + cut to pieces at Shekan, 240. + + Home Rule in the Sudan, 297. + + Hussein, _P._ _G._ Shakka, 11. + + Hussein _Kfa._ Berber, at Mahdi's camp, 294. + + + Ibrahim, _S._ last _K._ Darfur, 54; + his tomb, 74; + his sisters, 429. + + Ismail Pasha, 8; + and Zubeir, 55; + summoned to Egypt, 56. + + Iya, Basi Zemzem, "eldest sister" of _S._ Darfur, 46. + + + Jaalin, descended from Abbas the Prophet's uncle, 13; + Zubeir's tribe, 9. + + Janghé, Baggara tribe transferred to Bahr el Ghazal, 95; + revolt and join Maddibbo, 194. + + Japo, Mohammed Agha, 145; + hoodwinks Mahdi, 174. + + Jebel Gedir, renamed "Masa," 144. + + Jebel Marra, centre of Darfur, 38. + + Jehad (holy war) proclaimed, 116, 138, 141; + round Suakin, 233. + + Jehadia, _J._, 524. + + Jibba, the Mahdist dress, 231, 283, 285; + the Mahdi's own, 289. + + + Kabbashi, Mustem Wad, _Sh._, 60; + at Om Waragat, 190; + wounded, 249. + + Kalaka, headquarters of Habbania, 22. + + Kapsun, Fertit boy sent to England, 88. + + Karamalla, _D._, Mahdi's relative, _G._ Bahr el Ghazal, 275; + at Shakka, 412; + prefers Dara, 413; + retires, 414. + + Kassala, besieged, 280; + closely besieged, 380; + surrenders, 385; + captured by Italians, 504. + + Kebkebia, capital W. Darfur, 109. + + Kerraba, the, 604. + + Khadiga, Donkusa's sister, 113. + + Khadiga, Khalifa's daughter, married to Mahdi's son, 520. + + Khaled Wad Iman, sent to Kordofan, 57, 203; + Zogal's agent, 245; + writes to Madibbo, 245. + + Khartum, Gordon at, 285; + invested by Gezira tribes (_J._), 295; + famine, 337; + fall of, 342; + pillaged, 345. + + Kitab-Dali, or penal code, 41. + + Kitchener, Sir Herbert, 303 (note), 473. + + Klootz, Gustav, brought in, 238, 242; + in chains, 314; + died, 405. + + Kobbé, old capital of Darfur, 44, 108. + + Kordofan, taken and retaken, 37; + in possession of Mahdi, 208. + + Koreina Nur, killed, 195. + + Kuku Agha, killed, 250. + + Kurd, Abu Sheikh, 44. + + + Leontides, Gr. Consul, killed at Khartum, 347. + + Locusts, 457. + + Lupton Bey, _G._ Gen. Bahr el Ghazal, 193; + capitulates, 275; + arrives at Mahdi's camp, 326; + in irons, 332; + his wife and daughter, 354; + hair white, 358; + set free, 361; + engineer, 401; + dies, 437. + + + Madibbo, _Sh._ Rizighat, 22, 95; + discharged by Emiliani, 149; + joins Mahdi, 156; + attacks Deain, 158; + stampeded, 163; + wins Om Waragat, 186; + beaten off, 197; + challenged, 200; + surprised, 247; + attacks Dara, 250; + explains, 263; + Abu Anga's revenge on, 413. + + "Mahdi el Muntazer," 134. + _See_ Mohammed Ahmed. + + Mahmud, Khalifa's relative, _E._ Darfur, returns to Dongola, 499; + resides now at El Fasher, 628. + + Mahmud, Ali Said, Mahdi's relative, killed at Korti, 303. + + Marching order, 183. + + Marcopoli Bey, 95. + + Marissa, Sudan beer, 34. + + Marriage, in Sudan, 561; + Gabralla's office for, 217; + of Fadl Maula, 315; + jars, 357; + made easy, 373; + divorce frequent, 561; + abruptly dissolved, 31. + + Massawa, Italians at, 442. + + Mek Adam Um Daballo, 133; + advises Mahdi to retire into interior, 139. + + Melek Hagger, 107. + + Melek Jusef, 146. + + Messallamia, 4, 125, 129. + + Messedaglia Bey, _G._ El Fasher, 37; + plans attack on Harun, 74. + + Miracles, 143; + comet, 174, 179; + at Friday reviews, 304. + + Mohammed Ahmed (Mahdi), _A._ first news of, 111; + his history, 122; + quarrel with Sherif, 125; + builds Koreishi's tomb, 129; + secret tour in Kordofan, 132; + proclaims himself Mahdi, 134; + chooses three Khalifas, 138; + first successes, 137-146; + Jebel "Masa," 144; + takes El Obeid, 176; + works a miracle, 179; + imitates Mohammed, 180; + his sensuality, 231; + master of Sudan, 242; + at Rahad, 275; + Friday reviews, 304; + to Khartum, 305; + his appearance, 289; + death, 369; + burial, 371; + teaching, 373; + Chronicles, 515; + "instructions," 544. + + Mohammed el Fadl, _S._ Darfur, subdues Arabs, 45; + his mosque, 62. + + Mohammed el Kheir, Mahdi's first teacher, 123; + takes Berber, 303; + awaits English at Metemmeh, 336; + holds Dongola, 381; + dead, 438. + + Mohammed et Taki, Khalifa's father, 127. + + Mohammed Hussein, _K._ Darfur, 46; + his prophecy, 51. + + Mohammed Idris, 107. + + Mohammed Khaled. _See_ Zogal Bey. + + Mohammed Said Pasha, _G._ El Obeid, 96; + misses Mahdi, 139, 145; + lets Mahdi go again, 173; + his treasure, 178; + death, 230. + + Mohammed Sherif, _Kfa._ _See_ Sherif. + + Mohammed Terab, _K._ Darfur, stopped by Nile, 43. + + Mohammed Wad Asi, 203; + brings news, 208. + + Morgan Hosan, faithful in death, 189. + + Mussaid Wad Gaidum, 405; + in Dongola, 476; + recalled, 477; + Kassala, 496; + loses Kassala, 505. + + Mustapha Bey Yawer, defends Dongola, 303. + + + Nejumi, Abderrahman, with Zogal, 257; + sent against Khartum, 301; + takes Sennar, 382; + to Dongola, 405; + defeated and killed at Toski, 452. + + Neufeldt, Charles, 416; + in prison, 572. + + Niurnia, capital of Tago princes, 58; + Fur Sultans, 75. + + Nur Angara Bey, _G._ W. Darfur, 11; + surprises Harun, 85; + his history, 105; + household, 110, 145; + sent to Metemmeh, 338. + + + O'Donovan, 237; + his note-book, 241. + + Officers, six shot at Dara, 210. + + Ohrwalder, Father, 101; + taken by Mahdi, 173; + escapes in Ashraf insurrection, 483. + + Om Badr, 403. + + Ombeija, Sudan war-horn, 26, 51, 283, 292, 446, 504. + + Om Bilbil, 106, 111. + + Om Lawai, taken and destroyed, 209. + + Om Shanga, 151; + fort evacuated, 207; + surrender of, 256. + + Om Waragat, disaster at, 186. + + Omdurman, the sacred city of the Mahdi, 565; + filth of, 570; + fort besieged, 331; + prison, 571; + taken, 337. + _See_ Map. + + Osman Digna, 233; + fights Abyssinians, 385; + at Tokar, 473; + flies to Atbara, 474. + + Osman Sheikh ed Din, Khalifa's son, 140; + married to Yakub's daughter, 519. + + Osman Wad Adam, Khalifa's cousin, to Kordofan, 386; + at El Obeid, 399; + _E._ Kordofan and Darfur, 416; + to Shakka, 427, 444; + dies, 475. + + Osman Wad Dekeim, to Berber, 438. + + Ostrich, hunting, 112; + breeding stopped, 552; + swiftness of, 154. + + + Pain, Olivier (Frenchman), 306; + taken ill and dies, 317. + + + Rahad, 238; + Mahdi at, 275; + Slatin reaches, 283. + + Ramadan, 63, 106. + + Rashed Bey, _G._ Fashoda, and men annihilated, 140. + + Rations paid for, 66, 67, 201. + + Rauf Pasha, succeeds Gordon, 91; + warned by Sherif, 135. + + Reggaf, 469; + most southern post of Khalifa, 537. + + Rifki, Hassan Effendi, 63, 64, 76, 86; + killed with Shellali, 141. + + Rott, Gottfried, at Dara, 182; + taken ill and dies, 203. + + Rudolph, Crown Prince, news of death, 495. + + + Saadalla, Nubawi, 365, 367, 466. + + Sahra, Khalifa's principal wife, 522. + + Said Hussein, _G._ Shakka, 11; + arrested, 17. + + Said Mahmud, 395. + + Salama, Abu Mohammed Bey, _Sh._ Habbania, 155; + deserts, 164; + joins Madibbo, 201. + + Salama, brother of Om Dramo, his ride, 192; + wounded, 226. + + Saleh Bey el Kabbashi, _Sh._ Kababish at Om Badr, 403; + sends to Egypt, 416; + caravan waylaid, 417; + flies and is killed, 421. + + Saleh Donkusa and Zaghawa, 113, _et seq._, 376. + + Saleh Wad el Mek, 300; + in Mahdi's suite, 305; + his brother's head, 336; + his sons, 348; + discharged, 353. + + Seckendorff, Baron, 237, 240. + + Sennar, relieved, 146; + again, 232; + falls, 382. + + Sennusi, Mohammed es, _Sh._ of N. Africa, 138, 231. + + Shakka, battle at, 52; + Slatin marches to, 183. + + Sharaf ed Din, 181, 184; + his death, 188. + + Shekan, disaster at, 240. + + Shellali, Yusef Pasha esh, 6, 141; + disaster, 143. + + Sherif, Mohammed, _Sh._, 123; + warns Rauf, 135; + joins Mahdi, 316. + + Sherif, Mohammed es, _Kfa._, 138; + commands "red flag," 304; + at storming of Khartum, 339, 383; + loses his drums, 385; + appeased, 386; + revolts, 479; + gets into trouble, 488. + + Shilluks, 470. + + Slatin Pasha goes to Egypt, 3; + Mudir of Dara, 5; + attacks Harun, 64; + collects Suleiman's Bazingers, 91; + _G._ General Darfur, 101; + retires on Dara, 153; + marches to Shakka, 183; + turns Mohammedan, 216; + _C._ Darfur, 245; + surrenders Dara, 261; + meets Khalifa, 285; + swears fealty to Mahdi, 288; + writes to Gordon and Consul Hansal, 320; + in chains, 328; + more chains, 334; + more still, 352; + free, 361; + Darfurian wife, 365; + offered wives, 367, 368, 389, 464; + white jibba instead, 390; + with Yunes, 390; + suspected, 393; + rides, 422; + hears from home, 434, 447, 461; + moves house, 493; + meditates escape, 513; + by whom aided, 579; + fails, 584; + succeeds, 591; + recovers sword, 630. + + Slave market at Beit el Mal, 408, 472, 557; + runaway slaves, 564. + + Slave trade, 47, 97, 107, 134, 140; + Rott and, 182, 194. + + Small-pox, at Omdurman, 357; + Gemmaisa dies of, 443. + + Solong, Suleiman, _K._ Darfur, 42. + + Stambuli, George, 174, 469. + + Stewart, Col., steamer wrecked, 322. + + Sudan, education in, 549; + effects of proclamation abandoning, 297; + gross immorality in, 560, 562; + justice in, 544; + liberty in, 108; + manufactures, 559; + market in, 71; + one quarter of population left, 623; + past and present state, 621; + products, 38, 550; + religion, 546; + soldiers' rations in, 65; + trade routes, 551. + + Tagos, displaced by Tungurs, 38, 41. + + Tarika, Sammania, etc., 123; + Mahdi's new, 232, 373. + + Taxation, Slatin inspector, 4; + of Baggara Arabs, 73; + unjust, 133; + Mohammedan poll tax and alms, 406; + on gum, 552. + + Theft, punishment of, 36. + + Tomb of Mahdi, building of, 431; + pilgrimage to, 549. + + Toweisha, 20. + + Tuti Island, 333; + surrenders, 347; + Sir C. Wilson at, 350. + + Typhus fever, 318; + Mahdi dies of, 368, 487; + Khalifa attacked by, 496. + + + Uganda, Christians in, 508. + + Umbusa, Begu, mother of Mohammed el Fadl, 44. + + Usul, El Ata Wad Melek, at Om Shanga, 203. + + + Vizetelly, 237. + + + Wadai, Sultanate, 629. + + Waganda, envoys, 85. + + Wahrmund, Professor, 448. + + Water bottles, 110, 111; + melons, 206, 209; + Baobab trees, 277. + + Wilson, Rev. C. T. at Dara, 85. + + Wilson, Sir C., and steamers, 350. + + Wodehouse, _P._ Wadi Halfa, 451. + + Wolseley, Lord, at Dongola, 333; + at Abu Klea, 338. + + + Yakub, Khalifa's brother, 240; + sympathetic villain, 292, 326, 364; + his spies, 429, 457; + plot against Zogal, 477, 501, 506; + pays W. Arabs, 407. + + Yunes Wad Dekeim (Khalifa's relative), 256; + subdues Gimeh, 386; + Gallabat, 405; + attacks Abyssinians, 415; + his rapacity, 416; + escapes plot and is recalled, 424; + _E._ Dongola, 445; + recalled, 476; + sent back, 477. + + Yusef Pasha. _See_ Shellali. + + Yusef, _S._ aims at independence, 411; + killed at Kebkebia, 428. + + + Zeidan Agha, "all right," 197. + + Zeki Tummal (Taaisha), 312; + succeeds Abu Anga, 439; + defends Gallabat, 440; + harries Shilluks, 471. + + Zeki, starved to death, 501, 574. + + Zigada, Dimitri, of El Fasher, 203, 276; + breaking rules, 287, 291. + + Zogal Bey, Mahdi's cousin, at Dara, 22, 62; + disloyal, 149, 169; + left at Dara, 182; + sent to El Obeid, 221; + detected, 246; + Said Mohammed Ibn Khaled, 261; + enters Dara, 263; + takes El Fasher, 270; + lives in style, 274; + arrested, 297; + sent to Osman Digna, 473; + _E._ Dongola, 476; + recalled and imprisoned for life, 477; + exiled, 500. + + Zubeir, Pasha, _J._ Ali Abu Amuri's assistant, 47; + "Not the Mahdi," 127; + _G._ Bahr el Ghazal, 49; + takes Dara, 53; + made Pasha and goes to Cairo, 56. + + Zubeir Suleiman, _J._ threatens revolt, 9; + Bey _G._ Bahr el Ghazal, 12; + dismissed, 14; + attacks Ganda five times, 17; + his wealth, 18; + submits to Gessi, 26; + shot by Helmi's Danagla, 28; + his wife and son, 269. + + Zubeir Rabeh, 8; + escape of, 19; + goes West, 25; + near Lake Tchad, 629. + + Zurbuchen, Dr., 7, 30, 59, 99; + treats Gessi, 102. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] The dabarek is the circular pond usually made close to a well, into +which the water when drawn up is poured, and which is then used as the +drinking-trough for the flocks. + +[2] The name given to the lords of the Bahr el Ghazal zaribas and their +men. + +[3] A sheba is a piece of forked wood which is fixed on the neck by way +of punishment, and in this position is very painful. + +[4] When religious Sheikhs go out to preach, they are generally preceded +by men bearing flags, on which texts from the Kuran are inscribed. + +[5] Favourites of God. The expression occurs in the Kuran in the +following verse: "Are not the favourites of God those on whom no fear +shall come, nor shall they be put to grief?" (Surah x. 63). + +[6] The Mahdi is supposed to come from Jebel Masa in North Africa; but +the astute Mohammed Ahmed did not hesitate to call Jebel Gedir, which +was to be his destination in Kordofan, by this name, and thus fulfil one +of the principal conditions of a "Mahdi." + +[7] That is, the "Helpers,"--a term given by the Prophet Mohammed to the +early converts of El Medina. + +[8] One of the most solemn forms of administering an oath is for the +person taking the oath to say, "I impose upon myself divorcement." + +[9] More familiarly, "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight +another day." + +[10] According to Mohammed Ibn Taher, "fai" is booty taken from a +country which submits to Islam without resistance, as distinguished from +"Ghanima," or plunder. The Mahdi adopted the "Ghanima" principle +entirely. + +[11] Major Kitchener, now Sir Herbert Kitchener, the Sirdar of the +Egyptian Army. + +[12] On my return to Cairo in 1895, I learnt that the full text of the +letters to which I have referred, had reached the British authorities, +and had been published in General Gordon's Journal. + +[13] The steamer "Husseinyeh." + +[14] One Egyptian piastre = 2½d. + +[15] Unfortunately, the jibba was too big and long for me, consequently +I was unable to wear it at the time of my escape. + +[16] By mere chance I had heard that the man's name was Taib Wad Haj +Ali, and that he had once been in Omdurman with Nejumi. + +[17] The Khalifa, being a Baggari, or cattle-owning Arab, frequently +draws similes of this description. + +[18] All true Moslems are buried facing Mecca. + +[19] The term "Muslimani" is generally given to the descendants of +"unbelievers;" is an opprobrious epithet, and is applied by the Mahdists +to all so-called renegades. + + + + +Transcriber's Notes + + +Obvious errors of punctuation and diacritics repaired. + +The following variants have not been changed: "spear men" and +"spearmen", "ombeÿa" and "ombeija". + +The following words appear both with and without hyphens and have not +been changed: "birth[-]place", "day[-]time", "dock[-]yard", +"down[-]hearted", "re[-]capture", "re[-]capturing", "re[-]conquer", +"re[-]conquest", "re[-]named", "re[-]opened", "re[-]taken", +"re[-]united", "wide[-]spread(ing)". + +Hyphen removed: "bare[-]footed" (p. 224), "life[-]long" (p. 630), +"mid[-]day" (pp. 198, 199), "re[-]gain" (p. 434). + +Hyphen added: "Body[-]guard" (p. xvi), "camel[-]men" (p. 530), +"fire[-]arms" (pp. 38, 532), "good[-]will" (p. 105), "mid[-]stream" (p. +137), "semi[-]circle" (p. 61), "Small[-]pox" (p. 635), "water[-]melons" +(p. 550). + +P. 82: "Omer" changed to "Omar" (Hillet Omar). + +P. 133: "become" changed to "became" (a spirit of jealousy became +rampant). + +P. 149: "send" changed to "sent" (At the same time I sent word). + +P. 154: "Bilal Nagur" changed to "Belal Nagur". + +"Madhi" changed to "Mahdi" (pp. 239, 241, 242, 292, 545, 615). + +P. 219: "an" added (He kept an open table). + +P. 245: "Maddibo" changed to "Madibbo". + +P. 251: "sowed" changed to "sewed" ( I then sewed up the wound). + +P. 279: "Imprisoment" changed to "Imprisonment" (The Rigours of my +Imprisonment). + +P. 305: "the" added (ordered me in the future to remain). + +P. 341: "heartly" changed to "heartily" (would have joined most +heartily). + +P. 348: duplicate "age" removed (Even women of an advanced age). + +P. 377: "collected" changed to "collecting" (he succeeded in +collecting). + +P. 408: added "to" (rank next to that of the Khalifa). + +P. 446 (caption of facing illustration): "Batakin" changed to "Batahin". + +P. 451: "suppresed" changed to "suppressed" (the revolt of Abu Gemmaiza +having been suppressed). + +P. 493: "Gareifawi" changed to "Gereifawi". + +P. 522: "stills" changed to "still" (he still pretends to lead a life). + +P. 588: "Aberrahman" changed to "Abderrahman". + +P. 610: "he" changed to "the" (the sun disappeared from the horizon). + +P. 614: "moutains" changed to "mountains" (first slopes of the Etbai +mountains). + +P. 616 (caption of facing illustration): "Wady" changed to "Wadi". + +P. 618: "Ascanea Nova" changed to "Ascania Nova". + +P. 633 (index entry for "Ibrahim"): "Dafur" changed to "Darfur". + +P. 635 (index entry for "Sennar"): "23" changed to "232". + +P. 636 (index entry for Zeki Tummal, defends Gallabat): added page +number "440". + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Fire and Sword in the Sudan, by Rudolf C. Slatin + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41035 *** |